…..

I missed another Friday update… because I'm terrible. I suddenly got SO busy at work and I didn't even realize that Friday had passed, honestly. Crazy time. Also, my husband and I are expecting our second child (a boy, yay!) and nesting has kicked in like nobody's business and I've been reorganizing the whole house in my rare spare time. So…

I wanted to apologize in advance to those of you that don't like fluff, because this chapter has a whole lot of it. But I felt that it was important to show the progression of their relationship, so you're just going to have to tough it out. Don't hate me!

Reminder: I only use the characters and the premise of the show, not the storyline. So, just because something happened on the show, doesn't mean that it happened in my Hawaii Five-O universe.

Lastly, thank you to those of you that have shown support for this story by reading, reviewing, favoriting, or following. I appreciate you all so much.

Happy Reading!

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Chapter Twenty-Four: Boundless as the Sea

Allie

"There she is!" Kono said as I approached the table outside of Kamekona's shrimp truck. The rest of the gang cheered and toasted me with their coconut waters, greeting me.

Steve's smile was different from all the rest, and I could feel it right down to my core. I went to sit beside him, not caring that I was all over his personal space. I had discovered that in a relationship, there really was no such thing as personal space.

And, now that everyone from Five-O knew that we were a couple, there was no reason for us to respect that personal space anymore.

Steve kissed me quickly and then stood, massaging my shoulders for a moment as he asked me what I wanted him to buy me.

"You serious?" Danny asked him. "You never seem to have your wallet when we go out to eat, but ever since we've known you two are together, I see you with it all the time. Are the rest of us just not worth paying for?"

"I'm being a gentleman, Danny," Steve rebutted. "I realize that's a foreign concept for you."

They bickered for another few minutes before Steve went off to buy my garlic shrimp plate. Once he was gone, Danny leaned forward slightly from his spot directly across from me. "Tell me the truth, Allie. Does Steve know how to be a gentleman? Because I've never seen evidence of that. I'm a detective, you understand. I have to go off of the evidence."

Everyone laughed and I rolled my eyes at him. "Danny, no one brings out the same side of Steve that you do."

"Good to know," he muttered.

Steve returned with my plate and a coconut water, and I dug in as everyone else continued to eat. As we ate, we talked about the case that we had just worked – a series of jewelry store heists that we'd just closed that afternoon.

As it turns out, the heists had been committed by a guy that was trying to find the perfect ring for his girlfriend. He couldn't decide on one, so he'd just robbed stores and then presented her with all of her options, planning to sell the rest of the rings on the black market to make money to pay for the wedding.

So romantic.

"I, for one, am glad that you two are together," Danny said at one point. "For one thing, you should have seen Steve when you first joined the team," he said to me. "I mean, the guy hated you."

"Danny," Steve warned.

I put a hand on his arm and smiled. "It's okay, Steve. I was well aware that you didn't like me."

"What?" he asked, seeming mildly surprised. "I thought I hid it pretty well."

Everyone was in agreement that he did not hide it pretty well.

"He hated that you were better than him," Danny told me. "You know, you had contacts that he didn't, took down some criminals before him, knew things that he didn't… He has control issues. You know that, right? I mean, you're in a relationship with the guy."

I laughed. "He's getting better."

"Hey!" Steve said, affronted.

"I like her," Danny told Steve. "And I like this relationship, because you," he pointed to Steve, "needed it. Especially after Catherine."

"We don't need to talk about Catherine," Steve said quickly, but it didn't sound like he was just trying to cover her up. He'd told me everything about his relationship with Catherine. It was more like… he didn't want to think about her because there was nothing left with her.

"No, we need to talk about Catherine," Danny disagreed, as usual. "She left you and I thought you'd never be the same, but it's obvious that you're happy. That you're both happy. So, don't screw it up. That's all I'm saying."

Everyone laughed.

"I don't plan on screwing it up, Danny," Steve said. "But thank you for your input."

We spent the rest of our time there talking about work and swapping stories of when we'd been younger. I always enjoyed my time with the members of Five-O, but I especially enjoyed being there so close to Steve and out in the open. We could hold hands and smile at each other and not have to worry about who saw it.

I loved it.

As we were leaving, Steve said that he was going to go home and pack a bag, and then he would be over to spend the night. I agreed and went home to take a quick shower before changing into pajamas. Gideon alerted me to Steve's arrival right as the security system did, but I didn't even bother going downstairs because Steve had a key and knew the security code.

It had certainly taken me a while to trust him with it, but I'd known when the time had been right. We'd been dating for six months, and had known each other even longer than that. If I'd been the type to want to get married before thirty-five, I would have already started thinking about marriage and kids. I really loved him, and trusted him with my life.

He came upstairs and found me reading in bed. After a kiss, he grabbed the top of the book and looked at the title. "Romeo and Juliet. In the mood for poetry?" He slid into the bed next to me.

I snuggled against him. "Trying to find our quote."

"Ah," he said as he remembered. "And did you?"

"I think so." I turned a few pages and found the passage that I had highlighted. After a cough to clear my throat, I began to read. "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."

He nodded his head slowly. "But don't you hate most things to do with the water?"

"I've taken up surfing," I reminded him. "And it's more about the symbolism, anyway."

"I sucked at the symbolism stuff in English," he told me. "Mrs. Hoffman gave me detention all the time because I never paid attention."

I slapped his shoulder gently. "Well, think about the sea. The oceans. Scientists estimate that seventy-two percent of the world is water. It's boundless; when you're out in the middle of that water, you can't see anything else. It seems endless. And I know that you know that the ocean is deep. It's just comparing love to that."

"I see." He thought for a few moments and then nodded his approval. "I like it."

"I thought you would, given that it has to do with the sea and you were in the Navy for half your life."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. "But shouldn't it be something that's important to you, too?"

"Shakespeare," I told him. "I'm a really big fan of his work. So, the fact that it came from one of his most iconic plays is good enough for me."

"Good." He leaned in to kiss me again and as he kissed me, he closed the book and set it aside. "Now, we have some things to do."

"Do we?" I giggled as he kissed down my neck.

"Yes. And tomorrow, we're going fishing."

I groaned my displeasure.

"Don't worry," he laughed and lifted his shirt over his head. "I plan to make it up to you now, before you can ever be upset about it."

"I like that plan."

"I thought you might." He leaned back in and pressed his lips to mine, and it wasn't long before I experienced that familiar sensation of flying.

Steve

The next morning, Allie and I got up and went for the usual run with Gideon. As we headed back, I stopped at my house and told Allie that I needed to get all of my fishing stuff together and I would come pick her up in my truck when I was done. She agreed and kissed me quickly before heading down the beach and to her house.

I took a quick shower and changed into shorts and a T-shirt, and then gathered all of the things that I normally took with me when I went fishing. Once it was all packed away in the truck, I went to go and pick up the keys from Chin's uncle, who once again gave me a warning about bringing his boat back without harm.

Allie had changed into a swimsuit with a clinging light blue cover, and it was all I could do not to rip it off of her as soon as she got into my truck. If she noticed, she gave no indication and instead asked me if I had remembered to put on sunscreen.

"Yes," I said, amused. "I remembered to put on sunscreen. Are you ready?"

"Ready."

We made it to the boat and she helped me carry all of the fishing supplies onto the boat. Once everything was loaded up, I called for her to help me get the boat out to sea. She never liked to have much to do with the boats that we took out, but I always insisted that she try to learn a little more every time that we went out. You never knew when knowing that kind of stuff would end up coming in handy, as I constantly reminded her.

"See? You're doing great," I told her as she steered us away from the docks.

She shot me an annoyed look. "I almost hit that dock back there."

Yes, she had, and I had panicked only momentarily before she'd corrected her course. "But you didn't. And no one died. Let's count that as a success."

She shook her head but couldn't fight the smile that crept up. "Did you put the location in?"

"I don't ever put the location of my secret fishing spot into the GPS." I came up beside her and gently adjusted her course. "I don't want anyone else to find it."

"I know that it's a big ocean, but don't you think that maybe someone else has discovered that spot, too?"

I shook my head. "If anyone has, I've never seen them fishing there. And I'm taking the secret to my grave."

She rolled her eyes, clearly not understanding the sanctity of a secret fishing spot. It was the place that you could escape from the world. The place where you could just relax and unwind by catching some of the best fish out there. The place where you could feel proud of yourself just for having discovered.

"Slightly to the right," I told her and leaned against the side, watching her as she steered. Her ponytail blew in the breeze and she stared out ahead, expression serious. She was likely concentrating on steering, as she never seemed to relax until the boat had stopped.

"You're not steering a nuke," I told her after a couple of minutes. "You can relax."

She smiled only slightly. "I'm still not comfortable driving these things. Driving on water has so many less rules than the road. It's an accident waiting to happen."

"Not if you use your common sense."

"I'm not going to count on other people having the same level of common sense that I do."

She had a point.

About ten minutes later, we reached the spot and I anchored us so that we wouldn't move. Then, I walked her through setting up her pole and baiting the hook. She had gotten pretty good at it, but I had a feeling that she acted like she was worse than she actually was so that I would feel useful helping her. But I didn't mind that at all. It gave me more excuses to touch her and put my arms around her. Who could complain, really?

"Go ahead and cast," I told her and she did so with ease, her movements steady. Once her line was in the water a good ways out, she sat down on the bench to wait.

I finished with my own pole and then casted, watching as the hook sank into the water. Once I was comfortable with where it was, I sat down on the bench beside her and gestured out to the water, where there was no one else in sight. "See? Secret fishing spot."

She smiled at me, but rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. I guess the seclusion is nice."

"What is it with you and water?" I asked her. "I know that you know how to swim because you took up surfing for a while."

"And then quit," she reminded me. "I don't know. I'm just not too into water activities."

"Fear of drowning?" I knew that she could swim because I'd seen her do so after she'd wiped out on her board, but that didn't mean that she couldn't still be afraid. It was actually a very common fear.

"No, not really." She shrugged and sighed. "I just don't like the water. I prefer dry land."

"I can't remember a time when I didn't love the water," I told her. "My dad taught me to surf when I was pretty young and I went every chance that I got. We had a beach right behind our house, so of course I loved to swim in it." I laughed, remembering. "Sometimes, I would even go for a swim before school and my mom would get onto me because I had to take a shower and get ready all over again. At night, we would all sit out there together and my sister and I would try to find seashells."

I looked over to see her smiling at me. "Sounds like you had a great childhood."

"Until my mom died, I thought it was perfect."

"I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It was a long time ago. It was one of the hardest times in my life, but… I got through it. It changed my relationship with my father and we never really restored that before he died, but… it taught me a lot. About life. About relationships. Things happen, you know? Terrible things. They used to tell us during SEAL training that you should always be prepared to die and I always thought they were just trying to scare us, but… it's true. You can die at any time. Heart attack, car accident… shooting."

"The CIA used to tell us the same thing," she told me. "They always had us keep letters on file for the people we would want to say a final goodbye to. They usually had us update them about every six months to a year. I felt like I updated mine every single month."

"Who did you write them to?" I asked her curiously.

"One for each of my brothers. One for my Uncle Edward – my mother's brother. And one for my father."

She didn't talk about her mom much and I'd never pushed her on that, but I was too curious not to ask. "Not your mother?"

Staring out at the water, she said, "She wasn't much of a mother."

"You and Kol sang her praises the night that we all came over for pork chops," I reminded her. "She couldn't have been that bad."

"Not at first." She sighed deeply, expression turning sad. "She was great. Like the ultimate working mother. And then, when I was thirteen, she just disappeared. Not like a 'missing person' kind of disappeared; she just left us all a note saying that she had to go away for a while and figure some stuff out. And then she just never came back."

That was even worse than dying. When a mother died, they had no choice. When a mother left… they were choosing to do so. My heart broke for her. "Did you ever find out why? Or where she went?"

"I found her years later," she said, so quietly that I had to lean in to hear. "After I got out of the CIA. I guess after everything that happened with Ari… I just felt like life changed too quickly to keep wondering. It took months, but I finally found her. She was in New York City at the time, but I don't think she was keeping a permanent address; she was traveling a lot for work. I asked her why she'd left and she just said that she needed more than what being a mother could give her." She let out a humorless laugh, full of bitterness. "She loved her job more than she loved being a mother."

Like Catherine had loved her job more than being with me. "I'm so sorry."

She forced a smile as she looked at me. "Like you said: it was a long time ago. She made her choice."

"Did you ever see her again?"

"No. And I never told any of my siblings that I'd found her. They took her disappearance pretty hard but always held out hope that she'd come back. I didn't want to take that away."

"Not even Kol?" I was surprised. She usually talked to Kol once or twice a week and never held anything back.

"Not even Kol," she sighed.

"Your mom missed out." I smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. "You're a wonderful person. She'd be lucky to have you in her life. I know I am."

She kissed me, then, and it started out slow and sweet before turning into something deeper. I set my pole down so that I could give her my full attention, one arm looped around her waist and the other hand cupping the back of her neck.

When I moved my mouth down to her jaw, she said, "Your pole is going to fall into the water if you get a bite."

"Don't care." I could always buy another fishing pole.

She laughed and went back to kissing me.

Hours later, we made it back to the docks and I had her tie off the boat while I started taking all of our equipment back to the truck. When I returned, she proudly showed me the expert knot that she'd tied and I praised her, loving the shining look that she got in her eyes whenever she accomplished something that she'd been working at.

She helped me carry the rest of the equipment back to the truck and then came with me to return the keys to Chin's uncle, who was actually quite fond of her. I was convinced that if Allie asked him to borrow the boat, he wouldn't even bother to give her a warning about bringing it back in one piece. He talked to her like she was family and before we left, he gave me a warning not to "mess it up". Chin's uncle was just full of warnings for me.

"What is it about you that makes everyone just fall in love with you?" I asked her on the way back to her house.

She looked at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I was suspicious of you when you were first placed on the task force, but the others loved you after a few hours. Kamekona, too. And Duke. And the rest of the HPD officers. It's like people can't help but like you."

"I'm charming."

"That could be it," I agreed.

She laughed. "You would have loved me that first day, too, but you're just a naturally overly suspicious person."

"Am not!"

She gave me a look. "Seriously? Have you met you?"

"I'm not overly suspicious. I have just the right amount of healthy suspicion."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow. "Should we call the rest of Five-O and take a poll?"

"No." I sulked. They would just agree with her. And… maybe they'd be right. "But my suspicion has kept me alive all these years."

"Whatever you have to say to help yourself sleep better at night."

"I sleep just fine at night lying next to you, thank you very much," I told her. "As I intend to for the rest of my life."

I froze. That was the most committed statement that I had ever made regarding our relationship – implying that I intended for it to last for the rest of my life.

But she didn't mind at all. "Good."