"Angel." He said and jumped to his feet.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you." He answered and stepped toward her. She stepped back immediately and he looked at her worriedly. "I know I've said some nasty things to you recently. Tha'ts why I'm here. I, I had to apologize. I have no right to talk to you the way I have been. You've been by me through so much you don't deserve that kind of treatment. I really am sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me you had PTSD?"

"I didn't want to burden you. I thought I could take care of it on my own but I..." She held her hand up to stop him and stepped forward.

"Burden me?" She then showed him her ring finger. "Do you see this? This means for better or worse. We're in this together Steve. No matter what. I know you went through a lot over there and I am truly sorry for that but you have to remember that I am always here for you."

"I know. That's why I came out here to see you." he said stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her. They stood in silence until Steve pulled away and smiled.

"Hey. I love you. You know that right?"

"Yeah. I love you too." She smiled in return.

"Is this Steve?"

Steve and Angel looked to the top of the porch to see Angels grandmother staring at the couple with a smile. Steve knew instantly where Angel got her looks and personality from. The two could have been twins.

"Yeah nana. This is Steve." Angel smiled and grabbed his hand to take him to her. When they reached the top step, he held his hand out and she gave him a stern look.

"We don't shake hands in this family." she told him and held her arms open. Steve grinned and stepped into her waiting arms. "It sure is a pleasure to meet the young man my granddaughter has fallen in love with. I have heard so much about you I feel like you two have been together half your lives."

"Same to you ma'am." He nodded.

"Oh none of that ma'am nonsense either. Its Shirley or nana."

Steve gave Angel a smile and knew the two women had spent a lot of time together over Angels life. He was then introduced to the rest of Angels family and seemed to be welcomed in with happiness. Until he met her grandfather.

"Hey pop, I wanted you to meet Steve. Is that ok?" She asked her weak grandfather.

"Of course it is. Bring him in." He responded and attempted to sit up.

"Hello sir. Steve McGarrett. Pleasure to meet you." Steve said with a smile and a nod.

"Franklin Johnson. So you're the young man who's taken a liking to my granddaughter?"

"Yes sir."

"Angel honey, you let me and Steve here have a few minutes alone. Man talk. You wont be interested." Her pop told her.

"Alright. I'll be downstairs. Yell if you need me." She said to the two men and kissed both of their cheeks on her way out.

"What do you think of my little Angel?"

"She's a little hell raiser." Steve confirmed with another smile.

"That she is. Always has been. That girl has gotten bucked off a wild horse, scaring the be-Jesus outta me and her nana and she would just jump right back up on that damn horse until it was tame." The older man laughed.

"She never told me anything about that." Steve said and the man barked out another laugh and continued telling Steve stories of her childhood.

"I haven't heard that laugh in so long." Shirley said with a smile to her middle granddaughter. "Thank you for that dear." And patted Angels hand.

"You should be thanking Steve."

"If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be here to cause that wonderful sound. So I have to thank you both."

Steve came downstairs a few minutes later with a smile and sat at the table next to Angel.

"You had quite the childhood. Why didn't you tell me about being in the rodeo and doing barrel races?"

"I don't like to brag about it is all." She shrugged. A moment later, a book was dropped on the table in front of the pair.

"I have pictures from every event she participated in."

"Nana." Angel lightly scolded and attempted to take the book but Steve had a firm hold.

"This was Angel and Josh at her first competition. She came in second by an eighth of a second." Becky told him and pointed to a picture of a dirt covered brother and sister. For the next hour Angel protested each album and each embarrassing baby photo until they had all been gone through.

"Why are you embarrassed?" Steve questioned her red face.

"Some of those pictures are goofy as hell!" she answered with a deeper blush.

"You were adorable." He confirmed and kissed her temple. Shirley patted Steve on the shoulder and smiled.

"Frank wants to talk to you again."

Angel followed Steve up the stairs and into her grandfathers room. He gave Steve a knowing look when he sat down.

"I remembered something. I knew your grandfather." Steve's eyes grew wide in surprise and he leaned forward anxiously. "We served together on the Arizona."

"How did you get out?" Steve asked curiously.

"I was on top of the ship when it started to go down. Your grandfather saved my life."

"How did he do that?" Angel asked, very curious as well.

"He had forgotten something on deck and sent me to get it. The bombs started dropping right when I reached the top." Her pop paused for a moment while he thought then continued. "He was an incredible man your grandfather."

Steve smiled proudly with tears brimming his eyes. Angel placed her hand on his shoulder lovingly and they quietly left the room when her pop fell asleep. As they were preparing for bed that night, Shirley came into the room and gave them stern looks.

"I trust there will be no funny business under my roof?"

"No there will be no funny business nana." Angel confirmed with a blush.

"Good. Now you two sleep tight. See you in the morning." She told the two after kissing them both of the cheeks.

Halfway through the night, Angel was woke by Steve mumbling in his sleep. He had been tossing and turning all night so she determined he had to have been having nightmares.

"Steve." She gently shook him. "Steve honey. Wake up."

After another shake, he shot up out of the bed to his feet with his gun raised at Angel. She put her hands in the air and spoke softly.

"Steve. Its ok. Its Angel." She could see emotions running through his eyes and attempted to go to him but when he kept the gun trained on her she stopped.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Georgia with my family." She confirmed.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"I didn't. You came here on your own." She told him calmly.

"Why?"

"You wanted to apologize for the way you had been acting the past couple of weeks."

He slowly lowered his gun and pinched the bridge of his nose. Angel stood and took his gun, disarmed it and wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey. Its ok. I'm here. Want to tell me what happened?" She asked and sat them on the edge of the bed.

"It, it was. I remembered them beating me. They were horrible. I have never been in so much pain." he answered and softly sobbed. She pulled him back into her arms and held him close to her as he cried. After a few minutes they laid back in the bed and Steve quickly fell asleep. When he woke the next morning, he was alone. So he dressed and went downstairs where the house was empty. He knew where everyone was as soon as he stepped outside.

"Good morning Steve honey." Shirley said, coming to greet him.

"Morning." He nodded.

"She's out behind the barn." She winked and continued into the home. He walked over to the barn where he saw men cleaning stalls and filling them with hay. Continuing on his way, he made it to the back and went to stand by a large fenced in area, next to Angel.

"Hey babe." She said with a smile and gave him a light kiss.

"Hey. Whats going on?" He motioned to a girl younger than Angel on a horse inside the fence.

"That's Melissa. She's my youngest cousin. Her dad, my uncle Jim, is helping her train for the rodeo this weekend." She explained and cringed when Melissa fell off the horse.

"Damn. Is she alright?" Steve asked concerned until the young woman stood and brushed all the dirt off as if nothing happened. Angel shook her head and whistled for Melissa to come her way.

"What am I doing wrong Angel?" The girl sighed. "I have never had this much trouble before."

"Your too tense. You need to relax. Your trying too hard to control him. Take a deep breath and just let it come to you."

"You should show her what you mean." Franklin said from behind them. Her horse, Cinnamon, was all saddled up and ready to ride.

"Pop! What are you doing out of bed?" Angel asked worriedly.

"I ain't going to die in that damn bed. If I'm going to go then I want to be out here where I belong." The old man told her sternly. Steve smiled at the stubbornness the man and his granddaughter shared. "Now get up in there and show us how its done."

"Pop I haven't done that on a horse is so long." She argued. "I don't think I remember how to do it."

"Bullshit." The man protested. "That isn't something that just goes away."

Looking behind her, she saw six sets of eyes, waiting patiently for her to ride. Her brothers and dad had joined them and looked to her with smiles. Finally she nodded and took the horse from her grandfather.

"This is going to be good." Josh said to Steve and patted him on the shoulder. Steve smiled as Angel pulled herself up on the animal and guided her to the gate.

"Hold on. Hold on!" Shirley yelled from beside the barn and quickly made her way to Angels side. "Don't forget this." She said and held up a black cowboy hat.

"My lucky hat! I forgot about this old thing." She replied and placed the item on her head before giving Steve a wink.

"Alright. Ready?" Her uncle Jim asked. Angel nodded and braced herself. A loud pop was heard and she was off. Steve watched in amazement as she expertly guided the horse around the first barrel, then the second, raced down to the third, and quickly sent the horse back to the gate. Cheers were around the ranch when she finished and she turned a whole new shade of red.

"My girl has still got it!" Her pop yelled excitedly before going into a fit of coughs.

"That was incredible." Steve told her when she jumped off the horse next to him.

"She broke her old record by a whole second!" Andrew said proudly and pulled his daughter into a hug.

"I told you you could do it." Her pop confirmed with a smile. He pulled her into a hug and for a moment everything was perfect. Until he went limp in her arms and she struggled to stand.

"Pop? POP!"

Three days later, her family stood in a circle under a willow tree on the ranch, all dressed in black as they listened to the preacher speak of her grandfather. There was a moment of silence when he finished and her grandmother stepped forward to speak herself.

"Franklin and I were married under this tree. This is where he requested we spread his ashes." she continued speaking but Angel had stopped listening. Memories of her childhood with her pop swirled throughout her mind and tears flowed softly down her face. Steve put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. He kissed the top of her head while her body softly shook from grief. Once the ashes were spread and the group dissolved, Angel wasted no time in running to the barn. She pulled Cinnamon out of her stall and hopped on bareback to ride.