Steve pulled in to pick Gracie up from school and found her standing by the sidewalk talking to a boy. Thinking that this must be the kid Danny told him about, Steve gave him a ‘once over’. Apparently, Gracie was full on into her first crush with a boy named “Tyler” and Danno was not happy about it. Steve had heard about it ad nauseum. He always tried to be the voice of reason during Danny’s ramblings. It was part of growing up….he said. They’re only 12…..he said. They were just kids, so how much trouble could they get into….he said.

Now sitting in the car watching Grace talking to “the kid”, Steve realized he didn’t like it either. Not one bit. So maybe Danny had a point and this boy was bad news. Steve quickly got out of the car and made his way to Grace….trying not to scowl.

She turned towards Steve and a big smile crossed her face. It surprised him how Grace’s sweet smile could melt him down to a pile of mush. He loved this little girl. He smiled back at her. “Hey Gracie. Ready to go?”

“Hey, Uncle Steve. Where’s Danno?” she asked.

“Danno got delayed at the doctor’s office, so he asked me to pick you up and bring you back to the office, okay?”

Grace shook her head. It wasn’t unusual for someone in her Five-0 ohana to pick her up if Danno couldn’t be there. She loved her Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono, but she had a special bond with her Uncle Steve and was always happiest when he was there to pick her up.

Remembering her manners, Grace turned to Tyler. “Uncle Steve, this is my friend Tyler. Tyler, this is Steve.” Tyler looked up at Steve and reached out his hand as if to shake it. Feeling a bit awkward shaking hands with a twelve year old, Steve shook it anyway. Tyler’s smile was genuine, “It’s nice to meet you, sir. Aren’t you with Five-0? Wow! That must be an awesome job!”

Okay, so maybe the kids not all that bad, Steve though. At least he’s polite. For some reason, he was having trouble finding his voice, though.