Guardian
A/N: Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 27
Waving at the car as it drove away, Danny looked down at his precious daughter. "How you holdin' up, Monkey?"
She'd had a busy day so far; hell, they'd all had a busy day. The therapy session had gone amazingly well. Danny would have to thank Steve for that later as he had no doubt that his partner's candor with Grace about his experience was the primary reason.
Top that off with the initial trauma of Dianne's visit and he was both impressed and concerned that she seemed so calm. Watching her, he could see the tension in her small body. She was trying to stay calm, but clearly, it wasn't entirely working.
Grace leaned into her father's side, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I don't know." She was relieved that she didn't have to leave, both happy and a bit nervous about Grandma Bradley, and slightly overwhelmed. She was a bit tired, but at the same time she was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep at the moment.
Danny shifted toward her, squatting down in front of her. "I know the feeling, Monkey. What do you think you'd like to do now? We have some time before dinner. We could take a nap, go for a walk, watch a movie, anything you'd like." He wanted her to have a chance to relax a bit before dinner.
"Can we try out the pads that Kono and Cath brought?"
The detective smiled. "You are so much like Super Seal it's scary sometimes." He hugged her. "I think that's a wonderful idea. We could all do with a chance to work out some tension."
Holding her Danno's hand, she led the way back to the house where the family and Governor Denning waited. As soon as she crossed the threshold to the kitchen, Steve turned and stretched his arms toward her. Everyone watched fondly as the little girl let her Daddy sweep her up, holding her closely to his side.
Wrapping one arm around her neck, Grace leaned the side of her head against his.
"What's on your agenda for the afternoon, Gracie?" Steve inquired. He could feel the tension in her small frame even as she tried to relax into his hold.
"Danno said we could try out the new pads that Kono and Cath brought." The Seal was a bit surprised and looked over to his partner.
"Grace and I thought we could all use a chance to unwind a bit before dinner." Steve didn't miss the look in Danny's eyes. She needed to channel some energy to help her relax.
"Oh boy," Kono smirked. "She's just like her Daddy." Her joking comment made everyone laugh.
From her perch, Grace turned to the Governor. "Do you want to stay and watch? It's really fun."
Seeing Denning hadn't really followed exactly what he was being invited to witness, Chin clarified. "We're teaching Grace self-defense. Yesterday we gave her a series of demonstrations."
"I see." The governor nodded. He was actually rather intrigued by the unexpected opportunity to witness his task force display their skills. "Are you sure you guys don't mind? I don't want to get in the way."
"Not at all, sir." McGarrett answered. While he was still a bit unsure of this newfound camaraderie between his team and the governor, he was inclined to run with it.
"In that case, if you don't mind, I'm going to run out the car and grab a change of clothes. Pretty sure I have something a bit more appropriate in the trunk." He gestured to the suit he was wearing.
"You girls can get changed in my room." Beth looked to Kono and Cath. "I'm going to get the water bottles ready first."
/
Following Danny into their room, Steve closed the door before catching his partner's arm and pulling him into a firm embrace.
Danny didn't even try to fight it. Wrapping his arm around the Seal's waist, the detective could feel his carefully maintained control slipping. "How'd you know?" The words were muffled against the strong chest.
Gently kissing the blond locks, Steve's voice was low and full of concern. "Danny, I'm your partner. I've become quite adept at reading you." He knew the reality of Rachel's death was starting to seep in to his partner's mind. He'd managed to block it out thus far, focusing on Grace instead, but after Dianne's appearance and their conversation there was no way he could keep it at bay.
They stood silently for a long moment. "I can't lose it. Not yet, Steven." His voice was desperate, a plea for the Seal to understand, to help him keep it together.
"I know, but you have to let yourself deal with it eventually." He tightened his hold on the shorter man. "I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me about it, but please talk to one of us soon."
Danny pulled back a bit, looking up into Steve's hazel eyes. "I appreciate that, but we," he pointed at Steve's chest and then his own, "will talk tonight. After Grace is in bed, I promise." He stretched up to place a chaste kiss on the Seal's lips. "In the meantime, we're supposed to be getting ready to teach our daughter how to kick some ass."
Knowing that the promise to talk later was a step in the right direction, Steve nodded. "Right, ass kicking. I could do with some of that right now." Fighting was mostly instinctual for him at this point, but it also forced his mind to focus in the moment. Not to mention, without the fear of injury from fighting a hostile opponent, it was just plain fun for him.
As the men moved around the room, gathering their clothes and changing, Danny couldn't help but harass his partner. "You know, I offered up a nap, a walk, even a movie and it was Grace's idea to train instead. As soon as she said it, the first thing I thought was heaven help us, my baby is turning into Super Seal."
Steve threw him a goofy grin. "Think of it this way, by the time she's a teenager we will have less to worry about with the boys. They'll be too afraid of her to try anything."
Danny threw the balled up pair of socks in his hand at the Seal's head. "I don't want to think about my baby being a teenager or boys wanting to try things with her."
Catching the socks before they hit him, Steve was glad to see his partner relax just a bit. "Then let's go teach her how to stop them." While the idea of Grace using the skill she was going to learn to fend off unwanted advances was disturbing enough, the prospect was still slightly more appealing than the idea of her fighting off an attacker.
/
Coming down the stairs, Steve met Kono's concerned gaze and just shook his head, letting her know that everything was okay. He wasn't surprised she was worried. He suspected the entire ohana was worried about Danny.
"Mom's getting changed, but everybody else is out there already. I just came in to grab these." She held up a pair of shin pads that must have fallen out of the bag.
Emerging from the house, the trio heard Chin's voice. "So Grace, are you ready to try a little bit of what Catherine showed you yesterday?"
"Really?" The little girl sounded excited making Danny shoot a playful glare at McGarrett.
"You've corrupted our daughter." He elbowed his partner in the ribs earning him another goofy grin. "You're hopeless."
Governor Denning was already perched on one corner of the blankets, dressed in khaki shorts and a green t-shirt, when they arrived. It was odd seeing their boss in this setting.
"Why do I feel like I'm seeing the future of Five-0 here?" He pointed toward Grace where she stood with the other half of the task force and Catherine.
"It wouldn't surprise me." Danny admitted as he and Steve sat a couple feet away on the blanket. His little angel was so much like him that he'd often wondered if she wouldn't end up following in his footsteps. While he hated the idea of her in danger, he knew better than to think he could stop her if she wanted to pursue that path.
Beth made it out a few seconds later. Spotting her grandmother, and heading toward her when Grace motioned her over. "We get to practice today, Grandma."
"Sounds like fun." Beth smiled as she came to stand next to her. "So what's the plan?"
Everyone looked to Catherine and Kono to see what they intended. The Hawaiian spoke up. "Catherine is going to work with Grace, while Chin works with Beth." Her cousin nodded his agreement. "And if boss is up for it," the Seal jumped up to join them, "I'll work with him so you guys can follow along."
Everyone, the governor included, laughed as Steve failed to mask his excitement at getting to participate. Danny smiled lovingly at the sight of his partner acting like a kid at Christmas, barely able to stand still.
After roughly thirty minutes of watching, Governor Denning had an idea. "I'm really impressed with this." He motioned toward the six as he looked to Danny. "What do you think of holding some type of Five-0 self-defense class for women and children?"
Hearing his question, Kono and McGarrett froze mid-attack. "What do you have in mind?" Steve asked as he released his hold.
"It's nothing I'd expect you to tackle immediately, but just an idea. It could be an outreach for victims or those at risk of becoming victims. I'm sure we could get some help from HPD, but given the Five-0's reputation and your obvious skill in this area, it seems like a great opportunity."
By this point, the other four had stopped and were listening as well. Beth and Grace slipped over to the other blanket to get a drink. The little girl was more tired now that she'd worked out some of her earlier tension.
Denning didn't want the team to think it was an order they had to execute. "I understand if you aren't interested. I know you guys don't have much free time, but…"
Taking in the expressions on his team members' faces and the look Grace was giving him, Steve interrupted. "Let us come up with a workable plan. We wouldn't be able to commit to an every week class, but I bet we could coordinate something each month. Maybe do a half-day session or something."
"I'd love to help when I'm in port." Catherine chimed in.
The governor was impressed with their obvious enthusiasm for the new project. "Like I said, there's no rush. You all have enough on your plate right now. We can regroup on this in a few weeks and hash through more details."
"You done for now, sweetie?" The Seal asked Grace as she slid down to rest her head in Beth's lap. Her only answer was a sleepy nod and a yawn.
"That's it Super Seal, it's game on now." Kono laughed. "Come on Danny, you can be on our side this time."
The governor watched, completely engrossed, as Catherine and the other three members of Five-0 circled Steve.
Thirty minutes later, there was no clear winner in the engagement. The team had yet to take the Seal down and every time he took one or two of them down the others kept him occupied while they recovered.
"I give, babe." Danny collapsed onto the blanket and grabbed a bottle of water.
Denning laughed. "I feel for the criminal that is stupid enough to resist an arrest with the lot of you. That was one of the most impressive displays I've ever seen."
The group all smiled and laughed at his compliment.
"Alright kids, I need to get started with dinner. You should probably start getting cleaned up if you all expect to be respectable by the time Dianne returns."
"Yes mom," came a chorus of responses.
Steve reached down and plucked Grace off the blanket where she'd fallen asleep. "I'm going to take her up to her room so she can nap a bit longer." Turning toward the governor, he nodded a head toward the house. "If you don't need to leave feel free to grab a beer out of the fridge and enjoy the view or the tv while we get cleaned up."
"Thanks, McGarrett. I think I'll take you up on the beer, but if it's all the same to Mrs. Williams I'd prefer to make myself useful and lend a hand with dinner prep."
"I won't make you call me mom, but I will insist on Beth instead of Mrs. Williams." Danny's mom laughed. "And I can always put a spare set of hands to work."
That settled, the last of the group ventured into the house to get ready for dinner.
/
A/N: Reviews are greatly appreciated.