Chapter 5

Steve sat in his office and his gaze rested on the brown envelope on his desk. Somehow he got the feeling that it wasn't a good idea to open it.
Well, it had been scanned, it shouldn't have contained anything dangerous, but Steve's gut told him otherwise.
In the end, curiosity got the better of him and he opened the envelope. Only one photo was included. Steve began to seethe and disappointment spread through him. Catherine and Billy could be seen kissing passionately. He should have listened to Danny, who had said from the start that letting Catherine go out to dinner with her ex wasn't a good idea. And now the two were snogging in a restaurant here on Oahu.
On the other hand, they lived in a free country, he could hardly forbid Catherine to meet with friends. But he never thought she would betray him like that. Sadly he put the picture back in the envelope, left the HQ and drove home.

He was pacing up and down at home restlessly. Should he confront Catherine when she got home? Should he wait until she said something herself?
He couldn't stand it at home after all, so he got back in the Silverado and drove aimlessly across the island. He briefly considered driving past the restaurant and confronting Catherine immediately, but quickly dismissed the idea.

At some point he ended up at the vantage point that Danny also liked to visit. He sat on the wall, looked at the sky and tried to calm down. But even that just didn't work, because the photo kept pushing itself into his thoughts.
He sighed and got up, got in the car and drove home. He grabbed a beer and sat on the porch in front of the house and awaited Catherine's arrival with an uneasy feeling.
Then, around ten, Billy finally brought Catherine home. When he saw her hug him goodbye and plant a kiss on his cheek, the anger he'd so wonderfully suppressed flooded back immediately.
As she stepped out onto the porch, he couldn't help but sneer.
"Was it nice?"
Catherine looked at him confused. She didn't recognize the tone of his voice.
She drawled: "Yeah, why?"

"Nothing important."

"Okay Steve, spit it out. What's up? I thought you wouldn't have a problem with me going out to dinner with Billy."

"What is up? That's what I ask you. I thought we both would be something special, we would love each other and nothing could separate us so easily. And then suddenly your ex comes back and you can't think of anything better than to throw yourself at him! "
Steve's eyes sparkled angrily and he really didn't know when was the last time he had been so angry, disappointed and sad at the same time.

"What? I think you are out of your mind. "
Catherine glared at him angrily. Steve could clearly see the pain in her eyes. Perhaps he was doing her an injustice after all? But the image immediately came back to him as he thought about it.

"Okay, if you think I'm crazy, just run to Billy and spend your life with him, since you seem to like him better anyway! I mean, I can't really tell you who you date or who you love, but if you don't want a relationship with me, just look me in the eye and say it instead of betraying me like that!"

"What's the matter with you tonight? I think it's best if you go to sleep and calm down and until then I'm going home!"

Catherine quickly went into the house, grabbed her car keys from the small table by the front door and walked to her car without giving Steve another look.
So Steve was left alone on his porch, watching Catherine's car. He was still angry, but somehow a bad conscience spread through him. Steve had never argued with Catherine like this before, so he wasn't sure what to do now.
But maybe he should take Catherine's advice first, which is to go to sleep and calm down.

When Catherine got home, went into her house and closed the door behind her, she couldn't control her feelings anymore. She slid down the door on her back, hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and let the tears flow. She just didn't understand what was suddenly going on with Steve. She had never seen him like this before. Besides, she really didn't know what she had done wrong. Now Catherine was incredibly sad as she really loved Steve with all her heart and didn't want to lose him just like that...

The next morning the whole team, except for Catherine, was sitting in HQ waiting for a case. The paperwork for the last few cases was done, so they actually had some time off.
Since no new case had come by noon, Steve sent the team home. Of course, Kono, Chin and Lou were happy about the day off, only Danny didn't go home yet. He went back to Steve's office because he had noticed since this morning that Steve didn't look like himself and that Catherine wasn't there strengthened his bad feeling. So Danny entered the office and sat down on the small couch. Before he could say anything though, Steve just started talking.
"You were right."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You were right!"

"Actually, I would ask at what, but I'm guessing it has to do with Catherine and therefore Billy, right?"

"Yeah, she... um... she..." Steve's voice had suddenly gotten very quiet and from the tone of his voice you'd think he was about to start crying.
Steve didn't even know how best to phrase it, so he opened his desk drawer, took out the brown envelope and held it out to Danny.
Danny looked confused but took the envelope, pulled out the picture and looked at it perplexed.

"Oh...that...I'm really sorry, man... But have you talked to her about it?"

"Yes, last night."

"And what did she say?"

"She said I am crazy, was mad at me, told me to calm down and that she was going home by then. I think that's why she didn't come here today. Actually, I didn't want you to know about it, which is why I said this morning that she was ill. I could already think of your stupid sayings. Well, anyway, she grabbed her car keys and drove over to her house... I never thought it could be over so easily."

"Why is your glass always half empty? It's not over! Things will work out somehow and you can continue your relationship with Catherine as if nothing had ever happened. You should go to her right away and sort this out. After that, you both find out who sent you this, after all, someone just wants to break you up. Maybe the photo isn't even from yesterday."

Steve thought about Danny's words for a moment, then picked up the photo and took a closer look at it. But that didn't get him any further. All you saw was Catherine and Billy sitting at a table and kissing. And Catherine looked the same as yesterday, wearing the same top. So the photo was probably actually from yesterday evening. But Danny was right, he should speak to Catherine and find out who sent him this picture.
Suddenly Steve and Danny heard someone shouting loudly...