Aloha

10 - Meeting Rachel

I woke up feeling rejuvenated and a lot better than I had recently. Steve and I had been to the shooting range a few times now and I felt good and comfortable with using a gun.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and went to stand at the open back door. It was a beautiful morning, like usual. I looked out and groaned as Steve came out of the water...I groaned as he walked toward the house drying off.

"I thought we talked about this..." I said pointing to him with no shirt on. He smirked at me.

"I'm going to take a shower, no reason to put one on."

"Yes, there is. I asked you to." I said.

"Alright, I'm sorry." Steve smirked, which I knew he didn't really mean so he would never put one on.

Two can play this game...

**STEVE POV**

I finished up in the shower and I went downstairs, I didn't see Cali anywhere. I looked and her car was still outside, so she hadn't left for work yet.

"Cali?!" I called out and headed towards the back of the house. I looked into the backyard and groaned to myself.

There she was, yoga mat laid out, Cali in a sports bra and yoga pants that I could only describe as being painted on and she was in a downward dog pose. Her yoga outfit left very little to the imagination which of course made my mind start to wander to what was really underneath the yoga clothes.

"You know watching her from the doorway is a tad bit creepy." I heard a voice beside me making me jump slightly. I looked and saw Danny.

"I'm not watching her..." I trailed off.

"No just standing here, looking out, while Cali does yoga and shows just how flexible she is, that's not watching her at all." Danny said.

I grumbled and walked away from the door.

"I hadn't noticed."

"Hadn't noticed the skintight black yoga outfit or how flexible she was?" Danny asked as I walked into the living room and grabbed my gun and badge placing them on my belt.

"Her outfit was sky blue not black." I spoke up.

"AH HA!" Danny yelled and pointed a finger at me. "You were watching." Danny added.

I walked to the back door again. "Let it go Danny." I grumbled. He was smiling but decided to drop it and let it go. I finally saw Cali was finishing up. "Cali, Danny and I are heading into work!" I hollered out to her. She looked at me and grabbed up her stuff, heading to the house.

"Thanks, I almost lost track of time." Cali said walking in the house. Having to turned her back to my front to squeeze in the door between me and the doorframe.

I steeled my face to not show that it may have affected me with what she just did. Navy seal training actually came in handy.

Cali disappeared upstairs and I looked at Danny.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Are we just ignoring what she just did?!" Danny asked and I just walked towards the door.

"She didn't do anything, let's go." I said and Danny laughed.

"You know what, keep denying everything. Soon it will come and bite you in the ass." Danny said as we both left the house.

**CALI POV**

I was working the front desk getting some guest dinner reservations when a woman walked up to where I was.

"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am I'm not doing check ins at the moment. Any one of our other employees would be happy to help." I said smiling at this woman who smiled back.

"Oh no, I don't need to check in. I'm actually here to see you." She said and I got a little scared even though this woman's voice sounded familiar.

"Oh, okay. How can I help you?" I asked.

"I'm Rachel Hollander, Danny Williams' ex-wife and Grace's mom." She said extending her hand.

"Oh! Oh my gosh, hi. Nice to meet you." I said shaking her hand.

"I know I should have called first but I was running errands, and I was just wondering if you had a break coming up. I was wondering if we could get a cup of coffee." She said and I looked at the time.

"I actually go on break in about 5-10 minutes. You can have a seat in the lobby and then we can go." I suggested. Rachel nodded and went to sit down. I worked nervously for the next couple of minutes and then it was break time.

I walked over to Rachel where she was sitting and smiled.

"Would you like to get a cup of coffee from the coffee cart?" I asked pointing to the one in the lobby and she nodded. We walked over and got coffee and then headed outside just to walk around.

"I honestly didn't even think about bugging you here at work and if you get into any sort of trouble -..." Rachel started to say, and I shook my head.

"Nope, none at all. I don't mind you coming to my job." I said and she smiled.

"Well, I just wanted to come and meet you. Meet the amazing Cali who Grace loves and who watches her sometimes. It's a mother thing." Rachel said and I nodded.

"Well, I love Grace too, she is an amazing kid. I don't mind watching her when Steve and Danny get called to a job, especially if I'm home with nothing to do." I said and Rachel smiled.

"She loves staying with you too. I just wanted to meet you as her mother to make sure you weren't like a serial killer or something." Rachel said and we both laughed as I took a sip of my coffee.

"No, not a serial killer. Just a workaholic and then go home and sometimes crash." I said and she nodded with a smile.

"And you live with Steve?" She asked and I could tell what she was asking within her question.

"Yeah, I was his sister Mary's friend on the mainland all through college and even after. Her and I were roommates and when I get transferred here Steve offered for me to live with him." I said and Rachel half nodded.

"You basically just swapped Mcgarrett's..." Rachel trailed off and I laughed but nodded.

"Never thought of it that way but yeah, I guess I did." I laughed and she smiled.

We were silent for a few minutes and Rachel sighed.

"I must say just having an adult conversation with someone other than Danny is nice and bonus points for it being with another woman." Rachel said and I nodded.

"I get that. Since I moved here, I haven't made very many friends. Steve and Danny are like the only two I really spend most of the time with." I said and Rachel smiled at me.

"Well, I don't want to overstep but if you ever need girl time you are more than welcome to call me..." Rachel said and I smiled at her.

"I would love that, you sure it would be okay with Danny? I mean you being the ex and everything..." I trailed off and she shrugged.

"Danny can get over it. You need some girlfriends." Rachel said and I nodded.

"Especially since the last time I went out here and went out with Kono..."

"Something bad happen?" Rachel asked.

I shook my head, "Not really, just let my drunk fingers send some text messages." I said and she laughed with a nod.

"We have all been there." Rachel said as we made our way around the hotel and were back at the main entrance.

"Well, I better head to get Grace from school, but why don't you call me when you're free and we can hang out sometime." Rachel said and I nodded.

"I would love that." I said and she smiled as we tossed our empty cups in the trashcan. Rachel hugged me and I smiled as we released. I walked back inside as she got her car from the valet.

I finally met someone who wasn't at work, or a Five-0 team. This was going to be good to finally have another friend.