Steve decided to leave the room to allow Derek and Olivia Steele some time to visit with their daughter alone. They asked him to stay, but he insisted and told them he needed to check in with his team. After visiting with her a little while and feeling better about how she was doing, Derek decided to leave Olivia alone with Shauni while he sought out Steve. He found him talking on his phone in the private waiting room that had been set aside for members of the family and friends. Seeing Derek come into the room, Steve ended his call and turned his attention to him.

"I want to thank you again for taking care of our daughter, Commander." Derek began. "I know it was a stretch and not what you normally do, but considering what was going on with this fan, we wanted the best protection possible around her. Governor Denning insured us she would be in good hands with you, and he was right. I don't even want to think about what may've happened if you weren't there to act quickly."

"I appreciate that, sir. And please call me Steve. Shauni has been a pleasure to be around…..Not at all like I expected, if I may say so."

Derek smiled at his comment. "We've tried to keep our girls as grounded as possible, even though that wasn't always easy with them growing up in Hollywood. I'm really proud of both of them, though. I'm sure you've realized that Shauni can be quite stubborn when she sets her mind to something, but she also has a big heart. Sometimes…..like this time…..her hard headedness gets her into trouble, but her intentions are always good."

"So how did you manage that?" Steve asked. "I mean, how did you raise such a down-to-earth daughter living in the limelight/"

"Well, first off, all credit goes to my beautiful Olivia. She is from the South. She is a former Miss Alabama and every bit the 'southern belle'. She insisted that our girls have manners and taught them to never believe their own hype, so to speak. We always did a lot of charity work and volunteering with them growing up, too. It was important to show them how privileged they really were and how we could use our spot in life as a way to help others. I think that's why Shauni has such a heart for others now. We also tried to take vacations in places where our girls could just be girls and not 'celebrity daughters'. We actually spent quite a few summers in Hawaii."

"Why's that?"

"It's different here. We could get away from all the craziness and not be hounded everywhere we went. For the most part, we could just vacation like a normal family which was nice."

Noticing that some others may be eavesdropping on their conversation, Derek motioned for Steve to follow him to a more private area of the room where their conversation wouldn't be so easily overheard. "Listen, Steve, I need to ask you a favor, if I may."

"Sure. I'll do whatever I can for you." Steve assured him.

Derek looked grateful as he explained, "I'm going to try to get my wife away long enough to check into the hotel and get some rest. I think this scare has exhausted us both emotionally. Now that we know Shauni is going to be okay, I feel confident we can leave her in your care. If I give you my private cell number, will you keep me in the loop if anything happens? John and Stacy both already have so much on them trying to handle the media frenzy and rescheduling that is going on. I'd really like it if you could be my eyes and ears until we can get back?"

"Of course. I have no plans to leave her for a while anyway, so I'd be happy to do that."

A look that Steve couldn't quite decipher passed over Derek's face before he masked it and thanked Steve for his continued willingness to step in. "Thank you, Steve. I know she's in good hands."

****************h50****************h50****************h50

Meanwhile in Shauni's room…..

Olivia sat by her daughter's side holding her hand and saying silent prayers of thankfulness that Shauni was still alive and going to be okay. Once Derek had left the room to meet with Steve, she looked at Shauni and grinned.

"Okay, now that your Daddy is gone, how about some girl talk?" she smiled conspiratorially at her daughter.

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me about you and Commander McGarrett."

"There is no 'me and Commander McGarrett', Mom. He's just been handling security for us this week."

Olivia looked knowingly at her daughter. It was the look she always gave her girls when they tried to pull something over on her and she knew they weren't telling the truth. "Come on, sweetie. You may be able to full most people with that line, but not your Momma. I know you. Besides, I saw the way you two looked at each other when he was in the room."

"How is that?" Shauni tried unsuccessfully to hide her grin.

"Like two people who really like each other but are trying to fight the attraction towards each other. There were sparks flying all over this room even though you both tried to hide it"

Shauni sighed. "Steve's a great guy, Mom. A little gruff and intense…but he has a soft side that I don't think he shows very often. He's actually very sweet."

Olivia's eyes twinkled, "Not to mention gorgeous. That man would look great on a big screen."

Remembering how Steve had looked earlier as they sat on the beach at his house, Shauni agreed wholeheartedly. He had a set of abs that any man would envy and any woman would love to get her hands on. "Yeah, well, there is that too. He's definitely easy on the eyes." She agreed with her mother.

"Sounds a lot like what I first thought about your dad. He was intense, driven, charismatic…..and gorgeous. But also sweet and loving underneath the gruff exterior. He was everything I wanted in a man. You know, your dad still makes my heart flutter when he smiles at me." She smiled at her daughter with obvious love and affection in her eyes.

"Not many people find what you and Daddy have, Mom. I mean, just the fact that you've been married for almost 30 years in Hollywood makes you legendary."

"Come on now. You make me sound old!" Olivia scoffed at her daughter even though there was a teasing smile on her face. One thing for sure, Olivia Steele could never be mistaken for looking "old". In fact, she could easily pass for 15 years younger than her actual age most of the time. "I'll agree, what your Dad and I have is special, but it's not impossible. You and Steve like each other and have an obvious attraction towards each other….so why do you look like that's a bad thing? Like I said, I saw the way the two of you looked at each other. Tell me honestly, your heart does little flip flops in your chest when he smiles at you, doesn't it"

Shauni giggled. It was true. He could make her heart flutter even when he wasn't smiling. Being anywhere near him seemed to turn her to a pile of goo. She had to be realistic, though. "Come on, Mom. There is seriously no chance that we could ever have a relationship that lasted."

"Why not?"

"Why? Because I'm in the music industry and I travel most of the time….and he is in charge of a very specialized task force in Hawaii that keeps him busy all the time. It would never work."

Olivia looked at her daughter with a mixture of seriousness and compassion in her eyes, "Nonsense. No relationship is ever easy, sweetie. If you're looking for perfect, you will never find it. Relationships take work and compromise, but when two people are meant to be together, it doesn't feel like work. It just happens." She reached out to take her daughter's hand, "You won't go wrong by following your heart, though. I'm not saying you and Steve are going to get married, for heaven's sake. All I'm saying is that I don't want you to fight against something, or someone, who obviously makes you feel very happy just because he's not in 'the industry'. I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to follow your heart on this one. Besides, something tells me Steve McGarrett would be able to handle all the craziness anyway."

Olivia watched as her daughter seemed to be considering everything she'd shared before continuing in a soft….but firm….voice. "And if I may add, you owe that man an apology, young lady."

Shauni looked at her mom as if she didn't know what she was talking about. "An apology for what?"

"He's been worried sick about you. We all have been…..but Stacy told me that Steve has taken this whole ordeal especially hard because you were under his care. He feels like it is his fault that this crazy man was able to get close enough to hurt you…Even though, you and I both know that's not the case. Am I right?"

"Yes, ma'am. You're right. This is all on me. I didn't listen to his warnings about doing a meet and greet."

Olivia elaborated "AND, you tricked him by sneaking in to do it when you knew he would be occupied with something else." To her credit, Shauni looked sincerely ashamed at her mother's admonition. Even though she was in her late 20's, her mom could still make her feel like a little girl when needed.

"I'll apologize to him, Mom. I promise. I don't want him to think this is his fault."

Her mother's smile returned as she leaned down to kiss her daughters cheek.

At that moment, they heard a knock on the door as Steve and Derek walked back in both laughing about something. Shauni looked at Steve and was struck again by how beautiful his face was when he smiled. Seeing both men laughing, Olivia looked at her daughter and shared a knowing smile. Shauni knew exactly what she was thinking: See? You look at Steve the same way I look at your Dad.

The men didn't seem to want to share what they were laughing about, so Derek changed the subject and managed to convince Olivia to leave Shauni a little while to get some rest. Knowing Steve was going to stay with her made both the Steele's feel more comfortable as they left and promised to return a few hours later.

***************h50**************h50**************h50

For the first time in a what felt like forever, Steve and Shauni were left alone. Steve pulled a chair up to sit by her bedside again.

"Your parents are great." Steve commented as he took her hand to hold it in his own.

"Yeah. They're pretty terrific." Shauni agreed. "Overprotective a lot of the time….especially my dad….but still terrific."

"They just love you and want to keep you safe. I would feel the same way if you were mine." Realizing what he had just admitted….out loud…..he tried to rephrase. "I mean, you know…..." Steve's gaze softened as he looked at her. Shauni felt herself blush under his gaze and decided to lighten the moment.

"Well, that's easy for you to say because you didn't grow up with him as a father. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get dates because guys knew they would have to meet Derek Steele before taking me out? I mean, my dad would meet them at the door with his signature Colt 45 just to scare them." Even though she sounded serious, there was obvious affection in her voice as she spoke about her famous dad who's most famous character had been a no nonsense cop who never followed the rules….and always carried a Colt 45.

Steve laughed out loud. It was an all-out belly laugh that made her giggle despite herself. "He didn't!" Steve protested.

Shauni was still laughing as she answered, "Oh yes he did. And let me tell you, he loved it!"

"What did your mom think about that?"

"After she would get my date inside, she'd pull my dad aside and say something like 'Derek Michael! Don't you scare that poor child to death!'-in her southern twang, of course. Daddy would try to look all innocent, but my mom could always put him in his place if she had to."

"Oh I have no doubt about that." Steve looked at Shauni with humor and affection in his eyes. "Well, like I said, I can certainly understand why he would do that. I'll probably do the same thing if I ever have a daughter. In fact, I may just hang on to my cammies so I can wear them on night's my daughter is going to have a date picking her up." Once again, they shared a look that spoke volumes; as if they were both allowing their minds to wonder 'what if'?

Shauni felt a familiar tug in her chest as she wondered about the possibility of having anything "special" with Steve. The attraction was certainly there, but was it there just because of the closeness they'd shared that week or was it something else? Her eyes wandered to his mouth of their own accord as she recalled what it had felt like for him to kiss her. She had felt so safe with him; Probably safer than she had in her entire life. She unconsciously licked her bottom lip. Steve noticed the gesture and couldn't hold back anymore. He cupped one side of her cheek with his hand as he leaned down to kiss her. Sweetly, gently, softly. When he finally broke away, his mouth still very close to hers, he whispered, "I've been wanting to do that all day. I'm so glad you're okay." Shauni found she couldn't speak. She could only smile. Steve McGarrett had a way of making her speechless in a way no one else ever had. It was intoxicating and infuriating at the same time. He leaned down to kiss her again, this time a little more urgently and Shauni sensed that he was apologizing for letting her get hurt, as if the weight of it was still heavy on his shoulders.

This time, she was the one to break the kiss as she leaned back onto her pillow to look at him. He couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering when you were going to finish beating yourself up over something that's not your fault." Steve didn't respond. He just looked at her mouth again as if he couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Look at me, please?" She put her hands on either side of his face. It took a moment, but Steve finally looked at her with so much guilt hidden in his beautiful blue eyes that Shauni felt a lump in her throat. Her mother was right. She was responsible for putting it there….and she was so sorry. "This is all on me, Steve. None of this is your fault. I was the one who chose to go into that room….against your advice….and Carl Matthews is the one who hurt me. It's not on you at all. Okay?"

Steve closed his eyes and his voice sounded thick when he spoke to her. Even as the words came out of his mouth, he almost couldn't believe he was saying them. But he'd almost lost her today, dammit. Now wasn't the time to hold back. "I could've lost you today. I just found you…..and I could've lost you."

Tears filled her eyes against her will. She had never meant to hurt him….or anyone….but she was seeing how selfish her act had been. She vowed not to let it happen again.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. Then, deciding to try to lighten the moment again, she said, "Kiss me again and I'll try to make it up to you and promise to be a good girl from now on." She looked up at Steve with a naughty spark in her eyes. She saw the same glint in Steve's eyes as Steve leaned down to kiss her again. However, before putting his lips to hers, he whispered, "It may take more than a kiss to apologize, Miss Steele."

Then he gave her a kiss that made her tingle all the way to her toes…..and everywhere in between.