Sammy & Ilna, the Halloween Trilogy was such fun to plan and write that I can't wait to start posting the Thanksgiving marathon! You make it all more fun than I could ever have imagined. Much love!

Amanda, congrats to 'the Boy'! Many years of happiness to your brother.

REAL McRollers, readers, guests, thank you for the continued love & support. And thank you for the AMAZING response to our Halloween Trilogy!

Prepared

CVS
Ala Moana Blvd

5:45 p.m.

"Danno says I can wear it to school if it's clear." Grace held up her phone to show Catherine the text.

"Then let's get Crystal Soda, that shade's pretty much clear."

"You're gonna get the same one, right?" Grace's brown eyes looked hopeful.

"Of course." Catherine smiled and tossed two NYX Lip glosses into the basket suspended from her arm. "And they're buy one get one free."

"Cool, thanks." Grace grinned back. "What else do we need to buy?"

"Not too much; a prescription and a few other things and we're done."

Grace's eyes lingered longingly on the colorful display of makeup before she turned and followed Catherine to the next aisle. "If you give me half the list, I can get some stuff. I do that with mom. Charles gets crazy after about ten minutes and starts grabbing everything, saying 'Mine!'" she laughed. "He doesn't even care what it is, panty hose, post-it notes, whatever. And even if Stan's with us or the driver, Charles hates to wait in the car. He thinks he's missing something."

Catherine chuckled and took out her phone. "Sounds good. I'll text you the list. Just get the last three things and I'll get rest. I'll meet you by the prescription pick up." She pointed. "If you're more than five minutes, I'm going to come looking." She wanted to give Grace a little leeway but didn't want her wandering around the store by herself. The last three items were toothpaste, floss and mouthwash. All were in an aisle she could easily see while she waited for her prescription.

"Got it." Grace nodded and set off while Catherine went to the pharmacy area. There was no line, so when she said "Rollins" and confirmed her birth date, she was done in less than a minute. She tucked a three months' supply of birth control pills into her purse, and since it was right there, and she could see Grace comparing toothpaste brands, she walked a few feet to the 'feminine protection' aisle and grabbed some supplies.

"All done!" Grace announced when she came up beside Catherine and placed the correct brands of dental products into the basket. "I remembered what you use at your house. I think I got it right."

Catherine smiled. "You got it exactly right." Yes, Grace spent a lot of time at their house, but would many pre-teens remember what brands their extended family members used? Catherine doubted it. Grace was definitely her father's daughter. Extremely observant and detail oriented.

"Hey, Auntie Cath?" Grace glanced at the array of sanitary supplies on the wall. "Uh, what's the difference?"

"What, Hon?" Catherine didn't connect till she followed her niece's eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah, I had the whole discussion with Mom and uh, she said I could try different um, kinds when I …" She looked around surreptitiously and her voice dropped to a whisper, "get my period." Catherine nodded and Grace continued in a normal tone, "But like, how do you know? My friend Katie uses a different kind than the samples we got in health, when just the girls got the talk."

Catherine leaned down a bit. "There's a lot more choices than when your mom and I were your age. You didn't start yet, did you, Sweetie?"

"No!" Grace shook her head, "I'd have called you right away! I just wanna be ready, you know, in case. Be prepared. Mom said she was thirteen, so it could be soon. And she got hers in class. It was an all-girls school, but still! I'd die!"

Catherine stifled a grin at the drama in her tone, but knowing how important it was to Grace, she said, "Well, you know I was thirteen, too, but it's always good to be prepared."

"Right. Like Uncle Steve says, 'Be prepared for every situation, Gracie.'" She grinned. "So, do you think we could …" Grace nodded at the display.

"Now?" Catherine asked. "Well … maybe we should …" She stopped when Grace grabbed her hand.

"Please don't say ask Danno. I mean, I know he knows that stuff, but, remember how he was about the bra shopping?"

Catherine grinned at the memory. She'd thought she was going to have to talk Danny down from the edge that day. "Okay, how about this. We'll call your mom. If it's okay with her, I'll help you buy some supplies to keep at home for when the time comes."

Catherine knew that while Danny wouldn't say no, she wanted permission from at least one of Grace's parents beforehand. She'd tell Danny herself so Grace wasn't embarrassed.

Grace was nodding vigorously as she held out her ringing phone. "Here."

"Oh," Catherine said when she heard Danny's ex saying, "Grace? Hello? Darling, are you there?"

"Hi, Rachel, Grace is fine. This is Catherine Rollins, how are you?"

Rachel's voice relaxed immediately. "I'm well, thank you. Grace is alright? Why are you calling from her phone?" Tension seeped back in to her tone, "Oh, my, is Daniel ..."

"No! No, Danny's fine, too." She heard her friend's ex exhale as she continued, "Listen, Rachel, Grace is shopping with me at CVS and she wanted me to help her buy some sanitary supplies to keep at home for when …"

"I see," Rachel's laugh tinkled through the line. "That's quite alright. She made me buy her some to keep in her bathroom here as well, but she didn't want to take them with her. It's a good idea if she has some at both houses and I'm sure she'd not relish her father assisting with the selection. She may keep you there awhile, you know."

"That's fine." Catherine gave Grace a thumbs up and the girl fist pumped the air. "I didn't want to call Danny from here and I didn't want to just assume …"

"Well I can certainly see why you'd want to tell Daniel in person," another brief laugh, "after the bra shopping. But it's fine. And Catherine?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

"I know how much Grace adores you and Commander McGarrett and I'm pleased she has so many people who care for her. I realize we don't know each other very well, but she talks about her Uncle Steve and Auntie Catherine all the time. She called me before she went to sleep on Halloween and told me every detail about the party and how you tailored one of your uniforms so she could have an authentic costume. She was simply gushing over how much she loved it." Rachel's voice was sincere. "She looked beautiful in the photos. I so appreciate everything you do for Grace."

Catherine smiled at the thought of Grace telling her mom about the naval officer costume. "Thank you, Rachel. She's a great kid, Steve and I just love her. She wants to talk to you; I'm going to hand you over. Have a good day." She passed the phone to Grace, who was reaching excitedly for it.

"Hi, Mom. Thanks! Yes. Okay. I will. Okay. Tell Stan hi. Kiss Charles. Tell him I'll see him on Skype tomorrow and I'll do Itsy Bitsy Spider with him, okay? Love you." She made kissing sounds into the phone and put it away. "Thanks, Auntie Cath."

"You're welcome. Now, I think you'll be just fine with these …" she selected a box of pads for younger girls, "and these" she added a box of liners.

"Is that what you use?" Grace looked into the basket, noticing the same liners and a box of tampons.

"I did for my first period. But they have even slimmer pads now, see." She pointed to the box.

"Okay."

"And you should keep an extra pair of underwear handy, just in case." Grace nodded like she was memorizing a lecture, until she broke out in a smile at Catherine's next words.

"And chocolate. Have a stash of chocolate."

"That's for real?"

Catherine crossed her heart. "For real. It may not make you feel better, but it makes feeling a little icky not so bad, you know?"

"Do the cramps hurt, like, bad?"

"Everybody's different. But usually some Motrin helps. And exercise."

"Mom drinks Chamomile tea."

"Warm drinks help, too. Your mom's smart."

Grace took her word for it. Catherine could see the trust in her eyes and it warmed her heart. "Tell you what," they made their way to the check out, "let's divide up what we bought, and we'll make two packages. You can keep one at our house and one at home. And your mom said you have supplies there already."

"I do." Grace nodded.

"Great." Catherine piled their purchases on the counter and grabbed a few packs of Hershey's Kisses from the impulse rack. "Let's do that and then you'll be all prepared."

McGarrett/Rollins Residence
9:30 p.m.

Danny smiled at his daughter, who was struggling to keep her eyes open. She was propped against the sofa with Cammie's head across her legs and both were dozing on and off. "Hey, Grace, let's go before you fall asleep." He turned to Steve, "Thanks for dinner. But I gotta get Sleeping Beauty here, home."

Grace stretched and stood. "'kay." She kissed Cammie. "Night Cammie. I need to get something upstairs. Be right back." She turned to Catherine with a meaningful look, while Danny said, "Don't take too long."

As soon as Grace was gone, Catherine leaned forward from where she was sitting on the sofa next to Steve, and Danny immediately picked up the vibe. "What's up?"

"Don't ask her about the package she's going to bring home, okay?"

"What? Why? Catherine, did she raid your closet? I told her she can only ask for hand me downs; don't start giving her clothes you still wear just because something might fit." Danny smiled at his friend. He knew what a hard time Steve and Catherine had saying no to his daughter.

"It's not clothes." Catherine shook her head. "We were in CVS and she asked if I'd buy her some sanitary supplies. To keep at home." When Danny opened his mouth to speak and quickly closed it, she grinned and patted his hand. "Just in case." She felt Steve's body tense up beside her. Without even casting a glance his way, she knew she could describe his perplexed, uncomfortable face to a sketch artist.

"I … okay …Rachel said they talked a few times, and I signed the permission slip for the film and review thingy at school … I …" He took a breath and Catherine noted he was taking it better than the bra shopping. "Grace is okay with everything, right? She's not ...scared or anything?"

"She's fine. She was a teeny bit embarrassed to ask you, but she wants to have enough stuff to be prepared." Catherine shrugged. "She wanted my advice on brands and stuff."

Danny smiled. "Of course she did." He reached out and squeezed her arm lightly. "Thank you, Cath."

"You're welcome." Catherine cast a warm smile at her friend. "Oh, I told Rachel."

"You called Rachel?" Danny's eyebrows shot up and he chucked.

"Actually, I said we had to tell you and her mom and she got Rachel on the phone and was handing it to me in two seconds." Catherine laughed. "Rachel was actually very nice. She thanked me for always being so kind to Grace." Catherine turned to Steve who was sitting frozen beside her. "Hey, she thanked you too."

"What?"

"Rach … never mind." She grinned. Grace was gingerly descending the stairs.

"Grace, your dad's waiting." Catherine called.

Knowing that meant she wouldn't be questioned, Graced hopped down the last step, clutching her package in one hand and her new lip gloss in the other. Looking very much like a young lady teetering on the brink between child and teen. "Look, Danno, it's clear." She moved into the room and smiled. "So I can wear it to school Monday, right?"

Danny sighed, said, "Right," and wrapped her in a hug. "C'mon, Monkey. Let's go home." He turned. "Thanks guys."

"Yeah, thank you for dinner." Grace hugged Steve the minute he stood. "Love you, Uncle Steve."

"Love you, Gracie." Steve bent to kiss the top of her head before she went to wrap her arms around Catherine.

"Thanks, Auntie Cath. Love you."

"Love you back." Catherine noticed the hugs lasted a few extra seconds. "Go, before Danno says we're corrupting your bedtime."

She giggled. "Alright." They were halfway out the door when she turned and ducked under her dad's arm. "Auntie Cath, I left that stuff on your bed, like you said." Her eyes flicked to Steve and back.

"That's fine; I'll take care of it."

"Okay, cool." Grace ducked back under Danny's arm that was holding the open door and ran out to the car.

Bedroom

Catherine entered the room and picked up the CVS bag Grace had left on her side of the bed.

"What's that?" Steve said immediately.

"Grace's supplies. I said she could leave some here."

"Oh." Steve's eyes widened, "Oh. Okay, that's 'need to know'. I don't need to know."

Catherine crossed to the closet and pulled a shoebox out. "I'm putting her stuff in a box in the bottom of the spare bathroom cabinet. This way if and when she needs it, it's there." She proceeded to sit on the bed and empty the contents of the bag as Steve undressed.

His eyes followed her, and when she closed the lid and left the room, he sat heavily on his side of the bed to remove his boots.

Catherine's voice was behind him before he finished. "She's twelve, Steve."

"Yeah, I know, I just…"

"Danny took that really well. Of course, she didn't actually get her period yet. That's gonna be a whole different thing."

"Isn't, uh … isn't twelve young? I … I … mean Mary and I were gone before she … not that she'd have told … well, knowing Mary she might have announced …" Steve ran a hand across the back of his neck.

"You okay there, Commander? 'cause twelve and a half is about right. She's growing up, Uncle Steve." Catherine came around to stand in front of him, combing her fingers through his hair.

"I'm good. I just …"

"She said she wanted to be prepared for every situation." Catherine smirked and sat next to him, bumping him with her hip so he'd scoot over when she did.

"Pre …" Steve's disconsolate look melted into one of pride. "She said that? Prepared for …?"

"… every situation. Absolutely." Catherine had rested her hand on the back of his neck, but moved it across his shoulders, pulling him close. She shifted so they were touching shoulder to hip. "She remembers everything you tell her."

"Yeah?" His eyes lit.

"Yeah. And she is growing up, she's already filtering what will make you freak, just like she does with Danny. She had me talk to Rachel today, because she knew Danny would get it, but he'd have more of a hard time with her coming of age. She already knows guys and period talk don't mix well."

"Well, I happen to know Danny's thrilled he doesn't have to call Rachel all the time, because Gracie comes to you for lots of this … stuff."

"This stuff?" Catherine smiled. Steve was relaxing a bit.

"Female stuff." He looked adorably uncomfortable and she couldn't resist teasing him.

"Ohh you mean like feather boas and pink ruffled things?" She adopted a higher voice and giggle to tease him.

"Catherine." He shook his head. "I mean … her ... period. Okay, Rollins? I said it." When Catherine's nose crinkled in a smile and she actually chuckled he went on, "I'm happy Gracie can ask you about …" he only hesitated for a second but the words came out in a rush, "getting her period." He blanched a little but smiled a beautiful smile at her, clearly proud of himself.

"You're something else, you know that?" She rewarded him with a kiss. "I just helped her pick out what she'd need. Got her a stash of emergency chocolate, too."

"Of course you did." He kissed her lightly and grinned.

Catherine stood to walk around to her side of the bed and slid beneath the sheet Steve held up for her. "Gotta start her off right. I told her to stash an extra pair of underwear, some supplies and the chocolate. Here, at home and at her mom's."

"Here, huh?"

"Yeah, because if she's here, all I have are tampons and that takes a little explai …"

Steve's looked aghast, "Okay that's enough. You can stop."

"Really, Steve?" She pulled back a few inches from where she'd snuggled into his side so she could catch his eyes.

"Yes. You just crossed over the need to know line again, Lieutenant."

"What is it about men and periods? Even Grace knew you and Danny would be squeamish to discuss it with her. I can remember your face the one time you went to the store for me. Which, I might add, I only asked you to do because I was on a super long shift and time lagged and so tired and crampy I was afraid I'd doze off at the wheel." Catherine rolled her eyes at the memory. It was right after her assignment to Pearl.

"C'mon, I got you the stuff. I even made you tea because you never complain and you looked so exhausted."

"And I appreciated it very much, but when you dumped three boxes of tampons on the bed because you did a grab and run, you looked like you'd just dodged an artillery barrage."

"I did not grab and run. I strategically repositioned my location because women were looking at me. Not a lot of guys in that aisle, Cath."

"Women were looking at you because you're adorable." When he opened his mouth to protest she laughed. "Okay, okay." She let him off the hook with a grin and a kiss.

"Yeah, well, female stuff aside, with Gracie growing up, especially with Danny having primary custody, I'm glad she's close to you, loves you so much." His eyes got serious. "You don't think she'll, um … outgrow our…"

Catherine cupped his face. "Hey, that's never gonna happen. You know she's always going to be Danny's Monkey, always going to need her dad because he's a wonderful father; anybody can be a father; Danny's a dad. She'll always love and respect him."

Catherine's fingers brushed his cheek as he nodded. "So, just the same, Grace is never going to stop needing and loving her Uncle Steve. She'll look up to you and want your advice long after she's an adult.

People never outgrow their heroes, Steve. Even when they realize they're real flesh and blood. Grace adores you."

Steve's eyes were aglow with happiness. "You think?"

"I promise. She's family, Steve."

He entwined their fingers, and his voice grew hushed. "You're so sure." He marveled.

The look on his face spoke volumes of how:

Grace was family.

He loved her like his own.

He would be devastated if that closeness was ever to dissipate and yet another family member slipped out of his reach.

Steve wasn't sure of family like Catherine was. Like Danny was.

Catherine's heart clenched. "I am one hundred percent positive."

Steve's trust in her showed in his eyes and smile. "How'd you get so smart?"

Catherine ran a finger across his lips before kissing him gently. "I happen to have a few heroes of my own."

Steve grinned. "Your dad."

She nodded. "That's true, I'll never stop needing him." Her eyes held his. "Or you."

Steve opened his mouth to speak and closed it. Then leaned into her palm and kissed her fingers. "Me? I …"

"You're the bravest person I've ever known, but more importantly, you've never let me down, ever. " When she saw his eyes shine with love and something akin to gratitude she lightened her tone, "That makes you my hero, Commander. And I guarantee Grace will still consider you her hero and you two will be just as close, even when you're as old as Nonna."

Steve's smile was dazzling as he rested his forehead against hers. "Thank you."

She shrugged. "It's totally true."

"Still, thank you. And that hero thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Right back at ya, Rollins." He leaned in to wrap her in his arms and felt her intake of breath. "You've followed me to hell and back. Always had my back; even when I was half a world away. And that makes you my hero." He placed a kiss in her hair and breathed in the familiar scent of her shampoo.

"Looks like that hero thing goes both ways then, huh?" She smiled softly and snuggled closer into his side.

"More than ever. Because even though it's a different type of enemy, and we're fighting right beside each other, it's still you I come home to. And now," He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb along her jaw. "It's you I come home with." Steve moved his lips to her temple, letting them linger until she turned in his arms and pressed her lips to his. "And that's ... everything. Always will be."

Catherine's kiss was gentle, but full of as much love as she could convey as she echoed in a whisper, "Always."

.

End. Thanks for reading.