Steve watched Sophia out the window as he prepared everything for the grill. He'd been thinking since Brian left about how to approach things with her. They had so much to work through. There was no way they could deal with it all at once, so the decision he needed to make was which part of the story was the most important to talk about first.

He also knew with certainty the conversation would inevitably need to lead to him convincing her to get some counseling because, as much as he loved her, even he would admit she needed a professional to help her untangle the web of issues weighing her down.

As he put the veggies and salmon on a platter to carry out to the grill, he decided to enjoy dinner together first. Then he would start with the most pressing problem which was finding out exactly what had happened with Dominic Mancini. It was going to hurt like hell to hear what he had done to her, but Steve needed to know; Not only to give Sophia a place to feel safe but also to help in the indictment that was coming Mancini's way.

Steve started by putting the veggies on the grill and began to season them before he heard the familiar "click, click, click" of a cameras shutter. He turned to find she had the camera tuned in to him.

He couldn't help but smile. He heard the shutter a few more times before she took her eyes away from the lens to smile back at him.

"Damn, you're gorgeous," she remarked causing Steve to chuckle.

"Where did you find the camera?" He asked.

Sophia blushed. "I found it on your desk. I hope you don't mind."

Steve would have given her the world. At this point, he didn't have the strength to deny her anything; especially something as small as letting her use his camera. Besides, he reasoned the distraction of taking pictures would be good for her. "Of course I don't mind," he answered.

He motioned her towards him so she joined him by the grill where he put his arms around her and pulled her close. He leaned down to breath in the scent of her citrus and vanilla shampoo before kissing the top of her head.

Listening to the strong, steady beat of his heart against her ear gave her a sense of calm. He smelled like soap, salty beach air, and man. She loved it. Sophia closed her eyes and let herself live in that moment and the feeling of being loved and protected.

"You okay?" he asked as he rubbed his palm up and down her back.

Sophia was silent long enough to make him a little uncomfortable, but when she spoke, her words melted his heart and strengthened his resolve to protect her.

"I can't do this without you, Steve." She whispered as she tightened her arms around his waist. "I need you." She leaned back a little to look at him but she never left the security of his embrace. "I really need you."

Steve took her face into his hands again before leaning down to kiss her. "You've got me, baby. We'll get through this. I promise."

Sophia went up on tiptoes to kiss him again before leaning back into him and letting out a contented sigh.

After eating a scrumptious dinner of grilled salmon, veggies, and rice, Sophia leaned back in her chair contentedly.

"Oh my gosh, I can't eat another bite," she said.

She noticed a smirk on Steve's face. "Well, that's a shame because Rosa brought dessert."

Sophia sat up straight, "Momma was here? When? What did she bring?"

Steve chuckled, "She came over when you were napping to check on you. AND, brought food of course," He winked at Sophia and she felt her heart flutter. "She brought tiramisu. BUT…if you're too full, we can always eat it later."

"She's trying to fatten me up," Sophia grimaced. "She knows how much I love tiramisu."

Steve rolled his eyes but they twinkled when he looked at her, "It's not going to hurt you. Besides, she loves you."

Sophia's face softened. "I know. I hate to worry her and I know I've done a hell of a job with that since Gio died."

Steve was quiet and contemplative for a moment before reaching his hand out to her. "Come on. It's a beautiful night. Let's go for a walk."

Sophia looked around at the table, "But what about the dishes?"

Steve took her hand and tugged her to her feet. "They can wait. Come on."

They both grabbed their wine glasses and headed towards the sand with Eddie following close by Sophia's side. Steve knew the dog sensed something was wrong because he'd not left her side all afternoon. While she was napping, Eddie hopped up onto the bed to lay beside her. Steve normally didn't allow him on the bed, but he'd let it slide that time knowing the dog was only wanting to make her feel safe. It was endearing to see how his sweet dog had bonded with Sophia; Almost as if he had appointed himself as her protector. Steve grinned to himself at the realization: They would both be protecting her from now on.

As they began the beachside walk, Sophia realized Steve was right. It was a beautiful night. Like most sunsets in Hawaii, this one promised to be spectacular. Sophia felt her heart settling just a little more as they walked in silence listening to the waves roll in and feeling the sand under her toes. When they got to one particularly beautiful spot, Steve stopped and tugged Sophia back with him. He sat down on the sand and pulled her down so she was secured between his legs and against his chest. Eddie settled on the sand beside them.

In Sophia's opinion, the feeling was bliss even though she knew with some trepidation that a "talk" was coming soon.

"I love it here," Steve said softly.

"Me too. It's beautiful. Peaceful." Then realizing she still had Steve's camera strapped around her chest, she felt inspired. "I need to take some pictures."

Reluctantly, Steve let her go so she could get the camera into her hands and scan the horizon in front of them. But rather than taking pictures of the gorgeous scene in front of them, she turned back towards Steve. He was sitting on the sand in his faded blue jeans and white t-shirt. His feet were bare as he watched her with his elbows resting casually on his knees.

He was breathtaking. Of course, he would scoff if she uttered that out loud, so she kept it to herself. Just looking at him made her heart beat faster, though. That was one thing that hadn't changed since she'd been a young girl and her brother brought him home for the first time.

Rather than turning the camera towards the sunset before her, she turned it in his direction. Eddie was by his side watching her every move.

She couldn't resist. She lifted the lens to her eyes and started snapping pictures of her two favorite boys.

Steve smiled at her. "I thought you wanted to take pictures of the sunset."

She shrugged. "Hawaiian sunsets are always beautiful. Today I need to photograph YOU."

Eddie's ears perked up and Sophia giggled. It was music to Steve's ears.

"And you too, sweet boy!" she told Eddie before reaching down to rub his ears and leaning down to kiss his nose. Steve smirked and shook his head at the realization his loyal sidekick had become as big a sucker for this Italian beauty as he had.

No doubt about it: He and Eddie were goners.

After several minutes of taking pictures of them, Steve stood up to reach for the camera.

"Let me take some of you."

Sophia looked suddenly shy. "Oh, I don't look good in photographs."

Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Not possible," he stated as he reached for his camera. "Now give me back my camera. It's your turn."

Sophia reluctantly handed the camera back to Steve. Within minutes, he was snapping photos of his own. Despite saying she was not photogenic, Steve was soon mesmerized by the sight of her through the lens as she put her long toned legs and feet into the soft waves rolling in….

And playing with Eddie after he found a stick and dropped it happily at her feet so she would toss it for him….

Before she knew it, Sophia had forgotten that Steve even had the camera and just started enjoying everything around her.

Steve stopped periodically to watch her. She was an intoxicating mix of innocence and sensuality.

After she'd thrown Eddie a stick for at least the fifteenth time, she felt Steve's arms around her as they watched him go after it.

He pulled her back against his chest and leaned down to kiss her neck.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are," he told her.

She turned in his arms and leaned up to kiss him. It didn't take long before things started to get out of control with them both forgetting they were still on the beach rather than in the sanctuary of Steve's home.

Not that they cared. They were too wrapped up in each other to care.

Eddie finally broke them out of the moment by working his way in between them, dropping his stick, and barking.

Sophia broke away from Steve and giggled. "I think he's telling us we need to 'get a room'".

Steve raised his eyebrows and looked down at his beloved dog. "Is that what you're trying to tell us, boy?"

Eddie barked in response before grabbing his stick and beginning to run back towards Steve's house.

Steve and Sophia began making their way back, but once they reached Steve's own 'beachfront', he stopped.

"Soph, I know it's been a really long and hard day, but we need to talk. Okay?"

Sophia's heart sank. She had hoped they could just forget it for at least one night even though she knew timing was critical with Dominic Mancini's arrest.

"I don't want to," she said sadly.

"I know…..but we have to do it. Ellie wants to talk to you again tomorrow, so I need to know what to expect."

She heard the love and concern in his voice…..maybe even a bit of regret at forcing her to talk about it….. but she also heard the familiar 'Commander McGarrett' tone in his voice. As much as he cared about her, there was also an investigation at stake…..and like it or not, she was a prime witness.

Steve made her look at him again before saying, "Let's work through some of this tonight, okay? And then I promise, I will make it all worthwhile."

She felt her breath catch in her chest. She needed him…all of him….more than he knew. What she needed more than anything was for Steve to make love to her until she forgot every horror she had lived recently.

As if reading her mind, Steve leaned down to kiss her. "Let's get this over with. Okay?"

Sophia almost hated to ask, but she did so anyway. "Can I have more wine?"

Steve thought about it and decided to give in. He wanted her to be able to relax enough to open up to him. Plus, he reasoned she'd eaten a very good dinner and taken a walk, so her intake of alcohol had been minimal by that point.

He finished off the bottle by pouring it into her glass and went inside to grab himself a beer.

When he came back out, they settled side by side in chairs he had in the sand. Steve had no idea where to begin. It was amazing how difficult it could be for an experienced negotiator to talk to someone they love.

Finally, he let out a sigh and reached over to grab her hand. "I know this isn't easy, Soph, but I need for you to tell me everything that happened."

He felt her tense, he began caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Let's start with the easy stuff, okay? Tell me what happened when you got to your apartment."

He skipped the part where she'd gone in when he'd told her specifically to stay put. Just thinking about how it could have all been avoided pissed him off and made him want to put her over his knee, but he knew she was fragile and he needed to tread lightly if he was going to find out the truth.

Sophia released a calming breath and began. "I walked in and saw that my place had been tossed," she said quietly as she kept her gaze fixed on the soft waves roll in. "I know you told me to stay out and wait for you," She looked over at him with so much regret and sadness in her eyes he felt his heart twist inside his chest. "I don't know what came over me, but once I saw that and knew they'd been at YOUR house, too… it pissed me off and it was like I needed to see all of the damage they'd done. I'm sorry, Steve."

He got out of his chair to kneel in front of her and pull her to him. "It's okay, baby. We'll talk about that later. Tell me what happened next."

Sophia sniffed as Steve reached up to wipe away her tears. "When I got to my bedroom, one of Mancini's guys grabbed me from behind and the other stood in front."

"So there were only two of them, right?"

She shook her head. "Yes….I only heard two."

"Could you describe the one you saw?"

"I think so."

"Okay, we'll deal with that later. So tell me what happened next."

Sensing her distress, Eddie moved close enough to put his head into her lap and offer comfort. She stopped to catch her breath while Steve waited patiently for her to continue.

"They asked me where the memory card was at and I told them I didn't have it. Then they said….." She stopped again as tears filled her eyes.

"They said what, baby? What did they tell you?"

"They told me they would get it from me one way or another. Then, they covered my face and dragged me out to a van waiting outside. I know I heard you pulling up when they pulled away, but I couldn't see or scream…or…"

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NEXT CHAPTER is already started and will be posted in the next day or so! This one was getting so long, I had to split it up! LOL. I'm on a roll!