So glad you all enjoyed the first chapter. Now on to Chapter 2. Sorry it's taken me a bit to update. I was going in one direction….and then decided to take another. I hope you like it!

Questions at hand: How is Steve going to find out about his daughter? How will he handle the news?

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Sometime later, Kono walked out of the hospital and called Danny. She had no idea how they were going to handle this, but it needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Steve needed to know before someone else figured out what was going on and brought it to him themselves.

"Kono," Danny answered his phone. "Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah. I'm just leaving. Danny, we need to talk. This could get really tricky."

"Talk to me," Danny said.

"Madison told me she's Steve's daughter. Just point blank told me."

Danny was momentarily stunned. "So she KNOWS this to be true?"

Kono relayed to Danny the conversation she's had with Madison and what Morgan had shared with her prior to her death. "Danny, how are we going to approach Steve with this. He HAS to know….and it'll be better if he hears it from us."

"I know. But how? You know as well as I do this is going to turn his world upside down."

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Steve and Lou walked into HQ to find Danny, Kono, and Chin around the smart table. Assuming they were talking about the case, they joined them.

"So tell me about the girl found on the trail this morning? She's related to our case, right? Has anyone talked to her?" Steve asked immediately.

"H-how did you know about her?" Kono asked before realizing it sounded suspicious as hell.

Steve's expression turned curious. Why wouldn't he know about it if it was related to the case they were working.

Danny stepped in. "Yeah, she's related to our case although we don't know a lot of specifics yet. She's on the women's basketball team at U of H. She must be pretty good, too, because she's a starter on the varsity team and she's only a freshman."

"That's impressive," Steve said. "What else do we know about her? Could she tell you anything that happened?" he asked Kono.

"About that," Danny began, "Can we talk in my office?"

Steve's brow furrowed as he looked between Chin, Kono, and Danny. "Why are you all acting weird?"

"Weird?" Kono asked.

"Yeah…..weird. What's going on?"

"Steve….my office. Please?" Danny asked again as he started to walk in that direction.

Reluctantly, Steve followed Danny into his office and shut the door.

"Danny, what's going on?"

"I think you need to have a seat."

"Danny! I-"

"Steve, please!" Something in Danny's voice and his expression softened Steve, so he sat down. Danny followed suit and sat in the chair beside him. He took a deep breath. "We found out quite a bit about the girl this morning, and I honestly don't even know where to begin."

"Tell me how she's related to our case, for starters."

Danny sighed and turned towards his best friend. "Like I said, she's on the U of H Women's basketball team just like the other vics we've seen. She's a freshman….Originally from California and here on a full scholarship. A hiker was on the trail this morning and saw what appeared to be an assault taking place. The perp saw him approaching, hit her pretty hard in the head and knocked her out. Our guy ran after the assailant, but lost him, so he returned to the girl and called 911 to get her help. She's stable…..and seems to be okay…..but we're still waiting on a tox screen and rape kit to be returned.."

"Okay, so all of this tells me that she's definitely related to our case, but it doesn't tell me why you're all acting the way you are. What aren't you telling me?

"What I'm not telling you is that her name is Madison. More specifically, Madison Tomlin."

A flicker of recognition crossed Steve's face but he quickly masked it. "Go on."

"Her mom's name was Morgan."

Steve sat up straighter. "Morgan Tomlin is her mom?"

Danny's expression grew pained.

"Danny, talk to me, dammit. Tell me what's going on."

"I don't know how to tell you this, buddy…but Madison told us that her mom died last year from cancer. She finished her last year of high school living with a best friend's family whom Morgan had given custody before she passed away. "

Steve rubbed his hand down his face. "Danny….what else? Because something tells me you've found out a lot more."

"Duke recognized the name and called us because he knew you and Morgan dated in high school. He wanted us to look into it even before he knew she could be related to our case."

"Okay. So what?"

"Kono went to talk to Madison at the hospital. And…" Danny sighed again. "She told Kono that you're her father."

Steve's face paled. "Her father?"

"That's what she said. She said Morgan told her about you before she died. She told Madison that you never knew about her and…."

"Wait a minute," Steve said as he stood up and started to pace. His mind was reeling with the news and he tried to make sense of it all. "Yes….Morgan and I dated. She was my first love, Danny. I had to leave without saying goodbye and I always regretted it. But we've only seen each other once since then when I was in Coronado doing SEAL training, but that was seventeen years ago. I don't understand….How could Madison be my daughter if she's a freshman in college? I mean, she would've had to have been born before that. Right?"

Danny pulled up a picture of Madison's ID on his phone and showed it to Steve. Even Steve saw the resemblance and felt his heart twist.

"I don't know how to explain that time-table, buddy, but I think even you will admit she looks just like you."

"I need to talk to her."

"Wait," Danny stopped him before he opened the door. "I agree….You need to talk to her, but I think we need to handle this very delicately."

"Danny, she could be my daughter. I need to find out what the hell is going on."

"I don't disagree. However, we also have to consider that she's been on the island for a couple of months now and has made no attempt to contact you. Kono has started a rapport with her….I think we should get Kono to talk to her again and work on getting the two of you together to talk."

Steve didn't like the idea but he knew Danny was right.

As if reading his mind, Danny said, "I know patience isn't your strong suit, but trust me on this. We need to do this right for Madison's sake. She's lost her Mom…..She was traumatized by what happened this morning…and now she knows that the father she's never met is the one handling her case. Having you go barreling into her life demanding answers won't work in your favor."

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Steve and Danny walked out of his office to join everyone else at the table. By the looks on their faces, Steve could assume Kono and Chin had told Lou the theory of what was going on.

"So I'm assuming everyone knows now that Madison has said I'm her father."

The shook their heads in agreement.

"Okay….so yes…..If Morgan Tomlin was her mother…..and we have no reason to believe otherwise…I will confirm that she and I dated in high school. Right up until Dad sent Mary and I away after we thought Mom was killed."

He looked at his team who were all looking at him wanting more information but with no judgement on their faces.

Steve sighed. "Morgan was my first love," he said softly. "So you will all understand that I need to figure this out because what I'm not understanding right now is how Madison could be my daughter when the last time I saw Morgan was seventeen years ago."

"I think I can explain, boss." Kono said as she pulled up Madison's ID again on the screen in front of them. "Notice the birthdate?"

Steve's heart twisted again. "Oh my God…..She's only 16 years old? But how…."

"Yes, she's 16 but she graduated from high school early. Apparently, she's very smart. She skipped 8th grade, went right into high school, and graduated a year early with honors."

Steve couldn't help but feel proud at that news.

If all of this was true, though, she'd been through a hell of a lot at such a young age. He could relate since he'd been about the same age when his dad, Mary and himself thought Doris had been killed in a car bombing. After that, Steve had been forced to "grow up" overnight and face things he wasn't emotionally ready for. His dad was distraught…..His little sister was devastated and didn't fully understand what had happened…..So Steve had stepped in trying to be the one who was strong for everyone else.

Steve would never wish that experience on anyone. If Madison was truly his daughter, he knew with certainty he would be there for her. She was no longer going to be alone.

"I need to see her."

The team agreed and began to talk out a plan for Kono to reach out to her again and see if she could coordinate a meeting between Madison and Steve.

Meanwhile in front of HPD…

Madison sat in her car in front of the HPD headquarters as she'd done half a dozen times before. Yes, she'd been there before; Sitting…..watching….waiting for a glimpse of him. She'd also learned some of his patterns: The beach where he went to surf on Monday and Wednesday mornings; The route he would jog through his neighborhood on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Steve McGarrett was a creature of habit. Madison could relate. It gave her a strange sense of comfort knowing where she'd inherited that particular trait since her mom had been so laid back and spontaneous about everything.

"Sometimes you have to go with the flow, baby girl. Life will throw you curve balls and you have to be able to adjust." Madison heard her mom's voice in her mind as her eyes teared up.

This is one hell of a curve ball, momma. Pushing her emotions aside, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath. "Time to do this, Maddy. It's now or never!" she said out loud as if trying to give herself a pep talk.
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Duke walked into Five-0 HQ to find the team strategizing around the smart table. Steve saw him first.

"Duke….what's up?"

He looked at everyone but Steve as if trying to gauge what to say.

"If you're wondering if they've told me about Madison, the answer is yes." Steve said.

A look of relief crossed his face before turning concerned again. "She's downstairs…..and asking to see you."

Danny smirked, "Looks like patience isn't one of her strong suits either."

Steve's mind reeled as everyone waited to see what he would do.

"Send her up," he told Duke before turning to Kono, "Actually, why don't you bring her up? She obviously trusts you. It takes guts for her to come down here on her own, so I'd hate for her to come in alone."

"You got it, boss."

Everyone scattered into their own offices while Steve retreated to his to gather his thoughts. What the hell was he going to say to her?

What amounted to a maximum of ten minutes felt like a lifetime. Finally, he saw Kono and a girl who could only be Madison walking in. Steve saw her before she saw him and felt as if his heart would explode. She was so beautiful; And while there was most certainly a strong resemblance to him, even from a distance, he could see Morgan in her as well.

She looked around nervously as Kono began to walk her towards Steve's office. Steve came out to meet her halfway.

"Madison…It's nice to meet you. I'm Steve." He knew it was lame. After all, they already knew who one another was, but he didn't know what else to say.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Want to go into my office so we can talk?" he gave her his most charming smile hoping to calm her nerves.

All she could do was shake her head in agreement.

"Great. Come on."

He opened the door to his office allowing her to go in first before closing the door. She chose to sit on the couch, so he sat down in the chair adjacent from her rather than sitting behind his desk.

Less intimidating that way, he reasoned.

She sat with her hands nervously in her lap.

"Would you like something to drink? I have some soft drinks….bottled water….." he walked towards the small fridge in his office.

"Um…no. I'm okay," she answered. "Thank you."

"Hey," Steve said softly as he sat down. She looked up and met his gaze. "It's okay." He smiled at her again willing her to not be afraid of him. "I know this is awkward, so we'll take this as slow as you want. Okay?"

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak or she would break down in tears.

"Good…So do you wanna tell me what happened today or do you wanna talk about something else?"

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Already working on Chapter 3, so it won't take as long to post! Promise! I'd love to know what you think!