This is the final chapter. Thank you so much for your reading,reviews, PM's and Alerts. I hope that you enjoyed it and please let me know what you think. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Catherine was in a private room. Her hands and legs were bandaged as she was sleeping peacefully. The only sound was the slight beeping of the heart monitor and the steady drip of the IV. Steve leaned over gently placing a kiss on her lips. She was warm to the touch, causing Steve to react to the red pigment of her skin. He gently caressed her cheek and whispered "I love you". Searching for a comfortable place to sit, he retrieved a chair from the corner of the room and repositioned it next to her. Reclining back on the hind legs of the chair, he positioned his legs on the edge of the bed and tried to make himself comfortable. After several minutes, he fell asleep. The exhaustion had finally taken its toll on him.

The rising sun had illuminated the room in shades of orange, causing Catherine to open her eyes. She looked around the room, startled at first, until she took note of Steve sleeping in the chair next to her and carefully whispered "Steve" trying not to startle him. He jumped and the chair fell backwards. He was quick to react and was spared hitting the floor at full force.

"Are you ok?" Catherine didn't mean to scare him, but couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

Steve stood up and composed himself. "I should be asking you that" He leaned into her and kissed her.

She reached up to touch his face, realizing that her hands were bandaged, she began to cry. She wanted to feel his skin against her hands and couldn't. He gently grabbed hold of her wrist and slowly brought it to his mouth, placing a gently kiss. "Your fever is down" he commented with a smile. She smiled back.

Looking around the room, she suddenly exclaimed "Mary, where's Mary? Is she ok?" there was urgency in her voice.

"She's fine. The doctor discharged her and she's getting a bite to eat with Danny. They'll be back soon." Steve tried to reassure her.

"You came for us. I didn't think you would be able to find us" her voice was raw and barely audible

"I've got your back, Cath. You know that. Whatever you think about me, I will always have your back" He smiled as he looked her directly in the eyes.

"What I think of you? Steve, I love you. That's what I think of you. I'm sorry. I don't even know what happened with us. We're still good right?" Catherine felt remorse for the fight they had.

"Of course, let's just forget about it. I will make it up to you. No more feeling stuck. I promise, I am just happy that I was able to find you in time" He gently caressed her cheek with his hand.

"Thank you. You saved our lives." She paused "Steve, I gave up. I let Mary down, I almost let you down. I couldn't do anymore. I tried, I really tried. If you didn't show up when you did…"

He interrupted "Cath, listen to me. You did good, you did real good. You saved Mary's life. If it weren't for you, she would be dead. Your training kicked in and you did exactly what you should have done. Do not apologize. You did not give up. Actually I should be the one to apologize to you"

She looked at him with confusion.

"I'm the one who gave up on you. I had let myself believe that you and Mary were dead. I wasn't there to rescue you; I was there to recover your bodies. I doubted you. I am so sorry." Tears filled his eyes.

"Steve, no, please don't. That doesn't matter. We're here and we're ok. I am so sorry that we were fighting. I should have never put that kind of pressure on you. I love you and I will be here for you as long as it takes. I am not going anywhere" Catherine wanted desperately to wipe the tears that fell from his eyes.

He hesitated "I haven't been completely honest with you. There is nothing that I want more than to be with you. I mean to be more with you, if that makes any sense. You see, there are some things that are going on that I wanted to keep you away from. Dangerous things, dangerous people that want me dead, me and everyone I care about. I want you in my life. Yesterday just made that more clear to me than ever before, but I can't make you any promises. I can't move on with us until I resolve this case. I can't put you in more danger." He was pacing the room as he spoke.

"If you are talking about WoFat, I already know. I know about Commander White, I know about Agent Kaye and Hiro Noshimuri. Steve, I know about it all." She tried to get his eye contact back, but he would not look at her.

"How? I don't understand. Who told you?" Steve could not understand.

"It's my job. Do you really think your little field trip to North Korea was a secret? Come on Steve, no one gets into North Korea without someone knowing about it, especially when a SEAL team is involved, off duty or not, humanitarian mission or not. The second that plane took off from Hickam, Naval Intelligence was notified and once Joe White's name came up, I was notified. I started to do some research and I pulled your cases. I know everything, Steve" Catherine explained.

Steve was shocked. He thought that he had successfully kept this from her.

"I know what the risks are, I am completely aware of how dangerous you are. You were dangerous for me the moment we met. I fell, I fell hard and it hurt like hell." She smiled

"I love you too" He smiled as he took his position at the edge of the bed and held her tight. "Cath once this is over, I will make it up to you. I want a future with you and I want to give you what you had growing up; I just need you to be patient with me."

She looked him straight in the eyes "Steve I don't want to recreate my childhood. I want to create a life with you, whatever that turns out to be. I am here and I am not going anywhere. I will stick around until you get sick of me and chase me away" She leaned over and kissed him as he held her tighter.

After a few moments of silence, Catherine turned and remarked "Now about Danny and Mary… Danny is good for her and she is good for him, so please, leave them alone and let it play out. Ok?" Her comment sounded more like an order than a suggestion.

"Ok. I am not sure I like this new friendship between you and Mary though" He raised a brow.

"Really? I would have thought that you would be thrilled. What are you afraid of? My influence on her or her influence on me?" Catherine smirked

"Neither. It's the sharing of information. Promise me she will no longer get the scoop on our relationship, and you will never give me the scoop on her and Danny. I really do not want to know what my sister and my best friend are doing together. Deal?" he asked reluctantly

"Deal!" she smiled. They both started to laugh and he leaned over and hugged her tightly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Danny and Mary entered the room and smiled at the sound of laughter. "I guess you're feeling better" Danny stated "But what's so funny?" He asked.

"Yeh, what's so funny?" Mary asked

"Nothing!" Steve and Catherine answered as they erupted in more laughter.

"Well, I thought you would like to know that I heard from Duke and the driver of the boat had a heart attack, that's why he lost control, but the owner of the building has been arrested. The Chief is throwing the book at him. He's going away for a long time." Danny approached Steve and Catherine as he spoke. "I guess you were right after all" he said to Steve as he took note of how good Catherine appeared, despite her ordeal.

"As much as I like to hear you say that I am right, what am I right about?" He questioned

"She IS a Mermaid, how else do you explain it?" Danny smiled

"What does he mean by that?" Catherine questioned

"Never mind" He whispered to Catherine.

"She doesn't know about the mermaid?" Danny knew it was a secret, but it was so easy to push Steve's buttons, and he loved to do it.

"Shut up Danny" Steve gently punched Danny in the arm.

"See what I mean, sharing of information. Too much sharing of information" Steve was shaking his head from side to side in frustration

Danny, Mary and Catherine erupted into laughter, as Steve sat on the edge of the bed, holding his head and continued to mumble "Too much sharing"

The End

Well? I hope you enjoyed this. A little secret: This started out as two separate stories. I was at a block for both of them, but when I put them together, it just seemed to click. Thank you so much for following this. I appreciate it so much and enjoy ready the reviews and comments.