As Shauni took the stage, the crowd immediately gave her a standing ovation. The show of support was overwhelming, to say the least, and Shauni was moved all the way to the depths of her soul. She walked towards the microphone and swallowed the lump in her throat before motioning for everyone to sit down and stop the applause. It took a few more minutes, but everyone eventually quieted down enough for her to speak.

She strapped the guitar on as one of her band members brought a stool forward for her to sit down upon. As she got situated, she addressed the crowd, "Thanks everyone. It's great to be here with you….and I hope you don't mind, but we're going to switch things up a bit. It was really important to me to be here with all of you tonight, so rather than cancelling the concert as my doctors and security team had advised, I talked them into letting me sing for you as long as we toned things down a bit. Are you up for that?"

More clapping, whistling, and cheering from the audience.

Shauni stroked the guitar resting across her lap, "I was at a friend's house the other day and saw this guitar. I was immediately reminded how much I love to play. Now, normally I let my incredible band do all the hard work, but tonight…..Tonight I want to join them. So if it's okay with you, we're going to do a few songs acoustically. Then, I'll open the floor to you and take requests from the audience. We'll just wing it and see what we come up with. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the show…..and hopefully, that will keep the doctors and everyone else happy if I'm not up here dancing like a maniac!" She winked at her audience as they laughed. Then, she started her first song.

Seeing her like this was a change. Watching her over the past week, Steve couldn't help but admire the amount of energy and motivation it took to put on a show of the caliber she normally did every night. There was no doubt, Shauni was blessed with an angelic voice, but it wasn't all about her singing talent. Steve had seen that it was also the energy and passion she brought to the stage that kept the audience captivated. Tonight was different in that there were not special effects, no dancing, or any of the "extras" that made the show spectacular, and yet everyone was still mesmerized. Shauni's beautiful voice was taking center stage and the concert had a very intimate feel. She looked comfortable and utterly relaxed.

After forty-five minutes or so, Shauni left things to her band to "fill in" for a few minutes so she could walk offstage briefly for a break. As she descended the steps at side-stage, Steve was waiting for her and couldn't help but notice that she looked fatigued.

"You okay?" The concern was evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she answered, although she wasn't very convincing. "Just another thirty minutes or so and I'll try to wrap things up."

Steve wanted to insist that she not push herself so hard since she was obviously already exhausted, but he also knew he wouldn't win the fight. He pulled her close for a hug before planting a kiss on her sweet mouth, "Thirty minutes. That's it….okay?"

Normally, Shauni would have fought "tooth and nail" against someone trying to tell her what to do, but with Steve she didn't seem to mind. She knew he had her best interests at heart, and she honestly didn't even have the energy to fight it right now. She was frustrated at the fatigue she was feeling, but the concert had already worn her out. She was tired.

Jerry handed her a bottle of water which she accepted graciously and drank about half of it down before giving him a big hug of "thanks" and going back to the stage. "Thanks, Jer." Jerry was temporarily stunned by the affection as he watched her walk to her waiting audience.

After taking requests and singing several more songs, Shauni thanked them all for coming and said she was going to close with a song for someone special.

"I want to thank you all again for coming out tonight. This has been incredible….and the love I've felt from you has been great medicine." She put her hands to her heart, "My heart feels FULL! But, if I don't wrap things up soon, I'm afraid they may carry me offstage."

The audience laughed as she continued "Anyone out there like Elvis?" she asked and received the expected applause from the audience. "Right. Who doesn't love the King of Rock and Roll?" she joked. "Well, I heard one of his most beloved love songs on the radio today. So…..to close us out tonight, I'm going to sing it for you and dedicate it to someone out there who has become very special to me. He knows who he is.…This one is for you, Sailor."

Steve's heart involuntarily skipped a beat as he realized what she'd said. She started strumming out the beautiful chords and Kamekona looked at Steve curiously, "She talking about you, McGarrett?"

Steve feigned innocence as he folded his arms in front of him, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're the only 'sailor' hanging around her this week and you two have been tight. I mean really tight, brah."

Steve didn't give him a 'yes' or 'no' answer to the question. He only offered him a sly smile as he turned his attention back towards the stage to listen to what Shauni was going to sing.

"This island is full of sailors, Kamekona. She could be talking about anyone."

"Yes, but YOU are the only one who has caught her eye. Go ahead and deny it, McGarrett….but I know what's going on."

Answer or not, Kame knew something was going on and McGarrett was definitely the 'sailor' she was singing to. Just as Derek, Olivia and Sasha had noticed the sparks flying between Steve and Shauni, Kamekona had felt the fire as well. Hell, everyone in Hawaii who had been within twenty feet of them could feel the chemistry growing over the last few days. Steve could ignore the questions, but everyone knew what was going on. And whether the realized it or not, everyone was also in their corner and hoping things would work out.

Shauni strummed softly on the guitar as she began singing the lyrics that had been running through her head all day.

Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help
Falling in love with you.

Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help
Falling in love with you?

As the river flows
Slowly to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be….

Take my hand
Take my whole life too
If I can't help
Falling in love with you.

(No copyright infringement intended. Just adding as part of the story. If you want to see a great version of this song, go to YouTube and look up Christina Grimmie's version from "The Voice". )

Shauni continued with her rendition of the song leaving the audience…..and everyone listening backstage…..momentarily speechless. By the time she was finished, nearly everyone in her backstage crew and all of the members of Five-0 were standing at the side of the stage listening…..and stealing glances at Steve since they knew the song was for him. When the song ended, she said another "thank you", blew kisses to the audience, and walked offstage and right up to Steve who was standing dumbfounded at the end of the steps.

"Ready to go home, Sailor?" she asked cheekily, and thus answering the unasked question of anyone backstage who might have been wondering WHO she had dedicated the last song for.

Steve smiled slowly and she felt the effects of it all the way to her toes. He took her hand before looking towards Kamekona, "The helo ready?" he asked.

Kamekona gave a thumbs up, "Ready when you are, buddy."

"Why are we flying?" Shauni asked.

"Because we can get away without you being followed." Steve answered. "I've already arranged for everyone to meet at the house tomorrow morning so we can wrap everything up. Right now, you're tired and I just want to get you home."

Shauni was touched by his thoughtfulness. All she wanted to do at the moment was take a bath, put on her jammies and crawl into bed. How was it that he knew her so well already? They said goodbye to everyone and headed for the helicopter Kamekona had waiting outside. A few fans had managed to make their way to the rear of the building and were lined up around the fence by the helicopter. Steve tried to protest, but Shauni couldn't resist going over for a few pictures and autographs. Even though she didn't feel like it, she stayed until she had signed or taken pictures with everyone. Since they hadn't done a "meet and greet" that night, she felt somewhat obligated to do so, but she was relieved there weren't many people to take care of. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out.

Steve led her to the waiting helicopter and got her secured inside before doing so himself. On the way back to the house, exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep with her head slumped against his shoulder. The view of Oahu was amazing at night, but Steve didn't have the heart to wake her. There would be other times, he told himself, even as he hoped that would be true. Once they arrived at the house and Kamekona was landing, he gently woke her up.

"Shauni, wake up, sweetie. We're home."

Shauni opened her eyes groggily, gave Kamekona a big hug, kissed him on the cheek, and thanked him again for taking care of things that night. Then, Steve helped Shauni get back into the house where she quickly retreated to her room so she could change into her comfy sleep shorts and tank top. When she returned to the living room a few minutes later, she found that Steve had changed too and was resting on the couch trying to find something on tv to watch. She made her way over to him and he pulled her to him as she approached. She sat down on his lap and they started to kiss, and touch, and taste. It seemed to be par for the course whenever they were alone together lately. As if they couldn't get enough of each other…..and honestly, they couldn't.

Shauni finally broke away for a moment, although she did so reluctantly, "I would really love to have a shower before bed. Wanna join me?"

Steve didn't need to be asked twice. He turned off the tv and stood up from the couch with her in his arms. "Yeah. Just don't know if I'll be able to behave or not," he said before kissing her again.

"Who says I want you to behave? But ummmmm…..you don't have to carry me," she said, even though she loved the feeling of being in his arms.

"It's okay," he answered, "I like holding you….and I've wanted to do this all night."

Steve carried her to the bathroom and put her down before starting the water in the shower. Then, they undressed each other and took turns stepping into the steaming stream. Shauni turned her face into the water and let it rush over her face as Steve stepped up behind her until his body was against her. She could feel the want he had for her and it wasn't long before one thing led to another and they were getting out of the bathtub and making their way to the bed.

*********h50******h50*************h50

Sometime later, as Steve and Shauni lay in each other's arms trying to catch their breath, Shauni was the first to speak.

"I'm supposed to be leaving tomorrow night," she said sadly as she stroked her hand up and down his chest. She loved the feel of his chiseled muscles under her hands.

"I know."

"What would you say if I told you I was thinking of staying a little longer?"

She felt Steve move underneath her as he pulled her up to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the doctors said I needed to take a break for a while to allow myself to recover. I talked to John about it last night, and I really want to stay a while longer. I'm not ready to leave yet. Actually….I'm not ready to leave you yet."

Steve couldn't believe it. He wanted her to stay but had assumed she would leave when the week was up and had been trying to figure out how to prolong her stay. This was perfect.

"I would love for you to stay," he said before pulling her up for a kiss, "But how are you going to stay here without everyone knowing about it and harassing you?"

She reached up playfully to tweak his nose, "You forget that I've been doing this for a long time, sailor."

When he looked at her skeptically, she continued, "Stacy makes a great 'double' for me when I need a diversion. We'll keep everything as planned tomorrow. When 'I' leave for the airport, Stacy will be dressed like me. Since I was going to use Daddy's plane to fly back to L.A. instead of a commercial flight, she can board dressed like me without anyone thinking otherwise. They'll think she is me…..and I can stay behind for another couple of weeks. As long as I lay low, no one will know the difference."

It was music to Steve's ears, so to speak, but he was still skeptical. "How long do you think you can go unnoticed, though? If there is one thing I've learned in the past week, it's that the press is pretty damn resourceful. They'll be able to find out you're still renting this house."

A naughty smile passed her lips, "Oh, I'm good, Commander…..Dont you worry. I have it under control."

"So what do you have planned?"

"A friend of my dad's has rented the house under his name, but I'll be staying here. No one will be the wiser. Once the press believes I'm gone, they'll leave…We'll lay low…..and everything will be fine. I even have an interview scheduled tomorrow morning to say my goodbyes to the great state of Hawaii just to 'cement' things a little more. Then, I'll be all yours for the next couple of weeks."

Steve couldn't help but smile. "Well, that would make me very happy, Ms. Steele. Very happy indeed."