Hi guys! A rather short chapter, but I hope it suffices.
Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of its characters.
9 Months Later
.
Things were good. The pain was dull.
For the first few days after his kidnapping, Steve's hallucination was always present in his mind. For the first few weeks, it was isolated to his jovial tone that hoped for a family with Catherine one day. Her face, her smile, her laughter; everything about her was stuck in his mind.
To say the least, he didn't get much sleep. He tossed and turned until exhaustion finally hit him and he succumbed to sleep. Nightmares plagued him and whenever he reached for Catherine, whether that may be for comfort from his nightmares or in the mornings for security, his hand plopped onto the soft, empty half of the bed. Reality sunk in. Catherine was gone. She had been for a long time.
The first few months were equally painful. Everything in the house reminded him of her; the lingering smell of her lavender shampoo on the pillow case on her side of the bed, - sometimes when he had a really bad day, he would wrap the pillow in his arms and allow the smell of her to lull him to sleep – the vanilla scented body lotion that filled their bathroom, her clothes in the dresser, her stuff on top of the dresser in their room, the pictures of the two of them everywhere in the house and on his electronics, the authentic Chicago memorabilia that he had gotten for her hung proudly on the wall of their bedroom, the image of Catherine clad only in one of his dress shirts parading around the house, the memories of her roaming around the kitchen cooking for him, the sight of her surfing as he sat on one of the Adirondack chairs in his backyard, the intimate conversations held between them in the privacy of the old home, the interactions with his team and Grace, the way she danced to music that played from his father's old vinyl records, the sight of her both dressing up and undressing for him; everything. And so much more.
He couldn't get her out his head.
By the fourth month, it was apparent to him that she had been gone for almost a year. The longest they had ever been separated was eight and a half months.
But at least then, he had known with absolute certainty that they would meet each other again.
After the sixth month, the sharp pain became dull and things were a little more bearable. Sleep was slightly easier to come by and he had made the decision to pack up all of Catherine's belongings. That had been extremely painful. Memories – both good and bad – had flooded the gates of his mind. He had used the spare key to Catherine's home down in Aina Haina and stored her things safely in her closet but not before another barrage of memories flooded his mind – earlier memories of them.
They had come such a long way and conquered so many challenges that were thrown at them, but this – this had been the one to end their relationship. Their relationship had always been casual with the hint of something more, but after his permanent move to Hawai'i, their relationship had progressed. She had always meant so much to him – she had always been his rock – and with Hawai'i being the focal point of her leave, home had become a familiar word to them.
He had fallen in love with her (he had been for a very long time) and so had she. He had thought she was it for him. He wanted a life with her; a family. There was no one else for him.
But he couldn't blame her for what she did because he would've done the same. Nevertheless, it still didn't mean her decision didn't kill him inside.
He could've gone to Afghanistan and stayed with her there until she decided to move back to Hawai'i, but he knew that there was no way he would get into Afghanistan without raising a thousand red flags and endangering Catherine. He still wanted to though, but he knew she wouldn't want him to risk his more than honorable service in the Navy and his career for her.
When he left her house, Steve realized that the pearl was still there in his pocket. He hadn't taken it out when he did his laundry.
When the seven month came, it had officially been a year and a few weeks since he'd last seen her. Ellie had asked him out to dinner and reluctantly, in an attempt to live like a normal person for one day, he had agreed.
The eighth month came and he had never revealed anything too personal about himself that wasn't already known to the public.
Ellie was nice. She was strong and determined and fun.
But Catherine still lingered in his mind.
He always stayed over at her house because he couldn't bear the thought of letting someone else in. He couldn't bear the thought of another woman in his bed, sleeping where Catherine had slept.
He had felt guilty after the first time they had sex. He drank himself into oblivion the day after.
When the third week of the ninth month came, they had been dating for almost three months.
He had learned to deal with the notion that Catherine may never come back.
Still, Ellie had never slept over at his house. She knew nothing deeply personal to him; he had let her in only just a crack.
She still didn't know about Catherine.
Things were different; they were smooth.
That is until Vice Admiral Jameson Rollins and his son, Lieutenant Colonel Ethan Rollins (USMC) blast through the doors of the headquarters of the Hawaii Five-0 task force and punched Steve in the face.
A/N: Please be kind enough to leave a review; it would mean a lot! :D