Notes: REAL McRollers – you rock! It cannot be said enough. Your response to Real blew me away. Every review, tweet, Tumblr like, PM, and email is treasured. I seriously do a little happy dance after each one. You make it a joy to write in the REAL World! Stay tuned – we've got lots in store for Steve and Catherine.
Speaking of joy . . . Mari and Sammy, it is joy every day to see your names in my inbox first thing writing about anything and everything. Thank you for being your amazing selves each and every day.
Esther – thanks, as always, for your editing prowess.
Enjoy!
Do the Math (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
The sun was beginning to set as Catherine and Steve walked up the path to Grover's front door.
"What'd you guys decide to do tonight?" Catherine asked.
"He's insisting on a re-match at pool since I beat him so badly last month." He rolled his eyes. "Claims he was off his game."
Catherine smiled at him as they reached the porch. With one hand on her back, Steve reached over and rang the bell.
A moment later they heard feet running, and the door flew open to reveal a beaming Samantha Grover.
"Hi, Catherine! Thanks for coming over." She looked at Steve. "Hi, Commander McGarrett."
Steve smiled, and Catherine hugged the teenager.
"Hi, Samantha," she said.
Samantha stepped back so Steve and Catherine could enter the house.
"Where's your brother tonight?" Steve asked, closing the door behind him.
Before she could answer, Grover entered the foyer and said, "At a movie. A little mother/son bonding time," he added with a smile. Shifting his gaze to Catherine, he said, "I called for pizza about a half hour ago so it should be here soon. There's money on the table there." He pointed at the small table by the door.
"I keep telling you that you don't have do that, Lou."
"Hey, my daughter is getting an A in Accelerated Algebra thanks to you. The least I can do is buy you pizza."
Catherine put her arm around Samantha's shoulders and smiled at her. "Your daughter's getting an A because she's been working extremely hard."
Samantha straightened at the praise. Grover nodded his agreement and gave his daughter a proud smile.
"But thank you for the pizza," Catherine said.
"Yeah, thanks, Dad," Samantha echoed.
Steve looked at Grover. "You ready to get humiliated again?"
"Oh, you're going down tonight, McGarrett."
"Play nice, boys," Catherine teased. Turning to Steve, she winked at him and said "Kick his butt."
Steve smirked. "That's the plan."
He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
Grover gave her a mock-scowl as he picked up his keys from the table by the door.
"You're lucky I like you so much," he said.
She chuckled.
"Actually," he continued. "I hear you're no slouch with a pool cue. Maybe we'll leave McGarrett home one of these days and you and I will play."
"You're on, Captain."
Grover turned to his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Bye, sweetheart. Study hard."
"I will," she promised.
"All right, let's go already," Steve said, opening the front door. "I know how much you love riding shotgun."
Grover muttered unintelligibly as he followed Steve outside. As the two men walked toward the driveway, Catherine and Samantha could hear their conversation.
"Are you sure?" Grover asked. "I mean, I can drive. I thought I heard your truck making a little clunking noise as you were pulling up."
"There's nothing wrong with my truck," Steve returned. "We had a deal. Last month's winner drives. You lost. I drive."
"I told you, I was off my game last month. I think we should revisit the parameters of this . . ."
Catherine and Samantha exchanged an amused look as the rest of the conversation faded. Catherine shut the door and turned the lock.
"All right, let's hit the books," she said. "See how much we can get done before dinner arrives."
Later that night, Catherine and Samantha sat on the living room couch. What was left of their pizza was on the coffee table along with Samantha's algebra textbook, binder, pencils, and several pieces of loose paper.
Catherine was leaning forward, looking over several problems on the paper in her hand. She set it down and looked at Samantha beside her.
"Well?" Samantha asked with a touch of anxiety in her voice.
Catherine smiled and said, "I think you're ready."
"Really?" Samantha looked hopeful.
"Yup," Catherine said, sitting back. "You haven't had to even glance at your textbook or your notes for last five problems. You're gonna ace this test. I have no doubt."
She picked up a piece of pizza crust from her plate and took a bite.
"Well, do you think we could look ahead at the next chapter?" Samantha asked.
"The next . . .?" Catherine raised her eyebrows in surprise as she tossed the crust back onto the plate. "Wow. Voluntarily working ahead. Impressive. But I may have to revoke your teenager card."
Samantha laughed. "Just don't tell my friends." She reached over and turned a few pages in her textbook. "But really, my teacher warned us it was going to be a rough chapter, and I know your schedule can be weird or whatever like my dad's, so if we don't get the chance to have another tutoring session . . ."
Catherine smiled and said, "Let's do it, then." She glanced at her watch. "Your dad and Steve won't be back for another hour . . ."
They heard a thump outside and Catherine straightened, instantly alert.
"What was that?" Samantha asked.
There was another noise, and Catherine stood, already moving toward the large bay window at the front of the house.
"Get down," she said. "Behind that chair."
She approached the window from the side.
"Catheri–" Samantha started, her voice shaking.
"Shh," Catherine said with a glance back at the frightened teen. "Get down," she repeated.
Samantha did as instructed, crouching on the floor behind the armchair.
Catherine peered between the blinds and saw a lone figure moving toward the side of the house. She scanned the front yard and street but didn't see anyone else.
She moved quickly back toward Samantha.
"What did you see–" Samantha started.
"Get in the hall closet," Catherine said, taking her arm and pulling her to her feet. "Take your phone."
Samantha picked up her phone from under the front cover of her open textbook.
"What?" she asked, fear on her face. "What are you gonna–"
"Now," Catherine said firmly. "Get in the closet and call 911. Tell them there's an intruder moving around to the back of your house and that Catherine Rollins from Five-0 is on scene."
"But I–"
"Now, Samantha."
"Okay," she said, scurrying to get in the front hall closet.
Catherine moved quickly toward the kitchen, glancing back once to make sure Samantha had followed her instructions. She heard the closet door slide closed as she reached the back door. She pushed the curtain aside and checked the yard before unlocking the door and sliding outside, quietly closing the door behind her.
Silently, she moved toward the corner of the house where she could hear the sounds of gravel crunching as the intruder neared. She held her position at the corner and watched the approaching shadow on the ground. She tensed, ready to engage.
Catherine heard the whoosh sound of an outgoing text just as a hand and arm came into view. She grabbed the arm, causing the intruder to drop what he was holding, and pinned what appeared to be a young male of about her same height face first against the house.
"Five-0. Don't move," she ordered, grabbing his other hand and holding both arms against his back.
A frantic teenage voice said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sor–"
The back door opened, and Samantha ran out with her phone in hand.
"Wait, Catherine, it's my–" she stopped upon seeing the scene. "Boyfriend."
Catherine shifted her eyes to glance at Samantha but didn't release her hold on the teen.
"I told you to wait in the closet and call 911."
Samantha stepped closer, wincing apologetically. "I know, I'm sorry. I was about to, but I had a text on my phone and realized it might be Trey. I was still going to call, then I got another that said he was back here so I came out."
Catherine sighed and stepped back, releasing the teen who she now knew was Trey. He turned with a gulp, his eyes wide as he looked at Catherine nervously. She put her hands on her hips and leveled her gaze on him.
Samantha gave him an incredulous look and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Trey turned to her. "I was gonna come to your bedroom window. You know, like Romeo and Juliet from class," he said. "I wanted to surprise you, but then I thought I should text first in case you were . . . I dunno," he shrugged, "changing or something."
She crossed her arms. "I told you I was studying tonight."
"I didn't think you meant you were really studying. I thought that was code for . . ." his voice trailed off.
She raised her eyebrows. "For what?"
He shuffled his foot sheepishly. "I just wanted to see you."
Samantha's expression softened at that.
After a moment's pause, Catherine sighed and rubbed her head. "Come on. Inside. Both of you," she said.
Samantha immediately turned back to head for the door. Trey paused, looking at Catherine with an anxious expression.
"Let's go, Romeo," Catherine said, motioning for him to follow Samantha.
Trey quickly retrieved his phone from the ground, and the two teens preceded Catherine into the kitchen.
After she had closed and locked the door, Catherine turned and folded her arms, fixing Trey with a serious stare.
"That was irresponsible and potentially dangerous. You get that, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said quietly, his eyes on the floor.
"I could have seriously hurt you." She ducked her head slightly to force him to meet her eyes. "Or what if one of the neighbors saw you lurking around the house? They would have called the police."
His eyes widened, and he glanced at Samantha before looking back at Catherine. "I didn't think about that." He grabbed the back of his head and rocked on his heels. "Oh man. Oh man."
Catherine sighed and lessened the severity in her tone as she observed he was honestly contemplating his actions.
She shook her head and said, "You are so lucky it was me and not Samantha's dad home."
Trey gulped again, his eyes becoming even wider.
"Am I right to assume your parents don't know where you are?" Catherine asked.
"They went out to dinner," he admitted.
"How far away do you live?"
"Just a couple of blocks. I can walk home."
Catherine led them toward the front door. "Okay, get going. Text Samantha when you get home so we know you made it safely."
"Yes, ma'am."
Catherine opened the front door. Trey started to walk out but stopped and turned back.
"I'm really sorry, ma'am. I guess that was a pretty stupid thing to do."
"You got that right." She smiled at him finally. "But we've all done stupid things. As long as you get why it was stupid . . . and don't do it again."
"I do. And I won't," he said with an emphatic shake of his head. "Promise."
She nodded at him and glanced at Samantha.
Trey shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked at his girlfriend. "I'm sorry, Samantha. I hope I didn't get you in trouble."
Samantha sighed but smiled at him. "Hope not. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay."
With a final apologetic look at Catherine, he turned and started walking down the path. He stopped and looked back.
"Hey, do you think you could teach me that move someti–"
"Go home, Trey," Catherine and Samantha said in unison.
He gave them a lopsided grin and pointed, walking backwards down the driveway.
"That wasn't a 'no'," he said.
Catherine couldn't prevent a small chuckle from escaping at that. She and Samantha watched as Trey continued to walk backwards before turning right onto the street and breaking into a slow jog.
Catherine closed and locked the door. She turned to Samantha who was looking at her anxiously.
"You're not going to tell my dad, are you?"
"No, I'm not," Catherine said, walking back toward living room. She heard Samantha sigh in relief and glanced back at her, adding, "But you are."
"What?!" Samantha started to protest as she followed Catherine. "But . . . Catherine . . ."
"Samantha," Catherine's voice was serious.
"I wouldn't have let him in when no one else was home. Honest. I'd be grounded for a year if my dad ever found out I did that."
Catherine took a seat on the couch and said, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. But you still need to tell him." She gave her a small smile. "These things have a way of coming out."
Samantha groaned as she plopped onto the couch and held her head in her hands. "He's gonna be so mad."
"Maybe. But more at Trey than you since you didn't invite him over." Catherine tilted her head to catch Samantha's eyes. "And you know what? I think he'll appreciate you being honest and up-front about it."
"You think?"
"I do." She stopped. "Wait, your dad knows about Trey, right?"
"Yes."
She exhaled her relief. "Good." She put her hand on Samantha's arm and squeezed it. "He might get upset, he's got reason to. But I really don't think he's gonna overreact."
Samantha gave her a hopeful look.
Catherine winced a little and said, "But you should probably let Trey know to expect a call from your dad. At a minimum."
Samantha sighed and nodded her agreement.
Catherine and Samantha were still on the couch having resumed studying when the front door opened an hour later.
They heard Steve's voice. "I'm just saying, get used to it."
"I know what you're 'just' saying and you can stick a–" Grover stopped as Samantha and Catherine joined them in the foyer. "Hey, how'd the studying go?" he asked.
"Great," Samantha said with an overly bright smile. "We even started working on the next chapter."
"Really?" Grover asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
Catherine gave Samantha a meaningful look.
Samantha sighed. "Daddy, I have to tell you something."
"Yeah, I figured as much. What is it?"
"Trey tried to sneak over."
"What?!"
Grover glanced at Catherine who gave him a small reassuring smile and nodded.
"I didn't tell him to come over," Samantha added quickly. "He wanted to surprise me. But he . . ." she sighed. "He snuck around the side of the house. We were studying, and we heard a noise, and Catherine saw somebody outside. So she had me hide in the closet to call the police while she went out there. But then Trey texted me, and I knew it must be him, so I went out, and Catherine already had him, you know, up against the house, thinking he was an burglar or a creeper or whatever."
Grover pressed his lips tightly together. Steve put his hands on his hips and glanced at the other man, but remained silent.
"Are you mad?" Samantha finally asked in a quiet voice.
Grover took a deep breath and said, "I will be speaking to Trey, and his parents, about sneaking around people's houses. That was an incredibly stupid thing for him to do."
Samantha nodded. "I know. And he gets it. Catherine scared the crap out of him." She stopped, eyes wide. "I mean . . . sorry. She scared him half to death."
"Good," Grover said, nodding once at Catherine. "Can't say I'm upset to hear that." He sighed, rubbing his head. "Go to your room, Samantha. We'll talk more about this later."
At her nervous look he added, "I'm not mad at you." He stepped closer and put his arm around her. "I'm glad you told me instead of trying to hide it." He kissed the top of her head. "Now say goodnight."
"Goodnight, Commander," Samantha said.
Steve gave her a small smile. "Night, Samantha."
"Goodnight, Catherine."
"Night, hon," Catherine said.
Samantha hugged her tightly.
"Thanks for everything," she added quietly.
Catherine smiled as she returned the hug. "You're welcome."
With a final glance at her dad, Samantha disappeared down the hallway.
Grover sighed again, rubbing his eyes. After a quiet moment, Steve exchanged a glance with Catherine, nodding toward the door.
"Well, we should get going . . ." she said.
"Catherine . . ." Grover started, but fell silent, shifting his weight.
Steve looked between the two and then said, "I'm gonna go wait in the truck." He patted Grover's arm. "Night, Lou."
Grover gave him a grateful look. "Thanks, Steve."
Steve nodded and glanced briefly at Catherine who flashed him a small smile before he opened the front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
Grover looked down the hallway toward his daughter's room and sighed once more.
"You know, I like Trey," he said. "He's a good kid. Sometimes he's just a . . ."
"Knucklehead?" Catherine supplied.
He chuckled. "Took the word right out of my mouth."
Catherine smiled.
"He only moved here this spring," Grover continued. "I think he and Samantha kind of bonded over being the new kids."
"I can relate."
Grover raised his eyebrows in question.
"My dad was in the Navy, so we moved around a lot when I was a kid," Catherine said. She shrugged. "Not that it was ever fun, but I got very good at being the new kid."
He nodded his understanding.
After a pause, he said, "Catherine, I'm glad Samantha looks up to you. And I'm really glad . . ." his voice trailed off and she tilted her head, waiting for him to continue. "You know, there's something Danny said to me, that day during the hostage situation at the school. Something that's always stuck with me."
Catherine gave him a curious look.
"He said that if he couldn't be there to look after his daughter, then the person he'd have number one on his list to take care of Grace is McGarrett."
She nodded, not surprised to hear that.
He licked his lips and continued, "And then he said that number 1a on his list . . . is you."
Catherine's breath caught, touched, though not surprised, by the sentiment.
Grover stepped closer, his voice earnest as he said, "I'm glad you were here tonight to protect my daughter." He rolled his eyes slightly. "Even if it turned out to just be that knuckleheaded boyfriend of hers."
Catherine smiled.
"Thank you," he said genuinely.
"You're welcome," she said just as sincerely.
He hugged her and then stepped back.
"You should get going. I know how impatient McGarrett can get," he said, though his smile showed he wasn't serious.
She returned his smile, and he opened the door so she could step outside.
"Goodnight, Lou," she said.
"Goodnight."
Catherine approached the truck in the driveway and smiled when Steve leaned across the cab to push open the door for her. She climbed in and closed the door.
"Okay?" he asked simply.
She nodded with a smile. "Okay."
"Let's go home, huh?"
"Yeah, it's been a long day."
He started the ignition and she asked, "Hey . . . d'you win?"
He shrugged as if it were obvious. "What do you think?"
"I think Lou be will riding shotgun again next month."
Steve smirked.
"Let's go home, sailor," she said with a smile.
He leaned over and kissed her.
"Let's go home." He pulled back just enough to look at her. The corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile and his voice dropped low as he said, "I'm ready for a little one-on-one tutoring time myself."
"I am a very good math tutor," she said.
"I already know algebra."
His eyes focused on her mouth as she licked her lips.
She shrugged and said, "Well, I'm sure we can find something to study."
"I always did like biology."
She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." His smile grew wide. "Especially anatomy."
"Hmm." She tilted her head. "I should warn you. I don't come cheap."
"I happen to know you'll work for pizza."
"You'll have to do better than that, I already ate."
"I think you'll like what I have to offer."
Catherine's eyes twinkled and she smiled. "Then what we are waiting for?"
Note: Huge thanks to Sammy for the brilliant exchange between Danny and Grover in Chasing Old Ghosts that always stuck with me.
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