/ / / Trust \ \ \

Cath knocked on Danny's door.

"Hey, Cath, what's up?"

Catherine came inside and dropped the blinds behind her.

"Listen, Cath, I'm as adventurous as the next guy but I don't think this is really appropriate given your history with Steve." Cath didn't even smile at him. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk about Doris."

"Shit." Danny responded without thought; he knew this was going to be bad.

Cath nodded and managed the ghost of a smile. "I know you two don't get along."

"Don't get along? She hates me. At first I thought it was because I'm a man but apparently it's just that she hates me. She's been better since the barbeque though."

Cath nodded. "You remember how I hacked into WitSec and found out where Doris was?"

Danny sighed. "I certainly do, has it got you into trouble?"

"No, it's got Doris into trouble."

"Shit."

"She asked me not to tell Steve and I'm asking you the same thing."

Danny stood up and started pacing behind his desk. "Steve deserves to know if she is in danger."

"I agree but she doesn't want him to think that he's going to lose her again."

Danny swore and ran his fingers through his hair. "But he is isn't he? Fuck!"

"Yeah, he is." Cath said. "I just don't know if he ever got her back."

Danny sat down in the chair. "Tell me what happened."

"She was supposed to have killed this guy, Mangosta" Cath handed him a photo. "He is alive."

"Like Wo Fat?" Danny asked looked at the photo. "She's not…goddammit…she's bent isn't she?"

Cath didn't say anything but Danny could see from the look on her face that she agreed with him.

"Fuck," Danny said into his desk. "Right, so what do we need to do to protect Steve?"

Cath smiled at him. "Why doesn't she see this?"

"Doris?"

"You love him so much."

"I do." Danny said. "I never asked you, I don't suppose I ever wanted to ask you. Did you love him?"

"Still do," Cath said with a shrug. "However, I was never in love with him the way you are."

Danny nodded. He didn't know what else to say to her.

"We went after this guy, he came to the island. He grabbed Doris, well we thought he had Doris but when we found them she was the one torturing him."

"Torturing him as in pliers and batteries for electric shock?"

Catherine nodded at him.

Danny dropped his head into his hands. "Goddammit, how can she fucking do this to Steve?" Danny stood up and started to move. "She fakes her own death and emotionally breaks her family, she lets them all think she's dead and then when she comes back and has the chance to actually take out the sick fuck who is after her she just does nothing and lets him get away. She is not a sane woman. Sane women don't torture people who are after them they stop them, or they let the Naval Intelligence officer who is trying to help them arrest the guy. Instead, she lies to the son who is trying to protect her and hides things and tried to alienate the people who would help her."

"There are dark things in her past and now that one person knows she's alive, knows who she used to be, I think more will be on their way."

Danny nodded and dropped his head down into his hands. "You never asked for my word not to tell Steve."

"I cannot stand by and watch her make a fool out of Steve. I really don't want him to be blindsided."

"This might not go over well coming from me," Danny said. "Not since Doris and I don't get on so well."

"He knows you better than that," Cath said. "I can come with you."

"No." Danny grabbed the photo off his desk. "I've got this, but he might come looking for you."

"Might is the wrong word. I'm sorry I'm dumping this on your desk."

"So am I," Danny said. "But I chose Steve, I was just expecting the weird spy shit to come from his past not from his mother's."

"I'm going to head out," Cath said with an apologetic smile. "I'll talk to you later, Danny."

"Bye, Cath."

Danny looked at the photo and then stood up and walked into Kono's office. "Kono, I need you to do something under the radar."

"Sure, is it a secret wedding?"

Danny laughed. "Unfortunately no, I need you to set up a program watching for someone."

"Who?"

Danny handed over the photo. "This needs to be completely quiet though."

Kono watched him. "Who is it?"

"At the moment all I can tell you is we need to keep an eye out for him, I want to see if he comes onto or off of the island."

"Okay, Danny," Kono grabbed the photo and scanned it before she handed it back to him. "Am I keeping this from Steve and Chin too?"

"I will talk to them about it. Thanks, Kono."

"Danny," she called out just before he left her office.

"Yeah?"

"Just tell me, you're not in trouble, right?"

"I'm not, I promise."

Kono's face cleared. "Good."

Danny didn't say anything else about the photo or what Cath had told him until after he and Steve had had dinner. They were in between cases and had been doing paperwork all day. They had come home tired in the way only sitting in front of a computer could make you and Steve was wound up like he always was on paperwork days. Danny wanted him calm, rejuvenated from a swim and fed, before he ruined his night.

"Cath came to see me today," Danny said when they were settled on the lanai having a beer.

"Yeah?"

"She gave me this," Danny handed it over the photo. "This guy, Mangosta, came to the island looking for your mum."

"Where is he?"

"Cath looked after it, with that guy she conned from WitSec, he's in custody. The thing is, he is supposed to be dead."

Steve turned to him. "Why should he be dead?"

"Because you mother was sent to kill him."

Steve dropped his head down, his elbows on his knees. Danny put his hand between Steve's shoulder blades and pressed but didn't do anything else; just offered his support. Steve pushed back into Danny's warm hand and let out a shuddering sigh.

"I knew she was hiding things," Steve said without lifting his head. "I knew she wasn't like I remembered her, she is different, I remember her being warm but the way she's been with you wasn't right. I don't know what to do about her, Danny. If I ask her she lies to be but we're getting nowhere by investigating her just more questions and brick walls."

"Steve," Danny said wrapping an arm around Steve's shoulder and resting his nose against Steve's shoulder blade. "I don't know, babe, but whatever you want to do I've got your back."

"I know," Steve said. "You always do. Tell me what Cath told you."

"Doris was supposed to have killed this guy, he came to the island looking for her, she got him instead."

Steve turned to look at Danny. "What do you mean?"

Danny tried not to think about the way the look on Steve's face made him seem like a lost little boy. "They found her and he was tied up…"

"Tell me, Danny."

"She was torturing him for information."

"Okay, worse than I thought." Steve said.

"I'm so sorry, babe."

"So, she let him live?"

"I don't know," Danny said. "I've told you everything Cath told me."

"I'll have to talk to her."

"Cath or Doris?"

"Both, I suppose," Steve said.

"She asked Cath not to tell you anything," Danny said. "She doesn't want you to think she might disappear again."

"Did she come back?" Steve asked. Danny rubbed at his face and held on tighter since there was nothing else he could do.

Danny listened to Steve breathe for a long time.

"What do you want to do?" Danny asked finally.

"What do you honestly think would happen if I confronted her?"

"I think that you would end up getting no answers."

"Then I'm not going to do anything."

Steve stood up and grabbed Danny's hand. "Come with me. Let's go to bed."

Danny nodded and followed him.