"Hey, Danno."

"Hey, babe." As soon as he heard those two words, Steve breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head into his pillow. He'd waited until he went to bed before calling his lover, not because he didn't want to as soon as the mornings events had happened, but because he wanted to give Danny more time with his son before he dropped Charlie off at Rachel's. Upon learning that Mary, Joan and Deb were coming to stay for the weekend, Grace cancelled all her plans with her friends so she could stay at Steve and Danny's and see them.

Steve asked how Danny's day with Charlie at the beach went, and closed his eyes and he felt himself start to relax as he listened to the man detail every aspect of the day, and that he was now on his way back home. He almost forgot the real reason he phoned. Until Danny asked the fatal question.

"How's Deb doing?" Steve felt like his heart stopped for a few seconds as he came back to reality with a bump. His breathing sped up slightly as he tried to get his mouth to form words. "Steve?"

"Mary made pancakes this morning, she refused to accept she was burning them." Steve got out eventually. "I went up tell Deb they were ready, saw she was laying awake in bed. I went over to her, and she… she…" He shut his eyes tight, fighting the lump in his throat.

"Steve?"

"She… she went, Danno. She's gone." And then he couldn't stop the tears that started after finally saying those words, grabbing his pillow and burying his face into it as he burst into tears. In the distance he could hear a cars engine.

"Oh shit, babe… Steve, I'm so sorry! I'll be home in literally one minute, okay? I've just dropped Charlie off at Rachel's, I can see our house now. It's gonna be okay, Steve. Where are you now, babe?"

"In our bed," Steve sniffed and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "Gracie, Mary and Joan went to bed a while ago." He heard a car pull up outside and let go of a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Babe, I'm here now so gonna hang up. Danno loves you, okay?" Danny said as he wrenched the front door open and bolted up the stairs. When he eased the bedroom door open and saw Steve, who had moved and sat on the edge of the bed, looking back at him with red-rimmed eyes. Danny's heart stopped as he crossed the room in three strides and pulled Steve into him, wrapping his arms tightly around the other man. He held on tight as his lover cried into his chest, pressing kisses into his hair as he gently rocked him.

"Sshh… Danno's got you, babe. It's gonna be okay, Steve." Danny kept repeating as the other mans sobs slowed into hiccupy breaths. He gentled rubbed the back of Steve's neck as the man took some deep breaths, gripping Danny's shirt.

"Babe, where is everyone?" Steve pulled away slightly and looked up at Danny as he wiped his eyes, and Danny smiled sadly at him.

"Uh…" Steve cleared his throat, "Mary and Joan went over to the Hilton earlier, she didn't want to stay here. Grace's in her-"

A soft knock at the door made Danny looked over at it. "Come in, Gracie." They both smiled at her as she came in and made a beeline for them, stopping to stand by Danny. "Did we wake you, monkey?" He asked, noticing she was in her pyjamas. Grace shook her head.

"No, I was texting my friends… Are you okay, Step-Steve?" Steve moved back to look up at her from where his head was resting on his lover's stomach and smiled at her, reaching for her hand and pulling her onto his lap. Grace settled into Steve's arms and pecked him on the cheek, causing his smile to grow.

"Yeah Gracie, I'm okay… I'm just tired, sweetie." Danny squeezed Steve's shoulder and ran a hand through his daughter's hair. "Why don't you go back to bed, your Dad's taking good care of me." Grace looked at him for a few seconds before sliding off his lap, squeezing his hand as she went. Danny drew Grace in for a hug as she walked past him and out the door, closing it behind her. Danny turned around to see that Steve had moved back to his original position, burrowed under the covers with his back to him. Danny sighed as he kicked off his shoes and pants and joined him under the covers, pulling his lover back into his chest. Steve covered Danny's hand on his chest with his own, bringing it up to kiss each knuckle before turning to kiss his lips and run a hand down his back.

"Hey, I don't think we should-"

"Shh, I know, Danny. I don't want that," Steve twisted his fingers in Danny's shirt, breathing deeply. "I just want you." Danny hugged him closer to him as he rolled onto his back. Steve settled against his side, burrowing his face into Danny's neck and pressing a kiss there.

"Danno loves you, okay baby?" Danny whispered as he pulled the covers up over them both, wrapping his arms around Steve. The brunette nodded, letting the thud-thud of his lover's heartbeat sooth him.

"Love you too, Danny."