Guardian

A/N: Sorry about the extra time to get this one posted. I can already tell this is going to be a crazy month with the holidays, but I'm still hoping to get chapters posted at least every few days and more often when my schedule allows.

For those following Guardian: Love Explored there is a marker when you can switch to that story.

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

Chapter 34

Pulling into the driveway, Steve wasn't surprised to see the vehicles already there. He would have been both shocked and concerned had they not been here.

Shutting off the truck, he wasted no time climbing out, anxious to see the family. Pausing for only a second at some noise, he quickly recognized the sounds of the family on the beach and headed that direction.

Barely making it around the corner of the house, he heard a voice yelling, "Daddy!" mere seconds before he caught Grace as she leapt into his arms. Clearly she'd heard him arrive. This was a welcome he could get used to.

"Welcome back! How was Dr. Thompson?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"He's good. We had a nice long talk." He held her close as they walked toward the others. "What have you guys been up to while I was out?"

She pointed toward where all the other females sat in the sand. "We taught Grandma Bradley how to make a sand castle. She'd never made one before."

Steve's expression reflected the same shock everyone else had earlier. "I hope she enjoyed it."

Danny rose to meet them. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation he just observed his partner. It was evident that the appointment with Dr. Thompson was productive. Steve looked considerable calmer then he had earlier in the morning.

"She did. Do you want to come inspect the castle?" Grace asked excitedly. No matter how good anyone else said the sand castle was, she wouldn't consider it up to the proper standards until the Seal gave it his blessing.

"Of course, just let me kick my boots off first." She immediately wriggled down from his arms so he could sit down on the blanket and remove his footwear.

Danny and Steve both watched as she ran back toward the sand castle. The detective continued to watch him carefully.

Pulling one boot off, the Seal met his partner's eyes. "Relax, Danno. I'm good. The session helped a lot." He leaned over, closing the small distance between them and gave Danny a quick kiss.

"Sorry, I know you hate it when I worry about you, but you know that's never going to change, right?" He watched Steve's expression carefully and was a bit surprised by the small smile playing on his lips. As much as the Seal complained about his mother hen tendencies, he started to wonder if he actually appreciated the fussing for what it was; an expression of how much Danny cared.

"I know. Promise I'll try not to get too annoyed about it." The second boot off, he pulled himself up off the ground. "We can talk more later; right now I have a sand castle to inspect."

Flashing Danny his best goofy grin, Steve trotted down the beach to where all the women sat, still making minor refinements to their masterpiece.

"So, I hear someone got their first lesson in sand based architecture today." The Seal looked down at Dianne.

"I did. Grace is an excellent teacher." She smiled back at him. "I gather she learned from you.

Nodding, Steve started to walk a circle around them, one arm crossed over his chest, the other bent at the elbow with his hand on his chin. He could see the laughter in everyone's eyes, except Dianne, at his serious expression.

Squatting down, he took a closer look at one section of the castle wall. "Impressive." He commented before rising and shifting a few inches further around. After repeating this a few times, he was finally finished with his thorough perusal of the sand castle.

"So what do you think, Daddy? Did we do a good job?" Grace was nearly bouncing with nervous excitement as she awaited his verdict. Dianne continued to look puzzled. When her granddaughter insisted that Steve would check out their work when he returned she had no idea just how serious an affair that was.

"I think it's absolutely magnificent." His smile spread wide across his face. "You must have done an exceptional job teaching Grandma Bradley."

"Kono, Cath, and Grandma Williams helped too." The three were all smiling.

As Grace busied herself explaining some of the castle features to her Daddy, Dianne leaned over to Kono and spoke quietly. "He had me worried for a bit, he looked so serious."

The Hawaiian grinned. "He actually takes this incredibly serious. When this first started she wasn't nearly as good, but he'd always find plenty to praise even as he made suggestions on ideas for future builds. She soaked up every comment he made and has gotten so much better. You should ask to see the pictures."

Before she could ask what pictures, Steve's voice interrupted. "You guys get around the back of it so I can take the picture." He pulled his phone from his pocket, ready to take the shots.

A few minutes later, Dianne understood. The Seal had taken pictures of them with the castle, but also of each angle of the castle and close ups of various features.

When he ended up sitting next to her, she finally took the chance to inquire. "I gather there a collection of these pictures." She pointed to his phone.

"There might be a few." With the grin on his face, he looked a bit younger and so happy. She could noticed that his gaze would find Grace every few seconds and the warmth it held when it landed on her. It warmed her heart to know that while she wouldn't be with her granddaughter as much as she'd like, Grace was clearly among people that loved her deeply and would take exceptional care of her.

"I'd love to see them if it's not too much of a bother."

"Absolutely. We usually post them up a site that my sister, Danny's parents, and all of us here have access to so that all the interested parties can keep tabs on the progress. We can get you set up with access before you go back to England."

His voice trailed off a bit at the end, and she realized he wasn't aware of her departure plans. "I switched my flight this morning from Wednesday to Sunday so I'll have some extra time here. Chin is going to help me get whatever I'll need for the video calls when you guys go to Dr. James's Wednesday."

As she spoke Danny, Chin, and Kamekona approached. They'd tried to check the sand castle out while Steve was gone, but had been shooed away.

When Chin stood behind him, Steve addressed both he and Dianne. "Glad you're able to stay a bit longer. Chin can get you set up on the family site when he sets up the new gear. We'll make sure you're all set to keep in touch before you leave."

"Yes we will." The Hawaiian agreed. He'd had his reservations about Dianne even after she'd seemed to tone down with the governor's intervention, but he was finding he actually quite liked Rachel's mom. Of course, her apparently efforts to get to know Grace and her ohana helped that opinion.

Eyes drifting out over the ocean, Steve was enjoying the chance to spend time with the family after his session this morning. His thoughts were interrupted by Grace as she plopped onto his lap. "Daddy, can we go swimming?"

"I don't know, Gracie, can we?" He grinned at her, one eyebrow arched.

"May we go swimming?" She corrected as both her grandmothers laughed quietly as his response.

"I suppose so, but I need to go change first." Seeing that Cath and Kono were already stripping down to their suits, he continued. "Don't let those two drown before I come back."

"Hey!" The two adults both exclaimed, playfully indignant expressions on their faces.

Before they had a chance to retaliate for being left in the care of the youngest person present, Steve jumped to his feet and headed toward the house. "Gotta go change!" He called back over his shoulder.

As the Seal made a run for the house, Danny started to follow. "Guess I should get changed too."

All the adults smiled as they suspected there was more to it than a need to change, but no one called him out on it. As far as they were concerned, if the pair needed a few minutes to themselves they were more than happy to oblige; after all, it had been a hell of a week.

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** Switch to Guardian: Love Explored Chapter 7 if you want the M rated version**

Pulling his shirt over his head as he headed up the stairs, Steve was excited to get back to his family and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Tossing the shirt into the hamper as soon as he ducked into the bedroom, he started working his pants loose.

His back to the door, a low whistle from that direction startled him for a split second before he recognized his partner's tone. A shiver of desire immediately rushed through him.

"See something ya like, Danno?" The Seal looked over his shoulder toward the door, a playful smirk on his face.

Danny had followed Steve so he'd have a few minutes to catch up on their respective days, but his intention went out the window when he saw the inviting expanse of bare skin.

"Matter of fact, I do babe." The detective's eyes slowly ran over the sculpted shoulders and back, watching as the muscles twitched. Desire coursed through him.

Seeing the heat in his partner's eyes, McGarrett proceeded to tuck this thumbs into the waist of his cargos and slowly tugged them over his narrow hips. Turning his head back toward the wall, he heard Danny's breath catch as he bent over to finish removing the pants.

"We're never going to make it out to swim if you keep that up, babe." The detective's voice was nearly a whisper as he stepped closer. If the whole Five-0 thing ever fell through his partner had a promising future as a stripper.

Reaching his hands out, Danny lightly traced a trail from the Seal's shoulders down to his now bare ass. Steve couldn't control his sharp intake of breath at the contact.

"I think we may need to take care of a little issue before we head back to the beach."

Several moments later, both of their issues resolved, the pair stood still embracing each other.

"How long do you think it will take before we get beyond this…" Steve struggled with the right words to explain what he meant.

"You mean this incredibly intense need to get each other off nearly every time we're alone? Or do you mean the instantaneous arousal every time one of us sees the other one partially unclothed." Danny chuckled as he spoke.

"Either. Both." Steve smiled down at him.

"I have no idea and quite frankly I don't care. I'm sure I will the first time I'm sporting a raging boner somewhere completely inappropriate or can't think straight when I need to be focused because I'd rather be taking advantage of you, but right now I just don't care. I love you and I love this." Wrapping a hand around the Seal's neck he pulled him down for another kiss.

"I love you too, Danno."

Having taken care of the immediate issue, the pair realized they should probably get ready to swim and get back before their absence was cause for too much comment.

As Danny went to grab their trunks, Steve disappeared into the bathroom to grab a wet rag to clean up their messes.

A few minutes later they were both cleaned up and outfitted for the water. Grabbing Danny's hand, Steve tugged him toward the door and down the stairs.

"Time to go swim!" As soon as they were out of the house, the pair broke into a jog as they headed toward the family where they played in the surf.

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