Chapter 67

Steve had been recalled to JBPHH for a briefing and saw Harry coming towards him as he made his way down the corridor, he did a double-take as the man got closer, noticing the new rank insignia on the other man's uniform, "Lt. Commander Brown? Or should I say Commander Brown, now?" He checked no one was in sight and then gave Harry a one-armed hug, "Congratulations, my friend. You deserve it!" Harry looked pleased as punch,

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it – the Promotions Board convened last week and well . . . I've been promoted to a Lt. Commander," the unassuming man looked down at his feet, "I've also been offered a commission with ONI, in the Hopper Information Services Center – I'd have my own unit providing support for global maritime and intelligence operations." Steve gave a low whistle,

"Oh, that's huge. Don't hesitate to take it, the islands of Hawaii will still be here whenever you want to visit." Harry looked pleased at Steve's encouragement,

"Thanks, man. Hey, why are you here?" Steve gave a quick shrug of his shoulders,

"I don't know . . . your Dad and Joe called me in for a briefing. I'm just on my way now." They parted ways and Steve knocked smartly on the door of Captain Brown's office. He entered at the command and stood waiting for the other man to speak,

"Ah, you're here. Just let me call in Commander White," Eddie made the necessary call and a minute later Joe came into his office, "you're probably wondering why I recalled you to base for this meeting, Commander?" Steve just raised an eyebrow and nodded. Eddie continued, "The Promotions Board considered all the nominations last Thursday−"

Steve spoke up at that point, "Yes, Sir. I just saw Commander Brown on my way to your office. He also told me about his new commission with ONI. It's very well deserved, Sir." Eddie allowed himself a proud parental smile before schooling his features,

"Indeed it is. Well, as I was saying," he glanced at Steve, who looked suitably chastened for his previous interruption, "following the Board meeting, I am pleased to announce your own promotion to Commander." Steve's jaw dropped, he wasn't sure that he had heard the man right. Joe stepped forward to shake his hand,

"Congratulations, Commander. The Board was impressed with your leadership of the mission to dismantle Wo Fat's organization as well as your role in the op to apprehend the hitman dispatched to take out SEAL Team 9. Although it's quite unusual to be considered for promotion whilst in the reserves, it's certainly not unheard of and yours was considered to be a special case as you had been acting as the Navy liaison for much of the time."

Steve was in a daze as he accepted the praise from his two mentors and then went to find Harry. The two men congratulated each other on their respective promotions and Steve realized that he would be really sorry to see the other man transferred away from Pearl. But that was the nature of the Navy, you went where you were needed and where it best suited your own career progression. Steve had no doubt that the intelligent young man would make Admiral if he put his mind to it. For himself, he was fairly sure that his new rank would be the pinnacle of his career and that was fine – he was better suited to a command role where he could still take an active part in the mission; when he was too old and decrepit to do that then it was time to retire from the Navy altogether.

Before he had left Eddie's office, the Captain had invited him over for a double celebration party. He viewed Steve as family and so in his mind he had two sons who were both celebrating very well-deserved promotions. Steve readily agreed and was told he could bring someone if he liked. He nodded, a little smile coming over his face as he thought who he would like to ask. Later that night he was on the phone to Mia Shaw - the good doctor had given Steve her phone number as he was discharged. She was delighted to hear about his promotion and was free the evening of the party and so was happy to accompany Steve.

Neither of them used the word 'date', but it most certainly was a date. As soon as Mia put the phone down she ran to her closet and started rifling through the hangers. Damn, she was going to need a new dress that hit that sweet spot between not-too-formal but still dressy.

On the day of the party, Steve knocked on her door at precisely 18:00 just as Mia knew he would. You could set your clock by the timekeeping of military personnel and she was exactly the same and so had made sure that she would be ready to leave at precisely 18:00. None of this 'be down in 10 minutes' crap with her. Steve was looking smart in a well-tailored suit and formal shirt, but no tie – well, they were in Hawaii. He stopped breathing for just a second when she appeared at the door, swinging it open to reveal her delicate pale green dress. She had matched it with pretty high-heeled sandals and her hair was down. He hadn't realized that it was gently curly and reached down below her shoulders. She was beautiful.

Mia gave herself an internal high-five, not missing his stunned reaction to her appearance – that rushed trip to the mall had been totally worth it. She took a minute to check him out and was very pleased by what she saw, the man sure scrubbed up good. If he got bored of running Five-0 then he would probably have a good career as an international playboy if he wanted. The handsome couple made their way to the blue truck, Steve opening the door for the lady and offering his hand to boost her up onto the passenger seat. Mia saw the twitch of the curtain from the house of her recently divorced neighbour and smugly thought, "Hands off, you little minx – I saw him first."

Eleanor greeted them on arrival and Steve made the intros. The Brown family matriarch instantly took a liking to Mia and whisked her off to introduce her to some of the other guests. After eating their fill of delicious food, the guests had organically formed into smaller groups and lively conversation could be heard throughout the house. Mia had been brought up on Oahu, just like Steve, and so could speak pidgin and was currently engaged in an animated 'discussion' with friends of the Browns who were also locals. She dragged Steve into the argument about where the best surf spot was on the island and he robustly defended the honor of the North Shore, slipping in and out of pidgin as he riffed with the other guests. Mia had her opinions too and eloquently espoused the benefits of Sandy Beach. They then all laughed at the less than imaginative naming of the renowned beach and took turns to come up with a better name. Steve won the unofficial competition with his suggestion of 'Razza Bay'. It then took him 10 minutes to explain about his Jersey-born-and-damn-well-proud-of-it detective partner and how he had come up with the ridiculous name for one of their operations.

Later that evening, a few people had started dancing and Steve held out his hand to lead Mia over to the dancefloor. She accepted with a smile and they danced to the slow music, Steve pulling her in close. Mia was genuinely disappointed when the evening ended and she was being helped down from Steve's truck outside her house. She didn't miss the twitch of the curtain and her cheeky side came out, "Um, Steve. We've got my very nosy neighbor spying on us right now. How about we give her something to gossip about?" Steve grinned as he casually glanced over his shoulder to the house behind them,

"I like your thinking, Captain Shaw. I concur with your assessment of the situation, she's definitely looking our way," and with that he swept Mia up in his arms and kissed her like she was the heroine in a romantic period drama. Mia giggled as he gently placed her back on her feet,

"Oh, that should do it, Commander McGarrett . . . well, until next time?" He nodded and suddenly felt himself getting very shy,

"Thank you for coming with me this evening, I had a really nice time. I'd like to do it again . . . very soon . . . um, how are you fixed at the weekend?" She smiled, delighted that he was putting himself out there,

"Let me check my schedule and I'll let you know which day. I usually get at least either the Saturday or Sunday off – we try and fix the rotas so that everyone gets a bit of down time at the weekend. What do you suggest?"

"I'd love to show you my house, it's got private access to the beach. Bring your bathing suit and your paddleboard. I'll make a picnic and we can paddle to a nice little spot if the waves are not too big." Mia was in full agreement with his plans,

"It doesn't matter if the waves are too big, we can just go surfing instead and then have the picnic on your beach. I'll bring both boards and we can see when I arrive. I'll call you when I know which day I'm free. Thank you for a lovely evening." She leaned over and placed a delicate peck on his cheek and then made her way inside her house.

Steve watched until his date was safely indoors and then touched his cheek with a little smile and got back in his truck, thinking about how much he had enjoyed the evening with the lovely doctor as he drove home. She was smart, lively and more than a match for him. It had only been one date, but he was already daring to hope that this could turn into something a lot more serious.