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She carefully entered the room trying not to get caught by the nurse that had adamantly stressed the fact that he was not ready for visitors. Sneaking quietly to his bedside, she slowly leaned in and gently placed a kiss on his cheek. Suddenly she felt a strong grip on her wrist and a sudden smile appeared on Steve's face.
"Hey gorgeous" he whispered
"Hey, Sailor" She responded "How do you feel?"
"Right now I feel fine, but I have a feeling as soon as these pain meds wear off, it's going to hurt like hell" He kept his grip on her wrist
"You can let go of me, I'm not going to run away or anything" She smiled
"Are you ok?" He asked as he released his grip
"I should ask you that" She responded as they gazed into each other's eyes
"I'll live. You didn't do anything stupid, like confess to any crimes, while I was in surgery did you?" he asked reluctantly
"No, an amazing thing happened. Some new evidence was discovered that placed Miles at the crime scene, so the Governor closed the case. "She rolled her eyes
"Blame it on the dead guy. I guess I am not the only guardian angel you have" He smirked
"No you're not. Actually, that is what I need to talk to you about." She suddenly got very serious "You see Steve; there is one more thing that I need to tell you. It's about that other guardian Angel of mine"
"Ok. You aren't going to tell me that your married or something, are you?" Steve was afraid of what her answer might be.
"No! Oh God no! Of course not. Listen, it's about who I work for" she was surprised of his remark
"The CIA. I kind of figured that part out. "He was teasing her
"Stop turning this into a joke. I work for someone whom I admire very much. Miles had recommended me for a position with a … let's just say… a special branch of the agency. I was recruited against my will at first, but then I grew to love the job. But there has been one factor that I had to keep secret and it has been eating away at me for years and I need you to know what it is." She had trouble maintaining eye contact
"Ok" Steve noticed that she was very uncomfortable and that raised his concern.
"Before I tell you I need you to promise me something" she was adamant that he agreed
"yeh, sure,Ok" he answered immediately and without thinking
"You can't tell anyone. You can't try to find out any more information, and you can't go searching for answers. Do you understand?"
"Cath, what are you talking about. Who do you work for?" he was confused
"I work for" she hesitated "Dee Gar, except that's not her real name, her real name is Doris McGarrett, Your mother."
Steve's eyes widened at her response and his brows twitched. He carefully sat up in the bed, twitching at the pain in his abdomen. "But she's dead. I don't understand. Cath, are you sure? Where is she?"
"I can't tell you that, I am so sorry Steve" She bit her lower lip as she waited for a response
"How long have you known?" He questioned
"A long time." She nodded
"Is that why you are with me? To keep tabs on me for my dead mother?" he was starting to get angry
"No, of course not, I was with you before. I think that's partially why she recruited me. I need you to understand that I hated keeping this from you. It was the hardest thing that I have ever done in my entire life. I don't expect you to ever forgive me for this" there was desperation in her voice
"How could you not tell me this? You know how much her death affected my life." He looked at her, waiting for some sort of response. There was none.
There was a moment of complete silence. Steve tilted his head in an effort to loosen the tightened neck muscles that suddenly felt stiff. Catherine stood and simply starred at him, waiting for him to say something.
"Come here" he motioned for her to come closer
She hesitantly approached and leaned down to get closer to him. He lovingly grabbed the back of her neck and gently caressed her hairline when he suddenly tightened his grip and tugging at her hair, he pulled her closer to him. "Tell me where she is" His breath brushed against her face and the glare from his eyes pierced her heart like a dagger.
"You are hurting me" she whispered as tears flooded her eyes.
Tightening his grip he asked again "Where is she?"
"I told you that I can't tell you" she reached down and as a last resort pressed his freshly bandaged wound causing him to release his grip on her and grab for his abdomen. She immediately backed away from his reach and as she approached the exit said "I am so sorry".
Steve immediately regained his composure and reaching for the IV he pulled them out and turned to get out of bed. As his legs touched the floor, they collapsed beneath him, leaving him stranded on the ground.
Catherine ran out of the room and down the hallway of the hospital. Danny was walking towards Steve's room when he witnessed her sprinting towards him. He reached out to stop her, but all she did was push him aside as she ran out of the doors.
Danny at first stood in place and for a second contemplated whether to chase after her or go to Steve's room. He decided to go after her and as he exited the hospital he realized that his attempt to catch her was futile. Damn she's fast he thought to himself. Turning himself around, he ran back to Steve's room. Steve was sitting on the floor alone and clearly in shock. The IV's dangled from the edge of the bed as several nurses ran into the room to see what had happened.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Because if you don't want to continue living, I am more than happy to do it for you; that way we can all be put out of our misery!" Danny began ranting as the nurses turned to give him a nasty look.
"Shut up and get me back into bed" Steve was in no mood to argue with Danny
The nurses proceeded to reconnect the IV and after a stern lecture about trying to get out of bed, they left the room and allowed the two men their privacy.
"What the Hell happened? What the Hell did she say to you? Oh wait let me guess, you can't tell me it's classified!" Danny was very upset. "I want to help you. I want to help her, but the two of you are making this very difficult with all your lies and secrets"
"Danny, sit down and I'll tell you everything" Danny sat on the edge of Steve's bed and Steve proceeded to tell Danny everything that had happened and everything that was said. "I can't express to you how important it is that you never tell anyone about any of this"
"Wow! So let me get this straight. Catherine was working with Bartlett and never told you. She was the sharpshooter that shot WoFat after you spent two years trying to capture him alive, and the topper to all this is that she was working with your mother, the mother that you thought was dead, and never told you. This is the woman that you said you trust more than you trust me. This is so messed up." Danny knew there were secrets, but this was beyond anything that he would have imagined.
"She had no choice, Danny" Steve was defending her actions
"Are you kidding me? You are actually defending her? You are either delirious from the drugs running through your system, or you are so whipped that you can't think straight" Danny hands were flailing everywhere. He could not believe that Steve was defending her.
"There has to be an explanation for all this. I love her Danny. I know that she didn't do any of this to intentionally hurt me. It's part of the job. There are secrets that I had kept from her. I owe her the benefit of the doubt. I owe her a lot." Steve had bowed his head as he tried to hold back the pain that was beginning to surface. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be who I am today. You wouldn't understand, but something happened years ago that brought us together and… I owe her … I just do" Steve looked at Danny almost begging for his understanding.
2006
Gunfire and explosions penetrated the area. The mist was thick and the jungle had become a muddy death trap.
"We're trapped, McGarrett, what do we do?" Taylor and the other members of SEAL team 3 stood and waited for a directive
Steve had to admit he had no idea what to do. He was in charge and the simple mission had gone completely array. "We fight our way through. There is a small village 10 clicks north, friendlies. We can make it"
"McGarrett says we can make it, so we do what he says, right guys" Tony Rollins could feel the mistrust of the others on the team. As much as they admired McGarrett, they were not sure he was ready for this and that his sudden upgrade had come strictly due to his relationship with Commander White
"Let's go" Shouted McGarrett
The team made their way through the jungle and it appeared that they had eluded the enemy. Steve signaled the men to stop just outside the village. "Are you sure that this is a friendly village sir?" Johnson asked
"Yes, I am sure. Tony you come with me and we'll check it out. Guys cover us, just in case. Taylor, see if you can get a radio signal?" McGarrett ordered as he and Rollins ran toward the village.
All seamed quiet, as if the village had been abandoned. They checked each hut, verifying that the area was in fact clear. The two men walked casually from one hut to the other. McGarrett was sure that the village had been abandoned and admittedly had let his guard down. Walking a few paces in front, Steve had turned to speak to Tony "So Tony, what do I gotta do to get your sister to go out with me?"
Rollins laughed "What makes you think I want you to go out with her?"
Steve paused to adjust the strap of his rifle "Awe come on Tony, you know I'm good for her"
Rollins had suddenly noticed a glare shining from one of the outer structures and ran to Steve shouting "Get down! Get down!" as his body tackled McGarrett. Shots fired from every direction and the lone figure fell from the roof top. McGarrett carefully grabbed Rollins and dragged him as he ran for cover. Gunfire erupted and they were caught in the middle of a full-fledged attack.
Steve managed to take cover behind an abandoned truck and had gently laid Tony's body on the ground. Blood was pouring from Tony's mouth as Steve tried desperately to find the wound. Rollins grabbed McGarrett's shirt and pulled it closer. "I'm not going to make it, Sir." He coughed. "Just ask her. Take care of my sister for me, ok? Tell her she was the best sister a guy could have" The final breaths left from him as he lay there still in Steve's arms.
The gunfire increased and planes flew overhead, dropping bombs on the village. "McGarrett, we gotta go! Now! Leave him, grab the tags and let's go!" Taylor shouted
"No, I won't leave him!" Steve lifted Tony over his shoulders and ran into the jungle.
Present time
"That wasn't your fault. So what are you going to do?" Danny ask
"I don't know. I need to get out of here, I need to fix this." Steve was focused "I need to find my mother. Catherine knows where she is and I need to know why she is hiding from her children. Mary and I deserve and explanation. Cath is the only one that has this information and I WILL get it out of her"
Will Steve forgive her? Will he get her to tell him where his mother is?
