Hello there my readers! I know it's been a few days since I last posted a chapter but I've been quite busy lately and also having a bit of trouble deciding where to guide the story. I eventually came up with this chapter that I hope will be up to your expectations.

I hope you like it and, above all, enjoy it!

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She opened her eyes slowly, blinking several times even though the lights in the room she was in were dimmed to a minimal.

For a moment she thought she was back inside that dark hell hole, but the relatively soft mattress she was lying on made her recall the events of the previous… hour? …day? Or… days? She remembered the group of men entering the room and the torturous walk through the place to get to a vehicle, but the details were extremely blurry.

She supposed she was in some kind of sickbay; there were other cots around her but only a few those were occupied. Hers was at the farthest corner of the place and she could see everything from her position. She guessed she should be thankful for that although, truthfully, she didn't care anymore; anyone could walk right in and kill her right now. That was fine with her.

Speaking of, a doctor made his way into the sickbay accompanied by a younger man. He was tall and walked with a strong pace. He was also the man that had gotten her out of that place. They were talking while making their way to her cot and just when they were a few feet away, the young man's eyes and hers connected and he nudged the doctor in surprise.

- You're awake! – the doctor exclaimed while walking faster towards her. She couldn't help it but flinch when the man reached the cot and raised his hand to one of the monitors controlling her vitals. If either man noticed, they didn't say anything about it – my name is Lt. Walker, i'm the doctor of this base. Do you feel any pain? Do you remember how you got here? Can you tell me your name? – she didn't answer to any of his questions immediately; she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was no longer a prisoner. Well, not his prisoner. The young man and the doctor looked at each other at the lack of response from her, and she attempted to rise from the bed but, just then, every injury she had suffered came back to the surface and assaulted her with great force, making her groan and drop back into the matress – careful, don't try to move yet. You've been trhough a major surgery and you're not out of the woods yet. Just take it easy. Would you like some water? – she slowly nodded and the doctor turned to the other man – Commander? – he asked, signaling to a few bottles of water near him.

- Sure – he answered and grabbed one, passing it to the doctor. His eyes locked then on hers while she took a few sips.

- Do you think you can tell us your name? – asked the doctor again. She looked at him, thinking about her answer. Should she tell them the truth or should she lie? Who were they and why had they rescued her? They were certantly not English, so she didn't think the agency had sent them to rescue her. The CIA maybe?

- W-who are you? – she asked with a shaky voice. She tried to sound neutral, but her voice betrayed her inner turmoil.

- I'm Lt. Walker and this is Commander McGarrett. His team saved you and brought you here. We're on a U.S military base.

- You're from the Army?

- The Navy – said the doctor – do you think you could tell us your name?

- Annabeth – she said after almost a full minute.

- Well, Annabeth. I have to say, you're a very lucky girl. These guys found you just in time and we were barely able to get you through the surgery, but I'm confident you'll recover just fine. You'll still need to be taken to a proper hospital but we'll have to wait for your vitals to be strong enough. For now though, you'll remain here and we'll do everything in our power to help you through this. The worst part is over – he assured her. She just stared at him – well, I must tend to other people. I'll be back with you later to check on you. Don't fight sleep, you need your rest.

Then he gave a serious look to the Commander, who had stayed a few steps back since giving the doctor the bottle of water, before drawing a curtain she hadn't noticed and giving them some privacy. He pulled a chair a little bit closer to the bed and sat down, running his hands up and down his face and giving a small sigh. She though he looked a little pale and tired, but didn't say anything about it. He seemed like he was struggling to find the right words to start a conversation, given the fact that he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before finally deciding to ask.

- So… Annabeth right? How are you feeling?

- He's not here, is he? – she asked instead of answering. She could feel her eyelids growing heavy by the second but she fought it with all the strength she had.

- Whoever had captured you managed to scape and… - but she interrupted him.

- No. Not him. My… his body. We left him, didn't we? – her voice had grown really small and he gave her a look close to pity.

- I'm sorry. We couldn't bring him with us – he looked towards one of the monitors when her heart rate started to go higher and higher.

- Y-you shouldn't – she started saying but talking was proving to be a bit difficult – you sh-should've…have left me…

- Hey calm down – McGarrett said when the heart monitor started beeping a warning sound and he could see her breathing getting worked up.

- Why d-did you co-come for us? Who se-sent you?

- The Navy assigned my team to rescue you. Listen, you should try to calm down, take deep breaths? – the guy was getting nervious, but she didn't care. Her chest was feeling tight and she was having trouble taking deep breaths so she could only manage small ones.

- He's dead…he's dead – she started repeating, almost to herself, while tears started to make their way down her cheeks. She was pale underneath all the bruises and the lack of air she was getting was making her feel dizzy. Not to mention the final realization that she was never going to see Alex again.

- Please, breathe slower. Try to calm down – she raised the arm that wasn't supported by a sling and brought it to her face to cover her eyes. She hated when people saw her crying. She was supposed to be strong enough to hide the pain, but the prospect of spending the rest of her life without him made her lose her grip on her emotions.

- Please, leave – she said softly.

- Emmm… I shouldn't leave you like this. You need to calm down or you'll hurt yourself – she tried turning away from him, but the movement hurt her ribs and her broken arm, making her whimper at the same time that she couldn't hold back anymore the strong sob that tore through her lips. McGarrett immediately got up and walked right up to the cot. He hesitated for a second but eventually put his hand on her shoulder. She tried again to turn away from him, now completely unable to hide the sadness she was feeling and the torrent of tears flowing from her closed eyes – it's okay, it's okay – he tried comforting her – I know it must hurt a lot, and you shouldn't be ashamed to let it show, but you need to remain calm. You're still hurt badly and you heard the Doc, you need your rest. So try to slow down your breathing and take bigger and deeper breaths – he had started talking, mostly to distract her from her mission of turning away from him.

Eventually she had managed to calm down because she had fallen asleep. At some point she had stopped trying to turn her body away and settled with just turning her head in the opposite direction. All the while, the Commander had kept his hand on her shoulder, grounding her, and even though he had stopped talking, she found what little comfort she could take in his presence.

By the time she woke up again, Commander McGarrett was nowhere to be seen. She was actually glad because she didn't want him to witness another episode like that again although, oddly enough, she felt a little bit more clearheaded even if the pressure in her chest still remained.

The weeks that followed passed almost in a blur and by the time she was strong enough to be moved to a hospital, McGarrett and his team had already left the base. He had come by to see her a few other times, and she had inwardly appreciated the effort of trying to maintain light conversations with her, but she never had been in the right mood to talk and she generally had wanted to be left alone.

At some point, the doctor had explained with more details the circumstances of her surgery and everything that had been done in order to save her, as well as the total extent of her injuries and the best way to help herself heal faster. Eating and sleeping were among the top of the list, even if during the first week she had been on a strict diet of fluids.

She had also learned that the person who had donated all the blood used to save her had been none other than the Commander himself.

At the end of her stay in the base, she had thought about asking someone for information on Commander McGarrett, seeing as she hadn't thanked him for what he had done for her, not just during the rescue but afterwards as well, finally deciding that it wouldn't be worth it. He had left with his team, not even bothering to come see her before that.

She supposed she shouldn't blame him since she hadn't exactly been too open into receiving visitors and whenever he had been around she hadn't offered her best behavior; but it just confirmed her what she had already begun to believe: nobody gave a damn for her anymore. And so she decided to forget about him and about everyone on that base.

The day she was transferred to a hospital in another country she decided to try and do her best to forget everyone and everything from that base. Preserving only the memory of Alex and vowing to never need the help of anyone else, ever again. Chances were, she would never cross paths with Commander McGarett again, so she had just pushed him out of her mind, concentrating on what her life would be like from that moment on.

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"Well, joke's on you" she thought to herself when she woke up a couple of hours later on the guest room of Steve's house.

She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and coming to a decision by the time she had to get up. But, before she did anything, she still needed one more thing to continue with her mission: the information on the confiscated computers.

So she would work with the Five-0 task force for one more day and then she would be on her way. It was better that way.

And there you have it… did you like it? I felt like it would be good to give Annabeth's perspective of the time she spent recuperating in the base. I know this was a short chapter but, hopefully, it was meaningful. I felt it was important to tell the insight into her past and in what terms she and Steve separated. It would explain more both of their reactions upon meeting again in the first chapter, don't you think?

Well, I won't bore you ith my thought any longer. I would looove to read a review from you guys!

I don't know when I'll be able to write the next chapter…but reviews can always motivate me to do it faster! Hahahaha

Until next chapter then!