Guardian
Summary: What happens when Grace's world falls apart while Danny is in New Jersey handling some family business? Will Steve prove to be the guardian the little girl needs?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 4
Watching their fearless leader at Gracie's side, Chin and Kono both wished there was more they could do. The nurse had come in and added some other things to Grace's IV and now they all sat here, helpless. After a moment, Kono realized she could be a bit helpful.
"Boss, why don't I go round up what she'll need for a while from the house? Can't imagine she's going to want to go back there for a while and she's going to need you and Danny to stay close."
His eyes never left the sleep form of the young girl as he replied. "Thanks, Kono. That'd be great. You can take everything over to my place. Just make sure there's nothing..."
Her voice interrupted him. "I know." She'd make sure to check for anything that would remind her of Stan and remove it before she put the things in Grace's room at Steve's place.
Shortly after she left the room, Chin decided it was time to leave them in peace for a bit. "I'm going to go grab us something to eat. You need anything else while I'm out, brah?"
"No. Food would be good though. Thanks." Now that the other officer mentioned it, he realized his stomach was telling him it was time for lunch.
Left with only the sleeping girl for company, the Seal let his mind wonder back to the scene of domestic happiness he'd conjured earlier. The three of them curled up on the couch together, sharing a bowl of popcorn as they watched a cartoon movie in their pajamas.
Before he could get too engrossed in the daydreaming, Grace started to get restless. "No. No. Please don't!" Her small form started to shiver. "Gracie. Wake up, Gracie. It's okay, you're safe." He tried to rouse her with a gentle shake. "Mom! Let go! Danno! No, but Daddy will come for me!" Gathering her up in his arms, Steve slid next to her in the bed and held her tight.
"Gracie. Please, wake up. I've got you, you're safe."
Her eyes remained closed, but her little body seemed to relax back into a more peaceful slumber as a few more words tumbled out. "Daddy… Steve, you came."
Steve shook his head as he continued to hold her close, he had to be imaging that there was a distinction between Danno and Daddy in her sleep talking. He shouldn't read into the connecting between his arrival and the mention of daddy.
One of the nurses hurried into the room as second later. "Is she okay? Looked like her heart rate jumped there for a bit." She looked knowingly at the small girl sleeping in his arms.
Before Steve could explain, she patted his shoulder. "Just be careful with the IV, so it doesn't pull. I'd feel safer there if I were her too."
Finishing her check of Grace, the nurse left the room only to reappear a moment later with some extra pillows. With a small smile, she arranged them behind the Seal so he could sit more comfortably.
"I'll be back in a bit to check on her again. If you need anything before then just push this button."
The room fell quiet with only the quiet beeping of the heart rate monitor and Grace's soft breathing. Closing his eyes, Steve let his head fall back onto the pillows and closed his eyes. He'd be glad when Danny was back, though he had to admit he'd miss being the one to hold the little girl, but they needed to figure out what to do next.
With Stan's confession, the way they found the scene, and the pictures of Grace he hoped that the lawyers would manage not to make her testify. She'd been through enough to end up with a case of PTSD already; she didn't need the additional trauma of the courtroom. As it was, they were going to need to get her in with a professional to help her cope with everything.
Feeling a vibration in his pocket, he was glad he'd turned the volume off on his cell before coming back in the room. Carefully fishing it out, he saw his partner's name.
"You make it through security already?" Steve spoke quietly.
"Shockingly, yes. It's amazing how fast Dad can drive when something is wrong. Anyway, how is Grace? I'm guessing asleep since you're being so quiet."
Snickering quietly, the Seal shook his head. "You'd be right." He hesitated to tell Danny about the nightmares, he didn't need more to worry about on the plane. "The doctor confirmed that physically she only suffered a bunch of bruising. Nothing is broken and there was no other physical trauma."
Danny exhaled loudly. He'd been praying for that news ever since the first conversation with Steve. "Thank God!" The phone fell silent for a long second. "So what else do we know? Steven, what the hell happened in that house?"
The Seal ran through the information Chin had provided. "Danno, how are we going to fix this for her?"
The detective continued pacing back and forth in front of the airline gate. "I don't know." The we in the statement hadn't escaped him. His heart warmed slightly at the idea that his partner would be there for him and Grace no matter what happened next.
"By the way, I promised Gracie that I'd get you to agree to staying at the house now that she'll be with us… you…. full-time." He hopped the Jersey native didn't note the slip and when he didn't point it out though perhaps he had missed it. "What time does your flight land tomorrow? I'll make sure Chin or Kono meet you there."
"Just after 10. Not nearly soon enough." Steve could hear the frustration in Danny's voice. Heaven help the people around him if anything delayed the planes.
"Just hang in there. She'll probably sleep through a big chunk of the time until you're here." As he spoke, Grace started to shift and eventually he saw her big eyes staring up at him. "Hey Gracie. Would you like to say hi to Danno? He's at the airport waiting on the plane to bring him home."
Nodding silent, she reached up for the phone. Before he could consider moving out of her way, a small hand gripped his shirt and she snuggled back into his chest, the phone held up to her ear.
"Danno?" Her voice sounded so much smaller and frailer than normal to both men.
"I'm here, Monkey. I'm here." Steve could hear the other man's voice. It was apparently he was struggling to keep it together. "I promise I'll be there with you as soon as I can."
"It's okay Danno. Da..Uncle Steve is here with me. We'll both be glad when you get home." She burrowed closer to the Seal, afraid he'd catch the slip. She didn't want to scare him by calling him Daddy even though in so many ways she considered him her other dad. "He said we can stay with him. He's going to take me there as soon as they let me out."
"I'll be glad to be home with you guys too. He told me we were going to stay with him. That sounds like a really good idea."
She smiled at his easy consent. She'd been worried that he would argue about not wanting to get in the way, but she could always tell that Steve never thought they were in the way. He was always so happy to see them both and sad when they left. He tried not to show it, but the little girl could tell.
Before she could respond, the door to the room opened and Chin entered with Kamekona hot on his heels.
Hearing the sound, Danny reluctantly said goodbye, promising again that he'd see her very soon.
Steve was pleased to see the smile on Grace's face at the large Hawaiian's appearance.
"I thought you went out to get food?" He joked with Chin.
"I did, but he wouldn't let me have the food unless he could come back with me." Nobody was surprised. As part of their extended ohana, he would want to be there for Grace too.
"I brought options." He held up a few different bags and moved toward a small table to set them down. As he sorted out the food, the nurse came back in to check on her patient again.
Seeing the girl awake, she smiled sweetly. "Hi, Grace. I'm Nurse Amy. How are you feeling? We gave you something to help keep it from hurting, so if you start feeling the pain again you need to let one of us know, okay?"
"It doesn't hurt much now. Thank you."
Spotting the small shrimp buffet now spread on the table, the nurse laughed. "You guys are going to make us all hungry with the smell of all that food." Seeing the group was about to start apologizing, she waved them off. "Don't worry, it's a pretty slow day around here, so you shouldn't get mobbed for it. Grace, if you're hungry you should try to eat some. It does smell really good."
Before the nurse could leave the room, Kamekona cut her off with a plate heaped with several kinds of shrimp. "For you and the other nurses. Enjoy."
"Thanks, we will." Looking back at Steve and Grace, she smiled again. "I'll be back to check on you again soon."
For the next hour, the small group ate the shrimp and goodies that Chin and Kamekona brought with them as the adults tried to keep Grace's attention occupied with anything other than the last few days.
At one point, Kono decided to bring up the newly proposed living arrangements. "So, Grace, are you going to convince the guys to let you pick out some new stuff for your room? I think it needs a little more of your personality."
Though the bedroom she stayed in was perfectly nice, it was very neutral and looked too much like an adult's bedroom.
"We don't need to redo it. I don't mind what my room looks like." She sounded a bit nervous, causing Kono to wonder why her suggestion might have upset the girl.
Steve also noticed the small shake in her voice, but he suspected he knew why. As worried as she was about having a place to call home earlier, she was afraid that if she made it difficult he might change his mind.
"Actually, Gracie, I think redecorating is a great idea. We should start with your room, but I bet if we go through the whole house, we'll find other things that we might like to change too." He was glad to see her eyes light a bit at his assertion that it really was a good idea. "Maybe since Auntie Kono thought of it first we should send her to get some color samples and stuff to help us figure out what you'd like."
"I like that idea." The adults all relaxed now that she no longer seemed upset.
"By the time we get out of here, it should be about dinner time. Why don't I stop and grab some pizzas while Kono rounds her assignment up. We can meet back at your place for dinner." Chin suggested.
"Sounds like we have a plan." Steve agreed. He had a feeling he knew what his team was up to; everyone wanted to stay close to Grace as long as possible.
She would have to come to terms with everything, but perhaps they could help keep her focused on other things a bit longer so that her Danno would be with her when the full weight of the prior days came crashing down on her small shoulders. Even then, the Seal knew that they would all face it together.
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