I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

NOTE: Okay, so Steve story was a true one-shot, one chapter deal. Danny just isn't as easy for the muses to get a handle on. So it's a two-shot, two chapter event. Sans whump .. sorry (but not really) .. there was no place here for it; the muses did agree it to be completely unnessary. I bet it's already nearing the time when my DWOCD pals would LOVE for my job to be fraught with angst again. LOL! I do fear that there may be a connection.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

CHAPTER ONE

"Good!" The look on Steve's face after bursting out with the one word was not so quickly hidden. And Danny might have seen surprise, as well as a great deal of relief.

He said it on the heels of Danny just barely finishing a sentence about not following Rachel to Las Vegas. And frankly, Danny's realization about that even surprised him and he honestly felt the rush of liberation as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

When had THAT all changed? A few short months ago, he'd been ready to go back to New Jersey with Rachel. Sure he may have felt some guilt, but he would have happily cleaned up his case work and then bid a fond farewell to his team, his friends and island life. He would have helped Steve muck through his issues and stayed for as long as needed .. but then, he would have gladly run back to the East Coast where things were normal, familiar and predictable.

But when he admitted to Steve that Rachel and Stan were seriously thinking of relocating back to the mainland, the realization that he actually didn't want to leave was staggering.

And it was more than being tired of feeling like a beaten puppy following someone that had tossed it a bone or shown a moment's kindness. That seemingly spontaneous decision was definitely more than not wanting to move again or not having the energy to follow his ex-wife to another ridiculous place.

It likely had a great deal to do with Danny finally having had enough of being tossed around and taken advantage of. He had finally found the courage to stand his ground, dig in deep, and fight back 110 percent. And not only for Grace, but for himself because he was happy and there were now other important factors too.

Good, Steve had said it and he had meant it. Danny may have almost missed the matching expression, but he'd definitely heard the relieved and approving tone. And it was good because even with the stress of getting to that day, the ruling had been in his favor and he would not lose Grace. Even after his confusing, almost embarrassing ramble about not liking Hawaii. He still wouldn't lose Grace. Unable to stop his mouth, the words had popped out and he had honestly felt stupid since they suddenly sounded very wrong.

And it certainly would have hurt to lose her to yet another long distance move. But it would also hurt to lose Five-0 since that had become an equally important part of his existence. It defined him and Danny wasn't sure he could bear to not be part of the task force or now, to leave friends which had become a permanent extension of his being.

Plus, it would have broken his heart to put Grace through another selfish, adult-orchestrated, nasty power play which could do more long-term damage and harm. So this one very important time, Danny had dug in and made his statement and yes, he had quite unexpectedly won. But if he had lost, Danny realized that he would have had very serious second thoughts about picking up and returning to the mainland. That move back certainly would have held its own set of challenges especially after the Rick Peterson issue. Because obviously, not all of his Jersey peers would think Danny Williams was a good guy for turning in and taking the stand against one of their own regardless of the man's guilt. A request for a transfer back to his old life would have held a great deal of consequences. There was no 'old life' and he was deluding himself if he thought it could ever be that easy to resume something now long gone.

And Peterson proved that danger could and would follow the Detective anywhere he might go. So he couldn't blame any of that on the rock he was now living on in the middle of nowhere.

Oddly though if he had lost Grace to distance, Danny would have been able to cope with it because other things in his life were also good and balanced. Those things were part of the unrecognizable changes that slowly had wormed their way into his every day existence. Things that weren't actually 'things' but real people that had become as close as family. People like Steve, Chin and Kono .. Kamekona and even Max that had joined the growing fray of cohorts.

It was possible that the good changes had started to sneak their way into his life upon being teamed with Detective Meka Hanamoa since they'd had a natural affinity; regardless, the noticeable things in his life had started their inexplicable change with the advent of Five-0.

It was a Saturday morning, the day after his lawyer had called with the good news, and Danny was sitting in his new apartment. He, Denning and Steve had a mini celebration of sorts the night before. And he didn't have Grace that weekend and astonishingly enough, he was fine with it. In fact, he had zero plans for the entire weekend. Stretching happily, he put his feet up on the opposite chair and leaned back with his eyes closed. Placidly seated at the small kitchen table he was having a fairly decent cup of coffee and mulling over the brief conversation with his lawyer. He was also surprising himself with his newfound sense of peaceful balance within his universe.

"Good news. The judge ruled against Mrs. Edwards .. she can not take your daughter away from you."

"Good. Again." Danny muttered out loud with a mixture of relief, pride and a great deal of personal satisfaction. "It's all good."

He couldn't remember the last time he had ever said that word and meant it. Or, felt so content, relaxed and at home since the first rumblings of trouble in his own marriage. He'd finally unpacked his boxes and he'd found a place where he fit though it happened while he was kicking and screaming .. while he was fighting tooth and nail against fitting in with every loud fiber of his being. It had just taken him a very long time to admit it.

He was more than a cop here; even more than a detective. He had accidentally found himself in a unique place that fit his unique personality and he liked the contribution he could make on a daily basis.

So here he was on a peaceful Saturday morning completely alone but content in every aspect of his immediate existence. It was almost baffling because he never could have seen himself here …especially on the aforementioned pineapple-infested hell-hole smack dab in the middle of the great blue Pacific Ocean.

Originally, he had no choices left. No choice in the divorce which had picked him up and spat him out almost broken and defeated. And then no choice with what Rachel did next in moving to the other side of the world. Quite literally moving to an island in the middle of nowhere and away from everything familiar and predictable. Except of course, for Grace. Only she and his brother, Mattie, had kept him from total self-annihilation.

His world literally began, ended and revolved around his daughter. But Danny hadn't meant to actually redefine every other part of his life to be with her, and yet that was exactly what had happened.

His thought process had only gone as far as "I can be a cop anywhere" and if that meant moving to a god-forsaken island to be with his daughter, than so be it. So once Rachel announced the transition, his only next course of action was to put in for a transfer. Because yes, he could be a cop or a detective virtually anywhere as long as Grace was nearby.

But what happened next was completely out of his hands and two completely divergent worlds collided. Once again, he was informed that he no choice in the matter when Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett stepped foot on the Island's sand and then literally stood dripping from an afternoon rainstorm on his doorstep. And the words the man had so blithely stated had been absolutely the truth.

"You've got no choice Detective. The Governor gave me jurisdiction and I'm making you my partner."

"We're gonna get along great."

~ to be continued ~