While Catherine and her mother take command of the kitchen to prepare some Christmas specialties before lunch, her father retreats to his study to read some reports and Jimmy goes out to his girlfriend's house, who lives nearby. Left alone with her brother, Steve accepts his offer of a beer, and as both men move to the porch, outside, Peter asks him about Joe White. The conversation flows freely and Steve confirms his earlier thoughts that he likes Catherine's brother – genuine, to the point, practical, loyal. Just as a SEAL should be. Until, that is, he throws him a curve ball.

"So… are the two of you back together?"

"Huh? Who?" Steve replies, mentally choking.

"You and my sister? I'm sorry for asking, but I love Catherine. The last thing I want is for her to be miserable again."

"Again? What do you mean?"

"Look, Steve, you're a really nice guy and I like you, hooyah and all. But what happened two years ago, can't happen again. When you two broke it off, Catherine was devastated and I was powerless to help. I came home some weeks after she left Hawai'i, and although she didn't share much, from what I could see and hear, it really broke her. So I don't want her to have to go through anything like that, ever again."

This is the first Steve has ever heard of this. Come to think of it, after Catherine had left, he was so angry at her, he had wanted nothing to do with her and they hadn't seen or spoken to each other until she'd shown up at his door, in the middle of his date with Lynn, with news of his mother. So, no, he had never given Catherine's possible suffering, regarding their breakup, another thought, selfishly. He knew she loved him, so it was obvious that just because she had refused to give him her real reasons for leaving, that didn't mean that she hadn't suffered. But he had been blinded by his own pain, wounded in his Alpha male pride, and had thrown an ultimatum at her face.

"Ever think that maybe it was mutual?" he counters, unable to let go of the hurt, but not wanting to share too much with Catherine's brother.

"Steve, I'm not judging, like I said, I don't know what happened and I'm certainly not trying to treat my sister as an idiot who doesn't know what she's doing, or did. I hope you understand and don't hold it against me. I'm just worried about her. I wish she'd quit that damn job and come home, once and for all."

"I understand where you're coming from, Peter, believe me, if it were my sister, I'd be having the same conversation. Look, truth is, my job is all-consuming and I'm not oblivious to the effect it may have had on my relationship with your sister. But the Navy mentality was deeply ingrained in us, and we ended up not discussing things. You know how it is. I have a complicated family history, so I cope by not talking. Whatever your sister's reasons may have been, I really don't know them. She just came to me, one day, and told me she was leaving, couldn't tell me where she was going, how long she'd be away… I told her that I couldn't wait for her, if she left, after having been gone a whole year. She left, anyway. I had no idea that she wasn't happy, then or afterwards. I thought that the CIA was what she wanted, that that's why she ultimately left," Steve finishes, slightly relieved at finally having someone to talk to, about this. Someone who seems to know a bit more about what happened, than him.

"I'm still a little fuzzy on the details, actually. She tends not to share much about her love life. I guess we all thought you two would end up together," Peter says sighing, looking straight ahead.

"So did I. I mean, I knew she was sad about Billy's death, but…"

"Billy?"

"Harrington?"

"Navy?"

"SEAL. He resigned his commission and set up a private security firm in Hawai'i."

"Oh, yes, he asked Catherine to come work with him."

"Exactly."

"And he died on a stakeout. I remember. When my mother found out that Catherine had been shot in the arm, she went crazy. But no one's ever been able to tell Catherine what to do. Not even my father."

"I can relate. I learnt that the hard way," Steve says, smiling to the void ahead of him. "Not that I ever wanted to tell her what to do. But I wish we had talked more, back then. Maybe…" he leaves the possibility in midair, not wanting to complete the thought.

"… you'd still be together? Yeah. Maybe. But you know what, Steve? That's the great thing about free will and hindsight. Sometimes, we get to amend our mistakes, if we wish to. And in this particular situation, there's still something you can do about it. If nothing else, you can tell my sister how you felt about her decision to leave."

"What's the point, Peter?"

"Clarification. Maybe she'll share back. Believe me, it'll be a million times better than continuing to wonder why. It'll give you closure. Peace of mind."

"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure I want closure anymore," he says, in a sharing mood.

"Just remember one thing – try not to hurt her. Please."

"I won't. Promise," Steve replies, looking Peter in the eye, serious.

"Thanks. Come on, let's go steal some cookies from the kitchen. It'll drive Catherine up the wall!"

"You really think that's going to piss her off?" Steve asks, surprised at how playful the brothers are with each other. He finds it really endearing.

"This ain't my first rodeo, Frogman," Peter says, amused, as he gets up.