Missing 2 – the next non-winner

A/N: Yes, we know you’re waiting for a new chapter of U-Turn. And we are working on it.

You might wonder how we can have another short story out instead of the next finished chapter of any of the other stories in the works.

Well, let me explain something about our writing.

First of all, you have to follow your muse. And at times, something like this just pops into your head and it has to come out before you can do anything else. By the way, this story took all of two days to get finished.

When we write a story like U-Turn we have to develop new characters, which takes time. They need a background, they need a life, they just need to make sense and fit into the story.

We also need to develop a plot. Which also needs a backstory, and even more characters. 😉

Then we do a lot of research for all kinds of things. What we use in our stories, you can be sure we either have experience with, or have researched the facts about, or have tried it out, or interviewed people who know their stuff. 😉

Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t take a little creative freedom with, what we at times think are boring facts. I mean, sometimes reality just doesn’t cut it. BUT you will not find any completely impossible things in our stories. We don’t just make things up.

We also need to research the locations and logistics where our stories take place.

All that takes time.

For a story like this one, we don’t need to do any of the above mentioned stuff. There are no new characters, no plots, no bad guys. Just a little hurt, a little fun, and as Cokie says, a lot of blabla.

And we can write that in our sleep, so to speak. 😉

We hope you will enjoy this little story. And we promise the ‘real’ stories will be updated soon.

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Missing 2
by Sam and Cokie

Steve McGarrett looked up from his task of filling out requisition forms when the voices from outside his office reached a volume he couldn’t ignore any longer.

What he saw did not improve his mood; two of his closest friends were ready to jump down each other’s throats.

Their raised voices easily carried into his office, and with a sigh he got up to see what all the noise was about. The volume increased the moment he opened his door.

“I’m telling you it’s your fault!” Grover yelled at Danny.

“You… you have just as many…” Detective Williams shot back, with hands flying.

“HEY! Stop screaming,” Steve interrupted.

It was almost comical seeing the two men snapping to attention, turning to Steve as one.

“Care to tell me what the hell is going on? Why are you ready to kill each other?”

“Grover…” “Danny…”

“STOP!” Steve held up both hands and again intervened when both spoke at the same time.

“Lou,” Steve asked in a quieter tone. “What’s going on?”

“Thank you,” he said to Steve and glared at Danny, daring him to interrupt. “Samantha didn’t come home this afternoon… and it’s Danny’s fault.”

“It’s NOT my fault that your daughter…”

“What do you mean, she didn’t come home?” Steve asked and ignored Danny for the moment. “Have you called her cell?”

He knew it was a stupid question, and if Grover and Danny’s glares were any indication, both men thought so too.

“What do you think?! Of course, I called.”

“OK, tell me what happened,” Steve told Lou while typing at the smart table. “Phone’s off,” he said when the search came up empty right away.

“You know my daughter’s phone number?” Grover asked and looked at Steve.

“I… not important right now,” Steve shook his head smiling at Lou. “Tell me what happened and why it is Danny’s fault.”

“It’s NOT my fault,” Danny again said.

“Right,” Lou grumbled under his breath. “Sam came home after school but wanted to go to the mall. Said she saw Grace when school was over and wanted to ask her to go with her.”

“OK. So, the two girls went to the mall?” Steve asked.

“No, they didn’t go to the mall,” Grover said in an accusing tone. “Because the ‘Father of the Year’ here wouldn’t allow Grace to go.

“Why not?” Steve asked, finally focusing on Danny.

“Because… it’s the MALL. I don’t want my kid alone at the mall,” he replied, hands flying in the air.

“My daughter is sixteen; you think she would have lost your TEEN-aged daughter? Or what?!” The voices began to crescendo once again.

“Guys! Jeez, will you both calm down!” Steve called out. “Danny have you called Grace and asked if she knows where Sam went? Maybe she’s not missing at all, but went to the mall alone and just forgot the time,” Steve explained what he thought was the most logical explanation.

“My daughter would not forget the time,” Lou insisted. “And she would not turn off her phone.”

“She’s sixteen, Lou. Maybe she met with Paca.” Steve commented, but that statement earned him another glare.

“No! I called that little—“

“OK. OK. Have you called her friends?” He turned back to his partner. “Danny, did you call Grace?”

“Of course, I called Grace. She is at home doing her homework and doesn’t know where Sam went,” Danny answered, and both men could see that he was thinking intensely about something.

“Danny, what is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s just that Grace sounded angry when I called her,” he admitted.

“Of course she was angry. You forbade her to go the mall, just like she was a little kid,” Lou again told him. “And how do you know that she was really at home? Huh? Ever think about that, Genius?”

“Hey! You—“

“OK, guys. You both have your reasons for dealing with your daughters the way you do. I’m not going to say anything about that,” Steve said and waited until he had both their attention before he continued. “But right now, we need to find out if either of the two is really missing, or if they are just out having fun. Which I think is the most likely scenario.”

“Grace would not just leave home like that without telling me,” Danny said with conviction.

“Neither would Samantha. She knows not to take the car out without telling me first.”

“Guys,” Steve said quietly. “I’m really sorry to burst your bubble, but they both have done so before.” Both men turned to glare at him again when he added, “And I’m pretty sure I know where they are at the moment.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Danny almost shouted.

“Yeah, what are you talking about?” Lou chimed in.

Steve looked at his two friends and it was clear that he had to tell them. He sighed and knew this wouldn’t go over well. But it was too late to worry about that. He nodded toward his office. “Come on, let’s sit down.”

“Steven—“

Steve didn’t reply but motioned with his hand toward his office, entering and sitting down behind his desk. He waited until the other two followed and plopped down, giving him dual glares.

“Listen, just don’t get mad, OK?”

“About what?” Danny called out.

“Remember a few weeks ago, that Friday when I went home early?”

“Yeah, the day you got the elbow to the face?” Lou asked.

“Yeah,” Steve nodded, remembering that Friday.

 

H50 – H50 – H50

 

McGarrett residence
Three weeks earlier, early afternoon

Steve was thankful to finally pull into his drive. He knew he shouldn’t have driven home by himself, but after telling everyone at work that he was fine to drive, he wasn’t going to call and ask for help. He had read the concern on Catherine’s face and he was in no mood to hear an “I told you so” from any of his team. He was fine. He had a horrendous headache and his nose felt like it was going to explode, taking his face with it, but he wasn’t dying.

At his final checkup for his broken nose a couple of weeks ago, the doctor had told him it would be wise to continue to wear the face mask for another month when he was out in the field. Little did he know he would need it this morning at headquarters.

Catherine and Kono had brought in a suspect who had been caught with a hand scanner, stealing credit card numbers from tourists. He had been caught red-handed, trying his luck on Catherine of all people, so the kid really had no excuses. They knew he was working with a gang and Steve didn’t want him; he was more interested in the leader. Only Pedro refused to snitch, so he was headed to lock up.

An HPD officer was outside the door when Kono uncuffed Pedro from the chair. A fact that Pedro did not know. Thinking he could easily get by the two people in the room, he rushed Steve as soon as he was free and in the short scuffle Steve had received an elbow to the nose.

The sudden pain was almost enough to drive him to his knees, but not before Pedro had paid for his tactical error. Kono kicked the back of Pedro’s knee, knocking him down. Steve got in an uppercut which caused Pedro to land on the floor.

Where HPD picked him up and carted him away.

That had been three hours ago and his head hadn’t stopped hurting since. He had some of the prescription pain pills left but knew he couldn’t take one while at work. Tylenol hadn’t even begun to dull the pain. And he knew that his team knew it by their quiet voices and stolen looks in his direction.

Finally he couldn’t stand it any longer. He wasn’t getting any work done and knew he was finished for the day. So he had manned up and said he was leaving to try and get rid of his headache. There wasn’t anything other than paperwork left to do and the paperwork was in capable hands.

Leaving work in the middle of the day was difficult for Steve to do; it was made only marginally better when Cath had kissed him and said she was proud of him for taking care of himself. And her promise of ‘taking care’ of him later.

And here he sat, ready to crawl into his house and lick his wounds. Just one more thing he could add to the list of things to thank Miss Petunia and her damn pink taser for.

Steve slid out of the truck and stopped in his tracks, thinking he had lost his mind. Next to his truck, in HIS own driveway, was another car. He looked around, seeing no one and wondered why he was just now noticing the vehicle. He sighed and thought he really was losing it as he headed toward the front door. The car was familiar but he couldn’t quite put a name to the owner. He would figure it out soon enough. He assumed whoever it was would be out on the lanai.

He glanced at the sky and knew that his guest would be wet in about two minutes. Just as he unlocked the door, big fat raindrops began to fall and he amended that thought. Make that right now.

Steve walked through the house toward the kitchen and heard squealing coming from the back. He looked out the window to see two laughing girls running from the water toward the house, their heads covered with their beach towels.

What the hell? Grace? Steve stared at her when the towel came off her head. Getting a closer look at the other girl, he quickly connected the car. It was Samantha, Lou’s daughter, and the car in the drive was Renee’s, Lou’s wife.

Damn. So much for a nap. Why the hell did he have two trespassers?

Steve longingly looked at the pill bottle, but decided he couldn’t take them before he found out what the girls were doing here. The pills would pretty much knock him out. So, instead he only grabbed a bottle of water before heading outside.

The talk and laughter went to dead silence when he unlocked and opened his back door. “Hey, girls,” he greeted them, taking a drink of water.

Two guilty faces stared at him before they turned to each other. He could read the ‘oh, shit’ look in both of their eyes.

“Uncle Steve?” Grace finally said. “Um, what are you, I mean… how did you… you’re home early.”

Steve closed the door and dropped into one of the chairs. “Yeah, guess you weren’t expecting me, huh?

“We, uh, sorry, but we wanted a quiet place to talk,” Samantha told him.

“It was my idea,” Grace quickly told him. “I didn’t think you would mind and we just wanted some down time.”

“I see.” He glanced at their clothing; swimsuits and tee shirts. “So, you chose my beach.”

“I really thought it would be OK to come here,” Grace said, not quite looking him in the eyes. But when she did meet his gaze, she looked at him with a funny expression. “Uncle Steve, why are you home?”

He raised his hand and ran it along the back of his neck. “I got popped in the face this morning and need to get rid of a headache,” he admitted.

“That has got to hurt,” Grace told him, remembering her own nearly-broken nose, thankful that it hadn’t been hit while she had been recovering. She jumped up and headed toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”

“Commander, I’m really sorry we are bothering you,” Samantha told him. “We’ll just get out of—“

Steve held up his hand to stop her. “No, have a seat. I think we might need to talk.”

Grace returned with an ice baggie wrapped in a tea towel. “This might help, Uncle Steve. I know how it hurts,” she told him.

“Thanks, Gracie.” He gently held the pack to the bridge of his nose and aching forehead. “Why don’t you have a seat.”

She sat next to Samantha, making a face at the other girl, knowing they were headed for a lecture.

“Are you mad, Uncle Steve?” she timidly asked.

“Mad? No, of course not,” he replied. “But I’m kind of confused,” Steve admitted. “Why do you need a quiet place to talk?”

He was greeted by silence from both girls and he looked at both of them. “Would anyone care to start?” he prodded.

Samantha sighed and put her hands over her eyes. “People just don’t understand,” she finally admitted.

“Understand what?”

“It’s different, you know?” she began and Steve had no clue what was different or why, but hoped he would soon find out.

“Right,” Grace agreed with her. “Totally different.” OK, so much for understanding.

“Just what is different?” he asked.

“My friends, they are all great,” Sam said, “but they don’t understand having a dad who is a cop. It can be pretty difficult. Grace understands me.”

Grace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Dads who are cops treat you differently.”

“Ah.” He pondered for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I can see that.”

“I mean,” Samantha continued. “Dad loves me. I know he does and he wants what is best for me, but I just feel smothered all the time. If I go out with friends, I have to almost have to wait for background checks to come back on all of them. It is so ridiculous.”

Grace rolled her eyes and agreed. “I know, it’s embarrassing. I can’t go anywhere without Danno knowing if there are any older brothers around or if they have firearms in the house. What does he think I plan to do? I know safety. And he won’t just drop me off at a cheer meet or anything. He stands there and watches my friends and all the other people like someone is going to kidnap me.” She was obviously on a roll. “He wants to know where I am ALL the time.”

“You’re right,” Steve began. “Your dads do love you very much. And that is why they act crazy. Because they don’t really know how to deal with you two growing up. They really are trying to do the right things.” He grinned. “Although they are a bit nuts, aren’t they? Trust me, I know. I get to listen to both of them…not just one, like you do.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “More than a bit.”

“But I know you both remember the reasons WHY your dads are like that, right? You… and they lived through pretty traumatic experiences,” Steve said and watched the two girls remembering what he was talking about. But they seemed OK about it. “They are worried about you and can’t forget how you were almost taken from them for good.”

“I guess,” the older girl admitted.

“We saw each other after school today and said that we needed a place to talk to each other,” Grace told him. “Because we both know what the other one is going through. I told Sam how I liked coming here, to the water. I can think here.”

“I understand,” Steve told her. “I do a lot of thinking out here, too.”

“But you’re gonna bust us, aren’t you, Uncle Steve?” Samantha asked.

Steve set the ice pack on the table; it wasn’t helping with the pain, it only started to freeze his brain. “I don’t know yet,” he admitted. “Grace, where does your dad think you are? Why aren’t you both in school?”

“We had a half day today. I’m, um, supposed to be at home.”

“I heard your dad on the phone with you earlier. He believes you are at home.”

“Well I was when I talked to him.”

“How did you get here?” Steve asked.

She hesitated and then glanced at Samantha. “Sam picked me up.”

“I’ve got my license and I’m a good driver,” Sam hastily added.

“I don’t doubt that,” Steve assured her. “But my question is whether Gracie is supposed to ride in a car with another teen. I seem to remember to have to listen to that rant from your dad a few months ago.”

“Well, not really,” she admitted in a low voice.

“I didn’t think so. And Sam, your mom knows that you picked up Grace today?”

She quickly made eye contact with Grace before replying. “No, sir,” she whispered.

“OK,” Steve said, pondering his next question. He looked at their clothing. “Did you have a good swim?”

“Yeah, it was great,” they agreed, smiling at him. “Until the rain started,” Grace added.

“This place is awesome,” Sam added.

“So, what would have happened if one of you had gotten in trouble in the water? No one knew you were here, right?” Steve looked at the both of them. “That’s the problem.”

“Oh,” Grace whispered.

Steve leaned across the table. “I really don’t mind you coming here,” he told them. “But maybe we need to have some ground rules. Does that sound fair?”

“Like what?” Grace asked.

“Swimming, for one. Do you think your parents want you out in the ocean without their knowledge?” He waved his hand in the direction of the water. “It looks safe, but anything can happen out there. Unless there is an adult present, I think you should enjoy it from the beach.”

“But we’re both really good swimmers,” Sam told him.

“I understand that. But it’s my part of the beach. There are dangerous currents and I wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing you’re alone in the water.”

“All right,” she agreed. “What else? Are you going to tell our dads?”

Steve sighed and gently rubbed his still madly hurting forehead, thinking of his answer. “I’ll make you a deal. One which I’m sure will come back and bite me,” he added. “You can come here to blow off steam, if… and this is a big if, you either call or text me first to let me know you are here. I don’t want to come home and be surprised, got it?”

“Yes, sir.” And “Yes, Uncle Steve,” were heard in quiet voices.

“And,” he added. “If you get caught driving or riding in the car without your parents’ permission, you’re on your own. I will not take any responsibility for that, do you understand? Samantha, you shouldn’t just leave without at least leaving a note for your mom.”

“I guess,” She reluctantly agreed.

“Gracie… you know Danno won’t like you riding in a car without his permission, right?”

Grace leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “He can be so… so smothering! I’m not a baby anymore, and Sam is very careful.”

“I know that, but we both know he will be upset when he finds out.”

“But you won’t tell him, right, Uncle Steve? Please?”

“I’m not going to tell either of them,” Steve agreed. “IF you both agree to let me know when you are coming over.”

“Absolutely,” Sam agreed.

Grace jumped up and started to hug him, but hesitated when she remembered his sore head. She moved around his chair and hugged him from behind. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“But just so you both know…” Steve added. “This will probably come back and bite us all in the butts…”

 

H50 – H50 – H50

 

Danny jumped from his chair. “Yeah, and your butt is first in line. Steve, what the hell were you thinking? How could you not tell us what was going on?”

Grover leaned forward in his chair and used his thumb to point toward Danny. “For once, I agree with him. How do you think you know what’s best for our daughters?”

“Well, I know that sometimes you both can go off the deep end,” Steve shot back. “And I don’t know anything about daughters but I know they were being responsible and were going someplace they felt safe so that they could unwind. They weren’t doing anything illegal.”

“So, did they call and tell you where they are today?” Danny asked. “I’m gonna go over there and…”

“Danny, wait,” Steve told him. “No, I didn’t get any texts from either of them. But when I checked Samantha’s phone earlier, I also checked Gracie’s. She is at my house.”

“Then let’s go,” Grover said and stood, ready for a fight.

“Guys, wait. Come on, listen,” Steve tried to reason with them.

“Oh, wait. Is there more? Did you tell them they could help themselves to your beer? Or how about your surfboards? Are they allowed to use those?”

“Danny, you’re being unreasonable.”

“Un… wait a minute, I’m being unreasonable? Says the guy who allows my daughter to use his beach without my permission? That’s classic.”

“Sit. Down.” Steve ordered and waited until they both did so. He sighed and ran his hand around the back of his neck. “Do you remember a couple months ago, the governor asked our help in locating his friend’s runaway daughter?”

“Yeah,” Lou replied, clearly remembering the case. “We found her in that dive on Sand Island. She had been raped.”

“And at the hospital after we found her, do you remember what she said to her parents?” Steve prodded.

Danny ran both hands through his hair. “She said that she ran away because they wouldn’t give her any space.”

“Yeah. When I found the girls, that case was fresh in my mind. I wanted them to have a place where they felt they could come and be safe and have some space. Guys, I didn’t do it to go against you. I did it hoping they would feel comfortable knowing they had someplace to go to.”

“I can understand that,” Lou told him. “Thank you.”

“But now… they are busted,” Danny said. “And I’m ready to go get my daughter.”

“And then what?” Steve asked. “Next time she needs to talk, what does she do?”

“Why can’t she come to me and talk?” Danny yelled. “Huh? She used to talk to me.”

Grover looked at him. “You’re in a world of disappointment if you think she’s gonna talk to you. She’s a teenager now. That ship has sailed.”

“Look, you both have good kids,” Steve told them. “Don’t make this a horrible experience for them. At least let me keep the line of communication open for them. I know I don’t know much about how to raise kids, and I don’t want to tell you how to raise your daughters. But I can at least be an adult they can trust. Please don’t take that away from them.”

“Yeah, we can trust you. YOU let my daughter ride in a car with a teenage driver unsupervised – no offense to your little girl, Lou. What? You just waved as they drove away from your house?”

“As a matter of fact, no,” Steve told him. “Grace was with me in the truck and we followed Samantha home before I took Grace home. And I told her that she needed to talk to you about riding with other kids.”

“We talked. I said no,” Danny flat out replied.

“Yeah, and where is she today?” Steve shot back.

“So, how do we handle this?” Grover asked.

“Let me talk to them first,” Steve suggested. “They didn’t keep their end of the deal by letting me know they were at my house, so I didn’t keep my deal of not telling you. That doesn’t mean they can’t ever come to my house again.”

“No, it means Grace is grounded until she’s 18.”

“OK, Jersey, be reasonable,” Grover tried. “Yeah, they screwed up, but it could be a whole lot worse. We could be headed to a bar on Sand Island.”

That shut Danny’s mouth.

“Let me talk to them first and then you get them,” Steve said. “But I hope you won’t go nuts. Deal?”

“I’ll think about it,” Danny grumbled.

 

H50 – H50 – H50

 

Steve climbed into the cab of his truck and heard Danny slam the door of the Camaro. His partner was one mighty unhappy camper at the moment and Lou wasn’t far behind. Steve had known they would be pissed but he still felt he had done the right thing. At least he still hoped it was the right thing.

He tapped the phone on his steering wheel and called Catherine.

“Hey, Sailor,” she greeted him.

“Hi, Cath. You busy?”

“No, kind of bored at the moment. This civilian liaison job at Pearl isn’t as exciting as what I used to do.”

“Something will come up,” Steve promised her.

“I know. And for right now, I’m glad to get back into doing something productive. So… I’m going to guess you are calling for a favor.”

“That would be a negative, Lieutenant.”

“Really? Then what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Remember the day I came home from work and found Gracie and Samantha there?”

“Oh, yeah. Is this payback time?” she asked.

“Yeah, something like that. But I remember how you promised to take care of me that day…”

Steve sat in the truck after making sure Sam got home OK and after dropping off Grace at Danny’s house.

He leaned his head back, trying to ignore the by now almost blinding pain wreaking havoc behind his forehead. He had been OK after drinking the bottle of water; hydrating always helped him when he had a headache. But after driving around for almost an hour the level of pain was sending him into orbit.

He felt slightly sick, which he knew wasn’t from a serious head injury, but simply from pain and exhaustion. There was a slight sheen of sweat on his face, and he wished his bed would magically appear next to the truck. That would alleviate a lot of walking.

Or maybe he simply could stay where he was. After all, he had always been able to sleep in almost any position.

But he was pretty sure he wouldn’t fall asleep without taking one, or better two of the prescription pain pills. His doctor had warned him he might need them on occasion in the coming weeks. So far he had been lucky, and had been mostly pain free.

With a sigh Steve opened the truck and made his way over to his front door. It was the second time that he had come home in as many hours. Hopefully, this time nothing would keep him from taking the pain medication and getting relief from the hammering inside his head.

He made his way to the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge, the pill bottle already in his hands. It took only a moment to swallow two of the capsules, washing them down with almost all of the water.

Steve sat the emptied water bottle down and leaned against the kitchen counter, willing the pills to work. He closed his eyes for a moment and contemplated what to do next. He wanted to take a shower before taking a nap, but that would mean he had to go upstairs.

Saving that task for when he felt better, he decided a nap on the couch was the thing to do next.

After getting comfortable on the old leather couch it didn’t even take a minute for him to fall asleep.

 

H50 – H50 – H50

 

Catherine laughed. “I remember after I finished up at headquarters, I opened the door and found you sprawled on the couch, sound asleep. You were pretty much three sheets to the wind…

Catherine Rollins parked her car in the driveway right next to Steve’s truck and went to the door. She used the key Steve had given her on the first day she had been back. She remembered him telling her he didn’t want her to feel like a guest who had to knock; he wanted her to feel at home. But at the same time, he never pressured her into always having to be there.

He had been so sweet in giving her space, but also invited her back into his home, and she hoped also back into his heart. Which Catherine knew she had broken, even though he denied it. But she knew she had hurt him.

But she hoped all that was behind them now.

A smile broke out on her face when she saw Steve sprawled on the couch. He looked relaxed and according to his even breathing, was deeply asleep.

She was glad that he was resting; they all had been aware of how much he had been hurting before he finally gave in and left the office. Even though the hit to the face hadn’t done any damage, it had put him into a world of hurt.

Something good had come out of it though; it had been the first time since the initial injury when his nose had been broken, that the boys had realized what Miss Petunia’s use of the taser had cost Steve. It was the first time they hadn’t spoken about her with smiles on their faces. It was one thing to think about the SEAL being taken down by a tiny person like Petunia, but a totally other thing to see their friend in such pain from not even a hard hit to the face.

Catherine went up the stairs to get changed before making dinner. She had promised to take care of her boyfriend as soon as she was finished with her statement about the wanna-be-robber back at the palace. Although at the moment, it looked like the ‘taking care’ part had to wait until after said boyfriend was back with the living.

 

H50 – H50 – H50

Steve smiled at the memory. “You had promised to take care of me that afternoon, and you did,” he told her. “From the minute I woke up.” …

Noise filtered through the haze that was his brain, but he wasn’t able to make out what it was or from where it originated. Steve was still in that state between deep sleep and wakefulness.

He turned his head when a loud clanking sound reached him, but he still didn’t fully wake. His sense of smell was suddenly turned on, and if he wasn’t mistaken someone was cooking. That someone had to be Catherine; a thought that produced a smile on his face. Thinking about her, even still half asleep, always made him smile.

Steve came more awake by the minute, but felt oddly lazy and by far not ready to get up or even open his eyes. He was very content to just lie on the couch and enjoy the feeling of not being in any pain. Actually he was feeling really good. Really good.

“Hey, Sailor, are you awake?” he heard a whispered voice close to his ear. He wondered how he hadn’t heard her coming out of the kitchen.

“Hmm.”

“How do you feel?” The voice asked while gently smoothing his hair back.

“ ‘m good,” Steve mumbled, rolling his head in the direction of her voice.

“Do you still have a headache?”

“Nah… ‘s all gone,” he said and finally opened his eyes to look at her.

“I’m glad you could sleep a few hours,” Catherine said and softly kissed his forehead.

“Uh huh. When I got home… I… I think I did somethin’ incredibly stupid,” Steve confessed.

“You did?” Cath asked with a smile.

“Ye–ah,” Steve slurred with a happy smile on his face.

Cath leaned back and took a good look at him. “Just how many pills did you take, Steve?”

“Two,” he said and held up his hand showing her three fingers.

“Uh huh. And did you eat anything with those two pills?”

“Nope.”

She let out a small giggle at the look on his face. “I think you’re pretty high,” Catherine commented on his state.

“And I think… I think you are beautiful,” Steve answered matter of fact.

“Uh… thank you,” Cath answered, still with a smile on her face.

“I mean it. You’re beautiful and I love you. And…”

“And?”

“I’ve missed you,” Steve said and looked at her. “And not just the sex,” he clarified with a slight slur in his voice. “I mean… I missed that too… I was always thinking about you when I…” Steve suddenly stopped, thinking that might be too much information.

A grin broke out on his face when his thoughts wandered to–

“Steve?”

“Huh? Oh, right, as I was saying,” Steve slowly continued, still with a goofy smile on his face. “I’ve missed having sex with you… that’s always awesome…” he again stopped with a sudden frown on his face that made Catherine chuckle.

“It’s awesome, right? I mean for you, too?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, it is,” she agreed. “Very awesome.”

“You’d tell me if it… I mean if it wasn’t, right?” Steve worried.

“It’s awesome. Trust me,” Catherine said and leaned down to engage in a kiss, but Steve held her off.

“No, this is important,” he said. “I missed having you in my bed, but that’s no’ wha’ I missed most.”

“It’s not?”

“No. It’s you. I missed you,” Steve said and looked at her with his drug clouded eyes. “So much that it hurt.”

“I’m sorry,” Catherine whispered.

“No. Don’t be… you’re here, and the pain’s gone. Hey, my head also doesn’t hurt anymore,” he happily added, jumping from one topic to the other. “You wanna know what I did?” Steve asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

“What did you do?” Cath choked out, still trying to get past his admission from a minute ago.

“I pissed off Danny and Lou, only they just don’t know it yet,” Steve answered.

“You… what?” Cath asked in confusion.

“It’s a secret, you can’t tell them,” Steve said with a serious voice.

“Since I have no idea what you’re talking about, that won’t be a problem.” Cath said while shaking her head at her drugged boyfriend.

“They’re gonna kill me,” Steve mumbled with a more pronounced slur in his voice. “Maybe… their daughters… too. Nah… jus’ me.”

“You know what I think?” she said with a smile.

“Nope. What?”

“While dinner finishes cooking, I think you should take another nap, you’re not making any sense,” Catherine answered and again smoothed his hair back.

“Hmm, sounds like a plan,” Steve agreed, but forced his eyes open again. “Jus’ so you know, you are beautiful.”

A moment later even breathing announced that he had fallen back to sleep.

“Did I ever thank you for dinner that night?” Steve asked over the phone.

“Yes, you did. Many times, in fact,” Cath replied.

“That’s good. ‘Cause that was a good night.”

“That was a very good night,” Catherine agreed with a smile.

“Well, I’m pulling into the driveway. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck. How about I cook dinner again and you can tell me all about it.”

“Roger that, Lieutenant. See you soon.”

 

H50 – H50 – H50

 

The girls were lying on a blanket on the sand, talking when Steve saw them. They didn’t hear his approach until he cleared his throat and dropped into one of the chairs at the edge of the sand.

“Uncle Steve!” Grace said. “Uh, hi. Remember, you said we could be here.”

Steve nodded. “Yes, I did. But I think I listed a couple of ground rules, too.”

“We didn’t go swimming,” Grace quickly told him.

“And I left a note telling Mom that I had the car,” Samantha quickly added.

“That’s good,” he agreed and reached for his phone. “But I checked my messages and missed calls and didn’t get anything from either of you saying you planned to be here today. Wasn’t that part of the deal?”

“Oh,” Grace said. “I didn’t call.” She looked at Sam. “I thought you did.”

“I didn’t call, I thought you did.”

“Well, you both have extremely unhappy fathers,” Steve told them.

“You told them?” Grace asked in a panicked tone. “Uncle Steve, you pro—“

“And you promised to call and let me know where you were,” Steve interrupted. “Samantha, your dad tried your phone repeatedly this afternoon and it was turned off.”

“My battery is sort of almost dead,” she admitted.

“And that isn’t very responsible, out on your own with a dead phone, is it? You know how your dad gets when he can’t reach you.”

“I was safe here,” she argued.

“Your father didn’t know that, did he?”

“No, Uncle Steve.”

“And Grace,” Steve began, turning toward her. “Last I heard, Danny thought you were at home doing homework. I can only assume that was because you told him so?”

“Uncle Steve, he was so mean,” she began. “All I wanted to do was go to the mall with Sam and he said ‘absolutely no way’. He wouldn’t even listen to me.”

Steve sighed. He knew that Danny was kind of unreasonable regarding Grace. “So, did you lie to him?”

“Not exactly. I was still home when I talked to him.”

“How about when he called and asked if you knew where Samantha was?”

“I was, well, I, I didn’t…”

Steve leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him. “Grace, I won’t be a part of you lying to your father. Ever. And because you two didn’t answer your phones, I was the one who had to come clean.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Steve,” Grace whispered.

“Yeah, me, too,” Samantha agreed. “It was stupid not to have my phone on.”

“You two grab your blanket and go out front,” he told them. “You have some explaining to do. I’m sorry, but it’s your turn.”

He turned and watched as they walked across the yard toward the front of the house. He felt like a snitch but knew he had done the right thing in talking with their dads. He just hoped that his friends would eventually see it that way.

Steve shrugged and checked a new message on his phone. Safe to come home? Cath asked.

Fireworks should be over by the time you arrive, he texted back.

 

H50 – H50 – H50