Two years later...
Carol was surprised when she opened the door and saw Catherine there. "My daughter! What a surprise!"
Catherine hugged her mother tightly. "Hi, Mom! I really wanted to surprise you. We haven't seen each other for a year."
Carol pulled her into the house. "Come on, let's go inside. Where's Steve?"
"Steve is on a mission, Mom." Catherine said as she walked into her parents' house. "And where's Dad?"
"Your father went to the supermarket. He wants to have a barbecue today. I guess he was guessing you were coming."
"That's great, Mom. I love the barbecue Dad makes."
Catherine sat down on the couch and Carol sat down next to her. "How many days will you be staying with us, dear?"
"I plan to stay twenty days, Mom." Catherine lay down on the couch and put her head in her mother's lap, "I missed that."
Carol stroked her daughter's head. "How are you and Steve doing?"
"We're fine, Mom. He's been on this mission for seven months now, but we talk to each other from time to time. He can't call me all the time so as not to compromise the mission."
"I understand that better than anyone. Your father has also always spent a lot of time away. But you and Steve could get married as soon as he gets back."
Catherine smiled. "You always have to talk about marriage, Mom."
"Before I die I want to fulfill my dream of seeing my only daughter get married, and I know your father thinks so too."
Jacob arrived and saved Catherine from the subject of marriage. "Oh, who do I see here! Is it a mirage?"
Catherine quickly got up from the couch and hugged her father, "Hi, Dad!"
"Hi, honey. I missed you so much! It's bad to go a year without seeing your old parents."
"I missed you too, Dad. I'm sorry, it hasn't been easy for me to get long days off."
"I know, honey. I'm so glad you're here."
"I'm happy to be here too, Dad. Mom told me we're having a barbecue today, is that true?"
"Yes, I'll start preparing right now. It's a shame Steve didn't come too. Is he still hunting the Hesse brothers?"
Catherine sighed. "Yes, Dad. Steve is obsessed with capturing Anton and Victor Hesse. That makes me very worried, but what can I do? It's Steve being Steve."
"I understand your concern. The Hesse brothers are dangerous and unscrupulous," Jacob said.
"I know."
"But Steve is smart and very well trained. We should trust him," Jacob wanted to reassure Catherine.
Carol had gone to change the sheets in the guest room and returned to the living room. "Daughter, your room is ready."
"Thanks, Mom. I really need a rest." Catherine picked up her suitcase and went to her room.
"I'll call you as soon as the barbecue is ready," Jacob told Catherine.
"Okay, Dad. Work on the barbecue!"
Catherine stayed the twenty days with her parents and then went back to her house. When she arrived at the base, she was told that she would be traveling on the ship to work in the Persian Gulf. On the second day of work aboard the ship she received a call from Steve on her phone and not on a secure line, which meant that his mission was over.
She smiled when she saw his face on the phone screen. "Hey, sailor!"
"Hey, Cath," he replied in a strange voice and she soon realized that something wasn't right.
"Did something happen?" She asked him.
Steve took a deep breath and spoke with sadness in his voice. "I captured Anton Hesse and Victor Hesse killed my father."
"What?" Catherine was shocked. She immediately recalled the days she spent with Steve at John's house in Hawaii.
"My father is gone without me giving him one last hug, Catherine."
"Steve, I'm so sorry, I... I don't even know what to say to comfort your heart. I'm really sorry."
"Thank you, Cath."
"Where are you?" Catherine asked him.
"I'm in Hawaii. My father will be buried tomorrow."
"What about your sister?"
"I warned her about the memorial. She didn't say if she would come."
"I really wanted to be with you at this difficult time, Steve. But I'm on the high seas."
"I understand, Cath," he replied despondently.
"Please don't leave me without hearing from you. As soon as I get back to the country I will see you wherever you are."
"Okay, Cath. It means a lot to me to hear it from you."
"Take care, Steve. Please." Catherine was distressed.
"I'll take care of myself. I'll look forward to your return."
"I'll see you soon, Steve. Goodbye." Catherine was wondering how it had all happened, but she knew that Steve would not tell thea details through a phone conversation.
Two hours later Steve got permission to enter the house, the scene of the crime, to get clothes to dress his father for the burial. A policeman was waiting for him downstairs while Steve picked out the clothes in front of the wardrobe.
Catherine was calling him and he took her call while holding a suit from John. "Hi, Cath."
"Hi, Steve. I can't stop thinking about you."
"I'm at my dad's house..." he paused as he placed the suit on the bed, "I'm in his room picking out a suit to bury him in. And that makes me think I don't know anything about my father, Catherine. I don't know what his favorite color is, I don't know what suit he liked best. I don't know anything..." tears moistened Steve's eyes as he sat up in bed.
"Steve...I wanted to be by your side so badly."
"I know you did, Cath. I wish you were here with me too...they practically killed him in the living room. It's a scene I can't get out of my thoughts, even though I don't witnessed it."
"I know you are suffering and I can't do anything from a distance. It distresses me."
"Yes you can. Your voice soothes me, comforts me, gives me strength. What would I do without you? You are the only person I have right now."
"You have Mary too," Catherine told him.
"True, but we have no closeness," Steve told Catherine thinking he hadn't seen Mary since John had separated them.
"Then maybe it's time to change that," Catherine advised him.
"Maybe you're right..." Steve sighed. He wanted her comforting embrace so badly. Catherine always hugged him gently and for long seconds said in silence how much she loved him. "Come back soon, Cath," he said in a low voice.