Work Text:
Between the Lies - Part Three Version B
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Though Steve had tried to remain quiet, Danny heard the escalating murmurs from the bedroom upstairs. The higher treble of Rachel's voice struck an uncomfortable chord and he lurched painfully up in bed, listening hard to be sure. He stumbled badly after setting his feet on the floor. Every muscle from his neck down through his scraped and scoured lower back was instantly on fire with the movement. As bile rose in his throat, he literally had to fight the urge to vomit from the pain. Sweat collected at the base of his throat, leaking downwards to soak into Steve's borrowed t-shirt, but he got moving when he heard Rachel's voice rising even more with Steve's octaves lower, but decidedly louder and extremely stressed. The urge to be sick was quickly forgotten as Danny descended the stairs, waking even more as he picked up more clearly on the intensity of the conversation.
"I don't think waking either one of them at this hour of the night is a good idea," Steve said, nearly all patience gone based upon tone of voice alone. "It's late. Grace is perfectly fine and you should go home. Danny will call you in the morning ... when the timing is better."
"I'm not leaving until I talk to Danny. Now. This instant," Rachel replied angrily. "And I'm certainly not leaving without Grace!"
"What the hell's going on?" Seconds later, Danny shouldered past Steve despite the way his bruised back burned from merely brushing against Steve's arm. He had gathered enough in the few minutes he'd overheard of their confrontation to understand at least one key thing. Rachel had heard something about the events from earlier that day and she'd over-reacted to an extent where she thought she'd literally demand having Grace returned.
"Steve's right. You need to leave." Danny was livid almost instantly. Woken from a deep sleep, he was at first achey and sore. Confused by the murmur of unidentifiable voices. Now though, as he gleaned more of the unexpected situation, his temper kicked in with his own indignant feelings as he looked into his ex-wife's furious face. He didn't care what she might have heard or thought, he had no intentions of changing any more of his plans that weekend.
"Where's Grace?" Rachel demanded once more, an odd look mixing both success and determination spreading across her features. She was inordinately pleased to finally see Danny appear, yet it was only because she felt that she was gaining ground. Rachel fidgeted in place her smirk easily growing as she faced Danny with a growing confidence. "Get her things together, Daniel, I'm taking her home."
"You're doing no such thing," Danny hissed. He was vibrating in place; trembling as his body argued pain medication, pain and being woken from a badly needed rest. Adrenalin now kept him on his feet and focused, but Danny was silently arguing physical ills and he knew Steve sensed it. With a steady step which he didn't quite feel, Danny took a resolute stride forward to glare more directly into Rachel's face in order to level his final decision.
"Grace isn't going anywhere tonight, and the only thing you're going to do is leave."
"Danny, calm down. Back off," Steve's voice whispered in his ear as firm hands wrapped quickly but very carefully around each of his biceps. "Calm down. Please, just take it easy." The voice was definitive in tone, but just loud enough for only him to hear. However, Danny had no intention of listening as he tried to shirk off Steve's hold but succeeded in only achieving the opposite reaction. Strong fingers tightened not only in warning, but of understanding and Danny barely managed to keep his voice to a reasonable pitch.
"You have no right. Especially here and especially now," Danny ground out dangerously. He had once told Steve of the volatility of their past arguments. He had described their joint fury and the depths of their combined ability to tear each other apart. Their hateful words showcased each at their absolute worst and right now, just eight short inches shy of the woman's newly stricken face, Danny didn't care that Steve would witness the atrocity firsthand. Not any more because he was officially done. So, let Rachel look mortified, ashamed, devastated ... because and without apology, he hoped he was indeed frightening her.
"She wants to stay and she damned well will do just that," Danny growled. "You're not going to come here in the middle of the night and make ludicrous demands, Rachel. There's nothing wrong ... nothing happened ... and you have zero rights to say one damned thing about it!"
"You think so, Daniel?" Rachel shook her head, the sneer on her lips deepening as her fist only tightened where it continued to hold the door wide open. "My daughter ..."
"Needs her father right now," Steve interrupted as he tried to remain calm for his partner's sake. The level of tension he could feel though his hands was startling, as was the instant spike of anger when Danny's muscles bunched in warning that he really might do something he'd regret later. Since that moment when Danny had come down the stairs, Steve hadn't meant to say a single word. He'd hoped their anger would diminish and peter off to nothing once Danny had weighed in and been given an opportunity to explain what Steve already had shared. Instead, a battle was being waged on his doorstep and as Danny began to unravel even more, Steve waded in defiantly. Grace needed Danny that weekend and she damn well was going to have him.
"This is ridiculous! Get out of my way," Rachel said, screwing her courage up a notch as both men held their ground. Her resentful look at Steve was just that ... irritated and filled with an unparalleled disbelief that he'd dare get involved or have opinion. "I'm taking my daughter home!"
"No. No, you're not," Steve maintained with a bit more reason than Danny had thus far been able to muster. Quietly, but firmly, Steve gently tugged Danny back a half-step into the entryway. He kept his expression utterly schooled, placid even, which was in direct contrast to Rachel Edwards' shocked expression. It was certainly also an antithesis to his best friend's visible rage which rattled Steve's hands as it coursed through a physically stressed body. "It's late and Grace is fine; she's sleeping. There's no justifiable reason for you to be here."
With both Danny and Grace finally resting inside his home after a horrendously long day, there was no way on earth he'd back down from his position. The blatant truth was clear, too. Rachel Edwards was currently not within any of her legal rights to be making any untoward demands. The only current issue which Steve felt he was faced with was how to best defuse both his friend and his friend's ex-wife. Afterwards, to then subsequently get Rachel Edwards to understand her flawed intents and do the right thing by leaving ... empty-handed.
"It's been a long day for everyone," Steve breathed out, once more hoping sensible words would prevail. "Let's all call it a night. You can both discuss this at a later time ... a much better time."
Danny's day had been long and beyond traumatic. The freak accident at the beach parking lot involving a driverless, beat up old box truck had first injured an elderly woman. The chaos had continued when the out of control truck had picked up speed on the slight grade. Traveling in reverse when its old brakes had slipped, the downward roll had sent it on a heedless trajectory directly towards Kamekona's food truck and quaint picnic area. People had screamed as the ancient rusted-out behemoth bore down on them. Some had scattered haphazardly in order to save themselves, but others had been hurt in the melee.
"Commander. Steve," Rachel dropped the tone of her voice as if to plead with the only person in the room who appeared to be rational. "You can't be serious."
She spoke around Danny as if her weren't standing directly in front of her. She stared at Steve and ignored how her tactic only served to increase Danny's disgust and anger. However, her own emotions re-intensified when Steve merely shook his head to decline without responding back with a single syllable.
Rachel heaved in a lungful of air, her eyes narrowing in distrust. She refused to budge a single inch with Danny equally entrenched in the doorway to Steve's home. With a determination which was beginning to wane, she kept her right fist planted in the middle of the front door to prevent it from being slammed into her face. Behind Danny, Steve stayed close but he was choosing not to respond to her latest entreaties, focusing instead on keeping Danny grounded.
"I want to see her," Rachel demanded again. Her tone had altered to one of a weary request, but her eyes still flashed as an angry blush began to spread upwards from her mottled neck. "At least let me see her ... I need to talk to her."
"No," Danny replied. "You want ridiculous? This is ridiculous, Rachel. You coming here, in the middle of the night, making crazy demands!" His own voice was now searingly quiet and Steve grimaced uncomfortably. Only rarely had he heard Danny so very enraged and it didn't bode well for a happy outcome.
"You can't stop me from seeing my own child," Rachel pushed out. "It's bad enough that I found out about this accident on TV ... on tonight's late night news!"
"This is where you're wrong. I can - and I will stop you," Danny vowed. "This is the last time I'm going to say it: Grace is fine and she's on my time. Your only option is to go home, Rachel."
"You have no right!" Rachel burst out, her voice rising as frustration got the better of her. Her cheeks reddened to match the sickly color staining her neck. "Why didn't anyone call me at least? Why didn't you call me, Danny?"
"Danny's right, Rachel. Grace is perfectly fine and sleeping," Steve interjected as he threw the woman a small bone, praying for a calmer distraction and cooler minds. For all intents, no one had called Rachel because nothing of note had really happened to her daughter. For all the media coverage about the freak accident, there had been scarcely any injuries at all. And of the father and daughter, only Danny had been roughed up. Based upon her current reactions though, Rachel would never believe a single word of that truth.
"Grace is okay, but I told you that already ... as did Danny. So really, as far as you taking her out of here? No, that's not something that needs to happen tonight," he repeated, a wry smirk firmly planted on his lips. "You should both let it go ... for Grace's sake."
"I don't believe you." Rachel's eyes narrowed just as her fist clenched even more tightly. Her arm was growing tired but she didn't dare move her hand from its spot on the door. "Tell me right now, how badly was Grace injured today? I don't believe either one of you."
"Listen to me! There's nothing wrong!" Danny almost shouted in frustration. He groaned as Steve delved his fingers into already bruised arms. In silent answer, Danny carefully rolled his shoulders and winced as he pulled on sore muscles and ragged skin. His concerted effort to relax was communicated through his arms to Steve and he felt the severity of the hold lessen ever so slightly. With another grimace, he lifted his left arm to run his fingers through his sweaty hair. The motion exposed the bloody road rash which ran from the base of his wrist up to his elbow and then higher into the fleshy underside of his arm. Beneath the damage, painful discoloration was already forming. More bruises speckled his lower back where his muscles had been sorely wrenched in the intentional dive he'd taken to the ground. The picnic table which he and Grace had been sitting at had been demolished by the rampant box truck just before it had come to a reluctant halt. In a nearly super-human move, Danny had used his own body to protect his daughter.
And Grace ... other than being just a bit frightened, was absolutely unscathed.
"Danno? Danno, what happened?" The aftermath had been undeniably loud and frightening, with Grace left briefly trapped between her father and the sandy ground. Kamekona had then appeared as if by magic to physically lift the shattered table from Danny's badly scuffed-up back. The picnic area had been demolished and it was truly miraculous that no one had been killed once the truck had come to a screeching, clattering stop and the proverbial dust had settled.
"Are you alright, Monkey?" Danny coughed, grimacing as his skinned neck grated with every turn of his head. "I'm not sure, but are you okay?"
"Yes," Grace sniffled. "I'm ... okay. But Danno ... your arms are bleeding."
"It's nothing ... just a few scrapes, baby," he'd said. But at the time, with his back beginning to feel as if it had been flayed, he hadn't been entirely certain of that fact.
"Daniel? You ... your arms?" For a startled moment, Rachel paused, stunned by the streaks of blood-red scratches which were only starting to scab over for their newness. She'd only returned from Maui earlier that very same evening. Like many people, she'd watched the late night news to catch up on current events. What she hadn't anticipated seeing though was a taped broadcast about a freak accident where an old box truck had slipped its brakes and rocketed backwards across a beach parking lot. People had scattered near a food truck when the errant vehicle jumped the curb, a small picnic area had been demolished, and there were a few injuries reported.
The media taping had interviewed the excited large Hawaiian owner of the food truck and Rachel would have recognized Kamekona anywhere. At first, she had smiled because the big man was eating up the attention. His flamboyant shaka sign and gregarious reassurances that this food truck was 'a-okay brah!' and that he'd be open for business very soon with new tables was endearing. Until the piece had cut to a few interviews, shots of the aftermath from the truck's out of control path of destruction, and two-second snippet of a dark-haired child that looked incredibly like her own daughter. A few desperate phone calls later had confirmed that suspicion and when neither Grace nor her ex-husband had answered her frantic calls, she'd tracked them both down.
"What? Me?" At an immediate loss to answer Rachel's sudden and very unexpected concern for him, he wound up repeating himself with Grace's frightened voice stuck in his head. He snorted in disgust, yet his tone then softened just enough to clarify his continued stance and still drive it home. "I'm good ... and as for Grace, there isn't a single scratch on her. Not a bump, or a bruise or even a splinter."
Rachel's mouth opened soundlessly and then closed, snapping shut so hard she clacked her teeth. Her eyes roamed the rest of his body, but she didn't see what was hidden on his back beneath the wrinkled t-shirt. All she could see was his bone-deep exhaustion and the slight hunch of his upper body. Rachel frowned, momentarily quieting as she decided where to go in her mind.
"Danny?" She knew that she should inquire about his injuries. She could walk away, too, just as he asked. However, she'd long ago lost her ability to be or even sound reasonable since stress and not knowing enough of the details had pushed her over a critical edge. So now, though she could see a few of Danny's scrapes and bruises for herself, those only meant Grace could also have been equally hurt. She needed Grace and she needed to get her daughter home ... safely home ... where she belonged.
"I came over here to pick up Grace. Right now. Please, get her things together and then get my daughter so I can take her home!" She frowned, her lips thinning whitely as she denied her ex-husband any courtesy. She had only briefly waffled on her decision to walk away, coming full circle back to the original purpose of her visit.
"I...no ... why?" Danny stammered inanely, his voice at first trailing off entirely only to strengthen in conviction. With a distinct effort to control both his stress and what might come out of his mouth, he shook his head, one hand waving idly through the air. "You know what? No. It's late, Rachel, and you're just gong to upset her. It's not necessary to drag her into what this is really about. We're done here. We're done ... I want you to leave ... I want you to go home."
"What are you so damned afraid of?" The abruptly confrontational question, which was entirely aimed at Rachel, came out of Steve's mouth like a thunder clap and it seemed to even startle him. All conversation came to a grinding halt and for a decent span of time, no one moved or spoke. During the tense lull, Steve garnered a deeply inhaled breath. The pause had allowed him a long second to consider something; time to allow the germ of the idea to percolate and take a firmer hold.
Fear. Of course.
"You're crazy," Rachel said to Steve before Danny could offer a comment. He was horribly wrong, so incredibly wrong and she shook her head in a vain attempt to explain herself. "I'm not afraid of anything."
"Really? Then why are you here?" Steve replied over the loud snort of disbelief which emanated out of his friend's chest.
"Because, ..." Danny breathed snidely, a strange lilt added to his voice. One that spoke now of his own hurt mistrust. "Because Rachel doesn't trust me and she wants to control everything ... including everything about my children ... before it's too late."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel whispered, hesitant now as Danny's demeanor became deathly still. "Too late for what?"
"Even before you told the truth about Charlie, I wanted you back," Danny stated softly. His voice was breathy and low. Nonetheless, his hands were fisted and his upper body a coiled mess only held together by Steve's tactile touch. But he had news for her and he decided that very moment was the single best time.
"Do you think Stan's going to walk away because you want him to? He's had a son that he's loved for three years and that man is not going to be able to do that anymore than I ever could. Is he paying for the medical bills, Rachel? The hospital, the specialized care, the multiple medical opinions? Those are no small things to ask of a man who's been that boy's father in every way since he's been born!" Danny nearly snarled his own case into her face. He was back to failing at keeping his voice low, too. With all his heart he didn't want to wake up Grace. Regardless, he could barely control himself because he had brought these very concerns to the table with Steve. Once more, the bare facts of the matter could be beyond everyone's single control once it hit a court of law. If it did ... if Stan Edwards decided to exercise any of his own just rights ... Danny would have yet another fight on his hands.
"Danny," Steve's voice broke through and shook Danny loose enough from his outrage to force him to at least inhale a settling breath. He didn't entirely cease his train of thought though; try as he may, he had to finish speaking these things which were much too close to the tip of his tongue to keep mute.
"Have you ever heard of paternity fraud, Rachel? It's when a mother lies about the biological father of her child; when she knows or suspects that he's not and still ... lies. And this is exactly what you did to me ... and to Stan, too. You lied to everyone ... you tricked me and used Stan for your own gain. You've potentially hurt our children; you could lose both of them and wind up with nothing. Isn't that right, Steve?"
"Yeah. It's the truth," Steve agreed, scowling at having to bring up their recent conversation. He fidgeted uncomfortably when Danny turned slightly to catch his eye before he sucked in a long tendril of air and nodded. "It's a valid concern for all three of you ... and for both Grace and Charlie. This isn't going to play out very pretty, for lack of a better word. And Danny's right, depending upon the courts, you could lose Charlie ... or even both children."
Rachel stared at Steve fully now, her hand dropped for the door and wound up cradling the reddened skin around her own neck. She was afraid, but all of this had happened because she loved Danny too much. But her heart lurched inside her chest as the meaning of Steve's last sentence crept nastily into her brain. She couldn't lose both Grace and Charlie ... she couldn't bear that happening.
"Charlie was never supposed to get so sick," Rachel whispered thinly. "None of this was supposed to happen."
"I'm sorry, what does that mean exactly?" It was Steve's turn to chuff his disgust. He continued to hold Danny's arms, loosely, but he didn't dare release him entirely. He could feel the ongoing tension under his fingers and he knew that his friend needed his support, now more than ever before. Emotions were still very high as the air crackled around them and Steve found himself wanting to weigh in and reinforce his friend's very valid position more and more.
"Is that your newest excuse for Danny and even for Stan? Because it's fairly obvious that you never would have confessed to who Charlie's real father was if he weren't so sick - so, is saying it out loud supposed to make this better?"
"I don't have to justify myself to you or even tell you anything at all, Commander," Rachel ground out, her eyes flashing defensively as her temper re-emerged. "You're not my interrogator and I don't owe you an explanation. What are you going to do? Arrest me if I don't leave because I came for my own daughter?"
"You have no idea how much I'd like to do that right now," Steve purred dangerously. "In the very least, you're trespassing." He was justly angry and doing his best to remain level-headed. But truth be told, he'd now had more than enough and Danny wasn't in the physical condition, nor the best frame of mind to continue.
The hour was late and the longer this continued, the more of a real dispute the situation would become and Steve didn't relish the concept of being more in the midst of a bitter dispute. Making matters so much worse, was the risk of Grace actually waking. Having her bear witness to both her parents arguing venomously wasn't something which Steve wished even in the most remote corners of his mind.
"We've all had enough for one night," Danny muttered unhappily as if reading Steve's very thoughts. He could see the pulse point slamming the thin white portion of skin by Rachel's left eye. From the inside out, it twitched and vibrated as her temper escalated. Danny took a step closer, stopped in his tracks by the strong grip on his arms, and he winced as the movement rattled sore muscles. He was determined now to put an end to the argument, but before he could get more of his logical thoughts engaged with his mouth, Rachel had begun to verbally round on Steve.
"When I found out I was pregnant with Charlie, I thought I could do it. I thought I could be the wife he needed because being a cop in New Jersey is easier than this damned Governor's Task Force. Danny's been exposed to things he never would have ... the danger is ten times worse. He's almost died ... you, Commander, have almost died! My daughter was kidnapped!" Rachel was on the verge of tears now; equally unable to put a stop to her own tirade as emotions continued to escalate.
"But ... when Danny didn't join me at the airport that night, he proved it. He didn't even call until it was too late. When the Task Force fell apart, you dragged Danny right back into it."
"Peterson had nothing to do with Five-0 and I wasn't dragged into anything against my will," Danny objected. His interruption was instantaneous. Eyes narrowing in warning, his tone was resentful as he explained what he'd done so many times in the past. "I needed to be here ... I needed to set things straight. Steve and Kono ... they both needed help and the issues with Governor Jameson were ... astronomical. The team was setup and Steve was incarcerated for something he didn't do! I couldn't just leave, Rachel. I just couldn't up and leave with things the way they were here."
"That makes it even worse," Rachel spat out. "Your loyalties are skewed, Daniel. Which family do you really want? Ours ... or this one."
"Skewed? Is that what you think?" Steve breathed out, his own disbelief now taking center stage at Rachel's choice of words. He blinked in astonishment as her definition of family also sunk into his brain. "Which ... family ... seriously? This is one whole ... there's no difference between the two. There's no separation."
"You're wrong. There's always been a difference, Commander," Rachel nearly sneered her sarcastic reply from him and then back to Danny where her eyes glittered darkly. "A big one which is even more apparent here in Hawaii ... in this universe where Danny is married to his job more than ever before - and not to me. Never to me! I can't be what you wanted, Danny. I can't pray or hope or wonder if you'll come home safely every time you walk out that door!"
"You married a cop, Rachel. What do you want me to say ... or do? Quit? Because that's never going to happen," Danny replied. He was tired, achy and completely unwilling to go down this old over-used path. He glanced over this shoulder to Steve before scowling unhappily back to Rachel. "Listen, I can't do this right now." The murmur was soft and filled with an exhausted pain; he'd absolutely had enough and needed her to leave. But he couldn't move from the front door until he was assured she'd peacefully left the house. "Rachel, go home. Please. It's late and I just can't do this right now. We've gone over this way too many times in the past and it doesn't work. We just don't work."
Steve was speechless. The two people were on entirely different planes of existence. Their perspectives were complete polar opposites. Where Rachel only saw the potential for horror and danger; Danny saw himself as in a position to protect everyone he loved. "I want to make this island a safer place for Grace, Steven." So could it really be that simple? That in her fear, Rachel tried to protect by hiding the things she loved? Hiding them away ... squirreling them away so, that her in her mind, they'd be safe?
"You don't understand because this was of life is ingrained in you ... it's part of all of you. Danny can't do this tonight? Well, I do it every day." Rachel paused to wipe frustrated tears from her face. She shrugged dramatically, her voice then breaking as she tried to explain herself.
"I didn't know what it meant to be a cop's wife until I was one and I can't be that type of person. Yes, I love Danny! But I can't give him what he needs when he gets home from work after a bad day. I learned that truth when I was pregnant with Grace ... when his first partner was ... murdered. We named our daughter after her ... and I'm honored by that, but I can't live and breathe his job alongside him every minute of every hour and be expected to keep my sanity. The horror, the fear of what Danny really did and does every single day - his normal - it could never be mine and that danger isn't a 'what if' anymore, it's only a 'when'."
"Rachel, I never asked you for anything," Danny argued. "I only wanted us to be together."
"No? Together - is that all?" Rachel snorted both words out in derision, her focus swinging wildly back towards Danny. "The cold dinners? The late nights which became no nights ... explaining to Grace why daddy isn't coming home again because he had to work ... again. Or worse yet, having to watch you leave in the middle of dinner or even during a school recital? I had to deal with the tears and the explanations - and I ran out of them! You didn't see what you were asking me to do because you weren't there, Daniel."
Rachel stood straighter, now resolute in getting out the entirety of her feelings. She glared defensively at Steve who bore witness to their argument and hadn't budged a single inch as she choked out each and every subsequent statement. "Being married to a detective is backing my car into a parking space ... just in case I need to be more aware; and I always need to be more aware ... more on my guard. I began to see criminals everywhere I went. Honest to god felons in grocery stores and even in the library. I became an extension of Danny and his work. The stress was - and is - too much. The responsibility for myself was too much and then we added Grace into the mix, and now there's Charlie to consider. Tell me, why I can't sit peacefully in a restaurant and just ... have a nice dinner? Why do I have to sit with my back to the wall and make sure I know where each and every emergency exit is located? You all might willingly accept this, but it's not the normal that I want and I can't support him like this twenty-four hours a day; seven days a week ... it's exhausting ... and terrifying."
"All of that still doesn't fully explain lying about Charlie. Not by a long shot," Steve affirmed, his fingers entangled once more on Danny's arms as a warning to remain calm and to communicate that he had support. "If you loved Danny enough, you'd be there for him no matter the circumstances. If you loved him enough and trusted him ... enough ... if you believed in him and the oath he took to protect and serve ... this thing about Charlie never would have happened. And you'd also go home tonight and leave Grace here ... with her father."
"I don't need you to understand," Rachel said. The basic truth was that she simply wasn't strong enough to be married to a cop. But even if that honest truth was broadcasted across the airwaves, her decision to hide Charlie from his father was indeed unforgivable. She couldn't deny that or claim it as part of her martial issues with Danny or her terror for his chosen profession.
"It wasn't what I meant to do," she whispered. "I made a mistake. None of this is that simple for me."
"Life isn't going to be about you all the time, Rachel," Danny replied bluntly. "I only needed to know that you were there for me. Waiting ... with some semblance of understanding ... acceptance ... despite what might or might not have happened. I wanted our family to be together. But most of all, I only ever wanted the truth from you!"
Danny wavered, paling as his final outburst used up a final spike of adrenalin-riddled reserves. For her part, Rachel seemed to see the change, too. Either that, or her own obstinate stance was weakening and coming to a close. The look on her face altered slightly as her fingers scrabbled now for the wilted neck of her blouse.
"I think that's enough," Steve affirmed, encouraging the two to call it quits. He might reluctantly understand some of what Rachel had said, but he didn't need to go any further. His loyalty was to Danny and even to Grace, who also had been damaged by her mother's actions and decisions. He cracked his jaw and heaved in another deep breath of air before letting it out with in a somewhat patient rush. He stepped forward, inserting himself gently next to Danny as way of making a further statement.
"Danny and Grace are here because Danny wasn't feeling well enough to drive after the accident at the beach, Rachel. He's got some bruises and scrapes along his arms and on his back; nothing more. When I picked them up, we came back here to rest and have dinner. That's all there is to it. Grace is perfectly fine, so go home. Like Danny said, it's late and she's sleeping and this ... argument ... if you insist on waking her up ... its just going to make her very upset. And for what reason exactly? What would that prove?"
Steve made a face about what he'd just said about Grace, momentarily losing his train of thought as he edged Danny back farther into the house. He knew he was right though and his comments had a desired impact on Rachel, too. His own hand found the door as she visibly wavered now, providing Steve with his final opportunity. "He'll have her back on time and to whatever schedule you two have worked out. But definitely, not before," he offered quietly.
Rachel's hand dropped bonelessly to her side. The three stared at each other in silence for a long heavy moment of time. The door closed then, snicking shut in its finality to that last bit of information which Steve was willing to deliver. His ultimatum about what would happen that evening was crystal clear. Rachel stood there though for a long time, just staring straight ahead. If Danny and Steve had been correct about anything, for all her pains and for all the lies she'd told, she could lose everything, including the children.
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"I'm sorry, Danny," Steve said softly. "She ... just showed up and began spouting demands. I didn't want to let her in the house or wake either of you."
"Don't be sorry," Danny replied. "I heard her voice. But she's right I guess about one thing ... I should ... should ... have called her," he ground out through clenched teeth, intentionally glossing over what just had occurred. They would talk more later. In truth, Steve hadn't said anything which wasn't valid. The blatant fact was that Danny was beyond thankful for Steve having tried to watch his back in more ways than just one. While the confrontation had been far from pleasant, Danny alone and by himself would have likely had an entirely different outcome. Their argument would have taken on even more mammoth proportions and to keep some of the peace, Danny likely would have permitted Rachel access. He would have lost an important skirmish in this new war. He would have allowed Rachel to remove Grace from his home ... and he would have been absolutely devastated. Then his thoughts fell to Grace and he inwardly cringed about the potential affect of such an event on his daughter.
"She must have gotten back early. Then she saw reports of the accident on the news. But, it's okay. Really," Danny whispered, glancing unhappily to the foot of the long staircase. Coming down the flight, distracted by an unannounced visitor was one thing. Climbing back up with his scoured skin stinging and bruised muscles screaming with every step, was going to feel like an impossible chore.
"Are you sure?" Steve asked. He was incredibly worried and he needed a bit more than a simple 'okay' to confirm he'd not gone too far. Way too far.
"Steve, it's really ... truly ... okay and I'm glad you were there," Danny declared. He grinned soothingly and then wobbled, with Steve having to catch most of his weight. He shook his head ruefully as he pushed Rachel from his mind and the real physical aches of the returned in earnest. His first few steps pulled on tight abrasions which made him wince even more. "Man, I hurt."
"I know," Steve sighed regrettably, not only for the unexpected stress which Danny had been forced to endure, but also for his obvious discomfort. Readjusting his hand to brace Danny's elbow without hurting him even more, he could literally feel how all the energy had been drained from his friend. "We'll go slow ... just tell me if I hurt you, or if you need to take a break."
"Thanks," Danny murmured under his breath. "Slow is good." Every part of his back ached, scored by the rough boards of the picnic table when it splintered. The scrapes, cuts and bruises were all technically very superficial. But he couldn't sit with ease, or even lay on his back on a soft mattress. The softest t-shirt caused a scratchy pain where it snagged the ruined skin. Only the array of ointments and antibiotic creams smeared over his arms and the skin of his back were a blessing. Yet, they still didn't help with easing the pain which flared with every move he made, so he'd been reluctantly taking pain medication, too.
The two turned at a painfully slow rate to begin their careful ascent back up the stairs. But they stopped in their tracks when they saw the little girl at the top of the staircase. Wearing one of Steve's over-sized t-shirts which hung to her knees, Grace was standing motionless. Just watching.
"Grace? Monkey, how long have you been standing there?" Danny asked worriedly.
"I love you, Danno," Grace whispered. Her eyes were shining with tears yet none would be falling. Danny could easily tell that by the stern tilt of her chin. But when she spoke, the tears were evident in her voice, evenly measured with just enough anger. However, long she'd been there, she'd certainly heard quite a bit.
"I'm going to stay with you ... live with you. I"m old enough to decide for myself and it's what I want. There's a bus stop for school right at the corner of your house ... I'm old enough to be alone until you get home from work .. and it's closer to school, too. Even the high school is going to be closer, Danno!" With ever word, she was advancing towards them, her eyes solely on her father. By the time she'd stated her last word, she was one step above Danny and losing the battle with herself to not cry.
"I can and I will," she breathed out adamantly. "It's my choice. Mine and nobody else's ... mine."
He shushed her with a finger to her lips. His thumb wiped the lone tear which had managed to break loose on a downward track. But his teary-eyed smile of pride told her all she needed to know.
~ END ~