No World Without You
"I love you, you know." The words echoed in Catherine's ears. He had never said that before. In their five years together, Steve had never told her those words. Neither had she. For a brief time during the early days in their relationship, she had lamented on how Steve had never told her she loved her. Unlike Billy. Her former boyfriend loved to compliment everything she did, and remarked of how beautiful she was. Although Catherine blushed whenever Billy did any of those things, she secretly relished his undivided attention. Steve was different. He didn't tell her he loved her, and didn't showered her with compliments, but he had a different way of showing her his feelings. Danny used to say that whenever he talked to her, his partner had "a goofy smile for hours on end." As she observed him, she realized that Steve did smile more when he was around her. His voice changed to a more gentle tone, and his venerable self – his kindness, his compassion, his anger, and his demons – were known to her.
As Catherine rode through the hills of Afghanistan's rugged beauty, she thought again of Steve. She knew that his love for her spoke through actions, and not so much as words. She remembered vividly of how he had given her the 1978 classic Chicago as a gift before she had left the Navy, to soothe her fears, as her mother had as a child. Catherine had been moved beyond words. He had been there as she had looked over the shores the last time before she had become a civilian. Steve had been there for her and supported her when she had lost Billy, and he had pushed her to move on from her trauma of not saving the man who she had loved and still cared for. Steve trusted her, and he loved her with every fiber of his being. He was her pillar. The words he said only confirmed that.
He loves me as much as I love him. The thought made Catherine smile. Working with Steve and living with him, she realized that this man meant everything to her. And her mission right now could cost her life, robbing her of any further future she could have with him. She and Nabib could die, being captured by the Taliban. Or she could die alone, sick and weak as defenseless as she had been when his family had found her seven years ago. Nabib could already be dead, used as a weapon to fulfill the Taliban's goals. Catherine had to rescue him, though. She had a debt to pay, and she wouldn't rest until she paid it. Steve understood, and not very many people were like that. As Catherine rode on, she thought of the man left behind, who had almost cried during their departure, and thought, I know...this is foolish, Steve, but...there is no world without you. And I know, Steve, that you feel the same way.
"I love you, you know."
I know you do, Steve. I always have, without any words.