Thanks for sticking with the story and I can't apologize enough for the delay on this final chapter - I never expected to need this long to finish the updates. What I originally intended to be minor revisions ended up taking on a life of their own and basically tripled the length of what I already had. I ended up having to put it down a while and come back to it before I finally got a handle on it, but this is the end result. With everything I added, it ended up being the longest chapter in the entire story by far. I sometimes wonder if I should have just stuck with what I originally had, but it's too late to go back now! So, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Righting a Wrong
Chapter 15

On the plane from Laos back to Montana, Steve had again selected a seat next to Catherine, but this time in the midst of the others. And the conversation was lighter, more spirited, thanks to the success of their mission. Catherine inquired about Wade's retirement, what he'd been doing, how his family was, and he mentioned that he'd been wanting to get back to Hawaii for a visit which turned into a discussion about everyone's history with the 50th state.

They all knew Steve had spent his formative years on the island and that Danny had moved from New Jersey, but nobody except Steve knew that Catherine had lived on Oahu for a few years when she was a teenager. Wade's first experience with Hawaii had been a family vacation decades earlier but he hadn't lived there until later in his career when he was tasked with leading SD Team One.

"How about you Junior?" Gutches asked.

"I grew up on Oahu," Junior explained, "and went back after I processed out a couple years ago."

"Went home, huh? I hear that."

"Uh, no, not exactly. I mean, it is home. But I actually went back with the goal of working for Commander McGarrett on Five-0."

Wade was intrigued. "Well, it sounds to me like you achieved that goal, and I bet there's a story there. How did that all come about?"

"My master chief knew the commander and always spoke very highly of him – said he was the best he'd ever worked with. I heard about the task force he'd created on the island and I wanted to be a part of it. So, after I landed on Oahu I caught a cab to his house and rang the doorbell."

"Seriously?" Wade asked with a chuckle

Steve laughed as he recalled that morning. "Yeah. I opened the door, cup of coffee in hand, and there he was, introducing himself to me and telling me he needed a job."

"And that was it?" Wade inquired.

Steve shook his head. "No, not exactly. I, uh, I told him that I wasn't hiring on Five-0 but would be happy to make some calls for him. He very politely declined and told me he wasn't interested in something else. He wanted to work for me."

"I appreciated the offer," Junior explained. "But I didn't want a job frying potatoes or painting houses. I wanted to work with McGarrett on Five-0, continue to serve in a different way."

"So," Steve picked up the thread again, "a few hours later we were in the middle of a case and Lou came in and said he was just looking out the window and thought I needed to see what was going on – it was Junior washing my truck in the parking lot."

Wade chuckled. "I bet that got your attention."

"Yes, it did," Steve confirmed. "And I got to admit, I liked what I saw. He had a goal and was clearly determined to get there. He took initiative and I admired that. He kind of reminded me of me."

Junior looked up sharply and met Steve's eyes. The young man was honored by the comparison and his mentor knew it and nodded slightly to confirm he'd meant what he said.

"I, uh, told him to meet me back at HQ the next day," Steve said, "and he was there early, just like me.

"On time is five minutes late," Junior stated quietly while exchanging a look with Steve. It was something that had been drilled into them in the military.

"Yup," Wade agreed, and Catherine nodded.

"So," Steve continued the retelling, "I got him upstairs and he took a look at the offices, it was nice to see his reaction."

"I remember that day," Junior said, thoughtfully. "Walking over the seal on the floor, seeing all the dark wood and glass. The weapons cache on the wall, the computer table in the middle with the screens. It's the whole package, the way it's laid out is very functional. I was definitely impressed." He studied Steve for a moment. "You designed it, didn't you?" he asked, pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"Yes, I did." Steve confirmed. "I'm so comfortable there now most of the time I don't even notice the space anymore." He shrugged. "That's why it's nice to see it through other people's eyes sometimes." He glanced around at the others. "Anyway, I introduced him to Duke Lukela and told him he needed to get through the police academy and then I'd give him a spot on the team."

"And you made it through," Wade stated, without question.

"Yes, I did." Junior looked over at Steve. "But I never really understood, sir, uh, Tani didn't finish, and she was hired just before me…" he inquired, respectfully.

Steve nodded. "No, she didn't. But her background is different than yours and mine. I knew what kind of training you had and that you could do the job. But I remembered that making the transition from SEAL to cop wasn't always easy for me, so I wanted you to go through the academy, learn police procedures the right way. And you excelled at it," Steve grinned. "That day, early on, that I stopped by the range? Your instructor said he didn't think you were HPD material. I asked him why, and he clarified that you were probably the best raw talent he'd ever seen; you had speed, strength and agility – the whole package."

"So, why wasn't he HPD material?" Catherine asked.

"Hastings said Junior reminded him of me. I guess, uh-" Steve chuckled, "-I guess he was trying to say I might not be the best fit for a, uh, a more traditional role at HPD."

Danny laughed. "Yeah. He'd be right about that. Can you imagine Steve walking a beat?" He said to the group then looked over at his partner. "Grenades of any type are not standard issue, buddy."

Everyone else joined in Danny's laughter; even Steve finally gave in. "All right, all right, fair enough," he said, shaking his head with a grin.

"I'm not sure I could walk a beat either, sir," Junior said, in a gesture of solidarity.

"It is a far cry from pulling an HVT out of his hidey-hole, that's for sure," Steve commented.

"Hoo-yah," Wade called out and Steve and Junior both echoed it.

"Thank you for always looking out for me, helping me make that transition," Junior said to Steve. "For taking me in and making me part of your life. It's more than I could have ever hoped for."

"You're welcome, buddy. Thank you for showing up on my doorstep two years ago," Steve replied sincerely. "I'm glad you came looking for me."

Junior nodded. "It has been a wild ride, though. Remember that week I was assigned to shadow Five-0 which turned into a week in quarantine?"

"And then Danny almost died," Steve added softly and with a glance over at his partner.

"I bet that's a story," Wade commented with a low whistle.

"I don't think I've heard about this one," Catherine added softly.

Steve looked again at Danny and then over to Junior and shrugged. "Start at the beginning," he instructed the younger man.

Junior explained how a woman had been found clinging to a life raft offshore from Waikiki and they tracked her back to the yacht she'd been on the previous evening. Satellite images showed what appeared to be prone bodies on the deck so he, Steve, Danny and Tani had traveled out to the boat. They'd discovered eleven dead, sent tissues back to be tested and then learned they had all been exposed to a biological agent that was fast-acting; eight to ten hours from contact to death.

Catherine reached over and placed a hand on Steve's thigh, squeezing gently. "My God," she murmured and looked over at Steve then back at Junior. "That's terrifying."

"Yeah, it was pretty scary," Junior agreed. "But we had to stay positive, right? It's not over until it's over. I remember Tani asking how I stayed so calm, knowing we were probably going to die. And I told her about how most recruits in the SEAL program don't quit BUD/S during a test – they quit just before because the fear about what they're about to go through makes them want to throw in the towel," he explained as Steve and Wade nodded their agreement. "But if you're still walking and talking and you can stand, you're still in the fight. You can't let what's in your head beat you."

"Whatever you did must have worked, because you're all still here," Catherine pointed out.

"Yeah, it did," Steve took up the story. "We figured out it was accidentally released on the boat when one of the vials broke. Based on the number of vials in the case it was probably intended to be released into a larger area like Waikiki when the boat returned to shore. But the guy who'd brought it on board didn't show signs of exposure, so there must have been a vaccine or antidote. Junior and I searched every inch of that vessel and it wasn't on the boat, so it was up to the team back on the island to find it, and I believed they would come through."

Junior looked over at Steve with obvious admiration. "You did. I remember you telling us we could sit around planning our funerals, but that there was an antidote out there and Lou and Jerry were going to find it. And you were right. They did. You never gave up hope." Junior chuckled. "You have to admit it was close, though. It was like seven and a half hours after we got exposed that we finally got it."

"Too close," Danny grumbled.

"When the helo arrived," Junior explained, "we were in the middle of a huge storm – it was raining, visibility was terrible, and the deck was rolling under us. They dropped a cable and Tani secured it to the rail and they sent the case down. But a huge wave swamped the boat and the line broke, the case went into the water." He looked over at Steve. "I spotted the case, but the commander wouldn't let me go in after it, so he went himself. And he got the case and we got the antidote in time."

Steve studied the younger man for a moment. "You saved my life, that day, you know," he said then addressed the others. "What Junior didn't tell you is he jumped in after me and got me out."

Junior brushed off Steve's statement. "The seas were as rough as I've ever seen them. and we were all feeling the effects of the virus. I was definitely sick."

"I was, too, no doubt about it," Steve admitted, "and I was in trouble out there."

"You would have done the same thing for me," Junior insisted. "For anyone."

"You got that right," Steve confirmed with a grin.

Catherine squeezed Steve's leg supportively. "I thought you said Danny almost died. It sounds like you all almost died."

"Oh no, that came later," Steve clarified. "There is definitely more to the story."

"Yeah," Danny said gruffly. "We were quarantined for a-a week. Got to spend that time locked up in like the world's smallest apartment with three other people and big glass windows, like a, uh, fishbowl or something. It was, uh, it was not pretty. On the-the last day, we got like six hours left and Tani, Junior and I were playing this monster game of Go Fish – yes, we were that bored – while Steve was, uh, shaving his head—"

"I was not shaving my head," Steve corrected and turned to Catherine, "it was a buzz cut," he told her. He looked around at the others. "It was a buzz cut."

"Buzz cut, whatever. Anyway," Danny continued, "a guy in a HazMat suit came in. We're, uh, we're thinking it's the doc, but no, no it wasn't. This guy pulled a gun on us, smashed all our phones, and made us tie our hands. He asked me if I remembered him, and then he shot me," he said with a wave of his hand. "he shot me, uh, in the chest."

"Wow, Danny. That's awful and… kind of scary. So, he knew you, but you didn't know him?" Catherine inquired.

"No, not at the time. We figured out later it was this idiot ex-husband from this abuse case I worked back in Jersey like twenty years ago. I, uh, I helped his wife get away from him and got him put away for a long time. It would seem that, uh, that he was very good at holding a grudge."

"So, what happened?" Wade asked, clearly intrigued.

Steve picked up the story. "The, uh, the door was wired with an explosive device, so we were locked in. The glass was two inches thick, so we couldn't break it-" he grinned and looked over at Junior, "-although you got to give Tani credit, she tried."

Junior chuckled. "Yeah, she did. But, she-she used a fire extinguisher to bust into the wall in the bathroom and broke a pipe, figured when the room flooded and water started leaking downstairs someone would come."

"Smart," Wade commented.

Steve nodded. "Agreed. She's a great kid. She actually reminds me a lot of Catherine," he said then flashed her a smile.

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Wade said with a grin. "So, I assume somebody eventually came to check on you?"

"Yeah," Steve confirmed, "but it took a while. In the meantime, we, uh, we got Danny on a monitor and were able to keep him stabilized using the oxygen the shooter brought in with him. Then when help finally showed up they called in the cavalry. While the bomb squad tried to figure out how to dismantle the device a doc talked me through a, uh, a finger thoracostomy. Basically, I-I cracked Danny's chest open and wiggled my finger around inside to uh, release the air pressure that was building up around his heart." He shrugged.

Junior picked up the thread. "The commander was amazing in there. He, uh, kept his cool, like it's the kind of thing he does every day."

"I'm just glad I was unconscious," Danny chimed in. "So I don't got to remember any of that."

"So, how'd you get out? They defuse the bomb?" Wade asked.

"No," Steve replied. "They ended up blowing one of the shared walls, but the charge was too small and only made a hole. So, Grover went at with a sledgehammer until it was passable, and they got Danny out and into an OR."

"What about the rest of you?"

"They had to test us for the virus before they could let us out. But we were cleared just before Danny came out of surgery."

"Well, that is quite a story," Wade commented with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Yeah, unfortunately, just another day at the office with this guy," Danny deadpanned.

Steve looked over, feigning insult. "You know, that hurts. That hurts because that time the guy was after you. You can't blame that one on me."

"Fair enough," Danny agreed. "In this one instance. But you have to agree that, uh, most of the time it is your fault. I'm just saying."

"My fault? You don't know what you're talking about. Most of the time it's me saving you, buddy," Steve responded and everyone around them recognized the familiar pattern of banter.

Catherine laughed. "I'm just gonna, uh, go sit over there," she said to nobody in particular and moved to take a seat next to Junior.

Steve relocated closer to his partner.

"Oh, you want to sit next to me, now?" Danny commented lightly.

Steve frowned. "What-what does that mean? You want me to get up?"

"No, you can stay."

"Can you believe it's been a year since that happened? Time flies, you know?"

"Yes, it does. All of a sudden Grace is gonna be graduating high school and Charlie is almost seven already."

Steve shook his head. "Wow. That's true. Hard to believe."

Neither spoke for several moments and then Steve sighed and looked over.

"I'm sorry, Danny."

"For what, exactly? You got no control over how fast my kids grow up."

"For, I don't know… for-for keeping you in the dark about everything that happened after I left Hawaii, for not dealing with your arrival better, for being distant these last few days. It's been a lot to deal with and I needed to focus on the mission."

"I appreciate the apology," Danny looked over at Steve, "and you're forgiven."

"Thank you."

"You know, uh, despite knowing that you had valid reasons for not wanting me to come here, I'm actually glad I did, because I understand it now, and I, uh, I might not have if I hadn't seen it for myself."

"Seen what?" Steve inquired, a question on his face.

"That Catherine was the person you needed to get through this. You two were, uh…" he gestured vaguely, "simpatico, uh, on the same page, reading each other's minds - whatever.

When it comes to this kind of thing, she thinks the same way you think, maybe it's the military background or all the years you've known each other, but it was like, uh, two peas in a pod, uh, peas and carrots—"

"Birds of a feather," Steve added with a smirk.

"Yes, smartass, like that," Danny replied with a sweeping motion. "Catherine, uh, she-she told me that you were a SEAL on this one, not a cop. And that, uh, that made sense to me. It, uh, it made me think back to how you were when you first came back to Hawaii. Believe it or not, you've mellowed since then, but I get it. That, elite, special forces, ninja soldier is always in there, but you don't got to bring it out all the time. And I get that's why you didn't want to involve me or Lou or the rest of the team except Junior. But, buddy, we already know that's a part of you and we love you anyway."

Steve chuckled and flashed his partner a lopsided smile. "Thanks, Danny. But you know as well as I do that knowing about it and seeing it in action are two different things."

"I do. I do know that. Especially now. And, uh, seeing it, seeing you two together, seeing how she had your back… I know you were in good hands, buddy."

Steve nodded. "You know, uh, I didn't ask her to come, didn't expect it, but I hoped, you know… She knew what I needed, that I needed… her and she put her life on hold. She was with me, Danny, every step I took, and she helped me get through, uh, what I had to deal with and…"

"And if there's stuff you still need to deal with you know I am here for you, buddy. Anytime. Whatever you need."

"Thanks, Danny. I appreciate that. How's, uh, everything been with you? How are the kids? Did Grace find any colleges she liked?"

"Wow, that's old news, Steve."

"Yeah, I guess I have a lot of catching up to do."

Danny nodded. "Well, I-I got to drive my own car for a month, that was, uh, that was pretty nice. We resolved a hostage situation a few weeks ago, uh, without a shot fired, by the way. Why is it that criminals are less crazy when you're not around? Come to think of it, until I traveled to Laos with you nobody had pointed a gun at me in over a month, why do you think that is…"

Steve sort of tuned his partner out and looked over at where Catherine was conversing with Junior. His soul ached with the knowledge that it wouldn't be long before they would be parting ways. But it was time for things to return to normal.

He sometimes still had difficulty believing that their lives had gone in such separate directions after so many years migrating toward each other. She had been part of his world for seventeen years and was the first and only woman he had ever been in love with. For the first eight years of their relationship they were separated by distance and duty, both kept busy with their responsibilities to the Navy. Then in September 2010, about six months after his sojourn with Catherine to Greece, his life had taken a dramatic turn. He'd lost his best friend and SEAL brother, Freddie Hart, and his father within a week of each other and he had never been the same. Freddie had been a casualty of the final push to capture Anton Hesse and, despite the loss of his honorary brother, Steve had felt that he was closing in on the end of his five-year mission. But the operation had gone sideways and he'd been forced to listen over an open phone line to the gunshot that took his father's life.

He'd returned to Hawaii with the intention of burying his father and tracking down Victor Hesse, the man who had pulled the trigger. But within twelve hours of landing on Oahu he'd discovered a mystery his father had left for him to solve and decided to stay. He had found a new purpose in his Five-0 task force, formed a new 'ohana and reconnected with his sister, Mary, from whom he'd been largely estranged for almost twenty years.

He'd investigated the clues his father had left behind and looked into his mother's death, identifying a new nemesis in Wo Fat. A year after returning to the island he'd been framed for murder and then cleared. The year after that he'd learned that his mother wasn't actually dead; she was a former CIA officer and had faked her death all those years before. Further, he discovered that Joe White had known about it the entire time and actively participated in keeping Steve in the dark.

But through all the upheaval, his one constant had been Catherine. Whether she was deployed on the Enterprise, on TAD at NAVCENT, or living full-time on Oahu, it was always her. It had always been her.

In the early years of their relationship, when his unit had been deployed overseas for months some of his teammates had worried about their families back home or wondered if their girlfriend was stepping out with someone else. But he'd been thankful to never have had those concerns. His team was his family. He loved his father and his sister, of course, but his brothers on the team were what kept him sane in his everyday life. They bunked, trained, and worked together. They had each other's backs, lived through the same life-harrowing experiences, celebrated shared victories, and agonized over shared defeats. Catherine understood that and would never have asked him to choose between her and them.

She was his anchor and he'd always been grateful to avoid the personal drama and just focus on the job. He and Catherine both put their duty to the Navy first and neither placed unrealistic demands on the other. It was typical that they would go long stretches of time without communicating and cherished whatever time they had together. He never had any reason to question her commitment to him, just as he never wavered in his commitment to her.

He recalled spending time in bars with the team – it was a common gathering point after they'd finished an op or during their downtimes. Without fail there were always women who would approach the sailors, many of them a special sort dubbed 'froghogs' who were a sure thing when it came to team guys. They would make eyes at him, send lingering glances his way, and he'd know they were his for the taking if he'd wanted to have them. But he never did.

One-night stands weren't necessarily his thing, anyway, but Catherine was the only one he wanted in his bed. From the moment he'd asked her to the Army-Navy Gala there hadn't been anyone else. Other women just didn't interest him. None of those other women were as beautiful, as exciting, as intelligent as Catherine. He had no interest in being a conquest for someone who only wanted the bragging rights that they'd slept with a SEAL. He'd never met someone else who would be able to understand and challenge him like Catherine did. The power she had over him and the things she could do to him with just one look…

He was always hers for the taking, but she'd never taken advantage, not once, unless he'd wanted her to. They had always functioned as a cohesive unit, a team, in both their professional and personal lives. He'd never wanted anyone else because he was in love with Catherine, although he had neither realized it nor admitted it to himself at the time. It was always her. They had both always known that the other was out there and that was enough to carry them both through until they were together again.

Then three years after he'd settled back in Hawaii when she was stationed at Pearl-Hickam and living on the island full-time he'd almost lost her forever when she was kidnapped and used as leverage against him. He'd gotten her back and he and the Five-0 team had successfully neutralized the enemy so in the end it was counted as a win. But the possibility of losing her the same way he'd lost his father had terrified him and left him shaken to his core. He had been willing to do anything to get her back, including acquiescing to the kidnapper's demands, albeit with a backup plan.

The thought that her relationship with him might put her as risk had unsettled him and he had finally been able to relate to what had driven his father to send him and Mary away after he thought their mother had been killed. Sending Catherine away was not an option for Steve, though, as he couldn't bear the thought of not having her in his life. But he realized years later that after that experience he had been keeping her physically close while starting to allow more emotional distance between them.

In 2014, less than a year after the kidnapping, she'd been contacted by a friend, an Afghan man named Amir who told her that his teenaged son, Najib, had been taken by the Taliban. Catherine was determined to help and unwilling to wait for the red tape that the military would need to go through before any sort of rescue could be mounted. Once she explained to Steve that Amir, at enormous risk to himself and his family, had saved her life several years before he understood her determination. She owed these people a life debt, and he felt he did as well. If it hadn't been for Amir and his family, Steve would have lost the love of his life seven years earlier.

But the very idea of what she planned to do had sent icy tendrils down his spine and he tried, in vain, to dissuade her even though he knew, deep down, that he would not be able to talk her out of it. So, he could either help her or get out of her way and he agreed to contact Joe White to get her into Afghanistan under the radar. Arrangements were made but he wasn't willing to let her go alone. He realized this must have been how she'd felt when she insisted on accompanying him into North Korea to retrieve Freddie's remains and bring them home. So, he'd surprised her at the airport and accompanied her on the mission.

They'd arrived in-country and learned the leader of the Taliban faction that had taken Najib and several other children was a high-value target the U.S. military had believed dead for two years. They were able to track the group and developed a plan to hijack the trucks transporting the precious cargo. They'd stopped the convoy and freed the kids, but Steve had been captured by the Taliban, and Catherine had had to choose between going after him or keeping the children safe.

She'd chosen the latter, as Steve had wanted, and been forced to watch them load him into a truck and drive away. But she had been able to get a call out to Danny with instructions to contact Joe who arranged for a special operations team to rescue Steve and take out the HVT everyone had thought was already dead.

After the rescue, at the base hospital, Steve had been questioned by military leadership and the CIA. He'd refused to give up Catherine or the source of his intel, so they'd arranged to have him summarily escorted out of the country. And though he'd had no choice, the agony of leaving her behind had been almost crippling. The week of not knowing her status, whether she was even still alive, had been absolute torture for him. He'd just arrived back at his house, tired and sore after traveling all day when she'd finally called. The joy and relief at hearing her voice had flooded every inch of him, but it had been fleeting because her mission wasn't complete; she hadn't located the boy.

And he'd known, at that moment, that she wasn't coming home because he knew her, better than anyone. He'd needed to do something, anything, so he offered to return to Afghanistan to help her in her search. But she'd turned him down and he knew he'd never find her if she didn't want him to.

After so many years of geographical distance between them, he'd gotten used to having her with him full time – taken for granted that he could fall asleep next to her every night and wake up next to her each morning.

Until he couldn't.

He'd left her behind, and she wasn't coming home until her mission was finished. And at that realization, he'd closed his eyes and given in to tears as he felt his heart break into a million tiny pieces. He understood her reasons but that didn't make it hurt any less. After experiencing the permanence of being with her full-time for two years the idea of being apart again for an indeterminate amount of time had unsettled him. It felt like an ending and he didn't want it to; he wasn't willing to let her go. He needed to be sure she knew how he felt about her, because he'd never actually told her.

"I love you, you know."

Words that had taken him almost twelve years to say, and he'd expressed the depth of his feelings for her over a phone line while she was thousands of miles away. Those three little words had rolled off his tongue so easily that he regretted not telling her sooner. There had been hundreds of times when he could have stood in front of her and said them to her face, but something had always held him back. So, he'd promised himself that when she came home, he would try harder.

He hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath while waiting for her to respond until she did.

"I love you, too."

Her words were what he'd hoped for, and he welcomed them, but he honestly wasn't prepared for how hearing them would affect him. They'd been like a balm for his heart, a warmth that washed over him, restoring and making him whole again. They had calmed and centered him somehow and he'd known they would be okay. He believed she would do everything possible to return to him and he trusted her to.

"All right. Good luck, Cath."

"Thanks… Aloha."

He'd appreciated her choice of word and she was right. It wasn't a goodbye - they would see each other again. In Hawaiian 'aloha' means more than just 'hello' or 'goodbye' - it also means affection and peace and was the perfect sentiment.

They'd settled into a new routine, communicating as often as possible while he waited for her to complete her mission and return home. She did finally complete her mission; she found Najib and returned him to his family. But she didn't come home. Instead, she decided to stay in Afghanistan, told him she'd found her place and that he shouldn't wait for her. But, even then, he hadn't been willing to let her go and he'd kept waiting like she'd waited for him once upon a time.

His patience had finally been rewarded a year later when she had surprised him on the beach behind his house on the eve of Kono's wedding to Adam. Seeing her again had made his soul sing and he'd welcomed her back with open arms. Their reunion had been interrupted by work - a weapon of mass destruction on the island - and he'd looped her in on the case to draw on some of her navy contacts and to try and spend as much time with her as possible. They'd finally had a chance to talk the day the following day, and he'd asked the question he'd been dreading, not sure he wanted the answer.

"So, after the wedding… how long are you planning on staying?"

"I don't know," she replied softly. "How long do you want me to stay?"

He felt warmth rush through every inch of him and had to catch his breath. Forever. His answer was forever.

But he never had a chance to say it because he was interrupted by yet another phone call. And though they'd never actually returned to the conversation, he'd thought she planned to stay. Hoped she did. A short time later he'd purchased an engagement ring and planned an elaborate proposal.

But the day before he intended to finally tell her how he felt and ask her to be his wife he'd come home to find her waiting on the porch. She'd packed a bag and was leaving for Nepal because a relationship with him wasn't enough. And in the midst of his heartbreak, he'd told her he couldn't wait for her, not anymore, and suspected at the time he might never see her again.

He'd tried moving on, but he hadn't been able to let Catherine go, not really. He'd tucked the ring in a drawer and eventually been able to get rid of the toothbrush she'd left in the bathroom. He'd met Lynn and they started dating; a few months later he'd deleted Catherine's contact from his phone in an effort to try and put her behind him.

About six months after she'd left, he'd learned the real reason she'd gone – that she was a covert operative for the CIA and had been ordered to go – and that her life was in danger. And in that moment, it hadn't mattered to him that she'd lied about being a CIA field operative. It hadn't mattered that'd she'd broken his heart. All that mattered was that he still cared deeply for her and would have moved heaven and earth to save her. And he had.

He felt Catherine had left him behind because he'd waited too long, had wasted too much time. He'd been in love with her for more than a decade, but he'd still only told her one time, over the phone. He'd planned to tell her in person when he proposed, but what had he been waiting for? He still didn't know the answer to that question.

About a year after she'd gone, she'd unexpectedly arrived at his doorstep to whisk him away to Morocco to help rescue his mother from a CIA black site. Although the idea of seeing her again had initially unsettled him, the more time they spent together the more right it felt. As if no time at all had passed, they fell into the easy rhythm they'd always shared. They completed their mission and parted as friends, though not as close as they'd once been. Finally, with no more secrets between them, they had a proper goodbye. He'd realized he still had room for her in his life and his heart. Their relationship would never be the same, but something new and different had been formed in its stead.

About eighteen months after Morocco she'd turned up at HQ unexpectedly, seeking his help to track down some depleted uranium. That time he hadn't had any qualms about seeing her, and again it was just like old times. They'd had an honest conversation about dating other people, agreed they were friends again and congratulated themselves on their maturity while traipsing through a jungle on Kaho'olawe in search of clues about a terrorist. After all, they had been close friends before they started dating. They had agreed that sleeping together probably hadn't been the best thing for their friendship, although neither of them would ever regret having taken the relationship in that direction.

If you took away the spike pit, gunfire, and explosions, it had been nice to catch up. They'd had a meal with the rest of the 'ohana where Catherine got to visit with Adam, Lou, Jerry, and Kamekona as well as getting to know Tani and Junior a little bit and meeting Steve's dog Eddie. At the end of the day, Steve and Catherine had parted with the knowledge that they could be in each other's lives as friends.

The thing was, though, that having her back on the island, even for a short time, had reminded Steve of what he'd once had and made him take a look at his life. He'd broken up with Lynn a few weeks later because he realized he didn't see a future with her, and it wasn't fair of him to hold her back from finding someone else. Despite Danny's encouragement, he hadn't been interested in dating anyone else.

His life went on and he'd kept busy. He and Danny had attempted to open an Italian restaurant, a stressful and expensive venture that was unfortunately likely doomed from the beginning. In the end, they'd sold out to Kamekona and put that experience in the rearview mirror. Work kept him busy – there was always something happening on the island that required Five-0's attention. Before he knew it, almost a year had passed since he'd seen Catherine and he was picking up his phone to call her after the siege at Joe's ranch.

And now he was facing the prospect of saying goodbye to her again, after weeks spent in her company. Even though she hadn't really been part of his life for over three years, he knew he still cared deeply for her, had never stopped. Their personal mission to Afghanistan had been the beginning of the end for them, but they'd somehow found their way back to each other and had been slowly repairing their relationship. It had grown over the years to carry him through to where they were now.

But he wasn't willing to really open his heart to her again until the time was right. They weren't there yet, neither of them was prepared to make that kind of commitment, to put the other person above everything else. But hopefully someday when they were both ready, they would again have something more.

"…Earth to Steven. Hey, buddy, you with me?"

Steve looked over. "Sorry. I was, uh…"

Danny looked at him for several moments then tipped his chin in Catherine's direction. "What's, uh, what's going on with you two?" he asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean? I-I mean what's going on with two? You, uh, you getting back together? I mean, you're sleeping together, ri—"

Steve's warning look was enough to shut his partner down and he shook his head. "It's between us, Danny, all right? Me and her."

Danny put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Fair enough. Can I just ask, uh, is she, uh, she getting off the plane in Montana or coming to Hawaii with us?"

"She's getting off," Steve confirmed quietly.

"Is that her choice or yours?"

"Both. Neither. It's…" Steve scrubbed his hands down his face. "She has a job, Danny," he finally said. "She needs to get back to it."

Danny tipped his head as he studied his friend. "But you're gonna miss her," he stated unequivocally. "You spent a lot of time together recently, it makes sense. Besides, any idiot can see it."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna miss her. I'm going to go, uh, talk to her, all right?"

Danny watched his partner move over to sit next to Catherine. It was obvious to him that the goof still had feelings for her. And, if he was being honest, he wasn't surprised. He'd been witness to their relationship for years and knew what they'd once shared ran deeper than he'd probably ever understand. If he was being honest, at times he'd been envious of their relationship, how long they'd made it last, and how easy it seemed for both of them.

But maybe that was part of the problem. One of the reasons they were so perfect for each other was that Catherine was like the female version of Steve. They both understood duty and were loyal to a fault, driven, ambitious, and out to save the world. She could never sit around waiting for Steve to come home and he would never want her to. But he knew they couldn't save the world forever; time would eventually take its toll.

He wondered if maybe someday Catherine would leave the CIA and be able to find fulfilling work on Oahu. Though he knew there could be challenges - even though she was immensely qualified and would be an asset to any employer, she and Steve may have to contend with people who hoped to exploit her direct access to him and Five-0. The thought that maybe Steve would retire from Five-0 and leave the island to be wherever Catherine was sent a chill down his spine, but it wouldn't be realistic to completely discount the possibility.

He didn't believe either of them had any sort of concrete plans to resume their relationship. But he knew Steve longed for a family of his own and didn't understand why the man wasn't making more of an effort to settle down. He'd been with Lynn for years but had broken it off and Danny still didn't fully understand why. He'd been encouraging his partner to date, but it was like talking to a brick wall. What was the man waiting for? Was he waiting for Catherine, and potentially willing to forego kids just to be with her? She had devasted him when she'd gone, and Danny never wanted to see his best friend hurting like that again. But losing Joe was another huge blow from which Steve would need to recover and Danny wondered if he'd ever be able to fully get past it. Catherine seemed to think he would, and she knew him better than anyone else. She was correct that he'd finally moved on after the deaths of Freddie Hart and his father, but Danny knew it had taken years and she'd been there to support him during that time.

It suddenly occurred to him that she'd already been supporting Steve for weeks and helping him cope after Joe's death. His partner seemed like he was in a good place and Danny didn't know if that would have been possible if not for Catherine's presence at his side.

Despite his misgivings about how she'd broken Steve's heart, he realized she was still good for his partner and suspected the former SEAL knew it, too. And if Steve truly was waiting for Catherine, he hoped they would find their way back to each other before it was too late to have the life he knew Steve wanted. He had suffered through so much and deserved to someday have a happy ending.

Steve caught Junior's eye as he made his way across the aisle and the younger man spoke to Catherine and moved to take a seat near Danny. Steve settled on Catherine's other side.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey."

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just can't believe you almost died from a weaponized virus and I had no idea at all about it," Catherine said quietly.

Steve shrugged. "It's not, uh, something for the Christmas card, you know?"

"I know. I get it. It's just the reality, you know, that I… I don't occupy that place in your life anymore. The transplant, the radiation poisoning, these are huge things that you've been through that I…" She sighed heavily. "Spending almost every moment with you these last few weeks, I realized how much I miss being part of your life full-time. How much I've missed you and everyone back on Oahu. My life… it's kind of a lonely existence, you know? The holidays always make me nostalgic, and I was thinking about the last ones we had together. Remember that Christmas Eve I was on leave when you picked me up at Kamekona's wearing a tux and whisked me off to a romantic dinner? I wasn't expecting it at all after you faked me out with that breakfast at Rainbow."

Steve grinned. "Hey, I can plan an op with the best of them. Do you remember after that meal we stayed up pretty much all night long ushering in Christmas in our own special way?"

Catherine blushed and nodded. "Yeah, I remember. That night was, uh… pretty amazing." She bit her lip gently. "That's one of my favorite memories of us."

"Mine, too," he told her. "Also, that, uh, that Thanksgiving when Mary was in town with Joanie and Aunt Deb surprised us. Remember the turkey was frozen and we couldn't get one, so we all ended up at Nicky's place, at the Tiki bar?"

"I do," Catherine agreed with a smile. "I remember how excited you were to have everyone there and despite the setbacks it turned out to be a great holiday."

"Yeah, it did."

"You did that, you know - made it really special, arranging for Deb to sing. It's a really nice memory." She placed her hand on his leg and looked over. "I'm sure you must miss her."

"I do, I do," Steve confirmed. "And so does Mary. I think it's even harder for her, knowing that Joan never knew Dad and she might not remember Aunt Deb."

"I'm really glad I got to know her; she was a great lady."

"Yeah, she was," Steve agreed. "She, uh, she really liked you. A lot. She was disappointed when she found out we weren't together anymore," he said softly. "Every time I saw her, she asked about you. Even the last time she visited, just before she died, she asked again. I told her… uh, I told her that you'd gone and didn't think I'd ever see you again. That was, uh," he sighed heavily, "that was before I found out about the Agency, what you were really doing, that you'd been ordered to go. She, uh, reminded me that's it's never too late to find love and I think she always hoped that we would, uh…" He shrugged.

Catherine looked up and squeezed her eyes shut.

"What… Cath, what is it?"

She shook her head gently and swiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's not you. It's just… on top of everything else, I didn't keep my promise to her."

"What promise?"

"Remember on Thanksgiving after she got arrested you asked me to pick her up at the station and take her back to the house? She didn't want to go back right away and asked me to take her to the most beautiful spot on the island, so we drove out to Waimanalo Bay."

"Your favorite place," Steve murmured softly.

"Yeah." She nodded slowly, touched that he remembered. "While we were there, she told me she had a feeling I'd be sticking around for a while and asked if I would see to it that you and Mary stayed close because you were going to need each other once she was gone. I told her I would because at that moment I couldn't imagine a time when we wouldn't be together…" She waved a hand helplessly and sighed heavily.

Steve reached for her hand and rubbed his thumb soothingly over the back of it. He looked over and smiled sadly. "You know, Mary and I did stay close, and you had something to do with that. You used to remind me that even though we'd missed a lot of years, I would always be Mary's big brother and Joanie's uncle. I still think about that."

She smiled gratefully. "That's good. You need each other."

"Yeah, we do," he agreed with a nod. "Mary asks about you sometimes, too."

"Really? I would think she hates me."

"Well…" Steve made a strangled face. "To be honest, she was pretty pissed for a while. But we've talked about it and she knows there were circumstances beyond your control. She knows you and I have made our peace with everything that happened and we're good now."

"So, I shouldn't be worried about meeting her in a dark alley somewhere?" Catherine joked lightly. "I mean, your sister's pretty scrappy."

Steve laughed. "She is. But I think you're good."

"Would it be weird if I asked you to say 'hi' to her for me the next time you talk to her?"

"I don't think so. You'll send your parents my best?" he asked, then backtracked quickly. "Unless that's not a good idea."

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze then released it to tuck her hair behind her ear. "No, it's fine. I don't get a chance to talk to them often, but they still ask about you, follow your career when it makes the news," Catherine reassured. "He's never said as much, but I think my dad is pretty impressed with what you've done with Five-0, and maybe a little envious."

"Well, tell them if they're ever on the island to look me up. I'd be happy to see them."

Catherine studied him for a moment. "You would, wouldn't you?"

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course. Your folks were always great to me. They treated me like one of the family and I will always be grateful to them for that."

Catherine smiled. "They always liked you. I think they were kind of hoping we'd settle down and give them some grandchildren. My mom still drops hints sometimes, even though she knows I've been a little too busy to date anyone, much less get married and have a baby."

"I thought you were dating."

"I was a little bit last year," Catherine acknowledged, "which is pretty much code for a couple first dates that never went anywhere."

"Ah." Steve tipped his head and changed the subject. "You know what I was thinking about?"

"What?"

He looked over at her. "When you came back for Kono's wedding. Danny had asked me if I was bringing a date and offered to set me up. I, uh, very quickly and firmly told him 'no' because I honestly wasn't interested." He shrugged. "You and I… we were together a long time. And even though you'd told me to not to wait for you I just, uh, I wasn't ready at that point to try to move on with someone else, you know? It wasn't that I missed having a woman in my life – I missed having you in my life. I didn't want to take someone else to the wedding just to have a date on my arm, I would have rather gone with you. After that conversation… well, you were on my mind a lot that night and when you showed up in the backyard the next morning part of me wondered if I'd somehow conjured you." He smiled sadly. "I was so happy to see you. I don't think I ever really told you that and I'm not sure why, I—"

"I knew," she interrupted quietly. "Of course I knew. I felt the same way."

Steve sighed. "Yeah. But maybe if I'd told you how I felt, what I was planning…"

"I can play that game too, you know," Catherine said softly. "What if I hadn't come back for the wedding? I still would have gone on that op in Kiev and you still would have figured out the truth about where I was and what I was doing. Maybe we would have reconnected later, without all the lies and the hurt feelings…"

"Maybe." Steve gestured helplessly. "Maybe not. You know, my mom always says everything happens when it's supposed to happen. I always thought she was quoting a fortune cookie, but maybe there's some truth to it. We can't change what happened or the way it happened. But we found our way back to each other, and I know that I still want you to be part of my life, even if we're just friends for now."

"Not just friends. Never just friends. You were always more to me than that, even before we started dating."

"You, too," Steve agreed with a smile. "Danny used to give me so much shit about why I wouldn't call you my girlfriend. I think he thought it was because I wasn't willing to make that commitment or something."

Catherine chuckled. "I remember."

"I don't think he ever really understood that the word just wasn't right because you were always so much more to me. You were always my closest friend, the person who knew me better than anyone else."

"I felt the same way. You know that, right?"

Steve nodded. "Always. Sometimes I wonder why I felt like I could tell you anything except how I really felt about you."

She shrugged. "You didn't have to say it. I knew."

"I remember having a conversation with Danny once about him telling Gabby he loved her. It was the same day as El Condor, actually. The, uh, the Palace was under siege and we were in the basement - I was in the middle of doing CPR on the nephew and Danny started randomly talking about how Gabby was back in town."

"Really?" Catherine asked incredulously.

Steve laughed. "Yeah, it's Danny." He waved his hand. "I don't know… Anyway, I told him that he needed to be sure about his feelings before he said something like that to her because once you say it you can't unsay it because it's a serious thing."

"That's true," Catherine agreed. "It is."

"It took me twelve years to tell you that I loved you. And I did it over the phone when you were thousands of miles away."

Catherine smiled sadly, remembering. "It still mattered, though. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Steve sighed. "I just still don't know why I never told you sooner."

"I do." She looked over at him. "Back when we were both active duty, even though we were always committed to each other we couldn't really have a traditional relationship since we couldn't always communicate regularly and rarely saw each other in person. We needed to keep it… I don't want to say 'casual' because that makes it sound like less than it was, but neither of us was in any place to think about settling down, right?" She held his gaze and he nodded his agreement. "What we had worked for us, and I think that thinking of our relationship in those terms and saying those words to each other would have made it more difficult to maintain. We didn't need them anyway. I knew how I felt about you and how you felt about me. Then when we were together on the island full time and our relationship started to change, to become more stable… I don't know… it just wasn't our way, I guess. I thought about saying it once or twice, but I wasn't sure you were ready to hear it. I'm not saying you don't have feelings, because I know you do. I know you feel things very deeply. But I also know that you were trained to process and compartmentalize your feelings, and you are very, very good at it. You've had to be. I never wanted to put any pressure on you so I thought it would be better to leave that ball in your court."

Steve looked over and nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think you're probably right about that."

She studied him for a moment. "It doesn't matter now, you know that, right?"

"I know. All we can do now is move forward."

She nodded. "I really like having you as part of my life again. So, you'll at least call me about any life-changing events, right? Or if you ever need me – for anything?"

"I promise. Same goes for you."

"You got it, sailor."

Steve looked around and noticed the rest of the group seemed to have fallen asleep. He checked his watch and realized they had a long time left in the air before they arrived in Montana.

"We should probably try to get some sleep. You want a shoulder? I can't vouch for how comfortable it is."

She leaned against him and sighed. "I couldn't ask for a better pillow. Thanks."

They gazed at each other for a moment before closing their eyes and trying to get some rest. Although neither was looking forward to going their separate ways, they were both thankful for the time they'd had together and the ability to reconnect. Steve was right – all they could do was move forward and they had plenty to look forward to.

After about a days' worth of traveling, they landed back at the airbase in Montana where Wade and Catherine would depart. Lucia had arranged to fly Danny, Junior, and Steve back to Oahu, so after a short refueling stop, they would be airborne again. Steve had been away from the island for about six weeks and he looked forward to getting home.

Wade and Catherine made their goodbyes to Danny and Junior and prepared to take their leave. Steve stood as well and told his companions that he was going to see the other two off, so Danny and Junior stayed put while the three of them made their way down the ramp.

Gutches pulled Catherine into a hug. "It was good to see you," he said, sincerely.

"You too, Gutch. Take care of yourself, all right?"

"You got it," he replied. "You, too."

Steve exchanged a look with Catherine, silently asking her to wait while he took a minute with Wade, and she took a seat at the end of the ramp.

"Hey, Wade?" Steve said as they walked side-by-side along the plane. "Thanks for everything, man."

Gutches turned to look at him. "It was fun… mostly. My advice to you, though: find yourself a good woman, a boring hobby, and… first chance you get, retire."

Steve chuckled. "All right. I'll give that some thought."

Wade grinned. "No, you won't." He studied the younger man for a moment. "Joe would've been proud of you, kid. I know I am," he told Steve sincerely and patted his shoulder before heading to his motorcycle.

Steve turned to walk away from the plane, stalling because he wasn't sure he was ready to say goodbye to Catherine. He heard her approaching and sighed heavily before finally turning to greet her.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So, what's next for you?" he asked.

"Uh… back to the grind. You know, protecting the homeland. Chasing bad guys. Yada, yada, yada," she said lightly.

"Thank you so much, Catherine," he said, knowing that he'd never be able to express to her how much he appreciated everything she'd done for him. "We couldn't have pulled this off without you."

She nodded. "He was a great man, Steve. We both owe him a lot."

She was correct; Joe had done a lot for both of them over the years. But it occurred to Steve that there was one thing that he'd never told her even though it had been on his mind recently. "You still don't know, huh?"

She looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Joe wasn't just my mentor. A father figure. He brought you into my life, Catherine."

"How's that?"

"Do you remember when I called you to ask you out that first time, for the gala, and you asked what took me so long?"

"Yeah," her eyes grew distant as she recalled the conversation. "You said, uh, you said that you had taken some advice from a friend."

"Joe was that friend," he told her softly. "After he saved my life on that op, basically carried me out, he, uh, he told me I could pay him back by finally asking you out. I'd told him I didn't want to screw up our friendship. And he said that-that you were a keeper; smart, pretty and could assemble a rifle in under 30 seconds in the dark." He noticed her small smile at his words, even as tears formed in her eyes. "And he told me he could clearly see how I felt about you and that the feeling was obviously mutual, so I was stupid for not wanting to risk our friendship. And he was right, Catherine. It was worth the risk. You know, we'll never know what might have happened between us if the situation had been different. Maybe we would have eventually gotten together, but even with everything that's happened between us I wouldn't give up those years with you for anything," he told her softly. "And I will always be thankful to him for that."

"I'm really glad you took his advice," she said as tears leaked from her eyes.

"I am, too," he whispered as he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Part of him still couldn't believe they were going their separate ways after spending so much time together. He had no doubt he would miss her, but the timing wasn't right for there to be anything else between them. Not yet, anyway.

"You take care of yourself, okay?" she told him.

"You too, kid," he replied and watched her walk away, already feeling her absence. He believed that this wasn't the end of their story. They may be closing another chapter, but there was much more to be written.

And apparently, she knew it, too, because about halfway to the vehicle she turned back. "Hey, until next time," she told him and gave him a Shaka sign.

He mirrored her actions and then stood and watched her get in the SUV, start the engine, and drive away. He didn't take his eyes off the vehicle until it was out of sight; and then she was gone. And he nodded as he watched her go, because there would absolutely be a next time. She was a part of him, part of his soul and always would be.

End

A/N: Thanks for sticking with this through the end - I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Although I consider this complete for now and am marking it as such, I have sketched out an idea for an epilogue and will add it to this story if I can manage to turn it into something.

If you're interested in my post-finale story, I already have quite a bit of it done, although I keep rethinking some of the major plot points, so it's probably not going anywhere fast. But I do plan to stick with it, even though I know there are a bunch of post-finale stories out there already. I haven't read any of them yet so as to keep my mind clear for my story, but I expect there are some really good ones from other authors. I usually don't like to publish a story until it's complete, which would mean it could be a while longer, but I'm considering going in a different direction with the next story, as it might be nice to update as I get new ideas. Either way, I do have every intention of finishing it and getting it posted for those who would like to read it.