**** Here it is, THE FINAL CHAPTER - I appreciate you all reading and hope you will let me know what you think of the final product !****

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The next morning, Steve took Ty into headquarters and around noon they returned to the McGarrett home with lunch for Danny and Gracie.

Danny was still wiped out from the day of hiking so as he rested on one of the wooden chairs at the Ocean's edge soaking up the sun, Ty and Steve spent the afternoon in the water with Gracie as they worked on getting the little girl up onto a surfboard. They stayed in the water until Kono, Chin and Malia arrived.

Kono and Malia treated them to a delicious meal of spaghetti with homemade Italian meatballs, garlic bread, salads and wine. Ty's flight was early the next morning so everyone said their goodbyes shortly after dinner so Father and Son could spend some time alone. There were tears from everyone as they said goodbye to the newest member of their Ohana. Gracie had an especially hard time and Tyler held her in his arms comforting her for quite a long time.

After they all left, Ty ran his shirtsleeve across his face wiping the tears away. "I'm going to miss everybody"
Steve stepped to him and pulled him into an embrace, "You've made quite an impression on everyone young man. What do you say we go down to the water for a while?"
"Sounds good Dad"
That word…that one single word….he didn't realize how that word would affect him….'Dad'. The SEAL blinked back tears as they moved into the kitchen, grabbed waters from the fridge and then made their way down to the beach.

They didn't sleep that night, choosing instead to talk about everything. Everything they had missed out on….twenty years was put behind them, put to rest. They talked about their bright future together and of how thankful they were to have the opportunity to get to know each other. They made plans to meet in North Carolina when Ty and Catherine would have leave, and they talked joyfully about the fact that Steve and all of Ty's new Hawaiian Ohana would be sharing his wedding day with him.

Before dawn they took turns showering and they arrived at the airport with plenty of time so they could grab breakfast. They talked as they ate, the sadness apparent in both of them.

"So you'll text me a lot right?"
"Of course I will Steve and I hope you do the same"
"Tyler….I'm going to miss you. I want you to concentrate hard on your training. A lot of it will seem repetitive and silly but trust me, everything you learn needs to be drilled into your head so that it becomes second-nature to you. You need to act instinctively in the field because if you hesitate at all it could cost you your life or the life of a brother"

"I understand and I know you're worried about me but I promise you, I will do everything I have to do to be the best SEAL I can possibly be"
The SEAL struggled to maintain his composure as he continued to tell Ty what he should expect from the next round of training. Eventually they changed the topic back to happier things, family…

An hour later as they stood at the gate facing each other, Tyler made the first move throwing his arms around the man who now meant so much to him. Steve hugged him back tightly as Ty said quietly through heavy emotions, "I love you Dad"
Steve could not talk, the lump in his throat so huge he couldn't even swallow. He held Ty not wanting to ever let him go…

Eventually Steve pulled back and holding firmly onto Ty's arms he said, "Be careful…I love you son"
"I will be. Thank you for everything. I'll be in touch soon, I promise"
After one final hug, Ty picked up his bag and after handing his boarding pass to the agent he moved to board the plane. He turned at the last minute, both men giving each other a wave of a hand and a final smile. Steve stood looking out the large window until the plane took off, then wiping his tears away he left the airport and headed towards the office. Soon he found himself turning off the freeway and before he knew it he was standing at the front door of Danny's apartment.

Danny answered asking, "How ya' doing?"
"I don't know Danno…"

The men moved inside taking seats on the couch. Steve sat forward, running his hands through his hair eventually speaking softly "Danno, my emotions are all over the place …..I feel happier than I've ever felt and then the thoughts of what could happen to him crush me. I just found him partner and the thought of losing him terrifies me"

"You talked to him right?"
"Yeah, yeah I talked to him. I told what to expect and how to approach his training…"
"Steve….that's all you can do. Now I know that this is not what you want to hear, but I'm going give you some advice babe"

"And what would that be oh wise one….."
"Don't be a smart ass now. Remember I've had a few more years of experience at being a Father. You've had what…. uhhhh four days?"

Steve smirked, "Gracie is nine year's old for Gods sake. How much trouble can she be?"

Danny grinned, "Okay….you got me there. Listen, he's a grown man and luckily for you, he's a very smart young man. He'll listen to what you told him and he'll do everything he can do to stay safe. He'll be trained by the best there is. Let me amend that slightly, since YOU are no longer available to train him, he'll be trained by the best there currently is" Steve grinned at his partner and Danny added, "I see so much of you in him Steve"
"Well that's a good thing!"

"I agree that having the McGarrett genes will certainly be beneficial to him staying alive. Steve…..he's your child and you're always going to worry about him…..so just accept that fact or you're going to drive both of us crazy. I have to admit, it's times like this that I'm grateful I have a daughter, not a son"

"Let's see how you feel about that in four years or so"
"Four years, she'll only be thirteen!"
"Yup…..a teen-age girl….but don't worry buddy, I'll be a pro at parenting by then and I'll have all kinds of advice for you"
"Wonderful…..I can't wait!"

Steve then said softly, "He told me he loved me…and he called me Dad"
"It's great isn't it?"
"It's beautiful Danno….it's absolutely beautiful!"

THE END

******* I hope you all enjoyed the story and hope you'll let me know. If the interest is there, I do have thought's on a follow up story focusing on Navy SEAL Tyler. Please let me know if you'd like to read a sequel. I PROMISE YOU I won't kill Tyler off, but I do promise lots of whump (as usual)…I wrote the death of Steve's infant son in an earlier story and it was very difficult to write. I don't think I could go there again - THANKS as always for reading and reviewing ! 3 DAYS UNTIL SEASON 3 ! ********