FYI, this chapter will begin to deal with Catherine's PTSD. We will also begin to see how our favorite SEAL helps care for his love.

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Steve parked his truck outside the Wailana Coffee House which was one of his favorite places for breakfast. It had always been a favorite of Catherine's as well which is why he'd brought her that morning. Getting back to a normal routine and being in familiar places was one of the first steps to moving on after trauma. He cut off the engine and glanced over to see Catherine was pale. She looked terrified.

He reached over to take her hand which was cold and trembling slightly. "Hey," he said softly. "You okay?"

Instead of answering, she continued to look straight ahead.

"Cath?"

This time she turned towards him and he could clearly see the uncertainty and fear clouding her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked again.

Catherine was looking at him but not answering which was disconcerting. She looked as if she could bolt at any second; Or have a breakdownand neither scenario was appealing.

Steve squeezed her hand affectionately. He should have known it was too soon to get her out into a public place.

"It's okay," he said as he gave her a soft smile. "We don't have to go inside to eat. How about if we go to Rainbow instead? That way we can just eat in the truck. OR, we can go back home and I'll make my famous pancakes. Whatever you want to do is fine. "

She smiled at him weakly and he felt relief wash over him.

"Some Loco Moco from Rainbow sounds great right now. Maybe we can do pancakes tomorrow?" she said quietly.

He nodded and reached over to put a hand on her knee. "Absolutely. Rainbow it is then." He turned the key to start the truck again as they made their way to the drive-in restaurant. He kept a gentle hold on her as he felt the tension leaving her sitting beside him.

They parked at the drive-in and placed their orders. It was the first time Catherine had spoken since they'd left Wailana's.

"I'm sorry, Steve," she whispered.

"For what?"

"I know you like Wailana's. I just couldn't…."

"Cath, it's okay. Really. I understand. I should be the one apologizing for thinking you could get out so soon. We're just going to take things easy from here one out…..One step at a time." He leaned over and kissed her softly before their food arrived.

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Several hours later, Danny and the kids had arrived for time on the beach and with their Aunt Cath. Gracie, especially, had missed her which was evident in the way she'd hugged Catherine upon arriving at Steve's house.

A couple of hours passed and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Until something caused Catherine's eyes to glaze over. Steve sensed it happening before anyone else did. She was shutting down emotionally and entering into a "fight or flight" mode. She got very still before turning towards Steve.

"I need to go inside…Just for a minute…I need to go inside…"

Then she started walking quickly towards the house. Instinct told Steve she actually wanted to run but was walking quickly so as not to frighten the kids and make them wonder what was going on.

Danny cast a worried look towards Steve.

"I've got her," Steve said in answer to Danny's unspoken concern.

Grace immediately came out of the water.

"Is Aunt Cath okay?"

Danny reached over to give her a quick hug, "She's fine, monkey. Uncle Steve's just going in to make sure she doesn't need anything. Okay?"

It took a few minutes, but Steve finally found her.

Actually he heard her before he saw her.

It was only a soft whimper, but he heard it.

He stepped into his bedroom and slowly made his way to the bathroom door before peering cautiously inside.

She was sitting on the floor of the bathroom in his bedroom, knees pulled up to her chest and rocking back and forth as if trying to soothe herself.

Catherine felt someone approaching and curled herself up even tighter as if trying to disappear.

"Catherine, it's me."

She looked up at him and Steve felt his heart twist at the pain and fear he saw in her eyes.

He approached her tentatively and sat down on the floor beside her before pulling her to him.

She was shaking and her breathing was shallow.

Steve realized what was going on because he'd been there.

A panic attack.

"Take some deep breaths for me," he whispered. "Deep breaths, Catherine. Shhhhhh….I'm right here with you."

Catherine tried to do as he said but still struggled to pull herself out of the black hole she'd fallen into. What had happened? One minute she was fine and the next minute she felt as if she was suffocating and couldn't seem to pull herself out of it.

Steve did the only thing he knew to do: He pulled her onto his lap so he could completely engulf her in his arms. His hold on her remained tight and close.

"Deep breaths, baby. Come on…..You can do it." Steve started stroking her hair. "Come back to me."

Catherine's head was resting on Steve's shoulder and she turned slightly towards his neck to breathe in the scent she loved so much.

She heard Steve's voice talking to her…..

Soothing her…

And encouraging her to 'breathe'.

She tried to do as he said and eventually felt the cloud lifting and her heart rate calming down.

Steve continued to hold her even after her breathing became normal again.

After a few minutes of silence, she was still clinging to his t-shirt with her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Steve…I should have….."

Steve interrupted her and moved so he could get her chin in his hand and lift it up.

"Catherine, look at me."

When she didn't comply, he put his hands on either side of her face. His voice was calm but firm allowing for no argument. "Look at me. Right now."

She obeyed and looked into the eyes she loved so much and started to feel herself calming down.

Steve's eyes were so beautiful, she thought somewhat distractedly. They changed color depending on his mood which was something that had always amazed her. Right now they were dark blue…which meant he was serious…..focused.

"I swear to God, if you apologize to me one more time, you will not like the consequences. Understand?" he joked as he raised his eyebrows.

Catherine's only response was to smile and shake her head.

"This isn't your fault, Catherine. None of this is your fault and what you are feeling is completely normal."

She felt like she needed to explain. "I don't know what happened, Steve. All of a sudden, I felt like I couldn't breathe and I just had to get away. You know I love Gracie, and Charlie, and….."

Steve leaned forward to kiss her forehead, "I know you do, but like I said…..This is normal. You're going to need some time to work through all of this."

She turned sad eyes towards him again.

"You've had enough for today, so why don't I tell Danny and the kids…"

"NO," Catherine interrupted. "Gracie and Charlie were looking forward to a cook-out, so we're gonna do it."

"Are you sure?" Steve was more concerned about Catherine and her obvious PTSD than the kids at the moment; They would understand if things needed to be cut short.

Catherine was the one who needed help now .

"I'm sure," Catherine said definitively. The fire was back in her eyes and he knew there was no talking her out of it. "I'll be okay."

"Alright…but tomorrow, we're staying home. Just the two of us."

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Steve spent the next week at home with Catherine. It was the first time he could remember ever taking that much time off work. He would take a long weekend every now and then, but never an entire week.

But she needed him.

And she was worth it.

Her night terrors were still there but they were getting less frequent. That was no doubt due to Steve sleeping by her side. She fell asleep every night in his arms and he would hold her until morning. If a nightmare came, he was already there to pull her closer and gently talk her out of it.

Catherine also began to share a little more with him about what had happened the time she was with Barkov. Knowing Steve like she did, however, there were certain details she refused to completely divulge. Chances were already pretty certain Steve would rather kill the man than "capture" him, so as the memories began to flood back into her consciousness, she decided against adding any more kindling to the fire she saw in his eyes.

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Several days later…

Steve had finally agreed to leave the house with Catherine. They decided to venture to one of their favorite beaches on the island: It was quiet, unpopulated, and practically guaranteed them some alone time without too many people to distract Catherine or make her feel uncomfortable.

They had been settled into a spot for nearly thirty minutes when Steve's phone rang. Looking at his Caller ID, he saw it was Joe.

"Cath, I'll be right back."

She looked over at him.

"I'll be right over here….Okay?"

She nodded her agreement and he answered the call.

"Hey, Joe…..What's up?"

"I have some bad news."

Steve cast a glance in Catherine's direction although his face didn't give anything away.

"What bad news?"

Joe sighed on the other line. "I've just received some intel that Barkov is on the island."

"What?! How could you know that? Who told you?"

"I may be retired, Steve, but I still have connections; Especially where certain family members are concerned."

Steve didn't miss the inference; Joe considered him family which meant the world to him, especially in moments like this.

"Okay, so what else do you know?"

"Unfortunately, that's it so far. He's been under surveillance since they found out where he was holding Catherine. They lost contact for a couple of days, but intel tells them he's on the island."

Steve knew what that meant. "And he's looking for Catherine…..or me…right?"

"I think we need to be ready for that," Joe confirmed. "Especially after your last conversation with him. And you know the Feds…Even though my contact shared the info with me, they are insisting this is their operation and we stay out of it. "

Steve turned away from Catherine so she wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying or read his lips.

"Yeah, well, you know me well enough to know that's not gonna happen."

"I knew you'd say that." Steve could hear the smile in Joe's voice. "And I couldn't agree more. They've had more than enough time to apprehend him. At this point, I'd be willing to say it's anyone's game. I'm going to be right there with you when it happens, too."

Steve felt a lump of emotion in his throat at Joe's admission. Steve may have lost his father, but his dad had been Joe's best friend. They had both lost a lot the day John died.

"Thanks, Joe."

"You got it, son. And listen…..I don't know where you are right now, but I'd say it's probably a good idea to try to say concealed until we get this settled. It won't be safe for either one of you to be out in the open."

"Copy that," Steve said. "I need to check on a couple of things in the office anyway, so we'll head there before going back home. Why don't you come over around 7 and we'll grill some steaks."

"Sounds good. See you then."

"And Joe?-Let's not say anything to Catherine about this yet, okay?"

"I agree. She doesn't need to know yet."

They ended the call and Steve made his way to Catherine. The excuse he came up with for leaving the beach may not have been entirely plausible, but Catherine didn't seem to notice….Much to Steve's relief.

Within a few minutes, they had Steve's truck loaded up and were on their way back to HQ.