A/N1: This is a post finale/Season 4 fic. I have to warn you though: I haven't actually seen the finale - couldn't bring myself to do it, so this is based on the gifs in the different tmblrs, combined with a little bit of wishful thinking.

A/N2: I do not own Hawaii Five 0. The show and the characters belong to CBS and the show runners. I'm really trying to be optimistic here, and the thing that keeps me positive is that after the third season - there practically isn't a single stupid mistake they didn't try yet. I guess it's only going to get better from here.

I know it's a bit short. I haven't figured out where this one is going yet. Please tell me what you think, I will appreciate it immensely and could use your intake on it.

Thanks, R.

Carelessness. It was pure carelessness on his part, he totally admits it. Pathetic really, for a man like him. You would imagine he could have shown enough self restraint for a few more hours. Apparently he wasn't as strong as he thought he was. Did he actually forget every fucking thing he was taught? every precaution? Fuck it, it's basic training's material. He's older now, self sufficient, a team leader for god's sakes, he has responsibility to things that are bigger than him.

He just wanted to take a look, you see? To make sure. To stand in her driveway for a few seconds and see her red car, that was stored in Chin's garage waiting for her return, parking there under the morning sun. To see her surfboard, leaning idly against the front wall, and to know that it's actually going to be used again. Soon.

He just wanted to see a light in the window, maybe see a curtain moves in the morning breeze. Fuck, he was driving past this house for months now, reliving its emptiness. He's entitled for some reassurance, right?

()()()

She called three days ago. It was an early Friday morning, and the number was blocked. He thinks it was international, that she was still out of the country when she picked up the phone. He was still asleep when he heard her voice, calling his name from the other side of the world, and it made him... He was awake in an instant... He sat on the bad, holding the phone close to his ear, and she had to call his name a few times, until he was able to answer, without... without letting her know that...

She said she's coming back. She sounded tired, and guarded, and when he asked a few general questions about Adam, she said she'll tell him everything face to face. She was quiet for a while, and he was so scared suddenly, that she's hurt, that she's sad, that maybe she thinks they are angry with her, that she won't be willing to...

"Are you coming back on the team?" he asked quickly, because he was so scared she was thinking he had already found someone else to replace her. Right, like if it could even be possible... She sighed and whispered "yes. If I can..."

()()()

He made her swear she'll report in HQ Monday morning. A small voice in his head told him she would probably need some time, to get settled at home, to meet her family, to see Chin... but... he couldn't risk it. He wouldn't risk it. He made her swear again, and she said she'll be back on the island the next day anyway, that it should be fine, that she's grateful... it felt so good suddenly, like everything is back in its place again.

()()()

He spent three long hours harassing the governor to let her back on the team. He screamed, and shouted, and pounded the table, until he got what he wanted. He agreed to a pay cut, to support her repositioning till the end of the fiscal year, agreed to a formal reassessment of the team's expenses, that the governor was kin on and he was able to block for a couple of years... He signed any form they gave him, and sat there and listened to the governor's reservations about the constant change in the team's personnel, but he couldn't care less. She was officially back, and her badge was in his hand when he left.

()()()

He was in Chin's office the second he got back to HQ. He stepped in, and the older detective probably sensed his agitated appearance, because he stopped working, leaned back and looked at him curiously.

"So..." he said slowly "I... have you heard from Kono?" he was never the one to tiptoe around a subject.

"Not recently" Chin frowned "no... why?"

To say that he wasn't felling elated that he was the only one she called, would be a lie. Her own cousin... He looked at Chin, somewhat embarrassed, thinking, perhaps she was just being professional, talking to her boss first.

"She's coming back" he said awkwardly, feeling guilty all of a sudden. The pure shock on Chin's face was making it even worse.

()()()

They cleaned and rearranged her office together, and the way they were concentrating on the task at hand, kept them from talking too much about the implications. Even Danny, chatty as he is, was trying to avoid the big elephant in the room. He asked Steve what she said, and he repeated the short conversation word for word to the both of them, and they asked about Adam, but he had nothing to give them, so eventually they were left with the silence, and the waiting.

()()()

He thought about searching the flights' manifests for her name, but when he realized he wasn't sure if he's looking for her name or for Adam's he changed his mind. When he realized he should probably not stay alone in front of the computer at that particular moment, he made his way to Danny's office only to find him and Chin looking at the manifests themselves.

"Nice" he spat, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Shut up, Steve" Danny told him, not even looking his way "don't play all high and mighty with us. You would have done it yourself if you weren't too obsessed with morals, codes and proper conduct."

"I wouldn't" he said unconvincingly.

"Okay" Danny looked at him pointedly "so I guess you don't want to know what we found..."

He could picture Danny's head smashed against the glass wall there and then, but at least he wasn't proud of it.

()()()

He thinks it was the longest weekend of his life. The fact that he survived to see Monday morning without losing his mind is no less than a miracle. He wakes up early in the morning, to go on his morning run, and he's not even surprised when his legs carry him to her house.

He just wants to take a look, you see? To make sure. To stand in her driveway for a few seconds and see her red car, that was stored in Chin's garage waiting for her return, parking there under the morning sun. To see her surfboard, leaning idly against the front wall, and to know that it's actually going to be used again. Soon.

He just wants to see a light in the window, maybe see a curtain moves in the morning breeze. He doesn't mean to stay there for twenty fucking minutes as though his legs have sent roots into the ground.

()()()

When she steps outside, probably for her morning surf, she spots him immediately standing there in front of her. He's too tired to move, and he's completely breathless, from his run or from her image, he can't really tell for sure. He can see the surprise on her face when she first sees him, can see the hesitation in her initial movements when she tries to decide what to do... He can see her recovering after a few seconds, then walking towards him decisively, then running, then crashing into his sweaty, tired, shaking body, making him gasp, when her warm body is suddenly pressed against him.

"I'm all sweaty" he mumbles, holding her forcefully, burying his face in her shoulder.

She just laughs, quietly, holding him against her even tighter.