Several
people came and went, which Caterina paid little attention too.
After sitting there for a while in her thoughts about her life with
Dannya, Caterina realized that she was no longer alone in the room with just her
husband and her friend Arms. She
looked around to see Remington sitting quietly by the door reading something.
Caterina noticed that the usual adversary conversation wasn’t going on
between Arms and Remington. Then,
she remembered there were times in the past that the two of them didn’t go for
each other’s throats, which usually happened when her world had been turned
upset down. Caterina knew when Dannya was awake and able to move, they
would go at it once again. Caterina
looked at her two long time friends, from two different worlds and yet she was
the common ground on which they met. She
thought to herself, friends are strange
sometimes they know when to just listen, to be comforting, time to sit and wait,
plus when they could just be themselves.
Caterina
was remembering how the three of them met years ago when Amanak entered the room
to check on her patients once again. She
was mildly surprised to see Ionakana sitting in the room with Caterina.
Amanak went over to her husband and gave him a kiss hello.
“Hello Ionakana.”
“Hello
ipo.” {Sweetheart} Arms returned her kiss and a hugged his wife.
After
breaking their embrace, “Ionakana is everyone behaving themselves?”
Amanak went over to Danny and checked his vital signs and chart to see if
there was anything new noted on it.
“Yes
Captain Mommy, we are all behaving.” Caterina
replied to the question.
Amanak
looked up from the chart at Caterina and replied with smile, “That’s
good.” In trying to keep the mood
light Amanak joked with her friend, “Ionakana I’ve told you before that we
need to get that throat of yours checked out, it’s sounding a like Catie’s
again.” Amanak laughed and saw her husband smiling from the playing going on.
Then she turned on Caterina with more a nurses concern, “But if we’re
behaving ourselves then we would be in our own bed.”
Amanak got the medication that was left for Caterina to take, but before
handing the medication to Caterina, she doubled check to make sure it was the
proper medication and that the chart had not been altered again.
Then she walked over to Caterina to give them to her “Now take this.”
Caterina
took the medication and the silence fall over the room once again, while Amanak
took Caterina’s vital signs. Caterina
couldn’t stand the silent any longer, “Remington did I tell you how both
sets of twins loved campaigning with their father this past year?”
Remington
looked up from the newspaper making sure Caterina could not see the headlines,
“I believe we talked about it a couple of times.”
Caterina
was looking at her husband and really not paying attention to his answer.
“Not that they would openly admit they enjoyed themselves, but that’s
teenagers for you. They say that
they don’t need you, when they really do.
One just has to stand by and watch them fall down and pick themselves up
again or reach out a hand for your help. You
know that yourself with your own kids.”
Remington
had a look of disappointment on his face from the possibility of hearing the
details of the campaign again. “You
are right about our kids, eh.” She
only told me almost every blow by blow, event by event, all year since Danny
agreed to run for Governor. He
looked at Caterina seeing a need to keep her mind occupied with Danny in his
present condition and talking would help her get through this ordeal as it has
in the past. Remington
thought to himself as he watched his friend play with her husband’s hand
talking softly to him. How
many times Caterina have you sat through this waiting for Danny to wake up from
his various injuries through the years. Personally,
I’ve lost count. How do you do
it? “Caterina you have told
me a great deal about your life with Danny through the years, however, you have
never told me how you met him.”
This has to be better then the details of the past year’s campaign.
He could see that Ionakana and Amanak silently agreed with him.
“How
did we meet?” Such pleasant
thoughts of the years past went through Caterina’s mind about their
relationship, the day they met, the day they married, the births of their two
sets of twins, etc. “Are you sure
I’ve never told you how I fell in love with him the first time I saw him?”
Caterina smiled to herself at the mention of those early days with Dannya.
“No
Love, you never have. I came into your life after you had been shot and there was
trouble in paradise.” Remington
saw her reach for her knee where she had been shot years before.
How many years ago was that anyway?
A lifetime ago, he thought,
before I became the famous Remington Steele.
“It’s
been so long ago since our first meeting Harry.”
Remington
and Arms looked at each other when Catie spoke that name, “It’s been awhile
since I’ve heard you called that name,” Arms stated.
Just
at the moment Arms commented on Remington’s other name Laura came into the
room and sat next to her husband. She
looked at her husband with a look of ‘He Knows???’
Laura was aware that Catie knew the truth about Remington, now she
wondered how many others in Hawaii knew the truth as well.
Remingon
just looked at his wife with non-confirming look.
Caterina
had missed this little exchange between her three visitors as she started to
tell her tale about the first day she met Dannya.
“Everyone called and still calls him Dan, Danny and/or Danno, with an
occasional Daniel.”
When
Caterina started to tell her tale there was a commotion at outside the door.
Caterina and Arms rose to see what the fuss was about.
When she stretched for just a moment a shooting pain came down the left
shoulder and arm reminding her of her own injury from the shooting.
As she got closer to the door, she recognized Steve’s voice.
“What’s the problem Sergeant?”
“It’s
Deacon, Lady Caterina, Commissioner.” Sgt. Deacon replies.
“We have orders to let no one in unless they are on the approved
visitor listing and show proper ID.”
“This
is my cousin Steve McGarrett and he should be on that list.”
Catie put out her hand, “Can I see the list?”
At
the mention of the name of McGarrett, the officer recognized the former Chief of
Five-O, a little older, with a full head of silver hair.
He was still just as physically fit as he was the day he retired. Then Deacon remembered seeing his name on the list.
“Sorry, Mr. McGarrett, we were just following orders, Sir.”
Steve
was pleased that the security was tight around his cousin with the present
growing circumstances. “That’s
all right, you’re just doing your job.”
Deacon
showed the list to Caterina and she pointed out Steve’s name on it. “I was
double checking the list to make sure Mr. McGarrett had proper clearance and ID,
Lady Caterina.”
“Well
done, Sergeant.” Caterina thought
a little to over protective but that Wise’s doing or was it because
Arms was standing there?
“Thanks
Lady Caterina.” Deacon turned to
Steve, “You may pass, Sir.”
Steve
went pasted the Sergeant, entered the room giving Caterina a hug and asked,
“How is Danno doing?” There was
no need for a reply; he could see for himself as he looked towards the bed.
“He
is still alive and stronger then he was.”
Caterina returned her cousin’s hug.
“Steve you remember the Steeles, Remington and Laura.
We were just about to discuss how I met the Love Of My Life.”
There was a pain in those words ‘Love of my life’ that anyone could
hear.
“Don’t
let me stop you, I wouldn’t mind hearing your version of what happen back
then.” Steve always wanted to know the truth of how the relationship
began but never liked to intrude on others’ personal lives, even his own
cousin. He may have been her legal
guardian since her eleventh birthday, but he gave her a great deal of structured
freedom. Maybe
that is why she fell in love with a cop. No,
Danno is not just a cop he was always the best in the department.
Caterina
was led back to her chair and helped to sit back down when she started her story
over again. “Where was I, oh
yeah, his name. With everyone
calling him the same thing, I wanted to be different.
When we were alone, I needed something different that no one else would
be allowed to call him ever, also something that would not embarrass him in
public. So, I started calling him
‘Dannya.’ At first, I only
called him Dannya in private, but one day after we were seeing each other on a
regular basis, I slipped and called him ‘Dannya’ in public.
Thankfully, it never bothered him unless someone else called him ‘Dannya.’
I remember Dannya telling me that after I left the office that day I
called him Dannya that Steve, Duke, Kono and Chin teased him a few times just
for the fun of it but that was all. No
one in the unit ever called him Dannya again.”
“The
first time I saw him express no reaction to being called Dannya with a ‘you do
not have the right to call me that. So
don’t do it again.’ was with our first set of twins.
They called him ‘Dannya’ before they called him ‘Daddy’ which was
perfectly all right because the twins have always had his love.
I remember that happy moment as if it was yesterday, when ‘Daddy
Williams’ picked up DJ to gave him a huge hug and kiss for speaking his first
word to him ‘Dannya’.” Caterina
paused smiling at the memory of her first-born son DJ and Dannya just being so
happy and playing together in the living room, the backyard or anywhere they
were together. She could picture
Dannya playing with all of his children and being the worlds perfect DADDY,
loving, caring and protective.
“As
far as for a first meeting. I fell
in love with Dannya the first time I ever saw him.
He looked so wonderful in his blue uniform with its tight fitting shirt
with the short sleeves showing those muscular arms with strong hands.”
Caterina was in her own little world talking about times with Dannya, she
absent mindedly traced her hand up and down her husband arm, then moved it to
his hand once again. “Back then
his body was hard and firm from surfing along with all the other sporting
activities that was part of his daily life.
He has always loved tennis and coaching little league.”
Caterina could still see him that way in her mind, younger, stronger,
leaner and very fit body with an attitude about him that said ‘I’m going to
conquer the world.’
“Where
did I first see my Mr. Wonderful?” Caterina
looked around the room to see the others watching her.
She knew no one would know the answer, so she continued.
“Honolulu High School auditorium, Officer Dan Williams of HPD was
giving one of those recruitment speeches to the senior class.
Standing on that stage, he looked taller then his five foot seven inches.
It wasn’t until I saw him in the hallway that I could see he was on the
shorter side of six feet tall. Up
close, he was better looking then he was on the stage.
There was a presence about him that I could not defined then or now.”
Caterina voice was soft and pleasant.
She was talking about one of her most favorite subjects in the world, her
man. “I remember walking down the
hallway past him when a friend pushed me right into his arms. There was something in his eyes and his smile that took me by
surprise. I felt butterflies in my
stomach from his touch.
“I
remember his first words to me ‘Are you okay, Miss?’
He had this wonderfully inviting smile that was a little crooked but very
pleasant.
“I
looked into his beautiful blue eyes saying, ‘Yes, just fine.’
When Officer Williams let go of me, then he bent down to help me pick up
the books that had fallen. ‘Sorry
Officer Williams about that, my friends were joking around when they pushed me
over here.’ We both looked over
to my friends who were giggling.
“The
school principal addressed me ‘McGarrett I suggest you get to your next
class.’
‘Yes
Mr. Stevenson.’ I replied when I
remember noticing a look of recognition in Dannya eyes at my last name.
‘There you go, Miss McGarrett’ he said as he handed me my last book.
“I
turned to rejoin my friends and he turned back to the other taller officer and
Mr. Stevenson who he was with.
“I
walked way with my girlfriends. We
were all giggling as we turned the corner to go to my next class.
Just as I was about to go around the corner, I wanted to get one last
look at him only to find him standing there looking in my direction. He smiled when our eyes meet.
At that point, I ran to catch up with my friends.
I remember in my Algebra class, all I could think about was the way
Dannya looked liked standing there after bumping into him.
“My
first formal meeting with Dannya when we were properly introduced was when he
was a rookie on the Five-O team. He
worked on a few assignments for Five-O during the last of his rookie years on
HPD. When Steve’s former Deputy
Chief retired, Steve decided he wanted someone young, new, someone without
built-in bad habits that wouldn’t clash with his, furthermore, Dannya was only
twenty-six and just off probation from HPD when he joined Five-O.
“He
had been working with the unit about a month or so on a permanent basis when
Steve had all the guys over for a lasagna dinner on November 10, 1971.
It was several days after my 16th birthday; Steve had worked
late on my birthday, which I assumed he had neglected like he did other events
because of work.”
Remington
inquired, “Wait a minute, how can you remember that date so clearly?”
Caterina
looked at him “Men never remember the important dates that involve their
Ladies. Laura, does Remington
remember the date not the day but the date you first met?”
Laura
thought about it, she could remember that date, along with all details of the
day she could. “Yes he does,
because I can remember the date as clearly as the events of October 1, 1982. Remington has various combinations of that date for security
codes in our lives.” That is
the security code on the alarm of our homeP
that Remington set up figuring it would be easy for both us to remember and no
would figure it out to easily unless then knew the day they met.
“I
remember, because is November 10th, the day my world of events began
and moved around every since. I was
engaged on November 10th, I was married two years later on November
10th, and I take an annual vacation with my husband around November
10th. November 10th
is the circle in which the Dan Williams Family universe began.”
It
finally hit Steve, he snipped his fingers and said, “That’s why you always
requested the week that November 10th fell in to take a vacation with
Danno.”
“The
great detective McGarrett finally figures it out after fifteen years of asking
for and getting a couple of the days off around the 10th of November
every year. Even with talking him
into watching the kids on the 10th every year.”
Caterina shook her finger at her cousin “I always knew that dates were
your weak point when they were not part of case you were working on.”
Everyone in the room laughed including Steve.
“In
fact for several years Dannya thought my birthday was on the 10th
until someone corrected him, not mentioning any names, like my cousin Steven.
For about five years, I had two birthdays, one with my cousin and friends
and one private one with Dannya.
“The
year is easy to remember because it was my 16th birthday.
That night Steve served his home made lasagna, the only thing that
Steve’s cooks better then you Remington.”
Caterina laughed a little and heard Remington joining her.
Laura
commented, “Not everyone is as a good cook as Remington is.
It has also been amazing what he can create from nothing.
Heaven help me, I would poison our family if I did all the cooking at
home.” Laura smiled then leaned
over to give her husband a kiss on the lips.
“I
remember that about Remington. I
have been amazed at what he can do with very little in the kitchen.
I remember a night long ago when he did just that.”
“All
right ladies,” Remington holds up his hands, “I get it.
When Danny wakes up, I’ll go back to your house Caterina an cook you
one of my specialties of your choice, other then lasagna.”
They all laughed at Remington statement of cooking dinner for everyone.
Remington enjoyed cooking and really hated being baited into doing it,
when all you had to do was ask.
Caterina
turned around to look at her old friend, “Thanks Remington, it’s been a long
time, but I …. Thanks.” She
smiled a thankful smile and returned to her story.
“After dinner Steve, Chin Ho, Kono, Duke and Dan started talking
business, I couldn’t believe that my Cousin over there” Caterina stares at
Steve with one of those looks, “was having a business meeting instead of a
party. But I put the dishes in the
dishwasher, and then disappeared to my bedroom unhappy that no one remembered my
birthday.
“When
I was out of sight Dannya and Duke left the apartment to pick up the surprise
ice cream cake and get the gifts that were in Steve’s trunk.
I was reading something while listening to ‘Barry Manilow’ on my
stereo when Dannya knocked on my door while opening it the rest of the way.
Then he asked if I would like to come out for some desert that they had
picked up. I remember thinking how
I didn’t want to join them for desert and sit listening to them discussing
more case work. I started to reply
‘no’ when I looked up and saw Dannya came into my room and was standing by
the side of my bed. He had a look
of ‘come on and trust me’ on his expression, that I had to follow.
He put his hand out to helped me off my bed and there was look in his
eyes that have always been pleasant to see.
When I was standing up, he gave me an affectionate hug and a kiss for my
birthday, a real hug and a real kiss. It
was my first kiss from someone who gave me butterflies that have never gone
away. “
Caterina
saw in Steve’s eyes a look of, if he had known he would of drop kick Danno off
the lanai of his apartment for touching his cousin who was still a minor at the
time.
Remington
and Laura had a real look of surprise on their faces at the mention of the first
kiss. “Your first kiss and
hug???????” they said in unison.
“That’s
right, my first kiss.” Caterina
paused to remember that first kiss and touched her lips where Dannya placed that
first kiss and smiled to herself while the others looked on.
“Okay, okay” with a bushing smile on her face, “it’s not the kind
of kiss and hug I get these days for my birthday, but it was still my first real
birthday kiss and hug from a man other then my cousin and/or his long-time
friends. For weeks after that, I
could not forget the aroma of his after-shave and the feel of his hard body
against mine. I fell totally in
love with Dannya that night which was probably my first case of true puppy love
that has lasted a lifetime. Dannya
as you know is ten years older than I am and to him I was just a growing young
woman or what my cousin would have called it ‘Jail Bait’.”
Caterina laughed at the last statement thinking about how the age
difference didn’t matter any longer.
“When
I got out to the living room, everyone started to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’
Steve had one of the biggest smiles that said ‘Do you really think I would forget your Sweet 16th
birthday?’ Steve gave me my
present of a set of car keys to a dark green Pinto with a half vinyl black roof,
and Dannya gave me some perfume that I started to use and have loved using ever
since. The best part of the party
came when I received my first public kiss on the cheek and hug from Dannya.”
“For
the next couple of years, I used any excuse I could to go over to The Palace to
bug my Cousin for this or that, hoping to see or even better to physically bump
into Dannya. He must have thought I
was a little weird running into him all the time, but he didn’t seem to mind
too much. Or at least he never let
on that it bugged him.”
Caterina
stopped talking because of the medication Amanak had given her a while ago was
making her sleepy. She got
comfortable in the chair holding on to Dannya’s hand and fell asleep dreaming
of their life together.
Arms
rose from his sit, went over to Caterina, and picked her up.
With Amanak assistance, Danny’s hand was removed from Caterina’s
tight grip. Arms carefully placed
his dear friend in her own bed. “Sweet
Dannya dreams Caterina. I wish you
the most pleasants dreams.” Then
he leaned over her and kissed on the forehead the way he had for years with his
own and the Williams children.
One
by one, everyone left the room when another police nurse came into the room to
keep an eye on the Chief and Lady Williams.
For
sweet Dannya dreams to be continued . . .
P
Covert Steele by Nancy Eddy – Fanfiction story at is
a crossover between Hawaii Five-O and Remington Steele.
Location of the story is http://members.xoom.com/remylover/casebookmulti.html
Original
content © 2001
Last modified: May 2001