A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and read the first chapter. This story is a little different from anything else I've written and I really appreciate the encouragement.

Disclaimer: They are not my characters. I just enjoy playing with them for awhile.

Catherine ducked back around the corner before the two Admirals coming down the hall towards the elevator could see her. It wasn't exactly that she wasn't allowed to be there, but it would be frowned on.

Catherine was part of a team intercepting and decoding transmissions from the Persian Gulf. Their offices were grouped together one floor down. The offices on this floor belonged to a team working on something that was classified above Catherine's credentials.

The thing was, the bathrooms on this floor were by far the closest to Catherine's office. For a woman 6 months pregnant, that was an important consideration. Still, it would be better not to have to explain that to a pair of Admirals.

That would be her story if anyone caught her here. Catherine's job was learning secrets, and she was very good at her job. Her instincts were telling her that this was a conversation worth listening to.

"The morning briefs the Army sent over were a masterpiece. They tried to dress it up, but their Rangers haven't fared any better in Brazil than our SEALs have in Korea. Hell, even a Delta team was wiped out," his voice was filled with worry.

"Protocol was followed and all the bodies burned, right?"

"Of course. We'll eventually have to classify them MIA and notify their families, but we keep it quiet for awhile longer."

Both men seemed exhausted and regretful as they boarded the elevator.

Shaking badly, Catherine stumbled blindly into the stairwell behind her and managed to make it back to her own desk before her legs gave out.

Her mind was trying so hard to block out the horrific things she had just heard that she didn't notice Commander Reed, her direct superior, standing in the doorway.

"Lt. McGarrett, are you alright?" he was genuinely concerned, but also somewhat uncomfortable, the way some men got around pregnant women.

"I think the baby really hated the Chinese food I had for lunch," she lied, "I hate to ask but would it be possible for me to go home?"

"Certainly. Will you be okay driving? Do you need me to call someone?"

Her colleagues were all aware that Steve was currently deployed and went out of their way to show her extra consideration. Suddenly, Catherine wondered if the extra concern came from the fact that her CO knew something she didn't. That maybe Steve wasn't coming home. That maybe her son would have to grow up without a father.

Catherine knew that she had to get out of the building right now, before she screamed at poor Reed for answers, before she tracked down the Admirals from earlier and begged them for the truth.

"I'll be fine, sir. I just need to go home," Catherine was proud of herself for keeping her voice steady.

The drive home was a blur. Catherine kept imagining a Navy official knocking on her door to tell her that Steve had been listed MIA. He would promise that everything possible was being done to find him, both of them knowing that it was already far too late.

Parking in front of the house, Catherine ran straight to the bathroom and threw up. Once her stomach was empty, she went out the lanai doors and down to the edge of the water, where she sank down onto the sand.

This was where she felt closest to Steve, looking out over his ocean. She was still sitting there when Kono arrived 2 hour later.

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Danny Williams, acting Captain of Five-0, sat back in his chair and surveyed the ever-growing piles of paperwork spread across his desk. He wondered, not for the first time, how Steve, who did not have 1/10th of the talent Danny had for administrative details, had been able to keep up.

It surprised Danny how many times a day he still wondered what Steve would do in a particular situation, or what Steve was doing right now, or where Steve was right now. He would have thought that after 4 months, the gaping Steve shaped hole in his life would have gotten smaller.

"Good night, Captain," Office Sean Alt called out as he passed Danny's open door on his way home for the night.

For the first few weeks after Steve had been deployed, Danny had stubbornly refused to accept a temporary taskforce member. Unfortunately, the criminals of Hawaii had seen Steve's sudden absence as an opportunity to step up their activities. Combine that with the time off Chin was taking for his wedding, and Danny found himself choosing from the applicants the Governor's office had helpfully supplied. Alt was proving to be a valuable addition to the team, but Danny couldn't help the tiny stab of dislike he felt every time he climbed in the Camero (driver's side, thank you) and glanced over at the young cop.

Danny shook his head, trying to regain his focus, but it was no use. Alt had the right idea – it was time to go home. Maybe tomorrow he would break down and admit that Steve had the right idea when it came to paperwork: delegate it to your team.

That would leave him more time for pouring over the news sites. Ever since Steve had left, all of the team had developed the habit of checking more than a dozen news sources, constantly looking for some clue about where their absent leader might be. So far, they had found nothing.

As Danny shut down his computer for the night, he stole one last look at his email. Compulsively checking email was another new habit. In the four months since Steve had deployed, there had been not one word from him: no emails, no phone calls, not even a postcard.

Even Catherine had heard nothing. Much like her husband, Cat hated to show any kind of weakness but Danny knew how hard the silence was on her, especially as her pregnancy advanced. He considered stopping by the McGarrett residence on his way home but discarded the idea.

Grace was at home with Gabby and he didn't want to leave them alone together for too long. Danny could not understand why his twelve year old daughter refused to accept that Gabby was part of their lives. She had never had these kinds of issues with Stan. Rachel was no help, she just shook her head sadly and said it proved that Grace was indeed a Daddy's girl.

Besides, Kono was over at Cat's tonight. They were picking out colors for the baby's room. Danny remembered doing things like that before Grace was born. He wished so badly that Steve was here to do the same for his son. If only he would contact them, at least let Catherine know he was alright.

Danny's phone began to ring in his pocket as he exited the building. He fumbled pulling it out, hands shaking slightly, unable to believe that the timing could be coincidental. He stared hard at the caller ID: Kono.

He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, "Hey, Kono. Everything okay? I was just on my way out of the office."

"I'm glad I caught you before you left. Is there any way you could come over to Catherine's?"

Danny sighed, "Gabby's alone with Grace . . ." There was nothing else he needed to say. The team was well aware of the tensions going on there.

"I think something might be wrong," Kono's hesitant tone made Danny pause in the act of fastening his seatbelt.

"Is it the baby?" Danny was already starting the car, his problems with Grace momentarily forgotten, "Did she hear something about Steve?"

"I don't know. Cat's just sitting on the beach, staring at the water. She won't talk to me, she won't eat dinner, she won't even come inside," Kono's frustration was obvious.

"I'm on my way," Danny reassured her, "See you in a few minutes."

As he drove, Danny considered the fact that Kono had called him, and not Chin, for help. Since the wedding, that had become a more common occurrence. It appeared that Kono was trying to give the newlyweds some space.

Arriving at the McGarrett house, Danny sent Gabby a quick text to let her know where he was, and that he would be late, before making his way down to the edge of the water where Kono and Catherine sat silently, side-by-side.

Kono smiled gratefully at his arrival but Cat didn't acknowledge him at all.

"Hello ladies," Danny greeted them, "I was hoping that I could join you for dinner."

"I was just about to get it started," Kono cast a sideways look at Catherine who had still not responded in any way.

Danny considered his options. Catherine was still in her uniform so he assumed that she had probably been here since she had gotten home from work. That was a long time for a pregnant woman to sit on the ground.

"Kono, why don't you go start dinner? I'm going to grab some chairs from the lanai for Cat and me." Danny made two quick trips to bring down the weathered chairs he and Steve usually sat in to enjoy a beer in the evening.

Catherine surprised him by getting up without any prompting, although she did require some assistance.

"Tell me what's going on," Danny instructed softly once they were settled again.

Catherine told Danny about the conversation she had overheard earlier. As she spoke, she began to shake and tears spilled down her cheeks.

Danny was shocked and horrified by what he heard, "US Special Forces are have been killed and the government is going to cover it up, not even notify the families or bring them home for burial?"

Cat nodded miserably, reaching out blindly for Danny, who took her hand in both of his.

Danny's mind was racing, "Who are they even fighting? What's going on in Korea, or Brazil?"

"I don't know. I haven't heard anything, except . . ."

"Except what?" Danny prompted her.

"I haven't heard anything and that's the point. I work in Intelligence. There are usually tons of rumors flying. It's our job to pick out the fact from the fiction. But lately, there's been nothing out of Asia. That's not normal," Catherine shivered, "I feel so helpless not knowing anything."

Danny desperately wished that Lori were there. She and Catherine had become very good friends over the last few months. But Lori had a date with a cute barista she had been buying coffee she didn't even like from for weeks, so he was on his own.

Danny got up and knelt in the sand in front of Catherine, taking both of her hands in his and waiting until her eyes met his, "You can't let yourself get worked up like this. You have to think about the baby."

Tears were flowing freely down Catherine's cheeks, "They're burning the bodies. They aren't even bringing them home. Danny, something bad is happening, something very bad."

Danny flashed back to the morning that Steve had told him that he was being deployed. Steve had also said that something bad was coming. A chill ran down Danny's spine.

He was tempted to dismiss her fears, but he knew that wasn't what Catherine needed to hear. She needed the truth, "Steve will come home. It doesn't matter what happens to other soldiers, Steve will find a way to come home. He always finds a way."

Danny and Catherine stayed there, reinforcing each other's belief, until Kono came to tell them dinner was ready.