Sammy and Ilna, when I began emailing with you two, I never, ever expected the fascinating and fun exchanges would lead to me having such amazing friends that became la famiglia. Thank you for the support and assistance on this one. Much love and Nonna hugs!

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Group Effort

When Steve's cell buzzed, he groped for the end table, trying to snatch up the phone before it woke Catherine, who'd fallen asleep against his side. Too late. Her eyes were open as he said, "McGarrett."

"S-Steve? I …" The voice on the phone trailed off and stopped with a sharp breath.

"Mary?" Steve sat bolt upright at the tone in his sister's voice. "Mary, what's wrong?"

Catherine was leaning close to hear, and as Mary's voice came back over the line, she let a little breath out at her next words.

"Joan's fine. We're fine. I …" A sob escaped her lips before she said, "I'm sorry, I just didn't know what else to do ... I got served…"

Catherine and Steve exchanged a look as he said, "Served for what?"

"Some guy was on my doorstep when I got home. I went by work for a meeting, I left Joan next door with Mrs. Mendoza, Joan loves her, you know, and I got home and saw him so I asked what he wanted and he said, 'Mary McGarrett, you've been served,' and walked away."

"Where's Joanie now?"

Catherine could see Steve's concern for their niece seeing her mother so upset.

"Still next door. I came right inside and called you guys."

"Okay, good. Catherine's right here. Can you read us the summons?"

"It's … it's a custody petition." Mary's voice broke on the last word.

"A what?" They exchanged a disbelieving look.

Joan's adoption was legal. Catherine looked into it at Steve's request when Mary first told him about the adoption.

Not long after she'd named them as Joan's guardians in her will, Catherine had been moved to tears when Mary explained how she was able to adopt a healthy baby with her irresponsible track record. Joan's biological mother wasn't capable of caring for herself, let alone the baby she'd never wanted to have. The infant was often left crying or in soiled diapers and Mary, who'd been crashing in an apartment across the hall, found herself returning again and again to check in on the little girl to change and try to soothe her. Before long, she'd fallen in love with the baby and truth be told, caring for the little one made Mary feel like she had a purpose, that someone needed her, so she'd begun doing it more and more often.

When the mother, a woman named Jodie, complained of being trapped by 'that damn kid' and mentioned she was on the verge of dropping the child at a friend's and 'just disappearing', Mary's heart tore in two and she impulsively offered to adopt her.

Even if she was far from the most responsible person in the world herself and even if she didn't already love the baby, she couldn't stand by and watch any child be abandoned. Nevermind one she'd grown to love.

Catherine clearly remembered a familiar look of determination in Mary's eyes when she stated that she knew one thing for certain, if that baby was hers, she'd never, ever leave her. She'd never let another kid go through what she did.

So the two women had gone through legal aid and arranged the private adoption. Jodie had moved out of the building two days later and had never attempted contact again. When Catherine had checked, all the paperwork was in order.

Catherine leaned closer and said, "Don't tell me her biological mother wants to challenge the adoption. It was legal, we'll get this straightened -"

"It's from her father," Mary said, sounding more grounded, if still in tears.

"What father?" Steve asked. "He was listed as unknown. Where's her biological mother?"

"I heard she was killed in a drive by last year." Mary was matter of fact, but Catherine could hear the hint of sadness for the woman who her future sister-in-law had once considered a friendly acquaintance. When she added, "She was buried in her hometown in Iowa. Joan and I sent flowers." She took a deep breath, and Catherine could hear her let it out slowly. "Jodie told me she didn't know for sure who Joan's father was."

"Mary, where's Aaron?" Catherine knew he'd want to be there for both Mary and Joan, and also knew that, like Steve, she would hesitate to ask for help. She was actually thrilled she'd called them right away.

"He's in San Francisco till Wednesday. They have a huge conference, I didn't want to …"

Steve cut in with, "You should call him. Mare, he'll wanna know. But don't do anything or talk to anybody other than Aaron, Catherine's parents or Aunt Deb till I call you back. We're coming there. I just gotta get Danny to cover in case anything breaks and we have to get Esther here."

"No, you don't have to … "

"We're coming. Tonight." Steve's jaw was set in a way Catherine was quite familiar with. She was already on her phone booking a flight as he said, "It'll be fine. We'll fix it. Try to calm down and focus on Joanie. Go bring her home and we'll be landing …" he glanced at Catherine and she held up her phone. "5:00 a.m. your time."

"Okay." Mary's deep breath came through the line. "Okay. Thanks, both of you."

Mary, Joan and Aaron's Home

Mary opened the door with Joan in her arms, who squealed with delight as she reached out for Catherine.

"Ann Caf, you hewe!" She looked past her aunt's shoulder as Catherine wrapped Mary in a one-armed hug. "Where Unca Teeve?"

"He's coming, sweetie, he's paying for the taxi, see?" She stepped back onto the porch so Joan could see and pointed to where Steve was at the curb.

"Unca Teeve!" Joan's voice carried in the early morning, and Mary automatically said, "Inside voice, peanut," to which Joan nodded and called, "Unca Teeeeve!" a bit more softly.

Mary looked like she'd gotten zero sleep, and Catherine was saying, "I'll make Joan's breakfast, and you need to eat, too," as Steve entered, dropped their bags and caught his sister who flung herself at him in a fresh wave of tears.

"Hey, hey, hey. Mary, c'mon, we got this. Please, don't." She pulled back and sniffed. "Mare, please." He gave Catherine a pained looked as she placed a squirming Joan down to greet him.

"Hey, Joanie." He lifted her and kissed her cheek.

Catherine's heart clenched at his look when Joan said, "Mama cwy. Mama owie, Unca Teeve?" and reached for Mary.

"I'm okay, baby. Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath are here and we're happy to see them, right?"

Joan looked seriously at her aunt and uncle and back at her mother as she stated, "No cwy, Mama. I kiss," and leaned from Steve's arms to kiss Mary's cheek.

"That made it all better." Mary forced a smile. "Why don't you show Aunt Cath and Uncle Steve how you can eat your breakfast like a big girl?" She carried Joan into the kitchen.

"I got, it Mary." Catherine was already at the refridgerator sorting out breakfast for Joan as Steve was starting coffee. "Tell us exactly what you know."

As they sat and listened to her, Mary had held Joan on her lap. She placed a kiss on her daughter's head as she wrapped up with a pained sigh. "... and I don't know anything else. This …" She thrust the petition for custody across the table to Steve, "says his name is Travis Bessler. I never heard of him. He can't …" Seeing how Mary couldn't even voice the words, Catherine reached out to squeeze her hand.

"No."

"Absolutely not."

Steve and Catherine said at once, and as they read the document together, she pulled out her phone to place a call.

"It's only 7:00," Mary stood to settle Joan in her chair, but sensing the somber atmosphere, Joan quietly reached for her aunt. When her mother shrugged and nodded, she snuggled into Catherine's lap and Steve moved her sippy cup and breakfast within her reach.

Handing Joan a piece of banana, she dialed and tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear while running her free hand over the toddler's hair. "Jenny, hi, it's Catherine. I have a little situation in California and I need an attorney's emergency contact number. Thanks, I owe you. Her name is Rita Hastings."

Office of Rita Hastings, Esquire

"We're here to see Ms. Hastings," Steve told the receptionist when the three arrived at the building in downtown Los Angeles.

"Yes, you and Ms. Rollins left quite a few messages." The sharp-cheekboned woman with a suit too expensive for her office exited a conference room and introduced herself. "Rita Hastings."

"It's Lieutenant," Steve stated.

"Excuse me?"

"It's Lieutenant Rollins." His fist clenched and unclenched. "And we left several messages because you didn't return our calls."

"I only just got in, Mist-um, Commander McGarrett. I understand you're anxious to discuss the Bessler vs. McGarrett case. Mr. Bessler is in the conference room. Shall we?"

Catherine spoke as they walked. "There is no case, Ms. Hastings. The adoption is legal. Mr. Bessler was not named as the father on the birth certificate."

Upon entering the conference room, Catherine and Steve exchanged a look at seeing Travis Bessler. Thin and blond with a crewcut and ruddy features, the thirtyish man's once good looks seemed to be prematurely fading.

Rita Hastings waved them to swivel chairs surrounding an oak table that had seen better days. "We are requesting a DNA test. The child can be brought to …"

"Joan," Mary said softly, then with more strength in her voice when Catherine gently touched her arm. "My daughter's name is Joan."

"Yes. Well, you may bring Joan to a lab to secure a test. It will take anywhere up to several months for a result. In the interim, Mr. Bessler is seeking visitation …"

"No way in hell." Steve's eyes blazed.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. Mr. Bessler is a convicted felon with a rap sheet longer than my arm. He is not getting anywhere near my niece without a scrap of evidence he even knew her biological mother."

"Commander, in all fairness, from what I hear ... in terms of your sister's reputation ... perhaps we should …"

"Perhaps we should recognize that even though my sister made errors in judgement, she's not a convicted drug dealer with a weapons charge. And we," Steve motioned between himself and Catherine, "can get you DNA results in 48 hours."

Catherine noticed Travis Bessler's expression as he regarded Steve, and she made a decision. "What do you really want here, Mr. Bessler? Because I doubt this has anything to do with you being interested in fatherhood."

"Hey!" Travis attempted to stand but when Steve stood and placed his hands on the table, he rethought and stayed in his seat.

Catherine referred to her tablet. "According to my research, your client currently has …" She tapped the screen as she addressed the attorney, "four children by three different women." Her eyes moved to Bessler. "None of whom you support or have seen since they were infants. Seems there's Andrew, who's fifteen, Adrien's twelve, Christian's four and Richie is three."

"Took a break while you were a guest of the state?" Steve sat, but continued to lean forward.

Bessler shrugged. "She … uh … this one's the only girl. Bet she looks like me. They all do. Two of 'em even got the family birthmark on their shoulders. I don't got one, but my mom, rest her soul, she did. So I wanna do right by this last one."

"Bullshit." Steve tilted his head at the attorney. "Look, he's fishing for a settlement. He's deadbeat who doesn't support the kids he's got."

Before Rita could respond, Catherine and Steve turned, suddenly on alert, when a voice preceded the conference room door opening.

"Sir … sir! You can't go in there … Sir!"

Steve was moving toward the door when it opened to reveal the secretary trailing a slightly wrinkled and very concerned looking Aaron.

"Mary …" He moved to step beside her, and Catherine smiled as Mary's eyes widened. He wrapped her in a hug, and she took his hand. "Hey, it's okay," was all he said, but she could see gratitude in Mary's expression as she squeezed his fingers, and she and Steve greeted Aaron with nods.

"Excuse me ..." Rita Hastings huffed a sigh.

"We were just saying," Steve included Aaron in his statement, "how Ms. Hasting's client here is a convicted felon who has a non-existent record as a parent." His look was one of disgust. "With four kids he neither supports or visits."

Aaron's eyes hardened as he nodded. "I see."

"And my question to Travis," Steve leaned forward, and the man shifted away, "was what the hell do you actually want?"

"I …" He began, but Rita held up a hand to stop him.

"Mr. Bessler would be willing to discuss termination of parental rights, if it were in the best interest of the child, of course, for recompense of all fees and …"

Steve looked at Catherine, and she read his thought, 'here it comes,' and silently agreed.

"Nominal additional compensation."

"You son of a bitch," Mary spat as her eyes filled with tears. "You want to sell me my daughter?"

Aaron placed a hand on her arm, and Catherine noticed her lean towards him slightly.

"There's no need for vulgarities," Rita said, but she watched Steve carefully. She clearly knew who the most serious threat to her client was. "Or violence."

"Make no mistake, Ms. Hastings. If I wanted him dead, he'd already be dead," Steve said evenly before turning towards his sister. "C'mon, we're done." Over his shoulder, he added, "We'll get you a DNA result ASAP." His voice softened further as he added, "Mary, c'mon, it's okay, we got this," and followed her and Aaron from the room, a step behind Catherine.

As they entered the house, Steve and Aaron were discussing his long drive from San Francisco, and Catherine could see the pleased look on his face when Steve said, "Shower and change, and we'll order some food. Mary hasn't eaten much."

Aaron nodded. "Okay, the delivery menus are in the basket on the kitchen counter," and headed for the bathroom.

"I know you like him, but he just gained a lot of points, huh?" Catherine said as she came up beside Steve and rubbed his bicep. The tension had lessened a bit as soon as they determined Bessler wasn't someone who could provide a decent home even if he did have a case. They were far more concerned that he'd petition to spend time with Joan as a means of bullying Mary into a settlement.

"He's a good guy, Cath." Steve nodded. "Drove straight back as soon as Mary told him. Even after she said he didn't have to …" He stopped as her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Catherine answered, "Dad? We just got back to Mary's. She ran next door to pick up Joan …" and began to update her parents.

When they were on the way to the meeting, Mary admitted almost sheepishly she'd called Elizabeth and Joseph while Steve and Catherine were en route. Catherine had been thrilled not only that they'd been able to offer comfort and advice but that Mary had felt comfortable enough to reach out to them.

Minutes later, she'd passed the phone to Steve and was on the house line ordering food when Mary returned from the neighbor's house with Joan. Upon entering the living room, the toddler had raised her arms to be lifted and was hugging Catherine when she looked around excitedly at the familiar voice.

"Do I hear my pumpkin?" came from from the hall as Aaron emerged from the bathroom in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Aawon!" Joan squealed and clapped. "Ann Caf! Aawon home!"

Catherine set her on her feet and smiled as she ran to greet him with a hug and began an enthusiastic retelling of how 'Ann Caf and Unca Teeve come my house!'.

"I see, Pumpkin." His tone matched her enthusiasm. "Are you having fun with Aunt Cath and Uncle Steve? Did you show them your new books?"

Joan bobbed her head happily and as Steve emerged from the guest room where he'd been talking to Joseph she said, "Unca Teeve, Ann Caf read books."

Next Day
5:00 a.m.

Steve opened his eyes and Catherine looked down from where she sat cross legged on the bed. "'Hey, morning."

"What are you doing?" Steve waved at her open tablet as she bent to kiss him.

"More research." She turned it towards him as he sat up. "Found some very interesting info on Bessler."

"Like?"

"Like he was in USP Tucson, but before that he was in Victorville here in California." She tapped the screen. "Look what else I found."

Steve's brows knitted and as he read through the data on the screen a look of conviction spread over his features.

He handed the tablet back, leaned in and kissed her. "You're the best. I love you." He grabbed his cell from the night table. "I'm calling Hastings."

Three hours later, after Steve left several messages and made a few additional calls, Mary's cell rang while they were eating the breakfast Aaron had gone to pick up. She immediately stiffened at the ID.

"Is that her?" Steve asked, and seeing Rita Hasting's name, nodded she should put it on speaker. "Finally."

"Ms. McGarrett?" The attorney began, and Catherine placed a hand over Mary's where it was crushing the napkin she'd been holding.

"Yes, look, Ms. Hastings, my brother arranged the DNA test, someone came yesterday and we'll have …"

"That won't be necessary."

Steve moved closer to the phone. "This is Commander McGarrett. You got my messages?" Catherine saw the tendons in his neck tighten with tension as he spoke.

"Yes, I see there's been a … development."

Catherine smiled. When she'd done her digging and come up with a few inconsistencies she was still checking out, she'd spoken to a private investigator who'd put her in touch with one of his informants. She'd discussed it with Steve, and they were waiting for additional intel before telling Mary, but he'd made a call that Rita Hastings had clearly been informed of.

"You heard from Narang already?"

"Let's just say my client is willing to discuss dropping his petition."

"Not good enough." Steve's jaw was set.

"He won't change his mind back."

"Then our information was correct," Catherine stated.

Steve placed a hand on hers, his eyes filled with pride. "I want him charged immediately. We'll be there in an hour." Steve stood, and Catherine followed suit. To Mary and Aaron he said, "Let's go. We'll fill you in on the way."

"I'll need to take Joan, Mrs. Mendoza's at her daughter's today."

"That's fine, you and Aaron can wait with Joanie in the cafeteria."

"What cafeteria?" Mary looked confused as she gathered a few items for Joan.

"We're not going to Hasting's office, we're going to the police station."

LAPD interrogation room

Steve and Catherine stood in mirrored poses - arms crossed, legs shoulder width apart - as Travis Bessler slumped in a wooden chair. The LAPD detective, Roger Narang, stood on Catherine's other side.

"Bessler, give it up. They're onto you."

"He said he didn't give a shit. I figured I could make a few bucks. The girl, she had a rep for being a flake…"

Catherine watched Steve's eyes blaze as he spat, "So you figured what the hell, you'd ruin her life and the baby's for a few bucks? You really are scum."

"You ready to sign a confession, Bessler?" Detective Narang prodded.

"Yeah, whatever. I'da made a good penny if she didn't bring a whole family of cops into it." He shrugged. "Gimme the paper."

Narang slid a pad and pen across to him and pressed play on the recording device as his partner stepped into the room and said, "I got this. Go ahead."

With that, and a last scorching look at Bessler from Steve and Catherine, the trio left the room.

Down in the cafeteria, Mary was pacing as Aaron held Joan on his lap while she munched a bagel with cream cheese and jelly.

As soon as she saw them, Mary rushed forward. "What happened?"

Joan chimed in happily with "Wha' happen, Unca Teeve?" and he moved to lift her up and kiss her sticky cheek.

"What happened? Your Aunt Cath is a genius, that's what happened." He turned to Mary. "It's done. He'll be arraigned on extortion charges. He won't bother you again."

Catherine smiled and wrapped her in a tight hug as Mary whispered, "Thank you, thank you."

"Mary, we're family. I only did what I'm trained for. Hey …" She held her away and grinned. "It's all over. Oh," she gestured to the smiling LAPD Detective who'd accompanied them, "this is Detective Roger Narang. He worked with Danny in Newark."

Roger held out a hand. "Nice to meet you. Mary and Aaron, right?"

Mary nodded as she wiped a tear, and Aaron extended his hand. "Aaron Reyes. Thank you so much, Detective." As they shook, he wrapped an arm around Mary's shoulders.

"Roger, please."

"You're Danny's friend?" Mary asked.

"We worked together in Newark until I transferred out here to the sun and fun. Danny's a good guy to have in your corner. Listen," he handed her a card, "anything you need, call me." He turned to Steve and Catherine who offered their thanks again. "Anytime." He grinned and started to leave, turning back to add, "And you tell Danny if I ever get to Hawaii he owes me a mai tai for the Frelinghuysen Avenue incident in 2007."

Steve grinned. "You got it. I'm thinking there's a story there I need to hear."

Back at Mary's, Steve and Catherine skyped with her parents as Joan was burning off some energy on the swings with Aaron while Mary prepared lunch.

"You knew he was lying," Joseph said, his disdain for the deadbeat dad clear in his tone.

"About wanting to be a father, yeah, but the reason we nailed him was all Catherine," Steve said proudly. "Travis Bessler was in federal lockup in Tucson, but before that, he was here in Victorville."

Catherine added, "Guess who his cellmate was? A guy who dated Joan's biological mother on and off for a year. Seems he talked about how he dodged a bullet because his ex didn't know who her kid's father was."

"Really?" Elizabeth shook her head sadly.

"Yeah, but he didn't realize the other guy she'd been with was black."

"Jodie had coloring like Catherine. Guess what Ollie Payton looked like? Blond. Blue eyes. He told Travis he couldn't care less if the kid was his. He was happy when he heard through the grapevine Jodie hadn't kept Joan because he wanted no part of, as Bessler put it, 'getting stuck with a kid just cause the mother croaked.' " Steve shared a look of disgust at Payton with Joseph.

Catherine took up the story, "That's when Bessler got an idea. He'd be out in two years. He could pass himself off as Joan's father, try to get a payoff from the adoptive mother. Payton even has a birthmark on his shoulder, so do his two kids. So Bessler threw that in, figuring if Joan had one, too ..."

"And she does." Elizabeth had spent enough time with Joan to have seen it. "So this Ollie Payton must be her biological father."

"Looks like it," Catherine confirmed. "He isn't getting out anytime before Joan's twenty-one. He's not even eligible for parole before she's thirty."

"Well, thank God you figured it out," Elizabeth told them. "This could have been months of stress and trauma for Mary."

"Catherine?" Mary's voice carried in from the kitchen, and her eyes drifted in that direction.

Elizabeth smiled. "Sweetheart, go. We love you all. Thanks for filling us in."

"Love you. Kiss Gram for me." Catherine stood with a hand on Steve's shoulder. Indicating he should finish up the conversation, she went to see what Mary needed as as heard Steve thanking them again for helping calm his sister when they were en route.

In the kitchen, Mary was filling a pitcher with lemonade, and Catherine moved to grab the sandwiches she'd prepared.

Giving her a moment - she could tell Mary was gathering her thoughts like Steve would - she began to put out napkins and glasses when Mary caught her eyes and said, "Cath, what …" She hesitated like she wasn't sure she wanted to ask, then went ahead. "What'd he do? Is he a … a serial killer? Or a perv or something?"

Knowing she was referring to Ollie Payton, Catherine sat and motioned for her to do the same. "No. No, he's not. He's been in and out of prison since he was nineteen. He's in now for driving a getaway car for a federal bank robbery. Two guards were killed. When he found out the robbers shot the guards, he actually gave them up. It doesn't make what he did any less terrible, but he's not a serial killer or sex offender." Catherine's eyes caught Steve's as he entered the room. She knew telling Joan about her biological father's circumstances would be difficult, but she also knew Mary would find it less traumatic to explain than a sex offender or serial killer.

Mary sighed deeply. "That's something, anyway. I'm just happy this is over. I guess I'll cross that bridge when Joan's ready."

"No." Steve shook his head.

"Steve, I have to tell her at some point …"

"That's not what I mean. Of course you'll tell her." Catherine saw determination flash in his eyes. "No secrets. None. What I meant was you won't cross that bridge. We will. All of us." He motioned between himself, his sister and Catherine. "In a group effort. As a family."

"Steve's right, Mary. We're here." Catherine stood and hugged her, smiling softly at the strength of the return hug.

Joan came running in, followed by Aaron and smiled. "We hewe!" she repeated, making all the adults smile at her parroting her aunt, having heard the last two words of the conversation.

"Is that right, Joanie?" Steve grinned as Aaron lifted her.

Joan nodded and pointed a little finger at each person. "Mama hewe, Aawon hewe, Unca Teeve hewe, Ann Caf hewe."

Looking at her mother, she threw her hands in the air and announced, "Mama, evabody hewe!"

Mary scooped her daughter from Aaron's arms and kissed her cheek. Her eyes shining, she looked around and said, "That's right, baby. Everybody's here for us."

#

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