Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0.

This is my fourth Hawaii Five-0 story. It has nothing to do with any of my other ones.

Each chapter will have a different flashback from Steve's childhood, while there will still be scenes taking place in the present. The memories will be in italics.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I'd very much so appreciate your feedback! Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

The person in the hospital bed held little resemblance Steve. The fearless leader of Five-0 lacked his usual strength, depending on medical treatment to help him survive. He was frighteningly pale, not something that was a typical characteristic of the Lieutenant Commander.

Mary had flown in from Los Angeles, booking a flight as soon as she got off the phone with Chin. She held her tears in until she boarded the plane, feeling them slowly make their way down her face. She eventually fell into an uneasy sleep filled with nightmares. Her brother promised they'd see each other again. Yes, of course Mary would be seeing him now, yet he would be unconscious in a hospital bed. But he had to wake up. He had to. He promised Mary they would see each other again, and Steve kept his promises. This was something Mary knew and tried to keep thinking, but there was a "what if" she could not possibly avoid. What if Steve...Mary stopped her thought. Thinking negative wouldn't get her anywhere.

Danny was not himself. He didn't talk with his hands as much, keeping the rants to a minimum. Rachel and Grace picked up on this right away. Danny had been considerably happier now that he and Rachel were getting back together. There was so much more life in him, and Rachel immediately saw when it disappeared again. But she understood. One of his best friends was barely hanging onto his life. Grace sensed something wrong in her father's behavior as well, just like her mother. When she asked what was wrong, he gently explained that Steve was hurt very badly and was in the hospital to get better. Grace clung to him, crying because she loved Uncle Steve so much and just wanted him to get better so she could see him.

Chin thought back to the last time he saw Steve looking vulnerable. The only time he could remember was when Steve was fourteen. Chin was at his training officer, John McGarrett's house. Sarah, John's wife, was kneeling in front of the couch when they walked in. In front of her, Steve was covered in blankets. "He has a fever," Sarah explained softly. "It was very high this morning. Stevie has never been so sick. I thought I was going to have to take him to the hospital. I was so worried, but it dropped a few degrees." She lovingly put a hand on her son's shoulder. "Are you feeling any better, honey?" Steve gave a weak nod. But that time was nothing in comparison to how weak Steve looked now.

Kono was at a loss. As a rookie, she wasn't aware of just how dangerous the job could be until this happened. It had been a drive by shooting with Steve taken by total surprise. The shooter was the brother of someone Five-0 had just arrested in their latest case. Steve had been walking to his truck as the rest of the team also walked to their cars, ready to leave for the day. When Kono agreed to join Five-0, she was not prepared for something like this to happen. The team was close, a very tight family. But now their leader was fighting for his life, a battle that could go either way at the moment. Seeing the team in a worried state like never before made Kono realize just how close the family actually was.

Catherine was an absolute mess. No one knew how serious her relationship with Steve actually was until she burst out into tears upon seeing him laying in the hospital bed. Rachel was familiar with the feeling of helplessness from a previous time back in New Jersey when Danny had been shot. She comforted Catherine as best she could, but Rachel knew from experience that gentle words would barely calm Catherine down. The Lieutenant had never seen Steve so broken, not even the time when she went to see him in a Navy hospital after he had been badly injured on a mission. Even though she had cried a lot at that time, it was nothing compared to the never ending sobbing taking place now.

The doctor said Steve could wake up at any time. Catherine had managed to stop sobbing long enough to ask why he wasn't awake now. Sighing, the doctor said waking up was entirely at Steve's will. If he didn't want to wake up, he wouldn't. He could be reliving moments of his life that he didn't want to leave.

Steve was three years old. Wherever they went, John and Sarah always received compliments about their adorable son. The reason Steve remembered being three years old so vividly was because of his sister. His parents told him he was going to be a big brother and soon Mary Ann was born. Steve did not like Mary at first and he made that very clear. She took up all the attention just because she cried. She was so annoying!

Steve remembered one time when Mary was in her crib taking a nap. He snuck into the room to find his sister awake, her eyes staring at him when he walked up to the crib. "I don't like you," he said, trying to make the face he'd seen on his parents many times before when he was put in time-out. He heard his mother coming down the hall, calling his name. Steve realized he had to make this fast, so he quickly explained his reasons for disliking his sister. "You cry too much. You're too loud. You get all the attention. You're a stupid baby!" His voice rose at the end, loud enough to send Mary into tears.

"Steven John McGarrett!" Sarah exclaimed, practically running to lift Mary in her arms. Steve winced at his full name because that always meant he was in trouble. "How long have you been in here? I've been looking everywhere for you! What did you do to make your sister cry?"

"She cries all the time!" Steve complained. "I didn't do anything!"

"I heard you yelling. What have I told you about lying, Steven?"

"That lying is bad and I always need to tell the truth." Steve repeated the words his mother told him before.

The door to the house opened. Steve realized he would definitely be in trouble now. If Mommy had to make sure Mary was okay, she wouldn't have any time to put him in time-out. But now that his father was home, he would have to serve his punishment.

It wasn't long before John was standing in the doorway of the room, watching his wife holding their daughter, their son standing in front of them. He walked over, knowing something was wrong. "What happened?"

"Steven, tell your father what you did," Sarah instructed sternly.

The three-year-old looked at his father guiltily. "I yelled and the baby started crying," he admitted. Steve always called his sister "the baby" and never by her name. In his mind, he didn't like her so he didn't have to call her Mary.

"And what else, Steven?" Sarah prompted.

"And I lied," Steve whispered, looking at the ground.

John lifted the little boy off his feet. "Let's go to your room, Steve." He walked to the second door from the room and went in, putting Steve on his bed. He shut the door before returning to sit next to his son. "Tell me why you yelled."

"I don't like the baby." Steve crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Why don't you like Mary?"

"She gets all the attention and she's just a stupid baby! She's so loud and she cries all the time!"

John sighed. "She's a baby, Steve. She can't talk yet so crying is her way of letting us know she needs something."

"But why does she have to get all the attention?"

"You're used to it being just you. You don't like sharing your mom's and my attention, do you?" Steve shook his head. "Buddy, it sounds like you're jealous of your sister."

"I am not jealous of that stupid baby!"

"Steven, listen to me. You need to calm down. I don't want to hear you call Mary a stupid baby one more time, you got that?" Steve nodded.

After a moment passed and Steve had calmed down a bit, John suggested, "Maybe we can do something, just you and me. We can go to-"

"A football game?" Steve finished for him, his eyes looking hopeful.

"Sure, buddy." John didn't need to hear what Steve wished to do since he already knew his son always wanted to go to local football games. "There's a game tonight."

John put Steve in his car seat before driving to the nearby high school. The whole ride Steve did not stop talking about football and how he was going to play someday.

As Steve thought back on this day, he felt a hand squeeze his. He heard his sister's voice pleading with him to wake up. The sister he spent months hating as a toddler just because she needed attention. Now he loved her and did everything he could to make sure she was okay.

He wanted to open his eyes, he really did, wanted to see everyone so he could tell them he was okay. But he had so many memories he wanted to go through. He just needed a little more time before he opened his eyes again.

The football game was awesome. Steve couldn't see with all the people around, so his dad held him high in his arms. There were certain things he remembered about that day. The action on the field. The cheering. The crowd. The food. The group of teenage girls who kept saying how adorable he was and though he liked all the attention from the pretty girls at first, they started to get annoying. But the most important thing he remembered was his dad. John had cheered alongside his son. That was one of the best memories from his early childhood Steve had about his father.

When they pulled into the driveway after the game, John could hear the sound of muffled crying from the backseat. He turned around to find his son's hands over his face, trying the best he could to stop his tears. "Hey, buddy, what's wrong?"

"Mommy's gonna be so mad at me!" Steve wiped his eyes. "I woke up Mary and I lied and she's gonna be so mad at me!"

"No she's not, Stevie. Mommy's gonna be a little disappointed in you but she could never be mad at her big boy, now, could she?"

At the mention of his mom's nickname for him, Steve began to stop crying. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, buddy. Let's go."

John carried Steve inside where they found Sarah sitting on the rocking chair in the living room holding Mary. He put the three-year-old on the ground. Steve slowly walked over to his mother, an apologetic look on his face.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I'm sorry."

Sarah smiled comfortingly. "I know you are, Stevie."

"You're not mad at me?"

Shaking her head, Sarah assured him, "I could never be mad at my big boy."

Steve looked up at his father, realizing he had been right. He turned back to his mother and sister. "Mary, I'm sorry I said you were a stupid baby and that you cry too much and that you're loud and that I made you wake up when I yelled." He leaned forward to kiss his sister's forehead. "I love you."

Sarah's smile grew larger, relieved Steve was finally getting over the jealousy he had of Mary. She carefully handed Mary to John, picking up Steve. "I'm not mad at you, Stevie. Don't worry." She hugged him close, the last thing Steve remembering was her singing him to sleep.