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AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Happy Tuesday my wonderful readers! How are you guys enjoying the marathon so far? How did you like Rowan and Steve having a real conversation? I mean, Rowan's still choosing to hide things but at least Steve isn't trying to force it out of her. At some point she will tell him what's going on (some point soon actually) so, you know, there's that to look forward to. How do you think Steve is going to react? Is he going to forget to be open and supportive or will he actually try? Tell me what you're voting for in a review and I'll see you guys tomorrow!

*Update* I had this chapter prepped and ready to go as of 11pm last night and my dumb ass forgot to press submit on the chapter edit page. Ugh, so you're gonna get two updates today, starting with this one and then another one later tonight.

Chapter 305

A month before.

There had been a lot that Wo Fat had to fill Rowan in on. Wo Fat had returned her promise ring to her, a ring she put right back on her finger as if it needed to be there, though she had to open a portal to get the golden sea-shell from their house in Andalucía. Then he brought out her old phone, the phone before she got grabbed, and showed her the messages that he had been left on Rowan's voicemail. Messages that Wo Fat had Sandy block her from seeing, and that he had personally removed before she could listen to them, after he had listened to them firsts. There were several from her Five-0 friends all worried about her, all asking for her to come home. Then messages from Steven. One telling her that he loved her and he wanted her to come home. Then a few more. One for her birthday, one on Christmas, and on Valentine's day. But most of her voicemails were from Nahele. He had been calling that voicemail all year, like it was a diary of some sort. And it was those voicemails that made her cry.

It was those voicemails that cemented the anger in her.

Even Conejo was mad at Wo Fat for that one. Why the hell did he do that to the kid when he sounded so afraid to be taken by child services again? Why would he do that to that poor little boy? It was hard to align him with the man that had done this because Con didn't see Wo Fat as a hardened sociopath who was capable of terrible things to get his way. Con had never thought Wo Fat could do something so despicable to the sister he claimed to love so much.

Then it was time to split ways. Rowan went with Wo Fat to the marina to trick Steve and Conejo broke in, first to the Palace to leave the last bread crumb and then to the La Mariana Tiki Bar to set up the rest of the test.

Though he found it very ironic that they broke him out with Rowan's powers but he had to use his skills to break back in. Why didn't they just drop the breadcrumb when they broke him out? So, Steve would find it at the right time, Wo had said. Fucking bullshit.

Still Conejo got everything ready and a half hour later Rowan and Wo Fat walked through a portal off of the boat and into the bar. Now all they had to do was wait for Steven to find the final bread crumb, figure out the final clue and show up.

"How's your arm?" Wo Fat asked for the fifth time. It hurt and Conejo had meds for it but he didn't want to be loopy and out of sorts when Five-0 showed up so he hadn't taken them yet.

The problem was that Rowan wasn't talking to either of them which made for a lot of silence in the shadowed back where they were hiding.

Conejo rotated it stiffly with a sniff, noting that Rowan was glancing at him from under hooded eyes. So she was worried but she didn't want to show it.

"It's nothing, I'll be fine," he said and he meant it.

Wo Fat turned his eyes back to Rowan who gone back to pointedly not looking at him. "I really did think it was for the best, Ro."

Conejo sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. Wo Fat should have just shut up, Rowan was mad, she had every right to be. Yes, Wo Fat had his reasons for why he did it but that didn't mean that she was going to see the reasonable line of action he took right at that moment. All she knew right now was that Wo Fat had spent a year lying to her and had convinced Conejo to do the same. Essentially ensuring that when she found out the true Conejo would be dragged down with him.

She shot him a dark glare. "He loved me. Nahele needed me. Now I have to start from the beginning again. Do you know how long it's going to take to get him to trust me again?"

Conejo should have stayed quiet but he couldn't help it. "Then what the hell Rowan? Why are we doing this?" he cried and she turned to him surprised. "Rowan, I mean… do you really want to go through everything again with Commander McControl-Freak? I mean really? Wouldn't it be better to just take the car and the kid and start over?"

"I don't want to start over. I want Steven back."

"But if he doesn't trust you…"

"I can earn it back."

"But you weren't the problem. You were lied to just as much as he was. It should be Wo Fat that McGarrett is mad at, not you. And if he even so much as gets a little bit angry at you, you better fucking leave him!"

"Wait a second… you lied to Steven too," Rowan said as if she had just remembered and Wo Fat groaned. "And I'm guessing more than just I was dead. What else did you tell him?"

He sighed but at leas the wasn't going to lie anymore. "He got a call similar to yours. Telling him that you didn't want to go back to Hawaii and that you were choosing to come with me."

Rowan blinked her eyes. "Why… why would you do that?"

"Well I had to do something Rowan. He was closing in on you and I couldn't give you back."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because you nearly died!" he shouted and both of Conejo and Rowan turned to him surprised. It was rare that Wo Fat showed emotion but there it was clear as day. "You nearly died and he bought a ring for Catherine. You heard those messages. Your friends were begging you to come home before he proposed and you were in basement getting tortured. Every time something has happened to you McGarrett had been no where to be seen or has directly caused the problem or put you in harms way and after that I just… I couldn't give you back to him just to have you end up in trouble again. Especially since he wanted me out of your life."

"But you had saved me…"

"You told me you were going to cut me out until you could get Steve to calm down…"

Rowan blinked her eyes. "I don't remember telling you that."

Wo Fat looked down and sighed again. "After I got you out and got you looked at. You were… heavily medicated but you kept waking up and… I asked you how this happened and you told me and you said…"

"Wo I was high out of my mind and in a lot of pain. Obviously, I wouldn't have gone through with it. You had the bigger bargaining chip you had saved my life, not Steven. There was no way he could have looked at me after that and told me you had to leave if I wanted to come back."

Wo Fat took that in and then let out his breath. "I suppose I didn't think of it that way… I wasn't exactly in the best head space at that time either. I really am sorry and I did try to make it up to you."

Rowan shook her head. "And I'm sure one day I'll get over it but right now, right now I'm just mad at you."

And that was the end of that conversation. Not because Wo Fat didn't want to argue, but because Five-0 had shown up with Steve leading the charge.

There was a frantic look of desperation on the man's face as he and his team combed through the bar and set off the video and music. The way he had watched those pictures, anguish painting his features, it hurt him so bad to look at her and not have her that he had to look away.

This man had it bad.

Rowan was watching too, fear on her face, though what she had to be nervous about was beyond him.

"What if he doesn't…"

"We both know he's here for you," Wo Fat said putting a hand to the small of her back. "He passed the test, he picked you at that marina not me."

Still Rowan dithered. "What if…"

"No, no more what ifs. You're going to go to him. You're going to make out with him…"

"Don't you mean make up?" Conejo interrupted and both Wo Fat and Rowan turned to him and said: "No."

"I know what I'm about. She's gonna go make out with him and then she's gonna remember that she has to open a portal for us to get away." He then turned back to Rowan. "Right?"

Rowan nodded. "Promise."

"That's it, right?" Conejo asked. "There isn't something you might be forgetting to tell her?"

Wo Fat stared at him clearly not remembering the last step. It wasn't until Conejo said: "Sandy," that Wo Far remembered.

"I wasn't going to tell her about that, but alright. Fine, Sandy is up and running again and we've put in place another version of the Captain America Contingency." When she hit him with a panicked look he hastily added: "Not that I think you'll use it. It's just in case you know. To be honest I'm pretty sure if something goes down, you'll just jump away so it's mostly to make me feel better."

"Is the energizer with my bags?"

"Yes, and they're with the car, you can pick it up at the warehouse when things are settled with McGarrett, okay?" he then pushed her towards the spot she was supposed to appear from. "Now hurry up before he leaves."

Then they hung back in the shadows and watched. Watched as Rowan appeared, watched Steve's face as he ran to her. They watched as Rowan threw herself at him, and how Steven caught her effortlessly. And then they watched as the two made out. Wo Fat really did know those two well after all.

They watched the happy reunion. They watched Steve's friends come to cover her in hugs each and every one of them happy to see her. Conejo took in Steve's hand on Rowan, it wasn't clinging to her but he sure as hell wasn't going to let her go, and his eyes, they hadn't even looked that bright any of the times Conejo had bumped into him before

And there was Rowan, just beaming. Fuck he didn't even know she had that kind of smile. He had never seen it before.

"Yeah, that's what you kept her from," he hissed to Wo Fat who was also watching them carefully. He didn't even bother to look at Conejo, he too refused to take his eyes off of Rowan. "Look at how happy she is!"

"Yes, this is always how it starts," he whispered. "Both of them are happy, both of them swear it will never happen again. Give it a month or two and they'll start having the same problems again. Just you wait."

Rowan was up in Steve's arms again, this time his back was facing the stage as if he was going to carry her out, which Conejo was certain he just might. Her eyes turned up to him and her eyes flashed white. Beside them a portal opened and with one last look at the girl both Wo Fat and Conejo had grown so fond of, they walked in.

That portal closed on Hawaii leaving them alone in one of Wo Fat's safe houses in Japan. It felt weird being somewhere without Rowan. This wasn't a trip for business that was temporary. They weren't going to call her and have her pull them back to Spain. Rowan was mad at them and it was going to be a long time before either of them were going to see her.

Conejo looked to Wo Fat. "So… now what?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," he said as he went into his pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes that he offered to Conejo. Half the pack was gone despite neither of them really smoking that much recently.

"Rowan take half your pack?" he asked.

"I suppose she's preparing for some nervous moments. You know what she's like."

That's true, he did. Rowan really only smoked when she was nervous. So she never bought her own pack, would steal them from Conejo and Wo Fat when she could.

The shared a match to light up their cigarette and then they were silent. It was amazing how much space and noise one little girl could create. Or maybe, this time he felt her absence more now that he knew that they weren't going to be returning to her.

"So… what are you going to do now?"

Wo Fat took a long drag before exhaling and turning to him. "I don't know," he told him. "I suppose I can go back to running my empire without distraction and you can go back to being a merciless killer."

Conejo took his own drag and said nothing. He didn't really want to go back to that, not fully.

"You know, ask me four months ago and I would have killed to go back to contract work," Conejo said with a scoff. "But now…"

Wo Fat shot him a sad smile. "Told you. She has a habit of getting under people's skin. Before you know it, you're… you're family."

Conejo found himself nodding, he never thought he'd be in a position to understand that but now… Rowan had opened up the door to having a family again, one that he was in the process of losing it.

Wo Fat took a long look at him. "It'll get easier, you know. This isn't the first time she's been mad and not talking to me. She forgives me eventually. After I shot her, she didn't speak to me for months. After I tortured Steven, she didn't talk to me for almost a whole year. I'm not sure where on the scale this is but she will eventually come around."

"How did she come around the other times?"

"When I shot her, I ended up getting stuck in a downed personal helicopter, got these burns and got arrested, she forgave me after that. Then after torturing Steven she ended up getting arrested by the CIA and extradited to Colombia…"

"So…. what you're saying is that unless one of us gets gravely injured or something goes down and she gets in trouble she probably won't forgive us anytime soon."

Wo Fat chuckled. "Yeah, but Rowan never does anything the easy way."

Conejo didn't quite like leaving her on her own. Yes he knew Steve to be capable but Rowan was a handful, he had a feeling it would be worse without them with her. But there wasn't anything he could do now. This had been his idea, he had wanted them back together. All he could do now was stay close and hope that he was near enough to swoop in a save her if shit hit the fan again.

He just had to hope that she didn't get into anything too dangerous while they were apart.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Right now

What Wo Fat was about to do was a gamble. A straight up gamble. After worrying away his time trying to set up his new home base in Japan now that he wasn't going to be in Spain. He didn't want to spend too much time in Andalucía in case Steven caught on. That was still their safest spot, but it would only stay safe if people didn't know about it.

Yes, he was busy but he wasn't that busy. The truth was, he was avoiding something. He was avoiding Jain. He had been back in Japan for a month and he still hadn't gone to talk to her. He wasn't certain that he could. He was just too scared of what she was going to say.

And that was absolutely ridiculous.

But he was lonely. He had called Rowan once a week since she had gone back to Steven and she had yet to pick up the phone. That hurt him. He knew that he deserved it, he had really messed up but he missed her. He would have thought that, by now, she'd have missed him too.

Yes she had reached out once or twice since she had gone back, but the first time was to tell him that she had settled in. The second time was because she wanted him to vouch for the lies he had told her so she could adopt the kid. The third had been to yell at him for funding the new Governor's campaign. So, you know… they weren't really the kind of calls he wanted.

And as he got lonelier and more worried about Rowan, though Sandy had not reported a single thing amiss with Rowan since she had returned, the more he thought about Jian. Other then the serial killer messing with Five-0 but there was no proof that the serial killer was actually interested in her. He had a send an order through to ask her to leave the island but it had been ignored. When that had been dealt with, he stopped really worrying about Rowan and turned to wondering how Jian's year away from him had been and how she was doing. So, he did some background.

She hadn't moved, she was in the same apartment he had bought her. She was still a doctor, her practice had not moved, but it didn't look like she was no longer in the side business anymore. He wasn't sure what happened but she wasn't on the Yakuza payroll anymore. He was almost afraid to look deeper into why, so he hadn't yet.

But looking into how she had been the last year, single and barely socially active, made him miss her even more. Had him thinking that maybe… maybe she had missed him too. So, he figured… why not try?

Jian Hui came home after a long day wanting to drink wine, curl up on her couch and eat her take away. She dropped the bag with her food on her counter before she stripped herself of her light jacket and went for the fridge.

She was going to watch shitty reality TV shows and pretend that her life didn't suck. That was the plan. Maybe she'd contemplate letting her mother set her up on a blind date seeing as the man she wanted to be with was still AWOL and probably wasn't ever going to come back at this point. She was not expecting to find someone in her apartment with her.

"Have anything for a broken heart?"

Jian whipped around clearly recognizing his voice and she just stared at him. "My god. Wo?"

"Or anything for chronic stupidity?" he asked hoping to lighten the mood.

He stood there smiling at her in that cute little puppy dog way of his and she almost threw herself at him. God, she wanted to be one of those girls in a rom-com that threw themselves at the guy and forgot about all their problems. But he had been gone a full year, actually no, more than a year. A year of silence was completely inexcusable.

"Where… where have you been? You… you broke up with me over email and just… vanished… for over a year!"

Wo Fat bowed his head. "Yeah. I know."

Was that all he had to say?

"What? So, you think you can just… just come back and look at me with that cute puppy dog look of yours and I'll just forgive you."

He couldn't help but smirk. Good to know she still found him attractive at least. "No," he answered truthfully. "I was hoping you'd at least… listen to me though. That you might let me explain a few things…"

She gestured for him to continue and he nodded. "Right well. For starters, I had a really good reason for disappearing like I did. See, Ro, she was kidnapped, to uh… to ransom against me and they… well they had been torturing her and it was… it was really bad, Jian, I mean, really bad. I had to go underground with her, to keep her away from the people after her, away from Steve who let it happen to her. And I didn't think you, with your steady job and what not, could come with us."

It was actually quite logical, his thought process. But that didn't change the things that upset her the most.

"I met Steven," she said abruptly. "He came here looking for Ro." Ah, yes, he had figured Steve might do that. "Except her name's not Ro, is it? It's Rowan."

Wo Fat faltered. "Well uh… Ro… Ro's her nickname…"

"She's also a little white girl," Jian snapped.

Wo blinked his eyes, he had a feeling that Steven would tell her everything, he had hoped he wouldn't but the man had never been the smartest. "Well I mean… she's a fully formed adult and uh… yes, yes you are right, she's not the same nationality as me but I did tell you that I was adopted…"

"Yes, by a fully formed adult, two years before I met you."

Well fucking hell. Steven really had told her everything. He must have been feeling pretty petty at that point.

"Okay… uh… and I know that sounds weird but…"

"And then you just went on a whirlwind, round the world trip… just you and her, to get away from her boyfriend…"

"Okay… well it wasn't just me and her… I did have a body guard for her, Con spent most of his time…"

"After breaking up with me in an email. No explanation, just Situation with Ro. Won't be back for a while, indefinite break until I know more. And then nothing."

Wo Fat blinked his eyes. "Is that what's this about? The email? I mean granted it wasn't my best choice but I didn't do it to be malicious. I just… Ro had almost died and I was preparing to go on the run with her. I knew Steven would come to you, and I just…"

"You love her don't you," Jian hissed. "Don't you?!"

"Well… yes… but how I feel for Rowan has no bearing on our relationship…"

"Oh, it doesn't?" she asked. "So, if something happens to her again you won't just pick up and leave me again?"

"Jian… Ro… Ro's my family…"

"No! She ISN'T!" she thundered and he backed away. Was this how Rowan felt when she and Steve argued about her relationship with him? "That woman is not related to you. She is just some stray you picked up and decided to keep. And I will not play second best to some random stranger. So, if you want to get back together, which I assume you do because otherwise why else would you show up, you will have to end your association with that woman."

A lot of emotions played past Wo's face. None that someone who didn't know him would see, but she did know him and she did see them. There seemed to be an eternity before that edict and the dangerous growl of: "No."

Jian couldn't help it. Her mouth fell open in shock. "No?" she echoed.

"No."

"Are you seriously…"

"Jian, Rowan has seen all I have to offer, every dark and twisted bit of me and loved me anyway. I just spent a year lying to her to keep her from Steven and while she's furious with me for doing it, she still loves me and I know one day she'll find it in her heart to forgive me. But it seems no matter what I do, or how often you say you don't care, you find aspects of my life to crucify me with," he snapped. Jian took that in. The fact that he spent a whole year lying to his sister. The fact that Rowan apparently loved him for him, and that he seemed to be angry at her for even asking to cut Rowan out. "My sister, may not be my sister by DNA, I didn't get adopted by her parents, but she did grow up with me. But she taught me how to feel again, which is how I ended up trying to have a relationship with you, and why I even bothered to come back in the first place. She may not be talking to me right now, and that maybe my fault but my sister is non-negotiable. So, if you're going to make me choose, I will tell you now… I will always, always, pick Rowan."

He picked up his jacket and stalked past her and towards the door.

"I'm sorry I bothered you… and wasted our time," he said and then slammed the door behind him. Jian was left in the unbearable silence of the apartment the two of them used to share. Well that had done it then.

She should have known that Ro would be the final nail in their coffin.

Wo Fat had a similar feeling rolling about his chest once he got onto the elevator. He felt the weight of what he had done, and realized that well… he was actually rather upset that he couldn't fix things with Jian like he would have wanted to. And he found… now that he didn't have anyone to really talk to, that the person he wanted to speak to most was his sister.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Steve bolted up in bed practically choking back the scream that wanted to escape him. He struggled to get a bearing on his surroundings before his eyes settled on the body in bed with him.

Rowan was already in the process of rolling over, a hand reached out to him, her voice thick with sleep calling his name. Well that was her alive and well beside him. For a moment he lowered himself back down to the bed to hug her and hold her close.

But then he replayed what the nightmares were about. Bloodstained, scream filled nightmares where Rowan and Nahele took the main stage. Dreams of torture and death, of this being the dream and the reality being he was still home alone wishing for Rowan to come home while she was off with Wo Fat. And soon it would all get too much for him.

Steve would pry himself out of Rowan's grasp, desperate to get away from her, his body on fire with the fear and the desire. He'd check first to make Nahele was in his room, which he always was. Then he'd head to the Lanai where he would sit out under the stars in the cold night air. And this night was no different.

When he had told Danny a few days ago that he planned to take a few days off, he hadn't really meant it. But then he had gotten home and that chess piece was waiting for him in the hands of the woman he loved, his son having found it on their kitchen counter and he actually did take a few days off. Not because he wanted to, but because he was too afraid to leave.

"Okay, Steve, this is the third night in a row that you've had some kind of nightmare."

Steve didn't even have it in him to jump. He wasn't the least bit surprised that Rowan had shown up, she always did at some point. She took the seat beside him, wrapped herself up in one of the blankets from the couch and then stared at him.

"What's going on. This can't all be about the chess piece."

No, it wasn't but it was what had started this.

"It's… complicated."

"And you could tell me about it."

Steve shot a glance back at her. "Yeah? This coming from the woman who won't tell me about half her trip last year? What are you hiding from me, Rowan?"

This was something he did often. When he wanted the spotlight off of him, he would bring up all the glaring holes in the last year where Rowan very suspiciously had no stories to tell him. Pockets of time that he knew should have something in it, that had crimes that might or might not have been committed by either her or Wo Fat.

Rowan rearranged herself in that blanket and took her eyes off of him. "The things I'm hiding are because you're not ready to hear them yet. I keep telling you when you're ready, I'll tell you."

No, she'll tell him when those things come back to haunt her and it will be too late.

"Well Rowan, maybe that's why I'm not telling you about this."

"What, I won't share, so you won't?"

"No, just that… I'm not ready," he shot back. "You keep telling me not to push you so maybe take your own advice huh?"

This was not where he wanted this to go, he didn't want to argue with her. He was just afraid and lashing out and he knew this, but he couldn't stop himself. Try as he might he just kept making everything worse and worse.

Rowan took her wounded eyes off of him and Steve found himself biting back the apology that was rising up. It was the emotion's fault, choking him again. He wasn't ready to tell her how he felt, how he had fallen in love with her long before this and it hadn't gone away. Even with the changes in her, even though each and every motion reminded him of Wo Fat, he still loved her. More than anything. And that was terrifying, especially with this serial killer still on the loose.

But the nightmares were getting worse and he couldn't keep having them and not tell her. Sooner or later he'd have to open up about it even though he didn't want to.

"I'm sorry, Steven" she said softly. "I'm sorry that I bothered you."

She stood up abruptly and placed the blanket on his lap. "When you feel better come back to bed, okay?"

As she withdrew, he grabbed her hand to press a kiss to the inside of her wrist. "I'll be up in a couple of minutes, I just need… air…"

She drew her hand across his cheek as she left him but once she was gone that weight returned to his chest. God, what was he going to do?

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

After that early morning nightmare that lead to yet another argument Rowan tried to make it up with Steven by making his favourite breakfast. So, when he finally came down the stairs the plate was waiting and ready for him. He smiled his thanks, came around the kitchen island, held her close and whispered: "I'm sorry about last night."

Well at least he apologized more quickly now. But he didn't stay with her, he took his breakfast out to the Lanai to sit with Nahele and barely said another word to her that morning.

Rowan knew that things were still fresh with him but it felt like, instead of getting closer together, they were drifting farther apart. She didn't really think she had changed that much but Steven was really struggling with this new her. She had tried dressing the way she used to, but she wasn't used to it anymore and try as she might she was having a hard time being bubbly annoying old Rowan.

And the worse that distance got between them, the more Rowan was certain that he was regretting bringing her back. And if he regretted that, well maybe… maybe he wanted to bring Catherine back too. Now that Rowan was the way she was, maybe he'd leave her. But after everything they went through, he no doubt didn't want to do it right now. Maybe he was just staying to save his pride instead of admitting that he never should have chased Rowan down like he had.

So, Rowan, who was upset, did what she did when she was upset. She baked. But she was going to limit her baking. Nahele was going over to Kai's house today, so she figured sending him with a couple batches of cookies wouldn't be that bad, right?

Steve had gone into the garage to work on his Marquis and Rowan was determined not to bother him. She as just going to bake, then when Nahele when to Kai's house she was going to demand that Steven tell her what was going on and if they got into an argument well… then so be it.

Someone knocked at the door and Rowan went for it. They weren't expecting anyone, and Kai wasn't going to be picking Nahele until later that night.

"This better not be one of your little misses," she said she called to Nahele who was still up in his room, probably playing video games. He probably couldn't even hear her, she was probably talking to herself but she couldn't stop herself now. "Kong told me all about the girls you were having over and that will not happen in this house, thank you very much."

But when she opened the door it wasn't a teenager but a beautiful blonde woman. Rowan blinked her eyes as the woman stared at her clearly very surprised. Ah, so this was the girl Steven had replaced her and Catherine with. Conejo had mentioned that there was someone that Steven was sort of dating, though he paid very little attention to her. And Con had definitely lied about how attractive this woman was.

"Let me guess… you're Lynn," she said pointing a finger at her. The woman was obviously just as shocked as Rowan was, but she nodded. "It's so nice to meet you, I'm Rowan."

"Rowan," the woman whispered, almost reverently.

"Just a second let me get Steve." She turned away from her so her voice would carry in the house. "Steve!" she called and from in the garage she heard him answer her but he didn't come back into the house. "Steven, I need you to come here."

"WHY?!" was shouted back at her.

"Cause your girlfriend is here," she called and there was another pause.

"What?"

"Oh my god," Rowan sighed. "Just come here Steven! I need you!"

Steven came through the door that attached to the garage wiping his hands off on his wife beater. For a moment he looked worried but when he spotted her by the front door that worry melted off of his face. He smiled at her, that roughish grin she loved so much.

"Your girlfriend is here," she said again and he laughed at her.

"My girlfriend?" he echoed reaching out for her, tugging her to his chest. As soon as her arms wrapped around his neck, he picked up her, her feet dangling off of the ground. "Uh… yes… I know… you haven't gone anywhere Ro. How long are you going to keep referring to yourself as my girlfriend anyway? It's cute, don't get me wrong, but it's been a while and everyone knows you're my girlfriend…"

Rowan happily pressed a kiss to him before she smiled down at his handsome face. Well at least he was in a better mood now. Guess there were going to ignore the argument they were in before.

"I know but I didn't mean me."

"What?"

Rowan turned back to the door and winced at Lynn's poor shocked face. "Sorry. We're still in the cuddly phase."

It wasn't a full lie but it wasn't a whole truth either. She was just being petty, trying to prove her stake on Steve before this girl swept him up and away.

Steve followed her eyes and dropped Rowan down to her feet. "Fuck I knew I forgot something."

Well at least he wasn't rushing to kiss her. Rowan shook her head at him. "Really? How does one forget to break up with someone else? How long have I been the other woman, Steven?"

"Well maybe if you didn't distract me…" Steve snapped before turning to Lynn. "God, Lynn I'm sorry I meant to call you…"

"So, you found her then," she said. "And you were lied to."

"Yep, just like we all thought," he said. "I'm uh… I'm obviously…"

"For god sake, Steven, invite the woman in," she said. "How about I answer questions and you get changed."

"Me get changed?"

"Steven, you forgot to tell her that you got me back, the least you could do is take her out to make up for it. She came all the way here and she's all dressed up, come on now…"

"You want me to go out… on a date… with another girl…" he said clearly in a state of disbelief.

"No, not a date, just an apologetic dinner," she clarified. "Unless you want it to be a date."

"Rowan don't start that with me, okay, could you not? You're being ridiculous," he said.

"Steven. Please. I think… I think maybe… we've been together non-stop for almost a full month, this will be good for us."

Steve stared at her his eyes narrowed with confusion and apparent anger. "Did you just imply that I'm smothering you?"

"Will you just go?" she said pushing him away. She then turned to Lynn and tried to smile as Steve went up the stairs. "Sorry about that. We've been… busy…"

Not thirty seconds later Nahele came pounding down the stairs. "Hey mom, did you really tell dad… Steve to go on a date with…" he clocked Lynn at the door. And then stopped and waved: "Hey Lynn."

"And you got the kid back," Lynn whispered.

"Yes, adopting Nahele was the first thing I did when I got back," Rowan told her and noted the way Lynn's eyes narrowed at that but she didn't say anything to her.

"He said something about putting on his dress blues to stick it to you," Nahele said from the kitchen, grabbing what had to be too many cookies. "Might want to do something about that."

"Steve!" she called and when he answered she shouted back: "No Dress Blues." He didn't say anything to her but she could hear him grumbling to himself from their room. "Sorry about that. Would you like to come in? I just made cookies."

Lynn shook her head and in a couple of minutes Steve came down the stairs. He was in his jeans and a nice dark blue polo. He stopped at the door. "Are you sure you want me to go? Now is the time to stop it."

"Nonsense, you owe her at the very least a dinner, Steven," she said to him. "You two kids have fun!"

She watched them leave. Watched Steve help Lynn up into his truck and then waved them both off. God this was ridiculous but she had an ulterior motive to this.

She went to her phone where she saw that she had missed another two calls from Wo Fat. She had put her phone on silent after the first three calls. Just so she wouldn't feel the itch to answer, but now she was worrying. Yes, Sandy hadn't reported anything but he had to be calling her for a reason, she was starting to think that something was very, very wrong.

So, though she knew she shouldn't have, she called him back. She got him on the first ring.

"Fat."

"Hey, you've called like ten times, is everything okay? Am I in danger? Are you?"

"No. No on all accounts. I'm fine," he snapped and Rowan paused something was wrong, she could tell.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Am I okay? Of course I'm okay!" he cried but she heard the sniff and the clink of ice against glass. Oh no, not good. "I just… I'm your brother and you've been ignoring me for weeks which is highly ungrateful if you ask me…"

She hung up the phone, having heard enough. She opened up her void sense and looked at the strings. He wasn't in danger but his string was striped with dark navy blue. Dear lord something had really upset him. Well she wasn't going to get him to talk to her on the phone, especially if he was going to pretend that nothing was wrong.

It took nothing to grab his string and pull. In a sharp pop Wo Fat came through the void. Wo Fat turned on her, he hadn't been expecting the pull and in his hand was a glass of what had been an amber liquid. It was now frozen solid.

"Goddamn it Rowan, that was hundred dollar scotch!"

Wow, and he had chided her over her taste in expensive Louboutin shoes. At least she could wear her shoes again.

"I'm sorry," she said to him. "It just sounded like you needed me."

"Need you?" he scoffed. "I don't need you. Do you not know who I am? I'm Wo fucking Fat. I am the most powerful arms dealer in the… I don't need anyone! I don't…"

She merely opened her arms up to him and he crossed to her in a second and pressed himself into the hug, his arms enveloping her tightly. So tightly she almost couldn't breathe.

"It's okay. Let it out," she whispered to him. He wasn't crying but he was shaking, which was about as close as he'd probably get to that. Rowan simply wrapped him up in a hug and pet his back softly trying to comfort him. And just like that the dangerous criminal melted away and her brother came back.