Sammy's notes: Mari & Ilna, there are no words for how awesome the two of you are. You're the reasons I'm still loving this journey 1000+ stories later.
REAL Worlders-you guys are all kinds of awesome. Thanks for reading!
Mari's notes: Sammy & Ilna, thanks as always for being so, so much more than the best of friends - for be famiglia
REALMcRollers & Readers, thank you always for the love & support
Ilna's notes: Mari and Sammy - the big day is finally here! Loved creating this storyline with you both. Thank you for continuing to be your amazing selves.
Readers and REAL McRollers - thank you for loving DJ as much as we do :-)
Official Day (1/2)
"Is that pancakes?" DJ asked excitedly as he and Joan came into the kitchen.
"DJ pa'cakes!" Angie said excitedly from her booster seat, pointing at the plate in the middle of the table. "Dem nummy."
"It's a special day," Catherine said as she put the syrup on the table. "That calls for a special breakfast."
"Yum!" Joan climbed into the chair next to Angie's.
"Pancakes are my favorite," DJ said with an excited smile.
Steve winked, putting a second plate of pancakes fresh from the griddle on the table. "That's why we made them."
"Hey, I smell pancakes," Aaron said as he made his way into the room with Mary.
DJ beamed at them. "Uncle Aaron, Aunt Mary, look! Mommy and Daddy made pancakes for a special breakfast."
"Special breakfast for a special day," Mary said.
"Yeah!" he readily agreed.
"How'd you sleep, pumpkin?" Aaron asked, brushing a kiss on the top of Joan's head.
"Good! Can I have two pancakes?"
"Of course you can," Steve replied.
"How 'bout you eat one and see if you're still hungry after that?" Mary suggested.
"Do you need help with anything?" Aaron asked Steve and Catherine.
"No, but thanks," Catherine replied, bringing over a plate of bacon. "All set. Have a seat and dig in."
"Gig in!" Angie echoed, raising her fork.
"Well, Angie's definitely ready to eat," Mary said, laughing.
Catherine grinned. "As always."
As the adults began doling out and cutting up pancakes, Aaron asked, "How are you feeling, DJ?"
"Good," he said around a mouthful.
"Excited?" Mary asked.
He nodded, swallowing. "Excited. And a little …" His brow furrowed as he tried to think of the right description. "My tummy is feeling like … like there's butterflies flying around. I know I should just be happy and excited but …" His voice trailed off.
Catherine, who was seated on his left, put a gentle hand on his arm. "It's okay to be a little nervous as well as excited," she said. "I am, too."
"You are?" he asked.
She nodded. "This is a big day. One we've been thinking about and waiting for and now it's finally here."
DJ looked at Steve. "Do you have butterflies, too, Daddy?"
Steve smiled softly. "Little bit," he admitted.
"Being nervous doesn't have to mean something is wrong," Catherine continued. "In this case, we're a little nervous because we want everything to go exactly right." She leaned closer to him, her voice dropping. "But you know what?"
"What?" DJ asked in a whisper, looking at her seriously.
"The reason today is so special is that we're making how we've felt in our hearts for a long time official." She squeezed his arm gently. "We've been a family almost since the moment we met you, and that's why I know that by the time we stand in front of the judge today, those butterflies will be more excited than nervous."
DJ looked around the table at all the smiling faces.
"What do you think, buddy?" Steve asked.
DJ smiled broadly. "I think we should hurry up and eat so we can go see the judge!"
They laughed at that and Angie threw her syrupy hands into the air. "Yay!"
Steve grinned. "My thoughts exactly."
When Steve, Catherine, DJ and Angie arrived at the courthouse they found Danny, Grace and Gabby already there waiting for them.
"We got here half an hour ago," Grace admitted as she held her arms out to take Angie. "We're a little excited."
Catherine grinned. "Us too."
Angie held her arms out to Danny and after passing her off Grace knelt in front of DJ. "Well don't you look handsome today," she said as she took note of his new charcoal gray suit and sharply pressed steel gray shirt.
"Mommy and me picked this suit out at the store," DJ said, "But this tie is the one Daddy got for me at Christmas."
"I agree with Grace," Gabby said. "You look very sharp." She reached out and tickled Angie's leg. "And you look very pretty too."
"Pi-tty dress!" Angie giggled. "For 'ficial day!"
Danny was holding Angie on his hip as he grinned at his best friend. "I totally know why we're birthday buddies," he stage-whispered to the toddler.
Steve rolled his eyes as Catherine rubbed his bicep, but he was struggling to keep a smile at bay.
"I'm glad you asked," Danny continued, addressing his partner, not even missing a beat at Steve's "I didn't ask …"
"It's because you have one kid with my birthday." When he kissed Angie's cheek, she smiled and kissed his in return. "And now you have one with my name." His smile was broad, and his eyes glinted with humor as he held a hand out for DJ to high five. "The fates are good."
Before Steve could retort, Catherine checked her phone and told him, "Mom and Dad are here. I'll go meet them at the door." Turning to Angie, she added, "Do you want to come with me and DJ or stay with Daddy and Uncle Danno?"
Angie shook her head. Looking at Danny she placed a little hand on his face and said, "Stay wif Daddy an' Unca Danno."
The adults' eyes widened, and Danny bounced his goddaughter and whooped, "Did you hear that? She said Uncle Danno!" He kissed the little cheek and lifted her above his head until she giggled. Grace turned towards them from where she was texting Jenna to park in the first visitors' lot, and he said, "Say it for Grace, sweetheart. What's my name?"
When Angie, thrilled at the excited reaction, repeated, "Unca Dannnnno!" the teenager broke into a huge smile. "Can this day even get any better?"
Less than a minute after Catherine and DJ returned with Joseph, Elizabeth and Grandma Ang, the judge's clerk opened the doors of the courtroom and asked people to begin taking their seats. There was a heavier docket than usual today, which tended to be the case every Valentine's Day, and it was important they stay on schedule.
Just as they were about to enter the courtroom Boris approached with a woman carrying a camera. "I won't take up too much of your valuable time on this happy occasion," he said. "I just wanted to introduce you to Iona Sinclair. I've engaged her to be your videographer for the ceremony."
Off the confused looks on both Steve and Catherine's faces Boris continued.
"I know how very much Miss Joan's movie means to her and her parents so I wanted to make sure that you all have a recording of the event you can enjoy for years to come as well. I've worked with Iona many times in the past and I assure her work is top notch."
"Nice to meet you," Iona nodded. "I'll just go on in and get in position."
"Thank you." Catherine kissed the resort manager's cheek softly causing him to blush beet red. "You're an amazing friend."
Boris smiled. "It has been my great pleasure to get to know you and your extended family."
"Bo-wis," Angie squealed from her perch in her father's arms.
"Who knows," he said as he took the toddler's outstretched hand. "Maybe someday I'll have the pleasure of helping plan your wedding, little one."
Steve snorted. "Are you still gonna be working at Ko Olina in 40 years?"
The 'about to be official' family of four led the way into the courtroom. DJ stood between his parents, gripping both their hands tightly, while Angie nestled in her father's other arm. He'd never been in a room this big with this many chairs. He tried to take it all in but his eyes locked on the elevated area where he knew from watching Joan's video the judge would sit. That was the person who would once and for all make him official. The butterflies in his stomach went into overdrive.
"Look, DJ. Flags!" Angie pointed excitedly to the row of flags behind the judge's desk.
He smiled up at her. "I see them."
The four of them moved forward as the clerk pointed to a long table near the middle of the room positioned directly in front of the judge's bench. She consulted her clipboard. "Just to confirm, you are Commander McGarrett, Lieutenant Rollins and DJ, right?"
"Yes," Steve and Catherine replied in unison.
"And this is my sister," DJ added. "Her name is Angie. She's 2 years old but she'll be 3 in July."
The clerk smiled. "Glad to meet you Angie." She looked at Catherine. "You can all have a seat and the judge will be in in just a few minutes."
"I'm still a little nervous and a little excited," DJ said as they took their seats.
"Me too," Catherine said softly.
As they settled in Estella Longo entered and took her place off to their right. "Are we all ready for the big day?" she asked.
Catherine beamed. "Very ready."
"I have butterflies, but Mommy and Daddy said that's ok," DJ told her.
She smiled. "It's very ok."
"Thewe Joanie!" Angie squealed and waved as they watched the guests file in and fill the seats that had been set up off to the left side of the room.
There was Joseph, Elizabeth and Grandma Ang. Mary, Aaron, Aunt Deb and Joan followed by Ramon & Susan Reyes, Paul, Alyssa and Avery. Joan was wearing her special dress which had been located by the airline in time for the ceremony along with a pair of sparkly shoes purchased with Elizabeth on their trip to the mall to buy a backup dress "just in case". Behind them came the entire Allen family along with Jess, Carrie and John, and Kamekona and Esther. Marliyah, Tara and Jen from the governor's office were the next to arrive. A few seconds later Kono and Adam slipped in with Chin and Leilani. Grace, Danny and Gabby had hung back slightly to wait for some new arrivals but soon slipped in with Grandma Josie and Linda. Tanis Good took a seat in the back row of spectators.
The entire room stood, slightly surprised, when one final guest entered as inconspicuously as possible with a security detail along for the ride.
They remained standing as the door behind the judge's bench opened and a woman in a black robe appeared. She took her seat and indicated everyone else should do the same.
"Well," she smiled, "it isn't every day I have the Governor of Hawaii in my courtroom along with half of her senior staff and …" her eyes swept the gallery, "the entire Five-O task force." She smiled warmly at DJ. "You certainly have a lot of people that love you and want to share your day."
"I have a big family now," he smiled back excitedly.
"I'll say," she chuckled. "We almost didn't have a courtroom big enough to hold them all." She addressed the gallery. "My name is Judge Linda Kamaka. I'll be officiating the proceedings today."
There was a small gasp from one of the assembled guests. "My judge's name was Judge Linda too," Joan said excitedly. "Do you know her?"
"Our adoption proceedings were in LA," Mary explained, slightly embarrassed by her daughter's interruption of the hearing.
"I'm not lucky enough to know your Judge Linda," Judge Kamaka said. "But it must be a good sign we have the same name, right?"
Joan nodded emphatically. "My name is Joan Deborah McGarrett Reyes now because I'm official!"
"That's a very nice name." Judge Kamaka smiled warmly. "And speaking of names … " She shuffled through some papers in the folder in front of her. "I have a note here that I received yesterday from young DJ where he requested his new official name to be Daniel Joseph Rollins McGarrett. Is that correct?"
Catherine's breath caught in her throat and her eyes filled with tears. In the gallery, Joseph and Elizabeth clasped hands.
"Yes, Ma'am," DJ answered in a clear voice.
"Would you like to explain why that's important to you?" Judge Linda asked.
DJ looked at Aaron in the gallery and received an encouraging smile. "I want to add Rollins as an extra middle name because I'm proud to be taking Daddy's last name today, but I want to share Mommy's name too. Uncle Aaron helped me write a letter to you because he told me you're the one who can say it's ok. But everyone will still be able to just call me DJ."
"I think that's a very thoughtful thing for you to do and I will be happy to make that change for you," Judge Linda said.
DJ hugged Catherine happily and gave a thumbs up to Aaron.
"Let's get started, shall we?" The judge said. "Ms. Longo, would you please call the case."
Estella Longo read out the details of the adoption request naming Steve and Catherine as the new legal parents of DJ and swearing and attesting that all the paperwork had been completed in full and according to local and state allow and the DJ was free to become an official member of his new family. The judge then instructed her bailiff to present Steve and Catherine with the official certificate of adoption which was required to be completed in her presence and they both happily signed.
"It's a very important part of my job, probably the most important part as a matter of fact, to make sure that we're placing DJ into the best possible home for him, both now and in his future. I know it probably seems like a no-brainer once we've made it this far into the process, but it actually isn't. This proceeding is not just a rubber stamp, but rather a final chance to make sure we're doing the right thing by everyone involved. To that end I like to take a moment and ask both prospective new parents a couple of questions. "First off, do you swear and affirm you have no reservations about these proceedings. Second, tell me why you decided to make DJ part of your family. Let's start with you, Commander McGarrett."
Steve stood and cleared his throat. "I have absolutely zero reservations about these proceedings." He smiled confidently. "I am ready to become DJ's Daddy officially. Beyond ready. He's been a part of our family since the first night we met. I knew the minute I saw him interact with Catherine, and our daughter Angie, that there was something special about the connection. It was meant to be. I spend every day trying to be the best father I can. To teach and guide both of my children. To lead by example. To help them learn to deal with both success and failure. To foster their creativity, imagination and love of learning. To show them all the limitless possibilities in front of them. To help them discover the things they're passionate about and interested in and then help them explore those things. To protect them without smothering. But mostly to just love them unconditionally and believe in them wholeheartedly because no one knows better than me what a difference that can make in a person's life."
He took a second to gather his thoughts then continued.
"I have no idea what the future holds. Where we'll be in five years is anyone's guess. If you had told me five years ago where my life was going to be today I wouldn't have believed you. But there is one thing I know for sure. Whatever happens we'll be together. And when we're together we can handle anything."
Steve took his seat as sniffles could be heard from the assembled guests.
"Lieutenant Rollins?" Judge Linda smiled. "Your husband is a little bit of a hard act to follow."
"He is indeed." Catherine grinned as she stood up. "I too have absolutely no reservations about moving forward and making this adoption official." She squeezed DJ's shoulder. "Since Steve covered most of the things we believe in and strive for as parents, I'd like to take a minute to talk about the difference DJ has already made in our family. Our daughter Angie adores him and loves having a big brother. Watching that sibling bond develop, knowing they'll share it for their entire lives, that they'll have each other to lean on and depend on going forward, has been amazing."
"Seeing the world through DJ's eyes has made me not only a better parent, but a better person. And I think Steve would agree it's done the same for him."
Steve nodded in agreement
"DJ's past experiences have given him every reason to be bitter and withdrawn and angry at the world. But he's just the opposite. He is sweet and loving and empathetic and kind and eager to engage with the people around him. More than anything I want to give him a safe loving environment to continue to learn and grow. But DJ also reminds me that sometimes monsters from the past pop up unexpectedly in the present. He reminds me that happiness is not something we can become complacent about. It's something we need to work at every day. And that when bad memories come up we need to face them and deal with them. But that if we do that together, with love, we can put them behind us. I want to stand beside DJ as he celebrates every success in life, but I also want to love him through those times when bad memories creep in."
She turned and smiled at the gallery. "I know that each and every person here today loves DJ, and loves our family, and that every one of them has so much to offer our son as he grows. Frankly, I just can't wait to see all the amazing things he's going to do. I feel privileged to be able to be his Mommy."
Judge Linda beamed. "I don't think there's any question this adoption is in the best interest of everyone involved. Let's get down to making this official."
"And this is for you." The judge presented DJ with a commemorative copy of his adoption certificate. "Congratulations to you all." She shook hands with him, Catherine, Steve and smiled when Angie offered her little hand and said, 'We s'ake!' "I wish you a lifetime of happiness with your parents, sister and this huge o'hana you have that clearly love you very much."
"Thank you!" DJ was smiling so broadly, his cheeks were sore, but he didn't care. It really was the best day ever. As soon as he thanked the judge, he turned and ran to where the rest of the family was clapping and whooping with joy.
Running to the first row, he held up his certificate to the man he'd connected with the moment they met. "Look, Uncle Aaron!"
"That's so great!" Aaron stepped out of the spectator's area to lift him off the ground for a hug and the six-year old's arms went tightly around his neck. "Congratulations, DJ."
"Joan, I'm official!" He took his cousin's hands as soon as Aaron placed him down and she spun him around in a little dance.
"Yayyayayay! You did so super great, I knew you would!"
Aunt Deb approached with Mary and he held up the certificate. "Look, Aunt Deb, I'm a McGarrett!"
"And I'm so proud you are." She sniffed as he hugged her around the waist.
"Aunt Mary needs a hug, kiddo." A teary Mary knelt and opened her arms, kissing the little boy's temple and smiling at her brother through her tears.
END CHAPTER 1 (stay tuned on Monday for Chapter 2)
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