A/N: I am back with a new chapter! Finally! Between school and a whole mess of family issues, my life has been insane lately. This chapter took me forever to finish, and I'm really sorry for that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think of it!

Juliet felt a rare spring in her step the next morning as she walked to the little café to meet Thomas. For the first time in years, she felt like she was floating. She was still on a high from the night before, and without the stress and rigor of work to bog her down, Juliet felt ready to take on the day and embrace the possibilities of what could be.

She arrived at the café before Magnum and stopped by the front door before sending him a text to let him know she was there.

{ See you in 5 :) } he replied.

When she spotted him walking towards her a few minutes later, she couldn't help the smile from spreading across her face.

"Good morning, Higgy," he said happily, pulling her into a hug.

"Hello," Juliet replied into his embrace. She did not consider herself to be a 'hugger', but she loved the feeling of being held by Thomas. "How are you, and how was the rest of your night?"

Thomas smiled, "I'm feeling great, and hungry of course! The rest of the night was pretty low-key. I was exhausted so I went to bed as soon as I got home. What about you?"

They headed into the café to grab a table, "Oh, same for me. I had a great time but I'm not used to being out that late so I fell asleep fairly quickly."

She had conveniently omitted the fact that she had stayed up for a couple of hours in bed just thinking. Thinking about the event, her new friends, and the potential of something new with Thomas.

Once they were seated and had ordered some brunch, Thomas brought up their upcoming hike to Rainbow Falls.

"So, I was thinking we could drive up there tomorrow morning since you said that Monday was ok? I can pick you up if you'd like. I can make us some sandwiches to bring for lunch and we can have a picnic on our hike. It's not a very difficult trail, but it is a pretty good workout!"

"Sounds good, Magnum. What can I bring?"

"Maybe a blanket for us to sit on once we're up there? And some sunblock I guess? I think that's really all we're gonna need."

The waitress brought their food over, and Thomas was amazed at the size of his stack of crêpes.

"Woah, these are huge! And they look fantastic!"

Juliet chuckled, "I knew you'd like it here. The portions are quite sizable and the crêpes remind me of ones that I've had in France, though I haven't found any in America that quite measure up to classic French crêpes."

Thomas perked up, "Speaking of France, I would love to hear more about your European adventures! You must have a lot of interesting stories from your time with MI6. Now that we're friends and we know each other more, I was hoping that you'd like to share some more about your life before Hawaii. I know there must be some things that you can't share, but could you at least tell me a little about some of your missions?" Thomas asked, taking a rather large bite of crêpes and getting some Nutella on his face in the process.

Juliet smiled a little at the mess he had made on his face with the chocolate spread, he really could be like a little boy sometimes. Normally, messy eating was an immediate turn off for her, but when Thomas did it she couldn't help but think of how adorable he looked with Nutella all over his face. She handed him a napkin before speaking up.

"Well, Thomas, I did complete a few smaller missions in France. I got to know Paris very well and certainly had my fill of delicious French food, but my most important mission as a spy was in Russia. I went undercover and trained as a FSB agent for over a year. It was incredibly hard to keep my cover up for that long, even with all of my training."

Thomas raised his eyebrows, "Russia huh? I can't imagine trying to gain access to the FSB was easy or enjoyable. Those guys are pretty scary."

Juliet chuckled lightly, "They can be, yes. I was more than happy to get out of there. That mission was a huge boost for my career with MI6. I was quite popular when I returned home; had my pick of any assignments I wanted…" Juliet paused then, her words trailing off and her eyes going down towards her plate as she used her fork to move some eggs around absentmindedly.

Thomas frowned at her new demeanor, "What's wrong? Is this about why you left England?"

Juliet looked up at him again. If they were going to get closer, she knew she needed to be honest with him about what happened.

"Well, I didn't just leave England entirely on my own accord, I was, essentially- disavowed by MI6. There was a man I worked with there, his name was Richard. We had known each other since we both started in military intelligence and eventually; we both fell in love with each other. He had proposed to me and we even had a date set for our wedding. He was on a mission in Turkey trying to track down an assassin called Viper that our unit had been trying to nab for months. One afternoon I got word that Richard hadn't checked in with our superiors for his weekly update. We later learned that he had been shot and his body was found washed up on the banks of the Bosporus strait."

Thomas looked shocked, "Oh Juliet, that's- that's horrible. I can't imagine…"

"When I got that news, nothing in my life mattered anymore. I was filled with rage. I left that same night on an unsanctioned mission of my own to go after Viper. I traveled all across the Middle East, following any lead I could track down about where the monster was who had stolen one of the only people I've truly loved in my life from me. My bosses told me to return to the UK, that we'd get justice for Richard the right way, but all I cared about was revenge and making that man suffer. I did some truly terrible things while I was searching for Viper; things I could never repeat to anyone. Eventually, the crown had enough. They wanted nothing to do with a rogue asset who wasn't following orders, and that's exactly what I had become. I knew my career with MI6 was over, and I had no chance of working within any type of law enforcement agency in the UK; so I packed up my life and went as far away as I could. I really wasn't leaving much behind in England. My parents are dead, and after the stunts I pulled, the few friends I had cut me off. It was better for me to just start over."

Thomas gave her a small smile, "Well, I'm glad that you chose to start over here, and I'm glad that we met, as crazy as those circumstances were."

Juliet just played with the food on her plate some more, and Thomas knew he needed to do something to get her spirits back up.

There were a few moments of silence before he continued on, "Would you like to make some more plans for this week? I have some appointments with clients and I will probably have to do some work for my cases, but I know we can still hang out. How about we meet up at La Mariana on Wednesday night? I know the guys would like to see you again. And you can cash in on those free drinks!"

The mention of the group of them all hanging out again made Juliet perk up a little, and she agreed.

Beginning to eat some of her own crepes, she asked Thomas to tell her about some of his new cases to take her mind to a different place.

"Are you always so slow when you hike, Thomas?" Juliet ribbed, putting her hands on her hips impatiently.

This was the fifth time in the last half hour that Thomas had asked Higgins if they could pause to take a break on the walk up to Rainbow Falls.

He took a deep breath, "I'm just trying to enjoy the scenery, Higgy. Look around! The flowers and the birds here are beautiful, and I know that we aren't at the falls yet but the view is still amazing from here. We aren't in a rush, just take it all in."

Juliet could see what he meant, but she had never been used to 'taking it all in'. For as long as she could remember she had always tried to complete a task as quickly as she could, whether it was in her personal life or her professional one. Now that she was looking around though, she saw all of the beauty around them that he was referring to.

"Come on, let's take a picture, Higgy! I've taken some of the view but I want some of us as well!"

"I guess if you'd like to," Juliet replied quietly.

Thomas frowned a little, "What's wrong, Juliet? We've been having such a nice time today. Do you want to go back?"

"No, no— I'd like to keep going. I'm just feeling a little… off I suppose. Maybe once we eat lunch I'll perk up a bit."

Thomas smiled, "Ok, we're almost there, I promise. Then we can have the amazing sandwiches that I packed!" He said, tapping on his backpack. He beckoned her over to him for the selfie, and she joined him.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side while his other arm held up the phone to take the picture.

Juliet felt the butterflies return to her stomach at the feeling of being so close to him. That alone was enough to prompt a huge grin from her face when Magnum snapped a couple of shots. She was almost reluctant to let go after he was done.

Thomas must've sensed this though because when they reached a set of rock stairs a few minutes later, he held out his hand for her.

"These are a little steep. I don't want either of us to trip," he explained innocently.

Juliet held his hand as they walked up the rock stairs, but once they had ascended them, she didn't let go. Thomas didn't seem to mind though.

A minute later, the thick brush and foliage gave way to a huge clearing that showcased the falls spectacularly.

"Wow," Juliet gasped. "It's absolutely breathtaking!"

"I know! I told you that you'd love it when you saw it for real! Let's find a place to sit and eat."

Since it was a Monday, the falls weren't crowded at all and they were able to set up their picnic blanket in a place that was perfect to take in all of the beautiful falls. Thomas opened his backpack and took out everything he had packed them for lunch including sandwiches, some fruit, and chips.

Juliet was famished so she dove right in, enjoying the delicious spread. They ate in silence for a few moments before Thomas spoke.

"Higgy?"

"Yes, Thomas?"

"Can I tell you something?" He asked nervously.

"Yes… I hope it's something good. Your expression is rather troubling."

"No, no, no! I promise it's good, or at least I hope you'll think it's good. I'm just a bit nervous… that's all."

Juliet gave him a small smile, "Alright, let's hear it then."

Thomas took a long, deep, breath before spilling his thoughts, "I—I really like you Juliet. I am so glad that we met, however weird those circumstances were. You're the most interesting person I think I've ever met. Even during that month when we didn't talk at all while the case was being finalized, I thought about you everyday, hoping that we would have a chance to get to know each other. The last 3 days that we've spent together have been some of the best I've had, especially since I moved to Hawaii. At first I thought that I would be content just being friends with you, I never thought you would ever think of me in a deeper way, but every time I see you now, my heart skips a few beats and I'm immediately ten times happier. I'm sorry if this is a lot for you, but I guess what I'm trying to say is— I'd like to give us a try as more than friends, and I was hoping that you would agree to go on a date with me? I think it would be amazing," he smiled hopefully.

Juliet's heart was pounding from Thomas' confession. He feels the same way! Her mind shouted, and Juliet tried to rack her brain to come up with a coherent response.

"Is this not a date?" she quietly replied. "The other night when we agreed to go hiking together, I believe you said 'it's a date'.

Thomas perked up at her comment, "I did, didn't I? I guess this is our first date then! I hope it's lived up to your expectations," he replied sheepishly.

"It's been perfect," she replied, taking his hand between both of hers. "You are such a sweet man, Thomas. The past few days have opened my eyes to something that I never thought was possible for myself. You have made me have feelings that I've never had before. Although we have not known each other for long, I feel safe and valued when I spend time with you. I'd— I'd love to see where this could go."

Magnum looked as though he had won the lottery. He was momentarily speechless and was beaming from ear to ear. "Come here," he requested happily, lightly tugging on her hands that were wrapped around his own to pull her into him.

Juliet enveloped him in a tender hug as she sidled up next to him.

"I'm so happy to hear that you return my feelings," he whispered into her ear.

"I am proud to return them, Thomas. I really, really like you as well."

They pulled back from their embrace slightly and Juliet caught Magnum's eyes with her own. They were gorgeous golden brown pools that radiated nothing but admiration, kindness, and dare she say it; love.

Her eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, and then back up to his eyes again. Juliet looked into them one last time before closing the small gap between them to kiss him.

Kissing Thomas felt like being swept up in a breeze of warmth and sunshine. He kissed her back passionately and moved both of his hands to cup her face, drawing small little circles with his thumbs on her cheeks.

When they broke apart for air, Juliet had a dazed grin on her face. Thomas gave her a few small kisses on her cheeks, eyelids, and the tip of her nose.

"So, does this mean you'll be my girl?", he asked with a grin.

"Yes," she said simply, kissing him again. "I want to be with you, Thomas. I am finally ready to open myself up to finding love again."

Before he could start talking again, Juliet pulled him back down to her mouth to kiss him some more. Magnum relaxed and let himself soak it all in. He literally couldn't think of a more perfect spot for their first kiss and date. With the peaceful sound of the white noise from the falls, and the lack of others around them, they were completely focused on each other.

After a few moments of kissing, Juliet rested her forehead against Thomas' and they both closed their eyes. They sat quietly for a few moments before they shifted their positions so Juliet was tucked into Magnum's side with his arm wrapped around her as they faced the falls.

Juliet had a tiny amount of fear in the back of her mind from being so vulnerable with Thomas so quickly. She hadn't put her faith and trust in someone like that since she was with Richard. If Thomas broke her heart, she would completely lose all of the progress that she had made in the past few months and build up her walls again, but a little voice in her head told her that being with Thomas would be just what she needed to help her feel happy and at peace.