Five-0 wrapped up another case and got it on the books. Steve always felt a sense of accomplishment when a day like this one was over and they had found vindication for the victims. It was late in the day, but at least they were headed home. He was looking forward to a day off tomorrow. He tried to call Sophia on his way home, but she didn't answer. He tried again with no luck. That concerned him since he'd never had trouble reaching her before.

Deciding not to worry about it too much, he continued home where he got a quick shower before trying her again. Still no answer. He couldn't settle the uneasy feeling in his gut that something was wrong. How was he going to find her if she wouldn't answer her phone? It wasn't like he could call Momma Rosa to see where she might be; That would only worry Rosa and he wasn't about to do that. No, he would just have to rely on his own devices.

Steve decided to try her apartment to see if she was there and just not answering her phone. No such luck. He was on the verge of going back into the office to put a trace on her phone when his phone rang. He grabbed it quickly hoping it was Sophia. "McGarrett…" he clipped out his usual greeting.

"Commander McGarrett?" came the female voice on the other line. It wasn't Sophia and there was a lot of background noise….music and voices…..It was hard to hear the one calling him. Steve tried not to feel frustrated that it wasn't Sophia on the line, but he was losing the battle quickly. He was also losing his patience.

"Yes, this is Commander McGarrett. Who is this?"

"This is Audrey. I'm a friend of Sophia's. I found your number on her cell phone."

Steve felt fear rising in his stomach.

"Is she okay? Where is she?"

"That's why I'm calling you….and I know Sophie will probably kill me for this later…..Not 'probably'…She will actually kill me…but I'll just have to deal with that because we didn't know who else to call." The woman was rambling.

"Calm down and tell me what happened," Steve tried to slow her down so she could start making sense.

"Today is Sophie's birthday, so the girls and I decided to take her to one of our favorite places to celebrate. We figured it would be a good idea to try to distract her from…..you know….."

Her birthday? How had he not known or remembered that? Probably because he'd never neededto remember, he rationalized.

That had always been Gio's job.

This was her first birthday without her brother.

Damn, this was going to be a hard one.

"You wanted to distract her from it being the first birthday without Gio." Steve concluded.

"Right. Only we didn't realize she would get so out of control." Audrey sounded apologetic.

"What do you mean by 'out of control'?"

Audrey took a deep breath on the other line, "I've never seen her like this. She's drinking way more than she normally does and flirting with some of the guys who are here. I mean, it's not unlike Sophia to have fun and flirt a little…..but not like this. She's acting like a totally different person and just throwing herself at them tonight. And she won't go home. We can't get her to leave, but we don't want to leave her alone here either."

Throwing herself at them?Steve swallowed a curse before it found its way out of his mouth. If she was throwing herself at anyone, it was going to behim, dammit. As much as it surprised him to admit that fact, it was true.

"Tell me where you are and I'll be right there."

After relaying the information to him, Steve told Audrey that they needed to stay put and not to leave Sophia alone for a minute. He would be there in ten minutes.

*************h50************h50***************h50

It was a very long ten minutes, but Steve finally made his way to the bar where the women were hanging out. It was one he was very familiar with since it was quite popular with Navy personnel stationed on the island. It's probably why they had picked this spot: Women did seem to love a man in uniform, Steve mused. He and Gio had thrown back quite a few beers here over the years themselves. It was also probably familiar to Sophia because it made her feel closer to Gio right now. Steve understood that, but he still didn't like it.

It didn't take him long to find Sophia and her friends in the crowd. Even in regular "day clothes", her beauty stood out, but the way she was dressed tonight made it even harder to ignore her. She and her three friends sat at the bar surrounded by four guys who were obviously "Navy" and practically drooling over them. Steve's irritation level quickly shot up to dangerous levels. The guys barely looked old enough to be out of training. Probably on their first shore leave, he thought. They no doubt thought they'd hit the jackpot by running into Sophia, Audrey, and their other two friends. Steve couldn't help the protective urge that came to the surface as he continued to make his way over to them.

Sophia's back was turned, so she didn't see Steve approaching as he took in the sight of her. Audrey noticed him, though, and looked noticeably relieved to see him there. Sophia was wearing a black sequined halter dress exhibiting her amazing bare back all the way down to her delectable ass...Although the word "dress" was generous given the small amount of fabric it contained. Even from behind, Steve could tell it was too short and hugging her curves seductively. Her long beautiful hair hung down her back in soft waves. It took all the strength Steve had not to just stand and stare for a while.

Sophia threw her head back in a laugh at something one of the nimwits said. Probably wasn't even funny,Steve thought irritably. One of the men noticed Steve approaching them with determination and stood up to move closer to Sophia as if trying to stake a claim on her himself. Steve gave him a warning glare that basically said, Don't mess with me, boy. Sophia didn't notice Steve until she heard his commanding voice behind her as he addressed the men around her. He put his hand on her arm possessively, "She's with me…Actually they are all with me… so you gentlemen need to move along."

Sophia turned to face him with the familiar look of "Italian temper" written on her face. Steve's mouth went dry for a second…or maybe ten….as his eyes traveled down the front of her. If he'd thought that dress was dangerous from behind, it was nothing compared to what he saw when she turned around. The deep plunge in the front practically put her chest on display and the skirt was short enough to show off too much of her gorgeous legs. She was wearing black stilettos that made him wonder how she could walk, although they were sexy as hell on her. She was wearing red lipstick that tempted him to lean down right then and there to kiss her.

Damn, but she was gorgeous.

No wonder these guys were drooling, he thought to himself. Gio would have a friggin' fit if he'd ever seen her like this. Steve, on the other hand, was very happy to see her like this…..just not in this setting. And definitely not with four young sailors who had obviously been at sea for a while staring at her and her friends like they were pieces of meat.

Sophia's annoyed voice brought him back to reality, "Who do you think you are?" she spat. Steve was unyielding as he looked down into her big brown eyes with lashes long enough to be lethal and were definitely glassy from too much alcohol.

"Yeah, who do you think you are, asshole?" The largest of the "boys"….the one who was trying to stake his claim on her…. stepped up to challenge him. Steve never let go of Sophia's arm as he leveled a gaze at him

"That's Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett to you, sailor. Now who are you?"

All four men obviously flinched and stood up a little straighter. All of the bravado was gone as the young man answered Steve nervously, "Ensign Matthew Stallings, sir."

"Well, like I said, Ensign Stallings….. They are with me. Now are you four going to move along, or are we going to have a problem?"

"Now jus a minute!" Sophia slurred as she tried to stand up.

Steve held her firmly in place gave her a look that had most men shaking in their shoes. It worked on Sophia too. Even though she still looked furious, she clamped her mouth shut as Steve turned back to glare at the four young men.

"Are we going to have a problem?" Steve repeated.

"No, sir. No problem, sir." they all answered….almost in unison.

Sophia rolled her eyes in frustration, "Oh for heviz sake, drop the caveman act, wulz you?" she slurred again.

Steve looked at her pointedly even though there was compassion in his eyes, "Now is not the time to argue with me, Sophia. Let's go."

Sophia slid off the stool she'd been sitting on and wobbled. Steve held her steady as he looked over at Audrey. "Thanks for calling me. I've got her now. You all need to come with me, too, and I will get you home."

Audrey offered him an appreciative gaze, "It's okay, Commander. We'll get home okay. Please just take care of Sophie."

Steve shook his head even as his arm stayed around Sophie to steady her. He shot a glance at the men/boys standing with them at the bar before looking back towards Sophia's friends.

"Actually, you all need to come with me," Steve insisted. "OR I will call cabs for you…Either way, you all need to leave and call it a night. Understand?"

Audrey's eyes glazed over just a bit as she looked at him. My gosh, Sophie had lucked out in the Alpha-Male-Department, she thought to herself. This guy was like a dream.

"Okay, Commander….We'll call for cabs. I promise." she said.

"Do it now." Steve insisted.

Chrissie….another friend of Sophie's stepped forward in front of the young sailor trying to stake claim on her. "Seriously?"

Steve leveled his gaze at her and she could see clearly he would not waiver. "Yes…..Seriously," he answered. "Either call for cabs while I am here or I'm taking all of you home. End of discussion."

Chrissie turned towards Sophia, "You weren't kidding, sistah. These Navy guys can be real hard asses!"

Steve stifled the laugh that threatened to escape as he thought about Gio…..and how the two of them would've handled these guys trying to take advantage of Sophia and her friends so easily. Damn straight, he thought to himself. Not to worry, Gio. I've got 'em.

Audrey…the one who had called him in the first place…..looked towards him and offered him a sincere "thank you.

Then, they called for a cab. Once Steve was satisfied they would all be seen home safely, he led Sophia out of the bar towards his truck.

******************h50*************h50************h50

Sophia offered some protests on the way, but Steve ignored her. Upon opening the door, he realized she wasn't going to be able to step into the truck without flashing everyone in sight in the short dress she was wearing, so he picked her up and sat her down on the seat himself. Then, he reached the seatbelt around to buckle her in.

"I'm not a shild….." she slurred at him again.

Steve just offered her a small smile, "No, babe, you are most definitely not a child. But I don't think you're dressed for getting up into a truck tonight either." She looked slightly embarrassed as Steve made his way to his side of the truck and slid into the driver's seat. "And I swear to God…" he continued, "If you don't cooperate with me, I will put you over my knee and paddle your ass as soon as I get you home."

Sophia swallowed the lump in her throat as he buckled her in and then sat in silence for a few minutes before she noticed they were not headed in the direction of her apartment.

"Where r'we goin'?" she asked.

"I'm taking you back to my place. And don't even think of arguing with me. I'm not leaving you alone tonight. Got it?"

Sophia knew better than to argue….especially after the threat he'd just given her….so they rode in silence the rest of the way to Steve's house.

Steve got her inside and realized she didn't have anything else to wear. Leaving her in that dress and heels was way too tempting. Before he could talk to her, he needed to get her covered up. Otherwise, he might lose all control.

After all, a man could only take so much temptation.

He went upstairs and found a t-shirt and shorts that belonged to Mary. Sophia was curvier than his sister, but he hoped they would work. He handed them to Sophia as she kicked off her shoes to walk upstairs and change.

When she returned a few minutes later, Steve had coffee waiting for her. He motioned for her to join him on the couch. She took a grateful sip of the coffee before her face grew pensive.

"Today….. It's…..Ummm…..It's my birthday." She was starting to sound a little more lucid.

Steve reached over to take her hand. "I know. I'm sorry I didn't remember that, sweetie."

A tear escaped to roll down her cheek and she reached her other hand up to wipe it away. "It's okay. I mean, how would you know? But…"she stopped for a minute.

"But what?"

"Well….Gio remembered."

Steve was confused. "What do you mean?"

"He remembered, Steve. He always sent me flowers on my birthday. Even when you guys were gone on your 'super secret SEAL missions', he somehow always arranged for me to get flowers on my birthday. He did it for Momma too." She paused to stop the emotion from spilling over, "I got home from work today and found flowers waiting for me at the door. He must've arranged it before….."

She didn't finish.

Steve squeezed her hand in silent support. Son of a gun, no wonder she'd gone off the deep end. It was sweet of Gio to arrange for her to get her 'birthday flowers' before he died, but it must've been like a "voice from the grave" when Sophia saw who they were from.

Sophia finished the story. "The card said, 'Happy birthday, Soph. Never forget how much your big brother loves you.' "

Steve moved closer so he could pull her too him, "Dammit, Sophie.… I'm so sorry, honey. I can understand why that upset you."

Sophia sniffed against his shoulder. "I can't decide whether it was an incredibly thoughtful thing…..or downright mean. And I don't know whether to be grateful for one last gift from him…..or pissed off that he did it knowing he would be gone when…"

Her voice trailed off again.

"Shhhh," Steve soothed. He could hear her pain. If Gio were here again, he'd probably kick his ass for putting her through this.

Deciding that she needed a diversion, Steve decided to change the subject. "How about if we celebrate together tomorrow? I'll take you anywhereyou want to go. We'll make a day of it."

"You don't need to do that."

"I know I don't, but I want to. I have tomorrow off anyway, so let's spend it together."

She looked over and offered him a grateful smile. "That would be nice. Thank you."