I do NOT own anything, but the plot.

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This story is fully written… so there's a lot to come!

Nalo a loaʻa

-loosely translate to "lost and found"-

CHAPTER NINE

Danny rubbed his aching wrist, but found he held no malice towards Steve over the way he had manhandled him only twenty minutes earlier. In actual fact, he understood it to a certain extent. Hated it but understood it.

He now knew that what he had done to Steve in the wake of his homecoming was not only uncalled for but was unforgiveable.

"Goddamnit!" he yelled, smacking his steering wheel.

Gazing upwards he sighed when he saw Rachel in the doorway, her shoulder leaning against the doorframe, her petite frame wrapped in her crossed arms. She gave him a small smile and he took the moment to rely on his ex-wife to help him with this.

A lot had happened since Steve's supposed death, but one good thing was it seemed to mend a lot of the cracks in their tumultuous relationship. She seemed to understand that his grief wasn't just singular, and he couldn't get lost in it when the kids were dealing with it, too. For that she stepped up and they forged a new friendship in the wreckage of their ruined marriage.

For that, he'd have to thank Steve.

Getting out of the Camaro, he ignored the smarting in his wrist, and headed to the head.

"Hey Rach," he said as he advanced for the door. "Thanks for helping with this."

"You're more than welcome, Daniel." Her smile was small, but it was filled with sympathy. "C'mon, I'll make you a tea," she comforted, leading him through the house and to the kitchen. "Although, you look like you need something stronger."

Danny smiled at the idea of tea, with it bringing a memory of when he and Steve had used Rachel's house to stakeout on their neighbours. That felt like a lifetime ago, but yet also felt like only yesterday.

"As much as I would love to drown my sorrows, I have to be the adult here," he mused, trying to rally his faculties in order to help him process this time of his life. "Urgh, I hate this, Rach."

Placing a hand onto Danny's, Rachel gripped on to try and force her support.

"Are you okay?"

Danny sighed, that was a loaded question if ever he heard one. Not daring to look away from his hands and hating how emotional he was becoming; he took in a cathartic breath.

"How okay can you be when your best friend rises from the dead after almost six months?" With that he looked up. "Because right now, nothing feels okay, but everything feels like it should be."

"It took me by surprise when you mentioned it to me," she said, finally letting him go to make them a drink. "And I won't lie, I was a little surprised when Grace came home in the state she did."

"Yeah, I thought you would be," Danny agreed, rubbing his jaw. "We never expected her to be at the office, and it was shit timing. Steve was acting like he used to, and I wasn't holding a complete grudge against him for all of two minutes."

Rachel studied her ex-husband for a moment. The months had eaten away at him and although his happiness came out in weird ways, she hadn't seen him truly happy since Steve was pronounced dead. His love for their children kept them going, but outside of that, Danny was a shell of a man.

Now, however, he seemed conflicted over what he should say.

"What am I going to do, Rachel?" Danny suddenly asked, breaking the silence. "It's been so hard for them these last few months and now everything is one massive clusterfuck." Running his hands over his hair, he paused with them cradling the back of his head. "He's back and he's not okay. I know that now."

"He's not?" Rachel asked, setting a cup of tea down in front of Danny. "What do you mean? From what I got from Grace, he's more than okay."

"He's not okay," Danny remarked, remembering the scars on Steve's body and the man his best friend had become. "My guess is witness protection because there's no way the idea I had in my head is the one that played out in real life. I think the threat was greater than we knew, and he was really injured in that damn explosion I pulled him out of."

"So, he was hurt?"

Danny nodded, solemnly. "Badly, too, by the looks of it."

Gulping, Danny remembered the scars that now took over Steve's body. Sure, he was littered with them before, especially after Wo Fat was done with him and after whatever damned classified missions he had been on, but now it seemed like Steve was left with more than a few permanent reminders of his past.

"What happened?" Rachel asked lightly. "Don't think I can't see the red mark on your wrist either, Daniel."

"We had an argument … I made him feel like his only option was to go back to the navy and he broke, Rach. His body is scarred and he's not okay. He literally threw me out … and I mean literally threw me out."

Rachel said nothing, because what was there to say in a moment like this? He had everything he wanted – his family and his best friend alive and well, but there was something deep down that Danny wanted and he couldn't work out what. Maybe he wanted retribution or answers or some form of closure, or maybe, he wanted someone to continue blaming for the life they had all lived since that horrible day.

"Danno?"

The sweet sound of Grace's voice was enough to catch Danny breathless, but he pushed off from the kitchen island to face the doorway. Grace stood before him with glassy, red eyes, her bottom lip slightly pushed out as if she was ready to cry again. His fatherly instincts kicked in and he went to her immediately, the overwhelming need to comfort her becoming too much.

"Hey Monkey," Danny said the moment he could wrap his arms around his daughter.

He took hope when she gripped him back, her arms snaking around his waist and holding on for dear life. Burying his face into her hair, he kissed the top of her head and waited for her to pull back, allowing her the comfort she clearly needed.

"How you doing now?" he asked when she finally stepped back. "I'm sorry I had to rush off."

"It's okay, I know you had work to deal with," she replied, her eyes dipped. "And I know I shouldn't have come by your office."

"Why were you there in the first place, Grace?"

She shrugged. "You've been distracted all week. I just thought we could go for lunch."

"You should've been in school," he reminded lightly, trying to push his tone to be mad at her.

"Half day, Danno," Grace reminded him. "Mom dropped me off so I could surprise you. You've been a little distracted lately."

"Yeah, about that …" Danny started and took her hand. "Let's sit down and talk."

"If it's about him coming home, I don't care," Grace said coldly.

Both Danny and Rachel winced at their daughter's behaviour. She had never been like this, never shown any malice towards someone she claimed to love.

"Look, Grace, baby, we need to talk about this because Steve, well, he's not going anywhere."

"He's said that before," she answered with a certain level of petulance. "He clearly lied."

Sighing, Danny leaned in, trying in vain to keep his tone even. He didn't want to seem like he was siding with party, but he knew there needed to be some grounding to put a positive foot forward.

"Look, something out of Uncle Steve's hands happened and people needed to protect him and us."

"So, they faked his death," Grace murmured, her eyes not meeting her father's.

"Yeah, Gracie, he had no control over what happened. From what I gather, Steve wasn't a willing counterpart, and he didn't have a choice."

"We always have a choice," Grace replied bluntly. "And in all the years I've known him, if he doesn't like something he doesn't usually do it. It's why he ignored you so many times."

Danny and Rachel couldn't resist the urge to laugh.

"Not this time, Babe." Danny felt weak for a moment, hating that he still didn't have all of the answers. "See, I thought he had done this like he has before, too ... you know when he runs off half-cocked and in full super SEAL mode?"

Grace nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth to nervously chew.

"Well, he didn't, and I didn't give him the chance to tell me otherwise, I just got really mad with him," Danny admitted, his guilt forming a lump in his throat. "I didn't tell you he was back because I was angry at him for just waltzing back in like nothing happened when so much had. I'm now aware that things were far worse than we ever imagined and Steve, well, he's been on his own during all of this time."

He saw the way Grace's eyes watered, the girl who loved her uncle was still in there, still affected by his wellbeing even if she lied.

"There's something you're not telling us," Grace stated, watching her father's expression. "What aren't you telling us now?"

Danny hesitated.

"Go on, Daniel, tell her everything," Rachel pushed.

"Your Uncle Steve was seriously hurt that day we were told he was dead. I'm guessing they used his injuries as a means to set things in motions." He hated being the bearing of more bad news, hated to be the one to inflict this pain on his daughter. "I don't have a full story, but I'm going to find out."

"He was hurt?" Grace prodded, her eyes watering some.

"Yeah, Monkey, he was. When we were at the hospital, he was really hurt, remember?" Danny's answer was soft, his question laced with regret – as if his daughter could forget that. "He was hurt pretty badly, too."

Grace rolled her eyes as a silent response, her nostrils flaring as she tried to keep her emotions contained.

"I still don't want to see him," Grace admitted, looking at her hands. "I meant what I said earlier, Danno, he can't just come back. I don't want to see him."

"If that's what you want, Monkey, then that's how we do things." Reaching over, Danny covered his daughter's hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. "We do this at your pace."

"Thanks, Danno," she whispered.

"C'mon ... let's get your brother, go home, order a pizza in and watch a film," Danny coerced.

As much as he wanted to solve the issue here, Danny had to put his children first and they needed him as much as he needed them. Tomorrow, when the kids were at school, Danny would demand every answer possible before he started to make amends with Steve.

"Okay, Dad," she murmured into his chest. "Just you, me and Charlie."

"Just you, me and Charlie," he confirmed.

"You have to tell him, though," Grace replied, her words harsher than normal. "He needs to know the mission is over."

Danny could only nod before he replied, "I'll tell him."

Passing a glance at Rachel, she could only offer her support in that same small smile she gave him earlier. Danny didn't feel like this brought any form of healing for him or for Grace, and he knew telling Charlie wasn't going to be easy because he knew his son and he knew his relationship with Steve.

Charlie was going to beg to see Steve, while Grace was begging not to.