Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their always awesome selves. Special thanks to Mari for the assist on a couple of a scenes in this one!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
A New Experience to Treasure (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
As he set down the last of the boxes, Danny winced and rubbed his neck. "Jess, you are an awesome person for many reasons, not the least of which is that this apartment is on the first floor." He looked between Cody and Jadon, who shared a grin.
"The furniture isn't that heavy," Steve tossed over his shoulder. "I remember carrying your refrigerator up to your apartment and then into your house when you bought it."
"And we were a lot younger then, weren't we, Steven?"
Steve rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself. And you workout."
"Yes, yes I do. Like a normal person. But I don't swim to Maui and back every day…"
Jess grinned. "You and Steve carried all Grace's stuff up to her dorm room and you weren't sore."
Danny huffed a sigh. "Okay, okay. But that's because looking at my daughter's beautiful smile erases any pain." He pointed at his grinning best friend. "Prepare for that, partner. Because by the time DJ and Angie are in college, we're going to be even older."
Steve clapped a hand on Jadon and Cody's shoulders and nodded to Dylan who had also helped with the move. "That's what we have these three for," he said with a grin.
"We definitely owe you," Cody said.
"Ah, there wasn't as much this time," Steve said. "Since Jadon is staying at the old place."
Jadon grinned, stretching his arms behind his head. "My bachelor pad."
"What?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah, I'm old and even I know no one calls it that anymore," Danny said with a smirk.
Jadon waved a hand. "Ah, you know what I mean."
"Besides, by the time DJ and Angie are in college, Dylan will have invented a robot to do all the moving anyway, right?" Steve said, grinning.
Dylan grinned back. "I'll get right on that."
"It's just us, Mom, you've got enough pastries here for twenty people," Jess said later that morning after Steve, Danny, and Dylan had left. She shook her head at her mother with an affectionate smile.
"Well, you said people will be coming to visit all day, it's nice to have something to offer them," Laura Coleman protested.
"I'm sure Jadon will take two," David Coleman teased.
Jadon grinned. "I gotta fulfill expectations, right?"
Cody rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."
"You go right ahead," Laura told him.
"Thanks, Ms. Coleman," Jadon said, selecting a donut and a chocolate croissant.
"You should take one to your training officer, too," Ally, Jess's older sister, said.
"Yeah, I'm sure Sergeant Tucker would like one," Jess agreed.
Jadon swallowed the large bite of donut in his mouth. "He'll appreciate it," he agreed, and selected another pastry. "I hate to eat and run–"
"No, you don't," Cody countered and his best friend grinned toothily.
"But I'm on duty in an hour."
"Here, Jadon, use this," Laura said, offering him one of the now empty pastry bags.
"Thanks, Ms. C."
"Thanks for helping, J," Jess said, giving him a hug after he'd packed his remaining baked goods. "And for, you know, understanding."
He smiled and gave her another hug. "If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, I'm really, really happy for both of you."
She returned the smile and stepped back. Cody nodded to his best friend. "Thanks, J."
"Aww, bring it in," Jadon said, wrapping him in a back-slapping hug.
They shared a nod, acknowledging the major change that was now official, before Jadon smiled and turned to say goodbye to the Colemans.
On his way out the door, he glanced back and said, "We still on for 2K on Sunday night?"
Cody smiled as he draped an arm over Jess' shoulder. "I'll be there."
"I keep telling him we can redecorate," Jess said to her sister and mother, though she purposely spoke loud enough for Cody to hear as he and David finished moving the TV onto the new stand the Colemans had brought.
Cody straightened, fighting a smile. "And I keep telling her I'm not the kind of guy who decorates, let alone 'redecorates,' " he said.
Ally grinned, rubbing her hands together. "Oooh, their first fight living together."
Jess rolled her eyes. "You think this is a fight?"
"It's as close as you two ever come to one," her sister replied.
"I think it looks nice in here," Cody said with a shrug. "I don't want to change anything."
"You've got plenty of time to figure out your style together," Laura said.
David nodded. "Laura and I actually had fun picking things out for our first place together."
Cody smiled, shaking his head. "Whatever Jess picks out is fine with me."
Jess came over to him. "But you live here too, Cody. I don't want it to be you moving into my apartment. It's supposed to be us living together."
He started to reply, but stopped at the sincere look on her face. He sighed and smiled. "Maybe we could … pick out a new blanket for the bed?"
Jess beamed, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "That's a start."
"These are great, you guys," Cody said an hour later, grinning at DJ and Angie who had presented him and Jess with two pictures they'd drawn.
"Dey're for you' fridge," Angie told them seriously.
"Oh fun!" Jess said, smiling broadly. "Let's go hang them up."
Steve and Catherine looked on with a smile as Angie, who had never been there before, nonethless led the way into the kitchen.
"You're getting really good at writing your name, Angie," Cody said as he looked at the picture.
"I practice at school," she told him.
He smiled. "Is this me and Jess?"
She nodded and pointed to the other figures in her drawing. "And dat's me and dat's DJ and dat's a rocket ship."
"A rocket ship?" Cody repeated.
"We've been reading a lot of space books lately," Catherine explained from the kitchen doorway, she and Steve fighting a smile.
Angie nodded. "Do you like it?"
Cody knelt down to give her a hug. "We love it. Thanks, Angie."
"You' welcome," she said, smiling. As he stood, she raised her arms to Jess who gave her a hug as well.
"Thanks, Angie," Jess said. "It's a great picture."
"Look at DJ's!" Angie said eagerly, pointing to her brother's. "He's a really really good drawer."
"This is so sweet, DJ," Jess said as she looked at the drawing. He'd written "Happy New Home Cody and Jess!" and had drawn their two smiling faces with a heart between them beneath the words.
"I thought about drawing a house, but that didn't seem right since it's an apartment," he explained. "I like the heart better because that means love no matter what kind of home you're in."
Cody smiled softly. "I like the sound of that, buddy."
"Me too," Jess agreed.
DJ beamed proudly and wrapped one arm around each of their waists in a hug.
"Now let's get these hung up," Cody said. He and Jess each took one of the drawings and attached them to the fridge using magnets. They stepped back to admire them with the two kids.
Jess smiled. "We're lucky to have such great artists in the family."
"We'll make new pictures for you," DJ promised.
Angie nodded. "You got lots of room on you' fridge."
Steve chuckled. "Unlike ours."
"Do you want to see the rest of the apartment?" Jess asked.
Angie and DJ both nodded eagerly. While Catherine had been there once before to drop something off for Jess and Steve had been there earlier to help move Cody's things, neither Angie nor DJ had seen it.
"Whose room is dis?" Angie asked when they peeked into Jess's old roommate's room where they'd put Cody's bed, dresser, and nightstand.
Cody and Jess looked to Steve and Catherine on what to say in response.
Catherine smiled. "That's their guest room," she said. "For when Cody and Jess have friends or family stay over."
Angie's face brightened. "We could sleep over!"
DJ nodded. "Yeah, that would be fun."
"We'd love that," Jess said genuinely.
Angie looked at Catherine expectantly.
"Not tonight, baby girl, but we'll plan a sleepover, I promise," Catherine said.
Angie held up a finger for a pinkie promise and Catherine dutifully wrapped her own around it. The four-year-old nodded, satisfied, and turned to Cody and Jess. "Mommy pinkie promised," she explained. "Dat means we'll have a sleepover!"
"We can play games and watch a movie!" DJ suggested.
"That sounds like fun," Cody said, tousling his hair.
"Let's go look at the living room again," DJ suggested. "Maybe we could bring our sleeping bags."
"Yeah!" Angie agreed. She grabbed Jess's hand and tugged it down the short hallway. Catherine and DJ followed them, but Cody and Steve hung back.
"How are you feeling?" Steve asked.
Cody smiled. "Good. Really good. I know we might have some disagreements from time to time, but I also know this is right for me and Jess so I'm feeling good."
Steve smiled, clapping him on the shoulder. "Glad to hear it. I'm happy for you, Cody. You and Jess both."
"Thanks, Steve." He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. "For everything over the years."
"Hey, you know this isn't the end, right? You can't get rid of me by moving in with your girlfriend," Steve teased. "I'm still here for you."
Cody smiled. "I do know that."
"And not just for moving furniture," Steve said with a grin, though Cody understood he was serious. "For whatever you need."
Cody nodded. "Thanks," he said again, smiling softly.
Steve returned the smile and then they heard, "Cody! Daddy! Come see! Jess said we can make a blanket fort when we have our sleepover!"
Cody and Steve grinned at each other. "I hope you realize what you've agreed to," Steve said.
"I've got four younger brothers and sisters," Cody reminded him. "I doubt they can come up with anything I haven't seen before."
"I wouldn't be so sure …" Steve replied as they joined the others in the living room.
"What do you think about ordering something in for lunch?" Jess suggested. "We're definitely due for a shopping trip in the very near future so we don't have a lot here at the moment."
"Lunch is taken care of," Steve said. His phone dinged with a text message and he glanced at the screen. "In fact, it's on the way right now."
"Knock, knock!" The familiar voice entered the open door ten minutes later and Angie said, "Kame! It's Kame and Esther!" She flung herself at her beloved nanny for a hug while DJ hugged Kamekona around the plethora of takeout bags, then they switched.
Kamekona grinned at Cody and Jess. "Good thing you' on the first floor so we didn't have to carry all da food upstairs."
"Ohh, thank you!" Jess came forward to relieve Esther of the bags while Cody took the rest and placed them on the kitchen table. "We have silverware in the second drawer, napkins are on the counter," she said while unpacking the food. "This is so generous."
"You closer to the shrimp truck now, you can pick up when you're working late," Kamekona pointed out as his smile grew at the group digging into his food. "Family and friends with a new living arrangement get a 10 percent discount the first week." He beamed as Esther chuckled.
"The last box is cupcakes," she pointed out. "Free cupcakes next time you pick up lunch or dinner."
"Free?" Kamekona raised his brows, then shook his head at his wife's smile and pointed look. He held up both hands. "Shoots."
Catherine grinned around a forkful of garlic shrimp. "I don't remember a discount when I moved in with Steve." She glanced at her husband who was dishing another helping onto DJ's plate. "Do you?"
Steve raised his brow at their friend. "I don't. And we ate at the shrimp truck like four times a week in the beginning."
Kamekona smiled, completely unruffled. "New promotion. It wasn't in effect all those years ago."
After lunch, Kamekona and Esther headed out, reiterating their expectations of seeing them more often and the shrimp and cupcake trucks.
"Before we go, we did have something else to give you," Catherine said, retrieving a box and envelope she'd left by the door.
"Oh, you didn't have to get us anything," Jess immediately said.
"Yeah, you really didn't," Cody agreed. "I mean, Steve helped with the move …"
"Daddy likes doing that," DJ said seriously.
Steve chuckled, nodding at his son. "You got that right, buddy."
"It's not everyday you start a new chapter with the person you love," Catherine said. She handed the box to Jess and Cody who sighed, knowing when they were defeated.
Catherine sat back down and flashed a smile at Steve who reached for her hand.
Jess opened the envelope and her eyes widened.
Catherine smiled. "You keep mentioning the stand mixer every time you see ours. You could use it to go toward that or anything else you two decide on," she said of the gift card they'd given the couple.
"That's so generous," Cody said. "Thank you."
"Yes, thank you," Jess echoed.
"Now open the box!" DJ said excitedly.
Jess smiled at his enthusiasm. "Okay."
Cody noticed Angie had clapped a hand over her mouth. He grinned. "Do you know what's inside, Angie?"
She nodded, and spoke from behind her hand. "I'm not 'posed to say. It's a secret surprise."
The adults chuckled and Catherine said, "You both did a very good job of not telling the secret."
"Well, let's not leave it a secret any longer, huh?" Jess said, and opened the box.
"Oh wow," Cody said, as he looked inside.
"This is from Homecoming," Jess said, lifting out the framed picture of her and Cody dressed up for the school dance. "Junior year."
"Dere's more!" Angie burst out.
"This was at your wedding," Cody said of the next frame, an image of he and Jess dancing at the reception.
"Oh, look at this!" Jess said, taking out the last frame, which showed she and Cody sitting on the beach with DJ, Angie, and Cammie.
"They're for your wall," DJ said.
"If you want," Catherine added gently. "We thought we'd give you a few special moments to start your own photo wall."
"Oh my god, that's amazing," Jess gushed. "I love your photo wall so much."
Cody smiled softly, staring at the three frames. He thought back to the barbecue six years ago when he'd first seen the photo wall at the beach house and how Steve had told him that families weren't just born, they were also made. He looked up, catching Steve's eye, and knew the other man understood what he was thinking.
"Thank you," he said sincerely. He looked at Jess and smiled. "Maybe I'll change my mind about redecorating after all."
Steve, Catherine, and the kids left after lunch. During the afternoon, Chin and Leilani stopped by for a few minutes along with Kono and Adam to drop off special gifts of honey from the big island, a wooden pineapple carving for the wall, and several giftcards to local stores and restaurants.
Danny returned before dinner with Gabby, Grace, Kendra, and Nonna in tow. With the prospect of their new photo wall, Jess and Cody were even more excited to receive the frame Gabby had promised on Halloween.
"Oh it goes perfectly with the ones from Uncle Steve and Auntie Cath!" Grace said.
Gabby grinned. "There might have been a little coordination," she said.
"But she can neither confirm nor deny," Grace added and Danny shook his head, looking toward the ceiling.
"Anyway," he said, "I hope you've got room in the freezer. Nonna's been cooking." He held up one tray and nodded toward the other one in Grace's hands.
"One is lasagna and the other is eggplant parmesan," Nonna said.
"Oh, Nonna, that's so sweet," Jess said.
"You have a lot of unpacking and rearranging to do, dolce ragazza," Nonna replied with a smile. "This way you won't have to think about dinner for a while."
"Between these and the leftovers from lunch," Cody said, "maybe we won't have to go food shopping soon after all."
Grace grinned. "Not with Nonna around, you won't."
Danny chuckled. "Not unless you're the one taking Nonna to the grocery store every other day," he teased, kissing his grandmother's cheek.
"But cooking's not all Nonna's been up to," Kendra said, holding up a large wrapped package.
"Nonna, you shouldn't have," Cody said. He nodded to the trays of food. "This is already so generous."
"Hush, tesoro, and open it."
Together, Jess and Cody opened the simple wrapping paper.
"Oh, Nonna, it's beautiful," Jess said as they uncovered the homemade afghan.
Cody looked up at her, surprised. "Did you know I told Jadon he could keep the one you made for us two years ago?"
"I had a suspicion," Nonna replied. "But even if you hadn't, I would have made one for today. It's a very special day for you two, miei cari."
"Thank you so much," Jess said, giving her a hug. She pressed the soft blanket to her face. "I can already envision lots of evenings cuddling together under this."
Cody blushed slightly at Nonna's knowing grin, but leaned over to give her his own hug.
"Thank you, Nonna," he said sincerely.
She reached for one of each of their hands and brought them together between hers. "I knew the first time I saw you together that you were in love," she said. "Young love is a beautiful thing, and young love that blossoms into what you have now is even more beautiful."
Cody and Jess smiled softly at each other.
"Treasure it, miei cari. And treasure this new experience."
"We will, Nonna," Cody promised as Jess nodded sincerely. "We will.
Hope you enjoyed!
Note: I know there seems to be a glaring omission here. Mari pointed out that the Allens' visit with Cody and Jess deserves its own chapter and she's right, as usual. Stay tuned for a very special breakfast for dinner in Chapter 2!
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