McRoll Fanfic--Breathless

Now remember this is my first attempt at a McRoll fanfic (Commander Steve McGarrett and Lieutenant Catherine Rollins from Hawaii Five-O) so be gentle in your critique!  I hope you like it McRoll fans!

Breathless

One Shot
Right After North Korea Mission

Steve hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane.  Memories of Freddie flitted in and out of his mind, making him miss his old friend even more.  Catherine’s fingers tightened around his, as if she could read his thoughts.

“Almost home.”  She turned in her seat and winced, her hand going to her side.

“Your ribs still hurting you?” he asked, sitting up a little straighter so he could see her better.

“It’s nothing,” she said again, but he didn’t believe her.  The pained look on her face told him what she wasn’t saying.

“You need to let me bind that.”  He leaned down to grab his duffel and get the medical tape out of the side pocket.

“Steve, I’m fine and besides, these seats are too close together. There’s no way you could tape my ribs right now.”

He grinned.  “Is that a challenge?”  Unzipping the bag, he pulled out the tape and held it up.

Catherine laughed, but sucked in a breath at the movement.  Tears started to pool in her eyes.  “Okay, it’s actually getting bad enough that I want you to try whether we’re on a plane or not.”

Steve adjusted his position, bending a bit to get a better look at her injury.  Raising her shirt to see her lower ribs, his fingers brushed over her bare skin.  He felt the jolt of awareness go through both of them at the contact and he smiled.  The connection they had was something he could always count on and it had been that way since the beginning.   He let his hands slide around her back, slowly and carefully pressing on different points as he made sure no ribs were actually broken.

“I thought you were going to tape my ribs,” she said, her voice breathless at his ministrations.  And possibly the fact that his hands had wandered a bit.

“I am.  In a minute.”  He bent closer to her until their noses were almost touching.  The dim light in the cabin cast shadows over her face and Steve reached up to cup her cheek in his hand.  He tipped her chin upward, watching her.  She’d stood by him, risked her life to help him.  There wasn’t even a word for what he felt for her in this moment.  “Thanks for helping me bring Freddie home.”  His voice was hoarse and the words faltered as he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip.

She pressed her cheek against his palm, her eyes never leaving his.  “You’re welcome.” 

He gently brushed his lips against hers.  He intended to make it short, but the second he kissed her, the desire to be closer to her and for her to know how he felt about what she’d done washed over him like a wave he couldn’t control.  He pulled her against him, tasting her, wishing they weren’t on the plane.  Catherine reached up, putting one arm around his neck, returning the urgency.  He let his hand drop to her throat, feeling her pulse pounding under his thumb.  With a groan, she pulled away, leaning her forehead against his.

“Steve,” she whispered.

He knew it was selfish of him to kiss her right now, but he couldn’t resist.  He just wanted to be near her, and what had happened in North Korea had only deepened that feeling. 

He pulled away a bit so he could look at her.  She traced his eyebrow, her wandering touch soft on the new scar he’d received on their mission.  “Does this mean you’re admitting defeat?”

“Defeat?” he asked, tempted to kiss her again.

“That you can’t tape my ribs on a plane.”

“No, definitely not defeat.  I'll admit I was distracted maybe.”  He gave her a lazy smile. 

She sat back, lifting her shirt to get a look at the bruises she’d sustained.  “As enjoyable as that was . . .”  she looked down at her bruises then back up at him with expectation. 

“Got it.”  Leaning over, he took the tape and tilted her back in her seat.  With deft hands he bound her as tightly as he could.  He did it fast, hardly able to bear the pained gasps she couldn’t suppress.  “Almost done.”  She gritted her teeth and let him finish without a word.  Or maybe she couldn’t speak through the pain.  Steve’s stomach churned at the fact that he could have lost her.  If even one more thing had gone wrong in North Korea, it might have been a lot worse than cracked ribs.  He took a deep breath and put that thought out of his mind as he smoothed the last bit of tape over her ribcage. She was here with him.  Safe.  “Better?”

“Much,” she said, slowly letting out a bit of air,  “as long as I don’t breathe.”

He carefully pulled her against his shoulder as best he could, tucking her there.  Where she fit.  Where she belonged.  “I’ll try harder not to take your breath away, then.”

She chuckled and snuggled into his side.  “Thanks. You’re so thoughtful.”

He stroked her hair until he knew she was asleep, his thoughts on her and Freddie and Kelly. Freddie and Kelly had waited too long to see what was right in front of them.  Steve didn’t want to make the same mistake with Catherine.  He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.  Maybe it was time to start making some plans.

Want to read some of my other McRoll fanfics?  

Click here for Let's Go Home

Click here for Safe Harbor

Click here for The Long-Awaited Dinner

Click here for Always

Click here for the Season 5 Finale Fic