Disclaimer: see chapter one.
Author's note: thank you for reviewing and continuing to read this story! This chapter carries on the drama from before but it's much lighter and I think you'll enjoy it.
Steve and Danny walked into Chris's office smiling in thanks at Melody as she walked away. Chris smiled at them and motioned for them to sit down before turning back to his conversation. They were meeting for an update to find out when they were going to court and what they could do in the meantime to make sure that they didn't screw anything up.
"Sorry about that, thanks for coming in today. I just wanted to give you an update so that you know what our next step is." Chris rummaged around his desk and pulled out a packet of papers. "Here is the petition that was filed with the courts on Friday afternoon; it outlines the reasons why you wish to change the custody agreement existing with Rachel. We've already discussed the shared custody agreement proposal where we outlined how we think the custody should be split between both of you. Rachel has been served and advised by her attorney not to have any contact with you about the hearing. She is only to call you if it has something urgent to do with Grace, any other business regarding Grace will go through Harold and me as to avoid anything that could ruin the other's case." He paused letting his information sink in. He knew that this was a lot of information to have, especially since Chris met Danny's former attorney who hadn't really done any of this for him. Plus Chris wanted Steve to know exactly what was going on.
"Is it safe to assume that we're not doing mediation this time around?" Danny asked completely relaxed for the first time in months. He already knew the process and he knew he was in good hands this time around.
"Yes Harold and I, along with the judge in this case Judge Monaleiki thought that mediation would just be a waste of time based on Rachel's comments and such. We've also fast forwarded the hearing date so that we can officially put this matter to rest."
"I know we've talked about this, but really how good are our chances at actually winning?" Danny asked his hand reaching for Steve's.
"I'd say they're pretty good given the way that you've handled yourself throughout this mess by not lashing out at her and not letting Grace know what's really going on. But there still is the issue that you two are not legally recognized as being together. Judge Monaleiki is a family man that believes that children are much better with a stable family, not necessarily a traditional stable family. He was the judge that awarded full custody to a lesbian couple last year over the former boyfriend because they had a civil union and had been together for some time over the boyfriend who had only been dating a girl for less than six months."
"So wait, you're saying that our chances could get better if we were to have a civil union?" Steve asked sharing a curious glance with Danny. Steve had been thinking about the idea of legally recognizing their relationship with Danny and if Chris was saying that it would greatly help them out it would give Steve the opportunity to bring it up to Danny.
"I think they would yes, it would show that you are a stable environment with Grace because you have taken the step of making your relationship more permanent, in a sense. I'm not saying that it's the deciding factor but it's one of those things that would benefit both you and Grace. I mean I've been around you guys for awhile now in a personal setting and you can't get more permanent then you, your chemistry is intense. Most couples would kill for an ounce of chemistry that flies between you two." Steve smirked and glanced over at Danny, who had his head down with a bright red blush spread across his cheeks.
"Ya hear that Danno? We've got intense chemistry." Steve joked, squeezing Danny's hand and leaning back in his chair.
"Shut up Steven and smug is not a good look for you. Are you done inflating his ego so we can get back to the matter at hand?" Chris nodded a small smile spread across his face as he tried not to laugh at the two of them. "When is our hearing?"
"Two weeks from now on the 19th. We'll continue to prepare for court so I'll be calling in a couple of days to set up a time where you guys can come in separately, because Harold wants to do depositions about your relationship and such. He's fishing for anything that might help Rachel prove that you're not a stable environment. I've already spoken to Victoria and she says that she and Grace are going to discuss how Grace feels about this whole mess."
"Sounds good. Thanks again Chris." Steve stood reaching over to shake Chris's hand.
"I can't thank you enough for helping us out so much." Danny added also shaking Chris's hand, he really couldn't put into words how thankful he was for Chris.
"It's nothing Danny; I'm merely just making sure that you get the same custodial rights as Rachel. It's not right that she ever took Grace away from you to begin with." Danny nodded knowing that the situation that led them to this point wasn't fair.
"We'll see you for dinner tomorrow right?" Steve asked before he and Danny left the office.
"Yeah did you need us to bring anything?" Chris asked picking up his phone in case he needed to text Mary.
"Uh," Steve started looking at Danny. He was after all the one that had planned this little get together with their ohana.
"Wine would be good, I'm not sure what's good and I'm assuming that you or Mary would know. Dinner's at 6:30 sharp so Grace can join us, per her request." Chris nodded quickly typing in his phone.
"6:30 with wine got it. I'll talk to you guys later." Both nodded as Steve held the door open for Danny to exit first.
It wasn't until later that night when Steve and Danny were eating dinner that Steve brought up their meeting with Chris. "So how do you feel after meeting with Chris today?"
"I think we actually have a chance at getting more time with Grace, besides the fact that we're not legally together."
"Have you thought about it though?" Danny tilted his head not sure what Steve was really asking him. "Have you thought about taking that step and having a civil union? I know that you didn't think you would ever get married again and since it's kinda the same thing, but different. I just wanted to know if you have thought about it?" Steve was rambling now and he was nervous about what Danny was going to say.
"Have you?" He fired back needing the extra time to figure out how to answer that.
"Honestly yeah I have. I've thought about it a lot actually."
"Really?" Danny was surprised yet not surprised at the same time. He thought that Steve wasn't the type to officially settle down and to hear that he had been thinking about it a lot made his heart swell a little bit.
"I know that my relationship with Catherine didn't give off the vibe that I wanted to get married and I guess for a time I didn't. But I want to settle down with you, I want our relationship to be as permanent as it can be. You're my endgame babe; there isn't anybody else I want for the rest of my life but you."
"Endgame? Have you been watching rom coms without me Steven?" Steve shook his head and took a long drag of his beer. "Feeling's mutual babe." Danny quietly added surprising Steve, who sat up quickly.
"Are you serious Danny? I don't want you to do this just because of what Chris said." Danny turned away from Steve's hopeful face and towards the beach. "Grace and you mean the world to me with or without a ring on my finger, Danny. So no matter what I'm still here for the long haul."
"We've been together for almost a year and we've been partners for even longer. Yeah I'm sure."
"I'm gonna call the governor and see if he'll meet with us tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah babe." Steve beamed and leaned forward capturing Danny's lips in a hot kiss before getting up from the table and grabbing his phone across the room. Danny watched him with a smile on his face as he heard Steve talking to Denning; he was ready to tie himself to that man forever.
The next morning Danny surprisingly woke up before Steve and took a minute to watch him. "What's wrong Danny?" Steve asked even though he had not even opened his eyes.
"How do you even do that? Geez, you about gave me a heart attack."
"I can always feel you watching me, now what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to bask in the fact that I'm actually up before you this morning." Steve gave him a half smile and pulled him closer to his body. "What time do we have to meet with Denning this morning?" Danny asked leaning over Steve tracing circles on his warm chest. Steve sighed at the intimate gesture and lifted his head to kiss Danny slow and warm.
"9:30." Danny looked over at the clock and sighed, it was only 6:30 and they didn't have to be in the office until 8 at the latest, but still they both had to shower and get ready and Steve still had to do his workout so they had to get up now if they were going to be anywhere close to being on time. Kissing Steve's chest above his heart Danny moved to roll out of bed, but Steve's arm shot out holding Danny in place. "Where are you going?"
"We have to get ready for work." Danny explained with a duh tone to his voice, as if Steve didn't know that already.
"We're not going until later this morning. I texted Chin and Kono last night and told them we had a meeting with Chris about the hearing, so we're not going in until this afternoon." Danny smiled and relaxed laying his head against Steve's chest letting his heart beat and warmth lull him back to sleep for a little bit.
Steve watched Danny sleep for a little bit before slipping out of bed and heading out to do a light workout. Less than a half hour later Steve swam to shore and smiled when he saw Mary standing on the beach with a huge smile of her own. "Hey is Danny still asleep?" Steve asked looking towards the house for any sign of his blond counterpart; he didn't want him to know about Steve's secret plan.
"Nope, I snuck upstairs and he was still dozing peacefully." She replied reaching into her bag and pulling out the black box and handing it over. If she were being honest she wasn't surprised when Steve had called last night and asked her to bring it over, she had been waiting for them to finally take this step. Plus hearing Chris say that he successfully brought up the idea without any suspicion at their meeting made Mary smile and thank her lucky stars that her boyfriend could be just as sneaky as she was.
"Thank you for holding onto this for me." Mary nodded and reached out lightly hugging him to avoid getting wet.
"I'm happy you're finally going through with it, I thought I was going to have to just come over and perform the ceremony myself." Steve chuckled and smiled leaning forward giving her a kiss.
"Get out of here before Danny sees you and thanks again. Also don't tell anybody, we're going to wait and tell everybody tonight at dinner okay?" Mary nodded and hugged him one more time before leaving and bypassing the house heading up the side so if Danny were awake and perhaps downstairs he wouldn't see her unless he was in the living room.
Steve slipped into the house and checked to make sure that Danny wasn't up and about and slipped back up the stairs. He quickly showered the salt water off and slipped back into bed waiting for Danny to wake up for the second time that morning. It only took Steve's impatience about ten minutes of waiting before he decided to wake up the blond by lightly kissing up the column of his neck. Danny moaned lightly arching into Steve's mouth while stretching his sleepy body. "Mhm, now that's a way to wake up. I'm open to you doing that every day." Danny murmured turning to look at Steve with half lidded eyes.
"Duly noted." Steve murmured against Danny's lips.
"What time is it?"
"Almost 8." Danny nodded and reached up to kiss Steve again. "I have something for you." Steve whispered resting his forehead against Danny's. Danny smirked the sexual comment resting at the tip of his tongue when Steve laughed and pressed his finger to Danny's lips. "Don't even go there. This is serious." Danny fully opened his eyes finally noting the serious tone to Steve's voice.
"Okay, what is it?" Danny asked shifting so that he was sitting up and leaning against the headboard. Steve took a deep breath and turned grabbing the box from the nightstand. "Steve." Danny took in the box in Steve's hand and immediately knew what it was, he had proposed to someone before.
"Just open it." Steve lightly demanded placing the box in Danny's hand, hoping that he liked what lie inside. Danny toyed with the box for a few moments before flipping the lid open and smiling at the rings inside.
"It's perfect." Danny whispered running his fingers over the rings and looking up at Steve. "When did you get this?"
"I had your mom pick them out while I was away. She would know better than anybody what would you like and I told her that I wanted the exact same one."
"How long have you been planning this?"
"I've been thinking about it since we went home to Jersey, but I didn't plan anything until I was deployed and mom offered to come stay with you. So I capitalized on the opportunity and asked her to look into getting a ring."
"You're pretty sneaky sometimes and amazing too." Steve smiled and reached out grabbing Danny's free hand lacing their fingers together. "You're sure about this?" Steve nodded reaching up to cup Danny's cheek. "You're wearing a suit, a nice suit. I'm not marrying you in your cargos and polo shirt."
"Of course Danno, anything you want." Danny nodded.
"I am not the woman in this relationship Steven, but yes it's about time you realize that."
"Yes dear." Danny glared and lightly pushed Steve's shoulder knocking Steve backwards a little bit. "Would you like a special breakfast dear?" Steve called as Danny walked into the bathroom leaving Steve on the bed. Steve got up and smiled as he walked to his closet, nothing was different now and that's exactly how Steve wants it.
Per Danny's request Steve dons his best suit, the same one he wore their first undercover op in the beginning of their partnership and judging by the look that Danny gave him when he came down the stairs Steve made the best decision. "Thank you." Danny murmured when he pulled away from the steamy kiss.
"You ready to go?" Danny nodded patting Steve's pocket to make sure their rings were there before lacing their fingers together and walking out of the house. On the way there Danny expected that he would feel nervous much like he had when he and Rachel married, but he didn't. He felt relaxed and there were no doubts or second thoughts in the back of his head. Danny turned towards Steve as they pulled up to a stop light right before the governor's office and reached out lightly squeezing his thigh. Steve turned and smiled reaching down to hold Danny's hand, they were really doing this.
They walked into the office their hands still connected, the first time that they have shown this much affection in front of anyone from the governor's office. Steve felt like he was floating on cloud nine, he was finally getting the family he had subconsciously always wanted with the man he always subconsciously wanted. Danny leaned into him as they rode up the elevator and squeezed his hand for good measure. He was finding it a little hard to believe that in the mist of this bitter custody battle where insults were being thrown left and right (one-sidedly) he was able to have a moment of intense happiness and love. Danny has longed for a moment like this, a moment where he had no doubts that Steve loved him with his entire being and would do absolutely anything to protect him and vice versa. "I love you." Danny whispered right before they reached their floor. Steve turned a blissful smile on his face as he leaned in and kissed him swiftly on the mouth.
"Love you too Danny, always." Danny closed his eyes as he left Steve's words wash over him and for the first time in his life he knew what real love felt like. "You ready to tie yourself to me for the rest of your life?"
"Yes ya goof, I'm gonna make an honest man outta you." Steve shook his head and led Danny with a hand on the small of his back.
"You can head right in, he's expecting you." They smiled and continued on their way with Danny's arm still around his waist and Steve's hand still pressed firmly against Danny's back.
"Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams I think congratulations are in order."
"Thank you for doing this so quickly Governor." Denning nodded and smiled softly at them, he was actually happy that his two task force leaders were taking this step. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't really have a problem with Steve and Danny, just the process to which they got things done. But outside of the office and bureaucracy he thought they were pretty good guys and he was more than happy to speed up this process for them.
"No time but the present especially with Five-0." Denning tried to joke earning a small smile from them. "I'm assuming you want the abridged version of the ceremony?" Steve looked at Danny giving him the say. Steve was happy with anything, as long as by the end of it Danny was his and his only. Danny nodded smiling warmly at Steve; he didn't need the long drawn out speech. "Alright then, we'll just do the specifics. If you two could stand right here and face each other?" Denning ordered as his assistant came into the room serving as witness and photographer. She had a feeling that they would like to have a photo of this occasion. Steve and Danny turned to face each other their hands connected before they turned to Denning. "This ceremony is the public declaration of the full and legal commitment of Steven McGarrett and Daniel Williams to each other in accord with the Laws of the State of Hawaii. Steven and Daniel, do you come here freely and without reservation to pledge and share your lives openly with one another, in a committed and binding relationship? Do you promise to honor and tenderly care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand together, through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs for all the days of your lives?"
Steve and Danny turned towards each other with smiles spread across their faces. "We do." They replied in unison Danny squeezing Steve's hand.
"Steve you have something to say to Danny?" Denning asked smiling at the shocked look that spread across his face.
"Uh yes I do." Steve replied reaching into his pocket to pull out the piece of paper covered in scribbles that he had quickly jot down after Danny had fallen asleep last night. "Danny, I promise to always love and cherish you no matter how much you may frustrate me at times. I promise to support you and honor your wishes to the best of my abilities. I promise that I'll try and listen when you tell me to call for back up although there will probably be times that I forget. I'll try not to shut you out so much instead letting you into the scary place you call my brain. I'll love, protect, and support Grace as if she were my very own flesh and blood and make sure that she always has her Danno to come home to. I promise to love you with every fiber of my being for eternity. With this ring I commit to our union and pledge to you my eternal love." Steve looked up to see tears in Danny's eyes that mirrored his own as he slid the ring onto Danny's finger.
"Danny do you have anything you want to say?" Denning asked feeling a bit emotional himself.
"Yes." Danny replied after taking a deep breath. Locking eyes with Steve, Danny let his heart do the talking for him. "I will love, protect, and support you for eternity. I promise to not rant as much about your lack of a fear gene. I will trust that you still remember your Navy SEAL training and won't get hurt on purpose. I promise to be your backup until my dying day and I promise to never walk away from you when things get tough. I will be there for you through the good, bad, and horrendous times and help you fix the damage that your past as caused you. I'll always be here waiting for you no matter how many times you're deployed or how long you're gone for. I promise to take care of you when you get hurt and to enjoy this island that you call home a little bit more. I will love you forever and always." Steve smiled and resisted the urge to reach out and kiss Danny as he slid the ring onto Steve's finger. He should've known that Danny would still wow him without having any time to prepare.
"Steven McGarrett and Daniel Williams have made their public commitment to each other to join their lives together and have declared that they will live together as partners devoted to their Union. They have symbolized their Union by joining hands, taking vows and by exchanging rings. By the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Hawaii, I hereby declare that Steven McGarrett and Daniel Williams are lawfully joined in a civil union. Go now in peace and love, sharing the most precious gifts you have the gifts of your lives. You may now share your first official kiss as a truly united couple." Taking one more deep breath Steve surged forward pressing his lips hard against Danny finally giving into his urge to kiss the love of his life. Although this wasn't the exact day that he had thought about, it was the best day he could've asked for with just him and Danny alone pledging their love for each other much like they had in the beginning of their relationship. They were so immersed in their kiss that they didn't even realize that Heidi was snapping pictures of the happy couple. Steve finally pulled away gasping slightly for breath and rested his forehead against Danny's.
"Mine." He softly growled elated that he was right in all sense of the term. Danny smiled and nodded threading his fingers through the hair at Steve's neck.
"Always and forever." Steve loved the sound of it and kissed Danny again lightly. Danny pulled away and smiled at Denning. "Thank you so much again for doing this." He just waved his hand dismissively and pointed to the piece of the paper on his desk.
"Sign this and its official, Heidi will serve as your witness." Danny stepped forward first signing his name with a flourish before turning towards Steve and handing him the pen. Steve kissed Danny one more time before quickly scribbling his name. "That's it, you guys are officially together."
"I'll email you the photos." Heidi replied showing Steve and Danny the photos she had quickly snapped with her phone.
"Thank you." Steve was beyond happy that she had thought of such a small detail, he would for sure treasure those photos for time to come.
"Since you're already here Commander, maybe we should do a quick status check with Five-0 and such. Detective since you're here you might as well join us. I have a few things I need you to check into as well." Denning stated slipping easily into professional mode again and it was a relief for both of them. It made it seem more real in a way.
Twenty minutes later Steve and Danny exited the office yet again wrapped into each other. Danny had his arm around Steve's waist while Steve had his arm around Danny's shoulders holding him protectively to his body smiling down at the phone in Danny's hand which showed their first kiss as a legally bound couple. "I can't wait to see their reactions to this news." Steve nodded kissing Danny's temple as the elevator doors opened. Dinner was going to be interesting and Steve couldn't wait to share the great news.
"We have some time before we have to technically be at work, what do you say to lunch and some alone time before we have to be at work?" Danny pretended to think about it for a moment before he nodded a large grin spread across his face. As much as he couldn't wait to share the news with their friends and family, right now he just wanted to celebrate with the most important man in his life.
A/N 2: wow that was a long one to write. So tell me you weren't expecting that were you? I hope that you enjoyed a slight break from Rachel and her drama but have no fear they still have to tell Rachel and Steve and Danny have one more surprise up their sleeves (if you guess it right I'll give you a surprise sneak peek into the next chapter). Like always let me know what you thought and until next time ~thatredheadgirl~