The morning had come quicker than Danny would have liked. He enjoyed catching up with his sister in person the previous evening, and not over skype. He made coffee and breakfast for Grace. As they were preparing to leave for the day, his cell buzzed. Looking at the screen, he discovered it was Steve. "Good Morning Captain America."

"Morning Danno."

"Did we catch a case?" Danny asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, but I need a ride."

"You need a ride?" Danny questioned, "Your truck worked perfectly fine last night. What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know at the moment Daniel, or I would fix it." Steve answered with irritation in his voice.

"I have to drop Grace off at school. I'll pick you up first, it's on the way."

"Thanks Danny." The line disconnected and he looked at his daughter finishing breakfast at the table, "We have to pick up Uncle Steve on the way to school."

Grace nodded her head in agreement as she stood up from the table. Before she could pick up her cereal bowl, Anaís took it and emptied the left over milk into the sink. Danny looked at his sister in pajama pants and a tank top, "You good today?"

"Yeah, the realtor is going to pick me up at 8:00 and show me some houses."

"The three we talked about the other day?"

"Yeah, and there's one more she found. It shouldn't take too long and then she's going to drop me off back here."

"Call me when you get done. If I can get off work early today, I will. We can actually go to dinner and not eat pancakes." he said, as he hugged his sister and ushered his daughter out the door.

#~#~#~#~#~#

The drive to Steve's had been a quiet one, but Grace wasn't normally talkative in the morning. He knew better than to push his luck on conversation this early in the morning. As he pulled into Steve's driveway, the SEAL was seated on the steps of the front porch. He brought himself up to his full height and ambled towards the car, reluctantly sliding into the passenger's seat. He greeted both Grace and Danny good morning.

As Danny pulled out of the driveway and down the street, he decided to give his partner a hard time, "This must feel awkward to you?"
Steve was confused by Danny's statement, "Not sure how my truck breaking down is awkward."

"Not that, you Neanderthal, being in the passenger's seat."

"I told you Danny, I get car sick."

Danny was preparing to tell him he was full of it, when the soft voice from the back seat spoke up, "Danno?"

"Yes Monkey?" he asked, knowing if his daughter was talking this early in the morning, something had to be weighing on her. "Why does Aunt Annie have marks on her legs?"

Steve found this question interesting and sat in silence between Grace and Danny's conversation.

"You saw Aunt Annie's legs?" Danny asked, looking in the rear view mirror at his daughter. He was curious what prompted this line of questioning.

"Yeah, I saw her walk out of the bathroom in a towel this morning and I saw the marks on her legs."

Steve's mind wandered to the idea of Danny's sister dripping wet in a towel. Then he chastised himself for thinking of his partner's sister that way and for his friends with benefits relationship he had with Catherine. They weren't exclusive, so he wasn't exactly cheating on her. He had just never found someone that had caught his attention like Anaís.

"When Aunt Annie was a little older than you, she was in an accident and her legs got burned."

Steve could hear the concern in the little girl's voice, "Do the scars hurt her?"

"No Monkey." Danny responded, trying to put his daughter's concerns to rest. He hadn't thought about the accident in ages and honestly, he had forgotten about it. He wasn't certain if it was because she had been gone for so long or because he never saw the scars.

His sister returning would require answering some questions about their past eventually. Grace would eventually learn everything, but knowing his loving daughter, it wouldn't change a thing. It hadn't changed a thing in his world.

They had pulled up to the school, and Steve jumped out of the car and pulled the seat forward. Grace climbed out of the backseat and slid into the front seat. She leaned over the console and kissed Danny on the cheek, "Love you Danno."

"Love you too Monkey. Have a good day."

"You too." she said, and then slid out of the car. She stood next to her Uncle Steve and he squatted down to her height. She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Love you Uncle Steve."

He held the little girl in his arms and cherished the love she gave him, "Love you too Gracie. Have a good day at school."

The little girl eventually released her hold on her Uncle's neck and ran off to enter the school. Steve watched her go, he loved that little girl with all of his heart.

He climbed back into the car and looked at his partner, "Koko Head stairs."

"We are not hiking those stairs to get to the crime scene, are we?"

"Didn't bring your hiking shoes today Daniel?" teased Steve.

"My sneakers are in the trunk." He spat out, irritation in his voice. He didn't want to start the day climbing 1,048 man made stairs. He would be sweaty and gross by the time they reached the top and then he would irritable for the rest of the day.

#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

The day had been a long one, but before it was all said and done, they had caught the killer and Steve invited everyone back to his place for dinner and drinks as it was Friday night. The cousins agreed immediately, but Danny was a little slow in responding. Steve understood immediately, "We'll pick Anaís up on our way to the house. This will allow her to meet people and eat dinner as well."

"I'll call her and see if she's up for it." Danny acquiesced, but knew his sister wouldn't turn down an opportunity to get out of his little apartment. He rang her and before he could even finish his thought, she was thrilled.

Steve pulled up to the front of Danny's apartment building and Azucena came running down the stairs. She was wearing board shorts, a bikini top, and had a bag over her shoulder. Steve was fully engrossed in the sight of Danny's sister, but Danny noticed, "Please stop undressing my sister with your eyes."

"I'm not undressing your sister with my eyes." Steve exclaimed, horrified that his partner had caught him admiring the physical making up of the woman.

"Yes, you are. You're a terrible liar and honestly you don't stand a chance." Danny paused, "Two words for you buddy, 'Ice Queen.'"

"Ice Queen?" questioned Steve, curious of Danny's choice of words.

"Ice Queen. If you can break through her icy exterior, by all means, you can date her. You're a decent, upstanding citizen and my daughter thinks you hung the moon. And we are all grown adults. However, it's been ages since she let anyone in and I just don't think she's going to change on that any time soon."

Steve mulled over Danny's input. He didn't want to think of Danny's sister as a conquest. She was a beautiful woman, and Steve wasn't into one night stands. Catherine wasn't a one night stand, but there wasn't anything in that relationship besides the physical. There was something about Danny's sister that caught his eye and not just physically. It wasn't challenge accepted, it was more, let's see what unfolds. Besides, he had his partner's blessing.