THROWING DARTS

Based on the Hawaii Five-0 Series Finale | Season 10 Episode 22: Aloha

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CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

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BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 10, 2020 - 2100 HOURS

"Steve, you don't have to do this." Catherine reminded him as she stepped out onto the balcony of their hotel room. She wrapped her arms around him and looked up at him. "I don't want you to make a rash decision just because I'm pregnant…"

Steve smiled and rubbed her arms as she shivered in the night air. "You might wanna put some pants on, Mrs. McGarrett." He chuckled as he ran his hand down the side of the SEAL t-shirt she had stolen from his bag. His fingertips trailed under the hem of the shirt and brushed across the thin fabric of her panties. "Or not." He smirked.

Catherine playfully swatted at his hand, "I'm being serious, McGarrett!" Her tone softened, "Don't make that call if you're not one hundred percent sure."

He tilted her chin up with his finger and kissed her gently, "I'm sure, Cath."

She gave him a doubtful look. "I don't want you to resent me…" She admitted.

Steve shook his head, "Even if we weren't married and you weren't pregnant, I don't know how much longer I would have stayed anyways… It's time." He smiled.

Catherine squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek, "Good luck."

As she closed the balcony doors, she smiled at the commanding sound of his business voice.

"This is Steve McGarrett calling for Governor Mahoe."

Catherine snuggled under the blankets on the bed as she listened to the muffled phone conversation that Steve was having on the balcony. Over the last few days he had decided that he was, in fact, going to leave the Five-0 task force and accept the job offer with the Veteran's Affairs office.

Although she was secretly overjoyed that he would have a job that was far less hazardous, she knew that he would miss the team. At their wedding, for the first time in ten years, every past and present member of Five-0 had been in the same place. They had watched as Adam and Kono danced together. Danny, Junior and Tani swapped stories with Chin and Abby. Grover introduced Quinn and Lincoln to Jerry, who enthralled them all with his newest conspiracy theories. Surprisingly, Lori Weston even made an appearance over a video call thanks to her roommate, Kono. Steve couldn't believe how big their ohana had grown since the early days of the "core four" in 2010. Although Steve loved them all, he had told Catherine that he was feeling a little lost with all new faces and missed the good ol' days. He felt that the task force was in more than capable hands. His growing family aside, Steve knew that it was time to hand it over to the next generation.

Catherine rolled over as she heard the balcony doors open and shut as Steve walked back in the room. "How'd it go?"

Steve sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well…It went well. She... she, uh, figured it was coming, so it wasn't really a, uh surprise…." His voice trailed off. "She wanted to pass along her congratulations since we're uh… expecting." He grinned sheepishly. "God, I still can't believe it." He reached over and caressed her belly, drawing small circles with his thumb.

"So you told the governor I'm pregnant before you told Danny?" Her eyebrows raised.

"Shit." Steve groaned.

Catherine smiled and handed him the phone that had fallen out of his pocket. "Call your other spouse." She joked.

He scooted back against the headboard of the bed as Catherine sat up beside him. Steve exhaled slowly. "Man, I'm nervous." He laughed as he called Danny. A few moments later, Danny's face appeared on the screen of his phone. "'Ay, man."

Danny smirked, "You, uh, you miss me already, babe?"

Steve chuckled, "Somethin' like that." He glanced over at Catherine and smiled. "I, uh, I got some news, buddy. You should go in my office and sit down."

"Your office?" Danny wrinkled his nose but did so anyways, receiving weird looks from the rest of the team as he cut through the bullpen and closed the door behind him. "What's, uh, what's going on?"

"Two things." Steve began. "First thing, is I,uh, I decided when Catherine and I get home from our honeymoon that I'm gonna retire." He paused as the information hit Danny. "So, uh, congrats." He chuckled, "You get the big office now."

Danny nodded for a moment, "I guess I saw that one coming, so not really a surprise….but, uh, what's the second thing?"

Steve grinned, "Catherine's pregnant. We're having a baby, man."

The largest smile Danny thought possible erupted on his face, "What?! You're serious?!"

"Totally serious." Catherine smiled.

Steve chuckled, "Hey, I'm sorry I'm not there to tell you all this in person, but, uh, I figured it be better to tell you sooner rather than later."

Danny paused for a moment before a thought crossed his mind, "You already called the governor and talked all this out, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Steve admitted.

Danny smirked, "And you were, uh, you were afraid she was gonna call me before you did, huh?"

Catherine giggled as Steve smiled sheepishly, "Pretty much."

"Well, hey, I am very happy for you both and I know Gracie will be thrilled to lend her babysitting services in a couple months." He grinned. "How you feelin', Catherine?"

Catherine smiled, "Pretty good…I'm just really tired all the time."

"You, uh, you sick yet?" Danny chuckled.

She shrugged, "A little, but it hasn't been too bad."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Lies. She's been livin' in the bathroom for a week." Catherine playfully punched him in the arm, "Okay, I guess I deserved that."

Danny glanced out the glass door to see the rest of the team hovering around the surface table, trying to seem as though they weren't staring. "So, uh, when are you gonna tell the rest of the peanut gallery? Cause they're uh, suspicious."

Steve glanced over at Catherine. She shrugged, "It's a little early, but you can if you want to." He tried to hide an eager smile, but Catherine knew he was dying to spread the good news. "Just tell 'em already." She smiled.

Danny exited Steve's office and connected his phone to the surface table. A second later, Steve and Catherine appeared on the large screen in the bullpen. "Hello from Barcelona!" Steve grinned. Catherine waved at everyone and smiled. "Look, guys, I, uh, I've got some things to tell you all and I wish I was there to, uh, to talk to you in person, but we're not planning on being back for a couple more weeks, so this is the best we can do for now." He chuckled.

Catherine slid her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze of support.

The team waited with baited breath as Steve began, "The first thing is, we love you and miss you all." He took a deep breath. "The second thing is that Catherine and I… we're uh, we're having a baby." He grinned. "Catherine's pregnant. We found out about a week ago." Squeals of joy and excitement erupted from the team as Steve gave them the news. After they quieted down he let out a nervous sigh, "The last thing is that when we come back from our honeymoon, I'm taking a job with the Veteran's Affairs office at Pearl." Even from 8,000 miles away, Steve could feel the oxygen get sucked out of the room at HQ. Catherine gently rubbed his arm in encouragement, "Look, I, uh… I know you all have questions and I'm more than happy to be transparent about whatever it is you want to know, so… just know my door's always open and uh, give me a call if you wanna talk." He forced a smile as he watched the shocked expressions of the team. "I'll talk to you all soon." He raised his hand and waved, "Aloha."

A few minutes later, Steve emerged from the bathroom and slid into the bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around Catherine's waist and pulled her back against his chest. He pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder blade before peering around her head to see the glow of her phone.

Catherine frowned as she checked her messages before setting her phone back on the bedside table. "Coen should've sent that dossier on Bastyr by now…" She muttered. "It's been over seventy-two hours."

Steve shrugged, "He's not exactly your biggest fan." He chuckled.

Catherine shook her head. "He's an asshole, but he's at least a punctual asshole… If he sets a deadline and doesn't come through, something's gone sideways."

"He is suspended... That may have slowed down his ability to get the file." Steve suggested as he yawned and closed his eyes.

"Maybe…" Catherine murmured as she drifted off to sleep.

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BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 11, 2020 - 1900 HOURS

The next day, Steve convinced Catherine to push Coen's tardiness aside and explore every inch of Barcelona. Catherine laughed as she pulled Steve down a twisting alleyway and ran down the cobblestones. Her long dress blew in the wind as they strolled through the Boqueria market, and surprisingly, the first whiff of food that morning had caused her stomach to rumble, rather than make her queasy.

Through their wanderlust, they had discovered a quaint restaurant right on the water, and Steve had promised to take her there for dinner, should she be feeling up to it. Catherine had promised that she would eat her weight in paella if she took a nap in the afternoon. So that's where they found themselves on that warm July evening: sharing a candlelit dinner on the edge of the Mediterannean sea.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were gonna destroy that paella." Steve chuckled as he sipped his beer.

Catherine smiled, "It feels like I haven't eaten in a month." She laughed. "Gotta make up for lost time."

Steve smirked as he reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "You know I wasn't bullshitting you when I told you that I fell in love with you the day I met you, right?"

Catherine laughed, "It's a little hard to believe considering it took something like a decade and a half to say 'I love you' to each other, but yes."

Steve chuckled, "Fair. Okay." His laugh turned into a soft smile, "I hope you know that waiting this long to marry you was the biggest mistake of my life… I uh, I shoulda done it a long time ago." Catherine shook her head to protest, but Steve raised his hand to signal that he wasn't finished yet. "I just want you to know that I plan on making it up to you every single day we have together from here on out."

Catherine smiled as she blushed, "I love you, Commander."

"I love you too, Lieutenant." He grinned. Steve looked down the edge of the beach where a large crowd of people were salsa dancing. "What do you say we go dancing?" His eyes went back to her face as he caught her in the middle of a yawn. "Tomorrow." He clarified with a chuckle.

"Commander Steve McGarrett wants to go dancing!?" She laughed.

"I'll for sure make a fool of myself." He grinned as he took her hand and left the restaurant, "But I know you'd like it and I'm willing to look like a clown if it makes you happy."

"I'd like that." She smiled. "The dancing, I mean… Not that you'd look like a clown."

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BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 11, 2020 - 2100 HOURS

Steve and Catherine made their way down the cobblestone streets as they worked their way back towards their hotel. Catherine brushed her hair to one side and glanced over her shoulder as they stepped into a narrow alley. Steve felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as their pace quickened.

Catherine plastered on a fake smile and pulled him in for a kiss in the middle of the street. She peered out of the corner of her eye and watched as the shadow disappeared into the side of the brick buildings. She laughed lightheartedly and kept walking with him, hand in hand. "You know what I was thinking about? That tall tale Freddie told us about that six pound bass he caught off the coast of North Carolina…" She giggled.

Steve winked at her, acknowledging that he got her message. They had a tail on their six. He grinned as he pulled her down another alley and doubled back the way they came, "Every time he told us about it, the fish got bigger and bigger." He chuckled as the shadow began following them again. "He must've told us that damn story, what… three times?"

Three times. Steve had seen the tail three times that night. "I think it was four if I remember correctly." Catherine smiled.

After an hour of backtracking, dipping into hidden alcoves, and making stops in stores that they had no need to go into, they finally made it back to their hotel. Steve locked the door and slid the deadbolt into place while Catherine secured the balcony doors and drew the curtains shut.

"Okay… what the hell?!" Catherine exclaimed as she flopped back on the bed in exhaustion.

Steve shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, "I don't like it…" He muttered. "Who the hell was that? Do you think it was Bastyr?"

Catherine shook her head, "Why would he tail us? If he wanted something from us, he had us both in one spot months ago in Prague… Why now? Why in Barcelona?"

"Love… Faith… Greed… Fear… Boredom… Revenge…" Steve rambled.

"What?" Catherine grumbled as she rubbed her eyes, fighting off the sleep.

Steve sat down on the bed beside her, "There are six reasons that anyone does anything." His jaw clenched as the next words came out of his mouth, "We just have to figure out which one motivates our ghost."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Two words: writer's block. (Hence why this chapter is being uploaded at 11:51 PM) The struggle was real today, but I can't wait to read your reviews on this chapter!

I'm off to bed so that I can hopefully write a better chapter tomorrow!

XO,

-Mags-

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