Here's to Finally Getting Around to Dinner
I have been re-watching season 1, starting with the pilot and was inspired by episodes 1.04 & 1.05 which are significant because they are the first appearances of Catherine.
I was in awe of the wonderful feedback for my first story and hope this one lives up to your expectations. I'm positive it's still not perfect, but there comes a time when you have to stop editing and just go with it. After many obsessive re-reads I think that time has finally come and would like to thank sammy1026 and MisterEWriter for letting me bounce ideas around so I could work out some of the kinks.
Much of the dialogue is taken directly from the referenced episodes, which remain two of my favorites. I hope I have done justice to them with this story and that it doesn't disappoint!
Steve McGarrett was frustrated because Five-0 had just lost the visual on escaped convict Walden Dawkins because there were no cameras on the H3 west of the Tetsuo Harano tunnel. Always good on his feet he did a quick calculation in his head and determined it was 16:30 here; so it was around 05:30 tomorrow where she was. Yup, she was on duty. "Wait a second," he said, more to himself than Chin who was with him the front seat.
As he dialed the phone from within his pickup truck in Hawaii a phone vibrated within an operations center on the USS Enterprise somewhere on the Persian Gulf. Lt. Catherine Rollins glanced at the display and smiled. It was unusual to hear from Steve while she was on duty but she didn't mind; not in the least. "Why, hello there, sailor"
"Cath, I need your help"
Okay, not what she was hoping to hear. Not even a 'hello?'
"I'm pursuing a suspect in a black Mercedes, he's headed west to the Halawa Valley. Can you give me a visual?"
Seriously?
"You want me to access an IKON reconnaissance satellite for your car chase?"
He did feel a little guilty; he would have preferred to be having a different conversation with her, but he was at work and he really, really wanted to get this guy. Steve McGarrett is nothing if not committed to the task at hand.
"This guy has killed three people already today."
She really did want to help him and knew he wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but this wasn't your average favor. She briefly considered whether he was worth a court-martial.
"Yeah, look. This could raise some flags."
"Classify it as an NSA request from a black ops drop box, okay? Come on Cath, I need this."
Of course he had an answer to that without even blinking an eye. He did have a talent for getting what he wanted, that's for sure. She shook her head - who was she kidding; she could deny Steve McGarrett almost nothing. He was just like the good looking guy from high school who knows how cute he is and won't take 'no' for an answer. So she told him that. As she was violating a whole bunch of Navy regs for him.
He smirked because he knew he had her convinced. Really, he never had any doubt she'd help him and he really didn't think she would get in trouble or he would never have asked.
"I've got your black Mercedes, I'm sending you the grid coordinates and imagery now."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. Next leave, beers are on me, okay?"
Which of course was code for 'I can't wait to see you again and will properly thank you then.' But, he wasn't alone in the truck and didn't want to think about how much he missed her, anyway.
"Oh, you are not getting off that easy."
Which was code for 'Forget the beer. You owe me at least dinner and some quality time'.
He disconnected the call and knew he owed her a lot more than a beer, and was happy to oblige. Despite the situation they were in, he couldn't keep the little smile off his face as he thought seeing her again.
Chin was impressed. "You got her to use a military recon satellite and then you made a date?"
"I'm a multi-tasker."
Chin really wanted to know more about the mysterious 'Catherine', but he knew Steve kept a lot close to the vest, and besides, this really wasn't the time.
"Impressive."
The encrypted departmental text came through (being in the reserves had its advantages) and Chin opened up the file. Commander McGarrett couldn't help the little feeling of pride that bubbled up in his chest. His lieutenant really was very, very good at her job.
Catherine sighed after the call ended as she tried to return her thoughts to her work. It had been nice to talk to Steve, even if it was a quick call and he had ulterior motives. She still wasn't sure what to make of her commander's new job. She had been nothing if not surprised the day after his father's funeral when he called to tell her he had transferred to the Reserves and was now running a task force for the governor of Hawaii. The news was completely unexpected. He hadn't even been considering leaving the Navy; he loved his job and excelled at it. But, something had obviously changed in Steve as a result of his father's death. Or rather, maybe it was the circumstances surrounding John McGarrett's death that had facilitated the change.
She thought back to the evening Steve had called her. She had not been expecting to hear from him, thought he was out on a classified op and would be out of touch for a while. He had not had a lot of time between debriefings and catching the first of many flights that would take him back to Oahu, but she could tell that he needed to talk.
He had told her his father had passed. Catherine knew they hadn't been particularly close, but she heard something in Steve's voice, something she couldn't place. She didn't press him on it, and he eventually told her the circumstances, as much as he could. Steve had received a call from his dad, knew in short order that his father was in trouble and had requested HPD be sent to the house immediately. The officers were too late, though, and Steve couldn't do a damn thing but listen from thousands of miles away to the gunshot that took his father's life.
Catherine's heart had gone out to Steve as she listened to him. This was the second call in too few days telling her too few details about the death of someone important in Steve's life. She didn't know the specifics of either circumstance, but during the first call she'd learned that his best friend Freddie Hart was gone and she had sensed that Freddie's death had taken a real toll on her sailor. Steve had lost teammates and friends before, it was a risk of the job and they all knew it, all signed up for it willingly. Each loss had affected Steve, of course, but this was a fellow SEAL Steve was particularly close to, had been since training in Coronado, someone she knew was like a brother to him. He'd never said it so definitively, but she knew. She had heard what was never said during many phone conversations when Freddie had been mentioned, and seen it for herself when she had spent time with both of them during a leave here or there. She had known at the time of that first call Steve would probably struggle with his emotions in private after the death of his friend - because that's the man he was - but that he'd get through it. All she could do was listen if and when he wanted to talk, and eventually life would go on.
Then, to get that second call, so soon, and with yet more distressing news. Steve had been more distant on that second call, more emotionless, and Catherine had assumed it was a defense mechanism of sorts. As she listed to him tell her, in a calm and collected manner, what had happened she found herself longing to be there with him physically so she could provide comfort. She wished she could at least fly to Hawaii to accompany him to the funeral, but to get leave on such short notice to mourn the death of someone she'd never met was not realistic. All she could do was express her sympathies and reassure him she was there for him, even if it was not in person, and ask him to call her if he needed to talk.
She had not expected to hear from him for a while as she knew his leave was short and he'd be returning to duty so it had been completely out of the blue when she received a third call only a few days later that Steve had made a decision that turned his life completely upside down. But she could hear something in his voice, a renewed determination and purpose. He had almost sounded excited as he told her about how he had assembled his new team: Danny, a former New Jersey detective who hated pineapple and the beach and didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated by his new SEAL partner's rank or resumé; Chin-Ho, a childhood acquaintance from high school who had worked with John McGarrett in the HPD before some sort of scandal had forced him to resign, and Chin Ho's young cousin, Kono, a former professional surfer who was just about to graduate the police academy but, despite her inexperience had impressed Steve with her undercover work.
He had told her how they closed their first case in record time, saving a young girl from a horrible future in the process, and how he had gotten the man who was responsible for his father's death. She got the impression he was excited to be back in Hawaii, the only real, stable home he had ever known but had been forced to leave too soon. Catherine sensed that he regretted having stayed away so long, although she knew his reasons. He had made a new home in the Navy and travelled all over the world, there had been little reason to go back. Steve had talked during that conversation about being able to make a real difference; the governor had tasked him with cleaning up the islands and he took that directive very seriously. He was home again, and was going to protect and serve the islands of Hawaii just like he had protected and served his country and she had been happy for him.
And she had been happy to help him track a murderer, she hoped Steve would catch him, but really had little doubt. Catherine emerged slightly from her musings and smiled again, thinking about the newest addition to Steve's long list of IOUs. That was another advantage of his being permanently in one location, and Hawaii no less, because the Enterprise was based out of Pearl when not on deployment. It had been her home base for years and she had always loved the islands, but the thought of experiencing them with Steve gave her butterflies. The fact that she'd already had more phone calls with him in the few weeks he had been on Oahu than they used to have for months at a time honestly thrilled her to no end, although she wasn't sure she'd ever admit that to him.
She really was looking forward to her next return trip to Hawaii and was definitely going to start running a tab for all the 'beer' he owed her. Who was she kidding? It wasn't really the beer, or even the dinner, that she was looking forward to. She felt her face start to flush as she focused her attention back on the computer screen in front of her. She would definitely have to wait until she was off duty to let her mind wander where it wanted. Right now, she had a job to do.
While Catherine was finishing out her duty shift on the Enterprise Steve and Chin were taking down Dawkins on Molokai. When the two men returned to HQ it was was inevitable that the rest of the team found out about Steve's Naval ace-in-the-hole as Chin had been far too impressed to keep it to himself, although he was tactful in his reporting. After all, they had to give some explanation as to how they found the escaped con after they lost him on traffic cams. All Steve would tell his teammates was her name was Catherine Rollins, she was deployed on a Navy carrier and she was a good friend. Chin, however, had his suspicions that they were more than that, but the Hawaiian was nothing if not discreet and kept those observations to himself.
Steve made sure to call her again a few days later to thank her once more for her help. It was early morning in Hawaii and he was sitting in the wooden chairs behind his house watching the sun rise and wishing she were there to watch it with him. He knew it was evening in the Gulf, and Catherine was probably in her rack since she had early shifts all week.
"Hey, sailor. I hope you're not calling for another favor quite so soon," she greeted him.
"Nah. I still haven't properly repaid you for the last one."
"I'm pretty sure you owe me more than one. I've started an official log. Speaking of favors, did you get your man?"
"Dawkins? Yeah. But not before he took a family hostage and made us chase his ass all the way to Molokai."
"Us?"
"Yeah, me and Chin."
"Were there any casualties?"
Steve sighed. "Dawkins and the helicopter pilot. Dawkins killed the pilot after they crash landed, but we found him in the end and I was forced to take him out. The hostages got sick from drinking the water in the rainforest over there, but they should be fully recovered by now."
"Well, at least he can't hurt anyone else."
Steve was quiet for a moment. "Listen, Cath? I really do appreciate the help. I hope there wasn't any fall out."
She smiled. She could tell he was more concerned than he was letting on. "No, it's all good."
Steve smiled now, his mood a little lighter. "Good, that's good."
"So, listen, you should start saving up because I just heard we're coming in to Pearl sometime in the next couple of weeks and I'm planning on collecting my IOUs."
That news made Steve's smile widen into a grin. "Really? I think I can afford a beer. Maybe even two, if we catch an early bird special," he teased her.
"And I'm pretty sure I told you you aren't getting off that easy," she teased right back.
"What did you have in mind?"
"How about we start with dinner?"
"I think I can handle that. Let me know when you're coming in and I'll set something up."
Their conversation continued as Steve told her that his sister was visiting, and admitted he was actually mostly enjoying having her around, despite the initial bumpiness of their reunion - what with the law-breaking and all.
After they hung up Steve sat on the beach for a while longer and reflected on how the news of seeing his "good friend" again always affected him. It's not like they were in a relationship, not that way. She certainly wasn't his girlfriend, he never liked that term. It brought to mind high school cheerleaders who crushed on the tall, dark and handsome quarterback. Catherine was definitely not one of those. She was beautiful, intelligent, and more than capable. She cared for him, challenged him and probably knew him better than anyone. And the sex was amazing. 'No wonder we never make it to dinner', he thought with a smirk. He was seriously considering trying to remedy that. Well, thinking about considering it. He meant it when he told her he'd make reservations. In fact, he was looking forward to it.
It was a Friday in October when the Enterprise arrived back at Pearl Harbor after a 6 month cruise. Steve hadn't told anyone Catherine was coming in to town, not really. He may have mentioned it to Danny in passing, but nobody realized that he had surreptitiously arranged to have the weekend off so he could spend a full 36 hours with his lieutenant, because it had been far too long since he'd seen her. And he wanted to take her to dinner - he really and truly did - so he made reservations at a little Italian place he liked.
But, once again they didn't made it to dinner. Looking back, neither one of them could have said they were honestly surprised when their pre-dinner glass of wine on the lanai ignited into passion. It was inevitable, really, that one kiss turned into two, which turned into three because sparks had never been their problem, not since the beginning. The spark had always been there, but they both had the knowledge buried, deep down, that there was more to their not-a-relationship than just lust. They would have freely admitted, under penalty of death, that each truly cared for the other, but only as the closest of friends. Perhaps it was made easier because they were never able to spend any real length of time together in one place, but what they had worked. It had for years.
They had been apart for a while, during which time they had dated other people. Catherine had dated another SEAL, a former teammate of Steve's who she had worked closely with on a couple of deployments in Afghanistan, which hadn't been easy for Steve. He knew Catherine saw Billy regularly and that the man was ready, willing and able to offer her a romantic relationship, and Steve wanted her to be happy, so he kept his distance even though it pained him to do so. He knew he could handle the pain but the details about Catherine's new relationship were another matter - his own personal version of 'don't ask, don't tell', he supposed. It was not until a chance meeting in a bar in Bangkok did he learn the relationship had ended. When he finally summoned the courage after a few drinks to ask why he was rewarded with "That's easy. He wasn't you." That was all either of them needed and when the remainder of their three day leave was over they had simply resumed their status quo and never looked back.*
So, as was their tried and true norm, they had barely made it upstairs Friday afternoon before shedding their clothes and falling into bed. Since they didn't finally fall asleep until the wee hours when today had already turned into tomorrow they slept contentedly until the alarm went off at 08:45 Saturday morning.
Steve turned the offending device off and cracked his eyes, squinting in the morning sunlight. He groaned briefly until he remembered he was not alone in the bed. He rolled to his right side to share Catherine's pillow and put his arm over her as she entwined her legs with his. He greeted her with a contented moan and a sleepy, "Good morning, lieutenant."
She was smiling as she stretched lazily and offered her own sleepy greeting, "Good morning, commander."
They were an inch apart, so close he could kiss her. And he wanted to, badly, but there was a game they played and he expected and enjoyed the back-and-forth.
"You know… I think I owe you dinner." he said, acknowledging he had defaulted on yet another IOU for dinner, although he wasn't the least bit sorry.
Catherine knew this game well, the give and take, the avoidance of acknowledging the fact that they were committed to each other and he spent time with her whenever possible because he wanted to, not because he owed her.
"Yeah, somehow we just never…", she paused as he teased her, moving even closer but still not making contact with her lips, "quite… ", she paused again, considering capturing his lips with her own, "make it to dinner." She tossed the game ball onto his court.
Steve propped himself up slightly so he could look down and see her properly and lobbed it right back at her. "We had dinner in Coronado."
"No," she corrected him with a teasing smile and a slight shake of her head, "we had reservations."
He couldn't stop the smile that formed when he recalled why they hadn't made those reservations and he leaned in closer again to kiss her, but the ball was in his court again so he thought he should at least offer a meal.
"You know, we, uh, we both have the day off today," he shifted and rolled her slightly onto her back. "We could have breakfast on the beach." They did need to eat after all.
"Or… " Who was he kidding?
"Or?" He completed that thought by rolling her onto her back as he captured her mouth passionately. She moaned with pleasure and wrapped her arms around him, tangling her hands in his hair.
When the need for air finally broke them apart he moved to ravage her neck and she noticed an odd sensation.
"I think I'm vibrating."
He looked at her and grinned, not realizing she was being literal, and fused his mouth to hers again. "Mm," she tried to get his attention, but he just moved back to her neck as she searched for something on the bed. "No, I think I'm actually vibrating." She found his phone, looked at the caller ID and sighed, turning it so he could see that the governor was calling. "There goes your day off."
He sighed and rolled onto his back as he took the phone and answered the call. He got the relevant information and then called Danny before putting the phone on the bedside table and rolling over to face her again.
"I'm sorry."
"I know. Duty calls, right?"
He gazed at her for a moment, admiring her beauty and wishing he didn't have to leave. He told her she should take her time and let herself out, since he couldn't be sure how long he would be gone. Then he sighed, gave her a sweet kiss, left her in his bed and went to work.
He couldn't get her out of his head, though, despite being focused on the case and he found himself thinking of her. He felt, somehow, more complete, knowing she was near and he would see her again soon. He found himself smiling when his thoughts invariably turned to her, just for a moment which, of course, Danny picked up on almost immediately after meeting Steve at the ME's office. True to form, the blonde questioned his partner, but Steve deflected and was saved from having to come up with an answer by the appearance of the governor and her aides. Steve knew his partner would eventually figure it out, but that didn't mean he had to volunteer any information. Luckily, they were kept occupied with the case and day had turned into night before Danny inadvertently landed back on the subject of Steve's mysterious good mood.
They were at a nightclub, searching for their creepy guy suspect and grabbing a drink at the bar in an effort to blend in while keeping an eye on the place. Danny, ever the observant detective, noticed the ladies who were keeping their eyes on his partner, pointed them out and honestly wanted to know how Steve, who was a red-blooded American heterosexual man, hadn't noticed.
"Let me ask you a question. Two very attractive ladies are eye-humping you, respectfully. And what? Nothing? Nothing? I mean, should I check for a pulse? Are you alive? Hello."
Steve could have cared less. He really could have because the only woman he had any interest in was a beautiful, brunette Navy lieutenant who was somewhere on his island and he'd bee seeing her again soon. He couldn't help but smile as he recalled his adventures with Catherine the prior evening and he realized, in that moment, that he truly had not noticed the ladies, he never did, because he wasn't looking.
The Jersey detective finally put two and two together and figured out his partner had 'gotten into some Barry White last night' and Steve had to give him credit - he really was an excellent detective. However, before Danny could pester the SEAL for details they got eyes on their suspect and their attention was returned to the case. Questioning the suspect led to the execution of a raid and the shutdown of a sex trafficking operation and the team eventually discovered the victim was specifically targeted for kidnap and ransom, the money drop was in progress, and the "consultant" who was really a KNR specialist was running the show covertly from somewhere near by.
The question was where? And then Steve had an idea, which Danny figured he would.
"You're gonna like this," Steve told his partner as he dialed the phone.
Catherine, working in the Naval Ops Center at Pearl Harbor, smiled when she saw his handsome face on her phone display and answered. "I was wondering when you were going to call. Get in late last night?"
"Uh, actually I haven't been home yet."
Catherine wasn't sure what to make of that but didn't feel it was her place to make demands on his time so all she could think to say was, "Interesting."
He could hear the uncertainty in her voice and wanted to reassure her. "No, no, it's not what it sounds like. I caught a high-priority case."
Well, that explained the call and put the smile back on her face. "Okay, why am I getting the feeling that you're about to ask me for another favor?" she teased him.
Steve lowered his voice slightly. "Listen, I'll make it up to you, all right?" He glanced over at his partner and noticed Danny watching him curiously which prompted him to turn away as he continued. "We'll finally get that dinner and you'll get to taste the best steak on the island."
Steve turned back to face his partner as Danny, having been unable to deduce it on his own finally just asked "Who are you talking to?"
Steve just smiled and ignored him.
Really, who was Catherine kidding? Of course she was going to help him, she always would. "All right, you got yourself a deal. What do you need?"
"PACOM has a satellite dedicated to Honolulu harbor. Can you use it to run a scan on radio traffic?"
He heard her typing in the background. "Yeah, what am I looking for?"
"Spread spectrum signal in the 400 megahertz range. Type used by high-end surveillance gear,"
"All right, one sec."
"Thanks, Cath."
And Danny had his answer. "Oh, Catherine," he said, drawing out her name. "I shoulda known. That's who you were getting right with last night."
Steve was trying, somewhat, to keep his mind on the case and was really not amused at his partner's antics. Besides, his whatever-it-was with Catherine was his business. The sarcasm was tangible in his answer. "That's stunning detective work. Well done."
"You know, it's amazing. She, she catches bad guys for you and she sleeps with you, does she cook, too?"
Steve knew the answer to that one - it wasn't like they'd never had a meal together; they just never seemed to make the dinner dates where he planned to wine and dine her. "Yes, she does. She's a great cook."
Catherine was also a great Naval Intelligence officer and found the location Steve needed which allowed them to catch the bad guys, save the girl and close the case in time for Steve to get some sleep in preparation for his dinner plans with Catherine. Smart guy that Steve was, he finally realized maybe going out to dinner was the problem and had formulated a plan B.
They were cuddled on a blanket on the beach with a couple of thick steaks on a portable grill, a bottle of wine and two glasses while Steve poured the wine and tried to think of a proper toast.
"Okay, to, uh… Let me see. Well, how about this?" He handed her a glass. "To finally getting around to dinner."
'Yes," she agreed and touched her glass to his. "Cheers." They both took a sip. "Mm. All right. Well, I don't know about the food, but the view here is amazing."
She smiled and looked at him and he felt his heart beat faster just from the sight of her shrouded by the light of the setting sun. He tried to push down his desire, though, and stay focused on the task at hand.
"How do you like your steak?"
"Bloody."
That didn't help with the desire controlling, but he was a Navy SEAL after all. He shook his head as he turned away to check the steaks and his voice was husky as he replied, "That's my kind of girl." It was taking a lot of effort to resist just throwing her down on the blanket and having his way with her, but he reminded himself it was worth it. He owed, no, he wanted to treat her to dinner. "Think they'll be ready in a minute."
Catherine, however, was not a Navy SEAL and not quite as good as controlling her desires. She put down her glass so she could put one arm over him. "You know what?"
"What?" he answered, still distracted by the steaks.
She moved her hand to his face to get his attention and told him "Make it medium." before she kissed him to accentuate her point.
"Oh, oh. Hold on a second."
She nodded her head, happy that she had his attention and that he was on the same page. "Yeah."
He put down the tongs and flipped her over gently so her back was on the blanket and he was hovering over her before he finally gave in to the desire he had been holding back. Luckily, they were both responsible adults and didn't let the steaks burn, although they were slightly more than medium. True to Steve's toast, they finally did get around to dinner, although Catherine would have had no one to blame but herself if they had missed it.
*The scenario having to do with Catherine's relationship with Billy and reconnecting with Steve in a bar as well as a direct quote were borrowed from Sammy1026's stories "A Different Angle" and "Moments in Time". If you haven't read them you should because they are amazing stories and she was gracious enough to allow me to ride the coattails of her ideas. Thanks, Sammy!