Old Friends: Unspoken Favors

Reunion: It Wasn't Supposed To Go This Way

The day was dark and gloomy. The air reeked with mourning and loss as the funeral procession for Lt. Catherine Rollins came to a close...

Observers POV:

Everyone who was in attendance was clothed in dark shades of grey to even the most solid form of black. Nothing symbolized happiness, optimism, or life as Mollie Rollins stood by her grandpa's side as they shook hands with distant relatives and closest colleagues to her mother. The Navy was what Catherine lived, slept, and breathed. She had given her every last ounce of effort to the cause of the United States, and it was the cause that ended up taking her life way too soon. Leaving behind her 16-year-old daughter, Mollie, Catherine had sacrificed her civilian lifestyle for Naval Intelligence. Mollie did her duty to look strong for those in attendance but on the inside, she was fighting to not give in to falling on the floor and to take a moment to cry the overweighing emotions out. She felt anger towards the Navy for letting her mother, naturally curious, take it too far. To be fair, Mollie had felt for a while that her mom was unintentionally absent from her motherly role of being a nurturer and provider. She would never blame her mom for this, but she could blame the Navy. Since her mom's passing a month ago, Mollie had moved to stay with her grandpa, James Rollins. She had always been close with her grandpa and since he lived in Hawaii, she would go and stay with him often when her mom was deployed or was contracted to a job. What was different territory was a rebellious phase that could only be explained by the grief that Mollie was experiencing, but it was not like her to act out. She had attended the Naval school on base for as long as she could remember and had never had a behavioral issue there or anywhere else. But, in that past month, Mollie had snuck out on multiple occasions, hung out with groups that would probably make her mom fall dead if she'd been alive to see what her daughter was doing, and engaged with programs online that would consider her an online hacker. Again, all things her mom would have not approved of and her grandpa didn't approve of but didn't know what to do about. 

The Gathering At The Rollins' House After The Funeral:

Mollie's POV:

My once peaceful and light-hearted home was now filled with a multitude of Naval officers, lieutenants, and people that I could recognize but tell you nothing about. I had been swaying through the crowds, offering a smile when I could but didn't truly mean it. Then I looked up and saw my grandpa passively having a conversation with someone when he offered me a sympathetic smile which meant he didn't enjoy this either. All of these people.. where were they when my mom was still alive? To help out with her family, work balance... Right, they weren't. Ironic to say the least. Something felt off though, someone was missing that I thought would definitely be here but didn't show up at the funeral. Or at least I hadn't seen him there. Then, right as that thought went through my head, I turned and saw him at the other end of the room. Steve McGarrett. My mom's closest friend and personally my favorite person since I was like five. I pretended that I didn't see him to see if he would recognize me. I tried to quickly glance a few times over at him to observe how different he was. He had cargo pants on with a button-up shirt, and there.. a gold pendant on his hip? Was it a police badge? "No way, Steve couldn't have become a police officer.. it required too many rules" I laughed to myself. Then, the moment I had been waiting for: "oh my gosh, Mollie.. Mollie Rollins?" he said sweetly as he casually walked over to me. I turned, smiling, then made a shocked face, "Steve, what.. what are you doing here?" I asked. He instantly responded, in mocking silliness, "What do you mean 'What am I doing here?'?". I laughed, what a silly first thing to say... "Sorry, I meant, I didn't see you at the funeral, so I just assumed you weren't coming" she answered honestly. He gave her a sad smile and said "Don't be sorry kid. I should be the one who is sorry, I wasn't able to make it to the funeral, but I couldn't miss honoring your mom and seeing how you were doing". Mollie slightly brightened at this statement and was happy that he had not forgotten so easily about her mom. She was special and it broke her that she was gone. They weren't like the average teenager daughter, mom combo. She respected her mom and her authority but because they were so close in age, they also were the closest friends that confided in each other for everything. 

Observers POV:

Steve had been a major part of their lives since Mollie was a little girl and Catherine was moved to Naval Intelligence when Mollie was four. Catherine was a young mom that didn't truly intend on having a kid, but one night with unchecked decisions had her pregnant within the next months and holding the title nine months later. Catherine felt like any other young woman feels when they are expected to be a providing adult at such a young age, scared. Thankfully, she had a supportive group of friends that had known her since high school that had also chosen to work for the Navy in Hawaii and helped take care of Mollie when she needed them.