The Winds of Change

Fandom: Hawaii Five-O

Ship: McRoll

Characters: Steve McGarrett, Catherine Rollins

Chapter 7: E lilo wau i hale hoʻomalu

(I'll be your shelter)

Walking back into the bedroom once he had dried off and wrapped his towel around his waist, Steve though he still felt saddened and helpless over Joe's death, he felt a little more relaxed and calm. He wasn't sure if he could think of being happy quite yet, but it was only because every time he thought of himself being happy, he felt a huge surge of guilt hit him right in the gut and he knew that emotion was of no use to him right now.

"How are you feeling now Sailor?", Catherine jolted him out of his thoughts and he turned to face her, watching as she dried her hair off, a towel wrapped securely around her chest and he couldn't help but pull her a little closer to him, kissing her lips softly, "Much better, I feel human again". It had been days since he had a good shower and it was true, a hot shower could make you feel a lot better when you were either unwell or just not feeling yourself.

Smiling softly, she kissed him back, pulling back so she could start to get dressed, "I'm glad to hear that... I don't about you but I am starving.. I figured I'd get dressed, take a look in the kitchen to see what I can sort out for breakfast". Reaching for her bag, she began to pull out some clothes and started to dress, "And while I am doing that, I think you owe it to Danny to call him. We both know how he gets, for all we know, he is starting to map out some kind of plan to rescue you".

Sighing softly, he nodded his head in silence.. He knew this needed to be done, he couldn't put it off any longer, Danny deserved to know what was going on as did they all and Catherine was right, He wouldn't put it past Danny to be planning some kind of rescue mission right this very moment. "I know..", Letting out his breath, he sighed again, I'll call him". Catherine finished getting dressed and before she walked out of the bedroom, she kissed him lightly on the lips, patting his shoulder as she walked past him.

Grabbing his own bag, he pulled out a fresh pair of clothes and sighed softly, the memories of what he and Catherine had been doing in the shower still on his mind, a small smile on his face At some point, they needed to have a talk about the future.. He had already laid his cards out on the table and finally told her how he felt, he needed her to know that he was looking towards a future with her, that he wanted to be married to her and have a family with her, that he wanted to give Joan some cousins to play with and Mary and Danny a niece or nephew or two to spoil the same way he did with their children.

Being intimate with Catherine always was so much more about just pleasure, It was craving a connection and being able to feel close to her. It is why he didn't sleep around if he wasn't dating a woman, he might have been known by people like Greer as a commitment phobic but it was his issues with his mother that had always led him to pull back from things such as one night stands or short little meaningless flings. Though at the time of their mother's /fake/ death, he knew how much it hurt their father to have to live without their mother and he had never re-married or even gotten close to falling for another woman.

The way she felt in his arms and how he remembered every single curve of her body, almost every little scar she had, how her body trembled when he touched her, her breathing becoming uneven at his soft kisses, the soft moans, the way she told him she loved him, it's something he had missed but had never forgotten. If they had time, he wanted to show her how much he loved her, wanted to take his time enjoying every moment and record it all in his head so that it could hold him over for the nights he didn't have her in his arms and in his bed.

Once he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, he quickly made the bed that he and Catherine had slept in the night before, They had started on top of the covers, but without even remembering how, they had managed to crawl under the covers at some stage throughout the night. Reaching for his phone which had been on charge, he sighed softly. This was the phone call he didn't want to have to make.. He didn't want to have to tell Danny that Joe was gone, that he couldn't protect him, that it should have been him instead, but he remembered Catherine's words..

He needed to know, Danny Williams had been his partner of nine years and though their relationship had it's ups and downs, it was all mainly in good fun, the carguments they have, he knows it doesn't truly define their friendship. It was how they cared for each other, Steve knew that Danny only got upset because he doesn't want to lose Steve due to something stupid that could have been avoided, it was in the way they showed their loyalty, How Steve had gone to deal with Reyes with Danny rather then letting him go alone, how he cared for Grace and Charlie like they were his own kids.

It was how time and time again, both of them through their actions showed what the other meant to them, and it was how they both supported each other's relationships regardless of who it was with. Though Steve knew Danny was concerned about Catherine hurting him again, he respected the fact that Steve still was in love with her, and even though all the issues that Danny and Rachel had gone through all those years, Steve recognized and respected that Danny was still in love with his ex wife as well. It was those little things, not having to voice their concerns, but how they showed it that mattered.

Looking at his watch, he noticed it was now six thirty in the morning, he did a quick calculation and realized it would be about nine thirty in Hawaii, so before he had a chance to back out of this, he looked through his list of favorite contacts and pushed the second name that showed up as /Danno/ , then put it up to his ear to, waiting for Danny to answer his call. While he was on his call, Catherine had managed to find some breakfast type foods to make for their breakfast and some coffee as well. She had started the coffee pot and began to cook some bacon, eggs and toast for them.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to listen in to his call. She knew that he needed his privacy while he made this call to Danny and she was intending to respect his wishes with that, though as she was making breakfast and sorting out the expensive looking state of the art coffee pot that Joe had purchased, she briefly thought about how the call might go down, something along the lines of Danny insisting to come out and do whatever he needed to help Steve get through this and plan his attack on the man that did this to Joe and his other SEAL buddies, and Steve insisting he stay back home in Hawaii because five-o needed a leader while Steve was away and his children needed their father.

She did wonder if Steve would mention to Danny that she was there.. She knew how Danny felt when she had taken off and though she knew he didn't hate her, Catherine also knew that Danny was unsure where her priorities were and if he could trust her not to hurt the super SEAL again like she had in the past. She also knew deep down that Danny had been upset at her leaving for his own reasons as well, She had become like a sister to him and an Aunt to Grace, and though she knew about Charlie, she really hadn't had a chance to bond with him like she had done with Grace and he had been upset at losing her as well so though she knew he wanted to protect Steve, it was also about protecting himself and his family to be slightly wary when it came to Catherine.

When breakfast was ready, she set the pine oak table for two and put down their plates and coffee mugs and then headed back into the bedroom to see if Steve was ready to eat, smiling softly as she stood just outside the doorway, she could sense that Steve was wrapping up the call with Danny, telling him to take care too and that he would call with more details a little later when he knew more, but also telling Danny to open an investigation and get five-o to do what they could on their end to track down anyone that could have been involved.

Knocking slightly on the door, she smiled a little as he looked over at he as he hung the phone up, "Breakfast is ready when you are". She didn't linger, knowing he needed a few moments to himself to gather his thoughts about the phone call with Danny, walking back into the kitchen and sitting down to take a seat, sipping on her coffee knowing that Steve would come when he was ready and sure enough few moments later, he appeared at the table and sat down opposite her, not before leaning down and capturing her lips with his. "What was that for?", she asked curiously before dipping her bacon in her poached egg and then taking a bite of it. "What? I can't just kiss my girlfriend?", he retorted back in a playful voice, not realizing at first what he had called her, not wanting to backtrack his words, but wanting to see if she noticed as well.

Blushing a little at his words, she didn't expect him to say that at all, but if she was honest, those words made her stomach flutter and her heart melt. She knew he meant those words even if he had said it in a playful tone and she really liked the idea of getting back on track with their relationship. It was just sad that they both had to have that realization moment after losing someone so important to them. She knew he was waiting to hear how she would respond so once she had swallowed her food, she smiled back, eyeing him confidently, "Well, long as I can just kiss my boyfriend anytime I want, then you are free to kiss your girlfriend anytime you want".

Smirking a little at those words, he had already put a mouthful of food in his mouth so he was unable to reply to her, though the sound of her saying he was her boyfriend meant the world to him. This was going to be one hell of a fight they were about to get themselves into, Danny Lou and the rest of five-o already getting into research mode and setting the ground work for such a huge undertaking, but he knew as long as he had Catherine beside him, he could do anything.

Author Notes:

Thank you for the continued encouragement and support on this story. I am sorry it has taken this long to update but it has been a busy week for me, I do hope this chapter has been worth the wait though. Your continued love and support on this story keeps me inspired to keep going. I am thinking of doing a separate one shot based on the phone call between Danny and Steve, let me know if you would want to read that? Also, would you rather me focus all my attention on Catherine and Steve or like to see short little scenes from Hawaii with the rest of the team? I don't mind either way, I just like getting your feedback and input.

Shout outs:

Zheth22

Awe, thank you. I agree with you there 100% and that is why I love writing for shows where the canon ship characters that are my OTP aren't together, so I can give them a happier ending.

SteveMcGarrettLover:

Yeah, I initially missed it as well. Thank you, I am so inspired to keep writing because of all your support.

Pilarmnavas:

Thank you so much. I think this scene I have just done continues to show that whole 'play house' as well. I want to try to keep it realistic with Steve's emotions too and not forget why they are both there in Montana to start with.

Isabellaelisa:

I am so glad you enjoyed the last chapter, I hope you like this one as well. Like I mentioned in the previous comment above, I am trying my hardest to keep it as realistic as possible as well as giving them time together.

navymcroll:

Thank you so much. I am really enjoying writing for all of you and hope you enjoy this chapter as well.