Author's note: Hope everyone is doing well! Sorry this story didn't come out at Christmas as would have been preferable. Hope everyone enjoyed your holidays. We got a puppy which pretty much took up all spare time until now. I have two other stories in the works, including a Halloween one which will take place prior to this one, and I've been working on whichever one my brain attaches itself to. Very disorganized and I don't like it haha. As "research" I watched all the Christmas episodes to gather intel and fyi in the Myah-verse there was no cutting down of the tree in the protected forest. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this story. It'll be in 2 parts. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, as it was a little less angsty than Family Tree was. As always, let me know what you liked, what you didn't and what you wish for.

Jingle Bells on the Beach

Part 1

EARLY DECEMBER:

"A little more on the left. No higher. Higher! What's wrong with you? Now it's crooked."

Steve McGarrett gritted his teeth and shifted his weight on the ladder. "I'm sorry, your majesty, I don't do this for a living."

"Yeah, I can tell."

Steve glared down at his partner, Danny Williams, who currently had both feet firmly planted on the ground and his hands on his hips.

"You know what, I don't want to hear a word when it's time to take this mess down. You're on your own buddy."

Danny shrugged. "I'll hire Nahele and J. They're less irritating."

"Hire? You're going to pay them?"

"Of course. I'll buy them a pizza."

"Are you buying me a pizza?"

"If we ever finish here, I'll consider it. Way things are going right now, you're getting a frozen pie."

"Great."

Steve persisted in hanging strands of lights as directed by Danny, continuing to fire back against what he felt was unnecessary criticism of his work. The final piece was the huge lit up wreath to be hung on the peak of the carport roof. It wasn't heavy, but it was bulky and required both men to climb up onto the roof.

"Careful. Don't want to have to decorate Christmas crutches for you." Steve grunted.

"Very funny. Last I checked, I've never fallen behind chasing any perps, rooftops not excluded, so I don't want to hear it from you." Danny handed the wreath up to Steve, before easily scaling over the gutter.

"I will concede to that but I certainly hear a lot of complaining every time it happens."

An excited shout from a few houses down had both men looking up briefly and they smiled in unison at the sight of a man and a little boy tossing a football back and forth.

"That's Logan." Danny said. "He's a year older than Charlie, but they've played together a couple of times. He's a good kid."

"Have you been tossing the football around with Charlie?"

"Yeah, every time I see him. He's all excited to play on Christmas."

Steve smiled at the thought. "Me too."

"I figure with us, plus Nahele and J to coach him, we'll have a peewee football player in no time."

"If he wants to."

"Of course, he'll want to." Danny shook his head, and centered the wreath hook over the peak. "I think I will get those boys to take this stuff down for me. Putting stuff away is never as much fun."

"Putting it up isn't very much fun."

"Pfft. I bet your house looks great."

"I didn't put any up on my house."

"I thought I heard you griping that you spent all of last weekend putting up lights!"

"I did, but it was at Mary's. And you'd gripe too, because if you can believe it, she's even more type A than you about her holiday decor."

"A McGarrett? Type A? How did that happen?"

"Seriously. Her house is so bright you could signal an airplane."

"Did she climb on the roof?"

"She would, she has no fear of heights, but Nahele and I did the lights. She and Myah set up an entire squad of those stupid blow up creatures in her yard. Santa and all his reindeer. It's ridiculous."

"What's wrong with inflatables? Kids love those." Danny jerked his head meaningfully towards the walkway, and Steve looked down to see a large cardboard box with a picture on the side that he could just make out as Charlie Brown. He groaned.

"What? It's Charlie Brown, his Christmas tree and Snoopy on his dog house. It's a classic. Peanuts is my theme for my holiday decor."

"It does fit. I could see you falling on your face when you're trying to kick the football."

"And you're the bully who'd pull it out from under me. Anyway, when are you going to put up your decorations?"

"I don't know." Steve shrugged. "Mary had a bunch of extra garland that she sent home and Myah put it on the staircase railing and banister. It's nice."

"Well, when are you going to decorate your tree?"

"I don't know." Steve repeated, thinking that it was only due to Danny's foresight in the matter that they even had a tree. A particularly busy Christmas the year prior had seen Danny almost unable to purchase a tree, and Steve still didn't like to think about how much money they had dropped on the piece of indoor foliage. This year, Danny had dragged Steve along the first day the tree lots had appeared and the green trees in all their naked glory stood in both their houses.

"Well, we're decorating ours on Saturday. Myah's coming over, in case you didn't know. The girls are going to help Charlie bake cookies, we're going to watch The Polar Express and decorate. You're welcome to come."

"Thanks. I told Nahele and J I'd take them to that new rock climbing gym, so we'll see."

Danny leaned back and eyed the wreath. "Is that straight?"

"Oh, now you trust my opinion?"

"It has nothing to do with that, it's hard to see when you're up here." Wasting no time, Danny climbed down and scrutinized the house. "Looks good. Get down here and we'll set up the Peanuts gang."

Steve made no effort to stifle his groan as he made his way down the ladder.

"What's your problem?"

"I just hate these things."

"Why?"

"Because during the day they deflate and just look like big deflated balloons on the ground. It's like a Christmas graveyard."

"Why are you such a grinch?!" Danny exclaimed in exasperation.

"I'm not. I just don't see the point in going all crazy like this."

Danny eyed him for a minute, and Steve tensed when he didn't get an immediate sarcastic response, wondering if he'd struck a nerve.

"Look, maybe it seems like I'm going a little crazy this year, but it's my first Christmas with Charlie. By the time Grace was his age, we'd already made so many memories and had so many traditions. I've missed out on the first three years of his life."

"I know man." Steve said. "But that wasn't your fault. You would have been there for him if you could have. And he's going to know that. If a guy was half the dad you are, he'd be beyond amazing."

"Thanks." Danny took his time carefully slicing open the serrated edges of the cardboard box, clearly intending to keep it for storage. He didn't immediately pull the inflatable out, but sat back on his heels, looking up at Steve.

"What?"

"You know, you're a great dad too."

"Sometimes."

"You are. And this is technically your first Christmas with your kids too. Same as me."

"Not with Nahele." Steve said, feeling uncomfortable as he started to sense the direction Danny was taking the conversation.

"It is since you adopted him. Since the three of you officially became a family."

"So?"

"So that's special. You guys need some traditions of your own."

Steve shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, they're sixteen and fourteen. I don't think they care about…" he motioned to the large box in front of them. "Inflatables."

"Maybe not inflatables, but things that'll make memories. I mean when they're grown and moved out, what do you want them to remember about Christmas with you?"

"I don't know." If Steve was honest with himself, he didn't really like to think about that. He didn't think there was any way to say it aloud and not sound like a complete asshole. The truth of the matter was that they were sixteen and fourteen and he had missed out on most of their childhoods. He would never deny them the time they had had with their mothers and if he could have spared them the pain of losing them, he would have in a heartbeat. But he couldn't help but wish that there was some way he could have gotten to know them sooner.

"Earth to Steve…. What are you thinking? You look like I just told you Christmas was canceled."

"I don't even know how to say this… But sometimes I think about what if I had stayed on the island, you know? I mean, who knows? Maybe I would have known Nahele growing up. And if I had kept in better contact with Elle, I could have gotten to know Myah years ago. But I didn't. And there's nothing I can do to change things now."

There were lines in Danny's forehead as he carefully unfolded the inflatable and considered Steve's words. Finally he looked back up at him. "Did you ever meet her when she was younger?"

"I did, actually. She was only a baby, but somehow the stars aligned that I was able to stop and visit Elle. I remember holding Myah . Pretty sure she slept the whole time." Steve smiled at the vague memory. "Fourteen years ago, I held my daughter and had no idea. Anyway… what did you ask me?"

"I asked… well, look, I know those two are in their teens but I don't want you thinking it's too late to make traditions with them. You guys are a family now and even when they inevitably do grow up and move out, it's not going to mean your life together is over."

"I know."

"So it's no excuse not to make the most of the time you have right now."

"You might be right. But it doesn't mean I have to turn my house into a tinsel infested, holiday hut."

"A holiday hut?"

"Yeah… with extra stuff everywhere. I don't even know if we have decorations."

"Your mom didn't have any packed away?"

"Hell if I know."

Danny sighed. "I wish your mom would appear to spend the holidays with you guys too."

"Well, she makes her own choices… Just like she always has."

"Just don't let it affect the choices you make."

"I don't." At least Steve was pretty sure he didn't. Wishing his mom would choose to actually be part of their family didn't have anything to do with not wanting to go crazy for one holiday. However, not for the first time, Steve determined that Thanksgiving was a superior holiday with far less stress. He was distracted from his thoughts when Danny gave a yelp of victory as the inflatable diorama filled with air and raised off the ground in all its glory.

"Oh, yeah…" Danny shot him a smirk. "You can't deny this looks great."

"I won't deny that I'm ready for that pizza."

"All right, all right."

Steve was glad to retrieve a beer from the fridge and relax on the couch. He eyed the tree, set up at the end of the living room. "I think your tree's crooked." He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, because Danny immediately appeared next to him, his critical eye examining the fir.

"Damn it. Here, help me adjust it."

Steve found himself lying on the ground, adjusting the screws of the stand, while Danny adjusted the tree's position. He tried to ignore the pine needles jabbing him in the face. "So what's next on your best Christmas ever itinerary?"

Danny took a minute to look down to see if he was serious, and Steve was careful to keep his face neutral.

"We're going to that gingerbread house exhibit and then I have kits to make our own here at home. Santa will be there, but of course… Charlie will find out that Santa actually makes a visit on Christmas day."

"Of course."

"We had family photos done last week, so we just need to address all the cards to send those out. There's that big light exhibit on the beach and I got tickets to a Christmas Carol at the university theatre. And of course, I've got a whole list of Christmas movies, Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, It's a Wonderful Life…"

"Home Alone?"

"Ehhh…. That one's a little scary, don't you think?"

"Is it?"

"I mean… getting abandoned by your family, having two criminals try to rob your house and kill you? Seems a little much."

Steve laughed. "Maybe. Kevin took care of business though. It's a good example of being resourceful."

"Yeah, maybe, except the whole reason I'm a cop is to make sure my kids never have to worry about anything like that."

"Well, I doubt you'll ever have a house like the one in the movie, so no worries."

"Crime doesn't have a zip code, Steve."

"Oh, right, thank you, detective."

"Seriously." Danny deliberately shook the tree so that a shower of pine needles landed on Steve, who glared at him. "Think about what I said."

"I'm sure you'll make it impossible for me not to." Steve's response was sarcastic but he did file away Danny's advice. He couldn't deny that it was rare for his partner to be mistaken in regards to parenting.

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"Excuse me, what is this madness?" Myah McGarrett stared at the words written on the dry erase board. Steve and Nahele had converted part of the garage into a home gym, primarily for their weights and had hung the board on the wall.

"It's the Twelve Days of Christmas." Steve said. "It's going to be great. Get us into the holiday spirit and keep us fit."

"Is it really twelve days away?" Nahele asked.

"No, he just likes to torture us for the fun of it." Myah's complaint was not genuine judging from the expression of amusement she wore, but Steve swatted her backside anyway, and she didn't manage to dodge.

"Ouch!"

"Quit complaining." Steve responded good naturedly. "I can always make this worse."

Poking her lower lip out at him in a mock pout, Myah nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Alright!" Steve clapped his hands together and flipped on the Pentatonix playlist. "On the first day of Christmas my family gave to me… one deadlift!" In spite of the festive name, the workout he'd programmed was particularly brutal and by the time they'd made it through rounds one through twelve and then back down to one, all three of them were soaked in sweat. As they exited the garage, Steve pulled his shirt off, already thinking about his shower. Nahele was guzzling coconut water and Myah grabbed onto his back, allowing him to half drag her along, as she complained that she couldn't feel her legs.

Danny had called out his greeting and announced his presence a few minutes prior and now stood at the counter holding a cup of coffee. "Woah! You guys look like you've been run through the ringer."

"It's the twelve days of Christmas, Uncle Danny." Myah said, wincing as she leaned against the counter.

"Don't be fooled by the festive name." Nahele added, dryly.

"You guys are fine." Steve said. "Go shower and I'll make shakes." He picked up a container of protein powder and held it up for their viewing. "Peppermint…. To go with the Christmas workout."

"Oh, that's fun." Myah brightened a little. "We could put whipped cream on top and crumble a candy cane over it."

Nahele gave her a light shove. "Right after we work out? What's wrong with you?"

Myah made a face at him. "Nothing's wrong with me, I just like to enjoy life, instead of being a stick in the mud like you!" She shoved him back, and he responded by grabbing her in a headlock.

Danny cocked his head. "Sometimes it's like you guys are five. I thought you wore them out, Steven."

"So did I." Steve watched his kids wrestle for a minute.

"Was this you and Mary growing up?"

"No. I teased her plenty but she was too chicken to go after me physically. She had plenty of other ways to sharpen her claws though. Alright, you two, I swear in a minute you're going to be doing push ups until you cry." Steve's tone was mild but his kids had learned that he never made threats he wasn't willing to carry out, even as much as he liked to tease.

"Yes, sir."

Steve could hear them continue to jostle each other as they made their way upstairs and made the mental note to make them both do push ups that night. He didn't actually mind their wrestling and was thankful that they got along as well as they did. If they hadn't formed the relationship they had, he wasn't sure what the family dynamic would look like. Regardless he wasn't going to let them slack off about following orders.

"Now that your little barbarians are out of here, I need to talk to you about that witness interview." Danny said.

"Sure thing." Steve smiled innocently as he turned the blender on full force as soon as Danny started to speak, forcing the detective to pause.

"Finally." Danny said, sounded annoyed when he could finally be heard again. "Although before we talk about work, do you mean to tell me that your way of making Christmas traditions is to give your workout a holiday name and to buy a flavored protein powder?"

"Uh… yes."

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Myah stared at her closet. It wasn't that she couldn't find the dress. It had been hanging in the back since she had first unpacked her things several months ago. Myah wished now that she had left it behind with the mainland. But she hadn't, and it was the only black dress she had and she needed a black dress. Her mind drifted back to the night before.

She and Nahele were picking at their dinner, waiting for Steve to join them. He had gotten a phone call right before they had sat down.

"Did you see the Williams's Christmas card?" Myah holding up the piece of printed cardstock.

Nahele dutifully leaned over and examined the picture collage. "Looks nice. I mean… it's not like we don't all know what they look like…"

"Well… they have family and friends back in Jersey who might like to see, especially if they knew Grace when she was a little girl. And they've probably never met Charlie. Uncle Danny probably looks the same, hair and all." She giggled.

Nahele shrugged. "I guess. Isn't that what Instagram is for?"

"Yeah right. I highly doubt Uncle Danny has any form of social media. He's probably just like dad."

"Probably."

Steve had initially forbidden any form of social media. He'd given them a rather frightening presentation at his office, demonstrating how quickly he could find out personal information about people due to their online presence, and then giving them a rundown of crimes that had started off on the net. It had definitely been convincing, but Myah especially had continued to plead, and finally Steve had agreed to them having instagram accounts. He had access to them however, and his rules for what they could post were so strict that they rarely posted anything at all. Regardless they were able to see what their friends posted and that was really all that mattered.

"Here's Mary and Joanie's." Myah opened the envelope and admired the picture of the two blonds, both decked out in velvet. "Fancy."

Nahele rolled his eyes. "I'm glad Dad's not into all that stuff."

Myah shrugged. "They're just having fun. Plus they've got little kids. I'm sure they're into the whole Santa thing."

"I guess. I never believed in Santa."

"I did until I was seven."

"Course you did. You're gullible like that."

"Wow. It's called the magic of the season, you grump."

Nahele shrugged but smiled.

"Hey, sorry guys." Steve stepped back into the kitchen and pulled out his chair. "You didn't have to wait for me. Nahele, does your suit still fit?"

Nahele looked up at him startled. "I guess. I've only worn it once." Myah knew he referred to their adoption day.

"Okay. Myah, do you have a black dress?"

Myah almost choked on the piece of chicken she'd just taken a bite of. "Yeah. Why?"

Steve grimaced. "Do you guys remember me mentioning Ed McKay?"

Myah shook her head, but Nahele nodded. "That retired sailor?"

"Yeah. He served with my… your great grandpa on the U.S.S. Arizona. I met him a couple years ago when we got assigned a hostage situation aboard the ship. His help was invaluable that day. Anyway, I just found out he passed on, earlier this week."

"Oh." Myah murmured sadly.

"In his sleep apparently." Steve gave a rueful smile. "Apparently he was giving tours up until the day he died."

"Tough man." Nahele said admiringly.

"It was his daughter that called me. Susan. She asked me to help with the burial flag presentation at his service tomorrow."

"And you want us to go?" Myah asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

There was no room in Steve's tone for argument. Not that she would have argued. Even if she'd never met Ed McKay, Steve clearly held him in high regard. And if he had played a part in keeping her dad safe during what had no doubt been a highly volatile situation, Myah's only regret was not being able to thank him herself.

The only thing that now bugged her was having to wear the dress. The same dress she'd worn to her mother's funeral. For as happy as she was now, that day was still a dark memory that Myah wanted to avoid revisiting. She wasn't naive enough to think that she could never go to another funeral, but she wished she wasn't going to be in the familiar attire. Myah bit her lip and finally yanked the offensive item out of the closet. Maybe it wouldn't fit. She had no idea what she weighed now, but she knew that if her other clothes were any indication she'd slimmed down considerably since moving to Hawaii. Myah pulled the dress over her head and examined her appearance in the mirror on the back of her door. It was a simple dress, as was appropriate for a funeral. Black A-line, knee length, short cap sleeves, and a simple black belt. A belt that if she tightened several holes would make the dress fit perfectly. Any other day, Myah would have rejoiced at this sign of weight loss, but today she couldn't take any pleasure in it.

Myah fastened the friendship necklace she had bought while shopping with Grace and Sam Grover, a tiny shell with a scripted M. She'd already straightened her hair, and so carefully applied a little blush and mascara. She hadn't worn makeup before moving to Hawaii either and was still rather minimalistic. Steve's friend Ellie had taken her shopping and taught her how to apply it. The final touch was sliding her feet into a pair of soft gray ankle boots.

Steve was standing in the kitchen when Myah found him, wearing his dress blues. He looked up when Myah entered the room and gave a small smile. "You like nice, kid."

"Thank you. You do too." She had only seen in his dress blues a few times and was always amazed at how prestigious he looked.

Steve crossed the room and gave her a close once over, gently smoothing her hair and brushing off her shoulder. Myah got the feeling she knew what a military uniform inspection felt like.

"I appreciate you guys coming today. I know it might feel a little strange since you never met Ed. But it's important to me. It's the right thing to do. And paying respects to a sailor, especially one that served with my grandfather is the kind of thing we do. It's what McGarretts do."

Nahele cleared his throat at the entrance to the kitchen. "I'm going to have to learn to tie a tie then." He held up his fists with the ends of the tie trailing through his fingers.

"Yes, you are son." Steve said dryly, moving over to Nahele and taking control of the tie situation. "Remind me to teach you later." He examined Nahele and his mouth quirked in a slight grin. "Little tight in the shoulders there?"

"Let's just say flexing would be a bad idea right now."

They were all quiet during the ride to the cemetery, with Myah becoming increasingly nervous about the service. She'd been to the cemetery several times, the first visit one she'd rather forget, since it involved an attempt to trespass in the middle of the night with people she'd learned quickly were not friends. Grandpa John was buried there however, and Myah never minded picking out flowers to place at his grave site.

"Can we visit Grandpa later, Dad?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so." he responded.

Myah tucked that away as something to look forward to. "That'll be nice." she said softly.

Steve smiled back at her from the front seat. "That's sweet you like to visit him. I just wish you guys could have known him."

"I know he would have been a good grandpa."

"Even though he was strict?" Nahele questioned, clearly thinking of some of the stories Steve had told.

"He probably still would have been strict with you. I think he would have spoiled me." Myah responded.

Steve chuckled. "You are probably right."

It was an overcast day, though thankfully the rain had stopped. Steve parked and opened Myah's door for her. She swung her legs over the edge of the seat but remained in the truck. Steve put one hand on the door and peered in.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Myah hesitated. "It's just the first funeral I've been to since my mom's."

Steve's eyes softened. "I didn't even think about that, baby. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Myah swallowed. "I'll be okay."

"If you want to wait in the truck, you can. But unfortunately I doubt this will be the last funeral in your life, so I think you need to face it. And I'll appreciate having you there with me."

His last sentence softened the tone of his words and Myah considered the situation. He'd said in the kitchen that morning that this was the kind of thing McGarretts did and she didn't doubt that to be true. But frankly it was far more important to her to support her dad, and if it was helpful to him to have her there, she thought she could push through.

"I'm coming. It's what we do, right?" She shot Steve a quick smile and stepped out of the truck.

"Yep. Watch your footing. The ground is soft." Steve offered Myah his elbow. It was sort of funny, considering how he expected her to navigate the treacherous terrain of the many hikes they'd gone on. Apparently there was a different protocol when she was wearing a dress and heels, low set as they were. Myah decided she actually rather appreciated the extra bit of care and took his elbow and they carefully made their way towards the graveside.

There were three rows of black folding chairs and a few other men dressed in military garb present. Steve had explained the details regarding a military funeral earlier, with the playing of TAPS and the ceremonial folding of the flag. Steve shook hands with the other personnel and then introduced Myah and Nahele. The note of pride in his voice when he said their names was clear, and Myah felt a few more of her nerves fade away.

They had arrived forty-five minutes prior to the service, but the time went by quickly and for the first time Myah heard the details of how Steve had met Ed McKay, as he relayed the story to the other men there. Steve downplayed his role in the whole event, but Myah had known him long enough now that she could read between the lines and was once again amazed at the bravery of her adopted father. She also thought Ed sounded wonderful and couldn't help but chuckle when Steve quoted the old sailor's response to Steve's reprimand about not staying put as ordered.

"I'm an old man. I don't hear so good." Steve shook his head at the memory.

"I'm going to use that one when I'm older." Myah responded. She observed the other military personnel to carry themselves similar to Steve, with strong and confident postures. When the limo and funeral procession pulled up, she was amazed to see them all take on an even more professional posture. The service itself seemed to move quickly, with very little similarity to her mother's. Myah nodded to the family members who naturally were quietly tearful. Myah was surprised to find herself thankful that not only could she be there for her dad but for them as well. When a large flower display started to sink down into the soft ground, she immediately carefully righted it. Ed's daughter Susan had started to rise at the sight of the sinking flowers, but smiled her thanks when she could relax back into her seat.

Myah again felt her heart swell with pride as she watched the impeccably crisp motions of Steve and the other member of the navy as they folded the flag and then Steve knelt to present it to Ed's widow. In his deep voice, he said, "On behalf of a grateful nation and a proud Navy, I present this flag to you in recognition of your husband's years of honorable and faithful service to his country."

At the end of the service, Steve nodded to Nahele, indicating that he could go ahead start the truck.

Moving to stand next to her brother, Myah asked him teasingly, "Aren't you going to assist the lady with her footing?"

"You are a clutz." He responded, but shot her a quick grin, before sticking his elbow her way.

"Thanks. I knew there was a gentleman buried deep inside there somewhere." Myah smirked.

He shook his head, but didn't pull away.

"Uncle Danny would be proud."

"Why?"

"Just to see that we can behave and act mature when the situation calls for it."

"True. He knows that you bring out the worst in me though."

"Haha."

When Steve finally joined them in the truck, he swung into place and checked his phone with a sigh. "Alright guys. Danny just reminded me there's a Christmas parade tonight. You guys want to change and then go?"

Myah shifted back and forth in her seat. She knew she'd probably have fun if they went, but she felt like they'd been busy every night that week. She'd been juggling studying for tests, finishing up final projects, her own Christmas shopping and helping Mary for several days. Facing her first funeral since her mother's had been emotionally draining. But she also didn't want to be a Debbie Downer if the guys wanted to go. At that moment she realized they'd all been sitting in silence in response to Steve's question.

"I'm not talking to myself here." Steve said.

"If Myah wants to go." Nahele said.

"Well… do you guys want to go?" Myah protested.

"Considering I just made you guys go with me to a funeral, it's up to you. I realize today doesn't exactly fit with merry Christmas traditions." Steve said.

"So we should go?" Nahele asked.

"It would be the festive thing to do." Myah sighed.

Steve eyeballed them. "Or we could make pizza at home and watch a movie."

"You're the boss, dad." Nahele buckled his seatbelt.

"It's like you said, it's a benevolent dictatorship." Myah shot him a grin.

"You guys are impossible." Steve was smiling, even as he said it.

"We could watch Home Alone." Myah suggested, as Steve steered the truck towards his father's gravesite.

"Never seen it." Nahele said.

"You'll love it. It's hilarious and Kevin's very resourceful."

"Yeah!" Steve said. "That's what I was saying. I knew I liked you, kid."

"I think it'll give me some ideas for the next time we play nerf war."

Steve gave her a stern, "Absolutely not, young lady," but started laughing before he'd even finished the sentence.

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