Danno's little girl.
Fandom: Hawaii Five-O
Ship: Ranno (hints of)
Characters: Danny Williams, Rachel Hollander, Grace Williams, Steve McGarrett
Sitting on the floor of the hospital, in a near empty hallway, conveniently near a bathroom of all things, Danny Williams was beside himself. They had only just not long got back from hunting down the bastard that had taken Steve's SEAL team down, including Joe White and now this? Did the world just want to see his family to suffer? It hurt a lot, the constant lump in his throat, and the sick feeling rising up from his stomach. It is why he had come out here to start with. The need to just throw the entire contents of his stomach up was a pretty big feeling and once he had left the men's room, he wasn't quite ready to go back into the surgical waiting room. He just needed a moment to collect himself.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, he watched the video that Rachel had sent to him after they watched it together and his eyes prickled up with tears, the screen becoming blurry as he fought to stop the tears from falling. He was supposed to protect her, He was supposed to be the one to help her whenever she needed him and here, right here and now in this moment, he had never felt more helpless in the world.
Living in a world without his baby girl, he didn't even know how to comprehend that notion, Everyone had already tried and failed miserably to get him to focus on being positive, He wasn't sure how he could even be positive when she was in having surgery to relieve pressure on her skull and brain. What if something went wrong? What if he never saw his little girl alive, smiling at him or even rolling her eyes at him with that annoyed "Danno", tone she had when she was embarrassed by him.
One of the worse parts of it all was when he had gotten angry at Rachel over the car and finally admitting he was used to not being told things by her. The truth was, he wasn't angry at Rachel or even Grace over not telling him. He was angry at Stan, not for buying the car itself, but because he wasn't involved. He respected the fact that Stan had been in both of his children's lives for a long time and had even felt sorry for the guy when he found out that Charlie was not his son.
Though Stan and Rachel were no longer married, he also respected that Stan was still a prominent figure in their lives, that he hadn't abandoned them just because he was no longer married to their mother. That he could respect, what he could not respect was that Stan would do this without asking Danny.
He wouldn't have minded if he had asked, or even if he had said, "Hey Danny, I want to get Grace a car, would you like to be involved in giving it to her. A little graduation gift from her two fathers", that he wouldn't have minded, but even going behind Rachel's back and not involving her in a decision like that, it drove him insane thinking about it.
Though he didn't want to admit it to anyone or even himself, he also knew the reason why he had gotten angry at Rachel was because he had a weakness for her when she was vulnerable like that. Whenever she cried or was upset, it just drew him in even more. All he wanted to do was comfort her, hold her in his arms the way he used to when they were married and still very much in love. Why else was the Osso buco that he had made for his first date with Rachel on the menu of the restaurant?
He still remembered that date like it was yesterday. The way she had smiled at him, and had snuck glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking, He remembered she was wearing a pale yellow sun dress that flowed down to her feet, her perfume was still the same one she wore even to this day. He would never forget how after dinner, he had washed the dishes and the way she moved behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning her chin on his shoulder as they talked.
Their first kiss later on that evening as they danced together to Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses which would later on become their song, and also the song they had their first dance to as husband and wife, their love of Bon Jovi bringing them even closer together, Even with all of their issues, and everything she had kept from him, it was always going to be her. He was still as much in love with her as they day he fell in love with her. How did they find their way back? Could they find their way back?
Bringing him out of his thoughts was his partner, the man that was an Uncle to her when he didn't even need to be. Grace and Steve had bonded from the moment the first met and if he was honest, it was when he really began seeing Steve for who he really was, not just some hot shot Navy SEAL who took over his case. Grace always was a good judge of character and if his little monkey thought he was nice, then he needed to give him a chance and now look at them. They were best friends, and very much like brothers in every sense of the word.
Steve had kept him informed all the way through the whole investigation and when he saw him walking towards him and sit down beside him, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, he had to ask, though he knew already that Steve would have delivered on the promise he had made to Danny and Rachel that he would find out what had happened and who was responsible for putting his baby girl in the ICU.
The man also had a way of getting under his skin, making him see the positives when no one else could. When he mentioned having Grace's graduation party at his house, he had managed a smile because despite not even knowing if the guest of honor would be around to attend, Steve had said those words with such conviction that he had to believe it was true, that his little girl would be okay.
Just as those thoughts entered his head, Rachel came around the corner and hearing her say those words, "She's out, She's okay, it was like all of the tension of the last several hours left his body and he had sighed in relief, laying his head back on the wall for a moment and in that moment, he felt the tears just about roll down his cheeks, this time though in happiness. Standing up, he watched as Rachel walked closer, saying once more with a soft laugh "She's okay". His arms wrapped around her tight, swaying from side to side for a moment before he let Steve into the hug as well.
A father's worst nightmare and he had managed to survive through it, and all because he had his amazing family surrounding him. Rachel had been the one to go into the recovery room with her but as soon as she was back on the ward, he had made a beeline straight for that room, however before he could go into the room, the father of the other girl Katie, stopped him before he could. His own daughter was okay as well, still in the ICU but awake and nearly ready to be moved to a normal ward.
Katie's father had been told by Lou about what had really happened and that Grace was not at fault in the accident "I want to apologize to you and your wife. When I am wrong, I say I'm wrong and I just want to thank you for raising such a caring young woman that she would take the time to help out someone out that she didn't even know all that well at all". Danny accepted his apology, after all, if it was the other way around, he knew he would have wanted to do worse.
Walking into the hospital room and seeing Gracie laying there, bruised and battered, he felt his heart break into pieces all over again before reminding himself that she is here, alive and okay. Maybe a little broken, but with time she would heal. "Hey monkey", he whispered leaning into kiss her forehead, making sure to be very gentle and careful with his movements before sitting on her bed and taking her hand in one of his and then Rachel's hand in his other.
He knew she was trying to stay awake for her parents, but he could sense all she wanted to do was close her eyes again, "You can sleep baby girl, Mom and I aren't going anywhere.. Remember Danno loves you", his voice low, watching her smile softly at the words before her eyes finally closed and her grip on his hand went lax as she fell back into sleep. "I can't believe we almost lost her Rach", his eyes were still on Grace, but his words were directed at his ex wife. "But we didn't Danny, let's just be thankful for that, Grace is okay and that is all that matters".
Nodding his head, he sighed softly. Nearly losing Grace was giving him other thoughts as well, like the last conversation he had with Melissa before she left. "Tell her how you feel Danny before it's too late". At the time he wasn't sure what she meant by that, but now he did. His ex girlfriend realized before he had that he was still in love with his ex wife. His head was pounding and he was exhausted, stifling yawn, he knew it wasn't the time nor the place to talk about that. Right now all he wanted was just to focus on getting his little girl back home and on the road to recovery.
Author's Notes:
I hope you enjoy this one. I just watched this weeks's episode of Hawaii 5-0 and it gave me the idea to capture the thoughts and emotions that Danny was going through. Ever since I began watching this show, little Grace has captivated me in every scene she has ever been in and we have literately watched Teilor Grubbs grow up on this show. My own close bond with my Dad had my heart breaking at the thought of Danny losing his little girl.
I added a little few things here and there in relation to Danny and Rachel as well. I ship them just about as hard as a ship McRoll and honestly I feel like this could be the wake up call they both need to get their heads out of their assess and tell each other how they really feel. If this is well received, I am happy to continue on with this story. Originally it was part as a one shot but seeing as how the episode ended with Danny and Rachel reconnecting over Osso Buco, and Rachel realizing the importance and significance of what it meant when he said why do you think it's on the menu.