A/N: Once again, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story and have favorited and followed it and left wonderful reviews. Thank you for being patient with me while I attempt to set everything up. I hope I am succeeding. This chapter will finally set in place the relationships between our three main characters as we move forward. It's a fun little chapter which I hope you'll enjoy before we begin to really move into the case which brought Annie to Oahu in the first place. Mahalo again!

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Pride, Admiration and Respect

Chapter Six

Annie was suddenly aware of a bright light in her face. Burrowing under the covers only slightly diminished the excruciatingly obnoxious brightness. It occurred to her that this was why, during her weeks at the Hilton, she always made sure the heavy, light-blocking curtains were drawn closed. When she had first checked in and seen the gorgeous view from the balcony door, she was loath to cover it. Then morning had arrived and… yes… it was exactly like this. Lifting her head, and with one eye squinting toward the window, she realized this room didn't even have those types of curtains. This room had lovely light weight curtains which seductively moved with the breezes but were woefully inadequate in blocking any light brighter than a firefly.

Giving up going back to sleep as a lost cause, she got out of bed and, after stumbling to the guest bathroom to take care of business and throwing on a pair of running shorts and T-shirt Steve had loaned her, she headed down to the kitchen. She wondered why the house was so quiet until she noticed the piece of paper stuck to the front of the fridge with a magnet in the shape of a monkey.

"Annie: Went out for a morning swim. Make yourself at home. I'll be back in about an hour. Steve"

Annie just shook her head and headed for the coffee pot. Although she was no slouch at the gym she never understood people who could jump into their daily workout without at least a cup of coffee under their belt. She worked quickly and had a pot of the most wonderful smelling coffee brewed in no time. Now that she was fully awake she could really appreciate the beautiful, sunny view outside the kitchen window. "How is it that people actually get to live like this all the time? Must feel like a dream," she thought to herself.

Opening a couple of cabinets, she finally found the coffee mugs. As she was reaching for one, she glanced out the window over the sink. There in the distance but moving closer to shore was Steve. She was amazed at how effortlessly he cut through the water especially since he was on his way back and would surely be tired after such a long swim. She reached into the cabinet and took down a second mug. She also found the sugar bowl and added a liberal amount of sugar to her cup. Since she didn't know how Steve liked his coffee, she simply poured him a cup.

With both mugs in hand, Annie headed toward the two Adirondack chairs situated down where the grass ended and the sand began. Placing the coffees on the small table between the chairs she sat down to enjoy the warm sun, and the view, as Steve made his way in from the surf.

"Dear God," Annie gasped as Steve fully emerged from the sea... rising like some Greek god of mythology. "He is magnificent." She quickly diverted her eyes and buried her face in her hot coffee mug in the hopes she could pass off her blushing face on the steam rising from the coffee. After taking a large gulp in an attempt to steady her nerves, she placed the mug back on the table, not paying much attention to where it landed.

"Hey, you!" Steve greeted her as he moved closer. "Good morning".

"Good morning," she replied.

"I see you found the coffee," he said as he reached for the towel he'd thrown over the back of the chair earlier and began to dry off.

"Yes... your kitchen is amazingly well organized for a man who lives alone. My mother would be impressed." Annie looked out at the water; looked up at the waving palm trees... anywhere but at Steve as he rubbed the towel down his well-muscled arms and chiseled abs.

"Occupational hazard of years in the military and daily inspections, I guess," he laughed. "I assume one of those coffees is for me?"

"Oh... yeah... of course."

Annie reached over the table and handed Steve his coffee. A second later she was jolted out of her attempt to not look at him when he yelped, "Aughhh… oh my God…. are you trying to kill me? There's enough sugar in there to sweeten the entire Pacific Ocean!"

"I'm sorry…. I didn't realize I'd given you my cup. But…. oh, come on…. there isn't that much sugar in there…. don't exaggerate," Annie laughed. "Besides, if you don't like sugar why do you even have it in there, right next to the coffee mugs?"

"That would be because of me." Both Annie and Steve turned to see Danny making his way toward them, laughing it up and carrying a large pink box with the name "Leonard's" printed on it. "Our dear friend here could easily live his entire life on sticks, twigs, nuts and seaweed. It's up to me to bring some flavor and sweetness into his life. And on the topic of sweetness, I present for your breakfast dining pleasure the greatest thing since Krispy Kreme donuts. Leonard's malasadas. And do not roll your eyes at me Steven. I've seen you put away plenty of these when you think no one's watching."

"Ohhhhhhh I love these," Annie squealed in delight. "The guys in the squad room at HPD brought these in all the time. They are to die for. Oh and another thing…. Coco Puffs from Liliha Bakery. Oh my God…. they are positively orgasmic!"

"God help me," Steve said in exasperation, "there are two of you!"

Both Danny's and Annie's uproarious laughter didn't seem to stop them from shoveling malasadas like there was no tomorrow. Unable to resist the sight of the two siblings' obvious enjoyment at his expense, Steve couldn't help joining in on the laughter as he reached for a malasada and waved it dramatically in from of Danny's nose.

"Watch me, Daniel... watch while I eat this! Do you see me... eating it while I know you are watching?!"

Danny tried to bat the malasada out of Steve's hand while Steve continued to dance just out of reach. If you didn't know any better you'd think they were 10 years old, the two of them.

As Annie sat back in her chair, her coffee and malasada in hand, enjoying the camaraderie between the two men, she realized something. Yes, Steve may be an extraordinarily gorgeous man, fun, smart and exciting. But he was also Danny's best friend and the closest thing he had to a brother now. And Annie realized something else. While Steve was impressed with her skills as a cop and obviously enjoyed her company, he looked at her the same way Danny did, like a sister. Putting aside her totally understandable reaction to him earlier, she realized having both Danny Williams and Steve McGarrett as big brothers wasn't such a bad thing at all.

As a matter of fact, it felt wonderfully familiar, the way Danny and Matt had always had her back growing up. She wondered, not for the first time, how things could have gone so terrible wrong with Matt. It made her sad to think of the brother they had all lost. She decided to accept this new "brother" like Danny had, as an unexpected yet wonderful gift.

"Oh my God, just look at the two of you! I hope you don't act like this out in the field, people will talk!" Annie laughed.

"Oh... don't think they don't talk already!" Steve countered. "If I hear someone ask how long we've been married one more time I may just have to blow their face off."

"Temper... temper, dear," Danny teased.

The three of them settled down and finished their coffee and malasadas while enjoying each other's company and the beautiful morning on Steve's beach. But as tempting as it was to linger for as long as possible, finally Steve decided it was time to get the day officially started.

"I'm going to head in and shower. We should get into the office and see if those files from New York have uploaded to our server yet. We have a lot of work to do if we're ever going to figure out what the hell is going on with this case."

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Annie answered, "but I really hate the idea of a hot, stuffy office when there's this beautiful beach to enjoy. Promise me, when this is over, I can just enjoy this for a few days before I have to head home!"

Steve looked at Annie warmly. "You can stay for as long as you like, Annie. You are more than welcome!" With that, Steve walked up the lawn and into the house.

"He's quite a guy, Danny. I can see why you like it here so much," Annie commented.

"Oh no… not you too! He's my partner, Annie. My work partner and my best friend. That's all." The color in Danny's face was beginning to rise but Annie put a stop to it immediately.

"Relax Danny. I know. I can see it. I haven't seen you like this since the best days back home with Matt. The way you and Steve goad at each other, the way you fight and laugh and have each other's backs. It's wonderful to see. I'm so happy you found a home here, bro, and someone to help make it a home. Someone who's a brother, who can help you carry the weight. I'm happy for you Danny. Steve is a great friend and Grace obviously adores him. You're good for each other. God help the criminal element on this island," she laughed good-naturedly

Danny looked at Annie closely. A warm and loving smile spread across his face as he realized she wasn't kidding. Rising from his chair and pulling Annie from hers he wrapped her in a warm, strong embrace.

"Have I told you how wonderful it is to have you here? No, I'm sure I haven't. I've been too crazy with worry to stop and say how much it means to me to have you here. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner."

Annie laughed indulgently. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" she teased.

"Ok guys... are you ready to leave? We'd better get a move on. It's getting late." Steve had arrived freshly showered and dressed and ready to attack the day.

"How the hell are you already done?" Annie asked amazed. "You only left here literally five minutes ago. What are you, an alien or something? How the hell did you get done so fast?"

Danny just laughed, throwing an arm over Annie's shoulders. "Don't ask, kiddo. I'm sure he'd only tell you it's "classified."

"Very funny, Danno."

"Well, you might be ready to leave but, obviously, I'm not," Annie said looking down at herself, at the too long shorts hanging almost to her knees and the incredibly comfortable yet tattered old T-shirt. "And I can guarantee it's going to take me more than five minutes to get ready".

At Steve's groan, Annie laughed. "Don't worry Steve. It won't be that long. Way less then Danny would take, I promise. After all, I don't need thirty minutes just for my hair".

"Hey... don't be hating on the hair, Sis!"

Steve just shook his head and with a smile on his face sat down in his chair to enjoy another malasada.