Disclaimer: see chapter one
Author's Note: Hey guys, thank you so much for the alerts and reviews for the first chapter! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to post this chapter, but that's the end of the semester for you huh? I took a break from studying and homework to write and post this, so I hope you enjoy! Also slightly warning, this story isn't a Rachel loving story, so if that offends you I'd stop reading right now because it's only going to get worse from here.
Although Steve had a plan for move in day, he was not prepared nor could he have possibly even prepared in the least bit for the way that Rachel was going to react. Per Danny's request, he had let Danny handle telling Rachel by himself even though every fiber of his being told him not to. Since Danny had told Rachel about their relationship, she's been even more hostile towards Danny.
She's much more apt to start a fight over Danny's agreed upon visitation with Grace, even going as far as to come up with a reasons why Grace couldn't spend her usual Wednesdays with Danny on occasion, which never sits well with Steve in the least. He knows exactly why Rachel's acting like this, it's written clear as day all over her face; she's jealous of the relationship that Steve and Danny share. She's upset that Danny's finally moving on, and that Steve's taking Danny's attention away from her. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it, although Kono did drop a few hints one afternoon while they watched helplessly as Danny fought with Rachel over the phone.
But just like Danny had told him last night, today is a great day. Danny's finally moving in so Steve can have him within arm's reach all the time. It really is exciting to know that his house will finally feel like a home all the time, instead of just when Danny spent the night. Sure they've been together for a little over six months by now, but with Danny moving in Steve finally feels at peace; he's not alone anymore. No longer will most of his nights be spent by himself, drinking beer after beer as he watched the tide. No, he'll have someone to spend time with, someone in a sense to come home with and for the first time since his father's death, Steve feels a peace and calm wash over him. And Steve will be damned if he lets Rachel take this away from him.
"Earth to Steven!" Danny exclaimed snapping his fingers in front of Steve's face. Steve blinks and looks up at Danny, who's smiling softly down at him. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to get a move on, and I know that we don't have that much stuff to move, but I would like to at least enjoy some of my day off."
"Sorry Danno, must've zoned out there for a second." Steve smiles as he speaks his hands reaching up from the arms of his beach chair and grabbing hold of Danny's waist.
"A second babe? Try more like twenty minutes." Steve shook his head; his right hand squeezing Danny's hip for a moment before he pulled himself out of the chair.
"I think you're exaggerating, there's no way that you would've let me sit there for twenty minutes. So let's get this show on the road, I don't want you to ruin your day off, I heard your boss can be a hard ass."
"Hard ass indeed, but it's a nice hard ass." Danny leered side stepping Steve and heading back into the house. Steve laughed loudly as he followed Danny, shaking his head at him as he entered the house. Although they were laughing and joking, Steve could tell that Danny was unsure of how Rachel was going to react to his moving and that's why he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. He wants to go pick Grace up and just drop the bomb on Rachel, he's hoping that maybe since Stan will be there Rachel won't be so hostile over Danny's moving.
"You're sure you don't want me to go with you today?" Steve asked once they were in the truck heading to Danny's apartment for the last time. Danny turned from watching the passing houses and looked at Steve, really looking at him for a few moments, before sighing and shaking his head no.
"You just feel that you need to be there because you feel like you need to protect me. But I'll be fine, I've made it through fights with Rachel before, plus she really has no say in this. I'm a grown adult and she was allowed to move without asking my permission so why can't I?"
"Still, if you change your mind, just say something, okay? I have no problem even just driving you over there and sitting in the car." Danny reached over and squeezed Steve's arm a small smile spread across his face.
"I know babe, I know and I love you for offering. But this is something I need to do by myself. Plus I figure this way you'll have dinner ready by the time Grace and I get back."
"Oh sure Danno, I'll stay home and cook for you no problem. It's nice to see what you think I'm good for." Steve joked as he pulled into an open spot by Danny's apartment. Danny shook his head muttering 'goof' under his breath before exiting the car. Steve quickly jumped out and caught up with Danny throwing his arm around his shoulder and pulling him close to his body and pressing a soft kiss to his temple. Danny sighed in content and squeezed Steve's arm reveling in the sweetness of the gesture, storing the happiness that had washed over him so he could use it later when he was facing the firing squad. Once they entered the small apartment they stood there surveying the small room for a moment before they got to work, packing the little that Danny had on display and moving the boxes that Danny still had packed up.
"You know you used to make fun of me about these boxes, but aren't you glad that I didn't unpack them now?" Danny cheekily asked as Steve put another box into the bed of the truck, Steve's only reply was to heft another box into the truck. Danny laughed loading the last of the already packed boxes into Steve's truck before heading back into his apartment to grab more of his stuff. They made quick work of the rest of it and they were headed back home.
As they pulled into the driveway Danny immediately felt nervous. He knew that it was time for him to pick up Grace and knowing that he was going to have to face Rachel, made him a little nervous. Steve could sense Danny's nerves and grabbed his hand. "I can easily unload the truck Danny. Why don't you just head over to Rachel's now and I'll have this unloaded by the time you get back okay?" Danny looked up at Steve unsure if he wanted to leave him to do all of this by himself. "It's better to get it over with now and this way I'll have something to distract me from following you over there and making sure it goes as smooth as possible." Danny nodded taking a deep breath and taking the keys to his car and had magically just appeared in Steve's hand.
"You're probably right, I'm gonna treat this like a band aid and just rip it off quickly. I'll see you in a little bit."
"Remember Danno, I'm only a phone call or 911 text away." Danny nodded again and pulled out of the driveway giving himself a pep talk as he drove away from the house. Steve watched the car until he couldn't see it anymore and silently prayed that everything went okay.
Grace smiled when she heard the distinct roar of Danno's engine. She was excited to finally get to set up some stuff in her own room at Uncle Steve's, they were even going to go look at paint colors tomorrow. She was so happy that Danno would finally be settled into a real house and out of his really bad apartment. Plus she could see how happy Uncle Steve made her Danno and that made Grace insanely happy, but she knew that her mom wasn't happy about it. She heard the low murmurs coming from her and Step Stan's room late at night, when they thought she was sleeping or wasn't around the room.
Danny took a deep breath and got out of the Camaro. He looked up to the beautiful cloudless Hawaiian sky and sent a silent prayer that he didn't completely lose his cool, he needed this to go as smoothly as possible. He continued with his inner pep-talk until he reached the door and wasn't surprised to see Rachel standing there with Charles on her hip. "Hi Rachel."
"Hello Daniel, Grace is upstairs getting the rest of her things together." Danny nodded and followed Rachel into the house watching as she set Charles down in his playpen. "Have you given any thought into moving out of your current excuse of an apartment?" She casually asked keeping an eye on Charles while also giving Danny one of her looks, that he was sure were only reserved for him.
"Uh yes, I actually moved out of my apartment this morning."
"Really? Tell me are you staying in another hotel? Or did you finally stop being so cheap and move into a nice apartment, one that's actually suitable for Grace?" Rachel asked her distain seeping through her voice. Danny silently took a deep breath and smiled at Rachel.
"No I am not staying in another hotel or another apartment for that matter. Steve and I are actually living together now." Rachel's head snapped towards Danny her mouth open in shock.
"You're living with the Commander? Don't you think that's sudden Daniel?" Danny could tell by the tone of her voice that she was about to start yelling at any moment and he knew he had to keep calm, he just needed to get Grace and leave.
"No it's not sudden Rachel, we've been together for six months and partners for much longer. We love each other and we're serious about this relationship. It was only a matter of time before we were moving in together. I thought you'd be happy that I was actually living somewhere that was up to your standards for Grace."
"I don't think that living with your boyfriend is a good idea Daniel. Think of the message you are sending your daughter, you are essentially shacking up. Plus let's not even get into your relationship because that is a completely separate issue!" Rachel's voice had gotten significantly louder during her little speech.
"What? Where the hell did that come from? What does my relationship with Steve have to do with anything? And what does it matter to you?" Danny was angry that she would think about bringing his relationship into this, he didn't judge her flawed relationship with Stan.
"It matters to me Daniel, because it has to do with my daughter. I don't want Grace being given the wrong message about relationships and such. She's an impressionable child who picks up on everything she's around. So your relationship with Steve has everything to do with this!"
Grace listened from the top of the stairs as her parents screamed back and forth about Danno and Uncle Steve's relationship. She couldn't understand why her mom was so mad about Danno being happy with Uncle Steve or why she was throwing such a fit that Danno had moved in with Uncle Steve. Grace didn't see the problem with it and she could tell by Danno's voice that he wasn't happy with her mom yelling at him and she knew from experience that this was escalading faster than any fight they've had before. She knew that she had to do something and do something fast, so quietly running back to her room and grabbing her cell phone, dialing the one person she knew would quickly put a stop to this madness.
Steve had just finished hanging up the last of Danny's clothes when his phone rang. Thinking it was Danny, he quickly grabbed it from the nightstand. "Danny?"
"Uncle Steve?" Grace replied feeling the tears prick at the back of her eyes as her parent's voices got louder and angrier.
"Grace? What's wrong?" Steve asked pulling the phone away from his ear to see the caller ID that displayed Grace's number and picture on the screen.
"They're fighting Uncle Steve and it's really bad." Steve closed his eyes; he thought this was going to happen.
"Alright Grace, tell me everything you can." Steve replied already slipping into his Five-0 persona. He needed to know exactly what he was walking into.
"Danno told mom that he was living with you and she got angry. She started questioning him about stuff and before I knew it they were yelling back and forth. I can tell by Danno's voice that he's really upset and mom just keeps yelling things at him about relationships and messages. I don't know what's really going on, but I think it's really bad." Grace cried into the phone as she heard her mom yelling at Danno.
"It's okay Gracie. I'm getting in the truck right now and I'll be there soon. Just stay on the phone with me okay? Let's talk about something else, have you thought about what color you want to paint your room?" Grace sniffled and took a deep breath thinking about Steve's question.
"I don't know if I want purple or blue or green. I really like blue because it reminds me of the ocean and I know you love the ocean because you're a SEAL and I like playing in the ocean with you." Steve smiled at her response and felt his heart constrict in just the right way.
"I think blue would be an awesome color, but we'll go look at all the different colors tomorrow okay? Does that sound like fun?"
"Yeah, can we get pancakes before?"
"Of course we can."
"Are you here yet Uncle Steve?" Grace asked while the fighting downstairs took a minute break before the yelling picked up again.
"I just pulled in the drive, grab your stuff and meet me downstairs. You can wait in the car while I talk to your mom and Danno okay?" Grace agreed and grabbed her bags of stuff. She stayed on the phone with Steve as she quickly made her way down the stairs and out the door. She closed the phone once she saw Steve's tall frame and threw herself into his arms. "Shh, it's okay Gracie. I'm here and I'm gonna take care of everything okay?" She nodded and hugged him tightly before he reached down, still holding onto Gracie, and grabbing her bags. "Just wait here. Danno and I will be out shortly. If we're not out in five minutes call me okay?" Yet again she nodded and sat in the truck leaving the door open so she could see when they exited the house. Steve rubbed her arm before turning and walking into the house with his best pissed off SEAL face on.
"No Rachel I don't see what this has to do with Grace! My relationship is my relationship and Steve loves Grace just as much as I do. So really you have no right to say anything!" Danny screamed feeling an intense urge to hit something. He didn't even notice Grace walk out of the house or Steve enter the house. Rachel turned from Charles and frowned when she saw Steve standing at the entrance to the room. Danny followed Rachel's glare and stood shocked that Steve was standing a few feet away from him looking really pissed off.
"What are you doing here Steven?" Danny asked slightly angry that Steve was here after he told him not to come, he was only going to make things worse.
"I'm here because Grace called me crying because you two were fighting so loudly that she was scared. At first I thought she was overreacting but hearing it now, I can see why a little girl would be scared."
"Grace called you? Where she is?" Danny asked immediately worried about his daughter, he knew that he should have kept his calm better. The last thing he wanted was to scare his daughter.
"She's fine and in the truck with the door open. She just wants to go. So are you two done yelling at each other or would you like to go another round? Because seriously it's sad when I'm the only adult in the room." Danny could tell that Steve was angry, but he couldn't tell if it was directed at him or Rachel.
"We're not done talking Commander. We have to discuss how the sudden change in your relationship is going to affect Grace." Rachel replied barely able to mask her anger. She was angry that Danny had made such a rash decision without consulting her.
"It's not going to affect Grace in any way, Rachel. She's been staying at my house for months now on the weekends she's there and you've known about it. So really what's going to change? Plus you should know now how much she trusts me based on her calling me earlier when you two were trying to kill each other with words." Danny watched as Steve clenched his fists at his side as he spoke and he felt an intense relief wash over, he wasn't going to fight this battle alone.
"Daniel and you are living together full time now Commander, it's going to change a lot and I'm not sure that Grace is ready to be exposed to such an alternative lifestyle." Danny's heart and jaw dropped.
"Rachel you can't take Grace away from me!" Danny exclaimed suddenly feeling like the world was crumbling around him. Steve relented his angry face and reached out to Danny, squeezing his shoulder.
"Danny, why don't you go check on Grace?" Danny looked between Rachel and Steve for a few seconds before nodding, the fresh air and his sweet daughter would do the trick to help him calm down. Once Steve knew that Danny was out of the house Steve turned back towards Rachel, his face screwed in anger again. "I think we need to have a talk Rachel."
A/N 2: So I'm already starting some tension with Rachel. And I apologize for leaving you guys hanging with Steve's talk with Rachel. I promise it will be worth the wait. Like always don't hesitate to let me know what you thought and I hope you guys have a great weekend! ~thatredheadgirl~