Valentine's Day McGarrett Style
Author's Note: This has been languishing since season 4. I finally decided just to publish it. It's unbetaed because I don't have one. I'm working on a follow-up to Ohana, but no promises. If I get farther in it, I could use a beta. (hint, hint)
Steve wanted to do a better job with Valentine's Day than he had done in the past. The last Valentine's Day he and Catherine spent together, they were at the Governor's charity dinner, and then a case sidetracked him. He did try to make-up for that by doing his reserve duty on the Enterprise with Catherine, but he knew an aircraft carrier wasn't a romantic destination, especially since they were never alone. Before that, he sent cards that were more funny than romantic, the kind of thing you might give a friend.
Steve tried to come up with something that wasn't kind of cliché but wasn't having any luck. After a consultation with Danny, he suggested a romantic dinner out to Catherine. She liked the idea. He made a reservation, ordered a decadent chocolate dessert from a bakery, and went shopping for a gift.
Shopping for a gift was challenging, but Steve finally found a pair of periodate and silver earring and matching necklace, that seemed like Catherine. They were simple and elegant. He knew Catherine didn't like fussy jewelry and hoped she would like this.
Catherine was surprised when Steve approached her about Valentine's Day several weeks ahead of time. It wasn't his style, but she liked it. She was excited about a romantic dinner out. She had been thinking about a gift for Steve. Finally she decided on a custom made surfboard. She bought it, but Steve would work with the designer on the final design. It would be a big improvement over the battered board that had been using since he was a teenager. She planned to make a better breakfast than their standard bowl of cereal, energy bar or smoothie on the run or standing over the sink.
On Valentine's Day, after some enjoyable early morning lovemaking, Catherine managed to convince Steve to stay upstairs for a few minutes so she could get breakfast ready. As she was putting the finishing touches on the table, when Steve came down from taking a shower, carrying a wrapped box. He smiled seeing that Catherine had set the table Doris's good china. It looked like fresh fruit, yogurt, and homemade granola were on the menu.
"It looks wonderful, Cath," said Steve planting a gentle kiss on Catherine's lips and sitting down to eat. At one point, Steve set his spoon down and said, "It means a lot to me that you arranged something special for me on Valentine's Day. It feels good to have restarted Valentine's breakfast. Doris used to do heart shaped waffles for breakfast on Valentine's Day when Mary and I were kids. She'd even let us have a couple of pieces of Valentine's Day candy. She and Dad would have left cards on the table for us and maybe some small gift. For the last one she got me a Tom Clancy novel and Mary got a small stuffed bear."
Catherine reached across the table and squeezed Steve's hand saying "I'm glad you like it, I never understood expecting men to do all the Valentine's Day planning. I did get you a present, but it's a little bigger than a book.
Steve opened the card that included the information on his present and his face lit up with a smile. "This is perfect. I've meant to get a new board; I just haven't gotten around to it. This much nicer than what I would have bought for myself. Thanks"
"I'm glad you like it, Steve. I love you, and I love being able to do something nice for you, but you aren't an easy guy to shop for," said Catherine.
"I know I don't say it much, Cath, but I do love you. I got you something also," said Steve handing Catherine the wrapped package."
"Steve, I know you love me. Don't get me wrong, I like hearing the words, but you show me every day with your actions."
Catherine unwrapped her present and said, "These are beautiful Steve! I love the color, and these are just my style. They are perfect."
"I'm glad you like them Cath."
Criminals had apparently decided to take Valentine's Day off. Steve hoped the quiet would hold. Maybe he could even send everyone home a little early. He was pretty sure everyone had plans and would appreciate an early day. He knew Catherine and Kono could make themselves presentable in record time, but he also knew they appreciate having time to do well, whatever, women did to get ready for a big date. He wasn't exactly sure, but he sure loved the how Catherine looked and smelled after the process.
Danny had gotten called for jury duty, so he would probably be done the earliest. Given his involvement with Five – 0, Steve was surprised that Danny even had to report for jury duty. He certainly wasn't going to get picked for a jury. Steve made a mental note to tell Danny to go straight home if he called.
When Steve saw Danny on his caller ID, he was prepared to tell him to go home.
"Hey Danno- what's up?" answered Steve.
"Babe, I can't believe the judicial system on the pineapple-infested hellhole. In the rest of the civilized world being a cop gets you excused from jury duty automatically, but no, not here. I can't believe it, but I have been selected to be on a jury for a big fraud case."
"Danny, doing your civic duty can't be that bad. We'll handle things here."
"That's nice to hear Steven, but I've been selected for the Hansen case jury. The judge has decided to sequester us and work through the weekend since there has already been a mistrial for jury tampering. Rachel is in Las Vegas visiting Stan, so I need to be with Grace, but the judge wouldn't even listen to that argument. He couldn't believe given my profession I don't have backup child care. So, Steven, I need you to take care of Grace for me, which should put a crimp in your Valentine's plans. This all could have been avoided if you had gotten the Governor to get me out jury duty," ranted Danny.
"Danny, it's fine. Catherine and I love Grace. Cath and I already celebrated this morning mostly. We'll figure something else out," said Steve.
Steve walks into Catherine's office and announces, "Danny's being sequestered on a jury, so we've got Grace for a few days. So I guess dinner is off. I'm sorry, but I couldn't say no."
"Of course, you couldn't say no. But our reservation is at seven right? So not too late? I bet if you called the restaurant and said we had our unexpectedly have our niece with us, they can make it work. I think Grace would love that."
Steve smiled watching Grace study the menu. He knew she was no stranger to fine dining. He was sure that she had been to plenty of fancy places with Stan and Rachel, but she was clearly enjoying being out on Valentine's Day in a restaurant full of couples. He knew Grace had called Catherine after he picked her up at school and then again while standing in front of her closet. She wanted to have the right thing to wear for the evening.
The trio had a nice meal. The waiter was very attentive and treated Grace like a young lady. Since Steve had only ordered dessert for two (and he had planned to share it with Catherine in bed), he suggested they get dessert. After they had ordered, Grace excused herself to go the bathroom, and Catherine followed. As Steve was waiting for them to come back, an older couple stopped by the table on the way out. The wife said, "You have a lovely family. It's so nice that you and your wife are including your daughter on Valentine's Day."
"Thank you, Ma'am, she's our niece. Her mother is out of town, and her father got sequestered on jury duty, but it's been fun to have her with us."
"Well, you two will have beautiful babies. Don't wait too long," said the older woman.
"Thank you, Ma'am," said Steve smiling. A few recent baby announcements had made Steve think that maybe children should be something that he need to talk about with Catherine, but he couldn't figure out how to put it into words.
Over dessert, Grace told Steve and Catherine that she would get to choose the next book she read for English class. "I want to read a real grown-up book. Can you help me pick one out?" asked Grace.
"Sure," said Catherine. "Of course Gracie," said Steve.
"I just finished Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's the adult version of the stories of the Little House on the Prairie Books. There are more details about the family's hard and scary times. I enjoyed it. You can borrow it if you want."
"Really, Aunt Catherine? I loved the Little House Books when I was younger. A grown-up version has to be great!"
Then Grace realized that her Uncle Steve hadn't made a suggestion. She backtracked a bit and said, "But I'd still like to know what you would recommend Uncle Steve. I like having new things to read."
"Well, I think you should read Pioneer Girl first. I remember Mary loved the books when she was a little girl, and it sounds like you and Catherine were just like her. But I was going to suggest Germs, Guns, and Steel or Mayflower. Germs, Guns, and Steel is about what influenced societies to develop the way they did. Mayflower is about the settlement of the Plymouth Colony. Both are great if you like history."
"Thanks! Do you guys ever read fiction?"
"Usually, I don't. I like books on history or biographies more. But there is nothing wrong with fiction," said Steve.
"I do all the time. But everything I've read recently is either a little grown up for you Grace or not what I would consider high enough quality for you to write a report on," said Catherine honestly.
"Do you mean like romance novels with like sex in them asked?" Grace.
"I mean adult relationships or complicated adult situations. Or I mean stuff that is like literary dessert like The Notebook. It's fun to read, but there isn't a huge amount of substance to it. It's not school material. But if you want suggestions for some more grown-up books I can work on it. I bet your teacher and the librarian at your school also have some ideas," answered Catherine.
"Thanks, Aunt Catherine," said Grace smiling.
On the way home, Steve was just about to make a turn when someone driving an SUV took a turn too fast and rolled over right in front of them, hitting another car. Steve slammed on the breaks and pulled the truck over.
"Catherine, when you got off the phone with HPD, can you get flares and road markers out of the back and block things off? I'm going to check on survivors. Grace, stay in the truck with the doors locked. Don't open them up for anyone who isn't Five -0 or HPD," said Steve and he got out of the truck.
Catherine started to emphasize Steve's point to Grace, but before she could even open her mouth, Grace said, "I know, stay in the truck with the doors locked and don't open them for anyone who isn't Five – 0 or HPD."
"Thanks, Grace!" said Catherine.
Steve and Catherine had gotten the intersection blocked off and were administering first aid when HPD and the ambulance arrived. The occupants of the car seemed to have minor cuts and bruises. But occupants of the SUV seemed pretty badly hurt, Steve had been afraid to try and move them without a backboard. He did put some pressure dressings on and assessed them. Then he sent Catherine to deal with traffic. He was concerned about their condition, so he started barking orders at the patrol officer and EMTs that showed up.
The patrol officer, Officer Jones, recognized Steve, but didn't recognize Catherine. He was annoyed that Commander McGarrett was in charge of the scene and didn't want to take witness statements, especially not while some civilian woman was doing crowd control.
Officer Jones approached Catherine and said, "Ma'am you really shouldn't be directing traffic. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. You don't want to spoil your lovely dress. I know what I'm doing. I'll take over."
Catherine turned to him and said, "Catherine Rollins, Five-0, I believe Commander McGarrett gave you an order as the ranking officer on the scene. I suggest you follow it."
"Ma'am, you aren't Five-0. Now please get out of my way before I arrest you for interfering with an investigation," said Office Jones.
At that moment, Steve was walking up to see why his orders weren't being followed. At the same time Duke Lukela, who stopped by to check in because he was in the area, was also walking up.
Steve looked like he was about to explode. However, in a calm voice Duke said, "Steve, Catherine, could you take just a few more minutes to figure out who we need witness statements from. I've got additional officers on the way to take them. Officer Jones and I need to have a conversation about proper procedure."
Catherine responded "sure, Duke" and pulled Steve away.
"Steve, stop fuming, he's a jerk and Duke will take care of it. Let's start statements and hope that other officers get here quickly, so we can take Grace home."
Catherine and Steve each took statements from a couple of witnesses until more HPD officers arrived. Duke came over to them and said, "I'm sorry about Officer Jones. We talked about his unacceptable behavior, and he'll be written up for this. I see Grace Williams in your truck. Why don't you head home with her and I'll send someone by as soon as I can to get your statements? I'm sure you will be our best eyewitnesses."
Back in the car, Grace asked if everyone is ok. Catherine said, "the people in the car just have cuts and bruises. The people in the SUV aren't as lucky, but they should be ok."
"That's good," says Grace.
After a couple of minutes of silence, she says, "Are you mad about something Uncle Steve?"
"Gracie, I'm just a little frustrated that the first HPD officer on the scene didn't follow my orders," said Steve.
"And he was disrespectful of Aunt Catherine," said Grace.
"How did you know that?" asked Steve.
"Easy, not much makes you madder than someone disrespecting Aunt Catherine. Plus, Sergeant Duke was talking to him for a long time, so I figured he did something wrong," answered Grace.
"I think she's got you figured out, Commander," said Catherine smiling.
"Well, she's smart like her Aunt and Uncle," said Steve smiling wide.
After they walk into the house, Catherine said,"Grace, why don't you get ready for bed, call Danno and your mom, and then we'll be in to say goodnight."
"I was a witness. Don't I need to give a statement?" asks Grace.
Steve and Catherine shared an amused look. Since Steve isn't one to deny Grace anything, he says, "I'll take your statement before you go to bed."
As Catherine and Steve changed into regular clothes, Catherine said, "are you really going to take her statement?"
"Of course, I want to encourage her being observant. Plus, it can't be less helpful than some of the ones I've already taken," said Steve shrugging while walking to over to Catherine. He pulled her close and said, "I've got say, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to help you out that dress," while planting a sensuous kiss on her lips." Mindful that Grace is still awake, he pulls away before they get carried away.
"Me too, sailor, me too. I'll make it up to you someday," answered Catherine.
After tucking Grace in, Steve and Catherine were snuggled together reading on the couch, waiting for an HPD officer to take their statements. Steve was reading Germs, Guns, and Steel while Catherine was reading Gone Girl. After a few minutes, Steve looked at Catherine and said, "so what's in that book what you don't want Grace reading?"
Catherine smiled and said, "Steve, you really are clueless about popular culture. So far, I've got adultery, a missing wife, who has either faked her disappearance or was murdered, and possibly the most dysfunctional marriage I've ever read about. I think Danny would kill me if I suggested it to Grace."
"Well, yeah, that doesn't sound appropriate for Grace. If she was our kid would you forbid her from reading it?" asked Steve.
"Well, if she were our kid, I'd discuss it with you. But I probably wouldn't forbid it. I wouldn't encourage it. Reading requires being actively engaged, and I think it would make Grace uncomfortable enough that she wouldn't get very far. At least that's how my parents handled it. They were very strict about what movies I could see, and I tried to get around that by reading books, but I put down a bunch of stuff I wasn't ready for. What would you do?"
"I think you are probably right. I was just curious," said Steve trailing off and fidgeting.
"Steve, what's up? I don't think this really about what we would let a hypothetical twelve-year-old read."
"At the restaurant, an older couple told me I had a lovely family while you and Grace were in the bathroom. When I said she was our niece, the wife said we shouldn't wait too long. And well . . ."
Noticing that Steve looked completely lost, Catherine decided to jump in.
"Steve if you are trying to start a conversation about children, I'd say, that I like the idea of a family with you. My hypothetical children have had hazel eyes and a love of water for years now. The idea of a family is nice, but I guess I'm just not quite ready to make that leap yet. Not because of you or our relationship. But because I don't feel like I'm ready to have a baby yet. What are you thinking?"
"I guess, I'm where you are. I mean, if I think about having kids you are their mother. But I'm not ready to have a baby yet either. Lately, I've also been thinking about older kids, that don't have a family, but need someone, but I'm not ready to take that on immediately either. But Cath, if something happened, it I think it would be a happy accident."
Catherine took Steve's hand and said, "well, then I think we are on the same page. We aren't quite ready to commit to parenthood, but we think we might get there, and we are open to having a kid or maybe fostering an older kid that needs a family. And yes, if something unexpected happened, it would be a happy accident. I'm glad you brought this up. We've both been avoiding this conversation for awhile now."
Steve pulled Catherine close and began to kiss her, and just as things were getting heated, they heard a knock at the door.
Later as climbed into bed Catherine said, "why don't you take my car and head to work as soon as you are ready in the morning? Then I can take Grace to school in your truck. Whichever one of us is at a good stopping place at 5:30 can pick her up, start dinner, and supervise homework?"
"Sure, Cath," said Steve as he pulled Catherine close and kissed her chastely. "Cath, I hope I can get a rain check for continuing our Valentine's Day celebration when we have some more privacy."
"Absolutely, sailor," answered Catherine.
Grace's face fell when she got into the truck. Steve tried not to take it personally and asked "what's wrong Gracie?"
"Uh, I was just kind of hoping that Auntie Cath would come get me because I wanted to ask her something."
"Well, she and Auntie Kono need to finish up with a victim, but Gracie, you can ask me anything. I promise," said Steve.
Grace looked horrified and said, "can you just take me to a drug store and wait in the truck while I go in?"
"Gracie, if you are sick, I need to know, what's up?"
"Please, Uncle Steve. I promise I'm not sick. I promise I'll tell Auntie Cath later. Just please. . ."
"OK, Gracie. But you need to tell Auntie Cath when she gets home."
Steve was very glad when Catherine called as he was sitting in the CVS parking lot. He answered the phone saying "Cath, I'm worried about Gracie. She was upset that I came to pick her up; she wanted to talk to you. She insisted I take her to the drug store and wait in the car. She won't tell me what's wrong. She says she's not sick. I made her promise to tell you when you got home."
"Take a breath, Uncle Steve. I'm sure it's nothing serious. If it were serious, she would have told you. She sounds embarrassed. I was calling to say that I've wrapped up, and I'll meet you at home. You can start dinner, and I'll talk to Gracie."
"Thanks, Cath. I'll try to calm down."
About 45 minutes later, Steve was reheating Catherine's grandmother's Ragu, boiling water for pasta and putting together a salad, when Catherine came into the kitchen.
"Steve, Grace is fine. She was just embarrassed. She got her period, and she wasn't expecting it, so she didn't have supplies with her. She didn't know how to tell you. We talked, and I told her if she's ever in a situation like this again she should just tell you it's 'girl stuff' and you'll stop worrying."
"OK, I can see why Gracie wouldn't want to tell me. Isn't she young for this? And why wasn't she expecting it? I mean you always know exactly when yours is coming," asked Steve.
"Yeah, I think your inability to say the word 'period' and 'Grace' in the same sentence demonstrates that. No, she's not young she's pretty average. And I know exactly when mine is coming because I'm on the pill. It's not uncommon for girls Grace's age to have cycles that vary a bit. I know mine did at her age. I know that you'd like her to stay eight years old forever. But she's not going to," said Catherine smiling.
"I know. I just want her to feel like she can tell me stuff. I liked it when she thought Danno and I could fix everything," said Steve.
"Grace knows that you would do anything she needed. Listen, Steve, you know my Dad, and I are close right? But I did the same thing to my dad when I was about the same age. Can you tell me that when you were Grace's age that there were things that things you didn't want to discuss with Doris? Things that you would have rather discussed with your dad?" asked Catherine.
Steve looked thoughtful for a second. Then he smiled and said "absolutely. My dad was on the Big Island for a case for a couple nights, and my mom caught me washing my sheets early in the morning. She wanted to talk about it. I absolutely did not."
Just the Grace came downstairs, into the kitchen, and wrapped her arms around Steve's waist and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry I scared you, Uncle Steve."
Steve hugged her back and said, "It's ok Gracie. Next time just tell me it's a girl thing, ok? And I do understand why you didn't want to say anything. Aunt Catherine reminded me of something I didn't want to talk to my mom about when I was about your age."
The trio ate dinner out on the lanai. Grace entertained her aunt and uncle with stories about her school day. Her English class had to do skits based on books that they had read, and she had some entertaining stories. Most of the kids did their skits live, but several had shot video and included a couple of spoof commercials. "They were just like Saturday Night Live, Uncle Steve."
"What do you know about Saturday Night Live, Gracie?" asked Steve.
"I'm not a baby anymore Uncle Steve. Besides, Danno and I sometimes watch old episodes. He likes the ones from the 90s best. He says that are classic."
"I don't know, I think the ones from the 70s are the most classic," said Catherine.
"I think Catherine is right," said Steve. "Maybe we can watch some tonight."
Later that evening, Steve and Catherine watched some classic SNL with Grace. They often had to pause the program to explain cultural references to Grace. She found the Coneheads especially hilarious.
Saturday Steve went to get malasadas after his swim. He was surprised when he brought them home and found Catherine sitting in the living room with the paper. "Where's Grace?" he asked.
"Still sound asleep. She's rarely up before nine on a Saturday unless she has some reason to be," answered Catherine.
"Nine?" said Steve kind of horrified.
Catherine just laughed and said, "You've always been a morning person haven't you? Let's just relax and read the paper. We'll save Gracie a couple of those malasadas."
At 9:30, Steve hears the shower start. Just then his phone rang, and he saw that it was Danny.
"Hi, Danno."
"Hi, Steve. We just wrapped up the case. I'm going to come and get my daughter and take her out to brunch."
"How do you know we haven't fed her?" asks Steve.
"Because she's 12, and it's Saturday morning. Unless, she had to be up for some reason, I'm guessing Grace has only just started moving. That's why I called you and not her, Steven."
"OK, Danno. We'll see you soon."
"I thought Grace's teenage years, would be hard on Danny, but I didn't realize how hard they were going to be on her Uncle Steve," said Catherine with a smile. "But I bet I can take your mind off our niece turning into a teenager after she and Danny leave."
"We do have a Valentine's Day celebration to continue," said Steve with a smile.