Catherine was roused from her sleep as she felt Eddie giving her doggie kisses on her cheek and heard a familiar voice calling from downstairs.
"Cath….It's me. Just wanted to tell you I'm here."
"Kamekona?" she answered as she got up and pulled Steve's sweatshirt on over her shorts and tank top. She couldn't help but take a whiff of the "Steve smell" on the sweatshirt as it passed over her head; A mixture of soap, sand, and all man.
She smiled.
"Yes! Hey, I brought loco moco from Rainbow if you feel like breakfast."
She appeared at the top of the steps with a big smile. "You are the best!"
Kame smiled back and she descended the stairs. "Well, I would have brought you some of my spicy shrimp but I figured it was too early for that."
Catherine gave him a big hug before going into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. "Breakfast from Rainbow is perfect. Thank you!" She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek and watched as he blushed.
Within minutes, they were sitting outside eating breakfast as Eddie ran into the surf for a morning swim.
"How you doin', sistah?"
Catherine took a sip of her coffee. "I'm okay," she said with more confidence than she felt. "Getting a little better every day. I'll be fine."
Kame caught the subtle hitch in her voice as she said those words and looked doubtful before smiling and shaking his head. "That's why McGarrett loves you."
Catherine was surprised at his comment as her brows creased curiously. "What do you mean?"
"You are his other half. You know that right? Between you and me….. he's been a mess since you've been gone. I hate like hell what happened to you, but I know things are gonna be okay now that you're back. You two belong together."
Catherine felt a lump in her throat as she turned away to look at Eddie still swimming happily in the waves before them. "Thanks, Kame." She whispered. "It's good to be home."
"Maybe this time is for good." When Catherine turned back towards him, he was looking out at the waves with a confident smile on his face.
She felt a sense of belonging wash over her. The same sentiment she felt every time she was back in Hawaii and amongst the Five-0 family. Thinking back over the years she and Steve had known each other, she wasn't surprised at the family he had created for himself: Steve was a born leader and the stereo-typical 'alpha male'. That personality and drive were what had made him a natural as a Navy SEAL as he worked his way up the ranks to become a Commander.
But he also had a heart as big as the ocean. That was a part of him she had seen that few others had witnessed because of the protective walls he kept around his heart. Since moving to Hawaii, Danny had seen that side of him as had the rest of the team he'd built around him. Realistically, Steve McGarrett wasn't the hard ass that most people saw him to be. No, there was much more to him than that. He cared about people…..and whoever made it into his ohana was there for life.
"Yeah, maybe this time is for good." She grinned back. "Ummmm…..I'm just gonna go in for a bit. Will you get Eddie dried off please? And maybe get him something to eat?"
Kame stood up before reaching out to help Catherine up as well. "No worries. I'll take care of it."
Catherine was almost inside when she turned back to Kamekona. "Kame…Do you know where Steve went? I mean, why did he call you to come over?"
Kame shrugged but Catherine knew him well enough to know he wasn't being honest with her. "Just said he had a case this morning and didn't want you to be alone."
Catherine smirked. "Yeah, okay…. See you in a few," she said before turning and making her way inside. She poured herself another cup of coffee and made her way upstairs.
Eddie picked that moment to saunter up beside Kame and shake the excess water from his coat before sitting down at his feet. Kamekona grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and dried him off before Eddie looked up and barked.
Kamekona grimaced. "I know, boy. Gotta keep an eye on her. McGarrett would never forgive us if something happened to her."
Eddie barked again.
"Okay…..you go look after her and I'll clean up. Deal?"
Seeming to understand, Eddie walked into the house and made his way upstairs to look for Catherine.
*******************h50**************h50***********************h50
Joe took the driver's seat in the SUV while Marty rode shotgun beside him and Steve climbed in the back to be beside Barkov. It was probably one of the few times Joe could remember Steve ever letting anyone else drive; It spoke to the focus he had on Sergi Barkov and how much he wanted revenge.
"Mind telling me where we're you're taking me, Commander McGarrett?" Barkov asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," Steve answered as he kept a gun pointed at the man's chest.
Fifteen minutes of complete silence later, Joe pulled pushed a remote in the SUV that opened a gate. They made their way up a long driveway and stopped in front of an impressive house. Doris stepped out onto the front porch and waited for them to exit.
Looking towards Marty, Steve said, "Keep an eye on him. I'll be right back."
Marty nodded and moved to point his own gun towards Barkov. As he did so, the smug look on the man's face was enough to get his blood boiling again thinking about what he'd done to Catherine…..and what he would be willing to do if anything similar ever happened to his sweet Danielle. That….and the fact that he and Steve were brothers explained why he was willing to walk through whatever was getting ready to happen.
Joe and Steve stepped out of the vehicle and approached Doris.
"Everything set?" Steve asked her.
She nodded her head. "Just like you asked, but I have to warn you…"
"About what?"
"Son, are you sure you want to do this? Turning him over to the Jiang's could come back on you. You should let one of my contacts take him into custody."
Steve's jaw twitched in anger. "Turn him over to the CIA? What are you kidding me? You know what he did to Catherine, Mom."
Doris held her hands up. "I know…I know….and I understand that you want some time with him right now, but if anyone finds out you had him and then turned him over to a Chinese cartel…"
"No one will find out," Steve interrupted. "The only people who even know about this are you, Joe, and Joker. Now show me where we're taking him."
Knowing how stubborn Steve could be, Doris gave in and moved inside the house to give them a quick layout of the place. Looking at her watch, she said, "You have an hour….Maybe two…..before they'll be here."
"That's all the time I need."
He went back outside, pulled Barkov out of the car and all but dragged him into the house where he took him to a large bedroom suite, and tied him to a chair before turning towards the others.
"Leave me alone with him."
They filed out of the room one by one….each silently hoping Steve didn't go so far as to kill him. None of them would blame him if it happened, but the complications it could cause wouldn't be welcomed; especially considering he had promised Barkov to the one person on the planet who probably hated him more than Steve.
Moments later, the trio could hear the unmistakable sounds of the "interrogation" happening between Steve and Sergi Barkov.
*************************h50************************h50***********************h50
Catherine heard Eddie barely scratching at the bathroom door, so she opened it to find him waiting anxiously for her. She smiled and leaned down to scratch him behind an ear.
"Come on in, boy. Are you being my protector today?"
Eddie immediately sauntered into the bathroom where he plopped down at her feet by the sink as Catherine began to brush her teeth….Then her hair. She opened the cabinet and found Steve had restocked her favorite skincare regimen before smiling to herself.
"He really thought of everything, didn't he Eddie?"
Eddie looked up at her and wagged his tail in agreement.
Pulling the serum, eye cream, and her favorite face cream out of the cabinet, she applied them all and then got dressed.
"I guess we better go check on Kame, huh?"
Eddie barked in reply.
As she started down the upstairs hallway toward the stairs, Catherine overheard Kamekona on a call and couldn't stop herself from eavesdropping; especially since the conversation seemed to involve her.
"Yeah, she's good. I brought breakfast and now she's upstairs doing something."
There was a pause….
"Tell McGarrett no worries, brothah…..I've got this. Just tell him to get the sonofabitch for ALL of us."
A few more seconds and he ended the call just as Cath made her way downstairs. Kame turned around and offered her a welcoming smile.
"Feel better, sistah?"
"Yes….much better. Now tell me what that was about."
Kame gave her what he hoped was his most innocent look. "What what was about?"
Cath folded her arms in front of her and gave him her most 'I'm-Not-Buying-This-Crap' look in return.
Kame may have been three times her size but he couldn't help but squirm under her glare. What was it about the pint-sized women in Steve's life that made him such a sucker for their female interrogation tactics? Mary had been able to do the same thing to him several years prior the first time he'd met her and was supposed to 'babysit her' at Steve's request. That hadn't ended well for him and he had a feeling the same thing was going to happen again.
"Who were you talking to?" Cath said as she pointed to his phone. "You know what's going on….so spill."
Kame put his hands up in surrender. "Listen, McGarrett just asked me to come over and stay with you while he went out on a case. So that's what I'm here to do. How 'bout if we…"
"Kamekona!" she interrupted as she put a hand on her hip. "I'm not buying that…..and I'm not giving up until you tell me what the hell is going on."
Kame sighed and made his way to the couch where he sat down before looking back to her. "Listen, Catherine, you have to understand that I can't break a brothers trust. Right?"
Hearing him call her by her first name and seeing worried expression on his face, she felt herself give in to his situation. Steve was a protector; and after all she'd been through, she understood his need to make sure she was safe when he wasn't around. Especially since they knew Sergi Barkov was in Hawaii. However, that did nothing to quell her suspicion that something else was going on besides a 'regular case'."
She smiled softly before moving to Steve's favorite recliner and sitting down herself. Eddie once again made his way to her feet and sat down. She reached down to scratch him behind the ears again and felt her anxiety calm somewhat.
"I understand, Kame. I don't want you to break that trust….Really, I don't. So let me just ask you this: Does it have something to do with Barkov?"
The look on his face told her everything she needed to know.
She sat up straighter. "Is Steve okay?"
Sensing her anxiety level increasing Kamekona assured her, "He's fine….He's fine. I just talked to Marty."
Catherine's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Daniels?"
Kame shook his head. "Yep…..a member of his team, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, all I know is that Steve, Marty, and Joe have Barkov somewhere. Marty said you won't ever have to worry about him again. He just called me to check on you because McGarrett wanted to know I'd made it here okay. I swear to God, that's all I know sistah."
Catherine willed herself not to feel the panic she felt welling up in her stomach. Barkov's name alone was enough to trigger feelings of fear. Instead of giving in to the negative emotions, she stood up and walked to Kame to give him a hug. "Thanks, buddy. I promise I won't tell Steve that you told me anything."
Reaching into the table beside the couch she pulled out a deck of cards. "How about a game?"
Kamekona smiled. "What do you have in mind?"
"How 'bout poker? You any good?"
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Been awhile I know….This pandemic coupled with homeschooling my kids through the end of the school year and then finding our place when there is nowhere we can go has been a struggle.
I'm also trying to find where to take this story next. WOULD LOVE TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS…Especially from those who have followed me for several years. What do you think should happen next?