If you haven't yet read our short set up story, The REAL World, please go read that first. You can find it with the rest of Mari217's great work. This story takes place in that universe.

Sammy's Notes: I'm having an absolute blast writing in this universe. Thanks to Mari for coming up with the idea of The Real World and ilna for enthusiastically agreeing to come along for the ride. I've gotten a number of PMs lately from people asking if I would be writing another story like Chasing Old Ghosts. The answer is yes. It's on the way. The title will be Obsession. 85 pages before final edits begin so this one may actually get close to 100. YIKES!

McGarrett/Rollins Residence

12:15 A.M.

Steve dozed on the couch while a movie that had been unable to catch his attention enough to keep him alert droned softly in the background. A half empty Longboard sat on the coffee table along with the empty take out containers that had held his dinner just a few hours earlier.

The sound of his cell phone buzzing against the table startled him awake. A quick glance at the caller ID revealed an unfamiliar number.

"McGarrett," he answered, shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the sleep cobwebs.

"Commander McGarrett, this is Kylie. The bartender at Sidestreet."

"Kylie … hi … what can I do for you?"

Steve glanced at his watch and saw that it was 12:15 A.M.

"I wasn't sure whether I should call you or not," Kylie said somewhat nervously. "She told me not to call. She said they'd be fine."

Steve was instantly on alert, every trace of sleep gone. He sat up and slipped on his shoes which had been deposited under the coffee table hours earlier as he stretched out on the couch, attempting to get comfortable.

"Who are we talking about Kylie?"

"Ms. Rollins."

Steve couldn't figure out what Catherine would be doing at Sidestreet after midnight. She and Amber were supposed to be having a girl's night out. They had been talking about it all week. They were going to have a few drinks, go see a movie, then have a late dinner at a new pizza place they'd both been eager to try.

"Is she … wait … what do you mean she told you not to call? Is she alright?"

"She's fine. They're both fine. There was just a little … incident."

"What kind of incident?" Steve growled. "You know what … never mind. You said they're both ok, right?"

"They're fine," Kylie assured him.

"Good. I'm on my way. I'll get the details when I get there."

Steve stood up, grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. In less than a minute he was backing his truck out of the driveway, heading for Sidestreet. On the way he dialed his partner.

"Steve," Danny answered excitedly. "Have you heard from Catherine lately?"

"No," Steve said calmly, "but I just got a call from Kylie at Sidestreet saying there's been some kind of incident. She said everything's ok though and they're both fine. I'm on my way right now." He could tell Danny was getting wound up and he wanted to reassure his best friend that as far as he knew the girls were safe. "Have you heard from Amber?"

"I got a call about 20 minutes ago but all I could hear was a lot of shouting and chaos. I've been trying to call her back since then and she's not answering. I'm gonna see if Miss Davis can come over and stay with Grace and then I'm heading out to Sidestreet."

"Sounds good," Steve said. "See you there."

Sidestreet Bar

12:35 A.M.

Steve relaxed as soon as he saw Catherine and Amber sitting at the bar, apparently unharmed but, judging by the way they were both swaying slightly on their stools, more than a little tipsy.

He approached them slowly with a wide grin on his face. "Hello, ladies."

Catherine scowled and looked at Kylie. "I told you not to call him," she said accusingly.

The pretty blonde bartender shrugged her shoulders and moved to the other end of the bar.

"Why did you not want her to call me?" Steve couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend's glassy eyes.

"Because I took care of it myself," she said defiantly.

"Took care of what yourself?"

Amber pointed her finger wobbily towards two men sitting in the back corner of the bar. Steve couldn't help but notice that one of them was sporting a bloody lip and a menacing scowl. He returned the look and the man shrunk down in his seat.

"That guy made a pass at me," Amber said. "I told him I wasn't interested but he wouldn't back off."

"Why do men do that," Catherine asked testily, her gaze fixed on Steve.

Amber cast a similar glance in solidarity with her friend. "Yeah, why do men do that?"

"Make passes at pretty women?" Steve smirked. "I'd think that would be fairly obvious."

"No, Steve," Catherine sighed. "Why do men assume that if a woman, or a group of women, are alone in a bar they're looking to pick up men?"

"Yeah, why do they think that?" Amber demanded.

Steve held up his hands as if to ward off an inquisition. "You two are asking the wrong guy. I haven't hit on a woman in a bar in years. In fact, the last time was this little place in Bangkok."

Catherine smiled at the memory of that night while Amber looked confused. Steve slipped his arm around Cath's shoulders, placed a kiss on her temple and explained to Amber, "It was the night I corrected the worst mistake I ever made, breaking up with Catherine, and begged her to take me back. Luckily she took pity on me and agreed."

"You didn't beg," Catherine poked him in the ribs.

"I would have," he said sincerely.

"That's a sweet story," Amber sighed, then hiccupped.

Steve stifled a laugh. "If someone was giving you a problem why didn't you call Danny or me? Or tell Kylie so she could call the police?"

Amber's back straightened. "Because we are not damsels in distress and we don't need a man to save us."

Catherine beamed and high-fived Amber. "Damn straight."

"I see," Steve smiled.

"We were coming back from the bathroom. All we wanted to do was sit down and have another drink. But that guy," Amber pointed haphazardly, "stepped in front of me and wouldn't let me pass."

"So let me guess," Steve looked across the bar once again at the man's split lip, "Catherine hit him."

"She punched him," Amber said proudly as she lifted up Catherine's hand and showed Steve his girlfriend's bruised knuckles.

Before Steve could say anything else Danny hurried into the bar. He spotted them and rushed over immediately. The first things he noticed were Steve's silly smile and the four glassy eyes of Amber and Catherine staring back at him.

"What are you doing here?" Amber asked cheerily.

"You called me."

"I did not," Amber scoffed.

"Well you dialed me … then you didn't say anything … and all I could hear was some angry talking and what sounded like pushing and shoving … but you weren't saying anything. I kept trying to call back but you didn't answer."

Amber pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Oh sorry. I must have accidentally set it on silent."

"Then Steve called and said there'd been an incident."

"Oh…well….not to worry…we're fine," Amber said lightly.

"Apparently," Danny grinned. "Maybe even a little better than fine."

"Catherine took care of things." Amber said proudly as she once again grabbed Catherine's hand and displayed her bruised knuckles.

Suddenly Danny understood Steve's smile. "Things?"

Steve pointed to the two men in the back of the room, gathering their belongings under the watchful eye of the bar security guard. Danny shook his head. He wanted the details of what had happened but clearly Cath had taken care of it so he decided he could wait till later when he and Amber were alone to ask exactly what had transpired. "I thought you two were planning to have a couple of drinks and go to the movies."

"We never made it to the movies," Catherine stated matter-of-factly.

"And we had more than a couple of drinks," Amber snorted.

"I can see that," Danny chuckled as he reached out a hand to steady her as she swayed a little on her stool.

"Some of Catherine's old Navy buddies were here earlier," Amber said as though it explained everything.

"Not buddies," Catherine sneered.

"Who?" Steve asked, concern edging into his voice.

"Royce and Watkins." Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding? What are they doing in Hawaii?"

"Some training thing at Pearl. They're only here for a few weeks."

"Still as annoying as ever?"

"More so."

"Who are Royce and Watkins?" Danny asked.

"We went to the…" Cath waved her hand trying to come up with the word she was looking for.

"Naval Academy," Steve supplied helpfully.

"Right. We went to the Naval Academy together. I graduated higher than them and got the position they were after. They were jerks about it."

"That's it in a nutshell," Steve said. "They didn't like the idea of women at the Academy to begin with and they really hated Cath because she was better than them at everything from academics to the obstacle course." He smiled proudly.

"I was pretty good at the obstacle course," Cath nodded.

"I'll bet you were," Danny smiled. "But that doesn't explain how you ended up here drinking all night instead of going to the movies. I would have thought you would have wanted to get away from them if you don't like them."

"They challenged us to pool." Amber's eyes twinkled.

"They didn't," Danny laughed.

"They knew Cath was good but they must have thought I was a weak link."

"I guess you didn't tell them that you're very good at pool."

"No," she grinned slyly. "I let them find it out for themselves."

Catherine picked up the story. "After they lost the first three games they started buying us drinks thinking it would throw us off."

"But it didn't," Steve guessed.

"Of course not," Amber and Catherine said in unison then high-fived again. "We beat them every game and they had to be carried out of here by a couple of Ensigns their CO sent to retrieve them."

Steve and Danny couldn't help but chuckle at how proud the women were of themselves.

Danny reached for his wallet. "Let me settle up the bill and we can get out of here."

"Oh, no, that's ok," Amber said as she opened her purse and pulled out a wad of crumpled bills. "I can pay with my pool winnings."

"Ok, but if you're going to buy the drinks then breakfast is on me," Catherine said triumphantly as she withdrew a similar wad of bills from her purse. "Let's find an open diner. I'm starved."

The End

Follow up to come entitled After the Incident.