Title: The Reason

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: This actually started as an entry for the LJ drabble comm but I never could make it come back to the prompt. So it stands for what it is, which is complete and totally fluffy schmoop of the fluffiest and schmoopiest variety.

Summary: Danny hates the beach, but he loves Grace.

-o-

To Danny, there's not much about the beach to love. If he wants to get wet, he'll take a shower, and sand just gets everywhere, especially places Danny doesn't want it. Combining the two is an even worse notion, because if he wanted to get messy, he'd just show up to work and let Steve's penchant for trouble do the job for him.

Steve's tried to talk him into going to the beach, and with Chin's eye rolling and Kono's encouragement, he's consented to shorts and bare feet in the surf after hours, but that's as much of Hawaii as Danny is willing to accede to for his team's humor.

But Gracie-Grace loves the beach. Loves splashing in the water, finding shells on the shore. She builds sand castles with moats and points out all the places where she'll play, where Danny will live, with Rachel and Step Stan on the other side, so she can see them all whenever she wants. She runs into the water, diving face first into the blue, and comes up spluttering and giggling, rolling in with the tide.

Danny hates the beach, but he loves Grace.

So when Grace dances in the water, a perfect pirouette, her ponytail whipping behind her, Danny can only clap, letting out a whoop and lauding the accomplishment as though she'd just scored a touchdown or hit a home-run.

When she runs to him, takes his hand, he can't refuse her "please, please, please" and he doesn't even want to.

And when she jumps into his arms, he just wants to hold her forever, no matter how wet or sandy she is.

This is the reason he came here, after all. Not for pristine beaches, blue waters, and clear skies. But for the smile on his daughter's face, the sound of her laugh, and the feeling of her hand in his as she pulls him away from everything he thought he wanted, everything he thought he loved, and into the sand and sea and beyond.