Thanks to those who read and especially those who reviewed the last chapter. While I write these stories for myself, I post them here so others can hopefully enjoy them as well.
Finding Peace – Part 2
Chapter 2
May
Following their late-night conversation about their shared lingering traumas from Afghanistan, Steve had kept a close eye on his wife but saw nothing that concerned him. Even though he expected she hadn't fully processed her feelings about what had happened to him after his capture, she seemed to have put them back into wherever she'd been storing them for the better part of six years. He believed a weight had been lifted when her secret about the video had been revealed, but he also knew, from personal experience, that things could sneak up on you when you least expect them. If they did, though, he was determined to be sure she had whatever tools she needed to deal with them, even if it meant re-opening some of his own old wounds. In the meantime, he continued to focus on Catherine and being present in all of his moments with her, making memories as they explored a country with which they had quickly fallen in love.
After spending the first few days in Adelaide, they'd followed the coast through Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, and Brisbane. They'd been especially drawn to New South Wales and had discussed several times the potential of staying longer in that area, even as they headed farther north and arrived in Cairns late in their ninth day on the continent.
The following morning, they spent a few hours diving the Great Barrier Reef and had returned to their lodging before heading out for a late lunch. Catherine was searching for a misplaced shirt when Steve realized he'd missed a call and had a new voicemail, so he accessed and listened to it.
"Steve? Hey, it's Gordo. How you been? Listen, I heard that you cut away from Five-0. I don't know if you're looking for work, but I have an opening that I think you'd be perfect for. Give me a call when you get a chance, all right? Maybe we can grab a beer or something. Talk to you soon."
He looked over at his wife. "Brett Gordon left me a message."
"Gordo? What's he up to?"
"He has a job opening."
She looked up from the bag through which she was digging. "Isn't he with SPX?"
He nodded. "Last I heard, the Navy was using them to analyze SEAL training operations."
She locked eyes with her husband. "Is he still based on Oahu?"
"Yeah. I think he does a lot remotely and travels to the mainland a few times a year."
They communicated silently and he checked his watch. "It's 17:20 there," he said and tapped the screen to return the call.
"Smooth Dog, as I live and breathe," Brett answered. "How the hell are you?"
"I'm doing well, Gordo. How about you?"
"Can't complain, can't complain. Listen, I was going to head out of here soon. You want to meet for a drink in like an hour?"
"Uh, I would love that. But I'm in Australia right now."
Brett laughed."Okay, so I guess a drink's out of the question. What the hell you doing out there?"
"I'm, uh, I'm on my honeymoon, actually."
"No shit? Congratulations, man! Anyone I know?"
"Yeah, actually," Steve said with a grin. "Catherine and I got married a few weeks ago."
"Rollins? It's about damn time. Congratulations, man!"
"Thanks."
"Why the hell you calling me on your honeymoon?"
"You said you might have a job for me."
"Yeah, but it can wait until you get back."
"That's the thing, Gordo, we're not heading back to Oahu. At least not yet. We've talked about settling here for a while, so I was curious what you had available."
"I got ya. You thinking you'd work remotely?"
"Something like that. I'd like to have more regular hours."
"I hear ya. I think we could make that happen. How do you feel about travel?"
"I'm not necessarily opposed. It would depend on scheduling. I got to be honest with you, man, the reason I left Five-0 is so I can focus on the next phase of my life."
"I get It, I get it. You just got married. Maybe thinking about kids?"he asked with what Steve was sure was a very obvious wink.
He looked up at his wife. "Yeah, maybe."
"Hey – is Catherine looking for work out there? One of the defense contractors we work with in Sydney is looking to bring on a consultant to help coordinate their new deal with the Pentagon. Roger Petersen asked me if I knew anyone – I didn't think of Cath because I didn't know she was available, but she'd be perfect. The only catch is, it sounds like the contract is six months, maybe a year. But if it's a good fit, there's probably an opportunity to roll it into a permanent position with them later on. You think she'd be interested?"
"Roger Petersen of PRG?" he asked, still holding his wife's gaze. She cocked an eyebrow curiously.
"The very same."
His eyes were still locked with his wife's when he replied, "Yeah, I think she'd be interested."
He flashed her a grin and she mouthed 'in what?'.
"Hell, he'll probably try to recruit her for a permanent position - you, too, actually. It could be good for you, a real nine to five gig. I'd be happy to put you in touch."
"Thanks, man. I appreciate that," he said and broke eye contact with Catherine while he considered his friend's words. "It's been a minute since I've ridden a desk and I'm not sure I'm cut out for that anymore. Flexible working hours are probably more my speed, being able to get out, move around, but definitely worth a conversation."
"I got ya,"Brett said."I'm just brainstorming here and would have to run it up the chain, but we've been doing a lot of work with PRG and we're trying to get in on the ground floor of their new gig. The idea's been floated of bringing on someone to help coordinate that. I already know your resume, man, I'd much rather just hire you than spend a couple weeks on the ground over there conducting interviews."
Steve looked at Catherine again and his smile widened. "I got to tell you, Gordo, that sounds like something I would be interested in."
"All right, man. Send me Cath's contact info, all right, and give me a couple days to get back in touch."
"Roger that," Steve confirmed.
"And Dog? Say 'hello' to your wife for me."
"Will do, man," Steve said and disconnected the call.
Intrigued, she asked, "What did he say? What would I be interested in?"
"Well, he said to tell you, 'Hello'."
"And…" she prompted impatiently.
"He said Roger Petersen is looking for a consultant to help coordinate PRG's new thing with the Pentagon – six months to a year and probably an option to convert to something permanent if it's a good fit. He thinks you'd be perfect for it."
She was speechless for a moment. "That… Wow. Really?"
He grinned. "Yeah. He also said there's probably a job for me there, but I don't know if I can ride a desk."
She considered for a moment. "While that sounds good to me after all the traveling I've done the last few years, I can't see you doing that long term. Was there something else he offered?"
"Yeah, he, uh, he said SPX has been working a lot with PRG and is trying to get in on their Pentagon thing. They've floated the idea of bringing someone on to coordinate between the two offices. It sounds like it would involve some travel, but also remote work and flexible hours."
Catherine's grin mirrored Steve's. "That sounds amazing. What do you think?"
"I think it sounds like a great opportunity and something we should consider," he said with broad smile. "We were talking about staying here a while anyway, right?"
"It would mean returning to the real world," Catherine commented. "Are you ready to do that?"
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, our honeymoon has been amazing, but it has to end sometime. And I feel like we'd be stupid not to even consider this."
She nodded. "But, Steve, I'm not comfortable taking a job right now if you're not on board."
"I know," he assured her. "I feel the same way. Let's find out what they have to say and then we'll make the decision together."
"Could you imagine? I mean, what are the chances this opportunity, jobs for both of us, would fall into our laps like this?"
He could see how excited Catherine was and vowed that he would not stand in her way, even if the position for himself didn't work out.
"Maybe we're just that lucky," he said. "Or maybe this is the universe's way of paying us back for all the shit it's put us through."
She laughed. "So, don't look a gift horse in the mouth?"
He grinned. "Yeah, something like that." He turned his attention to his phone and started tapping the screen. "I'm sending Gordo your contact info - he said he'd be back in touch in a few days." He looked up at her when he finished sending the message. "Done."
"I guess I should update my resume, huh?" she said with a smile.
"Me, too. But not right now." He closed the distance between them, tugged her into his arms, and hugged her tight, lifting her feet off the floor before he set her down and dipped his head for a searing kiss. When they broke for air, he gazed down at her. "Whatever we decide, we do it together. Like you said, for the rest of our lives, no matter where life takes us, it will always be the two of us."
"What do you think?" Steve asked.
They'd returned to Sydney and met separately and then together with Roger Peterson. They'd liked what they'd seen of the firm, and what he had to say, and couldn't help but get excited about the possibility of an extended stay in that part of Australia with an option for something more permanent.
A few days after their last meeting, Peterson had made multiple job offers. As Brett had predicted, Roger was indeed interested in having Catherine be part of the team that would consult on a new contract they'd just been awarded and offered a six-month agreement with an option to extend to a year. However, he also offered them both permanent positions with his firm. They would be assigned to different departments but would have opportunities to work together on a regular basis. All the offers included very generous salaries and full benefits. The consultant position, being temporary, included access to a furnished four-bedroom house with a large yard at a very reasonable monthly stipend.
Steve had also spoken with Brett Gordon several more times and also had a nice offer from his firm that would allow him to work remotely so they could relocate at some point, if need be.
"While I'm flattered by the offer, I don't think I want to consider the permanent position at PRG – it could mean a couple years before we could go back to Hawaii," she said gently.
"You know I'm not ready to do that yet, Cath."
"I know. But that's today. You might feel differently in six months."
He sighed. "I don't know, maybe. I know we're newlyweds, and still in the 'honeymoon' period-" he smirked, "-literally, but I always struggled with balancing the job and my relationship with you. I want to put you first, and I think that would be a lot tougher if I went back to Five-0."
"You wouldn't have to go back to Five-0. It sounds like the job Gordo offered you isn't dependent on working from here. You could do it on Oahu."
"The thing is, I don't know if I could be there andnotdo the job. Be there and not be Danny's partner. If I'm being honest, I kind of like this completely fresh start thing we've got going on. It's been pretty amazing so far. We both love it here – I mean, we were talking about trying to find a way to stay even before jobs got dropped in our laps. Like I said before, maybe the universe is trying to tell us something. What about you? Do you want to go back to Hawaii? We're in this together, remember?"
"I do remember." She considered for a moment. "I love Oahu and still consider it home. Even though I haven't really lived there for like six years, I can't imagine us never going back. We both love those islands, but you have a deeper connection to them. They're a part of you, and your legacy. From now on, my home will be wherever you are, but if I'm being honest, I'm not ready to leave Hawaii behind completely. But that doesn't mean we have to figure it out now. We did just begin a new phase of our lives - like you said, we do have this whole fresh start thing going on right now. It kind of seems like the fates want us to stay and I don't really feel like tempting them, do you?"
He cocked an eyebrow and flashed her a smirk. "Not really." His visage sobered. "But, Cath, I can't promise I'm ever going to be ready to go back to stay and I don't… Would you be okay with that?"
"Of course," she told him, reassuringly. "Like I said, my home is wherever you are. I mean, I'd like to settle somewhere eventually, but it doesn't have to be Hawaii. We don't have to decide right now where we want to spend the rest of our lives."
"You're sure?"
She nodded. "Absolutely. But we do need to figure out whether we want to commit to staying here for the next six months to a year or keep traveling."
"You want to stay here, don't you?" he asked with a smile.
"Don'tyou?" she countered with a grin of her own.
"Yeah. I mean, we were talking about staying longer, and six months would be a nice trial period."
"I think so, too. If I took the consulting job at PRG it would come with private health insurance and a furnished house, which is kind of perfect."
"It is," Steve agreed.
"So, what about for you? I mean, the permanent position at PRG probably isn't an option if we're talking a trial period. Are you interested in what Gordo's offering at SPX?" she asked. "Or I mean, you could find something else or just stay home and we could live on my salary for a while."
He chuckled. "And how long do you think that would last?" he asked with a smile. "I appreciate the offer, but you know I would go crazy without something to do. Iaminterested in what Gordo's offering. Working regular hours from home is very appealing to me right now. And if I like it and want to stay with it, it's probably something that I could do anywhere."
"But, like you said, you haven't ridden a desk in years."
"That's true." He chuckled. "Though some of those marathon paperwork days at Five-0 felt like it. We have made a fresh start here and it's time for me to try something new. I'm actually looking forward to the idea of working from home, being there when you get back from work every night, catching up on all those dinners we missed."
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms up around his neck as his automatically circled her waist. "That sounds good to me, except I wouldn't mind missing dinner sometimes, like we used to."
He dipped his head to brush her nose with his. "I think that can be arranged," he told her huskily before capturing her mouth.
"So, we're decided, then?" she said against his lips before kissing him again.
"Sounds like it," he agreed and leaned back when he felt her smile. "You're excited, aren't you?"
"I've only dreamed of being paid what they're offering. Between our paychecks and the housing allowance, we'd have more than enough to live comfortably and set money aside for the future. I know our savings took a hit from our honeymoon—"
"Totally worth it," Steve chimed in.
"True," she concurred, "but we still need to replace that money."
"And we will," he reassured her, "once we get some of the initial expenses out of the way." She looked at him quizzically and he clarified. "We'll need a car, right? And my wife is going to need a wardrobe worthy of her high-powered job."
Catherine grinned. "I am, aren't I?" She considered for a moment and then her smile faltered.
"What?" he asked.
"Should we stop trying for a while? I mean, we're not even sure we're staying here more than six months. It would be nice to be settled before we have a baby."
He shook his head. "I don't want to do that, Cath. Neither of us is getting any younger, and we don't know how long it will take to get pregnant." He studied her for a moment. "Wait. Do you still want to have kids? Or does this change things for you?"
She held his gaze while she considered her answer. "No, it doesn't change anything," she finally said. "I still want that. Everything is happening at once. It's just a lot."
"Are you sure? I need you to be honest with me. Even if you think it's not what I want to hear."
"I am," she assured him. "I want everything we talked about. You're right, it could take months, if not years, to get pregnant and I don't want to waste any time. And if it happens right away, we'll just figure it out. We've both had a lot of experience with moving from place to place and that would be easier to do with a baby, before he or she needs to start school."
"So, we're doing this?"
She laughed with delight. "We're doing this. I'm excited. Are you?"
He nodded and grinned at her happiness. "I love you, Mrs. McGarrett," he told her and leaned in for kiss. "You know that, right?"
"I do. And I love you."
A/N: Brett Gordon is a character who made a brief appearance in Looking Forward, my coda to the pilot episode.
