I know I know…..It's been FOREVER since an update. So sorry! I had surgery and have been in recovery the last couple of months.
Plus, I had a bit of writers block on where to take this. Thank you AquaBaby_ for the idea on how to start this chapter off. It is what got me started…..and now I have an idea on where to take things before bringing it to a close. It will involve some soul searching for Steve and some encouragement and parental-type love from Derek and Olivia towards Steve (which we all know has been sorely missing from his life).
This is gonna be fun. Hope you enjoy!
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While the paramedics worked on getting Matthews ready for transport to the hospital, Steve heard a car come to a screeching halt outside. Seconds later, he heard the officer guarding the front door, "You can't go in, Mrs. McGarrett! The Commander has given instructions for you to stay outside if you showed up."
"Well, the Commander can kiss my ass. Now out of my way, Officer," Shauni said sweetly before pushing past him.
Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes. He also couldn't stop the smirk that crossed his mouth….and neither could Danny.
Damn, but he loved how this woman kept Steve on his toes.
Steve had anticipated Shauni showing up. If there was one thing he had learned since being in love with her it was that the Steele sisters were fiercely loyal to each other. His biggest fear had been for her to show up before they had things under control. Thankfully, that hadn't happened, and even though he predicted she would ignore his request for her to stay at home until it was all over, he was still frustrated that she hadn't listened to him…..again.
Steve turned towards her just as she walked into the room, "What are you doing here?" He cast frustrated glances between her and Sasha, "Do either of you ever listen?" Then he turned back to Shauni, "And how in the hell did you know if it was safe to come here or not?! I told you to stay home!"
Shauni would not be deterred however. Steve was resting against the back of the couch as she took his face in her hands and kissed him so thoroughly everyone in the room stopped to watch. When she pulled away, Steve looked more than a little dazed.
No doubt, Shauni's kisses did it to him every time.
"I had to know you were okay," she said as she gave him a little pout. "Please don't be mad at me."
Steve was used to her manipulations and tried to remain stoic…Tough as it was to do so when she looked so damn sexy. His brows creased. "You didn't answer my question, young lady: You could have walked right into something terrible. How did you know it was safe?"
Shauni had the decency to look legitimately guilty. "I may have sorta tricked Nahale into telling me what was going on."
Steve grimaced in confusion. "Nahale? How does HE even know what's going on? Tell me so I can kick his ass when we get home."
Shauni swatted his arm playfully and he tightened his hold around her. "You will do no such thing, Steve McGarrett!"
When Steve's expression remained serious, she sighed. "Okay fine…Here's what happened: I tried to take a nap like you said, but I couldn't sleep knowing that you, Sasha, and everyone else was in danger. When I finally got up, Mom and Dad were asleep in the nursery holding the twins."
She stopped and tried to figure out what to tell him next.
"Go on…" he said.
"So I went downstairs and heard Kame on the phone with Nahale. He said he needed to take care of something and that Nahale was on his way to stay with us. I couldn't get Kamekona to give any details, so after he left, I told Nahale to keep things quiet with Mom & Dad so I could check on you."
"So what is he supposed to do if your parents wake up and find you're not there?"
"He's going to tell them that I went to the store and am coming right back."
Steve shook his head, "He's not going to do that, you know."
"Sure he will…..He'll do it for me."
"No….he won't….because he knows better than to lie to me. He knows how much I hate it, so as much as he loves you, he's not going to do that." Steve knew there was something she wasn't telling him, so he pressed her further. "What happened after you told him to lie to them?"
She sighed, "He told me I couldn't drive over here because you'd be pissed. Then, he slipped and said 'Even though things are okay. Steve wants you to stay home until he gets here.' So, I knew you were okay and it was safe to come over."
Tears filled her eyes and she threw her arms around him again, "Please don't be mad. I just had to see that you were all okay!" She felt some of the tension leave Steve's body as she held on to him with a fierceness that showed how scared she had been. Steve pulled her closer until they were interrupted by an HPD officer.
"Paramedics are ready to transport him, Commander." The look on the officer's face told Steve there was something else going on.
Steve gently pushed Shauni back so he could look at her. "Please stay inside for a minute. I promise I'll be right back."
The last thing Shauni wanted was to see Carl Matthews again, so she agreed. Steve felt immense relief flood though his body when Shauni and Sasha both walked over to the couch voluntarily and sat down.
Steve still wanted to make sure they were watched. He looked towards Lou and Chin who had joined them back inside the house. "Don't let them out of your sight. No matter what. Got it?"
Lou was still feeling the blow to his ego having Sasha and Shauni both get past them to get into the house. "You have my word. They aren't getting past me again," he promised Steve.
Then turning towards the sisters, he said, "Keep your asses on that couch. You don't want to see my bad side."
Shauni and Sasha fought the urge to grin at his serious tone, but both wisely decided against it. To them, Lou was like a big ole teddy bear; Even though there was no doubt his size and attitude could be intimidating to criminals, they knew he would never hurt them.
However, as Shauni watched her husband follow the HPD officer outside behind the gurney holding her stalker, an overwhelming sense of guilt came over her. The anxiety she'd felt over her sister had caused her to trick Nahale…..essentially "sneak out" of the house…and leave her newborn babies with her parents who were oblivious to what was going on. Not to mention the fact she'd caused her husband….who was the love of her life…..undue stress by showing up when he'd asked her to trust him to handle it.
Why am I acting like a freaking teenager? She wondered.
"Lou?"
When Grover turned towards her, she offered what she hoped was a penitent smile. "I'm sorry. Really I am."
Lou couldn't help but grimace even though he felt his heart soften…..just like it always did with his own daughter when she gave him that 'look'. Shauni looked legitimately apologetic so he couldn't help but soften.
She stood up and took the three short steps towards him to give him a hug. "I didn't mean to scare y'all. I was just worried about Steve and Sasha."
Lou gave her a fierce hug in return. "It's okay, darlin'. I know you were worried." Keeping his hold on her, he released her far enough to look down to her face. "Listen, I can't tell you the times Renee came out to check on me when I told her I was 'fine'. Believe me when I say I understand your worry over him….But you also have to trust that that man would die before he let anything happen to any of you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
The lump in Shauni's throat was so thick she couldn't even swallow. Her eyes filled with tears. "I know that…and that's part of what worried me. I don't want it to ever come to that….This was on me! Carl was here because of me!"
"That may be true," Lou agreed. "BUT, baby girl, you need to remember that your man is also a bad ass ex-Navy SEAL. He's taken down terrorists for our country. No one like Carl Matthews is gonna be able to get the best of him. You gotta trust that…..You gotta trust him."
Danny shot a glance to Lou indicating how close things had come to Carl getting the upper hand with Steve, but neither one of them showed it. It had been a close call…Closer than any of them wanted to admit, but at least things had turned out okay and Shauni and Sasha were both safe again. Hopefully, having Carl in custody again would guarantee and actual prison sentence this time instead of time in a mental hospital.
Within a few minutes, Steve walked back in with a grim look on his face. All eyes turned to him before he made his way over to Shauni. He pulled her onto his lap on the couch with Sasha still sitting on the other side.
His voice was clipped and controlled. "So…..Carl Matthews is….dead."
No one said a word. Complete silence for a few minutes before Danny spoke up.
"You did what had to be done, buddy."
Shauni leaned into him and tightened her hold around his waist. Then Steve felt her started to shake with quiet sobs against him.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry you had to do that, baby."
Sasha, in turn, also leaned over to put her head on her brother in law's shoulder.
"It couldn't be helped," Steve said although his voice was still controlled and emotionless. "I wasn't going to let him hurt Sasha….and I swear to God, he wasn't going to hurt you again."
"But…." Shauni began before Steve stopped her.
"Shhhhhh, we'll talk about it later. Right now, we need to get back home and check on our babies."
Before getting up off the couch to take Shauni and Sasha home, he looked at Danny. "Meet me back at HQ in two hours."
Danny didn't hesitate. "You got it."
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Two hours later….
Steve walked in to their offices with a heavy heart. Danny could see the memories of what had happened weighing down on him as soon as Steve walked in. Lou, Chin, Kono, and Jerry were also all there. None of them had doubted the impact this would have on Steve, so they all wanted to be there to offer support.
Kono was the first to go up and offer a hug. "How are you? And how is everyone else?"
Steve shrugged. "It's hard to say. I mean, Sasha is in shock…..Shauni is upset but trying to be strong for our babies…Nahale practically broke down into tears as soon as we came home because he thought I was going to be pissed…and Derek and Olivia…"
His voice trailed off.
"Lemme guess…..They are mad about you keeping them out of the loop?" Danny said.
Steve seemed to shake himself out of his funk to look at Danny. "Actually, no. They took it much better than I thought. They were just relieved that everyone was okay."
After several minutes talking about what all had taken place during that afternoon, Steve told his team they could go home. Everyone agreed….except Danny. The two of them settled into his office and both grabbed a beer from the small fridge Steve kept in his office for occasions such as this. Then, he sat down at his desk to type up a report on the day's activities.
He was surprised to see that an incident report had already been started with many details filled in. He looked up at Danny.
Danny smiled, "I got here before you," he explained. "So since I was there with you the entire time, I knew I could do most of the report to save you some time. You just need to fill in the parts that ask for YOUR opinions and memories of what happened."
Steve was so relieved he could've hugged his partner. All he wanted was to get back home to his family and Danny had basically saved him an hour or two of work in order to allow him to do so.
"Thanks, buddy," was all Steve could manage to choke out.
Danny kept the moment light. "You're welcome…..but now you owe me, so just remember that."
They shared a laugh together before Steve buckled down to finish the report and go back home. The one thing burning in the back of his mind was his need to be back with Shauni and his sweet babies.
Getting over the fact that he'd killed Carl Matthews was another matter, but he would deal with it.
Eventually.
Danny had known Steve for a long time and could tell the weight bearing down on him at that moment. He may've been acting as if killing Carl Matthews was just a "day at the job", but Danny knew better. It had affected him on a deeper level. He wasn't sure why, but one thing he knew for sure: He would be there to help Steve get through it.
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