A/N: This was written for the prompt: Mark doesn't approve of Jesse and Steve's relationship and how they deal with it. No evil Marks! He's okay with gays, just as long as it's not his son. The whole "not in my backyard" kind of thing. He eventually comes around, but it takes time and effort.

Thanks, as always, go to Rose.

Chapter One

Steve should have known that he'd find Jesse at the hospital. The doctor was rushing from patient to patient in the packed ER; to anyone else he probably seemed like his usual self – energetic, enthusiastic, happy. But Steve could see the shadows underneath his eyes; the way Jesse's smile wasn't as genuine as it usually was.

Pushing himself off the doorframe on which he'd been leaning, Steve made his way over to Jesse and waited for him to finish with his patient. He frowned when he saw Jesse's hands shake as he added something to his notes.

"Jesse."

Jesse turned, appeared to see the determined look on Steve's face and began to follow him as he led the way out of the hospital. They walked in silence until they reached the parking lot.

"C'mon Jess, get in, we'll drive somewhere." Steve slid into the driver's seat of his truck, watching while Jesse got comfortable.

"Can we – I mean, just don't drive anywhere yet, I need a – I need some time." Jesse leant against the window, closing his eyes.

"Take as long as you need."

The next few minutes dragged on. Outside, people were talking, shouting, rushing into the hospital. But inside the truck it was silent, apart from the sound of Jesse breathing; shaky and fast. Steve watched as Jesse raised a hand to his forehead, caught the way he still couldn't keep it from shaking.

"He hates me." Jesse looked at Steve, blue eyes filled with misery.

"No. It's not you. Don't ever think that."

"Steve, I know, okay. He hates me. You don't need to pretend. He's – he's always been fine with this kind of thing, I mean why would he – it's me."

"No." Steve reached over, touched Jesse's hand. "It's him, Jess. He can't handle the fact that I'm gay. It's probably just going to take him some time to process it. I mean he's not, he's never been, homophobic. But Jess, it's not you. He thinks the world of you-"

"Thought. He thought the world of me. Now he just hates me. Thinks I'm not good enough for you, maybe he's-"

"Don't you dare say he's right, that's not true, you're my best friend, Jesse, there's no-one I'd rather be with."

"Oh God, I wish you hadn't said that, makes this so much harder." Jesse bit down on his lip.

"What?"

"I – I can't come between you and Mark, so I'm just going to – I'm, it's over. I'm sorry."

DMDMDMDM

Jesse threw his favourite sweats into the travel bag and pulled at the zipper impatiently. He had to get away, had to go before Steve caught up with him. He only had one thing left to do. Picking up the phone he hit the speed dial button and listened to it ring once, twice, three times.

"Hello, Amanda Bentley speaking."

"It's me. I need to-"

"Oh, hey, Jess, I'm glad you called, I wanted to-"

"I'm leaving."

"What?"

"I'm – I'm leaving. I have to."

"Why?"

Jesse turned to look at the picture on his bed; him and Steve at Barbeque Bob's.

"For him."

"Jesse, what are-"

"Say bye to the boys for me, and tell Mark I'm sorry. I'll call you when I get there."

"Get where? Where are you going to go? Your job is here, Jesse. Your friends are here."

"I can't tell you. Steve. I don't want him to know. Bye Amanda."

Jesse put the phone down and wiped at his eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Jesse jumped at the harsh voice; Steve was glaring at him when he turned around.

"I can't believe you. You really think running away is the answer. You're really going to hurt yourself – hurt me – just because Dad doesn't like our relationship. Y'know, I thought you cared about me more than that." Steve was steadily getting closer and closer to him, using his height to crowd Jesse in against the wall.

"I do. I do care for you, I love you. It's why – I have to go."

"No, that's why you have to stay. Jesse, we'll sort it out, okay. We'll make Dad see sense. And even if he doesn't, I'm not going to let you throw us away. We'll deal with it together. Okay?"

Steve drew Jesse towards him, refusing to let the younger man pull away. A few minutes passed and Steve began to get worried, what if Jesse wasn't listening to him. Then he felt Jesse nod. And then the sobbing began.

DMDMDMDM

Steve woke up alone. He reached over to pull Jesse close, only to encounter a cold, empty space where his partner should have been.

"No. No, no, no, no." Steve pushed himself up out of the bed, climbing into his jeans as he stumbled his way across the bedroom.

Jesse had gone, he'd bolted, Steve's words hadn't got through to him after all, and Jesse was – Jesse was standing at the kitchen counter, pouring over a recipe book.

"Steve, do you want – what's the matter?" Jesse turned around, swamped in an old shirt of Steve's.

"I thought – it doesn't matter. Morning, baby." Steve pulled Jesse into his arms, smiled as the doctor hummed contentedly. "No cooking for you this morning. It's your day off. How about we head to Bob's?"

"Sounds good. Can I have the special pancakes?"

"Course, baby. With extra chocolate sauce. C'mon, shower." He reached down and took Jesse's hand, pulling him towards the bathroom.

"Hmm, love it when you get all bossy, Officer."

"Keep talking like that and we might not even make it out the front door."

DMDMDMDM

Jesse ate his pancakes as Steve watched him over a cup of strong coffee. They were sitting in their favourite spot at BBQ Bob's. The place was quiet; the only other diners were a few of the regulars that Steve knew well.

"You want some?" Jesse held out a forkful of his breakfast.

"Thanks, but I'm not that hungry, you have it."

The younger man nodded, slipping the forkful of food into his mouth. Chocolate sauce smeared on his chin, and Steve was quick to reach forward and wipe it away with his thumb. Jesse grinned at him, blushing ever so slightly and Steve laughed at him, realising something. Before he could stop himself he'd blurted it out.

"Jesse, move in with me."

Steve leapt up as Jesse began to cough and splutter, choking on his food. When he was sure Jesse was okay, he sat back down and watched apprehensively as his partner processed what was going on.

"Did you really just ask me to move in with you?"

"Yes."

"Oh. That's – I – yes." Jesse nodded.

"What?"

Jesse reached over, grabbing Steve's hand. "Yes, I'd love to live with you. Although, really, you should probably move in with me. I mean, Mark's – mmph." Jesse was cut off as Steve's mouth covered his own. Wolf whistles that normally would have embarrassed him came from the direction of his employees but, instead of stopping, Jesse just stuck his thumb up and lost himself in the kiss.

DMDMDMDM

Jesse had been pacing up and down Steve's bedroom for the best part of an hour while Steve gathered some of his most essential and important possessions.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Jesse, I am sure that I want to move in with you. Stop freaking out." Steve didn't even look up as he tried to force the zipper on his bag closed.

"But this is like - it could be the final straw with Mark. What if he stops talking to you all together?"

"Then that's his problem and he'll be the one left alone. Look, it's not like he's said he hates me or anything. He's just struggling to understand. He'll come around and, when he does, me and you can look for a bigger place together, maybe here at the beach."

Jesse nodded, then sat down on the bed and began to fold some of Steve's clothes. The two men worked in silence for the next half an hour until the room was nearly empty, furniture the only things remaining.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we?" Steve wrapped an arm around Jesse's waist, reeling him in for a kiss.

"A good team doing – what?" Mark was stood in the doorway, looking around his son's room. "Where are all your things, Steve?"

"I – Dad, I wanted to tell you before you saw. I'm moving out. It's time I did, I've been living here too long; I need my own place, closer to the precinct."

Mark was silent for a moment, glancing between Steve and Jesse, who had jumped away from each other when Mark had spoken. "You're moving in with Jesse? Isn't that a bit soon?"

"Yeah, I'm moving in with him. And we've known each other for years. We've been going out for six months, it's not like we don't know each other. I'd really like it if you could be happy for us." As Steve spoke, he reached out and took Jesse's hand, pulling the smaller man closer to him.

"I can't do that. I can't watch while the two of you hurt each other. It's not right."

"It's not right? You don't have a problem with Chris and Sam along the beach, so why are we wrong?"

"Steve, you're both straight; you were married, Jesse was engaged to Susan. The two of you are confused; I'm not going to encourage that."

"Mark, those relationships didn't work out. Surely that tells you something?" Jesse spoke up for the first time, softly but with conviction.

"It tells me that neither of you are good at commitment; it tells me that I'm going to have to pick up the pieces when my son has been hurt all over again by someone who used to be his best friend."

"Jess, can you go and wait in the car, please?"

Jesse nodded, squeezed Steve's hand and then headed up the stairs. Once he was out of earshot, Steve turned to his father, a thunderous look on his face.

"Don't ever talk to Jesse like that again. He thinks the world of you, thinks of you as a father, and every time you say something like that, he hurts. Dad, I know you're worried, but Jesse and I, we're going to last. I've never been surer of anything."

"Son, I don't want to hurt Jesse. But I don't want him to hurt you. We're still going to – you're still going to keep in touch?" Mark reached out to clasp Steve's shoulder, recoiled when his son moved away.

"I'm not going far, Dad. We're still family. But I need to live somewhere where I can be myself with Jesse. Please, for me, please try and understand, try and accept this. We don't want to lose you."

"I'll try."

"Then we'll see you soon. Call me if you need anything."

DMDMDMDM

The smell of hot chocolate woke Steve from a peaceful sleep. He glanced at the alarm, frowning when he saw how late in the morning it was. Groaning, he made his way into the kitchen and smiled when he saw Jesse, head slumped on the kitchen table, snoring softly.

Steve moved the mug away from Jesse's hand, not wanting him to accidentally knock it over. His own mug was on the kitchen counter, and he picked it up before sitting down opposite his partner, settling down to watch him sleep.

They'd been officially living together for a week, but Jesse had been working double shifts and they hadn't had much of a chance to spend time together except from when they were moving all of Steve's things in. Now, on Jesse's day off, Steve was planning on spoiling him. He'd already booked a table at Jesse's favourite restaurant for lunch.

The phone rang, and Steve set his mug down on the table, hurrying to answer it before it woke Jesse.

"Sloan."

"We need you at work, there's a big operation going down today. Sorry, Steve, I know you had plans."

"I'll be there soon." Steve put the phone down, wondering how to break the news to Jesse.

"Work?"

Steve turned and saw a sleepy looking Jesse, his hair mussed up and his freckles standing out against his pale skin. "Baby, I'm so sorry, today was supposed to-"

"Steve, it's fine. Not your fault, 'kay?"

"Hmm. You should still go for lunch, take Amanda or Rick." Steve went to stand behind Jesse and dropped a kiss on the top of his head.

"I think I'll give Rick a call, it's ages since we caught up. You'll be careful?"

"Course I will. I'll be home as early as I can." He grabbed his jacket and holster, putting them on before leaning down for a final kiss from Jesse. "Love you."

DMDMDMDM

Jesse sat, curled up in a jumper of Steve's, staring at the door. He'd left the lights off, hoping that he'd be able to doze, but sleep just didn't seem to be on his agenda. The volume on the television was low, but Jesse was able to make out the words the newsreader was saying; no mention of the police, no crashes, and the traffic, if anything, was running smoother than usual. He glanced at the phone, wondering whether to phone the station, but stopped himself. Steve was only an hour later; he was probably just busy with a case.

He leant forward, picking up a well used medical encyclopaedia and began to leaf through it. He'd had a patient in earlier, and something about the diagnosis was bothering him. The phone rang, making him jump, and he leapt for it, eager to hear his lover's voice.

"Hello."

"Jesse, I need you to come into the hospital."

"Mark, you're kidding, I've just finished a double shift, I'm back in at lunch tomorrow and-"

"It's not work, Jesse. Steve-"

"No, he's – what's happened?" Jesse stood up, stuffing his feet into his sneakers.

"He's been – Steve's been shot."

DMDMDMDM

Getting to the hospital took forever. By the time he'd fought his way through the traffic Jesse was a nervous wreck. He'd had way too long to think about the situation and was imagining all of the worst scenarios. He pulled his car to a stop, not caring that it was taking up two parking spaces, and ran into the ER.

The other doctors looked around at him as he searched frantically for his partner. There was no sign of him and Jesse assumed the worst.

"Marie, where's – which operating theatre, is he in? Or - no, he's not, can't be."

The nurse hadn't even opened her mouth to reply before Jesse had moved away, and grabbed at a pile of notes. He scanned for Steve's name, becoming more and more agitated when he couldn't find it. A hand fell onto his shoulder, and he shrugged it off, only to feel it being replaced again.

"Look, I-"

"Jess."

Jesse span around, took in the sight of Steve, arm in a sling but otherwise okay, and leapt at his partner.

"Whoa, watch the arm," Steve wrapped his good arm around the doctor, frowning when he felt the shaking, "Hey, it's okay, I'm here, I'm fine."

"M'sorry."

"It's okay, baby, nothing to be sorry for."

"Hurt your arm." Jesse mumbled.

"No, you didn't."

"Thought you were – thought you'd left me." Jesse burrowed his face in Steve's shoulder.

"I'm still here, Jess. Never going to leave you." Steve dropped a kiss on the top of Jesse's head in his familiar gesture.

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise, baby."

DMDMDMDM

"Now, make sure he takes his pain meds, he's stubborn so-"

"Mark, I know, it's fine. I'll look after him." Jesse took the prescription from Mark, smiling slightly at the man's protectiveness.

"He will. Seriously, Dad, two days of Mother Hen Jesse looking after me and I'll be begging you to admit me to hospital. Oof. Jesse!"

"Don't call me a Mother Hen, and I won't elbow you."

"Boys. This is important. Now, Jesse, if you need any help looking after him, just call me. Steve, be a good patient for Jesse, take your medication and don't overwork that arm too soon."

"Okay. Thanks, Dad. You should come over for lunch tomorrow, Amanda's-"

"I can't make it tomorrow," Mark glanced at Jesse, who had a crestfallen look on his face. "Some other time, maybe."

"That would be good, Mark. It's ages since we've all been together."

Mark didn't answer, just nodded curtly and waved as he walked away.

DMDMDMDM

Jesse traced his fingers over Steve's face, being careful not to wake his older lover. It was four days since Steve had been shot, and the detective had bounced back. The flesh wound just beneath his shoulder was healing up well and he'd be able to go back to work in a week or so, he was already back to heavy lifting. Jesse, however, was still waking up with nightmares about what might have happened if his partner hadn't of been so lucky.

He glanced over at the clock; it was only six am. Sighing, Jesse lay back down, avoiding knocking Steve's shoulder. He'd have to stay in bed for a while yet, if he got up this early Steve would worry.

In his mind he began to run through all of the plans he had for Christmas. It would be their first Christmas together, and Jesse wanted it to be special. As a child, the occasion had been memorable, but not for good reasons. His Mom had almost always volunteered for shifts at the hospital, and Jesse had been left with various doctors. It wasn't until he'd moved to LA that he'd discovered that Christmases with family and laughter and happiness did exist.

DMDMDMDM

Later the same morning Jesse made Steve breakfast in bed, helped him get showered and dressed and then set out for the shops. He returned laden with bags full of presents to find both Mark and Amanda sitting talking to Steve.

"Hi everyone. Don't look." Jesse hurried into the bedroom to hide his shopping. It was only when he stepped back out into the living room that he saw the angry look on Steve's face. "Steve?"

"Dad was just leaving." Steve glared at his father.

"Steve, please, just listen to what I'm saying here."

"What? Listen to you insult Jesse? Listen to you tell me I can't bring the man that I love to Christmas? I'm not going to listen to that. Get out." Steve stood up, heading over to the door and opening it.

"Christmas?" Jesse slumped down onto the couch.

Steve turned to Amanda, "How about you?"

"You know I don't have a problem with you two." Amanda looked worriedly at Jesse as she spoke.

"Are you spending Christmas at the beach, with him?"

"Well, yes, we are. But, Steve-"

"Then you can get out too. Enjoy your Christmas, we'll enjoy ours."

Amanda looked like she wanted to say something else, but Mark shook his head and gestured for her to follow him. Steve slammed the door behind them, turned and grimaced when he saw how upset Jesse was. In three long strides he was by his lover's side.

"Jess," Steve pulled the smaller man towards him, shook his head as he felt Jesse shake, "It's okay. We've got each other, Christmas is still going to be great, we'll have it here, just the two of us." Steve continued to talk, low and comforting, until Jesse's sobs subsided.

"They're our family, Steve," it was barely a whisper, "I don't understand. Why are we wrong?"

"We aren't, baby. They are. He is."

The both sat in a silence that was only broken by the sound of Jesse's soft snoring as he fell asleep. Steve sighed, brushing Jesse's hair out of his eyes and wished, not for the first time, that life could just be simple.