AN: Aloha! This is my attempt to pay tribute to the characters of Hawaii Five O, especially Steve McGarrett. I really really hope that Steve gets his happy ending with Catherine. He has been through a lot and he deserves it so so much! What do you think about the finale? Is a happy ending for McRoll possible? I am really curious what you guys think!
I am not saying goodbye just yet, because I will continue writing fanfictions about McRoll. So, I hope you enjoy this piece. It's a little cheesy at the end, but whatever haha. Feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated. Stay fit and healthy!
He felt like he could breath again, when O'ahu got smaller and smaller through the window of the plane he was sitting in. It wasn't until he couldn't see it anymore, because they were above the clouds that he leaned back into his seat and sighed deeply. Hawai'i had always been his home, he had grown up here, he had spent most of his life there. He had dedicated 10 years of his life to the island, trying to make it a better place. And that had always felt so right, it had always felt like he was right where he belonged, in spite of many setbacks and deep hits. But lately it didn't anymore, he felt lost and exhausted - mentally as well as physically.
He plopped his headphones in, because he wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while. There has been such a chaos in his mind for weeks now, maybe even for months or years. When he had returned to O'ahu roughly 10 years ago, he could have never in a million years imagined what the island would hold in store for him. He had mainly come back for his father's funeral. Even though they had become estranged, John was still his father and he regretted it to this day that they never had a real talk after his dad had sent him away. But he had made his peace with it - as far as that was possible.
Another reason why he had left the Navy and accepted the governor's job offer so fast was the death of his best friend Freddy, but he only realized that further down the line. Freddy was, aside from Danny and Catherine, the only person he ever really let in. Freddy's daughter would turn ten this year and it still made his heart ache that Freddy couldn't be there for that. All the man had ever wanted to be was a father and he didn't get the chance to be that. He had given his life to save Steve's, something Steve would have done too, without hesistation, if it had been the other way around. And after years of feeling guilty and ashamed for having made it out alive, it had made him appreciate being alive even more.
The stewardess brought him a glass of water and he thanked her with a small smile. That's when he first raised his eyes and checked out all the different people that were sitting in this plane with him. A couple of about 30 years with a baby of maybe 2 years caught his attention. The little girl was sitting on the man's lap, watching her parents' lightful conversation with curious eyes. It warmed his heart to see that; a soft smile graced his face. Somehow that made him think of Kono and he wondered where she might be on this planet right now. He had last talked to her a few months ago; she was still hunting down sex traffickers. She had always wanted to have kids of her own and he really hoped that one day she would be selfish enough to live for herself and make that dream, amongst others, come true. That was something he had always put second. The job had always come first.
His thoughts wandered to Chin, who had found a home in San Fransico. His task force seemed to be quite popular on the mainland. Steve granted both Kono and Chin their success, after all they were two of the best detectives he had ever worked with. And though he found they had left an unfillable hole in the Five O task force, he understood that they had to move on. He himself slowly came to realize that there were other things out there. More important ones..maybe. He didn't regret any of his choices really, he was glad to have served his country, first in the Navy and than also as a member of the Five O task force. But it wasn't enough anymore.
He took a sip from his water and turned towards the window. The clouds looked like fluffy balls one could walk on and just like he did when he had still been a little kid, he imagined what it would feel like to do just that. Though he knew that technically it wasn't possible, he had always felt that one would feel pretty free and careless, if it was indeed possible to jump from cloud to cloud. That's why he had always liked to parachute. He had always felt so incredibly free, everything had felt so easy. The world was small and all the problems seemed to be small, too.
The last ten years had been a hell of a ride for him. He had lost more people than he had ever considered possible to lose in a decade. First Freddy and his dad. Then his mother returned from "the death", but was never really a part of his life until she had died a few months ago. He loved her and he would have liked nothing more than for her to be a part of his life, but he was also feeling a bit fed up. There were all those lies she had told him over the years, all those secrets and the mystery. He really could have refrained from all that drama.
And then about a year and a half ago, Joe White, his mentor and a father figure had died, too. And once again, he had been the only one to get out alive, because Joe had taken the bullet for him. It was only at Catherine's comment that that was exactly what one would do for the people one loves that he slowly got rid of those feelings of guilt. Through this time Catherine had been there with him every step of the way. She had not only helped him avenge Joe's death, but she had also held him when he would wake up from terrible nightmares. However, he really missed the man and especially in the past few weeks he would have loved to rely on the old man's advice.
In the last decade he also got to meet truly fantastic people. Kono and Chin of course, but also Max, Jerry, Noelani, Adam and Quinn. All of them had given him the family he never really had, an ohana. Lou too, of course. They really couldn't stand each other in the beginning and letting felons go to save Catherine all whilst pointing his gun at Grover definitely didn't help that. But this competitive relationship had developed into a friendship he had really come to cherish. And Tani and Junior, who were, for some reason he wasn't quite sure about, like grown up kids to him, Danny and Lou. Maybe it was because of the age difference or because of the fact that they had only been a part of his task force for two years, but either way he really liked being a father figure to them. He never really considered having a kid as something he might wanna have - well, he did, once. 5 years ago, as he was planning to propose to Catherine. But the idea left him as soon as she walked out of the door again. He might not have wanted to admit it back than, but the only person he truly wanted to be with, the only person he could imagine doing all that marriage and kids stuff with, was Catherine. He took another sip from his water and his lips curled up slightly, when he thought of his destination.
He knew that for now, the Five O task force was in good hands. Danny had proved many times that Steve could rely on him, he was the only one who had been with him from the very beginning. He was the first he had recruited as a member of Five O and 10 years later he was still by his side. The man was the reason he was still alive today and even though he has always had problems showing that gratitude, he was extremely grateful. And he knew Danny knew that too. Danny truly was his best friend and the brother he never had.
A feeling of gratitude began to settle in Steve's stomach and he closed his eyes. Of course, the last decade had been everything but easy, honestly his whole life had been everything but easy, but he was grateful for it all. For all the people he got to know, for all the things he learned and for all the adventures he had. He smiled to himself. In spite of set backs and deep hits and many losses, he was still here and he still had some fight left in him. But for now, he didn't want to be a fighter any longer.
About 20 hours later, of which he spent the last eight hours sleeping, the plane had landed at the right destination. For the first time in months he didn't feel as exhausted. As he got out of the plane, he spotted the little family he had already noticed before, again. The girl was sleeping in her mother's arms, she looked incredibly peaceful. He was feeling quite peaceful himself and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. Steve couldn't really remember the last time he had felt this relaxed, but that wasn't exactly surprising with his job.
He picked up his luggage and when he exited the airport, a squall of heat and dryness greeted him - it was really different from Hawai'i. But that was exactly what he needed. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. And there she was. With a thin summer dress, depicting all kinds of flowers, a cute pair of sunglasses and sandals, she looked like the average tourist. But to him, she was so much more. Her dark hair was a lot shorter than it had been in years. Long story short: she was stunning. She was leaning against the blue corvette - something that had stayed the same even after all those years. But that wasn't the only thing that hadn't changed after almost 20 years of knowing each other.
"So Mumbai, huh?" she asked, when she spotted him standing just a few feet away. She was smiling at him, when she removed the sun glasses from her nose.
"Well, we wanted to meet halfway, right?" he replied and finally started making his way in her direction. She met him halfway and tossed her arms around his neck, before she fell into his arms. As their lips met for a kiss, he lifted up her feet from the ground and twirled her around. She squeaked in surprise and he couldn't help but smile into the kiss. When he placed her feet on the ground again, their eyes locked and they were both grinning from ear to ear.
"I am glad you are here." she whispered softly and he nodded. He was, too.
And he couldn't believe they were here now, after all those years. Almost eight years ago they had promised to meet halfway, here in Mumbai, but they never made it happen. And now, almost a decade later they were here. After everything they have been through, it felt like they made it. Finally. The chaos in his mind seemed to clear up, as Joe's words were ringing in his head. Don't wait as long as I did to find someone.
Of course he just had to hold the door open for her to get inside. She rolled her eyes at him, but he knew as well as she did that she loved it when he was a gentlemen and held the door open for her. He then got in at the passenger site, not even bothering to ask whether or not he could drive, and they slowly drove off. Her ease brought a known, but long forgotten, comfort. She smiled at him and he knew that this had been the right decision. For once in his life he was going to be selfish. He wasn't going to be a fighter any longer, he was going to be a lover. And so much more. He didn't exactly knew where they were headed, he had no idea where they would end up, but he was more than ready to start this new chapter with her.