Notes: Huge thanks to Mari for seeking out expert advice for me, and to Sammy for the title. You two really are the best.
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! We appreciate all of you sticking with us on this ride!
Hope you enjoy!
Passing It On (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Steve, Catherine, and Angie were enjoying a walk through their favorite waterfront park in the early evening. Angie was in her stroller taking in the sights as Catherine pushed her at a leisurely pace. When she stopped babbling suddenly, Steve glanced down only and saw a familiar look on her face.
"Good thing we're close to the restrooms," he said.
Catherine understood immediately. "Ooh, did she …?"
"Yeah, I'll take her."
They moved out of the flow of foot traffic and he unbuckled Angie as Catherine reached under the stroller for the small diaper bag.
"Hey, baby girl, let's go change your diaper, huh?" Steve said as he lifted her from her seat.
"Dada!" she replied. "Ah bah bah!"
Catherine handed him the diaper bag which he slung over a shoulder as he turned toward the restrooms.
"Mama!" Angie called.
"Mommy's gonna wait with the stroller," Steve said as he walked. "We'll be right back."
While he headed toward the restrooms with Angie, Catherine maneuvered the stroller toward an open bench and sat down to wait.
A minute later she heard a voice say, "Lieutenant? Lieutenant Rollins?"
Catherine turned to find the speaker and a man in his late forties walking with an older teenager smiled broadly. "That is you," he said.
Catherine recognized him immediately and returned his smile as she stood. "Chief." They clasped hands warmly.
"Just Bill now, Lieutenant."
"Catherine," she replied in kind. "When did you retire?"
"Two years ago," he said.
"Good for you," she said. "Congratulations."
"Thanks. What about you? Are you still at Pearl? I remember you got transferred there a few years ago."
"No, I reserved my commission in 2014. Actually, I'm at the governor's office here." She grinned. "I'm a chief myself now. Chief-of-staff," she explained at his confused look.
He smiled. "Of course. No surprise you're running the show."
"What brings you to the island?" Catherine asked.
"Little family vacation. Always wanted to bring them here. My wife and younger daughter are back at the hotel enjoying the spa. And my oldest is right here." He wrapped an arm around the young woman who had been following the exchange silently but with clear interest. "Harper, honey, this is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins. She and I served together on the Enterprise."
Harper confidently held out a hand. "It's really nice to meet you, ma'am."
Catherine shook it. "You, too."
Bill's chest puffed up a little, and he put a proud hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Harper was accepted to the Naval Academy this year. She heads to Annapolis in a couple weeks."
Catherine smiled genuinely at her. "Congratulations, that's fantastic."
"Thank you, ma'am," Harper replied, her smile bright.
"Seems almost like fate … running into you, Lieutenant," Bill said. "I can't help but ask. Do you have any advice for Harper?"
Rather than look embarrassed at her father's question, Harper turned to Catherine hopefully, ready to take in every word.
Catherine faced her, giving Harper her full attention. She smiled. "Well, first, I hope you've been running. A lot."
Harper nodded seriously. "I have. Every day."
"Good." Catherine's face grew more serious. "I'm going to give you some advice someone gave me when I was pretty close to where you are. Don't make an excuse for anything, ever. It's not pretty if you do. 'Yes, sir,' 'No, ma'am,' 'I'll find out, sir,' " she said. "Those are the only acceptable answers for anything. Ever."
Harper nodded rapidly. "Yes, ma'am."
"Eat any chance you get and sleep any chance you get," Catherine continued.
When Harper started to smile, Catherine said, "I'm not kidding about that." She looked at her steadily. "I'm not gonna lie, it's hard. Every part of it. There are going to be days you think you can't go one more step or read one more sentence, but you've gotta take the word 'can't' out of your vocabulary. You're being trained to be an officer in United States Navy. To lead the men and women who will one day serve under you. To protect our country and everyone in it. That's an honor and a privilege and a heavy responsibility."
Harper stared at her with rapt attention, absorbing every word.
"Remember, you were accepted for a reason. A lot of reasons. You've earned this, but you've gotta keep earning it every day. People are going to watch everything you do. Good and bad. Know that, but don't dwell on it, all right? Every day is a test, and every day is going to push your limits, one way or another. You're going to find out what your capable of …" She smiled. "And I think you'll find out that that's a lot."
Harper smiled back, standing taller.
Bill shook his head in wonder. "It really was some kind of fate running into you, Lieutenant."
"Mama!"
They all turned to see Steve approaching with Angie after her diaper change.
"Hi, sweetheart," Catherine said, smiling. "Are you all clean and happy now?"
"Ah by!" Angie said, tugging on the collar of Steve's t-shirt. "Mama."
Bill grinned. "No doubt who this little lady belongs to."
Catherine smiled then began introductions. "This is my husband Steve McGarrett and our daughter Angie. Steve, this is Chief Petty Officer Bill Stinson. We served together on the Enterprise."
Steve offered his hand immediately, holding Angie securely in his other arm. "Nice to meet you, Chief."
"Bill, please."
"And this is his daughter Harper. She's headed to Annapolis in a few weeks," Catherine said as Steve shook the young woman's hand.
"Congratulations," Steve said, smiling sincerely.
"Thank you, sir."
"I was just saying it's some kind of fate running into Lieutenant Rollins here," Bill said. "She gave Harper some great advice."
"I don't doubt it," Steve said, looking at Catherine.
"I really can't thank you enough, Lieutenant," Harper said. "I've been excited to start, but also a little nervous. Your advice … it was really inspirational."
Catherine smiled softly. "I'm glad." Her smile widened. "I can't take all the credit, some of the more practical advice came from him," she said with a nod in Steve's direction.
Bill's eyebrows went up and he smiled, nodding his understanding.
"Then thank you, too, sir," Harper said genuinely.
Steve's lip quirked in a half smile. "I'm sure Catherine said it better than I did."
Catherine flashed him a quick smile, then turned back to Harper. "Let me give you my email and phone number," she said, pulling a business card from her wallet.
As Harper looked on in surprise and amazement, Steve handed Catherine the pen he kept in his pocket and she quickly wrote her personal email address and cell phone number on the back.
"Here," she said, handing the card to Harper. "If you have any questions or need anything, please don't hesitate to get in touch."
The young woman took the card with obvious care. She stared at it for a second before looking back up at Catherine. "Wow," she couldn't help but say. "Thank you so much, Lieutenant."
"You're very welcome. I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress."
Harper smiled. "Yes, ma'am."
Bill put an arm around her, beaming.
"Bah ma!" Angie cried, bringing their attention to her.
"And what about you, Angie?" Bill said. "Are we looking at another future Academy graduate here?"
Catherine smiled, reaching up to squeeze Angie's hand. "We'll see."
"How old is she?" Bill asked.
"She'll be a year next week."
Bill shook his head in amazement. "A year. It goes fast, doesn't it?"
"I'll say," Steve agreed.
"Is she walking yet?"
"When she's holding onto something or someone," Steve said, shifting his hold on her, "but not on her own yet. Any day, though," he added confidently, smiling at his daughter as she reached up and pinched at his chin.
"Dada," she said and was rewarded with an immediate kiss to her cheek.
Bill smiled. "We'll let you get back to your evening, but we really can't thank you enough, Lieutenant." He held out a hand for her to shake.
"It was my pleasure," she said. "It was really great to see you, Chief." She took Harper's hand, pressing it with her own. "Seriously, don't hesitate to get in touch, okay?"
Harper nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She shook her head slightly. "I mean, I won't, ma'am." Sighing with a smile, she said, "Thank you, ma'am."
Steve exchanged a quick handshake with Bill and Harper before the Stinsons started to walk away.
Bill, stopped, turning back. "A little unsolicited advice?" he began and nodded at Angie. "Don't take a single second for granted." He looked at his own daughter, eyes softening. "If you think that first year went fast, wait'll the next seventeen."
"We won't," Steve said seriously.
"Thank you, Chief," Catherine said.
With a final nod, he turned with Harper and the two walked away. Catherine relieved Steve of the diaper bag, stowing it as he rebuckled Angie in her seat. Once she was settled, they resumed their own walk.
"I think you have a new fan, Lieutenant," Steve said.
She smiled. "She seems like she's ready. Squared away."
"And thanks to you she'll be going in with what I'm sure was some really great advice."
"It was nice to have the chance to impart a little wisdom to the next generation," she admitted. She smiled at him. "And I hope you don't mind that I included your advice, too."
"Of course not," he said easily. "Like I said, I'm sure you said it better that I did."
She grinned. "Well, you were only nineteen at the time."
August 31, 1996
After finishing their dinner, Steve and Catherine walked through downtown Annapolis together.
"So, any advice for a plebe?" Catherine asked, glancing up at him.
He raised his eyebrows. "Advice?"
"You have made it through one year," she said with a teasing smile. "Surely you have a few words of wisdom."
He huffed a laugh and looked ahead, thinking.
"What's the hardest part?" she asked.
"It's all hard," he said without hesitation. He glanced at her. "But you can't make excuses for anything, ever. 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' 'I'll find out, sir,' those are the only acceptable answers to anything, trust me."
She nodded.
He sighed. "I don't know. I think the best advice I can give is to sleep any chance you get and eat any chance you get." The corner of his mouth lifted in wry smile. "After watching you eat that rack of ribs, I don't think the second part will be a problem."
She grinned, unashamed.
Their pace slowed as he looked at her, his eyes serious. "Honestly, Catherine … I don't think you really need any advice."
Surprised, she stepped to the side and he followed, out of the way of others on the sidewalk.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
He shrugged. "You're gonna do fine."
She shook her head slightly, a small smile on her face. "How can you be so sure? You hardly know me."
He paused, trying to find the right words.
"I know enough," he said finally.
Her eyes locked onto his, studying him. There was no artifice or hidden agenda. He'd simply said what he believed.
She smiled slowly. "Thanks."
He nodded back, matching her smile, and they fell back into step easily, side by side.
More than twenty years later and thousands of miles away, Catherine and Steve still walked side by side, as naturally as always.
"I may have only been nineteen," he said, "but I was right when I said you were gonna do fine." He shook his head. "Actually, no, I wasn't." When she glanced over at him, he continued. "You didn't just do fine, you excelled."
She smiled. "So did you."
"Yeah," he said, grinning, "I guess we're both overachievers, huh?"
She chuckled.
"But seriously, Catherine," he said. "I could tell by the look on Harper's face … and on her dad's … what you said must have really struck a chord. And that doesn't surprise me at all. You've always given really good advice. Honest and … encouraging at the same time. You inspire people." He smiled softly. "No one knows that better than me."
She smiled, touched by his words.
"Angie's really lucky," he went on, " 'cause she's gonna get to benefit from it her whole life."
Catherine shifted her grip on the stroller briefly to reach over and squeeze his hand.
"Angie's really lucky for a lot of reasons," she said. "But most importantly because she'll always have our love and our belief in her."
He nodded, resolute. "Yes, she will."
"Whether she chooses the Academy or another path, we'll be there giving her our advice when she wants it and our support no matter what."
He smiled. "See? Honest and encouraging. Can't beat that combination."
She reached for his hand once more and squeezed.
"Or this one."
Hope you enjoyed!
Angie's first birthday is right around the corner! Stay tuned for next week's marathon! We'll post a story a day from July 1st-7th!
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