Somewhere in the Night

Zebraboymom

Chapter One

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. But in my heart…

Author Notes: I have never done a song inspired fic in any of my 78 stories, but I heard this song one night riding, yes, in an elevator and it made me think about a story idea, so I'm using it. The music is outdated because it's an old Barry Manilow, but the lyrics fit so well. So here goes. By the way no Catherine and no Adam. As always this is Steve/Kono and a bit AU of course, but hey, in my mind it could happen. Of course, my mind can be a scary place and it is usually full of fluff.

Somewhere in the Night

So tonight I'll stir the fire you feel inside

Until the flames of love enfold you

Layin' beside you lost in the feeling

So glad you opened my door, come with me

Somewhere in the night we will know

Everything lovers can know

You're my song, music too magic to end

I'll play you over and over again

Lovin' so warm, movin' so right

Closin' our eyes and feelin' alive

We'll just go on burnin' bright

Somewhere in the night

The first time Kono came to him was after they closed the case on her surfing mentor. They had only been together as a team for about six months, but in that time they had grown very close and Steve felt like a protective brother with the entire team even though Chin was older.

He now knew Kono well enough to know that she was still grieving. After excusing herself from the usual beer and debrief when they closed a case, he watched her walk away with her shoulders slumped and her heart most assuredly broken. He had wanted to follow her so badly, but wasn't sure if she would welcome his care or just push him away. Her stubbornness and desire to prove herself as a rookie included putting on a tough front all the time. Sighing, he let it go and returned to the conversation he was having with the guys, but finding himself thinking about her the rest of the night.

Now he was lying in bed with the curtains blowing softly from the breeze off the ocean he knew she loved as much as he did. Instead of falling asleep like he was used to when he was in the SEALS, he saw by the clock that he had been lying awake for about an hour now.

That's when he heard it. A sound at the door like someone was picking the lock and then the whoosh as it opened and then closed. The soft padding of bare feet could be heard on the stairs now and he reached into his nightstand to pull out his service revolver.

It was so quiet he could hear someone take a deep breath and then step into his doorway. He was stunned to see Kono standing there in his room. The moonlight danced across her tear-streaked face and he opened the drawer to drop the revolver back into its place and shut it.

He waited for her to speak, but instead of saying anything, she moved to the side of the bed opposite him and just looked at him in the semi-darkened room. He decided to leave the ball in her court and before he knew what was happening, she slid under the covers and curled into a ball at the edge of the bed with her back to him.

He could see her shoulders shaking and reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away from him and curled up tighter into a ball. She never said a word, just cried herself to sleep and at some point during the night as he watched her sleep she relaxed and allowed herself to get the rest she needed.

He couldn't say the same thing about himself and it was starting to get light outside when he finally slipped into a troubled sleep himself.

The next morning when he woke up she was gone. He started to question whether of not he had actually dreamed it all, but when he rolled over on her side of the bed he could smell her scent on his sheets. It was glorious. For the next two days he slept on that side and he found himself getting a good night's sleep both nights with dreams about a certain rookie.

She never brought it up and he didn't either, but he would catch her on occasion watching him with those sparkling doe eyes of hers and it made his heart swell each time.

After a few days she was totally back to normal and the walls slipped back into place.

Beer nights continued and weekend surfing lessons for Danny started. He went with them after a few sessions and watched with glee as Kono tried to teach Danny how to balance. His friend was in a word a disaster on a surfboard. He trusted the man with his life. He was a capable police officer, but on a board…not so much.

Afterwards he and Kono would paddle out and take a few waves while Danny watched. They would sit on their boards side by side waiting for a wave. One Saturday he got the nerve to talk to her about it.

"You doing okay?"

Silence.

"Kono. Are you all right these days?"

More silence and then she started paddling.

"I'm okay Steve. Just drop it."

And she was gone.

If that were the way she wanted to play it then he wouldn't bring it up again.

A few Months went by.

The second time Kono came to him was after Victor Hess strapped a bomb to Chin's neck. At Danny's house afterwards they worked on his Santa outfit and Kono had appeared calm and in control. She played with Grace and gave the little girl the cutest Hawaiian doll he had ever seen. She smiled, but he noticed it never made it to her eyes and her dimples were barely visible. That was not the way Kono smiled.

He was aware that her eyes never left Chin all night.

When he got home the house felt empty. It was Christmas Eve, but he yearned for the fun family times he experienced as a kid before his mom died. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling and feeling alone, but treasuring the time he had with his Ohana. He just wished he could comfort Kono.

It was while he mused about everything that he heard his front door once again. He knew her light feet on the stairs now and this time when she stood in his doorway she was fighting tears.

All it took was for him to lift the blanket and she dove in the bed.

This time she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling trying to get control of her emotions. After several minutes Steve felt the covers move and her hand slid across the gap between their bodies. When it brushed his he wrapped his fingers around it and held it gently while she cried.

He ached to pull her to him, but she never moved any closer.

He settled back and ran his thumb gently over her knuckles until he felt himself starting to fall asleep. Finally her voice came out so soft he almost didn't catch it.

"Merry Christmas Steve."

He whispered back to her.

"Merry Christmas Kono."

He woke up Christmas Day all alone in his bed.

More time passed and he found himself wishing she would return some nights.

The third time Kono came to him was the night her aunt died. He had watched her walk away and fought the need to run after her. He had stayed in his seat and talked until he could find a way to excuse himself without suspicion. When he arrived at home he headed straight to bed and wrestled with whether or not to text her. He was just putting his phone back on the nightstand when he heard the door and the steps and she was there again, staring at him with brokenness he hadn't seen in her before.

"Come here."

He lifted the covers and when she climbed in and turned on her side, he immediately pulled her back against his chest and wrapped an arm around her waist. She froze for a few seconds and then he felt her hand slip on top of his and their fingers entwined.

He almost forgot to breath.

"I loved her so much."

"I know."

And that's the way they spent the night. He didn't want to open his eyes the next day because he knew she was gone again. He could feel her when she pulled away from him and left.

At work that day she acted as if she hadn't been in his arms all night. She was all business and calling him Boss. It was disconcerting to say the least, but he cared about her too much to embarrass her about it.

It was a long time before Kono came to him a fourth time.

The governor died. He went to jail. She went to jail. She got suspended. He ignored her for weeks. It was a stupid thing to do and he knows it now. He's so afraid he lost her trust. He punched Fryer and she walked away with the rest of the team, but he was screaming in his head to pull her aside and look at her arm, to run his hands over her body and make sure she was really okay. He was a stupid jerk and he knew he had hurt her, so it was a complete and astonishing surprise when she showed up at his house the night after Delano went down.

He couldn't believe she was standing there swaying slightly in the moonlight.

"Kono, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't have your back and I'm sorry."

"You did when it counted."

He lifted the blanket and reached for her. She came willingly and he drew her to his side as she cuddled close and laid her head on his shoulder and her hand on his bare chest. They didn't say anything more that night, just held each other like they were never going to let go.

Before he slipped into sleep he looked down at the beautiful, strong woman he had in his arms. He knew it was an incredible sign of trust to come to him after everything and then to allow him to hold her in his arms. He would never take her for granted ever again.

This time when he woke up he wanted her to be there so badly, but she was gone.

The fifth time Kono came to him was after he returned safe from North Korea.

He knew before he went to bed when he got back home that she would come. They had played it cool when the helicopter set down and he was rushed to medical. All she did was give him a quick hug and then she was gone. She had hovered on the periphery while they worked on him and then sat as far away from his gurney as possible in the military transport on the way home. He suspected it was because Lori was all but climbing in the bed with him. He came to a realization on the way home. He had wanted Kono there with him, not Lori. He craved her presence and wanted to call her over, but instead he just lay there and tried to ignore Lori's fussing.

A few days in the hospital with Lori there day and night and he wanted to kill himself. Each time Kono came to visit they had conversations with their eyes. He wanted to be alone with her so badly, but it wasn't until he was sent home and settled carefully into his bed for his first night of sleep that she came.

She looked beautiful as always standing in the moonlight and looking at him with that worried look.

"I really am okay."

"Right."

"I'm just glad you're here. I hoped all day you would come."

"How could I not?"

She slid into the bed and scooted right up to him where he was laying on his good side. Her soft hands came up to cup his cheeks.

"You're really okay."

"I'm really okay."

"I was…worried."

"I know."

Her hands ran over his face and then she pushed him on his back and pulled the covers down to allow her hands to skim over his chest and arms, convincing herself he was really there.

Steve shivered under her touch, but the pain meds were kicking in and he soon drifted to sleep with her holding him close.

At work she is nothing but professional. He on the other hand starts to feel like a puppy every time he's in the same room with her. He just wants to bask in that dimply smile forever. He doesn't know when he fell in love with her. He just did.

She comes to him for the sixth time after Chin's wedding and stands in his doorway in that beautiful dress looking at him with joy for the first time in all the times she has visited him. He watches in awe as she slips the bright red-orange dress off her shoulders and slides into the bed in her bikini. The girl wore a bikini under her bridesmaid's dress? He smiled to himself. She truly was a surfer through and through. He loved that about her.

She surprised him by reaching for him and kissing him deeply. When she released him she gave him that smile he loves so much and hugged him before she settled in his arms to sleep.

His entire body was on high alert with so much of her skin pressed up against his body. It took every bit of training he ever received to keep himself in check and not take her then and there.

"Good night Steve."

He managed to squeak out a reply.

"Night…Kono."

This time when he woke up it was really hard to accept that she was gone. He would have liked nothing more than to kiss her good morning and maybe take things a little…a lot further, but her side was vacant and he plopped back on his back in frustration. A cold shower was definitely in order.

The seventh time Kono came to him was different from all the others. Lori had been fired and was leaving after protecting the team. He had a mild concussion, but it didn't matter. Once he heard the door open he could hear her feet fly across the floor and climb the stairs as fast as she could take them. She stood in his doorway heaving from the run. She must have sprinted from her car all the way through the door and across his house. He had left the door open hoping she would show up.

He lifted the covers this time and she threw herself into his arms, kissing him deeply and running her hands over his body before she replaced them with her lips.

"I thought I lost you. When I saw that car hit you…I wanted to die. I need you Steve. I need you right now."

He crushed her in his arms and made love to her with a fierceness that startled both of them. When they finally slipped down on the bed tangled in each other's arms and legs his voice was soft and rough with emotion.

"I need you too Kono. I have for a long time now."

A/N: Next chapter: More times Kono came to him.