After finishing the Tough Mudder course Danny spent the next day off work to rest his knee. He spent most of the daytime on the couch catching up on his TiVo, and when Steve got back from his day centre Danny rolled his eyes lovingly, but still pulled him closer when he instantly nestled into his side.

The staff at Steve's day centre were so grateful for Danny, who had raised enough money for them to buy all the equipment that they wanted to build their new room.

It took a little while for everything to be finished but it was done a week before Christmas, and Danny got to see firsthand how in awe of everything Steve was when they officially opened it. He smiled and watched as Steve circled the room, touching and fiddling with all the lights and fixtures before turning to beam at Danny.

Danny sighed as he collapsed into his bed a few days later, grateful that the day was finally over. Oh god, tomorrow is gonna be just as chaotic, probably more so!

Tomorrow being Christmas Day. The first one since Steve's accident… sort of. Technically it was the second but Danny didn't count the first one as Steve was in hospital having only recently suffered his injuries. It had come and passed quietly, Danny only making a fuss for Grace's sake, and the affair had been a little half-hearted considering the circumstances.

But now Steve was home, and aware of the festive season. Very much aware , Danny thought with a groan as he settled under the covers and thought about how excited Steve had been this past couple of weeks; His face when they had finished putting the decorations on the Christmas tree had made Danny's heart swell as he captured the moment on his cell phone. Fortunately Steve didn't need much encouragement to sleep, for as soon as Danny said the words "The quicker you go to sleep, the quicker tomorrow will be here!", Steve was practically out like a light.

The presents were piled under the tree, ready and waiting for tomorrow. Danny may have gone a bit overboard with them, but it was their first Christmas at home and he wanted it to be special for Steve. And for his kids - Charlie would be joining them on Boxing Day to open his presents from them.

Danny would have loved to have him for Christmas but everyone - including Rachel - made a good point that he didn't know what Steve was going to be like, whether he'd cope well with all the excitement and disruption to his daily routine. Add a hyperactive 3 year old into the mix and… yeah, Danny didn't think it would go well, so he agreed to the Boxing Day arrangement.

Danny didn't remember falling asleep, but before he knew it, it was seven o'clock on Christmas morning and he was making his way downstairs after Grace had gone downstairs for a glass of water and had heard Steve moving around in his room. He told Grace to wait by the tree as he went to fetch Steve, who was just as excited as Danny thought he would be.

In fact, the morning went exactly as planned. Steve was overjoyed to unwrap his presents, his favourite by far being the set of bedsheets with cats in outer space on them. He got an impressive haul of toys with flashing lights, stuffed animals and nature DVDs, which kept him happily occupied while Danny set about cooking dinner, Grace equally as engrossed in her new book.

Chin arrived as Danny was in the middle of cooking and instantly set about helping him in the kitchen - after being ambushed by Steve as soon as he walked through the door, of course.

"What did you get today, brah?" Chin asked as he set about peeling potatoes.

"Grace got me a new cologne and some DVDs." Danny said.

"What about the man himself?"

Danny smiled as he remembered Steve thrusting his badly wrapped presents at him earlier that morning. "When Kono took him shopping she told him to get me something he thought I'd like." At Chin's raised eyebrows he carried on. "He got me a new watch and funky socks, which was fair enough. But then he got me a stuffed giraffe."

"Ah." Chin's lips curled in a smirk as he tried not to laugh. "Well… at least he thought about it, right?"

"Yeah, I guess in his head it made sense; I told him once that I love giraffes. Didn't think it would still be floating around his head." Danny glanced at the doorway as the sounds of laughter drifted down the corridor. "I guess he approves of his new toys. Thanks for your presents, by the way."

"Ah don't mention it, Danny! You guys are ohana, what's happened doesn't change anything." Chin pulled him into a sideways hug before both men turned their attention back to the task in hand.

Eventually dinner was ready and the table was packed with dishes full of food, the turkey taking centre stage. Danny set Steve's dinner down in front of him before taking his seat next to him, motioning for everyone to tuck in. Steve picked up his spoon and started to eat; Danny had already cut up his food as Steve still couldn't get both his hands to work at the same time, and gave him plenty of gravy so that it wasn't too dry.

It started smoothly enough; Grace chatted to Chin while they ate and Danny kept one eye on them and another watched Steve, shaking his head as he watched the man practically inhale his food.

But Danny frowned as he noticed that Steve had started to slow down and was now pushing food around his plate with the spoon. He glanced at his watch and realised that on any other day, Steve would have had a nap by now.

Shit, he's probably getting tired. Danny groaned internally as Steve put his spoon down and his eyes glazed over, unfocusing and staring at something on the table.

"Steve? Babe, you need to finish your dinner. You've not eaten since breakfast." Danny said quietly and patted his arm to get his attention.

Steve shook his head. Danny tried to persuade him again but Steve was stubborn, and it reminded Danny of similar problems he'd had with Grace when she was younger. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, counting to ten inside his head. Danny could feel Chin's eyes on him, Grace thankfully occupied by her second helping of turkey to know what was happening on the other side of the table.

Chin raised his eyebrows as if to ask if he needed any help when Steve rubbed his eyes with his fists and took a deep breath. Admitting defeat, Danny nodded.

"Hey Grace, wanna come help me make dessert?" Chin asked.

Grace nodded and followed him into the kitchen, leaving Danny alone with Steve.

"Alright buddy, it's just us now." Danny whispered, rubbing circles on Steve's back. "I know, okay? I know you're tired, and that's my bad for not factoring in your nap time."

Steve sniffed and nodded. "'m sorry, Danno. I bad?"

"Hey hey, no, it's not your fault. Now, c'mere," Danny pushed his own finished plate aside and pulled Steve's half-empty one towards him before picking up a spoonful of food. "You're halfway there, want Danno to help you to finish it? Then we'll have a nap." Steve nodded.

Danny wiped a stray tear from his face before feeding him the rest of his dinner.

Once finished, Danny led a sleepy Steve to his room and settled him down. Steve was out within seconds of hitting the bed, and Danny made sure he was comfortable before joining Chin and Grace in the kitchen. Chin waved off his apology, reminding him that they were all family. Grace proudly showed him the chocolate cake in the oven that she had helped Chin make.

"It'll be ready in about 30 minutes, but I think we should wait for Uncle Steve."

Danny hugged her to his side and kissed the top of her head. "I think so too, Grace. It sure smells amazing, though."

Danny soon banished Chin from the kitchen - "No buts! You've done enough today, guests don't wash up." - and cleaned up the dinner stuff while Grace lounged on the recliner on the phone to Rachel.

About an hour later, Danny had washed up and was now on the phone to his parents back in New Jersey. With his back to the kitchen doorway he didn't notice Steve when he trundled down the corridor and slumped next to Chin on the couch in the living room.

"Hey bruh, how was your nap?" Chin asked him as Grace went into the kitchen.

"Yeah, good." Steve nodded.

"Alright, who wants dessert?" Danny asked as he and Grace walked into the room. Bowls of cake were passed around as Danny helped Steve to balance his on his lap. Afterwards Chin bid farewell, thanking them for the day before he left to pick Kono up from visitation day with Adam.

Danny, Grace and Steve lounged in front of a movie on the TV before it was time to start winding down for the day. Danny had even managed to get Steve to have a bath without too much hassle shortly after Chin's departure.

"Today was really nice, Danno." Grace said from where she was lounging on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate.

Danny looked over at her and then down at Steve. The two of them just about fit on the recliner and Steve was a heavy weight on his body, stretched out together on the chair's full length.

"Yeah it was, wasn't it? You have fun today, monkey?"

Grace nodded. "It'll be nice to see Charlie tomorrow."

"Hmm… remind me to keep some of the sweet stuff out of small arms' reach tomorrow." Danny could envision the sugar high his son would have if he got ahold of any candy.

Grace laughed as she walked over and pecked both men on the cheek on her way to the stairs. "Okay, I'm off to bed, guys. Night Danno, night Uncle Steve."

"Night Gracie." Steve looked up her and smiled before returning his gaze to the programme on TV, something random that Danny had put on. He yawned and rubbed his face on Danny's chest before stuffing his thumb into his mouth.

Danny noticed and frowned, but said nothing as he ran the fingers of one hand lightly up and down Steve's back. He'd told Steve off for that before, finding the action to be babyish and a little weird; Danny didn't want Steve to develop any bad habits. But Danny reminded himself that he wasn't hurting anyone by doing it, and that if it kept Steve settled then it shouldn't matter if he didn't like it.

"Love you, babe." Danny whispered into Steve's hair. "Have you enjoyed today?"

"Yeah, Danno," Steve mumbled around his thumb. "Had fun with Gracie and Chin. And new toys!"

Danny chuckled. "I figured as much. Now come on, it's way past your bedtime." He started to gently push him off but Steve instantly moaned in protest, thumb out of his mouth as he clung to him.

"Noooo," Steve groaned. "Five more minutes, Danno?"

Danny rolled his eyes when he noticed a trail of saliva from Steve's thumb on his shirt.

"'Five more minutes'?" Danny said begrudgingly. "I've already let you stay up in here instead of taking you straight to bed after your bath."

"Please, Danno?" Steve pleaded, looking at Danny with wide eyes.

Danny sighed as he pulled Steve back to him. "Oh, alright. But in five minutes you are going to bed, buddy. I don't want you cranky tomorrow when Charlie's here."

Steve nodded as he relaxed again into Danny's side after smacking a kiss to his cheek. "Steve loves Danno."

Danny smiled. Truth be told he didn't have to be convinced much to prolong the moment. The past few days had been stressful and Danny's fatherly patience had served him well. But this moment, right here? Steve with hair still damp from his bath, almost asleep and happily nestled in his arms?

Perfection. Danny thought to himself.