I am not sure I know what the rating "T" is because I can't figure you out when I went to the Publish section. I don't know exactly where this

story is going, but I have some ideas. Follow Danny and Steve as they try to get Matt back to the U.S. to save Danny's mother's life.

Learn a little about Danny and Rachel, and Steve and Catherine.

Read and Review please!

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Numbers Challenge

Chapter 1

My character, Danny, Drama, rating T

Danny's House 1:30 am

I still couldn't get to sleep, third night in a row; 1:30 am, the minutes are ticking away, not fast enough for my liking. Why was I afraid to talk to Steve? He is my best friend and I know I could tell him anything, and he could help. I mean, geez, he was in Naval Intelligence, and the World's Greatest SuperSeal….as far as I was concerned. He was the one who was there when I got the tests that showed me that Charles was my son. I trusted him with my children; let them stay at his house with Catherine and the twins when I went home to Jersey to see my mother. Mom's surgery was sudden, and Rachel was out of town with Stan for a few days. That's what the problem was, Cath and the twins. How could I ask Steve to do what I needed and know that he would have to be away from them, possibility not come home? Or come home in a body bag? Did the ends justify the means? It's bad enough Catherine has to worry about her husband every day when he leaves for work, but going on foreign soil for this, it could end very, very, badly.

It was all about family, Steve would surely understand it, he lost half of his family and he's was broken without them. But Catherine put him back together again and now this. It just didn't seem fair to ask him to do something this dangerous for someone who was selfish and for years only thought of himself. Now we are all suppose to think he's doing this for Mom, what is his end game? Ok, he was good to Grace but after he left, I had to be the one to tell her she'd never see him again. And then there is Charles, he doesn't even know he has a nephew, one that actually looks a lot like he did when he was little. When I compared Matt's photo to Charles' I couldn't believe how much alike they looked.

But then there's Steve, he's closer to me than my real siblings, I know I could tell him anything and he wouldn't judge. Sure he's have an opinion or two, but that's what friends are for. Heck, he is letting me rent his and Catherine's house and not make a profit. He didn't want to sell it and wanted Grace to be safe and have a yard. It has total surveillance and being in a gated community, I feel safer, but still, I feel like I am taking advantage of his friendship. Of course, he doesn't see it that way, he only wants the house looked after by someone he can trust, and I fall into that very small category. But after what had happened when he helped Jenna, I know Steve wouldn't say no but was it fair to ask him? I know what Steve would do, he's like, me, friendship is sacred to Steve, and that's why he doesn't let too many people in. I know he'll say he'll do it, he will say he owes me for staying here when he was arrested for Jameson's murder. He will tell me he owes me because he says it's his fault, rather WoFat's fault that I lost Rachel for the second time. That is the real reason I haven't asked him, not because I'm afraid he will say No, but because I know he will say Yes.

Or maybe I couldn't sleep because I didn't know if I wanted to take his relationship with Gabby to the next level. It's been five and half months since we've been seeing each other, and we had agreed to wait for six months before sleeping together. Well, in two weeks it would be six months, and if I knew it, she must know it too. In fact I know she knows it, since she's been hinting to going away that weekend to the big island. I had told Gabby, that we should take it slow to protect Grace, but was it really to protect myself or was I hoping Rachel would finally get her head straight and realize we belonged together? I do really want sex with Gabby, heck; at this point I want it with somebody. Oh shut up, that's not true, I only want to sleep with Gabby or Rachel, but couldn't decide. I couldn't and wouldn't wait forever for Rachel but why did it feel like she was my soul mate? I mean, Stan's a dirty dog rotten cheating skirt chaser and she doesn't even know!

Soul Mates, like Steve and Catherine, they are truly what the term soul mates means, the kind from the romance novels. I tease Steve that if you looked up the word Soul Mates in the dictionary, there would be their wedding photo. I never believed in soul mates until I heard Catherine's and Steve's story and met Catherine. They are so much alike, yet their differences only make their love story that much better. I could see that the minute Steve told me about Catherine that there was no one who came before her or that held a candle to her. I could see it in his eyes when he mentioned her name, or when she left him a message and he listened to it….he was under her spell, and she had his heart.

We had been partners six months by the time I met Catherine. I knew he had someone who came to town now and then and they got into some "Barry White," but he never shared anything more with me. I knew she was in Naval Intelligence and that she was trying to get transferred to Hawaii, Pearl Harbor OPS center, once Steve took the job with Five-0. Their home base was D.C. but he wasn't there much, chasing after the damn Hess Brothers for the last five years. I asked him if she was his girlfriend, and he said no wife, but she was so much more. She was his reason to get up each day, to fight for what he believed, and to want to keep the world safe for her. I didn't see a ring on his finger, and he said that was because he had been wearing his father's ring, and when his dad died, he buried it with it. He told me that when she came to Hawaii next time, they were going to buy one and renew their vows on the beach behind their house. He was always so happy and less violent when she was in town, I liked that. He didn't work late, and even left early, or didn't come in at all. I could tell she was good for him; he needed someone in his life that he could let himself 'GO' with. Not be SuperSeal, not be head of Five-0, just be Steve the man, the lover, the friend, and she was that person for him.

He didn't tell me how they met until after we had called her and needed her help with a case that he finally told me all about her. I got the feeling he wanted to share their story, yet he wanted to keep it just for him and Cath. Just listening to Steve talk about how they met, when he knew he loved her, when he proposed, and how he almost lost her that I knew how special she was and how in love he was. He told me how he had felt something for her the first day they met, but that he didn't think it was love, more like admiration and respect. She was beautiful, no doubt, but her beauty came from the inside as much as on the outside. He had been attracted to her as soon as he saw her come through the doors of his office and he stood up and shook her hand. Her handshake was so strong, but her touch sent shivers up and down his spine, and made his toes tingle. She had a goofy playful side that was such a turn on…even more so then her sexiness. She was confident and sure of herself, but oh so gentle, and delicate like a flower. She was the quintessential perfect woman, and he never imagined she would go for a man like him. He was great at his job, but his life was a mess. Never had any woman had that effect on him in all his 25 years. He was in Naval Intelligence for two years by then, and she was recently transferred in from Coronado after receiving her promotion to Sub Lieutenant and new assignment. That was June of 2001 and they worked in the same department at the Pentagon and their desks were in the same area.

Once in awhile they would sit together at lunch along with other people from NI and she always seemed to catch him staring at her. She loved his eyes and most of all his smile. Steve didn't smile enough, but when she was in the room, his face hurt from smiling. She did that to him, and so much more. She never said anything to him, just thought it was nice that he was looking at her. Catherine hadn't been serious with anyone for over a year when her boyfriend, Andrew, was killed by a drunk driver in a multi vehicle auto accident. She knew she needed to move on, but up until she met Steve, no one out there made her want to. For three months they were just coworkers and nothing more. But if you would have asked Steve, he would have liked more, at least take her to dinner or a movie, but he didn't have the nerve to ask her. And if you had asked Catherine, she would have said if she was going to start dating again, so far, Steve was the only man that she would have said yes to.

The morning of September 11, 2011, Catherine and Steve were both finishing up work on the same project and were going to have a meeting with their CO later that day. They were in the break room getting a cup of coffee discussing the project when they heard a huge noise and suddenly the building shook and was on fire. Steve saw the fireball right where their desks were and he grabbed Catherine and pulled her out of the lunch room and covered her body with his until he could carry out the closest window. Once he got her out, he ran back in and tried to get out the rest of the people from his area, but he was too late. Their offices were completely obliterated and so were their friends. Steve managed to get a few other people out but he eventually had to stop because he was having trouble breathing. Catherine had been hit by flying debris, hot ash, and she had a few deep gashes and burns on her head and arms. She was being treated at the scene to control the bleeding, and was going to be transferred to the hospital when she saw Steve being carried out by two firemen. As soon as she saw him, she ran over to him to see how he was, and took his hand in hers. She stayed by his side the whole time and rode in the ambulance with him the George Washington Hospital. The first twelve hours he was intubated and having problems with his lungs from breathing in the smoke from the burning jet fuel.

Catherine wouldn't leave his side and she wouldn't get her head sewed up until she knew Steve was out of danger and he was going to wake up. He was able to breathe on his own after they put him on oxygen, and they gave something for pain and so he could sleep. When they put Steve in his own room, she finally allowed one of the residents to clean her burns, stitch her wounds, and give her a CT Scan to check her for a concussion. She didn't tell anyone how bad of a headache she had until later, and told them that if they made her stay, she had to be in the room with Steve. They were both kept for a few nights and they were in the same room like she wanted. She refused to get in her bed that first night and stayed next to Steve holding his hand the whole time. She slept all night in a chair next to Steve, and when Steve woke up and turned his head to see who was next to him, holding his hand still, he had the biggest smile on his face. He saw all the bandages on her head and arms, and knew she should be in bed herself. He squeezed her hand to wake her up, and when she saw him, she got out of the chair and leaned over touched his face and kissed him. She was surprised that she did that since they had never gone on a date, but she just felt he was special and since he was always staring at her, she assumed he was interested. (She was Naval Intelligence and all, so she should be able to read people, right?).When she bent down to kiss him, Steve grabbed her and pulled her on top of him and held her tight. Their kiss was hot and loving, and when they came up for air, they both knew they had something special between them. She lay in bed with him and fell asleep next to the man who saved her life. From that day on they were inseparable, and have been together ever since.

"Wow, Steve, that's some love story. If you knew she was the one after three months, why didn't you ask her out, and why did it take you a year to tell her you loved her?" I wanted to know.

"Because I'm thought I was protecting her. Since I had lost my mother when I was so young, and sent away from my dad and sister, I really had no one. I thought by not telling her my true feelings, she was going to be safe and the bad karma that was around me wouldn't touch her." Steve told me.

"Well, my friend, that was pretty dumb thinking. What made you finally tell her then?" I asked him.

"We had been on holiday for Christmas and she brought me home to meet her parents and twin brother, Kevin. I told her I wouldn't stay at her parents' house unless I could sleep on the sofa or in a spare room. Even though we had been sleeping together for months, I would never sleep with her in her parents' home. It was just so disrespectful and I cared for her too much to do that. No matter how old your daughter is, no parent wants to know they are having sex with their boyfriend under their roof. Plus, if my mother was alive I wouldn't have been able to look her in the eye if she asked. She agreed that I could have Kevin's old room since her brother wasn't staying with her parents. After we went to bed, Catherine snuck into my room, wearing a robe and nothing else, and climbed in bed with me. I told her she shouldn't have and as much as I wanted to make love to her, I just didn't think we should. Well Cath had other plans on her mind, and once she was next to me naked, I was done. Whatever she wanted, she usually gets, and she wanted me that night, and that's what she got. "

"Yes, lover boy, I can see where this is going, I don't want details of your late night escapades, but what does that have to do with finally telling her you loved her?"

"After some Barry White and she fell asleep in my arms, I just felt an overwhelming need to tell her how I felt. I knew she was asleep, but I told her anyway figuring that I would get my nerve up and then tell her again the next day when she was awake. I leaned down and kissed her forehead and whispered 'Catherine, I love you with all my heart' and closed my eyes to go to sleep. Once I said it, I felt so good, like I had shouted it from the roof tops and I wasn't afraid to tell her for real. I guess part of me felt it wasn't real unless I had told her but it just felt so right to be with her, and I wanted her to know. Sure, I was afraid that she didn't feel the same way, but part of me couldn't help but think she did. We just seemed so good together that it didn't make sense that it wasn't love. But then again, I was concerned that whatever she felt for me was gratitude for saving her life, and not the same kind of love like I felt.

My life seemed to be much more serene and had a reason to wake up every day. I hadn't felt like that since before my mom died so I took that as a sign. Even my dad noticed it when Cath and I went to visit once when we had vacation. She had never been to Hawaii so I surprised her for her birthday and went to Pearl, the memorial when my Grandfather was interred and hung out with my dad for a few days. One day when Cath was having a massage, my dad and I went to visit my mom and we talked about me and Catherine. He said he could tell this woman was special by the way my eyes lit up when I spoke of her, or just looked at her. I told him that I agreed and that when I met her dad at Christmas I was going to tell him I would like to ask her to marry me one day. He said that he knew that she was the one for me because she was like my mom and if I was lucky enough to meet someone like my mom, hold on to her and never mistreat her, never stop telling her I loved her, and never let her go. That was one of the best conversations my dad and I ever had, and I felt having his approval made knowing I had found the right partner.

A few seconds after I said it, she turned to me in my arms and said 'Steve, I love you too, I have for a long, time. Actually, I have loved you since 9/11/01 when you saved me and put your life on the line for all the people in our department. I knew you were a great man, perfect gentlemen, and wonderful officer, and I wanted to learn more about you. I felt my heart stop when you ran back inside to get Jim, Mark, and Sal and made myself a promise that I would let you know how I felt, even if you didn't feel the same about me. Thankfully, when I kissed you, you kissed me back and I took it as a good sign." She leaned up and kissed me and from then on, neither one of us was afraid to say it, and we promised to not go a day without telling each other. I have never looked at another woman since the day I met Catherine and I know I never will. When we got home, she moved in with me and we lived together until I left for the Seals".

"That weekend I asked her dad if I could take him to lunch while Cath and her mother did some last minutes Christmas shopping. I told him I had been in love with her for a long time, and I wanted to marry her someday. I knew that he would think it was too soon since he just met me, but that I was going to ask his permission when the time came. I told him my life was an open book and if had concerns there was nothing he couldn't ask me about. He told me that he knew more about me then he thought he would know about a future son-in-law because Cath couldn't stop talking about me each week when she called home. He said that the way she was with Andrew was not near as happy as she was with me. He told me that he had me to thank for saving his only daughter, and as long as I didn't do anything to intentionally hurt her, he would be honored to give her away at our wedding. The only thing he warned me about was that since I was a Seal and away so much, I better be faithful but that is one thing he wouldn't stand for. He said Seal or no Seal, if I had an affair; the whole U.S. Navy couldn't save my lying, cheating ass. I promised that unfaithfulness was something I would never consider and he had my word." Steve told me.

"I wish my father in law liked me that much. He was just cordial enough not to be hostile until Grace was kidnapped and he just plain hates my guts. If he only knew some of the shit Stan has pulled, he wouldn't be so in love with him. He just loves his money and doesn't care how he treats Rach. He doesn't know about the three affairs I know about and Rachel doesn't either." I told him. "So when did you ask her to marry you?"

"I had my mother's ring with me just in case her parents wanted to see it, and Christmas morning I asked her in front of her family and she said she would love to. Her parents threw us an impromptu engagement party on New Years' Eve and we had a small ceremony in her hometown on New's Year Day the following year and one at my dad's house, one month later. We spent our honeymoon in Hawaii and bought our first home in D.C. later that year."

After Steve told me their story, he asked me about how I met Rachel and how it started for us. "I had been cruising around Newark giving out tickets and watching the kids hanging around the streets. Newark has one of the top five highest crime rates and a lot of teens getting into trouble after school. I had parked my cruiser and was going to get some dinner, when I noticed a car trying to ease in the parking space behind me. I could see that there was no way that her car was going to get in the spot, let alone fit. I got out and went over to her and asked her if she wanted some help, and she was too nervous to accept. I got in my car and went to move it so she could take my spot, but she accidentally took her foot off the brake and next thing I know, she rammed into the back of the cruiser. She was so flustered and when I got again, she was almost in tears fearing I would give her a ticket. She told me she had only been in the United States six months and had only passed her test one month ago. What idiot at the DMV gave her her license? Must have been a guy who liked her "tooshy". She still had trouble getting used to driving on the right side of the street so I offered to give her some lessons to give her more time behind the wheel and me more time with her."

"Smooth, Danno, real smooth," Steve said to me.

"We met twice a week and I would let her drive for an hour, and then I would ask her if I could buy her dinner. Three months after her first lesson, I kissed her for the first time and after that, we were dating and no longer having driving lessons. We dated for another six months before I proposed and six months later we were married. We went on our honeymoon to Disneyworld and she got pregnant with Gracie. Grace was born nine months and 1 week after we got married."

"So what happened to you two then?" Steve curiously asked.

"Well, things started to go downhill when Grace was three. I was putting in a lot of time at work doing overtime so we could buy a house, plus I was preparing for my detective's exam. Rachel was tired of being home alone and doing all the work with Grace and we started to drift apart. Once I became a detective, I thought things would get better. I was home more, I gave her time at night to see her girlfriends, and Grace and I would spend time together, or visiting my parents. I had finally saved enough for a down payment and we started looking for houses. Every weekend we would see five or six houses and could never agree on anything. After a few months I was so tired of looking, I told her to just pick one and I didn't care. Well, that started the biggest fight we ever had and she left with Grace and stayed with her friend from college. I apologized, over, and over, but she wouldn't accept it."

"Did she move out permanently?" Steve asked.

"No, but when she came home, after two weeks, and we stayed up all night and made a plan. She said she needed to get out of the house and wanted to get a part time job while Grace was in Nursery School. She took a job answering phones for this Investment Company and that's where she met Stan. At first things were going great, she was working and happy, and I was a detective and doing really well. We found a house that we both liked, close to my parents, and had a nice yard for Grace. She wanted to use her company to get the mortgage loan because they had an employee discount rate that was better than we could get at a bank. When we had several meetings with her boss, I noticed the way she looked at Stan and the way he looked at her. That weekend I asked my mom to invite Grace over because I wanted to talk to Rachel privately."

"Then what happened?" Steve wanted to know.

"Well, I asked her to tell me about him, and when she told me his whole life story, and I could see the way she talked about him, my detective sense just knew. I don't think she even realized it, but she was overly excited when she heard his name or talked about him. The next time we made love, I could tell she was getting more distant, and I knew I had to talk to her. I told her that I knew her feelings for me were changing, and so were her feelings for Stan. Of course, she denied at first, but after a few hours, she admitted that it was too hard to be married to a cop, and she wanted a safer life. She hadn't kissed or slept with Stan, but she told me she was thinking of him when she was making love with me the last few months."

"Whoa, Danny, that's harsh, I'm really sorry, that must have really hurt. Then what happened?"

"I talked to her and wanted to know if she wanted to go to a marriage counselor and she said no. Then I asked her if she wanted to move out or should I and she said she would and she took Grace and found a little house to rent not far from my apartment. After about six months she and Stan were seeing each other, and the day our divorce was final, they were married by the Justice of the Peace. We had joint physical custody and things were going ok. Then Stan was offered a job here on this 'Pineapple Infested Hell Hole' and they moved and I followed. That's it in a nutshell…no great love story but as much as I hate her sometimes, I know I will always love her."

"Of course you will always love her Danny, she was your wife and she gave you the greatest gifts in the world. But so much has happened and unless she wants to work on her issues, no matter how much you may want her back, you can't take the responsibility and happiness of your relationship all on your own. I know it's not easy being married to a cop, Cath does it, and I saw my mom do it. She's dead because my dad's was a cop and believe me, I'm worried about something happening to Cath because of me. Unless she knows about Stan's affairs and puts a stop to it, I know he will keep on doing it. Its obvious Stan's jealous of you Danny, so he's acting out by being unfaithful, and that's only going to kill her in the end. But if she's not willing to meet you half way and figure out how to be with a cop, it will never work. Does she ever realize how much safer the world is because of people like you? You're not just a cop Danny, you are a SuperCop! You are the type of man who gives 100% to whatever you do and all of yourself in love and friendship. I know that first hand when you stayed here for me and lost Rachel because of it. Whether it is being a dad, a friend, or a cop, you are great at all you do. Maybe Rachel needs to be reminded of that, and she will begin to see what is important in life." Steve tells me.

"Wow, Steve, I've never knew you thought I was a 'SuperCop', that's really nice to hear."

"Of course I think you are a SuperCop, why do you think I am so good at what I do? I am your partner, ergo I learned from the best. Maybe next time Stan is out of town you, Rachel, and the kids should come over and have a barbeque and play in the pool. I see the sexual tension between you two when you are around each other, it's clearly there and I know you feel it also. Cath can talk to Rachel and open her eyes to what's important and what's not." Steve says to me. "But Danny, you have to be sure you want her back and want to work it out because I don't want you to get hurt again, plus there is Gabby to think about. Two weeks it D-day so you better find out what the hell, or who the hell, you want.

It's finally 7:00 am and I'm on my way to the Palace and our Team meeting and I have an idea this may be our last. This last case really has taken a toll on everyone; I know Steve is worried about his meeting with the Governor later today.