A/N: I got some feedback regarding my portrayl of Mary in this chapter that may not have been true to her character. Thank you for that critique. I had been giving it a lot of thought, and do agree that that it may not have been true to form. I went back to this chapter to rewrite it to be more true to character. It is still not too nice to Mary, but now she is more the jealous Mean Girl - immature and petty than outright malicious.

Alyssa stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom staring at her reflection. She was getting dressed to go to Aunt Deb's memorial service, but also to meet Steve's family; especially his sister, Mary.

She did not have an over-abundance of dresses, but this dark navy sundress with a smattering of pink cottage roses seemed somehow appropriate. She could not imagine wearing all black to honor a woman who had been so full of life. The dark navy it would be, Alyssa decided, as she slipped into a pair of high heeled shoes.

The memorial service was scheduled for one o'clock, but the immediate family had been asked to arrive at 11 to take care of some final arrangements. Alyssa pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home at 12:20. She knew she was early, but thought that she could either wait or help with setting up for the receptions that would immediately follow the service.

She walked toward the seating area situated under some lovely trees providing shade on the sunny day, when she heard her name.

"Aly," It was Steve. He was dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, but no tie. He was looking better now. He had accepted that Aunt Deb was gone and the healing had begun. Alyssa walked up to him and they embraced. "Thank you for coming," Steve said.

"Of course. It's the least that I can do," Alyssa replied softly.

"Aunt Deb had written letters to the family," Steve said and handed Alyssa a small bag. "She wrote you one too.

With a trembling hand, Alyssa took the bag. Inside were an envelope and a small wooden box.

"Oh no, she did not need to do this. I can't..."

Steve interrupted her. "You can and you should. Nobody ever forced Aunt Deb to do anything she did not want to do. She wanted this for you."

Alyssa opened the box. Inside was a tear-drop shaped pearl pendant on a gold chain. Alyssa gasped, "Its beautiful." She tore open the envelope and began to read:

"Dear Alyssa. It was such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming even thought I imagine that it was difficult for you. I was looking around for something that I could give you that would remind you of me when I am gone and I thought of this pearl pendant. My father gave it to my mother when they were married. Perhaps someday you will pass it on to your daughter. Every pearl is unique since they are grown, not made - just like you are unique, my dear. It is a simple necklace and people may not realize its value - as you tend to undervalue yourself. But this necklace was important to me and, hopefully, will be important to you, just as you are important to Steve and to your friends - never forget that there are people that love you very much. Finally remember that tears are both from joy and from sorrow - you need a balance of both, but I hope you will have more joyful tears than the sad ones in your life. I hope that you wear this necklace and remember me fondly. I love you, Alyssa. Aunt Deb."

Alyssa finished reading and realized that tears were running down her cheeks. Steve, who was giving her space to read the note, came up to her, took the pendant from her hands and placed it around her neck. "It looks very nice," he said. "Just as she knew it would."

At that moment, a pretty young woman with short blonde hair. Steve reached out to her. "Mary, I would like you to meet Alyssa."

Alyssa smiled and put her hand out to Mary. Mary looking very sophisticated, dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses, looked Alyssa over critically. Suddenly Alyssa felt self conscious of her dress, with the white lei around her neck and white flower in her ear. In fact, Mary's attitude reminded Alyssa of the girls in high school who treated her like trash when they found out that she was a "Foster." The memory made Alyssa bristle, but she reminded herself that whe was there for Aunt Deb, and that none of this really mattered.

"Hmm," was Mary's non-committal, dismissive response to Steve as she breezed by. Steve looked embarrassed, and threw a disapproving look at Mary's back, but Alyssa just said. "She is probably just focused on the service. Its OK. We can formally meet afterward at the reception." She looked at her watch. "We should probably go in."

Alyssa sat in the back to give Steve and his family privacy. It was a small and informal ceremony with a few family members and the Five-0 team. There were a few speakers and a benediction from a pastor. Then the attendees were invited to enjoy the reception in the hall.

Alyssa waited for the family to exit and then she left with the rest of the guests. She saw Mary up ahead and picked up her pace to chat with her.

"Mary, I am so sorry for your loss," Alyssa began as she approached Mary. Mary was a few years older than her and several inches shorter. As the two woman stood face to face, anybody observing the them women immediately assume that they were sisters.

"Who do you think you are?" Mary hissed.

"I am Doris McGarrett's daughter," Alyssa shot back. She hated brining her mother into this, but Mary had gotten under her skin. "As such that makes me Steve's sister and, aside from the fact that I was invited, I am here to offer Steve my love," Alyssa looked directly at Mary daring the older woman to contradict her, "and support. That's what family does."

"How dare you," Mary hissed. "How dare you come here. You are neither wanted nor welcomed. Steve already has a sister, me. You are, at best, a bastard and Aunt Deb was not your aunt. She was Dad's sister and so not related to you." Alyssa stepped back as if from a blow. Mary just stated the same thing that she had been thinking and fearing deep in her heart. The remark, really cut deep and it hurt... a lot.

"I don't know what you may have said to Aunt Deb to get that necklace, but it does not belong to you."

"What is going on here," Steve asked as he approached the women. He quickly felt the tension in the air and looked inquiringly from one woman to the other.

Alyssa took a deep breath. "Nothing at all. I am just going to pay my respects to Aunt Deb and I will leave." She saw Steve get ready to argue, but she said, "Its OK. I will see you later. Today is for Aunt Deb and I am not going to be responsible for spoiling it." Alyssa turned to Mary, removed the pendant and handed it to her. "I am sorry for your loss," she said again and turned back the way she came.

Alyssa spent a few minutes sitting in front of the casket. She then stood up, gently kissed Aunt Deb's cold forehead, "Thank you, Aunt Deb. It was nice having an aunt. Even though it was for a short time. Rest well."

Alyssa was walking toward her car when she saw motion to her left. She stopped to look. It seemed like two men were harassing a woman. Alyssa started to walk closer to them. "Oh crap," she said. The woman was Mary and she did appear to be in some distress as it seemed the men were trying to get her into a car. Alyssa instinctively checked for her sidearm only to realize it was locked in her car and then she realized that if she went back, Mary would most likely be gone. She took her phone and called dispatch. She gave her name and badge number and called for backup as it seemed to be a kidnapping in progress. She knew that Steve would probably be called, but she was a cop and she needed to follow protocol instead of just calling her brother.

She approached the men and Mary. "Excuse me, what is going on here," she asked innocently.

"This is none of your business," one of the men shouted. "Get out of here."

"Sorry. Can't do that. I don't think the lady wants to go with you. Why don't you let her go."

The larger of the two men, lashed out at her, but Alyssa was ready. She stepped back and the strike went past her.

Alyssa knew she just needed to buy some time until Steve and team would get the notification and come to help. Unfortunately, time was not on her side. The larger man, pulled out a gun and pointed it at Mary.

"You don't need to do that," Alyssa said. "Just let her go. I'll go with you if you want."

"Who the hell are you?"

Alyssa thought quickly. She assumed that they were going after Mary for a reason and she knew the most likely reason was that she was Steve's sister. "My name is Alyssa. I'm Steve McGarrett's sister."

That seemed to confuse the men as they looked from her to Mary and then to each other. "Oh the hell with it, take them both."

Alyssa saw Steve and the team burst through the doors of the hall, but knew that they were too far away. The men grabbed Mary and shoved her in the car. She fought with the man who tried to grab her, but the bigger one came up. She saw the butt of the gun being raised even as she struggled. She felt it connect with her skull with a splintering pain and her world went black.

Steve saw Alyssa being hit and collapsing. He saw both the women being put into the dark sedan. He ran as fast as he good even as he drew his gun, but he knew he would be too late. He chased the sedan, but dared not shoot for fear of hitting either Mary or Alyssa. He was able to get the license plate before the car got too far ahead. He was left in the middle of the road breathing hard as he watched both of his sisters - his entire remaining family - disappearing around the curve in the road.

I hope this rewrite capture Mary better. I think it may and I can totally picture this interaction between Alyssa and Mary. It is still harsh, as was requested by a reader, but the goal is to get them to some sort of reconciliation and better place - so read on. Please read and review and let me know what you think. I love comments, ideas, recommendations and requests.