I love that you guys love this story! I love writing it so much. It makes me want to get a dog lol. Happy reading!

In the morning, the door opened. I leaped to my feet.

JerryJerryJerry!

"Uh oh," Jerry muttered to himself. I skidded to a stop at his feet.

Noticed you left the door unlocked did ya? I cocked my head at him.

"This is our secret," Jerry said to me. I found that people did this a lot with dogs. It's something we're good at. Jerry made his way to the kitchen to feed me, but I had another idea. I had spent a lot of time through the night figuring out how to get that sweatshirt back. Now, I'm not a cat, but I can climb, and I climbed those stacks of boxes until I reached the place Steve had put it. I was careful not to wreck it or chew it or shake it, even though I really wanted to. I went for it now where I had stashed it.

"Come on, Eddie!" Jerry called. "Breakfast!"

I'm sure Steve could hear my stomach growling from where he was being kept, but I didn't care. Jerry needed to understand what I was trying to do. I wasn't even sure if he knew who Catherine was, but I had to risk it. I came to him holding the sweatshirt as delicately as I could and stared at him.

"Whatcha got there?" Jerry asked, leaning on the counter and looking at me. I grunted. Then I set it down for him to see properly. Right away I could see the recognition in his eyes. He knew Catherine. I was in luck!

"Does Steve know you have this?" Jerry asked me.

No, not really.

He reached for it, and I snatched it back.

"Hey, whoa!" Jerry yelped, yanking his hand back as if I had bitten him. As if. He'd know if I had bitten him.

Focus. This was very important. I took the sweatshirt and walked over to the door and dropped it, looking back at Jerry. He watched me, curious. I bunted the door lightly, picked up the sweatshirt again, and walked over to Jerry, setting it down. He looked at me like I had completely lost it. Maybe he wasn't very smart. I did it again. Still nothing. I huffed, impatient.

"Okay, I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something," Jerry said.

At last! There was something in his skull after all. I wagged my tail hard, making a noise in my throat.

"That's Catherine's hoodie," Jerry said, pointing at it. I made a noise again. Jerry narrowed his eyes.

"Catherine," he said. I made the same noise. Honestly, it was hard work training people to understand you.

"Hoodie," he said, testing me, like I'm an idiot. I stayed silent.

"Catherine," he said again, and I made the noise.

"Whoa," Jerry gasped. "Are you trying to tell me something about Catherine?"

I barked. Yes!

Jerry was thoughtful and quiet. He was trying to put it together. I could tell.

"Okay, you walked the hoodie from the door to me. Was Catherine here?"

I made the noise again, lowering my front paws so that my butt was in the air, tail wagging.

"Whoa," Jerry said. "I mean...whoa." He looked stressed.

What? What was wrong with this?

"McGarrett is not going to believe this at all," Jerry said to himself. He wasn't looking at me, so I could only assume he wasn't talking to me.

"Oh boy," Jerry said, wiping at his face. I could smell his sweat.

I picked up the sweatshirt and rammed it into Jerry's hands.

"Okay, okay," he said, taking it. He set it up high out of my reach. I perked my ears. How was I supposed to get it from there? Jerry was muttering to himself as he left me alone again. I plopped down onto the floor close to where Catherine's scent had been stashed. I was readily devising my plan for when Steve got home.

...

"What are you saying?" Steve's voice said outside the door. I jumped to my feet. Steve!

"I will show you," Jerry's voice answered. I yipped excitedly. Steve was home! Yay!

"Hey, boy," Steve said once he came inside and I skidded into his knees. He bent down to pet me and hug me. Oh, yes, yes, yes. I loved hugs from Steve. They were so tight, but I loved it.

"Watch this," Jerry said. He went to get the sweatshirt and put it down in front of me. Steve watched, and I knew I had to get this right. I picked it up, walked it to the door, looked back at them, and then walked it back to Steve, dropping it.

"See?" Jerry said, gesturing. "He's saying that Catherine was here."

"He's carrying around a piece of clothing and giving it to me. He wants me to play with him with it."

Ummmmm no. Steve, you got it all wrong. I did it again, just to set the record straight.

"Okay, watch this," Jerry said. He looked at me. "Hoodie."

I stayed silent.

"This is ridiculous," Steve snorted. I was a little hurt, but I was staying focused.

"Catherine," Jerry said. I made the noise in my throat. Even Steve looked at me curiously then.

"Hoodie," he said, taking over for Jerry.

I blinked.

"Catherine."

I made the same noise.

"You think I'm nuts now?" Jerry asked him. Steve looked at me hard.

"Even if she was here, she won't be back," he said. "And it doesn't matter."

"I think it does," Jerry tried.

"No, it doesn't. Catherine left. I'm with Lynn now," Steve explained. Ugh, Lynn. She was okay, but her tummy scratches had no heart in them. Catherine's scratches were so loving and wonderful. I wanted her in our pack, not Lynn. Scratches say a lot about people, you know.

"How's Danny?" Jerry asked. Hey! We can't change the topic now! I barked.

"Danny's doing great. He's off duty for a bit to get better," Steve answered, ignoring me.

Hey, hey, hey! I'm down here! I barked again, bunting my head against his knees.

"I gotta take this guy for a walk," Steve said, going for my leash. Walk? Ooohh I love walks.

"Okay. Glad you're not sick," Jerry replied.

"Me too, buddy. Thanks for looking after Eddie for me."

"Anytime."

Walkwalkwalkwalk. Let's gooooo! I wiggled with excitement. Steve snapped on my restraint, and we tore off outside towards a trail. I was glad he could keep up with me. Then, I caught Catherine's scent again. I lurched forward.

"Hey!" Steve yelped behind me. "Where are you going?" I was free of him. He had somehow let go of my leash, so I bolted ahead as fast as I could. I had to find her. I had to get her back to Steve. It would make him so happy.

"Eddie!"

Nope. I'm not liiiiistening! I kept sniffing and running. She had been here. She had walked through here. I had to find her.

"Eddie!"

A yank on my leash, and I was back in his control again. I huffed impatiently. Couldn't he tell I was on a mission? I wouldn't interrupt him on one of his missions. It would be rude.

"Don't do that, buddy," he said, panting. "I don't want to lose you."

Oh no. I could smell sadness. I went over to him where he was crouched, and licked his face.

"I almost lost Danno," he went on, his voice choked. "I was so close to losing Danno, and I don't know what I would have done. He's my best friend, and even though we bicker all the time, I can't imagine life without him. It just seems like the people I get the closest to get taken away, you know?"

I knew. I rested my head on his knee, and he petted me gently.

"Catherine was the only other person who knew I could be vulnerable," he told me. "Just her and you. I don't know why it's so hard for me to be vulnerable with other people. I just can't do it."

I wouldn't leave him. I tried to convey that with my nuzzling of his hand with my snout.

"Ah, enough already," Steve said, wiping at his eyes. They looked a little damp to me. He still smelled sad.

I wanted to bring him Catherine to take away the sadness. I whined and looked back at the trail. She had to be here. Her scent wasn't that old.

"Come on," Steve said, tugging me towards home. "Let's go for a swim, huh?"

I resisted a little, but I didn't want to make him angry either. Perhaps later on my own I would come back and finish my hunt for Catherine.

Hope you enjoyed! I am going on a trip for two weeks really soon, so an update might be a little longer than usual unless I get bored during the car ride ;)