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.
Grace waited all day for Daddy Steve and Danno to pick her up so they could go to the Christmas Barn. She loved Christmas for as long as she could remember. Christmas at the Williams house was always a joyous, raucous time. Nana and Papa had decorations everywhere. Grace loved the lights and the smells of the season. She loved watching all the Christmas cartoons. She loved being around so much family.
Christmas since her mommy and Danno divorced was kind of a sad time. Last year had been the worst. The tree at Mommy's house only had white lights, and all the ornaments were blue. She barely got to see Danno, but at least Daddy Steve, Chin, Kono, and Kamekona were there for their party.
This Christmas was going to be so wonderful. She missed Mommy and Daddy Stan a lot, but she was enjoying her time with Danno and Daddy Steve. Nana and Poppa helped them put up the most beautiful tree before they went home. Tonight, they were going shopping for more decorations.
Grace made sure that her homework was complete and passed the time with Ali and Waldo. The girls discussed what they wanted for Christmas and what kind of decorations Grace should get. Finally, Grace heard the truck in the driveway. She ran to the front door and almost mowed Danno down.
"Whoa, Grace. You need to slow down." Danny crouched down for a hug. He looked forward to his afternoon hug almost as much as he looked forward to his morning and evening hugs. "Why don't you give the big guy his hug before his pouts?"
Before Steve could protest, Grace launched herself at Steve. "I've been waiting for you all afternoon. I finished my homework. Can we go now?"
Steve hugged Grace and tried to keep a straight face. "Why the big hurry to get home? You have a date tonight?"
"Daddy, we're going shopping for Christmas decorations tonight. Don't you remember?" Grace looked stricken. Then she saw the twinkle in Daddy's eyes. "Daddy, it's not nice to tease me like that."
"Oh, was that tonight?" Steve knew that Grace had seen through his ruse. He had been just as impatient as Grace. 5-0 was helping HPD run down some leads on a carjacking ring; it was mostly routine and Steve's ADHD flared up.
"Come on you two. Let's get something to eat and go shopping before you drive me crazy." Danny was looking forward to their evening as much as Steve and Grace, but he wouldn't let on. Danny knew that he would be the only voice of reason although he wasn't sure that he the heart to play enforcer tonight.
Danny had watched Steve with both frustration and amusement all day. Steve was never the most patient man; he paced around his office and throughout the 5-0 offices most of the day. Even the normally inscrutable Chin had enough and went out with Lori to interview a couple of victims. Danny imagined how Steve must have driven his parents crazy as Christmas drew near.
Steve made one concession to reason. They needed to have a healthy supper before shopping. Steve knew a great place to get some grilled seafood. Danny was amazed that no matter how long they were together, Steve always had a new restaurant for them to try.
Amazingly, Steve seemed to calm down during the meal. Danny eyed him suspiciously. "How much coffee did you have today?"
Steve avoided looking at Danny. "Eat your veggies Grace. You need to keep up your strength." Danny waited patiently for Steve's answer. "I'm not sure, maybe two or three cups."
"And how big were these cups? You didn't use the Santa mugs Kono brought in, did you? They hold probably sixteen ounces. You need to switch to decaf if you're going to do that."
They made it to the store a little before 6:30 while everyone else was home eating supper. Steve and Danny both grabbed a cart. They would need most of one cart just for the outside lights. The store was huge, covering almost two acres. Steve was in charge of reading the store map; Danny couldn't even figure out which way to hold the diagram.
Steve wandered through the specialty ornaments like a kid in a candy store. He found ornaments with logos for Navy SEALs and the New York Yankees. He found a shiny ornament shaped like a policeman. He found an ornament of a girl riding a dolphin.
Danny fell in love with the multi-colored glass ornaments. They were pricy, but he bought a couple anyway. He thought they would reflect the lights on the tree nicely. Beside, the super-SEAL seemed to like shiny things.
Grace found the display of ornaments with boys' and girls' name. She picked out a 'Steve' and 'Danny' ornament with a midnight blue background. She found a glass Santa wearing board shorts and a loud shirt. She knew Danno would have a fit, so she hid it under the nutcracker Daddy wanted for the living room.
After almost 45 minutes, they finally found the outside display section. Danny found a nativity set (actually three separate groupings) that he deemed acceptable. Steve found a helpful salesperson who arranged to have the sets sent to customer pick-up. They also found various other items Steve insisted he absolutely had to have. There was a beautiful tablecloth with matching napkins, a Santa cookie jar, a small (3 foot) pre-decorated tree for the office, some holiday-themed dishes, and a beautiful Santa suit (in Danny's size, of course).
It took almost twenty minutes to check out not including the time spent loading the outdoor sets in the truck. It took some creative loading to fit everything in the bed of Steve's truck. Danny saw the final total and almost had a heart attack. It was close to four figures, and Steve wrote the check without a second thought.
Danny remembered their conversation the night before. He pictured the house and the yard when they finished decorating. He thought about how important this was to Steve. Then he remembered how bleak his apartment was last year. Danny realized that this was important to him too. And the excitement in Grace's eyes was enough to dispel any remaining doubts. It would probably take them most of the weekend to get everything up, but it would be worth it.
It was almost Grace's bedtime by the time Steve pulled in the driveway. Steve backed the truck up to the garage door to make unloading a little easier. Danny sent Grace in to get her shower. Steve and Danny stowed the large boxes and outside lights in the garage and carried the remaining bags into the house.
Danny put his foot down, and insisted that they would wait until tomorrow to put the ornaments up. "I think that we've had enough excitement for tonight. It's going to take Grace a while to wind down."
Steve knew that Danny was right. Besides, Steve was feeling tired. It was time for his evening dose of antibiotic. Steve had a granola bar before taking his medication. He met Danny in Grace's room. The evening routine settled the men almost as much as it settled Grace. After two chapters, all three were yawning. Steve and Danny took turns tucking Grace in. She was asleep almost immediately.
"What do you want to do babe? You looked pretty beat to me." Danny knew it was too early for Steve to call it a day, but he hoped that he could at least get Steve off his feet.
"I need to pay the household bills. Then we should pack lunches." Steve really wanted to sit down but he was determined to push through his fatigue. The adrenalin and caffeine that had fueled him all day were gone.
"No, they're not due until the middle of the month. And I'll buy our lunch tomorrow, another healthy soup and salad. I think it's shower time. I'll wash your back, but that's all you're getting tonight. Then we go downstairs; I've got a special treat for you."
Steve allowed himself to be guided into the bedroom and then the bathroom. He had to admit that the hot water did wonders for his aching back and shoulders. He knew from experience that it would be at least another week or two before the chronic soreness and pain would abate. It mostly only bothered him late in the day.
Steve was too tired to say much. Danny tossed him his sleep pants and a t-shirt and sent him downstairs while Danny finished dressing. Danny pulled the covers down; he knew Steve would be out of it when he made the trip back upstairs.
Steve was leaning back on the couch so happy to be sitting down. He heard Danny come down the stairs and go into the kitchen. He heard the cabinet doors opening and closing. Then he must have dozed off.
"Try this babe. I think you'll like it." Danny handed him what appeared to be whiskey or bourbon.
Steve tentatively sipped the liquid. "Oh, what is this? It's not Old Weller, is it? It's even better." Steve almost melted into the couch. The bourbon was smooth going down and warmed him. He hadn't realized that he was chilled.
"It's a single-barrel bourbon. Dad brought it from Jersey. I told him that bourbon was your favorite, and he wanted me to give this to you after they left, sort of as a thank you gift."
"Wow, that was so nice. I'll call him tomorrow to thank him. I didn't realize how tired I am. I guess I overdid it today."
"You think? I have to admit that I had fun at the store. Did you see the look on Grace's face? And you remembered to get a Santa suit for me. Thanks, babe. I'm going to call our yard helpers and see if they can give us some hours on Saturday to help with the outside. I know that you and I could do most of it ourselves, but you are not quite 100% yet. "
"You're quite welcome for the Santa suit. Yeah, Grace had a good time. I did too. They have some beautiful ornaments there. That's a good idea, getting some help on Saturday. You know, I feel pretty good most of the time, and then it hits me around four o'clock every afternoon. I hate feeling this way."
"Steven, give it some time. It's been less than two weeks. A lesser man would have spent the first week in the hospital. Besides, you've been busy playing host. In about a month, we'll have some real downtime. It will just be the two of us at the cabin for the week. We can do whatever we want without any responsibility for a change."
"That sounds like heaven Danno, just you and me. You know I love Grace like my own, but it will be so wonderful to have no responsibility. I can't remember the last time that I haven't been responsible to someone or for someone." Steve's words were slurring, more from fatigue than the bourbon.
"I think you're finished for tonight. Say goodnight Steve." Danny took Steve's glass and put it in the kitchen. He checked the door and alarm, turned out the light, and led Steve upstairs. Steve instinctively crawled into bed and settled near the middle.
Danny turned out the lamp and joined Steve in bed. As he pulled up the covers, Steve roused briefly.
"I know what you did. Thanks for taking care of me again. That was really good bourbon." Steve kissed Danny, and then he was asleep.
Danny wasn't quite ready for sleep. Tomorrow was the last day of November. In one more month, he would join with Steve in a civil ceremony. He would be with Grace every day for the next month. For the next twenty-five days, they would prepare for Christmas day, the holiest day of the year. What a month!
Steve had spent a small fortune on shiny decorations today, but he knew that Steve had also written some generous checks to the Salvation Army, to a soup kitchen, and to the relief society that aided military families. He suspected that a shopping trip for donations to Toys for Tots was in their future; he had heard Steve and Grace discuss what kind of toys they should donate. Who knew that the super-SEAL was a closet Santa?
Danny thought that maybe he should return the Santa suit for one that would fit Steve. He wondered what Steve would look like with the big belly and white beard. When he finally drifted off, he dreamed that 5-0 was Santa's secret workshop. Danny was the head elf, but Grace was in charge of the production line. The big toy of the year was Navy SEAL Barbie, complete with her own HumVee and RPG. And Santa was none other than the head of 5-0, Steven J. McGarrett.
The Christmas Barn was modeled after my favorite Christmas store, Bronner's, in Frankenmuth, MI. It covers two acres, and over the 20 years that I've lived in Michigan, our family had made countless visits. Almost all the ornaments on our tree were bought as souvenirs from our travels, or from Bronner's.
