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It's Nice to be Needed (1/1)

"This might actually be heaven," Carrie sighed as she, Catherine, and Elizabeth sat back and enjoyed the amazing sensations of an expertly administered foot massage. The smell of tropical sugar scrub filled the room with an unmistakably Hawaiian scent. The three women sat side by side in overstuffed reclining chairs clad in sleek silk dressing gowns. On the small table beside each of them was a glass of lime infused water.

"You might be right," Catherine agreed. "If it's not, it's awfully close."

It was all she could do to keep from moaning out loud as she felt gentle thumbs working their way along the arch of her foot. It had been a very long couple of weeks. On top of all the kids' activities and normal home chores, work had been non-stop since they returned from the holiday break.

The start of a new year meant the implementation of new programs and new initiatives which was always exciting. Unfortunately, it also meant funding allocations and agendas for the upcoming year had to be settled, which required a seemingly endless stream of meetings and negotiations with senators and representatives who all wanted to make sure their voices were heard and their projects didn't get moved to the back burner.

It was an exciting time that Catherine honestly enjoyed, despite the fact that it could be both physically and mentally draining. She loved to see the initiatives they'd spent the previous year fighting and planning for finally get put into action in the community where they could do the most good. She enjoyed helping an elected official find funding for a project that would better the lives of the people in their district. She didn't even mind working to find a compromise with those people whose entire agenda seemed to be nothing more than obstructing the governor's plans. It was something she'd become good at over the years.

But it was exhausting.

She had gotten up early that morning, planning to catch up on laundry and make a quick grocery store run to prepare for the coming week before the kids got up. When Steve and Cammie came back from their morning swim he found her in the living room surrounded by their laundry basket as well as the ones from the bathroom and the kids' rooms.

"Don't worry about that," Steve told her. "I'll take care of it. You have somewhere else to be."

Her mind raced as she worried she'd forgotten an appointment but she couldn't come up with anything. She'd purposely left today open so she could catch up on things around the house. She looked at him with a confused expression. "Where?"

"You, your mom, and Carrie are going to the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a spa day and a nice lunch," he replied. "It's all arranged."

"Really?" Her face brightened immediately at the thought.

"Really," he confirmed with a smile. "I'll take care of the laundry and the shopping. You just go and relax and have fun."

"Are you sure?" she asked, still not quite able to wrap her mind around what was happening.

Steve took the laundry from her hands and tossed it back in the basket. "Positive. You've been working too hard these last couple of weeks and you need a break."

"You've been working hard too," she pointed out.

He waggled his eyebrows. "Make sure you buy some of that massage oil we like and I'll get my chance to relax later, after the kids go to bed."

She grinned. "There's a lot of laundry," she said, clearly torn about the idea of leaving him with so much that needed done. "Plus DJ mentioned going to the batting cages and you know Angie is gonna want to go to the zoo to see her goat."

"I got this." Steve tugged her to her feet and kissed her deeply. "You go. Have a good time."

Thirty minutes later she met Carrie and Elizabeth for a nice, leisurely breakfast before they headed to the spa to get their day started.

"When Steve called and suggested this I didn't take much convincing," Elizabeth said without opening her eyes as she felt her aesthetician switch to the other foot..

Carrie took a sip of water. "You and me both. This was an excellent idea McGarrett had." She leaned back in her chair again. "But if you tell him I said that I'll deny it."

Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of a loud ringtone and the woman in the chair on the other side of the room dug her phone out of her purse apologetically. "Sorry," she said as connected the call and pressed the phone to her ear.

Catherine smiled to herself as she listened to the woman patiently explain to the person on the other end of the line, presumably her husband, where the syrup was and exactly how their children liked their waffles.

There was nothing unusual about the call. She'd overheard hundreds just like it over the years. The call ended and the woman slipped her phone back in her purse. "Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth trying to take a little time for myself," she scoffed good naturedly. "That's the third time he's called in the last hour. I left him written instructions but he can't find them."

"You know how men are," the woman's aesthetician commiserated.

As the two women began to compare notes about how hapless their husbands were, Catherine leaned back and reflected on how lucky she was.

Her mind drifted back to her exit from the beach house a few hours previous.

"You are the absolute best husband in the world," she said as she shoved several last-minute necessities in her tote bag and headed for the door.

"I'm the best dad too," Steve grinned. "I have both a mug and t-shirt to prove it."

"You're amazing." She kissed him. "I haven't had one of the Hilton's lomi lomi massages in ages. Plus they have a lot of other great services. This might take a while."

"Take as long as you need," he told her as they heard the unmistakable sound of little feet padding towards the bathroom. "You guys should head to the mall after lunch and do a little shopping. Maybe grab something from the pink and white striped bag store."

She smiled and as she headed out the door she called over her shoulder, "I just might do that."

Catherine leaned back and tried to focus on the glorious feeling of the foot massage. Next there would be facial, then a scalp massage and hair treatment, then the lomi lomi massage she had been looking forward to.

Then lunch.

Then the mall.

And through it all she knew that unless it was an emergency, Steve wouldn't call. Not only because he didn't want to disturb her relaxation, but also because he was fully capable of taking care of the kids and the house for the day without her help.

She was broken out of her reverie by the sound of the phone ringing again.

"I just finished up. I'm on my way home," the woman said with an exasperated tone. As she walked past Catherine she smiled and said. "What can I say? He needs me."

Catherine smiled noncommittally.

She thought about the countless times when the stress of their jobs and busy lives built up to the point that she and Steve needed the release that could only come through physical intimacy that had only grown stronger and deeper over the years. The times one of them woke in the night with a bad dream and needed the calming influence only the other could provide. How they needed each other to work together to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted children.

She felt very lucky to have spent over half her life in love with a man who let her know every day how much he loved and needed her in the ways that really mattered.

"What do you suppose Steve and the kids are doing right now?" Carrie asked.

"I have no idea." Catherine smiled. "But I'm sure they're having fun."

THE END

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