Author's notes: My never ending thanks to Mari who offered support and advice on this one even while on vacation. You're the best partner. Thanks for always being there to share a laugh and more importantly to totally get why something was funny in the first place. And to Amanda who reminds me every single day that there are things that deserve to be taken seriously and things which most assuredly do not and we need to pay attention to the former and discard the latter like a pair of pants that no longer fits right.

And as always to Sandy who has been sharing the monobrain for 10 years. That probably scares her A LOT more than it scares me.

To all of you who have sent such amazing, supportive, thought provoking and at time hilariously funny reviews—YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. Please know I treasure each and every word. And to my Guest reviewers—THANK YOU!

For those of you who have so kindly asked—yes the next jumbo length fic is officially underway. The outline is done. It's 30 pages handwritten. As a gauge—the outline for Double Cross was 18.5.

This story takes place in the Double Cross storyline (last one I think). If you haven't read that this will be a little confusing.

Early Morning Talk (1/1)

McGarrett/Rollins Residence

Thursday 7:10 A.M.

"Hey, you're early," Catherine said cheerily as she opened the door and found a smiling Danny on the other side. "Steve took Cammie out for a run but they should be back soon."

"I had to get up at … I don't even wanna think about what time …" he said as he closed the door and followed Catherine towards the kitchen, " … so I could get Grace and her very delicate … and I might add 100% constructed by her own hands … model of a DNA helix to school in one piece and an hour early so she has time to set up for her presentation today."

"She texted us a picture last night," Catherine smiled as she picked up a knife off the kitchen island and resumed cutting the fruit she'd been preparing before the doorbell rang. "She did a great job."

"Yes, she did," Danny said unequivocally. "Because my daughter is a good student."

"Of course she is." Catherine gave him a puzzled look. "Where's that coming from?"

"Sorry." He shook his head disgustedly. "Rachel and step-Stan wanted to buy her some expensive kit where all she would have to do was snap together a few pieces."

"You told them no?" She paused her cutting and looked at him.

"I didn't have to." Pride blazed in his eyes. "Grace told them she wouldn't learn anything if she used a pre-made model."

Catherine grinned. "That's a great kid you got there."

"She sure is," Danny agreed. He glanced behind him and saw a set of blueprints spread out on the kitchen table. "Are those for the kitchen remodel?"

"Yeah, they got delivered last night."

He crossed to the table and looked at the drawings. In addition to the blueprints there was an artist's rendering of what the completed job would look like. He whistled appreciatively.

"They look great don't they," Catherine asked eagerly.

"Definitely an upgrade," he confirmed.

She finished up cutting the fruit and quickly washed and dried the knife before putting it back in the butcher block holder. "I can't wait to get started."

"Is the stubborn SEAL still hell bent on doing everything himself?"

When Danny realized what he'd said he froze. He turned and saw Catherine staring at him, hands on hips, eyebrows raised.

"Well clearly I misspoke there … " he said sheepishly. "What I meant to say is … are the two of you still determined to do everything yourselves."

"That's better." She held out the bowl and offered him a piece of fruit. When he declined she placed a lid on the container and put it in the refrigerator. "Yes we are. And we'll be fine," she said confidently.

"Famous last words." He shook his head.

"You'll be here to help," she said brightly.

"Power tools … demolition … saws. These are the things of my nightmares." Danny shuddered.

"You do realize the Navy trusted both Steve and me with armed warheads and all kinds of heavy artillery, right?" she reminded him.

"Child's play," he scoffed.

"Is that so?" Catherine asked disbelievingly.

"This … this entire project … is different." Danny started to get wound up. "This is me getting a call asking me to drive one of you … or potentially both of you … to the emergency room and I get here and there's a bloody towel wrapped around one appendage or the other and the kitchen looks like a crime scene and I end up with blood all over the interior of my car … "

"Danny," Catherine interrupted him.

"This is one of those projects where someone ends up with a nail through their jaw or a screwdriver stuck in their foot and the x-ray turns up on the news as some sort of home improvement cautionary tale … "

"Danny," she said, louder this time.

"What?"

"Neither one of us is going to cut off a finger with the saw or have any kind of unfortunate nail gun accident."

"Promise?" he asked hopefully.

"Promise." she said. "In fact if it makes you feel better we'll save all the potentially dangerous things for you."

"No need to go that far. In fact I was planning on acting in more of a … supervisory capacity."

"I see. Well even so, we'll be fine." Catherine leaned on the island. "We'll take all necessary safety precautions."

"Yeah right," he chuckled. "I've met the two of you remember? You'll probably decide you need a weaponized blender and a Kevlar backsplash."

"Hmmm," she teased. "I'll have to give those some thought."

"Very funny." Danny stepped over and leaned on the island opposite Catherine. His tone turned serious. "But speaking of all possible safety precautions … "

"What? Is everything ok?" She sensed the change in his demeanor.

"Everything's fine." He swiped at a small kiwi seed stuck to the island countertop. "Well it's fine now. I mean … all's well that ends well I guess. But … not really … because I've been meaning to talk to you about that little stunt you pulled during the partygoer case."

"Stunt?" Catherine asked slightly defensively.

"You know very well what I'm talking about." He met her eyes. "Your decision … your completely unilateral decision I might add … to take all the blame on yourself and then take off alone which was stu … " he hesitated and re-thought his word choice, " … which was not fully thought out … as plans go."

She took a deep breath. She knew this was coming. Steve warned her in the hours immediately following the takedown at the shrimp truck that Danny had a few things he wanted to get off his chest. Her reaction to his words was tempered by the knowledge that any issues he had with her decision to go on the run were based on concern for her safety and not a lack of confidence in her abilities.

"I agree it wasn't a perfect plan," Catherine acquiesced.

Danny snorted. "That's an understatement."

"Once we knew the DEA was on the way there wasn't time to discuss other options ," she argued. "I did what I thought was best with the information I had at the time. And you know what?"

"What?" he asked. He had a feeling he knew exactly what she was going to say.

"If I was in the same position tomorrow I'd do it again," Catherine stated steadfastly.

"I have absolutely no doubt about that." He shook his head with resignation.

"I wasn't trying to be the lone wolf. Or the hero." she insisted.

She needed Danny to understand that her decision was truly a case of no other viable alternative at the time.

"I know you weren't, Cath. That thought never crossed my mind."

"I didn't know exactly what was going on but what I did know was that someone was trying to frame both me and Steve. And that they put together a pretty elaborate scheme."

Danny nodded in agreement. "She certainly did."

"I mean now we know it was Riley Winstead." Catherine drew an imaginary circle with her finger around a few drops of pineapple juice on the counter in front of her. "But I didn't know that then. All I knew was that whoever it was they'd gone to a lot of trouble and probably weren't gonna give up and stop coming after us without a fight."

"That was probably a safe bet." He couldn't argue with her logic.

"And in that situation … with my life and freedom on the line … there's no two people I'd rather have working on the case than you and Steve. I knew the two of you would figure out what was going on. You just needed a little time. So to give you that time I had to make sure Steve stayed free."

He tilted his head and smiled. "Ok now … how am I supposed to sternly lecture you when you … when you say something nice like that?"

Catherine smiled sincerely. "I mean every word of it."

"I know that, Catherine … and I appreciate it … I do …but … going off by yourself. You can't do things like that anymore." Danny thought back to the panic that gripped him in the initial moments after he found out she was on the run. Alone.

"If there was any other way I would have taken it in a heartbeat," she assured him.

He smiled and shook his head. "You know what … that's what Steve said. That you did it because you didn't think you had any other choice. Which frankly … at the time … shocked me. I expected him to go up like a rocket when he found out."

"But he didn't." Catherine nodded.

It wasn't a question, just a statement.

She knew from the start Steve wouldn't like the plan, but she also knew he'd understand it.

"From the second Kono called and said we needed to meet her, and Steve tried to reach you and you didn't answer your phone, it was pretty clear whatever was happening was something bad. But he was still way calmer than me."

"I wanted to call and let him know what was going on, let both of you know what was going on," she stated unequivocally, "but there just wasn't enough time. I had to make sure everything that pointed to Steve was out of that office."

"I get that," Danny conceded.

Catherine looked at him dubiously.

"Well I get it now." He shrugged. "And I think on some level I did then. But I had such a bad feeling about that case right from the start."

"I know you did," she acknowledged.

"So when things went sideways I freaked out … but not Steve. He kept his cool."

"You know why?" she asked.

"Why?"

"Because as much as he may not have liked the plan he knew that given the circumstances it was the best option," she said assuredly.

"It tore him up inside, you being out there alone." Danny remembered Steve's reaction to finding Catherine's shirt in his duffel bag. "But he never once criticized your decision or questioned it in any way. And he wouldn't let anyone else … well mostly me … do it either. "

"I appreciate you telling me that," Catherine said softly as she reached across the island and squeezed Danny's forearm.

"He wasn't perfect though," Danny tattled.

"He wasn't?" Catherine feigned shock.

"I busted him planning to sneak over to Kamekona's the night after we saw you there to try and get some information out of the shrimp king."

She laughed. "I would have liked to see that stand off."

"You and me both," he chuckled, the tension in the room broken.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she said softly.

"I just … I worry you know?" Danny turned his hands palms up.

"I do know. And I appreciate it."

Catherine turned back towards the sink, grabbed a sponge and began wiping off the island which she realized when she leaned on it was sticky from some fruit juice that had escaped the cutting board.

"I have my hands full worrying about Steve and his harebrained half-baked ideas. I don't like having to worry about you too." Danny lifted his elbows so she could wipe underneath them.

"I'll try to never give you a reason to worry again," she vowed.

"Neither of us is silly enough to believe that's going to happen, " he smiled. "But I told Steve that when you got home safe and sound I was going to give you a good talking to."

"Oh really. What did he say to that?" Catherine laughed.

"He said to make sure he wasn't around when I did."

"Smart man." She nodded as she turned to rinse the sponge.

"The two of you are really something, you know that?" Danny said.

What do you mean?" She turned back towards him.

"Through that whole situation he … I mean he hated it you know … "

"I know he did." she nodded.

"But the thing is … he didn't let his fear get in the way. He was 100% about supporting your decision and getting everything cleared up so you could come home safe."

"I'm very lucky," Catherine smiled broadly. "And I would have done the same for him."

"You're both very lucky," Danny smiled back. "And I know you would have."

"Neither Steve nor I are reckless, Danny. Far from it," she said. "We're just trained to see a problem, formulate a plan, and move forward."

"That I know," he nodded definitively. "You're a matched set."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Catherine grinned.

He barked with laughter. "Of course you will. Let's just try to keep the things that will give Danny agita to a minimum from here on out, ok?"

"I'll do my best," she smiled.

"But just to be perfectly clear," he said seriously, "If it ever happens again … I hope it doesn't … I'm just saying if it does … "

"What?" She wasn't sure what he was trying to say.

He looked her directly in the eyes. "You can feel free to be smuggled into my house anytime in an empty water heater box. I'll always be there to help you."

"Thanks, Danny."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, this may be a bad time to bring this up but … " Catherine hesitated.

"What?"

"I got a call from Amber yesterday."

"Ah, yes." He nodded.

"She called to say goodbye. She said she was going back east. "

"Yeah. She took a job in New Jersey. Her family is thrilled."

"I'm sorry," Catherine said sincerely. She was never convinced Danny and Amber were a long term match but she knew they had fun together.

"It's fine. Really." He assured her. "It's just one of those things. No one was the bad guy. It just kind of … ran its course."

"Still, I'm sorry." she sighed.

"I'll be fine." Danny leaned casually against the island." You know what would make me feel better though?"

"What?" she asked eagerly.

"Can you tell Steve I gave you a stern talking to? I don't think he believed I'd actually do it."

"I'll tell him," Catherine smiled.

"And that I really laid down the law and showed you the error of your ways?"

"Don't push it," she laughed. "I don't think he'd buy that anyway. But I'll tell him you were very firm."

"OK," he chuckled. "I'll take what I can get."

The End

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