Guardian
A/N: Oops, this one got a little long. Once they started going, the characters just didn't want to stop. Hope you'll forgive me.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 53
By the time Beth and Danny had lunch pulled together, Dianne, Kono, and Catherine had arrived at the house as well. The three looked tired, but Ms. Bradley declared she felt much better having taken the time to sort through things.
"There are quite a few boxes of things for Grace to go through as she's ready." She spoke in a hushed whisper as she stood next to Danny just outside the kitchen while the others filled their plates.
"We'll get them moved into the garage this afternoon so she can go through them as she's ready."
"There is one smaller box of jewelry and such that you might want to keep somewhere more protected. I kept it separate so we wouldn't lose track of it."
"We'll put that one in our closet for now, unless there are particular pieces you'd like Grace to know about from you." Danny knew Rachel had some older pieces when they were still together, but she'd always brushed it off when he asked about them. Knowing how much his mother and sister loved the stories behind their family pieces, he hated for Grace to lose out on that.
"There are a few. I'll make sure I show them to her before I leave."
That settled, the two headed toward the kitchen island to fix their plates before joining the others in the dining room. Everyone fell into an easy rhythm of quiet eating interspersed with bits of random conversation as they finished their meals. When it appeared every one had gotten their fill, Danny nudged Steve in the side.
"Think we should get it over with?"
"Get what over with?" Kono looked worried from her seat across from them.
"Relax, Rookie. Nothing life threatening this time." Danny teased.
"Go for it Danno." Steve gestured toward the family around the table.
"You're all up to speed with Steve's little run in this morning. That got us both thinking. While we would love to think that our personal lives are none of any one else's business, we are well aware that being part of Five-0 means people are curious. Steve and I have agreed that we have no interest in hiding our relationship; however, we realize that for some of you that openness may create unwarranted headaches."
"Brah, quit trying to use all the big words and sound so PC. We know some people are going to act like jerks about the two of you. Their opinions don't matter to us any more than they should matter to you. We have your backs. We've been waiting too long for you two to get it together, no way are we going to try to make you two keep this under wraps."
"Cheers to that!" Governor Denning raised his water glass, and chorus of agreements filled the room.
"I know you guys all mean it, but Danny and I agree that we need to come up with an offensive strategy that will hopefully prevent any of us getting ambushed in a parking lot similar to this morning. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten any further than that."
"Might I make a suggestion?" Sam spoke up again.
"Consider this Camelot and you're sitting at the round table. All ideas are welcome." Steve encouraged.
"Even if the table is a rectangle." Danny patted his leg, unable to help laughing at his partner.
Stifling his own laugh, the governor shook his head. "What if we work with my press secretary to set up an exclusive interview with Five-0. You four are past the point of being able to do your own undercover work anyway. It would keep the entire focus from being on the two of you, while you a chance to put the information you are comfortable sharing out there in a controlled environment. It will also help make it clear that Five-0 is as united as ever."
"I was going to say we just scare a reporter into playing nice, but that idea works too." Kono's threw it out as if she were serious.
"You," Danny pointed at Kono, "have spent too much time around Super Seal here for your own good."
"Not possible." Her retort was immediate.
"You see what I have to do deal with?" Danny turned to the governor with an exasperated sigh.
"You seem to be coping just fine." Sam laughed. "Don't expect me to try and stop them."
As the laughter finally started to die down, Steve returned to the initial topic of conversation. "In all seriousness, I think your idea has serious merit, but I want everyone in this room to consider the consequences of going so public. It may be the four of us on camera, but there are other people that will get caught up in any backlash."
"Bring it." Catherine gave him a look that left no doubt she was serious.
"I will leave no doubt that you all have my full support." The governor no longer had any intention of letting people wonder where his loyalties were.
"You realize there is likely to be some vocal opposition to that stance come reelection, right?" Steve appreciated the support, but didn't want Denning to regret it later.
"I do, but I trust the majority of the citizens of this fine state will be less prudish."
"What about the school? We know Mrs. Jones is aware, but should probably meet with them before anything makes it to television." Danno knew even if kids didn't watch it, parents and teachers would.
"My classmates will think it's cool. They all think Daddy is totally awesome." She grinned at him. "Plus a bunch of them asked questions when Nikki first started, so it's not like I'm the first kid in the class with two dads."
"She has a point." Beth agreed. "Not being the first is almost always far easier."
"If we're all agreed, I'll ask George to start working on it as soon as I get back to the office. I imagine we want to aim to get this out quickly before more reporters with questionable ethics start poking around." Everyone around the room nodded "In that case, I better head that way and see if I can catch him before my next meeting."
Steve rose, opting to escort the governor out. Once they'd stepped outside, Sam paused beside him. "I'll make sure he is careful about the selection and that the terms of the interview are very clear. All questions will be reviewed and approved beforehand and both my office and Five-0 will review and approve the piece before it airs. We had to run through quite the gamut with the press when I took office, so I have no doubt George will find a good fit."
"Thank you, sir. As much as I ate the idea of us having to do this, I think the preemptive strike may be the only option. Once it's public knowledge, there's no race to see who can get the scoop first." McGarrett was more than a little relieved to have a decent start to a plan.
"I'll call you as soon as I have an update. Also, I didn't want to mention it with Grace there, but I received word this morning that Edwards is planning to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault of a minor. I'm sure this means he'll end up with a lighter sentence than he would in a jury trial …"
"But it also means it will be done and over without turning into a media circus and putting Grace at risk of having to hear all about it for any length of time. I'd love to watch him squirm at trial, but that doesn't mean it would help her at all. Nothing is going to bring Rachel back, and nothing is going to change the fact that Grace had to see it."
"I know."
"I do hope Duke is right."
"About what?"
"Word will get out in the prison about what he does, and even criminals don't abide by violence against women and children."
The governor nodded at that sentiment. "Someone will have to make sure to tell the guards to speak loudly when discussing the prisoner." He gave a quick wink as he turned to head toward his car. "I'm sure we'll talk in the next day or so, but call me if anything at all happens."
Ducking back inside, Steve headed to the kitchen where all the voices seemed to be coming from, but Danny caught him before he made it. "Everything okay? You two were out there a bit."
Relaying his conversation with the governor, Steve could see the gears in Danny's head turning. "You're both right. I'd love to see a prosecutor rip him to shreds, but in the end it would probably only gain a couple of extra years on his sentence at best. What's he looking at, a max of ten?"
"Unfortunately." He pulled Danny into his arms. "You know I could still make that night time visit."
"Believe me, it's tempting, but Grace would never forgive me if I let you do something like that and you got caught."
"I could call in a favor."
"And with your luck it would still get traced back to you. For now, I'll have to let the knowledge that you would kill him for us be enough." He let himself lean more heavily on Steve. As much as most people would believe Steve was joking, Danny had no doubt that he really would kill to protect him and Grace without a moments hesitation if needed, and it was a strangely comforting thought.
"Can we go check the paint?" Grace asked as soon as she found them. "It should be dry enough now, right?"
"Lead the way." Steve waited for her to go first, pulling Danny by the hand beside him.
"I'm going to start showing Dianne how to set up her new laptop." Chin called as the three climbed the stairs followed by Kono, Catherine, and Beth. Mary followed Chin and Dianne, curious if she could figure out the whole video chatting thing too.
The six spread out, looking at the various paint samples on the wall. "Which ones do you like, Gracie?" She looked between the wall and her daddy several times, and he wasn't sure if she was trying to decide if he had a preference or just wasn't sure. He leaned down so only she could hear him. "This is your room Gracie. As long as you like what you pick, there is no right or wrong answer."
He guessed it was going to take a few more reminders and a good bit of time before she was completely confident in being able to give her honest opinion when asked. She had enough of Danny in her though that he was sure she'd get the hang of it.
"These." She pointed to on color on each of the two walls where they stood at the corner.
"Oh. I like those." Catherine fussed over the choice.
"Great choices." Kono gave Grace a big thumbs up.
"Why don't we run out and grab the paint supplies. I think Chin was hoping to do a trial run of Skype with Dianne, and I'm pretty sure we aren't needed for that." Catherine offered.
"Sounds like a plan. Do you want me card or do you want me to pay you for it later?"
"Later's fine." The two women headed for the door just as Beth's phone rang.
"Looks like it's your granddad. I'm going to go take this in my room."
Realizing it was just the three of them, Steve looked to his partner. Judging by his face, he'd realized it as well. Without saying another word, the two sat down on Grace's bed, backs against the headboard, legs stretched out. The little girl had been holding up one of the pictures from the magazine against the paint sample on the wall, smiling at whatever she was picturing with the two, but it only took a moment for her to realize her dads had moved. When she spotted where they were, she climbed over Danny's legs and leaned back in the space between them.
"Are you excited about redoing your room?" Steve asked.
"It's going to look really cool, isn't it?" It would be so neat to have a room that really showed what she liked.
"We should think about getting furniture ordered. We can either go look at some places or we can scope out the options online."
"Online works." The idea of going out with the two of them didn't scare her, but she didn't see the point in having to drive all over to look at stuff when there would be pictures on the websites.
"Easy enough." Danny wasn't going to argue.
"I should call Alyssa and see when she's available to come talk to us about doing the mural." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Steve found the painter's number and put her one speaker phone.
"Hey McGarrett. To what do I owe this honor?"
"Hey Alyssa. I've got Danny and Grace here with me. We wanted to talk to you about a painting project."
"Hi Danny and Grace. I sure hope this means I get to meet the two people that Steve can't shut up about soon."
"Alyssa …" Steve started to fuss at her.
"Pretty sure it will." Danny stopped him. "The Neanderthal here mentioned you painted murals." He decided to get the conversation back on track. He'd tease Steve later about her comment.
"I do. Mostly sealife scenes. Why? Are you in need of a fish or two?"
"Something like that. More like an entire wall of Steve's aquatic cousins."
"That sounds fun. Where is this wall going to be?"
"My old room." Steve answered even though he knew it would lead to some crack on her part.
"Well that makes for a very long overdue makeover. How soon are you wanting to do this?"
"We just picked the main colors for the walls today, so hopefully we'll have the base colors up by the first part of next week. Any time after that should work, so just tell me when you can fit us in." Worst case they'd get everything else done and the mural would get added in later.
"How about this? I'll be done with my current job tomorrow afternoon. Why don't I stop by your place tomorrow around five and we can talk about what you're looking for. I've got another job scheduled to start on Sunday, but I expect it will be finished in two to three days at most. My next scheduled job after that isn't for another two weeks, which should be more than enough time."
Grace barely contained a squeal at this news.
"That sounds perfect. Thanks for fitting us in so quick." Steve was surprised how fast she'd worked it into her calendar.
"Anything for you, McGarrett." Danny gave Steve a questioning look at her tone. If he had to guess, he'd say there was some history between the two of them. He could tell it was nothing to worry about, but part of him was still just a bit jealous.
Chin appeared at the bedroom door carrying Steve's laptop just after they'd disconnected the call. "It's time for a trail run. I know your user info, so I'll watch for you to show up online and we'll call you from downstairs."
"Got it." Not bothering to move, Steve cracked the laptop open and it booted up and ready to go. Opening the Skype app, they waited for the call to come. As soon as the incoming call from Dianne Bradley appeared, Steve accepted it, positioning the computer so Dianne would see Grace.
"Hi Grandma!" Grace waved at the screen.
"Hi sweetheart. This is so neat." Dianne's smiling face looked back at them. "I can't believe how easy this is. I thought it would be a great deal harder."
"I think I might even be able to do this once I get computer." Mary's voice chimed in from the background.
"What happened to your computer?" Steve asked. After several seconds of silence, he asked again. "Mary, what happened to your computer?"
From the view on the screen, they could see Dianne and Chin both looking off to the side where Steve guessed Mary was sitting. "Fine. I'm coming down. You can tell me in person."
Steve jumped off the bed and stormed down the hall. Danny and Grace looked at each other before slamming the laptop closed and charging after him. Whether their rush was to stop him for saying something he shouldn't or out of morbid curiosity about what Mary was trying to hide, neither of them were quite sure.
"Mary Ann McGarrett! What aren't you telling me?" Steve's voice rang out the second he entered the living room.
"I lost it?" Mary sounded unconvinced at her own answer.
"Like hell. If it was something you'd done to it you wouldn't have tried to dodge the question." He sat squatted down on the floor in front of where she sat on the couch. His sister refused to look at him. Squeezing her knee with one large hand, he tried again. "Come on sis. What happened? You clamming up is just scaring me."
"Somebody broke into my apartment." She buried her head in her hands, embarrassed to look at him. She'd promised him she was doing okay, that she'd found a decent job and was living in a safe neighborhood. She might have stretched that just a bit. Living in LA, she was lucky to find a postage stamp sized apartment that was only on the fringe of the ghetto.
"When?" Steve was furious, not at his sister, but at the idea that someone had the nerve to violate her home . He was also hurt that she hadn't told him before now.
"A few days before I came out here."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You're always so busy. I knew Danny was traveling and you'd probably be busier than usual. I didn't want to be a problem again."
Chin and Dianne slipped off the couch. Motioning for Grace to follow, the headed to the kitchen, leaving Steve and Danny alone with Mary.
"Is that really what you think? That I think you're a problem?" Steve sounded devastated.
"I am. You've gone and done all these great things with your life, and I'm barely holding down two waitressing jobs trying to keep in together to prove that I can do it on my own."
"Shit, Mary. Who are you trying to prove it to? I'm your big brother. You're supposed to be able to tell me if you need help. I would have helped you. Hell the only reason I haven't pushed you to move home is because I thought you were happy in LA."
"I can't move back here and get in the way. Not with you guys just getting settled."
"Oh no. You are not using Grace and me as an excuse to stay in a city where you are clearly not safe. So what if the house gets a little crowded for a while."
"Actually, I have an idea about that." Beth's voice startled them all. She'd caught just enough to have an idea of what was going on. "Sorry I was tied up for so long, but I have an update and I think it might just work out well for everyone."
"We're all ears." If Beth could fix this, Steve would gladly let her.
"Paul will be here on Monday. The movers are packing up everything we plan to bring with us tomorrow, and it should be here in about two weeks. He also agreed with me about the house that I really liked the other day, so I called and had Chin's cousin put an offer on it. The house was already vacant, so we hope to be able to close fast."
"Damn. You two don't waste time." Danny was impressed.
"No point in wasting time when we know what we want. Anyway, this will work perfect. The house is really bigger than what we would need for just the two of us, but we wanted to have plenty of space for gatherings and overnight guests. There are three spare rooms and one of them has it's own en suite bathroom, so Mary could stay with us as long as she liked."
"I can't do that."
"Yes, Mary, you can." Beth sound down next to her on the couch. "I know you don't want to be a burden to anyone, but Paul and I both miss having kids in the house, even the grown up kind. Plus, you're so much more familiar with the island, you'd be able to help us get settled in and find things."
"That's true. Like it or not, we're going to have to go back to work soon, which means we won't be able to help as much as we'd like with that." Steve encouraged the idea.
"And maybe with both of you around we can work out something so we don't have to put Grace in one of the after school programs while we're at work."
"Yeah, because I'm sure those would play great with your crazy schedules when cases hit." Mary cracked, warming up to the idea.
"You boys don't even worry about that. I'm sure between Paul, Mary, and me we'll be able to work something out so at least one of us is available to watch her any time day or night." Beth patted Steve's shoulder, seeing both he and Danny relaxing a bit.
"So what do you think, sis? Would moving back to the island really be that bad?"
"I guess not." She smiled, then shifted her look to Danny. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Nudging Steve over with his leg, Danny took his place in front of her. "Like it or not, Mary, you've inherited another big brother. No cracks about my height." He pointed a finger at her before she could say anything. "Having family close is important, and you are very much a part of this family."
"Then I guess it's settled. I'll start wrapping things up in LA when I get back in two or three weeks if I can find a ticket."
"Leave the ticket to me, and let me know when you find out what it will cost to ship your things. I'll cover that."
"I don't have much to bring with me aside from clothes. I can probably just ship everything through UPS."
"I wasn't joking, Mary. I'll cover your move."
"Fine." She huffed as she scooted forward to wrap an arm around each of the men. "I suppose as far as big brothers go, you two are pretty awesome."
"Don't give them big heads dear." Beth teased. "Now what don't we go see what everyone else is up to? I thought I heard them sneak outside."
Hauling themselves off the floor, Steve and Danny helped the other two off the couch. Following the two women toward the back door, Danny wrapped an arm around Steve's waste. "Yep. This is definitely home now."
/ GUARDIAN /
I really didn't plan on this going quite so long, but the Mary's little bomb shell was as much a surprise to me as it was to Steve. I just love it when the characters forget to tell me important things. Anyway, hope you are still enjoying. Please take a few seconds to drop a few lines and let me know what you think.