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AvalonReeseFanFics

Happy Thanksgiving Monday my wonderful readers (For those who celebrate it today that is). I'm going to be spending this week working on making sure that all my stories are up to date, I got behind on posting for all of my stories which is unacceptable of me. Luckily my hours haven't been slashed yet which means I should be able to get a lot of work done while I'm at work in the empty building. In this chapter we get to see a little bit of the domestic wedded bliss we've got and a little bit of the next episode. Hope you guys enjoy it. As always don't forget to review and I'll see you guys on Wednesday.

Chapter 348

Night #1

Everything was quiet on that warm Oahu night.

The husband had come home late because the case he had been on took longer to wrap up than expected. He had been hungry and weary when he got home, so even though he wanted food and knew his wife had left him something in the oven for him, he went to bed. Because he wanted to hold his wife more.

He checked in first on his son to ensure he was asleep. He was, and it looked untroubled. Then he went to his own room to get rid of the layers of decay his day had left on him.

When he got into bed, he had drawn up his wife and draped her across his chest so he could feel her on him even if his tired arms were to fall away. Then he joined his wife in sleep.

And it was a good sleep. A very wonderfully deep sleep, there shouldn't have been a single thing wrong.

Except…

Look out!

Steven jumped up, just as Rowan had moments before, her nails having raked into his chest as she forced herself up. Even in the darkness he could see the white-hot glow of the void leaving her eyes and though he was tired he found himself sitting up to see if she was okay.

He put a hand to her back and waited for the dream to leave her, to realize that she was awake in the real world, which she did the second he put a hand to her. She turned worried eyes to him, the blue sparkling in the moonlight up at him, normally took his breath away, but that wasn't what got him this night.

"Someone's going to get shot."

Steve pulled her close, trying to dispel the shaking that had taken a hold of her small form.

"Okay, who? Who is it? Someone we know?"

"Uh…. No?"

Steve struggled to stifle his groan. "Then what the hell Ro?"

"I… I unno, it's… it's gotta be important if I'm dreaming it… right?"

"I'm sure it is, but it's probably for a case that hasn't come through yet…"

"But… shouldn't we look for the woman?"

Steve had been in the process of trying to get back into a position that would be comfortable to sleep in. He had thrown himself back down to the bed, and had she not asked that question he would have pulled her back down to him. Maybe he would have kissed her, gotten a little hot and heavy, maybe even convince her to go a little farther before they fell asleep again.

Instead he was sighing to himself. "Right uh… what happened in the dream?"

"Okay, so it's a girl… maybe my age, maybe older. She's... uhm… she's either visiting someone here or looking for something. And uh, she's walking, in a park or maybe a forest, I'm not sure but there are a lot of trees. And then she gets shot. In the chest."

"That's not a lot for me to go on and to be honest it doesn't sound like you really know what's going on either."

"Well I'm trying Steve but…"

"Right but if you can't give me anything definitive what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know Steven. I… I can't really get past the mist."

"Mist?'"

"Yes!" she near sobbed and a hand went to her immediately because he hadn't meant to make her cry. "This terrible red mist that rains out from her chest and the look of utter shock in her face. And… and… it's like I'm watching from someone else's perspective and they're just so upset and I… I watched her die, Steven."

He pulled her down to him, clutching her to his chest as his hands ran up and down her back as he tried to calm her down.

"It's okay. I'm here, it's okay."

"Do you think you could wake up a sketch artist before I forget what the girl looks like?" she asked, her face tilting up towards him.

Yeah, she had to be kidding. Steve shook his head and made sure to clasp her more tightly to his chest even though she tried to squirm.

"Right, Ro, I'm going back to bed."

He said and no matter how she wriggled or asked him to let go before she forgot he didn't listen and eventually the two fell asleep.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Night #2.

There had been no case that day so Steve had not gone into the Palace, choosing to spend a relaxing day at home with Rowan and then Nahele when he got back from school.

The morning had been nice. It started with a family breakfast before driving their son to school. Then they did some shopping together, which included a good hour or more spent in clothing stores with her trying things on, and then another two hours in stores that Steve wanted to go in.

They had a lunch out together, that Steve paid for before retiring to the house. There he worked on his Marquis and Rowan worked on her music in the living room. Usually when he worked on the car, he'd listen to the radio, but with Rowan playing in the living room he didn't need the radio.

He'd rather listen to her any day. And she was working quite hard on that new song. She had several working versions of it, but she didn't seem to like any of the lyrics she had written yet.

They didn't stay home though. After school was one of Nahele's practices and even though he wasn't off second string yet, Rowan made Steve go. They had dinner out at Nahele's favourite burger place and then they were back home for the rest of the night.

The couple had managed to argue about little things all day. Nothing do or die though, and definitely not about what they were really mad at about. Or what Rowan was mad about. Steve wasn't mad about anything, he was just tired. So he was really rather excited for this night.

A night that ended with him in the arms of his wife. Him working out his frustrations in her skin, that left branding marks on the two of them. And it was his favourite kind, the quiet fervent kind that had him breathless and panting and her biting his shoulder to keep her cries at bay.

And then they were asleep, slightly separate as they were sweaty and hot.

LOOK OUT!

Steve jerked awake, torn between lunging for his gun or lunging for his wife, to cover her body before the presumed attacker made their move. But Rowan was sitting up in bed again and there was no intruder.

Nightmare it was just a nightmare.

He relaxed back in bed catching his breath as the relief washed over her and the tension drained out.

"What?" he asked, this time not even bothering to sit up with her. "What is it?"

"Someone's going to get shot."

She had said that last night too. "Okay… uh… is this the same dream from last night?"

"Yeah."

Right, so that wasn't good. Frequent dreams meant that it was coming up soon. Though would two in a row count as frequent? He'd be money it did.

"Okay and do you know who it is now?"

"Susie Freeling."

At that Steve sat up, because she had a name. He didn't recognize the name but that didn't mean that she didn't. But names meant that she was getting more information, which meant something he could actually look into.

"I… I mean, do you know who that is?"

"No."

Well damn.

"Kay well neither do I."

"Can you check?"

"Right now?!"

Rowan opened her mouth to tell him that she did want him to check on the name, right that very second but he pinned her with a dry glare and she changed her mind.

"No just like… soon?"

"Morning, okay? I'll run a check on the name in the morning."

That time she settled down in bed by his side, her head pillowed on his chest and even though he was still hot and sweaty he held her close to him. And she didn't have another nightmare for the rest of the night.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Night #5

There were only two nights of uninterrupted sleep where Rowan lay caged in Steven's arm, a protective circle keeping her mind safe even while she was asleep.

Steve had been busy during the day. Busy with Danny and Grover who were arguing about Grace and Will's relationship. Danny had reached a place where he was fine with it, but Grover didn't want Will's time to be taken up by a girl, to be distracted, he meant. That had not ended well between the two men.

Then there were small cases he had to deal with.

He tried to spend time with Rowan but she was busy too, between her own meeting about the songs she was trying to sell and her going into Atlantic records to record the new ones she was working on.

But they had dinner together every night, he threw footballs with Nahele, and when they went to bed, he held her. He held her tightly to his chest in hopes that nothing would scare her awake.

And it had worked.

But not this night.

LOOK OUT!

Rowan practically slapped Steve in the face as she threw his arms away from her. Well that was him awake again. God he was just so tired. This had better be good.

He lay there rubbing his jaw where her hand had connected letting her pant out the nightmare. When it finally let her go, she turned to him.

"Steve…" she stared at then took in the placement of his hand and the glare on his face and she winced. "Oh did I hurt you?"

"I mean, not badly but I wasn't expecting to get punched in the face tonight."

"I'm sorry… it's just that… I had a dream… someone got shot…"

"Good god, Rowan if it's the fucking Susie shooting I'm shoving you out of this bed."

Steve had laid back in bed and let the sudden silence blanketed them. Rowan had turned to him, even in the quiet darkness he knew that. But he had pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes to stop the burning. God he was just so tired.

"You said you'd be more supportive."

What a fucking low blow.

"I am being supportive, Rowan…"

"No you're not. You're not even listening to me, Steven."

"It's four in the fucking morning," he growled.

"I know what time it is, but you promised that you'd listen to me…"

"And I have been listening to you Rowan, how dare you say I haven't been listening. I have listened to you recount that shooting over and over, you don't have definitive evidence, you can't give me a straight story, and I looked up Susie Freeling for you, now didn't I?"

And he had. He even had Rowan sit down with a sketch artist. They had found Susie Freeling immediately. She was a high school history teacher from Baltimore. There was nothing out of the ordinary in her emails or online presence. There was no one with Five-0 that knew her, no one that would care, so he didn't know why Rowan kept dreaming about this. Especially since Susie wasn't even on the island.

"I know but I'm trying…"

"Rowan, unless you have something straightforward to give me, I'm rolling over and going back to bed."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. She's on the island. She touched down two nights ago."

"Wait she's on the island?"

"Yep. All of today."

"Why didn't you dream that yesterday then?"

"Well you've been holding me pretty tight the last two nights…"

"Okay so? You know I like to cuddle Rowan."

"No, I know, and I love that about you Steven, but you also mentioned, before we went to bed last night, that you were hoping I didn't dream anything…"

"Right so we're going to say that you missed it because I blocked it out? Really? That's where we're going here?"

"Well… did you?"

"Damn, Rowan I unno! Maybe!" he cried he pulled his hands away from his face to stare at her. "And don't give me that look, I am being supportive. I just… I'm tired and you know I don't like you waking up all scared. I like to protect you, you know this…"

"I do, I do…" she said. "I'm sorry I keep waking you up…"

Steve reached out for her, pulling her back down to him, and arranging her across his chest so he could be soothed by the weight of her on him. "Don't even dare apologizing. Course I'm going to wake up, I want to go through this with you, just… you know… if I'm tired expect sass."

"You know… I read somewhere that uh… recipients often take on the attributes of their donors…"

Steve angled his head down to look at his pretty little wife, was she saying what he thought she was saying?

"I have noticed an abnormally high sass level from you recently... and uh… you've been adding hand gestures to your words… especially when you're excited."

"I will sleep on the couch to spite you," Steve growled. "Watch me, I'll do it, you better take that back right now."

Rowan just smiled up to him and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth, a kiss he turned into a stolen kiss, by sliding his own mouth onto hers. He may have been exhausted but that one kiss woke up that heat in him, and suddenly all he wanted was not to go back to sleep but to be inside of his wife.

And she was more than willing to oblige.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Steve had gotten a call from Grover. Shooting outside the Honolulu Zoo. Jerry had been there. Steve didn't know details just that he had to get there as soon as possible because Jerry was not doing well. Steve didn't know if that meant that Jerry had witnessed something or if he had been shot himself.

So, despite having plans to spend the day with his wife, as she had even more shopping she wanted to do, because, apparently, she hadn't redecorated his house enough, he hopped into his brand new Silverado, which was silver this time, and took off.

He was only on the road for a few minutes when his phone rang. It was Rowan. That made no sense because he had just left her. What the hell could she be calling for?

"Hey babe," he said hoping that his nickname might quell any argument that she might want to have about him taking a case when they were supposed to have a day out together.

"Hey baby!" she said back in a warm tone that made him believe that she wasn't angry with him after all. "I'm sorry to bother you…"

"No, no, you're not a bother," he told her, which was true. "What's the matter, are you okay?"

It was the only other reason he could think that she'd call him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said quickly. "Just uh… I have a little info for you, about that case you just left for. You know if you want it?"

"Yeah, kay, course I want it. You got something after I left?"

"Sure did. It's Susie Freeling."

Steve went quiet, and found himself staring at the dashboard where the Bluetooth was telling him that he was talking to his wife. Which was an blue LED display that said Rowan with two emoticon hearts after it. Something she had made him do because she had done that to his contact. He thought it was silly and a little highschool-ish but it made her smile so he had done it and then not changed it back.

"Uh… what?"

"It's Susie Freeling. I got it, clear as day, she's a friend of Jerry's, a CT friend."

"CT?"

"Oh, uh, conspiracy theorist? He invited her to Hawaii, it's her that's been shot and uh… I'm guessing that's why I was dreaming about it."

For godsake, there had been something about in the report he got on Susie, a bare minimum report as he wasn't actually investigating her, that had said she had a few accounts on conspiracy theory boards but he hadn't thought anything of it because nothing threatening had turned up there. Fuck, he should have clued in that that was the connector. Should have realized right away that it had something to do with Jerry.

"Son of a bitch."

"Yeah, can we not tell him that I've been dreaming about this please? Seeing as we failed to save her and all that. I'm worried he'll be mad at me."

No, Jerry wouldn't, because Steve would take the blame. He'd make it his fault and protect her that way, but that was not important right now.

"Okay what do you know about the murder?"

"Oh uh… Jerry is going to think that this is all about some theory she was trying to prove, something about JFK being an inside job? I unno I'm looking at google and it's all a bunch of hokum to me."

"But it's not about that?"

"Oh no, not all, it's got something to do with some company. Not sure which one yet."

Steve was still struggling with that groan. God did he want to groan at her over this. This was insane. Why wasn't she getting anything good on this? Couldn't she just look at the strings?

"But you have to let him think that it is about that," Rowan said and Steve couldn't hold back the groan this time.

"Why?"

"Because I don't know the bad guy's name and he's in the wind. But so long as he thinks you guys are checking different leads, he's gonna be calm and not move as quickly, which is great cause Con's looking for him…"

Whoa. Wait a second. "You pulled Con?"

"He was bored and volunteered."

Bullshit. Absolutely bullshit. Rowan had been looking for her phone the second he got that call. She must have gotten the information about Susie then. She was only calling him now because she had gotten her brother involved.

"Don't you lie to me Ro, you didn't just call him for a chat."

"Fine, I told him about the situation but I wasn't lying he volunteered to come down cause he's bored."

She had done that because she was back to thinking that he didn't listen to her. But that wasn't true. Rowan had told him all about her dream in the morning, and she still didn't have a location on where the shooting would happen. Though she had mentioned the zoo as one of the possible locations, but she had meant right at the zoo gates, the shooting had happened outside the zoo in the little parkette across the street.

"Oh, and the FBI is going to show up. It's not about the conspiracy, they're not going to be helpful though."

"This dream of yours is hyper specific about things that aren't really all that helpful, isn't it?" he said and his wife laughed.

"No, no, that's not from the dream. Wo called, said the FBI was on the island, confirmed that they've been here since Susie landed. After the shooting, when you guys got called in, Sandy got some chatter saying the FBI was mentioning Five-0 and me. I'm thinking they're going to get in your way over this, and they're worried about running into me. And after everything we did with the CIA and in Japan with Anderson, I'm thinking maybe don't piss em off? Kay, baby?"

"Course," he said agreeing with that whole heartedly. "I'll call you when I get a chance… uh… love you…"

"Love you too."

And then she had hung up.

He was trying harder to tell her about his feelings. Soft little I love yous at the end of phone calls or before they went to bed. Sometimes they'd come out of him breathless when the sight of her and the realization, yet again, that this woman was the woman he loved and had married, stole the air out of his lungs. I love yous said with laughter when she did something that surprised him.

She was always quick to tell him that she loved him too, but even with all of that she still said it more than he did. Still had a way of making it known to him, even without the words, so he never had any doubt. And Steve was well aware that he was lacking in both departments, no matter how hard he tried.

Steve got to the scene, was pointed to where Jerry was, went to talk to him and all that fell from Jerry's lips was babbling about Susie being killed because she was going to be able to prove that JFK's assassination order had come from the White House.

And well… Steve just really hated it when Rowan was right. Even when he got advance warning.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Chin had taken Jerry home to his place and then suggested that he change to get all the blood off of himself. Yeah that was a good idea.

He started first by going to the washroom to get the blood off his hands and arms.

But as soon as he was alone in the quiet all he could remember was those moments.

The moments before and after the gun shot.

Things had been going great, he had been having fun with Susie, she was telling him all about how she had figured it out and proved the holy grail of conspiracy theories and he was going to get a mention in her book. He also might have thought that they were having a bit of a moment but all of that was shattered with the gun shot.

Then all he remembered was screaming. Screaming for help while the blood, hot and sticky seeped into his shirt and covered his hands.

He still wasn't free of it.

Quickly he turned on the tap. He grabbed the bar of soap on the side and struggled to scrub it all off. Most of it was coming off, running the water red as it swirled down the drain. But the stain was there no matter how hard he scrubbed.

After a while of frantic scrubbing where the reddened stain remained on his hands, he had started to feel like Lady Macbeth.

"Here," a soft voice said, pouring a bottle of clear liquid onto his hands. A wash cloth was added to the mix and already the stain was starting to fade. "Rubbing alcohol get its off better."

Jerry looked up to Rowan and felt like maybe he might cry. He hadn't even heard her come in. But Rowan was like that, she showed up when she was needed and she always knew what to do or what to say. He wished he was like Rowan in that sense.

If this had happened to her, Five-0 would be out trying to reign back a team of criminals hellbent on revenge. Steve wouldn't have looked at her like she was crazy. It was a little hurtful that he had looked at Jerry like that when he had explained what he knew had happened. Seeing as McGarrett had married a woman who was a self-proclaimed psychic.

"Are you here to help?" he asked her. Rowan's smile was sad but she nodded.

Good, Jerry thought. He was going to need all the help he could get. And he was already planning to ask Rowan and her network to help him with the vengeance part of the plan.