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Noise Ordinance

Joint Base Pearl-Hickam Mess

"Yo! Did some old bastard named McGarrett call for a bucket of ibuprofen?" The voice that rang through the mess hall was loud enough that most of the young SEAL Team members turned along with the reservists.

Before Steve could respond, the burst of laughter from his old friend rang out as he approached and tossed a Motrin bottle in the air.

Grabbing it on the fly just before the sandy-haired man with the hawkish grin caught him in a hug, Steve snorted a laugh of his own. "Who you calling old, you jackass? You've got seven years on me."

The men shared a smile as Al Cuzzi clapped his former teammate on the shoulder and took a seat on the bench as Steve did the same.

"What are you doing back at Pearl?" Steve motioned to the others at his table and the reservists exchanged greetings with the former SEAL turned Unrestricted Line Officer.

Cuzzi ran a hand over his cropped hair. "Passing through on a TAD hop to Yokosuka. I was gonna call you tonight, then I ran into Catherine's dad and found out you were on reserves." He shrugged. "So I tracked you down to bust your chops." His grin broadened. "How're Catherine and the baby?"

Steve beamed. "Beautiful. Perfect. Angie's brilliant, just like Catherine. Did you know Annie sent her a package?"

Cuzzi took a long drink from the bottle of water that was left unopened on the table. "I heard." He shook his head. "Can you believe it? My kid's at the academy and you have a gorgeous baby girl." A smirk returned. "Thank God they look like their mamas."

Steve's smile grew. "No argument there."

Cuzzi nodded at his old teammate and friend. "Annie FaceTimes when she gets a second. She said Catherine texted her a thank you picture from Angie holding a stuffed version of Bill."

The lieutenant commander Steve was bunking with for their reserve stint grinned at the two men and smiled as he stood to leave. "Couldn't help overhear. I've got a daughter stationed in San Diego and my boy's at Groton. Won't be long before yours start hearing stories about your younger days."

Steve and Al Cuzzi shared a 'holy crap' grin before the older man burst out laughing and took his leave.

"I'll make sure the first one Angie hears from me is about her wonderful mama coming to the rescue after the noise ordinance." Cuzzi toasted with his water bottle.

Naval Base Coronado
California, 2005

Catherine snatched her phone off the nightstand as quickly as possible. While she had no roommate who she'd be worried about waking - VOQ housing was full for her TAD assignment so she was just off base in a small issued cottage - seeing Steve's face on the screen at 03:02 had her heart beating faster as she answered with, "Are you okay?" She knew he wasn't on a mission, at least as of that morning, but a call that late … or early when they were in the same time zone had her concerned.

His, "Cath? I'm good." had her letting go the breath she'd been holding; his "Need a favor." made her grin.

"It's oh three hundred, McGarrett, that's totally gonna cost you a fancy restaurant dinner."

"You got it. Anywhere you wanna go." His voice was measured. He wasn't drunk, but he'd had a few drinks. "We need a ride."

"We?" She was already up and half dressed. She tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear to pull on her boots. "Who's we and where are you?"

"Me and Freddie. And Cuzzi." He cleared his throat. "And Hoss, Erickson and Wade. The Rusty Anchor. On Orange, across from the post office."

A voice came from somewhere close to Steve. "You got a ride, gentlemen or are some of us brig-bound?"

"Got a ride, okay? Gimme a minute," Steve all but growled and returned to the call, his tone softening. "You're comin' right?"

"What'd you …" She shook her head with a chuckle. "Nevermind. I'm coming. Be there in ten." She tucked her tshirt into her BDU pants and grabbed her wallet. "Make it eleven, I gotta get on base and commandeer a vehicle first."

"You have a good night, Ma'am," the MP smiled at the Lieutenant who'd clearly been roused to collect the group of SEALS. He knew they were just blowing off steam celebrating someone's impending marriage, but the local PD called them in as a courtesy when navy personnel caused any kind of ruckus. He'd wondered for a minute how pissed she'd be, until he saw the way she looked at the guy who'd placed the call. Instead of ripping him a new one, she'd patted his chest while shaking her head and laughed.

Catherine smiled at the MP and thanked him as she led the little parade of SEALS outside.

"You're awesome," Hoss gave her a brief, side armed hug. "Wait, you got a humvee?"

"Too many of your sorry asses for a jeep. Let's go, pile in," she chuckled. "One stop, gentlemen, I'm dropping you at the gate." Looking them over she shook her head. "And I passed a Dunkin' there's a couple of Boxes o' Joe in the back." She motioned to the carriers of coffee.

"You really are the awesomest." Freddie grinned at Steve drunkenly. "She's the most awesomest, McGarrett. Thanks, Cath."

"Thanks Rollins. For the ride and saving us from the battery acid. I'm gonna grab a cab home… in the morning." Hoss, who, like Cuzzi was married and didn't want to wake his wife.

"Smart man," Cuzzi noted as they climbed into the vehicle. They laughed at nothing and Catherine was glad to see the alcohol hadn't turned any of them morose.

"So, the MP said bachelor party. Whose?" She asked as she drove.

"Cuzzi's" They chorused.

"You're already married." She shook her head. "With a kid."

"I am." He grinned. But we did one of them justice of the peace deals and we promised ourselves once I finished BUDs and got my assignment, we'd have a real wedding. Like with a white dress and our folks there and stuff. Chelsea always wanted one, so it's next Saturday." He shook his head to clear it, which had the opposite result as he grabbed the stabilizer bar for balance. "My Annie's all excited. She's the maid of honor, ain't that the best?" He pulled out his phone and held it in her direction. "We're takin' Annie with us to Disneyland for our honeymoon. Chelsea calls it a 'family-moon.' The best," he repeated.

After the short drive, Catherine had pulled to a stop in the motor pool to sign in the vehicle. "That's the absolute best." She looked at the photo of the little blonde girl smiling proudly as she sat atop her daddy's shoulders. "Have a great time."

Wade and Freddie hopped out and the latter hugged her. "I love you, Lieutenant Catherine Rollins," Freddie called as he jogged towards their quarters. "So I'm gonna wait til I get to the head before I pee."

Her snort of laughter followed him as the rest of the team thanked her and moved across the base towards quarters with Erickson and Hoss each carrying a box containing 10 cups of coffee.

"Okay, McGarrett, didn't plan on it being a date night, but … let's go." She nodded towards the walkway to the neat rows of bungalows that were literally across the street from the base's gate. "I don't need to carry you, do I?" She teased. He wasn't anywhere near that drunk.

He bent to kiss her cheek. "Thanks, Cath."

"Hmm. You're welcome. So, noise ordinance, huh?"

They'd reached her temporary quarters' small living room. He shrugged. "Little target competition. Empty field out back."

"Ah," she bit back a smile.

"I won." A slow grin spread across his face.

"Of course you did." She checked her watch. "It's almost 04:00. Lucky I'm off duty tomorrow. Can we get some sleep?" She moved to unbutton his shirt and he grinned. "Among other things?"

"Among other things," he repeated. "And what a coincidence, I'm off duty, too."

"Yeah, you were supposed to be here for breakfast in three hours."

"Do I still get breakfast?" He lifted her top up and over her head.

"Among other things … you definitely do."

By the time they'd fallen asleep, the sun was peeking through the blinds. Rising at noon to see Steve's face held the hint of a smile, Catherine kissed him lightly and slipped out of bed to use the bathroom.

Upon her return, she saw he'd gotten a text and was reading his phone. "The team said to tell you thanks. For the bail out and the ride. And the coffee." When he placed it back on the nightstand, she couldn't help notice his expression and gestured towards it.

"No problem. That's it? Everything okay?"

Steve nodded, unable to keep himself from smiling.

She kissed him. "Hmm, maybe you owe me more than a favor …" She pretended to consider, then chuckled against his lips as he returned the kiss. Noting for a second the emotional intensity before the kiss turned playful, then passionate.

He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. "Yeah … maybe I do."

Present Day

"I remember that text," Al Cuzzi chuckled. "Hart sent it, but we all knew it was a hundred percent true."

"It was ... is." Steve smile was ear to ear. "Always will be."

Later that evening, Steve was recounting his visit with Al Cuzzi as he FaceTimed with Catherine. They'd discussed her day and his and Angie was making grabby hands once mommy released her fingers after directing her in blowing a kiss.

Her "Dada!" had Steve's heart soaring, even as he missed her enough that his chest ached.

Catherine kissed the baby's cheek and explained, "Yes, Dada is doing his duty and helping keep our country safe. And we're very proud of him."

"Dada! Mama," Was the reply, then Angie giggled when Cammie licked her feet. "Mamamamama," she chanted happily, grabbing a handful of her mother's hair.

Catherine looked up at the screen when Steve's "they were absolutely right," had her saying, "What? Who's right?"

"Cuzzi. Freddie. The guys."

She waited for him to continue as she exchanged a green rattle for her daughter's fistfull of hair.

"I got a text from Freddie for the whole team. In your quarters the night of the noise ordinance."

She blinked and searched her memory as she nodded. "Yeah, I remember. The guys thanked me."

"There was more." His smile encompassed them all.

"Really?"

"And they were right."

"About what?"

He looked at his beautiful wife with her quizzical expression and how she snuggled their drowsy daughter. Just before he told her he pictured the message as he'd read it all those years ago.

"McGarrett, you are one very lucky bastard."

# End thanks for reading

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