Mari & Ilna—you guys are the absolute best. We're closing in on our one year anniversary fast and I'm every bit as energized and excited about the project today as I was the day we launched. I can't think of two people I'd rather take this ride with.
Sandy—my fandom soulmate. Thanks for always being an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on when needed, and the best rabbit hole partner I could have ever asked for. The things fandom makes us do, huh?
REAL Worlders—you guys are AMAZING! It's hard to come up with words to express how much your kind words, your enthusiasm, your encouragement and your humor mean to me. I'm dreadfully behind on replying to your lovely reviews because real life has been kicking my ass the last few months but every one of them remains in my inbox and will be replied to. PLEASE don't interpret my lack of response as a lack of appreciation. It's simply a matter of not enough hours in the day.
All Hands on Deck (1/1)
McGarrett/Rollins Residence
Saturday 3:00 P.M.
"Wow, you guys made a lot of progress," Catherine said as she walked out the back door and saw that the entire framework of the new deck was completed.
Steve, Danny, Chin and Frank Kayama were sitting on the pile of lumber to the left of the new structure drinking beer and admiring their handiwork. Cammie slept soundly at their feet.
"We really did." Steve smiled proudly.
"Of course having two of Chin's cousins who work construction for a living come by to help might have speeded things along a little," Danny admitted.
Catherine chuckled as she stepped over the frame and made her way to Steve's side. He handed her his beer and she took a sip then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before handing it back.
Cammie raised her head and thumped her tail happily as Catherine knelt down to give her a kiss and a scratch behind the ears. "Looks like you wore Cammie out."
"Well she was very busy supervising all day, then Chin's cousins had a contest to see who could throw her toy the farthest and she got to show off her fetch skills for about an hour."
"What a good girl you are," Catherine cooed and Cammie's tail thumped even faster. "Are you guys hungry? I can fix something," she offered.
"No, we're good," Steve said. "We ordered pizza." He pointed to the empty boxes waiting to be put in the trash. "How'd the prep session go?"
"Long," Catherine sighed. "But we're ready."
The previous week Five-0 had gotten word that the trial of Maurice Hoya, a child predator who lured girls over the internet, was being moved up to accommodate the schedule of one of the young victims. The girl's father had received a new duty assignment in Germany and she would be moving overseas with her family in a matter of weeks. She wanted a chance to testify against her attacker and her counselors thought it would be best if she could do it before she left in order to allow herself and her family a fresh start. The defense fought the move but ultimately lost and the trial was set to begin Monday morning.
Catherine and Kono, who had worked long hours on the case, were scheduled to be key witnesses for the prosecution. The new trial date, however, required they spend Saturday morning reviewing their testimony and making sure they were prepared.
Catherine hated missing out on the initial stages of deck building but putting Maurice Hoya behind bars where he couldn't hurt any other young girls had to be a top priority.
"That's good." Steve squeezed her hand. He knew how badly she wanted to put Hoya away for life. "And don't worry, there's still plenty of work to do tomorrow."
"Apparently there are going to be nail guns," Frank said with barely concealed glee. "That'll be fun. When we built my deck we nailed everything by hand."
"It pays to have relatives in construction." Chin raised his beer with a smile.
"No nail guns for you." Catherine pointed her finger at Danny. "Kono and I are gonna be tied up in trial next week and we can't have you sidelined with an injury."
"I can certainly handle a nail gun," Danny scoffed.
"You couldn't handle a box cutter," Steve countered.
"That wasn't my fault … it was that stupid packaging … it's impossible to open."
"If you say so," Steve grinned as the others looked on in amusement.
"You know what? I'm beginning to wonder why I even show up here every time you need help," Danny huffed.
"Because you're a good friend," Catherine said honestly and Danny beamed at her. "But I still don't want you using a nail gun. Better safe than sorry."
McGarrett/Rollins Residence
Sunday 8:00 A.M.
Catherine and Steve filled a cooler with ice along with bottles of water and juice as their friends gathered outside, prepared for another day of work on their deck. Adam, Esther, Kamekona, Chin's two cousins and Frank and Kathy Kayama showed up to help in addition to Danny, Kono and Chin.
Catherine smiled as she looked out the back door. "We have really great friends."
"We're very lucky." Steve picked up the cooler. "We need to have a big thank you barbecue as soon the deck is finished."
"Sounds perfect," Catherine agreed as she opened the door.
Steve stepped out into the backyard followed closely by Cammie who spotted Esther and immediately began to woof happily and went to welcome her friend.
"Hey there, girl," Esther knelt to greet the wriggling pup. "How are you today?"
"Excited about so much company," Catherine smiled as she crossed the yard and clipped on Cammie's leash. "I know she's usually okay in the backyard but with all the power saws and nail guns going today I think it's a good idea to keep her leashed."
"I think that's a very good idea," Esther said sincerely. "We wouldn't want anything happening to this sweet girl."
"Absolutely not," Catherine nodded. "I'm really glad you could make it though. I have an idea for a special project I was kind of hoping you might help me with."
"Oh really?" Esther's eyes lit up. "I like special projects."
"Great," Catherine said conspiratorially. "I made some sketches. Let me grab them out of the house."
10:00 A.M.
Catherine and Steve had decided they wanted the deck floor laid in a simple herringbone pattern. It required a little more measuring but once they got a system going things moved more quickly than expected. Frank and Kathy Kayama carefully measured and called out the length and angle for each new piece to Kono and Adam who were manning the chop saws. They made the cuts then passed the boards off to Kamekona who carried them to whichever side of the pattern they were meant for. After Danny carefully inserted spacers to ensure proper placement Steve, Chin and Chin's cousins nailed the boards in place with nail guns.
Catherine and Esther retrieved some supplies from the woodpile that Catherine had special ordered and with Kono's help got all the pieces they needed cut to size. As soon as the floorboards closest to the house were in place they began their project.
Steve smiled as he watched Catherine meticulously measure before she and Esther started to construct a chunky wooden frame as Cammie lay next to them dozing in the sun.
"What's she building," Danny asked as he followed Steve's gaze.
"Just wait and see," Steve smiled as Catherine caught his eye. "You're gonna love it."
Noon
Catherine and Esther finished constructing a very sturdy looking frame out of 2x4 boards which they then hand-sanded smooth to make sure there were no splinters before attaching screen material to make walls and plywood for the roof. Once they were confident the roof was secure they covered it with several sheets of shingles that matched the roof of the beach house which Catherine got from a package of extras they kept in the garage.
The women stood back and proudly admired their handiwork.
"Let's try it out and see if she likes it," Catherine said excitedly. "I just need to grab some things from inside."
A few minutes later she slipped back out to the deck carrying a large Petco bag. As she removed a new dog bed Cammie stood up eagerly. She handed the bed to Esther who placed it inside the newly built structure and smiled broadly at the perfect fit.
Catherine placed a new water bowl beside the bed and several new toys on top of it. It only took a few seconds for Cammie to lay down happily on the bed as Catherine grabbed a bottle of cold water and filled her water bowl.
"You built Cammie a dog house?" Danny asked with a smile as he approached the women.
Catherine smiled. "She needs a nice place to get out of the sun. We want her to be able to enjoy the new deck too."
"I'm surprised it isn't personalized," he teased.
Catherine smiled sheepishly as she removed a wooden sign from the bag emblazoned with the words 'Cammie's Casa'.
Danny shook his head.
"Just be careful," Catherine warned. "I'm on my way in to order pizza and if you make fun of me I'm getting pineapple on all of it."
"I'm not saying a word." Danny grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and went back to work.
"Don't pay any attention to him," Steve called from his spot across the deck. "I think it looks great."
3:00 P.M.
After taking a short break for lunch and a quick game of fetch with Cammie the crew got right back to work and finished laying the floor. Just as they nailed the last board a delivery truck from Oleani's Lumber pulled into the driveway.
"The railings are here." Steve felt an unexpected rush of emotion as he watched Oke Oleani and one of his workers move around to the back of the truck, lift the door and begin to unload the railings made with the spindles his father had designed so many years ago.
In the end, after much discussion, Steve and Catherine decided that having the railings pre-fabricated was the best way to go. They both preferred the clean look of having the spindles set into the rails as opposed to having them simply nailed on and they knew that would require a tremendous amount of precision drilling which was something best performed by someone with experience.
After consulting Oke Oleani, who assured them he would be more than happy to handle the job personally, they went to the lumber yard and decided on a design for the upper and lower rail. They then provided Oke with the deck measurements and he constructed the railings in the needed sizes.
Steve smiled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as he and Catherine approached the truck. Oke removed the protective covering he had used to assure the railings weren't damaged in transport and Steve's breath caught in his throat.
He took a minute to collect himself before saying, "It's perfect."
"Absolutely beautiful," Catherine agreed with damp eyes.
"It was my honor to make them," Oke said sincerely.
Steve ran his hand across the spindles and nodded his head. He was certain his father would love them and love the idea of his spindle design being used on the deck. "Let's get these in place then."
5:00 P.M.
Danny and Catherine held the railing sections in position, careful to keep them level, as Steve and Chin nailed them to the posts that were installed when the deck was framed. The four friends worked in companionable silence, intent on making sure this part of the project was perfect.
Adam and Kono had left an hour earlier to get ready for a charity function they'd committed to attend months ago. Frank and Kathy Kayama headed back to their house up the beach since their sitter was unable to stay past 4:00. Kamekona stayed as long as he could before he had to make his way to the shrimp truck to prepare for the upcoming week and Esther, after getting assurances from both Steve and Catherine that there was nothing else she needed to help with, went with him. Chin's cousins packed up their tools, aside from the nail guns being used to attach the railings, and headed out. They were tired after a long week of work in the hot sun and then a weekend helping with the deck but they promised to return to help install the built in benches and the flower boxes.
"Last one." Steve carefully shot in the final nail.
"Looks great," Chin said as he stepped back and eyed the railing carefully. He looked around the entire perimeter of the deck and was pleased to see that everything looked even and level.
"It really does," Catherine agreed as she stepped beside Steve and slid her arm around his waist. "Your dad would be so proud."
"I think he would be," Steve smiled as he kissed her on the temple.
"Not a bad day's work if I do say so myself." Danny stretched his arms over his head.
"You guys wanna stay for dinner?" Steve offered. "I can throw some steaks on the grill."
"Thanks, but no," Chin said. "Leilani gets off work at 6:00 and I promised her a quiet dinner."
"Sounds fun," Catherine smiled.
"And Grace will be getting back from Rachel's soon so I better be getting home too," Danny yawned.
"Thanks again for all your help. We really appreciate it," Steve said genuinely.
"No problem," Chin and Danny replied in unison.
"Though just to be clear I don't want to hear anymore complaining next time I need you to help me move furniture," Danny added.
"I never complain about moving furniture," Steve said.
"Keep telling yourself that," Danny scoffed. "If that's what makes you feel better. But I distinctly remember you griping about going to pick up a dresser … "
Chin and Catherine smiled as Steve and Danny's voices trailed off as they headed into the house, continuing their back and forth.
McGarrett/Rollins Residence
6:30 P.M.
Catherine finished up a call and wandered outside to find Steve sitting on the new deck in the setting sun.
"Carrie said to tell you she's sorry again that she and John weren't available to help this weekend but they'll be here next weekend for sure."
"How are John's folks?" Steve held out an arm and when Catherine took his hand he tugged her into his lap.
"Good," she smiled. "The weather has actually been pretty mild while they've been there. Carrie's kinda bummed. She was looking forward to some snow. I think she was hoping to stage a snowball battle with John's family like the one I told her about at Nonna's over Christmas."
Steve laughed. "You made it sound fun, did you? As I recall you lost that snowball fight."
"Only the first one," Catherine corrected with a chuckle. "We kicked butt the second time."
"Yes, we did," Steve agreed.
"The railings look great," she said as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"They do, don't they. I talked to Oke before he left and he said it would be a good idea to get them stained as soon as possible. He recommended a few good brands that are stain and sealer in one. I figured we can work on that this week and it'll be one less thing to do next weekend."
"Sounds good. Hopefully court won't run too late and we can get it knocked out in a few nights. But remember I'm going with Jenna and Jacob on Wednesday night to see him get a haircut."
Steve smiled. "It's adorable that he wants you to see him sit still and be good when he gets his hair cut."
Catherine grinned. "It seems very important to him so how could I say no."
"He wants to impress you."
Catherine chuckled. "I think it's because I promised him shaved ice afterward."
"That's just a bonus," Steve said as he buried his face in her hair.
"Don't take too deep a breath," Catherine said. "I need a shower bad."
"Well," Steve said as he pulled back and waggled his eyebrows. "I think that can be arranged. Would you like some company?"
"Always," Catherine purred. "I'll even let you soap up my hard to reach places."
"I can do that," Steve grinned.
"And I'm not sure but I think I may have gotten a splinter or two today in unexpected places. You may need to look."
"I'll examine every inch of your body very carefully," Steve growled. "Very, very carefully."
"Well then, Commander," Catherine stood and reached out her hand to pull him up beside her. "We better get started. It sounds like it might be a long night."
THE END
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