The Winds of Change

Fandom: Hawaii Five-O

Ship: McRoll

Characters: Steve McGarrett, Catherine Rollins

Chapter 4: meʻoe a hiki i ka hopena

(With you till the end)

No matter where he went or who he was with, you could always guarantee that Steve McGarrett would wake at around five am in the morning, nearly on the dot and without some kind of sophisticated expensive alarm clock. So many years in the Navy had conditioned him for waking up early and if he was honest with himself, he quite liked it. It was nice to get a head start on the day, and feeling like you were one of the few that were awake at that time, It was a feeling he just couldn't describe, but it felt right as well.

If he was in Hawaii, he would have gotten up to go for an early morning swim, but he knew exactly where he was, and that there were no beaches close to where he was staying, so rather then going for a swim, he thought he might go tend to some of the animals Joe had on the ranch. The horses had been rattled by the events of the past few days and hadn't been the same since Joe was killed. If it was possible for horses to mourn, he was sure that is what they were doing.

The feel of the bed moving slightly and a body moving towards him, arms wrapping around him startled him a little and his eyes shot open, his arm already reaching for his weapon, heart racing a little at the perceived threat when he saw the look of concern on Catherine's face, and he settled back down in relief, letting out a bit sigh, his heart trying to settle back down to it's normal rhythm. "I'm sorry Steve, I didn't mean to startle you", came her soft voice, lowered then it's usual tone. Both of them having served in the Navy knew it was just a natural reaction and couldn't be helped at all.

Sitting up a little more on the bed, though he was also still half lying down, back resting against the bed head, Steve ran his hands over his face in an attempt to wake himself up a bit more, "It's fine Cath, Don't worry about it", came his answer, his head turning to his side to gaze into her eyes, smiling softly when he took in her disheveled appearance, her hair which was sticking out all over the place, his tongue half poking out of his mouth, the way he always does when he is about to playfully tease her, "I like the", he pointed to his own hair as he spoke, twirling his finger around a bit as he spoke, "Uhh hair style you got going on there Rollins, hope you packed a brush cause I am sure Joe doesn't have any lying around here".

Tilting her head and scowling at him playfully, she ran her hands through her hair, trying to get some of the knots and tangles out with her fingers, "I'll have you know that this hairstyle right here, it got me first place in the worst bad hair day competition back in high school". She knew that right then, his head was turning, Steve was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or trying to pull a fast one on him. Yeah, I'll believe that when I see a trophy or a medal".

Then instead of deciding to get up like he had originally planned, he decided to lay down further in the bed, and pulled Catherine down with him to lay on his chest, Catherine somehow automatically sensing that his mind was going somewhere more serious again, his arms wrapping around her slim body, having remembered every curve but at the same time forgotten how good it was to hold her in his arms. "What's going on in that head of yours Sailor?" she questioned, feeling worry and concern for him, but at the same time knowing that he was strong and would be fine.

Sighing softly, he let his own hands trace their way down to the small of her back, his fingers moving gently over her skin from under her shirt, "I don't know what to do Catherine, about Joe and Tim I mean.. I've covered them up in one of the barns, Joe had a big walk in freezer in one of them where he used to keep all his perishable items, so they are in there for now, but I just.. I don't know what to do.. Do I call the local cops out here and tell them what happened? That the guys that killed him got away even though I know they didn't.. Do I call the Navy to arrange things, I don't even know if he had a lawyer to handle his affairs Cath.. He was seeing this woman, I think Tim was married with two kids".

The more he spoke about it, the more he was getting panicked and it was bleeding through to his voice, getting shakier and higher in volume as he spoke, his chest rising and falling more quickly. It was all to much for him to deal with, and extremely overwhelming to him. It was different being the one that had to report a crime rather then be the one to attend the scene.

When his father was killed, he was given a full police funeral, so he hadn't had to deal with this before as HPD had it all organised by the time he got back to Hawaii. Catherine noticed the tears welling in his eyes and could see he was on the verge of a panic attack, so she did the only thing she knew how. She took her hands and placed them on either side of his cheeks and leaned in, pressing her lips against his and gently kissed him, her eyes closing slowly.

She might regret it later on, he might even hate her for it, but it was the only way to stop him from going down that rabbit hole. Just like Chicago always made everything better for her, She knew that her kisses would make him feel more at ease and calm and it seemed like every time before, it worked. His breathing evened out, heart beat steady and lips melting against her own and his arms pulling her in a little closer, before he pulled away slightly to look into her eyes.

The way he was gazing into her eyes, it was like he was searching for something, searching for this to be genuine, and he was glad that she didn't seem to be apologizing for the kiss or trying to downplay it's meaning because it meant the world to him. "We'll work this all out together Steve, I'm not going anywhere okay, I've got clearance from the CIA to take as much time off as I need so you don't need to do any of this alone okay?, I'm with you till the end". It was a line she would repeat more then once to him, but she would say it as many times as it took for him to believe her.

Her words were enough to have his heart skip a beat, knowing she was taking time off from the CIA to be here with him. He felt he mattered, that for once she was giving him priority over everything else that was going on in her life. A soft sigh and a nod was all she needed, though he smiled once more at her, "We're gonna find them, and take them down.. Joe deserves that much".

Watching him closely, she knew that he wouldn't rest till the people responsible for this were caught, nodding her own head, she was in full agreement on that one, "He sure does.. Look Steve I don't know if Joe ever told you this, but he always told me he saw you as his son, and that you always made him proud even when you were questioning his own decisions".

Sitting up a little, feeling slightly more awake, though she knew if she had kept lying down, she would fall asleep once more, she eyed off those cuts and abrasions, "And now that you seem to be wide awake, let me take a look at those and then you can go wash up and have a shower.. and while you're doing that, I'll go make some coffee and breakfast, how does that sound Sailor?"

Author's Notes:

I am so overwhelmed with everyone's positive comments, excitement and encouragement on this story. I usually don't update stories this often, but it is all of your encouragement that is pushing me along to keep it going so I owe it all to you wonderful people. I also hope you like the kiss I added in as well. I couldn't leave you all hanging too much without a McRoll kiss even if it was only short and sweet for now.

Shoutouts:

Luckystarpham:

Thank you, I am really glad to know you enjoyed this chapter. :) Hope you like this one as well.

Guest:

You are so welcome and I feel so happy that my writing has inspired yourself to keep writing. I am sure you story will be amazing as well :)

963

Thank you for both your reviews on chapter 1 and 3, I appreciate it. :)

HeyD501:

Thank you so much, I am glad you are enjoying my version of events during that time. :)

SteveMcGarrettLover:

Awe, thank you so much and for the message in my inbox, It made me feel so much better :)

Navymcroll:

Awe, thank you so much. I'm way ahead of you there, As soon as chapter 3 ended, I knew I wanted it to start off from the next morning when they wake up. I hope it's just enough of a playful but also serious kind of wake up since they aren't at that stage of just waking up like they did in bed in season 1.