Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for bearing with my last minute change of story plans and for your ALWAYS amazing amount of support and love.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your enthusiastic feedback and support. We are SO happy you are in the REAL World with us, and we PROMISE Steve and Catherine will always be safe with us.
Hope you enjoy!
Full Circle (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Steve was upstairs, dusting the dressers in their bedroom. He could hear Catherine moving around downstairs, talking to Cammie, and it made him smile as it always did, knowing she was there. That she was close.
He carefully lifted the small enamel box that Catherine kept her jewelry in and wiped the dresser beneath it. Shaped like a butterfly, it was a birthday gift from Grandma Ang many years ago. Steve remembered Catherine telling him that when she first opened it, there was a two-dollar bill inside. She had received many of Grandma Ang's lucky two-dollar bills both before and after, but he knew that particular bill was still folded up at the bottom of the box.
Setting it down, he picked up the small photo of Salty, smiling at the scruffy face of Catherine's childhood dog. After running the cloth over the wood underneath, he gently wiped the circular silver frame. It had been almost as many places in the world as Catherine.
Next he reached for the case that displayed two books. One was the vintage copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that Grace had given Catherine for her birthday just a few weeks ago. The title was her favorite, and while she had another copy that she had read many times over the years, he knew how important this copy from Grace was to her.
The other was a blue leather-bound book, one he was very familiar with, having given it to Catherine himself at her graduation from the Naval Academy fifteen years ago.
Rather than pick up the case, he set down the microfiber cloth he'd been using and took out the book. Backing up a few steps, he sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over the cover.
US Navy Navigation and Nautical Astronomy 1940.
He opened the cover to look at the inscription inside with his grandfather's name.
Catherine wasn't materialistic, but that wasn't to say certain items didn't have special meaning for her. The fact that his grandfather's book sat next to the jewelry box from her beloved grandmother and the photo of her childhood best friend showed him just how much she cherished the gift, and that had always meant a great deal to him.
Slowly turning the pages in the book, he thought about when he got the idea to give it to her, and, more particularly, the call he'd had to make to arrange it.
Steve tapped his thumb against his leg as he held the phone to his ear, waiting for a connection. He stopped when a voice came over the line.
"Steve, hi."
The voice made him pause momentarily as it always did the very few times he'd heard it over the past seven years.
Clearing his throat, Steve said, "Hey . . . Dad."
"It's good to hear from you," John McGarrett said. "How are you?"
"I'm . . . I'm fine. Thanks." Steve cringed, glad he was alone, scratching his forehead uncomfortably. "Uh . . . how are you?"
"I'm fine."
Steve paused, and when John didn't continue, he said, "So . . . the reason I called, I . . . uh . . . you remember you gave me your father's navigation book when I turned fifteen?"
"Of course I remember. You read it cover to cover, even though it's dry as hell. You kept it on your bedside table."
Steve looked down, biting the inside of his lip at the memory.
Inhaling, he looked up and said, "I didn't . . . take it with me when you–" He stopped, exhaling, and began again. "I didn't take much with me, so I was wondering if it was still at the house."
"Yes," John said immediately. "I know exactly where it is."
"Could you send it to me? I'll give you an address in Annapolis."
"Annapolis? I thought you were overseas."
"Yeah, I am, so it'll be easier to send it there." He paused. "I uh . . ." Swallowing, he continued, "Catherine's graduating next month, and I want to give it to her."
It was John's turn to pause. "You do?"
Steve straightened defensively. "You gave it to me. It's mine to give to whoever I want."
"Of course," John said. "I didn't mean . . ." He sighed. "Yes, it's yours, Steve. I wasn't implying you couldn't give it to someone if you wanted. Actually I . . . I was thinking Catherine seems like the kind of person who would appreciate a gift like that."
Steve was quiet for a moment, and a small smile appeared on his face when he said, "Yeah, I think she will."
Both men fell quiet, and just as Steve opened his mouth to give him the address and end the phone call, his father asked, "So . . . does that mean . . . are you and Catherine still just friends . . . or . . .?"
Steve paused, pressing his lips tightly together.
"Not . . . not exactly," he said finally. Despite the discomfort of the situation, his expression softened. "We're . . . we're good. It's good. It's . . ." He nodded, the small smile back on his face. "Yeah. It's good."
John's sigh sounded almost relieved. "I'm really glad to hear that. I know I only saw you two together the once but, I could see that . . ." His voice trailed off, and he paused for a beat. "Well, I'm glad."
"Yeah," Steve said quietly. He cleared his throat. "So, uh . . . let me give you that address . . . so you can send the book."
"Okay. I've got a pen. Go ahead."
Steve told him the address, then said, "I've gotta get going. I just wanted to . . . get that arranged."
"Okay," John said, a trace of disappointment in his voice. "Steve . . . I'm glad you called."
Steve looked down, licking his lips. He was sure his father was as cognizant as he was of the fact that it was the first time he'd called since leaving the island. Unable to find the words to respond, he stayed quiet.
"Say hello to Catherine," John said. "And tell her congratulations."
"Okay."
"Take care, son."
Steve swallowed hard at that, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Thanks," he said. After a beat, he added, "You, too, Dad."
Steve's thoughts were interrupted by Catherine's entrance with a basket of laundry, Cammie at her heels. The dog trotted over to Steve, sniffing at the book in his hand, before heading for her bed.
"Thought you were dusting," Catherine said with a smile.
"Yeah, just finishing up in here," he said quietly.
She set down the laundry basket and sat beside him on the bed.
He tilted the book to indicate it and said, "You know I had to uh . . . I had to call my dad . . . to have him ship this to the Mills' so I could give it to you at your graduation."
She nodded slowly. "I always wondered about that . . . because I never saw you with it at the Academy."
"Yeah, it was . . ." He looked down at the book in his hands. "It was the first time I actually called him. Instead of the other way around."
She put a hand on his forearm and squeezed gently. "Steve, that's . . ." She sighed, touched. "Wow."
"It was important to me to get it for you," he said, looking at her. "Because I knew you'd . . . appreciate it . . ." His eyes drifted back to the book. "Like I did when he gave it to me."
"I did," she said seriously. "And still do." She smiled. "It's still one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever received."
He gave her a small, grateful smile.
"You know," she continued, "if you want, we could move it downstairs. Put it on your grandfather's desk."
He shook his head. "I like that it's in here. I like that you keep it here. With your jewelry box and that picture of Salty."
She smiled, both of their gazes going to the top of the dresser.
"When I was a kid," Steve said. "My dad kept it on his dresser. In this room. With a couple other books that belonged to his parents and grandparents." He looked at her. "When you first put it there a couple years ago, I thought . . ."
"It's back home," she finished quietly.
"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Like . . . full circle."
She smiled, tears shining in her eyes. "I like that," she said. "I like that a lot."
"Me, too." He swallowed and blinked back a tear of his own. "I think that's . . . I think that's when I started to think I was back home, too." He paused, licking his lips. "Because of you."
Smiling through her tears, Catherine put one hand on top of his that was resting on his grandfather's book and curled her fingers around his. She raised her other hand to his cheek and kissed him with feeling.
Pulling back enough to look at him, she said, "I love you."
He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, his stomach doing a little flip just as it did every time she said those three words.
He pressed his forehead to hers for a moment, breathing her in. Smiling, he sighed contentedly and opened his eyes to look into hers.
"And I love you."
He leaned in and sighed into another kiss, grateful for the woman who would always bring such peace to his heart.
Hope you enjoyed!
Notes: Thanks to alharpole who prompted this story a while back when she asked if John ever knew about Steve and Catherine getting together.
Thanks to Mari for the beautiful idea of Steve's grandfather's book introduced in Overrated. And to Mari and Sammy for the recurring themes from many stories. That's still my favorite thing about writing with you, ladies!
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