Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for their support and encouragement every day. I am so lucky to have you both in my life!

Huge, huge thank you to all our readers and REAL McRollers for your incredible support. We really do have the best readers in the world and we're so grateful!

Uphill Climb (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)

Steve stood with Cody and Jenna Allen in the parking lot and watched Catherine and Jacob drive away from the apartment building. Catherine had borrowed Carrie's Impala for the afternoon so she could take Jacob to the LEGO program at the library.

After the car disappeared, Jenna turned to Steve and Cody.

"What are you guys going to do today?"

Cody looked over at Steve and asked, "Rematch?"

Steve smiled. "Not today. I'm gonna need a little more practice first." He nodded his head toward Cody's feet. "What size shoe do you wear?"

Cody's brow knitted. "Ten," he said. "Why?"

"Good. I was right." Steve turned to the back of his truck and pulled out an old beat up pair of hiking boots.

"I've got shoes," Cody said.

"I can see that. But where we're going, you're not gonna want to wear your shoes."

Nu'uanu Pali Lookout

Steve hefted a backpack onto his shoulders and led Cody down the paved road until they reached a dirt path and a wooden ladder that led to a path below the new Pali Highway. Steve nimbly climbed down the ladder and looked up.

"Come on," he said, motioning for Cody to follow.

Cody eyed the ladder and then the overpass. He looked at Steve.

"We're going under the highway?"

"Yeah. Come on," Steve repeated. "Trust me."

Cody paused but finally turned and climbed down the ladder.

"Okay," Steve said when Cody reached the bottom. "Let's go."

After walking below the overpass, they continued until they came to where the path forked.

"This way," Steve said, gesturing toward the left.

"You've been here before?" Cody asked as he followed Steve and fell in step beside him.

"Yeah. I did a lot of hiking when I was your age. All over the island. And Catherine and I go out when we can. You said you don't hike much?"

"No," Cody said. "This is . . . this is actually my first real hike."

"Never went on a school field trip or anything?"

Cody shook his head. "Nothing like this."

Steve nodded slowly and the corner of his mouth rose in a smile. "This'll be a good first experience, then. The hike's not too long or difficult, just muddy. And we can stop for a while at the falls and have something to eat before we head back."

Cody nodded.

They continued walking in silence for a few minutes before Cody spoke again.

"Hey, did you have like . . . a job . . . when you were my age?"

"Yeah, I had a paper route," Steve said. "Perfect for me. Could stay active . . ." he held his hands out, motioning to the trees. "And obviously I like being outside."

Cody nodded, his eyes on the trail ahead.

Steve studied the teen's profile and when he didn't speak, asked, "Why? You looking for a job?"

Cody glanced up at him. "Mom won't sign the work permit."

Steve nodded thoughtfully. "Why do you want a job?"

"So I can help her," Cody stated matter-of-factly.

"Pretty clear to me you already do," Steve said. "A lot."

"But if she'd let me get a job, then maybe she wouldn't have to keep working at the gas station part-time."

Steve paused. "What does she say when you ask?"

Cody sighed, looking forward. "She says she wants me to focus on school."

"Well, she's got a point."

"I mean, it's not like I'm failing any of my classes. I get pretty good grades." He shrugged a little. "Not in math, but I'm working on it. Otherwise I get mostly As and Bs."

"Maybe she wants to keep it that way."

"But I could do both," Cody said emphatically and stopped walking.

Steve stopped and looked at him.

"I know I could," Cody continued seriously. "I could find something just during the hours that Dylan, Jake, and Kaitlyn are at their after-school program. Then I could still pick 'em up and take 'em home. And Mom could be done at five and not have to worry about a night shift. She'd know what her schedule was going to be week to week. Or I could just work on the weekends and then she wouldn't have to."

Steve raised his eyebrows slightly but otherwise kept his face impassive, wanting to conceal his surprise at the force of Cody's words.

Cody dropped his gaze and swallowed, shuffling one foot.

"She says we'll talk about it again when I'm sixteen," he continued, more subdued. He glanced up at Steve. "But maybe . . . maybe you could talk to her . . ."

Steve paused thoughtfully. "I could," he said finally. "I mean, ultimately, it's up to her. But I can tell her what I think if you want."

Cody looked up the trail and then back toward Steve, not quite meeting his eyes. "What . . . uh . . . what do you think?"

Steve regarded him a moment and said, "I think if that's something you want to do, then it's worth considering."

A slow smile spread on Cody's face.

"When you're sixteen," Steve finished with a small smile of his own.

Cody's expression dropped but then he huffed a laugh and nodded.

"Right," he said.

Steve returned his nod then motioned toward the path.

"Come on. There's a little bit of climb coming up."

He adjusted the bag on his back and started walking again with Cody right beside him.

Once they reached Likeke Falls, Steve and Cody chose a spot on the rocks to sit. There were a few other people around, but they were all occupied taking pictures and eating.

Steve passed Cody a water bottle and an energy bar before opening his own.

"So you really did this a lot when you were my age?" Cody asked. "Go hiking and stuff?"

Steve swallowed a bite and said, "Yeah. Before I had to leave the island."

Cody paused. "You didn't want to leave?"

"No. No, I didn't," Steve said, wiping the corner of his mouth and looking up at the waterfall.

Cody looked at him and hesitated before asking, "Why'd you have to?"

Steve turned back to him. "My dad sent my sister and me to live on the mainland when I was sixteen."

"Why?"

Steve looked down briefly before returning his eyes to Cody. "I didn't know it at the time, but he was trying to protect us."

Cody's brow furrowed. "From what?"

"From people who might have tried to hurt us because of things in my family's past."

Cody's eyes widened slightly and he looked down in thought.

Steve's gaze drifted back to the waterfall and he drank from his water bottle.

"Was it different?" Cody asked after a moment. "Living on the mainland?"

Steve gave a mirthless chuckle. "Yeah. A lot different." He looked at Cody. "I was at a military boarding school so that was about as different as it gets."

"And you wanted to be here?"

"Yeah." He exhaled slowly. "I was angry . . . because I didn't have a home anymore. My dad had sent me away and never told me why." He looked down. "I didn't see him or talk to him very often after that."

Cody stayed silent for a moment.

"But . . . then why'd you come back?" he asked.

"I came back when my father died," Steve said, glancing over at him.

Cody paused.

"And why'd you stay?" he asked quietly.

Steve didn't answer immediately.

Cody looked down. "I'm sor–"

"I stayed because there were things I needed to do here. And then . . ." he paused as he licked his lips. "Then I found home again."

Cody stared at him and Steve gave a slight shake of his head.

"I'm not going anywhere, Cody."

Two hours later, Steve pulled the truck back into the parking lot at the Allen's apartment building.

Jenna was sitting on the bench laughing with Catherine as Jacob climbed on the playground equipment, clearly showing off.

When Jacob saw the truck he jumped off the top of the monkey bars and ran to the bench as the two women stood. He grabbed both of their hands, pulling them along.

"Cody!" he called as they crossed the street. "You're back!"

"Yeah," Cody said from beside Steve's truck.

"Did you have a good walk?" Jacob asked once they joined Cody and Steve.

"It was a hike, Jacob."

"Mom said you were on a long walk."

"I said it was like a long walk," Jenna corrected, ruffling his hair with a smile.

"I made a LEGO ship at the library. Lieutenant Catherine took a picture. Show Cody the picture!" he said, his voice full of excitement as he released Catherine's hand.

His mother cleared her throat and he looked up at her.

"Oh," he said, noting her raised eyebrows. He turned back to Catherine. "Please show Cody the picture?"

Catherine smiled, pulling out her phone and showing Cody and Steve the image on the screen.

"It was quite the impressive design," she said.

"Lieutenant Catherine used to live on a ship," Jacob said. "Did you know that, Cody? A really, really big one. But mine has more colors. And animals."

"Animals?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. See?" Jacob pointed at the screen. "There's a giraffe and a penguin and a tiger."

"No tigers on the Enterprise last I checked," Steve said with a quick smile at Catherine.

He moved to the back of the truck, taking out the hiking boots Cody had worn. They had both wiped the bulk of the mud off their boots with a couple of old towels before changing shoes for the drive back.

"Thanks for letting me borrow the boots," Cody said.

"Why don't you hang on to 'em?" Steve said, handing them over. "There's plenty more trails on the island. You okay with heights?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Good to know. And maybe next time we'll bring Cammie along."

"Your dog?"

"Yeah. You like dogs?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, then."

"I like dogs, too!" Jacob said. "Lieutenant Catherine said I could play with Cammie soon since Mom said it was okay."

Steve raised his eyebrows, glancing quickly at Catherine with a smile before looking at Jacob.

"Well, if Lieutenant Catherine said so, then we will definitely have to make that happen," he said with a wink.

"Cammie will love it," Catherine agreed.

"I'll tell you what, maybe we could have everyone over sometime," Steve suggested. "We'll have a barbecue."

"Can we, Mom?" Jacob asked. "With hamburgers?"

"Next time you have a weekend free," Catherine said to Jenna.

"Okay," Jenna said with a smile. "That sounds like fun."

"But Kaitlyn doesn't like dogs," Jacob said suddenly. "She gets scared."

"Well, Cammie is very sweet but she is big, so we'll make sure she doesn't overwhelm Kaitlyn," Catherine said.

"And if Kaitlyn gets to know a nice dog maybe she won't be as scared," Jenna said, squeezing Jacob's shoulder.

He nodded.

"Can I go have a snack now, Mom?" he asked.

"Sure."

"I'll take him up," Cody said.

He looked at Steve and held up the hiking boots.

"Thanks for . . . taking me and everything," he said.

Steve nodded. "You're welcome." He gave him a meaningful look. "I'll see you next week."

The corner of Cody's mouth twitched up in a smile. "Okay."

Jacob hugged Catherine. "Bye. Thanks for taking me to the library. I really like that place."

"I'm so glad," she said, returning his hug.

"See you next time!" He looked at Steve. "Bye, Commander Mc . . . Mc . . ."

"How about we just go with Commander?" Steve said. "Sound good?"

Jacob smiled broadly.

"Yeah. I can remember that."

"Okay, head upstairs, you two," Jenna said. "I'll be right behind you."

Jacob took off for the building's door while Cody gave Catherine a small smile.

"Bye, Cody," she said.

"Bye."

He looked between Steve and his mother. Steve gave him a small nod and Cody returned it.

"See ya," Cody said before walking toward the door.

Catherine glanced at Steve in understanding and looked at her watch.

"I should get going," she said. "Carrie's meeting me at the house to switch back the cars." She gave a little cringe and then smiled. "Time to see how many miles she managed to put on mine in one afternoon." She turned to Jenna. "It was great talking with you. We'll get in touch about the barbecue."

Jenna nodded. "Okay. Thanks for taking Jacob today."

"Absolutely," Catherine said with a smile. "We had a great time."

"I could tell," Jenna said, returning her smile.

Catherine gave her a final nod and said, "Bye." She touched Steve's arm briefly as she turned. "I'll see you at home."

He flashed her a quick smile. "Yep."

He and Jenna watched Catherine walk to Carrie's car and drive away.

"Something on your mind?" Jenna asked when Steve turned back to her. "Or rather . . . on Cody's mind?"

He nodded with a small smile at her perception.

"Cody mentioned wanting a job," he said.

Jenna sighed. "I know he wants one, but I want him to focus on school."

"Has he ever given you any reason to think he wouldn't be able to handle both?"

"No, not really," she admitted. "He's really responsible, as I'm sure you've noticed."

Steve nodded. "Of course it's your decision," he said. "But I think it'd be good for him. He wants to help you."

"He does help me. I don't know what I'd do without Cody. It's just . . ." she sighed. "He already does so much. I feel like . . . sometimes I feel like he barely had a childhood." She met Steve's eyes. "I want him to have a chance to be a teenager."

Steve paused thoughtfully.

"I think you should tell Cody that," he said. "I think he should know the whole reason you want him to wait. That's important . . . that he knows."

Jenna took in his serious expression.

"Maybe you're right," she said finally. "And as far as the job goes . . . I told him we'd talk about it again when he's sixteen."

Steve nodded. "That sounds fair," he said. "And when that time comes, I think you should really consider it."

Jenna paused and nodded slowly. "I will." She gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Commander."

"Steve," he reminded her.

"Steve," she said. "Thanks for everything you're doing. You and your whole team. My kids are really lucky to have you all in their lives."

He shook his head slightly.

"We're the lucky ones."

Steve pulled up in the driveway and stepped out of the truck to hear Catherine say, "Really, Carrie? 150 miles? You only had the car for four hours."

"You said to have fun with it," Carrie said, smiling. "There are a lot of scenic roads on the island."

Catherine laughed.

"Hey, I refilled the tank," Carrie said with a shrug, holding out her hands.

"Oh, thanks," Catherine said, rolling her eyes and smiling.

"Hey," Steve said as he joined them. "Sounds like you went on a joyride."

Carrie adjusted her sunglasses, looking at the Corvette. "I have got to get me one of these." She glanced at her watch. "I've also got to get going." She looked between them. "Dinner this week?"

Catherine nodded. "I'll call you. Thanks again for letting me use your car."

"Thank you," Carrie said as she took a few steps backward toward her vehicle. "Anytime. Seriously."

Catherine smiled, shaking her head. Steve gave a quick wave as Carrie got into her car and drove away.

Catherine turned to face Steve, folding her arms as he did the same. She looked at him expectantly. "So . . . how'd it go today?" she asked. "More small steps?"

His gaze was thoughtful.

"Not so small today," he said.

She smiled sincerely and reached over to squeeze his hand. He returned her smile, unfolding his arms to wrap one around her shoulder and pull her close as they walked toward the house.

Hope you enjoyed!

Note: Thanks to Sammy for the joyride idea!

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