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Grace was eight when she met Steve for the first time. He was tall, muscular, and had a really serious look on his face. She was a little nervous, until she sat down on the bleachers and introduced himself, complete with a handshake that made her feel like she wasn't just a little kid in his eyes,but a real person. She particularly liked the way he smiled, finally, when she mentioned that Danno talked about him to her, like he knew they were friends but didn't realize Danno actually liked him.
Even though she didn't get to spend a lot of time with him, and Danno had to send her home with another officer because mommy got upset, again, she knew she liked him already. As she got into the police car, she didn't miss the way Steve had kept his eyes on her dad even as he was on the phone with mommy. She knew even if she worried about Danno a lot, this Steve guy was someone she could trust to keep him safe.
***
Grace was nine when she figured Steve was going to be a permanent thing in her life. He and Danno were always together, and if Steve wasn't there when she spent weekends with her dad, he still talked about Steve half the time, making it seem like the other man was practically in the room with them.
For all the arguing they did, they never failed to give each other a reassuring smile or a pat on the back to show they didn't mean it. It was second nature for her to call him Uncle Steve now, because he was as good as family and took care of Danno when she wasn't able to.
She didn't like to think about it, but sometimes she liked Steve better than Step-Stan. Even though Stan was technically her dad now (though she would never call him that), he didn't act like it the way Danno did. Step-Stan was gone a lot of the time, and even though mommy hated when Danno did that back when they were living together, she didn't ever seem as upset when Step-Stan did it. When he was home, he liked to buy her things, and at first it was nice because back in New Jersey they couldn't afford the really pretty clothes she always wanted or a pet. After a while, though, it didn't seem like he was buying her things because he wanted to give her nice things. Actually, most of the time it seemed like he bought her stuff when he got home just to make her like him more, because he always had a certain look on his face that she didn't really like.
Steve, though, was the best. She and Danno started spending some weekends at Steve's house, where he had the best beach on the island and liked playing in the water with her. She loved the way he'd pick her up and throw her into the waves, or let her up on his shoulders and say "Look how tall you are, Gracie!" Danno would always complain that he wasn't ready for her to be taller than him yet, but Steve would poke him in the stomach to make him laugh and then send her flying into the waves again, and the debate would be over. He was also really good at cooking and made healthy food that didn't make her worry about Danno, and he always kept her favorite ice cream for dessert.
It wasn't just the nice times that made her like him, though. When Danno was in the hospital he'd pick her up from school, hug her, and tell her that her dad was hurt, but he took care of her Danno and that they would go to see him right away. He started to let Danno fuss over him when he was hurt, though he never did it without arguing because that's just how he and her dad showed they cared. When they stayed at Steve's place and she'd get a nightmare, he was always there before Danno was, holding her in his arms and telling her she was perfectly safe, then taking her into the kitchen for a glass of lemonade before going back to bed. She would never tell Danno because he'd feel guilty for not being there for her, and because she secretly loved sitting in Steve's lap as he pet her hair and comforted her.
Steve was around a lot of the time, and she was perfectly happy with that.
***
Grace was ten when she slipped up the first time.
She didn't know that it was something she shouldn't say; it just slipped out of her mouth before she knew it, and she didn't really regret it afterward. She and Danno had spent the night at Steve's house, and Steve had made them a big breakfast in the morning with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. She was just settling into her eggs when she noticed her glass of juice was empty, and looked up at Steve, who was closest to the pitcher.
"Can you pass the orange juice, Dad?"
Steve had turned toward her when she'd raised her head, but after she spoke his eyes had gone wide and he didn't move at all. Danno had given her a strange look as he looked around the table.
"I don't have the- wait. Did you just... did you just call Steve dad?"
"He's kind of like my dad, isn't he?" She shrugged, not sure what she'd done wrong. Steve was in her life just as much as Step-Stan, if not more, and sure she didn't mean to say it, but that didn't make it untrue. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm your dad, monkey."
"I know that, Danno." She laughed, then made grabby hands at the pitcher. "Can someone please pass me the orange juice before I die of thirst, then you can tell me what I've done wrong?"
Steve finally came back to the real world and handed her the pitcher, though he was still blinking like he was confused. "Have your juice, weirdo," he said fondly, shaking his head.
"Gracie, what... Steve and I aren't married, he's not like Stan, you know," Danny told her, his eyebrows still scrunched together. Grace shrugged, pushing her eggs around on her plate.
"I'm sorry if I upset you guys, I didn't mean to say it. I didn't think it was a big deal."
"Hey, monkey..."
"It's okay, Grace," Steve interjected. Both of them turned to look at him, but he was staring at his plate. "I get it. We're just surprised is all, because I'm not legally one of your parents. I hope you understand." He looked up at her, putting a hand over hers. "Not that it makes me care about you any less, I promise."
"I understand. I won't do it again." Grace stabbed her eggs a couple more times before setting her fork down and sighing. "Can I have some more syrup please, Dad" She asked, staring directly at Danny, who laughed and nodded.
"Yes monkey, you can have some more syrup."
***
Grace was eleven when she decided Steve was family.
Her teacher told them to write an essay on their family, including whoever they felt meant 'ohana' to them the most. Of course she was going to write about her mommy, Danno, and Step-Stan. When she got to the end of it, though, it felt incomplete.
So she started to write about the rest of Danno's team.
Auntie Kono was the best, she thought. She wrote about how she was strong and powerful; very pretty but also very smart. Grace loved her because she was very much a girl, but she worked just as hard as any of the boys and did just as well, which made her a hero in Grace's eyes.
Uncle Chin was the one she'd known the longest from Danno's team, though not as well. He was usually calm and relaxed - the complete opposite of her dad - but he knew the coolest things about the islands. He taught her a lot about Hawaiian culture and some of the language, though she wasn't very good. She also knew that he was one of of the reasons that Danno was safe every day at work, and she was very glad for him.
Then there was Uncle Steve. She hated calling him that, like the name didn't seem important enough for what he was to her, but she knew better than to say anything about it. He was around more than Uncle Matty, and he got more serious with her about important things than Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono did. It took her a while to figure it out, but eventually she knew what to say.
She wrote that she had an Uncle Steve, but he wasn't really an uncle. He was more like a not-dad -- she loved her mommy and Danno very much, of course, because they were her parents -- but Steve was the dad she didn't know she wanted. He played tea party and watched Disney movies with her, but he also showed her the fun in playing football and fishing. There were times when he was smiling and they had a lot of fun, but there were also times where he was serious, like when Danno was hurt or she did something she wasn't supposed to. Uncle Steve never talked down to her like the little kid she was; he asked her opinions and listened carefully, helping her find words she needed but didn't know yet.
By the end of it, Grace was very proud of her essay. She hoped it said everything about her large family, and how much they meant to her. When she got it back at the end of the week, she was happy to see an A+ on it with "your family sounds lovely, Grace! You're very lucky to have so many people that care about you!" written at the top. She was excited to go home and show everybody, until she remembered the end of it.
Instead, she thought maybe she should show Uncle Steve first. If he wasn't okay with it, Mommy and Danno wouldn't like it either.
Luckily, when Danno came to get her after class, he said there was some work to finish before they went home. She tried not to look too excited as they drove to the office, and when they finally made it inside she tugged on his hand.
"Do you mind if I sit with Uncle Steve for a little bit? He's really good at helping me when I have questions on my science homework." She gave her dad the sad eyes and just waited for him to agree.
He stared down at her for a few moments, then sighed. "Alright, but don't disturb him from his work, okay?"
She grinned and hugged him again, then hurried to Uncle Steve's office. The door was open already, so she walked in and sat down on the couch, making as much noise as possible as she opened her backpack so he would notice her.
"Gracie, what are you doing in here?" He asked as he spotted her, setting down his pen.
Grace pulled her essay out of her backpack, then moved to stand beside him at his desk. "I told Danno I needed help with science, but..." Uncle Steve raised an eyebrow at her words, and she couldn't help but smile even though she had just admitted to lying. "I wrote an essay for class about what ohana means to me but, I don't know. I want you to read it first, to make sure it's okay."
She handed the paper to him, and he glanced down at it before looking back at her. "Your teacher gave you and A+ Gracie, of course it's good. Wouldn't you rather have your mother or Danno read it first?"
Rocking slightly on her heels, Grace shook her head. "No. Can you read it first, please?"
He gave her a strange look, but turned back to her paper all the same. His face didn't change when he read the beginning about mommy and Step-Stan, but she could tell when he started reading about Danno. He smiled and shook his head fondly, and Grace knew he was imagining all the nice things about Danno as he read them. At one point he laughed, probably about Auntie Kono's part, but she knew when he got to his part. Uncle Steve's eyebrows moved together like Danno's did when he and mommy were arguing, and she felt bad because she didn't mean to upset him. When he finished reading, he set her essay on his desk and leaned back in his chair.
"That was... you're a really good writer, Gracie."
"You're not mad?" She asked, wringing her hands together.
"What? Why would I be mad?" He held his arms out and she stepped closer, letting him pick her up and set her in his lap. She shrugged, letting her hands play with his fingers.
"Danno got upset when I called you dad on accident that one time. That's why I wanted you to tell me if it was okay."
They were both quiet for a while, Grace running her fingers over Uncle Steve's wrist while his free hand played with her hair. Eventually he sighed and hugged her, swaying her back and forth slightly.
"You know I love you, Grace. We don't want to upset you, we're just telling you the truth. But I promise no matter what, I will always do these things for you as long as you let me. I'm glad you find me so important in your life, because you're just as important to me, okay?"
Grace couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Thank you Uncle Steve," she said simply, but she tried to show how much she meant it in her hug. It was rare for him to talk about feelings, and she wanted to enjoy it as much as she could.
***
Grace was thirteen when she finally understood.
They were celebrating her finishing middle school by having a party on the beach and her family was all there - her whole ohana. It was nice to see her mother and Danno talking instead of arguing, and Kono playing with Charlie by the water's edge. Uncle Steve and Uncle Chin were at the grill, but Grace could see from where she was building a sand castle with Mary that Danno kept glancing over at the grill.
Eventually Danno stood up and made his way over. She thought sometimes that she was the only one who knew, but as Danno stopped by the grill and casually rested his hand on Uncle Steve's lower back, Mary elbowed her and gave her a knowing grin. The touch didn't last long, but even as Danno moved his hand away, Uncle Steve slung an arm over Danno's shoulders and pulled him in.
"They'll get it one day," Kono told them as she sat down between them and set Charlie in the middle of the castle. He giggled as he threw sand around, but the girls laughed themselves silly at the scene between the two men further up the beach.
All these years later, everyone saw what her Danno and Uncle Steve couldn't. They never used words, but their actions were a constant mantra of "I love you." She'd lost track of how many times strangers talked about her two dads, and sometimes they didn't even bother to correct people anymore.
Sure, Uncle Steve was Uncle Steve. She saw him every weekend she was with Danno now. He was secretly teaching her how to drive already. He cooked dinner for them and whined when Danno left his shoes in the middle of the hall. If she needed to talk about boy drama and Aunt Kono was busy, he pretended to be upset that she was already thinking about boys, but he listened to every word.
But even though she called him Uncle Steve, he was her dad. She just had to wait for him to catch up.