Two Weeks Away: Chapter One
Wednesday
Kate dug her feet into the warm sand, letting the fine grains slip in between her toes. The morning sun was bright and her bare legs were stretched out before her as she tried to soak up as much of its heat as possible. In deference to her pale skin, she had put on her cover-up after a brief dip in the aqua blue ocean earlier, the long sleeves protecting her skin as she tended to burn rather than tan. A large brimmed floppy hat to shade her face completed the ensemble. More than likely she looked ridiculous, but Kate didn’t care. She wasn’t here to look for a date and she wasn’t going to ruin her vacation by getting terribly burned her first couple of days.
Reaching into her oversized tote bag, Kate dug out her water bottle and took a few long swigs of the refreshing liquid. As she was putting it back a couple of surfers out on the ocean caught her eye. She watched as the pair sat on their boards waiting for the next wave. Grabbing her ever-present sketchpad out of the bag, Kate threw it open, using the pencil she always kept with it to quickly sketch them. She tried to capture the pair as they sat gently bobbing in the water, talking and laughing with each other. Even from this distance she could tell from the way they interacted they were fond of each other.
When the duo started paddling towards the oncoming wave, Kate flipped to the next page, desperately racing to capture the power and grace of the surfers as they jumped to their feet at just the right moment to catch the wave as it crested at its peak.
The sounds of the ocean and the various families on vacation faded into the background as she filled in the details before she forgot. Kate hadn’t felt this driving need to draw since before she had been shot, so she reveled in it as she went back and forth between the two pages adding a detail here and there. Once she got the two figures just right she started to fill in the background of the water, darker lines at the bottom and light wispy lines at the top to show how the sea foam curved inward as the wave started to collapse.
Just as she added the last line to the edge of the page where it would give the illusion that the ocean was continuing into the distance, a shadow fell across the page.
“That’s really good,” a feminine voice above her said.
Starting at the unexpected sound, Kate realized she had zoned a bit while drawing and had forgotten she was on a public beach surrounded by people. Gibbs would have given her a head slap for being so careless, but at the same time she couldn’t help smiling because she hadn’t realized how much she had missed her passion to create. Looking up and squinting against the bright Hawaiian sun, Kate saw her admirer was a beautiful woman with shoulder length black hair that was dripping water onto her shoulders. Her brown eyes were framed by long lashes and her generous mouth was curved in a soft smile. Kate realized with a start that she was rudely staring and finally remembered to say, “Thank you.”
The woman knelt down in the sand to get a closer look and said, “Wow, you have a really lovely style. You’ve captured the two of us perfectly.”
It was then that Kate belatedly realized the woman next to her was one of the two surfers she had drawn. “Thank you,” Kate stuttered out, feeling a blush spread across her face. What was it about a good-looking woman that always made her so flustered? “Um you…you as well…with the surfing obviously, not the drawing…” Kate trailed off. She forced herself to stop rambling and mentally rolled her eyes at how lame and tongue-tied she sounded.
“Thank you,” the woman returned a bit shyly before asking, “Have you ever tried surfing?”
“Oh no,” Kate breathed out. “I’ve thought about it but never really had the time. Plus there isn’t a lot of surfing in Washington D.C.”
“Maybe I could…”
“Hey Kono, that was Danny, they think they have a lead on Henderson,” called a man standing next to a picnic table that held two surfboards. Kate saw that he was the second surfer she had drawn. She couldn’t help but note that he was also gorgeous, and that they were probably in law enforcement of some kind if she could take his sentence at face value.
Kono looked regretful as she called over her shoulder, “Okay Cuz, I’ll be right there.” Then she turned back to Kate and said, “I’m Kono by the way and that’s my cousin Chin.” She held out her hand with an enticing smile.
Kate took the proffered hand in her own and said, “I’m Kate nice to meet you.”
They held each other’s gaze and the handshake went on a shade too long, and then Kono’s smile slowly widened before she said, “I have to go but hopefully I’ll see you around?”
Kate reluctantly let go of the other woman’s hand and said, “Yeah that sounds good.” As Kono got up and walked away Kate felt the urge to tell her where she was staying, to say something, anything, to prolong their conversation. Instead she watched the pair walk away surfboards tucked under their arms until they got lost in the crowd. What would be the point? When she was leaving in a little over two weeks? She definitely was not looking for a vacation romance. Kate had tried that a time or two when she was a naïve college student on spring break, and she had returned home with nothing more than regrets and a broken heart.
Shaking her head trying to clear all thoughts of the lovely Kono, Kate slid her sunglasses onto her face and leaned back on her hands to watch the ocean. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her sketchbook, and thanks to a light breeze, the pages were ruffling slightly causing the two surfers to look like they were in motion.
~NCIS/H50~
A few days later…
Kate shut the door to Ducky’s bungalow and locked it before she slipped the keys into her bag. She then made sure her sunhat sat tight on her head as the wind on the beach ranged from gentle to blustery and back again. Shifting through her tote, she checked again that she had all she would need for an afternoon at the beach; she hated forgetting something and being forced to come back and give up a good beach spot. Kate then started down the steps heading towards the well-worn path through the beach grass that would lead her to what had become her favorite section of beach. She was tired, as she had spent the morning at the Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum taking in the exhibits that honored those who lost their lives that day. She had been brought to tears and afterwards had come back to the house to lie down for a much needed rest.
Kate really didn’t like to lie down during the day. She had never really been much of a nap-taker before she had been hurt. There was always too much to do and not enough hours in the day to waste it by sleeping. After she had woken up from her coma it seemed sleeping was all she could do most days. It had taken months before she could go a whole day without needing to sleep during the daylight hours, so now she was extra hesitant to lie down unless she absolutely had to. Although Kate reluctantly had to admit that she did feel better now that she’d slept for a few hours.
Kate looked out along the beach searching for a spot she could claim as her own. The beach was never deserted this time of day. Instead, it was sprinkled with families and couples spread out amongst the sand. Spying a food truck that sold a variety of lunch and dessert foods, Kate detoured towards it an ice cream sounded very tempting at the moment.
The line was three deep when Kate joined it, which gave her plenty of time to read over the menu that was painted on the side of the truck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man leaning against one of the tables set up for the food truck’s customers. She couldn’t even say what made her notice him, maybe because he wasn’t dressed for the beach; he had on jeans and a t-shirt with tennis shoes, instead of the customary swim trunks and tank tops that most of the men wore. As the line moved forward she also noticed he seemed to be alone and he wasn’t looking out at the ocean. In fact, his focus seemed to be on the families at the tables and those passing by.
“Miss?”
Turning away from the suspicious man she realized it was her turn to order, she rushed out an “I’m sorry,” and quickly made up her mind to get the mango ice cream. Then after placing her order she slid over to the cashier at the adjacent window. Digging for her wallet in the cavernous tote, Kate glanced over and saw the man was gone. Shrugging one shoulder, Kate finally located her wallet, pulled it out and paid the smiling woman. She put an extra couple of dollars in the tip jar to make up for causing the line to back up.
Ice cream in one hand and her wallet in the other, Kate shuffled off to the side trying not to get in anyone’s way. Taking a bite out of the soft serve, Kate headed towards an empty table, intent on setting everything down so she could put her wallet away and head towards her favorite spot on the beach. Just as she reached the table she was pushed hard from behind. She stumbled, catching the bench hard with her legs and cried out in surprise and pain. Dropping her ice cream in order to catch herself before the rest of her body slammed into the table, Kate felt her wallet snatched out of her hand. Looking up, she saw the man who had seemed so suspicious earlier take off down the sidewalk with her wallet in his hand.
White hot indignation rose up. “Oh no you don’t,” Kate shouted before taking off after him, leaving her tote and ruined ice cream behind. She had recently passed her physical fitness test to be reinstated with NCIS so she was able to keep up with her mugger, although her sandals made for less than ideal running shoes. She knew this sidewalk led to a shopping center which was always bustling with tourists, so if she didn’t catch him before he reached it she could very well lose him in the crowd. Thankfully the walkway was mostly deserted and the few people on it saw them coming a mile away and stepped aside to let them pass.
Running out of time, Kate pushed herself even harder until she was so close she was able to reach out to grab him only her fingers just brushed the back of the perp’s shirt. “Damn it,” Kate ground out when he put on a burst of speed and he slipped out of her grasp.
They were yards from the first building and if a miracle didn’t happen soon Kate knew she would be out of luck. Then it happened, the man tripped over a raised crack in the sidewalk. He was able to recover and keep running but it gave Kate just enough time to catch up. Catching the man in a flying tackle, she brought him to the ground, scrapping her knees and hands painfully against the rough concrete.
Her training automatically took over and she quickly gained control of the suspect. Kate had his hands behind his back and it was only when she tried to reach for her cuffs, which would usually sit on her hip, that she came back to the here and now. It was then she swiftly remembered that she was on medical leave from NCIS and she didn’t have her cuffs, her gun, or her badge for that matter.
Looking up, she saw a group of people a safe distance away clustered together gawking at the two of them. She could imagine the picture they made. The would-be mugger face down with his hands behind his back carrying on, saying he was sorry, and how he just needed a little cash to get off the island. Kate in a one piece swimsuit with a sarong that was more off than on at this point, and she could see out of the corner of her eyes that her hair was wildly askew, having lost her hat in the chase.
“Hey could one of you call the police?” Kate finally called out in desperation when the group of tourists continued to stare at them unhelpfully. Her question seemed to wake them up and they started digging into pockets and purses for their phones. Within a few short minutes she thankfully heard the wail of sirens in the distance.
~NCIS/H50~
Kate sat on a convenient bench next to the road holding napkins, given to her by a kind food vendor, onto her bloody knees. She was achy and sore and just wanted to go back to the bungalow but she hadn’t been released by the officers yet. Kate wondered what the holdup was, because she had given her statement and had answered all of their questions, and the man she had tackled was in handcuffs and firmly stuffed into the back of a squad car. She had even told the police about her being an NCIS agent, hoping it would speed things along-but unfortunately it did not.
“Ma’am, we’ll let you go in just a minute. We are just waiting on the Five-O detectives to arrive. They may have a few questions for you,” a very young looking officer by the name of Keahi said a bit nervously.
“Detectives?” Kate asked warily, wondering why they were interested in the would-be mugger.
“Yeah I guess they have been looking for him for awhile,” the officer said offhandedly, before wincing and quickly walking back to the squad car when he seemed to realize he probably shouldn’t be sharing that information with a civilian. Kate could only feel sympathy for the young man as she remembered a few rookie mistakes she had made when she was just starting out.
Pulling the napkins away from her knees, she saw the paper was starting to stick to the wounds, so she balled the napkins up and tossed them in the garbage can sitting at the end of the bench. She was trying to put her hair up into a ponytail with a rubber band she found in her wallet when a silver Mustang and a black truck pulled up. Out of the Mustang came a tall man with brown hair followed by a shorter man with blond. They immediately went over to the squad car and peeked in the window, and Kate heard the blond say excitedly, “That’s him.”
Then out of the corner of her eye she saw the driver of the black truck step out, and Kate felt her eyebrows rise in shock at the fact that Kono apparently wasn’t just in law enforcement, but she was in an elite task force that Kate had even heard about all the way in Washington D.C . She watched as Kono walked over and conferred with the other two detectives who were joined by the officers. The older officer, whose name she never got, took out a small notebook. He went over what was probably her statement then all five glanced in her direction when Officer Keahi pointed her out. She smiled a bit when she saw Kono do a double take; it gave her a small thrill that the other woman apparently remembered her.
She watched as the detectives transferred the mugger from the squad car to the Mustang. After talking for a moment to Kono, the two detectives got into their car and drove off. Kono walked over to Kate, and then when she got close, Kate stood, her knees throbbed painfully.
“Are you okay?” Kono asked real concern tingeing her voice.
Kate held out her palms to show her scrapes. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Kono took one of her hands in hers and took a closer look, wincing a bit. “Ouch, I’m sorry about what happened to you. Good catch though,” Kono said with a smile.
Smiling a bit distractedly in return, Kate couldn’t help but focus on the fact that her hand was cradled in both of Kono’s, causing a warm curl in her stomach, “Thanks, it may not have been the smartest thing but I just couldn’t let him take off with my wallet like that.”
When Kono looked up from examining her hand Kate saw her eyes flicker briefly to the right and she knew that Kono had seen her scar. Which was why she used hats and hairstyles to hide it as much as possible; people noticed it and then inevitably felt the need to comment. Kate’s free hand moved involuntarily, wanting to hide her scar behind her hair. Instead, she forced herself to wait for Kono to ask about it, just as others had thoughtlessly done.
When she didn’t, Kate felt a sense of relief flow through her, and then asked the first question that popped into her head, “So you’re Five-O?”
“Yes. And you’re NCIS,” Kono stated with a twinkle in her eye. Their gazes held and Kate could feel the pull between them flare up again.
“Let me give you a ride back to where you’re staying,” Kono said a bit breathlessly and gently let her hand go.
Kate, who hadn’t been looking forward to limping with scraped knees all the way back to the bungalow, gladly accepted. As they drove, Kono had Kate go over her statement again. They stopped briefly at the food truck where Kono insisted Kate stay in the truck while she went and gathered up Kate’s tote, and even located her wayward hat. Once back at the bungalow, Kono followed Kate up to the door, and Kate, not wanting her time with the detective to be over, invited her in.
Limping over to the living room, Kate sat down heavily on the couch. Kono closed the door behind her and asked, “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Um, I think I saw one in the bathroom, under the sink,” Kate called out as Kono went down the hallway towards the bathroom. Kate swallowed nervously as the butterflies in her stomach intensified the longer she was in Kono’s company. When Kono returned with a small white box Kate stuttered, “You don’t have to do that…I can…”
“I don’t mind,” Kono interrupted, gently setting down the first aid kit and washcloth she had brought back with her on the wooden coffee table in front of the couch. She then sat on the couch next to Kate, and opened the kit. She then picked up one of Kate’s legs and placed it in her lap. Her touch was warm and gentle, Kate still winced slightly as Kono started to clean out the scraped knee with a warm washcloth.
“Sorry,” Kono murmured, looking up with a remorseful expression.
“That’s okay,” Kate softly. Kono then patted the knee with a dry cloth and switched legs beginning the process over again. As the silence lengthened, Kate desperately searched for something to say now that she had a chance to talk to Kono, when she had honestly thought she would never see her again.
“Have you always loved surfing?” Kate asked and then instantly regretted it, wondering if it was a stupid question. She was never quite sure how to talk to people she was attracted to.
“I grew up surfing. My mother taught me and as I got older I started to enter tournaments,” Kono said, gently moving Kate’s leg off her lap and then reaching for her hand to begin the process all over again with Kate’s scraped palms.
Kate knew she should probably insist on washing her own hands, but she couldn’t help kind of liking being taken care of by the intriguing woman sitting next to her. So instead she listened as Kono told her about the surfing tournaments and how she grew good enough to be able to make a career at it. Now, Kate didn’t know a lot about professional surfing, but she had a feeling that not a lot of people could make a living at it, so Kono must’ve truly been special in order to do so.
When Kono was finished, she put down the washcloth and lifted Kate’s hand up to gently blow across the injury. It soothed the pain but also causing a shiver to go down her spine. She couldn’t help but wonder how Kono’s mouth would feel against her own. Kono then looked up at her from beneath her lashes, her gaze was heated, and if it meant what Kate thought it did she had a feeling she wasn’t the only one. But just as Kate was thinking about leaning forward a few inches more and closing the gap, Kono’s phone rang and they both jumped apart.
Smiling apologetically as she stood up, Kono answered her phone and walked a few feet away. Kate got up, trying to slow down her rapid heartbeat. Picking up the first aid kit, she took it back into the bathroom while giving herself a stern talking to about how kissing a Hawaiian detective, no matter how attractive, would be a bad thing in her life right now. After putting the kit back and getting a look at her out of control hair in the bathroom mirror. Kate tried to tame her hair as quickly as possible, and walked back into the living room just as Kono said, “Yes, I will.”
Kono turned to her and said, “That was my boss and I am needed back at the office.”
“Oh okay,” Kate said, disappointment welling up in her as she followed Kono to the door. She opened it for her and leaned against it for support.
Kono turned towards her and said, “I don’t think we will need to ask you anymore questions, but if we do, I have your number.”
Kate wanted to say something about how Kono could call her anytime but that sounded bad even in her head, plus she wasn’t here looking for a temporary romance, so she said instead, “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah it was nice…,” Kono said, and then opened her mouth to say something but abruptly closed it, seemingly thinking better of whatever she was going to say. She appeared to be wrestling with something before continuing, “Well, I should go.” Kono looked a bit flustered before she turned and started to walk down the steps.
Already feeling a sense of regret stealing over her, Kate reluctantly began to close the door.
“Wait!”
Her heartbeat fluttering, Kate pulled the door back open. Kono was jogging back up the stairs with a look of uncertainty on her face, and she said a bit breathlessly, “Um…I was wondering if you wanted to go to a barbeque this evening at my boss’s place? It is really casual and the food will be plentiful.”
Kono had barely finished her sentence when Kate answered, “Yes!” Kate couldn’t have been more surprised by her answer, all reasons for not getting involved with the detective leaving her head. Clearing her throat trying to get herself under control, Kate said calmly, “Uh…I mean that sounds good.”
Now Kono had a wide smile, “Good…okay. I’ll pick you up around six.”
“Okay,” Kate repeated, her smile matching Kono’s. She watched as the other woman walked back to her car and drove away.
Closing the door, Kate leaned back against it, a flush rising to her cheeks. “I have a date,” she whispered. Chapter Two
This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/72197.html