One Thing

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Hey there my wonderful readers! Not much longer left! Are you excited to see what happens next? I know I am! Just so you guys know, we're supposed to be done next chapter but this last chapter is getting long, I might have to split it into two! That wouldn't be that bad right? As always don't forget to tell me what you think and I'll see you guys next week!

Chapter 34

Rowan had popped them, first, to the place Catherine and Steve had been in to begin with. Where he did all the planning for the heist that would have happened if he hadn't met the chaos siblings.

There he asked her what popping was, because at that point, her two brothers kept asking her to pop them this place and that. So he learned that her moves had names. Like, popping was her opened a portal in a doorway to walk through. Jumping was opening a full portal to walk through and pulling was how she got Wo Fat away from Steve every time Wo Fat had almost been caught.

Steve hated pulling on principle.

Once everything was packed, she popped them to an airfield where Wo Fat had a plane waiting. He also, very kindly booked a plane for him and his team as well. Or well, he booked one for them when Steve complained.

Steve had also asked why they needed a plane when Rowan had literal portal powers. Turned out after the fight, and all the travelling she did to get them all to this airfield, she was too tired to do anymore. To sum it up, she didn't have enough juice to get all of them the rest of the way home.

As the planes were getting ready for take off the teams were splintered.

Wo and his siblings were one group and Steve's team were in the other and they were all just staring each other down with narrowed eyes of distrust. Con, Rowan and Wo seemed to be ignoring them in favour of whispering amongst themselves while Danny, Chin, Kono and Catherine seemed content to do the same. Though his team kept glancing at the three across from them, no doubting wanting to ask Rowan a whole bunch of questions.

To be fair. Steve wanted to do that too.

Yao Fat was in the terminal grooming himself up and changing into civilian clothes.

That left Steve and his mom. Which was great because they needed to have a quick chat.

He led her towards the plane so they could have a private chat. Once they got away, he turned back to her.

"You, uh, you sure this is gonna work?" Steve asked him mom.

"There are a lot of secrets in that man's head. A lot of people at the CIA who still consider him a threat. That's why they've kept him locked up all this time. So, as long as he's out there, they can't touch me, or any of you guys for that matter."

"So, uh, what happens after that? Then what?"

"Then I'll be able to come home." Steve scoffed at her and his mother frowned for a half a second before smiling again. "Seriously, I might even get a place just down the street from you." She must have caught Steve's confused stare because she added: "Well, after this, I'm not just John will want me to move back in right away… might have to earn both of your trusts back. But believe this: you are never gonna be able to get rid of me."

"I bet."

"Come here," she said opening her arms up for a hug.

Steve didn't even have to think twice. He pressed himself into that hug and held her for a long time, only because he had missed his mom's hugs and he didn't want to miss out on them anymore.

"I want you to know that… everything I did, every decision…I made them for he right reasons…" Steve tried to stop her but she wouldn't let him. "No, no, listen, at least I thought so at the time, you know?"

Steve nodded and then Doris gestured to someone behind him. "Looks like someone wants to talk to you."

When Steve turned around he saw that Rowan was behind him. He glanced over to the groups and found that Yao had come out and didn't look much different.

He was in jeans and a grey sweater, his hair looked trimmed, his beard looked manageable, but he looked mostly the same. Just trimmed and niced up.

She had been leaning up against Wo Fat up until this point, she must have disengaged when his dad came out. She was looking really haggard, big black bags were under her eyes and her skin was super pale.

It was clear that her powers took one hell of a toll on her. No wonder Wo didn't want her using them all that much.

"Hi," she said. "I wanted to give them some space to catch up."

Steve glanced back and realized that Con had not moved.

"And… your assassin?"

"They're talking about guy stuff and I'm not feeling well… so I uh… came over here."

Yeah he wasn't sure he wanted to know what guy stuff was when you were talking to an ex-crime boss, a current crime boss and an assassin.

"Ah… well… good call…"

Rowan nodded and then she too glanced back to the three men talking and then turned back to him.

"So… Catherine… you and her… just… just working together or…?"

"I mean do you get a say?" Steve asked and immediately hated himself for saying it. "Sorry… I just… that came out ruder than I meant it to. Catherine was just… she was here to help me… I didn't know you guys would be coming…"

"Yeah well, after three years of trying, I finally got the strings to narrow in on a location, got here a couple of days before your mom got snatched."

"And you guys were going to leave her there?"

"Well I wasn't, but Wo was, I don't think he would have actually… he likes to pretend he doesn't care, but he does. You know under it all."

Yeah, Steve wasn't sure he believed that.

Rowan just continued to stare at him as if waiting for something, and to be fair, Steven wasn't sure how long he could just stare at her without wanting to kiss her. Without actually going through wit it.

She seemed to realize that this had descended into awkwardness because she quickly clapped her hands.

"Well, it was nice working with you," she said offering him a hand. Steve took it softly knowing that what he really wanted to do was kiss her. "Still uh… still mad at me."

"Yeah, Ro, still pretty pissed off," he said.

"About the same stuff… or is it the powers now…"

"No same stuff, can't be mad at the powers thing, makes sense why you wouldn't tell me about that."

"That's fair."

It was also fair that he wouldn't have believed her when she did tell him, but they didn't need to talk about that, that part was given.

"Ro… you uh… you lied to me. About everything. For a real long time."

"I know… but I kinda had to. I mean look at how you reacted…"

"I'm not upset because you're his sister, I'm upset you lied to me," Steve said. "And while we're at it, you're not his sister. Not really. You chose to be family, you can unchoose."

Her eyes narrowed at him, which was fair because he just said he wasn't upset about her being Wo Fat's sister, but demanding that she just… decide not to be

"Unchoose?" she echoed.

"Yeah! I mean… you chose to be his sister, you can choose to not be."

Rowan just seemed entirely confused by the concept. "And why would I do that?"

"Well… there's no way this thing between us will every work if you don't drop him."

"So, let me get this straight, you want me to drop the only person who's been there for me in 3 years?" she asked. "Cause you sure as hell weren't there when I fell out of the sky."

That wasn't fair. Because he wasn't given that choice. And yes, things would have gone very very different if Rowan had dropped out of the sky by him.

She'd be a better person for starters. She wouldn't be with Wo Fat in anyway. And he was more than 100 percent certain that he would have married her by now too.

"Yeah this… this uh… this isn't going to work, is it?" he asked her. "I mean… there's no way for this to work…. And to be honest, I've been thinking of proposing to Catherine. I guess… I guess this should be it… the final closure…"

Why the hell was he lying to her like this? Was it really just to save face because she turned down his not so reasonable offer? Was he trying to hurt her by making her feel less important to him? Did it matter? Because it had come out of his fucking face when it shouldn't have.

He could almost feel Danny's silent judgement radiating from where he was standing. He was gonna hear it the second he got over there.

Danny probably wouldn't even wait for Rowan to be out of earshot. In fact he's surprised Danny hasn't just started shouting at him right now.

"Right, course," she said. "Final closure, thanks for that. Good-bye Steven, good luck with… with her."

And then she just whirled around and away, storming right up into that plane. Steve tried very hard not to frown, but he was trying even harder not to go after her and tell her he had lied. God he was already regretting taking this route.

Okay, yes, she was a perpetual liar. Yes one of her brother's was his arch nemesis, and the other brother was an assassin. Yes this made having feelings for her complicated and worrying but…

God why did he want her so bad? Why did his heart hurt, why did he want to chase after her and tell her he was being stupid?

She was literally the only person with this sort of power over him, she could literally destroy him.

Steve had been lost in thought, ready to actually sprint up onto that plane to talk to her again, when a fist collided with his face.

It hit him so hard it actually took him down to the ground. When he looked up Con was standing above him, a dark glare crossing his features. He looked so mad he swore he saw heat radiating off of him.

"What the actual fuck?" Steve snapped as he got back up. "Why the fuck did you hit me?"

"You're fucking lucky it's not a bullet, ese!"

"God, what is your problem?"

Logically Steve figured that the man had heard the conversation and wasn't happy about it. Also, Steve did remember that Con said the next time he saw him he'd shoot him. He was guessing the presence of the Five-0's and Steve's mother had bargained him down to a sucker punch.

"My problem is you're fucking liar!" Con snapped. "You fucking love her you're just being a little shit."

"Okay, you can't possibly know what I'm feeling, okay?" Steve snapped. "Your little family has done some pretty shitty things to me. Your precious sister included."

Con just scoffed at him. "Puh-lease! You have been in love with her since you met her. Before I shot his brains out Hesse told me how… entuned to her you were."

"You're gonna believe Hesse? Really?"

"Or how about every time you end up near her you do this sickening puppy love look at her. Like you're just waiting for her to smile at you."

Wait, he did that? Someone please tell him he didn't actually do that.

"I don't do that."

"You do," Danny called from the Jeep which just made Steve groan.

Since Danny hadn't interjected until this point, Steve had been sort of hoping that, maybe, Danny couldn't hear him. But nope. He could hear. Which was just… great. He really wasn't going to hear the end of this.

Especially since he was now acutely aware that Catherine, no doubt, heard him say he was thinking of proposing when he so wasn't.

"Look," he cried, halting any other argument that might have come out of Con. "It doesn't matter what I used to do. What matters is that she's a liar. She's lied to me about everything, and I can't trust her. So what we had, what I felt, it's all gone."

"Really? Cause you just spent all night staring at her, just saying."

"She has fucking powers! Of course I was staring!" he hissed.

Con however was fishing in his pocket for something. Steve actually stepped back into a defensive stance in case the man pulled out a gun to actually shoot him.

Instead, he pulled out his phone, played with it a bit and then showed it to him.

It was a video he had pressed play on but Steve didn't need it on to know what it was.

It was the video he had mentioned last time. The video of him at the hospital with Rowan. Kneeling beside her bed begging her to choose him instead of Wo Fat.

He had made a complete and utter fool of himself that night and he really didn't want to relive it.

"You were at the hospital? When I was confessing?"

Con put the phone back in his pocket with a deft nod and a "Mhmm…"

"And you took her anyway?"

"Sure did," Con said. "My job was to get her out, and I did. I figured if you really loved her, you'd wait. Then you went and said stupid shit and now here we are."

"Did you show her this?" Steve hissed.

"Course I did, I need her to know that you were fucking full of shit. I figured you'd come around by now but…"

"Con," Wo called and he turned around. "It doesn't matter now, he made his choice, let him deal with it."

Steve couldn't help but glare at him. Why did he have to phrase it that way? Why was he acting like he didn't care? If Con cared about this Wo Fat clearly did.

"Come on. Get on the plane, we're going home."

Wo Fat turned around and Con turned back to Steve. He clearly didn't want to leave, he wanted to argue.

"My sister is the best person I know," he said after a moment. "You are missing out!"

And then he punked him. Straight up just lunged at him like he was going to attack Steve, but he didn't. Steve, however, looked like an idiot flinching away from him.

With that last embarrassing moment finished Con actually turned around and walked away from him. He got up onto that plane, then his mom was back.

"I'd say sorry about that Steven but uh… you kind of deserve it," Doris whispered and Steve nodded.

"Thanks mom, I needed that right now," he snarled.

Doris moved in to hug him and he not only let her but hugged her back. "I'll be back once they're settled in, okay?"

He wasn't sure he believed that either.

"Okay mom," he said and then she too moved towards the plane. He followed after to her to help them shut the small set of stairs attached to the door but he didn't need to, because Wo Fat was there to pull them up.

He got them part way up and then paused. "Oh, McGarrett," Wo called and Steve looked up to him. "You're a fucking idiot."

And just like that the door to the plane closed and they were gone.

Again.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Surprisingly, two weeks after rescuing Yao Fat from a Moroccan CIA blacksite, his mom actually did come home.

She didn't call them and tell them she was coming, she just showed up one afternoon with a sort of weepy smile. It was like she was worried about their response, but his dad was quick to move to hug her, and Steve was right behind him to get in on that hug action.

It had been a rough two weeks.

For starters, Catherine had asked him about the proposal comment, and when he didn't have a good response, she told him that she had no intention of getting together with him. Especially when it was clear he was still in love with Rowan. She said that she would be going back to Hawaii, only to catch another plane to her next assignment.

She hoped to possibly remain friends, but in no way was she okay with the lie he told Rowan, nor was she okay to hear that he might be actually considering it. She was not a second choice, and would never be his.

He then spent the whole plane ride back to Hawaii listening to Danny bitch about how dumb he was. How he should have just told Rowan that he missed her and liked her and wanted to work things out.

She had powers, he kept saying, she had powers and there was one day that he'd go missing and her powers and his stupidity would be to blame.

When he got home, Steve found out that Danny had told his dad what had gone down, minus the powers part.

He got yet another lecture about saying stupid things to Rowan and ignoring his feelings. And then a separate lecture about letting his mother go alone with those people when they knew what they were like.

So Steve was very happy to at least see his mother again. Maybe, with her back, he'd stop getting lectures about ignoring his heart and how he was clearly sulking about Rowan.

He was not. But no one believed him.

He did, however, manage to wait a whole day before asking his mom any of the questions that were burning in his mind.

It happened the following morning just after breakfast.

His dad was on the phone and his mom was relaxing out on the lanai with a cup of coffee and a plate of toast when he went to join her.

"Hey mom," he said as he took a seat beside her.

"Hey Steven."

"You okay?" he asked and she just smiled to him. "There weren't any problems getting Yao settled?"

"Nope," she said. "Smooth sailing the whole way. He took quite a shine to… well, that doesn't matter."

"Rowan," Steve said softly. It made sense, Rowan had a way of endearing herself to people. "He took a shine to Rowan, that's what you were going to say."

"I was," she admitted. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd want to hear about her."

Oh but he did. He was still so pathetic about her.

"How did she seem… you know… before you left? Or while you were there? Was she… was she okay?"

"Steve why are you asking?"

Steve avoided her eyes, he didn't know why he was asking. Well… that's not true, he was asking because he cared.

"I unno… I guess… I guess I just…"

"You're wondering if she looked upset after you told her you were going to propose to someone else?"

"… yes."

"Do you want the truth, or do you want me to lie to you?"

"That bad?"

"She cried the whole plane ride. From take off to landing. She sort of calmed down for the boat ride, but that might've been because she was throwing up. At the safe house she would sporadically burst into tears, cry herself to sleep at night. I do believe there wasn't a single night that Wo Fat had his bed to himself, because she wouldn't stop crying and going to him for comfort. Poor man was at his wits end."

A terrible knot was forming in his stomach, dread was welling up in his chest wreaking havoc with his heart.

He did not want to know this. He shouldn't have asked.

"Honestly, Steven. Why did you lie to her?"

Steve had to look away from his mother. He couldn't even get the lie out of his mouth.

"You love her. I know you do. I saw it in your eyes the day she caught us all, and I saw it that night at the Blacksite. And… well… she loves you too…"

"She lied to me mom. Literally everything she ever told me was a lie."

Doris took that in and then said: "I suppose that's true. But sometimes, sometimes people lie to protect the people they care about."

"You're just saying that because you lied to us to protect us," Steve muttered.

"Steven… do you know how many times she's been used against her brother?" Doris asked and Steve frowned, because while he didn't know the number it was probably very high. "And how do you think you would have reacted at the beginning if you knew who she was exactly. Do you think, considering how badly you wanted to catch him, that you might have used her against him too?"

Steve turned to her and realized that she had a point. While he might not have done that, he'd like to think he wouldn't do that, they didn't know what he would have done if he was handed Wo Fat's little sister. The girl he'd do anything for.

"Rowan is very loyal," Doris continued. "And… when she had no one, Wo Fat was there. He's surprisingly good to her. And when I say surprising, I mean no one saw it coming, and a lot of agencies are still not sure it's true."

Yes. Steve had seen that much himself.

"She did what she did to help him and while she was doing that… I think she fell for you. Wo was clear a lot of her staying here had been against his wishes."

"Really? And you believe that?"

"Wo Fat is as protective of her as she is loyal to him. He wanted her as far away from here as he could get her, and she kept coming back to you. He did say that every time she got here, he'd have literally the hardest time to get her to leave."

That did kind of make him feel better, but… what about the rest of it? The pretending to be injured so he'd take her home? The lying about who she was? The fact that she tied him to a chair to get her mom to tell the truth about what happened?

So much had happened between them he wasn't sure they could even go back to some kind of normal. What would normal even look like for them?

But why did his heart still want her? Why did he miss her so fucking much? Cause honestly, this was so much worse.

"What do you think I should do?" Steve asked after a moment.

Doris turned to him, took in his earnest stare and whispered: "When I was gone, I woke up every morning wish I was back here with you and Mary and John. There wasn't anything I would have given to be able to get back to you guys. Don't wake up with regret like I did, Steve. It's not a happy life."

She stood up then, dropping a hand to his shoulder before moving past him and back to the house.

Steve was left sitting there, wondering what exactly it was he was going to do.