The following morning, Shauni woke up before Steve. After watching him sleep for a few minutes and feeling a familiar heat in her belly, she decided to get up before she "attacked" him once again. One thing about Steve: The man was a phenomenal lover and she was finding it difficult to think about anything else when she was around him. But everyone needed sustenance….Especially after the amount of calories they seemed to burn together, so she quietly made her way to the kitchen to start coffee and make breakfast. Steve walked into the kitchen a little while later to the smell of bacon and coffee. Shauni was wearing one of his shirts as she stood at the counter cutting up fruit and smiled as he walked up to her, pulled her to him, and leaned down for a kiss.
"You didn't have to make breakfast." He said.
"I know, but I wanted to. I love to cook, so it's nice to have someone to cook for."
"I'm not complaining," Steve remarked contentedly, "I think I could get use to this."
They filled their plates with eggs, bacon, toast and fruit before sharing breakfast together with small talk and moments of companionable silence. Steve insisted that she let him clean up since she was the one who had prepared everything. Knowing that everyone would be at the house soon for their final meeting of the trip, Shauni didn't protest too much. She left to get a shower while Steve cleaned up the kitchen. She hurried with her shower, getting dressed, and applying minimal make-up so she would be at least "presentable" by the time everyone arrived. When she exited the shower, she noticed a flush to her cheeks that seemed to be nearly permanent since meeting Steve. The man seemed to make her glow.
John and Stacy arrived followed soon after by Chin, Kono, and Danny. As they all sat down in the living room with fresh cups of coffee and the homemade muffins Shauni had baked that morning, she told them of her plans to stay on the island a while longer "incognito". Surprisingly, John nor Stacy tried to talk her out of it even though it meant changing the schedule around somewhat. Most of Shauni's concerts had been cancelled for the next two weeks anyway per doctor's orders, so the process of rearranging and rescheduling things was already being done. They were actually relieved that Shauni was volunteering to take some time off since it was the first time they had ever known her to do so. They both knew they had Steve to thank for that as they began working on their plan to get Stacy to the airport disguised as Shauni. Hopefully, everything would go off without a hitch and Shauni could have some quiet time to recover without the press hounding her every move.
As John and Stacy retreated to the office to discuss things, Danny looked at Shauni with a mixture of pleasure and confusion on his face. "Soooooo, you sing….You're a superstar…AND you like to cook & bake?"
Shauni giggled, "Blame it on the southern upbringing from my 'Georgia Peach Beauty Queen' momma. If there is one thing Sasha and I know how to do, it is cook…and bake."
"Well, kudos to your mother," Chin piped in. "These are delicious."
Shauni blushed and Steve couldn't help but think she looked absolutely adorable. Like Danny said, the woman was a superstar who basically had the world at her feet, and yet comments about her cooking could make her blush. He found it incredibly endearing. She stole a glance at him and the smile radiating her face made his heart skip.
Before long, John and Stacy returned to the living room having finalized plans to get Stacy disguised and on the plane. It was very uncertain how long they would be able to fool the press, but Shauni was willing to take whatever time she could just to spend it with Steve.
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Stacy boarded the plane amongst the normal amount of paparazzi frenzy. After the plane lifted off, Shauni breathed a sigh of relief as she and Steve watched the evening news and heard the report that "Shauni Steele had left the island".
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The next few days flew by. Five-0 caught another case that monopolized their time and took every bit of their energy. Shauni took it all in stride and spent her days relaxing and enjoying whatever time she could get with Steve. After talking Mary into staying for a few extra days, she, Mary, and Joanie enjoyed days at the house while Steve went to work. Then, every evening, no matter how late, Shauni had dinner waiting for him when he got back to the house.
They fell into a routine over the first week until they finally broke their case one afternoon. Steve called Shauni to let him know he would be especially late that night since they had paperwork to finalize. Shauni told him she would wait up for him.
"You spoil me too much," he whispered into the phone.
"No," she answered back, "There is no such thing as being spoiled too much. Besides, as hard as you work, you deserve it.
She heard his soft chuckle before telling her that he would be home as soon as possible. "Can't wait to see you."
Shauni felt the familiar "zing" from her heart to her toes. God, it was amazing that just the sound of his voice could turn her on like it did.
"Me too," she answered before hanging up the phone. She sat in silence for a few moments staring blankly at the television and fighting with her fears over being in love with Steve McGarrett. She couldn't pinpoint when it had happened, but she had definitely fallen. It was in the million little moments they had shared over the last couple of weeks, and even though she tried to tell her heart it was too soon to be in love, her heart didn't seem to be listening to any sort of reason.
How did this happen? What was she going to do? And how could it ever work between them?
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Difficult as it was to believe, the media didn't catch on to the fact that Shauni was still on the island. After a few days, though, word started to get around and the media was once again camped out at the house where Shauni was staying. Once again, there was a constant stream of fans and paparazzi camped outside making it more and more difficult for Shauni, Mary, and Joanie to spend anytime outside. Since the team was working on different cases and not there to provide any sort of security, the thought of her being home all day didn't sit well with Steve. Even having Mary and Joanie there didn't resolve his fears. It was impossible to predict if or when another crazed fan or over eager paparazzo would circumvent the security system at the house and get onto the grounds. The house had been safe enough for the short term, but not as a long term place to stay. It was becoming apparent to Steve that they needed an alternate plan. That's when Kono stepped in.
"Why don't you bring her to our house?" She said referring to the house she and Adam shared.
"I don't want to do that to you, Kono," Steve retorted.
"Seriously? After all you've done for us?" Kono said incredulously. "YES, you can. We would love to have Shauni there. Besides, we live in a highly secure gated community and our security system is state-of-the-art. So I can assure you she'll be safe there. It won't be a problem."
Steve thought it over briefly. Then, decided that Kono was probably right. After assuring him again that they would love to host her for the duration of her vacation, Steve put in a call to Kamekona to get the helicopter once again and transport her safely…..and hopefully inconspicuously to Kono and Adam's house. Just as he was getting ready to call Shauni and let her know the plans, Danny came walking into HQ with a woman by his side. At second glance, Steve realized it was Shauni in disguise.
"Look who I found downstairs," Danny said cheerfully.
"What are you doing here?" Steve was thoroughly confused.
Rather than being offended at his gruff tone, Shauni brushed it off with a soft smile. She took off her hat, wig, and sunglasses, "Good afternoon to you too,"
Steve looked apologetic, "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I just didn't expect you. How did you get here?"
"I DROVE. Believe it or not, they let us get driver's licenses in L.A."
"Very funny." Steve retorted as Kono giggled behind them.
"Mary and Joanie left to meet a friend of hers for lunch, and I was bored, so I decided to go for a drive. Then, I decided to come by and see where you all work. You've been really busy, so I didn't call first. I just decided to swing by and see if you were here…and to see if I could talk to you, if you have a minute for me. "
"Of course, I do." Steve motioned towards his office and followed close behind. When the door to his office was closed, he pulled her to him for a kiss. She was receptive, as usual, but a little guarded. "Everything okay?" he asked concern etching his voice.
"Everything is fine. I just…..Well…..I don't know how to tell you this, but something has come up and I need to go back to L.A. sooner than expected."
Steve hadn't seen that one coming and couldn't hide the disappointment on his face. "Okay. When do you have to leave?"
"I'm going to charter a plane and leave tonight."
Steve tried to keep the moment light even though the thought of her leaving caused a bit of apprehension to rise. It unnerved him because he wasn't one to "panic", but he knew instinctively something was wrong. "So what's so important that you have to leave so soon? I thought I could hold you under house arrest for at least another week," he teased.
Regret crossed her face as she looked away from him and stepped out of his embrace. She turned her back on him and Steve immediately realized the move as a defense mechanism. Steve could practically see the emotional walls going up around her because she was either afraid to tell him the truth or she was hiding.
"I'm sorry, Steve," she said softly as she tried to explain, "We're getting ready to do a 20 city tour in a few weeks. I didn't think they needed me for a while yet, but there have been some problems with the set they're building for me…..Some design problems…so John wants me to come back and oversee the changes we need to make."
That wasn't the whole story. Since he read people and their body language every day, Steve knew how to tell when someone was holding back or not being truthful. Not to mention the fact that John had called him that morning to let him know the bonus checks that Derek had promised all of them were being wired in that afternoon, and he hadn't mentioned anything about needing Shauni back in L.A.
No, there was more to it than that.
Steve recalled the conversation with Derek before he had left: "When she realizes she's in love with you, she's going to try to push you away. If you're half the man I believe you are, you will not let her get away with it. Don't let her push you away…"
This was it, Steve thought. She's putting up walls and pushing me away. Rather than calling her on it, Steve decided to let it go. Maybe she needed some time and he didn't want to give her reason to retreat any further. After all, he was still trying to process the fact that he was in love with her, too. It had all happened so fast. Maybe some time apart would be good for them. As long as it doesn't last too long, he resolved.
Shauni turned back towards him and although she was trying to pretend this was all about work, he saw the mixture of sadness and fear in her eyes. He forced himself to smile hoping to reassure her that everything was fine.
"Okay. I can drive you to the airport. Just let me know when we need to go."
Shauni told him what time her flight was scheduled to leave and then left to pack and get things ready to go. On her way out of the office, she took time to say goodbye to Danny, Chin, and Kono who were all left confused over what was going on. When Steve told Kono that they wouldn't need to move Shauni to their house after all, Danny turned to him curiously. Answering the unasked questions, Steve told them she was going back to L.A. to take care of some unforeseen issues with the upcoming tour.
"And you believe that?" Danny asked and Steve quietly cursed the fact that his partner was so damned perceptive sometimes.
Steve sighed, "No…..I don't believe it…..but what choice do I have, Danny? It's not like I can force her to stay here."
Danny saw the turmoil Steve was trying to hide. He didn't want Shauni to leave but felt as if he had to let her go for the time being. He was putting on a brave front, but Danny knew him well enough to see the fear behind his eyes. Danny found it interesting that Shauni tried to hide from Steve, and now Steve was trying to hide it from Danny. "Just a bump in the road, buddy. She'll come around," Danny tried to encourage him.
"Yeah, what if she doesn't?" Steve asked.
"Then you kidnap her and force her to see things your way." Danny joked, "I know firsthand how stubborn you can be when you set your mind to something."
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A few hours later, Steve came home to drive Shauni to the airport. He walked into the house and found her in the backyard watching the waves roll in. She looked contemplative. Sad. But when she heard Steve approaching, she turned in her seat to smile at him and disguise what she was feeling inside
"Ready to go?" He asked hoping she would say she had changed her mind. He reached out for her hand and pulled her up to him. She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him, and as the kiss deepened, Steve couldn't help but sense she was saying more than "See you later." No, this time, it was as if she was kissing him for the last time. He could feel the conflict going on between her heart and her head. Her heart wanted to stay, but her head was afraid of what she was feeling for Steve and what they had together. Her dad had been right and the emotional walls were quickly going up.
Steve wasn't going to let that happen.