Ellie Clayton

Ellie Clayton is a lawyer and an associate of the Hawaii Five-0 Task Force.

1996
Ellie has her school books out and is studying at the bar. Her father asks her if she would like another drink to celebrate, Ellie declines the offer. She says it’s only a report card, her father tell not to be so modest, as she got straight A’s. He tells her that her mother would have been proud. He then tells her that she needs to take a break, but Ellie says she’s fine. Her father tells her that she works to hard and she’ll burn herself out if she keeps pushing.

Her father puts on the jukebox and asks her to get up. They dance in the middle of the bar to the song My Girl. When the song finishes, Ellie’s father says it’s getting later, and tells her to go up to bed while he finishes closing up and he’ll be up soon. Ellie agrees and wishes good night.

Ellie is in her bedroom when she hears a gunshot, she looks out the window and sees a man running away from the bar. She then races down stairs, by the time she gets to him, he’s barely breathing. Ellie didn’t even think to call for help, she just sat there with him and held his hand, asking him not to leave her.

When the police come, John McGarrett is the one that speaks to Ellie and says he needs to ask her some questions if that was okay. He sits down beside her and tells her that she’s gonna survive this, it won’t be easy, but she can do it. He tells her he’s got a daughter about her age, and when things get tough he tells Mary, you need to be strong, you need to be brave and if you can do that, then you’re gonna be okay. Ellie leans into John’s arms and silently cries into his shoulder as he comforts her.

2000
Christmas Day

John visits Ellie at her home to give her a Christmas present. She happily opens it and hugs him tightly before he leaves.

Season 5
In Ho'oilina, Steve sees Ellie placing flowers on his father's grave, he quickly gets out of his car to catch up to her and says he’s sorry to bother her. He says he saw her at his father’s grave and asks if she knew him. Ellie figures out that Steve is John’s son and tells Steve he has John’s eyes. She then introduces herself as Ellie Clayton. Steve says he’s still at little lost, and asks how Ellie knew his father, Ellie offers to tell him over coffee.

Ellie and Steve have coffee and Ellie tells Steve how his father was to one to investigate her father’s murder. She says the case was never solved but John stayed in her life, every few weeks he would check in on her and on the anniversary of her father’s death John would take her to lunch. They would then get some shaved ice and take a walk along the beach. It meant a lot to Ellie and she was always grateful to John for that. Now on the anniversary of John’s death, she pays her respects to honor his memory.

Steve asks when was the last time they spoke, Ellie says just before he died. John had called her to let her know he might have a new lead in the case. She mentions that no matter how many leads turned into dead ends, John never gave up. Steve smiles and says that John was stubborn like that. Ellie then looks at her watch and says she gotta run, as she needs to be in court soon. Steve asks if she’s a lawyer, Ellie asks how does he know she’s not a defendant. Steve says he’s met a lot of defendants and she doesn’t look like one. Ellie says she’ll take that as a compliment and slides her card towards Steve and says she’s a deputy prosecutor. Steve shows his badge and says he’s in that Five-0 Task Force. Ellie says it’s good to know their on the same side. She stands up and says she’s glad she had a chance to meet Steve, his father spoke about him a lot and he was really proud. Steve says it was nice to meet her too, they shake hands and say goodbye. Before she can leave, Steve ask she the name of her father’s bar. Ellie tells him it was called The Ace’s High.

Ellie tells Steve to story of what happened the night her father was shot. Ellie then asks about the lead his father had, Steve says he’s got a hunch but it might not lead to anything. Ellie says she understands and knows that might be the case. She says that’s one thing you discover early on as a prosecutor, just how often even the most promising leads fail to pan out. She thanks Steve for whatever is to happen, Steve say you’re welcome.

Later that day, Ellie is at the courthouse with Steve, he brought her the report he found and says there’s something he wants to talk to her about. He tells her he followed up on the lead his father had, and they no longer think her father’s murder was connected to the robbery, they now think he was targeted. Steve asks Ellie to think back and to see if she could remember if anything unusual happened in the days leading up to the murder. Ellie remembers one incident, a week before the murder. Ellie’s father was arguing with a boy named Jordan. Steve asks if Ellie can remember a last name, Ellie thinks it was Lewis.

Ellie enters The Ace’s High, she runs her hands along the dusty bar top and reminisces about the past. She turns around when she feels Steve watching her from the doorway. Steve says he was looking for her and figured she’d be at the bar after what they’ve talked about. Ellie says she could never bring herself to sell the bar, even when she needed money for law school. She then asks Steve how the investigation is going, Steve says he wants to show her something. He pulls out his phone and shows her an image, asking Ellie if she knows what it is. Ellie looks at it and says no. Steve then tells Ellie that it possible that her father’s murder was related to illegal gambling. Ellie says there’s no way, yes her father gambled big when he was younger, but he had stopped before she was born. Steve then asks if Five-0 can have her permission to exhume her father’s body and have Max perform a second autopsy. Ellie asks why, and Steve says that new evidence could be found due to advancements in technology. He tells her it’s okay if she wants to say no, if it’s to painful to relive that grief they won’t do it. But Ellie gives them the okay. Ellie is there when her father’s body is dug up, Steve holds her hand in silent support.

The next day after the case has been solved, Ellie makes her way up Steve’s driveway, where he is working on his father’s old car. Ellie asks if he needs a hand, Steve is shocked to hear her voice. He rolls out from underneath the car to greet her. Ellie says she was just on her way to the hospital to see Jordan, but she wanted to see Steve first and thank him in person. She then notices that Steve is having trouble with the car’s differential, as she looks under the hood of the car. Steve says he is, and that he’s fixed some things but the car is still running rough. Ellie suggests some new bearings and thrust washers to fix it, Steve asks her if she know something about cars. Ellie says not really, she just a few things about the type of car Steve is working on. She then tells Steve that she actually rode in the car when it was working, his father loved to talk about this car. Steve agrees and thanks her for the tip.

Ellie then says she should be going, before she can go, Steve asks her if he’ll she at his father’s grave again next year. Ellie says she’ll be there, but hopefully they won’t have to wait that long to see each other again.

In Ho'oma'ike, Steve and Jerry go to Ellie's office, hoping to get a search warrant, Steve tells Jerry to let him do all the talking. Ellie says she’s sorry, but she doesn’t she how any judge will sign off on a warrant. She tells them that they need recent and reliable information, while they recent information with Jerry getting kidnapped, he’s not a exactly reliable source. Jerry gets a little offended. Ellie then points out that Jerry is a self-published conspiracy theorist who was breaking the law. Jerry insists he is reliable and points out he helped solve the Black Unicorn case, this confuses Ellie. Steve reminds Jerry that he told him not to do any talking. He then tells Ellie he knows it’s a lot to ask, but he’s got no other option. Ellie sighs, she says it’s a long shot, but she’ll give it a go as she owes Steve one. Steve thanks her.

Later that night, Ellie calls Steve. Steve asks for some good news, but Ellie says sorry she struck out with the judge. Steve asks what the judge said, Ellie replies that she wasn’t sure if the judge was more surprised by the actual warrant request or the fact that Five-0 was asking for one. Apparently Five-0 has a reputation for being gung-ho cowboys, by the words of the judge. Steve says that’s grossly exaggerated, Ellie says that may be so, but she threw every legal precedent at the judge and he wouldn’t budge. Ellie’s sorry she couldn’t come through with the warrant. Steve thanks her and hangs up.

Ellie comes to headquarters to speak to Steve, she hopes that it's not a bad time for Steve. She tells him that Danny said he wasn’t busy and insisted that she wait for Steve. Danny laughs and says that Ellie described Steve as really nice, polite and a real gentleman, Danny just wants to make sure they’re both talking the same McGarrett. Steve says that’s real funny. Steve points out that Ellie is speaking to Steve twice in one day and asks her if she wanted to see where the gung-ho cowboys work.

Ellie says she sorry she couldn’t get Steve his warrant, especially after everything Steve did for her. Steve tells her she doesn’t owe him anything. She then says after she requested the warrant, she got a bunch of calls. She tells them about Farrow and his political connections and warns them to proceed with caution. Steve thanks her for the advice.

Jerry then enters the room with more information on Farrow, Steve reintroduces him to Ellie. Jerry awkwardly stands there, and Ellie prompts him to continue with what he was going to say. Jerry makes up a random conspiracy theory, that Ellie doesn’t believe. She then asks Steve what did he do., Steve tells her it’s nothing she would want to know about. Ellie then shows herself out of headquarters.

The next day, Steve has invited Ellie over to do some fishing. Steve tells her she got a nice casting technique, she replies that casting is all about finesse. If you use brute force, like Steve did, you won’t get as far. Steve asks her where she learnt to fish. Ellie says every summer she’d visit family in Australia, her dad would take her down to Port Phillip Bay, and they’d just fish for hours. She then gets a bite on her line, Steve tries to coach her on how to reel it in, but Elli just tells Steve to watch and learn. After a little bit, Ellie successfully reels in the fish and puts it in her bucket.

Steve is surprised and confesses that he thought she’d be a catch-and-release type of girl. Ellie laughs and says that since she caught, Steve is going to gut it, clean it and serve to her for dinner with an ice-cold beer. Ellie tells him that it can be his apology for going behind her back on the warrant. Steve says okay.

In Wawahi moe'uhane, Ellie and Steve are going a round in the boxing ring. Ellie gets a few good shots into Steve, which he compliments her on. She goads him into trying harder, Steve lands a punch on Ellie's face. Steve asks if she learned to box in law school, Ellie says she was club boxing champ in her junior year of college and her right hook came in handy with the boys. The ring bell rings, and Steve says saved by the bell.

They take off their protective padding and move to the side of the ring. Ellie then questions Steve about her friend, Jess. Steve asks whether she's going to let it go, Ellie says no. She believes that Steve and Jess would be perfect for each out. Steve says there is no such thing as perfect for each other. Ellie lists all of Jess’ good qualities and ask Steve to just say yes to a date. She thinks it'll be good for him. Steve appreciates what Ellie is trying to do, but right now he's just taking his time. Steve's phone then rings and he has to leave for work.

Steve comes to see Ellie at the King Kalakaua Building Courthouse to ask for help with his case. Ellie says there's nothing more she would love to see Kiana Thompson indicted, but Kiana has the best defense attorneys covering her ass. Steve says he understands, he just wants her client list. Ellie says if it was that easy she would already have it. Ellie thinks there are some powerful people on the client list that don't want it getting out. Steve points out the evidence he has that should get a warrant, Ellie asks if he has proof. Steve says yes. Ellie tells Steve to wait while she calls the judge.

Later in the day, Ellie joins Steve and Danny when they go to see Kiana. Ellie gets the pleasure of telling Kiana she's under arrest. Kiana scoffs and asks if Ellie's office couldn't make a case against her, so Ellie brought her bulldogs to try and scare her. Ellie says it's got nothing to do with their case. Danny tell Kiana she under arrest for conspiracy to murder. Ellie then tell her that she just wanted to be their when Kiana got taken away. Once Kiana is taken away by Danny, Ellie thanks Steve for letting her be there.