Fear ain't faith. Chapter 1
Hey guys. It's been a while, I missed you. Here's another story, time is adjustable in this one. I hope you like and review.
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Danny threw his keys on the table as he entered his house. He sighed, it has been a busy day at work. His phone rang at that moment and he grimaced. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID first. Unknown number. Hmm. He answered the call with suspicion.
"Williams."
"Danny?" A soft hesitant female voice said on the other end.
"Yeah, who's this? Catherine?" He asked, recognizing the voice.
"Yeah, its me."
"Cath, hey! Uhm... what..., are you ok?" He asked suddenly alarmed. When did she get on the Island? If she was on the Island at all. There were a bunch of questions plaguing him right now. Like, why did she call him and not Steve? Unless it was something to do with Steve. Or...
"Is everything alright Cath?"
"Yeah, umm…Danny i... i really need to talk to you."
"Ok. Is everything ok? Have you seen Steve yet? Are you on the Island?"
"Yeah...umm… no..., I haven't seen Steve yet." She said, her voice hesitant and just a little shaky.
"Cath. Where are you? I'll come get you." Danny said as he took his car keys off the table again and hurried to his car. He could sense that something was wrong.
He drove to the address he was being given and wondered if he should call Steve. Before he could voice that thought, Catherine, reading his mind, told him sternly not to call Steve.
This didn't sound like Cath at all, so he drove as fast as he could. The whole time going over and over his conversation with Cath. If she was in danger he should really call Steve; the team maybe. He just didn't know what to think.
He parked outside the house. It was a neat little house in the suburbs. Was she renting it? When did she get here? He wondered as he entered the house with caution, gun drawn out of habit or maybe because Cath didn't sound quite right. She might be in trouble. And he would protect McGarrett's lady nonmatter how hard his best friend tried to convince himself that she wasn't. Danny knew better. Cath will always be the woman that Steve loved. And he would protect her in his absence, if she indeed was in trouble. Not that she really needed much protection anyways. She was Ninja Lady. Ramboet to Mcgarrett's Rambo. But every once in a while, could use some help.
"Cath?" he called as he entered the house cautiously. The door was unlocked.
Catherine was standing in the living room. Expecting him, no doubt. She looked relieved when she noticed that he had indeed come alone.
"Danny. Hey, its ok. I am... i am alone." She reassured him.
Danny took a relieved breath and put his gun away. He walked towards Cath to give her a hug but paused in shock as he got a good look at her.
"Whoa."
That's all he could say as at that moment he was robbed of words at was he was seeing.
"Hey Danny." She said softly with a smile at the look on his face. "And no, it's not a prank." She said, in answer to that look.
"Hey yourself. Not a prank, are you sure?" Danny asked incredulously, looking her over. "You ok? I got here as fast as I could only to see you looking…" He waved his hand at her in general. "Now I know why you called me and not Steve. Does he know?"
Cath turned from him and walked further into the room, she looked nervous, wringing her hands and all. "I...uh… i need to talk to you." She indicated the couch and Danny took it, looking intently at Cath. She sat down too, took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to speak.
"I..."
She faltered and he didn't help her out, just waited for her to get her bearings and start explain herself.
"I...I am pregnant."
"Talk about the obvious." Danny said, still a little winded. It still had the 'dropped bomb' effect said like that in spite of it being so obvious. "You must be like…due now?" He said questioningly.
"It's just six months Danny."
"Well you look like a drum already, what am I supposed to think? When last Rachel looked this big I was already rushing her to the hospital."
"So, I look like a drum, do I now?" She asked in mock annoyance.
"Of course, that's all you'd get from that very long speech of mine." He threw his hands in resignation.
She continued to give him that annoyed look and he gave in. " Fine, a beautiful drum then."
"Thank you very much." She said, with a smile.
He couldn't hate her. Cath had always been so sweet despite the stunts she pulled on Steve sometimes. And now she was going to break his heart again. Because, though Steve had sworn off Cath and had seemingly moved on, he really wasn't that over Catharine. And now to find that she was married to some dude and carrying his child? It was going to wreck him, and he should really hate Cath right now.
He looked at her seriously now. "Steve doesn't know does he?" It was pretty obvious but, he had to ask. Because this was serious. Like in…gigantic proportions. Much like Cath's stomach.
"No, he doesn't." she said and sighed in despair.
Danny sighed too. Nice! Just freakin' fantastic. And she had to go and call him first. So he could… what? Be the carrier of bad news to Steve? 'Oh, hey Steve, so your beloved Catherine, the girl who ran away from your marriage proposal because she wanted 'more' in the world, has…guess what…,found more. She has been knocked up by some guy in Bermuda or wherever the hell she had gone to on a mission for 'more'. It sure wasn't going to be a pretty conversation. Steve had moved on. He had Lynn now. But this was going to hurt lie a son of a bitch.
He sighed again in resignation, "So, who's the dude?"
"It's Steve." She said it so calmly, so simply.
His breath just whooshed out of him on that. What? Of all the things she could have said this was the least of what he had expected.
"Whoa… what? Cath, I am sure you know that's not how this works. You can't just…?"
"It's Steve's Danny." She emphasized with a look in her eyes that gave no room to doubt.
Well now, pregnant women did get a little delusional sometimes, he did know that was one of the side effects of pregnancy. The confusion of not knowing who the heck fathered your baby, being a major one. He knew that from plenty of experience. Not that he was the keeper of Steve's diary or anything but he did know with a certain amount of certainty that Steve had not been anywhere near Cath for the past six months or so. And this kind of thing usually required for the concerned parties to be at least within 50 feet of each other. At least in his experience it would have to be a lot shorter a distance, But, what did he know about Ninja activities, mere mortal. However, no Ninja voodoo or stunt could pull that off with the distance that Catherine and Steve maintained in the past six months. Impossible still existed in his vocabulary, even for Super Seal.
"Catherine, honey…" He tried, as if he was trying to convince a mental patient that the sun wasn't green.
"Danny! It happened. It's his. I swear." She said, a bit agitated this time.
"Ok, Ok. Let's take it from the top. How…when did this happen Catherine?" He decided he'd humour her. Steve would be the best person to dispute this.
"When we went to...to rescue Steve's mom. It just happened, i didn't think..."
Oh, oh he could see how that was possible. Well, wow then. If that was true then, wow then. That was some news. Steve was going to be a daddy. That was good news, at least he could work with that. It was better than telling him that she was pregnant with someone else's child. That would have been hard.
"It is his, Danny. It's Steve's I swear." She said again, in earnest .
"Catherine, you are six months pregnant and you didn't think to tell the father for all this time?" He asked incredulously, believing her now. "An even better question right now is , Why are you telling me all this? Why did you call me? Why aren't you with Steve right now telling him that he's going to be a father. In three months! Catherine?
"I know, I know." She was feeling ashamed, but it had taken a lot from her to come forward in the first place. "I just…I couldn't find the strength to come forward. I tried calling him countless times but…" She trailed off, her voice shaky. "I called him Danny. Right before I called you, I called Steve,..and…"
"And what? Danny questioned, still a bit confused.
"Lynn answered."
Oh, bummer. Danny grimaced. And rightly guessed what happened next.
"I hung up. Danny, I couldn't…; When we parted, I told him to move on with Lynn. Now I am here, being a home wrecker…"
"Heyyy, you're no homewrecker. Steve is not married to Lynn yet. You're still clean, I guess." He chided with a reassuring smile.
"I was going to leave him all alone Danny. To move on. He is with Lynn now and when we parted…" She stood up and started pacing.
Danny was scared she was going to start having contractions right then with how big her stomach was. Six months going on seven, things could happen. And she was agitated and scared, he could see that. Pregnant women were not by any means supposed to be agitated. Any woman, even Ninjalete here. He hoped Cath was too Ninja for any water works. That was the highlight of it all. The list of things to be aware of when dealing with a pregnant woman. The water works.
He tried to calm her. "Cath, its ok. I am sure Steve will be thrilled. Well, after a bit of a fit, of couse. I won't lie to you, he's definitely going to freak but, he's going to be trilled. I mean…hell, I am freaking out and I am not even the father here. But I am happy for you at the same time. I am trilled for Steve."
"I know." She said, then paused from her pacing for a moment. Danny thought he had won, she had calmed down finally. Then she started again, this time a lot faster. He grimaced.
"Cath…"
"Maybe…maybe I shouldn't have come here…"
"No… don't think like that. You did the right thing. One you should have done a long time ago."
"And now? It's too late…?"
"No, hey…it's not too late. This is good. This is good. Steve's going to be a dad." He said the last one in wonder and that seemed to be her undoing. What did he say?
"Oh my God, he's gonna freak out. Oh my God…" And the water works started. Even Ramboet was not immune. Crap! Pregnant women cried- check. Danny knew that one well. He had hoped Catherine being Catherine, would be an exception.
Not so.
"Hey hey hey." He tried again to calm her, drawing her to take a seat on the couch. "Alright, it's alright. Now breath." He coached.
"Danny, I am not in labour yet, relax."
Seriously? What? He wasn't panicking or anything. He knew she wasn't in labour; what was he, an idiot? He was clearly the one in control here but, come on, she was the one in tears. Catherine Rollins Lieutenant Ninjalete was in tears. What was he supposed to do? Of course, he was freaked.
"I just…I just thought maybe I could do this on my own, you know? Steve had moved on and I hated, I really really hate disrupting his life like this. So i…I don't know, I got scared. And, I held out too long." She sighed, wiping away a tear. She had calmed some though.
"I just could not think of depriving my child of his or her father. The most generous, kind, loving person I have ever met. I wanted my child to know their father." She said, in that tiny sweet voice tinged with tears.
Danny took pity, he could tell it had taken a lot from her to do this. It was way better than having to know your kid at age 5, and only because he had developed a malignant disease that needed your bone marrow. This was way better. The spilled water was not under the bridge yet.
"This is really good news Cath. Really good news. Believe that." He reassured.
"It is, isn't it?" Cath said, smiling. Absent minded caressing her stomach. She was going to be a mother. She didn't know how to tell Steve though.
"It really is." Danny agreed with his own smile. Steve was going to be a dad. He could not get over that shock. This was going to be awesome. He thought as he imagined Steve cradling a new born in his gigantic arms, freaking out at the thought of dropping him or something.
Then Cath's face dropped again. Unpredictable hormonal pregnant women. Danny cursed inwardly. What was it this time? No more water works please! He could never handle women tears very well.
"What?" He paused the question with dread.
"Well, our parting. We didn't exactly part on good terms you know. I'm not sure if he'd want me around anymore. I mean, he's got a girlfriend now. I met her. Lynn. I didn't want to interrupt his life now but i also couldn't keep this from him. I don't know..." She sighed with resignation. "The last time I went away, he told me he wasn't going to wait for me anymore. And I was good with that. At least I thought I was…but..."
Danny understood. More than anyone he knew how broken Steve had been after Catherine's last disappearing act. He'd been hurt. That as it may be, he could not hold a grudge against her for that because he knew she still loved him. She was just Ramboet, not much different from Steve for that matter. Plus this. This changed the game to a whole new level.
He still didn't understand why Catherine didn't just go to Steve with this though. Yeah, she was scared, but she had got the courage to come this far. Alright, she needed a little help going the distance. He applauded her coming thus far. What was it with women afraid of telling their men that they were going to have their child. That would be the best news in the world for any man. Most men. Well, most sane men. Barring any complications, this was great news for Steve. Danny was already catching on to the happy. He caught himself already planning Steve's and Cath's wedding, and the child Christening and all. This was going to be one interesting family. He could bet the children would be recruited into the CIA Junior League before they could go to kindergarten.
"Alright, you want me to talk to him or what? I think it would be better if you talked to him first and I'll help smooth things over. Don't worry, he would be thrilled to hear this. And thanks for not keeping this from him. It's going to be ok." Danny reassured, drawing her into his arms for a hug.
"Thanks Danny." She said in gratitude, a bit calmer now. She felt she had an ally.
"Anytime. And congratulations Cath." Danny said with a smile and Cath finally felt like she had done the right thing. She felt the wonder of what she was carrying. She smiled back with tears in her eyes.
"Wow." Danny said again in wonder shaking his head. "Steve's going to be a daddy. This world is finally coming to an end." He joked, and Cath laughed at that. It was going to be ok.
...
He should hate Cath, at least on Steve's behalf. He tried but, he couldn't. He had plenty of questions. Like why the hell she up and left just after he had begged her to stay for Steve's sake. And now she was pregnant? What the heck! But he was glad, despite it all. Steve was going to be a dad. And if he was being honest he could not see Steve settling down with anyone else but Cath. Maybe because he got so used to Cath and had settled it in his mind that she was the one for him. Maybe because as far as he could see, she was the one. He liked Lynn, he really did. She was after all Melisa's friend. Melisa he was no longer seeing because like Steve, she wasn't Rachel to him. She could never be. And he was sure Steve felt the same about Lynn. She could never be Cath. It seemed the women they were doomed to love were the ones who could do the uttermost damage to their poor manly hearts. That didn't mean Steve was not going to be thrown, even a little pissed at first when he hears the news. Cath had ripped his heart to pieces too many times. He was there when he had sworn off Cath. He had told him he was ready to move forward and had set his mind on never thinking of her again. When he had seemed to throw himself into his relationship with Lynn. But she could never be Cath. Danny had seen that sudden change in him right around the time he came back from rescuing mother dear with his ex- girlfriend/would have been fiancé. He had told him that he and Cath were over with a final note in his voice, and he didn't want to talk about it. It had then been 'classified'. Well, look at them classified now coming back to bite him. Danny had approved that his best friend was moving on. About time. He was no longer hung up on Cath. So, that was what? Closure, breaking ties, never see you again sex with Cath? Only it wasn't, because it had come back to bite him. Maybe it was meant to be. And he could not wish for the best for anyone else than Steve. Steve was the most generous, most deserving of the best, person he knew. And he was glad that he was going to finally get that. If he decides with his heart. Steve could be stubborn, he had closed the lid on Cath. Would he go back on his word. Well, now there was a baby involved now. Maybe that would force him to be with the woman he truly loved. Catherine was Steve's other half, his true love. Sorry Lynn, Danny murmured as he knocked on Steve's door. He had to knock knowing Lynn was there and just as he had guessed, she was the one who opened the door.
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Let me know what you think. See you in a bit.
