I enjoyed.

One of the only good things about the fact that it took me so long to get my reviews done on your last few fics is that I get to spend the day re-reading your AMAZING stories.

You always do such a FABULOUS job with the little details that help set the scene for the reader and allow them to picture the action in their mind's eye, but you go over and above in this one. STELLAR!
Little things like Catherine slipping her phone into her clutch and Steve straightening his cuffs. AWESOME!

The physical actions, the SUBTLE yet BEAUTIFUL ways Steve and Catherine communicate through touch-you do a STUPENDOUS job of showing it here. And I LOVE the way you you carry it through the entire story, never dropping the detail. AMAZING.

LOVE her asking if he did everything he could to get them out of it. Heh. Such a very couple-y type moment. I've been on both ends of that question myself.

LOVE LOVE LOVE they way he zips her dress without having to be asked. GORGEOUS moment. And how he tells her she looks amazing. You do a SUPERB job of finding the beauty i everyday situations. GREAT WORK!

ESTHER! LOVE getting to know Esther a little better. ADORE that Steve picked her up food and that he knew she liked Kamekona's because Catherine told him. GREAT JOB!

Of course I LOVE Catherine's comment about them being eager for the kitchen remodel to be done. It was the comment that launched Worth Every Penny.

LOVE Catherine wanting to read Esther's work. A very Catherine-like thing to do.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Steve telling Esther to call for any reason. And not to hesitate. HEE

ADORE Grover the wallflower. Such a GREAT visual. You have captured his good-natured grumpiness PERFECTLY.

AWWWWW She was wearing Samantha's earrings. LOVE THAT!

LOVE Grace wanting a pic of Steve and Catherine. SO SWEET! And again the way Steve's hand moves from her back to her shoulder then back during this exchange. WONDERFUL!

LOVE Steve and Danny's bickering over Steve's smile. AWESOME! And Danny's-it's for Grace. So sweet. And such a PERFECT snapshot of their friendship.

And then you take the scene to a whole other level of AWESOME with Steve asking Danny to send him the picture. LOVE THAT!

GREAT JOB with the conversation with Frank Kaewa. LOVE the way it ties up the storyline from Intentions. VERY NICE WORK with the way Steve stiffens at the mention of Brandon Ward's name and then relaxes as Catherine's fingers brush up against his. You know how I ADORE finger love.

GREAT detail that Catherine and Gloria have lunch together. LOVE!

So CUTE the way she rolls her eyes when Steve offers his arm. It's such a nice statement on their level of comfort with each other.

LOVE LOVE that when they initially overhear the conversation the women are talking about how good Steve looks and then it takes a bad turn towards questioning Catherine's qualifications. Sadly that's the natural progression of that kind of conversation when nasty small-minded people are involved.

GREAT WORK with Steve's reactions through the whole exchange. Extremely POWERFUL without being over the top or out of character. LOVE LOVE LOVE! VERY NICE JOB with having Catherine put her hand on his arm to help calm him. AWESOME WORK!

"I don't follow local news." With that one line you perfectly convey her type. GOOD JOB!

LOVE LOVE LOVE your choice to have Governor Denning be the one who steps in, despite the fact the woman's husband is a big donor. WONDERFUL!

You do an absolutely AMAZING job showing Steve's continuing anger on the dance floor through his posture and silent. LOVE LOVE LOVE that his concern is for what others might think of Catherine, and what she might think-FLAWLESS characterization.

Their exchange about how he would not have offered the job if she wasn't qualified and she would not have accepted was PERFECT! As was his acknowledgement that she didn't need him to fight her battles.

Any evening with you is a good one. Awwwwww So SWEET.

And their identically contented smiles were the PERFECT end to an AWESOME story

PERFECT characterization all the way around, AWESOME dialogue, SPECTACULAR details both physical and emotional, a WONDERFUL original character in Esther-everything about this story is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

This is such a beautiful story of support and synergy, wrapped in a powerful statement. Actually several. The continuity of having the DA still feel remorse that such a scummy human being was in his employ, albeit without his knowledge, and his following up is perfect.

The governor stepping in to correct the catty woman about Catherine's place on the team. Also, nice continuity from the oblivious piece where the female officer was saying pretty much the same thing. Steve's reactions, so IC. He knows Catherine doesn't need his protection but he's there for her nonetheless.

The dance scene was just a collection of goodness. Steve reinforcing what he thought and felt, Catherine reminding him how she'd never think that he'd give her a job under anything but upstanding circumstances.

Finally, them leaving together because they'd so much rather be together than anywhere else.

Tis is a delightful piece! One I've read several times and loved more and more! Hugs, my friend Mari

Wonderful story! Loved it! I loved how they
all complained about how they didn't want
to be there!

I loved this. I love Steve ' s willingness to defend Catherine combined with his knowledge she doesn't need it. I was glad to see Denning step in.

I loved everyone's reaction to having to be there. And the way they felt about being political props. I think it captures the way lots of non political people feel about political events. While not exactly the same thing it's the kind of tension I see in DC between career civil service and political types all the time.

Great job!

great little story live it, Steve's reaction was well done never saw reaction of the Governor coming. good twist . would have like to see Danny reaction to find Steve and Catherine missing from the event.

It may be short, but there's something really heartwarming in this story. I won't name it the cutest, though of course it did brought a smile to my face, but I dare to say it, hmm, put things into perspective - and I mean it in the most good, positive way!

You gave us all the tiny, delicate glimpses into their intimacy and closeness, the simplicity and natural interaction, like Steve zipping her dress without a word. She didn't have to ask him for that, he just did it. And his fingers always somehow attached to her. I think it's not only the habit of touching Cath, nor the protective streak taking best of him - for all those years when they were separated, Steve and Cath grew to make every tiny touch important. They never knew when or if they will see each other again, so they memorized their bodies. And it sank deep, especially into Steve, who is actually more fragile and vulnerable than Cath. Even though they are now safe and builind a steady life together, he knows how things can turn upside down, therefore he craves her closeness constantly and needs to touch her, even in the most gentle way.

What I also love about this story is the fact that Steve reacts to the vicious words of those women. It's good they often don't care what other people think, but sometimes it needs to be faced and dealt with, you can't always ignore it. The line has to be drawn and a statement needs to be made. I think for Steve it's really hard not only because it's disrespectful towards Cath, but also makes him feel like a cause of it all - because all those women treat him like a prize, like an object and depicting Cath as a woman who gaineg her job because of sexual favors also diminishes Steve's competence. It suggests that he's in it just for sex, like his relationship with Cath is something brief and sexual only and he's using her.

Kinda mean to leave the rest of the team behind. They probably hate it just as much as McRoll...
I might actually start to like Denning. I'm never quite sure w/ him. He seems nice enough most of the time but there's just something about him that makes me wonder... (Might be bc of the last governor though)

I love the pride that Steve has in Catherine. It makes me love them even more. Thank you! :)

*sigh* lovely

Great, sweet story!

A fantastic mcroll, so thankful for your stories, really missing mcroll and not looking forward to season 5 without them. Please don't give up on them.

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Thank you.

Thank you for a wonderful story! It makes me extremely happy to know there are still going to be stories out there where Steve and Cath are still together. I'm going to really miss her on the show! :0( No one should ever replace her...they were meant to be together!

Nice of the Gov to step up and straighten out the gossipy biddy bodies.

Nice story.