Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O or anything you recognize from it.

I don't think I've stressed this enough but I really just want to thank the readers, reviewers, favourites, alerts…anyone that is still tagging along. Your support, enthusiasm and interest are the reason why this story keeps growing; this chapter is for you. Thank you, thank you and thank you.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sliding into Hopeful Betrayal

Melissa spent the entire afternoon replaying back how Steve looked, the way his entire body froze, the light in his eyes dimming to a glacier's edge. She tried to tell herself that it meant nothing, that Steve was nothing to her but deep down, regardless of how deep she tried to bury everything, he meant something to her. Though she refused to dwell on what that 'something' was. Every precious smile, how his voice had a slight husk to it and the way he sounded even when he was arguing with Danny. She would do her best to push him out of her mind, out from under her skin; he obviously wanted to be nothing to her and she would grant him his wish. She would let him go. Even if it killed her.

She sighed dejectedly, reaching over and grabbed her phone as it began vibrating, "Yes?"

"Aren't you even going to say hello?" A warm voice commented dryly in her ear.

She pulled back to look at the screen before putting the phone back to her ear, "Hello."

"What's wrong?" Rourke asked, concern lacing his voice.

She sighed, pushing away from the table to move towards the windows, facing away from any prying eyes, "Just feeling a bit down."

"Are you coming?" A voice asked from behind her.

"One minute." She said into the phone before turning around and watching as Danny and Chin said their goodbyes and left, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Kono smiled, "We're off now, I have to drive you to my place so you can pick up your car."

"Yeah, I'll be a minute." Melissa waited until Kono had left the office before putting the phone back to her ear. She was in such a state that she hadn't even seen Steve leave, "Sorry about that."

"No worries, look, I'll make it up to you."

She smiled, "You don't have to. Trust me, its not that big of a deal."

He made a harrumphed noise on his end, "It is a big deal to me. Whenever I'm down, the worst thing I could do is to stay at home and wallow. I will not let you wallow."

She chuckled, "Fine, fine. What are your plans?"

He rattled off an address, "Meet me there at five and wear something light. We'll be outside for a few hours."

She sighed, what was she getting herself into? "Okay, I'll meet you there." She closed her phone with one more sigh and stared out the windows.

"How long have you two been dating?" A whiskey voice asked from behind her.

She whipped around and almost tripped, a hand shooting out to grasp her elbow, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She stared up at Steve, not wanting to even acknowledge the hand cupping her elbow in case he removed it and she'd be left feeling bereft. "Uh, since yesterday, I guess."

He nodded, quickly removing his hand from her elbow and shoved his hands in his pocket, staring everywhere but at her, "What does he do?"

She smirked dryly, "Believe it or not, he's a cop."

He stared unblinkingly at her, "What's his name?"

She smiled slightly; he didn't really care about her. He just wanted to make sure she wasn't gallivanting around with a crooked cop…right? "I'm not telling you, Steve. So you can just throw that idea out the window."

He chuckled, pulling his hand out of his pocket and reached over, grasping her hand, "You're amazing, Melissa. I just want to make sure you're with someone that deserves you." He squeezed her hand gently and let go.

Melissa watched him walk away from her, her thoughts and the sound of her heart beating almost too loud for her to bear. She frowned, now he decided to make a move? Now, after everything that has happened, after her seeing Rourke…now! What a jackass, he hadn't even fought for her; he had fought more for himself and just accepted the fact that she was no longer single with a calm nod. No, that was just unacceptable. She'd have fought the entire world for him and Steve? Too busy fighting with his armour and admitting defeat before even picking up his weapon.

"Hey!" Melissa shouted.

Steve stopped in the doorway, looking questioningly over his shoulder, "What?"

She walked up to him, her cardigan and phone in one hand and the other to shove him away from the door, "You have no right to even say those things. Who are you to me? Nobody! You are just someone I'm working alongside and you never wanted to change that!" She snapped, jabbing his chest once more with her finger before turning away.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to face him, "You're right, I have no right to say it but damn it…" They both stood there huffing angrily. He reached up with his other hand and gently pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek.

She glanced up at him, her breathing becoming short for a different reason. "This is madness." She whispered, wishing he'd kiss her, wishing he'd do something besides staring into her eyes intently.

He shook his head and bent down, his lips a mere millimetre from touching hers, "If we were different people at a different time in our lives, you'd have made me very happy."

Melissa closed her eyes against the rising tides of hope and leaned in closer, making a sound when his lips brushed hers. He pulled back and released her, not meeting her eyes, "You should go…Kono is waiting for you."

Melissa nodded, not even sure if she could walk after what just happened. She walked past him and got into the elevator alone, leaving her resolutions behind with him.

0000000000000000

She parked her car and glanced once more to make sure she had the right address, "He's taking me to a baseball game?" She muttered under her breath, rolling up the sleeves to her thin long sleeved shirt. She had opted for shorts and the shirt; they were both thin enough and didn't reveal the dangerous tattoos she harboured.

"You must really miss me if you've resorted to talking to yourself now." She heard Rourke comment from behind her.

She turned around smiled at him, loving the fact that just his appearance eased some of the darkened clouds over her head, the monsters inside her calming down. She ignored Steve, all of the worries and hopes connected to him and just focused on the man standing before her. Without thinking she walked into his arms and hugged him tightly, "Thank you for forcing me to come."

He laughed and tightened his arms, "I wish I could say it was altruistic but I wanted to see you again."

She smiled and inhaled his scent; there were few things better in life as far as she was concerned. She took his hand and let him drag her away to a spot on a bench, to watch a game that she didn't really care about but one thing mattered. She was with someone she was beginning to care for and he made everything else pale in comparison.

As the time grew longer and the end of the game neared, she glanced to the side field. She didn't know what had made her turn her head, she had been laughing with Rourke and sharing his drink when she felt compelled to turn her head to the left, near the edge of the field. She squinted her eyes and died.

For a blistering second Melissa tried fighting against her brain, telling herself that it couldn't be him. That there was no way in hell, that Steve would be at the same game with a skinny blonde hanging off his arm. They were both laughing and Melissa allowed herself to feel the pang at his carefree smile, his carefree laugh, the way his arm wrapped itself around the woman's waist. The blonde was a toothpick! How in hell's can that be attractive? Melissa watched masochistically as the woman leaned into his side and whispered something in his ear, earning a laugh from Steve. She squinted at them, wishing she had brought her gun and wondering if Rourke had a bazooka in his trunk.

Steve smiled at the blonde and caught her chin in his hand, pulling her to him. Melissa tried looking away, tried to fight against the rising anguish she felt burning from her toes to the top of her head but she was a masochist of the highest order and she had to make sure that he was indeed, twisting the knife deeper into her heart. She watched as the blonde and Steve kissed passionately before turning back to the field with a dark scowl on her face. "I've seen him before. What's his name?" Rourke asked from besides her.

It took every ounce of Melissa's training to quell the scorn; Rourke didn't deserve to be lied to, he didn't deserve anything but her sincerity, honesty and attention. She was doing him a disservice and Steve had so eloquently and kindly reminded her that she had no rights to him. That she was Rourke's and she would work to make him her first priority. For all she cared, Steve could go suck a lemon.

"He's the commanding officer of Five-O and a complete asshole." Melissa said without much interest. She smiled genuinely at Rourke, making sure he saw that she was going to be okay. He stared at her for a minute before nodding and returning her smile.