Authors note: I'm soo sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I'm super super sick at the moment and have had no energy or inspiration.
Just over a month had passed when Allison found herself standing beside Joe White at the back of Chin and Malia's wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, as were the bride and groom, but Allison's eyes lingered on Steve. He cleaned up well and she couldn't help, but picture him at their own wedding. Not that they had any plans, but she had always wanted to get married. A simple ceremony, much like the one she was currently attending, a fancy dress, her father walking her down the aisle towards the man she loved, she'd thought about it often as she grew up and thinking about it now, the only man she could picture in her little fantasy was Steve.
As she stood lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly rubbed her lower back as it started to ache. This was a side effect from the pregnancy and usually not too bad, but thanks to the heels she was wearing, it was starting to bother her.
"So, uh, how far along are you?" Joe whispered, leaning over slightly so he wouldn't disturb the other guests.
Allison stared at him wide eyed, her hand moving from her back to her stomach.
"What? How did you know?" She asked, shocked.
"I've seen enough pregnant women in my life to know the symptoms." He smiled. "I've had my suspicions ever since you were hysterical over Steve being captured."
"They train you guys well in the navy..." Allison muttered, still floored that he'd figured it out.
"That they do," He agreed.
"I'm just over three months," She told him.
"Well congratulations," He said before they turned their attention back to the ceremony.
Once the ceremony was finished, the reception started. The chairs were cleared away and replaced with tables and people began piling the food on. Sticking with the casual theme of the wedding, Chin and Malia had decided to make it a pot-luck, where each person or family brought a dish so by the time they were done setting it up it there was far more food than everyone would be able to eat. Suddenly realizing how hungry she was, Allison took advantage of the fact that most people had headed straight to the bar and grabbed a plate.
Just as she finished stacking her plate with food, she felt Steve's arms snake around her waist.
"Wow, someone's hungry." He joked, looking at the large amount of food she had taken.
"Well I am eating for two," She reminded him with a smile. "Oh, and Joe knows by the way."
"He does?" Steve asked, confused.
"Yeah, these heels made my back ache and he noticed me rubbing it and asked about it. Apparently he's had suspicions for a while now."
"I'm not surprised," Steve admitted. "Nothing gets by Joe. You should really take those heels off though. You're the only one here even wearing shoes."
"But they look so cute with this dress," She pouted as the bride and groom approached them. Allison pulled away from Steve and passed him her plate before throwing her arms around the couple. "Congratulations!" She said with a smile. "You both look amazing and the ceremony was beautiful."
"Mahalo," Malia smiled
"We need to get you a drink," Chin commented, noticing that she seemed to be the only person without one.
Allison shot a quick glance at Steve before shaking her head at Chin.
"Thanks, but I'm not drinking tonight..."
"Oh my god," She heard Danny yell as soon as she was done politely declining Chin's offer. "Did I just hear Allison Jace turn down a drink?!"
"Hey!" She exclaimed, feigning offense. "I don't drink all the time!"
"No, but this is a special occasion and from what I've heard you'd normally be first in line at the bar," Danny said as Chin nodded in agreement.
Allison sighed and looked back at Steve, hoping he'd save the day. However, he just shrugged.
"I just, uh, had a headache earlier and took some painkillers," Allison lied. "I've heard it's not good to mix medication and alcohol..."
"Good one," Kono laughed, appearing from behind Danny. "Any other excuses you'd like to try? Keep in mind you're talking to a bunch of cops."
"I don't see why me staying sober is such a big deal!" Allison said, her frustrations rising as she began to feel cornered. Sensing his girlfriend's calmness slipping away, Steve stepped up and slid his arm around her waist.
"I didn't want to bring this up just yet because I didn't want the lovely bride and groom to feel we were trying to outshine them," Steve informed the small crowd of his coworkers that had gathered around. "But Allison won't be drinking tonight because she's pregnant."
The group stared at them for a moment before cheering.
"Congratulations!" Chin exclaimed as Kono and Malia hugged Allison.
"And when were you planning on telling me?" Danny asked as he placed a hand on Steve's shoulder.
Steve shrugged, a smile on his face.
"I hadn't really thought about it." He admitted.
"Well congrats, buddy and good luck. Parenting is one hell of a ride."
Steve thanked his partner and Kono started to laugh.
"The boys of Hawaii better pray you don't have a girl," She said. "They're gonna have a bad a hard enough time with one of you having a daughter," She was referring to how overprotective Danny is of Grace.
"I know," Allison groaned.
Everyone chuckled before firing more questions at the couple.
After the hype of Steve's announcement had died down, the party had continued as planned. Allison noticed however that Steve was keeping a very close eye on Joe. About half way through the celebrations, Joe wandered off and, after finishing the last sip of his beer, Steve followed. Allison sighed, filled with concern as she let him go. However, after making sure he was far enough away, she went over to the top of the hill where she could look down at the beach. Sure enough, Steve stood there next to his training officer.
Even from the distance that Allison was watching from she could tell that things weren't going well. Despite the fact that both men had been given Navy training and were usually incredibly good at hiding their emotion, their body language gave them away. Something was wrong and Allison had a hunch it had to do with this whole 'Shelburne' thing.
Allison was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Kono walk over and stand by her side.
"It's probably nothing," She said, alerting Allison to her presence.
"I'm not so sure about that..." Allison sighed.
"Joe has been lying to Steve about...things lately," Kono told her, not sure how much she should give away. "But they're both grown men, I'm sure they'll handle it in an adult manner."
"Is it about Shelburne?" Allison asked, not taking her eyes off the two men on the beach. "He thinks I don't notice, but he gets up almost every night and goes down to his office to look over all his files."
"I think so, yeah." Kono admitted. Steve probably wouldn't want her telling Allison that, but she'd straight up asked and Kono wasn't going to lie to the poor woman's face.
"I'm really worried about him," Allison's voice was quiet. "He promised he wouldn't go off on any more superman missions, but I'm not sure I believe him. And I don't think I can handle worrying about him like that again."
Kono turned to face her new friend.
"Everything Steve does is to protect his family," She assured Allison. "If he thinks someone he loves is in danger, he won't be able to stay at home and not do anything, but he only does it when he knows he has to."
Allison nodded and rubbed her stomach subconsciously as she saw Steve and Joe turn back towards them.
"Well let's just hope it doesn't come to that," She said, sighing once again.
By the time Steve and Joe had gotten to them, a smile was plastered on Allison's face. Kono saw right through it, but Steve was fooled.
"You spying on us?" Steve joked, slipping an arm around her waist.
"Oh you know how it is," Allison smiled. "I get so sad if I go more than five minutes without you around."
Steve laughed and kissed the top of her head.
"Oh yeah, your clinginess is really starting to get on my nerves." He said sarcastically.
Allison laughed and as they walked back to the rest of the group, she tried to put her worries out of her mind to enjoy the evening.