I am sorry it has taken so long to post this chapter. With kids and holidays and work, I just had no time to write. I hope you enjoy.

Alyssa felt the heat crawl up her neck and on to her cheeks and she knew she must be turning red. She steadfastly refused to look at Chin, but forced herself to look at Kono who continued to grin.

"Kono, I," she started, but Kono shook her head.

"Its cool. I was just getting tired of seeing you two exchange looks, but not do anything about it." She looked at Chin, "Looks like you did something about it, Cuz. Good for you." She turned to leave and Alyssa risked a look at Chin who seemed to understand her question and nodded to her. She smiled at him, brushed a quick kiss across his lips, jumped off the bed and ran after Kono.

Alyssa caught up with Kono in the hallway. "Kono…I…?" Alyssa found that she did not know what to say.

Kono stopped to look at her friend. "I meant what I said," she said reassuringly. "I can't think of two people who deserve to be happy than you and Chin. I'm glad that you found each. I think it will be good for both of you." Kono stopped to consider. "I know that Chin will tell you about this when he is ready, but I think you need to know now so that you can understand him better." Alyssa nodded.

Kono took a deep breath. "Chin was married. A few years ago. Her name was Malia and she and Chin were very much in love. She was murdered. It almost killed Chin. It is only now, with you, that I am starting to see the old Chin." Kono smiled. "Looks like I need to thank you again, Kaikhina, for bringing my cousin back – and in more than one way."

Alyssa's heart broke for Chin's loss, but suddenly Chin made more sense. She had always seen a quiet sadness in him and now she understood why. A fear seized her. Was she competing against a ghost for Chin's affection? Kono must have sensed what was going through her head.

"Chin cares about you, Aly. Very much. He has for a while – and neither you nor I realized it," she smiled again. "Just let it happen. Trust yourself to let it happen."

Alyssa looked at Kono thoughtfully and nodded. A thought came to her unbidden. "Oh my God, Kono. Steve."

Kono looked at Alyssa levelly. "That's between you and Steve. You tell him what you think he needs to know when you're ready to do it. If you want my advice, do it sooner rather than later, but it's entirely up to you. Your secret is safe." Kono smiled, gave Alyssa a quick hug, and then holding her at arms' length said, "Since you are now the best medicine Chin has, I suggest you get back to him." Alyssa, opened her mouth to say something, closed it, tried again and when she was not able to put her feelings into words, simply nodded to Kono, turned and headed off toward Chin's room.

Although Chin's wound was serious, he made good progress and was released from the hospital a week later to complete his recovery at home.

Since the entire team made a point of visiting Chin as often as possible, it was not a problem for Alyssa to stop by Chin's house before or after work – or sometimes both. While there was some initial awkwardness when they found themselves alone together, knowing that there was no rush and no obligations permitted them to feel their way through. Chin and Alyssa spend hours talking. She told him a great deal about her childhood and her time in the Navy. Although Chin was initially reticent, he eventually opened up about his time with the HPD, why he resigned and how he ended up on the Five-0 team.

When the doctor permitted it, she walked with him to help him rebuild his strength and within a short while, she was meeting him in the morning for a run on the beach. At first it was barely half a mile, but Chin's perseverance soon had them running five or more miles. Alyssa loved the feeling of running on the still-cool sand with the water lapping at her feet and with Chin by her side. One morning, she was feeling playful so she turned and splashed Chin until the front of his shirt was soaked. It was still early and the water was quite cold on his skin warmed by the run. Alyssa took off running and Chin chased her, bellowing in mock anger. Although Alyssa was fast, Chin's legs were longer and he soon caught up to her. He captured her around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Initially he was going to toss her into the water, but holding her warm body to him gave him another idea. He set her down, not releasing his hold for a moment and turned her around. He changed his grip, so that his right hand was positioned squarely and securely on her back and the left one went to the nape of her neck. He pulled her in to him lowering his head until his lips met hers. They stood thus for a few minutes, each reveling in the contact, until Alyssa broke the kiss promising that there would be another one at the end of the next two miles that they yet had to run. They both resumed their run, a bit more out of breath than one would think they should be after just running three miles,

The more they spoke, the more secrets they shared and the more their emotional connection developed. Alyssa found that her attraction to Chin was growing and while the feelings were incredibly pleasurable, she was terrified. She knew what this would lead to – what she wanted it to lead to, but the very thought terrified her as well. Her luck in this area had been uniformly terrible throughout her life and she did not want to screw it up with Chin.

One Friday several weeks later, Alyssa was at her desk at Five-O headquarters when the chirping of her phone indicated she had a text message. She reached for her phone and smiled when she realized it was from Chin. "Doctor signed the release. I'm cleared to go back to work on Monday. Want to celebrate?" Alyssa felt a warm flush spread up her neck and cheeks as she texted her affirmative response. "My place, about 6?" Chin texted back. Alyssa acknowledged and tried to focus on her work for the next hour and a half before it was time to leave.

Alyssa stopped by her apartment to shower and change. She chose a rose sundress that made her skin seem more golden and her eyes bluer. She wished she could do her hair the way Kono had, but had to be satisfied with just giving it a good brushing so that it shown when it caught the light. She drove to Chin's house and hesitantly knocked on the door. Although they had spent a lot of time together over the past several months, this would be their first official date and she was so nervous, she was sure that Chin would be able to hear her heart beat and her knees knocking together.

After just a moment, Chin opened the door. In his hand he held a beautiful lei made of carnations and roses which he placed over Alyssa's head. However, instead of stepping away from her once she had donned the lei, Chin stood close and looked into her eyes. "You look beautiful," he whispered. He brushed a kiss across her lips and smiled. "Hungry? I got reservations at seven, we'd better get going."

They ate at a small restaurant on the beach and watched the moon come up over the water. Since the house was once a private mansion, it was surrounded by gardens. After dinner, Chin took Alyssa's hand and they strolled through the gardens scented by roses, orchids and jasmine. They took their shoes off and walked on the beach. After a cocktail at the bar, Chin drove back to his house. Neither one of them wanted the evening to end so Chin invited Alyssa in for a glass of wine.

While he was in the kitchen, Alyssa looked at the pictures set up over the living room. Most were of Chin and Malia, his wife. She was gently fingering one picture when Chin walked in. He put the wine down, walked over to her, snaked his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"She was very beautiful," Alyssa said.

"Yes," Chin agreed. "She was."

"You looked so happy together."

"We were." Chin acknowledged. "When she was m…," he took a deep breath and tried again, "When she di…," Alyssa's heart broke for the pain Chin still was feeling. After another breath, Chin tried a third time. "When I lost Malia, I thought that my life was over. That I would never feel the same away again. That I would never love. I was wrong. Everything is different now, Aly. With you. But I am happy again. Like I've not been for a long time." He pulled Alyssa around to face him, taking both of her hands in his. "Aly, I am in love with you. I have been for a while."

Alyssa was speechless. She looked into his eyes so full of warmth and emotion and whispered. "I love you too, Chin Ho Kelly."

Chin pulled her into his arms and Alyssa wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her lips and she opened her mouth to him. She tentatively touched his tongue with hers and was gratified when she heard a low growl deep in his throat. Chin kissed her lips again, then along her jaw line and down her neck. His hands strayed to touch her breasts, when he felt her body stiffen and gasp escape her lips.

He immediately stopped and looked up. Alyssa was pale and shaking and there was a look of wild fear in her eyes. "Please, don't stop," she said. "I'm OK."

"No, Aly, you are not," Chin gently said. "I was moving too fast. I am sorry."

Tears were running down Alyssa's cheeks. "No, its me." Alyssa took Chin's hands in her own, took a deep, tremulous breath, "Chin, there are some things about me that you still don't know; some things that I have to tell you."

Uh-Oh. Trouble in paradise? What could Alyssa possibly be hiding? I hope you like the twist and are not too mad at me. I promise more coming very soon. For what its worth, once the next chapter is up (which will hopefully be much faster than the last one), I will be changing the rating of the story to M. As always, I love your reviews and any thoughts you have. Thank you for reading.