A/N: First, OMG I'm sorry this took forever. Never fear, I'm not disappearing again. It has just been a hectic couple of weeks. Second, as something of a consolation, this chapter is a bit longer than usual. Also, if you are following Guardian: Love Explored there is an extended version of the opening of this chapter there. ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them. My beta reader is awesome, but all mistakes are my own.
Chapter 70
The feeling of Danny's fingers gently tracing over Steve's forearm where it was draped over the short man's side lured Steve from his slumber. Without opening his eyes, he could tell that he and Danny where in the same position they'd been in when he fell asleep. That his partner was petting him gave a good indication that he was feeling better rested.
Nuzzling the back of Danny's neck, Steve smiled against the warm skin when Danny's breath hitched. "Mornin' Danno." Steve whispered, his hot breath causing his partner to shiver. "Sleep well?"
The Jersey native started squirming, turning so he was nose to nose with the SEAL. "Yes. I did. I can't believe I fell asleep while Grace was reading."
"She didn't seem to mind. She was too busy giggling when you started snoring, and she still had two of us awake to listen." He leaned forward to kiss the tip of Danny's nose, but ended up connecting to lips instead when Danny shifted. Steve nipped at his partner's lower lip. "You know, I should really get moving if we're going to get a coat of paint on before we go to the school."
"It's only six. We don't need to leave for the school until 9:45." Danny whined as he nosed at Steve's neck, leaving a trail of teasing kisses. "I'll even get started while you're swimming."
"We should leave by 9:30 to make sure we aren't late, and what about breakfast?" Steve asked.
"I can survive on coffee until the paint is up." Danny countered though he didn't bother to argue the departure time. He knew better.
Twenty minutes later the pair headed down the stairs, Steve ready to swim and Danny to get his first cup of coffee. Heading back up the stairs a few minutes later, he almost ran into his mother.
"You're up awful early for a non-work day." Beth grinned when she saw the coffee in his hand.
"Yes, but I promised Super SEAL I would start on the painting while he swam so we would be sure to get it done before heading to the school."
"And three plus hours didn't seem sufficient to him?" Beth laughed.
"Not when he tried to factor in swimming, breakfast, painting, and cleaning up to go. Plus you know he prefers to be early for everything." Danny explained.
"Well Grace is still sleeping, so why don't I help you get started with the paint?" Beth offered. "Just let me grab my coffee and I'll be back up."
Heading into his daughter's room, Danny set to work getting the paint stirred and rollers prepped. By the time Beth returned, he was climbing up the ladder to start cutting in at the ceiling.
"I bet Steve will be impressed that you took the high section." Beth laughed before grabbing her own brush and starting on the other corner of the wall. "So what exactly is the plan since there are two colors?"
"Steven swears he can do the corners where the two colors meet without taping either of them off. No way I'd pull that off, but I figure it's one of those crazy SEAL tricks that the rest of us mere mortals haven't learned. So we avoid that part until he gets back."
"Easy enough." His mother snickered as they continued painting.
Before they knew it, the pair heard footsteps on the stairs, and Steve popped his head into the room. "I'm back. Let me throw on some dry clothes and I'll be back to help."
He disappeared before either Williams could respond, so they just continued to paint. They had managed to get one entire wall done while he was swimming, so with him helping, they would likely have the entire first coat on by roughly eight, leaving plenty of time for a late breakfast before their appointment.
"Have a good swim?" Beth asked when the SEAL reappeared less than five minutes later.
"Yes, ma'am. I kept it short so we could get this done, but I pushed the intensity pretty hard." Steve prepped his own paint supplies and headed toward the corner where the accent wall met one of the others.
"I assume you're about to prove how SEALs are capable of making even paint follow perfectly straight lines." Danny teased.
"Never said it was a SEAL skill." Steve retorted as he started.
"You never said it wasn't either." Danny fussed.
"Does it matter where I learned it, as long as it works?" Steve stopped painting and looked at his partner.
"Nope. Guess not." The Jersey native winked at him. "Now get back to work so we can go eat breakfast."
Steve turned back to the wall, resuming the careful paint strokes. He was tempted to suggest one of them run down and grab the docking station for his iPod, but since Grace hadn't appeared yet he guessed she was still sleeping. Maybe they could do that when they put the second coat on instead.
They were almost finished with the first coat when Grace appeared at the door. "Wow! It looks so pretty." Her eyes went wide as she took in the new color of her bedroom.
"The color will change just a bit as it dries, but you chose well Gracie." Steve grinned at her. "Just be careful not to bump the wet paint or it will end up all over you." He jerked his head toward her father, and saw her smile widen when she noticed the smears of paint all over his arms and shirt.
Hearing his daughter giggle, Danny swung around, running his elbow straight into a section of wet paint. "Shi…. Shoot."
"Give it up son. You are going to have to take a shower to get all the paint off before you go to the school." Beth laughed at him. "You always were a bit on the hopeless side when it came to painting. Never did understand that."
Danny glared at her, but his laugh gave him away. "Not my fault I'm not as neat at Super SEAL over there. Seriously? Do you have a drop of paint on you?"
Finished with his last section, Steve set the roller down before twisting and turning to check himself over for paint. "Doesn't look like it."
"How is this my life? At least Ma had the good graces to get a smudge on her hand." Danny teased. "If it weren't for the fact that we have to go to the school, I would make sure you actually looked like you spent the morning painting."
"You can retaliate later. For now, why don't you go wash off while I wrap the rollers up and get everything cleaned up for later? Then we can grab some food." Steve suggested.
"If you can handle clean up, I'll go start on the food." Beth offered.
"Works for me." Steve nodded at her, taking the roller from her hands.
"Can I help, Daddy?" Grace asked as Danny and Beth left the room.
"Sure, sweetheart. Why don't you grab those plastic bags?" He pointed to the items in question. "A little trick I learned. If you wrap the paint brushes and rollers tight in plastic and put them in the fridge, they stay fresh to use for the second coat. Otherwise, if you rinse them out they take forever to dry and they won't be ready when the wall is."
"Cool." She held one of the bags open so he could insert a roller, and watched as he carefully twisted it until all the air was out before tying the ends off around the handle. "Think you can teach me to paint more like you?"
"I'll certainly try."
The pair worked quickly to wrap up the remaining brushes and rollers and clean up the other supplies. Grace ran ahead of Steve when they headed to the kitchen, pulling the fridge open for him.
"Guess it's a good thing we don't seem to produce many leftovers to go in there." Beth laughed as she saw what they were doing.
"They'll be out of the way before dinner." Steve assured her.
"Son, it's your fridge. I'm pretty sure you can put whatever you want it in and it's not my place to comment." Beth laughed, pouring him a cup of coffee as he washed his hands.
"Well, I really don't think they'll taste very good, so I don't plan on keeping them in there once we're done painting." He accepted the coffee with a grateful smile.
/ GUARDIAN /
"Detective Williams. Commander McGarrett." The school's secretary greeted them. "Mrs. Caldwell is ready for you, if you'd care to follow me." The two men rose from the chairs they'd been sitting in for the last ten minutes, and did as requested. The petite Hawaiian woman led them down a short hallway before motioning for them to head through the open door. Once they were inside, she shut the door behind them.
Danny had only met the school's director, Mrs. Caldwell, on a few occasions. Rachel and Stan had handled everything with registering Grace without so much as consulting him, and had seemed happy to exclude him wherever possible. It had frustrated him to no end, but he'd done his research and knew this was a top notch school, so he couldn't complain without feeling like an ass.
"Detective Williams." The sitting behind the desk didn't bother to stand as she greeted him.
Steve glared at the director. She was in her mid-fifties, hair pulled back in a tight bun, and brown eyes challenging them over the frame of her glasses. He could already see this was going to be an interesting meeting.
"I understand you wish to speak to me regarding Grace's return to school. I assure you, we were all extremely saddened by the tragic loss of Mrs. Edwards." Her voice faltered just a bit, and both men wondered just how well Mrs. Caldwell knew Rachel. She hadn't been at the funeral, but they knew not everyone that was friends with Rachel had attended, many of them still in shock over the events. "We are looking forward to having Grace back with us where she belongs."
Steve's hand reached across the small distance, bracing Danny's forearm. Neither of them missed the less than subtle jab in her words.
"Grace is looking forward to returning, though I'm sure you understand our concerns given the circumstances. Not only has she lost her mother, but the entire thing has been a bit more public than we would care for. While we have no desire to keep her out of school longer than necessary, we felt it was important to make sure you understood our concerns."
"We?" Mrs. Caldwell asked.
"Commander Steve McGarrett, ma'am." Steve reached across the table, offering a polite handshake.
"Ah yes. The infamous Commander McGarrett." Mrs. Caldwell accepted his hand with a forced smile. "And what exactly is your roll in this discussion."
"As you will note in the updated paperwork we've brought, Steve is to be considered one of Grace's parents, so his role in this discussion is the same as mine. We are here to ensure our daughter is accorded the safest possible environment for her education given the trauma she has recently experienced." The tension rolled off of Danny in waves. He certainly hoped the rest of the staff at the school were less of a challenge.
"I assure you, everyone here is prepared to handle Grace's situation with the utmost care." This time her tone was more sincere. It was obvious that regardless of her opinion regarding Danny and Steve, she did care of her students. "We met with the entire student body last week to make sure they were all aware of the minimal details to avoid any untimely questions. Ms. Jones and our school counselor have also been working with her class to help ensure Grace's classmates are prepared for her return. They all miss her terribly."
"We're glad to hear that. She misses them as well." Steve spoke, knowing that Danny was still riled over her behavior. "I believe Ms. Jones was planning to bring us Grace's make up work so she could start on that."
"Yes. She should be here in a few moments to give it to you after she drops her students off for their gym class."
"Excellent. Now, as far as Grace's return, we would like for her to try coming on Wednesday." The director started to speak, but he didn't give her a chance. "We want it to be very clear that should any issues arise or should Grace indicate that she needs to contact one of us, that we be called immediately. If for any reason one of us can't be reached, you can work your way through the emergency contact list." Steve stared her down.
"Here is the updated emergency contact list. We had to make a few copies." Danny handed over the completed forms to the school director.
"I see that." Mrs. Caldwell flipped through the list. "Are you sure you want all of these people listed? Generally the lists are limited to a few close relatives or friends that the child would be comfortable with in case of emergency."
Danny tried to keep from glaring at the woman across the large wooden desk. "I believe we are capable of determining the appropriate people to contact in case of an emergency with Grace. I assure you, she will be more the comfortable letting any person on the list pick her up, and we are more than comfortable letting any one of them make appropriate decisions regarding her care should they be needed." Danny was far beyond annoyed with the school's director. "Is this going to be an issue?"
"No. Though I do hope she won't feel the need to call someone every hour."
"I highly doubt she will." Steve's voice had a harder edge this time. "Grace has coped tremendously well with this entire ordeal. She is an amazing strong little girl, and I fully expect that she will handle returning to school with a maturity and poise quite uncommon among your average group of nine year olds. That is why we are quite adamant that should she request to contact a member of our family, she be granted that request immediately and without argument."
Were it not for the fact he knew uprooting Grace to a new school would be more upheaval than she needed, he would be sorely tempted to suggest to Danny they do just that. The director's tone had been nothing short of snippy with Danny from the start, and her reaction to him was even worse.
A knock at the door interrupted them before Mrs. Caldwell could reply. "Come in." The woman appeared relieved at the interruption, more so when she saw it was Ms. Jones. The director knew Grace's teacher was more at ease with the two men, so she was happy for the intervention. "We were just finishing up here, and then I'll turn the two of them over to you to discuss Grace's makeup work."
"Perfect." Ms. Jones glanced at Steve and Danny. Her expression spoke volumes about what she imagined had happened before her arrival.
"I believe Wednesday will work just fine for Grace's return. We will, of course, take every care to ensure that Grace is welcomed back to an environment where she feels safe, but should she need to reach out to you at any point, the teachers will all have copies of your contact information."
"Excellent. Now I'm sure you have other things to attend to, so we'll let you get back to them." Danny rose from his chair, giving the director a curt nod before turning toward the door.
The three remained silent as they left the office. Ms. Jones carried a folder in her hand with Grace's work, but decided to wait until they could speak freely before stopping to go over it with the two men.
"Is everything okay? Did Mrs. Caldwell say something out of line?" Ms. Jones queried as they walked toward the front steps.
"She doesn't seem to be our biggest fan." Steve answered, curious what Grace's teacher would have to say for her boss.
"She was quite a fan of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. I think it is taking her some time to come to terms with the idea that one of the couples she viewed as the perfect example of Sacred Heart parents wasn't quite so perfect." Grace's teacher explained.
Danny and Steve both shrugged, unsure if that was the extent of the issue.
"Well, hopefully she will come to terms with all this. If her attitude towards us impacts Grace's happiness at school I will not hesitate to find somewhere else for her to attend." Danny replied flatly.
"I would hate to see her go, but I understand. Let me assure you within my classroom there will be no issue with the two of you or any of Grace's ohana." She noticed Steve's surprised look. "Give me some credit, Commander. You've been listed on Grace's emergency contact list as long as I've been teaching her, I saw your entire team at the end of year performance last year, I saw how everyone was at the funeral, and it is a rare day when she doesn't speak of her ohana."
The three shared a laugh at this. Steve silently admitted he should have known as much.
"Anyway, I know you probably want to get back to her. I've got all her missed assignments here. I don't have to put any grades in until the end of the nine weeks, so she has almost a month get them finished if she needs it. Feel free to call my cell if you have any questions on the assignments.
"Thank you. I know her grandmother is planning to work through them with her, so you may here from her. Unfortunately, we will have to head back to work when she returns to school." Steve explained.
"Mrs. Williams was a teacher, correct?" The pair nodded at her. "Well that should be perfect then. Make sure she has my number if she needs it, and tell her I'd love to see her in the classroom whenever she would like to visit. We love parents and grandparents to come in to read and do other things with the kids."
"We'll be sure to let her know." Steve smiled.
"Well, we better get back before they send a search party. My dad arrives this afternoon and we still have another coat of paint to finish." Danny smiled at Grace's teacher before grabbing his partner's free hand and heading toward the Camaro.
"Have you ever visited her classroom?" Steve asked.
"No. I asked about it once, but Rachel acted like it was discouraged." Danny sounded less than pleased.
"Well, now we know differently." Steve squeezed his hand before releasing it when they reached the car. Danny headed to the passenger side without question.
"True." Danny slid into the seat. "I have to say, I had hoped that meeting would go better."
"Me too. Though we knew it was inevitable that we'd encounter some less than pleasant people at some point. Hopefully Mrs. Caldwell will get over her issues."
"Hope so. If not we'll be researching schools. I wasn't kidding. If her attitude impacts Grace's ability to be happy and comfortable at her school, I will find somewhere else for her to learn."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but you know I'll support that decision if you have to make it." Steve felt Danny's fingers tangle with his between their seats.
"I know."
/ GUARDIAN/
A/N: We all knew it was a matter of time before someone got nasty with them. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.