"Ma, Ma, would you please…? How can I answer you if you don't let me? I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"I get a phone call in the middle of the night, I let it go to voicemail, and when I hear it the next day it's to discover you're getting married?"

"I was drunk, Ma," Danny squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to rub his hand to his brow before realizing if he did that then he'd drop the phone. Goddamn cuffs.

"I should have picked up. Maybe then this wouldn't be happening. I mean, you couldn't wait until your father and I hopped a flight over?"

"We didn't really think, Ma. I'm sorry."

"Damn right, you're sorry." She sighed down the phone at him. "Well, at least I know he's handsome. And he gets on well with Grace. We didn't even realize you were seeing him, let alone in negotiations. I hope you got a good lawyer, not like that soul-sucking quack you used in your custody hearings before Rachel moved you all out there."

There was silence on the line. Danny didn't know what to say and yet it was clear that his mother was waiting for him to talk.

"Danny?" She paused again. "You didn't use a lawyer, did you."

"No…?" Danny couldn't help but timidly respond in the face of his mother, who was very much like him and a force to be reckoned with, even through a phone. He groaned. "Look it's not like we planned… I mean, there was whiskey involved and it seemed like a good idea at the time and…"

He gave up trying to explain. Because excuses wouldn't cut it, not with his mother.

Now it was her turn to be silent and Danny could practically hear the cogs working in her brain.

"Daniel Williams. What. Did. You. Do?"

"Now, Ma, before you get upset, I know it was stupid, okay?"

"What did he offer you?" She asked, her voice hardened, brooking no argument.

Danny cleared his throat and moved the phone to his other ear. "Ten thousand dollars a year for ten years into a trust fund for Grace and half the value of his house."

"And what is the value of his house?"

"Well, it's Hawaii, which is expensive to live in and he's got the whole beach front thing going on. But on the other hand, I could swear it's not been redecorated since the nineties and there's only been basic repair work done to fix the bullet holes… not exactly something people want to read about in listings so…"

"The value, Danny!"

"Maybe four hundred? For my half." He pretty much mumbled the last bit, somehow hoping his mother would miss it.

"Oh my God, Danny." She didn't miss it. He just knew she was hanging her head, a hand over her mouth in dismay. "You can't match that, honey, does he know that?"

"Yeah, he knows," Danny sighed the sigh of the put-upon. "I think he was well aware of that last night, too." He glanced outside the house to where everyone was celebrating currently without him.

"What did you put in the pot?" She sounded calmer, maybe it was sympathy for him coming through.

"I'm the secondary. In the traditional sense. I put myself in. Well… me and my car. And I'm pretty sure the car was included as a joke that drunk me thought was hilarious."

"You are such an idiot, Danny. How do you get yourself into these things?"

"I dunno, Ma. I feel like I got played. I don't like feeling this way, but I signed it, you know? I thought it was a good idea at the time but I didn't really believe this would happen. We were doing this whole 'what if' thing and the next thing I know Steve's got it all expedited through Legal using the Governor as clout and then he's got all our friends over for the traditional ceremony."

"Did you talk to him, does he know all this?"

"Yeah, we had it out earlier on and I can't seem to get through to him. I don't know if he's being obstinate on purpose or his default asshole setting is on show today because he's acting like the cat that got the canary. You don't know him like I do, Ma. He's got marriage hang ups and he thinks this is the only way to get what he wants."

"Schmuck," she muttered, low.

"Yeah, that's him."

"No, I meant you."

He pulled the phone away from his ear for a second to frown at it, like his mother could see his reaction. "You're not helping, Ma!"

"What do you want me to say, Danny, huh? You've always been supportive of secondary rights, of the farce that is the marriage laws in this country. Hell, in some of the States it's just ludicrous. Your father and I were always open with you and your brother and sisters and you've all done damn well in negotiations before and now you go and do this? I get that you were drunk and playing around, but you know better than to take marriage lightly."

"I do and I know, okay? It's just… this is Steve and he has this thing. This way about him that just draws you in. He's always convinced he's right and the majority of the time he is. He can be incredibly kind and giving and turn all that around and be hard and unmoving. Determined, you know? He knows what buttons to push. He knows how to deal with me… but I know how to deal with him, too." Danny glanced back towards the lanai, keeping his voice down just in case.

"Then deal with him," she said, adamantly. "Divorce is clearly not an option because of what you've accepted here but get the lawyers in, renegotiate."

"He shoots me down every time I approach him about the terms."

"Don't let him."

"I know. I know," he said as he watched people moving around outside. "I feel a little out gunned is all. Hawaiians are… different. They seem to like this kind of thing. It's not the same as back east."

"That doesn't matter. You've got to both be happy with it and, honey, it sounds like he's still talking you into it. Hell, you're talking yourself into it."

"I'll talk to him. I will. I just… gotta get through the rest of the day." He was tired out, the day was killing him and he just didn't have the energy anymore.

There was the sound of someone moving through the kitchen, heading his way. He lifted up from where he'd landed, perched on the edge of the couch, and looked through the doorway.

"Hey," Steve smiled. "Everyone's looking for you. Time for the cake."

"Is that him?" his mother asked, hearing the muted sounds of another voice nearby.

"Yeah, it's him. I gotta go," Danny answered, giving Steve the best smile he could muster.

"Put him on, Danny. Let me give him a piece of my mind."

"Not going to do that, Ma." He kept the smile on his face, trying to make himself appear casual and not like his mother was threatening bodily harm on his now-husband.

"Put him on!"

"Bye, Ma!" He hung up on her. He really hoped she wasn't going to plague him with phone calls for the rest of the day, or, heaven forbid, try to call Steve. But his dad wouldn't let her once he found out. He was always the calmer of the two and more likely to try and take time to figure things out than go in bullheaded. He was a firefighter, he knew he had to be prepared and have all the information before going into his type of battles and he brought it to his everyday life.

"You good?"

"Yeah," Danny exhaled. He moved closer, expecting to simply walk back out with Steve but instead the taller man pulled him into his arms and brought his lips to Danny's in a light touch.

"I'm sorry they couldn't be here for this."

"Trust me, you really aren't," Danny shook his head, thinking about just how much his mother would slap Steve, and how his sisters would spend the time with their arms crossed shooting him daggers. At least, once they found out the details. Before then they'd just drool over how hot Steve was.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve asked, a little bewildered by Danny's statement.

"It's… never mind, save it for later. You mentioned cake."

Steve leaned down again, brushing his lips over Danny's, kissing him soundly, pressing for entry into Danny's mouth, seeking out his tongue. His hands drifted lower, cupping Danny's ass to pull him closer. After what seemed like many long minutes, he pulled back to breathe and pressed his forehead to Danny's. "I'll never get tired of doing that."

"Yeah?" Danny asked, feeling that pressure in his gut, that shudder through his body as Steve's low words sounded so content and adoring.

"I held back for so long and I swear it just got worse when all I ever wanted was to hold you close and show you how much I cared. How much I love you."

"I know, babe. I felt the same."

Steve kissed Danny again, moaning into the touch like a starving man feeding on him. And it was hell for Danny because he enjoyed it. Steve, like this, made him feel wonderful, made him feel safe in their own bubble. Made him want to be with him all the time, he could be so perfect. And yet, below the surface things were swimming around and he couldn't ignore them, he just couldn't.

This time Danny pulled back, patting Steve's chest with his trapped hands and said, "Cake."

"Yeah, yeah, we better." Steve turned in one direction, then back in the other before settling a hand at the back of Danny's neck as they walked back outside.