Guardian
A/N: Sorry it took a few days to get this one up. It's been a crazy week and I just couldn't get my head to write this chapter. Oddly enough, I did end up making some serious headway on a future scene that I am dying to share with you guys. Having that particular scene sitting on my computer collecting dust may yet drive me insane.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 54
Following the sound of Grace's voice out to the beach, Danny smiled warmly at the sight of his daughter building another sand castle with her Grandma Bradley. "She'll have Dianne building them like a pro in no time before she leaves on Sunday." He had to admit it was a bit strange seeing his ex-mother-in-law settling in so well to their more relaxed life here. He'd always associated her with posh surroundings and money, assumed that was what made her happy.
He felt a pang of guilt, wondering if perhaps Rachel had housed some of the same regrets that her mother did. For all that she seemed to like flaunting Stan's money at him, it clearly hadn't bought her the happy ever after she'd hoped for. All bitterness aside, Danny worried that it would be hard to help Grace remember her mother. She hadn't been the best mother, but she had been the best mother she could be, and he knew she loved their daughter. He knew it would be important for Grace to hang onto the good memories. He just had to remember some of those himself instead of the animosity between them.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Steve's voice whispered gently in his ear as his partner pulled him closer against his side. Danny could feel worry radiating off the SEAL.
"Nothi …" Steve's hand tightened on his side, stopping him before he finished the word. "Something that has no immediate bearing on today or the safety of anyone here, so I'll stop brooding and we can discuss it later." This earned him a kiss on his temple.
"Did you ever study psychology?" Danny asked, making Steve pull away just enough to give him a look that screamed 'what the fuck.' "Don't give me that look."
"Why does a class I may or may not have taken 15 years ago at Annapolis suddenly matter?"
"Just wonder if you even realize what you're doing." Danny walked off toward the others without waiting for Steve to respond, leaving the SEAL staring after him with a perplexed expression.
Giving up on figuring out what in the heck Danny was talking about, Steve took off after them.
"Daddy, can you help me show Grandma how to properly fortify the castle?" Grace smiled up at him when he got close.
"Properly fortify? Did my nine year old daughter actually just utter the words 'properly fortify' in casual conversation?" Danny swung around to face Steve.
Head thrown back laughing, Chin interrupted the "She even used it in the proper context."
"If she joins the Army because of you …" Danny ranted, even though everyone knew he wasn't serious.
"Danno! It's the Navy!" Grace threw a handful of sand at her father.
"Of course I will, Gracie." Steve lowered himself to the ground next to her, not bothering to respond to Danny's comments.
Sitting down in the sand with him mom, Mary, and Chin, Danny smiled warmly as he watched the SEAL explaining the best methods for fortifying sand castles to Dianne. Most impressive was how he often set it up so that Grace could explain something to her grandmother rather than just taking over the instruction. Watching them, it dawned on Danny that he'd call Grace 'my daughter' without thinking. Looking more closely at Steve, he searched for any signs that his words had been taken wrong and upset his partner.
"Daniel." Beth's quiet voice caught his attention. "Relax. He knew you were teasing."
"How …" He started to ask.
"Call it a mother's intuition. If you really want him to feel secure in his position as her second father, I wouldn't recommend that word choice in normal conversation."
"I know." Danny admitted.
"But he was grinning from ear to ear while you were busy spouting off. Stuff like that is routine with the three of you. If I had to guess, I'd be willing to be Grace knew exactly what she was doing when she chose those words. They love to get you riled up." Beth leaned her head on her son's shoulder, speaking quietly enough that the conversation would stay between the two of them.
"That they do." It was hard to remember a time when Grace and Steve weren't conspiring against him. It seemed like from the very beginning those two had a bond that was as concrete as it was unexplainable.
"And you love to let them and rant. It's almost like you three have your own little strange code for reminding each other how much you love each other." Beth smiled when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I guess you're right." Hearing car doors slamming shut, Danny listened trying to determine if it was Cath and Kono returning, or someone unexpected. A few minutes later, the two popped out of the house.
"We miss anything fun?" Kono plopped down next to Mary as Cath went to join the construction crew.
"Um. I'm moving to Hawaii?" Mary replied.
"Why did that sound more like a question than a statement?"
"Not sure if you count that as fun." Mary had to admit, while she adored Kono, she was also a bit intimidated by the young Hawaiian.
"Let me think. Having another woman around to help balance the excess testosterone I'm exposed to on a daily basis from the three of them," she gestured around at Danny, Steve, and Chin. "Yes. I think that counts as something fun. When are you coming back?"
"In a couple of weeks. I'm going to stay with Mr. And Mrs. Williams."
"Don't start that dear. I've already told you to call me mom, and I assure you Paul will be perfectly content to be Dad or Paul." Beth leaned forward so Mary could see her around Danny.
"I …"
"Don't bother trying to argue, Mary. You have spent as much time around them as I have. There is no winning this argument." Danny patted her leg. "Just go with it."
Kono and Chin both laughed.
"It will be nice to have you here all the time. I know Steve hated not being able to see you more." Chin knew his boss had to be relieved she'd agreed.
The afternoon sped by with everyone just enjoying the time together before Mary would be leaving, at least temporarily, the following day. When Beth decided to go grab drinks for everyone, Mary was quick to volunteer her help. The younger McGarrett said little as they approached the house, but once inside grabbed Beth's hand to stop her.
"Are you sure I'm not going to be in the way." Part of her was afraid Danny's mom had only offered because she thought it was what Steve and Danny wanted. Her own father hadn't wanted her at home when she was a teenager, so why would a relative stranger want her.
Knowing everything she did about their background, it wasn't hard for Beth to understand the fear of rejection written on the younger woman's face. Pulling her into a tight hug, Beth simply held her for a few moments before speaking.
"Mary Ann, I didn't offer you a place to stay out of some misguided attempt to make your brother's life easier. However crazy it may seem, we are all part of this ever expanding family he has built around him. I know we haven't spent much time around each other prior to this week, but you are as much family to me as Steven is."
"But …"
"No buts, dear. I wasn't kidding before. Our house has been so quiet since everyone moved away. It's hard to know what to do with an empty nest when you're so used to taking care of others. And whether you and your brother want to admit it or not, you are both very much in need of having a strong, supportive family around you. You are not alone here, and you certainly aren't trespassing on your brother's territory. We all want you here." Beth was quite adamant.
"Are you sure Paul will feel the same way?"
Pulling Mary toward the kitchen, Beth pulled her phone out of her pocket. When she placed it on the island between them, Mary stared at it as she waited for someone to answer Beth's call.
"Hello beautiful." Mary was slightly taken aback at how much love she heard in those few words. "Everything okay? Did you get word on the house already?"
"Everything is fine and not yet, but I wanted to run something past you."
"Fire away, love." Beth gave Mary a look that told her to just listen.
"How would you feel if Steve's sister came to stay with us for a bit after we move?"
"You mean Steve finally convinced her to stay? I know it's been driving him crazy having her so far away." Paul sounded thrilled.
"Let's just say circumstances changes today."
"Is she okay? Did something happen to her? Didn't you say she was leaving tomorrow." His words were rushed.
Mary was three steps beyond confused. How did Paul know so much about her.
"The boys just found out she wasn't exactly in the safest location in LA."
"Does she need help getting packed? I could change my flight arrangements for Monday. Did you tell her she could have the second bedroom suite? From the pictures you should me it's probably almost as big as any reasonably priced LA apartment. She would have plenty of room to stay instead of worrying about finding somewhere else. I'm sure Grace would love to have her around in the afternoons. You did tell Danny and Steve that we wanted to watch Grace for them, didn't you?"
"Yes. I offered to let her stay there, and yes us watching Grace did come up. Anyway, Mary and I just popped in to grab some drinks for everyone, so we should get back out, but she wanted to make sure you weren't going to mind having her around." Beth knew she needed to cut him or they'd never get off the phone. Danny came by his ability to talk at length quite honestly.
"Oh! Is Mary there? Hi Mary! It'll be great to have you with us. This old house has been far to quiet. Do you need me to stop in LA to help with anything? I don't mind at all." Mary stared at Beth, in shock that he could sound any more enthused than he was when he first answered the phone.
"Hi Paul. I don't have much to grab from LA, so I'm pretty sure I'll be okay on my own. I'm looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks though." Mary was still a bit shocked at his response.
"Okay. That's great, but you let us know if that changes. I can pop back and help if you need. In the mean time, you two better get back to what you were doing."
"Yes dear. I love you." Beth shook her head as she picked the phone up again.
"Love you too." Paul responded before the call disconnected.
"Does that answer your question?" Beth looked at Mary.
Nodding her head, Mary hadn't quite recovered from the call yet. "That just explained so much about Danny."
"Yes. It does, but don't worry, he's not always quite so excitable. It's been hard on him not being here. Initially he stayed behind because he had to wrap up his aunts affairs after the funeral, and then it just made more sense for him to get everything wrapped up and make one trip all the way from Jersey to here. I think part of him would have just set fire to the Jersey house and hopped the first flight he could if it thought it wouldn't get him in trouble."
The two continued laughing about Paul's excitement as they grabbed enough drinks for everyone. Heading back out, they handed off their spoils.
"I should probably head back in and start dinner." Beth had caught the time when she was inside. As it was she'd be pushing it to get things done at the time they normally ate.
Steve looked up. Beth looked a bit on the tired side and he hated to see her disappear into the kitchen where she would no doubt refuse to let anyone help because everyone else seemed so content on the beach.
"Sit back down, mom. I think we'll let Johnny's cook for us tonight."
Steve was reaching for his phone when Chin halted him. "I got it, brah." He was dialing before Steve could argue.
"You will be happy to know, ma, that there is at least one place on this island that can produce a slice worthy of our roots." Danny smiled. He could have kissed Chin when he finally introduced them all to Johnny's pizza.
Dinner arrangements settled, Chin disappeared to go pick the food up while everyone else settled back into the quite rhythm of family life on the island.
/ GUARDIAN /
Anybody understand Danny's psychology question?
I hate to shut it down, but either I stop here and post or this may not up for another couple of days because of my schedule. Hope you all enjoyed. Reviews are much appreciated.