THROWING DARTS

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

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CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

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MCGARRETT HOUSE - AUGUST 8, 2020 - 1930 HOURS

"Just a few more steps." Steve grinned as he led Catherine through the yard onto the sand.

Catherine giggled as she hesitantly walked towards him. She gripped onto his hands as he led her blindly. "I smell steak." She smiled. "Can I take the blindfold off yet?"

"No." Steve chuckled as he glanced behind him, "Not quite yet."

Catherine carefully followed him, but stumbled on a patch of grass. "Ah!" She squealed as she fell towards Steve. He caught her in his arms and snaked them around her waist.

"Alright." He murmured as he steadied her. His body was pressed against hers as he tugged the blindfold off and lovingly smoothed out her hair.

Catherine looked around, "Steaks on the beach… red wine…" She smiled, "Is this why you made me pull that old coral dress out of the back of my closet and put it on?"

Steve's hands found her hips as he leaned in to give her a tantalizingly slow kiss. "You remember?" Her fingertips trailed up the front of his blue button up shirt and rested squarely on his chest.

"Of course I remembered." She smiled, "It was the first time we actually had dinner after you moved back to the island." Her eyelids lowered as she stared at his lips. "Of course… we did a lot of things after dinner that night." A playful smirk twisted up on the corners of her lips.

Steve nuzzled his nose against hers as his lips hovered just a breath away, "We're celebrating tonight." One hand tangled in the back of her hair while the other rested on the side of her ribs.

Catherine closed the space between them and nipped at his lower lip. She gently rolled it between her teeth before leaning in and grabbing at the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. "Well, Commander." Her sultry voice only made him want to ignore the steaks even more. "You know how I like to celebrate things."

He suddenly looked like a kid in a candy store. "Oh, oh, oh." He laughed as he swept her off of her feet and jogged to the blanket he had spread out on the sand. Catherine squealed and laughed in delight as he laid her back on the blanket and crawled over her body. "C'mere." He murmured with a grin as he kissed across the swell of the top of her cleavage. His hand slipped underneath her dress and trailed along the edge of her panties. He nipped and kissed up her neck as Catherine's eyes fluttered shut. She moaned in delight as she felt his body pressed against hers.

After weeks of physical therapy, Catherine was finally free of her casts, slings, and bandages. A three inch scar on her thigh was the only visible remnant of her time in captivity in Spain. Her wrist and broken arm had healed, and she had been cleared for light physical activity. Catherine had been hesitant to let go of the protective shell of her cast. Steve, on the other hand, had been not-so patiently waiting for his wife to be healed. Prior to the last few months, he had never once thought about what it would be like for Catherine to be pregnant, but watching her body change as their baby grew, only increased his affection and attraction to her. "You're so beautiful." He mumbled against her skin.

Catherine giggled and slowly sat up, resting back on her elbows. "You're just saying that because I've gone up a cup size."

Steve smirked and kissed her lips, "I'm not complaining." He laughed. His eyes roamed across her body. "You're beautiful, Cath." He rolled off of her and faced her, laying on his side with his elbow as a prop. He rested his hand on her belly and pressed a loving kiss on her forehead. "You hungry?"

Catherine nodded and smiled, "Starving." Steve hopped up and pulled the steaks off the grill. He poured their drinks and handed her a glass. "Steve, you know I can't have alcohol…"

"It's sparkling grape juice." He grinned.

She blushed and took a sip, "I love being pregnant, but I miss wine… and coffee… but mostly wine." She laughed.

Steve walked back to the blanket with their plates piled to the brim. They sat in a happy silence as they gorged themselves on dinner. After a while, Catherine set her plate aside and exhaled, "I don't think I've ever eaten that much in my life!"

He smirked, "Told you. Best steak on the island."

"Ten years and I still haven't had one better." She smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. "So how was the first week at work? Think you'll like the new job?"

Steve nodded, "It was, uh…. Good. Different." He shrugged, "But good." A speculative smile flickered across his face. "I kinda miss the team though." He admitted. "It's weird sitting in an office and not looking over and seeing Danny or Grover or the kids." He shrugged.

"You know, Tani texted me and asked why you didn't go out for drinks with them on Thursday. She said they invited you to meet up with them at Rumfire." She smiled softly, "They miss you."

"I know." He sighed. "I just wanna give them a little space for a while.. You know, so they can get settled into whatever the new dynamic is over there." He pecked her lips. "And, I, uh… I miss you a lot when I'm at work…" He smiled bashfully.

Catherine nodded. "Makes sense. But they're your family too." She smiled. "You should invite them over here sometime. For dinner or something."

Steve moved and sat behind her so that she could rest against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his hands protectively over her belly. "It's kinda strange coming home after work and actually, uh, actually having energy." He chuckled. "You know? Not going straight to bed because I spent all day running around Honolulu…" He kissed the top of her head. "I got Mary's old room cleared out." He mumbled into her hair. "Just let me know when you pick out a paint color and I'll get it done."

"Mmmkay." Catherine nodded as she closed her eyes and relaxed into his arms.

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MCGARRETT HOUSE - AUGUST 8, 2020 - 2200 HOURS

"You talk to your mom lately?" Steve asked as they stood side by side at the bathroom sink, brushing their teeth.

Catherine nodded as she patted her mouth dry with a towel and walked over to her side of the bed. "Yeah. Talked to her this morning."

Steve grinned, "Is she, uh, is she going nuts about finally being a grandma."

"Something like that." Catherine laughed. "You know how she is."

He pecked her lips as he turned out the light and slid under the covers. "You wanna try and go see them before we get too close to your due date?"

Catherine stared into the darkness as she pursed her lips, "You probably shouldn't be taking time off of work so soon…"

Steve shrugged, "I'm part-time. They're flexible." He rolled over and pulled her closer to his body. "You okay?" He mumbled. "You're tense." He ghosted his hand up her arm and gently massaged her shoulder.

Catherine relaxed at his touch and curled into his embrace. "Everything's perfect." She smiled.

"I love you, you know." He placed a soft kiss on her shoulder before laying his head back on the pillow.

"I love you too, Sailor." She smiled.

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MCGARRETT HOUSE - AUGUST 9, 2020 - 0600 HOURS

Steve silently snuck through the kitchen as he flipped on the coffee maker and walked out onto the patio. He felt a light vibration and tugged his phone out of his pocket. MISSED CALL - Evelyn Rollins. Steve quickly tapped his mother-in-law's name and called her back.

"Steve! How's my favorite son-in-law." Evelyn laughed as she answered the phone.

Steve chuckled quietly as he walked back inside and poured himself a cup of coffee, "I'm good, Evelyn. How are you and the Admiral?"

"Oh you know us. We're old, but we're still kickin'." She laughed. "I'm sorry to bother you, I know it's early there, but I had it on my calendar that you and Catherine returned from the honeymoon yesterday and just wanted to call and check in on you two since I hadn't heard from you since the wedding. I hope you had a nice time abroad. How was your trip?"

Steve stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen. Mrs. Rollins didn't know they came home weeks early? She hadn't heard from them since the wedding? He cleared his throat and forced a pleasant tone, "We had a nice time. It was good to travel outside of work." He chuckled. "I, uh, I've got another call coming in, but I'll have Cath give you a call when she wakes up, okay?"

"Alrighty, dear. You stay safe, okay? Talk to you soon!" Evelyn's cheery disposition did nothing to quell the anger boiling inside of him as he hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Catherine asked as she quietly tiptoed down the stairs.

Steve stared at the blank screen on his phone as he gritted his teeth. "Your mom called." He stated coldly. "She wanted to make sure we got back okay from our honeymoon…. Yesterday." Catherine stopped dead in her tracks and pursed her lips, just waiting for the explosion that was no doubt, seconds away. Steve closed his eyes and exhaled slowly as he pushed away from the kitchen counter. "You wanna explain why you lied to me multiple times?" He hissed.

"Steve…." Catherine looked down at her hands.

"Catherine, you lied to me." The tone of his voice wasn't angry so much as hurt.

She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down. "I know."

Steve crossed his arms as his jaw stayed locked. "That's it? You know? You don't think I'm owed an explanation?"

Catherine opened her mouth to defend herself, but nothing came out. Damn it. If there was a pageant for self-sabotage, she'd be crowned the winner by a long shot. This was Steve for goodness sakes! Why couldn't she just let her walls down enough to let him in?! It wasn't 1998 on the Enterprise with her commanding officer anymore. It was twenty fucking years later and he was her husband.

As if he could read the torment on her face, he pushed aside his hurt and looked her in the eye with contrition. "Cath, what's going on?" He asked kindly as he sat down at the table and sighed, reaching across to place his hand on top of hers. "You told me you called your folks from Barcelona to tell them about the baby… you said you called her from the Navy hospital at Rota to tell them you were okay…" He shook his head, "I don't understand." He chuckled dryly in disbelief. "You told me last night that you talked to your mom yesterday morning."

Catherine nervously trailed her fingertips across the top of her bump. "When we went wedding dress shopping in Houston, I kind of had a meltdown and told her how scared I was about getting pregnant after what happened a couple years ago…" She looked down. "I just couldn't deal with the thought of her constantly checking in and asking questions and being, well…. You know how my mom is. Just the thought of it made me freak out…" She shook her head, "It's stupid, I know…" Catherine sighed and finally looked up in his eyes, "I just needed a little time to get used to being pregnant and having someone else's life in my care...I just wanted to figure things out and not be a total wreck when I told her." She watched as Steve nodded silently. "And then everything that happened with Coen…. Steve, I'm their only child. They don't know about how many close calls I've had in the Navy and with Five-0 and the CIA... I have never told them about an injury or hospitalization. I can't bear putting that kind of stress or fear on them." Tears rolled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and laughed in exasperation, "God, I hate how hormonal I am! I know it's all stupid and it makes me crazy!"

Steve's endearing, lopsided smirk returned to his face as he knelt in front of her chair and brushed her tears away with his thumb. "None of that is stupid and none of it makes you crazy." He chuckled and took her hand, leading her out to the lanai. "Remember that night on the Enterprise when you and I were sitting in the fantail talking after my last shift before BUD/s?" He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked down to the weathered beach chairs. "We were joking about you becoming my C.O. because you were obviously, uh, way better at intel than I was...and then I put my foot in my mouth and told you I'd be okay with that because I'd like a C.O. that looked like you… Do you, uh, do you remember what you told me?"

Catherine smiled as she eased into the chair, "I told you that it was okay. And that sometimes the Navy forgets that we're human beings...not robots."

"And then you told me that it's okay to, uh, to have feelings like a human being." He chuckled as he sat in the chair beside her. "You tell her when you're ready. Look, we don't have to ever talk about what happened with Coen if you don't want to, but Cath...I'm here for you… You have to know that!" He sighed, "And I can keep everything that happened in Spain from your parents, but the baby? Cath, I think they'd, uh, they would really like to know that they're gonna be grandparents. I think it'd help you to know that you've got them on your side and that you don't have to, uh, have to hide from them."

Catherine nodded. "I'll call her today." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "I promise."

Steve looked out at the waves as a cynical thought crept into his mind, "Can I be honest with you?" He watched as her brow furrowed in concern as she nodded. "I'm worried you're gonna leave. It scares the hell outta me, Cath." He rubbed his palm over his mouth and stroked the thick stubble growing in on his jaw, "I'm worried that one day I'm gonna come home from work and you're gonna be sitting on the front step with a duffle bag."

Catherine gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm not going anywhere, Sailor." She pushed herself out of the chair, took a few steps over and made herself comfortable on his lap. Steve's hand found its way to her growing baby bump and held her protectively. "I know that wedding vows don't change what I did and how much I betrayed you, but I promise you…" Her voice cracked as emotions began to bubble up, "I promise you I'm not going anywhere."

Steve kissed her temple and rested his forehead in the crook of her neck. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too." Catherine smiled.

Steve brushed her hair to one side and closed his eyes as he pressed a kiss on the nape of her neck and murmured against her skin. "I'm sorry it took me so long to say it. I'm sorry I don't say it more. But I do, Catherine… I love you. Don't ever doubt it."

Catherine held his jaw in her hands and fixed his gaze on her face, "I've never doubted it for a second."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I don't have anything to say down here today, but if you leave me some questions in the reviews, I'll do some reader shoutouts and answer your questions before I go on hiatus!

XO,

-Mags-

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