Recap:
"I just want you. Just you. But you have to be willing to give us a chance." Steve reached up to wipe away a tear that had escaped and was rolling down her cheek. "Can you do that?" he asked.
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Shauni turned her eyes up towards Steve and smiled uncertainly. "I want to try."
She paused.
"I don't do this on purpose, you know. I mean, I don't push men away on purpose. I just…..I don't know…..I'm just…." She struggled to find the words to describe what she was feeling.
"You're just 'what'?" Steve probed softly.
Shauni hesitated as if trying to figure out how to express what she was feeling. "I'm scared." She stopped and looked up at him again. "I'm afraid of staying…..but I'm afraid of leaving…..AND I'm afraid of what I feel for you. If I'm being honest, what we've shared together in the last few weeks feels more 'real' than anything I've had with anyone else…..and even that scares the crap out of me. I didn't see it coming. I didn't see you coming. Know what I mean?"
Steve chuckled as he shook his head, "I know exactly what you mean. I wasn't looking for this either." Steve moved so that he could pull Shauni up against him. She leaned back and let her head rest on his chest. His arms came around to hold her close and she began stroking her fingers up and down his forearms enjoying the security of being with him again.
"You aren't the only one who's scared, ya know" Steve said softly, "I'm scared too. Let's just take it a day at a time….Then a month at a time…..Then a year at a time. Okay?" He kissed the top of her head and smelled the scent of her citrus shampoo. It was a scent that would forever make him think of Shauni and her "sunny" personality…..It suited her perfectly. Then he continued, "A funny thing about life is that you never know when love is going to knock you on your ass and make you feel things you never felt before."
Shauni couldn't help but chuckle herself and it was music to Steve's ears. He felt her relaxing and knew he had her back, "So eloquent, Commander. Maybe I should put that 'knocking you on your ass' part into a song lyric." She teased. "Did you come up with that wisdom all by yourself?"
"No. Actually Danny is the one who came up with the 'love knocking me on my ass' part, but he was right. You have definitely turned me inside out…upside down…and everything else in between."
Shauni's heart swelled. They sat quietly together for a few more minutes before Isabella came into the room. "I am sorry to bother you, but I thought Commander McGarrett might be hungry after his long trip today…..and you haven't eaten in a while either, dear." She looked pointedly at Shauni. "Would you like me to make you some dinner?"
Shauni leaned up to smile at Isabelle. She had been a member of the Steele family since before Shauni was born. There was barely a memory Shauni had from her childhood that Isa hadn't been a part of. Shauni would have never asked her to come to Tahoe, but her father…..and Isabelle….had both insisted.
"We can find something, Isa. You have cooked enough the last few days to feed an army, so I'm sure there are plenty of leftovers in the fridge."
"I will warm something up for you then." Isabelle responded as she turned to leave.
"Isa, wait." Shauni got up from the couch to walk over and give her a big hug, "We are fine. We'll find something ourselves. I want you to take the night off. Go pour yourself a glass of wine, watch a movie on Netflix, and relax. Please?"
Isa looked over at Steve McGarrett and smiled warmly at him. "I am so happy you are here, Commander McGarrett."
Steve stood up to walk up behind Shauni and put his arms around her possessively. "Please call me Steve…and I'm happy to be here too."
Isabelle looked back at Shauni before giving in tom go to her suite of rooms to relax for the evening. Shauni and Steve made their way into the kitchen where they found a variety of things in the refrigerator to eat. Neither of them was much hungry for food though. They had been apart long enough that their main hunger was for each other. It wasn't long before they had made their way upstairs to Shauni's room where they could get reacquainted.
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A couple of hours later, they both lay sated and completely relaxed in each other's embrace. Steve kept an arm possessively around her as she snuggled onto his chest and breathed in the scent that was purely 'Steve'.
"I can't believe you came after me," she whispered quietly as she traced a finger lightly around his nipple.
Steve hugged her closer as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head, "I told you I'm not going anywhere."
"No one has ever done that for me before."
"Maybe no one has fallen in love with you like I have." Steve even surprised himself by the proclamation he'd just made, but it was true. "The way I see it, you're pretty much stuck with me. Neither one of us may've been looking for this, but I'm not going to let you go now."
Shauni sighed contentedly, "I love you too. And I missed you."
"I missed you, too. Don't ever run away like that again. Got it?"
She sat up to kiss him again and felt the tingling sensation of wanting him begin all over again. It seemed she couldn't get enough of this man, and she prayed the feeling would never end. "I won't."
"Come back to Hawaii with me."
She looked at him doubtfully, "I would love to, but I have a tour to get ready for. Remember? We start rehearsals next week to get the dances learned and everything else worked out."
"So bring everyone to Hawaii instead of rehearsing in L.A. I'm sure we could find a place for you to work there. That way, we can have some time together before you're on the road for a couple of months."
The thought of having three more weeks with Steve made her feel giddy, and she was certain none of her band members or dancers would complain about spending time in Hawaii. Although they would be working, Hawaii would still feel like an extended vacation.
Shauni smiled up at Steve, "Are you sure you can put up with me that long?"
The deep rumble of his laugh vibrated against her as she lay across his chest, "Don't think I'll ever get tired of you. You might get tired of me, though."
"Not a chance." She kissed him again before jumping up off the bed, "Let me call John and we'll see what we can work out."
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It wasn't as difficult as Shauni had anticipated to get things changed around. They were able to secure a studio for rehearsals since they were willing to pay a premium for the space. Two large houses were also rented so the band and dancers would have a more private place to stay, and Kono extended the invitation once again for Shauni to stay with her and Adam. Most of her time would undoubtedly be spent at Steve's house, but it was nice to have a back-up plan should anyone….specifically the media….. find out she was on the island again.
After spending the weekend together in Tahoe, Steve and Shauni flew back to Hawaii together and got into a routine of working long days and spending each night together. It felt normal…..relaxed…..and absolutely perfect. Shauni normally grew excited as a tour approached, but this time she found herself feeling just the opposite. Being away from Steve was going to be difficult to do; especially since his work schedule would undoubtedly mean he wouldn't be able to join her on the road.
Steve was dreading it as well. It felt natural to have her with him and he didn't want to see her go, even if it was only temporary.
Much to his surprise, Derek called him soon after their return to Hawaii to see if Steve would be willing to oversee her security for the tour. Because of the experience and connections Steve had, as well as his interest and obvious care for Shauni, Derek felt he was the most qualified to hire competent security personnel to be around her. Each venue normally had their own security teams, but it was still imperative that she have 2-3 of her own guys with her. Steve was flattered that the Steele's trusted him with the task of finding a competent team and it ended up being easier than he anticipated. After his years on SEAL teams, he knew a number of men who had moved into private security details. He was able to hire three to accompany her on the tour.
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It was Wednesday night and Shauni, the band, and dancers were doing a last "dress rehearsal" before the tour would start. They would be taking the following day off and return to Los Angeles on Friday for the kick-off concert at the Staples Center Friday night. Everyone was getting excited for what was to come.
Over the last few weeks, Shauni had grown to love the Five-0 ohana and felt as if they were her extended family as well. It was an odd feeling to feel so close to a group of people she had only met month or two earlier, but it had been so easy to fall in love with all of them. During one visit with Grace and Danny, Shauni had learned of Grace's love of dance and cheerleading, so she invited Grace to join them and watch the dress rehearsal. It would be like her own private concert and she was thrilled. She was even bringing a friend along to watch with her.
Danny walked into rehearsal with Grace and Lucy who were very excited for the chance to watch them practice. They started making their way to the stage. One of Shauni's dancers was inspecting a nasty looking bruise on her lower leg when she saw them approaching. Shauni tried to quickly and inconspicuously pull down the leg of her yoga pants in an attempt to cover it up. It was painful, swollen, and would cause some problems for her stylist since her wardrobe would have to be changed for the next few shows to cover her legs. Either that or they would be using some heavy duty cover up on the unsightly discoloration. Shauni was trying to tough it out, since "The show must go on". She was determined to muddle through. That's what pain medicine was for, she reasoned.
Although she had tried to cover up quickly, Danny saw the wound and concern immediately creased his brow. Shauni saw the concern etched on his face and decided to start conversation before Danny had a chance to ask her about it.
"Hey, Gracie! Hey, Lucie. Are you ready?" she smiled warmly at the girls as she pulled each of them into a hug.
"Hold on a sec," Danny interrupted. "What's with the nasty bruise on your leg? Have you seen a doctor?"
"It's just a bump. No big deal." Shauni tried to deflect to another topic.
"It looked like a big deal before you covered it up. Let me see it."
What was it with these guys and their bossiness? It could be annoying as heck. Especially since she knew Steve most definitely would have a fit if he saw the bruise, too.… which was why she was trying to keep it under wraps until Danny came in and found out her secret! At any rate, she wasn't going to be intimidated by Danny's tone any more than she would be with Steve's.
Or so she told herself.
"Danny, its fine. I took a tumble during rehearsal yesterday, but I'm okay. Please don't make a big deal of it."
"Then, lemme see it."
Shauni stood her ground. "No. Let it go, would you?"
Danny wouldn't be deterred, "Has Steve seen it?"
Oh here we go, she thought. "No, Steve hasn't seen it, and Steve going isn't to see it. At least not yet."
Danny looked over at Grace and Lucie, "Stay here. I'll be right back."
Shauni knew what he was doing and tried unsuccessfully to stop him before he walked out the door, "Danny, please don't tell Steve," she pleaded.
Danny kept walking.
"Danny!" she called after him. But still no luck.
"Dammit!" she cursed before looking at Grace and Lucie apologetically, "Sorry, girls."
"It's okay. I understand. Danno and Uncle Steve can be really protective."
"Don't I know it." Shauni rolled her eyes in frustration before deciding to move on with their rehearsal. Maybe Steve wouldn't blow a gasket. Yeah, right, her inner voice said, Keep dreaming. She ignored what she knew was coming as she turned towards her dancers to get back on track. However, before they could get in position and cue the music, Steve walked through the door marching straight towards her.
"Got a second?" he asked in an attempt to get her away from everyone else where they could talk privately.
"We're in the middle of rehearsal. We'll be taking a break in about thirty minutes. Can it wait?" She smiled at him sweetly and tried to look nonchalant.
Steve knew she was stalling, so he didn't answer. Instead, he reached downward towards the hem of her yoga pants to lift the leg up. Shauni tried in vain to stop him, "Steve, stop…..What are you doing?...Stop!"
Steve ignored her as he lifted the material to see the large purple, blue, and red discoloration. The center of the bruise was very red and slightly swollen. Alarm coursed through his body. "What the hell, babe? What happened?!"
Shauni cast a furious glance in Danny's direction, "Like I told Danny, I fell off one of my lifts during rehearsal yesterday. No big deal. It's just a bruise."
Steve touched it gingerly with his fingers to find it warm to the touch. "We should have it checked out. You could have a blood clot or something."
She threw up her hands in frustration, "Oh for God's sake, would you two calm down?"
Steve crossed his arms in front of him, a sign that he wasn't backing down. "We can go now or after you're finished with your rehearsal. Which will it be?"
Shauni finally gave in and told him they would finish up within the hour. She was concerned, though, about the media attention a visit to the doctor might stir up, so Steve decided to call in a favor. He made a quick call to Max who agreed to look at the injury himself. It wasn't often he had patients who were "alive", and the thought of seeing the Commander's still "rumored" girlfriend was something he didn't want to pass up.