Summary: Tag to episode 3.11 – Kahu (Guardian). Steve and Catherine go to dinner.

Note: Thanks as always to Sammy for the advice (and for commiserating post-game last night).

Disclaimer: You all know the characters aren't mine.

Special Occasions Only

The sounds of applause faded as Steve rounded the front of his truck, Catherine in his arms. He continued walking, setting her down next to her Corvette. She raised her eyebrows in question.

"We need to make to make a stop first. Drop off your car and you need to change," he said, looking her up and down.

"Do I?" She smiled, aware of the fact but curious what his response would be.

"Yeah, the restaurant requires you be in a, uh," he motioned, searching for the right word, "a fancy dress," he finished, his mouth crooked in a half smile.

Her smiled widened and she held in a laugh. "Is that so?"

He shrugged. "All right, maybe I require you be in a fancy dress."

She laughed. "Okay, then. We have reservations?"

"We do."

"All right, I'll meet you at my place." She turned to her car, reaching for the handle but he was quicker, opening the door for her. She raised her eyebrows, surprised and amused. Shrugging in response to her look, he waited while she slid into the seat and then closed the door, stepping back from the car. She laughed to herself, glancing out the window at him before starting the car and pulling out of the lot.

Steve stood in Catherine's living room, checking his watch.

"We do actually have reservations, Cath," he called out. "I wasn't kidding about that."

Her voice drifted out from the bedroom. "Keep your pants on, sailor. You give a girl zero warning, you're gonna have to wait."

He chuckled at her response, straightening his cuffs.

Contrary to her words, Catherine appeared a few minutes later. Steve turned as he heard her approach and his smile faltered, the plunging neckline of her black dress sending his mind into overdrive.

He groaned. "Okay, forget the restaurant." He stepped forward, reaching for her.

She laughed, backing up a step and holding out a hand to forestall him. "Oh no, Commander. We are making this reservation. I want to see what you've got planned."

"But, I mean, we're already here, we could just . . ." his eyes drifted toward her bedroom as his hand slid around her waist.

She put a hand on his chest to stop him but couldn't contain a smile. "What did I just say about keeping your pants on?" she chided. "Our track record is bad enough as is. We're going."

His arm dropped with a sigh, but his smile showing he had only been half-serious. "Fine. But only because I had to call in a favor to get this reservation." His hand returned, moving to her lower back and he guided her toward the door.

"You call other people for favors?" she teased, looking up at him. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"That's funny," he said as she smirked in response. He opened the front door. "Let's go," he said, following her outside.

After placing their wine order, Steve turned his attention to Catherine seated across from him.

"Okay, so, we've got . . ." he motioned between them, " a table, a, uh, a waiter," he pointed at the man's disappearing back, "and a romantic setting," he finished, gesturing at the lit candles.

"Mm," she agreed. "The music is much more romantic, too," she added, nodding toward the roving violinist.

"Well, that's a matter of opinion," he countered.

She laughed and, looking around, nodded her approval. "I am impressed." She focused back on him. "When you go all out, Commander, you go all out."

He shrugged with a satisfied smile. "Ah, what can I say?"

She regarded him for a moment. "Okay, tell the truth. Was this the plan all along?"

"Maybe," he shrugged and she laughed. "I might have made a few modifications after breakfast," he added.

"Well, thank you," she said sincerely. "This is very nice."

"You're welcome. You deserve a nice night," he said, his tone genuine.

"We both do."

He smiled in response before nodding at the menu. "What looks good?"

Catherine was surprised when Steve pulled the truck up to the beach after dinner.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"Oh, the night's not over yet, Lieutenant," he said, looking at her. "You up for it?"

"Lead on, Commander."

"Wait there," he said, motioning with a finger before quickly opening his door.

"Oh, are we still doing–" she started. "Yup," she answered her own question as he shut the door behind him, coming around to her side of the vehicle. She shook her head slightly with an amused smile as he opened her door and held out a hand. Taking it, she stepped down from the truck.

"This way," he said leading her past the trees to a picnic bench set back from the sand. He helped her step up on the bench to sit on the tabletop before releasing her hand and taking his place beside her. He put an arm behind to brace himself as he leaned back so he could see Catherine as well as the ocean.

They remained in companionable silence as the sun set. When it finally sank out of view, Catherine glanced over at Steve. He nodded toward the ocean.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"This view is pretty incredible," she said, looking back out at the water.

"Yeah. It's one of my favorite spots on the island," he said quietly.

She looked back at him, surprised at his admission. She smiled. "Thank you for bringing me here."

He smiled, leaning forward and kissing her. She brought a hand up to his cheek, settling into the kiss. Always aware of his surroundings, Steve sensed movement and opened one eye. Noticing his distraction Catherine pulled back and looked at him.

"Apparently it's also become a popular spot for teenagers," he observed, nodding toward the young couple walking along the shoreline, the boy in his varsity jacket. He leaned back in to kiss her again but stopped when she huffed a laugh. "What?" he asked.

"I suddenly feel like I'm living out some high school cliché."

"Yeah?"

"Making out with the varsity quarterback after prom or something," she said, fingering his lapel.

He chuckled. "Never did that one?"

"Nah."

He settled back again, studying her. "Lemme guess, you went for the bad boy type."

She smiled, scrunching up her nose and shrugging. "Mmm, maybe once or twice," she admitted.

"I could be a bad boy," he said with a confident nod.

She snorted. "You certainly play by your own rules."

He raised an eyebrow in response.

She smiled. "I think it was really great you took Ethan seriously."

"He's a pretty special kid," Steve said. He shrugged. "He's got some good qualities. Determined, loyal, blunt."

Catherine chuckled, recalling how Ethan had asked about her and Steve's relationship. "Yeah, I'll say."

He glanced at her, but she just shook her head.

"Well," she continued. "I'm just glad our initial theories about his dad turned out to be wrong."

"Yeah." He straightened, leaning forward. "Listen, Cath, I'm sorry our day went off-track with this case. But thanks for stepping in."

She reached over and touched his arm. "Hey, no, it's fine. I was happy to help, you know that." She smiled. "Besides, you've more than made up for it tonight."

"Yeah?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah." She leaned closer, her voice dropping low. "Now, sailor, what do you say we get out of here?"

He leaned in, nuzzling her neck. "You wanna go already?"

"We're not teenagers. You have a perfectly good bed, let's go make use of it."

He grinned. "Roger that." He stood and offered her hand. She gave him a look, suspecting what he had planned, but took the proffered hand anyway. He did indeed swing her up into his arms again.

"This isn't gonna become a habit, is it?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Nah. Special occasions only." He leaned in and kissed her, walking back toward the truck.

Note: I needed to do something to make up for the abysmal Super Bowl loss. This is what transpired. Hope you enjoyed!