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Today's ANs brought to you by the one and only Yoda.
Role Models (1/2)
The fabulous Mari and I are flipping posting days next week so look for part 2 of this story on Monday. But don't worry, you won't miss a Mari story. She'll be posting next Friday the 8th and then we'll be back to normal the week after.
Also-this fic references the Terriaga case which was from my earlier fic Obsession. You don't need to have read that to understand this but if you're wondering if that case has been referenced before—there's your answer.
McGarrett Rollins Home
Saturday
8:15 A.M.
"Ann Caf!" Joan shrieked happily as she exited the house and ran quickly across the deck towards where Catherine was seated, Mary and Aaron close behind, though moving far more slowly.
The three had arrived well after dark the previous night. Mary and Aaron, exhausted after a later than usual flight, carried a slumbering Joan upstairs immediately then, after retrieving the luggage from the rental car, headed to bed themselves, too exhausted to say much more than goodnight. Getting on a plane past Joan's bedtime was definitely not their first choice but it was the only flight available to them on the travel-heavy holiday weekend.
They squinted against the morning sunshine, yawning in tandem, while Joan happily greeted the day, excited to have found herself at Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine's house when she awoke.
"Hello there, angel!" Catherine said as Joan held her arms up and Catherine readily complied with her unspoken request, placing the young girl on her lap. After a round of kisses and hugs with her favorite niece she turned to Mary and Aaron and smiled sympathetically.
"There's fresh coffee in the pot and juice in the fridge. Steve and I decided to wait until you guys got up to make breakfast."
"Thanks," Aaron said gratefully as he turned and headed back into the house.
"Unca Steve?" Joan craned her neck and looked around excitedly at the mention of his name.
"He's right there." Catherine pointed to where Steve was standing on the beach, talking on his cell phone while at the same time keeping a watchful eye on Cammie who was playing in the shallow water. "He'll be here in a minute."
"Unca Steve!" Joan squealed loudly.
Steve turned and waved at her with a bright smile.
Joan squirmed to get down. "I see Unca Steve."
Catherine placed her determined niece on the ground and watched as Joan made her way hurriedly across the sand towards her cherished uncle who had finished the call and returned his phone to his pocket. He took several long strides in her direction then scooped her up and lifted her over his head, her happy laughter filling the air. After a full minute he settled her on his hip, giving and accepting multiple kisses, and called for Cammie to follow as he headed back towards the house.
They made their way onto the deck, Joanie jabbering away happily, just as Aaron returned from the kitchen with coffee for himself and Mary.
"How'd everybody sleep?" Steve asked cheerfully as Joanie squirmed again to get down, this time to follow Cammie as she made her way towards Mary and Aaron to say hello.
"Like a log," Mary said around a yawn. "In fact I'd probably still be sleeping if your niece hadn't woken up so excited about seeing her favorite aunt and uncle. I tried to convince her to sleep a while longer but she wasn't having any of it."
Steve smiled. "That's my girl."
Mary rolled her eyes. "I suppose you've been up since dawn."
"Pretty much," Steve acknowledged.
"Who was on the phone?" Catherine asked. "Not a case I hope."
Steve shook his head. "Actually it was the governor. He wanted to ask a favor."
Aaron couldn't help but be impressed. "The governor calls you at home on a Saturday morning to ask for a favor?"
Steve smiled proudly. "Actually he wants a favor from Catherine."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You know that … " Steve paused and checked to see what Joanie was doing. Once he realized she was completely immersed in playing with Cammie and not paying a bit of attention to what they were saying he lowered his voice slightly and continued. " … human trafficking ring they busted last week?"
Catherine nodded.
"The families of the women rescued are anxious to get them back home, which is understandable, but first they all need to be interviewed and then they have to give official statements and … well … let's just say things are going a lot slower than anyone expected. The lieutenant governor is trying to speed things up so she asked Denning if Five-0 could loan you out to her for a few days to help. She remembers the great work you did on the Terriaga case plus most of the victims speak Pashto and she knows you're fluent."
"I'd be happy to help," Catherine said without hesitation. "If it's ok with my boss that is."
"We don't have a lot going on right now it should be fine unless some kind of emergency comes up." Steve nodded. "Those women need to get back to their families as soon as possible. I'm all for whatever it takes to make that happen."
Catherine glanced across the deck and saw that Joanie was now deep in conversation with Cammie who was hanging on every word the babbling youngster said. She turned back to Mary and Aaron.
"It's an awful case. A human trafficking ring dealing in everything from sexual exploitation to forced domestic servitude. It's been in operation for a little over a year as far as anyone can tell. The victims are mostly from the Middle East, Afghanistan primarily. Most of them were grabbed off the street, or in some cases right out of their own homes, then brought here to Hawaii where they were kept in locked rooms until they could be shipped off to 'buyers' all over the world.
Eventually the human garbage running the ring got greedy. They figured more women equals more money so they stepped things up.
Sadly, it can be pretty easy to move a few people at a time on and off the island so no one really noticed what was going on for months. That is until their greed made them careless and they tried to move almost a hundred women through on a freighter a few weeks ago. Luckily someone working the docks noticed and called the authorities.
Now not only are they helping get those women home they're trying to rescue as many of the others as possible."
"That's the kind of thing the governor's office handles?" Aaron asked, slightly confused. "I'd think that would be something for some federal agency to deal with."
"Actually it's the lieutenant governor that's taking point on this one," Steve explained. "She's coordinating things between all the agencies involved. Trying to cut through the red tape and make sure everyone plays nice and gets this handled as quickly as possible."
"Lea Kekoa is great," Catherine said sincerely. "She's native Hawaiian. Her family has been on the island for more generations than anyone can count. She's a product of public schools. Worked her way through the University of Hawaii. Went off to UCLA to get her masters then came back to the island and went straight into public service.
She was working as the head of a victim's rights advocacy group here in Honolulu when Denning recruited her to be his lieutenant governor."
"She sounds awesome," Mary said.
"She is," Catherine nodded. "She's a strong fighter for women's, children's and family rights."
"Plus, as Kamekona will tell you … repeatedly … she's his sixth cousin twice removed," Steve chuckled.
Catherine snorted. "Yeah, I think I've heard that a few times. Or a few dozen."
Suddenly Joan's head snapped up as if she'd just remembered something and she scrambled to her feet and ran to Mary.
"Water, Mama. Make pi-chers!" she implored. "I wear baving suit!"
"You ready to go for a swim?" Steve smiled at his niece.
"No," Joanie shook her head decisively. "Make water pi-chers! Pwease Mama."
Steve looked at Mary, his brows knit in confusion. "What does she want?"
"She wants to make water pictures, Uncle Steve." Mary smiled as she lifted Joan into her lap.
"Water pictures?" Steve asked.
"Yes." Mary tickled her daughter as Joan clapped excitedly. "She wants to play in your shower and make pictures on the tiles."
"Ahhh," Steve grinned.
Mary raised an eyebrow at her brother. "I wonder who taught her that?"
"How could I not?" Steve said with absolutely no remorse. "They're awesome tiles."
"I can't argue with you there," Mary acquiesced then kissed Joan's cheek. "How about if we eat breakfast first and then if Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine say it's okay we'll play in the shower for a while."
"YAY!" Joan threw her arms in the air triumphantly.
An hour later, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs, english muffins and fresh fruit, Steve and Aaron headed out to pick up some supplies for the weekend barbecue while Catherine and Mary headed to the master bathroom with Joan, now wearing her favorite pink bathing suit, to play in the shower.
"Do you happen to have anything for a bug bite?" Mary asked. "Joan was scratching like crazy on the plane last night and I didn't see anything at the time but now I see a red bump on the back of her shoulder."
"There should be some ointment in the medicine cabinet," Catherine replied, "and I'll grab some band-aids from Grace's bathroom."
As Catherine made her way back down the hall after retrieving a box of brightly patterned band-aids she heard the toilet in the master bathroom flush followed by Mary's panicky voice saying, "No, peanut! Oh crap."
"What happened?" Catherine asked as she hurried into the room.
"I couldn't find the ointment at first," Mary said frantically as the water level in the toilet bowl rose quickly, "so I took a few things out and laid them on the counter thinking it might have slipped down behind something and Joan … well, flushing foreign objects down the toilet is her new thing."
Catherine glanced at Joan who was standing with her arms wrapped around Mary's legs and a stricken look on her face then turned to assess the situation with the toilet just as the water began to cascade over the top of the bowl. Seconds later she reached in and pulled out the extra boo-boo bunny they kept in their medicine cabinet, in addition to the two in the freezer at all times in case Joan or any of the other children ever needed it, which appeared to be the cause of the clog.
Immediately the water level began to recede and Mary let out a huge sigh of relief. Catherine took a second to gather the other items Joan had attempted to flush. A bottle of ibuprofen, some dental floss and her birth control pills.
When Mary recognized the familiar looking packaging she cringed. "Oh, Cath. I'm so sorry. Your pills."
"It's okay," Catherine assured her. "I've already taken today's. I'll just call CVS and get another pack."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Mary knelt in front of a teary Joan. "We've talked about this before, Joan. You can't flush things down the toilet. That's not what a toilet is for."
"I sowwy," Joan said quietly, her bottom lip quivering.
"They weren't our things this time; they were Aunt Catherine's."
"I sowwy Ann Caf." Joan couldn't meet her beloved aunt's eyes. "No water pi-chers," she said miserably.
Mary swallowed hard and looked at Catherine. "Now that she's a little older we've been talking about consequences," she explained. "She's starting to understand that when she does something wrong, especially something she's been corrected for in the past, there needs to be a punishment."
"No water pi-chers," Joan repeated as a tear ran down her cheek.
Catherine looked helplessly at Mary. She knew she shouldn't interfere with Mary disciplining her daughter but the devastated look on Joan's face was breaking her heart.
Joan sniffled and moved towards the door of the bathroom but Catherine blocked her path. She knelt down and looked the little girl directly in the eyes.
"I sowwy, Ann Caf," Joan sniffled.
"I know you are, Joan. Do you understand why you shouldn't throw things in the toilet?" Cath asked softly.
Joan nodded. "Only for going potty," she said. "I nev-ew do it again."
Mary sighed. "It was a big thing for a few weeks and I really thought we'd gotten past it but apparently all the excitement and the idea of a different toilet were too much for her."
Joan continued to stare at the floor as her sniffing became more intense.
"I have an idea," Catherine suggested, putting her finger under Joan's chin and lifting her head until their eyes met. "How about if I get us some towels and you help me clean up all this water as your punishment and then if you do a good job you can still make water pictures in the shower. IF it's okay with your mom that is."
Joan turned and looked at Mary hopefully.
"I think that would be fine," Mary agreed with a grateful smile.
"Ok then," Catherine said determinedly. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna grab some old towels."
She started to stand but was stopped by Joan's voice.
"I love you, Ann Caf," the young girl said as she held out her arms for a hug which Catherine happily gave her.
"I love you too, angel. Very, very much."
An hour later, after cleaning up the bathroom then spending time making pictures on the tiles in the shower, Mary and Catherine were in the kitchen prepping lunch while Joan sat at the table fully engrossed in a slideshow of pictures from Steve and Catherine's wedding on Mary's tablet.
"It's her favorite thing in the world," Mary explained as she grabbed some vegetables from the refrigerator. "She asks to watch it all the time."
Catherine grinned.
"What you did up there … coming up with a different idea for a punishment and saving the day … you're a natural," Mary said sincerely.
"Thanks. I didn't want to step on your toes but that look on her face was breaking my heart."
"I appreciate that but no worries," Mary waved her off. "I hear 'ya completely about that look. It can be a killer. I was kinda hoping for another option. I mean I know we need to be consistent with our discipline but sometimes she starts to cry and it's all I can do not to cry right along with her."
Catherine smiled. "You're a great mom, Mary. Absolutely great. She's just … well … a three-year-old."
Mary blew out a breath. "Everyone talks about the terrible twos but those were nothing compared to the threes. And we've only been in them for a month. I'm a little afraid of what's coming next."
Catherine chuckled.
"She's starting to really exert her independence. Wait until you hear her favorite new phrase."
"What phrase?" Catherine asked curiously.
Mary put down the knife she was using to cut cucumbers for the salad and took a few steps towards her daughter. "Hey peanut, do you need me to help you scroll through the pictures?"
"No," Joan said adamantly. "I can do it."
"And there it is," Mary said with a smile. "She wants to do everything herself. All the books I've read say it's perfectly normal, and in fact it's a good sign that she's meeting her developmental milestones, but it can be … challenging at times."
"I'll bet," Catherine sympathized.
Mary hesitated for a second and Catherine picked up on it and asked, "What?"
"I was talking to Jenna the other day and she told me about Jacob and his wish in the time capsule," Mary said.
Catherine nodded.
"I know it's none of my business and at the wedding I promised I wouldn't keep asking about it but …"
"We're talking about it," Catherine said with a soft smile. "Steve and I both want kids. We know it's gonna mean a lot of big changes though."
Mary reached out and touched Catherine's arm. "But that's really just a chance to become a new kind of butterfly, right?"
"Right." Catherine smiled, clearly touched by Mary's words. "We just want to make sure we're ready."
"I understand that, especially since I know how much you two like to be prepared but … truth is no one is ever completely ready," Mary said. "It's impossible. I'm sure you guys will be as close as any two people ever have been though."
"Were you ready?" Catherine asked. "I mean you made the decision to adopt Joan and I know you've loved her since day one but were you ready?"
"Some days I think I'm still not ready," Mary snorted. "But I wouldn't change a minute. The puke covered shoulders, the lack of sleep, the anxiety that I'm gonna screw her up … none of it means a thing compared to the way I feel knowing I get to get up every morning and be her mom."
Catherine swallowed around the lump in her throat. "At least I know if I'm lucky enough to become a mom I'll have a good role model so close."
Mary nodded, not catching her meaning. "Elizabeth is the absolute best."
"I agree," Catherine smiled. "But I wasn't talking about her. I was talking about you."
A minute later Steve and Aaron entered the kitchen carrying several bags of groceries and noticed Mary and Catherine's watery eyes.
"What's wrong?" they asked in unison.
"Nothing," Catherine assured them. "We're just being girly."
Mary chuckled and nodded her agreement.
"Nanas?" Joan asked excitedly, eyeing the bags.
"Yes, we got bananas," Aaron said, pulling the bunch from the bag and breaking one off. "Do you want me to cut it up for you?" he asked as he opened the stem.
"No, I can do it," Joan said as she took the banana and returned to her seat.
"That might get a little messy," Mary said as Joan took her first bite. "Are you sure you don't want help?"
"No, I can do it," Joan said as she used a banana covered finger to swipe to the next picture.
"Thank heavens for screen protectors," Mary sighed.
END CHAPTER 1
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