After an interrogation that yielded little, Tani returned to headquarters. Upon her return, she spotted her mother still in the same place as the day before, sitting on a bench. The young woman hesitated for a moment. She had absolutely no desire to go see her, but she was also aware that she couldn't play ostrich for much longer. The police officer walked towards her to address the issue.
"For someone who put so much effort into never giving any news, I've never seen you so much in twenty years," she blurted out.
"I deserve that. I understand your anger, Tani, and I'm not trying to make excuses because nothing can ever justify my behavior. But I've been sober for a good while now, and I really want to do everything to reconnect."
"How long?" the brunette asked sharply. After everything she had been through, she wasn't going to make it easy for her.
"Pardon?" the older woman asked, not understanding the question.
"How long have you been sober from alcohol and drugs?"
"17 months in three days," she replied. It wasn't that long, and she knew it, but she was already proud of it.
"That's really a record... I really want to believe you, but what proves to me that it's true or that it will stay that way? I don't want to be disappointed like in the past, and I won't impose that on Koa either. You have no idea what we've been through, and he's too fragile to handle it."
"Honestly, nothing can ever guarantee it 100%, and even if I did, you'd have no reason to believe me. I've lied to you too much for you to trust me. But if you give me the opportunity, I'll do everything to prove it, no matter how long it takes."
"Those are nice words, Mom, but I hope you realize that it's actions I'm waiting for. I need time. I don't know if I'm ready to forgive you or if I even want to. I'm really going to need time. Where can I reach you?" Officer Rey asked hesitantly. Understanding, her mother handed her a piece of paper with her address, phone number, and even her email address.
"Whether it's in 2 days or 2 years, I'll be there. I won't go anywhere. But as I told your friend, I want to respect your wishes, so I won't come back here unless you really want me to. I misjudged how much seeing me would make you suffer, and that wasn't my intention."
"My friend?"
"Yes, a young man about your age who said he works with you. He's adorable and seems to care about you a lot."
"I... Yes, okay... I see who you're talking about. Listen, I'll call you to let you know my decision... In the meantime, I have work to do. I have to go," Tani concluded, turning on her heel without further ceremony.
Not only was she shaken by this discussion, but also by the fact that Junior had spoken to her mother. Why had he gone there? He had no business getting involved in this. Why hadn't he told her? She didn't understand this behavior, even though she knew he had acted with only her well-being in mind. That was always the case, and it was the most disturbing part. No one had ever taken care of her like this outside of her father. None of her boyfriends, that was for sure.
Lost in her thoughts, she went back up to her office. The brunette was confused by the evolution of her relationship with her mother as well as with her partner. Her mother had never been part of her life, and despite her intense anger, she had missed having a mother. She couldn't deny it. On the other hand, the brunette felt incapable of trusting her again. She was definitely going to need time before deciding anything.
As for Junior, the more time passed, the more his behavior troubled her. He was tender, kind, and attentive like no one else. Every time they were together, they laughed, had fun, and confided in each other without any inhibitions. She had no memory of ever having such a sincere and strong friendship. The idea of losing that if she let herself go to her affection for him was terrifying. But the more time passed, the more her feelings became uncontrollable.
In any case, she needed to clarify the situation. Once the elevator reached its destination, she headed towards his office. Without even knocking, the pretty police officer entered the room and stood in front of him.
"You went to talk to my mother?" she asked without preamble. Junior froze at this remark, knowing full well she would be angry.
"Yes, listen, I see you're angry, and I probably shouldn't have meddled in your private life like that. I didn't really think about it at the time; it was stronger than me."
"I'm not angry... Well, maybe a little... Not really... Actually, I don't know, but Junior... Why?" she asked, completely lost. Slightly reassured by her lack of anger towards him, he stood up and walked towards her.
"Because you're suffering," he replied as calmly as possible. He was tired of pretending it didn't affect him, of pretending he felt nothing. He loved her like crazy.
"That's not a real answer, Junes. Why?" Tani continued more softly. She was short of breath, her heart was racing, and she felt a slight dizziness. He was close, really close to her. Close enough for her to smell his intoxicating scent. It was driving her crazy.
"I hate seeing you suffer, Tani, because I care about you a lot," the former SEAL confessed, whispering the last words. He took another step towards her, and now only a few centimeters separated them. He too was dizzy from this proximity, but he had absolutely no desire to stop there.
But his partner panicked in the face of so many conflicting feelings.
"I... I have to go. See you later," she whispered hurriedly, leaving the office, caught off guard by the turn of events.
"Tani, wait," the policeman called out, wanting to talk. Caught up in his feelings, he had wanted to go too fast, and he blamed himself. He was afraid he had ruined everything.
Forced to return to work due to a surge in crime, the two young people went back into the field with their colleagues, without speaking to each other except for work-related matters. This did not escape their colleagues' notice. Aware that something was going on, Quinn organized a girls' night out at La Marianna, while McGarrett invited his male colleagues to come over for a beer.
Tani gladly accepted and joined her colleagues around 6 PM that same evening. They had a few cocktails and danced for a while before sitting down at a table. That's when Quinn decided to bring up the topic.
"I was wondering if everything is okay with Junior? You both seemed tense all afternoon," she asked, a bit worried. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but this was definitely not the time for them to have a falling out. Tani was too on edge to handle that. The young woman hesitated for a moment before answering. But faced with their scrutinizing gazes, she abandoned the idea of denying it and thought that maybe confiding in her friends would do her good.
"I don't really know, to be honest. We had a 'moment' earlier, and it made me panic a bit," the police officer confessed, emphasizing the quotation marks.
"Define 'moment'," Noelani retorted, intrigued. Given the expression on her colleague's face, they were really at a turning point in their relationship, and the advice they gave her could make all the difference.
"Earlier, when I got back to headquarters, I went to talk to my mother. I don't want to talk about that today; we agreed to take time to decide what I'm going to do. Anyway... During the conversation, she told me that Junior had come to see her to ask her not to approach me without my permission. I was intrigued by this behavior, so I went to see him to ask for an explanation. He confessed that he hated seeing me suffer and that he cared about me a lot, with a rather unambiguous look, and even though he was very close to me. I didn't know what to say, and I panicked, so I ran away."
"Indeed, that's a 'moment', to use your expression. Why did you run away? I might be reading too much into it, but when we worked together, I got the impression that these feelings are mutual," Juliet pointed out, aware that her friend was facing a great turmoil. Dealing with such powerful feelings could be difficult when you've suffered in the past; she knew something about that. But nothing was ever lost, and they were so young.
"I don't know. I really have feelings for him, but as soon as I felt him getting closer to kiss me, I freaked out. All I could think about was how long it would take for me to end up losing him. I must really seem crazy to you."
"No, not at all, especially with our jobs, and even more so with what you've told us about your mother. But that shouldn't stop you from living your life. You both deserve to be happy, and you could have a beautiful story together," added the beautiful private detective.
"Higgins is right. We can never predict the future and what will happen next, and that's precisely why you can't put barriers up. Nothing says you won't still be madly in love and very happy in 20 years," Quinn added.
"Plus, we're talking about Junior here. He's probably the most upright, solid, and honest man there is. You can trust him completely," Noelani concluded kindly.
"I know... It's myself I don't trust not to mess everything up."
"You won't, I'm sure of it, and we'll help you if needed," her colleague concluded with a mischievous smile to lighten the mood.
The four women continued to chat for a short while, but Tani was really not focused. The beautiful brunette felt grateful to have such a caring group of friends, and she knew they were right. Plus, she could no longer hide her feelings. It had become too hard. The police officer lost herself in thought for a moment before coming to the conclusion that she needed to act.
"Listen, girls, I appreciate the evening, but I'm going to go," she announced, resolved to go see her colleague. Her friends were about to object before realizing where she was headed.
"Absolutely, go and don't worry about us," the medical examiner retorted.
"Yes, but we want all the details tomorrow," Quinn added mischievously, causing the group to laugh.
Smiling, Officer Rey hurried to her car. She got into the vehicle and headed towards the house that Junior shared with Commander McGarrett. Throughout the drive, she felt her anxiety rising. The next few hours would be crucial for the future of their relationship, and it was terrifying. Nevertheless, she remained convinced that being honest with herself was the best solution.
About fifteen minutes later, she arrived in front of the house, very anxious. She didn't know what would happen next, but it would surely change their entire relationship.