AN: Thanks to Mari for the beta read. All the mistakes are mine from fiddling. Also thanks to all my reviewers. The feedback is great.

After a very late, emotionally exhausting day Steve let himself sleep in. He woke up to the sounds of a giggling baby. He smiled thinking Catherine must have brought Joan over. He got out of bed and followed the laughter to Mary's old bedroom. Catherine had set-up a changing station on the dresser and was tickling Joan.

"Good morning," said Steve as he planted a kiss on Catherine's neck.

"Good morning. How is Mary doing?" asked Catherine.

"She's doing okay. She'd like us to bring Joan by sometime today," answered Steve.

"That's a good idea. Why don't we head out and get some brunch. Then we can swing by the hospital and see Mary," said Catherine.

Steve saw the diaper bag on the floor by the changing table and asked "I'm guessing we need to pack this up, do you know what needs to go in it?"

"Well, it should have diapers, wipes, rash cream, extra clothes, something to amuse her, a bottle and something to snack on like Cheerios. We just need to grab some bottles, and we are good to go," answered Catherine.

"OK, so how do you know this?" asked Steve.

"I have friends with kids, including Mary, plus, I was the most popular babysitter on base for many years as a teenager," replied Catherine smiling.

~~HW 5 0~~

After getting Joan settled in her high chair, Steve looks at the menu and says "Cath what do we get for Joan? I have no idea what to feed her."

"Let me take a look," says Catherine while browsing the menu. "I think we should order her a fruit cup and I'll give her some of my pancakes. Remember her stomach is pretty small."

Joan starts to fuss, so Steve takes her out of the highchair and holds her making faces at her. Catherine reaches into the diaper bag and gets out a toy for Joan, which she happily plays with.

The waitress came to take their order.

"Cath, I don't know what I'd do without you. I don't even know how to feed her or what goes in a diaper bag. But this isn't your responsibility, it's mine. And I feel like I'm failing Mary and Joan."

"Steve, I'm happy to help you. You guys are the closest thing I have to family out here. You don't have much experience with babies. That's ok. You can learn. We both have stuff to learn. Maybe we should pick up a book on infant care. Also, if you're worried about your ability to be a father, I have no doubts about that. I know you. I suspect you will read up on everything. Plus, while infants don't let you sleep, they don't need too much beyond feeding, changing and cuddling. You don't start with an 8 month old."

"Thanks for the pep talk Cath. I think I'd feel better if I did some reading. And as far as being the closest thing to family you have out here, you are right. However, I want to revisit that "closest thing to" designation soon, but not here."

"I'm looking forward to that conversation," said Catherine with a smile.

Just then the waitress brought the food. Steve settled Joan back in the high chair. She banged her hands on the table and squealed. Then she started to eat the fruit. Catherine cut some pieces of pancake and put them on Joan's tray.

The trio settled in to eat. Joan was fascinated by the food and the people around her. Steve and Catherine chatted about less serious subjects and watched Joan.

Steve's phone rang. He answered "McGarrett. Hi, Danny. That would be really helpful. Thank you so much. We'll see all of you then. Thanks."

"What did Danny have to say?" asked Catherine.

"He's going to meet us at Mary's to pack up Joan's stuff later. Chin and Kono are going to bring over dinner and groceries to my place later. Apparently, Kono has some ideas about child care, because we'll need something more flexible than what Mary has."

"That's wonderful. Did anyone call Mary's work? They need to know. Do you think they will hold her job?" asked Catherine

"I called them from the hospital. I'm not sure if they will hold the job. I'm also not sure that Mary will be able to spend all the time on her feet that working as a store manager requires. She really liked this job and was doing well. You know; one of the things that I'm maddest at my parents about is how their choices affected Mary. It was hard on me too, but I was older, and while I have my issues, I don't think I was as deeply affected. But sometimes it seems like Mary hasn't recovered. I know Aunt Deb tried her best, and maybe it wouldn't have mattered."

Catherine reached across the table and grabbed Steve's hand and squeezed it. "I suspect things would have been very different with your parents, but you and Mary survived. And until this accident you were both thriving. We'll just have to help Mary get back up again."

"Thanks Cath," said Steve smiling at her.

The waitress comes by with the check. At the same time Steve's phone rings again.

"McGarrett. Hi Duke. OK, OK, She's doing pretty well. Thanks for the update," said Steve.

"What's up?" asks Cath.

"Duke wanted to let me know that the Van Horn family lawyer asked him to pass on the family's sincerest apologies and that they will be coordinating with Mary's insurance company, but plan to offer a significant sum for pain, suffering, and lost wages, in addition to covering all the medical treatment she needs," said Steve.

"Well, I think that is the least they can do. Hopefully, they will offer enough not to have to go to court," said Catherine.

~~HW 5 0~~

As Steve held a fussy Joan in his arms, he hoped that seeing her mom would help calm the little girl down. He thought she had been remarkably calm so far.

As soon as they got near the nurses' station, one of the nurses approached them saying "Commander McGarrett, your sister developed an infection overnight. We changed antibiotics and are doing a blood culture to figure out exactly what we are dealing with. Between the fever and the pain medicine, she's not terribly lucid. While, I'm sure she wants to see her little girl, I'm not sure she will remember it. It might upset her daughter more to see her mommy and not have her mommy respond then it would to not see her. It's your decision, but it's just something for you and your wife to think about. We've got a waiting room up here so you can take turns."

"Thanks," said Steve. "I appreciate the advice. We'll think about it."

Steve turned to Catherine and said "Do you think she's right? I'd hate to get Joan more upset, but I think she wants her mom."

"I think the nurse probably has more experience with this than we have. I can see it being more upsetting for Joan if Mary doesn't respond to her. So I'd say we take turns visiting Mary. OK?"

"That's great," says Steve as he hands Joan to Catherine. "Again you're a life saver!"

On the way to the waiting room, Catherine stopped at the nurse's station and said "I'd really like to bring Mary McGarrett some things to make her more comfortable, but I don't really know what. I'd appreciate clean underwear and my own pajamas, but I don't think those are really appropriate here. Do you have any suggestions?"

"You're right Mrs. McGarrett, those wouldn't that useful. A hairbrush, socks, her own toothbrush, the toothpaste she likes, dry shampoo, short nightgowns, a cardigan sweater are some things people like with this kind of trauma. At some point, low key magazines are good. While, I'm supposed to discourage expensive things; tablets are popular. Given that her daughter is so young you might want to get one of those photo frames you can email photos to. Then she'll have lots of pictures of her daughter and it's easy to send new ones. We have your husband's contact information, but we don't have yours. Could you give it to me?"

"Oh, Commander McGarrett and I aren't married. But Mary and I are friends, and if for some reason you can't get him, I'm sure I can. I'll give you my card. Thanks for the suggestions," said Catherine as she handed the woman her card.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. But the way he looks at you and his niece, it's clear he loves you very much," said the nurse.

"It's no problem," said Catherine. Joan started to fuss again, Catherine said, "I think I need to deal with this little one."

By the time Steve came to the waiting room, Joan was pretty worked up, and Catherine wasn't having much luck calming her down. Steve had to admit to himself that watching that scene had him a little worried about sitting with Joan while Catherine went to see Mary.

"How is Mary?" asked Catherine trying to rub the fussy little girl's back to help her calm down.

"She's pretty out of it. I don't really think she knew I was there. One of her doctors came by, and I spent most of the time talking to her. She said they managed to culture the infection. Luckily, it is one that responds to antibiotics, although, they do have to break out stronger ones they don't like to use too often. The doctor thinks she'll be more coherent tomorrow," answered Steve.

"Well, I'm glad they can treat it. Why don't we get this fussy little girl out of here? It doesn't sound like Mary would know if I came in," said Catherine.

~~HW 5 0~~

Packing up Joan's stuff took longer than Steve would have thought. He was thankful that his ohana has come to help. After everyone had left and a fussy Joan was finally asleep, Steve was relieved to be sitting out on the lanai in a lounge chair with Catherine. It felt normal, which had been in short supply for the last 48 hours. He was mulling over what to do about child care. The younger sister of one Kono's friends had started working as a live-in nanny after she finished her associates degree in early childhood education, but the family was being transferred back to the mainland after only a couple of months. She was looking for something new and wouldn't mind something short term.

They could easily turn his childhood bedroom into a room for her, and no one else used the hall bathroom that he and Mary had shared growing up. He figured that by the time Mary could do stairs easily, she'd be ready to be on her own, so he had planned on setting up Mary in his father's study. Hiring a nanny would probably be the practical thing to do, he certainly could afford it with years of hazard pay be never spent. Plus, the settlement from the Van Horne kid should hopefully cover it. Plus, as strong as his relationship with Catherine was, he didn't want her to feel like she had to spend all her time helping him the Joan. Joan was his responsibility. A live-in nanny would help with that. Just as Steve was about to ask Catherine what she thought of the plan, she spoke.

"Steve, when you asked me to move in with you, I said that I wasn't ready to do that, until I was sure what I wanted, what we wanted. Well, if the offer still stands, I'd like to move in with you, because I'm pretty sure we both know this is what we both want."

"Cath, yes, the offer stands. It'd be great if you moved in with me. You've been it for me for a long time. I know I haven't said it out loud but I love you. I had something more romantic in mind to tell you. And I want to talk about making this thing permanent when things settle down, but I know a life with you is what I want."

"I love you too. You might not have said it before, but you have showed me all the time. Hearing the words is wonderful, but the actions really matter. I look forward to that conversation about making it more permanent," said Catherine.

Just as things began to heat up enough on the lounge chair that Steve and Catherine start making noises about moving upstairs, they heard Joan begin to wail desperately through the baby monitor. So they both headed upstairs to check on Joan.

What Steve and Catherine found was a wailing baby, who had vomited and appeared to also have diarrhea. She also looked sweaty and feverish. Both Steve and Catherine stood there stunned for a minute. Then Steve brushed a hand over her forehead and said "she's way too hot. If I get her cleaned up and try to cool her down can you try to find the thermometer?"

Catherine in was rummaging around in the boxes before Steve even finished speaking.

Assessing the situation, Steve grabbed the towel of the dresser being used as a changing pad, stripped Joan out of everything including her diaper and wrapped her in the towel. He was on his way to the hall bathroom with the tub when he decided that a shower might be a better option given how dirty she was. So he detoured into the master bath, set Joan on the floor in the towel and stripped down to his boxers. After adjusting the shower to a cool temperature, he picked Joan up and stood held her under the spray. She calmed down a little and Steve started using the handheld shower head to clean her off. Then she vomited again, luckily landing on the shower floor.

Just then Catherine walked in with a thermometer, a clean diaper, and clean onesie. She smiled at the sight of Steve in his boxers in the shower trying to cool off and clean up his niece. She stepped to the edge of the shower and said "let's take her temperature."

"Great," said Steve as he stepped out of the spray so Catherine could insert the probe in Joan's ear.

"It's 104," said Catherine. "I think we should take her to the ER right?"

"Yeah, that's high. I think we should take her to the ER; the worst that can happen is that they think of are over cautious newbies. Which we are," said Steve. "Can you dress her while I get changed?"

Since Joan's bed was pretty gross, Steve thought they needed something to contain the mess in the car. After he dried off, pulled on fresh boxers and got dressed, he grabbed a stack of towels. He thought one could go under Joan in the car seat and one around her.

They were seen pretty quickly in the ER. Thankfully it wasn't busy. Pretty soon they were in a room. Joan was hooked up to an IV for fluids, and they had given her something for the fever. Joan was actually sleeping in a little portable crib.

The same young doctor from the day of the accident came back into the curtain and said "it looks like a norovirus, which generally isn't serious, but in babies this young dehydration and febrile seizures can be an issue, so as a precaution, we'd like to admit her. You can take her home as soon as her fever is below 100, and she can keep down some food. We'll also want to test for a UTI."

"I'm sorry you are going to test for a what?" asked Steve.

"I'm sorry, a urinary tract infection," said the doctor.

"If I remember my medic training those are pretty uncommon unless someone has had a catheter. Why do you think Joan might have one?"

The young doctor looks confused. Catherine jumps in and says "Steve had medic training as part of Navy SEAL training."

The young doctor nods and says "That's true for healthy men, which I'm guessing was the primary focus of your treatment for your training. They are much more common in women and babies, especially baby girls because of anatomical differences and diapers. Do you have any more questions?"

"No, thanks for the explanation," said Steve.

"Great. Someone will be by in a little bit to take Joan upstairs and get her settled. We encourage you to stay with her as much as possible," said the doctor before she stepped out of the cubicle.

"Hey Cath, what was the little look you and the doctor shared?"

"It was nothing, really. It's just most grown women are familiar with UTIs." said Catherine.

"Oh, so you've had one? How bad are they?" asked Steve.

"I've had a couple over the years. Sometimes they were a souvenir of some of our more memorable weekends together like Mumbai. They can be pretty miserable for until you can get to a doctor. You have to pee often and it really burns when you do. But once you get an antibiotic and some other stuff for the symptoms it's not bad," answered Catherine.

"How? You were sick on the ship? Why didn't you ever say anything?" asked Steve.

"Well, it's fairly easy for the normal bacteria to travel around during sex and cause the infection. Lots of sex after not having any for awhile can lead to one. I wasn't really sick, I mean I guess I was, but I responded to the medicine fairly quickly. I never purposefully kept it from you. Generally by the time I got to talk to you it wasn't an issue and I had other things I wanted to spend time talking about. And if we are going to talk about sharing health information, then I will remind you of all the times you have been shot without telling me," said Catherine.

"Yeah, I guess I didn't tell you about everything. I'm trying to be better about that," said Steve.

Joan woke up and reached for Catherine, so she picked her up and began to cuddle the little girl. Steve love how comfortable Catherine and Joan were together.

~~HW 5 0~~

As much as Steve hated being in the hospital himself, he appreciated Joan being admitted. Everyone in pediatrics was so helpful with Joan, who still had a fever of 101 and couldn't seem to keep Pedialyte down. Plus, someone else got to do all the laundry. And when they discovered Joan also had a UTI, a nurse showed him and Catherine how to squirt the antibiotics into the little girl's mouth and avoid having it spit back at them.

Both Catherine and Joan were sleeping, Joan in the hospital crib and Catherine on the cot for parents. Steve looked at both of them and thought that as crazy as this had been, he really did want to share this with Catherine, although he did have to admit that perhaps one or two kids would be plenty.

Just then his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number but picked up right away.

The phone woke Catherine up. When she looked at Steve's face she saw pure terror and heard him say "I'll be right up, I'm actually in the hospital with her daughter right now."

"Cath, Mary has a pulmonary embolism, and it doesn't look good. I've got to go."

"Steve, go, go. We'll be fine here."

Catherine wished she could go be with Steve, but knew that he couldn't handle Joan being left alone even if she was well cared for. So she decided to call in re-enforcements.

"Danny, it's Cath. I'm sorry to call so late. Steve and I were at the hospital with Joan; she got a norovirus and a high fever. She'll be fine, but Steve got a call about Mary. Apparently, there is a pulmonary embolism, and he needed to go right away. Can you come be with him? I don't want him to be alone, and I need to stay with Joan. Thanks. Thanks so much."

Knowing that Danny was on the way made her feel better, but she still didn't have a very good feeling about any of what was going on. Joan decided to distract her by having another diaper blowout.

After Catherine and the staff cleaned Joan up and settled again, Catherine was thinking about calling Steve for an update. As she was pulling out her phone, Chin walked into the room.

"Hi, Danny called me. He didn't think you should be waiting alone either. I just checked in with Danny, and they don't really have any news yet," said Chin.

"Thanks Chin. I really appreciate that.

Catherine and Chin sat there in silence.

They hadn't been sitting there too long when Steve and Danny appeared in the doorway. One look at them and Catherine knew that the worst had happened, and Mary had died. She walked to Steve and wrapped her arms around him and just held him.