Sammy & Ilna: so much fun and family feels to thank you for every day :) Love you both! And another title thanks to SuperSammy!
REALMcRollers: I'm in the path of the nor'easter so I may be tweeting more than usual… If you're in it, too, be safe! Thanks for everything, always!
Bad Apples
"Hi, Commander, she's with a friend, but she said to send you right in when you arrived," Catherine's assistant said by way of greeting.
"Thanks, Jen." Steve entered the office just as Virginia 'Ginger' Zeeman was standing to hug Catherine goodbye.
"Hi, if you're busy ..." he greeted, but when the Marine major with the grey eyes and freckles turned to face him, his smile turned to one of recognition. "Zeeman! How are you? What are you doing on the island?"
His Academy classmate moved to hug him. "Steve McGarrett, you crazy bastard, congratulations." Her eyes indicated Catherine's tummy. "Twice. I'm good. I'm here for a trial."
"Thanks." His brow rose. "Trial?"
"Yeah, imported me all the way from D.C., I'm prosecuting the Random Ripper case. I saw the Navy Times article about Catherine's job and came in to say hi." Ginger had graduated and been commissioned with Steve, but was actually friends with Catherine and Carrie at the Academy. "Always knew you'd end up together."
Catherine smiled. "Ginger's son is a fourth year."
Steve grinned. "Outstanding. Wait, Navy or another Jarhead?" he teased. Ginger's husband was Navy, but she'd been commissioned to the Marine Corps.
"Corps all the way. Corey wants to fly helos." She waved a hand. "Don't get me started, I'll talk your ears off about him and I have trial prep in an hour." She turned to hug Catherine again. "You look way too good, lady. I was waddling around like a duck in my very attractive maternity uniforms." She chuckled. "I'll see you next week." She explained to Steve, "I'm here for the duration of the trial, probably three weeks. We just made plans for dinner with Carrie and John. Wes is flying in for a week of leave. He's been working on the damage control team for the website scandal." She frowned and a small shadow crossed Catherine's face at the reference to a website where military personnel had shared naked images of unwitting female marines and a few civilians.
"Don't envy him." Steve shook his head. They'd read the story and had been angered and offended by the behavior.
"It's been a long month," Ginger agreed. "Now I really need to doubletime it. See you guys soon."
When she'd exited the office, Steve asked. "You done for the day?"
"I am totally done for the day. Let's go home." She grabbed her briefcase and purse and with Steve's hand on the small of her back, led the way out the door.
Catherine ended a call just as Steve came in from a swim with Cammie. "That was Carrie. Is Cattle Company good for dinner with Ginger and Wes?" She referred to a steakhouse that was fairly close to Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Pearl City.
He nodded as he downed a water. "Does Niblet want steak?"
"Maybe." She grinned. "And it's close to base for all of them. Although, now that we're talking about it," she patted her tummy, "we kinda want steak tonight. Feel like grilling?"
He reopened the refrigerator and pulled out two rib-eyes. Looking over his shoulder he asked, "Potatoes or salad?"
"Hmmm, salad. I'll make it as soon as I call Carrie back, she said she'll make a reservation."
"We'll need it." The restaurant was popular with base personnel and locals as well as travellers. Steve took out a platter as she sent a quick text to Ginger.
When Catherine joined him on the deck with Cammie, salad made, plates in hand, she placed everything on the table and stepped up to kiss his cheek without a word. When he turned to flip the meat, she touched her tummy and smiled softly. Next to the grill was a gadget he'd bought when he knew she was pregnant. A thermometer that would assure him the steak's cooking temperature was safe. He'd bought a thermometer for the soaking tub as well after reading baths were okay as long as the water wasn't too hot.
"Reservation all set?" He closed the grill.
"Yeah. Wes will be here Thursday so we're doing dinner Saturday." She sat and looked up at him. "I don't envy that assignment." She referred to the scandal the public affairs officer was dealing with. "I wish I could say it's hard to believe but …" She shrugged.
Steve huffed disgustedly. "They should all get dishonorables, never mind the officers. Dismissal notices, every one of 'em."
"Definitely," she agreed. Since commissioned officers couldn't receive bad conduct or dishonorable discharges, a dismissal notice at a court martial was basically the same thing. "Some of them competed to get pictures of their own wives and girlfriends."
"That's bullshit. If anyone on my team ever …" he plated the steaks and placed Catherine's in front of her, "and I found out, they wouldn't need a discharge."
She touched his arm gently before helping herself to the salad.
"And I can say the same for Cuzzi, Hoss, all my guys. The vet who reported the site deserves a commendation."
"He got death threats." She shook her head. "So did his wife."
"Scum." His eyes flashed. "They even threatened his kids, Cath. What kind of sick bastard does that?" She could see him relating as his eyes dropped to her midriff. "I know there's a lot of crap to sift through, I've seen a fraction of what you've dealt with in your career."
She raised her shoulders in a small shrug. "Some guys suck, that's a given. Not just in the military, everywhere, but this was …" She trailed off.
He shook his head, eyes still on her tummy. "If anyone, ever …"
"I know." She laced their fingers on the tabletop.
"There wouldn't be anywhere they could hide."
"I know that, too."
He sighed. "Danny was right."
She tilted her head in question.
"It starts way before they're born."
"It does." Her free hand dropped to graze her belly.
"He said he almost leapt over the table when Gracie got a shot once." A small smile appeared at the thought of Grace. "She was normally pretty stoic but she just wailed and reached for him. Danny said he almost knocked the doctor over."
Catherine grinned. "I can see that. Did he ever tell you about the ear piercing?"
"No."
"Well, Grace told me when she went to get her ears pierced, Danny was absolutely ready to take her home with only one done. She got teary and he was horrified. Apparently Angela calmed him down said, 'You can't leave her with one earring like a little tiny pirate,' and held her. Grace was fine, she barely remembers it. She was about four, I think she said."
Steve didn't answer and she caught his slightly sheepish grin. "You'd do the same thing."
"If Gracie was crying?" He shrugged. "Probably. Joanie, too."
"So, I should take Niblet for ear piercings on a girls' day, huh?" she teased as she sipped her water. The mood lightened as their conversation shifted away from the exploitation case.
"No. I don't wanna miss … unless you think …"
"What? That you'd hit the guy with the piercing gun?"
"Gun? They call it a gun?"
"Yep."
His hand went to a long-healed scar on his left lobe. "When Cuzzi did mine for that undercover mission he just burned a needle and jammed it through."
"Sorry I missed that."
"'I let it close the second the mission wrapped."
"Of course you did. Ohhh, what if Niblet wants a tattoo?" Her eyes lit and her tongue peeked out. "You know, of some guy's name on her shoulder." Their decades-old joke increased her grin.
"No." His fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
"No?"
"No. No guys' names. Anywhere. No."
His eyes narrowed at the thought and she barked a laugh.
"And you used to mock Danny."
"Yeah, well …"
"What's he keep saying about karma?"
He smirked and feigned ignorance, just as his cell rang. Dropping his head to his chest he hit speaker. "You have crappy timing."
"Hello to you, too, sunshine." His partner's voice filled the air.
"Hey, Danny, we were just discussing what if Niblet wants a tattoo of some guy's name …"
"Ha!" Danny's laugh was part snort. "No. You say no and you gently tap said guy with a weapon for suggesting it. Maybe a howitzer. Little Danielle isn't tattooing any guy's name anywhere. Any more than Grace is. And Steve?"
"Yeah?" He was smiling slightly at his best friend's agreement.
"Combat boot's on the other foot now, isn't it, babe?" His laughter was joined by Catherine's, as she said, "I can't see any daughter of mine tattooing a guy's name anywhere." She winked and they shared a knowing smile.
"Danny?" Steve tried to hide a grin at how his partner was already as protective of their daughter as he was of Gracie.
"We are not naming her Danielle …"
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