kokua (help)

It was the morning after and she realised she hadn't been to sleep. She looked over to where Ryan lay. It had been about 5 in the morning he had stumbled up the stairs and threw himself on the bed as she pretended to be fast asleep. She was still wide awake at 6:30 am when her alarm went off causing Ryan to groan in anger and turn over. She shook her head and made her way into the bathroom. She started the shower and took a minute to look at herself in the mirror again. Her eye was now a nice shade of purple and she groaned knowing that she would have to find a suitable explanation that people would actually believe.

She removed her pyjamas which consisted of a vest that seemed to highlight her ample breasts and shorts which just covered her bum and let down her hair from the messy bun it was in and stood underneath the hot water. Her hair was a nice length, almost to the middle of her back and coloured dark brown with blonde tips. She liked it, Steve loved it and she found herself smiling as she remembered how he had looked at her all day when she had got it done making her feel so special, Ryan didn't like it but it was the one thing she felt she had control over so she chose to ignore that. She turned the shower off, instantly missing the feel of the hot water washing over her body allowing her to relax just a little bit. She grabbed the towel that hung near the shower and wrapped it around her. After drying her hair and styling it into a neater formal bun she started on her makeup whilst trying to minimise the bruise as much as she possibly could. She realised that the bruise wasn't going to disappear completely so put on her outfit. She loved the fact that she could wear cute summery outfits due to it being constant sunshine which was just another perk of working and living in Hawaii. She left the bathroom and walked past the bedroom where she saw Ryan lay there half naked fast asleep and soon the happiness of wearing clothes she liked and thinking about the sunshine left. She knew it was wrong that she worked for the both of them, she knew that it wasn't fair that she worked long hours while he got to stay at home and do nothing but she honestly didnt see a way out and if she did who knows what would happen.

She made her way downstairs, grabbed her bag from the sofa, made sure her car keys were in there and went outside locking the front door behind her. Every morning she looked at her car and smiled because she genuinely loved it, she had worked hard to pay for it and it really was her pride and joy.

*Steve's POV*

Steve felt anxious. He didnt quite know why but he knew Jess hadn't replied to his text last night which was unusual for her. He was going over some paperwork when Danny walked in and stood in front of his desk. Steve looked up and saw Danny just stood there smiling.

"Do you ever knock?" asked Steve which caused Danny to smile even more. "What are you so happy about?" to which he got no reply but yet a bigger smile. "DANNY! What are you smiling about?" which caused Danny to jump.

"Jeeez, what the hell is wrong with you? I, personally, am very happy because Rachel is letting me have Grace for the night! But putting that aside what has rattled your cage this morning?" Danny asked whilst watching Steve rub his temples and sigh.

"Nothing's wrong Danny, I'm fine" he replied wishing for just a bit more peace and quiet. "Aaaaah, so that's why you're looking like you're about to explode at any minute" Danny taunted and chuckled. He turned around and began to make his way out when he heard Steve ask "You heard off Jess this morning?" which made him stop and face Steve again.

"Nope not this morning, is that what's up with you?" and Steve could see the beginning of a smirk cross his face. "Nothings up with me Danny, just wondering why she hasn't text or called this morning. She usually does right?" which seemed to make Danny think along the same lines as Steve.

"Yeah your right, but you did tell her it was her turn to get breakfast so maybe the queues long? Relax man, your lover will be here soon" and he ran out of the office quick enough to miss the pen that Steve had chucked towards him.

*Jess's POV*

The queue in the bakery wasn't long at all yet she found herself parked outside Five-0 headquarters just staring at it. She knew that she would have to brace herself for the endless questions about her eye, even the woman behind the counter in the bakery had asked a couple of times. She grabbed the bag of doughnuts and coffees from the passenger seat, and locked her car before putting her keys away and walking towards the front doors. She greeted the receptionist and a few other colleagues with a simple "Aloha" and saw the looks she got towards her eye. She knew then that she really did have to brace herself.

Opening the doors to the Five-0 office she made her way to the central table and placed the food and drinks down before grabbing her own coffee. She was just about to take a sip of the warm drink she had been looking forward to when she was startled by Steve coming out of his office and shouting "Jess!"

She placed her coffee back on the table and turned around to face him as Kono, Chin and Danny began to leave their offices and make their way towards her. Instantly Steve frowned and picked up his pace towards her. She smiled softly and said "Morning" to them all trying to at least act a little bit normal. He took her face in his hands and glared at her.

"What the hell happened Jess?" he asked her as he ran his thumb over the bruise. She winced as it did still hurt and her mind went blank as to what story she could use. "Oh i was just cleaning out some stuff from the back room last night, tripped over some boots and ended up hitting myself with the table" she replied with a little chuckle whilst waving her hand as if to show that there was no need to fuss. She could tell he didnt buy it at all but still he chose to let it go as it was obvious she wasn't going to tell him the truth. He smiled at her and glanced at the bag of doughnuts and coffees behind her "you got breakfast" and she smiled back at him whilst laughing "well i did seem to remember last night receiving a delightful text off my so called oi hoaloha reminding me it was my turn". He grinned and removed his coffee from the tray whilst thinking to himself how much he hated it when she called him her best friend. Not because it wasn't true but how he wished it was so much more. Deep down he knew who had done that to her face and it angered him so much but until she asked him for help he vowed not to interfere. Steve smiled at her again once more and made his way back towards his office.

She heard him answer his phone with the familiar "McGarrett" she heard every day and turned around back to her coffee which to her luck was now cold. Danny spoke making her look at him "he cares about you, that's all. Jeez when i came in he nearly bit my head off just because you hadn't contacted him. We do all worry though, just know we're here when you need us" and he rested his hand on her shoulder as she smiled at him and managed to get a small "thank you" out. She watched him return to his office as she let out a deep breath and thought that maybe she should let them in and help... she just didnt know whether to take the risk or not.

After a hard day of work all Jess wanted to do was relax. She'd finished work early at the bar and was looking forward to just going to sleep. Grabbing her bag from the back room she said goodnight to her staff and headed outside to get in her car. Steve and the team were stood outside arguing about whether they should go for a drink or not. Danny instantly said yes as Rachel had phoned him up during the afternoon to let him know he couldn't have Grace that night because she was feeling "sick" and Kono and Chin soon followed with a yes too as they simply just needed a drink. Steve turned his head as she left the bar and smiled.

"You comin Jess?" he asked her as he attempted to show her his best puppy dog eyes, "come on it'll be fun!"

Jess was battling with herself. She could either go out and have fun or go home and save herself the trouble that would be waiting for her. However it didnt take her long to decide as she soon found herself following the rest of them back inside the bar where Kamekona later met them.

It had been about two and a half hours since they had got to the bar and Jess had truly let her hair down. She had perhaps had one too many Mai Tai's but at this point she really didnt care. She was laughing and having fun just as Steve had promised. Kamekona was telling everyone about his shaved ice business which he tended to do every time they went out and Jess stood up to go to the bar to order herself another drink. As she stood up she stumbled which earned her a "Woahhhh someone's drunk" from Danny and a few chuckles from the others. She could see Steve watching her every move as she smiled and tried to walk in a straight line. Halfway to the bar she felt a warm hand on her lower back and she turned to the right to see the man she truly loved smiling back at her "couldn't let you walk all the way over here all alone now could I" he said to her as she felt butterflies in her stomach.

"I suppose not McGarrett. I think I need to slow down on the drinking, maybe water would be a better choice this time" she said as she laughed to herself. Steve suddenly had a great idea "actually you know what, come on, I know something that'll sober you up" as he grabbed her hand and led her to the beach behind the bar. She tried her best to keep up with him but being drunk made this task ever so difficult. "Steve, slow down, I..." and she found herself speechless as she was faced with an empty beach, the distant sound of the music from the bar, what seemed to be the largest moon she had ever seen and she couldn't help but smile. "Wow, this is beautiful" she said quietly as Steve looked at her and nodded. "Come on, we'll sit down for a bit" and she followed Steve to a sun lounger that was placed in the middle of the beach. They both sat down and she rested her head on his shoulder as they both looked out towards the ocean and all of a sudden she just blurted it out.

"Steve, I need help"

* Aloha kakahiaka – Good morning

* oi hoaloha – best friend