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As always, thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy what's to come!

Sorry for the delay!

Nalo a loaʻa

-loosely translate to "lost and found"-

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Catherine flopped onto the sofa and just stared forward.

"I've made a real mess of all of this, haven't I?"

Danny followed her motions and sat beside her.

The entire drive to Steve's was mostly spent in silent, both of them still reacting to the entire situation, both mastering each day on minimal sleep, but a lot of worry.

The moment Catherine had walked into the house, everything hit her like a brick wall - the life she could have left behind, the memories she wouldn't have been able to create, the love that Steve would drown her in.

"Not just you, Catherine. We all let him down." Rubbing his jaw, Danny realised he needed a good shave and a hot shower. "I spent days either ignoring him, insulting him, or being a downright ass to him," Danny admitted, his hand dropping to his lap. "I deliberately made sure he knew he was replaced, and that he couldn't call me a friend. What right do I have to think we're okay?"

"You look okay," Catherine mused, giving a small smile of reassurance. "Regardless of what's happened, Steve will forever be the most forgiving man I know. He doesn't know how to hold a grudge unless you're the real enemy."

"It shouldn't be that easy, though." Danny's jaw locked, his teeth grinding together as the anger he felt for himself rose. "I don't deserve easy forgiveness for this. He has every right to want me as far away from him."

Every little thing Danny had kept locked down was suddenly bubbling to the top and he had no idea how to control his rising emotions. Steve had been home almost a month and he had spent most of that behaving like a monster rather than welcoming the man home.

"How the hell he's able to even look at me …" Danny trailed off only to let out a loose sob. "I call him my best friend and I completely failed him."

"Danny," Cath said, sitting forward the best she could as she ran a hand over his back. "It's okay, he's home … we can make this right. From where I've sat, you've definitely already started to make it more than right."

"I brow beat a doctor fresh out of surgery to stay by his side," Danny jested, a tiny laugh bursting from him. "I was just so wired; I couldn't figure out anything else to do but to be glued to Steve's side."

"Yeah, and from what I gather, you did just that."

Giving a feeble attempt at a chuckle, Danny drew in a shaky breath. This was his first time out of the hospital in days, and even though Steve was with Chin, Danny felt guilty for leaving when he said he wouldn't.

"Y'know when we were in Columbia, I knew I'd lost my brother, but I also had this realisation that I had ignored gaining another in Steve. When we brought Matty home, I was a wreck, but without Steve I don't think I'd have made it back at all."

"You're like a brother to him, too," Cath quickly confirmed, knowing exactly how important Danny was to Steve. "He might not speak it a lot, but he'd be lost without you. He's had many men he called brothers, but that's what happens when you're in the careers we are, but you … Danny, you're true family to him. Sometimes I really wish you could hear how he talks about you … he does not shut up."

Danny laughed, shaking his head, having had a very similar conversation before.

"And when Wo Fat had him in that basement and we found him, I could've sworn I'd lost him then," Danny admitted, slowing his breathing some. "He looked dead, Cath. I've never felt so much relief as I did when he bolted upright and I know it was hell for him in that aftermath, but selfishly I was just so happy he wasn't dead."

"You'd think I would've learned from that."

"Hindsight is an amazing thing, Danny, but you can't live with that regret." She patted him on the shoulder, a minor show of comfort that while she understood him, she was there for him, too. "So, how about we get this over with? Can we stop wallowing and get back to him?"

"Yeah, I think that's a really good idea," Danny confirmed, pulling himself up from the leather sofa. "Let me help you up, Catherine … carrying a baby neanderthal cannot be easier."

While she did laugh, Cath also realised that something wasn't quite right with the house.

"Wait… Something's different," Catherine suddenly said, sitting up straighter. "Something's missing."

"Photos," Danny deadpan.

Glancing around the room, Catherine saw that not a single photo was in its place. Glancing back at Danny, she saw the way he was staring, a new level of morose had settled in.

"Where have they all gone?" she asked, tracing every surface only to fail spotting a single photo.

"They're in a box in the study."

He waved his hand in the general direction of the dining room nonchalantly, but he hadn't had a chance to talk to Steve about it. He was living by his own assumptions what caused the SEAL to de-personalise his home - to protect himself from more heartbreak.

"I'm not sure when he took them down, but I'd hazard by the small layer of dust, it was a few days after he came home." Pulling Cath up, Danny only let her go when she was steady, so he could find the box in question. "Was meant to bring it up with him but then Franklin Wright did a Steve and came back from the dead and here we are."

Both walked through to the study, but Cath was the first to see the box and as agile as she could, bent down.

"This is literally every photo that was ever up in the house," Cath mentioned, rifling through the box, only to feel her heart sink when she saw all of his medals. "Danny," she pushed in a whisper, "His medals as well."

Imagining the pain it must have brought for Steve to be in this house alone with every single ghost must have been more torture than he had ever been put through in his life.

And that was saying something.

Danny suddenly felt really restless, trying his hardest to stay in the moment, but it didn't sit right with him.

"I'm going to pack him some fresh clothes then we'll head back to the hospital, sound good?"

"Yeah," Cath quickly agreed. "I'll come up and help."

Wordlessly, Danny moved to the staircase, rushing up them and leaving Catherine to follow. Going into the bedroom, Danny spotted one frame face down on the bed. The pit in his stomach began to open as he approached and couldn't resist the heavy sigh.

"Hey, what's up?"

"He saved one," Danny mused and held the photo frame out to her. "Says more than he ever would."

Taking the photo, Catherine stared at the still shot of a happier time in all their lives.

"I remember this day," she spoke softly, sitting on the bed. "He looks really happy here."

Staring back at them was their entire Ohana, a time before Catherine's last disappearing act. Steve had Charlie on his shoulder, Grace wrapped around his waist, Danny and Catherine immediately either side of him, and the rest of the gang all around him.

"Feels like an eternity since I last saw this look on his face," Danny admitted around a lump in his throat at the sight of Steve dopey grin. "When did this all get so complicated?"

"The moment the governor decided to save his life." Rubbing a hand over her stomach, Catherine glanced down at her bulging belly and smiled wistfully. "I'm grateful this little guy will get to have his father in his life, you know?" she asked rhetorically and looked up at Danny. "Regardless of what I said and did the other day, the idea of him being brought up on stories about Steve devastated me."

"You were reacting how anyone in your predicament would."

"I really hurt him," Cath admonished.

"We all hurt him," Danny groused and set the photo onto Steve's bedside table. "I hated how easily he accepted you leaving, Catherine, I really did. I'm so happy you reconsidered because as much as he said he accepted it and said the right things, I don't think he'd have survived knowing you were out there in the world with his son. I think that would've finished him."

"I know," she whispered, and her gaze dropped shamefully. "How can he forgive me for that, Danny?"

"Because he wants his family back," Danny replied, knowing that this conversation would be one they all repeated for a long time yet. "It's all he wanted when he came home and not one of us gave him that."

Gripping the photo frame, Danny felt a plethora of emotions hit him like a tidal wave, each crashing into him neither allowing him a moment to focus and breathe.

"You know what really gets me?" he asked, head stooped to look at the photo, but turned to face Cath. "It's not fair that Steve always ends up hurt trying to look after people." Standing up straighter, he hated how anger was the winning emotion. "First Jenna and North Korea. Then Afghanistan, and I don't mean that as a dig, but the sight of him when they finally got him out still to this day kills me. Then Franklin did this, and he sat on his hands to let the people in charge do their thing because my kids being targets was the final straw, and then he fights back against a dead guy to save all of us only to further ignore himself and jeopardise his health." His grip tightened before he released it. "Why does he always have to pay the price?"

"I really wish I knew, Danny," Cath replied, her understanding palpable. "I heard about the navy," she said and smiled sadly. "I can't imagine how he dealt with that."

"He didn't. He isn't." Danny rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "He's got the biggest adjustment of his life coming … Actually, biggest adjustments. With you having a bun in the oven he's adding to his plate." Danny chuckled a little. "Maybe this kid is the thing he needs? Something to focus him, give him some hope."

"How about we get back to him and find out?" Cath asked, suddenly desperate to see Steve.

"Separation anxiety just hit you, too?" he asked sarcastically, dropping the photo back onto the bed. "C'mon let's get this over with."

Danny went to grab clothes and Cath went to find a bag. Both moving around the room in a careful tandem.

"What happened?" Cath asked, setting the large bag onto the bed. "I know the last time we saw one another I said I didn't want details, but I want to know what happened in that warehouse."

"The doofus saved my life with his ninja skills," Danny mused, pausing his mission to grab clothes as quickly as possible. "That damn hero complex of his."

Cath laughed, clearly not disagreeing.

"We're just entered that damn warehouse, it was clear. There was nothing misleading, no evidence that pointed to the case, no bad guys in sight." Turning to face Catherine, Danny rubbed his brow as he tried to pull the memory into clarity. "Steve had gone ahead, he was quiet, but suddenly he came running at me. I heard him scream my name and just as his hands hit me the explosion happened. I went one way, Steve went another. He threw me clear of anything and behind a load of crates for safety, but Steve took the brunt of it all."

Closing her eyes, Cath remembered the time in Afghanistan when they were trying to rescue Najib from the Taliban, she'd seen Steve get thrown clear from a landmine.

"He hit another load of crates, but the bomb did the most damage to his left side," Danny finalised, trying to downplay the moment. "The rest you know. Just another day in the office."

Danny went over the wardrobe, pulling open the doors and getting Steve the clean clothes he was begging for, forgetting about the drawers he had left open. Kono had been a Godsend grabbing a quick change of clothes to get Steve out of the hospital gown he was hating, but now they needed to think about getting Steve home and working towards that.

"Y'know, when he came back, I seriously thought he'd done this himself," Danny stated, pulling clothes free from the wardrobe. "Blamed him for feeding his hero complex and all I keep thinking is how he was doing the complete opposite."

"I won't lie, I thought the same of him," Cath tried to keep that comment light. "God, Danny, I told him this was the cruellest thing he had ever done. Nothing he has ever done in his life can be considered close to that. I tormented him so much."

"Yeah, we all did that … that's why I was hard on you yesterday about if you were here to stay or not," Danny admitted, knowing how hypocritical he sounded. "I think he's had enough of people cutting out on him."

"More than anyone," Cath remarked, sadly. "I'll be right back."

"Do whatever you need to," Danny offered, not really paying attention.

Instead, he went around the room, picking up anything and everything Steve may want and need. The last thing that caught his eye was the bedside table, and slowly he moved over to it, ripping the drawer open, rooting through the top drawer.

"He was right, you know?" Cath suddenly asked whimsically from the doorway. "Mary's old room should definitely be the nursery." She grinned a little, a wistful look in her eye. "It's close to his room, has the ocean just outside of the windows. I can see it now."

"So, you want to do this with him?" Danny asked, hand hovering over the black ring box.

"Wouldn't want to do it with anyone else," Cath confirmed, almost nervously and Danny knew he needed to stow his scrutiny away. "I'll grab his toiletries and we can get back. We're already taking longer than we said."

As she turned, Danny plucked the box and tossed it into the bag, making sure he hid it from Cath's eagle eye.

"We're going to take a little longer yet. Was wondering if we could head to my place? I want to grab a quick shower, have a shave and grab a bag for myself." He gave a small grin. "If you don't mind waiting that is. I'll be like Super SEAL and take a three-minute shower."

"No problem at all," Cath replied, happily, adding a wash bag to the open duffle.

Grabbing the last of the items, Danny closed the bag and lifted it from the mattress, only to follow Cath down the stairs.

"Hey Cath?" Danny called before she could reach the front door. "There's something I want to do before we go," Danny mused suddenly. "I think you're the right person to help me."

"What is it?"

Danny didn't reply, merely dropped the duffle bag and walked away, disappearing into the study only to retrieve the large cardboard box full of photos.

"I want to put this house back to how it should be. I doubt the selfish bastard will notice but I will."

Cath grinned at Danny's complaint.

"Danny, he'll notice."