Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.
Steve and Danny spent the weekend cleaning the upstairs; Danny parents would be coming for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks. They washed the windows and vacuumed under beds. Steve plugged in the new bedside lamp for their guestroom; he remembered that Mom always read a couple of chapters from her book of the week before going to sleep.
Danny was folding the new bath towels and wash cloths. Steve, the big goof, had gone all out preparing for company. "Steve, what do you want to do with the old towels? Some of them still look pretty new."
"The newer towels go in the laundry room downstairs. We can use them for the beach. The older towels go in the garage over the work bench. I can use them for cleanup." Steve came out to the hall and saw that Danny was reaching to put some towels on one of the upper shelves. "Here, let me give you a hand."
"Thanks, Steve. I swear, I'm going to be tall in my next life." Danny slipped the last set of towels on the shelf. "What's in the big box on the top shelf, if you don't mind me asking?"
"You know, I've never looked. It was up there when I got home." Steve stretched up to grasp the box; it was a large rectangular box almost three feet deep. He carried the box into their bedroom and set it on the bed. When he pulled the top up, he was surprised to see a large patchwork quilt and a sealed envelope. Steve recognized his dad's handwriting on the envelope: To Steve.
Steve's hands were shaking when he pulled out the sheet of paper and read:
Dear Steve,
I wanted you to have something special from your mother. She was a talented seamstress and made a lot of her clothes. She also made clothes for you and Mary when you were younger. After her death, I found a lot of leftover material in our closet. I sent them to your Aunt Evelyn. Evelyn made this quilt for you and a similar one for Mary.
Mary already has her quilt, but there was never a time when you were in one place long enough to take yours. You might recognize some of the material from your mother's dresses or your old clothes. I hope that when you use this, you can feel your mother's love surrounding you. She loved you and Mary very much.
Love,
Dad
Steve handed the letter over to Danny and carefully lifted the quilt out of the box. He unfolded it until the quilt covered most of the bed. "Danny, I remember some of these pieces. I had a pair of pajamas made out of this when I was eight. Mary had an Easter dress from this material."
Danny ran his hand over one intricate pattern and stopped on a swatch of blue fabric with pretty pink flowers. It was familiar to him; maybe it was in a picture Danny had seen. "What is this from? I've seen it somewhere, maybe in a picture?"
"No Danny, you couldn't have seen it in a picture. My mother had just made a sundress for herself out of that material. She only got to wear it once the weekend before she was killed. I remember that we took a walk on the beach that afternoon, just the two of us. That was how she got me to talk whenever something was bothering me." Steve regarded the quilt with a reverence due a beloved family heirloom.
"Sometimes I dream about her. She's wearing the sundress and we walk on the beach. She got me through some really bad times. I still miss her so much." Steve looked over to see Danny's hand shaking. "What's wrong babe?"
"You remember the night when I had the weird dream, the night we found sand in our bed? In my dream, I was walking on the beach with a pretty woman in a blue sundress with pink flowers. She told me to call her Mom and thanked me for loving you. She asked me when I lost my faith. She comforted me when I cried, and then she was gone and you were holding me." When Danny closed his eyes, he could still remember the feel of her arms around him.
"She smelled like lavender. Her hair was dark like yours; you have her eyes. I wasn't dreaming, was I?" Danny sank to the floor and his head rested on his knees.
Steve sat on the floor next to Danny and pulled him close. "I don't think so. Mom has visited me for years. Dad too; I still hear him walking around downstairs sometimes. That's why I believe in an afterlife."
Danny leaned into Steve and sighed. "I've been such an idiot. I thought that I had let go of all the anger and the hurt. When I lost Grace, I lost my faith too. Your mom pointed out that I was whole again. I have Grace back in my life, and I have you in my life. I'm really happy. I guess a part of me is afraid that it won't last. It didn't last with Rachel."
Steve hugged Danny tightly. "Danny, am I in any way like your ex-wife? And remember that I know probably a hundred ways to kill a man with my bare hands?"
Danny knew that Steve was trying to lighten the mood. "No Steven, you are nothing like my ex-wife. I've told you before that it's never been like this before for me. Rachel put up with a lot, including my job. You accept everything, and we share the job."
"I think we're finished here for the day. Do you want to do something fun? We could hit the batting cages. I believe that I provided a fair amount of entertainment the last time we went there." Steve was great at football, fair at basketball in a no-holds barred game, and pitiful at baseball. He could pitch and catch, but batting eluded him.
"See, that's what I mean. I appreciate the offer, but I'm okay. I just feel a little foolish. I recorded the Navy-Troy game for you. Do you want to grab a beer and watch the game?" Danny knew what Steve liked too.
"That sounds like a plan. When it's over, we can go to that place on the North Shore that makes the burgers you like so much. Do you want to see if the others can join us?"
Danny needed to apologize to Chin and Kono for trampling the heiau. "Yeah, I'll make the calls while you grab the beer. Do we have any chips and dip?" Danny accepted Steve's offer of a hand up and made his calls. Chin didn't have any plans because Malia was scheduled to work. Kono had a date with Charlie for Sunday but was free tonight. Lori planned to give herself a manicure and pedicure. Max had no plans at all for the weekend. They all jumped at the chance hang out together, especially when Danny made it clear that it was his treat.
"Well, we have a date with Chin, Kono, Lori, and Max. What kind of dip is that? Are those the good tortilla chips?" Danny was feeling better already. He would spend the afternoon giving Steve a hard time about the football game. Later they would meet the gang for the best burgers and onion rings on the island.
Their Saturday night out was a lot of fun, and exactly what they needed. Danny made it a point to talk to Chin and Kono before the others came. He apologized for being such a jerk on Halloween. They accepted his apology and put the incident behind them. The burgers were medium, just the way that Danny liked them. The onion rings gave him heartburn, but it was worth it.
Steve drove home that evening. Danny had enough beer to be pleasantly buzzed, but Steve had switched to a soft drink after the burgers were served. Danny was singing along with a Bon Jovi oldie on the radio. Ordinarily, Steve would have changed the channel over Danny's protest, but Steve didn't want to disrupt Danny's good mood. Danny was still smiling when Steve tucked him in bed.
Steve let Danny sleep in on Sunday while he went for his workout. Danny was still sacked out when Steve came in for his shower. Apparently, the sound of running water woke Danny; he joined Steve in the shower a few minutes later. One thing led to another; the water was cooling by the time they turned the shower off. Danny had discovered the perfect cure for his hangover: morning sex.
"Is that coffee I smell? How long have you been up babe?" Danny was in a very mellow mood this morning. Maybe it was the apologies to Chin and Kono; maybe it was letting go of the last of the bad feelings he had held onto since his breakup with Rachel. "What would you like for breakfast? I'm cooking."
Steve thought for a minute and asked, "Do you know how to make French toast like your mom? She made it just like my mom used to."
"I can make French Toast. It's pretty simple. Do you want bacon or sausage with it?" Danny was feeling pretty hungry too.
"Sausage sounds good. I'll even make it while you mix up the French toast. Can we eat on the lanai?" It was another beautiful day in Hawaii, and Steve didn't want to spend the day indoors.
"Sure. We can fix up our plates in the kitchen and eat outside. Any ideas for the day?"
Steve hesitated briefly and ventured a suggestion. "Mom and Dad will be here in a couple of weeks. I thought maybe we should work out some basic decisions for our ceremony before they get here."
That made Danny smile. "I think that's a great idea. I remember the insanity of my wedding to Rachel. I know we want something a lot simpler, but there are some basic decisions to make."
Steve and Danny worked quickly in the kitchen and enjoyed their breakfast outside. Steve pointed to a spot at the edge of the lawn. "We should say our vows there. Our guests will be facing the water, and we'll face each other."
Danny nodded and asked, "What should we wear? Are you going to wear your uniform?"
Steve shook his head. "I don't want to wear my uniform. That would be more formal than I want. How about Hawaiian casual? We can wear dress slacks, button-down shirts, and leis. All the guests will have leis."
Danny considered the idea. "That doesn't sound too bad. Who should we get to do the ceremony? And I guess more importantly, will we be able to get the license for a New Year's Day ceremony?"
"One of Chin's cousins works in the office that issues the licenses. I talked to the governor; he's agreed that we can have the cousin issue the license here at the stroke of midnight for the wedding. I think he did that so he didn't have to buy us a toaster."
Danny laughed and looked at Steve. "You've already given this a lot of thought, haven't you?"
"This is really important to me Danny. I'm only going to do this once. We have options on who will officiate. We can go with a judge or justice of the peace. We can go with a non-denominational minister or Hawaiian priest. Why don't you choose? I want you to be comfortable with the decision."
Danny thought about it carefully. "I'd rather not go with a judge or JP. I'd rather have something a little more spiritual than that."
Steve reached over the hold Danny's hand. "That's quite a turnaround for you. I'm glad to hear it. I don't think a lifetime is going to be enough time with you. I'm hoping for eternity."
Danny couldn't breathe. No one had ever said anything so perfect to him. "Me too babe. What kind of ceremony would the Hawaiian priest do?"
"It's been a while since I've attended a traditional ceremony. It's like a regular ceremony in some ways; you can pick and chose what you like. There can be an exchange of leis. We will have to change it up anyway since there are two grooms and no bride. And I want to include Grace. She should be part of our vows because we are just as committed to her as we are to each other." Steve paused, giving Danny the opportunity to respond.
"I like including Grace in the vows. She'll love the idea too. Do you want to write your own vows? I think I'd like to. You've listened to enough of my rants. I want to say how I feel for our ceremony." Danny had given some thought to the ceremony too. He wasn't sure if Steve would be comfortable making up his vows though.
"Yeah, I want to write my vows. I want to say certain things, and the easiest way to do that is to write them myself. And I'm not ashamed to say how I feel. Our family and friends will be there. I think they already have a good idea how I feel about you anyway." Steve leaned over to kiss Danny. He was really getting excited about their ceremony. It was a big step for them, and he couldn't wait to take it.
"Grace will be going back to Rachel's a couple of days after the ceremony. Can we get some time off and go away, just the two of us?" Despite his insistence that he would never marry again, Danny was also looking forward to the ceremony.
"Why Danno, do you want to go on a honeymoon?"
"Let's see, if by honeymoon, you mean we escape from everything and have lots of sex, then of course I want a honeymoon. Guy here, remember?"
"Well, guy here too. Where do you want to go, Danno?" Steve was curious about Danny's idea of a perfect honeymoon. Would he want a cruise, or God forbid, someplace traditional like Niagara Falls?
"I don't want to spend a lot of time on a plane, which means we stay somewhere in Hawaii. Do you think we can get the cabin from Mr. Page for the week? It's quiet there, and we always have a great time there. We've never been without Grace, but I bet we could make some pretty good memories with just us there." Danny really didn't care where they went. He just wanted to make sure that 5-0 didn't interfere with their time off, and he wanted to be with Steve.
"I think Mr. Page would be happy to rent us the cabin, and I think that's a fantastic idea. I only have one other question. Will you take my name, or do I take your name, or do we keep our own names?" This was an important decision. It would determine how they presented themselves to the rest of the world. Steve already knew what he wanted, but he didn't want to pressure Danny.
"I think we should keep our own names professionally. We've made a firm commitment that whatever happens here is separate from work. But I want us to keep our names in our private lives too."
"So I would stay Steven McGarrett and you'd stay Daniel Williams." Steve was a little disappointed but he would go with Danny's decision.
"No, we will be Steven and Daniel McGarrett-Williams. I had a hard time deciding whose name should go first and figured alphabetical would be okay."
"I like it. I like it a lot. We'll be the McGarrett-Williams family. Do you want to register for gifts at Macy's?" Steve was in a really good mood now. Danny wanted his name, and he wanted Danny's name. It was perfect.