CHAPTER 26

Tuesday morning, unknown location:

Waking from a deep sleep was not unlike clawing through quicksand. Anytime he reached the light, something would pull him back into the darkness where there were no sounds or thoughts to keep him company. Just the empty, never-ending void.

He should have been concerned about this but his brain refused to cooperate. It was so easy to stay in the dark where it was quiet. He almost let himself slip back into oblivion when voices started filtering in, ruining the peace.

Not voices. Just a single voice that he latched onto like a lifeline. Indistinct murmuring that contrasted against the deafening silence. He couldn't make out individual words and he found he didn't care. It took too much energy to concentrate, to think.

The voice droned on, whispering, telling him to sleep, to surrender. His brow knit…that wasn't right. He tried to shake his head, clear it of the fog that smothered him. He winced as a headache blossomed at the base of his skull. It pulsated in time with his steadily beating heart.

His right wrist started throbbing in time with his head, then his chest and shoulders. The pain was borderline unbearable and he couldn't grasp the memory that would give him the answers to the reason behind the agony. He groaned through numb lips as his body spasmed with discomfort.

"…eve? Can…hear…?"

The voice was back but this time he could make out some words. He tried to focus on the voice. He felt fingers on his face, softly tracing his jawline before trailing down his chest.

He forced his eyes open, only for them to flutter closed immediately. He tried again and this time was rewarded with a blurry image. After several slow blinks, the room started to come into focus.

"Rebecca?" he asked through numb lips.

"There you are, sleepy head. I thought you were going to sleep all day."

Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That was probably for the best given his hazy vision and the nausea that had begun as soon as he'd opened his heavy eyes. He continued to blink away the dark spots while she talked.

The last thing he remembered was her snuggling up to him on the couch and then…nothing. It took him a moment to realise that she must have drugged him. He'd thought that water held a bitter aftertaste. His anger flared for a moment before he pushed it down.

Looking around, he realised he was in a room that he hadn't been in before. He was lying on a massive bed in the centre of a large room with huge windows that looked over the tree canopy, illuminating the room with a green glow. Directly across from him was a wooden door that he was certain was locked. If not locked, at least guarded by two armed men. Another glance of the room revealed large locks on the windows and another door that probably led to an ensuite.

He pushed himself upright with his left hand until he was leaning against the headboard. His stiff body protested the movement and he groaned softly. Steve drew his brows together in confusion. No restraints, a room with a window, no armed guards watching him? After all the pain she had inflicted on him? It was like she was suddenly a different person. Genuinely caring, not at all vindictive. It had to be a ploy to get him to trust her. An act, surely.

A hand found its way to his shoulder. "What's wrong, Steve? Are you in pain?"

It was just so wrong. Her fabricated concern, the lack of remorse for her actions. The duplicity had his head spinning.

Steve snorted. "What do you think?"

Wordlessly, Marsden reached over to a side table that Steve had failed to notice earlier and grabbed a glass of water and some harmless-looking pills. She passed them to him and he raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He was not going to fall for that again.

"It's just water, Steve. And Tylenol."

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe," Steve snapped, still refusing to take the offered items.

She sighed and placed the items back on the bedside table. "I thought we were passed this."

"You mean you thought we were at the part where I accept your insane idea of love and bend to your every whim? I don't think so," Steve tried to put as much venom into the words as he could.

A calculated grin appeared on Rebecca's face. "Isn't that what people do? Learn to love each other? If you just give me a chance, I can make you so happy. You won't want for anything."

"I was happy before you decided to kidnap me and force me to forget about my life!"

She tilted her head to the side, studying him. Her eyes were deeply transfixed on him and he felt very uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny. He tensed as she leaned forward and cupped his face with her hands. She was so close that he could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin.

Steve jerked his head out of her grip. "You're insane!"

She smiled, but her eyes were blazing with anger. "No. I'm devoted. I will break through your walls and you will realise that I know what's best for you. I know about your scars, scars I'm willing to bet your family doesn't even know about. I won't hurt you like they did."

Steve couldn't suppress his laughter. "You are such a hypocrite. You don't see anything wrong with what you're saying, do you? You've already hurt me by cutting me and taking me away from the people I care about!"

"Those people damaged you! Why are you letting them stop us from being happy?" she snarled, her face contorting with rage. "That woman? Lieutenant Rollins? All she has ever done is leave you, over and over again. I can make sure she never hurts you again."

All his plans to tread carefully around this woman went right out the window as soon as Catherine was mentioned. The subtle threat sunk in as fear twisted his stomach into pieces.

"You leave her out of this!" Steve growled.

"I will if you accept what I have to offer. You might find you enjoy it after all." She sounded like a salesperson selling him the deal of a lifetime.

"Not likely," Steve muttered.

She sighed dramatically. "You know, I really didn't want to do this." There was something about the way she spoke that set Steve on edge.

He didn't have long to contemplate the meaning behind her words as she moved lighting quick, reaching behind her before simply plunging something into his leg.

"Son of a bitch!" he shouted as his thigh burned painfully. "What did you just do?"

Looking down, he watched as Marsden dispensed the contents of a syringe into his leg. He felt his heart thundering inside his chest as the pain gave way to a cooling sensation that spread outwards. He sat there in shock, helpless as whatever was in the syringe made its way through his system.

Steve opened his mouth stupidly, but no words came forth. He looked into her crazed eyes and wondered, not for the first time, if he'd just made a huge mistake as his vision blurred and a wave of exhaustion hit him hard.

"I'm sorry, Steve, but I don't have time to wait for you to make the right decision. Until you understand how this is going to work, you're just too…dangerous. You left me no choice. I need need time to convince you, for you to realise that my way really is best for you…for us. Until then, the drugs will be necessary." She leaned forward and cupped his cheek tenderly. "How do you feel?"

He tried to move away from her touch, but failed as his body refused to respond to the most basic commands. The drug was working fast. She let go of his face and his head sagged down onto his chest. He'd lost all motor control and he felt the panic building up in his chest.

"Let's get you comfortable," she whispered in his ear.

He was pulled into a prone position on the bed. He tried to fight, to push her away, but his limbs refused to cooperate. He forced out a groan of protestation as she tucked him under the blankets. She just made cooing noises as she made sure he was suitably cosy.

A lethargy was spreading through his body so fast. He wanted, needed, to move. To get away. But be couldn't. His body was asleep but his brain was wide awake. He tried to fight back, but his body only twitched in response.

"There," she whispered as though he was a child that had just woken up from a nightmare. "Much better."

His eyes slipped closed involuntarily as he felt her weight leave the bed. Moments later, she returned and laid right next to him. He felt the warmth of her body as she laid her head on his shoulder and draped an arm over his chest. He wanted nothing more than to shove her off him as she wrapped on of her legs over his.

"I did say I didn't like to wait," she whispered, her voice tinged with pride.

Her hand trailed down his chest, gradually moving below his navel. Her closeness was horrifying. He wanted to run, to scream but his own body was holding him hostage as her fingers meandered through his hair.

"N-nnn," he pushed out through uncooperative lips.

He felt everything as her cold fingers explored his body. The repulsion of having another person touch him made him nauseous. Or maybe that was the dizziness that seemed to plague him even though he was lying down.

He heard her sigh and felt her hair tickling his cheek. The panic was rising up in his chest, making it harder to breathe. He couldn't open his eyes, couldn't move at all. His entire body was a deadened weight and his demand to move was denied.

"It's okay, Steve. You're finally here with me. You're home," she whispered, her breath tickling his ear.

He forced his mind to go somewhere else, somewhere happy, as she continued her unwanted ministrations. As his mind finally gave in to the drugs, his last thought was of…

"Cath…"

Tuesday morning, temporary Five-0 offices:

Catherine Rollins stood by the computer screen, nursing a cup of coffee that had gone cold an hour ago. She'd been unable to sleep and had given up close to one a.m. She'd thought by staying at Steve's place she would have felt closer to him, more connected. Instead, the void had grown larger and she'd had to leave.

She looked down into the dark brown concoction and wondered if wherever Steve was he was at least being fed. That thought was enough for her limited appetite to disappear completely.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, not surprised to find it was barely five o'clock. She rubbed at her aching dry eyes before taking a seat behind the computer. She could feel the beginnings of a headache forming and rubbed at her temples.

She just couldn't understand how this happened. Was he injured? Was he in pain?

She knew none of that mattered right now. Steve was the strongest, most resilient men she had ever met. He would be fine because he had to be. It was how he was trained. He would do the deed, no matter the odds. If that meant waiting for the right opportunity, then so be it.

She knew that he would be waiting for them but that didn't mean he would sit idly by until they came to the rescue. One thing was certain…she wasn't going to wait around much longer. She wouldn't let his trust in people, in himself, be fractured again.

"Hey."

She jumped at the sound of Danny's voice. She'd been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even heard him come in.

She cleared her throat. "Hey."

She watched as Danny plopped down in one of the available chairs. He looked terrible; dark circles under his eyes, his hair flopping down the sides of his face, his shirt crumpled. There was even a coffee stain on his shirt sleeve.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked.

"Some," was the tired response. "You?"

"Couldn't sleep," Catherine said around a yawn. "The house was too quiet, so I though I'd come here. Do something useful."

Danny cracked a smile. "What, the waves weren't loud enough?"

Catherine knew Danny was joking around, trying to break the tension. "No, it wasn't that."

Danny sighed, then as though he knew exactly what she was thinking, added, "I miss the big lug too, you know."

Sometimes Catherine forgot that there were other people in Steve's life that cared for him like she did. People that were lucky enough to see the man beneath the mask. The boy that had been traumatised by the death of his mother, only to be separated from his family and forced to grow up too quickly. The man that had seen the absolute lowest of humanity and still chose to see the good in people.

Catherine turned her attention back to the computer screen as a knot of emotion crept into her throat. She kept her eyes averted until she regained a sense of control.

"Do we have anything new?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"We got her psychiatric file. It took a bit of coercion and a call to the Governor to get it, but here."

Catherine took the file Danny had pulled from a drawer and started to flip through it. It was thin but still held some useful information.

"What are you looking at there?" Danny asked as he rounded the desk to look over her shoulder at the computer screen.

Catherine brushed her hair out of her eyes. "It's an algorithm. I'm trying to access surveillance footage from all the islands and cross check for any profiles that fit Marsden."

"Assuming she's in Hawaii," Danny surmised.

Danny was right. They had no way of knowing if Marsden was still in the state or somewhere halfway across the world. Enough time had passed that she could have taken Steve anywhere.

"My gut says she's still here," Catherine answered.

Danny frowned. "Why?"

She had only briefly scanned the file, but a few things stood out to her. "According to this, Rebecca Marsden was admitted to Kennard's Psychiatric Hospital just after her father passed away. Following his death, she presented with symptoms of severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. When the hospital closed down, she was transferred to Straub Medical Centre. She was released a few months later and was seen regularly an an outpatient until about two years ago."

"Two years ago?"

"Yeah. My guess is that's when she stopped taking her medication."

"And when she first saw Steve," Danny added.

"I remember the first time I met Steve," Catherine said, surprised that the words even came out of her mouth.

Danny's eyes twinkled with mirth. "Oh? Do tell."

Catherine laughed at Danny's enthusiasm. "It's not classified Danny."

"Then why haven't I heard this story?"

Catherine smiled as the memory played in her mind. "Probably because he doesn't come off so well in it."

"Oh, this I have to hear," Danny said, clapping his hands together before leaning closer.

-Flashback-

"Thanks for the night out. I really needed that," she said. "Definitely beats eating in the Mess Hall."

As soon as she exited the bar, a frigid wind hit her and she wrapped her arms around her. She forgot that January nights could get quite cold. She couldn't wait to get back to the dorm where the internal heating system kept the rooms warm all night long.

"How about you repay me with a g'night kiss?" Christian Miller replied with a grin that showed all his teeth.

It was obvious her date was inebriated. Given the way he'd been knocking them back all night, she wasn't surprised that he was slurring his words.

Catherine took a step backwards. "No thanks. As much fun as tonight was, we don't know each other well enough yet."

"Oh, come on!" he yelled. "I paid for your dinner. The least you can do is make it worth my while."

"I said no," she replied calmly.

Catherine turned on her heel and walked down the main street, ignoring him even as he followed her. She quickened her steps, trying to put as much distance between her and this creep as possible.

She'd only accepted the date as a favour to her friend. It was supposed to be a double date, but she'd left with her guy two hours ago. So Catherine had been left to watch Ensign Miller consume enough alcohol to be physically sick. Which he had in the alley fifteen minutes earlier.

She had been so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't realise he'd caught up to her until she was pinned against a wall in the filthy alley. The sour stench of his breath had her stomach churning.

Suddenly, it was like the world had just turned off around her. She felt his hand move under her shirt and she froze. All she could see was his shadow as he leered over her. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest, way too fast.

"Hey!" another voice startled both of them.

Catherine finally regained her senses and, using the provided distraction, she grabbed the shadow around the shoulders, head-butting him before driving her knee into his groin. The responding shriek followed by a pained groan told her she hadn't missed her mark.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and whirled around, delivering a hard right hook right into a stranger's face.

-End flashback-

Danny was laughing uncontrollably. "You mean to tell me that you punched Steve 'Smooth Dog' McGarrett in the mouth the first time you met him?"

Catherine was trying hard not to smile. "I didn't mean to. I just reacted on instinct. Anyway, I apologised and offered to take him to the hospital but he insisted he was fine."

Danny snorted indelicately. "Typical. Even then, he was swooping in to save the day."

"Yeah," Catherine agreed. "I didn't actually get his name until we met again a few months later. But that's a different story for another time."

"Come on, you can't leave me hanging like that. I've got to know more!"

"That's one you'll have to ask Steve about."

Danny's smile dimmed. "Well, we had better find him so I can bust him about your first 'date'."

Catherine gave him a small, reassuring smile. "It definitely wasn't the worst date I'd been on, but definitely in the top five."

Danny grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Oh, now I have to know everything."