we all know that scene at the end of 2x14, but rewatching the episode again put some things into perspective, specifically why this line
prompts such a look of awe, unbridled admiration and love on steve's face. he is a breath of fresh air in a stale suffocating day steve's had, because danny is different. he isn't like anyone he's ever met.
the entire episode has a theme of absent fathers running through it. it starts with the flashback of john mcgarrett telling steve he's sending him and his sister away, breaking their family apart. steve tells joe he remembers it 'like it was yesterday', which means he keeps reliving this traumatic event over and over. it was bad enough to lose his mother when he was 16, to also have his father completely check out on him, not only sending him away but telling him they won't even talk to each other for a while. that's abandonment. john chose his quest for revenge over his family.
then steve is reminded of this when he is confronted with adam noshimuri, whose father faked his death without telling him and when he found out, was told in no uncertain terms to act like his father is dead to him. in a similar way steve's father was essentially dead to him years before he actually died.
even joe, who was like a father to steve, makes it clear to him that if steve doesn't follow his lead they won't be in each other's lives, he loves steve but he doesn't respect his need to know the truth nor his choices as an adult.
fathers, they always got excuses, don't they? excuses to miss out on important moments in their children's lives. big or small ones, doesn't matter, the result is the same as far as steve is concerned. stan is missing the birth of his child because of a business trip (brilliant idea to go away when your wife is 8 months pregnant, right?). steve is sick of the bullshit.
but then... there's danny. in a world of absent fathers danny chooses to be present! even for children that (as far as he knows) aren't his. don't think a father should miss this. there are no excuses for danny. he always chooses family, he gives unconditional love and support, he helps his ex wife deliver another man's baby, he even spares kindness for the man who got the family he had wanted. he doesn't put his ego or an agenda over being there for his kids.
for someone like steve, who became an orphan through abandonment, danny's approach is revolutionary. no wonder you can feel the sheer love and soft yearning for a family with danny radiating off of him in waves.
