Guardian

A/N: First, thank you to everyone that contributed questions for the Five-0 television interview. Please feel free to continue including them in review or PMs until that chapter goes live. It will be several chapters before we get there, so you have time.

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

Chapter 60

A tingling sensation in Steve's arm lured him out of his sleep on Saturday morning. Not bothering to open his eyes, he wrapped the arm that wasn't tingling tight around Danny's waist. The detective was spooned against his chest, head resting heavily on Steve's bicep. The SEAL managed to shift his position just enough to move his partner's head to his shoulder, allowing his arm to begin regaining feeling.

Judging by the light in the room, it was still early, but not ridiculously so. Steve knew he should get out of bed and get moving if he was going to stay on plan for the day. First, he needed to go change the sheets in the guest room where Mary had been staying. While part of him was tempted to just stay in bed and enjoy Danny's solid warmth against him, he knew there would be more chances for that later.

Nuzzling Danny's neck, he felt the detective begin to stir. "S too early for sex." Danny mumbled, making Steve chuckle against his ear.

"I'm not waking you up for sex, Danno. Though we can certainly do that later." He smiled against his partner's ear when the smaller man wrapped his own hand around Steve's where it rested against his stomach.

"Then why?" He heard the pout in the Jersey native's voice.

"I'm going to go get Dianne. Didn't want you to worry when you woke up and I wasn't in the usual places." Steve whispered.

Danny flopped around in the bed until he was facing Steve. "Is this part of your plan that you refused to tell me?"

"Yes. I'm going to go convince Dianne to spend her last night here instead of the hotel." Steve admitted. This part wasn't really a big secret, though it would be a surprise for both Dianne and Grace.

"That's not the whole surprise though, is it?" Danny pushed.

"Nope. You'll find out the rest of it later. I promise, it will be nice." Steve stretched forward to give him a quick kiss. Danny had other plans though, and it was several minutes before he managed to untangle himself from the bed to get dressed.

"Go back to sleep for a while. I'll be back soon." McGarrett watched his partner nestle back into the sheets, already content to drift back to sleep. Despite Danny's frequent trouble sleeping, it didn't appear he was having any issues these days. Hustling to get ready, Steve was out the bedroom door in under ten minutes.

"Where are you headed this early?" Beth asked before he'd taken two steps toward the other guest room.

"What makes you think I'm heading somewhere?" Steve grinned like a teenage boy caught sneaking out of the house.

"Cargo pants and combat boots are not appropriate attire for swimming or running, and those are the only two activities that usually have you up." Beth smirked. She wasn't the mom for nothing. "Or am I not allowed to know?"

Steve laughed. "Nothing is top secret until after we meet with Dr. James. Then things are on a strictly need to know basis." He winked. "First two steps are to change the sheets in the room Mary was staying in and collect Dianne from her hotel." He spoke quietly, eyes drifting to Grace's room.

"And the latter is a surprise to both of them?"

He nodded.

"It's very sweet of you to think of that. Why don't you skip straight to step two and I'll handle step one?" She crossed the hall to stand right in front of him, her hand reaching up to wipe away an eyelash that had fall on his cheek. There was more beth wanted to say to him, but standing in the hallway when there were things to do was not the time or place. "Get going. I'll have something ready for a late breakfast when you two get back."

Steve pulled her in for a quick hug, kissing the top of her head, before trotting down the stairs.

Pulling up in front of the grand entrance to the Halekulani, Steve was glad he'd arrived early enough to beat the normal tourist traffic. He pulled off to one side of the area, trying to avoid blocking any traffic that might come through.

"Can we help you sir?" One of the staff rushed to help him open the door.

"I'm here to pick up a family member. Would it be okay to leave my truck here while I get her and her things?" He asked politely, but with his best 'just do as I say and no one gets hurt' voice.

"Of course sir." The young man closed his truck door for him, stepping aside so McGarrett could pass.

Thanks to the team, he already knew Dianne's room number. He quickly navigated his way to the elevators and up to her floor. She's already spent one night at the house, so Steve wasn't sure why he was worried she would push back on his idea to spend her last night with them.

Knocking at the door, he waited patiently. He knew she was an early riser, but also knew his arrival was unexpected. He heard footsteps approaching the door.

"Ms. Bradley, it's Steve." He heard the door begin to open before he finished.

"Steven? Is everything okay? Is it Grace?" Steve kicked himself for not thinking his appearance might scare her.

Reaching out to gently squeeze her arm, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Everything is fine. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to surprise you and Grace."

"Come in." She stepped aside to let him into the room. He could see she had many of her things already packed up, given that she'd spent so little time in the hotel, that made sense. "I will say I'm surprised to see you popping up here first thing in the morning. I was going to call my car soon to make sure I was there in plenty of time for the appointment with Dr. James."

Stopping in the middle of the room, he turned to face her. "I want you to check out of the hotel this morning." His request was met with a look of startled fear. "What I mean is, we want you to spend your last night at home with us, not in a hotel. Since Mary left last night, we now have a guest room available."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Grace doesn't know yet, I thought it might be a nice surprise for her. There is no reason for you not to be able to spend the entire day and tomorrow morning with her instead of spending any part of it alone in a hotel room. No matter how nice the hotel room actually is." He had to admit it was one of the nicest rooms he'd ever seen.

"I suppose I can't argue with that logic. It will just take me a few minutes to gather up the last of my things. I had most of it together already since I didn't really expect to get back until late this evening. Not that I've spent that much time here anyway." She moved around the room collecting the few things that were sitting out. "I hope you and Daniel realize how much I appreciate your openness to allowing me to spend time at your home. I realize I was completely out of line when I first arrived. Had I been in your shoes I am not sure I would have been quite so graceful and forgiving."

He watched as she paused to look at him, seeming to gauge his reaction.

"We have all made our fair share of mistakes. Our primary concern is Grace's well-being. She just lost her mother, she didn't need to lose her grandmother too."

"Still, I appreciate the opportunity you and the rest of the family gave me. It means more than you may ever know to go back to England knowing that I will not lose her completely." Setting one last small bag on her larger suitcase, Dianne face him again. "This is it."

McGarrett grabbed the bulk of her luggage, leaving her only one small bag and her purse to carry as they headed out of the room. "I'll go ahead and put these in the truck while you check out."

When they pulled into the driveway, Steve killed the engine and hustled around to help Dianne out of the passenger side. His truck was taller than the vehicles she was used to maneuvering in and out of.

"Why don't you head inside and I'll grab the bags."

"Nonsense. I can help." She challenge him, her expression reminding him so much of the ones Rachel used to give Danny when she was being stubborn.

"Okay." Crazy SEAL he may be, but he wasn't crazy enough to argue when that look was in play.

Approaching the door, Dianne jumped a bit when it opened suddenly. "Grandma!" Grace stood staring at them in the entry. It was easy to see she had been coming to find Steve, not expecting someone to be with him.

"Your daddy thought we might like to spend my last night here together. Want to help me put my bags in the room Aunt Mary was in?" Dianne gave her granddaughter a warm smile. Grace grabbed the small suitcase and ran for the stairs. "I think you're plan can be counted as a success." Ms. Bradley looked up to see Steve's smile matching his daughter's.

"Looks like it." He laughed as they followed Grace up the stairs at a slower pace.

"Breakfast is ready, so don't get lost up there." Danny's voice called from the kitchen.

"Got it, Danno." Steve acknowledged as the crested the final step.

Stowing her bags in the guest room, the three hustled to join Beth and Danny in the kitchen.

"Something smells delicious." Steve immediately when over to investigate what Beth was pulling out of the oven. "What can I do to help?"

"Go sit down and stay out of the way." She gently elbowed him in the side as she passed with the piping hot dish full of breakfast casserole. "We already have the table set and drinks prepared. We were just waiting on the two of you to arrive."

The SEAL followed obediently, taking his seat next to Danny at the table. Grace was already seated next to Dianne, and Beth slid into a chair on her granddaughter's other side. Digging into the meal, Danny laughed as Steve fussed over his mom's cooking again. He couldn't really blame the guy, she was one hell of a cook.

"Do we get a clue about what the surprise is for this afternoon?" Danny asked between bites.

"Just wear something comfortable with shoes you don't mind walking just a bit in when we go to see Dr. James. That's all you need to know."

"And that doesn't tell me much." Danny fussed.

"Come on, Danno. Don't be such a spoil sport." Grace teased her father. While Danny generally hated surprises, Grace loved them. Since Steve's first surprise today was bringing Grandma Bradley to stay for the night, she was pretty sure she'd like whatever he had planned next.

"Fine." The detective leaned back in his chair, giving his daughter his best pouty face. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't hold it once she started laughing.

When everyone was done, Steve rose to start clearing plates. "Why don't you all go finish getting ready, and I'll take care of these."

Everyone but Danny cleared the room. "I'm good to go." He swiped a hand in front of his body, indicating his cargo shorts, polo shirt, and sneakers. "I assume this meets your exacting standards."

Setting the plate he'd been holding down, Steve stretched his arm out, catching Danny by the front of his shirt and tugging him forward. "Is that attitude you're giving me, detective?"

"Maybe. What are you going to do about it?"

Steve leaned closer, hover his lips less than an inch away from Danny's, feeling the detective shudder in anticipation. Instead of capturing his lips, Steve shifted, letting his nose graze against his partner's cheek and down to his neck. "Nothing." Steve whispered against Danny's flushed skin before turning and grabbing the dishes from the table.

"You are evil." Danny muttered under his breath. "Pure evil." The detective remained frozen, forcing calming breathes in through his nose and out his mouth, willing his body to calm before his daughter or either grandmother reappeared. Finally feeling a bit more in control, he grabbed the remaining dishes and made his way into the kitchen.

"You don't play fair." He griped.

"Never said I did. And technically, weren't you supposed to be in trouble for copping an attitude?" Steve arched his brow at him in challenge.

"Promise, I'll be prepared to serve my penance later." Danny set the dishes on the counter before giving the SEAL a look full of challenge and promise.

"I can't wait, but right now we better get these dishes done before someone catches us in a compromising position." Steve handed Danny the dish towel and resumed washing plates.

/ GUARDIAN /

You know what to do. Leave a review and see how much faster the next chapter appears. It will take a few chapters to get all the way through Saturday because there is a bunch going on, but based on their little exchange after breakfast I suspect there will be a new chapter of GLE by the time the night is done. ;)