Disclaimer: I do not own anyone/anything you recognize.

A/N: Thank you so much to my followers and reviewers for being so fantastic with your support. I never expected this to take off so quickly. Much aloha!

In this chapter, I am re-introducing James, Steve's childhood best friend. A little background on him: He followed Steve into the Navy after high school and is still active to this day. He was a fun character to write so I hope you enjoy him as much as I did!

My endless thanks goes to Tiana-P for reasons she already knows. Also, a big thank you to quisinart4 for majorly supporting my writings and for proofreading this chapter. You are such a sweetheart!


Kono and Steve were facing each other as they slept naked on their sides with barely a gap between them, his arm loosely draped around her waist as their breaths brushed each other's face. He twitched and woke up to the sound of his doorbell ringing, his eyes opening in surprise. He groaned into his pillow as he unwillingly rolled out of bed, grabbing his boxer briefs, sweatpants and T-shirt from the floor.

"Mmm, come back to bed," she mumbled as she blindly reached out for him and wriggled slightly, savoring the feel of his soft cotton sheets against her skin.

He chuckled at her as he slid his clothes on. He then walked back to his bed, pressing his hands and one of his knees on his mattress to support himself as he hovered over her. "I would love nothing more, but I have to answer the door. The son of a bitch has rung the doorbell five times already and I'm about ready to kick their ass."

She just grumbled into her pillow in response, causing him to smile as he kissed her just below her ear. "Go back to sleep." She wriggled again as he hopped off of his bed and walked out of his bedroom.

As he walked down the stairs, the doorbell rang once more. He clenched his jaw and rolled his eyes, trying his hardest not to punch a wall. "Danny, if that's you behind the door, I swear to God, I'll kill you for waking me up early."

As soon as he opened his front door, he found himself staring into the face of someone who he hadn't seen in months. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from shock.

"Is that really how you greet your best friend?" the clean-shaven, dirty blonde-haired Caucasian man in a Navy Working Uniform Type II huffed.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Steve muttered with a growing smile. "James, you mother fucker!"

They both laughed excitedly as they hugged and patted each other's backs. "What are you doing here?" Steve asked as he pulled away. "I thought you were on deployment!"

"I was," he nodded. "You gonna let me in so I can tell you about it?"

"Yeah! Yeah, of course! Come in!" Steve nodded as he stepped aside to let him in, shutting his front door behind him.

"Your parents' house hasn't changed a bit," James stated as he looked around the living room from the entryway in astonishment. Kono's voice then came from the top of the staircase. "I knew I heard a familiar voice."

"Kono?" James stared in shock as he watched her walk down the stairs, clad in only panties and Steve's buttoned-up, long-sleeved dress shirt. Holy shit, she grew up.

"Hey, James," Kono greeted as she hugged him, standing on her tiptoes. She then pulled away from their hug, hands resting on her hips. "Been a long time."

"W-what are you doing here? A-and what are you wearing?" James stuttered in shock as he continued to stare at her with widened eyes.

"Or not wearing," Steve snapped with a low yet sharp tone. "Where are your pants?"

"I couldn't find them," she shrugged nonchalantly. "You're the one who tossed them. You tell me where they are."

"Couldn't you have grabbed a pair of my shorts or something?" Steve asked, his tone still rough. He then noticed James staring at Kono's bare legs from the corner of his eye. He snapped his fingers at him to draw his attention, causing Kono to turn her head sharply at James. "Hey!"

"Huh?" James shook his head, breaking himself from his trance. He then looked at Steve, whose eyes were hot with rage. "You better look somewhere else before I poke your eyes out."

"Sorry?" James said uncertainly, his face full of confusion. "I'm missing something, aren't I?"

"Okay," Kono said flatly and uncomfortably as she turned toward Steve. "I'm going to go find my pants." She then pointed back and forth between the two men. "You two should start catching up."

Just as she turned toward the stairs, Steve grabbed her by her arm. "Hey," he called out to her, causing her to turn around to him. "Where do you think you're going without a kiss?"

He then pulled her into his arms, smiling as he leaned in for an open-mouthed kiss. "Good morning," he muttered in his sexy morning voice.

"Morning," she mumbled against his mouth, smiling back. She giggled lightly as she pulled away from him to go upstairs. "I'll be back."

James just shook his head, shell-shocked by what he had just witnessed. "A-are you two–" he began to stammer.

"Come on," Steve laughed as he tipped his head toward his kitchen. "I'll tell you over coffee."

Just as he was about to lead him toward the kitchen, he heard his phone ring from upstairs. He closed his eyes and groaned before turning around to James. "Actually, we might have to take a rain check on the coffee."

An unfamiliar face greeted the team and James as soon as they got out of their cars. She shook each one of their hands as she introduced herself. "I'm Laura Hills, I recently took over as Governor Jameson's new public safety liaison. Wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

"Nice to meet you," Steve said as he finished shaking her hand. He then introduced James to her. "This is Lieutenant James Russell. He served under me in SEAL Team 3."

"Good to meet you, Lieutenant," Laura said to James as she shook his hand.

"So, my understanding is that the suspect is a SEAL?" Steve questioned Laura with shock and surprise in his voice.

"Heavily decorated," Laura confirmed as she passed around a photograph of the suspect. "He is Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Graham Wilson of SEAL Team 5. He's holed himself up inside with an unknown number of hostages."

She then explained the situation to them further, informing them about his wife's murder and of his demand to find her murderer, despite the fact that HPD found him at her crime scene with her murder weapon in his hands. She then focused her words on Steve. "Usually, SWAT would handle something like this, but the governor seems to think that you'd be better equipped to handle the situation, given your background as a SEAL."

"Him?" Danny asked disbelievingly as he pointed to Steve then to himself. "And me, I'm here for what? The entertainment?"

"Well, you can tell SWAT to sit tight," Steve then said as he nodded to James. "James and I will go in alone."

"Excuse me?" Laura said, raising her eyebrows in a bout of shock.

"Whoa, that's just stupid," Danny expressed with hand gestures to match his speech. "I'm sure your girlfriend wouldn't like that very much."

Kono, who was standing next to Steve, agreed as she held her finger up for emphasis. "No, I wouldn't."

"Girlfriend?" James raised his eyebrows at Kono and then at Steve, shaking his head in consternation. He then started talking again before they could respond. "I knew it."

"Look," Steve began to reason. "Graham's a SEAL. He's been trained in close quarters combat, which means he has the high ground right now. If you send SWAT in blind, they're going to take heavy losses and more than likely get multiple hostages killed. If this guy didn't kill his wife, he deserves at least a conversation before we go in guns blazing. If he did, and he's gonna kill again, we'll take him out ourselves. But if you want my help today, he and I go in alone."

Steve turned to Kono, who looked at him worriedly. "I'll be fine," he assured as he pinched her chin between his index finger and thumb. He then walked back to his truck to gear up, James following suit.

"This should be fun," James said with a big smile on his face as he patted his back. "It'll be like old times."

"Aww, how cute," Danny called out flatly from where he was standing. James heard his call and just laughed without turning around. "I think he's jealous of us," he murmured to Steve, causing him to laugh lightly.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go see the kid, see if she knows anything," Kono said, looking at everyone but Steve. She then focused her eyes on Danny. "You'd probably ask meto do it since I'm the woman on the team."

"No, no. It's not because you're a woman," Danny corrected her with hand gestures to match. "It's because you're a rookie, which is way worse." Chin and Kono just chuckled at his reasoning.

"Why aren't you looking at me?" Steve asked in laughter as he noticed Kono avoiding his gaze.

"You know how I get when you're shirtless," Kono responded, finally looking at him and smiling. She then waved her finger at the other three men. "I'm avoiding looking at you for their sakes." Steve just laughed and looked away.

Danny stared at her with a disapproving look in his eyes as he rested his elbows on the roof of his car. "Thank you for sparing our eyes."

Steve slipped a pair of swimming goggles around his neck as he addressed his team, a small smile playing on his lips. "Alright, listen, I'll have my phone on me, but don't call me. I'll call you, okay?"

"Bet you've used that line before," Kono grinned and tilted her head to one side.

Steve swung his backpack on then walked up to her. "Not on you, obviously," he murmured huskily as he covered her mouth with his for a quick kiss, her mouth smiling against his.

"Don't I get a kiss?" James asked sarcastically as he walked up next to him, puckering his lips.

"No, but you can get a punch in the face," Steve replied flatly to him, causing James to chuckle. He then turned to Chin and Danny. "We'll initiate contact once we're in a secure location."

"I bet he said that before, too," Chin laughed to Kono.

"Not to me, at least," she nodded with a smirk, her tone light and teasing. "He doesn't usually wait to be in a secure location to initiate contact with me."

"Oh, I didn't need to know that," Chin cringed, laughing slightly.

"I didn't, either," Danny complained with a grotesque face, his eyes rolling. "You guys make me sick."

A smile appeared on Steve's lips as he turned back around to Kono. His smile then quickly disappeared when he noticed her face had turned concerned and serious. Before he had a chance to ask her what was wrong, she murmured, "E malu 'oe."

Steve cupped her jaw in his palm and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You, too, beautiful."

"Good luck, Aquamen!" Danny called out as James and Steve walked away. They just lifted their fists in the air in response as they continued to walk.

"So, how's it going? You with Graham yet?" Danny asked through the phone.

"We got eyes on him," Steve whispered as he crouched down to avoid being seen, his eyes locked on Graham. "We're holding out outside the wardroom."

"Well, that sounds fun," Danny stated with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah, tons of fun," Steve muttered sarcastically. "I wish you were here."

"Aww, you miss me, don't you?" Danny said with a smile on his face. His tone then became somber, his facial expression matching perfectly. "That's your fault. You're the one who didn't want me to come."

Steve rolled his eyes and sighed inwardly, his voice exasperated and impatient. "It's not that I didn't want you here. You're just not trained for this sort of shit." A thin smile then appeared on his lips. "Besides, you don't know how to swim."

"I don't swim?" Danny asked with an offended tone. His voice then changed to argumentative and defensive. "I swim! Very well, actually. I just choose not to."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Steve said, overly annoyed. "I'll see it to believe it."

"You're a liar. You don't miss me," Danny replied sourly.

Steve wanted to throw his phone on the ground then stomp on it. "Danny…"

"No, no, don't," Danny interrupted him, his hand waving dismissively even if Steve couldn't see it through the phone. "I was already hurt that you replaced me for Kono. And now you're going to add the other half of the Navy SEAL 'Dream Team' to the list?"

Steve scrunched his face in disbelief, his eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly open. "You're seriously jealous right now, Danny?"

"Are you talking to your wife?" retired Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Ed McKay huffed at Steve from behind him.

"I'm talking to my partner," Steve said as he turned his head slightly to him.

James, who also had a gun in his hand, bent down slightly to whisper in Steve's ear. "What did I say? I knew he was jealous."

"So, Graham, tell us about Noreen. Where'd you guys meet?" Steve asked while he tended the injury of one of the tour participants.

Graham briefly looked out the ship's window before responding, a gun still in his hands. "Germany, six and a half years ago. I was traveling through Europe on leave. She was working at an all-ranks club in Ramstein. She had just immigrated there with her daughter. Three months later, we were married."

James, who was standing among the group of hostages sitting on the floor, looked at Steve before looking back at Graham. "Graham, what happened this morning?" James asked.

Graham closed his eyes as tears fell down from it. "We fought. We argued. I know I haven't been easy to live with ever since I've been back. Noreen says that she's scared of me, that I'm not the same guy she married." He sighed and swallowed the pain he felt flowing through him. He then spoke up again, flicking his eyes back and forth between them. "What about you two? Do you have someone special?"

"Not at the moment, no," James said almost regrettably.

"What about you, McGarrett?"

"Yeah, I do have someone special," Steve said proudly but softly as he finished aiding to the man's wound. "Very special."

"Make sure she smiles and keep her happy," Graham said while gritting his teeth. He then started sobbing slightly. "I just wanted Noreen to be happy again. She always had such a beautiful smile, but I hadn't seen it in so long. And it was my fault."

"I'm sorry, man–" Steve apologized as he began to approach him.

"Get back!" Graham warned as he raised his gun at him threateningly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" James asked with his hands raised, attempting to calm him down while he stood in place.

"You don't think I know what you two are doing?" Graham asked angrily as he waved his gun at them. He then nodded his head toward the door leading to the bathroom. "You two get in there, now!"

As James and Steve walked toward the bathroom, Graham continued to point his gun at them. "I will not play your head games anymore. Get in and close the door!"

As soon as James closed the door, Graham barricaded them inside. "Terrific," Steve sighed, wiping his hand down his face.

"Where are you?" Danny asked.

"The head," Steve answered as he paced the floor of the bathroom back and forth. "Graham barricaded us in here."

"You're in a bathroom?" Danny asked in disbelief and surprise. "I could've gotten locked into a bathroom."

"It's a long story," Steve huffed. His expression then turned to one of shock. "Are you seriously still mad?"

"Yes, Steven, I am still mad," Danny replied impatiently, his voice louder and sterner. His loud cackling forced Steve to pull the phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf. "But I don't want to talk about that right now. I'm calling SWAT for you."

"No, you won't call SWAT," Steve demanded as he placed the phone back against his ear, causing Danny to clench his phone in anger before almost throwing it down on his desk. "We'll find a way out of here."

James looked at Steve in disgust as he leaned against one of the bathroom stalls. "Boats is right. You guys seriously sound like a married couple. It's disturbing." Steve just glared at him angrily, causing James to raise his hands in defeat. "I'm just saying, I hope Kono is okay with your relationship being polygamous."

"Is she okay?" Steve asked with much concern in his voice.

Danny looked at Kono then sighed into the phone. "No," he said with a voice matching his. "I don't think so."

"Let me talk to her real quick," Steve pleaded.

Danny walked over to Kono, handing her his phone with a warm smile on his face. "Your boyfriend wants to talk to you." He then messed her hair up fondly before gesturing Chin to walk with him.

"Hey," Kono greeted sadly, a frown still on her features.

"Hey, baby," Steve greeted from his end of the line, concern still in his voice. "Are you okay?"

"No," she spoke softly.

"Listen to me, okay?" he sighed. "Stop beating yourself up. It's not your fault." He waited for her to respond, but when she did not, he spoke again. "She'll be okay. She'll turn up, you hear me?"

"I hear you," she responded, holding back her tears.

"Okay," he said hesitantly. "I can't worry about you right now. I've got my hands kind of full."

"Yeah. I know," she said flatly, her eyes showing pain. Her voice then turned somber. "Don't worry about me. I'm gonna give the phone back to Danny."

Steve just closed his eyes and sighed, angry that he couldn't comfort her physically.

"Hey," Danny said as he took his phone back from her.

"Make sure she's okay, Danny," Steve ordered in a pleading tone.

"Don't worry, babe. I will."

"Thanks," Steve sighed again. "Did you get any hits on those fingerprints I sent you?"

Steve walked past Graham and Lily and toward Kono, who was watching the daughter and father with a heavy heart. "Hey, beautiful," he greeted with a soft smile as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "You okay?" he murmured into her hair.

"Yeah," she nodded as she pulled back to meet his gaze. "I'm better now."

"Good. I'm glad," he sighed in relief as he curled his fingers around her neck, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I was worried."

"Didn't I tell you not to worry?" she pursed her lips, a smile now on her features.

"You know I can't help but worry about you." He tucked a stand of hair behind her ear before nodding his head toward the car, a soft smile back on his lips. "Come on, let's get outta here."

While waiting for his beer to arrive at the bar inside the restaurant, Steve leaned his back against the bar top and looked out at the patio to where his beautiful girlfriend was sitting at a table with Chin and Danny. His face immediately broke into a smile at the sight of her. She was wearing a blue, thin-strapped dress that stopped at her bottom. (He tried to talk her out of wearing it for hours.)

James, who was sitting next to him while also waiting for his beer, turned around to see his best friend's infatuated face. "I never thought the two of you would end up together," James nudged him and smiled.

"Neither did I," Steve said, still looking at her and smiling.

"She was the last girl I thought you'd end up with."

"Believe me, I know," Steve agreed. "But there was just something about her that made my head spin."

James put on another smile. "I remember when you didn't even want to get near her, and now you can't even keep your hands off of her."

"I fought my feelings, really, I did. I tried so hard not to be attracted to her," Steve said in his defense. "But she's like a magnet. It's like I'm being drawn to her."

James looked at him with surprised eyes. "Is it getting serious?"

Steve thought about his response before answering. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so," he smiled. He then grunted, yet a smile still graced his lips. "I don't know what's going on. I'm crazy about her, man. I just—I can't help myself. I fall more and more each day."

James' eyes widened even more. "Wow."

"I know," Steve chuckled at himself and at James' response.

"Who are you?" James asked disbelievingly as the bartender tapped him on the arm to get his attention. He then turned around to grab his beer that now sat in front of him. "Thanks," he said to the bartender.

As soon as Steve was done thanking the bartender for his own drink, James began to speak again. "Good for you, man. Seriously, I'm happy for you. You're taking a hugestep, a step I thought you'd never take."

"Thanks," Steve clinked his beer with James' and took a swig. He then nodded toward their table. "Come on. Let's go back over there."

As soon as they got back to their table, Steve sat down next to Kono. "Hey, there you are," Kono said cheerfully as she placed her hand on his jean-clad thigh. "What took you so long? I was beginning to miss you."

"Yeah? You missed me?" Steve whispered huskily with a smile as he leaned in to kiss her quickly but passionately, resting his arm on the back of her chair.

Danny, who was sitting across from them, just rolled his eyes. "Seriously, couldn't you have waited until you got home?" He then noticed James, who sat in-between him and Steve at one head of the table, looking at him. "What?" he snapped gently.

"You're a prude," James said with a smile, leaning back in his chair.

"Excuse me?" Danny said with widened eyes, cocking his head in confusion.

"You're a prude," James said slowly with emphasis. His tone then changed sharply to a sympathetic voice. "Come on, them kissing is sweet. Just don't look at them when they're doing it." He then pointed with his hands at Chin. "Look at Chin. He knows how to ignore them."

Chin just raised his hands up, palms out in submission. "Don't bring me into this."

"Well, good for him. I envy him," Danny said with his hand on his chest. "I can't ignore what's in front of me. So, please, forgive me if I want to keep my sanity and innocent mind."

He then felt a foot rubbing up against his leg. He looked under the table to see Kono's bare foot moving down and up his leg.

"See what I mean?" he said to James as he pointed with his hands under the table, causing James to look under the table, as well. Danny then looked at Kono, who was laughing with Steve at something Chin had said. Danny yelled at her to get her attention. "You're playing footsie with the wrong person!"

"Sorry," she mouthed, her eyes wide in embarrassment. Chin and Steve just snickered behind their balled fists while looking down at the table.

With his eyebrows still furrowed, Danny turned his attention back to James as he spoke up again. "Innocent? Come on, you have a kid. Your mind can't be that innocent."

"You're kidding me, right?" Danny said, ready to argue.

"Oh, here we go," Steve muttered as he sighed and tilted his head back, their arguing ringing in his ears.

"You never should've introduced them to each other," Kono laughed.

"I think it's entertaining," Chin grinned.

Just as Steve was about to yell at Danny and James to stop bickering, Mary yelled as she walked to their table. "I'm here! I'm here! Sorry I'm late!"

"Saved by my sister," Steve mumbled to Chin and Kono before getting up from his chair to hug Mary. He then said to her with a grateful voice, "Thank you."

Mary looked confused as she pulled away. Kono moved in to hug her next, a smile still on her lips. "Perfect timing. I didn't feel like arresting anyone tonight."

"Why? Did I miss something entertaining?" Mary chuckled as she pulled away from their hug and sat down in the empty seat at the other head of the table in-between Chin and Kono.

"You sure did," Chin laughed.

James, who had been staring at Mary with wide eyes since she arrived, finally spoke up with a shocked voice. "Mary?"

"Hey, James," Mary smiled as she settled into her chair. "Long time."

Steve looked at James with his mouth slightly open in shock. "Hey!" he snapped, catching everyone's attention. James' eyes stretched as his head slowly turned toward Steve.

"Not my sister, either!" Steve muttered while pointing at him angrily.

"I'm not doing anything," James lifted his hands submissively into the air.

"Uh-huh," Steve continued to mutter through gritted teeth. "I'm watching you."