Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for your absolutely amazing feedback on this story and for your support every day. We've all been put to the test in the last year, and the support you've shown me and each other when things get tough is nothing short of incredible.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your massive support of Cody and the Allen family. It floors me with every single story. We truly do have the best readers I could ever imagine. Thank you for taking this ride with us.
Hope you enjoy!
Tests (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Standing in the kitchen, Steve set down the salad bowl he had just picked up when he saw Cody's name on the caller ID of his phone.
"Hey, Cody," he said once he'd accepted the call.
"Hey," the teen's voice came over the line.
"What's up?"
"It's um . . . it's about my driver's license. I've had my permit for over 180 days, so I can get my provisional license now."
"Excellent," Steve said, smiling.
"I just have to do my road test."
Steve nodded. "Okay."
"I checked . . . it uh . . . it doesn't just have to be a parent with me when I do it. They said it could be, you know . . . any driver who's over 21 . . ."
Steve smiled. "Are you asking me to go on your road test with you, Cody?"
"Yeah. Would you? I mean, Mom's coming, but I . . . er . . . if you can, I wanted you to come, too."
"Then I'll be there," Steve said immediately. "When's the test?"
"I have to make an appointment. That's why I wanted to call you. Mom said she could take a half day on Friday. They have some openings in the afternoon."
"You tell me what time, and I'll be there."
He heard Cody exhale gratefully.
"Thanks, Steve."
"Absolutely." His brow knitted slightly. "You're not nervous, are you?"
"No," Cody said quickly, then amended, "Well . . . not really."
" 'Cause you got this. You're an excellent driver, Cody," Steve said sincerely.
"Thanks to you."
Steve shook his head. "You had the skills. I just got you the practice and confidence you needed."
There was a short pause, and Steve could picture the teen looking down with a small smile.
"Yeah," Cody said, and there was indeed a smile in his voice. He cleared his throat. "So I'll text you . . . when I get the appointment scheduled?"
Steve nodded. "Okay. Let me know."
"Okay. I'll talk to you later."
"Yep."
Steve ended the call and, picking up the salad bowl, headed outside to join Catherine and Cammie on the deck.
A half hour later they were finishing up their late dinner when Steve's phone buzzed with a text message. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.
Is 2:30 Fri ok?
Steve typed out a quick response.
I'll be there.
Pocketing his phone, he looked at Catherine with a smile.
"Cody's taking his road test on Friday. He wants me to go with him and Jenna."
Catherine smiled. "Of course he does."
"By this time Friday, he'll have his license."
Catherine's lips twisted in a thoughtful expression. Steve regarded her, knitting his brow.
"I know that face," he said. "You've got an idea."
"I do." She stood and pulled her own phone out. "What time Friday?"
"Test's at 2:30."
"Okay," she said and moved to step off the deck.
"Do I get to know about this idea?" he called after her.
"In a minute," she said and glanced back over her shoulder at him. She winked. "Let me work out some logistics and get a few co-conspirators on board."
He chuckled and began gathering up their empty dishes to bring inside.
Friday afternoon, Cody stepped outside the driver's license facility flanked by Jenna and Steve. His mother had happily linked her arm through his, and Steve patted his shoulder proudly. Cody had a broad smile on his face as he looked at the temporary license he held in both hands.
He looked up and started to speak, but stopped in his tracks upon seeing his siblings and Jadon along with Catherine, Danny, Grace, Chin, and Kono standing on the sidewalk holding a giant 'Congrats, Cody!' banner.
"Wh–" he started.
"Congratulations, Cody!" the gathered group cheered, lifting the brightly colored homemade banner even higher.
"What are you guys doing here?" Cody asked, shocked.
"It was Lieutenant Catherine's idea!" Kaitlyn said. "Are you surprised?"
"Definitely," he said, approaching the group.
"I drew the cars!" Jacob exclaimed, jumping up and down in front of the banner and pointing. "See, Cody? They're red! And I drew Commander's truck 'cause you drove it so much."
"That's great, buddy," Cody said.
Jacob continued pointing. "And that's you, and that's me, and that's Mom, and that's Commander Steve, and that's Dylan . . ."
"Grace and I did the letters," Casey said, smiling at the other girl who nodded happily.
"Except those," Dylan said, pointing to the sides of the banner that read '#1 Driver.'
"Nice," Cody said.
Catherine gave him a warm smile. "Congratulations, Cody."
"Thanks," he said. "And thanks for . . ." He motioned to the banner.
"Oh, that was all these guys," she said, pointing at the kids. "I just had the idea to surprise you after your test."
"But what if I hadn't passed?" Cody asked.
"Ha!" Danny said. "Like that was ever a possibility."
Steve hooked a thumb back toward the building. "Guy said it was the quickest road test he'd ever administered."
Jenna smiled proudly. "He said he'd never seen a teen so well-prepared."
"Course he was prepared," Jadon boasted. "That's my boy. Taught him everything he knows." At the others' skeptical looks, he shrugged. "Okay, SuperSEAL mighta had somethin' to do with it, too."
They all laughed.
"Well," Kono said with an eager expression. "Let's see it."
"This is my temporary license," Cody said, holding it out for all to see. "They said I'll get the real one in about three weeks."
"BWAH!" Jadon laughed, taking the license for a closer view. "Look at your picture!"
"Looks better than yours," Cody returned, grabbing it back and laughing. "At least my eyes are open."
"Mine are kinda open," Jadon protested.
"Don't sweat it," Chin said, smiling. "No one looks good on their driver's license."
"I happen to look very good on mine," Steve said, folding his arms.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."
"Can I see?" Jacob asked, pulling on Cody's arm.
"Sure, Jake." He turned the license so his little brother could see it better.
"I think it looks good," Jacob pronounced.
"Thanks, buddy."
Jacob looked at his mother. "Is Cody a grown-up now?"
Jenna exhaled, blinking back tears. "Ohhh," she sighed. She put her arm around Cody and leaned her head on his shoulder. "My baby boy has his driver's license."
"Provisional license," Cody corrected.
"Doesn't have quite the same ring," she said, squeezing him tighter. "Let a mother have her moment."
He smiled despite his embarrassment.
"What do you say we move this party to a better location?" Steve said.
Cody looked over at him curiously, and Steve nodded at Catherine.
"Kamekona's holding tables for us at his truck," she said. "I thought we'd celebrate with shave ice."
"He actually reserved tables?" Danny asked incredulously. "That's gotta be a first."
Catherine smiled and nodded toward Cody. " 'To celebrate his friend's accomplishment,' he said."
Danny snorted. "Bet he also said these weren't 'peak hours.' "
She grinned. "That phrase may have been floated in the negotiations . . ."
They laughed at that.
Steve looked at Cody. "What do you say?"
Cody held up his license and grinned. "I say I'm driving."
Later that afternoon, the rest of the celebratory party had left, and Cody and Steve remained to hang out for a little longer.
They walked on the pavement along the beach, talking about the road test.
"I was a little nervous about parallel parking," Cody said.
"I told you once you were comfortable parking the truck you'd have no problem with smaller vehicles. Even your Mom's van."
"Yeah."
"It's too bad they didn't ask you to change a tire," Steve said, nudging him with an elbow. "You would've aced that, too."
Cody smiled at him.
A minute later, Cody's phone buzzed in his pocket.
Steve nodded. "Go ahead."
Cody looked at the screen and smiled. He glanced at Steve. "It's from Jess. I told her I got my license." He showed him the text.
That's awesome! ! ! ! ! ! !
Steve raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the phone. "That many exclamation points, you better reply."
Cody grinned and tapped out a quick thank you before pocketing his phone.
"How are things going there?" Steve asked as they resumed their walk.
"Good. We've hung out a couple times. I uh . . . I met her family."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. She asked me to come to her house to watch a movie. Her parents said we had to watch in the living room," he said, flushing a little. "But they were pretty cool."
Steve chuckled, then nodded. "Good."
"They invited me back for dinner next week."
Steve looked impressed. "Sounds like you passed the test, then." He walked another step before realizing the teen had frozen behind him.
He looked back to see Cody's face had blanched in shock. Instantly on alert, Steve looked around for the source of the reaction and followed Cody's eye line to a man sitting on a bench who looked equally surprised to see the teen.
The man stood, pushing his ball cap up and running a hand over his dark blonde hair before replacing the hat. There wasn't much of a resemblance aside from the hair color, but Cody's stunned reaction told Steve exactly who the man was.
"Cody," Jason Allen said as he approached slowly.
Steve turned to face the oncoming man fully, and Jason stopped when Steve took a single step forward, his hands going to his hips so he was partially blocking Cody.
From six feet away, Jason seemed to size Steve up. He leaned back, swallowing uncomfortably at the hard look he received in return but trying to hide his discomfort. Unable to meet Steve's cold stare, he looked past him at Cody.
"I almost didn't recognize you," Jason said. "It's been a while."
"What . . . what are you doing here?" Cody asked quietly.
"Met a guy about a job," Jason said, nodding toward a restaurant across the street. "Didn't know you hung out around here." He scratched his jaw. "But you know I've been uh . . . I've been meaning to get in touch. Heard you all moved into a new house. Knew Jenna'd figure something out after the fire."
Cody stiffened at that.
His eyes narrowed, and his voice was low and disbelieving when he said, "You knew about the fire? And you didn't . . . you . . ."
Jason shrugged. "Wasn't much I could do, was there? Your mom was always the one with the job." He looked around. "She here? Or Casey and Dy–"
"Don't say their names," Cody snapped suddenly. "You don't get to say their names."
Jason bristled. "Hey, kid–"
"No!" Cody said, stepping around Steve. "I don't . . . I don't have to listen to you."
Though he didn't speak, Steve stayed close and put a supportive hand on Cody's shoulder, a gesture Jason clearly noticed.
"What?" Jason asked, folding his arms and tilting his chin toward them challengingly, despite Steve's eyes on him. "You went and found someone to play dad?"
Cody swallowed angrily. "Why shouldn't I? It's not like you ever wanted to be one."
"That doesn't mean–"
"He's spent more time with me in eight months than you have in sixteen years!"
"Oh, come on," Jason said, his lip curling. "Who was there when you were little?"
"Not you," Cody scoffed. "You weren't even there when I was born."
"Who told you that?"
"Mom did."
"She shouldn't have told you–"
"She doesn't lie to me! She tells me the truth when I ask her stuff. Not like you." He imitated Jason's voice. " 'Sure, Cody, I'll be at your soccer game.' 'Yeah, Cody, I'll teach you how make a free throw. Later.' But you never did. You never did anything you said." His eyes were rimmed with angry tears, and he sniffed hard. "What you did was leave. All the time. 'Find yourself something to eat, Cody, I'm going out.' 'Watch 'em, Cody, I'll be back later.' 'Don't tell your mom I left you alone, Cody.' 'Don't tell your mom I went out tonight, Cody . . .' "
Jason shifted uncomfortably and tried to brush off the truth in Cody's words. "You know . . . you're just a kid . . . you don't understan–"
"I understand just fine," Cody cut in angrily. "I finally figured it out. You only ever came back when you wanted something."
"That's not–"
"When Mom finished school and got a full-time job, you came back. When we moved to the place on Dole Street, you came back. And now . . ."
"Listen . . . I was just thinking I could–"
"No," Cody said firmly. "We don't need you. We don't want you. And you just want a free place to crash for a while before you leave again." He fixed Jason with a glare. "And that's what you're best at anyway . . . leaving. So leave us alone."
Cody turned and started to walk away.
"Come on, Cody, I'm your dad–"
Cody stopped and turned back. His look silenced Jason.
"No," he said evenly. "You might be my father but you're not my dad."
He walked away without another word.
Jason took a step as if to follow, and Steve moved directly into his path.
"I think he made it very clear he doesn't want to see you," Steve said, his voice low and commanding.
Jason tried to appear unfazed. "What? The big, bad head of Five-0's gonna tell me how to act around my own kid?" He looked at Steve with a sneer. "Yeah, I know who you are."
Steve stepped closer, looking down on the other man, and Jason took an involuntary step back.
"That's good," Steve said coolly. "We can skip the introductions and go right to the part where you shut the hell up and listen. 'Cause I'm only gonna say this once." His eyes narrowed. "You are done." He nodded back toward the direction Cody had walked. "You're done with him. And with Jenna. And the rest of the kids. But you and I?" He shook his head slowly. "We are nowhere near done."
Jason swallowed, his eyes darting around uneasily.
"I'm gonna tell you how things are gonna go," Steve continued. He glanced over at the restaurant Jason had indicated earlier. "You're not getting a job around here. You find something far from their house, their schools, Jenna's work, any place they hang out. You ever see them out in public, you turn around and walk the other way. You understand? They don't see you. They don't hear from you. They are just fine without you, and that's how it's gonna stay."
He shifted, forcing Jason to meet his eyes.
"I find out you're sniffing around again . . .?" His eyes narrowed, his look hard with the underlying threat. "Things will get very bad for you." He raised his eyebrows. "You said you know who I am? Then you know I mean that. You hurt any one of them again, you'll answer to me."
Jason was completely silent.
"My line of work?" Steve said. "I deal with all kinds of scum. But I don't even have a word for you." He pointed back in the direction Cody had gone. "That is the most incredible young man I've ever met, and he's got four incredible siblings and an incredible mother . . . and you walked away from all of them." He shook his head in absolute disgust. "I can't stand the sight of you."
With that, he turned and strode away, leaving Jason Allen staring and speechless in his wake.
Steve found Cody sitting on a bench alone, hunched over with his arms wrapped around his head to hide his face. Steve took a deep, slow breath to calm himself before taking a seat beside the teen.
He knew Cody was aware of him, but they sat quietly for a few minutes.
Finally, Cody raised his head, swiping angrily at his eyes with the heel of his hand.
"How does he find out?" he asked in frustration. "How does he always find out? The house? How did he . . .?"
"I don't want you to worry about that," Steve said firmly. "Okay? I'm gonna take care of it."
When Cody looked over at him, Steve's expression was hard.
"You won't see him again . . ." he promised. "Unless it's on your own terms."
Cody swallowed, and he looked down, tears welling in his eyes again.
"I'm really proud of you, Cody," Steve said, his eyes softening with complete sincerity. "For the way you stood up for yourself and for your family."
Cody sniffed and wiped his nose. He looked up at Steve.
"I don't . . . I don't think I could have done that a year ago," he said, his voice rough with emotion.
Steve nodded. "Well, that's part of growing up–"
"No, I don't think that's it," Cody said, shaking his head. "I mean, not totally. I think it's . . . you."
Steve was silent, and Cody continued.
"When I saw him . . . I thought about the things you said to me before. About how it was okay to be mad at him. How it matters . . . what he did to us. And I . . . I knew you were there so I knew I . . . I knew I could say the things I wanted to say."
Steve nodded slowly and paused.
"How do you feel?" he asked finally.
Cody swallowed again. He spoke slowly, but his voice was steady. "I feel . . . strong. I feel like . . . like I just passed a test. One that really mattered."
Steve turned so he could put a hand on Cody's shoulder and squeezed, looking him directly in the eyes.
"Cody, I have no doubt you will pass any and every test that comes your way," he said, his face displaying his unconditional confidence in the teen he had come to care about so much. "Whatever life throws at you, you'll meet it head on. Because you are strong. He can't take that from you. No one can. That strength is in you. And that's a fact."
Cody searched Steve's face and saw the open honesty in his expression. He nodded, the tears in his eyes no longer angry. He sat up straighter, and Steve squeezed his shoulder again to reiterate his support.
A small, confident smile appeared on Cody's face, and he nodded again.
"Thanks, Steve."
With a nod in return, Steve shifted back on the bench and put his arm around Cody's shoulder. The two sat staring at the water and let the day's events wash over them, both feeling they'd been put to the test and come out even stronger.
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