50 FIRST DATES

Based on the characters and stories of Hawaii Five-0.

Hawaii Five-0 is owned by CBS and their respective creators.

A serial anthology of all the possible first meetings of Steve McGarrett and Catherine Rollins

Honolulu, Hawaii - September 1991

Catherine shifted her backpack on her shoulder as she made her way down the halls of Kukui High. First days were always the worst. Being the new girl wasn't something she was unfamiliar with, though—so goes the life of a Navy brat.

Double checking the classroom number on the schedule that the school secretary had handed her, she walked in and took a seat at an empty desk on the left side of the room. What was it that her dad always said? Keep a wall behind you and note all the exits. Don't sit in the back, you don't want the teacher to think you'll be trouble, but don't sit at the front where you can't see what the other kids are doing behind you.

Catherine was probably the only sophomore at Kukui who was thinking about the tactical advantages of classroom seating.

"You're in my seat."

She looked up from the open backpack on her lap to find blue eyes and floppy brown hair staring back at her. "Well, that's too bad," she clipped, pulling out a notebook and pencil. "It was empty, and now it's not. Besides, I don't see your name on it."

Two more boys about the same height filtered in to stand behind him. The one standing before her had the boyish charm of a fifteen year old who was going to grow up into something fine. "It has my name on it." He reached around her and pointed to the number fifty that had been etched into the top of the wood.

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Your name is fifty?"

"Nah," he smirked. "Five-OH. It's the number on my jersey."

"Well, Five-OH, looks like you'll just have to find somewhere else to sit," she said, returning to getting her books ready for class.

He hooked his thumbs through his backpack straps. "It's Steve, and it's still my seat."

"Free country, free seats, Steve" she said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "And it looks like you have thirty seconds to find your own."

"Yeah, but I like that one," he argued. "It's beside a wall, got a good vantage point of the room, and it's easy to get to the door."

Well that got her attention. Catherine tucked her long black hair behind her ear and asked, "You a military brat?"

"Nah. My dad's a cop, though." he smirked. "But given that I think this is your first day and school started three weeks ago, I'll take a guess and say that you are. Air Force? Army?"

"Navy," she clarified. "My dad just got stationed at Pearl Harbor. We were stationed in Japan before this."

"Well, new girl," he grinned. "Consider me the welcoming committee then."

She snickered as he settled into the desk behind her. Turning around to look at him, she said, "You're a terrible welcoming committee."

"Ah, come on," Steve chuckled. "I'm all about the aloha."

Catherine rolled her eyes to hide the blush that painted her cheeks. "I don't know that I like the idea of you sitting behind me and distracting me."

With all the charm and charisma he could muster, Steve hunched over his desk and said, "Don't worry, new girl—I got your six."

Honolulu, Hawaii - May 1992

"Hey, you," Catherine said softly as she sat down on the fifty yard line of the Kukui High football field. "You weren't at school today. I didn't know if you'd be here."

Steve laid along the painted white line and stared up at the sky with his hands tucked behind his head. What was he supposed to say? His whole world had shattered in one split second.

Catherine laid beside him, leaving a thin patch of grass between their bodies. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" He mumbled.

"Because you look the way I do when my dad tells me that he got orders somewhere else and we have to move again."

"California," he sighed. "My dad's shipping me off to military school."

Catherine chewed on her lip. She'd had a crush on Steve ever since her first day of school, but he was Steve McGarrett. Quarterback. High school heart throb. But under all that teenage charm was a good guy. He was sweet to her—the new girl—when everyone else stayed away.

It was silly, considering what he had been through—losing his mom in a car accident, but Catherine had been really hoping that he'd ask her to the school dance at the end of the semester.

They had become more than friends—they were best friends. Confidants. She went to all of his football games, even though her nose was usually buried in a book. She helped him keep his grades up, doing homework together after school. Even though her dad had made her a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, she still let Steve explain football to her, just because she knew it made him feel good.

"California's not too bad," she said, nudging him with her elbow. "We were stationed there for a little bit—in San Diego. The beaches are nice. I mean, not like here, but who knows… You might like it."

Steve just sighed and closed his eyes. Catherine felt his hand bump against hers. She froze. Another second passed and his pinky finger hooked around hers—almost like he was making a promise.

"You still gonna try to, uh, to get into the Naval Academy? You know—when you go to college?"

"That's the goal. I mean, I don't know if I'll get in, but I want to," she said.

"You'll get in," Steve replied matter-of-factly.

"What about you?" Catherine asked, rolling onto her side in the damp grass to see him better. "Still the police academy?"

Steve shrugged. "Who even knows now…"

"Maybe," she began. "Maybe one day after I'm commissioned into the Navy, I'll get stationed at Pearl and you'll be back here with HPD."

Steve looked at her and cracked a lopsided smile. "Maybe."

Was he going to kiss her? It would be her first, but Catherine couldn't think of anyone in the world she wanted to kiss than Steve McGarrett. His eyes were locked on her mouth, but he didn't make a move. Just studying her. Memorizing her.

Catherine slipped her hand fully into his and gave it a squeeze. "So until then?"

Steve laced their fingers together. "Fair winds and following seas."

Annapolis, Maryland- United States Naval Academy - August 1995

Catherine made her way through the Nimitz Library, thanking her lucky stars that Plebe Summer was over. Months of training in the humid east coast summer was not a pleasant welcome to her first semester at the U.S. Naval Academy. But it was over, she had made it, and she was officially a midshipman.

She found an empty table and sat down, thankful for the air conditioning, peace, and quiet.

But the quiet didn't last long.

A cough echoed from behind her, alerting her that she was no longer alone. Just great.

"You're in my seat."

Catherine scrunched her eyes shut and balled up her fists. So help me, if this upperclassman thinks he's going to get me to move… She exhaled and opened her book, not bothering to turn around. "Well that's too bad."

Two thick, camouflage covered arms bracketed around her, caging her in. "Is it?" He said in a husky timbre that sent shivers racing up her spine.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. There was something familiar about his voice, but she couldn't place it. The man pushed back and circled around the table, plopping down in the empty chair across from her.

Those eyes. She would recognize them anywhere. It had been two years and a summer since she'd seen them, but they were eyes she never forgot. Not since the last time she saw them while they laid together on the fifty yard line on the Kukui High football field.

Her momentary shock lapsed and her dropped jaw turned into a smile. "Hey, Sailor."

"Hey yourself," he smirked.

Catherine was flabbergasted. There was no way this was real life. "What are you doing here?" She laughed.

Steve chuckled, "Waiting for you."

"You just knew you'd find me in the library?" She giggled.

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, giving her an obvious up and down assessment. "Had a pretty good idea."

Catherine shook her head and laughed. "I just—I can't believe it… You're here. At the Naval Academy."

Steve cocked his head. "You, uh, you mean you really didn't know?"

Catherine shook her head. "Not a clue. I mean, the last time I saw you—"

"I was pretty messed up," he admitted.

Her smile softened, full of compassion as she remembered how tragically he had lost his mom. "I just meant that the last time I saw you, you were sixteen and wanted to be a cop like your dad."

"Yeah, me, uh—me and my dad—we haven't talked in a while."

"I'm sorry." Catherine closed her book and set it aside to focus on him.

Steve shook his head. "No factor. Military school was probably the best thing for me."

Catherine hunched forward and rested her chin in her propped up hand. "So, the Navy, huh? This is… This is wild," she laughed.

Steve leaned forward, not quite closing the space between them, but not far off. "I gotta remember to thank your dad."

Her eyebrows shot up. "My dad?"

Steve nodded. "He wrote me a reference letter."

Catherine laughed and shook her head. "I can't believe he didn't tell me."

He shrugged, dropping back against the seat and crossing his much more grown-up arms over his chest. He still had that boyish charm, but he wasn't adolescent anymore. The Steve McGarrett sitting across from Catherine was all man.

"Looks like you and I have some catching up to do."

"Looks like we do," she smiled.

Steve drummed his fingers on her stack of books and said, "I'll leave you to it. But, uh—I'll see you around, Rollins."

Catherine pursed her lips, trying to keep from grinning like a fool. "See you around, Sailor."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

ALOHA! It's been a minute since I've posted a date installment, but in my defense, things have been a little nuts!

HELLO YOU LOVELY UNICORNS!

I hope you're doing well!

Leave a review and let me know what you think of this Steve and Cath meet-cute and meet-again!

I love you all dearly! Be well and spread kindness!

XO,

-Mags-

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