Hey guys, so this is the third of the Regrets series. In order, Regrets, You Weren't Supposed to Know and now This is Not the End. Shout out to mirs13 who has been fantastic in helping me make this story even better! Couldn't have done it without her. So start reading and tell me what you think. Thanks Keep Smiling :)
Watching from the car as one by one the lights in the house went out and it all slipped into silence, Catherine swore then and there, that this was not the end. Nowhere near it…
One week, that's all it was. One week and they would finally be married. It had taken nearly two months to plan the wedding. All they wanted was a simple wedding with a few friends and family, but Kono took hold of the wedding planning and hijacked it. She told both Steve and Danny they had nothing to worry about, so of course that was what made them begin to worry. Chin just laughed as she started bustling about the office balancing between her paperwork and her planning duties. However, whenever either of the grooms asked for the slightest detail about the wedding, she would repeat the same words "Wouldn't you like to know" before quickly scarpering off. The only thing they did have a say in was that they were going to use their engagement bands as their wedding rings; they were simple and elegant and held a lot of significant importance, so it seems fitting.
None of them had heard from Catherine since the night she had left giving them her congrats and scarpering out to give them peace. Steve knew they had broken up, but Catherine was still his friend and he did care about her, just not the way he cared about Danny. With Catherine it had been purely physical with no emotion, but with Danny it was everything and he wouldn't swap it for the world. Danny was his world now and in 7 short days he would finally be his husband and he would never, ever let him go again.
Even though the way things had gone with Catherine went better than expected, they still had lost contact and that had hit Steve hard. This was bothering him. Danny could tell. It's not like his super SEAL was that good at showing his emotions, but he was hurting. However, there was no doubt in Danny's mind that Steve would ever leave him. He knew that Steve loved him and nothing would change that. Maybe he should go by after work and talk to her. Confirm that she is coming to the wedding. It would mean a lot to Steve. Sitting back in his chair and interlocking his fingers behind his head, he stared through the glass walls straight into Steve's office. He was crouched over, attempting to do the mass pile of paperwork on his desk. It's time to put him in a good mood and come up with an excuse to not go straight home tonight.
Taking a deep breath, smoothing back his blond hair and straightening his blue shirt collar, he exited his office slipping quietly across the bullpen and straight into Steve's office with amazing speed. Shutting the door gently behind him, Steve didn't even look up. That's when he noticed Steve had black headphones in and was basically ticking any random box on the paperwork. That was when Danny had his brain wave.
Walking to the front of Steve's desk so he would see him and not freak out about being crept up on, Danny dug his fingers into the side of his paperwork and lifted up about ¾ of the pile. He tucked it under his arm, before giving Steve on of his world class smiles that just seems to melt Steve's heart. Steve removed his headphones and looked the blonde up and down before leaning back on his seat and crossing his legs on the desk in front of him; his house keys jangling noisily in his pocket as he moved.
"Ok Daniel, what do you want from me?!" Steve asked not breaking eye contact with Danny as he took up perch on the corner of Steve's desk. Danny was still holding onto the paperwork tightly, but was avoiding Steve's eye contact as he desperately tried to think of an excuse as to why he –of all people- was willing to do Steve's paperwork for him.
"Am I not allowed to do something nice for my fiancée or is that considered a crime these days? Plus I wanted to put a smile on your face." Seeing as he was holding about 2 inches of thick paperwork he had to keep the hand gestures to a minimum, but he did his best, as always, to put on a good show for Steve.
Remaining silent for a moment with his aneurysm face in full form, Steve just stared up at him, trying to decide whether to believe the man he loved or to call him out. Taking his feet off the desk and pulling the seat in close, he wrapped his arms around Danny's waist and snuggled his face into his chest. The familiar feeling of Danny putting his arms around his neck gave him a sense of comfort and temporary protection. As Danny ran his hands through his hair massaging his scalp, Steve let out a moan of approval.
After a few minutes they break apart. Steve has that "I love you" smile spread across his lips and Danny decides that now is the best time to make his move. "Tell you what, I will finish up this paper work. It will only take me a couple of hours. You go home and get your run and swim out of the way. I'll bring home some take out around five and we can watch the recorded game with a few beers? What do you say?" Danny suggested as Steve stood up and walked around to the front of the desk to face Danny.
"That sounds like a plan Danno. Are you sure you don't mind doing the extra work?" Steve asked grabbing his jacket off the coat hanger and clipping his badge onto his belt before returning to Danny and standing in front of him, arms folded across that impressive chest that Danny often fantasised about.
"If I did babe, would I have voluntarily picked it up without you using the pout and puppy dog eyes for half an hour? Now get out of here because the sooner you do, the sooner the run and swim is over, and the sooner I get my food!" Danny laughed giving Steve a playful nudge towards the exit which he leant back into so Danny had to give him a more forceful push until he was at the exit of HQ and removing his keys to the truck.
"I will see you soon!" Steve whispered in his ear before pressing his lips to Danny's. The kiss was slow and sweet. They often kissed like this. It showed each other just how much they were in love. Of course that was when the rain had to start and the paperwork Danny was still clutching was going to get wet. Another quick kiss and Steve was running out into the rain and beeping the horn as he drove off. Once Steve was finally out of view, Danny decided he had to put his plan into action now!
Heading back up to the office he called Chin and Kono. There was no way he could tell them that he was on his way over to talk to Catherine, so he had to stretch the truth saying he had to take care of some mother hen emergency with Rachel and politely asked if they would complete the paperwork he had taken from Steve. The cousins –if not reluctantly- agreed, but were mostly confused when Danny asked them not to tell Steve that they did the paperwork. He just shrugged it off saying he would never hear the end of it and he really needed to get this "emergency sorted". He left five minutes later.
Sitting in the Camaro, Danny pulled out his phone and decided that it would probably be best if he warned Catherine that he was coming first before he just turned up at her door step. Plus he needed to make sure she was in. It would be a colossal waste of time if he drove all the way up there to find that she was out.
Hovering his finger over the call button before finally tapping it, he held the phone to his ear and waited for the rings to end and for a voice at the other end of the line to be heard. On the second ring it happened.
"Hello?"
"Hey Catherine, it's Danny. I just wanted to ask if you are free for half an hour. I really need to talk to you."
"Of course Danny, you know where I am. I will see you in what, twenty minutes?"
"Yeah that sounds good. See you then!" He finished ending the call and chucked the neglected phone onto the passenger seat before pulling out of his favourite parking space at HQ and heading north to the home of one Catherine Rollins. Halfway there his phone buzzed with a text from Steve saying he had arrived home from his run and he was just about to go for his hour long swim and that he would see him when he got back. The mere sight of the text made Danny smile; the quicker he got this over with, the quicker he could go home to spend one of his last night's alone with Steve as Mr. Williams, before he became Mr. Williams-McGarrett.
Ending the call and placing the phone gently down on the table, a wicked smile spread across the once plump, red lips -now white and chapped- because it looks like her plans were being put into overdrive. Cleaning up all evidence of a revenge plot that presently littered her living room floor, all she had to do now was wait until Danny came walking through that door. And to make it all that much sweeter, she sent him a quick text.
Hey Danny I had to pop out for milk. Will be five minutes, so if you arrive and there is no answer, just let yourself in. I won't be far away. Cat.
After getting a response saying Ok see you when I do, Catherine put the phone back on the table. All that Catherine could think about once she had read the text was what a wise choice of words. When the hum of the Camaro's engine pulled up in her driveway, she quickly grabbed what she needed from the drawer beside the door and waited for the unsuspecting Detective Williams to come waltzing into her home. Waltzing back into her life after what he had done to her by taking Steve away from her. The sound of the car door slamming and the click of the car locking awoke Catherine from her dangerous thoughts in time to pull the mask over her face.
All she had to do was wait. There was a knock at the door and then the door knob turned. Danny called out her name having not noticed her. Catherine jumped on him and covered his mouth with the Chloroform soaked rag. At first he wrestled and tried to hold his breath, but in the end, the Chloroform won. He fell limply to the floor of her living room. She kicked the door shut, replaced the rag in the drawer and removed the mask, allowing her hair to escape its restraint and flop lazily but gorgeously to her shoulders.
Kneeling down beside him, she just looked the unconscious man up and down. "Oh Danny why couldn't you just have stayed away? Steve has been and always will be mine." She sneered, but his eyes remained closed and his body motionless. Taking his left hand in hers, she saw the glistening of the pure silver band that graced his wedding finger. It was too easy. Slipping the wedding band off Danny's finger, she let his hand drop lifelessly back onto the hard wooden floor with a thump. Standing back up she held the ring to the light and that is when she saw it. The delicate SJM engraved on the inside. A warm smile found its way to her lips as she slipped the wedding band onto her own finger, but her joy was cut short as she heard Danny starting to stir on the floor behind her. Giving a quick glance over her shoulder, she quickly stepped over the body occupying her floor and headed straight for the drawer. She once again placed the rag over Danny's mouth. Once he was hidden, all she had to do was get to Steve and that was going to go just as she had planned as well…