Mari & Ilna—what can I say? You guys are the best. If we could monetize your strength and patience we'd have more money that we knew what to do with.

Sandy—Here's to more laughs and smooth sailing.

REAL Worlders—thanks for all the awesome love and support. You guys ROCK! As always I'm embarrassingly behind on replying to reviews but please know every single one is read and appreciated.

Instinct (1/1)

Instinct: a natural or innate impulse, inclination, or tendency.

Her first instinct when she heard the angry shouting in the distance was to reach for her sidearm. That was until she remembered it was safely locked away, as was her practice when she was off-duty.

After a long day of running errands, each of which took longer than expected, she'd made one last stop at the mall to pick out a baby gift for an old friend from her Navy days. It was nearly dinner time and she was eager to get home so she bypassed all the other stores and headed directly for Gymboree.

She was standing near the back of the store browsing through a rack of newborn-sized outfits when the shouting started. She immediately scanned the area making a quick assessment of her surroundings. As she looked to her left she found herself staring into the wide, horrified eyes of a young pregnant woman who appeared to be in her mid-20s, frozen in place and clutching a fuzzy pink onesie to her chest.

"That sounds like my husband," she choked out in a voice barely above a whisper. "I have a restraining order. He's supposed to stay away."

"Does he know you're here?" Catherine asked calmly, silently cursing the fact that her badge and weapon were stowed securely in a gun safe in the trunk of her car.

"I work at Nordstrom. I'm on my break. He'll probably look for me there." The woman's entire body began to tremble.

"What's your name," Catherine asked in a soothing voice.

"Vanessa Ortega."

"Ok, Vanessa. I'm Catherine. You stick with me. Everything is gonna be fine. What's your husband's name?"

"Brian Ortega."

"I've implemented emergency procedures," the store manager announced from her position behind the counter. "I've alerted mall management and security. They're on their way."

"That's good," Catherine nodded.

As the shouting got closer she directed Vanessa to crouch down behind the racks where she couldn't be seen from the concourse outside the store. Seconds a later a man ran by screaming obscenities. He was moving too fast to get a clear look at his face but there was no mistaking the gun is hand.

As he made his way through the crowd of late afternoon shoppers the sounds of fearful screams filled the air.

But luckily not the sound of shots.

"That's Brian. I'd know his voice anywhere," Vanessa said from her hiding place.

"Do you have a back room?" Catherine asked the manager who was frozen in terror after watching the man pass so close to the front of her store.

She nodded in the affirmative but fear kept her voice at bay.

"Let's go," Catherine said authoritatively, indicating that everyone should follow her.

Fortunately there were only two other customers and one employee besides the manager in the store. Counting Catherine and Vanessa that made six people. An easy fit for the small stock room.

"Does anyone know you're here, Vanessa?" Catherine asked as she directed the others to stand in a position against the front wall that would protect them as much as possible if shots came through the door.

"A few of my co-workers know I like to come here on break," she said in a trembling voice.

"Ok," Catherine nodded, projecting a calm demeanor. "We don't know if they'll tell him but we have to be prepared."

She jammed a chair under the doorknob of the flimsy wooden door and began looking around for anything that could be used as a weapon.

"He didn't want me to get pregnant." Vanessa began to sob. "He wants to kill both me and the baby."

"Neither one of you is gonna die here today," Catherine said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" The look on Vanessa's face made it clear this wasn't the first time Brian had threatened her.

Catherine reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. "You'll just have to trust me. I'm not gonna let it happen."

His first instinct when he got the call about an incident at the mall was to grab his weapon and head straight there as quickly as possible. He didn't know exactly what was happening, just that 911 was being flooded with pleas for help from the third floor and that HPD was putting out a call for every officer in the vicinity.

He'd get the details once he arrived on the scene.

Danny was on the mainland at a cheerleading competition with Grace. Chin and Kono were attending a seminar in new cyber-tracking techniques on the big island. Catherine was running errands but he knew she would have received the same notification he did and would be heading for the mall along with HPD, SWAT and every other law enforcement officer on the island.

As he made his way through the streets at top speed, siren blaring, his mind played out possible scenarios and the most effective response to each one. He'd been lucky. Incidents like this had been few and far between since his arrival on the island. Still it was the kind of thing he dreaded most. The potential for mass casualties.

He was almost to his destination when he felt his phone buzz with an incoming text. He ignored it as the flashing red lights of dozens of emergency vehicles came into view just ahead.

Then it buzzed again.

And again.

And again.

He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen.

Catherine.

He opened the first text.

Armed man at mall. I'm in the back room at Gymboree. Third floor.

Target is with me. Vanessa Ortega. Suspect is her husband Brian Ortega.

Likely headed for Nordstrom where she works.

One suspect and one weapon that I saw.

I stopped for a gift and am unarmed.

Be careful. I love you.

He pulled into the mall parking lot and slammed on the brakes next to the familiar blue SWAT van and a dozen or so police cruisers. He put the truck in park and cut the engine.

Then he texted back.

I'm on scene. Heavy police presence.

Stay where you are. I'll come get you asap.

Stay safe. I love you.

He jumped out of the truck and headed straight for the front door of the mall where he suspected HPD would be setting up a makeshift command center.

He was right.

As he approached he heard Duke barking orders over walkie talkie to the officers already inside while Lou Grover gave his team final instructions as they prepared to enter the structure.

"Suspect's name is Brian Ortega," Steve said as he approached them. "He's looking for his wife. She works in Nordstrom, on the third floor, but she's not there. She's with Catherine in another part of the mall. One suspect one weapon as far as we know."

"Let's go then," Lou said without question. He and his team began to move forward with Steve while Duke relayed the new information to the other officers on the scene.

Catherine's initial instinct was to leave the back room and wait near the front of the store in case Brian Ortega came back. A confined space was never conducive to getting the advantage in hand to hand combat. Especially against an armed man. But she couldn't take the chance of leaving the other women alone.

Especially Brian Ortega's target.

His pregnant and terrified wife.

If she left them alone there was no guarantee someone wouldn't get scared and leave the stock room and at that point Catherine would have no control of the situation at all and that was unacceptable. She felt personally responsible for the safety and well-being of the five women and one unborn child in the room with her.

So if Ortega found his way to the Gymboree and managed to break through the flimsy stock room door she'd just have to be ready.

'You do the best you can with what you have', she thought to herself.

After making a quick visual inventory of everything in the room she made her decision. She pushed several boxes off a set of industrial looking metal shelves and began disassembling them. Luckily they were the simple snap-together variety so she didn't need any tools.

She felt the weight of one of the metal poles that held up the shelves in her hand. It was lighter than she would have liked but it would have to do.

"Are you some kind of cop or something?" a young employee, whose nametag identified her as Heather, asked as she watched Catherine with a somewhat fascinated stare.

"I'm with Five-0," Catherine answered a little distractedly as she disassembled another shelf.

"Really? Do you work with Commander McGarrett?" Heather remained pressed as firmly against the wall as she could possibly get, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"Yes," Catherine nodded, not stopping what she was doing. "I do."

"My mom thinks he's sexy." Heather shuddered slightly at the idea of her mother having those sorts of thoughts and at the same time sent up a prayer she'd get a chance to see her parents again.

"Your mom?" Catherine smiled. "That's … ummmm … make sure you tell him that when he gets here."

Catherine leaned the metal shelf poles against the wall and began moving the boxes of stock to the rear of the small room. They weren't heavy enough to help block the door or use as a barricade so it was better to get them out of the way as much as possible.

"Well, I agree with your mom," one of the female customers said as she dropped her arm around the frightened teenager. "He's gorgeous."

Somehow talking about something so normal helped keep the panic at bay.

"Your mom and I are probably both out of luck though," the woman continued. "I heard he has a girlfriend. I think it's someone on the Five-0 team … " she trailed off and looked at Catherine as the realization dawned on her.

"Yes," Catherine smiled indulgently.

"Well, this is awkward," the woman mumbled.

"Not at all," Catherine chuckled. "Happens all the time."

"What happens if Brian comes in here?" Vanessa asked, no longer able to lose herself in small talk and ignore the obvious question.

"I don't think he will," Catherine said confidently. "But if he does, I'm ready."

Steve's initial instinct was to head immediately to the Gymboree store and make sure Catherine and the people with her, including Vanessa Ortega, were safe. But he knew that wasn't the best course of action. They needed to find and neutralize the man who was a danger to not only his wife and unborn child but every shopper in the mall.

They moved quickly up the stairs to the third floor, telling frightened patrons they passed on the way to take cover. They were directed to wait for an HPD officer to give them instructions before heading for the mall's front door which was visible from the third floor atrium. If they tried to make their way across the mall's large entryway and the shooter began firing down on them they'd have nowhere to hide.

Better they took cover until the suspect was in custody.

By the time Steve, Lou and the SWAT team made it to the entrance of Nordstrom at least six other officers had arrived from various parts of the mall on Duke's orders. They were accompanied by several mall security guards armed only with mace. Steve suggested the mall guards wait at the entrance to the store for their own safety and all the other men moved in.

They were only a few steps inside the store when they heard shouting coming from an area near the back. Without hesitation they all began to move in that direction.

As they entered what appeared to be the shoe department they saw a man, who they presumed to be Brian Ortega, pointing a gun at several terrified employees and demanding to see his wife.

"She's not here," a clearly frightened older woman kept insisting. "I don't know where she is."

"I know she's working today," Ortega screamed back. "Tell me where she is."

Lou Grover used hand signals to position his men as they moved forward, intent on bringing the situation to a peaceful conclusion.

"Drop your weapon, Brian," Steve called out. "Vanessa isn't here."

He hoped using the man's first name, as well as his estranged wife's, would throw the suspect just enough off-balance to let them get the upper hand.

"She has to be here," Brian screamed as he turned around and came face to face with at least a dozen armed men, weapons trained directly on him.

He froze when he saw the degree to which he was outnumbered.

One of Lou's men took the opportunity to move in and pull the employees Ortega had been menacing to safety.

"You can't win here," Lou said in a commanding voice. "Just drop your weapon and nobody needs to get hurt."

"I'm not giving up half my money for her to take care of a kid I didn't even want," Ortega spat out.

"That's not my department." Lou remained calm. "My job is getting this situation under control. Which means you put the gun down and come with us or I'm gonna have to shoot you and drag your ass out of here."

Ortega looked at Lou's face, and the faces of the others, and realized there was no way out.

He dropped the gun and put his hands in the air.

Within 30 seconds his men had Ortega cuffed and were on the walkie talkie letting Duke know the suspect was in custody and his men could begin clearing the mall.

"Since you've got things under control here I have somewhere I need to be," Steve said to Lou as he turned back towards the front of the store.

"If you're headed to where Catherine is I'd like to come along so I can secure the suspect's wife and make sure she's safe and he didn't leave any nasty surprises in her car or house," Lou said.

"Let's go then," Steve answered and they headed out of the store at a jog.

Catherine's first instinct when she heard Steve calling her name was to throw open the stock room door and wrap her arms around him. But that went against procedure. So she waited until she could tell by the sound of his voice he was standing directly outside the door, and until he gave her the Five-0 password guaranteeing it was safe to exit the room.

Once she knew the coast was clear she opened the door. She tilted her head and smiled at him, the look of relief clear on her face.

He was sure it mirrored the look on his own.

He reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're ok?" he asked, needing to be sure.

"I'm fine," she sighed as she allowed herself to take a few seconds of comfort in his arms before getting back to business. There'd be time to reflect later. Right now they had a job to do.

"Thank God." He kissed her on the top of the head. He pulled back and looked directly in her eyes, assuring himself one last time she was unharmed, then set about wrapping things up so they could get home.

One hour later, after giving her statement to the officers on the scene, sending Vanessa off to the hospital in the company of her brother and sister-in-law so she could get checked out to make sure she and the baby were ok, and after assuring that all the others from the room were taken care of, including seeing Heather reunited with her nearly hysterical mother who, even through her tears did blush when she was introduced to Steve, Catherine made her way across the parking lot and climbed up into Steve's truck.

She was more than ready to get out of there.

She'd come back in the morning to get her car which was currently blocked in by a major traffic jam of people trying to get out of the lot and away from the mall.

"Ready to go home?" Steve asked as he slid the key into the ignition.

"More than ready," she smiled.

"You didn't get the baby gift you were after," he pointed out.

"I'll send them an e-gift card," Catherine grinned.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." He dropped his hand on her thigh and turned the truck towards home.

Their first instinct when they finally made it home was to try to go on with the day in as normal a fashion as possible. They fed Cammie and took her out for a potty break. They played fetch on the beach for an hour. They accepted lots of puppy hugs and kisses and gave them right back in return.

But as they stood side by side in the kitchen peering into the refrigerator, trying to decide what to eat for dinner, they had to admit that this wasn't a normal day.

They were both exhausted and emotionally spent. The adrenaline had worn off and they were all but ready to drop.

"Pizza?" Steve suggested.

"Perfect," Catherine smiled as she turned and kissed him on the lips.

"I'll call and wait down here for it. Why don't you go ahead and jump in the shower?"

"You're so good to me," she said sincerely as she trailed her hand across his cheek and headed out of the kitchen. "I'll see you upstairs."

"I'll be there."

Twenty-five minutes later Catherine exited the bathroom, towel drying her hair, to find Steve sitting on her side of the bed. The pizza box rested on the dresser along with some paper plates and napkins.

"That was fast," she smiled.

"I promised them a big tip if they hurried," he grinned.

Catherine sat down beside him and draped the towel around her shoulders. "You could have started without me. I know you're hungry."

Steve turned towards her and started to reply but the words died on his lips as he was overcome with emotion.

He ran his hands through her damp hair and leaned in to kiss her passionately.

He didn't say anything.

He didn't have to.

His touch and his kiss said it all.

And hers answered him back in a way he understood far better than any words could possibly express.

Both were used to the idea of having dangerous jobs but to have something like this pop up on a seemingly mundane trip to the mall reminded them how precious life is and how they could never take even a second for granted.

Steve laid Catherine back and rolled them towards the center of the bed as the strongest instinct of all took over and they found the comfort and completion in each other, speaking volumes without words as their bodies connected, leaving the pizza to be warmed up later.

Or maybe for breakfast.

THE END

If you are not on the REALMcRoll email list and would like to be, drop us an email at realmcroll at yahoo dot com with "Add me, please!" in the subject line. You'll get updates, contests, and fun McRoller games.

Looking for links to all the REAL World McRoll stories in one place? Check out our Tumblr page mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com.

In addition, one of our AWESOME REAL Worlders, katydid13, has created a community on here onfanfiction dot net that brings all of the REAL World stories, and all of Mari, Sammy & Ilna's pre-universe stories in one place. You can find it at

community/McRoll-in-the-Real-World