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"Sorry to put you through all this, babe." Danny groaned.
Steve just shook his head and held out a towel for Danny, who was currently kneeling in front of the toilet. After taking the towel and getting to his feet quite shakily, Steve reaches out and steadies his partner. When it seems Danny has his footing, Steve guides him to his guest bedroom. He sits Danny on the foot of the bed while he pulls back the covers and helps his weakened partner to climb in.
Danny is already nearly back asleep, his complexion pale, his skin clammy from the toxins that were currently wreaking havoc with his immune system, a victim of food poisoning, no doubt from one of Kamekona's latest "tasty treats." As he swiftly slips toward slumber once again, he groggily comes to, staring at Steve with half-crossed eyes. "Can you pick up Gracie for me?" he asks.
Before Steve can respond, Danny is already asleep. Steve just straightens the blanket over his partner, nodding before quietly slipping from the room.
What Danny had said moments before held true; his life with Danny had rapidly changed over the last couple of weeks, though not quite as much as he'd hoped. Rachel informed Danny weeks before that she and Stan were taking Grace to Los Angeles, though a few words from Steve encouraged Grace to ask to "Stay with Danno instead, please! That way I won't miss school." Watching Danny with Grace made Steve's heart pinch, grinning at Danny's ever-present smile when he had time with his daughter. Then there had been the unexpected infestation at Danny's apartment, though Steve took that with his suggestion of, "You and Grace come stay with me." Danny had initially said no, but at Steve's constant suggestions, plus high rates at Grace's favorite hotel that week found Danny begrudgingly agreeing. He took up residence in Steve's room, Steve taking the guest bedroom with the smaller bed, leaving room for Danny and Grace in his king-sized bed.
Everything had been fine the first few days, Steve happy with his instant family, something he knows he'll have to deal with sometime later when the house goes from joyful fun to clinically silent.
And then came Danny's food poisoning, after Danny stopped by Kamekona's and accepted "Something new I've been experimenting with," after work the day before. Steve knew better. And after this morning, so would Danny.
He pushes his feeling down deep as he quietly walks downstairs, glad that the bad guys seem to be laying low this week; it'll be nice for Danny to take some time, especially with Grace lighting up the room with every giggle, every "But Danno," plead for just five more minutes before bedtime. He looks at the clock, seeing that he has a about an hour before Grace gets out of school, so he decides to do some serious research. He pulls out his laptop and searches for the best chicken soup recipes, deciding on the one that was voted highest among all that he found. He pulls out a big soup pot, but finds that he's missing a few key ingredients, so he writes out a shopping list and decides to hit the market before picking up his young charge. He checks on Danny one last time, finding him sleeping peacefully, though with a pinched expression on his face, so he once again slips silently from the room, picks up Danny's keys, and heads out.
Walking in to the garishly lit store, Steve steels himself with a silent, "I can do this," muttered just above a whisper. He's never liked grocery stores, and is lucky that he can normally rely on delivery. But with Danny sick, he'll make the sacrifice. He takes to shopping with the precision of a Navy SEAL, grabbing a basket and standing under the aisle map. He coordinates the items on his list to where they lay in the store, and then picks off the items one by one. There's a wandering toddler to avoid, though he traps him with an extended leg when he hears the exasperated mother call, "There you are!" from the end of the aisle as he pulls two cans of chicken broth from the shelf and puts them in his basket. Then there's a wailing child throwing vegetables from the cart when Steve goes to pick up fresh carrots, the child's father threatening him with "no dessert!" though the child does the three year olds equivalent of rolling his eyes as Steve ducks a parsnip. He looks at his watch, nodding that he's actually two minutes under what he planned, and heads to the cash register.
There are just two checkers, and Steve does a quick reconnoiter of each line. The first line has one fewer customer, but the baskets are much more densely packed. That, plus the fact that one woman looks like an extreme couponer, what with messy stack of clipped coupons in her hand, leads Steve to the second line. He waits his turn, and is glad to be rid of the errand as he walks back into the sunshine, letting go of the tenseness that attached to him walking into the store.
Steve quickly strides into the school's front office, his badge in hand since he needs to pick up Grace, not sure if Danny had called the school already. The woman behind the counter gives Steve the eyes, as Danny had called it once, though Steve just ignores her advances, doing his best to spurn them without causing a problem for him to pick up Grace. "I have my badge, my credentials, and can get Governor Jameson to vouch for me, too," he over-explains.
Finally looking at her computer instead of Steve, the administrator says, "Steven McGarrett, you said?"
"Steve, yeah."
Straightening her glasses, the administrator comes back with, "It looks like Mister Williams put you on Grace's record as an emergency contact, so you're good." Batting her eyelashes once more, she says, "You've still got fifteen minutes before class gets out. Is there anything I can get you? Coffee? Tea?"
Steve is half expecting her to add, "Me?" to that list, but he just politely smiles as he shakes his head. "No thank you. I'll just..." and he points outside, quickly abandoning the office and making his way back to the entrance of the school.
Forty-five minutes later, Steve is standing at the stove working on the soup as Grace sits at the table, chatting about her day and occasionally asking Steve about question about her homework. Once the last ingredient is added, and the burner turned down to simmer, Steve puts a lid on the pot and grabs a beer from the refrigerator. He goes to the table and sits with Grace, who pulls a notebook out of her backpack and starts to work on a sheet of math problems.
"Gracie, what's this?" Steve asks, picking up a folded piece of paper that slips from the notebook and onto the table. He hands it to Grace, who unfolds it, giddily squealing with delight as she reads the paper.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" she says, getting up from the table and letting out another squeal as she dances uninhibitedly. Steve can't help but smile at the sight, almost startled when she abruptly stops and asks, "Uncle Steve, can I please use your phone?"
Steve cocks his head to the side, wondering what prompted the outburst, so he picks up the paper, quickly reading it. Smiling, he asks, "Who is Billy Coogan?"
Grace dramatically puts her clasped hands over her heart, a move that Steve has to grin at, both because it's so cute, but also because he knows Danny would be pacing the floor right now, the vein in his forehead sticking out if he saw the note.
"Billy Coogan is, like, the cutest boy in my class!" Grace replies. She glances at the living room, and asks, "Can I, Uncle Steve?"
"Go ahead, Gracie," he says, and tries not to flinch when there's another high-pitched squeal that echoes off the walls. Grace is out of the room like a shot, and on the phone, talking fast into the receiver, and Steve knows where Grace got that particular trait. He just hopes she doesn't wake up her sleeping Danno, shaking his head as he goes back to the stove when he hears Grace say, "He must really like me, because he wrote me a note!"
Before he thinks too much about it, Steve goes back to the table and pulls a piece of paper from Grace's notebook. Even as his mind tells him to stop, he jots something down on it. His instinct is to ball it up and throw it away, but instead, as he listens to Grace on the phone talking excitedly with her friend, he carefully folks the paper and puts it in one of the pockets of his cargo pants. At least he wrote it out, but as the paper crinkles in his pocket, he isn't sure if doing it will help him, or just grow his feelings even more.
Dinner that night is an animated affair, with Grace filling in a decidedly less-green looking Danny about her day. Danny just nods, sipping on some of the broth and eating mostly saltines. He gives Steve a wink, as if to say thank you, and Steve just nods back, his chest full as he considers that even if this is as close to as family as he'll have for himself, it's worth it.
After dinner, they retreat to the living room, where Danny sleepily leans into Steve as Grace watches a Disney DVD that Steve had picked up at the store. Before long she's yawning, and Steve asks, "You want to finish this tomorrow?"
Danny stirs next to him, stretching as he looks to the wall clock. "Hey Monkey, did you finish your homework?"
"Yes, Danno," Grace says through a yawn.
Yawning himself, Danny says, "Then how 'bout you go brush your teeth and head on up to bed? I'll be there in a minute."
Grace stands and stretches, then comes up to the sofa and gives Steve a kiss on the cheek, then another for Danny. "Good night," she says, and then walks up the stairs.
Danny watches her go, then settles into the couch some more, and Steve can't help but lean into the warmth, pulling Danny closer. But even though being this close to Danny is one of his favorite things, he's nervous at the same time. Danny breaks all of Steve barriers, pushing into his personal space where no one else could. But Steve worries that letting Danny get too close, he may slip, sending Danny running.
Finally leaning back up, Steve instantly missing the contact of his partner, Danny says, "Thank you for taking care of Gracie," and pats Steve on the leg. There's a crinkling sound, and Steve can't help but blush, remembering the note he'd written earlier, then hastily stashed in his pocket. "What?" Danny asks.
"Oh, it's uhh," Steve says, his voice quiet as his throat grows quite parched. He chickens out and stands, the top of the paper coming to stick out through the pocket. "It's nothing."
"It's got my name on it," Danny says, and reaches out to grab the paper.
Steve reaches for it, but Danny is faster as he pulls it away, opening it up. "Danny," Steve says, though his partner pulls the paper back, stopping Steve with a look before turning his attention to actually reading the note. He can tell it's been read and his secret is no more when Danny's eyes crinkle up in a smile. "Oh god," Steve says. He knew this was a bad idea. But his stupid SEAL brain justified it because, "if a ten year old can do it..."
"Steven," Danny says, patting the seat next to him. Steve pauses for a second, but at Danny's insistent clearing of his throat, Steve finally stiffly takes a seat, hands folded in his lap and resigned to his fate.
Scooting closer, Danny manages to point at Steve, poking him in the chest as he says, "You, Steven J. McGarrett, are a goof."
"Excuse me?" Steve challenges. "I'm a goof?" And Steve doesn't know whether to be relieved or nervous at Danny's smile.
"A ridiculous goof, yes," Danny says. He scoots even closer, holding the note in one hand as the other reaches out and grips Steve's tattooed bicep, forcing Steve back to the couch. Beaming at his partner, Danny grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls Steve down to him, ghosting a chaste kiss cross Steve's lips, Steve enjoying the hint of stubble from his unshaven partner. Pulling back, he says, "An A-1, certified goof." He stands, and adds as he points to the staircase, the sound of Grace's footfalls coming through the ceiling. "With really bad timing."
Steve looks to the note in Danny's hand, and then at Danny as he stands himself. "Well?" Steve asks. He's come this far; he might as well go all the way.
Rolling his eyes as only Danny can, he sighs, and then grabs a pen from the coffee table. He makes a checkmark on the paper, then hands it back to Steve. "As if the kiss didn't already say that?"
Steve looks at the paper, a grin plastering across his face. "Cool," he says, aiming Danny for the stairs.
"'Do you like me? Check yes or no.' What are we, like seven, Steven?" Danny asks as he trundles up the stairs.
"Thereabouts, yeah," Steve manages, walking Danny to his room. He reaches down, taking Danny's hand in his and squeezes it gently before pulling it up and dropping a kiss across the knuckles. He gives Danny a wink, and watches as Danny turns and slowly wanders to the bed.
Turning to head to his own room, he hears Danny say, "Really bad timing," as he closes the door behind him.
But Steve knows that it's okay. In a few days, when Danny is fully recovered and Grace is back with her mom and Step-Stan, he'll be able to show Danny exactly how much he likes him.