Each member of the Ohana took turns briefly visiting with Sophia which satisfied their concerns that she was indeed okay. After that, they began going home.

Adam came by to pick Kono up and insisted that Mary and Joannie stay with them that since Steve would be staying at the hospital. Mary tried to turn them down, but Steve pulled his big-brother card out again and insisted she take Joannie and go home with Adam and Kono. After all, Mancini was still at large. It was very likely he knew where Steve lived, so Steve wasn't taking any chances at having Mary and Joannie there unprotected. Mary finally gave in without too much of a fight. It was amazing how much easier it was to get her to hear the voice of reason since bringing Joannie into their lives.

Well, except for earlier when she disregarded everything he'd said and ran into the building after Sophia, Steve grimaced.

After everyone left, only Steve, Brian and Rosa remained. Sophia had been given something to help her sleep and was resting comfortably with Steve on one side of her bed and Brian and Rosa on the other. Dr. Jeffries returned for his final visit of the night before going home himself. He was sympathetic to the desire they all had to stay by Sophia's bedside, but hospital policy would only allow two people in the room overnight when the patient wasn't in ICU. Steve volunteered to be the one to leave…. albeit begrudgingly.

"No," Brian said as he stood up. "I'll go. After the day we've had, I feel like I've finished a marathon surgery. I'll get a hotel room and get some sleep so you and Rosa can stay." He looked at Steve, and although Steve was suspicious that he wasn't being entirely truthful about his fatigue, he still appreciated Brian stepping aside to let him stay with her through the night. "Sophia needs you here when she wakes up." Brian continued.

"You don't need to….." Steve began.

"No, I will go," Rosa said as she stood up as well. The tone of her voice left no room for argument, and although she was nearly a foot shorter than both Steve and Brian, she was a force to be reckoned with so neither man spoke a word. They just stared at her in disbelief. After all, she was Sophia's mother, so if anyone was to stay with her through the night, it should be her mom.

Right?

She saw the questions on their faces and took a deep breath before looking from one man to the other. She walked to the other side of the bed and reached up to take Steve's face in her hands. "You rescued her, tesoro (sweetheart). And you are in love with her….So you stay."

Then she walked over to do the same to Brian. "And you, mio caro, insured she was okay once she got here. I will forever be grateful to both of you," she sniffed. "I know my bambina is in good hands and will be fine…. SO, I am going home."

"Rosa," Steve began but she put up a finger to stop him.

"Shush….I'm not finished."

Steve's mouth snapped shut as Brian tried to suppress a grin. He had been on the receiving end of that "silencing finger" many times over the years himself.

"My Sophie needs you here more than she needs me. Besides, I am an old woman and I am exhausted. I know you will take care of her. SO…..I am going home to sleep and will be back in the morning."

With that, she gave them both a hug, leaned down to gently kiss her sleeping daughter, and started towards the door. It was then she remembered she'd been brought to the hospital by HPD and had no car. Steve seemed to remember at the same time.

"I'll take you home, Momma, and then I'll come back. Come on." He put a hand on her shoulder and led her out of the room.

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

Brian settled into the chair beside Sophia. So much had happened in the last 24 hours and he found his head spinning trying to make sense of it all. He'd been worried about her for months. Looking at her now, he saw she was noticeably thinner. He was also concerned with things he had noticed in her blood work; Evidence which seemed to confirm his suspicions that she was drinking too much.

He was also quite certain that Steve McGarrett may not even be aware of any of it; Otherwise, he was sure Steve would've already done something to stop it.

If Sophia was drinking to cover up her pain, she was probably doing it when Steve wasn't around. She'd always been very good at concealing feelings when she wanted to do so, but Brian had known her long enough to see through the façade. He heard what she wasn't saying every time they talked. It was what had brought him to Hawaii in the first place.

Brian continued to watch Sophia sleep as he thought about how he was going to bring the subject up with her. Considering what she'd just been through, one could argue it wasn't an ideal time to broach the subject. However, being a doctor, Brian believed it was more important than ever since the aftermath of being kidnapped could push her even further into the depression she was trying to hide. Not only was she refusing to grieve Gio's death, but she would also be dealing with the aftermath of what she'd just experienced.

He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew the time had come for "tough love". He was determined to get through to her no matter what it took; even if it meant making Steve aware of his concerns

A nurse came in for a routine check of Sophia's vital signs. After doing so, she made a few notes on the chart at the end of the bed before giving a friendly smile to Brian.

"These chairs aren't the most comfortable. Would you like a blanket or pillow?"

"That would be great. Thanks," Brian said. "Can you bring two? Commander McGarrett will be back in a little while as well."

Hearing the voices around her, Sophia began to stir. She opened her eyes as the nurse walked out and turned towards Brian. She looked confused which was to be expected after what she'd been through.

He gave her a soft smile. "Hey, beautiful."

She gave him a sleepy grin. "Hey yourself." She looked around the room and noticed it was empty except for Brian. "Where is everyone?"

"They all went home after finding out you were okay. You have quite a group of friends around you. I see why you love them so much."

"And Steve?"

"Oh…he left to take you mom back home, but he'll be back."

The surprise showed on her face, "Mom agreed to go home? I can't believe it!"

Brian chuckled. "Neither could I, to tell you the truth. She seems to really trust Steve to take care of you."

"And you too," Sophia said. When Brian continued to look at her but remained quiet, she decided to ask the question that had been on her mind since she'd first seen him earlier. Everything was still foggy, but she remembered enough to know they hadn't planned this visit.

"Why are you here, Bri? I mean, I'm thrilled to see you, but you didn't tell me you were coming for a visit. At least I don't think you did. I wouldn't have forgotten that, would I?"

"It was a spur of the moment, thing." Brian answered. "After our last conversation, I wanted to see for myself that you were 'okay'."

Sophia swallowed nervously as she remembered that conversation:

"Tell me the truth, Soph. How are you doing? Really."

Sophia huffed, "Why do we have this same conversation every time we talk? I told you….I'm fine. Really, I'm good. Things are going great with Steve. Did I tell you he gave me a camera for my birthday?"

"That's great, sweetie. I'm happy to hear it."

"So why do I get the feeling you don't believe me?"

He could hear the pout in her voice but ignored it. "I believe you when you say things are going well with Steve. I can hear the happiness in your voice when you talk about him. I just don't believe that you're doing 'okay' otherwise…..I can hear that as well. You forget that I know you."

"You're imagining it, Bri. I'm telling you…..I'm fine." Sophia's voice was soft and lacked the confidence she wanted to portray.

"So if I was sitting beside you right now, you could look me in the eyes and tell me the same?" he asked her softly.

Sophia had never been able to lie to Brian's face and they both knew it. She swallowed the lump in her throat but remained quiet.

"Soph? Talk to me, sweetie. Please?"

The conversation had ended like so many others in the last few months as Sophia continued to insist all was "fine" and changed the subject for the remainder of the conversation. That had been the last time she talked to Brian, and the way he was looking at her now told her he remembered it too.

"So how are things going with Kayley?" she asked light-heartedly. "Am I going to hear wedding bells soon?"

Brian smiled humorlessly; She was trying to deflect as per usual. Asking about his girlfriend was her way of trying to steer the conversation in another direction.

"She's great," Brian answered. "But that's not what I'm here to talk about and you know it."

Sophia shifted uncomfortably against her pillows.

"It's okay. We'll talk about it later," he said.

Sophia looked relieved as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. Then he gave her a pointed look, "But we will talk about it. Understand?"

Sophia was saved from answering when Steve walked into the room. She heard a warning bell in her mind, though, and had a sinking feeling things were going to get worse before they got better. Especially if both Brian and Steve got involved.

Steve smiled when he saw her awake and she felt her heart melt. He was carrying a vase full of roses which he sat down on the bedside table before leaning down to kiss her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Okay. Just tired. Thank you for the beautiful flowers."

"You're welcome."

"When are they going to let me go home?"

Steve looked towards Brian before answering. "Probably tomorrow. They're just keeping you here tonight for observation, but Dr. Jeffries and Brian both agree you should be able to leave in the morning."

"Great. I need to get back to my apartment. They made a mess of that place and I have to clean it up!"

Steve looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Are you crazy? We've already talked about this at length. You are not safe there, so you will be staying at my house until we figure this out and Mancini is in custody."

"But….."

"We've been over this, Sophia. It's not up for discussion. Understand?!" Steve interrupted.

Her frown at Steve grew deeper when she noticed the smirk Brian was trying to conceal by putting a hand to his chin.

"What's so funny?" she scowled.

He shrugged but the smirk remained. "Oh nothing. I was just thinking how good it is to see you with someone who can handle you…..even when you're being stubborn."

Sophia looked appalled. "I am not stubborn."

Both men chuckled at the haughtiness in her expression.

"You're ganging up on me?" she asked almost in tears.

Steve decided to have pity and try to calm her down. He sat down on the bed and took one of her hands in his before lifting it up to kiss her palm.

"We're not ganging up on you, babe. We just want you to be safe….and the safest place for you right now is with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight until we have Dominick Mancini and anyone else who was involved in custody." His eyes were gentle but his tone was firm.

"So what are you telling me? That I'm going to have to go into the office with you and everything until this is over? I'm not going to do that! And it's not like we're completely safe at your house either. Have you forgotten what they did there?"

Steve remembered, but he still believed the safest place for her to be was with him. "I'm not going to argue with you about this, Soph. I'm not letting you go home yet."

Sophia opened her mouth to protest, but Brian cut her off as he looked at Steve. "I'll be here for a few days, so I can stay with her while you're at work. We have some catching up to do anyway. Hopefully, this will all be over by the time I leave."

"Oh for goodness sake, I don't need a babysitter!" she spat.

"Sophia!" Brian's voice held a warning. "Steve's right. You're not safe until they have these people in custody."

Sophia muttered something in Italian, and while neither men knew exactly what she was saying, they both knew enough of the language to hear a swear word….or three…..and the word "idiota!"

When she finished her rant, she crossed her arms in front of her. "Fine!"

They both decided to ignore her mood. She'd been through a lot and had every right to feel angry, violated, and scared.

"Okay….so it's settled. Now, if you want Dr. Jeffries to release you tomorrow, you need to get some sleep, honey." Brian instructed. He saw the fatigue in her eyes even though she was trying to stay awake.

Steve reached up to move a strand of hair from her forehead. "He's right. Close your eyes. We're both gonna be here all night."

Without saying a word, she shook her head, sighed, and closed her eyes. She was fast asleep within minutes.

***************H50**************H50***************h50

Next chapter is started and we are going to see Brian and Steve have a serious conversation about Sophia. I am interested to see what happens. I believe the two men in Sophia's life are going to make a great team where Sophia's well being are concerned.

Let me know what you think! 😊