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.


"Smells good." Steve leaned over Catherine's shoulder as she slid the lid off a pot and checked on their dinner. "What is it? Smells familiar."

"Ghormeh sabzi." She covered the pot before pulling a tray of naan out of the oven. "Had a craving." She smiled sheepishly.

Steve kissed her cheek and reached over her head to pull down dinner plates. "You think Shelbs will like it?"

Catherine shrugged, "Better to start her early before she knows she doesn't like it."

"Where, uh, where'd you learn how to make it?"

"Google." She grinned, "And I finally went to that middle eastern grocery store out near the base."

He wrapped his arms around her, "How was your day?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

Catherine nodded innocently, "Yeah. Fine. Why?"

Steve shrugged, "You just happen to be craving Persian food?"

"Yeah?" She frowned, "Three tours in Kabul and the only allied-friendly restaurant outside the wire served it by the boatload. That and when I was in... never mind." A faint smile flickered at the corner of her mouth, "It's right up there with chicken and waffles for me." Stealing one more kiss, Steve got Shelby and Will settled in their high chairs and dug in to the feast.


"I have never seen Shelby eat so much in her life." Steve groaned as he settled down on the couch and pulled Catherine on top of him. "You're gonna have to roll me off this couch later 'cause I ain't gonna be able to get up."

Catherine laid on top of him and yanked a blanket over their tangled bodies, "There's cheesecake in the fridge."

"Rollins." He groaned, "Now I'm gonna have to hit the gym before work tomorrow."

"Speaking of work - you were out early this morning."

Steve nodded, "Had an appointment."

Her brows wrinkled as she racked her brain, "Did I forget something? I usually write those down in my calendar just in case I have to call you or something."

"Nah," He shook his head, "It was, uh, impromptu."

"Psych?"

"Yeah."

"Mel?"

He tilted his head down to catch a glimpse of her face, "How'd you know?"

Catherine shrugged, "I knew she and her wife just moved out here and she took a job with the V.A. like she always wanted to. What did you guys talk about?"

"Classified." He teased.

"Steve…."

"Catherine..." He mimicked before shrugging, "Just stuff… You know? Just makin' sure my mind's straight." Steve kissed her shoulder, "Makin' sure I'm giving you my best."

Catherine laid against him in silence. Between the two of them, she had always been far more reluctant to talk to a psychologist or ask for help of any kind. She was prideful. She didn't like admitting she needed help or just needed someone to talk to. Steve kept his treatment program to himself, rarely talking about it, but he never had any qualms with seeking out help. In her opinion, if she could just stay busy, just keep her mind busy, keep her hands busy, she'd be able to ignore her demons.

During the day, she had more than enough on her plate to keep her occupied. Two kids under two years old had her on her toes constantly. The occasional favor Five-0 asked of her kept her mind sharp. But when the quiet came: when the kids were in bed, when the dishes were done and the laundry was folded, and case assignments were completed, that's when she felt most haunted.

"Maybe I'll go see her one day… you know... to catch up." She laced her fingers into his, "I could get Grace to watch the kids…"

Steve nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple, "You should."


"Morning, Commander." Melissa stated as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Steve sauntered into the breakroom and grabbed a mug from the cabinet, "You weren't kidding about the caffeine." He chuckled and pointed to her cup of coffee.

Mel rolled her eyes, "Don't get your panties in a wad. I just said 'morning'."

"And that was almost a polite greeting." He filled his cup and leaned back on the counter. "Has, uh, has Catherine called you?"

"Matter of fact, she just texted me this morning. Wanted to grab lunch this week."

"Good. Good." Steve nodded, "That's good. Real good." He stared down into his coffee, "You think you'll be able to get her to, uh, to open up?"

Melissa shook her head, "No. Not gonna ask her to either."

He frowned, "But that's the point. I helped you acquire the target. Now it's your turn to move in. We're tag-teaming this."

Steve earned himself an award winning eye roll. "Your wife's mental health is not an op. And in my professional experience, people can only be helped when they want to be helped. So, I'm going to have lunch with her and talk about your kids, and how Trish and I should decorate the new house, and most likely complain about our boneheaded spouses, and you are going to be in my office tomorrow at fifteen hundred hours for your scheduled appointment."

"But I'm-"

"Dear god, please don't bullshit me and say fine." Melissa interjected, "Because a grown ass man who's trying to trick his very intelligent wife into seeing a psychologist is anything but fine."

Steve gripped onto the porcelain mug, "You need more than caffeine in the morning to be polite."

"Steve," That was new. She usually just called him Commander or McGarrett. "Would you say that your instructors through BUD/s and SQT were mean?"

He shook his head, "No. They, uh, they did what they needed to. Had to prepare us well."

She tapped her fingers on the side of her mug, "And what do you think would happen if they went easy on you? You know - didn't make you do all those drown proofing exercises, and carrying those big ass logs, and doing boat runs?"

"They wouldn't have prepared us for the job."

"And?"

"SEALs would die."

Melissa nodded in agreement with his assessment. "I'm not an asshole, McGarrett. I just want my people to make it." She topped off her mug and headed for the door, "Tomorrow. Fifteen hundred. Don't be late."


A wolf whistle caught her attention as Steve pushed his office door open, "Lookin' sharp, Rollins!" He grinned from ear to ear, "With the earpiece- the whole thing, huh?"

She blushed as she tugged the comm unit out of her ear, "Yeah, Billy and I are running a personal security detail on a visiting Saudi diplomat, so…"

"Nice." Steve crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes roamed her body.

"Women, I know they dress modestly there, but I mean the way this guy looks at me, you'd think I was wearing a string bikini!"

"What's his name? I'll beat him up." Steve was only half-joking and he knew that she knew that.

Catherine snorted, "Okay, see that's sort of exactly what we're being paid to prevent."

"Oh, right. Okay."

"Yeah, so that would be bad."

"Got it."

She pushed off his desk, "Which leads me to the reason why I'm here."

Steve's jaw dropped in a look of faux shock, "What? You're not here… I thought you'd come to show me your new pantsuit."

"No! Smartass!" She giggled. "I need a favor!"

He grinned, "What do you need?" Oh, how the tables turn.

"So, uh, our client has a packed schedule tomorrow, and Billy asked me to run some threat assessments on all the people he's meeting with. Only-"

"Only you don't have access to Navy Intel anymore, so you thought you'd come to Five-0 and run the background checks."

Catherine grinned, "Mhm. Look at you. You are handsome AND smart."

Steve gritted his teeth and sucked in his lip, "Ah, uh… I dunno how I feel about allocating Five-0 resources to a private security job."

Her smile dropped into an instant frown. He recognized it. That was the same look she had on her face the day they met in their duty station. She was about to kill her computer that day. By the looks of things, he was on her hit list. Catherine waited a beat before responding, "Aha. Okay. Um. Remind me. Again. How many satellites I've repositioned for you over the years."

He raised his eyebrows, "Hmm?"

"You owe me." She stared him down and when that didn't work she took a threatening step towards him. "Steve!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" He smirked, "Relax. Come on, I'll log you in." Catherine followed him out to the surface table and stood beside him as he logged in. "So this is the mainframe. It basically works like the programs we used to run back in Intel. Just pick the database you want to run your names through and follow the prompts."

Catherine pulled out her tablet and opened her client's itinerary. "Thanks for this." She mumbled as she began running the background checks.

He smirked and stood behind her with his arms on either side of her, boxing her in. "So, uh, do I get dinner out of this?" His hand slid down the gentle curve of her ass, "Maybe dessert?"

She arched her back ever so slightly just to tease him, "Maybe if you're good." He groaned. "But we're gonna be on the clock pretty late tonight and tomorrow." She added on.

We. That's right. Her and Billy. Just the thought of them working together was an immediate cold shower. "How's it going? First official job and everything?"

Catherine shrugged, "It's uh, it's good. Things are going pretty good."

"Cath, you don't have to, uh, to spare my feelings. I can handle you and him working together." She pursed her lips and pointed at her earpiece. Steve nodded. Catherine synced the background checks with her tablet and logged out. "All done?"

"Yeah, I should get back to work." She sighed, "I'll be in late, so I think I'm just gonna have him drop me off at my place that way I don't wake you up."

Steve shook his head, "Wake me up." He grabbed her hand and walked her to the elevator, "Stay safe out there, okay?"

She gave his hand a little squeeze before punching the elevator button, "You too."


Billy checked his watch as he tried his best not to smash his earpiece into the asphalt. He would bet big money on the fact that Catherine had given Steve some sort of signal that he was listening to her frequency. That, or Steve had somehow become a mind reader. Because of course he could. He's Steve Fucking McGarrett.

A flash of black and white caught his attention. Catherine walked briskly through the parking lot. Her dress slacks were work appropriate, sure, but the way the charcoal fabric nipped just at her waist and curved down her ass drummed up all sorts of dark fantasies. The blazer said she was all business, but the blouse underneath had him wanting to ball the fabric up in his hands before pulling it off her svelte frame. The only thing he could think about when he saw the way her hair brushed off her shoulders as she walked was tangling his hand in it while he kissed her senseless. The neckline of the sheer fabric of her blouse billowed as a gust of wind cut across the lot, giving him just a peek at her-

"Ready to go?"

Billy cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah. The um - did the, um…" He shook his head to clear his mind of the erotic thoughts, "Did the background checks raise any flags?"

Catherine shook her head as she walked around to the passenger's side, "Nope, we're good to go. I have them backlogged just in case, but everything came back clear."

She reached down for the handle, but his hand landed on top of hers, "Allow me."

"I can open a car door, Billy. You're trusting me to protect the lives of your clients. I sure as hell should be able to take care of getting in your vehicle."

He relished the feeling of her hand on his. He'd fight to the death to open her door if it meant he got away with that physical contact. "Our clients." He corrected her, "You're my partner, Catherine. Not my subordinate." Catherine bit back a laugh and ducked into the car. "Besides. My mother would whoop my ass if she knew I didn't open a door for a lady." He shot her his most confident grin as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Catherine belly laughed so hard that she snorted, "Billy Harrington, don't tell me that you, decorated Navy SEAL and former commander of SEAL Team Seven, are afraid of your mother."

He cackled, "You're telling me you're not afraid of yours?"

"You've met my mother! She's crazy! I have every right to be afraid of her!"

Billy grinned, "Point taken. I'm afraid of a lot of things. I think Evelyn Rollins is at the top of the list."

"So what's next for us?"

Damn, he loved the way she said those two little letters. "Us?"'

Catherine looked at him like he had three heads, "Yeah? What, uh, what are we doing the rest of the day?"

Right. They had a job to do. Billy groaned, "Just following the entourage around all day." He looked over at her, "This is boring you, isn't it?"

"No." She beamed from ear to ear, "I, uh, I had my doubts… But working with you feels good. And we're not in a warzone, so that's a bonus."

Billy shifted uncomfortably in his seat as they headed into downtown Honolulu, "So, uh… Any more ink since Amsterdam?"

Catherine laughed, "No." She waved her hand dismissively, "I've thought about it, but….no."

"You need some moral support?" He grinned.

"No." She giggled, "I just haven't decided what I want yet."

Billy studied her face, "No. I think you know what you want, you're, uh just to chicken to admit it. So go ahead. Tell me, Rollins."

Catherine turned a deep shade of red and brushed her fingers over her mouth as if to keep the words in, "No."

"Alright. You asked for it. I'm just gonna have to guess now." He stated as they pulled up to the hotel where their client was staying. "First guess. A tattoo of something in another language because you're, as the kids say these days, 'basic'?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not basic. And no."


When they escorted their client from his hotel room to the waiting SUV, Billy whispered into his comms, "Heart on your shoulder that says 'mom'."

Catherine rolled her eyes even though he was walking ahead of her, "Negative."

While they waited in the corner of a restaurant during a lunch meeting, he guessed again. "An anchor. Classic Navy tattoo."

She sneered, "No. That's a terrible tattoo."

They followed their client to an office complex. As they tailed him through the lobby, Billy's fingers slipped under her blazer and grazed the base of the small of her back, "Butterfly tattoo. Right here."

Catherine didn't take her eyes off the client. She could, however, feel Billy's gaze on her. Swatting his hand away, she joked, "What am I? A sixteen year old girl? Hell no."

Billy shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Hours passed while they waited outside a conference room for their client to negotiate his way through a string of business agreements. Catherine stretched her arms and bounced on her toes. "I'm gonna sleep so good tonight." She groaned as she twisted her back for a satisfying pop. "Mmmm."

Billy groaned, but for a very different reason. The things coming out of this woman's mouth had his mind anywhere but on the job they were being paid obscenely for. He glanced at his watch. It was nearing nine in the evening. The meeting had been pushed back to accommodate for the time difference with Saudi Arabia. "Hey, you, uh. You wanna grab a bite after we drop him back at the hotel?"

Catherine checked her phone. She had a missed call from Steve and two unread texts. "I'm gonna need as many hours of sleep as I can since we're doing this again tomorrow. Who knew following someone around all day would be so exhausting?" She swiped across her phone to open the texts as she muttered, "I'll just grab something at home." She immediately looked up from her phone at the realization that she had just called Steve's house 'home'. Something warm filled her and it wasn't the thought of the leftover ragu she had hidden in his fridge. Steve's house WAS home. Quickly, she read through the texts and fired off a response.

Steve: Case is wrapped up. Heading home.

Steve: Don't forget to come home and wake me up.

Catherine: Our schedule got delayed. Gonna be later than expected.

"Your place is in Aina Haina, right?"

She looked up from her phone, "What? Yeah. Yeah, but I usually stay at-"

"McGarrett's." Billy added.

Catherine nodded, "Yeah."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, "Did you move in with him or are you still his dirty little secret?"

"Excuse me?" She turned her head towards him.

Billy shrugged innocently, "I'm just calling it like I see it."

"I don't think my relationship is any of your concern."

"Catherine-" Billy was interrupted by the opening of the conference room door as their client left his meeting.

While they trailed him down to the lobby, Catherine tapped her comms and muttered, "Don't make me report you to H.R."

Billy thought for a moment, "It's just us. We don't have H.R." He caught her satisfied smirk as she opened the backdoor to the SUV for their client.


"Look, Rollins. I owe you an apology." Billy leaned back in the driver's seat as they pulled away from dropping their client off safely at his hotel. "I crossed a line with what I said about you and McGarrett and I'm sorry."

She smiled softly as she looked over at him, "Thanks." Resting her head back on the seat, she closed her eyes. Had Billy been an ass? Yes. Had his comment about her being Steve's secret struck a chord? Also, yes.

"You know, I'd, uh, I'd be lying if I said I wish things hadn't ended differently for us."

"Billy, I-"

His hand on her thigh stopped her from saying anything else, "But I'm glad you're happy." With both hands back firmly on the steering wheel, he pulled into Steve's driveway and let out a sigh, "Well, I have to admit." He began as he threw the car into park beside Steve's truck, "Part of me had doubts that we could make this work. But, after seeing you in action today, I know I made the right choice."

"Thanks." She smiled, "Although, it kind of sounds like you were congratulating yourself…"

Billy wrinkled his nose and smiled, "Kinda did, didn't it? Hm." Catherine burst into a fit of giggles. Fuck, he loved making her laugh. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at eight."

"Alright." She grinned as she pushed the door open, "Coffee and malasadas. On you."

"Okay." Billy should have left as soon as he saw Steve waiting for her on the front porch. He didn't want to see Catherine with him, but he was a glutton for punishment.


"Hey." She smiled through the exhaustion of the day.

"Hey." He laughed nervously and shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." Steve pushed out of the chair and sauntered over to her, "I just wanted to make sure you got home okay is all." He groaned, "How was your first day?"

Catherine took a deep breath, "Uh, it was a big change."

"Yeah, I bet."

"Mhmm. But in a good way."

"Good."

"Yeah." She nodded, "Billy already got us another gig, so I think… I think we're gonna be busy."

"Good. I'm glad."

She heard the low hum of Billy's car still idling in the driveway. "Come 'ere." She leaned in and kissed him under the glow of the porchlight. "I'm gonna go wash up. Will you, um, open us a bottle of wine?"

Steve nodded "Yeah. Red or white?"

"Um…" She thought for a moment, "Surprise me."

"Okay." He watched her disappear into the house. Steve heard the engine of Billy's car rev. He turned and waved back to him, a silent thank you for bringing Catherine home safe. Locking the door behind him, he padded into the kitchen and uncorked a bottle of white. He tossed the bowl of ragu Catherine had been hoarding into the microwave. As the leftovers finished heating up, he heard her tiptoeing down the stairs. "In here." He called out. She popped her head into the kitchen and was immediately handed a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine. "I know you usually drink a cab with that, but I know moscato's your favorite." A proud smile played across his lips, "I picked up a bottle on my way home just in case you needed a pick-me-up."

Dressed in his old SEAL hoodie and boxer shorts, she hopped up and sat on top of the kitchen counter, "You know me."

He pressed his hands against the counter on either side of her hips, "I'd like to think so." He grabbed his glass of wine and took a sip, "I, uh, I kind of stayed up because I wanted to talk to you about somethin'."

She set down the bowl of pasta and took a sip of wine, "What's up?"

His arms closed in against her thighs, his fingers drawing soothing circles around her lower back. "I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about moving in…. Here… With me." Catherine's silence left him stammering, "I mean… only if you want to. But, I, uh, I know the lease is up on your house soon and I just thought that maybe you'd-"

"Be honest with me." Catherine took a long drink, finished off her glass of wine, and poured herself another, "Are you asking because you want me to move in or because you're worried about me and Billy working together?"


AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi, friends! Leave your thoughts and comments in the reviews! (See Point #2 below for a little incentive!)

A little housekeeping:

1. I'm so sorry that email notifications haven't been going out! I've submitted something like a million bug reports to FanFiction, trying to get it resolved. In the meantime, know I upload a brand new chapter every single day between 9 AM and 11 AM Eastern Standard Time. If you follow me on Twitter (XOMaggieWrites) I post the link to the new chapter as soon as it's uploaded.

2. CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE CHAPTER IS HAPPENING! I need to wait until we get over a certain character being killed off. (Okay, don't act surprised. You all know it's coming.) SO! In a few chapters I'll have a little wiggle room to take creative freedoms with the story line. HERE'S THE DEAL: When we reach 500 reviews on this story, I'll release the prompts for the CYOA chapter in that day's Author's note, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Considering this story has an average of 200 readers every day, it shouldn't take us too long to get there! While I'm writing this Author's Note, we're up to 487 reviews.

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XO,

-Mags-