"Idiot!" Steve said to himself when he looked in the mirror after a week of Catherine's departure. He couldn't stand to look at himself. "How could I have ended everything with her over a silly thing?" On the list of his regrets, breaking up with her was in first. Steve went to his room and sat down, thought, reminisced and cried. A lone tear ran down his face and he immediately dried it.

Catherine was working in excess in the ship and she was trying not to think about Steve. She was also avoiding Billy, it wasn't just because she was alone that she was desperate for company. She intended to be happy in her own company before she thought about getting involved with anyone again.

The next day at the base, Steve was informed that his team, Team Six, had a new mission. "I thought team five would be assigned to this mission," Steve told his superior.

"Team five has been deployed to the Guam base for some time, Commander McGarrett. Any objections to this mission?"

"No, sir. Of course not. I will brief the team." Steve's objection was not to the mission given to him and his team, his objection was to the fact that Billy was so close to Catherine just when the two had broken up.

Steve informed the team that they would be leaving soon on a new mission and that they would have some meetings before that.

A few days later, Catherine was settling into her new accommodations at the Guam base and already had a new friend with whom she would share a room. Joyce was her name.

"Did you leave any boyfriends behind?" Joyce asked Catherine. Catherine hesitated before answering. "No. We had already broken up."

"You hesitated to answer. I think deep down in your heart there's still some feeling left," Joyce commented.

"I think so, but I'll be able to move on," Catherine replied, but even she didn't believe her own words.

A few days later, Catherine was working when Billy asked to be excused to enter her office.

Catherine stopped doing what she was doing and looked at him. "Hi, Billy. Is something wrong?"

"No, no problem at all. I just came here to ask if you wanted to go out for pizza later," Billy told her. Catherine opened her mouth to decline the invitation, but Billy interrupted her. "It won't just be the two of us, several people will be going with us. I think you've been lonely a lot lately and that's not good. Come have a little fun with us."

Catherine thought for a few seconds and agreed. "All right, Billy. I'll come with you and the guys."

"Great. We'll meet at the base gate at eight. I'll expect you there.

"Okay. Thanks for the invitation, Billy."

After work, Catherine went to the lodge to get ready to go out with the guys. It was a fun evening and Billy behaved like a gentleman. He did not flirt with Catherine or tease her about Steve. He made her feel good and the weekend outings with friends from the base became a constant.

"I think today has been the most fun day since we got here," Billy told Catherine as he walked her to the door of the women's quarters.

"That's right, Billy. The guys were pretty excited today," Catherine agreed with him. She had had a good time, too, although Steve's absence from her life was hurting her badly. She wondered every day if he was dating another girl, and often berated herself for it, and repeated to herself that she could and would manage living without him, after all, he was the one who had left her.

Catherine was distracted while thinking and she was surprised by a kiss from Billy.

"Billy, are you crazy? We're on base!" She scolded him.

"I'm sorry, Catherine, but I couldn't resist. You don't know how long I had wanted to do this."

Catherine smiled and Billy smiled relieved as well. "I confess I was expecting a slap in the face," he told her.

"I'm not a violent person," she smiled again.

"Of course you're not. Good night, Catherine."

"Good night, Billy." She watched him walk away and wondered if she was being frivolous. She knew she didn't like Billy the way he wanted her to like him, and she also knew that she still loved Steve.

Steve's ship was passing the coast of the Philippines and he was on deck looking at the stars and the calmness of the sea when Freddie approached. "Hi, Steve. Enjoying the stars?"

"Hi, Freddie. Yes, I'm enjoying the stars, the night, the calmness of the sea."

"You know Guam is just over there, right?" Freddie told his friend.

"Yes, I know." Steve sighed.

"I admire your ability not to suffer for women, and I wish I could be like that. I just got in a fight with Kelly over the phone and it just blew me away." Freddie gave Steve two friendly pats on the back. "Good night, buddy."

"Good night, Freddie." Steve watched his friend go inside the ship and sighed again. "You're wrong, Feeddie. I'm suffering like an abandoned puppy," he thought.

PS: Thank you for reading.