AN's in part 1

I just want to take a minute to say that this chapter was posted on Mari's and my 5th Friendiversary. I reviewed one of Mari's stories and her amazing writing actually spurred me on to post my first H50 story. We connected through mutual reviews and the rest is history! Ilna and I connected much the same way and when Mari came up with the idea for the REAL World there was no question who we wanted the third writer to be and the rest is ... as they say ... history.

What It's All About

"And I got this in the box with the adorable stuffed animal that looks like her!" Kaitlyn explained, her eyes alight. "And her name is Valentina and here's her picture." She offered a printed "Animal Info" sheet to Danny who was smiling broadly as the excited young girl further explained the details on her gift from Elizabeth and Joseph.

"That's outstanding, honey." He shared a look with Jenna who was smiling almost as broadly as her daughter.

"What an amazing gift," Nonna bubbled. "And absolutely perfect for our angel, Kaitlyn."

"I was really surprised when I opened the box. I didn't know you could sponsor a sloth and now I'm Valentina's sponsor." She stepped back to hug Joseph, then Elizabeth. "Thank you again. So much." She looked back at Danny. "And I get updates on her every single month and pictures, too."

Catherine pecked her dad's cheek. "Good job."

He shrugged. "When we got the world wildlife fundraiser package the front cover featured a sloth; how could we not sponsor one for Kaitlyn after she loved meeting Cinnamon so much at the zoo."

"For a minute I thought it meant the sloth was coming to live in our house," Jacob said with a laugh. "Then Kaitlyn explained that wild animals don't belong in anybody's house; they're much happier in their habitat or if they can't live there in a rescue or zoo with people who really know how to take care of them and feed them. And where they have other animals like them to play with."

"That's exactly right. And by sponsoring one it means there's more supplies and food and toys for all the animals," Aaron said with a nod. "Alyssa sponsors two polar bears and she co-sponsors a pack of wolves with a few other veterinarians."

Elizabeth winked at Kaitlyn and she beamed when her aunt ruffled Jacobs hair and said, "That's one smart sister you've got there. Maybe someday we'll have another vet in the family."

"I'm glad you don't have to work tomorrow," Grace said as she and Casey grabbed two bottles of water and headed down to the beach to watch the latest in an ongoing horseshoe tournament between Cody and Jadon. "The mall will probably be super busy, so I'll pick you up early."

Danny and Jenna, who had overheard the exchange, shared a wistful look.

"No more begging me to take her to the mall the day after Christmas." Danny adjusted his sunglasses. "Now she drives herself."

Jenna watched as the two girls reached the sand. She could no longer hear what they were saying but their excitement was still visible in their body language. She smiled when the two teens leaned in close to check out something on Grace's phone then clasped hands and squealed. 'So grown up in some ways,' she thought to herself, 'And still excitable little girls in others.'

"It takes some time to get used to," Jenna sympathized. "I went through it with Cody, so I thought I was prepared but … I don't know … it's different when it's your daughter."

"A whole other set of things to worry about," Danny noted.

"They're responsible girls with good heads on their shoulders," Jenna said confidently.

"That they are," Danny agreed. "And also …" His voice trailed off.

"You're happy not to have to go to the mall the day after Christmas, right?" Jenna chuckled.

"Silver linings," Danny grinned. "I can't say that I will miss dealing with that insanity."

"I brought you something to eat while we're waiting for dinner to be ready," Jacob said as he approached the table where Nonna and Grandma Ang were sitting under a large umbrella. The plate he placed in front of them held brownies, cookies and homemade fudge. Jacob's idea of the perfect light snack.

"Thank you so much," Nonna smiled. "You're such a thoughtful boy."

"Thanks." Jacob grabbed a brownie as sat down between them.

Grandma Ang laughed as he took a large bite. "Didn't I hear your mother telling you no more cookies before dinner?"

"This isn't a cookie," Jacob said matter of factly.

"I think she meant …" Ang and Nonna shared an amused look. "You know what, it doesn't matter. You enjoy yourself. It's Christmas."

"Daniel was the same way when he was little," Nonna chuckled.

"Really?" Jacob's face lit up. "That makes it like a family tradition even though we're related by love, not blood."

"You're right," the grandmas agreed in unison, "That's exactly what it is."

"My teacher said if we wanted to we could write a report about family traditions over vacation for extra credit." Jacob wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Maybe I'll do that. Could you help me?"

"I'd love to," Grandma Ang offered immediately.

"Me too," Nonna said happily.

"I'll see if Aunt Catherine has a paper and pencil I can borrow to write some things down." Jacob jumped up and headed for the house. "This is gonna be fun."

Deb McGarrett popped her head into the nursery as Catherine and Elizabeth were finishing a diaper … and outfit … change on Angie.

"Knock knock," She said. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Don't be silly, come on in. It's time for wardrobe change number three," Catherine smiled as Elizabeth chuckled and clapped her hands to entice the baby to come into her arms.

Angie immediately obliged, saying "Ama!"

Deb tickled her tummy. "Look at you, you adorable little reindeer."

Angie's top was decorated with flying reindeer and her leggings we're printed with Ho Ho Ho in red and green.

"Catherine if you have a minute?" Her expression said Deb would like to chat and Elizabeth, being astute as always, kissed the baby's cheek. "Let's let Mommy and Aunt Deb have a minute and we'll go see what Joan is doing downstairs."

"Noni!" Angie bounced in her grandmother's arms.

"Let's go then," Elizabeth said.

"Go!" Angie repeated and as she took the toddler out of the room. Catherine and Deb could hear her calling, "Noni!" while going downstairs.

As the sound of Angie's voice faded Catherine turned to face Deb. "Is everything okay? Do you need anything?"

The older woman smiled. "No, I just wanted to say thank you."

"Well, you're very welcome. You know we want you here as often as you like to come - we especially love having you here for the holidays…"

Deb waved a hand. "Oh, no darling, thank you for this beautiful holiday, but that's not what I meant. I meant thank you for putting this family back together." She took Catherine's hand and squeezed it. "Mary is happy, and she's settled and that's something I was afraid to hope would ever happen. I couldn't be happier for her that it did. And Steve." She made a motion toward the door with her hand.

"Steve is happy. Content and happy. And I know if my brother were here, he would say the same thing so I'm going to say it for both of us. Thank you. Thank you for being the heart of this family. For that beautiful little girl who is going to grow up in this house surrounded by happiness. For erasing the bad memories that have been…" She looked around. "Clinging to these walls for a very long time.

No excuses, and you know I've said this before: I did the best I could with Mary, and John made… not the best decisions, but it's the decisions he thought were best.

Now my sister-in-law just …" Distaste washed over her face. "I'll never understand how that woman's brain works. Not when I found out what happened and not when she left the second time." She shook her head. "I really expected Steve to sell this house and get as far away from Hawaii as possible. I figured you two would be settled somewhere in Bora-Bora." Deb grinned. "And look at you - you've made this place a home.

And I know I don't have to tell you this, but Joan and Angie growing up as cousins and friends - it filled even more of the empty space their grandparents left. So, sweetheart, I want to give you a little something of our family history."

Catherine was already blinking back tears when the older woman pulled a small box from the pocket of her sweater. "These were my grandmother's and I absolutely know that she and my grandfather would want you to have them."

Catherine's hand fluttered to her mouth before she took the box and opened it.

"Oh Deb… are you sure, I…"

"Shush, shush, I don't do anything I'm not sure of. I'm a McGarrett, you should be used to that by now," she said, and both women laughed.

"I thought maybe Mary or Joan…"

"There's plenty of things for Mary and Joan and Angie that belonged to my mother and grandmother, but these are for you."

In the box were a pair of square cut ruby earrings set in rose gold, the precious metal that had lost its popularity for quite a long time before making a comeback.

Catherine sniffled. "Come with me, I'm going to put them on right now."

She left the nursery and Deb followed her to the master bedroom. Leaning into her dresser mirror, she replaced her simple silver hoops with the earrings and fastened the screw backs.

"They look beautiful on you; they're exactly where they belong." Deb said as Catherine wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Deb, thank you. I don't know what else to say… other than thank you."

Deb was nodding as Catherine cleared her throat and whispered, "They're Angie's birthstone."

"All the more reason you should have them… and maybe someday Angie will wear them. Ruby was my grandmother's birthstone … I don't know if you knew that."

"Steve mentioned her birthday was July, but I wasn't thinking about birthstones. I doubt either of us ever did before…"

"Angie," Deb finished.

"Angie." Catherine echoed. "I'm honored to wear them."

Another hug was exchanged, and Catherine held on just a few seconds longer as Deb hugged a little bit tighter than usual before the two women pulled apart with a bit of a teary smile.

"C'mon, let's go downstairs," Catherine said. "I can't wait to show them to Steve."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go show my nephew that a little family heirloom is exactly where it belongs."

"So, the first thing we're gonna build is a robotic arm," Dylan explained to Joseph about one of his Christmas gifts. He and Chin nodded simultaneously without realizing their mirrored gesture. There's a competition where we can collaborate with an adult on a project coming up, so after the arm, we're going to do some research for an entry."

"I'm sure whatever you two collaborate on will be excellent," Joseph said sincerely.

Chin placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed affectionately. "We're going to call my cousin with the scrapyard and get permission to salvage parts for projects. Dylan came up with the idea and is going to offer to help with cleaning and organizing the office in exchange for parts."

The pride in his mentor's eyes was unmistakable and Joseph nodded approvingly. "Excellent idea, I'm sure he'll appreciate the help."

"Thanks. Last time we were there looking for a car part for Uncle Steve's Marquis, he was saying he needed some filing and organizing help since his daughter started college on the mainland. She used to do it but now she's only home in the summer and he's kinda…" he shrugged, not wanting to insult his uncle's family member.

"Messy and disorganized," Chin offered with a laugh. "As soon as he suggested it, I told Dylan it's a win-win plan.

Danny lifted his goddaughter onto his lap to keep her from being underfoot as the remnants of Christmas dinner was replaced by various desserts that people could help themselves to as the evening went on.

Having enjoyed trying all the different foods, Angie was still nibbling so he had transferred the remaining bits of meat on her tray to a little plastic plate on the table.

As soon as a cookie tray was in reach, she grabbed one with a grin. "Mmmm." Angie held up the bite of Nonna's braciole that was still one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. "Mama, see!" Waving them at Catherine from her place in her godfather's lap, she took a bite of each and chewed happily while offering her uncle a bite.

"No thank you, honey." He dropped a kiss on her head. "Good sharing, but that's all for you," Danny said with a disgusted face at the combination. Raising his chin towards Steve as he shifted a plate of marshmallow topped cupcakes further from the toddler's reach, he snorted, "Do you see this, Catherine? Your daughter is eating cookies and braciole in the same mouthful. That is one hundred percent your husband's freakish ability to eat anything that's not crawling off the dish."

"Mmmm." Angie repeated as she squished the last bite of braciole - thinly sliced beef rolled with savory spices and cooked in gravy - into the cookie and ate the combination with gusto.

Steve barked a laugh and as he passed Catherine a bowl of ambrosia salad, he bent to kiss her temple. "You've met my wife, right, Danny? The woman who mashes ketchup and over easy eggs onto peanut butter toast?"

"Yes. Yes, I have, actually," Danny said with an eye roll as Nonna and Ang both chuckled at the banter. Addressing the baby with the rest of his sentence, he kissed her head and concluded, "At least your mommy uses utensils and table manners. You're already ahead of daddy in both those departments." He used a wet wipe to clean the protesting child's face and hands.

"No! Nooooo!" She looked at him pitifully before tossing her head back away from the wipe.

"Ah ah, sorry, beautiful, Uncle Danno's immune, your cousin Grace numbed me to it in 2002...see, all clean." He dropped the wipe in her used dish and pushed both away. "Like I was sayin' you ate like a big girl… like a SEAL, actually, so let's you and Uncle Danno go assemble that nice, loud drum set I got you as a special favor for your daddy."

Laughing at his own humor, he stood and placed Angie on her feet. With his heart melting when she reached up to hold his hand while they walked, he smirked at his partner, who couldn't even fake looking pissed when watching them.

When his toddler tugged his best friend across the deck saying, "See, Danno, see." Steve's heart swelled.

Angie's expression was a new one. Even though he'd never noticed her with that particular look in the past it was still very, very familiar. The decisiveness and focus were something he'd seen a thousand times before on Catherine's beautiful face.

As another breathtaking sunset hung like a picture over the ocean, friends and family naturally gravitated towards the deck, the site of so many wonderful moments right from the day it was built. The low murmur of multiple conversations filled the air, punctuated by bursts of laughter and raucous teasing.

Steve and Catherine stood back, hand in hand, and allowed themselves a few moments to just observe. There was no need for words, each knew instinctively what the other was thinking.

They looked at Angie, dozing contentedly in Cody's arms. They'd tried to entice her to bed an hour earlier but the happy toddler was reluctant to leave the large gathering of people she loved. Mary and Aaron were currently engaged in their own bedtime negotiation with Joan who was claiming not be tired at all despite near constant yawning. Grandma Ang sat in her usual spot playing Uno with Kaitlin and Dylan, listening intently as they told her about their plans for the rest of their vacation. Joseph and Elizabeth, whose smiles hadn't left their faces all day, were talking to Aunt Deb about the three of them getting together for a night out in LA. Grace, Cody, Casey, Jess and Jadon were seated in the corner, reliving the details of the day long horseshoe competition and devouring a plate of homemade cookies and brownies. Jacob was entertaining his mother, Danny, Gabby, Chin and Leilani by reenacting scenes from the Grinch movie he's seen a few days earlier. Kono and Adam, who'd arrived late due to multiple commitments, were enjoying turkey sandwiches while they chatted with Frank and Kathy Kayama.

Catherine laid her head on Steve's shoulder and his arm wrapped instinctively around her.

This is what it was all about.

His eyes landed on the spindles in the deck's railings. The ones his father had designed. He and Catherine regularly told Angie stories about her paternal grandfather and they would continue to do so. They wanted her to celebrate her family history without any of the uncomfortable baggage Steve and Mary had been forced to drag through their early lives.

Someday they hoped Angie would be standing on this very spot, looking out over a large, loving group of family and friends and feel what they were feeling at this moment.

Home.

# The FIFTH annual REAL World Holiday Marathon continues tomorrow!