…..

Goodness… I'm behind on everything. My life has been SO crazy lately with the pregnancy and my nine-month-old, who had a stomach virus this past weekend. I hope all of you have managed to avoid that junk! Anyway, I'm finally getting around to updating!

So close to being done, but also so far. I actually want to drag the story out, just because it's been so much fun to write, but I'm going to stick with my original plan. But as I draw closer to the end, I find myself growing sadder and sadder. I don't want it to ever end!

Thank you all so much for the support you've shown for this story by reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. And also to those of you that have sent me private messages. I so appreciate every single one of you so much.

Happy Reading!

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Chapter Twenty-Five: A Birthday Hike

Allie

Sneaking out of bed when you shared that bed with a former Navy SEAL that still kept up his training regimen was no small feat. But, I had a background in sneaking around and so it was after roughly a hundred tiny, super slow movements that I was finally able to disentangle myself from him and creep slowly out of bed.

Before Steve had made it to my house the night before, I had stashed some clothes and toiletries in the downstairs guest bathroom, so I snuck out of my bedroom and silently closed the door behind me. Once I was certain that he hadn't woken up, I crept down the stairs and let Gideon outside before heading to the guest bathroom.

Once there, I changed into the black shorts and lacy blue tank, washed my face, and applied my makeup. My hair – messy from a night of rolling around in the sheets with Steve – went up into a cute messy bun. I let Gideon back into the house and then went to the kitchen and got started on the special breakfast that I had planned for Steve.

First, I did the orange juice – freshly squeezed, of course. Once that was in the fridge to chill, I started mixing the batter for the chocolate chip pancakes. As the griddle heated up, Kono texted me to say that they were all outside. The night before, I had also disarmed my security system so that it wouldn't beep. That, coupled with the box fan that I'd turned on in my room the night before, should ensure that Steve remained asleep, even though there would be noise in the kitchen.

I let the rest of Five-O into the house and led them to the kitchen.

Kono began setting up the presents on the table, Chin started slicing the fruit that he'd brought, and Danny helped himself to a glass of orange juice.

"Since you're helping yourself to the juice that was supposed to be for breakfast…" I handed him the bag of oranges. "You can juice the rest of these into that empty pitcher to make more."

"You invite me over for breakfast and then put me to work," he complained.

Chin rolled his eyes. "We all agreed to help with breakfast. You're not doing anything."

"I am now," Danny announced as he opened the bag of oranges and took one out. "I'm making orange juice, okay? Leave me alone."

Kono laughed as she stepped away from the table, where she had arranged all of the presents artfully. "What else do you need me to do?"

"You can set the table," I told her and pointed to the cabinet near Chin. "Plates are in there and the silverware is in the drawer right below it. Napkins are in the pantry." As more pancakes cooked – blueberry this time – I got out the eggs and began cracking them into a bowl.

Time passed quickly and within ten minutes, there was a feast of pancakes (blueberry, chocolate chip, and plain), bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. Once it had been arranged on the table, I told everyone to sit while I went to wake Steve up.

"No funny business up there," Danny said. "This house isn't very big and I don't want to hear that kind of thing."

I rolled my eyes at him and went up the stairs, only to find that Steve was awake and had just stepped out of the shower.

"Hey," I said, surprised. "I didn't hear you get up. Did I wake you?"

"No," he said and leaned over to kiss me before taking a fresh pair of boxers out of his bag. "Woke up on my own and figured you'd gone for your run." He looked me over with hunger in his eyes. "But clearly, I was wrong. Why are you all dressed up?"

"It's your birthday!" I said and kissed him again. "I was downstairs making breakfast. Hungry?"

"For more than breakfast," he answered and pulled me back in for another kiss.

I almost fell right into it, but held on to the last vestiges of my self-control and pushed him away. "The breakfast will get cold."

He leaned back in and spoke between kisses. "We can microwave it."

I laughed and pushed him away again. "Come on. I worked really hard on it. It's best when it's fresh."

He moaned but stepped away and quickly pulled on jeans and a gray tee. "Okay. Let's go."

I grabbed his hand and began to lead him down the stairs.

"Smells good," he complimented and then we walked into the kitchen and everyone yelled, "Surprise!"

"Whoa," Steve laughed. "Nice. I had no idea."

"Well, it's about time someone managed to surprise you on your birthday," Danny told him as he approached to give him a hug. "We've only been trying for three years. Happy birthday, buddy."

Chin and Kono also gave him a hug and a birthday sentiment, and then we all sat down and dug into the breakfast. It was delicious – at the risk of sounding egotistical – and good conversation flowed.

"What else do you have planned for today?" Kono asked me.

"I don't think we want to know about that," Danny quipped.

"Shut up," Steve said and kicked him under the table. "You're just jealous because you have no love life."

"I'll have you know, I went on a date two nights ago," Danny said, but Steve only teased him about how long ago that had been and asked him questions about the woman. Turns out, the date had been a total bust.

"To answer your question," I told Kono once the boys had stopped their bickering. "We're going on a hike at Manoa Falls. Steve's been bugging me forever to let him take me out there."

"You don't like hiking?" Chin asked me.

"I don't mind hiking," I said. "I've never really been much. I just haven't wanted to waste a whole day with it before."

"It's not a waste," Steve told me very seriously. "The trail is beautiful. You'll see."

"And it's good exercise," Danny said. "That's really why you want to go, isn't it? You think you'd die if you went more than a few hours without some kind of exercise."

"I'll have you know that we skipped our morning run this morning," Steve returned.

"Wow," Danny replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You skipped one whole run. And you're still alive."

"Hush," I reprimanded them and threw a piece of pineapple at Danny across the table. "You two bicker more than we do."

"Old married couple," Kono teased them.

We started talking about other things and before long, it was time to open the presents. I'd gotten him a new watch similar to mine – but without quite so many functions – and a new pair of hiking boots. Kono had gotten him a new backpack to use for hiking, and Chin had complemented that with some hiking supplies – rope, a water bottle, and various other things. Danny had gotten him a gift card to a restaurant that they frequented so that Steve "can pay every once in a while".

Everyone stuck around to help with the cleanup and then they said that they would clear out so that we could get started on our hike.

"It's a nice day for it," Chin approved. "Happy Birthday, Steve."

He thanked everyone and showed them out, and I let Gideon outside so that he could get some exercise, since we'd missed our morning run. Then, Steve and I went upstairs so that we could get ready for the hike.

"I brought you some hiking clothes," I told him as we walked into my bedroom. My bedroom that was quickly becoming our bedroom. Though he usually just packed a bag with clothes and brought it over, he had a toothbrush in the holder next to mine, his shampoo and body wash in the shower, and a small space in my top drawer where he kept some extra clothes just in case he forgot something. There were razors, hair gel, and aftershave in one of the drawers in the bathroom. And the smell of him was everywhere.

"Good. And I can break in my new boots," he said, watching as I peeled off my tank and shorts so that I could change into something more suited for a hike. The trail was supposed to be an easy one, but I knew that I would still get sweaty and gross, and there was no sense in ruining good clothes.

I picked out black shorts and a purple tank, but before I could begin to pull them on, Steve caught me around the waist and carried me over to the bed, tossing me down onto it. I laughed and watched him crawl over me. "What are you doing?"

"We might be too tired after the hike," he informed me as he began to kiss his way up my body. "So, I figured we'd go ahead and get this out of the way."

"Get this out of the way?" I laughed. "Well, if it's such a chore for you, then don't even bother."

"Stop." He kissed me deeply. "It's not a chore for me, and you know it."

"You're going to have to prove that."

"No problem."

Nearly half an hour later, we laid beside each other, trying to get our breath back.

"Proven?" Steve asked me after a moment, and I could only laugh in response. "I'll take that as a yes. Or, I suppose I could reference all of the other times that you've said 'yes' in the last twenty minutes."

I reached over and playfully hit his arm. "I can't help it."

"Luckily for you, I like it." He propped himself up on an elbow and leaned over to kiss me. "Ready to go?"

"Naked?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

He laughed. "If you want."

I knew that he really wouldn't mind. Rolling my eyes, I moved to get out of bed. "Let's put some clothes on and get going. I hear that the trail can be pretty crowded."

"Maybe we'll get lucky," he replied and also stood so that he could get dressed for the hike.

Once we were both ready, we went downstairs and Steve packed his backpack with everything that he thought we could possibly need for the hike.

"It's a small trail," I reminded him as I watched him pack rappelling equipment.

He grinned at me. "I like to go off the beaten path sometimes. Don't worry; you'll love it."

"Will there be a stream for Gideon?" I asked him as I grabbed a few snack bars out of the pantry.

"Plenty of them," he nodded. "Did you feed him extra this morning? He'll probably burn off quite a bit."

"I did." I called Gideon over to me and clipped on his leash. "And it looks like he's already had all of the water that I gave him this morning, so he should be hydrated. Ready to go?"

"Ready," Steve agreed, and we all piled into his truck and took off for the trail.

"Thanks for doing this for me," he said after we'd been driving about five minutes.

I looked over at him and smiled. "No problem. It is a special day, after all."

"Every day with you is special." Steve McGarrett may have been a Navy SEAL and one of the toughest men I'd ever met, but he could also be one of the sweetest.

"Danny would have a lot to say about that," I teased him.

He grabbed my hand. "Danny has a lot to say about everything. Speaking of… that was a nice surprise this morning – having everyone over for breakfast."

"They were all happy to do it. They said it's about time they gave you a good surprise."

He laughed and began to tell me about all of the times that they had tried – and failed – to surprise him on his birthday before. "I'm sure they were happy to finally accomplish it."

"Here we are," I announced as he pulled into the parking lot. "Not too many cars."

"We got lucky," he agreed and parked. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Steve

The trail was just as beautiful as I remembered, and I could tell that Allie enjoyed it as well. Gideon didn't really care about where we were – he just liked being close to us. Right at the entrance, a couple of small kids wanted to pet Gideon and after getting permission from their parents – who wanted reassurance from Allie that he was calm, they approached.

Allie told Gideon to sit and he did, allowing the children to hug and pet him. He was very good with them, and even kept the younger one from falling over. The parents thanked Allie and then scooped up their kids and took them to their car, with the kids giggling the whole way.

As we started walking on the trail, I saw that Allie had a sweet smile on her face.

"I thought you weren't crazy about kids?" I asked her, referencing a conversation we'd had after she'd met Grace for the first time.

"I've honestly never been around them all that much," she told me with a shrug. "I don't necessarily mind them…"

"You just don't want them?" I asked her.

She seemed surprised by my question. "Why? Do you?"

"You know… If you had asked me a few months ago, I probably would have said no. But… I don't know… now…"

When I grew silent, she gently nudged my side to prompt me. "Now?"

I smiled at her and took the hand that wasn't holding Gideon's leash. "Now, I'm starting to think a lot more about what I want for the future, and I think kids are a real possibility. Don't you?" Obviously, I had every intention of spending my life with her. I had even picked out a ring and had it in my pocket – ready to go when we reached a beautiful spot off of the trail.

Danny was the only one that knew of my plans.

"You're awfully happy today," he told me. "Your birthday isn't until tomorrow."

"I know."

"Ah, are you and Allie going away for the weekend to celebrate? Is that what's got you so hyped up?"

I shook my head. "No, we're not going away for the weekend. I did manage to talk her into taking a hike with me for my birthday, though."

"Oh, a hike," he said, sarcasm shining through in his voice. "You know, normal people relax on their birthday. They… eat breakfast in bed and go out to dinner at their favorite restaurant. But you… you go on a hike."

"It's just Manoa Trail," I told him. "Just a couple of miles."

"It doesn't matter if it's ten miles!" he told me. "Why in God's name would you want to go on a hike on your birthday? You could spend the whole day in bed with Allie."

"As much fun as that is, I have plans."

He grew suspicious then and stared hard at me, as if he would eventually be able to see my secrets. "What plans?"

I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face. "I'm going to ask Allie to marry me."

There was silence for several long seconds and I looked over to see Danny with his mouth hanging open, more surprised than I'd ever seen him. Just as I was about to ask him if he needed water or something, he reacted.

"Are you serious?!"

"Pretty serious." I reached into the pocket of my jeans and handed him the box with the ring in it that I'd picked up on my way into work. I hadn't had a chance to stash it away yet. And, as we were in Danny's car heading for a crime scene, I wouldn't have that chance for a while.

He opened the lid and looked at the ring, a halo diamond engagement ring with white gold. The saleslady that had helped me pick it out had sworn that she would love it, as had her twin brother. Whistling, Danny said, "This is nice."

"I know. Took forever to pick it out. And it drained most of my savings, but it's worth it."

Danny handed the box back to me. "When did you decide to do this?"

"I think I've known for a while. But the other night we were just laying there in bed, talking about the case we'd just finished, and I realized that I don't ever want to be without her. I made the mistake of waiting for far too long with Catherine, and I don't want to do that ever again. I went out and bought the ring the next day, and I've just been waiting for the right time."

"I'm proud of you, buddy," Danny said with a grin. "Man, this secret is going to be so hard to keep."

I gave him my best stern look. "Well, you'd better keep it. It needs to be a surprise."

"So, you're going to ask her when you two go hiking tomorrow?"

I nodded. "There's a spot that my dad used to take us all to. It's a little off the beaten path, but it's so beautiful there. I'm going to show it to her and then I'm going to ask her to marry me."

"Man, this is so exciting!" Danny said, and his grin couldn't have gotten any bigger. "I am so happy for you, babe. Seriously. Allie is amazing and the two of you are perfect together."

"I kind of thought you would say it's too soon," I admitted. "We've only been dating half a year."

"You're not nineteen-year-old kids that haven't even lived yet," he told me. "You're both over thirty, you have good careers, and you know who you are and what you want in life. And you obviously make each other very happy. I say go for it. Don't screw it up."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, partner."

"Hey, I'm here for you, babe."

Back in the present, Allie nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd like to have kids someday." And then she got a strange expression on her face, like she was thinking really hard.

"You okay?" I asked her.

As quick as it came, the look was gone and she smiled at me and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Just trying to remember what time we need to be back home to get ready in time for dinner."

"Don't worry about dinner," I said and noticed that we were approaching the spot where we needed to veer off of the trail. "Over here."

"Ah, the super secret spot," she teased me. "What is it with you and secret spots, anyway?"

I shrugged. "It's always good to have a place to escape to. You can let Gideon off the leash, if you want. If you think he won't run off."

"He won't." She took off his leash and gave him a command in Dutch. When we continued to walk, he stuck close to her side, as I assumed she'd commanded him to do.

She made small talk about how pretty the trail was and I tried to follow along, but I was growing increasingly nervous as we grew closer and closer to the spot. I was worried that something was going to go wrong, which was completely ridiculous. I'd remembered the ring and I didn't plan to make a big speech, so everything was going to be fine.

"Here it is," I said and spread my arms out, gesturing to the tall tree and beautiful flowers all around. A stream flowed right through the middle, and Gideon eagerly ran to it and began to drink. I was sure the water was very sweet.

"Wow," Allie said, and I never wanted her to stop smiling like that – bright and glowing.

I wasn't even looking at the scenery; I was looking at her. "Yeah. Wow."

She laughed and turned to me, eyes glowing. "Thank you for showing me this. It's perfect."

I nodded, heart in my throat, and took a step back so that I could get down on one knee.

That's when Gideon began to bark – deep, angry barks.

"Gideon-" Allie started to say.

And then we heard the child scream.