When they passed the entrance guard, she picked up a small trolley case from him. After they left the building, he looked around.
"Where's your car?"
"I came by taxi. There was no rental car available that met my needs. Also too short-noticed."
The phrasing irritated him, he didn't remember Sara as overly demanding, but he didn't comment on her. "Okay. My car is over there."
She followed him to his vehicle, where he held the door open for her, as she seemed to be struggling with getting on the seat of the pickup before he steered onto the highway.

When they got to his house, he led her around. They were interrupted by a call to Sara, who suggested to exchange their cellphone numbers so they could contact each other at any time during her stay. While he was grilling a few steaks and making a salad, she settled in his guest room. When she stepped out onto the terrace where he had laid the table, she had exchanged her uniform for a t-shirt and soft, long trousers.
It has already been obvious when she was still wearing work clothes, but now he noticed even more that Sara, who had been slim and trained at the time, had become skinny. She had loosened the hair bun, now the brown hair fell in waves over her back, which made her look even more delicate. Setting down the tray with the plates and the salad, he asked:"Isn't that too warm for you with these long trousers? First with the uniform and now this one?"
"I am no longer a pretty look with shorts. I haven't worn a skirt to my uniform for years", Sara said without emotion.
"Got wounded?"
"No, car accident." She picked up her knife and fork and started eating.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I just want you to be comfortable. This situation feels a little... weird."
"Mhm. Maybe later. For the time being, you can tell me why you are living in Hawaii again. Apparently for quite a while."
"You read my file?", Steve made sure.
"Cutouts. As I said, it's been a long flight. When Detective Williams said that he was working for a Steve McGarrett, I had to check who you were to decide if you'd get the information and how much. That's when I discovered that this McGarrett is you. This also explained why the NCIS is holding back. At least for the moment. Impressive career."
"I can see from the ribbons on your uniform that you didn't sit on your hands, either."
"That's probably true. Even if my career went a little different than I had planned."
They ate in silence for a while. Finally Steve put the cutlery away and leaned back in his chair. "I wasn't expecting to see you again. Why, Sara?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you just disappear then? You told me you had an offer to go straight to Norfolk, to the IWC. And two days later you suddenly vanished."
"I wrote to you. Multiple times. I was sent directly to a mission. I couldn't even relocate, fortunately I had already packed, they stored everything for me"
"I never received a letter from you."

Sara looked at him incredulously with wide eyes."I don't believe that. I made at least ten attempts to contact you. The place I've been had some issues with phone and internet. At the time anyway."
Steve shook his head slowly and clearly. "Nothing. No one. At some point I withdrew the request for a larger accommodation. I wanted to ask you if you want to move in with me." He saw Sara's hand shaking as she put the napkin down.
She swallowed hard. "The assignment lasted six months. From there I was sent somewhere else. I haven't been to the States in over a year. I waited forever for an answer. I thought you might also be traveling somewhere in the world and would only get mail with a delay. After not hearing from you all the time, I thought you might have met someone else. Someone who is on site," she added, still visibly stunned. "That's why I wasn't looking for you when I ... had the opportunity."
"I have. But much later. She was also Navy, we were together for a few years. I was about to ask her if she married me, but it shouldn't be."
"I'm sorry," Sara said with a genuine tone.
Steve stared at the sea for a moment, a few pictures of Catherine flew past his inner eye, then he turned back to her.
"But you were married?"
"Yes. About three years. On paper." That sounded strange, but Steve waited for her to explain it. Sara smiled little. "You're silence is still very eloquent. Robin also was in the military. Within these three years, more than one year one of us has been in action. Shortly after our second wedding anniversary, he and his unit were ambushed. "
"Where?"
"Iraq. He got lucky. A bullet in the leg and a few burns. Some of his comrades died. Physically, he recovered relatively soon." When she spoke again, the fear that had sparked her short break at Steve was confirmed. "He first developed feelings of guilt, then a PTSD. Like you can find in any textbook. It started with overreactions in stressful situations. Problems with too many people in a small space. He stopped using the elevator and stopped shopping. In the beginning he was given psychological care, which he broke off at some point. Without telling me. At that time I moved out of our bedroom. After the second attack in the middle of the night." Meanwhile Sara didn't look at him anymore, instead she stared at the sea, which was dark after sunset and glittered only on light crests. In the light of the two candles on the table he could barely see their facial features. She looked sad.
"He had flashbacks", Steve remarked quietly.
"Initially only while sleeping. Later also during the day. I tried several times to get him to start treatment again. At some point he started to ask me to separate from him so he could no longer endanger me. I resisted the idea for a long time, but at some point I went to get legal advice. The accident happened three weeks later."
"Wait, accident like in 'car accident'? You were out together?", Steve made sure.
"It was late in the evening. Robin picked me up from work, it was a long session. I hadn't really wanted him to drive, but that day he said he felt good, and that was my impression. The street was practically unlit. I was sitting in the passenger seat and - maybe you know this feeling - felt how his body tension changed. I spoke to him, but he didn't hear me."
"I think I know what you mean. He had a flashback at the wheel? "
"He drove faster and faster, then there was this turn in the road - and the slope. I was lucky there was another driver not far behind us who was watching the accident and notifying the rescue workers. I contracted a severe concussion and woke up in the hospital days later. With some broken bones and widowed. Robin broke his neck."