A/N: Here is the second to last chapter! I want to thank you all, again, for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter. The response to this story has been greatly appreciated! I honestly check my phone eight hundred thousand times a day to see if I got a review; I think it's safe to say I'm addicted :) But more reviews fuels my writing so then I update faster! So, one more chapter after this! I cannot believe this story is almost over. But, have no fear, I'm already in the process of working on a sequel so make sure to keep a look out for that once this story is complete!
I want to thank my awesome beta jerseybelle for going way past her normal awesomeness and reading this chapter twice before I was able to consider it done! Enjoy :)
Steve cursed his luck as he pulled into the 5-0 parking lot. Avery was in the backseat looking contentedly out the window, clearly excited about going to work with Daddy.
Steve had been striking out all morning. First, he woke up sweaty and hard with desire from a dream about his favorite New Jersey detective. If wet dreams about his partner weren't enough, his sleep had been interrupted by the shrill ring of his cell phone. The person on the other end had been Olina, telling Steve she had come down with the flu and she was so sorry that she couldn't watch Avery today. Though Steve knew that Olina was more than trustworthy, and that she would never fake an illness, it didn't stop him from being terse with her on the phone. She had to be sick on the one Friday Avery had off from school the entire semester. What was he supposed to do with her now? He had to be at work in an hour and a half and he had no idea who he was supposed to call on such short notice and so early in the morning.
After running through every possible option while taking his shower, Steve damned it all to hell and decided that he was just going to have to take Avery to work with him, at least until he could figure out a better alternative.
He was not happy about this. He knew they didn't have any active cases, but that didn't mean something wasn't going to come up, and he couldn't exactly bring his five-year-old on a ride-a-long while they took down a human trafficking operation.
Avery, on the other hand, was ecstatic about this recent turn of events, babbling on and on to Steve about how excited she was to spend the day with him.
"I can't wait to spend the day with you, Daddy," Avery was barely able to control her excitement enough to eat her cereal. "I'm going to bring my G.I. Joe dolls. I think G.I. Joe will love to play in your office because it has all the boats."
"G.I. Joe was in the Army, sweet pea, I'm not sure if he'll be a huge fan of the boats, I mean ships."
"Well, my G.I. Joes like ships because they are secretly in the Navy because the Navy is the best."
"I can't argue with you there. The Navy is definitely better than the Army," he knew that he shouldn't put biased ideas inside Avery's impressionable mind, but making sure she knew the clear superiority of the Navy was, in his opinion, worth the potential lapse in parental judgment.
Steve was not an unloving father, so his heart did swell a little as he watched his daughter practically bounce herself to the moon with excitement at being able to spend time with him. He was not dense, though Danny tried to convince him often that he was, and he knew that as Avery grew up she would want to spend less and less time with him, so he should really take everything he could get now.
But Steve was also a realist and a SEAL; he always weighed all of his options and their possible outcomes. Today could turn out to be very uneventful. Avery would come to 5-0, sit in his office and play with her toys while he did paperwork. When the work day was over they'd come home, go for a swim, and have some dinner. However, the day could be a more regularly occurring day at the 5-0, and it could end in a drug bust, car chase, and grenade-needing fire fight. That was not something he was willing to let his five-year-old witness.
Steve turned back towards Avery, who was going on and on about what toys she was going to play with. "And I think I am going to bring my Barbies, my Ken dolls, and my Stacy dolls too because they will definitely love to play with the toy boats in your office even if G.I. Joe doesn't."
"No, Avery, you are not allowed to play with my toy boats, which aren't toys; they are models of Naval ships and are not to be touched, understood? The last time you and Kono played with them I was lucky to get them back to a relatively clean state."
Avery nodded, her excitement bubble shrinking a little, but she quickly perked back up as Steve instructed her to get her backpack and meet him at the door.
The McGarrett duo arrived at the H50 headquarters with only minutes to spare. Steve helped Avery out of the car, grabbed her bag of toys, and together they walked into the building. His team members gave him confused looks as he walked through the common area to his office with Avery in tow. Steve knew his face was exuding warning signs telling them to back off. Avery, on the other hand, was all smiles as she waved happily to her adopted family.
As soon as Avery saw Danny sitting at his desk, she pulled her hand from her father's grip and ran into his office.
"Danno, Danno! I got to come to work today," Avery smiled as she climbed onto Danny's lap, "I'm going to help catch bad guys!"
"Oh, you are?"
"Mhm, I'm going to use all the super-secret ninja spy tricks Daddy taught me. He says I'm the sneakiest ever so I should be able to take down any bad guy, no problem." Avery folded her arms in front of her and gave a short nod of her head to emphasize her point.
Steve poked his head into Danny's office. "Sorry, Danno, hope she's not bothering you."
"Daddy, Danno loves me, I couldn't bother him!"
Steve laughed, "Well, I know he loves you, what's not to love?"
"It's fine." Danny waved his hand in Steve's direction. "I just didn't realize it was bring your daughter to work day or else I would have invited Gracie."
"Oh, Daddy, why didn't you tell Danno to bring Gracie?" Avery became seriously concerned. Her eyes started to lose their sparkle, her lips turned down, and she looked up at Steve with a look of pure sadness, clearly troubled that her best friend was missing out on what she assumed was going to be a fun day at Daddy's work.
"It was very last minute. Olina called in sick this morning and I had no one else to watch her. So, she's just going to have to play in my office," Steve directed towards Danny as he moved forward, briskly sweeping Avery into his arms and making his way out of Danny's office. "And you, young lady, can't just climb up on people's laps, okay? People don't always like that."
"Sorry," she replied shyly, burying her head in her father's shoulder. Her embarrassment didn't last long, however, because soon she was grabbing her father's head in her hands, ensuring she had his full attention, "Why didn't you ask Danno to bring Gracie to work today?"
"Sweet pea, I couldn't call Grace because it was really early this morning when I decided to have you come to work and I didn't want to wake her."
Avery nodded, eyes already on her toy bag by Steve's office door, and pushed at her father to let her down. Steve happily obliged and followed her into his office to start on the mound of paperwork that he had let pile up. It was now at least a foot high; he really needed to discuss electronic case files with the governor. He pulled the first folder off the stack, and grabbed a pen to begin writing. As his hand was poised to start, he looked over to where his daughter was playing. He may have been cursing the bad luck illness that had befallen Olina earlier this morning, but in this moment, watching his daughter light up with joy because she was playing in her Dad's office and nothing in her world seemed better than that, he was secretly thankful that his wonderful nanny had not been able to work today. He marveled at how lucky he was that the unfortunate twists in his life had given him such a wonderful little girl to watch grow up.
Steve looked back down at the papers in front of him when he caught sight of Danny through the glass walls of the 5-0 office. Danny was sitting at his own desk working diligently through his stack of folders, which was noticeably higher than Steve's even though he knew Danny did paperwork every day. Steve marveled at the focus and determination Danny had for such tedious tasks. Steve didn't have the patience to sit still for too long. Danny was right in his assessment that Steve gets antsy if he doesn't have the opportunity to partake in a car chase, gun fight, or hand-to-hand combat. But Danny has the patience to sit and fill out the paperwork because he knows that without it criminals could walk free. Steve doesn't want criminals walking free, either; he just doesn't think sitting behind a desk wasting his time on paperwork is a productive way to ensure that. But, Steve is very thankful for all the work Danny puts in to make sure the paperwork is done correctly so all bad guys are in jail and all equipment requests are properly filled out so that they always have extra supplies of bullets, grenades, and K-Bars.
Steve noticed everything about Danny. Steve knows exactly how Danny runs his fingers through his hair when he's thinking hard about something. Steve knows that Danny can't function properly without caffeine in his system. Steve can always tell Danny's mood based on the distance his tie is from the base of his neck – the farther away it is means the more stressed he is. Steve can bait Danny's rants with a single glance or perfectly timed, 'Book 'em, Danno.' Steve knows when Rachel has caused problems because Danny will spend the following day grumbling more than usual and banging his phone repeatedly against hard surfaces. It's what he does and Steve doesn't attempt to understand it, he just knows that's how Danny will react.
Just as Steve was once again ready to start on his report, Danny opens the door saying they have a possible suspect to question in relation to an open investigation.
Steve nodded and glanced over at Avery chattering away as she climbs her dolls up the sofa and back down. What was he supposed to do with her while they went to question the suspect? He couldn't exactly bring her along; their questionings almost always ended up in conflict, something he wanted to spare his daughter from. He couldn't leave her alone in his office; his ships would probably never be the same.
"Kono can watch her," Danny said, reading the expression on Steve's face. Steve didn't have to say a word, Danny just knew.
Steve grabbed his gun and badge, hooking them to his belt, and bent down to kiss the top of Avery's head. "Daddy and Danno have to go talk to someone so we'll be gone for a while. Kono is going to watch you okay, sweet pea?"
Avery continued playing with her toys, making no movement to stop. Steve took this as affirmation she was okay with the new arrangement.
"Let's go, Danno." Steve clapped Danny on the shoulder and headed towards the door. He was thrilled about needing to go out and question some suspects. He needed the excitement; paperwork just wasn't cutting it.
"Steven, don't you think you should tell Kono the plan, first?"
"Right." Steve turned and walked in the opposite direction, knocked on Kono's door and let himself in. "Can you watch Avery while Danny and I go question a suspect? She's in my office playing with her toys. She has snacks in her bag if she gets hungry."
"You got it, Boss." The smile that graced Kono's face had Steve on edge. That smile meant mischief.
"And no playing with the ships, Kono. It took me a week to fully clean out all the lettuce from the last time you and Avery decided to play Barbie lost at sea."
"Boss, it wasn't lettuce. It was seaweed."
"Play with the ships and I'm not signing your request for a new grenade launcher."
"Killjoy."
Steve grinned and walked out of the office, reminding Avery one last time about his ships.
*H50*
They were on their way back to 5-0 headquarters when Danny began the rant Steve had been waiting for.
"Questioning, McGarrett?" Danny yelled, hands flailing about in front of him. He was so into his rant he never noticed the number of times his knuckles bumped against the roof of the Camaro or the glass of the window. Steve knew he was officially in trouble. "We were only there to question the subject, not get a knife tossed at our heads by one goon while another blew up empty crates by us. Do you see my face? Do you? Do you see your face? How are you going to explain that to Avery, huh? Are you going to tell her what really happened? That you insulted the suspect's entire family, thus prompting him to fling a knife at us!"
Danny's voice rose to a higher decibel level with each new sentence. "You are a walking death trap. You should come with a warning label."
Steve smartly kept his mouth shut. In his defense, he hadn't meant to upset the suspect; really, he didn't. But he couldn't help it. The perp called Danny an oompa-loompa. Danny may not have heard it, but Steve sure did, and Steve felt the need to beat the guy to a bloody pulp, which he refrained from doing, he might add, not that that would deter Danny's rant any, but Steve would just like to make it known. Steve was defending Danny's honor. If Danny was a girl he would be swooning at Steve's feet. But Danny wasn't a girl and he had no idea the guy even insulted him.
Steve considered mentioning it, but with one glance at Hurricane Williams he was fairly certain that telling him wouldn't help his case at all but would most likely make it worse because Danny was, in fact, a man and did not need his honor defended, no matter how much Steve wanted to defend it.
Danny hadn't stopped talking as Steve contemplated telling him about his undefended honor, "A warning label that would read: Danger: Walking weapon incapable of human thought, duck and cover when even mildly provoked."
Steve put the Camaro in park and opened the door, slammed it shut, and didn't wait for Danny to finish. He knew what he did was stupid. He knew that he would have to explain a lot to Avery and he wasn't looking forward to doing that. He also knew that no matter how much Danny ranted, Steve would have done it all over again in a heartbeat, that's just how much he loved Danny. And Steve protected the people he loved, whether necessary or not. He was a SEAL, that's what he does.
"I wasn't finished, Steven."
"Oh, I know the end."
"You know the end?"
"Yeah, you were most likely going to say something along the lines of: stupid ninja-freaking spy, can't take you anywhere, we need to get you help in dealing with human beings. Am I close?"
"I hate you."
"No, you love me."
"Stupid, shit-eating grin," Danny grumbled as he walked into his office and slammed the door; well acted as if he slammed the door since the 5-0 office doors didn't actually slam.
Satisfied, Steve walked into his own office to find Avery and Kono wearing matching evil grins. Clearly, Steve's day was not going to get any better. Kono winked at Avery as she walked out of the office. "I kept the lettuce in the kitchen this time."
Avery giggled from beside Steve as she waved goodbye to Kono, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Steve didn't want to know, right?
"Daddy what happened to your face? And your arms?" Avery looked up at Steve, her neck craned as far back as it would go, a calculating look apparent on her face. She was assessing his injuries and preparing to launch an attack on his person.
"Just got a few scrapes while Danno and I were out working. It barely hurts." Avery continued to give him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him for a minute.
"Sit over there, Daddy," Avery pointed to the couch and Steve obliged; he couldn't really say no even if he wanted to. Avery rummaged around in her backpack and pulled out her first aid kit.
She got to work quickly, using all of the first aid knowledge Steve had taught her when she started kindergarten. He knew that the teachers would help her if she ever got hurt, but he wanted her to be prepared. He also knew that he wasn't getting away with 'it's just a few scratches' because she was clearly intent on making sure every one of his scratches were cared for. So, Steve closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the couch. Steve knew exactly what Avery was using to clean and bandage his wounds. He had packed the case himself. He knew he was being covered in Barbie Band-Aids. At this point, though, he was just happy Avery wasn't traumatized and happily fixing him up.
Danny walked in a few minutes later as Avery was covering the last of Steve's gashes. She looked over and gasped as her eyes took in the injuries to Danny's person.
"Danno, you sit right there next to Daddy, now," she said sternly, steering him towards the couch by pushing the back of his legs in the correct direction.
Danny arched an eyebrow at Steve as he took in the numerous pink Band-Aids that were covering his arms and face. Steve shrugged and closed his eyes as Danny sat down next to him. Steve could hear Avery humming along as she got to work making sure Danny was okay. Steve's eyes were closed, but he could feel how close Danny was. They were touching; their sides were right up against each other, their thighs and shoulders brushing ever so slightly. It felt good to have Danny's body heat next to him and Steve felt himself relax further into his resting state. He did, however, stay alert enough to pay attention to Danny's movements. Steve hadn't completed his mission, and he was still trying to garner Danny's reactions to being around him, touching him, and other moments that may have the potential for awkwardness. Danny had shifted a little after Avery pushed him onto the couch, but he hadn't shifted away from Steve. In fact, he shifted in comfort, trying to find the perfect spot on the couch to relax as Avery bandaged him up. Steve noted happily that Danny had moved his body slightly closer to Steve's and their hips were now touching as well.
It took every ounce of willpower Steve possessed to stop himself from reaching out and wrapping his arm around Danny's shoulder, bringing him flush up against his side. Steve knew he had to take things slow, and didn't want to push Danny away. So, Steve stayed silent and enjoyed the few uninterrupted moments he had pressed up against his partner.
"Danno, you really should make sure that you and Daddy are more careful," Avery admonished.
"Why is it my responsibility to make sure Rambo over here doesn't get hurt?"
"Because you love him, and because he won't do it for himself, you know that," Avery sighed as if this was the most well-proven fact in the world.
Steve's chest vibrated with held back laughter as Danny grunted beside him, "Your father is a grown man who should have learned to take care of himself by now."
"Yeah, but he hasn't so maybe you should teach him Danno."
Steve couldn't resist opening his eyes to see the scene in front of him. Avery wasn't looking at Danny, but was focusing on the gauze she was wrapping around his wrist a little tighter than was absolutely necessary.
"Fine, I will make sure he is more careful."
"Do you promise?"
"I promise."
Satisfied with his response, she sat back on her heels, admired her handiwork and declared, "All done." She closed up her first aid kit, put it in her bag, and with one last critical look at the two men, went back to playing with her toys.
Steve looked over at Danny. Steve couldn't help it, he laughed. There was Danny, tough Jersey cop Danny, sitting in his office with Barbie and Hello Kitty Band-Aids covering the gashes on his forearms and cheek. In addition, Avery had wrapped a particularly nasty cut on Danny's wrist with lavender gauze. Steve knew he probably didn't look much manlier because Danny was looking at him with a wide grin, trying to suppress what Steve expected was a great big belly laugh.
Danny shook his head at Steve's face. Steve cleared his throat and looked away because he had been staring at Danny for much longer than could be deemed appropriate. Danny walked out of the office towards his own a few minutes later and Steve finally surrendered to the unfortunate call of his paperwork.
*H50*
An hour later Steve threw his pen down in frustration, there was no way he could concentrate on the paperwork for another minute. He needed a walk, or a swim, or a nice round of hand-to-hand combat. He looked up towards Avery who was playing on the office floor. What could he say, watching her play was a lot more fun than paperwork, so he leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, and watched.
Avery had a G.I. Joe doll, Ken doll, and two Stacy dolls lined up in front of her. For awhile he listened to her babble on about laundry, carpool, and swim practice. Okay, he surmised, she was playing house. The fact that the two "adults" in this scenario were men did not escape unnoticed by Steve, but he chose to ignore the fact for now. She continued to play; apparently the family was sitting down to have dinner. After the dinner was over, the two boy dolls were tucking the little girls into bed. After reading a bedtime story and kissing them goodnight, she had the two boy dolls walk out the "door" and shut the light. After they were in the "hallway," they were kissing.
Wait, back up, they were kissing! Warning sirens were sounding inside Steve's brain just as the door to his office was opened. Transfixed by the scene playing out before him, Steve didn't even glance up to see who had entered his office, in fact he barely even registered another presence in the office at all, but he knew it was Danny. Avery was making kissing noises as the two boy dolls pulled away from each other.
"I love you, Danno," the GI Joe doll said in a poorly disguised Avery voice.
The other doll replied, "Danno loves you, Steve."
Horrified by the scene playing out in front of him, Steve glanced towards Danny to gauge his reaction. What he saw shocked him. Danny was standing in the doorway, eyes never leaving Avery's game, a look of contentment gracing his features. Danny had a small smile on his face and his blue eyes twinkled as if the stars were glowing behind them.
In that moment Steve had officially completed the reconnaissance portion of his mission. Danny was smiling at the small girl's make-believe games, a make-believe game that was clearly based on her real-life desires. That was all the motivation and proof Steve needed to carry out the offensive portion of his plan.
"You know," Danny started as he walked towards Steve's desk, "Grace was playing a very similar game the other day."
Avery looked up at the two men, a blush forming on her face as she darted her eyes back and forth between her father and Danny. Steve raised his eyebrows at her and she pretended not to notice. However, she was five and not the most subtle of beings. Her sideways glance towards Kono's office was rather obvious. He knew letting Kono watch Avery or Grace at any point was dangerous to everyone's well-being, he just hadn't realized how much she had whispered in their ears.
"…so Rachel can watch her."
Steve was so involved with his realization that Kono had been using his innocent daughter in her evil plans he hadn't registered that Danny had still been talking.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"C'mon, SmoothDog, focus on me for one minute." Gladly, Steve thought.
"Rachel offered to watch Avery the rest of the day and then have a sleepover with her and Grace."
Steve couldn't help the smile that was pulling at his mouth. This was his moment, his opening to put the plan into motion. Hiding the excitement bubbling just behind the surface, he replied, "That sounds great. Avery, do you want to go over Gracie's house for a sleepover?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Both men laughed as Avery jumped, throwing one fist in the air in a celebratory fashion.
"Great, Rachel will be by to pick her up in about 20 minutes. She said not to worry about getting Avery's things, they have plenty of stuff at their house and Avery will easily fit into Grace's clothes."
As Steve watched Danny move towards the door he saw his perfect opening begin to dwindle into nothingness, "Wait, Danno."
Danny turned around, a look on his face that Steve couldn't quite place. Annoyance? No, Danny's annoyed face was always accompanied with words. Curiosity? No, but he was getting closer. Nervousness? Yes, that was definitely Danny's nervous face because his eyebrows were scrunched up, but there was something else mixed in with the nerves, anticipation, maybe. Steve couldn't be sure and tried to block the continued excitement growing in his chest.
"Come over for dinner tonight."
"I'd love to."
Steve didn't miss the look of relief that flooded Danny's face as he accepted the invitation. He also didn't miss the look of satisfaction that Avery was sporting, no matter how sneaky she thought she was being.
Steve couldn't help the happy dance he did in his head; tonight Danny was going to be his.
