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.


I really… I need you, Cath.

Steve can't know about this.

She's the one I trust with everything.

He thought he lost me once.
I don't want him thinking
that it could happen again.

If you make me choose between you and her?
It's gonna be her. I'm gonna choose her
every single time.

Maybe you could even help Steve
come around to the idea that I'm
back in his life.

She's the one person who's never lied to me.


Catherine gasped for air as she snapped awake. The clock on the bedside told her that it was only four in the morning, but there was no way she was going back to sleep. Not with Steve sleeping beside her. Not with Doris sleeping downstairs. Not with the secret that was tormenting her mind whenever she dared to close her eyes. She'd made a deal with the red headed devil and now she was paying the price.

Silently, Catherine pulled on her swimsuit and grabbed her running shoes. She didn't know which she'd end up using, but options were good. Moving with stealth, she slipped through the house undetected and made her way down to the water.

I really… I need you, Cath. I need your help.

There it was again. Those ten damn words that had been haunting her. Sure, in context Steve had been asking her to put some woman on the no-fly list, but it was all she had ever wanted. To be needed. Truthfully, she had been waiting for him to drop the elusive 'I love you', but frankly, she was satisfied with being needed. That's what was killing her.

Catherine dove into the water, praying that the waves would quell the torment inside of her. The cure for anything, in her opinion, was salt water - be it sweat, tears, or the sea. Stroke after stroke, she pushed further and further across the bay. She wasn't lying. She was simply withholding information that Steve would want. She and Doris had made peace… somewhat. Okay, maybe it wasn't peace. It was an impasse. Apparently your son's girlfriend witnessing you brutally torture a contract killer is enough to make you a little more agreeable to her presence.

After Doris handed Mangosta off to WITSEC, she had been the picture of peace and amity. Steve had noticed the obvious change. When he had asked Catherine what went down between the two of them she had… lied.

There it was. A bold-faced lie that she spoon-fed to the one person who trusted her to always be honest. She and I just came around and realized there's room for both of us, Catherine had said. She had lied.

Catherine dove under the water and screamed into the blackness until her lungs burned. She couldn't lose her shit around Steve. She couldn't let Doris have another foothold in her psyche. The water was her escape. She let her body float to the surface and breathed in the morning air.


Dragging her feet across the sand, she spotted a towel and a steaming cup of coffee on the beach chair. A guilty smile flickered across her face as she spotted the sprinkle of cinnamon swirling in the mug. She wrapped up in the towel and took a long sip.

"Hey, early bird." Steve chuckled as he walked down to the chairs. "Shoulda got me up. I would'a swam with you."

Catherine stared out at the tide and pulled the mug back to her lips, "Figured you needed a full night of sleep." She laughed quietly. There it was again. Another lie. The knot in her stomach didn't cinch like it had been and that's what scared her - it was becoming easy. The lies just slipped out, one after the other, without so much as a second thought.

Steve leaned against the back of her chair and rested his chin atop her head. "You okay?" He murmured into her hair. Catherine nodded but he wasn't buying it. "You got something on your mind?"

"Just work." She lied.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"It's classified." She lied.

He chuckled, "You enjoy telling me that, don't you? Makin' up for all those years I couldn't tell you what I was working on?"

Catherine looked down at the warped reflection in her coffee, "Something like that." She lied.

Steve arched over the back of the chair and pecked the side of her neck, "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll, uh, it'll be alright. You always figure things out."

"It'll be fine." She lied.


"Hey, boss." Kono followed Steve into his office and dropped a stack of files on top of his desk. "HPD sent these over."

He haphazardly glanced over at the folders, "Yeah, uh, thanks."

"And Denning's office called. You have a meeting over there in half an hour."

"Denning… right." He mumbled.

Kono glanced at her watch, "And it's ten in the morning and you're just now getting in…. Everything okay?"

"What?" Steve looked up, "I'm good. Sorry I was late. I, uh I was picking up Catherine's Christmas gift this morning. Store didn't open till nine."

"That's right. She told me she had a little time off around Christmas. You guys doing anything special?"

Steve shook his head, "Nah, Catherine's easy. Probably just gonna hang out."

Kono cringed. "What'd you get her?"

He rummaged around in the pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out a gift card, "Best Buy."

"You got her a gift card to Best Buy?" She stated in utter disbelief. How were men this smart also this bad at gift-giving?

"Yeah." Steve tucked it back in his pocket and crossed his arms, "She, uh, she works with technology. She can go and get whatever she wants and won't, uh, won't have to worry about returning something I picked out if she didn't like it.."

Kono gripped onto the edge of Steve's desk. "Boss." Her eyes locked on his like a lion zeroing in on its prey, "That's the worst thing you could possibly give her. Please, please take my advice and give that to Danny or something."

"What do you mean? Catherine, she'll-"

"She'll use it alright. She'll use it to buy something battery-operated that is guaranteed to please every single time and replaces her need for you in bed. Don't - I repeat - DON'T give her the gift card."

Steve stared down at his desk in utter shock and sheer embarrassment. Had Kono actually just insinuated that Catherine would use her Christmas gift to replace him with a vibrator? This conversation had to be against every H.R. policy in the book. Did they even sell those at Best Buy? He didn't want to know. Steve cleared his throat and tried to stitch together the remaining shreds of his dignity, "What, uh, what do you suggest?"

Kono, not at all affected by the rather mortifying topic of discussion they'd just broached, sat down in the chair across from him, "What did you do for her last year?"

"She, uh, she was on The Enterprise."

"Year before that?"

"Deployed."

"Before that?"

"Broken up and deployed…. Different tour, though."

Kono held up her hand to stop him, "Wait… Have you guys actually ever spent a Christmas together? You've been together for over ten years."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "I'm not even going to ask how you obtained that piece of information."

"You and Danny decided to get boat-jacked. She and I talked." Kono crossed her arms, "Seriously, boss. Have you ever had a Christmas with her?"

A faint smile flickered on his face as he recalled the Christmas he had spent with her and her family in Texas. Their first kiss. Hell, that had been… Shit. Ten years. A whole fucking decade and they had only ever spent one Christmas together. "Just one." He admitted with a sigh. "I, uh, I gotta get to Denning's then I'm meeting Cath for a late breakfast at Rainbow. I'll be around this afternoon. Give me a call if we catch a case"

Kono glanced at her watch and stood up, "My advice? Don't worry about a present so much. Just make it memorable. Sweep her off her feet."


First it was an attempted car-jacking during Steve's misguided attempt at an actual date. Then, somehow, Catherine got embroiled in a full blown case involving a missing father, a smart-ass kid, and a reclusive bank robber. She wanted to be mad. After all, it was her last day of leave before she was being sent to D.C. for a few weeks on assignment. But she wasn't angry. Watching Steve take charge of that boy's well-being nearly had her ovaries exploding. What the hell was she thinking? Kids? She wasn't a kid person. Catherine could count on one hand the number of times she had held a baby. It only took two fingers and both times ended with spit-up everywhere. She did not do well with kids.

Steve, however, was a natural and damn if it didn't have her hormones in overdrive. Then there was the fact that he had been running around all day in those nearly white khaki pants that she loved and a t-shirt that had to be two sizes too small. She wasn't complaining in the least bit. The way the fabric was painted over his granite slabs of muscle was an ode to the human form.

All that was before he had come crashing in the Awana's home after she had taken down Stuart Rizzi in an epic sparring match that ended with him at the bottom of a staircase - dead. Say what you will about intelligence officers, but Catherine hadn't just been flirting her years away on the Enterprise under the command of Steve McGarrett. When they had sparred in the gym, she learned everything he had taught her and hell if it hadn't saved her ass that day.

When Steve and Danny had come barrelling through the door, she had barely caught her breath before it was taken away again. The second she saw that damn thigh strap that kept his side arm fastened to his tree trunk of a leg… Lord have mercy. Catherine was getting hot and bothered just thinking about it.

Catherine stabbed her chopsticks into the plate of spicy shrimp out of all kinds of frustration. She was sitting across from Steve's co-workers for goodness sakes! The naughty fantasies of Steve and that thigh strap would have to wait.

"Where's the big kahuna? I wanna give him his present." Kamekona's Santa Claus impression needed a little work.

"Oh, he said he was gonna be a few minutes late." Catherine smiled as she tore into the wrapped present he had handed to her.

"One free… helicopter tour?" Chin furrowed his brow.

Kono stared at her identical gift, "One free tour… plus a guest." She glanced up and plastered on a grateful smile, "Thanks, Kamekona."

Catherine laughed as the team joked about Kamekona's flying expertise and Max's innocence regarding what the 'mile high club' actually meant before the faint rumble of Steve's truck got her attention.

"Oh, there he is!" Kamekona said. "Double-O-Seven in the house!" All heads turned as Steve strutted towards them in a flawlessly fitted tuxedo.

"That's a rental for sure. He's gonna need a bib." Danny interjected.

Catherine did her best to hide her obvious lust but Steve walking towards her like that had her coming undone. He stopped just short of her and gave her an underwear incinerating smolder. "What, uh, what are you doing?" She did her best to hide her blush, but Steve in a tux had her all kinds of turned on. "What is-"

Steve held his palm out and took her hand. As she stood up from the picnic table, he wrapped one arm around her waist and very literally swept her off her feet. "I'm taking you to dinner." He declared before planting a kiss on her in front of the entire team.

The team laughed and cheered as Steve carried her towards the truck, "Bye, guys!" She called back with a laugh. She turned her head back to Steve and pecked his cheek, "I like this."

"You like this?" He grinned as he deposited her into the passengers seat, "Just wait 'till you see what I, uh, have in store for you, then." He slid behind the wheel and leaned in for a kiss.

Catherine pecked his lips and clicked her seatbelt before taking in the impeccable tailoring of his tuxedo, "Not to state the obvious, but either you're very overdressed or I'm really underdressed." She said as she motioned to her tank top and shorts.

He smirked, "Not to worry, young lady. I've thought of everything. But, we are stopping at your place so you can change."

She chewed on her lip, "Are you going to tell me what we're doing or, uh, or where we're going?"

"Not a chance." Steve grinned.


"A black-tie gala where we have to go undercover and retrieve stolen intel?"

"Nope."

"Okay… What about…. Aha! We have to sneak into a party and bag someone for rendition?"

Steve grinned, "As fun as that sounds… No."

Catherine laughed and shook her head, "Fine. Are we protecting a foreign diplomat?"

He gave her a doubtful look, "I told you. I'm taking you on a date. No weapons required."

"Dressed like that?" She laughed, "I, uh, I have a hard time believing there isn't some other work-related need for us to -"

"Cath." He interjected. Guilt began to eat away at his confidence. Of fucking course. She had no reason to believe his effort wasn't a facade for some professional favor that he needed. He pulled into her driveway and killed the engine. "Just come inside." She waited until he jogged around and opened her door. Hand in hand, he led her into her house. She felt around in the darkness to find the lightswitch but Steve's hand found hers first. "Follow me."

Surprisingly, she complied and took his hand as he led her through the darkened hallways. Before her eyes could adjust to the blackness, he pushed open her bedroom door and turned the light on. Steve pointed to the garment bag draped across the foot of her bed. "Get dressed." He commanded. "And just so you know, I had to call in backup to take care of whatever's in there." He grinned, "So don't, uh, don't blame me if you hate it." Steve leaned down and gave her a slow kiss before pulling away and adding on, "The rest of tonight, is uh, is my doing."

She slowly unzipped the garment bag as he left the room. Miles of crimson fabric spilled out of the bag and pooled at her feet. Catherine cupped a hand over her mouth and laughed as she read the note pinned to the top of the dress.

Hope it fits! -Kono

(Ps. I expect a full report on how boss
did with everything else!)

Catherine slipped into the slinky, red dress and sashayed to the bathroom for a quick touch-up. She tousled her hair and let it fall naturally. Shoes were next. She pawed through her closet and pulled out the pair of heels she had bought for no reason at all. Slipping them on, she smoothed her hands over the dress that fit like a dream and decided she was ready.

Waltzing through the house, she cut through the kitchen where takeout bags littered the countertop. As she peered around the corner to the living room, her jaw dropped. Steve looked up from lighting two tapered candles on a table set for two. Her lackluster living room had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Not one but three ornate Christmas trees filled the empty space. Garland twisted with ribbon and Christmas lights draped across the windows. Flickering candles filled every available surface. Nat King Cole and Burl Ives were crooning carols out of the vinyl record player in the corner. "Oh my God." She whispered.

"You, uh, you said you weren't gonna decorate your place since you have to be in D.C. in a couple days." Steve grinned as he popped the cork out of a bottle of champagne and filled their glasses. "I realized we've… we've been together a long time and, uh, we've never had a proper Christmas together." He set the bottle of champagne aside and took two long steps towards her, "You look beautiful, Catherine." His fingertips skated down the red satin before he took her hand and nudged her to twirl.

Catherine sunk her teeth into the pout of her lower lip, "This is…" She looked around and shook her head, "This is too much…"

"Hey." He murmured as he laced his fingers in hers, "You deserve this and a hell of a lot more. Okay? I, uh, I know I'm not the best at grand romantic gestures, but I-"

"Thank you." Catherine interjected, "Thank you. I shouldn't have said it was too much." She looked around, "This is… this is amazing, Steve." She studied the impeccably set table, "So this is where we're going to dinner?"

He nodded and pulled her chair out, "Figured we'd uh, we'd have a better chance of actually making it to dinner if it was here." He smirked.

Catherine laughed, "Copy that."


Steve and Catherine walked hand in hand as they left the bar. They had said goodnight to Nahele a few hours earlier and Steve decided to take advantage of their trip to Coronado to check in on how things were going at the bar.

"So, Mr. Bar Owner -slash- Ranch Owner. Remind me again why you work for the V.A.?" Catherine laughed.

He chuckled, "Because I'd get bored and you'd kill me if I was home all the time."

"Ha! Yeah, that's fair." She agreed. "So, uh, why'd it take you 'till now to tell me you bought the bar?"

Steve shrugged, "I wanted to tell you here. Wanted us to be back here together."

"Any other business ventures you wanna tell me about?" She laughed.

He chuckled, "I think that just about covers it." Steve put his hand on her back and led her around the corner.

"Why are we in my old neighborhood?" Catherine looked around. It had changed drastically over the last two decades but her sense of direction was impeccable.

Steve led her into a building and up two flights of stairs, "Your old apartment is an AirBnB now." He grinned as he shoved the key in the lock, "So I booked it for us tonight before we go back to L.A. tomorrow."

She paused in the doorway and racked her brain, "Did we ever have sex in my apartment?"

"Nope." He gave her a boyish grin.

Catherine grabbed his hand and yanked him inside, "Well. Time to change that."

Steve pushed her up against the back of the apartment door as it slammed shut, "How's this for a grand romantic gesture?"


AUTHOR'S NOTE

OH, MONDAY. Y'all. Writer's block got me yesterday and I was planning to wake up early and finish the chapter so I could upload on time and then FanFiction went down for maintenance! So, here we are. We made it!

Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! I love, love, love reading your feedback and reactions so keep it coming!

XO,

-Mags-