Perfect

Pairing: McRoll

Based on ending for 10x22

(If you haven't watched the last episode of Hawaii five-0 season ten and do not wish to know what happens, do not read, this has massive spoilers)

Chapter six

The long hours on the plane had made her body begin to ache, but the heat of the water was doing her wonders now.. Though she knew she had a long talk with Steve ahead of her, she felt oddly relaxed for some reason.. Maybe it was knowing he had invited her to come with him, that he hadn't pushed her away or told her to go when he saw her on the plane. It was that which made her hopeful this talk would go well.

Stepping out of the shower after she had turned the taps off, she dried herself, and then reached for her bag which she had brought in with her.. Choosing a pair of loose fitting pants, and a tank top, she then quickly towel dried her hair and then opened the door to the bathroom, the steam from the room coming into the main room for a moment before it dissipated.

She wasn't going to worry about unpacking her bags quite yet seeing as Steve seemed to have some idea of what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go on this trip, and she didn't want to unpack just to have to re-pack in a day or so, so she folded her clothes back up she had been wearing and put them in her bag for now.

"Steve?", she looked around the room not seeing him there, but then smiled as she saw movement on the balcony and heard him call out that he was out there. She put on his jacket that he had left on the back of a chair, and headed out, it was only early April but yet the night air was getting a little cool already in Australia.

Sitting on the table was a carton of beers and she sat down at the chair opposite him, watching him open two of the beer bottles, and then handed her one.. He took a slow deliberate sip and then rested the beverage on his thigh, his other hand rubbing along his other thigh nervously.

"Are you, I mean.. have you", he stopped for a moment, trying to get the wording right for what he wanted to say.. He took a breath and leaned forward, "have you left the CIA Catherine?" He needed to know that, It was a huge thing for him, it had driven a wedge between them and right when he needed to start thinking about his life in a different way and settling down, he didn't want to get invested in this only for her to leave again..

Taking a sip of her own beer, she listened to him, and pulled her chair a little closer to his so she could reach out and take his hand in hers. "I've left the CIA Steve, for good". She knew she had to make sure that nothing she had done within the CIA could come back to her later on to haunt her, and so she had put measures in place and managed to get people high up in the agency to sign documents stating she didn't need to ever be called for service again, nor would there be any ramifications or consequences of anything she had done, and another important one..

Steve McGarret and the rest of five-o were to be left alone, and never to be bothered by the agency again.. Catherine knew Steve didn't trust the CIA, never had and especially after the way they treated his mother, and how Greer had betrayed him, and then Catherine joining.. She wanted them out of his hair for good.

She let that sink in and while he was processing that, she figured it was a good time to continue, "Truth is Steve.. I never wanted to join the CIA to start with". It was true, they recruited her when she was in Afghanistan but she never wanted to join.. She was all but forced to join.. She was no longer in the Navy so she shouldn't have even been in that part of the world again, and then the CIA had a grudge against Steve..

"What are you talking about Catherine?", he asked with a frown, his eyebrows furrowing, looking a little confused.. He recalled back to their conversation on the front porch of his head, and now it all began to make sense, the way she cried, told him she would always love him, the way she didn't bat an eye when he said he couldn't wait any longer for her..

She sighed, sitting back in her seat and taking a long drink of her beer, "The CIA intercepted me while I was in Afghanistan yes, however, they coerced me into joining the agency.. It was not long after you killed that agent who had put set up five-o, when you and Danny were trapped under that building when it was rigged to blow.. They knew I was in the country illegally and yet they knew I wouldn't have gone along based on them threatening me on that alone, so they told me if I didn't join, they would take down five-o by whatever means necessary".

When she saw that Steve was about to protest, she continued.. "Steve, I wasn't going to let that happen.. You know I couldn't go to you as much as I wanted to.. I had to keep quiet about it or the deal was off, and they would have either killed you or made sure you were all in prison and five-o disbanded for good". He knew she was right and he would have done the same thing if he was her in shoes even if it had killed him to join such a corrupt agency.

He leant forward and took her hand, it still hurt remembering the day she left, the day he got the ring and was going to propose to her, but it all made sense now.. "I know it doesn't change the way you felt at the time when I took off again, and I know we have a lot of work to put in and a lot of trust to be rebuilt but I wanted you to know, I did it all for you and our family, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to".

Nodding his head, he smiled softly.. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you Catherine… I had to admit, I was surprised when I learnt you were really with the CIA and not in Nepal where you said you were going, but now I understand why.. You did what I would have done if it was the other way around and while yes there are things we need to work on, and trust to be built back up, I wouldn't have wanted you to come along with me if I didn't want us to get back on track with our relationship".

It made her feel better to hear him say those words.. She broke something special between them when she left, and she wanted to do whatever she could now to get things back on track with them both and hearing him say that he would have done the same thing, and that he was willing to get their relationship back to where he was, and hopefully go further. It showed he still loved her enough to give their love a second chance at a happy ending.

"I'll admit, I wasn't sure how you would feel knowing all of that.. but you are taking it surprisingly well". She knew him, and knew how much the CIA had caused him trouble over the last ten years since he had begun investigating into his mother's /fake/ death, and rattling cages. "The old you would have been jumping up and making a counter move against the CIA, and now.. you are a lot more calmer and rational".

Chuckling as he took a sip of his beer, he nodded.. "I'll admit, my first thought was to plan a move against them.. They have caused me so much grief and heartache, not only did I lose my mother to them, I also lost the one person I wanted to settle down with to them, so that was on my mind.. but then I remembered back to when you told me you were out for good.. Did you mean that?"

Standing up, she set her beer back down on the table, and walked over to him, perching herself on to his lap, and gazing into his eyes, her hands moving to rest in his hair, "I mean it Sailor.. I've managed to get the Director of the CIA to sign documents to say I wouldn't be called back to active duty ever, and that this was the end of them trying to blackmail you and your team.. It's over Steve.. we can live the way we want to live without fear of me having to leave again or one of us being a target again".

Taking a breath in at the scent of her perfume, he smiled, "That's the reason why I'm not already organising a flight back to America.. There's no point going after them now if they have sworn to leave us alone, long as I have you, then I don't need to chase after a silly vendetta.. They have taken so much from me already.. I've got you now, and I'm not going to waste this second chance with you over hurt feelings".

Without saying another word, he leant in closer and captured her lips with his own, letting out a soft moan when she kissed back, deepening the kiss, they may have a long way still to go, but he had lost so much in his life already.. It was now time to enjoy his life and not look back for once.. Standing up with Catherine still in his arms, he walked them back into the hotel room, closing the sliding door behind him, neither one breaking from the kiss, this was their second chance, and he wasn't planning on letting anyone take that away from him.

Author Notes:

Sorry for leaving this one for so long, but It's been busy and just haven't had a chance.. I had other ones to do first but wanted get this one done since this one seems to be fairly popular right now.. I am really loving where this story is going and I really hope I continue to do this justice and get right for you all. I'm extremely happy with how this chapter went and I'm looking forward to the next one as well. Thank you all again for the amazing support and encouragement.

Anneodette:

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind reviews and I love you are enjoying it so much. I hope the discussion exceeded your expectations, I really wanted to make it typical Steve and Cath fashion and make it about their reactions and how they would have dealt with it in the show. Stay safe as well x

SteveMcGarrettLover:

Awe, thank you so much, I am so glad you are loving this story and loved that chapter. Ohh wow, that is so sweet of you to say that, I really appreciate your kind words, it means a lot to me. I love making sure Danny and the rest of them stay within the story as well, I don't like leaving them out, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Bella:

Thanks for the kind words, and you are lucky, I was nearly finished writing this just as I got the notification you reviewed this, so I hope you enjoy this next chapter.