/ / / Dinner \ \ \
Ryan came back shivering with the cold and weighted down with bags. Steve jumped up to help him.
"Oh I like him," Ryan said on the way past Danny.
Steve followed him back into the kitchen where Lizzie was busy chopping a mountain of tomato. She smiled at Ryan who dumped his bag and then turned and left the kitchen. Steve looked around at the green tiles against the soft cream of the cupboards, the colour so familiar to him now since it matched his own kitchen.
"Everything okay, Steve?" Lizzie asked.
"Can I help?"
"Is Lily asking inappropriate questions because unfortunately my only advice is to get used to it."
Steve smiled and started to unpack the bags. "I was in the Navy, ma'am, she would have to try harder than that."
"Please, don't tell her that; she'll only take it as a challenge. We have been over this, my name is Lizzie."
"Sorry, it's habit."
"It's good manners, and while I might be a grandmother I do not feel old enough to be called ma'am."
Steve smiled and handed her the garlic as she turned to him. Lizzie frowned at him.
"Sorry," Steve said. "This is the same way Danny makes his tomato sauce."
Lizzie smiled at him brightly. "I taught him how to cook."
"He's very good, I've never been much of a cook but I'm learning a little. I'm very good with a barbeque."
Lizzie pointed at some of the items on the table. "They can go in the fridge, and then, how are you at chopping?"
"Very good," Steve said.
"When you're done come over here and chop things for me."
"Thank you, Lizzie."
"Good boy," she turned around and started stirring tomatoes into her pot. Steve moved to do as he was told; not at all surprised that she put things on the same shelves as Danny tended to at home. People said you took after your parents and Steve could see the features that his…soon to be husband, had inherited from his mother. The familiarity of the kitchen made the tension from the sudden wall of people all staring at him and wanting to know about him disappear.
"You can cut those," Lizzie said pointing to some vegetables. "But first I need you to grate the bread crumbs. The small side of the grater and that loaf is from yesterday."
"All of it?" Steve asked.
"Yes please, I have all the people out there to feed and I always cook for a couple more people than are going to be here just in case."
Steve stood next to Lizzie who prepared the chicken while she stirred and added things to her tomato sauce. Steve knew he wasn't really needed but he followed her directions, glad to help, as he grated the bread and cheese and cut up the vegetable for a salad.
Eventually Danny walked into the room and stood next to Steve. Steve slapped Danny's knuckles as he reached for the chopped carrot.
"He's always been shocking with carrots," Lizzie said.
"Gracie is just as bad, I always end up cutting twice the carrot we need," Steve said as Danny wrapped his arm around Steve's waist.
"You okay?" Danny asked.
"I'm helping your mother," Steve said.
"And catching a breather?" Danny said. "Can I do anything to help, Ma?"
"Get out the ice cream so it can soften, I'll make my brownie sundaes, I made those triple chocolate brownies this morning."
"Oh, babe," Danny said. "You have no idea how good these brownies are."
"Yet they weren't good enough to bring you home in three years," Lizzie said with a sigh.
"Ma."
"No, no, I understand, you have a new life in Hawaii and I'm glad."
Danny thumped his head into Steve's shoulder repeatedly.
"I know Danny has wanted to come home," Steve said. "All he'd talked about was Jersey and his family and Grace. It's just so far away."
Lizzie patted Steve on the cheek. "I know, Steve, but you speaking up for him makes me so happy you're going to be family."
Steve flushed and he could feel Danny tightening his arm around him. "Thank you, I don't have much family."
"Now you have lots," Lizzie said patting him one more time before she put the meal into the oven. "Well, I don't need either of you to do anything now. Go and…"
"Ma?" Danny asked when she never continued.
"I need to go and make up your room," Lizzie said.
"I can do that," Danny said. "Where do you want us?"
"Oh," Lizzie said. "We've got a pretty full house…"
"We can find a hotel," Steve offered and Lizzie turned to shake her head at him.
"We'll take the couch if we have to, we're not going anywhere." Danny said reassuringly.
Lizzie walked forward and wrapped her arms around them both. "I'm so happy you're home, Danny, and that he brought you, Steve."
Danny patted his mother's back. "We're going to be here so much you're going to get sick of us."
"Never," Lizzie said pulling away and wiping at her face for a second. "I'll put you in your old room, it's not a very big bed but…" Lizzie chuckled. "You're in love enough to deal with it."
"Ma!" Danny said indignant.
/ / /
Lizzie called everyone to the table for dinner and served Steve before anyone else. "Tell me what you think."
Steve looked at Danny who nodded at him while the entire table waited and watched as he took a bite of the chicken parmigiana. The herbs she had mixed in with the breadcrumbs made the chicken burst on his tongue with flavour, he smiled his appreciation at Lizzie who smiled back at him and started serving the rest of the table.
/ / /
"So," Molly said. "Did Danny tell you about the time I shot him with a stun gun?"
"That was you," Steve asked while Danny groaned at his sister. "I knew he'd been shot by one but I assumed it was in the line of duty."
"Nope, he just really annoyed me."
/ / /
"So," Lily said. "Danny was about four and he walked out of the house, butt naked, he held his hands in front of him like a gun and told my sister Daisy to put her hands up she was under arrest."
Steve turned to Danny. "And you have an issue with my Miranda right knowledge; I've never tried to arrest anyone naked."
"You have arrested naked men though," Danny said.
"Don't remind me," Steve said with a sigh.
/ / /
"Danny convinced me that I had to jump out of our tree house," Harvey said with a sly grin.
"We had capes," Danny pointed out. "Mine was red."
"Like at Halloween?" Steve asked and Danny glared at him.
"Mine was blue," Harvey said. "And after my dear brother convinced me to jump out of the tree house I discovered it didn't do anything and I broke my leg, and what does my darling brother do?"
"Rush down and help you," Danny said laughing silently into his hand.
"I call bullshit," Molly said.
"Language," Lizzie reprimanded. "You chose to jump out of that tree, Harvey."
"I didn't choose for my brother to run inside for a camera and take photos of the 'crime scene' before he called Aunt Mabel to come and get me."
Danny shrugged. "Can't disturb the crime scene."
"See why I had no problem shaving off your eyebrows before your date with Janet Gilmore."
"I maintain that you exhibit psychopathic tendencies," Danny said with a huff. "I really liked her and it was years after your leg."
Harvey smirked. "Revenge is a dish best served cold and all that."
"She didn't think you were cute with no eyebrows?" Steve asked.
"She laughed and closed the door in my face."
Steve leaned over and kissed Danny. "I'd like you even if you had no hair at all."
"Kill me now," Harvey said with a sigh.
/ / /
"I took Danny to the station with me," Chris, Danny's father, said. "I left him for five minutes to talk to my chief and when I came back he was standing in the dog bed, holding all his clothes and informed me that he had just peed."
"You too, Pop?" Danny said looking around the table. "Seriously, is it pick on Danny's night, I swear, you people wonder why I never bring people home to meet you. Good thing Steve has no choice; I snared him with the cute kid."
"I don't know," Steve said. "I might be scared off. I had no idea you were such an exhibitionist."
"You know that works for some people," Lily said with a wink.
"Ma," Lizzie said with a sigh.
"Yeah, no one needs to see Daniel naked," Molly said with a grimace.
"He's very nice to look at naked," Steve said and then looked at the table with horror and dropped his head to focus very carefully on the salad left on his plate.
Danny chuckled. "It's 'cause I'm hot."
"It's not the word I'd use," Harvey said.
"More like Steve is losing his eyesight," Molly threw in.
"I bet Steve is nice to look at naked," Lily said winking at him.
"He is," Danny said as Steve looked at her with horror, Lizzie glared at her mother and Chris shook his head and kept eating.
"Such a shame he never did one of those calendars then," Lily said. "What's for desert?"
/ / /
Not long after dinner was done and the dishes sorted Danny dragged Steve upstairs since they were both about to pass out, they had been awake for almost two days. They took quick showers, Steve was much better at it than Danny, before they collapsed into bed.
Steve turned over and pulled Danny in front of him so he could curl himself around Danny's smaller body.
"You said your Christmas present wasn't as good as the flight," Steve whispered into Danny's skin like he wasn't sure if he wanted Danny to be hearing him. "But what you gave me today, making me part of your family, it's so much more than anything I've ever been given. I loved learning more about you," Danny tried to turn around but Steve held him firmly. "Thank you."
Danny twisted his fingers into Steve. "You're my family too, babe. Though you could have loved me forever without knowing those stories."
Steve nodded and buried his head into Danny's neck. "I love you, regardless of the stories people tell me."
"I love you too."
Danny squeezed Steve's fingers and curled into Steve a little more before they both fell asleep.
/ / /
I hit the highlights, I hope you all enjoyed...