Steve and Shauni spent the afternoon enjoying the water, sharing kisses, and relaxing on the beach. When they were not in the water, they lounged on beach chairs and shared stories of their lives with each other. Shauni enjoyed hearing about the rest of the Five-0 team; especially Danny. Even though the two argued a lot, there was no denying the obvious admiration and comraderie in their partnership. The McGarrett and Williams duo amused her.

Steve enjoyed hearing about Shauni as well. Rather than talking about her career or "Hollywood" in general, she mostly told him about her family. The Steele's were obviously very close from what he could tell. Although she complained about her father being over-protective, Steve could sense her deep love for her dad. And who could blame Derek Steele for being protective of his girls? If Steve were in his shoes, they may never leave the house! Her family seemed to be her anchor in the crazy lifestyle that she sometimes lived and Steve found himself wondering if there would ever be a place for him in her life as well. They came from different backgrounds and lifestyles, but Shauni wasn't the stereotypical pop-star. Yes, she could turn on the glam when she needed to, but she was also down-to-earth, genuine and….real. Not to mention gorgeous. He was undeniably attracted to her and hoped to find a way to explore things further with her once this week was over.

The afternoon went by too quickly and it was soon time to head back to the hotel. Shauni had fallen asleep in a chair and Steve stole a few minutes to watch her sleeping before waking her up. He felt his heart twist as he watched the steady rise and fall of her soft breathing. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. He felt himself being drawn to her and wasn't sure yet what to do about that. It was a new feeling to him; Especially since they had only known each other a few days. He wanted to keep her here with him for awhile longer, but knew she had a job to do….and it was time to get back to it. Reluctantly, he leaned over and kissed her softly.

"Wake up, sweetie. It's time to go." Steve whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open as she looked up to him. "Oh my gosh. How long have I been sleeping?"

"About 45 minutes", Steve answered.

She blinked in the sunlight and looked embarrassed. "Steve, I'm so sorry!"

"For what?" Steve asked.

"For being rude and falling asleep on you!"

Steve laughed softly. "You weren't being rude. You obviously needed to rest, so that's what I let you do. BUT, now it's time to head back if we're going to make it to the venue for your sound check before the concert tonight."

"I know. I wish we could stay here longer, though." she pouted.

"I'll bring you back first chance we get." Steve promised.

And with that, they began to gather up their things. Rather than going back to the hotel, they decided to go straight to the concert venue. Steve called Chin to let him know the change of plans and told him they would meet everyone there. It took some time to get through traffic, but they eventually arrived at the concert location and Steve made his way through the security gates to get Shauni inside.

Shauni took a quick shower once inside and got ready to do her pre-show sound check with the band to insure everything was set up and ready to go. Before heading to the stage, she sought out Danny.

"Danny, do you think your daughter would like to come to the show tonight?" she asked.

"Are you kidding me? She would be ecstatic!" Danny answered.

Shauni handed him some tickets, "She can bring a friend along if she wants. Bring them backstage to hang out with us before the show." she smiled at him.

"Wow. Uh, thanks. Grace is going to be thrilled!" he said as he got out his phone to make the call that would make his daughter's day.

After the sound check, the crew normally ate a quick catered dinner and began getting ready for the show. Since it took Shauni longer to get ready, she usually took her dinner back to the dressing room so her stylist could start getting her ready for the show while she ate. While going through the catering to pick out her food on this night, she kept stealing glances at Steve. They had spent a wonderful afternoon together and she had been sad to see it end. Something had changed between them that afternoon and she was excited about what might be happening. Thinking about them as a couple didn't make sense when considering the careers they both had, but she couldn't help but feel hopeful anyway.

Before heading towards her dressing room, Shauni looked around for Steve one more time and their eyes met. He was talking to a couple of the HPD men who had been brought on for the nights concert, but when he saw her looking at him, he smiled and winked at her. She smiled back and turned to go feeling as if she were walking on a cloud.

Her contentment would be short lived, however. The mood of the afternoon was about to take a drastic turn.

Shauni entered her dressing room just ahead of Stacy and stopped in her tracks. She dropped her as her hands flew to her mouth in horror. A startled Stacy bumped into Shauni before looking around her to see what was going on, "What's wro…..Oh no!" she exclaimed as she saw what Shauni was staring at. Flower arrangements had been placed on one of the tables in the dressing room from local radio and television stations, promoters, and other well wishers. But one bouquet had taken a prominent position in front of them all with a note attached. The writing was large enough that they didn't even need to get close before reading it: "Time's almost up, my darling Shauni. We'll be together soon."

*******H50********H50*********H50************H50

Steve's cell phone rang and Caller ID told him it was Stacy. Figuring that she was wondering when he would be joining them, he answered, "Hey, Stacy. I'll be headed that way in a few."

"Steve, we need you now." Her voice sounded shaken.

Steve stopped in his tracks and Danny looked at him curiously, "What's wrong? Is Shauni okay?"

"There is another note in here. From him." Stacy said ominously.

"On my way" he answered and began sprinting towards her dressing room and filling Danny in on the way. As Steve hurriedly headed into the room, Danny told the security guard not to let anyone else enter unless instructed otherwise.

Stacy met them at the door and showed them to the table where the flowers and note had been left. Steve read the note quickly and looked around to find Shauni who had retreated to a couch with a look of shock on her face. She sat completely stoic with her knees pulled to her chest and no emotion on her face at all. She stared straight ahead focusing on nothing in particular. He sat down beside her and gently reached for her hand.

"You okay?" he asked even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

Seeming to come out of a trance, Shauni looked up at Steve and the blank stare she'd had a few moments ago was quickly replaced with tears. Oh, please don't cry, thought Steve to himself. He hated to see a woman cry. It was bad enough when Mary did it, but seeing Shauni break down nearly tore his heart out.

Steve reached for her. "Hey….come here." he said as he pulled her onto his lap. She was literally shaking in his arms as she layed her head on his chest and cried.

"Shhhh, it's okay, sweetie. I'm here….I've gotcha." he soothed. It took a few minutes for Shauni to stop shaking and find her voice again.

"He was here, Steve. In my room….In my things!" she cried.

"I know. And we're going to get him." Steve tried to assure her, but he could still sense her fear. "Look at me." he said. When she didn't immediately do so, he sat her up and tipped her chin to look at him, "I promise…..We will find him. Do you trust me?"

Shauni took a deep breath, "Yes, I trust you."

"Good girl. Now get ready for your show and let us worry about the rest, okay? "

He could see her determination come back as he got up to leave. The doors would be opening soon to let concert goers in, so they had no time to loose. Chances were slim that they would find Carl still in the stadium, but they had to try.

**********H50*******H50*******H50*****

Steve came back to Shauni's dressing room about an hour later and found her looking every bit the popstar. Gorgeous, sexy, and ready for showtime, she looked at him and smiled. The fear she had felt earlier was either gone or being hidden very well. For the moment, Steve was just relieved that she seemed to be okay.

"Ready to head for the stage?" he asked her.

"Ready as I'll ever be." she smiled back to him. She leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for being there for me earlier. Sorry for my breakdown."

Steve was still relishing in the feel of the kiss on his cheek when he replied, "Don't apologize. And don't worry about tonight. We have the stage covered in security so no one is going to be able to walk right up to it tonight. We'll keep everyone back for your safety and then get you out of here as soon as the concert is over."

"Wait. What about the meet and greet?" she asked

Steve couldn't believe she still wanted to do a Meet and Greet with fans after what had happened. "There IS no Meet and Greet tonight. I cancelled it so we can get you out of here and back to the hotel as soon as the show is over."

"Absolutely not!" Shauni demanded and folded her arms in protest.

Well, so much for her being scared, Steve thought to himself. He looked her in disbelief. "You can't seriously think I'm going to let you go into a room full of fans after what happened earlier."

"That's not your call, Commander. This is my show and my call. I will meet with fans like I do every other night after a show." Then she looked at Stacy and said, "Stacy, make sure things are set up and ready to go like normal."

Steve caught Stacy in a glare, "Stacy, stay where you are!" Then back at Shauni, "You are not doing a Meet and Greet tonight."

Danny watched the heated exchange between Shauni and Steve with amusement. They were both standing with hands on hips and determined to get their own way. This could get interesting, he thought to himself.

"This isn't every other night." declared Steve. "In case you forgot, Carl got in to your dressing room earlier. I'm not letting you get into a situation where he can get close to you again. End of discussion." Steve wasn't use to being challenged, so he fully expected her to go along with what he wanted.

"Listen to me, Steve." Shauni demanded, "Some of these fans wait months and work hard for this opportunity. They win backstage passes in a contest or they get them from doing charity work for one of our foundations. Some of them have written essays or done other things to work for them. Most of them are kids and I will not let them down. You just need to find a way to deal with that, Commander, because I am NOT going to let Carl take that away from them. Period!"

Steve wasn't about to give in to her. He started to argue with her more, but the door opened and Stacy ushered Grace and her friend Bella into the room to meet Shauni before the show. Shauni shot him one more determined look before changing her demeanor completely to welcome the squealing girls inside.

This could be a long night, Steve thought to himself as he thought of a way to make her come around to his way of thinking.