Sammy's notes: Mari & ilna—I give thanks every day that both of you are in my life. Thanks for your friendship and support. And for making me smile on a daily basis. You guys are the best. I look forward to many more years in the REAL World.

Sandy—your friendship is a gift that I never take for granted.

REAL Worlders—one more day till Steve, Catherine, Danny & Grace arrive in New Jersey for Christmas at Nonna's. Here we go!

.

Mari's notes: This has been such a joy, and it's been many fun& joyous months in the making. By the time I sat down to write, it was so exciting it's truly like … well, let's just say, it's not Christmas 'till we're at Nonna's!

Sammy& Ilna: you are such strong, wonderful people that just knowing you makes my life better. Thank you for the fun, laughter, support and joy. Sammy, your strength has never been more evident than these past weeks. Much love and hugs. I admire you every day.

REALMcRollrs, the love & support continues to make us smile every single day! Hold on …it's almost here!

Here We Go

(Prologue to the 12 Days of Nonna: Christmas)
A Mari & Sammy Collaboration

Five-0 Headquarters
Monday, December 22nd
Break Room - 12:30 P.M.

The team ordered pizza from a local pizzeria since they were all at the office during lunchtime for a change. They thought it would be nice to share a meal before Steve, Danny and Catherine headed to the mainland for the holidays. Catherine and Chin laid out napkins and paper plates on the table while Danny went out to meet the delivery man and let Steve and Kono know lunch had arrived. Danny was explaining to Kono the virtues of fresh versus sliced mozzarella as they entered the break room and he put three boxes on the counter.

Chin grinned at Danny's explanation as he grabbed a slice of pizza from the first box and a water from the refrigerator before taking a seat across from Catherine at the table. "Don't worry about Cammie. I grew up with dogs, she'll be fine." Chin's smile was warm and genuine.

"Oh! No, Chin, I never thought she wouldn't. I know you'll take great care of her and she loves you. I'm … we're so grateful you're doing this, it's just …" Catherine looked sheepish. "I'm really gonna miss her."

Danny grinned at his friends. He was happy Catherine and Steve were so excited about the upcoming trip to Nonna's but he also understood this would be their first extended separation from Cammie. He placed a hand on Catherine's arm as he sat down. She looked every bit the concerned mom, even if her 'baby' had four paws.

She took a sip of water and continued, "And you don't mind staying at our place? Because Cammie will feel more comfortable at home. Esther will come by at her usual time, plus one extra visit a day. And if a case comes in, call her and she'll take care of Cammie until you're free. So all you have to do besides feed her is sleep there and keep her company."

She looked up when Steve entered and crossed to the counter. "Hey. I was just going over Cammie's routine with Chin." She turned back to Chin, who sported a slightly amused smile at the Cammie instructions. "We'll set up her meals and snacks and everything beforehand. She goes out for the last time about ten and you can stay in the master bedroom, the bathroom's right there ..."

She was interrupted by Danny's snort. "You people don't actually expect the poor guy to sleep in the master bedroom ..." He gave an exaggerated shudder but couldn't hold in a guffaw, "What the hell am I saying? No surface in that house is safe anyway."

Danny received a good natured smack on the arm from Catherine while Steve's eye roll and accompanying nod of agreement earned him a 'really, Steve?' look from his girlfriend.

"I'll be fine." Chin said with a chuckle at the antics. "What room does Grace use when she's at your house, Catherine?"

"The spare room, wh …? Oh." She laughed.

"Exactly. I'll stay in there." Chin grinned.

"Good choice." Danny nodded with a huge smirk. "Because I pretty much guarantee that even these two would be dissuaded by the fact that everyone, including Grace, considers that her room away from home."

"Danny?" Steve took a long swallow of water before he continued.

"Yes, Steven?' Danny was still smiling.

"Bite me."

"Are you and Grace all packed and ready?" Chin asked Danny who was gesturing at his partner.

"I've got a few things left to toss in the suitcases tonight. Grace, on the other hand, has been packed since last Wednesday." Danny chuckled. Grace was so excited about the trip she'd actually packed and re-packed a few times, 'just to be sure'. "Of course that doesn't include her adding something and taking something else out every time she texts Catherine."

Catherine and Steve exchanged a look. "We're coordinating," she explained, and the rest of the team smiled.

"Nothing wrong with that," Kono said. "I used to call my cousins twenty times a day when we were doing something together at Grace's age. I think it's adorable how she wants to match you, Cath."

"Isn't it? We have a couple of sweaters that are the same color and we both have black leggings." Catherine was thrilled that their niece was so excited to have her and Steve on this trip to Nonna's.

Steve grabbed a second slice of pizza and said, "Gracie texts Catherine pictures of clothes." He gave her a smile as her phone dinged an incoming text alert. "Probably her now."

Danny nodded, "She got out of school …" he checked his watch, "three minutes ago. I'm sure she urgently needs a consult on something or other. There's a half day today. She's going to Linda's till I pick her up. I guarantee they will be discussing every item she's taking …"

Catherine held up the phone, "Red socks for Christmas brunch or the ones with snowmen on them …?"

"Clearly a very important decision, Lieutenant," Steve nodded seriously.

"It is when you're twelve," Catherine grinned.

"Wait till she's texting about what color lingerie to buy …" Kono snarked to see Danny and Steve's reactions.

She laughed at the predictable result as Danny cringed, "Stop! Don't ruin my holiday trip high, Kalakaua." He pointed at her; tossed his empty plate in the trash and said, "And now, I'm going to finish my report on the Bradshaw case," as he left the room.

"Danny's right," Steve agreed. "That's not … that's years and years away…" He stood to follow his partner out of the break room.

"Not as far as you think …" The women said to each other after Steve was gone. Chin shook his head with a smile and left them to finish their lunch.

Honolulu International Airport
Monday 9:00 P.M.

Steve, Catherine, Danny and Grace arrived at the airport in plenty of time, cleared security quickly, stopped to buy a few supplies to pass time on the plane, and were waiting in the United Airlines gate area with thirty minutes to spare before departure. Grace bounced excitedly in her seat and checked the time on her phone for the third time in the last five minutes. "Do you think we got enough snacks?" she asked as she inspected the stash in her carry-on bag.

"I'm sure we got plenty," Danny assured her with a smile. "Probably enough for the flight back as well."

Grace rolled her eyes. "I was thinking …" she trailed off and chewed her lip nervously.

"About what, Gracie," Steve asked.

"Well, since you and Auntie Catherine bought your tickets at a different time than me and Danno … and we couldn't get seats together … I was thinking maybe we could trade seats during the flight so everyone gets a chance to sit next to everyone else," she smiled uncertainly. "If you want to that is."

"Monkey," Danny reminded her, "this is an overnight flight. Just because you don't sleep on planes doesn't mean Uncle Steve and Auntie Catherine don't. Maybe they plan on napping the whole way to Nonna's."

Grace tried to hide the disappointment on her face.

"Stop being such a spoil sport, Danno," Steve said, wanting nothing more than put the excited smile back on Gracie's face. "I for one would love to have a turn sitting next to Gracie. What about you, Cath?"

"Absolutely," Catherine grinned. "I'm too excited to sleep very much anyway."

Danny looked around the gate area. "The other people on the flight are gonna love you guys," he said sarcastically.

"So I checked and the flight is nine hours and thirty-six minutes. So we can change seats every three hours and twelve minutes," Grace said as Catherine and Steve grinned at her precise planning. "The only question is who do I sit next to first? I want to find a fair way to decide. Sometimes at school we decide by picking a number and seeing who can guess closest."

"That works for me," Catherine said and Steve nodded in agreement.

"Danno?" Grace asked hopefully.

"Fine by me," Danny shrugged. It warmed his heart every time he realized just how much Steve and Catherine loved Grace and how badly they wanted her to be happy.

"Ok, I'm thinking of a number between one and twenty," Grace said.

"Four," Danny guessed.

"Twelve," Catherine chimed in.

Steve studied Grace's face and thought carefully. "I'm gonna say ten."

"It was ten!" Grace said as her eyes lit up and a smile split her face. "How did you know, Uncle Steve?"

"Because the flight is nine hours and thirty six minutes so it's closer to ten hours than nine and I thought you might pick the flight time as your number," Steve explained.

"I did!" Grace giggled. "So I sit next to Uncle Steve first."

United Airlines Flight 6530
9:30 P.M.

Steve and Grace settled into their seats, buckled their seatbelts and prepared for take-off. Grace chose the window seat which Steve was happy to let her have since sitting on the aisle afforded him a little extra leg room. Luckily, even though Steve and Catherine booked late, they managed to get tickets in one of the outer rows. The two-three-two seat configuration of the Boeing 767 meant there was no third person in the row to worry about. Danny and Catherine were sitting six rows in front of them.

"Getting settled in okay," the flight attendant asked sweetly as she leaned just a little too close to Steve.

"We're fine. Thanks." Steve nodded politely.

"If there's anything at all you need during the flight, you just ring the bell and ask for me. My name's Becky."

"Thanks, Becky," Steve said.

"I can bring you a pillow or an extra blanket," she offered and Grace recognized the predatory look in the pretty brunette's eyes.

"I'm fine. Thanks," Steve replied politely as Becky continued to lean close to him.

'Oblivious,' Grace thought to herself.

"Your daughter is adorable," Becky smiled sweetly. "Are you headed to the mainland to visit family?"

"He's not my father," Grace said. "He's my Uncle Steve. My father is sitting up there," she pointed, "with my Auntie Catherine." Grace stressed the word Auntie. "We're all going to New Jersey to spend Christmas with my Nonna."

"Oh," Becky's face registered her disappointment. "That sounds like fun. Enjoy your flight."

As Becky walked away dejectedly the captain's voice came over the speaker and announced they'd be taking off in five minutes.

"Here we go," Grace squealed. "Off to Christmas at Nonna's."

We are extremely excited to bring you the Twelve Days of Nonna – Christmas beginning tomorrow.

We hope you join us!

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