DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Hawaii Five-O" or any of it's characters.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you for those of you that left reviews.

Like always, characters thoughts are in italics.

ENJOY! And...PLEASE leave a review!

Thanks,

Divalola

CHAPTER 8

To say Steve was exhausted was an understatement. He had laid in bed wide awake all night holding Maddie. He was afraid that if he fell asleep he wouldn't wake her when he was supposed to. If it had just been last night he wouldn't have been so tired, but ever since Maddie had called him sobbing on Tuesday he'd had a difficult time sleeping. Now it was Friday and he knew if he didn't get some soon he'd be of no help to her.

At 7 am, Steve carefully slid from bed, chuckling softly at the little whimpering sounds Maddie made in her sleep from the loss of contact. Walking down the stairs towards the kitchen he brushed at his right knee where he had a pretty good size gash from kneeling in glass. Rubbing his hands on his face in an attempt to wake up he entered the kitchen, on a mission for coffee. By the time he'd figured out the espresso machine it was time to wake Maddie. Once he was sure it was percolating, he jogged back upstairs. Walking into her huge master suite, he approached the white, king sized, four-poster bed. He smiled at the image before him: petite little Maddie snuggled deep in the extra fluffy, pale blue and white down comforter. She looked so small in the massive bed. He figured ten of her would fit comfortably in it. Reaching the lavish bed Steve sat on the edge. She's always loved to be snuggly, he reminisced as he gently shook her. "Mads."

As she opened her eyes he could see just how exhausted she was. He took in her appearance now that the makeup she'd had on the previous day was gone. Her usual glowing skin was incredibly pale. Her gorgeous, piercing, crystal blue eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle and faded to a dull blue gray. Underneath were dark circles from the lack of sleep. Oh Maddie, he thought. Sure she was small, especially in her gigantic bed, but she looked even more so now. Small and fragile. She looked like she'd break with little effort. He knew it wasn't so, she'd proven that the day before. He knew a lot of what he was seeing could be from the head , deep down he knew that wasn't the case. Whatever added stress she'd been under, whatever had her so upset, was weighing on her.

Reaching forward he ran his fingers through her soft, reddish-brown hair, the previous days waves now practically straight. "How do you feel?"

"Eh… tired." He'd noticed the slight roughness to her voice yesterday, however, even though she hadn't used it much since, it was worse. The last few months must've caught up to her, in more ways than one.

"That's normal. Go ahead and go back to sleep," he softly said continuing to run his fingers through her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed at the sensation. Thinking she was already nearly asleep he bent down and kissed her forehead before getting up and leaving the room.

Hearing her door close, Maddie opened her eyes and brushed her fingertips along the skin where he'd kissed her. She felt so guilty. She had ignored him for months. Months when he'd really needed her. Now, after all that, he was taking such good care of her. She didn't deserve it. I'm such a terrible friend, she thought. She knew she'd been ignoring him for his own safety, but it didn't help alleviate the guilt she was experiencing.

She knew the longer she was in this physically weak state from yesterday's fall, the more Steve would feel he had to take care of her making her feel guiltier. Although she felt terrible Maddie swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled herself into a sitting position, a maneuver that took almost all her energy. Ugh… I must've fallen hard. Every part of me hurts, she thought. Looking down at her right arm she remembered the IV Malia had hooked up. "This is not going to make me look better," she mumbled to herself. Using her bandaged left hand, she tried carefully pulling the sticky tape from the needle and tubing so she'd be able to remove it. However, the gauge wrap on her hand was making it incredibly difficult. "Screw it!" Using her right hand, she roughly pulled the bandage off. As she got the last bit off she bumped the bottom of her palm against her right hand and hissed in pain. She turned her palm over, and for the first time, saw the deep gash on her palm near the bottom of her thumb and another one closer to her wrist. I really cut the shit out of myself, she mused. Once the pain had turned to a dull throb she roughly went to work on pulling the IV out. I guess I could have been more careful, she thought as she stared at the blood oozing from where her IV had just been. Not wanting to get blood anywhere Maddie quickly rose and headed towards her bathroom on the other side of her room.

"Bad idea," she mumbled as a wave of dizziness hit her. Stumbling and limping towards the bathroom door she reached out and steadied herself against the wall. Once the dizzy feeling had subsided a bit she was able to make it into the bathroom. Leaning against the counter she stared at herself. "Oh my God! And I was afraid of Steve seeing me a few days ago..." Shaking her head at her reflection she decided maybe a shower would not only improve her appearance, but help her feel a bit better. If she was lucky, the warm water would soothe some of the pounding in her head.

Knowing there was no way she'd be able to undress without falling over, she sat on the edge of the bathtub. Now naked Maddie stared at her bandaged right foot, understanding for the first time why she'd been limping. "Can't shower with this on," she whispered before pulling off the soft wrap. Seeing the deep gash on the bottom of her foot she gasped, "Damn…" Busy looking at the injury she hadn't heard someone enter her bedroom. The knocking on her bathroom door caused her to jump.

"Maddie?" It was Pete. Thank God, she thought, grateful it wasn't Steve.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"You okay?"

Not really, Maddie thought. "Yeah. Just using the restroom," she lied.

"Oh, okay. Well, I wanted to let you know you have that conference call in thirty minutes."

Conference call? Conference call? Maddie wracked her brain trying to remember what he was talking about. Suddenly it hit her! The label. She shook her head at the thought of having to deal with Larry Kern, the new head of her label. "Alright. I'll be down shortly."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything or any help," he told her.

"I will." Maddie waited until she was sure he was gone. Rising she opened the shower door and stepped under the warm water. As the water ran down her body she hissed. The water wasn't that hot. Wondering why her entire body stung she looked herself over. Covering her body were tiny cuts, most were more like scratches. "What the hell?" Thinking back to the previous day and why she'd have these particular injuries Maddie remembered all the broken glass. Realizing she must have fallen on it, she whispered, "I really am the biggest klutz."

Initially she had hoped the shower would help her feel better, but she now realized that was not going to happen. She wasn't sure how long she'd be able to handle the pain. Not only would her cuts not stop stinging from the water, but she was becoming more nauseous and dizzy by the moment. Throwing shampoo in her hair was torture on her hand. The pain from having soap in the huge gashes was awful. Tears started sliding down her face. As the suds made their way down her body it amplified the stinging in every single cut on her arms, back, legs, and feet. Rushing through the rest of her shower, Maddie turned the water off, stepped out, and plopped down on the throw rug in front of the shower. Sitting there completely naked she silently cried. "Come on Maddie, pull yourself together," she whispered, trying to give herself a mini pep talk. Steve could be back any second and she knew she couldn't be curled up on the floor naked and crying. She needed to get dressed and go downstairs before he could come up. After grabbing towels, she dried herself. Noticing the blood on the pale blue material she realized the gashes on her hand and foot were bleeding profusely. Unfortunately, she had nothing to wrap them up with up here. Wondering how she'd hide it from Steve she attempted to stand. It took a few tries, but she did it. Not wanting to get blood on her bedroom carpet Maddie took her towels and slowly made a path to her closet. She walked on them since they already had blood on them anyway.

As quick as she could, which wasn't that fast since she could barely walk, she grabbed a pair of black leggings, a black tank, and black long sleeved shirt. Pulling her clothes on was yet another painful task. Once dressed she realized you could see the blood from the two gashes running down her hand. Frantically she looked around. She smiled as a stack of sweatshirts caught her eye. Grabbing the biggest black one she had, she slipped it over her head. Thank God it was big enough for her to tuck her hands in the sleeves. Plus, the dark color hid any blood that would get on the fabric. As the dizziness increased she sat down, closing her eyes for a minute. Knowing it was almost time for her conference call she pulled the big black socks she'd picked out over her feet, hissing as it rubbed against the gash on her heel. Worried she'd make bloody footprints on the floor downstairs, which would give her away to Steve, she slid her throbbing foot into her black UGGS. Okay, sure it was too hot outside for them, but she didn't have a lot of choices at the moment. Once the other boot was on Maddie carefully stood and stared at herself in the mirror. She didn't look great, but she definitely looked better than she had before the shower. Satisfied, she slowly walked to her bedroom door. The only way she could figure out how to walk without a limp was to walk on the ball of her right foot and not put pressure on her heel. She knew it would look a little funny, but it was better than the alternative.

Steve had left Maddie's room and gone to the kitchen to have a huge cup of coffee. He needed it. Leaning against the counter he couldn't get the image of her rundown, pale face out of his head. Last night she hadn't gotten any rest because just as she would be falling into a deep sleep, he'd have to wake her up. Hopefully Malia would tell him that she wouldn't need to be woken up every thirty minutes anymore. Consumed by his thoughts Steve didn't notice when Pete strolled in.

"Morning!" Pete greeted. Seeing his buddy staring off into space he decided to have a little fun with him. "Oh my God! Maddie!" he cried.

Steve immediately reacted, his eyes looking every which way. "Where? What happened? She okay?"

His reaction was better than Pete could have hoped. Laughing so hard it was hard to understand him when he said, "You should've seen your face!"

Realizing it was a joke, Steve punched his buddy in the shoulder. Not hard, but hard enough to let him know he didn't find the prank funny. He was tired and worried about her, and he didn't find her current state a laughing matter. "What? You were on another planet."

Annoyed, Steve sat at the counter with his coffee. Pete's laughs subsided. "Sorry, Steve. I shouldn't have done that." Steve nodded in acceptance. "So, how is she? She asleep?"

Setting down his steaming cup, he answered, "She's doing better. She's exhausted and really pale. Not to mention the dark circles under her eyes. I couldn't see how bad it was yesterday because she'd covered it up with makeup."

"Yeah, I told you she wasn't sleeping. Did she get any last night?" Pete asked pouring himself some coffee.

"Not really. I was constantly having to wake her up. How long has…" Steve was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. "McGarrett," he answered. "Good... yeah... upstairs... okay... Now?... Great!... No problem, we're good here... Okay, see you in a couple hours... Thanks, bye." Setting his phone down he took a long sip of coffee.

"Everything cool?" Pete asked leaning against the counter.

"Yeah. It was Malia checking in. An emergency came up at the hospital so she'll be here in a couple hours. Good news is she said that I could wake Maddie every hour." Looking at the time on his cell he said, "So she can sleep 'til 8:30."

Pete's eyes widened. "Oh crap! That reminds me... she has a conference call at 8:30."

"Excuse me?!" Steve replied, his eye wide in disbelief.

"Label. Long story. But, it'll be quick. I'll go tell her."

"Since she has that..." Steve shook his head in irritation before continuing, "And you're awake, can you hold down the fort while I take a shower?" Steve asked.

"No problem!" Pete replied as he jogged up the stairs to Maddie's room.

Before barging into her room Pete knocked softly. When there was no answer he entered. Noticing she wasn't in bed and her bathroom door was closed he walked towards it. "Maddie?" he called out as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just using the restroom."

"Oh, okay. Well, I wanted to let you know you have that conference call in thirty minutes."

"Alright. I'll be down shortly."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything or any help," he told her.

"I will."

She sounded better, Pete thought as he made his way downstairs where McGarrett was still sitting at the counter drinking his coffee.

Hearing Pete return, Steve glanced at him. "Maddie okay?"

"Yeah. Seems like it. She was in the bathroom when I went up," he revealed.

Steve couldn't hide his surprise. "Really? She didn't need help?"

"I offered already. Said she was okay. Why don't you go take a shower that way you'll be done when she is."

Hesitantly Steve nodded and headed upstairs to the guest bedroom across from Maddie's room.

Pete was dressed and in the kitchen getting another cup of coffee when Maddie meandered in. Having only two minutes before her conference call she headed down the hall towards her office. "I'll be in my office," she called to Pete not giving him a chance to turn around and see her.

I wonder where Steve is, Maddie pondered. Maybe he left. Her heart sunk at the thought, even though she knew it would be for the best. As she walked through the door the phone on her desk rang. Plopping down in her comfortable desk chair she answered, "Hello?"

Steve couldn't remember that last time he'd taken a shower that long. He was so accustomed to "Navy Showers" at this point. A three minute shower was considered a luxury to a Navy man, so he couldn't believe when he stepped out and realized he'd been in there for twenty minutes. He blamed it on the fact that he was not only tired, but also distracted. He couldn't stop thinking about Maddie. And it wasn't even that he was worrying about her. I mean he was, but he just couldn't stop thinking about her in general. He wanted to be holding her while she snuggled into him. What does that mean? he wondered. Confused by his thoughts and feelings, he tried to shake them from his mind. Getting dressed he hurried downstairs, anxious to check on her.

Maddie was fuming when she hung up the phone thirty minutes later. Larry Kern hated her, for reasons she'd already figured out, and kept to herself. She rested her head on the top of her desk and closed her eyes. She felt terrible. Her head was pounding as if it would explode any second, her hand and foot were throbbing, and still bleeding, and her body, in general, just ached. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep through the discomfort, but she knew she had to pretend to be fine for Steve. The last few months had been rough on him and to make it worse she hadn't been there for him. The last thing he needed right now was to be worrying about her. Plus, for his own safety he couldn't be near her.

Knowing she should go out before they came looking for her, she used what little energy she had left to force herself to stand. Immediately the dizziness and nausea increased. "Just breath through it, Maddie. You can do this," she whispered. Limping to the door, she rubbed the inside of her right forearm. During the call it had started throbbing. Ugh, I feel awful, she thought. As she walked down the hall every step became more painful.

As she rounded the corner she saw Pete sitting at the counter while Steve was cooking.

Hearing her enter the room, Pete greeted, "Hey, Shorty! How ya feelin'?" He turned around to look at her and his eyes immediately widened.

"I'm great! Feeling a thousand times better!" Maddie lied, trying to sound as cheerful and enthusiastic as possible.

Steve would have turned around when he heard them talking, but he was right in the middle of flipping pancakes.

"McGarrett..."

Steve froze at the sound of Pete's voice and turned around. Maddie was standing in the opening of the kitchen. Her face was somehow paler than it had been earlier. He gave her a once over. There was no IV bag with her and she was wearing a baggy sweatshirt with her hands pulled inside. He'd known her long enough to know what both of those signs meant. "Madeline Lily," Steve growled. "Are you kidding me?"