Sammy and Ilna- "Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them."
— Anna Taylor
REALMcRollers - You warm our hearts with your love and support. Thank you so much!
Special thanks to Suz for the meme she sent me over a year ago saying "I can see Cath doing this"
Date Day
"So where are you going on your date?" Mary's voice filled the room when Catherine put her on speaker to pull a purple and black striped top over her head.
"We're gonna play it by ear, but I have the first stop planned."
"Ohh nice. Brunch? Swimming?"
Catherine picked up the phone and disengaged speaker. "The firing range."
Mary snorted. "I'd say I can't believe that but actually I'm surprised I didn't think of it. I'll let you go. Kiss my niece and go outshoot my brother."
"Roger that." Catherine chuckled and ended the call just as Steve entered the bedroom with Cammie.
"All set, Rollins? 'Cause I'm thinking loser buys lunch."
His grin was so relaxed and happy she couldn't resist wrapping her arms around him. She kissed him quickly. "You are so on." Firing a weapon while pregnant was a no-no due to the noise level, and she was itching to get back on the range.
He took a step to the side and let her exit the room first. "Been since October, feeling rusty?"
She stopped in the hall and gave him a saucy smile. "It was four weeks and two days since we had sex, Commander, did I seem rusty to you on Friday?" She moved closer and patted his abs. "Or yesterday? Or this morning?"
Steve's smile was broad and immediate. "You were a lot of things, Lieutenant. Rusty definitely wasn't one of 'em."
Catherine laughed when he tightened his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. "Hold that thought. I have definite plans for later, but for right now I'm going to kick your butt at the firing range." She slipped out of his grasp after a quick kiss and with dancing eyes turned and all but ran down the stairs.
"Sorry, Lieutenant." Burt James, the HPD ballistics instructor pulled up the targets. "The Commander's got 100% with the SIG and 100% with the rifle."
"I believe you owe me lunch, Rollins." Steve pointed as he holstered his weapon.
"Don't gloat, McGarrett." She pointed at the target as well.
Sargent James handed Catherine both targets. "100 and 99 percent? That's damn good shooting, just like always. Your center of gravity's still settling back, Lieutenant. Hoisting the rifle, especially for the one-armed shots a month after having a baby and scoring a 99 … that's impressive as hell."
She smirked at Steve. "Thanks, Burt, gimme a few days, I'll tag 100."
"You're welcome and I got no doubt you will."
He'd come in on Sunday to open the range for an hour. He was fond of the task force commander, sure, but couldn't imagine trying to swap out duties when he'd heard Lieutenant Rollins wanted to spend an hour there. He'd missed seeing her at the range during her pregnancy. Especially since she'd continued to come down and qualify after becoming the governor's chief of staff. She was one of those genuinely kind people - always especially nice to him and the rest of the HPD officers. She asked about his grandkids every time she saw him and even remembered their names.
He'd been on the force coming up on fifteen years. And he'd noticed how Steve McGarrett, who was always fair and decent, if somewhat close to the vest, had grown less closed off over the years. Bert smiled. He attributed the change to the commander's beautiful, and downright brilliant wife. Last week when McGarrett came down to requisition ammo, he was grinning. Ear to ear, 'let me show you a picture of my daughter' grinning.
Burt James nodded at the younger man. "So, Commander, how's the baby toda …"
He didn't quite finish before Steve had his phone out and was pulling up a photo of Angie.
"She's great, gained over two pounds. She's nine point two and a quarter inch taller. And really smart already, I took this shot this morning. See how she's looking right at the lens?" He was literally beaming.
"She's beautiful." The father of three and grandfather of two smiled at the new dad. "Looks just like her mama, huh?"
"Thanks." His smile grew almost impossibly wider. Steve's eyes flicked to his wife, who was pulling out her own phone and stepping a few paces to the side.
As he extolled their daughter's talent at holding her head up during tummy time, Catherine placed a call.
"Hi, Mom, everything okay?"
"Perfect," Elizabeth's whispered voice came over the line.
"Is she sleeping? You don't have to whisper, she won't wake up with your normal voice."
Her mother chuckled. "I'm whispering because they're both sleeping. She's fast asleep lying across your father's chest. He gave her a bottle and she drifted right off. I was sitting next to them and next I knew, I was the only one awake." She chuckled.
"Ohhh. She does that with Steve. I need a picture, please." She melted at the thought of Angie and her grandpa dozing together.
"I already took several. Prepare yourself, because it's downright adorable. Are you and Steve enjoying yourselves? How was the range?"
Catherine huffed a sigh. "He beat me. I pulled a 99 with the rifle."
"Four weeks after giving birth." Her mother's chuckle was both proud and amused. "Go have a relaxing lunch. I've got the watch. At least until the formidable Captain Rollins here wakes up from his nap."
Both women laughed and she ended the call just as Steve came up to her.
"She okay?"
"Perfect. Apparently she's napping with dad."
Steve shook his head with a huff of laughter. "That is perfect." He put an arm over her shoulders. "So … I'm thinking I want a big lunch."
She tilted her head with a snort.
"With you paying and all …"
"Like I said, don't gloat, McGarrett, it's unsportsmanlike." She said goodbye to Bert and looked up at Steve. "And I want a rematch."
With pride for her score clearly written on his face as they exited the range, he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Of course you do."
Anna's Restaurant
Steve tore into his steak and eggs with gusto while Catherine hummed at her first bite of ketchupy eggs.
"Mmmm, so good. I missed my favorite breakfast." She smiled and reached for the warm syrup for her waffle. Cutting a wedge, she held out a forkful. "Want a bite?"
"That is pretty good, but I like pancakes better …" He smirked at her look just as a text dinged both their phones.
A photo of Angie wearing her US Naval Academy onesie popped up on each. She was sleeping on Joseph's chest while he dozed with one hand protectively on her back.
"Ohhh, Steve, look at her. All snug and comfy. And Dad's in his glory."
"She looks pretty happy." Steve nodded. "Wanna call again?" He knew what the hours away from home were like when he'd gone back to work. The first few times he was gone all day all he wanted to do was check on Angie and Catherine.
"Yeah, but …" She shrugged with a tiny smile, knowing he missed the baby as much as she did. "But I can wait till right after lunch. I'll need to pump by then anyway."
As soon as their meal was finished, they checked in again. Angie was being given a bottle while being informed about the Cubs' upcoming road trip by Grandma Ang who had returned from the complex's "Senior Sunday Funday" where she'd won two games of bingo and a round of Name That Tune.
Eyes wide, the baby seemed to look directly at her parents via FaceTime, and they pressed their heads together to see her expressions.
"Mommy and Daddy love you, baby girl. We're coming back before you know it …" Catherine stopped when her voice hitched and Steve took over.
"We miss you. Finish your bottle for Grandma Ang, okay?"
When the call ended, he kissed his wife's cheek as she wiped a hand over her eyes.
"I know," he said.
"I'm really happy to have a few hours of just us, but when I see her little face …" She sighed.
"I get it. Me too." He kissed her lips quickly and put his phone in a pocket. "Ready?"
"Yeah, let's walk a little. But first I want to stop at the bathrooms across the street. They have accommodations and I need to pump."
They walked with fingers entwined to a beachfront area that according to her phone, had 'family restrooms'. Catherine took the light pack Steve was carrying and excused herself.
He pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against when she returned only minutes later.
"What's wrong?" He tilted his chin towards the structure.
"There're no seats." Her nose wrinkled. "And I'd rather not sit in a stall to pump."
His face clouded. "The locator app said family restrooms, that's supposed to mean a changing table and a place to sit." He'd clearly checked his book for a description.
"Well, there's a rickety looking table with a plastic cover and no seat. C'mon, I'll pump in the truck, I have a drape in the bag."
"That's not right, Catherine. What if you wanted to feed Angie? I don't want you having to do it outside on a bench in a hundred and ten degree weather. There should be a comfortable place inside."
"It's definitely not right. I'll do some checking. If this is the norm, there's got to be a solution. I mean Angie will be weaning before long and until she does I have a private office and a nice family restroom/lounge Lea had redecorated last year. I'm lucky at least at work. I can feed her where it's cool and comfortable but what about everyone else? Moms in retail stores, or women who are taking public transportation with a baby." Her eyes widened as scenarios crossed her mind. "What about tourists visiting the island? This particular rest area is a public park beach. They shouldn't have to go back to a hotel. And women with more than one child need a place to sit with their older kids while feeding a baby. Just because there are state laws against discrimination for breastfeeding in public doesn't mean there shouldn't be decent accommodations."
He saw a familiar look on his wife's face and Steve McGarrett knew there'd be something in the works for moms and babies to be accommodated more comfortably fairly soon. "Judging from that glint in your eyes, Chief of Staff Rollins, there'll be a change in the works in the near future."
She was quite comfortable pumping in the truck while Steve kept the air running. Afterwards they stopped for ice cream and Catherine ordered a double scoop cherry-chocolate soda.
Steve couldn't hold back a grin when two women just vacating the next table recognized them from newspapers and local TV news and offered their congratulations.
The younger of the two pointed at Catherine's dessert with wide eyes. "You go, Lieutenant, getting the big ice cream. Because you definitely don't look like you just had a baby," she said as her friend nodded in agreement.
"I'm still fighting ten pounds and my kid is eight." She laughed. "You look beautiful, prettier than on the news, even. You should eat whenever you're hungry. The baby depletes a lot of your nutrition."
"Thank you." Catherine smiled. "I have been hungry since I had her. The doctor said that's natural so …" She waved her spoon over the confection.
"You look like that, you can eat all the ice cream you want." The smiling woman told her. "Have a good day. You, too, Commander."
Arriving home in the early afternoon, they played with Cammie on the beach. When Catherine stifled a yawn as she tossed a ball into the surf, Steve kissed her temple. "That looks like you need a nap. Cammie will sleep, too, she's been playing almost an hour. So … nap?"
"Only if you join me." She leaned into his side and slid an arm around his waist while they watched the dog swim out, retrieve the ball and start towards shore.
"Are you agreeing to an actual nap or is that a euphemism, because I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really think you should sleep."
"That's me agreeing to an actual nap." She poked his stomach lightly. "Besides, I want a rematch, I need to be in top form."
"Why don't we go upstairs for awhile then I'll pick up dinner. Deal?"
She held out a hand. When he took it she tugged him in for a kiss. "Deal."
After a call to her parents, a nap and then another Facetime with Angie, Steve went out to pick up deli sandwiches for dinner. Catherine had a yen for a turkey reuben and there was a deli near Danny's house whose owner was from the Bronx.
Thirty five minutes later, Steve entered the house, greeted Cammie and went to put the sandwiches in the refrigerator. Getting no answer to his, "Cath?! I'm back," he curiously opened the door to the deck. As he approached to see a bright yellow and cammo object on the table, he spotted a note.
Reading up the paper he barked a laugh even as his eyes lit. The object was an X-Stream Water Super Saturator and the label exclaimed: Pump action water gun fun for teens and adults!
Weighing it in his hands, he smiled and tried the pump, nodding at the distance and force of the water stream. Grabbing three bottles of ammo in the form of water from the outside fridge, he added them to his cargo pockets while calling, "You're on, Rollins!" and jumping off the deck at a run.
On the table, Catherine's note was held down by the empty packaging. The paper that ruffled in the breeze read:
Rematch, Commander.
Here is your weapon.
I am somewhere on our property.
Winner chooses their PRIZE
To quote the movie Grace made us see twice:
May the odds be ever in your favor.
Catherine took a shot, adding another stream of water to Steve's already soaked shirt before she ducked behind the foliage at the edge of the yard.
Shaking his head, he followed. When he rounded a large tree she stepped out abruptly and placed her water gun against his chest. "Bam! I believe I win." Her smirk morphed into a laugh when he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her.
"You had an unfair advantage." His eyes travelled over her purple cropped tank top and cammo shorts. "New top?"
"Kinda still spilling out of the bikini tops, so yeah." She chuckled. She hadn't gone up even a cup size, but her fuller breasts didn't quite allow for running round in a bikini just yet.
He dropped his water gun and hooked his thumbs through her belt loops. "Call it a tie?" he murmured against her lips.
"Hmmm ... nope."
"Wow. Really?"
She could feel him smile against her skin as he nuzzled her ear.
"Really. I won, Commander. I got you way more than you got me." She pulled back to look in his eyes.
"So you say." He kissed her and shook his head.
She placed a hand against his chest. "I've got a few hits. You on the other hand ... are drenched." She smirked. "Therefore, I totally win."
He bent to pick up the super soaker, then caught her around the waist. Moving towards the house, he nodded. "Hmm." He tried to keep a straight face but failed.
She smiled. "Hmm," she repeated. "C'mon, I worked up an appetite for dinner."
"And your folks will be bringing Angie home soon." He grinned at the thought.
"I liked having date night during the day. We had a great day and we get time with her before bed. Win win." Her eyes danced. "I can't wait to see her."
They'd reached the steps and Cammie stood from where she was napping in her casa to follow them inside. Stopping at the door Steve bent to kiss Catherine.
"So, date nights may be date days for a little while? Because I like that idea. Time for us and we get to put Angie to bed ourselves."
She looked up at him with a dazzling smile. "Then more date days it is. Sounds like we have a strategy, Commander."
"Like all our strategies, Lieutenant," he murmured before another kiss. "It's definitely win win."
# End thanks for reading
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