"So you're saying he has a shot of gaining custody of her?" Steve was pissed. This was his fourth time meeting with his lawyer and he wanted to punch something.

"Sir I know this is frustrating, but unless Madison gets on the stand and testifies -" the lawyer started, before getting interrupted.

"No way. That's not happening. She's not going up there. I'll just figure out some other way." This could not be happening, that dick is not taking his daughter away from him.

"I know this is a tough situation sir. But Kyle is in a good position. His main argument will be that he took care of her as she grew up, knows her better, and has a stable job that won't cause him to work late. He's been in her life since she was a kid and the judge is going to side with him. It's a shitty situation Steve, but that's the truth," the lawyer stated.

"Okay what about pictures. The hospital must have pictures of the bruises and broken ribs she had when she was admitted if they thought she was being abused. I mean her teachers reported it, too. That has to be worth something," Steve pleaded. He didn't want to put Madison on the stand; no kid should have to go through that, staring down their abuser in the eye while having to describe all the ways he hurt her. No there was no way.

"It's circumstantial at best because Madison stated that she wasn't being abused. Maybe if you can prove that she said it under duress then you might have a case, but even then if you don't want Madison to testify, you'd have to get Kyle to confess, which I don't think would be too likely. I can appeal to a judge to get Madison to testify under closed doors, meaning it would happen in the judge's chambers, but even then, she'd have to talk about everything that happened."

Steve sighed. "I just don't think it's a good idea. I'll try and figure something out, thanks for your time, Alex." Steve stood up to shake Alex's hand.

"Of course. Don't forget the court date is on August 12th, so you have 2 weeks to find me something I can use."

Well, fuck. This should be fun.

H

5

0

The water felt amazing. One thing Madison hoped she would leave back home in California was the heat, but it followed her to Hawaii. The beaches were better here though. Every day since she's come here, she's made it a habit of swimming. Whether it's miles at a time or a couple laps, she goes in the water every day. The water had always been her safe haven. Somewhere she could find peace. Today she swam five miles and she felt good. Walking out of the water she heard someone knock on the front door. Knowing Steve and Mary weren't home, she figured one of them forgot their key so she went to go answer it.

"Did you forget your -" she started, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Kyle.

"Hey pumpkin, how's it going?" he said, with a smirk on his face.

H

5

0

"Kyle, what are you doing here?" Madison whispered, scared as to what he would do, praying Steve would come home soon.

"Now, is that any way to greet your father. No hug, no kiss?" He disgusted her.

"You are not my father. Never have been, never will be. You should leave Kyle." Madison went to close the door in his face, but he stopped it with his foot, pushed it open and walked in.

"Well ya see sweetheart, I just came to say hi and say I hope you've started packing your bags because you're going to be home with me soon." Now that he had come closer, Madison noticed the subtle differences in his appearance. Beforehand, his hair was blonde, now it was more brown. He had a tattoo on his arm before that had been removed, and the bags under his eyes were less apparent. Ah, he's been working on his appearance for court. Wanting to look like a good parent would. Fuck that.

"There's no way I'm going anywhere with you. I'd rather die than move back to California with you, you dick."

Kyle pushed her against the wall, gripping her neck tightly so she couldn't breathe. "You listen here you ungrateful piece of shit, you're coming home with me whether you like it or not." Madison was trying to wiggle free from his tight grip. "You know, when your mom died, I was so happy because I knew it was just going to be me and you from then on. She wouldn't be able to stop me from punishing you however I wanted." Finally, Madison had managed to kick Kyle in the groin, causing him to bend over in agony. "You little shit-" he started, only to receive a firm punch to the eye from Madison.

Madison could hear Steve's truck in the distance. Thank god. Apparently, Kyle could too because he started running towards the back door. "We'll finish this later pumpkin!" Shaking, Madison crouched to the ground against the wall, putting her head in her hands and began to cry. Why does life suck so much?

H

5

0

"Hey Mads, why is the door wide -, oh my god Madison, what's wrong?" Steve rushed over to his daughter who was leaned against the while crying. She just kept crying into her hands, not looking up.

"Sweet pea, can you please look at me?" She slowly looked up at him. Her neck immideiately came to his attention. There was a huge hand sized bruise around her neck. What the fuck? Angrily, Steve asked, "Who did this to you?"

Shaking, she began to start hyperventilating. No, not again. This can't be happening again. She hasn't had one in months. Knowing she was about to pass out, she mumbled, "Kyle," before collapsing into his arms.

"Madison! MADISON! Sweetie, wake up please." He checked her pulse to see it was beating rapidly, but was still there. Thank god, she just passed out. He pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance. "This is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. I need an ambulance at 2727 Piikoi Street stat."

"You're gonna be okay, Mads. You're gonna be okay," he whispered to her.

He was going to kill that motherfucker.

H

5

0

Steve was pacing back and forth. He's been here for 30 minutes and still nothing. Danny, Chin, and Kono got here 20 minutes ago and have been waiting with him, and Mary said she'd stop by home to grab Madison some clothes and come. Why is the doctor taking so long?

"Steve, why don't you sit down?" Danny asked. Steve simply glared at him and continued to pace. "Steven, pacing back and forth isn't going to do her any good, okay. Just take a seat and tell me what happened." Steve sighed. Danny was right.

"Sorry Danno, I'm just worried. And I already told you. I walked in and saw her on the ground crying, saw the bruise on her neck and asked who did it, and then she passed out while saying Kyle's name. Once I know she's okay I swear Kyle is as good as dead. "

"Family of Madison DeSilva?" Dr. Kalani said.

"Oh hey, doc. That's my daughter. How is she?" Steve asked.

"Hi Commader, your daughter's doing okay. The bruise on her neck is pretty bad and the grip the person had was so tight that it damaged some of her vocal cords so she's not going to be able to talk for the next week at least. I don't want her to damage them even more, and she needs to give them time to heal. She had some brusing on her knuckles from punching the prepetrator. She passed out because she hyperventilated while having a panic attack. I looked at her medical history and it shows that she has a severe panic disorder, so this makes sense, although from what she told me, or rather what she wrote down for me to read, she hasn't had one in months. The attack must have triggered it for her. I want to keep her overnight for observation, but she should be good to go by tomorrow. Now, she didn't tell me who attacked her so I figured you'd talk to her about it Commander."

"Yeah, doc, I'll talk to her. Thanks so much. Can we see her?" Steve asked.

"Yes, of course. She's in room 312."

"Boss, how about you and Danny go in first and we'll grab us all some dinner and come back. She might be more willing to talk if it's only you two," Kono suggested.

"Thanks Kono, that's good. Grab some soup for her though, please," Steve added, before walking towards her room with Danny in tow.

They walked in to see Madison's neck and hand wrapped, sleeping peacefully. It was just like his daughter to punch that asshole in the face. He was proud of her. She began to stir as they came in. "Dad?" she crackled.

"Hey kiddo. The doctor said your vocal cords are damaged so you won't be able to talk for the next week. Are you feeling okay?" Steve asked, gently, kissing her on the forehead. Madison nodded her head. She turned towards Danny and smiled weakly at him, opening her arms, signaling she wanted a hug. Danny walked over and enveloped her in a hug.

"Hey sweetheart," Danny said, in a calm, loving voice.

"Sweety, I know you might not want to tell me what happened but I really need to know. If I get you a piece of paper, can you write down what happened?" Steve really needed to know the details if he was going to write a report. She nodded her head slowly. Danny signaled he was going to grab some paper and walked out of the room. After he returned, they waited for Madison to write down what happened and both of them read it. They were furious. Steve stomped out of the room. Knowing Steve needed to cool off, Danny stayed in the room with Madison.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH," Steve yelled. Madison and Danny both flinched.

"Let him cool off Mads. He's not mad at you, he's mad at himself for letting this happen and at Kyle obviously," Danny explained, seeing the worried look on her face. "Why don't you get some rest and we'll wake you when the food's here." Madison's face perked up at the mention of food. "Yeah, I bet your hungry," Danny added with a laugh. Danny walked out of the room to find Steve.

"Babe, I know your angry right now, okay, I am too, but Madison needs you to be calm right now. Take a deep breathe. There ya go. Look at me." Danny grabbed Steve's chin so he was looking him in the eye. "Everything's going to be fine, okay? I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you. I'm with you till the end, remember?"

Steve nodded, letting out a deep breathe. "Thanks, D." Steve gave Danny a sweet kiss and pulled him into a hug.

"And just remember, she punched the guy in the face and kicked him in the groin. If you weren't sure before, she is definitely your daughter."

Steve let out a laugh. Yeah, she was definitely his daughter. And he would spend the rest of his life protecting her.

A/N: Review pleasee 33