Two days later Steve was sitting out on the lanai and thinking about how many things had changed. He was effectively a dad and Catherine had moved some of her things in. Catherine and Kono cleared out his old bedroom and turned it into a nice bedroom for Maile, the new nanny. He thought they mostly used things from Catherine and Mary's places, but he wasn't positive because he felt a bit like he had been sleep walking through the last couple of days. Maile was to start the next day.
Chin and Danny helped him make the arrangements for a memorial service. They were going to scatter Mary's ashes on the beach. Chin called Joe White and got him to call in enough favors to let Doris know her daughter was dead. Steve thought she was coming for the service being held in several days.
Steve also thought about Joan. He thought she was fussier that he remembered her being with Mary. Of course between having lost her mother, being sick, and teething, it was understandable. He just hoped that the adults in her life were doing everything they could to make her feel secure.
Catherine came and pulled a chair up right next to him.
"Steve," said Catherine. "Kono's going to stay and watch Joan. I want us to put on decent clothes, go pick out rings, and have a nice dinner where we finalize making this permanent like we've talked about. Then while your Aunt Deb and my parents are here, I want us to get married on this beach. I want us to adopt Joan and be her mom and dad. This whole thing with Mary made me realize how short life is. I don't want to wait anymore. I want to grab things before they have a chance to get away."
"I want those things too. I'd love those things. I think it's a great plan, but are you sure you don't want a surprise proposal and more time to plan a wedding. And we won't exactly get to take a honeymoon right away. And I'm not sure what will happen at work," said Steve.
"Well, I may have convinced Chin to have a chat with the Governor. I'm going to officially report to Chin and not you. He thinks that makes sense since my background is more research and intelligence, which is more Chin's area than yours anyway. I'll be out in the field when you need me of course, but my real strengths are with data."
"Cath, the Governor knows we are getting married, and I haven't even officially asked you? Doesn't he think this is strange?"
"Well, no, he called me to talk about it and I explained the situation and that I wanted to make sure work was sorted out before I sprung the wedding on you. I suspect this won't be a huge surprise to anyone who knows us," answered Catherine.
"Steve, a small wedding here on the beach is my idea of a dream wedding. I'm not that close to my extended family. I have a few friends at Pearl, but no matter what we do, lots of our far flung Navy friends won't make it. And as far as a honeymoon goes, I suspect my mother would be happy to come out here later and watch Joan with Maile's help. She'll be thrilled to have a grandbaby to spoil."
"You know everyone is going to ask if you are pregnant or if this is Joan right?" asked Steve.
"I really don't care. Eventually, it will become obvious I'm not. Given that you hired a live-in nanny, I think it's pretty obvious you want a wife and not just a nanny. And I'm pretty sure all you need to do would be take Joan to the park, and you'd be inundated with mommy candidates that didn't also require a full time nanny. I don't care about anyone who thinks that little of us. None of our friends will," answered Catherine.
"Have you asked your mother about staying for a wedding and eventually watching Joan while we take a honeymoon yet? Because if you haven't I'd really like to try and call your father before we do this. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask his permission for anything, but I would like to give a nod to tradition and talk to him. I'm pretty sure it is important to him, so I'm going to let him know that while you can take care of yourself, I love you and will be there to support you in anything."
"No, I didn't ask her. She's just dropped lots of hints. You can call my father, and I'll go take a shower," she said to Steve handing him her phone with the number in it.
Steve takes a minute to think about what he is going to say and enters the number into his phone.
"Hello," says the Admiral.
"Hello Admiral. This is Steve McGarrett calling."
"Steve, Margaret and I send our condolences. We are planning on attending the memorial service and visiting Catherine."
"Yes, sir; I really appreciate that sir. That's kind of why I'm calling. I love your daughter. I've loved your daughter for years. We've been talking seriously about the future for awhile now. Catherine informed me that we are going ring shopping, then out to dinner so I can ask her formally, and then have a wedding here beach while you are in town. This was a reminder that life is short, and we don't want to wait anymore. I was planning to ask her formally when things calmed down a bit, but I really like Cath's plan," said Steve.
"But you aren't asking my permission, are you son?" asked the Admiral.
"No, sir, I'm not. As much as I respect you and tradition, I respect Cath's wishes more. We'll make big decisions together as a couple, but she doesn't need anyone's permission for anything. So before I ask her formally, I wanted to tell you that I love her, I respect her, and I look forward to building a life together where we support each other."
"Well, you certainly understand my daughter. I look forward to watching you two build a life together. While Catherine can absolutely take care of herself, I'm glad to know you'll have her back. Please call me Bill and tell Catherine to call her mother sometime to talk wedding details," said the Admiral.
"Thank you, Bill for everything. I'll have Catherine call her mother later."
The two men said their goodbyes and hung up.
~~HW 5 0~~
Shopping for rings was getting frustrating. Catherine had very specific ideas about what she wanted and didn't want. Given her desire to avoid anything that could get in the way when working or be too "flashy," there weren't very many options, and they all looked "cheap." Not that Steve felt he had to spend lots of money on an engagement ring, but we wanted something that looked like it was quality. As the both got more frustrated Steve grabbed Catherine's hand and said "let's go outside and take a break."
"Catherine, I think we are going to need to go with something custom. What if we find someone who can work with us and see if we can get basic bands in time for the wedding? I want us to be married, but we have time to get rings don't we?"
"Steve, I really like that idea. Do you know anyone who might be able to help us?"
"No, but I bet if you called Rachel Edwards, she would have some ideas. Why don't you call her and I'll call Danny and tell him, what's up so he can't get upset that she knew first?" said Steve.
"OK, said Catherine.
Catherine wandered a little bit away to call Rachel, while Steve dialed Danny.
"Steve, what's up?" said Danny.
"Catherine and I are going ring shopping. Well, actually we failed at ring shopping, so she's calling Rachel right now to ask about a custom jeweler. I didn't want her to find out first. Can I count on you being my best man after Mary's memorial service? It will be a wedding on the beach in the next few days."
"Steve, of course I'll be your best man, but you really need to work on your planning. Catherine is not going to be ready for a wedding in a couple of days. This isn't like taking over my crime scene. Girls like to plan this kind of thing," said Danny.
"Well, I'm not marrying a girl. I'm marrying Catherine. Before Mary died, we talked, and I told her I'd get a ring and do a formal proposal soon. But today, she found me out on the lanai, and said decided life was too short to wait, that Kono was watching Joan and that we were going ring shopping, out to dinner, and we'd have the wedding on the beach while everyone was here. It seemed too good a plan to argue with. She even cleared work stuff with Denning. She's going to formally report to Chin for HR type stuff."
"Steve, she's certainly one in a million. I'm very happy for you and I'd honored to be your best man."
"Thanks Danno. It looks like she wants to talk to you."
Steve handed his phone to Catherine.
"Hi Danny, I want to ask Grace to be a junior bridesmaid in the wedding. Rachel says it's ok with her, if it's ok with you, she'll make sure Grace can be there. I also invited Rachel and Stan, but it will depend on when we get it scheduled exactly, if they can come," ask Catherine.
"Catherine, that's very nice. I'm sure Grace would love that. Thanks for doing that. When are you going to ask her?" said Danny.
"Probably tomorrow. I want to make sure everyone Steve and I need to tell ourselves knows before I ask her," said Catherine.
"Sounds wonderful. Look, I've got to go, HPD is calling," said Danny hanging up.
"So, did Rachel have a suggestion?" Steve asked as he took his phone back from Catherine.
"Yes, she did. She's calling to make an introduction, but said we should head over."
~~HW 5 0~~
Buying the rings went better than Steve could have imagined. Catherine fell in love with a wedding set the artist had designed as an example of the kind of work he did. It was everything Catherine wanted, and it fit her perfectly. It was simple, not flashy, and also unlikely to get in the way when she was working, elegant and well made. Steve got a plain platinum band. He thought it was funny that Catherine insisted on charging his ring on her card even though he was pretty sure they would be managing their finances jointly by the time the bills came, but he didn't push it.
As they got into the car, Steve said "Where do you want to go to dinner? We can see where we can get a reservation."
"Well, we never did make it to Sushi Sasabune," said Catherine.
Steve made a phone call. When he hung up he said, "we've got 6 pm reservations. It's a little early, but all they had. I was thinking we could go to a little place I know until then and do some planning."
"I'm amazed they had anything available, so that's wonderful. I'm happy to go where ever you want," said Catherine.
~~HW 5 0~~
Steve led Catherine to bench on the beach that she had always called her "favorite spot on the island." Catherine sat down, and Steve knelt in front of her.
"Catherine Rollins, you bowled me over in San Diego. I fell in love with you not long afterward; it just took me way too long to tell you to tell you. Lately, I've been trying to tell you and show you every day. I want us to be partners in every possible way. I want to support you in doing the great things I know you are capable of. I want us to be a family. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
With that Steve, pulled the ring box out of his pocket and slide it on Catherine's outstretched hand while she said "yes, I'd be honored to be your wife." She was trying to get more words out when Steve kissed her, and she forgot what she was going to say. After a couple of minutes of what amounted to the most PDA Steve had engaged in as an adult, he pulled away and said "maybe we continue this part after dinner, when the baby is asleep? We need to head to the restaurant for those reservations."
Back in the truck on the way to the restaurant, Catherine blurted out "I as much as I want to change my name to McGarrett, I think it makes more sense to stay Rollins professionally, but socially I would like to use your name. I'd rather we have all joint accounts and manage our money together. I want to sell my house and talk about renovations to your family home. I want Joan to know about Mary and the adoption, but I want her to call us "Mom and Dad," not Aunt Catherine and Uncle Steve. I think it will make her more secure growing up. I want to start thinking about a sibling for Joan in the next year, I want one of the base chaplains that knew my grandfather to do the wedding if he can l."
"Cath, did you think I'd object to any of that?" asked Steve feeling a little confused.
"Not really, I just wasn't sure how to bring them up. Plus, I was afraid the name thing might disappoint you," answered Catherine.
"Cath, I'm happy to have the chaplain do the wedding. I like the idea of your being a McGarrett, but it probably is better professionally to use Rollins. I kind of assumed we'd manage money jointly. I want Joan to know her history, but I want her to be secure in that there is no difference between her and any other kids we have. She's ours. I will say that ideally adding one or two more babies to our lives sounds better than three or four, having spending time with Joan."
"Thanks Steve. I never really thought you'd want four kids once we spent any time with a baby. I know originally said that I wanted to wait longer; one of the reasons I wanted to wait was to be more settled before I have to spend more time behind a desk, but having Joan just makes we want to get started."
"Cath, I meant it when I said that I was willing to follow you lead on the timing of the first one. Until the kid arrives, my life changes much less than yours. After the kid arrives, equal partners all the way," says Steve smiling.
During the dinner, the couple just talked. Not about things related to Mary, Joan, their wedding, their work, or even their actual marriage. They talked about some good times they had over sushi in the past, caught up on what they had heard from friends, gossiped about Kono and Adam, tried to think of someone to introduce Danny to and it was wonderful.
On the way out, Steve said "let's make sure we make time to have a couple of hours where we don't talk about work, or the family, or the house. This whole day has been incredible since you appeared on the lanai, let's do our best to make time for us even if it's just us on the beach with drinks and a baby monitor."
"I'd like that," said Catherine. "I also hope we make lots of time for what I'm hoping comes after we get home.
"Of course," says Steve smiling. "But we've both flown hours to be in bed together and hardly talk, so I'm sure we can keep that part going."
Catherine kissed him in response.
In his truck, Steve asked Catherine "does Kono know that we went to buy rings and stuff? Was Danny the last on the team to know?"
"No, she doesn't. I just told her that I thought we really needed some adult time and a dinner out before the memorial service. I didn't think we'd end up telling Danny. Also, I kind of suggested that she see if Adam might want to come over and help," answered Catherine.
"OK, both you and Danny seem to think that Adam is eager to get Kono to settle down and have babies? Why do you think this? Kono's kind of young to have kids and Adam doesn't strike me as all that interested in them," says Steve.
"Well, Adam has been helping Kono give Grace surfing lessons and he adores Grace. And he apparently spent lots of time at the last family cook out holding one of the new babies. You know he's lost his family, so I think he wouldn't mind forming a new one. I also think it would be good for Kono to see that there are men in the world interested in being hands on fathers besides Danny. Her family is pretty traditional about gender roles," said Catherine.
"And you thought spending time with our recently sick, currently teething daughter would do anything but make them both double up on birth control? Also, why I am not included in your list of hands on fathers? And didn't Chin spend lots of time looking after Kono growing up?" asked Steve.
"Steve, you are very hands on with Joan. But Kono looks at that and sees a single man stepping up because he is a good and honorable man. She hasn't quite said it, but I think she assumes that if Aunt Deb were healthier Joan would be going to live with her. While Kono and Chin are close, he always said he wasn't sure he wanted his own kids, having spent so much time raising his cousins. Malia was the same way, at least when Kono was a teenager and the family was bugging Chin and Malia about settling down and having kids. It's possible I may have miscalculated on the effect of Joan on those two. Although, if you had been looking longingly at babies when I was Kono's age, I might have been a little more interested. I know you think of Kono as almost like a younger sister, but she's 25 and Adam is your age. That's not that young, and neither one of them has a job that requires them to leave on a classified mission on an hour's notice," said Catherine.
"Cath, I don't treat Kono like I think she's a kid do I? I have tremendous respect for her. I do think of her kind of like a sister and she is younger, but she's no kid. I know boarding school, Annapolis, and the SEALS weren't exactly the most equalitarian environments so maybe I've picked up some bad habits, but I hope I've never treated any of the women I've worked with anything less than my full respect because they were women. Have I done that?" asked Steve.
"Steve, that's one thing I really liked about you when we first met in San Diego. I was a pretty green JG with no combat experience, and you treated me like a valued colleague. On duty you've always treated me like a valued colleague. When we started getting closer off-duty, I could tell that I'd still be a valued colleague even if I shot you down. That was huge. Well that, the killer smile, and sculpted body. You treat Kono like a full team member. And you mostly hide your desire to tell Adam you will kill him if he hurts Kono," said Catherine with a smile.
"I'm glad. So you thought I had a killer smile and sculpted body?" asks Steve.
"Yes, and I still do. Let's hope our daughter is asleep, and I can remind you how much I appreciate them," said Catherine.
"I hope so too. However, I'm not nearly as sculpted as I used to be," said Steve.
"Please, you are every bit as hot as your were back then. Plus, we both are getting older. My breasts are nearly as perky as they were back then," said Catherine.
"Cath, there are very few things in this world that I am more familiar with than your breasts, how they look, how they feel. They have not noticeably changed in all the years we've been together. Not that it would matter if they had, but trust me, they haven't," said Steve grinning.
~~HW 5 0~~
Steve was fairly sure that any plans Catherine had to move Adam and Kono closer family life through the joy of a baby were a failure based on the scene when they walked in the door. Kono was on the couch with her leg elevated and an ice pack on what he recognized as her "bad knee." The tightness in her face and slightly glassy eyes made it clear she was in serious pain. Adam was walking around the room bouncing Joan. Based on experience Steve could tell that Joan was likely to start wailing if he stopped.
"What happened, Kono?" asked Steve as he walked over to the couch. At the same time Catherine took Joan from Adam, and Adam went over to stand by the couch.
"It's no big deal; I stepped on a rattle and tweaked my knee," said Kono.
The look on Adam's face told Steve that he thought it might be a big deal. Which helped convince Steve it probably was a bigger deal than Kono would admit.
"I've seen you show less pain on your face after being thrown from a moving armored truck, so I don't think you are fine. Will you let me take a look? I played medic to lots of messed up knees as a SEAL," said Steve.
"Sure boss," said Kono.
Steve moved the ice aside and started looking at Kono's knee which was pretty swollen. He gently prodded around where the knee cap should be, and Kono hissed a little in pain.
Steve announced his verdict saying: "You'll need an x-ray to know for sure, but I'm pretty sure you dislocated your knee cap Kono, which hurts like crazy, but won't necessarily require another surgery and heals reasonably fast."
"So should I take her to the ER Steve?" asked Adam.
"Yes, I think Kono should go to the ER."
"Kono, we can rig-up a splint and Adam can drive you to the ER or I can call for an ambulance to transport you. I recommend an ambulance. On a stretcher, your knee will be more protected, and they can get you started on the good pain medication. What do you want?" asked Steve.
"Ambulance," mumbled Kono.
"Good choice," said Steve starting to dial.
Catherine came downstairs from putting Joan down, walked over to Kono, held out her left hand where her engagement ring sparkled and said "Steve proposed. I'll need a bridesmaid next week. Are you in?"
"Congratulations! Yes, of course I'm in. Next week is really soon. But that's great. Let me see the ring!" said Kono.
Just then Steve got off the phone and said "it'll be a little while; there was a serious pile-up on the H1, but they should be here soon. Does anyone want anything to drink? A beer might help, Kono."
"Sure, boss," said Kono.
"I'll take one," said Catherine. Then two women started talking about the proposal and the wedding.
"I'll help you carry them Steve," said Adam.
As the two men stood in the kitchen, Adam said "Congratulations! I also wanted to let you know I'm sorry about your sister. Also, I appreciate you convincing Kono to go to the ER. She's been telling me it was nothing serious for a couple of hours now. I'm sure this isn't how you and Catherine wanted to celebrate your engagement."
"Thanks," said Steve handing Adam two bottles of beer with the caps removed. "Cath and I really appreciate you two watching Joan. We're pretty used to being interrupted. We ended up at a restaurant where we missed our last reservation because Catherine got orders to an aircraft carrier in the Gulf for a couple of months. This is nothing."
The two couples sat and drank their beers and chatted.
~~HW 5 0~~
Catherine was glad that she'd purchased a negligee on a whim awhile ago and hidden it in the back of a drawer. She pulled the tags off and put it on and propped herself up on the pillows in what she hoped was a seductive manner. While she had had a few pieces of nice underwear over the years she'd never bothered with sexy sleepwear, generally she slept naked next to Steve or in something comfortable like PT clothes.
"You look gorgeous Cath," said Steve. He and joined Catherine on the bed as soon as he stripped down to his boxers. He pulled her close and began to kiss her. Catherine raked her nails down Steve's back trying not to leave scratches. Very quickly they got lost in each other.
After some very intense lovemaking, Cath's head was pillowed on Steve's chest, enjoying the afterglow. She turned to look at him and said "ok, so maybe my mother was right and making a lifetime commitment does make the sex better." Steve smiled at her. Then Joan's wail came through the baby monitor.
"I'll go," said Catherine, grabbing Steve's discarded t-shirt to cover up. "I love our daughter, but I'm beginning to see why there has traditionally been an order to things. Like celebrating the engagement before, you have the baby."
Catherine got Joan settled pretty quickly. Catherine suspected she was clingy because she was looking for Mary and wondered if she and Steve are doing the right things to help her adjust. She made a mental note to ask about it at Joan's 9 month check-up, which Mary had scheduled before she died.