H50 Fic - A sign of Pride (Deaf!Grace 'Verse)
Title: A Sign of Pride (part of my Deaf!Grace 'Verse)
Characters: Steve/Danno, Grace
Fandom: Hawaii Five-O
Summary: Grace is given a present and uses it to teach a class.
Rating: G
Spoilers: None
Word Count: ~3,000
Warnings: -
Beta:
burned_phoenix
Disclaimer: In my dreams maybe, but I don't own them!
Written for: annabel1984 who asked for "Grace being given a camera by either Steve or Danny and with the pictures she takes she shows the pictures of her family to her class (like a sign show & tell kinda thing)", simplyn2deep who asked for "Career Day at Grace's school, Danny said he would go but is called into court and Grace is bummed that he isn't there, but Steve shows up" and goldenthroat who wanted "Grace's school has a bring your dad to work day, and she brings Danny and her Seal". Kinda adapted the three into one! Hope you guys like it!
A sign of Trust - A sign of Love - A sign of Family - A sign of Strength - A sign of Recovery - A sign of Pride
Grace had been thrilled when Danny and Steve had presented her with her very own camera. It wasn’t as good as Steve’s, but ‘definitely better than mommies and step-Stan’s’ she had declared, and it wasn’t even pink.
Steve was so happy that Grace was excited about the new camera that he insisted on taking her out to try it, and from there, the two men took the little girl nearly everywhere they could think of for the day. National parks, the beach, even the zoo were all quickly visited.
‘I want to go to the Palace too!’ Grace asked, talking about where Steve and Danny worked.
‘Really? Why?’ Danny asked, picking a flower off a nearby branch and pushing it into her hair.
‘Just because,’ she shrugged evasively, quickly rushing towards Steve who had his own camera on him.
Steve smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her down another hiking trail, much to Danny’s displeasure. Maybe taking her back to headquarters wasn’t such a bad idea after all, he thought, huffing with exhaustion. Steve was excitedly showing Grace all the local flora and fauna, giving the small girl the Hawaiian names for everything through finger spelling and then explaining what the names meant. Steve made a mental note to find out from Kono if she knew the proper Hawaiian signs for any of the local wildlife when he heard a thump from behind him.
“Danny?” Steve asked, quickly spinning around, ‘are you okay?’ he asked, trying not to laugh at his partner.
‘Fine, I'm great! Trekking through the jungle, acting as a buffet for mosquitos and probably thousands of other things you call insects!’
Danny huffed from his spot on the floor in the dirt where he had fallen, legs sticking out in front of him.
“Is it your knee?” Steve asked while Grace wasn’t looking, both of them approaching the fallen man and flanking him as if to provide cover and protection from all the insects Danny was complaining about, Steve's hand gripping his shoulder.
“It’s okay, sore, but no worse than usual…” Danny admitted, shooting his daughter a reassuring smile.
‘I think we should head back now,’ Steve decided, waiting for Grace’s approval before helping Danny up, the other man shrugging Steve’s help off once he was standing.
‘To the Palace?’ Grace asked.
‘If that’s what you want,’ Danny shrugged, just needing a place to sit and elevate his leg, maybe ice it too while Steve kept his daughter busy.
Back at HQ, Grace took photos of everything, asking Steve all about the ships and all the medals around his office, Steve gladly telling her all about his history (or what he could of it) from being in the Navy. During this time, Danny kicked it back on his office chair, slouched back with his legs up on the desk, eyes closed and trusting Steve to look after his baby.
“Danny?”
“Mmpf? Wha-?” Danny started, bolting upright in his chair, legs hitting the floor hard.
“It’s just me babe, come on, it’s getting really late, let’s go home, get the munchkin fed and to bed,” Steve said, running his fingers soothingly through Danny’s hair.
“Mm, yeah, good idea,” Danny nodded, leaning against Steve sightly, still tired.
The next morning dawned bright and early. Steve was up and getting ready for his morning swim when he saw Grace sitting there on the couch, watching him. ‘Everything okay princess?’ he asked, giving her a quick hug.
Grace nodded, worrying her lip slightly, ‘What’s wrong sweetie? You can tell me,’ Steve urged, bending down in front of her, one of his hands combing through her messy bed hair, seeing her chewing her lip in hesitation.
‘I… I want Danno to come to school to talk about his job, but I'm scared…’ Grace finally admitted, eyes moistening with unshed tears.
‘Baby, come here!’ Steve said, opening up his arms wide, then holding Grace close, his nose buried in her hair as he held onto her. He pulled away slightly, ‘it’s going to be okay, Danno and I fixed everything, those bad kids are no longer in your class and have been punished properly, nothing will happen to you, or to Danno if he goes to your school,’ Steve promised. ‘Come on, it’s still very early, you want to go back to bed?’ Steve asked, smiling slightly at Grace’s sleepy nod before easily picking the little girl up and taking her back to her room.
Steve tucked her in, patting her hair back, seeing how she got her father’s morning bed head and feeling slightly sorry for her. ‘Stay?’ she asked simply. Steve nodded, Grace shuffling over so he could lie down on the small mattress, his back supported by the hard headboard. Grace immediately curled in on him, Steve’s arms wrapping around her slight frame, holding her close.
Danny awoke a few hours after Steve, expecting the other man to still be out swimming or running (or mountain climbing, whatever it was he considered a morning workout) but was surprised to find him fast asleep in Grace’s bed when he went to check on her. He approached carefully, not wanting to startle Steve which could cause him to jostle Grace awake.
“Steve?” Danny said, hand cupping his face.
“Mm, yeah?” Steve asked sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes, face turning into Danny’s hand slightly.
“Why are you sleeping in my daughter’s bed? In your swimming gear no less?”
“She was awake when I got up, something was bothering her, so I brought her back here but then she wanted me to stay,” Steve explained, finally opening his eyes.
“Is she okay? What’s wrong?” Danny asked swiftly, becoming worried.
“She didn’t say exactly, but I'm pretty sure she’s going to be talking to you about it today,” he reassured, smiling softly at the other man’s worry, knowing that Grace would approach her father about her worries and her request. “How about you get her up? I’ll start getting breakfast ready now,” Steve suggested, wriggling out of Grace’s hold.
Danny latched onto Steve’s arm before he could leave, pulling him in close and pressed their bodies together, breaths mixing with each other before the men closed the slight distance between them, their lips sealing in a tender kiss.
“Love you, babe,” Danny mumbled, head still leaning in close to Steve’s.
“You too, Danny, always,” Steve replied, giving the other man another quick peck before leaving him alone with his daughter.
A large stack of pancakes greeted Grace and Danny once they finally walked out of the little girl’s room, Grace settled over Danny’s hip as he carried her in. Steve raised an eyebrow in concern and question, silently asking Danny if everything was okay. A quick reassuring smile immediately answered Steve, an entire conversation occurring between them without words or signs.
‘Come now, pancakes are ready and awaiting their maple syrupy doom!’ Steve joked as Danny sat Grace down, the young girl perking up at the sight of her breakfast.
‘Best pancakes ever!’ Grace praised, Danny nodding in agreement, once they had polished the entire stack off, Steve sticking to his healthier weekend breakfast.
‘Even better than Danno’s mum’s pancakes?’ Steve asked, proud of the praise he was receiving.
‘Only just!’ Grace smiled, winking at Steve.
‘So, I’ve been asked by Miss Gracie to go to her school on Friday, to talk about what we do at work, remember that ‘take your child to work’
day? Now we both get to present! So I’m going to need the day off then,” Danny said after a while.
‘Really now? And why should I?’ Steve teased.
‘Seal! You have to!’ Grace pouted, ‘for me!’
‘In that case, okay then Danno, you can have the day off, but only if I get Gracie the next weekend together!’
‘What for?’ Danny questioned not quiet trusting Steve’s intentions.
‘Well, I know you’re getting that cast off next week, so I’ve decided to start showing you a bit of self-defence, only if you want though sweetheart,’ Steve explained to Grace directly.
‘Really Seal? You mean it? I would love to!’ Grace beamed.
‘Yeah! We’ll take it easy at first, to let your wrist heal, but I think there’s a lot you can learn. Kono can even help us, and Chin of course,’ Steve said.
‘Awesome!’ Grace cheered, going on about how excited she was, Danny simply groaning and handing his head beside his daughter.
Of course Danny wanted his daughter to learn some self-defence, he also logically knew that there was no one else better to teach her than his partner, but he also realised that the possibility of a lot of humiliation was around the corner for himself.
Steve left Grace and Danny alone for the better part of the rest of the day, moving to his study to work on the case that they had going on at the moment, Danny and Grace spending the day together. They began by playing on the beach, then moved onto watching movies after a light lunch before it finally became time to return Grace home late in the afternoon.
‘Go get your things and say goodbye to Seal, your mum is already expecting you,’ Danny said once the Disney movie ended, pushing her off before getting himself ready to go.
Danny was ready to simply watch Grace enter the house from the safety of his car and then leave but was shocked when Rachel beckoned him in.
“Daniel, I… I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour at the hospital. I was wrong about Steve and I am not too cowardly to admit it. What Steve managed to do for us, for Grace at the school? Well, just please thank him for Stan and I,” she said.
“I’ll tell him,” Danny nodded, not wanting to give her anything else, “although it would mean more coming from you personally,” he added walking out of the large house, just wanting to be back with his man.
The week leading up to Grace’s presentation was frenzied. The case they were working on was a big one, guns and drugs, and they were finally wrapping things up. When Friday morning finally came, Danny was excited, getting ready to go to Grace’s school when his phone started ringing.
“Damnit!” Danny swore.
“What?” Steve asked popping his head out through the bathroom door.
“That was the prosecution’s attorney for our last case. He said if I don’t redo my statement, the defendant may walk. Shit! I’ll have to call Grace and cancel now, there’s no way I’ll be able to do both!” Danny sighed, hating having to let his daughter down.
“Can’t Stan or Rachel do it?”
“No, they both don’t have the time,” Danny sighed, picking up the special telephone Steve had bought for Grace and dialling his daughter.
Once Danny was gone, rushing to get to the courthouse, Steve picked up his cell and phoned Chin. He told the other man that he wasn’t coming in today and that if it was quiet he and Kono could have an early start to the weekend.
Steve had seen how saddened Danny had been and decided to take things into his own hands. He pulled out his crisp Navy dress blues and headed out. There was no way he was letting Grace go about that presentation all alone, not with some of the parents still there, he thought as he marched out of the house and to his car.
Grace wasn’t paying attention to her classmates, the children standing proudly one by one next to their mother or father, talking about what they did for a living. Grace knew that she would be up there last, all alone as she spoke and tears started forming in her eyes at the thought.
A commotion from the front of the class caught the corner of her eye, causing her to look up. Her eyes widened, mouth morphing into a large and vibrant smile at the sight of her SEAL standing at the door, dressed immaculately in his special Navy uniform.
‘SEAL!’ Grace squeaked, rushing up to Steve and jumping into his arms, holding onto him tightly.
‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ Steve apologised to both the teacher and Grace, his whole focus however remaining on the little girl in front of him.
‘I thought no one was going to come for me,’ she signed, tears making a reappearance.
‘There will always, always be someone here for you, never forget that,’ Steve promised, quickly swiping away a stray tear before allowing the little girl to lead him to their seat, ignoring all the shocked looks he was drawing from the other parents, both because of his tough appearance and his gentle words as well as because of what they knew about him.
Grace paid more attention with her super-SEAL seated beside her, his large hand curled reassuringly over her tiny one. When Grace was finally called up, she and Steve strode to the front proudly. Grace inserted the USB drive with her presentation and got ready. She was a little bit nervous since most of her presentation had been focused on Danny, but Steve was just as good, and she was going to show everyone else just that.
‘This is my father,’ Grace started looking at Steve as she said it, Steve’s own eyes misting over as he smiled, nodding for her to continue,
‘he is the leader of the special Hawaiian task force, the Five-0 and a SEAL! That stands for SEa Air Land and means that he is also part of a Navy military Special Forces team that only a few people get into! He is one of the strongest, bravest and toughest people I know, he’s a superhero! But he is also one of the most caring, forgiving and loving people I know,’ Grace started.
She went on talking about the Palace and some of the work done there, telling everyone of the “research” they had done on the “take your child to work day”. She showed the class a myriad of photos she had taken of everywhere Steve and Danny had taken her to last weekend, including some shots of her two fathers together.
‘I know not everyone sees or understands what I see when I look at my fathers. I’ve been told it’s wrong and gross, only because they are two boys… but I just see two people who love each other so much they would do anything for each other, and for me,’ Grace finished, the presentation ending with a photo of her two fathers, their arms wrapped around one another as they shared an embrace, the look in their eyes screaming love and devotion.
Everyone in the class was still, until all of a sudden Steve swept Grace up into another embrace, the same love and devotion obvious in the photo now obvious between the pair. Steve sat back on his chair in front of the class, Grace in his lap as he waiting for any questions. Everyone started clapping, several hands also shooting up, asking Steve more about his work in both the Navy and in the Five-0 task force. Steve happily answered all he could having to omit a fair bit from his naval career and by the end of it, as he walked Grace back to her seat, he knew that the looks he was now receiving from the parents and children were all of awe.
The class let out not long after, Grace unsure of where she was going now and hesitating. ‘I was thinking, how about some shave ice before I take you home?’ Steve suggested, leading the little girl towards his truck and helping her in, Grace now even more excited because she was getting to spend more time with Steve.
Steve quickly dialled Danny's number, having already seen the several missed calls from his partner.
“Where are you? I come into the office and no one is here! I try to call you and there’s no answer! Chin says you gave them the day off with no explanation too! What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Danny questioned before Steve could even get a word in.
“Meet me at Kamekona’s? Trust me, everything is fine,” Steve said, Danny could hear his smile through the phone.
“Okay then? See you in a few. This had better be good!” Danny warned before hanging up.
‘Let’s go!’ Steve said turning the truck on and heading to the shave ice stand at a normal speed, his driving much more careful with his precious passenger present.
Grace and Steve were already sitting with their cups, happily eating when Danny arrived. “Gracie?” He said and signed in shock, shooting Steve a questioning glance before wrapping Grace up in a hug, glad to see his child.
‘What's going on here? And why are you dressed like that?’ he asked sitting down beside his daughter.
‘Danno! Seal surprised the class by showing up, dressed in his pretty Navy dress blues - that’s what it’s called - for my presentation!’ she explained proudly.
‘Is that so?’ Danny asked, his face softening, “Thank you,” Danny said, Steve just shrugging it off.
‘Can I go play on the playground, Dad?’ Grace asked Steve, stopping suddenly when she realised what she had just called Steve in front of her actual father.
‘Yeah, just be careful sweetie,’ Steve smiled, shooing her off as he grabbed at Danny’s hands, the other man’s face unreadable. “Babe? Danny? You okay?” Steve asked.
“She called you her dad?” Danny finally spoke, still somewhat shocked.
“Is that okay? I mean… I kind of like it, but I won’t mind if you don’t want her to call me that, she’s just been saying it all day though, introduced me as her father to the class…” Steve explained.
“No, no I love it! I know everyone thinks I came up with the name ‘Step-Stan’, but that was all Grace. She’s never called him dad, or father… wow…” Danny said, finally meeting Steve’s eyes.
“I love you, Danny, we have a good kid here, a real good kid,” Steve smiled, leaning over the table and kissing his partner.
“Yeah, we really do… I love you, too, babe,” Danny agreed once they pulled apart. Both men’s gaze focused on their little girl, the pride they held for her obvious.
-End
Next>>
A/N: I am going away for a month where there will be very limited internet access on Sunday... I will still be writing fics! But I won't be able to post them! So please! Leave me more prompts! But this wont get updated until at least mid Nov! (I'm going to South Africa!) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I looove reading all your comments! They honestly mean the world to me! Thank you! :D
Characters: Steve/Danno, Grace
Fandom: Hawaii Five-O
Summary: Grace is given a present and uses it to teach a class.
Rating: G
Spoilers: None
Word Count: ~3,000
Warnings: -
Beta:
burned_phoenix
Disclaimer: In my dreams maybe, but I don't own them!
Written for: annabel1984 who asked for "Grace being given a camera by either Steve or Danny and with the pictures she takes she shows the pictures of her family to her class (like a sign show & tell kinda thing)", simplyn2deep who asked for "Career Day at Grace's school, Danny said he would go but is called into court and Grace is bummed that he isn't there, but Steve shows up" and goldenthroat who wanted "Grace's school has a bring your dad to work day, and she brings Danny and her Seal". Kinda adapted the three into one! Hope you guys like it!
A sign of Trust - A sign of Love - A sign of Family - A sign of Strength - A sign of Recovery - A sign of Pride
Grace had been thrilled when Danny and Steve had presented her with her very own camera. It wasn’t as good as Steve’s, but ‘definitely better than mommies and step-Stan’s’ she had declared, and it wasn’t even pink.
Steve was so happy that Grace was excited about the new camera that he insisted on taking her out to try it, and from there, the two men took the little girl nearly everywhere they could think of for the day. National parks, the beach, even the zoo were all quickly visited.
‘I want to go to the Palace too!’ Grace asked, talking about where Steve and Danny worked.
‘Really? Why?’ Danny asked, picking a flower off a nearby branch and pushing it into her hair.
‘Just because,’ she shrugged evasively, quickly rushing towards Steve who had his own camera on him.
Steve smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her down another hiking trail, much to Danny’s displeasure. Maybe taking her back to headquarters wasn’t such a bad idea after all, he thought, huffing with exhaustion. Steve was excitedly showing Grace all the local flora and fauna, giving the small girl the Hawaiian names for everything through finger spelling and then explaining what the names meant. Steve made a mental note to find out from Kono if she knew the proper Hawaiian signs for any of the local wildlife when he heard a thump from behind him.
“Danny?” Steve asked, quickly spinning around, ‘are you okay?’ he asked, trying not to laugh at his partner.
‘Fine, I'm great! Trekking through the jungle, acting as a buffet for mosquitos and probably thousands of other things you call insects!’
Danny huffed from his spot on the floor in the dirt where he had fallen, legs sticking out in front of him.
“Is it your knee?” Steve asked while Grace wasn’t looking, both of them approaching the fallen man and flanking him as if to provide cover and protection from all the insects Danny was complaining about, Steve's hand gripping his shoulder.
“It’s okay, sore, but no worse than usual…” Danny admitted, shooting his daughter a reassuring smile.
‘I think we should head back now,’ Steve decided, waiting for Grace’s approval before helping Danny up, the other man shrugging Steve’s help off once he was standing.
‘To the Palace?’ Grace asked.
‘If that’s what you want,’ Danny shrugged, just needing a place to sit and elevate his leg, maybe ice it too while Steve kept his daughter busy.
Back at HQ, Grace took photos of everything, asking Steve all about the ships and all the medals around his office, Steve gladly telling her all about his history (or what he could of it) from being in the Navy. During this time, Danny kicked it back on his office chair, slouched back with his legs up on the desk, eyes closed and trusting Steve to look after his baby.
“Danny?”
“Mmpf? Wha-?” Danny started, bolting upright in his chair, legs hitting the floor hard.
“It’s just me babe, come on, it’s getting really late, let’s go home, get the munchkin fed and to bed,” Steve said, running his fingers soothingly through Danny’s hair.
“Mm, yeah, good idea,” Danny nodded, leaning against Steve sightly, still tired.
The next morning dawned bright and early. Steve was up and getting ready for his morning swim when he saw Grace sitting there on the couch, watching him. ‘Everything okay princess?’ he asked, giving her a quick hug.
Grace nodded, worrying her lip slightly, ‘What’s wrong sweetie? You can tell me,’ Steve urged, bending down in front of her, one of his hands combing through her messy bed hair, seeing her chewing her lip in hesitation.
‘I… I want Danno to come to school to talk about his job, but I'm scared…’ Grace finally admitted, eyes moistening with unshed tears.
‘Baby, come here!’ Steve said, opening up his arms wide, then holding Grace close, his nose buried in her hair as he held onto her. He pulled away slightly, ‘it’s going to be okay, Danno and I fixed everything, those bad kids are no longer in your class and have been punished properly, nothing will happen to you, or to Danno if he goes to your school,’ Steve promised. ‘Come on, it’s still very early, you want to go back to bed?’ Steve asked, smiling slightly at Grace’s sleepy nod before easily picking the little girl up and taking her back to her room.
Steve tucked her in, patting her hair back, seeing how she got her father’s morning bed head and feeling slightly sorry for her. ‘Stay?’ she asked simply. Steve nodded, Grace shuffling over so he could lie down on the small mattress, his back supported by the hard headboard. Grace immediately curled in on him, Steve’s arms wrapping around her slight frame, holding her close.
Danny awoke a few hours after Steve, expecting the other man to still be out swimming or running (or mountain climbing, whatever it was he considered a morning workout) but was surprised to find him fast asleep in Grace’s bed when he went to check on her. He approached carefully, not wanting to startle Steve which could cause him to jostle Grace awake.
“Steve?” Danny said, hand cupping his face.
“Mm, yeah?” Steve asked sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes, face turning into Danny’s hand slightly.
“Why are you sleeping in my daughter’s bed? In your swimming gear no less?”
“She was awake when I got up, something was bothering her, so I brought her back here but then she wanted me to stay,” Steve explained, finally opening his eyes.
“Is she okay? What’s wrong?” Danny asked swiftly, becoming worried.
“She didn’t say exactly, but I'm pretty sure she’s going to be talking to you about it today,” he reassured, smiling softly at the other man’s worry, knowing that Grace would approach her father about her worries and her request. “How about you get her up? I’ll start getting breakfast ready now,” Steve suggested, wriggling out of Grace’s hold.
Danny latched onto Steve’s arm before he could leave, pulling him in close and pressed their bodies together, breaths mixing with each other before the men closed the slight distance between them, their lips sealing in a tender kiss.
“Love you, babe,” Danny mumbled, head still leaning in close to Steve’s.
“You too, Danny, always,” Steve replied, giving the other man another quick peck before leaving him alone with his daughter.
A large stack of pancakes greeted Grace and Danny once they finally walked out of the little girl’s room, Grace settled over Danny’s hip as he carried her in. Steve raised an eyebrow in concern and question, silently asking Danny if everything was okay. A quick reassuring smile immediately answered Steve, an entire conversation occurring between them without words or signs.
‘Come now, pancakes are ready and awaiting their maple syrupy doom!’ Steve joked as Danny sat Grace down, the young girl perking up at the sight of her breakfast.
‘Best pancakes ever!’ Grace praised, Danny nodding in agreement, once they had polished the entire stack off, Steve sticking to his healthier weekend breakfast.
‘Even better than Danno’s mum’s pancakes?’ Steve asked, proud of the praise he was receiving.
‘Only just!’ Grace smiled, winking at Steve.
‘So, I’ve been asked by Miss Gracie to go to her school on Friday, to talk about what we do at work, remember that ‘take your child to work’
day? Now we both get to present! So I’m going to need the day off then,” Danny said after a while.
‘Really now? And why should I?’ Steve teased.
‘Seal! You have to!’ Grace pouted, ‘for me!’
‘In that case, okay then Danno, you can have the day off, but only if I get Gracie the next weekend together!’
‘What for?’ Danny questioned not quiet trusting Steve’s intentions.
‘Well, I know you’re getting that cast off next week, so I’ve decided to start showing you a bit of self-defence, only if you want though sweetheart,’ Steve explained to Grace directly.
‘Really Seal? You mean it? I would love to!’ Grace beamed.
‘Yeah! We’ll take it easy at first, to let your wrist heal, but I think there’s a lot you can learn. Kono can even help us, and Chin of course,’ Steve said.
‘Awesome!’ Grace cheered, going on about how excited she was, Danny simply groaning and handing his head beside his daughter.
Of course Danny wanted his daughter to learn some self-defence, he also logically knew that there was no one else better to teach her than his partner, but he also realised that the possibility of a lot of humiliation was around the corner for himself.
Steve left Grace and Danny alone for the better part of the rest of the day, moving to his study to work on the case that they had going on at the moment, Danny and Grace spending the day together. They began by playing on the beach, then moved onto watching movies after a light lunch before it finally became time to return Grace home late in the afternoon.
‘Go get your things and say goodbye to Seal, your mum is already expecting you,’ Danny said once the Disney movie ended, pushing her off before getting himself ready to go.
Danny was ready to simply watch Grace enter the house from the safety of his car and then leave but was shocked when Rachel beckoned him in.
“Daniel, I… I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour at the hospital. I was wrong about Steve and I am not too cowardly to admit it. What Steve managed to do for us, for Grace at the school? Well, just please thank him for Stan and I,” she said.
“I’ll tell him,” Danny nodded, not wanting to give her anything else, “although it would mean more coming from you personally,” he added walking out of the large house, just wanting to be back with his man.
The week leading up to Grace’s presentation was frenzied. The case they were working on was a big one, guns and drugs, and they were finally wrapping things up. When Friday morning finally came, Danny was excited, getting ready to go to Grace’s school when his phone started ringing.
“Damnit!” Danny swore.
“What?” Steve asked popping his head out through the bathroom door.
“That was the prosecution’s attorney for our last case. He said if I don’t redo my statement, the defendant may walk. Shit! I’ll have to call Grace and cancel now, there’s no way I’ll be able to do both!” Danny sighed, hating having to let his daughter down.
“Can’t Stan or Rachel do it?”
“No, they both don’t have the time,” Danny sighed, picking up the special telephone Steve had bought for Grace and dialling his daughter.
Once Danny was gone, rushing to get to the courthouse, Steve picked up his cell and phoned Chin. He told the other man that he wasn’t coming in today and that if it was quiet he and Kono could have an early start to the weekend.
Steve had seen how saddened Danny had been and decided to take things into his own hands. He pulled out his crisp Navy dress blues and headed out. There was no way he was letting Grace go about that presentation all alone, not with some of the parents still there, he thought as he marched out of the house and to his car.
Grace wasn’t paying attention to her classmates, the children standing proudly one by one next to their mother or father, talking about what they did for a living. Grace knew that she would be up there last, all alone as she spoke and tears started forming in her eyes at the thought.
A commotion from the front of the class caught the corner of her eye, causing her to look up. Her eyes widened, mouth morphing into a large and vibrant smile at the sight of her SEAL standing at the door, dressed immaculately in his special Navy uniform.
‘SEAL!’ Grace squeaked, rushing up to Steve and jumping into his arms, holding onto him tightly.
‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ Steve apologised to both the teacher and Grace, his whole focus however remaining on the little girl in front of him.
‘I thought no one was going to come for me,’ she signed, tears making a reappearance.
‘There will always, always be someone here for you, never forget that,’ Steve promised, quickly swiping away a stray tear before allowing the little girl to lead him to their seat, ignoring all the shocked looks he was drawing from the other parents, both because of his tough appearance and his gentle words as well as because of what they knew about him.
Grace paid more attention with her super-SEAL seated beside her, his large hand curled reassuringly over her tiny one. When Grace was finally called up, she and Steve strode to the front proudly. Grace inserted the USB drive with her presentation and got ready. She was a little bit nervous since most of her presentation had been focused on Danny, but Steve was just as good, and she was going to show everyone else just that.
‘This is my father,’ Grace started looking at Steve as she said it, Steve’s own eyes misting over as he smiled, nodding for her to continue,
‘he is the leader of the special Hawaiian task force, the Five-0 and a SEAL! That stands for SEa Air Land and means that he is also part of a Navy military Special Forces team that only a few people get into! He is one of the strongest, bravest and toughest people I know, he’s a superhero! But he is also one of the most caring, forgiving and loving people I know,’ Grace started.
She went on talking about the Palace and some of the work done there, telling everyone of the “research” they had done on the “take your child to work day”. She showed the class a myriad of photos she had taken of everywhere Steve and Danny had taken her to last weekend, including some shots of her two fathers together.
‘I know not everyone sees or understands what I see when I look at my fathers. I’ve been told it’s wrong and gross, only because they are two boys… but I just see two people who love each other so much they would do anything for each other, and for me,’ Grace finished, the presentation ending with a photo of her two fathers, their arms wrapped around one another as they shared an embrace, the look in their eyes screaming love and devotion.
Everyone in the class was still, until all of a sudden Steve swept Grace up into another embrace, the same love and devotion obvious in the photo now obvious between the pair. Steve sat back on his chair in front of the class, Grace in his lap as he waiting for any questions. Everyone started clapping, several hands also shooting up, asking Steve more about his work in both the Navy and in the Five-0 task force. Steve happily answered all he could having to omit a fair bit from his naval career and by the end of it, as he walked Grace back to her seat, he knew that the looks he was now receiving from the parents and children were all of awe.
The class let out not long after, Grace unsure of where she was going now and hesitating. ‘I was thinking, how about some shave ice before I take you home?’ Steve suggested, leading the little girl towards his truck and helping her in, Grace now even more excited because she was getting to spend more time with Steve.
Steve quickly dialled Danny's number, having already seen the several missed calls from his partner.
“Where are you? I come into the office and no one is here! I try to call you and there’s no answer! Chin says you gave them the day off with no explanation too! What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Danny questioned before Steve could even get a word in.
“Meet me at Kamekona’s? Trust me, everything is fine,” Steve said, Danny could hear his smile through the phone.
“Okay then? See you in a few. This had better be good!” Danny warned before hanging up.
‘Let’s go!’ Steve said turning the truck on and heading to the shave ice stand at a normal speed, his driving much more careful with his precious passenger present.
Grace and Steve were already sitting with their cups, happily eating when Danny arrived. “Gracie?” He said and signed in shock, shooting Steve a questioning glance before wrapping Grace up in a hug, glad to see his child.
‘What's going on here? And why are you dressed like that?’ he asked sitting down beside his daughter.
‘Danno! Seal surprised the class by showing up, dressed in his pretty Navy dress blues - that’s what it’s called - for my presentation!’ she explained proudly.
‘Is that so?’ Danny asked, his face softening, “Thank you,” Danny said, Steve just shrugging it off.
‘Can I go play on the playground, Dad?’ Grace asked Steve, stopping suddenly when she realised what she had just called Steve in front of her actual father.
‘Yeah, just be careful sweetie,’ Steve smiled, shooing her off as he grabbed at Danny’s hands, the other man’s face unreadable. “Babe? Danny? You okay?” Steve asked.
“She called you her dad?” Danny finally spoke, still somewhat shocked.
“Is that okay? I mean… I kind of like it, but I won’t mind if you don’t want her to call me that, she’s just been saying it all day though, introduced me as her father to the class…” Steve explained.
“No, no I love it! I know everyone thinks I came up with the name ‘Step-Stan’, but that was all Grace. She’s never called him dad, or father… wow…” Danny said, finally meeting Steve’s eyes.
“I love you, Danny, we have a good kid here, a real good kid,” Steve smiled, leaning over the table and kissing his partner.
“Yeah, we really do… I love you, too, babe,” Danny agreed once they pulled apart. Both men’s gaze focused on their little girl, the pride they held for her obvious.
-End
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A/N: I am going away for a month where there will be very limited internet access on Sunday... I will still be writing fics! But I won't be able to post them! So please! Leave me more prompts! But this wont get updated until at least mid Nov! (I'm going to South Africa!) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I looove reading all your comments! They honestly mean the world to me! Thank you! :D