Title: Family Portrait

Fandom: Hawaii Five-0

Characters/Pairings: Steve/Danny (implied), Grace

Prompt: book for dailyfics

Prompt Table: D

Word Count: 375 words

Rating: G

Warning: spoilers for 2.15

Disclaimer: All Hawaii Five-0 characters herein are the property of CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.

It's always been there, simmering on the back burner in his mind. When she asked for him all the time; the way she wrapped her arms around him tight at the sight of him; the way he blended seamlessly with them on their weekends; the way she insisted, after their first meeting, that she would call him uncle from now on. But it isn't until this very moment, staring at the paper and crayon book in his hands, that he realizes how much Steve means to his daughter.

"We asked all the children to create a book about their families," Grace's teacher explains softly. He must look dumbfounded, staring down at her artwork and trying to swallow passed the lump in his throat. "They were given phrases to use to help guide them and that was the first one she chose."

Danny looks down at the paper again and stares at the depiction of two men, a small brunette girl held between them. In Grace's unmistakable scrawl, the caption says: "My heroes are Danno and Uncle Steve because they saved me from the bad guy." Self-consciously, Danny wipes a hand across his face and hands the book off to Rachel. He goes to stand by the window, staring out to where Steve and Grace are.

When he'd found out that Grace had her parent-teacher conference today, Steve had said he'd go along so Danny didn't have to drop him off at HQ then come back across town. He'd been completely content to sit in the car until Grace had seen him and practically pulled him across the parking lot to the playground with barely a glance over her shoulder to her parents. Now she was hanging off Steve's arm like a monkey, both of them laughing at whatever tale Grace was weaving.

That was not the only place Steve popped up in her book about family, Danny realizes. Grace's depiction of him appears on the beach with them, surfing and flying a kite. He's on the page that lists her favorite people and even in the family portrait Grace finished the book off with. A simple caption of "My Family" under their feet saying all the things Danny and Steve couldn't find words for yet.