I do NOT own anything, but the plot.

Thank you for reading and reviewing!

As always, thank you!

Sorry for the delay in posting – life kicked butt!

Nalo a loaʻa

-loosely translate to "lost and found"-


CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Steve heard the door open slowly, followed by light footsteps and hushed voices.

He knew the sound of Charlie anywhere, and as the small boy rounded the sofa, creeping ever so closer, Steve pounced. He snapped awake, hands reaching out to attack Charlie and pull him playfully close.

The bite on his wounds made themselves known, but Steve didn't care. He'd take any ounce of pain for this moment of normalcy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you trying to rip open your stitches?!"

"Danno!" Both Charlie and Steve moaned in unison.

The use of that token nickname from either of them did little to deter the rant poised on Danny's lips.

"You aren't in a position to tussle with a five-year-old, Steven."

"Killjoy."

Steve's muttered word made Charlie giggle, but it seemed to incense Danny.

"What is the matter with you?!" Danny exclaimed. "I just bought you home from the hospital. I do not want to make a repeat visit!"

"Chill, Danno, I'm okay!" Steve argued, still not letting Charlie go. "I'm healed enough to tussle with a five-year-old. The discharge papers just said I shouldn't lift him."

"Shouldn't lift him."

Grace stepped in sensing her father's explosive fury growing.

"Uncle Steve," Grace started, standing beside her father with the exact same expression he wore. "Why would you chance it?"

"Gracie." Steve sighed, letting Charlie get comfortable against his side as he pinched his brow. "I promise you I'm good."

"You don't look it."

Grace's words were matched with a frown as she gazed on Steve's paler than usual features.

"C'mon, life is good. Let me enjoy it. Please."

"Oh God, he's pouting," Danny said, nudging his daughter. "I didn't even know seals could pout." He then nudged his daughter. "It's not a good look, is it, Monkey?"

"No," Grace said, wrinkling her nose, watching her uncle become crestfallen. "It's a great look!"

Danny laughed, shaking his head.

"I'm getting a beer, want some fruit juice, Steve?"

"No," Steve remarked. "I want that beer I wanted days ago."

"Okay, longboard coming right up!" Danny yelled over his shoulder. "And a fruit juice for you, my friend."

"Hate you, Danno."

"Love you, too, babe."

Danny said disappearing into the kitchen chuckling to himself. Steve should've loathed Danny, but he couldn't. He just sunk into the blissfulness of the moment.

Upon entering, he noticed Mary standing at the sink, repetitively cleaning a cup that was near sparkling.

"Think it's clean."

He stepped in beside her and took the glass from her, setting it on the drying wrack.

"Sorry," Mary apologised, sheepishly.

Remaining quiet for a moment, Danny regarded Mary for a second. He could see how tense she was, and how her lips were pulled tightly as if she was trying hard to not sure too many emotions.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

The comment was half-hearted and if Danny hadn't been listening then he would've missed the way in which it wavered.

"Try again."

This time, Danny turned until his back was pressed against the countertop, and he could fix Mary with a more pressing look.

"How can he just forgive me?"

Danny knew this was coming. Every one of them had questioned Steve's level of forgiveness. Each waiting for him to snap and take it all back and make them work a little harder for it.

"I have literally spent the last ten days or so sat beside his bedside wondering the exact same thing."

Cocking an eyebrow, Mary sighed. "And I'm guessing you're not still waiting?"

"No," Danny laughed, and sighed. "He lost so much that he was just grateful to have an ounce of it back."

"He lost everything," she whispered, her eyes watering. "While you were gone, he told me his side of it all and when the pills took over, I let him sleep because I was struggling with myself not to break down in front of him."

"You could've, you know?" Danny prodded. "Let him see you break down that is."

"He doesn't deserve that. Not after what I did."

"He won't care."

"No, but I do!" she grunts and slams her hands down on the countertop. "Damnit. I shut off because I thought he was going to be our mother all over again and I couldn't deal with that. But he's not her, Danny. Christ, he's not Doris."

"I know, I know." Danny rounded then, quickly putting an arm around her shoulder to draw her into a hug. "And he knows why you were reacting that way. It's why he didn't call again. He knew you had to process."

He felt the short, sharp shake of her shoulders. The way she let her remorse come from an uncurled sob before she calmed again.

"It's okay. I promise you, it's all okay."

"How can it be?"

Danny pulled away enough for her to see him smile.

"Because I've babysat that putz in there and I realise now, albeit later than I ever should have, we got a second chance. We got something a lot of people won't ever get and although Doris ran off to save the world, he isn't going to."

"No, because he can't. I know what honourably discharged means."

Shaking his head, Danny knew what this all meant.

"It means we won't lose him to war or a secret mission. It means we get to have him here full time without anything lurking in the background to snatch him away." Grinning, he felt the tension begin to leave the room. "And if that wasn't enough … baby McGarrett will definitely do the job."

"Can you believe it?" Letting a laugh out, she shook her head, glancing out of the window at Joanie in the backyard before looking back at Danny. "My brother a father."

"I know, they'll let anyone lose with that role nowadays."

While she heard the light jesting of his words, she still hit him and turned to lean against the counter to watch through to Steve laughing with Charlie and Grace.

"He's so good with them."

"Or they're good with him," Danny mused, laughing. "If you'd have told me over five years ago that man there would be one of the best with Grace, let alone Grace and Charlie, I'd have punched them like I did him our first day."

"I bet when he first came home after dad, he never expected to find the ohana he did." Suddenly nervous, Mary shifted and cleaned her throat. "Think he'd mind me adding to it?"

Cocking his head to the side, Danny regarded Steve's sister and when she met his gaze with a small smile, he realised what she meant.

"You thinking of moving back?"

"Yeah, I think I am. I mean I wasn't so sure until I saw him. I guess I was so nervous about seeing him again after that phone call that I was worried he'd throw me out and disown me, but he didn't."

"I think he would love to have you home, Mary. Especially with the baby on the way. He wants to have as much of us as often as he can."

"I think we can understand that." She sighs heavily and looks back through the doorway. "I just… I don't think I want to-"

"Miss another moment?"

"Yeah," she muses sadly. "He's been home for weeks and I missed out on that time and then he nearly dies… again. I don't want to miss another moment. He's all I have."

"I think he'll love it. A lot's going to be changing soon what with Cath being stationed back here and him now permanently done with the navy and the baby due in a couple of months. It's going to be all hands-on deck getting everything ready while he dictates from the couch or his bed."

"Or you hope that's where he'll dictate from…"

"Believe me, Mary-Ann, I am in control of his pain meds, and Cath is carrying the biggest bargaining chip ever. He will lose this every time."

"Danno?" Grace said as she came into the kitchen. "Uncle Steve said he's waited so long he can have a beer now." The little smirk she had told Danny and Mary she wasn't taking her uncle seriously, but she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "He's also asking for something to take the edge off his pain."

"I knew grabbing Charlie was a dumbass move."

"That's a quarter in the jar, Danno," Grace scolded, nodding the swear jar in the corner of the McGarrett kitchen.

"I swear to God this thing was full once upon a time." Danny's mutterings were joined with the motion of him ripping his wallet from his back pocket and depositing a dollar into the glass jar. "Now, let me scold him for being a neanderthal child."

Marching back in, flanked by Mary and Grace, Danny prepared for a tirade to end all tirades, but before he could open his mouth, Steve beat him to it.

"You got pills?"

"You are so lucky you're being reasonable right now, Steven, or I would be ripping you a new one for being so irresponsible with your recovery."

Sighing a little, Steve shifted, grunting as he did. "Danny, I was hurting before you got here with the kids. It woke me up."

Danny felt Mary tense beside him.

"Why didn't call through to me? I would've got you them."

"Because someone was on the phone with her boss trying to get a transfer." He fixed his sister with a look. "I'm not going to be laid up all that long, Mare. I'm a few weeks down and then I'll start PT and I'll be back on my A-game. You don't need to risk your job to watch me recover."

"What if it wasn't to watch you recover?" she asked almost timidly. "While Danny's kids made me an honorary auntie, I'd like to see you add to that title. Do you think I'm going to miss another moment with you and miss seeing you become a dad?"

Steve's eyes watered a little. "You're coming home?"

"You already made the call?!" Danny gasped looking at her.

She shrugged. "I got the ball rolling and then I got worried how Steve would take it."

"How I'd take it?" Steve asked pushing himself up. "Mary, all I've ever wanted is you to come home. The mess mom created just didn't make it safe."

"And now?"

"I think we have a lot of lost time to make up for." The grin on Steve's lips was small, but genuine. "But please, can someone get me a beer and some pills?"

"Juice and pills, Steve. Maybe a pillow to elevate your leg a bit and an ice pack for the knee."

"Oh, God, he's starting to mother hen me already."

"I'm starting to-" Danny started and still himself for a millisecond. "I'll tell you what I want to do with that pillow for your knee, Steven, but there's an audience and no alibi available, so yes, you're going to have me mother hen you and you're going to put up with it."

Steve didn't have a retort, he just grinned at his best friend.

"And put that shit-eating grin away."

"Dollar," Grace, Charlie and Steve sing-sang together.

"I'm going to do an Uncle Steve and forget I own a wallet."

Danny left to sound of laughter, Steve's the loudest and he was more than happy to turn his back on that to continue with his promise to look after the ex-SEAL. He could feel Mary behind him and he knew big changes were going to be happening.

"If you need us to leave, I can take the kids and pop in to help with that neanderthal."

"We'll make it work." Mary moved to the freezer, pulling the door open to grab an ice pack. "He needs all of us, right now, and I'm not about to put my needs before his. Plus, he already asked if I wanted you all gone. It's not happening."

"It's going to be a full house…"

Mary shifted uncomfortably as she thought about the last few months and there was only one thing she couldn't shift.

"Beats the empty one he had when he came home, though, right?"

Sighing lightly, Danny couldn't help but smile sadly. "You do realise he'll never have a moment alone again?"

"I was planning on it."

"And when Catherine gets here later, you do realise everything is going to change again?"

Mary laughed, nodding. "He's already tried to have me in the garage to find the paint brushes."

"I'm surprised it wasn't a sledgehammer he wanted."

"I had to draw a line..."

Danny rolled his eyes and headed to the refrigerator. "Oy vey, the man's going to kill us by the time the week's out."

Mary placed a hand to his shoulder and smirked, "tell me you missed this, and I'll call you a liar."

Laughing, Danny knew he couldn't and he wasn't about to try.