A/N: Woohoo! We made it out of the McGarrett house!

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 78

"Wow. I'm not sure the pictures did it justice." Paul was stretched forward from the backseat of the truck, looking out the front window as Steve pulled up in front of the house.

"I'm glad you think so." Beth replied as she opened the door to jump out of the truck.

"Personally, I like the fact that you're less than five minutes from our house." Steve wrapped an arm around her as they headed the front door.

"That was definitely a big plus." They paused on the small front porch, giving Paul a chance to take in the front of the house they were about to buy. "Chin's cousin said he would come by this morning and unlock it for us. I just have to text him when we're done so he can lock the front door." She reached for the door as Paul, Grace, and Danny stepped up beside them.

Stepping inside, everyone looked to Beth for guidance since she was the only one of them that had been there before.

"I thought we might do a walk through together to make a list of anything that needs to be fixed. Then, if you wouldn't mind, Steven I'd love it if you'd take a look outside for anything in that you think might need to be cared for. While you do that I want to start mapping out some of the decor and furniture placement ideas to make moving in go easier." Beth outlined her plan.

"I can do that." The SEAL nodded.

By the time they made it through both floors of the house, they were all pleased that none of the to-do items were substantial. Most of them could reasonably be completed in what free time they had in the week between closing and things arriving from the mainland.

"I'm going to head outside and get started there while you guys go back through. Just holler if you need me." Steve backed out of the room as Danny, Beth, and Paul debated how the dining room furniture should be placed. "Don't let them argue each other into the ground." He whispered to Gracie as he retreated.

Popping out the front door, Steve checked over windows, doors, paint, and landscape, working his way around the front to the backyard. He was pleased to see very little that needed to be done.

"Hey babe." Danny stopped next to his partner as the taller man was inspecting the fence that separated the property from their neighbors.

"Yeah, D. What's up?" Steve pushed on a few boards to make sure they were still stable, frowning when one moved more than he liked.

"Is there a reason that Dr. Thompson wants to see me too?" Danny took a step back when the SEAL jerked around to face him, eyes full of alarm. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind going at all. It just made me wonder what he knows that would make him think we need to be in therapy when we've just gotten together."

Steve gave him a crooked grin. "I don't think he intended the invite as couple's therapy, Danno. Grace told him I had another nightmare. My guess is he wants to include you in at least some portion of our session because he knows you play a central role in my support system. He also knows you're living with me and are likely to be there when I am having the nightmares."

"He knows I play a central role …" Danny's voice fell off before he finished his train of thought. He knew that Steve talked about he and Grace with the therapist. That was obvious the day he found out Dr. Thompson existed. He just never really gave much thought to what exactly Steve would have divulged to him.

"Yes. Is that really such a surprise? I thought we'd already established how important you are to me. Is it that unreasonable that the therapist I've been seeing for almost two years is aware of that?" Steve stared at the detective.

"No. I suppose not. I guess it just threw me. The idea of us being in couple's counseling just planted itself in my head. You know Rachel never even gave us a chance when it came to the end of things." Danny started spilling what he'd been thinking before the conversation started. "I suggested counseling, but she refused. She was dead set on divorce. Of course, at the time I had no idea she'd already met Stan. His money was great motivation to leave me in the dirt."

"And my therapist wanting to see you reminds you of Rachel not wanting to see one?" Steve was trying to understand exactly what Danny was thinking.

"No … kind of … I'm really not explaining this well. The only thing you and Rachel have in common is being far too attractive to be paired up with me, but …"

"I promise to argue that point later, but do continue." Steve eyes darkened as he tried to refrain from kissing his partner senseless to prove just how incorrect that statement was.

"Whatever. Anyway, yes, part of me was a little worried about what Dr. Thompson might see as an issue already. A bigger part of me felt a huge sense of relief at the idea that when it came down to it, you'd be willing to take that step if we needed it. You wouldn't just cut and run without fighting for us."

This time Steve didn't fight his urge to pull his partner into a bruising kiss. His arms wrapped tight around Danny, his lips smashing hard against the shorter man's. When he finally broke contact, he felt Danny sway slightly in his arms before those big blue eyes focused on him. "I'm pretty sure we don't need couples therapy yet, but Danny, I will always fight for us. We're going to fight, that's pretty much inevitable. And we're probably going to need to allow ourselves a little space to cool off sometimes, but I will never walk away from you. I will never give up on this."

The Jersey native wasn't really sure what to say, so he just settled for letting himself melt against the SEAL's chest.

Steve looked up when he heard the back door open. Beth took one look at the two and shut the door again, retreating into the house. The SEAL smiled at how observant she was. He had no doubt she was curious why her son was wrapped up in his arms in the far corner of the backyard while the others were making detailed notes of their indoor to-do list, but he appreciated her allowing them some space.

"Danny." The SEAL whispered against his partner's hair, waiting for him to loosen his hold a bit. "I know this all happened really quick and there are things we probably need to sit down and talk through when we have some time alone, but you have to know I wasn't kidding when I said I was all in. You and Grace are everything to me. I could never just… will never just throw that away." Danny smiled up at him, eyes misty with unshed tears.

"Me too. I hope you know that."

"I think I'm figuring it out." Steve kissed him gently. "Now, about that other comment …"

"Can you just pretend I didn't say that?" The skin of Danny's neck began to turn pink, showing Steve just how embarrassed his partner was about the comment.

"No. I really don't think I can. I thought we covered the whole topic of just how attractive you are already, but it appears you need to be reminded." Steve leaned in, his voice a low, rumbling growl in Danny's ear. The SEAL dipped his head lower, nipping at the warm expanse of neck. "I promise you, as soon as we are alone I am going to painstakingly remind you just what I think of your body."

Danny's sharp intake of breath made Steve smirk.

"Maybe for now we should inspect some more fence and give certain issues time to calm down." Williams shuddered when he felt Steve's mouth on his neck again.

Leaving one last chaste kiss on Danny's lips, Steve stepped back and returned to checking over the boards. "There are at least five so far I've found that need to be replaced. Easy enough for us to do."

Danny fell instep beside his partner, pulling a small pad of paper out of his pocket to make notes.

"Most of the backyard is in good shape. I know mom likes to plant stuff, but we can help her figure out what will grow best here. I'm sure it'll be a much different list of options than she's used to back in Jersey." Steve moved toward the patio that extended away from the back of the house. "At least this is all in good shape, even if it is a bit small given the overall size of the yard. We should find out if they want to expand it a bit, leave dad more room for a grill."

He'd just finished his commentary when Beth stepped outside, followed by Grace and Paul. "So what's the verdict?"

"Just a few board to replace. Nothing I can't do easily." Steve answered.

"And he was contemplating expansion plans for your patio." Danny snickered.

"I thought the same thing. Maybe taking it out a few more feet that way and then out to about here." She stepped a few feet into the yard. "That'd leave more room for chairs, tables, and the grill. I know we'll probably still do a lot of the outdoor gatherings at your place since you have the beach, but I'm sure we'll do some hosting here."

"No doubt." Steve smiled, grabbing the paper from Danny and scribbling a few notes about what mom wanted to do.

"You know, we can hire someone to do it Steven. You don't need to take on so much yourself." Between him and Paul they'd managed to identify a good number of projects they could tackle themselves. Danny had just rolled his eyes and nodded along, positive that he'd end up helping with a fair number of them.

"But …"

"Oh let the boy have his fun, Beth. His house is already in good shape, and a guy likes to get a little dirty working on a house from time to time." Paul pulled his wife to his side. "Right?" He looked to his son and Steve for confirmation.

"Right." They both agreed.

"Fine. But I get to feed you when you're here working." Beth ordered.

"Wouldn't dream of arguing with that." Steve smiled at her. "So what do you think, Gracie, think you'll want to come stay with grandma and grandpa every once in a while?"

She nodded her headed. "Yep. Grandma let me pick out a room that I get to decorate as mine for when I come over. It's right next to Aunt Mary's."

"And if the three of them prove to be too much estrogen in one house, you can always swing by for a beer with us." Steve offered to Paul.

"A little estrogen never scared me. Though I might occasionally take you up on that." He conceded. "Now we've been prowling around this house for almost three hours, what do you say we go find some lunch. I've heard something about a shrimp truck."

"Should we call the others and see if they want to meet us for lunch?" Beth asked. The guys nodded. "I'll call Cath if you two want to call Chin and Kono."

Steve started dialing Chin's number without giving any thought to the fact that Beth apparently had Cath's phone number. Danny looked slightly puzzled, until Grace noticed and explained. "Grandma has all their numbers. She had Chin and Kono's after she visited last time, and got Cath's shortly after she showed up. I know she got Aunt Mary's too, and am pretty sure she might have the Governor's and Kamekona's."

"Of course Grandma does. She is nothing if not organized and thorough."

"They'll meet us there." Steve rejoined the two of them, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

"Cath said she's just wrapping up, so we should order without her, but she'll be there to eat. I gather at least one of you knows what she'll eat."

"Yeah, we've got that covered." Steve answered. "Is there anything else we need to check before we head out?"

"Nope. Let's go get some food." Paul was already headed back into the house so they could lock up and leave.

Steve looked a bit surprised that Danny's dad had walked off quite so fast.

"Don't worry, babe. Dad just takes his food serious."

"I can see that." He followed the rest of them into the house, flipping the lock on the door as he closed it. "I guess we better not keep him waiting."

/GUARDIAN/

A/N: Hm, lunch at Kamekona's was not part of my outline for Tuesday. I swear Paul just showed up and he's already messing with me. Can I just have one character that does as they're told without interfering?

Something tells me that Tuesday night is going to heat up a bit. Leave it to Danny and his big mouth …