Chapter Text
Stood in the bathroom, Layla splashed her face with cold water and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hadn’t slept much over the last few days and her eyes were puffy from all the crying she had done, but today she had to be strong for her ohana. Snapped from her thoughts by someone knocking on the door, she glanced back and took a shaky deep breath.
“Lay, are you okay in there?” came Steve’s concerned voice from the other side.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” Layla replied, drying her face and stepping out into the hallway.
“It’s nearly time to go, could you make sure that Grace is ready for me?”
“Okay.”
Layla made her way to her niece’s bedroom, freezing momentarily with her hand on the handle and heading inside to find Grace sitting on the edge of her bed. Not wanting to rush her, she placed her hand on the young girl’s shoulder and crouched down in front of her.
“This was Danno’s favorite dress, is it okay that it isn’t black?” Grace asked, her voice shaky and unsure.
“Hey,” Layla said, lifting Grace’s chin with her thumb, “If you want to wear Danno’s favorite dress, then you wear it... I promise that no one is going to tell you that you can’t.”
“Will you put my necklace on for me?”
“Of course I will.”
With the thin chain in her hand, Layla fastened it around her neck and straightened the heart pendant so that it hung down over her chest. Standing up, she held out her hand for Grace to take and led her downstairs.
It wasn’t long before the cars arrived and Steve led them over to the first car, which followed right behind the coffin. The feeling of Grace’s small fingers wrapping around her wrist caught her attention and she looked down, pulling her into a hug as she noticed the tears running down her niece’s cheeks.
There were a lot of people already at the cemetery when they pulled in, mainly officers from the HPD and a few people that Layla didn’t recognize. A majority of the service went by in a blur, but then Layla’s name was called and she hesitantly approached the microphone.
“Turn the light off, come to bed, tell me all about the day you had,” Layla sang as the music started, “Lay beside me, come to rest, you can close your eyes you’ve done your best. Let me be your sanctuary, let me be your safe place to fall, I can take away your worries, the refuge from it all.”
She swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat and fought to keep her emotions in check as Danny’s coffin was lowered, struggling to push through.
“All this time we have together, is our shelter from the rain. I will share the weight you carry, let me be your sanctuary,” Layla continued, feeling the tears fall freely down her cheeks and her throat tighten more, “We have weathered through the storm, taking comfort in each other’s arms. When the dark clouds come again, I... will lift...”
Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, she shook her head as she ran into Steve’s open arms and buried her face in his shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Steve whispered, wrapping his arms around her tightly and kissing her head as she cried into his chest.
Once everyone had been thanked, Steve took Layla and Grace back to the car to head home.
“We’ll bring some dinner over in a little while,” Chin told Steve, “The girls look exhausted.”
“It’s been a rough day for everyone,” Steve replied, glancing at the girls through the window and running a hand over his face, “I’ll see you back at the house.”
The ride home was quiet and Layla spent it staring out at the passing scenery, unable to form the words to speak. They had lost Danny... she had lost her brother and it was going to be hard for everyone to get through that.