We finally get to see what happens when Steve and Connor come face-to-face...as well as what happens when Derek finds out what happened to his daughter at Connor's hands. Good chapter...But there is definitely more to come. :)
Jake and Tommy made their way backstage but Connor wasn't with them.
"Where's Michaelson?" Steve asked with his hands outstretched in question.
The two men shared a look before Jake looked back towards Steve to answer, "He's not out there. He must've left his seat when Shauni came offstage to change."
"Damn!" Steve spouted. He didn't like the sound of that. Where was he?
Sasha heard what they said, and Steve turned around to find her stalking determinedly towards the area where those with backstage passes could come through. He shook his head in disbelief; Surely she didn't think Connor was going to try to come backstage?
Steve's skepticism was quickly answered as he saw Connor flashing a backstage pass and gliding in just as Sasha reached him.
She decided to skip the niceties….and the Southern drawl from her "Momma's raising" came out in full force. Even a southern accent came out as Sasha spat at him, "Where on God's green earth did you get that pass you little weasel?" she asked as she pointed to the backstage pass he was wearing around his neck.
Mary was standing close by with Joanie; They'd come to the show and decided to watch from backstage since it would give the precocious toddler a chance to play while the show was going on. At the hint of trouble, Mary picked Joanie up and looked in their direction as well to see what was going on.
Oh…..my…gosh….That's Connor MICHAELSON, Mary thought.
Connor looked at Sasha smugly, "Well, since I didn't make it here early enough to say 'hi' to Shauni before the show AND wish her 'good luck', your mom gave me her pass so I could come back now. Wasn't that nice of her?" He flashed Sasha the thousand watt smile that had graced movie screens and sent many women into a flutter over his handsome good looks.
Sasha, however, wasn't fooled. She knew the snake behind the smile. "Cut the crap, Connor. You know what I mean….After what you did to her, you have no business here and you have a lot of nerve to even show up. If you think you're going to get near my sister again, you'd better think again."
Connor's eyes grew dark with anger even though his voice remained calm, "Don't threaten me, Sasha. You don't know who you're dealing with. Besides, who's going to stop me?"
"I am." The comment had an air of authority to it as if this man speaking didn't want to be questioned.
Connor looked over Sasha's shoulders to see three men approaching. All three had a scowl on their face, but the one in front looked as if he'd love to kick Connor's ass.
"And who are you?" Connor asked as he gave Steve a once over as if sizing him up.
"Steve McGarrett." Steve paused for just a second…. "And let me guess: You must be Connor Michaelson. The ex-boyfriend."
Sasha tried not to smile as she imagined what it must be doing to Connor's ego to realize Steve didn't immediately recognize him from his 'movie star' status.
"Yeah, that's me." Connor answered as he tried to stand up taller and look intimidating.
Sasha could have rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the whole scene. As if! she thought to herself. Connor pretending to be a bad ass right next to Steve, Jake, and Tommy…three "real life" Navy SEAL's…. was nothing short of ridiculous.
Steve seemed to come to the same conclusion since he smirked, "Okay, so if you're the ex-boyfriend, why don't you tell me what you're doing here?"
"That's none of your business." Connor snapped, "Why don't you move along and get out of my way. I want to see my lady."
Sasha saw something flicker in Steve's eyes and her eyebrows shot up in surprise at Connor's audacity. However, she kept her mouth shut. If Steve was going to mop the floor with Connor, she wanted a front row seat to the action.
"Not going to happen." Steve said calmly. "In fact, you need to leave the building all together. She's not your 'lady' and she doesn't want you here."
Connor raised a finger to point it at Steve's face, "Its 'McGarrett', right?"
When Steve shook his head, Connor continued, "Who do you think you are, McGarrett?" he barked.
"Get your hand out of my face. I'm warning you." Steve commanded…..once again with more self-control than Sasha could believe he possessed at the moment.
"Or what?" Connor replied as he lowered his hand just enough to push Steve's shoulder.
That proved to be a mistake since it gave Steve the opportunity to grab Connor's hand, turn him around and shove him up against the wall with one hand behind his back.
"Or…I'm going to make you regret the day you ever laid a hand on her. Understand me?" Steve's voice was a low growl, and even though Sasha knew his anger wasn't directed towards her, it still made her quiver a little. The man was in full on "kick butt" mode.
Noticing some cameras flashing in his peripheral vision, Steve spoke to Tommy and Jake without taking his eyes off of Connor who was wincing in pain. "Get them out of here while Connor and I go have a chat."
As the guys turned to deal with the press, Derek and Olivia were making their way backstage as well. They took in the sight before them in shock.
"What's going on here?" Derek asked.
Still holding on to Connor, Steve glanced towards Sasha and lowered his voice to a whisper, "You need to tell them what happened with Shauni. Now…. While I go deal with him."
Derek and Olivia were approaching as Derek spoke to Steve directly, "Steve, what's going on? This is Connor Michaelson….And old friend of Shauni's."
"I know who he is, sir. I also know what he did to your daughter…I won't let him get near her again."
Olivia cast an obviously confused and worried glance towards Sasha, "Sasha, what is he talking about?"
Before Sasha could answer, Shauni exited the stage for another costume change and witnessed what was going on. Her gaze first went towards Steve who had Connor pressed up against the wall before darting towards her parents who were looking at Sasha accusingly. Derek, Olivia, and Sasha all turned towards Shauni at the same time.
Derek folded his arms in frustration as he turned towards his girls, "Someone better start talking. Right now."
Shauni and Sasha knew when their dad meant business. No matter how old they got, he could still give them a "look" that meant he was serious and wouldn't take any BS.
This was one of those times.
Shauni looked truly conflicted. She had a show to finish, but she also wanted to stop Steve from hurting Connor…..even though he deserved it. AND, she knew the time had come to tell her parents what had happened.
Good grief, this timing sucked! She could only hope that Connor wasn't killed once he had to deal with both Steve and her dad. The look on both of their faces told her that was a distinct possibility, but she would do what she could to try to defuse the situation until they could all talk.
Knowing she could usually soften her dad, she turned to him pleadingly, "I can't do this right now, Daddy. Can we please talk about this after the show? I have to get back onstage. "
Derek reluctantly conceded that she was right. And try as he might to fight against it, he felt his resolve weakening. After all, the performer in him understood that she had a stadium full of people waiting on her to come out for the next set. It wasn't like they could put the show on hold while they had a family chat.
Wanting to get out of the line of fire, Sasha moved quickly to her sister's side, "Come on, sis…..I'll help you change."
Olivia moved to join them, too.
Steve shot a look to Mary, "You and Joanie need to go with them, Mar. We'll take care of this."
Mary knew when to argue with her brother and this was obviously not one of those times. She continued to carry Joanie as all of the women made their way to Shauni's dressing room where she could change and get back onstage.
As soon as they were gone, Steve practically shoved Connor into a vacant room before turning him around and away from the paparazzi's roaming eyes and cameras. Derek was on his heels with Tommy and Jake close behind.
Once the men were behind closed doors and Steve let go of Connor, Derek spoke up. "Okay…..I'm going to ask again and someone better answer me. What the hell is going on here?"
Steve shot a pointed glare at Connor, "Sit down." He ordered.
"I will do no such thing. WHO do you think you are?" Connor spat again.
Steve stepped so that he was right in front of the man, "I'm the current boyfriend….The one who is sticking around. Now sit down so we can talk. Otherwise, I'll kick your ass and make you sit….which I am more than happy to do. The choice is yours…..You have five seconds."
Connor wisely decided to sit down. Once he was settled, Steve looked towards Derek, "He assaulted your daughter. Put bruises on her, in fact. I'm going to make sure he never does it again."
Derek couldn't believe it. How was it possible that this man had hurt his daughter and he'd never known about it?
He glared at Connor, "What is he talking about?"
Connor didn't answer. He wouldn't even look at Derek Steele. He sat stoically in the chair with his gaze on the floor.
Since Connor wasn't talking, Steve decided to fill in the blanks for Derek, "When they broke up, it was because this SOB hit her across the face….Enough to bruise her. Then, he choked her and grabbed her arms so hard he left bruises. Sasha came in to break it up, otherwise who knows what else he would have done."
Steve turned his attention towards Connor, "Sound about right?" he asked.
Derek took a step forward, "Is that true, Connor? Did you hurt my girl?"
Connor swallowed and looked visibly nervous for the first time but still refused to answer.
Derek didn't appreciate the silence. He yanked Connor up by his shirt, "ANSWER ME. Did you hurt my baby?...Did you hit her and put bruises on her?"
Connor finally looked at Derek as if trying to come up with an excuse…..any excuse….for what had happened, "It's not what you think." He said.
"How could it not be what I think?" Derek yelled. "You either hit her, or you didn't! Which is it?! And while we're on the subject, how is it that Olivia and I never knew about this?" He looked towards Steve.
"I think Shauni or Sasha need to tell you the rest." Steve answered.
"No!" Derek insisted, "YOU will tell me what you know and then I'll talk to them. I want to know everything Shauni told you. Now!" He pushed Connor back down in the chair and stood with his arms crossed.
Steve sighed. "Shauni said you were filming on location when all of this happened, so they were able to keep it under wraps. John didn't even know about it because she pretended she was sick for a few days until the bruises started to fade."
Derek turned around and ran a hand through his hair in frustration before turning to glare at Connor, "Why in the hell did I stop him from kicking your ass a few minutes ago?"
Connor stood up again to face Derek, "You don't know what happened! You don't know what she did to me!"
"It doesn't matter!" Derek barked, "Nothing she could've done would deserve that, son."
"Oh, this is BS. I'm getting out of here…..and I want to see Shauni!"
Steve moved to stop him from leaving just as the door opened and Shauni walked in. Sasha, Olivia, and Mary were all right behind her. Shauni looked from her Dad to Steve, "Give me a minute with him." She said softly.
"Alone?" Steve asked in disbelief. "No way."
The arrogance was back on Connor's face, "Feeling threatened, McGarrett?"
"Of you?" Steve laughed sarcastically. "In your dreams, Michaelson."
Shauni rolled her eyes, "Oh for heaven's sake…What's with all the testosterone?" She walked to Steve and put a hand on his forearm causing him to look at her, "Please? I just need a minute."
"What about the show?" Steve asked
"The band and dancers are improvising for me….but I need to hurry." She answered.
Steve gave in. Reluctantly. "Okay. But only a minute. And we're leaving the door open."
Shauni stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him; Partially because she needed the contact with him, but also to show Connor in a feasible way that she had moved on. As expected, Connor tensed beside them.
Steve turned back towards him before leaving the room, "Lay a finger on her and I will put you down. Understand?"
Everyone went out into the hallway leaving the door open in case anything happened. Connor began to pace. This wasn't what he'd expected when he came to see Shauni. Sure, he expected some tension between them after the way things had ended, but he fully expected that they'd be able to talk it out. Talking to her in only semi-privacy with her family and a new "boyfriend" within eavesdropping distance hadn't been the plan.
He turned to look at Shauni, "What do you see in him?"
Shauni smiled at him softly, "There's too much to tell you in just a couple of minutes."
"Oh please." He scoffed. "He's not even in the business. What does he do?"
"Him not being 'in the business' is kinda the point, Connor. He's not in to the Hollywood scene. He's actually head of a specialized crime task force in Hawaii. We met while I was there a couple of months ago."
"So what's in it for you? I mean, I can understand what he's after: He's got you, your money…"
"It's not about the money with him, Connor. He's not into the Hollywood scene. He's good….and honest. He has integrity. And he loves me. Not everything is about money." Shauni snapped.
"It's always about money. Either that or he's using you for something else. Maybe to say he tapped a popstar."
Steve overheard this and started to step in but Derek stopped him. They heard a loud SMACK! and realized Shauni had slapped Connor across the face.
Connor's face was full of rage and he started to step towards Shauni before he felt Steve and Derek watching him intently.
"I told you, Steve isn't like that." She spat, "He loves me for me, Connor. Something you never did. YOU are the one who used me…and then you hurt me. You need to understand that it is over between us."
Connor's expression was void of the confidence and arrogance he had shown so far. Instead, he now looked upset, "Do you love him?" he asked her.
Shauni looked back to smile softly at Steve before turning back to Connor, "Yes. I do."
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Even though it's been a couple of years since Connor and Shauni were together, he apparently still has a thing for her. He's not going to back down easily...So we'll see what happens while she's on tour.
We may also have another little something to throw into the mix if Carl Matthews (aka the "stalker") gets out of jail on a technicality.
Hmmmmm...things could get interesting.
Let me know what you think! :)