"Steve, what exactly are we doing here?" Danny asked his partner for the third time in an hour. They had been sitting at the same small beach bar for over an hour now, and McGarrett had yet to reveal his reasons to Danny.

Steve sighed again. "Since you persist in pestering me, I guess I'll tell you. We're here to recruit a new member for 5-0."

Danny's eyes got wide, and his mouth practically fell open. "Wait, we're at a beach bar to recruit someone who is supposed to protect and serve? Who exactly works here? Wonder Woman? Clark Kent?"

"She's a former NCIS agent from Washington D.C.," Steve told his partner. "Currently, she works at this bar for less than minimum wage."

"And you think she's looking for a better job?" Danny asked.

"No, not necessarily. But the governor thinks that we should try to recruit her. Apparently, she's one of the best." Steve took a sip of his drink and savored it leisurely.

"First of all, what is NCIS? Secondly, why is she a 'former' agent?" Danny wanted to know, his eyebrows furrowed together in puzzlement.

Steve looked at Danny in disbelief. "You work in law enforcement, and you've never heard of NCIS? I don't believe this!"

"Who the hell is NCIS? What is NCIS?" Danny demanded to know, growing impatient.

"NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Steve explained. "They investigate crimes relating to marines and naval officers. Anyway, this girl used to work for them, but she resigned eighteen months ago when her partner was killed in the line of duty."

Danny threw up his hand. "There's the catch! She comes with emotional baggage, huh?"

"She comes with skills that we could use," McGarrett declared adamantly. "She speaks Spanish, Russian, French, Italian, and Arabic, not to mention she's supposed to be a really good shot."

"So, why don't you just call her into the office and talk to her about a job?" Danny wanted to know. "Why are we going to all the trouble of going to where she works?"

"Because I want to get a feel for her before I ask her about coming to work with 5-0," Steve declared. "She should be here in fifteen minutes."

Exactly fourteen minutes later, a red Jeep pulled up in the parking lot, and a pretty blonde girl hopped out. She was about five foot six with hair down to the middle of her back, and sharp, all-seeing blue eyes that seldom missed anything. Steve wouldn't have called her skinny, but she wasn't overweight by any means.

Something in her face made him long to get to know her. Steve McGarrett had never met her before, but he was determined to have her on his team from the moment he laid eyes on her. Something about her expression was lonely, mournful, and somewhat sad. Her expression reminded him of how he had felt when his dad died—helpless and alone with his grief.

"She's certainly pretty," Danny commented, his voice low.

"Shut up and keep your eyes on Kono," Steve replied. "You know you want to ask her out."

"Okay, let's just keep talking about the girl we're here to meet," Danny said, steering the conversation back to the approaching blonde. "What's her name, anyway?"

"Emma Collins," Steve replied, eyeing the attractive young woman over the rim of his glass. "She's twenty-seven, has a large family in South Carolina and, according to my source, is a little bit shy of getting close to anyone."

"Like I said, emotional baggage," Danny said again.

Steve and Danny's Hawaiian waitress got off when Emma came on duty, and she came over a few minutes later to check on them.

"Hi, I'm Emma. I'll be taking over for A'lai. Can I get y'all something?"

Steve pulled his badge out and placed it on the small table. "We'd like to talk to you about a job with 5-0."

Emma's polite smile disappeared instantly, and she swallowed hard. "I'm not interested."

She turned to walk away, but McGarrett jumped up to follow her. "Emma, c'mon! Just hear us out, okay?"

"I'm through with law-enforcement," she insisted bitterly, ducking behind the bar. Steve started to follow her, but she whirled on him suddenly.

"How the hell did you even find me?" she wanted to know angrily.

"I got a call from an old friend at NCIS," Steve explained calmly. "Gibbs said you were the best at your job, but he said you'd had a rough time lately. Please just let me show you what I have to offer. 5-0 isn't exactly NCIS. You can't really be satisfied with this life, can you? Serving drinks to tourists?"

"Serving drinks doesn't get my friends killed!" Emma snapped harshly. "I watched my partner die, and I couldn't do anything about it!" Her last sentence came out in a choked voice, and Steve saw tears in her bright blue eyes.

"Listen, I understand what that's like," McGarrett assured her. "And I can't promise you that what 5-0 does is not dangerous, but I just wish you'd come hear what I have to say." Steve slipped his card into Emma's hand, and she didn't hand it back to him or throw it away immediately.

When McGarrett walked away, Danny took a few steps towards Emma. "I'm Danny Williams, Steve's partner," he explained. "You should really think about talking to him. I'd never admit it to McGarrett, but 5-0 is pretty cool. We work with some great people."

"I'll think about it," Emma promised, giving Danny a half-smile. "And it's nice to meet you, Danny."

As Steve and Danny walked to the Camaro, Danny shook his hand. "You didn't go about that the right way," he told Steve. "If you just smile and introduce yourself politely, she might have listened to you a little bit more."

"Like I said, Danny, keep your smiles for Kono," Steve insisted.

"You think she's pretty, don't you?" Danny asked, finally realizing that Steve thought Emma was attractive. "That's why you want me to keep my smiles for Kono, isn't it?"

"I never said anything," Steve declared innocently.

"You didn't have to," Danny laughed.

"Shut up, Danno!"