A/N: I'd apologize for what's coming, but you'll understand when you read the end of chapter notes. Plus, I know most of you guys (or at least the ones that review) love this about as much as I do. So no, I'm not really sorry about this.
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 77
"You two better go put some dry clothes on before drip all over the floor." Beth shook her head, laughing at Steve and Grace. "You've got 10 minutes before the biscuits come out of the oven."
"Yes, ma'am." Steve saluted, before turning and running up the stairs, Grace still on his back.
Paul and Beth stood in the kitchen still laughing when Danny came in, carrying the water bottles, shoes, and discarded clothes his partner and daughter had left outside in their rush not to miss breakfast.
"Those two were in a hurry to get in here." Beth gave her son a questioning look.
"I might have mentioned that Dad missed your cooking with a vague implication that there might not be any food left." Danny rinsed the bottles off and refilled them before sticking them back in the fridge for later.
"As if I wouldn't have enough food for all you." Beth swatted at him with the dish towel.
"True, but they needed to come get changed if they were going to be in dry clothes when it was time to eat. That seemed the most expedient way to get them in the house." Danny smirked.
"Because just telling them they needed to get cleaned up for breakfast wasn't sufficient?" Paul laughed at his son.
"I'm sure it would have been, but this was much more entertaining." Danny accepted the freshly filled coffee cup from his mom. "Sometimes it's the little things in life that make you smile. Now what can I help with?"
"Why don't you set the table? The sausage and eggs are just staying warm and the biscuits are almost done." Beth directed her son.
Danny took a big gulp of his coffee before setting it on the island so he could do as requested.
"What about me? I feel guilty being the only one sitting around." Paul asked.
"Why don't you get a glass and pour Grace some juice? The rest of us will drink coffee. Grab the bowl of fruit too."
"I can do that." Paul grabbed a glass from the cabinet she pointed to and set about his tasks.
By the time the oven timer had gone off, everything was set and the trio heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Danny was surprised to only hear what sounded like Steve as he'd expected Grace to be coming as well. When his partner rounded the corner, he just shook his head and smiled.
"I see the monkey decided to hitch a ride to breakfast." The detective helped his daughter hop down from her daddy's back.
"Yep." She giggled before scurrying around the table to sit between her grandparents. "So what's the plan for today? Do we get to go see the new house?"
"Yes we do. I want to make a list of all the stuff that needs to happen between this Friday when we close and next Friday when our stuff will arrive." Beth answered.
"I'll bring a notebook so I can help with the list." Grace offered.
"We're going to need to pick out a good bit of new furniture for the guest rooms. Grace, would you like to help me pick things out?"
"Sure." The little girl nodded enthusiastically.
"Speaking of, we need to decide which bedroom set we're getting you and order it today so it will be here by the time Alyssa gets done with your wall." Steve reminded her. "I know you had it narrowed down to three, have you decided which one you want?" Steve asked.
"I think so." She answered with a slight hesitation.
"You don't sound so sure." The SEAL cocked his head in question.
"It's just that they were expensive. I really just need a bed. The rest of my stuff can go in the closet." She stared at the plate in front of her. Grace knew Danno had struggled to make ends meet since moving to Hawaii, and now he had her full time which meant spending more. Her mom had liked to talk about how her Danno couldn't afford to do all the nice things that Stan did for them because he could barely afford a place to live.
"Gracie, I've been planning on replacing some of the furniture in the bedrooms for a while now. That is going to be your room at least until you head off to college, probably even while you're in college. I told you when we first looked that we'd get the whole set - bed, dresser, night stand, desk, all of it."
"Are you sure?" She asked quietly, staring straight at her Super SEAL.
"Sure am. We can pop into my office and order it as soon as we finish eating, okay?" He assured her before popping a bit of eggs into his mouth. "It's a good thing we ran this morning, or else I'll never be able to keep up with the bad guys when we go back to work."
"Or it just means I might be able to keep up with you." Danny teased.
"You keep up just fine." Steve patted his partner on the shoulder as he took another bite.
Danny's parents watched the pair fondly as they bickered back and forth between bites of food. Paul glanced down at Grace and saw her eyes sparkling with laughter at her dads. He could imagine that to her this scene was part of her normal routine and comforting in its familiarity.
"Are they always like this?" He leaned over and whispered the question in her ear. He chuckled when she turned her head slightly and gave him a look that told him that may have been the silliest question ever. "Of course they are. Your father would need someone that can hold his own when he gets going."
"What are you two over there whispering about?" Danny stopped whatever he was saying to his partner mid-sentence when he noticed his dad and Grace. "The pair of you conspiring is almost as frightening as you," he pointed to Grace, "conspiring with Super SEAL."
"I'll have you know we aren't plotting anything, simply observing." Paul smirked at his son.
"I'm not sure I want to know." Danny shook his head.
"My guess is it's nothing different than the observations that everyone else makes that lead to our favorite question." Steve had a pretty good idea what they'd been talking about as he'd been half watching them while going back and forth with Danny.
"And that would be?" The detective asked.
"Really? You need further clarification on that?" Steve choked on the words because he was laughing too hard.
"Well I always assumed your favorite question was something about 'Can you tell me how to make a bomb from the random things I have in my car?' or 'Would you mind blowing that up for me?' but I didn't know we had a mutual favorite question." Danny's hands waved around in his partner's face.
"Maybe he needs more coffee before he understands the sarcasm." Paul observed from across the table.
"Or he's just being willfully stubborn. Can't imagine where that trait might have come from." Beth countered.
Danny glared at both his parents even though the strained 'I'm trying not to smile' expression gave him away. "Who invited the two of you to this conversation?"
"I believe I was part of the original discussion." Paul arched a brow, challenging his son to argue.
"He has a point." Steve agreed with Paul.
"So now all of you are conspiring against me?" Danny playfully elbowed Steve in the ribs.
"Maybe." The SEAL shrugged his shoulders, winking at Grace.
"How long have you two been married anyway?" Beth finally asked, unable to resist the temptation and sending the entire group into another round of laughter.
Several moments later they were all settled back down, finishing the last of their meal. When the last bite was finished, Beth jumped up to start clearing the table. "Why don't I tend to the dishes while you go order that furniture? Then we can head over to the house."
"I'll help with the dishes." Paul offered, immediately rising to help his wife.
The other three helped carry the last few things into the kitchen before heading into Steve's office and booting up the computer. It only took a few minutes since Steve and Grace had already looked at options before.
"I really like this set. The white will make more sense than wood or black with Alyssa's painting." Grace said as she sat on Steve's lap.
"You're right. It's also a relatively traditional design so it's less likely to look out of place or dated in a few years. Classics are always nice." Danny agreed.
"I think we've got all the pieces we need. Looks like we can get it here next Wednesday. Alyssa seemed to think she'd be done by then. So even with assembly we should have you moved back in by Saturday." Steve pulled his credit card out of his wallet and finished entering in all the information. He saw Danny start to argue about him paying for it, but just shook his head. At some point they would need to discuss how the financial part of this new family was going to run, but it didn't need to happen right this moment with Grace in the room.
Clicking through the remaining screens and printing out the purchase confirmation, Steve shut the laptop and rose from the chair, lifting Grace with him. The little girl wrapped her legs around his waist without question, gladly going along for the ride.
"I would ask if you remember how to walk, but since you did go run with him this morning while I was still in bed I suppose I have no room to talk." Danny joked as they went to find his parents. It was unusual for Steve to carry her around quite so much, and Danny wondered if perhaps Grace knew about the SEAL's nightmare.
"Don't forget to call Dr. Thompson." Grace reminded her daddy before they got to the kitchen, confirming her father's suspicion.
"I should probably do that before we go." Steve turned to grab his phone, still carrying Grace. Danny was a bit surprised he hadn't set her down to speak to the doctor in private, but he knew the conversation wasn't likely to include any graphic details that would upset her. It was nice to see another reminder that the SEAL was willing to put his need for help out there for Grace to plainly see, helping reinforce the idea that her need for the same help was completely acceptable.
When the two reappeared a few minutes later, Danny's mouth fell open to see his daughter talking on Steve's phone.
"He said Thursday morning works for him." She was confirming the SEAL's appointment. Holding the phone away from her mouth for a second, Grace looked at her father. "Danno, Dr. Thompson wants to know if you can come too."
"Um … okay … yes. Yes. Tell him I can come too." The detective assumed Steve would have picked a time they could both go.
"He'll be there, so they'll see you after they drop me off at school." Grace spoke to Dr. Thompson as if she arranged Super SEAL's appointments on a routine basis. "Okay. I'll tell them. Bye." She handed the phone back to Steve. "He said he'll see you two Thursday morning, and to try to stay out of trouble until then."
The men both laughed.
"How long has he known you?" Danny asked Steve.
"Since late 2010. Why?"
"Almost two years and the poor man still thinks it is possible for you to stay out of trouble?" Danny threw his hands in the air and headed for the kitchen. His partner and daughter followed, both shaking their heads at him.
"You three ready?" Beth asked.
"Yes, ma'am. We can all fit in the truck if we want to ride together." Steve suggested.
"Let's roll." Paul grabbed his wife's hand and followed the SEAL toward the door. It was time to go check out the new house.
/GUARDIAN/
A/N: I think perhaps my brain is traumatized by all the season finale trauma it's endured in recent days, and maybe that's why it's taking me forever to move beyond the cuteness that is this bunch on a Tuesday morning. I mean 3 chapters for one morning is a bit excessive. Seriously though, Paul's just happy to finally be with his family again, Steve's figuring out that his family is ready and willing to support him when his issues surface, and Steve and Danny are reaching a point where they can settle into their normal bickering while still being ridiculously adorable with each other. And yes all this me coping with the idea that my other shows are trying to traumatize me.