Sammy & Ilna wow, it's almost here! I'm having so much fun creating the wedding of the millennium #REALwedding with you two. Thanks for being the best of the best. In everything. Writing. Friendship. Fun.

REALMcRollers, we love our readers and you are amazing. Thank you for the love and support of REAL Steve & Catherine, and we are so very excited to be able to share the #REALwedding with you. 26 days!

The REAL World Ask the Authors Q&A is back by popular demand! We'll answer questions in the endnotes of every story this week.

Competitive Edge

HQ

"Knock, knock, Uncle Steve," Grace said at the glass door before she entered his office and handed her tablet to Steve with an excited grin. "Look, they're having one here!"

"Hey, Gracie. What's this?" Steve smiled as he read the article on the local paper's website.

Catherine entered moments later, saying, "I heard one of my maid of honors was here," and gave their niece a hug before asking, "What's that?"

"The SEAL fitness challenge." Steve handed her the tablet. "They're doing one here."

"Oh! Those are a great idea." Catherine smiled. "They get a lot of participants, and it encourages people to get off the couch and start exercising."

Grace looked between her aunt and uncle and nodded. "Uncle Steve?"

"What, Sweetheart?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she asked, "I want to try. Will you train me? I know the wedding is coming up and all ..."

Catherine grinned as Steve's face split into a beaming smile.

His eyes sparkled. "You wanna do a SEAL challenge?"

"I do." Grace bounced in place. "I totally understand if you're too busy …"

"I will never, ever be too busy for you," Steve told her with absolute conviction.

"Aww, I love you." Grace wrapped him in a hug, and Catherine caught his expression over her head and smiled softly.

When Grace pulled back she said, "I'll train really, really hard, I promise," just as her dad showed up and entered the office.

Danny looked between his two friends and his daughter. "Oh jeez, what are they conspiring about?" he asked Catherine, who snorted a laugh. Steve and Grace planning something always had a definite look.

"Something good, promise." Steve grinned.

"I still hate you a little from April Fool's, Steven, but if it's Grace's idea it has to be better than one of yours."

Grace grinned, took the tablet back and passed it to her dad. "I wanna try this, Danno. But I wanted to see if Uncle Steve would help me train before I asked you. Can I?"

Reading the article, he gave Steve a bemused look before addressing Grace. "You want to do a SEAL physical fitness challenge?" He pointed at his best friend and snorted, "See what you've done to my daughter?" At Steve's huge smile Danny shook his head and placed both hands on Grace's shoulders. "I'm proud of you for being a great athlete, Monkey, but that article says the standards are the same for everyone - there're no special categories for kids."

Steve was still beaming as he said, "I know a few guys who volunteer at these. Civilians aren't required to run in camo pants and boots."

"Oh, there you go. It's a piece of cake then." Danny rolled his eyes, but his pride in his daughter was evident. "Since Uncle Steve doesn't mind - I can see he's practically ready to leave right now and build an obstacle course in their yard - you can do it."

"Yay! Thank you!" She flung herself at her dad and hugged him.

"But - and this is important. You listen to Uncle Steve. You do not push yourself too hard. I don't want you getting hurt. Got it?"

"I'll listen. I promise." She turned to Steve. "I wanna get the blue shirt."

"Of course." He nodded as if that were a given.

Grace turned back to Danny, "The fastest, strongest athletes with the best scores earn a blue SEAL shirt; if you meet basic SEAL standards you get a tan shirt. And everyone who finishes the five events gets a white SEAL T-shirt."

"You know …" Grace looked at Catherine, and Steve read her thoughts.

"Catherine could beat the whole field, but it's really for civilians, Gracie."

Catherine grinned. "Thank you both, but I'm going to stick to cheering you on, Grace. And I'll help with whatever you need, training wise. Besides," she looked at Steve, "I have an inside source for SEAL T-shirts."

McGarrett / Rollins Home
Beach - Early the Next Evening

"Okay, Gracie." Steve squatted to her eye level and placed his hands on his knees. "The challenge has two levels. Basic standards and highly qualified standards. We're gonna aim high, so let's do this." He offered his fist, and they bumped.

"I'm ready." The look on her face was one Steve had seen many times on Danny, and he grinned.

"I know you are. You're an excellent swimmer but we need to work on your endurance. And Auntie Cath is gonna run with you on days when I can't, so our goal will be to have you run at least five times a week. With your cheering and tumbling classes, you've got a good edge, but the pull ups and push ups are going to be your biggest challenge."

Grace nodded, taking it all in.

"Women naturally have greater strength in their legs than their upper bodies, so we'll build your upper body strength for the pull and push ups. Ready?

She nodded. "Ready."

"Then let's hit the water." Steve took off for the surf, and Grace was right behind him.

/

"So it's all about having an edge. Not giving up. Even when you feel like you're at the wall," Steve explained as they dropped to the sand just past the tide line.

"What gave you your edge?" Grace asked seriously as she downed her water after their swim.

He uncapped his water. "Being naturally competitive. Danno would say a little too much." He chuckled. "But most SEALs would tell you having a competitive streak helps them get through BUD/S." He drained the bottle and stuck it in the sand. "That and getting used to being really uncomfortable early on." He smiled.

"I'm not as competitive as you and Auntie Cath," Grace pointed out.

"Which doesn't mean you won't do great." He stood and offered his hand, pulling her up when she took it. "Listen, sweetheart, you have determination and drive. Just think of training as a competition against yourself. If you did ten sit ups yesterday you do eleven today." He smiled at her. "Just focus on one thing at a time and avoid distractions. That's how I was trained. To determining an objective, break it down into smaller pieces, and tackle each piece."

Grace smiled. "I can do that."

"You," Steve said seriously, "can do anything you put your mind to."

Forty five minutes later, Grace lay sprawled on the grass as Catherine approached her and Steve carrying a large bag. "Ready for dinner?"

Grace pushed herself up and nodded. "Ohh, yes, please. I'm starving."

Steve was beaming as he took two of the huge wraps and handed one to their niece. "We're done for today. Gracie just did sixty-four sit-ups in 129 seconds."

"I've gotta shorten my time, but that's pretty good, right?" She looked to Catherine for confirmation.

"Are you kidding?" Catherine was genuinely impressed. "That's awesome, Grace, there are third years at the Academy that still struggle with the minimums."

"I know Uncle Steve can probably do like a thousand." She grinned at him with admiration. "How many can you do?"

"In two minutes?" Catherine asked as she joined them on the grass and pulled a treat out for Cammie, who was at her side. "About 95 last time I counted."

"That's - wow. That's better than the high level."

Catherine smiled at Steve. "Your Uncle Steve can still do 120 in two minutes."

Grace nodded as though she never doubted for a second her favorite uncle could easily surpass even the SEALs highest requirements. She leaned over to fist-bump him. "I knew it." She turned to Catherine. "I memorized all the requirements for the competition; 50 is the minimum for basic and the minimum for high is 80. I wanna try to get to 80." Grace bit into her roast beef, turkey and avocado wrap as Steve and Catherine exchanged a look. "Mmm this is great, thanks."

Hours later, Steve and Catherine sat in the adirondack chairs, watching Cammie cantor on the sand.

"Gracie's something else, huh?" Steve played with her ring, moving it back and forth on her finger with his thumb.

"She idolizes you," Catherine said honestly. "And she's a good athlete, she'll definitely make the minimum requirements. I can't wait to see her in the SEAL shirt."

"Gracie said she isn't as competitive as we are."

"Nobody is as competitive as we are." She smiled. "And you told her not to worry about that, right? To focus on her goals."

"Exactly." His smile lit his eyes. "She's gonna kill it."

He tugged her hand gently, and she stood to resettle in his lap. "Reminded me of you, today."

"Me?" Catherine shifted to see his face.

"You. At P.T. and then on the obstacle course. Focused. Determined."

"Thank you." Catherine rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. "Like I said, I can't wait to see her in a SEAL T-shirt. She's gonna be amazing at the contest."

She smiled at the absolute conviction in his voice. "She's gonna be amazing plebe summer."

#

End. Thanks for Reading.

Author's note: The challenge is REAL. In 2008 13 year old Lauren Hagedorn from Manhattan Beach surpassed most of the competitors at the SEAL Challenge that took place at UCLA.

Reader Q&A:

My question is will we get to see a picture of their rings before the wedding? Jennifer

Hi Jennifer and thanks for asking. Since our wonderful readers will be guests at he wedding, you'll all see the exciting details in the big day along with the rest of Steve and Catherine's friends and family.

Every detail of the wedding is REAL, from the rings to the venue to the menu. We promise we'll share them all. We are as excited about the wedding as you are!

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