Guardian

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.

Chapter 7

Thirty minutes after taking her meds, Grace could barely hold her head up as she lost the battle to stay awake.

"Ready for bed, kiddo?" Steve asked quietly, trying not to startle her. A sleepy nod was the only answer he received.

Standing up, he carefully reached down and scooped her off the couch. Her head fell naturally onto his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Carrying her up the stairs, he continued speaking gently. "If you need anything tonight just let me know. I'll be right across the hall in my room. Do you want me to leave the bathroom light on so the hall isn't so dark?" His mind raced to think of anything else she may need.

"Yes." She whispered.

Setting her on the bed, he quickly opened a dresser drawer and found the shorts and Navy PT shirt she usually slept in when she and Danny stayed over. He couldn't even remember how she'd manage to get ahold of it, but he'd long since given up on getting it back. Honestly, he'd give up his entire wardrobe to her if it meant they stayed here and she was happy.

Setting her pajamas on the bed next to where she sat, he leaned down to give her one more hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"I love you, Gracie." His normally strong voice wavered a bit. It had been a long day and the idea that he could have lost her rattled him.

"Love you too, Uncle Steve."

Heading out of the room, the Seal glanced back to make sure she was still awake enough to change. Seeing her standing by the bed, PJs in hand, he pulled the door closed.

/

Sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, head buried in his hands, Danny fell apart. He'd been on the verge ever since the first conversation with Steve, but the rush to get home and crowds of complete strangers forced him to keep it together.

He wanted to be home. He wanted to have Grace wrapped in his arms. If he was completely honest, he wanted to have them both wrapped in Steve's arms. Danny just knew Steve's strength was going to get them all through this.

Deciding he was going to get nowhere berating himself over not being there for Grace, Danny opted to focus on his other problem – what to do about Steve.

He really wasn't sure when things had changed. When had he gone from being the crazy Seal's reluctant partner, to considering him his best friend, to considering him one of the most trusted and adored people in his world?

He supposed the first step probably started when Steve arranged for he and Grace to spend the weekend at a hotel, swimming with dolphins, instead of at Danny's dump of an apartment. He hadn't known either of them, but he was so quick to do something nice for Grace. So quick to make sure she enjoyed spending time with her dad.

The Mission Impossible theme song erupted from his cell phone and he immediately reached for it. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself together as best he could.

"Hey, babe. How are you two holding up?" He was relieved to hear from his partner again.

"We're keeping it together." Steve sounded tired. "Danny, I'm worried about her. She's been amazingly calm so far, but I really think we need to get her into counseling quickly. I don't want her to bottle everything up inside and try to cope alone."

The detective shared those sentiments. "In other words, you don't want her to become like you?" His attempt at their normal banter fell flat. "I'm sorry, babe. You know I don't really think you're that messed up, right?"

The line was silent for a short moment. "S'okay, Danno. I know what you meant and I'll admit that, yes, my own experiences are part of why I feel so strongly about getting her to see someone. I'm sorry, Danny. I'm not her father and I'm sure you've got it covered, but that will girl means the world to me."

The Jersey native could barely keep from falling apart again. They definitely needed to talk when he was back on the island.

"I know, Steven, I know. You don't have to apologize. I have thought about it, but I have no idea who to take her to. It's not as if a parent being killed is an altogether normal. I can't imagine there are that many child psychologists truly experienced with handling this."

"Actually, I have an idea." The Seal sounded almost happy to be able to assist. "I can check with the base shrink for some referrals. I trust him and any good military shrink has a network of civilians for the families of service members."

Danny smacked himself in the head. He should have realized that. "Of course, that's a really good idea."

"I'll make the call tomorrow. In the meantime, Gracie fell asleep, thanks to the meds, about twenty minutes ago. I left the bathroom light on in case she needs to come find me."

Cracking a small smile, he realized that his partner had hit the point of too much emotion and had now fallen back into the safety of rattling off an update like any other situation report at work.

"She ate plenty for dinner. A couple slices of pizza and a bunch of fruits and veggies that we had to munch on while we worked. I really think the effort to keep her distracted with the designs made a huge difference. I owe Kono for pulling that together."

"Ah yes, just how many neatly filed design magazines do you have tucked away in that house somewhere now?" He knew how OCD the man could be about keeping things neat and orderly.

Steve actually laughed. "None. They are all strewn, in an a system organized by Grace, across the living room floor. We didn't want to mess them up only to spread them out tomorrow."

"I'm impressed." More like he was shocked. "All kidding aside, Steve, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine." The Seal clammed up.

"Like hell you are." He wasn't going to let him off that easy and was actually surprised when Steve spoke up again.

"Fine. I'm not fine, but I'm damn sure trying to be. I'd like to have ripped Stan to pieces this morning. Hell, I'd like to be there now giving him a piece of my mind, but right now I'm trying to focus on keeping things as calm and normal as I can for her."

The mix of frustration, determination, and pain in his partner's voice made tears pool in Danny's eyes. He could envision the ferocity of the emotions his extremely lethal partner was struggling to bury to take care of his daughter. Hell, he was struggling with the same ones.

"That answer I believe. I'd feel the same way in your shoes and you have no idea how much I appreciate that you are there with her. So, when do you plan to pay Stan a visit?"

"In the dead of night; when no one is watching." His tone was serious, but he paused. "Well, I wish anyway. Once you get home. If Grace is doing okay Chin and Kono can watch her for a bit while we go pay him a visit."

Danny liked that plan. "Think they can bail on work for a while to cover for us?"

"No. They won't need to. Denning granted all of us leave to handle our family crisis. He's even running interference with the press."

"Wow, what'd you do to convince him to do all that? I know he's been warming up to us, but still." The Governor had been growing on the team as well, but Danny didn't think they'd quite reached that level yet.

"You know he and his staff aren't immune to Grace. They've met her and they all adore her, just like everyone does." Danny held his tongue and decided not to point out that clearly not everyone, even those that should have, felt that way. "Enough about the Governor. How are you holding up? I'm half surprised you didn't hijack a plane to make it home tonight."

"Don't think I didn't consider it; however, that is something you would do. I can't fly on of those things, so the option was somewhat limiting for me. Honestly, it's killing me not to be there, but at least I know Grace has the next best thing to her Danno."

"Danny." The detective knew where his partner was headed and cut him off.

"No, Steven. You are not allowed to argue. Shit, my phone is about to die and I have to find my charger." The obnoxious beep came at the most inopportune time. "You are not allowed to stay up all night brooding over things that you couldn't control. I'll be home as soon as I can and we'll talk more then, but don't you dare think that any of us blame you for everything that went wrong this week. You… you are the only reason I haven't completely lost it today. Just keep doing what you're doing."

"We'll be waiting for you. Let me know when you land."

Receiving quick agreement, they disconnected the call. Instead of getting up to find the charger, Danny stared at the phone in his hands.

How was he going to handle this? How as he going to act like moving in with Steve wasn't a big deal? He'd already figured out that the Seal and Grace had no intention of this being a short-term arrangement. With the way they were together, he wouldn't dream of separating them, but could he keep his own feelings out of the equation?

/

Changing into a pair of cotton pants and a t-shirt, Steve stared out the window from his room. He hadn't lied when he told Danno he wanted to rip Stan apart. He wanted him to pay for every second of sadness, fear, and uncertainty Grace was facing.

He wondered how he was going to help fix this. Therapy would help. He should probably encourage Danny to see the therapist as well. He'd gladly go too, if invited, but not having any real claim or relationship to Grace meant that was unlikely.

He was glad he decided to have them move here. Even more so that Danny had offered no resistance at this point. He only wished he knew how this would work. Was it too much to hope that this might help change the dynamic of their relationship? Or would he remain the faithful best friend?

Looking at the clock, he realized he'd been staring out the window for well over an hour. Hearing a muffled sound from Gracie's room, he wasted no time going to check on her.

Her small frame was shifting restlessly in the bed. "No! No! Please no!" The whimpered cries came from the sleeping girl.

Sitting on the side of the bed, Steven gently shook her shoulder. "Gracie. Wake up. It's okay, you're safe."

As he continued to gently shake her and repeat the words, her eyes finally opened. She seemed to be searching the room before her eyes finally met his.

"Daddy!" She launched herself into his arms and sobbed loudly.

He knew he hadn't heard her wrong this time. Part of him wanted to ask her, but this wasn't the time to dig into his mysterious new title. Instead he wrapped his arms tightly around her, wishing he could this all better.

Lifting her in his arms, he rose, grabbing a blanket and headed to the door.

"Why don't we go camp out on the couch tonight?"

Her sobs had quickly subsided to a quiet cry in his arms. She nodded her head against his shoulders, seemingly wrapping her small arms tighter around his neck.

Settling onto the couch, Steve kept her cradled against his chest, her legs resting on the cushion next to him.

Somewhat awkwardly, he managed to spread the blanket over them. He'd slept sitting up in far more uncomfortable positions countless times, so if this allowed Grace to sleep peacefully, he'd be perfectly content to stay like this forever.

/

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