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They told Gracie on the first weekend Danny had her after their return from Kaua’i.
Steve got out of the shower that morning after his swim to find his partner scrunched up into a ball on his side of the bed, hugging his knees, staring at his toes, frowning. Steve knotted the towel around his waist and sat next to him on the bed, holding one side of his face in his right hand.
“Go hop in the shower, we’ve gotta get going.” He said, almost guilty at interrupting Danny’s reverie.
Danny remained frozen for a few seconds, then, without taking his eyes off the invisible fixed point before him, he gently turned his neck and proffered a kiss to the center of Steve’s palm. He closed his eyes and smiled, and when he opened them, his gaze met Steve’s.
“I’ve never been intimidated by my daughter before. Not since I first saw her and I wondered how the hell I was going to be good enough to be her Dad.”
“See how wrong you were.” Steve smiled. “We’re just gonna have to hold our nose and do it, Danny. You know, kids are pretty smart. I don’t think it will be an issue. I bet you she already knows somebody who has two dads.”
“She probably does, doesn’t she? And how are you so damned confident?” Danny mused.
Steve nodded. “It’s the clarity of mind that comes with being this kind of awesome.” He grinned. “Get moving, or we’ll catch hell from Rachel for being late. Get in the shower, and I’ll make you some eggs.”
Danny kissed him and got up, grumbling about his cocky goof of a partner on his way to the bathroom.
***
Steve couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a “day at the beach”, but there they were, at Kailua Beach on the windward side, resplendent with mats, sunscreen, straw hats, sandcastle implements, and a cooler full of provisions.
Gracie didn’t seem at all interested in castles at the moment, however, for she busied herself building a fairly stunning replica of the Great Wall of China between them and the surf.
“Is that the Great Wall, Gracie?” Steve asked.
She nodded. “We’re learning about it in school. You can see it from space.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about walls, Monkey. If any Mongolian hordes threaten us on this beach, I’m sure your Uncle Steve will be more than happy to protect us.” He glanced over at Steve and smiled, his hat tipped askew atop his head.
Steve grinned. “But wall will help slow enemy enough to make protection much easier task.” He joked, in his best Kung Fu voice. After three Longboards, he was already feeling a bit punchy.
“Ah, so.” Danny held his palms together in a mock bow, as best as he could lying on his back, propped up on his shoulders. He was already a beer ahead of Steve.
Steve laughed and knocked his beer over, reaching for Danny to tip his fool hat off.
“Whoa.” Danny said. “You’re cut off, sailor.”
“You’re ahead of me, detective.”
Danny’s smile faded as his expression got serious.
“Now?”
Steve nodded.
“I love you.” He whispered. “Here goes nothing.” Danny said.
“Hey, Gracie, come here for a minute. Uncle Steve and I wanna talk with you.”
Grace gave them both a quizzical expression, then shrugged, as she stopped filling the sandcastle mold and walked the few yards back toward the two men, who had both sat upright on their mats. Steve noticed she seemed lankier since even the last time he’d seen her.
She sat down in the sand between their mats, crosslegged, with an amused expression on her face.
“Uh, monkey?” Danny started. “You know I love you, right?”
“Yes, Danno.”
“And you know I’ll always love you, right?”
“Yes, Danno.”
“And you know your Uncle Steve loves you too, right kiddo?”
“Uh huh. He loves you too.”
Danny’s jaw dropped and Steve broke out in a laugh, and picked his partner’s hand up from the sand.
“I love him too, Gracie. Like your Mommy did. Do you know what that means?”
“I’m 8, I’m not blind, Uncle Steve. You came back from Kaua’i with a ring on.” Grace said slowly.
Danny had regained his composure enough to speak, but making sense was another hurdle entirely.
“So, you – wow.”
“Are you going to get married?” Grace asked.
Danny was still sputtering.
“Yes. Your Danno asked me to marry him and I said yes.”
Grace smiled broadly. “So you’re going to be Daddy Steve.”
This time it was Steve who had been rendered speechless. He opened his mouth to speak but felt paralyzed by the sudden weight of the situation.
Danny was smiling at him as he caressed the top of Steve’s knuckle with his thumb.
“Remember what I told you this morning about being intimidated?”
Steve nodded.
“You’re feeling that now, aren’t you?” He said, wryly.
Steve nodded again, still unable to speak.
“Are you going to have more kids?” Grace asked, innocently.
“Well,” Danny started, “I suppose, we’re going to,” he looked over at Steve, who nodded vigorously, still silent. “It’s going to have to be, you know-”
Grace tilted her head, trying to make out what her Danno was getting at, exactly.
“You know, I think that Great Wall needs completing before we all get massacred, Gracie. I’ll help you, and then we’ll go in the ocean and head off the navy, what do you say?” Danny said.
Grace nodded and slipped back down the beach toward her wall.
Danny kneeled next to Steve and kissed him.
“I can tell you just realized for the first time that you’re a parent, now.”
Steve squinted up at Danny. “How’d you figure that?”
“Because you look like you’re scared out of your goddamned mind.” Danny said. “Get used to it; it doesn’t go away.”