Our thoughts and prayers are with the Baton Rouge victims and their loved ones.

ANs at the end

For Luck

Disney Store, Oahu

They'd stopped at the mall on the way home from running errands and Catherine tugged Steve into the Disney Store. "Last stop, we need a gift for Jennifer and Mike's baby and we're done."

Steve's groan dissipated and Catherine grinned as his eyes swept the display of Star Wars weapons. "We're here for a stuffed Yoda." She plucked a large one from the display.

"Yoda?" He pointed. "How about the lightsabers ..."

"Nope, his mom said he loves Yoda, I'm sure that's her Star Wars love coming through," she smiled. "Besides, he's only one." She placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed gently. "C'mon, Commander, unless you're eyeing that flame rifle for your next birthday …" she laughed.

"Hey, if that was real..." Steve smirked and followed her towards the register.

"And there it is …" She shook her head with a knowing grin and moved through the store intending to pay for the gift and go home, but as they passed a display, she stopped short. "Ohhh, look."

Handing the large stuffed Yoda to Steve, Catherine plucked an Ariel outfit from the rack and held it up. "Joan's favorite."

"Favorite color?" Steve smiled at Catherine's obvious delight, but wasn't quite sure what she meant.

"Favorite princess, Uncle Steve," she declared and turned the sparkly material to see every angle. "I have to get this for her." She began sorting through the rack. "If we get a 4T, then she can wear it for a while."

"How do you …" He grinned, "nevermind."

"Joan's a 3T or 4T depending on the clothes. I want her to be able to wear it for a while so a little big is perfect."

"Since we're buying Joanie stuff …"

She snorted a laugh. "We could get the little lightsabers and keep 'em at our house…"

Steve nodded. "Excellent."

"Look at you, you're ready to stage a battle right now."

He shrugged, completely unrepentant. "Lightsabers are awesome."

"Of course they are."

A smiling cast member, whose nametag read, Aioki - My favorite character is Pluto approached to see if they needed assistance.

"Just the Yoda gets gift wrapped, please, and we'll also take this." Catherine held up the outfit as her eyes caught Steve's. "And the light sabers."

"For your niece and nephew?" Aioki asked delightedly. She'd heard part of their conversation.

"Nope, just our niece." Catherine winked. "Not all damsels are in distress."

Steve grinned ear to ear as he looked at his wife proudly. "Absolutely not."

Aioki gave them a dimpled smile and took their selections. "There's a little bit of a line. I could bring these up for you and you can browse around a bit more."

"Actually, I'm going to run to the restroom," Catherine said, indicating the exit. The restrooms were only a few doors down from the store.

"Go," Steve said. "I'll pay for these and meet you at the mall entrance."

"Sounds like a plan." She made her way out of the store, smiling at a toddler who was holding an Elsa dress and spinning in circles.

Ten minutes later, Catherine stopped back in the Disney Store on her way to the exit. The line had been long and she wanted to see if Steve had indeed gotten through the checkout in the time she was gone. Seeing no sign of him, she assumed he was waiting near the mall doors and after a brief stop, moved to meet up with him and head home.

Back at their house, Steve took Cammie for a run and when he returned, Catherine was winding up a Skype call with her dad. Walking into view of the screen, Steve took a seat next to her on the sofa and placed a kiss on her temple as he exchanged greetings with Joseph.

"Did Catherine tell you she was responsible for closing the human trafficking case?" His smile was bright and proud.

"She did. Congratulations again, sweetheart."

Joseph's grin was as proud as Steve's.

"Those women can finally go home to their families."

"There was a whole team on the case, I -"

"And she was the most instrumental." Steve's smile never dimmed.

"Steve -" She shook her head with a small smile of her own.

"Hey, the Secretary of State agrees with me, so …"

Joseph's eyes lit even further. "Really?"

"Called her personally to thank her and said the lieutenant governor singled her out."

"That's outstanding. And well deserved." At his daughter's look, Joseph added, "Like I've said before, accept the compliment, Catherine, you deserve it."

She nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

"I'm proud of you, honey, and I can't wait to tell your mother and Grandma Ang. Speaking of which, I'm off to pick her up. Bingo is just about over. Have a good night, and get some rest, both of you."

"Goodnight, Dad. Love you."

"Night, Joseph."

They said together, and Catherine exited out of the application as the screen went dark.

Steve stood. "You coming up?"

She nodded. "Be right there. I'm gonna make a cup of tea. Want one?"

"No, I'm good." He moved to take the stairs as she went into the kitchen.

In their bedroom, Steve glanced at the door to the hall before reaching into the pocket of his cargoes. Extracting a small Disney bag, separate from the one they'd left downstairs containing the gifts for their friends' son and Joan, he removed a tiny item. After first running a hand over it, he rolled it carefully, and with the hint of a smile playing across his lips, Steve tucked it into the back of his underwear drawer and went to take a shower.

Catherine heard the shower running as she entered their bedroom and placed the mug of tea on her night table. Briefly looking at the slightly ajar bathroom door, she opened her purse and took out an item that caused a tiny, soft smile of her own. After tracing it with a delicate finger, she folded it neatly and with a gentle hand put it in the very back of her top dresser drawer.

Straightening, she turned a dazzling smile on Cammie, brought her finger to her lips and and said, "for luck. Shhh." Stripping off her T-shirt, she called out, "Hey Commander, save some hot water to make pictures on the tiles …"

# End thanks for reading

Sammy and Ilna: I love you guys for making this the most wonderful journey -not to mention friendship - I could hope for.

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