Archive of Our Own

Steve looked across the laina to where he could see Danny and Grace in the kitchen making a salad and cake to go with dinner. He couldn’t believe how lucky he’d gotten three and a half years ago when he raised his gun at the man in his kitchen. That first weekend that Steve had helped out with Gracie they’d dragged him along for lunch their first day and had never let him leave. Gracie insisting that Steve could teach her all of his island knowledge about Nai'a. From then on Grace and Danny spent her weekends at Steve’s place because Gracie didn’t like that he lived alone. The more time that Steve and Danny spent together the closer they became till eventually, Danny was with him almost every night to hang out. They hung out after work and sought comfort from each other after the really bad cases. Steve taught Danny to surf with Kono’s help just so Danny could be the one to teach Grace and they were soon off on adventures every chance they had alone and with Grace. It was the day that Steve had fallen and broken his arm that he’d realised just what his heart was telling him. He couldn’t live without the sarcastic jersey native and he’d been sure to let Danny know the second he’d been released. He’d immediately thought that he’d gotten the wrong idea and ran away before Danny could answer him. Steve laughed to himself as he turned back to the barbecue to finish off the meat for dinner before continuing his thoughts. He’d avoided Danny for three days before Gracie had called him in tears asking why Steve didn’t want to spend time with her anymore. He’d felt terrible and had immediately gone to comfort the little girl at Danny’s. Once she had settled and they’d all gone back to Steve’s house Danny had cornered him in the kitchen and kissed the very air out of him. After that everything changed, they started dating and they weren’t perfect but Steve knew that these two people were his family and now he was ready to make it official. with the Steaks done he walked back inside just in time to hear Gracie start to ask about Danny taking her out the next day.

“Danno please I just want to go on an adventure tomorrow.”
“I don’t know Grace we’ll have to see what happens in the morning.” Steve could see that Grace was about to start pouting at Danny and decided to step in.
“Hey, Danny why don’t you and Grace go have a father-daughter day tomorrow. You can go out and spend the day together and I’ll take the time to tidy up the house a little and get some of the odd jobs done around here." Danny looked at him for a moment.
“Are you sure? You know you’re a part of this family to Steven.”
"I know that Danny but how long has it been since your last father-daughter day. You two go have fun, I’ll be fine." Inside Steve was plotting ways that he could accomplish his mission and still have time to do enough work to cover his lie. Gracie slid out of her chair then and rushed round the bench to him. He caught her and was surprised by how tight she was hugging him.
“Gracie, are you ok?”
“No.” she said without pulling away from him. Steve and Danny looked at each other worried.
“Monkey what’s wrong?” Danny was worried now.
“Why don’t you want to come out with us on daddy-daughter day?" She asked Steve as she burrowed into his arms even more.
“Cause that’s your and Danno special day.” Gracie pulled back then and looked him in the eye.
“But you’re my Makuakāne too.” Steve feels his heart stop and stutter in his chest and is overcome by emotions. He looks at Danny for help.
“Monkey what did you just call Steve?” He was confused.
“I called him father. Cause he’s my Makuakāne too. I love Steve just as much as I love you and mommy.” Steve could feel the tears that had gathered in his eyes begin to fall. He watches Graces eyes go wide before she's gently brushing his tears away.
“Uncle Steve, are you ok? I’m sorry if I made you sad...” Steve interrupted before Grace could get all worked up.
“No Gracie those weren’t sad tears those were happy tears. I never thought I’d be a Makuakāne but I’m very happy that you want me to be yours” both Danny and Grace look happy at that.
“So I can keep calling you Makuakāne?”
“Sure Grace so long as Danno's ok with it." She looks at Danny and he nods, glad that things were ok again.

They ate dinner together trying to come up with ideas about what they should be doing the next day and soon it was time to pack up and head off to bed. As he lay in bed waiting for Danny to finish in the shower and to join him Steve started to rethink his plan for the next day. This needed to be special for both Danny and Grace and he had the most perfect idea ever.

The next morning was an early start with Grace joining Steve on his run and swim like shed been doing for close to a year now and soon they were back and showered ready to head out into the world. Danny and Grace had decided to head across the island and check out a beach that Kono had mentioned to them with Grace eager to hop in the water as soon as possible. Danny looked at Steve funny when he followed them out of the house.

"Hey, Steve.”
"Yes, Danny?"
“Don’t take this the wrong way but don’t you need to be inside the house to clean it?”
“Yes, Danny your right but in order to fix things and clean things I need to go out and get supplies." Right, Danny thought to himself feeling a little stupid for a second before Steve leaned down to give him a kiss.
“Have fun on your trip today take as long as you like and text me when you’re on your way home so I can get dinner started.”
"Yeah ok," Danny said giving Steve another quick kiss before he moved over to the car where Grace was calling out to him.

They both pulled out of the drive and drove off in their separate directions. Steve was certain that he’d find what he needed over at the small jewellery store near Mamos. He pulled into his usual park by Mamos and walked across the streets to the jeweller. He was greeted as he walked into the store by a young-looking native girl.

“Welcome to simply perfect.” She said with a huge smile on her face. “Is there anything that I can assist you with that will make your shopping easier?”
“Actually there is I’m looking for an engagement ring.” As Steve says that the girl’s eyes light up.
“Follow me and we can get you started right away.” They walk around to the other side of the display cabinet and Steve looks through all of the flashy rings covered in diamonds and realises that he needs to be more specific.
“These are all wonderful but do you have a male section?” He sees a small look pass over her face and realises that she’s about to apologise.
“Sir I’m sorry I didn’t...”
“It’s ok I didn’t tell you. Most people assume from the way I look so it's ok really." The girl nods quickly before leading him a little further round to look into another cabinet. There are simple silver bands and some with diamonds inlaid in them but as Steve looks over the rings he sees the perfect one.

“That’s the one.” He says pointing it out to the assistant. She pulls it out of the case so he can have a closer look. He likes it even more and tells the girl Danny’s ring size. She goes to ring it up but he stops her.
“I need a girl’s promise ring as well.” The assistant looks confused.
“My partner has an 11-year-old daughter I want to make this special for her as well.” The girl’s eyes get a little watery before she leads him round to have a look. He picks out a rose gold princess ring that he thinks Grace will love and buys both of the rings to take home that day. From the jeweller, Steve heads to the hardware store and the grocery. He buys everything he needs to paint Graces room the way she wants and to fix some of the little things around the house that Danny noticed. He gets food for dinner that night before heading home to hide the rings and get started.

He starts with getting the fish ready for dinner before moving on to the back door. Danny was forever complaining that you had to lift the door to open it and the Grace could only just do it at her age. He pulls the old hinges off and puts new ones on making sure that it worked properly before he moved on. Gracie’s room was next; he moved all of the furniture into the centre of the room and threw a painting cloth over the top of it. He sanded the walls and started the first coat of paint. He’d chosen a soft ocean blue colour for the walls and was glad that all the old furniture was white and he didn’t need to change anything. Leaving the paint to dry Steve moved on to the other odd jobs that he had. The handle on the cup cabinet was first, then the sticky front window and the unlockable bathroom doors. Gracie’s room got a second coat of paint and just as he was finishing he got a text from Grace. It's was a picture of her and Danny eating ice cream on the beach. As he was looking at the photo he got an idea and rushed downstairs. Graces favourite movie since she’d moved to Hawaii was Lilo and Stitch and he’d been trying to think of something that he could do to make Gracie’s room special and a photo wall seemed as special as could be. He grabbed his keys and drove to the photo shop he used. He was quick to get the photos printed and started looking at the frames he could put them in. He was walking past the printed decoration pictures when he saw it. The saying from stitch on a sunset watercolour background in a white frame. He picked it up and collected more white frames for the rest of them and a couple extra that he could modify. The guy helping him put the photos in their frames and asked what they were for.
“Who you doing this for?”
“I’m doing it for my soon to be stepdaughter.”
“Dude that’s amazing. Congrats, I’m sure she gonna love it.”
“I hope so.” Steve said handing over the cash and walking out. He noticed a bedding store across the road and decided to get Grace some new sheets as well and he couldn’t justify not getting the matching pillows too.

Danny and Grace:
When they left the house Danny was sure that Steve had been heading the wrong way for the hardware store so he asked Grace.
“Did Steve tell you where he was going this morning?”
"Yeah, he said he needed some stuff from the hardware store and some groceries. I think maybe he needs some more surf wax too because that’s the way to Mamos.”
“Your probably right, you two have been going out a lot lately.”
"Yeah, it's been so much fun. You should come out with us one day Danno."
“I’ll think about it Monkey.” He’s said watching the hopeful look in her eye grow just a little. They spent most of the drive across the island singing along to the songs on the radio and just having fun. When they were almost there Danny called Kono for directions and they were soon standing on a small deserted beach. It’s was beautiful and defiantly worth the drive to get there. Danny made Grace put her sunscreen on before they set up their towels and drinks. But the second that was done though Gracie was racing towards the ocean and Danny was following behind her. It was rare that he and Gracie had days alone together like this one and he found himself looking over his shoulder for Steve a couple of times. They swam and played for hours till Grace got hungry and they made their way back up to their towels. Danny spotted the ice cream shop and asked Grace if she wanted some. A quick trip later and they were both enjoying their treats.
"Wait Danno, we have to send Makuakāne a picture.”
“Alright Monkey come here.” She scooted up nice and close before taking the picture and sending it to Steve. They got a message back a minute later.
‘Looks amazing Ku’uipo’ now Danny had no clue what Steve had said but it had made Grace smile and that was all that mattered. They ate sandwiches that they packed and Grace played in the sand making designs with shells and sticks. She pulls a Polaroid camera out of her bag and starts to take pictures of things around them and on the beach. Danny isn't surprised that Grace had developed a love of photography after all the time she spent with Steve on the weekend. He taught her the name of everything she’d taken a picture of and even helped her label her photos. It was one of their things and Danny wasn’t upset about it not like when step-Stan tried to do things with Grace. He’d gotten so lucky with Steve especially with how much he and Grace loved each other. Grace came back then and packed her camera and photos away before dragging Danny back into the surf.

McGarrett House:
With all of the odd jobs finished around the house, Steve was just waiting on Graces room to finish drying so he could finish it off. In the meantime, he started on his little project to make hangers for Gracie's pictures. He takes the glass and backing out of the spare frames that he bought and wrapped them carefully to put away. He took the string he'd bought on his second hardware store trip and staples it to the back of the frame. He does it four times per frame in three different sized frames before clipping the small art pegs he’d found to them so that Grace could choose what pictures she wanted to hang. He changed her sheets on the bed and washed out all of the brushes he’d used. He was starting to get nervous about whether Grace would like the surprise or not so he ducked up the stairs and checked on the paint. It was finally dry so he hung the pictures of everyone that he’d had printed that day around the decal and hoped that Grace liked it. He made sure to shut Gracie’s door and was just walking down into the kitchen when he got a text.
‘Coming home now, see you soon’
‘Drive safe. I love you both’ Steve replied before moving to the kitchen to start cooking dinner. He left the fish to cook on the barbecue and went inside to start the salad and sides. He’s finished them just in time for the fish to finish and he heard Danny’s car pull up as he came back into the house. He rushed for the door not wanting Grace or Danny to see anything till he was ready.

“Makuakāne I have to show you all the pictures that I took today. There were so many new things there that I haven’t seen before.” Grace said as she ran up the path into Steve’s waiting arms.
“It sounds amazing Gracie. I’ll have to come with you guys next time.” Steve said before leaning down to kiss Danny.
“I’ve had a pretty big day here as well. Can I show you and Danno what I did today?”
"Lead the way SuperSeal." Danny said chuckling lacing their fingers together. Steve showed them the front window and the cup cabinet which Danny was happy with cause he didn’t like having to fight for his coffee in the morning. He showed them the new bathroom and toilet door handles and how they worked before taking them to the back door.
“Go on Danno open it.” Steve said still holding Grace in his arms. Danny prepared to have to jiggle and lift the door for it to work and was very happy when all he did was turn the handle and push it with one finger.
“I’m impressed babe. You got all of this done and dinner cooked today.”
“Oh there’s one more thing I did today but you and Grace need to close your eyes.” Steve was really starting to get nervous but when Danny and Grace didn’t question what was happening he kept going.
“Give me your hand Danny and I’ll lead the way.” He guided the man he loved out of the kitchen and to the bottom of the stairs.
“We’re not there yet but you need to walk up the stairs now so step up and take your time. I won’t let you fall I promise.” Danny laughed but they slowly made their way upstairs till they reached Gracie’s room. He set her down and faced them both in the door.
“Ok guys open up.”
“Grace was there something wrong with your door?” Danny asks confused
“It’s not the door Danny. Gracie, open your door.” She reaches out and slowly opened the door gasping when it was open wide enough for her to see. Danny pushed it open the rest of the way and had a similar reaction. Steve pushed them both into the room so they could have a better look and Grace ran straight for the picture wall
“Danno look it’s from Lilo and Stitch.”
“I see that Monkey. It’s pretty cool especially with everyone in our Ohana around it.” Danny turned to Steve then and Steve didn’t know what he was thinking.
“Danny?”
“You did everything downstairs and still found time to do this for Grace? I mean come on you defiantly didn’t have those sheets or photos here before today.”
"Yeah, I wanted her to have somewhere here to call just hers. Is that ok?" Steve was worried he'd done something wrong.
“No Steven this is amazing is what it is. I’m so lucky to have you.” Danny told him stepping forward to give him one of their sweetest kisses yet. Pulling back they turned to Grace.
“So Gracie what do you think?”
“Makuakāne this is amazing. Thank you so much.” Grace said coming back over to give him a hug. They spend the next few minutes looking through Gracie’s new pictures and choosing which ones should go up on her wall before they headed downstairs to have dinner. It was an early night that night since Grace had school in the morning and Steve and Danny made sure to tuck her in nice and tight. They went down and had a few beers together talking about nothing in particular till Danny thanked him again for Graces room and they headed upstairs for bed.

Danny got a call at six the next morning while Steve and Grace were out on their run. His court ruling was coming down today. Today was the day that he would find out if he’d won the right to have Grace every Friday afternoon - Monday morning. He’d sued Rachel and Stan without telling Steve or Grace because he didn’t want to get their hopes up in case he lost. The next call he gets is for the case they’ve just been handed and he gets everything ready so they can leave as soon as everyone’s showered. With Grace dropped off and the case well underway it's four in the afternoon before he can check his phone. There's one message and he almost can't bear to listen to it. He takes a deep breath and dials his voicemail.
‘Detective Danny Williams this is Judge Haydn from the Honolulu family courts system. It is my pleasure to call and let you know that the case has been ruled in your favour and you won your case for more visitation hours. We hope that you enjoy this extra time with your daughter. Aloha and good day.’
The message finished playing and Danny started to cry. Steve saw this through their office windows and ran to his partner.
"Danny, what is it? Did something happen to Grace?” Danny slumped forward and Steve caught him wrapping him in a hug, holding him as close as possible.
"Danno you're scaring me." Steve said as he saw the others gathered outside Danny's door.
“I’m sorry babe; I’m just so happy and relieved.”
“What happened?”
“I sued Rachel and Stan for more hours with Grace and the verdict came down today. She’s ours every weekend from Friday afternoon till Monday morning.”
“Oh, Danny that's amazing. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I haven’t told Grace yet either. I’ll probably be getting a call from Rachel later as well.”
“Oh, who cares? We get our little girl every weekend now.” Chin and Kono came in to congratulate them then.
“You know what, we’re all having a barbecue at our place this weekend to celebrate.”
“Sounds like a great idea. Chin and I will bring the beer and sides. You guys worry about the mains.” Plans sorted they headed home for the day.

At the McGarrett house:
They’d nearly made it through the door before Danny’s phone started going off with the Adams family theme music which was Rachel’s current ring tone. Danny made for the back door and picked up on the fourth ring.

“Hello Rachel, what can I do for you?"
“How dare you Daniel, Grace is my daughter.”
“She’s my daughter to Rachel and I deserve to be able to spend time with her. You don’t get to be upset when you took me to court so that you could move again to a different part of the country.”
“Oh don’t be petty Daniel; we needed to move for Stan’s job.”
"You obviously didn't need to move that bad considering you’re still living in your mansion.”
“Oh wow Danny, very classy.”
“I’m just stating facts Rachel. You can’t have expected me to sit by happily with two days every two weeks for visitation. I’ve met criminals with better rights than I had.”
“Oh what you had was fine Danny and it wasn’t like Stan and I weren’t generous with giving you Gracie for extra days.”
"No Rachel you used me as a driving service and a babysitter when you and Stan couldn't be bothered to look after her."
“How dare you say that about me? I’m an amazing mother. I hope you didn’t use these lies in court to get your case won.”
“I didn't lie Rachel and I have every text that you sent me as proof, call logs to if I ask for a warrant. But to answer your question no I didn’t use this information in court. Just imagine what would have happened if I had.”
“Is that a threat Daniel?” Rachel asked in a smug voice
“No Rachel a threat is what you hold over my head whenever something happens to Grace and I’m remotely involved. This is just answering your question.”
"Daniel you're being unreasonable about this."
“No, I'm not Rachel. I spent all of that time with her anyway most weeks; I’m just making it more stable for Grace this way.”
“That isn’t true Daniel. Grace is with us 90% of the time.”
“No she’s not Rachel but I’m not going to argue with you about this anymore. What’s done is done...”
“No, it's not. That’s the second reason why I’m calling we’re taking you back to court on Wednesday. We’re fixing your mistake.”
“Are you kidding me Rachel?”
“No Daniel I’m not. What you did was wrong.”
“Fine Rachel if this is the way you want to do it. I'll see you on Wednesday and I'm not going to play nice this time around. Goodbye." Danny didn't wait to hear her answer before hanging up and turning round to find Steve standing there with a beer in his hand stretched out to him.

“We’ll do this together this time Danny, and we're going for full custody. That woman isn't fit to be a caring mother. I know you were married to her and you loved her but she's a downright bitch and she only cares about the image that she shows others.”
"Yeah no, I agree with you on that one babe. She has no time for Grace anymore now that she has the big house and cash to flash around.”
“Right I’m going to call Chin and Kono to let them know what the plan is and you’re going to call the lawyer I got you for this stuff and tomorrow we’re going to make the best case against Rachel and Stan that no judge in their right mind would deny you.” As Steve finished Danny sagged into his chest, Steve pulled him in close and they stood there just holding each other for five minutes before they started to make their phone calls. Danny finished his call and decided that he should call Grace and explain things to her as well.

Ring, ring, ring.
"Hey, Danno."
“Hey Monkey. What are you doing?”
"Well, I've finished my homework so I'm meant to be practising tennis but I told Mum and step-Stan that I haven’t finished yet.”
“Well that was smart of you Gracie but wouldn’t it be easier to tell them that you don’t want to play?”
“I tried that already Danno they just told me it’s a good skill for a young lady to have. I don’t see how.”
“I don’t either monkey but since you seem to be between things I need to talk to you. About something important.”
"Ok, Danno what's up?"
“I took your mother to court last week so that I could get more visiting hours with you.”
“Did you win Danno?” Grace interrupted sounding excited.
“I did Monkey I would have gotten to see you every weekend from Friday afternoon till Monday morning.”
“Wait what do you mean would have?”
“Grace your mother and step-Stan are taking me back to court to try and reverse the decision that the judge made.”
“No Danno you can’t let them do that.”
“Calm down Grace and let me finish. There are two options for me at this point. I can just defend my latest request and stop it from changing or I can go for full custody or something of the like so that you’d spend most of your time here and both with your Mum and step-Stan.”
“That sounds nice Danno. Living with you and Makuakāne.”
“Alright, Gracie. You’re probably going to have to come to court this time since it’s a big one so just be brave and we’ll deal with what happens at the end of it all. Okay?”
"Ok, Danno. Thank you for telling me."
“You’re old enough to understand Monkey. Now go and play tennis as your mother wants and I'll see you Wednesday."
“Love you Danno.”
“And Danno loves you.”

Danny pulled the phone away from his ear and went to find Steve. He stopped by the fridge for a drink and laughed when all that was left to drink was raspberry lemonade. Trust Steve to buy enough of Gracie’s favourite drink to last her through till high school. He grabbed a glass and went looking for Steve, finding him up in their room Danny knew what that look on Steve’s face was.
“Steve what’s wrong.”
“I just realised that maybe we shouldn’t fight this in case Grace doesn’t want things to change.” Oh wow did he get lucky with this guy.
“Steven I just got off the phone with Grace after I explained everything to her I told her the options that we had and asked what she wanted to do.”
“What did she say?” Steve looked hopeful and a little scared.
“She wants to live here with us so we’re going for full custody.” The tears start to fall then but they both knew that the tears were happy ones. After a couple of minutes comforting each other they got up and showered before climbing into bed. The next couple of days we’re going to be very long and very hard.

They went through their usual routine the next morning but neither Danny nor Steve could calm their nerves over what they were going to spend the day doing. The drive to the office was quiet and tense but they know they had to do this, if not for them then for Grace. They rode the elevator up and were surprised when they got there to see the whole office buzzing. There were two lawyers walking between offices and the computer desks while Chin, Kono, duke, and Kamakona looked through stacks of paper and computer records.

"Guys, what's all this?" Danny asked a little overwhelmed.
“Well we figured we’d get a head start on things this morning but once we started looking we realised just how much evidence there was in your favour and we called in some backup." Kono said with a little bit of arm flailing.
“You don’t mind do ya bruh. We know this is a family thing but...”
“Chin this is amazing. And you guys are my family and Gracie’s too.” Danny said as he walked over to hug Kono while Steve did some weird handshake thing with Chin. They all got stuck into their work then all concentrating on their own area. Kame was going through shrimp truck orders taking note of the days and times that Grace had been there. Chin focused on all the big events and dinners they had as an Ohana to celebrate or to distract Grace. Kono was going over motel and hotel bookings gathering all of the money spent and the dates to see when Danny had Grace outside of his usual hours. Steve started tallying up all of the child support he had paid and made note of when Danny hadn’t been able to pay some of his own bills to make the payment needed. Danny was working on the questions he’d be asked with the lawyer and his assistant was buzzing round the office collecting everyone’s information. It was seven before anyone realised what the time was and they all decided to go for dinner before heading home for a good night’s sleep in perpetration for the next day.

Steve woke at his normal time and was surprised to see Danny up as well.
"Hey, Danny things are going to be ok today. I promise you."
“I just can’t help but feel like we’re missing something and that they’re going to win.”
“How can they win if they don’t even know that you’re going for full custody?”
“I don’t know and isn’t that just stupid.”
"Hey, why don't you come for a run this morning and you'll feel much better afterwards I'm sure." Steve said as he pulled on his runners and waited for Danny to get dressed. They went for a five-mile run and Danny got home feeling completely exhausted and sore. They showered separately and Danny was surprised that Steve was wearing his dress blues.
"Steve, are you sure that you want to wear those?"
“Yeah Danny why wouldn’t I?” Steve was confused, he always wore his dress blues to court for Danny cause he was important.
“Because they’re going to ask what relationships I’m in. Are you sure you want the world to know?”
"Oh, Danny. If I didn't want the world to know I wouldn't have been taking you out on dates for everyone to see. I'm in this for the long run Danny. So yes I’m sure.” Steve decided then win or lose he was going to propose that weekend at the barbecue. Danny smiles at him and they head down for coffee in the go and head out the door making sure to grab the small backpack from Gracie’s room that had been packed the night before.

The Drive was quick and quiet which wasn’t normal but no one was in any mood to talk or joke around today. Everyone was standing outside the courthouse waiting for them and they walked inside as a group. Most of the Ohana stays behind the hand railing to be called on later while Danny and Steve move to sit with their lawyers. Rachel, Stan and Grace aren’t there yet so everyone sits patiently till they rush into the courtroom with their lawyer following along behind. Steve watches as Rachel sits Grace down in the seat next to her with strict instructions to sit still and be quiet. The judge walks in then and calls everyone to order.
“What are the issues that we will be addressing today?” The judge asks and Danny realises that it’s the same judge as last time. The Edwards lawyer stands.
“Your honour we are here today to contest the last change to the visitation agreement between Rachel Edwards and Daniel Williams concerning Grace Williams.” He sits down and before the judge looks at them.
“Didn’t we discuss this issue at the end of last week?”
“Yes, your honour but The Edwards feel the decision was incorrectly determined."
“Very well then. And what are you here for Mr Williams?” Judge Haydn asks turning to him.
“We are using this hearing to push for full custody of Grace Williams, your honour." Their lawyer says once he's standing.
“WHAT!” Rachel screeches across the room.
“And why is full custody being brought to the table?”
“We feel that Grace isn’t being taken care of by The Edwards.”
"How dare you, Daniel. What gives you the nerve to accuse me of something like this?”
“You will settle your client sir or they will be removed from the room. Right, let's begin." Steve had been paying about half attention to the goings-on around him too worried about how Grace was handling it but the smile she sent him told him everything he needed to know.

They started with Rachel’s issues about Danny having more hours since it was the smaller matter and not surprisingly with only a little more evidence the judge ruled in his favour again. No matter what happened for the rest of the day they would have Grace every Friday to Monday. Steve had watched Rachel tell Grace to sit still and pay attention the few times that Grace had started to move around for a more comfortable position.
“Right let’s start with the big issue now. Please provide all of the proof that Mr Williams would be a better choice as full guardian.” Everyone heard Rachel scoff then and knew that this was going to be the hard part. They started by listing all the times Rachel had been unable to pick up Grace because of some social obligation and even included the days that Grace had told him the driver had taken her to and from school. They moved on to the couple hours here and there that Rachel and Stan had needed someone to look after Grace and had asked Danny last minute so he couldn’t say no, not that he ever would. While the others were explaining things that they were involved in Steve realised that Grace had begun to fidget. Now normally a child Graces age began to fiddle when they were bored but Grace only fidgeted when she needed to go to the bathroom and he sat there watching as Rachel ignored her and even told her to be quiet. Steve listened for a break in the conversation and was glad when it came a few seconds later.
“Alrighty let’s move on to expenses.” Judge Haydn called once their extra one or two hours were covered.
“Your honour I’m sorry to interrupt but....”
“Oh let me guess you have a case. This is just typical Danny.” Rachel said with a sneer.
“Actually no Rachel, we took time off work for this.” Steve said as he turned to their side of the room.
“Grace Ku’uipo I'm sorry if this embarrasses you but do you need to go to the bathroom?" She looks at him wide-eyed before quickly nodding her head. He walks over to her and picks her up.
“Alrighty Commander you go deal with that and we’ll continue with the facts till you two return.” Rachel and Stan look furious as they watch Steve leave with Grace in his arms.
“How could you not notice that she needed to go to the bathroom Rachel?”
“She didn’t say that she needed to go. I thought she was simply uncomfortable with having to sit through this again.”
“Really Rachel. The first time we did this was because of you as well.”
“I deserved better than some cop who didn’t put in any effort.”
“Ok, that's enough. Let's continue with the actual case." The judge called starting to seriously think about the two families sitting in front of him. They finally start to discuss finances and Judge Hayden finds it strange that Danny was paying so much in support when Rachel and Stan clearly didn’t need it to care for Grace. They were interrupted again when Steve came back into the room with Grace and grabbed what everyone else had assumed was a go-bag before walking over to a section of floor that Grace could hang out on and pulled out a couple of books and coloured pencils for her to play with. As he walked back over to their side of the room Steve felt Rachel glaring a hole into the back of his head but he didn’t really care. It was her fault that she was looking bad in front of the judge for not paying attention to Grace.

“Alright, next item is any and all times that Mr Williams had Grace outside of his designated visiting hours for more than four hours.” Steve knew this was going to be one of the longest parts of the day because of just how much extra time they’d spent with Grace. And he was right every single date that they put out there Rachel and sometimes even Stan denied until they brought out recites or hotel bookings and by the time they were done it was almost time to stop for lunch.
“Alrighty, I’m calling it time for lunch. Since Grace came to this meeting today with the Edwards I will grant Mr Williams this hour to spend with his daughter. Please be ready to reconvene at 12:30." With that, the judge filed out and Steve and Danny listened to Rachel whine about it not being fair that she had to give Grace up. Once Steve and Danny had had enough they gathered Grace and her things and walked to the cafeteria to have lunch. Grace wasn’t very eager to eat anything that was provided and was happy to find that Steve and Danny had packed her a healthy lunch and they started talking about things that Grace might want to do on the weekend making sure to ask about any assignments that she might have to work on and neither were surprised to hear that all she wanted to do was to spend time with them and the rest of the Ohana. What they didn’t know was that one of the security guard’s that were working in their room was sitting close by watching them and he decided to mention this to the judge. The hour seemed to pass by quickly and Steve made sure to have them packed and ready to get back with plenty of time to spare. They set Grace up again and watched the judge walk back into the room stopping to talk to one of the guard’s.

“Right I would like to start the second half of our day by talking about everyone’s current situations. We’ll start with current living arrangement’s and go from there, the Edwards may start.”
“Well, your honour my clients are very well off in concerns to their living situation. They own a large two-story, five-bedroom house with a large backyard that’s located in one of the finest school districts. It’s also in one of the more well off areas of Hawaii with an excellent community support system.” The Edwards lawyer said as he stepped forward and handed over a portfolio to the judge to look over. After five minutes of silent reading, the judge waved at Danny’s lawyer to start talking.
“The living arrangements of Mr Williams and Commander McGarrett are the McGarrett family house that has been paid for in full. It's a two-story, three-bedroom house that has a large backyard and garden that also has its own small section of private beach. This beach is part of a small sheltered cove and is also part of Gracie’s school district.” He hands over their own portfolio and waits for the judge to read over it. Rachel spends most of that time glaring at Danny for using Steve’s house as his so that he might have a better chance of getting Grace, she hoped that the judge didn’t fall for his tricks.
“Right well they are both very good living arrangement’s so we'll move onto current relationships."
“Well, your honour my clients have been married since the day that they moved to the island of Hawaii almost four years ago. Their marriage has been strong and never had any issues.”
“I think you forgot to mention the time that Mrs Edwards came to my client telling him that she wasn’t sure she had made the right decision in marring Mr Edwards. To which my client told her that it was her issue to work out and that she should decide quickly before her feelings started to affect Grace.”
“Daniel you bastard how dare you, I told you that in confidence and as you can see we're still very happily married." Rachel said as she glared across the room at Danny.
“As interesting as that point is why don’t we move on to Mr Williams relationships?” Danny and Steve chose to ignore the scoff that Rachel let out as their lawyer stood to talk.
“Mr Williams has known Commander McGarrett for 4 years now…”
“Actually it’s been three years, 11 months and two days since we met.” Steve said interrupting the lawyer completely missing the amazed look on Danny’s face as he spoke.
“Right my apologise Commander, it took them only six months to fall for each other and they’ve been dating since that day. They have informed the Governor about their relationship and he doesn’t disapprove of them. They have gone to a couple counselling which was conducted by Commander McGarrett's phycologist after he began to have issues sleeping and to this day see the man when it is needed."

Danny sat there and gapped at Steve who was too busy looking over at Grace to notice the look. He couldn’t believe that Steve had given this information to the lawyer but was so proud of the man for doing so that he decided to thank him later.
“Right well we already touched on occupation’s when going over finances but I’d like to hear more about them now. Let’s start with Mr Williams and Commander McGarrett, id like each individual to speak for themselves.” Steve looked at Danny to start and he was happy to.
“I’ve been a cop 14 years; I started in New Jersey and transferred to the Hawaii department when Grace and Rachel moved out here. After a couple of months, I met Steve and he recruited me to his special task force organised by the Governor. I am the second in command and step up when needed into the leader of the team.”
“Oh, Daniel don't forget to mention all the harm that your job has brought to Grace.”
“How many times do I need to tell you that my job has nothing to do with any harm that comes to Grace? Hell, my job has saved her from some situations for example the football game that we went to together when I first met Steve. If I hadn't been trained the way I was she probably would have seen someone get shot or worse been caught in the crossfire and been seriously hurt or worse." Rachel rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that Danny only just caught.
“If you didn’t have your training then she wouldn’t have been there in the first place.” Danny chooses to ignore her and gesture for Steve to step forward and speak.
“Well I started out in the navy as a seal Commander and when I moved back to Hawaii and received the job offer from the Governor I transferred out into the reserves. I’ve been leading five-0 since that day and have upon occasion been called back to do a mission and complete more training for my reserves position.” When Steve mentioned deployment Grace stood up and walked over, she was still a small girl and Steve knew that she needed comfort from him so he picked her and gave her a quick hug.
“And do you see yourself continuing in these fields?” the judge asked "Yes, for the time being, I don't plan to change what I do. My country still needs me.” The judge watched as Grace tried to get closer and chose his next question quickly
“and what do you tell Grace when you have to go away.” Everyone is surprised when Grace speaks up. "They tell me what’s going on, they tell me that Makuakāne needs to go away and protect us all and that he’ll be as careful as possible but his job is dangerous.”
“WHAT! You tell her stuff like that. Daniel, she is too young to be hearing about stuff like that."
“No she’s not Rachel, and besides we never share details but you can’t expect us to keep his deployments secret from her. God forbid it ever happening but if Steve never came home what were we supposed to do tell her he’d gone on a long vacation and wasn’t coming back.”
“No, but she doesn’t need to know what he’s doing.”
“Enough let’s move on to the Edwards now. I’d like to finish this all up today so an answer can be given by the weekend.”

The Edwards went on to explain Stan's realtor and development business and all of the opportunities that he had all over the country and how Rachel didn’t have a job but that she was very involved with a lot of clubs and organisation’s in town. Grace had gone back to her drawings and just as the judge was about to speak she walked back over to Steve asking for his attention.
“Makuakāne I need your help.” the judge let them continue wondering the reason behind the name.
“What’s up monkey?”
“I forgot how to spell Nai'a. I need to label my picture for grandma.”
“Ok well, how do you think its spelt."
“n-a-i-a?”
“That's so close monkey remember there's an apostrophe after the i."
“Oh right, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry Grace this is a second language for you it will take a while to remember everything.” Grace looked at him before nodding and writing down what she needed to. As the judge had been watching them he decided that he wanted to talk to Grace about things as well which wasn't usually until the children got a little older than Grace was at the moment.

“Grace would you mind coming up here to talk to me for a bit?” he asked while looking at her parents to get their permission. Everyone nods and they turn to wait for Gracie’s answer but before she does anything she looks between Steve and Danny who both give her encouraging smiles.
“Ok sure.” She says with a big smile on her face as the guard helps her climb up with the judge to sit in the seat next to him at the bench. The judge turns off his mic knowing better than to leave it on with how upset some people could get over his questions and more importantly Gracie’s answers.
“Hello, Grace my name is Sam Hayden. How are you?”
“I’m good. I'm sorry that you've had to listen to my parents yell."
“Oh, it’s not so bad Grace, so long as we work out what’s best for you at the end of this.” He said with a smile as they got comfortable with each other.
“Now I wanted to ask you some questions since you seem to be a smart girl, to see what you think of everything. Is that ok?” Grace nodded and waited for his first question"what do you do with your mother and stepfather for fun."
“Well we go to the clubhouse and I get lessons or I hang out with the other children while mummy and step-Stan go to their lunches with their friends.”
“And do you like going to the clubhouse?”
“It’s fun when I get to hang out with my friends but I don’t really like taking lessons there all that much, I don’t like tennis.” Grace said while she looked at her mother as if to make sure that she couldn’t hear her.
“ and what do you do with your dad on your weekends together?”
“Well we used to stay at Danno’s house and visit Makuakāne at his house but then we moved in and I learnt to surf and Makuakāne taught me all about the plants and animals that live near his house. And it got even better when they started dating, Makuakāne would organise days at new beaches and nature walks for us to go on and sometimes when I didn’t have any homework or assignments then we’d go camping to places that he used to go when he was a little Keiki and it’s so much fun.” Grace explained with a big smile on her face and the judge thought she was finished but she just kept talking after taking in a big gulp of air. “then I met Auntie Kono and Uncle Chin and they started coming places with us as well and that’s how I found out that Makuakāne was really good at taking photos and he taught me how to do that as well, Danno takes me to football games and to stay at motels to swim with Nai'a and is even thinking about letting me join my school's hula class after school. He even let me start exercising with Makuakāne after my birthday last year cause before that I was too small but now I’m old enough and Makuakāne always makes sure that I can keep up with our run and swim.”
“Well, your life defiantly sounds like a good time. Can I ask why you call everyone different names?”
“Sure, I’ve always called my daddy Danno cause when I was little I couldn’t say his name right and that’s what I said instead and he likes me calling him that cause he thinks it’s so much more special than daddy. I call Stan Step-Stan cause he’s married to my mum and his name is Stan though Danno thinks I should have been calling him my stepdad or something but I don't think so. And I used to call Makuakāne Uncle Steve but once he started acting like my second dad I couldn’t keep calling him that so we talked about it and he said he was happy for me to call him Makuakāne so long as Danno was ok with it. I was going to just call him daddy but then I started learning Hawaiian and Makuakāne is Hawaiian so I chose that way instead.”
“You sure do love talking about your family Grace.” The judge said amazed with how much she had been talking about the two men.
“Well they’re more than just family, they’re Ohana. Uncle Chin, Auntie Kono, Uncle Kame, Auntie Mary, Uncle Duke, Makuakāne and Danno. Were all Ohana.” Grace said as she pointed at everyone in the room except for Mary who was still living in L.A.
“Well, that's always good to hear that children have a big Ohana that loves them. Why don't you go sit back down with your Aunts and Uncles and we’ll finish off what we came here to do today.” The judge said and watched as Grace walked back to her family and knew that he needed the chance to think things over.

“Right after our busy day here let us adjourn for the day and reconvene at 8 o’clock tomorrow in my office.” Judge Hayden said before standing and walking out of the room.
“Right Grace, clean up so that we can leave.” Rachel said refusing to come to their side of the room as she watched the others help her clean up. Once it was done Rachel grabbed Grace's hand and walked out of the courtroom with her not giving anyone the chance to say goodbye to her. Steve could feel Danny gearing up for a rant and pulled him in for a hug.
“It’s not worth it Danny just let it go. We need to go home and get ready for the party this weekend.”
“Steven there are still two days before then, what could we possibly do?” Danny said grabbing his things off the table and turning to join the others as they walked outside.
“We can see what we need to get and things like that and I want to get Grace something as a gift on Friday to celebrate her staying with us from now on.” And Danny realised what was happening then, Steve was trying to distract him as well as himself from the waiting that they’d have to do till the next morning.
“Alright, Steven lets go find our little girl a nice gift to welcome her home.” Danny said as they climbed into the car and drove off towards home to see what else they needed to get. They made up their list and headed to the shopping centre to try and get something for Gracie as well.

After spending an hour and a half looking for something they decided to get her, her own camera because the one that she was currently using was one of Steve’s that he didn’t mind her having. They buy all of the main meat and some drinks as well and while Danny was off looking at something Steve slipped a cake order into a cake store on their way back to the car. They got pizza for dinner that night but barely ate any of it before Steve decided that they needed to let off some steam. While Danny was in the kitchen getting them another drink each Steve walked up behind him where he was standing at the bench. He stepped into Danny space and pressed him against the counter and wrapped his arms around Danny’s waist. He leant forward and started to nibble and kiss up Danny’s neck till he was sucking on Danny’s ear. Danny moaned and tilted his head to give Steve better access to his neck and Steve moved his mouth back down to nip at the junction between his neck and shoulder. Danny spun around in Steve’s arms and leaned up to give Steve a kiss it was slow at first till Steve tried to lick into his mouth but Danny wanted to control what happened that night. He pulled back and went straight for the spot on his neck that he knew would send Steve to jelly. Hi bit down a little harder than normal and Steve gasped before staggering a little in his spot. Danny smirked to himself before he wrapped his hand round Steve’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him. They pulled apart only when they needed air and Steve lifted Danny to sit on the bench behind him so that he sat higher than Steve. They started kissing again and soon they were both panting and straining in their pants. Danny pulled Steve in close and wrapped his arms and legs around the man and Steve soon got with the program. He lifted Danny by his ass and turned to carry him up the stairs and into their bedroom. Laying Danny out on the bed he spread himself out over the top of him but Danny wasn’t going to let him have the upper hand tonight. He soon flipped them over so that Danny was straddling Steve’s erection and began working on getting Steve’s shirt off as they started kissing again. Shirts removed and pants gone as well Danny started to kiss his way down Steve’s chest and over his nipples giving them a tug with his teeth before he moved down over Steve’s throbbing erection to bite at the inside of his thighs. Steve twitched and whimpered as Danny continued the torture across his body always making sure to never touch where Steve really wanted him to. After a couple of minutes, more with Danny licking and kissing his way around Steve’s body the man broke and started begging
“Danny please… please I need you to do more. I don’t care what but I need more of you, please.” Steve said softly as he watches Danny make his way back down his chest. Danny stopped briefly at the waistband of Steve’s briefs and grabbed them with his teeth pulling them down slowly with Steve’s help. Danny took a moment to admire the view in front of him before he heard Steve let out an almost needy whine. Danny huffed a laugh before licking a thick strip from the base of Steve’s cock all the way to the head before taking him into his mouth in one quick swallow.
“Fuck Danny!” Steve let out in a yelp at the sudden feeling of being completely consumed in the wet heat of Danny’s mouth. He looked down he body to where Danny was resting between his legs and the sight of him there made Steve groan and thrust up into Danny’s mouth. Danny hummed on his way up Steve’s cock and felt it twitch in his mouth from the vibrations he didn’t want to draw out this part of their night for too long needed to have Steve closer than this. He needed to remind himself that he had Steve and that no matter what the next day brought they’d get through it together. He popped off of Steve’s cock with an obscene noise that had Steve groaning and reaching for him to pull him back up his chest and kiss the very air out of his lungs. They pulled back from each other for air but Danny almost immediately started sucking on Steve’s sweet spot on his neck making him moan and beg for more. Danny reached for the lube in the bedside draw and was about to hand it back to Steve when he registered what he was saying.
“Danny please… fuck Danny… I need more… I need you... please Danny … fuck me.” Danny sat up some to look at Steve and what he saw in the man’s eyes was complete and total desire.
“Steve are you sure?” although this wasn’t the first time that he’d fucked Steve it was still a very rare occurrence.
“Yes Danny please I trust you and I want this, I want you.” And that was all it took for Danny to dive back in and start kissing Steve. He popped open the cap of the lube and put a generous amount on his fingers making sure that there was no way that he was going to hurt Steve by doing this. He traced his finger down from Steve’s balls till his hole and slowly began to circle it trying to help Steve relax. He was soon pushing his finger in and listening to Steve gasp and moan and he knew he wasn’t going to last long if he kept making those noises. He made sure to take his time and stretch Steve out properly so as not to hurt him but at the same time, Danny was becoming impatient.
“Danny please I need more… I want you in me.”
“Ok babe hold on.” Danny said as he popped open the lube again slicking up his cock and positioning it at Steve’s entrance. He pushed forward slowly letting Steve adjust to the feeling but the SEAL wasn’t having any of it as he wrapped his legs around Danny’s back and pulled him into himself. Danny gasped and almost lost control at the feeling of being inside Steve but he regained his composure and looked down at Steve’s face. He was completely blissed out and it was defiantly a look that Danny could get used to seeing. At Steve’s slight movement Danny began to move, slowly at first but after getting the angle just right Danny made Steve scream in pleasure. He started a brutal pace after that pounding into Steve making sure to hit his prostate every time. Steve was a moaning swearing mess that kept arching off the bed in pleasure and kept getting tighter and tighter around Danny as the need to cum coiled low in his stomach.
“Danny I’m gonna…” was all Steve got out before he was arching off the bed one final time and cumming all over himself and Danny. It took Danny only a few more thrusts before he was cumming too and falling completely boneless to the bed next to him. they lay there gasping for breath and simply enjoying the aftermath of what they’d just done for a couple of minutes before Steve hopped up and got a wet washcloth to clean up with. Cuddled up on their bed together with Danny's head pillowed on Steve’s chest they were almost asleep when Danny turned his face to Steve.
“Can I ask why you wanted me to fuck you tonight? Not that I’m complaining or anything but.”
“Danno it had nothing to do with just wanting to make you feel better if that’s what you’re wondering about.”
“Okay that makes me feel a little better but I still want to know why.”
“I know that we haven’t really done it much before but the way you were tonight, taking control of things it always gets me so worked up and I need you to take control of us.”
“Well, I’ll take note of that for future reference then.” Danny said with a sleepy laugh as they both drifted off to sleep, Danny’s last thought is about what would happen the next day and Steve’s to the two boxes he had stashed in his dad's office.

The next morning they woke early and went for another run together and Danny was seriously considering joining Steve and Grace in the mornings if he got to feel that awake every morning. They got dressed again and made up another small bag for Grace in case the morning dragged on longer than they thought it would. They were out the door by seven-thirty and were surprised to see the rest of the Ohana waiting for them at the coffee shop across the street from the courthouse.
“Hey, guys you know that you don't have to wait here for us right?”
“Oh we know bruh but we need to know that our Keiki is going to be ok so we'll be here when you guys get out." Chin said as Kono handed them the drinks they’d already brought them. The pair crossed the street together and after asking one of the receptionists found themselves waiting in the hall outside of the judge’s office. Their lawyer was the next to arrive soon followed by the Edwards. Grace had tried to run over and give them both a hug but Rachel had refused to let go of her hand and had even used it to pull the girl back to her side. Steve settled for simply glaring at the woman but he could see Danny about to start in on a rant. Thankfully the judge walked out of his office then and asked them to join him inside; everyone took their seats on the same sides of the room as the courtroom the day before. The judge looked through some paperwork in front of him to make sure that it was all in order before looking up at the families in front of him. He noticed that while Steve and Danny were looking over at Grace the Edwards were looking at him smiling smugly like they’d already won the whole thing.
“Good morning everyone let’s get this all started.” Judge Hayden said as he finished his observations. “after all of the evidence that was presented to me yesterday as well as conversations, further research and personal observations I have decided that the best course of action for Grace is that she be removed from the care of her mother and be placed into the full-time care of her father and Commander Steve McGarrett.” He hadn’t even finished his sentence before Rachel and Stan had started yelling and protesting his decision.
“I can’t believe it how could you have fallen for his lies.”
“This is unacceptable sir. You need to reconsider your decision.”
“If everyone would sit down I’ll explain my decision and then we can get started on the paperwork.” Judge Hayden said in a stern voice waiting patiently for the Edwards to calm noting the only reaction from the other side of the room was quiet smiles and happy tears.
“Right now to address the concerns of the Edwards I have chosen to remove Grace from your care because it is obvious to me that you only care about her because it makes your image of a perfect family even better. Grace is not a tool to extend your social standing which is why I’ve also chosen not to give you any visitation hours at this time. Maybe one day if you wish to pursue them they may be granted to you but as of now you don’t have any.” Rachel looked a little upset about not having any time with Grace but there wasn’t really much emotion beyond that which was pissing of Danny and Steve because they could see how much it was upsetting Grace. Steve caught her attention and motioned her over for a hug but again when she tried to leave her mother’s side Rachel forced her back into place and leant down to whisper something in her ear. Grace looked hurt for a second till she caught sight of her dads sitting on the other side of the room looking at her worried and she knew what her mother had said was wrong. She pulled away from her mother violently and ran to her fathers, Steve gathered her in his lap as Danny stood to kneel in front of her. Judge Hayden looked back to where Rachel was sitting and noticed the worried look that was her face as she looked between the small family and himself.
“I’m going to ignore what just happened and instead insist that care of Grace be switched today instead of tomorrow like id originally planned. Now I need the Edwards to step forward and sign where the blue notes indicate.” They slowly made their way through mountains of paperwork and were eventually sitting down again.
“Now even though Mr Williams hasn’t asked for child support I’ve made the decision to have you pay the same amount that he has been paying for the past four years. Now please step forward Mr Williams and sign where the green notes indicate.” As he was signing though Danny begins to have tears run down his face as it finally set in that Grace was 100% his and Steve’s. He finished and went back to scoop Grace up into a hug that Steve soon stood up to join. The judge let them have their moment before he called attention back to the meeting so that they could finish up and get Grace home and settled.
“Alrighty let’s get this all finished up. By six o’clock tonight the Edwards are to have handed over all of Grace’s documentation, school records and anything else concerning her to Mr Williams. If these instructions aren’t followed he can contact the police and they will seize the required items and charge the Edwards accordingly. Grace is to leave this meeting with her fathers and is not to be left alone in the care of the Edwards again otherwise the police will be contacted and you will end up back in court Mr Williams." He looked around the room to see nods of understanding and stood to dismiss everyone calling out to Danny as they were getting ready to leave since Rachel had stormed off with a determined look in her eye.

“thank you so much judge Hayden you have no idea how much this means to all of us.”
“I’m just happy that at the end of the day Grace is where she belongs. I do have a little bit of extra advice though.”
“We're all ears.” Steve said with Grace perched on his back as she pulled on his ears to emphasise the point.
“Everything that they are listed on as an emergency contact needs to be changed. Otherwise, she might end up taking her out of school early and getting you in trouble." The men looked between each other a little scared before Steve seemed to stand taller and Danny drew strength from that.
“Thank you, sir, we'll head off and do that now so that Grace can have an uninterrupted day at school tomorrow.” With that, they said their goodbyes, grabbed their stuff and made their way outside and across the street to the coffee shop. They’d no sooner entered the building before Grace was running off to greet the others. Danny collapsed back into Steve for a brief hug before they joined the others at the table to celebrate. They ordered dessert and started to talk to Grace about their plans for a party that weekend.

“So what do you say, Gracie? You wanna celebrate this weekend?”
“Yeah let’s have a BBQ and swim at Makuakāne's for the day it will be so much fun.”
“That good to hear because I got something special for dessert as well.” Steve said and Danny looked confused about what he was talking about. Steve just waved him off before turning to the rest of the group again.
“Danno and I have some things that we need to take care of right now so Grace did you want to come with us or is there something else that you want to do.”
“I don’t have to stay with you guys?” Grace seemed a little confused "No, we're just going to be fixing up paperwork and files before we go collect your stuff from your mother and Stan.” Danny said understanding that Grace had been forced along on many trips like that with her mother.
“How about we all go surfing, you, me and Kono. Sound like fun?” Chin asked looking at the little girl.
“Yeah, that will be fun." Launching into an exciting conversation with Kono about where they should go while everyone else finished off their coffee. They were soon all saying goodbye with Kono and Chin taking Grace while Steve and Danny headed off to start taking care of Gracie’s paperwork. They started at the country club cancelling her membership before moving on to the hospital they used and her doctor’s office. The paperwork at the hospital took a little longer than they thought but the nurse they told them that the information would be shared with all of the hospitals on the island in case she wasn’t brought to them. The doctor’s office was more than happy to let them change the paperwork and even-handed over a copy of all of Gracie’s medical files so that they’d have a copy should anything ever happen to her. The school was their next stop and after a little resistance from one of the receptionists that Danny knew was friends with Rachel they were able to change Gracie’s emergency contact information. They got back into Steve’s truck and made their way over to Rachel and Stan’s house to collect Gracie’s things, they didn’t need much from them just her clothes and uniforms, all of her documentation and all of her devices and school gear. They pulled up in front of the house and took a minute to themselves to prepare for what they were going to face inside before they climbed out of the truck and walked up to the front door. Danny rang the doorbell while Steve wrapped his arms around his waist in a show of support. The maid was the one to open the door and the sweet Hawaiian girl gave them a huge smile and leads them through the house and into Stan’s office where Stan and Rachel were waiting for them. The two of them were arguing with Rachel pacing back and forth while Stan sat at his desk.
“Stan you need to fix this I’ll be a disgrace without Grace here. You need to find a judge that sees it our way so we can get her back.”
“Rachel stop, no judge is going to take this case for at least six months so until then we just need to act like nothing has changed.”
“How Stan everyone is going to know.” Rachel shrieked.
“Well simply tell people when they ask that we decided to be generous and let her father have her every weekend. It will actually be nice not having her around the house."
“And what about all of our social events shell be expected to be there.” "We can just ask them to have her for the night Daniel loves you too much to say no anyway and if they refuse then well just pick her up from school. It’s not like they’re going to have the foresight to change her contact information.” Danny and Steve stood just out of sight in disbelieving horror, how could Grace’s own mother think of her this way. Steve took one glance at the devastated look on Danny’s face and all of his frustrations and anger boiled over. He marched into the room throwing the office door wide open startling the occupants of the room and hallway.
“How dare you. Grace is just a little girl, your daughter and all you can think about right now is how you’re going to look to all of your friends. She didn’t need you to do more than love and support her but you used her for your own means, you disgust me. And you know what we probably would have let you see her still because you are her mother but now you’ll never see her again if I have anything to do with it and I do.” Steve stood at his full height using all of the power that his tall build and navy rank gave him as he spoke to the two people in front of him. Danny had watched it all play out in silence happy that Steve was willing to step into the harsh roll of defending them from the people in front of them. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard but it made more sense now when Grace insisted that she didn't need to go home and that she could stay with him longer this really wasn't home for her, it was hell.
“Where are her things?” He asks in a quiet voice just wanting to get out of there at that point and get home to see Grace. Rachel refused to look at him but Stan pointed to a folder on the corner of his desk. Danny looked through it to make sure that everything really was in there before pulling Steve from the room and up the stairs to Gracie’s room where the maid had begun to pack up Gracie’s things. They helped her gather the things that they needed into Gracie’s suitcases and were out the door before Rachel or Stan could really do anything about it.

The drive home was tense with Steve thinking that he’d stepped out of line and Danny worried that Steve didn’t really want to be a full-time dad with him. They were almost home when Danny couldn’t take it anymore.

“Steve pull over we need to talk.” a feeling of dread washed through Steve faster than any other emotion ever had but he knew that if this was what Danny wanted and needed then there was nothing that Steve could do about it. So he found somewhere quiet to pull over and waited for Danny to start talking, feeling like he was going to be sick the whole time. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes while Danny pulled his thought together and they were both preparing for the worst. Steve was the first to speak wanting to get things over and done with.
“Danny I’m sorry.” Danny is startled from his thoughts
“what?”
“I’m sorry for what I did back at Rachel and Stan’s house I know you don’t need me to defend you or Grace and I know that I stepped over a line when I got mad at them but you have to understand that I couldn’t just stand there and listen to them say those things about you and Grace and not do something about it…” Steve had stopped to take a breath and Danny used it as he chance to start speaking.
“Steven, you idiot is that why you've been so quiet since then?" Steve doesn’t look at him, just continues to stare out the window as he nods his head.
“Babe please look at me.” Danny pleads and waits for Steve to turn and when he does his heart breaks, he looks devastated. He looks like everything that he held dear was just taken away from him and Danny realises as his breath hitches that that’s what Steve thinks is happening. He opens his door and walks around the back of the truck to Steve’s side and opens the door. Steve’s tears have started to fall at this point and Danny realises that he should have warned him as he pulls Steve round to face him where he’s standing in the gutter.

“Hey don’t cry everything’s ok Steve. Grace and I aren’t going anywhere. These past few days you have been absolutely amazing for us and there isn’t anything that I would make you take back. I was so glad that you stood up for us today and I’m sorry if my behaviour afterwards gave you any course to think that I was anything but happy about you.” Steve was holding onto Danny’s hand so tight that Danny thought he might actually bruise it as he looked into Danny’s eyes as he spoke.
“Then why were you so quiet?” he whispers out as his tears start to dry.
“I was worried that this might all be too much for you. I know that you love Gracie and me but I was worried now that everything was settled that you’d realise that you didn't want to be a full-time dad anymore."
“Now who’s the stupid one?” Steve said with a soft laugh.
“Yeah I know we were both pretty stupid today so what do you say we go home and have a quiet night with Grace before our big weekend.”
“That sounds good to me.” Steve said before leaning in for a kiss, and with one last hug, they were soon on the road again. They got home to find that the only people left were Chin and Grace. He explained that Kono had some family stuff that she needed to take care of so they’d come back to watch movies. Danny and Grace decide to handle dinner that night and Steve walks Chin out to his car.

“Things ok with you and Danny?” Chin asks once the front door is closed"yeah we're good now, we just had a bad afternoon was all."
“That’s good to hear. Was there something that you wanted to ask me, Steve?” Steve laughed because of course, the older man would know that he wanted to talk about something.
“Yeah, there was, I wanted to ask if you could pick up the cake for me on Saturday. I also need you to film what happens after we eat as well."
“You got something special in mind?” Chin asks getting his suspicions.
“Yeah but it’s a surprise.”
“You got it; I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” He says as he climbs into his car and drives off. Steve takes a minute outside to think over everything from the past week and once he settled he walks back inside to find out what they were having for dinner. They had grilled chicken and salad for dinner that night before they unloaded the car and unpacked all of Gracie’s things. Her uniform needed to be ironed so Steve took it down to the laundry to do so unaware that Grace had followed him. She wanted to learn how to do it for herself and after strict instructions not to do it without Steve or Danny there he taught her how to iron. At this point everyone was tired so after a quick goodnight Steve and Danny sent Grace off to bed choosing to give the girl her gift the next afternoon after school.

The next morning was a happy one with everyone excited about the coming weekend with Grace excited about being able to tell her friends about her new home. They dropped her off a little earlier than normal so that she'd have more time to talk to her friends before heading into work. It was a quiet day thankfully and everyone was surprised that the Governor called them at the end of the day to give them the weekend off baring any major emergencies. He’d heard what had happened with Grace and wanted to give the small family a chance to celebrate. Steve invited him to the party on Saturday so that he would get the chance to get to know them better. They collected Grace from cheerleading practice and made their way home again stopping to get dinner at Kamakona's. They had a relaxed dinner outside on the sand before they brought Grace back up to the lanai for her present.
“Alright, Grace Danno and I wanted to get you something special to celebrate you coming to live with us.”
“Really you got me a present.”
“Yes, would you like to open it now?" Danny asked knowing that she would say yes and he was right so he pulled the box out from where they’d hidden it and presented it to her. She pulled herself up to sit between the two men and carefully began to unwrap it. Danny was amazed that so much of Steve's behaviour had rubbed off on Grace because before she'd met the SEAL he knew there wouldn't have been a scrap of that paper left intact but now it was immaculate. Grace gasped as the first part of the box was revealed and started to unwrap it with more care. When the camera was revealed she started crying happy tears while pulling both Steve and Danny in for a hug. She thanked them over and over again while Steve helped her to set it up before she ran off into the garden to begin using it. After an hour or so they called Grace back inside so that they could start to get the food for the next day ready before bed. When it was time for bed Grace asked if they could read together for a little while and both men agreed. They set up in Steve and Danny’s room all cuddled up together and Grace began to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe to them. When she began to drift off Steve took over for the rest of the chapter and smiled when he looked up as he finished. Both Danny and Grace were sound asleep and he wasn't going to move them so he set the book aside and settled into sleep.

They slept in till eight the next morning and when Steve opened his eyes he smiled at the sight before him. Danny and Grace were curled up together fast asleep facing him and he smiled knowing that after today it would be his to keep forever. He got up as carefully as possible so as not to wake his two sleep companions and went to get ready for the day. He wore his usual cargo pants and t-shirt combination and made sure to stuff his surprise into one of his empty pockets for later. He made his way downstairs to start getting ready for the Ohana to come over and for Grace and Danny to wake up. It wasn’t long before they joined him downstairs Danny wearing a nice pair of shorts with a white t-shirt and a button-up over the top while Grace was wearing one of the few dresses that she liked to wear. The started cooking the food and not even fifteen minutes later Chin and Kono were walking in the front door. Chin did a very good job of keeping the cake a secret from everyone and soon they were out enjoying the sunshine. Next to arrive were Max and Kame who were both excited to see Grace again with the Governor showing up last. Chin had been watching Steve all morning as they worked together to get all the food ready and had noticed that he kept checking one of his pants pockets and it clicked what Steve wanted him to record.

“Steve please stop playing with your pocket or someone is going to figure out what your hiding.” Chin whispered to the man as he leaned across the grill to grab something next to Steve. Steve started before looking around to see if anyone else had noticed but it didn’t seem like anyone had.
“I’m trying not to but this is big I don’t want to mess it up.” "I know but it won't be a surprise if he works it out before you can even ask." Chin said as he walked off to join max and Kamakona who looked like they were about to have another heated discussion about some random topic they both liked. The Governor and Danny were sitting out in the chairs by the water watching and grace and Kono goofed around and practised some of her cheerleading moves. The food was finished not long after and Steve called everyone to the table where plates were loaded with side dishes and meat till everyone was near bursting. The conversation and atmosphere were relaxed and even Denning fell for Gracie's charm like the rest of the island and he’d soon found his place in the madness of their Ohana. It was after everyone had finished eating and things were starting to get packed away that Steve started to get nervous about what he was about to do. Everyone was walking outside with drinks to sit and watch the sunset by the sand when he signalled chin to get ready. When everyone was sitting Steve pulled Danny and grace up in front of the others and chin started to record on his phone.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming out today to celebrate our small family but I have to be honest with you this party had another motivation behind it." Steve said as he reached into his pocket and hid the first box from everyone's view. "My life didn't really mean much before I moved back here and even then it took a little while for me to accept my place here in our Ohana and with Danny and Gracie. You two made everything in my life mean so much more when you invited me into your hearts and for that, I will be forever grateful. Which is why Danny Williams." Steve said as he got down on one knee in front of the man causing the tears that had been growing in the Jersey man's eyes to spill over. "I would like to ask you something very important. Will you marry my Danny and make me the happiest man alive?" everyone held their breath as Steve opened the ring box and Danny looked down at it. He took in a big gasp of air at the sight of it and started to nod his head."Yes, Steven I will marry you." Everyone started to celebrate as Steve slipped the ring onto Danny's finger but when he didn't stand for a kiss but instead pulled out another box everyone settled down.
“Gracie my beautiful little Ku’uipo never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be a father let alone one to such an amazing and smart little girl. You have made my dreams come true and after our conversation about my place in your heart last weekend I wanted to do something special for you so that you always know your place in mine." He opened the box as grace started to cry and it broke his heart a little so he sat down and pulled her into his lap. Danny stood off to the side with everyone else proud that Steve was so willing to include their daughter in something so special. Steve held the box in front of grace as he began to speak again. "I got you this promise ring so that you will always remember that I'm here for you and I love you with all I have. You mean the world to me, Gracie, don't you ever forget that." Steve said as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. He takes the ring out of the box and slips it onto her finger and they sit there cuddling for a minute.

Once Gracie's tears have dried up and she's thanked him Danny walks over and joins them for a quick family hug before everyone else joins them to congratulate the new family. They got back up to the lanai where the red velvet and vanilla icing cake is served and the celebration begins to wind down. Once everyone has said their congratulations and farewells they lock up the house and head towards their beds. Steve and Danny are about to turn out their light and climb into bed when grace appears in their doorway.

“I know that I’m a big girl but I was wondering if I could sleep in here with you again. Just for tonight?” Steve and Danny shared one quick look before Steve folded down the sheets and motioned her over. She crawled into the middle of the bed and waited as her dads got comfortable around her. Steve and Danny watched as she dozed off between them and neither missed the quiet whisper that she let slip just as she fell asleep.
“Thank you for loving me Makuakāne.” It broke Steve’s heart to hear her say it and when he looked across her head to Danny who reached across and grabbed his hand.
“It’s ok babe, we have the rest of our lives together to show her how loved she is here.”"Yeah, we do, Ko ù Aloha. I'm so glad you said yes." Steve said and with that, they both drifted off to sleep dreaming of their happy future together.