To my McRoll girls, Happy Holidays! Hugs from New Jersey!
Mari
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Conversations with Grace – Jersey Smiles
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McGarrett Residence
By the phone's third buzz, Steve McGarrett and Catherine Rollins were reaching toward their respective night tables. Catherine grabbed her cell first and, after a glance, dropped it. "Not mine." She muttered, as she flopped back onto her pillow and closed her eyes.
"McGarrett" Steve growled without looking at his caller ID, but at the sound of the caller's voice, his tone did a 360 and the smile in his words was evident "Hey, Sweetheart."
"Uncle Steve, you're not still sleeping, are you?" Grace Williams asked incredulously. Even though it was Saturday, her uncle never slept in and it was almost 9:00 a.m.
Steve glanced at Catherine and a sensual grin crossed his face. The ardent activities she'd initiated at 6:30 a.m. had resulted in them both falling back to sleep. "Uh, no, we're awake."
Steve placed his hand on Catherine's tummy and she playfully tried to slap it away and turn over, but he persisted, lightly tickling her ribs until she turned and looked at him before pulling the comforter over her head.
"What's up, Gracie?"
"I have to be quick" Grace whispered conspiratorially, "Danno's making breakfast. I need to go get a special present for him, right away. Can you guys take me? I have to go now."
"You want us to take you on an errand right now?" Steve asked.
Catherine lowered the comforter to look up and Steve raised an eyebrow to confirm her agreement to Grace's request. At her nod, he got out of bed and teasingly yanked the bed covers completely off, eliciting a yelp from his girlfriend. Covering the phone with his hand he whispered, "If we're going, up and at 'em, Rollins!" with a half smile.
"Clearly, I'm not getting any more sleep." Catherine chuckled as she slid out of bed "So tell Gracie we'll pick her up in twenty." She dodged Steve's grasp and darted past him into the bathroom.
"Gracie, Catherine and I will come get you, okay? We'll tell Danno I need your help picking out presents, and we'll have you back for dinner."
"Okay, thank you! But now you have call back and ask Danno or he'll know I called you." She'd hung up and Steve was dialing his partner before he realized just how much like Danny including that last detail in her plan made his niece.
Playing along with Grace's plot, Steve's response to Danny's 'Good morning, Sunshine, we'd better not have caught a case' was "Hey, can I borrow Gracie for a few hours? I'll take her for lunch and we can have dinner here if you're up for a barbeque later. What do you say?"
"I say thanks, and I want tickets to the Super Bowl …" Danny Williams answered with a laugh.
"Danny! She'll hear you." Steve admonished.
"Nah, she's in her room getting ready. Seriously, thanks, man. I know she wants to go get me some kind of special gift, but she got me something at the mall last week. Listen, Steve … don't let her spend much, okay?"
"You got it. See you in an hour."
Steve could hear Danny call "Hey, Monkey, Uncle Steve needs your shopping skills …" Before his partner ended the call.
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Twenty minutes later, Steve and Catherine pulled into the Williams' driveway and Grace came flying outside like a shot, calling "Bye Danno!" over her shoulder as she launched herself into the truck before Steve had a chance to turn off the motor.
"Thanks, Uncle Steve, Aunty Catherine."
"Gracie, I need to talk to Danno for just a minute, wait with Catherine, okay?" Steve got out and went to the door because Danny had gestured for him to come in.
"Look, I don't know what the hell she's cooking up, but she called my sister in New Jersey at 8:00 this morning our time and scared the shit outta her. She thought I got shot or something. I know how you are with Grace, Babe, so do not let her spend all her money or" Danny air quoted the word "'borrow' any from you guys for a gift for me."
"I got this, Danny, relax. We'll have her home by, say 3:00. Meet us at my place, Grace can surf for awhile and I'll throw some steaks on the grill for dinner. Even after the barbecue last week, I still have half a dozen left from that case of Omaha steaks we got from Duke."
"Okay, see you later. Be careful." Danny closed the door after a last wave to Grace and Catherine.
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"Where to, Gracie? The mall?" Steve asked as he backed the truck out of the driveway.
"The airport, please."
"The what?"
"The airport."
Steve caught her eyes in the mirror. They were sparkling with excitement. "Graaacie," he drew out her name, "exactly why are we going to the airport for a gift for Danno?"
Grace was literally bouncing in her seat as she leaned as far forward as the seatbelt would allow. "I was online this morning and I saw that Jon Bon Jovi was coming to Hawaii for vacation, today! I have to get his autograph for Danno, Uncle Steve. If I can meet him and ask really nicely, and explain why, maybe he'll sign this." Grace pulled a well worn copy of Bon Jovi's New Jersey LP out of her backpack, thrusting it into the front seat for Catherine and Steve to see.
"Gracie, Sweetheart, we don't even know when he's …"
"His E.T.A. is 11:45 a.m. at terminal D on a private flight from Newark."
"How did you…?
"Aunty Catherine checked." Grace answered. "While you were talking to Danno.
"You had Catherine locate a manifest and flight plan so you could get an autograph for Danno?" Steve asked, trying to hide how ridiculously impressed he was at his niece's endeavors.
"I'm sorry. Are you mad? Please don't blame Aunty Cath, it's my fault." Grace's voice sounded so upset, Steve pulled the truck over and turned around to face her. "No, Gracie, it's okay, we can't make a habit of it, but I'm not mad. Besides, if it was something dangerous or completely off the wall, your aunt wouldn't have agreed to it."
"Steve?"
"Cath?"
"Pot –kettle?" Catherine smiled at him.
"Hey, I said I'm not mad." Steve grinned back.
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Airport
"…thank you, Sir, very much. My partner will be thrilled. Anything you need while you and your family are here, please, don't hesitate to give us a call." Steve handed his card to the smiling man.
"No worries, man, I got kids. And it's Jon." He turned to Grace "Your daddy's a lucky guy, Grace. You went through all this trouble. You've got Jersey ingenuity, don't lose that, ever."
Grace nodded "I won't, and thank you! My Dad's your biggest fan, ever." She said as he winked at her, said goodbye to Steve and Catherine and walked off to join his family.
She turned to Catherine "He's so cool! And nice."
"And cute, too. Wait 'til I tell Kono!" Catherine laughed at Steve's look.
"Okay ladies, we need to go. Danno's gonna be out of control, now, you realize that?" Steve shook his head. "I'll be hearing Bon Jovi in the car for the next ten years…"
Grace giggled. "Thanks so much, really." She reached for both their hands and they continued towards Steve's truck. At the exit, a grandmotherly woman gave them a bright smile.
"Ma'am." Steve nodded at her.
"Such a beautiful family." She fussed and was gone before she could be corrected. Steve grinned all the way to the parking lot.
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Steve's truck
"This is the best thing, ever! " Grace gushed. "Thanks again!" She clutched the album to her chest.
"Grace?" Catherine turned in her seat to look at her. "I know Danny loves Bon Jovi, especially since they remind him of New Jersey, but what made you think of doing this?"
"He made him smile again." Grace answered, matter-of-factly.
"Sorry, Hon?"
"Bon Jovi. They made Danno smile again."
Steve and Catherine exchanged a look over her head. They'd reached the restaurant, and had been seated in a booth.
"The album's okay in your truck, right, Uncle Steve?" Grace's eyes flitted across the parking lot through the window.
"It's safe, Gracie, I promise." Steve told her. "What did you mean? Bon Jovi made Danno smile again?"
'Well…" Grace leaned across the table "See, after he and Mom … after Mom … made him leave our house, Danno was really sad. He pretended not to be, but he was."
Steve remembered Danny telling him how he was so miserable after the divorce that he'd sat with his brother every night for months, unable to drag himself out of the mood except when he was with Grace. Obviously, Grace had realized some of what he'd tried so hard to hide. That the loss of his marriage and the fear of losing his daughter was nearly overwhelming.
"Mom was sad, too. Then she got better, started smiling a lot, especially after she met Stan. Wanna know a secret?" Grace leaned even closer "Mom smiles different now. Not like when we were a family. Happy, but not super-happy, like I remember from when I was little, you know?"
She took a breath. "Anyway, Danno was really sad. I saw him every other weekend and on Thursdays, but we missed each other so much. I wanted to go live with him, but the judge said no, and…" Grace shook her head, physically trying to get herself back in the present "Then, my Aunt…" She looked at Catherine "One of the ones in New Jersey." she qualified with eleven year old logic. "She bought him tickets to a concert."
"Bon Jovi" Steve and Catherine said together.
"Right. I think my grandparents chipped in, 'cause they cost a lot. So instead of Danno taking my Aunt, or a friend, he took me."
Steve smiled at the thought of his partner taking six year old Grace to a concert and he couldn't imagine Danny preferring to go with anyone else.
"We had so much fun. Danno knew some of the guards at the stadium from the police department and we got to go right up to the stage. I sat on his shoulders and we danced and he sang all the songs." Grace's eyes grew wide and distant with the memory. "It was the first time Danno smiled. Really smiled since … well since he and Mom stopped being married. Ever since, when he sang me to sleep he'd sing Thank You for Loving Me. That's our favorite."
"That's beautiful, sweetheart, and so thoughtful. Danny's going to be thrilled." Catherine told her. "I remember learning to dance by standing on my Dad's shoes. I was about six and he was home on leave. He took me to a Father - Daughter dance on base. When we came home, I wanted 'one more dance' so I could show my mom how I remembered the steps and halfway through, I stood back up on his shoes. She took our picture and he still has it in his wallet."
Grace smiled at her. "Really?"
"Really." Catherine answered.
Steve nodded. "He showed it to me. I think he's just as proud of your Aunty Catherine as Danno is of you." Steve put his hand over Catherine's.
"Awww, that's so cute." Grace grinned. "So, that's why I needed the autograph. No one comes to Hawaii to do concerts, Uncle Steve, well, nobody Danno likes, anyway. And I just knew if anyone could get me close enough to ask Jon Bon Jovi, for an autograph, you could!"
"Yeah, well, your Uncle Steve would do pretty much anything for you." Catherine said, turning her hand over and squeezing Steve's.
When he stood to pay the bill, Grace jumped up to rush around the booth and hug him. "I love you, Uncle Steve. You, too, Aunty Cath." She let go of Steve to fling her arms around Catherine.
"Love you back, Kiddo." Catherine placed a kiss on top of her head. "C'mon let's get going. Your dad's going to meet us at the house."
At the mention of her dad, Grace's face clouded. "You guys won't tell … I mean … um, Danno … he doesn't know that I know how sad he was back then. He tried really hard to not show it when he dropped me off…"
"Steve knelt down to Grace's level. "Gracie, listen, everything you told us… is between us."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Steve kissed his niece's cheek and she rewarded him with a huge grin. He took her offered hand and they walked out to the truck.
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McGarrett residence - Christmas Brunch
"I have one more present for you, Danno!" Grace told her dad.
"Monkey, you gave me my present this morning." Danny played along. "Did Santa leave something here because if it wasn't for me Uncle Steve would be on the naughty list?"
Grace giggled, "No, Silly, it's from me. I have to get it. Uncle Steve hid it here for me." She ran off to the den returning with the package. "Here." She thrust the gift bag at Danny with a huge smile that lit up her eyes. "Uncle Steve and Aunty Catherine helped me get it."
Danny looked at Steve and Catherine who were smiling down at Grace. "Well, okay, but then we have to go, we have a flight to Japan to catch. Thanks again for doing an earlier brunch, guys, we appreciate ..."
"Danny?" Steve stopped him.
"Yeah?"
"You thanked us. Twice. You're welcome, man. Now open the gift, before Gracie explodes."
Danny pulled the tissue-wrapped album out of the bag and looked between it and Grace. "Wow, Monkey, my favorite, in vinyl, no less, this is…"
"Danno! Turn it over." Grace prodded.
"Oh, my God, how did…" His breath hitched and Detective Danny Williams was at a loss for words. The man who expressed every emotion verbally suddenly couldn't speak around the lump in his throat. He simply grabbed his daughter and held her like he'd never let go.
After clearing his throat several times he whispered "Thank you, Monkey. You remember. You were so little and…" He stopped and looked at his friends "How did…?"
"Call it operation Christmas. We'll fill you in when you get back." Steve told his partner. He was grinning ear to ear and Cath's eyes were full.
Danny ran his fingers over the autograph and his smile lit up his eyes. On the back of the well worn jacket was written "To Danno, you must be one hell of a dad! Glad we could make you smile, man. All the best, from one father to another, Jon Bon Jovi."
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End, thanks for reading!