WOW! As I post this we are at 101 reviews for this story! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and especially those who are reviewing - your comments and feedback mean a lot to me and I really hope you will all continue to enjoy the story.

So, I'm posting this chapter earlier than usual because in order to stay on my posting schedule I will have to post a second chapter today, also. I hope you won't mind too much. I chose to post chapters 10 and 11 on the same day because they're both on the shorter side and between the two of them you'll get a nice big dose of McRoll. Today's second chapter will be up later in the afternoon - I hope you'll enjoy both of them!

Endgame
Chapter 10

Sidestreet Inn
Friday, 1950 hours

Steve and Catherine were the first to arrive for the team dinner and were shown to a table set for a party of nine. Just after they'd ordered their first round of drinks Kono and Adam arrived closely followed by Chin and Abby. Lou and his wife Renee were a few minutes behind them and Danny was the last to arrive, having needed time to drop Charlie off at Rachel's. He was solo because Melissa had been unable to attend.

Once all their beverages had been served Steve raised his glass in a toast.

"To Catherine. Welcome back." He locked eyes with her and smiled as he took a sip to a chorus of 'hear hear' from everyone else present. He hoped she knew it wasn't just a welcome back to Oahu, but into his life as well.

The group was in no rush so took their time enjoying shared appetizers and placing their dinner orders. Steve and Catherine were deep in conversation with Kono and Adam, who were seated across from them, when Danny stepped behind their chairs and they turned to look at him.

"Hey partner, what's up?" Steve asked.

"I'm uh, heading up to the bar, you need a refill?"

"Uh…" Steve wondered why his partner didn't just order from their server, but figured he'd let it play out. "Yeah, we could use a refill. Thanks, Danny."

"You're welcome. Catherine, why don't you come for a walk?"

So that's what Danny is up to. Placing a gentle hand on Steve's thigh and exchanging a look with him Catherine placed her napkin on the table and rose.

"Anyone else need a refill?" Danny asked the group but there were no takers.

He held out his arm for Catherine to go ahead of him and followed her to the bar. Figuring he wanted to talk she chose a less-occupied corner and waited while he got the bartender's attention and placed the order before rejoining her.

"I uh… I didn't want to make this an official toast but thought I should add on to Steve's," he said, "thank you for making him so happy."

"Awww, Danny," she replied, "that's so sweet. But you know he makes me happy, too."

"No, I know he does," he assured her, giving her hand a friendly squeeze. "Listen, Cath, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay," she said, drawing out the word a little bit. "What's on your mind, Danny?"

"Uh, the last conversation we had before you left."

"Yeah," Catherine said, thinking back to that day just about two years before, "I remember."

She'd been back on the island for a couple weeks, since just before Kono's wedding and had been so happy to be back, spending time with Steve. Out of the blue Danny had asked her to meet him at one of his favorite spots on the island, an isolated overlook with an amazing view.

"Steve has been very happy since you've been back," Danny had said.

"Me, too," she told him.

"That's good," Danny continued, "'cause I think that that's what he likes, when you are happy here, you know?"

"I am," she confirmed.

"Then don't leave again," he pleaded with her.

She shook her head – could Danny know she'd just received a call from the CIA? Was that possible? She cleared her throat. "Where did that come from?" She tried to redirect. "I… Does Steve know that you're here right now?"

"No, he does not," Danny told her, "and he would kill me if he did, so please don't tell him."

"Okay."

"Catherine, I'm just looking out for my boy, all right? When you left last time, he was hurt, pretty bad. Okay? He walked around trying to pretend like he wasn't, but I could see it."

Catherine's heart dropped, she'd known Steve must have been hurt when she stayed in Afghanistan but he'd never opened up to her about it, and to hear Danny confirm it… She hated so much that she had hurt him then. And she was agonizing over the knowledge that she was going to hurt him again if she couldn't negotiate her way out of the assignment she had just received from the CIA.

"He was suffering," Danny continued, "You know, you don't walk away from the kind of relationship that the two of you had. The relationship that you have."

She shook her head. Her mind was screaming 'I don't want to walk away from him Danny, but I don't know if I'll have a choice.' But she couldn't say that.

So, she said, "Look, I didn't mean to hurt him, Danny. Steve understood why I had to stay behind in Afghanistan. He knew that was really important to me."

"I know he understood it." Danny said gently, "That does not mean it didn't wreck him, you know?"

"Yeah," she said, sadly.

"Look, I-I have no idea what he was like before I met him, but I can tell you now that he is the best version of himself when you are around."

She wanted to scream 'That's because I love him and he loves me'. But she couldn't do that so she just smiled and said, "You're a good friend, Danny."

"Well, if it wasn't me standing here, it'd be Chin, it'd be Lou, it'd be Kono. Look, the point is this, all right? Last couple years, he's been through a lot, and I just, I just think he deserves to be happy."

She thought, 'You have no idea how much I want that, too'. But she couldn't discuss that with Danny so she simply agreed with him.

"So that's why I'm here. That's why I'm asking – are you gonna stick around for good?"

She had to look away. She didn't want to lie to Danny, but she couldn't tell him everything, either. So, she gave him an honest answer to a slightly different question. "There is nothing that I want more."

"You lied to me that day," Danny said, bringing her out of her recollection.

She sighed, heavily. "Technically, Danny, I didn't," she said sadly and held up her hand to stop his interruption. "I'm sorry I misled you, but I never actually said I was staying," she clarified. "What I told you was I wanted nothing more than to stay. And that was the truth. I wanted that desperately. But I didn't have a choice. I was ordered to go and ordered not to tell Steve what I was doing or where I was going. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me?" she asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

Danny was quiet for a moment. "You and he have had a conversation about this?"

"Yes, we had a long talk about that day. He knows I never wanted to lie to him, but he understands about orders."

"So, why did you come back if you knew you would not be able to stay?"

She sighed. She and Steve had already made their peace with this, but she knew Danny deserved answers to his questions. "I really did want to go to Kono's wedding. But I didn't know whether Steve would want me here, and I didn't have the guts to ask him. So, I figured I would just show up and if it didn't go well I could always leave. But he was so excited to see me and it felt so good to be back here, with him. I hoped I'd be able to arrange it so I could stay, at least for a while, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

Danny watched her, assessing, before finally asking, bluntly. "Do you love him?'

"Yes," she answered, without hesitation. "More than anything, Danny. I never stopped loving him. And I never will."

Danny noticed the bartender approaching with their drinks so stepped over to the counter, laid the money down and thanked her. He handed one glass to Catherine and picked up the other two.

"Good," he told her. "That's good." He made eye contact and held her gaze. "Are you going to hurt him again?"

She looked away and fidgeted. "Danny, that's…" She didn't want to disclose details of her and Steve's personal lives, but she understood that Danny loved Steve like a brother and was just looking out for his best interests. She sighed before meeting his gaze. "I hope not," she finally said. "He knows the truth about my job now, and he knows I can't just quit right away, which means I'll have to leave at some point and may be away for a while. But I promised him I won't ever leave without saying goodbye, and we'll keep in touch as much as possible while I'm gone, and when I'm not working I'll be here, spending as much time as possible with him. He says he'll be able to handle the long distance but I'm worried it will be harder than he thinks. So, we've talked about that. A lot. But he asked me to trust him and I do," she paused for a moment and looked Danny straight in the eye. "I really want this to work, Danny. I hope you believe that."

"I do, I do," he said after a few moments of contemplation. "And I apologize if I got a little, uh, personal with the questions."

Catherine smiled warmly at him. "It's okay, Danny. I know you're just looking out for Steve. And I appreciate knowing you're here for him if I can't be."

"Always," he agreed. "I would hug you but, uh…" he held up his arms, both hands full.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Should we head back?"

"After you," he told her.

She led the way back to the table and took her seat next to Steve while Danny placed his partner's drink on the table.

"Wow," Steve commented lightly, "that took a while, the bar pretty busy?" He'd tracked their progress across the restaurant and noticed them chatting while they waited. He'd guessed his partner had some questions for Catherine, and knew the blonde could get confrontational without meaning to.

"Yes, they are," Catherine told him. "But we had a nice conversation, so the wait didn't seem that long."

Just then their entrées arrived so Danny retook his seat. They enjoyed their meals, followed by dessert and a couple more rounds of drinks before finally heading home, hoping they wouldn't get a case and be called in to work before Monday.

In the truck on the way home Steve reached over for Catherine's hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "That was fun tonight," he commented.

"It was," she agreed, nodding.

"So, did you have a nice conversation with Danny?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could.

She laughed and looked over at him. "Yes, I did."

"Why is that funny?" he asked.

"It's not," she answered, "You are. You're always keeping an eye out, aren't you?"

"On you?" he replied seriously, "Absolutely."

She gazed at him in wonder for a moment and then said, "I love you."

He kissed her knuckles again but didn't reply until he stopped at a traffic light a minute later. He turned his head, leaned over the console and gave her a gentle, but meaningful kiss. "I love you, too."

It didn't take long for them to settle into a routine of domestic cohabitation. The first several days Catherine caught up on sleep while Steve went for his morning swim. Then he'd wake her when he returned, which typically ended in a leisurely round of lovemaking and then breakfast together before he left for work. Their morning ritual had been interrupted by a case only once but Steve had been able to come home for lunch that day to spend some time with her.

Catherine had enjoyed not being on the clock and after Steve left she would relax for a bit before going for a walk or run. When she returned home she would shower and read a book, or head out to do errands or just explore before meeting Steve for lunch or Kono if he wasn't available. As the days went on, though, she'd gotten tired of shopping and puttering around the house and had started binge watching TV she'd missed due to two years spent in the field. Steve came home one afternoon and found her on the sofa, engrossed in yet another television show and realized she probably needed something else to do to occupy her time. Since they were working a puzzling case it seemed like a perfect fit.

"Hey," he said, sitting down next to her and leaning over to give her a kiss.

She paused the show and turned to him, asking, "Hi, how was your day?"

"Okay," he told her. "We've got a case and could maybe use your help if you're up for it."

"Hmmm," she hummed, placing her index finger on her chin. "Does the gig pay well?"

"Depends what you're looking for," he told her, playing along.

"I might be willing to negotiate for some private, one-on-one time with the head of Five-0, I hear he's pretty hot," she teased with a smile. "Do you think that's maybe something he'd be interested in?"

Steve smoothly shifted Catherine so she was lying back on the couch and he was leaning over her. "That might be something I can arrange," he said huskily, leaning in so they were inches apart.

"Does he deal in sexual favors often?" she asked, running her tongue over her top lip then gently biting down on the bottom one.

"Only for certain people," he said, keeping up the game. He was having difficulty resisting her but he wanted to play a little longer.

"Oh?" she tilted her head. "Do you think he'd do it for me?" she asked, rolling her hips under his. When he closed his eyes and took a deep breath she wrapped her legs around him. "I can be very persuasive."

They were so close their noses bumped but he still hadn't kissed her. "Well," he said, his voice low and rough. "I guess it would depend on what you're asking for."

Catherine leaned up just enough to whisper in Steve's ear the words she knew would push him over the edge and they did. She smiled when he growled, stood, lifted her easily and carried her up the stairs, practically ripping the clothes from her body before throwing her on the bed and fulfilling her wish.

A/N: Danny and Catherine were due for a talk and it finally happened. I think Danny is handling everything well, trying to be supportive even though he's still a little concerned Steve could get hurt again. I don't think that's because he dislikes Catherine but rather just because he wants to protect his friend. It's still early in their reconciliation, though, and he'll come around eventually, right?