Hostage Heart

Zebraboymom

Disclaimer: They are not mine.

Author Notes: A Steve/Kono angsty fluffy one-shot. I love to write these.

He saw her sitting in the sand looking out at the waves. Her board was stuck in the sand beside her like a sentinel. Even though her back was to him, he knew she was crying. Her shoulders shook and her head was bowed. He continued to walk quietly towards her. He had no clue how to comfort her. He shuddered at what she had endured today.

Three hours earlier

She had been amazing today. She had spent 9 hours being held hostage along with 35 other people. She had ironically gone to her bank to cash her paycheck so they could all go out for dinner and drinks. They got two days off plus the weekend after spending a week solving another case. They had all been exhausted, but Danny had said they should all go and celebrate before they went home to crash. He remembered Kono had hesitated saying she was really tired. Danny teased her that she couldn't cut it and she had immediately raised to the bait. Steve so wished she had gone home to bed. The next hours had been hell on earth for her.

When the hold up was about to go down, one of the gunmen had spotted her badge. He walked right up to her and put a gun to her head. She never had a chance to even react. He took her badge and gun and pulled her into a hallway as the other gunmen locked down the bank and started demanding cash. Unfortunately for them, one of the cashiers saw the exchange with Kono and pushed the silent alarm before she could be ordered away from her counter. Gunfire erupted as one of them took out the cashier and the woman standing at her window. Kono saw the little girl drop down to her mother screaming her name. The gunman shoved Kono at her.

"Quiet her down or I'll kill her right here and now."

Kono sprinted to the little girl and wrapped her in her arms turning her head away from her mother's wide-eyed stare.

"It's okay. I've got you. I'll take care of you. I promise."

The call came in to Steve as they were walking into their favorite noodle place on the beach. Chin said that was Kono's bank. She hadn't showed up yet and was over 20 minutes late. The three men exchanged a look and without saying a word, they were in Steve's jeep and headed there. They arrived as the SWAT Team surrounded the building. Steve approached the negotiator and informed him that he thought there was an off duty police officer in the bank. The negotiator allowed him to listen in as he made contact with the gunmen. The first words out of the leader of the gang shook Steve to his core.

"You better listen to me and you better listen good. I've got one of your own in here. Says her name is Detective Kono Kalakaua. I got a kid in here too and I already killed her mom, so you need to know I mean business. Either you get us a way out of here or I shoot the little girl and then I shoot your detective. She's a pretty little thing too. It'd be a damn shame to have to end her or the little girl."

"Okay, okay. Relax. We just need to confirm that our detective is still alive. Put her on the line. Her commanding officer is here."

He handed Steve the phone. Steve could hear the gunman ordering Kono to the phone. He could hear a little girl crying and whimpering as Kono answered.

"Kono?"

"Steve."

"Are you okay?"

"For now. They killed two people already."

"How many?"

Kono knew he was asking her how many gunmen there were. She whispered seven before the gunman ripped the phone out of her hand. Steve heard what could only be the gunman slapping Kono.

"That ends any chance you have to talk to her again. I could have killed her for that. Don't try anything else or I will."

He hung up. It was almost an hour before the gunman would answer the phone again. The negotiator tried everything. He finally got ten people released. Kono and the girl were not among them. The SWAT team had laid out a plan to go in. Steve knew it was risky and that more than likely other people besides the gunmen would get hurt. He just prayed Kono would not be one of them. The negotiator tried to stall, saying the helicopter was late so that SWAT could get into place. The gunman in charge was furious and had ripped the little girl from Kono's arms and shot her. That was it. They all charged the bank. It was over in less than a minute. When the gunfire subsided he immediately searched the room for Kono. She just had to be okay. He realized he couldn't lose her, not as a team member and not from his life. He had grown to care deeply for this young woman. He would even go so far as to say he thought he was falling in love with her. He looked and saw her holding the lifeless body of the little girl in her arms. She stumbled towards him. Steve ran to her as fast as he could, his heart in his throat. She was covered in blood.

"Are you hurt?"

Kono didn't answer him. She just looked down at the beautiful little girl's face.

"Kono, answer me."

She remained silent but she was taking ragged breaths. He shook her then.

"Kono, talk to me. Are you hurt?"

She looked up at him then and her eyes were filled with tears. She had that haunted look he knew all too well. His voice softened.

"Honey, let me take her and let's get you checked out, okay?"

Her eyes never left his as he gently took the little girl and handed her off to a paramedic. He looked down at her body that was covered in blood. There didn't appear to be any wounds and he let out the breath he had been holding. She stumbled forward again. Steve steadied her and she fell into him, giving into the exhaustion and terror of the last few hours. Steve wrapped his arms around her and just held her close. He didn't care who saw them. She needed him and he was damn well going to be there for her.

As he held her now he thanked God she survived. He walked her out to one of the open ambulances and watched as an EMT checked out the bruise on her face and gave her a cold pack for it. Steve could tell all the attention was exasperating her given that a little girl had died.

"Okay, enough. I'm fine."

She shoved the EMT's hand away and jumped down from the back of the ambulance.

The three of them gathered around her as the police in charge took her statement. He watched her ramrod straight back as she answered the questions to the best of her ability. The detective finally said she could go and the four of them stood in an awkward semicircle. She finally sighed and looked at Steve.

"Thanks for everything guys. I'm going to head home. I just need to rest."

"I'll take you cousin. I don't think you should be driving yet."

They made their way to her car, but Steve noticed the way she walked with her shoulders slumped. The day had taken a toll on her. He knew what that could feel like. He dropped Danny back at his car, waited an hour and then headed for her place at the beach. As soon as he parked the jeep and looked down at the sand, he saw her.

The Present

Steve came to stand behind her. She sensed his presence and glanced over her shoulder at him and then looked out at the ocean.

"Go away, Steve."

"Not going to happen."

"Please?" Her voice was coarse and raw with emotion.

Steve took a risk. He sat down behind her with his legs on either side of her and pulled her to lean back against him. Kono stiffened. He just sat there and waited. She didn't say anything and he didn't either. After several minutes had gone by he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her temple. He could feel her physically relax and fall back against his chest. He slipped his arms down to encircle her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder as he began to talk. He knew she was listening and her sobs started to slow as he began.

"When I first joined the SEALS I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean I knew, but I didn't know what a profound effect it was going to have on me as a person. I will never forget my first dead kid. We were assigned to protect a Saudi dignitary while we negotiated with him about Navy presence in the Middle East. This move was not going over well with certain faction groups and word was there was going to be an attempt on his life during the negotiations. I was assigned to his family and took a shine to his little five-year old son. The kid was so enthusiastic. We played helicopter until my arms hurt from lifting him. The negotiations were to happen the next morning and that afternoon the boy and I were walking down a covered outside hallway when he spotted his dad sitting out on the veranda. He was talking to one of the team leaders about the next day and the security precautions they would be taking. Before I could stop him, he ran full out over to his dad and jumped in his lap. The timing was bad. A sniper shot his dad at the same time and the boy was hit too. He died in his father's arms. The man survived, but I will never forget the look on his face as I came to his side. I will carry that guilt with me the rest of my life, Kono. I've replayed it over and over in my head a thousand times. Could I have reacted quicker? Did we do our job well when we ran security on the home? Did I allow my emotions to cloud my reaction time because I let myself get so involved with the boy? The fact is the boy is dead and I don't get a do over. Some things we can't change. They are what they are. The key is to remember that we aren't perfect and we can't always take into account all the variables all the time. We aren't God. You have to let this go Sweetheart."

The endearment slipped out before he realized what he had said.

Kono turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. Steve held her close and stroked her hair. His other arm rubbed slowly up and down her side. After a long time she shifted her head and spoke into his neck.

"Thank you Steve."

"For what?"

"For coming here, for sharing your story and for understanding how I feel."

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. He reached up to brush her tears away and then gently caressed her cheek with his fingertips.

"Anything for my girl."

Kono's breath caught and Steve realized what he had just said.

"Kono…I…"

"Steve…"

And then her lips were on his. They were trembling. He didn't know if it was from crying or if she was as nervous as he was, but he returned the kiss with everything he had. Kono shifted then and wrapped her legs around his waist. They continued to drown in each other's kisses. He smelled her honey coconut body wash and shampoo. He took in her soft skin and hair. He lost himself completely in the moment. She stopped trembling and took his lip between hers, she nibbled and nipped and kissed him until he thought he was going to pass out. Now that would be a headline. Navy SEAL passes out during first kiss. He broke the kiss to just gain some composure and then he nuzzled her with his nose.

"You know I'm crazy about you, right?"

"I do now. I feel the same way, Steve."

"Good because you've ruined me for other women. Kono…come back to my place with me."

"Steve I…tonight isn't a good night for…"

"What? Oh, no, God no. I didn't mean that. I just don't want you to be alone. I want to hold you tonight while you sleep. I want to be there if you have a nightmare. I just want to…take care of you, not take advantage of you. I…I care a great deal for you Kono."

"I feel the same way Steve."

He stood up and offered her his hand, pulling her to her feet. He grabbed her surfboard and wrapped his arm around her waist. They climbed in his jeep and made their way back to his house. When they got inside he smiled sweetly at her, took her hand and walked her back to his bedroom. She had never been in it before. It was nice. The bedding looked soft and inviting. He turned to her and gently helped her out of her over shirt. Then he unzipped her pants and slid them off her legs, undressing her like you would a small child. Normally Kono would deck him for something like this but she needed it from him tonight. When he was done, she stood in her tank top and underwear. He lifted the covers and held her hand as she slipped under them. He stood looking down at her tenderly as he stripped off his own t-shirt and khaki pants. Once he was down to his boxers he whispered to her.

"Scoot over."

She did and he slipped in beside her. He lay on his back and pulled her over him so her head rested over his heart and her arm lay on his chest tangled in the soft chest hairs there. He had her wrapped up in one arm and his hand caressed her bare shoulder. The other hand alternated between pushing her hair behind her ear and caressing her face. Finally he reached down and entwined that hand with the one on his chest. He sighed and held her close. Kono sighed as well. They didn't say anything for a long time. Finally Kono spoke in a husky voice filled with emotion.

"I think we have another hostage situation here."

"What do you mean?"

"You've captured my heart."

Author notes: A little cheesy right? Sorry, I couldn't help myself.