Sammy & Ilna - love you to the moon.

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The Best Helpers

Steve and Catherine shared a smile as they drove along the highway. She'd turned on the truck's radio as they drove back towards HQ after a joint meeting with visiting mayors and law enforcement officials from several towns on the mainland.

They'd joined Lea, Lou Grover, and the chief of police to discuss how the task force worked both independently as well as in conjunction with SWAT and HPD to deal with multilevel crimes.

The song filling the truck was We Don't Talk About Bruno. Steve had dropped the kids off that morning and hadn't changed the station. Switching from the Disney music, Catherine grinned. "I could leave it."

"What?" He glanced her way. "I wasn't…"

"Singing? You were totally humming…"

"Because I've heard it 74 thousand times," he chuckled and she smiled.

"At least you're not alone, I caught myself singing You're Welcome in the kitchen last night. I didn't even realize it until Angie started singing along."

Before Steve could reply, their attention was drawn to movement that was out of place on the far side of Ala Moana Boulevard. The traffic was uncharacteristically light, even for early afternoon, and the moving shape was stepping along the curb at the edge of a set-back shopping area that contained several stores.

"Steve, there's a…" she began, sitting upright against the seatbelt.

"Dog, I see it," he finished her sentence and checked the mirror before pulling to a stop.

Hopping out, they saw a delivery driver doing the same to the left of Steve's truck as the large, retriever-type dog took a tentative step closer to the roadway. "If you wanna go," the driver said, "I'll hold the traffic." His vehicle was large, and with it next to the pickup, traffic couldn't get past.

"Good," Steve called, already jogging after Catherine, who had removed her belt and was approaching the dog that was not quite as large as Cammie, but was definitely at least 75 pounds.

When she was close enough, Catherine relaxed her body language and said, "Hey, sweetheart, hi, good boy, are you lost?" in an upbeat, soft tone.

The dog seemed more curious than scared, and that was definitely a plus. Hoping he wouldn't bolt, she got as close as possible and knelt on the asphalt. "Come here, baby, look at you, what a beautiful boy you are…"

Seconds later, Steve, who was hanging back slightly to not spook the dog, quirked a small grin when his wife slipped her looped belt over the dog's head when he stepped close enough to first sniff her outstretched hand, then nuzzled her cheek.

"He's wearing tags, let's get him secured in the truck," she said while standing to lead him that way. "Come on, sweetheart, we have some nice cookies for you…" She led him and he happily trotted next to her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

At the truck, the other driver was looking on with an impressed expression. "That was fast," he said and smiled at Steve as Catherine encouraged the dog into the cab and climbed in after, closing the door.

"Yeah, she's got that effect." He looked towards the few cars waiting patiently and two who were angrily honking. "Give it a rest!" He plucked his badge from his waist and held it up. "Do you not see the dog?"

The truck driver smiled as the honking ceased. "Wait till I tell my boy I met Commander McGarrett saving a dog. I'm Will Olani."

"Thanks for stopping, you were a big help." Steve shook the offered hand before Will climbed back into his vehicle and drove off, allowing the traffic flow to resume.

Back in the truck, Catherine was about to dial the number on the dog's tag when Steve came around to the passenger side. Seconds later a frantic woman appeared in the parking lot, running towards the road from the expanse in front of the stores. Seeing him, she yelled, "Hey! Help! My dog… did you see a dog?" as she got close enough to be heard.

"We have him," Steve called back, striding to reach her. "He's okay."

When she stumbled up to him, he caught her arm. She was missing one flip flop and her face was streaked with tears.

"Hey, hey, he's okay," he repeated, "are you all right?"

She took a gasping breath and nodded as they reached the truck. "Oh my God, oh my God," she repeated. "Bailey!" She reached the truck and seemed to remember the leash dangling from her hand. Catherine opened the window and she passed it through, clipping it onto the dog's collar before opening the door.

Bailey leapt out effortlessly and into his person's arms looking absolutely happy and smiling a doggy smile. He'd been on a little zoomie adventure and was curious about the fuss. The nice lady gave him a cookie and now his mom was giving him all the hugs and kisses.

"Thank you, oh my God, thank you," the woman repeated as she checked her dog from head to foot. She looked up at Catherine and Steve from where she'd kneeled on the roadway and was hugging Bailey. "We live like two miles away, just on the other side of the shopping center. I stopped for gas and when I came out this guy said my brake light was out. I opened the passenger window to talk to him and he opened the door! I have no idea why but that's what he did - and this big goofball thought it was time for a run." She kissed the furry head. "I got out and started chasing him," she took a breath, "if he went in any of the three other directions he would've been in our neighborhood, of course he went right toward the highway."

"Here." Catherine passed her a water. "Take a sip. He looks like a puppy, is he?"

"Yeah, he's 10 months. We adopted him a couple of months ago so he's not fully trained yet. Definitely not enough for a reliable recall during the zoomies." She kissed the dog's cheek again and was rewarded with a puppy kiss. "Here, take a drink," she held the bottle so he could lap up some water. "I'm Tina, by the way, and I owe you … well everything. I can't imagine…" She shuddered.

"Catherine." She offered her hand. "And my husband, Steve." As he did the same, Tina's eyes widened in recognition and fell on the badge at his waist.

She smiled. "Bailey, boy, you got rescued by Commander McGarrett and Lieutenant Rollins." She shook her head. "Wow, okay, then, we'll have a story to tell. Thanks again."

"No problem, we're happy he's okay." Catherine pointed to Tina's feet. "We can give you a ride to your car."

"Normally I'd say no, but considering my other slippa is somewhere in that parking lot," she gestured vaguely, "and I couldn't possibly be safer than with the head of the task force and the governor's chief of staff, thank you. I'll take you up on the offer." She stood and the dog followed suit. "C'mon, you big lolo, let's get you home."

That evening the bell sounded and Angie ran from the living room to the kitchen and back. "Mommy! Somebody's here!"

Catherine put freshly filled water bowls down for Cammie and Pumpkin and followed her daughter to the door. Looking to see who it was, she opened it at the sight of a delivery driver.

"Hi, delivery for Lieutenant Catherine Rollins, hey, keiki," he greeted and passed a large box to Catherine.

"Is it from Nonna? Or Joanie? Or Aunt Deb?" Angie asked after they'd thanked him and closed the door.

"None of the above," Catherine teased. At the familiar head tilt, she said, "That means it's not any of your guesses."

"Who sent it then?" Angie tiptoed to see when her mother placed it on the dining room table. "Do we gotta wait for Daddy and DJ to get home from practice?" They always waited when a package came for the whole family.

"Good job, but this one is addressed to me. Let's open it and see what it is."

"Yay, there's a note! What's it say?"

"Take a look."

"Th… th… an kkkk you. Thank you!" she sounded out.

"Great job."

"What's the other words?"

Catherine kissed her head. "It says thank you Lieutenant Rollins and Commander McGarrett for saving me, and my mom's sanity. She did a little googling and saw you had pets, too. I hope they enjoy. Love, Bailey."

"Bailey! That's the dog you and Daddy helped today! He sent you a present?"

The "how was your day" dinner discussion had included the story, especially since someone in the backed up traffic had videoed part of the scene. Before the end of business day it was reported on Oahu Today's feed that a dog was rescued by the head of Five 0 and the governor's chief of staff. Kaitlyn had seen it first and had called with a flurry of questions and praise for her aunt and uncle.

"Looks like he did." Catherine opened the box to find several toys for Cammie and Pumpkin, dog and cat yummies, and an extra bag of treats. Turning to Cammie and Pumpkin who had gathered around to check out the box, she smiled. "Looks like you two hit the jackpot." She passed a treat for each to Angie. "One each for now and DJ can give them one later."

"What's in there?" the five year old asked about a purple treat bag after passing out the treats and new toys to her furry besties. "There's a goat picture! Is that for Felix?!"

Catherine grinned and held up the bag of Manna Pro Goat Treats. On the ride back to their car Catherine had told Tina and Bailey all about Angie's beloved goat. "This is for Felix. They're goat treats." Reading her daughter's expression as well as she'd ever read any of Steve's, she chuckled. "The zoo is closed for the night and Felix is definitely in his bed, so we'll save them for Saturday."

Angie sighed, then beamed at a thought. "I can't wait to tell Felix how him and Cammie and Pumpkin got presents cause you and Daddy helped a lost dog find his mommy."

"I'm sure he'll be very happy." She kissed Angie's head. "

"He will! Can me and DJ make a thank you card?" The little girl hopped in place. "DJ can draw it and I'll color it and we can even sign for Cammie, Pumpkin and Felix!"

Catherine, happy at her little girl's automatically knowing they'd be sending a thank you, kissed her cheek. "That's a great idea."

"Mommy?"

"What, baby girl?"

"I'm gonna do like you and Daddy when I get big."

"Do what like us?"

"Help everybody." She smiled and kissed Cammie, who'd stepped up to nuzzle her cheek. "Right Cammie?"

The dog chuffed her agreement, and Catherine smiled softly, at her daughter's next words.

"Cause the best helpers help everybody. Not just people." Her eyes sparkled as they caught her mother's. "You and Daddy are the best helpers."

# End - thanks for reading!

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