Catherine opened her mouth to speak just as Doris sat down in front of them.

Coincidence?

Or just bad timing?

Steve couldn't be sure…..but he would bet his mother had heard the conversation and interrupted them on purpose. It didn't matter: He would get the details out of Catherine one way or another. Someone was hiding something and he had a feeling that "someone" was his mother.

As usual.

He was also curious about what had happened to sway Catherine to his mother's side of keeping things from him. It just didn't add up.

"So, Catherine….How are you feeling?" Doris asked as she smiled at both of them.

"Pretty good." Catherine said.

What followed next was 15 minutes or more of needless conversation that Steve knew was meant to "get him off the scent". After that, Catherine looked very tired and said she wanted to recline her seat and take a nap. Doris left them alone and went to talk to the pilot about their arrival time.

Steve turned to Catherine and saw that she was already closing her eyes. He knew very well that it took a while to gain energy back after being to hell and back. He quietly got a blanket out from the overhead compartment and covered her up.

Although her eyes were closed, Catherine reached over to take Steve's hand. "Thank you for coming for me," she whispered sleepily.

"Always," he promised as he lifted up her hand to plant a kiss on her palm.

*****************h50*******************h50**********************h50

Oahu…

Their plane arrived in Oahu shortly after 7 p.m. Everyone gathered their gear and getting ready to leave the plane; Everyone, that is, except for Catherine who sat stoically in her seat and wasn't moving. Steve grabbed the large duffel bag he'd brought along on the trip and looked towards her with concern before walking back to her.

"Cath…." He said, but she didn't respond. She just kept looking out of the window as if lost in her own world.

He moved in front of her and kneeled down. "Cath," he said again as he reached to put his hand on her knee. This time she did look towards him and gave him a small smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Catherine just shrugged…..The look in her eyes was haunted and it broke him inside.

She looked back out the window again.

Steve understood her trepidation. Coming back to the "real world" was always difficult after a mission or deployment, but doing so after going through such a horrendous nightmare was even tougher. The fears were going to follow her for a while until she could work through them.

But he would be there to help. He knew the rest of the Ohana would be also, just as they'd been there for him.

He took one of her hands in his, "It's gonna be okay, honey. I promise. I'm right here with you . Okay?"

When Catherine turned to look at Steve again, he winked….and the endearment had so much tenderness and affection that it took her breath away.

She felt a lump in her throat.

She didn't deserve him, she thought…..but how happy was she that he still cared!?

She squeezed his hand, "Ok." She whispered.

"Ok," he winked at her again, "Come on, we'll walk off together."

He stood up and pulled Catherine to her feet. He didn't let go of her hand as he threw his duffle bag over the opposite shoulder and started towards the exit.

Steve was caught off guard as they started disembarking and saw Joe White at the end of the tarmac. He shot a look to his mom who looked as innocent as ever; Yeah, she'd perfected that look but Steve could see through it.

Yes, he had called Joe and asked for help getting them a flight home. As usual, his former commanding officer and surrogate uncle had been happy to pull strings and help. Joe hadn't even asked many questions. At the time, Steve hadn't thought much about it since his main concern had been getting Catherine back….but seeing Joe waiting on them in Hawaii brought unanswered questions to Steve's mind. Questions about why Joe had so readily helped them without asking for many specifics on how they'd ended up stranded.

So what had brought Joe to Hawaii? Before calling in this "favor", Steve hadn't heard from his mentor in months, and it had been a couple of years since he'd seen him. The last he heard, Joe was on his ranch in Montana and trying to keep a low profile. What could've possibly brought him back to Hawaii unless it was something to do with Doris and this latest "mission"?

"Joe," Doris said as she reached him and gave him a quick hug. "Always good to see you."

Joe returned the hug and smiled back before turning his attention to Steve and Catherine who were making their way towards him. "How is she?" he asked Doris quietly.

"As well as can be expected. It was pretty bad, but we managed to get her out without causing too much attention."

Joe gave her a stern and disbelieving look, "That's not the way I heard it. What about Barkov?"

"Still unaccounted for, but we'll find him." Doris answered just before Steve and Catherine reached them.

"Joe…..Thanks for your help with the flight. What brings you to Hawaii?" Steve asked suspiciously as he put his bag down and reached his hand out to shake Joe's.

"Just thought it was time for a visit." Joe said.

Steve knew he was lying. He looked to his mom suspiciously before turning back to Joe. " Try again."

Joe's expression softened when he looked at Catherine. "Come on," he told Steve. "I'll buy everyone a round. We need to talk."

Steve looked at Catherine and knew the last thing she needed was to be at a crowded bar in the midst of strangers talking about what had happened.

"No offense, Joe, but now isn't a good time. I need to get Catherine home."

Home.

Catherine liked the sound of that. She hated that she didn't seem to have the strength to speak up and tell Joe herself, but she was glad to have Steve there to do it for her. No one knew her….or read her…. like Steve. He knew exactly what she needed without her having to say a word.

Joe shook his head. "I understand that, but this is important."

"Okay fine. Follow us to my house and we'll talk there." Without waiting for Joe to answer, Steve led Catherine to his truck. Everyone else followed suit and got into their vehicles to make their way to the McGarrett home.

In the meantime, it didn't escape Steve's observation that Doris grabbed a ride with Joe rather than going back with him and Catherine. He couldn't help but be suspicious as he wondered whether she wanted to find out what was going on herself first…or were she and Joe already in this together and getting their stories straight. Either way, he would deal with it later. His main concern and first priority was getting Catherine back home.

********h50****************h50*********H50

Doris settled in beside Joe. Once they were on the way back to the house, she broke the silence.

"What's this about, Joe?"

"We'll all talk about it together." He said.

"I'd rather talk about it now, if you don't mind."

"Why? So you can figure out a way to cover it up and keep this from Steve too?"

"What are you talking about?" She asked defensively.

Joe kept his eyes on the road, "We both know what happened back there, Doris; Barkov finding Catherine and knowing she was linked to Steve was not an accident. Wanna tell me how he happened upon that certain bit of Intel? Of all the people in the world who may be on CIA Watch Lists, how is it that Barkov is the one who snatched her in broad daylight and kept her until Steve arrived? "

"I don't know what you're talking about." Doris said again.

Joe smirked sarcastically and cast her a sideways glance, "Sure you do. You've wanted Barkov flushed out for years but could never do it on your own. Getting Catherine to play along was the way to do it….Only she wasn't aware she was a pawn. Isn't that right?"

Doris had the decency to look flustered and Joe continued, "Are you really so bent on revenge that you are willing to put your son and the woman he loves in the crosshairs to do so? You know as well as I do that he'll be coming after Steve now. I, for one, am not going to let him be blindsided while you are out getting your revenge."

Doris was so stunned she didn't know quite what to say. Of all the things she envisioned happening when they got back home, this had not been one of them.

She didn't have much time to come up with a "story" since it didn't take them long to arrive at the McGarrett home. Before she knew it, they had arrived and everyone was getting out of their cars to head inside.

******************h50*****************h50******************h50

Steve unlocked the door and everyone followed him in.

He gave Catherine a quick kiss at the base of the stairs. "Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath," he said softly.

A bath sounded wonderful and Catherine couldn't help but smile. Steve knew how much she loved them…..especially with lots of bubbles.

Steve kissed her again, "Go." He said gently and Catherine followed his advice.

Once she was upstairs, he turned to look at his team, Joe, and his Mom. Everyone was watching except for Doris who seemed to be avoiding his gaze. That certainly didn't make him feel any better.

He looked at Joe, "So something tells me this wasn't something Catherine needed to hear….at least not right now."

Joe shook his head slowly, "You'd be right about that, son." He looked towards the stairs as if making certain Catherine wasn't listening. "Follow me outside. We can talk out there."

Joe didn't wait for anyone to respond; Just started walking towards the lanai expecting everyone to follow…..which they did. Everyone that is except for Doris.

Once Steve reached the dining room, he turned to look at her, "Coming with us?" he asked suspiciously.

Doris sighed. "Yeah. I'll be right there. I'm just going to go into the kitchen…Do you have any beer?"

"Uh….yeah, I think."

"Okay…..I'll get something for all of us. We're probably going to need it."

"I'll come with you."

"It's okay son, I've got it."

"No offense, but I think I want to come along. Wouldn't want you sneaking out of the house and missing this little 'talk' Joe wants to have with us." He said sarcastically.

Doris knew there was no point in arguing as Steve followed her into the kitchen to grab drinks for everyone.

Several minutes later everyone had settled into chairs outside with beers in hand. They'd put the chairs into a circle making it easier to talk.

"Alright, Joe…..We're ready. When are you going to tell us what this is about?"

Joe looked at Doris before he began.

"I know you are aware of who Sergi Barkov is and why we've wanted him so badly for years."

Steve shook his head, "He's wanted for drug and weapon trafficking as well as being tied to various sex trafficking rings in Russia and the Ukraine. I know he was not only linked to the Hess brothers, but was probably the one calling the shots."

"Right," Joe said. "But what you don't know is that he was also working very closely with Yao Fat all those years ago. "

Steve sat up straighter. "So Yao Fat and Barkov were business partners?"

"Yes. The Hess' ran most of the day to day operations, but Barkov and Yao Fat were the two in the shadows who made the connections and got the money. We thought we could get to them….or at least one of them…..but capturing the Hess brothers." Joe looked down at his beer, "But somehow they got a step ahead of us."

Steve didn't like where this was leading and he felt his gut clench. He looked at his Mom, "So all this time, we thought the Hess' were working with Wo Fat when they were really working for Yao Fat and Barkov? And if that's true, then who was it that gave the order for my dad to be killed?"

Neither Joe nor Doris answered.

Steve pushed himself out of his chair so hard it toppled over. He stood in front of his mom with absolute fire in his eyes. "Answer me, Doris!" he screamed. "And I swear to God, if I find out you had anything to do with Barkov taking Catherine, I will….."

Doris stood up in front of her son, and although she was trying to stay calm, Steve could see that she was shaking. "Steve, it's not what you think…" she interrupted.

Steve's voice lowered to what could only be described as a growl as he took a step towards her. "Then tell me what it is about. NOW."