I have always wondered about the backstory on how Steve and Catherine met each other. Did they meet at the Naval Academy? Did they meet while deployed? Did they meet in Hawaii? The possibilities are endless. So I decided to write up a version I thought would be plausible. I so love McRollins and hope Season 6 brings us much more Steve and Cath screen time!

Read this and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you so reviews are always welcome. As always, thanks for reading! And be sure to check out my other stories as well.

After three long months on a covert op, Steve was happy to be home. It had been an exhausting assignment both mentally and physically. The first thing he did was go home for a hot shower and then sleep until his body didn't need another second of it. It felt good to sleep uninterrupted for a change. After 14 hours, he finally woke and glanced at the clock shocked to find how late it was. He was supposed to meet Matt and his girlfriend, Jessica, for dinner in just a little while. He got up for another shower before heading out the door.

Matt Steele was a member of Steve's SEAL team and also a good friend. Matt had met Jessica during their last leave and the two had been in contact as much as possible while they were gone. Of course, their contact was somewhat limited given the fact they had been on a top secret mission so their whereabouts was kept secret. But, whenever they had the opportunity, Matt had called Jessica and talked for as long as possible. It had been obvious to Steve early on that this she must be special because he had never seen Matt so hung up on one person. He was looking forward to meeting the woman who had taken Steele's heart.

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Steve walked into the restaurant to find Matt and a pretty blond standing at the bar. As he walked up, Matt introduced him to his love. Jessica's smile was genuine and warm as she greeted him.

"Commander McGarrett, it's great to finally meet you. Matt's told me great things about you."

"Please call me Steve." He smiled back, "He's told me great things about you, too. I thought he may've been exaggerating, but you really are as beautiful as he said."

Jessica blushed as she looked lovingly back at Matt.

"Watch it, McGarrett," Matt joked, "You are my brother, but I'd hate to have to kick your ass."

Steve laughed good naturedly, "I'd like to see you try."

Before long, the threesome was being seated at their table and enjoying small talk. It was obvious the men were happy to be home and Jessica was thrilled to have Matt back at her side. Their dinner arrived and they continued to talk and laugh together. Jessica was completely taken in by the funny stories Matt and Steve shared about each other, and the longer she watched them interacting, the more she realized Steve would be perfect for her friend. And although she knew it would be met with some hesitation, she started devising a plan to get them together.

After they finished and made their way outside to leave, Jessica turned to Steve, "Why don't you have dinner with us on Friday, Steve?"

Steve looked at her questioningly. The thought of a home cooked meal sounded tempting but he knew Matt was probably wanting every second he could have alone with Jessica, "Are you sure?"

Matt patted Steve on the shoulder, "Jess is a great cook, buddy. You'll be missing out if you turn her down".

Steve agreed and thanked them for the invitation before making his way to his truck.

Jessica got into Matt's car and quickly fastened her seatbelt before pulling out her phone. She made a call as Matt looked at her curiously. He had the feeling she was up to something. It didn't take long to find out what.

"Hey, Cath. It's Jess. Listen I know you have leave coming up in the next couple of days, so I'm inviting you over for dinner on Friday. And I won't take 'no' for an answer. You'll need some home cooking when you get home, so come and join us. Besides, I need some girl time with you! I'll expect you around 7. Love ya!"

She ended the call and looked over at Matt who was dividing his time between watching the road and gaping at her in surprise. "What are you doing?"

She smiled sweetly at him, "Leaving a message for Cath…..and fixing her up with Steve."

Matt laughed in shock. All he knew about Catherine was that she was Jessica's childhood friend who was also in the Navy. Beyond that, he knew nothing about her and felt it was his duty to stick up for his friend, "Honey, you can't fix Steve up with someone without him knowing about it. He doesn't like surprises."

"He won't be surprised because you're going to tell him about it first."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. Catherine is a good friend of mine and she would be perfect for Steve."

"How do you know that? You just met Steve!"

"Call it women's intuition. Something just tells me those two would hit it off. They are both in the Navy, smart, determined, single, and good-looking. It would be a good match. Trust me." The look on Jessica's face told him she wasn't going to argue about it, and quite frankly, he didn't have the strength to tell her "no". She knew how to work him, no doubt about it.

"Okay, but what if Catherine can't make it on Friday?" Matt asked.

"She'll be there. She's known me long enough to know when I'm serious…..so when she hears my message, she'll know that she has to be there or else. Now all you have to do is tell Steve and everything will be perfect."

He finally offered her a resigned sigh even though he was smiling at her, "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

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"She said what?" Steve asked over the phone.

Matt sighed, "She said she's inviting over a friend who is coming home for a few weeks. Her name is Catherine and she's been deployed on the USS Enterprise for the last two months. She's due in tomorrow, so Jessica invited her to have dinner with us on Friday too."

Steve was silent on the other line as if trying to think a way out of this. He didn't do blind dates.

"Look, Jess says she's really pretty and has a great sense of humor. She graduated top of her class at the Academy and is quickly working her way up the officer ranks. Plus, I don't want to let my girl down….so if you'll do me this favor, I'll owe you one."

"You already owe me." Steve said dryly unconvinced that this was a good idea.

"So add it to my tab. Come on. How bad could it be? At least we'll get some time together and you'll get to eat some great food!"

Steve found he couldn't turn Matt down. He was his best friend, after all. He finally agreed to the plan and laughed as he heard a relieved breath escape Matt's mouth before he hung up.
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Meanwhile, Jessica and Catherine are having a similar conversation…..

"Are you telling me you want to fix me up?" Catherine asked incredulously.

"Yes….and before you say 'no', let me tell you about him." Jessica said.

"Okay, shoot. But I still reserve the right to decline. You know I hate blind dates, Jess."

"I know, but I think this time you might thank me!"

She heard Catherine laugh on the other line so she continued, "His name is Steve. He's on Matt's SEAL team. Actually, he's their Team leader."

"SEAL's are notoriously arrogant and full of themselves, Jess." Catherine said.

"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud," Jess pouted even though Catherine could still hear the smile in her voice, "Trust me, this one is different. Just like my Matt. Steve is good looking and down to earth. He has a great sense of humor, like you. He seems really sweet, but he also has that little bit of 'bad boy' in him that always seems to turn you on. And he's not arrogant. He's…"

Jessica stopped as if trying to think of the word she wanted to use to describe him. "He's confident." She said, "He's confident and a total gentleman. Come on, Cath. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

Jessica and Catherine had been friends since they were kids and the truth of the matter was they had never tried to fix each other up. Just the fact that Jessica was so hell bent on getting her together with this "Steve" guy made Catherine consider it seriously because she'd never done it before. Catherine trusted her implicitly, so that was something to consider too. She finally decided she had nothing to lose.

"Okay, you win." Catherine smiled into the phone, "I'll be there at 7. Want me to bring anything?"

"Just your gorgeous self and maybe a bottle of wine. I have the rest of it covered!"

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Friday night at Jessica's house:

Steve looked at the address and realized he was at the right house. He turned the truck off and glanced nervously towards the front door. Figuring he might as well go inside, he grabbed the two bouquets of flowers and the bottle of wine he'd brought and made his way towards the house.

Matt answered the door, "Hey, buddy. Come on in! Jess is in the kitchen and we're waiting on Catherine to get here. Wanna beer?"

"Sure." Steve answered. Something stiffer might calm his nerves a little more, but beer would have to do. He followed Matt into the kitchen and kissed Jessica on the cheek in greeting before reaching one of the bouquets to her, "These are for you."

Jessica smiled at him broadly, "Well aren't you the sweetest?"

Steve shrugged, "I figured it was the least I could do since you're making dinner for me. Oh….I also brought a bottle of wine. I didn't know what you were making, so I hope this is okay."

Jessica looked at the label, "This is perfect. It's actually Cath's favorite," she answered with a naughty grin.

"Seriously?" Steve asked.

"Seriously." Jessica confirmed.

Then, she shewed the men outside to enjoy their beers so she could finish with dinner. After a few minutes, she heard the front door open and knew that Catherine had arrived. She wiped her hands off with a towel to go and greet her friend. She pulled Catherine into a big hug, "Oh girl, I have missed you!" She said.

Catherine hugged her back just as fiercely, "I've missed you too, Jess. This deployment was a long one! It's so good to be home."

"And it's about to get better," Jessica smiled at her coyly, "Come on. I'll introduce you to Matt and Steve."

They went into the kitchen first so Catherine could put down the bottle of wine she had brought. Seeing a similar bottle on the counter she asked Jessica, "You bought my favorite wine?"

"Actually, Steve brought that bottle. You guys must have the same taste. Isn't that interesting?" Jessica teased.

It was interesting, Catherine thought, but wasn't ready to give in just yet. Matt made his way into the kitchen to grab another beer. Jessica introduced him to Catherine since they hadn't met yet either. The timer suddenly went off on the oven indicating that something was finished, so Matt led Catherine out to make the introduction to Steve while Jessica worked on getting dinner finished up.

As they made their way out to the lanai, Steve's back was turned but Catherine looked appreciatively at the man standing there. He was tall with dark hair and the strong athletic build that was typical of SEAL's. He was wearing jeans and a blue dress shirt that fit him well. Matt opened the French doors leading her outside and Steve turned around as he heard them approaching. Steve's eyes met hers and Catherine could have sworn that time stopped for a moment. Ridiculous as it sounded, it really was like one of those 'movie moments'. She took in his strong, chiseled features, his full lips, and hazel eyes and was mesmerized. As she got closer, his hazel eyes looked green….or maybe blue? Whatever they were, it was a gorgeous mix that made her feel weak in the knees. She felt silly for being so affected, but she couldn't seem to help it. The man was gorgeous.

Steve took in the sight of her. Catherine was wearing a red halter sundress and her dark brown hair was framing her face in soft curls. Her make-up was soft and fresh. Steve noted that she had beautiful skin and dark brown eyes. Taking a step towards her, Steve reached out his hand, "Hi," he smiled at her appreciatively, "I'm Steve McGarrett."

Dear God, he is even better looking when he smiles, she thought. Catherine took his hand in hers and found she couldn't speak. "Hi….I'm uh…Catherine. Catherine Rollins."

Steve noticed that she seemed a bit flustered and felt relief knowing he wasn't the only one who had been nervous. "It's great to meet you," he answered with a twinkle in his eyes, "You look beautiful."

Then he reached towards the table where the other bouquet of flowers was resting. "These are for you." He said as he handed them to her.

"Oh….thank you." Catherine stammered in surprise. Then, not knowing what else to say at the moment, she said, "I uh…..need a drink. I'll be right back." And with that she turned on her heel and made her way quickly back inside.

She stalked into the kitchen, pulled a glass down from the cabinet and immediately poured herself a glass of wine. Jessica smiled at her knowingly, "So?" What do you think?"

Catherine took a drink before looking at her friend and punching her playfully in the arm. "You and I need to talk about the definition of 'good looking', my friend."

Not understanding her meaning, Jessica gaped at her in disbelief, "You don't think he's good looking?"

Catherine took another drink, "There is 'good looking' and there is 'drop dead, panty melting gorgeous'." She pointed towards the lanai, "THAT knocks 'good looking' out of the friggin' stratosphere!"

Jessica couldn't help but giggle, "Did you just say 'panty melting gorgeous'?"

Catherine couldn't help but laugh back before trying to get serious again, "Seriously, Jess. Why didn't you warn me? I would have worn something else."

Jessica just smiled at her happily before grabbing the dish she had on the counter and carrying it towards the patio, "Don't be silly. You look gorgeous. Now, come on," she said over her shoulder, "Dinner is ready and the boys are waiting."

Catherine took one more sip of her wine, took a deep breath to try to steady her nerves and gave herself a pep talk. She was a Naval Officer, for goodness sakes. Naval Officers didn't act like schoolgirls. She made her way out behind Jessica .

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So what do you think? Chapter 2 is in the works and will be posted soon!