Rewrite

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Guys! One more day and the marathon's OVER! Did you guys like the week long marathon? Is that something you'd like me to go again later on in the story? I'd be totally down if this was a success! Thank you to everyone who stayed even though the angst is still going. It's not going to be all angst I have other things happening too. No spoilers or anything, but I'm going to be putting some fun things to look forward to at the end of this chapter, but if you don't wanna read them that's fine, they're bolded, just avoid the bolded words at the bottom! ANYWAY! This chapter is a bit longer than the others, simply because I had to catch up on all the plot bits I skipped when Rowan was kidnapped. So technically they happened later. Hopefully you like this version of things and I'll see you guys tomorrow!

Chapter 41

Steve sat on the rocks thinking about what his life had become. In three days' time Rowan would be released from the hospital and then she'd be coming to his place to move out all her stuff. Steve didn't want that. He didn't want to watch her pack all of her things up in boxes and move out of his place and his life. He didn't want to help her, because he knew he wouldn't be able to stand aside and watch Alex do it all and Rowan struggle with the arm that still wasn't moving. He didn't want to go through an awkward good-bye with her.

He wanted to remember her in a certain way. And leaving him was not the way he wanted to remember her. But he didn't have an excuse to leave his house. Catherine and Danny had both said they'd be with him for moral support but only one of those offers actually left him feeling morally supported. When Catherine offered he had a feeling it was more to remind Rowan that her stake had been claimed and Rowan was to stay very far away.

Then there was Trevor Pierce. He had been going all over Hawaii asking about a body that looked like Rowan's. He had gone to morgues and hospitals on this quest. He had even put in a request over at HPD. Obviously the ones who knew it was Rowan kept their mouths shut and then called McGarrett. But he didn't know what to do.

He had even heard back from the Captain of the coast guard that had picked him up the day he had found Rowan. The boat they had found, the one with the dead body had been found just a few clicks away from the coordinates the Pierce's said their object dropped into the ocean. That couldn't be a coincidence could it? Finding Rowan there twice. Well he was going to continue to tell himself it was a coincidence because he couldn't handle the consequences if it wasn't.

He didn't want to hand Rowan over to these people. He didn't know who they were, not really. It wasn't like Rowan had ever told him who her family was. And they didn't match her DNA, he knew that for certain as he had checked as soon as he learned their names. These people were nothing more than a scientist and a figure skater that shared her last name and her eyes, and were looking for her. That wasn't enough for him for him.

Besides, she was moving out of his house and he was barely handling it. He didn't want her to move off the island as well.

Steve ran his hands over his face. Fuck. What was he going to do? Why was this so hard? Why couldn't he have one moment with Rowan where she wasn't being kidnapped or causing arguments or leaving him? Why couldn't everything just be easy for once?

He was brave in every other aspect. Why wasn't he brave when it came to Rowan? Maybe if he had told her he liked her too she wouldn't have chosen to leave. But it hurt, hearing that she wanted to go, so much that he couldn't bring himself to hold on to her.

His phone rang and he picked it up. Desperate for any sort of distraction. He listened careful and felt a grim smile creep up on his face.

He had found his distraction.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Danny had told Steve he'd watch the house, and Rowan and Alex as a favour for him. And while he was one hundred percent on Steve's side, he was also doing it for Rowan. He was there to help her move, to help her get through the emotional trauma of leaving this place which had become an important place for her. Because no matter what Steve wanted to think, Rowan wasn't doing so well with all the new things in her life. She was putting on a brave face, but apparently Kono could tell the difference between a faking Rowan and a really worried and stressed out Rowan.

But that wasn't all. He was cultivating information for Steve. Well, for all the Five-0's to be honest. Chin and Kono were also sufficiently interested in whether or not her physio was going well—it was not—and if she had regained some movement or feeling—she had not—and if she was doing well with the letting go of Steve—that remained to be seen.

Alex and Rowan were up in her room packing up boxes. Danny was downstairs sending off texts like no body's business. He was careful not to send anything to Steve. The mission he was on that he took both as a distraction and because it had sentimental meaning as well. He didn't want to make things harder for Steve. He wasn't very good at being sentimental.

So Danny decided to call Catherine instead. That was a safer bet to find out truthfully how things went down in North Korea.

"So how'd the exchange go?" Danny asked as soon as Catherine picked up the phone

"Came off without a hitch," Catherine said sounding chipper and happy. Well at least one of the two marines that went to Korea was happy

"Wow. Washington actually did something right. That's nice," Danny said as he pushed the box into the back of the car. Damn Rowan had a lot of stuff. "How's my boy?"

There was more than one reason for asking. For starters Steve had gone to North Korea to pick up the body of his Navy Seal's best friend. The Navy Seal's Danny, one would say. Lastly, Danny knew part of the reason Steve left the country this week was because he couldn't bear to watch Rowan move out of his house. Danny was smart enough to not mention that last bit to Catherine, seeing as Catherine and Steve were still on rocky territory over Rowan's little confession.

"Well, as well as can be expected," she told him. "Those two were like brothers."

Danny tried not to let that sting. He and Steve were like brothers. He wondered if Steve would take having to pick up Danny's body as badly. But now wasn't the time to be petty, even if Commander McGarrett had left him with house sitting and moving duties.

"Tell him I got, uh, a big plate of wings from Side Street waiting for him here," he said, hoping that would be a little ray of sunshine on the otherwise dark horizon. He moved back into the kitchen where he hoped Rowan wouldn't hear him talking.

"Roger that," Catherine said and then there was a silent pause. "Uh… how's everything going over there?"

Danny glanced to where Alex came down the stairs with another box and Rowan, with a blue sling came out carrying a single pillow. Despite not having mobility in one of her arms she kept trying to help in any way she could. She couldn't just sit back and supervise. Just like someone else Danny knew.

"Good. We've almost got everything packed up. She'll be out before you guys get back," Danny said.

"Okay. Good," Catherine said quickly. Danny could practically hear her grin. "We, uh, land in San Jose in about 18 hours. We'll give you a call when we touch down."

Danny said okay and let her hang up. He thought it was a tad bit callous for Catherine to not at least acknowledge how upset Steve was with Rowan moving out but he also understood her eagerness to get Rowan officially out of Steve's life as soon as possible.

He left the kitchen to find the couple twittering as they packed the last of their stuff into the trunk of Alex's rusty VW.

She kissed Alex on the cheek before rushing up the stairs to Danny. "Hey, we're done, I have Steve's extra key," she said handing it to him. Danny took it even though Steve had expressly told him not to. Steve wanted Rowan to have it in case she ever needed to come back. Danny figured he'd just hold on to it.

"Was the house empty last night?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah, Steve's been gone for three days now," he said. He didn't elaborate even though he knew Steve's itinerary. One day for Travel. One day for briefing. One day to collect. Home by tomorrow.

"Okay. Wo Fat broke into the house," she said as if it were common place for the criminal who kidnapped her to break into his arch nemesis's house.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"I don't think he stole anything or did anything malicious," she told him. "But there's a bunch of stuff that he got me while I was staying with him that was in my room when I got here."

The way she said it you would have thought she had been on vacation or something and he had dropped off souvenirs.

"Rowan…"

"It's alright, I took everything that he brought with me. Like I was going to pass up down pillows, right?" she said trying to smile. "I'd just… uh… sweep the place for bugs. You know… just in case."

Danny chuckled. "You're something else," he said to her as she just shrugged casually.

They were quiet for a bit before she suddenly threw herself at Danny hugging him tightly like it was going to be the last time he saw her.

"Gezzus, you're not moving to the moon Rowan," he said. Though he knew, if Steve needed to be away from her Danny would have to be too, for solidarity alone.

He cleared his throat and looked at her. Really looked at her. Why did he feel so guilty?

"Uh, who's helping you move into his place?" he asked, knowing that Rowan couldn't help Alex with the boxes that Danny had helped him with.

"It's just me and Alex," she said. She seemed to read his mind because she added: "We can manage."

Danny shook his head. "Nope. Not happening. You're injured. I'll follow in the Camaro and get you moved in," he told her.

Rowan laughed. "Ah some of that Jersey chivalry?" she asked at least knowing better than to argue with him. Steve could take some hints from her.

"You know it babe," he said slinging his arm over her shoulder.

He didn't have to end their association right at that moment. He didn't have to stop talking to her just yet. He had until Steve got back after all. He could be chivalrous until then. He just had to remember to stop when Steve came home.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Steve returned to Hawaii two days after Rowan moved out of his place. He had been weigh laid by having to find the real body of his fallen comrade, and then both he and Catherine needed first aid which kept them longer. He was genuinely grateful that Catherine had come with him, had gone with him to get Freddy's remains. He was happy to have her beside him as they stitched his forehead. Happy to have her beside him in the plane as he recounted his last words with his father. But she didn't fill the void that had opened up in his heart

Upon returning to Hawaii he expected to curl up with Catherine who was basically living with him now and try to forget that the empty feeling that was persisting in his chest and stomach was because Rowan no longer lived with him. He was expecting to drop his bags in his empty, depressed feeling home and get some rest, he was not expecting to have his phone ringing almost the same second he put the bags down.

And he definitely wasn't expecting a call from a hospital. But it sent him off running the second he got it. He had just barely managed to change out of his cammo before he got the call too.

Steve rushed into King's medical center looking for his mother. When he found her he was far from pleased. She had this big purple welt on her forehead, but other than looking like she got the shit handed to her, she looked calm. Almost too calm. Scarily calm.

"Hey," she said when she spotted him as if that would make all of this better.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I just hit my head. It's nothing. What happened to you?" she asked. Steve rolled his eyes. Another hit to the head. With all his experience with Rowan's head injuries he was going to be a damn expert in the subject. He'd tell her all about his trip to North Korea at a different time, he had something more serious to deal with at that moment.

Steve sighed. "We'll get to that later. Okay, all right. Um, let me get this straight. You, uh, got home, you interrupted a burglar, he knocked you down and he took off?" Steve listed off. That was the understanding he got from the police report and what the hospital had said on the phone. But something wasn't adding up.

"Yeah, that's, uh, pretty much it," Doris replied but he could tell by the way she paused that she was lying.

"And he bypasses the entire security system?" Steve asked, maybe if he asked enough questions she'd realize he was on to her.

"Guess so," she said.

"He's a pretty sophisticated thief, mom," he said putting his hands on his hips. "I mean, it took five guys three days to install that system."

"Oh please, you're exaggerating," she said with a mild scoff. Well good to see her attitude hadn't be knocked out of her head.

"And then he got a jump on you," Steve added. His mother had gotten up off of the bed and walked away. She was quiet too long so Steve started talking again. "You get a look at this guy?"

Doris turned back around. "Uh, no, no. He was wearing a ski mask. And it all happened so fast," she told him.

Steve half laughed. Fuck. Why wouldn't she just trust him? "I wanna help, okay? I wanna help and I can't…"

"Steve, please, I don't wanna talk about it, okay? I'm fine," she said interrupting him. Steve stopped talking and took a step back. Why was everyone in his life pushing him way. First Rowan and now his mother. He just wanted to take care of them, was that too much to ask?

"I just wanna get out of here and move on, okay?" she added.

Alright. Fair. "Fine. But you're not going back to your place. Once they release you you're coming home till we find you a safer building to move into," Steve told her and then stared her down daring her to argue.

His mother nodded and he glanced to his watch. "I gonna go see what your ETA is, okay?" he said and the swooped in to hug her tightly and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

She told him not to worry. Which was useless because he would worry. Every second of the day until he knew she was okay, until he knew what she was hiding from him.

He took two steps out into the hallway and smelt it.

Lilacs and Roses.

Rowan.

Steve turned and saw her, marching angrily into his mother's room. What the hell was she doing there? Alex didn't work in this building. Something his mother had known, something he was certain his mother had chosen so he specifically wouldn't see the man that had taken the girl he so desperately wanted.

He should have walked away but he couldn't. Rowan was there. He hadn't seen her in more than a week. And he missed her so much.

He found himself in the doorway of his mother's hospital room watching as Rowan angrily accosted Doris.

"Firstly, how dare you call me and tell me I have to come get you before Steve does! How dare you assume you could threaten me into coming to get you! Secondly. I am not talking to Wo Fat, and you know that. The man shot me, he and I are not simpatico at the moment. And Thirdly. HOW DARE YOU even insinuate that I owe you when this," she cried pointing to her injured arm which was still in a sling. "Is your fault!"

Now that was news to Steve. He had gotten the impression that Rowan and Doris were no longer okay when Rowan freaked out when Doris came to visit her. He had a feeling Rowan hadn't been lying to him when she said she had no contact with Wo Fat. But he had no idea how the shooting was in any way tied to his mother.

"How is your getting shot by Wo Fat my mother's fault?" Steve asked taking a step into the room.

Rowan turned. Wide eyed and surprised to see him. She looked him up and down and he did the same to her. She looked lovely. In those cammo jean short shorts he had gotten her and a flowing khaki green tee shirt. Her hair was braided over her shoulder looking more of a vibrant red and golden blonde than before. But it was that sling that threw him off. The sling that her useless arm lay in. Had she still not got feeling back in it?

He was glad he had worn his light blue button down shirt today and a pair of blue jeans she had made him buy so he wasn't always in board shorts and cargo pants. She loved the shirt he was wearing, said it brought out the brightness of his blue eyes. But this reunion was short lived. She didn't hug him or smile at him. Instead her eyes found his injuries and almost as if she couldn't stop herself she breathed out the softest whisper of oh.

"What happened to your head?" she asked him and he almost answered her, his story nearly tumbling out of his lips. But instead he watched her realize that she wasn't supposed to care for him, that it wasn't her place to take care of him anymore.

She adverted her eyes and he remembered that though she had feelings for him she was fighting them tooth and nail so he could be happy with the girl he was destined to be with. He should be fighting his own feelings too. Especially since he hadn't yet and didn't want to tell her the truth about how he felt for her… you know while she was sober.

She drew up a dry glare on her face and then turned it back to Doris and hissed: "Why the hell did you call me down here if you were just gonna call Steve?"

"You said you weren't coming," Doris answered primly. "How was I to know that you were still going to show up?"

Rowan groaned and rubbed a hand over her face smudging her make up leaving a half moon dark circle under her eye.

"I'm not doing this today," she growled. "You wanna know why it's her fault ask her yourself."

She went to walk past him but he blocked her way. He couldn't help it. He didn't want her to go so quickly. He didn't want this to be their interaction. He wanted so much more than this.

She opened her mouth to tell him to move. He opened his mouth to ask her how she was doing. But Doris was the one who spoke.

"Oh stop being so melodramatic," she snapped and Rowan whirled around.

"Melodramatic?" she echoed. "Don't you fucking push my buttons with all the information I've got in my head."

Doris's eyes narrowed at the threat. Steve wanted to step in and stop this but he also wanted to know what the hell had happened between them to make Rowan so angry and Doris even guiltier than before.

"You wouldn't dare," Doris growled.

"Oh yeah? How about this?" she snapped and then turned to Steve. "The CIA broke into her house 'cause she was hiding government secrets in the walls. HA!"

Doris sat there staring at Rowan in utter horror. She had gone this ashen color. Steve blinked his eyes in surprise. "Is she right? Is that what happened?" he asked.

"Oh! And while you're at it why don't you ask her about Mangosta and my fucking fall down the stairs!" Rowan snapped. "Cause I'm pretty sure all of that is connected."

Steve glared at Doris. What the fuck was going on? CIA? Government secrets? Mangosta? And something about Rowan's last head injury? Doris said nothing. She just stared at him before whispering: "I don't want to talk about it, Steve."

Oh, not this again. He went to argue but Rowan must have been trying to sneak by the while he was distracted. But Steve was blocking the way which meant she brushed up against him as she tried to sneak away. The second they touched that vibration of desire shook through his body like an electric current.

It brought his eyes to her immediately only to find that she was looking up at him as well. She had felt it too. He knew it. He felt it. It made his heart yearn even more for her. But he forced himself to move away from the door so she could get into the hallway.

"How did you get here? Do you need a ride home?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she answered quickly lowering her eyes and moving away from him.

It was word for word what Doris had just said to him and each word was like a stab straight into his already bleeding heart. But Steve had to let it go. He stepped back so he wouldn't lurch out and grab her, he had to let her walk away from him. He tried to remind himself that his heart was supposed to go to Catherine. But as she walked away he knew his heart was walking away with her.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Rowan returned to her new place and fiddled with the key until she got it to work. She had told Steve she was fine but she was having a hard time coping with the changes. She couldn't help but feel like if her arms had both been working this wouldn't be so hard. But she couldn't manage it. She wasn't managing it because she wanted to be with Steve. She wanted her Five-0 friends and her old room.

She didn't have a ride back from the hospital. She had taken a cab there, only to yell at Doris. She was then going to wait for Alex to be on his break to have him come get her. But then Steve was there and she had to get away before she started crying.

It was so hard seeing him and not be able to hug him like she wanted to. She saw that gash on his head and knew he was coming back from North Korea. She knew what he was dealing with and she wanted to hold him. To soothe him. To make it all better. But that was Catherine's job and not hers.

Rowan shut the door behind her and then set down her purse. She still had boxes to unpack. She had things that Wo Fat had given her to sort through now that they were back in life. Like two boxes of DVDs, two boxes of clothes and one box of miscellaneous items. She supposed she'd get to that before Alex came home. Be some sort of useful.

She walked into the room she now shared with Alex and yelped.

Wo Fat stood leaning against the window. He stared at her with this beaten puppy dog look, all hesitant and wounded as if she were the bad guy.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she cried throwing her purse to the bed as violently as possible.

"Hi Ro," he said sheepishly and she frowned.

"Don't you hi Ro me!" she snapped. "What the hell are you even doing here?"

He opened his mouth, probably to tell her more lies but she wasn't having that either. She stalked forward to where the window was still opened and began to shove him with her one good arm.

"I don't care. Get out," she cried.

"Rowan, just wait," he said trying to shrug off her shoving hands. "Let me explain."

"No!" Rowan thundered. "You lied to me. You kept me hostage. You got me all excited about Japan and then you shot me! We are done! You hear me? I don't owe you anything. Not loyalty, not guilt, not pity, NOTHING! Now get out! OUT!"

Wo Fat let her push him. In fact, he was almost half out the window.

"Will you at least let me apologize?" he asked.

"No!" Rowan snapped again.

"Why not?" he asked. He turned back to look at her, one leg out the window one leg in. He looked so hurt and wounded that for a second, she almost relented. But then she remembered that her arm still wasn't working and she let that anger take over her.

"Because it would just be a lie!" she cried and then shoved him right out the window. She heard his startled cry and tried not to wince. She heard the yelp as he landed in the tree, followed by a few more yelps as he bounced off a few of the branches and hit the ground. To really prove how mad she was she should have slammed the window shut, but she didn't want him to be actually hurt. So, she stuck her head out the window to confirm that he wasn't completely dead. He shouldn't be it was a second-floor apartment and he was basically unkillable, but she wouldn't put it past him to get severely injured just to spite her. Luckily, or unluckily depending how she was feeling, Wo Fat was completely fine and already dusting himself off. Oh good he was okay… wait… she wasn't supposed to care about that. Rowan immediately made herself look angry and not relieved.

"Get out of here before I call McGarrett and tell him where you are!" she ordered.

She watched Wo Fat shoot her a look of defeat before walking over to his beaten-up Audi, not sure how he got that out of the HPD impound lot, and then drive away.

She slammed the window shut and then sat down on her bed. She thought getting rid of Steve would make her feel better. She thought not letting Wo Fat explain would make her feel better too.

But she was wrong. She didn't feel better at all. Rowan had never felt more alone in her life.

Okay, so minor spoilers, but not by much. Just some things to look forward too in the next twenty chapters that I already have written. Skip if you don't wanna read them okay!

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Okay I think it's safe down here now. Let's get onto things you can look forward to in the coming chapters.

1. Rowan and Wo Fat being ridiculous

2. A heist so clumsily hilarious it should make you laugh (It made me laugh while I was writing it)

3. More of Wo Fat and Rowan being cute and adorable and ridiculous

4. Steve stooping to new lows even he's amazed he stoops to

5. Someone gains the power of super static shock (I'll give you one guess as to who)

6. Rowan puking A LOT. (no she's not pregnant... though that is coming, I just haven't gotten to that part yet) (okay that might be a major spoiler... but I'm not gonna give away anything else.)

7. Typical Danny sass and more carguments!

8. Catherine get's told off... like 8 times in the span of 10 chapters. (I might be slightly exaggerating but I'm not sure by how much)