Mari & Ilna- No, no, no, no. I'm too young to be a grandmother. Grandmothers are old. They bake, and they sew, and they tell you stories about the Depression.[shouts] I was at Woodstock, for Christ's sake! I peed in a field! I hung on to The Who's helicopter as it flew away!
Sandy-Yeah, if she's so brilliant, why is she sitting in our NEIGHBOR'S CAR?
REAL Worlders- I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.
Today's ANs brought to you by Parenthood (the movie)
The quote in the first paragraph was lifted from a review sent by GrayLady117. Those amazing words are from her friend's husband. I give him all the credit.
Totally (1/1)
"In closing please remember, these girls are someone's daughter, their love and joy. They will be someone's wife, mother. Treat these girls right, bring them home in better condition than they leave. Someday, you will be the father, so be the example of what you want for your little girl," Steve said as he wrapped up his talk to the Kukui High School football team.
Danny sat on the bleachers and watched with interest having completed his words to the team minutes earlier. Like Steve, he remembered exactly what it felt like to be a boy that age.
All the confusion and the hormones and the peer pressure.
Now that he had a high school aged daughter he saw it all through a different lens.
"Those sound like words to live by," Coach Tim Okalani said as he addressed his players. "You'd be wise to keep them in mind. Now thank Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams for coming then give me four laps and hit the showers."
"Thanks," the young men said as they headed off towards the track, careful not to start grumbling about running laps until they were out of the coach's earshot.
"Still making them do a mile at the end of practice?" Steve grinned.
"Worked when we were their age," Tim chuckled. "Why mess with success? Hey, that last thing you said … about being an example … that's great stuff. I know my guys and I can tell it really got through to them."
"I can't take credit for it," Steve said. "I wish I could. It's something I heard once from a friend."
"Wherever it came from … those were powerful words. I'll have to write them down and remember them for next year. Unless of course you plan on coming back," Tim said leadingly.
"We'll be here," Steve promised.
The coach shook Steve's hand, then Danny's, then said his goodbyes and headed off towards the track yelling, "Come on, let's pick up the pace."
As Steve and Danny turned to walk towards the parking lot Steve's phone buzzed with an incoming call.
"Hey, Duke, what's up?" he said after checking the caller ID.
"We just got a 9-1-1 call from the Allens' address."
Steve broke into a run. "What happened?"
Danny had no idea what Duke was saying but he was hot on his partner's heels as they weaved through the rows of parked cars.
"I don't have any details. I just know they're rolling police, fire, rescue and ambulances."
"Danny and I are on our way. We'll be there in ten minutes. Call me right away if you get any more details."
"Will do."
Steve disconnected the call and pocketed his phone just as they reached the Camaro.
"There was a 9-1-1 call from the Allens' house," he said as he jumped behind the wheel.
"Screw ten minutes," Danny growled as he buckled himself into the passenger seat. "We can make it in five."
As they exited the parking lot, lights and sirens going, Steve dialed Catherine who was halfway across the island with Kono conducting an interview.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Duke just called." Steve's words tumbled out in a rush. "There was a 9-1-1 call from the Allens' house. He doesn't have any details. Just that they're rolling all services."
"How far are you?"
"We're leaving the high school now."
"Kono and I wrapped up early so we're halfway home. We'll be there in 25 minutes."
"Sounds good. Can you please call Chin and let him know?"
"Absolutely. We'll take care of it."
"Thanks. We'll see you there. Drive safe."
"You too."
As soon as Steve turned the Camaro onto the Allens' street he encountered a sea of red and blue flashing lights. He steered around the barricades at the end of the street designed to stop any non-emergency traffic and pulled the car off the road a hundred or so yards away away from the Allens' house so as not to impede any emergency vehicles. Immediately he and Danny exited the car and took off running on foot.
As they approached the driveway they saw the heavily damaged remains of two cars, one they both immediately recognized as the car Jess usually drove.
Their eyes instinctively scanned the area and both men sighed with relief, almost in unison, when they saw all five Allen children along with a visibly upset Jess standing in the side yard, a safe distance from the crash site.
They rushed over, weaving their way through the various emergency responders, and when they were still five feet away Cody began assuring them both everyone was ok.
"We were all in the back yard when we heard the crash," he explained. "We came out front and saw that someone had hit Jess's car. It looks like they hit the tree at the end of the driveway," Cody pointed, "and lost control."
"I think it was some kids from our school in the car," Jess said worriedly.
Cody's hand sought hers and when he found it he laced their fingers together and squeezed supportively.
"Cody started to go check but then he smelled the gas and knew it was dangerous so him and Jess made us move to the side yard," Dylan reported.
Steve noticed the usually outgoing and confident young boy hung back a little and refused to look directly at the wrecked cars or any of the activity buzzing around him. Tearing his attention away from the kids momentarily he turned and saw the fireman spraying the ground around both vehicles and knew there must have been at least one ruptured gas tank.
"That was a very smart move," he said sincerely. "There could have easily been an explosion."
"Thanks," Cody nodded while Jess smiled proudly.
"Then he called 9-1-1 just like we learned in school," Kaitlyn said. "He was super brave. He stayed calm and answered all their questions. That's what my teacher last year taught us to do."
Cody smiled and squeezed her shoulder.
"I called my mom," Jess reported, her bottom lip trembling. "She's on her way." Her eyes filled with tears. "She just took the car to the garage last week and had a bunch of work done. Now look at it."
Danny's heart went out to her immediately.
"Your mom is not gonna care about the car," he said in a fatherly tone. "I promise you that. All she's gonna care about is that you're ok."
He couldn't help but notice how supportive Cody was being of Jess both physically and emotionally. In addition to being a world-class big brother he was showing some pretty strong relationship skills.
"We're gonna go talk to the officer in charge and see if there's anything we can do. You guys wait here," Steve said, "and listen to Cody and Jess."
"We always listen to Cody," Jacob said seriously then turned to face his oldest brother. "Don't we, Cody?"
Cody ruffled his hair. "Most of the time."
Steve and Danny talked to the first officers on the scene who said they expected to have the driver and passengers extricated from the car within a few minutes and he'd have more details then. At this point, the cause of what made the driver lose control was still up in the air.
Steve attempted to call Catherine but couldn't get a call out, probably because of interference from all the radio traffic.
As they started back across the yard they heard a commotion and saw a frazzled Laura Coleman attempting to push her way around one of the officers blocking off the scene.
"It's ok," Danny called. "Let her through."
Laura nodded gratefully then made a beeline directly for her daughter.
"Are you ok?" she asked as she wrapped Jess in a tight, almost frantic hug.
"I'm ok, Mom. I told you on the phone."
As Steve and Danny joined the group they heard Laura say, "I know but I'm a mom. I needed to see you to know for sure."
"We were in the back yard when it happened, Laura," Cody said. He'd gradually gotten used to calling Jess's mother by her first name in the months since Halloween when she first asked him to do so. "Jess gave me and Casey a ride home from school and we waited for the other kids to get off the bus. We were in the backyard doing homework and having a snack when we heard the crash."
"What happened?" Laura asked Steve and Danny.
Steve shook his head. "Not sure yet but we do know Cody and Jess did everything right. They called 9-1-1 and made sure to get the younger kids to a safe place. And they stayed calm."
"Cody was calmer than me," Jess insisted.
"I'm proud of you, honey," Jess's mom said as she continued to hug her daughter. "You too, Cody."
"I'm sorry about the car, Mom," Jess said tearfully. "I know you just spent a lot of money …"
"I don't want to hear another word about the car," Laura said definitively. "The car is a thing. It means nothing to me. It can be replaced. And money is just money. As long as you're ok, that's all that matters to me."
Danny caught Jess's eye over her mother's shoulder and mouthed "I told you so" which made Jess smile.
Several minutes later they heard another commotion and turned just in time to see Jenna Allen toe to toe with the fire chief. "I don't care about your rules this is my house and my children are in there and you plus any five other men are not gonna keep me out," she shouted.
Duke, who had arrived on the scene minutes before and taken charge, intervened on Jenna's behalf and in a matter of seconds she had spotted the kids and was running across the lawn.
She wrapped all five children in a family hug and kissed their heads one by one.
"You're all ok, right?"
"We're fine, mom," Jacob said as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
"We heard the crash but we didn't see it happen," Casey assured her.
"Cody told us to come over here in the side yard where we'd be safe and not to look at the wrecked cars," Kaitlyn added.
"That was very smart of him," Jenna smiled.
"We were eating ice cream in the backyard," Dylan sighed. "It's probably melted now."
"I'll get you some more," Jenna promised as she kissed his cheek.
She glanced at Jess who was standing off to the side with her mother. "Are you ok, Jess?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Jess smiled.
"You should both be very proud," Steve said, addressing Jenna and Laura. "Cody and Jess took charge of things and all the younger kids listened and did everything they were asked."
"I'm very proud of all of you," Jenna said, her voice quivering with emotion. She then turned to Cody and with watery eyes said, "I have no idea what I'd do without you."
Five minutes later Catherine and Kono arrived and Chin pulled his motorcycle off the road right beside them. The three flashed their badges and once they spotted the group gathered in the side yard headed in that direction.
"I tried to call but couldn't get any service," Steve reported as they got close. "Everyone is fine."
"Thank heavens," Catherine sighed as she hugged each of the kids in turn before doing the same with Jenna and Laura. Kono followed suit.
"Are you doing ok?" Chin asked when he noticed right away Dylan was quieter than usual.
The young boy nodded solemnly and admitted, "It's kinda cool when you see accidents in the movies or on tv but when it happens in your own driveway it's kinda scary."
"It sure is," Chin agreed. "Nothing wrong with being scared."
The others all nodded in agreement and murmured encouraging words.
Dylan's shoulders straightened slightly. "Thanks."
He smiled happily at the fact that no one thought less of him for admitting his fear.
"I was scared when Duke called to say there'd been a 9-1-1 call from your house," Steve said.
"Really?" Dylan's eyes widened.
"Absolutely," Steve assured him.
"Wait …" Jenna looked confused. "Duke called you and told you there was a 9-1-1 call? I thought Cody called you."
"I meant to," Cody said. "But the 9-1-1 operator kept me on the phone until the police got here then I called you and Jess called her mom and before I thought to call Steve him and Danny were already here."
"Both Duke and the 9-1-1 center have a list of addresses that I want to be notified immediately if they call in an emergency," Steve explained.
"That's … amazing. Thank you." Jenna took a few steps and wrapped him in a hug. "I love the fact that you're looking out for us."
"We all are," Steve smiled. "You never have to worry about that."
"You should have seen it, Aunt Catherine," Jacob said excitedly. He'd been dying to tell someone the details of his after school adventure but hadn't had a chance yet. "We were in the backyard and Cody was helping me with my spelling words and all of the sudden we heard a big crash and I thought a spaceship fell through the roof but that wasn't what happened."
Catherine chuckled. "I can see the roof is still intact."
"We ran outside and there were cars smashed up in the driveway and Cody said right away we had to call 9-1-1 and then he smelled lots of gas and we all moved over here and Cody told us to look the other way and then the police came and a fire truck and ambulances. And our ice cream is melted but mom said she'll get us more."
"Sounds like you had an exciting afternoon."
Jacob nodded emphatically. "I hope nobody was hurt too bad though. That would make it a bad adventure."
Fifteen minutes later Duke approached. "A few broken bones and some cuts that are gonna need stitches but it looks like everyone is gonna be ok. They were very lucky."
"Any idea what made the driver lose control?" Steve asked.
Duke shook his head. "Nothing definite yet but he still had his phone in his hand when they pulled him out of the car and the paramedics said there was a half-typed text on the screen."
Laura looked at Jess who immediately said, "I don't text while I'm driving, Mom. I promise. I leave my phone in my purse or backpack."
"Same here," Cody assured Jenna. "Well, not the purse part. Pocket or backpack."
Jenna smiled.
"Just make sure you keep it that way," Kono said. "No text is worth a life."
"I think we better get home," Laura said. "I called your dad and he's gonna meet us there."
"Ok," Jess said. "I just need to grab my books from out back."
"I'll help," Cody smiled.
Laura turned to Jenna. "We'll get the car towed out of your driveway as soon as we can."
"Don't worry about it," Jenna waved her off. "Take as much time as you need. I'm just so grateful everyone is ok."
"Me too," Laura said and the two women embraced with watery eyes.
"I need to go home and hug Grace for about an hour," Danny said. "This is the part of parenthood nobody warns you about. The fear in the pit of your stomach for their safety every time they're out of your sight."
"Amen to that," Jenna and Laura nodded in unison.
Steve and Catherine shared a glance and a smile. "Still worth it though, right?" Catherine asked.
"Totally," Jenna, Laura, Danny and Duke answered immediately.
THE END
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