"Hi." Maia smiles as she sits down next to her brother on the couch.
It's the day after his fight with Jackson, and well, Danny's still not sure what all of it means, but hey, he's not too worried. He and Jackson have had fights before, though this? This does seem a little deeper.
"What's up, trouble maker?" Danny asks, smiling at his little sister.
"I'm not a trouble maker," she teases.
"Oh yeah?" Danny raises an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
"No." She giggles, and Danny can't help but feel like huge weights have been lifted off of him.
Everything is working right now, everything is falling into place. Maia is healthy and she's happy, that's the most important thing, but now he also has Isaac in his life. Isaac who took on so much responsibility for Maia, when he had no reason to, Isaac who was there for Danny during...everything, and Isaac, who just finally opened up to Danny about his life, revealing a more than broken past that Danny really, really wants to help him fix, no matter what the cost. He wants Isaac to be happy, because if anyone deserves happiness, it's him.
"Did Isaac really break our bathroom door?" Maia asks, looking over at Danny.
"Yeah." He nods. "It got jammed, and he busted it trying to get out."
"He's strong," Maia states.
"Yeah, he is." Danny smiles.
"Did you get mad at him? Because he broke our door?" Maia asks.
"No, of course not." Danny shakes his head. "He was stuck inside, anyone would have done the same thing." He puts his arm around his little sister. "Why did you think I got mad?"
"Cause he hasn't been over in a few days." She shrugs.
"Oh, Maia…" Danny laughs. "Isaac has his own family, and he has to spend time with them, too, besides, I stayed over there last night. Don't worry. I'm not mad at Isaac."
"Good." Maia nods matter of factly. "Because I don't want him to go away."
"I don't want him to, either," Danny says, smile in place on his face.
"Cause you love him?" Maia asks.
"That's right." Danny nods.
"Can I love him to, or will that make you mad?" Maia asks.
"Of course you can love him too!" Danny smiles. "Maia, why would I be mad at you? Why are you so worried about me being mad at the people I love all of a sudden?"
"Because I heard you getting mad at Jackson yesterday," she says softly. "And you love him, right?"
"Yeah, but Maia…" Danny sighs, pulling his sister closer, trying to figure out how to explain to the kid what happened. "Jackson...did something that upset me, really upset me, something that maybe he didn't mean to do, but he also didn't think about how it might hurt other people."
"Jackson hurt you?" Maia asks, eyes wide.
"No, no, Maia, I don't know how to explain this to you, but I got mad at Jackson because Jackson did something that made me mad. It is very, very hard to make me angry, and I could never be angry at you, okay?"
"I heard you yelling, and it was scary," she says softly.
"I'm really sorry, Mai, I lost my temper, and that was wrong, I know that, I do. I don't want you to think that I could ever get mad like that at you."
"Promise?" Maia asks.
"I promise."
"Or mom and dad?"
"Or mom and dad."
"Or Isaac?"
"Or Isaac."
"Just Jackson."
"Yeah." Danny sighs. "Just Jackson, and I'm not even that mad at him anymore, okay? I don't want you to worry about this. It happened, but it's over now, and it's not going to happen again. I promise."
"Okay." Maia smiles, snuggling up against her brother, clearly comforted by the answers that he gave, and really, that's all that Danny can ask for, right? That she believe him.
"So, on another topic," Danny says. "I was wondering if you could help me out with something."
"What is it?" Maia asks.
"Isaac's birthday is in two weeks, and I want to have a party for him. I was wondering if maybe you could help me with that."
"Yes!" Maia's face lights up and she grins at her brother. "I can help! I am so good at birthday parties! We can have cake and hats with stegosaurus on them, Isaac loves stegosaurus."
"He sure does." Danny smiles at his little sister...and at the image of Isaac wearing a party hat with a dinosaur on it. Mostly because he knows that if Maia handed Isaac that hat, he'd put it on, no questions asked, because that's who Isaac is.
"First we need invitations," Maia states, looking at Danny, nodding. "I'll go get my art box."
"Okay."
Danny sighs happily as she goes to get her art box, and pulls out his phone, starting to make a guest list - all people that he knows Isaac would want there, people that he trusts, or at least people that he likes. Danny knows that it won't be a big party, but he wants it to be a party where Isaac is comfortable and feels cared for.
He also wants it to be a surprise.
"Okay, Maia, now I need you to do something for me that might be kind of tough, okay?" He asks, when she comes back with her art box and about a million sheets of white paper that she clearly took from their dad's office printer.
"What?" Maia asks, setting everything down on the coffee table.
"Don't tell Isaac about the party, okay? I want it to be a surprise."
"Okay." Maia nods, handing him the stack of paper. "Surprise. I won't tell him. Now, you write the invitations, and I'll color them."
"Sounds like a plan," Danny says with a smile, starting to draft the first invite. It might be a small party, but he wants it to be perfect.
The first one is, of course, for Scott, though they're all going to say the same thing.
Dear Scott,
You are invited to Isaac Lahey's 17th birthday party.
It will take place on Saturday, the 26th at 2324 Windsor Dr.
The party starts at 5:00 PM and goes until whenever.
Dress nicely, your presence is greatly desired.
Gifts are appreciated but not mandatory however, a kindly worded and well thought out card is.
This is a surprise party, so please don't tell the birthday boy.
Sincerely,
Danny and Maia Mahealani
The invitation sounds a little forceful, he knows, but this is Isaac. He's not sure the kid has had a birthday party in years, and he wants it to be special. He doesn't want anyone that's invited to not show up, and he wants them to bring Isaac presents so that Isaac will see that people care about him.
Danny knows that in a lot of ways, gifts don't matter, but if everyone that comes brings Isaac a card that lets him know that they care about him, Danny thinks that that will make the world of difference to the boy. He's been through so much, and Danny can't go back and undo his past, but he can move forwards, he can help him to get through to the next stages, and make the rest of his life a better, happier place.
He passes the invitation to Maia, tells her who it's for, and watches as she starts to color on it.
She takes her time, making each one different, and special (though very clearly drawn by a child), and Danny is proud of his sister for putting so much time and effort into this. Maybe Maia doesn't know what all Isaac did for her, but she knows that Isaac cares about her, and in a way that only a child can, she selflessly and truly cares for him right back.
By the time they're done, they've got invitations for Scott, Allison, Stiles, Melissa McCall, Derek Hale, Lydia, Jackson, and one for Coach Finstock, because no matter what he says or does, it's clear that Coach cares about all of his players, and that very much includes Isaac.
It won't be a big party, that much is clear, but with a small group of people that love him, Danny is pretty sure that it will be a good time, and more importantly, that it will make Isaac feel special and cared about, and at the end of the day, that's all that Danny really wants for him.
A/N Alright, so another chapter! I'm sort of just posting them as I have them now, though I did want to let you know that this story is coming down the home stretch! I know that there hasn't been any Isaac in awhile, but don't worry, he'll be in the next chapter! I wanted to have interactions with Danny and Maia that didn't involve Isaac, because their relationship is very important. Thanks for reading!