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AvalonReeseFanFics
A/N: – Okay guys, I am here to announce that I am one episode away from being finished Season 4. I AM EXCITED! However, between season 4 and season 5 I have some filler chapters I want to write, but I'm not sure what to write. So, I need your ideas for filler chapters. I wanna know what things you wanna read! Some ideas that I have, are: Grace going to work with one of her parents, and the argument that ensues when she picks someone other than Danny. Rowan and Steve on another date. Maybe a brief filler chapter into what Matty is up to. Something small about how Wo Fat is doing in prison. But that's all I got so hit me with all your ideas please! I also, will have something special for the 600th reviewer, which I will announce next chapter, okay?
PS. To the guest who asked all those questions in a review for chapter 93. Yes, Charlotte is the skater that was the one in the office that Steve and Catherine saved. Yes there is a clock just like that, I recommend that you look it up it is stunning. And yes, I am doing an episode right now.
Chapter 95
Their suspect was dead.
Steve and Danny got into a shootout that Grover had to save them from.
And Parrish had gotten away.
All in all not a good day for them.
Steve and Danny came out of the house to the rest of the Five-0's coming towards them. Catherine pushed past Danny and threw herself at Steve. "Thank god you're okay!"
Steve awkwardly hugged her back while staring at Danny pleadingly. Hey, this was not Danny's problem, not in the least. This was all Steve and he was on his own. Danny wasn't going to touch that mess with a ten-foot pole. "I'm fine too," he snapped at her back because there had been two people in that house, not just Steve.
"How did you guys find us?" Steve asked, carefully prying himself out of Catherine's grip and avoiding her eyes.
"Rowan called," Chin said. "Gave us the low down including where you were probably going next."
Steve nodded but it was Danny who asked: "Did she happen to mention where we should head next?"
"Maybe… just maybe, we should do real police work instead of playing ask the psychic," Catherine taunted, arms crossed over her chest.
Wow, rude much? It wasn't Danny's fault she went all possessive over Steve and drove all of them away. She could have just shut up and dumped him like any normal person and gotten out of it with her dignity and friendships intact.
Luckily for her it was Chin to the rescue. "What even happened to you guys?"
"Well, after we split at the court house, it uh… it turned out he was in our car. My car," why the hell did he keep calling his car our car it wasn't our car it was Danny's. Even though Steve drove it more than he did. "And, um, he's innocent also."
"The feds convicted the wrong guy," Steve confirmed before anyone could call Danny crazy. "This man, Dale Sullivan, he framed Parrish for the murder. He also paid off Akama to lie under oath."
"Yeah, Rowan mentioned that too," Chin said. "We also managed to confirm that theory. Kono's running down that lead as we speak. Hopefully she can tell us who Sullivan really is."
Wow… Rowan had been a busy girl today, and with his daughter in tow no less. He had grounded them, hadn't he? Not that he wasn't grateful, he made a mental note to tell her that lest she forgot again how grateful Five-0 was for her assistance, but she was supposed to be at home with his grounded daughter, grounded herself. Not driving around the city in a classic custom painted car, with his daughter in the passenger seat, when the doctor hadn't cleared her to drive yet.
"Yeah, well whoever he is, I'm thinking that he found out Parrish escaped, came here to kill Akama to make sure he didn't recant his testimony."
"Then he sat on the house, hoping that Parrish would come back here," Catherine finished for him.
"We need to ID these shooters ASAP," Steve said gesturing to the dead bodies lying outside the house.
"And uh… while we're at it we need to find Rowan."
As Chin rushed off to do as they asked and Steve talked to Grover about putting someone on daughter's house in case Parrish returned there, Catherine glared at Danny. "Why? I thought we agreed to do real police work?"
"Listen here, snippy," Danny snapped his hands coming up in a defensive gesture to point in her direction. "That girl is driving around without being cleared by a doctor with my daughter in the front seat. I want her found and taken off the road. And while we're at it, I think we'd all appreciate it if you took your unchecked aggression you have directed at Rowan and stopped throwing it around to make us all uncomfortable. You made your bed, lie in it."
Catherine gasped in outrage, clearly not expecting that and as she whirled around to help Chin with the IDs, Danny pulled out his phone. He dialed Rowan's number.
"Yo, what's up my main man?"
Oh god she was doing something terrible, he could tell from the tone of her voice, from the very words she chose.
"Where are you?"
"Driving."
"Okay, well stop. You weren't cleared by a doctor to drive, and don't try to lie to me about it either. If you had gotten cleared, we all would have gotten all-caps-texts about it. So, stop before you hurt yourself or Grace."
"No can do," Rowan said, sounding way too chipper. Almost fake chipper.
"Why?" Danny asked both weary and wary.
"You know what? We got a situation here…" "—Oh God, no, Ro, where are you?" "I'm gonna go see if I can deal with it. Talk to Grace."
And then Grace was on the phone. "Hi Daddy! Can I hear that noise now?"
"Maybe later, monkey, where… where did Auntie Ro take you?"
"We're at a garden," she answered.
Steve was on him now, as soon as Danny had gotten frantic, had said Rowan's name in that tone, he was worried. He stared at Danny with narrowed eyes of concern. He didn't ask what was wrong, he was listening, waiting to hear what they said.
"You're at a garden?" he echoed.
"Yeah, she went to check the cop in the car. I think he might be hurt."
"Okay, but which garden, which garden did she take you to?" he asked again but once again Grace didn't answer.
"I gotta go Danno," she said instead and then hung up the phone. Danny stared at the phone.
"Rowan's got some situation I have no idea what except that it's involving an injured cop, Grace couldn't tell me where they are. I don't know what to do," he sighed trying very hard not to panic. When they found Rowan he was going to wring her neck.
"Well when we're done here, we can go track them, or I can call Duke and ask him to look for her," Steve offered. "I mean injured officer, they've got to have heard about that, right? It doesn't mean they're in danger."
"We got something," Chin said coming forward with their bad ass mobile computer. Luckily interrupting whatever panic attack Danny was about to have. "Kono and I met one of our dead guys this morning. Posing as an FBI agent. He had a partner with him. We think he's Sullivan."
Chin went about pulling up a file on the computer and then continued. "Our other fake Fed is Julian Lynch. Arrest back in 2008 for securities fraud, but investigators couldn't make the charges stick. Seems this guy has a knack for staying one step removed from all the cons he runs.
Steve, who was nervous about Rowan, Danny could cell, was shifting from one foot to the other in an impatient sort of swaying. He wanted to be running someone down, whether it was Lynch, or Parrish, or Rowan was entirely up to what happened next.
"Yeah, by setting other people up to take the fall," he muttered.
"Look, according to TSA, Lynch arrived in Hawaii back in December of 2012. That's three weeks before Parrish responded to the job posting," Catherine said pointing to the computer.
"Right, that's when Parrish became Lynch's patsy."
Steve shot him a strange look that Danny ignored. "Did you say patsy?"
"I did. Been wanting to use that word for a while."
Chin wasn't having any of the idle chit chat either so before Steve could fire back at Danny, Chin intervened. "If Lynch is bold enough to pose as an FBI agent to track this guy down he's not going to stop now just because the heat's turned up."
Steve nodded. "That's why we need to find Parrish before he does."
Grover chose that point to come forward. "McGarrett. I heard you and Danny talking, I… uh… I reached out to the HPD unit we put on Parrish's daughter," he admitted. "I figured, if your girl was this close to the case she might have… I unno… picked something up. Any way, he called in a while ago to say that the daughter was leaving her house and he was following. And since about 15 minutes ago… around the time you put that phone call in to psychic-dearest, he stopped answering his radio."
Shit. Shit. This was so Rowan. He grounded both her and his daughter and she's fucking trying to take down bad guys. What was wrong with this girl? Steve only had to share the briefest of looks with Danny for them to get on the same page.
"Trace Rowan's phone, she's gone after Lynch," Danny called while both he and Steve ran towards Danny's car. They needed to find her ASAP.
H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O
Roy had called his daughter to meet him at a place that meant something to him. A conservation area that they used to go to together when she was younger. He was shocked that she agreed to come. He hit her with a speech about how he'd have to go away for a while and he just wanted her to believe him. Believe that he was innocent. But he should have known she wouldn't come for no reason. He figured that it might be a trap but he didn't think that it was because she had conspired with the guy who set him up in the first place.
At least Sullivan was kind enough to tell him that his daughter thought he was FBI. That made sense, she just thought she was turning him in. He really was proud of his daughter and her moral compass, glad that she just wanted to do what was right.
But he had bigger issues at that moment. Like three men with guns trained on him and his daughter.
"Listen, do whatever you gotta do, but let my daughter go," he said to Sullivan.
"Maybe, we'll see," Sullivan said. "You know, it didn't have to go this way. You could've just lived the rest of your life in prison."
"For a crime I didn't commit?"
"Does that really matter? I mean, come on, no offense but a guy like you, sooner or later you were gonna end up back there"
"Please don't do this," Lauren cried. Poor girl she didn't mean to cause this, she thought she was doing something good. Thought Sullivan was the good guy. Roy wondered if he'd get to tell her that he didn't blame her for this.
"Sorry, hon," Sullivan said with a casual shrug. Like this was nothing but a convenience store transaction. "I can't be constantly looking over my shoulder wondering if and when Daddy here is gonna pop up and get his revenge."
He took another step closer to Roy and the two men behind him hovered closer to his daughter who was frantically starting to cry. She was panicked and afraid and Roy wanted nothing more than to cross to her, hold her and tell her that everything was going to be alright.
"I'm so sorry daddy!" she sobbed. Roy turned to her, in his mind all he saw was the beautiful little girl he used to push on a swing, every Saturday he had her.
"Please, stop crying," he tried to soothe his daughter. "You're the only good thing that ever came out of me. Let's face it, I've made enough mistakes for two lifetimes. It's not your fault. Listen, this is between you and me. She doesn't need to see…"
They were about to pull the trigger he knew it and then someone slid in front of him. The girl from before, McGarrett's little girlfriend was standing in front of him, arms out stretched like her small frame could shield him.
Steve had called her Rowan, but mostly referred to her as Ro. He and his partner had argued about the validity of her statement. Called her psychic. His partner usually believed, Steve usually did not. The tables had turned today and it caused contention between the two. Though judging by the way the two had bickered, contention was a regular thing between them. So Roy wasn't too surprised that Rowan had showed up, but he was surprised she didn't have the two of them in tow.
"No!" she shouted on the top of her lungs. "I'm Rowan Pierce and I do not approve!"
Behind them two phones went off, hell even Sullivan's phone went off. They all had faces of fear, even Sullivan looked properly upset by her appearance. Parrish himself was more than a little surprised because he knew that name. Everyone in jail heard that name. If this was that Rowan Pierce they were saved. The two men, the ones behind them, their guns were drooping in their hands, they had their phones out staring at them, exchanging glances and freaking out poor Sullivan.
"What are you doing? What are they doing?" he cried. He raised the gun and pointed it at her. "I don't care who you're tied too, if you don't move, I'll shoot you."
"STEVE?!" Rowan screeched, and somewhere in the distance came a cry of response. It could have been no but it also could have been a call of his nickname for her, Ro. He was too far out and she realized that. Unfortunately, Sullivan knew it too.
"Looks like help isn't coming," he growled to her
She looked around at all the bushes, she looked back at Sullivan with his gun raised coming for them, and then back to Roy before making up her mind and turning forward. It was that exact moment that Rowan Pierce stopped being that hyper happy little thing that had assaulted him in the car and became something a little more like the man everyone knew was protecting her.
"Ten grand to the first person to shoot Lynch," she ordered pointing right at Sullivan.
And they shot him. His own men. The men that had been watching. Both of them. Each fired at least two times and he went down immediately. Rowan stood there, stock white, eyes wide, like she hadn't expected that to happen.
"Oh god," she said and then she doubled over and promptly hurled. And that was exactly where she stopped being like the criminal who protected her.
Parrish stood just as McGarrett crested the hill, gun drawn, a laser focus on Rowan and a look on his face that made chills run down Roy's back. Danny cleared the two bodyguards, made sure they were no longer a threat while McGarrett went straight to Rowan. He pulled back her hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. When she was done throwing up, after he had offered her his shirt sleeve to wipe her mouth off on, and when she was standing again and not hunching over, he grabbed the girl and hugged her tightly. Only then did stern, scary Steven McGarrett melt away. With that girl in his arms he seemed almost human.
"If any of what you have to say involves visions and that goddamn network, so help me Ro, I'll strangle you myself," he growled into her neck.
Rowan let out a shaky laugh and said: "Then don't ask me," and then buried her face into his chest. Steve held her even tighter than before, cradling her like she was the most precious thing on the planet. And as Parrish held his own daughter, who was sobbing into his own chest, he felt like he understood the sentiment.
"Where's Grace?" Danny asked, while the two shooters got down on their knees and he was busy zip tying them. "She wasn't in the car, where is she?"
"There were killers about, Danny, I didn't want to leave her alone, so she's at the bottom of the hill," Rowan said from the safety of Steve's arms and suddenly Danny was crying out in horror and rushing down the slope.
"You know if he falls, he's gonna climb back up here and kill you," Steve said watching his partner go.
"And you're not going to stop him?"
Parrish watched Steve turn back to her a stern seriousness on his face. He didn't need to say the answer. As Detective Williams lost his footing and rolled the rest of the way down the hill, Parrish knew, without a doubt, that there wasn't a single thing Steven McGarrett wouldn't protect that girl from, even his angry partner.
H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O
"Randall Parrish, on behalf of the United States District Court of Hawaii, I would like to apologize for the gross miscarriage of justice that resulted in your wrongful conviction. The record will now show that Randall Parrish was pardoned of all murder and fraud charges."
And then that gavel banged make it all real. Legally. Roy was officially a free and pardoned man.
Steve watched as Roy accepted his pardon from the judge with his daughter at his side with a hint of pride on his face. He had done this. Together with Rowan, they had delivered this man from death and proved him innocent in one go. All in all, a good day if she hadn't had to use the network to get her part done. He didn't even mind that they put off their date until this all got settled.
Still, sitting there watching this touching moment with Rowan sitting beside him with their hands intertwined, made this moment even more special for him. He had worn blue purposely. It was her favourite color on him. Just like she was in a black empire waisted, off the shoulder dress, because that was his favourite color and outfit on her. Though to be fair he loved her in anything and he felt confident that she felt the same about him.
With the pardon accepted and the judge signed off Roy and his daughter Lauren returned to where the he, Rowan and the rest of the Five-0's stood to greet them.
"Thank you all for coming," Lauren said to them. They all murmured their your welcomes as Roy came over to Rowan. They each took a turn hugging both Lauren and Roy, and Kono took that time to return the letters they had borrowed from Lauren for the investigation. The ones Roy had sent her from prison. Roy's eyes were on Rowan.
"So, what are you thinking kid?" he asked. "Got any psychic predictions about my future?"
Steve winced, there was no way to explain to Roy what she really was so she just pretended to think about it and then said: "I think you're finally going to get that second chance."
"Yeah? You think," he said with a big grin.
Rowan nodded quickly. "Oh yeah! I think you're gonna reconnect with your daughter. I think you're going to do really well from now on. Hopefully on the straight and narrow."
"Oh, I'll make sure of it," Lauren said smiling up to her dad who kissed her temple lightly.
"Hey, do you guys mind if I talk to McGarrett real quick?" Roy asked and Steve tried not to be concerned. After the incident on the hill yesterday that derailed what would have been their first date he didn't really want Rowan too far out of his eyesight. But she and Lauren turned away linked arms and walked away from them. Steve swallowed the order to not go too far before it could escape his lips.
"You… you know what she did right?" Roy asked surreptitiously. Steve turned to him, the look was enough for Roy to get his answer. "Look, I'm not stupid. Her name. Rowan Pierce. We all heard it. More than once. She's… she's a fucking goddess in the joint. They say one job involving her can rake you in enough to live comfortable for more than a while. And her reach extends past these islands. She's the reason one of the new guys got wailed on. A complete surprise, he was some Mexican Kingpin or something, but he got the shit kicked out of him so bad he got sent to the infirmary."
"Wait? Who?" Steve asked, worried he already knew the answer.
"Some janky kid named Waincroft. The word on the street was he threw her benefactor under the bus. Used his name to gain connections on the island, lied about knowing him, getting help from him. Somehow, that put your girl in danger. Waincroft got a beating for it. As a warning, to everyone else, that whatever he said he'd do in the name of protecting her, he'll do it."
So that was what happened with that Yakuza. Someone had used Wo Fat's name in vain to garner connections and that put Rowan in jeopardy. Wo Fat must have sent someone to make an example out of Gabriel. Several someone's by the sound of it. Geeze he was lucky he wasn't just dead.
"Now, we had been hearing things about this girl. About her safety network. How she's always in trouble and how working with her is an easy cash grab. Always in trouble, always needing rescuing. They think it's funny cause she's always trying to use it for good. But… you know… up on that hill…"
Steve blanched. She had quite been forthcoming about how she got those two men to turn on their boss. But he had a feeling that he was about to find out.
"I mean… from where I'm standing, she sure as hell used it for good but there was something under it all. She uh… you know for someone so cute and peppy she had no problem ordering it done."
Steve nearly chocked on the air in his throat. "I'm sorry… she… she what?"
"She ordered it done. When she realized you weren't going to make it on time, she ordered them to shoot Lynch. 10 grand to the first person to shoot him, that's what she said. You know we were all assuming it was Fat that controlled the network, that he decided what contracts went out… but uh…"
No, it wasn't just Wo Fat. Clearly Rowan had some say in the matter as well. Hot. Fucking. Damn. Steve found himself staring at her. She was only standing a few feet away from him engaged in idle chit chat. She looked so lovely standing there, talking to Lauren, laughing with his friends. From where he was standing, she didn't look like a cold-blooded killer. She didn't look like the type of person who'd order a man shot.
All he could think was: sociopathic tendencies.
H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O
He was to meet Rowan at the bar. They were stopping there for drinks with the Five-0s before he took her out on their very first and proper date.
He was excited.
He was also worried but he was going to ignore what happened at that god forsaken hill because he wanted to have a nice first proper date with the girl who made his heart flutter like a moth trapped under a glass.
He was just going to be excited and that was it. That was all he was letting happen. He was gonna go out with the girl he had been obsessing over, if he was lucky, he was going to get laid, and if he was even luckier, she'd stay the night. He'd take her staying the night even if he didn't get laid. Anything to wake up to her the next the morning.
He was also hoping to confirm what was going on between her and Alex. No one had really been clear about that yet.
He also still hadn't spotted her yet, but Grace was there and she looked super excited about something, so when she got close Steve was certain to stand to ruffle Grace's hair. Loving that giant grin she shot him even though he was messing up her wonderful hairdo.
Catherine, who was sitting awfully close to him, no matter where Steve moved at the table, turned to Grace and smiled. "Oh whoa, that is some serious bruising you got there," she said gesturing at her hand.
Steve knew all about what happened with that hand. He was also pretty sure she was grounded but clearly not much because she was here having fun on a roof top club. Same thing went for Rowan who, while not grounded, wasn't allowed to babysit anymore… until further notice or she proved that she could be trusted.
Grace glanced down to her hand and then smiled at Catherine, a small untrusting smile, but despite clearly loving her Auntie Ro best, Grace was still being polite.
"You should see the other guy."
That earned her a round of appreciative ohs from everyone at the table and encouraged her to kiss her bicep like she had any real muscle there. As everyone laughed Catherine's hand dropped to Steve's thigh and suddenly he was standing.
"Alright guys, I'm going to go get another round, Danny come for a walk," he ordered and thankfully Danny just obeyed instead of commenting on what it was that had Steve standing so abruptly.
"What you need me to pay for it?" Danny asked, clearly being sassy.
"Naw, I got Chin's AmEx," he called back turning away as quickly as possible before Catherine made anymore wild grabs.
They got to the bar and Steve lifted up his glass. "Hey, hey, I need two more of these and a rye and ginger," he said nodding to the bartender who took his empty glass.
Danny was smiling at him in that knowing way. All because he put in a drink order for Rowan. Steve elected to ignore him and dipped into his wallet but added. "And what are you drinking."
"I'll take a longboard and a Shirley Temple for my date," he said and then clocked the cash in Steve's hand. "Oh wow."
"Wow… wow what?"
"You got money. That's amazing."
"Yeah, I work, Danny. I make money," Steve snapped. Danny took the bill and raised it to the light to make sure it was real. "Thank you. Don't touch it."
Luckily Danny put it down and the two of them turned back to their little party to watch them as they waited for their drinks.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" Danny asked and Steve faltered. He was nervous. Very nervous but he didn't want to admit that.
Instead his eyes landed on Grace. "You know… she's a great kid, Dan."
Wow… Dan, really? He never called him Dan. Way to make things weird, McGarrett.
"Yeh, she's got a mean right cross too." Steve turned to Danny with a smile, watching his friend's eyes lovingly stare at his daughter before he turned his eyes back on Steve. "She's nervous too, you know. But she's excited. Both of you have waited for this moment for a very long time and I think… I think it'll go well for you. At least I hope it will. To be honest I think we're all a little surprised it's actually happening."
Steve was honestly touched. Danny had never really been a big supporter of him and Rowan, he was bigger on keeping them apart. Steve was too volatile with her, he kept saying, it was nice to hear him say that to him. The drinks were ready and they were trying to figure out how they were going to get this all back to the table when Rowan finally appeared. Seemingly out of nowhere.
"Oh, got me anything?" Rowan asked appearing beside him. Steve started and turned to her. Oh god she looked so pretty standing there. Her hair curled nicely, her make up done in rosy shiny colors. She was in that grey and pink dress, the one from her dinner with Alex and Doris. The one he said she looked ridiculous in, the one that had stunned him speechless.
Well he was still speechless.
Danny was talking to her offering the drink Steve had bought her because Steve found that he couldn't move, while Rowan's carefully kept her eyes on Steve.
She smiled warmly taking a sip of her drink. "If you tell me I look ridiculous I'm leaving," she warned teasingly.
Nope, he learned from his mistakes last time. "You look beautiful," he said breathlessly. He meant it. With all his heart. "It's what I wanted to say the first time I saw you in that dress and it's what I'm saying now."
Rowan dropped the glass back into Danny's grip and then crossed to Steve. She was close enough to see him that he could see the sparkles on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. She lowered her eyes to his chest and began to play with the lapels of his grey suit jacket.
"You're looking quite handsome yourself, Sailor," she whispered.
"He's a Commander," Danny interjected.
"Lieutenant Commander," Steve corrected, his eyes still on Rowan, he was unable to take them off her. At the same time Rowan absently said: "Shut up."
Somewhere behind her there was the chime of a discordant set of bars. Steve looked up and saw Alex and his band setting up on a small makeshift stage.
"You guys have a gig tonight?" Steve asked. She had never mentioned that, just that she was going to be there that night and she had put all their names on the list so they could get in. Even Catherine.
Rowan shot a glance back at where Alex was setting up and nodded. "Yeah. Just a small gig. I convinced Alex to do small sampler in an intimate setting for some of our execs. He wants to go bigger. Wants to get that album dropped faster. I thought this might help."
"Did you ever sort that thing with the music?" Danny asked.
"What thing?" Steve asked.
Rowan's eyes turned to Danny a sort of coolness about her that iced everything in Steve's veins. He had seen that look before, that look did not mean good things.
"Almost. I think it's going to be settled really soon. Tonight, if we're lucky"
"What thing?" Steve asked again when it was clear neither of them were going to answer.
Rowan turned to him a normal smile on her face. "Would you excuse me a second, I need to schmooze," she said and then walked away. Once she was out of earshot Danny started talking.
"Alex is attempting to claim rights to her songs. She says she only cares about one song, but I think she's upset about it all."
Steve turned his eyes back to Rowan, who was at a table with older looking gentlemen who were all eyeing her like she was a walking buffet of everything they could ever want. Steve shook his head, why the hell was she with that asshole if this was the sort of shit he pulled? Though to be fair… why would Rowan want to be with him after the shit he pulled?
The girl had terrible taste in men. Which didn't really say much about her interest him, now did it?
Steve leant back against the bar and sipped his drink. His eyes darting between Grace and the other Five-0s and where Rowan was sitting and chatting up the older execs. He watched her walk away from them, jogging over to where Alex was setting up for their gig with the rest of his band. He didn't smile at her as they exchanged words in fact it looked rather heated.
Rowan handed him a paper, which he ripped up and threw in her face. Rowan looked shocked, she looked hurt and Steve threw his now empty glass down to the bar so hard it shattered. Which was how Danny knew to grab him to hold him back. If Alex thought Steve was going to stand there and let him disrespect Rowan like that he had another thing coming. And yeah, sure he had been told he was treading a thin line but the Governor said he couldn't use his immunity and means task force to harass Rowan, he said nothing about using it to force Alex to sign the rights to Rowan's songs back to her.
"Don't, stop, she needs to do things on her own," Danny told him.
"She's just going to tell Wo Fat to deal with it," Steve growled.
"Nope, not true," Danny said shaking his head. "She's too scared to call him. Too scared to ask for favours."
The glaring since he got attacked hung in the air between them. It never occurred to Steve that Rowan might have a guilty conscience over that. It wasn't directly her fault, by all accounts the attack was Gabriel's fault and he had paid quite dearly.
Steve turned to help the bartender sweep away the mess, he turned to apologize, to pay for the damage, to get first aid because he had cut his hand.
"All Rowan wants is independence. She wants to be able to do things on her own, so, and I know you're not going to like this, but you're going to have to let her do it by herself," Danny insisted. "She said she has a plan let's just see what it is before we jump in to help her."
Steve nodded his agreement. He was busy ordering another drink and promising the bartender that under no certain circumstances would he be shattering another tumbler, when Rowan popped up again beside him.
"Hey, I'm just going to stay for the first set then we can head out… unless you'd rather stay here for the…" she offered she then took in the gauze he had taped to his palm and she gasped. "Steven! What happened to your hand?"
"What's going on with you and Alex?" he asked.
"We've been arguing over who owns my music," she answered quickly. "I don't see what that has to do with your hand…"
"Just got a little mad, is all," Steve replied. "Why… why are you with this guy?"
The music started up and Rowan turned away from him. She leant against the bar and folded her arms over her chest a pointed glare on her face directed directly at Alex. He was singing a song, one Steve recognized.
Saturday Night.
Steve knew that song. He remembered when Rowan was stilling trying to figure out lyrics and chords. He remembered her singing it in the shower. He remembered her sitting beside him on the couch while he tried to watch the game, her guitar on her lap trying to strum her way through the chords. That song brought back fond memories, hearing it in Alex's voice almost ruined them for him. It was Alex's show stopper though, he always used it to impress people. Showed off his vocal range. Showed off Rowan's better though.
But it was the look on Alex's face when he spotted Rowan in the crowd that caught Steve's attention. The look of absolute terror on his face when he confirmed that Rowan wasn't where she usually stood at the back up mic. Steve glanced at Rowan in time to see that smug little wave she subjected Alex to.
Alex was so shocked by Rowan's absence on stage that he botched a line, forgot to sing it entirely. Okay… not that Rowan wasn't a great singer, but why did it matter if she was singing back up vocals or not?
But Rowan was gesturing to him, making a scribbling motion with her hand. Signature, she was miming for him to sign. Alex's scowl deepened. Oh, he didn't like that at all.
"Uh… I feel like I'm out of the loop," Danny said. "Why is he upset that you're not up there?"
"Because Alex can't do high notes for extended periods of time. With all the shows, all the extra singing he's been doing recording for the up coming album, he's vocal chords are shot," Rowan explained. Alex was staring at her pleading with his eyes, his arms out stretched. But Rowan was just shaking her head.
"I don't see what that has to do with you?" Danny said but Steve got it.
"I'm his high notes, Danno. When Alex can't do them, I cover. I've been covering for the last week. Now we have a big show to prove to this potential supporter of a tour that he can go anywhere, sing anywhere, can fill any venue, and right now, right at this very crucial moment, Alex Lockman has no one to sing his trademark high notes," Rowan said.
Danny stared at her like he was horrified. Steve was just proud of her. "You're one twisted individual."
"No. What's twisted is the lies he told to get this far. He's lucky I didn't just sick Wo on him," she growled waving to Alex again who was looking past frantic at this point. Rowan half turned to Steve and added: "Or… uh… you…"
Steve half shrugged and tried to hide his smile, but something had hit him hard. "What lies did he tell?"
But Rowan was ignoring him again. She was miming for Alex to sign again and they were coming to the high note that he was dreading. It was then that he noticed the man to the side, the man in the nicely pressed suit. An Asian man.
Chin.
Chin with the papers for Alex to sign. He said nothing but just stood there. Rowan shrugged at Alex's angry facial features. Steve watched. Watching Alex crouch down, all while till trying to sing and signing the papers. As soon as he did, Rowan had a mic out, one of those headpieces. Which was right in time for the high note.
Steve and Danny shielded her from prying eyes as she belted it out. But as soon as she was done she had taken the mic off to let Alex finish his solo just as Chin came over.
"There you go," he said handing her the papers. "Sign them quick before he comes over and I'll deal with them. Make sure he doesn't make a play for the papers or a play for the song book."
"He made a play for your song book?" he asked but Rowan shook her head.
"I'm going to talk to the execs again, when I'm done we can go? Okay?" she asked ignoring his question and Steve nodded, yeah that sounded about right. Her ignoring his important questions. He got the distinct impression that she was still hiding things. But he wondered if that was because she didn't trust him at all, or if she didn't trust him with that part of herself.
Steve watched her skip off before turning to Chin and Danny and asking: "Do you guys wanna fill me in?"
They did not.
H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O
They did end up staying to share drinks with the team before leaving. It was slightly awkward for Steve to leave with Rowan when Catherine was staring him down with a disapproving glare, but if Rowan felt awkward, she didn't say anything.
Dinner was at this posh restaurant a friend of his ran. A sushi joint. Rowan liked what everyone else called: "White people sushi." It was the only time she'd eat fish, and all she'd really eat was synthetic crab so long as it was covered in hot sauce. But Steve didn't care. He was just glad to be sitting across the table from her on an actual proper first date.
And though they had already kissed, several times since their first proper kiss in the tunnels, he felt that… if he did get a kiss tonight, he was going to be an absolute gentleman about it… it would be even more special then all the others.
And he couldn't wait.
By the time dinner was done, Steve realized that he didn't want to drop Rowan off back at Alex's door. He had dropped his truck off there before going to the bar, luckily Chin had picked him up from there. Even luckier for him, Rowan didn't want the night to end either. Rowan had been nice enough to let him take her car, except… she didn't let him drive it. Not her baby. But as he was standing there, both of them at their respective doors he noticed her dithering.
"Uh… so… question…"
"Yeah, I've got one too," Steve said interrupting her.
Rowan pinned him with a dry glare. "You always have questions, Steven."
"This one should be easy," he whispered. "Did you… did you wanna go somewhere else? Like… I unno…"
"Sure. Know any good spots?" she asked having perked up immediately at his question. "Like… a make out point?"
"I went to high school on the island. Of course I do."
Rowan tossed him the keys with a smile. "Good. You drive."
And Steve beamed. Behind the wheel of that car he finally understood her desire to own that car again. And while she looked absolutely marvelous and at ease behind the wheel there was something about her sitting in the passenger seat beside him, wind whipping through her hair that contented smile on her face. Something that made his heart flutter in his chest.
When they got to the point he parked her car and then turned to her. "You never did tell me if you got cleared to drive by the way," he said as they pulled up to Halona Blowhole.
"No, Steven, I didn't. Not yet anyway. The appointment is tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be fine. Nothing tests you better then driving around God's Hawaiian green acres looking for a black Camaro and then a beige sedan."
Steve laughed. Well, she had a point. And she hadn't gotten into an accident today at all. She really was a pretty good driver. Together they got onto the hood of her car and lent back against the windshield where they were faced with all the bright stars above them.
"This is very pretty," she whispered.
Out in the distance came the resounding crash of the blow hole and then light spritz of water sprayed down on them. Rowan squealed and sat up while Steve just smiled and accept it.
"Welcome to Halona Blowhole."
Rowan settled herself back down next to Steve her arm against his. What was the next move here? Normally he'd just swoop in and kiss her but he wasn't sure if that was what he was supposed to do. Rowan was so different from the other girls he'd been around, she didn't melt at his charms or throw herself at him, nor was she some navy marine, or sailor hopper he could impress with his active duty stories.
"This is awkward." Rowan said shifting onto her side so she was looking at him. She poked his arm as she stared at him. "Why yah being awkward McGarrett?"
Steve found himself blinking his eyes at her. Who the hell did stuff like that? "Uh…."
"Like… what exactly are you worried about?"
"I don't know… I guess… I've never been a really casual kind of guy," he answered.
"And what were you and Catherine? I mean, didn't you guys start out casual?"
"Well… I guess… I unno yeah I only saw her when I could but I was 100% committed to seeing her and only her."
"And you're not 100% committed to seeing just me?"
"No," Steve cried maybe a little too hastily. "It's just… I thought we were… I thought we were taking things slow, you know… cause I'm controlling and you're a psychopath."
"Sociopath," Rowan corrected. "Minor sociopathic tendencies. It is not my fault your hectic stressful lifestyle brings it out of me. Maybe if you'd stop getting kidnapped, or shot at, or nearly blown up or trapped in parking garages I wouldn't have to ride to your rescue like the sociopathic bitch I am."
That was a very loaded sentence, one that Steve didn't really want to dissect at that moment, so instead he said: "I haven't been trapped in a parking garage."
Rowan winced. "Oh…. About that…."
"No. No. I told you, I don't like talking about that sort of stuff. Don't tell me those things," he said before she could blurt it out. She nodded, lowering her eyes from his and then rolling back onto her back. Steven sighed, fuck he could have just kissed her there. Could have outstretched a hand and then pulled her down onto of him. He had done fucked that moment up.
"Sorry," she whispered all light and airy like. But he could hear the disappointment in her voice and it made him feel really bad.
This time it was he who turned on his side, one arm propping up his head as he stared down at her. If he move two inches forward and he could kiss her.
"Can you tell me what's going on with you and Alex?"
Rowan blinked her eyes and Steve realized that right now, was probably not the best time to ask about one of the other men in her life. "I told you Steve, we're arguing over my music. But it's settled now…"
"No I mean… what are you doing with him?" Steve interrupted. "I mean, you're with me, and we're casual, I think, honestly I don't know what we're doing…" "—That makes two of us." "—Not the point right now Rowan. So, you have me, the last I heard you and Alex were still together and very official, but he kicked you out of his hospital room, blamed you for getting attacked, he's stolen your music tried to steal your song books and he is way too chummy with the groupies, I notice that at every gig we're at. So, like… are you with him still? Like… what's happening Rowan?"
Rowan stared up at him, her eyes blinking. He could tell that she didn't want to tell him and that worried him. He could not be the other man. He just couldn't be. "We're not together anymore," she finally answered. "He and I… we're not… we just…"
And then he kissed her. Solidly and firmly. She had broken up with Alex. Probably over the music. He'd like to think it was him, but he had a feeling it was about the music. Another spray of fine mist descended on him causing Rowan to giggle and Steve to smile. Both too giddy to actually continue kissing.
"It was over the music right?" Steve asked. "You broke up with him over him trying to steal your songs, right?"
Rowan was hesitant but eventually nodded and Steve went back to kissing her. This time two more spray from the blowhole covered them before Steve finally pulled away. This time when he lay himself back down on the windshield, Rowan snuggled closer to him, taking her fingers and sliding them through his own.
"Can I make one request?" Rowan whispered. Her voice low and silken. Steve nodded, his head already angling so he was resting his on hers. "Could I come home with you tonight. I don't want to… you know… go that far, but I'd really love it if we could just… you know cuddle. I feel safer when I'm with you and…"
Steve rolled back over kissing her until she got the answer, which was a resounding fuck yes. When she was smiling contently he slowly and carefully slid back off of her and together they turned back to the night sky.
As they lay back on the hood of her car, shoulder to shoulder, hands intertwined, Steve realized that there was no where else he'd rather be, no one else he'd rather be there with, and all thoughts and worries about what she did up on that hill to save herself and Roy Parrish melted away.