Sammy's notes: It was a ball as always, Mari! Thanks for the support, Ilna.
REAL Worlders—you guys are THE BEST!

Mari's notes: Always so so much wonderfulness co-writing with you, Sammy.
Ilna you make me smile every day.
REALMcRollers - Thanks for the love on part one (Posted Friday by Sammy). We can't wait to share the Christmas Marathon with you!

Well Deserved Part 2
(Part 1 posted Friday by Sammy)

Five-0 Headquarters
Tuesday 11:00 A.M.

"No, Nonna, that's not necessary." Steve smiled softly as he sat behind the desk in his office, phone pressed to his ear. "I appreciate the offer but we're fine."

"Nipote, babies are very expensive. They need strollers and cribs and car seats. And you won't even believe how fast they grow out of their clothes. You and bella should keep your money. Please let me help pay for Daniel's party."

"That's very sweet of you," Steve said sincerely. "But again, it's not necessary. Chin and Kono are splitting the cost with us. Danny absolutely deserves this and we're happy to do it."

"You're a good boy, Steven."

He blushed slightly. "Thank you."

"If you change your mind and you need anything at all you let me know."

"I promise."

As they said their goodbyes Steve looked up and saw his partner coming towards his office. "What's up?" he asked as Danny pushed open the door, a slightly overwhelmed expression on his face.

"I just finished filling out all the paperwork for my promotion."

"Something wrong?"

"Not at all." Danny took a seat in one of the chairs opposite Steve's desk as opposed to his customary position on the couch. "Did you know this promotion comes with a pay raise?"

Steve grinned. "Isn't that the way it usually works?"

"Well … yeah, I guess, but … that's not what I mean."

"What do you mean then?"

"Did you realize this promotion comes with a …significant … pay increase?"

"Not really. To be honest I didn't even look at the salary numbers." Steve leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk. "You deserve this promotion, Danny. In fact it's long overdue."

The genuineness in his best friend's tone touched his heart. "Thanks."

"I'm serious," Steve continued intently. "You're a great detective. No question about it. But it's more than that. You've been an integral part of this team from day one. I honestly don't believe Five-0 would be what it is today without your hard work."

"I'm sure you would have found someone else … " Danny started to deflect the praise but Steve cut him off.

"You were exactly the person I needed to help me build this team. Without you I probably would have pissed off too many people and been run off the island by now."

Danny nodded. "Maybe. Though your people skills are getting better."

"Thanks to Catherine," they said in unison then both laughed.

"Seriously," Steve said. "We have very complementary skill sets and that's the key to the success of any mission."

"So what you're saying," Danny smirked, "is that I complete you?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "I guess Jerry Maguire is better than The Notebook. Speaking of show me the money … what are you gonna do with your raise?"

Danny sighed. "As much as I hate to think about it Grace will be driving before you know it. She's gonna need a car. And then there's college to think about. I know Rachel would be more than willing to foot the bill but it's important to me to be able to pay my share."

Steve grinned. "I get that. So … significant pay raise … I guess that means lunch is on you for the next month, right?"

"Some things never change," Danny huffed good naturedly as they effortlessly slid back into their usual banter.

Kukui High School Cafeteria

12:15 P.M.

Grace walked to the edge of the room, as far away from the noise and chaos of the cafeteria as she could get, and took a seat at a deserted table. Most of the students had finished eating and were milling about, getting ready to head back to class. She dialed her phone and after a brief exchange with the switchboard heard a familiar voice.

"Boris O'Malley."

"Hi, Boris. It's Grace Williams."

"Oh, Miss Grace. How lovely to hear from you."

Just the sound of his voice brought a smile to Grace's face. She'd watched in awe the way he handled Steve and Catherine's wedding and reception and even though it was on a much smaller scale she wanted Danno's promotion party to be just as perfect. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Not at all. I'm thrilled to talk to you."

She pulled her planning notebook out of her backpack. "Did you get the list I emailed you?"

"I did indeed. I must say I was quite impressed. It looks like you've covered everything you need for a successful party."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. As I told you during the wedding planning you're a natural. If you're looking for a job next summer please keep me in mind."

Grace beamed. "I just want everything to be perfect."

"You're on the right track. Just remember to make sure everyone parks around the back so your father doesn't recognize any cars on his way in. He's a very good detective."

"He is," Grace agreed proudly. "And I never would have thought of the parking thing so thank you."

"My pleasure."

"Thanks for taking the time to go over this. If you're not busy you should stop by and have a piece of cake with us," she offered.

"I have a wedding scheduled for late Friday afternoon but if it wraps up early I would love to stop by."

"Thanks, Boris. Hopefully we'll see you then."

"Thank you for the invitation. And if you have any other questions don't hesitate to call."

Hilton Hawaiian Village - Fresco Restaurant
3:45 P.M.

Catherine and Grace sat with the catering manager of Fresco at the Hilton after they'd tasted several samples of food.

"Definitely a calamari appetizer and the Prosciutto, Cantaloupe and Arugula with Balsamic," Catherine said. "And let's add a green salad."

"Perfect. We love clients who know what they want." Kiyoshi Tamako dimpled delightedly. Booking a party for one of the governor's task force members was a coup. Having it organized by Detective Williams' daughter, the head of the task force, and the soon to be chief-of-staff to the new governor had made her day.

"Grace definitely has a plan." Catherine smiled.

"That's exactly what Commander McGarrett said when he called our GM to discuss the screen."

Grace beamed. "Thank you." She referred to her list. "So the eggplant parmesan as one entree, and the penne alfredo with chicken." She looked at Catherine. "That's good, right?"

"That's perfect. I think we should have one fish entree, too. Danny likes shrimp scampi, can we do that?"

"Absolutely." Kiyoshi made a note.

"Then we're good to go. My husband mentioned we were bringing cupcakes made by a family member, right?" she confirmed.

"That's no problem at all. And we'll also have ice cream with chocolate and mango sauce - on the house."

Grace rubbed her hands together in a very Danny-esque gesture. "Oh, that sounds great, thank you so much."

"Thank you," Catherine added as the three stood and she offered her hand. "We'll see you soon."

"Thank you, Lieutenant, Grace, it's been a pleasure. I'll be on site for the party and if you need anything before, just give me a call."

"Will do." Catherine and Grace exchanged a nod and turned towards the exit. "Party food arranged." She high fived her niece and they entered the elevator wearing matching smiles.

McGarrett Rollins Home
8:00 P.M.

Catherine came back in from taking Cammie on a potty break and joined Steve on the couch. "When we were at Fresco this afternoon the catering manager mentioned that you called the GM to get permission to bring in a screen for Grace."

Steve smiled sheepishly. "I figured I might as well start as close to the top as I could. You think it was overkill?"

Catherine raised her hand and held her thumb and forefinger half an inch apart. "Little bit."

"Oh well." Steve leaned back and stretched one arm along the back of the couch. "We got the go ahead. That's the important thing."

"She's putting so much thought into which pictures she wants to use," Catherine stated proudly. "Today she showed me one that she said she liked but couldn't use because it didn't 'fit her narrative.' How adorable is that?"

Steve looked at Catherine with a grin. "You know she's going to do a slideshow when the baby comes right?"

Catherine chuckled and nodded. "Absolutely. Probably at the christening."

"Can't be that many slides though, right?" Steve reached for the remote. "The baby'll only be a couple months old."

She raised her eyebrows but said nothing and Steve's smile ignited one of her own. "Okay, Commander, let's see what movie you picked."

/

After the movie ended they'd sat for a moment of contented silence with Catherine tucked into his side when Steve kissed her temple. His tone was hushed as he said, "The organs are formed."

"Hmm? What?" She'd been about to doze off.

He ran a hand over her tummy. "And the ears, the tongue, the gums ... it's eleven weeks, they're all formed." His voice revealed how he was still a little bit in in awe of it being real because Catherine looked the same. Her body was still lean and slim, with no baby bump yet.

"You know," she said without turning to look at him, "I didn't like the prosciutto and melon at the Hilton today. It smelled …" her nose wrinkled, "yucky to me. But Grace said it was delicious. And I was going to have cantaloupe this morning - then I decided I don't like it anymore. Or I should say the baby doesn't like it."

"Really?" Catherine loved melon.

She shrugged. "So I ate a Pop Tart instead."

"Pop Tart?" He said to himself as much as her.

"Yeah. There's fruit in Pop Tarts." She grinned as she turned to see his face.

"We have Pop Tarts?"

She chuckled. "We do now. Want one tomorrow?"

"No, thanks. That's all you, Rollins."

"I won't eat 'em every day." She leaned in to peck his lips. "And I got the unfrosted ones."

He shook his head with a small smile, knowing she'd keep it as healthy as possible. "If you want, I can run to the store and get … do they even make organic Pop Tarts?"

She full on laughed. "Probably, and that's sweet, but it's fine. I can have some fun foods and, like I said, I'm not going to eat them every day."

Steve placed a hand on hers and addressed her tummy. "Hear that? Try and keep unhealthy food cravings to a dull roar, okay?"

"The baby says, 'Aye, aye, Daddy,' " she chuckled. "Doesn't mean he or she is gonna follow orders."

He smiled at the word 'Daddy'. "That so?"

"Niblet may take after you … and be more of an improviser than order-taker."

"Listen, Niblet, no need to get ahead of yourself, just because you're a whole inch and a half tall by now." His eyes danced happily when Catherine chuckled as he teased.

"At 11 weeks, he or she has formed genitals," Catherine's pitch changed slightly. "We have an actual son or daughter."

Steve nodded. "Son or daughter," he repeated, his eyes fixed on hers. "We gonna find out?"

"We gonna tell everyone if we do?" Her smile lit her entire face. " 'Cause for a guy whose got a Top Secret level clearance, when it comes to the baby your track record for withholding info is right up there with Joan's."

"My clearance redesignated to Secret after specific missions …" His mouth twitched in effort to control a smirk. "You're the one with a standing Top Secret clearance, Lieutenant." He leaned in and pecked her lips. "Maybe you can assist me in maintaining confidentiality."

"My clearance has more to do with data and documents than mission control, Commander, and besides, I don't think I could know and not tell my mom."

"We're a pair, huh?" He shook his head. "We've got time to decide, but for the record I vote …"

"...we find out." She finished his sentence and placed a hand on his cheek. "I know, me too." She kissed him with such joy they simultaneously smiled into the kiss.

"So, getting back to secret missions," he said when they finally parted, "how's the party planning going?"

"Well let's see, the guest list is set, the menu is decided, Kaitlyn is hard at work planning a special cupcake treat, Carrie says the invitations are ready to be emailed in the morning, Grace is working on the slideshow and the place cards, and Casey and Jess are making a keepsake program."

Steve looked surprised. "A program? Really."

"Yes, really and they're working very hard on it." Catherine elbowed his ribs. "They're going to ask every person attending for a quote about Danny and they're looking for a poem to include. They're taking it very seriously."

"I'm sure it's gonna look great," he smiled.

"Since the tickets to the actual ceremony are so limited Jenna and the kids are gonna head over to Fresco early and get everything set up."

Steve grimaced slightly. "They're not gonna jump out and yell SURPRISE! When Danny gets there and scare all the other diners, are they?"

"No worries." Catherine chuckled. "They're putting us in a private room. Apparently they're very eager to impress the head of the Five-0 task force."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure they're not trying to make points with the soon to be chief-of-staff?"

"Not likely," she scoffed.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss the idea. You're about to have a very important position," Steve pointed out.

"Still … " Catherine trailed off. She'd spent so many years watching people attempt to impress Steve because of his position, it hadn't really crossed her mind that her new job might mean they'd do the same to her.

"Face it, Lieutenant. You're about to become a mover and a shaker."

Catherine snorted at the thought then turned and straddled Steve's lap, facing him. "I'll show you some moving and shaking, Commander."

THE END

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