Thinking out loud

24 hours in the life of McRoll - Valentines Day edition.
Pairing: McRoll

Chapter - 1
Part of the Wind of change, One for Sorrow series..

February 14th 2020
5:00am
Rollins-McGarrett Family Home

It was their first Valentines Day together in a while and Steve wanted it to be special. He remembered the day out at Rainbow when she wasn't overly thrilled with the drive through breakfast and wanted something a little more special, a little more romantic, so today on the most romantic day of the year, he wanted to show her just how much he loved her and how happy he was she was back on the island.

He smiled softly when he woke beside her on that morning, it had been a little over three months since his mother's death and whilst he still hurt a lot every day, Catherine being there with him made it all the more easier for him to deal with and start to move forward. Watching her stir as he moved to get up, he smiled and leaned in back to her, his nose against hers and kissed her softly, "Shh, go back to sleep Cath". He wanted her to stay sleeping a little longer so he could start his preparations.

Half asleep, she nodded sleepily, her eyes still closed as she snuggled under the covers a little more, and drifted back off to sleep. Once he was sure she was sleeping, he slowly got up. He decided to have his usual morning swim before heading inside to have a shower and then he drove down to the market, picking up some pancake mix, blueberries, strawberries, champagne, chocolates, bagels, and other things for a big hearty breakfast and of course two dozen red roses.

Beginning to prepare breakfast, he made sure his phone was switched on silent and he smiled softly. He had asked Danny and the others to only call him if it was really necessary so he knew they wouldn't disturb them unless they really had to. This day, he wanted to have the whole day from morning to night alone with Catherine, they hadn't had many opportunities to be alone since she had come back to Hawaii, but now with Junior basically living at Tani's, and Mary and Joanie had found a house down the street, they had more time on their hands to be alone.

7:00am
Rollins-McGarrett Family Home

The last three months had felt like she was finally where she was always meant to be, at home with the love of her life. Waking up and falling asleep every day to Steve was the best thing and she had missed it when she hadn't been a part of his life so knowing she was here, with him every day, it made her incredibly happy. She vaguely remembered waking up early and Steve telling her to go back to sleep, and kissing her and she smiled, touching her lips at that memory of feeling his lips on hers.

The house was smelling really nice, bacon, eggs, pancakes, coffee and her stomach rumbled a little as she checked her watch to see it was around seven am.. Valentines Day usually came and went for them without much fanfare, when they were in the Navy, they were usually almost always on some kind of assignment and couldn't see each other, but they always managed to get a message to the other in one way or another.

Opening up the drawer on her bedside table, she pulled out the bag she had with Steve's gift. It wasn't much but it was something that he would recognise, and something John had misplaced from years ago.. Something she was replacing now for him. His father's dog tags from his time in the Navy. It might not be the original dog tags he wore, but she knew that he would love it anyway.. She also got his grandfather's and his own and had them put on the same neck chain.

Putting it away in the bag, she smiled softly, and got up, heading into the bathroom to have a quick shower and she dressed afterwards, in the same clothes that she wore when she came back for Kono's wedding, the little short jeans, the white top and then the blue and white flannel shirt over the top, even putting her hair the same way. The way he had looked at her that day had nearly stopped her heart and she wanted to re-create that moment for him.

Making the bed, she smirked to herself knowing it would be a waste of time because at some point during the day they would inevitably be back in it, but she was a bit of a neat freak and liked things clean and tidy.. Luckily Steve was right there with her on that front as well. It was all the time spent in the Navy needing to be organised. Once the bed was made, she began to walk out of the room and down the stairs, her nose filling up with the most delicious smells.

7:30am
Rollins-McGarrett Family Home.

Steve had set up everything on the lanai, all the food was on the table, including coffee, champagne, orange juice, he had scattered some rose petals on the table and even lit candles, had some romantic music playing low on his phone through the speakers. It was an overcast morning and looked like it could rain heavily so the clouds were black and angry looking but he wasn't going to let that ruin their morning.

Just as he was just about to go and wake up his sleeping beauty, he saw her walking out towards him.

His mind nearly went blank looking at her, she was always so incredibly beautiful but something so simple as an outfit could bring back so many memories. She looked beautiful no matter what she wore, but it was simple causal clothes and her old cammies that always did it for him. He took a breath and smiled at her, his smile nearly reaching his eyes, his brain struggling to come up with the right words to say other than 'wow'.

"You look incredible Cath", she always managed to take his breath away, and right now in this moment, he couldn't be more thankful to have her back in his life. "You look amazing yourself there Sailor", she smiled right back at him, walking closer to him, her arms opening and when she reached him, she moved herself into his arms, her arms wrapping around his neck, the little bag his present was in swaying back and forth as they moved slowly together.

Pulling back a little, she leaned in and kissed him soundly and passionately, a soft moan escaping her mouth at the feel of his lips kissing back just as deeply. "Good Morning Lieutenant, Happy Valentines Day", he whispered when he pulled back to gaze into her eyes, his own shining with happiness and love. "Good Morning Commander, Happy Valentines Day to you too".

Her eyes went to the table and she smiled softly, "You didn't have to do all this Steve", as she said that her stomach betrayed her and heard it grumble. "I wanted to though, We haven't really had a romantic Valentines Day before, so I thought we'd start a new tradition". Nodding her head, she could get in on that one, "That plan, I get get down with", she giggled when he dipped her a little and kissed her softly. "I'm glad to hear that, now how about we eat this food before it goes cold".

8:00am
Rollins-McGarrett Family Home.

Breakfast was done, everything was all cleaned up and now they were sitting out near the water on the wood chairs that had been there for more years than Steve could count. The sky was still dark and clouds were still black, but it had that calm before the storm feel.. Sipping on a new batch of coffee, he smiled thinking about the present he was about to give her.

He wasn't sure why he felt nervous, but he did. The butterflies in his stomach were swimming all around and he was having trouble even thinking of a perfect way to do this. It was cliche to do it today of all days, but he didn't want to wait any longer.. They might have only just found their way back to each other, but they knew each other so well, and it wasn't like a first time relationship where you need to get to know the person..

The ring was in his pocket, he had kept it the whole time and he knew that this was what he wanted to do. Life just seemed to fall into place and everything felt settled. He was going to wait a little longer before he did this, but he wasn't sure he wanted to any more.. Settling down didn't mean you had to take your time with things and everyone would have the same reaction anyway, 'about time'.

Standing up, he held out his hand and gestured for her to take and she slowly stood up, letting him lead her to the sand where he set down a blanket for them to lay down on. He could remember every single moment of the first time they made love out on this beach. It was her first leave after he moved to Hawaii and he was grilling steaks and got distracted by each other like they always did.

"I've got you some", they both said at the same time and then laughed, Steve's smile brightening, "You go first". He took a sip of his coffee and rested up on his side as she handed him the bag, "I know we aren't big on Valentines Day but I knew this would mean a lot to you and I wanted you to have it close to your heart".

Opening the card first, he smiled reading it.. He had many cards from Catherine over the years but somehow this meant even more than all of than combined. Once he had opened it, he then pulled the present from the bag and opened the tissue paper it was surrounded it. His eyes became a little misty when he realised what it was, a replica of his own dog tags on a neck chain next to his father and grandfather's dog tags.

Looking up at her, he smiled, his eyes filled with tears, "Ohh Cath, thank you.. this means so much to me, this is beautiful". He inspected the tags and smiled when he read his grandfathers details, then his fathers and finally his own. "I'm glad you like it Sailor, you are hard to buy for so I had a feeling this would be just the right thing". It was these little things, the fact that she knew him so well, he leaned over and kissed her softly, before putting the chain around his neck. "I'll treasure it forever".

Author's Notes:

Happy Happy Valentines Day.
This is my Valentines Day gift to all your supportive and amazing followers who keep reading, liking, reviewing and messaging me words of support and just being my cheerleader, I think you know who you are so this story is dedicated to you SteveMcGarrettLover.

I was beginning to write the next chapter for One for sorrow, and it occurred to me do this short little story. It's all in keeping in with the Winds of Change, Right here waiting and One for sorrow stories, just following on. I really hope you enjoy this story. It is only going to be 4 chapters long, and I have worked out very very rough ideas for chapters 3 and 4. It is based around 24 hours with McRoll on Valentines Day where they don't work or have to go out at all.