Guardian

A/N: To the reviewers that have asked, the story isn't over yet. Though I don't know exactly how long the story will be, I can safely say there are many chapters left to come.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them although it's starting to feel like I'm torturing them.

Chapter 19

Hauling the hangers full of Danny's clothing up the stairs, Steve hesitated at the door to his own bedroom, suddenly unsure if he should put them in his closet or if his partner wanted to maintain a separate bedroom at this point.

Deciding to err on the side of caution, he started to pass his door when Grace's voice stopped him.

"Isn't Danno going to stay with you?" She sounded slightly worried.

"I'm actually not sure, Gracie. I forgot to ask him about that before I started carrying stuff up here."

"Forgot to ask me about what?" Danny's voice carried up the stairs before he appeared.

"Room arrangements." Steve gave him a small shrug of the shoulders. He hadn't anticipated Grace bringing it up.

"Mommy and Stan stopped sharing a room before they started fighting so much." Grace offered up. This observation suddenly made it very clear why she was worried about where Danno's stuff was going. In her experience, separate rooms meant fighting.

"Well, Monkey, I'd love to share Super Seal's room, but I don't know if he has room for my stuff with all his Army uniforms." The detective hoped to diffuse the serious tone a bit. He'd love to share Steve's room, but didn't want to push too fast.

"Danno! It's the Navy!" Grace glared up at him, a smile playing on her lips.

Chuckling at the pair, Steve smiled. "And I'm quite certain I can make room." He'd throw half his wardrobe away if it meant making room for Danny.

Grace's smile bloomed more widely when her Daddy took a step toward his room with the pile of Danno's clothes. No matter how off balance she currently felt, it was comforting to know that Danno and Daddy were happy together.

Proceeding to take the small box of her things into her bedroom, she set it on the floor before grabbing the giant HPD bear and climbing onto her bed.

Ever since she'd told them about what happened Monday, she'd been angry with Stan. Sitting on the bed, she realized she wasn't just angry that he'd killed her mom, she was angry that he'd hurt her and she hadn't been able to stop him. She was angry because she hated feeling like a victim, Danno taught her to be stronger than that.

Coming back out of what was now their room several minutes later, Steve and Danny went to check on Grace. It had been a difficult morning for her and they worried that things were only going to get worse.

Seeing her on the bed, clinging to the huge bear, Steve immediately recognized the look on her face.

"Gracie, you look like you're thinking really hard about something." He perched near the foot of her bed as Danny circled around to sit beside him. "Care to tell us what you're thinking about?"

She squeezed the huge bear tighter before meeting Steve's eyes. "I'm scared." Her voice was small and quiet. "He hurt me and I couldn't stop him and now I'm scared that if I'm not with you," she looked to both men, "that I'm not strong enough if someone tries to hurt me again."

Both men wanted to reassure her that they would never let that happen, but they knew better. Before Danny could reply, the Seal's hand on his forearm stalled him.

Looking to his partner, the detective raised an eyebrow.

"I have an idea." He stood and stretched a hand toward the little girl. "Let's go see what they've got for lunch downstairs, we're going to need help with this plan."

Grace clasped his hand and followed. If Daddy had a plan, she would trust him implicitly.

Danny followed behind them. Steve's plans usually scared him as they often involved gunfire, explosives, or the occasionally shark cage, but where their daughter was involved, he trusted the maniac to keep her safe.

Ten minutes later, they'd all taken seats around the dining room table for an easy lunch of sandwiches and a variety of other side items, when the doorbell rang. Not expecting anyone, Steve gestured the others to remain seated. He would deal with the visitor.

Much to his surprise, he saw Catherine through the window. She always visited when she was in port, but he hadn't realized she would be in town.

As he opened the door, she spoke before he could. "I saw the news. I had to come check on you guys. I'm sorry, I should have called first."

"Relax Cath. Ohana's all here. Just sat down for lunch if you're hungry." Though she wasn't as much a part of the close-knit group as the members of the task force, she'd spent plenty of time with them. Steve knew she and Grace had grown particularly fond of each other, particularly after his relationship with Catherine had changed.

She stepped inside at the invite. With no family and few other good friends on the island, she was glad they maintained a close friendship even after their romantic involvement ended.

"I could actually use your help with something if you'll be here for more than a day or two." McGarrett queried as they walked toward the dining room.

She nodded. This clearly wasn't the kind of Navy resource help he usually asked her for. "Anything. We're scheduled to be in for at least a month."

Following him to the table, Cath wasn't surprised to see everyone, including a woman she assumed was Danny's mom gathered. She carefully chose a seat away from Steve. Judging by the look from Danny they'd either worked things out or were close to it and the Seal hadn't explained the full and current nature of his relationship with her to Danny yet.

"Sorry to just drop in, but I wanted to let you all know I was here and wanted to help if I could."

Her eyes met Danny's and though he appeared cautious, he appeared accepting of her presence. She couldn't help the wide smile when the detective openly claimed Steve's hand on the table with his own.

"Thanks Catherine. We appreciate it." The Jersey native relaxed slightly noticing her pleased expression at his stupidly territorial move. Maybe she was included in the group that had been waiting for him and Steve to get to the point.

"Catherine's arrival is actually very well timed." He remained oblivious to the exchange between his former and current lovers. He paused to look at Grace, an unspoken request for permission to share what she'd divulged upstairs.

She nodded her consent. This was her ohana, even Catherine, and she knew it was safe for them to know her fears. Knew they wouldn't judge or laugh.

"Grace was brave enough to tell Danno and me that she's feeling scared after what happened, especially when she's not with one of us. After getting hurt on Monday, she's afraid of being hurt again because she doesn't know how to defend herself." He was careful to word the challenge in a way that presented a solvable problem.

Catherine looked at Steve; she had a growing suspicion what kind of help he was asking from her and was pleased that he trusted her.

"I'd really like to teach Gracie how to defend herself, but I'm going to need some help. Originally, I'd planned to ask Kono to help, but now I think Catherine can help too. They are both very skilled at handling themselves in a fight and would make great self-defense teachers."

Danny looked up at him and grinned lovingly. "Brilliant plan, babe." He whispered quietly. He knew someday Grace would need to learn more, but hadn't expected it to come so soon. While he'd wanted to reassure her that he'd protect her, Steve had considered the broader tactical picture, considered a course that would be far more beneficial.

"Of course I'll help!" Kono exclaimed. She'd learned to fight her bigger cousins as a kid and knew she could show Grace quite a few tricks.

"Me too!" Catherine smiled at the little girl. "We'll teach you how to take down Uncle Chin in no time." She suspected it would be a while before Grace discovered the fun in sparring with Steve and Danny.

The table was full of excited chatter about Grace's self-defense training. Though the reason behind it was one they all wished never existed; they would do everything they could to make it a fun learning experience and give some of her confidence back.

Beth's unusually timid voice eventually broke into the chaos. "Would you mind if I joined the training? I'd like to learn too." She'd thought about it before, but had never followed through despite Danny and her husband urging her to take classes.

"Of course not, Mrs. Williams." Catherine answered then quickly froze. The abrupt silence in the room left her wondering if she'd stepped out of line by agreeing.

Beth smiled as she corrected her. "It's Mom dear. Not as long as you a part of this ohana."

Cath released the breath she'd been holding and smiled warmly. She'd never had a family quite like this one.

After the meal, Danny started clearing the dishes and Catherine quickly volunteered to help while encouraging the others to relax.

Once they'd set the dishes down in the kitchen, she reached for Danny's arm before he could jump into cleaning. "I take it you two finally quit beating around the bush?"

The detective laughed. "Yeah, shortly before breakfast this morning." He blushed slightly. "Sorry about my little display back there. I just found out you guys weren't still intimate," he stumbled over the word, "this morning and he was too busy to elaborate on exactly what that meant. Apparently my inner caveman still saw you as competition."

Catherine laughed at his honesty. "Don't worry; I know it feels seeing every woman on the island ogling him. Danny, trust me when I say that I figured out a long time ago that he had eyes for no one but you. Steve and I have a history. We kept each other occupied for a bit, but I've always known our hearts weren't in it. I'm just glad to see him happy; glad that we were able to stay friends when it was time to move on."

Danny leaned in and gave her a hug. "Thanks, Catherine. Means a lot to know you're okay with it and I'm glad you managed to stay friends too. I'd hate to see Grace lose one of the positive female role models in her life."

As they moved to start washing the dishes, the detective gave her the rundown of everything she'd missed knowing that the news would have only provided the barest of details.

Dishes finally done, Catherine leaned back against the counter. "I should probably go see if I can find a place to stay on base. I really don't want to crash on the ship if I don't have to, but I think Casa de McGarrett is a bit full at the moment. I'll come back once it's sorted so we can give Gracie the demo we talked about."

Kono entered the room just in time to catch her comment. "How about checking out Casa de Kalakaua? I've got a spare room that's been sadly lacking in visitors lately."

Catherine appeared startled at the offer. "Are you sure?" The Naval officer didn't want to encroach and while she and Kono got along, they'd never been particularly close. "I'm supposed to be here for a month and I don't want to be in the way."

The Hawaiian rolled her eyes. "Seriously? We all spend most of our time together anyway and I could use some female company. I'm around the boys way too much!" Kono proceeded to put the leftovers away.

"In that case, I'd be delighted to crash with you." She helped fit the last few things into the fridge.

Danny started to leave the kitchen, but stopped short. "Kono, Catherine, I just wanted to say I really appreciate you guys being so willing to help." He held up his hands when they both started to argue. "I know. I know, but it doesn't change the fact that it means a hell of a lot to me that you're here to help."

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A/N: Please take a second to review.

For those interested, the boys may or may not have gotten a bit distracted hanging up Danny's clothes. You might want to pop over to Guardian: Love Explored to see what they were up to ;)