Guardian
A/N: Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I'm back, though things are a bit crazy, so it may day a day or two between updates for the next week or so. I promise they'll be coming though.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 32
Entering the kitchen wearing his usual cargo pants, t-shirt, and an open button up shirt, Steve smiled at the trio he found waiting for him.
Graced slipped out of Danno's lap and reached up for a hug. Happy to oblige, he swung her into his arms.
"Good morning, sweetheart." He relished the feel of her small arms wrapped around his arms. "Love you."
"Love you too, Daddy." She squeezed him a bit harder. "Are you hungry? We made breakfast."
"I'm starving." He laughed as his stomach growled in agreement.
"I'd imagine so after swimming so long." Beth smiled as she handed him a cup of coffee.
"I swear the animal is going to swim all the way to the mainland one of these days." Danny set two plates with eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns on the island for Grace and Steve.
"I don't think I'll make it that far, Danno." The Seal set Grace on one stool before sitting down next to her and picking up his fork.
"Good to know you have some sense of boundaries." The detective continued to tease as he took his own seat.
"I might have to take up swimming again." Beth surprised them all into a shocked silence. While she was always willing to get in the water with them, they'd never really seen her swim. "Don't look so surprised. I used to be a very good swimmer; just fell out of practice when I had kids."
"Well you picked the right place to live if you want to swim." Steve pointed out the window toward the water. "You're welcome to take advantage of the proximity any time you want."
"Thank you, son. I'm sure I'll have to start easy. Maybe start off with someone else to be on the safe side." She could imagine how freaked out Danny and Paul would be at the idea of her taking off into the ocean alone.
"No worries. Just let me know when you want to give it a go."
Smiling fondly at his partner, Danny laughed. "There are some advantages to having our very own Super Seal in residence." For all that he harassed Steve about being careless of his own safety, he would never doubt the safety of their family with him.
Before Steve could respond Grace interjected. "Maybe after you practice some Kono can teach you to surf too."
Seeing Danny's expression, Steve and Beth both erupted in laughter.
Pointing his finger at McGarrett, the detective tried to act mad but the laughter gave him away. "This is all your fault. You've corrupted my sweet little girl and now you're starting on my mother."
The four continued eating and laughing together well after their food was gone. While they all enjoyed time with the whole ohana; it was also nice to have mornings with just the four of them.
"So, what's the plan for the day?" Beth finally inquired as she started to clear the dishes.
Standing to help, Steve shrugged. "I'll leave here shortly before 11 to meet Dr. Thompson. Not sure how long I'll be, but I'll likely be back early to mid-afternoon."
"I know Dianne will be over at some point and I'm sure everyone else will round in eventually. Any ideas of dinner?" Beth wanted to make sure she was prepared.
"Thought we might do some fish tacos. They're pretty simple. Maybe we can mix up some homemade ice cream for dessert." The Seal looked to Grace for approval of his plan and grinned at her enthusiastic smile.
Steve's cell phone rang, interrupting their planning. Recognizing the caller, he answered. "McGarrett."
"Howzit?" Kamekona's distinctive voice answered.
"It's going. What can we do for you?" Steve couldn't help but smile at the big Hawaiian's friendly tone. He was actually surprised it had taken this long for him to call or show up.
"Just wanted to see if I could drop by and say hi to my favorite little haole today."
"Well, I'm going out for a bit, but I'll see what Danny thinks." Lowering the phone for a second he received the answer before he could repeat the question.
"Yes. Tell him he's welcome to stop by." The detective recognized Kamekona's voice and could guess the question by Steve's response.
Putting the phone back to his ear, he realized Kamekona had heard the reply. "Excellent. I'll be there in time for lunch and tell the haole not to worry; I'm bringing the food."
"Hope you're bringing a lot, we've got quite the crew these days." McGarrett warned.
"I know. Chin told me. Don't worry, brah. I've got it covered. See you later."
Setting the phone on the island, Steve laughed. "Well, Dianne will be in for an experience this afternoon."
The kitchen cleaned up, the four headed into the living room, content to kick back and watch a movie for the morning.
Sitting on the corner of the couch, Steve stretched his arm out as Danny claimed the seat next to him. The Jersey native did the same as Grace curled up next to him.
Beth started to take the chair next to the couch, but relented when Grace patted the spot next to her. Cuddled together as they were, the four easily fit on the couch.
As the movie ended, Steve carefully extracted himself from Danny's sleeping form. He and Grace had both fallen asleep the last twenty minutes.
Beth watched as he grabbed a few pillows for Danny to rest on and carefully covered them with the blanket from the chair.
"Don't worry, son. I'll keep an eye on them." She could see his reluctance to leave them in such a vulnerable position.
He nodded before leaning down and placing a kiss on each of their heads.
"Thanks mom. I'll be back soon."
"Take your time, Steven. We'll be here when you get back and I'm sure the others will be here soon."
Giving a small smile, he grabbed his keys and phone before heading out to his truck. Before climbing in he fired off a text to the team, Cath, and Kamekona warning them to enter quietly in case Danny and Grace were still sleeping when they arrived.
/
Knocking on the door to Dr. Thompson's office, Steve waited to hear the familiar voice call out.
"Come on in."
Slipping through the door, the Seal smiled at the therapist. "Good morning sir."
"Commander, how many times have I told you not to call me that during our sessions?"
"Every time Mike. Why buck tradition now." McGarrett laughed as he sat in one of the two large chairs next to a small table that held two bottles of water and bags that likely held their lunch.
"I ordered the usual, hope you don't mind." Dr. Thompson pointed to the spread.
"Not a bit." He wasn't surprised. Typically if he requested an extra session the doctor would have lunch waiting so they didn't have to waste time making decisions on what to eat.
"Steve, how are things going with Grace?" Mike took the seat opposite him and started pulling food from one of the bags.
"She's doing remarkably well. The first meeting with Dr. James went better than anyone anticipated." He cracked open the bottle of water to take a drink.
"And why do you think that is?" The doctor had his suspicions about why Steve was having nightmares again, but wanted to see if his patient realized it.
Leaning back into the chair, Steve arched an eyebrow at Dr. Thompson. "I can guess where you're going with the questions and you're right. I talked to Grace a fair amount before she went and told her about my sessions with you."
The doctor smiled. "And you think that triggered the nightmare?"
"I don't think just talking about our sessions did, but those aren't the only conversations I'd had with her. Helping her cope with things has meant reminding myself how I felt at certain times in my life and the reasons why."
Mike leaned forward, elbows resting on is legs. "Do you regret digging those memories back up?"
Steve shook his head adamantly. "No. I'd do it a hundred times over if it meant helping her recover."
The doctor wasn't surprised with this admission. His patient had long ago revealed that the little girl was a major motivator in his voluntary pursuit of therapy and they'd had many long sessions that involved talk of both her and her father. He wondered what impact all this was having on the Lieutenant Commander's relationship with the detective.
After a few moments of eating in relative silence, Dr. Thompson broached the subject. "So, how have recent events impacted your relationship with Grace and Danny? From what little we've discussed I gather you have spent a significant amount of time with them since you found her."
Setting his food back down, Steve smiled at the thought of how much time they'd spent together.
"You could say that. They're living with me now." He hesitated, unsure of how the doctor he had come to like and respect was going to react to his new relationship with Danny. "My relationship with both of them has shifted in some ways."
Noticing McGarrett's failure to meet his eyes, Mike waited to see if he would say more before responding. "Steve, you can speak freely here. You have no reason to worry about what I will think."
The Seal's eyes shot up, surprise written clearly on his face.
"As many hours as we've spent talking about the two of them you didn't think I would have figured out how much you care for them? You've never come right out and said it, but ever since Williams almost died I could tell you were struggling with not admitting it to him."
Taking another drink of water, Steve regained his composure. He was starting to wonder if anyone on the damned island hadn't already been aware they were in love with each other and why, if they all knew, someone didn't help clue him and Danny in sooner
"I guess that little secret wasn't as well hidden as I thought it was." He laughed quietly. "Actually, things with Gracie changed before things with Danny did, but we're more of a family now than we were a week ago."
Over the next hour, Steve filled him in on the conversations he'd had with the little girl and his new title. The doctor seemed quite happy for him; knowing how much he adored Grace. They also covered how things finally came to a head with his partner.
"It certainly sounds like you've had a very busy week. I must say, I'm incredibly impressed with how you've handled everything." Seeing Steve was about argue, he held up a hand to silence him. "The nightmare doesn't mean you aren't handling it well and even with that you did the right thing. You called me. That is exactly the right way to handle it."
"You sound like Danny." He smirked as he remembered the rock conversation and what had followed.
"Well, your partner is clearly a very intelligent man." He cleared the remnant of lunch into the trash and grabbed them each a fresh water from the fridge. "Now, why don't we talk more about his nightmare?"
By the time Steve walked out of Dr. Thompson's office, it was after two in the afternoon. He hadn't meant to take up so much of the doctor's Sunday, but appreciated the other man's insistence that they keep going.
If felt good to talk through what had happened with Jackson; to hear someone else tell him what he knew was true when thinking rationally. There was no way that scenario could have played out better. His teammate made the same sacrifice he would have willingly made had the roles been reversed, choosing to put the lives of his entire team ahead of his own.
Jackson's death still hurt, but talking it through made it hurt a bit less and helped him cope with the survivor's guilt he often felt.
Climbing into his truck, he brought the engine to life and started toward home. He was anxious to see Danny and Grace again even though he'd only been gone a few hours.
/
Reviews are greatly appreciated.