Sammy & Ilna you're heroes to me in so many ways. Thanks for being your amazing selves.

REALMcRollers - Much love & thanks for the wonderfullness of yourselves :)

High School Hero

Point Panic Beach Park, Honolulu
Sunday, early evening

Catherine said, "If you take her, I'll clean this up," to Steve before addressing Cammie. "Go take a potty break, pretty girl."

The dog whirled in place and was practically grinning as Catherine put her now empty water bowl in the backpack. With a tail wag, she happily accompanied Steve to a less crowded area of the park as Catherine cleaned up the remnants of their picnic lunch and tossed items in the trash and recycling bins.

Turning at the feel of eyes on her, she tilted her head at a woman about her age wearing a green bikini top and matching cover-up who was approaching through the crowd.

"Catherine? Catherine Rollins!" The woman's face broke into a grin as she stepped forward and extended her hand. "Karen Anders. Well, it's Karen Brooks now, from Central High. I knew that was you."

She took Karen's hand and smiled. "Karen, how are you? I can't believe you recognized me. It's been over twenty years."

"You look the same." Karen's eyes sparked with warmth. "And I couldn't forget my hero."

Catherine shrugged. "I wouldn't say hero, I just stepped in."

"For the new kid. Who was about to be bullied." Karen shook her head. "Definitely makes you a hero in my book."

Steve approached the women with Cammie and when he reached her side, Catherine turned slightly. "Karen, this is Steve McGarrett, my husband." Her eyes flitted to his and she smiled. The term always made her smile. "Karen was a couple of years behind me in high school."

Steve extended his hand as a tall handsome man who looked like a young Denzel Washington came up with two preteen girls. "Nice to meet you, welcome to Oahu."

"This is my husband, Tyler and …" she pointed to each daughter in turn, "Jayla and Joren."

Pleasantries were exchanged and Jayla, the older of the two by about a year, looked up at Steve. "You said welcome to Oahu, you live here?" At his nod, she added, "God, that's awesome." Turning to her father with a grin, she said, "Dad, let's move here."

Tyler laughed. "Sorry, but as great as that would be, Mom and I kinda need our jobs in New York." His eyes fell on Catherine. "So, my wife said you were so awesome to her in school, she had to come say hello and thanks…"

"It really wasn't …"

"Yes, it was." Karen smiled at Steve. "She was brave and cool and beautiful and she stuck up for me when I was the new kid. I've never forgotten that."

"Nothing there I don't believe one hundred percent." Steve's arm wound around his wife's shoulders. "Catherine's always been my hero, too."

FLASHBACK

Central High School

"Ugh. Nobody wears socks before, like, Halloween." The scathing voice reached sixteen year old Catherine's ears as she entered the cafeteria. She turned to find the speaker as a cacophony of harsh laughter rose up from a group of five girls a few yards to her left.

Her eyes fell on a pale brunette with green eyes sporting Gap jeans, a plaid shirt and slouch socks. Catherine sucked in her breath. A quarter of the students were wearing socks, herself and several of her friends included. Fall had arrived early and it was a long walk to school from base housing.

"Where you from? Antarctica?" Franny, the leader of the little group asked nastily, and Karen's cheeks flushed slightly as she quietly said, "San Diego."

Catherine was beside the girls in a few strides and the eyes of the group shifted in unison to her. She could see the new girl was deciding if she was another one of them or if she would be enough of a distraction that she could make an exit.

"Hey, Franny?"

The short, curvy pack leader flipped her hair, but her demeanor was slightly less confident with Catherine. "Yeah?"

"Back off."

"What's she your best friend or something?" Andi, Franny's sidekick piped up.

"She's a person. She's new. Back off." Catherine turned and smiled. "I'm Catherine, ignore them. San Diego's cool. My dad was stationed there when I was ten." When the girl didn't move, she motioned towards a table close to the lunch line. "C'mon, we have room at our table."

"I … thanks. I'm a sophomore," she said, which, by way of highschool-ease meant, 'you're an upperclassmen, are you sure it's okay with your friends?'

Catherine smiled warmly. "That's totally okay." She glanced back at the group who was moving off in a tight little pack. "Don't worry about them, they won't bother you again. Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't ask your name," she said with a grin.

Her eyes lit with relief. "Karen. I'm Karen, and you just became my hero. How can I pay you back?"

Catherine laughed. "You have to raise your standards for heroes, but thanks." She sobered slightly, but her smile remained intact. "Listen, I've been the new kid. A lot. How about you pay it forward someday?"

Karen grinned at the pretty brunette with the ready smile as they approached her table of friends. "Promise."

"Great," Catherine said as she slid onto a bench, motioned for her friend Jolene to move down a space and started the ball rolling to break the ice. "Guys, this is Karen, she's from San Diego. Jolene's dad was stationed there two years ago …"

Present

"Awww that was so nice of you." Joren looked at her mom and said, "They didn't bother you again? Cause you would have had to report them for bullying."

Karen ran a hand over her daughter's hair. "We didn't have so many anti-bullying rules back then. That's why Catherine sticking up for me was so important." She smiled at Steve. "She helped me not lose confidence." She looked at Catherine. "I ended up being class secretary and editor of the school paper by senior year."

"That's terrific, but I can hardly take credit …"

"They could have broken my confidence. Having someone step up for me that day was exactly what I needed. I pay it forward whenever I can." She moved to hug her and Catherine returned it with a heartfelt hug of her own. "I'm so happy I ran into you. You have a great day, and here." She pulled a card from her beach bag. "Please keep in touch."

Catherine nodded. "Absolutely."

With goodbyes all around, the Brooks family headed for the beach, and Steve and Catherine began the walk home with Cammie.

Upon arriving home, Catherine went upstairs to change while Steve returned a call from Chin. Taking her phone and Karen's card from the pocket of her shorts, she planned to add her contact information.

Karen Anders Brooks, Ph.D.

Executive VP/Legislative Policy

American Association of University Women

Championing education for women and girls

Reading the title and credentials for the first time, a smile graced her lips. "Good for you, Karen," she whispered. "Good for you." She added Karen's info to her phone, placed the card in her night table drawer and went downstairs to find Steve pulling ingredients for dinner out of the refrigerator.

He turned to face her. "Hey, we should eat the steaks or they've gotta go in the freezer."

"That's perfect. Wanna grill them? I'll make a salad." She grinned when, as she passed him, Steve caught her in his arms. "Karen is a V.P. of Legislative Policy at the American Association of University Women. Isn't that awesome?"

He just smiled.

"What?" She said at his look.

"Stepping in like that, even as a teenager. You heard Karen, you helped a younger girl maintain her confidence, feel like someone was in her corner. Now she writes policies that enhance the lives of other women. That's so ... you." He smiled. "I mean, I see it every day, but I like when other people see how incredible you are."

She shook her head, even though she smiled at the pride in his eyes. "Steve, I -"

"Accept the compliment, Cath, you deserve it."

She placed a hand on his cheek. "Thank you." She kissed him lightly. "And look who's talking about brushing off a compliment. The bravest man I've ever known."

It was his turn to shake his head. "That's -"

Her eyes lit. "See. We're a pair, aren't we?"

Steve ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "A perfectly matched one." His smile reached his eyes. "And for the record, you're always gonna be my hero."

# End thanks for reading

Not on our email list and would like to be, or you'd just like to say hi or ask a question,
drop us an email at realmcroll at yahoo dot com with "Add me, please!" in the subject line.

Looking for links to all the REAL World McRoll stories in one place? Check out our Tumblr page mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com.

In addition, one of our AWESOME REAL Worlders, katydid13, has created a community here on fanfiction dot net that brings all of the REAL World stories, and all of Mari, Sammy & Ilna's pre-universe stories in one place. You can find it at community/McRoll-in-the-Real-World