Chapter 2

Myah congratulated herself on her unusually precise toss of the washcloth into the washing machine after finishing the dishes. She glanced up at the sound of Nahele and J still joking around outside after taking the trash out and brushing out the grill. The testosterone levels had been high that evening, with the dinner conversation being heavily concentrated on sports, primarily football. Myah was able to follow the conversation more than she would have prior to moving in with Steve, but didn't have anything to add. She honestly didn't mind, still feeling mentally exhausted after the events of the day and was thankful for the time to sit quietly and listen. Her ears picked up the dull roar of the vacuum in the other room. Myah wondered briefly if all Navy Seals were as meticulous about their housekeeping as Steve was.

Not for the first time, she considered curling up next to him on the couch and telling him exactly what had gone on that day. If he applied his police prowess to her case, she had no doubt he'd uncover the truth, so was it best just to hear it from her anyways? But Delia's mom's job could be on the line, Myah again worried. The thought of the struggles of a single mom raising a daughter was no mystery to her, hitting way too close to home. It occurred to her that that might be the reason why she was so determined to protect Delia and her mother… She saw herself and her own mother in their situation.

There was only a small group of individuals that she could remember having had their backs when her mom was going through cancer treatment. There had been a local church that had consistently provided meals and stepped in with financial support, and had they not, Myah now realized they probably would have lost their house. Nora and Holly had been two friends of her mother's, who had stayed the course and Myah's heart warmed at the thought of them. Since her move to Hawaii, they had both emailed her fairly consistently to make sure she was doing okay.

Myah felt the need to shut out the world for a while and stepped into the living room to grab the book she had started the day before. "I'm going outside to read." she said softly.

"Okay." Steve was kneeling in front of the television.

"What are you doing?"

"He's being an enabler." Danny responded from his position on the couch.

Steve shot him a look born of long suffering. "Kamekona wants me to help him out with getting his helicopter pilot's license." Steve shrugged his shoulders and shot her a grin. "I want to see how he does here, before I take him up, so I got Microsoft Flight Simulator."

Myah was intrigued. "That's cool. Can I use it too?"

"Yeah, as much as you want."

Her heart quickened a little at the idea. She had absolutely loved it every time Steve had taken her out in a helicopter and had started to play around with the idea of pursuing being a pilot as her profession.

"Wait, why's Kamekona want to be a pilot? Is he opening a shrimp helicopter?"

Steve hesitated and Danny took advantage of the moment. "No, because that would at least be more in the ballpark of his skill set and something he would actually be good at."

"His plan is to give island tours. It's his dream… so I am helping… trying to help…" Steve seemed to be distracted by Danny's eye rolling. "You know, last I checked you're the man who helped him buy it!"

"I didn't know he was planning to pilot it himself!"

Myah couldn't help but giggle. "Well, good luck." She gave Steve a mock salute, before exiting the house through the kitchen. Settling onto one of the wooden chairs set further away from the patio, she allowed her body to relax. She'd started reading The Hunger Games the day before and had been enthralled almost immediately with the book, but for the moment paused to take in the ocean. It was strange that a sight that should be familiar by now, still commanded her attention so easily. She stayed outside until the light made it difficult to read.

The faint sound of music greeted her when she stepped back into the house. Steve was in the kitchen wielding a screwdriver, methodically tightening all the cabinets.

"Is that the guys?"

Nahele had started taking guitar lessons several weeks prior and Myah had gotten used to him constantly tinkering around with his guitar but this sounded a little different.

"Yeah. J plays the piano and they hauled a keyboard upstairs earlier."

"That's cool. Are they going to start a band?"

"I don't know. I'm no expert but it sounds good to me. You want to try out the flight simulator? Have you used a joystick before?"

"Yes and no. Did Uncle Danny go home?" Steve nodded and Myah followed him into the living room and accepted the headset he offered her. She listened closely as he demonstrated use of the joystick, with the occasional pause as he figured out the mechanics of the game. Myah knew she couldn't have a better teacher and felt like she learned something new from him almost daily. She felt another wave of guilt about not having been honest with him earlier. Part of her was still amazed that he wasn't holding a grudge, that he was willing to ride things out with her behavior, even punish her but not shut her out. He made no indication of not wanting her around or holding back affection.

"You listening to me?" Steve tapped her on the nose.

"Sorry." Myah tucked her chin into her chest.

"You can't get distracted when you're flying." he reprimanded her mildly. "You need to make sure you're in a good headspace as a pilot. Helicopters are not very forgiving."

Myah nodded, taking his critique seriously, but also not missing his fairly obvious reference to her withholding and bottling up information. "Just so you know… it's not that I don't want to tell you. I do. It's just… other people could be affected."

Steve paused the game and turned to lock his gaze onto her. "I hear you. But are you sure it's worth getting in trouble for? Being suspended from school and getting in trouble with me?"

"I think so."

"Okay. So maybe it is. But what about the next time? You think whoever doused your teacher's car and pinned it on you is going to be satisfied? You can guarantee that it's never going to happen again?"

Myah tucked her knees up underneath her and rested her chin on them. That thought had actually not occurred to her at all. "I guess I can't."

"In my experience… people who go to those kinds of lengths to mess with other people… it's likely neither their first nor last time doing so."

Myah felt her heart sink as she recognized the truth in his words. "If I tell you what I know… or at least what I think happened… what are you going to do?"

"I know what I'd want to do. What would you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Probably nothing."

"I can't do nothing if it means you're getting suspended from school. That is a fairly serious thing. Even if you and I know very well you had nothing to do with vandalizing the teacher's car, that could affect your reputation. Is that something you want to be known for?"

"No." Myah said uncomfortably.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Nahele's door slamming and the two teenage boys lumbering down the stairs.

"We're just getting some food, dad." Nahele said.

"Okay," Steve responded. "From what I could hear, that sounded really good."

J looked surprised. "Hope we didn't bother you guys."

"No way." Steve folded his arms. "I love that you guys are playing together. Just wrap it up by ten. For Myah." He stumbled over the last word and shot her a slightly repentant look.

Nahele and J moved into the kitchen and could be heard clattering around. Myah pursed her lips at Steve. "Thanks. You might as well have just called me a baby in front of them."

"You are my baby." Steve grabbed her in a playful headlock and pulled her against his side, dropping a kiss onto her head. As she often did, Myah felt herself calming as she listened to his heart beat. It made it very difficult to stay annoyed at him.

"What if someday you have another baby?" she murmured into his shirt sleeve.

Steve seemed surprised by her question. "What if I do?"

"I don't know… I mean I'd like it if we had a baby in our family… but maybe you might love that baby more? I mean, I wouldn't be your-"

"Hey." Steve tightened his grip on her, cutting her off mid word. "Isn't it semi-normal to have a few kids?"

"I mean… yeah."

"And last I checked, I already have two. Do you think you and Nahele have to compete for me? For how much I love you?"

"No." Myah felt a lump in her throat.

"I don't call him my baby, just because I don't think he'd especially appreciate it, but he's absolutely my boy. And if another one was added to this mix, I think I'd have enough love to go around. No more or less for anybody. I didn't know you were worried about that." Steve nuzzled her hair.

"I'm not really worried or anything. It's just something I've thought about." Myah seized the chance to get the focus off herself and asked, "You never told me about that engagement ring…"

"Oh, that's cute, but there is no way I'm telling you about that when you're not being straight with me."

Myah huffed. "Well, you're supposed to set the example, father."

Steve scoffed. "And you're supposed to do what I say."

"I'm sorry, where is that written?" Myah felt his grip tighten around her.

"I write the rules, kid and don't you forget it."

"I know." Myah dropped her teasingly sassy tone and sighed. "I'm going to think about it tonight. About what you said."

"Good girl."

H50 H50 H50

Nahele completed his burger masterpiece, having piled it sky high with pickles, onions, tomatoes and lettuce that thankfully had been readily available as leftovers from their dinner. He glanced at J, who appeared to be curious about what Steve and Myah were doing in the living room. He met Nahele's gaze and shrugged.

"She doesn't act like she's in trouble. If I got suspended from school, I wouldn't even be able to show my face."

Nahele took a huge bite and briefly pondered that statement, as well as his response to the situation. At some point in the last few weeks he had stopped being surprised at Steve's behavior, and he wondered how exactly that had happened. He'd lived in fear of screwing up for a long time, and even when the threat of jail or worse, being kicked out of the McGarrett household had been negated, he'd found it very difficult to trust that he was truly safe. Steve had shown himself to be nothing but consistent. If J found Steve's behavior as a father odd, Nahele realized he was starting to trust it as normal.

"I still can't believe he doesn't care if we do our music here," J continued. "His football records are crazy good… I can't believe he doesn't make you play football."

Nahele sometimes couldn't believe that himself. He loved playing sports and was generally in demand whenever a team was formed for a spur of the moment game of almost any kind. However, seeing the pressure that was placed on the guys on the football team at school, made him realize how much he valued his freedom. He loved the socialization that came with working for Kamekona. He loved how much time he spent surfing and hiking. He absolutely loved playing the guitar and was advancing quickly, due to continually strumming and playing around with the instrument, with time spent well above his teacher's recommended hours.

"I feel like I'm talking to myself here." J threw a wadded up napkin at him, which Nahele easily dodged.

"Yeah, don't wear yourself out." Nahele joked in response.

"Is he easier on her because she's a girl?"

"No. She gets in trouble way more than I do. It's like I said though, he doesn't hold grudges. She pushes sometimes. I think it was just hard, you know, for her to trust that he's really going to stick around and isn't going to get rid of her."

J nodded thoughtfully, and Nahele wondered at how easy his friend was to talk to. They'd hit it off in music theory class and Nahele sometimes had to hold himself back during conversation, as J gave off a vibe that was so entirely trustworthy. Nahele wasn't used to having friends he could be so free with. Their conversation paused and they wandered back into the living room.

Myah stared at them. "Are you guys having a whole second dinner?"

"Yeah." Nahele nudged her foot with his own. "Music is not for the weak."

"Have to keep our strength up." J agreed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nahele saw Steve tap Myah on the leg and indicate the stairwell with his head. With a sigh of one long suffering, she stood up. "Good night, guys."

"J, do you need a ride home?" Steve asked.

J gave a small nod. "Yes sir. I guess we should go soon… you have a curfew?" he looked questioningly at Nahele.

"Why don't you just stay here?" Nahele was surprised by his boldness. "Nobody's home at your house, right?"

"My dad's out of town for business." J shrugged.

"Is that cool, Dad?" Nahele asked. He'd never asked anyone to spend the night, but knowing the success Myah had achieved in asking him to allow Sam and Grace to spend the night… simultaneously no less, gave him a boost in courage. At least it did initially before the unwanted thoughts entered his mind. Don't get cocky, you idiot. You don't want to turn into a pain in the ass. To either of them.

"Yeah, it's fine." Steve nodded. "Two things though… you need to clear it with your dad first… and if you're here, you join us for our workout tomorrow."

"I'm in." J looked intrigued, even as he started texting into his phone.

In the same vein of worry, Nahele felt a wave of excitement. He easily credited Steve for his own strength and mobility gains and couldn't wait, for lack of better words, to show his dad off.

"Dad says he knows you and it's cool if I stay over." J said, briefly holding his phone up.

"Carter Aarons is your dad?" Steve asked, sounding as if he was only asking for confirmation for something he'd already known.

"Yeah. You guys played football together for a while?"

"Yeah. Long time ago. You guys want to give the flight simulator a try?"

Nahele and J were both up for it, and found themselves somewhat surprised at the level of difficulty, especially considering the amount of video games they played. Steve had gone upstairs a few minutes before ten and Nahele was surprised to see him return only a few minutes later. "You not going to read to her?" he asked without thinking. Nahele didn't consider himself an expert on many things, but he felt he knew his sister better than just about anyone. And he definitely knew how much she liked being read to before falling asleep. It seemed anytime that routine was disturbed, Myah ended up sleeping on his rug, something they didn't really talk about, but he had accepted as part of his role as her big brother. He couldn't help the worrisome thought that maybe Steve had withheld it as punishment for the school incident. Guess you're not as confident in him as you thought, came the unbidden thought.

"She's got the other two Charlie's Angels on video chat, so I'm letting them talk until ten-thirty." Steve responded.

Nahele snorted softly at Steve's nickname for the trio made of Myah, Grace and Sam. He generally preferred when there was just one, or at the most two of them around. When the three were together, there was generally more squealing and emotional excitement over just about everything. He supposed he understood why she needed to talk to them tonight, however. "They can discuss every minute detail of what happened today." He immediately regretted bringing up the topic, when he felt his dad's gaze zero in on him.

"Probably." Steve agreed. He eyed both boys. "You guys have any insight on what happened today?"

Nahele shifted in his seat and shared a quick glance with J before answering. "No way Myah tanked that car. She'd never do anything like that."

"I agree." Steve nodded, his arms folding across his chest in a way that made Nahele just a little nervous. "So someone set her up."

"She didn't give me any names." Nahele said. "But I can find out. I'm not going to let anyone get away with that."

Steve smiled ruefully. "If you find out, let me know. We have to handle it the right way though. If I can't get in a high school kid's face, neither can you, if you want to stay out of trouble."

Nahele shrugged. "A week off from school doesn't seem that bad."

"You think?" Steve asked, his tone mild, but his eyebrow raised.

"Uh…" Nahele backpedaled. "Well, not saying that'd be a good thing…"

"That's what I thought." Steve reached over and tousled Nahele's hair, before standing and heading to the kitchen.

H50 H50 H50

Myah stifled a yawn and jumped when she realized Steve was standing in her doorway with an eyebrow raised. She noted the time on the computer. "Crap it's almost eleven. I have to go, guys. Night."

"Boo… alright talk to you guys tomorrow and hopefully we can hang out Monday." Sam Grover said, completing her signature farewell of blowing kisses through the computer screen.

Grace Williams was caught yawning herself but she waved. "Sorry Uncle Steve! It was totally my fault."

"How'd you know he was there?" Myah asked softly.

"I saw your face." Grace giggled. "Love you Uncle Steve!"

"I love you too, Gracie." Steve responded, sounding both amused and exasperated.

Myah closed her laptop screen but stayed where she was, laying on her belly, stretched out across her bed. She met Steve's eyes hesitantly. He'd told her she could stay up until 10:30 to chat with Sam and Grace, but as often happened with the three of them, they'd lost track of time.

Steve picked up her laptop and laid it on the desk and then flipped the light off. He grabbed a decorative pillow laying at the foor of her bed and swatted her across the backside with it. It didn't hurt but Myah still yelped and decided to move to safer ground under her covers.

Steve sat down next to her. "You owe me push-ups tomorrow, kid."

"Yes sir."

"I also just wanted to give you a heads up that J is sleeping over."

"Okay." Myah said, unsure why she needed a heads up. "I mean that's fine. He's nice." The memory of him lifting her through a window again flashed through her mind and she was glad the room was dark to hide her blush.

"Yeah, he seems like a good kid. I'm just telling you since he's camping out on Nahele's floor."

"Oh." Myah sank back against her pillows, understanding dawning and her cheeks reddening for a second time. "That's fine. I haven't been having problems sleeping for a while. So I'm good." Her bravado suddenly failed her and she burrowed into Steve's side. "I know it's so stupid that I need to sleep on his floor sometimes. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Steve held her against him tightly and kissed the top of her head. "There's nothing wrong with you, kid. And you're not stupid. You're just dealing with crap and I don't know anybody in our circle who's not. That's what family's for… to help each other carry our burdens. Nobody's meant to go it alone."

"You're making this really hard."

"What?"

"You're making it hard to not tell you everything. I'm worried about what might happen if i do, but I'm losing my… uh…"

"Your resolve?" Steve offered.

"Yeah."

"Well… A spankin' didn't break you, so I'm glad to hear my other tactics are working."

Myah huffed. "That doesn't say much for my future as a criminal."

"I didn't know that was a path you were considering. If that's true, I'll probably go back to the spanking method."

"No, no, I definitely would prefer to stay on the right side of the law."

"That's a relief."

Myah was starting to find it hard to keep her eyes open and yawned again.

Steve sighed. "We'll talk more tomorrow. You go to sleep."

"Okay."

"And just so you know, my floor is open if you need it."

"Thanks, dad."

It might have been mental fatigue from the day or simply the comfort of knowing she could curl up on Steve's rug if she needed to, but once Myah's eyes closed, her sleep was deep and for all she could remember, dreamless. 6:30 always seemed to come too early regardless of the amount of rest she'd gotten, but Myah forced herself to roll out of bed with enough time to allow for careful french braiding of her hair. She had no qualms about her appearance staying tidy with the pending workout, rather felt she needed any advantage she could get and at least could keep her hair out of her face.

Steve had filled a cutting board with slices of the sourdough loaf he'd purchased from the farmer's market that week and Myah perched on the counter to nibble on hers. Nahele and J tumbled into the kitchen looking half awake, and with hair sticking every which way. It felt a little strange to have a fourth person in their group at a time of day when it was normally just the three of them.

"Morning." J shot her a smile and Myah felt her stomach flutter. Why did her brother's friend have to be so cute?

She managed to smile back and nodded her head towards the bread. "Good morning. Want some sourdough?"

Nahele greeted her by playfully aiming a fist with absolutely no power behind it at her jaw, and rolling her eyes, Myah took the fake punch in stride and then lightly booted him away from her with her heel. Both boys were clearly amped up about working out, Myah noted. If they were excited, she was starting to feel nervous. Hopping off the counter she found Steve outside. He was in the process of attaching battle ropes to a kettlebell a distance away from the patio.

"What's up kid? You ready for this?"

"Not really. I was thinking… maybe I would skip working out with you guys today."

Steve looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Skipping's not generally an option. Why?"

"Well, I just…" Myah hesitated. "I'm just… so weak compared to them and I don't want to hold everyone back. And embarrass myself."

"No."

"No?"

"No, you're not skipping. Listen to me, in the military there are physical standards everyone has to meet, because that's what's required to do that job. However, if your physical strength is all you've got, or all your company's got… you're in trouble. Because no matter how fast, big, or strong you are, there's always going to be someone who's faster, bigger or stronger. Or all three if you're unlucky. There are plenty of other qualities that are just as important, if not more. Tenacity. Strategy." Steve thumped her knee softly. "Courage. If you give me your best, I'll never be disappointed in how you do."

"Okay. I'll try."

"Good girl. Tell the guys to get out here."

Myah had to replay Steve's words to herself several times in the next hour. Thankfully nothing they did was really a competition and when Steve sent the boys on a run that would have been impossible for her to keep up on, he reminded her she owed him pushups for her behavior the night before and then directed her back to the battle ropes. Myah only realized halfway through her push-ups that Steve had dropped to do them with her.

At the end of the workout all three of them dropped to the ground, exhausted and soaked in sweat. Steve was just as covered in sweat, but stood above them, his arms folded across his chest, a pleased smirk on his face. "I think you guys have earned your breakfast. Walk it off, while I get started." He turned on his heel to head inside.

Nahele stood and Myah accepted his offered hand to pull her to her feet. J stayed on the ground. "How is that possible? That was crazy and he looked like he could do it again, no problem."

Nahele grinned. "I told you he's badass."

"No kidding." J rolled to his feet. "I didn't know he was going to do it with us. My dad would never do that."

"Well, he's ex-Navy SEAL." Nahele reminded them. "For him it just comes with the territory."

"I haven't met any other SEALs." Myah commented. "But I'm pretty sure he's special."

"Probably." Nahele shook his sweat soaked hair at her and Myah yelped and pushed him away.

"What is wrong with you?!"

"What's the matter, you're already sweaty."

"Boy sweat is just one hundred times grosser… more gross." Myah corrected herself.

"Oh really? So you don't want to wrestle?" He grabbed her in a headlock, deliberately not putting much pressure on her throat, but pulling her backwards. Myah tried to relax, as Steve had shown her how to get out of a headlock the last time he'd given her a martial arts lesson. It certainly wasn't easy against her much stronger brother. He started to let her go.

"No, don't! Dad showed me how to get out of this. I can do this."

Nahele shrugged and obligingly tightened his hold. Myah tried to ignore the mental pressure she felt to correctly perform the technique in front of her brother and J. She managed to recall the correct hand placement and then taking a breath to relax, rolled her body to the side and once partially out of the lock, grabbed her brother's face, pulling him down.

"Good job." From his lowered position, Nahele grabbed her ankle and turned it, bringing Myah to the ground, next to him.
"You jerk." Myah noted J still standing, looking wholeheartedly amused at their banter. "Nice. Just stand there while a lady gets thrown to the ground…" From her position on the ground, she gave his calf a solid kick, causing him to yelp in surprise.

"Oh, right…" J grabbed Myah's wrist and pulled her up and shook his own hair, an entirely different color than Nahele's but just as soaked with sweat, onto her face.

Myah pulled to get away from him, but found herself sandwiched in by her brother. "I am going to throw up, seriously." She did her best to sound angry, but her sense of humor was starting to take over.

"Don't worry." Nahele told J. "Once she starts laughing, she's helpless."

"I am not! Hey!" Resistance was futile however, as she was laughing too hard to fight Nahele off as he grabbed her and hauled her over his shoulder and began to walk back to the house.

He set her back on her feet on the patio and right before they entered the house, said, "Don't worry, nobody expected you to win. We know you're a girl."

The open carton of eggs on the counter provided too good of an opportunity and in one smooth motion, she grabbed an egg, turned and smashed it, directly onto Nahele's chest and then up onto his face. For once he actually seemed momentarily stunned and then with the clear intention of returning fire, stepped fully into the kitchen.

Feeling like she might have crossed a line, but not really regretting her actions, Myah ducked under Steve's arm as he deftly picked up the carton, clearly more concerned about protecting the eggs than her. Myah couldn't see Steve's face, but guessed he must have given Nahele a warning look, as her brother did not leap over the small kitchen island to exact his revenge.

"So J," Steve spoke dryly. "It seems you and I will be having omelets, as these two apparently want to drink theirs."

Myah watched in horror as he cracked two eggs into a glass measuring cup and held it out to her. "Eeeww, raw?"

"It's a perfectly good way to get your protein."

Myah wanted to gag at the idea. "Please no. I'm sorry. Nahele, you're my very favorite brother."

"I'm your only brother, so that means nothing." Nahele scoffed. "Come on, brat, you can do it. There's nothing wrong with drinking raw eggs." He held out a hand and Steve passed him a glass. Myah slowly accepted the other glass and felt Nahele put his arm around her in a companionable side hug. She stared down at the glass of golden liquid with two yolks floating inside. She noticed Nahele had four. The very thought of swallowing the raw eggs was absolutely disgusting. She gave Steve her saddest face, but as usual, he was completely unaffected, standing with his arms crossed, looking at them expectantly.

J, however, was apparently very affected by her woebegone expression. "I'll do it too. I'll drink with them."

Nahele clinked glasses with him. "Drinking buddy."

"Not for a long time, son." Steve said firmly. "Alright, I guess we're saving ourselves time on dishes this morning." When he cracked himself a glass of eggs, Myah's heart sank, as her last hope at being able to get out of this disgusting turn of events, disappeared. If all three of them were doing it, there was no way she could back out of it now. She clinked her glass in cheers with them and then, unsure that this wasn't a terrible prank, watched as they began to pour the eggs down their respective throats. Taking a deep breath, she raised her own glass and trying not to gag, swallowed.

"That is so disgusting!" she gasped.

"It's not that bad." Steve seemed amused at her reaction.

"It's the texture… That was so gross!" Noticing neither of the guys seemed nearly as bothered by the experience, Myah rolled her eyes. "You know, I feel like I'm the only one who actually got punished here. As usual, the golden child lands on a bed of roses."

Nahele scoffed. "You're the one who smashed an egg on my face!"

"You told me I was automatically going to lose because I'm a girl!"

"I didn't mean it! I think if you keep training you'll be able to hold your own against a lot of guys."

"Oh." Myah didn't say it, but it warmed her heart immensely to hear him say that.

"Just never against me, of course." Nahele gave her a chin up.

"Well, if that is true…" Steve entered the conversation. "She can rest easy knowing she's got the best protector in the world. Though I expect you to both have each other's backs. You can't use your fists in every fight. Unfortunately." The last word had a more lighthearted tone, but Steve had clearly been serious, and Nahele responded as such.

"Yes, sir."

Myah watched her brother out of the corner of her eye. She knew that Steve was right and that Nahele would hold true to his words. She had issues with her own confidence, but in spite of Nahele's teasing, she never doubted his affection. Things had been slightly rocky between the two of them when they'd first met, but they'd settled into a close relationship faster than she would have thought possible.

"So I don't know if anyone here wants something actually cooked…" Steve was holding up a package of bacon and in response to the chorus of yeses, he pulled out a skillet. "Settle in J. We're still figuring out the order of operations around here."

"I'm here for it, sir." J responded.

"I'm going to take a shower." Nahele said. "This raw egg is probably going to be great for my hair…"

H50 H50 H50

Nahele bounced his adopted cousin Joanie Mcgarrett gently on his shoulders. The blond two year old burst into giggles and held on tightly to his hair.

"Again, Nay-Hay!"

Myah snickered. "Here, smile JoJo! Smile Nay-Hay!" She held up her phone to capture the moment.

Nahele obediently smiled and then glanced back at the toddler. "Let's get her Joanie!" Keeping a tight grip on the toddler he galloped towards Myah, who let out a dramatic shriek and ran away from them in mock panic. Between the three of them, they were making more noise than a class of children at recess. Steve and Mary had been attempting to have a conversation while drinking coffee in the kitchen, but neither looked irritated by the noise. When there finally came a lull in the commotion, Mary capitalized on it and stood.

"I hate to break up the party, but we need to be getting home. We've got a video call scheduled with Grandma and Grandpa Thompson."

Nahele frowned at her words but didn't respond, instead working on shaking himself loose from Joanie's tight grip. As was her nature, once Mary had decided on her course of action, she turned into a whirlwind of activity in gathering her and Joanie's things and getting them settled in the car. The house always seemed especially quiet when they vacated the premises.

Per Steve's direction, Myah pulled the small broom out of the pantry and began sweeping the kitchen floor, as it was always a little worse for the wear after having a toddler dining in the room. "That was fun." she said. She stuck the broom directly in front of Nahele in an attempt to trip him. "There's been way too much testosterone around here lately in my opinion."

Barely managing to sidestep the broom, Nahele lightly popped the back of his sister's head and then continued into the laundry room. "Too bad they couldn't stay longer." He wasn't shy about slamming the washer and dryer doors as he transferred his laundry.

"Did your clothes piss you off or something?" Myah raised an eyebrow at him when he stepped back into the kitchen.

"I just think it's stupid. Joanie doesn't need to be talking to those people."

"Um… you mean her grandparents?"

Nahele shook his head. "We're her family now."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that they can't be too."

"Name one good reason."

"If she's genetically predisposed to something… like cancer." Myah glared at him, clearly daring him to push her on that issue, but of course he didn't. He actually hadn't thought of that and it was a somewhat legitimate reason. Regardless…

Nahele stubbornly shook his head. "They could get her medical record without personal calls and visits and stuff."

"You're being really dense."

"Oh, am I?" Nahele felt himself using a harsher tone than he generally treated Myah with.

"Myah." Steve's voice halted their face-off immediately as his commanding presence in the kitchen immediately changed the dynamic. "Study."

Nahele watched as his sister poked her lip out at Steve as she moved to empty the dustpan.

Steve rolled his eyes. "You're not in trouble, kid. Yet, anyway. I need to talk to you about what I expect when you're with the team this week."

"Adventure and fun times?"

"Maybe. As well as perfect behavior from you. Don't think I won't take you over my knee in my office if I need to. Study."

Myah hung up the broom and looking highly offended but not surprised, exited the kitchen.

Nahele suddenly found himself under the microscope of Steve's piercing gaze, and was unable to meet it, initially looking at the floor and shifting his weight uncomfortably, before managing to look back up.

"I didn't know you had a problem with Joanie getting to know her biological family."

"I just don't think it's necessary."

"Maybe not vital… but I think there could be good that comes from it."

"Yeah sure…" Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"Are you thinking about your… about Kaili? About talking to him?"

"No!" Nahele said bitterly.

"Are you sure?"

"I said no."

"Well, just so you know, I did check into the Thompson family. There's nothing dangerous in their background that would be a red flag for keeping Joanie from getting to know them. Her birth mom isn't even in the picture at this point. It's just her grandparents. It's just more people to love and support her as she grows up."

"Well, I think you're wrong."

"Well, you're allowed to think that." Steve folded his arms across his chest. "You're rarely harsh with your sister and even more rarely sarcastic to me, but you're checking both those boxes tonight. You're fully entitled to disagree with me, but you better watch your tone, son."

Nahele felt his eyes flash at the reprimand, but he couldn't deny he'd earned it. Feeling conflicted and stubborn, he held his posture facing Steve for as long as his bravado would allow it. As it turned out, this wasn't long and he dropped his eyes, and nodded.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes sir."

Steve nodded, his stern expression softening to one more of concern. Nahele didn't think he could bear it without getting emotional and moved to exit the kitchen. "I'm gonna… I need to practice my guitar."

H50 H50 H50

Author's note: First thank you to the absolute best people who took the time to read and review that first chapter. Gems, all of you. Sorry about the delay with updating. I literally think about this story daily, but really struggled with getting this chapter to flow and am still not one hundred percent happy with it, but am giving it to you anyway. I hope that the changing around of POV isn't too confusing and I'm still trying to get comfortable writing Nahele. Finally drinking raw eggs is gross and I'm very irritated at Steve for instigating this. I had a martial arts teacher issue this challenge during lock-down as he was trying to encourage fitness and nutrition from afar. So gross. Anyway, as always, let me know what you like, what you don't and what you wish for. Happy Sunday!