This chapter is super long, so I apologize in advance lol. I'm hoping to still have the next chapter up next week, but I won't has as much free time to write at work like normally do. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

FRIDAY NIGHT
STEVE MCGARRETT'S HOME
STEVE'S POV:

"See, Gracie? You have to wait 4 minutes before you flip it, or it doesn't get cooked on both sides." I said, flipping one of the burgers over. She nodded that she understood, her arms wrapped around my neck to hold on since I had her up on my hip so she could see the grill better. We were just waiting on Thea and Nora to arrive, so I went ahead and started the food and asked Grace to be my helper.

Mindy, Kono, and Max were in the kitchen getting the rest of the food together. Danny walked up behind me, nudging me in the shoulder and holding his arms out for Grace. She grinned and jumped into her dad's arms. "Are you teaching my daughter the incorrect way to grill a burger?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Daniel." I said sarcastically. I flipped another burger and glanced back at Danny's girlfriend that he brought with him today, Kari. "So, how is Kari doing?" She was nice, blonde, and a paralegal. She seemed to get on with all of us just fine, minus Grace. Which, in my mind, was more important than her being friendly with us. It was very obvious that Grace wasn't a fan of the woman. She had stuck with me for the whole hour that she'd been here already and had already asked me 4 times when Nora was going to come. Kari didn't seem to be that big of a fan of Grace either. She gave Grace an indifferent smile when she became the center of attention, and with our group, that was quite a lot. We all loved that little girl. Overall, I wasn't too impressed with her and was sure Danny and I were going to talk about it tonight when everyone went home.

Danny shrugged. "She's fine. She's enjoying getting to know you guys." I saw Grace roll her eyes and push away from her dad to be let down. I knew bringing up Kari around Grace like that probably wasn't the best idea. Danny set her down and she immediately made her way back up to the house. Thankfully, he didn't see her eye roll.

"I'm going to wait for Auntie Thea." She said.

Before I had a chance to say it, Danny took a step closer to me. "Grace doesn't like Kari." He said quietly.

I tried my best to hold back a laugh. "I could have told you that, buddy."

Danny sighed and smoothed his hair down. "God, I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, Kari is nice but Grace means more to me. She knew I had a kid and she just isn't that interested in getting to know her." He glanced over at the table I had set up across the yard where Kari was sitting with Malia, Chin, Adam, and Charlie. I felt bad for Danny. He had always told me that dating with a kid was difficult, but I had never seen him really struggle with it. It made me think about what it would be like with two kids. I tried to think about it but really the only person I wanted to be with was already having my kids. Since I found out that Thea was pregnant and we were spending some time together and we were talking more, I've really come to like and care about her than just the mother of my unborn children. And Nora has become really special to me like Grace has. I did invite her because the team wanted to meet her, but I also wanted her to get to know them like I know them. If I was gonna try and pursue this with her, I wanted all my ohana to get along.

"Danno! Uncle Steve! Nora is here! Look! We're matching!" Grace and Nora came running out of the house hand in hand. They were both wearing the same romper outfit over their bathing suits, but Nora was wearing navy and Grace was in army green.

Danny and I both smiled at the two girls. "My two favorite girls, wearing my two favorite colors!" I said, scooping them both up into my arms causing them to giggle loudly. I looked up to see Thea walking out the back door with Mindy and Kono who were carrying bowls of food out. I smiled at her. She had on a blue and white polka dot dress. She smiled over at me, her eyebrows raising slightly when she saw me holding up both girls. I couldn't help but grin at her. I loved watching her smile and seeing the dimples on her cheeks.

'God, she looks amazing'

"Can we go play in the sand?" Nora asked, staring over at the beach. I remembered Thea telling me she loved the water. I set both girls down and handed the spatula to Danny to finish manning the grill.

"We're about to eat so I'll tell you what," I said, looking at them. "After we eat, I'll take you both out into the water. That way Danno doesn't have to get his hair wet." The girls giggled when Danny smacked me in the arm.

"Hey, it takes a lot of product to make it look this good." He claimed.

Thea, Mindy and Kono walked to us. Nora quickly started to tell her mom about how we were going to go swimming after we eat. Thea smiled at the little girl who was practically bouncing. "That sounds great baby."

Mindy and Kono set their bowls down on the table that was set up for the food. "Alright that's all of it boss. Let us know when to come make our plates." Kono nodded. Mindy made her way back to the table with Nora while Kono linked arms with Thea and led her over to the group over at the table. I remembered Thea telling me that she and Kono went to high school together. It comforted me a little bit that not everyone here was a complete stranger to her.

I watched them walk to the table and Kono started to introduce her to everyone. She had a smile on her face the whole time and took a seat right next to Malia. My family felt complete watching everyone sit and have fun together.

I must have been staring for a bit because when I looked at Danny after he obnoxiously cleared his throat, he had the burgers on a plate and was setting them on the food table. "Stare some more, I don't think she noticed."

"Shut up."

"Seriously. Maybe it's time to thaw your heart and tell her you want to be with her." Danny said, grabbing two paper plates. He handed me one. "Alright Super Seal. It's time for your Dad Training."

"My what?"

"Your Dad Training." He said. "You're about to have not just one but two babies you're responsible for. On top of that you're practically in love with a woman who has a 7-year-old."

"Hey-"

"So, do what I do and make Nora's plate for Thea. The girls are going to eat at the table up on the lanai." He gestured for me to copy him.

"This is ridiculous." I sighed but started to make the plate like he was. "I'm going to assume you know what Nora likes to eat."

He nodded. "She'll basically eat everything but she's allergic to onions. So, don't put her food anywhere near onions." He filled up the plate with a burger, plain with ketchup, mac and cheese, salad, beans, and the fruit salad. I did the same, quickly avoiding the small plate of onions that was set out for people to put on their burgers. I glanced up at Danny.

"Should these even be out?" I didn't want to risk her eating them and something happening. I think Danny noticed my small moment of panic and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"No, idiot, she's not going to go into anaphylactic shock by looking at them. She just can't eat them or anything they've contaminated. She's good about avoiding them or telling people she can't eat them. Thea and Rachel both did give me a big speech about it the first time I had her over for a sleepover with Grace though. She always has an epi-pen when she isn't with Thea- so get that nervous look off your face, it's fine." He handed me one of the plastic forks and turned to look over at the table. "Gracie, Nora! Come on time to eat, guys!"

The crowd was laughing as they made their way over to the food table. Danny and I went and set the girls plates on the smaller table closer to the house. Grace has pretty much claimed it as her table anytime she is over. There were marks all over it from craft projects she had done on it. "Grace, go show Nora where the juice boxes are. When we get done and clean up, we can go for a swim, okay?" I said to her and watched them run off into the house.

Danny rushed off to go make his plate with Kari as Thea walked up behind me. "Her burger doesn't have onions on it does it?" She asked. She had that same nervous look on her face I'm sure I had a few moments ago.

"No no, Danny told me she's allergic. I just put ketchup on it." I said softly.

She looked a little shocked but smiled softly at me. "Thank you for making her plate."

'Damn that smile will be the death of me'

I put my arm around her shoulders casually. "Let's go eat before our friends eat all the food."

She laughed and nodded. We made our plates and sat next to each other at the large table. I noticed she constantly had a hand on her stomach, almost like she was nervous. Kono quickly pulled her into the conversation she was having with Malia and Charlie.

"Thea used to surf with us in high school. She could have totally been pro if she wanted." Kono said.

Thea laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so. I was good, but nowhere pro level."

Mindy shrugged. "I don't know, T. You definitely could have taken on Kalakaua." She teased, causing Kono to throw the cap of her Longboard at her. I leaned back and watched the girls interact. Danny was having a semi-private with Kari. I couldn't hear them, but I could tell from the look on his face he was upset, and Kari didn't have a care in the world. I gave him a look, asking if he was alright. He just rolled his eyes and shook his head. He and Grace have that eye roll down pat. By the time we had both turned back to the group, the topic had changed.

"Oh, trust me, Danny has several things to say about Steve's crazy behavior." Chin laughed as he drank his beer.

"Crazy how?" Thea asked, turning to look at me and then over at Danny. I looked at Danny, silently asking him not to tell her anything but he ignored me.

"Oh, this crazy bastard got me shot our first day working together." Danny said extremely calmly.

"You what!" Thea exclaimed, her eyes wide looking at me.

"Hey, I apologized! It was just an arm graze." I said, putting my hands up to defend myself. "You were fine, you even punched me in the face."

"Yeah that was after you put me in an arm lock!"

"Danny it was over a year ago, get over it."

"I-" I cut Danny off by changing the subject.

"Anyway, anything else to talk about that doesn't revolve around me?" I said, whacking Danny in the arm.

Malia spoke up. "So, do you guys know what you're having yet?"

Thea and I both shook our heads. "No, we might find out in 3 weeks. Our last appointment the doctor said if they're in the right position we should be able to tell." Thea said while she stroked her stomach.

"Are you planning on having a gender reveal?" Kono asked. I gave a confused look.

"A what?"

"It's where the expecting parents invite friends and loved ones to find out the gender of the baby, or in your case, babies, after the ultrasound. Typically, the parents don't know either. It usually involves a mild, but colorful powder explosive or a pink or blue cake." Max piped up from the end of the table.

"Jesus, why'd you have to say explosive?" Danny shook his head.

Thea looked at me and then Kono. "Uh, we haven't really thought about it."

"Do you want to do something like that?" I asked her.

She nodded. "I think it'd be fun, if you're up for doing it."

"Oh, he's always ready to blow something up." Danny chimed in. I rolled my eyes and told him to shut it. "Rachel and I did a cake for Grace's gender reveal. White icing and a strawberry cake since it was a girl."

"Maybe we could make two smaller cakes. One for baby A and one for baby B." Mindy smiled.

"My aunt makes cakes for gender reveal parties all the time at her bakery, I'm sure she could do two for you." Kono said. Thea just looked at me with a smile on her face.

"What do you think?" She asked me. I had never done anything like this, or even heard of anyone doing it.

I shrugged, leaning back in my seat. "It sounds like it could be fun. If you want to do something, we can." I smiled at her. She turned to Mindy.

"Alright but you have to plan it." She laughed. The conversation moved on while we continued to eat. Max went into a long explanation about his fossil collection before Danny interrupted him. Despite my trying to keep the conversation off the "dangerous" things I do for work, the team ended up telling more stories about me. I was nervous she was gonna get scared off by some of them. We did have a long conversation about my line of work and what it entails. I wasn't gonna be home the same time every single night, I was going to be in danger, and I could get called in at any moment. She told me that she understood and as long as I was making an effort to be there, that was good enough for her. I had gotten a better understanding of her childhood out of that conversation too. Her and Nora's father was almost never around, and their mom was checked out. I had gotten a bit more information from Mindy about her background. Thea basically had Nora from the moment she was born. Her mom was incapable of raising her and Thea didn't trust her to raise another baby. Her mother gladly handed her off to Thea. I lost my mother at a young age, but to know she was physically here and not involved would have killed me, I couldn't even imagine that.

After everyone was finished eating, the table was cleaned up and the food was put away. Everyone went on with their activities. Max, Charlie, and Chin were sitting and drinking longboards. Malia, Kari, and Kono were gathered around the fire pit that Danny had started up even though it wasn't dark yet. I had gotten Grace and Nora ready to go in the water. Danny was standing about knee deep in, refusing to join us any farther than that. Mindy and Thea were sitting in the sand. They had both shed their clothes to sit in their bathing suits. It took everything in me to keep my eyes off of Thea and focus on the two 7-year old's demanding my attention. I swam around in the water with the girls for a while, enjoying the intense game of Marco Polo they started and teasing Danny about not wanting to come join us.

Later after it got dark, everyone was gathered around the bonfire. I guess I wore the girls out because Grace was asleep in Danny's lap and Nora was asleep, curled up at my side. I had my arm over her to keep her from slipping off the bench we were sitting on. Thea was on my other side, my arm over the back of the bench behind her. It felt nice having them both this close to me.

"Jeez Steve, you really wore them out." Danny said, looking down at his daughter.

Thea shrugged. "It'll make bedtime easier for Rachel, that's for sure." She said, yawning herself. Both their phones pinged at the same time. "Speaking of, I guess she's here." Danny got up, still cradling a sleeping Grace in his arms. He walked up the house. Kari followed behind him. Thea stood up and looked like she was about to take Nora from me. I shook my head and stopped her.

"I can carry her for you." I said. I stood up and gently placed the sleeping girl on my chest, her head resting on my shoulder. Her arms came up and wrapped around my neck.

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking a little nervous. I wanted her to know that I wasn't scared of kids, and that I didn't care that she already had a kid. Again, I was thinking about the comments that Danny had made about dating with a kid.

I nodded. "Yeah, I got her. You don't need to be carrying her anyway."

We walked out to the front of the house. Danny was putting Grace in the backseat. Kari and Rachel looked like they were having a stare down. Thea sighed.

"Here we go." I heard her mumble before looking at me. "There's already a booster seat in the back for her, if you'll put her in, I'll buckle her up."

"I can do it." I said, but quickly realized how demanding that probably sounded to her. "I mean, if it's okay with you, so you don't have to bend down-"

"It's fine, Steve." She put a hand on my arm and smiled gently at me. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to." Her eyes glanced down at her hand.

I took my hand that was on Nora's back and put it on hers, squeezing gently. "Look, Thea, I don't care to help out. With Nora or anything you need, okay?"

She squeezed back and nodded; her eyes looked like they were watering up but she turned away before I could really see. She went over to Rachel while I carefully placed Nora in her booster seat. Danny stayed bent down in the car to show me how to maneuver the seatbelt. I was shocked at how easy it was.

"Oh, don't go thinking you're a pro just yet, booster seats are easy. Just wait until you're trying to put a squirming baby in a car seat with multiple straps and buckles." He said, kissing Grace's head and closing her door.

"You're really helping calm my nerves about this Danny."

"It's what I do best."

Thea's POV:

I went up to Rachel and gave her a hug. I knew she and Stan were going to talk about a divorce tonight, that's why Grace was with Danny this afternoon. I wasn't sure if she exactly told Danny what her plans were though.

"I told him." She whispered. I could tell she had been crying recently. "I told him and here I am having a staring contest with Danny's girlfriend." She rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater.

I rubbed her arms soothingly. "It's gonna be okay." I tried to comfort her. "We can talk more about it tomorrow after the apartment showing." Rachel and I were finally going to look at some new apartments and condos for me and Nora. She nodded, sniffling as she gave me a hug. I pulled back to look at her. "Are you gonna be okay with the girls tonight? I don't care to take them if you need to be alone tonight."

She shook her. "No, I'll be fine. I think some time with them might be what I need. Stan packed a bag and left after we argued, so he won't be home."

I walked to the car to kiss Nora bye even though she was still asleep.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked her. He probably saw how upset she was. I glanced over at Kari then looked at Steve. It was obvious he picked up on the anger radiating off of the blonde woman.

"I'm fine Daniel. I'll call you next week." She said shortly and got in her car. The four of us stood and watched her drive off. Kari stormed off to her car, Danny quickly following her. We could hear the argument starting so we headed back to the backyard.

"I'm gonna say bye to everyone and head home." I told him. "Rachel and I are going to look at apartments tomorrow."

"You're moving?" He asked, holding the back gate open for me.

"Yeah, my apartment is only two bedrooms and the stairs up to it are starting to kill me." I laughed. He looked at me like he wanted to say something. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just let me know if you need any help." He said, giving me a smile. "I know you're not incapable of doing things yourself and I'm sorry if I've made it seem that way. I just want to be able to help."

I stopped walking and put my hand on his arm to stop him. "I know, and I really appreciate it. Just going to appointments with me and helping me with the doctors' bills has helped more than you know. I promise I'm not over doing it." I told him seriously. "Also quit listening to Danny about how scary pregnancy is." I laughed. Steve laughed too, shaking his head.

"Yeah, Danny has been giving me advice." He chuckled.

"Yeah, that Dad Training advice might come in handy though." I giggled and walked towards the group. Everyone looked like they were getting ready to go. I heard Steve groan behind me.

"Oh, God. You heard that!"

After saying goodbye to everyone and giving a round of hugs, Steve walked me out to my car.

"Thank you for inviting us tonight." I said.

He grinned at me. "I'm glad you had a good time. You and Nora are welcome here any time. I know she absolutely loved the beach, just like you said."

I laughed. "Oh, yes, she's my water baby for sure." I got in my car and Steve closed my door for me. "Let me know when you get home, okay?" I nodded and waved as I pulled out and headed toward my apartment.

After my 10-minute drive, I parked and went to check the mail before slowly climbing the stairs to the apartment. I looked through the mail as I closed and locked my door. A large yellow envelope caught my eye. I set all my things down on the bar in the kitchen and opened it.

Peter Kenwood, Plaintiff

Theodora Kenwood, Defendant

Petition for Change of Custody

My breath caught in my throat. I reached for my phone and my first thought was to call Mindy. 'No, she's going home with Charlie tonight.' My next thought was to call Rachel. 'She has the girls, I can't push this on her too' I braced myself on the bar and sat down, dialing the number on my phone.

"Hey, did you make it home?" Steve asked me after he answered. I was silent, trying not to let my tears fall. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, they fell anyway.

"Can you come over?" My voice broke.

I heard some shuffling on the other end. "Thea, what's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"I-I just really need you."