Limitless

Pairing: McRoll

Briefly mentioned: Steve/Lynn

Based on Season 6, episode 25

Chapter seven

On the way home, all Steve could think about was being home with Catherine, Mary, and Joan and relaxing.. He had wondered why Lynn hadn't called him at all, even Elle had come to see him when he was in the hospital so he knew that Lynn had to know about what happened, and that was when he knew in his head more then anything that it wasn't anything serious with her.. He thought it had been a bit more serious to Lynn though but this made him think otherwise..

He did think about calling her, but she hadn't called him so he just decided to shut her out for now the way she was shutting him out. He did wonder if maybe she had seen Catherine around, they were still on rocky ground from when she found the ring he brought when he was going to propose to Catherine.. He had to admit it, as much as he had fun with Lynn, he didn't love her the way he loved Catherine and he certainly didn't see a long lasting serious relationship with her the way he did with Catherine either. He also realised if she was angry at him right now, now wasn't the time to go finding her because he didn't need her drama anyway.

Walking into the door, Joan came rushing to his side and ran to him, "Be careful pumpkin", Mary cautioned to her daughter as she wrapped her little arms around her Uncle. "I didn't hurt you did I?", Joan looked up, her eyes filled with concern as Steve chuckled and hugged her back tight, "No, not at all sweetheart". Truth was, he was hurting all over from his day at work and now thinking about it, he should have stayed home but Joan giving him a hug actually made him feel a little better if anything because he loved her little gestures of affection. Smiling softly, Mary came over and looked at her brother, shaking her head a little, "What did I tell you.. You shouldn't have gone to work bro". She could see the tiredness on his face and sighed softly, Danny coming overt to hug Mary and he smiled, "I tried Mary, but he wouldn't listen to reason".

Joan moved to give Danny a hug and smiled, "I'm glad you are here Uncle Danno", her voice filed with excitement, "I'm glad I'm here too, something smells really good, you been helping your Mom and Aunt Catherine cook have you?", Smiling Joan nodded, "Yup, we made dinner for you and Uncle Steve". Hugging the small girl again, Danny smiled and then she pulled away as she took both Steve and Danny's hands and tugged them over to the couch, "Mommy said you both need to rest".

Chuckling, Steve kept standing while Danny sat down on the couch, "Well, your Mommy is right, Uncle Steve needs a long rest so how about I go upstairs and rest on my bed, maybe Uncle Danny can rest in your room so he is more comfortable". Nodding her head, she agreed to that and then skipped back outside to the backyard to play while Danny and Steve headed upstairs.. "I'll let you both know when dinner is ready", Mary called after them before she took headed outside to supervise her daughter.

Once in his bedroom, he decided to take a shower, and walked into the bathroom, smiling softly as he heard the shower running already, spotting Catherine's silhouette and he closed the bedroom door, slowly removing his clothes and walking into the bathroom, and slipping into the shower with her, hissing a little as the hot water hit his sensitive skin but otherwise enjoying the water beading down on his body. "Mmm Hey there Sailor", her warm hushed voice whispered as she turned to face him, "how you feeling?" Her face was filled with concern as she gazed into his eyes. Smiling softly, he leaned in and kissed her lips, "I'm fine, bit tired but nothing a nice hot shower and a nap won't cure".

For the first time ever, they didn't have sex in the shower, while Steve would have liked to be intimate with her in that way, it was nice to just be intimate with her in other ways, like being romantic and caring towards each other. Catherine took the loofah in her hand and put some body wash on it and then began to wash her lover with the loofah, his body tingling at the feel of the intimacy between the two of them. He nearly lost his life when he was shot and the whole time, all he could think of was Catherine and how much he regretted not being able to make things work between them.

Squeezing out some shampoo in his hands, he massaged some into his own hair and then washed it out before moving to squeeze more shampoo so he could lather up Catherine's hair and massage it gently into her hair, "Thank you", he whispered softly, his face moving close to hers, his nose rubbing against her own nose as he kissed her softly, "For what Sailor?", she asked, though deep down she knew what for. "For being here and being the one I'd want to get out of hospital for". Kissing him back as she moaned at the feeling of his fingers in her hair, massaging the shampoo in, she smiled, "I'll always be here for you Steve, no matter what".

While she hadn't told anyone, she had been having nightmares since she got the news about Steve and had been worrying non stop still she had seen him alive and well, and talking. She never wanted to leave him when she did and then when she heard that he was shot and in bad shape, she was regretting ever taking on those orders to go work for the CIA.. If she had told Steve, maybe they could have figured out how to deal with the threats they were giving her.. but all she could think now was that they were here, together, even if it was for a brief moment in time.

As hard as it was to see or even hear about him being with Lynn, she knew Lynn was a ship in the night and it wasn't ever going to be anything serious at all, that was the only reason she had hope that she and Steve would one day find their way back to each other on a more permanent way. She loved him more then she had ever loved anyone in her life. Sighing softly, he gazed into her eyes, feeling the heat of the water as it cascaded down his back, "I know I said I couldn't wait anymore, and I know I started something with someone else, but I gotta be honest.. I don't see things working out long term with Lynn and I. From the moment I was hit and I realised that I'd been hit, my only thought was I was going to die without telling you I love you once more or feeling your body against mine and that I have to say was a huge regret of mine, letting you walk away from me again and just accepting it, I was trying to do the selfless thing and in that moment, I should have been selfish".

Gazing into his eyes, Catherine smiled softly, pressing her lips against his and kissed him, "I wish I could tell you Steve about why I had to leave and one day I will, but my heart, and my everything will always be yours, and even though you are with Lynn at the moment, I do hope that perhaps there will come a time in the future where we can be together again. I've loved you since the day we met Sailor and that is one thing that will never change". Sighing softly, Steve knew that there was more to her leaving then she made out originally but he also knew that he couldn't force her to talk about it if she wasn't ready to. He knew one day she would open up about it, and he didn't want to spend his time with her now arguing about it. Right now, he needed to just trust her and he did.. Though he didn't trust many people, and he had his doubts at one time about if he could with Catherine, the haunted terrified look on her face when he woke up showed him that she truly did love him and he could trust her.

"I look forward to that day when we can plan a future together Catherine, that is all I want", he whispered, kissing her back as he turned off the water and smiled softly as he reached for the towels, "Now, why don't we go have a nap till dinner is ready, cause I for one am tired". Heading from the bathroom to the bedroom together, they got dressed in light clothing, Catherine quickly towel drying her hair as best she could before laying down next to Steve, her hand instinctively going to his wound where he was shot, and gently caressing his skin with her fingertips as they fell asleep together on the bed, Steve whispering "I love you" to her as he drifted off to sleep.

Author Notes:

Thanks for everyone who has read my stories. I apologise for taking a longer hiatus then I thought I would, I have had a busy and a bit scary start to the year. We moved just after Christmas/New Year and then we had to isolate as my niece and nephew developed covid, and then only a two weeks ago I was diagnosed with covid myself. I am fine, it was just a cold and nothing more, this one was nearly finished by the time I got covid, all I had to do was write the author notes but I was unwell and just focused on getting better and then working from home. I am on leave for three weeks now so I am going to try to get some more of my stories written.

Crisva

Thanks for your kind words, I appreciate it a lot.