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Under Foot (1/1)

Catherine slid her phone into her pocket as she entered the living room. "Steve's gonna stop on the way home and pick up some fish we can throw on the grill for dinner." She crossed the room to check on Angie who was sleeping in her Napper. She gazed lovingly down at the infant and could tell by the soft coos and tiny movements she would wake up soon, ready to be fed.

"He doesn't have to do that," Elizabeth insisted from her spot on the sofa. "We can grab something on the way home. Your father just wanted to come over right away and hang the new bookshelf we bought for Angie's nursery. Honestly, he's just run out of little projects around the condo so now he's starting to look elsewhere. He's gonna help Jenna put up new shelves in her laundry room this weekend."

Catherine shook her head with an affectionate smile. "When did shelf building become his thing?"

"I think he's just making up for all those years he was deployed and didn't get a chance to do things like that around the house very often." Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't be surprised if he offers to cut your grass next."

"Hey, I hadn't thought of that." Joseph smiled down at them from the upstairs landing. "It is one of the things I miss now that we're living in the condo," he said as he began to descend the stairs. "I talked to one of the guys at the VA that heads a group of people who maintain the graves of veterans and keeps up the smaller cemeteries that don't have grounds people. I'm gonna help them out whenever I can."

"That sounds great." Catherine smiled as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "A very good cause."

"Thanks." Even after all these years Joseph still beamed when he knew he'd made his wife or daughter proud. "I'm gonna put Steve's tools back in the garage then we can head out."

"Steve's bringing home fish to grill for dinner," Elizabeth told him.

Joseph looked at Catherine. "Are you sure? We can just grab something on the way home."

"We're sure." Catherine's tone left no room for negotiation. "What time will Grandma Ang be done at the luau?"

"I'm going over to pick her and some of the other ladies from the complex up at 8:00," Joseph replied. "You've met Lupe who lives upstairs from us, right?"

Catherine nodded. "She seems very nice."

"She is." Elizabeth smiled.

"Well, her grandson is a fire dancer in this luau show and he goes on at 7:00 so I am not to go pick them up before 8:00." Joseph chuckled. "This is his first night and whether he knows it or not he's gonna have his own personal cheering section."

Angie let out a series of gurgles then a loud cry.

"Speaking of making your presence felt," Catherine chuckled, "I think someone needs to be changed. I'm gonna take her upstairs and get her cleaned up then hopefully she can hold off being fed for a few minutes until Steve gets home."

Ten minutes later Steve entered the house with a grocery bag in one hand and a watermelon in the other just as Catherine made it back down the stairs with a freshly diapered and now wide-awake Angie wearing yet another new onesie, this one from the governor.

Steve greeted his in-laws with a "Hi, guys," before turning his attention to his wife and daughter.

"Perfect timing." Catherine grinned. "Look, Angie, daddy's home!"

Steve deposited his purchases on the coffee table and crossed the room. He leaned in and kissed first Catherine then Angie. "Hi there, sweetheart," he said happily as he ran his finger over the baby's soft cheek. "I missed you today." His eyes shifted to Catherine. "Both of you."

Catherine beamed. She'd mentally catalogued so many things about Steve over the years that made her heart melt with love, but seeing him interact with their daughter brought it to a whole new level. "We missed you, too."

"Did she eat yet?"

"No." Catherine transferred the baby to his eagerly waiting arms. "I think she was holding out for you. She loves having dinner with daddy."

"Well, I like to hear that," Steve said in a sing song voice as he bounced Angie lightly.

Catherine looked at the coffee table and laughed. "How did you know we were out of watermelon?"

"Lucky guess." He smirked. "I know there are some fresh veggies in the refrigerator so I thought we can do some kabobs of those. I got some mahi steaks and that slaw you like from Jirou's."

"Perfect." Catherine picked up the groceries. "Tara from up the beach brought a pan of brownies over earlier as a thank you to both of us for helping the day her ex-husband tried to break in so we can have those for dessert. Why don't you feed Angie and I'll get supper started? Dad, you can man the grill."

"I'm on it," Joseph replied enthusiastically.

"I think they have dinner under control," Elizabeth reported as she entered the living room and found Steve sitting on the couch, deep in conversation with Angie who was eagerly sucking on her bottle.

Steve looked up with a smile as genuinely happy as any Elizabeth had ever seen on anyone. "That's good. I missed lunch today so I'm actually pretty hungry."

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?" Elizabeth offered. "You seemed like you were having quite the discussion when I came in."

Steve grinned. "I was just telling Angie about Uncle Danny getting chased by a goat this afternoon when we were trying to arrest a suspect."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I'm sure that was a sight to see."

Steve's eyes danced with mischief. "I may have a few pictures on my phone. One of the neighbors was snapping away the whole time the chase was going on and the officer taking her statement may have … uh … seized them as evidence. I'll show you later."

Elizabeth took a seat in the armchair. Ever since her lunch with Jenna when she learned that Jason had used his mother-in-law's frequent presence as an excuse to stay away from home she'd been thinking about how different it was going to be for everyone now that they'd relocated to the island permanently.

Not that she thought Steve was anything like Jason. He was the polar opposite.

But still it was going to be an adjustment and she wanted to be sure they didn't wear out their welcome in their eagerness to spend time with Catherine, Steve, and especially Angie.

She and Joseph loved Steve. And they knew he loved them back. But the last thing she would ever want was for him to feel crowded in any way. He and Catherine were building their own family and she knew that required space.

"Thanks for stopping to get the fish but I hate that you had to go to any extra trouble," she said. "Joseph and I could have just grabbed something on the way home."

Steve shifted Angie to his chest to burp her. "It was no trouble."

Elizabeth couldn't help but compare the emotionally open and comfortable man she saw before her with the closed off version she'd first met so many years ago.

"I just want to make sure … I know we already talked about this and you said you were fine with the idea of us moving to the island, I just want to make sure you'll let us know if we're under foot too much."

Steve looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean under foot too much?"

Elizabeth smiled. "There are a lot of men who wouldn't be thrilled to come home after a long day and find their in-laws in their living room."

"I'm not them. I love having you guys around," Steve replied matter-of-factly. Angie let out a burp. "Good girl," he smiled as he repositioned her into the crook of his arm.

"This grandparent thing is … well, it's every bit as great as we expected it to be, and as everyone said it would be, and I'm just a little worried we're going to be … more present than you would like us to be."

Steve scoffed as he held his finger close to Angie then beamed when she grabbed on immediately. "That's not gonna happen."

"How can you be sure?"

Steve shifted his focus to Elizabeth. "Because I know you and Joseph," he said confidently. "You're two of the kindest, most caring, and perhaps most important for the purposes of this discussion, most perceptive people I know."

"That's very sweet of you to say."

"It's true. Listen, I love the idea that Angie is gonna have her grandparents and her great grandma around full time. Those are relationships I know she'll cherish and that will help shape who she is as she grows up. I never got to experience the unconditional love of a grandparent, let alone one who was a part of my daily life, but I've seen it with Nonna and Danny and I know how special that is. I want that for Angie."

Elizabeth's eyes dampened slightly. "We want that too."

"But more than that," Steve continued, "I enjoy having you around. Both for myself and because I know how happy it makes Catherine. There is absolutely no downside at all to you guys living so close as far as I can see."

Elizabeth smiled. She could tell he was absolutely sincere. It gave her confidence that even if something did come up in the future they'd be able to talk about it openly and find a solution.

"You're a special man, Steve."

He blushed slightly. "Thanks. I want you to know this isn't just about Angie or having someone we trust implicitly to watch her. This is about me being glad you're here and wanting to spend time with you."

Elizabeth rose from the chair and resettled herself on the couch beside Steve. "I think this move is going to turn out to be one of the best things we ever did."

"One of the best things to happen to us too." He smiled. "Isn't that right, Angie?"

"Dinner's almost ready." Catherine pulled up short as she saw her mother's damp eyes and Steve's slightly pink cheeks. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything is better than ok," Elizabeth assured her.

Steve nodded in agreement. "I'm hungry, though. I missed lunch. And I have some pictures to show you all while we eat."

THE END

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