When they got the call from Will that Grace was in labor,, Steve and Danny had to stop themselves from rushing down to the hospital. They'd at least wait until morning or until the baby arrived, whichever came first. They lay in their bed, vibrating with energy. "I feel like one of our kids right now, whenever they don't want to go to bed and have hit a wall," Danny murmured, laughing.
He snorted and shook his head in fond amusement. "Speaking of which - again - can't believe we're about to be grandparents when we also have a thirteen year old, four year old, and two year old in the house. Feel like we're too young for this shit."
"I still can't believe you talked me into naming one of our daughters Justice when I'm a cop and you're retired." Steve hadn't had to convince him too much, however - despite some protests while they waited for their now four year old's arrival, Danny ended up loving the name and it seemed to fit her.
"And I let you name our next one Joy," Steve playfully shot back at his husband. He had nothing against the name (loved it, in fact) but irrationally worried about all their daughters having virtue names while Charlie didn't and feeling left out. Fortunately, the thought only occured to Grace and she ended up loving the unintentional theme.
"Yeah, well, you get to name the next one then," Danny joked.
He cocked his head and stared at his husband. "Are you being serious about the next one while our first grandbaby is on his way or is this you fucking with me?" Granted, four kids and one grandkid were enough but he wouldn't mind expanding their family again. Sounded chaotic but that's what he thrived on now, especially as a stay at home dad.
Danny froze and squinted his eyes at Steve. "Wait, you really do want another one?"
Steve licked his lips and avoided eye contact for a few minutes. Danny waited patiently for his husband to spill everything he was holding inside of him. "We could always adopt again - give a child a home they desperately need. Maybe this will change when we meet Grace and Will's son in the morning but it doesn't feel like our family's complete."
"Are you honestly sure you could handle a third kid under your feet all the time?" Danny pressed as he too began to seriously consider this. What was wrong with them? Especially since he still had a pretty dangerous job running the task force.
Steve's smile lit up their bedroom. "I think so, yeah. But why don't we talk about this some more, after our grandson's here? We might change our minds once we meet him and see how Grace and Will handle parenthood."
Danny leaned over and kissed him. "Sounds like a plan to me."
The two of them stayed awake for a few more hours, their excitement never waning, and then headed to the hospital in the morning with their kids in tow despite the fact that Grace still hadn't given birth. Thank God it was a Saturday. Neither of them were shocked to find Rachel, Lou, and Renee already there. Danny and Steve sat Justice and Joy down in the chairs and handed them some coloring books and crayons, hoping that'd keep them occupied for a while. If not, they'd give in and hand them the iPad.
Rachel hugged them both once they got the girls settled in. "Justice looks so much like you, Steve," she observed.
"She's a mini Steve," Danny agreed, a grin lighting up his face.
"But yet she acts like Danno," an amused Charlie pointed out.
"God help us all," chimed in Lou.
"What he said." Rachel wrapped an arm around her son and they headed to the other set of chairs lining the wall.
"How you doing, Lou?" They saw each other at least once a week but Steve still missed him.
"Great. You?"
"Fantastic."
Renee's eyes glinted with excitement. "I bet Grace has this baby in the next hour or so. Just a feeling." She clapped her hands together and shook a bit.
"Somebody's so excited she can barely stand it," Lou teased.
Renee shot her husband a glare and swatted his shoulder before deciding to join Rachel and Charlie just to have something to do. "Shut up!" she called across the room before he could say anything else.
Steve kissed his husband and they too sat down next to their daughters. They only had to wait an hour and a half before Will came out in the waiting room, which led to every single one of them (kids included) jumping out. He beamed at their family. "He's here - eight pounds, four ounces. Grace did an awesome job."
"Name yet?" an impatient Steve pressed.
Will sighed. "Not telling you - Grace wants to do that. So come on."
The whole family followed him back to Grace's room and immediately fell in love with the little boy in her arms. "How are you feeling, sweetheart? You look exhausted." Rachel brushed her daughter's hair back and gave her a quick half hug.
"I am exhausted but he was worth it. Not sure I'll ever do this again, though - you did this twice?" Grace asked.
"I did but there's a reason there's such a big age difference between you and Charlie."
"That's because of the divorce, Rach." Danny ducked when his ex-wife tried to throw her coffee cup at him. Fortunately, it was empty and missed him completely. He stuck his tongue out at her then turned his attention back to their grandson.
Steve stared at the newborn in awe. "He's beautiful. Good job, Gracie."
"Thanks, Uncle Steve. Somebody want to hold him?" Grace didn't want to give him up but she also knew that their family wanted to meet him.
"Yes, but what's his name?" Charlie questioned.
"He's right - give us a name," Renee pleaded.
Will and Grace exchanged a happy glance. "Meet Austin William Grover," she informed them.
Austin tried in vain to open his eyes but gave up after a few minutes. "Nice name, suits him well. Can I hold him?"
"Of course." Will scooped his son out of Grace's arms and handed over to Steve, who immediately teared up at the sight of his grandson.
"Hey you. I'm one of your grandpas, and I love you very much."
Danny squeezed his arm, both of them ignoring Will leaning down to kiss Grace. "You look pretty damn good holding our grandson."
Steve looked up at him. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," he confirmed.
The family all took turns holding Austin before they left so Grace could finally get some sleep.
Eleven months later, Steve and Danny added to their family when they adopted a newborn little girl they named Patience. She completed their family and added to the chaos but they continued to thrive in it and that's what mattered.
