Sammy & Ilna: It's Halloweeeeen! My favorite holiday! And I am so happy and excited to be spending it with you in the REAL World. Our second Halloween trilogy is just as much fun as the first. Here's to many more years of trick or treating with Steve & Catherine. There is no one I'd rather be doing this with than you two! xoxo
REALMcRollers: It's the start of the holiday season, and we are honestly so grateful for your loyalty and love. Steve & Catherine have so much in store, thanks for being along to enjoy it with them. Boo!
Caramel Kisses
(Part of the REAL World Halloween Trilogy)
Halloween Morning
"Cath?" Steve walked into the bathroom and called over the running water.
Her head popped out of the shower, and he grinned. "You're in here ten minutes, you waiting for company, Lieutenant?"
"It didn't come off so easily … maybe this wasn't our best idea," she chuckled.
He stripped down and stepped in beside her. "It's sugar, corn syrup and food coloring what's so …"
She splashed at him with a laugh. "Try getting it off your skin before you finish that thought."
"Can't be that …" He ran a hand over his chest where the water was mixing with the remaining candy apple coating they'd found an early morning and very creative use for. When his fingers stuck to his skin, he glanced up to see her raised eyebrows.
"A lot stickier than you thought, right?"
"Maybe I just need some help …" He moved to grab her, and she pecked his lips before pulling back.
"You need to clean up because we have a lot to do. But hold that thought." She handed him the soap. "Here."
Steve took it with a glint in his eyes. "We'll have to do a better job of cleaning it off before the shower next time."
She laughed and stepped out of the stall. "Duly noted. I cleaned up in here and tossed the towels in the hamper. Did you finish cleaning off the dresser?"
"Mission accomplished." He smirked. "And I changed the sheets."
"Great, I'll run a load of clothes. It said 'non-staining' on the package, but ..." She nodded at him, "It also said 'easy to wash off.'"
"Probably because most people are only washing it off their hands ..." His look was suggestive, and his tongue darted over his lips.
She shook her head with an amused grin as she wrapped a towel around her waist and reached for a second to dry her hair. "Later, Commander. We need to carry out Operation Trick-or-Treat soon and the rest of the McGarrett clan will be awake before we know it."
As Steve huffed a laugh and moved under the spray, Catherine stood for a second watching the candy apple coloring run off his body and down the drain. "Hmm," she mused, "maybe caramel next time. We could warm it up so it's easier to … play with." She winked at Steve's groan before leaving the bathroom with a huge smile to dress and get ready for the day.
After a relaxing morning and early lunch, Mary put Joan down for a nap, and Deb decided she'd lie down as well. Danny dropped Grace off to to help Catherine with some fun desserts while he and Steve ran to Foodland for last minute ingredients.
They returned from the store and came into the kitchen to find Catherine alone.
"Hey, hi." Steve smiled at Catherine.
"Hi, Cath. Where's Grace?" Danny asked as he began to unpack grocery bags while Steve gave Catherine a brief kiss and moved to take out pans and utensils to prepare the food.
"She's clearing the shelves in the garage refrigerator for the candy and caramel apples." Catherine smiled. "Steve, hand me another bag of that caramel?" She held out a hand while stirring a pot on the stove.
When he did, she ate one and popped one in his mouth before adding the rest to the mixture. Steve lingered and pecked her lips, mouthing the words, 'definitely caramel.'
"I saw that look." Danny snorted.
"What look?" Steve straightened as Catherine added a few additional caramel squares to the pot while continuing to stir.
"That one.
Do. Not. Say. A. Word.
You'll taint my image of caramel apples."
Their matching grins had them on the receiving end of an eye roll. "Too late. I'll have a candy apple instead." He swept a hand over the tray. "These were invented in 1908 in New Jersey, you know," Danny announced. "A candy-maker in Newark dipped some apples into the mixture because he was experimenting for Christmas. He put them in his windows for display and sold the whole first batch. Pretty soon they were being sold down the shore and the rest is history." He reached for one as Steve shook his head and Grace came in from the garage.
"You're back!" she announced, then turned to Catherine. "Fridge is all ready, I just need help moving the big tray of cupcakes from the one shelf. The icing is set."
"You can leave that, Gracie," Steve said. "I'll get it in a minute."
"Thanks, Uncle Steve." She turned to Catherine. "I can start melting the dark and white chocolate to decorate the caramel ..." She stopped and pointed to a spot on Catherine's arm that became visible as she removed her outer shirt, leaving just her tank top. "Did you burn yourself? I can get ice."
Catherine glanced at her, confused, saying, "No, why?" as Danny bit into the candy apple.
"You have a red mark on your arm." Grace pointed to Catherine's upper arm.
"Oh. Uh, no, Sweetie, that's just … dye from the candy coating. We did a ... test run. To melt it. I guess I got some on my arm this morning." She glanced at Steve before they both looked away, grinning.
Danny put down the apple and heaved a sigh as Grace said, "Oh, good, as long as you're okay," and headed back to the garage with a tray.
"I hate you." He tried to look annoyed at his best friend. "Are the cupcakes safe?"
Steve smirked. "Do you want the truth?"
"No, actually, I do not. Please, lie to me."
Catherine and Steve said, "They're safe," at the same time.
Danny groaned. "Well, now I can't … is there any food you two can't ... defile?"
"Brussels sprouts." They spoke in union again, then laughed.
Steve continued, "One wrong move and ... well, let's just say no one wants to be explaining that to an ER doctor."
Catherine added, "And if you wanna get technical, because it's a condiment not a food, fire sauce, because even if it's from ... ah, indirect contact, it's a recipe for disaster." She looked at Steve with contrite eyes.
"Hell, yeah." Steve winced, and she tilted her head sympathetically even as
his glance said, 'no regrets.' He was smiling broadly when he added, "Oh, and no unsliced pineapple."
"Pineapple burns anyway," she confirmed.
Steve nodded. "And guacamole; not easy to get out of sheets. It's okay on a cleanable surface like the counter ... " He looked towards where Danny was leaning.
"Now you're just making stuff up," his partner scoffed.
"Am I?" Steve's look was challenging.
"Yes. Because … yes." Danny nodded.
"Do you really want to know if you're right?"
Catherine was grinning when she shook her head to indicate 'no' to Danny as he pushed off the counter.
"You are unbelievable. Just stop."
"You make it too easy sometimes." Steve barked a laugh. "Here, have a banana. No wait ... better make it a peach, um ... strawberry."
"Shut up, I'm leaving. My appetite is gone."
Catherine laughed. "You can't leave. And I'm sorry, but you did open the door that time."
"And you people are ... hey, Monkey, all set?" Danny tossed his partner a look that earned him a smug smile as he turned to address his daughter who had appeared in the doorway.
"Yes. I'm ready to decorate the caramel apples." She grabbed a piece of caramel with a grin and popped it in her mouth. "This one's for a taste test." Grace bounced over to plant a kiss on her dad's cheek. "Remember I used to do that when I was little?"
Danny wet a paper towel and wiped at the sticky residue. "I do. And you'd get upset if I wiped off the stickiness; you thought I was wiping off your kisses."
He turned to Catherine who was grinning. "When she was three, I had to wipe off a whole season's worth of caramel kisses in the car."
Grace laughed. "Awww. That's why you're the best dad." Danny's smile lit his eyes as she turned to tell Catherine, "I'm gonna do a red M&M covered one for Jacob, and..."
When he turned back to Catherine and Grace, they were at the counter with their heads together, laughing and he said, "Go move the cupcakes outta the freezer, Steven, I'll start the food." Smiling at the look of undisguised love his best friend gave Catherine and her dazzling smile in response, Danny shook his head.
"Luckiest S.O.B. alive."
Steve returned as Grace and Danny were placing mini pizzas decorated as jack-'o-lanterns with olive and veggie faces in the oven. "Aren't they cute, Uncle Steve?" Grace bubbled. "Danno used to make these for me when I was little."
"Those look great, Gracie. Give me the hot dogs; let me show you what we're gonna do over here."
Grace brought him the package of hot dogs and some Pillsbury crescent roll dough; fifteen minutes later they had mummy wrapped hot dogs ready to pop in the oven.
"Let me get a picture first!" Grace grabbed her phone. "Did you make this recipe up?" she asked Catherine.
"No, it's my mom's. She saw it in a magazine when I was a kid and they were a big hit when we made them for a base party."
"That's so cute. How old were you?"
"Oh, she made them from when I was little, second grade, maybe. But the base party - I was about fifteen. We were stateside at the time and I offered to help with the party for the little kids with a couple of new friends I'd made."
"Aw, does Aunt Elizabeth have any Halloween pictures she can text?"
Danny slung an arm around his daughter. "Your Aunt Catherine is an only child, I'm betting there's a couple thousand Halloween pictures floating around between her mom and dad and Grandma Ang." He winked.
Grace grinned. "Can I text her?"
Catherine nodded. "Are you kidding? She'd love it."
"Show her the hot dog picture," Steve added, smiling.
"Cool." Grace sent a text and put her phone away. "Should we do the guacamole now, Auntie Cath?"
"I think we're ready. We didn't want to do it too early or it'd get brown."
"Wait till you see it," Grace gushed. "We found it online. It's a surprise though."
"Well, we're pretty much all set in here," Catherine said. "Steve, if you grab the stuff in the oven when it's done, Grace and I can make the guac and set up the drinks and snacks outside."
"We're good. Go ahead." Steve waved them towards the deck while checking the mini pizzas.
"We have string cheese and pretzel witch's brooms in the outside fridge next to oranges cut into jack o lanterns and stuffed with fruit," Catherine added.
"When did you make the oranges?"
"I didn't. Carrie dropped them off. She's going to the base trunk-or-treat and Halloween party for the kids or she'd be here. She knew we've had a long week since the Sinclair trial starts on Monday so she made extra for us."
Catherine had been out of HQ for most of the week doing an intense trial prep, which meant more work upon her return. She couldn't wait to get the whole thing behind her. She smiled softly at how Steve was more than willing to help distract her and her grin broadened with the thought of the Halloween festivities, which were a great way to kick back and relax.
"They have a party at Pearl?" Grace asked.
"Yeah, a really nice one. The kids of civilian base personnel are invited and the families of stateside and deployed officers and enlisted get a chance to get together."
"That's great," Danny said sincerely.
"I loved those parties as a kid. Mom and I kept volunteering until I left for the academy." Catherine smiled at Steve. She'd volunteered with Navy kids' activities going back to their Annapolis days.
The adults turned at the sound of Joan squealing, "GWACE!" as she and Mary entered after her nap.
Grace clapped and went to take her from Mary. "Hi, Joan! I missed you!" She kissed the little girl's cheek, blew a raspberry, and they both giggled. "Are you ready for Halloween?"
"Twick o' tweat!" Joan clapped as Grace gave Mary a kiss hello.
"Let's get you a snack, peanut, then we can help set up for dinner." Mary grinned. "Grace, are you ready for tonight?"
"I'm ready. I love Halloween. I went to the preschool party with my brother Charles yesterday. He looked so cute. He was Woody from Toy Story. Wanna have some fruit with me, Joan?"
"Can I give her some melon and strawberries?" At Mary's nod, she moved toward the refrigerator with Joan perched on her hip.
Steve and Catherine shared a smile at how very much like Danny his daughter was, right down to her natural way with younger kids.
Joan was set up in her booster chair, happily munching on her snack when Grace said, "Mary, Auntie Cath and I are making this cool guacamole centerpiece thing. Wanna help?"
"Hey, Mary gets to help and we can't even see it?" Steve placed a hand over his heart in mock disappointment.
Grace just grinned. "Mary's not here every day. Will you and Danno watch Joan while we make it?"
Steve exchanged a glance with Catherine. She could see his smile at Grace including his sister when he nodded, and she grinned. "We'll make it on the deck. C'mon, Mary."
As Mary set a pumpkin onto a platter and surrounded its base with tortilla rounds, Grace spooned the guacamole so it looked like it was spewing from the pumpkin's carved, open mouth. "This is gross, I love it!" Mary high fived Grace.
"We found it online. I can't wait till Casey and Dylan see it."
"I can't wait to meet them." Mary smiled.
Catherine placed blue corn chips and little bowls of pico de gallo around the display, and they stood back to admire their handiwork while Grace took a picture.
"I'll go tell Uncle Steve and Danno to come see it. If Joan is done with her snack, can she play outside for a little while?" When Mary agreed, Grace went inside to get them and appeared once again with Joan on her hip.
"She's heavy, Grace, you don't have to …" Mary began, but when Danny winked and shook his head, she smiled as her toddler hugged Grace tighter.
"Make cas-uw, Gwace!"
"Oh, maybe Mommy doesn't want you to get all sandy, Joan. How about we play catch with Cammie on the grass?" She looked to the adults for approval, and Mary nodded.
"Good idea," Mary said. "You're a great sitter, Grace."
Grace shrugged and said, "Thanks. I'm used to Charles. Boys are always getting really dirty. He sometimes needs to change again right before a party or if we have to go out, or … well, their clothes get dirty a lot."
Catherine looked at Steve and back at their niece with a grin. "You think?" she teased and patted his tummy playfully. He opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it, shrugged and kissed her temple.
Grace laughed and looked at Joan. "Wanna throw the ball for Cammie, Joan?"
"Cammie!" Joan said, and the dog, who'd followed Steve out onto the deck, went and picked up her ball.
Steve grinned and said, "Smartest dog on Oahu," to Mary before he and Danny made the appropriate fuss over the 'puking pumpkin' display as he called it with a grin.
"Let's get the rest of the food set out, the Allens will be here soon." Catherine moved towards the kitchen.
"All the decorations really do look great, Cath." Mary pointed around the deck as she glanced at the lawn where Grace tossed the ball. When Cammie retrieved, Grace held it out for Joan to do the same. They'd tossed it several times, and Joan was clapping and laughing.
"Hey, I helped!" Steve fell in step with her and slung an arm around Catherine. "I even helped pick 'em out."
"Well, then good job, big brother. I'm sure the tasteful ones are Catherine's choices …" she teased. "I'm gonna get my kid so Grace can get a few real throws in for Cammie." She stepped off the deck.
When she returned, Steve and Catherine were back with the hot finger foods.
"Jenna just texted; they're on their way."
Catherine returned the phone to her pocket as Mary said, "Those hot dogs are adorable. I'm just gonna wash her up a little while you finish putting that out and go wake Aunt Deb. She said to make sure she was up when the Allens got here."
Before she reached the door, Danny stood up. "I'll take her, Mary, you go get Deb." He clapped, and Joan smiled at him. "C'mon, Joan, wanna come with me and wash your hands?" He scooped the reaching toddler from her mother and expertly slung the smaller bag Mary had moved to the porch over his shoulder. "Come with Uncle Danny, I got ya."
"Unca Danno!"
Danny's eyes widened slightly, and he cleared his throat at Joan's use of Grace's name for him.
"That okay, Danny?" Mary raised her chin to indicate the name she'd only heard Grace and her brother use for his partner.
Danny's smile was huge as he hugged his best friend's niece. "That is very, very much okay. C'mon, Joan, we have a lot to talk about. I have tons of stuff on your Uncle Steve."
"Unca Teeve!" Joan pointed and waved at him over Danny's shoulder.
Steve's smile was as broad as his partner's when he called out, "Stick up for me, Joanie!" and Catherine placed a loving hand on his back.
When Danny and a smiling Joan returned to the deck and took a seat next to Grace, Joan announced, "Unca Danno, Gwace," while patting Danny's cheek, and Grace tickled her tummy.
"That's right." She pretended to reveal a secret to the toddler. "But you know what? Your Uncle Danno is my daddy." She leaned over to kiss Danny's cheek, and he absolutely beamed when Joan announced, "Kiss!" and did the same.
"Not so long ago it was you in my lap." Danny said to a grin and head shake from his daughter. He helped Joan, who was reaching for a piece of cheese, and pushed the plate with the candy and caramel apples out of her reach and smiled. "After you eat your dinner, you can start a new wave of caramel kisses." As Mary and Deb joined them, he said, "Enjoy this age, Mary, they get big way too fast."
Deb's eyes glanced from Mary to Steve and back, and she nodded with a little grin. "Next thing you know, they have grey hair."
Danny and Catherine laughed when Steve said, "Hey, I thought you said it looked distinguished…" and Catherine placed a hand on his bicep and squeezed gently at his happy expression.
The family had no sooner sat down to wait when Cammie alerted seconds before the sound of the doorbell.
"They're here!" Grace announced, popping up, and Joan, bouncing in Danny's lap, threw up her arms and exclaimed, "T'ey heeeeere!"
Thanks for reading.
The story picks up right here with Ilna's BONUS story tomorrow! Happy Halloween to all who celebrate!
Special thanks to Sammy & Ilna for brainstorming the amazing lines in the kitchen!
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