Danny was keen to get the renovations underway, but was clueless about where to start. Did he do it bit by bit, or all in one go? And where would Steve go when the house was full of workmen? And what equipment did he need for Steve? He groaned as he sat with his laptop on the couch one night after Steve had gone to bed, looking at various companies that provided specialist equipment. Danny did not remember it being this hard and stressful the first time around, straight after Steve's injury. In the end he gave up and went to bed himself after the words and costs blurred into one ineligible mess.
After confiding in Chin that he didn't know where to start, the Hawaiian man calmly reassured him that everything would get sorted. Danny, of course, shook his head.
"But there's so much to consider, Chin! And I don't mean cost, we've still got some money from Steve's fund. I mean things like where Steve can stay while half the house is turned upside down; it's not like he can just crash on someone's couch for a week. And I'll have to go with him, wherever he goes."
"Danny-"
"And then there's the question of what to get, and getting it all into the house, and when to do it-"
"Danny!" Chin cut Danny off mid-rant, causing the blonde man to blink. "Relax! I told you. It'll be fine. Trust me."
Danny sighed, but said nothing as he carried on searching through their latest perps phone records.
So really, he should have been more prepared when, one Saturday morning a few weeks later, Chin, Kono and Lou turned up at the house.
"Was there a party I forgot about?" Danny asked as he finished wiping away the last of Steve's spilt juice from the floor. Evidently the 'shatter-proof' tumbler hadn't lived up to it's name, which was a shame as that was the last plastic tumbler in the house.
"Nope," Kono answered, barely able to conceal her smirk as Grace bounded down the stairs to join them."
"Okay… then, no offence, but why are you all here?"
Grace rolled her eyes at her father, something which she definitely didn't pick up from him. "We're kicking you out, Danno!"
Danny was pretty sure his jaw hit the ground, before he quickly composed himself. "Uh... I'm sorry, what?"
"Well, not just you. Uncle Steve, too."
"Again… what?"
"Consider this an intervention, bruh." Chin smirked at Danny's flabbergasted expression. "We're kicking you guys out because we've got an army of workmen arriving at lunchtime and I doubt you guys will appreciate the mess."
Danny felt his mouth go dry. It was quiet, except for the faint sounds of Steve playing in his room down the hall. He couldn't believe this was happening.
"But… I didn't call anyone!"
"We did, though." Lou clapped him on the shoulder, nearly toppling the shocked man over. "We know you've been having trouble and wanting to get down here sorted. So we took care of it for you, made a few enquiries, and everyone will be turning up to get on with it soon!"
Danny ran both hands through his hair as his brain processed everything that was happening. When he woke up a few hours ago he figured that today would be a normal day, and that maybe he'd take Steve downtown for some shopping. But in true Danny Williams style, instead he was being evicted from his own home.
"Hang on, wha- where are we gonna go then?" He asked.
"At Uncle Steve's old rehab place, Danno!" Grace smiled at him, and Danny breathed a sigh of relief at that. "Uncle Chin organised it with them so you guys can stay there for the week."
"A week?! Surely it won't take that long, I thought a few days?" Danny frowned.
Kono shook her head. "You'd be surprised at how long these things take. They've got to make sure that Steve's got everything that he needs, save you having to do this again in the future."
Danny opened his mouth to argue, but he had a feeling that no matter what he said, he wouldn't win. "Yeah. Okay." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before trying again. "Okay. Wow, I just… don't know what to say."
"We just don't want you to hurt yourself any more, Danno," Grace said, muffled by her father's shoulder as he pulled her into a hug. "Because we love you."
"I love you too, Monkey. And you guys too, doing all this for us, I…" Danny paused to wipe his nose on his shirt sleeve. "Thank you. So much."
"Not to ruin the moment or anything, but you sort of need to be out of here in an hour." Lou said carefully after glancing at his watch.
"Shit, okay," Danny rolled up his shirt sleeves and glanced down the hall where he could still hear Steve happily playing in his room, totally unaware of what was about to happen. "Guess I'd, uh… better go and pack."
The hour spent packing was definitely the most stressful hour of his entire existence, Danny was certain. Even the plane ride from Hawaii to New Jersey last year to visit Danny's parents, when Steve tested his fatherly patience to the limit, had nothing on that one hour.
Once Danny explained to Steve what was going on, that was it. Steve flat out refused to go once he was wrestled into his wheelchair, and bawled the whole time that Danny was throwing clothes and various toys into a suitcase. Danny was grateful that the rest of his team packed for him, as the last thing he wanted was to leave Steve alone while he was having what was effectively a tantrum.
Danny tried to explain to him that they were coming back home, that it was only for a week. But Steve wasn't having it, or couldn't hear him over his cries. Goodbyes were tense, and as Danny suspected it was Grace that was the last straw, for after she kissed him goodbye Steve was practically howling as Danny pushed him out to the car, twisting in his chair to look back at his home that was getting further away.
Danny quickly set off once he eventually (even with only one decent set of limbs Steve was a fighter, and had even managed to get in a soft punch to Danny's gut) had buckled Steve into the passenger seat and the wheelchair was folded in the back with their to engage Steve in conversation seemed to be pointless, and even though his cries were dwindling Danny could feel the beginnings of a headache forming.
Admitting defeat, he pulled over at the next lay-by and unbuckled his seatbelt so he could reach over and dab at Steve's wet and blotchy face with a tissue.
"Please listen to me, babe. We're not going away forever, okay?" Danny pleaded with Steve, desperate to get him to calm down. "We'll come back, I promise. Just… please stop crying." He realised that he sounded pathetic, but he'd gone past the point of caring.
Steve sniffled in silence before he finally nodded into Danny's hand that was on the side of his face. Danny fiercely tugged him into his arms and pressed kisses into his hair, ignoring the pull in his back as he leaned over the console.
"None of this is your fault, buddy." Danny whispered, feeling Steve cling onto him. "Even Danno didn't know this was gonna happen. But it's gonna be fine."
"Danny! Steve, howzit!" JC greeted them as Danny pushed Steve up the ramp towards the main entrance to Steve's old rehab centre. "Long time no see!"
Danny shook his offered hand. "Yeah, a couple of years now I think?" he said, adjusting the large holdall bag where it was slung over a shoulder. "Thanks so much for letting us stay here this week, I really appreciate it. How much do I-"
"Hey, no sweat!" JC waved Danny's wallet away after the blonde man had extracted it from his back pocket. "Don't want your money, brother." Danny blushed slightly as he tucked his wallet back into his shorts pocket.
"So, how's my man Steve doin'?" JC asked as he turned his attention to Steve, who was clutching a few of his toys to his chest as his eyes scanned his new surroundings, seemingly oblivious to the question asked of him.
"We're not doing too bad, are we buddy?" Danny answered for him, one hand reaching down to pat his shoulder. He rolled his eyes when he got no response before looking back at the Hawaiian man in front of him. "Sorry, it's been a long morning already. You, uh… you read all of my email, right?"
JC nodded as he crouched down to Steve's eye level, his expression somber as he remembered reading about all that had happened to him since he left the facility. "What's up, kaʻu hoaloha?* You not happy?"
Steve briefly met his gaze and shook his head. "No." He mumbled. Danny's hand on his shoulder squeezed, thumb rubbing the joint.
"Wanna tell me why?" JC cautiously asked. He already guessed the answer, but wanted to see if Steve would speak.
Both men could practically hear the gears in Steve's brain whirring as he tried to organise his thoughts and feelings into words he could express. Danny held his breath when Steve opened his mouth, thinking that he'd admit to what Danny already knew was the issue. But then Steve screwed his face up and moaned in frustration, and Danny had to quickly intervene when he suddenly started to hit his forehead with the palm of the hand not currently cradling his toys.
"Hey hey, none of that!" Danny grabbed his hand and wrestled with a wriggling Steve to make sure that he wasn't going to hurt himself, JC standing out of the way so Danny could take his place in front of Steve. "We don't do that, Steve! Okay?"
"Dumb head." Steve mumbled, repeating the phrase as he rocked back and forth as far as the straps on his chair would allow. Danny hung his head as stroked Steve's hand that he was still gripping tight, before craning his head to look up at JC.
"It's because his routine's been changed suddenly, he doesn't like it. It's all a bit much, and he's stressed that he can't speak as well as he could." Danny explained. "Can we, uh… go somewhere more private?"
JC nodded, and led them down the corridor to an empty residents room. "This is where you guys will stay for the week," he said while Danny threw their bags on the bed with his spare hand, "I'll, uh, give you guys a few minutes. Danny, I'll get Jake to meet you by the pool?"
Danny thanked JC as he left before turning his attention back to Steve, who was slumped in his chair and breathing heavily through his nose.
"Can I let go of your hand now?" He asked. Steve nodded while keeping his gaze on the floor, so Danny carefully released his hand. Steve flexed his fingers before bringing his hand back to his chest, Danny keeping a watchful eye in case he started hitting himself again.
Steve brought his cat up to his face and inhaled deeply, still not looking at Danny. The blonde man shook his head and went about unpacking their clothes and putting Steve's various medications in the bedside cupboard, looking over his shoulder occasionally to make sure Steve was alright.
"I know it's hard to suddenly be out of your routine, buddy, but it's only for a week. And then we can go home!" Danny knelt in front of Steve and smiled reassuringly at him, mentally jumping for joy when Steve lowered the toy from his face. "Our nice home that works for us." He added.
"Danno?" Steve whispered.
"Yeah?"
"'Sorry." Steve turned into the hand that Danny placed on the side of his face, fingers buried in his hair and gently scratching the back of his head. "It hard, and-"
Danny shushed him as he swiped a tear away with his thumb. "It's okay, babe." he said, "But Danno's staying here with you too, so you won't be on your own. And we're gonna do some exercises while we're here, to try and help you get better."
Steve nodded, a flicker of a smile finally gracing his face. Danny knew that was probably the best he was going to get for now, and grabbed a small bag that was hanging on the back of Steve's wheelchair.
"Shall we go for a swim, babe?" Danny couldn't stop the grin spreading on his face when Steve eagerly nodded and snatched the bag from him, hugging it close to his chest.
"Come on then, buddy. Let's go."
"What in the world…" Danny muttered as he pushed Steve out of the changing rooms and towards the hydrotherapy pool, and it had definitely changed since the last time they were there. He'd never seen so much equipment, some he recognised from before and some he didn't even have a clue what they were. One particular piece caught his eye, a huge floatation sling, and Danny couldn't wait to try it.
"Hey guys!" Jake finished setting everything up and came over to shake Danny's hand, Steve too transfixed by the pool to acknowledge him. "I see you've spotted our new kit."
"It's amazing," Danny shook his head. Steve reached up and Danny let him take his hand and hold it against him as he continued to gaze at his surroundings. "This all new?" Danny asked, gently stroking Steve's bare chest with his thumb.
"Some of it is, yeah. This is most of our equipment; I wasn't sure what Steve would be able to do, so I figured I may as well get it all out so we can see how he is. We won't use it all today," Jake said at Danny's shocked expression, who breathed a sigh of relief, "That'd be too much for him. I thought today we'd start with the float-sling that you were looking at. It's not physically demanding, but it means that he can do some leg exercises without someone holding him up."
Danny nodded in understanding, and together with Jake they got Steve onto what Danny thought looked like a giant baby-changing table, with the sling ready on it. Steve started to fuss when Jake was hooking the straps onto the pool-side hoist, so Danny did his best to reassure him and make sure he actually stayed still while the metal bars were hovering over him.
That wasn't made any easier when the hoist started to lift Steve up off of the platform and lower into the pool. Danny had to perform some weird yoga-like positions to keep ahold of Steve's hand while he followed him, but soon they were both in the water.
The arch-shaped sling had big foam tubing around the edges (aside from the bottom so that Steve's legs could be in the water) to keep him afloat, and had support for his head and neck while he was lying flat. It stayed hooked onto the hoist so that it stayed in one place, and Danny thought it was the best thing since sliced bread as he saw Steve slowly kicking his legs, splashing water everywhere and wearing the biggest smile he's seen all day.
"Danno, look!" Steve shouted, even though Danny was standing beside him and still holding his hand. "I swim!"
"Yeah?" Danny grinned and pressed a kiss into his damp hair. His other arm was stretched out behind Steve's head and his hand was tracing random patterns on Steve's shoulder as the man floated in the water, cradled by the sling. "That's real good babe, well done!"
Even though the day had gotten off to a shaky start (to put it mildly) and was filled with much stress, Danny knew that it was all worth it just for the happy look on Steve's face.
* - means 'my friend' in Hawaiian.
