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AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: So I'm posting early this week because I don't know if I'll be able to tomorrow. So you're welcome for the early post! Well guys! Here it is! For everyone who's been asking what Catherine's reaction is gonna be when she finds out... HERE IT IS. Don't get me wrong, I like Catherine, and I definitely don't want to paint her as the villain of this piece, but I feel like this is going to be an accurate representation of a girl who's boyfriend prefers another girl. Catherine's pretty reasonable but there's always going to be that moment where enough is enough. Well... this is it. Actually, this is where we START seeing it. We're still miles away from the official gauntlet being thrown but we're getting there. Lastly, only 20 more reviews and we get that bonus chapter! Let's see how many we can get by next week! See you guys next Friday!

Chapter 13

Rowan sat back in Steve's chair and hoped to god that he wouldn't be back soon. The uniform Duke had left with her had to be getting tired, sooner or later he'd sit down, or fall down, or go to the washroom and she was gonna run for it. Handcuffs and all. Anything to avoid the all mighty smack down Steve was going to rain down on her when he found out she had almost got arrested.

Luck was not with her though because before the uniform could lose her Steve came into the office with Catherine and a…. child? Since when did they have a kid?

She made eye contact with the boy and suddenly the world began to tilt around her again and Rowan gripped Steve's desk with all her might to keep herself from falling over. Steve was in the office immediately.

"What's wrong, why do you look like that?" he asked she felt his eyes zero in on her hands and suddenly the concern was replaced with anger. "Why the hell are you handcuffed?"

"We arrested her for trespassing this morning, Duke said to bring her here," the officer said, having followed Steve into his office when Steve ignored him and stormed past. He offered Steve the keys to Rowan's handcuffs. She might have lifted her hands to get them free if she wasn't afraid that she'd keel over if she let go of the desk.

Steve was towering over her, she knew it but she couldn't move because the dizzy spell had yet to pass. He put a hand to her forehead to check her temperature.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"You're dizzy again," he snarled.

"Yes, but I'm fine," she assured him.

When she looked up Steve was glaring down at her. "Oh good, that's great. WHY THE HELL WERE YOU TRESPASSING?!" he shouted.

Rowan winced. She should have played sick. "I didn't know we were trespassing, I thought we were just at a house party. The cops showed up everyone was running and it didn't occur to me to run fast and here we are."

"We?" Steve echoed. "I thought you went out with Kono last night? Kono didn't mention a partyor cops coming to break it up. Wait… were… were you out with Nurse Alex last night?"

Rowan winced again because she had told him she was going out with Kono and had asked Kono to lie for her and everything. Steve slammed his fist down on his desk causing her to jump. "Okay, calm down," Rowan whispered. "Maybe uncuff me?"

The uniform was at the door staring at Steve like he was terrified to get any closer. Steve suddenly remembered the key in his hand and seemed to contemplate actually uncuffing her before he moved to do so. He was hovering over her fiddling with the lock as he asked his next question.

"You lied to me! How could you do that?" Steve snapped.

"With relative ease," Rowan answered. Steve glared at her and Rowan sighed. "You get so upset when I go out with him and… you know… and you had those plans today and I didn't want you to worry and then be all grump for this morning so… I just came up with a cover story."

It was a lie. She just didn't want to deal with him being distracting while she was getting ready, or give him the opportunity to derail her plans by coming up with an emergency to keep her from going. He kept saying he wouldn't, but he always found ways to guilt her into coming back early or not going at all. But Steve seemed to take her lie at face value because he shot a covert glance at Catherine before changing the topic.

"He just left you there?"

"I guess. I don't know, we got separated," she said.

Steve shook his head. "He shouldn't have left you," he growled staring down at her. Rowan stared up at him, he looked so handsome today it was taking her breath away. The way the light hit him was just right, highlighting all of his good features.

"Oh, she's why you're not married," a small voice said and Rowan turned. Right. Catherine avec child.

"What?" Steve asked clearly confused but Rowan thought she knew what was going on. To save Catherine from having to stutter through an answer she decided to throw her a bone and interrupt.

Rowan pointed at the kid with her now free hands. "Missing convenience store dad?" she asked.

"Oh she knows about this one too, do you know where he is?" Catherine asked clearly unimpressed and upset with Steve's behaviour with her again. Rowan had thought that Catherine knew all about her, but apparently all Steve had told Catherine was that Rowan had suffered some sort of trauma and thought that his life was a TV show. He had also used the psychic excuse with her, saying that Rowan didn't think she was psychic but instead thought that she was from an alternate reality. So basically Catherine thought she was this crazy chick that her boyfriend was housing. That just made Rowan more nervous around her.

"Being held hostage," Rowan said.

"Where?" Catherine prodded as the boy stared at her with wide eyes.

"Don't know. Did you find the money yet?" she shot back before she could remember she was trying to stay on Catherine's good side.

Catherine just glared at her. When she didn't answer Rowan looked up to Steve. "I don't know if that's a yes or a no," she said.

"Shut up, Rowan," he snapped. "You're going to stay here with Ethan and while me and Catherine talk, okay?"

"Uh… why are we letting me watch a child?" she asked. "You barely let me watch myself."

"How old are you?" the kid asked.

"A lot older than I'm allowed to act," she told him as he sat down beside her.

Steve pointed a stern finger at her. "I'm going to be right outside, what could you possible do with me standing right outside the door?"

"Is that a challenge?" Rowan asked.

"It sounds like a challenge," Ethan agreed.

"BEHAVE!" Steve shouted before disappearing through the door with Catherine.

"Is he related to you?" Ethan asked taking a comic out of his bag so he could read it. He didn't actually open it though.

"God no," Rowan replied. "I'm Rowan, by the way, in case you didn't catch Commander McGrumpy yelling my name."

This earned her a chuckle from Ethan. "I'm Ethan," he said as the two shook hands.

Rowan sat back in her chair and tried not to watch Catherine and Steve talking. She turned back to the kid who had his backpack on Steve's desk and was going through it. "How you feeling by the way? This has to be stressful," she asked.

Ethan shrugged, "I guess I'm fine," he said his eyes never leaving Catherine or Steve. "They're talking about me."

"Or me," Rowan told him. Except Catherine wasn't making any of her regular angry faces so maybe she wasn't part of the conversation. "But probably you."

Catherine came back into the room, she knocked on the door and poked her head in.

"Ethan?" she asked and he put the R.I.P.D. comic he had just begun to pretend to read comic down.

"You guys were talking about me, weren't you?" he asked.

"You want a juice or something? We have a machine in the hallway, my treat," she said instead of answering his question. Rowan just blinked her eyes at her. Catherine rarely talked directly to her, since the incident with the trunk she barely looked Rowan in the eye, but she usually got some sort of greeting. The fact that Rowan hadn't gotten anything meant she was mad, but other than getting arrested and having Steve shout at her there wasn't really much for Catherine to be mad at her about.

"You don't have to bribe me. Just say what you're gonna say," Ethan told her.

"Okay, Rowan why don't you go get him a juice?" Catherine ordered as she took a seat in front of Ethan. Rowan moved to get up but Ethan stopped her, putting a hand to her wrist to keep her from leaving.

"No, I want Rowan to stay," he said.

"Great, he also prefers Rowan, just like someone else I know," Catherine muttered.

At this Rowan's eyes crinkled in confusion. "What?"

"Never mind, Ethan we need your help," Catherine said changing the topic almost immediately so Rowan sat back down. "I need you to tell me if you recognize this man from your dad's store?"

She showed him the picture and Rowan flinched. That was a dead body. What the hell was she thinking? "Dude!" she cried shielding his eyes. "He's a minor!"

Catherine pulled Rowan's hands away from Ethan's face and let Ethan take a long look at the phone. "That man's dead, isn't he?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"He was the one killed at the store," he stated more than asked and Catherine's pained look confirmed that.

Rowan put a hand out and grabbed Ethan's hand, squeezing it tightly for comfort. She ignored Catherine's snort of derision. "Does he look familiar?" she asked Ethan.

"Do you think my dad did it?" he shot back.

"We don't know."

Ethan started crying, he turned just as Rowan opened her arms up for the hug. He pressed his head into her shoulder. When Catherine tried to put a hand on his knee he pushed the hand away. She looked hurt by the motion and Rowan mouthed sorry over the kid's head. But that didn't seem to mollify Catherine at all. In fact, she seemed to just get angry. She shot a dark glare at Rowan before turning her attention back to the kid in Rowan's arms.

"I'm really sorry, Ethan. I'm really sorry," she whispered.

"My dad wouldn't do that. He wouldn't," he sobbed.

"I believe you," Catherine assured him. He cried for a little longer before pulling himself together and wiping his tears away.

He avoided Catherine's eyes as he asked: "Can I still have a juice?"

"Absolutely," she said digging through her purse to get her wallet.

"I like orange," he told her

"Orange? Alright? Orange it is," Catherine said. "I'll be right back."

"Didn't even ask if I wanted something," Rowan said shaking her head as she watched Catherine leave. "I know she doesn't like me but I've been trying really hard to be nice."

Rowan looked over to Ethan and found that he was packing everything up. Rowan frowned at him. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "And I'm here to say no."

Ethan was already up and out of his seat and heading for the door. Rowan got up and followed him.

"You can either come with me or get left behind," Ethan said. Rowan thought about it. She knew from the episode that this had to happen but she didn't know if it helped the situation. Also the kid seemed pretty determined to go. Rowan picked up her purse.

"Fine but follow me. I know how to sneak out of here. Oh, and when we get caught I am blaming you," she said which merely caused Ethan to grin. And with that the two set off on an adventure.

H5O-H5O-H5O- H5O

"How could you let them escape?" Steve snapped.

"She is 26 years old, Steve, she should be responsible enough to NOT allow a child to leave," Catherine argue. "I mean, I knew she was bad but this is a whole other level of irresponsible, why didn't you tell me she was like this?"

Steve wanted to argue. It wasn't that Rowan was irresponsible it was that she wanted to help. She wanted to be of use, she wanted to make things better. It was just that the way she went about it that was irresponsible.

"She's been causing you nothing but grief since she entered your life, why haven't you just asked her to go?" Catherine asked when Steve didn't answer right away.

Now this just made him angry. She had not caused grief. She had caused panic attacks and frustration, but not grief. In fact she was also the source of many a happy moment in the McGarrett house when she wasn't running off and getting in trouble or arguing with him. But now Catherine was getting suspicious, she had been getting more and more frustrated over his behaviour with Rowan. He had been trying very hard to avoid this talk with Catherine about Rowan and his dependency on taking care of her. But it looked like it couldn't be avoided anymore.

"And where is she going to go, Catherine? The girl has nowhere else," Steve reminded her. "I'm all she has."

"She could stay with Chin, he has room. She could stay at Adam's, hell she could stay with Danny. Or better yet you could send her psycho-ass back to the psych ward. The question is, why does she need to stay with you?" Catherine repeated.

Steve shot a glance at her. "She reminds me of Mary alright," he admitted. Which wasn't entirely true. "She needs someone to take care of her, to make sure that she gets out of the trouble she gets into, that's all."

"So, this is about your Hero Complex then?" Catherine asked. "Because you know you have one."

Steve shook his head. "Look, I get you're angry about Rainbow's but I don't see why you're taking it out on Rowan," he growled.

"No I am not angry about Rainbow's. I'm angry because your quasi-girlfriend stole the child in our custody!" Catherine shouted.

She was always the calm one so this was new for him. He wasn't quite sure what to do. He had a feeling the only thing that would calm her down was telling her he'd find somewhere else for Rowan to stay but he didn't want to do that. His stomach was turning just thinking about having to do that.

"She is not my girlfriend, Catherine, she has a boyfriend remember and I have you!" he argued.

"She has a boyfriend that looks just like you," Catherine reminded him. "And if you could get rid of him you would. Not to mention you two spend a frequent amount of time cuddling."

Ever since Catherine walked in to find Rowan and Steve asleep on the bathroom floor all wrapped up in each other she had not been able to let anything involving Rowan and his preferential treatment of her go.

"The man left her at an illegal party where she got arrested!" Steve snapped. "He's a douche! I do not look like him. And I have told you many, many times that she had a concussion, I was with her to wake her up every hour and we were on the floor because she feels better on the floor!"

Catherine shook her head. "You are completely delusional," she growled. "Slow down, they're up a head."

Steve lurched the car into a stop and then hopped out. He could see both Ethan and Rowan up on a fence looking to climb over and he lost it.

He ran forward grabbing Rowan by the back of her inordinately lacy shirt and ripping her off of the fence and throwing her back. She hit the hood of his truck and stared up at him afraid but once she realized it was him she smiled. He almost smiled too and then he caught sight of Catherine and remembered he was supposed to be mad at her.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" he shouted at her. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Kid says the guys who are holding his dad are in there," she said pointing to the fence. Steve didn't even bother to turn around.

"So you just left? You took the kid and snuck out? Why didn't you just tell me? Or tell Catherine? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!"

She had been nervously glancing at something over her shoulder and not listening to a thing he said. At his loud outburst her blue eyes focused solely on him and for a second, he lost the ability to breathe right.

"Steve, the kid's almost over the fence," she said in the most patronizing tone he had ever heard which included every single one of Danny's rants.

Ethan.

Shit.

Steve threw himself back at the fence, grabbing Ethan by the shorts before he could climb over and dragged him down. He practically carried the kid back to where Rowan was standing.

"This was the stupidest thing either of you could have done," Steve said pointing a stern finger at both of them but he lingered on Rowan. "And you should have known better."

"Look, the kid was going with or without me, I figured it would be safer for everyone involved if I went along. And considering how often you track my phone I figured you'd find us no problem," Rowan said putting her arm around Ethan's shoulder. Ethan smiled smugly and put an arm around her waist and for the first time Steve was afraid he might hit the boy.

"Actually, we tracked the phone Steve gave the kid. You left your phone at the Palace, charging," Danny said just as Catherine asked: "How often do you track her phone?"

"It's a necessity," Steve muttered.

"No, it is not. The last time you tracked my phone I was in the damn bath! In your damn house!" Rowan snapped.

"You weren't answering me when I called for you I didn't know where you were," Steve argued.

"Because I was in the bathtub listening to music!" Rowan cried.

"Wait, you don't have to take those Navy showers?" Danny asked. Rowan shook her head. "You, lucky little bitch."

"Not now, Danny," Steve grumbled, if Danny didn't stop he'd end up revoking his invite to the McGarrett Christmas dinner in two days.

"Yes, can we get to the matter at hand?" Rowan asked gesturing to the estate behind them. "You know, the missing dad?"

"They're not going to help me," Ethan growled staring defiantly up at Steve.

"We are here to help you," Catherine said.

"Yeah, help me put my dad in jail!" Ethan accused.

"Ohhh, he's got you there," Rowan said but one glare from both Steve and Catherine had her lips closed and her eyes firmly looking down at the ground.

"Listen to me Ethan. It's your dad that we're talking about here, I totally get that, but what we're trying to do is get to the truth," Steve said to him, putting a hand to the kid's shoulder.

"But he wouldn't hurt anyone. Nobody," Ethan urged. "Not unless they tried to hurt him. Or me. Now that's the truth."

"So help us prove that. Do you know this guy or not?" Catherine asked showing him the photo again.

Steve stood back, he glanced back to where Danny and Rowan were whispering, their heads bent together and a secret smile on their faces. Danny was virtually silent on the drive up, so quiet, in fact, that he had forgotten Danny was in the car.

"I've seen him before, but I don't know his name," Ethan admitted. "He hangs out with the guy who lives here, Darrin Hodge."

It was the way he said that had Steve asking: "Who's Darrin Hodge?"

"A really bad guy," Ethan told him. "My dad warned me to stay away from him."

"Why?"

"Darrin and a few of his friends came into my dad's store to talk to him. And they started arguing. So my dad pulled a shotgun on them and told them to get the hell out," he explained.

"Do you remember what the argument was about?" Catherine asked.

When Ethan shook his head, Steve stepped forward again. "All right, thank you. You've been a big help. Danny and I will check this place out."

"I'm coming with you."

"You're not coming with me," Steve said sternly, in the same kind of tone he used on Rowan that only worked half the time.

"Why not?"

"You know why not. The safest place for you to be right now is anywhere but here," Steve explained.

"Then I want to go home," Ethan said.

"I've got him," Catherine said.

"Okay, fine, but take Rowan with you," Steve said. At this Rowan perked up.

"Wait? Me? Why me?" Rowan asked.

"Because I don't trust you to wait in the damn car!" Steve snapped.

"Oh, no, please don't make me go. She's mad at me, look at her!" Rowan said gesturing to Catherine. When Catherine turned a glare to her Rowan put on her brightest fakest smile and offered up a weak: "You're so pretty."

"She is not mad at you, Rowan. I am mad at you," Steve snarled. "Now go with them, and so help me you better behave!"

Rowan sighed but raised her hands in mock surrender. Danny stopped her from walking away. He handed her phone with a smirk on his face. "So Steve can track you later," he said and Steve scowled at the back of Danny's head.

Steve found himself watching as Ethan rushed over to Rowan, holding her hand as they walked with Catherine back to his truck. He couldn't help but feel a bit of pride that the kid had bonded so quickly with Rowan, couldn't help but admire just how well she took to taking care of him, and of course he couldn't miss the sour glare on Catherine's face as yet another person seemed to show a preference to Rowan over her. He didn't know what he was going to do. If Catherine actually did ask him to move Rowan out of his house, or out of his life, he wasn't sure he was going to say yes. He wasn't sure he was going to say no either. He just didn't want that to be an option.

"You are so screwed, my friend," Danny said clapping a hand to his shoulder. "But we don't have time for that right now, let's go see who's home."