A/N: Thank you so much for reading and for leaving a review!

Chapter 31: Home and ohana

Danny felt his head going down and, for the third time, he violently jerked it up and made an effort to open his eyes and to remain awake. The comfort of his sofa and the warm breeze coming from the exterior through the open windows and sliding door, annexed to his tired body, the remaining slight headache, made him drowsy and a victim on his battle to stay awake.

The familiar scent of his own house, which he had missed so much during imprisonment and hospital time; the musical sound of his daughter´s laughter coming from the kitchen; the relaxing chat from his friends sitting nearby; the shyly warm sunlight of the sunset evading the blinds and reaching his face; the death-weight of his son´s body, exhausted by all the adrenaline of the day, already sleeping on his lap; the quietness of the dying day outside; the songs of the birds going to sleep… Danny was happy. His soul reached a higher level, a place of peace in which he hadn't been for a long time. He sank deeper on the soft sofa and rested his head on the back, allowing his eyes to close and his hearing to lose track of the conversation surrounding him, letting it pass by and just took in the voices of his friends.

His friends, they are precious and invaluable people. They are his family, his ohana. His anchor; his salvation; his strength; his reason to push forward and not let the monsters of dread win; his light on dark moments and his peace on nightmare-plagued nights; his company in the endless hours of insomnia. They had been there, 24/7. Even when he was still a prisoner on his hell, their presence had been with him giving him hope.

The sun was already hiding its rays below the horizon, letting the last warm of its light caress with tenderness Danny´s face and blonde hair. He sighed slowly and soundlessly, with content. He was happy, and he could let his mind loose on more vague things, like the need of getting a haircut. Maybe tomorrow he´d ask Steve to take him to the barber shop. But he didn´t want to think ahead of today, because today has been a perfect day, and he has learned to treasure every beautiful moment that was given to him.

His homecoming has not been stressful at all, because he has had a lot of support. Every warm hug he received after entering through the door lifted his spirits after his light-hearted argue with Steve about how to make his entrance. As always, they had pushed each other's buttons by opining the exact opposite: due to his weary features, Steve wanted him to use the wheelchair all the way from the car and even through the door, but Danny wanted to walk all his way in. At the end, both had won and both had lost a little. Steve had managed to convince his stubborn partner to sit on the chair and had pushed him towards the house, where he then helped Danny up to allow him to do his walk through the door just as he wanted to. Danny hadn´t been directly told about a welcoming party, but he just knew that, although the silence and apparent quietness, the house was occupied by his friends and family waiting to ´surprise´ him. Also, Steve hadn´t denied the fact, so he had prepared himself for a noisy welcoming when he put the key on the door and pushed it open. As he had expected, the level of noise was high, and although he had been mentalized, he couldn't avoid jumping a little with surprise. The hugs had come next, first by his two precious kids, who embraced him at the same time from both sides, with considerable inconsiderate force. Then, a series of softer, considered of his fragile built, but not less strong hugs had followed. It was obvious, because of the tenderness of each one, that his friends were concerned with causing him any harm. His image must be a very fragile one, maybe to a greater extent due to the baggy clothes he was wearing, that made him look even thinner. Everyone had looked at him in the eyes, thirsty of connecting again with his much missed soul. Everyone had explored the blue of his eyes and had made sure he understood how much valuable he was for each one of them. His neck has been affectionately pressed; his back has been patted and caressed; his hands had been firmly grabbed and squeezed; his cheeks had been kissed and words of comfort, welcoming and encouragement were spoken to him with emotion and sincerity from the heart. Everything and everyone contributed for his own heart receiving a strong pump of strength and determination to push and look forward. The rest of the day consisted on a delicious meal which included Danny´s favorites and an afternoon filled with chats, anecdotes, laughs, and shared time which helped Danny to achieve a very happy return to home.

Now, after the sun has finally receded to give room to a bright full moon on a very dark sky, Danny was awakened by a distant noise coming from the kitchen. Opening his eyes, he discovered it was dark already, and that he was in total gloom lying completely down on the same couch he has been sitting all the afternoon. Charlie was no longer on his lap, and neither were his friends talking beside him. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he finally realized the pass of the hours and that he had fallen deeply asleep, not even sensing that someone had lifted his feet from the floor and laid him down completely, to allow him to continue sleeping on the couch. His slippers were on the floor and a thick blanket was covering him from his toes up to his chest. A pillow has been placed under his head, and he was very grateful for it because, without it, his headache would probably be much fiercer by now. Danny chose to get used to his body and to analyze his surroundings before moving from his comfortable position. He cursed himself, because it was obvious that by now everybody had left, and meanwhile he had been the sleeping beauty. He wondered if Grace and Charlie had left too. Moved by that intrigue, Danny forced himself to leave the comfort and warmth of his improvised bed and so, he managed to sit up. Lowering his feet to the floor, he closed his eyes and, placing the warm palms of his hands to cover them, he waited a few minutes to recover his composure as his head protested with renewed pain caused by the movement. Once his hearing cleared from the annoying whistle of blood circulation, Danny was able to hear normally and he focused on the low voices coming from the kitchen. He smiled, his kids were there.

His kids, oh God how he loved them. They were his joy, his heart, his reason to breathe, his pride, his world, his strength, his everything. This day he has spent every hour with them, passing his fingers through Grace´s hair and playing with Charlie´s hands, sometimes tickling him to obtain one of those loud laughs. Needing the closeness to his dad, Grace and Charlie had stayed all the time near him, curled up under his arms or just sitting beside him, enjoying their dad´s presence and sucking it from everything that had been stolen from them all this past months. The memories of the day made Danny´s heart expand with happiness and pride for his kids, such beautiful persons and the eternal loves of his life.

A hand on his shoulder made him come back to the present, so he let his hands uncover his eyes and, looking up, Danny saw his partner had brought the wheelchair nearer.

"Come on, let's eat something" Steve assisted Danny up while pushing the chair behind him. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just tired"

"Sure you are. Big day today, uh?"

Whit shaking legs, the detective managed to turn on his heels to be able to sit again. Once in the wheelchair, he stopped Steve, who has bent down to release the brakes from the wheels, by grabbing his sleeve and looked at him directly in the eyes.

"Thank you. For everything" The heartfelt and sincere words were spoken from Danny´s soul and the gratefulness emanating from them was crystal clear. Danny was thanking his friend not only for today's welcoming, but for completely everything he had done for him, for every hour and minute spent at his side, watching over him, caring for him and his kids.

Steve smiled a sincere smile, and his eyes said everything from his part. "You don't have to thank me, Danny, for anything" Patting his friend´s shoulder, he straightened up. "But you´re welcome anyway". The commander added the usual humor quote, while starting to push his friend towards the dining table.

"I can walk, you know that?"

"Of course you can"

Both friends entered the dining room smiling and with his hearts at ease.

"Daddy! We made you the soup you like!" Charlie´s shrill voice was cut short by his sister´s grave tone.

"Charlie! It was supposed to be a surprise!"