Title: Think twice.
Pairing: Steve/Kono established relationship.
Disclaimer: Not mine, except Richard.
Spoilers: None, I think

A/N: BIggest virtual hugs to my sweetest beta, she's the greatest! (sorry I cannot make a proper authors note, I'm kinda not feeling well today)

Kono knew she should have listened to Steve, she was completely sure about that. But now it was too late to think about that, unfortunately. With bruises on her face, blood dripping down her lip and possibly a few broken ribs, she walked outside the suspect's house, dragging the said suspect out handcuffed.

Steve was waiting outside, sweat pouring down his face and gun firmly in his hand. He was furious because with all the commotion she completely ignored his orders to stop and wait for them. She followed her instincts, just like he had told her a year ago and now he was probably mad at her for doing so.

She handed the pissed off perp to a cop, who sent curses her way and Steve approached her. He was at a loss for words for a brief second, though his expression hadn't changed at all; he was livid at her.

"Boss…

"What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled at her, not caring about all the cops watching them, not even caring about Chin sending angry looks towards him.

"I was…"

"You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"He was inside, alone, and there was only one chance to get him out," she explained.

"I specifically told you to wait for us!"

"I couldn't do that! If I had waited for a second he could have gotten away!"

"So what?"

"What do you mean 'so what'? We've been working on this case for days, I couldn't just let him go!"

"Again, you could have gotten yourself killed!"

"But I didn't!"

"What's gonna happen next time, then? Are you gonna keep disregarding whatever I tell you to do?"

"No Boss, you know I won't…"

"I can't protect you every time you're in danger!"

"I can take care of myself…"

"Of course you can!" he spoke ironically, barely touching her bleeding lip, "You're a rookie, you can't just walk in a damn burning building just because you think you have it all figured out. You know the rules, do not enter without back up and that's exactly what you did."

"I'm not a damn rookie!"

"Then stop acting like one!" he yelled. She was more offended by his words than his tone. She thought we were past the rookie stage a long time ago.

"I will when you stop acting like a jerk!"

He meant well, she knew it, but she was pissed off at what he had said, the way he had said it and most importantly where. Each cop was paying close attention to what was going on, most of them male and she couldn't handle the 'I told you so' looks on their faces. It was bad enough to be living in a men's world, she did not need to be treated like a teenager by the man she respected the most.

"I'm sorry, Steve I shouldn't…"

"Go home," he spoke firmly, not looking directly at her eyes. "You're suspended."

"What? You can't do that!" she screamed while Chin and Danny made their way towards them.

"Steve what are you doing?" Danny asked, confused by his reaction.

"I'm being her boss," he spoke to Danny without taking his eyes off of her, "Go home, Kono. Now!"

He turns his back to her, leaving Kono speechless next to his cousin. Danny followed suit and she knew he was going to make the lame attempt to convince him to take it back.

"You can't suspend her like that man."

"I think I already did," Steve spoke coldly.

"She was doing her job; you know she wouldn't wait if she had to."

"And that's exactly why I'm sending her home," Steve explained. "I cannot let her get hurt because she can't follow orders; this is my way of teaching her a lesson. Period."

Danny shakes his head at his friend's explanation, not buying it at all. He wasn't mad because she didn't follow orders, he never did it either so why bother teaching her that? He was upset at something else; he just couldn't quite put his finger on.

"She's right about something though," Danny said.

"Really, what's that?"

"You're being a jerk."

TBC

the first chapter is always short, kind of.