This story was inspired by Sammy's magnificent Following Through that was posted on Friday.

Sammy and Ilna, love you to the moon REAL McRollers and Readers, thanks doesn't seem like enough, but thank you always.

Following Up

Steve gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he glanced over at Danny, who was staring out the window, lost in thought. They were on their way back from interviewing a witness to a shooting on the north shore, and for the past 20 miles the soft hum of the engine was the only sound in the car.

"Thirteen years." Steve finally broke the silence, his voice low and thoughtful.

Danny responded without turning to face his partner, his brow furrowed. "Thirteen years."

"He kept his promise," Steve said, hazel eyes dark with understanding.

"I can't blame him, really, after what that miserable bastard did to his family."

"He had to live with it for all that time," Steve murmured, "then watched the scumbag walk out of prison after destroying his entire world."

Danny let out a heavy sigh, imagining that level of rage and helplessness.

They lapsed into silence again as they drove towards HQ.

When they reached the parking lot, the partners made their way inside. The bustle of the building's lower level and the hum of chatter surrounded them. They nodded in response to a few greetings, but didn't stop to engage anyone.

"So much evil in the damn world," Danny muttered with a grim look on his face as they entered the bullpen.

Steve nodded, his jaw tight. "And a good man, a good cop, like Clyde sacrificed himself trying to find justice for his family."

In his partner's office, Danny sat on the sofa as Steve leaned against the desk. "I wish it didn't come to that. I hate the ones where justice isn't served through the right channels."

Steve agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sometimes the system sucks and 13 years for Boyle was a colossal fail."

The weight of the circumstances hung heavily in the air.

Steve glanced up. "It's not hard to imagine what Clyde went through, losing his daughter and grandchildren to that bastard…" he scrubbed a hand over his face.

"I can't say I don't understand why he did it. If anyone ever hurt Grace…" he let the sentence trail off but his best friend didn't need to hear the words to understand.

Steve pushed off the desk. He'd seen a lot of ugly, but the pain in the Martins' eyes at the sentencing and their screams at the crime scene were in his thoughts as he said, "Let's call it a day. Go home and hug Gracie."

"Yeah. You go hug the kids." Danny let out a heavy sigh, his gaze fixed on an invisible point. "I hope he finds some sort of peace, even in prison."

"Me, too."

Together, they walked out of HQ, their footsteps echoing down the empty hallway.

Steve pulled into the driveway, the tires crunching on gravel as he parked. With a well practiced cleansing breath going back to his SEAL days, he climbed out of the truck and locked it, noticing the beep seemed loud in the quiet evening.

He was barely through the door when Angie's excited "Daddy's home!" had him smiling for the first time since that morning. Her damp hair bounced with each step, and he opened his arms as she crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Hey, baby girl," he said, his voice low as he hugged her.

Pulling back to study his face, she tilted her head. "Did you have a sad case today?"

Her uncanny ability to see into his soul had him pulling her into another embrace. "Nothing an extra hug can't fix," he said and felt her smile against his cheek when she kissed it.

"Good, because I have lots of hugs if you need more. Mommy made fish tacos for dinner and me and DJ helped."

His chuckle was low and quiet at the typical little girl combination of subjects, but when he placed her on her feet and instead of dashing ahead, she took his hand and squeezed his fingers, he thought for the millionth time how very much she was like Catherine.

"DJ's outside with Cammie. We swam after day camp."

When they reached the kitchen, Catherine stepped up and kissed him softly, silently offering her support after the news of the shooting and Clyde Martin's surrender. "Clyde's okay?" She asked quietly and Steve nodded with a shrug as the door to the deck slid open and DJ came inside with Cammie.

"How was your day?" Steve tousled his hair, and DJ's soft smile mirrored his father's.

"It was good. Mom said you had a …" he glanced at his sister who was occupied with giving Cammie a treat, "bad case. Me and Michael saw it on the news," he said. "Are you and Uncle Danny okay?"

"Little bit of a tough one, but we're good," he replied, opening his arm to tuck the eleven year old into a hug. Kissing his head, Steve said, "This helps." He indicated the hug. "Thanks, buddy."

"Love you, Dad," was the reply that spoke volumes from the not so little boy with the very kind heart, and when Catherine stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, Steve's smile reached his eyes.

Glancing down at her as DJ crossed the kitchen to help Angie set the table, he murmured, "Love you all," while thinking, 'more than you know.'

Grace was setting the table for dinner, her movements fluid and easy. Gabby was stirring a pot of vodka sauce, and her laughter filled the kitchen as they both heard the punchline to one of Nonna's stories.

"So, mio bambina, did anything exciting happen at work today?" Nonna asked, beaming at her great granddaughter.

Grace nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Just the usual catering stuff until the end of the day when we met with a family planning a first luau birthday for triplets. They were so adorable. Two girls and a boy."

"Triplets! What a blessing!" Nonna clapped delightedly. "I know you'll plan a wonderful birthday party that no one will forget…"

Danny let himself in and stopped to watch the scene from the doorway, a tight smile on his face as he leaned against the frame. "Please tell me that's penne vodka I smell?" He said by way of hello.

"It is," Grace moved to hug her father. "I saw the news. I'm sorry to hear about Mr. Martin." The look in her eyes was knowing, and he sighed and kissed her temple. "I know you are."

He also knew his daughter understood. She understood beyond a shadow of a doubt, that in Clyde's place he would have done the same, without a minute's hesitation. And when he hugged her for a few seconds longer than usual, she didn't stop hugging until he did first.

"You're okay?"

"As okay as can be expected," he answered honestly.

"Love you," she said when he pulled back to see her face. "How's Uncle Steve?" While she was used to her father's hard cases, sad cases and even the terrifying ones, she knew her uncle was also affected and how they hit differently since he became a dad. Even more so now that her cousins, DJ especially, were old enough to understand. "I'll call him after dinner."

"He's okay and you are the best person on the planet. Have I mentioned that?" He smiled at her and when she chuckled, looked over her head at Nonna and Gabby.

"Once or twice, and you're a wee bit biased, as Boris would say." She kissed his cheek. "But it's always good to hear and if I am, it's because this apple didn't fall far." She looped an arm through his and led him to the kitchen, where he kissed Gabby and Nonna hello.

When his grandmother cupped his cheek and met his eyes, he nodded that he was alright. "Go put your gun away, nipote, dinner's all ready. You need a good meal with your girls…" she glanced down at Scout who had met Danny at the door and was sticking close. "Even Scout agrees."

He kissed her cheek again and moved towards the bedroom to secure his weapon. "Of course he does. Who could argue with you?"

When he returned to the kitchen, dinner was ready. The sound of dishes clinking together and Grace's laughter as she told Nonna about her and Gabby losing the car in the Ala Moana Mall lot provided a comforting rhythm that was as familiar as his own heartbeat.

Grabbing the bowl of penne vodka and placing it on the table, he smiled at his daughter. "So, tell me about this party for triplets…" he began, and when, knowing exactly what her father was doing, Grace launched into describing her ideas, Danny Williams' shoulders relaxed as he focused on the daughter that was his heart and soul.

The sun was setting as Steve and Catherine sat on the beach chairs, watching the kids play with Cammie a few yards away.

Steve took her hand, lacing their fingers as he stared out at the ocean.

"I'll pull whatever strings I can to keep Clyde out of gen-pop," she said quietly, "and we'll see what we can do about the sentence."

Steve nodded, his eyes still focused on the kids. "I can't blame him, you know."

It was Catherine's turn to nod. "I know we'd both do the same if anything …" her voice trailed off, it was too horrible a thought to say out loud.

"It wouldn't take me thirteen minutes, let alone years."

"I know that, too."

After a minute of silence, Steve shook his head, physically dislodging the darkness like a dog shaking off water. When he turned to Catherine, his eyes were focused and the light was back. "Love you," he said simply, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her palm before standing.

"DJ, Angie!" He called, "How about a game of Monopoly Kids? I'm feeling like I might actually win against your mother!"

Smiling at the children's excited responses as she stood, Catherine wrapped an arm around Steve's waist and reached up to kiss his cheek.

# END - thanks for reading!

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