Hey there! Here is the second chapter. It's a bit longer than usual, I hope you don't mind :)

I'd like to thank my beta, Phoebe Miller for the help and support.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Disclaimer: I do not own H50. I wish.

"Wow, nice boat."

"Thank you, but it's actually not mine. Borrowed from a friend," Steve says and holds his hand out to help Sophia get on the board. Kamekona can arrange literally everything, he thinks gratefully.

Sophia wears shorts and a white tank top, her hair is in a messy bun. She wears the same shades as in front of the courthouse a few hours ago.

"So what are we up to?" she asks looking around curiously and then sits down.

"We're going out," Steve simply answers and moves to turn the key in the ignition. Then remembering something, he quickly turns back to her. "If that's okay with you," he adds.

She tilts her head. "I trust you," she says as if she could read his thoughts. Trust issues would be absolutely understandable given what happened to her. "Although, just so you know, I told my neighbor, Haya who I would be with."

"That's smart," he replies starting the boat. "It's always good to be careful."

"I guess I can't live my life thinking every man out there is just waiting to kill me, right?" She laughs nervously trying to disguise her doubts as a joke.

"You can't allow Seito ruin your life. Be cautious, that's good, but don't let fear take over your life."

Sophia nods and looks away. She might be blinking away some tears.

"I know, easy to say, right?" Steve smiles. "But you're getting there, Sophia, don't worry. Don't expect yourself to be okay so soon after all this shit. But you'll get there, I promise."

"I hope so," she sighs. "I just want my life to be normal, you know? And for a long time, I thought if I ignore my problems, they would just magically disappear."

"Yeah, that would be great, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that," Steve says and hopes Sophia will believe him and will understand he speaks from experience. "You can pile up all the frustration, anger, disappointment and negativity for a while, but then it will all blow up in your face, when you least expect it."

Sophia exhales. "Yeah, that's why I called you, Steve. Today at the court… I felt that was the last drop and I didn't want to wait until… how did you say it? Until it blows up in my face. I was trying the suppressing method, when you and your partner came to me for help. I thought losing my dad, my only family and dealing with the fact that now I can never make it up with him was more than enough to handle. Dealing with that asshole Seito on the top of that was just too much. I didn't have strength to process that, too. That's why I turned you away, and I'm sorry. For the way I behaved and because if I had filed that damned report, maybe you or HPD, I don't know, could have caught Seito before he killed Emily Hino."

"Hey, Sophia, you can't blame yourself for Emily's death," Steve says. He kills the engine of the boat and sits down beside her. "It was entirely Seito's decision to kill her."

But he understands Sophia. In her place, he would blame himself, too and wouldn't care if he's right or not. But right now Sophia carries way too much guilt: blaming herself for not reconciling with her dad before his death and blaming herself for Emily's murder. Even one of those things would be a way too heavy burden for anyone.

But Sophia doesn't seem to hear him and he realizes he doesn't really have to say anything. Just listen.

"I thought I could make at least one of my mistakes right, if I go to the court to testify against Seito," she continues. "But thing is even if he's sent to prison – and he will be, of course – that doesn't bring Emily back. Nothing ever will."

She swipes off a few tears and stares at the ocean. Steve wants to comfort her. He wants to hug her or at least put an arm on her shoulder to pull her close. But he thinks she's so deep in her own thoughts and so far away from him, that he would just scare her, if he touched her. Yet he can't help touching her hand just to assure her she's not alone. She doesn't react but doesn't pull away her hand either, just continues to gaze at the water.

"And I understood that in the courtroom today," she explains. "While I was sitting there answering questions, going into detail about what I want to forget so badly. I realized it's all in vain. I can try to convince myself that this was the right thing to do, that I owe Emily with this but either way, I can't change what's over. And her life is over." She shakes her head. "And then I so wanted to run out of there, to leave everything behind. And I still want that. Just run as far as I can and hide under a rock."

She laughs nervously and looks down at her hands. She doesn't seem to notice that one of them is held by Steve.

Steve's heart breaks for the woman beside him. Sophia runs twice a day to get away from her problems – because it's obviously an attempt to escape, and as Haya said she ran too much. Even when it pours and no sane person would go for a run, as Danny pointed out. From now on, she might run three or four times a day.

He would love to tell her she's taking too much guilt on her. She ruins her life if she's unable to let go of the past, of the things she can't change now. Yes, she must learn to live with her mistakes, with the regrets but there's much less of that as she thinks. She must learn to let go, if she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life in misery.

If Danny was here now, he would laugh at him saying 'Look, who's talking!'

Steve sighs. He guesses right now Sophia is not at a place where she could be reasoned with. Maybe another time, but right now she's way too deep in her own guilt.

And he remembers what Sophia wanted to do. She didn't ask him to listen to her, no, she wanted to climb a mountain to blow off steam. And that's exactly the reason why he has brought her here. He gets up.

But Sophia seems to misunderstand him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Steve, I didn't want to bother you with all this," she smiles apologetically.

Steve frowns. "Are you kidding me? Come on, you're not bothering me! It was me who offered you to call any time you need someone to… I don't know, to give company, to talk to, to hang out with, whatever. And the offer still stands."

"Yeah, but this surely wasn't what you meant," she says.

"Yes, Sophia, I did mean this. This, too. To talk about things. About what happened to you and how you feel about it. I think it's good that you talked about it."

"Well, I certainly don't remember the last time I spoke this much," she laughs embarrassed.

"I'm happy you did," Steve smiles. "And now come on, we're here," he says and points at the ocean.

She stands up too. "Where are we exactly?" she asks looking around. There's only water everywhere. Blue, glistening surface as far as she can see. Oahu seems so tiny that she's not sure if that little green thing is the island or just an illusion. "It's like we're in the middle of the ocean. In the middle of nowhere."

"Exactly!" Steve says triumphantly. "I think it's better than a mountaintop. At least, it's much less fuss to get here."

Sophia looks uncomfortable. "You know why I wanted to hike to a mountaintop, right?"

"To scream your lungs out?" he shrugs. "I guessed that's how you want to blow off steam. Am I right? And it's a great idea by the way. It helps, I promise."

"Yeah, but…" she trails off.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," Steve says and takes his headphones out of a bag he has brought with him. And a book. "Don't mind me," he winks at her.

He sits down turning his back to her, puts on the headphones and opens the book. He knows she needs space now and as much as he can do it on the boat, he's more than happy to give it to her.

When some time later Sophia taps Steve's shoulder, he looks up from the book and puts down the headphones. She tilts her head toward the island.

"Are you sure you're ready?" he asks. "Me, AC/DC and the 'History of Firearms and Weapons' are having a really good time here."

"Yeah, I'm sure. We can go back now," she says giving him a little smile.

Steve starts the boat. He doesn't ask if she has managed to get rid of some anger and she doesn't say anything either. She just sits there staring at the horizon. She might have screamed her lungs out or maybe she was too embarrassed with Steve being here and didn't. She might have cried. She might have dwelled on her problems. She might have done nothing at all. But she definitely seems at least a little bit calmer than before. Well, gazing at the ocean is sure like therapy.

And honestly, Steve's pretty sure there was no screaming here at all. He would have heard that despite the loud music. But Steve believes what Sophia really needs is company, a pair of ears to listen to her. And he's more than ready to give her that.

Back at the marina, Steve walks towards the parking lot.

"Oh, wait a minute," Sophia says behind him. "I need to call a cab." She already pulls out her phone from her bag.

"Why?" Steve frowns. "What happened to your car?"

"You mean the giant grasshopper?" she laughs. "It's not just ugly, it's unreliable, too. It broke down when I was driving home from court."

"I wouldn't say ugly…" Steve muses.

He notices how relaxed she looks. Not, not happy, not yet but relaxed, yes. She's joking, chuckling. This boat trip has definitely been a good idea. He mentally pats himself on the shoulder.

"Then what would you say?" Sophia grins.

"Extraordinary, maybe? Unique?"

"Sure. It's ugly, no reason to deny," she laughs. "It might be a sports car, cool and expensive but too…"

"Green?" Steve helps.

"Yeah," she giggles. "You know, my father always loved the lush greenery on the island, that's why he picked this color. However, the light shade reminds me more of grass and not jungles but whatever."

Steve knows no matter how much she dislikes the color of her own car, she would never get rid of it. It doesn't only remind her of grass; it reminds her of her father, too. And that's what matters.

That's why he still keeps his father's car in his garage, too.

"Anyway, don't call a cab," he tells. "I'll give you a ride."

"No, no, this boat trip has already taken too much of your time," she protests. "Cab is fine, don't worry."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sophia, come on," Steve insists and sets off towards his truck. He thinks if he doesn't give her a chance to disagree, she will follow him.

He's right.

Thank you for reading!