Fic: Mother’s Day Bouquets
Title: Mother's Day Bouquets
Characters: Rachel, Danny, Grace
Rating: G -- mostly fluff, with a little angst
Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 does not belong to me, and no infringement is intended.
Summary: A set of vignettes on Rachel and Mother's Day. It was originally posted to the Hawaii 5-0 Flash Fiction community.
The year after Grace was born, Rachel got a single bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day. Danny had picked them out carefully -- half a dozen sweetheart roses in different colors, for the many ways he loved her, and one white rose for Grace. Rachel scolded him a little for the extravagance. They were doing better now that she was back at work after the maternity leave, but money was still tight. He just smiled. "You're the mother of the best little girl in the world. That's worth celebrating." When the roses faded, Rachel dried the petals carefully, putting the ones from her flowers in a jar on her dresser, and saving Grace's petals for when their daughter was older.
The year after the divorce, a florist delivered a bouquet to Rachel on Mother's Day. There was no card or note with them, no name given. It was a colorful jumble of different types of flowers, with a single white rose. Rachel wondered if Danny no longer loved her or just didn't think he could say it, then decided that it didn't matter. She threw out everything except for the rose. She dried its petals and added them to Grace's jar. If (when) something happened to Danny, at least Grace would still have a reminder that her father had loved her.
The year after she married Stan, Rachel got three bouquets for Mother's Day. Two were beautiful, expensive, and tasteful. One had Stan's name on the card, and the other had Grace's, although Rachel was sure that Stan picked out both of them. The third bouquet was a colorful jumble with a single white rose. Rachel threw it away, except for the rose; she saved its petals for Grace like always. Rachel was married to another man now. She didn't need flowers from her ex-husband, particularly not when they couldn't spend five minutes together without fighting.
The year after Danny started working with the 5-0 task force, Rachel got four bouquets for Mother's Day. Two were the usual expensive pieces from Stan. One was a familiar colorful jumble with a single white rose. This year, it had a card that said, simply, "Happy Mother's Day. D." The fourth was a collection of wildflowers that Grace picked from a field by Steve's house. She gave it to her mother when Danny brought her back early Sunday morning, part of their agreement to split both the Mother's Day and Father's Day weekends. Rachel looked at the jumble of flowers with its white rose, then looked at Danny and said, "Thank you. For bringing her home early." It was still hard for them to say some things to one another, but she knew that he would understand what she meant.
He smiled and looked down at Grace. "No, thank you." As his car headed back down the drive, Grace started telling Rachel the names Steve taught her for the Hawaiian wildflowers. Rachel thought that this year, she might add some new petals to the jar on her dresser. She and Danny would never get back what they had before, but they could be friends again, in time. And they were still the parents of the best little girl in the world. That was always worth celebrating.
Characters: Rachel, Danny, Grace
Rating: G -- mostly fluff, with a little angst
Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 does not belong to me, and no infringement is intended.
Summary: A set of vignettes on Rachel and Mother's Day. It was originally posted to the Hawaii 5-0 Flash Fiction community.
The year after Grace was born, Rachel got a single bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day. Danny had picked them out carefully -- half a dozen sweetheart roses in different colors, for the many ways he loved her, and one white rose for Grace. Rachel scolded him a little for the extravagance. They were doing better now that she was back at work after the maternity leave, but money was still tight. He just smiled. "You're the mother of the best little girl in the world. That's worth celebrating." When the roses faded, Rachel dried the petals carefully, putting the ones from her flowers in a jar on her dresser, and saving Grace's petals for when their daughter was older.
The year after the divorce, a florist delivered a bouquet to Rachel on Mother's Day. There was no card or note with them, no name given. It was a colorful jumble of different types of flowers, with a single white rose. Rachel wondered if Danny no longer loved her or just didn't think he could say it, then decided that it didn't matter. She threw out everything except for the rose. She dried its petals and added them to Grace's jar. If (when) something happened to Danny, at least Grace would still have a reminder that her father had loved her.
The year after she married Stan, Rachel got three bouquets for Mother's Day. Two were beautiful, expensive, and tasteful. One had Stan's name on the card, and the other had Grace's, although Rachel was sure that Stan picked out both of them. The third bouquet was a colorful jumble with a single white rose. Rachel threw it away, except for the rose; she saved its petals for Grace like always. Rachel was married to another man now. She didn't need flowers from her ex-husband, particularly not when they couldn't spend five minutes together without fighting.
The year after Danny started working with the 5-0 task force, Rachel got four bouquets for Mother's Day. Two were the usual expensive pieces from Stan. One was a familiar colorful jumble with a single white rose. This year, it had a card that said, simply, "Happy Mother's Day. D." The fourth was a collection of wildflowers that Grace picked from a field by Steve's house. She gave it to her mother when Danny brought her back early Sunday morning, part of their agreement to split both the Mother's Day and Father's Day weekends. Rachel looked at the jumble of flowers with its white rose, then looked at Danny and said, "Thank you. For bringing her home early." It was still hard for them to say some things to one another, but she knew that he would understand what she meant.
He smiled and looked down at Grace. "No, thank you." As his car headed back down the drive, Grace started telling Rachel the names Steve taught her for the Hawaiian wildflowers. Rachel thought that this year, she might add some new petals to the jar on her dresser. She and Danny would never get back what they had before, but they could be friends again, in time. And they were still the parents of the best little girl in the world. That was always worth celebrating.