Three hours had gone by and Steve hadn't said a word. Everyone was sitting in Steve's living room. Danny was in the kitchen getting something for Grace to eat before he had to drop her back at Rachel and Stan's house.
Chin opened his mouth to talk and Steve cut him off. "I don't want to talk about it, so can we just drop it?"
Danny handed a plate of reheated pizza to Grace and then went to the sofa and sat next to Steve. "Okay babe, you don't have to talk about it but that doesn't mean we can't talk in general."
"I know, but I just don't want to talk about Catherine and how she's a lying bitch."
"Who may be carrying your daughter." Mary interjected. Steve shot her a look. "Don't even give me that look; I'll be up and out of here faster than you think if you pull anymore crap with me."
Steve sighed again, "Look, Mare, you know I don't mean to snap and be a general ass with you, but I don't know how else to react."
"I understand that," Mary said. "But you have to understand where we're coming from."
"You know we want the best for you, but we can't help you when you get into your moods," Danny said calmly.
"No offense to you, Kono," Chin began, "but you're worse than she is when it's that time of the month."
Kono and Mary rolled their eyes.
Danny gently placed his hand on Steve's thigh. "Do you want this baby?"
Steve looked Danny directly in the eyes. "I want to keep this baby. Whether she's mine or not, I want to keep her."
"Let me talk to Nick then," Danny said. "I don't like the man, but you're in no position to talk with him about this and I'll be damned if I let him tear my family apart."
Steve shook his head. "He's got a temper like you do and probably just as dangerous as I am when backed in a corner."
"I don't care, Steve - I mean, I do care, but I'll be okay." Danny smiled a little. "He may have SEAL training, but I bet he's never come against someone from New Jersey. And if that doesn't work, I'll give you the number of Rachel's lawyer who handled the first round of custody arrangements."
Steve looked at Danny. "You'd do that…for me?"
"Steve, I love you. You're family." He waved his arms around, "We're all family here and will do anything in our power to help you." He leaned over and lightly kissed his lips. "You aren't as alone as you think you are."
Steve smiled against Danny's lips, "Thanks," and he pulled away.
"No problem." Danny's smile grew into a grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to drop Grace back with Rachel, and maybe see about talking with that lawyer." He gathered Grace's bags and ushered Grace out after she said her goodbyes to everyone.
Twenty minutes later, Danny pulled into Stan and Rachel's driveway. He shut off the car and got out with Grace. They walked to the door and as they reached the porch, Rachel opened the door.
"Hello sweetheart," she said leaning down to kiss her daughter's head. "Did you have fun with your father and Steve?"
Grace nodded her head. "I had a lot of fun, mommy. Kono, Auntie Mary and I went shopping."
Rachel raised an eyebrow, looked at Danny then back to Grace. "You did? And what did you buy?"
"Clothes for Uncle Steve's new baby," Grace said as she skipped into the house and up to her room.
Rachel turned her attention to Danny, who was still standing on the porch with his hands in his pockets. "Daniel," Rachel said in her usual clipped accent.
Danny nodded his head. "Rachel.…"
Rachel stared at Danny and waited for him to speak. She knew if she waited long enough he'd finally tell her what she wanted to know.
The silence lasted all of three minutes – Danny staring at Rachel and Rachel staring at Danny.
"So, remember how Steve was dating Catherine for years and she up and called it off with him?" Rachel nodded her head and Danny continued. "Well, she showed up a few months ago and she's pregnant."
If Rachel was surprised by this news, she didn't let on. She did however move to the side to allow Danny to come in and when he did, she closed the door behind him. Rachel walked to the kitchen and Danny followed. He walked to the breakfast bar, pulled out a stool and sat down.
"So they've gotten back together?"
"That would be no," Danny said. He was already revealing Steve's secrets, he might as well continue. "Catherine cheated on Steve with an old Navy buddy of his. There's some question as to who the father is."
Rachel started the coffee maker before pulling out a bar stool and sitting down as well. "I see," she said after some silence. "What does Steven plan on doing about it?"
"Steve has a lawyer who drafted some papers and Catherine signed them, but this was before Steve found out about the infidelity. Now that it's out and there's a possibility he's not the father, he needs the best lawyer possible to help him out."
Rachel nodded knowingly. "He needs Lizanne Sawyer."
Danny was grateful that Rachel understood what he was hinting at.
"I'll get you her number and you can call her this evening." Rachel stood up and began to walk from the kitchen. "Do help yourself to some coffee. I'll get Lizanne's card for you."
A few minutes later, Rachel returned with the promised business card and handed it over to Danny. "She's in the office for a few more hours today then you can catch her first thing tomorrow morning."
"Thanks Rachel." Danny finished his coffee, went off to find Grace and kiss her goodbye, and then headed to the hospital to pick Catherine up.
Catherine slowly sat up in bed and reached for her clothes. Nick stood by and watched her. "Be pissed at me all you want, but at least hand me my clothes."
Nick did as she requested. "If you think that I'm not going to put up a fight when it comes to my child, you're wrong."
"You're a bit too late for that." Catherine pulled her shirt over her head and stood. "I've already signed over all rights to Steve. She will be his daughter."
"Not if I have anything to do with it." Nick got close to her. "Don't underestimate me and my will to have a family. I'll have a family with or without you."
Catherine pushed Nick out of her face. "Steve won't let you, and neither will Danny; none of them will."
"Danny won't do anything," Nick said, "because the man is clearly too pussy whipped to do anything in regards to his ex-wife jerking him around with custody of their daughter."
Catherine snorted. "You keep on believing that."
Just as Catherine was getting ready to leave, Danny burst into the room. "Nice to see you're up and moving."
"I was just getting ready to leave," Catherine said.
"I hope you're going back to Steve's," Danny said looking Catherine over, "because I'd hate to have to call the police because you kidnapped his daughter."
"We aren't completely sure she's his daughter," Nick interjected
"That may be so, but according to the papers that both Steve and Catherine signed in the presence of their lawyers, that baby," Danny pointed to Catherine's stomach, "is Steve's child and if you so much as harm a hair on Catherine or do something that would harm the baby, you'll never see the light of day."
"Is that a threat?" Nick asked
"It's a promise." Danny said. "And to make sure you know I mean business, I've taken the liberty of contacting the lawyer, Rachel's lawyer, who handled our custody arrangements. They're already hard at work drafting up so many legal documents, it won't matter who the father of Catherine's baby is. By the time this is done, she'll be an adult and will be able to make her own decisions."
Nick was dumbfounded. Clearly he'd underestimated Danny.
Danny looked at Catherine. "I can take you to Steve's if you're ready."
Catherine looked at Nick and then to Danny. "I'm ready."
Danny picked up Catherine's jacket and handed it to her. "Keep an ear on your cell phone because I'd say you have from 24 to 48 hours before your life is turned upside down again. You might want to talk to a lawyer." Danny and Catherine walked out of the hospital room.