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sirona_gs and I wanted to write something stupidly fluffy and happy and easy, and I came over to her with this idea: 'STEVE+A BABY NEVER COME ON LET'S WRITE IT' and so we did, and stjarna1984 betaed it. This is AU, in which Danny's a retired cop working as a daycare center manager, and Steve is a retired Navy-SEAL turned SEAL school professor and Daddy. It's just some silly fun, not to be taken seriously. Enjoy!
There are a few things Steve had expected, when Catherine told him the words, the fateful words, you’re going to be a dad. Falling inexplicably in love with his little girl, he’d expected. Sleeping just as much as he had during Hell Week, which meant not at all, he’d expected. Wanting to rip the world apart every time Julie cries, he’d expected.
What he had not expected, though, was Catherine leaving him alone with Julie as soon as she could justify getting back on a ship. Not that she didn’t love her daughter, but spending 9 months on land, through the last few months of the pregnancy, the birth, and the first few months of Julie’s life, had made Catherine antsy, restless. The fact that it was obvious she and Steve were not made for each other outside of quick fucks and aborted dinners didn’t help the situation.
There’s nothing Steve wouldn’t do for his girl. He adores her, simply put, loves and lives for her with every fiber of his being and every breath he takes. But half the time, he has no idea what to do with her. Catherine isn't exactly a natural mom, either. Steve had come back to Hawai'i after his dad's heart attack, and much as he'd loved his job, he couldn't even imagine getting back to it now that he had Julie in his life. He didn't blame Catherine, though -- not everyone was meant to be a mom, or even wanted kids; he knows that Catherine loves her daughter to distraction now, but the truth is that lovely, precious Julie was really a happy mistake that neither Catherine nor Steve had had the heart to fix. But now that Julie is over a year old, she doesn't need her mom like she had in the first few terrifying months, and Steve really can't hold it against Catherine that she'd wanted to get back to what she loved, what she did best.
It was fine, more than fine with him to be the dad who stayed behind to raise their kid, just like many Navy wives spend their lives doing while they wait for their husbands to come home. It gave him a purpose like few things other than his job has managed, after he and Mary had lost their mom and had their lives uprooted. But he was beyond happy now, teaching at Pearl Harbor, getting those new, hopeful recruits in the shape they'd need to maintain to stay on top of what their country would ask of them. And it meant that come 6pm, he was heading home to his little girl, leaving behind his job in a way that he'd never been able to before.
Except that there's quite the surprise waiting for him when he gets back that evening -- Lenora, his just-turned-18-year-old nanny, is waiting for him at the door, beaming fit to burst.
"I got in, Mr McGarrett, I got into Yale! They called just a few hours ago," she gushes as soon as he's out of the car; he can see her bouncing on the balls of her feet, impatient to go.
"That's fantastic, Lenora, well done," he says, genuinely happy for her -- she’s worked so hard for that, it's great to see her get what she's dreamed of for so long. "When do you have to leave?"
"Well, that's the thing I wanted to talk to you about, sir," she says, composing herself. "I have an aunt and uncle up in New Haven, and they've invited me to stay with them for the summer before I start. So I'll be going up there next week, me and my Dad are flying out a week on Saturday."
Steve licks his lips, not replying right away. A week doesn’t give him much time to find a new nanny, and there is no way he can take Julie with him to work. As smart as she is already, and as amazing as she is, she’s still way too young for his attention not to be completely focused on her if she’s around. This is not good, this is the very definition of not good.
It’s not Lenora’s fault, though, and Steve is determined not to blame her. He’ll just have to find another nanny quickly.
“Okay. Okay, well, congratulations, really, that’s amazing.”
Steve steps closer, giving her a quick, a little uncomfortable, hug. She giggles as she pats his back, a delighted blush on her cheeks when Steve pulls away.
“Is Jules sleeping?”
“Yeah, she passed out after a very energetic afternoon. She’ll be up soon though, she’s going to be hungry.”
Steve nods, taking the baby monitor she hands him.
“I’ll be going, then. I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Yeah, yes. You will. Have a good evening.”
“You too!”
She jogs down the stairs with a happy spring to her steps, and Steve grins, pulling the baby monitor to his ear to listen to his girl’s little snoring noises, deep breaths as she sleeps. She totally takes after her mother for that one.
He leaves her to sleep for a while longer as he boots up his laptop, checking the website on which he’d found Lenora’s CV. There are only elder ladies, the kind that make Steve uncomfortable and might try and teach Julie manners she wouldn’t be ready for, or to use her right hand instead of her left - he’s seen her left-hand hold on various objects is much stronger and secure than her right. Closing the lid of his laptop after unsuccessful searches, Steve goes up to Julie’s room, opening the door slowly and walking close to the crib.
He doesn't want rigidity for his baby girl -- he wants freedom, freedom for her to choose herself what she'd like to be, right- or left-handed, tomboy or the quintessential girlie-girl, doctor or nurse or space pilot or interior designer, gay or straight, whatever, anything she wants that he can make happen for her, or support her through. That's all he can hope for, and it's not likely to happen if she starts getting constricted before she's even old enough to talk properly. He's going to have to come up with another option -- and he will, whatever it costs him.
He watches her sleep for a little while, even if he daren't touch her because it's likely to wake her up -- she's such a light sleeper, she takes that from him.There's a curl of Catherine's dark hair flipped over her forehead, and he brushes it away ever so gently. She's fine, she's okay, and she'll be up in just a little while, so he'd better start dinner. A nice carrot, potato and green bean puree, he thinks, yum. She's going to hate it, of course, but it's good for her, and if he has to play 'airplane' for her to finish it, then that's what he'll do.
He's just switching off the food processor when the first hints that Julie is waking up filter through the baby monitor, clipped to his belt like a badge of office. A shuffle and a faint wail have him wiping his hands clean on a dishcloth and taking the stairs two at a time.
"Hey, Jules, hey, Daddy's here," he says softly, lifting the still-sleepy bundle of baby girl to his chest. She curls up contently, nosing at his shoulder while he finger-combs her hair into some semblance of order.
"Dada," she says, looking up at him with huge eyes that he sees every morning in the mirror. She's clutching at his t-shirt, two small fistfuls that wrinkle the cloth, not that Steve cares.
"Hey, sweetheart. How was your day? Did you have fun with Lenora?"
"'Nora," Julie parrots, so sweet that Steve's heart squeezes a little. He doesn't think he's ever going to get used to how very lovely she is, how she makes his heart beat faster.
"Lenora, yes, that's right. Come on, then, chickpea, dinner's ready."
He wipes her face where there's traces of sleep still clinging to her eyelashes and carries her downstairs, depositing her in a baby chair that's getting too small for her. She’s growing so fast it’s almost scary - he remembers her first steps, just last month, like she’d been waiting for him to be home to get herself up and tentatively let go of the couch to walk one, two, three steps before falling into his waiting arms.
All of it is overwhelming, the changes in his life have been overwhelming, since Julie happened. Not all of them are huge, either, just a subtle shift in his working out regime, a different way of doing laundry, new additions to his fridge’s contents. Generally, he’s made a life around Jules, now, and she’s smoothed his edges, made it easier for him to smile, to sleep.
Dinner is a quickly expedited affair - Julie’s surprisingly pliant and eats with little fuss, only getting two spoonfuls all over her face and hair. He cleans her up with a baby wipe while she makes faces at him, pushing away at his hand and squirming in the chair, whining to be let free. Steve complies when she’s clean, keeping her against him when she buries his face in his shirt for a moment.
“Hey, babygirl, you sleepy again? Do you want to go for a walk with Daddy?”
"Dada," she says again, clinging to his shirt, happy to be in his arms.
He takes her out back to the lana'i, where there's a wooden picnic table and deck chairs set out on one end while the other is freed up for short, tentative walks. It's still light, barely 8pm, the sun half-way to setting, blazing a fiery trail over the tranquil ocean. Steve sets Julie down on the decking, keeping hold of one small hand while Julie potters around curiously. It's hell on his back, staying half-bent for so long, but it's a pain he's willing to take if it means shadowing his daughter's steps for as long as she'll let him.
"Hey, you wanna call Mom? You can tell her about your day."
"Mama," Julie says happily, and Steve pulls out his phone.
It's not been easy on Catherine, this remote parenting thing. Last month, when Julie had first walked and Steve had called her, still shaking from adrenaline and exultation, she had laughed and cried at the same time and demanded Steve film Julie and send her the video, stat. Steve had been all too happy to comply.
When she picks up this time, Catherine is obviously distracted.
"Hey, Cath, is this a bad time?" he asks immediately, because with their jobs you never know what kind of moment you’re catching.
"Hey, Steve. No, it's okay, I'm just compiling some data for tomorrow's briefing. How's my favourite not-boyfriend?"
Steve grins at the affection in her voice.
"I'm fine, we're both fine, we just had dinner."
"Oh yeah? What's the damage?"
"Minor, only the two demolished wet wipes."
"You are a hero."
"Yeah, I know," Steve returns smugly, graciously disregarding the mocking in her voice. "Hey, there's someone who wants to talk to you. Jules, it's Mom!"
"Mama," Julie chirps, grabbing the phone and proceeding to talk absolute gibberish into it, interwoven with 'Dada' and 'Nora' here and there.
Steve takes the phone back after a few moments, smacking a kiss to Julie's temple in apology.
"Informative, wasn't it?" he says into it.
"Very," Catherine says fondly. "I'm glad you two are okay."
"Yeah. Well, we're about to have a bit of a crisis, nothing to worry about, but Lenora got into Yale, she got the phone call today, and I'm going to have to find a new nanny, or a daycare, or something -- she's old enough to start going to one."
Catherine hums on the other end. Steve knows that sound all too well -- Catherine is up to something.
"What?" he asks, resigned.
"What? Oh! No, sorry, I was thinking, you know George? His wife Diana wanted to go back to work, too, when Amy turned one, and they had the same problem. But then he was telling me the other day about this daycare near Iolani Palace, it's run by an ex-cop that got his knee busted and couldn't go on the street anymore. It's full of police and Navy brats, so Jules will grow up amongst her own. Let me just... I wrote down the name just in case, was going to e-mail it you--oh, here it is. Stepping Stones, 359 Queen St., owner is one Daniel Williams. I'll send you the information on your phone, shall I? You'll want to check it out, I'm guessing."
Steve sends a silent thanks to the skies, wondering how he’d got to share his life with such lovely ladies. Despite the more-than-obvious fact that he and Catherine were anything but compatible when outside the bedroom, she’s stuck by him just as he’d stuck by her. The pregnancy hadn’t been easy on either on them, but their friendship has emerged from it stronger than ever. And she wants the best possible life for Julie just as much as Steve does.
“Yeah, I definitely will. Thanks, Cath, I owe you one.”
“Oh, you owe me several, but I’ll let that one go.”
He can practically hear her wink, and he laughs as they say their goodbyes, his eyes still on Julie, now sitting in the middle of the floor, playing with the hem of her shirt. He makes her walk back to the house once they’re done, cautious little steps with her hands in his.
They fall asleep together on the couch, Julie curled over Steve’s chest, his arm protectively thrown around her.
---
Steve makes plans to get home for lunch time the next day, getting Julie with him to go visit the Stepping Stones daycare center. Julie’s merely happy to be with her dad for longer than usual, but Steve feels more nervous than he ought to be. If the place isn’t exactly what Steve is looking for, then he’s back to square one.
Jules is a warm weight against his back as he carries her in her favorite back sling through the streets of Honolulu, and he can feel the flutter of her yellow sunhat against the back of his neck. She's chattering a mile a minute, nothing really discernible but she's obviously in a good mood. It's warm but not too hot, just perfect for walks, and Lenora has dressed her in a green-and-yellow striped dress. She looks like a piece of candy, such a sweet baby girl.
They gather glances like rainwater as they stroll down the street -- the 6'1'' muscled man with tattoos peeking out from under his shirtsleeves and the cute as a button kid in a sling on his back, strapped securely around his torso, peering over his shoulder and grinning happily, small hands fisted in the collar of his shirt. Steve lets the stares slide off him like so much vapour -- he's used to them, and he's proud to be his daughter's father. A few women try to chat him up, but he just nods politely and sidesteps them like an enemy trap. He doesn't have the time or the inclination to stop and talk.
They stride down Queen St., and Steve starts taking notice of the house numbers -- 341, 345, 357. He stops outside the next building, shifting back on the sidewalk to take a look at it. It doesn't look anything special from the outside, just another city block but for the sign next to the door, Stepping Stones etched out in little pebbles that instantly appeals to Steve's love of nature and adventure.
He walks up the steps, through the lovely wooden door and down the hall, following the sounds of mayhem to the room on the right.
He takes his time getting Julie unstrapped and settled in his arms after walking in, immediately engulfed by children’s laughter and crying. The main door gives to a small corridor, kids running from one room to another at the other end of it, and Jules giggles, squirming in his arms.
“You wanna go check it out, baby?”
Julie nods fiercely, little head moving so quick he’s worried for a second it’s going to come off. Steve grins, running his fingers along the back of her neck, just as voices come closer.
“No, Mrs McAllister, I’m sorry, but Diana cannot bring her puppy to the center!”
Steve turns at the voice, some kind of vacuum sucking all the air out of his lungs as he takes in the man - short, stocky, blond, blue eyes twinkling in the light of the corridor. He’s got a warm voice and a boy settled on his hip, dozing off, little nose buried in the guy’s neck as he listens to Mrs McAllister’s argument about getting to bring a dog along with her daughter. Steve can’t help but creep along, walking closer, transfixed by that man, for some reason he can’t explain. He can’t say if it’s the way he’s handling the kid with such care, or the rumbling tone of his voice, or the sturdy set of his shoulders, but there’s something, something that is keeping Steve from taking his eyes away from him.
“Can I help you?”
Steve starts. The guy's looking straight at him, thumbing the 'end call' button and lifting his eyebrows inquiringly. When had he finished his conversation? Had Steve really lost time?
"Um, hi. I'm looking for Daniel Williams?" Steve ventures.
The man scrunches his nose. "Call me Danny. Well, you've found me now, what can I do for you?"
Steve blinks again. He feels like his tongue is sticking to the roof of his mouth, and he's forgotten all his words. Thankfully, he's got help at hand.
"'Anno," Julie says, still clinging to the collar of Steve's shirt. She's grinning at Danny, about the same height as him the way Steve holds her.
Danny's eyes soften. "Hey you," he says gently, reaching up and taking one of her hands, shaking it up and down. "You know my name, but I don't know yours!"
Julie, a little hesitant around strangers when they pay her this much attention, hides her face in her dad's neck.
"She's a little shy," Steve explains; Danny nods like it's natural. "Come on, sweetheart. Tell Danny your name."
"Jul'e," she says. It's still a little hard for her to master the 'ie' sound.
"Nice to meet you, Julie," Danny says without batting an eyelid. "And who's your Daddy?"
"Dada," she chirps happily.
Steve, in a massive show of willpower, recalls his manners.
"Lt Commander Steve McGarrett, US Navy, and this, as you've found out, is my daughter Julie. Julie's mom told me about this place. You come highly recommended."
"A Navy man, eh? Well, Julie will feel right at home. At the moment we have six Navy kids from Pearl here."
"Yes, I was told a lot of our guys come to you."
"I'm curious, how did your wife hear of us?"
"My... my wife? Oh, you mean Julie's mom! Uh, no, we're not married -- we're not even together anymore. She's Navy, too, serves on the USS Port Royal. Lt Ackroyd told her about you, you have his daughter Amy."
"Oh, yeah? That's nice of Amy's dad; Amy's a sweetheart, she's one of the easiest kids to handle. So you're looking for us to take Julie on?"
"Right, my nanny's leaving Hawai'i next week, she got accepted into Yale, and I teach at Pearl, so I can't look after Julie during the day. I brought her with me to make sure she'll be okay here. She seems to love it."
Julie is staring over Steve's shoulder, looking like she's eager to go make some friends. Steve watches kids playing around little tables, on the floor, groups building blocks towers together, some coloring, some having fun with Play-Doh, a whole array of different toys everywhere around the room, brightly lit and colorful. A few adults are walking around, keeping the peace.
“Well, why don’t you let her go play for a while, we can see if she finds herself fitting with the others? Or are you in a hurry?”
Steve doesn’t want to go - definitely doesn’t want to go. He’s supposed to be grading papers this afternoon, but he doesn’t have to start for a while, and it’ll be better if Julie exhausts herself after playing with other kids so he can focus on working. Giving her a look, Steve purses his lips before setting her to the floor.
“We've got some time. Do you wanna go play, Jules? Go on, look, there’s Play-Doh, you love that!”
“Doh!”
She starts running, a little unsteady, and Steve follows to prevent her hurting herself until she’s at the little round table, smiling shyly at a boy when he hands her a bright blue ball of dough. When she starts hammering her fist into it, Steve straightens up, restraining himself from laughing - she can be very delicate when it comes to her art.
When Steve takes a step back, he bumps right into Danny, standing next to him with an indulgent smile on his lips.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Takes after her mom.”
“Oh, please.” The tone of Danny’s voice makes Steve flush, because, what, seriously, is Danny flirting with him? Not that Steve would be complaining, but he’s not exactly certain now is the right moment - the situation’s not ideal, really. Still, Steve smiles, scratching the back of his neck.
“She’s got my eyes.”
"Well, obviously I've never met your--Julie's mom, but it looks to me like she's got your energy levels, too."
Steve grins. "Me and Cath are both 'go go go', all the time, so I'm at least prepared for Jules turning out the same way."
Danny mock-frowns. "Yeah, thanks for the heads-up. She's going to be a handful, is what you're saying."
"Oh, no, she's not--she listens, she's not naughty or anything, she just needs to be watched, and given things to do so her attention is engaged. If she isn't bored, she's perfectly behaved," Steve hurries to assure him.
"Duly noted," Danny says dryly. Looking around the room, Steve can see the people here are well on top of toddlers' limited attention spans.
Steve feels a flare of annoyance in his stomach, eyes narrowing for a second when he looks back at Danny, to be greeted by raised eyebrows, daring him to say something. Steve swallows it down, petting the back of Julie's head for a moment, letting the feeling subside. It's irrational, but he can't help it - his daughter is his life, these days, and for someone who has sworn to protect since he was eighteen, the feeling is all the more intense.
He breathes out, tossing his head back a little and sniffing, watching Danny's eyes crinkle a little, obviously amused. He's probably seen it all before, if he's got a creche full of Navy brats.
"Yeah, well, if you think she'll be too much for you, I'm sure I can find somewhere else..."
Danny snorts, which does nothing to appease Steve’s mood.
“You know, I get threatened to lose half my business about twice a day by parents who don’t like me. But kids love me and I love them back, because as hard work as they can be, they’re also rarely goofs with large egos, so parents suck it up. If you bring Julie here, then you’ll know she’ll be well cared for, and given all the attention she needs, which is more than I can say for a lot of daycare centers around anywhere, and I have a daughter too, so I know what I’m talking about. You should try and get rid of that stick you’ve got up your ass, Lt Commander.”
“Danno!” One of the kids around the table at which Julie is playing at looks up and gives him a stern look. “Amyyyy, Danno said a bad word!”
The woman the girl called after, Amy, turns around and gives Danny a pointed look before nodding.
“Well, you know what that means, Ailana, right?”
“A quarter in the 'Danno has a potty mouth' box!”
“Exactly!” Amy looks at Steve with a grin. “We use it to buy new supplies. Every month, it’s new pens and toys. And yet, Danny won’t stop.”
“What makes you think I don’t do it on purpose?” Danny brings out a quarter from his pocket, giving it to Ailana who runs to put it in a little box on a counter, standing on her tiptoes to reach it. She pops it inside with every sign of satisfaction.
Steve feels like an asshole. Danny's been nothing but friendly, and for all that he has an attitude, he obviously loves his charges.
Steve will be damned if he apologises, though. "Okay," he says instead.
"'Okay'?" Danny says, sounding like he doesn't believe a word of it, and is maybe wondering whether Steve was dropped on his head as a kid.
"Okay," Steve repeats, shrugging. "Jules obviously loves it here, so yeah. If you'll have her, I'd like her to go here.”
Danny stares at him for a few moments before shaking his head. "Okay," he says, like he's parroting Steve. Steve's mouth twitches without his consent. "Well, Jemima can take you to fill in some forms, some details about Julie's schedule, emergency contact details, any known allergies, that kind of stuff. You'll be expected every morning at 8.30am sharp, don't be late; she can wear whatever she likes as long as there's no choking hazard; she'll have lunch with us, and we'll expect you to pick her up no later than 6.30pm. Think you can handle that?"
Steve rolls his eyes, not really amused. He knows Danny's trying to get a rise out of him, for whatever reason, but he's not going to give him the satisfaction.
"Fine," he says blandly. Danny frowns, and Steve is hard-pressed to contain his smirk.
"Okay," Danny says suspiciously. "Hey, Jem? Take Lt Commander McGarrett to get the paperwork sorted out, will you? I'll take over."
It's Steve's turn to scowl. 'Lt Commander McGarrett', really? Jesus, this guy is high maintenance. Danny smirks up at him while Jemima finishes helping a little Chinese-Hawaiian boy cut up some colored paper in the shape of a star and ambles over.
"This way, Lt--"
"Call me Steve," Steve cuts in, exasperated, raising a peeved eyebrow in Danny's direction. Danny's smirk widens.
"Steve, then," Jemima amends cheerfully. "Right this way."
Steve throws a last look at Julie, now happily mushing two different kinds of Play-Doh together, chattering in the same unintelligible language with the kid next to her. He wants to tell Danny to watch her, but doesn't dare -- he's going to get another lecture, he's pretty sure. He goes.
Hopefully he’s not making the biggest mistake of his life.
---
The paperwork is easy enough, and he pays little attention to it. All the data is stuck in his head, neatly kept in little boxes in a corner, and he brings them out easily, names and parents and phone numbers and insurance numbers and jobs and a string of other little details about Julie, like her usual sleeping schedule and allergies and favorite toys. He gets told she can bring anything she wants but they can’t assure it won't disappear, and that the meals are healthy and specially prepared for toddlers, and it’s more information he stocks along with the rest.
“Can I - I’ve got to go back to work, can I leave her here? Is that okay?”
Steve and Jemima are walking out of the office now, back to the main room, and they have to step over a group of kids playing with Lego to get back to where Julie is, sitting and eating a cookie, Danny sitting on the floor next to her.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll register her right away. Pick-up time is -”
“Six-thirty at the latest.”
Steve smiles at the girl, who chuckles and puts a hand on his arm before leaving him. Julie’s eyes light up when she sees him, extending her arms towards him.
“Dada!”
He takes hold of her, his stomach twisting at the idea of leaving her with a bunch of strangers. He knows Lenora, knows she’s good with Julie and is a serious girl. What he knows about Danny is that he curses in front of the kids and, apparently, most parents don’t like him.
“Hey, baby. I got to go, now.”
“Walk?”
“No, Daddy’s got to get back to work, princess. You’re staying here, but I’ll pick you up in a few hours, okay? You’ll have fun here.”
Julie’s eyes cloud over as comprehension sets in - damn, his girl is way too smart for her own good. Big fat tears start welling up in her eyes as she throws her arms around his neck.
“Dada!”
“Believe me, Jules, I don’t want to leave you, either, but I have a test this afternoon, and I can't miss that.”
But Julie is inconsolable, her tears soaking his shoulder. He feels wretched, but this has to happen. She'd been too small to know what was happening the first time he'd left her with Lenora, and it had been easy to soothe her, he remembers. Now, though, she's old enough to understand that her dad is going, but not the reason why he's leaving her behind, and her tears are breaking his heart even as he knows she has to get used to this.
"Come on, chickpea, please don't cry. Daddy will be back for you in just a few hours, I promise."
He locks eyes helplessly with Danny, still sitting there watching them. Danny, to his surprise, looks sympathetic.
"You won't believe how often it happens, even with kids who have been with us for a while," he confides. It's not really helping, but it is a little reassuring.
Danny sighs and levels himself up to his knees, not quite hiding his wince when his bad knee must twinge.
"Hey, sweetheart," he croons, rubbing Julie's back. "It's okay. You're not alone, I'll introduce you to all the kids, and you're going to have so much fun! We'll do some drawing with pastels, we'll play with building blocks, and later we'll read some books, yes?"
Julie is still sniffling, but not as much as before. She turns in Steve's arms to look at Danny.
"Boo's?" she asks, a little tearful but also plainly interested.
"As many as you like," Danny promises.
Julie lets go little by little, until she's shifted from Steve's lap to Danny's. Danny curls his arms around her and she holds on, looking at him shyly from under her eyelashes. She's so adorable like that, that Steve's heart squeezes a little. He tugs oh so very lightly on a strand of her hair when she looks at him, tucked close to Danny, forcing Steve to lean close when he kisses her cheek. The man might be irritating, but he definitely has something when it comes to kids. And fuck, he smells good, manly and fresh, peaches and citrus. Steve pulls back before he could find himself leaning even closer, before he starts rubbing his cheek against Danny’s shirt or something ridiculously inappropriate like that, and runs a finger over Julie’s hand.
“I’ll be back soon, okay? You’ll have so much fun you won’t even realize I was even gone, I’m sure.”
He’s certain of it - while he’ll be torturing himself thinking about her while trying to grade his students’ tests, she’ll be here, happy as ever with her new friends and Danny. Just before Steve straightens back up, Julie reaches out, giving him a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek, murmuring Dada in his ear, as if she knows exactly what he’s thinking and doesn’t agree with him. Steve smiles, a little broken, and stands back up, Danny following suit with Julie still encased in his arms.
“Okay, well. I’ll get going, now.”
“Alright. I promise you, she’s safe here.”
Steve nods, “I know. I know. Thanks, Danny.”
He almost wants to apologize for earlier, tell Danny he didn’t mean to insult him or anything. But he finds himself unable to, eyes locked onto Danny’s, a little tongue-tied as his stomach flutters. Fuck, he knows exactly what this is; the last time he’s felt this was when he’d met Catherine for the first time.
“See you later, Steve.”
Steve nods, takes a step back, then another, then turns around and almost sprints out of the daycare center, before he changes his mind, about leaving Julie with a guy that, apparently, Steve wouldn’t mind getting to know better. Shit, he’s told himself he’d never allow himself to want someone who is such a big part of Julie’s life, if only not to break her heart if things went to Hell, as they had a tendency to. And yet here he is, unable to see anything else than his little girl in Danny’s arms, Danny’s soft smile as he looks down at her.
Damn it.
---
It’s a sunny, bright afternoon when they say goodbye to Lenora. She’s leaving the next day with her dad, and she can’t seem to be able to talk about anything else but Yale, her excitement shining through her smile and words, and Steve wants to be happy for her, he really, honestly does, yet. Yet the idea of letting go of the best babysitter he’s ever had makes him feel a little sick. Lenora’s a girl he’s seen grow up from teenager to almost-woman and that Julie loves like a sister, and Steve has lost the habit of saying goodbye.
Shave ice is painting Julie’s lips blue as she eats with Lenora, sitting on her lap and happily chatting away in her baby blabber, Lenora listening intently. Steve is sure she can understand his baby girl much better than Steve can himself. Lenora looks up at Steve, a grin on her face.
“Whoa, there’s a lot of gossip in that daycare center of hers.”
“I’m sure she started half the rumors herself. She loves gossiping as much as her Mom.”
“How’s that going? The daycare thing, I mean.”
“She misses you. But I think she likes it over there. It’s a nice place, really - expensive, but I think it’s worth it. Even with the very annoying manager.”
“Danno!”
Steve looks at Julie, quite impressed that she’s understood what he’s talking about. But she’s not looking at him, instead looking over Lenora’s shoulder, to a figure on the other side of the street.
“Danno!”
Yep. No doubt, now. He’s turned around, and it’s definitely Danny there, holding the hand of a little girl with dark hair and big eyes. Steve refrains from letting his forehead hit the table. This is just getting ridiculous now -- what, is he summoning Danny with his thoughts or something?
Danny hadn't seen them, but after the second time Julie calls out and squirms on Lenora's lap he starts looking around until he focuses right on their little group. He waves and leans down to say something to the girl by his side. She nods, and they cross the street towards the small picnic table.
"Hey, munchkin," Danny says, reaching over and ruffling Julie's hair. She strains towards him, so much that Lenora has to let her go.
She wobbles over to Danny and the girl, reaching out sticky hands towards his slacks. Rather than recoil in horror, Danny barely bats an eyelid before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a pack of wet tissues.
"C'mere, you," he coaxes, wiping her hands and mouth expertly before she can even frown. The girl at his side watches excitedly. "Hey, there's someone I want you to meet -- Julie, this is my daughter, Grace."
"G'ace," Julie chirps, turning towards her. It's not an easy manoeuvre, and she trips a little. Before anyone can react, Grace has stepped forward and caught her fall. Julie clamps her arms around Grace's leg, smiling up adoringly at her new friend.
"Hi, Julie, nice to meet you," Grace says politely, pushing the toddler's dark hair back. "Is she one of your kids, Danno?"
"Sure is," Danny says obligingly.
The three move towards the table, Grace leading Julie by her hand. It looks so much easier when you're shorter, Steve thinks wistfully.
"Steven. And who is this lovely young lady?" Danny says with a nod.
"This is Lenora, my highly educated babysitter," Steve says, trying not to stare at the way Danny's shirt hugs his body. "Lenora, Danny Williams."
"Hi, I've heard so much about you," Lenora says, shaking Danny's hand. Steve notices how much friendlier Danny looks when he's not trying to assert his authority or whatever the hell he does at the daycare. He tries not to be annoyed -- or worse, jealous. That would be the final nail in his coffin.
"Hi," Danny says, an amiable smile on his face, "pleasure to meet you. Steve tells me you got into Yale. Congratulations."
"Thanks," Lenora says. Steve spots a faint pink tinge to her cheeks.
Grace tugs on her father's sleeve. "Danno, can I have a shave ice?"
"Sure, Monkey," Danny says. Even if Steve knew nothing about him, it would be obvious how much he cares for his daughter. He sticks his hand in his pocket, fishes out a couple notes and hands them over.
"You want one?" Grace asks.
"Why not? The usual, please."
"Okay!"
She hands Julie back to Lenora and skips over to the shave ice stand.
"What's the usual?" Steve asks, feigning nonchalance badly. Danny isn't fooled.
He does stare at Steve a moment before answering. "Grape. I like grape."
"Not pineapple?"
Danny makes a disgusted face. "You know, I used to like pineapple. Loved it, even. Until I saw the atrocities you people commit against an innocent piece of fruit. Do not even get me started on this state and its obsession with degrading its fruit like that."
Steve's mouth twitches, and he feels an unholy urge to poke at this fascinating man until he explodes. He has a feeling it would be a sight to behold. But he barely has time to open his mouth before Grace comes back, carefully balancing two cones in her hands, one purple and one rainbow-coloured.
“Seems your daughter is more adventurous than your are.”
“Yeah, well, she’s 8, she can be.”
Said daughter, Grace, looks at Steve once she’s sitting next to her father, apparently shy - she doesn’t get that from her dad.
“Gracie, this is Steve. He’s Julie’s dad.”
“Hi.”
“Hey, Gracie, nice to meet you. Your dad talks a lot about you.”
She’s pretty, tan and smiling into her shave ice, her long hair in ponytails. Steve can’t help but wonder what her mom looks like, and his eyes dart down to Danny’s hands, seeing no ring, much like his own. It’s a little reassuring, but Steve quickly chases the thought away, refusing to think about Danny and his relationships and whether or not he’s married.
“So what are you doing here?”
“Well, Grace had her third surfing lesson today, we’re just done, so I guess she deserves a treat, for still having all her limbs.”
Lenora squeals, turning right away towards Grace, and the two of them start talking about waves breaking, paddling techniques and whether or not surfing on the North Shore is all that it’s hyped up to be. Steve would intervene, but then Julie crawls from Lenora’s lap to Steve’s, head heavy against his shoulder, and his eyes meet Danny’s, see how softly he’s looking at her.
“Someone’s tired...”
“Well, it’s been a long afternoon. I almost hope she’ll be sleeping when we have to say goodbye to Len, but it feels selfish, doesn’t it?”
There’s something enthralling about Danny, how he listens to Steve like he’s never heard anything more interesting, and how he looks at Julie like she’s the prettiest little girl he’s ever seen. This ability to give his complete attention to Steve is very, very dangerous.
“It might be easier for all of you, though. She’s young enough that it’s not going to bother her for a long time, so why bother her with it at all?”
“You have a point.”
“I spend my life saying goodbye to kids. It’ll always be harder on me than them. The only one sticking by me is Grace, really, and I’ve only got her 2 days a week.”
There is a note of melancholy in Danny’s voice, something that contrasts so sharply with the bright sun-and-ocean landscape around them that it unsettles Steve a little, his arm squeezing Julie a little tighter for an instant. He wonders if Catherine ever feels that way. He can’t imagine it, not seeing Jules every day, watching her smile sleepily at him from her crib when he reads her bedtime stories, or not having the breakfast catastrophes of cereal all over the kitchen floor once a week.
“You do?”
“She’s with her mom the rest of the time. I couldn’t get more custody during the divorce, being a cop and all.”
Steve nods, afraid to push further and have Danny snap at him again. He’s not quite sure about where their boundaries lie and how much more he can try to pry Danny open. Steve’s got the feeling that getting inside Danny’s head is probably much easier than trying to pierce his very own armor, but he’s pretty sure that poking for more would only make Danny close up right now.
“Danno! Danno, Lenora says that I should try surfing on a fish!”
Steve’s glad for the distraction, composing himself when Danny turns to look at Grace.
“A fish? You can’t surf on a fish, Monkey, that doesn’t make sense, most fish would be too small anyway! If it was to be a big enough fish it’d have to be a shark, and you are not going anywhere near a shark, young lady!”
She laughs, her little hand curling around her father’s arm, and Steve grins into Julie’s hair, imagining Grace surfing on an actual fish.
“Noooooo, Daddy, a fish board! They’re surfboards, shaped like a fish!”
"Oh," Danny deflates a little. Steve tries not to laugh at him, but it's really damn hard.
"You know, there are shark cages out in the bay where tourists can go to swim with sharks."
Danny turns bright red. "What," he says flatly, "are you trying to tell me, Steven? Huh? That I should let my daughter swim with sharks with only a few thin metal rails between them? Over my dead body!"
Grace is studiously eating her shave ice, but Steve sees the corners of her mouth stretched in a grin around her spoon, and when she catches Steve's eye, her eyes are dancing.
"Relax, Danno, the sharks around here are only harmless Galapagos ones. They don't eat people."
"...Oh," Danny says for the second time in as many minutes. "Well, I still don't like it. And who told you you could call me that? The kids call me Danno; are you a kid, Steven?"
Steve opens his mouth, grinning like the fish in question.
"--Wait, no, forget I asked that. There's a difference between physical and mental age, and God knows you act like a kid sometimes."
"When? When have I ever acted like a kid?" Steve asks immediately, pouting.
"Right now?" Danny suggests.
Lenora and Grace both giggle, and Steve snaps out of it. All three girls are staring at him and grinning, even though Julie is for sure too small to know that her father has just made a fool of himself. Danny doesn't look like he minds, though; he's smirking triumphantly at Steve's silence, like he just won something.
"I was not," Steve says, but it's lame and he knows it.
The comfortable silence stretches, and Julie starts dozing against Steve's chest, shave ice melting in the mild evening air.
"I should go," Lenora says apologetically after a few minutes.
Steve turns to her, careful not to wake Julie up now that she’s almost, almost sleeping.
“When will you be back?”
Lenora smiles indulgently, patting his arm lightly. He’s going to miss her.
“I’m not even gone and you’re already wondering when I’m coming back?” When he nods, she sighs, apparently thinking about it for a moment. “Christmas, I guess.”
“Okay. We’ll see you then.”
“I’ll call, okay?”
Steve lets Danny take hold of Julie for him wordlessly; she makes a little noise of discomfort but quickly settles against Danny’s strong chest, and Steve walks Lenora back to her car, trying not to show how upset he feels. It’s like saying goodbye to Mary all over again.
“You call. Let us know how you’re doing.”
She nods and throws her arms around his waist, surprising him. He’s quick to get over it, though, engulfing her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head lightly.
“I’ll miss you guys.”
“We’ll miss you too. Now go on, go live your adventures.”
He lets go with a reluctant nod, and she keeps on throwing glances back at him as she gets into her car. It’s all too close for comfort, reminding him of looking over his shoulder to see his Dad walking away, Mary Ann biting her lip raw as she makes her way through security, her eyes on him until she takes a turn and disappears. It reminds him how much he misses them, misses his mom, and he decides to call Mary tonight, spend a while just catching up. He’s never the one reaching out.
When he walks back to the shave ice stand and the table at which Danny’s sitting with Julie in his arms, he hears Gracie asking her father if she looked that cute when she was this age, only for Danny to tell her she looked even more beautiful. Julie’s sleeping, her thumb firmly stuck in her mouth. He runs featherlike fingers through her wispy hair when he’s close enough, sitting back next to the Williamses.
“You okay?”
“Hmm? I’m fine. Should probably get that one back home, though, she’s done for the day.”
Danny nods, looking down at Julie.
“And, um. Thanks for looking after her.”
Their eyes meet, and Steve cannot try to pretend there isn’t anything there.
“Hey, you’re welcome.”
---
Part II
sirona_gs and I wanted to write something stupidly fluffy and happy and easy, and I came over to her with this idea: 'STEVE+A BABY NEVER COME ON LET'S WRITE IT' and so we did, and stjarna1984 betaed it. This is AU, in which Danny's a retired cop working as a daycare center manager, and Steve is a retired Navy-SEAL turned SEAL school professor and Daddy. It's just some silly fun, not to be taken seriously. Enjoy! There are a few things Steve had expected, when Catherine told him the words, the fateful words, you’re going to be a dad. Falling inexplicably in love with his little girl, he’d expected. Sleeping just as much as he had during Hell Week, which meant not at all, he’d expected. Wanting to rip the world apart every time Julie cries, he’d expected.
What he had not expected, though, was Catherine leaving him alone with Julie as soon as she could justify getting back on a ship. Not that she didn’t love her daughter, but spending 9 months on land, through the last few months of the pregnancy, the birth, and the first few months of Julie’s life, had made Catherine antsy, restless. The fact that it was obvious she and Steve were not made for each other outside of quick fucks and aborted dinners didn’t help the situation.
There’s nothing Steve wouldn’t do for his girl. He adores her, simply put, loves and lives for her with every fiber of his being and every breath he takes. But half the time, he has no idea what to do with her. Catherine isn't exactly a natural mom, either. Steve had come back to Hawai'i after his dad's heart attack, and much as he'd loved his job, he couldn't even imagine getting back to it now that he had Julie in his life. He didn't blame Catherine, though -- not everyone was meant to be a mom, or even wanted kids; he knows that Catherine loves her daughter to distraction now, but the truth is that lovely, precious Julie was really a happy mistake that neither Catherine nor Steve had had the heart to fix. But now that Julie is over a year old, she doesn't need her mom like she had in the first few terrifying months, and Steve really can't hold it against Catherine that she'd wanted to get back to what she loved, what she did best.
It was fine, more than fine with him to be the dad who stayed behind to raise their kid, just like many Navy wives spend their lives doing while they wait for their husbands to come home. It gave him a purpose like few things other than his job has managed, after he and Mary had lost their mom and had their lives uprooted. But he was beyond happy now, teaching at Pearl Harbor, getting those new, hopeful recruits in the shape they'd need to maintain to stay on top of what their country would ask of them. And it meant that come 6pm, he was heading home to his little girl, leaving behind his job in a way that he'd never been able to before.
Except that there's quite the surprise waiting for him when he gets back that evening -- Lenora, his just-turned-18-year-old nanny, is waiting for him at the door, beaming fit to burst.
"I got in, Mr McGarrett, I got into Yale! They called just a few hours ago," she gushes as soon as he's out of the car; he can see her bouncing on the balls of her feet, impatient to go.
"That's fantastic, Lenora, well done," he says, genuinely happy for her -- she’s worked so hard for that, it's great to see her get what she's dreamed of for so long. "When do you have to leave?"
"Well, that's the thing I wanted to talk to you about, sir," she says, composing herself. "I have an aunt and uncle up in New Haven, and they've invited me to stay with them for the summer before I start. So I'll be going up there next week, me and my Dad are flying out a week on Saturday."
Steve licks his lips, not replying right away. A week doesn’t give him much time to find a new nanny, and there is no way he can take Julie with him to work. As smart as she is already, and as amazing as she is, she’s still way too young for his attention not to be completely focused on her if she’s around. This is not good, this is the very definition of not good.
It’s not Lenora’s fault, though, and Steve is determined not to blame her. He’ll just have to find another nanny quickly.
“Okay. Okay, well, congratulations, really, that’s amazing.”
Steve steps closer, giving her a quick, a little uncomfortable, hug. She giggles as she pats his back, a delighted blush on her cheeks when Steve pulls away.
“Is Jules sleeping?”
“Yeah, she passed out after a very energetic afternoon. She’ll be up soon though, she’s going to be hungry.”
Steve nods, taking the baby monitor she hands him.
“I’ll be going, then. I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Yeah, yes. You will. Have a good evening.”
“You too!”
She jogs down the stairs with a happy spring to her steps, and Steve grins, pulling the baby monitor to his ear to listen to his girl’s little snoring noises, deep breaths as she sleeps. She totally takes after her mother for that one.
He leaves her to sleep for a while longer as he boots up his laptop, checking the website on which he’d found Lenora’s CV. There are only elder ladies, the kind that make Steve uncomfortable and might try and teach Julie manners she wouldn’t be ready for, or to use her right hand instead of her left - he’s seen her left-hand hold on various objects is much stronger and secure than her right. Closing the lid of his laptop after unsuccessful searches, Steve goes up to Julie’s room, opening the door slowly and walking close to the crib.
He doesn't want rigidity for his baby girl -- he wants freedom, freedom for her to choose herself what she'd like to be, right- or left-handed, tomboy or the quintessential girlie-girl, doctor or nurse or space pilot or interior designer, gay or straight, whatever, anything she wants that he can make happen for her, or support her through. That's all he can hope for, and it's not likely to happen if she starts getting constricted before she's even old enough to talk properly. He's going to have to come up with another option -- and he will, whatever it costs him.
He watches her sleep for a little while, even if he daren't touch her because it's likely to wake her up -- she's such a light sleeper, she takes that from him.There's a curl of Catherine's dark hair flipped over her forehead, and he brushes it away ever so gently. She's fine, she's okay, and she'll be up in just a little while, so he'd better start dinner. A nice carrot, potato and green bean puree, he thinks, yum. She's going to hate it, of course, but it's good for her, and if he has to play 'airplane' for her to finish it, then that's what he'll do.
He's just switching off the food processor when the first hints that Julie is waking up filter through the baby monitor, clipped to his belt like a badge of office. A shuffle and a faint wail have him wiping his hands clean on a dishcloth and taking the stairs two at a time.
"Hey, Jules, hey, Daddy's here," he says softly, lifting the still-sleepy bundle of baby girl to his chest. She curls up contently, nosing at his shoulder while he finger-combs her hair into some semblance of order.
"Dada," she says, looking up at him with huge eyes that he sees every morning in the mirror. She's clutching at his t-shirt, two small fistfuls that wrinkle the cloth, not that Steve cares.
"Hey, sweetheart. How was your day? Did you have fun with Lenora?"
"'Nora," Julie parrots, so sweet that Steve's heart squeezes a little. He doesn't think he's ever going to get used to how very lovely she is, how she makes his heart beat faster.
"Lenora, yes, that's right. Come on, then, chickpea, dinner's ready."
He wipes her face where there's traces of sleep still clinging to her eyelashes and carries her downstairs, depositing her in a baby chair that's getting too small for her. She’s growing so fast it’s almost scary - he remembers her first steps, just last month, like she’d been waiting for him to be home to get herself up and tentatively let go of the couch to walk one, two, three steps before falling into his waiting arms.
All of it is overwhelming, the changes in his life have been overwhelming, since Julie happened. Not all of them are huge, either, just a subtle shift in his working out regime, a different way of doing laundry, new additions to his fridge’s contents. Generally, he’s made a life around Jules, now, and she’s smoothed his edges, made it easier for him to smile, to sleep.
Dinner is a quickly expedited affair - Julie’s surprisingly pliant and eats with little fuss, only getting two spoonfuls all over her face and hair. He cleans her up with a baby wipe while she makes faces at him, pushing away at his hand and squirming in the chair, whining to be let free. Steve complies when she’s clean, keeping her against him when she buries his face in his shirt for a moment.
“Hey, babygirl, you sleepy again? Do you want to go for a walk with Daddy?”
"Dada," she says again, clinging to his shirt, happy to be in his arms.
He takes her out back to the lana'i, where there's a wooden picnic table and deck chairs set out on one end while the other is freed up for short, tentative walks. It's still light, barely 8pm, the sun half-way to setting, blazing a fiery trail over the tranquil ocean. Steve sets Julie down on the decking, keeping hold of one small hand while Julie potters around curiously. It's hell on his back, staying half-bent for so long, but it's a pain he's willing to take if it means shadowing his daughter's steps for as long as she'll let him.
"Hey, you wanna call Mom? You can tell her about your day."
"Mama," Julie says happily, and Steve pulls out his phone.
It's not been easy on Catherine, this remote parenting thing. Last month, when Julie had first walked and Steve had called her, still shaking from adrenaline and exultation, she had laughed and cried at the same time and demanded Steve film Julie and send her the video, stat. Steve had been all too happy to comply.
When she picks up this time, Catherine is obviously distracted.
"Hey, Cath, is this a bad time?" he asks immediately, because with their jobs you never know what kind of moment you’re catching.
"Hey, Steve. No, it's okay, I'm just compiling some data for tomorrow's briefing. How's my favourite not-boyfriend?"
Steve grins at the affection in her voice.
"I'm fine, we're both fine, we just had dinner."
"Oh yeah? What's the damage?"
"Minor, only the two demolished wet wipes."
"You are a hero."
"Yeah, I know," Steve returns smugly, graciously disregarding the mocking in her voice. "Hey, there's someone who wants to talk to you. Jules, it's Mom!"
"Mama," Julie chirps, grabbing the phone and proceeding to talk absolute gibberish into it, interwoven with 'Dada' and 'Nora' here and there.
Steve takes the phone back after a few moments, smacking a kiss to Julie's temple in apology.
"Informative, wasn't it?" he says into it.
"Very," Catherine says fondly. "I'm glad you two are okay."
"Yeah. Well, we're about to have a bit of a crisis, nothing to worry about, but Lenora got into Yale, she got the phone call today, and I'm going to have to find a new nanny, or a daycare, or something -- she's old enough to start going to one."
Catherine hums on the other end. Steve knows that sound all too well -- Catherine is up to something.
"What?" he asks, resigned.
"What? Oh! No, sorry, I was thinking, you know George? His wife Diana wanted to go back to work, too, when Amy turned one, and they had the same problem. But then he was telling me the other day about this daycare near Iolani Palace, it's run by an ex-cop that got his knee busted and couldn't go on the street anymore. It's full of police and Navy brats, so Jules will grow up amongst her own. Let me just... I wrote down the name just in case, was going to e-mail it you--oh, here it is. Stepping Stones, 359 Queen St., owner is one Daniel Williams. I'll send you the information on your phone, shall I? You'll want to check it out, I'm guessing."
Steve sends a silent thanks to the skies, wondering how he’d got to share his life with such lovely ladies. Despite the more-than-obvious fact that he and Catherine were anything but compatible when outside the bedroom, she’s stuck by him just as he’d stuck by her. The pregnancy hadn’t been easy on either on them, but their friendship has emerged from it stronger than ever. And she wants the best possible life for Julie just as much as Steve does.
“Yeah, I definitely will. Thanks, Cath, I owe you one.”
“Oh, you owe me several, but I’ll let that one go.”
He can practically hear her wink, and he laughs as they say their goodbyes, his eyes still on Julie, now sitting in the middle of the floor, playing with the hem of her shirt. He makes her walk back to the house once they’re done, cautious little steps with her hands in his.
They fall asleep together on the couch, Julie curled over Steve’s chest, his arm protectively thrown around her.
---
Steve makes plans to get home for lunch time the next day, getting Julie with him to go visit the Stepping Stones daycare center. Julie’s merely happy to be with her dad for longer than usual, but Steve feels more nervous than he ought to be. If the place isn’t exactly what Steve is looking for, then he’s back to square one.
Jules is a warm weight against his back as he carries her in her favorite back sling through the streets of Honolulu, and he can feel the flutter of her yellow sunhat against the back of his neck. She's chattering a mile a minute, nothing really discernible but she's obviously in a good mood. It's warm but not too hot, just perfect for walks, and Lenora has dressed her in a green-and-yellow striped dress. She looks like a piece of candy, such a sweet baby girl.
They gather glances like rainwater as they stroll down the street -- the 6'1'' muscled man with tattoos peeking out from under his shirtsleeves and the cute as a button kid in a sling on his back, strapped securely around his torso, peering over his shoulder and grinning happily, small hands fisted in the collar of his shirt. Steve lets the stares slide off him like so much vapour -- he's used to them, and he's proud to be his daughter's father. A few women try to chat him up, but he just nods politely and sidesteps them like an enemy trap. He doesn't have the time or the inclination to stop and talk.
They stride down Queen St., and Steve starts taking notice of the house numbers -- 341, 345, 357. He stops outside the next building, shifting back on the sidewalk to take a look at it. It doesn't look anything special from the outside, just another city block but for the sign next to the door, Stepping Stones etched out in little pebbles that instantly appeals to Steve's love of nature and adventure.
He walks up the steps, through the lovely wooden door and down the hall, following the sounds of mayhem to the room on the right.
He takes his time getting Julie unstrapped and settled in his arms after walking in, immediately engulfed by children’s laughter and crying. The main door gives to a small corridor, kids running from one room to another at the other end of it, and Jules giggles, squirming in his arms.
“You wanna go check it out, baby?”
Julie nods fiercely, little head moving so quick he’s worried for a second it’s going to come off. Steve grins, running his fingers along the back of her neck, just as voices come closer.
“No, Mrs McAllister, I’m sorry, but Diana cannot bring her puppy to the center!”
Steve turns at the voice, some kind of vacuum sucking all the air out of his lungs as he takes in the man - short, stocky, blond, blue eyes twinkling in the light of the corridor. He’s got a warm voice and a boy settled on his hip, dozing off, little nose buried in the guy’s neck as he listens to Mrs McAllister’s argument about getting to bring a dog along with her daughter. Steve can’t help but creep along, walking closer, transfixed by that man, for some reason he can’t explain. He can’t say if it’s the way he’s handling the kid with such care, or the rumbling tone of his voice, or the sturdy set of his shoulders, but there’s something, something that is keeping Steve from taking his eyes away from him.
“Can I help you?”
Steve starts. The guy's looking straight at him, thumbing the 'end call' button and lifting his eyebrows inquiringly. When had he finished his conversation? Had Steve really lost time?
"Um, hi. I'm looking for Daniel Williams?" Steve ventures.
The man scrunches his nose. "Call me Danny. Well, you've found me now, what can I do for you?"
Steve blinks again. He feels like his tongue is sticking to the roof of his mouth, and he's forgotten all his words. Thankfully, he's got help at hand.
"'Anno," Julie says, still clinging to the collar of Steve's shirt. She's grinning at Danny, about the same height as him the way Steve holds her.
Danny's eyes soften. "Hey you," he says gently, reaching up and taking one of her hands, shaking it up and down. "You know my name, but I don't know yours!"
Julie, a little hesitant around strangers when they pay her this much attention, hides her face in her dad's neck.
"She's a little shy," Steve explains; Danny nods like it's natural. "Come on, sweetheart. Tell Danny your name."
"Jul'e," she says. It's still a little hard for her to master the 'ie' sound.
"Nice to meet you, Julie," Danny says without batting an eyelid. "And who's your Daddy?"
"Dada," she chirps happily.
Steve, in a massive show of willpower, recalls his manners.
"Lt Commander Steve McGarrett, US Navy, and this, as you've found out, is my daughter Julie. Julie's mom told me about this place. You come highly recommended."
"A Navy man, eh? Well, Julie will feel right at home. At the moment we have six Navy kids from Pearl here."
"Yes, I was told a lot of our guys come to you."
"I'm curious, how did your wife hear of us?"
"My... my wife? Oh, you mean Julie's mom! Uh, no, we're not married -- we're not even together anymore. She's Navy, too, serves on the USS Port Royal. Lt Ackroyd told her about you, you have his daughter Amy."
"Oh, yeah? That's nice of Amy's dad; Amy's a sweetheart, she's one of the easiest kids to handle. So you're looking for us to take Julie on?"
"Right, my nanny's leaving Hawai'i next week, she got accepted into Yale, and I teach at Pearl, so I can't look after Julie during the day. I brought her with me to make sure she'll be okay here. She seems to love it."
Julie is staring over Steve's shoulder, looking like she's eager to go make some friends. Steve watches kids playing around little tables, on the floor, groups building blocks towers together, some coloring, some having fun with Play-Doh, a whole array of different toys everywhere around the room, brightly lit and colorful. A few adults are walking around, keeping the peace.
“Well, why don’t you let her go play for a while, we can see if she finds herself fitting with the others? Or are you in a hurry?”
Steve doesn’t want to go - definitely doesn’t want to go. He’s supposed to be grading papers this afternoon, but he doesn’t have to start for a while, and it’ll be better if Julie exhausts herself after playing with other kids so he can focus on working. Giving her a look, Steve purses his lips before setting her to the floor.
“We've got some time. Do you wanna go play, Jules? Go on, look, there’s Play-Doh, you love that!”
“Doh!”
She starts running, a little unsteady, and Steve follows to prevent her hurting herself until she’s at the little round table, smiling shyly at a boy when he hands her a bright blue ball of dough. When she starts hammering her fist into it, Steve straightens up, restraining himself from laughing - she can be very delicate when it comes to her art.
When Steve takes a step back, he bumps right into Danny, standing next to him with an indulgent smile on his lips.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Takes after her mom.”
“Oh, please.” The tone of Danny’s voice makes Steve flush, because, what, seriously, is Danny flirting with him? Not that Steve would be complaining, but he’s not exactly certain now is the right moment - the situation’s not ideal, really. Still, Steve smiles, scratching the back of his neck.
“She’s got my eyes.”
"Well, obviously I've never met your--Julie's mom, but it looks to me like she's got your energy levels, too."
Steve grins. "Me and Cath are both 'go go go', all the time, so I'm at least prepared for Jules turning out the same way."
Danny mock-frowns. "Yeah, thanks for the heads-up. She's going to be a handful, is what you're saying."
"Oh, no, she's not--she listens, she's not naughty or anything, she just needs to be watched, and given things to do so her attention is engaged. If she isn't bored, she's perfectly behaved," Steve hurries to assure him.
"Duly noted," Danny says dryly. Looking around the room, Steve can see the people here are well on top of toddlers' limited attention spans.
Steve feels a flare of annoyance in his stomach, eyes narrowing for a second when he looks back at Danny, to be greeted by raised eyebrows, daring him to say something. Steve swallows it down, petting the back of Julie's head for a moment, letting the feeling subside. It's irrational, but he can't help it - his daughter is his life, these days, and for someone who has sworn to protect since he was eighteen, the feeling is all the more intense.
He breathes out, tossing his head back a little and sniffing, watching Danny's eyes crinkle a little, obviously amused. He's probably seen it all before, if he's got a creche full of Navy brats.
"Yeah, well, if you think she'll be too much for you, I'm sure I can find somewhere else..."
Danny snorts, which does nothing to appease Steve’s mood.
“You know, I get threatened to lose half my business about twice a day by parents who don’t like me. But kids love me and I love them back, because as hard work as they can be, they’re also rarely goofs with large egos, so parents suck it up. If you bring Julie here, then you’ll know she’ll be well cared for, and given all the attention she needs, which is more than I can say for a lot of daycare centers around anywhere, and I have a daughter too, so I know what I’m talking about. You should try and get rid of that stick you’ve got up your ass, Lt Commander.”
“Danno!” One of the kids around the table at which Julie is playing at looks up and gives him a stern look. “Amyyyy, Danno said a bad word!”
The woman the girl called after, Amy, turns around and gives Danny a pointed look before nodding.
“Well, you know what that means, Ailana, right?”
“A quarter in the 'Danno has a potty mouth' box!”
“Exactly!” Amy looks at Steve with a grin. “We use it to buy new supplies. Every month, it’s new pens and toys. And yet, Danny won’t stop.”
“What makes you think I don’t do it on purpose?” Danny brings out a quarter from his pocket, giving it to Ailana who runs to put it in a little box on a counter, standing on her tiptoes to reach it. She pops it inside with every sign of satisfaction.
Steve feels like an asshole. Danny's been nothing but friendly, and for all that he has an attitude, he obviously loves his charges.
Steve will be damned if he apologises, though. "Okay," he says instead.
"'Okay'?" Danny says, sounding like he doesn't believe a word of it, and is maybe wondering whether Steve was dropped on his head as a kid.
"Okay," Steve repeats, shrugging. "Jules obviously loves it here, so yeah. If you'll have her, I'd like her to go here.”
Danny stares at him for a few moments before shaking his head. "Okay," he says, like he's parroting Steve. Steve's mouth twitches without his consent. "Well, Jemima can take you to fill in some forms, some details about Julie's schedule, emergency contact details, any known allergies, that kind of stuff. You'll be expected every morning at 8.30am sharp, don't be late; she can wear whatever she likes as long as there's no choking hazard; she'll have lunch with us, and we'll expect you to pick her up no later than 6.30pm. Think you can handle that?"
Steve rolls his eyes, not really amused. He knows Danny's trying to get a rise out of him, for whatever reason, but he's not going to give him the satisfaction.
"Fine," he says blandly. Danny frowns, and Steve is hard-pressed to contain his smirk.
"Okay," Danny says suspiciously. "Hey, Jem? Take Lt Commander McGarrett to get the paperwork sorted out, will you? I'll take over."
It's Steve's turn to scowl. 'Lt Commander McGarrett', really? Jesus, this guy is high maintenance. Danny smirks up at him while Jemima finishes helping a little Chinese-Hawaiian boy cut up some colored paper in the shape of a star and ambles over.
"This way, Lt--"
"Call me Steve," Steve cuts in, exasperated, raising a peeved eyebrow in Danny's direction. Danny's smirk widens.
"Steve, then," Jemima amends cheerfully. "Right this way."
Steve throws a last look at Julie, now happily mushing two different kinds of Play-Doh together, chattering in the same unintelligible language with the kid next to her. He wants to tell Danny to watch her, but doesn't dare -- he's going to get another lecture, he's pretty sure. He goes.
Hopefully he’s not making the biggest mistake of his life.
---
The paperwork is easy enough, and he pays little attention to it. All the data is stuck in his head, neatly kept in little boxes in a corner, and he brings them out easily, names and parents and phone numbers and insurance numbers and jobs and a string of other little details about Julie, like her usual sleeping schedule and allergies and favorite toys. He gets told she can bring anything she wants but they can’t assure it won't disappear, and that the meals are healthy and specially prepared for toddlers, and it’s more information he stocks along with the rest.
“Can I - I’ve got to go back to work, can I leave her here? Is that okay?”
Steve and Jemima are walking out of the office now, back to the main room, and they have to step over a group of kids playing with Lego to get back to where Julie is, sitting and eating a cookie, Danny sitting on the floor next to her.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll register her right away. Pick-up time is -”
“Six-thirty at the latest.”
Steve smiles at the girl, who chuckles and puts a hand on his arm before leaving him. Julie’s eyes light up when she sees him, extending her arms towards him.
“Dada!”
He takes hold of her, his stomach twisting at the idea of leaving her with a bunch of strangers. He knows Lenora, knows she’s good with Julie and is a serious girl. What he knows about Danny is that he curses in front of the kids and, apparently, most parents don’t like him.
“Hey, baby. I got to go, now.”
“Walk?”
“No, Daddy’s got to get back to work, princess. You’re staying here, but I’ll pick you up in a few hours, okay? You’ll have fun here.”
Julie’s eyes cloud over as comprehension sets in - damn, his girl is way too smart for her own good. Big fat tears start welling up in her eyes as she throws her arms around his neck.
“Dada!”
“Believe me, Jules, I don’t want to leave you, either, but I have a test this afternoon, and I can't miss that.”
But Julie is inconsolable, her tears soaking his shoulder. He feels wretched, but this has to happen. She'd been too small to know what was happening the first time he'd left her with Lenora, and it had been easy to soothe her, he remembers. Now, though, she's old enough to understand that her dad is going, but not the reason why he's leaving her behind, and her tears are breaking his heart even as he knows she has to get used to this.
"Come on, chickpea, please don't cry. Daddy will be back for you in just a few hours, I promise."
He locks eyes helplessly with Danny, still sitting there watching them. Danny, to his surprise, looks sympathetic.
"You won't believe how often it happens, even with kids who have been with us for a while," he confides. It's not really helping, but it is a little reassuring.
Danny sighs and levels himself up to his knees, not quite hiding his wince when his bad knee must twinge.
"Hey, sweetheart," he croons, rubbing Julie's back. "It's okay. You're not alone, I'll introduce you to all the kids, and you're going to have so much fun! We'll do some drawing with pastels, we'll play with building blocks, and later we'll read some books, yes?"
Julie is still sniffling, but not as much as before. She turns in Steve's arms to look at Danny.
"Boo's?" she asks, a little tearful but also plainly interested.
"As many as you like," Danny promises.
Julie lets go little by little, until she's shifted from Steve's lap to Danny's. Danny curls his arms around her and she holds on, looking at him shyly from under her eyelashes. She's so adorable like that, that Steve's heart squeezes a little. He tugs oh so very lightly on a strand of her hair when she looks at him, tucked close to Danny, forcing Steve to lean close when he kisses her cheek. The man might be irritating, but he definitely has something when it comes to kids. And fuck, he smells good, manly and fresh, peaches and citrus. Steve pulls back before he could find himself leaning even closer, before he starts rubbing his cheek against Danny’s shirt or something ridiculously inappropriate like that, and runs a finger over Julie’s hand.
“I’ll be back soon, okay? You’ll have so much fun you won’t even realize I was even gone, I’m sure.”
He’s certain of it - while he’ll be torturing himself thinking about her while trying to grade his students’ tests, she’ll be here, happy as ever with her new friends and Danny. Just before Steve straightens back up, Julie reaches out, giving him a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek, murmuring Dada in his ear, as if she knows exactly what he’s thinking and doesn’t agree with him. Steve smiles, a little broken, and stands back up, Danny following suit with Julie still encased in his arms.
“Okay, well. I’ll get going, now.”
“Alright. I promise you, she’s safe here.”
Steve nods, “I know. I know. Thanks, Danny.”
He almost wants to apologize for earlier, tell Danny he didn’t mean to insult him or anything. But he finds himself unable to, eyes locked onto Danny’s, a little tongue-tied as his stomach flutters. Fuck, he knows exactly what this is; the last time he’s felt this was when he’d met Catherine for the first time.
“See you later, Steve.”
Steve nods, takes a step back, then another, then turns around and almost sprints out of the daycare center, before he changes his mind, about leaving Julie with a guy that, apparently, Steve wouldn’t mind getting to know better. Shit, he’s told himself he’d never allow himself to want someone who is such a big part of Julie’s life, if only not to break her heart if things went to Hell, as they had a tendency to. And yet here he is, unable to see anything else than his little girl in Danny’s arms, Danny’s soft smile as he looks down at her.
Damn it.
---
It’s a sunny, bright afternoon when they say goodbye to Lenora. She’s leaving the next day with her dad, and she can’t seem to be able to talk about anything else but Yale, her excitement shining through her smile and words, and Steve wants to be happy for her, he really, honestly does, yet. Yet the idea of letting go of the best babysitter he’s ever had makes him feel a little sick. Lenora’s a girl he’s seen grow up from teenager to almost-woman and that Julie loves like a sister, and Steve has lost the habit of saying goodbye.
Shave ice is painting Julie’s lips blue as she eats with Lenora, sitting on her lap and happily chatting away in her baby blabber, Lenora listening intently. Steve is sure she can understand his baby girl much better than Steve can himself. Lenora looks up at Steve, a grin on her face.
“Whoa, there’s a lot of gossip in that daycare center of hers.”
“I’m sure she started half the rumors herself. She loves gossiping as much as her Mom.”
“How’s that going? The daycare thing, I mean.”
“She misses you. But I think she likes it over there. It’s a nice place, really - expensive, but I think it’s worth it. Even with the very annoying manager.”
“Danno!”
Steve looks at Julie, quite impressed that she’s understood what he’s talking about. But she’s not looking at him, instead looking over Lenora’s shoulder, to a figure on the other side of the street.
“Danno!”
Yep. No doubt, now. He’s turned around, and it’s definitely Danny there, holding the hand of a little girl with dark hair and big eyes. Steve refrains from letting his forehead hit the table. This is just getting ridiculous now -- what, is he summoning Danny with his thoughts or something?
Danny hadn't seen them, but after the second time Julie calls out and squirms on Lenora's lap he starts looking around until he focuses right on their little group. He waves and leans down to say something to the girl by his side. She nods, and they cross the street towards the small picnic table.
"Hey, munchkin," Danny says, reaching over and ruffling Julie's hair. She strains towards him, so much that Lenora has to let her go.
She wobbles over to Danny and the girl, reaching out sticky hands towards his slacks. Rather than recoil in horror, Danny barely bats an eyelid before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a pack of wet tissues.
"C'mere, you," he coaxes, wiping her hands and mouth expertly before she can even frown. The girl at his side watches excitedly. "Hey, there's someone I want you to meet -- Julie, this is my daughter, Grace."
"G'ace," Julie chirps, turning towards her. It's not an easy manoeuvre, and she trips a little. Before anyone can react, Grace has stepped forward and caught her fall. Julie clamps her arms around Grace's leg, smiling up adoringly at her new friend.
"Hi, Julie, nice to meet you," Grace says politely, pushing the toddler's dark hair back. "Is she one of your kids, Danno?"
"Sure is," Danny says obligingly.
The three move towards the table, Grace leading Julie by her hand. It looks so much easier when you're shorter, Steve thinks wistfully.
"Steven. And who is this lovely young lady?" Danny says with a nod.
"This is Lenora, my highly educated babysitter," Steve says, trying not to stare at the way Danny's shirt hugs his body. "Lenora, Danny Williams."
"Hi, I've heard so much about you," Lenora says, shaking Danny's hand. Steve notices how much friendlier Danny looks when he's not trying to assert his authority or whatever the hell he does at the daycare. He tries not to be annoyed -- or worse, jealous. That would be the final nail in his coffin.
"Hi," Danny says, an amiable smile on his face, "pleasure to meet you. Steve tells me you got into Yale. Congratulations."
"Thanks," Lenora says. Steve spots a faint pink tinge to her cheeks.
Grace tugs on her father's sleeve. "Danno, can I have a shave ice?"
"Sure, Monkey," Danny says. Even if Steve knew nothing about him, it would be obvious how much he cares for his daughter. He sticks his hand in his pocket, fishes out a couple notes and hands them over.
"You want one?" Grace asks.
"Why not? The usual, please."
"Okay!"
She hands Julie back to Lenora and skips over to the shave ice stand.
"What's the usual?" Steve asks, feigning nonchalance badly. Danny isn't fooled.
He does stare at Steve a moment before answering. "Grape. I like grape."
"Not pineapple?"
Danny makes a disgusted face. "You know, I used to like pineapple. Loved it, even. Until I saw the atrocities you people commit against an innocent piece of fruit. Do not even get me started on this state and its obsession with degrading its fruit like that."
Steve's mouth twitches, and he feels an unholy urge to poke at this fascinating man until he explodes. He has a feeling it would be a sight to behold. But he barely has time to open his mouth before Grace comes back, carefully balancing two cones in her hands, one purple and one rainbow-coloured.
“Seems your daughter is more adventurous than your are.”
“Yeah, well, she’s 8, she can be.”
Said daughter, Grace, looks at Steve once she’s sitting next to her father, apparently shy - she doesn’t get that from her dad.
“Gracie, this is Steve. He’s Julie’s dad.”
“Hi.”
“Hey, Gracie, nice to meet you. Your dad talks a lot about you.”
She’s pretty, tan and smiling into her shave ice, her long hair in ponytails. Steve can’t help but wonder what her mom looks like, and his eyes dart down to Danny’s hands, seeing no ring, much like his own. It’s a little reassuring, but Steve quickly chases the thought away, refusing to think about Danny and his relationships and whether or not he’s married.
“So what are you doing here?”
“Well, Grace had her third surfing lesson today, we’re just done, so I guess she deserves a treat, for still having all her limbs.”
Lenora squeals, turning right away towards Grace, and the two of them start talking about waves breaking, paddling techniques and whether or not surfing on the North Shore is all that it’s hyped up to be. Steve would intervene, but then Julie crawls from Lenora’s lap to Steve’s, head heavy against his shoulder, and his eyes meet Danny’s, see how softly he’s looking at her.
“Someone’s tired...”
“Well, it’s been a long afternoon. I almost hope she’ll be sleeping when we have to say goodbye to Len, but it feels selfish, doesn’t it?”
There’s something enthralling about Danny, how he listens to Steve like he’s never heard anything more interesting, and how he looks at Julie like she’s the prettiest little girl he’s ever seen. This ability to give his complete attention to Steve is very, very dangerous.
“It might be easier for all of you, though. She’s young enough that it’s not going to bother her for a long time, so why bother her with it at all?”
“You have a point.”
“I spend my life saying goodbye to kids. It’ll always be harder on me than them. The only one sticking by me is Grace, really, and I’ve only got her 2 days a week.”
There is a note of melancholy in Danny’s voice, something that contrasts so sharply with the bright sun-and-ocean landscape around them that it unsettles Steve a little, his arm squeezing Julie a little tighter for an instant. He wonders if Catherine ever feels that way. He can’t imagine it, not seeing Jules every day, watching her smile sleepily at him from her crib when he reads her bedtime stories, or not having the breakfast catastrophes of cereal all over the kitchen floor once a week.
“You do?”
“She’s with her mom the rest of the time. I couldn’t get more custody during the divorce, being a cop and all.”
Steve nods, afraid to push further and have Danny snap at him again. He’s not quite sure about where their boundaries lie and how much more he can try to pry Danny open. Steve’s got the feeling that getting inside Danny’s head is probably much easier than trying to pierce his very own armor, but he’s pretty sure that poking for more would only make Danny close up right now.
“Danno! Danno, Lenora says that I should try surfing on a fish!”
Steve’s glad for the distraction, composing himself when Danny turns to look at Grace.
“A fish? You can’t surf on a fish, Monkey, that doesn’t make sense, most fish would be too small anyway! If it was to be a big enough fish it’d have to be a shark, and you are not going anywhere near a shark, young lady!”
She laughs, her little hand curling around her father’s arm, and Steve grins into Julie’s hair, imagining Grace surfing on an actual fish.
“Noooooo, Daddy, a fish board! They’re surfboards, shaped like a fish!”
"Oh," Danny deflates a little. Steve tries not to laugh at him, but it's really damn hard.
"You know, there are shark cages out in the bay where tourists can go to swim with sharks."
Danny turns bright red. "What," he says flatly, "are you trying to tell me, Steven? Huh? That I should let my daughter swim with sharks with only a few thin metal rails between them? Over my dead body!"
Grace is studiously eating her shave ice, but Steve sees the corners of her mouth stretched in a grin around her spoon, and when she catches Steve's eye, her eyes are dancing.
"Relax, Danno, the sharks around here are only harmless Galapagos ones. They don't eat people."
"...Oh," Danny says for the second time in as many minutes. "Well, I still don't like it. And who told you you could call me that? The kids call me Danno; are you a kid, Steven?"
Steve opens his mouth, grinning like the fish in question.
"--Wait, no, forget I asked that. There's a difference between physical and mental age, and God knows you act like a kid sometimes."
"When? When have I ever acted like a kid?" Steve asks immediately, pouting.
"Right now?" Danny suggests.
Lenora and Grace both giggle, and Steve snaps out of it. All three girls are staring at him and grinning, even though Julie is for sure too small to know that her father has just made a fool of himself. Danny doesn't look like he minds, though; he's smirking triumphantly at Steve's silence, like he just won something.
"I was not," Steve says, but it's lame and he knows it.
The comfortable silence stretches, and Julie starts dozing against Steve's chest, shave ice melting in the mild evening air.
"I should go," Lenora says apologetically after a few minutes.
Steve turns to her, careful not to wake Julie up now that she’s almost, almost sleeping.
“When will you be back?”
Lenora smiles indulgently, patting his arm lightly. He’s going to miss her.
“I’m not even gone and you’re already wondering when I’m coming back?” When he nods, she sighs, apparently thinking about it for a moment. “Christmas, I guess.”
“Okay. We’ll see you then.”
“I’ll call, okay?”
Steve lets Danny take hold of Julie for him wordlessly; she makes a little noise of discomfort but quickly settles against Danny’s strong chest, and Steve walks Lenora back to her car, trying not to show how upset he feels. It’s like saying goodbye to Mary all over again.
“You call. Let us know how you’re doing.”
She nods and throws her arms around his waist, surprising him. He’s quick to get over it, though, engulfing her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head lightly.
“I’ll miss you guys.”
“We’ll miss you too. Now go on, go live your adventures.”
He lets go with a reluctant nod, and she keeps on throwing glances back at him as she gets into her car. It’s all too close for comfort, reminding him of looking over his shoulder to see his Dad walking away, Mary Ann biting her lip raw as she makes her way through security, her eyes on him until she takes a turn and disappears. It reminds him how much he misses them, misses his mom, and he decides to call Mary tonight, spend a while just catching up. He’s never the one reaching out.
When he walks back to the shave ice stand and the table at which Danny’s sitting with Julie in his arms, he hears Gracie asking her father if she looked that cute when she was this age, only for Danny to tell her she looked even more beautiful. Julie’s sleeping, her thumb firmly stuck in her mouth. He runs featherlike fingers through her wispy hair when he’s close enough, sitting back next to the Williamses.
“You okay?”
“Hmm? I’m fine. Should probably get that one back home, though, she’s done for the day.”
Danny nods, looking down at Julie.
“And, um. Thanks for looking after her.”
Their eyes meet, and Steve cannot try to pretend there isn’t anything there.
“Hey, you’re welcome.”
---
Part II
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-08-05 01:09 pm (UTC)This is so adorable.
Nice work!
no subject
Date: 2011-08-05 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-05 03:36 pm (UTC)And the lack of time Danny gets to spend with Grace still breaks my heart--he's not a cop anymore, give him a break Rachel!
no subject
Date: 2011-08-05 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-05 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-06 01:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-07 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-07 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-07 08:37 am (UTC)