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The sound of soft breathing from the bed kept Steve posed at the door for a moment longer. He and the gang had the day off, and everyone had decided to head to the beach to surf and hang out. Steve knew that getting Emma out of the house and around other people would be good for her, but at the moment he hated to wake her up. She looked so peaceful sleeping with the white sheet draped across her small body. He could tell she was wearing a white tank top, but he dared not think about the other clothing, or lack thereof, she might have on as well.

After watching her sleep for a minute longer, he silently made his way to the bed. He leaned down and gently rubbed her exposed shoulder with his right hand.

"Emma?" he whispered. A soft moan left her lips that had him jerking his hand away immediately. Taking a step back from the bed, Steve watching in fascination as Emma stretched languorously in the bed like a cat. After a minute or so, she opened her eyes and their gazes clashed.

"Morning," she said softly before sitting up in the bed and fussing with her hair.

"Um, morning," Steve said after a moment. "Listen, the gang from work is heading down to one of our favorite spots on the beach. Want to come with us?"

Emma nodded her head yes before letting out a yawn. Steve chuckled at her as he made his way to the door.

"I'll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes," he called as he walked out. Emma simply waved her hand at him before dragging herself from the bed. In all honesty, she'd drank a little too much wine the night before, but she'd never admit that to anyone, especially Steve.

After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and pulling her hair up into a messy bun, she went in search of clothes. She quickly put on a white bikini with denim cuts off and a pink tank top over it. After slipping her feet into a pair of flip flops and grabbing her beach bag, she made her way downstairs.

Steve had been busy packing a picnic lunch as well as cooler full of drinks. He'd even laid out several beach towels and chairs for them to take.

"I'm ready to starting loading up the truck," he said with a smile when he saw her. Emma smiled in return and grabbed a handful of towels before heading out to the vehicle. After they had the truck loaded down with their supplies, Steve locked up the house and then joined her in the truck.

"You ready?" he asked before sliding on a pair of sunglasses. All Emma could do was nod her head as she stared at him from behind her own sunglasses. The man was seriously the sexiest thing she'd ever laid her eyes on. It amazed her how the sight of him in a pair of freaking sunglasses could make her lose all rational thought.

The ride to the beach was a quiet one. Steve was desperately trying not to imagine what those white strings hanging around Emma's neck would reveal once they reached the beach. Emma, on the other hand, was lost in the thought of seeing Steve run around shirtless. Neither of them, however, had any clue what the other was thinking or they'd both be beyond embarrassed.

Once they arrived and parked, Steve grabbed the cooler and beach chairs while Emma grabbed her bag along with their towels. Blindly following her "babysitter" as she liked to think of him, Emma almost slammed into that muscled back when Steve stopped suddenly. After steadying herself, Emma glanced around his arm to see Danny perched on a surfboard in the sand. It appeared that a young Hawaiian woman was giving him surfing lessons while a little girl around the age of nine watched with excitement on her face.

"You're doing great, Danno," the child called to the short, stocky man who returned her smile.

"Why thank you, Grace," Danny replied seconds before his gaze met his partner's. "Took you long enough."

"Hey, I'm here, aren't I?" Steve shot back before placing their stuff in the sand and setting up the foldable chairs.

"I believe our tardiness is my fault," Emma said with a blush creeping across her face. "Steve had a hard time waking me up."

"I'll bet," Danny whispered. Steve's gaze shot to his before giving him a look of warning. Emma failed to hear his comment as the Hawaiian woman stepped forward to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Kono. You must be the infamous Emma," she said with a pretty smile on her face.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you," Emma replied cheerfully. "Infamous, huh?"

"Yeah, Danny couldn't shut up about you yesterday," Kono said as she shot the short detective a smile. Emma did the same, but a feeling of hurt hit her dead in the chest. She'd hoped that Steve had been the one talking about her, but this was just a reminder that falling for Steve McGarrett was a bad idea for a lot of reasons. First of all, he happened to be one of her brother's best friends. No matter how she tried, she couldn't think of one reason why Riley would be happy about her and Steve. Second of all, she was being stalked, and that was the only reason why Steve was even giving her the time of day. It would be better if she would just stop while she was ahead.

"So, Emma, this is my Grace," Danny said as introduced the cute kid.

"Hi there, Grace," Emma said as she stuck out her hand. The girl placed her smaller hand in Emma's and smiled up at her.

"You were right, Danno. She's really pretty," Grace said looking between her father and Emma, who blushed again.

"Danny!" Steve yelled as he finished setting up the chairs and cooler. "What the hell, man?"

"Ah, Steve, cut him some slack," a new voice said as a Hawaiian man joined the group. "Danny's just happy to see a haole woman who's not a tourist."

The group laughed at the man's joke while he turned to face Emma. She took in his dark features and easy smile, and she instantly knew he was someone she could trust.

"Chin-Ho Kelly," he said as he took her hand. "Nice to meet you, Emma."

"Thank you, Chin-Ho. Same to you," she returned. Within minutes the group was taking to the water for surfing and swimming. While Kono and the guys went to catch a few waves, Emma and Grace decided to body surf near the beach.

"Are you a police officer like my dad?" Grace asked Emma as they waded in the water.

"No, I'm actually a nurse," Emma replied.

"Cool! I'd like to be a nurse or a doctor when I grow up," Grace said excitedly. "Do you have to clean up a lot of bloody people?"

Emma laughed before answering. "Not too much. I'm a pediatric nurse so I mostly work with babies and younger kids."

"Oh, that's cool," Grace replied quietly. The two made small talk for the next half hour until the gang decided it was time to eat. While they all sat on the beach eating their lunches, Steve's phone rang. He frowned when he looked at the screen before standing up and walking away from the group. No one seemed to pay any attention to him except Emma. She followed his movements and noticed he seemed tense. After a few minutes, he returned quietly to the group.

"Everything ok?" she whispered leaning close to him. Steve's gaze clashed with hers as he stared at her for a moment before responding.

"Yeah," he replied quietly. After that, the group headed back to the water with the exception of Steve. He stayed on the beach making phone calls. As Emma watched him, she couldn't help but think that something was going on. And judging by the look on Steve McGarrett's face, it wasn't something good.