Chapter 9

"Jumping to Conclusions"

The blackness of the night reflected itself in Kono's foul mood as she slammed around her kitchen preparing what should have been a delicious treat. However, the coconut ice cream sundae with a generous helping of hot fudge, whip cream and nuts was more to placate her anger toward a certain Nathan McGarrett than to provide pleasure.

"This is…an old friend," Kono said, imitating Nate's voice. "Old friend, my foot, more like a bed buddy," she said, slamming the refrigerator door with her foot. "Does he think I'm an idiot? That woman practically ate him with those green eyes of hers."

Kono stopped her rant for a moment to lick the hot fudge that was stuck to the spoon. She knew she was being unfair, but what was she supposed to think. She had seen Nicole slip what looked like a hotel keycard into Nate's pocket.

"Natalie warned me about fire breathing dragons," Kono said aloud, "and my knight was just eaten alive by one. Grrr! I wonder what they're doing right now." She took a deep breath. "Kono, don't let yourself go there. I can't help it! Stop!" She held her head between her hands and closed her eyes tightly. "Don't jump to conclusions." She looked at the clock. "What else would they be doing at this hour?"

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Nicole admitted to herself that she had kissed a lot of men, but none of them could compare with her Jamie. Even now as she devoured his lips she knew kissing him forever would never be enough to satisfy her.

Smoothing her hands up his chest in an effort to help him remove his blazer, she felt his hands glide across her bare shoulders sending a tantalizing sensation throughout her whole being. She nearly went limp from the sheer joy of his touch.

The bedroom is too far away, she thought. Oh, but the couch is only a few steps from here. He won't mind.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Kono sat on her couch in her pajamas and fuzzy slippers, holding her orange ceramic bowl filled with ice cream. Something played on the TV, but she hardly noticed because her eyes were focused on the two generous mounds of ice cream melting into white puddles in her dish.

She finally forced herself to take a bite of the cold dessert, but it did not soothe her broken heart. Her body began to shake as she tried desperately to hold back her tears. However, one small tear escaped and soon after the rest broke free.

It was stupid she told herself. It made absolutely no sense. Here she was crying over a guy who was not even hers to cry over. He had done nothing to make her think he cared for her, yet she had let herself care for him and that had been her mistake.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Nicole felt dizzy with excitement as she tried to guide Nate toward the couch without having to pull her lips away from his, but he stood rooted in place. Why is he being so difficult? she wondered.

That is when reality rushed in and ripped her out of her fantasy. She realized Nate did not return her passionate kiss and the hands on her shoulders were pushing her away rather than drawing her near.

Nate finally managed to untangle himself from Nicole's embrace and took several steps away from her. He ran the back of his hand across his lips to wipe away the bitter taste her kiss left there. "Don't ever do that again," he said, his voice low and menacing.

"I thought you would be glad to see me," she pouted.

"You know better than that."

"Maybe you will change your mind after you have some champagne," Nicole suggested, moving toward the table.

"You know I don't drink."

"That really is such a silly thing."

"If you went through what I did you'd realize it's far from silly."

"Oh, yes, the big bad boss was always so hard on you." She sighed as she poured herself a glass of the chilled beverage. "It's so sad to drink alone."

"Excuse me, if I don't feel sorry for you."

"You're so hard on me, but that's why I love you," she smiled sweetly. "So, tell me, was that cute girl at the restaurant your lover?"

Nate ignored her question.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "You are cheating on me."

"I couldn't possibly be cheating on you because that would imply we were actually together, which we never have been or ever will be."

"We're not together?" she asked innocently. "Oh, stop tormenting me."

Nate rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "The only one that's tormenting you is yourself. Why are you in Hawaii?" he demanded.

She sighed. "I came because I missed you. I talked daddy into coming with me because it's easier to spend his money that way. He loves to spoil me. I bought this today with you in mind," she purred as she twirled slowly, showing off her wine colored negligee, which molded to her feminine curves. "Do you like it?" She noticed with disappointment that his eyes never wandered from her face. "If you weren't such a gentleman we could have so much fun, Jamie."

"Don't call me Jamie," he said glaring at her.

"I love it when you look at me with such intensity," she cooed, stepping closer to him.

"You didn't answer me," Nate said. "Why are you here?"

"Is Hawaii off limits to me…oh, no, that was just for you. What are you doing here?"

"Why I'm in Hawaii is none of your business. What I'm doing here in your hotel room is another matter. I may have seemed pleasant and glad to see you in the restaurant, but I only did that to avoid unnecessary questions from your father and my friends. I've told you this many times before, stay away from me."

"That's not humanly possible," she said, taking a step closer to him, so her feet nearly touched his. "You're always calling to me."

"I've never called to you. You disgust me."

His last words cut her deeply, but she would never allow him to see that. "Other men find me quite irresistible and pleasing."

"That's before you kill them."

"You make me sound so terrible," she laughed. "I don't kill all of them and you know I would never hurt you."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You know I absolutely adore you." She reached out to stroke his cheek, but he knocked her hand away, much to her disappointment. "Besides, it's not like you haven't killed anyone."

"Not needlessly, like you have."

"What can I say?" she grinned. "Some girls like to shop. I like to kill people."

Nate shook his head and tossed the room keycard on the table. "I'm done here and I'm done with you."

"What about Kono Kalakaua?" she sang out as he walked toward the door. "Are you done with her?"

Nate spun around, his expression dark and foreboding. "Don't you dare touch her, Nicole."

A smile spread across her wine colored lips. "Oh, I struck a nerve. Is it possible that a woman has finally put a chink in Nathan McGarrett's armor?"

"You touch her and-"

"And what?" she answered fiercely. "You'll have the boss take care of me like he did in Paris. As you can see his little intervention did a lot of good. I never was a good listener. And when I set my sights on something, it's going to be mine, one way or another."

Nate had enough of this pointless conversation. He turned and left the room.

"Run and hide, Nathan," she called after him, "the boss always protects you."

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Nate pulled the Carerra GT in front of a large house set near the ocean. He had been driving around the Island for nearly an hour and could not bring himself to go home. He needed to talk to someone who knew the real Nate McGarrett and everything about him. Exiting the car, he removed his blazer and tossed it on the seat.

He walked across the expansive lawn to the back of the house and continued through the gardens, until he reached the earthen path that led to the beach. Nate glanced back toward the house; he noticed the light in the second floor study was still on. Turning back to the path, he made his way down to the shore.

He kicked away his shoes and pulled off his socks before untucking his shirt and rolling up his sleeves. Stepping out onto the wet sand, he felt the water encircle his ankles and gently pull away the sand that his feet rested on. He closed his eyes listening to the rhythm of the waves roll onto the shore and sweep back into the ocean. As each wave lapped around his feet he wished they would carry away all his secrets, all his pain and all his fears, but he knew no earthly thing could do that.

"Nathan," his boss' voice called from behind him. "What brings you out here at this time of night?"

"Nicole," Nate answered.

"I see," the older man replied, walking up next to him. "I guess I'm not surprised she found you. She always does."

They stood in silence for a long time; no words were needed to explain the situation. It was an old issue they had discussed many times before and were still no closer to discovering an answer.

"I want it all to go away, Liam," Nate finally said. "I don't want anymore secrets. I don't want to be what I've become. It's like a living hell."

"This is the reason I didn't want you to come to Hawaii. It was hard enough for you to come here when your father was alive. I saw what it did to you when you had to keep secrets from him and how it tore you apart when he died because things weren't right between you. I don't want to see you go through the same thing with your brother. I know he is relentless. He may have believed you when you told him you didn't do anything wrong in China, but it hasn't stopped him from trying to figure out why you were there."

"What do you mean?" Nate asked.

"Your brother has quite a network of friends," Liam explained. "I've kept you well hidden, but it doesn't keep people from asking questions and your brother has been asking a lot of questions."

"Why can't he just leave it alone?"

"Would you?"

The two men looked at each other knowing what the answer would be.

"I'm at the perpetual age of seven in his eyes," Nate said. "And he still thinks he needs to protect me."

"I have to admit, Nathan, sometimes I myself see you as the boy of eight that I was first introduced to by your uncle. I think there are times even I have tried to protect you too much. And yet, you have suffered a great deal." Nate's boss paused before continuing. "A few moments ago you told me you don't want to be what you've become. Looking back, would you change your mind about the path your life has taken?"

Nate did not answer for several minutes. "Not after what I've seen him do. Not after what he took from me. I'll never get that back."

"You can walk away, son."

"Yeah, but I can never leave it behind."

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Steve arrived at work that morning, late and tired. Natalie had woken him in the middle of the night with another nightmare, which had prohibited both of them from getting back to sleep, until sometime after two in the morning. He still felt stiff and sore from the wooden rocking chair, where he and Natalie had fallen asleep. When he had woken her that morning she was tired, cranky and uncooperative. She had followed him around the house whining while he had tried to get ready for work.

She had cried on the way to school and he had wondered if leaving her there was a possibility. Thankfully, as he had been trying to coax Natalie out of the truck, Grace had come running up to them. Somehow she had managed to convince Natalie they would have fun at school and she had promised her Uncle Steve he had nothing to worry about.

In that moment, Steve had to appreciate what a good job Danny had done training Grace. Steve had hoped he would do half as well as his partner had done.

Walking through the doors of headquarters, Steve spied Danny coming toward him.

"Hey, you finally made it," Danny greeted him. "I was ready to call in a missing person's report."

"Funny," Steve replied, walking toward his office.

Danny followed him uninvited. He could tell something was bothering his partner and he wanted to know what it was. "Rough night?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I'd call it that," Steve replied.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay," Danny said, "but I think I have the right to know why you're going to be grouchy for the rest of the day."

"Natalie," Steve admitted, pushing open his office door.

"That wasn't so hard was it? Wait, you had Natty last night?"

"Long story."

Danny wanted to know the long story so he pried further. "How was picture drawing?"

"Not so good," Steve replied.

"How so?"

"Let's just say I found out things, but nothing that I was looking for."

"Do you want to give me a little more information?" Danny prodded. Steve was silent. "I'll take that as a 'no'," Danny said. He was quiet for a moment before he added, "How is Alex doing?" The look Steve gave him assured him he would not be saying anything on that subject either. "That great, huh? I guess I should have asked how things are between the two of you."

"Danny, don't you have work to do?" Steve asked, glancing through a file on his desk.

"No, I'm just waiting on you, so we can go over the case."

"I'm ready then."

"After you," Danny said, holding the office door open for him.

Chin met them at the computer table and they were about to begin reviewing their current case when they heard the sound of shattering glass come from the break room.

"Stupid coffee pot!" they heard Kono yell. Seconds later she came out of the room and announced, "I'm going out to get a cup of coffee. Watch out for the broken glass." She was about to leave when Danny stopped her.

"Could you get me one?" he asked her with his million dollar smile. "Please?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey, cuz," Chin piped in, "get one for me, too."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure."

Steve did not want to bother her, but he had to admit coffee would be nice right about now. "Kono could you-"

"That's all you need me for is to run your errands!" she snapped at him. "You can get your own coffee!" She turned around and stormed out of the room.

"What did you do?" Danny shouted at Steve. Turning to Chin, he asked, "Does that mean she's not getting us coffee?"

Steve frowned and shook his head in disbelief. Kono had never spoken to him that way before. Turning to his co-workers, he asked, "What's up with her?"

Danny gave Chin a look and replied, "I'm not sure it's our place to say."

"If one of my team has a problem I need to know about it."

"Well…Chin," Danny said gesturing towards him.

"I think he means you, brah," Chin replied.

"She's your cousin," Danny stated.

"Will one of you just tell me what's going on," Steve demanded.

Chin looked at Danny and waited for him to cough up the information.

"Fine then," Danny conceded. "First of all, it's not a something, it's a someone."

"Okay, did one of you do something?"

"Why is it you naturally assume that we did something?" Danny questioned.

"Actually, I was thinking more you than Chin."

Chin smirked and Danny glared at him as he defended himself. "I am completely innocent," he said, putting a hand to his chest. "You should be feeling sorry for me because my shin was on the receiving end of Kono's wrath last night and it still hurts."

"She kicked you?" Steve asked. "What did you do to make her so upset?"

"There you go again!" Danny exclaimed. "But you forget that Chin and I were not the only people with Kono last night. It was the third party that upset her."

It took Steve a second to fully realize who Danny meant by the "third party". "Nate?" he asked.

"The man does have a brain," Danny joked, throwing his hands in the air.

Steve ignored the snide comment. "My brother upset her? I don't understand."

Danny opened his mouth to continue with his roundabout answers when Chin silenced him. "Kono likes your brother. A lot."

"Okay," Steve said slowly, "but that doesn't explain why she's upset?"

Danny jumped back in. "She's jealous."

"Of what?"

"The woman!" Danny exclaimed.

"What woman?" Steve was getting irritated. "Nate doesn't know any women."

Chin and Danny exchanged a look that said 'you've got to be kidding'.

"Will you two stop looking at each other and get to the point."

"I'm pretty sure that was a woman, right, Chin?"

"Definitely," Chin nodded.

"I've had it with you two," Steve said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your brother and this…" Danny paused, while he searched for a word to describe Nicole, "…this goddess seemed very…"

"Well acquainted," Chin finished.

Steve looked between the two of them not fully comprehending the situation and wondered what had transpired last evening that they were now finishing each others sentences. He put a hand over his eyes. "You two are giving me a headache. Where did you run into this woman?"

Chin recounted the previous evening, while Danny expounded needlessly on the woman and Kono's reaction.

"Nicole Millay?" Steve said, shaking his head. "I've never heard of her."

"Well, how close have you been to your brother in the past four years?" Danny asked.

Steve glared at Danny.

"I'm just saying it could be possible that sometime in the past four years Nate has become acquainted with this…Nicole goddess."

"Oh…" Steve said, as a look of understanding dawned on his face.

"What?" Danny wondered.

"Nate didn't come home until this morning."

There was a thud behind them and the sound of liquid spilling onto the floor. They turned to see Kono standing in a puddle of coffee with a look of horror covering her face.

"I'm sure nothing happened," Steve added quickly. Danny groaned and Chin shot Kono a look of concern. Steve realized he implied something could have happened. "I didn't mean…um…I'm sure Nate has a logical explanation for all this.

That was it. Kono did an about face and stormed out the double doors, leaving the three men staring after her.

"Logical? Really, Steven?" Danny exploded. "Do you need help taking your foot out of your mouth?"

Steve wiped a hand over his face. "You know I didn't mean it that way. I don't know what I'm saying."

"I know what you're saying. This is you saying you're losing it," Danny explained. "Alex better get back here fast, you're falling apart."

"I'm not falling apart," Steve shot back.

The partners argued on oblivious to the fact Chin had slipped out of the room to check on Kono.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Chin found his cousin sitting outside on a bench wiping tears from her face. "Kono, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Chin," she said, wringing her hands together.

He sat next to her and placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at the blue sky overhead. "There's nothing to talk about."

"How about what happened last night?" he asked.

She bit her upper lip, trying to hold back the many things she wanted to say, but it was no use. "He said I looked nice," Kono blurted out. "That's what you say to your mother."

Oh, boy, Chin thought. She has it bad.

"And he said she looked fabulous," Kono continued as she slouched on the bench and crossed her arms. "Nicole is a snake, can't Nate see that? It made me sick watching the way she flaunted herself in front of him. And he just smiled!" She shook her head in disgust. "If I have to throw myself at him to get his attention then he can forget it because I'm not playing that game. I was stupid to think he was different from other guys."

"Hold on, Cuz," Chin said, "don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?"

Kono sat up straight and threw her hands in the air. "Were we looking at the same two people last night because I know what I saw."

"Do you want to know what I saw?"

"I doubt it will make a difference."

"Kono, one thing you should know about Nate is he's actually kind of shy."

She looked at him with disbelief. "You're kidding me. He didn't seem shy last night and I can't believe anyone in the McGarrett family could be shy. Come on, Chin, you're going to have to do better than that."

"I watched Nate the entire evening and he did not look at Nicole the way he looked at you."

Kono rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"You know I'm not in the habit of just saying things to make people feel better. When Nate looked at you it was with admiration, but when he looked at Nicole I didn't see that. In fact, I didn't see anything, not even when he smiled at her."

"So he's just good at covering up how crazy he is about her."

"Listen, Kono, I don't know who Nicole is or what she means to Nate, but from where I sat there's nothing between them, at least on his part."

"How did you see all that and I didn't?" Kono challenged him.

"Jealousy has a way of clouding our judgment," Chin replied.

She sighed. "Well, I still want to know why he was out all night."

"That's really none of our business, Kono, but Nate was always a good kid I'm sure it was nothing."

"He's definitely not a kid anymore," Kono pointed out, "and Nicole is not the kind of woman you say no to."