Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.
Winter 2012
It's Christmas morning in the McGarrett-Williams home, and like last year, the house is decked out with decorations everywhere. Danny turned the outside lights on when he came downstairs. He can hear Steve in the kitchen starting the coffee. It's late to be starting the day, but Grace is with her other family today. They exchanged gifts last night and went to church services before Steve and Danny dropped her off.
Technically, it was Steve and Danny's week with Grace, but Stan and Rachel missed the entire holiday season with Grace last year. Grace mostly spent a week with each parent before swapping back, but their joint custody was quite fluid these days. Charlie usually spent at least one night a month with the McGarrett-Williams when Grace was there for the weekend.
They really were one big happy family, except for one small matter. You don't keep big secrets from family, and right now Steve and Danny were keeping a whopper of a secret. Just a few days ago, Steve and Danny received confirmation that their surrogate, Shelley, was pregnant with Steve's baby. Steve was doing pretty well now, but Danny cannot forget that first night after hearing the news.
Chin and Kono walked in shortly after they Shelley called to say the EPT was positive, so there was no hiding the news. After Steve calmed down some, Danny suggested that they keep the information to just the four of them for now. Chin and Kono needed to know because Steve was going to be understandably distracted for at least a few days. But it might be prudent to wait until Shelley made it past the first trimester before they told Grace and the rest of the family.
Danny called Rachel and gave some vague excuse and asked if they could drop Grace off a couple of days early. Rachel readily agreed, and Danny dropped Steve off at home before picking up Grace from Emelina's. Danny didn't want to lie to Grace, so he simply told her that they were switching days again. Usually they let Grace know ahead of time, but occasionally there was short notice. Grace didn't think anything of it; Danny promised that she would spend some days with them next week.
Steve was swimming when Danny made it back to their home. Danny wasn't surprised to see him making his way to the shore. Steve picked his towel up from one of the wood chairs near the beach. Danny had changed clothes before filling the small cooler with ice and Longboards. A cold one was waiting on the arm of the chair for Steve.
Steve wrapped the towel around his waist and plopped in the chair before taking a long pull on his beer. He seemed calmer unless you noticed he was tapping his right foot. Danny would have teased Steve about his reaction to impending fatherhood except that he remembered how he felt when Rachel first gave him the news that she was pregnant with Grace.
Danny remembered his whoop of excitement and the typical male pride that one of his 'guys' did the job. The shakes didn't come until later that evening. He ended up on his parents' front porch in a heart-to-heart talk with his dad. Dad listened as Danny talked about his joy and his fears. There were a lot of fears. What if something happened to Rachel or the baby? What if he wasn't a good father? The list went on. Finally, Dad told him that his feelings were normal and most likely everything would be fine. The family would pray for Rachel and the baby, and whatever happened, they would be there for him.
Danny put his hand on Steve's right leg and waited for Steve to settle down. When Steve realized what he was doing, he stopped moving his foot and sat back. "Thanks for arranging for Grace to stay with Rachel and Stan. I think she would be worried if she saw me like this, and I agree that we should wait to tell anyone else. It's just that I feel like I'm going to explode, but in a good way. Danny, how did you deal with these feelings? I know you, and I'm sure you know what I'm going through now."
Danny took Steve's hand and squeezed it. "Really? I'm sure that I don't know what you're talking about. I was my usual unexcitable self. I thanked Rachel for being such a hospitable receptacle for my sperm and went on to work."
Steve snorted, which was a relief to Danny. As least it was normal reaction from Steve. "Yeah right, because you're normally so calm, cool, and collected."
"Sarcasm! That's a good sign. Let me guess. You're still stuck at the miracle of life stage. It's amazing to think that your DNA has merged with Shelley's, and even as we speak, the fertilized egg is multiplying like crazy. Damn, it's not my DNA, and I'm excited. In 36 weeks, give or take a week, a baby that's half you will be born."
"Danny, if you're trying to calm me down, it's not working. I can't believe it. I've wanted it for months and prayed for it to happen. Now that it's becoming a reality, it's like I can't breathe." Steve knew that he was hyperventilating and leaned downed to put his head between his knees.
"Hey Steve, take it easy. Breathe in and out." Danny rubbed up and down Steve's back and continued to murmur soothing words until Steve's breathing slowed. When he thought that Steve could stand without keeling over, he pulled Steve up.
Steve was barely aware when Danny helped him in the house and up the stairs. He remembered Danny stripping them both because a naked Danny always made an impact. There were some steamy moments in the shower before they toweled off and hit the bed.
It started off a little rough, and Danny took whatever Steve needed to give. Then Steve pulled back, and his kisses became almost unbearably tender. His hands were everywhere, and Danny was overwhelmed with pleasurable sensations. When they were joined, Steve slowed even more.
"I want to make this last forever. What we have, the love we share, it will last forever. When we have this child, he or she will be a legacy to our life together. If it's a boy, I want to name him John, after my father. He'll be John Daniel McGarrett-Williams. If it's a girl, I'd like to name her after my mother and your mother."
Steve kept the pace slow until Danny was almost blind with pleasure. Finally, Steve couldn't wait any longer and brought them both to orgasm. Later as Danny held Steve, he was pleased to feel that all the tension was gone. Danny thought that Steve might have gone to sleep, but Steve raised his head to look at Danny.
"Will I ever feel normal again?"
"Babe, you were never normal. But to answer your question, no, what you're feeling will never go away. The panic will fade, only to come back stronger as shit happens. You'll get used to it, but it's like an E-ticket ride at Disneyland. You alternately want to laugh and throw up. We'll get through this together. Mom and Dad will be there for us. Believe it or not, I think Rachel and Stan will be there for us."
Danny later fixed Steve his comfort food, soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. They sat by the beach drinking beer and discussing fatherhood. Steve was exhausted when he fell into bed shortly before midnight. Danny held him all night and made crazy love to him in the morning. Since then, Steve limited his panic attacks to every other hour (or so it seemed).
While Danny was wool-gathering, the coffeemaker finished brewing. Steve brought two steaming mugs out to the living room. He caught Danny examining one of the new ornaments on the tree. It was a brass and crystal stork ornament. Steve bought it at one of the kiosks at the market place and hung it near the back where Grace wasn't likely to see it.
Their McGarrett-Williams ornament hung front and center, commemorating their first year together as partners. Next year there would be a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. It was almost too much happiness for one tree.
"Merry Christmas, Danny." Steve handed Danny one of the Christmas coffee mugs and gave Danny a good morning kiss.
"Merry Christmas, Steve." Danny would not be outdone. He put his coffee down before taking Steve's mug to set next to his. He pulled Steve in for a much longer kiss.
"If you keep that up, a lot of people are going to be disappointed when they show up for dinner."
Hosting holiday meals had become a tradition with them. They hosted a large dinner at Thanksgiving that included their Five-0 family, the Edwards, and some SEALs who would have otherwise spent the day alone. A smaller group was expected today, but Danny and Steve would need to start the meal soon. They made the pies and bread yesterday, but the ham needed to go in the oven soon.
The morning passed quickly, and Steve soon made the drive to the base hospital. Danny suggested that it would be nice to include whoever was left on the ambulatory ward. Although Steve had resigned his commission as promised, he still had contacts on the base. The two men and woman who received the invitation were delighted to have a day out of the hospital. Kamekona brought a platter of shrimp to add to the meal. Joe White, who settled on the big island after Wo Fat's demise, made the trip over to join them for the day.
Steve and Danny agreed to keep Charlie overnight for New Year's Eve since Grace would be with them too. Neither wanted to go out partying, preferring to celebrate their first anniversary in the privacy of their bedroom. Next year, they would have a new member joining their celebration. For now, Steve enjoyed practicing his burgeoning fathering skills on Charlie.
They agreed to let Grace stay up until midnight, although she fell asleep shortly after 10 o'clock. Danny covered her up so that she wouldn't get too cool sitting in the chaise lounge on the lanai. Steve sat close to the baby monitor in case Charlie woke up, but the baby slept through all the fireworks. After the first weekend, Danny insisted that Charlie should spend the night in the guest room. Danny planned on having fireworks in their bedroom after Grace was safely tucked in for the night.
The first week of January had always been slow for the team, so Steve and Danny were able to sneak away for a long weekend at the cabin. It was nice to discover that even though they were officially past the newlywed stage, they still couldn't keep their hands off each other. Both men realized that this kind of getaway would be a thing of the past when the baby came, at least until the baby was older. Danny remembered how difficult it was to leave Grace when she was an infant, and he expected that Steve would react mostly the same.
Danny initially expected to feel jealous that Steve got to be the sperm donor for their child, but it never happened. He supposed that was the ultimate test of their love. Danny was so happy for Steve that he never resented that Steve was the one who got to do this. He knew that the baby would never be Steve's baby; the baby would be theirs even though only Steve donated the DNA.
January flew by, and Mom and Dad Williams kept their promise to vacation with them in February. Grace was so proud to have them join her for lunch at school. Steve and Danny were able to break away from work long enough to show Mom and Dad some of the other islands. Shelley's pregnancy was going so well that they decided to share the news the night before the Williams' left for home. Mom wept with joy; she loved her grandchildren dearly and knew how important this baby would be to Steve and Danny.
By the middle of March, Steve and Danny knew that they needed to tell Grace that she was going to have another sibling. Grace loved being Charlie's big sister, so they were hoping that she would take the news well. Danny suggested that they schedule an appointment with the counselor who helped the families in the aftermath of Grace's kidnapping. Although Grace recovered well, they continued to see her every 6-8 weeks just to help tune up the family dynamics.
The counselor agreed with their assessment that Grace would weather this addition to the family better. Her adjustment problems with Charlie were largely tied to the feelings of abandonment Grace's felt when Stan and Rachel left for their trip just before the holidays. When Rachel returned, she was unable to take care of Grace. It took months before Grace was able to move past what had happened. Her growing attachment to Charlie helped more than anything.
At least with this baby, neither Danny nor Steve would be sidelined dealing with a pregnancy. Although they would be stressed when the baby came home with them, there would be no labor or delivery to recover from.
Grace knew that something was going on when Danno and Daddy picked her up from Emelina's on Friday. On the ride home, Grace went over the possibilities. She was making all A's at school, and she hadn't received detention or any demerits. Daddy wasn't in the Navy anymore, so he wouldn't be going away for that. Grace knew that Danno and Daddy were really happy together, so she wasn't worried about anything bad happening with them. Suddenly, she knew the answer. It was the only thing left.
Steve pulled in the driveway and looked at Danny. He could tell that Danny was as nervous as he was. They barely made it to the front porch when Grace turned to confront them.
"You're going to have a baby, aren't you?"
