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.
Spoiler Alert! Season 2, Episode 12
Steve was up early on Monday; he wanted to work out before Grace woke up. If she was still feeling sick, then they would have to decide if she was well enough to go to Emelina's today. If not, then one of them would have to stay home with Grace. It was the first time this particular situation had come up. There wasn't anything urgent on 5-0's plate at the moment, so either of them could stay home with Grace if necessary.
Steve came into the house just as Danny came down for coffee. Danny took a second mug down and poured a cup for both of them. "Hey babe, thanks for last night. I'm usually so stressed when Grace is sick that I don't sleep very well. Thanks to my very own SEAL, I'm feeling very rested this morning." Danny pulled Steve down for a very steamy kiss.
"You're welcome. I slept well too. You're in a good mood this morning. I take it that Grace is feeling better today?" Steve took time for another kiss. He tried to remember how he got through the day without Danny; his life was empty compared to now.
"Grace is starving and wanted to know if Daddy could fix her a cheese omelet. I'll pack lunches if you can take care of breakfast." Danny already had Grace's lunch packed and was working on something for them to take to work.
"Give me five to shower off and get dressed. I'll be right back." Steve was relieved that Grace was feeling better. It was kind of nice to sit on the couch with Grace and read to her like he did yesterday. They were usually so busy that they didn't take the time except in the evening.
Grace was on her way downstairs when Steve came out of the bedroom. "Grace, you're looking well this morning. I hear that you've ordered one of my special omelets for breakfast. May I escort you to the kitchen?"
Grace giggled as she accepted Steve's arm. "Thanks for taking care of me yesterday. My room smelled really nice last night. Danno told me that you washed everything for me."
"You're welcome Grace. And here's Danno coming upstairs to get ready for work. May I fix an omelet for you too?"
"Yes, I'd like that. Do you two think you can stay out of trouble for a few minutes?"
"I think even I can manage that. Come on Grace. We don't have to stay here and take these insults. Let's go blow up the kitchen." Steve swept Grace up and they marched to the kitchen.
With Grace as his helper, Steve scrambled eggs and grated a wedge of cheese. Grace was eating her breakfast when Danny came in. "This is yours in the skillet. I put the rest of the fruit salad on the table." Steve slid the omelet onto the plate while Danny poured more coffee.
"Thanks babe. You fix the best omelets. Grace, I guess you are feeling better. You almost inhaled your breakfast. I called Emelina to let her know that you were feeling better and would be going to school this morning." Eating breakfast with his family was a nice way to start the day after the stress of yesterday.
Danny and Grace had cleanup duty while Steve finished getting ready for work. They were out the door with minutes to spare. Grace had only one more week of school before Christmas break. She would stay with Ali during the day while her daddies worked, and then Danno's family and Aunt Mary were coming to visit. Grace was so excited to have all the family here in Hawaii.
The kids were a little hyper at school. The teachers had their work cut out for them this week. There were last minute assignments to finish and a few tests to give. There was a big Christmas party on Friday afternoon so the kids would go home all sugared up.
Steve and Danny had a mid-morning appointment to get fitted for their tuxes. Chin's wedding was on Saturday and they were in the wedding. Joe White and Kamekona would be there too. Steve had mixed emotions about Joe right now. He was sure that Joe knew more about Shelburne than he would admit. Wo Fat tortured Steve to get more information about Shelburne, leading Steve to believe that Wo Fat was equally in the dark about Shelburne.
Steve wasn't sure why the men were wearing tuxes for a beach wedding. Chin made it clear that the choice was Malia's. She waited for him long enough; Chin would make sure that she got the wedding that she wanted. And as far as Steve was concerned, they would have the best damn beach wedding in history. Chin stood by him when he was accused of murdering the governor, and he was part of the team that rescued him from North Korea. Steve was proud to be his best man.
Unfortunately, Steve got a call about a new case. Some kids discovered a body in one of the old bunkers. As it turned out, the body was still alive although gravely injured. As Steve and Chin left HQ, Adam Noshimuri stopped them. Noshimuri questioned Steve concerning the whereabouts of his father, Hiro. The last time Noshimuri saw his father, Joe White took him away at gunpoint. He wanted a meeting with Joe. Steve promised to talk to Joe. Steve would need to find Joe quickly; Noshimuri threatened that he was running out of patience.
Chin paired with Danny to question a suspect. Chin observed that Danny was spending too much time with Steve after Danny handed the suspect a live grenade and pulled the pin. Danny refused to take the grenade back until he got the information that he needed.
Steve's visit with Joe did not go well. Joe as much as admitted that he knew who or what Shelburne was but insisted that he was keeping silent to protect Steve. Steve lifted Joe's passport and discovered that Joe had been to Japan.
Then the day actually got worse. Their case intersected with a homicide that Captain Fryer was working on. Fryer had been promoted to Chief of Detectives. Steve agreed that they would work the case together, but he knew that he would have a killer headache at the end of the day. He had to pull Fryer off a witness before the day was over. Then Kono had to intervene when Fryer pulled the head of the Kapu in for questioning.
By the end of the day, 5-0 had their murdered locked up. The injured man was just trying to find his son. At least they could tell the family with some assurance that their son was dead. Authorities in Arizona would try to get the location of the body tomorrow. Steve was so happy to go home.
The case had been on Danny's mind too. "You know, I can totally understand why a father would go to such great lengths to try to save his son. It must have been hell not knowing for sure what had happened. He believed that his son was alive even when his wife gave up hope."
Steve put his hand on Danny's. "I know, Danny. I was really freaked when Grace was sick yesterday. Even when you discovered that it was just a thing going around at the school, I was so worried."
"Really, you didn't look freaked to me, and I think I've been around you enough to know. You handled it like an experienced father."
"Danno, I think that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me." Steve was touched by Danny's words. He thought that he had so much to learn about parenting. Steve was reassured that he had Danny to help him through it.
Grace was a little tired when Steve and Danny picked her up. Emelina told them that it was normal for Grace to take a couple of days to get back to full strength. She had finished her homework so Danny sent her up for her shower while Steve fixed supper. Steve grilled some chicken breasts and veggies outside. Danny fixed some rice for them after he helped Grace dry her hair.
Supper was family time for them. There was a school program tomorrow evening that they would attend. Danny promised Rachel and Stan that he would tape the show so they could see it. Grace would be singing a couple of songs with her class. Steve wasn't sure what to expect, but he was looking forward to the experience. It couldn't be any scarier than his first parent-teacher conference. Danny still laughed at the memory of one very large SEAL trying to fold himself into a kid-sized desk. Steve insisted that the teachers must have a hidden camera to capture the best efforts to show at the year-end party.
After the kitchen was cleaned up, the family sat down to watch another variation of the Christmas carol. This one was a musical featuring Albert Finney as Scrooge. Grace liked musicals, something she had in common with Danny. Steve wasn't familiar with this version, but he could commiserate with Scrooge. It's so easy to get caught up with your job that you lose touch with what is important. Steve knew that he had been in danger of that until a wiseass New Jersey transplant invaded his personal space every chance he got.
They were sitting on the couch in their usual spaces. Grace had crawled onto Danny's lap, so Danny scooted over to sit next to Steve. As the movie went on, Steve's arm went up to pull Danny closer. It was such a simple thing watching a Christmas movie with his family. Yet, Steve couldn't think of any place he would rather be.
Danny was thinking the same thing. All day, he had flashes of last Christmas. Danny had agonized that he had such a pathetic tree, and the Santa suit was Kamekona-sized. Then they almost lost Chin to a bomb. The team, his family now, came together to give Grace a memorable Christmas. This year, Steve shared parenting duties and his bed, Grace was with him for the entire season, and Hawaii was truly his home.
On Tuesday, Steve and Kono were able to tell Mrs. Archer the location of her son's body. It was a bittersweet time for her. She would have to tell her husband that their son was dead, but they would finally have a body to bury. Steve just wanted to hug Grace. Sometimes, the emotions were too much for him after keeping that part of himself walled up for so long.
The governor was appreciative that 5-0, and McGarrett in particular, had cooperated with HPD. He had expected a call from Fryer complaining about 5-0, but that didn't happen. Denning wasn't stupid enough to think that McGarrett had changed, but it was enough that he was trying to get along.
Steve picked up Chinese food for supper because it was Grace's favorite. She was nervous about the program tonight, and she wanted to look really nice. Kono came by to help fix her hair into a French braid, something neither Danny nor Steve would even attempt. The whole crew showed up for the program: Chin, Kono, Max, Lori, and even Kamekona. Danny treated everyone to ice cream after the program.
Lori was surprised to be included, although she was regularly invited to participate in their plans outside of work. She was not accustomed to being part of a family, even a work family like 5-0. From what she could tell, Steve was the same way before 5-0. He was sitting in the front row with such a charming, goofy grin on his face. It was really a shame that he and Danny were together. The two hottest guys she had met in years had a thing for each other. She drowned her sorrow in a large chocolate malt.
Grace was exhausted by the time they reached home. Danny helped Grace out of her prettiest dress and brushed out her hair. Steve came in a few minutes later with the phone. "Grace, someone wants to say hello."
Steve had uploaded the movie clip and several pictures for Rachel and Stan. They were waiting to see Grace's program and called to thank Steve. Grace had a short conversation with her other family. It was a nice way to end the day for her.
Steve and Danny ended the day in the big tub with the jets on. They had a beer, and it was heavenly letting the swirling water soothe the tension of the day away. "Danny, I was so nervous in case Grace messed up. I wouldn't have cared what she did; she will always be the best to me. She would have been so destroyed if she let her class down. How many of these have you been through?"
"Not as many as I'd like. I went last year, but I missed the year before that because of the job. I missed a lot of things because of the job. I know this because Rachel kept score. Even though we get our share of high-profile cases, I make most of the important stuff with Grace. I couldn't understand it then, but now I suspect that someone made it happen. Would you happen to know who that would be?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Steve knew when to stonewall. "But I wouldn't complain if you decided to come over here to my end of the tub."
Danny knew it was the best offer he would get tonight. He wasn't looking for any fireworks; Grace's performance had taken the wind out of his sails too. Danny was happy to cuddle with Steve for a while. Steve was really good at it. They talked about the high points of the day. Steve enjoyed some of the antics of the kindergarten class kids. He recognized a couple of the kids from the base. Danny explained about the scholarship program that allowed a few low income kids to attend the school tuition-free.
"We'll be asked to help at the spring carnival. It's their biggest fundraiser. Don't be surprised if you're asked to spend time in the dunk tank. The nun in charge of the school has great instincts on where to place the volunteers, and I use the word 'volunteer' very loosely. Half of the island would pay to take a shot at you."
"I'm sure I can come up with some big case that weekend whenever it is. Right now, I can't get too excited about it. I think we'd better get out; I'm turning into a giant prune." After one last hug, they turned the jets off and pulled the drain. Steve and Danny met again in the middle of the bed and were asleep almost as soon as the light was out.
