A/N: Back with another chapter! Thank you for the lovely reviews! I need to watch S1 from the beginning over the weekend to refresh my memory since this story is based in season 1 so I'm not so sure if there will be another update before then. I'll have to see how it goes. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter ;)

Chapter 2

"Nobody said it was easy to get where you're going, you know you'll fall down a hundred times, then you pick up the pieces of your broken dreams, it all gets better in time, just keep believing. ..."- Kaci Brown

Friday was finally here and Steve hoped it would be a calm day but he knew that was wishful thinking. Criminals didn't stop doing what they wanted to do just because it was Friday. He just wanted a calm and quiet day where he could maybe finally call his daughter and see how she was doing and how her last day of preschool had been. Steve checked his watch and saw that it was eight in the morning, about ten in California. Rosie would probably be sleeping in. Maybe he would call Jade and ask her how Rosie was doing right now that everything was nice and quiet in the office. He was about to pick up the phone when he saw a small figure running towards the bullpen at a lightening speed yelling something Steve couldn't really understand. He went to check what the commotion was all about and who was causing it.

"Daddy, daddy!" he heard and saw a little girl yelling. His teammates all came out of their offices to see what was going on.

"What's going on," Danny asked.

"Rosie, get back here," they all heard a woman calling for a 'Rosie' from behind them.

Turning around, Steve saw Jade walking as fast as she could towards them. "Jade?" he heard himself ask in surprise at seeing her there. That meant that the little ball of energy he'd seen pass by his office was none other than his daughter.

"Daddy?" he heard someone call from behind him in a questioning yet soft tone causing everyone to turn and face the little girl once more. After recognizing her daddy, Rosie ran towards Steve and threw herself at him giving Steve just enough time to catch her. "Daddy! It's me, Rosie! You remember me?"

"Of course I know who you are sweetheart," Steve said still in shock at seeing Rosie and Jade there. "Look at you, you're all grown up."

"I'm only five, daddy," Rosie said putting five fingers up in front of Steve and giggling. "Do you like the surprise mommy and I planned?"

"I'm sorry, we were waiting to be announced when Rosie just ran up the stairs and into here," Jade explained.

Steve turned to face Jade and he took in how beautiful she looked in her long hot pink strapless sundress and her brown hair hanging loose around her shoulders but before he could say something Danny spoke up.

"What's going in here?" he asked looking very confused and asking the question the rest of his teammates had on their mind. "You have a daughter? You're married? Wait a minute; I thought Catherine was your girlfriend."

Steve saw Jade flinch at the mention of Catherine and then he heard Rosie ask who Catherine was. Gosh Danny and his big mouth. "Catherine is a friend honey," he said looking at Jade the whole time but she was looking anywhere but at him. "Danny this is Rosie, my daughter and Jade is Rosie's mother."

"Hi, Jade Michaels, Rosie's mom," Jade introduced herself to the rest of the team as she waved her hand and smiled politely at them.

"Why don't we go into my office," Steve said after having noticed Jade's discomfort and giving Danny a look.

Jade nodded and followed Steve into his office with Rosie still in his arms. "I think I should have called before coming to Hawaii. I thought surprising you would be a great idea for you and Rosie," she said as she stood in front of the door with her arms crossed after closing it.

"Don't worry about it. I actually was very surprised but in a good way," he said and then turned to look at her daughter who was staring at him in awe, taking him in like she couldn't believe she was actually in his arms, "definitely a good way."

Jade watched Steve and Rosie interact and she couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes but she kept them from falling by taking a deep breath. "Rosie really missed you," she said in a shaky tone. "She hasn't seen you in over a year and she was getting tired of watching the same videos over and over again."

"Thank you Jade. This really means a lot to me and I'm sorry about not calling you sooner. It's just been very hectic around here and I was about to pick up the phone and call you when I saw this munchkin running towards the bullpen," he said as he tickled Rosie on her tummy who was now sitting in his lap after he sat down in his desk chair.

Jade just looked at Steve and took in his appearance. He looked a bit thinner and tired but he didn't let that stop him from enjoying his time with his daughter. She also took in how good he still looked. "I'm really sorry about your dad. He was a great man and I really wished Rosie and I could have made it for the funeral."

"Thank you and I understand. I just didn't want to mess up Rosie's schedule. She's still too young to understand these things," Steve said looking into Jades blue eyes. "When did you guys get in?" Steve asked changing the subject.

"Just this morning," Jade answered as she took a seat on the couch in the corner of Steve's office.

"You look tired. Did she give you a hard time during the flight?" he asked as he looked at her.

"No not at all. She actually slept through the whole flight," she said giving him a tired smile.

"Did you?" Steve asked knowing she probably hadn't slept at all.

"I'm fine," she said waving him off.

Steve didn't look convinced but he let it go, not wanting to upset her in front of Rosie. Their 'relationship' was still shaky but they tried their best for Rosie's sake. He turned to Rosie who still seemed to be in some sort of daze. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Steve asked his daughter as he pointed to her head.

"I really missed you daddy and I'm really happy mommy brought me to see you," Rosie said with a big toothy smile.

"Me too princess," he said placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Mommy said we could go to the beach and the museum and the boats. Can we go daddy, can we?"

"Rosie you're father is working right now. How about we go to the beach and later on your dad can find us in the hotel?" Jade offered as she stood up and got her purse, getting ready to leave.

"But daddy has to come. You promised we would spend time with him," Rosie complained on the verge of tears.

"Rosie your mother is right. I have some work to do around here before I can go but how about I pick you both up at the hotel and take you to dinner?" Steve told Rosie.

"Like a real family?" she asked. It was such an innocent question coming from Rosie but Jade still felt the pang in her heart.

"Rosie," Jade said in a gentle but stern tone.

"But all the kids at school have a mommy and a daddy and they are a real family," Rosie said confused.

"That's enough Rosie. I already explained it to you."

Steve looked from Rosie to Jade confused but he didn't want to add to the tension so he decided to ask Jade about it later. "Alright how about we talk about this later?" Steve asked both of them but he was looking at Jade the whole time.

Jade just looked at him and didn't even nod or say yes or no. She turned to Rosie and told her it was time to go. Rosie reluctantly got off Steve's lap and walked towards Jade as Steve stood up and walked behind her.

"Where are you staying?" Steve asked.

"The Hilton, third floor, room 329," Jade told him.

"Got it. Thank you Jade," he told her as he placed a hand on her arm.

Jade looked where his arm was and then to him and said, "I did it for Rosie." Then Jade walked away with Rosie by her side.


As soon as Jade and Rosie left, Danny joined Steve at the door of his office where he was just standing and staring at the door through which Rosie and Jade had just walked through. He was barely acknowledging the fact that his daughter and her mother were on the island.

"So, a daughter, eh?" Danny asked interrupting his thoughts.

Steve snapped out of his thoughts and walked back into his office and took a seat. "Yes Danny, I have five-year old daughter."

"And why didn't you ever mention it?" Danny asked standing in Steve's office with his arms crossed.

"It just never came up," Steve said shrugging his shoulders and going back to work but Danny wasn't done.

"It never came up? Really, how about all those times I talked about my daughter? You could have mentioned it then that you had a daughter."

"Yeah well I just decided not to share but either way you now know I have a daughter," Steve said as if it were obvious.

Danny just looked at his partner like he'd grown another head. "That's it? You're not going to tell me the story behind your daughter and her mother, which I should add is a gorgeous woman with all due respect."

Steve looked at his partner and said, "There's no story Danny. We met about eight or nine years ago fell in love, had a daughter, and then went our separate ways."

"I know there's more to it and I will find out," Danny said not convinced.

"Whatever Danny, can I get back to work now?" Steve said wanting to get rid of Danny so he could finish up his paperwork faster and go see his daughter and Jade. Jade, the picture of her standing in his office stuck in his head looking even more beautiful than ever, if that was possible. Motherhood did suit her really well.

9 Years Ago...

Jade and a couple of her closest friends were in a local bar close to University of California, San Diego, where she was majoring in education, celebrating her 21st birthday doing what every new twenty-one year old did, go out for drinks and get stupid drunk. Jade was happy because she had just finished her last final of the year and now she would be able to enjoy her summer with no worries. Sure she tended to be free spirited and sometimes a bit wild but when it came to her education, Jade took it very seriously.

She wanted to be someone in life besides the party girl people knew her by but she didn't want to live in her family's shadow either. The Michaels family was very well known on the west coast of the country and everyone expected her to screw up at some point being the only daughter and heir of a massive fortune but what they didn't know was how wrong they were.

Yeah she partied and enjoyed life without a care in the world but deep inside what she really wanted was to be seen as someone who succeeded on her own without the shadow of her last name following her around. Her education was her ways of letting people know she wasn't going to do what people expected from her, but the expectations of other people somehow managed to get under her skin. It was the only thing she felt she could control so she decided to study to become a teacher and not a business woman like her father wanted. He allowed her to pick whatever field she wanted as long as she did something with her life and stopped wasting it by partying and wasting her money. But tonight Jade planned on forgetting about everything and everyone. She was already on the tipsy side barely beginning to slur her words as she walked to the bar for another drink.

"One beer please," she said to the bartender.

"Let me pay for your drink," a male voice said beside her.

Jade turned to her right and smiled at the man, "Thanks but I'm still sober enough to pay for my own drinks."

"Come on sweetheart, one free drink," the man said getting closer, a bit too close for her taste.

"Whatever, suit your self," Jade said as she grabbed her beer. "It's on him," she said to the bartender pointing to the stranger. Jade was feeling a bit stuffy so she decided to step out for a bit to get some fresh air not knowing the stranger was following her outside.

Steve was enjoying a few rounds of pool and a couple of beers after a long day of training when he saw the pretty blue-eyed brunette he'd noticed earlier walk towards the bar. He saw the man on her right talk to her and after a bit he saw her become a bit uncomfortable at his closeness. Steve was about to go see if everything was alright when the pretty brunette walked away, changing directions halfway and heading for the exit instead. He was about to return his focus on the current game of pool when he saw the stranger walk in the same direction as the brunette. That was not good, he thought, as he took in the fact that the man was drunk. Steve put his beer down and began to walk in the same direction just to make sure the brunette was fine but someone placed a hand on his chest stopping him.

"Hey man we don't want any trouble," one of his buddies said looking at him. "I've seen you checking out the pretty brunette all night and I know where you're headed. Just keep in mind that we can't afford any kind of trouble."

"Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble," Steve reassured his buddy and continued walking.

Jade was leaning against a random truck in the parking sipping on her beer when someone joined her, the drunken man at the bar. He was standing a bit too close for her liking and to top it off, he'd trapped her in between the truck and his body.

"Hey baby, what are you doing out here so alone," he slurred close to her face.

"Just getting some fresh air," Jade said trying to wiggle her way out of there, feeling the man's breath on her face.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Can you please step back?" she asked becoming nervous at the man's closeness and taking in the fact that they were alone in the parking lot.

"Why, I just bought you a drink. The least you could do is show me a little love," he said as he began groping her in very in appropriate places.

"Leave me alone," she demanded as she tried pushing him off her, dropping her beer in the process but she didn't care. She wanted to get as far from this man as possible and the drinks she'd consumed all night clouded her mind and vision and her strength had weaken.

"Or what? All your friends are shitfaced in there. You think they know you're gone?" he said in her ear.

"Please leave me alone," she begged as she tried pushing him off her one more time but it was useless.

"You heard the lady, leave her alone. Get away from her," they both heard someone from behind say.

"Why don't you mind your own business buddy? This lady and I have some unfinished stuff we're dealing with. Isn't that right honey," the man said not taking his eyes away from her.

"Really, then why did I just hear her ask you to leave her alone more than once," Steve said.

"Oh you know how women are, they like us men to get a little rough with them," the drunken man said very smugly.

"Ma'am is this true?" Steve asked.

Jade was scared. She'd never been in a situation like this. Sure she'd had her wild nights of partying and even gone home with guys she didn't know but she always knew how to choose them and this drunken man had just followed her all night.

Steve took in the fact that the brunette was terrified so he told the man one more time, "I'm only going to tell you this one more time, back off from her and go home."

"Or what, what are you going to do about it, eh?" the drunk man said placing his arm around Jade's shoulders and turning to face Steve.

Steve didn't think about it twice as he grabbed the man from his shirt and pulled him off the brunette and pushed him to the floor. "I told you to do what she said, now go home," he growled at the man who was now laying on the floor looking shocked and scrambling to his feet as he ran away.

Steve turned around to look at the brunette who was now nowhere in sight. He looked around but didn't see anyone. He was about to go inside and check if she was in there when he heard a noise coming from around the building to his left. Steve went to check it out and he saw the pretty brunette sitting on the floor with her hands around her knees and her head down crying. Steve went and hunched down in front of her. "Hey, hey everything is alright now. You've got nothing to worry about."

Jade wiped her tears away and looked at Steve. "Thank you" she whispered.

Steve looked around the empty alley and then back at her. "How about I take you back to your friends and your celebration?"

Jade snorted, "Some friends, have you seen any of them come looking for me? They don't care, that man was right. I should just go home."

Steve helped her up and said "Do you live far?"

"About two blocks away. I live a block away from campus," she said.

"Let me walk you home, just to make sure you get home safely," he said at her weary look.

Jade recovered somewhat from what had just happened and recovered some of her attitude and confidence. "Just because you helped me out not so long ago doesn't mean I can trust you. Who knows, you might be just like that man and this whole thing you did was just some act to get me alone," she said in a defensive tone as she waved her hands around.

"Look, I'm just trying to help you out. You're obviously not in the right state of mind with all those drinks you've consumed all night and I can't let you walk home alone like that," Steve said looking into her eyes. "I'm Steve, by the way, and if you want I can show you my identification. I'm in the Navy, if that helps."

Jade looked at him wearily. She was tired and he didn't look like a bad guy even if his gaze was somewhat intimidating. Jade sighed, extended her hand palm up as she said, "Alright, show me your id."

Steve let out a small laugh as he got out his wallet and showed her his id from the Navy. "Happy?" he asked her after she looked at it.

"Fine," Jade said as she began walking away from the alley they were in and towards the street that led to her apartment.

They walked in silence at first until Steve began asking her questions, trying to get to know this brunette that had gotten his attention since he walked into the bar. "So what's your name? I mean I think it's only fair that since you know my name, I should know yours."

Jade gave him a smirk as she said, "Jade."

"Nice to meet you Jade, even if it wasn't under the best of circumstances," he said. "So is it just Jade?"

"Michaels, Jade Michaels," she replied.

Steve nodded in acknowledgement. "So I suppose you attend UC, San Diego? What are you majoring in?"

"I'm majoring in education. I want to be a teacher to little kids. I love children," Jade said smiling at the thought of being surrounded by kids.

"If I'm honest with you, I would've never guessed that was your major. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you would be a great teacher. I just see you more like a model or Hollywood career," Steve said as he walked alongside Jade with his hands in his pockets.

Jade laughed out loud. "You're kidding right?" she asked stopping in front of him and turning to look at him.

Steve shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh god, you're not," she said at his serious expression. "Ok, first of all I'm only 5'4" so that would cross out runway modeling. Second, Hollywood? Really? Come on that's like a bit too much."

"Hey I'm just saying. You're beautiful, young and runway modeling isn't the only kind of modeling there is," Steve said defending his opinion.

Jade just laughed and continued walking. "So how about you? How old are you, what do you do?"

"I'm 26 and I'm in the Navy. I was actually training all day today and then a few friends and I decided to come here and just hang out a bit," he said giving her a sideways glance.

"Does this Navy thing run in the family or did you decide to join just because you wanted to?"

"My grandfather died in the USS Arizona and my father was retired," Steve said

"I see. So it runs in the family. My family is all business people. I decided to skip that route and do my own thing. I'm only 21 but my parents think I should get ready to take over their business. I don't think that's for me." Jade took in the fact that they had arrived at her apartment building and turned to Steve. "Well this is it. Thank you for everything Steve, really. Honestly I don't want to imagine what would've happened if you hadn't walked outside."

"No problem just be more careful next time," he said stopping in front of her as he took in the building in which Jade lived in, very modern and unaffordable for him.

"Oh I will trust me" she said with a small laugh and then just looked into Steve's eyes. "I guess I should go in now."

"Hey listen. How would you like to get some coffee or something to eat tomorrow with me? I have the day off and if you're not doing anything I would really like to take you out," Steve said asking Jade out hoping he'd get to see her again.

Jade smiled, "Alright, I'd like that. Give me a call." Jade and Steve exchanged phone numbers and then said their goodbyes as she went into her apartment building.

*end of flashback*

A/N:Don't forget to review! :))