Trust

Summary: Things between Steve and Catherine end in a bad way after he finds out that she's been withholding information on his mother. That should have been it, but neither had counted on fate to keep dragging them back.

Pairings: Steve/Catherine, some OCs mixed in for a little (or a lot of) drama and misunderstandings, maybe some Danny/Gabby, Kono/Adam

Warning: excessive cuteness? Also, not beta-ed.

Chapter 19: Epilogue

Steve tried to distract himself by thinking of his and Catherine's relationship of the last few months to keep from adding his own exclamations to her screams when she nearly broke his hand again. He'd been taught to endure pain, but not even BUD/S could have prepared him for being in the delivery ward. One hand being trapped in a vice grip by Catherine, he tried to caress her brow and hair soothingly. She'd refused pain meds because of the potential harm they could cause their baby, and Steve had perhaps never admired her personal strength more, and never felt so helpless in his life. The pre-natal courses they had attended together and the long discussions with the doctors had been entirely ineffective in giving him any kind of knowledge on how to handle this situation. His nerves were everywhere, he couldn't remember what he'd had for breakfast, much less a single thing that had been said during the courses, and he wasn't even the one giving birth.

They'd come a long way in the past few months. Catherine had changed gear, and even let her mother coddle her as she had promised herself she would. The two women still didn't see eye to eye sometimes but they got along. Connor had turned out to be mostly fine. A few calls had revealed that he had been healing from a bullet to the leg in a combat hospital in Kandahar. Still walking on crutches, he was waiting outside with the rest of their family. Steve still had his episodes but he had them under control, and he had only managed to reluctantly get himself to attend a few couple sessions with Catherine as the months flew by. He had to admit they'd helped a lot. The two had moved in together after a long temperamental discussion of whose house would be the new home. Commander Klesko had, at one point, jokingly threatened to lock them in her office together until they had sorted it out. At the new glint in their eyes she'd raised an eyebrow, and the two of them had closed themselves into Danny's office as it was as neutral a ground as they would find. After much discussion – and some complaints from Steve's partner – they had finally decided to try to keep both places. Day to day living was great at Steve's house because of the private beach, but in case of a tsunami Catherine's place was a safe retreat. Fortunately, they had a lot of help. Thanks to Kamekona and Danny, the big softies, they had enough baby stuff to last them three kids without having to pass anything down; Catherine had sent him a warning glare when he had mentioned this. Because he upheld that Steve liked manuals, Danny had handed him an old, worn book titled "First steps as a daddy" under which he had scrawled "...don't mess it up". At the question where Catherine's book was, the detective had simply told him that he trusted her to have instincts. Steve chuckled and shook his head clear of memories. He wondered briefly what their friends and family waiting outside were thinking about the amount of noise coming from the room. Kissing Catherine's forehead he tried to concentrate on being supportive.

"Alright, we're almost there. Just one more push," the doctor announced, but Catherine was shaking her head. Her face was pale and contorted from pain and exhaustion.

"I can't. I can't," she whispered closing her eyes to fight the pain.

"Sure you can, Cath. Come on, we're so close. Don't you wanna know what we're having? You wanted it to be a surprise, remember? Come on, honey, surprise me."

"I hate you, you know."

Steve chuckled in good humor. She'd been saying that for hours. "I know. I love you too. Now push, one more time, for me."

Another scream filled the room, soon joined by a smaller but equally agitated voice. Steve and Catherine looked at each other laughing as a nurse wrapped the newly born baby into a blanket. She handed Catherine the little bundle before the washing, letting the new parents admire their creation.

"You have a beautiful baby boy," the nurse informed them proudly.

Looking down at the tiny face, half-hidden by the blanket, Steve's breath got stuck in his throat and his heart nearly stopped beating. He watched Catherine coo at their little boy, tender fingers brushing his face. He was still screaming but calmed down slowly at his mother's continued attentions. Steve took a small step back, and made a picture with his smart phone; the first moment that they welcomed their child. Catherine chuckled, and motioned for him to return to the two of them. He followed like he was being pulled by a string, and nuzzled her cheek. She then handed him their son, and had Steve scramble to remember the correct position again. His agitation got him a blink and a little whimper from his boy.

"He's perfect."

"Took a lot of work," Catherine teased him.

"You know I love you... So, hello there..." The only thing they hadn't sorted out despite multiple arguments on the topic. Danny had eventually taken to lock his office and carry the key around with him 24/7 so that they couldn't sneak in early in the morning or stay overnight.

"John," Catherine supplied helpfully but Steve frowned.

"I told you I'm not sure that's such a good idea. The name John McGarrett is cursed, look at my dad and me."

"Who said anything about McGarrett?", Catherine asked.

"How about as a middle name. We could name him after both our fathers. Thomas John... Rollins, McGarrett, Rollins-McGarrett; I don't know, are you one who'd hyphen?" Obviously the first name had not been the only thing they had failed to clarify. This was something they had never talked about. He tried to remain serious but the situation was simply too comical. Her nose scrunched up at their hyphened names in that cute way that made him kiss her every time. She gave an appreciative sound at the soft press of his lips on hers but didn't respond to his quip.

"We can discuss that at length, sailor, later. Wanna give him his first bath before you introduce him to the others?", she suggested softly. Now it was Steve's nose who scrunched up as he looked down at their little boy. The contortion earned him a giggle from their baby that instantly smoothed his features until only a broad smile was left. He could do with keeping Tommy to themselves a bit longer. Catherine snorted when he said as much. "You do realize," she replied, amused, "that Kamekona is gonna storm in here any minute now."

Well, there was that. He kissed Catherine on the forehead again; she looked half-asleep from exhaustion now that the adrenaline was wearing off. She'd refused any meds, and he'd never thought of her as any braver than she'd been in the past thirteen hours. She deserved some rest. So he surrendered to this fate, and went to wash their son under the watchful eye of a nurse. It was an incredible feeling, to hold such a small person in his hands, and be completely responsible for them. His son cried at the shock to his senses when the water touched him, but Steve's careful, steady strokes soon quietened him. And, to be quite honest, the soft coos and little noises of surprise and admiration that came from their ohana when he exited were well worth it.

End

A/N: Yep, that was it. I put them through the ringer throughout eighteen chapters to get their trust in each other back, so I figured they deserved some cheesy moments welcoming their son. I picked the traditional route for baby names, but I really appreciated all your great ideas. Might use them in future fics, so stay tuned...