Fic: "Dinner Surprise", (Steve/Danno, PG, 1/1)
Title: "Dinner Surprise"
Author: weakmoments
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Parings/Characters: Steve/Danno, Grace
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4,944 or so
Disclaimer: I in no way own any part of Hawaii Five-0
Warnings/Spoilers: Takes place after the 'tidal wave' episode
Summary: Danny thinks Steve is mad so he rambles, Grace worries about her Daddy and comes up with a brilliant idea to fix it all.
Author's Note: This is another fic I think I've been working on for ages that was almost completely written and simply needed an ending of sorts. It was written after the ‘tidal wave’ episode and how Danny’s statement about how he didn’t want Steve’s face to be the last thing he saw. In my mind it bothered Steve which ended up bugging Danny so I fixed it! ~grins~ Oh, and their supper? It just happens to be what I was fixing for my own supper the night I wrote it! ~giggles~ Trying to get all of my unfinished H50 fics finished before the new season begins so there could be a few more posts from me this week! Oh, and this is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine. Oh, and also, I really need to get in gear and have the proper episode names....
"Daddy?"
"Yeah Monkey?" He answered his daughter from the kitchen as he stirred the pasta in the pot while waiting on the burger to brown hoping his daughter hadn't heard his mumbling while he was cooking.
Grace got up from where she was playing and walked around the counter to stand in the kitchen with him. "Are you okay Danno?"
After placing the spoon on the pineapple spoon rest he received as a surprise gift from Steve which Danny insisted on throwing away until Steve gave him that pouty face he only gets every once in a great while when things don't go his way, Danny turned around to face his daughter. It was in that moment when he realized exactly how much she was like her mother. Grace had one hand on her hip; head tilted ever so slightly and that look on her face that Danny had witnessed more than enough from Rachel when they were married. Thinking it might help his case, or at the very least it couldn't hurt, he smiled his best Danno smile and said "of course I'm okay Grace."
Both hands were now on her hips and her head tilted enough to the side that she will definitely end up with a crick in her neck if she keeps her head leaning too long. "Are you lying to me? Because you tell me not to lie and I think you're lying Daddy."
It felt like a knife to the gut when she looked him in the eye and said she did not believe him, especially when he knew she was right. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and knelt down in front of Grace taking her hands from her hips and holding her tiny hands in his own. "Yes baby. I might have been exaggerating a bit. I love you for wanting to see if I'm okay but it is something you don't need to worry about okay? It's...it's an adult sort of thing that beautiful little girls should not have to deal with because they need to take care of dolphins and bunnies instead of Daddies."
"But I like when you smile."
He tilted his head and spoke. "This?" Again he put on his best Danno smile for his best girl. "This is me smiling. See? Happy. I am always happy when you're here with me. How can I not smile all the time?"
As bold and as matter of fact as she could, Grace looked into her daddy's eyes and stated "I wanna see Uncle Steve."
Danny had to brace himself so he didn't fall back in surprise. "Steve? You want to see Steve?"
"Yes, I want to see Uncle Steve and we should take him dinner."
He knew that voice. It was the exact same determined tone her mother has and Danny knew without a doubt he would never win. He stood, leaned down to kiss her forehead and walked back to the stove to finish cooking before something burned or boiled over. He hadn't yet answered Grace and felt her beautiful little eyes burning a hole straight through his back and directly into his soul. "Okay Monkey, we'll visit Uncle Steve sometime...but dinner?"
"I want to surprise him. We'll bring food since it is a surprise. I can show him what we're learning in school about manners too. It'll be fun!" Grace's voice grew in excitement with each word. "Please Daddy? Steve makes you smile."
Again, another hole through his body, although this one felt a little bit like one made by Cupid's arrow instead of his adorable daughter. He smiled. "Okay Grace. I'll finish cooking, you grab everything you need, and we'll pack it all up and take it to Uncle Steve's for a surprise."
Grace began gathering things she would need as Danny cooked. He wondered how many things one little girl could take somewhere for a surprise and if there would be anything left in his apartment when he heard her voice. "Danno? Does Uncle Steve have spoons and forks and knives?"
"Well, we don't need knives right?" Danny was adding the final touches to the food and putting it in containers they could transport. He turned to see her shake her head and continued. "You want everything don't you? Okay, how about we take your special forks, spoons and knives for our surprise? I think Steve might enjoy them since it would make it more you."
She was beaming. "I like that."
Danny couldn't help but smile at his daughter's joy over one simple surprise that only came about because he was goofy thinking Steve is mad and he couldn't stop rambling to himself about it as he cooked. He found a bag big enough to fit everything and placed the food in the bottom. Danny let Grace add her things on top as he walked to the refrigerator, opened it, grabbed the six-pack he picked up at the store on his way back from seeing the Governor and asked Grace if she was ready.
"I am" she answered before gasping.
"What? Are you okay? Something happen?"
"I forgot to ask if I can bring some stuff to play with if you have to talk to Uncle Steve."
"What? Why would..." Danny was unable to finish his question before Grace began to explain.
"Well, you talked to yourself and you said it was too old for me to know so I thought you would have to talk to Uncle Steve alone so you can smile." Grace stood staring at her father, beaming with pride in the fact she has her daddy all figured out.
He could do nothing but chuckle. "Okay, grab some things and we'll add them to our big surprise bag."
"I have a bag" she explained as she grabbed a few things around the apartment and the instant she placed the in the bag she said "now we can go." Grace walked to the door and turned to wait on her father.
"Yes Monkey, now we go." Danny laughed while grabbing the bag and putting it on his shoulder. He picked up the beer and headed out to the car with Grace.
The ride over seemed to take three times longer than usual. Question after question ran through Danny's mind like what if Catherine was there, what if Steve really was mad and not willing to see them, what if Catherine was on her way over with her own dinner surprise? None of these were any kind of good for Danny and he half wished he hadn't decided calling beforehand was a bad idea. His gut said complete surprise would be the way to go in this instance but the closer they got to Steve's house, the more Danny worried.
Grace placed her hand on her daddy's hand and softly spoke. "Daddy, he'll like it. He likes us."
Danny smiled as he pulled into the driveway. "I hope so. I know he likes you."
"He likes you too."
Danny didn't have a chance to ask what she meant because she started talking a mile a minute as she unbuckled and opened the door the instant he shut off the car. They got everything and as they made it to the door, Danny reached for the handle to open the door and walk inside.
"NO!"
He jumped and let go of the handle that must have been on fire for Grace to yell at him like she did. "What?"
She was shaking her head and explaining "Daddy, you have to knock."
"Knock? No Monkey, I don't have to knock. It's Steve's house." He almost added 'we do this thing where I don't knock and he gets annoyed and we laugh about it later' but knew the instant he said that it would only prove her point.
"Yes Daddy. It is polite to knock when you surprise someone. Manners Danno." For added emphasis she set down her smaller bag she was carrying and again went with the hands on her hips, head tilted to the side look she learned a little too well from her mother.
"Fine. Knocking." Danny grabbed Grace's hand to at least get one of them off of her hips after knocking on Steve's door.
~H50~ ~H50~ ~H50~ ~H50~ ~H50~
Steve turned off the shower and as he was drying off he thought he heard a knock at his door. He stopped, listened, and heard another knock. His first instinct was that the knock was Catherine and for a moment, after the day he had, thought about answering the door naked but decided against it just in case it was anyone else knocking. He walked to the door after throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Steve was surprised when he opened the door and saw Danny standing on the other side with a six-pack of beer in one hand, a bag on his shoulder and his other hand wrapped around Grace's tiny fingers.
"Hey." Danny said and smiled tentatively.
"Hi." Steve stood in the middle of his doorway completely stunned. "You knocked."
"Yeah."
"I told him it was polite." Grace stated very matter of fact in that tone that was really starting to annoy Danny since it was so much like her mother. "We are learning all about manners in school."
"And that makes Rachel very happy."
Steve chuckled, realized he was standing in their way and stepped aside so they could enter his home.
Danny let go of Grace's hand and carried the beer to the kitchen and the bag to the table.
Grace walked inside and spoke as Steve closed the door behind her. "Daddy was going to call you first but he thought you were mad at him."
"Mad?" He asked and knelt in front of her.
"Yes. He said something he thinks he didn't mean to say." She looked around Steve and toward the doorway where her father had gone. She whispered as she looked back at Steve. "He was talking to himself and I didn't know what he was saying but I heard your name so I said we should see you and he could tell you here."
She didn't hear her father walk back into the room. "Yes. So here we are. Thought you'd object if we called ahead." Danny looked around and thought something should be mentioned about the fact that Steve must have just had a shower. "We interrupting?"
"No, no. Not at all." He smiled at both of them. "Glad you're here."
"Yeah?" Danny asked.
Steve gazed at him, widening his grin and said, "yeah" holding back what he thought might sound like a giggle from a teenage girl which would be so un-SEAL-like.
"We brought food! I told Danno that was polite too. He said beer was polite." Grace walked over to her father and motioned for him to lean closer. She whispered, "Daddy, can I do it now? What I learned?"
"Yes Gracie, everything is right around there so you can get it out and do it by yourself like you wanted." He continued, now whispering. "I put the food in bowls for you. I'll wait here with Steve so you can surprise us both." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and straightened as she went in the way he directed.
Danny smiled when he heard her giggle; knowing she found what she needed and Steve's curiosity was definitely getting the better of him. "What does she have in there?" he asked as he took a step toward the direction Grace headed.
"Whoa Steve, a surprise. What part of the word surprise do you not understand? You should know the word considering how often you yourself surprise people." Danny stepped in front of Steve and put his hands up in front of him to stop his partner from ruining his daughter's surprise.
It was driving him insane. "What surprise? Why does she have a surprise? Is it the food? Surprise food?"
"Stop! Please, no SEAL stuff, no almost detective stuff, no I'm Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett and I must always be in total control stuff, just don't think right now Steve. My daughter wants to do this for you because she is proud of what she's learned, wants to practice and does not want her daddy rambling to himself in his tiny kitchen because he thinks you're mad and it bothers him." Danny paused a moment before adding, "Please let her do this. She will come back when she's ready."
Steve took a deep breath, exhaled and said, "Okay, waiting here with you." He sat on the arm of a chair, tilted his head ever so slightly and gave Danny one of his 'faces'. "Mad at you?"
Danny opened his mouth to speak and changed his mind, closing his lips tightly, simply nodding at Steve while wondering what could possibly be taking Grace so long because he was in no way ready to explain his earlier ramblings to Steve.
"Now you're quiet?"
"What?"
"You. Quiet. Those two things are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum for you Danny."
"Where's Gracie? Isn't she finished yet? Hey Monkey!"
"Hey, if I stay, you stay. No peeking Danny."
Danny threw his hands up in the air, walked to the couch and sat down, laying his hands on his lap and trying his best to figure out how to explain in twenty words or less before Grace is ready.
"Today or next week?"
"Excuse me?"
"Will you tell me today or will you wait until next week to tell me why you thought I was mad? Or why it would even matter if I might have been mad so much so that you would ramble about it enough that Grace felt the need to bring me a surprise?" Steve stood, made his way over to where Danny was and sat beside him. "Just tell me Danny."
"Just tell you? Easy as that huh?"
"Yeah."
Danny looked at the man sitting beside him and knew exactly what the face meant. That was a face not unlike some of the faces the unfortunate criminal has the privilege of seeing. "Fine."
Steve waited a full minute before gently reminding Danny he'd agreed to explain. "You are not explaining anything Daniel."
Taking a deep breath and realizing it would take more than the easy twenty words he was searching for, Danny began to speak. "Okay, so earlier, when I said Ididn'twantyourfacetobelastIforgottomentionIwasokaywithitbeingnexttolastwithGrace'slast."
Steve closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping to have caught even two words of that jumbled mess, let go of his nose and shook his head while opening his eyes. "I got nothing Danny. Not one bit of that mess you called an explanation."
Danny simply stared at Steve, his eyes pleading with the other man not to make him repeat all of that slowly with his daughter in the next room.
A glare is what he received in return.
"Okay. So I said that it wasn't exactly true that I didn't want to see your face at all if we were about to die. Because I do...I would and not because I'm convinced you'll get me shot a few more times whether you meant to or not, however, I would rather see my daughter's face last." He took a breath before finishing. "But your face...that face...now that face I could deal with seeing next to last."
"Yeah?" Steve asked as a smile started to appear on his face.
Danny chuckled and shook his head. "Went straight to that SuperSEAL Smooth Dog ego of yours didn't it?"
"Danny..." Steve began.
"I'm ready!" Grace announced and giggled. "Come on. Come on" she continued as she made her way back to her Daddy. "It's ready. Let's go! Up" she exclaimed as she reached them.
"Okay Grace. We're coming." Steve turned to Danny. "Come on Danno, she's ready."
"I heard her. Standing now" he said while watching Steve closely as he stood.
Leaning over toward Danny Steve whispered, "We can finish this conversation later." He straightened his body, looked at Grace and said "lead the way."
Danny smiled as he followed Steve and Grace. His heart melted as Grace reached up to hold Steve's hand and Danny couldn't wait for the other man's reaction to the surprise.
"Aww Grace, this looks fantastic." Steve said and gently squeezed her hand before letting go and walking closer to the table to inspect her work before sitting down. "You even have salad forks."
Grace smiled broadly at Steve, happy he had noticed. "That's what our teacher told us to do. We didn't bring salad tonight but I remembered the extra forks."
Steve knelt in front of her and whispered something, making her smile. "Sit. Please?" he said to Danny adding "Grace and I will be right back okay?"
Danny gave him a confused look but trusted Steve so he agreed, sitting in the chair Steve pulled out for him at the table which coincidentally left him no way to see what they were doing. Danny knew Steve had done that on purpose as well as pushing the chair in close to the table knowing he would hear any movement by Danny. He sighed and decided to go with it and tried his best to sit and wait patiently folding his hands and resting them on the table.
A few moments later Steve and Grace returned and he leaned over, one hand on Danny's back and the other hand placed a bowl full of salad on the table. Steve stood straight, keeping his hand on Danny and explained. "Grace needed salad and I happened to have the ingredients so we made a quick one together." His hand left a trail of fire as he slid it across Danny's back before letting go of him to sit down.
It took a full minute or two for Danny's brain to function after Steve's hand lost contact with his body. It seems he missed a question or two because the instant he came back to reality Danny saw his partner and his daughter staring at him and waiting on what he assumed must be an answer of some sort. "What?"
Steve laughed.
"Daddy, you were not listening to me."
"Sorry Monkey, I was just taking it all in. The table looks great."
"So does the food." Steve smiled. "Thank you both for surprising me."
Danny smiled warmly at the other man and Grace burst into a fit of giggles. Danny turned to her and asked "what is so funny?"
"I told you Uncle Steve made you smile." She was again beaming with pride.
"You said that Grace?" Steve was surprised she might notice something like that but then realized it was Grace so of course she would have figured it out.
"Yes, she did. And of course, is part of the whole reason why we're here." He picked up the salad bowl and began talking about the food so Steve would let the whole smiling thing go. Danny should have known better. Steve would pick up on one tiny statement and refuse to let it go.
"I think Danno makes you smile to Uncle Steve." Grace said while giggling and digging into her salad hoping to start eating so they could finish dinner quickly so the two men could have a talk about why Steve used to be mad. She finished eating in record time while noticing her Daddy and Steve weren't even halfway finished because they kept looking at each other and mumbling things she didn't exactly understand because they were trying their best to speak in code. "May I be excused?" Grace asked while placing her fork on her plate. "I can come back when you're finished and clean up since that is what you do when you fix supper for someone."
Steve grinned at Grace and softly spoke. "I think we can take care of cleaning up for you Grace since you worked so hard setting the table and making sure it looked perfect."
"Yeah, we'll get it Gracie."
"Wanna watch some movies?" Steve asked while Danny glared at him. "Disney movies...VHS though so I can take you upstairs to the spare room and get it set up for you if you want. Sound good Grace?"
She grinned. "Yes! Which ones?"
"Well, I think most of them are my sister Mary's so I imagine you'll like them." Steve took the napkin from his lap and placed it beside his plate before standing up and helping Grace with her chair. He held out his hand and when she grabbed on to it they began making their way upstairs.
"Oh, I brought some things along in case you didn't have anything for me to do here so you and Danno could talk. But I don't need anything if you have movies!" Grace giggled as Steve squeezed her hand.
"If you don't like any of the movies, we'll get you set up with some other things to do."
"No guns or knives Steven" Danny ordered from the table.
"She'll be fine Danny and I wouldn't let her play with anything real" he said over his shoulder as they walked up the stairs and out of earshot with Grace giggling beside him.
"Won't let her play with anything real. Yeah, you sure as hell better not Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett because I'll..." Danny looked around and wondered when it had become so normal for him to rant alone in a room because from what he remembered the last few weeks he had been doing that as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Danny sighed and contemplated pacing around the room waiting for Steve or if it would be a better idea to finish eating his supper before his nerves made him lose his appetite. He decided to eat because the longer Steve was gone with his daughter, the more he worried she would be telling his partner all about his earlier ramblings at the apartment which was the last thing he wanted Grace to say to Steve. Danny had finished his salad and had about three more bites of his pasta before he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. His stomach was doing flips and that was the moment Danny Williams wished he had chosen pacing over eating.
"Back. She decided there's two movies she must watch tonight and I told her she might have to take the second one home because I wasn't sure..." Steve sat down in his chair and looked at Danny who had become rather pale since he left the table with Grace. "You okay?"
"What?"
"Are you okay? You look a little pale. Are you feeling okay? Did something..."
"Stop. I'm fine Steven. Why wouldn't I be fine? And pale...psh, pale compared to you or Kono and your need to surf all the time I'm pale but I'm not that pale that you'd ask if I was feeling okay. Because I'm fine. Completely okay." He knew he wasn't exactly okay and he hated that Steve could see right through him, knowing exactly how to read Danny.
Steve laughed and when he saw Danny glaring at him he realized he needed to stop laughing as soon as he could or he figured Danny might be responsible for his actions. "Sorry."
"So glad I can make you laugh tremendously tonight Steve. Makes a person feel just great." Danny picked up his fork and began twirling his pasta on the plate never actually bringing any of it to his mouth to eat.
Steve slowly reached across the table and rested his hand on top of Danny's while smiling, hoping it might help the uneasiness he could feel radiating off of Danny's body. "I'm not laughing at you exactly...just kind of laughing at how you've been reacting to everything tonight." He smiled as Danny finally moved his gaze from the food on his plate to look into Steve's eyes.
"I don't know if that is any better Steven."
"I didn't mean anything by it." He wanted to explain but he didn't know how he could without making things worse. "I just meant..."
"You just meant you thought it was funny I was acting like some silly teenager because I thought you were mad at me for what I said earlier in the car when I thought we were going to die. I wasn't exactly focused on my words so I was rambling while I was fixing supper and my daughter, astute little woman she is, figured out I should speak to you so I would stop talking to myself and her inheritance won't end up depleted because of my psychiatry bills." Danny took a deep breath and as he slowly exhaled he looked at Steve. "Right?"
"Wrong...I think. Wait, what were you saying?"
"What??"
"Yeah, what were you saying?"
"Are you kidding me Steven? You didn't hear a word I said?" Danny pulled his hand away, scooted his chair away from the table and stood. "Ya know, I was sitting there trying to open a little bit of my heart and you, you Neanderthal, decide to go all stupid and ignore every single word I said which again makes me feel just fantastic right now. Fantastic." He turned, began walking out of the room and up the stairs to get his daughter so they could retreat to his apartment.
"Whoa, no Danny, stop. Please, wait. That's...I just...damn it Danny will you come back and look at me a second? Please?" Steve stood, hands on his hips and waited for Danny to return.
Danny made it to the steps and heard his daughter giggling upstairs at whatever movie she decided to watch. He stood still, contemplated whether he should listen to Steve or go along with the original plan to retreat. He decided to listen...after all the man did say please. "Fine" he grumbled as he turned and made his way back to Steve. "What? Explain yourself."
Steve stared at Danny. He stared long and hard at the man in front of him wondering when exactly it was that he fell for Danny and why he never really saw it sooner. Steve couldn't find words to explain. He couldn't figure out anything to say so he decided to do what came naturally. Steve closed the distance between them, placed his hands on either side of Danny's gorgeous face and kissed him like he wanted to the moment Danny told him he wanted to see his face next to last if they were going to die.
Danny pulled away a moment and opened his eyes to look at Steve hoping the fog would clear and he would be able to think properly. When he knew that wasn't happening at any time in the near future he leaned toward Steve and kissed him, tenderly at first and then with a hunger he didn't realize he had. At some point Danny realized he was against a wall and Steve had one arm wrapped around him with his other hand on the wall behind Danny so he could brace himself. That was also the moment Danny thought he heard movement upstairs. "Mmm. Steve. Upstairs. Gracie..." Danny wished he could form a sentence but figured he got the point across when Steve ended the kiss and took the tiniest of steps away from him.
"Yeah" was all Steve could muster as a response.
They stood close a moment or two trying to regain composure and Danny motioned toward the stairs. "Uh, Gracie's upstairs and I, uh, yeah, figured she didn't need to see anything that she hadn't ever seen before because, well, you know."
Steve grinned at the man standing in front of him and took a couple of steps back so they could go back to the table and maybe finish their supper. "For the record, I wasn't ignoring you. I was trying to focus on what you were saying and when I touched your hand, then looked at you as you were explaining, I...uh, I might have lost all track of everything you said and focused a little more on your mouth than the words coming out."
Danny furrowed his brows and tilted his head before asking "what?"
"Yeah, I know. Goofy."
"Yeah a little goofy." Danny grinned at Steve. "But I know all about goofy considering I'd been talking to myself all evening about how I was convinced you were mad at me and had every right to be mad. And maybe your mouth gets me a little goofy and I lose track of things at work."
"At work? Really?"
"Yeah really and don't let that go to your SuperSEAL ego either."
"I won't."
"Better not. Now we need to eat this or my daughter is not going to be happy if we waste this food. Sit."
"I can warm it up" Steve offered as he sat down at the table.
"Yeah, and our luck she'll come bounding down the stairs all happy, see us not eating while knowing it is warming up in the oven or microwave. She wouldn't appreciate that at all Steve."
"Okay, good point. And I'll eat this without warming it up..." he waited for Danny to look at him before he finished his statement. When he saw Danny's eyes he added "as long as you and Gracie surprise me like this on a regular basis."
Danny smiled as he sat down at the table. "I think we can manage that but if you actually plan on us being here on a regular basis it wouldn't be much of a surprise would it?"
"Anytime you actually knock on my door is a surprise Danny."
"Ha ha. You are hilarious aren't you?"
"I like to think so."
Laughter filled the room as the two men finished their supper while chatting about Grace, Hawaii, traditions, and dinner surprises that turn into hopes for the future...for their future together.
tis all
Author: weakmoments
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Parings/Characters: Steve/Danno, Grace
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4,944 or so
Disclaimer: I in no way own any part of Hawaii Five-0
Warnings/Spoilers: Takes place after the 'tidal wave' episode
Summary: Danny thinks Steve is mad so he rambles, Grace worries about her Daddy and comes up with a brilliant idea to fix it all.
Author's Note: This is another fic I think I've been working on for ages that was almost completely written and simply needed an ending of sorts. It was written after the ‘tidal wave’ episode and how Danny’s statement about how he didn’t want Steve’s face to be the last thing he saw. In my mind it bothered Steve which ended up bugging Danny so I fixed it! ~grins~ Oh, and their supper? It just happens to be what I was fixing for my own supper the night I wrote it! ~giggles~ Trying to get all of my unfinished H50 fics finished before the new season begins so there could be a few more posts from me this week! Oh, and this is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine. Oh, and also, I really need to get in gear and have the proper episode names....
"Daddy?"
"Yeah Monkey?" He answered his daughter from the kitchen as he stirred the pasta in the pot while waiting on the burger to brown hoping his daughter hadn't heard his mumbling while he was cooking.
Grace got up from where she was playing and walked around the counter to stand in the kitchen with him. "Are you okay Danno?"
After placing the spoon on the pineapple spoon rest he received as a surprise gift from Steve which Danny insisted on throwing away until Steve gave him that pouty face he only gets every once in a great while when things don't go his way, Danny turned around to face his daughter. It was in that moment when he realized exactly how much she was like her mother. Grace had one hand on her hip; head tilted ever so slightly and that look on her face that Danny had witnessed more than enough from Rachel when they were married. Thinking it might help his case, or at the very least it couldn't hurt, he smiled his best Danno smile and said "of course I'm okay Grace."
Both hands were now on her hips and her head tilted enough to the side that she will definitely end up with a crick in her neck if she keeps her head leaning too long. "Are you lying to me? Because you tell me not to lie and I think you're lying Daddy."
It felt like a knife to the gut when she looked him in the eye and said she did not believe him, especially when he knew she was right. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and knelt down in front of Grace taking her hands from her hips and holding her tiny hands in his own. "Yes baby. I might have been exaggerating a bit. I love you for wanting to see if I'm okay but it is something you don't need to worry about okay? It's...it's an adult sort of thing that beautiful little girls should not have to deal with because they need to take care of dolphins and bunnies instead of Daddies."
"But I like when you smile."
He tilted his head and spoke. "This?" Again he put on his best Danno smile for his best girl. "This is me smiling. See? Happy. I am always happy when you're here with me. How can I not smile all the time?"
As bold and as matter of fact as she could, Grace looked into her daddy's eyes and stated "I wanna see Uncle Steve."
Danny had to brace himself so he didn't fall back in surprise. "Steve? You want to see Steve?"
"Yes, I want to see Uncle Steve and we should take him dinner."
He knew that voice. It was the exact same determined tone her mother has and Danny knew without a doubt he would never win. He stood, leaned down to kiss her forehead and walked back to the stove to finish cooking before something burned or boiled over. He hadn't yet answered Grace and felt her beautiful little eyes burning a hole straight through his back and directly into his soul. "Okay Monkey, we'll visit Uncle Steve sometime...but dinner?"
"I want to surprise him. We'll bring food since it is a surprise. I can show him what we're learning in school about manners too. It'll be fun!" Grace's voice grew in excitement with each word. "Please Daddy? Steve makes you smile."
Again, another hole through his body, although this one felt a little bit like one made by Cupid's arrow instead of his adorable daughter. He smiled. "Okay Grace. I'll finish cooking, you grab everything you need, and we'll pack it all up and take it to Uncle Steve's for a surprise."
Grace began gathering things she would need as Danny cooked. He wondered how many things one little girl could take somewhere for a surprise and if there would be anything left in his apartment when he heard her voice. "Danno? Does Uncle Steve have spoons and forks and knives?"
"Well, we don't need knives right?" Danny was adding the final touches to the food and putting it in containers they could transport. He turned to see her shake her head and continued. "You want everything don't you? Okay, how about we take your special forks, spoons and knives for our surprise? I think Steve might enjoy them since it would make it more you."
She was beaming. "I like that."
Danny couldn't help but smile at his daughter's joy over one simple surprise that only came about because he was goofy thinking Steve is mad and he couldn't stop rambling to himself about it as he cooked. He found a bag big enough to fit everything and placed the food in the bottom. Danny let Grace add her things on top as he walked to the refrigerator, opened it, grabbed the six-pack he picked up at the store on his way back from seeing the Governor and asked Grace if she was ready.
"I am" she answered before gasping.
"What? Are you okay? Something happen?"
"I forgot to ask if I can bring some stuff to play with if you have to talk to Uncle Steve."
"What? Why would..." Danny was unable to finish his question before Grace began to explain.
"Well, you talked to yourself and you said it was too old for me to know so I thought you would have to talk to Uncle Steve alone so you can smile." Grace stood staring at her father, beaming with pride in the fact she has her daddy all figured out.
He could do nothing but chuckle. "Okay, grab some things and we'll add them to our big surprise bag."
"I have a bag" she explained as she grabbed a few things around the apartment and the instant she placed the in the bag she said "now we can go." Grace walked to the door and turned to wait on her father.
"Yes Monkey, now we go." Danny laughed while grabbing the bag and putting it on his shoulder. He picked up the beer and headed out to the car with Grace.
The ride over seemed to take three times longer than usual. Question after question ran through Danny's mind like what if Catherine was there, what if Steve really was mad and not willing to see them, what if Catherine was on her way over with her own dinner surprise? None of these were any kind of good for Danny and he half wished he hadn't decided calling beforehand was a bad idea. His gut said complete surprise would be the way to go in this instance but the closer they got to Steve's house, the more Danny worried.
Grace placed her hand on her daddy's hand and softly spoke. "Daddy, he'll like it. He likes us."
Danny smiled as he pulled into the driveway. "I hope so. I know he likes you."
"He likes you too."
Danny didn't have a chance to ask what she meant because she started talking a mile a minute as she unbuckled and opened the door the instant he shut off the car. They got everything and as they made it to the door, Danny reached for the handle to open the door and walk inside.
"NO!"
He jumped and let go of the handle that must have been on fire for Grace to yell at him like she did. "What?"
She was shaking her head and explaining "Daddy, you have to knock."
"Knock? No Monkey, I don't have to knock. It's Steve's house." He almost added 'we do this thing where I don't knock and he gets annoyed and we laugh about it later' but knew the instant he said that it would only prove her point.
"Yes Daddy. It is polite to knock when you surprise someone. Manners Danno." For added emphasis she set down her smaller bag she was carrying and again went with the hands on her hips, head tilted to the side look she learned a little too well from her mother.
"Fine. Knocking." Danny grabbed Grace's hand to at least get one of them off of her hips after knocking on Steve's door.
~H50~ ~H50~ ~H50~ ~H50~ ~H50~
Steve turned off the shower and as he was drying off he thought he heard a knock at his door. He stopped, listened, and heard another knock. His first instinct was that the knock was Catherine and for a moment, after the day he had, thought about answering the door naked but decided against it just in case it was anyone else knocking. He walked to the door after throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Steve was surprised when he opened the door and saw Danny standing on the other side with a six-pack of beer in one hand, a bag on his shoulder and his other hand wrapped around Grace's tiny fingers.
"Hey." Danny said and smiled tentatively.
"Hi." Steve stood in the middle of his doorway completely stunned. "You knocked."
"Yeah."
"I told him it was polite." Grace stated very matter of fact in that tone that was really starting to annoy Danny since it was so much like her mother. "We are learning all about manners in school."
"And that makes Rachel very happy."
Steve chuckled, realized he was standing in their way and stepped aside so they could enter his home.
Danny let go of Grace's hand and carried the beer to the kitchen and the bag to the table.
Grace walked inside and spoke as Steve closed the door behind her. "Daddy was going to call you first but he thought you were mad at him."
"Mad?" He asked and knelt in front of her.
"Yes. He said something he thinks he didn't mean to say." She looked around Steve and toward the doorway where her father had gone. She whispered as she looked back at Steve. "He was talking to himself and I didn't know what he was saying but I heard your name so I said we should see you and he could tell you here."
She didn't hear her father walk back into the room. "Yes. So here we are. Thought you'd object if we called ahead." Danny looked around and thought something should be mentioned about the fact that Steve must have just had a shower. "We interrupting?"
"No, no. Not at all." He smiled at both of them. "Glad you're here."
"Yeah?" Danny asked.
Steve gazed at him, widening his grin and said, "yeah" holding back what he thought might sound like a giggle from a teenage girl which would be so un-SEAL-like.
"We brought food! I told Danno that was polite too. He said beer was polite." Grace walked over to her father and motioned for him to lean closer. She whispered, "Daddy, can I do it now? What I learned?"
"Yes Gracie, everything is right around there so you can get it out and do it by yourself like you wanted." He continued, now whispering. "I put the food in bowls for you. I'll wait here with Steve so you can surprise us both." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and straightened as she went in the way he directed.
Danny smiled when he heard her giggle; knowing she found what she needed and Steve's curiosity was definitely getting the better of him. "What does she have in there?" he asked as he took a step toward the direction Grace headed.
"Whoa Steve, a surprise. What part of the word surprise do you not understand? You should know the word considering how often you yourself surprise people." Danny stepped in front of Steve and put his hands up in front of him to stop his partner from ruining his daughter's surprise.
It was driving him insane. "What surprise? Why does she have a surprise? Is it the food? Surprise food?"
"Stop! Please, no SEAL stuff, no almost detective stuff, no I'm Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett and I must always be in total control stuff, just don't think right now Steve. My daughter wants to do this for you because she is proud of what she's learned, wants to practice and does not want her daddy rambling to himself in his tiny kitchen because he thinks you're mad and it bothers him." Danny paused a moment before adding, "Please let her do this. She will come back when she's ready."
Steve took a deep breath, exhaled and said, "Okay, waiting here with you." He sat on the arm of a chair, tilted his head ever so slightly and gave Danny one of his 'faces'. "Mad at you?"
Danny opened his mouth to speak and changed his mind, closing his lips tightly, simply nodding at Steve while wondering what could possibly be taking Grace so long because he was in no way ready to explain his earlier ramblings to Steve.
"Now you're quiet?"
"What?"
"You. Quiet. Those two things are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum for you Danny."
"Where's Gracie? Isn't she finished yet? Hey Monkey!"
"Hey, if I stay, you stay. No peeking Danny."
Danny threw his hands up in the air, walked to the couch and sat down, laying his hands on his lap and trying his best to figure out how to explain in twenty words or less before Grace is ready.
"Today or next week?"
"Excuse me?"
"Will you tell me today or will you wait until next week to tell me why you thought I was mad? Or why it would even matter if I might have been mad so much so that you would ramble about it enough that Grace felt the need to bring me a surprise?" Steve stood, made his way over to where Danny was and sat beside him. "Just tell me Danny."
"Just tell you? Easy as that huh?"
"Yeah."
Danny looked at the man sitting beside him and knew exactly what the face meant. That was a face not unlike some of the faces the unfortunate criminal has the privilege of seeing. "Fine."
Steve waited a full minute before gently reminding Danny he'd agreed to explain. "You are not explaining anything Daniel."
Taking a deep breath and realizing it would take more than the easy twenty words he was searching for, Danny began to speak. "Okay, so earlier, when I said Ididn'twantyourfacetobelastIforgottomentionIwasokaywithitbeingnexttolastwithGrace'slast."
Steve closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping to have caught even two words of that jumbled mess, let go of his nose and shook his head while opening his eyes. "I got nothing Danny. Not one bit of that mess you called an explanation."
Danny simply stared at Steve, his eyes pleading with the other man not to make him repeat all of that slowly with his daughter in the next room.
A glare is what he received in return.
"Okay. So I said that it wasn't exactly true that I didn't want to see your face at all if we were about to die. Because I do...I would and not because I'm convinced you'll get me shot a few more times whether you meant to or not, however, I would rather see my daughter's face last." He took a breath before finishing. "But your face...that face...now that face I could deal with seeing next to last."
"Yeah?" Steve asked as a smile started to appear on his face.
Danny chuckled and shook his head. "Went straight to that SuperSEAL Smooth Dog ego of yours didn't it?"
"Danny..." Steve began.
"I'm ready!" Grace announced and giggled. "Come on. Come on" she continued as she made her way back to her Daddy. "It's ready. Let's go! Up" she exclaimed as she reached them.
"Okay Grace. We're coming." Steve turned to Danny. "Come on Danno, she's ready."
"I heard her. Standing now" he said while watching Steve closely as he stood.
Leaning over toward Danny Steve whispered, "We can finish this conversation later." He straightened his body, looked at Grace and said "lead the way."
Danny smiled as he followed Steve and Grace. His heart melted as Grace reached up to hold Steve's hand and Danny couldn't wait for the other man's reaction to the surprise.
"Aww Grace, this looks fantastic." Steve said and gently squeezed her hand before letting go and walking closer to the table to inspect her work before sitting down. "You even have salad forks."
Grace smiled broadly at Steve, happy he had noticed. "That's what our teacher told us to do. We didn't bring salad tonight but I remembered the extra forks."
Steve knelt in front of her and whispered something, making her smile. "Sit. Please?" he said to Danny adding "Grace and I will be right back okay?"
Danny gave him a confused look but trusted Steve so he agreed, sitting in the chair Steve pulled out for him at the table which coincidentally left him no way to see what they were doing. Danny knew Steve had done that on purpose as well as pushing the chair in close to the table knowing he would hear any movement by Danny. He sighed and decided to go with it and tried his best to sit and wait patiently folding his hands and resting them on the table.
A few moments later Steve and Grace returned and he leaned over, one hand on Danny's back and the other hand placed a bowl full of salad on the table. Steve stood straight, keeping his hand on Danny and explained. "Grace needed salad and I happened to have the ingredients so we made a quick one together." His hand left a trail of fire as he slid it across Danny's back before letting go of him to sit down.
It took a full minute or two for Danny's brain to function after Steve's hand lost contact with his body. It seems he missed a question or two because the instant he came back to reality Danny saw his partner and his daughter staring at him and waiting on what he assumed must be an answer of some sort. "What?"
Steve laughed.
"Daddy, you were not listening to me."
"Sorry Monkey, I was just taking it all in. The table looks great."
"So does the food." Steve smiled. "Thank you both for surprising me."
Danny smiled warmly at the other man and Grace burst into a fit of giggles. Danny turned to her and asked "what is so funny?"
"I told you Uncle Steve made you smile." She was again beaming with pride.
"You said that Grace?" Steve was surprised she might notice something like that but then realized it was Grace so of course she would have figured it out.
"Yes, she did. And of course, is part of the whole reason why we're here." He picked up the salad bowl and began talking about the food so Steve would let the whole smiling thing go. Danny should have known better. Steve would pick up on one tiny statement and refuse to let it go.
"I think Danno makes you smile to Uncle Steve." Grace said while giggling and digging into her salad hoping to start eating so they could finish dinner quickly so the two men could have a talk about why Steve used to be mad. She finished eating in record time while noticing her Daddy and Steve weren't even halfway finished because they kept looking at each other and mumbling things she didn't exactly understand because they were trying their best to speak in code. "May I be excused?" Grace asked while placing her fork on her plate. "I can come back when you're finished and clean up since that is what you do when you fix supper for someone."
Steve grinned at Grace and softly spoke. "I think we can take care of cleaning up for you Grace since you worked so hard setting the table and making sure it looked perfect."
"Yeah, we'll get it Gracie."
"Wanna watch some movies?" Steve asked while Danny glared at him. "Disney movies...VHS though so I can take you upstairs to the spare room and get it set up for you if you want. Sound good Grace?"
She grinned. "Yes! Which ones?"
"Well, I think most of them are my sister Mary's so I imagine you'll like them." Steve took the napkin from his lap and placed it beside his plate before standing up and helping Grace with her chair. He held out his hand and when she grabbed on to it they began making their way upstairs.
"Oh, I brought some things along in case you didn't have anything for me to do here so you and Danno could talk. But I don't need anything if you have movies!" Grace giggled as Steve squeezed her hand.
"If you don't like any of the movies, we'll get you set up with some other things to do."
"No guns or knives Steven" Danny ordered from the table.
"She'll be fine Danny and I wouldn't let her play with anything real" he said over his shoulder as they walked up the stairs and out of earshot with Grace giggling beside him.
"Won't let her play with anything real. Yeah, you sure as hell better not Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett because I'll..." Danny looked around and wondered when it had become so normal for him to rant alone in a room because from what he remembered the last few weeks he had been doing that as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Danny sighed and contemplated pacing around the room waiting for Steve or if it would be a better idea to finish eating his supper before his nerves made him lose his appetite. He decided to eat because the longer Steve was gone with his daughter, the more he worried she would be telling his partner all about his earlier ramblings at the apartment which was the last thing he wanted Grace to say to Steve. Danny had finished his salad and had about three more bites of his pasta before he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. His stomach was doing flips and that was the moment Danny Williams wished he had chosen pacing over eating.
"Back. She decided there's two movies she must watch tonight and I told her she might have to take the second one home because I wasn't sure..." Steve sat down in his chair and looked at Danny who had become rather pale since he left the table with Grace. "You okay?"
"What?"
"Are you okay? You look a little pale. Are you feeling okay? Did something..."
"Stop. I'm fine Steven. Why wouldn't I be fine? And pale...psh, pale compared to you or Kono and your need to surf all the time I'm pale but I'm not that pale that you'd ask if I was feeling okay. Because I'm fine. Completely okay." He knew he wasn't exactly okay and he hated that Steve could see right through him, knowing exactly how to read Danny.
Steve laughed and when he saw Danny glaring at him he realized he needed to stop laughing as soon as he could or he figured Danny might be responsible for his actions. "Sorry."
"So glad I can make you laugh tremendously tonight Steve. Makes a person feel just great." Danny picked up his fork and began twirling his pasta on the plate never actually bringing any of it to his mouth to eat.
Steve slowly reached across the table and rested his hand on top of Danny's while smiling, hoping it might help the uneasiness he could feel radiating off of Danny's body. "I'm not laughing at you exactly...just kind of laughing at how you've been reacting to everything tonight." He smiled as Danny finally moved his gaze from the food on his plate to look into Steve's eyes.
"I don't know if that is any better Steven."
"I didn't mean anything by it." He wanted to explain but he didn't know how he could without making things worse. "I just meant..."
"You just meant you thought it was funny I was acting like some silly teenager because I thought you were mad at me for what I said earlier in the car when I thought we were going to die. I wasn't exactly focused on my words so I was rambling while I was fixing supper and my daughter, astute little woman she is, figured out I should speak to you so I would stop talking to myself and her inheritance won't end up depleted because of my psychiatry bills." Danny took a deep breath and as he slowly exhaled he looked at Steve. "Right?"
"Wrong...I think. Wait, what were you saying?"
"What??"
"Yeah, what were you saying?"
"Are you kidding me Steven? You didn't hear a word I said?" Danny pulled his hand away, scooted his chair away from the table and stood. "Ya know, I was sitting there trying to open a little bit of my heart and you, you Neanderthal, decide to go all stupid and ignore every single word I said which again makes me feel just fantastic right now. Fantastic." He turned, began walking out of the room and up the stairs to get his daughter so they could retreat to his apartment.
"Whoa, no Danny, stop. Please, wait. That's...I just...damn it Danny will you come back and look at me a second? Please?" Steve stood, hands on his hips and waited for Danny to return.
Danny made it to the steps and heard his daughter giggling upstairs at whatever movie she decided to watch. He stood still, contemplated whether he should listen to Steve or go along with the original plan to retreat. He decided to listen...after all the man did say please. "Fine" he grumbled as he turned and made his way back to Steve. "What? Explain yourself."
Steve stared at Danny. He stared long and hard at the man in front of him wondering when exactly it was that he fell for Danny and why he never really saw it sooner. Steve couldn't find words to explain. He couldn't figure out anything to say so he decided to do what came naturally. Steve closed the distance between them, placed his hands on either side of Danny's gorgeous face and kissed him like he wanted to the moment Danny told him he wanted to see his face next to last if they were going to die.
Danny pulled away a moment and opened his eyes to look at Steve hoping the fog would clear and he would be able to think properly. When he knew that wasn't happening at any time in the near future he leaned toward Steve and kissed him, tenderly at first and then with a hunger he didn't realize he had. At some point Danny realized he was against a wall and Steve had one arm wrapped around him with his other hand on the wall behind Danny so he could brace himself. That was also the moment Danny thought he heard movement upstairs. "Mmm. Steve. Upstairs. Gracie..." Danny wished he could form a sentence but figured he got the point across when Steve ended the kiss and took the tiniest of steps away from him.
"Yeah" was all Steve could muster as a response.
They stood close a moment or two trying to regain composure and Danny motioned toward the stairs. "Uh, Gracie's upstairs and I, uh, yeah, figured she didn't need to see anything that she hadn't ever seen before because, well, you know."
Steve grinned at the man standing in front of him and took a couple of steps back so they could go back to the table and maybe finish their supper. "For the record, I wasn't ignoring you. I was trying to focus on what you were saying and when I touched your hand, then looked at you as you were explaining, I...uh, I might have lost all track of everything you said and focused a little more on your mouth than the words coming out."
Danny furrowed his brows and tilted his head before asking "what?"
"Yeah, I know. Goofy."
"Yeah a little goofy." Danny grinned at Steve. "But I know all about goofy considering I'd been talking to myself all evening about how I was convinced you were mad at me and had every right to be mad. And maybe your mouth gets me a little goofy and I lose track of things at work."
"At work? Really?"
"Yeah really and don't let that go to your SuperSEAL ego either."
"I won't."
"Better not. Now we need to eat this or my daughter is not going to be happy if we waste this food. Sit."
"I can warm it up" Steve offered as he sat down at the table.
"Yeah, and our luck she'll come bounding down the stairs all happy, see us not eating while knowing it is warming up in the oven or microwave. She wouldn't appreciate that at all Steve."
"Okay, good point. And I'll eat this without warming it up..." he waited for Danny to look at him before he finished his statement. When he saw Danny's eyes he added "as long as you and Gracie surprise me like this on a regular basis."
Danny smiled as he sat down at the table. "I think we can manage that but if you actually plan on us being here on a regular basis it wouldn't be much of a surprise would it?"
"Anytime you actually knock on my door is a surprise Danny."
"Ha ha. You are hilarious aren't you?"
"I like to think so."
Laughter filled the room as the two men finished their supper while chatting about Grace, Hawaii, traditions, and dinner surprises that turn into hopes for the future...for their future together.
tis all