I don't own Hawaii 5-0.
King's Medical Center: Mere hours after Catherine's breakdown.
"Honey are you sure there's no one I can call for you? Unless there's someone who can drive you home we are gonna need to have you stay the night." The nurse compassionately said to a still crying Catherine.
"No there's not. It's okay; I will be fine. I just need to be…alone." Catherine didn't want to be rude to the nurse, but it was hard to face the answer to that question. Sure, she had people to call, Danny, Kono by way of Adam, Jerry, Lou, her savior, Kame, but they would all come because of their allegiance to Steve, not because of her. She didn't want to call her parents, all they would do is worry and insist she come live with them in Coronado, she'd rather die. And calling Steve was simply not an option. For now, her best bet was to rest and worry about her medical bills later.
Coming back to Hawaii, well she didn't know what to make of it, but she knew she wanted to settle here. And she had to figure out how to live for herself in her home. Hawaii had always felt like home; she wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere, the scenery, or Steve. Deep down she knew it was Steve, it had always been him, he was home. It's too painful for her to think about not being able to be at home in Steve's arms. The CIA had kept her distracted, she didn't have the time or space to properly mourn a decade-long relationship. Now that she was a true civilian, she needed to learn how to deal with loss and heartbreak.
The next day, Catherine is released from the hospital on the strong suggestion she meets with one of their psychiatrists as soon as Monday. She's not sure where she's going in life, but she's got a clear head and a Xanax prescription in case things get overwhelming.
At least she knows the first step to settling down, getting a cell phone. After procuring an iPhone and saving the necessary numbers, excluding Steve's, she phones Kono. The phone goes straight to voicemail, so she sends a text explaining it's her, they need to talk, etc. By the time she's walked across the mall to grab Starbucks, its ringing back.
"Sistah, hello? How are you? Wait are you back on the island; this is a Hawaii area code." Kono says questioningly.
"Hi Kono, I don't know, I'm good I guess. Well no I am not, but that's not important. I miss you being on the island- "Catherine cannot even finish her sentence before she's bombarded with questions.
"Cath, I miss you too! I wish I was there to catch up with you. Catherine, what's going on? Is something wrong?" Kono presses. Catherine knows that Kono really wants to ask has she seen or talked to Steve, why is she on the island, did something happen to the two of them. Sure, Kono had heard from Adam that Catherine had visited the island months ago for work, but it took two months for Catherine to mention it to her when they had talked and even then, it had not sounded like she wanted to talk about Steve beyond the specifics of the mission. Kono knew not to ask about Steve again, waiting for her friend to come to terms with whatever they have or had between the two of them.
"Kono I came back to Hawaii for good. I finished my work for the CIA. I am tired; I want to settle down, get a job here. Well maybe not here, maybe Maui, I don't know. And no, Steve does not know I am here, and I don't intend on him hearing I am."
"Catherine are you sure? I think he needs to know. If he doesn't find out from you, it'll kill him."
"Kono he's moved on. We talked the last time I was here; he said he's happy with Lynn. I've stalked her Facebook; it's all pictures of her, Steve, and Eddie. Her out with Steve, Danny, and his girlfriend. I am not gonna ruin that for him. It's too soon for me to see him, I can't handle it right now. Please respect that." Catherine's eyes well up as she conjures up images of him and Lynn happy. It had taken Steve years for him to call her his girlfriend and even then, there was little to no photographic evidence of their relationship. It hurt, but she couldn't be upset with him. Catherine accepted she no longer had any claim over Steve. She knew she risked getting her feelings hurt anyway if she "creeped" on Lynn's page, but g*ddamn did it have to hurt this much?
"Ok sistah, but I want to go on record saying this is a bad idea. Enough about him. What are you gonna do now that you're out of the business?"
"That's kinda why I'm calling. I'm kinda in a bind in terms of money and access to my accounts now that I've left the Agency. What I am about to ask is for something major, if the answer's no I totally understand and forget I ever asked. I really need it for a little while nothing long – I promise I won't do anything even remotely inappropriate around him, but I can pay some money – more when I start working and even then, it won't be for long…" She knows she's rambling, but she doesn't want Kono to get the wrong impression. She can't even spit it out before Kono's interrupting again.
"Whoa slow down Cath, what do you need? Anything I have, you can have. What do you need?" Kono's worry increases as she hears Catherine speaking through her tears.
"Kono I need a place to stay. Can I stay with Adam? I wish you were here. I just need a few days, maybe a week tops. I don't wanna put Adam out; I need a space to stay with someone who doesn't hate me, resent me, or want anything from me."
"Of course, sistah. You're ohana. I love you, and you can stay in my home for as long as you'd like. Don't insult me by telling me you'll pay rent. Let me call Adam and talk it over, I'll give you his number, and he'll pick you up."
"Mahalo Kono."
"Aloha Cath."
"Aloha."
It was so refreshing talking to Kono even if it had only been to ask her to squat on her couch for a few days. Catherine whipped out her laptop as she perused jobs, she gave a call to her former CO to keep a lookout for local jobs in intelligence and drank her overpriced Starbucks tea. After an hour or two, Kono had replied with the ok for her to stay at Kono's, Kono's address, and Adam's number. She hesitantly hit the call and dialed Adam.
Adam stared at the unknown number buzzing his phone, he knew who it was. He let out an audible sigh. Steve looked up at him inquisitively, a "you gonna answer that" obviously about to come out of his mouth.
Reluctantly Adam answers, "Hello?"
"Hi Adam, it's Catherine. Catherine Rollins. Kono gave me your number, look I don't mean to put you out or anything, but I do need a place to stay and I'd rather this than on the floor of Kamekona's shrimp truck." Adam chuckles lightly at the half-hearted attempt at humor. Steve sends up a curious eyebrow. That's Adam's cue to leave the lanai and go back in the house.
"Hey, I don't want this to be weird, but I do a lot of work with 5-O and Steve and I have become really close. I don't want to be in the middle of whatever this is between you and Steve, but I also want to keep my wife happy. You see my dilemma, right?" Adam hears a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line, but Adam's been on an honesty kick as of late so Catherine will have to deal. He'll need all the honesty points he can accumulate before 5-O finds out about the gun and gloves in his home and he's put to the test.
"No, I completely understand that. I just need a place to stay for a few days before I can get a place. You're not in the middle of Steve and me, there's no Steve and I. We've talked and gotten closure. I really am just trying to come home—I'll be there a few days."
"I hate this, but ok."
"Mahalo." After a brief pause, Catherine bites the bullet. "So, are you home? When should I come? I'm downtown at the mall, but I can stay here until whenever." She tries to be nonchalant, but she's really ready to stop looking over her shoulder making sure she doesn't run into anybody she knows.
"I'm at Steve's; family dinner." That dig hurts. Hurts her in ways she can't even express.
"Oh well don't let me keep you. Just let me know when you're home and I can figure out my ride there."
"No, no I'll pick you up. Just drop a pin."
"Ok. And Adam—" she's cutoff as she hears her worst nightmare, "Oh hi Lynn, no he's back there, yeah everyone's waiting on you to eat. What took you so long?" With that, she clicks off the phone. A tear escapes before she can shut her eyes and will herself to not have an outburst in a Starbucks.
"What? Who's waiting on me? I just came to surprise Steve." Adam's acting strangely. Lynn doesn't know Adam well enough to understand why he's being so weird. She'll ask Steve later. Lynn takes a breath before again speaking.
"Is everything alright Adam? Why'd Kono hang up? I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt." Lynn states apologetically.
"No, I'm fine, it wasn't Kono. Just an old friend. You didn't interrupt anything. But I think the guys will kill me if I don't go back out there and eat." He flashes her a charming smile before leading the way back onto the lanai.
"Look what the wind blew in," Danny says as he gets up to hug Lynn. Steve had not mentioned that he invited Lynn, which now makes Danny look like an asshole because he didn't invite Melissa. Or rather a bigger asshole for not calling Melissa back from last night after he accidentally slept over Rachel's last night.
"Hi, I just wanted to drop in. Sorry to be interrupting boy's night. Hi babe." She plants a kiss right on Steve's lips and settles herself on his lap. "Yeah, I just was wondering if my SEAL was alive and well since we haven't seen each other in a while." With that, she goes in deep for another kiss, a kiss that's borderline obscene, but Lynn's not sorry—she missed her man.
"Please, there are children here." Danny moans pointing to a preoccupied Charlie running along the shore with Eddie.
Neither Steve and Lynn are sorry. Steve likes when Lynn shows affection in front of Danny. It feels good to be kissed and it makes Danny think Steve's actively getting over Catherine. If only Danny really knew, Steve thinks.
Adam takes this as his cue to once again leave. He shoots out a quick text to Catherine to let her know he's on his way.
"Well as much as I'd like to watch you two make out, I think I am gonna have to bow out. Got some errands and what not to do." Adam stands, feeling slightly icky that he's lied to his friends who are just barely beginning to trust him again.
"What? Come on man you just got here! You didn't even get a chance to have a steak. At least finish your beer. " Steve says with a slight annoyance. He doesn't want Adam to go. This was boy's night; Lou wasn't even here yet.
"Yeah, you can't leave me and Charlie with these lovebirds. It's sick; cruel and unusual punishment." Danny chimes in. He didn't want this boy's night to turn into him third wheeling Lynn and Steve.
"Are you off to your old friend's?" Lynn asks, slightly accusatory, slightly suggestively. She doesn't want to insinuate Adam is being unfaithful to Kono, but she wants to put Adam on the spot the way he did in the kitchen a few minutes earlier. He grins at their inside joke.
"Ha. In fact, I am. I promised him and his wife beers when they land in Hawaii. So unfortunately, I do have to get going." Before Adam can dig himself into a deeper hole, he starts to make his way through the house.