During the elevator ride to the floor where Shauni's suite was located, she convinced Steve to put her down so she could walk off and into the room on her own. Even though he admired her courage in this situation, he did so reluctantly. A selfish part of him just wanted to hold on. She had been through so much since they had met given what had happened with Carl Matthews and now Connor Michaelson, and Steve was fighting the urge to hold her anyway. However, he respected her wishes and let her down before they reached their destination, but he never let go of her hand. For that, she was grateful.

As they walked in to the suite, Stacy and Mary immediately ran to her side both talking at the same time. Shauni giggled nervously before finally hugging them both and assuring them that she was okay. All she really wanted to do was lie down. Since Joanie was also taking a nap and everyone was trying to be quiet, the timing was perfect for her to lie down as well. Steve walked with Shauni to her room and closed the door behind them. He led Shauni over to the bed where she collapsed into an exhausted heap. Neither one of them said a word as Steve climbed in and wrapped his arms protectively around her. She wiggled her body closer to him and closed her eyes contentedly. Having her body "spooning" up against his was the ultimate temptation, but he wasn't going to give in…..yet. He knew what she needed more than anything was for him to hold and comfort her, and that's what he was prepared to give her even though his libido protested aggressively.

No doubt she felt it, but she didn't say anything.

"Thank you for coming after me. Again." She whispered.

"Always." Steve answered as he pulled her closer against him.

"You must think I'm an awful lot of trouble."

Steve frowned as he sat up on one elbow and turned her chin towards him, "Why would you say that?"

Shauni sighed, "It's been one thing after another since you met me…but it's not usually this crazy…I promise…My life is usually very normal, and boring actually…..and…."

Steve silenced her by leaning down to kiss her. "Stop. You don't have to make excuses. Trust me, my life can be crazy too. You just haven't seen that part yet." He winked at her and she couldn't help but smile at him.

Not long after, Shauni's eyes got so heavy she could no longer keep them open. She succumbed to the exhaustion and fell asleep with Steve holding her tight.

Once he knew she was sound asleep, he went back into the living room area of the suite where John had joined Mary and Stacy to wait for details on what had transpired. John needed to get some sort of statement released to the press in order to avoid rumors spreading like wildfire over the incident. It was always smarter to be proactive and try to provide information straight from Shauni's "people" to avoid things getting blown out of proportion. In actuality, though, the truth of this incident was scandalous enough by itself, so there was little worry that anything would be fabricated this time. The media would jump all over the real story.

Steve saw the concern on all of their faces as he sat down beside Mary on one of the couches opposite John and Stacy.

"How is she?" Stacy was the first to ask.

"She's okay. She's resting."

"Did she say anything about what happened?" John asked.

Steve shook his head, "I didn't want to ask her about anything yet. I figured it would be best to let her get some rest and we can talk about all of it later."

Then he looked at Stacy, "Have you talked to Derek and Olivia yet to tell them what's going on?"

"No. I wanted to wait until we knew she was okay before I called to tell them anything."

John spoke up, "Actually, I should probably be the one to call them. I'll go do that now."

Stacy looked visibly relieved that she wasn't going to be the one to tell the Steele's what had happened.

Just as John got up to make the call in a different room, there was a knock on the door. Steve stood up immediately, "That's probably the Orlando PD wanting to get statements. I'll get it."

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Steve, Mary, John and Stacy all gave statements to the local police department. Tommy and Jake had joined the group and gave statements as well. The detectives agreed to come back later to talk to Shauni. Connor had been taken into custody and was currently awaiting to make bail, and everyone had their own opinion on what he might do next. The publicity for him wasn't going to be good, but the legal ramifications were going to be even worse. More than anything, Steve wanted to just take her away from all of the craziness and forget everything for a while. She needed a break. However, he knew that was just his opinion and what she decided to do after this was totally her decision.

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Over the next couple of days, Shauni, Steve, Mary, Joanie and "crew" went to Disney World and gave Joanie the time of her life…even though she was only 3. Lots of pictures were taken and Steve marveled again and again over how Shauni and the Steele family had basically adopted them and counted them part of the family. Joanie got to meet all of her favorite princesses: Specifically Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" and Elsa and Ana from "Frozen". It was as if her life was complete at three years old.

And her big, bad, SEAL uncle was turned to complete mush as he watched her enjoying the magic of Disney as only a child can do. He didn't know how he would ever repay Shauni for the happiness she had brought to Mary and Joanie, but he vowed to somehow find a way to do so.

In the meantime, Connor made bail and a court date was set. He was allowed to return to L.A. with strict orders to return for the court; Otherwise, he would be arrested without question and returned to jail.

The media frenzy had been bad, as expected, and all of the tabloids as well as every major news network had jumped on the story of the "Hollywood Royalty Songstress vs. her Jilted Lover". It had been insane, but somehow Shauni continued to keep a happy face through it all.

Derek and Olivia had wanted to join them after hearing what had happened with Connor, but Derek had been committed to a project in L.A. from which he couldn't get away. Steve had assured them that everything had been taken care of and that Shauni was fine. They trusted Steve and loved him like a son, so they had no doubt he was taking care of her. It certainly helped them sleep better knowing he was there. Steve promised to visit L.A. as soon as he could to visit with them and Mary agreed to get together as soon as they got back as well.

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The final show in Orlando was over and Shauni, Steve, Mary, Joanie and crew made their way back to the hotel for one last night. Mary and Joanie would be flying back to California early the next morning, so Mary started trying to get the little girl to bed. She wanted to make sure Joanie got good sleep in order to avoid flying cross country with a cranky toddler. However, Joanie was still full of energy when they got back and wasn't at all interested in going to bed. After getting up for the third time after being put in bed, Uncle Steve finally took over. He stood up and made his way over to scoop Joanie up before Mary could get to her again.

"You need to go to bed, sweetheart. You have a big day tomorrow," he told her.

"I not tired," Joanie protested as she folded her arms across her chest. The pout on her little mouth was so adorable Steve felt his heart melt even though he didn't give in.

"It's time for sleep, Joanie." He said a little more firmly. "How about if I read you a book and then you go to sleep?"

She smiled adoringly at her uncle as she shook her head enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug as he walked her back into the bedroom she'd been sharing with Mary during their stay. He quickly found one of the books they'd brought along and tucked her into bed. He stretched out beside her so he could read her favorite book titled, "Today I'll Be a Princess".

After a couple of minutes, Shauni couldn't stand the suspense any longer. She simply had to see Steve reading to his niece. She quietly approached the door and peered in to watch. The sight that met her inside the room made her heart do the familiar flip flop inside of her chest every time she saw this gentler side of Steve. He was reading softly to Joanie….a story about a girl who wanted to be a "princess", but also wanted to be a "tomboy" . Shauni had to suppress the giggle that threatened to surface. It was so sweet and endearing and she suddenly realized she couldn't wait to have children with Steve.

She shook the thought out of her head as quickly as it had popped in. Where had that come from? Then she realized how true it was:

She wanted to have children with Steve.

She wanted a life with him.

And she was almost certain he felt the same way. She continued to watch him as he finished the book with Joanie who had finally grown sleepy. He kissed her goodnight and walked out of the room to find Shauni waiting for him.

He smiled the charming 'little boy smile' she'd grown to love as she put her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. "You're so good with her." She said.

Steve shrugged, "She's a sweet little girl, so it's pretty easy."

"You're going to be a great daddy someday." Shauni said softly.

"I hope so." Steve looked down at her and his eyes suddenly darkened with desire. They had one night left together before he would be flying back to Hawaii and she would have to finish her tour. Luckily, there was only another week left, but any time apart seemed like a lifetime for both of them. They hadn't discussed yet what would happen when the tour was over, but Steve planned to make some plans before leaving her again.

After telling Mary and Stacy goodnight, Steve and Shauni made their way into her bedroom where Steve quietly shut the door behind him.

Shauni was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, so Steve got comfortable and waited his turn. He was pleasantly surprised when she emerged wearing a lacy negligee that left very little to the imagination. She made her way over to him as he sat up on the edge of the bed. His arms went around her as she leaned down for a kiss and moments later felt him shifting her so she was straddling his lap.

"So we have one more night left together," Shauni whispered against his mouth before kissing him again.

"Mmhmm," was Steve's only answer.

"Let's make it count, Commander."

That was all the incentive Steve needed to make sure Shauni remembered him…and only him…..from then on.

Sometime later, when they were both ready to collapse from a euphoric exhaustion, Shauni spoke up, "So I was thinking….."

"About what?" Steve asked sleepily.

"I have tickets to the ProBowl next week. The tour will be over by then….So I was thinking that maybe I could fly to Hawaii and take everyone to the game."

Steve pushed himself up on his elbows to look at her, and God help her, but she couldn't help but marvel at his beautiful abs.

Yep, I'm totally head over heels, she thought to herself as she admired his perfectly chiseled chest.

"What do you mean?" He asked again.

Shauni sat up so she could meet his gaze. Steve was just as mesmerized at the sight of her chest as she took his face in her hands, "I'm saying that I have tickets to the PRO BOWL. SO, I can take YOU and the entire Ohana to the game. …IF you'd like to go. If not…"

"Oh yeah….." Steve interrupted. "We would definitely like to go! But how many tickets do you have? I mean…..I need to know before I start telling anyone."

Shauni gave him the smile that always melted his heart, "You tell me how many tickets we need, and that's how many I'll get. Okay?"

Steve gave her a naughty smile and she felt her insides turn to putty again, "Okay, but I need to find a way to pay you for those tickets."

"Oh, I'm sure we can come up with something, Commander."

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The next morning…..

Steve and Shauni said "goodbye" to Mary and Joanie as they left for the airport with promises to hook up soon for a visit. Thankfully, Joanie had slept pretty well the night before, so Mary was hopeful that she would make the trip okay; Especially after getting a little talk from "Uncle Steve" who asked her to be a good girl for her Momma.

Mary gave Steve and Shauni both a big hug before leaving the hotel to get into the limo Shauni had rented to take them to the airport. Mary had wanted to call a taxi, but Shauni had insisted that her driver could take them. For that, Mary was grateful…and she settled Joanie in the car and said last goodbyes before pulling away.

Steve had his arms around Shauni as the limo drove away. He kissed the top of Shauni's head, "Thanks for taking care of them. It means a lot to me."

She turned in his arms to look up at him, "Of course. They're family." She smiled up at him before stepping up on tiptoes to kiss him. They heard some cameras flashing, but neither of them cared. They were happy…and tabloids be damned, but that's all that mattered.

Shauni had one more week of touring before she would be back in Hawaii. Steve had every intention of talking her into making that permanent.

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The next chapter will probably be the last one of this story. IF there is enough interest, I may start another one to show where things go with Shauni and Steve from there. But….we'll see. Let me know if you're interested in reading that part of the story. ;)

In the meantime, thanks to all of you who have liked, followed, favorited, and reviewed the story of Steve and Shauni. I'd love to know what you think of this latest installment….and whether or not you'd like to see more!