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 slept in on Thursday morning until Danny's alarm clock buzzed him awake. Steve did a physical inventory: he was still a little tired but his aches had subsided for now. Steve rolled over to face Danny who was watching him intently.
"How are you doing babe? You look a little better this morning." Danny stroked Steve's face instinctively checking for a fever. He knew it was a knee-jerk reaction. Steve hadn't run a fever at any point during this whole ordeal.
Steve turned his face toward Danny's hand. His mother used to touch him like that when he was sick. A wave of nostalgia swamped him. "I think I'm doing better. I've been awake for maybe three minutes, so it's too soon to make a commitment for the whole day. I don't feel as tired." Steve pulled Danny in for a hug. "Can we stay like this for a few minutes? I missed this last night. I don't remember when you came to bed."
"Yeah, you were asleep when I came back from tucking Grace in. I read for a while before I turned out the light. You were so gone." Danny was content to hold Steve. He loved the more physical aspects of their relationship, but there was a special intimacy just holding each other like this in the early morning hours. Danny realized that the times they took care of each other like this strengthened the bond between them.
"I enjoyed watching you and Grace decorate the house. She's really something. Danny, what should we get her for Christmas? It needs to be really special. She's been through so much, but she's still so loving and generous." Steve had so little experience buying Christmas gifts. He wanted to get something special for Danny too.
"Gee, I'm not sure. You've given her so much. She has a wonderful home here, and you helped Rachel and Stan put their marriage back together. I'm happy here with you too. I've finally let go of all the anger and bitterness. That has to be the greatest gift of all. I didn't realize how heavy all that baggage was."
"I know what you mean. I finally got rid of some of my baggage too, remember? I guess we can table the issue for now. Before you can ask, I will tell you that I intend to go into work today. I won't leave the office, but at least I can work on next year's budget. Right now, I could use some breakfast." Steve gave Danny one last hug and rolled out of bed.
Steve and Danny finished in the bathroom at the same time, a good indication that Steve was feeling better. "Danny, I'd like to wake Grace this morning. She was so concerned about me last night. I'd like to show her that I'm doing better."
"That's a good idea. I'll start the coffee and make some oatmeal. I picked up some raisin bread at the store. We can have toast with the oatmeal." Danny was already heading down the stairs when Steve walked into Grace's room.
Steve walked over to Grace's bed and sat on the side. He reached down to smooth Grace's hair away from her face. "Grace, it's time to wake up."
Grace woke up slowly this morning. She was surprised to see Steve waking her up this morning. "Are you feeling better Daddy? You look like you're feeling better."
"I think I look better too. Are you ready to get up? Danno is making oatmeal and raisin toast for breakfast. I don't think I've ever had raisin toast; is it pretty good?
"Yes, it's my favorite. We used to have it for breakfast all the time." Grace was sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Then why didn't you tell me that you liked it? How many times have we walked down the bread aisle and you never put it in the cart?" Steve pulled Grace onto his lap for a hug.
"Well, I know that you like for us to eat healthy food. I don't think that raisin toast is that healthy."
"Grace, that doesn't mean you can't have it some of the time. Why don't you get ready for school and I'll braid your hair when you come downstairs?"
Grace was in the bathroom when Steve went down to check on Danny. The coffee was almost finished brewing and the water was boiling for oatmeal. Danny was busy packing lunches, something they usually did the night before.
Steve stirred the oatmeal into the water and poured two cups of coffee. He watched Danny assemble two salads using a premade bag of lettuce. The remaining chicken from last night was diced up for the salad. Steve put two slices of raisin bread in the toaster.
Grace came in a few minutes later, about the time that the oatmeal was ready and Danny was finished with lunches. They sat down to a quick breakfast. Grace and Danny watched Steve closely to assess his wellness, something Steve was well aware of.
"Okay, you two. I'll say it one more time. I'm feeling better today. I did sleep all afternoon yesterday, I went to bed at Grace's bedtime, and I slept in until Danno woke up. I'm giving my antibiotics ample opportunity to do some good. If I feel anywhere as lousy today as I did yesterday, I will spend the rest of the day on the couch. I'm going to work today, but Danno here can write a note to keep me inside at recess."
Danny snorted at Steve's recess reference. That's when he knew that Steve was on the mend. Steve was entirely too pliable when he was ill. "That's okay, you can go out at recess. The fresh air would probably do you good. You can stand on the side of the playground and watch the other kids play dodge ball ."
Grace giggled at her dads. She knew they were being silly. The little knot in her stomach loosened. Grace worried about all four of her parents. She talked daily to her Mommy and Daddy Stan, either by phone or webcam, and knew they were happy together. The lines around her mommy's eyes were gone, and she got a soft look on her face when she talked about Daddy Stan.
Grace looked closely at Daddy Steve's face. He was smiling fondly at his family, and the smile reached all the way to his eyes. He was sitting straight in his chair, not slumped against it the way he was yesterday. He ate all of his oatmeal, and had two pieces of toast. Then he had a banana too. Yes, Daddy Steve was feeling much better.
Steve fixed Grace's hair while Danny cleaned up. Steve lagged back to close up and set the alarm. Danny raised his eyebrows in question. "Why don't you drive today. I could if I had to, but I need to pace myself if I'm going to last the day."
They dropped Grace at school and Danny drove them to the office. On the way, Danny filled Steve in on what he missed yesterday afternoon. "You didn't miss much. I called the governor and let him know that you were home for the day. He was actually concerned about you and told me to call if you needed anything. I think he wants an invite to the ceremony. There's been a lot in the press about the new law. Our license will become a matter of public record. You realize that it might make the news."
Steve was quiet for a minute. "Having a ceremony is our way of telling the world that we love each other and we want to be together always. I hadn't thought about making the news, but I realized that at some point it would be mentioned. Does that bother you?"
Danny didn't have to think about it. "No, I just didn't want it to catch you by surprise. We make no secret about being together. We don't advertise it, but we don't hide it either. Whenever anyone hits on me, I tell them that you and I are together."
"Who's been hitting on you?" Steve was surprised now.
"Hey, I'm very hittable, thank you very much. I was paired with Lori last month when we interviewed some witnesses. One of the lovely young ladies let me know that she would be open to spending a little quality time with me. When I told her that I was engaged, she asked if my fiancé was prettier than she was."
Steve waited for the rest of the story. "Danny, don't keep me waiting. What did you say?"
"I told her that you have abs of steel, and your tattoos drive me absolutely crazy. She thought that I was into really tough biker chicks. I finally told her that you were a Navy SEAL and that she really didn't want to make you jealous."
Steve relaxed now. A small part of him half expected something to happen between now and the end of the month. There was absolutely no reason for it. Danny never once gave Steve reason to doubt his love. Steve knew that he could be high maintenance. He recognized his own ADHD tendencies, the trip to the Christmas store a case in point.
Danny put his hand on Steve's arm. "Babe, it happens at the end of this month. We've been talking about it for months, and now we're down to less than thirty-one days. I really excited about this. I know we have Christmas first, and I'm excited about that too. But I never thought that I would make this kind of commitment after Rachel and I divorced. I know that I can be tough to live with, but you don't seem to mind."
Steve stopped Danny. "You're not tough to live with at all. Did you ever think that it might have been Rachel. Obviously, you and Rachel weren't meant to be together. I was just thinking that I'm not easy to live with either. Maybe we're a case of two wrongs making a right."
That made both men laugh. They were in a good mood when they walked into 5-0. Chin and Kono greeted Steve. "Hey boss, good to see you on your feet. Danny sat in your office while you were out. We told him not to, but he threatened to put us on traffic duty."
Steve loved his team on days like these. Instead of fussing over his health, they were tattling on Danny. He remembered Mom Williams' words. "I don't tolerate any tattling. Now get to work." Steve did his best to sound stern, but the cousins were laughing when they settled down to work. When Lori came in, Steve called a short meeting in his office. He knew that Danny told them that he had a complication from his trip to South Korea.
"I wanted to give you a little more information. I was feeling really tired yesterday and called to check on my lab results. Apparently, I picked up another infection not caught in the original lab work. I started on a new antibiotic and Danny took me home. That's about all I remember from noon until almost six o'clock last night. I am back on restricted duty for a few days. I will stay in the office probably for the rest of the week. I'll re-evaluate my condition Monday. I won't put any of the team in jeopardy if I don't think I can provide adequate backup. Are there any questions?"
Lori was the most direct of the team. "How are you feeling today?"
Steve sighed; he knew that he would have to endure this question for a while. "I'm doing much better, thank you. I'm more tired right now than anything. That's why I'll stay in the office. I have enough here to keep me busy, and I don't want to be out any more that I have to be. Anyone else?"
There were no more questions, and the team dispersed. There was paperwork to complete from their case with HPD. Steve had a meeting request come in for lunch time from one of the patrolmen. He accepted it, wondering what the topic would be. He had his answer at noon.
Officer Akana knocked on his door, looking very unsure of himself. He looked to be very young. Steve thought he might be a rookie. Steve motioned for the man to come in and then gestured to a chair. "Officer Akana, I'm Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett. What can I do for you today?"
Officer Akana took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "Commander McGarrett, I was in the last academy class for HPD. Some of us were a little disappointed in the physical training we did there. Most of us were at your cage match, and we've followed your cases in the papers. My classmates and I were wondering if we could interest you in putting us through some SEAL training. If you just gave us some basic information, we could work out on our own. But we were hoping that you would train with us once or twice a week."
Steve sat back in his chair; this was quite unexpected. "Officer, would you like some water or a cup of coffee?" Steve was buying time; he got both of them a bottle of water from his mini-fridge. He was in no shape to do much for now, and it was going to be an incredibly busy month. "I think we could work something out next month. We could meet before the morning shift one day, and after I get off in the afternoon on another. It would probably be mid-January before we could start. I'll be taking some time off after New Year's."
Officer Akana nodded. "Yes sir, congratulations. That would be great. Here's my number and e-mail. I'll talk to my friends and confirm who will be attending. We really appreciate this."
"It's important to be in shape. I'm happy to help out." Steve stood and shook hands with the officer. He was still standing there with a puzzled look on his face when Danny brought their lunches in. He explained the rookie's request while they ate.
"Danny, I know it would cut into our family time, but I think it's really important." Steve was torn between helping the rookies and spending time with his family.
"Steve, it's only an hour or so twice a week. You already work out every morning, so one day would just be a change of venue. I wouldn't mind joining you in the afternoon session if Grace is with Rachel and Stan. The whole commitment thing doesn't mean we spend all our spare time shackled together. I don't have a problem with it. Besides, these are the people who back us up. It's great that they want to be in super-SEAL shape."
Steve made it through the rest of the day without a problem. He was feeling a little tired and knew that he would probably be in bed early again tonight. Steve counted it as a moral victory, if you didn't count his catnap on the way to pick up Grace. It was a good thing Danny was driving.
