Rewrite

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: My wonderful readers! I'm sorry this chapter is getting posted so late on a Wednesday. I hope I get to make it up to you! So, in honour of Valentine's Day, I'm bring something back this chapter. Can you guess what it is? Smut! That's right! The smut is back! Do enjoy! It also looks like FFdotNet has brought back Rewrite access to the app, so you guys shouldn't have anymore problems reading it if you're using the mobile app. Don't forget to review and I'll see you guys tomorrow.

Chapter 468

Nahele woke up to the sound of a bandsaw whirling in his ears. That meant the contractors were there.

The addition to the house, while taking a while, was going well, he'd say. They had put down the foundation, added to the plumbing, the walls were in the process of going up, which meant the electrical was going in. From what Nahele understood, they were working on the electrical in his room that week. Once that was done, the walls would be sealed and he could start decorating. Something his mother was super excited for.

She kept showing him paint swatches and asking him which one he'd want. He kept reminding her that by next fall he might be in a residence in some university somewhere, but she wouldn't listen. Not that she didn't think he'd be going to University or College, she hadn't dissuaded him from apply off island either. She wanted him to have a room to come back to, something that was his own. So of course his opinion mattered, even if he thought it would be better as a guest room or something.

Rowan just would not let him cut himself off from the family. Reassuring, because he was still worried that he'd be forgotten when they had the baby.

He lay in his bed for a bit, the sound of his phone chiming quietly under the drone of construction work, more an annoyance then the hammering. He had wanted to do something small for his birthday, but Madison had planned a whole party. A massive rager, she had called it. Her parents weren't going to be home, she had gotten a friend's older brother to buy alcohol, half the school was invited. The popular half, of course.

She had even made sure that Nahele had gotten an outfit that matched the dress she was going to wear. He had never understood why his dad had hated doing matching stuff with Rowan until that very moment.

The incessant dinging wasn't happy birthday messages, either, it was the group chat for the party. Madison texting a litany of orders, most of which probably directed at Nahele. Everything she wanted done and how she wanted the night to go.

Nahele was dreading it.

Well, he was dreading that part, he wasn't quite dreading the morning. Well, not much anyway.

It was stupid, he knew it was unfounded anxiety, but part of him was still worried that Rowan and Steve were going to kick him out today. He heard horror stories about kids like him being kicked out the second they were considered old enough.

Knowing there was no point in putting it off, Nahele got up quickly. He pulled on a graphic tee to wear with the plain black board shorts he had been wearing to bed and then made his way down to the first floor.

He got to the kitchen and found that Rowan and Steve were already up, of course they were, and were busy putting the finishing touches on Birthday Waffles.

This concoction included Funfetti Waffle Batter, a heaping mound of whipped cream, cut up strawberries and bananas, multicolored sprinkles all topped with a single maraschino cherry. Rowan had also added a sparkler and the numbers one and eight in candle form.

Steve probably cut the fruit up, as he didn't really trust Rowan with knives, and even less so now that she was pregnant, but otherwise didn't do much to help. Rowan was a bit of a control freak in the kitchen, and, pregnant or not, had been determined to make his birthday breakfast herself just like she had all the prior years.

If he had to bet Steve was mostly there to make sure Rowan didn't overwork herself.

Rowan let out a happy little gasp when she saw him in the kitchen. She clapped her hands at him, and as if Steve knew the cue already, he began to light the candles.

"Good morning," he called, knowing both of them were ignoring him.

"Go sit, go sit," Rowan ordered so he took his place at the head of the table, which was already set and ready for him.

When they were ready, they were coming towards the table, Steve carrying the plate and singing the Happy Birthday song along with Rowan. They put the waffle in front of him, the sparkler sparkling, the candles burning. He waited for the song to finish and the sparkler to die, before blowing his candles out.

That one mundane act causing both his mom and dad to cheer and clap loudly like he had solved the riddle that was world peace. He smiled at them, let his mom wrap him up in a hug, let his dad clap a hand to his shoulder. They both wished him a happy birthday again like they hadn't just sang the whole song for him.

"Thanks guys," he said almost lamely before he started shoveling waffle into his mouth.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Rowan asked as she sat down. Steve was already moving away getting their own waffles.

"Uhm… well you said you wanted to go shopping," he reminded her and she nodded.

"I did say that. I want to start looking at stuff for your new room."

"I don't need new stuff for my room, I still have the old stuff…"

"Nonsense," Rowan said waving him off. "A growing, maturing boy, needs new mature things." She caught his stare and she sighed. "But if you really want to keep your stuff we can do that to., I'm simply offering you the chance to pick new things, that's all."

He nodded at her. "I uhm… I was going to meet my friends at the mall for lunch, and then head home to get ready for the party tonight at Madison's."

At the mention of the party Rowan's smile cracked. It went from soft and pleased to wide and almost plastic like. The skin around her eyes crinkled and her nose flared. Already he knew what was going to come next.

"And you're absolutely sure you want to go to this party?" she asked.

"Yes mom…"

"And her parents know that there's going to be a party, right?"

"Of course."

"And no alcohol?"

"Mom!" he cried and across the table Steve quickly hissed Rowan's name.

She turned to him just in time to watch him mouth: "Let it go," to her. Nehele could tell she didn't want to, but she did take three deep breaths before turning a obviously fake smile to him.

"Well, I hope you have lots of fun," she said, but he knew that wasn't true. She didn't wish that at all. She wished he'd stay home.

He kind of got it. He knew his mom didn't like Madison. Madison hadn't been all that fond of her either. She really liked his dad though. To be honest, he wasn't sure he liked Madison much anymore either, but considering the alternative, she was the best option he had right now.

"Thanks, I'm sure I will," he said as he tucked back into his waffles.

He had a feeling his mom knew he was lying. It was why she kept pressing him about the party. She was either trying to give him an out or she knew all about the alcohol that was going to be there and was trying to get him not to go.

Either way, this was happening. So he'd just have to be grateful that Rowan hadn't told Steve about any of the things she might have divined from the strings. There was no way Steve would let that party go on if he knew the truth after all.

That was part of the reason why he was still going to the party. He knew that if anything really bad happened, if he really needed an out he could call either of them and that party would be shut down and they'd come get him. And he needed to hold onto that, because otherwise he wasn't going to survive the party.

He turned his focus onto the waffle before him. More than content to temporarily forget about the party tonight and focus on the good stuff. Starting with his Birthday Breakfast.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

They walked the mall slowly because that was Rowan's only speed. She kept apologizing but Nahele didn't mind meandering with them.

She had taken him all over. Any store he wanted to go into, they went in. Anything he showed even the remote interest in, they offered to buy him. So far she had bought him new sheets, a new comforter, several décor items including a picture of his dream car for his new room and new strip lights that changed colours.

Steve was carrying the bags, Nahele had Rowan on his arm and, though most teenagers wouldn't have wanted to be seen with their parents, Nahele didn't care.

"So… the acceptance letters are going to be coming in soon. Are there any Universities or Colleges you're looking forward to hearing from?"

"Uhm… Stanford and Berkely were both long shots but I'm hoping one of them… University of BC looked good too. Columbia hopefully…"

"My mom does lectures at UofBC," Rowan said brightly. "I should see if she can put in a good word."

Nahele struggled to cover up the wince. "You don't have to do that."

"I know, I just want to be sure you get where you want to go," Rowan said. She then looked him up and down. "I see we've picked schools with good law programs, is that what you're looking to go into?"

"I don't know… maybe," Nahele admitted. "It was either that or… becoming a cop."

"Whoa," Steve cried. Steve didn't like shopping, so he had been lagging behind Nahele and Rowan, but at that admission, he was suddenly at his side. "No, no, you shouldn't… I mean, you could, I'd help you if you want, but uh… I'd like the whole law enforcement legacy die with me."

"Yeah, you mentioned," Nahele said almost glumly. He couldn't help but feel like Steve had no faith in him. "I don't know. I just… what if university isn't for me?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. I never went to college or university. I went straight to skating and… singing. Though, a diploma of some sort is always helpful. There's no age limit on school, you can always decide to go back," Rowan said. "Steve didn't go to college either, so…"

"I was in a Naval Acadamy, Ro."

Rowan shot him a scowl. "He's not doing that."

Nahele found himself almost chuckling. "What if I want to?"

"Stop wanting to," Rowan growled a warning glare on him.

"Okay mom," he said, figuring it was better to not argue.

"It's okay to still be thinking about it, your future and what you want to do, I mean. It's also okay if you want to take a gap year, but I expect you to work if you want to do that. None of this gap year to travel nonsense. Unless you plan to fund it yourself, then go ahead," Rowan said.

"Is that what you did?"

"If you call going around the world competing in skate competitions and then going around the world in WitSec trying to avoid hits put out on me by Russian mobsters, then yes, I had a few gap years."

Beside him Steve snorted and not for the first time Nahele wondered if his mom was joking, though he was guessing not. Every now and then a bit of lore from his mom's past would come up and he'd once again remember that his mom's history was colourful and almost as violent as her brothers.

"Now, I know you have a lunch with your friends, but I was wondering if you'd be okay with one last stop."

"Sure."

"Oh goodie!" Rowan cried and then practically dragged him down to the Build-a-Bear Workshop. When they got there she finally let go of him and let him look around.

"Okay, so we had this idea for the baby. We want to buy him a Build-a-Bear, one to grow up with, and one we hold onto to gift him when he's older. We also want to record our voices for it. Your voice too if you'd like."

"Yeah," Nahele found himself whispering. That would be super cute.

"Now, I know you're older and you might think this is silly but… would you like one too?" she asked him and Nahele found his eyebrows creasing. "We can build you two if you want. Or just one. You pick the one you want, we record our voices for it. Unless you think it's silly…"

"No," Nahele said quickly. "No, it's not silly. I… I don't… I mean you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'm offering," Rowan said, reaching out for Steve's hand and pulling him to her. "We both are. Aren't we?"

"We are," Steve said with a nod. He had been mostly silent through this, he usually let Rowan talk about stuff like this. "And it was my idea."

Beside him Rowan nodded. "That's true, it was."

"Okay… okay but I only want one, okay?"

"Alright, well, you look around, pick the one you want. Me and Steve are going to argue over the one for baby, okay?"

Nahele nodded and then veered away from them to look at all the options before him. He had never had a Build-a-Bear before, his mom had wanted to get him one but could never afford it. And sure, maybe Rowan was right that he should think it was silly and he was too old for this, but he wanted one. And if she wanted to buy one for him who was he to stop her?

He moved his way around looking at all the different options and found himself by the different kinds of bears. The generic model. They all looked so fluffy and soft, he glanced around at the mostly empty shop before carefully reaching out for one of the pre-stuffed demo ones. He hugged it quickly, testing it's cuddlie-ness before putting it back.

Yeah, he was going to get one of these, he just had to pick a colour.

"You can't keep sulking because I don't want to do the Redskin's Bear. We don't even know if this baby will pick the same team or even the same sport," he heard Rowan cry from across the store. Nahele turned around right away to find his parents by a display of sport themed teddies, Steve's arms folded over his chest, a feat in it of itself seeing as he was still carrying all the bags Rowan had amassed today, while Rowan was glaring up at him.

"Firstly, I am not sulking. Secondly, supporting the Redskins is mandatory in the McGarrett house. And Thirdly, we are not doing the fucking raccoon, pick something else."

"I have been picking other things. You're shooting them all down, and you have a death grip on the Redskin's bear. We're not doing the Redskin's bear."

Nahele turned around right away, wow, Rowan really wasn't lying about the arguing. He picked up the light brown fuzzy teddy bear skin and then picked up the slightly darker one before he moved back towards his parents,

"Hey, what about a regular bear?" he asked as he got closer. "Like this dark one, it's soft and fuzzy…"

"I already have a…" Steve started lifting the skin to the Redskin themed bear. Nahele could see the red and yellow W printed on the bears paw. It's fur was slightly red as well.

"We are not getting the Redskins bear and that is final," Rowan snapped and then turned back to Nahele. "Show me where you got that one."

Nahele led her back to the bins with the different teddies. The cream coloured, the tan, the tawny brown and then the black bear. She looked them all over and then picked the up the display of the one he picked. She turned around and showed it to Steve.

"A nice plain bear, what do you say?" she asked. "It's neutral enough for the both of us."

Steve stared at it, a sort of half wince at it and Rowan rolled her eyes.

"I will also buy you the Redskins bear."

Steve scoffed. "I don't need a teddy bear."

"You want it or not?" She snapped and a gruff: "Yes," came out of him so fast that Nahele struggled not to laugh.

"Fine. A Redskins Bear for you, it looks like Nahele's picked a cream bear and we're going to go with two Tawny bears for baby."

"And one for you," Steve said. "It's only fair. If we're all getting one, you have to get one too. So pick one. My treat."

Without even thinking, Rowan scampered back to where Steve and her had been arguing and came back with a the skin for a fuzzy fox plushie that she handed up to Steve.

They started first with going to the voice recording station. They recorded the two for the baby first. I love yous from each person. Then Rowan shooed Nahele away so they could record his. Only for Steve and Nahele to do the same to her when it came to recording hers. Steve opted to not have any recordings in his bear.

With the recordings done they moved to the stuffing station where a staff member made sure the stuffies were packed correctly, with the voice box in. Nahele got to pick the heart he wanted to put in it, and did the whole "fill your bear with love thing," even though it was cringy. He didn't even mind when Rowan demanded that she get to put some of her own love into the bear, and then basically forced Steve to do the same. He didn't mind when she repeated the whole process for the baby's two bears, and then her fox and Steve's Redskins bear, though Steve would have rather they filled it with good luck so his team played better from now on.

It seemed silly doing all of that, but he loved that his parents leaned into that. That they wanted to do the silly things with him, include him in them. That they wanted to give him the things he might have missed out on when he was younger.

When all the bears were paid for and Steve was figuring out how to add the new bag to his bunch already taking up a lot of space on his arms, the phone in Nahele's pocket chirruped. He knew what that meant, but he still took it out and looked it over.

"Hey guys, my friends just got here. Is it okay if I take off now, or is there still more you wanted to do?"

Rowan answered by opening her arms up to him. Nahele went in for the hug, letting her hug him tightly and then kiss his cheek.

"You go have fun, baby," she said. "Do you need any money?"

"Naw I'm good," he said as he let Steve pull him in next, pressing their foreheads together for a beat, instead of a hug.

"You have a good day, buddy, you call us if you need anything, okay?"

Nahele nodded and then rushed off towards the doors that Kai said he and Makani had just come in pausing only to wave to his parents. He only half felt bad for leaving them, he knew he'd see them later anyway.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

By the time Nahele got home from the mall he was tired. He really, really didn't want to go to this party. He just knew he couldn't bail, not when everyone was expecting him as the guest of honor.

He was just going to have to be content with the fact that the first half of his birthday was perfect and the second half was going to be… long.

"Hey bud!" Steve called from the kitchen. "When you get a chance can you come see me, there's something I wanted to show you."

Nahele couldn't see where Rowan was, but if she wasn't in the kitchen with Steve, he was guessing she was napping again. The baby kept Rowan up a lot at night, moving around and what not, so Steve and Nahele tried to make sure she got as much sleep as possible.

"Sure, can I shower first?"

"Course."

Nahele rushed up the stairs, pausing to peak into his parents room. Rowan was sleeping, just like he thought she'd be, on her side, a pillow propped up beneath her. He never knew this, but a pregnant woman couldn't sleep on their right sides, at least, not for too long. Steve was hyper vigilant about it.

They had bought her a maternity pillow with two almost body length prongs, one that she usually put between her legs and half cuddled, the other usually went under her back. To help with the pressure she said.

A lot of getting Rowan into bed involved getting her into a comfortable position.

He didn't want to wake her though, seeing as she was clearly comfortable enough to be asleep, so he crept back out and went to his room. He found some of the things they had bought today waiting for him.

His parents had made up his bed with the new sheet and comforter set. The Build-a-Bear was waiting for him, sitting up against his new pillows. He picked it up quickly and pressed the button in the paw.

Right away he got Rowan's voice: I love you to the moon and back.

A second press of the button and then it was Steve. I'll always be here for you, love you bud.

He couldn't describe how it felt to hear their voices in that bear. The way his heart fluttered and swelled at the same time. The closer he got to his 18th birthday the more worried he had become. With a baby coming, a baby comprised of their own DNA, and him becoming an adult, he was certain they'd ask him to leave.

There was absolutely no evidence that it was what they wanted to do. There had been no outward change in his parents, they were mostly still attentive to him. They had been slightly distanced, though he had assumed they were just distracted with all the baby stuff. Despite there being little to no signs, the fear was still there and once it had it's hooks in him it wouldn't let go.

He pressed the button again and then one more time, cycling through their voices again.

But then they'd do something thoughtful like this and he'd remember that they did love him, for some unknown reason, and they had no intention of ousting him from their home, even if he was old enough now.

He put the bear down and then quickly hopped into the shower. When he was done, he changed into his party outfit. A navy blue button down shirt and a pair of tan pants. An exact copy of an outfit Steve had once worn out on a date night with Rowan. Madison had seen the pictures on one of her visits to the house. She had even gone as far as to buy a very similar navy blue dress to the one Rowan had worn that day.

Nahele knew she had an obsession with Steve, which was why he did his best not to bring her home when he knew his parents, specifically his dad, would be there. He just wished she'd be less obvious about it.

He did up his hair, sprayed on the cologne that he knew Madison didn't like because it wasn't one of the ones Steve used, and then made his way down the stairs.

Both his parents were on the couch, Rowan had her feet up and Steve was massaging them, but they both turned when they hear him.

"Oh don't you look handsome!" Rowan cried, pulling her feet out of Steve's gasp. She went to stand, but Steve beat her to it, jumping to his feet, and then carefully helping her up.

"Careful, careful," he said as she tried to pull herself out of his grasp to go to Nahele.

"Stop fussing," she ordered as she wrapped Nehele up in that hug. "Look at you, my boy, you look so grown up."

"Thanks," he whispered.

Steve had to grab Rowan and pull her off of him. "Come on now, you're going to crease his outfit."

Rowan turned a happy smile up to Steve. "Are we doing it now?"

"If you're up to it."

Rowan nodded happily and Steve gestured for Nahele to follow him. "We picked up your birthday gift while you were at the mall."

"Birthday gift?" Nahele echoed. "I thought the shopping spree… and the Build-a-Bear…"

"Oh those were just the small ones," Rowan said. "You're growing up, you need a grown up gift."

Nahele didn't know what that meant. Still he followed them to the garage where he found not his dad's Marquis parked next to Rowan's pastel purple GTO, but instead a cherry red Jeep Wrangler.

Nahele's found himself breathless staring at it. Not quite computing what his parents had done.

"You… you bought… you bought me a car?"

"Uh-huh," Rowan said brightly. She had stayed at the doorway as she was barefoot, while Steve had led Nahele into the garage. "It's the one you wanted… isn't it?"

It was, right down to the custom colour, but he hadn't really needed a custom color.

"It's got all you'll need. It's got an all-wheel drive, a towing hitch, a back up camera, 8 speakers, Bluetooth for your electronics, and a push to start engine."

"And safety stuff too. Side impact beams, lots of airbags and such."

"But… you guys… you bought me a car…"

"We did," Steve said. "You need one. Can't have you waiting on my truck, see as the only other vehicles we have are classic cars."

Nahele knew they had been looking at buying a new vehicle, but he assumed it was going to be a family vehicle, seeing as they were having a baby. It never occurred to him that they were looking to buy him a car.

"I don't… I don't know what to say. I can't believe you guys did this."

"You're going to university next year, you need the independence to get around," Steve said with a shrug. "But uh… while the Jeep is yours, you'll be in charge of the gas and insurance payments, we'll cover the rest."

"And you don't get the keys until you pass your driving test."

His test was next week, if he passed he'd have a proper license, no more needing someone to drive around with him.

"That's fair!" he cried, lurching to hug Steve first. "Thanks guys, thanks so much." He then turned to hug Rowan her hug a little more lighter than Steve's for the obvious reasons.

"Alright, well, you enjoy your party. Maybe tomorrow, before the big Joint Birthday Dinner, Steve can take you out driving in it."

"I'd love that," he said before adding a kiss to Rowan's cheek. "Don't wait up for me, okay?"

He couldn't wait to tell everyone at that party about his new Jeep. Maybe the party wasn't going to be that bad after all.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Steve heaved, struggling to keep his thrusts measured and gentle when all he wanted to do was let loose.

With Rowan as pregnant as she was, he hadn't expect much in the way of the birthday traditions they had started. She had felt bad about a lot of things where it came to Steve's birthday.

First it was about how she wouldn't be able to cook for him. He had said he could do it but she had shot that down. Him having to make his own birthday meal was unacceptable. He reminded her that she was going to pay for the family dinner the following night probably for the whole family and all his friends, but that wasn't enough either.

She had made him Chunky Monkey pancakes for dinner. His favourite kind of pancakes. There had been none of the usual sides but she had made a smiley face out of the chocolate chips and he had loved it.

Then it was because she was too tired and too pregnant to do anything fun for him. There would be no outdoorsy adventure, though she had said he could take Nahele camping for the whole weekend, or just hiking instead of shopping. She would have been fine to stay home while they had gone out to do that. Both he and Nahele had not been comfortable leaving the very pregnant Rowan alone for that long.

Then she was upset that she didn't have a new lingerie set for him. Her new bras were all maternity bras and the only underwear that fit her at that moment she classified as granny-panties. Again this was not a problem for Steve, he knew just how big she had gotten as a side effect of her pregnancy, as well as how self-conscious she was about it. He was always quick to remind her how beautiful she was to him, how even with the weight gain he found her as attractive as ever.

At that moment, he hadn't ever found her so attractive before in his life. Something about her being that pregnant, on her hands and knees before him, made him feel virile, powerful. He had done that to her. The swell of her belly, how her breast, fuller, heavier swung like ripe fruit from a branch, the tiger stripes through her skin, all of it because of him.

He wanted nothing more than to loose himself, to plow into her until all of his sexual prowess spilled out, until she cried out for him, but he couldn't. He had to be gentle. He had to control himself.

With Rowan being as big as she was at that point, there were only two positions they could comfortably fuck in. Cowgirl or doggy-style. Cowgirl was his favourite, but Doggy was hers. She kept saying she was too big for Cowgirl, that she'd see herself and turn herself off, but Steve never had that problem. He had loved watching her ride him before the pregnancy, watching her now was even better.

She had tried for him, for his birthday, to give him what he wanted in the position he liked best. But he could tell that she wasn't as into it, so he had had them switch. And god was he glad that he had gotten her to agree.

For a moment he lost himself, pounding a little too hard into her, eliciting a gasp he wasn't okay with.

"Sorry, sorry," he murmured to her, taking his time to reposition himself, to get a better grip on both her hips and himself. He focused for a minute on the way her skin rose up between his fingers, like dough rising out of the pan. Fuck that looked hot. He bet he was leaving marks again, he loved leaving his fingerprints on her skin like that. Red for a moment but eventually they'd fade away. But he'd always know that they were there. His marks on his girl.

She groaned his name at him and Steve almost lost himself again. The need to plunge as deep as he could, as hard as he could kicking up again.

"Fuck babe," he found himself groaning. "I'm trying to be calm here… you're not making this easy."

"Stop being a pussy and fuck me like a man, McGarrett," Rowan snapped and Steve bucked in response. She groaned at the depth he hit.

Rowan's impatience and hormones had resulted in some pretty degrading dirty talk in bed. It had unlocked a new kink he was unaware he had until that first string of expletives and demands had tumbled out of her lips.

"Babe, you know I have to be gentle with you…"

She responded by throwing her hips back at him, getting him an inch deeper and his hissed at her.

"Fuck," he managed to groan out before he thrust into her in earnest. Rowan whimpered, her face pressing into their sheets as the weight of each thrust moved her forward.

The linens tangled up in her fingers, the way he wanted to tangle his own fingers up into her hair. The second she was okay to fuck after she gave birth they were going to fully explore this… aggressive kink he seemed to like. He wanted hair pulling, collars, and her bossing him around and degrading him into performing better. He wanted them to trade off dominating one another, he wanted to be powerless beneath her, he wanted a hand around her neck, he wanted her cussing him out as he made her cum multiple times.

His phone ringing shattered the concentration, jolted them both out of the moment. Steve stared at his phone from it's place on the bedside table. He recognized the contact illuminating the screen.

"Don't you fucking touch that phone McGarrett," Rowan cried, grinding herself into him so hard he almost came then and there. He had to grip both her hips again to get her to stop.

"It's Duke Ro, give me a second," he said, causing her to groan.

Still he managed to lean forward, keeping himself inside her, swiped his phone off the side table and got it to his ear.

"This had better be good," he said breathlessly into the phone.

As he listened to Duke explain the situation he pressed silent kisses to Rowan's spine. And then Duke told him who he had at the precinct and he froze.

"Fuck, really?" Steve sighed. Then before Duke could confirm he simply said: "Sorry, yeah, I'll come get him. Thanks for the call."

He hung up, dropped his forehead to his wife's back, struggling to reign in… fucking everything. The desire, the need, the raging fucking boner he'd need to stifle down before leaving.

"I uh… I actually have to go Ro…"

Rowan turned, those blue eyes glinting up at him from over her shoulder. The: "Finish fucking me first then go get our son out of lock up," that left her lips was a sultry silken command that never should have worked on him. But she added a wiggle of her hips, a bit of a moan and suddenly leaving the warmth of her body, leaving them both unsatisfied, just wasn't an option.

Besides it would do Nahele some good to sit there and stew over whatever he had done to get himself into this situation.

He quickly lifted a foot up, no longer on both knees, now on one bended knee, he took a hold of Rowan's hips a repositioned her a little better. The first stroke in had her throwing her head back, a cry of delight exiting her.

Everything after that was a blur, but still the best birthday sex he had ever had.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Nahele knew the party wasn't going to be a good time. He knew it was going to be more Madison's vibe than his, but he never thought it would go as bad as it did.

He had gotten there early so Madison could take all the selfies and pictures with him that she wanted for her social media. There was time for some making out and fooling around, and then people were arriving. Within an hour the party was out of control.

People were all over the house. People were on the roof jumping off and into the pool. Nahele was worried the loud music and jumping around was going to crash their chandelier. Kids were drunk, though he was not, and Madison kept disappearing while he was trying to put out this dumpster fire of a party.

He kept going around the party, trying to minimize the damage. Taking her parent's expensive items out of people's hands and putting them back. Trying to hide the alcohol so kids would stop drinking, but some had even brought their own. He tried to corral people out of the private areas, like her parents bedrooms.

He had just shooed a very loved-up couple out of her parents bedroom for the fourth time when he finally found Madison again. The light was on in her room and he had thought a different couple had gone into her room to find some privacy. And technically a couple had. He just wasn't expecting it to be Madison and someone who wasn't him.

Honestly, Nahele might have been more angry about the situation if he wasn't practically in love with someone else. As it stood, he originally had only been mildly annoyed. Until her chosen partner, Jeremy Stickle of all people, decide to get in his face.

There was Madison, crying, trying to scramble back into a dress she demanded he match to, while Jeremy taunted him. He stood there shirt in his hand, baggy, stained jeans, zipped but not buttoned up. Clearly trying to impress Nahele with his somewhat toned abs and failing.

He admitted to her and to him that his only interest in Madison was to see if he could steal something Nahele. As far as Jeremy was concerned he had won.

Nahele wasn't sure what, but okay. He had asked Jeremy why it mattered, cause honestly he couldn't see why he would do this. He had no idea that Jeremy saw the downfall of his family as Nahele's fault, until he told him as much.

His parents sure, but Nahele hadn't done it personally. Jeremy's parents had split, and Nahele knew the divorce had been bad. His mom had been fucking his friends and everyone was made aware of that. His dad apparently had a second family, with a new kid and everything, that he had moved into the house after he kicked out his ex-wife and Jeremy's mom. A family that the Father had replaced his old one with.

Jeremy had had to downsize his whole life. And he blamed Nahele for it.

Nahele had thought that was stupid, but whatever. If he wanted Madison he could have her, Nahele was bored with her anyway and pretty sick of the drama. He also told Jeremy to watch out, Madison had a thing for dads. Luckily Steve hadn't been interested, but looking at Jeremy's parents' track record, he might want to make sure she doesn't actually make a move on his dad. Seeing as cheating was in both their natures, and he had a mom who liked them really young.

He made the mistake of turning his back on him, the plan was to go home. Call someone to come get him and just… go home. He knew if he did, Steve would shut down the party, and if he came home sad Rowan would make him treats and they could snuggle on the couch under comfortable blankets while they watched kids movies. End the night on a real high note.

Jeremy, however, was not okay with how things had ended, and as soon as Nahele turned his back he attacked, like the coward he was.

The two hadn't really fought, it was more like a wrestle. Jeremy had latched himself onto Nahele, trying to get him into these weird holds, while Nahele tried to get him off. The two had ricochetted off walls, and banisters, they broke a vase, knocked a painting of the wall and eventually fell down the stairs.

The fall winded Nahele, it winded Jeremy more though, so Nahele got to his feet before Jeremy did. Nahele had tried to tell Jeremy he didn't want to fight him, but Jeremy grabbed onto his legs, taking him back down to the ground. Then he was practically clamoring to get on top of Nahele.

Nahele didn't want to know what Jeremy planned to do if he got that advantage, and from there on in he was using the skills his dad and his uncles had taught him. The first hit got Jeremy in the arm, it got him off him and back on the ground. The second hit was more of a sweep, it knocked Jeremy to the ground. The third and last hit was one good tap to the face. A warning shot if anything, a if you try it again, I'll hurt you more punch.

He stood up then to the sudden cries of his schoolmates. He turned wondering what they could be cheering for, but it wasn't cheers, it was screams. Red and blue lights lit up the windows, kids began to swarm the exits to leave.

Nahele couldn't move.

He was lucky Pua was one of the officers on scene. He took Nahele down to the precinct. He didn't put him in cuffs at the scene, he didn't make Nahele sit in the back like a common criminal, he didn't put him in the cells, but he did have Duke call his dad.

And that's where Steve found him, sitting by Pua's desk. He watched Steve get told about the situation, the party, the fact that he was found standing over an unconscious Jermey Stickle, the fact that Madison's story was that the party was Nahele's idea. That her parents were thinking of charging him, that he might get stuck with a providing minors with alcohol charge even though he wasn't the one who bought the beer. Pua had let him keep his phone and he had been going through taking screenshots of everything, right in time too, because Madison had started deleting the messages.

After what seemed like forever, Steve came over to him. "Come on," was all he said. "Let's go home."

Nahele followed him silently. He tried to get a feel for what Steve was feeling, but there seemed to be nothing. There was no anger, no scowling, no shake to his hands. It was like he didn't care.

There was a time where both his parents would have gone feral over this. But it seemed with the new baby and him turning 18 they just didn't seem to care anymore. How long before they asked him to move out? How long before the happy family that used to be his, officially stopped loving him?

Steve drove in silence and Nahele couldn't find it in him to say anything. Anxiety paralyzed him. His chest was in pain, his breathing ragged. Embarrassingly, tears had begun to burn his eyes. It was taking all of his willpower to keep them inside.

He wanted Steve to yell at him. He wanted Rowan to be pacing, already on the phone, a plan of attack ready to keep a criminal charge off her baby's record.

Steve pulled into the driveway, put the truck into park, but stopped Nahele from getting out.

"You wanna tell me what's going on with you?" Steve asked breaking the silence.

Nahele stared at him a moment, tears dangerously close to cascading down his cheeks. He didn't want to cry in front of Steve, he wanted to be strong. Like Steve was.

"The party got out of hand…"

"Yeah, I got that," Steve said softly. "That's not what I'm talking about. Something's going on with you. Both Rowan and I have noticed. The attitude, the distance… the way you're acting… it's not you. So what's going on? Is this… is this about the baby?"

Everything was about the baby. The new addition to the house. All of Rowan and Steve's attention, all their arguments, all everyone could ever talk about was that stupid baby. But he couldn't tell Steve that. He couldn't give Steve a reason to get rid of him quicker.

"No…"

"Okay. Why… you got in a fight tonight. With Jeremy Stickle. Why?"

"He… he was mad at me."

"Yeah, I mean after what Rowan did to his mom and everything else me and your Uncle Con did… I get why he'd be mad at us, but… Nahele, it's not like you to fight."

"I didn't want to fight him," Nahele cried. "He wouldn't stop, he wouldn't get off me, so I… I mean… I have a right to want to hit him, I caught him fucking Madison but I wasn't going to. I was going to walk away, he attacked me first."

"Madison was cheating on you?" Steve asked almost incredulously. He paused for a moment. "Does that mean… that you two… are you two… done now?"

"Of course we're done," Nahele snapped. He noted that Steve was trying to tamp down a smile and he frowned at him. "Thanks. Thanks for the support, Steve. I know you didn't like her much but try to not jump for joy now that we've broken up."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed when Nahele used his first name. Steve was used to being dad now, he didn't like being called Steve anymore. Still he nodded, trying to fix his reaction to finding out about the break up. Nahele wished he cared more about things ending with Madison, but the truth was, he was kind of grateful. Now he didn't have to pretend to like her or any of her stupid friends or her stupid hobbies.

"I'm sorry about Madison. I know you liked her," Steve said. "I'm sorry that we didn't hide our uhm… dislike… of her better. But uh, your personality did a real 180 when she came into the picture…"

"Madison wasn't the problem," Nahele told him, though honestly, it partly was. He had to play a part to date her, he couldn't be nice and funny Nahele. He had to be the Quarterback, solid, strong and sometimes mean. He had to match her vibes a lot or she'd get annoyed. He was looking forward to going back to the way he was.

But he also didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Dad… look I know you're mad at me but I… I'm really tired, okay? Like, really tired. Can I go to bed and, I unno… you and mom can yell at me tomorrow or something?"

Steve shook his head. "Sorry but no. No, you're not going to bed right now. This conversation is not over and will not be over until you tell me what's going on."

Nahele stared at him. Not sure what to do. Not sure why, after practically ignoring him for the last six months, Steve suddenly cared.

"We've been trying to give you space, to let you be independent, but I swear… Nahele… it's like you don't even like us anymore. Now, I can't fix anything unless you tell me what's wrong. You got me? So start talking."

Nahele blinked his eyes. The tears welling back up in them again. Steve thought he didn't like him anymore? Did Rowan think that too? How had he given them that impression. Okay he knew how, but he hadn't meant it. Not like that.

"It's not… I'm not… I'm just… I'm 18 now."

"I know that. We just spent the day doing birthday stuff with you."

"I know. But… I'm 18. I'm 18 and you guys are about to have a baby and I just… I thought… I thought that meant I'd be moving on. You know? I'm considered an adult now and you guys would… I unno. You're going to have your own kid, you don't need me anymore. I thought you'd ask me to move out, that I'd be leaving. I thought you guys would want me gone. I just keep waiting for you guys to tell me it's over…"

"Wait… wait… what are you talking about?" Steve said. "What do you mean, how did… you thought we were… why would you think that? What did we do that… I mean I know the baby's coming and we've been distracted but…"

"I don't know," Nahele whispered. The tears were falling now, streaming down his cheeks as he stared at Steve who looked like he was about to cry too. "I just… that's usually what happens. Adoptive parents love you until they have their own kids and I'm… I'm aging out and I thought…"

"Nahele," Steve whispered, putting a hand to his shoulder. "Nahele we adopted you because we love you. You don't have… we don't want you to move out. Rowan doesn't even want you going to the mainland for University. Maybe… maybe we have been a little more hands off recently but we wanted to give you your space, space to grow and be independent without us smothering you or babying you. I'm sorry if you thought… thought that meant we didn't want you anymore. We didn't mean to make you think that."

Nahele swiped at his eyes. "I know... I just… I guess… I'm always worried it's going to go away. That it's all going to stop and… and…"

"Nahele," Steve said again little more forcefully. "Nahele, that's not going to happen. You are stuck with us, me and Ro. Do you understand? Stuck with us. Forever. And if something happens to us, and I know you know this cause we told you, Con and Wo get you." Nahele sniffed again turning to Steve. "And you know they both want you. Hell, they'll probably have to fight Danny off on a regular basis, cause there's no way something happens to me and Danny doesn't step in to help out."

At that Nahele laughed. "Yeah… yeah that would be bad."

"Look I get it. Always worrying, I can't say if that's going to ever go away, but I'm here. Ro and I are here, and we are going to be more than willing to prove to you that we're not going anywhere, no matter how old you get. Whenever you need us, we'll be here. Okay?"

Nahele nodded and Steve pulled him in for a quick hug. "Just so you know, that Jeep is staying in the garage even if you pass your test next week."

"Yeah… that's fair."

"Your mom and I will figure out how long you're grounded for tomorrow morning, you just go upstairs and rest, okay?"

"Yeah… uh… thanks… thanks for coming to get me."

"Of course. I'll always come. And if Rowan wasn't highly pregnant, she would have been there too."

"Is… is mom mad?" he asked softly and Steve sighed.

"She's sleeping right now, but I'm guessing by morning she's going to be pretty pissed, so I guess… I guess you're going to have to grovel." Nahele shot him a bit of a weepy smile. Steve reached over to ruffle his hair softly. "You're tired. Let's get you to bed."

They climbed out of Steve's truck and walked into the house together. He let Steve pull him in for one last hug before they both went to their rooms.

Nahele wasn't sure when Steve spoke to Rowan about what he had said that night, but in the morning, he found out that his mother wasn't mad at him at all. Though she did cry and hug him and refuse to let go.

In fact she promised to be a helicopter parent for the rest of his life, which was not something he wanted at all, but didn't want to argue with her in that moment. She kept raging at Steve, telling him that she knew Nahele didn't want them to give him space, or want to be independent. She never should have let him convince her to let go of the reins.

None of that was true, of course. He did want to be independent, he did want space, but at that moment, he wanted Rowan's arms around him more. He wanted Steve's patient smiles pointed in their direction, the promise of talking to Rowan once she had calmed down glinting in his eyes. He wanted Wo and Con, arriving later that evening to drop off gifts to the house before carpooling to the restaurant, asking if Steve and Rowan needed help with Nahele's little "case". He wanted Grace's hug, her condolences on the break up that came with a confusingly happy smile on her face, and the new pair of socks she got him for his birthday. He wanted Grover asking who won the fight between him and Jeremy and Danny proudly proclaiming it was obviously Nahele. And then having every male in the vicinity claim that they taught him his fighting skills.

He wanted this family. And he was ever so grateful it was his.