Steve returned to the mall with Tani and Catherine ran to him. "Steve, are you okay?" Steve hugged her tenderly and kissed her gently on the lips. "I'm fine, Cath." He now knew about everything she'd been through in his absence, but there was no time to talk about it at that moment. His priority was to save the children, his mother-in-law, and the other people inside.

"Let me negotiate," Steve asked the chief of police, but his request was denied.

"Damn it!" Steve screamed.

Catherine got a message from her mother and went to Steve. "Steve! My mother sent me a message. The kids are fine. They're hiding in a closet in the cleaning room. The children don't know what's happening. She told the children that they are playing hide-and-seek."

"Thank God, Cath. Now we need to get them out of there. I can't just stand here," Steve told her. He took her by the hand and went around the block.

Tani put his hand on the waist and realized that his gun had disappeared. "Damn it, McGarrett!"

Steve and Catherine entered quickly through the air conditioning entrance before the cops saw them. They crawled very slowly into the ventilation ducts and didn't see anyone. "I don't see anyone, Steve," Catherine whispered.

"They must have gathered everyone on the first floor. Go on, Cath. I'm right behind you," Steve whispered, too.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," he lied. His head hurt a lot, and he was almost vomiting.

They came out of the ducts in a kitchen of a restaurant and Catherine tried to locate the place where the children were.

Catherine arrived at the cleaning products storage room and found Meredith and the children squatting inside the closet.

"Mommy found us!" Joe spoke up and Catherine put her index finger on her lips asking him to be quiet. "Let's get out of here," Catherine whispered to her mother.

"How, daughter?" Meredith asked.

"Through the air conditioning ducts," Catherine answered.

"Take the children, Catherine. I can't do that," Meredith answered.

"What? I'm not leaving you behind!" Catherine said to her. She took Joe in her lap, held Debby's hand, and looked at Meredith. "Come on, Mom!"

Meredith got up and followed Catherine. They walked slowly toward the restaurant and Catherine put a chair up for Meredith to climb. "Go, and then get the kids, Mom."

Catherine helped Meredith up and then gave the children to her. Catherine hesitated to go up without Steve, but she could not leave the children at risk. She went up and guided Meredith and the children until they could get out.

The police team saw Catherine leave the side of the mall with the children and helped them. Catherine told them how to get in and that the kidnappers were on the first floor. She also warned that Steve was inside so that the police would not confuse him with a kidnapper, but before she finished talking, Steve also left the building.

"Steve!" She hugged him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Cath. And the kids?" He asked looking around.

"Here, Daddy!" Debby got his attention.

"Hey, honey!" Steve took Debby in his lap and hugged her. Then, with his other hand, he took Joe. "Hey, buddy!"

"Can we go home? We're really dirty," Meredith said to Catherine.

"Of course, Mom. Let's go home," Catherine hugged her. "Thank you for take care them, mom."

"You're welcome, daughter."

Steve went to Tani and returned her gun. "Here it is, Tani. I didn't use it."

"That's nice, Steve. Because you'd leave me in a complicated situation," Tani answered.

"Excuse me, Tani. But I could not leave my children in danger. I hope you understand me," Steve told her.

"I really do," Tani replied.

Steve looked at Danny a little hurt and Danny realized it. "Steve, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you, I just wanted to keep you from doing anything stupid."

"It's okay, Danny. I don't care that you punched me, because that punch reminded me of everything. What hurts me is your lack of support for Catherine and my kids when I wasn't there. I expected more from you."

Steve asked Catherine to drive and she took the whole family home. Meredith took the children to take a shower and Steve sat on the edge of the bed with his hands on his head.

"Let me see this," Catherine told him. She took off the bandages and checked the wound. "The doctor didn't discharge you, did he?"

Steve smiled slightly. "You know me, right?"

"Steve, this could have become infected. Go take a shower and I will make new dressings."

"Cath ..." he called her when she turned to get him some clothes.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"I remembered everything," Steve told her.

"Everything?" She smiled.

"Yes. I'm sorry for everything you had to endure alone. You are my hero, you know?" Steve rubbed a hand over her face, spreading the dirt from the air conditioning ducts even more.

"And what happened on the mission, Steve? Did you remember that, too?" Catherine asked.

"Yes. I was captured by the enemies and thrown into the mountains to die. The monks found me and took me to the monastery. I stayed there for a long time until you came and rescued me. What can I say about it? You are mine everything, Cath. You are the person who never gave up on me, even when you wanted to give up. When you stayed in Afghanistan you wanted to give up on me, but you couldn't. That's why you came back several times. I love you. I love you very much."

Catherine was thrilled by his statement. "I love you too, my sailor."

The next day, Catherine's stepfather arrived from the mainland because he was worried about Meredith. Meredith answered him at the gate for fear that Catherine would expel him. Steve looked out the window and saw the two at the gate.

"Cath, send him in. I think you should at least meet him," Steve asked her and she didn't respond. "Come on, you don't have a hard heart like that. I know you are kind and loving."

Catherine got up and went to the gate. She approached Meredith and held out her hand to her stepfather. "Hi, I'm Catherine."

"Nice to meet you, Catherine. I'm Mike. Your mom talks about you a lot."

"Nice to meet you too, Mike. Come in, please," Catherine told him.

"Thanks," Mike replied and entered Catherine and Steve's house with Meredith. The kids loved Mike and three days later they were calling him a grandpa.

Four days later, Steve was leaving the Navy Department when Danny called him. Danny invited him for a drink in the Kamekona trailer and Steve accepted the invitation. Steve went over to Danny and listened to his apologies. "I'm sorry, Steve. I should have helped her more. I just didn't have the strength to do it because I was destroyed inside. I was selfish, I know. If I was destroyed, so much more was she. Forgive me."

"Okay, Danny," Steve replied. He ordered a juice and then told Danny that he needed to go.

"You didn't forgive me from the bottom of your heart," Danny told him.

"Why do you say that? That's not true," Steve replied.

"I asked you to drink and you asked for juice. And now you say you're leaving and we haven't even talked about everything."

"Don't get me wrong, Danny. I decided that I'm not going to drink alcohol before driving. I have children now and I could see the lack I make in their lives. And I'm leaving now because I'm taking my mother-in-law and her husband to the airport. "

"Ok. Are we okay?" Danny asked.

"We're okay, buddy."

One year later...

Catherine was sitting on the couch and looking at her children. Debby was drawing, Joe was playing with a ball and Jake was sleeping in his baby stroller. She smiled proudly of her family.

"Mommy, I'm drawing Jake," Debby showed Catherine her draw.

"It looks beautiful, my love," Catherine replied the girl.

"Come over here and give Mommy a hug," Catherine told Debby and Joe. Joe ran to Catherine and climbed on her lap. "I love you, mommy!"

"I love you too, my little boy!" Catherine kissed Joe's forehead. Debby joined her brother on her mother's lap.

The door opened and Steve came in holding a suitcase. "Look who I met at the gate," he said to Catherine and the children.

"Grandma!" Debby and Joe ran to her.

"Hi, my loves!" Meredith hugged them tight. "Grandma brought a Christmas present late."

"Whee!" The children celebrated.

Meredith approached Catherine and hugged her. "How are you, daughter? I couldn't make it in time for your delivery."

"I'm fine, Mom. Welcome."

"Thank you, daughter. Now let me see Grandma's beautiful little boy," Meredith took Jake out of the baby stroller and picked him up. "Hi, honey! I'm grandma." Meredith was thrilled and smiled at Catherine through tears. "Thank you for giving him your father's name, daughter. Your father would be a proud grandfather."

"Yes, Mom. He would be a wonderful grandfather," Catherine replied.

"How was the surgery?" Meredith asked.

"I didn't feel anything at the time, but then I felt horrible pain, mom."

"It's true. I almost regretted asking her for a third child," Steve said to his mother-in-law.

"Well, Mike traveled for work and I will be with you in the New Year Eve."

"This is great, mom. Thank you."

"I'm not going to disturb you, am I?" Meredith asked Steve.

"Of course not! I love you, you know that. And I think it's great that my kids grow up with one of their grandmothers around since my mom is no longer with us."

Steve received a few friends to celebrate New Year's Eve with his family. He had lived through difficult years, but now he had what mattered most: Catherine, Debby, Joe and Jake.

At midnight, Steve hugged Catherine so tight that he could feel her heart beat, and stroked her hair. "I'm a happy man just because I found you in my life. Happy New Year, Cath."

"Happy New Year, love of my life."

End.

PS: Thanks for reading. May we not lose faith and may we have a 2021 much better than 2020. Happy New Year!