My apologies for the long delay in posting this chapter. The next one might not be for a while either. New puppy, the holidays and work are taking too much of my time, and leaving very little to write. I hate to leave you hanging and will do my best to get the next chapter completed.

As always...thanks for reading and be safe. Aloha !

Chapter Twelve

Danny walked up to Pater's table at the five-star restaurant of the resort he was staying at.

'Perfect,' he thought, seeing Bryce with him. 'I can kill two birds with one stone.'

He'd just come from Bordeaux's room after having a conversation with him and Cash as well. His temper was at an all-time high and he found it amusing that if Steve were there, he'd be telling him to reel it in some, but it was ironic that his temper was ignited because he was there to defend his partner.

"Hello gentleman," he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down as they both stared across at him. "Mind if I sit down? No. Good."

He reached across and took the opened bottle of wine on the table and read the label, "Nice, I bet this cost a pretty penny." He took a swig of it right from the bottle and smiled. "Yep, not bad at all."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Bryce hollered.

Peter put a hand on Bryce's shoulder, as if telling him to back off. He then casually wiped his mouth off with his cloth napkin and set it in his lap. "What can I do for you, Mr. Williams?"

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you better back off about Steve. Do you really think you can speak to the Governor of Hawaii about him without it getting back to me?"

Peter straightened in his chair. "I'm just looking after my daughter's welfare."

"Yea looks like it," he huffed, motioning to the food and drink on the table. "I have daughter and if she were missing, I wouldn't be sitting in a fancy restaurant eating dinner. I'd be worried sick about her welfare and combing the earth for her. But," he sat back, "that's another issue and one you have to live with. My concern right now is my partner's safe return and your nose that you've been poking around into his business with, which is none of your business. I don't know what your beef is but I can tell you right now that Steve is not concerned with your precious money. He's a decent, hardworking guy that has spent his entire life making sure people feel safe," he began to feel that vein in the side of his neck pulsate, "and if you think for one second that I or anyone else that knows him, and that includes the Governor of Hawaii, are going to sit back while you try to smear his reputation, then you better think twice because I can guarantee you," he pointed across the table at him, "you will end up losing, a lot more than money."

"Are you threatening Mr. McKay?" Bryce asked, glaring at him.

Danny turned his head and looked at him, "Yes I am, and I'm threatening you too. Steve had nothing to do with whatever is going on with this disappearance and I'm warning you to back off. I talked to Bordeaux, who seems to have changed his story, and I also talked to Cash. Murder is a very, very dangerous thing to falsely accuse someone of." He pushed his chair back and stood up, "You want to talk, I can talk too," he pointed outside, "to all those paparazzi who I bet would climb all over each other for a story of you falsely accusing a decorated Navy Seal and police officer who will end up being the hero in the end of this mess. Don't make me turn the tables on you. We have more important issues at hand right now and you're putting your energy in the wrong place."

"Money can change people, Mr. Williams," Peter spoke up. "You're a police officer you must have seen it a thousand times."

"Yes, I have," he replied confidently. "But all those criminals lack the one thing that Steve has that will never, ever waiver, his integrity. You'll see it in the end, one way or another, even if they don't make it back, you'll still see his integrity. It's what he's based his life on, and unlike you," he looked at Bryce with distaste, "and you, his will remain untarnished."

He went to walk away when all three of their phones buzzed at the same time.

Danny took his out of his pocket and saw the text message from Cash.

We found Frederick

…

Steve lifted the package of thawed hot dogs from the ice chest that contained mostly water with only a couple of floating ice cubes left.

He shook off the excess water from the package and held it up, examining the last of the meat. They had finished off the chicken that morning since it was on the verge of going bad anyway. They still had a couple of eggs left but that was it.

He had spent the morning brainstorming how to catch some fish with no polls or fishing line. Mandy actually came up with the plan that he orchestrated.

They took the fitted sheet off one of the king beds and cut small holes in it to let water flow through and then attached bungy cords

to each of the four sides, constructing their own net.

When it was all done, he held it up and kissed her.

They set it in the water and watched for over an hour but nothing, deciding it needed to go deeper, but they needed longer rope for that. They found some cooking string in Frederick's room of all places, and used it to lower it down. Steve got in the water and watched through the snorkel mask and when he finally gave Mandy the signal, she quickly pulled up on the sting that was attached to a hammer handle.

"Pull! Pull!" Steve shouted from below, but as she began to lift it to the surface, the sheet tore and the two fish that were in it quickly darted away.

He looked at the bag of hot dogs in his hand and sighed, not because this is what he had to eat, but because it was the last of what Mandy had to eat.

He tried to think of a way to not eat himself so she could have his share, but knew that would be pointless. He let out a low growl, knowing she was just as stubborn as he was about that.

"I love hot dogs on the grill," Mandy said, leaning over his shoulder as he knelt on one knee in front of the ice chest.

Steve looked up at her, "Good, because I hate them."

She stood erect with her hands on her hips, "Nice try, but it's not going to work. You are going to eat every bite of your share."

He looked back at the package of dogs and huffed, "Bully."

She bent over, putting her hands on his shoulders as she kissed his cheek. "But thank you for the offer."

"You should accept," he said, standing up.

"Ok, and then tomorrow you can have my share."

He rolled his eyes. "When I was in the Seals, we went days without food all the time, hell I've recently worked a sixteen-hour shift without eating, so I'm used to it."

"No!" she said adamantly and turned away from the conversation. "End of discussion."

He let out a low growl again over her stubbornness, but couldn't help but admire her reasoning for it as well.

…..

Mandy laid her head on Steve's shoulder as he gently caressed her bare back. They lay in her bed with the view of the sun setting and a rain shower outside the windows that surrounded half the luxury suite. She wasn't afraid of the rain as she had been last time. It was just a shower but no lightening or gusty wind; the same as it had been the first time they had made love a few nights before.

"Tell me more about your friends, Danny, Chin and Kono," she said, making conversation, but also wanting to know more about his life outside their little bubble.

He smiled, "I think I've told you everything. I feel kind of guilty though, even though I know it's not my fault, I feel bad for what they must be going through. I remember once Kono went out on a wa'a, a type of Hawaiian canoe. She was going to sail to Maui and got caught up in a storm. She was found pretty quickly, but I just remember how scared we all were that we might have lost her."

"Was she ok?" Mandy asked.

"Oh yea, Kono's a tough wahine. Man, I tell you what, I've seen her kick some serious ass at work and then turn around and look like a million bucks in a nice dress."

Mandy could hear the admiration once again in his voice when speaking of her and wondered if their relationship went deeper than he was letting on, feeling a hint of jealously over the woman she'd never met.

"Hmm, she sounds pretty impressive."

"She is."

"Do you and she…" she began and raised her head, looking at him. "Have you and Kono ever dated?"

Steve laughed over the unexpected question, it was one that had never existed in his thoughts or anyone else's that knew the two of them. "Kono? Me and Kono? No way. She's like a little sister to me. I'm her boss. She even calls me boss more than she calls me Steve."

"Oh, ok," Mandy grinned, laying her head back on his shoulder, liking that answer.

"I think you would like Kono," he said, stroking his hand up and down her back.

"She seems very intimidating."

"She can be, but she's also very nice. She's only intimidating when people break the law, other than that, she's pretty easy going. And she's a great surfer! She was Hawaii's junior champion when she was about sixteen."

The more he talked about her and her achievements the more her vision of life in Hawaii with him felt more and more detached. She could never live up to someone like Kono, assuming they would have nothing in common. Her lack of self-esteem hovered over her, fearing a conversation with this larger-than-life person, never being able to live up to someone so admired by him. She was nothing like her and eventually she knew Steve would see that and this perfect little world they lived in now would be shattered. He would eventually pull away from her, she just knew it.

"Hey," he said, feeling a change suddenly come over her. "You ok?" Wondering if the rain picking up outside was making her nervous.

She was in love with him, and knew her only chance was for him to come to New York.

She sat up and turned her body to him, resting her hand on his bare chest. She could see him in the dim light and felt her heart sour. He was perfect in every sense of the word, or at least perfect for her, she thought. She did love him and took a leap of faith, hoping he would jump with her.

"Come to New York with me," she said. "We could have a wonderful life there together."

He stared up at her, wanting to be with her so badly when this was over, but knew for him, that wasn't an option. He just couldn't do it. It would end up destroying them in the end.

"I can't," he said regretfully, knowing who he was and it wasn't a man who could live in New York and adapt to that lifestyle. He just couldn't do it. "That's not who I am, I thought you knew that."

"But you say no without even trying."

"Come to Hawaii with me."

She shook her head and turned her body. Why was he being so difficult? "Me in Hawaii and you in New York are not the same. I couldn't adapt to you and your friends."

"That's other people putting those thoughts in your head, not me. My friends would love you because I did."

She turned to him over that last statement. "But would they? And would you in the long run, when the lust settles?"

"Lust?" he questioned, "is that what you think this is? I don't want to live your lifestyle, Mandy. Can you even live mine?"

"What do you want from me?" she practically yelled, feeling panicked over that separation from him that was going to be more painful than anything she had ever experienced in her life.

Steve however kept his composure, telling her exactly the way he saw it. "What do I want from you, Mandy? Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't want or expect anything from you. I fell in love with you, this person, right here, not the one that lives in New York."

"I'm the same person," she argued.

Steve smiled and shook his head, "No you're not. I don't believe that for a second. You weren't happy there.

I didn't even know you there and I can tell you right now that you weren't happy."

"You would make me happy there."

He shook his head. "Not for long, there's nothing for me there. My life, even though it might look insignificant to you and the others, is not. I don't want a change, nor do I need one. I love my life and where it's going. The people around me let me be who I am. They're my family. I don't want to change that. But you, you're the one that hides inside of your books and headphones to avoid the people in your life. You don't want to live there either, you just want me to come there and you magically think everything will be ok, but it won't be. You're looking for a quick fix to a life that you hate, but I can't be that quick fix. You need to make that change for yourself, not for me or anyone else. And picking up and moving to Hawaii isn't going to help it either. You need to find out who Mandy is and what she wants and stop being afraid to search her out. I'll stand by you if you want to make that leap but I can't do it for you, and living off your father's money is not helping. It's an excuse that you use to hide behind, and from what I've seen its holding you down."

She looked away from him, feeling tears fill her eyes. Everything he said was true, but making that leap was just too scary of a thought to digest. She didn't even know where or how to begin if she did.

She'd never been on her own before, not really. She lived alone in New York, but her apartment was purchased by her father, her food and necessities bought with money from her Mother's trust and a generous allowance by her father. She'd never held a job nor filed a tax return. She even had a maid who cleaned her house and did her laundry. She'd never even taken the garbage out before. He was stronger than she was and could adapt to a new life, she on the other hand felt strongly outside of hers she would fail miserably.

The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, knowing his words were harsh but he felt strongly that she would thrive on her own, but it wasn't up to him to make those decisions for her, people had been doing that her whole life. She needed to stand on her own two feet, she was just afraid. He sat up and put a hand on her back.

"All I want is for you to be happy. You obviously need more from that life than I realize, and that's ok. You've never known how to live any other way, and it would be incredibly unfair of me to ask you to."

"What would I do?"

"Mandy, look at me." She slowly turned and faced him. "You are bound by nothing. You can do whatever you want."

"You make it sound so easy, but it's not," she snapped. "You don't understand my life."

"No, I don't," he said, feeling his anger begin to grow, feeling that separation as well but the panic for him wasn't in tears it was frustration. "I don't understand how you can be so unhappy in that life and at the same time be so unwilling to change it."

She scooted to the end of the bed. "I'm not that unhappy. You think you know me but you don't. Poor little rich girl? Well maybe I think you're pathetic! I too am offering you the freedom to do whatever you want, but you look down on it as a misfortune instead of an opportunity."

"I never said you were pathetic, and I'm doing exactly what I want. I don't need a million dollars to be happy. I know that's hard to believe from someone who has it, but I've seen a lot in my life, and things I used to think that were important aren't so much anymore. It's the people that I spend my time and share my life with, that's important to me, and making a difference in people's lives is what's important. That's where my opportunity lies, and if I can't be a police officer, then too me that's a misfortune."

She walked to the door and turned around to leave with her hand on the knob as she turned back to him. "If you're so happy in that life then how come you don't have a real family? Why aren't you married with kids? You spend all your time with your partners' daughter, and even take this job to support her college fund, but have no kids of your own. Why is that, Steve? And don't give me that 'I haven't found the right one' bullshit. You want it as bad as I do, but you haven't even come close, why is that?"

He stared at her, feeling his chest tighten over the accusation, never being confronted by it before by anyone, but it was there in the back of his mind, a nice safe place that he kept it, denying that he needed it, until he met her, now it was suddenly out there like an open wound and she was pouring salt in it, making it sting.

"You've got an answer for everything when it comes to me, but I ask you one simple question and you've got nothing. I'll tell you why, because you're afraid! You keep everyone at nice safe distance the same as I do with my life. Don't tell me you're happy. You're just as lonely as I am. I think deep down you're terrified for me to come to Hawaii, because you might just have to allow yourself to trust your heart to another person, and that scares you to death. Tell me I'm wrong?"

He couldn't breathe let alone speak.

"We're not pathetic," she said with tears in her eyes, "we're just tragic."

She went to leave when they both turned their heads as a bright light blasted through the windows from the outside, hearing the roar of a helicopter engine seconds later.

Mandy eyes darted over to Steve as he leapt out of bed and grabbed his shorts off the floor.

He smiled as he came toward her, zipping them up. "Finally!"

"Oh my god," she gasped, "We're rescued?!"

He grabbed her hand as she followed him down the dark hallway, seeing the light now shinning down on the deck as the rain came down.

They both came out on the patio and looked up, seeing the Naval helicopter hovering above them. Mandy turned her head as the wind and rain pelted her face from the rotor blades. Steve went forward and waved giving them the thumbs up, telling them they were ok. Seconds later the door slid open and a cable dropped to the deck. He could see a Frogman on the edge of the aircraft about to come down.

He turned and took Mandy by the arm, guiding her back inside.

By the time they turned around the man was already on the deck and unhooking himself from the cable.

They hugged each other but had no time to discuss what the future held. The man was quickly approaching them.

He saluted them both, "Commander," he spoke loudly to Steve, the sound overhead deafening, "I'm Corporal Jessup, are you both all right? Is there anyone injured on board?"

"No," Steve replied, "it's just us. We sure are happy to see you," he stuck his hand out and the man smiled and shook it.

"I'm sure there are going to be a lot of happy people to see you as well." He turned and pointed up. "We were on our way back to the ship when we spotted you on radar. There is another cruiser looking for you about 150 miles due west of here. You drifted way off course. We weren't prepared for a rescue and only have room for one." He looked over at Mandy, knowing it would be her they would take. "We have another vessel heading this way and will be here in about two or three hours if the weather holds out."

Steve nodded, disappointed he couldn't go with her, but also relieved beyond belief that she would be safe now. "Ok." He turned to Mandy, "he's taking you with him. I'll wait for the next ride."

She looked at him horrified over the thought of leaving him there. "No! I'll stay too!"

He shook his head, "No you won't. You're going." He motioned with his head to the deck as the man turned and went back out. Steve took Mandy by the arm and followed him.

She came back out into the wind and rain and pulled her arm away as the helicopter crew lowered a harness for her.

"Steve no!" she pleaded, yelling over the engine noise, "I'm not going. I won't leave you here alone! I won't do it, please don't make me go," she started to cry.

"I'll be fine," he said to her, taking her by the shoulders, "You have to go, Mandy, please," he begged her, "please don't argue with me right now over this. You can't stay, I know it and you know it too." There was so much he wanted to say to her in the next few seconds before she left and this argument was just wasting time.

"I'm not ready," she yelled as she cried harder, "I'm not ready to leave you yet."

They kept their eyes on each other as Steve stepped back, allowing the Corporal to put the harness on her.

She wanted to run off and hide someplace but she didn't do anything so foolish, instead she allowed the separation to continue, knowing Steve would fulfill his never-ending endeavor of keeping her safe no matter what. She had no choice but to go.

As soon as she was secure, she ran forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything I said earlier."

"It's ok," he replied, feeling his emotions getting the better of him too, he wasn't ready either. "I'm sorry too."

"Sir," the Corporal said, "we have to go now."

Steve reached behind his neck and pried her hands apart and held them both in his as he looked her. "I told you already, I'll never be out of reach for you, ever."

She sobbed openly and when he let go of her hands she stood up on her toes and kissed him, gripping the back of his neck. He didn't care about the waiting helicopter; he pulled her close and kissed her back.

He broke away first and stepped back as the Corporal gripped her around the waist and motioned to the man above to bring them up.

Mandy looked up at where she was going and then over at Steve who stepped forward as she came off the deck. He reached out and put his hands on the calf of her leg, gripping it gently as she slid through his fingers, touching her until she was pulled completely away.

He felt like a part of him was going with her, glad for the wind and the rain so she couldn't see his tears that blurred his last vision of her. His greatest fear was that he would never see her again.

They pulled her in the small, crowded helicopter compartment and someone wrapped a warm jacket around her body. She leaned forward, seeing him looking up and then the door closed.

"Steve!" she screamed as they sat her in a chair and strapped her in. She dropped her head in her hands and sobbed as they flew away.

He went back inside and stumbled as he did, not from the gentle swaying of the boat but from the shock of everything that had just taken place in a matter of minutes.

They had been arguing and now she was gone.

He looked around the interior of the boat and felt an overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness. It was crippling him as he reached out and grabbed the back of the couch and went down to his knees and then sat on the floor staring straight ahead at nothing, his mind consumed with her.

He suddenly gasped as he spoke out loud. "I should have told her. I should have said something to let her know."

He thought of his last words to her, 'I'll never be out of reach for you, ever.' It sounded like a farewell to him, wishing now he wouldn't have said that. He should have told her that he'd see her again soon and that it was true what she had said about him being afraid, but not with her, because at the moment he was willing to risk anything to be with her, his heart, his life, anything. He'd even go to New York if that's what she wanted, because the separation from her he felt now was not one he could easily live with.

That was love, and that's what he felt and that's what he should have told her.