Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for their always awesome feedback. Huge hugs to Mari for being so strong in such difficult circumstances.
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Thanks to my mom for the story idea. Love you, Mom!
Hope you enjoy!
Operation Pre-Mother's Day (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Almost time to go," Catherine said as she put the last of the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. She looked at Angie and DJ at the table. "Can you two go get your shoes on, please?"
"Okay, Mommy," DJ said. He motioned to his sister. "Come on, Angie."
"We's get shoes," she said, sliding out of her chair and following him out of the kitchen at a run.
Steve set the cloth he'd used to wipe Angie's face and hands and then the table on the sink. His phone pinged with an incoming text and he pulled it out of his pocket to check the message.
Supplies assembled.
Steve quickly typed out a response. Copy that. 17:00?
Affirmative.
He smiled as he put the phone away and noticed Catherine's raised eyebrow at his expression.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said, kissing her temple. "Just your dad."
She grinned knowingly. "Ahh, the top secret Operation Mother's Day project."
"It's not Operation Mother's Day," he protested.
She gave him a doubtful look. "With the two of you at the helm, it absolutely is."
He grinned. "You're not getting anything out of me, Rollins. This op is staying top secret."
She rolled her eyes, a hand going to her waist. "Steve, we have a seven-year-old and a not-quite three-year-old. You really think there's any chance it stays a secret until Sunday?"
"DJ can keep a secret," he said confidently.
She folded her arms. "DJ's not the one to worry about here."
"Angie …" he began, and winced. "Well, hopefully she'll be so excited while telling you all about it that you won't be able to figure out what she's describing."
Catherine laughed. "That's your only hope."
"Did you and your mom and Grandma Ang decide where you're having dinner yet?"
"Mmhmm. Azure."
He raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Nice."
"Yeah, we're looking forward to it."
"How's their mac and cheese?" he teased.
She laughed. "That's much more likely to be on your menu tonight than mine, Commander."
"Mommy!" DJ called from the other room. "Angie's trying to wear two pairs of shoes!"
Steve and Catherine exchanged an amused look.
"Sounds about right," he said.
She leaned up for a kiss. "Let's go, sailor. The sooner we get this day going, the sooner you can get to Operation Mother's Day," she teased, tossing a grin back at him as she walked toward the doorway.
"It's not …" he started. "I mean, Pre-Mother's Day, if anything …" he continued, following her out as she laughed.
"Okay, you all have fun with this mysterious project of yours," Elizabeth said as she, Catherine, and Ang prepared to leave the condo for dinner.
"We will," Joseph assured them, standing with Steve, DJ, and Angie.
"Enjoy dinner," Steve said. "Have some ahi for me."
"Will do," Ang promised.
"And don't come back till we give you the all-clear," Joseph reminded them.
"The 'all-clear'?" Catherine repeated with a little snort. She chuckled, before leaning up to give Steve a quick kiss. "Yeah, and this isn't Operation Mother's Day." She leaned down to give DJ and Angie one last goodbye kiss. "Have fun with Daddy and Grandpa," she said, then glanced up at Steve mischievously. "I can't wait to hear all about it when we get back."
"But, Mommy, it's a secret surprise!" DJ protested.
She smiled, her expression softening, and gave him another kiss. "Then I can't wait till Mother's Day to hear all about it."
They said another round of farewells and then the three women were out the door on the way to their reservations.
Once the door had closed behind them, DJ looked up at his father and grandfather excitedly.
"What are we making?" he asked.
"Wha' we maki'g?" Angie echoed.
"We are going to make picture frames for your mommy, Grandma, and Grandma Ang for Mother's Day," Joseph said.
DJ smiled immediately. "Mommy really likes pictures," he said.
Steve smiled. "That's right, she does. Especially of the two of you. And these are going to be special frames because they're going to have your handprints on them."
Angie looked at her hand curiously as DJ asked, "Our handprints?"
Joseph nodded and motioned them to follow him to the kitchen. "But first, we need to make the dough."
DJ gasped. "Dough? Like cookie dough?"
Angie's eyes lit up and she faltered in her skipping step beside them. "Cookies?"
"Not cookies, but similar," Steve said as they entered the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for Angie as DJ climbed into the one next to it. "You wouldn't want to eat this dough."
"Like how Mommy says we shouldn't eat cookie dough but always lets us have just a little tiny taste?" DJ asked.
Steve shared a grin with Joseph who was collecting supplies from the pantry, then tried to look stern. "Does she?"
DJ laughed. "Daddy! You always have a taste, too!"
Angie giggled at the exchange. "Daddy ea' da cookies."
Steve chuckled as he went over to get bowls and measuring cups from the cupboard. "You got me," he said. "But no, we're definitely not going to taste this dough. It would be way too salty."
"One cup too salty," Joseph agreed as he set the flour, salt, and food coloring on the table.
"Ooh," Angie said, reaching for the large bag of flour. She tried to lift it but it was too heavy.
"Okay," Steve said, returning with the bowls and measuring cups. He clapped his hands together once. "Easy recipe."
Joseph nodded. "One cup flour, one cup salt, half a cup of water with food coloring in it."
"We're going to make three," Steve said. "One for Mommy, one for Grandma, and one for Grandma Ang. Whose do you want to start with?"
"Mommy!" DJ said immediately.
"Mommy!" Angie agreed.
Steve smiled. "Thought you might say that. Okay, what color do you think she'd like best?"
"Lellow!" Angie said, naming her own current favorite color.
"She'd like yellow," DJ agreed, though his brow knitted slightly. "But I think she'd like purple even more."
"Pu'pul!" Angie echoed, nodding.
Steve smiled. "Purple it is."
Joseph took out the food coloring bottles. DJ immediately looked concerned.
"There's no purple," he said, eyeing the red, yellow, green, and blue bottles. "What are we going to do?"
"Wha' we do?" Angie repeated, her expression mirroring her brother's.
"What are we going to do?" Steve asked, looking at DJ encouragingly.
DJ looked at the table, thinking hard.
"Didn't you tell us about making colors in art class …?" Steve asked.
DJ looked up suddenly, eyes bright. "We can mix the colors!"
Joseph and Steve both smiled proudly. "That's right," Steve said. "What colors do we mix to make purple?"
DJ bit his lip, looking at the bottles on the table as he thought. "Red and … blue?" he asked. "Is that right?"
Steve quirked an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
DJ continued to look a little unsure, but he nodded. "I think that's right."
Joseph smiled. "Let's give it a try." He filled a measuring cup with a half cup of water and brought it back to the table.
"How about you do the blue and Angie does the red," Steve suggested, pulling the cap off the blue bottle of food coloring and handing it to DJ.
"Blue's my favorite," DJ said and Steve winked.
"Start with a couple drops," Joseph said. "We can always add more later."
DJ held the small bottle over the measuring cup and squeezed it. The drops came out fast and his eyes widened. "Is that too many?" he asked worriedly.
Joseph smiled. "That's fine," he assured him.
"Okay, Angie," Steve said, moving the cup closer to her. He handed her the red food coloring as Joseph retrieved some paper towels, just in case. "Just like DJ."
"I do it," Angie said, jerking it away when Steve tried to keep his own hand on the bottle.
"Okay, you do it," he said, keeping his hand close but letting her squeeze it. "Carefully."
She beamed as drops of red fell into the water. "Uh oh!" she said, accidentally dropping the bottle into the cup as well. Without hesitating, she plunged her hand in to retrieve it.
Joseph chuckled. "Well, that's one way to mix it."
Steve nodded, amused.
"He'we, Daddy," she said, thrusting the dripping bottle in his direction. He took some paper towel and dried off the bottle and her hand.
Joseph handed DJ a spoon. "Here you go, DJ, let's see if you were right."
DJ slowly stirred the water, gasping as the colors mixed.
"Oooh," Angie said. "Pu'pul!"
"It's purple!"
Steve grinned, ruffling his hair. "Yeah, it is. You did it."
Angie clapped. "Ou did id, DJ!"
"I think that looks like a pretty good purple," Joseph said, "but we can add a few more drops of red and blue if you want."
"I think it's good," DJ said. He looked at his sister. "Do you think it's good, Angie?"
She nodded. "I's good pu'pul."
"Okay, then we'll put the flour and salt in a bowl and mix them with the water."
DJ and Angie added the dry ingredients to the bowl, Steve helping Angie to avoid a cup of salt on the table or floor. Joseph gave DJ the measuring cup of purple water, and DJ held it in two hands to pour in. They mixed it together and watched as the white flour and salt turned purple and combined into a sticky dough.
"The website said to add a little more salt and flour if it's sticky," Joseph said, measuring out even amounts of both for the kids to dump in. After another round of mixing, the dough was deemed perfect. Both kids giggled, poking it with their fingers.
"Pu'pul cookies," Angie said.
Steve sighed with a chuckle. "Not cookies. It's more like Play-Doh."
Joseph glanced at him and smiled softly, lost momentarily in a thought of how far the Navy SEAL he'd met in his daughter's apartment all those years ago had come. He straightened, shaking himself out of the memory. "That's right, more like Play-Doh. And now we're going to roll it out on wax paper to make the picture frame."
They rearranged the supplies on the table so they could spread out a piece of wax paper. Steve plopped the dough down and both DJ and Angie couldn't help but squish their hands into it.
Joseph held up the rolling pin. "Who wants to start the rolling?"
"Angie can go first this time," DJ offered.
Steve smiled at his thoughtfulness.
"That's very nice of you, DJ," Joseph said. He handed the rolling pin over to Steve who moved behind Angie. Her eyes widened as she looked at it.
"Okay, put your hands here, Angie," Steve said, arranging her little hands on the end of the rolling pin. With his own gently on top of hers, he helped her press the pin against the dough and roll it so one side started to flatten.
Angie gasped excitedly. "Oooh," she said. After a couple more passes, she said, "DJ do."
"Your turn, buddy," Steve said, shifting the wax paper over a little and moving behind him. "Do you want to do it yourself or do you want a little help?"
"Can you help me?"
"Of course."
Together they finished rolling the dough flat.
"Perfect," Joseph said, and DJ beamed. "Now we're going to cut a heart out of the middle. That's where the picture will go when it's all done." He produced a heart-shaped cookie cutter.
"That's Grandma's!" DJ said. "We used it to make Valentine's cookies."
Joseph smiled. "Then you know how it works." He handed the cutter to DJ and helped him place it in the middle of the dough.
"Come on, Angie," DJ said. "Now we push it down, remember?"
She nodded, reaching over to help him press the cutter all the way through.
"Before you take it out," Steve said, "there's one more thing to do." He spun the wax paper around so the top of the heart was closer to them. "You're going to put your hands around the heart and press them into the dough."
DJ gasped in understanding. "Our handprints!"
"That's right."
"Our handprints will be around the heart," DJ said excitedly. "Mommy is going to love this!"
Steve and Joseph smiled. "Yes, she will," Steve said. "Okay, DJ, you use your left hand, do you remember the trick?" he asked.
DJ held out both his hands, looking for the "L" shape made by his thumb and forefinger like Steve had taught him. He traced it with his other hand. "This one," he said.
"Yep. And put it right here," Steve said, guiding his hand so his thumb was around the top of one side of the heart and the rest of his hand curved around the side. "Your turn, baby girl."
Angie waved both her hands excitedly but let her father arrange her right hand around the other side of the heart.
"Now press," he said.
"Press hard, Angie," DJ said.
They both leaned into the dough and when they lifted their hands, their two handprints now framed the heart.
"Ooh," Angie said, reaching over to touch the handprint she'd made.
"Careful," Steve cautioned and she paused, then stroked the imprint gently.
"It looks perfect," Joseph said. "Now we can take the heart out." He lifted the cookie cutter and carefully removed the dough from the middle, leaving a heart-shaped hole.
Steve turned the wax paper back around so the kids could see it properly.
"It's our hands around the heart, Angie," DJ said, his smile wide. He stared at the frame a moment, then looked up at Steve and Joseph. "Can we make the rest of the dough look like a heart, too?"
"I think we can," Joseph said after a quick look at Steve, deciding to keep the fact that that was the plan all along to themselves. He shifted the wax paper into a better position and used a butter knife to cut a large heart around the handprints. "We don't need these scraps now," he said, and motioned for the kids to pull the excess dough away from the heart.
Angie, unable to resist, snagged a piece of dough from the scrap pile and put it in her mouth before anyone could stop her. She immediately spit it out, making a disgusted face.
"Yuck, Daddy!"
"Yeah, salty, isn't it?" Steve said, shaking his head. "I told ya." He moved to get her some water.
"Dat not cookie," she insisted and stuck her tongue out to try and rid herself of the taste.
"No, it's not a cookie," he said with a little chuckle and handed her one of the sippy cups they kept at the Rollins'. "That's a salty picture frame."
Joseph smiled. "Bet you won't do that again, huh, sweetheart?" he asked and she shook her head as she chugged the water down.
While Angie drank two-thirds of the water in her cup, Steve helped DJ write the year beneath the heart with a sharpened stick. They poked two holes at the top so the frame could eventually be hung and Joseph carefully moved the whole thing to the island.
"Now we'll make one for Grandma and one for Grandma Ang," he said, "and then we'll put them in the oven to harden."
"Yay!" Angie said, clapping, having finally put down her water.
DJ beamed from his seat and once again asserted, "They're going to love these."
"Mommy!" Angie said, jumping excitedly and holding up her arms to be picked up the second Catherine, Elizabeth, and Grandma Ang returned after receiving the "all clear" text.
"Hi, baby girl. Did you have so much fun?" Catherine asked, kissing her enthusiastically.
"Certainly looks like it," Ang said, smiling.
"We can't tell you what it is, but you're going to love it," DJ said with a confident nod.
Steve beamed and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's my boy."
DJ's smile grew wide at that.
"Well, clue number one looks like food coloring," Elizabeth said, as she examined one of Angie's hands and then gave it a little kiss.
DJ looked at his own food coloring-stained hands and then up at his father nervously.
"Yeah, I really thought that was going to come off easier," Steve admitted, glancing at the spots on his own hands.
"Yours look pretty clean," Elizabeth said, eyeing her husband's hands.
He smiled. "Comes with experience."
"Mommy cookie han's 'n h'art!" Angie burst out excitedly. "DJ an' Angie!" She made a face and shook her head. "Don' ea' did, Mommy, nod nummy, id talty."
DJ looked worried but Catherine glanced at Steve and chuckled, having no clue what her daughter was describing. "I think your secret is safe until Mother's Day, Commander."
Angie put a red and yellow spotted finger to her lips. "Shh, se-kwet."
Steve grinned. "And that's my girl."
Hope you enjoyed!
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