Thanks to all who keep requesting new oneshots to this series. Oblivion is near and dear to my heart because it brought me my writing partner and new friend Sammy.
Thanks to my Twitter McRollers for all the love and Reviews! Xoxo Mari
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The List
Tad Whitney's mansion
Kahala, Oahu, HI – 2:00 p.m.
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The break-in at the Whitney mansion in the high-end neighborhood of Kahala was the fifth such crime in as many days. The Governor had gotten Five-0 involved after two of the victims, all prominent citizens, had called him personally. One was a golf buddy; the other was a friend of Mrs. Denning's. While no one had been hurt in the first four break-ins, this latest, at the home of Tad Whitney, had yielded an arrest and, unfortunately, a victim.
Tad Whitney, a semi-retired, 50-something rock star who'd moved to Oahu with his wife and three children in 2006, had been off the island with his wife since early that morning. With the previous crimes, the master suite had been searched but nothing appeared to be missing. This time, however, the break-in resulted in the family's housekeeper, Liz, surprising the suspects and being pushed down a flight of stairs as they attempted to get away. While Liz wasn't seriously injured, the assault, which was caught on a security camera, was now added to the list of charges and the Whitneys were understandably upset.
Luckily, the fleeing suspects were caught and cornered by the family dog, Trixie, who was currently schmoozing with Danny. The detective had been the one who took the perps 'off her paws', as it were. Danny had relieved Trixie of 'duty' when he'd been given her release word by Liz before she was taken to the hospital to be checked over.
"Good dog." Danny knelt and scratched Trixie's ears when he hung up the phone. "So, Whitney said Trixie's trained like a military dog. She's a security dog and also a family pet. Similar to an off-duty K-9; she's always here with the kids so it's like she's on-call if a problem arises. If she ascertains a threat, she alerts and neutralizes it.
"I like that kind of dog." Steve mused.
"Of course you, do, Babe." Danny shook his head. "She's you, in a dog suit."
Catherine laughed as Chin came down the large staircase holding two evidence bags. He was followed by a CSU tech whose nametag identified her as Janie Timmons, and Max.
"Here's what they dropped when the housekeeper surprised them." Chin held the bags up.
Once he and Max, who'd been summoned to consult on the crime scene by Denning, had reviewed the scene upstairs, Chin had phoned three of the previous victims.
"What have you got?" Steve strode over to them.
Timmons looked a little flustered at Steve's close proximity. She'd spotted him in the Most Eligible Bachelor article a few months back and had decided upon getting to the crime scene that afternoon that he was even more handsome in person. "It … um, looks like they took the bottom bed sheet and a used prophylactic out of the garbage, Commander." She explained.
"What?! Why?"
Chin stepped up to explain, "Yeah, well, it seems the previous victims, when asked, realized that maybe their garbage had been emptied after their break-ins, too. When Kono searched the suspects, she found a copy of their … business plan."
At the rest of his team's puzzled looks, Chin continued, "They were going to make a fortune, according to their plan."
"With a used condom and a sheet?" Catherine asked. "I can see trying to sell Whitney's … DNA … to rabid fans maybe 15 years ago, but while the other victims were well known here in Hawaii, they weren't internationally famous."
"Actually, the reason they wanted the sheet, too, is they were looking for additional DNA." The CSU tech held back a smile. "Guess they didn't have enough time to search, so they took the whole sheet."
Steve's look was nothing short of incredulous. "What the..." He grimaced. "Kono! Get them the hell in here." He called.
Kono, who was with the criminals and a uniformed officer in the kitchen, brought them in and sat them on the foot of the staircase, while Steve looked to Max for an explanation.
Max glanced at the team. "Well, it seems your suspects; the brothers Baker, were planning to make large sums of money from their enterprise, which was clearly flawed and would not have been a success, by the way. Even with their very limited scientific knowledge they should have realized the gross inadequacies of their idea."
"What the hell were they going to do with stolen … body fluids? Fake paternity suits against the rich and famous?" Danny asked Max, while looking at his partner with raised eyebrows.
"No, Detective. Actually, it seems they decided selling sperm samples from high-end and high-profile citizens on the island to women who wanted 'designer offspring' was the key to riches." As Max explained, Kono and Chin exchanged a look when the suspects had the gall to seem impressed with themselves.
"Gotta admit it was a great idea, Dude." Will Baker said.
"Great idea?" Max tilted his head, clearly puzzled at how the man could think his terribly flawed scenario would work. "Stealing human cell and tissue products and illegally marketing them under false pretenses? Not to mention you had contaminated samples which were being improperly stored at uncontrolled temperatures which would have rendered them useless."
He turned to face Catherine, Steve and Danny "A Ziploc bag is not an appropriate storage receptacle, nor is keeping samples transferred to a high school lab test tube in a standard kitchen freezer." He looked at Aaron and Will Banks. "Aside from storing it properly, you would have needed to add a liquid diluent to the semen to preserve its fertilizing ability. Reputable facilities employ the extender to allow the semen to be freighted to the recipient."
"See, told you we needed a science guy in on the plan." Aaron Baker admonished his brother.
"Still," Will answered. "We'd have made a fortune if it worked. Women get kids by rich, famous, cool guys, and we cash in. Everyone's happy."
"Except the guys whose sperm you freaks stole!" Danny spat.
"And their wives or girlfriends." Kono added.
"Dude, they'd never know." Aaron exclaimed.
Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Holy crap. That makes it okay? They wouldn't know? You're talking about making biological children they'd know nothing about, you idiot!" Danny looked shocked at the sheer stupidity. "How many samples were you planning to sell? What the hell would have happened if this idiocy had worked and any of those children grew up, met, and unknowingly had kids with each other?"
"Never thought about that." Will Baker admitted. "That shit happens?"
Max clarified, "In a normal donor situation, there are limits and regulations in place to prevent such an occurrence, because in theory, it could. One sample can be divided into 1-20 vials or straws depending on the quantity of the ejaculate and whether the sample is 'washed' or 'unwashed'."
Catherine caught Steve's wince as he barked "Take them outside."
Kono handed Steve a folded sheet of paper. "Their business plan. I bagged the original, Boss, but I thought you should take a look at this list, just in case it comes up, you know, with the Governor …" She grinned and went back to the kitchen area.
Steve unfolded and skimmed the paper that outlined the Bakers' ideas on how to internet market their 'product' to people who wanted a 'celebrity, genius, or sports star dad' for their kid. Catherine and Danny noticed simultaneously when his expression changed from one of curiosity to disbelief.
"What?" They said together.
Steve stuck the paper in his pocket. "Nothing." He looked at Danny. "Hey…"
"Yeah, I know, I know."
Steve gave him a tight smile. "Book 'em, Danno."
When Catherine followed Danny outside a minute later, she found him leaning against the Camaro texting Grace as the Bakers were driven away by HPD. "Hey."
He smiled at her. "I was thinking … what if that freaking plan worked and we caught up with them after a year and we had to go tell those poor bastards, 'Hey, you've got a kid on Maui, wanna go say hello?' Jesus!" He huffed.
Catherine knew Danny's intense love for Grace was on his mind when he thought of someone having a child they knew nothing about, who was created without their consent. "Well, thankfully that didn't happen. Like Max said, they didn't have the brains to pull it off." Catherine smiled.
"Yeah, well. Ya know, the guys they robbed were actually being responsible and … ahhh … never mind." He pushed himself away from the car and stared back toward the house.
"You," Catherine stopped him, "are a really, really, good dad."
He smiled and checked the time. "Thanks. Now, c'mon, let's wrap this up. I'm wasting precious minutes when I could be finishing up and getting home to Grace.
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McGarrett Residence 8:30 that evening
Catherine and Steve sat on the sofa, eating the take-out they'd picked up on the way home from HQ. Steve call with Governor Denning took up most of their ride time so they hadn't had much time to talk. After showering, they had come back downstairs to settle on the sofa, relax and have a quick dinner.
"Question, Steve?" Catherine asked while mulling over the weirdness that had been that day's case. "Tad Whitney was using a condom, with his wife of what, twenty years, whose medical records indicate her tubes were tied after her third baby? The other victims were single guys, without steady girlfriends, so I can see the Bakers going through their garbage looking, but …"
"Apparently, Whitney has an STD from back in his player days, he was having a flare up and was trying to keep her healthy … and that's way too much info to have about a guy whose songs are on my IPOD."
Catherine smiled when he rolled his eyes. "Good for him." She said and meant it.
Steve finished the last of his chicken and held up Catherine's nearly empty carton of sweet and sour pork. "Want the rest?"
"Nah." She shook her head, "Finish it."
He did, stuffed his crumpled napkin into the empty carton and placed it on the table. Steve leaned sideways into the back of the sofa and, sliding his hand around her waist, tugged so Catherine was lying against him, both of them facing the TV.
She shifted into Steve's side, pulled her legs up on the sofa and sighed. "You wanna tell me now?" She settled, glanced at him over her shoulder, and placed a hand on his forearm where it rested across her waist.
"What?" Steve asked as he intertwined their legs.
"The Bakers'" Catherine made air quotes, "'list'. Denning's on it, right?"
"No."
"Danny and I saw your look when Kono gave you that copy. Figured he was on the list. If he wasn't, then what was that look?"
Steve replied, almost inaudibly, "I … um … was."
"Wha … oh!" The word hadn't even left her lips as Catherine realized what he was saying. She pulled back, twisting to face him. "Really?"
Steve looked so embarrassed as he shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, Catherine bent forward and kissed him. She couldn't suppress a smile now that she understood Steve's look when he'd seen the list. It wasn't not wanting to tell Denning he was on it; it was Steve not wanting the Governor, or anyone else, to see his own name there.
"I was gonna tell you once we got in the truck, but then Denning called and…" Steve shifted to pull the crumpled paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "What made them think anyone would want …" He looked at her, genuine confusion in his hazel eyes. "I'm not famous, Cath, or an athlete, or anything. I mean, their whole idea was insane, but why …" He trailed off, uncomfortably.
Catherine cupped his chin, so he'd look in her eyes. "Did you read this?" She held up the paper.
"Not really." He admitted "I just put it in my pocket before anyone else could see it."
"You really don't get it, do you?" Catherine placed a longer kiss on his lips. "So oblivious. You, Steve McGarrett, are a very special guy." She held up her hand before he could voice the protest she knew was coming. "I know, I know. You've always just done your job. I get it, you know I do. Listen, they had categories: Celebrity, Rock Star, Politician, Model, and … Hero."
"Now that's completely absurd." Steve looked appalled. "Heroes are the men and women who don't come back whole, or who don't come back at all…"
"Steve. We've served, we know that. Many civilians don't." Catherine smiled softly. So many lesser men would be proud on some level to be included on an A-list of 'marketable commodities'. Not Steve. He was truly perplexed and embarrassed, which made Catherine's heart melt.
She teased him to abate his embarrassment. "You got 9 out of 10 categories."
It worked. "I did not."
She read out loud, ticking off on her fingers as she did, "Intelligent, brave, tall, excellent physical shape, handsome…" She looked up "Shall I go on?"
He made a grab for the paper. "No." A half smile appeared. "Nine outta ten?"
"Yeah, sorry, you failed on 'patience.'" She outright giggled. "Clearly, they've never seen you with Grace. Hey, you know, Danny felt really bad for the potential victims. His dad radar was up."
"Yeah, that's Danny ..." Steve's smile returned as he settled back against the sofa and pulled Catherine along so she was cuddled into his side.
She felt a shudder move through him. "What?" She tilted her head up off his chest to see his face.
"My name was next. They were gonna try and break in here to get … after we …" Steve gestured between them. "Creepy."
"Super creepy."
Steve chuckled when she made a scoffing sound. "What?"
"I'm glad I changed the sheets."
"That's what you're worried about?"
"Well no, but … if a mad scientist …" She waved a hand "ever made a bunch of little McGarretts, they'd only grow up and eradicate him anyway."
Steve's laugh rumbled through her. "With extreme prejudice."
Catherine continued "And it's not like the Bakers would have gotten in here anyway, because … really? They know who you are well enough to want you on their list and they didn't realize between the two of us they wouldn't have made it past the front door?" Catherine puzzled.
Steve kissed the side of her head and chuffed out another laugh, but suddenly turned serious. "Cath? Don't say anything, okay?" His gaze held hers.
She rolled over so they were face to face and crossed her heart. "Never." Catherine found his embarrassment over the whole thing incredibly endearing.
"Promise?"
Catherine nodded. "Always." Propping her chin on her hands that rested on Steve's chest, she murmured. "I hope you don't feel like moving, Sailor, 'cause I have about another thirty seconds before I doze off." She smiled sleepily.
Steve shifted to make them both more comfortable, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Go ahead, I'll be right here when you wake up."
Mimicking his question, she asked "Promise?"
With a fleeting vision of the only little McGarretts he had ever imagined … with her soft brown eyes … Steve mimicked her answer. "Always."
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End - Thanks for reading... Oblivious will return...