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.
"Dinner with boss before work?" Kono asked as she held the door to HQ open for Catherine.
"Yeah." Catherine shimmied the containers of loco moco she had picked up. "Night shift sucks. How's it been today? You guys been on a case?"
Kono shook her head, "Nah. It's been s-l-o-w."
She thought for a minute, "Slow?"
"Don't say that!" Kono laughed, "You'll jinx us! Everyone knows the second you mention that things have been s-l-o-w that you immediately get back-to-back cases and no sleep."
"Ah." She giggled. "Well, here's hoping I didn't screw things up."
Kono grinned, "Have a good night. And no sex in the office!"
Catherine turned a deep shade of red as Kono dipped into the elevator. "We're not rabbits! We do have some semblance of self control!"
"Uh huh. Sure." She winked, "Catch ya later, sister!"
Catherine shook her head and pushed her way through the door of Steve's office, "Hey, Sailor. You ready for some chow?"
"Yes, ma'am." He clicked his way out of the browser and shut his laptop. "Beer or water?"
"I want a beer but I should probably stick to water since I have to work tonight." She stated as she opened the styrofoam boxes and traded him a meal for a drink. "How was work?"
Steve groaned as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk, "Boring as hell."
She took a stab at the egg on top of her loco moco and laughed, "That's what Kono said."
They glanced up as Danny tapped on the glass and poked his head in, "Hey, uh, Denning's assistant just called to see if you were still here."
He looked over at his calendar and shook his head, "Dunno why. I'm not supposed to have a meeting with him 'till the end of the month."
Danny shrugged, "I'm out for the night. Just giving you a heads up."
"Copy that." Steve nodded.
"Night, Catherine." He waved as he walked out.
"See ya, Danny." She shoveled in a bite of rice and kicked her feet up on the desk, opposite his. "So, uh, what do you think Denning wants?"
Steve shrugged, "Probably just tryin' to throw me off." He shook his head, "He's trying to make it seem like he's layin' down the law but he doesn't wanna have to actually have us under more oversight. He just wants it to seem that way."
"Geez. And I thought the Navy was bad with red tape."
He chuckled, "Governor Jameson promised no red-tape. Pros and cons of working for a traitor. I guess Denning's just tryin' to make sure everyone knows he's different."
"Do you think he is?"
Steve shrugged, "I'm just trying to stay out of it. You know… apolitical."
She nodded, "Like the military."
"Yeah. You know. Just, uh, just staying neutral. Doesn't matter who's in office. We've got a job to do. I'm gonna do the right thing regardless of who's calling the shots."
Catherine swirled her fork around in the gravy before taking another bite, "Mm. Meant to tell you. I talked to Amy the other day. Matt says hi."
"Oh yeah? How, uh, how are they doing?"
She laughed, "Disgustingly in love. Ames is at home with their girl and Matt's just finished his MBA."
"Shit." Steve poked at his rice, "I feel like I've been out for a fucking decade and it's only been a couple years."
Catherine shook her head, "You've been busy. Not like you processed out and retired for real."
The glass door scraped open. Steve nearly jumped out of his skin while Catherine panicked at being caught with her boots propped up on Steve's desk. "Uh, Governor Denning." Steve wiped his mouth with a napkin and brushed his palms on his cargo pants. "Sir?"
Catherine jumped up and closed her takeout box. Governor Denning waved his hand for her to sit as three more people crowded into the office, "Sorry to interrupt." He nodded towards Catherine, "Lieutenent Rollins, nice to see you again, ma'am."
"Sir." She nodded nervously. It wasn't like she and Steve had been caught in a compromising position. After all, they had just been eating dinner after hours. But Catherine respected professional boundaries.
"Commander McGarrett, this is Savannah Walker and two of the producers from the Savannah Walker Show. They're going to be shadowing you for the next few days." He stated matter-of-factly.
Steve's passive expression immediately turned into a frown, "Sir, with all due respect, I, uh, I don't think that's a good idea."
"With all due respect, I'm not asking for your opinion." Denning said. "This is good P.R. and I expect you all to be on your best behavior. So let's try this again. Ms. Walker, this is Commander McGarrett. He leads the Five-0 task force. While I expect him to be accommodating of you and your crew, I expect you to be mindful of their need to do their job."
Savannah smiled at a very nervous Catherine, "I'm Savannah. And you are?"
"Lieutenant Rollins, Naval Intelligence, ma'am." She stated as she shook Savannah's hand.
She glanced between Steve and Catherine. He could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. "Lieutenant Rollins assists our team when necessary." Steve clarified.
Governor Denning snorted, earning a death glare from Steve.
"Uh huh. I see." She smiled knowingly. The viewers were going to eat this up. A handsome Navy SEAL and his beautiful, Navy girlfriend fighting crime together? She could practically see the Emmy already. "Lieutenant Rollins, since you're such an integral part of this team, I'd love to sit down with you for a one-on-one interview. I'd love to show the viewers what a woman in the military really looks like."
Catherine shook her head, "I, um, I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm not on the task force. I'm just-"
Steve could see her train of thought about to derail, "Yeah, look I've watched enough reality television to know that I'm not interested in me or any of my colleagues being manipulated by some two-faced TV producers…. No offense."
Governor Denning sighed. He knew Steve wasn't going to cave unless given a direct order. "Look. I don't care how you work this out. McGarrett, be accommodating. Ms. Walker, boundaries. I expect you all to play nice."
"Yes, sir." Steve hissed as Denning made a swift exit.
Savannah extended her hand to Steve, "We'll be here at nine tomorrow morning to start production."
He crossed his arms and looked down at her hand before noticing the spiked heels she wore, "I'd wear comfortable shoes if I were you."
"Hey, Sailor." Catherine's voice was chipper through the phone.
Steve rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock that read 11:43 pM. "You on a break?" He yawned.
"Yeah. Figured I'd call to say goodnight and, uh, wish you luck with that guaranteed P.R. nightmare tomorrow." She giggled.
He chuckled, "You're the worst."
"I try." She chewed on her lip, "Did you tell the rest of the team yet?"
"Yeah. I think Kono and Danny are trying to see if tar and feathering is still legal punishment. They're pissed."
She laughed, "You know this means no calling for special favors while they're around. You know my C.O. is cool with it but I doubt the brass would be if they found out military resources were being allocated to a state-level task force."
He chuckled, "What if I wanted to call just to talk to you?"
"Mmm, then we might actually have to admit that we're together and I don't think you wanna do that on national TV."
"You just admitted it and you, uh, you didn't get struck by lightning."
"Har har har. Very funny, Commander." She quipped dryly.
Steve smirked, "Wish I could see your face. You're so beautiful when you're sarcastic."
"You've used that one before, Sailor." She smiled. "Look, I gotta go. Get some sleep."
"Call you tomorrow."
"Better not."
Less than twenty-four hours later, he was eating his words. "Hey, I need a favor." Steve mumbled as he glanced over his shoulder at the camera crew who were intent on recording his phone call.
Catherine gritted her teeth, "We talked about this, Steve… Besides, I'm not even on duty right now." She hissed into the phone.
"You have a briefing on base in half an hour and because I know you, I know that you're always early." He scrubbed his jaw with his hand, "Come on. You know I wouldn't involve you like this if it wasn't important."
"Steve-" She began to protest.
"Wo Fat is involved. We have a good chance of rolling that bastard up this time. I can feel it."
Catherine could hear the tension in his voice. He was straining to remain neutral. "Okay. What do you need?"
Steve breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to look at the screen of the surface table. "Thank you. Thank you. Okay, I, uh, I need some high-res sat images of the Ko'olau Valley's trail system. Can you send me aerials?"
"You got it."
Savannah inserted herself into the group as Steve hung up his phone, "Commander McGarrett, will your girlfriend be… how did you put it? 'Assisting' you on this case?"
Steve crossed his arms. He possessed the uncanny ability to either blend in seamlessly with his surroundings or be the most imposing Hulk in the room. Frankly, he was surprised he didn't instantly turn green as soon as Savannah opened her mouth. "That's Lieutenant Rollins to you and neither this conversation or my phone call to her will be aired. Got it?"
The grown ass camera men were shaking in their boots but Savannah was used to being a woman in a man's world. She wasn't about to be pushed around by network executives, showrunners, or a grumpy Navy SEAL. "Don't you think young girls should see Lieutenant Rollins on TV? Don't you think they should have a woman of her caliber to look up to? Someone who's beautiful, yes, but also intelligent and accomplished?" She softened her tone and knew from his face that she was chipping away at his defenses, "It's admirable that you want to protect her. It's clear she's very special to you. But I think you'd be doing a great disservice to the next generation of women, who - I might add- are already told that the military is no place for them, if you excluded her contributions from this case."
"Neither this conversation or my phone call to her will be aired." He repeated. "If you want to interview her, you have to get her explicit consent. Lieutenant Rollins does not answer to the governor or to me. She can make her own decision." He snapped cooly.
"Will you arrange it? An interview?" Savannah pressed.
Every person in the room was on pins and needles as they awaited Steve's response. "You stay out of my way and I'll see what I can do."
"Quid pro quo?"
"Let me clarify." He stated as he gripped the table so hard he was sure it would shatter. "You get in my way again and I will rain down hell on this whole production. You even think about messing with Lieutenant Rollins or manipulating her into some tell-all exposé about our private lives and you will wish you had never stepped foot on this island. Are we clear?"
Savannah smirked, "You seem to be hell-bent on the idea that I'm here to exploit you and your team."
She was pushing his buttons. He leveled her a confident look before stating, "And you seem to be hell-bent on the idea that I won't make good on my promises." The surface table lit up with the satellite images that Catherine had acquired. "This conversation is over and was off the record. Just in case that wasn't clear." He looked up at Chin, Kono, and Danny who were gawking, "Party's over. Let's get to work."
"Are you sure this is necessary?" Catherine cringed as a producer threaded a microphone through her uniform jacket.
Savannah shooed the producer away and took over adjusting Catherine's mic. "Just think of it as a casual conversation between friends."
"We're not friends." She stated before looking over at Steve who was standing off to the side, arms crossed, and scowling. Catherine wasn't quite sure if his demeanor was from her reluctantly saying 'yes' to being on camera or from the adrenaline of taking down Wo Fat. The text he had sent her from the medevac en route to the hospital had screamed volumes:
Steve: HVT acquired. Threat neutralized.
She wanted to run over to him and kiss him and celebrate, but this damn TV crew seemed to be intent on making it to second base while putting that fucking microphone on her. She caught Steve's eye and gave him a look that screamed 'help!'. He, in turn, gave her a nod that said 'it's your choice. I got your six'.
"You know, if it makes you more comfortable we can interview you and Commander McGarrett together." Savannah offered as she positioned Catherine in front of the camera. She had a knack for reading people and Lieutenant Rollins seemed to be more uncomfortable being on camera than anyone else. Secretly, she wanted to see the two of them interact on tape. "Okay." She began as she stepped behind the camera. "Let's just start with your name and your job. Just easy stuff to get the nerves out." She gave Catherine a reassuring smile.
"Uh, okay. My name is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins. I work in Naval Intelligence."
Savannah nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "How long have you been in the Navy? How did you get started?"
"I did JRTOC in high school and then went to the United States Naval Academy."
"Now tell us. How did a promising professional figure skater become a decorated officer in the Navy?"
Catherine's mouth gaped open as she looked over at Steve, "How did? H-how-"
Savannah redirected her attention to the camera, "Commander McGarrett didn't tell us anything. We do our homework. So, what made you want to join the Navy?"
"Uh, my dad… I guess… He was in the Navy." She stammered. "I grew up around it."
"So you're not an official part of the Five-0 task force. How do you assist them?"
"Um, uh… Sometimes… Well, actually, make that a lot of times… Commander McGarrett will ask for my help. And he usually repays me in breakfast or dinners…" She flogged herself internally. That made her sound like some kind of intel prostitute. "It's kind of like a little game that we play."
Savannah smiled and peered out of the corner of her eye at McGarrett who was watching her like a hawk. "Using military resources to help out a friend - uh, isn't that risky?"
"Uh, well, Steve and my C.O. go way back, so he cuts him some slack." Smile. Breath. Repeat.
"What about you and Steve? Tell us about your history."
Catherine froze. That request could open Pandora's Box and she very much wanted to keep that lid closed. "Uh, we served in the military together."
"You're also his girlfriend, right?"
Smile. Breath. Repea-. Wait. What? No smiling, she told herself. "Uh, how is that relevant?"
Savannah shrugged and smiled as if they were best friends sharing secrets at a sleepover, "Just, America wants to know."
"Well. That is none of America's business. So..."
She nodded and took the hint. Savannah was confident, though. She still had a wildcard up her sleeve. "Okay, well, um what about this case? How did you help Steve?"
Finally, a question she was actually prepared for. "Well, he had asked me for some advanced satellite imagery of the Ko'olau Valley's trail system to help determine where his victim, Roger Carson, uh, might have hidden something." She looked at Savannah who was whispering something to another producer. "Um… Should I?" She pointed to the microphone on her lapel, "Should I take this off now?" The camera man shook his head. "No? Oh.. Sorry. Okay." She stammered.
Savannah glanced over at Steve before turning her attention to Catherine. Time to play the wildcard. "Tell us about the polaroid. The photo of you two that Steve keeps with him."
"What?!" Catherine lost every ounce of composure she had maintained.
Savannah wasn't the least bit deterred. She handed Catherine a tablet and pressed play. Catherine watched the footage where Steve grabbed the polaroid off his desk and tucked it into his kevlar before loading up on weapons from the cage and bolting out the door. "Earlier today Five-0 got a call from the Secret Service regarding the case. For security reasons he had our crew wait in his office. We saw the polaroid. You two in uniform. 'I got your six, dash 'C'' written on the back. I'm assuming 'C' is for 'Catherine' since you're in the photo. It looked pretty worn. He must've had it for a long time. Tell me the story."
Catherine ripped the mic off of her lapel, "You crossed a big fucking line, lady."
She didn't flinch, "This isn't a fluff piece, Lieutenant Rollins. We want to show the world what it's really like. How military service and being a law enforcement officer really affects people and how they cope. I would like this to be ON the record."
Steve was barrelling towards them but Catherine held up her hand and stopped him dead in his tracks. "OFF the record, it's none of your fucking business. And yes, I'm about to drop a lot of profanity so you can't air this fucking bit of TV shit. Because here's the thing, Ms. Walker. You'll never know what it's like to do what we do. One ride-along won't give you the slightest fucking clue as to what it's like. You're right. This isn't a fluff piece. But it sure as hell isn't the apolitical narrative that needs to be told. You sit on the sidelines in your studios and make judgments. You spin current events to fit the narrative your network wants you to spoon-feed to the masses. There are people who tell our stories. They're called war correspondents. You're not the next Lara Logan or Anne Nivat. You're just looking for a piece of gossip that's juicy enough to tip the scales of your viewership." She shoved the mic into Savannah's hands. "This interview is over."
Steve watched as Catherine beelined towards him, muttering something about getting in the truck. He crossed his arms and waited for Savannah to approach him. "Ms. Walker, I told you. I warned you."
"I know." Savannah held her hands up in defense. "I crossed a line, but that's what I'm supposed to do. I have to push the topic until the interviewee deems otherwise. I was just doing my job, Commander."
He grabbed the tablet and snapped it in half with his bare hands, "I highly recommend sending the episode to my office for approval before it airs. I will not let you compromise the privacy of my team or colleagues or the integrity of the case by airing information that I don't deem appropriate. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
The tires on the truck squealed as he ripped out of the parking lot. He gripped the steering wheel hard enough to leave divots in the leather. "Are you okay?"
Catherine raised an eyebrow, "Are you?"
"Big day. Adrenaline hasn't worn off yet." He glanced over, "What time do you have to be on base?"
"Nineteen-hundred hours."
He looked at the clock on the dash, "Three hours?"
"My house is closest."
"Copy that." He reached down to flip on the lights and sirens, but Catherine's hand stilled his.
"You are NOT coming in hot through my neighborhood. Ten over the speed limit, no lights and sirens.
"Seven over with lights. No sirens."
"Fine." She smirked. She knew the feeling all too well - coming off an op with the inability to shake the adrenaline. Knowing there's no way in hell to get it out of your system. When they were apart, running or boxing was their outlet. But right now, they had each other. That's how they coped.
"What the hell is that?" Catherine cocked her head as Steve walked in with a massive flower arrangement.
He set it down on the table and handed her the card. "Got sent to my office today."
"From the Savannah Walker Show." She read aloud before scanning the rest of the message. "They want you back on the show?" She laughed, "After all the hell we gave them?!"
He chuckled, "Apparently they're, uh, they're doing a 'Where Are They Now' segment and want us to come on for an interview."
"HA!" She exclaimed sarcastically before breaking out into a fit of giggles. "I thought I'd be blacklisted from TV for life after my um… outburst on the beach."
"I remember that outburst… we're calling it?" He grinned. "I mean, I prefer to think of it as a hell-storm, but outburst is fine. It, uh, it made me so fucking turned on I thought I was gonna die if we didn't get back to your place." Steve placed his hands on her hips, "You know, a couple years after that. This, uh, this reporter came after Grover. Digging up stuff from his past and, uh, and I went to bat for him. The way you did with Savannah on the beach."
"Did he leave Grover alone after that?"
Steve nodded, "Yeah. I, uh, I gave him a piece of my mind and I think he knew that backing off was the right thing to do."
Catherine studied the arrangement, "At least she has good taste in flowers." She said as she tossed the card in the trash.
"You really don't wanna do it? Be on TV again?" He grinned playfully.
Catherine rolled her eyes, "Pretty sure the CIA would have my head and we'd have to go on the run if my face was on TV again."
"That bad, huh?"
"I may not be Doris but I made more than a few enemies when I was in the Agency."
He pulled her closer, "You know, you never talk about it. Your time in the CIA."
She shrugged, "Maybe I will… someday."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hey there, lovely readers! I know I got a little soap-boxy this chapter but thanks for sticking with me! Leave your thoughts and feedback in the reviews!
A FEW THOUGHTS:
1. This is your friendly reminder that I like put here from time to time that Steve and Catherine are flawed human beings. They don't always make the best choices. Nobody's perfect in real life and if fictional characters were perfect then they wouldn't be the least bit interesting! So sometimes Steve and Catherine are going to make bad decisions and have to deal with the ramifications. I'm doing my best to tell an authentic story about complex characters.
2. "I do favors... he repays me in breakfast and dinners." This is probably one of the lines I hate most in the show. It made Catherine seem so unintelligent. On the other hand, Steve's monologue from 4x14 (You non-operators. You sit on the sidelines and judge us in the field...) is one of my favorites. I love the reality check that it gave us and I really wanted Catherine to have her moment where she stood up for anyone doing the job/wearing the badge.
3. This chapter was a fine line to walk with Steve and Savannah. I really wanted Steve to tow the line between being protective of Catherine but also respect that she could hold her own. With Savannah, she reminded me a little bit of Greer. Not evil, per se, but opportunistic and manipulative. She's a woman in a man's world and had to learn to play the game to survive.
I hope you enjoyed it!
XO,
-Mags-
