Thank you all for reading. There are notes at the end of the chapter. And please be warned, this is the fluffiest piece I have ever written. ;-)

Purple Heart – Chapter 9

Steve looked at Catherine who was concentrating on the traffic on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. He had to smile about her reluctance to tell him where they were going. She had picked him up half an hour ago, and after stowing his wheelchair into the trunk of her Jetta they were on their way. But they were pretty much stuck in traffic after just five minutes.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I thought it would be a good idea to take the car instead of the Metro. I didn't anticipate this kind of traffic."

"Don't worry, it's fine," Steve assured her for the second time since they had left his home. "You're still not gonna tell me where we're going?" Steve was still curious about what she had planned.

"Nope," she answered and looked at him with a grin. "Is your friend still in D.C.? I hope I didn't cut into your time with him?"

"No, he had another meeting and his flight is at 1130 hours anyway. Besides I wanted to meet with you today," Steve told her as he shifted in his seat to get more comfortable.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My leg is just a bit restless, but it's okay. Don't worry about it."

"You'd tell me if you were in pain and needed a break, would you?"

"Uh huh," Steve said and thought not in this lifetime. "Really, my leg's fine." That actually wasn't a lie; his leg was relatively fine; his head on the other hand was a different matter.

He'd woken up again with a bad headache this morning. The Tylenol he had taken still had to make an impact. So far it hadn't done much for him.

"I hope you're hungry. You will get the best breakfast you've ever had."

"I could eat." He'd only had an apple this morning when he'd taken his medication for the vertigo, and he had to eat something to keep his blood sugar up after taking the meds. "So, we're having breakfast, and then?"

Cath only laughed at him. "Patience, Steve. Or is that a foreign concept for you?"

"For your information, I can be very patient, if I have to," Steve told her in mock seriousness.

"Oh really? Could have fooled me."

"Ha. Ha," Steve told her and couldn't quite keep the smile in. "I just don't like surprises," he added.

"If you really want, I'll tell you." Cath looked at her companion for an answer.

"No, I will wait," Steve told her with a dramatic undertone.

Finally the traffic started to roll again and five minutes later they were practically in the middle of Alexandria. Cath obviously knew where she wanted to go and parked in a parking structure not far from the water front.

Steve got out of the Jetta while Cath got his wheelchair out of the trunk. He had to wait a minute for her to get it out and ready to sit in. Steve stood next to the car and kept his balance by holding on to the open door.

"You need help?" Steve called out to her.

"No. Sorry, I'll be right there," came her answer from behind the open trunk.

Steve's right leg was not willing to bear any weight today, but his left one was working perfectly, so he didn't have much trouble standing and waiting for her. He smiled at her when she came around, pushing his wheelchair toward him.

"Thank you," Steve said as he seated himself in the chair.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Steve rolled back from the car and looked at her. "So, where are we going?"

"You're not giving up, are you?" Cath laughed as she locked the car and turned to Steve.

"Nope," Steve said with a grin and wheeled away from the car. "So, where to?"

A couple of minutes later they stood on the street and Cath motioned to a small coffee shop a short distance away.

Steve wondered how they would get a table; there was already a small crowd waiting outside. It seemed to be a popular place. But Cath had obviously thought about that and they simply went past the waiting guests and were seated in a matter of minutes.

"Cath, this is amazing," Steve told her while he looked in amazement at the place. "I had no idea."

Steve would never have guessed that the very small restaurant opened up at the back and had a rather big patio with dozen of tables right above the Potomac. They had a beautiful view over the river.

"So, you like it?" Catherine seemed unsure of it.

"Of course I like it. This is a great place."

"And the food is even better."

Twenty minutes later it was proved to Steve that the food was indeed great. Even though he was a little worried that he might get sick if he ate too much, Steve had ordered a big breakfast with French Toast, eggs, bacon and fruit salad.

"Do you come here often?" Steve asked between bites of syrup covered pieces of the sweet egg bread.

"Not as much as I like," Cath told him. "Lana told me about it. Her uncle bought the place a few years ago and turned it into this restaurant."

"Who is Lana?"

"The ensign I work with."

"Ah," Steve said absentmindedly. He was just concentrating on getting past a minor case of vertigo.

"Steve, are you okay?" Of course Cath had noticed that her friend was suddenly kind of absent.

"Yeah. Sorry, just a little dizzy. It will pass."

"Okay."

Steve could see that she was not convinced, but was happy that she let it rest and didn't badger him with an overly concerned behavior. He really liked that in her. Besides he would be fine in a minute. It was a rather mild case and he already felt better.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a rather personal question?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Steve looked at her curiously.

"Why did you become a SEAL, was that some kind of boyhood dream?" Cath asked him with a smile, thinking about Steve as a little boy.

"No," Steve slowly answered. He thought a moment about how to answer that question. "I… when I was about ten I decided to become a scientist. I was fascinated by chemistry and physics, and everything associated with it. I couldn't get enough of finding out how everything worked."

"So, you were a geek?" Cath asked in surprise. "I figured you more for a quarterback or something like that."

"I was," Steve said with a laugh. "And I was the quarterback, not a bad one actually. But my sport never kept me from loving the science classes."

"So what changed?"

"When I was 15 my mother died in a car crash."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Steve," Cath told him with compassion in her voice.

"It's okay; it was a long time ago. My dad… well, I guess he was overwhelmed, he sent us away to the mainland."

"Us?"

"My sister and me," Steve told her. "Mary was sent to live with relatives, and I was shipped off to the Army-Navy Academy."

"That must have been a cultural shock."

"You have no idea," Steve told her, remembering the time back then well. "I had not been prepared for military life. I had struggled for a long time. Coming from the laid back life of the islands to the academy was… suddenly everything was so controlled and in order." Steve had to grin at thinking how much of a control freak he now was. "It was really hard in the beginning. I had had no intention of joining the military, and if my mother hadn't died I would never have joined the Navy or even left the islands. At least I don't think so."

"But you obviously adapted and then decided to become a member of a special forces team?"

"Well, I figured out rather quickly that it would be a real challenge to even get into Annapolis. They actually offered a great curriculum, and I was totally surprised how much they stressed the importance of good grades. They are very strict about that; if you can't cut it in your chosen field, you're out."

"So, you were challenged on a scientific basis?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Next to all the nautical stuff, sports and training we had to do, it was really hard to study for all of it."

"That still doesn't explain why you chose to become a SEAL," Cath reminded him of her first question.

"I struggled with the decision what to do. SEALs are a pure combat unit. When engaged, they are swift, precise and deadly. I was not sure if I wanted that, or if I could do that. But the challenge of it won out and so I tried out for it, and, well, here I am."

"I'm glad," Cath smiled as she told him.

"So, what about you?" Steve asked, but before she could answer they were interrupted by a loud voice.

"Catherine!"

They both looked startled at the man coming over to them.

"Luces," Cath said under her breath with resignation in her voice.

"So, this is why you didn't want to meet with me today," Luces Tate said and motioned to Steve in obvious disgust.

"Luces, I told you I'm not interested in going out with you."

It was obvious to Steve that this was not the first time Cath had to tell him no. "I think that is your cue to leave," Steve said.

"You, whoever you are, are not going to tell me what to do," Tate said and sat down at their table.

"Don't make a scene. Leave now," Catherine told him calmly.

"Or what?"

"Catherine asked you to leave; I suggest you do so," Steve said as he wheeled back from the table.

"Am I supposed to be scared now?" Luces laughed at Steve.

"No, you're just supposed to leave," Steve told him with a still calm voice.

Tate turned to Cath, "Are you serious? You prefer this guy over me? I bet he can't even—"

Luces looked in complete shock at Cath who had just slapped him in the face.

"Shut up and leave now," her voice was very low but carried across the deadly quiet room.

"You will regret this," Tate addressed Steve, stood up from his chair and while doing so pushed Steve out of the way and stormed out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I don't know how he knew I'd be here. You okay?"

"Fine," Steve answered and wheeled back to the table. "Has he been harassing you for long?"

"No, he just doesn't understand the meaning of no. But until now he has been rather nice," Cath told him, shaking her head while sitting back down at the table.

"Where do you know him from?"

"I met him at the gym about three weeks ago. I never went out with him and made it clear that I was not interested."

"Sorry you have to deal with such a jerk," Steve told her and hoped the guy didn't mean any future trouble for her.

"I can handle him, don't worry."

"Okay." Steve grinned at her and was pretty sure she knew how to handle most everyone.

"Are you ready to leave?" Cath motioned to his empty plates.

"Oh, you have something else planned?"

"Day's still young, and I'm sure you will love what I have planned," Cath told him with a smile.

"You were right, this is great," Steve told Cath ten minutes later as they made their way into the Torpedo-Factory. "Do you know any history of the place?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's really neat. During WW2 it was a real torpedo factory, hence the name, but was later turned into the Art Center. It now has three floors with art shops, the museum and a coffee shop. There is a tour around the museum in a few minutes if you are interested?" Cath looked at Steve in the hope he liked her plan.

"Yeah, sounds good. But first I need to use the restroom." Steve had looked for the signs for them, but hadn't seen any. He just hoped they had a restroom accessible with a wheelchair.

"They are on the third floor, same as the museum," Cath told him and led the way to the elevator.

Ten minutes later they met again in the part that housed the museum and started their tour.

H50 – H50 – H50

Steve looked at Cath and had to smile despite the severe headache he had had for almost an hour. It had been present in the background all day, but had been really bothering him for the past hour. He felt slightly dizzy and the hammering in his head seemed to get worse by the minute.

They had spent a great day at the center, visiting lots of art shops, and having fun all around. Now they were sitting on the ground floor listening to a Jazz concert.

Steve winced when the music got louder yet again, and he was not sure how much longer he could take it.

"Steve, isn't this great?" Cath leaned over and beamed at him, oblivious to his distress. "I love this music."

"Yeah, they are good."

"Good? They are great!"

"Uh huh," Steve told her with a forced smile. He loved seeing her so enthusiastic and decided he would endure this a little bit longer. But his resolve was crushed when the sax guy started playing his solo.

"Catherine?"

"Yeah?" Cath turned to her friend and it seemed like she suddenly realized that something was not quite right. "Are you okay?"

"Can we please go outside for a while?"

"Of course. What's wrong? You feel okay?" Cath was now really looking at him and could see that he was rather pale and in obvious pain.

"It's too loud and is giving me a major headache. Sorry." Steve didn't want to ruin her fun, but he couldn't stay a minute longer.

"That's okay, let's get out of here." Cath did something she hadn't done before, she pushed his wheelchair. And Steve actually let her.

They made their way outside and Cath only stopped when they had reached the promenade that went along the whole waterfront. She 'parked' the wheelchair and sat across from Steve on the low wall that lined the promenade.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your fun. You can go back inside if you like; I'll just wait here for a bit."

"Don't be ridiculous. Do you have any painkillers you could take?" Cath looked at Steve and could see that he was not feeling good.

"I'd rather not, they make me kind of loopy," Steve told her as he closed his eyes. Even though he didn't want to take anything stronger than Tylenol he already knew that he had no choice if he didn't want to keel over.

"Yeah, well, you look like that is just what you need right now. Take them, Steve, and then we will go back to your place. If you feel better, well, we'll think of something to do, if not you can at least lie down," Cath tried to convince him of her plan.

Steve highly doubted that he would be good for anything other than lying down and sleeping when they got home. But a guy could hope, so he just smiled at her suggestion and took his pain medication.

An hour later, Steve was softly snoring in his bed. Cath was seated beside him, smiling down at him, her hand rubbing his arm. He had insisted she didn't need to stay, but she wanted to do so… just for a little while… to make sure he was really all right. Despite the incident with Luces and that they had to leave the concert, she had had a really good time and didn't want to leave him just yet. When she had whispered that she was staying, he had given her a lazy, sleep glazed grin and had scooted to make room for her on the bed. Catherine glanced at the clock and then yawned, deciding a nap didn't sound half bad. She lay down and cuddled up next to him, placing her arm across his chest. He nuzzled against her hair in his sleep and she smiled.

She could get used to this.

H50 – H50 – H50

A/N: My assumption that Steve didn't want to become a SEAL since he was a little boy is based on episode 13 back from season 1.

"I would never have left the island, I would never have joined the Navy. Missed every holiday, every birthday, half of Mary's life. The day that car exploded? That made me who I am." Steve tells Danny in the car after leaving Mamo in 1x13 Ke Kinohi (The Beginning).

What do you think Steve would have become if his mother wasn't a spy and faked her own death. What would have become of little Stevie in a normal household? Let us know.

And please remember when Steve was talking to Catherine he had NO idea about Wo Fat or that his mother's car accident was not just that.

About the Torpedo Factory – that is a real place in Alexandria. It is really great, and I loved it. I'm sure Steve would like it too, so he had to spend a day there. But I'm pretty sure he didn't mind that much. :-)

And please don't forget to thank Cokie316 for the last scene. She insisted that after such a fluffy day Cath couldn't leave and it was her doing that she stayed. She made them snuggle up. And to be honest, I love her thinking. So, if you liked it, give your thanks to her.