Disclaimer: see chapter one.

Author's Note: Like always thank you so much for the reviews and alerts. This chapter is a little less dramatic than usual, but I hope you guys don't mind. Also all mistakes are mine and as much as I try to catch them a few get passed me so I apologize in advance for any errors. With that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy!

Danny really loves his mother and wishes that she could be on the island with them all the time. He's surprised that she's still with them about two weeks after Steve had left. She makes Steve's absence not as hard to get through, plus she has no problem handling Rachel at all. Actually Danny thinks that she enjoys getting the opportunity to tell Rachel off from time to time, which Danny found out when Rachel heard that Deb was in town when Grace accidentally slipped the beans. Danny's content to sit back and let his mother handle this conversation.

"I'm so sorry Danno." Grace whispered over the phone while Rachel could be heard in the background calling for Grace to give her the phone.

"It's alright Monkey, no one's mad at you."

"I love you Danno." Grace replied hearing her mom come closer to her room.

"Danno loves you too; grandma and I will see you tomorrow. Now put your mom on the phone. Hello Rachel." Danny carefully replied wondering what on earth she's going to yell at him now for.

"Hello Daniel, I hear your mother is in town because the commander is away for training."

"Yes and your problem with that is what? It's the same thing that happens when Stan has some meeting to attend, except Steve's is actually important to someone besides himself." Danny bit out hoping his mom was still on the phone with his sister. He did not want his mother to see or hear the damaged way that Danny and Rachel now speak to each other.

"It's my business because it affects my daughter, which she is clearly upset about this. Don't you think that I should have known about it?" She replied her anger making her tone short and irritating to Danny's ears.

"Not really because like I've said a million times beforehand it's my life not yours. And yeah Grace is upset she loves Steve and doesn't want him to leave, but I think she's managing just fine. She hasn't missed any school or been acting out has she? No."

"Why is your mother there then?" Rachel shot back and Danny had a flashback to all the times that Rachel would get upset because Danny had taken Grace over to his parents house while he was supposed to be taking care of her.

"Did you ever think that she's here because she misses me and Grace? Do I ask you why your mother comes into town? No so let again Rachel, you lost the right to inquire about anything in my life when you filed for divorce."

"Give me the phone Daniel." Deb demanded standing in the doorway from the lanai and holding her hand out expectantly. Danny looked at his mom and debated for a moment not giving her the phone. "Now Daniel Gabriel." She demanded again and Danny sighed before handing it over. "Hello Rachel."

"Hello Deborah, please give the phone back to Danny. I need to speak with him."

"Oh no, you two haven't talked since you before you divorced. No you two are done fighting and yelling at each other. Because I won't listen to it anymore, and you need to think about what your anger and hatred towards Daniel and Steven is doing to Grace."

"I don't think this concerns you." Rachel weakly defended which only angered Deb more.

"Unfortunately for you it is because it involves my son and my granddaughter, my family. And I don't take people messing with my family quite nicely, as I assume you don't either."

"No I don't which is why I would like to speak to Danny please."

"No Rachel, you're not supposed to really have direct contact with each other because you can't talk to each other without a screaming match breaking out. So if you need to speak to Danny, you can call Chris and talk to him. And please tell Gracie that grandma loves her and can't wait to see her tomorrow. Goodnight Rachel." Deb hung up the phone and handed it back to Danny a satisfied smile on her face.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?"

"I just said what you have always wanted to say and I'm here to make sure that Rachel doesn't make your life even more difficult."

"Thanks ma, not just for Rachel but for being here for us."

"Baby, I'm here because you needed someone to have your back and who besides Steven always has your back?"

"You do." Danny replied getting up from the couch and hugging his mom.

"And how could I say no to spending some time in paradise with my amazing granddaughter and son who actually appreciate everything I do for them?" Deb countered making Danny laugh as he hugged her tighter. "Have you heard anything from Steve?" Danny sighed as he pulled away and shook his head.

"No and I'm not surprised he warned me that communication would be thin or nonexistent. I'm going to talk to his friend Joe White to see what he can find out for me." Deb nodded and kissed Danny's cheek.

"Hopefully he'll bring you good news. Goodnight Daniel, don't stay up too late you do have to work tomorrow." Danny shook his head and smiled as she walked up the stairs, it was nice having his mother around.

The next day Danny found himself yet again looking for Joe White. As he drove around the base, he had a flash back to when Steve had been captured in North Korea and he had to find the man. He had given Danny hope and good news that time and Danny only hoped that Joe would deliver again. With each passing day with no contact with Steve Danny find it harder to believe that he was ever going to come home.

"Danny Williams, I wondered when I'd be hearing from you." Joe joked leaning against his car outside the base administration building.

"Hey Joe, I assume then you know why I'm here?" Joe nodded and motioned for Danny to follow him into the building.

"When I heard that Steve had been deployed again I had a feeling that you'd be looking for me at some point to see what I knew. So I called an old friend and I thought you would like to come with me when I spoke with him." Danny looked at him with a look on his face that spoke so many questions that Joe actually had to laugh. "I didn't divulge the true nature of your relationship with Steve, he knows that you're Steve's work partner. He's heard the stories about Five-0." Danny relaxed a little bit and nodded. He knew how precious Steve's relationship to the Navy was that he didn't want to do anything that could potentially jeopardize that for him.

"Do you really think that this guy knows something about Steve's 'training'?" Danny asked as they made their way through the building. Joe turned and gave Danny a reassuring smile.

"He'll probably know some sort of status but won't give you specifics because that would be against the rules."

"If this is against some Naval code when why are you risking this guys career for me?"

"I talked to Steve before he left and I could tell how torn up he was about leaving you and Grace. It's the first time that I've actually seen Steve upset about having to report for duty and that's all because he had everything he spent almost twenty years searching for here. He didn't need to go off on a mission with his team to fill the void in his life, because you already did that. So I'm doing this because I want Steve to come back in one piece as much as you do, so this will give us a piece of mind." Danny nodded as Joe stopped in front of an office. "Plus Pete knows about what you guys did to save their SEALs and they like to thank those that help them out." Danny nodded again as Joe opened the door and greeted his old friend Pete Griggs. "Pete this is Danny Williams, he's Steve partner."

"Nice to meet you." Danny greeted shaking the man's hand and sitting in the offered chair.

"Steve's a fine SEAL and we were a little sad to see him transfer to the reserves, but he's doing good work now. And he seems happier these days than I've ever seen him in the ten years I've known him." Danny ducked his head as a light blush colored his cheeks.

"Have you heard anything about Steve coming home anytime soon?" Pete turned to Joe and nodded.

"I've heard chatter that they're right on schedule with their training and should be returning by the end of the week." Danny wanted to ask if Steve was alive and returning with the team but he didn't want to push his luck. "Commander McGarrett is alive Danny." Pete added seeming to sense the conflict going on in Danny's head.

"That's good to hear." Joe commented smirking at Danny's inability to speak. Pete looked between Danny and Joe and shook his head, he didn't want to know.

"Thank you." Danny finally spoke minutes later when he saw Joe making moves to get up. Pete only smiled and shook Danny's hand. Danny was in a daze from Pete's office back to his car. "I don't know how I could possibly thank you for that Joe."

"You don't need to thank me, Steve's incredibly lucky to have you there for him no matter what. I love that man like the son I never had, so really I did this for the both of us. Plus I promised Steve that I would look out for you." Danny nodded and quickly hugged Joe before hopping into his car and driving off. By the time he had reached the house he had come to a decision about whether to tell to anybody.

"Hey Ma." Danny called walking into the house and smelling bacon and fresh coffee wafting from the kitchen.

"Breakfast is almost ready Danny; did you hear any good news?"

"It's rumored that they'll be home by the end of the week."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to be happy until he steps off the plane." Deb nodded and dished up breakfast for Danny before he had to head off to work. For the first time since she retired Danny was happy that she was able to spend so much time here with him. He wouldn't have made it through this without her and he's incredibly thankful that Steve thought to call her.

The week went by incredibly slow as Danny waited for Steve's flight information from Joe. Pete had promised that he would contact Joe as soon as he knew what was going on so that Danny could pick Steve up from the airport. Finally as Danny was walking out of work Thursday night Joe sent Danny a text saying that Steve would be in landing early tomorrow morning.

Danny stopped in the deserted hallway and did a little happy dance as some of the ache in his chest lessened. Steve was coming home in one piece in less than twenty four hours and hopefully they wouldn't have to go through this again for quite some time. Since they had just wrapped up their case, Danny sent a text giving both Chin and Kono the day off unless a major case popped up and raced home to put his next step into action. He had a day of relaxation planned for his mother and Grace and had even sprung for them to spend the night at a nice hotel so they could have some time together.

For the first time in three weeks Danny had a hard time going to sleep not from worry but excitement. Being away from Steve had only made his feelings even stronger for the big goof and he couldn't wait to see him. Finally around 3 am Danny drifted off into a semi-peaceful slumber and before he knew it his alarm was going off. He jumped up from bed and quickly turned the offensive noise maker and jumped into the shower the excitement pulsing through his body. He didn't even complain about being up before the sun rose as he drove through the semi-quiet streets of Oahu towards the Navel base. Nothing was going to bring down his excitement as he pulled onto the tarmac next to Joe's truck. He greeted the older man with one of the coffees he picked up along the way and the two watched the sky looking for the carrier that was bringing Steve back to safety. They waited in silence for twenty minutes before the carrier came into view and landed a few hundred feet in front of them. They shared a look as the SEAL team began getting off the plane as they searched for Steve's unmistakable figure. Danny sagged in relief when he saw Steve's tall frame emerge from the plane and look around the tarmac. When his eyes landed on Danny and Joe a smile spread across his face before he quickly made his way over to them.

"Danny." He quietly murmured pulling Danny into his arms.

"Hi babe." Danny greeted breathing in the all too familiar scent that was Steve. He immediately felt himself relax as his scent and warmth washed over him.

"Hey Joe." Steve greeted finally noticing the other man next to Danny.

"Hi son. I just wanted to make sure you got in okay. I assume that you and Danny have some catching up to do. We'll talk soon okay?" Steve nodded quickly giving Joe a hug before turning his attention back to Danny.

"Where is everybody?" Steve asked glancing around thinking for sure that Grace would have come with Danny.

"I didn't tell them you were coming home today. Ma knows that you might be coming home later this week, but I didn't tell them when. I wanted some alone time with you before they got their hands on you."

"Thank you." Steve murmured again happy to not only see Danny but have some time to get ready for everybody to know that he's home. He didn't really want to be overwhelmed just stepping off the plane and he had missed Danny so much that he just wanted some time alone with him.

"Here I bet you're exhausted." He handed Steve the rest of his coffee and made his way back towards the car as Steve followed.

"I got some sleep on the plane." Steve said giving Danny a slightly suggestive look.

"Don't worry we have all day for that, but I'm tired now that the excitement of finally seeing you is wearing off and I didn't get much sleep last night. So I'm thinking food and then some sleep, sound good?"

"Sounds amazing Danny." Danny chuckled and started the car reaching over to grab Steve's hand as they drove to their favorite pancake house. After they finished breakfast Danny drove them back to the house where Steve immediately crashed once his head hit the pillow. Danny chuckled as he came back up the stairs and saw Steve completely asleep and looking so relaxed and crawled into bed with him happy to finally be back in each other's arms. They had gotten over this hurtle and Danny knew that if they could make it through this they could make it through anything. As he drifted off to sleep he was ready for whatever was going to cross their path next.

A/N 2: Reunited and it feels so good! I have no real knowledge of the Navy and everything I wrote is fictional so please don't review or pm me and tell me that it would never happen, I already know that this probably wouldn't happen but it did for this story so please refrain from telling me what I already know. But still I want to hear what you guys thought and don't worry the drama will be back full force and the Rachel drama will reach it's climax. So until next time ~thatredheadgirl~