Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for the fun, the joy, and, above all, the REAL friendship!

Esther – Thank you for your support and enthusiasm! And for always saying, "I'm not worried." :-)

Readers and REAL McRollers – we are *thrilled* that you're as excited about the marathon as we are! Thank you for your amazing support and feedback!

Hope you enjoy!

Sheets (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)

It was well into the evening when Steve and Catherine entered the house after a long day. Cammie rose to greet them as soon as the front door opened.

"Hey, Cammie," Catherine said, dropping to her knees and accepting several kisses from the dog who was clearly overjoyed to see them. Catherine glanced up at Steve. "You know, this really never gets old. Her greeting us at the door."

He smiled and bent to receive his own greeting.

"It really doesn't," he said and rubbed Cammie's neck with both hands.

Catherine stood, smiling at the pair.

Steve straightened and said, "What do you think, Cammie? You want to go out for a little bit?"

She gave a woof of approval, and Catherine chuckled.

"I think that's a 'yes,' " she said. "You want me to warm something up to eat or are you good?"

"I'm all right," he said, following Cammie toward the back door. "Those sandwiches earlier were plenty."

"Okay."

"Hey, what's this?" Steve asked when he noticed a large box on the dining room table.

She joined him. "Ooh, I forgot Esther texted that she signed for a package today. Must be our sheets."

"Sheets?" he asked, handing her his knife. "You mean, the sheets?"

She nodded as she cut open the box. "I finally managed to secure a few sets from an overstock company in Michigan." She opened the box flaps and sighed happily as she looked at the familiar logo on the plastic. "Excellent."

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "Jeez, Cath, how many'd you get?"

"Well, a couple of them are for Carrie and John." She smiled at him. "Besides, they're the sheeeeeets, Steve."

He chuckled.

She continued, "And given the unpredictability of our schedule and how often we need to change sheets . . ."

He returned her smirk with a quick waggle of his eyebrows.

"I figured several sets were a good idea," she finished.

"Definitely."

"In fact, I'm gonna throw a set in the wash."

"Now?" he asked.

"Yeah, we won't have a lot time tomorrow since we're going to eat with the Allens. Then we can put 'em on before we leave and come home from the trip to a bed with new sheets. Doesn't that sound good?"

"I'm just good with you in bed," he said with a shrug. "New sheets, old sheets, no sheets . . ."

"My Little Pony sheets . . ."

"Huh?"

She shook her head. "Something Carrie said once."

He quirked an eyebrow.

She smiled saucily and turned to face him fully, her fingers skimming his arms. "That you wouldn't notice if the sheets were cammo, My Little Pony, or there at all if I was in them. Naked."

"I'm up for testing that theory anytime." He stepped closer, slipping his arms around her waist. His voice dropped low. "Mmm, you in cammo sheets . . ."

She slid her arms up his chest and around his neck.

"Did I just set off a new fantasy?" she asked.

"Maybe."

He leaned down and kissed her.

After a moment he pulled back and, nodding toward the box, asked, "Those come in cammo?"

"Afraid not."

"That's a shame." He ran his hands up and down her back. "You may have a new mission, Lieutenant."

She shook her head, scrunching up her nose. "Too easy." Her smile turned playful and suggestive. "Give me something harder, Commander."

His eyebrows rose, and he grinned as he leaned down and kissed her deeply.

The kiss grew in intensity until Catherine pulled back enough to say, "Cammie's . . ."

"Yeah," he murmured, his lips tracing her jaw. "That's what started this . . ."

"No, not cammies," she said, gently pushing him up with a light laugh. "Cammie." She nodded toward the dog. "Cammie's waiting for you."

From her spot by the door, Cammie woofed and wagged her tail expectantly.

Steve smiled at Cammie. "And waiting very patiently, too."

He kissed Catherine once more, then released her and handed her his gun and badge before walking over to the dog.

"Sorry, girl," he said, scratching under Cammie's chin. "I got a little . . . distracted." He glanced back at Catherine. "All that talk about sheets and cammo."

Catherine grinned.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go out."

Cammie woofed once more as Steve opened the back door and, with a final smile at Catherine, followed her into the backyard.

After running one of the new sets of sheets through the short cycle, Catherine threw them in the dryer and joined Steve and Cammie in the backyard for some leisurely playtime.

When they came in, Cammie headed for her water bowl, and Catherine said, "I'm gonna check on the sheets. They should be about dry."

"Bring 'em in here," he said, crossing to the living room. "I'll help you fold."

"Thanks," she said over her shoulder as she headed for the laundry.

He held out his hands. "Teamwork, Rollins."

"We do make a good team," she said.

"The best."

Her smile in response was bright, and he returned it before she disappeared.

A few minutes later he heard her saying, "And you've got our flight details," as she re-entered the living room, laundry basket on her hip and phone tucked between her ear and shoulder.

Steve quickly moved to take the basket from her, and she flashed a smile in thanks and held the phone with her hand to finish the call.

"Right," Catherine said as Steve set the basket on the table and took out one of the sheets, shaking it out. "Okay. Love you, Mom."

She ended the call and pocketed her phone, bending to take the bottom edges of the sheet he was holding.

"Final details?" he asked as they joined the edges.

"Yeah. Definitely a zoo trip planned for early in the week."

"Joanie's gonna love that."

"Absolutely. I've been looking at the website. We won't be able to stay the whole day, she wouldn't make it. I want to plan a good route so we can see as much as possible."

"Of course you do." They finished folding the top sheet, and he waited as she grabbed the fitted sheet and the pillowcases before setting it back in the basket. "But are you sure your mother hasn't already done that?" he teased.

She dropped the pillowcases on the table and held the sheet by two edges.

"I–" she stopped. "I should probably check."

He nodded, his lip twitching in a smile. "Yeah."

He grabbed the other side of the sheet and joined it with her side.

"Oh, and Mary sent me a link," Catherine continued. "The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles has a Butterfly Pavilion. She's been waiting to take Joan because she thought we'd like to go, too."

He smiled thoughtfully. "She thought we'd like to go?"

"Yeah."

He huffed a small laugh, his eyes dropping to the sheet in his hands as they finished folding it.

She watched him as he set the sheet in the basket.

"What?" she asked.

He sighed and looked back at her with a small smile. "I'm actually excited about going to a butterfly pavilion. And the zoo." He shook his head. "I just never thought I'd . . ." His voice trailed off and he sighed again.

She reached out to run her fingers down his forearm and take his hand.

"The things I've done since I've been back on the island . . ." he continued. "With Grace . . . and Joan . . . and now the Allen kids . . ."

She squeezed his hand lightly as she waited for him to continue.

He licked his lips. "It's like this whole other world of . . . experiences I . . ." He shook his head again. "That I never thought I'd have, you know?"

She smiled softly and reached up to cup his cheek, kissing him slowly.

"And I love watching you experience them," she said quietly. "And experiencing them with you."

He gave her a soft smile.

After a quiet moment he released her hand to pull her closer.

"Now," he said, his voice dropping. "Back to those cammo sheets . . ."

She laughed. "Of course."

"What?" he asked, linking his fingers behind her back. "You didn't think I'd forget, did you?"

"No," she said with a grin. "I know you better than that."

"Uh huh," he agreed, running his tongue over his lower lip and keeping his eyes on her.

"And I know that look."

"Yeah . . . and . . .?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow in question.

She paused, then smiled.

"And I think we're gonna be washing more sheets."

He grinned and dipped his head to kiss her.

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks to Mari for the AWESOME Carrie line about sheets in Sensory Overload.

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