Grace is the first to wake the following morning, and she sneaks past Jay, out of the room and a couple of doors down to where Steve and Danny sleep. The creak of their bedroom door wakes Steve, and he lifts his head, eyes wide open and alert, to search for the intruder. A smile graces his lips as he sets eyes on Grace, and he beckons her over, pushing the covers away from him so that she can slip into the middle of the bed. Grace hugs herself to Danny's arm, and Steve closes his eyes again, only for them all to wake again half an hour later.
"Grace?" Danny says as he looks at her weary eyed. She just smiles and pulls away. It's not the first time he's awoken to find Grace between he and Steve.
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"Ugh, why the hell did I agree to this?" Danny moans as he trudges down the stairs. Jay is already up, sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal when Danny, Grace and Steve all come down the stairs, one after the other.
Steve nudges Grace on the shoulder, and they share an eye roll. The lot of them – Chin and Kono included – have agreed to go on a hike this morning, though Danny wonders whether he's regretting it. There are only two good things about hiking for Danny; first, is time alone in the quiet with Grace; and second is time along in the quiet with Steve. And seeing as he'll get neither of those things today, Danny is no longer keen on the idea.
"Sleep alright?" Steve asks Jay as he purposefully ignores Danny's question.
Jay swallows a mouthful. "Yeah, thanks. Nice room you have, Gracie." Grace smiles and sits down next to her, reaching for the box of cereal.
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The hike actually isn't too bad. Steve knows the mountains well, and so he chooses and easy route with a steady incline, avoiding areas with rough terrain and giving fair warning of any tricky bits. In fact, he's unusually responsible; a word that Danny would truly never have associated with the man until recently.
"I'm tired and my legs hurt," Grace says. All eight of them look to her sympathetically, and Zoe offers her a swig of water which she takes.
Danny has held onto her hand for most of the walk up, and they're just about on their way down now but his bad knee is bothering him a little. "Grace, c'mere," Steve says, beckoning with one hand and pulling off the backpack. He's noticed the falter in Danny's steps, and Grace is only growing more tired. "You alright to take this?" he asks Danny. The detective nods and pulls the bag onto his back as Steve kneels down. He jabs a thumb behind him and looks at Grace. "C'mon, hop on. You can piggyback the rest of the way."
Grace beams and runs up behind, jumping a couple of inches in the air and flinging her arms around Steve's neck. Steve takes a hold of her ankles and allows her to tighten her grip around his neck and shoulders as he secures her legs around his waist. Only then does he stand up, slowing the pace slightly as they edge closer to the bottom of the hill.
A/N: So, thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, love you all. See you tomorrow for the final two chapters, and keep reviewing!