So this is it. I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for reading all the way through, and for every bit of support you've given me. I truly hope this has been an enjoyable experience.

I'd love to know what you guys thought of the story as a whole. Leave a comment if you can, even if it's just a few words. Feedback is always deeply appreciated, it helps me improve my writing and get motivated to write more.

Mahalo nui loa!

I hope you like the ending. Enjoy! =)

About 5 years later

"Steve, Steve, Steve," Danny tried to call, but it was too late, Steve was already going inside.

They were in the middle of an investigation, trying to dismantle a drug ring, and they had just received a tip regarding the location of one of the handlers. Danny and Steve were closer to the address, so they headed there before the others. After doing recon of the area, Steve had reached the conclusion – for some reason that Danny couldn't possibly fathom – that it would be okay to go inside without back-up.

"Fuck," Danny muttered under his breath and went after Steve. It's not like he had a choice now, he couldn't let the crazy bastard go inside on his own.

They went their separate ways when they entered the house to clear all the rooms. When Danny was coming back, he could hear a struggle going on at the other end of the house and he rushed over there, his heart leaping to his throat. Seriously, would it be too hard for that man to keep himself out of trouble for more than five minutes? When he got there, Steve was crouching over a man, a knee on his back, handcuffing him.

"What took you so long, Danno?" Steve was sporting one of his most annoying smug grins, the lopsided one, that made Danny unreasonably angry and strangely turned on.

"There's something seriously wrong with you, you know that? What if there'd been more than one guy, huh? What if he'd had a gun? Did you even stop to think of that? No, of course not, because you never stop to think." Danny was in full-on overly-furious rant mode, which he knew was his way to let out the tension that built inside him every time he felt like Steve could be in danger. It was just easier to deal with that like that than let the worry seep through. He didn't think he could handle it if he had to acknowledge how sick he felt every time he was reminded that he could lose Steve at any moment.

"Relax, Danny, everything's fine. We got the guy, and he's gonna give us all the other names we need, now, won't he?" Steve tugged the handcuffs tighter and pressed his knee harder on the man's back. The man grunted and tried to squirm away, but it was obviously pointless.

They were leaving the house and Danny was slowly getting his breathing under control. He hadn't stopped talking yet, he still had a lot more to say to Steve.

"You're just reckless. You have no regard for your safety, or mine, or anyone else's, for that matter."

"Danny, I had it under control."

"Of course you did. Under whatever passes for control in that freaky SEAL head of yours. What's getting shot if you're used to having IEDs blow up in your face, right?"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating? No one got shot."

"No, I am not exaggerating. There is no exaggeration here. This is just me being someone who doesn't have a death wish. I have a daughter, you know that? And I'd like to be alive to see her grow up."

"Oh, you have a daughter? Really? This is news to me."

"Oh, funny. Now he's trying to be funny."

They were in the car already, suspect safely restrained in the back seat, heading back to HQ.

"Would you just let it go? I'm okay, you're okay, the suspect is okay, everything's fine."

"Yeah, sure, everything is fine. I nearly have a heart attack, but hey, everything is fine now. You're such a jerk, you know that? Honestly, I don't even know why I married you sometimes."

"That's because you love me, Danno."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure of that."

Steve turned to look at him, the smug smile still there, but it now carried a tone of warm fondness that always turned Danny into a pile of goo. "Yeah, you are."

"Asshole," Danny muttered, but he was smiling now.

xXxXx

They were back in HQ ten minutes later, suspect in tow. They were leading him to the interrogation room, when Lori stopped them.

"Don't you guys have somewhere you should be?"

Steve glanced at his watch and turned to Danny. "Shit, we're gonna be late for our flight."

"But what about..."

"Don't worry about it." Chin was coming from his office. "We'll take care of it. Go celebrate."

"You sure?" Steve asked, not entirely happy with the idea of his team having to deal with the case on their own while he went gallivanting with Danny.

"Yes, I'm sure. Come on, guys, this is the one time of the year you give yourselves some time off. Go, have fun, we'll see you on Monday."

Steve still looked unsure, and Danny grabbed his arm and started pulling.

"C'mon, babe, let's go. They got it covered and Chin is right. You know this is something we can't miss."

"Okay, fine, but you call us if you need anything."

"Sure, I promise I won't," Chin said with his kind, calm smile. "Now get your asses outta here."

xXxXx

They made their flight just in time, and the plane took off not five minutes after they had taken their seats. Of course, being Five-0 had its perks as usual, and they'd let them on the plane long after the gate had closed.

"Okay, now you shut up and don't talk to me until we land. I need to sleep," Danny said with his usual delicate attitude.

"Oh, honey, you say the sweetest things."

"Steven, you know if I don't sleep I'm gonna be cranky, and I don't wanna be cranky tomorrow, of all days tomorrow. So just let me sleep."

"Yes, Daniel, I know. I've experienced you cranky enough times to know that I don't want that on our anniversary."

"Exactly." Danny snuggled against the pillow trying to make himself comfortable.

"Don't worry, I'll watch over you." Steve smiled and he still surprised himself by how much he loved this man. He had to be really far gone to still feel all this fondness overcoming him even when Danny was being like that.

"Goof," Danny murmured, already sounding sleepy. But Steve didn't miss the soft smile on his face.

xXxXx

They slept a little more at the hotel, and then headed to the destination they'd chosen to spend their celebration lunch. They were now sitting on the grass, cooler with sandwiches and beer right by their side.

"D'ya think the team would think it too weird that we choose to come here every year on our anniversary?" Danny asked, arranging the bouquet of flowers that he had in his hands.

"No, I think they'd understand. But they would make fun of us for being so sentimental."

"This is not being sentimental, this is showing gratitude. Which I think is very important, especially in this case."

"Couldn't agree more. Now let's start this thing."

Steve opened the bottles of beer while Danny placed the flowers gently by the tombstone.

"Hey, Aunt Deb," Steve started. "So, another year has gone by and here we are." He turned to look at Danny, who was smiling at him, that softness around his eyes that always made something inside him go all gooey. "It's been a good year. Work is tough sometimes, you know that it can be dangerous and we had some pretty complicated stuff happen this year, but we've managed."

"Barely," Danny huffed.

"What?" Steve turns back to look at Danny, mildly annoyed. "Danny, that's not true. You know damn well that even with everything that's happened we've both managed to go through it all pretty much unscathed."

"Ha, right. Listen to this, Aunt Deb, and I know you'll side with me on this. First thing that happens is he gets me shot."

"I didn't... It wasn't my fault."

"Shush, I'm talking here." Danny puts a finger right in front of Steve's face, then turns back to the tombstone. "So, yeah, he gets me shot. Not three months later, he makes me twist my ankle."

"Me? How could I have made you twist your ankle, Danny?"

"Shhh, you're interrupting me. That's very rude. Don't you think it's rude, Aunt Deb? See, she agrees with me."

Steve mutters something not appropriate for a day of celebration when you are close to loved ones under his breath and Danny keeps going.

"Anyway, after that I pull my back while we're-"

"Hey! Don't tell her that."

"Why not?"

"She's my aunt. We're not talking about that with her."

"Fine, whatever, it's not important how it happened. But you have to conceded that that one was undoubtedly your fault."

"Yeah, fine, that time it was. Only that time. But I apologized and made it up to you when you had healed."

"Never said you didn't. But you see, Aunt Deb, you see what I have to deal with here? I gotta tell you, this nephew of yours, he's a menace. How I'm still in one piece baffles me."

"Well, yeah, maybe you do get hurt a lot. But – as I'm sure you've noticed, Deb – this guy, he will not stop complaining a single second. So maybe I am a bit of a thrill seeker-" Danny scoffed at that and Steve glared at him, "but I have to be to let off some of the stress that comes from dealing with the constant moaning."

"You never complain when I moan." Danny's voice got all sexy and he was leaning seductively towards Steve.

"Danny! Not in front of her!"

"Well, maybe she should know. This is a very important and enjoyable part of our relationship, so maybe she should take some credit for that, too."

"No, no, we are not going there."

"Fine, I'm not saying anything else." Danny turned back to the tombstone and whispered. "But I still think you deserve the credit." He winked.

"Okay, now, can we stop fighting in front of her? She's gonna start thinking that she was wrong about us."

"Steve, her knowledge is all encompassing now. She knows we're happy, she knows how much I love you and how much you love me and she knows that getting together was the best thing that ever happened to both of us. Well, actually, second best thing. You know I can't put you above Grace."

"Yes, Danny, I know. Would never expect you to."

"But you, my friend, are a close second. Very close second. So close, in fact, that you can barely see the distance."

Steve knew he had a silly smile on his face, but he couldn't help it. If he sometimes still surprised himself by how much he loved Danny, he was always even more surprised by how much Danny loved him.

"Oh, god, you're such a sappy goof. C'mere." Danny pulled Steve into a kiss, a soft, gentle, loving kiss that made Steve melt. The kiss went on for a while, and when Danny pulled back Steve didn't want it to end. "See? Now she's seen it. She knows."

Steve just hmmed and rested his forehead on Danny's, lightly stroking his cheek with his fingers, enjoying the moment. He sighed and pulled back then started talking to Aunt Deb again.

"Anyway, speaking of Grace, she got a boyfriend this year."

"No, no, she did not get a boyfriend. She was just moderately infatuated with a boy for a barely noticeable period of time."

"She got a boyfriend," Steve kept speaking as if Danny hadn't said anything. "And Overprotective Daddy over here followed them on their first date."

"Now, Steve, you're being very unfair. I did not follow them, I was merely looking for my daughter, who'd gone MIA."

"Danny, you tracked her cell phone."

"She'd lied to me! She wasn't where she said she would be. What if something bad had happened, huh? It was my duty as a father and as a cop to make sure she was okay."

"Sure, if telling yourself that makes you feel any better about stalking your child."

"I was not stalking, Steven, that was not stalking. It wasn't my fault if when I finally found her I saw her with that slimy, despicable kid, and she needed me there, because he was all over her, in a very inappropriate way."

"They were holding hands!"

"That's what you chose to see. I, who am trained to observe this sort of thing, saw the look in that boy's eyes, and I knew he was up to no good."

"Oh, lord. Thankfully, Deb, I was there with him, and was able to make him see sense and backtrack before he went to confront – his words – the poor little kid."

"Poor little kid," Danny scoffed. "The only reason I agreed to leave was because I didn't want to subject my little girl to a scene."

"No, that's not what happened. What, you think I don't know you? You think I didn't see that look in your eyes when you finally realized – after a very long talk – that she was actually happy and having fun and you – very wisely – decided to let her grow up a little?"

Danny muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I'm just saying that if something ever happens to her because I was too careless and let her spend time with that... that..." Danny waved his hand around, for once not finding the perfect word – or ten – to say what he wanted. "I'm blaming you."

"And I will fully accept the blame. Whack-job," Steve added the last word in a barely audible whisper.

"I heard that."

"Good, you were supposed to. So, getting back on track. We're taking Mary out for dinner tonight, as usual. She's making us take her to Providence. I'm starting to think that she's taking advantage of our softness regarding this particular circumstance."

"You're starting to think? I've been completely sure of that since our first anniversary."

"Yeah, well, it's not like she doesn't deserve it. We'd take you, too, if we could. None of this would have happened without you two, and we both couldn't be more grateful."

"Hear, hear."

"And right after that, we're going up north for the weekend, because, yes, you guessed it... Danno, the weirdo wants some snow. Can you believe it? The guy lives in Hawaii, and he wants snow."

"And what's wrong with that, Steven? I live in constant summer. All year round. Every day. I mean every single day. Is it too much to ask to have a bit of cold? Just a little bit, for a mere two days of the year? Huh? Huh?"

"If you want snow so much, why can't we just go to Mauna Kea? It would be a whole lot cheaper, and you could even do it more often."

"Oh, okay, forgive me if I don't want to go back to the place where we were trapped for hours and I almost died."

"Oh, dear god, you didn't almost die. Do you always have to be so dramatic? Is that entirely necessary?"

"I'm not being dramatic, I just value my life, alright?"

"Well, I value your life, too, and I know you weren't in any danger."

"Whatever."

"Can we get back to this? Please?"

"Yes, Steve. Go ahead."

Steve took a deep breath and faced the stone again.

"I miss you, Aunt Deb. And I wish you could have met Danny and Gracie. I wish you could see this beautiful family I have now. I know you would've been proud, and I know you would've been happy that you somehow had a hand in this, that what you couldn't live yourself was passed on, in a way. That I'm happy now, happier than I've ever been in my entire life, because you talked some sense into me. I promise I'll try never to be that stupid again." Steve grabbed the bottles he'd set aside and handed one to Danny. "Thank you, Aunt Deb. I love you."

They clinked their bottles against the stone and then against each other's. After taking a sip, Steve gazed into Danny's loving eyes and leaned in for a kiss, hoping they'd be coming back to that place until the day he could see his aunt again.