I bring sad news to all of you...or those who read my fic. I'm gonna post chapter 8 and then I'm gonna take a little break, at least with this fic. I don't feel inspired, I'm blocked and I hate to force myself to write knowing it will come out as pure crap. I cannot bring awefully written fics to you cause you don't deserve it. So my apologies to each and everyone of you. I do have another fic waiting to be posted soon, don't know when though cause I'm still waiting a bit.

:(

Love you all. Don't forget to review!

She hadn't seen Steve since Mamo's funeral. He had, like many times before, locked himself in his office, and each time there was a chance of them being alone he ran away. She understood him for being mad, she felt the same when he talked about Catherine, but she had never ignored him or pretended he wasn't there. That was rude. So she was trying hard to find whatever chance she got to talk to him.

She thought if she knocked on the door that would be a chance for him to make a lame excuse and walk away. So she did what Danny always did, walked in uninvited.

"You ought to stop avoiding me, Steve." she spoke quickly and he ignored her like he had done the last two days. "This is getting old."

"I'm not avoiding you, I've just been busy crime solving. You know? The usual."

"Cut the crap, would you?"

He faces her, an angry look on his face. She knew this fight was going to happen sooner or later, they had been avoiding it for too long.

"What the hell do you want me to say, huh?" he asked her. "Congratulations Kono, I'm happy for you? Oh I wish you the best with this guy who showed up out of nowhere?"

"Something like that, yes!"

"Sorry, you're not gonna get that from me."

"Wow, I thought, for a minute, that you cared."

"Yeah, I care, more than you think. But I'm not gonna pretend I'm happy when I feel miserable."

"Well, I did the same when you were with Catherine. It's easier than you think."

"Maybe for you, maybe because what you felt for me wasn't love at all."

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare minimize my feelings for you at all!" she yelled, not even caring if Danny or Chin were out there listening. She was tired. Tired of feeling guilty for moving on, for Steve waiting a whole year to tell her how he felt. "I loved you. I loved you and I had to watch you talking constantly about how much you cared about Catherine without saying a word. It wasn't easy, it wasn't simple because I fell in love with you when it wasn't right. So don't come to me and tell me I didn't love you enough."

"Then what am I supposed to do, huh?" he asked her, almost begging for an answer, "what am I supposed to do with all I feel inside?"

She wished she had an answer, she wished she could tell him to move on like she did, but she was selfish. She needed to know Steve loved her even though there was really no point to it. And perhaps, deep inside her heart, she wanted him to feel like she did.

"I think I should go…" she turned around for the door, just desperate for a way out.

"Don't ask me to let you go," he whispered and she bit her lips not to cry. "Now that I've realized how much I love you."

"Kono," Danny spoke, standing in front of her desk. She wiped away the tears from her cheeks quickly and her friend holds his hand out to her. "I'm gonna get some coffee, come with me."

"But I have…"

"C'mon."

She grabbed his hand and walked out. She breathed in the warm air, the smell of the sea crashing in her nostrils, the air filling her lungs. Danny pulled her inside the car, closing her door and moving to the driver's seat. He drove off God knows where and she didn't protest, maybe he wanted to talk and being in the office made it impossible.

"So, how have you been?" he asks, she shrugged.

"Good. I've been good."

"You sure about that?" he wondered. She turned to the window, admiring the landscape before turning to face him again. "I know you probably don't want to tell me but I know what happened between you and Steve, the conversation you guys had a year ago."

She frowned. "What conversation?"

"I saw you crying outside his office, when Lori left."

"That was a year ago, Danny," she said, sighing heavily. "A lot has changed since then."

"Yeah, you getting married."

"Big change."

"Steve seeing how much he loves you…"

"Don't say that," she begged.

"It's the truth. And you have to face it whether you like it or not."

"No, I don't have to face it," she spoke harshly. "He's the one who has to face the fact that I'm getting married. That I'm happy…"

"Are you really happy?"

The question hanged in the air. If he had asked her the same question a couple of months ago, she wouldn't hesitate in saying yes. But now she wasn't sure herself.

"Why wouldn't I be…?"

"The way I see it, you're not," he stated. "You're only trying for the easy way out, this means marrying a man you care about to forget about the man you truly love."

"Well, I guess it's too late now. Time has passed, people change and move on. I did both."

"You are truly lying to yourself if you think marrying Dylan will make everything easy and will make you forget about Steve. Sooner or later you will realize that this is a mistake, no matter how good and perfect he is."

She really wanted to tell Danny how wrong he was, but his words made more sense than she thought, refuting them would only be a waste of her time.

TBC