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 woke early and decided to let Danny sleep while he went for a morning swim. He dared to get on the scale before going downstairs and was pleased to see that he was still on the light side of his target weight. He had lost eight pounds during his ordeal in North Korea, and had gained all but three pounds back. He felt sluggish mostly because he wasn't able to exercise as much as usual. Steve wanted to run this morning, but he knew that could undo some of his recovery. That was not something Steve would risk.

Steve decided that he could probably push to five miles today as long as he didn't pour on the speed. His shoulders felt loose, and his ribs didn't ache all the time anymore. The water was deserted. Steve supposed that everyone was at the mall. Mom wanted to do some shopping later; there was a wedding to plan this morning. Mary would be over in a little while to help, and Steve hoped she would stay for most of the day.

Mom was in the kitchen drinking her first cup of coffee. Steve kissed her on the cheek. "Morning Mom, I didn't expect to see anyone up so early. We were all pretty tired last night."

"I couldn't sleep any more. I thought that I would start breakfast. You and Danny have been doing most of the cooking, so I thought that I would give you a break. We had such a lovely day yesterday. Your dinner was wonderful. I wish I could get the girls to work in the kitchen with me. I always enjoyed working with my mother, God rest her soul."

Steve crouched down by Mom to make sure he got her attention. "Mom, like I said yesterday, it's their loss. I never got a chance to do that with my mother either. I will never forget the last two days. Let me go up and rinse the salt water off. Mary is coming over for breakfast. I'll turn off the alarm if you don't mind letting her in." Steve gave Mom a hug and took his coffee upstairs.

Danny was starting to stir when Steve stepped in the shower. Steve heard him moving around the bathroom. "Mom's up already and made coffee."

"I know, thanks for bringing me a cup." Danny stood at the sink drinking Steve's coffee. His hair was mussed, and he looked quite pleased with himself. Then he flushed the toilet, causing the shower temperature to spike ten degrees.

When Steve stuck his head out of the shower to protest, Danny kissed him. "Hey that was my coffee. And damn, the water's hot." Steve made sure that he dripped water on Danny and turned the water off.

Danny grabbed Steve's towel to dry off and then tossed it to Steve. "I can smell bacon frying. How was your swim? You didn't run today, did you? "Most of Steve's bruises were fading, and the infected scratch had healed. Today was Steve's last day of antibiotics.

"No Danno, I won't run until I'm cleared by the doctor. I did swim my full five miles, but I paced myself. The ribs don't ache much but I don't want to do something stupid and then miss out doing something with the family. I need to go downstairs; Mary will be over soon. Promise to save some time for me later tonight. I really miss being with you."

"It's a date. I miss being with you too. Steve, this has been really special for Mom. She loves to cook but hates working alone. Jackie and Paula just aren't interested. You've become the daughter Mom always wanted." Danny had a really good night's sleep and his morning coffee. He couldn't resist teasing Steve.

"Gee, thanks Danny. Now you've made my day. I'll be down as soon as I finish shaving my legs." Steve rolled his towel and flipped it at Danny, causing him to yelp in protest.

"Hey, that stings. Okay, I'll get you another cup of coffee. Just put the towel away." Danny walked back into the bedroom, rubbing his ass. He dressed quickly and made it downstairs just as Mary arrived. "It's okay Mom. I've got the door."

Mary greeted Danny with a hug. "Hey, almost brother-in-law. I brought malasadas."

"Mary, my favorite almost sister-in-law. We're having pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Come on back to the kitchen. Mom, look who's here. She brought us malasadas. Wait until you taste them."

Steve joined the gang in the kitchen. "Hey Mary, thanks for coming over. Mom, Danny stole my coffee. I think he needs a time out."

Mom tried to look stern as she turned on Steve. "Young man, I don't abide tattlers. You have to settle this among yourselves."

Danny smirked at Steve and stuck his tongue out at Steve. "Mom always liked me best."

Steve started mixing the pancake batter. "Danny, what kind should I make?"

Danny brought Steve a cup of coffee and hugged him. "Here you are, babe. How do apple pancakes sound? I'll dice a couple of apples up and you can sprinkle some cinnamon in the batter. I'm going to wake Grace up. Mom, do I need to wake Dad?"

"No dear, he was awake when I came down. Just let him know that Steve is starting the pancakes. He's getting spoiled with all this good cooking. "

Danny gave his dad the update on breakfast and went in to wake Grace. "Hey, morning Monkey. Do you want some breakfast this morning?"

Grace was already awake but she was still a little tired. It had been a very busy week. She loved being around everyone yesterday, but the baby had caught her attention. She was the youngest grandchild of the Williams family so she had never spent much time around babies. "Morning Danno. What's for breakfast?" She sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"Nana made bacon, and Daddy Steve is making apple-cinnamon pancakes." He pulled Grace in for a hug, and she settled on his lap. Grace curled into Danny, something she did only when she was upset or unsure about something. "Are you feeling okay?" Danny checked for a fever but Grace seemed cool.

"Danno, do you think that Mommy and Daddy Stan will love the new baby more than they love me?" The baby hadn't seemed real until she saw Jared yesterday. A lot of the grown-ups had been drawn to the baby. She was used to being the only child at most of their parties. She wasn't sure that she liked sharing the spotlight.

Danny rubbed Grace's back while considering how to answer. "Grace, they will never love the baby more than you. I was the oldest in my family. I was too young to remember when Aunt Jackie was born, but I can remember when Aunt Paula was born. I didn't like it much. Babies are a lot of work, particularly when they're just born. Nana spent a lot of time taking care of the new baby, and I didn't like it much. But then I realized that it was kind of cool being a big brother."

Grace was interested now. "Why did you like being a big brother?"

"When Nana was busy, I played with the baby to keep her from crying. She always smiled when I walked in the room. When she was a little older, she thought that I was the smartest kid in the world because I already knew how to do so many things. Of course, she eventually got old enough and I was just her annoying older brother."

"Do you think that the new baby will like me?"

"Grace, I know that the new baby will love you. You're going to be a big sister. Talk to Aunt Jackie about being a big sister when she comes to visit next month. Now, how about some breakfast? You can use my bathroom; I think Poppa is in the hall bath." Danny gave Grace one last hug and put her down. He thought that maybe Mom could talk to Grace.

Danny went down to the kitchen to help with breakfast. The bacon was done, and Steve was spooning the pancake batter on to the griddle. "Mary cut the apples up for me. Is Grace okay? You were gone for a long time."

"Yeah, she's a little tired, and after seeing Jared yesterday, she's worried that Rachel and Stan will love the new baby more. Mom, could you talk to her? You had three of us so you know how it is to balance your love for each kid."

"Of course I will, Danny. I knew that she would eventually feel like this. It's hard to describe. Babies are so dependent on us when they're newborn. You remember what that's like. But children get so much more interesting as they get older. I'll talk to her later today."

Eventually, Grace and Dad made it downstairs. Mary poured juice and milk while Danny topped off everyone's coffee and started a second pot to brew. Steve flipped the last batch of pancakes off the griddle and sat down to join the others.

Mary liked sitting in the kitchen with the family. Like Steve, her family experience died with her mother. She had been amazed by the change in Steve since the summer. The house even felt different. "I like what you did with the kitchen. The house looks great."

"Thanks, Mary. A couple of Chin's cousins did a lot of the work. In fact, another cousin helps out with the housework when we get slammed at work. A different cousin does some of the yard work. We try to do what we can, but it's tough trying to balance work and our home life. We're lucky enough to have Grace here every other week, and sometimes she's here for an extra weekend."

"Grace has a lot of projects for school, and a lot of them need supervision. Remind me to tell you about the volcano. Steve here is the science guy. That was an interesting weekend. At least I got my car washed."

Finally, Mom started clearing the table. The rest took the cue and the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher. Dad washed the few items not dishwasher-safe. Mary found a pad of paper in John McGarrett's old desk and fished a pen out of her purse.

"Mom, you married two daughters off. Where do we start? I'll keep track of what we decide." Mary was getting excited about Steve's wedding.

"Well, why don't we set the invitation list? That will give up an idea of how many people we can expect."

Mom counted off the list from their family. Besides Mom and Dad, Jackie and Paula would attend with their husbands and four children. Jackie had two sons, and Paula had a son and daughter. Danny wanted to invite Meka's wife and son. The 5-0 team would attend. Malia, Charlie, and Max were also coming. Steve's SEAL team wanted to come, and Danny wanted to include SEAL Team 9. Joe and Wade Gutches were also on the list. It wouldn't be a party without Kamekona. Emelina and her family were added to the list.

The list had grown to almost fifty people; with input from Steve and Danny, they estimated that 30-40 people would probably attend. There was a long discussion about timing. Basically, they would have the 'reception' first since the ceremony would not be legal until after midnight. They decided to start the festivities late and keep it low-key. There would be finger foods until the ceremony, and then a light meal after.

Steve and Danny were still interviewing Hawaiian priests about the actual ceremony. They would work out the details of the ceremony when they made the final decision on who would officiate. The menu for the evening was discussed and they decided to go with island cuisine. Danny had some sample packages offered by local caterer. The picked a couple of like candidates and made a note to call on Monday.

Mom asked about music. Steve and Danny hadn't even thought about that. Chin's wedding in a couple of weeks, so they decided to see if Chin had any suggestions. Steve wanted musicians, but Danny was okay with a DJ. Mom also asked about flowers and a cake. Steve and Danny were starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

Danny finally tried to explain their misgivings. "Mom, this isn't a wedding. It's a civil union ceremony to formalize our relationship. Even that isn't legal until 2012. We'll have one of the first ceremonies in the state. I don't know that I want a cake. I've had that, and it didn't last. I want this to be something unique for Steve and I, and we want Grace involved in the ceremony too. I think if we have a little cocktail party until midnight, and then our ceremony followed by the meal, that will be enough for me."

Steve held up his hand while he considered Danny's idea. "Wait, let me think about it." Steve closed his eyes and tried to picture the evening. Finally, he spoke. "I like it Danny. It will be a simpler version of what we had yesterday. There will be a few more people, but the menu will be lighter. We'll have time to spend with the people who mean the most to us, and then we can share a meal after. No music except for some playing in the background. No flowers except for the leis for us and the family."

Mom thought about their plan. "It sounds like you are in agreement with what you want. I think it sounds lovely. What about invitations?"

Steve brought out a folder piece of paper from his pocket. "Danny and I made this up a couple of weeks ago. He handed it to Mary. It read:

Steven McGarrett

And

Daniel Williams

Invite you to join them as they exchange vows and unite their lives

Sunday, January 1, 2012

12:05 a.m.

2727 Pi`ikoi Street

Mary read it carefully and nodded. "I like it. I can make them for you. I helped a friend with party invitations. I can put RSVP information on a separate card. Do you want to just have them call or e-mail?" Mary handed the paper to Mom and Dad who also approved the simple wording.

"That would be great Mary. You can have them e-mail me or Danny or leave a message on the home phone. I can't be taking calls in the middle of a drug bust."

There was a little more discussion on the ceremony, and then they talked about how much everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving. Mom wanted to do some shopping but they decided to wait until late afternoon. Mary wanted to swim, so they all changed into their suits for some beach time. It was a lazy day compared to earlier in the week.

Steve and Mary had a chance to talk for a while. He was interested in her job in L.A. and asked a few more questions about Scott. Danny spent some time building a sand castle with Grace and went in the water with her for a while. Mom and Dad swam in the warm water and then sat in the wooden chairs by the beach.

By mid-afternoon, they had enough sun and decided it was time to clean up and get their shopping done. Mary went back to her friend's house, promising to come back before she flew back on Sunday morning. The shops were almost deserted by the time that Steve drove the family to open air local vendors market. Mom wanted to buy some authentic island products. It took her almost two hours to cross everything off her list.

They stopped at a small restaurant that most tourists overlooked to eat supper. Steve drove them around to look at the holiday decorations around town. Mom loved the Hawaiian take on Christmas and took several pictures.

Steve and Danny had time to read to Grace that evening. She had been busy spending time with her Nana and Poppa, and Steve and Danny missed spending time with her. After tucking Grace in, Mom and Dad decided to head for their room. Mom wanted to read for a while, and Dad was working on a crossword puzzle book.

Steve and Danny decided that it was a good time for them to spend some quality time together. They had been busy playing hosts to Mom and Dad all week, and then the preparation for Thanksgiving had been demanding.

"Danno, I've been waiting all day for this." Steve locked the bedroom door and pulled Danny in for a tight hug.

"Me too, babe. I've missed this." Danny helped Steve pull the covers down and turned the light on low. It was McDanno time.