/ Packing \\\

The morning after Steve's birthday, Danny slipped out of the house while Steve and Grace were still in the ocean swimming for a last minute, early morning psych appointment.

Steve and Grace came up to the house later, later than normal without Danny to remind them to come in, and found the house empty.

"Go have a shower, Gracie," Steve said, looking for a note.

She nodded and happily headed out of the room. Steve heard the shower start as he found the note on the kitchen table between two cling-wrap covered bowls of muesli.

Got a call, gone to psych appointment. Will shop on the way home. Back by lunch. Danno.

Steve glared down at the note and thought about exactly what he was going to be saying to Danny when the other man got home. Then he stomped upstairs and took a shower. He knew Grace would be done but he took his time in their room getting dressed so that she did not have to see his annoyance. He did understand…no, he didn't, he had listened to Danny but he did not understand why Danny felt he had to keep Steve away. Especially by lying to him. The use of Grace on Wednesday had been bad enough but to lie to him, to them both, and leave in such a way made Steve wonder just what Danny was up to.

Finally, though he felt no better, he knew he could no longer hide in their room. He went downstairs expecting Grace to be eating breakfast in the kitchen, or more likely in the lounge room in front of the television.

Steve paused outside of Grace's room and frowned. "Gracie, what are you doing?"

Grace looked up at him and then down at the piles of clothes on her bed. "Packing."

Steve frowned. "Packing for what?"

"Our trip."

Steve smiled at her. "We're not leaving for over two weeks."

"I know," Grace said, slumping down on the bed between her bathers and jumpers. "But, Nana, Pop, and Great-Nana are going to be here on Thursday and then we will be focussed on the wedding and I don't want to pack the wrong things."

Steve walked into the room. He pulled the chair out from her table and sat down. "Okay, what are you thinking of taking?"

"I'm not sure. I looked at the weather in New Zealand but I don't know what I need to take. Do you know it snows there as well?"

Steve nodded. "We are going to be visiting a lot of different places. We're going to visit the glacier and the mountains so we need a bit of everything."

Grace smiled at him. "So I should pack everything?"

Steve shook his head. "Maybe we should wait until Danno comes home."

"It's going to okay, Uncle Steve."

Steve laughed. "You haven't called me that in a while."

Grace shrugged. "You're going to marry Danno; it's weird if I call you uncle."

"Said who?"

Grace looked away. "James."

"Who is James?"

Grace coloured. "No one."

Steve filed that away to tell Danny later. "Gracie, there is nothing wrong with you still calling me Uncle Steve."

"Okay," Grace walked over and put her hands on Steve's shoulders. "Daddy's going to be fine."

"I'm just…nothing."

Grace threw her arms around Steve. "I know you're worried about him but what he's doing is good."

"I know."

"And he is better."

Steve had to admit that Danny had been more calm over the last two weeks and he no longer left the appointments looking so wrung out. Or at least he never came home or returned to work that way – not that Steve had managed to be at the appointments to support Danny like he wanted to be.

"I just want to help," Steve admitted grudgingly.

"You do," Grace said, shaking her head at him. "Daddy wasn't happy when he moved to Hawaii. He was so sad whenever I would see him even though he'd pretend to be happy."

"He's always happy when he sees you," Steve argued.

"But he wasn't happy and we didn't see each other as much as we do now. I know he wasn't happy and I hated it."

Steve pulled Grace into a hug.

"But then you came to Hawaii," she said into his shoulder before pulling back to look him in the eye, "and he started to sound happy when I talked to him on the phone and when he'd come and pick me up I knew he wasn't sad anymore. I was really glad when you and he started dating because I knew you'd look after him."

Steve flushed.

Grace smiled at him. "You do help."

Steve nodded. "He'll always be your Danno."

"I know," Grace said, smiling at him widely. "And now we get to share him. I'm still okay with a little sister though."

Steve laughed and Grace looked incredibly pleased with herself as she turned to look at her bed.

"You're right, Uncle Steve, let's leave this until Danno gets home."

"Breakfast?" Steve suggested. "Danno left us two bowls of muesli."

"Wonderful, I'm starving," Grace said, yanking on Steve's hand. "I got Dad to tape this great show about sea animals. You can watch it with me."

Steve nodded and happily followed Grace downstairs and into the lounge room. The show had just finished when the front door opened.

"Hey," Danny said, walking in with shopping. "Monkey, can you help?"

"Sure, Danno," she said, bounding up and out of the door.

Steve stood as well and took the bags from Danny.

"Babe?" Danny asked, looking at Steve who wasn't looking directly at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a psych appointment this morning?"

"I didn't know until she called me."

Steve shook his head.

"Babe," Danny said, pushing Steve into the kitchen. "I told the psych that if she had extra sessions I was happy to come in, remember?" Steve nodded. "She called this morning."

"You didn't come down and tell us."

"You were out to sea snorkelling, babe, and I knew you'd want to come back and go with me."

"Which you don't want me to do."

Danny rubbed a hand down his face as Grace walked in with shopping, put it on the table, and then turned for the door to get more.

Steve frowned. "Why have we got so much shopping?"

"My family's coming."

Steve smiled. "Not until Thursday."

"Yes, and now I just need to buy fresh stuff."

Steve shook his head. "They aren't staying here…even though we offered, so surely we can't need this much food."

"Yes, but they are never going to actually leave unless they are sleeping or sightseeing."

"Oh," Steve said, frowning at Danny fiercely.

"Listen, babe, I've got another appointment on Wednesday morning, early, and then I'm taking a break while we're doing the wedding and the honeymoon and everything. So, you can drive me, if it will really make you feel better, which I do not understand at all, by the way, why on earth would you, or any sensible person, want to sit outside of my psych office for an hour."

"Because I'm here for you."

Danny shook his head. "You don't have to be waiting in the car for me to know you're here for me. I know, and you know so you could do something better instead."

Steve folded his arms across his chest as Grace carried in more shopping and then turned around again.

"Okay, okay, okay," Danny said, throwing his hands up. "Come and sit outside the office for an hour on Wednesday morning."

"Thank you," Steve said, turning around and walking out of the kitchen. "I'm going to help Grace."

"Nutjob," Danny muttered to himself as he started unpacking the shopping. "Who on Earth wants to sit in a car alone for an hour waiting outside an office? Completely insane."

"Danno?" Grace asked, causing him to spin around and look at her.

"Yeah, Monkey?"

"I think Steve is worried about you."

"I know."

"But I don't think you realise how much he needs to help. It's like when we go snorkelling and even though he knows I've checked everything just like he taught me he still checks."

Danny nodded slowly and stared down at his daughter.

"And can we have tacos for dinner?"

"Sure…" Danny said, watching her as she smiled and started putting the vegetables into the fridge. "You're pretty smart," he said finally.

Grace smiled. "Thanks, Danno."

"Okay, okay," Danny said, pulling out the bits they would need to make tacos and putting everything else on the table for Grace.

"Are you sure your family is going to be here all the time?" Steve asked, coming back into the kitchen.

"Yep."

"Of course they will, Uncle Steve," Grace said happily, her smile widening when Steve smiled at her.

"We can ask them not to," Danny offered, watching the look on Steve's face. "If you'd prefer."

"No, no, it's fine," Steve said.

"It's really not a problem," Danny said. "We'll just go and see them at Ma's hotel instead. She's always happy to be the centre of activity."

"But," Grace said, "they have to come here."

"Gracie," Danny said, dropping a hand on her shoulder. "We have to ask Steve about that. I hadn't even thought about it."

Steve shook his head. "It's fine. Gracie, do you want to tell Danny about what we were talking about?"

Danny resolved to talk to Steve about it when Grace was otherwise occupied and turned to look at his daughter.

"I was trying to work out what to pack for the trip."

Danny nodded; always pleasantly reassured when Grace was thoughtful like this.

"We should probably all think about that," Danny said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "As soon as we've finished putting everything away we'll sit down with the itinerary and work out exactly what we're going to need. We might need to buy some things as well."

"See, Uncle Steve, I knew it was late," Grace said, turning to look at him.

"I'm not used to having much time to pack," Steve said with a shrug.

"That's what happens when you're in the army," Danny said, turning back to the shopping.

"Navy," Steve reminded him, exasperation clear in his voice.

Danny smiled and continued unpacking. When they were done Danny sent Grace off to find paper and pen and Steve the itinerary while he set to making some lunch for himself.

"Danny," Steve said, stepped close while Danny was flipping the toasted cheese sandwiches in the frying pan.

"Yeah, babe?"

"I really am happy with your parents and family being here. I just wasn't expecting it."

"I'm sorry, I should have thought to tell you."

Steve waved him off. "Never mind."

"Babe," Danny said, looking over Steve's shoulder to make sure Grace was still out of the room. "You will tell me if they're too much, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Grace bounced back into the room and over toasted cheese sandwiches, because snorkelling was very hungry work, they planned out the clothes they would all need for their trip.

/