Sammy's Notes: My never ending thanks to Mari & ilna. You guys are the best. As writing partners and as friends. This journey has been pure pleasure and I'm happy to be taking it with both of you. Here's to many, many more stories. The Skype story planning sessions alone are more fun than I've had online in ages.
For Sandy—who just gets me and knows exactly what to say and when to say it. I seriously don't think I could survive fandom without you.
And last but certainly not least there isn't a big enough THANK YOU! for all the readers who have offered such heartfelt and enthusiastic support for The REAL World. You guys are AWESOME! Every review, email, PM and tweet is VERY MUCH appreciated.
I Asked You Not To Tell Me That (1/1)
Part Two of our Halloween Trilogy. Follows The Old Secret Costume Trick by ilna.
Look for part 3 in a special bonus Saturday posting.
Williams Residence
Friday 6:00 P.M.
"Thanks for coming over early and helping me get ready," Grace said excitedly from her position in front of the mirror, arms at her sides, while Catherine stood behind her putting the finishing touches on a Navy-approved hairstyle.
Grace wanted her costume to be as authentic and possible and was thrilled when Catherine offered to help her put her hair in a bun that would pass any military inspection. Between that, the authentic uniform, and the nametag Uncle Steve got her Grace thought her costume was absolutely perfect.
"My pleasure," Catherine smiled sincerely at their reflections in the mirror.
She couldn't help but be moved by the sight of Grace in one of her old uniforms. She was so touched when her favorite niece suggested dressing as a naval officer for Halloween, and she found herself choked up a little during the costume fitting, but there was something about looking at her now, in her completed outfit, that warmed Catherine's heart in a way she hadn't completely expected.
"I can't wait for Danno and Uncle Steve to see us." Grace was practically vibrating with excitement.
The snacks were all prepared and sitting in covered bowls in the kitchen. Steve and Danny had headed out on a last minute supply run to pick up dry ice for the witches brew punch, pizza and several dozen Halloween cupcakes that Kono had promised to arrange into a cupcake tree on the stand left over from Steve's surprise birthday party.
Catherine placed the last pin in Grace's hair and gave it a light dusting of hairspray. "We're ready just in time then," she announced. "They should be back any minute."
"Can we wait on the porch? That way I can wear the cover. I know I have to take it off inside but I want to be wearing it when they first see me," Grace asked with a hopeful expression.
Catherine smiled. "I think that's an excellent idea. Just give me one minute to put my gloves on."
She grabbed the final piece of her own costume from Grace's dresser and pulled on the white elbow length satin gloves then checked her look in the mirror a final time. She was glad the Party City closest to their house had the costume in stock, in her size, so she didn't have to run all over the island.
Luckily she had a pair of knee high white boots to add to the black and white mini dress with a belt that fell at the perfect angle across her hips. A patent leather newsboy hat completed the Agent 99 look.
"You look really pretty, Auntie Cath," Grace said sincerely as Catherine adjusted her hat and put a pin in her hair to hold it in place.
"Thanks," Catherine smiled, "So do you."
Grace's eyes danced playfully. "I think black and white might replace purple as Uncle Steve's favorite color on you."
"Let's go," Catherine chuckled as they left Grace's room and made their way towards the front porch to wait for Danny and Steve. In the living room they found Cammie and Scout, both happily wearing the bandanas Grace made them and enjoying their roles as honorary Five-0 team members, but not quite sure what was going on and what all the special preparations were about.
"We're having a party and you guys have to be good," Grace said seriously as the dogs followed them out to the front porch. "There are gonna be a lot of people here and things might get a little loud and scary for you so if they do you can go in my room. Scout's bed is in there already and I made a second bed beside it out of extra blankets for you Cammie, just in case."
"That was very smart of you, Grace," Catherine said. "And very considerate."
Grace smiled then turned towards Catherine and straightened her back. "Can I practice my salute on you?" she asked. "I want it to be perfect."
"Of course you can," Catherine replied as she faced Grace directly and assumed a military posture. The young girl had checked and double-checked with Catherine about the correct way to execute a salute and Catherine knew she'd been practicing.
"Ok, now I know I need to have my hand ready because a 'proper salute is set down when the hand is at the side, before it's raised'." Grace had memorized the words exactly. "The hand is never soft until the salute is complete and it's back at the side, by the thigh', right?" she asked.
"Right," Catherine confirmed.
Grace took a deep breath and carefully positioned her hand before raising it in a crisp motion and saluting Catherine.
Catherine saluted her back. "Perfect."
"Good," Grace let out a sigh of relief. "Just in time."
The young girl smiled as she looked up and saw Steve's truck pull into the driveway. She wanted to wait on the porch but her nervous energy got the best of her and she practically bounced down the walk to meet the truck.
"Wow," Danny said as he opened the door and got out the passenger side of the truck. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
His little girl looked so grown up in a full naval uniform.
He was momentarily speechless.
"I'm a Navy officer. Just like Auntie Cath," Grace beamed.
"I see that. You look very … official," Danny said, his voice choked with emotion.
He'd had a suspicion the costume Grace had in mind might be something Navy-related by the way she insisted Auntie Catherine and Uncle Steve were the only ones who could help her with it but for some reason the crisp summer whites he'd seen Catherine dressed in so many times had never crossed his mind.
"Do you like it," Grace asked, a little nervous at Danny's silence.
"I love it," Danny assured her pulling her into a tight hug. "You look amazing."
"That's exactly how she's gonna look when she graduates from the Naval Academy," Steve teased as he rounded the truck with a large box of cupcakes in his hand. "She insisted on leaving off all Cath's hardware because she hasn't earned it. That'll take her a few years after graduation."
Danny rolled his eyes at Steve's familiar suggestion that Grace would go to Annapolis.
Grace beamed at the compliment then turned toward Steve and stood at attention. He could sense how serious she was and placed the box of cupcakes on the hood of the truck. Grace readied herself then executed a perfect salute as Catherine and Danny smiled.
Steve returned the salute. "Excellent job, Williams. Are you ready for your first assignment?"
"Yes, Sir," Grace barked in a voice that made Catherine smile.
"Take these cupcakes to the kitchen," Steve said as he handed her the box, "so I can carry in the dry ice for the punch."
"Yes, Sir," Grace said as she took the box from his hands and headed towards the house.
"Thanks for helping her with her costume," Danny said, his voice thick with emotion as they watched Grace make her way inside.
"It was our pleasure," Catherine said honestly. "I was so touched she wanted to be a naval officer."
"That does not surprise me at all," Danny said. "But is that one of your actual uniforms? You didn't have to do that."
"Oh please," Catherine waved him off. "It's fine. It was totally worth it too. She looks great."
"She does," Danny agreed.
"You look pretty good yourself, Agent 99," Steve said as he grabbed the ice out of the bed of the truck and moved to stand beside Catherine.
When he first saw the costume on the Party City website he knew Catherine would look great in it, it was the main reason he agreed to carry the shoe phone, but his imagination paled in comparison to the reality of her in the white knee high boots and black and white mini dress.
"Why thank you," Catherine smiled at the compliment. "Now you guys need to get into your costumes because the guests will be here in half an hour."
Catherine and Grace were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the witches' brew punch, using the dry ice to make a spooky cloud of 'smoke' around the cauldron Catherine picked up on her trip to Party City to use as a punch bowl, when the doorbell rang.
Grace looked at the clock then ran to answer the door and found Chin and Kono on the other side.
"AWESOME! The Avengers!" Catherine heard Grace say excitedly as she entered the living room. "Thor and the Black Widow. You both look great."
"Well thank you, Midshipman Williams. You look pretty great yourself," Kono said.
"That's because this is a real uniform," Grace stressed the word real. "Catherine let me use it and Uncle Steve altered it to fit me." Grace grabbed her phone off the coffee table. "Let me get a picture of you both."
Kono smiled and placed her hands on her hips, striking an intimidating superhero pose while Chin squared his shoulders and raised his hammer menacingly. Grace happily snapped the picture and said, "Your costumes look great. Thanks for dressing up."
"No problem," Chin said.
"Did you manage to keep your costume a surprise from your dad?" Kono asked. She knew Grace didn't want Danny to get wind of what she was planning until time for the big reveal.
"Yes," Grace nodded enthusiastically. "He was really surprised."
"I'll bet." Kono pulled out her own phone. "Now it's my turn." Grace straightened up and smiled brightly as Kono took her picture.
"Speaking of your dad…" Chin said leadingly.
"He's in his room putting on his costume," Grace said. "Wait till you see it."
"What did he decide on?" Kono asked.
"I can't tell. It's a surprise. But he had to go a bunch of places to get everything he needed," Grace explained. "Uncle Steve is changing in the guest room. He and Auntie Catherine go together," she indicated Catherine over her shoulder.
"I heard," Kono nodded. "I'm still amazed you got Steve to dress up as Maxwell Smart," she chuckled.
"He didn't like any of my other ideas," Catherine smirked. "He absolutely insisted on wearing pants."
Kono laughed while Chin just shook his head. In all the years he'd known Steve he never remembered his friend dressing up for Halloween. The fact that he was doing so this year, and helping Grace with her costume and just generally embracing the idea of a Halloween party spoke volumes to Chin about how Steve's life had changed.
The thought made him smile.
Steve deserved to be happy and Catherine, his friends, his new settled life and his favorite niece definitely made him just that.
Happy.
"Wait till you see his shoe phone. It's awesome," Grace said animatedly. "Auntie Cath made it from an old pair of shoes and a phone she bought at the second hand store. A really old one. From the olden days when they used to have dials. Nonna still has a phone like that in her basement but even she doesn't really use it anymore." Grace babbled on breathlessly. "The cupcakes are here Auntie Kono. They're in the kitchen. They look great. There are ghosts and witches hats and all kinds of spooky decorations. Can you arrange them in the cupcake tree? My friends will be here in about fifteen minutes. The punch is done."
"Take a breath, sweetheart," Kono chuckled. "I'll take care of the cupcakes."
"Uncle Steve," Grace squealed as Steve emerged from the guest room. "You look so handsome. And …" She stopped.
"What?" Steve asked, looking down. He was wearing a suit and his blue trench coat and couldn't figure out what Grace might be looking at.
"You're wearing my tie," she smiled softly.
"I am," Steve nodded. Grace had given him the gray and white tie he was wearing as a thank you gift after he arranged for her to swim with dolphins soon after Danny's arrival on the island and he knew she loved it when he wore it.
"Stand next to Auntie Catherine so I can get a picture. You have to hold up your shoe phone," Grace indicated the item Steve was carrying in his left hand. "Then I want to get some pictures of the cupcakes and the punch. And the food before it all gets eaten. And the decorations …"
"Slow down, Monkey," Danny said as he emerged from his bedroom. "You're gonna tire yourself out before your friends get here."
Everyone turned to look.
"What the he …heck are you supposed to be?" Steve asked as he took in his partner's costume.
"I would think it's obvious," Danny said, arms at his side.
"Well you would think wrong," Steve said as he gaped at Danny who now stood in the middle of the room wearing brown pants covered in fur, a brown turtle neck, shoes that resembled hooves, a pair of bat-like wings and on his head was a mask that resembled a goat's face with large horns.
Danny looked through the eye holes of his mask at each person in the room in turn. Aside from Grace everyone was wearing the same confused expression.
"I'm the Jersey Devil," he stated as though it should have been obvious.
"I thought that was hockey player," Kono said as she circled Danny to check out the costume from the back and see if there was a tail.
There was.
"The real Jersey Devil," Danny said defensively. "The monster that haunts the Pine Barrens in New Jersey and terrorizes anyone who crosses its path."
The other adults in the room continued to stare at him blankly.
"I can't believe you've never heard this story. There was a woman named Leeds who gave birth to a baby that turned into the devil then killed the midwife and took refuge in the Pine Barrens where it lives till this day. Locals still tell stories about what happens if you're in the wrong place in the Barrens after dark. It's a real thing. Look it up."
"Nonna tells the story better," Grace said matter-of-factly.
"Well regardless of whether I've ever heard the story or not your costume looks fabulous," Catherine said. "Where in the world did you find it on such short notice?"
"The Costume Closet ordered it years ago but apparently there's very little call for the Jersey Devil here on the island."
"That seems almost hard to believe," Steve teased.
"Over the years they've broken the costume up into pieces and leant them out to other shops but I managed to get them all back together and VOILA," Danny said triumphantly. "I had to run all over the island to do it but I think the end result was worth it."
"I do too," Grace smiled.
"That's all that matters, Monkey," Danny said.
Just as Kono finished arranging the cupcakes into an eye-catching display that was sure to be decimated in no time by a group of hungry pre-teens the first of Grace's fifteen invited friends arrived. She clapped excitedly as she headed for the front door.
Danny made sure to have the adults invited show up just a little later in order to leave the driveway free of cars when Grace's guests arrived. In a matter of fifteen minutes from the first doorbell ring seven girls and eight boys arrived in various costumes. Grace happily greeted each one at the door.
All of the adults present smiled proudly at the poised young girl doing such a good job of playing hostess. Catherine and Kono helped each of the kids get some punch upon arrival and eventually they all gathered in the living room, boys on one side of the room girls on the other, talking amongst themselves and occasionally glancing nervously at each other.
When they were in the lunchroom at school, or playing together on the soccer field, the kids had no trouble talking and joking with each other.
But this was different.
This was a boy/girl party.
The first for many of them.
Steve and Danny stood off to the side perusing a book of party games for pre-teens Kono brought to make sure there was plenty of ideas for things the kids could do.
"Are you sure these are for pre-teens?" Steve asked as Kono placed a bowl of party mix on the table beside him. "There's an awful lot of touching in these games."
Kono rolled her eyes.
"Turn the page," Danny huffed. "No one is playing a game called Kissy Roulette under my roof."
Steve skimmed the description. "There are dice involved. And numbered body parts."
"It's harmless," Kono assured them.
"No way," Danny said adamantly. "No way."
"Let's just play Go Fish," Steve suggested. "Everybody likes cards."
"They're twelve," Kono sighed. "Not six. Pick a game from the book."
As Steve turned the page desperately searching for a game with no physical contact at all, which left out Guess Who Kissed Your Cheek and ID Your Partner Blindfolded, he and Danny heard someone call "Hey Ryan." Immediately their heads snapped up to see a slightly built young man with a bit of an overbite. He had an unruly mop of dark hair with a pronounced cow lick and was dressed as a scientist of some kind carrying a clipboard and a beaker.
"That's Ryan?" Steve asked in a low voice.
"Apparently," Danny said with a sigh of relief. "He looks pretty harmless."
"He does," Steve said happily.
"I don't think he's even as tall as Grace," Danny said as he and Steve continued to eye the young man who was now talking quietly with his friends and sipping on some punch.
"She could definitely handle him if he tried anything," Steve said confidently.
"Plus I think it's a good sign if he dresses as a scientist," Danny offered. "He's focused on academics. I mean he looks like a nice kid but definitely not the class Romeo."
"Definitely not," Steve agreed. "Maybe this whole boy/girl party thing isn't going to be so bad after all. I think I might actually like that kid."
"What kid," Catherine asked as she approached with a glass of punch.
"Grace's crush … Ryan … " Danny indicated with a tilt of his head.
Catherine smiled indulgently. "That's Ryan L. He's not Grace's crush. Her crush is Ryan A."
"There are two Ryans?" Steve asked.
"Yep," Catherine smiled.
"So which one is Ryan A?" Steve asked. "Please tell me it's not the kid in the football uniform."
"That's him." Catherine nodded towards the young boy standing across the room, smiling shyly at Grace. It was all she could do to keep from laughing at the pained expressions on both Steve and Danny's faces.
"I asked you not to tell me that," Steve sighed as Catherine rubbed his forearm soothingly.
"So you're saying he's the one with the hair and the smile who looks like he belongs in a boy band?" Danny cringed.
The boy was dressed in a football uniform, casually holding the helmet at his side while his hair fell in his eyes in a way Danny knew most teenage girls found irresistible.
Catherine nodded. "He's definitely a twelve year old girl's definition of dreamy."
"Of course he is," Danny sighed. "This is gonna be a long night."
Cammie and Scout rushed excitedly towards the front door which was standing open, with just the screen door closed, and Catherine knew that signaled the arrival of another guest. As she started to move from the kitchen towards the living room she heard Esther's familiar voice.
"There's my pretty babies," she cooed as Cammie and Scout wagged their tails excitedly.
Catherine waved for her to enter and Esther stepped in accompanied by her sister Anna. The dog sitter was dressed in a green corduroy jumper with a demure, round collared white blouse underneath. On her head was a wig covered with short blonde curls. In one hand she carried a math textbook with a homework paper sticking out the top on which half the answers were scribbled out. In her other hand was a large magnifying glass.
Beside her stood her sister Anna, who Catherine had met several times when she came to the house with Esther, in a shoulder length honey-colored wig wearing an expensive looking sweater set and silk skirt along with a pair of patent leather shoes with Mary Jane heels. She carried a map labeled Sleepyside with several spots marked with Xs and a notebook labeled the Bylaws of the Bob-Whites of the Glen Club.
Catherine grinned as she looked at them. "Trixie Belden and Honey Wheeler," she said. "Two of my favorite characters."
Esther smiled broadly. "We wanted to come as someone from one of our favorite books and we've done Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby the last two years so we decided to go for something a little different."
"Well I think you look great," Catherine said. "Thanks for coming."
"Thanks for inviting us," the girls said in unison.
"There's punch and pizza in the kitchen. And snacks scattered around. The kids are getting ready to play the apple dancing game and I have to go keep Steve and Danny from bursting a blood vessel over all the potential touching."
Esther laughed. "Do you need any help?"
"Actually once I get the kids started here I need to make sure everything is set up in the back yard for the scavenger hunt," Catherine said.
"We can help with that," Esther and Anna offered.
"Thanks," Catherine smiled. "I'd appreciate that. But make sure to get something to eat first. You're here as guests, not to work. Let me show you where the punch is."
She led the newest arrivals into the kitchen and as Esther began to ladle out punch Catherine grabbed a bowl of apples off the island and headed back towards the living room. "Ok I need everyone to find a dancing partner," she announced.
She waited as the kids paired up and smiled softly as Ryan moved quickly to stand beside Grace.
"Now each pair take an apple," she said as she circled the room holding the bowl out, "and put it between your forehead and your partners. The object is to keep dancing and not let the apple fall."
"But you have to keep your hands behind your back the whole time." Danny said as Steve nodded in agreement.
"No, you don't," Catherine assured the confused children.
"I think I read that," Steve said as he pretended to consult the book.
"I think you two need to take a break," Catherine said with a pointed look.
"We know 12 year old boys, Catherine." Steve lowered his voice as she moved to stand beside him. "We were one once."
"And I was a 12 year old girl so I'm well aware how this goes," Catherine sighed exasperatedly. "No one is going to get frisky playing the apple dance game. Now let the kids have fun."
Fine," Steve huffed. "But I'm keeping my eye on every one of them."
"Especially Ryan A with the hair," Danny said.
"Yeah, especially him," Steve agreed.
After the apple dancing game wrapped up, ironically with Ryan L. and his partner Kayla being declared the winners, the kids headed outside for an ABC scavenger hunt. Grace grabbed her cover off the top of the refrigerator where she placed it for safe keeping. She'd been waiting all evening for a chance to wear it and an outside game was the perfect opportunity.
When Steve and Danny came back into the living room to grab some snacks to take outside they found Max, Kamekona and Jerry coming through the front door. Max was dressed in a smart suit wearing a serious expression and carrying a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Jerry and Kamekona stood on either side of him, clad in tuxedos, sunglasses and earpieces firmly in place. They sported matching serious looks.
Steve and Danny studied the trio for a few seconds.
"OK I give up. Who are you?" Danny asked.
"I'm an accountant from the firm of Price Waterhouse Coopers," Max explained. "I'm in charge of guarding the Oscar votes. These," he indicated Jerry and Kamekona, "are my bodyguards. They are here to protect my very important cargo."
Max opened the briefcase to reveal a stack of gold envelopes.
"Ooookay," Steve said as he grabbed a bowl of chips off the coffee table. "That's a costume I've never seen before."
"It's a very well thought out costume," Max defended.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Kamekona asked.
"I'm Maxwell Smart. My shoe phone is around here somewhere," Steve answered.
"All I'm saying is maybe you shouldn't throw shade at someone else's costume," Kamekona said. "I only see you wearing a suit."
"Yeah but I have Catherine dressed as Agent 99 to stand beside me which pretty much renders whatever I'm wearing unimportant," Steve smirked as Jerry let out a strangled cough.
"I'll give you that one," Kamekona nodded.
"And you of course are the Jersey Devil," Max said as he turned to Danny.
"Yes! Thank you!" Danny said triumphantly. "I knew I could count on you, Max."
Steve took in Danny's victorious look. "Ok well," he shook his head, "we're getting ready to do a scavenger hunt in the back yard."
"We'll just make our way out there then," Max said.
"Stop in the kitchen and get yourself some punch," Danny told them.
Ten minutes later, after making several trips in and out of the house transporting snacks and an iPod dock to provide music, Steve reentered the back yard and saw Catherine looking curiously at Max, Kamekona and Jerry who were now talking to Esther and her sister Anna.
"E komo mai, e nohomai, e 'ai a e, wala 'au," Esther said with a soft smile.
"Mahalo," Kamekona responded.
"'A 'ole pilikia," Esther smiled.
"Did she always speak Hawaiian?" Steve asked as he walked up beside Catherine.
"I have no idea. I can't remember ever hearing it from her before," Catherine answered.
"Do you think Kamekona is teaching her?" Steve asked curiously. "I mean … I haven't seen them together since the night he gave her a lift home after they ate our dinner but … "
"Do you think they're dating?" Catherine asked as she watched Kamekona and Esther take a few steps away from Anna, Jerry and Max.
Anna and Max were now having a spirited discussion about the issue of Trixie Belden versus Nancy Drew while Jerry looked on with amusement.
"I have no idea," Steve shook his head, then brightened as he had an idea. "Hey, I know. Maybe you should ask her."
"Me? Why not you?" Catherine looked at him.
"This seems like more of a girl talk thing," Steve pointed out. "And I am well aware that girl talk is classified."
"Nice try," Catherine chuckled. "If she wants us to know something she'll tell us. We just have to wait till she's ready."
"But in the meantime we're still gonna try to figure it out on our own, right," he asked.
"Absolutely," Catherine nodded, her eyes still glued to Esther and Kamekona.
Chin and Kono finished up explaining the rules of the ABC Scavenger hunt to the kids who had broken up into two teams of eight. The idea was for each team to find 26 items, one that started with each letter of the alphabet, in the allotted 30 minutes of time.
Steve and Catherine watched as Danny defined the boundaries within which the players needed to stay.
As soon as he gave the signal to start Ryan and Grace's team gathered off to the side and began making a strategic plan. Ryan, after a quick consultation with Grace, divided the list and assigned each team member certain letters. Grace then instructed the team members to perform a standard grid search and explained exactly what that was just in case.
Steve and Catherine watched with pride as Grace and Ryan worked together as though they were planning a mission.
"Admit it, you like the kid," Catherine said as she slipped her hand into Steve's.
He looked at her with a smile and squeezed her hand then placed a kiss on her temple. She knew him so well. "Maybe just a little."
After the scavenger hunt concluded and the kids had eaten their fill they went back into the living room. The party games had loosened them up a little and this time they found themselves in mixed groups with no more boys on one side girls on the other.
As Steve and Danny kept a watchful eye from across the room and the other adults stood in small groups chatting amiably Grace approached Catherine and Kono.
"Are you having a good time," Catherine asked as Grace got close.
"Awesome. Thanks so much. Both of you," Grace smiled brightly. "The party games were great. Thanks for bringing the book Auntie Kono."
"You're welcome," Kono replied.
"I think all your friends are having a good time," Catherine observed.
"Me too," Grace agreed. "But … " she hesitated.
"What," Catherine and Kono asked in unison. They both wanted the party to be perfect and if Grace was worried something was going wrong they wanted to correct it right away.
"I was thinking maybe we could dance a little before the party's over," she said shyly.
Catherine and Kono shared a knowing look.
"Sure," Kono agreed. "I'll turn the music on. What did you have in mind?"
"Maybe something," Grace cast a glance at Ryan, "something slow?"
Catherine and Kono smiled.
"Ahhh ok. Something slow," Kono said. "I have just the thing."
"It's just … I'm afraid Danno and Uncle Steve will … try to stop us from … you know … slow dancing," Grace said.
"Kono will pick out the perfect song," Catherine said as she wrapped her arm around Grace's shoulder. "You leave your dad and Uncle Steve to me. I'll make sure they don't interfere."
"Really?" Grace smiled hopefully.
"Absolutely," Catherine said unwaveringly. "We Navy girls need to stick together."
Ten minutes later Catherine, Steve and Danny and Chin stood off to the side watching the kids dance awkwardly together.
"They're adorable," Kono said as she joined the group.
"I remember what that felt like—the first dance at my first boy/girl party," Catherine grimaced slightly.
"Me too," Kono said. "Sweaty palms and shaking hands."
"You were nervous?" Danny asked.
"I was talking about the boys," Kono laughed as Catherine nodded in agreement.
"She'll remember this night for the rest of her life," Catherine sighed as Steve's arm made its way around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah, she will," Danny said around the lump in his throat as he looked around at his friends who were as much a family as his own blood family and who all loved Grace fiercely. "Thanks for helping make it perfect for my little girl."
THE END
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