A/N: Okay, so this is a fic I wrote earlier this week. I've been holding off from uploading for a few days though, trying to decide whether it was too rushed. I've finally decided to leave it as it is, because I kind of like the brief chapters. The first longish chapter is up today, tomorrow I'll put the second and third up, and then the day after that I'll update with the last two shorter chapters.
Anyway, this was written after a prompt from 5-Ofanatic: "Rachel & Stan die, and Danny now has sole custody of Grace. Without a stable place to live, Steve offers to help, while having 'secret feelings' for him with an eventual romance." So, thank you very much for the prompt, and I hope you like what I've come up with.
Danny clutches Grace just a little bit closer, and he lets a tear escape from his eye. Because however badly Rachel may have treated him at various points in his life, Danny doesn't have to remind himself that he loved the woman. So. Bloody. Much. Maybe not anymore, but certainly for the duration of their relationship. And then some.
So Danny clutches Grace just a little bit closer, because though he hates that he's even thinking about this so soon after the accident - one week after to be exact - the new custodial changes may be the only good thing to come out of the death of Rachel and Stan. Silver lining and all that…
Danny takes one final look into the grave of his ex-wife before he can feel the gentle touch of his partner at his shoulder. Ignoring it, he turns, strokes a hand down Grace's back, and walks towards the Camaro.
Steve reaches the car before him though - predictably so - and before Danny has a chance to protest, the keys have been whipped from his clasp. "Steve, please. Not today, would you just…"
Steve comes into view from beside them both, and Danny's frowning at him with a look of sadness that Steve absolutely fucking hates. Danny's pretty sure that the look the ex-SEAL is going for is sympathetic. Doesn't suit him.
"Danny, you seriously think I'm gonna let you drive?" He puts the keys into Chin's hand with a whisper as he passes, and Danny's eyes drift to the thirty or so people that are leaving the cemetery, all clad in black. He points to the truck. "C'mon, Chin'll drop the car off, let me drive you home."
Danny sighs, but honestly, he doesn't have it in him to put up a fight. So ignoring the look of concern on Steve's face, he allows the man to give him a gentle shove in the direction of the truck, strapping a silently crying Grace into the back seat before joining Steve in the front with an upset look back to his daughter. She looks even worse than he feels.
The journey back to the apartment is quick, but as he moves to get out, Danny realises that Steve is a couple of chapters, maybe a couple of instalments ahead of him in this series of books. On Steve's request, Grace remains unmoving as Steve follows Danny to a spot away from the car, presumably because he doesn't want to interrupt Grace's thoughts, however solemn her face.
"Steven, what the fuck do you think you are doing? We just attended the funeral of my ex-wife, correct?" Steve seems to decide that a response is not what Danny is looking for right now. "Correct. And my daughter, my sweet, sweet daughter is in your car, and all she wants is to crawl into bed and cry. And right now, honestly Steve, I feel like doing the same. Because despite the fact that I no longer loved the woman in the I-wanna-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you kind of a way, she was the mother of my child," the hand gestures are going wild, the tears slowly refilling his eyes, "and that means more than you will ever understand," Steve winces, says nothing, intending to wait it out, "So please, I am asking you nicely, will you just let my daughter and I mourn in privacy."
Steve waits for a full three seconds before pulling Danny into a hug. It's an unusual display of affection for the pair, but if he's honest, it's a gesture that Danny has needed this past week. Finally, Steve pulls away. "Look, I know you're upset, I know the car crash shook you up, and I get that the only relief is that Grace wasn't in that car with them, but I'm here Danny. I'm here, and I want to help. You and Grace. And I know this probably sounds stupid, and crazy, and all kinds of overprotective, but please, will you just come and stay with me for a while? You guys are gonna need some space and some peace, and I can keep out of your way. But I hate thinking of you two out here, suffering alone in that hovel." He gestures to the pathetic excuse for an apartment.
Danny searches for sincerity in Steve's eyes, and finds it. And despite the attempts at convincing people otherwise, Danny can't deny that the man is his best friend, and that maybe he's right. Maybe it would be better if they had the calm of the beach and the space of a house to get over this. So Danny, unable to say anything more right now for fear of breaking into another bout of hysterical tears, just nods, allowing himself to once again be coaxed towards the car. He listens as Steve explains to Grace, and then heads inside to pick up a bag of things for them both before returning to the silent car, this time slipping in the back beside Grace to pull her close and hide his tears in her hair.
Over the past week, his feelings for Steve haven't crossed his mind at all, not even once, and for the first time in the seven days since it happened, he has to force his feelings of affection away from conscious thought, because right now, Grace needs him.
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Let me know :)