All good things must come to an end.
Note: All the souvenirs are real, though a couple are from years past.

Chapter 18

Saturday, Day 8 – Back to work

"Mommy!" Grace exclaimed in delight. She ran and threw her arms around her mother, chattering about the trip. "I brought you a present. It's a picture frame and you can pick which photo you want after Daddy prints out the best ones."

Rachel smiled fondly and smoothed her daughter's hair. "That's nice, Grace. We'll have fun picking the perfect photo."

The expression she turned on Danny was darker than the one she gave her daughter. Not wanting to argue in front of Grace, their sharp exchange took place in glares: "How could you?" "What did you want me to do!"

The child of divorce was experienced at reading her parents' moods, but didn't know what she could do about it until she saw someone lurking at the edge of the crowd. "Uncle Steve!"

She ran to her father's partner. "Your sister gave me something to give to you."

"What's that?" Steve asked, kneeling down to child level.

"This." Grace threw her arms around Steve in a strong and loving hug.

Steve grinned and hugged her back.

"I gave her one from you," Grace said in his ear.

"Then I should pay you back," he answered, lifting her off the ground in an all-consuming embrace and spinning her around, before he set her on her feet again.

"I think you might have change coming from that hug," Danny told Steve. This loving scene dissolved his Rachel-inspired bad temper. "That was a pretty good one."

"Not as good as a Grace hug. It takes two McGarrett hugs to equal one Grace hug," Steve responded, taking Grace's hand and leading her back to the others.

Even Rachel was smiling now.

Danny saw their bags approaching and pounced, grabbing his while Steve caught Grace's. The commander turned the handle over to Rachel and they all began walking toward the exit.

They separated on the street, but Grace had to give her father one more hug.

"Thank you, Danno," she said. And she whispered in his ear, because she didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings, "Best vacation ever!"

Steve dropped Danny at his apartment and lingered, asking if he enjoyed the trip, despite the occasional police interruptions.

"Best vacation ever," Danny said, echoing Grace's words.

"Bring me anything?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows and glancing at Danny's suitcase.

Danny laughed and shooed his friend out the door. You get your presents on Monday with everyone else. Steve gave an exaggerated pout.

"Monday," Danny said in his best Daddy voice. "Anyway, I need to get some pictures printed up first."

"OK, see you Monday. Glad you're back, partner."

Sunday, Honolulu, last day of vacation

Danny spent Saturday evening sorting out the photos he wanted to print up. Sunday morning, he loaded them on a memory card and took them to a drugstore. Sure he could have printed them himself (if he'd had a printer) but the prints would last longer if done on professional equipment. The photo kiosk walked him through the process and he ended up with a thick handful of 4x6s and several larger 5x7s.

He took Grace and Rachel's share of the photos to their house, returning Grace's laptop at the same time so she could work on her report. Rachel exclaimed over the pictures (all Grace and no Danny) and, as predicted, adored the one with Alice in Wonderland and the Teacups.

"I made a print for your mom, too, since she doesn't have an email account."

"Thank you, Daniel. That was very thoughtful."

Danny also gave Rachel two small, plastic photo albums with Disneyland pictures on the cover. Each folder would hold about a dozen photos, just enough to mail to grandmother or to carry around to show your friends.

Grace liked her pictures, too, preferring the ones with Danny included. She laughed when she showed her mother the one of Danny recoiling from the pineapple whip and the one with him and Duff covered with powdered sugar. But she hid the one with Danny rescuing the girl in the pool, because she was afraid it would make her mother scared again. That was Grace's special hero photo.

After leaving the Edwards home, Danny made one more stop to give Chin the watch for Malia, because that was private; but he warned his friend he'd have to wait until Monday to get his own presents.

Then Danny went home to finish his vacation by doing laundry and watching the Yankees win again, this time on TV. Seated in front of the TV, he picked out his favorite photos to fill a frame he'd brought from Disneyland. It had spaces for several shots, though not enough for all his favorites. He had to be stern with himself to pick the top 10. When he was done, he hung it on the wall where he could see it from the couch and the small kitchen table.

Monday, Honolulu, Back to work (sigh)

First Danny detoured by way of HPD to set a Minnie Mouse doll on Sgt. Lukela's desk.

"Don't you play with that," he jokingly warned the burly young officer on duty at the moment. "That's for Duke's granddaughter."

"I'll guard it with my life!" the young man swore with a grin.

Danny carried two big bags emblazoned with Disneyland logos into Five-0 headquarters. The other three poured from their offices to greet him.

"Did you miss me? Or do you just want your presents?" Danny joked.

"Presents!" his three friends chorused.

Danny pretended to scowl and take away the bags. Kono laughed and gave him a big hug. "We missed you, brah," she said. "We missed you a lot!"

Chin agreed. Shaking Danny's hand warmly, as if he hadn't seen him the day before, he said, "Yeah, we only closed one case while you were gone and that was because you caught Toma in California."

"Wait," Steve protested. "We only had one case while Danny was gone."

Kono ignored her boss. "See, we can't manage without you," she told Danny. "Now, what'd you bring me?"

"OK, first this. I was afraid they were going to get crushed in my suitcase, so I packed them in a cardboard box." He pulled a smaller Disneyland bag out of the larger bag and produced a set of mouse ears. The traditional black cap with black plastic ears and a Disneyland logo on the front.

"This is mine, classic basic black," Danny said. "This one is for Chin, our computer wiz."

Laid-back, reserved Chin Ho Kelly cracked up when Danny handed him a set of Star Tours inspired mouse ears where the design of the cap resembled the domed top of R2-D2's head. Danny turned the hat so they could see "Chin Ho" embroidered on the back in cursive gold thread.

"For the lady, we have a little bling," Danny continued, producing a set of princess mouse ears in pastel blue decorated with sparkles and frothy material with "Kono" embroidered on the back in dark blue. "Grace got one just like this, but in pink."

Steve was still wondering if he was going to get a present or if he'd pissed off his partner by making him work. The commander brightened when Danny said, "And for you, Super SEAL … Well, I couldn't find camouflage, but this is the next best thing."

They were pirate mouse ears, with a skull and crossbones and an eye patch pattern and "Steven" embroidered in blood red.

Steve took it with a grin as bright as any child's. "So you did remember it's Navy, not Army."

Danny reached back into the bag. "More?" Kono asked. She didn't expect a lot, because Danny never had a lot of money to spare.

"Maybe I got carried away," Danny admitted. He loved buying presents for people. "These are for you, from Huntington Beach, and these are from Disneyland." He handed over a collection of Surf City magnets, a Surf City T-shirt/beach cover-up and the pin of Minnie Mouse surfing with a dolphin.

Kono adored them all. She even adored the fastener on the pin back. The rubber piece was shaped like mouse ears.

"Then for the man who introduced me to cocoa puffs," Danny handed over a sampler with Disneyland fudge in many flavors. "They make it in the candy store window. Made me crazy every time I walked by." Danny also gave Chin a T-shirt with an understated Disneyland logo over the pocket.

For Steve the grill master, Danny handed over the Mickey Mouse barbecue apron and spatula, and the bag of Mickey pasta that made all the Five-0 folks grin.

"I know what we're having with our steaks next Saturday," Kono said, shamelessly inviting everyone over to Steve's house.

Danny wasn't finished yet.

"And ..." He rummaged in the bag and pulled out a Disney picture frame with Tinkerbell hovering over the castle. "No, not this one. This is mine." The 5x7 photo showed Danny and Grace in front of the Submarine lagoon with the purple Monorail curving above. While they were admiring the Disney photographer's workmanship, Danny brought out the other picture frame, this one with Disney's big five, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and, of course, his partner's namesake Goofy, scattered around the edge.

"Is that the picture of you and Grace with Mickey that you promised me?" Steve asked, remembering their conversation of a week ago.

"Not exactly. I felt weird giving you a picture of myself. Despite what people say, we are not married."

"And never will be," Steve agreed promptly.

"Exactly! Sooo…" Danny turned the photo so Steve could see. The grateful waitress had taken it in the steakhouse. It showed Danny and Mary Ann hugging a grinning Grace in between them.

Danny held one finger pressed to his lips, nervously waiting.

Steve's heart clenched. This was his family right here, he realized: his sister, his niece and the brother he'd always wanted.

"Thanks, man," he said sincerely in a voice that broke with emotion. Danny shuffled his feet in pleased embarrassment.

"Can we see the rest of your pictures?" Kono asked, deliberately breaking up the tension.

Grateful for the interruption, Danny spread out a selection of prints, inviting his friends to take any they wanted. The pineapple whip photo was a hit, just as he'd expected. Everybody wanted one, but he'd gotten enough to go around. Chin complimented the photography as he picked out a couple of artistic photos of the park. Steve gravitated to the "Navy" photos, including the sailing ship Columbia and the Nemo submarines. Kono went for the cute Grace and Danny photos, not the ones taken by the professional photographer, but the ones father and daughter had taken of each other.

"So, I take it you and Grace had a good time," Steve said.

At school, Grace was showing off one of the mini albums to her friends. It had a nice selection of pictures of her and her father at Disneyland, the baseball game and Huntington Beach. Her own special album was at home in her treasure box. It had 13 photos, all of her father, with the pool rescue photo hidden behind another. It included the pineapple whip picture, the one with Duff, one she took at the Angels-I-mean-Yankees game, one on the Huntington Beach Pier and a couple taken during their VIP day at the resort. The pride of the album showed Danno riding in the parade surrounded by Disney heroes — just the way she always thought of him.

"Was it fun?" one of Grace's friends asked her.

All unknowing, at the same moment, father and daughter gave their friends the same answer: "Best vacation ever!"

The End

A/N: Thanks for sticking with me on this fluffy adventure. Got a couple stories in the works, one of which may end up as long as this one. But typing with carpal tunnel syndrome is slow work, so bear with me. See you soon.