If this season continues to have slow but great progress toward I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or its characters, it belongs to CBS and its creators.

Chapter Seventeen

Alyx slid in the last board and took a step back to admire the wine rack, looking at it in satisfaction. Steve and Danny were working on a case, and so she and a few other maintenance guys were working in the restaurant. She had the day off, and decided to sand and seal the wood for the wine rack, which came out gorgeous in her opinion. They had decided to go with a candlelight like theme, so they would only use the ceiling lights for early dinners, and then slowly dim them and light the candles when the time came. Danny was currently trying to get the recipes for the chefs, and they were in the process of trying to hire servers, chefs, at least three hosts, and a bartender. They also needed to finalize a logo for the restaurant itself and for the menu, and Alyx and Hank were collaborating and going over fonts for the menu. They would serve lunch and dinner, and they had a few ideas for the menu. The maintenance guys were hooking up the cooling to the fridges/freezers and the heating to the stove. The plumbing was up and going, so they had cold and hot water running.

The main things that were left: hiring, buying kitchen essentials and cookware, buy silverware, candles/candle holders, food, finalizing menu options, buy alcohol and training. Danny and Steve couldn't believe how much was accomplished in the past seven months, and were excited to open. At the same time, they thought they would've opened at around the same time they were going to retire and hand down the task force to Tani and Junior, but Alyx assured them that they would be able to handle both fighting crime and managing a restaurant at the same time.

Alyx wiped her hands on a towel, then picked up the shelf for the other alcoholic drinks, and carefully set it on the brackets. She slid it, heard a small thud, then patted it to make sure it stayed in place. She grinned at the sight.

Ding!

Alyx pulled out her phone at the sound of a notification and smiled at the sight of Hank's message.

2:30 PM - Hey, you! At break right now, but wanted to know what you're doing. :D

2:31 - Working at the restaurant. The academy gave us a day off so we could prep for our final exam tomorrow, so I decided to come here to clear my head.

2:31 - Noice. Hey, what are you doing tonight?

Alyx smirked.

2:32 - Want to get some tonight?

2:33 - Some dinner, yes.

2:35 - Wait, what?

2:37 - I was thinking we could change it up tonight. I want to take you out on a date, so... What do you say?

Alyx paused, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard. She looked up, looking around before looking back down.

2:39 - Time and place?

"A date, huh?" Junior asked as she combed her hair after her shower, leaning back on her bed. "Where's he taking you?"

"Not telling you."

"What? Why not?"

"Because if I do, you will tell Steve." Junior pouted.

"I will not!" Alyx gave him a pointed look. "Hey, I kept your secret for a long time, you should at least let me in on your little date spot." Alyx frowned, looking back in the mirror and continuing to comb her hair.

"He's taking me out to a new place called Shinso. It's a Japanese style restaurant and apparently they have really good food." Junior hummed, getting up and going into her closet.

"What are you going to wear?" Alyx paused from gathering up strands to braid, and turned to look at him.

"What?"

"What are you going to wear?" Alyx turned back to her mirror, beginning to braid her hair and didn't reply. Junior smirked and rolled his eyes, looking into her closet.

"Is this place fancy?"

"Yeah." Junior looked around before pulling out a beautiful gray dress and a black blazer. Then he searched her shoes and pulled out some cute flats. Then he stood by her as she braided her hair, then held it so she could pull the rest into a bun.

"Are you going to get a trim for the graduation ceremony?" He asked.

"I was thinking of cutting it all off." Junior nearly dropped the end of the braid.

"What? Why?"

"Because I want to, and I figured it would be nice since we are in Hawaii." Junior paused to think before nodding.

"Smart."

Shinso was amazing. It was beautiful, clearly run by a Japanese family because everything inside was traditional and even their employees were pure Japanese.

"This place is beautiful."

"It is." Alyx agreed and opened her menu. It had a both English and Japanese version, and Alyx perked up at that.

"So... Uh... Tell me about your mother." Hank said as the waitress poured some water.

"Uh... Which one?"

"Um... Your birth mother? How'd you two finally meet?"

Alex nearly laughed at the question.

~Five Years Ago~

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Jesus Christ, hold your horses!" Alyx called as she approached the door. She unlocked it and opened it to see Rick and Mal, and perked up.

"Hey, guys! Whatcha guys doing here?" At the solemn looks she got in reply, her gut dropped. "Guys?"

"Is your mom home?"

"Um... She's upstairs resting. Come in." She stepped aside and allowed them in, shutting the door behind them and following to the couch, where they sat down with sighs. She sat in her chair and rubbed her hands.

"What's... What's wrong...?"

"We... Got a call from the Honolulu Police Department." Alyx furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well that's a long way to talk to other officers. Why are you telling me?"

"Your birth mother would like to meet you."

Alyx took a breath, readjusting her grip on the flowers and then adjusted her pants and shirt. She walked up to the nurse's station and the young native girl looked up at her.

"Hi, how can I help you?" She asked.

"I... Uh... I'm looking for Kai Akimoto." The nurse perked up and waved at another nurse nearby. She handed off a tablet and walked over. She was pretty, with chocolate mousse hair in a loose curly ponytail over her shoulder, dark tan skin and she had beautiful coffee colored eyes and she was dressed in purple scrubs. Her nametag said Penni.

"She's looking for Kai." Penni perked up.

"Oh, you must be Alyx. Come, this way." Penni led Alyx to a patio outside that overlooked the ocean, where a woman sat in a wheelchair, her face peaceful as she took repeated inhales of the salty ocean air.

"Here, let me take your bag and the flowers. I'll put them in some water." Alyx nodded, numbly handing them off.

Well, Kai was a beautiful woman. Thirty-seven years old and she looked twenty. As she walked up to her, a slight breeze blew.

Her hair was sleek black in a beautiful bob. Her skin had paled since the photo she had seen a few years ago, but it was still pretty tan. Her eyes were golden hazel, and she had a thin figure.

Alyx pulled her fingers and took a breath, walking over.

"Um... Kai?" Kai opened her eyes and looked up, her eyes softening as she took in her appearance. Alyx walked around, Kai tracking her with her eyes. Alyx knelt in front of her and Kai took in every little scar and freckle. Then she reached and, even though her hand shook, cupped her cheek and stroked her cheekbone. Alyx leaned into her touch, closing her eyes.

"You look just like your father..."

~Present~

Hank fiddled with his chopsticks.

"She had stage three lung cancer?" Alyx nodded as she set down her glass.

"It would've progressed if it hadn't been for the doctor who caught it. They started treatment, and the tumors shrunk, but... The treatment is what killed her." Hank rubbed his forehead.

"Geez, Al... You've been through hell." Alyx chuckled.

"You know, my dad and I have a birth mark in the same place."

"Really?"

"Yup. You know that diamond shaped birthmark on my hip? You know, there...?" Hank paused before a light pink blush came to his cheeks.

"Ohh... Wait, how do you know that?"

"We... were swimming... And... He was adjusting his shorts and I saw it..."

"Ah." Hank tilted his head in confirmation.

"What about you? What was life growing up like?" Alyx asked. Hank moved his hands like scales.

"It was... Interesting, you know. My mom was a lawyer and my dad was a cop. First part of my life was fine, but then it... It got really busy. I was put in all these different things so my parents wouldn't have to pick me up so soon, our dinners were short and sweet, and then... And then I started stress eating." Alyx raised her eyebrow.

"Really?"

"I gained fifty pounds in four months." Alyx covered her mouth, her eyes watering as she tried to stop the laughter that was building up in her throat.

"Stop it." Hank covered his face as she burst out laughing, people looking over at her as she leaned back. Her eyes watered and eventually she was laughing so hard it was silent. Hank pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling that he should have never told her that. A waitress came over to check on her.

"Miss, are you okay?" She asked, trying to resist the infectious laughter, but the smile was on her face anyway. Alyx finally calmed down, wiping her eyes with her hand, taking a breath.

"Yes, thank you." She replied, clearing her throat. "Sorry." Other costumers were looking at her with chuckles and smiles, and Alyx pushed her bang behind her ear.

"Sorry." Hank stared at her for a really long time before opening his mouth:

"I love you."