Epilogue

A/N: Happy 2019, everyone! Hope it gives you happiness to enjoy the good days and strength to survive the bad ones. And lots of great moments to fangirl about.

Here's the epilogue. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who read this story and took the time to comment on it. I really appreciate it.

Until next time…

Three months later

"So, you're really moving out?"

Mary looked at him from the kitchen doorway, apron tied to her waist.

The unmistakable aroma that had greeted Steve as he'd returned home after walking Eddie could only mean one thing: his sister was baking. Again. That was how she relaxed, he'd found out. Some people read, other swam. Mary baked.

Surprisingly good.

If she hadn't already decided to get her own place, Steve would've had to find new ways to burn off the extra calories.

For some strange miracle, the Grand Jury had decided not to indict her. No trial. No prison time. She'd walked away a free woman. Their lawyer had said something about not enough jurors agreeing to vote to bring her to trial. Highly unusual for the Hawaii State Justice System but here she was, weeks later, treating him to a midnight snack.

Relieved and extremely grateful, they'd both welcomed the unexpected outcome.

Anthony Morris' body had been transported back to California and buried in the LA National Cemetery next to his own mother. Not that any of them cared. Mary had chosen to stay in Hawaii and raise her daughter on the island, and had found a lovely cottage on the beach to rent in Waimanalo. Steve had promised to help with the move, volunteering the rest of Five-0 for the task as well.

"I told you I wasn't gonna live here forever," she said, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms over her chest. "Look, when I left LA I didn't have a plan. I just grabbed my kid and my stuff and ran as fast and as far as I could. But now I got this chance to start over, make a brand-new life for me and Joanie, and I wanna make the best out of it."

"That's… very grown-up of you to say," Steve teased her.

Mary rolled her eyes at him. "Smartass. But you're right, I need to stand on my own two feet, and I'm not gonna be able to do that if I'm living with you. That's the only way I'm gonna know that what I have is real."

"I know."

"Plus, I don't want to cramp your style too much. I know you like your alone time and this," she motioned to the toys and clothing scattered across the living room, "has been giving you a headache since day one."

Steve smiled. Despite all the time they had missed, Mary knew him well. "I've loved having you guys here," he said, the fondness in his tone leaving no doubt about the truth he was speaking. "This is your house too, Mare, you're always welcome here."

"I was sort of counting on that. Your babysitting duties don't end just because we're moving out."

"I was counting on that too."

A shadow passed across Steve's features as he sank down into the armchair. Mary eyed him carefully, sensing there was something stirring beneath the surface. She could see it in his eyes, in the way he pursed his lips.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Went to visit dad today," he told her, staring down at his feet. "And it just reminded me that I almost lost you."

Mary heard the depth of her brother's pain in that statement and felt her heart break. Yes, she had come really close to losing everything: her freedom, her brother and daughter, her life.

She had thought about it a lot, about how that one moment of fear and rage, that perfectly-placed bullet, had affected them. And most of all, him. Steve was not the same man he had been five, even three years ago. He had changed in so many ways. Wrinkles that had never been there before were now marking his face. Wisdom and patience had replaced impulsivity and recklessness.

Mary was proud of him. Now more than ever.

"He spent the last fifteen years of his life alone. All he had was his job. Sometimes I'm scared I'm gonna end up just like him..."

"No, Steve, you're not," Mary crossed the short distance and leaned forward so that she was at eye level. "You have your friends. You have me and Joanie. And you're going to meet someone, and you're gonna be a wonderful husband and father." She tilted his chin up, gently bringing him to look at her. "You are going to be happy, Steve. God knows you deserve it."

Steve kissed her on the cheek, a smile on his lips. "I'm glad you're around, Mare."

"I bet you are," Mary chuckled. "Who else is gonna feed you apple pie in the middle of the night?" She straightened up and headed towards the kitchen. "Come on, I just took it out of the oven."

No one, he thought as he pushed himself off the recliner to join her.

No one but her and Danny, who had treated him to equally delicious midnight snacks on quite a few occasions in the nine years they'd known each other.

The two most important people in his life.

One related by blood, the other by a deep and intimate bond that had become his reason for being, his source of happiness.

Drawn by the delicious smell, Steve walked to the kitchen and smiled again at the sight of his sister, a smudge of flour on her cheek, offering him a plate.

"Want something to drink?"

"Sure. Whatever you're having."

THE END