Always

Chapter 1

AN: Aloha guys! Since we are all wondering what might have happened between Steve and Catherine in the month between Joe's death and Danny's arrival at the ranch, I thought why not put some of my ideas into writing. Therefore this focuses on the relationship between Steve and Catherine and not on them avenging Joe's death. This might become an AU at some point, but I am not sure about that just yet.

I really appreciate that y'all are taking the time to read (and review) this story! That really means a lot to me...but now have fun reading! I hope you like this story :)

Joe's ranch, Montana, 0800 hours

Steve had stayed with Joe for hours and only returned long after the sun had set. At some point he had even gotten himself to lay down to at least try and get some sleep, but even though the exhaustion in his bones had let him sleep at some point, he woke up just mere hours later, bathed in sweat and breathing heavily. It was pretty cold, considering that it was early December and the sun hadn't risen yet, but he barely noticed it. Steve was sitting on the steps leading to the small house, starring into the distance, but he wasn't really noticing his surroundings. Yet, a little part of him was always on alert - something that had stuck with him from his military training - and he knew that he wouldn't be safe as long as he didn't find Greer.

Everything seemed to hurt; every muscle in his body felt sore and his heart felt more broken than it had in a long time. As much as he wanted to avenge his friends' death, he had been forced to deal with loss from a very young age onwards and he was just so tired of fighting. He buried his head in his hands, as he could feel the tears prickle in the corner of his eyes again. How the hell did he end up here? With yet another loss?

He considered calling Danny or somebody else from his ohana back in Hawai'i, but the last thing he wanted to do was endanger them for something he did. He was sure that he was gonna need some back-up though and the one person that would not only be the perfect asset, but at the same time the only person he really wanted to see, was no longer a part of his life. The last time he had seen her was about 8 months ago, when she had come to O'ahu to enlist his help to find a terrorist. They had easily returned to their witty banner, one of the things he had always enjoyed most about their bond, and as right as it had felt, it had felt wrong at the same time. Especially when she had left again.

Before he could actually think his actions through, he had already fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and dialed her number. He had deleted her contact information about three years ago, but he still knew the digits by heart. It was one of those things he would probably never forget. The rhymtic sound coming from the phone was somewhat unnerving and the realization of what he was doing hit him like a punch in the gut. However, before he could change his mind and hang up, the monotonous peeping sound was replaced by the sound of someone breathing.

"Hello?" her all to familiar voice asked. She sounded somewhat sleepy and that was when he realized that she might be located in a totally different time zone. The guilt that already was a prominent emotion of his ever since Joe's death, intensified, even though it wouldn't have changed much had he thought about it, because he didn't know where the hell she even was located. "Hello? Steve?" Somehow she just knew that it was him.

"Catherine." he whispered finally and her breath hitched, when she heard his voice on the other end of the line. After all it's been almost 8 months since she had last heard it. "I am sorry..I didn't think about the time..difference."

"It's fine, it's fine." she assured him quickly, because it didn't really matter to her. The momentary relief that had filled her body the second he had answered, was slowly but steadily replaced by anxiety. Because even though she knew that he still cared about her, she was pretty sure that he would only call in cases of emergency. "Steve? Are you okay?" she asked, afraid to even imagine any other constellation.