Hawaii Five-0

Becoming a Mother

I carried her over to my car and opened the passenger side door. I sat her on the seat. "Katie look, I know you don't want to go back to foster care, so I've decided that I'm going to adopt you myself," I said. A hopeful smile came across her face as she said, "Really? That'd be great!" She wrapped her arms around me and I said, "I love you so much kiddo." She hugged me even tighter and replied, "Love you too." I walked her over to where Danny was standing and said, "Hey is it ok if I take Katie home? She's had a rough day, obviously." "Yeah sure," he said. "Ok thanks. And by the way, Katie, this is Danny. Danny, this is Katie," I said. "Yeah I know who she is," Danny said putting an arm around Katie. I gave him a confused look. "She and Grace have been best friends since the first day Grace moved here," Danny explained. "We were both new to the island and so we got along pretty good after finding out that wasn't the only thing we had in common," said Katie. "Yep my house was practically Katie's 2nd home and Katie's house was Grace's 2nd home, too. Earlier today, I didn't even realize it was the Katie I've known for almost 6 years now," Danny said. "Oh ok," I said. "Hey can we all four have dinner tonight? Grace told me yesterday when we were texting before it happened that you two are together now," Katie said. "I think that's a wonderful idea," said Danny. "Speaking of Grace, where is she?" I asked. "She's with Rachel," he said. "Oh ok," I said. "So, I was thinking, we're obviously not breaking up anytime soon, so how about we move in together? There's a house out on Kailani Drive for sale that has 4 bedrooms 4 full bathrooms and its on discount price for law enforcement or past military," Danny said. I smiled. "That'd be nice. But we can just live in my house," I said. "No, I don't really mind to buy the house on Kailani," he said. "You sure?" I asked. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said. I had a sudden impulse to hug him, so I did. I hugged him tight, and the moment I felt his arms wrap around me, I felt all my worries melt away. I breathed in the smell of his cologne as I hugged him. 10 minutes passed, and I still hadn't let him go. He kissed me on top of the head. "We better get going, what time do you want to meet for dinner?" I asked. "How about the Grass Skirt Grill at 7:30?" he said. "Ok sounds good to me," I said. I waved goodbye and Katie and I walked to my car. We got in and I drove us toward the mall. I had to get a new outfit for Katie and I decided to get one for myself too, since it was 60% off the whole store. Katie got a cute pair of jeans, a black shirt that had a hibiscus printed anchor on the front, and some black strappy sandals. I got a pair of jeans, a red and black striped shirt, and a pair of black Vans. At 7 o'clock, we started heading toward the restaurant on the Kamehameha highway. We got there a little early so we sat in the car and talked for at least 20 minutes. We talked about anything and everything under the sun. Finally, at 7:30, Danny and Grace pulled in. Katie and I got out of the car. "Katie!" Grace said as she got out of Danny's car. Katie walked over to Grace and hugged her. They started talking and then Danny got out. He walked over to me and handed me a beautiful purple hibiscus flower. He tucked it behind me ear and smiled. I smiled back with a goofy grin. Dinner went good, and afterwards, I pulled Danny aside to talk to him. "Hey, do you care to keep Katie for like an hour?" I asked. "No I don't mind, what's wrong?" Danny said. "I just need to go get her clothes from the apartment and I don't want her coming with me. And I almost forgot, I have to go sign the adoption papers, so it may be 2 hours," I said. "Ok that's fine take your time," Danny said. I smiled and then said, "Hey Katie, you're going to be staying with Grace for a couple hours, I have some errands to run, so as soon as I'm done, I'll come get you." "Ok," she said, and I got into my car and sped off toward Miranda's old apartment. When I got inside, I felt a rush of blood flow by my ears and knew that there was no way I could stay in there. I started walking out of the room, and when I got through the door, the walking turned into a full on sprint. By the time I got to my car, I was out of breath and tears were flowing down my face. I got into my car and began to cry loudly, punching the steering wheel. After a few minutes of that, I started my car and drove to the police department. I signed the adoption papers and went back out to my car. I started the engine and turned on my favorite song. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Danny.
Me: Hello?
Danny: Hey. I just remembered that Grace has to go to her mom's tonight and she wanted me to ask if Katie could stay the night.
Me: Yeah that's fine with me if it's ok with Grace's mom and Katie.
Danny: Ok well I'll see you at my house.
Me: Wait what?
Danny: You just lost someone who was close to you. The least I can do is comfort you.
Me: I don't need you there every second of the day ok? I'm a big girl now incase you didn't know that.
I hung up the phone and threw it into the passenger seat. Tears streamed from my eyes. What had I just done? I'd pushed Danny away just like I did with everyone else. I drove the rest of the way home feeling guilty. The only good thing was that I was now Katie's adopted mom and I was happy about that.