This story was inspired by Ilna's comments about 'winged things', so thank you for that!
Sammy & Ilna, you make this adventure more fun than I can express. Thanks for the support and all the joy you bring into my life, and the copious amounts of fun. McRoll on!
Thank you to each and every #REALMcRoller, reader, reviewer and guest. Your support and love make us happier than you'll ever know!
Love & Nonna hugs, Mari
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Winged Things
McGarrett/Rollins Residence
6:00 p.m.
Danny was stuck on a stakeout and Catherine had offered to get his daughter at school and bring Grace home with her.
Chin was due to relieve Danny in an hour, and Catherine was just hanging up after confirming she and Grace arrived and insisting Danny should eat dinner with them, when Steve's truck pulled up behind her car.
Once inside, they were greeted by a very happy Cammie who was always more than excited to see Grace. After dog and girl had a hug-fest, Steve said, "I'll take Cammie out and start the grill. If Danny will be here in an hour and a half, we can eat as soon as he gets in." He led the romping dog into the yard as Catherine and Grace climbed the steps to change.
Grace shouldered her book bag, and at the top of the stairs, headed for what she considered her 'place' in her Aunt and Uncle's home. The spare room at the far end of the hall that had once been her Uncle Steve's in childhood.
Grace had helped Catherine pick out new bedding and curtains a while back, and she thought it was really cool that her Auntie Cath's bedroom set from the house she had before she 'officially' lived with Uncle Steve, was in 'her' spare room. The queen sized bed not only made the petite young girl feel a little like a princess, it also afforded plenty of room if Cammie wanted to pop up for an impromptu snuggle during a sleepover.
She smiled to herself, dropped her bag and walked the few feet toward the bathroom that was between 'her' room and what she always referred to as 'Mary's room', the now second guest room that backed Steve and Catherine's. She called, "I'm going to change out of my uniform, Auntie Cath, I'll be, like, two minutes, okay? Then I'll help set the table," as she reached for the doorknob.
Catherine grinned. "You can take three," she answered. "I'm gonna change, too, Hon." With Cammie entering and moving to sit at her feet, she made to unclip her weapon and badge, but got no farther than her night table as Grace came flying in, barefoot and wide-eyed.
"Auntie Cath!" She breathed.
Catherine spun to look at her. "What? What's wrong?"
"Someone's in the bathroom!" Grace grabbed for her Aunt's hand.
"What?!"
"There's a … noise in the bathroom, something's moving around in there. I didn't open the door."
"Good girl. Wait right here, keep Cammie with you; don't let her follow me."
Grace stood in the doorway of Catherine and Steve's bedroom, peering into the hall as Catherine approached the bathroom and heard a thump.
Thump. Thump, thump. Crash.
Catherine, immediately on alert, quietly said, "Go outside. Get Uncle Steve. And then stay downstairs," as she drew her weapon. "Don't come back up until one of us comes down or calls for you."
"All right." Grace's eyes were locked on her. "Should I call Danno?"
"Not yet. Let's see what it is first."
"Be careful, please." Grace whispered.
Her focus one hundred percent on the bathroom door, Catherine said, "I'll be careful, promise. Go, Grace."
After listening for another few seconds from a few feet away, and determining the noises weren't being made by anything human, Catherine pressed her ear to the door.
Less than half a minute later, Steve's footfalls were on the stairs as he took them three at a time, calling, "CATHERINE?!"
"It's not human." She motioned for him to come closer as he lowered his SIG.
"What's it sound like?" Steve was immediately next to her on the far side of the door.
"Something's … flying … in there. It's up high, hitting the walls. Medium sized bird, maybe."
"Okay. Let's take a look."
Steve moved to grab the knob.
Opened the door a crack.
Looked inside and up toward the ceiling.
And immediately ducked and slammed it closed.
"A bird?" Catherine holstered her weapon when she saw Steve do the same.
He shook his head. "A bat."
"A bat?"
"Yeah."
"We have bats?"
"A bat. One. A ʻōpeʻapeʻa, a hoary bat. It's small, but the wingspan looks about a foot wide."
Just then, Grace called, "Uncle Steve?!" her voice pitched high from tension.
"It's okay, Gracie, come on up," Steve said, and she ran into the hall where he stood with Catherine. "It's just a bat, Sweetheart. Good job not opening the door, it'll be easier to get it if it's in the bathroom."
"Get it?" Grace's eyes flitted from Steve's to where his hand rested on the butt of his holstered gun. "No! I mean, don't shoot him, Uncle Steve. He's just lost."
"Lost?" Steve looked puzzled.
"Yeah. Please don't hurt him, please? Promise?"
I ... uh ... no, I won't hurt it … him." Steve's look at Catherine had her shrugging.
Clearly, Grace was concerned about the bat's welfare, which made Catherine smile. "Of course Uncle Steve and I won't hurt him, but I want you to go into our room and close the door. Don't let Cammie out."
"Okay, good." Grace looked relieved. "He was probably looking for family and got into the house by mistake. The bats are endangered, you know. I did a report on them in Mrs. Spencer's class." She went into the master suite and when the door clicked closed, Steve turned to Catherine.
"What are we gonna..."
"Catch it and set it loose. Not shoot it." She grinned.
"Wasn't gonna shoot it." He muttered and continued when she raised her eyebrows, "I wasn't, Cath." He smirked. "We just painted that bathroom."
"Okay, so let's get it out of there." Catherine patted his chest and made to walk down the stairs.
"Clearly, you have a plan." Steve said.
"I do. We're going old school. Be right back." Less than five minutes later, Catherine returned with a large pot, what Danny would call a 'gravy pot', and lid and took an old beach towel from the linen closet. She held them out to Steve. "Wanna do the honors, or should I?"
"I've got it. I'm vaccinated against rabies – it's good for six more years." He took the pot, lid and towel. "Go wait with Gracie."
"No." She shook her head, her dark hair swirling around her shoulders.
"No?"
"No."
"Catherine."
"Steve.
You're not going to be able leave the bathroom with a live bat in a pot with an unsecured lid. You won't be able to open the door. So, no."
"I'll figure it out." Hazel eyes held brown ones.
"No, you won't. Not budging on this one." Her hands landed on her hips.
Steve was very familiar with that stance and the look in those eyes. He sighed. "Open it on my signal."
Her grin was almost imperceptible. "Go on three?"
/
After two failed attempts, Steve caught the bat and placed the towel-cushioned creature into the pot. With a thought of Grace's pleading face, he checked the steam vents, making sure they were open, before calling, "Door!"
"Go!" Catherine said as she turned the knob and pushed the door inward.
Steve left the room, taking the stairs at a run, with Catherine close behind. When he reached the living room, she passed him to get to the lanai doors first, which he cleared as soon as she slid them open.
Upon reaching the thickening brush ten yards from their house, Steve knelt, placed the pot onto the sand and, lifting the lid, backed away.
"Okay, my friend, please get out of my good pot." Catherine said as Steve backed a few steps further away from the creature, who was blinking rapidly in the dusky light.
Less than a minute later, it peeked over the rim, unfurled its leathery wings and flew into the trees.
Catherine placed a hand on Steve's shoulder and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Your good deed for the day, Commander. You're now a champion of winged things. Grace will be thrilled."
"Yeah." He mumbled but his smile reached his eyes when he looked at the house and saw Grace waving wildly from the window next to Cammie, who had her paws up on the sill. "Add bat-wrangler to my service record." He signaled thumbs up to Grace and her figure disappeared from the frame as she ran to join them.
"Done." She slid an arm around his waist and hugged him close. "I'm going to disinfect our cookware." She let go of Steve after a brief brush of her lips on his and went to pick up the impromptu bat-crate.
Grace was flying at them, Cammie at her heels, girl and dog kicking up sand in their wakes.
"You saved him! I'm so glad." Grace caught Steve in a hug and then turned to hug Catherine. "Danno called, he'll be here in a few minutes, Uncle Chin got there early. I told him you guys were rescuing a lost bat. He said to tell Uncle Steve, 'congratulations, Batman.'"
Steve groaned and Catherine laughed.
/
7:45 p.m. - Lanai
"Danno!" Grace greeted her dad when he stepped onto the lanai. "The bat flew away, he was fine."
Danny wrapped his daughter in a hug. "Where'd I get you?" He placed a kiss on her head. "That you're so good to everyone, bats included?"
"You used to say from the stork." Grace teased.
"Ah ha. That's why you like things with wings." Danny looked at his friends while keeping an arm around Grace. "There was nothing on the Reynolds brothers. Chin's on the next watch," he reported, "unless you need him elsewhere. If nothing breaks, he'll check in at eleven."
Steve nodded, and Catherine said, "They may not move till the morning." She motioned for Danny to sit. "Dinner's ready in ten."
"Danno, guess how they caught the bat?" Grace looked up at her dad.
"Please tell me how SuperSEAL nabbed a bat. Did you use McGarrett radar?"
"It was Auntie Cath's idea," Grace informed him, proud of Catherine's ingenuity. "Uncle Steve caught it in a towel and put it in a gravy pot. Then they let it loose on the beach." Before her father could react, she continued, "I swear I didn't touch it and Auntie Cath disinfected the pot with bleach."
Catherine laughed when Steve said, "Got you pegged, Partner. Gracie, you did a really good job." He looked at Danny. "At first she thought it was someone in the house, so she told Cath and stayed out of sight. She even offered to call you for backup." He winked at Grace.
"That's my girl." Danny grinned.
"I'm going to get the lemonade, if that's okay?" Grace looked at Catherine.
"Of course, go ahead." Catherine smiled.
When Grace was out of sight, Danny chuckled. "You rescued a bat. Surprised you didn't tell Grace how they're good protein …" He reached for a slice of bread from the basket on the table.
"Actually … no, never mind … Gracie insisted he was lost." Steve shrugged. Catherine knew he'd eaten a lot worse than bats in his time and smiled at how he'd literally do anything for Grace; including rescue a lost bat.
"You know, her favorite book when she was three was about a lost bat."
Steve looked at his best friend and Danny held up a hand. "I swear. I could recite it for you right now. I read it ten thousand times. "Stellaluna. It's about a little bat that got separated from her mother and had to act like a bird until they were reunited. Nonna bought it for her."
At the mention of Nonna, Steve and Catherine smiled. "Aha. No wonder." Steve grabbed the tongs and flipped the fish he was grilling. "Leave it to Nonna."
"She liked the idea that it celebrated people's differences. She also loved the title; Stellaluna means star and moon in Italian." Danny grinned as Grace retuned with a pitcher of lemonade. "I was just telling Uncle Steve and Auntie Catherine about your favorite book when you were little."
"Stellaluna!" Grace laughed. "I wanted a stuffed bat for Christmas, right Danno?"
"Right. Not a lot of cute stuffed bats out there. Rachel found one at a shop that sold Halloween toys."
"It's still in my room. I'll show you next time you come over." Grace smiled at her aunt and uncle. "Thanks for helping the bat."
"You," Steve winked, "are very welcome." He motioned to the sky. "Look, Gracie."
Above the trees at the end of their property, near where Steve and Catherine let the bat free, they could see a colony of bats. "Do you think he found his family and he's right back where he belongs?" Grace looked at Catherine.
Catherine closed the gap between herself and Steve, so her hip was lightly touching his. When she felt his fingers lace with hers, she gently squeezed them. "Definitely, Grace. I definitely do."
…
End. Thanks for reading! Mari
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Stellaluna is a REAL children's book. Ilna told me about it when she read a rough draft of this story. Of course I read it, too, so I owe her for the book reference and for an adorable, enjoyable tale in Stellaluna.
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Don't forget, RealMcRollers, starting this Wednesday is our Halloween trilogy! Wed., Fri. and a bonus Sat. posting