Chapter 4
Mary, Steve and Catherine arrived at Mary's townhouse, the first time that Steve had seen where his sister lived.
"Nice digs, Sis," he said to her as he pulled the car into the driveway. Of course he insisted on driving, and no one had questioned him on it; although his sister did have to remind him that this was Montana, not Hawaii; there was ice and slippery conditions that he had to deal with on the drive from the airport, and Catherine could swear that she'd made some indelible finger imprints on the arm rest. As they were just about to her house, it had started to snow again. Catherine had to admit it did look pretty, but that was about the only thing she liked about snow.
"Yeah, well it's not home, Bro." she answered him as they all started to climb out of the car. "Wait!" she said as Steve and Catherine started walking toward the door with their bags. They stopped and looked back at her.
"Come here. Back here by me," she told them.
"Mary, what's wrong?" Steve asked as they started to walk back toward her, thinking that she'd dropped something.
"Nothing's wrong," she said with exasperation. He always thought the worst was about to happen, she thought to herself. "Just come here, I want to show you something."
"Alright, we're here. What is it?" Steve bickered back with her. Catherine couldn't help but chuckle at the sibling rivalries as she remembered the constant bickering between her and her brothers and sisters when they were growing up. Then she realized that Mary and Steve hadn't really had that time to get over the bickering stage and into the conspiratorial stage that siblings finally arrive at as they get older – they'd been ripped apart from each other before they could get that relationship.
"Both of you, turn around and look what I did – its perfect now that its snowing," she said with excitement. Steve and Catherine turned around and Mary pushed the button on a remote of some kind that she pulled from her pocket as they faced her house. Suddenly, Christmas lights lit up around the outside of the house, including the lighted, animated snowman and Santa that she'd placed in the front yard.
"Merry Christmas, Bro!" she exclaimed, and was pleased to see the look of almost childish happiness on Steve's face as he took in the view.
"Oh, Mary, its beautiful," Catherine was the first to speak.
Steve put his arm around his sister's shoulders and pulled her toward him. "It is, Mare. Thanks," he said, planting a kiss on her cheek, which in turn made a tear form in her eyes.
"Okay," Mary said, wiping the tear away quickly. "Its freezing, let's get inside and get you guys settled. You must be exhausted."
In the excitement of the moment, no one noticed the car that quietly crept by the house, turned around up the street and passed again on the way out of the street after they were all inside.
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Chin, Kono, Gracie and Danny were just getting to the baggage claim to get their bags. Danny had been trying to keep Grace somewhat calm – she was so excited to be going to a new state and to have a big Christmas get together with Uncle Steve and the rest of the 5-0 team. Danny had explained to her that Uncle Steve didn't know they were coming and that's why they had to get a rental car to get from the airport to Mary's house – just more excitement for her!
Chin was now waiting to get the rental car and no one noticed the man that was sitting near the baggage claim pretending to read a newspaper while they were getting their bags and car. The man watched as Chin returned with the paperwork and keys for the car. They all trudged out to the rental car area and the man put down the paper, slowly followed as he dialed his cell phone.
"Yes, Sir – the rest of them have arrived. They're picking up the rental car. There's another person – a child. She seems to be with Detective Williams. I just wanted you to know," the man informed the person on the other end of the phone. "Do you want me to keep following them?" Getting an answer of yes, the man continued to follow at a safe distance.
As the 5-0 team climbed into the vehicle, the watcher's driver slowly pulled up to the curb and he got in. They followed the team at a safe distance.
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Back in Hawaii at the McGarrett residence, a lone person was creeping up the property line, protected by the dark and the cover of the bushes. He made his way up to the house, peeking in the windows to make sure no one was inside. With a quick glance back to the street and then up and down the street, he kept in the shadows and crept around to the back of the house. He efficiently disabled the alarm system that Steve had installed after Wo Fat's crew had broken into the house to take the Champ Box.
Once at the rear of the house, he knocked on the door to check again that no one was home. Satisfied that the house was empty, he reached into the black bag he had on his back and used the tool to cut a hole in the glass of the door, reach in and unlock the door.
Looking out at the area again, he opened the door just enough to slip in and close it behind him. As instructed, he'd looked around the house to see if there were any other items or files that McGarrett may have had to use against Wo Fat in the future. He found nothing and cringed at the idea that he'd probably be sent to the 5-0 headquarters to search since nothing was found at the house.
He had further been instructed to obtain Steve's fingerprints; his boss had plans to use them to frame Steve should the need arise later on.
Having completed his assignments, the man snuck back out the rear door, making sure that there was no evidence that anyone was in the house. Having closed and locked the door behind him, he took the last item – a branch from one of the trees outside and made it appear as though it had fallen from the nearby tree and up against the door, breaking the glass.
With that, he was gone, he enabled the alarm system, knowing that a signal was being sent to the alarm company and that the police would be dispatched to the residence. He quickly slipped away from the property and out of the neighborhood.
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Steve and Mary were sitting in her living room, a nice fire in the fireplace and Catherine fixing them a light snack in the kitchen so the two would have some time to catch up with each other.
Steve was looking around the room and Mary couldn't help but notice that there was something Steve wanted to say. "Spit it out," she finally said to him.
His attention was brought to her. He looked at her for a moment, tying to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to fight with her, but he'd wished she had talked to him before becoming a law enforcement officer. She'd always been kind of flighty and he was worried that might get her in trouble in a dangerous situation. Although she did have good instincts – look at what she'd done to help him and his team out when the tool box had been taken. If not for those pictures, they'd have been effectively stifled in their investigation into their father's murder.
"Mary, this was a great idea. I haven't had a Christmas since Mom died and Dad since…," he trailed off.
"Since we got shipped out after Mom died. I know," she finished the sentence for him. "We're all we have now, Bro," she said. "But, that's not what you want to say, Steve. I can see the wheels turning in your head – you know you were never able to keep anything from me when we were growing up," she teased him. "Spit it out, I've been waiting for it since I picked you up at the airport."
"When did you decide to become a cop? Why didn't you talk to me first. This is a big thing – a dangerous thing," he said, all the words falling out in quick succession.
"I know it's a dangerous thing, but I just…. I needed to do something after I left Hawaii again. Who knew when I'd be able to come home – until you thought it would be safe for me to come home again. I got back to L.A., had no job, no real life there. I ended up in my car, driving. I ended up here in this town and I got a job and bought this place. Then, one day I was looking through the pictures on my phone – the ones from the Champ Box were still on my phone and I got to thinking….. about what Kono said about being in the "family biz." Even though it was terrifying being in that car trunk, the rest of it; trying to track down my kidnappers and the items from the box, it was exciting. I decided to give the "family biz" as Kono put it a try. I did really well, finished in the top five of the Academy," she said.
He interrupted her, "How did you get into the Academy, Mary? Usually, you have to have recommendations to get into a police academy."
"Well," she started her answer hesitantly. "I got a very good letter from my brother, the head of the 5-0 Task Force in Hawaii," she said expecting to see the anger in his face, but instead finding his amusement. "And then, Governor Jameson wrote on my behalf as well. I asked her to keep it confidential," she quickly added before Steve could get angry at the Governor for keeping it from him. "I didn't want anyone to know until I'd done it, finished it. I don't have the best track record for following through."
He stared at her for a moment. "Are you happy, do you enjoy it?" he asked her finally.
"I do, Steve," she answered. "The chance to help people is amazing. I love it," she said with a genuine smile that Steve hadn't seen since they were kids.
Catherine came out from the kitchen with a tray full of food. Just as she placed it on the coffee table, the doorbell rang. They all looked at each other, Steve tensing up, always expecting the worst.
"You expecting anyone?" he asked his sister as he looked at the late hour on the clock.
"As a matter of fact, I am Bro," she answered as she stood next to Catherine – both of them with smiles on their faces. "Why don't you open the door?" she instructed her brother.
Warily he made his way to the front door and opened it. He was immediately hugged at the knees by Grace as the rest of the crew all yelled "Merry Christmas!"
Everyone piled into the house, and there was laughing and hugging. Grace was sitting on Steve's lap, leaning against his chest, sound asleep. It was the best feeling in the world having all his friends and family together. Even though he wasn't in Hawaii, for the first time in years, he felt he was truly home for the holidays.
He made eye contact with his sister, reached out to grab her hand and mouthed the word, "Mahalo."
-The End.
