AN's in chapter 1
Great Idea (2/2)
Dylan made his way out of the tent with bleary eyes and hair pointing in a dozen different directions and found Danny sitting on a cooler drinking from a bottle of water.
"Morning," he said with a gravelly voice.
"Morning." Danny returned the greeting. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I wanted to get the fire started so it'll be plenty hot when we're ready to cook breakfast," Dylan replied matter-of-factly.
"Good thinking." Danny nodded. "You're doing a great job handling the fire and making sure everyone stays safe."
Dylan smiled crookedly as he picked up several pieces of firewood that he'd stacked the day before, careful to keep it a safe distance from the fire. He crossed the beach and laid the small logs beside the fire pit before making a second trip for kindling. Within a few minutes he had all the wood assembled.
As he returned to the area just outside the tents where Danny was seated he saw Catherine emerging from the girl's tent.
"Morning." She said softly, trying not to wake the others.
"Morning," Dylan replied in kind.
"I thought maybe you'd sleep in a little," Danny said.
"I was thinking about it but Niblet had other ideas." Catherine smiled. "So I gotta go … you know," she said then hurried off towards the house to use the bathroom.
Dylan reached into his go bag and removed a small, waterproof box. "Uncle Steve said to never take the matches out until you're ready to use them."
"That's very smart. I'll be sure to tell him how well you handled the fire this weekend," Danny promised.
Dylan's tired eyes lit up immediately. "Thanks."
Just as they finished cleaning up after breakfast, Chin and Kono came around the side of the house carrying kayaks.
"Cool!" Dylan ran to Chin's side. "This is awesome. I've been wanting to try one of these."
"I know." Chin smiled. "And since the water is supposed to be calm all day I decided this would be the perfect time."
"There are a few more on the trailer out front," Kono called to Casey, Cody, Grace, and Jadon. "Can you guys run out and grab them, please?"
"Where did you get them all?" Dylan asked, slightly awed.
"We borrowed them from a cousin," Chin answered. "We also borrowed these," he said as he removed a duffle bag from his shoulder. "Life jackets. No one gets anywhere near a kayak until they're wearing one."
Dylan opened the duffel bag and began sorting the life jackets into two piles-child sized and adult sized.
"Look, Mom," he said excitedly as Jenna approached. "Kayaks."
"I see that." Jenna nodded.
"And life jackets so it'll be safe in case we turn over," he continued, holding one up for her to see.
"We can turn over?!" Jacob asked with barely masked glee. "Awesome!"
"The idea is to not turn over," Jenna instructed her youngest. "Maybe you should just watch today," she said unsurely.
Chin pointed to one of the two person kayaks Cody and Jadon were carrying. "Jacob can go in one of the tandems with an adult."
"You think of everything," Jenna said with a sigh of relief.
"Are you gonna go kayaking, Aunt Catherine?" Kaitlyn asked.
"I'm afraid I might get stuck if I try." Catherine chuckled. "It might be better if I just watch from the beach.
"I'll keep you company," Carrie said. "My plans for today involve the minimum amount of physical exertion possible."
"Same here," John agreed.
"I don't think I can go by myself." Kaitlyn bit her lip nervously.
Jenna was just about to offer to accompany her younger daughter when Casey spoke up. "You can come with me, Kaitlyn."
"Really?" Kaitlyn squealed, ecstatic at the thought of being included by her big sister.
"Sure." Casey smiled. "We gotta show those boys how we do it."
Jenna smiled as Kaitlyn ran to Casey's side and began inspecting the kayak up close.
After making sure everyone's life jacket fit properly Chin assembled the troops at the shoreline for a quick lesson in how to operate a kayak and what to do in the case of a rollover. As soon as he felt certain everyone understood, they hit the water.
Casey proved to be a natural and in very short order she helped Kaitlyn master the required oar strokes and they began moving quickly through the water, careful not to get too far from the shore.
"This is fun!" Kaitlyn giggled as a spray of water hit her face.
"Let's practice for a few more minutes," Casey suggested, "then we can challenge Mom to a race."
Dylan, who had pleaded to try a solo kayak, had a bit of trouble initially figuring out how to steer but he stayed calm, listened to the directions Chin shouted his way, and in very short order was maneuvering the boat with a high degree of skill for a beginner.
"Can I get a kayak for my birthday?" he asked as he pulled up beside Jenna.
"We'll see," she replied as she reached out and ruffled his hair.
About twenty feet away, "Like this?" Jacob asked as he chopped at the water with his oar.
"Not exactly." Chin chuckled as he put down his own oar and reached forward to help the young boy.
"Thanks for bringing these, Uncle Chin. This is super fun," Jacob bubbled as he raised his oar and nearly hit himself in the head.
"You're welcome." Chin grinned, guiding the oar back towards the water. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"I think mine is broken, D-Dawg," Jadon said as he turned in yet another circle.
"I don't know." Danny chuckled. "I think it might be more operator error than equipment failure."
"Neither one of you has moved more than a few feet," Cody observed as he glided up beside Danny. "Do you need some help?"
"We're fine." Danny tried to look nonchalant. "We're just observing for a while."
"That's right," Jadon agreed. "We're just gettin' the lay of the land."
"If you say so." Cody snorted as he turned and paddled away.
Kono spent about fifteen minutes helping Grace feel comfortable in the kayak then the two of them moved a little further out and began a series of 200 yard races.
"You got a lot closer that time," Kono said as she turned her kayak to face Grace. "You're doing great. With a little practice you'll be able to beat me."
"I think it would take more than a little practice." Grace grinned. "But thanks."
They were having so much fun in the kayaks they were shocked when Catherine called from the shore and announced it was time for lunch.
After they finished eating Cody, Jadon, Grace and Casey loaded the kayaks back on Chin's borrowed trailer while Chin, Danny and John and Dylan took down the tents, stowed them carefully in their storage bags and returned them to the garage. Jenna, Catherine and the younger kids carried all the pillows, blankets and utensils back to the house to be washed and put away while Carrie and Kono returned the lounger to its place on the deck.
"Are you sure we can't stay and help you get some of this stuff washed and put away?" Jenna asked as they made their way back outside. "I feel like we're leaving you with a lot of work."
"Not at all." Catherine waved her off. "It'll give me something to do this week while I'm waiting for Steve to get back. You need to get the kids home and organized for school tomorrow."
"I can stay and help," Carrie offered.
"No way." Catherine was adamant. "I know you and John both have early duty tomorrow. I'll be fine. I promise."
"Everything is in its place in the garage," Danny reported as he joined them. "Except for the fire pit which Dylan thinks needs to cool for a few more hours before it'll be safe to put away. It's too heavy for you to carry in your current condition though."
"No problem." Catherine nodded. "I'll leave it for Steve to take care of when he gets home next weekend. It won't hurt anything sitting on the beach until then."
The rest of the crew finished their respective clean up tasks and eventually everyone gathered on the deck.
"This was really fun." Dylan couldn't wipe the wide smile off his face. "Thanks, Aunt Catherine. And Uncle Danny. And Mom. And Uncle Chin." He began to laugh. "Thanks, EVERYBODY!"
The adults couldn't help but smile at his exuberance and sincere appreciation.
"Did you have fun, Uncle Danny?" Kaitlyn asked with wide eyes. "Will you go with us next time when we camp in the woods? I like it when you help me fish."
A sarcastic reply died on his lips when he saw the hopeful look on her face.
"I'll be there," he sighed with a resigned smile as he squeezed her shoulder.
Catherine had the dishwasher running and the first load of extra blankets in the washer when she decided to take a short break and put her sore feet up. Two days of walking on sand had done nothing to relieve the nearly ever present swelling in her ankles and feet.
She had barely gotten comfortable in the lounger when Cammie alerted towards the side of the house.
"What's wrong, girl?" Catherine asked but before she could get to her feet to investigate a person rounded the house and stepped onto the deck.
Catherine couldn't believe her eyes and wondered momentarily if she'd fallen asleep and was dreaming.
"Steve!" she squealed. "What are you doing here?"
"Surprise," he said, eyes alight and crooked grin in place, "Happy anniversary!"
She scrambled to her feet, swollen ankles forgotten, and found herself wrapped in his arms immediately.
"You didn't go UA, did you?" she teased.
"No," he growled as he peppered her face with kisses. "Morris found out it was our anniversary and told me if I beat all the young guys in today's drills I could get a 12-hour liberty to come home and celebrate."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Didn't he know you would have been trying to beat them anyway?"
"Extra incentive I guess." He smirked. "But now I have twelve hours alone with you and I don't want to spend it talking about reserve drills. How was camping?"
"Fun." She leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips then made her way up his jawline until she reached his ear. As she bit down lightly on the lobe his body reacted.
"If we only have twelve hours let's not waste it talking about camping either," she purred. "I'm sure the kids will fill you in on all the details."
"Later," he panted. "Much later." His hands slid under her tank top and as they glided across her torso and he realized she wasn't wearing a bra he moaned appreciatively.
"It was getting tight," she whispered. "Like my shoes."
"Can't have that," he growled as he pushed her shirt higher and dipped his head to kiss her swollen breasts.
"Steve."
Her voice did nothing to stop him as he continued on his mission.
"Steve!" she said somewhat louder.
"Hmm?" he said as his lips made contact with her collarbone.
"Maybe we should take this inside before we give the neighbors a show."
"Are you hungry?" she asked sometime later as she sat on the edge of the bed and stretched languidly.
He leaned up and kissed the back of her shoulder. "Not if you keep doing that."
"There's some leftover pasta salad in the frig. Nonna's recipe," she tempted him.
"Carbo loading." He grinned. "Excellent idea. We won't even have to waste time cooking."
"Win win." She smirked as she stood up.
"Plus Dr. Kucher said you need 300 extra calories a day at this point in your pregnancy so pasta salad should fit the bill nicely."
"Speaking of Dr. Kucher," Catherine's voice trailed off as she looked around the room. "Where's my shirt? For that matter where's your shirt?"
"On the island in the kitchen I think." He grinned. "Or maybe the couch in the living room." He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "If it's neither of those places try the railing on the stairs about halfway up."
"I really missed you," she said saucily as she opened his drawer and pulled out two t-shirts. She put one on and tossed the other to him then repeated the process with two pairs of his boxers.
"You said speaking of Dr. Kucher," he prompted. "Everything's ok, right?"
"Everything's fine." She smiled. "We got a postcard from his office reminding us it's time to sign up for a prenatal class. I'll look around this week and try to find one that works for both of us."
"Sounds good." He crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. "Just let me know where and when and I'll be there." He walked her backward a few steps until they reached the dresser and began kissing his way down her neck.
"Steve ... " she sighed, "what about the pasta salad?"
"That's right," he said, forcing his lips away from her body. "Sustenance."
"Let's go." She chuckled.
He waggled his eyebrows. "I have a feeling in a few minutes I'm gonna be glad we decided on kitchen chairs without arms."
Stay tuned for another BONUS story tomorrow!
If you are not on the REALMcRoll email list and would like to be, drop us an email at realmcroll at yahoo dot com with "Add me, please!" in the subject line. You'll get updates, contests, and fun McRoller games.
Looking for links to all the REAL World McRoll stories in one place? Check out our Tumblr page
mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com.
In addition, one of our AWESOME REAL Worlders, katydid13, has created a community on here on fanfiction dot net that brings all of the REAL World stories, and all of Mari, Sammy & Ilna's pre-universe stories in one place. You can find it at
community/McRoll-in-the-Real-World