I started off with the intent of writing a single tag for 4.07 (In Deep) but I couldn't quite get that to work out the way I wanted it. So I've decided instead to do three separate tags. This one is primarily focused on a conversation between Danny and Catherine. There will also be a conversation between Steve and Catherine, and a conversation between Chin and Catherine to come.

Thanks, as always to Mari for her support and encouragement. You're the best! And to ilna for her keen insight and willingness to bounce ideas around late into the night.

Danny pushed open Steve's office door and leaned in. "I'm stealing Catherine for a little while."

"Um..ok. But you're bringing her back, right?"

"Probably. What are you working on?"

Danny entered the office and moved behind the desk to see what Steve was studying so intently on his computer. It was the blueprints and other information Catherine had gathered on Sato.

"She did a great job on this, didn't she?" Steve looked over his shoulder at his partner and Danny couldn't help but notice the proud smile on his face.

"She sure did," Danny agreed. "In fact….I think I may try to enlist her to help me take down step-Stan's empire. Judging by how fast she got Kuroda to cave… it shouldn't take more than a few days to bring ol' Stanny-boy to his knees."

"You laugh, but when she puts her mind to something…."

"I know. That's why I'm glad she's on our team now."

"Me too." Steve smiled, then sobered. "Listen, Danny, I didn't mean to spring the job offer on everyone like that. I should have talked to you and Chin."

"Relax, Steve. Making Catherine an official part of the team was a no-brainer. In fact, if you hadn't offered her the job on the spot, I would have."

Steve chuckled. "I wasn't aware you were in charge of the hiring around here now."

"Like I said…it's a no-brainer. We needed to snap her up before word got out she was available and the offers started pouring in."

"So why exactly are you stealing our valuable new asset?"

"I'm headed over to HPD to drop off some paperwork. I figured I'd take her along so she can get used to the routine."

"Good idea."

"We'll be back in about an hour."

"I'm warning you though, Danny."

"What?"

"Don't try to convince her that she has to handle all the paperwork from now on because she's the new guy. She'll never fall for that."

"I'm well aware that Catherine is too smart to fall for transparent ploys. She has too many years of practice…what with you and your "favors"."

"But you're still gonna try, right?"

"I have to. I hate paperwork so much," Danny said as pulled open the door and called to Catherine. "Ready to go? This will be your job from now on so you need to pay close attention."

Steve laughed when he saw Catherine roll her eyes.

"How in the world did you do that?" Danny asked, amazement in his voice, as they exited HPD.

"Do what?" Catherine asked, a look of confusion creasing her forehead.

Danny looked at his watch again. "21 minutes. I can't….how did…I never get out of there in less than an hour. Ever. I bring you along…..21 minutes."

Catherine beamed. "Beginner's luck."

"Not one person told you to wait. Not one. No one said 'I have to finish something else first' or 'You have to wait your turn'. That was unbelievable."

"Maybe it was just a slow day."

"I've been doing this for four years. Never once have I gotten in and out of there so quickly. It's like they see me coming and find something else they have to take care of first. There's only one explanation."

"What's that?"

"They must like you better than me."

"I'm sure that's not true." Catherine patted his arm.

"Oh it most definitely is. They like you. You brighten their days."

"Uh-huh."

"And being as we both know working for HPD can be a difficult and sometimes thankless job, it would only be right to make sure these dedicated officers get to interact with someone who brings a little joy to their lives as often as possible."

"You're always thinking about what's best for others, aren't you, Danny," Catherine teased sarcastically.

"I am." he smirked. "It's just a happy coincidence that we recently instituted a rule at 5-0 that the new guy has to do all the paperwork with HPD for their first…oh let's say…year?"

"Nice try. I'm not falling for it though," Catherine chuckled.

"It was worth a try." Danny shrugged then leaned against the low wall outside HPD. "Since no one expects us back for at least another 45 minutes…let's have a little talk."

"About what?" Catherine asked as she leaned beside him.

"First off, about the surveillance package you put together on Sato in what….a little over a day?"

"Like I said, I was just helping out a friend."

"No, Catherine, don't minimize it. What you did was amazing. You gave us our first real chance at getting what we need to find Adam. Once we do that, we can bring Kono home."

"Good. That's exactly what I was trying to do."

"I used to think it was all the information you had at your fingertips in the Navy computers that let you work this kind of magic," Danny teased. "Turns out I was wrong. It's just you."

"Since I was jobless until an hour ago…I could focus all my energy on this one objective. That always makes things go faster."

"Even so, it was an amazing piece of work. You should be very proud."

"It's just what I do, Danny."

"It's what a lot of people do, Catherine. Very few do it as well as you."

"Thank you." Catherine nudged him with her shoulder. "That means a lot coming from you."

"I meant every word."

"It felt good to concentrate on work again, you know? Get my mind back on something constructive."

"I bet. Though….."

"What?"

"Look…maybe it isn't my place to say anything here…."

"But you're going to anyway," Catherine chuckled.

"Yes, I am."

"Proceed."

"Steve explained your plan to me…and let me first say…I understand why you wanted this whole thing to go down in the casino. It's always a bonus when you can avoid dealing with security goons. I even get why you had to move so fast. If Sato had gotten wind of the fact that Kuroda was using his accounts to fund a gambling addiction he'd have killed Kuroda for sure.

"I sense a 'but' coming on."

"But….I gotta say, I agree with Steve. I don't like the fact that you insisted on going in there without back-up."

"Danny…."

"I know… I know…everything turned out ok. Better than ok. Amazing actually. But still Catherine…things can go wrong at the drop of a hat."

"You don't have to tell me. On general principle I agree with you that going in alone is a bad idea. But this was a special case. It couldn't be helped."

"Maybe. But still….don't get used to it. Now that Steve is your boss…I guarantee he won't ever let you go in like that again without someone watching your back."

Catherine smiled.

"And if for some reason he isn't around….. I won't let you go in like that again without someone watching your back."

"You're very sweet, Danny."

"You know it drove him crazy all morning, right? He checked his phone every couple of minutes to see if you had texted. If he hadn't ended up with Joan around distracting him he'd have been climbing the walls all day."

"I should have thought to call before I started the interrogation," Catherine acknowledged. "But I just wanted to get to it before Kuroda had too much time to think. Then once he gave me what I needed I was focused on putting everything together so we could get moving."

"I'm sure Steve knew that too. He was just…we were just….worried."

"I appreciate that," Catherine smiled sincerely.

"You know what's funny though…..as worried as he was, and as much as I know he hated the idea of you going in alone, it never crossed his mind that as long as nothing unexpected happened, you wouldn't get what you were after. He was 100% confident you'd come back with what we needed."

Catherine smiled. She knew it had taken a lot for Steve to let her walk out the door that morning, but the fact that he believed in her enough to fight back his own anxiety meant the world to her.

"I told him that, quite honestly, I was surprised he hadn't found a way to send someone in as backup without you knowing about it," Danny confided.

"What did he say to that?" Catherine was curious to know.

"He looked at me like I was crazy."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said the thought never crossed his mind. For one thing he would never interfere with your mission like that, and for another it would be like saying he didn't trust your ability to handle things. And the issue was never that he didn't think you could handle things. His only concern was your safety if things went sideways."

"I realize that. After everything that happened with Billy I know he just wanted to make sure my head was back in the right place."

"Which clearly it is," Danny smiled. "Since you mentioned Billy though….I know I told you this at the funeral, but it bears repeating. Despite what my opinion of him might have been, I'm really sorry about his death."

"I know you are," Catherine assured him.

"I was worried about you there for a while after it happened. You seemed a little…lost."

"I was," she admitted. "Well not lost really…just off balance."

"Like the rug had been pulled out from under you?"

"Exactly."

"I am acquainted with that feeling," Danny smiled.

"It kind of sucks."

"That it does."

"I felt like I had just taken this first big step towards a new life and all of the sudden it was all gone. I had no idea what to do next."

"It was a tough situation, Catherine. It's no surprise it would take some time to get your feet back under you."

"I've had missions go bad before. But in those cases I always had Navy protocols and procedures to fall back on. There was no time to wallow. The Navy has a regimented way of dealing with these things. You learn whatever lessons the bad mission has to teach and you move on because your team is depending on you. Except this time there was no team, no command structure to push me on to the next thing, no new mission being handed to me. It was hard."

"I'm sure it was."

"Not that I questioned my decision to leave the Navy. I didn't. It was time…you know what I mean? But I missed the structure. The need to get right back up and keep moving because it was my job and there was a new assignment waiting."

"You needed to figure out your own way of moving on."

"Exactly. Except I was having a little trouble doing that. Luckily Steve was there."

"He just wanted to help you do whatever you needed to get past it."

"I know. You know what was really great?"

"What?"

"He hung back for a few days and gave me a chance to find my footing on my own. He's a fixer so I know that was tough for him to do, but it meant a lot to me. Once he saw I was struggling, that's when he stepped in."

"A little tough love?"

"Yeah. He pushed me to find something else to focus on. Which was exactly what I needed."

"I'm guessing he never dreamed you'd decide to focus on going after Kuroda alone," Danny chuckled.

"Probably not. But to his credit he didn't object too much when I told him what my plan was. He was really great through this whole thing."

"It means a lot to him you know. To be the person you can count on…in good times and in bad."

Catherine smiled.

"When I went to my CO and told him I was thinking of resigning my commission he asked me straight out if it had anything to do with Steve."

"What'd you tell him?"

"The truth. That it did. My relationship with Steve, me wanting to stay here on the island and put down roots, it played a big part in my decision. It wasn't my sole reason by a long shot, but I would have been lying if I said it wasn't a major factor."

Danny smiled. "What did he say to that?"

"He gave me one of those pitying little smiles. You know the ones. Like he felt bad for me because I was giving up my Navy career to chase after a commitment-phobic man."

Danny laughed. Not a chuckle but a deep hearty laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"That is….huh…has this guy ever met Steve?"

"Many times."

"Well he's not as very good judge of people then, is he? Steve McGarrett is a lot of things….he's stubborn, he's crazy, he's impulsive….but a commitment-phobe he is not. Not even close."

Catherine smiled. One of the things she loved most about Danny was that he understood Steve as well as she did. "There are a lot of people who would disagree with you about that," she said. Her CO wasn't the first, or last, person to give her that particular pitying look.

"Anyone who thinks Steve has any kind of hang-ups about commitment doesn't know him very well. He may have a hang-up about the words…I'll give you that…but as far as the rest of it goes…well I've had a front row seat for four years and trust me….he is as committed a man as I've ever known. Anyone who can't see that is blind. You know that, right?"

"I do. I learned a long time ago that flowery words and promises aren't what makes a commitment; a person's actions day in and day out are what makes a commitment."

"Exactly. It's easy to say I love you. People say it all the time and don't mean it. They pay lip service to their relationship and then turn around and do whatever the hell they want. Those three words…or any words really…ultimately mean nothing without the actions to back them up."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Listen, Catherine," Danny took her hand and turned to face her, looking directly in her eyes. "I know I get on you guys all the time about your weird way of communicating…especially about feelings…but no one who has ever spent more than five minutes around the two of you has any doubt you're totally committed to each other. Words or no words."

Catherine leaned over and kissed Danny on the cheek. "I know I've thanked you in the past for being such a good friend to Steve, but have I ever thanked you for being such a good friend to me?"

"No thanks necessary. It is 100% my pleasure. I told Steve a couple of weeks back that relationships don't work….. that they never last. But I really believe you two are the exception."

"Thanks, Danny. I know you say relationships never last, but underneath it all I don't think you really believe that. You're not nearly as cynical as you want people to think you are."

"Is that so?" he smiled.

"It is," Catherine nodded. "Listen, with everything that's been going on I haven't had a chance to tell you…I'm so sorry about Gabby."

"Thanks. Me too. We have really terrible timing, you know?"

"I know."

"If it was just me it would be a different story. But I have to think of Grace. It's not fair to her to have people moving in and out of her life. I want something more stable for her."

"I know you do." Catherine squeezed his forearm. "You're an awesome dad."

"Thanks."

"You know a lot of women, and I mean A LOT of women, find that incredibly attractive."

"Really?"

"Definitely. You're a great guy. There is someone out there for you, Danny. The perfect someone."

"You think so?"

"I do. And I want that for you. You deserve someone who loves you and cares about you and supports you. Someone who makes you want to do the same things for her. And the two of you will spend the rest of your lives making each other happy."

"You mean someday I might have my very own Catherine?"

She beamed. "Whoever she is, she's going to be a very lucky girl."

"Thanks." Danny hugged her tightly for a minute before pulling back and motioning towards the car.

"OK we better get going. I have to get back to HQ and explain to Steve why you should be in permanent charge of paperwork from now on."