Fic: From the Mouths of Babes
So, lying awake last night listening to the thunderstorm, I um... had an unprompted story. (although I will get back to them, it's just I was heading into SPN and I need to absorb the finale)
H5-O
Steve/Danny preslash
1,257 words
PG13
In which things are fixed and Grace is smarter than both her parents combined.
From the Mouths of Babes
"No."
Danny stared at his daughter's folded arms, drawn in brows, mouth pressed into a thin white-lipped line, and had a terrifying flashback to the first time he'd met Rachel's mother. "What do mean, no?"
Grace's eyes narrowed further. "I mean no. I don't want to go back to New Jersey. I like it here. I have friends. I like surfing and Kono and shave ice and pineapple. So, no!"
More than a little taken aback, Danny opened his mouth, closed it again, and turned to Rachel, spreading his hands in the universal gesture for Okay, your turn.
"I understand you that you don't want to leave your friends." Rachel smiled down at their daughter. "But I promise it'll be worth it, we'll be a family again."
Grace turned just far enough to include Rachel in her glare. "For how long? Is Danno still going to be a policeman?"
It hadn't come up. But then, as far as Danny was concerned, it didn't need to. "It's what I am, Monkey."
"You don't like that." She unfolded her arms to point at her mother. "If Danno is still a policeman then he'll still work too much and not make enough money and you'll still worry too much and have no idea of what's going on in the real world."
Danny recognized those words and, from her expression, so did Rachel. She found her voice first.
"Oh sweetie, it won't be like that."
Grace stepped back, away from Rachel's out-stretched hand. "I heard the fights! I heard them! And nothing's changed! You'll fight! You know you will!"
"No, Grace, it's different." He glanced over at Rachel, glanced down slightly, and raised a brow. She nodded. They hadn't intended to tell Grace until they'd left Hawaii but then they hadn't expected her to be so upset about leaving. "You're going to have a little sister or brother. Your mom, well..." Reaching out he drew Rachel up against his side. "...she's going to have a baby."
"Are you the daddy?"
"Grace!"
"What about Step-Stan?" Grace's arms were folded again.
"Sweetie, you know Stan and I haven't been happy for a while..."
"Step-Stan said you were fine while daddy was unhappy. He said that if you couldn't have him it was okay as long as one else did, but as soon as daddy and Uncle Steve got close you had to stake your pri... priorg..." She shook her head, braids sliding over her shoulders, frustrated by the word. "You had to prove you could still have him because if Uncle Steve had him then you think your marriage was a sham and you can't bear to think you failed at it twice! I heard the fights!"
"Apparently you only heard what Stan said," Rachel snapped.
"And Uncle Steve never had me!"
"Daniel!"
"Uncle Steve loves you!" Grace yelled. "And you love him! You look at each other like they do in the movies and you sound like you and mommy used to before you were both angry all the time!"
"What kind of movies are you letting her watch?"
"I really don't think that's the point here, Danny." Stepping away from his side, Rachel took a deep breath and ran both hands back through her hair. "Grace, your father and I love you..."
"That's not enough! You have to be in love with each other!"
"The baby..."
"Babies aren't magic! They don't fix what's broken!" She was crying now and Danny wanted to go to her but the force of her anger held him in place. "You were fixed, you were friends, and now you're broken again! You're broken and you're not good and that's not ohana and Uncle Steve is and I'm not leaving him behind!"
Pivoting on one bare heel, she turned and ran up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door. Her words lingered.
"Uncle Steve loves you! And you love him!"
"I'm not leaving him behind!"
"When I realized that Stan and I were over," Rachel said quietly, "I turned to you because I knew you'd understand. I knew you'd be there for me. I knew I'd always love you, because of Grace. Because you're who you are. I never, ever wanted to make a prior claim obvious to Steve. My life was falling to pieces and, in all honesty, I didn't think of Steve. Of you and Steve. Of what I might be destroying."
"There's no me and Steve."
"Danny, it's obvious to a ten year old. You need to pay more attention to what's actually going on in your life."
"Well, excuse me if maybe there's been a few distractions! A couple of life and death situations even! I'll just pause to consider relationship issues next time I'm taking down a couple of drug dealers, shall I?" When Rachel lifted a brow and smiled, he shook his head. "Yeah. That sounded familiar."
"She's heard the fights." Glancing toward the stairs, Rachel had to swallow before she could continue. "She doesn't need to hear them again. I don't need to hear them again."
"But the baby..." He loved being a father. The thought of having a second chance at it had made him crazy happy. Okay. Fine. Maybe just crazy.
"Well, Grace was wrong about that. Babies are magic." She raised a hand to keep him from going to her. "So we'll just have to get fixed and find our way back to friends and then all of us - me and Grace and the baby and you and Steve -- we'll figure out a way to be ohana because of this baby."
And Steve. He was suddenly having trouble catching his breath remembering just how crazy he'd gone. "I don't know if Steve still wants..."
"Don't be ridiculous, Danny. Go prove he's innocent. Actually," she grabbed his shoulder and shoved him toward the door. "Before you get ass deep in detecting, go tell him you're going to prove he's innocent and when he gets out you're going to..."
Danny put his hand over her mouth, then snatched it back when she snapped her teeth. "Please, I'm begging you, never ever mention out loud what you think Steve and I might possibly do because if I ever hear my daughter repeating it, well, let's just say, I know where there's a shark tank and that would pretty much ensure I'd jump into it."
"Lips are sealed." She mimed a zipper. "Now go. I'll head upstairs and apologize to Grace."
"I should..."
"You can later, but I think I'm the bad guy here. "
"I shouldn't have..."
"Probably not." Hand firmly in the centre of his back, she shoved him out the door. "But in all fairness, I know where your buttons are. After all, I installed a few of them."
"A few? Try most."
"Your mother..."
"Don't even go there. Don't even go near there." He paused on the step and turned back toward the house. Stan's house, he supposed, although he knew for a fact Rachel had kick-ass lawyers on speed dial. "Our Grace, she's pretty smart for a ten year old."
Rachel smiled back at him. "She gets it from me." Then added, before Danny could protest, "She gets her stubbornness, her sense of fair play, and her ability to bluff with a pair of eights from you. Now, go talk to Steve before she's in college."
"Good idea." Great idea, actually. Because Steve looked at him like in the movies. The kind of movies that Grace wasn't allowed to see until she was thirty... sixty. Definitely, sixty.
H5-O
Steve/Danny preslash
1,257 words
PG13
In which things are fixed and Grace is smarter than both her parents combined.
From the Mouths of Babes
"No."
Danny stared at his daughter's folded arms, drawn in brows, mouth pressed into a thin white-lipped line, and had a terrifying flashback to the first time he'd met Rachel's mother. "What do mean, no?"
Grace's eyes narrowed further. "I mean no. I don't want to go back to New Jersey. I like it here. I have friends. I like surfing and Kono and shave ice and pineapple. So, no!"
More than a little taken aback, Danny opened his mouth, closed it again, and turned to Rachel, spreading his hands in the universal gesture for Okay, your turn.
"I understand you that you don't want to leave your friends." Rachel smiled down at their daughter. "But I promise it'll be worth it, we'll be a family again."
Grace turned just far enough to include Rachel in her glare. "For how long? Is Danno still going to be a policeman?"
It hadn't come up. But then, as far as Danny was concerned, it didn't need to. "It's what I am, Monkey."
"You don't like that." She unfolded her arms to point at her mother. "If Danno is still a policeman then he'll still work too much and not make enough money and you'll still worry too much and have no idea of what's going on in the real world."
Danny recognized those words and, from her expression, so did Rachel. She found her voice first.
"Oh sweetie, it won't be like that."
Grace stepped back, away from Rachel's out-stretched hand. "I heard the fights! I heard them! And nothing's changed! You'll fight! You know you will!"
"No, Grace, it's different." He glanced over at Rachel, glanced down slightly, and raised a brow. She nodded. They hadn't intended to tell Grace until they'd left Hawaii but then they hadn't expected her to be so upset about leaving. "You're going to have a little sister or brother. Your mom, well..." Reaching out he drew Rachel up against his side. "...she's going to have a baby."
"Are you the daddy?"
"Grace!"
"What about Step-Stan?" Grace's arms were folded again.
"Sweetie, you know Stan and I haven't been happy for a while..."
"Step-Stan said you were fine while daddy was unhappy. He said that if you couldn't have him it was okay as long as one else did, but as soon as daddy and Uncle Steve got close you had to stake your pri... priorg..." She shook her head, braids sliding over her shoulders, frustrated by the word. "You had to prove you could still have him because if Uncle Steve had him then you think your marriage was a sham and you can't bear to think you failed at it twice! I heard the fights!"
"Apparently you only heard what Stan said," Rachel snapped.
"And Uncle Steve never had me!"
"Daniel!"
"Uncle Steve loves you!" Grace yelled. "And you love him! You look at each other like they do in the movies and you sound like you and mommy used to before you were both angry all the time!"
"What kind of movies are you letting her watch?"
"I really don't think that's the point here, Danny." Stepping away from his side, Rachel took a deep breath and ran both hands back through her hair. "Grace, your father and I love you..."
"That's not enough! You have to be in love with each other!"
"The baby..."
"Babies aren't magic! They don't fix what's broken!" She was crying now and Danny wanted to go to her but the force of her anger held him in place. "You were fixed, you were friends, and now you're broken again! You're broken and you're not good and that's not ohana and Uncle Steve is and I'm not leaving him behind!"
Pivoting on one bare heel, she turned and ran up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door. Her words lingered.
"Uncle Steve loves you! And you love him!"
"I'm not leaving him behind!"
"When I realized that Stan and I were over," Rachel said quietly, "I turned to you because I knew you'd understand. I knew you'd be there for me. I knew I'd always love you, because of Grace. Because you're who you are. I never, ever wanted to make a prior claim obvious to Steve. My life was falling to pieces and, in all honesty, I didn't think of Steve. Of you and Steve. Of what I might be destroying."
"There's no me and Steve."
"Danny, it's obvious to a ten year old. You need to pay more attention to what's actually going on in your life."
"Well, excuse me if maybe there's been a few distractions! A couple of life and death situations even! I'll just pause to consider relationship issues next time I'm taking down a couple of drug dealers, shall I?" When Rachel lifted a brow and smiled, he shook his head. "Yeah. That sounded familiar."
"She's heard the fights." Glancing toward the stairs, Rachel had to swallow before she could continue. "She doesn't need to hear them again. I don't need to hear them again."
"But the baby..." He loved being a father. The thought of having a second chance at it had made him crazy happy. Okay. Fine. Maybe just crazy.
"Well, Grace was wrong about that. Babies are magic." She raised a hand to keep him from going to her. "So we'll just have to get fixed and find our way back to friends and then all of us - me and Grace and the baby and you and Steve -- we'll figure out a way to be ohana because of this baby."
And Steve. He was suddenly having trouble catching his breath remembering just how crazy he'd gone. "I don't know if Steve still wants..."
"Don't be ridiculous, Danny. Go prove he's innocent. Actually," she grabbed his shoulder and shoved him toward the door. "Before you get ass deep in detecting, go tell him you're going to prove he's innocent and when he gets out you're going to..."
Danny put his hand over her mouth, then snatched it back when she snapped her teeth. "Please, I'm begging you, never ever mention out loud what you think Steve and I might possibly do because if I ever hear my daughter repeating it, well, let's just say, I know where there's a shark tank and that would pretty much ensure I'd jump into it."
"Lips are sealed." She mimed a zipper. "Now go. I'll head upstairs and apologize to Grace."
"I should..."
"You can later, but I think I'm the bad guy here. "
"I shouldn't have..."
"Probably not." Hand firmly in the centre of his back, she shoved him out the door. "But in all fairness, I know where your buttons are. After all, I installed a few of them."
"A few? Try most."
"Your mother..."
"Don't even go there. Don't even go near there." He paused on the step and turned back toward the house. Stan's house, he supposed, although he knew for a fact Rachel had kick-ass lawyers on speed dial. "Our Grace, she's pretty smart for a ten year old."
Rachel smiled back at him. "She gets it from me." Then added, before Danny could protest, "She gets her stubbornness, her sense of fair play, and her ability to bluff with a pair of eights from you. Now, go talk to Steve before she's in college."
"Good idea." Great idea, actually. Because Steve looked at him like in the movies. The kind of movies that Grace wasn't allowed to see until she was thirty... sixty. Definitely, sixty.