Thank you for everyone who read until this point. This is the last chapter. To be honest, I don´t know how to feel about this story. It was more of a challenge, to see if I can write something like that. Because I don´t see this ever happening between them. Maybe that is why I feel good about ending it at this point.

A special thank you to Shakespeare´s Lemonade! You inspired and encouraged me and with you, this story never would have been written!

I hope you all enjoyed it and I´d love to know what you think!

"Could you stop moving around and sit still? Just for a second? Please!" Danny ranted and sighed heavily, combing his hand through his blond strands with a frustrated groan.

Kono opened her mouth to reply, but shut it when Danny glared at her. No matter how much she loved teasing him and making fun of him, she knew when to stop. And it was more than obvious that the blond detective´s patience was wearing thin.

She slumped down on one of the plastic chairs beside Danny and rubbed her hands on her thighs.

"Why does it take so long?" she asked quietly and Danny turned his head to look at her. Seeing the rookie so upset and unsteady was something Danny wasn´t used to and for the first time since they arrived at the hospital 2 hours ago, he wondered how he could have been so blind. But then again, his own worry for his friend and partner had clouded his vision. He wasn´t the only one worried.

"He´ll be okay, Babe." he assured Kono and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly as if that little gesture would make any difference. Kono looked up at him and tried to smile but failed miserably.

"I hope so, Danny." she whispered and bit her lip. Her inside was raw and she knew that her behaviour surprised Danny, but she couldn´t help it. This just proved to be too much for her and she was done with hiding her feelings. She couldn´t pretend to be strong and optimistic, not for Danny and certainly not for herself.

Because the truth was that Kono was scared. It wasn´t the first time Steve was shot and it wasn´t the first time he was in hospital. But this time? This time was different. Kono felt it in her gut, felt it in the trembling of her hands. It had taken almost all of her courage to accept that this time she was really scared.

Things had changed. So much has happened. Her whole world was turned upside down and she had no idea how to fix it. She didn´t even know if it had to be fixed. She just knew that she was walking on unfamiliar ground and she had to watch every step. Because one stumble would end in a catastrophe.

"Detective Williams?" the voice of the doctor approaching them, startled her.

Danny would have laughed when Kono flinched, reminding him of a cartoon figure that was exaggerating every move into a caricature. But he was too worried himself, so he chose to ignore Kono´s reaction and focus on what the doctor would have to tell them.

Steve felt a tender caress on his cheek. Soft fingers that touched his forehead, easing the frown. The caress was strangely familiar, but Steve wasn´t sure how to make himself known. There was a shaken breath, sounding more like a sob. And instantly Steve knew who it was.

"I´m tired of seeing you like this, Boss!" Kono whispered and he heard her sniffing.

Kono needed to touch him, feel the warmth of his skin to convince herself that he was alive, that he was still there and that there was life inside the immobile body. Her fingers trembled when she leaned down and hesitated, her lips only a breath away from his. And then she leaned down and kissed his lips, slowly, gently. Feeling the warmth of his breath on her face, Kono cherished the feeling of his soft lips against hers. Lingering for seconds, she tried to keep the sobs from leaving her shaking body.

With her hands framing his face she willed him to wake up. Her tears left her blind, unable to see anything, but only feel his lips, his warmth. It was so good to be able to touch him and to feel him. She had fought so hard since them moment Danny had called Chin to tell her that Steve had been shot.

It didn´t even seem awkward that she was kissing him now. Maybe she felt safe because he was unconscious, maybe it was just too much to handle.

"You know, you´re the only one I know that gets shot while buying a Puka dog." Kono said, a smile on her lips while she brushed off the tears that she couldn´t hide.

She was thankful that Danny allowed her some time alone with Steve. Her subconscious told her that Danny knew more than he let on, but she didn´t care. She was beyond that point after hours of waiting for a doctor to tell them if Steve would survive.

"I don´t know how to do this, Steve..." she whispered and moved away from the bed, staring out the window as if there was something out there that would help her find the answer. "I´m not prepared for this, even though it´s not coming by surprise. But still I don´t know what to do..." Kono bent her head and closed her eyes, tears threatening to spill through her closed eyelids.

Steve wanted to reach out to her, assure her, tell her that he was okay. He felt fear in his stomach, fear that the current events would drive a wedge between them and push them further apart. Fear that whatever happened between them was going to end because it was too much to handle. Too much to bear. Too much to feel.

He wasn´t completely blind and he could only ignore the shift in their relationship that much. He had felt it and his inside had wanted it so badly. Still he felt his conscious hold him back every time he came too close to cross the invisible line.

"It´s crazy... It´s insane, Steve!" she whispered, hugging herself. She wished he would be there and hold her, put his arms around her and let her escape from the cruel reality. Kono drew in a shuddering breath and rammed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

"How can we let this happen, Steve?" she finally whispered. This shooting had made her realize something that she tend to forget at times. Things can end in the blink of an eye. Things that you take for granted can be taken from you without an explanation and without a chance of getting them back.

Steve felt a sting inside. It hurt. Because it was the same thing he told himself every single time he looked at her when she smiled at him. When she laughed with him. When she had his back. His body betrayed him and he couldn´t even make his fingers twitch, he just wanted to touch her.

Danny watched Kono sleep on a chair beside Steve´s bed, her head resting on Steve´s thigh, her hand holding his. He knew that the woman hadn´t left Steve´s side for a second while he had been downstairs to get some coffee, call the Governor and just took his time to digest what had happened.

The sight greeting him when he entered Steve´s room again was something Danny hadn´t expected.

Kono was asleep, but what really got to him were here tear stroked cheeks. She had cried and Danny could only imagine what her tears were for. If it was fear of loosing Steve. Or fear of realizing that things had changed and that whatever it was that had changed was making her act like this.

Slowly he entered the room and stepped closer to Kono to wake her up gently. It was time for her to go home, sleep, and then maybe come back when she was feeling better.

"You do know that if Danny or Chin walk in right now, we´ll never see the end of this, right?" she murmured sleepily, snuggling closer against him, sighing happily when his arms tightened around her. She was careful not to touch the wound, but she should have known better than to resist him when he wanted to have her close.

Steve mm-mm-ed softly and felt her relax against him. Her head rested on his shoulder, one leg thrown over his and her body melted against him. And it felt so damn right to have her close, to hold her and to feel her warmth. He didn´t care to analyze those feelings, he was just content to be in this position.

Who cared about noisy partners or overprotective cousins? He definitely didn´t, not when he finally held her.

Feeling sleep slowly claiming him, he pressed his face into her hair and inhaled the scent of coconut.

To him Kono smelled like Hawaii, like home. It was a familiar scent that you grow up with, that reminds you of wonderful moments, yet it was new and exciting.

He felt her fingers drawing patterns on his chest and enjoyed the featherlight touch. He had sensed her need to touch him as often as possible and even though he knew that she tried to be as subtle as possible, he understood that need. It was the assurance she needed to make herself believe that things would be okay again.

"Goodnight, Steve." she whispered and hearing her using his name made him smile.

"Goodnight, Kono." he replied softly and before sleep claimed him fully and his consciousness slipped away into dreamland, he felt her kiss his cheek.

When Kono turned around the corner she saw him, leaning forward, hands on his thighs, trying to take deep breaths to fill his lungs with much needed air. The suspect lay on the floor, handcuffed, immobile.

"Hey Boss, you okay?" she asked worried when she approached him.

"Yeah, I´m fine." he said, straightening up and smiling at her. "A little out of breath." he grinned at her and she answered with a full-dimple smile herself.

"Don´t let Danny hear this, he´s gonna kick your sorry ass for being out chasing bad guys again." she teased and Steve chuckled.

"He´d probably give me a lecture as to why I should rest more and that I sound more like my dad´s car."

"Likely." she agreed chuckling, taking the suspect from him.

Heading back around the corner she handed the suspect to HPD, thankful that they´d take over and put him behind bars.

"Where is Danny?" she asked and turned to Steve, who smiled at her and nodded over to his right.

There he was, leaning against an HPD car, legs and arms crossed, his suit pants and white shirt with rolled up sleeves looking familiar, even in the heat of Hawaii. He had lost his tie though over the past couple of months and Kono thought she might even remember him wearing shorts and flip-flops.

His face was a huge grin when he met her eyes and he showed her thumbs up. He had made sure that HPD had the suspect and he even found enough time to find out that the guy they caught was not only the one who gave the order, but also that HPD had been tracing him for the past 2 years for another crime.

"You look awfully cheery, Danny." Steve said when he approached them. They watched HPD leave and then Danny turned around, a smug smile on his face.

"Well, I would say that I have every right to be cheery, Steve. Our suspect is not only the guy we are looking for but HPD had a very profound interest in catching him for a drug bust gone wrong 2 years ago that left 3 HPD officer´s dead. So yes, I´d say it´s been a very productive and fruitful day."

Steve nodded, a smile tugging at his lips.

"The beer´s on me tonight." Danny grinned, putting an arm around Kono´s waist and pulled her with him. "I think we all deserved some cool beer and a few laughs. See rookie, that is what every police officer consider a successful day. One perp less on the street, HPD is happy and we are going to call it a day." Steve chuckled silently following Danny and Kono. Danny was right, this was a good day.

Kono let her fingers slide over the cold stone gently, tracing the name with a sad smile on her lips. It´s been 3 months since Neela´s funeral and reality had finally sunk in. Neela wasn´t coming back and there would be no more laughing about silly jokes or making new memories. All she had left were the memories they already had. Knowing that her murderer was sentenced to spend the rest of his pathetic life behind bars made it more bearable, but not easier.

"I wish I had known her." a low, gentle voice said and she lifted her head, smiling at Steve.

"You would have loved her. She was someone who got along with almost anybody. She was a great friend."

"I would have loved to hear stories about your childhood." he teased and crunched down beside her, gently grabbing her hand.

"That is the only thing I don´t regret, that you´ll never find out now about my dark secrets."

"Oh, don´t be too sure about that, Kalakaua. I have ways..."

Chuckling Kono leaned against him, thankful for his strength.

"Thank you for coming here." She didn´t ask him how he found her. She didn´t care. He was here, that was all that mattered.

Standing up, she pulled him with her, never letting go of his hand. Slowly they made their way back to his black truck in silence. But it wasn´t uncomfortable. And even though Steve saw sadness and loneliness in Kono´s eyes, he also knew that she was okay over all.

"Wanna go for a drink?" he asked, ignoring the voice inside his head that told him he just tried to avoid saying good bye.

"I don´t feel like going to a bar..." she smiled at him. She didn´t say no...

"I have a bottle of Zinfandel in the fridge..." Steve smiled and Kono answered his smile.

"Let´s go then."

"I´m tipsy." Kono giggled and leaned against him. She was soaking wet, maybe jumping into the waves with all her clothes on in the middle of the night after emptying the bottle of Californian Zinfandel wasn´t such a good idea.

"You´re not tipsy, Kono," Steve steadied her by wrapping an arm around her waist. She smiled at him sweetly. "You´re fucking hammered." Her smile turned into a scowl that made Steve laugh.

"I am not... drunk!" she protested, swaying a little more and holding onto him. Giggling.

"Okay... maybe a little." Steve´s laughter cut through the dark night and she couldn´t help the smile on her face.

"It´s okay." Steve assured her.

Kono beamed up at him and he felt himself being drawn to her. Again. And then she stumbled, falling against him.

"Oops..." Her hands on his shoulders, her body flush against his, her smile bright and not the least bit shy.

"Come on, Kono, you can crash in Mary´s bed." Steve said, trying to stay rational. It would have been so easy to just... kiss her. Give in to his need of having her. Feeling her. Tasting her. Loving her. But he wasn´t as tipsy as she was, so in the morning he would have no excuse.

Suddenly Kono got serious and her arms wrapped around his neck, their eyes locked. She studied him for a minute. This was her boss. And he was the man that she had spend the past year with laughing, arguing, fighting and working. She knew him, yet there were still so many things she wanted to know about him.

Neela´s death and the day Steve was shot again made her realize that she wasn´t living her life to regret things. Life was about the moment, about celebrating life, about cherishing and not hiding, not denying and not hurting. There were no guarantees in life, no one would present you a chance on a silver tablet. But when they occurred, when someone held that shiny-dangly-thing in front of you, you need to take it.

"What are we gonna do about this?" she asked, waiting for him to make a decision, for him to make it right. For him to make sense. Steve didn´t pretend to not understand her. He knew what she was talking about and he also knew that there was no running anymore. They had both tried to ignore it for too long.

"We should do the right thing." he whispered but wrapped his arms around her waist, telling himself it was only to steady her.

Kono read in his eyes, what his mouth didn´t tell her. She saw the same longing that burned deep inside her. She saw the way he cared about her. She saw the gentleness and the responsibility. And right then, everything made sense. All the careful moving around each other over the last months. All the hidden looks, the cautious smiles.

They had been dancing around the edge for so long now, always careful to not slip, to not stumble and to not fall. And in that very moment Kono realized that it was okay to fall. He´d have her back... and she´d have his.

"What is the right thing?" she asked, involuntarily moving closer to him, tightening the hold on his neck.

"Not giving in." he murmured, when his eyes moved to her lips and he followed the subtle pull of her arms and bend down a bit more.

"What do you want to do?"

Steve moaned, cursing inwardly. She was so warm, so welcoming and she was all he wanted right now. He had been fighting this for too long. Admitting it to himself, he knew that it was inevitable that they finally came here, being in this situation where all those hidden looks, gestures and words were suddenly out in the open.

"Kono..." Her breath on his lips made him swallow hard and pull her even closer. Even though his head might scream to let go, his body and his heart told him something different. For once he wasn´t fighting his demons but his own needs.

"Put it out there, Steve... Tell me." she said, feeling one of his legs sliding between hers while his hands on her waist pulled her closer if that was even possible.

"Not a good idea."

"Maybe... " she agreed while there lips were so close she could feel them move against hers.

"It would make everything complicated... we´re working with each other." he murmured, his eyes locked with hers.

"Yeah... you´re my boss." Her hands slid into his hair, pulling his head closer.

"Chin would kill me." His voice was merely a throaty whisper.

"He wouldn´t..." Tiptoeing Kono leaned closer, making him slide his arms all around her waist.

"I might have control issues." Another low moan.

"I could help you loosening the tension." Her lips started to tingle.

"This is no game!" Suddenly his voice got harsh, as if he was warning her not to think that all he wanted was a one-night-thing.

"No, it´s not a game... it´s all or nothing." Kono whispered. Steve pulled his head back slightly to look into her eyes, searching for the truth behind her words. He finally moaned and gave in.

His lips crashed down on hers, demanding, forcefully, yet ever so gentle. Kono moaned, wrapping herself around him tightly. He felt the curves of her lips, tasted the wine. Everything seemed to fall into place and he couldn´t stop himself from wanting more.

Kono cherished the feeling of his lips against hers. Finally, after months of fighting and ignoring, avoiding and denying, she kissed him. She tasted him. It was purely Steve, hot, manly, giving, caring, loving, demanding and she moaned, when she felt what he would refer to as his control issues. He was possessive, not giving her a chance to back off and Kono didn´t really want to.

When his tongue touched her upper lip, teasing the sensitive curve, coaxing her into opening up and welcoming him, he heard her whimper. And he knew, that she wanted the same thing he wanted. He needed. He craved.

They lost themselves in that kiss, only breaking apart when the need for air became too much to ignore. Looking into her eyes, Steve found himself feeling strangely nervous. What if he misread her? Kono´s face was serious while she held his gaze. But then a genuine and very gentle smile appeared on her face.

"You´re wrong, " she whispered, watching him narrow his eyes and look at her, waiting for an answer. "I consider this... US... the right thing!" And with that she pulled him down again, melting their lips together.