I'm back…..FINALLY! Sorry for the long, dry spell. I've missed Shauni and Steve so I decided to pick up a few months from where we left off in "SEAL in Love" so we can meet the McGarrett twins (and see how Daddy Steve is going to handle seeing Shauni go through labor.
Also, since this is "my story" and I can have any characters I want (smile), I'm sticking with the original Ohana and maybe adding one or two of the "new characters" from Season 8.
Hope you enjoy. Chapter 2 will come soon! Please share your thoughts and reviews.
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Junior Reigns showed up at the door first thing in the morning completely taking Steve by surprise. Shauni had never seen her husband so sorry to say, "I'm sorry but I can't help you," when the young Marine had asked for a job with the Five-0 Task Force. She knew it had been weighing heavily on his mind, so seeing Junior at the front door the following morning was unexpected.
After exchanging greetings and Steve asking what he could do for the young man, she came up behind her husband and rubbed her hand up and down his back as she looked at "Junior".
"I'm making breakfast," she said. "Would you like to come in?"
He looked at Steve as if looking for confirmation. Steve gave him a half-hearted smirk and shrugged, "Come on in. Have breakfast with us."
As he walked into the house, Shauni heard her husband say under his breath, "Forgive her. She's 'nesting'…"
Junior cast a glance at Commander McGarrett's very well known wife and couldn't help but notice how far along she was in her pregnancy.
At Steve's remark, she stopped in her tracks to turn around and give her husband an adorable pout. "Hush…I can't help it. Blame it on the babies."
Steve leaned down to give her a quick kiss, "I'm just teasing." Shauni went into the kitchen to get coffee and juice while Steve led the young Marine to the table.
"I don't want to impose, Sir," he said.
Steve shook his head. "It's no problem. Really. She's probably made enough to feed an army, so it will be good to have someone here to help me eat it. I think I've gained 15 pounds during this pregnancy."
Junior laughed but then his eyes widened when he saw the table with a breakfast casserole, pancakes, biscuits, assorted fruit and sweet rolls.
At the expression on Junior's face, Steve chuckled. "See what I mean?"
The threesome enjoyed breakfast together while Steve learned more about Reigns….and Reigns wondered of his luck at having breakfast with them and getting to know them better. Though he would never admit it to the Commander, he'd always been a big fan of Shauni Steele's. To his surprise, she was the perfect hostess….Completely down to Earth and unpretentious…..It was easy to see how the Commander had fallen in love with her. It was also funny to see "in person" how this sweet lady had been able to seemingly "calm the wild beast" that Commander McGarrett was known to be.
Not that he would EVER utter those words out loud. He was absolutely certain Steve McGarrett could still kick the ass of ANYONE who needed it…but with his wife, he was softer…..gentler…and just a little more "real".
They said their goodbyes when breakfast was finished, but not before Shauni had given him several containers of "leftovers" to take with him. He was grateful. The woman was an incredible cook and he was certain to enjoy every bite. After all, anything beat take-out every night of the week.
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3 hours later…..
Shauni walked into the Five-0 offices with a basket in tow.
Actually, it wasn't a "walk" so much as a "waddle", but being 8 months pregnant, she looked adorable all the same.
Lou saw her immediately and came over to take the basket.
"Hey, little Momma. What are you doing here? And WHY did you carry this up without asking for help?" He gently scolded.
She had to grin at his protective tone…..The entire team had been super protective of her the further she'd gotten along in her pregnancy. But she wasn't going to give an inch.
She reached to give him a hug and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "We've talked about this before, Lou. No coddling…..I'm pregnant not helpless!"
His eyebrows shot up, "Okay…but what's McGarrett gonna say about this? He won't be happy about you carrying all this up by yourself."
Shauni rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "You should know by now I can handle my husband."
He winked at her, "Yes, you can!...SO, what did you bring?"
Shauni couldn't help but laugh. Since going into her third trimester, it had become a normal routine for her to make way too much food and bring many of the leftovers to their Ohana who worked such long days. Just as she'd put the basket on the table to take out the contents, Steve came out of his office with Danny close behind.
"How's my beautiful wife and my babies?" he asked with a smile as he put his arms around her from behind to cradle her belly.
She turned around to give him a quick kiss, "I brought lunch…and snacks…and a bunch of other stuff."
Danny patted his stomach, "Seriously, babe…Ya gotta have those babies before all of us are too big to chase anyone down!" His smile was teasing but full of adoration.
Steve opened his mouth to say something in retort, but Shauni took in a sharp breath and put her hand underneath her stomach. Steve immediately took her forearm into his hand with concern etched all over his face.
"What's wrong? Everything okay?"
She took a couple of calming breaths before smiling at him, "Yeah…..I'm fine…..Just those darn Braxton Hicks contractions. It's fine."
"Renee had those, too," Lou said as if to ease the fear he saw on Steve's face. "Especially with Will. She had them for at least two months before he was born. I was a nervous wreck every damn time one would hit her."
Everyone seemed to relax as they began to help Shauni get the rest of the food out.
But then, another contraction hit and it seemed to be stronger than before. She grabbed her stomach again as if trying to ease the cramp by holding on.
"You need to sit down," Steve said.
"I'm fine," she said even though she wasn't convincing to anyone.
"That wasn't a suggestion, babe." Steve's voice was hard and demanding leaving no room for argument. Shauni knew, just like the rest of them, she wasn't going to win this one.
"Okay, fine. I'll sit down for a minute." She answered even as Steve was already leading her towards his office. He promptly helped her onto the couch while Danny got some pillows from somewhere to put under her feet and behind her back.
At her quizzical look, he just shrugged. "We're ready for anything. What can I say? Blame it on your OCD husband. Do you need a blanket?"
Steve rolled his eyes and Shauni chuckled. Seconds later, Kono came in with a glass of water. Shauni took a sip gratefully before starting to feel smothered by all the attention and everyone's presence around her.
"No I don't need a blanket!" she snapped a little too harshly before sighing, "Seriously, guys…Go have some lunch. I brought a ton of food and it needs to be eaten."
When Steve gave her a doubtful look, she gave him her sweetest, most innocent smile, "I promise to stay right here like a good girl, Commander. Now go….Eat!"
Everyone reluctantly left Steve's office to go back out and see what Shauni had packed for them that day. The woman could cook, no doubt about it….and after a very busy morning, they were all hungry.
They all filled plates with food and moved to a conference table so they could eat together. They were right in the middle of laughing at a joke…
"Steve?'….
No one replied as the joke went on. Then Shauni said it a little louder, "Ummmmmm, Steve…..honey…"
Conversation stopped as Steve heard his wife's voice and turned towards his office door. Shauni was standing in the doorway with one hand on the doorframe and the other under her stomach. "Ummmmm…..I'm pretty sure my water just broke."
There was a stunned silence for a few seconds before everyone jumped into action.
Steve was the first to jump up and run to Shauni, "Are you sure?!"
"Either my water broke or I just peed all over the floor," Shauni chuckled and then another pain hit her and stopped the laugh at once. Holding on to her stomach, she started trying to breathe through it.
Steve felt his heart sink, "But it's early…..It's like three weeks early. It can't be time yet."
"One thing you're going to learn quickly is that babies don't follow schedules, my friend," Danny quipped.
For the first time since they had known him, Steve seemed completely in shock and clueless as to what to do. It was both endearing and comical to watch. Thankfully, his wife seemed to be thinking clearly.
"Call the doctor, babe. Tell him I'm in labor and see what he says."
"To hell with that," Steve said. "We're calling an ambulance."
"NO!", Shauni pleaded. "You call an ambulance and we'll be met with a sea of reporters as soon as we get there. Please, honey….No ambulance. You can take me."
"Okay fine, but we're going straight there and I'll call the doctor on the way." He seemed to get a semblance of control back as he started barking out orders, "Kono, I need you to go to the house and get her bag. It's upstairs in our room right by the door."
"Got it, Boss," Kono said before grabbing her keys and heading towards the McGarrett house. Before leaving, though, she gave Shauni a big hug, "Good luck, sistah. I'll be there as soon as I can!"
"Lou, can you call Derek and Olivia and let them know what's going on? They can meet us there. And Danny…"
Shauni let out a hiss of pain as another contraction hit her. Danny looked at his watch, "That one took about 5 minutes. They're coming pretty close together so we need to move. I'll get the car and meet you guys out front."
"We'll take my truck," Steve said.
"No offense, but you aren't thinking clearly. First of all, there's no way in hell I'm letting you drive your wife…..who is in labor….to the hospital. And second, you don't seriously expect her to climb into that truck while she's doing so, now do you?"
Steve was silent for a minute. "You have a point. Okay…..get the car and I'll meet you out front."
Steve put his arm around Shauni for support as they started to make their way outside. Before they reached the elevator that would take them down to the first floor, another contraction hit her. It was so strong, it took her down to the floor until she could get her breath back. Steve looked panicked and Shauni felt sorry for him even as she tried to focus on the task at hand. To be such a big, bad 'warrior' and someone who was used to being in control, he was completely out of his element.
As the contraction eased, she put a hand to his cheek and smiled, "It's going to be okay. We're ready for this, right?"
Steve's eyes were wide with concern, but he didn't want to let her down or let her know how terrified he was in this moment. "Right."
"Not very convincing, Commander," she teased. "We're going to see our babies soon!" Shauni couldn't hide the excitement in her voice before growing serious again, "But I need to know that you're with me. I can't do this by myself."
Steve swallowed the lump in his throat. She was right…..Time for him to man-up and stop acting like an idiot. His face softened as he leaned down to kiss her. "I'm right here, baby. I'm not going anywhere…I'm going to be right there with you when our babies get here."
Shauni felt her heart melt when he smiled at her. Dear God, how she loved this man.
Steve helped her back to her feet and was relieved when they made it outside to Danny's car before another contraction hit. He opened the door and got into the backseat so Shauni could sit up front where there was more room.
"I already called the doctor. He's going to meet us there." Danny told them.
"Thanks, buddy. Now turn on the lights and get us there as soon as you can. Run every light if you have to."
"You got it!"
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Next chapter, we'll meet the McGarrett babies. FINALLY! How do you think Steve is going to handle the process?