"Hey, Ma!" Danny pulled Clara into a tight hug when he saw her at baggage claim at Honolulu airport. "How was your flight?"
"Oh, you know. Long and boring. At least the movie was good, though." She said as Danny took her suitcase from her, and she followed him out to his car.
"How've you been, Danny?" Clara said as Danny drove them back to his and Steve's house.
Danny chewed his lip, pretending to be too focused on driving to answer.
His mom frowned at him. "Daniel?"
Danny sighed, taking a hand briefly off of the steering wheel to run a hand through his hair. "I'm… I'm alright, Ma. Seriously!" He exclaimed at Clara's disbelieving look. "I mean, yeah, we've been busy at work - I'm still getting used to working with someone other than Steve in the field - but I'm fine."
"And how's Steve doing, after.. Y'know?" Clara asked. Danny pursed his lips as he thought about his answer.
"He's… he's okay. It's been a couple of months now since his aunt died. The first couple of weeks were tough but he doesn't speak about it now." A small smile did creep onto Danny's face as he thought of Steve. "Nah. Steve's just fine. Doing better at his school now that he actually talks to other people."
"I'm looking forward to seeing him. I hope he's not as shy as you said he is around new people."
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Ma." Danny bit his lip. "But you remember what I said, Ma? That he might not recognise you? Please don't be upset by it if he doesn't, the injury has messed with some of his memories."
Clara smiled and nodded. "I know, Danny. I understand," She reassured her son.
Eventually they pulled up outside the house, and Danny helped his mom bring her suitcase inside.
"I'm sorry about the mess," He said once they were in the living room and spotted familiar objects scattered across the floor. "Steve's toys seem to appear out of nowhere, even after we've put them away. Though I have a feeling that some of them are Charlie's."
"Danny, I didn't come here to judge you on your tidiness!" Clara laughed as she went into the kitchen. Danny came back down from putting his mother's suitcase in his room and gratefully accepted a cup of coffee from her. "So, when will Steve and Grace get here?"
Danny glanced at the clock on the wall. "The bus should drop him off any minute now, and Grace won't be far behind." He leant against the kitchen counter. "How's Dad? Still recovering from his heart surgery?"
"Yeah, Stella's keeping an eye on him while I'm here, You know what your father's like when he's sick, I don't envy your sister at all." Clara said, causing Danny to almost choke on a sip of coffee.
The front door opening and closing caught both of their attention, and looking round the corner they saw Grace and Steve. Clara raised her eyebrows when Grace squatted at Steve's feet.
"Can he not do his laces?" Clara whispered in Danny's ear as Grace untied Steve's trainers and helped him balance as he stepped out of them, before slipping off her own shoes and setting Steve's rucksack on the floor.
"Doesn't have the dexterity." Danny subtly shook his head so as not to draw their attention, before breaking into a grin as Grace bounded over and hugged Clara. But when he looked over Danny saw Steve looking at his mother with a strange expression.
"Hey champ, c'mere," Danny tugged Steve over by the hand. "This is my mom. Do you remember her?"
Steve frowned as he looked at Clara. In his head he was wondering who this strange woman was, and why was she hugging Grace? Danno and Gracie seemed to know who she was and were happy to see her, but he couldn't place her face.
"No," Steve looked at Danny. "Sorry Danno."
Danny squeezed his hand. "Hey, it's alright buddy."
Grace let go of Clara and nodded reassuringly at Steve when he glanced nervously at her. "It's okay, Uncle Steve! Grandma is really friendly." She smiled.
Steve shuffled over towards Clara, wringing his hands and not meeting her gaze. Danny folded his arms, sighing in relief when Steve finally looked at Clara and smiled.
"Hi," He said quietly. "'M Steve."
"I know, your Danno has told me a lot about you! My name's Clara." Clara returned his smile.
Steve's eyes flicked to Danny, then back to Clara. "C'ra? Car?" He frowned, realising that those words didn't sound right. Grace glanced at Danny nervously, worried that Steve would start to get frustrated and upset, but Clara was quick to jump in.
"Hey Steve, sounds like you're having trouble saying my name." She said. Steve nodded, a downcast look on his face. "How about you just… call me 'Mom'?"
Steve looked at Danny and was reassured by the fact that he was beaming with pride. He looked back at Clara and happily nodded. "'Mom'."
Clara smiled and reached out to gently pat his arm. Steve made a happy noise before beelining straight for Danny's side and grabbing his hand. He tried to hide his face in Danny's neck and still keep an eye on Clara.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" She said, before picking up a plastic bag from the recliner. "Danno said that you like animals?"
"Yeah…" Steve said.
"Good, because I've brought you one!" Clara rummaged around in the bag and pulled out a stuffed seal. Danny and Grace smirked at the irony and watched carefully as Steve reached out to brush his fingers against the toy, a shy smile forming on his face.
Steve then suddenly lurched forward and pulled the squishy animal against his chest. A muffled "Thank you!" escaped from his mouth before he practically bounced over to play with it and his other toys on the rug in front of the couch.
"Gracie play with Steve?" Steve asked, staring at them with large eyes. Grace happily went over to sit with him.
"Not for long though, okay Uncle Steve? I have some homework to do." She said. Steve nodded and started moving the toys around on the floor.
Meanwhile, Danny raised his eyebrows and looked sideways at his mother. "Welcome to my world. This is what happens almost every afternoon." He smirked. "We won't hear from them until dinner, now."
Clara nodded in understanding and squeezed Danny's forearm. "More coffee?"
"Best thing I've heard all day."
Throughout the rest of the day, Clara got a chance to see first-hand what Danny's life now consisted of, and how different Steve really was from the last time she'd seen him a few years ago. She'd heard stories from Danny and Grace over the phone, but seeing him was very different.
Clara insisting on washing up the dinner things after Grace and Steve had gone to bed, telling Danny that under no circumstances was he to do them. ("You've done enough today, Daniel, so sit your ass down and relax!")
After drying the last plate and putting it away, Clara came out into the lounge and frowned when she saw that Danny wasn't sitting on the couch like he was supposed to be, but when she followed soft noises coming from down the corridor she realised where he was.
Clara stood in the hallway outside Steve's room and tried not to make a sound as she poked her head around the doorframe. Danny was sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing circles on Steve's back, whispering gentle encouragements to the man to go back to sleep, that it was only a bad dream and Danno's here now. She watched as Steve, ever trusting of her son, seemed to curl around Danny's leg and quickly fall asleep again, hugging his toys to his chest with a thumb stuffed in his mouth.
Danny bent down and pressed a kiss to Steve's forehead before carefully extracting himself from his embrace and getting to his feet. He turned to leave but stopped when he saw Clara in the doorway. Danny could feel the blush creeping up his neck and onto his face, embarrassed at being caught in what he thought was a private moment.
He opened his mouth but couldn't seem to find the right words, his jaw clicking shut. Clara shook her head and motioned for him to follow her, Danny leaving Steve's bedroom door ajar as he went.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were-" Danny begun to say as soon as they were in the lounge, but Clara held a hand up to stop him.
"Don't you dare apologise. If anything, I'm sorry for intruding!" She said. "But, please, Danny, promise me something."
"Okay…?" Danny agreed, not sure where this was going when Clara pulled him into a strong embrace.
"Never apologise for doing what comes naturally to you, and looking after your man."