Super thanks to Ilna for hopping in and writing the bulk of this one when Sammy and I were both under the weather. In a freak trifecta of sick, all 3 of us have a tummy bug of some sort. And we live hundreds of miles apart.
Family Feud of Fun
"So who's going to be our host?" Catherine held up the deck of homemade questions and answers they'd created by polling everyone at Christmas dinner.
"I think it should be Grandma." DJ smiled at Elizabeth from his place beside her on the sofa. "Cause she's a professor and super smart."
She hugged him close. "I can't say no to that request, thank you, sweetheart." She looked around. "Is everyone good with that?"
Nods and murmurs of "of course" and "perfect" passed through the family.
"Let's settle teams then." Catherine grinned at the competitive gleam in Steve's eyes. "Steve and Danny, you're good with your … volunteers?"
"I'm good," Steve said with a nod as Danny agreed.
"We're ready!" he announced as he kissed Nonna's cheek. "That's for luck."
The teams and spectators made their way outside to the deck and sat on benches of opposite tables.
"I'll keep score," Deb offered, and Steve moved a chair for her next to one of the white boards.
Elizabeth took the cards from Catherine and stood behind the bar, which they'd pushed up to use as a podium.
"Okay then, we have team Williams/Reyes/Allen with Danny, Nonna, Grace, Kaitlyn, Aaron, Mary and Joan." Everyone cheered as the players high fived.
"And Team McGarrett/Rollins/Stagler/Allen with Steve, Catherine, Grandma Ang, DJ, Jacob, Joseph, Carrie and Angie."
"Yay! Dat's us!" Angie cheered from Carrie's arms.
"Alright, our first question, Steve and Danny." Elizabeth read the card with a grin. "Hit your buzzer to ring in before you answer. Where might Santa go on vacation?"
Both men hit the buzzers with Steve being a split second faster. "Hawaii."
"That's our number two answer," Elizabeth said. "Danny, there's one more popular one."
"New Jersey," Danny said with a smirk, causing his partner to scoff, "Seriously?"
"The number one industry in New Jersey is tourism. Santa loves Jersey."
"Says the man playing this game on Oahu."
"Boys, boys," Nonna said with a smile.
"Sorry, Danny, New Jersey isn't in the top five. Steve, pass or play?"
Catherine laughed when her husband stated, "Play," without hesitation and when it was her turn said, "The beach."
"And that's the number one answer," her mother said.
"Wait, wait, New Jersey has the best beaches," Danny interjected, grinning at the kids' laughter, his real goal for fussing. "My answer should count."
"You're so funny, Uncle Danny," Joan giggled. "It's not beach weather in New Jersey now."
"Next time you come to Jersey, we'll all go down the shore and you'll agree," he said, causing more laughter. "Maybe Santa waits 'til July for vacation. He's pretty busy this time of year."
"Are you finished?" Steve shook his head.
With an exaggerated sigh, his best friend waved a hand. "Go on, I can't help it if our family hasn't had the experience of the Jersey shore."
As the game continued, the laughter increased.
"Name something siblings fight over," was the question for Mary when she smacked the buzzer and said, "Taking each other's toys!"
"Hey, hey hey, I never took your toys," Steve teased.
"No, but I kept taking your G.I. Joe's so my Barbies could have prom dates."
"We had a virtual prom right, Grace?" Joan said excitedly. "It was so much fun."
"So much fun," Grace bent to hug her. "What do you think is a good answer?"
"Umm, I think borrowing clothes, my friend gets upset when her sister wears her clothes without asking."
She bounced in place when the rest of her team clapped and said, "Good answer."
"Angie and I don't fight," DJ said and as he chewed his lip in thought Steve and Catherine shared a soft smile. "Ummm, I'm gonna say they fight about what to watch on TV?"
"Excellent answer," Aaron said from across the deck. "When we were teenagers Alyssa and I would make running dives for the remote."
"I had three siblings to dodge out," Danny agreed, "and of course Angela was the fight to the death one. I watched a lot of Beverly Hills 90201." He shuddered.
"Name a reason a person might be running," Elizabeth asked and Carrie snorted a laugh as Steve and Danny murmured, "They saw us coming," and "They're running from us," simultaneously.
Deb flapped a hand at them. "Shhh, both of you, it's not your turn."
Elizabeth looked at Jacob and Kaitlyn expectantly.
Jacob hit the buzzer first. "They're playing tag!" he cried out.
Elizabeth nodded, looking at the card. "Playing a sport or game, that's number two."
"Woo!" Jacob cheered.
"Do you want to play or pass?" Elizabeth asked.
Jacob looked at his team for a decision.
"Let's play!" DJ said. He grinned at his teammates. "I've got a good guess."
"Okay, go ahead, honey," Catherine said, kissing his head.
"They're running to exercise," DJ said. "Like you and Daddy."
"That is a good guess," Ang agreed.
"And you're right," Elizabeth said, smiling proudly. "That was the number one answer."
As the other cheered, Angie spontaneously hugged her brother. "Yay, DJ!"
"Okay, another guess?" Elizabeth asked Joseph.
"Hmm, how about to catch a bus or train?" he suggested.
"Final answer?" Elizabeth teased.
He smirked. "Wrong game, dear," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "But, yes, final answer."
"Well, you're right. That's the number three answer."
"Yay, Grandpa!" DJ cheered, and Angie immediately joined him.
"There's one more answer," Elizabeth said leadingly.
"I'm going with my original answer," Steve insisted. "They're criminals."
"Given who answered this survey," Catherine said, "that probably is on there."
"Okay, let's try it," Carrie agreed.
Elizabeth paused, drawing out the tension. "You're right. Running from law enforcement or some variant is number four."
"I think we should get partial credit for that," Danny said.
"There's no partial credit," Steve shot back.
"There should be," Danny grumbled.
"Hush now, boys," Nonna said. "It's Ang's and my turn." She and Ang readied themselves with their team's buzzers.
"Name something you never leave home without," Elizabeth said.
Nonna was a little quicker to buzz in and said, "My purse."
Ang grinned at her friend. "I was going to say the same thing."
"That would make you both right," Elizabeth said, "but Nonna answered first."
"Great minds," Nonna said, smiling at Ang.
"Great minds with the biggest purses," Danny teased gently.
"You never seemed to mind when you were younger, Daniel," Nonna teased right back.
He grinned. "Nope, because there was always something to eat in there."
"Purse or wallet was the number two answer," Elizabeth said. "I take it you want to play?"
"I think we can handle this one," Aaron agreed, looking at his teammates.
"Grace, you're up, sweetie," Elizabeth said. "Name something you never leave home without."
Grace rolled her eyes a little. "Not to play into the stereotype, but … my phone."
"I can attest to that," Danny agreed, a hand in the air.
"Gotta be on there," Kaitlyn agreed.
"You're right," Elizabeth said. "And so much for stereotypes because that's the number one answer." She looked at the next player. "What do you think, Kaitlyn?"
"Um …" Kaitlyn bit her lip, thinking. "House keys?"
"Good one!" Aaron nodded, reaching over to bump her fist.
"That's number three," Elizabeth said with a smile. "One more."
"I guess it's my turn," Aaron said, brow furrowing. "But those three were the obvious ones. How about a water bottle?"
Steve nodded approvingly and Carrie rolled her eyes. "Of course Commander Hydration over here agrees."
Elizabeth winced. "Sorry. Though I agree it's a good thing to have with you."
"Is it my turn?" Joan asked.
"It sure is, honey," Elizabeth said. "Name something you never leave home without."
Joan tapped her chin, thinking hard.
"Cookie!" Angie called out, causing them all to laugh.
"That's number one for the things Angie never wants to leave home without," Catherine said, tickling her.
"How about sunglasses?" Joan said finally.
"Ding ding ding!" Elizabeth beamed. "You got it! Number four was sunglasses."
"I guess given most of the respondents live in Hawaii and LA that makes total sense," Deb observed.
"This next one should be interesting," Elizabeth said as the buzzers were passed to Aaron and Joseph. "Name something you always have in your trunk."
Joseph buzzed first. "First aid kit."
"Good answer," Steve said approvingly.
"It was," Elizabeth agreed. "The number two answer, actually. There are five in this category."
"Let's play," Joseph said.
Steve rubbed his hands together. "This is definitely our category."
Carrie was first up and said, "Flashlight," without hesitation.
Steve continued to nod as Elizabeth said, "That's right. Number one answer."
"Bam," Carrie said, folding her arms with a proud look.
"Jacob?" Elizabeth asked.
He winced, clearly not wanting to let his team down.
"You got this, Jacob," DJ said encouragingly.
"You got dis, Jay-cup," Angie echoed.
He smiled, his eyes lighting suddenly. "Hey, Uncle Steve, what are those things that look like black rope and have the thingys on the end that you stick on the engine?"
"Jumper cables?" Steve suggested.
"Yeah! Jumper cables!" Jacob said, looking back at Elizabeth hopefully.
"You're right, that's number four."
"Wooo!" Jacob cheered.
"Good one," Steve said, giving him a high-five.
"Your turn, Aunt Catherine," Jacob said.
"Hmm," she said, pretending to think as she suppressed a smile. "In this house there are extra cuffs, but I'm going to go with a blanket."
"Extra cuffs could be on there," Steve observed. "A good chunk of the respondents are in law enforcement."
She smiled but stuck with her answer.
"You're right," Elizabeth said. "Number three answer is blankets."
"If I was still living in the Midwest I'd say a blanket, extra coat, hat, gloves, and boots," Ang noted.
Joseph nodded his agreement.
"It's our turn, kiddo," Carrie said, bouncing Angie on her lap. "What's something in Mommy and Daddy's trunks?"
Angie threw both arms into the air. "Go bag!"
Carrie laughed. "Actually, that's a pretty good answer."
"No doubt whose kid she is," Danny agreed as everyone laughed.
Steve shared a proud smile with Catherine.
"Let's go for it," Carrie said. "Go bag."
Elizabeth grinned. "And that's the number five answer!"
"Yay! You did it, Angie!" DJ said, beaming with pride.
"I did it!" she echoed.
"We have one more category," Elizabeth said. She grinned, reading the card. "This oughta be good." She checked to see that the buzzers had been passed. "Name something parents always say to kids."
Danny hit the buzzer first. " 'When I was your age …' "
Grace raised a hand. "I can attest to that," she said with a grin, echoing his earlier words.
Elizabeth laughed. "Number two answer."
"Yay!" Grace said.
"Play?" Danny asked his team.
"Sure," Mary agreed. Her lips twisted as she thought. "How about … 'Clean your room'?"
"Good one, good one," Danny agreed.
"Not that you ever heard that when you were growing up, Daniel," Nonna teased.
"For me it was more like, 'Do you think you can get any more dirty clothes on your floor?' "
Elizabeth chuckled. "Clean your room is number three."
"You're up, pumpkin," Aaron said.
" 'Less talk, more eat,' " Joan said with a grin at her parents who both laughed.
"That's more of a you specific answer, peanut," Mary said.
"Looks that way," Elizabeth said with a gentle smile. "Sorry, honey."
Joan shrugged, not overly upset her answer wasn't on the board.
"Ooh," Aaron said, " 'We'll get there when we get there.' "
Deb laughed. "Now that's a good one."
"You're right," Elizabeth agreed. "Number five."
"Two more," Danny said.
"What do you think, Grace?" Elizabeth asked.
"Hmm …" Grace thought. Kaitlyn tugged her arm and whispered in her eat. "Ooh, that's a good one," Grace said, giving her a grateful smile. " 'Do your homework.' "
Elizabeth smiled. "Number four."
Grace wrapped an arm around Kaitlyn. "Thanks for the save. Teamwork makes the dreamwork."
"Just looking for the number one answer now," Elizabeth said.
" 'If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it?' " Danny suggested.
"Bet you heard that one a lot, too," Mary quipped.
"Final answer?" Elizabeth asked.
Danny looked at the rest of his team. "I jumped the line, you wanna go with that?"
"For number one?" Grace asked doubtfully.
"Hmm … you're right," Danny said. Across the deck he saw DJ whispering to Angie and her face lighting up as she nodded emphatically. He smiled softly and glanced at his team. "This might be a little unorthodox, but I think we should pass to DJ and Angie."
When his team wholeheartedly agreed, Elizabeth said, "Okay, DJ and Angie, what do you think the number one things parents always say to kids is?"
DJ nodded and Angie and they answered in unison. "I love you!"
"Awww," came the chorus of reactions from around the deck.
Catherine wrapped DJ in a hug as Angie crawled across laps to Steve. "In this house, that's certainly number one," Catherine said.
Elizabeth smiled and held up the card. "Number one here, too. And that was our last question," she said.
"And as scorekeeper," Deb said, "I officially declare this Family Feud a tie."
Steve smiled, kissing Angie's head and smiling at Catherine and DJ beside him. "For once, I'm totally good with that."
# End. Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned tomorrow as our marathon continues
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