Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for the love, laughter, and support. For the brainstorming and the title help and everything in between.
And a very special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mari! Many happy returns of the day! Bring on the cake!
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your amazing support with each and every story. We're so happy you're on this ride with us!
Hope you enjoy!
A Friend Like That (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"So . . . Jacob kind of had a little freakout about being the ring guy," Cody said as Steve unlocked the front door of the house.
"What?" Steve asked, concerned, waving the teen in ahead of him.
"It's okay now, but . . ." Cody knelt down to greet an excited Cammie. "Well, Kaitlyn is trying to find every book and movie she can about being a ring bearer, and she made him watch Tangled Ever After."
Steve closed the door. "What does that mean?"
"Tangled . . ." Cody said, standing. "It was a . . . um, a Rapunzel movie. Disney. Anyway, they did this little sequel with the wedding, and the horse and the chameleon thing were the ring bearer and flower . . . lizard, I guess. And the rings rolled away during the ceremony and they have to go chase them through the city. It's supposed to be this really funny scene, but Jacob's eyes were just getting wider and wider and I could tell he was imagining what could go wrong at your wedding."
"Do I need to talk him?" Steve asked, his brow creased.
"No, no, he's okay now, I talked to him. I told him he's gonna do great."
Steve smiled proudly. "Of course you did."
"We watched it again and he fell off the couch laughing when the horse ends up covered in tar while wearing a dress."
Steve quirked an eyebrow. "I might give that film a pass."
Cody laughed. "It's only seven minutes long."
"Still . . ." he said, his lip twitching up in a half smile. He shifted, looking over at the box on the coffee table. "But I can't give a pass on these pictures, so thanks for the help. It's my assignment."
"From Catherine?"
"From Grace."
Cody chuckled.
"Have a seat," Steve said, motioning to the sofa. They both sat down, and Steve opened the box. "So we gotta sort 'em out, the ones with just me and Catherine, and the ones with family and friends in them."
"Okay. What's this for?"
"Apparently that's need-to-know."
"And you don't need to know?"
Steve held out his hands. "I'm just the groom."
Cody grinned, and Steve handed him a small stack of photos.
They began sorting, with Steve occasionally stopping to explain an image.
"Who's this?" Cody asked, holding out a picture of a young Steve and Catherine sitting at a table, a blonde guy leaning between them with an enormous smile and an arm around each of their necks.
Steve paused, taking the photo slowly, eyes on the familiar face.
"His name was Freddie Hart," he said finally.
Cody blinked at the use of past tense.
When Steve didn't elaborate, he asked quietly, "Who was he?"
Steve's eyes stayed on the photo. "He was my best friend . . . my brother."
"Was he a SEAL like you?"
"Yeah," Steve said, looking at Cody and handing the picture back. "We were at the Naval Academy together. Roommates. We weren't much older than you in that picture."
Cody paused as he stared at the image, clearly debating whether to ask his next question.
He looked at Steve. "What happened to him?"
Steve remained silent for a moment.
"He was killed in action," he said quietly, his eyes growing distant. "Five and a half years ago."
Cody waited, watching Steve.
"He was the bravest men I've ever known," Steve said.
Now it was Cody's turn to stay quiet.
"Do you think about him a lot?" he eventually asked.
Steve looked at him. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do."
Cody glanced down at the photo again before returning his gaze to Steve.
"What was he like?"
Steve blinked, and his eyes drifted back to the photo in Cody's hands. A small smile grew on his face, and he looked back at Cody.
"We came up together. Like I said. Roommates at the Naval Academy. Always in competition with each other. BUD/S. SEAL training," he added, when Cody looked confused. "Went on a lot of missions together. Saw a lot of action together. Spent a lot of our downtime together." He smiled softly. "He was one-of-a-kind."
Cody looked back at the picture. "He looks fun."
Steve laughed. "He was. Life of the party." He took a deep breath, smiling. "He was also hard-headed, loud, and the worst poker player I ever met. And he'd be the first to admit that. I think he was proud of it."
Cody grinned.
Steve's expression sobered. "He was loyal . . . and he had my back. He was there to knock sense into me when I needed it."
His eyes grew unfocused as he got lost in a memory.
Steve was finishing his meal when Freddie sat across from him on the bench recently vacated by two of their teammates. Steve paused, a forkful of food halfway to his mouth, and said, "Hey, when did you get bac–"
"You dumbass," Freddie announced unceremoniously.
Steve made a face. "Hello to you, too," he said and ate the forkful.
Freddie reached across the table, shoving him in the shoulder. "What the hell, man?"
Steve swallowed his food. "What are you–"
"I had a long layover in Amsterdam."
Steve looked down, releasing a small sigh, and set down his fork.
"Yeah," Freddie said, staring at him. "Imagine my surprise when I run into one Lieutenant Catherine Rollins and learn that my best friend is a complete dumbass."
Steve glanced up. "Did she–"
"Of course she didn't. She didn't have to. Though she should have called you that and worse. What the hell? You broke it off with her? What were you thinking? And why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't ask," Steve said, choosing to focus on the last question, his eyes flicking to different corners of the room.
"Because it's ridiculous. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He waved a hand sardonically in Steve's direction. "Of course, now I know why you've been in such a piss-poor mood for God's know how long."
They were silent for a moment as Freddie seemed to be waiting for Steve to speak. When he finally did, it was in a quiet voice. "How'd she seem? She okay?"
"She's not pining away, if that's what you're asking."
"I'm not–"
"You're in love with her," Freddie said simply.
Steve looked away. "I–"
"Hey, you can keep lying to yourself, but you can't lie to me. I've known you too long."
Steve picked up his fork again, shoving the food around on his tray. "Doesn't matter. She's with Harrington."
Freddie raised his eyebrows. "Billy Harrington?" He snorted. "That won't last. Not with the way she looked when she asked if you were taking care of yourself."
Steve shifted, putting his fork back down and giving up the pretense that he was going to finish eating. "Look, just leave it, okay? It's done."
"You and Catherine aren't done," Freddie stated emphatically. "You won't ever be done."
Steve stared at him silently.
"What you guys have, is once in a lifetime. And I should know." Freddie nodded definitively. "You mark my words, I'll be up there with you on your wedding day."
Back on the sofa, Steve looked down, his heart clenching at that thought that Freddie Hart wouldn't be standing beside him when he married Catherine.
He felt the sofa cushion shift slightly and looked over at Cody, realizing he'd been silent for a long time while the teen watched him.
"He was a true friend," Steve said finally. "The kind who calls you out when you're being an idiot . . . because that's part of having someone's back. And that makes it even better when there's something to celebrate."
He smiled thinking of another conversation a few months later.
Freddie was already in the room when Steve came in. They were the first to arrive for the pre-mission briefing.
Freddie took one look at him and said, "Somebody had a good time in Bangkok. You usually only smile like that when you get back from seeing–" He stopped, his eyes widening. "Holy shit, did you see Catherine?"
Steve tried to school his features. "I–"
Freddie's face broke out into a huge grin. "Ha! Knew it! You did." He smirked. "And are you back in the lieutenant's good graces?"
"Come on, man, you know I'm not gonna–"
"You don't have to kiss and tell, I already know. It's written all over your face." He folded his arms, grinning. "Exactly how much groveling did you have to do?"
Steve shoved him with an eyeroll. "You're an ass."
Freddie looked unperturbed at the casual insult. "I'm also an expert on groveling. Come on. Scale of 1 to 10."
"Shut up."
As their other teammates started to file into the room, all talking and jostling loudly, Freddie leaned over and said in a low voice, "You love her. Even if you haven't said it. And you're a lucky S.O.B. 'cause I'd bet any amount of money she loves you, too. Has to if she took your dumb ass back."
Steve shifted and looked down with a small smile on his face.
"I'm happy for you," Freddie said honestly. He straightened and reached over to give Steve's head a mock shove, grinning once again. "So stay out of your own way, huh?"
Knocking his arm away, Steve grinned back. "Whatever you say, Bubba."
Steve exhaled slowly as the memory faded.
Cody's eyes were still on him, and he said, "I'm sorry you lost him. That he won't be there for the wedding."
Steve paused, then nodded slowly. "Me, too."
Cody's phone buzzed. "Oh, that might be Mom." He took it from his pocket, checking quickly. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.
"Is it her?" Steve asked. He glanced at his watch. "Thought she wasn't swinging by to get you until later."
"It's Jadon. Reminding me we've got a meeting before school tomorrow for our English project. The rest of our group is . . . uh . . ." he glanced up guiltily and winced. "They're kind of annoying so we swore we wouldn't leave each other alone with 'em."
Steve smiled. "Jadon's a good guy. I'm glad you have a friend like that." He paused for a beat and swallowed thickly. "I've had that twice. I know how important it is."
Cody shrugged a little. "It's not like we've been through anything life-threatening together or–"
"But you have been through things together," Steve insisted. "I know he's had your back when you needed it, and I know you well enough to know you've had his."
Cody nodded, looking down.
"Don't ever take him for granted, Cody," Steve said. "A friend like that . . . that's the best kind of friend."
Cody looked up at him. He nodded seriously. "I won't."
"Good."
Cody looked at the photo of Steve, Catherine, and Freddie once more. He picked it up from the coffee table and handed it to Steve.
"You should definitely use this one for . . . whatever the special project is."
Steve smiled and nodded, taking the photo.
"You are absolutely right."
Catherine returned that evening after dinner with a former member of her unit.
Steve came out of the kitchen as she was locking the door. "Hey, how was dinner?" he asked.
"Great," she said, kneeling to greet Cammie. "Karissa's excited to be back on the island, even if it's just for a couple weeks."
He nodded as she stood, smiling and leaning over for his own greeting. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him.
"When did Cody leave?" she asked.
" 'Bout an hour ago. He helped me sort those photos." He nodded toward the coffee table.
Catherine looked at the piles of photos and noticed one on the top. "Oh, wow," she said, picking up the picture Steve and Cody had been talking about that afternoon. "I forgot about this one." She looked over at him. "That's a great photo. Freddie and that huge smile of his."
"Yeah," he said.
He watched as she set the photo back in its place.
"I was thinking . . ." he said, and she straightened to look at him again. "We should invite Freddie's parents and Kelly to the wedding. They might not come, but . . . I want to invite them."
"Of course," she said immediately.
"It'd be nice to see them again, and . . . it'd feel a little like he's there, you know?"
She stepped closer and held his arms.
"He will be there, Steve," she said seriously. She put her hand over his heart. "Right here."
He gave her a small smile in response and nodded gratefully.
She smiled back, rubbing gently on his chest.
"Where he'll always be."
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