McRollins ( Steve/n McGarrett and Catherine Rollins ) Oblivious and Inevitable

Oblivious 10/ ANOTHER TIE

McGarrett/Rollins Residence
8:00 p.m.

Danny had taken Steve up on his offer of a beer when he'd dropped him off. Catherine was due home shortly, and the two friends sat outside in companionable silence until a snicker escaped Danny's lips. "I can't believe the freaking prison matron hit on you." Danny busted his partner, thinking back to that afternoon when they'd gone to interview an inmate and the guard had tried to give Steve her number.

Steve rolled his eyes and was about to retort when Catherine appeared on the lanai. Kicking off her shoes, she came up behind Steve's chair and placed a kiss on his head. "Another one, huh?" She chuckled. "Should I be worried?" She'd heard Danny's comment as she walked outside.

"Maybe." Danny laughed. "This one might just be able to take you. Hell, she might be able to take Steve..."

"Danny?" Steve said calmly.

"Yes, Steven?" Danny winked at Catherine.

Steve raised his beer as if to toast his friend. "Bite me."

Danny laughed harder. "That guard definitely wanted to..." When he stopped chuckling at Steve's exasperated expression, Danny looked at Catherine. "So, Cath, when was the first time you noticed Steve was oblivious?" He asked as she took a seat on the arm of Steve's chair, picked up his beer, and took a swallow.

"Oh, just after we met." Catherine smirked at Steve's look and patted his chest when he made a grumbling noise.

"What? That's when I noticed. At Annapolis, when the other plebes would offer to do, um, errands for you and you'd just look ... like that..." Cath pointed to his puzzled expression.

"Goin' on that long, huh?" Danny chuckled.

Catherine kissed Steve's cheek and took another sip of his Longboard before handing it back to him. "I can only confirm what I've witnessed, but the first time it happened after we ..." She looked at Danny and motioned between herself and Steve.

"Had a thing?" Danny snorted and she started to laugh. "Seriously Cath, I've been mocking this big bachagaloop about that term for years." He shook his head and indicated Steve with a tilt of his beer bottle. "Doofus."

"I'm right here. I can hear you." Steve groused, but his eyes were soft when he looked at Catherine.

Danny made a dismissive wave in his best friend's direction, toasted Catherine, and said "Please, go on."

Catherine continued with her story. "We were doing laps in a hotel pool. There were only a few people there and Steve bet me I couldn't break my record from the day before."

Steve grinned at the memory and took a sip of beer. His competitive streak had always been well matched by Catherine's.

She returned his smile and said, "Of course I took the bet and we got out of the water. Me to dive in on 'go' and him so he could mark my time. And this ensign comes in and starts giggling with her friends and looking at Steve to get his attention."

"Let me guess, no reaction." Danny smiled, remembering all the women he and Steve had encountered during their partnership. In a club; driving in a convertible; at crime scenes; and his partner's reactions, or lack thereof. Danny rolled his eyes.

"You calling me clueless, Danny?"

"I'm calling you oblivious, Babe, and please shut up because you're interrupting again."

Catherine shook her head with a smile. "Where was I? Oh, yeah. When Steve paid absolutely no attention to the flirting display, she went over and started to chat him up while I was swimming. I got out of the pool, and she looked at me like 'disappear, bitch' when Steve introduced me." She shook her head. "When he put his arm around my waist and handed me a towel, she pretty much growled at me and left. After she was gone, I figured Steve was just being polite. We were together, and on a seven day leave; and he never flirted with other girls."