Pehea wau i ʻike ai i kou makuahine

Based on the characters and stories of Hawaii Five-0.

Hawaii Five-0 is owned by CBS and their respective creators.

"Dawkins was on his way to the airport when he saw our checkpoint and made a U-turn. He's in the H-3 tunnel headed into Halawa Valley." Kono rambled as she tracked the black vehicle from the traffic camera feed on her laptop. "Uh oh…."

Chin glanced at Steve as they raced down the highway, "Uh oh, what?"

Kono pressed the phone to her ear as she scanned the imagery. "We're about to lose traffic cam coverage in about... two seconds… He's gone." She groaned, "I'm sorry - there's no other cameras on that road."

"Aight." Steve ended the call with Kono as he racked his brain for an inkling of what to do. His eyes shifted across the road as an idea began to form. It was a long shot at best, but if she'd just answer his damn call…. He sighed, "Wait a sec." He swiped through his phone and hit the number he knew by heart.

Catherine glanced down at her desk as her phone began to vibrate across the surface. The picture of Steve's lopsided grin from the beach in Coronado flashed on the screen. She had been dodging his calls for a few days since leaving Pearl Harbor. Truth be told, she just wanted to give him a little space to get settled and get into somewhat of a routine. If he happened to get a little antsy and pull her closer, then so be it. Catherine slipped her bluetooth in her ear and hid her coy smile from her colleagues, "Why hello there, Sailor."

"Cath - I need your help." She had at least answered the phone. He wasn't taking chances on her hanging up before he had made his request. "I'm pursuing a suspect in a black Mercedes. He's headed west into Halawa Valley. Can you get me a visual?"

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. No 'hello'? Just an order? "You want me to access an IKON reconnaissance satellite for your car chase?"

"This guy's killed three people already today." He snapped.

Catherine sighed, "Uh, yeah. Look this could raise some flags."

Steve wasn't taking no for an answer. "Classify it as an NSA request from a black-ops dropbox. Okay? Come on, Cath, I need this." He'd used the NSA line with Commander Jameson when he asked Catherine out to the Army-Navy gala. Besides, since the Patriot Act was passed, nobody questioned shady NSA requests and the FISA courts were so backed up, no one was looking to put more paperwork on the pile.

"You know you're like the good looking guy from high school who knows how cute he is and just won't take 'no' for an answer." She shook her head as her fingers flew over the keys.

Steve smirked as Chin's jaw dropped.

"Alright. I've got your black Mercedes. I'm sending you the grid coordinates and imagery now."

Chin looked over at Steve in disbelief. Steve breathed a quiet sigh of relief that she hadn't told him to go screw himself while on speaker. "Thank you.. Thank you, thank you. Next leave, beers are on me. Okay?"

Catherine smiled, "Oh you are not getting off that easy."

Steve hung up before she said exactly what she was going to demand of him. No doubt it would be very detailed. Catherine's voice was the most innocent sound in the world, but when she joined him in between the sheets, things got X-rated incredibly fast.

Chin was still staring at Steve in awe, "I'm sorry - you got her to use a military recon satellite and then you made a date?"

"I'm a multitasker." He stated.

"Impressive." Chin waved his hand as Steve's phone beeped with the intel package from Catherine. He opened up the grid coordinates and formed a plan to catch Dawkins. As Steve floored it towards Makani Kai Aviation Chin cleared his throat, "So, uh, who is she?"

"Classified."

Chin closed the file folder of paperwork and slid it across his desk as Kono walked in. "Look." She began. "I'm sorry about the case today. I should've found a way to track the car other than using traffic cams and I panicked."

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Don't worry about it. McGarrett called in a favor and got the coordinates."

Kono wrinkled her nose. "A favor? With who?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Some girl he's tight with." He looked out the glass door to his office and saw Danny turning the lights off in his office. "You think he knows?"

She leaned out the door and waited for Danny to turn around, "Hey." She glanced around to make sure Steve was actually gone. "What do you know about boss's girl?"

Danny pulled his office door shut and walked over to where Chin and Kono were gathered. "Say again?"

"McGarrett called some girl to get us Dawkins' location. Navy, I'm guessing. Sounded like they used to work together." Chin chuckled, "He got her to use a military satellite and then asked her out."

"Ah. Catherine." Danny mumbled.

Kono's eyebrows shot up, "So you know about her? What's he told you?"

Danny shook his head, "When we went to Hickam on the last case he stopped and talked to her. Said they've known each other for a long time and he was tryin' to, uh to convince her to go out with him or something."

"Convince her to go out with him." Kono stated as if she didn't quite believe Danny's version of Steve and Catherine's relationship. "Doubt it."

Chin shrugged. "Maybe he's not her type."

Kono laughed. "Okay, I know I'm the only woman here, but you guys can't seriously be that blind."

Danny scrunched his face in offense. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Seriously? He's her type. He's every girl's type." She waved her hand dismissively before crossing her arms. "Just a fact."

Chin looked at Danny who looked at Kono. "Alright." He pushed away from his desk and ushered Danny and Kono out for the night. "No stake outs with the boss for you, young lady."

"Guys! Come on. Are you the least bit curious about McGarrett's girl?" Kono exclaimed.

"Why are you curious about McGarrett's girl?"

Kono covered her mouth as an expletive slipped out.

Steve walked quickly down the hall towards his office. "If you have something to say then say it."

"Catherine's the one you called when we lost visual?" Danny was apparently the only one with a backbone at the moment.

"Yes." He stated definitively.

Danny grinned as he looked between Chin and Kono. "And then you asked her out on a date?"

Steve glanced up at Chin, knowing he was the one guilty of divulging such sensitive information. "Yes."

"Great! So you, uh, you and her made up and all's well. Right?" Danny clapped his hands together.

He rolled his eyes, "Is this what you guys do when I step out for five minutes to track down my sister? You sit around and make speculations about what I do during my personal time?"

Danny pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah. That's about right."

Steve shook his head and grabbed his wallet off of his desk and shoved it in his back pocket. "Hobbies. You need to get a hobby."

"So you have a girlfriend. That's great." Chin finally piped up.

Steve raised his hand and caught all of their attention as they exited HQ. "She's not my girlfriend."

Chin racked his brain for a moment as they stood in the elevator, "Your dad mentioned a girl… I mean, this was years ago, though. Back when we still worked together."

He looked down at his combat boots. Catherine would probably be wearing the same boots right now. She'd be in blue cammies. Damn, he loved those cammies on her. Somehow the mix of blue on her skin made her brown eyes even more vivid than usual. "Same girl." He muttered.

"He talked about her a lot." Chin cracked a sly smile. "Your dad, he, uh…" He chuckled, "He really thought you two were the real deal. Said so every time you two would come visit."

Steve wanted to disagree and call his dad a crazy old man, but he couldn't. He secretly hoped his dad was right. Steve just shrugged it off and walked out to his truck.

"Hey, stubborn." Steve chuckled as he laid back on the bed and pressed the phone to his ear. "You finally decide to stop ignoring my calls?"

Catherine sighed and jumped up into the alcove in the fantail where they had spent so many nights talking and getting to know one another. "I think a thank you is in order for me re-positioning a satellite for you. Besides, I wasn't ignoring your calls." She stated rather defensively.

"Bullshit." Steve smirked. "I'm just glad you picked up." He groaned as he rolled over and closed his eyes. "And thanks for earlier. It was, uh, it was good to have you in my ear again. Like old times… You, uh, you wanna tell me why you been dodging my calls?"

She huffed, "I've just been working a lot lately. Pulling a lot of O.T."

Steve knew that she was angry at him, but he knew her too well and somehow her anger made him smile. Like she was his north star - the one constant in the midst of the unending string of change that kept him on his knees. "You only pull O.T. when you're pissed at me, remember?"

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is."

"Fine. So I'm a little… thrown off. That's all." She pulled her hair out of the regulation bun and rested her head against the hull of the ship. "You know I like ranks and boundaries and rules. I like knowing where I stand with people, what is expected of me and what I can expect from others."

Steve rubbed his eyes as exhaustion crept up on him. "Sometimes I think you're more Navy than the Navy is."

Catherine pursed her lips and squeezed her eyes shut. How could he possibly be this boneheaded?! "Steve it's late here, I should get going."

"Catherine, wait." He sighed and adjusted the pillow under his head, "Where are you?"

"Persian Gulf. It's warm. I'm sitting in the fantail."

Steve smirked, "Better than The Sandbox."

Catherine smiled, "Copy that." She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out at the water.

"How are you?" Steve felt a punch to the gut when the words slipped out and he realized that he hadn't actually asked how she was doing.

"I'm fine." She lied.

"Bullshit."

Catherine chewed on her lip. "I miss everybody."

His brow furrowed as he readjusted the phone in his hand. "Whadda you mean?"

She sighed, "You're out. Amy and Matt are both out. Jen's stationed in Japan. Freddie's gone…." Catherine swallowed the lump in her throat. "Everything's different now."

Steve grimaced at the pang of guilt in his stomach but ran his fingers through his hair and changed the subject, "We finally named the task force."

"Yeah? To what?"

"Five-0."

"Like what your dad used to call you and your sister?" Catherine vaguely remembered the conversation she'd had with his father the first time she had visited.

A smile flickered on Steve's mouth. "You remembered?"

Catherine smiled, "Of course I remembered."

"Speaking of my sister." He groaned. "She's here. Got herself arrested on the plane from L.A. Had to pick her up from the airport and then we caught that case so she ended up sitting in my office all day…"

She laughed, "I take it she's mad at you too?"

"Probably." He smirked, "But thanks for admitting you're mad at me. Makes me feel a little better."

Catherine ran her hand back through her hair, "Give her some time. Not everyone can stifle grief the way you do."

"Will you be here? When I, uh, when I decide it's time to grieve?"

She smiled softly, "Of course. If you could schedule your grief for a month from now that'd be great."

Steve chuckled, "Is that your way of saying you're coming back to the island?"

"Does the invitation to stay at your place still stand?"

He grinned, "Of course it does."

She yawned, "Then I'll see you soon, Commander. I got your six."

"I got yours. See you soon."

Steve crossed his arms as he leaned against his truck. It was weird, he thought, parking in the visitors section at Hickam. He was a visitor. Everything he had worked and sacrificed so much for for over a decade all boiled down to a parking space with a sign that read: VISITOR PARKING. 15 MINUTE MAXIMUM. VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED.

"Hey, Sailor." Catherine smiled as she appeared around the other side of the truck.

"'Bout time you showed up." He chuckled as he took her bag and tossed it into the bed of the truck. "You ready to get outta here?" Steve opened her door and brushed his palm against her back as she stepped up into the truck. Not a minute later, he had ripped out of the visitors lot and was cruising down the highway. He stretched his arm across the back of her seat and lazily traced her star tattoo with his thumb. "I know we've gone longer with, uh, without seeing each other, but this has been the longest month ever." He grinned.

Catherine looked over at him and smiled, "Yeah?" Over the last month, she and Steve had come to an unspoken understanding. Steve did his best to keep in touch, but it seemed that for the time being they were just friends. Truthfully, Catherine didn't know if he could even handle one more thing on his plate at the moment. From leaving the Navy, to pretending to not grieve over his father's and Freddie's deaths, and starting a task force from scratch, Steve's life was a bit chaotic. Catherine didn't do chaos well. She was the epitome of organization. She was spreadsheets and itineraries. He was last minute plans and making it up on the fly. But as they say, opposites attract.

Steve leaned back and settled into the driver's seat, but one hand continued gently caressing her neck. If only he knew the flashes of lightning that were skating across her skin. The last time they had truly been intimate was after Amy and Matt's wedding and that was closing in on three years. To consider what they did then as 'intimacy' was a stretch at best. When she had stayed the night with him after the Enterprise had docked at Pearl, he had put his arms around her, but sleeping was the only thing that had happened.

"Catherine." He snapped with a grin. "Are you even listening?"

"What?" She shook her head to rid herself of the rambling monologue in her mind.

Steve smirked, "I just asked if you wanted to swing by the house and shower and change into your civvies or if you wanted to go straight to dinner."

She blushed, "Sorry. I, um. I was just lost in thought." She chewed on her lip for a minute. "A, uh, a shower sounds amazing right now. I'll be quick."

He nodded and turned towards the beach house. The truck crunched down the driveway before coming to a halt. Steve's hand fidgeted as he turned the key in the lock and pushed the front door open. He carried Catherine's bag up to the master bedroom and set it beside the bed. Catherine dug out her travel bag of toiletries and slipped into the bathroom, promising to be fast.

Steve laid across the bed as the bathroom door clicked shut. He closed his eyes and listened to the ambient sounds of Catherine rummaging around in the bathroom. He heard the muffled drop of her uniform jacket hitting the floor. He imagined that her t-shirt would follow before she pulled those pins out of her hair and let down her bun. Her camouflage pants would probably be next. Steve pushed himself off the mattress as the thought of Catherine standing there in her bra and panties entered his mind. Catherine wasn't frivolous with her undergarments when she was in uniform. Simple and practical, sure - but hella sexy in his opinion.

Catherine reached behind the shower curtain and twisted the faucet handle. As she leaned up to finish undressing, a pair of hands brushed her bra straps off of her shoulders. Steve didn't waste any time in unclasping the garment and discarding it on the floor. He pushed Catherine's back against the wall and pressed their bodies together as he tilted her jaw away and kissed down her neck.

"Oh God. Yes." She smiled as she ran her finger tips down his chest. "It's... been a... long time." She choked out.

Steve hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slowly dragged them down to her feet, kissing his way from her hip to her ankle. Catherine pressed her palms against the cool wall as fire and heat flashed through her torso.

"Too long." He murmured while he trailed his hand up the inside of her thigh as he stood to face her. "How 'bout that shower?"

Catherine wrapped her arms around his neck and cocked her head, "You gonna join me?"

Steved ghosted his hands up and down her ribs as he pressed himself up against her. "I, uh, I don't know if you want me bad enough." He teased.

She rolled her eyes and stepped into the shower. "Get in here, Sailor."

Steve chuckled as he stripped down and got under the stream of water. "Yes, Ma'am." He gripped her hips and pulled her under the showerhead with him. Steve's hand tangled in the back of her hair as he drew her lips up to his. Catherine's hands touched every possible inch of his tanned, taut skin. She was insatiable and Steve loved every second of it. They were a perfectly paired contradiction. Her svelte frame fit snugly against his massive body. His sharp edges were smoothed by her soft curves. Catherine's slender, feminine hands slid into his masculine grip. His calloused, sandpaper skin felt glorious against her velvety soft body.

"Missed you." He mumbled as he kissed her. "Missed this."

Catherine gripped his biceps and turned him away from her. She grabbed the loofah and began to gently rub his shoulders and back. Steve leaned forward and pressed his hands against the wall for support as he melted at her touch. She set the sponge back on the shower ledge and began to massage his shoulders. Her fingers worked at his many knots and tense muscles as the steam from the shower lulled him into a trance. She pressed her lips in between his shoulder blades. "Missed you too."

Steve turned around and ghosted his hands down her arms. "You're beautiful." His lips met hers as he drank in every inch of her mouth. He pulled away and brushed his nose against hers as he lingered above her lips. "I don't… I don't tell you that enough."

She smiled against his lips and tangled her fingers into his. "How 'bout we get out of the shower and you show me."

"And skip out on me taking my sweet time with you?" He grinned devilishly. "Turn around." Catherine did as she was told. Steve gently lifted her forearms until they rested on top of her head. He picked up her body wash and poured it out into his hand. He started with her arms before moving to her shoulders and back. A relaxed moan vibrated in her throat as he reached around and covered her breasts with the soapy bubbles. He pressed his chest against her back as his hands skated down her abs and wrapped around her hips to grab her ass. Catherine melted against him. Her body ached with lust and wanton desire. She felt just how badly he wanted her as she slowly rocked her hips back and forth. Steve threw his head back and groaned. "God, Cath. You're such a tease."

Catherine let the stream of water rinse off the suds as Steve reached out of the shower and grabbed a towel off the hook. He turned off the shower and wrapped the towel around her shoulders. Catherine smiled, "What a gentleman."

Steve chuckled, "The, uh, the only reason I'm giving you a towel to cover up is so you don't freeze on your way to the bed." He smacked her ass. "Get moving, Lieutenant."

"Sir, yes, sir." She gave him a sloppy salute and a wink as she stepped onto the mat on the bathroom floor.

His jaw dropped as he chased after her and tackled her onto the bed. He ripped the towel off her body and growled, "Get over here, woman." He grabbed her thighs and dragged her back down the bed until her body met his.

Catherine gasped as her body filled with pleasure and ecstasy. "Oh God!" She grabbed handfuls of sheets in her fists and gripped tightly as stars filled her eyes. Steve caught her leg from behind her knee and pressed it against her chest, bringing his body closer to hers. She wrapped the other around his waist as she scraped her nails down his chest.

Steve tried to stifle an overwhelming moan, but it was to no avail. He lurched forward as her back arched towards him. He wrapped his arm underneath her waist and gulped as pinpricks of heat and an avalanche of pleasure ripped through his body. Steve's knees buckled as Catherine began to shudder against him.

He hovered over her as they caught their breath. Steve smoothed her dark hair that was splayed across the sheets. "Beautiful." He murmured as he took her hand and kissed her finger tips. Then her wrist. Then her palm and the crook of her elbow. Steve peppered her shoulder and collar bone with kisses before finally dropping his mouth onto hers.

Catherine's hand tugged on the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. She wrapped her arms around him as he rolled onto his back and pulled her into his side. As she yawned, Catherine noted that the sun had already set. Steve seemed to be perfectly happy laying skin to skin. Who was she to disagree with staying in bed? She'd always been more of a breakfast girl than a dinner girl anyways.

Steve stretched as he smacked the alarm clock and rolled over to face Catherine. "Morning, Lieutenant."

Catherine's eyes fluttered gently as she cozied up to him. "Morning, Commander."

Her sultry tone was like guzzling an energy drink. His hand delved under the covers and rested on her belly. He was awake. "Did you sleep okay?" He murmured as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"He kept me up most of the night." She sighed as the baby began to kick and move again. "And rolling over to get comfortable is impossible now that I'm the size of a great white shark."

Steve chuckled, "I knew I had reason to, uh, to be scared of you."He grinned as he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. "Seals are terrified of sharks."

"If you ever get me pregnant again you'll discover exactly what hormonal sharks do to SEALs when they're tired and hungry." She grumbled.

He kissed her temple and then her shoulder before getting out from under the covers and sliding a pair of shorts on. "Shelby's not up yet so I'm gonna go for a run. But I'll uh, I'll pick you up a malasada on the way back."

Catherine smiled, "And they say that love can't be bought."

"I love you, you know." He chuckled as he pecked her lips and tugged his running shoes on.

She closed her eyes and buried her head in his pillow. "I love you too."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Yay! Reviews are back up and working! Thank you so much for your thoughts and feedback on the last few chapters! Shoutout to Kimphin1 who noticed that the scene in 3x20 where Steve kisses his dog tags before jumping out of the airplane is what I led up to with the whole swapping tag thing between Steve and Catherine. (All about those details, y'all!)

Q AND A

Why did you do a huge time skip in chapter 36 and not go into detail about Steve's deployment? It was kind of a been there done that sort of thing. We know Steve was deployed to the Green Zone, ending in 2010 (Ep. 3x20), but small talk phone conversations are really boring to read, really boring to write, and don't move the plot along. I want to make sure that every chapter is as intentional as possible. You guys read so faithfully, I want to do my best to give you meaningful chapters each day.

Why is Steve so disgusted by the CIA? In the research that I have done outside of the fantastic world of television, real Navy SEALs are very by-the-book operators. They thrive on organization and flawless execution. Black-ops (or what little we know about them) tend to be messy and messy lends itself to being unsafe. When you have someone like Greer calling the shots on a mission that she doesn't have to personally execute, it leaves room for massive error. In the world of Steve McGarrett, I think his first taste of the CIA with the black-ops mission in Morocco in taking down Kamal Hassan has a lot to do with his distaste in my opinion. Not to mention, Greer. As the show and story progresses and he learns that his mother - and eventually Catherine, were both in the CIA he'll feel betrayed and hurt as if it's the company's fault that they were taken away from him. Steve is a flawed human being.

Why did Steve not tell Catherine about taking care of Kelly Hart? Pride. Steve looked at it as the only sort of restitution he could pay to make up for Freddie's death. It didn't have anything to do with his relationship or lack thereof, it had everything to do with pride and guilt.

Why was he running across the base in his full dress uniform in the last chapter? That scene (in my mind) would have fallen at the end of 1x02 after their impromptu police academy graduation ceremony for Kono. Steve had put on his dress uniform for that at the end of the episode and the story tagged on the end where he would have left HQ to try and catch up with Catherine. (I'll try to do better at tying in these details!)

When's your birthday? Chapter 39 Day :)

I love you all!

XO,

-Mags-