Boom: Part 3

Hawaii Five-0 Fanfic. This is a Season 1 show even before Jenna shows up.
I don't own the characters. I'd be nicer to them if I did.

Author's Notes: I appreciate all the long and lovely reviews, but I have been unable to reply because of the big error message problem. I think they may have fixed the problem, but I need some new reviews in order to test it. No pressure.
Thanks to everyone who had kind things to say about Boom and Danny Didn't Come. You'll (maybe) be happy to hear that the reviews to DDC have got me started writing a multichapter story cleaning up the season finale mess. I hate to post until a story's done, however. Fortunately I have other stories that take place in my Five-0 universe (with Riley and Aku and all). Stay tuned.

— H50 —

"But now that we know what the problem is, we can help. Right, boss?" Chin said.

"Right. I've got a job for you two, but the first thing I'm going to do is go talk to Rachel," Steve said.

— H50 —

"I thought you were going to bring Grace to see Danny," Steve said, trying hard to hide his anger.

"I meant to, but Grace doesn't want to come. She's hiding," Rachel answered, distress evident in her voice. She rubbed her hands together, no, she was actually wringing her hands, Steve realized. "I don't understand. She hasn't done this … since she was little," the woman finished lamely.

Steve's expression pried more information out of her.

"Danny and I were fighting. We thought Grace was asleep, but we must have gotten too loud. Danny went to get blankets to sleep on the couch and he found Grace hiding in the linen cupboard. We hadn't even realized she was out of bed." To this day, Rachel was ashamed of the emotional burden they had piled on their daughter. Danny was, too. As angry as they sometimes got with each other, they tried desperately to protect Grace from their battles.

Steve thought he understood. "So, your fighting scared Grace into hiding? And now the explosion has done the same."

"No, Grace is a Williams," the ex-Mrs. Williams said almost proudly. "The therapist helped us understand that Grace wasn't afraid, she was ashamed. She blamed herself for our breakup."

"She can't be blaming herself for the car bomb," Steve exclaimed.

"I don't see how, but I think she is. She won't listen to me. She just says she's been bad and Danno won't love her any more," Rachel said with tears in her eyes. "Maybe if you talk to her."

"I'll try," he said doubtfully, but maybe being from outside the immediate family would help.

Rachel pointed out Grace's hiding place. A stranger would have never suspected it. The towel cupboard in the bathroom was chest high for an adult. It required a step stool to climb in, and the stool was not out of place in the bathroom.

The commander rapped his knuckles softly against the cupboard door. "Miss Williams. This is the police. You're going to have to come out now," he said sternly. He pulled open the door. Grace was curled up on a pile of fluffy towels.

"This is a pretty clever hiding place," Steve chatted. "Cozy, too."

"I shouldn't be cozy. I'm the worse daughter ever. I made Daddy's car blow up."

"It wasn't your fault," Steve began, but Grace interrupted.

"Daddy said run, don't touch the door. But my backpack banged the door and made it close. I made the Camaro blow up. I got Daddy hurt. It's all my fault."

Steve was shocked by the girl's intensity and said the first thing that came into his mind. "But I thought it was my fault."

"You weren't even there," Grace protested.

Steve gently pulled the unresisting youngster out of the cupboard and cradled her against his chest.

"But the bomb was meant for me. They thought it was my car, because I drive it all the time. It's my fault you were scared and Danny was hurt." Steve grinned suddenly. "Let's see, what would your father say to me? Something like, 'Listen, you Neanderthal moron. It's the man who planted the bomb who's responsible. The … man … who … planted … the bomb! Not you. It's not always all about you, Steven.'"

Grace had to giggle because Steve managed a halfway decent impersonation of her father. She felt more hopeful. Steve would be mad at her if she'd hurt his partner. If he wasn't mad, maybe she wasn't guilty after all.

"And what would he say to me," she said with a little anxiety but not as much as before.

Steve touched his forehead to hers. "He'd say, 'Danno loves you.'"

Grace hugged him. "Can we go see daddy now?"

"I think we'd better," Steve agreed. "Because, you know what, I think he blames himself for the bomb, too."

"Then we'd better set him straight," Grace declared, sounding more like herself.

"We'd better."

— H50 —

Steve's phone rang as he was following Rachel's car to the hospital to catch the tail end of visiting hours.

"Go, Chin."

"We got 'em."

"Both of them? Already? I'm impressed."

"The governor signed off on it, no problem. And we got lucky with the other. We ran into Riley on the way out of the hospital and asked for a recommendation. He volunteered to do it himself," Chin said. "I think he'd even do it for free. That missionary upbringing, you know."

"He won't have to. I got that fixed with Rachel. We're on our way to the hospital now." Steve explained about Grace's fears.

"Poor kid," Chin said.

"She'll be better once she talks to Danny, and so will he," Kono said over the speakerphone.

In their respective cars, the Five-0 folks all smiled. The love between Danno and Grace was enough to turn the hardest heart to mush.

"Let's go cheer up our patient," Steve ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the others answered willingly.

— H50 —

The adults stood back and let Grace work her magic on her father. She clung to his good hand and apologized. When he understood that Grace felt guilty, Danny did the only honorable thing. He lied to his daughter.

"Baby, if that bump had caused the explosion, it would have blown up right then. The bomb was probably on a timer from when I opened the door. Right?" he appealed to Steve.

The commander had his partner's back. "Your father's right," he told Grace.

Relieved of her worry, Grace chattered about how she was going to help take care of Danny while he recovered. "I can make sandwiches and cookies and wash the dishes."

"I don't know, monkey," Danny said uncertainly, his eyes on Rachel.

Seeing Danny and Grace together had put her at peace with the decision Steve had forced on her.

"Your father will need to rest, Grace. But we'll definitely have to make up for that weekend you missed," she said. At Danny's hopeful, disbelieving look, she added, "Steven persuaded me that this is one of the unavoidable risks of Grace having prominent parents. Risks like carjacking."

Danny's eyes went to Steve who just shrugged a 'no big t'ing' shrug.

"Come on, Grace. It's past your bedtime. We'll see your father tomorrow evening, after he gets home." Dr. Sampson planned to release Danny as soon as he came on duty at 5.

"I'll need your help when I get home, monkey," Danny admitted to his daughter. He patted his sling-covered left arm.

"Well … we've made arrangements for that, if it's OK with you," Kono said with mild unease.

Chin gestured toward the door and took up the story, "We found someone who can stay with you for a couple of days."

"Do the cooking and the heavy lifting," paramedic Ab Riley said, poking his head around the doorframe. "All those things that are tricky when one arm is in a sling. I can fill out insurance forms, too."

"Riley!"

The paramedic bowed. "I can cook. I can clean. And I need to build up my treasures in heaven," the son of medical missionaries said seriously. "And the overtime won't hurt," he added with a grin.

"Overtime?" Danny was utterly — but pleasantly — confused.

"Mr. Edwards offered to pay me."

"Stan?"

"Stanley said, if he can come to you for help, you can come to him," Rachel said. "We're family Danny, like it or not."

"My complicated family," Danny moaned. He grinned at his daughter. "But it's worth it."

Rachel, Grace and Riley departed with promises to see Danny after he was released, leaving the Five-0 team alone.

"We'd better go, too," Steve suggested.

"No." The patient was firm. "Why did Grace say you felt guilty about the bomb?"

"Because I'm in charge," Steve attempted.

Danny made a noise like a game show buzzer. "Lie. The suspect is being evasive."

"He's too good at reading people, boss," Chin said. "You'd better come clean. Danny might see something we haven't."

"He'll have to know eventually," Kono added.

"Know what?" Now Danny was deeply suspicious.

Steve took a deep breath. "The caller said the bomber thought the Camaro was my car." Steve squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see magma rising behind Danny's eyes.

"Didn't I tell you to read that book, 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'?"

Steve opened one eye. Danny appeared conflicted, with some other emotion watering down his anger.

"You're not mad?"

"I'm mad. But right now I'm more mad at the bomber than I am at you, Steven. Enjoy it while you can." He pointed at Chin. "You, tell me what the caller said."

"He said he wanted to warn you about the bomb, but he probably wouldn't have warned Steve if the Camaro had been his car."

"No, no, no. I want his exact words."

Chin paused, marshaled his memory, and said, "He said, 'Warn Detective Williams that there's a bomb in his car.' And I told Steve, who called you; then I asked the caller why and he said, 'Because they thought it belonged to McGarrett. If it was McGarrett, I would not have worried. But Detective Williams and I have a bond of trust.' Then he hung up. The call came from a burn phone. We found it in a trashcan. No prints. The forensics guys haven't finished processing the evidence from the explosion, so we don't have signature to match with a bomber."

"We don't have any ID on the bomber or the caller," Kono confessed. "Of course, we've been kinda distracted." She patted Danny's foot.

Danny tilted his head at Chin. "The caller said we have a 'bond of trust'?"

"Yes, why, does that mean something?" Chin asked eagerly.

Danny lay back on his pillow. "It was Sang Min."

"Sang Min!" Steve exclaimed.

Danny nodded. "He said that when I cuffed him in the Camaro, just before he stole it."

Sang Min! That wasn't hopeful. They'd been trying to find him for months with no success.

Steve rubbed his head. "Well, that gives us a place to start. Let's see if he has any connection with known bombers."

Steve started to move toward the door, but Danny caught his arm. His fingers gripped so tightly, Steve protested the pain. Danny eased his grasp, but didn't release his friend's wrist.

"Steve. Thank you." Considering he'd expected to be bawled out, McGarrett looked baffled. Danny elaborated, "In the rules of civilized society, when a person saves your life, it's considered polite to say 'thank you.'"

"You mean the phone call?"

Danny blew through his lower lip, making the hair that had fallen in his eyes dance. "No, I don't mean the call. Not that I don't appreciate it, because I do. I meant the business with Rachel. Thanks."

Danny often said he'd have no reason for being without Grace.

Steve gripped his shoulder. "You can pay me back by answering a question," Steve said. "How did you get a concussion from spaghetti sauce?"

Danny looked at him the way a schoolteacher looks at a student who hasn't even tried to do his homework. "It was in a can!" he said, as if it was obvious.

— H50 —

As promised, Dr. Sampson had examined Danny when he came on duty the next day and released the detective to go home. As they waited for the nurse to wheel Danny out, Chin and Kono confessed failure in the investigation.

"We need another experienced detective to help us," Kono hinted.

Danny had something else on his mind.

"Where's Steve?" he asked suspiciously.

"He's bringing the car around," Chin said.

Danny grimaced at the thought of climbing one-handed into Steve's Silverado.

Riley was waiting in the lobby. He joined them as they went out to the driveway. Waiting for them was a silver Chevrolet Camaro with a sunroof — exactly the same model as the one that had blown up. Standing beside it wearing a borrowed chauffeur's hat, Steve McGarrett swung the door open.

"Your ride, sir."

Danny gaped at the car, at Steve, at Chin and at Kono.

"The governor decided the loss of your car was job related. She signed off on the replacement. Kono and I spent half the day yesterday tracking down the same make and model," Chin said.

"Of course, it doesn't have the pursuit package, yet," Kono said. "But we can get that installed before you're ready to drive again."

Danny ran his hand over the smooth finish of the open passenger door. "I thought I left all my family in Jersey," he said in a tight voice.

— H50 —

Before they could help him into the car, Danny's newly returned cell phone rang. The caller was unknown. The detective had a suspicion who it was even before he answered it.

"Glad you're feeling better, detective." The voice was clouded with static, but Danny knew it.

"You can forget the sound effects, Sang Min. I know it's you."

Danny's words sent McGarrett scrambling for his phone, demanding a trace. Danny rolled his eyes — as if Sang Min didn't know that old trick.

Sang Min laughed. His voice came through clear and distinctive.

"You are too clever for me, detective."

"Thanks for the save," Danny said. "Can I return the favor? Give yourself up and I will do everything in my power to help you."

Sang Min chuckled as if Danny had made a joke.

"No, really. I know the governor," Danny said drily. "I'll ask her to grant you a pardon."

Danny ignored the extremely odd looks he was getting from his Five-0 friends.

"Just because I saved your life?" Sang Min joked uncertainly.

"My life?" Danny's voice rose; then choked with emotion. "Your spies are letting you down. My daughter was climbing into my car when you called. My daughter!" Danny swallowed hard and batted away Riley's hand as the paramedic tried to check the pulse of his agitated patient. "I mean it, Sang Min. I will beg the governor on my knees to grant you a pardon, but you have to turn yourself in. Think about it," the detective said urgently. "You could be with your wife and son again."

The passion and patent truthfulness in Danny's voice caught Sang Min off guard and the mention of his family grabbed him by the throat. He couldn't speak.

"I mean it. It's your chance to live a normal life again."

Sang Min sighed. "I believe you, detective. You are an honorable man. But my life was never normal and I'm afraid I have walked too far on this path to turn back now."

Danny wiped his eyes. "So be it," he said wearily.

Steve was pointing at his phone, indicating that they'd traced the call.

"You've been awfully chatty today," Danny said suspiciously.

"But you have been doing all the talking," Sang Min pointed out. "I thought I would send you a get well present. I'm sure Commander McGarrett knows how to find it by now."

"Sang Min."

"Goodbye, detective. We are even now." The phone went dead.

"No, I owe you," Danny said quietly. He slumped back in the wheelchair.

His friends were gearing up for a raid on the phone location.

"Steve, be careful," Danny said. "Sang Min let you trace that call. He doesn't like you as much as he likes me."

Steve gestured "yeah, yeah, whatever."

"If you can't be careful for your sake, be careful for Kono's. He's threatened her twice, you know."

The priming of Chin's shotgun was Danny's answer. "I haven't forgotten," Kono's cousin said. "And I don't like Sang Min as much as you do."

"And get away from my new car," Danny added when Steve cast a longing look at the Camaro. "It's not going on a raid without me."

"All right. Peace. Chin, you drive." That made sense, because Chin had a load of tactical gear in the back of his Traverse, which was in a nearby parking lot.

"I still got to drive it before you did, Danny," Steve taunted in a deliberately childish way. He put the chauffeur's cap on Riley's head. "See you later," the commander said.

"Oh, I hope not," the paramedic answered.

They watched the Five-0 team race away. "What do you think they're going to find?" Riley asked.

"My mother had a cat," Danny said. "If it liked you, it would leave presents on your bed — dead mice, dead birds. One time it was a half-dead crow. That was a memorable and messy afternoon. Anyway, I think Sang Min is a lot like that cat. I think he left me a dead car bomber as a get well present."

"At least it's original," Riley said. "Better than flowers."

"True and true," Danny agreed. He sighed. "I guess there are some people you just can't save."

The paramedic had confronted that quandary before. He gently touched the bandage on Danny's head. "Save the ones you can," he reminded his patient, as he flipped up the footplates so Danny could stand.

"Right." Danny gestured at the Camaro. "Home, James."

Absalom Riley got a faraway look in his eyes as he supervised Danny's short, successful walk to the passenger seat. "James, now that's a nice Biblical name," he mused.

Danny rolled his eyes, breathed in the new car smell, and smiled at the new picture of Grace that had been posted above the visor and the small, but visible, "Welcome to New Jersey" pin that was fastened next to it. His new car. He was feeling better every second.

The End