Title: Mai'a
Rating: K
Disclaimer: I checked the Whump-2-Go mailbox this morning and apparently we STILL don't own this franchise. But I just know that our letter will arrive any day now!
Summary: It's another boat trip. Need I say more? :)
Mai'a
By Cokie
"Steve, calm down, he didn't know," Catherine said in an attempt to calm down her boyfriend.
She looked once again at Steve and tried… unsuccessfully… to hide her smile. He was caked in sweat and covered from head to toe in grease and grime and Cath was thankful the windows on the truck had been rolled down on their trip home.
Steve slammed the door of the truck. "Gracie knew. Did you think about that? If she knew, why the heck didn't Danny know? You just don't do that here. I swear, I thought the captain was going to throw all of us overboard."
"Steve, come on, it's over and everyone made it back to land safely."
"Not for lack of Danny trying to kill us all." He whipped around to face her, his hand slashing the air in a semblance of Danny's hand-waving. "And another thing… if he ever mentions that this is possibly, even minutely *my* fault I'm gonna hurt him."
"Oh, Steve-"
"Just wait, Cath. Mark my words… somehow, he'll turn this around so that it was my fault. Hell, he's the one who rented the boat in the first place."
"I thought it was nice to have Grace's birthday party on the boat. It was really thoughtful of Danny to do something she loves. And she did love the dolphin watching."
Steve held the door open for Catherine and then slammed it behind them. "Really? I wouldn't know, would I?! Because I was up to my armpits in grease and motor oil trying to help the captain fix the damn boat!"
"Why don't you go get a hot shower? You'll feel better once you get all that gunk off you. I know you're tired."
"Gee, ya think?" Steve snarked while resetting the door alarm for the night. "I'm gonna have to take a shower with Go-Jo in order to get clean," he said while staring at his hands.
Catherine reached over and wiped the smudge of grease off the key pad before it was stained beyond repair. "Go," she pointed upward. "I'll bring you a beer when you're out. We can sit outside upstairs and wind down before we go to bed."
"Thanks," Steve grumbled as he trudged up the steps. He yawned loudly before continuing, "But I may be ready for bed. It's been a long day."
"We can do that!" she told him. "Hey, on second thought, I'm coming with you. I'll take those clothes to the garage so grease doesn't get in the house."
"Thanks. I'm glad I had a tarp to sit on in the truck. Or else the seat would have been black." He kicked off his deck shoes in the bathroom and peeled out of the sticky, Navy-issue tee shirt with the arms cut out.
"I think this can safely go in the trash," Cath said, holding it carefully between her thumb and forefinger.
"No way!" Steve said, shocked at the thought. "That's my favorite shirt."
"Oooo…Kay. I'll throw it in the washing machine." She held out her hand and took his shorts from him, making sure to hold them away from her body. "These too, I presume."
"Yeah, they're still good," he assured her.
"Of course they are," she whispered while heading out of the room. She heard the water turn on behind her and just shook her head at her friend's idea of "good clothes".
"Hey!"
Cath turned around. "What'cha need?"
"Don't forget the beer."
"Got it. Don't use my good white towels to dry with."
"Can't hear you."
"I'm going to Google the toughest laundry detergent around," she muttered to herself while going down the stairs holding the stinky clothes.
~~~H50~~~
"Ow, ow, that hurts."
"Be still, it can't hurt that much," Cath said while slathering aloe gel on Steve's shoulders.
"It does," Steve whined. "I can't believe I got sunburned. That's Danny's fault, too."
"Oh, now hold on," Catherine said. "I handed you the sunscreen first thing this morning and you said you didn't need it because 'you were already tanned'."
"That was before my neck and shoulders were bent over a motor all day long. That wasn't my fault."
"No, but not wearing sunscreen was," she argued. "What? Do you think sunscreen is for wusses? Danny used it."
"I rest my case. And don't get me started on Danny again," Steve grumbled while carefully arranging the pillows and leaning back against the headboard. He finished his beer and watched while Catherine unwrapped her wet hair from the towel and combed through the tangles.
"Are you ready to turn out the light?" she asked him while pulling back the cover on the bed.
Steve set the bottle on the floor and held the cover for her to get in, scooting down at the same time. "Yeah, but I probably can't sleep. My back is still on fire. It really hurts."
"Steve McGarrett, you have been shot, stabbed, beaten and Lord knows what else that even *I* don't know about and you're complaining about a sunburn?"
"But it hurts," he whined, grinning at her. "I probably need a kiss to make it all better."
"Will that shut you up?" she asked, a matching smile on her face.
"For as long as the kiss lasts," he admitted, zoning in on her mouth.
When they came back up for air, her mouth wandered over to his ear and she nipped it. "Your ears are sunburned, too. But that kiss should get you through the night."
"I might need a booster soon," he warned her.
"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, snuggling close to him. "I have a question."
"Sure, what?"
"You've told me before that your grandparents, while not native here, were very conscious of the Hawaiian belief system and observed the rituals and superstitions."
"Yeah, my grandmother was a great believer in it. Why?"
"I get the feeling that you believe the superstitions a lot more than you let on."
"I was raised here and I've seen a lot of stuff that I can't explain. My take on it is 'why take the chance'."
"I agree," she nodded. "But how can you get mad at Danny for not believing?"
Steve turned to face her. "Why? Just because he doesn't believe in any rituals or warnings doesn't mean they don't exist. And what gives him the right to discount anything here? These people strongly believe and they have a very rich and long-standing culture. It isn't up to anyone to make light of those beliefs. I mean, come on, Cath, after you came to Hawaii how long did it take for you to learn about bananas? You don't take bananas on a boat. Ever. Period. End of story."
"I know, I know, but Danny just wanted a snack."
"A SNACK? Are you kidding me? We had sandwiches, chips, two coolers full of food… not to mention birthday cupcakes… and Danny stored two bananas in his backpack? What? He's three and needs an afternoon snack?"
"Well, we did finally discover them after they started smelling. I mean, leave a backpack with bananas out in the hot sun and they're going to get pretty ripe," Cath said with a grin. "And boy was he mad that the captain threw them out to sea."
"Yeah… and then what happened? Huh? Tell me the next thing that happened."
"Ok, now that was a coincidence," Catherine said.
"Really? Tell me what happened."
"You started the boat."
"Exactly!" Steve cried out in triumph. "Bananas went in the ocean and the boat was happy again. Not to mention the fact that I was ecstatic. Do you know how long it would have taken to get towed back to shore? We'd still be out there bobbing around."
"Have you always exaggerated like this?" she asked, smiling at him.
"It's a fact. I don't know how and I don't know why, but sometimes you just have to accept things as they are. And you don't mess with nature!"
"All right. I swear I won't ever take a banana on a boat," Cath promised. "Any other ritual I should know about?"
"You already know about pork on the Pali. If you see a woman in white on the Pali, pick her up and you'll be blessed by Pele."
"I don't think that's very safe," Cath said.
"She won't hurt you."
"Yeah, but a psycho who knows the superstition might dress as a woman in white and hurt someone."
"Good point. Only pick up strangers if you're with me."
"Roger that."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, just one more," he whispered.
"And what's that?"
"Shut up and kiss me again. I feel the first one wearing off."
So she did.