This was the first fan fiction I ever wrote and was first posted in 2011. Going back through all the stories I've written in the last 7 years, I decided to "resurrect" this one and make some updates. For those of you who have read most of my stories, this will be familiar (obviously), but I'm going to make changes so it will be more like the Five-0 we know now…..after 8 seasons of the show. I may also add more chapters. I always really liked Steve and Carly together, so let's see what happens.

Also, I realize that some of the timelines in this story may not be true to the tv timeline (For instance, I think Steve and MaryAnn had both left Hawaii prior to high school). Just go with it. :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Hawaii Five-0 characters, so copyright infringement is not intentional.

Thanks for reading!

It had been a long day for the Five-0 team. Scratch that….It had been a long week with today being the longest and toughest day of all. They had wrapped up an investigation into the kidnapping of a local politician's daughter and had successfully returned her home to her family. As Steve drove home, he said a silent "thanks" to God for protecting any of his team from being hurt in the process. Truthfully, Danny, Lou, Jerry, Tani, and Junior were more than just his team; They were family. He could also add Kamekona, Flippa, Chin, Kono, and Adam to that list. And then "the kids": Nahale, Gracie, Charlie, Will, Samantha…and of course his sister Mary and sweet Joannie. He was blessed with a great support system for which he was always grateful.

Steve always thought he would be making a family with Catherine by now, but that hadn't happened. With his father gone and his Mom never in his life, his Ohana had grown quite a bit since returning to the island several years prior. They may not all be "blood", but they were family and he would do anything for them. He knew the feeling was mutual. Steve was always grateful for every day that passed without one of them getting seriously hurt on a case.

As Steve neared his driveway, he let out a sigh of relief that they'd put another case behind them. Now all he wanted to do was grab a beer or two and sit in his back yard with Eddie to watch the tide roll in.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the car parked in his driveway until he was right behind it.

"Hawaii tags with a rental car sticker. Who could this be"? he mused.

He noticed a petite woman with long dark curls standing at his front door. Even from behind, he could tell she had a figure that begged to be noticed. She was knocking on the door almost cautiously and looking around to see if anyone was home. He couldn't help but wonder what she was doing here.

Steve pulled to a stop and stepped out of his truck. "Looking for someone?" he asked.

It was clear that she hadn't heard him pull up because he saw her jump at the sound of his voice behind her. She turned towards him halfway and Steve noticed that she looked vaguely familiar although he couldn't quite remember when and where he may have seen her before.

"Yes…..I was just….um…..I was looking for….Mary….ummmm….I mean, MaryAnn McGarrett. Do you know where she is?" she answered quietly. Steve noticed that she seemed frightened because she kept her head lowered and wouldn't look him directly in the eyes.

"Mary's in California now. I'm her brother, Steve. Are you a friend of hers?" Steve took a step towards her and she quickly put on her sunglasses and descended the steps trying to pass him and start back towards her car.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I shouldn't have come by. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Steve's curiosity was peaked. Who was this woman who looked so familiar to him and how did she know Mary? More importantly, what had her so spooked?

"Wait! Do I know you?" he asked curiously. He reached a hand out to stop her causing her to step back.

What is she running from?

As she lifted her face to look at him, he was taken back for a moment. She may have thought her sunglasses were hiding it but he could clearly see a nasty looking purple bruise on her cheek and a cut above her left eye. He instinctively took another step towards her, but she backed away again.

She clearly needed help and Steve didn't want to care her away, so he tried to make his voice as non-threatening as possible. "How do you know Mary?"

She hesitated for a moment and then he saw a small smile briefly cross her mouth as she said, "You don't remember me, do you?" She could almost hear the wheels spinning in his head as he tried to remember. "I mean….not that I would expect you too because you were the star quarterback and captain of the team….and I was just a lowly little 7th grader." She chuckled and Steve was surprised at how much he liked the sound of it. "I'm Carly…..Mary and I went to school together. Remember?"

She saw the recollection on his face. Of course, he remembered Carly. She and his sister had practically been connected at the hip when they were kids. Mary told him once that Carly had a crush on him, but he'd been a "much older" high school senior at the time. Carly had been too young for him to think it was anything more than "cute"; especially since she was one of his kid sister's friends. But this woman standing in front of him was not the skinny, awkward little girl he remembered.

Suddenly Carly saw a flash of anger flash in his eyes.

"Someone has hurt her…..Someone has carelessly and recklessly hit that beautiful face".

Instantly the fatigue from the previous week was gone and all he could think about was finding the coward who'd done this to her and beating him to a pulp.

Just as quickly as the anger crossed his face, it was replaced with a softness that was not always characteristic for Commander Steve McGarrett. To those who knew him well, though, his protective instincts were strong and they were what made him such a great leader and friend.

His eyes twinkled a little as he smiled at her, and for a moment she thought she would dissolve into a puddle on the spot. My God, how she had missed that smile! She could see that he still had the quiet confidence she'd found so attractive in their school days. However, Steve McGarrett "the boy" couldn't hold a candle to the man standing here now. He was pure man: Strong, confident, and undeniably sexy. Carly felt her heart flutter as she realized he still took her breath away.

"I remember you, Carly." Steve said softly. She still loved the sound of her name on his lips. He took a step towards her and this time she didn't move away. "Tell me what happened. Who hurt you?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Steve, I really shouldn't get you involved. I only came by because I thought Mary might still be here. I'm sorry to have bothered you." She started back towards her car, but Steve caught her arm to stop her.

"Don't go." He said gently. "Come inside. I want to know who did this to you."

Again, she hesitated. Steve saw her struggling to hold back the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. He put his hand under her chin and slowly lifted her face to look at him, "Carly, I'm not taking "no" for an answer. Come on….Let's go inside."