Disclaimer: All rights and characters of Hawaii Five-0 are the property of Leonard Freeman and CBS. I am not profiting in any way by writing this story.

*Note: This story takes place in the apartment Danny is renting in the season 2 episode Lapa' au. Also, special mention must go out to Hisbabygirl011 for her help in providing this story's cover pic. Thanks so much, Sweetie!

Gracie's Hearts

His little girl was growing up.

Not a lot, thank you very much Mother Nature, but just a little. She was a little taller. Her arms and legs were a little longer. Her chubby monkey cheeks had become a little thinner. Maybe to other people she was still just a regular little girl, but to Danny, Grace wasn't so little anymore.

Some days, though, Danny was able to fool himself into not noticing. Days like today, for instance. They had spent the afternoon at the beach, and Grace had demanded piggy-back rides and sandcastles and splash fights. She had giggled and squealed and pinched and tickled. Yup, with days like this, it wasn't hard at all for Danny to ignore the maturity.

Grace was still a ball of energy when Danny drove them back to his place. She hopped out of the Camero almost before it had stopped moving and then ran straight up the stairs to Danny's apartment. By the time he had caught up to her she was already in front of the door, wrapped up in her Angry Birds beach towel and wearing an impatient expression.

"Danno! Hurry!" she told him, jiggling the door handle.

Hurry? Danny carried their enormous beach bag, a cooler and Grace's boogie board while trying to juggle two cell phones and his car keys. His damp t-shirt and sand-saturated swimming trunks also didn't help the situation much. "Easy, Monkey, easy. I'm right here."

She surprised him by grabbing the phones and keys out of his hands and then practically mowing down the front door to get inside. Danny stood there for a couple of seconds, bewildered, before Grace came back out and grabbed the hand that held the beach bag. "Come on! We have to get ready!"

"Okay!" Danny allowed her to tug him inside and then he closed the door behind them. "When did you get so impatient, huh? And what's up with all the energy? You're usually wiped out when we get back from the beach."

Grace didn't answer and instead tugged her father down the narrow hall into the tiny living room. Once there, she kicked her flip-flops off next to the cloth-covered couch and dropped the keys and her phone on one of its cushions. Then she handed Danny his phone and said, "You clean up first, okay? You're faster at it."

"What, you don't think salt water and two tons of sand are a good look for me?" He dropped everything he'd been holding and struck a pose.

"Dannooooo!"

"Jeez! Okay, I'm going, I'm going!" He started back down the hall toward the bathroom and then, over his shoulder, added, "Please put the bag and board in the room and grab some clothes. I'll fill up the tub for you when I'm done. Okay?"

"Okay," Grace echoed, immediately bending to retrieve said items and then hurrying down the hall herself.

Danny closed the bathroom door just as she darted to her right and into the bedroom. For a moment, Danny considered opening the door and asking her again what was up. Then he changed his mind and shook his head. Nothing was up. They were going to Ailani's. Grace always got excited about the pizza there. She always got excited about pizza, period. Nothing new there.

The bathroom was a small affair with a low sink and mirror, one cracked cupboard and a toilet perched much too close to the bathtub. But Danny didn't really mind it. He was used to these sorts of accommodations and hey, the water worked and the cupboard shelves held. What more did a guy's bathroom need?

Plus, the place wasn't haunted. Bonus.

The sound of Grace's cell phone pulled Danny from his thoughts and he paused, shirt halfway over his head. That wasn't Miley Cyrus he was hearing.

Grace's footsteps ran back into the living room. After a moment, the song cut off but Danny didn't hear her say hello. What he did hear, however, was the phone ring again moments later and then quickly going silent. Curious, he opened the door and said, "Grace?"

She appeared at the end of the hallway, still wrapped up in her towel. Her backpack and phone were in her hands.

Danny held up two fingers. "Okay, two questions. One, who keeps calling? And two, that's not Miley I was hearing so who did you kidnap and stuff in your bag this time?"

Grace giggled and held up her phone. "It's Taylor Swift, Daddy."

"Oh, Swifty, very cool," Danny replied, nodding. "What's the name of the song?"

Grace's eyes widened but before she could answer, the phone rang for the third time and she hurriedly hit the 'Ignore' button.

Now concerned, Danny laid a hand on the door jamb and said, "Okay, who keeps calling?"

Grace looked down at the discolored linoleum. "Dylan. But I don't want to talk to him."

It was almost comical to Danny how he went from burning rage to instant relief in just a few of Grace's syllables. He then relaxed the death grip he had put on the door jamb and asked, "Why? Not that I'm not happy or anything," he added in a rush, "I mean, I am Daddy here and the whole 'boy' thing is just…well, you know. We've talked about it, right?"

She still refused to raise her head. "Yes".

Hating her discomfort, Danny walked over and knelt in front of her. "Hey you, look at me." He lifted her chin and then smiled when their eyes met. "Listen, if you don't want to talk to or about Dylan that's fine. It's fantastic, actually. So why don't you just put your phone in your bag and finish getting your clothes together while I get to that shower. Then in about ten minutes we'll switch, okay?"

Grace's face brightened. "And then we go out for pizza with Steven."

"You got it, Monkey-face. Now give me a hug, all right?"

She did and then headed for the bedroom, unzipping the front part of her backpack along the way. Danny watched her for a second longer before walking back into the bathroom.

As soon as he closed the door his own cell phone rang. Danny picked it up from the sink, noted the caller and then answered with, "Hey."

"Hey partner," Steve's voice replied. "Listen, I have to pick something up real quick but after that I'll be heading over. Just wanted to give you and Gracie the heads-up."

"Really? Wow, that is…weirdly considerate of you, buddy. Thanks. Are we getting the usual tonight?"

"Yeah, sure," was Steve's easy reply. "Double pineapple for me and Gracie and triple for you."

"Funny," Danny told him as he fished two towels out of the cupboard. "Now please feel free to go to hell. I hear they're selling one-way tickets, cheap."

"Only if you promise to wear something blue tonight. You know how much I love you in blue, don't you, Danno?"

"Oh, two for two. Cute. And by the way, you still aren't funny." Danny ended the call and set his phone and the towels in the sink. Then he turned on the shower.

Approximately ten minutes later he emerged sand and salt water-free. He then tied one of the towels around his waist and opened the door. "Grace? It's your turn. Do you want bubbles?"

She came out of the bedroom, arms loaded with clothes and soap and hair accessories. An oversized pink hairbrush was tucked under one of her arms. "No, I want to shower, too. It's faster."

"Faster?" Danny repeated as he stepped aside to let her in. "Man, you really are in a hurry. What, have you been so pizza deprived lately that you're going through withdrawals?"

"What are 'withdrawals'?"

Ack, Danny had forgotten who he was talking to. He rubbed his face. "Nothing, never mind." He then restarted the shower for her and tested the temperature before continuing with, "Okay, hop in. Your towel is in the sink."

"Thank you, Danno."

"You're welcome."

He picked up his phone and headed into the bedroom. It housed the same dull paint on the walls as the living room, and was barely big enough to accommodate his new huge bed and one lone dresser. After a minute, Danny tossed a pair of boxers, some slacks and a white polo shirt next to Grace's bag on the bed and then proceeded to dry himself off.

He was fully dressed and about to step into a pair of sneakers when he heard Taylor Swift's voice. "The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name. It's beautiful, wonderful, don't you ever change."

It stopped there and Danny glared at the backpack. Just how many times was Stalker Kid going to call? Hell, how many times had he called already?

Danny walked back toward the bed and then stopped to consider. The one time he had dumped Grace's phone he hadn't liked what he'd discovered at all. So what might he possibly find this time around? Fifty missed calls? A hundred?

And what about text messages?

Oh please, Danny prayed. Please no text messages. I will have to kill this kid if I end up finding something...something…

That convinced him. Danny picked up the backpack, unzipped the front pocket and shook out the contents.

An array of paints, stickers, and paper hearts landed on the faded green blanket. Danny checked to make sure everything was out before setting the bag back down. Grace's cell wasn't immediately visible among the jumble of objects, so he bent over and began rifling through the pile.

He had just found it when something else caught his eye, and he froze.

One of the paper hearts was made of orange construction paper, decorated with painted pink and purple hearts and stars. But that wasn't what had caught Danny's attention. No, it was the name painted across the bottom of the heart.

Steven McGarrett.

Danny picked it up and discovered another heart below it. This one was made of lined paper with sparkles that consisted of two painted names: Steve McGarrett and-Danny felt his stomach clench-Grace McGarrett.

The oxygen level in the room seemed to drop, and Danny found himself breathing heavily through his nose. He picked up the second heart and glanced between it and the first. This was why Grace had been so wired. Not because of the beach or Ailani's pizza, Danny realized, but because of-

Taylor Swift's voice cut through Danny's thoughts and he nearly dropped the hearts in surprise. "The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name. It's beautiful, wonderful, don't you ever change. Hey Steven, why are people always leaving? I think you and I should stay the same…"

The front door opened behind him and three loud knocks filled the air. "Child Protective Services," an all-too familiar voice announced.

Danny tightened his grip on the hearts and slowly turned around. Steve gave him a nod and then closed the door. A large white lily was in his hand.

Before Danny could say anything, the bathroom door opened up and Grace poked her wet head out into the hallway. Then there was a great cry of "Steven!" as she rushed out in jeans, a blue sweater and bare feet.

The grip on the hearts became unforgiving as Danny watched his partner pull her up into a giant bear hug and say, "Hey, sweetheart."

To be concluded in Chapter Two