Author's Note: I started writing this story shortly after the episodes aired, and at the time it was really just a few paragraphs with some initial thoughts on each episode. But then, like the start of so many of my stories, I lost my muse and it sat for the better part of a year. Then, earlier this year, with the series starting to wind down and with COVID-19 keeping me home more I went back and dusted it off. I initially hoped to have it finished before the finale, but it turned into something much bigger than I originally expected. So, I kept plugging away and hoped the series would end with Steve and Catherine getting their happy-ever-after in some way, shape or form and that this story tie in nicely, and I believe that it does.

As it turns out, my muse was also clamoring for a post-finale story, so I ended up writing two stories at the same time, something I've never done before. It was actually more difficult than I expected it to be since I found I was constantly switching between the two as I would get new ideas. For a while, progress on both stores was slow until I finally realized I had to put the post-finale story on hold so I could focus on this one in order to actually finish it. So, here we are.

There are definitely situations and dialogue that were taken directly from the show, so anything you recognize belongs to the genius of the show's writers, producers, directors, and cast, I can only take credit for everything else.

I have read and re-read this so many times I've lost count, but I have no doubt that there are still mistakes I haven't caught and for which I hope you'll forgive me. Thanks in advance for reading; I am very happy with how this story turned out and I hope you will be, too.

I hope everyone out there is able to stay safe and healthy in the current crisis.

Righting a Wrong
Chapter 1

Steve McGarrett sat, sobbing, in the tall grass under a lone ponderosa pine tree in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. His grief escaped him in great, heaving gasps as tears streamed unchecked down his face. He cradled the lifeless body of Joe White, a man he loved like a father; who had been closer to him than his own. He would have given his life for Joe, but it was Joe who had made the ultimate sacrifice and Steve who was left to suffer another unfathomable loss.

After several minutes he realized the sky was starting to darken as the sun dipped below the horizon. He reached for his phone, but then remembered it was still laying in the grass where it had fallen during their argument. Joe had knocked it from his hand while desperately trying to convince Steve that he was dying and should be allowed to go out on his terms.

Steve leaned back and lowered Joe's body gently to the ground before standing and donning his tac vest. He unstrapped the small flashlight from one of the pockets and used it to locate his phone, confirming the pin he'd dropped for his Five-0 team was still active. The purpose had been to send a medevac for Joe, but the older man had been correct when he called it off. The helicopter never would have made it in time.

Unwilling to leave Joe's body unattended out in the open overnight, he managed to get him slung over the withers of one of the horses they'd ridden in on and maneuvered himself up behind him. The ride back was longer than the ride out had been, but he got them back, navigating by moonlight and mostly trusting the horses to find their way.

When they arrived, he secured the animals, then carried Joe's body inside the house before returning to retrieve Cole's. His former teammate had been wounded by a bullet during the siege on Joe's ranch and might have survived if not for an RPG. The hit squad assigned to kill Steve and the other former members of his SEAL team as payback for an op dating back to 2002 had come well prepared and well-armed; with eleven trained killers and all manner of weaponry. He was the only survivor and knew he was lucky to be alive.

He dropped heavily into a chair, physically and emotionally spent, but knew he couldn't rest, not yet. He picked up his phone to call Lou but paused. What would he ask his friend to do? Send the authorities? How would he explain this mess to them?

No, this needed special handling. This needed the agency. And he needed Catherine. Without hesitation, he dialed her number.

"Steve? Are you okay? I heard about the hits."

He didn't question her knowledge of the situation; it made sense that she was up to speed because of the CIA connection to the blown op and her personal connection to him. "Yeah, Cath, I'm okay. It's over, but we lost Cole and-and Joe. He's gone, Cath."

"Oh, God, Steve. I'm so sorry." He could tell she was fighting tears, just as he was. After several long moments, he heard her sniffle and clear her throat. "What do you need right now? What can I do?"

He sighed. "I don't even know where to start," he admitted quietly, head in his hands.

"What's the situation there? Is the ranch secure?"

She was taking charge, so he didn't have to.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "I've got, uh, eleven dead hostiles, plus Cole and Joe. The house is still standing but has been shot to hell. I need to secure the weapons," he chuckled humorlessly, "it's quite an arsenal, you'd be impressed. All the vehicles are shot to hell, too, so I'm not going anywhere right now, except to return the horses."

"Horses?"

"Yeah, from Joe's neighbor's ranch down the road."

"Ah. Someday you'll have to tell me that story," she said lightly, and he smiled in spite of himself. "Is the neighbor home?"

"No, Joe sent them away."

"Smart man," she commented quietly. "Are there any other neighbors we need to be concerned about?"

"No, we should be good."

"Okay, good. I'm gonna arrange for a cleaning crew as soon as you send me your location, okay? Then I'm getting on the first flight going in the right direction and will be there sometime tomorrow. I'll let you know my flight information as soon as I have it, all right?"

"Cath, you don't—"

"Not up for discussion. I'll be there as soon as I can." When he didn't respond right away, she became concerned. "Steve? Are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was, uh, I was hoping… but I didn't-"

"Now you don't have to ask, okay?"

"Thank you, Cath, really. I…"

"Hey," she said gently, "you'd do it for me, right?"

"You know I would."

"Let me make a couple of calls and I'll call you back, all right?"

"Yeah," he murmured and disconnected the call, then sent a pin with his location to her phone. Then he got up off the chair and found a warm coat before making his way back outside. He mounted one of the horses and led the other back down the road to the neighbor's property. Several minutes into the walk Catherine called him back.

"Hey, Cath."

"Hey. The cleaners are on the way, but it will be several hours given your remote location. I told them you'd meet them on site."

"Yeah, I can do that."

"I'm catching a military transport from Andrews at 0700 and I'll land by 1000 local time."

Steve was pleasantly surprised. "You're in D.C.?"

"Yeah, I am. So, I'm going to see you in the morning, all right?"

Steve took a deep breath and exhaled. "Yeah, that's good. I'm, uh, I'm going to find a car and meet you there, all right?"

"What? No, Steve, the drive will take you hours. You don't need to do that."

"What else am I going to do, Catherine? The cleaners will be all over the ranch, I don't really want to be here anyway. And it's not like I'm going to get much sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I picture him, Cath," he admitted, his voice breaking. "And I can't shut off my mind. It's like there's a mental checklist on repeat. I need to make arrangements for Cole and Joe…"

"We will," Catherine reassured him. "But none of that needs to happen tonight."

"Yeah, okay," he agreed quietly. "My team, uh, identified who's behind the hits – Omar Hassan. I'm gonna take him down, Cath. And the lawyer from Denmark who set it all in motion, Gregers Thomsen."

"Hassan? As in…"

"Yeah, the son of the HVT we took out on that op."

"Jesus, Steve."

"I know. All of this to avenge his father's death. But he missed one. He missed me and I'm gonna get him, Cath."

"We are going to get him," she corrected. "I'm in this with you all the way, whatever you need."

"Thanks, Cath," he told her sincerely. "Has there been any update on Greer?" he inquired of the CIA traitor who'd provided to the enemy the identifies of Steve and the other men on his team.

"No, she's in the wind. But we'll get her eventually."

Steve nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Listen, I'm almost back to the neighbor's place and I, uh, need to deal with this, all right?"

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Stay safe, sailor."

"I will. See you soon," he replied softly and disconnected the call.

When he arrived back at the neighbor's property, he removed from the horses the rope halters he'd fashioned and made sure the animals had food and fresh water then left them in their enclosure and started the slow walk back to Joe's.

He realized he needed to get back in touch with his Five-0 team back in Hawaii, having left them hanging hours earlier. He also realized that he didn't want them involved in what would happen next, and knew that the others, especially his partner and Junior, wouldn't like it.

Because of his military training, Junior would stay away if ordered to do so, at least for a while. But, Danny, not so much. Since Danny was on the mainland visiting colleges with his daughter, Grace, he doubted the other man was even aware he had left the island. He had made the choice to keep his friend in the dark, but of course, he would find out eventually, and Steve regretted that it would fall to someone else to break the news.

As he walked, he thought about what he would tell them. They knew his current location, but if he turned off his phone, they wouldn't be able to track where he traveled next.

He and Catherine could work on their own for a while, but there was no question that he'd eventually need a team. But, would that be Five-0 or would he need to seek outside help? Members of his team had followed him to Korea, Morocco, and Mexico despite being told to stay away. And each time, the mission wouldn't have been a success without them.

But there were dark parts of him they'd never seen. Not even Danny. And it scared him that they might look at him differently if they did. No, he needed them to stay away and he'd have to be sure they didn't have a choice in the matter.

When he got back to Joe's ranch he hesitated before going inside. He really didn't want to be there, to spend any more time there than he had to but knew couldn't leave until the agency's cleaners arrived. He sighed heavily and made his way back into the house. He was unsurprised that it looked exactly as he had left it, but that didn't make it any easier to see.

He moved over the small table, righted one of the chairs, and sat down with his phone in his hand. After considering carefully what he wanted to say he composed an email to Lou and sent it off on their encrypted server.

Lou,

Thanks for all you did, but Joe didn't make it. There was nothing anyone could have done. I appreciate your work to I.D. Thomsen and Hassan but as of now, I'm ordering the team to stand down on this. I know you would be here if you could and I hope you all know how much that means to me, but what I need from you is to let me do this on my own.

And Lou, it needs to stay quiet. I can't stress that enough.

I'm leaving here tonight and won't be back for a while. Tell Danny he can't go kicking down doors to find me. And tell him not to worry. I know he's not going to be happy about it, but I want him to have this time with Grace. I won't be alone, but I need to let someone else have my back on this one and I need you all to trust that I know what I'm doing. Keep doing the good work that you do and look out for each other.

Steve

He was not surprised to see a call come through from the big man less than three minutes later, but he sent it directly to voicemail and finished his message to Junior.

Junior,

I sent a message to Lou for the team and assume you've probably already seen it. This message is only for you.

I know how much you want to be here to back me up and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, but I need you to stay away for now. Do not try to find me.

I expect there will come a time when I'll want your help and I'll reach out when that happens. But I want to keep the rest of the team out of this. You know I trust any of them to have my back, but this is going to get messy and they don't have the background we do - I know you know what I mean.

Please take good care of Eddie and tell him I miss him.

Steve

After he sent the second message, he turned off his phone and put himself to work. The first order of business was to clean himself up. He showered, toweled himself off and tended to the stitches Junior had placed after his encounter with the lone assassin who had attacked in his home on Oahu. He knew he was lucky to have survived, three of his former teammates hadn't been as fortunate.

He changed the bandages on his right thigh and left chest before getting dressed and then applied a clean adhesive bandage to his upper arm and cleaned and re-wrapped his forearm. He then proceeded to inspect the new wounds, sustained as a result of the siege he had just survived. He checked the cuts on his face and, determining none of them needed stitches, placed a bandage on the gash on his forehead that had been a result of the RPG that had killed Cole. He then closed the smaller wounds with butterfly bandages as needed.

He thought about eating, but didn't have much an appetite, so he set to straightening up and then moving the weapons back to their designated spaces in Joe's impressive armory before moving outdoors to disarm the few remaining mines they'd set around the perimeter. As he worked, he thought about how this had been his plan. He was the one who had suggested yanking Joe out of the obscurity of his presumed death, luring the hitters here to Joe's ranch and taking them out. He'd wanted to do it alone, but Joe had known better, and Steve grudgingly admitted to himself that his mentor had been right. Eleven against one would have been nearly impossible odds in this situation, but he would have gladly given his life if it meant keeping the Joe and Cole safe. And even though he knew they felt the same way about him, it didn't erase that it was his fault they were dead.

He moved back inside, gathered Cole's belongings, and packed them into his bag, then did the same with Joe's. He paused when he saw a folded photograph in the side pocket and gently lifted it out, opening it to see the man he'd loved like a father smile out as him from the image. He recalled the first time he'd seen the photo and couldn't believe it had only been a few short hours earlier.

He and Joe were working to set up the M240 in the bedroom when Joe sent him to the armory to get cotter pins. He made his way across the hall and spied the bag. "Yo, side pocket?" he called out to Joe in the other room.

"Yeah," Joe called back.

Steve located the requested items but something else caught his eye and he withdrew it from the bag and unfolded it. It was a photograph of Joe with his arm around a beautiful woman with dark skin and hair, both were smiling. He gazed at it for a moment, committing to memory the image of his mentor and father figure looking so incredibly happy.

"What happened?" Joe called out. "You get lost?"

"No." Steve refolded the photo, replaced it in the bag, and returned to Joe who was assembling the base. He handed off the cotter pins and lifted the gun so they could work together to mount it.

Steve held his tongue for as long as he could but lasted only a few minutes before asking the question and hoping he wasn't overstepping. "What's her name?"

Joe shot him a look. "Zahra."

"Zahra. Okay, Zahra," Steve replied softly as they handled the weapon. "Love in the sunset years of your life. Who would've thought? Where'd you meet her?"

"Nairobi, where I've been living."

"Uh-huh. She a civilian?"

Joe sighed heavily. "Pediatrician. Are these questions going to come to an end eventually?"

"How did you get a beautiful doctor to be with you?"

The older man smiled. "Your guess is good as mine."

"Uh-huh." Steve grinned as they continued working. "Well, I'm happy for you. Why Nairobi, though? Why'd you land there?"

"Good people. Strong coffee. Figured I'd spend some time there when I hung it up."

"You haven't been contracting, huh?"

Joe shook his head. "No. A year as a prisoner on a dirty cot gives you a lot of time to reflect on losing a step." Steve nodded as Joe moved to pick up the case of ammunition. "Plenty of sleepless nights to realize that it's a younger man's game," he said as he slid the metal box into place.

Steve closed the latch and locked it in with his fist.

"Good to go." Joe turned toward the door. "Time for Cole to take overwatch," he commented as he exited the room, and Steve watched him go.

Looking again at the photo, seeing how happy Joe and Zahra looked, Steve realized he wanted to meet her and tell her in person that Joe was gone. He wondered if she'd know who he was, how much Joe had told her about his life before he arrived in Nairobi. He knew it would a difficult notification, but with Catherine by his side, he'd be able to get through it.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Since the story is already basically complete you can expect regular updates going forward.