Hold On Me

Chapter Fifteen

There is some dialogue in this chapter that is altered from episode 6x7.

Flashback in this chapter is in italics.

The following two months went as quickly as they came. Abbie spent her first Mother's Day with her mother and JJ on Apikalia, her fathers' boat. Father's Day was a lower key affair for Steve. His day was spent home alone with his son; the only time they left the house was for JJ to finally meet his grandfather.

Steve held on tightly to 11 month old JJ as they walked through the grounds of National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. To most, taking an infant to a cemetery seems inappropriate I but not to Steve. It was important for his son to know his grandfather, and this was the best way to do so.

"Hey dad. Happy Father's Day," Steve gently bent down as he placed JJ on the ground directly in front of his fathers' grave marker with his hands safely around his little body, "This is your grandson JJ. He's almost a year now. I wish you were here to see him. I'd like to think you'd be proud of me. I'm trying my hardest to be the best father I can be," he took a deep breath, "I never told you this but you were a good dad. Not perfect but I know everything you did was for the sake of your children."

"Dada," JJ spoke as if questioning his father.

Steve smiled, "This is your grandpa. He was a pretty great guy, and although you will never get to meet him, he'll always be here," He paused as he placed his hand on his son's heart. He held back the emotions he felt before he spoke again "I love you dad." He stared at his father's final resting place for a few moments before he stood up and left.

"Wuv Dada."

The smile that emanated from Steve's face could get any bigger, "I love you too."

The next two weeks past with JJ growing by the day; he was walking more and learned more words and was still the spitting image of his father who was a brand new one year old.

"I can't believe my baby is a year old," Abbie spoke as she entered her son's room on the morning of July 1st.

"You're going to wake him," replied Steve.

"He's already up," she pointed to the crib where JJ was standing and jumping up and down excitedly at the sight of his parents.

"Hello birthday boy," she picked up the bouncy toddler from his crib.

"Mamma, mamma." He had taken up saying the word a few weeks after he had spoken his first words.

Abbie smothered her son's face in kisses; JJ finding the whole thing funny and laughing hysterically.

"C'mon Abbs you're babying him."

Abbie retorted, "He is a baby."

"Not today. Today he's a man," joked Steve. "Seriously though I can't believe how fast the past year went by."

"I know. It feels like just yesterday he was born." She looked down at her son's bright blue eyes and immediately began to tear up. She hadn't always been an emotional person but since JJ's birth she had a hard time often keeping her emotions at bay.

Steve could see the tears that were beginning to form and grabbed JJ from his mother. "Hey, none of that," he told her. "Let's get this kid dressed so we can party."

Steve and Abbie didn't want to have a massive first birthday party for JJ so they decided to have a BBQ right in their backyard. It was the usual crowd with the entire 5-0 team plus their spouses and Grace all present as well as Abbie's parents, Catherine, Nahale and their nanny Ashley.