Sammy and Ilna … Wow another amazing REALMcRollathon winds to a close tomorrow. I'm as happy to be a part of it all as I was the day we launched. We've become family and I love you guys. Thankful for being here with you and for your love and friendship every day.
REALMcRollers THANK YOU ALL. Your tremendous support and love is humbling and awe inspiring. We appreciate every one of our amazing readers more than I can say.
Good Company
Part 8 of the REAL World Thanksgiving McRollathon
The ladies of the family were in Steve and Catherine's living room preparing to go out for a lunch and ice cream date.
"I'm so excited you're coming for lunch, Mary!" Grace gave her an impromptu hug. "Last year, Auntie Cath got called in - the team got a case - but they made a fast arrest and she was back before dessert so it was still a totally fun day." She turned to Elizabeth and Grandma Ang. "Right?"
"It was a great day. Mom even made friends with the waitress, she was adorable." Elizabeth smiled at Joan who was playing blocks with Aaron. "You're sure you don't want to bring Joan?"
Mary grinned. "Very sure. I love my peanut to death but sometimes a tiny bit of grown-up time is really nice, you know what I mean?"
"Absolutely," Elizabeth chuckled and wrapped an arm around her daughter's waist. "I remember when Catherine was little and a couple of hours out with a friend …" She winked at Grace. "Was enough to recharge me for a couple of weeks."
Catherine kissed her mom's cheek. "Then I definitely owe you at least one more lunch."
"You," she hugged a bit tighter, "owe me nothing, because if we're keeping score your uncle and I owe Grandma Ang quite a few meals."
Mary blew Joan a last kiss and picked up her purse. "I'll be right back, peanut, you be a good girl."
"Blow Mama a kiss," Aaron demonstrated, and Joan did the same.
Mary slung an arm around Grace. "Let's go before she realizes I'll be gone for more than ten minutes."
The women laughed and headed out the door.
Restaurant
As they dug into their lunch Catherine told the others, "Grace took me here for my birthday. We had an amazing dinner."
She exchanged a look with Grandma Ang, and the two smiled.
"I love Mexican food. There's this great place near us in LA," Mary said. "When you all get out to visit, we'll go there."
"Didn't you waitress at a Mexican restaurant?" Grace asked as she bit into a huge nacho chip and caught the spilling contents with a grin.
Mary nodded. "Yeah, but that was a dive. Danny would have a heart attack if you ate there." She shook her head. "I had a lot of crappy jobs. Remember what I told you Grace?"
"Don't hang with bad people, they drag you down," Grace said, seriously.
"And I know everyone tells you that, but I lived it, kiddo, and it's one hundred percent true." She looked at the teen. "And when it comes to dating? You attract what you think you deserve, Grace. Totally remember that, okay?"
Grace nodded before she spoke. "Aaron's great, I really like him." An amused smile lit her face as she added, "Uncle Steve does, too. I can tell."
Mary smiled back. "A big reason we're together is I'm different. Catherine and Steve can tell you that. Having Joan and being part of this family helped get me there." She reached out and took Elizabeth's hand across the table, then looked back at Grace.
"And that includes you, your dad, Nonna, everyone." She looked at the other adults. "Not that Aunt Deb wasn't great, but I had a lot of issues and I booked at 17."
Catherine mirrored her mother and grandmother's loving looks. "And look how well you're doing."
"We love you, Mary." Grace gave her a hug.
Mary smiled and wiped a tear. "Back at ya, kid. Now, let's eat before my food gets soggy from me blubbering into it."
Everyone laughed, and the topic turned to Nonna coming for Christmas. Catherine and Grace were equally excited and were planning all sorts of fun activities for everyone.
Back at the house, Steve entered the living room to find Joseph seated on the sofa with Joan on his lap. He had an arm around her as they looked at the screen of the tablet which was propped up in front of them.
At Steve's approach, Joseph said, "We'll see you tomorrow, thanks again," and signed off.
Joan began to bounce on his knee, and even as he smiled and lowered her to the floor she reached for Steve, giggling.
Steve raised her above his head, making her squeal.
Joan pointed at the tablet and announced, " 'Mokey, Unca Teeve!"
Just as Joseph said, "Shhh, Joan."
Joan lowered her voice and whispered, " 'Mokey."
Steve laughed, said, "You saw Smokey, Joanie?" and looked at Joseph, who was standing to move towards the kitchen.
"I was going to find you and Aaron and get some lunch together," he said by way of changing the subject.
"We can grill for lunch … what's this about seeing Smokey?" Steve raised an eyebrow with an amused look.
"'Mokey!" Joan repeated. "I see 'Mokey Unca Teeve."
She pointed to the tablet again, and Joseph grimaced.
"Too late. Mission compromised." He smiled at her quizzical look and reached to take her back from Steve. When he did, he kissed her cheek and stage whispered, "I should have told you the op was classified." Before placing her down so she could pet Cammie who saw the toddler reach out for her and happily went into a down position.
Steve grinned. "You know you're gonna see him tomorrow, right?"
"I just … called to check in." Joseph crossed his arms in a very familiar way. It was the gesture Catherine would make when defending a point. "With Sonya. Smokey just happened to walk up to the laptop."
"So you said hello." Steve was still grinning.
"So I said hello."
Steve laughed again, gestured to the door, and they moved toward the lanai. "Catherine calls Cammie whenever we travel."
Joseph tried to maintain a straight face. "Nothing wrong with that."
Steve schooled his features. "Never said there was. I may have said hello a few times myself."
Joseph lost the battle not to outright grin. "A few?"
"Most times." Steve shrugged. "She sees Catherine and looks for me, I don't want her to …" his voice trailed off.
"Say it, Steve."
"Miss me. I don't want her to miss me. And I miss Cammie, too. So we call."
A bit later, Joan was down for a nap, and out on the deck, Joseph offered to man the grill. Steve handed him the tongs with a smile, saying, "Aaron, wanna grab four beers and a couple of water bottles for Cammie?" as the younger man opened the door to join them.
"Got it." He disappeared back inside and returned with the drinks and one of Cammie's oversized tennis balls. Holding it up to Steve, he asked, "You mind?"
Steve grinned. "You kidding? She'll love it. Go for it." He watched as Aaron led Cammie onto the beach for a game of catch.
"You like him," Joseph noted without turning around. He turned the fish over and gave the tin foil wrapped vegetables poke.
"Hmmm," Steve answered with a small twitch of his lip.
"Nice to see you almost in my shoes there." Joseph didn't hide his grin.
"I bet." His smile grew. "Nice not to be the new boyfriend."
Joseph turned to face him. "You haven't been that for a long, long time."
"Yeah. But for a lot of years I was that guy."
"For a lot less time than you probably think. Certainly not years." His eyes twinkled. "In spite of the bed frame and the futon."
He outright laughed but his look of gratitude was sincere, and Joseph nodded in acknowledgement.
Steve pointed to the grill. "Looks done." He pulled out his phone to check a text. "I swear he can smell the food. Danny will be here in five."
As the four men ate, Danny nodded at Cammie, who was napping at Steve's feet.
"Aaron, do you have a dog? You obviously like them."
"I wish." He shook his head. "Someday. Right now I'm not home enough and it wouldn't be fair." He glanced at Cammie. "I love 'em, though. My folks have a dog, Genie, and we always had one growing up. All rescues like Cammie." He turned to Steve.
"Interesting how you found her, by the way."
Danny grinned. "Next crime scene dog is Chin's. Steve, Catherine and I already decided. Although, if it were up to Grace, I'd have a zoo."
"Grace told me about how you got Scout. She sounds like my sister. Alyssa never met a stray she didn't try help or find a home for. "
"That's Gracie," Steve said. "Cammie found a kitten a while ago and Gracie found it a great home with her best friend. Linda named it CK for Cammie's Kitten."
"Alyssa is in her first year of practice as a vet." Aaron's pride in his little sister was written all over his face. "She wants to get her board certification too, in orthopedic surgery."
"That's impressive," Joseph said. "She sounds like a brilliant young woman."
Aaron nodded. "She is." He took a swallow of his beer and continued, "I'm not saying that 'cause she's my sister, she really is brilliant. She got a full ride scholarship and graduated summa cum laude from Penn State undergrad and U. Penn School of Veterinary Medicine."
"You've gotta tell Grace that." Danny grinned. "She'd make a great vet. She'd be great at anything actually, but she does love animals."
"Plenty of veterinarians in the Navy, too." Steve turned to Aaron. "But Gracie won't have to worry about scholarships at the Academy." He grinned at his partner's eye roll.
Danny's phone dinged a text. "Speaking of Grace." He held up the phone to show a photo of the group surrounding Grandma Ang and a giant ice cream sundae called The Works. "Looks like they stopped for ice cream."
"That's one hell of a sundae," Joseph said.
"If one person can finish all thirty scoops, it's free," Danny confirmed.
"It's disgusting." Steve shook his head.
"Says the guy who ate freaking snake pizza." He shuddered dramatically, but his mouth twitched up in a grin. "Animal. Besides you eat ice cream with Grace all the time."
"A scoop of ice cream, not that … obscene amount of fat and dairy. If you include the toppings, that's more fat than Catherine and I eat in two days. Combined."
He looked at Aaron, "I've seen him eat some really strange shit over the years. And Catherine's a good sport."
"Catherine is adventurous enough to try different foods. Unlike you."
"I'm just sayin' a decadent dessert once in awhile is a fun indulgence."
"We eat dessert." Steve rolled his eyes. "But we'd never eat 80 grams of fat in a sitting. I'd have to swim to Maui to work that off."
Joseph stifled a grin, clearly pleased to see the brotherly exchange.
Aaron jumped to his feet at the sound of Joan over the monitor in the center of the table, then looked at Steve, who'd also stood.
Joseph and Danny shared a grin when Steve waved Aaron down and went to get Joan from her nap.
When Steve was inside, Danny snorted. "Don't worry about it, he likes you. It's a control freak thing."
Aaron nodded. "Thanks."
Danny laughed. "Besides, I love seeing SuperSEAL in Uncle Steve mode with a toddler."
"You know, Mary's told me a little about how you've just absorbed her and Joan into your families. You know it means a lot to her, but she's also told me how being a part of both families has meant a lot for Steve ..." Aaron glanced up at the sound of the door, and the three exchanged a smile before all eyes turned to see Steve stepping onto the deck with Joan.
"Hey, pumpkin!" He greeted her and when Steve set her on her feet, she made a run for the table, where Aaron scooped her up and placed her next to his seat where she'd be between him and Steve.
Danny and Joseph exchanged a look, and Steve said, "What?"
"Nothing. Nothing, Mr. Suspicious," Danny teased. "Can't I just look at my good friend Joseph here and not have it be a thing about you?"
Steve raised his eyebrows doubtfully at his partner, but the conversation ended as the lanai door opened and the women returned to Joan's excited squeal of, "Mama! Mama!"
Later in the day, the family had carpooled over to Kamekona's for dinner, with Elizabeth insisting they follow up with a trip to the park to give their hosts a few hours 'off'. This was, of course, over protests from Steve and Catherine, who only acquiesced when Grandma Ang also insisted they have a little bit of downtime before what she knew was going to be a late night of family time because everyone would be saying goodbyes the next day.
Steve and Catherine took advantage of being alone to eat a dinner of leftovers while sitting on the air mattress after the first time since their guests' arrival they could be as noisy during sex as they wanted.
During said meal, she made sure to tease him by saying it was good his policy on 'running around naked' excluded them or they'd have had to 'dress for dinner'. Steve smirked at the pun, and after they'd polished off their food, moved the remnants out of their way, turned back and kissed her senseless.
Nearly dozing off following that second round of leisurely, but no less intense, lovemaking, Steve turned his head at the sound of a quiet sniffle.
"Hey, hey, don't." He shifted to face her fully and used his thumb to catch the single tear tracing a path from her eye and trickling down her temple. He pressed a kiss to the salty skin where the tear had been. "Please, Cath."
She turned to face him, brown eyes wide. "I know. I know. I'm really happy." She raised a hand to cup his cheek. "It was a wonderful, perfect holiday, and I love you, and them, and I'm just going to miss everybody."
"We'll see them soon, though, and Christmas is coming and before you know it Nonna will be here." He kissed her head as she propelled herself into his arms, needing to feel his embrace. He held her for a full minute before he pulled back and, lifting her chin with two fingers, met her gaze. "I'm going to miss them too."
Catherine nodded. "It's funny, after any leave when I'd see my folks or Gram, it always sucked to say goodbye, but somehow - with everybody here in our home - it's different, you know? Even though we have more time now. I love that, too, that we have time with everyone, on our own schedule - as much as we want." Her expression softened. "I especially love that I can keep the promise I made to Gram when we visited after I retired."
"To see her more." Steve knew exactly how happy it made her to be able to have more frequent and longer visits with her beloved grandmother.
Catherine sighed and sat up, pushing her hair back and wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't wanna get all 'emo' as Grace would say."
Steve ran his hand up and down her spine. "You love your family, Catherine, that's not being ... emo, or whatever," he waved a hand at the term. "You know you're the strongest person I've ever known, but you're gonna miss everyone. We've both seen people in combat cry over less." He returned her smile. "Besides, I guarantee we'll have to break out the tissues for everyone tomorrow. Mary will probably need her own box."
"Even Dad may shed a tear." Her teasing tone brightened Steve's expression.
"I agree, but if you tell him I said so, I will neither confirm nor deny."
"I got you. My lips are sealed," she agreed, then tugged Steve's wrist up to check the time and brightened, giving him a beautiful smile. "Enough about missing them when still have everyone here till tomorrow, and we have more family time tonight," Her tone changed. "Buuuut ... they won't be back for two hours." She chuckled and kissed him again, the kiss going from soft to hungry before they broke it, and Catherine stood to offer her hand.
"C'mon, Commander, we have two whole hours of alone time left. What do you say to a nice long shower?"
Steve stood and gathered their clothes before tucking her against his side to cross out to the downstairs bathroom. "I'd say we'll need exactly two minutes to dress, Lieutenant, so let's make the most of the other 118 minutes."
As soon as Catherine locked the bathroom door, Steve pulled her into a kiss; his caresses slow and soft. When she moved to drop her hand, he guided it back up around his neck, causing her to look questioningly into his eyes.
Giving her the smile that after nearly twenty years still made her heart flutter, he ran his lips along the shell of her ear and murmured, "No need to rush things, we have time."
End. Thanks for reading.
Don't miss tomorrow's Thanksgiving McRollathon finale story!
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