Danny had been shot. Again. And although it wasn't a life threatening wound, Steve knew he would never hear the end of it. Mostly because he never heard the end of any wound Danny had incurred during their four year partnership. It didn't really matter who was at fault, the blame always fell on Steve. He was okay with that, though. They had caught their suspect and were on their way to finding justice for the victim. Steve was okay with that and relieved that Danny was okay.
The only problem was that tonight was the annual Father/Daughter dance at Grace's school and Danny had promised to be there just as he had done for the past three years without fail. But tonight, Danny was lying in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound to his leg from the altercation earlier in the day.
Steve assured him that he would take care of everything. He would pick Grace up and "stand in" for Danny at this all important event in Grace's life. He didn't really know what to expect, but Danny had made him promise that he would 1) wear a suit and 2) treat his little girl to the time of her life that night.
Not one to disappoint, Steve had shown up at Rachel and Grace's house as promised. He rang the doorbell, and as Rachel answered the door she was impressed to see Steve standing there in a suit and tie with flowers in hand.
"Hey Rachel. I'm here to pick up Gracie." He smiled at Rachel.
Hearing her uncle Steve's voice, Grace ran to Steve and threw her arms around him.
"Uncle Steve! I'm so glad you came!" she said.
"I wouldn't have missed it!" Steve handed her the flowers, "These are for you."
Then, held her back so he could look at her in the beautiful new dress she had bought for the occasion.
"You look beautiful, sweetie."
Grace smiled sweetly up at Steve,
"Thank you. You look nice too. I hardly ever see you in a suit."
"Well, I only dress up for special occasions and this is definitely one of those times. Listen, maybe after the dance I can take you by the hospital to see Danno if it's okay with your Mom."
He turned to Rachel who shook her head in agreement.
"She was supposed to stay with Danny tonight," replied Rachel, "but given the circumstances, I can change our plans so you can bring her back here when you're done."
Steve looked down at the sweet girl standing with her arms around him and then looked back at Rachel.
"Gracie can stay with me, if that's okay. That way you and Stan won't have to change your plans. I can take her back by to see Danny again in the morning and then bring her home tomorrow afternoon."
Rachel looked at Steve with gratefully.
"That would be great. I know Danny and Grace would both appreciate that." Then looking at Grace, she said, "Why don't you go get your things, sweetheart. You can stay with Uncle Steve tonight if you want."
Grace ran to get her overnight bag and returned to leave with Steve and head out to the dance. Steve took the bag from her hand and held his other arm out to her so she could take his hand.
"This way, my lady." He said as he pretended to be very gallant, "Your chariot to the ball is waiting." Grace smiled adoringly up at Steve as he led her to her truck and got her settled inside.
Once the arrived at Grace's school and checked in, the headed towards the gym which had been turned into a pretend ballroom for the night. Grace immediately found a few of her friends who were also there with their fathers and introductions were made as they found a table to claim for the night. One friend in particular named Lucy asked Grace and Steve to sit at the same table with her and her dad, so they happily obliged. Lucy had been crushing on Steve ever since he'd been her "knight in shining armor" on an Aloha Girls campout last year. Danny and Steve had been chaperones on the trip when Steve and Lucy had both been kidnapped by a fugitive. Steve had saved the day…..and Lucy…..and she had sworn she was going to marry him someday.
Grace grabbed Steve hand and looked up at him with her sweet smile and big brown eyes, "Dance with me, Uncle Steve?" she asked. Steve wouldn't have turned down that face for anything. Besides, it just so happened that he was a pretty good dancer on slow songs.
"I would love to, Gracie. Let's go."
Then looking over at Lucy, he said, "Save a dance for me, Lucy and I'll get you before the dance is over, okay?" Lucy looked like it was the best news she had heard in her young life as her cheeks flushed a little and she shook her head eagerly.
Then, Steve led Grace out to the dance floor as they began a slow dance together with other father/daughter pairs joining in as well.
"You dance pretty good." Grace admired. "Danno doesn't really like to dance, but he always comes with me anyway."
"Danno would do anything for you, ya know. And so would I. I'm really sorry he couldn't be here with you tonight, Grace. I'm sure he'll make it up to you somehow." Steve winked at her.
"It's okay." Grace said. "I like being here with you too! You're a lot taller than Daddy, though."
They both laughed at that. They continued to dance together until the song ended and they decided to go get some refreshments from the snack table that had been set up.
One of the mothers who had a hand in getting the event organized was there handing out drinks to the guests when she saw Grace and Steve approach. She smiled her most dazzling smile at the handsome man in the dark suit approaching with Grace.
Her eyes never left Steve.
"Well, hello Grace. Who is this with you tonight?"
"This is my Uncle Steve, Ms. Norwood. My daddy had an accident at work today and couldn't be here tonight, so Steve came with me instead."
"Well isn't that nice of Uncle Steve. We're happy to have you here."
She was giving him her most flirtatious look as she reached out to shake his hand. Grace noticed with some annoyance that she had leaned over slightly to give Steve a view of her very obvious cleavage. Steve seemed oblivious to it as he shook her hand in return.
"Steve McGarrett. It's nice to meet you. And I wouldn't have let Gracie miss this for anything. She's too important to me," he replied.
'Ms. Norwood' looked as if she might melt right into a puddle on the spot as Steve freed his hand from her grasp to put it on Grace's back and lead her back to their table to enjoy their refreshments. Once they got out of earshot, Grace looked up at Steve.
"Be careful of her, Uncle Steve."
Steve was curious about that comment.
"What do you mean?" he asked the little girl.
"I noticed how she was trying to get you to look down her shirt. And I've heard some of the other moms say she's been married three times already and is hunting for her next husband now. She was flirting with you, so she must wanna get her hooks in you."
Steve couldn't help but laugh at the little girl's take on the situation.
"Get her hooks in me?" he raised his eyebrows in curiosity.
"Yeah, whatever that means. I've heard some of my friends say that's what she does when she finds a guy she likes. She gets her hooks in them and marries them before they know what happened."
"You're pretty perceptive, aren't you Gracie? But you probably shouldn't repeat things like that when you hear them. It's not really nice to gossip. Besides, I'm here with you tonight, so nobody is getting their hooks in me. I promise."
He kissed her on top of her head as they finished their food and decided to dance some more.
Steve and Grace enjoyed the night together, and Steve eventually made Lucy's night by dancing with her as well. Before they knew it, it was time to go. After telling everyone goodbye, they got back in to Steve's truck to head to the hospital and visit Danny before calling it a night.
They entered Danny's room and Grace ran up to her dad,
"Danno!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around him in the hospital bed.
"Hey Monkey. I've missed you. Did you have fun with Uncle Steve?"
"I had a great time. Uncle Steve is a great dancer!" Grace replied.
"Well, don't get any ideas. Next year, I'M going with you again…..Unless I get shot, that is." He looked at his little girl who was the center of his world and felt better than he had all day. "You look beautiful, sweetie. You are just the medicine I needed. I'm glad you had a good time!"
Then he looked at Steve, "Thanks for standing in for me."
"Anytime, buddy. It's the least I could do. And I had a great time with Gracie."
For all the arguing they did, Danny was thankful Grace had someone like Steve in her life; Someone he could trust to look after her in situations like this when he couldn't be there himself. They might not always see eye to eye, but Danny knew he could always count on Steve when he needed him. Friendships like that were hard to find and he was grateful to have it with Steve and the rest of his Five-0 team.
