DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Ryan, Doc, Tina, etc.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys! I wanted to post this chapter the other day, but I didn't get very much feedback on the other one. I actually was going to wait longer, but I figured I owe you guys after disappearing for a month or so. So, here are the next 50+ pages of the 200pgs I have ready to go. Like always, the more reviews I get the sooner I'll update.
Again, I know you are anxious to see what happens with Steve and Maddie, but you're gonna have to wait a couple chapters because I split these up. But, I PROMISE you will NOT be disappointed. There's a little Steve and Maddie coming in the next chapter, Chapter 29. However, Chapter 30...that's where they reunite. You WILL NOT be disappointed. You'll get your Maddie and Steve moments! lol! Which makes me happy, because I LOVE writing them! YAY! :o)
Also, remember that Steve will be with her for three weeks. There will be no Pete, Tina, Doc, Ryan, etc around. It will just be Steve and Maddie, and of course the Five-0 team. The chapters that detail that time...you're gonna like it! ;o) Trust me...it's what you've been waiting for. *hint hint...wink wink*
I just want to remind you that, like I said before the last chapter, after her big show and her team leaves her in Hawaii with Steve, you'll start to see the real Maddie come out. So, this scared, withdrawn, exhausted version of her is NOT who she really is, which is one of the big reasons Steve is so worried about her. He knows it would take something huge for her to be like this. She's normally independent, strong, stubborn, athletic, clumsy, funny, and really silly. I'm anxious to write the scenes where she is more like herself. Anyway, I just wanted to throw that in and make you aware of it.
Also, did everything make sense in the last chapter? In regards to the venue and everything? Let me know!
Again, Maddie arrived in Hawaii on Thursday and in this chapter it's Monday afternoon and evening. So, she hasn't been in Hawaii very long. Not even a week. Just keep that in mind!
Like always, italics are thoughts. Now, here is a slight change. Anything that is in bold is either a text message or something Maddie has written on the small, dry erase board. You will know which one because I let you know.
I think most of you know that there are two versions of this story. This one and an M-Rated version. There are a couple words that I left out of this chapter, bad swear words. Later on in other chapters, there will be more of a difference. Basically just not as graphic or descriptive with things. I just didn't want people that don't read M-Rated fiction to miss out on this story!
Well, I will shut up and let you get to it. I hope you enjoy this chapter! BIG THINGS are going to happen in Chapter 29...scary things!
Please, please, READ AND REVIEW! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow...that is if I get some feedback from you guys!
Enjoy!
xoxo
Laura
CHAPTER 28
Once back at headquarters Kono texted the picture to Maddie before heading out with Lori. Steve went to his office to add everything new they'd learned to the case file and then go over it all again, hoping the pieces would start to fit together. Chin also returned to his office to make a call to Walter's best friend since he hadn't been able to get a hold of him yet. Danny was sitting at his desk chatting with Rachel. She was updating him on Grace, telling him how she was getting picked up by Tina from headquarters. Once they hung up he sat there watching Chin on the phone through the glass windows of their offices. What was with his weird behavior at lunch? Why would he hide something about Maddie? he wondered.
Seeing that Chin was no longer on the phone he rose, exited his office, and walked across the hall to his coworker's. "Who were you talking to?" Danny asked, not bothering to knock.
Chin was surprised by the intrusion and it showed on his face. "Oh…just Walter's best friend. We'd been playing phone tag. I've been checking into Walter. Making sure he doesn't have some weird, secret obsession with Maddie…or something like that. Something that would make us believe he's lying. That he's the one stalking her."
"And?" Danny asked plopping down in the chair in front of Chin's desk.
"Nothing. Everyone says he's a great guy. Generous. Always willing to lend a helping hand. No one's ever heard him talk about Maddie." The two were quiet as Danny stared at his coworker, waiting for the right moment to question him. Feeling weird, Chin finally decided to speak up. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah, I did actually," Danny replied, his tone unintentionally coming out slightly aggressive.
Chin waited for him to continue. When he didn't he asked, "And what would it be?"
"What do you know? What are you keeping to yourself?" Chin was about to play dumb, however Danny didn't give him the chance. "Don't even! Don't even tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about. I saw the look on your face at lunch. What is it? What do you know?"
Chin swallowed hard, debating what he should do. If I tell him, will he say something to Steve? he wondered. "I promised I wouldn't say anything. Not yet at least."
"Is it about Maddie?"
"Yes."
"Spit it out Chin. He's in there worried beyond belief over her. Angry at himself because we aren't getting anywhere."
"Promise you won't say anything?" Chin asked.
"I can't do that! He's my partner!" Danny yelled, standing, his hands on Chin's desk as he leaned forward.
"Shhh!" Chin hissed as he nervously looked out the windows of his office making sure Steve hadn't heard Danny's outburst. Seeing Steve hunched over the file on his desk, he turned back to his coworker. "Look, Maddie's going to tell him after the show on Wednesday."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then I will," Chin responded.
Sitting back down in the chair, Danny thought about it for a second. Obviously, if he wanted to know what was going on he'd have to agree to keep it from Steve for a couple days. "Fine, I promise I won't tell him. But…I'm not happy about keeping something about Maddie from him!"
"And you think I am?" Chin cried, insulted.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure you're hating this too." Danny waited to see if Chin accepted his apology. When it seemed he had, he asked, "So what is it? What do you know?"
Chin leaned forward, his elbows on his desk. "Malia spent the night last night, and-"
"Atta boy!" Danny smiled, interrupting his teammate.
Chin rolled his eyes. "ANYWAY, " he exaggerated as he gave him a pointed look. Danny immediately raised his hands in defense, signaling for him to continue. "Well, her phone rang at 4am. It was Pete. He said that something had happened and Maddie needed to go to the hospital a-"
"She's in the hospital?! And you didn't tell Steve?! Now, I'm sorry, but that he needs to know. If she's in the hospital he'll want to be with her! And he should be!" Danny cried, interrupting Chin for the second time in the last minute.
"Calm down bra! Would you just let me finish before you freak out!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with irritation.
"Right, sorry. Go on," Danny replied, a sheepish look on his face.
"So, Pete said she needed to go to the hospital. I guess her doctor that flew out for the week doesn't have privileges at the hospitals here, so he needed Malia. She agreed to help and we headed over there…When we arrived Pete filled us in…" Chin paused as he stared at Danny.
"So, what happened?" Danny asked, anxious to hear the rest.
"She was filming a short video for her show and she needed to wear roller skates in it. Pete said they started shooting and she skated in, but the next thing they knew her feet were above her head and she fell."
Danny squinted at him, a look of confusion on his face. "But…why would she want to keep that from Steve? From what I've seen and from what everyone has said, she's super clumsy. So she fell, which sucks, but it's not out of character for her."
Chin sighed. "Trust me, I wish that was the case. Anyway, Pete asked her what happened and Maddie said that all of a sudden her skates felt strange and the next thing she knew she was in the air. She came down HARD on her tailbone…So Pete looked at the skates…" Chin stopped as he reached under his desk. He pulled out a key from a hiding spot and rolled his chair back a bit. Remaining seated, he bent over to the right and unlocked his large, bottom desk drawer. He removed the bag from inside and sat up straight. "They've been tampered with," he divulged as he placed the bag on his desk.
Danny immediately removed a pair of gloves from his pocket and pulled them on before opening the bag and taking the skates out. After looking them over carefully he looked up. "They're missing screws…Somebody definitely messed with these," he agreed, his face solemn. "Is she okay?"
Chin nodded, a small smile appearing on his lips. "She's okay. She's in pain. A lot of pain. They were worried she'd hit her head when she fell. Afterwards she suddenly got really sleepy, couldn't keep her eyes open. Given the concussion she already had, Doc – that's her doctor – wanted to be sure she was okay, so they did an MRI scan of her head."
"And she didn't hit it again?" Danny asked, concerned.
"No, it looks like she did hit it…just a little bit. But she's okay. They had her tailbone x-rayed and it's not broken, but she's in a ton of pain. I mean, A LOT of pain. While she was there they also had an MRI taken of her knee."
"How is her knee? When we saw her Saturday night it seemed to really be bothering her."
"It wasn't brought up much. She was in a knee brace that had ice in it. She has to wear it when she's not rehearsing, but she is able to dance on her knee."
"How'd she look besides that? I mean is Steve going to freak out with worry when he sees her Wednesday?" Danny asked.
Chin paused as he thought back to how Maddie looked. "She was asleep most of the time I was with her. And I was only with her for a couple hours. I…uh… watched her while Pete grabbed a couple hours of sleep. She looked a little pale. Tired too, but that might've just been the fall. It wasn't awful. If she looks like that on Wednesday, he won't freak out. I mean nothing's going to stop him from being worried. Especially now that we know whatever's going on is really bad."
"He's going to lose it when he finds out what happened. Why didn't she want him called?"
"It's not that she didn't want him there…because she did. I mean she really wanted him there. She told me so. It's just…whatever stupid thing he did... he really hurt her."
Danny shook his head as he sighed. "Yeah, he knows it. He's upset and worried he won't be able to fix things."
"Hopefully he can." Chin stared off into space, remembering the short conversation he'd had with Maddie. Turning to Danny he said, "After I offered to call Steve for her and she said no, she made me promise to not let anything happen to him."
"What is she so afraid of? I mean she is terrified of someone hurting Steve. The only person I know that wants Steve dead is Wo Fat, but-"
It was now Chin's turn to interrupt. "This isn't him."
"Yeah, it's not his style," Danny agreed.
The two were quiet as they both tried to think of anything they could be missing or forgetting. Finally Danny spoke up. "I wish Steve knew about this. We might come up with a print or something from the skates."
"I know. I thought about taking them to Charlie, but I don't want to risk Steve finding out what happened. Maddie is adamant about him not knowing until after the show and to be honest, Pete seemed to agree with the decision. I don't think he did at first, but after really thinking about it he says it's the best for Maddie right now."
"Yeah, it should come from Maddie." Danny turned his head to the left and stared out into the hall. He could see a bit of his partner's office from this view. He was hunched forward, pouring over the case file. Turning back to Chin he said, "Well, we'll wait to process the skates until Thursday morning, but it doesn't mean we can't investigate the incident a little."
"What do you mean?" Chin asked, interested in hearing his idea.
"Well, let's find out if there are any cameras around the arena. If so, let's pull the footage. Traffic cameras too. We can compare the footage. Maybe we'll see the same car or same man, or woman I guess, at the arena and near Jake's restaurant. I mean that could help us maybe find out something about this stalker."
"I don't think it's a woman. Do you?" Chin asked randomly.
"I'm with you and McGarrett on this one. My gut's telling me it's a man. A seriously fucked up man who messed with the wrong Navy Seal's girl!"
The two shared a laugh imagining exactly what Steve was going to do with the psycho once he found him. "Well, I'm going to try and get any traffic cam footage from around the arena without Sherlock Holmes over there finding out," Danny joked as he stood, using his head to point in Steve's direction.
"Alright great! After I leave here tonight I'll drive over to the arena and look around for any cameras on any nearby businesses or storefronts. If I find any, I'll work on getting the footage in the morning."
"Perfect! Well, at least once Steve finds out about this we would have already done some investigating, which will hopefully keep us from losing too much time." Just as Danny was opening Chin's office door to leave he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "Hey, will you keep me updated? If you hear anything. I, uh…know I just met her, but I already really care about her. I mean, it's my partner's future wife we're talking about here!"
Chin laughed at his comment. "If they can figure things out between themselves. And yeah…I'll definitely keep you posted. Pete said he'd call me if anything else happened."
With that said Danny walked out, heading across the hall towards his office. Chin made sure the skates were secure in their bag before locking them back up in the bottom drawer and replacing the key to its hiding spot.
It was 3pm and the three men were each in their respective offices reading and re-reading all the information they had so far. Danny had finished going through the traffic camera footage from Friday near the restaurant, but because he didn't really know what he was looking for, he came up empty. He had requested the footage surrounding the arena, but it hadn't arrived yet. So, until then, he was doing what Steve had been doing all day, going over the case file.
Chin had called a couple of the surrounding businesses near Jake's restaurant asking some more questions. However, it didn't prove to be helpful, so he drove to the arena to see if he spotted any nearby storefronts with cameras. Sure enough he saw a few and was now back in his office trying to convince the owners to give him the footage. For now he'd try getting it without a warrant because he knew if he asked for one Steve would find out. How would he explain that without telling him the truth? So, while waiting for the owners answers he was looking over the case and information they'd gathered so far. Kono and Lori were still out canvassing around the restaurant hoping to find the stolen items from Walter Seasius and Raquel Linney's car.
Leaning back in his comfortable office chair, Chin rubbed his eyes, having been staring at documents for hours. With his hands over his face he didn't see Danny peak his head in. "You look how I feel! I need a break, so I was gonna go down and take another look at the car. Do you want to join?" Danny asked, startling Chin.
Dropping his hands to his lap he sighed as he looked at the papers scattered across his desk. "Yeah. Definitely," he answered, standing up and walking to the door.
As they walked down the hall heading in the direction of the elevator Chin said, "We better let McGarrett know where we're going."
Danny walked the couple feet to his partner's office and popped his head inside. "Hey! Chin and I need to get away from our offices for a bit, so we're gonna go down and give the car another once over. Who knows? Maybe we missed something!"
Steve peered up from the mess of papers he was currently reading. "Sounds good. Let me know if you find anything."
"Yep!" Danny said before turning and rejoining Chin.
Just as they were about to start towards the elevator they heard feet running and an excited young voice yell, "Danno!"
Danny glanced up to see his daughter running towards him. "Hey Monkey!" he greeted as he bent over to receive a hug from Gracie. Once he pulled out of the hug he noticed Rachel wasn't with her. "Where's Mommy? Did she bring you up?"
"No, she started to, but an officer brought me up because she was in a hurry. She has a doctor's appointment," Grace answered.
Danny saw the uniformed officer she was talking about at the end of the hall and waved, recognizing her. "Thanks!"
Hearing the commotion in the hall and needing a break of his own, Steve exited his office. "Hey Gracie!" he smiled, seeing his niece.
"Uncle Steve!" she exclaimed, dropping her backpack and running towards him. As she reached him, he picked her up.
"I didn't know you were coming today! What a great surprise!" Steve told her, earning him a huge smile.
"Yeah, Rachel has a doctor's appointment, so I have Gracie," Danny explained.
"Yeah, and guess what I'm doing?!" she asked, bubbling with excitement.
"What's that?"
"Aunt Maddie asked me to be in her show, so I'm getting to go rehearse with her."
Steve's head jerked towards Danny, a questioning look on his face. "Really?"
"Yeah," Danny answered. "Rachel just told me about it a little while ago."
"Are you taking her over there? Because I mean…I could do it," Steve offered, trying not to seem too willing or excited.
Danny smirked at his partner, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "To be honest, I was going to see if you would, but then Rachel told me Tina is coming to get her. My guess is that that's the exact reason why."
Steve's face fell realizing how much Maddie didn't want to talk to him or see him. Wow, she's willing to send Tina to come get Gracie when she's so busy. There are a million other things Tina should be doing. All so she doesn't see me. Wow, he thought, doing his best to hide his disappointment, especially in front of his niece. "Oh okay…well she can stay in my office until Tina arrives. There's more room for her in there anyway."
"Yeah, that would be great!" Danny looked at his daughter in his partner's arms. "Monkey, Uncle Chin and I are going downstairs to do some work, so you stay here with Uncle Steve. Work on some homework until Tina comes to get you, okay? And if I don't see you before you go, be good for Maddie. And give her a hug for me."
"Okay Danno," Grace responded.
"You sure you don't mind?" Danny asked his partner.
"Not at all. I need the distraction. I've been looking at those files all day," Steve answered.
"She probably needs a snack."
Still holding Gracie with his left arm, Steve reached down with his right and picked up her backpack. "No problem!" As he turned around, walking them through his open office door he said, "Don't worry! We'll be fine!"
Danny smiled as he watched them disappear into his office. This is good. He definitely needs a distraction from everything that's going on. And Gracie has him wrapped around her little finger, he thought, smiling as he and Chin walked down the hall and entered the elevator.
Steve set Gracie on the couch and her backpack on the floor. "So, are you hungry?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk. She nodded. "Okay, I'll go get you something. While I'm gone, why don't you get started on your homework." He left his office and walked down to their break room. Scouring the cupboards and fridge for something Gracie would like he couldn't get Maddie out of his head. Wow, she's really upset. Sending Tina just so I wouldn't bring Gracie and she wouldn't have to see me? Should I even bother going to the show? he wondered. I don't wanna go if I'm going to just upset her before she has to go onstage.
Finding an apple and cookies, Steve headed back to his office. As he walked in he smiled, noticing Gracie was already working on an assignment. "Here ya go! Not the greatest snack, but the best I could do on such short notice," he explained, setting the food on the small coffee table in front of the couch.
Grace smiled at him as she grabbed a piece of apple and began eating it.
"So…" Steve began, taking a seat next to her. Gracie looked up at him expectantly as she ate her snack. "You're going to hang out with Maddie today."
A HUGE smile appeared on her face. "Yep! Cool, huh?"
"Very cool. I mean, you must be pretty special because I can't even see Maddie during rehearsals," he told her.
"Really? How come?"
Steve thought about how he should answer the question. Finally he responded. "Maddie's got so much to do and doesn't want to be distracted."
"And you'll distract her?" Gracie asked.
"I guess so," he quietly said.
Grace looked at him, studying him. Without taking her eyes away from her uncle she reached for a cookie and asked, "Are you sad Uncle Steve?"
He was really surprised at her question, thinking he was doing a decent job internalizing his emotions. "No, I'm just worried."
"Does it have to do with Aunt Maddie?"
Steve smirked at how smart and perceptive she was at such a young age. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you're different around her."
"I am?" he asked. Am I really that different when she's around? He wondered. Gracie wasn't the first one to tell him this lately. If a ten year old is noticing…maybe it's true.
"Yeah," Grace smiled at him. "So does it?"
Steve sighed, not up for hiding his feelings at the moment. He'd been doing it for days and it was becoming exhausting. "Yeah kiddo, it does."
"You're worried about her? How come?" she asked, her small forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"A lot of reasons," he answered leaning back against the couch. He didn't want to tell her what was going on with Maddie and scare her.
Gracie just stared at him waiting for an answer. Minutes went by and her eyebrows only seemed to rise higher. Finally Steve chuckled at her persistence. "You are your father's daughter, ya know that?" This comment earned him a toothy smile, however didn't distract her from wanting an answer. Shaking his head he gave in. "Well, you know she hurt herself…and now she's working too hard. Probably not sleeping. I'm just worried she's not taking care of herself."
She waited for her uncle to continue. After a minute her big brown eyes somehow got bigger, something he didn't think was possible. "Why else? You said 'a lot of reasons'."
Smirking and shaking his head Steve looked away. "Just am worried about her kiddo."
"Want me to make sure she's okay for you Uncle Steve?" Gracie offered.
He was surprised by her , but also intrigued. Why didn't I think of that? he wondered. I mean Maddie won't talk to me…I have no idea if she's really okay. The only contact I've had is a picture from Tina and that was yesterday. For all I know, she's a mess. Most likely she isn't sleeping and she's pushing herself too hard. Harder than her body can handle right now. He eyed his niece, trying to decide how wrong it would be to have her spy for him. If she finds out she'll definitely be mad, but then again…she's already pissed and won't talk to me. Deciding he couldn't really make things worse he said, "You'd do that for me?"
"Yep! Can I be a part of Five-0?" she asked excitedly.
"Of course! I mean, this is a very important mission. If you choose to accept it that is," Steve said, a smile on his face. "But…it's a secret mission, so you can't tell Mads about it."
"I know. She gets upset when you worry about her," Gracie laughed.
"You're a really smart kid, ya know that?" Steve told her, in awe at how perceptive she was.
"Yeah, I know!" Gracie giggled. "What do you want me to do?"
He thought about it for a second. Finally deciding, he pulled out his phone and pulled up the picture Tina had sent him yesterday. "Tina sent this to me yesterday. She looks tired in it, but she looks okay….So, if you see her look any worse than this, take a picture."
"Okay, I can do that!" Grace smiled happy to be helping in some way.
"And if you hear anything you think I should know…tell me okay?" Gracie nodded. "Thanks for doing this for me kiddo!" he told her as he stood up and walked to his desk.
"No problem Uncle Steve!"
"What time is Tina coming to get you?" he asked, looking at his watch.
"4pm."
"Okay. Well it's 3:40pm now, so you have twenty minutes. Do you think you can finish that worksheet you're working on before you leave?" Steve didn't want to fail his partner. He'd asked him to do two things while watching his daughter: feed her and make sure she worked on her homework.
"Yep!" Gracie smiled as she picked up her pencil and returned her attention to the abandoned assignment. Every couple minutes she'd reach over to the plate Steve had set next to her and eat some more of the snack.
Although he returned to looking over the file in front of him, he kept a watchful eye on his partner's daughter. Ten minutes later he must have been deep in thought because he didn't notice Grace stand up and walk over to him. "Uncle Steve?"
He jumped a little, surprised she was standing so close and he hadn't realized. Damn! Maddie is distracting me, he thought. "What's up?" he asked as he turned slightly left to face her.
"Can you check this?" She handed him the completed worksheet. "Mommy or Daddy normally do, but they're not here."
"Of course!" Steve smiled, taking the paper and setting it on his desk. It didn't take long to look over the math worksheet. It was, after all, fourth grade math and math had always been one of his best subjects. "Looks good!" he smiled, handing it back to her. "Looks like we've got a genius on our hands."
Gracie smiled at his comment. "What time is it?" she asked taking the paper back and walking to the couch.
Steve looked at his watch. "Just now 4pm. Perfect timing! Do you have a lot of other homework?"
"Nope!" Giving him a big smile, she said, "Tina should be here! I'm gonna go wait for her in the hall!"
"Okay! But leave my door open, so I can still see you," he instructed as Gracie rushed out of his office. She did as she was told and stayed right outside the open door.
Returning to the file he thought, Why did they steal Raquel's ID badge? I mean this doesn't seem like it could be a woman! And it-…His thoughts were interrupted by an excited squeal from the hall.
"Tina!" Steve looked up to see Gracie running towards Tina, who squatted and gave her a big hug. Standing from his desk, he walked out into the hall. Now that he could fully see Maddie's assistant and best friend he noticed that Carl and Frank were on each side of her. That's weird, he thought. Maddie sent her with not one, but two bodyguards?
"Hi sweetie! I take it you're excited!" Tina smiled as she pulled out of the hug. Gracie nodded exaggeratedly causing Tina to laugh.
As she stood up, her eyes met Steve's. He was leaning against the door frame of what she presumed was his office. She smiled sympathetically at him. Giving her a half smile in return he nodded his head towards his office, signaling for her to come in.
Tina nodded before turning back to the small girl. "Gracie, this is Carl and Frank. They're taking us to see Maddie. I'm gonna go talk to Steve for a minute. Stay with them." With that said, she gave both men a look before following Steve into his office.
The door barely closed behind them when he asked, "How is she?"
Tina smiled at his obvious love for her friend. "She's good! She's just busy!"
Steve sat on the edge of his desk, making eye contact with her. "She won't answer her phone or call me back."
Tina stared at the floor, unable to look into his sad eyes anymore. Seeing the helplessness, hurt, worry, and guilt was too much for her. She knew if she did, she'd spill the beans, tell him everything Maddie had confided in her. "She needs to focus Steve. She's just trying to get through the next couple of days. You'll see and talk to her Wednesday. It's only two days away."
It was obvious he didn't like that answer as he groaned, shaking his head. "She's upset with me, isn't she?" Before she could answer his question, he continued. "Of course she is! I screwed up…again."
Tina remained silent, even though she wanted nothing more than to fill him in. Tell him how Maddie felt. Tell him about what happened last night. But, she was under strict orders not to. Maddie didn't want him knowing any of it. Crap! I hate this! They are both so God damn stubborn! If they would just get over that they could be so happy together! she thought. I don't know, maybe I should just tell him everything. So, Maddie will get mad, but maybe it will actually help things between them. Plus, she needs him right now, with whatever's going on. Whatever she's keeping to herself. If Maddie's going to confide in anyone, it's going to be Steve.
Steve sat patiently as he watched Tina's internal struggle. He could tell she wanted to tell him something, but knowing Maddie, she'd told her not to say anything. Finally, too anxious to know what she knew, he said, "Tell me, T."
"What?" she asked, acting as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
He gave her a 'come on, really?' look, letting her know he wasn't falling for it. "I can tell you want to say something. Just do it," he instructed.
"I promised-" she began.
"I don't care. Break it," Steve interrupted, doing his best to keep the anger from his voice. After all, he wasn't angry with Tina. She was just being a good friend. He was angry with himself for getting into this situation to begin with. If I'd just told the truth, he thought. But I don't even know what the truth is! I don't know what we are! However, he knew that wasn't what had hurt her the most. It was that he laughed at the idea of them together. If he hadn't have done that he knew he'd have a much better chance of being able to fix things between them.
Tina hesitated, still unsure if she should say anything. I'll just say a little, she decided. "She thinks what you said was the truth."
He assumed that because she wouldn't talk to him, but assuming and knowing were two completely different things. His chest tightened at her statement. "I didn't." He paused. "Mean it that is."
"I know," she told him sadly, her heart breaking for them both.
"Tell her, please!" For someone so known to keep his feelings and emotions hidden, they were displayed for her to see. He was upset, desperate to get through to Maddie. Not just because of how he felt about her. Sure, that was a huge part of it. But also because he knew she was in trouble and he needed to try and get her to tell him what was going on. With things how they were, he knew that was never going to happen.
"I tried and I'll keep trying, but I don't think I can get through to her. She's just not herself."
"I know."
"She's closed off. Whatever's bugging her…it's really getting to her."
"I know. I can see it." Steve studied Tina's demeanor for a minute. She became fidgety and nervous under his intense gaze. "What else did she say Tina?" he asked, knowing she wasn't telling him everything.
"I can't tell you."
"It's obviously important. Maybe it'll help us!" He paused, sighing. "Just tell me." He was desperate for any information he could get. He couldn't remember a time he'd felt this helpless, which just made him angrier.
Tina took him in. Feeling terrible over the entire situation and how heartbroken both he and Maddie were, she sighed heavily before saying, "Look, I just can't tell you." Seeing him about to protest she held up her hand to quiet him and then continued. "But…I'll make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?" he questioned, intrigued and hopeful.
"If, after you've spent some time with her Wednesday and she hasn't told you how she's feeling, I'll tell you. I mean, there's nothing you can do before then anyways."
"I can just show up to the venue," Steve stated.
Tina smiled at him. "If you were going to do that, you would've already done it." She paused, watching him. "There's a reason you haven't." His shoulders slumped in defeat, knowing she was right. "You know to be able to pull this show off on Wednesday and get through these rehearsals, Maddie has to focus. And you know she can't do that if you show up after saying what you did. You'll see her Wednesday, Steve."
"If seeing me is going to upset and distract her so much, maybe it's better if I don't go to the show. I can just see her back at her house afterwards," Steve said, his voice quieter than usual. It's not what he wanted to do, but if it made it easier for Maddie, he would.
Tina froze, looking at him. Say something. You know that if he doesn't go, it'll kill Maddie, no matter what she says. You have to tell him more about how she's feeling because if he doesn't go, he won't be able to fix this with her, Tina told herself. "Look, you hurt her. You know that. You don't need me to tell you that." Steve looked away, feeling awful. "You need to go to the show."
"She doesn't want me there and I don't want to upset her more. She has too much to focus on."
"You're such a guy!" Tina exclaimed.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Steve questioned.
She hesitated, trying to decide if she should break Maddie's confidence. Coming to a decision, she sighed, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. "Don't ever tell her I told you this…"
Steve furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "I thought you couldn't tell me anything more."
She glared at him. "Well, you forced my hand a bit." She paused, sighing once more. "Look, there's been a couple times Maddie has asked for you. She wants you there."
"Really?" Steve smiled. "Well, why didn't anyone call me? I would've come right away."
"Because as soon as we go to call you, she changes her mind. She wants you there, but she's…" Tina paused trying to think of a way to explain it to Steve without telling him exactly how Maddie felt. "Just…she wants you there, but she's hurt."
"What aren't you telling me?" Steve asked, noticing how she'd hesitated. "Is she okay?"
"I'm not telling you lot," she admitted. "Yes, she's okay….Anyway, I need to get Gracie to the venue. We are on a tight schedule and need to stick to it as much as possible. I'll see you Wednesday, Steve."
"Okay, I'll be there."
With that said, Tina started to leave. Before she was completely out the door, she stopped and turned her head to look at him. The look on her face and her demeanor were different than they had been for the rest of the conversation. She seemed angry all of a sudden. "Did you really have to laugh at the idea of the two of you together?" Tina asked, disbelief and, yes, anger in her voice. Sure she felt bad for him, but what he'd said was wrong and hurtful and she really didn't blame Maddie for feeling the way she did.
Steve's face fell as his chest constricted. He couldn't look at Tina, knowing how badly he'd messed up. She's telling you how much you hurt Mads, he told himself as his door closed.
Knowing he needed to pull himself together and make sure Gracie had everything she needed, he stood up from his spot on the edge of his desk and exited his office.
"Ready sweetie?" Tina asked her.
Gracie looked over to see her dad's partner enter the hall. As she approached him he squatted down, a forced smile on his face. She hugged him. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Aunt Maddie's okay. I promise," she whispered in his ear.
He stifled a small laugh and pulled away from her. "Thanks!" Standing up he asked, "Do you have everything?"
"Yep!" she smiled at him as she walked towards Tina.
"Okay, well Danno will be here when you get back. Have fun and be good!"
Taking Tina's hand she waved at him. "I will!" He watched them walk down the hall hand in hand, a bodyguard on each side. As they turned and entered the elevator, Tina met his eyes and gave him a small, sympathetic smile as the doors shut.
Walking back into his office Steve plopped down at his desk. Leaning back in his comfortable desk chair he rubbed his left hand across his face, doing his best to keep his anger in check and not lose his temper. I really wish we had a suspect. I could really use a chase or something to get my mind off this, he thought. He took a deep breath, exhaling loudly as he sighed. How the hell am I going to convince her I didn't mean what I said?! Is she even going to talk to me when I see her Wednesday? I mean what the hell should I expect? Before he knew it everything on his desk was flying through the air. He'd lost it and needed to express his anger in some way, shape, or form and his desk was the closest. "Way to go Steve," he mumbled to himself, taking in the mess he'd just created.
Danny and Chin had just returned from looking over the car when they heard crashing from their boss' office. As they approached they saw various objects scattered across the floor of his office while tons of papers flitted to the ground. They spotted him sitting at his desk, obviously angry.
"Must've talked to Tina about Maddie," Danny stated. "Or at least tried."
"I'm guessing he didn't like what he heard," Chin added.
Knowing that if he approached his partner right then, it would lead to nothing but both of them angry and yelling, Danny decided to let him cool off before trying to talk to him.
"You don't think Tina told him about what happened last night, do you?" Chin asked his coworker.
Danny turned to look at him, a smirk present on his face as he slightly chuckled. "Are you kidding me? If Steve knew what happened he'd be with Maddie right now. And he'd be more than angry."
"Yeah, you're right," Chin nodded in agreement.
"I'm gonna go see if the traffic cam footage from around the Blaisdell Arena is on our server yet. If not, I'll call them again. When I get it, let's sit and watch it. Until then, maybe you can check out some of the footage Lori and I already watched. That way we're both familiar with it when we watch the new footage and we'll have a better shot of spotting a repeat customer," Danny said.
"Sounds good! Is the restaurant footage on the main server?"
"Yep!" Danny replied as the two headed to their offices.
At 4:30pm Frank pulled the black SUV up to the outside of the main room of the arena. He and Carl walked around helping both Tina and Gracie out of the car. "Ready kiddo?" Tina asked, taking her hand.
"Yes!" she smiled, beyond excited as they walked inside. "Where's Maddie?" Gracie asked, looking around for the singer.
"In her dressing room waiting for you," Tina replied as she lead them down a couple halls. Soon they came to a large door with a sign saying 'Madeline Lily' on the front. "Hey Mo!" she greeted as he stood guarding the door.
"Hey T! You can go right in," he instructed.
"Thanks!" Tina pushed the heavy door open and led Gracie inside, leaving Frank and Carl to go off to their stations.
Maddie was seated on the couch, her right leg in the huge brace that connected to the ice water tank. Her big, grey boyfriend sweater was pulled tight around her while her dark purple throw blanket was over her lap. Tina noticed how tired and sad she looked as she stared off into space, lost in thought.
No one noticed Gracie's phone in her hand as she snapped a quick picture of Maddie, not forgetting her mission from Steve.
As they got closer to the couch Tina looked over and said, "Just letting you know, Maddie's losing her voice, so she's not talking very much. So a lot of the time she's writing down what she wants to say." Gracie nodded at the explanation.
Tina's voice pulled Maddie from her thoughts. The second she saw Gracie, she put on a façade. A huge smile spread across her face as she whispered, "Hey sweetie! I'm so glad you're here! Come give me a hug!"
Gracie ran and hopped up on the couch next to Maddie doing as she was told. Maddie enveloped her in a huge hug. "Are you excited?"
"Yes!" she squealed as they pulled away from one another.
"Well, first thing's first…Before we perform our song in the show, a short video will play on the screen. It gives us time to get dressed and ready to come out. So, we're gonna shoot that video. It's mainly you, but I'll be in it a little bit too. I already got my hair and makeup done, so now it's your turn. When you're finished you'll change quickly and then we'll shoot the video. After, we'll head to the stage and practice the song." While Gracie leaned against her, Maddie subconsciously played with her brown hair.
Nikki and Lorali walked over and introduced themselves before taking her hand and leading her to the makeup chair on the other side of the room.
"I'll be right here Gracie," Maddie whispered. She wanted to get up and sit with her because she could tell she was a little nervous, but it was so painful every time she moved thanks to last night's fall. Plus, she was hooked to the ice water tank. She gave Tina a quick look and motioned to the other side of the room. Understanding what her friend was saying, she stood and walked to the makeup/hair station, taking a seat next to Gracie. Hearing the two begin to chat and laugh Maddie leaned her head to the left, using the armrest as a pillow. Her head was pounding, her throat still hurt, and not to mention her knee was throbbing. Every little movement she made caused terrible pains to shoot from her tailbone down through her legs. Even her arms throbbed from the most recent injury. As upset and hurt as I am, I wish Steve was here right now, she thought as she closed her eyes. One small tear escaped and ran down her pale face.
Twenty minutes later Gracie's hair and makeup were completed and she was dressed in the clothes she'd be wearing in the video. As she watched Tina carefully shake Maddie to wake her up, she grabbed her phone from her pocket.
"Gotta get dressed Mads," Tina whispered, as her friend's sleepy blue eyes opened.
"K," she mumbled before beginning to unstrap the knee brace. Once completely unhooked, Tina took it and set it next to the couch. She knew Maddie was going to need someone to help pull her into a standing position. It had been extremely obvious how painful it was to move thanks to her newly injured tailbone.
Maddie took her assistant's outstretched hands. She tilted her face down slightly as she squinted her eyes, preparing herself for the intense pain she was about to experience. "1, 2, 3," Tina whispered. On 3 she used all her strength to pull her best friend up off the couch while Maddie did her best to stand. No one noticed Gracie filming a video of the whole thing on her cell phone. She even got Maddie crying out in pain. "You okay?" Tina asked her.
Standing, but still holding onto Tina, Maddie nodded, her eyes still squeezed closed. After a minute of standing waiting for the pain to dissipate, she took a deep breath and let it out before opening her eyes and walking towards the other side of the room. She smiled at Gracie, who had already put her phone back in her pocket, no one the wiser. "You look like a superstar! Look at you!" she cried, taking Grace's hand and twirling her around. The young girl giggled. "I'm gonna get dressed too," Maddie said, grabbing her clothes from the rack nearby. She slowly began to strip, doing her best to keep from grimacing at the pain branching off her tailbone. Knowing she needed help, but wouldn't ask, Tina helped her change.
"Are you hurt Aunt Maddie?" Gracie asked, noticing how hard it was for her to move around.
"A little bit, but nothing to worry about. I'll be okay," she smiled, trying to not only reassure Gracie, but herself. I don't know how I can perform like this. This is excruciating, she thought. For the millionth time that day she wished she and Steve were on better terms; she needed him. But at the same time she hated herself for needing him. She knew it was time to protect herself and that she could no longer need him like that. It would only result in her heartbroken and possibly him physically hurt.
"Okay," Gracie nodded, not really believing her aunt. I wish Uncle Steve was here, she thought as Tina finished helping Maddie get dressed.
"Shall we?" Maddie whispered, her voice cutting in and out, as she held her hand out for Gracie. She nervously took it, not knowing what to expect. Maddie picked up on her apprehension. "Don't worry! You'll be great! And if at any point you feel uncomfortable or anything, just tell me okay?"
Gracie nodded, her grip tightening on Maddie's hand as they exited the dressing room. As they began walking down the hall, Pete and Mo joined them, one on each side of them.
At 6pm they were done with the video and were back in the dressing room. They changed into leggings, tank tops, and sneakers and were taking a short break on the couch while they waited for rehearsal to start. Once again, Gracie leaned into Maddie's side.
"Hey Shorty!" Doc greeted as he entered the room. "How ya feeling?"
"Good!" Maddie lied as the two giggled over something they'd just said.
"And who is this?" Doc asked, smiling in Gracie's direction.
"This is Gracie! She's the daughter of Steve's partner," Maddie explained.
"Hi Gracie! I'm Doc!" He reached out his hand and shook hers.
"Hi!" she shyly responded, leaning further into Maddie.
"So, let me ask you something. Has Maddie been talking?"
"Yes," Gracie answered.
"Tattle tale!" Maddie laughed, tickling her.
"That's what I thought," Doc said as he gave the singer a pointed look. "For the millionth time, use either of these." He grabbed the Dynavox and small, dry erase board off the coffee table and handed them to her.
Narrowing her eyes at him she took the items. She grabbed the pen and began scribbling on the dry erase board. After a minute she held it up. She'd doodled Gracie's name with a heart at the beginning and end of it. Seeing what she'd written Grace asked, "Will you take a picture of us?"
"Sure thing," Doc replied, taking her phone from her. "Ready? On 3. 1, 2, 3!" He took the picture. Maddie was holding up the sign and pointing to Gracie while the two laughed. It was a cute picture. "That's a good one!" he said handing the phone back to her.
While Gracie smiled at the photo Doc focused his attention on a tired looking Maddie. He could tell she was trying to put on a front for Grace. "So, how do you really feel?" he asked, his eyes concerned.
She glanced to her left at Gracie before writing to Doc on the board. My tailbone hurts so bad! The littlest movement is so painful. Tina had to pull me off the couch earlier!
After reading the message, he looked at Maddie. Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes he glanced at Tina before saying to Gracie, "Hey, why doesn't Tina go and show you what the stage looks like while I make sure Mads is good to go. Then she'll meet you out there."
Gracie eyed Maddie hesitantly, nervous to leave without her. Picking up on her uneasiness she nodded and smiled at her before typing on the Dynavox. Pushing play the female robotic voice said, "It's okay. Go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."
Gracie immediately began giggling at the voice. Maddie had assumed it would make her smile, which was why she'd used the machine instead of writing.
"Come on sweetie! The stage is really cool! I'll give you the grand tour!" Tina said, taking the young girl's hand and exiting the dressing room.
Once they were alone Doc said, "So, it's bad?"
Maddie flashed him an 'are you kidding me?' look before whispering, "That's putting it mildly. I don't know how I can do this with this pain. It's excruciating."
He watched her wipe at her eyes as she did her best to keep her emotions in check. "I know you've just been trying to take Advil all day instead of any pain pills, but I think it's time to take one. It'll help the pain a lot."
"But it makes me sleepy," Maddie argued.
"So, take half of one. At least it'll help the pain so you can rehearse."
Doc stood and walked to the kitchen to pour her a glass of milk. Before returning to her he grabbed a muffin off the counter. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table he handed them both to her. "Eat a little bit and then take it."
Although she wasn't hungry she ate a quarter of the muffin and drank a quarter of the milk while he went back to the kitchen for the bottle of pills. When he returned he sat next to her on the couch. Satisfied with how much she'd eaten he handed her the medication. "Take it with the milk. It'll help coat your stomach. The last thing you need on top of everything is an upset stomach."
Maddie took the pill from him and quickly swallowed it. While she continued to drink the rest, Doc said, "There's an injection I can give you in your tailbone, but I only want to do it once. I was planning on doing it before the show on Wednesday. It'll really help the pain, but the injection itself is extremely painful. So, don't worry about the show. You'll be okay for it."
Setting the empty glass on the table Maddie smiled at him. 'Thanks Doc' she wrote on the dry erase board.
"Good girl! Now is it so hard to do that and not talk?" He laughed at the look she threw him. "Okay, well you're good to go."
She slowly stood, already noticing a small difference in her pain. The pill's definitely starting to help, she thought as she headed toward the door. She turned and waved at him before walking out into the hall where Pete stood waiting. She linked her arm through his and together they made their way to the stage where Gracie was waiting.
Maddie, her band, and dancers rehearsed with Gracie for two hours, finally calling it quits at 8pm. She could tell Grace was getting tired, not to mention it was a school night. Gracie's part wasn't difficult, but Maddie had just wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible, knowing it would help her nerves during Wednesday's show. Gracie had never done anything like this before and performing for the first time was scary enough, let alone doing it in front of tens of thousands of people. The more prepared Gracie was, the better and more at ease Maddie knew she would feel.
You did sooooo great!, Maddie wrote on the small dry erase board and held up to Gracie while she sat on the couch. Tina was fastening her knee brace and hooking her up to the tank.
She smiled at the compliment from her place next to Tina. "Thanks Aunt Maddie!"
Maddie quickly erased her previous note and began furiously scribbling another one. Tell daddy I'm sorry it's so late. I'll see you on Wednesday! Xoxo
Gracie read the note, took a couple steps forward and gave her a hug. Maddie squeezed her tight, sorry to see her go. I wish she could stay, she thought. She really helped distract me from thinking about Steve. She kissed her "niece" on the side of the head. "Be good!" she quietly whispered, pulling out of the hug.
"I will!" Gracie smiled as Tina took her hand.
"I'll be back in a little bit Maddie," Tina relayed to her friend. Maddie's only response was a nod of the head as she reached for the blanket next to her on the couch. Oh man I'm tired, she thought, now alone in her dressing room. She stifled a yawn as she laid her head on the armrest to her left and closed her eyes. Although she was exhausted she couldn't seem to stop thinking about Steve and what he'd said to her, effectively keeping her from getting any sleep. Not that she wanted to fall asleep. Every time she did, she found herself trapped in a nightmare where she was forced to watch him be murdered.
While she worked and rehearsed she didn't think about him or how much he'd hurt her, but every time she stopped, that's all that was on her mind. It wasn't just what he'd said the previous morning either, but everything. She couldn't keep from rehashing every little thing he'd said and done since she'd arrived in Hawaii. How he would act like he had feelings for her one minute, only for him to do or say something to make her think the complete opposite shortly after.
Maddie was grateful for the knock on her door ten minutes later letting her know break was over. She quickly unhooked her knee from the brace, stood, and walked towards the door, happy to be pulled from her thoughts. Ryan's smiling face greeted her as she opened the door.
"Come on Shorty!" he smiled, taking her uninjured right hand and walking with her down the hall towards the stage.
From his spot on Maddie's left, Pete suspiciously watched the two as they whispered quietly between themselves, their heads close together so he couldn't hear. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed them doing something like this since rehearsals began. God, I hope they're not up to no good, he prayed. It wasn't normally a good sign for him when they continuously spoke in hushed tones before a show. Especially the last show of the tour.
"Danno!" Gracie cried when she spotted her dad standing with the rest of the team. She ran towards him leaving Tina behind.
"Hey Monkey!" Danny smiled as she barreled into him. By the time the two pulled out of their hug Tina had approached, smiling at the interaction between father and daughter.
"Maddie wanted me to let you know she's sorry it's so late," Tina said.
"Is she here?" Danny asked, hoping by some miracle she had come.
"No, unfortunately she couldn't afford to come and lose time she doesn't have. She's already back rehearsing. There's still a lot to do. But, she says she's looking forward to seeing you all Wednesday," Tina answered, looking around at the rest of the team. It suddenly became obvious they'd interrupted something. A picture of Maddie across the room pulled her focus. It was taped to a large board on wheels. A picture of a couple also hung on the board. They're trying to figure out what's going on, Tina realized. She was just about to ask if they'd made any progress when Gracie spoke.
"She didn't say that!" Gracie stated. Tina looked at her, confusion on her face. Gracie started giggling. "She's not allowed to talk!"
"Look at you, you little smarty pants," Tina smiled as she lightly tickled Gracie before bringing her attention back to the team. "You're right, Maddie WROTE down that she was looking forward to seeing you guys!" she corrected herself while Grace continued to laugh.
"Wrote down?" Steve asked, not understanding.
Before Tina could answer, Grace did the honors. "Aunt Maddie isn't allowed to talk or sing unless she has to because her voice is almost gone, so she has to write what she wants to say. Or she types it into this thing that says it for her. It sounds really funny!" Remembering what the Dynavox sounded like only made her laugh harder.
"I bet Mads LOVES that," Kono sarcastically said.
"She doesn't," Gracie replied, not realizing she was being sarcastic. "Doc keeps getting mad at her because she keeps talking."
Steve did his best to keep the smirk from his face. I bet she's fighting him tooth and nail, he thought. Although that side of Maddie often infuriated him, mainly when it came to her safety and wellbeing, he also loved that about her. She was a fighter. Always had been. That's what worried him now. She wasn't fighting whatever was going on. Instead, she was letting it get to her. Letting it rattle her. Which then kept her from taking care of herself.
"Very true!" Tina said. "In fact, I better get back. Make sure Mads isn't driving him crazy." She reached into her huge purse and pulled out a manila envelope. "Before I leave…here's everything you'll need for Wednesday, including directions on which gate to pull into that will be the closest to the crew-only parking area. You're badges are all in there. If you have any questions or if for some strange reason something's missing, just give me a call!" Tina handed Steve the envelope, meeting his eyes. She could see the worry in them and knew he wasn't just worried about Maddie's wellbeing, but also where they stood and whether or not he would be able to fix things between them. She flashed him a small, knowing smile before bending over and giving Gracie a big hug. "Bye sweetie! You did great today! You're going to be amazing on Wednesday! See you soon!"
"Bye Tina!" Gracie said as Maddie's assistant and best friend turned and walked down the hall to Carl and Frank who were waiting for her at the elevator.
"So, you had fun Gracie?" Chin asked once Tina was gone.
"YES! The stage is soooo big! Oh my God!" Gracie told them.
"Oh yeah?" Kono asked.
"Yeah! It's kind of like three stages connected to each other," Gracie explained.
"Wow, that IS big! Look's like she outdid herself this time," Kono smirked, remembering the short conversation about the stage she'd had with Maddie at the barbeque.
"Come here Gracie," Steve said, anxious to talk to her. She walked towards him before he picked her up and set her on the big, round table. "So…how's Aunt Maddie?" he asked as he slightly bent forward in front of her, so he was more at her eye level.
"She was good. She didn't talk a lot," Gracie answered. She began unconsciously swinging her legs a little as she sat on the table.
"Because of her voice?" he clarified.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Umm…maybe that was why. But it seemed like she was just quiet. I could tell she was thinking a lot." Gracie paused, thinking back to her time with the singer. "She talked the most when Doc and Pete weren't there."
"Where was Pete? He wasn't with her all the time?" Steve asked, trying to hide the anger bubbling within himself. With whatever's going on he should be with her at all times, he thought.
"Steven, did you convince my daughter to spy for you?" Danny asked, his eyes narrowing at his partner.
Steve quickly turned his head and met Danny's eyes. "It was her idea! She offered." Before Danny could respond, Steve turned his attention back to Gracie, a broad smile on his face. Danny just shook his head and laughed with the rest of the team. Although having his ten-year-old spy for his partner was not something he should condone, it was pretty funny. It was definitely a side of Steve none of the team had ever seen, that is until Maddie came into the picture. She brought out a part of him they assumed didn't exist. His more human and sensitive side.
"So, where was Pete?" Steve asked, ignoring the laughs from his coworkers.
"He was right near us most of the time, but sometimes he was right outside the dressing room door," she answered.
"Did she seem tired?" Steve questioned.
Gracie thought back for a minute. "Yeah, she fell asleep while they did my hair and makeup. But she didn't sleep for very long. Tina had to wake her up."
Great, I was worried she wasn't getting rest, he thought, worry filling him. Damn it. She really needs sleep right now. "Did you notice anything else? Was she in pain?"
"Yeah," Gracie whispered, hesitant to tell her uncle about how much pain she seemed to be in when she'd first gotten there. In fact, she wasn't sure she should show him the video she shot. She might've been only ten, but she knew it was going to upset him.
Steve picked up on the change in her demeanor. "Was it her foot and knee?"
"Maybe a little…"
"What did you see?"
Oh crap! What if Gracie heard someone talking about Maddie hurting herself last night? Or what if Maddie told her about it? Chin worried, knowing Maddie didn't want Steve knowing about it until after the show. He'll freak out, but maybe it's for the best if he finds out now. Chin and Danny made eye contact, both thinking the same thing,
"I don't know. I think maybe her back hurt or something," Gracie told him.
Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you think that?"
"She was walking kind of funny and had a hard time moving."
Steve relaxed. I'm sure it was her knee and foot. That was already making her walk differently, he thought. "Probably just from her leg. I'm sure she was limping."
"No, she wasn't really limping that much. Not like she was at the barbeque. She was walking…kind of like Frankenstein," Gracie tried to explain.
Chin and Danny knew exactly why she was walking funny, but neither spoke up.
Steve became even more concerned. Of course, he internalized it all, not wanting his team to know just how distracted and worried he was about Maddie. It just wasn't their business.
He unconsciously licked his bottom lip before slightly biting it. "Here kiddo." Steve helped her down off the table. "Show me what you mean."
"Okay," Gracie mumbled. She stood still as she thought back to how Maddie had been walking, wanting to show them the best she could. They waited patiently while she thought it over. "She was walking like this," she said as she very slowly and very stiffly took steps forward.
"Anything else?" Kono asked.
"I heard her whisper 'ow' a lot when she sat down or moved."
She was NOT walking like that yesterday, Steve thought, his mind racing at what could have happened, all of which only made him worry more. God I wish I was with her, or at least that she'd talk to me. "Thanks Gracie!" Steve smiled, hiding his worry from everyone. "So, you had fun?!"
He wasn't sure he'd ever seen such a big smile before as she thought back to her time with Maddie. "YES! It was soooo fun! I LOVE her! You know Uncle Steve, you guys should get married, that way she'll always be around!"
Steve did his best to keep the blush from his face as he felt the panic begin to fester in his chest. He could feel his coworkers' smirks as they looked towards him. Why does the idea of her being my wife make me want to smile like a schoolboy, but also freaks the hell out of me? How is that possible? he wondered, confused by his feelings.
Completely oblivious to the sudden tension and uncomfortable moment her comment had caused, Gracie excitedly continued, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Want to see all the pictures I took? Tina even took some of us when we were rehearsing on the stage and when we shot the video."
"Definitely!" Steve told her, anxious to see Maddie.
"Here sweetie, I'll put them on the smart table," Kono offered, taking the phone from her. She set it on the screen and touched a couple different icons, downloading the pictures to the table computer. "There we go!" She handed the phone back to her and tapped the folder she'd just created, as everyone gathered around the table.
The first picture that opened was of the two of them standing next to one another. Maddie was whispering to Gracie as she pulled her tight against her side. It was obvious the young girl was nervous by the unsure look on her face. Because she was telling Gracie something Steve couldn't really see her face. A couple large cameras were in front of them while Maddie's dancers were sporadically standing behind them. They were all in costume, including Gracie.
"We are waiting to do the video," Gracie explained.
Kono flipped to the next photo. It was the same scene except it looked like they were filming. "Here we are actually making the video," Gracie said.
Everyone was extremely animated in the photo, including Gracie. Mads looks beautiful, Steve thought, able to see her face. I don't know how she's able to do all this stuff feeling like she is. He smiled as he stared at the picture, completely in awe of how driven she was. Although he was worried about her, he couldn't help but also be proud of her.
"Looks like you're having fun!" Lori spoke up from her spot across from Steve. She'd been quiet the entire time, unsure of what to say as she watched him closely. It's like he has a one-track mind…MADDIE! she thought, frustrated over the entire situation. And not just frustrated, heartbroken too. Every time he brought Maddie up, her heart ached. But what was worse was seeing how intently he was looking at the photos. And it's not Gracie he's smiling at,Lori told herself as she stared at the grin on his face, one put there by simply looking at a picture of the singer.
"It was a lot of fun!" Gracie responded. Kono flipped to the next photo and Grace immediately started laughing. It was the photo Doc had taken before they started rehearsing. Maddie was holding up the dry erase board, a silly look on her face. "GRACIE" was written on the board in cool lettering, a doodled heart sat in front of her name and at the end of it. Maddie was pointing to Gracie next to her while the two laughed.
"Now there's the Maddie I know," Kono smirked.
Steve shook his head, his smile becoming even bigger at the sight of his best friend laughing and being silly. I miss that side of her, he thought. Who am I kidding? I just miss her!
"See! I told you she's not supposed to talk!" Gracie cried, still laughing.
"That's a good picture Monkey!" Danny told his daughter, happy to see that she'd had so much fun.
"You know, you should print it out and put it in a frame," Chin suggested.
"Definitely!" Lori agreed, trying to contribute and be a part of the team.
"That's a good idea!" Gracie squealed in excitement. "Daddy, can we do that?"
"Of course!"
Kono flipped to the next photo. "Woah, that IS a big stage!" she blurted, seeing Maddie, Gracie, and her dancers on the stage rehearsing.
"I told you!" Gracie exclaimed. "And that is just one part of it! That walkway," she pointed to it on the screen. "…comes out to another stage."
Steve said nothing as he inspected the photo. The smile he'd had only seconds before was slowly sliding from his face as he took in Maddie's appearance. A lot of the makeup she'd had on for the video had worn off and he could see how tired she looked. Her face was pale and she had light circles under her eyes. She's pushing herself too hard. Damn it! Steve thought. I really hope Pete can convince her to go home and get some sleep tonight. He looked down at his phone, checking the time.
"What's this?" Kono asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Um…" Gracie mumbled, sounding unsure. "I took that when I first got there."
At the change in Gracie's voice and hearing the concern in Kono's, Steve looked up from his phone. His stomach plummeted at the picture on the screen. Maddie was staring off into space, obviously unaware a picture was being taken. Although she had makeup on, she looked pale. But it wasn't that that upset Steve. It was the look on her face. The look in her eyes. She looked so sad, so lost. She looked devastated. Did I cause that? Is she that upset over what I said? he wondered.
Chin and Danny shared a look as they peered over at Steve. Although he was doing his best to appear unfazed, it was obvious he was upset by what he saw.
Kono glanced over at her boss to see him unable to tear his eyes away from the picture. Deciding that it was probably not the best thing for him to see right now, she flipped to the next one. "Is this a video?" she asked.
"Yeah, but you don't have to watch it," Gracie responded, picking up on the sudden silence that had descended over the group since the last photo of Maddie was shown. However, it was too late. Kono had started playing it.
Steve's jaw clenched as he watched Maddie unable to get off the couch by herself. He watched the incredible pain flash across her face and heard the noises she made. "What the?" he began, his eyes wide. His face twitched in anger. Seeing this, he was outraged that no one was filling him in, but mostly he was furious with himself. If I hadn't screwed up I'd know what was going on, he told himself. I mean what the hell? It doesn't look like it's her knee that's giving her trouble. What the hell is going on?
As soon as she realized what the video was of, Kono stopped it knowing it was only going to further upset Steve. However, it was too late. The team's eyes were all on him, waiting to see how he was going to react.
"Excuse me," he mumbled, rushing to his office.
"Is Uncle Steve okay?" Gracie asked, noticing something wasn't right.
Danny placed his right arm on his daughter's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Yeah, don't worry Monkey, he's fine. Uncle Steve's just worried about Maddie, that's all." Gracie nodded at her dad's statement. "I moved your backpack into my office. Why don't you head in there and finish your homework. We'll be leaving soon."
"Okay," Grace softly said before disappearing into his office.
Seeing how upset Steve was over Maddie and then hearing Danny's comment, Lori needed to get out of there before she lost it. "Do you think it's okay if I head home? I'm really exhausted. Plus, Kono and I didn't finish the canvas. In the morning, we'll pick up where we left off."
"Yeah, go ahead. Go get some rest! We'll see you in the morning," Danny told her.
"Thanks," she whispered, hurrying to her office. She wasn't in there more than fifteen seconds before she was back out, bag in hand, and speed walking down the hall towards the elevator. Once they were sure she was gone, Chin and Danny's eyes met.
"He really is an idiot when it comes to this stuff," Danny stated, shaking his head.
"He should never have started anything with Lori. Now she's obviously upset. Things are going to get weird," Chin added.
"Especially when he and Maddie figure things out and start dating." At Danny's statement Kono sighed, causing both men to turn towards her. "What?" he asked.
Kono looked surprised, having not realized she'd sighed so loudly. She appeared uncomfortable as she avoided eye contact with her teammates. "Nothing."
"Cuz…" Chin warned. "Tell us."
"I still have some work to do before I leave. I'm gonna get on it," Kono quickly said, trying to avoid their questions.
"No way babe. What do you know?" Danny said as he placed himself in her path, effectively keeping her from going anywhere.
Kono sighed again, her shoulders slightly slumping forward. "Nothing…I don't know what happened between them yesterday…but I just have a feeling he really screwed up this time…BAD."
"Have you spoken to her?" Chin asked.
"Only when she called earlier. Besides that, no. I just have a feeling. I'll see what I can find out when I see her. I don't wanna bug her right now. She looked so sad and exhausted in those pictures. She just needs to get through these rehearsals and show, then I'll talk to her." Kono smiled at them, finding it sweet how they both were so concerned with Maddie and Steve. "Anyway, I'm gonna go finish a couple things." With that said, she stepped around them and walked down the hall to her office.
Danny and Chin looked across the room at Steve through his office windows. He was sitting back at his desk, his jaw clenched, his brow furrowed, obviously angry and upset. He was furiously going through the case file and all the information they'd gathered thus far for the millionth time that day.
"Wednesday can't come fast enough," Danny mumbled.
"You got that right. These have been the longest 48 hours," Chin agreed. They were silent for a minute, their attention still on Steve. "Well, there are a few things I want to finish before heading out as well."
"Yeah, me too," Danny mumbled before they both walked to their respective offices.
Once inside his office, Steve ran his fingers through his hair. "What the hell is going on over there? She's a mess!" he mumbled to himself, worry over her wellbeing practically exploding from him. He quickly pulled his cell from his pocket as he walked around to his desk, plopping down in his comfortable chair. Leaning forward, his elbows on his desk, he hit Maddie's number for the second time that day and held the phone to his ear. "Come on baby, pick up," he whispered as he listened to it ring and ring. Steve didn't even realize that his eyes were squeezed shut in anticipation as he willed her to answer. However, Maddie must not have gotten the message because before he knew it he was listening to her voicemail. "Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BRIEF message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!"
Hearing her voice made Steve both happy and sad. He missed her. He absolutely hated not being with her when he knew she needed him. Although she'd never admit that was the case, he knew it was the truth. Something was seriously wrong and he knew he needed to be with her. Finally hearing the tone, signaling it was time to leave his message, he took a deep breath and loudly let it out. "Madeline…call me back. Enough already." With that said he hung up. He was angry and frustrated and knew if he hadn't hung up he would've started yelling. Knowing her well, he knew if he did that there was NO WAY she'd be calling him back. Not that there was any chance of that happening to begin with. "Damn it!" he cursed dropping his phone to his desk. He squeezed his eyes shut once more as he rubbed his forehead with the fingers from his left hand, trying to calm down. Breathe, just breathe. In. Out. In. Out, he told himself.
After a few minutes Steve began to feel himself calm and slowly opened his eyes. Glancing at his watch he saw it was nearly 9:30pm. She's supposed to be home around 11pm. That is if she shows up. Hopefully Pete makes her go home to get some sleep, he thought. Deciding to look through the file and information for a little bit longer before heading out, he picked up various pieces of paper. A lot of the file was still out of order from when he took his anger out on his desk, sending the file and its contents flying. Although he was slightly calmer, he was still upset and angry. His clenched jaw was evidence of that, as was the deep indentation between his eyebrows.
Ten minutes later, Gracie entered his office looking incredibly sleepy. At the sound of his door opening Steve glanced up. "Hey kiddo," he smiled, seeing his niece standing in front of him. "You look tired."
"Danno said I could lay on your couch. It's comfier than the chair he has," she mumbled as she rubbed her tired eyes.
"Of course!" He immediately stood, walking to the left of his desk to the large bookcase. Bending over he opened one of the bottom cabinets and pulled a pillow and blanket out. A smile on his face, Steve walked towards the couch. Setting the pillow at one end, he said, "Here, lay down. I'll get you snuggly." She slowly trudged towards the couch. Sitting down she toed her shoes off before laying her head on the squishy pillow. He carefully placed the large, plush blanket over her. Seeing her eyes immediately flutter closed Steve smiled. He made sure she was covered before walking back to his desk.
Thirty minutes later Danny entered his partner's office, careful to be as quiet as possible. He eyed his sleeping daughter, biting his bottom lip slightly, before turning his attention to Steve. "It's 10pm. I gotta get her home. It's way past her bedtime."
"Go for it. I'll see you in the morning," Steve mumbled, never once looking up from the document he was reading.
"Come on. We're all leaving. Chin and Kono. You," Danny said. He wanted to be sure Steve went home. That he didn't stay there all night pouring over the case to distract himself from thinking about Maddie. The last thing he needed on top of all this was to be exhausted. When Steve made no move he whispered, "Seriously. Let's go!"
Setting the paper down he finally looked up. He stared at his partner before scrubbing his hands over his face. Steve sighed deeply before placing both palms on the desk and standing up. "Okay."
Although Danny was surprised by the lack of fight he'd put up, he decided not to address it. Instead he walked to his partner's couch and uncovered his daughter before carefully picking her up in his arms. Knowing he needed help Steve grabbed Gracie's backpack from the floor in front of his desk where Danny had set it when he'd walked in. He held the door open while Danny carried her out and then followed them. As they entered the hall Chin and Kono exited their offices and joined them. Together the four co-workers walked down the hall and entered the elevator.
As they rode down to the first floor, Steve suddenly noticed they were missing someone. "Where's Lori?" he asked.
Danny shook his head remembering how visibly upset Lori had been when she left. She'd claimed to be tired, but they all knew she was hurt and wanted to get out of there. "She left over an hour ago."
"Oh," Steve said, satisfied with the answer.
"You're going to have to deal with that situation sooner rather than later by the way," Danny told him, his tone slightly irritated.
Steve said nothing, not wanting to discuss it. Danny was just about to say something when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Thank God, Steve thought, knowing he'd just been saved from one of his partner's lectures.
The four exited the building and headed to their cars. Steve helped Danny get a sleeping Grace in his Camaro before getting in his own truck and driving off.
Tina returned to the arena around 8:45pm to find Pete standing outside a set of closed doors. Behind them was a long hallway leading to the backstage area and stage. She smiled at him, able to read the tension and worry in his demeanor. Not to mention the exhaustion. "She working on new material?" she asked coming to stand beside him. She leaned her back against the door.
"Yep," Pete said somewhat shortly, obviously annoyed.
"You okay?"
Pete sighed as he too leaned against the door, staring straight ahead down the hall. "I don't like this. Not being in there with her," he finally answered.
"I know, but she's okay. You have this whole place covered," Tina reassured him.
"Apparently not," Pete snapped, referring to the incident with the roller skates.
"Pete, there's no way those were tampered with while you guys were here. They probably arrived here that way. There's absolutely NO WAY someone got by you!"
"God, I hope so," he whispered, the thought making him sick. He might have been pissed off at Steve, but he would never let him down like that. Not to mention, he cared deeply for Maddie.
"Trust me. That's what happened." Tina reached out and quickly rubbed his upper right arm.
At the feel of her touch he stiffened, turning to look at her for the first time since she'd approached him. "So…did you see Steve at all today?"
Her face dropped a bit recalling their conversation. "Yep, I did."
Pete watched her face take on a slightly sad look. Especially her mouth. "How was he?"
"Upset. Really upset. And worried. Really worried," she answered. "She won't answer her phone or call him back. It's getting to him."
"Yeah, I figured she'd react to his comment that way. I can't believe he said what he did! And before she was about to go into these insane rehearsals in the physical state she's in?!" Pete said, shaking his head.
She couldn't help but smirk at how protective he was of Maddie. She knew he thought of her like a sister. It's sweet, Tina thought. "How badly did you want to punch him when he said that?"
Pete's gaze returned to the hallway in front of him. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, playing dumb.
Tina let out a small laugh. "Oh come on Pete! I saw the look on your face when you heard what he said!"
Pete chuckled to himself. "It took everything I had not to get out of the car and clock him. Happy?" He paused, listening to Tina's infectious laugh. She has a great laugh, he thought. "But…Maddie needed me more. It was like he'd knocked the wind out of her. She was frozen. The look on her face…he really hurt her. It might've been different if he hadn't said a bunch of stupid things at the barbeque. Or if he hadn't gone out with Lori the other night and hooked up with her. Of course, this is after kissing Maddie. Or if he hadn't been fussing over her like a boyfriend only to turn around and flirt with Lori moments later."
"Or if he hadn't kissed Maddie after the barbeque and basically admitted to having feelings for her," Tina added in.
Pete looked at her, his head moving so fast that a sharp pain shot through it. "Wait, what happened after the barbeque?" he asked, eyes wide with surprise as he rubbed his neck.
Realizing Pete had no idea what happened between them, she suddenly became nervous that Maddie would get upset. "You didn't know?" she asked feeling guilty.
"No. What happened?" He asked. Picking up on her sudden hesitation he added, "T, tell me. I won't say anything to her about it."
Biting her lip, Tina thought it over. Deciding she might as well since she'd basically already told him, she sighed and began the story. "I guess when they went to bed he brought some stuff up. They talked and seemed to have finally both gotten on the same page. Just as they were getting ready to sleep, he kissed her a couple times."
Pete's eyes closed in disbelief as he digested this new piece of information. Finally he opened his eyes. "And then he said that the next morning."
"Yeah," she answered, biting her bottom lip.
"Well that explains so much on her end. Damn it Steve." Pete sighed rubbing his hand across his face. He was even angrier at Steve now. "She's gotta be heartbroken and that's putting it mildly."
"Yeah."
"She's not gonna let him in. And there's no way she's going to tell him about what happened last night. Not after he did that," he realized, understanding the extent of how upset Maddie was.
"Probably not," Tina stated, agreeing with him.
"I knew she was pushing herself because she was upset, but…she's going to push herself even harder than I thought. It's how she works. Maddie throws herself into things when she's upset, hoping to forget about what's bothering her."
"Maybe he'll be able to get through to her. I mean, if anyone can it's him. Maybe he'll be able to fix this," Tina said hopefully.
"I don't know. She's just not herself. She's already guarded and now she feels she can't trust him. He's the one person she's always been able to trust no matter what. She's gotta be freaking out inside right now. That's why last night when she told me she wished he was there with her and I told her I'd call him, she said no. I thought it was because she didn't want him knowing what happened, but it's not that."
"Nope. Even though she loves him and wants him with her, she's not going to allow herself to get fooled again. You're right, she thinks she can't trust him and she doesn't believe anything he's told her now."
"Which is completely untrue. She can trust him."
"I know, but to be honest…I can't tell you I wouldn't feel the same way if I were her. She's already upset and hiding something and then the one person she's always been able to count on in her life, the one person who's always come through for her, the person she's in love with, does and says all this inconsistent and hurtful stuff. She feels stupid, like he's laughing at her and thinks she's a big, pathetic joke."
"Really?" Pete asked, shocked. "She thinks he'd do that? She should know he'd NEVER do that!"
"He really hurt her, Pete! And he laughed at the idea of them together…after kissing her and basically telling her he had feelings for her the night before. I mean, what do you expect?"
"Damn it. This is worse than I thought." Again Pete rubbed his hands across his face. "Did you tell Steve any of this?"
"No, Maddie made me swear I wouldn't," Tina answered.
"So then what did you tell him?" Pete asked, curious.
"I told him she was just busy. And when he told me she was upset with him, I said that she believes what he said was the truth. His face dropped and you could tell that really upset him. He said it wasn't the truth and that he had screwed up. He asked me if she said anything to me besides that. I didn't answer and he could tell I knew more. He tried to get me to tell him, but I explained I'd promised Maddie I wouldn't, but I felt so bad for him. He looked so sad. So scared that he'd screwed up for good this time."
"He might have," Pete stated.
"I know…"Tina paused, really hoping that wasn't the case. They belong together. They're soul mates, she thought. Sighing she continued, "So, I made a deal with him. I told him if she didn't tell him herself after he sees her, that I'll tell him what I know. I'm hoping if he knows exactly how she feels then he'll have a better chance of fixing things."
"She's not going to tell him," Pete said, once again looking down the hall.
"I know, but I'm really hoping she will."
"If she does, it'll be a miracle. There's a better shot of pigs flying than Maddie letting him in right now." He paused before returning his gaze to her. "When you tell him, it's going to kill him. When he finds out HE'S the one that made her feel like that…oh man, it's going to destroy him. You know that right?!"
"I mean, I know he'll be upset," Tina said.
"Oh yeah. He's always been the one to protect her from things. Since the first moment they met. That's actually how they met, you know. He was four years old and stood up for her. He's been extremely protective of her ever since, never wanting anyone to hurt her. To find out that he's the one that hurt her so badly is…it's gonna be beyond hard for him. To be honest, I don't know what he'll do."
Both were completely silent as they thought about it, both filled with such sadness over what was going on. The two were soul mates. It was obvious. As they stood there, their backs against the closed doors, lost in their thoughts, Tina did her best to stifle a yawn. However, Pete heard it and looked over at her. She's tired, he thought, studying her face and noticing the weariness in her eyes, the slight paleness to her tan skin, and the way her body was somewhat drooping. "T," he said.
The change in tone grabbed her attention. He went from sounding sad and angry to sweet and concerned. "Yeah?" Tina answered, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"Why don't you go back to the dressing room and try to take a nap until she takes a break. My guess is you can get at least 2 hours of sleep in."
"I'm okay, Pete," she smiled. "Plus, who's going to keep you company?" She smirked at him, slightly biting her bottom lip.
He chuckled at her comment. "As much as I love your company…I know you're tired and I don't need or want you getting anywhere close to the kind of run down, exhausted state Maddie's in. So, go get some rest."
She thought about arguing, but he was right, she was really tired and could definitely use a couple hours of sleep. Plus, it was sweet he was worrying about her. Definitely a change in him, she thought. Sure, he's always cared and didn't want anything to happen to me, but this is different. I can't explain it, but it is. Letting out a big yawn, she said, "Okay, I'll go. But…if you need me for anything or if Mads does, wake me up okay?"
Pete smiled, happy she wasn't fighting him. Then again, he figured since she didn't it meant she was more tired than he thought. "I will, I promise!"
Tina began trudging down the hall, excited to be getting some rest, but also disappointed she wouldn't be hanging out with Pete. With so many people always around, it was rare they got to chat just the two of them. But, she knew she needed sleep, not only for herself, but also for Maddie. Pushing herself the way she was, Tina knew Maddie would need her more than ever. Especially when she'd have to see Steve.
Right before turning left towards Maddie's dressing room, she turned and slightly waved at Pete. "Night Pete!"
"Night T!" he called back just before she turned and disappeared down the hall.
Two hours later Pete was still waiting at the doors to the stage, but now was in a chair. His mind was a million miles away as he thought about everything that was going on. He'd given up thinking about Steve and Maddie because the more he did, the angrier and more frustrated he became. So, instead he went back in time, trying to remember exactly when he'd noticed a change in Maddie. He thought if he could pinpoint when things changed, he might be able to remember an event or occurrence of some sort that could possibly help him figure out what she was hiding. Why she was so scared. Unfortunately, he didn't really get anywhere. He knew it was at least three months ago. That was at least when he'd noticed a big change in her. However, he was pretty sure that whatever caused that change happened before that.
Pete was beginning to get frustrated with his lack of progress when the doors opened. He watched the band and most of the dancers exit. As more and more of them walked by he wondered what was taking her so long. Finally Ryan and Maddie appeared. He was whispering something to her while she nodded. When he saw Pete, he stopped whispering and walked ahead, leaving the two alone.
Pete cringed at the sight of her. She's exhausted, he thought, taking in her appearance. Her skin was pale and her blue eyes were half open as she limped slowly through the door. "Hey Shorty," he greeted, standing and approaching her. She managed a small, tired smile in response. "How ya doing?" With the smile still present, she gave him a thumbs up. "Look at you…following Doc's orders and not talking! I'm proud." He took his position and walked next to her, very slowly, but still walking. "So, what's going on? Dinner?" Maddie nodded at him. "Perfect! Let's go back to the dressing room quickly, get the brace on you." While the two slowly walked the rest of the way in silence Pete sent a quick text to Tina to wake her up.
Upon entering the dressing room, Maddie immediately made her way to the couch and sat down. It was obvious her tailbone was incredibly painful by the way she cringed as she lowered herself. He helped her into the knee brace attached to the ice water tank, noticing her knee seemed more swollen than it had earlier. Very gently he propped her leg up on the coffee table, hoping it would help decrease the swelling, or at least keep it from getting worse. She's gotta be in more pain, which explains why she was not only walking so slowly, but limping, Pete thought as he grabbed her sweater and helped her into it. It was as if she was a zombie, staring off into space as she slowly lifted each arm to slide it in the garment. Her shoulders were hunched forward making her look small and fragile. She looks so tired, so sad, he thought. I wish I could do something. I wish I could fix what he did. Stupid Steve!
Pete laid the plush blanket on her lap just as the door to the small bedroom opened to reveal Tina. "Hey Mads!" she cheerfully greeted.
Pete looked up, taking in her appearance. She looks a lot better than she did. Okay good, at least I don't have to worry about Tina, he thought as he handed Maddie the Dynavox and dry erase board.
Maddie flashed her the same tired smile he'd received. "Is it dinner?" Tina asked.
"Yeah," Pete answered.
"I'll go get you something," she told Maddie.
Maddie began writing on the dry erase board before holding it up. Ryan's grabbing something for me. But thanks!
"No problem! Well I'll go grab something for myself. Pete, what about you? Want something?"
"Yeah. That would be great!" he replied as he opened the tank connected to Maddie's knee brace wanting to check the ice level.
"Alright! I'll be back," Tina announced as she exited the room.
"Pete," Maddie whispered.
He turned and met her eyes quickly, surprised to hear her voice. "Yeah Shorty?"
"Would you mind grabbing me my purse? It's in the kitchen," she whispered.
"Sure!" He quickly walked into the kitchen returning with her big, black, Balenciaga bag. "No talking," he smirked as he set the bag next to her, hoping to get some sort of a reaction out of her. Something other than sad, exhausted looks, but she gave him nothing.
Maddie mouthed 'thanks' to him before searching through her large purse for her phone. While she did so Pete disappeared into the kitchen.
With her iPhone in her hand she quickly unlocked it only to be greeted by 7 missed calls and 4 new voicemails. Immediately she began to panic worried that something had happened to Steve. He only called three times yesterday and they were spaced out throughout the day. I checked my phone a few hours ago, so these are all very recent, she quickly thought, the fear suffocating. Hesitantly she went to her call log. Seeing who the calls were all from she exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Only one call was from him, the rest were all from Jesse. I wonder why he's started calling me like crazy all of a sudden? He called me so many times at the barbeque and a couple times yesterday. Now six calls in the last few hours?! Flipping to her voicemails, she saw Steve had left her one a little before 9:30pm. I wonder what it says? Probably the same as the one from this morning and the ones from yesterday. Although she wanted to listen to it, if only to hear his voice, she knew it would only upset her more. She already couldn't stop thinking about him and everything he'd done and said the last few days. All the hurtful things were making her doubt every sweet moment they had. As much as she wanted to believe every nice thing he'd said, she couldn't. Saying what he did yesterday morning and laughing at the idea of them together after he acknowledged his feelings for her the night before had been the last straw. I can't believe I fell for it, again. Listening to his message is only going to remind me how this was all a joke to him and I just can't handle that right now. Deciding to leave the voicemail alone she glanced at the other three new ones. All from Jesse. She rolled her eyes. What the hell does he want? She stared at the three voicemails he'd recently left her, the two from earlier, the four from yesterday, and the two from Saturday night and debated listening to them. Maddie hadn't had any desire to hear what he had to say, so she'd just left them. Last night, she'd become curious, wondering what he wanted to have called so many times. However, now she felt uneasy about it, remembering the last time she saw him and what he did.
She decided she better listen to one just in case he was planning on showing up or something. That was definitely not something she wanted to happen. She didn't want him anywhere near her and neither did Pete. Looking at the 11 voicemails, she wasn't sure which one to listen to. Hm…well, might as well start from the beginning, she thought as she clicked on the first message he'd left her Saturday. Maddie pressed play and raised the phone to her ear. "Hey Mads," he began. Jesse's voice caused an involuntary reaction in her. She pulled the blanket up higher, as if she was trying to hide. "I've called you a bunch over the last few months…and I don't blame you for not calling me back. I really screwed up. All I can say is I'm sorry and I know that doesn't fix anything or change what I did. Anyway, I want, no need, to talk to you, so please give me a call when you can." He paused and at first she thought he'd hung up until she heard him loudly sigh before saying, "I love you."
Maddie's eyes shut at his last words. She thought she'd never have to deal with him again. Sure, he had continued to call since they broke up nearly four months before, but she never responded. I wonder what he wants to talk about? I mean, there's gotta be something going on for him to call so many times in the last couple days, she wondered, completely boggled by the situation. Deciding to listen to a message in the middle she hit play. "Maddie, I know you're busy, but I really need to speak with you. This is important. I'm not kidding, call me back. I'm serious!" Her forehead wrinkled not liking the slight change in his voice. His tone wasn't gentle or apologetic, but instead more forceful, definitely irritated, approaching agitated.
Do I even want to listen to a more recent one? Maddie asked herself. However, just as she was about to press play the crashing of ice against the thick plastic walls of the tank pulled Maddie from her thoughts. Pete met her eyes and noticed her slightly wince at the noise. "Sorry, that's loud," he apologized, continuing to fill the tank. "That reminds me, how's your head? Headache?"
Pounding, but he doesn't need to know that. I can already see how concerned he is. I don't want to make it worse, Maddie thought. She gave him a thumbs up and wrinkled her nose as she flashed him a smile. She put her phone to sleep and laid it next to her. I'll listen to more later, she decided.
"You know, you can confide in me. I know you felt betrayed when I told Steve about what was going on." She raised her eyebrows at him in an expectant kind of way causing him to chuckle. "And when I brought you home to him without telling you." She nodded her head once as if saying 'thank you for not excluding that'. "But anyway, I know that you felt betrayed and I'm sorry for that. I thought I was doing the right thing. But I promise Mads, you can talk to me. If you tell me not to say anything to him, I won't."
Maddie smiled and reached her hand out, rubbing his arm to let him know she knew that and appreciated his offer.
Pete closed the now full tank and was just about to continue the conversation, but the ringing of Maddie's phone interrupted him. As the creepy music began to play, the same song that played at the barbeque, his head shot up and their eyes met. His eyes went from gentle to angry. And angry was putting it mildly. Maddie bit her lip as her eyes grew wide and her eyebrows arched at the intense fury she saw in his.
She thought about silencing the phone, but it was pointless. She could tell Pete knew exactly who was calling. Maddie waited for him to lose it and start yelling, but instead he stood as calmly as he could manage. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she watched him deeply inhale and exhale obviously trying to calm himself down.
Why the hell is he calling? Pete wondered, fury and rage filling couldn't help it. It happened every time Jesse's name was brought up or when he thought about how he saw Maddie fly across the room only to crash into the wall and fall in a puddle on the hotel room floor. Her clothes were torn and her face was bleeding. He had wanted to kill Jesse that night, In fact, the only reason he hadn't was because of Mo, Carl, and Frank. I told him that night that if he ever tried to contact her or get near her I would personally kill him, Pete recalled. So why the hell is he calling?!
Now standing, he breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. He lowered himself into one of the armchairs by the couch, his anger apparent in the way he was clutching the chair arms, his knuckles turning white. Something that did not go unnoticed by Maddie. Pete took another deep breath, preparing to bring the Jesse subject up. It wasn't just that he was curious, but more that he NEEDED to know. He was her head of security, his job was to keep her safe and Jesse was a definite threat to her. He cleared his throat, nervous for the discussion. They hadn't spoken about what happened three months ago except that Steve was not to be informed. The whole thing embarrassed Maddie and it was obvious to the few people who really knew what had happened that it was not something she was willing or wanting to discuss. So, he respected her wishes and said nothing. He'd kicked his ass and that was enough for both of them…well, until now. If he's been contacting her, I have to know. Just…ask her. Don't beat around the bush, he told himself. "So, Mads," he began only to be interrupted.
"Hey! Dinner's here!" Ryan sang as he entered the dressing room carrying two plates. He plopped down on the couch next to Maddie, placing one of the plates in her hands. "So, what's going on in here? Anything fun?"
Pete and Maddie looked into one another's eyes, a silent conversation going on between them. Ryan glanced between the two, picking up on the tension. "Everything okay?" he asked hesitantly as he handed her some silverware.
Maddie plastered on a fake smile and turned to him nodding, but Ryan wasn't stupid. He knew something was going on, but decided not to ask any questions. He'd ask Maddie about it later.
"Here ya go Pete!" Tina said, walking in with food for both him and her.
"Thanks T!" he smiled, taking the plate from her.
"No problem!" she replied, sitting down in the other armchair opposite his. The coffee table sat in the middle.
The four began to eat their dinner, making small talk. Maddie sat there trying her best to force some food in her mouth, but the Prednisone was definitely taking its toll on her appetite. Not to mention she just didn't feel well. Her throat was a bit worse than it had been the last couple days. Not terribly, but definitely worse. Her head was pounding. It felt like there were a million little creatures in her head banging away on her brain as if it was a big drum. Doc was right, her knee continuously hurt even though he'd given her an injection in it each day. The pain medication definitely took the edge off, but it still was incredibly painful. However, her knee had been acting up most of this tour, so she had gotten kind of used to living with the pain. Of course, it was never this bad. The bottom of her foot was extremely painful. Having had to dance on it for two days had made it a thousand times worse. She had looked at it earlier that day and cringed at what she saw. All the sweat and pressure on the cuts must have caused them to become infected. Maddie wasn't a doctor, nor did she claim to be, but she knew it was infected. She hadn't said anything to anyone, including Doc, knowing it would cause a bunch of drama and that everyone would freak out. She'd tell him about it later, after the show. With all the drama of her tailbone he hadn't checked her foot. He had asked about it and she'd lied, claiming it was okay. Her tailbone…now that was what was making her feel the worst. Of course, the rest of the injuries were uncomfortable, but it was the tailbone that was pushing her over the edge. Every small, minute movement sent unimaginable amounts of pain throughout her body. Maddie had injured herself many times in her career. It was inevitable with how elaborate her stage shows were and then throw in the fact that she was beyond clumsy and she was bound to hurt herself. However, none of them had ever been this painful. She was an extremely strong girl, never letting anything stop her or slow her down, a trait both good and bad, but ever since she'd fallen on the skates all she wanted to do was go home, get in bed, and cry her heart out. Every single movement took a lot more energy out of her than it should of and energy wasn't something she was in high supply of right now. Maddie had always thought that injuring your tailbone meant the pain was localized to your actual tailbone, but she couldn't have been more wrong. The pain was everywhere. Her legs, arms, back. Everywhere.
Maddie sat there thinking about how uncomfortable she was and she instinctively wished she was wrapped up in Steve's arms. Her eyes fluttered shut, her heart physically hurting as she remembered what'd he'd said. Great, now you're back to thinking about him, she thought as she set her fork down on her plate and leaned back against the couch.
She had been so deep in thought and hadn't been paying attention to what the others were saying that she didn't notice the way they kept eyeing her worriedly. In fact, Maddie hadn't even been aware that Mo had joined them for dinner, leaving Jared outside the door.
"So, Mads." Tina paused, waiting to make sure she had her attention. Maddie looked up, her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner, a signal for her to continue. Setting her nearly empty plate on the coffee table, Tina proceeded. "You haven't asked me if I saw Steve at all." At the blank stare Maddie was giving her she clarified. "You know, when I picked and dropped Gracie off at Five-O headquarters…where Steve works."
"Oh," Maddie whispered, shocked that her best friend was bringing this up now, in front of people. Tina knew how upset she was over everything and how she felt about it, so she just couldn't believe she was doing this to her now. With all eyes on her, Maddie felt obligated to ask. Not to mention, if she was going to pretend as if nothing had happened between them and that she wasn't upset, she'd need to be able to talk about him. She needed to behave how she used to, before her feelings for him, and that meant asking about him. So, she did her best to keep from showing how heartbroken and devastated she was and asked, "That's right. Did you see him?"
"Yeah, I did. Both times actually," Tina responded, intrigued to see how the conversation was going to go.
"Cool." Maddie forced a smile, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat at the mere mention of his name.
They all waited for her to ask about him and when she didn't Tina said, "Do you want to know how he is? Or what he said?"
Oh come on Tina! Drop it! Maddie thought, inwardly cursing her best friend. She attempted to reach forward to set her plate on the coffee table, but was finding it difficult due to her elevated leg. Carefully she wrapped her right hand around her leg in order to help set it on the floor, but Ryan stopped her.
"Here, let me do it, Mads." He took the plate from her and placed it next to his on the coffee table.
"Thanks Ry," she whispered as she pulled the blanket higher up her body. The ice-cold water coursing through the brace had her absolutely freezing.
"So…do you?" Tina asked, not letting her friend off the hook.
Damn it, I was hoping that would have been a good subject change, Maddie thought. She smiled tightly before saying, "I'm sure he's fine."
"Actually…he's upset." Maddie turned her head knowing what was coming. She focused her attention on the other side of the dressing room. "Mads…he didn't mean it."
Maddie sighed and looked her assistant and friend square in the eyes. "Tina, we've talked about this. He did, but it's okay. I'm fine with it. Really, I'm not upset."
Tina had already had this conversation with her, but was hoping Pete, Ryan, and Mo could help talk some sense into her, which was why she'd decided to bring it up in front of them. "Maddie, he didn't mean it," Pete said. "I promise you he didn't. I get why you're upset."
"Seriously!" Tina exclaimed. "Maddie, if I were in your shoes, I'd feel exactly the same way."
"But I'm not upset. What should I be upset about?" she asked, playing dumb. "I mean we ARE friends! We have been since we were 4."
"Shorty, bottling up how you feel and pretending everything's fine is NOT the way to handle this. You need to call Steve and talk to him. What he did was screwed up…" Pete told her.
"…and he knows that Mads. Trust me, he knows!" Tina added, remembering how upset Steve was.
"Guys, I appreciate your concern, really I do, but I'm fine. Completely okay. And Steve didn't screw up at all. He only told the truth, so he shouldn't be upset because I'm definitely not."
"Well, he is Maddie," Tina said. "In fact, he's thinking about not coming to the show." Everyone's eyes flew to Maddie, wanting to see her reaction.
She froze at Tina's comment, her heart rate increasing. "Really?" she asked, her voice so soft they could barely hear it. Sure I'm mad at him, and I'm stressing out over the idea of seeing him, but I still want him to come to the show, she thought.
"Yes, really," Tina answered.
Maddie took a second to reign in the numerous emotions she was suddenly experiencing. Finally she responded. "Why wouldn't he come?" she asked, trying to act indifferent when she was anything but. She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes and the pressure in her chest at the thought of him not coming.
"He knows he hurt you and he's worried he'll upset you if he comes. He doesn't want you to be upset before your show."
"I'm fine, he can come. I'm not upset and I don't not want to see him. You can tell him that," Maddie told her.
"Why don't you call him and tell him?" Tina suggested, hoping to get her to reach out to Steve.
"Because I don't have time right now. There's still a lot we need to do. We need to finish the choreography for this last new number. Then we need to perform all the new songs with the lights and special effects to make sure they match the choreography before we run the entire show in full costumes tomorrow. We also need to run through the beginning of the show with the changed choreography. So, I just don't have a minute to let Steve know everything's fine. Because we are fine. In fact, we are great! And so am I!" While she'd been talking Maddie had unhooked her knee brace and was now standing up. "Well, we better get back to work. I'll meet you all on stage."
"Are you sure you're finished eating Shorty? You barely ate anything," Pete asked, his eyes on her discarded plate of food.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm not hungry right now. But I might have some later, so Tina, maybe you can wrap it up for me."
"Okay," Tina responded, sad at the way Maddie had chosen to handle things with Steve. She knew for her to be like this she had to be really hurting.
"See you shortly Ryan," Maddie whispered as she exited her dressing room. Because Pete was still eating dinner, Jared walked with her. Standing in the open doorway that lead to the hallway off the backstage area, she turned to him. "I'll see you in a while." With that said she walked through the door. Now that she was alone, Maddie let the tears she'd been holding back fall. I wish I'd never realized how I feel about him, she told herself as she walked out onto the massively large stage.
Pete, Tina, Mo, and Ryan remained in her dressing room after her abrupt departure. Pete furrowed his brow thinking over what she'd just said. "You guys aren't done working choreography for the new songs?" he asked Ryan. "I mean four new songs…that should've been finished yesterday, no problem."
Ryan's forehead crinkled unsure why he thought it was only four songs. "It's not four. Where'd you get that number?"
Pete immediately met Tina's eyes, silently questioning if she had any idea what was going on, but she looked just as baffled as he did. "What? What do you mean it's not four?" he asked, his attention returning to Ryan.
"Let's see," Ryan looked up at the ceiling as he counted the songs in his head. "It's… seven full choreographed numbers, plus maybe another 4 or 5 new ones that are mainly just her. I could be wrong on that second number; it might be less."
"Are you kidding me?" Pete exclaimed, anger at the situation bubbling within him. No wonder there's so much to do! She's running herself into the ground! he thought. He turned his attention to Tina. "How many did she give you Saturday night? To give to the band."
Tina thought back to the other night in Maddie's studio. "Five."
"Damn it! This is because she's so upset. She's completely throwing herself into her work…More like drowning herself in work. Damn him and his stupid fucking mouth! Not to mention his shitty timing!"
Tina, Mo, and Ryan uncomfortably eyed one another, shocked over Pete's reaction. It was incredibly rare for him to curse like that or let things get to him at that level. They all watched him sit, steaming in his chair. Ryan wasn't sure what to do or say so he finally stood and walked towards the door, letting everyone know he was heading to rehearsal. It wasn't quite time, but he wanted to go see what Maddie was doing, make sure she was okay after their ambush. Mo followed him. With Jared out at the door to the stage, no one was outside her dressing room.
Now that they were alone, Tina gave Pete a couple minutes to calm down before she finally spoke up. "What are you going to do?"
Pete sighed loudly, leaning his head back against the chair while he closed his eyes. "What can I do? She's already too deep in this…nothing can be changed now. If I'd known yesterday? Maybe I could have done something."
"Are you going to call Steve?"
Pete's forehead crinkled, a look of slight disgust and annoyance appearing on his face. "Why? So he can make things worse? No way."
"Maybe what she needs is to see him. Hash it out with him."
"You saw her Tina. You heard her. There's no way she's going to tell him how she feels. She's going to protect herself. Bringing Steve here is only going to rattle her and make things worse. The old, real Maddie…yes, bringing him here would have been the answer because she would have actually talked to him, spoken her mind. But this new Maddie? This quiet, sad, exhausted, secretive version of herself? There's no way! I don't want him near her until…I don't even want him near her at all right now. To be honest, I don't think he should be allowed to see her before the show Wednesday. Or even come to the show for that matter! Did you already give him the passes?"
"Yeah, when I saw him earlier." Tina paused, trying to decide if she should voice her opinion. He didn't seem to be in a very compromising or rational mood. Screw it, just say it, she told herself. "Pete, you can't do that. He needs to see her."
"I don't give a crap what Steve needs right now! My job is to protect Maddie. And right now, she needs to be protected from him!" he yelled. "He doesn't want to come anyway, so it's fine!"
"Yes, he does! Plus, when he told me he was wondering if he should even go to the show, I told him that even though Maddie wouldn't admit it, she'd be devastated if he didn't go. So, he said he'd be there." Pete rolled his eyes as he sat fuming in the chair. "Pete, calm down. Just listen to me. He needs to see Maddie, but to be honest…she needs to see him too. You know that. Deep down, you do. It might make her more upset at first, but she needs him right now. If she's going to tell anyone what's going on it's going to be him."
"You think she's going to tell him anything after how's he's made her feel?"
"No, that's my point! You have to let him see her so he can try and fix this mess. If he doesn't she's not going to tell anyone anything. Plus…" A huge, sappy smile broke out on her face. "They love one another. He hasn't realized it yet, but he does. And he will. They belong together. They just need to figure it out. They've been best friends for over twenty years and suddenly their relationship is supposed to be different and perfect just like that? Of course Steve is going to freak out! Have you met him? She's the one constant in his life and vice versa. If there wasn't hesitation or confusion on either of their parts I would be concerned."
Pete glared at her, knowing she was right. She gave him a moment to process everything now that he seemed a bit calmer. Finally he cleared his throat, preparing to speak. "So what? You want to call him and have him come talk to her?"
"No, not right now. You're right. There's too much to do. She's too deep in this. The number of new songs cannot be changed at this point, which we both know means she won't be getting any sleep before the show. But I do think you shouldn't keep him from coming early on Wednesday and seeing the show."
"My only concern with Steve hanging out backstage during the day on Wednesday is that he's going to try to talk to her about everything. She'll get upset and rattled. She needs to be as focused as possible or she won't be able to pull the show off."
"I agree, so tell him what you just told me. That trying to talk to her about everything before the show is not in her best interest. That he needs to wait until after. Trust me, when he sees her he'll understand and come to the same realization." Tina paused before quietly saying, "He's going to freak when he sees her, ya know?"
Pete's eyes closed as he envisioned what Steve was going to do when he saw how exhausted and unhealthy Maddie looked. Although a lot of her current state had Steve to blame, Pete couldn't help but feel like he'd let his buddy down. Steve had hired him to protect Maddie, to keep her safe. Not to mention that on Sunday as they were pulling out of the driveway he'd specifically asked him to make sure she took care of herself. That she ate, drank water, and got some sleep. He felt like he'd failed him, but what could he do? She was a grown woman and he could only do so much.
"I know. But what can we do? Maddie's a big girl. We can only try and convince her so much when it comes to work. She's always thrown herself into things, wanting to do the best she can. And unfortunately she uses it as a distraction when she's upset," He finally responded to Tina. "But yep…Steve's gonna freak. And he was worried before?!" he scoffed. "Who knows how long it will be before he lets her out of his sight now…and Maddie will just LOVE that!" he said sarcastically. "I'm glad I won't be around for that battle."
"When are you leaving?" Tina asked.
"I think I'm heading out Saturday. I'll stay for the big after party on Friday and then head out. Steve promised her a few weeks without any security or anything. Well, except him. That was their deal. Of course that was before this whole thing happened, so who knows. Maybe I'll stay longer. How about you?"
"I think as of right now I'm here until Monday. But I might stay longer because of what happened with Steve. I don't know…the idea of leaving her here alone with him when she's heartbroken upsets me. But I'll definitely be here till Monday. I want to help her get settled. It's been," she paused, thinking back over the last few years. "I don't know…at least three years since she's been in one place longer than two weeks. There's a lot to unpack. I want to make sure she has everything she needs. I might have to have things packed up from the Los Angeles house. Anyway, we'll see. I was going to kind of play it by ear."
"Good, I'm glad you'll still be here after I leave. She'll need help getting settled." Pete rubbed his hand across his face and she suddenly was aware of just how tired he looked.
"Why don't you try and get some rest while she's out there? Jared's at the door, so she's okay," Tina suggested.
"Nah, I'm okay. I'll just get a cup of coffee."
"Pete," she said, her tone stern. "How can you expect to keep her safe if you can't even see straight because you're exhausted? Get some rest!"
He met her eyes and forced himself not to smile at how cute he thought she looked when she was trying to be tough. "Okay," he surrendered. "I'll go across the hall and pass out in there for a couple hours." He slowly stood and began walking to the door. Just as he reached it he turned around. "Wake me up if she comes out early or if something happens."
"Will do," Tina smiled. "Good night Pete."
"Night T," he mumbled as he exited.
Steve drove to Maddie's, hoping and praying she'd go home tonight. He knew that she wouldn't want to, but after seeing the pictures of how tired she was, he was hoping that Pete and Doc would insist on it.
He walked into the large house at 10:30pm. It was pitch black inside, a sure sign no one was home. As he made his way further into the house his heart ached as he flipped on lights.
Planning on taking a shower he found himself upstairs in her bedroom. As he looked at the bed, images of her curled into him flooded his mind, making his heart ache more. Knowing he'd hurt her, again, he doubted she was going to let him be that intimate with her. Suddenly images of him climbing on top of her on the bed as they kissed came back, followed by the sweet kisses he'd given her before bed the other night. "How could I have said that after kissing her?" he asked himself, feeling terrible. Thinking about her like this and how he'd screwed up only upset him more. Finding himself suddenly beyond angry he changed into some running clothes and headed downstairs. Exiting the door leading to the back patio, he ran towards the left, in the opposite direction of the house and her studio. With the house out of sight he passed her private beach and entered the woods that were on her property. After ten minutes he glanced at his watch. Ten to eleven, he thought. I better get back. I wanna shower before she gets home. That is if she even comes home. Steve turned around and began running back to the house.
He'd entered through the back door at 11pm and, with no sign of anyone there, he jogged up the stairs. Grabbing clothes from his bag he took them into her bathroom and jumped in the shower.
As he stepped out less than ten minutes later, his stomach grumbled. That's right. I haven't eaten anything since lunch, he thought as he dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Although he hated eating late, he knew he needed to have some dinner, so he headed to the kitchen.
He stood in front of the open fridge staring at the contents as he tried to decide what exactly he wanted. He turned his head to the right to check the time. "11:30pm," he whispered as he stared at the clock on the oven. "Where are you Maddie?"
Turning his attention back to the food, Steve's eyes fell on the takeout he'd brought home for her the night before. Not wanting it to go bad he grabbed the container and a plate and dished it out. Once he'd warmed it up he sat at the kitchen counter eating, his eyes flitting between the clock and the hall leading to the garage praying, she would walk in at any second.
At nearly midnight he finished his late dinner. However, there was still no sign of her. "Oh come on Maddie…come home," he whispered to himself as he quickly rinsed his plate before sticking it in the dishwasher. Every minute that went by he was filled with more worry. He was worried that if she didn't come home tonight she'd be in worse shape than she was in when she'd first arrived in Hawaii nearly five days before. The thought scared the shit out of him. He'd thought she was in bad shape then…he didn't want to imagine her worse than that. Sitting there worrying about her while he watched the clock was driving him insane, so he decided he'd wait for her upstairs.
With a heavy heart Steve climbed the stairs and trudged down the hall to her room. Once inside, he climbed in her bed and reached for the remote. Pushing the power button her television slowly rose out of the foot of the bed frame. He never watched TV before bed, but he knew he needed the distraction. Settling on the history channel he did his best to focus on it as opposed to Maddie.
He'd made it through two programs when he looked at the clock. "1:30am! Damn it!" he exclaimed. Muting the TV, he reached for his phone on the nightstand and hit her number. His heart sunk when it went straight to voicemail, never once ringing. "She turned her phone off…that's how much she doesn't want to talk to me." Steve's eyes closed as he listened to her voice, missing the sound of it. "Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BRIEF message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!"
He took a big breath right before the beep sounded. "Hey…so, you're not home….I really hope you're at least resting. Wish it was here, but I guess as long as you're getting some sleep it doesn't matter…" He sighed heavily before continuing. "I'm really worried about you Mads. Please don't push yourself too hard. I don't want anything happening to you…" He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. Suddenly his voice became much quieter, practically inaudible. "I wish you were here with me, where I know you're safe. Anyway…good night baby…. And again, I'm so sorry. Please call me back."
Steve hung up and turned the TV off, knowing it wasn't going to be able to distract him anymore. He flipped the lights off and slid down into bed. He smiled as he breathed in, her scent filling his nose and taking over his senses. His head full of thoughts of her, he shut his eyes, hoping he'd be able to get some sleep.
At 1am they took a short twenty-minute break. Jared walked Maddie to her dressing room and as he held the door open for her he said, "I'm gonna go grab a quick nap, but Mo will be right outside. Pete will take you back to the stage at the end of the break." Maddie nodded, giving him a slight smile as she situated herself on the couch.
Once he shut the door and she knew she was alone, she reached for her cell phone, wanting to not only listen to some more of Jesse's messages, but to see if he had called again. Normally, she wouldn't have given them any thought, instead deleting them without listening; exactly what she'd done since she broke up with him almost four months before. However, she had a strange feeling, and not exactly a good one.
"What does he want?" she whispered to herself, seeing he'd called her another three times since dinner. She started listening to the messages she hadn't heard yet from oldest to newest. In the older ones, starting Saturday during the barbeque, he was apologetic. He sounded sad and regretful. If she hadn't known him she would've believed him; he was pretty convincing. Maddie hit play on the fourth message and brought the phone up to her ear. "Hey, I don't blame you for not answering or calling me back. I really don't. I don't know what got into me that night, but I promise you it will NEVER happen again. I just…I miss you. We need to talk about this. We were good together, meant to be. At least give me a chance to apologize. Call me back Maddie. I love you."
She sighed as she pulled the phone away from her head. That message wasn't very different from the last three she'd listened to. Is he delusional? I would never get back together with him! she thought. Leaning her head back against the couch she continued to listen to his voicemails. The more she listened to, the more upset Jesse became, making her stomach churn.
Maddie listened to one of the ones he'd left that day. The second his voice came on, she cringed. "All I want to do is talk to you!" he yelled. "You owe it to us to talk to me! I want to see you! And I will! I was hoping you'd be reasonable about this, instead of me having to go through other channels. Call me back!" She winced, hearing him break something before hanging up. What other channels? she wondered, feeling on edge and nervous. "Well this isn't good," she whispered to herself.
"What isn't?" Pete asked as he walked in her dressing room. Maddie jumped, not expecting a visitor. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I knocked but you didn't answer. I was getting worried. You okay?"
Just as he began walking towards her, her cell phone rang again. Just like earlier, the doomy, creepy song filled the air. She froze as their eyes met, unbelievable anger in his.
"Maddie, give me the phone," Pete ordered.
"Pete…" she whispered, holding on to it.
"Now," he seethed.
Hearing how angry he was, she handed it over and watched him turn it off before setting it on the coffee table. He sighed heavily as he sat in the armchair closest to her. "How long has he been calling you?" Pete asked doing his best to keep the rage from his voice as he clasped his hands together. After all, it wasn't her who he was mad at.
"Pete…" Maddie mumbled, not wanting to talk about it.
"I know you don't want to talk about him or what happened, but I'm sorry, you have to. I need to make sure he isn't going to show up at some point. I mean, what if he decides to come see you in the next three weeks when it's just Steve with you. He has NO idea what Jesse did!"
"And he never will!" Maddie said, her tone serious.
"If you think he's coming, then yes, Steve needs to know. For your safety and protection, he needs to know."
"No, he's not gonna show up, so it's not a problem. Don't worry about it," Maddie told him. However, after hearing that last message, she knew there was a good chance he was going to try and see her at some point.
"Are you just telling me that because you don't want Steve to know what happened?" Pete asked.
"No," she lied. She could tell Pete wasn't completely buying it so she added, "Look, if I thought he was going to try and see me, I wouldn't let you go home. I wouldn't let you leave me alone with Steve for three weeks. Okay?"
Pete studied her, looking for any sign of deception. Satisfied, he said, "Okay, but if at any time you feel that could change, all you have to do is call me and I'll come right back to Hawaii."
"I know," Maddie smiled at him.
"Just, leave your phone off for now. I don't want his calls bothering you or freaking you out. After the show, I'll have Tina go get you a new phone number. Okay?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Before Pete could say anything more on the subject a knock sounded on the door. Maddie exhaled a sigh of relief as Ryan popped his head in the room.
"Break's over, you ready?"
Maddie nodded as she and Pete stood and walked out of the room and down the hall towards the stage.
At 3am Maddie, the band and dancers, and a lot of the crew (the lighting specialists, the sounds engineers, etc) all called it quits for the night. They decided to get some rest and reconvene rehearsals at 9am, giving them around 5 hrs to sleep.
Although she was exhausted, Maddie was afraid to go to sleep. Now that she wasn't with Steve she was back to having nightmares every time she fell asleep. The same nightmares she'd been having for months now. The situations or specifics varied, but the idea was always the same. She was forced to watch Steve be killed and it was all her fault. It wasn't just that she would wake up absolutely terrified. But it was also that for hours afterward, and sometimes the entire day, she felt unsettled and distracted, unable to shake the gruesome and heartbreaking images from her mind. They just seemed so real and she couldn't shake the feeling that they were some sort of premonition as opposed to dreams.
Reluctantly, and after much convincing on Pete's part, she agreed to try and sleep. She changed into a fresh pair of black leggings and a white long sleeved shirt with a baggy, Chaser, faded maroon sweatshirt over it. Sitting on the pullout bed barefoot, she took the opportunity to look at the cuts on the bottom of her right foot. "Oh man…no wonder it's killing me," Maddie whispered to herself. They had, at some point, ripped open and bled, quite profusely if her discarded sock had anything to say about it. They were no longer bleeding, but a disgusting, pale yellow colored liquid was oozing from them as they tried to scab over. The skin surrounding the cuts had been red the last time she'd checked her foot, but now the red was spreading. That can't be good, she thought. She continued to investigate her foot, her nose wrinkled in a disgust, when a knock on the door interrupted her.
"You decent?" Pete asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah," Maddie answered softly, but loud enough so he could hear her. As the door began to open she quickly grabbed the pair of black socks lying next to her and pulled the first one over her injured foot. Don't need Pete seeing this and completely freaking out, she thought.
"How ya feeling?" he asked as he walked inside the room. He set the large knee brace and tank on the floor before taking a seat next to her on the bed.
"Fine," she lied, pulling on the other sock. She felt awful. Her head and body still ached and her throat was still sore. The thing that now worried her was that there was a tickle forming in her throat causing her to cough every now and then. She knew she was definitely going to get sick, she just hoped it'd be after the show Wednesday. She already had too many things going against her. She didn't need this too.
"I don't even know why I ask Mads. I know you aren't feeling well. I know you well enough that I can tell," Pete told her, hoping it would get her to be honest.
Maddie looked down at her feet dangling off the bed. "I'm tired. And I'm in pain. But…it's nothing I can't handle or haven't handled before." She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "The show must go on right?"
For a brief minute he was silent, worrying over the sadness he saw in her eyes. Eyes that used to always be happy and sparkling. He hadn't seen those eyes in a while and truth be told, he missed them. Closest they've gotten were little moments recently with Steve. That is when things were okay between them, he thought. "Pete?" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Right. The show must go on…however, if things get really bad…speak up. We'll reschedule the show."
His statement caused her to chuckle. Not a happy chuckle, but a sarcastic, sad chuckle. It was a heart wrenching sound. A sound he never wanted to hear out of her again.
"We both know that can't happen," Maddie stated, the quality of her voice better than it had been, but it was still nearly gone.
Pete sighed loudly knowing what she said was the truth. She had to perform Wednesday no matter what kind of state she was in. How did this happen? How did things get this far? Get this bad? he wondered, feeling slightly responsible. He glanced to his right to see her eyes drooping as she did her best to stifle a yawn. "Let me hook you up to this. Do you want to get under the covers or just lay on top?" he asked, standing up and picking up the knee brace he'd set on the floor nearby. "If you lay on top I'll cover you with a big blanket."
Maddie thought about it, but decided it'd be easier to just lie on top of the made bed. "Just a blanket will be fine. Thanks P." She scooted back on the bed and laid her head on a pillow.
Pete's stomach sunk as he noticed what she was wearing or, to be more accurate, what she wasn't wearing. After months and months of wearing Steve's clothes every night to bed, she was in her own clothes. Not a good sign, he thought.
He gently lifted her right leg and set it in the huge brace, carefully fastening each Velcro strap. "So…" he began, uncertain if he should bring it up or not. "Nice jammies."
Maddie knew exactly what he was getting at. She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Thanks," she murmured, nervously biting her bottom lip.
"Must say though, I prefer your usual jammies." At her silence he asked, "Speaking of which…you didn't bring them?"
"I'm giving them back. They aren't mine," Maddie replied her voice distant and emotionally shut down as she continued to look anywhere but at him.
"Hmm…" Pete fastened the last two straps before propping her leg up with pillows, hoping that elevating it would help with the swelling He leaned over and pulled the tank closer to the bed and plugged it into a nearby outlet. He then reached up and connected her brace to the tank and immediately cold ice water began circulating into the knee brace.
"I hate this thing," she murmured, instantly beginning to feel cold. Pete disappeared into the main room of her dressing room for a moment before returning with her big, plush blanket.
"Here ya go Shorty," he mumbled as he covered her. She immediately snuggled into it as he sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed. Finally he turned and met her sleepy eyes. "Mads…he didn't mean it."
"Pete…not again," Maddie groaned. "They're just clothes. It doesn't mean anything."
"Yes it does. You and I both know that," he responded. She didn't answer, knowing he was right. "Here's your phone." He set her iPhone near her on the bed. "Thought maybe you'd want to call him before you go to sleep. But if you do, turn it back off when you're done."
"Pete, it's after three in the morning. Steve is asleep. He has to work in the morning," Maddie stated.
"My guess is he isn't asleep or at least not sleeping very well. Give him a call Mads." With that said he stood, leaned forward, and kissed the spot on her head where her hair met her forehead. "Night Shorty."
"Night Petey. Don't let the bed bugs bite," she whispered, snuggling further into the blanket.
"Call him," Pete said right before shutting the door behind him.
As much as Maddie missed Steve and wanted to hear his voice, she couldn't call him. She had to distance herself from him. To say he'd hurt her was an understatement. To be honest she wasn't sure if she could really be around him anymore. Seeing him briefly at things like her show was different. She didn't think she could have him stay at her house, never letting her out of his sight. Not when he knew she had feelings and he'd pretended to feel the same. As some kind of cruel joke or to get her to no longer be mad at him? She wasn't sure why he did it, but then again the reason didn't really matter. It only mattered that he did it. These were the thoughts swimming through her head as she fell asleep.
I hope you liked it! Please, please, please review or private message me! I LOVE hearing from you guys! It makes my day!
xo
