Thank you as always, Sammy and Ilna for the fun of a triple co-write!

And to all our REAL McRollers and readers for your amazing feedback and support.

Onward and Upward

"Gwace, I wea' you hat?" Angie said, pointing at the graduation cap with its tassel still perched on Grace's head. While she, Casey, and Linda had removed their gowns for the party, they each still wore their caps.

"Sure, Angie," Grace said easily, removing the cap and placing it on her young cousin's head. She chuckled as the material drooped down over Angie's eyes, but the little girl wasn't fazed in the slightest. She pushed it up and beamed at the new graduate.

"I wea' it!" she announced proudly.

"It looks great!" Grace enthused, scooping her up onto her hip. "Hey, Auntie Cath," she called across the yard. "Look, we finally found something Angie will wear on her head."

Catherine laughed, walking over to join them. "Look at you, baby girl. You're gonna give your daddy a heart attack, he doesn't exactly want to think about you and DJ growing up so fast."

"I wea' Gwace hat, Mommy," Angie told her as she held the hat up with one hand and playfully batted the tassel with the other. "Ooh," she said suddenly, feeling the silkiness of the strings. "Dat's soft."

"Are you gonna be a valedictorian when you graduate like Grace and Casey and Linda?" Catherine asked her, smiling at her preoccupation with the tassel.

Angie nodded emphatically, though of course she didn't have any real idea what that meant.

"And what are we telling Grace and Casey and Linda today?" she asked.

Angie immediately stopped playing with the tassel and smiled directly at Grace. "Ungadulation, Gwace!" she said, beaming at her.

Grace smiled brightly, kissing her cheek. "Thanks, Angie!"

"Annnnd …" Catherine prompted.

"You did it!" Angie exclaimed, throwing both arms into the air and knocking the graduation cap off in the process. She looked down at it in the grass. "Uh oh."

Catherine bent to pick it up. "Shall we let Grace wear her cap at her graduation party?"

Angie shook her head, reaching for the cap. "I wea' it."

Grace laughed. "That's okay, you can wear it, cutie." She kissed her cheek again and arranged the cap on the little girl's head. "It looks better on you anyway."

"Hey, DJ," Cody said, joining him at a table on the deck. "Lemme show you that picture of the minion on my cap from when I graduated."

"Oh yeah!" DJ said excitedly. "I forgot."

Cody scrolled through some photos on his phone until he found the one he was looking for. "There," he said, and held it out so DJ could see the picture.

"It is a minion!" DJ exclaimed, grinning broadly.

"Yep, Jacob and everybody didn't have any trouble finding me in the crowd with that."

Casey paused as she walked by chatting with Francesca and Jadon about her USC plans. "Oh hey, the minion cap," she said, smiling at her brother.

"Jacob told me about it so Cody was showing me a picture," DJ explained.

"Oh cool," Francesca said. "A bunch of people in my class did something like that, too, so their families could find them. I put my initials on mine in this glitter paper stuff."

"Nice," Casey said, smiling at her.

"I used masking tape to spell out my nickname," Jadon said.

DJ looked up at him. "All Day J?"

Jadon grinned at him and held up his hand for a high five. "You know it, little man."

Cody nudged his sister. "Casey didn't need any since she was up on stage with all the other valedictorians."

She groaned a little. "Yeah, that turned out to not be quite as exciting as we thought."

"What do you mean?" Francesca asked.

"Well, we had to sit up straight and not fidget and really pay attention to everything. Or at least we had to look like we were paying attention. We couldn't lean over to whisper to our neighbors or anything."

"Ohh, you're right," Francesca said. "I didn't even think about that."

Jadon grinned. "Did it make you wish you'd gotten a B in one class over the years?" he teased.

Casey pretended to think about it, tapping her chin. She grinned back. "Nope. Not one bit."

"Starting next week I get to help out with the Thursday afternoon Beginning Dog Training classes," Kaitlyn excitedly reported to Grandma Ang. "Mostly I'll just be checking people in with their dogs then doing whatever they need during class. Like cleaning up accidents," she giggled. "But Jessica … she's the teacher … she said that's how she started back when she was a volunteer at the shelter and now she's head trainer."

"I bet you'll be the youngest certified trainer the shelter has ever had," Grandma Ang replied proudly. "You love the animals and they love you. That's the most important thing of all."

Kaitlyn blushed. "Thanks. There's a Great Dane puppy in the class this time. I met him when he came with his mom to sign up. His name is Wilfred. Isn't that the cutest name?"

"Absolutely adorable," Ang agreed.

"Don't worry though," Kaitlyn added. "I haven't forgotten about the cats and kittens. I still spend plenty of time taking care of them and then having playtime."

Ang smiled. "I'm sure they love that."

"When I'm fifteen I can apply to be a helper at the zoo. I can't wait for that." Kaitlyn's face grew serious. "Not that I'll ever forget about the shelter. I won't. But …" Her eyes began to sparkle. "If I could work at the zoo just think of how many different animals I could meet."

"They will all be very lucky to meet someone who loves them as much as you do," Ang said sincerely.

Kaitlyn looked over her shoulder. "Looks like the food is ready. Do you want me to fix you a plate?"

"You're a very sweet girl," Ang replied. "I'd love that."

"C'mon, Angie, let's go in the photo booth and take our pictures," DJ said as he took his sister's hand. He scooted over on the bench and helped her up. When he pointed at the lens the almost three year old said, "Cheese!" and gave a toothy grin.

When the photo popped out, he showed her and she pointed gleefully. "Angie an' DJ!" She looked up at Elizabeth who was standing a few feet away. "Gwanma! Look!"

Elizabeth knelt and looked at the images of her grandchildren. "I see, look at you two."

"Do wif Gwace!" She scooted across the lawn to grab her cousin's hand. "Gwace, do pit'ure!"

The new graduate smiled and picked her up. "Okay, let's go." She kissed the little cheek. "Think we can fit your mommy and daddy in with us and DJ?" Looking around and spotting Catherine, she called, "Auntie Cath, can you get Uncle Steve so we can get all of us in the photo booth?"

Nodding with a smile, Catherine moved to link her arm through Steve's to lead him over for a family photo.

"So what birthday adventure are you doing this year, bambina?" Nonna asked Grace as they shared a piece of cake.

"It's a secret, but of course I can tell you." She smiled and whispered to her great grandmother. "I'm so excited you're staying awhile."

"My beautiful great granddaughter graduating and turning eighteen? I wouldn't miss this visit for the world. So what did your father think of this adventure?" She glanced towards Danny, who was dancing on the lawn with a laughing Angie on his hip.

Grace giggled. "He wasn't nervous when I told him like when we went skydiving. He says I got Uncle Steve's adrenaline fixation, but I keep telling him to wait and see what Angie requests for her birthday adventures with him in a few years." She gestured at the almost three year old who was now tearing across the yard with her godfather and Cammie close at hand.

"She's a spitfire, that one." Nonna's eyes sparkled. "But with her parents, I expected nothing less.

"When Casey leaves for college, Dylan is gonna move into her room so I'll have a room of my own for the first time," Jacob told DJ as they sat side by side at one of the deck's tables with a plate of brownies on the table in front of them. Both had telltale chocolate crumbs around their mouths and on the front of their shirts that indicated the brownies in their hands weren't their first. "Mom said I could redecorate but I'm not sure exactly how I want to yet."

"That's awesome." DJ took a drink from the juicebox sitting on the bench beside him. "You should ask my Grandma to help you shop for things. She's super good at it. She helped me pick out a lot of things for my room."

"That's a good idea." Jacob took a swig of his Sprite.

Across the deck Jenna and Catherine watched and winced slightly.

"How can they drink juice and Sprite with chocolate brownies?" Jenna grimaced. "I've been watching Jacob do it for years and it still makes me a little sick to my stomach every time."

"Boys," Catherine called, "Would you like some milk with those brownies?"

"No thanks, Mommy." DJ smiled. "I have juice."

"I have Sprite!" DJ said as he lifted his can.

Jenna chuckled. "Ok then."

Catherine shook her head. "Makes ketchup on eggs seem practically normal."

"Steve tells me you've been working on the physical requirements for the academy," Joseph said as he sat down next to Dylan.

"Yes, sir," Dylan said. "1.5 mile run in 8:15. Minimum of 45 push-ups and 65 sit-ups. Swim a minimum of 100 yards using any stroke and be able to tread water for 15 minutes. But my plan is to be able to do all of that and more."

"I like the sound of that," Joseph said. "Hard work, and doing more than expected, is something they look for in a midshipmen."

"I'm in the top 10% of my class right now but I think I can improve that some before I graduate."

Joseph smiled softly. Dylan's attitude reminded him so much of Catherine's single-minded focus at his age.

"Make sure you're setting aside some time for fun too," Joseph reminded him. "The navy likes a well rounded candidate."

"I am," Dylan assured him. "I have a bunch of robotics competitions lined up. I love those, and Uncle Chin is teaching me how to surf this summer. So that's all fun."

"Sounds great," Joseph said.

"I was also thinking maybe I can come to the VA with you sometimes and help out there," Dylan suggested.

"I'd like that," Joseph said sincerely.

"The men and women there …" Dylan searched for the right words. "They understand sacrifice and serving with honor and being part of a team."

Joseph nodded.

"I like the idea of helping them if I can but ...well … I think they have a lot to teach me too and I want to learn."

Joseph squeezed the teenager's shoulder. "You're going to make a fine sailor, Dylan. The navy will be lucky to have you."

Grace sat across from Steve and Catherine in the living room. As the party continued outside, they'd called her in to give her the gift bag she was currently holding.

"Go ahead," Steve said with a chin tilt.

"But you gave me a gift, and the dorm stuff, and…" She shook her head. "Something to keep, like you always say on my birthday. You're the best."

Pulling a box out from the Kukui High colored tissue paper, she opened it slowly.

Nestled in the velvet, suspended from a white gold chain, was a three dimensional bar of white and rose gold. One side held two small stones, an emerald and a diamond, while engraved was one word: Gracie.

Grace blinked and opened her mouth, but didn't speak for a full five seconds. When she did, her voice was choked as she whispered, "Thank you, I … it's UH colors and …" She hugged them both. "And …" her eyes met Steve's, "Gracie."

"That was my idea, it's okay, right?" He smiled at the name only he called his niece since the first day they'd met.

"It's so much more than okay." She hugged them both again and kissed his cheek while smiling at Catherine. "It's absolutely perfect."

# End. Thanks for reading!

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