Note: I'm still hard at work on Chapter 4 of Here We Go. I hope that readers enjoyed Chapter 3- I was amazed at how many story alerts I received! However, please don't forget to review!

Since that story doesn't focus around romance, and I really wanted to try writing one, I figured this would be a good solution. One-shot? Continue? Let me know!

-H50-

Steve frowned at the scene Chin had depicted from what they could gather from the heat sensors. He tried to turn, not wanting her to have to deal with this. He paused for a split second, knowing she would kick his ass if she thought he was going soft on her. His moment of hesitation caused her to run straight into his back.

She looked up at him panicked. "Steve, what are you doing?" Her hand was on her holster, and even though they had been assured there was no immediate danger, for their portion of the operation at least, one could never be too cautious. She tried to peer over his tall frame, but all she could see was a locked door.

He turned completely around, effectively blocking her off. "Yea, actually can you go out and grab Max? Maybe he should be in one this one." For his own sake, Steve forced himself to sound casual. It came out a little too cocky for Kono's liking.

Kono glared at him, recognizing his stalling. "You know as well as I do that Max doesn't like small spaces. Says it impairs his thinking or something…" She trailed off; realizing Steve wasn't going to budge on this one. Kono huffed loudly, and readjusted her bulletproof vest. "I can go get Lori instead?" She looked at him innocently; the only thing giving away her feistiness was the fire burning in her eyes. She was testing him, and it was working.

"No!" He almost shouted, but maintained his cool. He was trying to do for her, and for the team, what he wished someone would have done for him.

Kono just stared at him, unwilling to relent. Great, now they were having a standoff in a hallway of an abandoned warehouse. Kono seized the moment, but instead of bolting past him, she stood right before him, almost touching. Being a former SEAL, Steve had witnessed sights so terrible sometimes he still shuddered, remembering what he had seen.

She spoke in a low voice, but that didn't diminish the force in her voice. "What is so bad that you're trying to protect me…trying to protect us from?" If the situation hadn't of been so serious, Steve would have been convinced she was purring at him- rendering him absolutely distracted. Maybe that was her goal. If so, consider the score Kono- 1 Steve – 0. No matter how often Danny theorized he was a robot, Steve was a man after all.

She stepped back, trying to see if he would try to stop her again. Knowing he had been defeated, he allowed her to dart past him, and followed behind quickly through the dark hallway. He watched as she studied the locked door, and the bloodstains that covered the doorknob, but instead of fear, he only saw determination.

Kono tilted her head towards the door, giving him the okay to bust it down with one solid kick. Although she would never tell him- it would boost his already incredibly large ego even higher- Kono never got tired of him busting down doors like a super hero. Super hero? She almost blushed, but it was true. Kids always looked at him so admiringly, just as they would at Superman. Danny's nickname didn't seem so far-fetched after all.

He effortlessly swung into the door. Steve grimaced as Kono ran in beside him, wondering if he should have told her before. Nevertheless, how did you prepare someone to see three children brutally butchered? His heart was sad, however; part of his job was putting emotions aside so that justice could be served. Steve heard crunching under his boots, and discovered shatter glass was everywhere. Maybe the kids had put up a fight. The thought made his heart even heavier.

Kono's back was to him, so Steve was unable to see her face. Was she crying? Upset?

She sped across the room looking for clues. He couldn't help but notice she was completely avoiding eye contact. "We've got three children under the age of twelve, two boys, one girl…" she rambled, her voice surprisingly steady. Steve was smart though, and as usual, her eyes gave away everything. She had crouched down next to one of the chairs to retrieve some papers, her motions becoming more frantic. Steve stood behind her, wanting to pull her up, but at the same time not wanting to frighten Kono by touching her.

"Here, Kono," he held out his arm like a gentleman, wanting her to grab on and carefully stand back up. "There's a lot of glass," he warned. The lighting was dim and it would only be too easy to become a victim of the broken windows.

She hesitantly pulled herself up, admiring the muscles in Steve's arms and they clenched together to help steady her. Kono's head was swirling, and her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She felt skittish and unprepared, an unusual feeling for someone so confident and talented.

Kono heard the sound of friction between their bulletproof vests and she accidentally bumped into Steve. His emotions were guarded, that was nothing new, but she relieved to see he wasn't pitying her. It made Kono feel as if he viewed them as equals. His arm still grazed hers, making her jump. Kono released him from her tight grip and backed away slowly, wanting to get herself emotionally sorted out. Not wanting him to see anything but the "tough bad-ass chick" as Danny called her.

Steve paused, looking at his arm. Funny, he thought, he didn't remember getting cut by anything. Kono came closer, now worried that he was hurt. Realization dawned on Steve's face. He gently, but quickly, grasped her tiny hands, startlingly her.

He was horrified. "Kono, you're bleeding!" Kono's hands were soaked in blood, and her arms were smeared by it. Tiny shards of glass poked through her gloves, reminding her of miniature swords. She could tell the impatient side of him wanted to rip them off her, but they both knew that would only create more profuse bleeding. She looked at him blankly, "I…I don't feel it." She briefly wondered why he didn't seem more panicked by this. By now, she would have expected him to have swooped her up like the hero he was.

"What did you do this morning?" Kono looked him at shocked. Out of all times, he wanted to chat now?

"What are you doing- why?" She looked very confused, and he could see her famous temper beginning to sizzle.

"Answer the question Kono." His tone told her not to mess around, and she quickly responded.

"Well, let's see." She furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "I went surfing for a little while. Then I went over to Chin's to have breakfast with him. Malia had to work all night at the hospital," she explained. Steve nodded. Good, she needed to think and focus on anything except her surroundings.

"Poor thing. But she loves her job and she's one of the best. And then- OUCH!" Kono's eyes widened. "DAMN IT! What's happening?" She tore off the gloves, biting her lip as she felt the glass ripping from her flesh.

Steve held her hands palms up, trying to decrease the rate of blood flowing. "Kono, you were in shock. Some people cry, some scream, and some just keep going like you did. I'm sorry. I had to try to break you out of it. That's why you didn't feel yourself being cut." He grinned, "I think Danny would have cried." He whispered to her.

She laughed, "I think so too."

"HEY! I heard that! Can the ninjas please exit the building before something else happens?" Danny ordered sarcastically. They both jumped, forgetting Danny could hear everything.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Coming, Danny. Tell paramedics we're going to need someone ready to examine some glass cuts."

"Steve!" Kono reprimanded him, "I'm fine. That's so embarrassing."

"No, what would be embarrassing is not being in the field for two weeks because of an infection," he pointed out.

Kono shifted her weight, acknowledging that as usual he was right. There was no way she was going to let him carry her like a child, and he knew that. Instead, he had to settle for holding onto her vest, loosely guiding her out of the warehouse.

Danny walked up to them, smirking. "You two just can't stay out of trouble can you?"

"Steve, we got him," Chin said, "It worked. He put up a hell of a fight though."

"Where's Lori?" Steve looked around, not spotting her anywhere.

"Well, don't tell her this, but I think she sprained her wrist. I think she just jumped down too fast and didn't realize her weight was too far forward. She's being looked at. Kono got the papers?"

Steve nodded, "Yea she did." He sealed them up in an evidence bag. They walked over towards the paramedics who immediately began working on Kono's hands. Lori was scowling, whether from pain or frustration, Kono did not know. She saw Kono approaching and smiled. "You too?"

Kono sighed. "Unfortunately." She sat down next to Lori. "Sometimes I think they make us do the hard stuff," she chuckled, meaning for it to be a joke.

Lori nodded, "It's okay. Let's take it as a compliment. If we ever get out of here- movie night?"

"Of course! I've got too much adrenaline to sleep anyways. We have lots to talk about."

Lori raised a questioning brow, but Kono just shook her head, smiling.

Steve and Chin stopped back a little ways, murmuring about the details of the operation. Every now and then Steve would turn just enough to see out of his peripheral vision, and focus back on Chin.

"How are my two bad-ass babes doing?" Danny asked, rubbing his hands together.

They both rolled their eyes, "Shut up, Danno."

Opinion's? More of these? Let me know via reviews! Have a great day!