Things were tense for the next couple of weeks at the McGarretts' house. Bailey was hurt and angry by the phone call she overheard in Steve's office a couple of weeks earlier. Although Steve knew his wife was upset, he couldn't get her to tell him what was wrong. Several fights ensued as a result. Since their last fight, Steve had been sleeping on the couch for the past three days. Steve had silenced Bailey when she said she would sleep on it. He had ended the fight loudly and began the silence between them. It was the fourth night of the silent treatment and Bailey was up in their bedroom with her memory book. Memories, painful ones, were racing across her mind. She cried and threw the pillows across the bedroom. After calming down Bailey retrieved the pillows, put them back where they belonged, and sat back down on the bed. She then picked her memory book up, grabbed a pen, and began to write.

Catherine

It has been nineteen months since we started dating. I feel like the "honeymoon stage" is never going to end and nothing can disrupt our happiness. It's the beginning of another work week. As soon as I wake up, I get ready, grab my things, and leave the house. My mind wanders to you while I drive to work. Initially, I was worried that dating and working together would cause issues, but it hasn't. In the past, my love life was pretty rocky, but now that I'm with you, I feel like nothing bad will happen to us. When I arrive at the police department, I park my car in the parking lot, unbuckle, grab my things, and step out of the vehicle. As I walk toward the building, I hum a little to myself.

"Well someone sounds like she's in way too good a mood for a Monday." I hear Danny's voice tease.

I turn and see my favorite detective behind me. I smile and wait for him.

"Good morning, Danno." I greet teasing back as he joins me.

"Have a good weekend, Bails?" Danny asks me with a grin.

"I had a wonderful weekend Detective. Mac spent the entire weekend spoiling me at his place." I gush happily.

Danny grins happily to see my joy. Danny and I started becoming close when he and Grace became sick and stayed with me. I loved having them there. Grace was an easy sick kid. Danny other than puking a lot in my toilet and being a little needy was just as easy. We reach the building door and Danny opens it for me.

"Thank you," I say to Danny.

"You're welcome, Bails," Danny replies.

We enter the building and get into Five-0 headquarters. I walk to your office, planning on working out of there with you. I open the office door and am about to say good morning to you when I see her. It appears Catherine is back in town.

"Oh, excuse me. I wasn't aware you were busy, Commander." I apologize.

"No, worries Bailey. Catherine just stopped by to say hi and ask for Five-0's help." You say to me.

I freeze on the inside, you haven't called me Bailey in almost two years. I plaster a smile on my face and act like nothing out of the ordinary just happened.

"Well, if I can be of any assistance please let me know. I will be working with Detective Williams today, Commander." I tell you trying to keep my mask of politeness up.

"Actually Miss Morgan, I was hoping you would be willing to work closely with me on this," Catherine speaks up.

"Oh, what exactly did you have in mind, Lieutenant Rollins?" I ask taken aback.

"Please, call me Catherine." She insists warmly.

I'd rather eat a raw cactus whole in the Sahara Desert in the middle of the summer. I think irritably but maintain my mask of professional politeness.

"If you insist ma'am. Now what is it you will need my assistance with?" I ask still confused.

She gives me an awkward smile and says, "I need your help to locate a man named Noah Black."

"Lieutenant Rollins, you are an expert in your field and I highly doubt you need my assistance finding anyone. Furthermore, if you did need assistance locating someone the obvious choice would be Jerry instead of me as he has more experience in those matters than I do. What makes Noah Black so different?" I ask, trying not to sound skeptical.

"Black's a retired Marine. He went off the grid somewhere in New Orleans. He's also in WITSEC." She explains.

The penny drops and I understand that the help she wants from me is my connection to King, the lead agent of NCIS: New Orleans. I am not amused. She wants to use me to get King's, my dad's assistance.

"Any person can stop being in WITSEC at any time. It's dangerous, but not illegal." I remind her.

"The problem is that we don't think that he dropped out willingly. His wife has not heard from him in a week and she is reasonably sure that something happened to him." Catherine explains.

"Hhhmmm," I say, losing interest in listening to her speak.

"Everything okay, Vi?" You ask me.

I look at you and narrow my eyes. All of a sudden you're back to calling me Vi. I am suspicious that it means you want something from me. More specifically, you want me to agree to help your ex-girlfriend.

"Have you attempted to make contact with Agent Pride?" I ask her.

"We have attempted, but he doesn't seem to be at all concerned," Catherine tells me.

I give an amused scoff, smile (honestly, this time), and say, "If it doesn't affect the city of New Orleans or its people then, to be honest, King isn't gonna give a rat's ass about what some out of town Fed. from an opposing agency wants."

"Bailey, c'mon is the language really necessary?" You ask me.

Oh, so since it has become clear to you that I am not interested in assisting your ex, we are back to you calling me Bailey. I get the picture, Mac. You don't want her to know we are dating. This makes me furious and I do everything in my power to rein in my Southern temper.

"My apologies, Commander McGarrett," I say to you frostily.

I turn back to Catherine and look at her. She returns the look levelly. I have to admit, she's good. If I have made her uncomfortable no one would ever be able to tell by looking at her.

"Essentially, Lieutenant, you want to use me to convince my father to give you access to whatever influence and information he has in New Orleans. Not limited to his government resources. Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, sugar but the answer is a hard no." I tell her letting my southern accent slip into my voice barely concealing my anger.

I turn back to you and say, "As I said earlier Commander I will be working with Detective Williams today. If you need anything related to my job please let me know."

I turn around, walk out of your office, and make my way to Danny's. Once at the Detective's office door, I rap on it quickly and let myself in.

"Hey Bails, what's up?" Danny asks me.

"Do you mind if I work here with you today, Detective? It appears Commander McGarrett's office is a bit too crowded for me." I request trying my damnedest not to take my anger out on Danny.

"Of course, you can babe. You mind me asking what happened?" He asks concerned

"Ask me again at lunchtime, will you Danno? Right now it's all I can do not to take somebody's head off." I request taking a deep breath and trying to stay calm.

"Sure thing, babe. Why don't I grab us both a cup of coffee?" Danny asks, trying to respect my wishes.

"Generally getting coffee is my job, but thank you, Danny. I would love a cup." I say allowing myself to calm down and accept the offer.

"Be right back, Bails," Danny tells me and leaves his office.

I continue to work and a few minutes later Danny returns with our coffee.

"Here ya go, Bails," Danny says, setting my coffee down on his desk in front of me.

"Thanks, Danny," I reply.

I put my laptop aside for a moment, pick up my coffee, and take a drink. I take a couple of sips and return the cup to where Danny had placed it. Danny and I work in relative silence until lunchtime.

"I'm getting hungry. How bout you, Bails?" Danny asks me around one.

"I could eat. How about that new taco truck a couple of blocks from here?" I suggest.

"Sounds good." Danny agrees.

We finish up our respective work, put them aside, and get up. Danny holds open his office door for me.

"Thank you, Detective Williams," I say playfully formal way.

"Anytime, babe." Danny returns grinning at my antics.

I exit this office with him directly behind me. We are met at the entrance/exit of Five-0 headquarters by Captain Grover, who smiles at us.

"You two heading out for lunch too?" He asks.

"Yup, Bailey wants to try that new taco truck couple of blocks up the road. You in?" Danny asks inviting Captain Grover along.

"Sounds good." Lou agrees.

"Two handsome men and tacos. Sounds like a fabulous lunch to me." I say cheekily.

"Just don't tell Renee. She'd probably consider tacos unhealthy. Can you believe that?" Lou tells us in mock shock.

"Wherever does she get that idea? No, worries it will be our secret. Right, Danny?" I promise.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Sure thing. Can we please get the food now? I'm starving." Danny complains in agreement.

"Of course, Detective. Can't have you wasting away on us. Come on let's go get that food." I agree, teasing Danny.

We leave Five-0 headquarters, walk through the main building, and out the front doors. We pass the golden statue in front of the building and turn left. Once on the sidewalk we walk the three blocks, find the taco truck and put in our orders. I go to pay for the three of us and Lou stops me.

"Lunch is on me today." He says firmly.

"Thanks, Lou," Danny says appreciatively.

"No problem. I saw and heard a little of what happened earlier. I figured you might need a little spoiling today. Danny just got lucky by default." Lou tells me.

"Gee, thanks," Danny says sarcastically.

Lou and I ignore him. Our order is called. I retrieve our food and hand the men theirs. We sit down at a nearby table and start in on our lunch. Everything is relatively quiet between the three of us, but I end up catching the guys having a silent conversation. Though it is a silent conversation the looks on their faces are clearly saying, "You ask her." "No, you ask."

I smile a little at their antics before answering the unasked question by saying, "Catherine's back."

"Oh, boy," Lou says sympathetically.

"You worried, Bails?" Danny wants to know.

"After what happened in Commander McGarrett's office this morning? I can honestly say I am Danno. I am also enormously pissed off though." I tell him.

"What happened to get you that way, Bailey?" Lou asks.

"Something happened in Commander McGarrett's office after I walked in and noticed that Catherine was there," I reply.

"Care to elaborate, babe?" Danny requests.

"Well, after I said hello to the Commander I apologized for walking in and interrupting his conversation with Catherine. He then called me Bailey and told me that Catherine is here to request Five-0's assistance. His calling me Bailey instead of Vi set off alarm bells and quite honestly bothered me. So I told him that I would be working in your office with you today Danny and to let me know if he required anything. That's when Catherine told me that she is here specifically to obtain my assistance. I asked her what she had in mind and she then asked that I call her Catherine. Forgive me gentlemen, but I am not looking to get chummy with my boyfriend's ex." I begin to explain.

"So, what happened next, babe?" Danny wants to know.

"Just taking a breath, Detective." I laugh and then continue saying, "So now my defenses are up. I went into full Southern politeness mode. I asked her again what I can assist her with. She told me that she needed information on the movements of a man named Noah Black. I replied that if she was looking for computer information on someone then she already possessed the skills to make that happen or if she needed more in-depth assistance then Jerry would be a better fit."

"What did she have to say to that?" Lou asks.

"Lieutenant Rollins then informs me that this Noah Black is a retired marine, who is enrolled in WITSEC, and has gone missing in New Orleans." I drop the bomb.

"Let me guess, King is unwilling to lend her a helping hand and she wants your help in convincing him otherwise?" Danny asks, looking like he already knows the answer.

"Congratulations, Detective Williams! You win a cookie." I agree teasingly.

Danny gives me an indulgent smile and then makes a hand motion signaling me to continue.

"Well, I told her flat out that King was going to give a donkey shit about what she wanted and that I was in no way interested in being used to get him to agree. I didn't you those exact words but you both know me so you already know that my language was pretty colorful, to say the least." I tell them.

"Can't imagine McGarrett was too pleased with that," Lou states.

"Another cookie award this time to Lou Grover!" I cackle, grinning from ear to ear.

Lou gives me a smile and chuckles.

"I apologized to the Commander for my language and then frostily told him, again, that I would be working with you, Danny. I then exited his office and whelp you know the rest." I finish up.

"So what are you going to do now, Bails?" Danny asks me.

"Well, after lunch and we get back I am going to see if Catherine is still hanging around. If she is I am going to pull her aside, away from the Commander, and actually hear her out. Then if I can I will help her." I inform him.

"Giving yourself a chance to cool down and talking to her one on one without McGarrett sound like a good idea." Lou agrees.

"Yeah, I thought about it while I was working in Danny's office and I am not convinced that I shut her down from a professional standpoint instead of a personal one. Not acceptable. So that's pretty much where I am at." I tell them.

"You have any idea what you are going to do from the personal standpoint, babe?" Danny inquires.

"I'll tackle that after work hours. But if "he really wants to be with her then she can have him. I'm not going to fight her for him. This isn't high school and Mac isn't a charm bracelet." I reply.

Both men nod their heads and we finish our lunch. We head back to work and once we are back in Five-0 headquarters I take a look around for Catherine. I found her quickly enough she was over by the coffee maker getting a cup.

I clear my throat to get her attention and then request, "Excuse me, Luitenant Rollins would it be possible to speak with you in private?

"Of course. I was hoping to have the chance to speak with you without Steve. I was wondering if I could possibly change your mind about helping me?" Catherine asked hopefully.

" I am willing to hear you out and will help you if I can but I would prefer if we could discuss this one-on-one," I tell her.

Catherine agrees and I ask her to wait a moment so I can inform one of the team that I will be temporarily unavailable. I stick my head into Danny's office and let him know what is going on. He tells me he will let the rest of the team know and wishes me luck. I smile and return to Catherine. We leave Five-0's headquarters and head to a nearby beach. We sit at a nearby picnic table and I listen to what she has to say, while seriously trying to put my personal feelings aside.

After she is done giving me all the details of her problem and how she has gotten nowhere with King she becomes quiet for a moment then says, "I'm sorry if I've caused problems between you and Steve."

"No, Luitenant Rollins, Catherine I should be the one apologizing to you for my behavior earlier. It was rude, completely unprofessional, and totally uncalled for. You asked for my help with a professional problem and I took it personally. Please accept my apology for my previous behavior." I apologize to her.

"No, it's alright I completely understand. It's not like something like this hasn't happened before. I may have ended up being the reason his last relationship failed. I didn't do it on purpose, but the history Steve and I have seemed to get in the way." Catherine says.

"Yeah, I think it's fair to say that Mac sees you as the one who got away. I'm not going to compete with you for him. So if he decides he wants to be with you I won't hold it against you. He's a grown man and more than capable of taking responsibility for himself." I tell her.

"Thank you for that, but I really am here to get your help and try to bring this man back to his family. I'd like to tell you something if I may?" Catherine requests.

"Alright." I agree curious to hear what she has to say.

"When I originally called Steve about a week ago I was looking to see if he could point me in the direction of some help or maybe help himself. He said he knew exactly who I should talk to and told me about you. He also said that if I wanted your help I'd have to come here and ask you directly. So I did. Before you walked into his office this morning he and I were talking and I got the feeling that you were more to him than a personal assistant. So I asked him about it and he told me straight out that you two had been dating for quite some time. I'll admit I was surprised so I asked about you and it was as if I had opened a floodgate. The man has got it bad. He would not stop bragging about how incredible you are. It made me feel a little jealous if I am being honest. So when you walked in this morning and saw that smile on his face it was because he was talking about you." Catherine tells me.

I frown feeling confused, embarrassed, and flattered all at the same time. If what she's telling me is the truth then I owe Mac a huge apology, but there is one thing I don't understand. If what Catherine is saying is the truth then why did he call me Bailey instead of Vi?

I must have said this last part out loud because Catherine then asks. "I heard him call you that once this morning and was really confused. Your first name is Bailey so why would he call you that?"

"You may have noticed that I call the Commander "Mac". I reply.

She nods and then says "McGarrett, Mac. It's cute. We never did stuff like that."

"My middle name is Violet. the Commander started calling me Vi when he and Detective Williams came with me on a personal trip I had to take back home. My dad, King, was in trouble. It sent me racing home to make sure he was alright. The Commander and the Detective decided to come along as backup. I started calling him Mac on that trip because he came as my friend and not as my boss. An old flame, who I've remained friends with, called me Ali. Mac somehow found out my middle name, probably from King, and started calling me Vi. He's done it since then unless we are working in an official capacity then it's usually Morgan or Miss Morgan." I ramble at her by way of an explanation.

Catherine laughs as if she understands something that I don't and maybe she does. She then says that once we are finished with everything in an official capacity she'd like to have drinks and she should be able to clear up my confusion. I agree and then take out my cell phone. I look at the time and quickly do the math on the time difference between Hawaii and New Orleans.

"It's about 7pm back in New Orleans, but that shouldn't be an issue. King is a workaholic and unless he's in a firefight he always picks up for me. It is a nice perk of being his daughter." I tell her with a smile.

I tap King's name in my contact list, holding my phone to my ear as I wait for him to answer. It doesn't take long.

.

"Hey, yeah everything is fine. Are you busy?" I ask into my phone.

.

"I need a favor, Dad," I tell him. King always taught me to be polite but get straight to the point whenever possible.

..

"WHAT?! No nothing like that! Dad, seriously neither Mac nor I are even thing about that right now!" I squawk into the phone surprised by his question.

..

"You were recently contacted by Luitenant Catherine Rollins about a missing WITSEC participant right?" I ask.

"Well, the favor I mentioned earlier is for you to assist her in finding him or at least finding out what happened to him. He's a retired marine daddy. You know Semper Fie and all that. Are you really telling me that my loyal former marine father is going to turn his back on one of his own?" I ask laying it on thick.

I look over at Catherine and grin. She smiles back clearly struggling to smother a laugh.

..

"Really? That's wonderful, Daddy! Hold on one second while I put Catherine on the line and you can work out the details between the two of you." I tell him quickly and then hand the phone to Catherine.

Catherine takes the phone from me, barely managing to compose herself, and has her own, more professional conversation, with King. I walk to the water to give her some privacy and stare out at the water.

Catherine eventually joins me, hands me back my phone, and says, "Thank you. Agent Pride is now willing to help and I will be meeting with him in New Orleans in a couple of days."

"You're welcome. And please call me Bailey." I reply.

"So, Bailey would cocktails at say about 6pm work for you?" Catherine asks.

"Sounds perfect, I'll meet you at Rumfire then." I agree.

I head back to Five-0 headquarters and finish out my day in Danny's office. I haven't seen you at all since the incident in your office. I wonder if that is because of the day's events or if you are just avoiding me.

"Got any plans after work?" Danny asks me, conversationally as we clean up and power down for the night.

"Date a Rumfire tonight for drinks. Nothing beyond that." I reply casually.

"You and Steve make up?" Danny inquires, sounding surprised.

"Not yet. And we didn't exactly have a fight Danny so I'm not sure if we need to make up." I respond putting my laptop back into my bag.

"Then who's the date with?" Danny wants to know confused.

I stand up, laugh, bid him good night, and leave his office. I say good night to the other members of the team I pass and leave Five-0 headquarters. I finally make my way out of the building and head to my car. I look down the row of vehicles and see your truck still parked in its spot. I briefly wonder if you've decided to work late tonight, but then remember my plans. I get into my car, start it up, back up, and then drive out of the parking lot to Rumfire. Once at the bar I park my car, turn the engine off, and get out. I close the car door and make my way toward the building. Once at the door I open it and go inside. I scan the room for Cathrine and notice her waving at me from a table off to the side. I walk over to the table sit down and join her.

"Hectic rest of the day?" She inquires.

"Nope, it was pretty quiet actually. Got a bunch of paperwork completed and then headed here for drinks." I reply causally.

"Steve didn't try to talk to you at all?" Catherine asks with a frown.

"Didn't even see him at all. Maybe he was hiding out in his office." I speculate with a laugh.

Catherine laughs too. The idea of you hiding from anyone is funny. I mean I'm tiny in comparison to you. What is there to hide from?

Catherine and I settle in and order our drinks. They arrive and we chat. Small talk at first, but as we become more comfortable with each other we find more to discuss including you.

At some point during chatting about you I remind Cath, she's insisting I call her that and I return the gesture with Bails if she likes, that she said she could answer my question about you calling me Bailey instead of Vi today.

"Mmmm, she nods and continues, it's pretty simple really. Steve started calling you Vi because he was jealous that an ex of yours had a pet name for you."

"Okay, but I still don't get why he only called me that once today and only when it was to get what he wanted," I respond confused.

"He didn't say it to get what he wanted Bailey. He slipped. He had just spent all of that time gushing about you to me. It finally clicked in his head that I was here in an official capacity for help. He couldn't get his mouth to say Morgan or Miss Morgan so he settled on your first name. Apparently, you have quite an effect on that man. I'd say he's in love." Cath tells me confidently and a little sadly.

I shift a little uncomfortably sorry to be the cause of why she is sad but absolutely elated by the idea that you may be in love with me. I already am with you. I change the subject to tips on how to deal with King when she meets with him in a couple days. At some point, a pool table opens up and we play pool shots. I honestly can't remember who won but I think that might be due to all the booze I consumed and not my amnesia. Instead of driving, I call a cab for the two of us. It drops Cathrine off at her hotel first where we say goodnight. Then I am taken home. I go to pay the driver, but I vaguely remember the cabbie saying something about Cath prepaying for my ride home. I thank him, get out of his cab, and walk up the sidewalk to my front door. Once at my front door, I fish my keys out of my purse, unlock my front door and go inside. I close my front door and make my way over to my sofa. I am drunk.

I am slowly starting to fall asleep on my sofa when I hear a loud rapping on my front door. I grumble, slowly stand up, and go to the front door. I open it to see you standing there.

"Hello," I say staring confused as to what you are doing on my front step.

"Hey." You reply.

"Did you need something, Commander?" I ask.

"Danny said you had a date tonight at Rumfire for drinks." You state.

"I did. Which would explain why I am drunk and holding on to my front door for support." I agree, feeling slightly annoyed.

"This your way of telling me you want to see other people?" You ask starting to sound upset.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demand with a frown.

You are now officially making no sense, but that could also be the booze.

"You went out with another man. What the hell else am I supposed to think?" You demand.

"What?! Are you high? I mean I know I've been drinking, but have you been smoking Pokolo?!" I ask raising my voice.

"I just want to know what's going on. If you want to end this I need you to tell me." You say, sounding like you are trying to regain control of yourself.

"Are we still talking about me going out for drinks tonight?" I ask trying to regain some clarity on the situation.

"I knew you were upset with me today, but I didn't think you were angry enough with me to break things off without saying something to me. Or to go on a date with someone else." You say to me.

"You're upset because I went out for drinks? Seriously? Wow, so should I be upset and act like a jealous moron when you go out for drinks with Danny?" I asked incredulously.

"What, no. It's Danny. Why would you even think that? How much have you had to drink?" You ask looking at me like I'm the crazy one.

"My neighbors are going to start looking out their windows wondering why I am fighting with my boyfriend on my front step. If you wanna continue with this nonsense argument can you just please come in already?" I request exasperatedly.

I walk away from the front door and stumble back to my sofa, plopping my rear on it when I reach it. I heard you close my front door behind you when you came in and now watch as you walk back and forth like a caged tiger in front of my coffee table.

"Why do you think that I had drinks with another man?" I ask slowly trying to make things focus in my alcohol-soaked brain.

"Danny said you had a date for drinks at Rumfire. That you told him that yourself." You tell me.

"I did tell him that I had a date for drinks at Rumfire tonight, but I never said who it was with and I certainly never told him it was with a man that wasn't you," I say slowly,

"So who did you have drinks with?" You want to know, finally asking the right question.

"Catherine. I went to talk to her after lunch today and agreed to help her. After I got King to agree and she spoke with him. She then invited me out for drinks after work. I accepted I went, I drank, I played pool, we talked, and then we shared a cab. I got home and 15 minutes later you were banging on my front door accusing me of cheating on you." I tell you walking you through the events of my day.

"You were out with Catherine?" You ask surprised.

"You can call her and ask her if you don't believe me. Though she was drinking to so you might end up with two drunk women on your hands, equally confused by the nonsense coming out of your mouth." I say irritated with you.

I watch as you scrub your face with you hands trying to process what I've just told you. Then I watch as you come over to me and sit down.

"Mac, I don't want anyone else. Why would you ever think otherwise? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm in love with you. There's no way I'm going to trade what I've got with you for anybody else." I tell you sincerely.

You look up at me, shocked. I'm worried I've just said the exact right thing to push you away. But then you surprise me by pulling me into your arms and start kissing me so deeply that I melt into your arms.

"I love you too." You tell me after you've broken our kiss.

I loved you then and I love you now. I don't want anyone else. But now I have to ask you if that's still true for you too and it's driving me crazy. And a wedge between us. If there is someone else and you can't deal with having an amnesiac wife I need to know.

Bailey took a deep breath, grabbed the Post-it, wrote her usual note on it, and stuck it to the memory book.