A/N: The final chapter of Family Ties is here! I cannot believe this is the end. I've been writing this story for almost a year and a half, and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself now. This little family has become my pride and joy and I've enjoyed writing them immensely! I hope you've enjoyed reading about their lives as well!

For now, I am considering this story complete. I may come back and add an epilogue in the future or I may even decide to write another story, but for now I'm ready to move away from this verse for a little while. I will be posting companion pieces from time to time, but I'm going to be trying my hand at some other stories. If you are interested in seeing other things I write or to see if anything new is posted in this verse, be sure to add me to author alert!

I want to thank every single one of my readers, especially those who have left me amazingly supportive comments on every chapter! And those that have stuck by this story from the beginning. You have made this journey unforgettable.

Finally, thanks to my amazing beta jerseybelle for all of her help in this chapter and every other one! She's the greatest and this story wouldn't be here without her :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

*Steve's POV*

The car ride home was eerily silent. Avery sat in the passenger seat with tears making their way down her cheeks, but when Steve reached over to console her she pulled away; he hadn't tried again.

He should have kept his temper in check, he knew this, but Gwen just pushed all the right buttons and forced him into situations he wasn't ready to handle.

Danny and Grace were already home by the time they pulled into the driveway. Avery didn't waste a moment opening her door and running up the sidewalk. By the time Steve made it into the house, Danny was already out of the kitchen and in the front hallway looking concerned.

"What happened," he asked as Steve closed and locked the door behind him.

"Gwen was there, we had words."

"You had words, Steven, words. You didn't think that maybe yelling at our daughter's mother in the middle of the fucking pool parking lot probably wasn't a good idea."

"I wasn't thinking, Danny, god. Just ease up a little okay. I understand that I fucked up, but I just, I couldn't. I've spent the past six weeks blaming myself for the fact that Avery's had to go through all of this. It's my fault that she's been hurt and broken and thrown around by a woman who doesn't give a shit. She showed up and I snapped; I couldn't reel it in even if I wanted to. Just, fuck, just step back a little okay, you have no idea how this feels."

"I don't know how this feels," Danny yelled, throwing his hands up in disbelief before running them through his hair. "You think I don't know what this feels like? I've been here every damn day, seeing her go up and down for months. I've been here when she comes home after a good meeting and thinks that maybe, just maybe, she's actually going to have a mom. And I was here after the bad days when she came home not sure if her mom was going to be there the next time she called. Okay, don't you dare say I don't know what it feels like. I've considered that girl my daughter since she was five and it kills me just as much as you to see her suffer."

Steve officially felt like shit.

"Danno, I'm sorry," Steve stepped closer, hanging his head in embarrassment. Gwen had fucked with his mind more than he thought. "I shouldn't be yelling at you. I, fuck, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I mean, it sucks you don't realize when you aren't alone in dealing with this, but I'm glad you saw that you were being a stubborn ass."

Steve smirked, "I like that."

"Like what?"

"The whole give me a compliment while still criticizing me. Sometimes I forget how far along your communication skills have come."

Danny laughed and pushed Steve gently, making him stumble, "Well my communication skills are definitely better than some people. C'mon, I'm making dinner, why don't you help."

Steve glanced up towards the stairs and the bedroom door he knew was closed.

Danny pulled at his arm, steering him in the direction of the kitchen, "Let her be, we'll talk to her together."

They chopped and seasoned and cooked in silence, but it was a good silence, a comfortable silence. Steve finally felt like it was starting to feel like home again, that he was beginning to fit back into their routine. That was always the hardest part when he came back from deployment. His family had to learn how to live without him, so routines were changed and responsibilities were delegated to different people; it was always weird the first few days back when he had to find where he fit again, where his place was.

For some men it might have been difficult to see their family doing so well without him, but it always filled Steve with joy, knowing his family was strong enough to continue in his absence. It was the only thing that allowed him to keep his mind on the mission, knowing that his home, his family, would be okay if he never came home.

Danny broke the silence ten minutes before dinner was ready, "So, on a scale of one to ten, how awful is the Gwen situation now?"

"A zero."

"Did you forget how to count while you were away? Zero doesn't fall between one and ten."

"The situation doesn't exist anymore. After Avery yelled at her and told her she wasn't interested Gwen said fine and that she was done trying. I'm sure we'll be hearing from the lawyer in the next few days."

"Oh, wow, that seems like a quick resolve? I was really expecting to have to go into a full-out court battle."

"Well, when you think about it, Gwen's been looking for an out since she got here. She never actually wanted to be a mother, but her boyfriend insisted. This way, with Avery saying no or maybe me standing in the way, who knows what she will actually tell the guy, she can move on without having to be the one who said no. I don't think she wanted a court case anymore than we did. I just wish she'd been smart enough to stay away from the beginning. I feel like we're going to be fixing the mess she made for a long time."

Danny nodded, "Yup, one big happy, screwed-up family."

"I think we have a pretty good family, Danno. I mean look around us. We have a beautiful home on the beach, two girls who, all things considered, are really excelling in life, jobs we love, friends who care about us, and we have a loving, fulfilling marriage. I think there a lot of people who would kill for our life. I mean, sure, we've had our bumps, but I think we've come out the other side looking pretty good."

Danny leaned into Steve's embrace as he came up behind him, snaking his arms around Danny's waist. "Yeah, Steve, we have an amazing family. Do you think Avery's ever going to be the same?"

"No, I don't," Steve answered, pulling away enough for Danny to turn around in his arms so they were facing each other. "I think this experience will change her a little, hardened her somewhat to what the world may do to her, but I think she will always be our Avery. She's always going to be our fish out of water, secretly obsessed with cooking unhealthy food and being terrible at hiding it, and have the biggest heart for the people who mean the most to her. Experiences like this will shape you, but they aren't going to change who she is at her core; she's always going to be our girl."

"Until she's Ian's girl," Danny responded.

Steve laughed, "Yeah, I'd give that maybe a week or two, though I am going to miss seeing them miserably trying to keep their feelings for each other hidden."

"They're growing up, huh?"

"Yup, think we can make it stop?"

Danny kissed him softly, "Nope, but we can certainly make it a little harder for them."

"Oh, we're just getting started with the whole torturing boys thing. I've got ideas, don't worry."

"You have ideas, Steve, of course I'm going to worry."

Steve didn't respond, just smacked Danny's ass as he walked by to get dinner out of the oven.

"Behave, your daughters are upstairs."

"But upstairs is so far away."

Dinner ended up being a little overcooked that night, but Steve and Danny hardly noticed because they couldn't stop smiling.

*H50*

A few days later Steve and Danny were coming home from work when they noticed the lights on in the house. Neither girl was supposed to be home yet, so they pulled out their sidearms and approached the house slowly.

Unlocking the front door very quietly, Steve pushed in first, gun raised in preparation, Danny followed closely behind. Both men's eyes locked onto the scene in front of them, and Steve was about to open his mouth, but Danny beat him too it.

"What the hell are you doing," Danny yelled, scaring Ian and Avery who were on the couch making out. They flew apart, both wearing matching deer-in-the-headlights expressions.

"Um."

"Get out," Danny yelled, motioning towards Ian with his gun. "Get out and don't come back until you hear differently from me or Steve."

"Danno!" Avery yelled, jumping up as Ian rushed out of the house.

"Maybe we should lower the weapon, Danno," Steve tried to calm him down with a little humor.

"Avery Lynne McGarrett, what do you think you are doing," Danny started, "Under no circumstances are you allowed to have a male visitor over like this. You can't see Ian until we say so, no arguments."

"You can't tell me what to do, you aren't my real father," Avery yelled at Danny as she bounded up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door.

Steve glanced at Danny's hurt eyes for no more than a moment before following his stubborn daughter to the second floor. Without bothering to knock, he opened the door to Avery's bedroom to find her sitting on the bed, her hands balled into fists.

"Avery Lynne McGarrett if you think even for one second that you are going to get away with saying things like that you are going to be sorry," Steve yelled. He closed the distance between them quickly, his looming form standing over her.

"He's not my real father so he cannot tell me what to do and who I'm allowed to see."

Steve's face darkened even more, "That man has been in your life for ten years. He took care of you when you had the chicken pox, he held you at night when you had nightmares about me while I was deployed, and he brought you to school on your first day of high school and parked down the street from the building so no one would see him. He has sacrificed everything for you, just like I have. He loves you and cares about you. He adopted you, which makes him your real father."

"I don't care," Avery yelled back as she stood up to square off with her father, "If he won't let me see Ian than he's not any father I want to know."

"If being present at your conception is your criteria for being a real father, then I'm saying you can't see Ian. You want to argue that point with me, good luck trying to convince me I wasn't there that night."

"Dad, that's so unfair."

"No, what's unfair is the way you treated Danno. He has just as much right to tell you not to see someone as I do. And if you are going to behave like an immature little girl, that's how I'm going to treat you. Little girls don't get to date, so you are not allowed to see Ian except at practice, where I will be watching."

"Dad, no!"

"This discussion is over, Avery," Steve said as he began to walk out of the room, "You are grounded until further notice – practice, school, home – those are your three new favorite places. Now get your suit on, we're going for a swim."

Steve closed the door behind him, trying to take deep breaths to calm down his fledging anger. He walked back downstairs to find Danny sitting on the couch, hands running through his hair.

"Danny," Steve started, but Danny cut him off before he could continue.

"Don't start, Steven. I have no idea why I did that. I like Ian, I mean, god, you and I have been joking about those two for weeks; we knew it was coming. I just, I don't know, I saw her here, in our house, alone, making out with a boy and I panicked. This is Ian; we've known him since he was twelve and hadn't yet grown into his long arms. We know his parents and we know he'll treat Avery like gold, so why did I freak out? My relationship with her is already tenuous at best because of all the crap with Gwen; I don't need another reason to have her hating me. Fuck."

Steve sat down next him on the couch, rubbing a hand up and down Danny's back. "Relax, Danny. She's going to calm down, and everything will get better, I promise. Even if you did act rashly, and even though we do like Ian, that doesn't mean that what she said was right, and it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have been upset. I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't care who the guy is, she or Grace are not allowed to have boys over when we aren't home. I don't want her here, alone, making out with some guy in the semi-dark of our living room. I was about five seconds away from yelling almost the same thing. Don't beat yourself up, okay. We both freaked, you and your mouth just got there before I did."

Danny looked up at Steve with glassy eyes, "I feel like I've lost her."

"You haven't, Danno," Steve grabbed Danny's hand in his own. "She's just lost and confused and hurt. She's been through so much these past six months, you all have. It's going to take some time to get back to normal. You are her father and she absolutely thinks of you that way. She loves you more than this world; she just needs some time to remember that."

"I just don't know if there's anything more I can do."

Steve had never seen Danny so broken, so hopeless. Even when it seemed like Rachel was going to take Grace away to Las Vegas or he let Matt get away, there was still a tiny spark of something in his eye, a tiny spark of hope that things would start to look a little bit better. But now Steve didn't see any of that; he saw a man who had truly given up hope and it broke Steve's heart.

"Danno," Steve's voice caught in his throat, emotion threatening to spill over. "She will always be your daughter. Don't give up hope. She has to be the one to fix it. I know it sucks, but we have to treat her like she's growing up, you have to let her come to you."

Steve pulled Danny close to him, feeling the smaller man shake in his arms.

Avery was in so much trouble Steve couldn't even put into words what her punishment was going to be like.

"I'm ready to go, Dad." Avery stood at the bottom of the stairs, her arms crossed and sarcasm dripping from every word.

Steve looked at Danny who nodded, letting Steve know he was going to be okay. He ran upstairs to grab his trunks and met Avery down by the water.

"We're swimming out to the cove."

"What? That's over a mile and a half. I've already had practice today."

"If you think whining is going to make your punishment last any shorter you are sorely mistaken. You cannot even begin to fathom how pissed I am at you right now for what you said."

"What I said," Avery gasped, "I did nothing but kiss my boyfriend, a boy who both you and Danno approve of, and Danno went batshit insane. He must get it from you."

"Check the sarcasm right now, you hear? I hear it again and your punishment won't last a month, it will be two. And regardless of whether we approve of the boy or not, you cannot hang out in our house, unsupervised, with him."

"Ian and I have hung out alone a hundred times."

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "Avery, I know that you are an intelligent young lady. And because of this I know that you realize that this is not the same as those hundred other times. When your relationship with Ian changed, the rules changed. He's also coming over for dinner soon. Regardless of what happened today, I'm happy that you found someone who makes you happy, but that doesn't make what you did okay. And it especially does not excuse you for talking to Danno the way you did."

"I was just pissed, okay. I don't want Ian to think I'm lame because my parents are overprotective."

"I'm still not seeing how any of that still gives you the right to make Danno believe you don't want to be his daughter anymore."

"What," Avery screeched, "I don't want that at all."

"Well, what's he supposed to think? You've spent months giving him the cold shoulder, barely opening up to him about what you're feeling about the whole Gwen situation, and then you told him that he isn't your real father. You know just as well as I do that family is everything to Danno. If you say something like that he's going to take you seriously; he's going to believe you on some level."

"I didn't want him to think I don't love him or want him to be my father, honest. It just slipped out because I was mad."

"I'm not the person who needs to hear this. I would suggest thinking long and hard about how you're going to rectify this situation."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, we can go halfway to the cove and back, but you can't stop till you get back to the beach."

Avery came in a full five minutes before Steve did, and immediately ran inside the house.

*H50*

Steve toweled off outside on the lanai before stepping inside. Grace was sitting at the kitchen table reading her Chemistry book.

"Hey, Grace Face, how's it going?"

"Good," Grace shrugged.

"Want to go with me to get some shave ice?"

"Isn't dinner in like two hours? You guys never let us have treats that close to dinner time. I think there was a whole speech involved about healthy eating and heart attacks and blood pressure. You had charts and everything."

Steve blushed a little, "Okay, that was probably a little overkill."

"A little," Grace huffed.

"Okay, a lot overkill, but back in the day you were just as obsessed about health and good eating habits as I am."

"Impossible."

"You spent at least a year calling either me or your dad every day to double-check that Danny was bringing something healthy for lunch. When we came and talked to you about Danny and me starting our relationship and how things would change, you asked me, dead serious, that if your Danno was my boyfriend did that mean I would make sure he ate healthy. I promised you that day I would always make sure he stayed healthy. I don't plan on breaking that promise anytime soon, hence the lecture. But, I do think we can cheat a little, just for today."

"Alright," Grace smiled, closing her book. "Anything to stop reading this stupid book."

"Hey now, chemistry is cool."

"Only you think that, Dad."

Steve couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face. Ever since he had gotten back from deployment Grace had pretty much exclusively called him Dad. He had never cared what she called him, but he wasn't going to lie and say it didn't feel amazing every time he heard it.

They pulled up to the Waiola Shave Ice stand, the only shave ice worth having on the whole island according to anyone who knew anything about shave ice, twenty minutes later. Grace ordered her usual grape cone and Steve ordered strawberry. They sat down at a picnic table by the edge of the beach while they waited for Kamekona to finish their order.

"How are you doing, Grace, with everything?"

Steve and Grace really hadn't had the opportunity to talk about everything going on in her life since Steve had come back from deployment. Gwen and Avery had monopolized his time, and he was trying his best to make up for that.

"I finally told Danno everything and he was so pissed, but he was really supportive too, like you said he would be. I just wish you had been here, you know, it's always been easier to talk to you about some of this stuff. I think sometimes Danno thinks he's failed as my dad or something because he didn't win the custody battle the first time around. I just don't think he understands that you and he were the only real parents I ever had. I mean Mom was good for a while, but as the years went on and her relationship with Stan got strained, well, her parenting skills weren't the best. I may not have lived with you guys full time or have gotten all the fancy gifts from you guys, but that stuff doesn't matter. When it comes down to it you guys were the only ones who ever let me be me and supported me in whatever my dreams were."

"Grace, all we've ever wanted is for you to follow your dreams."

"Did Danno tell you why Mom hit me?"

"No, he didn't tell me."

"She hit me because I told her that I wanted to go to college at Annapolis, like my dad."

Steve felt like his breath had been knocked out of him. Grace wanted to follow after him, even after all the times he had left them to fend for themselves, she still looked up to him as someone to emulate.

"Wow, Gracie, I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll help me write the most kick-ass college essay ever and we'll be good," Grace smiled over at him, flicking a piece of ice from her shave ice at him.

He tried to swat it away, but he missed and it hit him in the eye. "Well, with aim like that I think the Navy will be lucky to have you."

"Mom wants me to go to Yale or Brown. She said that no daughter of hers would ever be in the military."

"Your Mom is a little lost right now, but no matter what, Danno and I will always support your dreams."

"I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Grace Face."

Steve and Grace finished their shave ice while Grace filled Steve in on every detail of her life, everything he missed during deployment. It felt good to have this time with her, to know that she was doing okay, not perfect, but she was doing okay.

It gave him hope, gave him faith, that they would all be okay.

They had to be.

He didn't know what he would do if they weren't.

They talked for over an hour before Steve looked at his watch and realized they were going to be late for dinner.

"Crap, c'mon Grace, we've gotta go before Danny realizes we've spent the last hour and a half eating shave ice."

When they got home Danny was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV.

"Hey," Steve greeted, bending down to place a quick kiss on Danny's lips.

"Hey, babe, Grace. Where were you guys," Danny asked suspiciously, his cop senses beginning to tingle.

"We were just chatting, Danno." Grace bounced over to Danny on the couch, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Stop being so distrusting. What could we have possible gotten up to?"

"Grace, baby, you do realize that you are talking about Steve, right? I can list to you the number of ways he may cause havoc."

"But what about me, Danno?"

"Well, you have perfected the innocent angel persona over the years, but I've been privy to your ways for a long time."

"Aw shucks, Steve, he's onto us."

Steve laughed. "But, wait, who's cooking dinner then if you're sitting here?"

"Avery. You were right."

Steve's mouth dropped open, "I'm sorry, are you admitting that I'm right about something? Oh, alert the presses, Danno has finally admitted that I'm right."

"Hardy har har, bastard."

"Oo, such bad language in front of your daughter. You kiss her with that mouth?"

"Watch it, Steven, or I'll take back what I just said."

"Danno, you're the greatest husband, even with your foul Jersey mouth," Steve mocked. "But, enlighten me, what am I right about?"

"That I should let Avery come to me."

"Dinner's ready," Avery shouted from the kitchen. "I hope you're all hungry!"

Steve and Grace caught each other's eyes and sniggered.

"Don't think I won't figure out where you two were," Danny threatened as he followed them into the kitchen. "Smells delicious, Aves, what are we having?"

"Lasagna, homemade bread, green beans, and roasted carrots. And I got cocoa puffs and malasadas from the bakery down the street for dessert."

"These are all of Danno's favorites," Grace observed.

Avery nodded, "This is my apology, or at least the best way I know how to apologize."

She looked up at Danny. "Danno, I can't even begin to imagine what I've put you through these past few months. I just, I wasn't myself, and what I said today, it wasn't fair to you. You've been there for me through everything, and I just threw it all back in your face. I know that I haven't been easy to deal with these past few months with Gwen coming back and me basically becoming the world's biggest bitch."

"Language," Steve admonished, but Avery kept going like she hadn't heard.

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I treated you the way that I did and I'm sorry I ever made you doubt my love for you. Even though I said you weren't, you are my real father. You always will be. I was blinded by what all the kids at school were saying, and I held onto a false hope that maybe my mom actually wasn't a horrible person. But what I forgot was that I didn't need a mom because I had you and Dad and Grace. I don't need anyone else in my life. So, I know that I'm still in like ridiculous amounts of trouble, but I hope at least this will help make up for everything I've put you through and help you remember that I love you more than anything, and that you will always be my dad."

"Munchkin, get over here," Danny gestured for Avery to walk forward and he pulled her close. "I will love you forever and always, Aves, no matter what."

Steve watched as two of the most important people in his life embraced and began to repair their broken relationship. They sat down a few minutes later to their first family meal since Steve's return.

He looked around at the table as Avery's eyes sparkled in the evening sun and Grace laughed at something Danny said. He came to Hawaii eleven years ago scared to death about what it was going to be like to be a single dad, not sure if he could even be a full-time dad. Now he's sitting at his kitchen table, two daughters and a husband sitting with him, and it felt right, it felt whole.

His family was complete and his life had meaning. There was nothing else that Steve McGarrett could possibly ask for because family always brought you home.