Chapter Seven
-" In the meantime, they left Steve and Catherine by themselves. They could hear them talking about what they would do with the money. The first thing they need to do is get out of town because McGarrett would hunt them down for sure.
-"Catherine saw an old nail on the floor. She made herself fall over. Steve was able to get his gag off so he could talk. Cath, are you okay? Yeah, and she shows him the nail. If I could pick the handcuff lock, I could get it off. Steve said hold on. He got his hand out of the handcuffs with a trick his Mom showed him. He reached out and was able to pull her back up. He takes the nail from her. He unlocks the chain locks on his feet. He uncuffed her and unlocked the chains on her feet.
-" He hugged her tight. I am going to kill Delano.
-"She whispered; we need a weapon. Look, there is a pitchfork in the corner and a pipe. They will have to do. Someone is coming. They get behind the door, and only the nephew comes through. They easily took him out and gagged and chained him. One down and four to go.
-"They peered out, and only two guys sat on the steps. They tip-toe ,hit them in the head, and knock them out. They found some ropes and tied both of them up. One of them had a gun, and they got it. Now to find Delano and his cell mate.
-"They had walked down the road so the other wouldn't overhear them. They were going to stiff the other players. Here they come, Cath. You go out front and tell them to give themself up. They think they have the upper hand, and I catch them off guard with the gun. Ready, ready.
-"She stepped out with the pipe and said it over Delano. I see you got loose, but if you hadn't noticed, there are two of us and one of you, and he has a gun. At that time, Steve shot the guy in the leg, and he went down. Catherine hit Frank upside with the pipe before he could react. They tied both of them up. Steve punched Delano in the face and said that for kidnapping us, and he punched him again, and this is for hitting my girl.
-"Steve said we still make a good team; yeah, we do. He couldn't help but kiss her quickly. Sorry, he said sheepish. Catherine said you are not sorry, but she wasn't mad. No, I am not. At that time, they saw a car coming; they went to the side of the house to catch them off guard. They thought it was more goons
-"They saw it was Danny, Kono, Chin, and Lou. The Team saw Delano and a guy passed out and tied up. Steve & Catherine walked out and said hey guys. Danny said to leave it to you two to rescue yourself. You animal. Well, Danno, you don't call me Super Seal for nothing, and he smirked.
Kono said you okay? Yeah, we're fine. She hugged her and said good to see you, Sista, and I miss you. I miss you too. Chin was next; he hugged her and said, I missed my partner. Catherine said we made a badass team; yes, we did. Lou hugged and glad to see you Rollins. Now maybe McGarrett will stop being a grump. Steve rolled his eyes. Danny hugged her and glad you safe Cath. Thanks, Danny.
-"I need to call my Dad. Danny handed her his phone. Hi Dad, yes, I am safe. I am not hurt, and yes, Steve is okay. Did the team rescue you? Uh, we kind of rescue ourselves. I explain later. Tell Mom I love her, and I promise to visit soon. Okay, baby, love you too,
-"Danny said. Steve, why do you find trouble everywhere you go? It is not my fault, and trouble doesn't follow me. Will you call the local sheriff and have them pick all these guys up? Yeah, he hugged him. Thanks, Danno.
-"Kamekona is standing by to fly us back. All of us can't fit in the chopper said Chin. Uh, I could fly back with Catherine on a commercial flight. Danny said the sheriff was on the way. He whispers to Steve how your ops going. I'm not really sure, but I am not giving up.
-" Delano was coming too. Delano, this time, you never see the light of day again. Steve punched him again. Danny punches him, and this is for kidnapping my best friend and his girl. Did you order a medevac for this guy? Yeah, they are on the way. But he should be fine. We tied it off to stop the bleeding. I better call the governor.
-" He goes to Cath. I understand if you want to leave right away. I really like it if you stayed one more night. Just one night, Cath. I will stay, Steve. I text Sarah and Alex to let them know. Steve frowns at Alex's name. Thank you, Cath. They waited till the local Sheriff got there. He said how many we got besides these two. Two on the porch in and one inside. I guess you guys got here just in time. Uh, those two saved themselves. What? Trust me, they did it before. Meet Rambo and Ramboette. The Sheriff laughed
-"Let go guys. They drop Steve and Catherine off at the cabin. Kamekona hugged her, and I am so glad you are back, my favorite customer. I miss you too Kamie and I be by to eat my favorite dish. Big Kahuna, do you want me to pick you up tomorrow? No, buddy, you miss out on too much work. Thank you, we get a commercial flight tomorrow. Okay, see you all soon.
-"Steve touched her face where the bruise was beginning to show. I am sorry Cath. It is not your fault, Steve. I am going to shower. I clean up the mess they made and then shower.
-"He reconnects the alarm, cleans up both bedrooms and sweeps the floor. He wipes down all the furniture too. He hops in the shower and wears his white t-shirt and black shorts. Catherine put on her seal shirt and black sleeping shorts.
-"He hands her a beer. You want something to eat. No, I am really not hungry. Quiet fell between them. Steve, we can't go back to where we were. It going to take time to forget all the hurt on both parts. I am willing to try. As much as I try to deny it, I do love you. We must communicate more and learn to balance work. Wait, as much as I want to, I am not ready to be intimate again. That part was always easy for us. You are right, Cath, and I am with you all the way. All I ask is that you let me try. What about Alex? I told him I wanted to talk to him on Sunday. I meet him at the house after noon. He is a nice guy, and I hate I have to hurt him. I think he knew I still have strong feelings for you. Well, I was here first, and he smirked.
-"She swatted his hand. What do you want to watch on TV? No movie tonight. How about MacGyver? He's hot, and I love how he can fix things out of nothing, and she gives him a mischievous smile. Aw, but can he get his hands out handcuffs and raise his eyebrows? So I think I am due a thank you, Steve, for saving my life, and he smirked and kissed her on the cheek. Okay, you got him there, but you are hotter, and she kissed him on the cheek. They settled on watching an episode of Friends. Cath said I am hungry now. I am too. I go make up some sandwiches and chips. Bring a couple of beers too. He fixed a couple of turkey and cheese sandwiches and was back in a few minutes. Thank you. You welcome.
-"She watches Steve stick almost half of the sandwich in his mouth. She just looks at him and giggles. Don't ever change commander. He opened his mouth and said what, Lieutenant? She just shakes her head. They watched a few more episodes and said we better head to bed. We are on the 0700 flight. Yeah, he took her hand. Thank you, Cath, for giving us a second chance. I promise you won't regret it. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.
-"She goes to her and he his. Both thought it was going to be hard waiting to be together. They were determined to do it right, work out all the bad stuff, and move forward.
-"On the flight, Steve said I like to cook dinner tonight. Okay, that will be great. I come over around 1700. You remember I am meeting Alex at noon, right? Yeah, I remember, and I know it will be hard for you, but don't expect me to feel sorry for him, and he smirks. I wouldn't dream of it.
-"They take a Uber to Kamekona to pick up his truck. Steve, drop her off at home and see you later. He pecks her lips. Danny called. You back? Yeah I just got back. Steven, I told you you are a danger magnet. I am not, and stop saying it. This was all on that demented, crazy Delano. Have you heard anything about his status? Yeah, he heads to maximum security on the mainland to finish out his original sentence of 10 years; the prosecutor said he will offer a deal for him to serve another 15 after serving 10. With his age and health, he probably won't last two. Yeah, he is right about that. His other cohorts should get 15 years; they are in jail and no bail. That good.
-"How is your Ops going? Uh, we are going to try again. Take it slow and rebuild our trust. There was hurt in both parts, and I realized I took her for granted. She still has issues about Lynn. What about the guy she seeing? She ended it today.
-" Listen, Danno, you can no longer barge into my house anytime you want. Why not? Because I said so, and it is my house. Way to hurt my feelings. Danno I am not doing that. I just need to do things differently if I want to prove to Catherine that she is my priority. You barge in the middle of our alone time has to stop. Okay, man, I get it. I will call before coming over. Thank you. We still hang out and stuff, but that won't change Danno. Okay, buddy, I got to go. I'll see you at work tomorrow, and thank the team again for their help. Will do.
-"He gets home and checks to make sure he got some steaks. Yeah, perfect, and stuff for salad. He checked the cabinet, and he had potatoes. He already knows he has a lot of her favorite wine; He goes upstairs to put her lotion on her nightstand. Add the tissue box.
-"The drawers in the dressers that he had emptied for her before she left were still vacant. He is hoping she will stay some night at his place down the road. He put some of the clothes he had in the closet into one of the drawers. Now he heads to the furniture store to get new bedroom furniture. Lynn had only spent a few nights there, so he knew she had no stuff there. He checked every time she left.
-"He got to the store, and it opened up. He told the owner he needed a bedroom set, mattress, all-new bedding, a comforter, sheets, pillows, and curtains. You come to the right place, we are your one shop store. Is anything particular in mind? I am in the military and Navy, and I would like something in navy blue. Let me show you all our military selections. I think you will love it. It is one of our popular items. We get a lot of military in here. Right this way. I am Eric; I am Steve.
-"Catherine was waiting for Alex. She really hated to hurt him, but she knew she had been fooling herself,
-"Her doorbell rings. He was early. She open and said Good morning. He hugged her and said I am so glad you are back. He doesn't know what went down in Maui. Come in. You want something to drink. No, I am fine.
-"She said I never meant to hurt you, and I can't thank you enough for your friendship, and you help me so much. I could have never been able to deal with everything I was going through. You help me to believe in myself again. Catherine, what are you saying? He looks with a sad, confused face.
-" I wasn't at any work conference. What? I didn't know it when I left, but Steve got my boss to send me to Maui. He did what? He had no right to do that. He wants me to hear him out and ask me to give him another chance. I am going to kick his ass. Wait, hear me out. I was so mad at him for getting me on false pretenses when I got there. He begged me just to stay and see what happened, and I said yes. Why. Because as much as I tried to deny it we have a long history between us. Yes, he did hurt me by going with someone so soon and not fighting for us. I also know he was hurt because he thought I led him on and lied to him. He was my best friend; we had been through so much together. I thought I owed him that much. Okay.
-" We got kidnapped? Are you serious? Some criminal Five-0 and I helped put behind bars years ago thought he could get my parents to pay ransom for 20 million. I am fine, just some minor bruises. How did you escape? Steve & I rescue ourselves, and she giggles. We've been in spots like this before, so we know what to do. The task force did come to help us. My God Catherine, this is unbelievable. During this time, I realized I still had feelings for Steve. I told him I would try it to see if we could move forward. We still have a lot of things to work out.
-" I am saying that I can't see you anymore, and I hope you find someone that can make you happy. I am so sorry. He said I had been halfway expecting this, but I hope I was wrong. I care about you and had fallen in love with you. You are a great woman, and any man should thank his lucky stars to have you. I am not going to lie. My heart is broken, but I respect you for being honest with me. I don't deserve your kindness, Alex. He gets up, I hope things work out for you and McGarrett, and I guess I see you on base sometimes. I can't do the friend thing. It would be too hard. I understand. Tell McGarrett he better treat you right, or I am going to kick his ass. Goodbye Catherine, Bye Alex, and he leave with a broken heart
-"Steve found the perfect bedroom set and bedding. They would deliver on Friday. He heads back home to get ready for dinner with Catherine. He texted her, told her he missed her and was looking forward to dinner. Catherine was relieved that it was over with Alex but felt bad about hurting him. She got Steve's text and smiled. He wasn't one to text a lot. She replied me too. Steve marinated the steak. Set the table with a candle to light later. He got another text from Lynn begging him to come back to her. It was now time to block her.
-" Lynn goes to Melissa and Danny for dinner. Lynn said Danny if Steve had said anything about me or if he missed me. Danny thought it was best to tell her the truth so she could move on. Look, Lynn, as Steve told you he was sorry he misled you and led you on. He was trying to move on, but he wasn't ready. You will eventually find out that Catherine's back, and he's trying to make it work with her. Are you fucking kidding me? He said he never go back to her. Well, there are things he just found out. What things? That is none of your business. You just need to move on because he is not coming back to you.
-"I'm not trying to hurt you, but I don't want to give you any false hope. All the time she has been gone, and he said I wasn't a rebound, and he goes back to that bitch. Hey, watch your mouth. Catherine is a great person. This subject is over. Sorry, Danny. They finished dinner, and she left without bringing Steve up again. She stops at a bar on her way home. All her hopes of getting Steve back were over. Part of her knew he was still in love with his EX. She thought eventually, she could get him to move on. He called her name and the few things they were together, No affection or passion. She thought he needed time but was wrong; She was on her second glass of Vodka. A guy bumps into her table. He said I am sorry. She said no problem. He said looks like you are drinking alone. She said yes. I got dumped and drowned in my sorrow. He said so I am. Can I join you? Sure. I am Alex and I Lynn. Let drink to getting over getting dumped and moving on; they clink and say cheers.
-"Catherine arrived at 1700. She was wearing a purple sundress and sandals. Steve kissed her on the cheek and said come in. The minute she walked through the doors, all the memories came flooding back. Making out on the sofa and playing strip poker, She sees the table set with candlelight lit. It's beautiful, Steve. The steaks are on the grill and should be ready shortly. Do you want beer or wine? Wine will do. He brought her a glass. Thank you. You welcome. They were eating. Your steaks are still the best, and I have missed them. That's all you miss, and he winked. No, it is not, but no need to fish for compliment sailor. She giggled. Why are you laughing? I remember you burning the steaks the first time I was here. He pointed his finger. That was not my fault, young lady. You couldn't wait to get your hand on all this, and he pointed to his body; she barked a laugh, which made his heart flutter.
-" How did it go with Alex? He was upset but said he had a feeling it was coming. He said he going to kick your ass if you hurt me. Well no chance of that. After dinner, they went down to the beach, and as she was going to one of his chairs, he grabbed her and pulled her in his lap. I love you, Catherine, and I never stop. I am so sorry I took you for granted and then prioritized you as coming first. I learned my lesson and never again. He kissed her passionately like he wanted to do since she first came back. She returned it because she felt the same way. I know we will take it slow, but I want to spend as much time with you as possible. I will come to your place after work, or you can come over here, I miss swimming and running with you. Okay, I am good with that. I hope we can sleep next to each other without sleeping together in time. Catherine looks at him. You wouldn't last a night. Maybe, maybe not. I am serious, Cath; I want to do right by your time. I wait as long as I need to, Grant. I promise I might have to take a lot of cold showers. Okay, we can do that.
AN: Again, I ask you to forgive me for any mistakes. I am not a writer. I love McRoll so much and couldn't get some ideas out of my head. I know some might think I got Steve chasing after her all the time. You are right because I always thought he should have gone after her. He wasn't perfect, but he did love her. Two more chapters to go.