This story references Sammy's masterpiece, Together, published November 2, 2015.

Sammy & Ilna, love you to the moon and Back. REAL McRoller and Readers, we love you all. Thanks for the wonderful feedback, it means more than you know.

Bravest and Smartest

DJ sat with Michael at a corner table in the day camp's library room, engrossed in a webpage on baseball statistics when a boy of about nine they'd seen for the first time that morning came into the room.

"Hi, are you DJ McGarrett?" the new kid asked, his eyes wide with anticipation.

DJ looked up. "Hi, that's me." He pointed to his best friend. "This is Michael. What's up?"

The kid beamed. "I'm Noah. We just got relo-ed here from Groton. It's my first day at camp. I'm gonna be a SEAL when I grow up and one of the kids in my group said your dad's Commander McGarrett and your mom's Lieutenant Rollins."

DJ raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, they are. You know my mom and dad?"

Noah nodded. "They're like legends. When we got here I googled SEALs on Oahu and your dad came up and then I read about the task force and your mom and all. I just wanted to say hi and ask if maybe I can meet them on parents' day."

"His mom and dad are great," Michael supplied. "They always come for all the parents' days."

"I'll look out for you and you can meet them, promise," DJ told the younger boy. "Welcome to Oahu."

"Thanks! I gotta go, my mom's on her way." he turned to leave, took a few steps and looked back. "Thanks a lot!"

That night during dinner, DJ told Steve and Catherine about Noah and they said they'd be happy to meet him and his parents. Catherine even suggested having them tap into the info for new parents serving at Pearl. Grinning at the response he knew they'd give, he had a thought based on what Noah said about googling Steve. Of course he'd seen lots of articles about his parents, but he'd never specifically googled them. With that in mind, he opened his laptop and keystroked, Commander Steve McGarrett and Lieutenant Catherine Rollins.

As he scrolled through the search results, an article from 2015 caught his eye. Commander Steve McGarrett and Lieutenant Catherine Rollins of Five 0 Foil Abductors and Take Down Anton Sinclair's Syndicate. It detailed an ordeal where his parents were abducted by criminals.

The article described how, by gaining access via a crooked employee of their alarm company, criminals flooded their house with nitrous oxide to abduct his parents to keep his mother from testifying against their boss.

DJ's heart raced as he read about how his mom and dad were set up in fake hospital rooms and told lies about each other's safety. At the video here prompt, he pulled up an interview where a reporter from Hawaii News Now was talking to Steve.

As he listened to his father recount their ordeal, giving as few details as possible, he thought, 'Dad still hated interviews' before the camera cut to the reporter who gushed about how his parents had outsmarted the criminals and, 'reunited against all odds to bring down Sinclair'.

As the video ended, he sat back in his chair, a proud smile on his lips.

He contained his curiosity until after Angie was asleep, and padded downstairs to where Steve and Catherine were sitting on the sofa.

"Mom, Dad, can I ask you something?"

Catherine made space between them and patted the sofa cushion. "Of course, sweetheart, what's up?"

"I was thinking how Noah had googled Dad and I looked you guys up. I read about you getting kidnapped in 2015. How did you figure out the hospital was fake? How did you find each other and catch those guys?" His eyes were wide.

Catherine smiled softly. "I had a bruise on my leg," she said and glanced at Steve, "that would have healed if I'd been there for months. That's how I knew there was no way I'd been unconscious for more than a day."

Steve nodded, "And my nurse was a fake. She had long hair and nails, she put the stethoscope on the wrong side to listen to my heart. Plus, I didn't experience any muscle loss like I would have if I'd been bedridden for months."

"Then your dad used dental floss to saw off a fake leg cast."

"Wait, for real?"

"For real."

"Mom climbed up the inside of an air duct shaft and we ended up in the same place," Steve added. "Once we were together…"

"The kidnappers didn't have a chance," DJ said proudly.

"And Uncle Danny, Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono were arriving right about then," Catherine added.

Steve gave him a serious look. "That was a one off, those guys getting into the house. We've upped the security since you and your sister arrived," he said as he squeezed his son's shoulder. "So it's nothing you need to worry about, okay?"

"I won't. Me and Angie feel totally safe. We know you guys can handle anything and we have our safe plans. Be prepared, not worried," he repeated what they'd told him in the past when laying out safety scenarios.

Steve's heart swelled at how the scared little boy their son had been when they'd met was now the confident eleven year old who had complete trust his parents would keep him and his sister safe. He caught his wife's eyes, knowing she was sharing the same thought.

"I'm really happy you didn't get hurt. I mean, it was a long time ago, but still."

Catherine took his hand. "We were okay, sweetheart, thanks to each other."

Steve ruffled DJ's hair. "Your mom and I make a pretty good team, right?"

DJ smiled. "Totally the best. I know me and Angie are lucky 'cause you're the best parents ever, but the older I get, the more I realize you're the bravest and smartest. "

"Awww, thanks, our kids are pretty amazing, too." Catherine kissed his temple.

With a tiny smirk, DJ added, "Wait til Angie hears this story when she's older, she'll want to join the task force even more."

Steve and Catherine shared a look and all three of them grinned knowingly.

"Thanks for telling me about everything," DJ said. "I'm pretty tired, I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Good night, sweetheart," his mother kissed his cheek before he turned and hugged Steve and got another kiss on the temple from his dad. "Our family's got each other's backs, buddy. Always."

"I know," he said. "I kind of always knew from the very first day, even if I couldn't explain the feeling in words. Good night, Mom. Night, Dad." He stood and Catherine wondered how long it would be before her not so little boy was taller than she was.

Steve and Catherine exchanged a glance after he disappeared from the upstairs landing and with a sigh, she tucked into his side and smiled.

# End thanks for reading

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