You guys are super lucky because my creative juices have been flowing since I've been sick all weekend, and I managed to write another chapter to post. Don't expect that every time, though. I should explain that with my writing, I have stories where I've already got the whole thing written and just have to make adjustments and edits and some stories where I write a chapter at a time (but most of those have the ending written already...I usually always have the ending written first, like with this story), so that's why some of my stories are updated faster than others. I do my best, but life gets in the way too.

Side note: Thank you to those who have ideas and suggestions for my story, but I want to let you know that I do not write other people's ideas because I already have a plan for this story and what direction it is going in and how it ends. Thank you for understanding.

I paced. I whined. I cried. I waited. Joe hadn't stayed, which also upset me. I needed someone to reassure me! Even the demon cat knew something was wrong because he didn't bother me. I sat down in front of the door and waited. When it finally opened after so long, I jumped to my feet.

"Eddie, Eddie, Eddie," Danno said as I slammed into him. "It's all right, buddy. Steve's fine. He's fine."

Then where the heck was he?!

"He's at the hospital. He's recovering. He'll be home soon," Danno promised. "Let's get you fed, huh?" I followed him to the kitchen. I was very hungry, I realized. My worry for Steve had buried my sensation of hunger.

"Hey, Pickles," Danno said, giving the cat a careful pat as he passed. I supposed the cat could use some reassurance. He did like Steve too. I sat by my bowl while Danno filled it up. Then I gulped it down. Danno answered his ringing black box.

"Hey, Lou. Yea, he's all right. It was a shot to the stomach, but he's in recovery. I think it has shaken up a bit, though. Yea, I know. He's gonna be a father. I think he's rethinking things. I know, I know, it scares me too thinking that he might leave the job, but I also don't blame him, you know? Who wouldn't want to live to see their child?"

I was listening as I ate. Steve was thinking of leaving Work? That was surprising. Steve loved Work. He talked about it to me all the time. I always wanted to bite all the bad guys he told me about. They sounded nasty.

"They are letting him have visitors, yes," Danno went on. "Cath is there already. I think it really scared her."

I knew Catherine had been scared. I had been too.

"Yea. Talk to you soon. Bye."

Danno stopped talking into the box and looked down at me. I looked back up at him.

"Sometimes I think you have lots to say in there," Danno said, cocking his head at me.

I sure did. I wagged my tail. Danno was very smart. He bent down to give me pets.

"I have to go, but Catherine will be home in a while to check on you. Don't worry."

I whined as Danno stood and walked to the door. I didn't want to be left alone, but I knew he had somewhere to be. After he left, I plopped onto the floor and waited.

...

It was dark outside when Catherine came home. She looked tired, but she didn't smell afraid anymore.

"Hi," she said to me as I pressed against her legs. "He's okay, Eddie. He's okay."

I had yet to get proof of this aside from their word. I had to trust both Danno and Catherine when they said Steve was all right. I sniffed at her hands, and I did smell Steve on them, so I knew she had been with him. This was comforting. I left her alone as she went to do her thing. I sat and waited by the door. I would sit and wait there until my boy came home.

...

Six sleeps later, I was at my wits end with Pickles. The cat was purposely antagonizing because he knew I was not myself. Well, that ended today. The fifth bat to my head from the cat's paw caused me to jump to my feet snarling. Then, the chase was on. The cat's tail was taunting me as it waved at me while he ran. I chased him all over the house, barking. I cornered him in the kitchen and was about to make mincemeat out of him when someone shouted.

"Hey! Hey! Whoa!" Danno's voice called from the Door. Both of us stopped what we were doing and peeked around the wall from the kitchen, looking at him sheepishly.

"Nice welcome home party," Catherine laughed. She was standing beside Steve!

"Guess they're not getting along any better," Steve sighed.

SteveSteveSteveSteveSteve! I ran over and skidded into his legs, licking his hands and pawing at him. He laughed and bent down to give me scratches.

"I missed you too, buddy," he said. He smelled of Hospital, and I didn't like it. That place never smelled good, mostly death and sadness. I gently chewed on his fingers in my friendly way, and he patted me before standing up and going to see the cat. I was envious that Steve could pick up the cat and cuddle him like that. I wished he could cuddle me like that.

Treat! My head snapped and I caught it midair as Danno tossed it.

"I think they're glad you're back," Catherine smiled.

"It's good to be back," Steve nodded. He put Pickles down, and the cat gave me a smug look before stalking off. I'd catch him later.

"So, are we gonna talk about it?" Danno asked.

"About what?"

"You leaving Five 0?"

"I'm not leaving entirely. I'm just scaling it back," Steve shrugged. "Maybe not be so hands on as much."

"It really had an affect on Jerry," Catherine chimed in. "He quit so he could go live his life."

"Well, almost getting shot does that to people," Danno agreed.

Did this mean I would get more Steve time? I looked at them all.

"Five 0 is a great team, and it still has a great leader even if I'm not there full time," Steve said, looking at Danno. There was a pause, and Danno didn't seem to know what to say.

"Yea?" he said after a moment.

"Yea," Steve grinned. "I couldn't think of anyone better to take over for me, Danny."

They hugged. I wagged my tail. I liked when people were happy.

...

The weeks went by. Catherine's belly grew bigger, and Steve smelled more nervous. He went to Work a little bit, but not every day. He and Catherine spent a lot of time together. Things were pretty boring until they weren't. Junior got caught one day, and my interest was greatly captured.

"What is this?" Steve asked, opening the Door to find Junior and Tani licking faces behind it on the front step. I stuck my head through Steve's legs, watching. Steve didn't seem to mind.

"Oh, uh...it's..." Junior trailed off.

"It's okay Junes," Tani said. She looked at Steve. "We're dating."

"I can see that," Steve chuckled. "Since the wedding?"

Junior and Tani looked at each other.

"Come on," Steve said. "You might as well be honest."

"Yea, since the wedding," Junior finally agreed.

"About time," Steve commented. They smelled surprised. I was a little distracted since Steve was rubbing my ears.

"Glad to know you felt that way," Tani laughed.

"We all did," Steve told her.

"Oh..."

"I'll leave you to it," Steve said, closing the door in their faces. He stepped over me and went to the kitchen. I followed, hoping for a snack. Sometimes if I went in there with him, he would give me something. I was hopeful.

"Junior and Tani?" Catherine asked. She was sitting at the table.

"Yea," Steve answered.

"Good for them."

Snack? Please? I tried not to drool. I licked my lips a lot to make it clear I wanted something.

"We have an appointment today right?" Steve asked her.

"Yes. In about an hour."

"Great."

"I've been thinking a lot about names," Catherine said. I followed Steve as he went to the tall, cold place.

"Oh yea?"

Something. Anything. I sniffed loudly behind Steve. I heard Junior come inside finally, but he didn't come join us. He was probably embarrassed.

"Yea."

"And?"

"Well, since we know it's a boy for sure, I...I'd like to name him Ethan," Catherine said. Steve rudely shut the cold place's door in my face and went over to her. I sighed. They weren't getting the hint.

"Ethan, huh," Steve said. "Ethan McGarrett. I like it."

"Ethan John McGarrett," Catherine added.

"Really?" Steve asked, happily surprised.

"Yea. I had a cousin, Ethan, who died tragically when we were teenagers, and you're Dad is your Dad, so I thought maybe it would be a great way to carry on their memory," she said. "Also, I still think of that boy, Ethan Awana, and how he was so much like you. Sorry if it's stupid."

"It's not stupid at all," Steve shook his head. "I love it."

Catherine went to lick his face, and I whined. Pay. Attention. To. Me.

They didn't.

"I mean, I thought of John Joe, but that just sounded a little funny," Catherine said.

"Dear God, don't do that," Joe's voice said. I looked at him. He was back again!

I don't know what's going on.

"It's all right, pup," Joe said. He was listening to both of them now.

"Yea that might confuse people," Steve chuckled. "I have other ways of keeping Joe's memory with me."

"Good. Geez," Joe said, shaking his head. "John Joe. Poor kid. Could you imagine?"

I couldn't.

"Well, it's one memory for you and one for me," she smiled.

He licked her face again.

"I'm going to get ready," Catherine said.

"Okay."

I watched her go, and then I looked at Steve. He had this look on his face that was one of wonder or contentment. I couldn't tell which. Or maybe he was trying to blow wind from his rear. He made that face sometimes when he did that. I braced myself. His wind stank very badly sometimes. Nothing came, though, and then he got up and left too. I looked, but as always, Joe was gone again.

...

One day, Steve took me out to hang with the rest of the pack. I came to understand that Steve had two packs, one that lived with him and one that didn't. I also liked the pack that didn't live with us. They were fun.

"Good to see you, Eddie," Lou said, petting me. I was glad he got over being afraid of me. He always tasted like bacon.

"Hey, Eddie!" Adam called. He was better at not having food on his hands, which was unfortunate for me.

"Yo, Eddie, shrimp?" Kamekona asked. Yes, please! I gobbled it eagerly. Flippa gave me some too. I loved these people!

"Hi, Eddie," Tani said. I pressed my face into her hands affectionately. I got to see her a lot now, but I still liked her scratches.

"How's Catherine doing?" Danno asked as Steve sat down at the table with them.

"She says she feels like a duck," Steve laughed.

Duck? Where? I snapped my head to attention. I'd chase the duck.

"I remember my wife feeling the same way, like she was waddling everywhere," Lou chuckled. "Just don't ever say it yourself. You'll wind up on the couch for the night."

"Has she blamed you for doing this to her yet?" Danno asked. "Rachel blamed me a lot near the end."

"Not yet," Steve admitted.

"Both times," Lou said. "I got blamed both times. You'd think after the first time some of the heat would've been off of me since she wanted to do it again, but nooo."

I took turns visiting everyone at the table, and sometimes I got given a treat and sometimes I didn't.

"Things going well between you two?" Adam asked once the laughter stopped.

"Very," Steve nodded. "In fact...I, uh, I think I'm going to propose to her."

"Really?!" Tani screeched excitedly.

What? What was happening? I looked up at them now.

"Good for you!" Lou exclaimed, clapping Steve on the shoulder.

"You still got the ring?" Danno asked.

"Yup. It was always hers. I kept it thinking that someday I'd get another chance to try to give it to her again."

"When are you going to do it? Where? How?" Tani asked. I saw Junior look at her a little alarmed at her enthusiasm. Lou noticed too.

"Pay attention, son," he told Junior. "This is how you're gonna get it right when it's your turn."

If Tani heard him, she made no show of it. Junior went red in the face, though.

"I'm still thinking," Steve said.

"Awww come on!" Tani whined.

"I'm not risking you guys telling her how I'm doing it. I shouldn't have even told you I was doing it," Steve argued, laughing.

"We won't say anything," Lou promised.

"Better not," Steve warned, but he didn't sound mad. He was smiling. I wondered what was going on. I was too busy trying to get food from everyone.

...

Two sleeps later, I found Steve in his den searching his dresser. Catherine was downstairs. I sat and watched as he found what he was looking for and pulled it out, smiling to himself.

"This is it, buddy," he said to me. "I'm gonna ask her."

Ask who what?

"It's about time."

I spun. Joe! He smiled at me.

Time for what? I asked.

"Well, to make it simple for you, Steve is going to ask Catherine to be his mate for life," Joe said.

Ooooohhhh. I got it now. I looked back at Steve, happy for him.

"Keep up the good work, pup. They're gonna need you."

I looked over to Joe, but he was gone again. I didn't understand. He came and went so quickly.

"Okay," Steve was saying. He held something in his fingers. "Cath, will you...no. Catherine, will you marry me? Catherine, I love you so much, will you be my wife? Cath, I love you...ahhh." He stopped, rubbing his head.

I liked the third one best. I thumped my tail on the floor three times, but Steve didn't get it. Steve paced for a bit. I knew this was important for him, and I tried to be supportive.

Was that dinner being made down there?

Focus! I looked at Steve again.

"Steve!" Catherine called. Her voice startled Steve, and he dropped what he was holding.

Ooooo shiny! A treat! I lunged, sucking it into my mouth.

"Eddie, no!" Steve shouted, diving down to me. I swallowed the item and looked at him. He smelled frustrated as he opened my mouth and looked inside. I felt bad. Obviously I had done something wrong. He sighed.

"Steve?" Catherine asked, coming in the room then. We both looked up at her from the floor. Steve's hands still had my mouth open. My tongue lolled all over his fingers, getting all the food flavors off.

"What happened?" she asked, seeing something was wrong. Then she saw the box on the bed. Her eyes widened. "Is that...?"

"Yea," Steve nodded, letting me go and sitting back. "It was."

"Was?"

"Well...Eddie ate it," Steve answered, gesturing. I wagged my tail at my name. Catherine covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stop from laughing. I smiled. I had made her smell happy but Steve smell frustrated. Humans were so weird sometimes.

"Were you going to?" she asked.

"I was...am," Steve corrected. "I just wanted it to be perfect." Catherine joined us on the floor carefully, holding her belly. She rubbed my head and neck and back and butt like I loved, and she reached for Steve's hand with her other one.

"Steve, this is perfect, right here. I don't need anything fancy or elaborate. I just need you, and having Eddie too is a bonus. He's had faith in us from the sounds of what you told me, and he's special to me too. And anyway, the ring will come back," she smiled. "So if you're going to ask, ask now."

Steve smelled nervous, and I tried to convey my braveness to him. Catherine smelled quite happy and excited. He had nothing to be nervous about.

"Catherine," he started. "It's been a journey for us, and I didn't know at the beginning that I'd be sitting here with you and feeling the way I'm feeling right now. When you weren't around, there was a huge hole in my heart. Since you've been back, that hole is gone, and I never want to have it again. I want to be with you and only you for the rest of my life. I want to show you every day how much I love you, and I want to make so many memories with you on this journey. Catherine, I love you so much, and it would make me so happy if you'd be my wife. Will you marry me?"

That was SO much better than what he'd been rambling about before. I gave him ten out of ten cookies for that.

"Yes," Catherine said, raining from her eyes. "Yes, Steve. I will marry you." He went to hug her, and I went to lick both their faces, making them both laugh.

"You'll get the ring in a few days," Steve said.

"Okay," she smiled. "I don't envy you for searching for it."

I flopped onto my belly then, and Steve gave me a look and a grin.

"It'll be no problem at all," he assured Catherine. I smiled.

...

It was many sleeps later when someone knocked on the Door. Catherine was very big now, and I knew she was ready to have that baby at any point in time. Steve wasn't home, so she made her way to answer it. I wished I could help her, but I can't open the Door. I stood and waited at the ready in case it was someone bad on the other side. Catherine finally got over there and pulled it open, and she gasped. I tensed. What was wrong? I sniffed, smelling something slightly familiar about the person but also different. I frowned.

"Hi, Catherine," they said. "Wow, they weren't kidding. You really are about to pop."

Catherine stood for a moment, getting her bearings. I wagged my tail. The new person smelled okay to me. I went and got scratched while Catherine recovered.

"Y-You...you're here?"

"Yea," New Person replied. "I've come home. Nice ring, by the way."

"Thanks."

Steve had commented at how much shinier it was when he'd found it. I had been amused watching him dig through my leavings to find it, though.

Steve drove up the driveway then, and he got out. He stopped short upon seeing New Person. I smelled a lot of surprise coming off of him. Then he spoke.

"Mom?"

I kept her alive because I am now on an AU storyline not the real storyline anymore. I'm sorry if you don't like that.