Sammy & Ilna - love you both to the moon. Feel better, Sammy, I'm happy you really liked this one :)

Ilna- the original promise is yours so thank you for it's magnificence.

REALMcRollers & Readers - thank you all, always!

The Promise

Lea stuck her head in Catherine's office and not for the first time, marveled at her chief of staff's composure. Seeing her, no one would ever know she was concerned, and when she looked up to meet the governor's eyes, her own were clear and steady.

"Catherine, go." Lea motioned to the doorway that led to the hall.

"I'm okay." She lifted her phone to indicate she was monitoring the situation. "It's …"

"It's 2:45 - nothing's left on the schedule you can't handle tomorrow." She stepped closer and placed a hand on the younger woman's arm. "Go."

In a split second Catherine nodded, locked her desk and grabbed her keys. Slinging her purse over her shoulder she thanked Lea and headed for the parking lot, dialing Esther as she did to tell her she'd be late.

The drive took seventeen minutes and she wished more than once she still had flashers in her car. Her phone began to ring, then stopped and as she moved past the police barriers, Kono was waving her in.

"He's okay," Kono said by way of greeting. "That was me calling, then I saw you."

Catherine let out a breath and nodded. "He's good? And you guys?"

"Everyone's fine." The relief was evident in Kono's eyes. "I knew you'd get the burst, so the second he came up, I …" She indicated her phone.

They were talking as they walked and as they rounded the corner of the cave-lined coastline, Kono smiled when her friend broke into a run at the sight of Steve climbing up the rocky jetty. He was behind two HPD divers, Danny and three EMTs who were carrying a secured patient.

Coming up short a few yards away, Catherine surveyed Steve's movements and relief washed over her again at seeing his normal gait. The second he looked up she nodded and her broad smile matched his small one.

Even over the surf, she could hear Danny say, "go, Steve, I got this," as the detective raised a hand to her and led the small group over to a waiting ambulance.

"Cath. You heard the …" Was all Steve managed before she wrapped him in a hug.

"Yeah, I did," she whispered into his neck and let go, still and always mindful of making a scene. "When you dive into a cave with just a mask and don't come up for an hour, it kinda makes the burst." Her eyes washed over the scrapes on his bare torso. "Luckily rank has its privileges so I get to crash a crime scene and see for myself if you're okay." She squeezed his bicep and looked down at her wet, emerald silk blouse and black skirt with a shrug. As they began to walk back towards the taped-off lot where she'd left the car, she added, "I had the feed on and I was listening to the chatter, but when Lea told me to come, I did."

"I'm sorry you were worried, Cath." He leaned down and pecked her lips, not caring who was watching.

"Goes with the territory. As long as you're safe." She squeezed his fingers. "And careful."

His eyes caught hers and he nodded. "There was an underground plateau, I was fine."

"Of course you were, but after a lifetime of not being on site…" she shook her head and they shared a smile. "What went down?" She indicated the ambulance. "Suspect?"

They'd reached the car after checking in with Chin and Kono and he grabbed a change from the go bag he kept in the Corvette. Pulling a t-shirt over his head - he'd discarded the one he'd been wearing before diving into the ocean - he tossed a towel on the seat and climbed in.

"You left the keys?" His wince told her he knew that meant she'd been more than a little concerned.

She sat in the passenger's seat and took his hand to squeeze it. "Who's gonna steal it with eight squad cars and 20 HPD cops right here?" She smiled, and as usual, their unspoken, 'Sorry you were worried.' 'Yeah I was, but I get it.' and 'I know, it goes both ways.' Were loud and clear.

"So … a suspect dove off a cliff and got swept into a cave, or what?" She passed him a water from the back seat and he emptied the bottle before pulling out onto the street.

"Actually, he's not a suspect. His name's Eugene Lyons. British. His sister was found suffocated in 2009 and the killer was never arrested. He's been trying to prove it was the boyfriend for nine years."

Her eyes opened wider. "How'd he end up here?"

"The boyfriend got married last weekend, came here on his honeymoon and the new wife ended up at Queens after a fall down the hotel's main staircase. Lyons found out, flies in and goes to the hospital to talk to the girl as soon as she's able. He tells anyone who'll listen about his sister, Abigail."

"Did anyone believe him?" Catherine immediately felt for the man who'd grieved his sister for years without closure.

"Her parents came as soon as they heard she'd had a suspicious accident. When the boyfriend, last name's Griffins, sees Lyons, he runs."

"From the hospital?" She raised a brow.

"From ICU." Steve shook his head. "He stole a car and Lyons chased him in a rental. When he ran out of gas, he started running on foot. That was half mile from the cliffs."

"And he dove in? Seriously? It's 40 feet surrounded by lava rock."

"Nope. Eugene tackled him and they rolled over during the fight. Lyons got lucky, Griffins didn't. Eugene got banged around a little, but he came up in a cave with an underwater entrance and there was a huge dry ledge." He ran a hand through his damp hair. "Danny and I were two miles away when the call came in."

"And you dove 40 feet, skirted the rocks and jetty and found the cave." She shook her head but the pride in her eyes was unmistakable.

"I used to dive here as a kid. I knew the general vicinity of the caves and where to be careful." He glanced her way. "He's gonna need some stitching up and his shoulder's broken, but he was a swimmer in college. He didn't panic - he kept calm and it saved him. We talked after I stabilized his shoulder and waited on the rescue divers."

Catherine's look clearly said, 'you saved him', but she didn't need to utter a word. Besides, at just that moment, they pulled into their driveway to see their smiling daughter bouncing in anticipation while perched in Esther's arms.

After cleaning up and heading out to interview those involved, Steve returned from the hospital that evening with take-out in hand. Although Angie had gone down for the night, Catherine had yet to eat. She'd waited to have dinner with him. She wanted to hear the case details - she was curious, yes, but her real motive was knowing that going through the scenario with her was a de-stressor for Steve. So she'd been waiting for him, sitting cross-legged on their bed with their unpacked take-out and two cold beers on their oft-used meal-in-bed tray when he and Cammie returned from a half hour game of catch.

A stop in the nursery to peek in on their sleeping toddler turned into several minutes as Steve watched her doze before continuing to the master bedroom where he leaned over the mattress to kiss his wife hello a second time.

"De-brief and interviews go okay?" Her fingers lingered on his cheek for an extra heartbeat after the kiss.

"Yeah. Eugene Lyons is good. Griffins' wife, her name's Erika, by the way, is gonna make a full recovery. She had no idea about his past. If Lyons hadn't shown up, Griffins probably would have tried to kill her again at the hospital." He folded the t-shirt and pants he'd donned before the hospital run and put them on the chair. "When I left, Danny had already bonded with Erika and her father." Steve smiled at his partner's ability to mesh with other parents and their kids.

"Of course he did," she agreed as she patted the bed gently, not to topple the beers on the tray. "I'm glad."

Steve sat and moved to join her against the headboard.

"Eugene and his sister Abigail grew up with another sister in a working class neighborhood. They bounced around a bunch of foster homes but managed to stay together. When Abigail was murdered, he felt it was his responsibility to catch her ex." His eyes flashed with anger and Catherine knew he'd thought of Mary and how he'd hunt anyone who hurt his sister to the ends of the earth. "The bastard pretty much admitted it, but only to Lyons and he had was no proof. The only one who really believed him was their other sister and they've been watching him for years. He left his sons with her when he followed the bastard here."

"I'm happy he's okay and they got some closure." Catherine scooted closer to Steve. "You should eat. You burned a lot of energy." She tasted a turkey and roast beef sub before handing him the sandwich. The subs from Jirou's were overstuffed 12 inch rolls with his own blend of condiments and Steve had brought home three varieties. "Then we're gonna put Neosporin on that." She pointed to a long scrape on his shoulder."

Her eyes held his for a beat as he non-verbally agreed. After he wolfed down one sandwich and reached for a ham, cheese and pepperoni, she offered her other half.

He took a swallow of beer and shook his head with a smile. "I'm good."

She continued to eat, watching him with a soft expression. When she'd finished they put the remnants aside, she snuggled into his side and said, "Hey, thank you." She was smiling but her tone was serious.

His puzzled eyes met hers. "For what?" He was genuinely curious.

She leaned over and kissed him before resting her forehead against his. "Being careful today."

"I always try." He smiled in recognition of the oldest promise he'd made her. "As much as …"

"... You possibly could." She kissed him, holding one hand against his cheek. "Keep doing that, okay?"

Looking into her eyes again, Steve nodded and murmured, "I promise."

# End. Thanks for reading!

Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll

Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com

You can join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with: Add me, please! in the subject line. Or just drop us a line to say hi! We love hearing from our readers.

And find me on Twitter asking your opinions on all things McRoll in the REAL World! at Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller