HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Hope you all had a good one. The end of my year was a little sad, but otherwise wonderful since we had our children to light up at the magic of Christmas. Now things have settled down and I am ready to pick up on my stories. I'll be updating this story as well as "Unexpected Family", "Everyone Has Secrets", and "Taking Care of Sophia" soon. THANK YOU ALL for your reviews. I love reading them.

And rest assured, I have some ideas in store for how Shauni may get into trouble on her tour and need her "knight in shining armor" to come to the rescue. It will be interesting to see what happens.

ENJOY!

"I don't know what else there is to say. I think you've already heard it all," Shauni began. "Connor and I obviously didn't end things as amicably as you thought."

"Why didn't you tell us the truth about what happened?" Derek asked.

Shauni looked at her father in disbelief, "Are you kidding? If I would've told you what Connor did to me, you would have been on the first plane home and you would have killed him!"

Olivia couldn't hide her smirk as she looked at Derek, "She has a point, sweetheart." Then she looked back to Shauni, "But it still doesn't excuse you keeping it from us."

"I know, Mom, but I just wanted him to go away. The last night we had together wasn't something I wanted to remember. If Sasha wouldn't have been there, I don't like to think about what could have happened. I just wanted him gone…..and I wanted to forget about all of it. I didn't want to tell you because I knew what Daddy would do if he found out. I also didn't want the publicity that would surround us if everyone found out what happened. It would have been a media circus….You know that as well as I do. Besides, Dad was filming a movie and I didn't want you guys to feel like you had to come back home. I was fine once Connor was gone."

She offered a small smile in her sister's direction, "And before you get mad at Sasha, I swore her to secrecy. If you're going to be upset with one of us, be upset with ME. She is the one who stepped in and made him leave….and then I made her promise not to tell you what had happened. I made her promise not to tell anyone. She wanted to tell you, but I begged her not to."

"He shouldn't have been able to get away with it." Derek added quietly. "What if he does this to someone else? These situations only escalate, so it could be worse the next time."

Steve had been silent until now, but when he saw Derek looking at him as if asking for confirmation, he decided to interject his opinion. Sitting beside Shauni with his arm around her, he pulled closer, "Your dad's right. If he did it to you, it's very probable he'll keep doing it until someone stops him."

"Well, what am I supposed to do about that now?" Shauni's eyes started to fill even as she fought against the tears of frustration that threatened to come out on their own no matter how hard she tried to keep them at bay. Steve moved closer to her and put his arm around to pull her closer.

"Look…..I know it may not have been the best decision I've ever made, Shauni continued, "but I did what I thought was best at the time. I just wanted it over. And I wanted to forget about how he used me to further his own career. Connor never cared about me or loved me…..and that hurt. Can't you understand that, Daddy?"

Derek had never been able to deny either of his girls when they turned that "look" his way. However Olivia was the one who spoke first.

"Of course we understand, honey." Olivia said, "So as much as it burns my craw that Connor was able to get away with what he did to you," Shauni couldn't help but grin at her mom's Southern euphemism as she continued, "I say we have to let it go. It's over and done with and too much time has passed for you to file charges or do anything to Connor anyway. It's time to move on." She leveled a gaze at Derek who still looked angry that they'd been kept in the dark.

Looking at his wife, he finally consented and let out a deep sigh before looking at his oldest daughter, "Okay, fine. But if he comes around you again, I EXPECT to know about it so either Steve or I can find him and kick his sorry ass to the curb. I'm serious, baby. I don't want him around you again."

Steve interjected, "Don't worry, sir. I've taken care of it. I can guarantee you Connor won't get near her again."

Derek and Steve shared a knowing look and Shauni decided not to ask any questions. If Steve had "taken care of things" and now her dad was going to be in on the plan, God help Connor if he showed up again.

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After Derek and Steve had some "man time" to discuss the situation with Connor, Derek and Olivia eventually said their goodbyes and wished Shauni luck on her trip. Sasha was going along on the tour for the first few days so she excused herself to go to her own hotel room leaving Shauni and Steve alone.

Finally.

It had been a long exhausting day and all Shauni wanted to do was fall asleep with Steve beside her. She knew she wasn't going to be seeing him for a while since he had to return to Hawaii the next day. The thought of being without him made her sad even though she was excited about the tour.

After a quick shower, Shauni exited the bathroom to find Steve laying in the bed with the TV on. Of course it was turned to ESPN, and she couldn't help but smile at his predictability; Her man loved sports and watching highlights on a sports channel was as important to him as watching the news. She happily crawled in to bed beside him and quickly snuggled close.

Steve tipped her chin up towards him so he could lean down and kiss her.

"I'm going to miss you," he whispered.

"Not as much as I'm going to miss you," she said confidently as Steve picked up the remote to start channel flipping again.

Shauni couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched him; As crazy as she was for her Navy SEAL, what was it with guys and remotes? It was like they couldn't bear to watch a single commercial and had to "channel flip" whenever one was on. As a result, they ended up watching three shows at once trying to avoid commercials. She didn't care, though. As long as she was lying in his arms, she was happy and would watch whatever he wanted to watch.

Eventually, the remote landed on an Entertainment channel that was posting a picture of Steve with Connor in a questionable position: Steve's forearm pressed against Connor's throat as he held him up against a wall. Steve stopped his channel surfing to listen:

"Shauni Steele kicked off her U.S tour tonight to a sold-put crowd in Los Angeles. As expected, Shauni was energetic and engaging leaving the crowd in a satisfied euphoria as they left the arena. However, it appears as if her ex-boyfriend, Connor Michaelson, was not welcomed at tonight's tour kick-off. According to inside sources, Connor and Shauni's new boyfriend had an altercation backstage. We have been unable to confirm the reason of the argument between the two, but have put in a call her to management team. Hopefully, we can update you on that tomorrow. So what do you think? Do you still want Shauni and Connor to get back together? Or do you like seeing her with a 'regular guy'? "

Shauni stiffened at the question but Steve just pulled her closer, "Don't worry about it, babe."

Shauni looked up at him and he felt his heart melt at the hesitation he saw in her eyes, "Are you sure? I mean….I know you probably didn't want this…..but it has to be expected if you're going to be with me. I wish I could shelter you from all of it, though…and I just wish…."

Steve stopped her by putting a finger to her lips to silence her before leaning down to kiss her softly, "Shhhhh. You think a few tabloid reports are going to scare me away?"

Shauni looked at him and swallowed hard and Steve was caught up in the love he saw in her eyes. It melted him….she melted him…..every time.

"Not gonna happen." He stated resolutely. "And by the way, you don't have to protect me from anything. I'll be protecting you."

Shauni turned and propped herself up to kiss him. Within seconds, she had found a second source of energy somehow and was straddling his lap. If it was going to be weeks before she saw him again, she wanted to make the most of tonight….no matter how tired she was at the moment.

They eventually collapsed into an exhausted, satiated heap with arms and legs intertwined. The security Shauni felt while falling asleep in Steve's arms was something she wanted to hold onto during the long days and weeks ahead when she would either be on a tour bus or sleeping alone in hotel rooms. This moment was one she would cherish

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The alarm went off way too early for Shauni's liking the next morning. She shut it off and got up to walk into the bathroom for a quick shower. Steve opened his eyes lazily as he watched her walk naked into the bathroom. God, how he loved this woman. Just watching her walk from the bed to the bathroom had his body responding and begging for one more round before their separation began.

Deciding to join her, he quickly moved to the bathroom where he entered the shower so they could enjoy each other a little more before she had to board the bus and head towards Phoenix. It was a wonderful way to start the morning even if it was bittersweet. They showered and shared breakfast together before the call came that the tour bus was waiting out front to pick them up.

Steve walked her out with her bags in hand. After all, he was nothing if not a gentleman. Then he followed her onto the bus so they could say "goodbye"…or rather "see you later" since he had no intention of every telling her goodbye. Being on the bus also got them away from the paparazzi's prying eyes. It wasn't that they were afraid to take their relationship public. No. Besides, everyone already knew about them anyway. The reason for getting onto the bus was so that he could steal a few more precious minutes with her before they would be separated. Steve had always loved Hawaii, but his heart felt heavy as he kissed her before the bus left.

"I'm going to miss you," Shauni said with sadness in her voice.

"I'll miss you too. BUT, we'll keep in touch. We can Skype, we can talk on the phone, we can text. I promise we'll stay in touch. Okay?"

Shauni shook her head before putting her arms tighter around him and breathing in his scent. Steve might 100% alpha male, but he always smelled so good. It made her swoon.

After a few short minutes, Steve walked off the bus and watched them drive away feeling like a part of his heart was going with her. He had never felt like this towards anyone.

Not anyone.

And the longer they were together, the more the realization hit him that he never wanted to let it go. They might not make sense "on paper", but Steve knew they were in love with each other. For the moment….and hopefully longer….they were just going to have to find a way to make it work.

The buses pulled out of sight and Steve looked at his watch. He had a couple of hours before his flight to Hawaii, but didn't feel like staying at the hotel alone. He decided to leave for the airport and just pray that his flight wouldn't be delayed.