So I thought this would be a really great start to everyone's week! It may seem like the end to the fic, but I do have one more trick up my sleeve. So sit back and enjoy the beauty of our new favorite couple...

Chapter Thirty Three - Stay

I realized I made a mistake, I thought I needed some space. But I just let love go to waste. It's so crystal clear now that I need your here now. I gotta get you back today.

This time I want it all, showing you all the cards, giving you all my heart. This time I'll take the chance, this time I'll be your man. I can be all you need. This time it's all of me."

~John Legend

A few hours later, on a private beach in Hawaii…

It wasn't the soft white sand, the crystal clear water of the lagoon, the spectacular sunsets, or the languid tropical breezes that put Hawaii on Harper's list of her top ten favorite places...it was the way that she felt when she was there.

Peaceful.

Content.

Happy.

When Steve had first told her that he was born and raised in Hawaii, Harper had found herself daydreaming about returning with him one day to the place that had once been described as "a tiny emerald in a setting of turquoise, encircled by a sheltering necklace of sparkling pearls". In her happiest moments she had even entertained visions of waking up next to her husband and sharing a cup of Kona coffee on a balcony overlooking the Pacific, afternoons spent walking along white sandy beaches with Steve and their children and some golden, fluffy puppy playing in the surf. And of course no fantasy life would be complete without evenings spent lingering over romantic island dinners and sexy beachside dances while wearing exotic flowers in her hair.

Little did she know then that her real life Hawaiian experience would consist of an investigation into the death of her partner and close friend, an unexpected run in with her ex-husband seven years after their divorce, finding out that she had been betrayed by her father, being dragged from her hotel room by thugs and locked in a basement by a madman, a daring escape followed by a near death stint in the hospital, and a trip into the jungle to save a man who had been believed dead for nearly a year.

Just another chapter in the life of Harper James.

As the redhead leaned back on the lounge chair outside the private bungalow the governor had provided for the James family's use and let the sun's rays warm her skin, she marveled once again at what had become of her life in the last few weeks. After her father had basically banished her from the Michael Sugimoto interview and told her to relax, her brothers had been dispatched to bring her back to the bungalow. So there she was. Sipping a frozen margarita and sunning herself on one of the world's most romantic beaches.

Alone.

Which had, in turn, given her a chance to watch all the happy, honeymooning couples walk by hand in hand as they stole kisses in the surf. Some slightly more brazen couples had stolen more than kisses.

And Harper's mind had drifted toward thoughts of Steve.

She missed him. She missed them…or what they had once been anyway. There was no getting around it. She had tried not to let it happen. But it had, nonetheless. Harper found her mind wandering aimlessly back to before they had screwed things up and gotten divorced.

It had started simply enough. A joke. A laugh. A touch. Innocent, yet so full of indefinable meaning. He'd bought her a drink one night after their shift, and she'd looked into her glass like it could tell the future, and told him how she felt lonely. How difficult it was to be a woman in a world dominated by men…both at home and on the job. But Steve couldn't comprehend that simple idea, so he had placed his arm around her, musing how he was offering her company.

She'd laughed at that because she'd had one glass too many, and because she wanted him to look at her like he did sometimes when he thought she wasn't aware of his presence. But she was always aware of his presence. How could she not be?

More intimate dinners in the confines of her cozy apartment followed and sexy kisses usually followed the dinners. And some of the best nights of her life soon followed the kisses and then somehow she ended up on a beach in Mexico wearing a wedding dress.

Harper took another sip of her tangy, sweet concoction with the adorable turquoise umbrella stuck in it before leaning back and closing her eyes to the sun and her own jumbled thoughts. She needed to sweep all thoughts of her ex-husband and her renewed feelings for him out of her head and just focus on pampering herself before she had to leave this tropical paradise.

"Bonjour mademoiselle," came a deep voice above her, coaxing her out of her thoughts. "Appréciez-vous vos vacances?

"Beaucoup, monsieur," Harper smiled warmly without opening her eyes, assuming that it was one of the many stewards the governor had ordered to wait on her hand and foot, "Ceci est une telle belle île. Je pourrais rester ici à jamais."

"Well, actually that was the extent of my french."

Instantly recognizing the soft, sexy voice, Harper's eyes flew open and she sat up with a jerk. She wasn't dreaming. She was eye to eye with her ex-husband, who was both very amused and very pleased with himself.

"What are you doing here?" Harper demanded, her eyes wide with surprise. She was rooted in place on her chair and it was all she could think to say.

"Well hello to you too, sunshine." Steve teased, his eyes twinkling.

"How's your dad? Why aren't you at the hospital?" she asked, her eyes flashing as she regained control of her senses and stood up to face him. It wasn't anger and it wasn't shock in her eyes. She wasn't sure what it was that was emanating from her at that moment.

"He's fine, for a guy who has been dead for a year." He reached down, picked up her margarita and took a sip before saying, "And I had to get out of there…I've spent enough time in hospitals lately."

"I guess you have," Harper agreed, trying to keep from laughing at him as he sipped on the tropical drink. "I was going to stop by, but apparently I have lost complete control of my own life. My brothers decided I was to remain here and…" she shrugged and gestured at their gorgeous surroundings as she finished, "…I didn't put up much of a fight."

"Can't say that I blame you."

"The governor has been very generous with her private beach house and I could definitely get used to this," Harper told him, taking a moment to drink in the sight of him. He looked absolutely delicious in his favorite pair of jeans and a white linen shirt with the first couple of buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. The island breezes were playing with his dark hair and his bare feet were shifting uncomfortably in the white sand. Shaking those thoughts out of her head, she continued, "And you never answered my first question. What are you doing here?"

"I missed my wife."

His simple statement stunned the detective into silence. She glanced up at him and searched his eyes, the windows to Steve McGarrett's soul. The last thing she expected to find there was truth. In a voice barely above a whisper, Harper joked, "We went seven years without seeing each other and suddenly after about six hours you miss me?"

"Yes," he told her simply.

An awkward silence fell over them as they stood underneath the palm trees and wondered what to do next. Harper looked out over the clear, Pacific ocean and tried to get her bearings while Steve looked over her. Finally turning back to face him, Harper could feel the blush rise up in her cheeks as Steve let his gaze travel appreciatively up and down her bikini clad body. It had been a long time since he had looked at her like that and she didn't realize how much she had missed it.

Self consciously grabbing for the multi-colored sarong that was lying across the back of the nearby chair and quickly fastening it around her waist, Harper tried to ignore his gaze and instead looked past him to the picnic basket that he must have set down before he approached her.

"What's that?" she inquired, trying to change the subject.

Glancing back at the picnic basket, he answered, "A peace offering." He walked over, picked it up, and set it on the lounge chair she had recently vacated. "I told my sob story to the very understanding chef in the main house and she told me that a romantic picnic on the beach would help me work my way back into Miss Harper's good graces. Complete with champagne, glasses, palm fronds, and a blanket. And if all that didn't work, I was just going to get you drunk."

"My affections are not bought that easily."

"Even with roasted shrimp marinated in lime and coconut juice, smoked breadfruit, poe, and Dom Pérignon?" Steve challenged, peeking into the decorative basket that the chef had packed for them.

"You have poe?" Harper asked, moving closer to him and the basket, "I love poe."

Fitting her hand securely into his, the pair set off down the beach and walked until eventually it was just them, the surrounding rocks, the white sand, and endless sky and ocean. Harper's hair flew wildly behind her and she made no attempt to restrain it.

She was the most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen.

They walked in silence for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them wanting to interrupt the soothing sounds of crashing waves with needless words. The tide was out, leaving hard-packed sand exposed for them to tread. Finally, Harper playfully bumped her shoulder against his in a signal that it was time to find a place to unpack their basket. She grinned up at him, her bottom lip crooked and he wanted to bite it, just gently, to press his teeth against that most visible of her quirks.

Steve laid out the blanket that had so thoughtfully been packed for them, while Harper unpacked their picnic lunch. Aside from the shrimp, poe and breadfruit that he had mentioned earlier, there was also cold chicken with some honey soy marinade and an ambrosia salad with mandarin, coconut and marshmallow, sticky and not too sweet.

"This looks scrumptious." Harper said, her mouth already watering. "I didn't even realize that I was hungry until you showed up."

Steve nodded his head in agreement and popped the cork on the bottle of Dom Pérignon as she fixed him a plate. They ate in comfortable silence for awhile and quietly sipped their champagne. They'd run out of words. Or rather, words had ceased to be necessary to fill the gap. Sometimes he looked at her, or the sea, or the sun. Sometimes she looked at him, or the sand, or her hands.

"You always look intrigued with the world," he finally said, smoothing a hand over her forehead.

"I am," she responded with a smile.

Leaning up on his arm, he pushed back the sunglasses that were resting on top of her head to keep her hair out of her face and they fell off her head into the sand as he whispered, "I like your hair loose."

"So do I," Harper replied as she shook it loose and he knew he could resist her no longer.

"I really have missed you," Steve whispered, moving closer to her. He buried his hands in her loose, gorgeous, wind-whipped hair, as he buried his tongue in her mouth. Her hands found their way around his shoulders and were chilled against his neck, tucked into the small of his back. Her lips tasted of salt. He licked them clean, replacing the sea-salt with the sweetness of the champagne that was still on his lips. She whimpered, arched against him and tilted her head to slant her tongue along his. And Harper kissed her husband like there was nothing else in the world.

Finally pulling away, she grinned at him and whispered, "You really have to stop doing that, you know?"

"Doing what?" he teased, working his way down the sensitive skin of her neck.

"Whispering sweet nothings and then kissing me," Harper replied, although the sensations that were running through her made it almost impossible for her to complete her thoughts.

"Why would I possibly want to do that?"

"Because if I join Five-0," she whispered into his ear, "it would be considered harassment."

The last thing in the universe that Steve wanted to do at that moment was to stop tasting her skin. But when those words came out of her mouth, it was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold ocean water over the two of them. Pulling back with wide eyes, he looked at her and sputtered, "If you…what? Join Five-0? Who asked you to join Five-0?"

"The Governor," she replied simply, completely enjoying his reaction to her news.

"When did she do that?"

"When she came by to see me in the hospital the other day," Harper said with a shrug, suddenly missing the warmth of his breath on her skin, "And again when she gave us permission to use her private bungalow."

But Steve's tone wasn't as playful as Harper's and he was suddenly in cop mode…as if this romantic rendezvous had suddenly turned into an interrogation. Frowning, he demanded, "And she didn't run it by me?"

"You were a little busy," he ex-wife chided playfully, knowing she still held the upper hand, "Besides, I assume she didn't think you would object. Do you?"

"Object?" he repeated, almost as if he hadn't expected her question. But then he shook his head and told her vehemently, "No way. We make a good team."

"We always have."

But there was something she still wasn't saying and he was intent on making her say it. Unfortunately his voice cracked a little and betrayed his cool exterior as he asked, "Are…are you considering it?"

She paused and looked out at the ocean before shocking the Hell out of him as she said, "A little."

Steve recovered quickly from her surprise pronouncement and grinned as he said, "You're making pro and con lists in your head, aren't you?"

Smirking at how well he knew her, she answered coyly, "Maybe."

"And which list am I on?"

Harper pretended to pause and consider his question before saying, "I'm still deciding."

"Why do you hurt me?" he joked and his heart sang when she laughed whole heartedly at him. A real Jimmy laugh. God, he had missed that sound. Encouraged by her response, he leaned in and whispered seductively, "Maybe I can persuade you…"

Her breathing became shallow as he leaned in close and ran his long fingers through her hair. Harper's eyes closed as she leaned into his touch and Steve pressed a kiss behind her ear and another just below it. His teeth gently scraped her earlobe and he grinned into her skin when he heard her hiss.

"See, this is why you would be on the con list," Harper told him breathlessly, "I can't concentrate while you're around…when you do that."

"This?"

She allowed his lips to do a few more delicious things to hers before she tore herself away and said in her most serious tone, "C'mon, this is serious. This is my future. Our future."

Letting out a huge sigh of annoyance, Steve reluctantly put a little distance between them on the blanket as he said in his most professional tone, "So, let's talk it out. Besides me, what are the other cons?"

"I'd be living in Hawaii…"

"Most people don't consider that a con," he interrupted quickly, already formulating a plan in his mind to shoot down any negative aspects she might find about them living on the same island. This was going to be the most important conversation of Steve's life and he had to be on top of his game.

"It is when my entire life is back in Chicago…my family, my friends, my job," Harper reminded him seriously, "I left Chicago once already and I was lucky that the Police Department took me back. I don't think they'll do it twice in one lifetime."

"That's assuming this doesn't work out…"

"It's not just the job," Harper replied quickly and then launched into the meat of her argument, "It's…everything. I grew up in Chicago…lived there most of my life. Everything I know is there, everything I love. I mean, there is nothing like the holidays in Chicago. I love seeing the Great Tree at Macy's at Christmas time, walking down State Street to view the animated window displays, sipping Glogg at Christkindlmarket in Daley Center Plaza, taking the dogs for a run on the beach at Belmont Harbor, going pumpkin picking in the fall." When Steve bit back a smile, she punched him in the shoulder and cried, "I'm serious! My brothers, my nieces and nephews…I'm going to miss doing all that stuff with them, watching them grow up."

Still laughing at her logic and recovering from the blow to the arm, he reasoned, "They can come visit. Learn how to surf. They'll love it."

"Vinnie and my mom are buried in Chicago. And now Sammy, too."

He had no answer for that one, so they sat together in silence for awhile as they gazed at the sun setting over the ocean. Finally, Steve looked over at her and asked, "So what about the pro's?"

"It's Hawaii," she reminded him, "You spent a winter in Chicago…February's here are much easier to deal with."

"That's it?"

"No."

"Come on…"

"It's…" she began to say and then shook her head, "You won't understand."

"Try me."

Harper took a deep breath and then began, "The best thing about Hawaii is that no one here has ever heard of Mickey James. Or his sons, for that matter…"

"Jimmy…"

She shook her head at his interruption and said, "You asked for it and now you're getting it. I haven't gotten over my daddy issues, either."

Steve moved closer to her and put her arm around her shoulder supportively as she continued, "I can't think of a day in my life when I didn't want to be a cop. And no one ever told me that I couldn't…until I got to the police academy. They heard my name, took one look at me, and decided that Mickey James' little girl was never going to be one of them." Taking another deep breath, Harper looked out over the ocean waves and said, "I knew it would be hard…it was part of the allure at first. But Chicago PD was where I wanted to be, so I kept my head down, worked hard and put up with all of the bullshit…the doubt, the negativity, the blatant sexism, the innuendo, everything. I did everything the way I was supposed to because I knew it was the only way to get where I wanted to go. And then I did…Homicide."

Pulling away from his embrace, she turned to look at him and vehemently told him, "I earned my place on that squad… I can outthink, outrun, outshoot, and outdo any cop in Chicago. But only about a handful of people in the world believe that…and I'm related to most of them. The guys I work with are still second guessing me and making me justify my work, even when they know I've got it right. I guess I just thought I wouldn't have to prove myself anymore…not at this point in my career."

Harper blinked back the tears that were forming behind her eyes and then smiled one of her dazzling smiles as she said, "And then I came to Hawaii and ran into you. And Danny, Chin, Kono…they didn't care what my last name was. They agreed or disagreed with my decisions based on what was best for the case. I didn't have to prove anything to them. I just had to do what I do best…be a cop. And, before I knew it, I was part of the team." Shaking her head at her own words, she finished, "I've had a pretty amazing career so far, but I have never been a part of a team. Ever. And it felt really good. So now that I have, it's going to be pretty hard to go back to what I'm used to."

Steve was quiet for a moment before he said simply, "That's a pretty big pro."

"Yes, it is," she agreed.

And then he added, "You know, we get pretty good vacation time around here."

"What?"

"Vacation days," he repeated, "You can take a week in the fall and go back to Chicago…pick pumpkins, see the leaves, wear sweaters, drink apple cider…"

Harper laughed at his words and then rested her head on his shoulder as he continued.

"And then another week at Christmas…see the tree at Macy's, go ice skating, have a late night hot dog at Weiner's circle, act like a tourist in your own hometown, see your family." He tilted his own head until it was resting on hers as he added, "I'd come with you if they didn't hate my guts."

"That's only two weeks out of fifty two…"

"We can renegotiate," he offered, "I have an in with the boss. Plus, your nieces and nephews can come down here when they're on break from school…spring break, summer vacation. We can spoil them rotten and then send them back to Chicago."

"We?"

"Yes," he replied, swallowing the lump in his throat, "we."

"We haven't been 'we' in a long time," she reminded him, "And last time, we screwed it up pretty good."

"Yes, we did." Steve agreed, "But this time, it's different. We're different. This time, I believe in you in a way I didn't before. In fact, while you were in the hospital, I realized that you are all I believe in." Taking her hands in his and turning to look her in the eye, he said, "I believe in the scent of your hair, the taste of your skin, the twinkle in your eye. And I believe that we can get it right this time. You and me. Together."

He let go of her hands for just a moment to rummage through the picnic basket once more. And when he turned around, Harper's green eyes got wide as she breathed, "What is that?"

Grinning, Steve held out his treasure and replied, "The wedding ring you threw at my head that day on the pier."

"You kept it?"

"It was my mother's," he reminded her, "And I really think that she would have wanted you to have it. Again." Taking her hands in his again, he looked into those eyes of hers and whispered, "Stay."