Meet me halfway

Pairing: McRoll

End of episode 5 of season 1 Nalowale

Chapter 3

The drive to the hotel wasn't long, they were staying at a place only about ten minutes from the airport so they didn't need to worry about using up any of their time to spend alone on driving and pretty soon, Steve was pulling into the a parking space in the carpark at the hotel and shutting the engine off and taking the key out of the ignition.

That whole time driving was made up of little gazes between each other, soft smiles that they only held for each other and Steve's hand resting on her thigh, teasing her and seeing how far he could go up her thigh before she playfully moved his hand back and made a 'tisk, tisk' noise.

A big part of her had been wanting this assignment to be over as quickly as it could be so she could go back to Pear Harbour and be closer to Steve, she loved being stationed at Pearl and had already decided that next time she was assigned to something, she would ask her CO if there was a possibility of being stationed at Pearl on a more permanent assignment.

She knew Steve felt it too, her absence and it was in those longing looks that made her all the more aware of just how much they both loved each other even if they hadn't said it verbally to each other yet. "Penny for your thoughts?", came Steve's voice as he pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the present.

Chuckling, she smiled and looked over at him, "Just thinking about how I've been looking forward to this time with you since I first left to come on this assignment". He smiled back and leaned in and kissed her softly, '"I know, I've been waiting for what feels like forever.. come on, let's go get settled".

Opening the door, he got out, and though he had tried to be quick to her side, Catherine was quicker and had already gotten the door open and was out before he could make it all the way around, so instead he popped the trunk and grabbed their bags before closing it and locking the car and following Catherine inside to the reception area to check in.

After checking in and getting their key to the room, they headed up stairs, funnily enough the older woman Catherine had spoken to and the younger woman Steve had spoken to on the plan had both checked into the same hotel, though neither Steve nor Catherine even noticed as all they could see was each other.

Walking into their hotel room, Steve was quick to drop the bags and backed Catherine up to the door, closing it at the same time, pressing her against it, leaning in and kissing her sensually and slowly, his hands settling on her hips, hers moving up to his neck, wrapping around him and kissing back deeply. "Mmm that was a much better hello kiss Sailor", she giggled softly, looking up into his eyes as she pulled away slightly.

"Well, I aim to please Lieutenant", he leaned in and kissed her again, then moved his head to her neck and whispered in her ear, "I noticed that we have a hot tub in here, why don't we forgo the pool this afternoon and have some time in the hot tub", his breath was warm against her ear and she shivered softly at his whispered words, "and maybe we could call in some takeaway or room service." He stopped for a moment and then continued, "because I don't know about you, but now I have you in this room, I don't know if I can let you leave it this evening.. then tomorrow we can go sight seeing, maybe do Indian for lunch and have a swim in the pool?"

Giggling softly, she nodded and leaned in to him, sighing happily. "Sounds like a plan to me", she replied with another soft giggle, her smile reaching her eyes, the smile that she reserved just for Steve, her lips pressing against his and kissing him passionately.

Pulling away from him for a moment, she smirked as he pouted playfully at the loss of her touch "tsk, tsk, all in good time Commander,". She leaned in and kissed him once more before taking her bag and heading into the bathroom to go change into some more comfortable clothes seeing as she was still in her uniform.

Shaking his head, he sighed happily.. Danny had been complaining the last month or so that he had been grouchier then usual because he hadn't had his Catherine fix and now at least when he did get back to Hawaii, he would have a spring in his step for a while.

Messaging Danny quickly to let him know he had arrived safely, and to not disturb him for the next day or so, he then turned his phone on silent, so that he could just check his phone when he needed to.. He always kept his phone available for emergencies but this was one time when it was extreme emergency, only if something had happened to Gracie, one of his team or his sister.

Just as he put his phone away in the drawer of the night table by the bed, he heard a cough from behind him and as he turned around, his jaw nearly dropped.. Catherine was standing there in a really sexy piece of lingerie, a red one piece with a little robe that matched.. "Wow", he breathed in, feeling his heart racing and his body respond to her outfit. She walked towards him and smirked softly, "so I take it you like what you see sailor?"

Standing up from the bed, he nodded as he meet her in the middle of the room, still with that lust filled gaze that he always wore when he was seduced by her. Without saying a word, he cupped the back of her head with his hand, pulling her closer to him with his right arm, their bodies pressed together and he kissed her urgently and passionately, breathing her scent in. She never wore perfumes when on active missions but she remembered how much he loved when she wore perfume.

"God I've missed you Cath", he whispered in a low voice, his lips still pressed against her, "I've missed you too Steve", her hand moving to grope his groin causing him to let out a low groan of arousal, "You are way overdressed though", she smirked stating in a very obvious manner.

Chuckling, he smirked a little and peered up from where he was now kissing up her neck, "Hmmm you should do something about that then Lieutenant", he answered in a playful tone, her eyes closing when he bit down gently on her neck and grazed his teeth against her soft skin, her body shivering and a soft moan escaping her lips at the feeling.

Her fingers lingered at his belt buckle and she slowly began to undo his belt and then his zipper on his pants, before unbuttoning the button, looking into his eyes biting on her lower lip, her fingers hooking into his jeans and tugging them down off his hips, his body reacting to her touch when she brushed against his growing arousal, his breathing getting heavier.

His own hand pulling his jean down, and then stepping out of them, he watched as she began to slowly button his button down shirt, kissing her way down his chest as she unbuttoned each button, and then let her fingers splayed over his chest, and pushed the shirt off his shoulders.

Eyeing his chest, she smiled softly, her arousal for him growing, "Much better Commander", whispering seductively, leaning in and kissing his lips deeply, pressing her body against him. She could feel his hardness growing in his pants and giggled, pushing away from him for a moment.. "I'll just go order some room service and then I'll be right back". As she pulled away further, her hand lingered around his groin for a moment, and gripped his hardness, causing him to groan out loud and whimper, "Mmm you are such a tease Catherine".

Watching as she walked away from him to sit on the bed and pick up the menu to check out what food and drink could be ordered, he couldn't help but think just how lucky he was to have such an incredible woman in his life, not only was she beautiful and so attractive on the outside, but she was kind, caring, loving and thoughtful and beautiful on the inside as well. He headed into the bathroom, putting the bath plug in and then turning the water on to run the hot tub, and then moved to the sink to clean up a little and shave.

Knowing they would be eating Indian the next day, she ordered something different, just some simple fish and chips and they could just pick at that while they spent time making out and talking, she also ordered some wine, and beer as well.. Catherine knew that Steve losing Freddie and then his Dad not long after each other still had an effect on him and she could sense that he was surviving it, and that while he didn't talk much about it, it still kept him up at night.. She heard how both men died and knew Steve would automatically place the blame on himself even if he had nothing to be guilty about or responsible for.

Walking into the bathroom after she ordered their food, he was in his own world for a moment, hand in the air near his face with a razor as he shaved and there was something in his eyes that suggested he was recalling memory, while she wasn't a man, and didn't understand the dynamic's of a father-son relationship, she could recognise that shaving seemed to be a thing between them, that perhaps Steve was remembering a time when John taught him how to shave.. His eyes were a little glassed over as though he was trying to hold his emotions in and so Catherine let him have that moment, resting her shoulder on the door frame before then coming over once he was done and patting his freshly shaved face with after shave and wrapping her arms around his body, kissing his back and then neck softly.

"I'm sorry Cath, I just miss him, you know", he whispered as a way of brushing off his emotions and trying to hold it all in. She nodded her head and sighed quietly, "I know.. and don't be sorry Steve… life has a way of pushing these memories in front of us when we need them the most.. You don't have to be this macho tough guy around me okay?", he turned in her arms and wound his arms around her, one hand moving to her face to move the hair out of her eyes, "I know", whispering softly as he leaned in and kissed her lips deeply.

As they kissed, she moved her hands to his pants and undid his belt and zipper and then the button on his cargo's and let them drop to the floor, her fingers hooking into his underwear and pulling them down as well, his own hands tugging at the zipper on the back of her little piece of lingerie. Once both fully undressed, they got into the hot tub together, Catherine moving to straddle him, and though they were both highly aroused, they were content with just alternating between kissing and talking for now… Catherine knew right now he needed to talk more then anything else.

"I know something is bothering you Steve and I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything at all". How was it she knew so much, how she knew him better then he even knew himself.. Ever since he came back to Hawaii, he had hit the ground running and he hadn't stopped since… His life took such a dramatic and sudden change when Freddie and his father were killed, and he hadn't stopped to talk to anyone about that.. He held it all in, but going from the Navy full time to being in the reserves and being given a task force to run, it was a big change in his life, and he hadn't fully acknowledged that..

Looking into her eyes, he knew he found the woman of his dreams, the one person who understood with perfect clarity exactly who he was and never once tried to change him. "There's been a lot of changes in my life lately.. Losing my father, losing Freddie, and deciding to transfer to the reserves to run the taskforce.. It's been overwhelming", he stopped and sighed, "I never envisioned myself living in that house again to be honest.. From the moment Dad shipped me off to the mainland after Mom died, it's always been his house.. not mine.. and I'm struggling to come to terms with the whole idea of living there". He took a breath, "Every day I find myself finding something of his that takes me back to a part of my childhood, or imagining him living here alone after Mom died and after he shipped Mare and I off to the mainland".

His eyes were watery and the tears were threatening to fall, Catherine gazing into his eyes intently, not saying a word, just listening and holding him, "Whenever you are there with me in that house… I finally start to feel like it's my house, and not that I'm just living in my father's house.. It's bearable living there when you are there.. You are the one that makes that house feel like a home again to me.. You are home to me now.. and even though we are both in a foreign country, you still feel like I'm home now because I'm with you.. and I know you are just doing your duty and going where you are ordered to go, but whenever you leave.. my home goes with you".

Hearing Steve say this made her own eyes well up because she couldn't believe that despite never putting a label on what they were, or commenting on their relationship, they always still managed to find themselves on the same page.. She felt the same way, and the moment she had to leave Steve, she felt like she had left her home too.. Having grown up in many different places over the years, she never had a solid home base like Steve did with Hawaii.. He was born there and grew up on O'ahu till he was around the age of fifteen.

The closest she ever felt to having a home base, a place she could call home was with Steve.. Even if they settled down in Detroit, or New York, or Washington rather then Hawaii, home would always be with Steve, wherever he was, as long as she was with him, she was home… Gazing into his eyes, she leaned in, and kissed him, both of their eyes open, staring intimately into each other's eyes as they kissed, before she pulled away slightly, "Anywhere I go, whenever anyone asks me where home is… I tell them my home is where my heart is and my heart is in Hawaii with my man.. This deployment has been the hardest one I've ever had to do because it was thrust upon me right when I began to think about my future.. My personal and professional future and I'll be honest Steve.. while we don't like putting a label on us because we don't want the pressure.. my future.. all I can see when I look into the future… is you".

His eyes were still watery and he smiled through his tears.. He thought of his parents and how before his mother died, how happy their family was, how his parents looked at each other with so much love and respect, "You are my future, and I know you still feel you have work to do in the Navy, and I'm okay with that.. it's you.. and only you Cath". Though he had a few one night stands or short term relationships that mainly just satisfied his sexual appetite before he met Catherine, once he met Catherine, things had changed for him.. The man they said who was afraid of commitment, afraid to settle down only wanted to settle down with one person, and the was Catherine Rollins. "I'm not going anywhere Sailor.. You are stuck with me", whispering softly as she kissed him again deeper, enjoying the feeling of the water and the bubbles massaging her body.

That sealed her decision to ask for a more permanent reassignment at Pearl Harbour when she was finished this deployment.. Steve was right, she wasn't quite ready to leave the Navy, the Navy was all she had know all her life.. It was something she wanted to do since she was a little girl and watching her father before her but she also knew she couldn't keep doing this to either of them, having to leave for months on end, not knowing when they could steal a little time together..

Just as she was about to sink down onto his hardness and scratch that itch they both had been so desperate to scratch for months, a knock on their door and a voice call out, "room service", and she giggled at the intrusion, his stomach choosing that exact moment to grumble with hunger, "Mmmm let's get you fed and then you can show me just how much you missed me Commander". He chuckled and kissed her softly watching as she got up and out of the bath, putting on her robe and tying it up so she could go answer the door, whispering to himself, "ohh you better believe I have".

Author's Notes.

Thanks for all the support, it means a lot that you all love reading my stories. I am sorry for the delay in this one. I have had this sitting half written for a while now, but just wasn't feeling it so I changed it slightly and finally manage to get it done. I think in my head, this is kind of where both of their heads and hearts were at this point during the series and that is why I feel Catherine ended up in Pearl before she ended up retiring from the Navy.

AlexMc1575

Thanks for the review, I am glad you enjoyed the story so far and hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

FictionLover610:

It's been on my mind for a while as well which is why I ended up writing about it, I think though sometimes the scenes with Catherine and Steve are short, they are often to the point and very significant moments in their lives. Thanks for the review, I appreciate it.

SteveMcGarrettLover:

Thanks so much, I am glad you enjoyed the chapters. Hope you really like this one too. I was gonna do a sex scene here but alas, it seemed like it was turning out much like the perfect one so I wanted to swap it around a bit and do something slightly different.

Mechidsalvo:

Thank you so much, I am really appreciative of your support and kind words. I am glad you enjoyed this chapter and I would love to do a story about Catherine having her first time with Steve, I shall make sure I write that down in my ideas of storylines to continue that one.

Guest:

Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy this next chapter.