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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another chapter! Thank you all so much for sticking with me this far. We're more than halfway to the very end of this story, and I definitely can't let it end without making sure that you know how much I appreciate every read, review, favorite, follow, and private message. You all are the best readers that I could ever ask for. On that note, I've gotten a few anonymous reviews and I just want to say how much I have appreciated them. Keep it up!

Disclaimer: I only use the characters of Hawaii Five-0, not the storyline. Also, all of the OCs are my own creation. I think you get it.

What did you all think of the last episode of the show? I know that there are some people that likely haven't seen it yet, so I won't spoil it, but… While watching it, I'm pretty sure that I said, "are they serious?" about fifty times. You'll just have to watch it to see what I mean. I don't think it'll let you down.

Several people have said that they like me updating twice a week, so I'm going to try my very best to make that happen. No promises, but it's my number one goal right now. You guys are the best, and you deserve the best!

Happy Reading!

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Chapter Seventeen: Coming Together

Steve

"It doesn't have to be the theme for everything in the baby's life for the rest of forever," Kono said, obviously as exasperated with me as I was getting with her. "I just need a theme for the shower."

"We don't even know the gender yet." The digital clock's green numbers told me that it was far too early to be up. Of course, back in Hawaii, it was just past dinnertime. Stupid time zones.

"You don't have to know the gender. I'll come up with a theme for each gender. Or we'll do something gender neutral. I was just wondering if you had any ideas. I'd like it to be a surprise for Allie. What do you think she would like?"

I tried to imagine Allie planning a party and just couldn't. "Probably something simple and low-key. Nothing flashy or over-the-top." Those were almost the exact words that Kol had used when he'd told me what kind of ring he thought Allie would like the most. And he'd been correct.

The sound of Kono's fingers flying over a keyboard made me roll my eyes. She was taking this way too seriously. "Well, then I think that I have the perfect idea," she said, oblivious to my annoyance. "The theme is… ready for it? Ready to Pop."

It took me a couple of seconds to absorb that and then a couple more to process it. "Ready to Pop?" I asked incredulously. "Seriously?"

"It's adorable!" she defended. "And simple, so I think that Allie would like it. So, of course there are balloons for decoration. And for snacks, there's a popcorn bar and all kinds of different sodas. In glass bottles, so that you can see the different colors. Oh! You can even bring some exotic ones back with you from France!"

I tried to picture it, but I just wasn't that creative. Still, I tried to be grateful. She was, after all, planning a shower for my baby. That meant less work for me and Allie. "That sounds… great. I'm sure Allie will like that."

"You sound less than enthused, but I promise you it's gonna be great." She typed some more. "Any news? I mean, other than Allie's mom showing up and explaining her absence all these years."

Danny had obviously already spread the word. "Uh, no. Because she showed up the night before last. And she was gone all day yesterday gathering supplies or something. Which is good, because I feel like everyone would feel awkward around her."

"Yeah, Danny said that Kol wasn't exactly happy that she's back. What about Max and… what's the other brother's name?"

"Michael," I answered and sat up, all hope of going back to sleep gone. "He hasn't been here much. He's been out with a small crew heading up the search for Trent. So, I can't speak for him, but Max didn't exactly seem thrilled that she was back. She disappeared years ago, so I know that has to be hard. I hope they'll come around, though, because we could definitely use her."

Kono sighed. "That's a rough situation. I hope that everything works out, if only for Allie's sake. Keep us updated, okay?"

"Will do." A wave of gratitude washed over me, and I felt guilty for being so annoyed with her minutes earlier. "And Kono?"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Thanks for everything that you're doing with the baby shower. I really appreciate it, and I know that Allie will, too."

There was a smile in her voice. "You're welcome. I'm really excited for both of you. Hurry home, okay?"

"Will do."

We hung up and then I did a quick cardio routine in my room. In the shower, I tried to come up with a plan for the day. More than likely, I would end up doing whatever Kol was doing. So, I got dressed, shaved, and then headed down the stairs to find him.

But what I found was a fight.

"Kol, you will sit down and eat breakfast with the rest of us like a civilized human being." Edward sat at the head of the table and the look that he was giving Kol left no room for argument.

For most people, anyway. But Kol was not one of them. Plate of food in one hand, glass of orange juice in the other, he addressed his uncle in a voice full of forced calm. "I would rather starve than sit down and eat with her. And that's the gospel truth."

There was no doubt who the her in question was. Evelyn sat beside Alex, staring down at her plate of pancakes. And when Edward opened his mouth to argue back at his nephew, she reached out and touched his arm, giving a small shake of her head. "Don't. Just let him eat in his room."

But that only irked Kol even further. He turned his gaze to her with anger in his eyes. "Don't take up for me. The time to do that was when I was a kid. But you were too busy running off doing God knows what."

"Kol, that's enough!" Alex's eyes showed the same anger that was in his son's. "Your mother-"

"I'd prefer not to think of her that way," Kol cut him off. "She wasn't much of one."

From the look on Evelyn's face, you would have thought that Kol had just informed her that he'd killed everyone that had ever mattered to her.

It felt like an explosion ripped through the house when Alex stood and slammed his hands down on the table, fire in his eyes. "I said that is ENOUGH!"

But Kol hadn't had quite enough yet. With a calm that was almost chilling, he placed his plate and glass on the counter and gave his father his full attention. "You know, this probably shouldn't surprise me. She leaves us – and you – to go off and pursue her dreams of not being a mother, and you're left to raise us all by yourself. Which you did, very well. I'd expect you to be angry when she comes back, but all it takes is for her to crook her finger at you and you go jump into bed with her and pretend that nothing ever happened."

It was like watching a train wreck. Or a wildfire that had grown out of control. There was nothing that any of us could do to stop it, and we were well aware of that.

Alex's face was redder than I knew a human face could become. "Get out of here. Now."

"Gladly." Kol scooped up his plate and glass and pushed right past me so that he could go up the stairs and into his room.

The silence afterwards was deafening.

And then Max threw some gasoline on the already raging fire. Standing, he sent the scathing remark in his mother's direction. "He's not wrong, you know."

Alex grew red once more and opened his mouth to retort, but Evelyn clamped her hand down on his wrist and shook her head.

Max followed in his younger brother's footsteps.

Roger excused himself from the table and practically sprinted to the office that had become his living quarters.

The two ladies that had been cooking for us all silently crept out of the room.

Edward looked at me with a carefully composed expression. "Steve, there's pancakes, bacon, and eggs. And freshly squeezed orange juice. Help yourself."

I cleared the lump from my throat and headed that way. "Thank you."

No one was eating once I joined them at the table, so I busied myself adding butter, syrup, salt, and pepper to everything that needed it. Then I dug in, starved from my high intensity workout.

Evelyn broke the silence first, which surprised me greatly. "So, you're the man that's going to marry my daughter."

I looked up at her and was once again struck by how similar she and Allie were. It was like I was getting a glimpse of Allie in the future. "Um… yes. We… we don't exactly have a date yet with all of this… mess… But, yes. We'll be getting married once we make it back to Hawaii."

She studied me for a moment and then nodded in what seemed like approval. "Tell me about yourself."

So, I gave her a topline of my life. Born in Hawaii, moved to California when I was sixteen, Naval Academy, Naval Intelligence, SEALs… now Five-0.

By the time that I finished, everyone was eating again, and a lot of the tension had left the room. She asked me a few clarifying questions and then asked me if I was excited to be a father.

For me, that brought the tension right back, but I tried to play it off as best I could. "Definitely. I've wanted kids for a while and I'm really excited to watch Allie be a mother."

That was the wrong thing to say.

The color drained from her cheeks once more and she stared down at her plate so that no one could see the tears in her eyes. Alex and Edward both looked over at her, concerned. And I felt like the world's biggest idiot. Danny had always said that I wasn't the most tactful. Obviously.

"I'm sorry," I was quick to apologize. "That was a stupid thing to say."

She looked up at me and quickly wiped away a single tear that had fallen from her left eye. "No, no. That's not stupid. It was honest, and I appreciate that." She paused, as if considering whether or not to say something, and then she took a breath. "Did Allie ever talk about me?"

Before I could think of what to say, Alex stepped in. "Evelyn, there's no need to worry about that right now. You've had a rough morning…"

She held up a hand to stop him. "I want to know if I'm not going to be getting the happy reunion with my daughter that I've been envisioning for years." Looking back to me, she asked, "So?"

At that point, all that I could do was be honest. "She talked about you, yes. Briefly. And… I'm not going to go into details because she told me all of that in confidence. But… you probably shouldn't be expecting any sort of grand reunion. I'd honestly be surprised if she didn't react similarly to Kol."

Despite the heartbreaking news, Evelyn smiled. "They always were so similar. For obvious reasons. He'd get upset about being given the wrong cup and she'd get upset in tandem. They were fascinating to watch, weren't they, Alex?"

Alex smiled fondly at the memories. "They were, indeed."

"And what do you think of me?"

I choked on the bacon in my mouth and had to gulp down some orange juice to push it down. Once I was finished coughing, I tried to buy myself some time. "Why would you want to know what I think?"

"Because you've been honest thus far. Honest, but not cruel. And you're going to be a part of the family soon enough. I might as well know what you think of me before then."

She had some good points.

But that didn't make it any less awkward.

"I…" I pushed my last bite of pancake around in the last bit of syrup. "I can appreciate what you did in getting the box away from Medici. That was a great service to not just your country, but to the world. And as a former military man, I can appreciate that. But, as the fiancé to the woman that you hurt, I have a hard time respecting how you went about your great act of service."

She nodded slowly. "That makes sense. But I did what I had to do."

"I'm sure that you did. Just remember that when Allie isn't inviting you to the baby's first birthday party. Wounds like that… they don't just heal overnight. You're looking at years, if ever."

"I know."

"Good." I stood and moved for the sink. "But I do plan on asking Kol to at least get along with you. We can really use you to help us get Allie back."

She laughed without humor. "You're very practical."

I finished rinsing off my plate and put it into the dishwasher. "I take that as a compliment."

"Good. I meant it as one."

I nodded at her and then left the room, heading up the stairs. Once outside Kol's room, I knocked sharply.

From inside, he called, "If you're anyone but Steve, go away!"

I opened the door and stepped inside. "You do realize that you're acting like a petulant teenager?"

He sat on his bed, finishing up his pancakes. "Yes. And normally, I would feel terrible and stupid about that. But she left, Steve. She just left us. And now she expects to just walk back in and be hailed like a conquering hero."

I shut the door behind me and made my way over to the chair at the desk. After pulling it around so that I could sit facing him, I sighed. "I don't think that she expects to be hailed like a conquering hero. But she did do the world a great service by getting that box away from Medici."

Kol set his empty plate on the nightstand. "I'm aware of that. But she still could have handled it differently."

"I agree with that. And that's what I told her."

"Good." He sighed. "I assume that you're here to ask me to get along with her."

There was no point in trying to deny it. I nodded. "You know that she's very skilled. And Medici wouldn't expect her to be here. She can be really useful to us."

"And that's the only reason that I'll put up with her." Clearly, the same thought had already crossed his mind. "I know that I acted incredibly immature down there, but it just infuriated me to see her sitting there eating breakfast like she'd never been gone. It felt like she's trying to just step right back into the role of mom, but she's just some imposter, you know? But a super realistic imposter. Hell, I'm not even making any sense."

But he was making sense.

Incredible sense.

"That's it!"

Kol looked at me like I'd just sprouted a horn. "What's it?"

"Imposter," I said.

"Yes…" He rolled his eyes. "That's literally what I just said. Do you need me to repeat the rest?"

"No. I'm saying that we need to make an imposter. Of the box."

Kol's eyes lit up as he realized what I was really saying. "We need to create a forgery of the box with fake codes inside and somehow slip it to Allie for her to give to Medici. He wants the box, so we give it to him. He'll never know that it's a fake, and he'll release Trent and Allie."

"It'll be tricky to pull a switch like that," I said, nearly bursting with excitement. "But I think that we can pull it off."

Just as Kol was about to say something else, the door burst open and Max and Roger came rushing in, closing the door behind them.

Before Kol could speak, Max held up a hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Why can't we knock? Didn't anyone ever teach us any manners? Blah, blah, blah. We think that we've found a way to get Allie inside the museum after hours."

"Do tell," I said, and waved for them to come over to the bed.

Roger set his laptop down and showed us a headline.

Kingsley Museum to host private viewing and dinner for art enthusiasts. Tickets starting at twenty-five thousand dollars.

"That's pretty steep for a dinner," I scoffed.

"That's not too bad," Max and Kol said at the exact same time.

"Focus," Roger admonished us. "Allie can get Medici to get her a ticket and she can get inside. That should make it easier for her to slip in and get the box."

"If we're making a forgery, does she even need to get the box?" I asked.

"What?" Max and Roger asked at the same time, shocked and surprised.

Kol quickly filled them in on the plan that we'd started working on.

"Brilliant," Max approved.

"Don't sound so surprised," I grumbled.

Roger closed his laptop and headed for the door. "I'll get Seth and the other forgers on it right now." He looked to me. "Can you get as many details about the box as possible from Catherine?"

I nodded. "Consider it done."

He left.

Kol sighed. "Now, all we have to do is get a message to Allie."

Feeling on top of the world, I smiled. "I think I have an idea for that, too."

Max smiled. "We're all ears."

Allie

Medici hadn't wanted to let me go sightseeing in Paris, but I'd told him that it would be nice and relaxing for me, which is what the doctor wanted. It also helped that I had shown him the beginning stages of a plan. Plus, as I'd reminded him, I knew that I was under a deadline and I had no desire to miss it. I just really, really needed a break.

So, I found myself walking towards the Arc de Triomphe, accompanied by one of Medici's men. Ditching him was going to be a problem, but I had a couple of plans worked out.

This is so stupid, my inner voice admonished me. You should be working harder on a plan for the heist, not leaving a message for a dead man. Ari. Is. Gone. He can't do anything to help you. This is ridiculous.

And I knew that it was. But there was an unexplainable pull inside of me that was leading me to the Arc. I wanted to see what – if anything – happened.

The landmark was familiar to me, and I almost felt like I was coming home.

Ari and I had visited the Arc frequently, as Paris had been one of our favorite places to meet up. Most lovers preferred the Eiffel Tower or one of the many fountains or gardens, but we liked what the Arc represented. Triumph. Victory. Pride.

I saw an opening when a large group of tourists headed our way, talking loudly and snapping pictures. Ever so slowly, I shifted my position and curled a hand around the stone in my pocket. And when the crowd came upon us, I allowed myself to be separated from Medici's man.

I only had a few moments, so I rushed to the wall and quickly drew the figure eight with one diagonal line through the right side.

Mine and Ari's secret signal if one of us was ever in trouble.

After I dropped the stone, I turned and acted as if I was looking around for the guard.

He found me moments later, face red. "Where did you go?"

"You're the one that's supposed to be watching me," I told him, rolling my eyes for good measure. "I could have taken the opportunity to run, but I didn't. Medici has a deadline on me and I know that he'd hurt my brother if I tried to do something stupid. Do you really think I would risk it?"

Satisfied, the guard gestured for me to continue walking.

Mission accomplished.

And I felt very pleased by that, until the voice in my head scoffed at me. Yeah, for all the good it's going to do. Ari is never going to see it, and help is never going to come. You're on your own and you know it.

But I stubbornly clung to my hope.