Archive of Our Own ^beta

Danny moves the last box into the house and is turning to go double check that everything is out of the car, when Grace comes barreling in. “Danno,” she shouts, running into his legs, and really, Danny has to say he’s very relieved that she’s still short enough to do that. Danny’s afraid of the day when Grace will tower over him; he’s not going to lie.

“Monkey!” he shouts back, catching her by the arms and picking her up.

“We have a beach!” she says excitedly, pointing towards the sliding glass doors, where, in the distance, the waves are crashing against the shore, and the deck falls off into the sand. Danny grins back at her and nods, brushing a loose strand of hair from her forehead.

“We do,” he says, as she wraps her legs around his waist like she’s still a toddler, and he carries her through the house, showing her different things. She chatters excitedly, happy, it seems, to be here finally.

They’re both ready for the change, he knows. He’s not usually fond of tropical climates, but when the job offer had come up, he’d jumped excitedly at the chance after a long, hard divorce. Jersey had been cold and grey, still battling through the winter even though it was on the tail-end of March, and Rachel was still glaring at him every time he dropped Grace off at her apartment for the weekend, so he’d called the senior partner of the firm back and accepted graciously.

Rachel, of course, had blown a gasket, completely expected, but Danny had already been prepared. That’s what being a lawyer meant; he’d already looked it up before he’d accepted the job. Having primary custody of Grace meant he had the right to move her wherever he chose to, and though he hated to do it to Rachel – he knew Rachel wouldn’t follow. Her job was too important, she’d say – the topic of many late-night, hate-fueled arguments, the result being many shattered plates and tears, mostly on Danny’s end. Rachel was a business woman first, a social-woman second, and a mother third, maybe. It saddened Danny that parenting was so low on her list, but it meant that at least he got to be with his little girl, who was his absolute world.

“I’m glad we moved to Hawaii, Danno,” Grace murmurs, laying her head against his chest as they watch the ocean from the glass doors. He kisses the top of her head and squeezes her tight once.

“Really?” he asks seriously, “You won’t miss all the things in Jersey too much?”

“I’ll miss Grandma and Grandpa, and Mommy,” she shrugs, “But I like the beach – and swimming!” she says decidedly. “I like it here a lot, Danno.”

“Good,” Danny says firmly, smiling at her.

They unpack that night and fall into their beds tiredly.

Grace starts school the next morning excitedly, Danny driving her, parking quickly and helping her out of the car, straightening her uniform and her braid, setting her backpack on her shoulders. “Have a good day,” he says, kneeling down next to her. She throws her arms around his shoulders and kisses his cheek, “You’re gonna do great, Monkey,” he says, “Danno loves you.”

“Love you too,” she says, beaming at him, “See you at three, Danno.” And she disappears into the building. Danny takes a deep breath and gets ready for his own first day.

At his new office, he’s sent up to the senior partners office immediately by a nice secretary with the kindest smile he’s seen yet. She’s got a gorgeous ring on her finger and her eyes sparkle like she’s living the best life she possibly could’ve imagined. “I’m sorry,” Danny says, “I didn’t catch your name.” The woman smiles, laughs.

“I didn’t give you my name,” she says, “Its Malia. And you’re Danny. Chin was so excited you’d accepted his job offer. He’s thrilled to have you on board. He said you were one of the best back East.” Danny blushes at her compliment and shrugs. “Don’t worry,” she says as she swings the door open to Chin’s office, “Chin is really very sweet. Don’t let him intimidate you.”

Danny’s about to say something when the man in question appears in front of him, an amused smile twitching at his lips. “I hope you’re not telling lies about me, Malia,” he says in a calm voice, and Danny can’t even imagine that voice in court, can’t imagine it yelling out over the opposing side’s, but he can imagine it talking soothingly to witnesses, calming them into telling the truth.

Malia offers him a radiant smile, one that makes Danny long for the days when he and Rachel were first dating and she liked him, and lets out a laugh that sounds like bells. “Of course not,” she says, and gestures for Danny to sit down, before disappearing. Chin shakes his hand and sits down himself, a smile still playing on his face.

“It is true,” he says finally, “I’m very happy to have you here with us. You were most talked about every time someone from New York came in, especially when one of the men from your firm came to deal with a client of his. He kept saying you could’ve handled this much, much easier. When I finally asked after you, the man claimed you’d probably be thrilled with the job offer.”

Danny remembers Chavez coming in the next week, a smug smile on his lips, saying he’d probably just done the best thing for Danny’s life, and Danny rolling his eyes, saying he didn’t think it was possible. Danny reminds himself to send Chavez a bottle of the good scotch, before nodding and shrugging, saying, “I was going through a… rough time, back home, I guess you could say.” Chin nods.

“It happens to the best of us, I’ve had a couple rough times myself,” and he seems to glance in the direction Malia has disappeared towards. “So, Danny, what made you decide to be a divorce lawyer?”

Danny shrugs, leaning back in his and crossing his legs, sighing. “I was going to be a cop, you know? And then something in me just decided that I didn’t want to put my life on the line every day – what if I had a kid, and a wife, and they worried about me every night, whether or not I was going to come home or not, you know? – So then I decided I was going to be a lawyer, criminal justice, you know? But that wasn’t for me, either. Too… there were so many things wrong with it,” Danny shudders, remembering. “And I like working with families. I… I try to make it as peaceful as possible – that’s why my success rate is so high, but,” Danny gets a knife-edged grin on his face, “I do what I have to, when I need to.”

Chin smiles, apparently happy with his response, “Good to know, Danny. Welcome aboard. Malia will show you to your office, man. We’ll do lunch, okay? 12:00?”

“Sure,” Danny shrugs, and Malia appears as happily as she’d been before, grabbing him by the shoulder and steering him in the direction of his new office.
--

Danny works steadily through the day, only breaking for lunch with Chin, until two forty-five, when he gets up to go and pick up Grace. He pulls up to the school at three o’clock sharp and Grace is just coming down the stairs. She spots his car and grins, sprinting towards him as he gets out of the car, throwing her arms around him as he kneels down. “Danno!” she says excitedly, “This school is the best, seriously, and I love it so much!”

“That’s great, baby, I’m so happy,” he says, as she kisses his cheek and unwinds her arms from around his neck, going towards the passenger side of the car and climbing in.

“We got to do an arts and crafts class and then in English we’re starting a new project and it’s going to be so awesome, I can’t wait, it’s going to be the best – and I want to sign up for softball, because all the girls in my class say that’s the best sport to play and can I, please, please, please, Danno, please?”

“Of course, Monkey, you can play whatever sport you want to,” Danny says, smiling as he looks over at her.

“Are we going back to your new office, Danno?” She asks, peering out the window at the streets passing by. Danny knows she’s excited to see the city, because they haven’t really had a chance to do so since they’ve gotten here, and he promises himself that it’s the first thing they’ll do Saturday morning.

“Yes,” Danny nods, “That’s what we’ll be doing until I can find someone to stay with you after school, sound good?”

“Yeah!” Grace says happily, and then continues to chatter about her day excitedly.

--

Weeks go by and Danny and Grace fall into an easy rhythm, work, school, homework, food, and weekends, taking their time exploring their new home and growing used to the beautiful, warm weather all the time, the beach right outside their house at all times. Grace is happier than Danny has seen her in a few years, and that makes Danny’s heart swell, both with pride and shame, knowing he and Rachel were the cause of that sadness, but he’s the cause of making it better, too.

Then Rachel calls one Saturday and his good mood goes all to hell.

“Daniel,” she says sharply into the phone, and he can feel all his happiness deflate.

“Rachel,” he says back, shifting to get out of his seat, “Haven’t heard from you in a while, but I can go get Grace, of course. I’m sure you were just too busy with work until now to call her,” he says snidely, and hears her sharp intake of breath.

“Daniel, there’s no need for your smart comments. I’m calling now, aren’t I?”

“Right, that’s what counts,” he agrees sarcastically, and she doesn’t say anything. He calls up the stairwell for Grace and doesn’t get a response. He frowns, tells Rachel to hold on for a moment, and goes up to Grace’s room.

He’s relieved when he finds her with her headphones in, writing on what appears to be stationary; nodding her head along to the beat of whatever teen-pop song she’s listening to most these days. Danny taps on her shoulder and she squeals, pencil flying out of her hand before she turns around. “Danno!” she cries, hand flying to her heart in a motion that is all her mother, Danny thinks, “You scared me!”

“Sorry, Monkey. Your mom’s on the phone.” Grace narrows her eyes a little at the phone, and then seems to accept it, nodding happily and taking it from Danny, running out of the room, yelling into the phone excitedly, “Hi mommy, Hawaii’s amazing! I’m never leaving!” Danny can’t help but smile a little at that as he leans forward to pick up the pencil Grace dropped, and his eye catches on what she was writing.

Dear Commander McGarrett,

I told you before that we just moved to the most beautiful new island and my Dad and I love it here. Last weekend, we went to see the dolphins on a glass-bottomed boat. I love dolphins, and Danno knows that, so he even bought me a stuffed one! I’m starting softball this week, too, and I’m nervous, but I’m excited, because all of my friends say I’m really good at running, so I’ll be a great addition to the team. I hope they’re right.

I love this island most because it makes me forget about all the cold, wintry days back where I used to live. It makes me forget about the things that happened back there, and it makes me never want to leave here.

I hope that wherever you are, even though you’re fighting hard, Commander McGarrett, you have time to appreciate beautiful things like glass-bottomed boats, or palm trees, because we shouldn’t take them for granted.

Grace Williams, third grade

Danny takes a moment to appreciate how intelligent and eloquent his daughter is before it clicks that she’s writing to a complete stranger, and he grabs the paper and goes to find her. She’s still talking to Rachel, though, so he waits until she’s off the phone. She hangs up with an, “Of course, mommy,” and then turns to Danny.

“Mommy says to tell you that she does plan to visit sometime.”

Danny opens his mouth to say I’m sure she does, but remembers his promise to never badmouth Rachel in front of Grace, to let Grace make her own decisions about her mother, and instead closes his mouth with a click and nods with a tight smile. Then he holds out the letter in front of him, “Grace,” he says lightly, “What is this?” She squints at it for a moment, before recognizing the paper and then grinning.”

“That’s my English homework, Daddy,” she says happily, bouncing on her feet a little, “Our new project is to write to the soldiers overseas, and we each got one soldier and their name, so we could write to them. We turn in our letters to Ms. Muelluer on Mondays and she mails them out for us.”

“You… write to soldiers,” Danny says faintly, flopping down onto the couch, sighing. Grace frowns.

“Of course, Daddy. It’s not a bad thing. It’s like having a pen pal.”

“Of course,” Danny nods. Grace frowns at him for a moment and then sits down next to him on the couch.

“Daddy, are you mad I’m writing letters to a soldier?”

“No, Monkey,” Danny shakes his head, “I was just worried you were writing to strangers for a minute.” Grace’s eyes widen and she shakes her head.

“I’d never write to strangers, daddy,” and she says it in a tone that implies Danny is possibly the densest person in existence. Danny nods in agreement and pulls her into a hug and they sit on the couch like that for a little while before Grace gets restless and insists on putting their beachfront property to good use.

--

“Daddy!” Grace comes shrieking into his office a week later, “Daddy, I got an A on my English project!” Danny looks up from where he was finishing his briefs, sets his pen down, and smiles widely just as Kono comes into the office behind Grace, looking amused.

“That’s great, Monkey, I’m so proud of you,” Danny says, catching her as she launches herself into his chair and onto his lap. Grace grins and shifts so she’s facing his desk, like she’s always done. Danny loves this tradition, loves that even though she’s eight years old and in school, she’ll still take the time to sit at his office desk with him and talk, ask him about his own day and tell her about her day excitedly. Kono takes a seat on the couch and waits patiently for them to be done so she can take Grace back to the house and start their surfing lesson, and then help Grace with her homework.

In college herself, their schedules just happened to fit together, and now Kono has become Grace’s babysitter for the time being. Which works well, Danny thinks, because they absolutely love each other, and get along great. Danny couldn’t have found a better person if he’d picked her himself, which he hadn’t. She’d come in for lunch one day with Chin, and Danny had gone into his office to go over some briefs quickly just as she’d been leaving. Chin’d had a twinkle in his eye that Danny was learning never really meant anything good – or maybe it did – and from there, things had gone upwards.

He doesn’t realized he’s tuned out until Grace is tugging on his tie and staring up at him with wide, concerned eyes, saying, “Danno? Danno, did you hear me?”

He snaps out of it and looks down at her apologetically, “I’m sorry, Gracie, I got distracted. Tell me more about your English project baby.” He reaches around her and grabs a pen, scribbling down a few things he needs from the grocery store tonight while she starts talking again.

“I said our English projects are finished, but some of the kids in my class were really excited because the soldiers they were writing to were writing back to them, but my soldier didn’t. Do you think he didn’t like my letters, Danno?” She looks up at him.

“What – no, Gracie, of course not,” Danny says, “Your soldier was probably just very busy defending our country. Maybe he’s a special soldier.”

Grace cocks her head to the side and stares at him, confused for a moment. “What’s a special soldier, Danno?”

“Well, they’re soldiers that have more training and do more work – more dangerous things.”

Grace’s eyes widen, “I hope that’s not what my soldier is,” she says quietly, “It’s already dangerous enough.”

“This is very true, Gracie,” Danny says, and kisses the top of her head, thinking about how wise his daughter is once again.

--

Afghanistan

Steve is tired; the kind of tired that happens after a person hasn’t slept for weeks, after they’ve been on the go for seventy-hours straight without sitting down or taking a breath. His ribs are sore and his eye is swollen where he took the butt of a gun to his face. His CO takes one look at him, frowns hard and says, “You’ve been here too long, McGarrett.”

Steve stiffens, straightens up and opens his mouth to reply, to deny that very thing, to say, no, see, that’s just it, I haven’t been here long enough yet, but his CO shakes his head and holds his hand up, a clear gesture for Steve to shut his mouth. Steve resists the urge to slump back down like a two year old, instead straightening up even more, if possible, bracing himself for what his CO has to say to him. He continues, “It’s been two years, you never go home, you go just this side of stateside, and I know last time you didn’t even do that. You went to Paris and stayed in a hotel right next to Charles de Gaulle. Didn’t even leave once, did you?”

“I met someone there, sir,” Steve says stiffly, evenly. Which isn’t a lie, Catherine had met him there for two days, but then she’d had to leave again. Steve had stayed in his room, watched planes take off, worked out in the hotel gym, and drank from the room’s mini bar. He’d been content to do so, too.

“I thought maybe signing you up for those letters – from the kids, you know? – that’d make you miss home, make you want to go back, but it hasn’t, for some reason – no, don’t interrupt me, but instead it makes you work yourself hard and now you’ve gone and nearly gotten yourself blown to smithereens –“

Steve has to interrupt here, “I did it to save my team – no one else got hurt!” As an afterthought he tacks on, “Sir,” and swallows, clenching his fists. His CO eyes him, eyebrows arched for a long moment before he shifts in his chair and sighs.

“McGarrett, there’s nothing for it. You’re injured – no, you didn’t get your team hurt; yes, you did it to save your team, and I understand that, but your work is done here. For a while anyways. Go home. And don’t just go to some shitty motel right next to the airport, Lieutenant Commander – I will be checking to make sure you made it home, is that understood? You need rest, relaxation. I know where you’re from; that place is the picture perfect idea of those very things. Recuperate and then we’ll talk about you coming back. Or maybe you won’t want to. For once.” Steve notices the strange glint in his eyes and resists the urge to sigh, loudly, instead offering him a salute, leaving the tent with anger outlining every tendon in his upper body.

His flight takes off the next morning, long and even more tiring. He lands in Hawaii sometime the next night, looking around the airport parking lot blearily, wondering what the fuck he’s supposed to do now, standing here in his regs with his Navy issue duffel bag hanging off his shoulder, looking like a lost puppy dog. He doesn’t want to go – he swallows – he doesn’t really want to go home, but he doesn’t have a choice, either, so he grabs the next taxi that comes up and rattles off the ever-familiar address, digging around in his duffel bag for his keys. Next, he turns on his cell phone. There’s a few texts from Mary, the usual, hope you’re well, miss you, call me if you can, a couple from Catherine, goofy forwards she loves to send him that never make much sense but always make him smile anyways when he finally gets to turn his phone on.

Before he knows it, the taxi is pulling up and Steve is digging through his pockets for any American cash that he has. The problem is that he has a lot of foreign currency – and not much American, so he ends up giving the cab driver a fifty, apologetically, even though the drive to his neighborhood wasn’t even close to that much. The cab driver shrugs it off and shoves his change back into his hand before pulling away, leaving Steve standing in front of his house, staring up at it like it might reach out and snatch him, never to set him free again.

Across the lawn, a little girl is riding her bike up and down her driveway, helmet on, singing a song. What appears to be her father is sitting on the porch with papers, glancing up occasionally to check on her. Finally she yells, “Danno, look!” waving up at the man on the porch. The man grins back, says something, and the little girl giggles.

Steve realizes he’s watching like some creepy idiot, and snaps out of it, before forcing his feet forward, until he’s on his own porch, the sound of the little girl’s laughter in the background as he pushes his key in the lock and turns the knob. And then he’s inside. It’s a little musty; dust motes are floating through the air, visible in the sunlight, but it looks the same as ever.

He opens windows as he goes through the house, then heads upstairs and does the same before stripping down and getting in the shower. Once he’s out and feeling somewhat re-energized from his flight, he dumps the contents of his duffel out on his bag. The letters he’d received while he was overseas flutter out from the bottom of the bag, where they’d been neatly tucked. They’re all creased from being opened so many times, read just as many, to the point where Steve has memorized many of little Grace’s words. The thing is, Steve thinks, swallowing as he picks the one up on top, the one that tells about how Grace is excited to be able to learn how to surf, how she’s swimming every day in her new home, and isn’t that great? It goes on to say she hopes that he’s safe and sound, wishing on a star every night, the thing is, the letters had made him miss home.

Steve never wished on stars until he read her letters. Grace had told him in her first letter that when she was younger, her dad told her that if she wanted to feel safe, all she needed to do was look up at the stars and wish for it on the brightest one. In Afghanistan, the stars shine brighter than anywhere he’s ever been, even Hawaii. Something about the openness, the loneliness, Steve thinks. It’s harder to find the brightest star, because there’s so many of them.

But the thing about her letters were that she talked about the ocean, sand, sun, paradise, and suddenly Steve longed for it, could feel it at the tips of his fingertips, like it was just right there if he closed his eyes. He doesn’t know where Grace is, but wherever she is, it sounds like she’s just as happy as he’d been growing up here in this very house. Grace sounds happy and pleasant, amazing, in fact. She’d cheered Steve up more than Steve was willing to admit and – the thing is, his CO is not entirely wrong. She had made him want to go home. That’s why he’d become more driven, focused.

SEALs don’t die just because they’re homesick, he’d told himself, and that had been that.

Now, he sits and stares down at the letter and decides that he wants to find this girl, thank her properly. Some of the guys on his team had written letters back to the students, but Steve has never been all that great with words, especially not on paper, and he’s got the time, so he might as well. He doesn’t know for sure exactly how he’ll start, but he’ll manage, somehow.

After he sleeps for a few days, he thinks, falling back on his bed, exhausted again.

--

“Grace, you’re going to be late,” Danny says, calling up the stairs and glancing down at his watch again. He’s got a meeting at 8:30. It’s 8:15 and he still has to make it to the school and over to the office. Chin will understand, he knows, but he still hates being late.

“Coming, Danno!” she calls, and thirty seconds later she appears, carrying her backpack in one hand.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” Danny tells her, waving his hand towards the door as he picks his briefcase up and makes sure his tie is straightened. Grace huffs a sigh – neither of the Williams’ are morning people, but Danny has the power of coffee, at least – and trudges out the door. Danny follows close behind, locking the door and skipping down the steps. Grace is waiting by the car for it to be unlocked and Danny hits the button. Just as she’s about to climb in the car she pauses and glances across the lawn. “Grace,” Danny says, trying not to get annoyed, “Come on; we’re going to be late.”

“No, I know,” she says, blinking and climbing into the car, “Daddy, there wasn’t anybody living there before,” she points to the house next door that – true to Grace’s word – has been empty up until now. Right now, however, there is someone tending to the front lawn, which had gotten a little overgrown in the past two weeks with the rain.

“Maybe he was on a trip,” Danny suggests, checking the guy out as they drive past. He can’t get a good look at his face, but he makes a note to maybe knock on his door and introduce himself later on.

--

Steve finishes tending to the front lawn – which looks much more appealing now – and showers and then decides to set to work on trying to find Grace. He figures she might be in California, maybe a southern state – somewhere where the ocean is right there. He decides that his best bet is going to the elementary school and asking them how students go about those types of projects, so he gets in his truck, still sitting in the garage, in desperate need of a wash, and heads out towards the school.

A kind secretary greets him and answers his questions enthusiastically. “Oh,” she says, after she scans through his letter briefly. “The Sacred Heart’s Academy just got done with a project just like this! They might better be able to help you answer this question. In fact, the teacher responsible for the project is a good friend of mine, so I’ll even give you her name.” Steve breathes out a sigh of relief, offers her his best smile, and she beams back at him before writing down the teacher’s name and room number for him.

At Sacred Hearts, he’s directed to her room, where she’s on a lunch break, eating quietly. She’s younger than the secretary at the public school, a fresh face. She stands up immediately when Steve knocks on her door, jumping in surprise a little. “Sorry to interrupt,” Steve says, gesturing towards her lunch.

“No, no, it’s fine,” she says, waving him away. “Please, what can I do for you um –“

“Commander McGarrett,” Steve introduces himself, sticking his hand out for her to shake. She cocks her head to the side in confusion and squints her eyes like she’s trying to remember something, before she takes his hand and smiles.

“Commander McGarrett,” she says, nodding, “What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping you could help me,” he says, and pulls his letter out and explains. It doesn’t take long before her eyes light up as she reads the letter and a grin breaks across her face, a little laugh escaping her lips. “What?” Steve frowns, leaning forward, feeling nervous for some reason.

“It’s just such a coincidence,” she says, shaking her head, “This letter is from a student in my class, Commander. One of the best, actually. She wrote the best letters, in fact. I always enjoyed reading hers.”

“That’s –“ Steve breaks off, unsure, “Really?” he finally says.

“Really,” she nods, brushing her hair aside, handing him back his letter. “Grace is a spectacular student, she cares a lot about her work, and she loved this project. I know she was hoping to hear something from you.”

“Well, that’s why I was hoping to find her,” Steve tells her. She frowns.

“I can’t let you meet her without her father’s permission, Commander; you understand, I hope. I’m sure you’re a safe person – you certainly seem it, at any rate – but it’s school policy, and even if it weren’t, it’d be my policy. Stranger Danger, and all that.”

Steve can’t argue with that, wouldn’t argue with that even if he could, and he nods quickly. “I understand completely,” he says, nodding. “Is there any way I could get a hold of Grace’s father?” Mrs. Muelluer watches him for a long moment before she nods and reaches for a post-it note, scribbling something out. She hands it to him.

“This is where he works,” she says, “I know because it’s where I’ve spent the last few months, finalizing my divorce. He’s good at what he does. Ask for Danny and they’ll know exactly who you’re talking about, okay? Tell the secretary Elisabeth sent you, but it’s not important, because he always wants to know who it is if it’s unscheduled. But if I sent you, he’ll think it’s an emergency with Grace and start freaking out, so make sure you tell her it’s not important.”

Steve nods and resists the urge to hug her out of thanks because – no, that’s not how he is. Instead he tells her thank you and leaves with a nod and a smile.

He heads over to the law offices and reaches the secretary, who is a stern, no-nonsense looking lady. She asks for his name and who he wants to see and he tells her. “You’re not in the computer,” she tells him, looking up at him over her reading glasses.

“I know,” Steve says, and swallows around the lump in his throat, “I just, Elisabeth said to tell him that she sent me – but that it’s not an emergency,” he adds hastily, blinking. The lady stares at him for a long moment before she sighs and picks up the phone, calling Danny. He obviously tells her to let him through, because she gestures for him to go back to his office, and he nods at her before quickly making his way back.

“What’s wrong? What’s the matter? Did Grace fall down again? She’s always falling down, I swear. Elisabeth can tell me it’s not an emergency all she wants but that doesn’t stop me from freaking out the second I hear that.” Steve is immediately peppered with questions when he enters the office and he manfully restrains from jumping. Danny stops though, and squints up at him. “You don’t look like the secretary Elisabeth normally sends.”

“Um,” Steve says.

“You look like a beast,” Danny says.

“Wow,” Steve replies.

“Like the Hulk, maybe,” Danny continues, “Not someone that should be working in a school that I pay thousands and thousands of dollars to send my precious kid to. No offense. But you’d probably scare the kids – and the parents – away. Mostly the parents.”

“Thank you,” Steve says generously, crossing his arms.

Danny cocks his head to the side and checks Steve out. Steve fights not to blush, is about to open his mouth and say something when Danny says, “How long?”

“How long – what are you talking about?”

“How long have you been married? Do you have kids? Those are the two most important things, before I draw the papers up, okay. Oh, and are you going to try to go for custody? Because while it’s difficult, it’s not entirely impossible, my friend, not entirely.”

“What - no,” Steve says, sighing, “I’m not here for – divorce, God, no. I’m not even – that doesn’t matter, I’m here about – well. Grace,” he says, taking a deep breath. Danny’s head snaps back up from where he was shuffling papers and he narrows his eyes again.

“What about Grace?” he says slowly, evenly. Steve steps further into the office and pulls out Grace’s letter. He hands it over to Danny and watches him carefully while he reads it. Finally, when he’s finished, he looks up at Steve for a long moment. Steve looks back.

The thing about Danny is that he’s a very nice looking guy. Small, sure, but he’s built nice; short and stocky, the way Steve likes guys, honestly. He wears his suit nice, fitted, obviously expensive and classy. And his hair - Steve doesn’t have much to say about that, really. But it fits Danny, so, whatever.

“So, you’re Commander McGarrett then?” Danny finally says. Steve nods.

Danny sets the letter down on his desk and spreads his palms wide, “That’s great, really, but, what do you want with me?” He asks, eyebrow arched.

“I want to meet Grace,” Steve says, leaning forward in his seat, and Danny’s eyes seem to close off right there and then. He opens his mouth – to say no, Steve is sure – but Steve rushes forward, “No, listen, please. Her letters are amazing. I’m sure you’ve read them, or maybe you haven’t, and I’ll let you read them. And she’s great with words and – and she’s got this way of making me think about things that I haven’t thought about or confronted in a long time. She sounds sweet and innocent and I want to thank her for cheering me up. I want to thank her, period. It’s nothing creepy, or anything.”

Danny looks him up and down and then shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s creepy. Grace will be overjoyed. I just – don’t know if it’s a good idea,” Danny says uncertainly. “I don’t let Grace around strangers, Commander.”

“Steve,” Steve replies automatically.

“Steve,” Danny shrugs, “It’s a policy.”

“Look,” Steve says hesitantly, “I could – I didn’t expect Grace to be here, I didn’t. But she is, and that means – I’d like to – I just really want to thank her. I really want her to know how much it meant to me. Everyone else on my team – they were writing thank you letters back but I’m not… good. With words, I mean,” he throws in.

“Yes, I can see that,” Danny replies dryly, and Steve shoots him a look. Danny’s quiet for a long moment before he sighs. “Okay,” he nods, “Okay, you can meet her, say thank you or whatever. I don’t think you’re dangerous – to kids. Obviously you’re dangerous - you know how to shoot a gun.”

Steve restrains himself from jumping up and down like a five year old and instead just beams at Danny. “Thanks,” he says, “Really.”

“Yeah,” Danny says, “No problem.” He glances at the clock, “Kono will be bringing her to the office in about twenty minutes, so you can hang around, if you want. And then we can go grab shave ice and hang out at the park, how does that sound, Steve?”

“Great,” Steve says, maybe a little too enthusiastically, “It sounds great, Danny.” And maybe Danny tries to hide it, but he can’t, because Steve sees the twinkle in his eyes, and the twitch of a smirk at the corner of his lips. Steve can’t help but think how it makes him that much more attractive.

--

Grace comes barreling in exactly twenty minutes, just like Danny promised, backpack bouncing on her shoulders. She runs into Danny’s arms – who was waiting expectantly by the door – and hugs him tight, kissing him on the cheek, before he sets her back down. She stops short at the sight of Steve. Steve imagines maybe he’s a little intimidating to the average kid, all bulk - The Hulk, as Danny has called him several times in the last twenty minutes – dressed in cargoes and a v-neck, work boots, just standing there, a complete stranger to Grace. He offers her a nervous smile, shifting his eyes to Danny, who gives him a go-ahead nod.

So Steve takes a deep breath, stoop down so he’s eye-level with Grace, and gives her a better smile. “Hi, Grace,” he says, breathing deeper, “I’m Commander McGarrett.”

Grace’s eyes widen almost comically, and she inhales sharply as Steve continues, “I wanted to find you, because I wanted you to know that I got these letters,” he pulls them out of his pocket, “and I wanted to thank you for them. You’re a really beautiful writer, Grace. They helped me a lot.”

Grace looks at him for a minute, seemingly holding her breath, before she launches forward and throws her arms around him, “I’m so glad you got them,” she squeals in his ear, “I was afraid you didn’t get them, or you didn’t like them,” she says, still hugging him close, and Steve breathes in the smell of fresh air and childhood innocence, something he hasn’t been around for so long.

Civilization.

Across from them, Danny is standing with his arms and ankles crossed, smiling at them fondly – mostly Grace, Steve thinks – before he finally claps his hands together, says, “Okay, Grace, let Commander McGarrett breathe, Monkey. We’re gonna hang out with him at the park for a little while anyways, right?” he eyes Steve.

Steve clears his throat of any emotion and nods, “Right,” he says, standing up. Grace’s eyes brighten even more.

“Oh, yay! Kono, you’re coming too, right?” She turns to Kono and Kono smiles down at her.

“Of course, Gracie, if you want me too,” Kono replies. Steve squints, cocks his head to the side, because something about Kono seems familiar. Just as they’re about to walk out, someone walks right into him.

“Sorry,” he says, all smooth professional, and Steve looks over at him, recognizing him almost immediately.

“Chin Ho Kelly,” he says, surprised, and Chin looks at him, surprised himself for a second before his on recognition kicks in.

“Steve McGarrett,” he says, laughing, “Never thought I’d be seeing you here! What’s up, brah?” They do an awkward sort of bro-hug thing, and Steve grins at him.

“I’m on – well… indefinite leave, I guess you could say,” he shrugs.

“Indefinite leave,” Chin nods, “Well, surprises me you came home.”

“I – ah,” Steve licks his lips, “I had someone who kind of made me want to,” he glances down at Grace, who is waiting patiently with her father by the elevators.

“Yeah?” Chin arches an eyebrow, “You’ll have to tell me about it over a couple beers sometime, okay? Hey, Kono, don’t forget, family dinner Sunday, okay?” he calls out to Kono, and that’s when it hits Steve that that’s why she’d seemed so familiar. She’s one of the Kelly/Kalakaua family.

“So,” Danny claps his hands together has Steve reaches him, “Shave ice?”

Grace cheers, “Yes! Finally!”

And Steve smiles.

--

Danny watches Steve carefully as he hangs upside down from the monkey bars, Grace cradled in his chest so she doesn’t fall. Steve is strong, Danny can tell, determined and competitive, maybe. There’s shadows in his eyes and a story that he doesn’t want to tell, ever, probably. But still, Danny wants to get it out of him. He hasn’t wanted that with anyone since the beginning of his and Rachel’s relationship.

It’s been a long time.

There’s something drawing him to Steve, and he’s not sure how to take it, because he doesn’t know how long Steve’s here for, what his story is, and whether or not he’ll even be interested. All he knows is what Steve’s told him, which is that Grace has helped him tremendously. Of course Grace has. Grace has this way about her, Danny knows – sees it as she laughs so big when Steve starts swinging back and forth, still upside down – that makes everyone radiate towards her, big and small. She’s smart, beautiful, kind, and kind, the mixings for a wonderful person, and Danny knows that if he raises her right, she’ll stay that way, too.

“Steve’s a good guy,” Kono says from across the table. Danny snaps his eyes away from his daughter and Steve playing and looks over at her. She’s eating some type of fruity shave ice and watching him watch them with a fond smile on her own face.

“I don’t doubt that,” Danny says evenly. Kono looks at him almost knowingly.

“He’s been around for a long time. Grew up here. His mom and dad are gone and – I don’t know where his sister is these days. He hasn’t been home in a long time; it surprises me he came home at all, actually. Too many ghosts.”

“Ghosts?” Danny asks, blinking. Kono shrugs, smiles almost sadly.

“Not my story to tell, Danny. But Steve would probably tell you some of it. All I know is that his mom died, and he ran far, far away. A couple years ago, his dad died – not in a nice way – and Steve never even made any attempts to visit.”

“He has no family?” Danny demands, incredulous and saddened.

“Not around here,” Kono replies.

Just then, Grace comes running up, Steve jogging lightly behind her, a little breathless. “Danno, did you see that? Did you see Steve hanging me upside down?” She climbs up onto the picnic table and starts swinging her legs, grinning wide.

“I did see, Monkey. You’re lucky all the blood didn’t rush to your head and you didn’t pass out. But you looked like you were having fun.”

“I was, Daddy,” she nods, eyeing Kono’s shave ice hungrily.

“Gracie,” Kono says knowingly, “Would you like to go get some shave ice finally?”

“Yes!” She nods eagerly, and Danny refrains from laughing out loud. “Steve, do you want some shave ice?”

“Yes please,” Steve says, digging a couple dollars out of his pockets and handing it to her. “Any flavor you want, okay Grace?”

“Okay,” she agrees, and jumps off the picnic table, running up to Kono.

“Well,” Danny says, and they’re left with silence for a moment.

“She’s a great kid,” Steve finally says, turning to him, “And you’re a great father.”

“Thanks,” Danny says, “I worry about her sometimes – she doesn’t exactly have the greatest mother – I try not to talk bad about her, but… y’know.”

“At least she’s got both parents still,” Steve says, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looks up to check out a plan with a banner advertising the latest and greatest surf shop, “Her mom can always make an attempt to fix it, as long as she’s alive.”

“Your mom and you – you didn’t have a good relationship?” Danny asks, coughing a little. Steve smiles a little, looking like maybe he’s thinking back on the old days.

“My mom and I got along great,” Steve shrugs, “Until she died and my dad shut himself off and shipped my sister and I away. Suddenly it was like he never wanted to see us, like – like looking us in the eye made him think of everything my mother ever did. So he just got rid of us.”

Danny is quiet for a long moment, because he can’t process the fact that any parent who had just lost a spouse would willingly send their children away, too. Finally he says, “He must have had a reason.” Steve smiles wryly.

“Yeah,” he says, “He did. It’s what got him killed, too.”

Danny doesn’t have a response for that, and he’s glad when Steve changes the subject, saying, “So what made you decide to come to Hawaii?”

“Chin’s amazing job offer?” he replies, laughing a little. “I needed to get out of Jersey; I needed a break from all the cutthroat lawyers and their snide comments. And a break from my ex-wife’s radiating glares. I swear I could feel them all the way from New York, by the end,” Danny tells him, sighing a little, shaking his head. Steve grimaces.

“Sounds rough.”

“Wasn’t great,” Danny shrugs, “Turns out Rach loves her job and money more than family. That’s where we differ, I guess. I accepted it, we divorced. She pretty much handed Grace over, and while it was saddening that she’d give her up that easily, I wasn’t exactly upset about it. I couldn’t imagine not seeing my daughter every morning when I wake up, you know? She means everything to me.”

“She said that, a lot,” Steve says, looking out across the park, towards the ocean, “in her letters? She always mentioned you; I could tell she cares so much about you. I can’t – I can’t imagine my dad or any other dad feeling that way. You don’t find a lot of fathers that express that much love.”

“She’s my world,” Danny says simply, easily, blinking like he shouldn’t even have to explain it, and Steve suddenly gets it, understands it.

He says, “Look, I’d love to – I’d love to hang out with Grace again, Danny. If that’s okay, you know? If you’re uncomfortable with it, I completely understand, though.”

“I’m okay with it,” Danny says quickly, “Really. You’re good with her, I trust you with her, even after just one day. You… if she really helped you as much as you said she did – and I don’t doubt for a minute that you’re lying, Steve – then I’m okay with it.”

Steve can’t help the grin that splits across his face at that. “Okay,” he says.

--

Danny ends up bringing Grace home, because they spent more time than he realized at the park, Steve smiling and waving goodbye as they pulled out of the parking lot. Grace squirms around in her seat, grinning and waving until they’re out of sight. “Danno, Steve’s pretty cool, isn’t he?” she asks him excitedly, turning her bright eyes on him as he drives towards home.

“Steve is very cool, Monkey,” Danny agrees, keeping his eyes on the road, “He said he wants to see you again. We were thinking about over the weekend, maybe having a barbeque, how does that sound?”

“It sounds fun,” Grace agrees, bouncing a little, and they pull into the driveway just then. Danny locks the car just as Grace reaches the front door, pushing her own house key into the lock. Danny looks around, sensing something then, just in time to see a familiar truck pulling into the drive next door. He narrows his eyes, crosses his arms, and stocks across the lawn.

“I thought you said you weren’t creepy!” he shouts as soon as Steve steps down from his truck, and Steve jumps about ten feet, looking down at Danny, frowning.

“Danny? What are you doing here? Did something happen? Do you need me?”

“This is more than a little creepy, let me tell you,” Danny says, just getting started, arms beginning to wave in the air, gesturing towards Steve, the house, and his own house, then at himself. “I mean, you tell me – you swear to me - you don’t mean any harm to my baby girl, or myself, and then I find out that you’re living this close and I mean, really, it doesn’t look too good for you,” he says, jabbing Steve in the chest.

Steve’s eyes narrow, and he grabs the finger Danny has been jabbing in his chest, gripping it tightly, “Danny,” he says calmly, firmly, “Calm yourself down, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Ha,” Danny huffs, “Sure you don’t. Lie to me, go ahead. Just keep on straight ahead lying, buddy, you better remember that I, am a lawyer, and I will rip you apart when I take you to – hey – ow – what the fuck?” Danny finds himself suddenly twisted around, arm behind his back, facing the street.

“I asked you to stop doing that,” Steve says, sounding at least a little annoyed now.

“Oh, well, if you asked,” Danny says, blowing out a sigh, rolling his eyes, darting his eyes over to his own house to make sure Grace is still ensconced safely inside.

“Danny, what are you even talking about right now?” Steve demands, finally allowing him to turn around, apparently deeming that he’s calmed down a little.

“You’re stalking us!” Danny shouts, face turning red with frustration. Steve cocks his head to the side in confusion.

“I’m not,” he shakes his head frantically; “I swore I wasn’t, Jesus, Danny.”

“You live right next door, what am I supposed to think?”

“Danny this is –“

“I mean, it doesn’t exactly look too good for you, you know, Steve? Living right next door, my daughter having written letters to you, coming to visit us, wanting to visit her more –“

“Danny,” Steve shouts, eyes hard and serious, and Danny stops, breathing hard.

“What?” he asks flatly, hands down at his sides, at last.

“This was my father’s house. This is where I live when I come home on leave. I had no idea you and Grace lived next door. I had no idea Grace was even in Hawaii, honestly. I thought maybe you guys lived in LA or something – not – not right next door to me. I’m not stalking you,” and Steve has the nerve to look hurt by the accusation, the look on his face making warm embarrassment spread across Danny’s cheeks.

Danny actually believes him.

He looks up at the house, and back at Steve and Steve’s truck. Finally he says, “Okay,” gruffly, shrugging, “I’m sorry, Steve. I overreacted. I do – I do trust you, I just – when it comes to Grace, I’m not willing to take any chances.”

“I understand that,” Steve says without any hesitation, “I do, Danny. I don’t blame you for jumping to conclusions; I’d be a little freaked out, too. But I swear this was my father’s house, first. I grew up in this house, you know?” there’s a sad little smile playing on his face at that. “I’ve been in it for a long time. But no, Danny, I don’t blame you, okay? Look, you should probably get back over to your daughter, okay?” he glances over towards Danny’s house.

“Yeah, I uh,” Danny scratches the back of his neck nervously, “I’m sorry,” he says again, sincerely.

“I know,” Steve says softly, “See you later,” he breaks into a brief grin, “Neighbor.” And he disappears into his own house.

--

“Danno, can Steve take me out into the water?” Grace shrieks, coming up onto the lanai just as Danny is closing the grill. Danny frowns down at her.

“You’re going to turn into a fish,” he tells her, “You’re going to spout gills and breath underwater and swim away from me. I’ll never get to see you again – that’s how much time you spend in the water!” he taps her on the nose, and she giggles.

“Danno,” she whines, “That’s not true! I want to swim! Steve said he’d go out deep with me.” Danny puts his hands on his hips and studies the ocean for a moment before looking at Steve, who is currently ankle deep in the water, staring back at him, and amused smile on his face. Grace is bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet, awaiting Danny’s answer.

“Alright, alright,” Danny says, holding his hands up in surrender, “I have no say against you and your partner in crime, do I now?” Grace grins and dashes off towards Steve, shrieking that yes, she’s allowed out in the ocean with him, they need to go now, hurry, hurry.

It’s their fourth barbeque in as many weekends, and Danny is relaxed, enjoying his time spent with Steve, almost as much as Grace is. He knows Grace misses having two adults in her life, that both spend time with her. He knows the divorce has been rough on her, and that writing those letters to Steve had helped – and now having Steve to spend time with is helping get her mind off the fact that her mother isn’t here. That her mother might never be here, honestly.

And, Danny has reasoned with himself plenty of times late at night, staring at himself in his bathroom mirror, okay, maybe he likes that Steve is getting his mind off of his recently messy divorce, his busy cases at work, his messy life in general. Maybe he likes that ultimately, Steve has the potential to help glue Danny back together, if he were to stick around long enough. It doesn’t hurt that he’s really, truly good with Grace, good at talking to her, playing with her, and protecting her, all at the same time. Danny sees the way he watches people when they’re in a public places, making sure they’re not threatening to Grace, or even Danny, making sure they’re not eyeing Grace in any way but that awww, she’s adorable with her father way. He’s almost called him out on it a few times, but he’s sure Steve would lock up tight, deny it, and refuse to talk about his emotional issues – which is pretty much his entire life.

Dinner finishes just as Grace and Steve come out of the water, Grace running through the sand. “Rinse off, please,” Danny tells her, frowning at her sand covered body. She’s grinning happily, brushing sand off her hands as she heads towards the outdoor shower, grabbing a towel off the chair. “You, too,” he tells Steve, eyeing his sandy feet. Steve rolls his eyes.

“Sure thing, mom,” Steve says cheekily, and Danny resists the urge to slap him.

Kono has, on more than one occasion, accused their banter of making them sound like an old married couple, causing them both to blush and shift away from one another, eyeing a wall or picture as though it’s the most interesting thing in the room, suddenly. Danny knows there’s something there; he just doesn’t know how to approach it. He isn’t even sure if he wants to approach it, with Steve on indefinite leave, meaning he could be called away at any moment.

Steve takes a towel and starts drying himself off. “You’re getting wet sand near all the food!” Danny says, swatting a hand at him, glaring, “You stupid hulk, go rinse off and dry near the shower, like my own daughter knows to do.”

“Come on, Danno,” Steve needles, giving him a teasing smile, “Don’t you want sandy food?”

“I’ll spit in yours,” Danny threatens, piling burgers onto the spatula and transferring them to a paper plate as he talks, “Keep it up, and just watch, I’ll do it. I promise you, I will.”

“You’d never,” Steve says, leaning over to check out the burgers, making sure they’re done ‘just right,’ he insists. Danny now knows Steve likes his burgers medium, his steaks pretty much bloody, and everything else that’s red meat, he avoids. Really, Danny thinks, he doesn’t know how Steve has survived this long on a diet of bland chicken (no seasoning, ever), and brown rice (no butter, no salt or pepper, too unhealthy, Steve insists). They’ve met in the middle, Danny agreeing to try more healthy things for him and Grace if Steve agreed to stop eating chicken and rice nearly every night, accept the nights he went a little wild and ate some fish instead.

In reality, Danny knows Steve is practically taking over his life.

If pressed to tell the truth, Danny will tell anyone he doesn’t mind all that much.

Not really.

--

“Steve,” Danny says into the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Steve is immediately awake and alert, and Danny can hear the sound of him shifting in his bed to sit up. Danny sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. From Grace’s room, he can hear her sniffles.

“I have a,” Danny takes a deep breath, “Very upset daughter,” he says, sighing, “And I’ve gotten called into work for a case that Chin is having trouble handling himself. The divorce is suddenly taking a turn for the nasty, and he’d like my opinion. Of course it would fall today, when Rachel has decided to once again disappoint Grace and –“ he breaks off, blowing out another sigh, resisting the urge to punch the wall in front of him. He slaps his palm against it, though, and it makes a loud noise that echoes through the hall.

“Give me two minutes,” Steve says firmly, and he disconnects.

The big lug doesn’t even have the manners to hang up.

He strides through the door exactly two minutes later to absolute chaos, a frantic looking Danny trying to soothe Grace, who is shouting and screaming into his cell phone at someone, tears streaming down her face, while he tries to tell her to calm down and simultaneously zip his pants. His shirt still isn’t tucked in, and the buttons are done up unevenly. His hair is standing in every direction. Steve would find this look very amusing if he wasn’t sure this household was headed for apocalyptic proportions in the next five minutes.

“I hate you!” Grace is screaming into the phone, tears and snot dripping from her face, “You promised you’d come and you lied! Danno never lies. I hate you! I never want to see you again, just stay where you are!” she screams and she throws the phone on the couch and runs up the stairs.

“Grace!” Danny calls after her, but his voice is broken, and he sighs, brushing his hands through his hair. Steve leans against the entryway to the living room, arms crossed.

“What’s going on?” he asks softly. Danny jumps, hadn’t noticed he’d arrived, and turns to face him.

“Rachel,” he says in an even tone, filled with disgust, “as you know, promised Grace months ago that she would fly out to see her during her Spring Break. Apparently a ‘Very Important Business Meeting’ that will take ‘several weeks’ has come about, and now she can’t,” Danny says, and his blue eyes fill with hurt for his daughter. “She, of course, left it to me to tell our daughter that she wouldn’t be making it, which severely disappointed Grace. Then she called, just a few moments ago, as you can see. This only angered Grace.” Danny shrugs, “You can’t really blame her. How many times has she been let down by her now? How many times have we been let down by her now?”

“I’m sorry,” Steve murmurs.

“Don’t be,” Danny says, finally getting a chance to fix the buttons on his shirt and tuck it in. He scoops his tie up from its place on the coffee table and swings it around his neck. “Can you just watch her? Kono can’t today, she’s gone surfing – it’s Saturday, you know? And maybe talk to her? I wish – I wish I could,” he swallows, eyes darting towards the steps, where Grace disappeared just moments ago. “But I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll bring pizza for us.”

“Danny,” Steve says, stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. Danny leans into the touch for a moment. “Don’t worry about us, okay? I coax Grace out of her room, I’ll make sure I cheer her up, make sure she forgets about this, okay? And then we’ll eat pizza and watch movies and you can tell me how stupid I am for only eating one slice, am I crazy or something, and all that jazz?” Steve gives him a teasing grin, and Danny breathes out a deep sigh.

“Okay,” he says, “Okay.” He heads towards the door.

“Hey, Danny,” Steve calls, voice catching in his throat, because he feels like he has something important he wants to say, but he can’t figure out what it is just in that moment.

Danny stops, turns around. “Yeah?” he asks, eyes flashing.

Steve swallows, “Fix your hair.”

--

Steve knocks on Grace’s door and waits for a cautious minute before opening it. Grace is curled up on her bed, arms wrapped around a stuffed animal, staring out the window towards the ocean. Steve doesn’t blame her; he knows it’s her favorite place to be, knows that when she’s not in school, at softball practice, or spending time with Danny, she wants to be down in the sand, the water brushing at her toes. It’s Steve’s favorite place to be, and nine times out of ten these days, if Grace is down there, so is Steve.

He walks into the room, but Grace doesn’t turn around, just keeps sniffling and staring out at the waves. The window is cracked open so you can hear them crashing against the shore, the sound soothing to Steve’s – and probably Grace’s – ears. “Hey, Gracie,” he says softly, taking a seat in the rocking chair in the corner of her room. Grace doesn’t say anything. “Danno told me what happened. I-” Steve breaks off for a moment, because he’s not entirely sure what to say here, or how, exactly, to approach Grace. Finally he says, “You know, my dad let me down a lot, too, Gracie.” He leans forwards, clasping his hands together and resting his arms on his knees, watching her carefully for any reaction.

“He used to make promises a lot, but then he’d get called into work, and he couldn’t,” Steve shrugs, “And then he sent me away, and he kept promising to come visit, and he never did. The thing is, Gracie, it – it sucks,” Grace rolls over at this, her cheeks tearstained.

“Danno says you’re not allowed to say that word.”

“We won’t tell him,” Steve winks, and Grace gives him a tiny smile, so Steve feels it’s best to continue. “But it does, suck – it does. And I don’t know if your mom will keep letting you down, Grace – I hope she won’t. You don’t deserve that. But you have to focus on the good things, because that’s what I did, okay?”

“The good things?” Grace asks, looking at him curiously.

Steve nods, “Yeah. Like, you have you dad here, and he never misses a softball game, a school play or meeting, or anything. You have Kono, who gives you surfing lessons, you have Chin, who plays video games with you,” Steve lists.

“I have you, who does everything with me – anything I ask!” Grace says, sitting up a little, her eyes drying, and Steve smiles.

“Of course you have me,” Steve replies, “Grace you have a whole family down here. Your mom will always be there, and she’ll always make mistakes – that’s what parents do. That’s what kids do, too. I think they just trade off. But you’re too young to understand that, so you’ll probably be mad at her a lot. You’ll probably be mad at Danno a couple times, too. But… you can always come and talk to me, I promise.”

“Really,” Grace says, sitting the whole way up now, clutching her sock monkey tight. “Really and truly, you promise you’ll always be there for me to talk to, Steve?” She demands, and there’s a glint in her eyes that Steve isn’t quite sure he understands.

Steve swallows hard, reaches out and wraps her in his arms tight, “Really and truly, Grace,” he whispers into her hair before kissing her on the top of her head once.

And he feels like he’s at home for the first time in a long time.

--

Grace and Steve are watching a movie when Danny bursts through the door, pizza and beers in hand. It’s late, nearing ten o’clock, but it is spring break, Danny reminds himself, so Grace is allowed to be up late, especially if he hasn’t seen her nearly all day and she was upset earlier. He stops short when he sees how they’re arranged on the couch. He’s seen the sight before, sort of. Only, he’s lived it, instead. Grace is curled up into Steve’s side, and Steve’s arm is slung over so that it’s wrapped protectively around her, while she keeps her eyes glued to the screen, and Steve – Danny swallows – Steve only occasionally glances at the screen, the rest of the time keeping his eyes on Grace, in almost what seems like amazement. Like he can’t really believe that she likes him that much.

“Hey,” Danny says softly, but he’s having trouble breathing, doesn’t really want to disturb this sudden image, and there’s these feelings in his chest. He can’t shake them off.

Steve looks up, and Grace peeks through Steve’s arm, “Hey, Danno,” they say at the exact same time, and Danny grips the beer in his hand tighter. Feelings.

“Is that pizza?” Grace asks curiously, sitting up straighter to get a better look.

“Grace, you already ate,” Steve chides, looking mortified at the fact that she could possibly be hungry.

“Salad,” Grace says, shooting him a look that’s almost annoyed, and Steve has the good grace to look sheepish.

“You fed my daughter salad and that’s it?” Danny asks, arching an eyebrow, “She’s a growing kid, Steven. Give her some chicken, too, at least.” But he throws him a smile, too. “Come on, into the kitchen, children, eat some pizza, okay?” he says, gesturing towards the kitchen, and Grace jumps off the couch. She holds out her hand to help Steve up, and they follow Danny to the kitchen.

“Beer?” Danny offers Steve, and Steve nods, taking it from him. Grace dives into her pizza after Danny sets a plate down for her, and they stand watching her silently for a moment. Finally they turn to face the window and Danny asks quietly, “Was she –“

“She was good, Danny, we got it all sorted,” Steve says softly, comfortingly, and reaches a hand out and touches it to Danny’s shoulder. The warmth of his skin spreads through Danny, and Danny sighs, relaxing a little. Steve hesitates for a minute before he says, “Her mother – Rachel – she’s never going to change, Danny. You – you can’t keep hoping for her to, because. Because it just won’t happen. She’ll always love her job, and you guys – you’ll come second place. But what counts is that you’re there. You love her more than anything. God, I swear, I’ve never seen a dad like you before, in all my years working with… hundreds of fathers. You deserve a medal, or something.”

Danny closes his eyes, tries to blink back emotional tears at the sudden onset of Steve’s speech. Because Steve is never on for words, and here he is, saying all these things.

“I just… wanted you to know,” Steve says, seemingly struggling to find the right thing to say, “That. I’m here for you both, okay?”

And his hand is still on Danny’s shoulder, and they’re still facing the window, and Danny’s eyes are still closed, and the world seems to be tilted, because Danny’s pretty confused with everything he’s feeling. All he knows is that he wants. Wants Steve. Wants a family. Wants Grace to be happy and the world to seem right.

Right now, though, he keeps his eyes closed, nods once, long and slow, and lets Steve keep his hand on his shoulder, comforting and warm.

--

“Dannnnooooooo!”

“Oh Jesus fuck,” Danny mumbles under his breath, gripping his pen for patience. He keeps writing and studiously ignores the voice. The door bursts open and Danny closes his eyes, rubs two fingers against his temps and sighs deeply.

“Danno,” Steve says again as he steps into the office, hands on his hips.

“Steven,” Danny says tightly, glancing up, “How can I help you on this fine day?”

“You haven’t answered your phone for the last three days!” Steve says, eyes looking wild and crazy. “Every time I call, I’m put through to voice mail. It’s enough to make a guy worry, okay? I thought you were –“ He breaks off, swallowing, and shrugs. Danny looks up; narrowing his eyes a little, and drops his pen down onto the desk.

“You thought I was what?” he asks softly.

“Nothing,” Steve says, shrugging again, “It’s clear you’re just busy and I overreacted. I just wanted to see if I could take Grace out surfing today, instead of Kono. But if not it’s – not a big deal,” Steve trails off, and it’s obvious to anyone with two ears and eyeballs that it is a big deal, that he’s been a little lost and worried in these last three days.

Danny isn’t sure how to apologize, because the truth is, he’s been sending all of Steve’s calls to voicemail, and ignoring all of his texts. He’s needed space, needed room to breathe without being overwhelmed by Steve’s presence for a few seconds. The sad part is, Grace has been begging to see him, wondering where he’s been and when they’ll see him again, and Danny just keeps putting her off, telling her that Steve is the one who’s been busy. Danny sighs again. “Sorry I haven’t called,” he tells Steve, offering him a small smile, “It’s been a little hectic. Grace is at home with Kono though – spring break, you know? If you want to swing by and take her out surfing or do your fish-thing.”

“Fish-thing?” Steve wrinkles his nose, looking confused.

“You know, live out in the ocean all day or whatever.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “What about after?” he demands.

“What about after?” Danny responds, confused himself now, looking up from his paperwork again to meet Steve’s eyes. They’re hazel today, standing out against his shirt perfectly.

“Well, do you want to get dinner?”

“What – I don’t know how late I’ll be at the office tonight,” Danny tries, glancing down at his desk, which actually holds very little paperwork. Steve stares at him for a long minute and the blows out a sigh.

“Okay, Danny,” he says quietly, backing out of the office, “Sure. Maybe next time.”

“Sure,” Danny says, and watches him disappear into the elevator.

Not even a minute later, Chin appears in the doorway into his office. “Steve was here?” he asks, flopping down onto Danny’s couch.

“Yeah,” Danny shrugs, picking up another item of paper and starting to fill it out. Chin watches him for a long moment before speaking again.

“You didn’t pack everything up and go with him?”

“He wanted to spend time with Grace,” Danny replies distractedly, almost uncomfortably.

“You don’t think he wanted to spend time with you, too, Danny?” Chin says, eyeing him now.

“No – I don’t know,” Danny sighs, scrubbing at his eyes. “He asked if we wanted to go to dinner with him,” he says.

“Because he doesn’t just want to spend time with Grace, Danny,” Chin says, “I knew Steve, before. When he’d come home on leave – which was hardly ever – he was an empty shell of a human being. He wasn’t anything like he is now. He didn’t talk about his feelings, he didn’t beg to hang out with anybody. He found a bar, and he slummed in it until closing time. There were a couple times his old man had to go pull him out of it, then they’d get into a huge fight and Steve would disappear for a couple more years. Wouldn’t see or hear from him again. When Steve’s dad died, they still hadn’t resolved anything. You’ve turned him around, Danny. You and Grace. Grace started it, but you finished it. You telling me you don’t feel the same way brah?”

Danny stares out his office window into the city of Honolulu for a long moment, quiet. He knows Chin will sit there and wait, possibly for hours, for Danny to respond, and Danny just needs a moment to breathe, to think, about what’s going on in his head, in his life. Finally he says, “I thought I had a family. With Rachel. And do you know what happened, Chin? She decided she loved her job more than me – which I could deal with. But then she decided she loved her job more than her kid. I can’t forget what Steve’s job is. I can’t forget how we met in the first place, that he could be snatched up and taken away from me for forever.

“So maybe I do like Steve – possibly I could be falling in love with him – because when he’s here, we’re a great little family unit. But what about when he’s not?”

Chin doesn’t have an answer for that.

--

Steve is coming in from his morning shower when the phone rings. His CO is on the other end of the phone. “I sure hope you’ve had enough time away,” he says into the phone, and Steve gets a sinking feeling in his stomach, because. No.

He hasn’t.

“Yes, sir,” he says dutifully, spine stiffening out of reflex.

“We’ve got a shitstorm brewing over here,” he continues. “You’ve got twenty four hours, be at Pearl to take off with a team I’ve been working to put together. They’ll brief you there. See you soon McGarrett. Don’t let me down.”

“Of course not, sir.”

Steve hangs the phone up and stares at sitting in his hand until it goes off again, this time with Danny’s name flashing across the screen. He lets it ring for another three seconds before he answers it slowly. “Jeez, what took you so long?” Danny asks him when he picks up. “Grace is begging to go to the zoo today, and she insists that you come. It’s a Saturday and I always promise the weekends are hers to do as she pleases – within the realm of reality, of course,” he hastens to add, as if to warn Steve not to go off buying her any ponies, or anything.

“The zoo,” Steve says, head clouded with a million different thoughts.

“Yes, that’s what I said,” Danny says, and Steve can tell he’s frowning.

“Okay,” Steve says, “I can go to the zoo.”

There’s silence for a second before Danny’s voice crackles over the line again, “Steve, are you okay? You sound spaced out. Like, freaked out.”

“I’m fine, Danny,” he says quickly. “I have to shower if you want to go to the zoo. What time do you want to meet?”

“Twenty minutes okay?” Danny asks.

“That’s fine,” Steve says, and hangs up.

He showers quickly and then meets Danny outside in the driveway, where Grace is bouncing next to him excitedly. Steve represses the sinking feeling in his stomach and pushes a grin forward instead. “Hey Gracie, Danno,” he says, wrapping his arms around Grace as she rushes forward, hugging him tight.

“Uncle Steve,” she beams up at him, “We’re going to the zoo today. Danno promised weeks ago, and he’s finally taking me! I’m so excited! I want to see the monkeys, because Danno says they’ll act just like me.”

“You think?” Steve teases, “I bet they’re even crazier,” he taps her once on the nose, and meets Danny’s eyes. Danny is frowning, looking curiously at him, but Steve just shrugs, smiling at him instead. They pile into Danny’s car, and, with Steve driving, Danny leans over.

“Are you okay?” he asks, and Steve’s hands reflexively tighten on the wheel.

“Fine,” he murmurs, “I just – can we do dinner tonight, all of us? I have something to tell you?” And he avoids glancing over at Danny, because he just knows that Danny knows, knows that deep inside, Danny will figure it out, and he doesn’t want to see the look of disappointment on his face. Danny stays quiet for a moment before he responds.

“Yeah,” he says, “Yeah, Gracie, how does that sound? Dinner with Uncle Steve?”

“Yeah!” she cheers, and Steve relaxes just a little.

--

“So,” Danny says, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs, observing Steve over a glass of soda. He’s tense, he knows something is up, he just doesn’t know what for sure. They’ve spent the entire day running around the zoo looking at animals and Grace sits in Steve’s lap, sound asleep, exhausted after the long day. Steve has been picking at his food for the last twenty minutes and Danny just knows he’s about to tell him something he doesn’t want to hear.

“Danny,” Steve clears his throat, “Danny, I have to go away again,” he says, and then he closes his eyes as if he can avoid the oncoming storm of rage that’s about to hit the table, courtesy of Danny himself. Danny can feel it curling around the edges of his stomach, spiraling up towards his throat, just waiting to pour out between them in vicious, vicious words. He blinks once, twice, and he’s sure he sees red.

“You – what?” he says, swallowing tightly, trying to breathe.

“My CO called me today, he’s calling me back. This was only a break, Danny, it was never – I was never meant to stay for good. I’m sorry. I have to go back and finish out my tour.”

“Your tour isn’t finished? Chin told me you’d been gone for years!”

“I have but – this is…” Steve trails off, “My CO sent me home on a break because I haven’t been on one in a long time. He’s calling me back because he has an important mission that he needs me for. I – I think I’m done after this one, though, Danny, I swear – Danny, what are you doing, Danny!” he questions as Danny stands up, throwing cash down on the table and picking Grace up from Steve’s lap. She wakes up with a start, looking around curiously. “Danny, don’t do this,” Steve pleads lowly.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Steven,” Danny shoots back, going for the car.

“Danno, what’s going on?” Grace mumbles sleepily, and Danny kisses her forehead, brushes her hair back as he keeps walking. Steve follows him, trying to fix this.

“Danny, please, I’m trying to explain –“

“Explain what, Steve? There’s nothing to explain! You promised my daughter you’d be there for her, and now you’re not going to be. And I thought –“ Danny breaks off, looking away, blinking back tears he thought he could prevent. “I thought maybe we had something, okay? But clearly I was wrong, because it’s obvious this means more to you than we do.”

“Danny it’s not something I can get out of!” Steve protests.

“Did you even try?” Danny asks, spinning around from buckling Grace into the car, “Did you ask if your contract was up? Did you tell him you needed more time? Did you consider transferring to the Reserves or – or getting out of there? I don’t know, Steve, I don’t know, maybe this life is all you know, and that’s okay. But I thought maybe if Grace and I showed you family again – I thought maybe if Grace showed you family again, you’d take that into consideration. I mean I know I’ve pulled back lately, but it’s only because I’ve cared a little too much. But I’ve never kept Grace from you. So did you even try?”

Steve blinks, shocked.

Danny laughs hollowly, “Fuck you, Steve. Call a cab.” And he peels out of the parking lot, leaving Steve with nothing but a glimpse of his taillights.

Steve calls him three times just while Danny’s driving, but Danny ignores them, driving down the highway steadily, keeping his eyes on the road and trying not to think about Steve away in some desert or jungle, possibly getting shot at and killed. He’s been pushing his feelings back for so long, and now they’ve been laid out on the table, and not in any way he wanted them to be. He feels shitty, both for admitting his feelings right before Steve has to leave, and for leaving Steve like he did.

The phone rings again, and a picture of Steve and Grace pops up on the screen, telling Danny who it is yet once more. Danny jabs at the ignore button as he pulls into the driveway, cutting the engine. “Danno?” Grace yawns, “Whattsa matter?”

Danny stares up at the house, and then glances over at Steve’s house, both of them dark, and it hits him.

He has to tell Grace.

He doesn’t want to tell her.

“Come on, Monkey,” he says, swallowing back tears, “Let’s get you inside, okay?”

“Where’s Uncle Steve?” she asks, unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out of the car, taking his hand as they walk towards the door. Danny unlocks the front door and enters the alarm code before he answers her.

“Monkey – Grace – we have to talk, baby,” he says, sitting down on the couch, and Grace stares at him for a long moment, wide, fearful eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uncle Steve… has to go away, Grace,” Danny says, watching her carefully, and she watches him back for a long moment, unsure of what to say.

“What do you mean?” she finally asks, her voice trembling, “Doesn’t Uncle Steve like us anymore? Why does he have to go away too? He promised, Danno, he promised!”

“No – Grace – no,” Danny shakes his head quickly, “Uncle Steve loves you, and if he had any say in it, he wouldn’t be going anywhere, I know that for sure, okay? I promise you. He just – the Navy is making him do this, or he wouldn’t, okay, I promise. He loves you, Grace, he loves you.”

“Then why is he leaving?” she shouts, stomping her foot and Danny knows he’s in for a totally un-Grace-like fit, but he doesn’t blame her, “Everyone leaves, Danno! Mom left, and now Uncle Steve’s leaving, and they all break their promises! It’s not fair!”

“Grace, I’m sorry,” he says, exhausted already, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head and runs out the front door before Danny can stop her, even though he’s already jumping up, following her down the front porch steps and across their lawn onto Steve’s, up Steve’s porch, where Grace starts pounding on his door. Steve has already opened the door though, and is rushing out to meet her, where she starts pounding on his chest, “You lied!” She yells, “You lied! You told me you would be here, and you lied! You’re leaving just like mommy left me and Danno! You lied and I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”

“Grace,” Steve says, his voice breaking, and Danny scrubs at his face, tugs at his hair in the middle of the lawn, tears dripping down his face as he watches the two of them, trying to figure out what to do. “Grace I –“

“No!” She screams, shrill and bright in the middle of the evening air, shattering any peace there was in the neighborhood, “No, no, no! I hate you! You lied! You’re just like mommy! You don’t love me or Danno!” She pushes against Steve’s just once more before she sinks into his hug for moment, sobbing. Then she pulls away, running back down the steps and wrapping her arms around Danny’s legs, crying even harder than Danny thinks he’s ever seen her cry.

He can’t even believe the turn of events through this day. He went from spending the day at the zoo with his daughter and the guy he thought he might love, to his daughter sobbing in the middle of his lawn, because she thinks everyone might leave her. Steve is sitting on the floor of his front porch, watching them both with broken eyes, and Danny just can’t believe his day.

“Take me home, Danno!” Grace cries, reaching her arms up to be held, “Take me home!”

He just can’t believe it.

--

There’s a knock on the door before the sun is even up. Danny is sitting in the living room, a bottle of Johnny Walker sitting on the coffee table, a glass sitting next to it, and he’s staring at the blank television screen. He doesn’t get up to answer it, and Steve keeps knocking for a while before he gives up. Finally, the knocking goes away and there’s the sound of a car pulling away.

For who knows how long, Danny thinks, Steve has disappeared from their lives.

He barreled into it, sweet and sure, and now he’s gone, and Danny didn’t even get to experience the one thing he wanted more than anything.

Being with him.

Danny gives up staring at the television and goes into Grace’s room, where she’s tossing and turning in a restless sleep.

--

“Danno?” Grace comes into the kitchen later in the morning. They’ve both slept until late morning, and now they’re spending their time wallowing in their own sadness. She’s holding a white envelope and she’s looking down at it curiously. “This was under the door.”

Danny jumps up from the table and comes over, taking it from her. He stares down at the neat handwriting, Danno, printed across the center of the envelope, and he knows exactly who it’s from. “Thanks,” he mumbles, sliding his finger under the fold and tearing it open.

It’s not long, just two sentences sprawled across the middle of the page, as the Steve couldn’t think of what to say (he was never good with words anyways), and he just wrote down the first things that came to him.

You weren’t wrong.

I’m coming back to you and Grace.

And that’s it. Danny isn’t sure what to make of it for right now, so he folds it back up and kisses the top of Grace’s head. “Danno loves you,” he says, and she hugs him.

“Love you too,” she mumbles.

--

Weeks pass and Grace comes downstairs one night with a notebook and pen in her hand. “I’m ready to forgive Uncle Steve,” she announces to Danny, and Danny turns around from where he’s been making chicken salad. He arches an eyebrow at her, a gesture for her to continue, and she sets her pen and notebook on the table. “I thought about it, Danno, and he couldn’t help being sent away. And he needs all the support he can get. I want him to come home to us, Daddy.”

“I –“ Danny breaks off.

“I love him, Daddy. I know you do too,” Grace says softly, watching him for a reaction. “He’s the best part of this family, and I know you miss him. I miss him. I want to write to him again, like last time. Only this time he’ll know who it’s from. Please, can I?”

“I’d never stop you,” Danny says quietly, watching as she beams at him and sits down at the table, starting on her letter.

--

Three months go by, and Grace writes one every day for him, Danny sitting nearby as she does. Sometimes she’ll get responses, and sometimes she won’t. She never talks about what she writes, and Danny never really asks, until one day, he does. “What do you talk about with Steve?” he asks her, driving her to her friend Aletta’s house for the evening.

“Everything,” Grace says, looking over at him, shrugging. “You can read them if you want, Danno.” They pull up to the house and she kisses Danny’s cheek, “They’re on my desk. Love you.”

“Love you too, baby.”

When he gets home, he wanders through the strangely silent house for a while before he makes his way up to his daughter’s room, and stares at the pile of letters sitting on the corner of her desk, tied neatly together with green ribbon. He fingers the smooth ribbon for a moment before he unties it, the fabric falling to the desk, and then picks up the letter sitting on top.

Gracie,

It’s great the you’re learning more and more about surfing; I’m so proud of you. The best part is that Kono teaches you about Hawaiian culture when you’re out on the waves. I think it’s amazing that she takes the time to tell you those stories.

I’m so proud of you for all the hard work you’ve put into school and sports and surfing, and I can’t wait to be back so you can show it to me. I miss you so much.

Don’t worry about me so much, okay? I’ll make you a deal: I’ll stop worrying about you and Danno so much if you stop worrying about me so much.

Make sure you tell me about the latest chapter of Harry Potter; I can’t wait to hear more about it baby.

I love you,

Steve.

Danny puts the letter down gently, and sinks down onto Grace’s bed, staring at the pile of letters. He can’t believe he’s stayed angry at Steve this long for something that wasn’t even in his power to control. He wants to take back every hurtful word he said that night, wants to go back in time and take it all back, pull Steve into his arms and kiss him senseless.

Since he can’t, he does the next best thing. He steals a piece of his daughter’s stationary, and one of her pens, sits at her desk, and starts writing.

Steve,

I’m writing because this is how it all started. It started right here, in Grace’s room, with her stationary, with her letters.

With you.

At first we didn’t know who you were, and we didn’t think we’d ever know who you were. And then you came crashing over us like a tidal wave, big and strong, so great. And I couldn’t say no to you getting to know my baby girl, because you had these great, sad eyes and this air about you that said you always wanted to do the right thing. And then it turned into something more.

You fell for us, as a family, and it took longer for me to realize that maybe I fell for you, too. That I wanted the whole package deal. By the time I did, I kept pushing you away because I thought you were only there for Grace, but I know that’s not the truth. I know you’re there for the both of us.

I know you love us both, and the truth is?

I love you, too.

I love you even now, when you’re gone, and I never stop thinking about you. Every day passes and you’re my first thought when I wake up in the morning, and my last thought before I fall asleep. I know that’s true for Grace, too, because she thinks of you as another father figure.

Steve, you’re it.

You’re everything.

I wasn’t wrong – we do have something. But I was wrong to throw it all away.

So come home, Sailor.

I’ll be waiting.

Danny.

--

“Danno, Danno! When’s he gonna be here?” Grace bounces up and down, holding his hand, peering through the crowd of people to look for Steve.

“Soon, I promise,” Danny says, also searching for him.

“I hope so,” Grace’s eyes cloud over with worry momentarily before she shrugs it off, and then she smiles again.

“Danny, Grace!” they hear, and turn around. Steve comes running towards them, and Grace jumps up and down again, once more excited, before she’s being swept up into Steve’s arms, covered in hugs and kisses.

“I missed you!” she shrieks, hugging and kissing him back, “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too,” Steve beams at her. Danny shields his eyes from the sunlight and smiles up at them. Steve looks down at him.

“Hey,” Danny says softly.

“Hey,” Steve says just as softly.

Danny opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, he’s being wrapped in Steve’s arms, being kissed by Steve; the best kiss he’s ever had, he thinks, kissing Steve back, and Grace is laughing on Steve’s other side, hugging them both as Danny pulls away.

“I love you,” Steve tells him, eyes drilling into him, honest and true.

“I – I love you too,” Danny says, still dazed. “Yes, yeah, of course,” Danny says. Steve just beams.

“Let’s go home.”

When they’re in the car, Steve takes his hand, smiling over at him. “Think about it,” he says softly, “Where would we be if Grace hadn’t gotten us here?”

“Nowhere,” Danny says, not even hesitating, “Absolutely nowhere, babe.”