Chapter 1

Myah McGarrett tightened her hold on the straps of her backpack as the crowd around her jostled for position around the baggage claim. She craned her neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of her uncle. He wasn't really her uncle; he was her second cousin, but her mother had always referred to him as her uncle Steve. Myah had met him once and had even sat next to him at the meeting with the lawyer, but at the time had been so numb with grief, could not recall a thing he had said and had even taken a quick study of his picture before the flight to ensure she recognized him.

Myah caught sight of her 2 oversized suitcases rolling towards her on the conveyor belt. She managed to pull one off the belt, but found herself stumbling along trying to pull the other back, cursing its weight and her lack of strength. She had been 8 years old when she'd read her first Wonder Woman comic and had become enthralled with the heroine and determined that even if Wonder Woman was fictional, she would grow up to be the next best thing. This led to running around the house in a red tank top and skirt bedazzled with stars, holding a shield and lassoing whoever she could find for truth telling. She also spent Tuesday and Thursday evenings happily breaking boards at the local Tae Kwon do dojo. Classes had come to a halt when her mother had been given her diagnosis. Practicing kicks and punches had been replaced with sitting in uncomfortable hospital chairs and watching a lot of television snuggled up with her mom. Myah didn't regret any of the time spent with her mother, but her loss of physical fitness was just another brick on the pile.

A muscular arm suddenly reached past her, grabbing her bag and lifting it easily onto the floor. Myah felt herself steadied from behind. She turned to face her uncle. "Hi. Thanks." she said awkwardly. Uncle Steve was tall, with dark hair and blue eyes, and obviously very strong. This wasn't surprising; she thought she remembered him to be a cop or something. A glimpse of a badge on his belt and a gun holster on his hip confirmed it.

"Aloha Myah." She was startled to find a necklace of flowers placed around her neck. "How was your trip?" As he spoke he effortlessly lifted her bags, and turned towards the exit.

"Oh, fine. I'm fine." Myah hurried to keep pace. They reached a green sedan and Steve lifted her bags into the back seat. Myah settled into the passenger side, being careful not to let her uncle see her crinkle her nose at the musty smell of his car. It was a sharp contrast to the heavy floral scent from the Lei. She also noted the car to be the exact make and model that her old neighbor Josie's mom had, the one she and Josie had secretly taught themselves to drive in at an abandoned factory parking lot behind their neighborhood. Myah smiled briefly at the memory.

Steve slid into the driver's seat and nodded towards a cell phone sitting in the cup holder. "That's for you. "

"Oh." Myah said, surprised. It was much nicer than anything she'd had in the past. "Thanks." She picked it up and set about playing with settings and setting the lock screen to be sensitive to her fingerprint. Steve nodded in approval.

"My number's in there, as are the numbers of my task force. Just in case you need anything. It's set to recognize my print too, just so you're aware."

"Uh… ok." Myah pursed her lips as she stared down at her phone, unsure what to think about that. Something else he'd said registered. "Your task force?"

"Yeah, I run five-0, the governor's task force." As if on cue, his phone rang. "McGarrett." Steve listened briefly before asking: "How long? Ok, listen I've got to drop my niece off then I'll be there. Seal off the perimeter." The car lurched forward as Steve pressed down hard on the gas but Myah guessed there was only about a 5 mile increase in speed. She heard Steve curse under his breath.

"Is…uh… is everything okay?"

He shot her a regretful look. "Listen I'm really sorry to do this to you on your first day. I can't predict when we're going to get a case. I'm going to drop you off at the house and then I've got to get to work. You can watch tv and order pizza if you want. Just keep the doors locked."

"Okay." Myah said, feeling her spirits drop. "Whatever." They made a sudden turn into the driveway of a 2 story house. Myah had barely picked up her backpack before her uncle had both her bags up through the front door. Myah broke into a jog to follow him up the stairs. He entered the 1st door on the right.

"This is your room. Bathroom is right there." He pointed. "Here's some cash. There's a magnet on the fridge with a number for pizza. Remember to keep the doors locked. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

Myah gave a quick nod and he was back down the stairs and out the front door. Myah heard him lock the door behind him. "Great." Myah became keenly aware of the silence and the emptiness of the house around her. Swallowing she stepped into what was supposed to be her room to inspect the area. She had actually entertained some excitement at the prospect of having a brand new bedroom to decorate. Her old room, though homey and familiar, had still been very much a little girl's room at its core, with a wallpaper border of ballerina teddy bears, ruffled curtains with shelves crowded with Tai Kwon do trophies and Wonder Woman posters plastered on the walls. As much of an embarrassing mess as it had been, Myah felt a sinking feeling that this wouldn't be much better. The furniture itself wasn't bad. The headboard, and bookshelf matched an old fashioned armoire and were made of a pretty white wood. The wallpaper was a faded floral monstrosity with several old prints of beach scenes framed. It would have been perfect for nursing home resident.

Myah sank down onto the bed, which sank under her weight and noted that the bedding actually matched the wallpaper. During what era was that considered an attractive thing? She swallowed hard, trying to keep from tearing up. The glint of the window glass caught her eye and she stood to check out the view. She was somewhat taken aback to find that the ocean was literally in her backyard. That was kind of cool. Myah pushed the window open so she could hear the crash of the waves. So cathartic. She hoped it wouldn't be too hard to learn to swim in the ocean. Myah had always been a decent swimmer, but that had been in a chlorinated pool. She had packed her one swimsuit but would venture a guess that most of the girls in Hawaii had wardrobes made up almost entirely of bikinis. A grumble from her stomach reminded her that her breakfast of toast was long since gone. She slowly made her way back downstairs, heading towards the kitchen but taking in a more careful examination of her surroundings this time. It was a very open floor plan, with mostly neutral colors. The living room was nice, set up with a TV, a big leather sofa and recliner. She noted a study set back from the room. Everything seemed very clean and organized. The walls were not cluttered but far from sparse which was somewhat surprising for a bachelor pad. Most of the pictures and what decor there was, seemed to have a nautical theme. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure her mother had told her that her uncle Steve was a navy seal, or at least had been.

She easily found the pizza magnet on the fridge and christened her new cell phone by ordering a medium sausage and bell pepper. There was no telling when her uncle would return, so she wanted to have leftovers. She headed back upstairs. Attempting to distract herself, Myah swung her suitcase onto the bed and began to sort and unpack her clothes. Clothes went into the dresser, as well as hung in the closet. Shoes went on a low shelf in the closet.

The doorbell signaled the arrival of the pizza. After paying, she carefully locked the front door, then settled onto the couch with the pizza to watch TV. Myah watched several episodes of American Ninja Warrior. In spite of the noise of the show, things seemed uncomfortably quiet and she felt very alone. She missed her mom. Her strong mom who had put up a valiant fight against the stage 4 breast cancer, which in the end, had won. Tears blurred her vision and she was thankful for the distraction of a notification on her phone. A Facebook message: "Hey gurl cant beleve ur here! Party tonight u got to come!" followed by an address. Myah smiled, feeling a little less lonely at the message. It had been almost 2 years since she'd seen her childhood friend Lacey Darson, but they'd kept in touch as well as you could with an ocean between. Of course judging from her Instagram Lacey had become quite the partier since her father had taken the job in Hawaii. But whatever. She wanted to see Lacey and even if a wild party wasn't really her style it was better than being stuck alone here. The quiet was starting to feel stifling and Myah felt anxiety starting to build and her pizza threatened to make another appearance. Even worse Myah suddenly saw herself not in her uncle's living room, but in her living room back in Missouri. Alone. She was waiting to be picked up for the funeral and although she'd been miserably alone there many times before, the feeling of finally knowing for sure that her mother was never coming home, that there was no end to the isolation, just about swallowed her up in depression.

Clenching her fists, Myah stood, desperately trying to shake the memories. She walked slowly towards a side door, thinking it probably opened up a garage. Her hopes rose when she caught sight of the large mountain bike in the corner. She quickly dialed Lacey's address into the gps and groaned when she saw how far away it was. Even by car it would take at least 30 minutes. She would be biking all night. The weight of memories threatened to overwhelm her and in desperation she looked up at the blue Chevy truck taking up most of the garage floor space. Myah stepped back inside and scanned the kitchen. A leather keychain with a Chevy key hung on a hook. She had never driven a truck before, but how hard could it be? She firmly ignored the thought bubble that this might not be her best plan and quickly climbed into the truck. She held her breath as she carefully backed it down the driveway and moments later was following the gps commands.

Myah ran the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead. It was so hot. She caught sight of the dirt on her palm and realized she likely now had it streaked across her face. The tow truck operator loudly rattled a chain. This was such a disaster. Myah took notice of a small red car pulling up behind the truck. A man, clearly native to the island approached and held up a badge for the driver to see. The 2 of them spoke and then he turned to Myah. "Myah, I'm Lieutenant Chin ho Kelly. I work with your uncle Steve."

"Oh."

"I'm going to give him a call and then I'll take you back home."

"Ok." Myah responded, too miserable to point out that her home was far from here. She couldn't hear Chin's quietly spoken words but felt his gaze. She wanted to sink into the ground when he held out his phone. "Hello?"

"I guess you discovered that my truck needs some repairs." her uncle's stern voice came through.

"Yes sir." Myah hadn't called anyone sir since taekwondo but having stolen her uncle's truck felt it appropriate.

"Lieutenant Kelly is part of my task force. He'll give you a ride back to the house. There will be a police car parked outside to ensure you're there until I get home."

"Oh my gosh," Myah murmured. This had gotten completely out of control. Tears slid down her chin. "I'm… I'm really sorry."

"I'll deal with you tonight."

"Ok." tears continued to slide down her face as she buckled into Lieutenant Kelly's car. "Hey." he said gently. "It's going to be alright. Tell me what's on your mind."

"This is just crazy. It's not me at all. I don't know what I was thinking. I stole his car! I don't even have my drivers license. There's a big scratch in his truck now. I know you probably won't believe me, but I don't get in trouble. Never. Not at home, not at school!" Of course with her mom being sick Myah had always been determined not to cause any extra stress.

"We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them."

"But now uncle Steve thinks I'm trouble. He doesn't trust me."

"Well you broke his trust. The good thing is I know he'll be open to you earning it back."

Myah leaned dejectedly against the window glass. "He sounded pretty mad. My friend's brother stole a car and he was in so much trouble. He had to spend the night in jail, then he got yelled at, and whipped with a belt and then grounded…".

"Uh, I don't think you need to worry about anything that extreme. There are always consequences for our actions but my best advice is to own up to your mistakes and try to learn from them.".

"I am really sorry. I've never done something like that. I just felt so alone." And scared she finished silently.

"Well Steve is one of the fairest men I know, and I think if you're willing to talk to him, he'll listen."

Myah sniffed and watched the palm trees blur outside her window. All too soon they pulled into the driveway of her uncle's house. The promised police car was parked right out front. Myah wished she could sink through the floorboards in embarrassment.

"Hey" Mr. Kelly said kindly. "The officer's name is Pua. I'll go have a quick chat with him and I'll be out of your hair. Do you want me to walk you inside?"

Myah's heart swelled a little at his kindness. "No, I'll be alright. Thank you Mr Kelly.".

"You call me Chin," he said, smiling. Myah filed away that he had one of the best smiles she'd ever seen.

It took a few minutes of fiddling with the unfamiliar lock for Myah to let herself back in and to obediently lock the door. She took in the living room she'd been in only a couple hours before and wished for the hundredth time that she'd just stayed there. Shaking her head, she trudged up the stairs and headed for the bathroom. She was sweaty from being outside and dirty from examining the deep gash on the side of the truck. When the engine had idled she'd barely managed to guide it off the side of the road. Avoiding a street sign hadn't been part of the accomplishment.

Thankfully there were bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom as she hadn't packed any. Myah wondered how she was going to find the nerve to ask for things like that after today? She tried to let the hot water and steam relax her tense muscles. After pulling on a white tank top and some comfy blue plaid pajama pants, Myah stretched out on her bed and fell into a restless sleep. She groggily woke to the sound of another shower running. She grabbed her phone to see that it was after 9. Had her uncle just gotten home? All the trepidation from before rushed back in full force and Myah sat up and tucked her knees in against her chest. She thought she was in for a wait but heard the shower already turning off. All too soon there was the sound of a door opening and light footsteps in the hall. She felt her stomach clench in fear. Her uncle Steve appeared in the doorway dressed casually in a blue t-shirt and shorts. He leaned against her door frame and folded his arms across his chest, looking only slightly less intimidating than she'd expected. Myah recalled Chin's words. Tentatively she met his eyes. "I'm really sorry. I know I really screwed up. Whatever punishment you give me is fine."

The corner of uncle Steve's mouth quirked and he stepped into her room and pulled the chair away from the wall. He flipped it around and seated himself with the back of the chair against his chest. "Where were you going?"

"I have a friend from our neighborhood who moved here last summer. Lacey." Myah decided the party was an unnecessary detail. "I really wasn't thinking clearly. I just started thinking about my mom and being alone and… I'm sorry about your truck."

"I'm just glad you're safe." He cleared his throat. "I think I owe you an apology. You've been through a lot. And I know how hard it is to lose your mom… And then to move. What I said before is true… I can't control when we get a case. My job's not usually 9-5. But I should have made sure I was there for you today. So I'm sorry."

Myah blinked, unsure how to respond."That's ok." she said finally. "I know you haven't lived with teenage girl before."

Uncle Steve snorted. "Except for my sister Mary. I talked to her earlier this evening, actually. She says to tell you hello, that she's excited to meet you and that she's a lot nicer than me. Which is not true. Except for today maybe. I screwed up because I wasn't there for you today and my punishment is a tow truck bill and a scratch on my truck. I know today was rough and I would take the fall for it except you put yourself in danger, as well as anyone else out there driving. I can't let that slide. So what do you think your punishment should be?"

Once again Myah found herself struggling for words. She didn't know how to respond. He hadn't yelled, and sounded much less stern than he had on the phone. "I don't know." She felt a wave of guilt at what he'd said about the tow truck bill and the scratch, and then especially the other people on the road. What if she'd hit someone else and caused an accident? "I mean, when my friend's brother stole a car he had to spend the night in jail, and then he got grounded, yelled at, whipped with a belt, so I don't know what you…"

"I think we can take it down a notch from your friend's brother. If you make it a habit of stealing cars I'll reconsider. What would your mom do?"

Myah almost laughed. "Nothing. I mean I never did anything like this. I don't get in trouble."

"Really." Myah noticed when he said it, it sounded like a statement.

"I mean mom was sick. I didn't want to cause more stress."

"Yeah I get it. Alright well you're grounded for a week."

Myah felt herself tearing up and wasn't even sure why. She didn't even know what being grounded was going to entail but it sounded so final when he said it and if it was a punishment it had to be bad. "Okay. Do I have to stay in my room all week or…"

"No. It means no tv, phone or friends. You're going to have to hang out with me."

"But you'll be working your case-"

"No, my team's handling the case. I'll be available by phone but I took the week off."

"But… Will they be ok? You're a cop, it's kind of important."

"Don't worry about it. My team's the best. And like I said, they can call if there's an emergency."

"Okay." Myah felt a twinge of guilt.

"Hey." Uncle Steve stood up and Myah wondered if he'd read her mind. He tapped her cheek with his index finger. "You don't have to worry about it and it's not just because of today. I should have planned to do it anyway. Now, do you swim?"

"Swim?" Myah asked, startled. "Yes. I mean sort of. Do you mean in the ocean?"

Uncle Steve smiled. "Yes. The one in your backyard."

"Ok. I think it's awesome how close your house is to the ocean. I haven't really swam in the ocean before though, just pools. I definitely want to learn though." Myah tried to push her discomfort with her appearance in a swimsuit to the back of her mind.

"Very good. Be ready to go at 0630 tomorrow."

"0630? 630?! I mean ok."

"After we swim I think we have some work to do in here."

"In here?"

"Yeah." He stepped over to the wall and began to examine the wallpaper. "Mary was horrified to hear that this was your room and informed me that under no circumstance could a teenage girl sleep well with the current decor. So I was thinking if you wanted to we could lose the paper and repaint…" He looked up when Myah clapped her hands. "I guess that's a yes. Anyway I'm starved. Leftover pizza ok?"

Myah nodded.

"Good. Then we can watch… Actually no we can't. Never mind."

Feeling awkward again Myah quickly excused herself to the bathroom where she splashed some cold water on her face. She stepped back out onto the landing and took note of the wedding picture hanging on the wall. She wondered if it was of Uncle Steve's parents. As she moved towards the stairs, she paused at the sound of his voice. Without thinking she knelt down to listen.

"Yeah. I am realizing the inconvenience of having grounded her from the tv. Yes Danno, I realize I'm not the one grounded." Steve must have moved further in the kitchen because his voice became muffled. Myah quickly stepped down the stairs. He looked up when she entered and handed her a plate, then jerked his head towards a back door. "Come on. It's a beautiful night."

Myah couldn't remember having ever eaten outside under the stars. "This is amazing." she said softly as they settled into 2 wooden lawn chairs set at the edge of the tree line. The waves crashed into the sand only footsteps away.

Uncle Steve smiled. "So what are you into? Interest, hobby wise?"

"Well… Uh...the past couple years it's been kind of hard to do anything. I just mostly tried to be there for my mom."

Uncle Steve was silent, his intense gaze turning away from her and out towards the ocean. "Losing your parents sucks. I lost both of mine. I'm glad you were able to be there for her."

Myah toyed with a pizza crust. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened to his parents, but she felt that he truly did understand somewhat what she was going through. At the same time the heaviness in her chest was liable to have her in sobs if she didn't push it back down. "But… Uh… Anyway I like to read and be outside and stuff. I did taekwondo when I was younger. I loved that."

"Really. I do jiu jitsu a couple times a week. Would you be interested in that?"

Myah wasn't sure if the bubble in her chest was from excitement or nerves. "I think so. It's been a long time. I'm pretty out of shape."

"That's ok. Your focus was where it needed to be. I'll take you with me to class this week and you can see if you like it. It's a bit different from taekwondo but much more practical. In my opinion."

They sat in comfortable silence until Uncle Steve took a quick peek at his watch and then stood, indicating that it was time to go inside. Myah stood reluctantly. "I love listening to the ocean. Wouldn't it be cool to sleep outside?"

"I love camping."

"I've always wanted to do that."

Uncle Steve held the door open for her, then looked up in amazement as he registered what she'd said. "You've never been camping?!"

"No."

"We'll do it soon then, for sure."

"That would be amazing. I don't know anything about how to do it though."

"I'll teach you."

Myah wondered if there was ever a moment that he didn't come across with 100% confidence. It would be nice if some of that could rub off on her. Myah felt a bubble of anxiety forming. What if she couldn't live up to his expectations? She forced herself to focus on the sound of the waves crashing. All she could do was try.