Falling

Chapter One

Zebraboymom

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. Say what!

Author Notes: What if it wasn't Danny with Steve the day of the hike and what if it was Kono and not Steve that fell down and broke her arm. What if they couldn't get cell help and were caught in a terrible tropical storm. Oh, yeah.

Steve stood with his legs spread apart and his arms folded across his chest as his pretty rookie jogged up to him. He couldn't help but smirk at her. The woman sure loved to look at the scenery along the way. She had already pulled some wild flowers and was sticking them in her hair. It shined in the bright sunlight and he was taken with her beauty again. He had noticed how pretty she was the day he met her and pretty much every day after that, but she was so much more than her looks. She was one great cop and had a mind like a steel trap. She was so quick witted and teased him all the time. He loved it. He loved her. He had started to realize that in the last few weeks. It was getting harder and harder not to tell her. He was pretty sure she had no clue. After all, he was a navy SEAL and he could hide his emotions really well. Inviting her to come along on his runs now seemed so obvious and he wondered if she was on to him yet. He hoped not. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could and if she suspected he had a crush on her, he was pretty sure she would start to put space between them. He couldn't let that happen. He took in her outfit; short shorts rolled up and a sky blue short sleeve shirt over a tank top. Sighing, he thought about how much he wanted to grab her and kiss her. Her head was down and she was looking at the ground having slowed to a walk. She had a thoughtful look on her face and was oblivious to his tall body blocking her path until she almost stumbled into him.

"Come on Kalakaua catch up will ya?"

"Oh, you want to make this a race do you? That can be arranged."

Kono took off and pushed past Steve. He chuckled and took off after her. Catching her wasn't easy and when he finally did he couldn't help himself. He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her into the air.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

She giggled and kicked her legs until Steve set her back down on the ground. She turned in his arms and looked up at him with that huge dimply smile that melted his heart. They stood staring into each other's eyes. Steve had his arms wrapped around her waist and she had her hands resting on his biceps.

Kono felt her heart rate speed up a little. She drank him in for just a second; his height, his muscles, those beautiful hazel eyes and those gorgeous long lashes. The tank he had on was showing off the tattoos on his upper arms. He was gorgeous. She suspected he knew she had a terrible crush on him and she started to feel embarrassed about the intimacy of the moment.

"I'm so glad you offered to come Kono. Danny was adamant that he wasn't hiking up some trail just to see graffiti on rocks."

Kono laughed.

"The man has no appreciation of our culture. I'm actually excited to see them. I've never been up here."

"Really? I thought you knew the whole island."

"If you want to know about every hidden waterfall or every great surfing spot, I'm your girl, but I usually surf more than hike."

"I used to come here with my dad every year. It was a way to bond. You know?"

"Yeah, my auntie and I had some spots we would go together to as well…until she got sick."

Kono dropped her head.

Steve had heard that Kono's favorite aunt was dying. He knew they had been close and he could hear the pain in Kono's voice. He slipped a hand under her chin and lifted her face to his. A tear had slipped down her cheek and he could tell she was embarrassed by the flush in her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Kono. I know she meant a lot to you. You always tell the greatest stories about your relationship with her."

He slipped his arms from her waist to around her slim frame and pulled her close. They stood there for a few minutes just holding each other. Kono was tense at first and then she started to cry. Steve felt her shoulders shaking and ran his hand over her hair, gently cradling her to him as she cried. He whispered softly.

"It's okay Sweetheart. I've got you. Shh."

Eventually Kono pulled back and stepped out of Steve's embrace. He was sorry to let her go.

"Man, I am a mess these days. I didn't mean to ruin a perfect day. Let's get to those drawings, okay?"

Steve smiled and took her hand in his.

"Sounds like a plan. Follow me."

They walked side by side on the trail after that. Steve never let go of her hand and Kono loved the fact that it didn't feel weird. It felt really great actually.

The petro glyphs were amazing and they spent the better part of an hour trying to figure some of them out. Steve made Kono laugh with some of his "interpretations". They didn't notice the clouds rolling in until the wind kicked up. Steve looked up then.

"We better get out of here and off this mountain. That looks like a really bad storm coming."

They took off back down the trail as it got darker and darker. It had taken them well over an hour to get up to the top and it was obvious they weren't going to get down before it hit. They needed to find some shelter instead. Kono was in front jogging fast and Steve yelled at her to stop. Before he knew what was happening she turned and looked back at him tripping over a vine and tumbling over the edge of the trail. Steve heard her scream and rushed to the edge. She was lying about 25 feet below on a shallow ledge. Her arm was at a funny angle and he was sure it was broken. She looked to be unconscious. He ripped his pack open and pulled out a rope, quickly tying it off and lowering himself down. He gently pulled her into his arms as she began to groan in pain and mumble.

"That's my girl. Kono, Sweetheart, where does it hurt?"

As she came more fully alert she winced.

"Steve?"

"I'm right here Kono. You fell. I think your arm is broken. Does anything else hurt?"

"My head is throbbing, but my arm hurts just below my elbow."

"I'm going to splint it and try to get you out of here, okay?"

"O…Okay."

Steve could tell she was in a lot of pain and he wanted to work fast to keep her from going into shock. The cut on her head didn't look too good either. He decided they could work on that after he got her off the ledge. They did not want to get caught on this thing when the storm hit full force. He used a stick to splint it along with the ace bandage that came in the first aid kit in his pack. Once it was stabilized, Kono's color started to return a bit, but she was still too pale. He helped her up and put her in front of him as he slipped the climbing rope behind him and started to ease her up the incline. They had to go slowly as Kono could only use one hand to climb. Steve pushed her slowly up from behind and then pulled the rope tight each time they moved closer to the top. After what seemed forever they made it back to the trail. Kono's face was pale again from the exertion, but she put on a brave face. Steve packed everything back up and slipped his arm around her waist. She tried not to slump against him, but she was exhausted and the pain was so much worse from the climb back up from the ledge.

"Come on, we are going to head back up to the drawings. There were a couple of caves there and we can hole up in one until the storm ends."

Kono nodded her head. She knew there was no cell reception up there and they would probably have to walk back down in the morning, but all she wanted right now was to get in out of the storm. Raindrops had started to fall and any minute the sky was going to open up and pour down. She leaned into Steve and within five minutes they were climbing into one of the small caves they had found earlier. It was already warmer and she sighed as Steve helped her slide down to the soft dirt floor.

They could both hear the storm hit outside the cave. It was pouring. Steve dropped down beside Kono and opened his pack. He took out a bottle of water and the first aid kit. Kono looked up at him as he gently administered first aid. His gentle touch to the wound on her forehead made her wince.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

Steve began to gently wash away the blood and apply antiseptic cream before he put a butterfly bandage on it.

"I don't think it needs stitches. The bleeding has stopped. You might have a cute scar though."

"Very funny McGarrett. There's no such thing as a cute scar."

"I would think it was cute."

"Smooth. Very smooth."

Kono's head was pounding now and her arm was throbbing. Steve knew she was in pain. He handed her a couple of ibuprophen from the kit and another bottle of water. After she took the pain killer Steve took out a space blanket and backed up against the back wall of the cave.

"Come here."

Steve gently pulled her between his legs and propped her arm up on the pack. He draped the blanket over both of them and wrapped his arms around her. Kono turned into his chest and laid her head against him. She could hear his heart beating and it began to lull her to sleep. Steve whispered to her.

"I have to wake you up in a couple of hours to check on you, okay?"

Kono nodded slightly and he could hear her mumble a soft yes. He stroked her hair and rested his chin on top of her head. She was so warm. It would be hard to stay awake, but he had to. He couldn't take a chance on her having a concussion. Her soft breathing slowed and he could feel her relax in his arms. He was surprised she could sleep given how much pain she must be in. She was tough. He had to hand her that. He hoped it was exhaustion and not shock that was making her sleep though. He hadn't seen any other symptoms, so he was just going to have to trust his instincts on this one. He realized something as he watched her sleep. He would do anything for this woman. The urge to protect her was overwhelming. Just the thought of something bad happening to her made his gut clench. She would kick his butt if she knew he was having those kinds of thoughts. The woman was independent and would never allow a man to "take care of her". That's one of the reasons he fell for her in the first place. Kono stirred and looked up at him.

"Could you stop thinking so loudly? I'm trying to sleep here."

"Sorry."

Steve ruffled her hair and chuckled.

"Cute Kalakaua. Definitely cute."