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

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews!

Anyway, as always, thoughts are in italics.

Anyway, thanks again for all the support!

xo,

DivaLola

CHAPTER 15

Malia and Chin sauntered downstairs at 8am. Malia didn't have to be at the hospital until 10am and Chin technically had the day off. However, his plan was to find Steve and come up with a plan to find Maddie's stalker.

"Hey! Maddie still asleep?" Malia asked Pete as she entered the kitchen.

Chin headed to the espresso machine to figure out how to make some coffee. "Aloha!"

"Aloha," Pete greeted then turned to Malia and shook his head. "Unfortunately, no." He tapped on the TV screen to his right.

From her spot across the kitchen, she looked at the screen. "Working?"

"Yep."

"I'm gonna head out and talk to Steve after breakfast," Chin announced.

"He's on his way. Just hung up with him," Pete announced causing both Malia and Chin to look at him in surprise.

"Hopefully, you let him have it," Malia spoke standing in front of the open fridge. "Are you guys hungry?"

"Yes! Also, Maddie said she'd eat something in an hour."

"Great! I'll whip us up breakfast and make her something that would be good and mild for a first meal." She began pulling out different items and setting them on the kitchen island. "How does she feel?"

"She said she feels a lot better today, but I think it's an act."

"She just needs to rest for the next few days," Malia replied as she decided what to make.

"Actually, about that," Pete began. "To make a long story short... Maddie has a show here in Hawaii on Wednesday. The set will be a bit different than usual, so rehearsals start tomorrow and will continue until Tuesday night. After that, she will have at least two months off."

Pete's announcement pulled Chin's attention away from his need for coffee. He stared straight at Pete hoping he'd heart incorrectly. Malia also stopped what she was doing, completely speechless.

"You find out about the show, too?" Steve asked walking into the kitchen from the front hallway.

"Healthwise she is not up for this," Malia protested ignoring Steve's presence.

"Unfortunately, she has no choice in the matter. Mads has to do it," Pete sighed.

Walking further into the kitchen McGarrett looked over at Pete, eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. Pete nodded his head to the TV on the wall to their left. Understanding, Steve turned to look in that direction. While he wished she was resting, he smiled. He always loved watching her play. "That's outside in the other building, right?" he asked Pete.

"Yeah," Pete answered, helping Malia with breakfast. "Bring her in for breakfast, would ya?"

Steve nodded as he walked out of the kitchen into the living room, and over to the sliding glass door leading to the backyard. Walking away from the house he approached the pool. Having not spent a ton of time back here he took in his surroundings. The pool was large with a set of approximately ten stairs leading up to a Jacuzzi. There was a big waterfall directly to the right of the Jacuzzi that fell into the pool. In the pool there was a small cave like cove built underneath the Jacuzzi and waterfall. Very romantic, he thought. Suddenly he had an image of Maddie and him under there kissing, his hands all over her. Where'd that come from? he wondered, surprised.

Looking to the right of the pool and the surrounding lounging and barbeque areas Steve caught a glimpse of the studio. It looked like a large house, but it was not nearly as big as the main house. Steve followed the pathway towards it. After opening the thick glass door, he entered the main hallway. He'd never been out here. He'd kept it locked and would check to make sure it didn't look like anyone had ever broken in, but he never went inside. He knew Maddie would want to show it to him herself.

Steve stopped just inside the doorway and glanced around. The floor was the same natural colored tumbled stone she had in the main house. Complimenting it was white wood. The walls were painted a natural color. He smiled, beaming with pride as he slowly walked down the hall, his eyes moving left to right as he passed all her album plaques. She'd been doing this for over fifteen years, so there were a lot. He found himself chuckling at her earlier album covers. She was so young, he thought as he lightly touched the plaque of her first album. It was for selling 40 million copies worldwide. Steve was pulled from his thoughts when he heard noise coming from somewhere down the hall. I'm sure she'll give me the full tour later, he thought. Eventually he came to an open door on his left. Peering inside he saw Maddie sitting at a gorgeous grand piano. Steve leaned against the doorway a huge smile on his face as he watched her play. Sensing his presence, she stopped.

"You're back," Maddie stated, her voice raspy and distant. "What do you want?" she coldly asked, never once looking at him.

"I'm sorry I left. I'm an ass," Steve confessed walking closer to the piano. He tried to catch her eye, but she refused to look at him.

"Yeah, you are," Maddie agreed.

Reaching the piano he sat next to her on the bench, their shoulders touching.

Although she could feel his eyes on her she continued to look straight ahead. Feeling anxious she started randomly hitting keys.

He was surprised by her nervousness. It was out of character for her, but then she wasn't herself and they were in a weird place. Carefully he placed his hands on hers, stilling them. "Look at me." When she didn't, he nudged her right arm with his left. "Madeline," he coaxed.

"Hm?" she responded, finally turning her face to his.

"I'm sorry about last night. You needed me and I left. There's no excuse." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me," he grinned.

"Okay," she whispered. Maddie didn't know what else to say. She wanted him there with her, but she was worried about him getting hurt, or worse, killed. What am I going to do? she wondered for the millionth time.

"Talk to me... what's wrong?" Steve gently asked. "Whatever's going on, we can fix it. I promise."

Although all she wanted to do was fall into his arms, sob her heart out, and tell him everything, she just couldn't. She had to protect him. And crying all the time was making things worse, causing him to worry. She needed to start pretending and make him believe everything was fine. "Nothing's wrong, Steve. I haven't seen you in two years. Maybe I've just changed."

"You know that's not true." Steve quieted for a minute thinking of how else to get through to her. Breathing in he continued, "Can I just say... I appreciate the fact you didn't rip your IV out when you took a shower and came out here, but instead brought the bag with you." He smiled, looking at the bag of fluid sitting on the piano in front of him. "But," he continued, "don't think I didn't notice you pulled the bandage off your hand and foot."

"They needed air," she replied.

"Uh huh," he smirked, earning him a small smile.

"It's too hard to play with a bandage on," Maddie admitted. "Plus, it's just annoying," she whispered, wrinkling her nose.

Even with her makeup, Steve could see she was exhausted. Not knowing any good way to bring it up he said, "So, I talked to Pete. He told me what's going on."

Maddie sighed, mentally preparing to have to fight him.

"Mads, how are you going to pull this off?"

She sighed. "Steve, I don't have a choice. I have to do this. Plus, I feel a thousand times better. And I don't start rehearsals until tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be good to go by then," she lied.

"Here's how things are gonna go… we're gonna go inside and eat breakfast. Then, we're going upstairs and you're going to sleep."

"But," Maddie began, however Steve cut her off.

"No, Maddie. You are sleeping all day. That's it. No arguments. I'm worried about you and don't want anything to happen because you pushed yourself too hard."

"I have work to do before tomorrow!" Maddie argued. "Yeah, rehearsals start tomorrow, but the songs need to be finished."

"You're too tired to work right now. Depending on how things are later in the day, you can come work for a little bit. But... only if you got some good rest. I'm putting my foot down," Steve stated.

She could tell he wasn't going to let up on this. Arguing was going to get her nowhere. He is so annoying sometimes, she thought as she glared at him. "Don't give me that face! You brought this on yourself."

"Why? Because I can't sleep? I can't help it!" she cried.

"Tell me what the nightmares are about." Steve stared directly at her, his gorgeous blue eyes so intense she had to look away.

That was the last thing Maddie was expecting him to say. I walked right into that one, she thought. He already knew they were about him. She'd let that slip to Danny. She'd have to be more careful from now on if she was going to successfully protect Steve.

"You told me they are always pretty much the same. Mads, tell me about them. Maybe if you talk about it they'll start to go away," Steve suggested, his voice taking on a soothing tone as he rubbed her back with his left hand. "We have to figure out a way to get rid of these. You have to start sleeping. I don't know how much longer you can go on like this and, to be honest, I don't want to find out."

What if I tell him and he figures out I'm in love with him, she worried. Now that she realized how she felt, she found herself doubting every action and thing she would say to him, thinking he'd realize her true feelings.

Steve could see she was thinking. Whatever she was thinking about he wished she'd stop. Underneath his hand he could feel her back tighten. She didn't have to say anything for him to know she was emotionally pushing him away. He could feel the distance growing between them. "Madeline, don't do this. Relax, don't push me away."

"I don't want to talk about it, Steve. It doesn't matter anyway. They're dumb," Maddie told him wishing he'd just drop it, but she knew better.

"Okay, well if they don't matter, if they're stupid, then tell me about them. It shouldn't make a difference," Steve retorted.

He knew that was going to make her mad, but he hoped she might reveal something to him accidentally. "They're none of your business!" she exclaimed.

"But they're about me!" he argued back. "I don't want to be the reason you're not taking care of yourself!"

"Well, you are!" she retorted. Realizing what she'd said, she froze, her eyes wide.

They stared at one another, both frozen. Finally, Steve cleared his throat. "What do you mean?" he whispered.

Maddie's face flushed. Stop getting so emotional about everything. It's making everything worse, she berated herself. Quickly trying to cover her slip she said, "Just that, yes, the nightmares are about you." Deciding that she now would have to tell him something about them to get him off her back, she took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "You're dying in them."

He was shocked. He hadn't expected her to tell him anything. "Mads." Gently, he pulled her head up to look at him, tucking a small strand of hair behind her ear. "Is it because of my job? Have you ever had them before? I mean back when I was overseas."

She was overcome with relief at the idea Steve had just given her. Of course, it made complete sense to say it was his job. How had she not thought of that before? "Yeah, it's your job. I just think not hearing from you in so long freaked me out more than I realized. My imagination started to run wild," she lied. She felt bad about it, but she could live with it if it helped keep him safe.

Steve was overcome with guilt. She'd always been so strong that it hadn't dawned on him that she'd think worst-case scenario when she didn't hear from him. "I'm so sorry, Mads. But, trust me. While Five-O can be dangerous here and there, it is absolutely nothing compared to what I was doing. I'm fine. Nothing is going to happen, okay? I promise."

"You can't promise that," she whispered. It was true. Look what happened to John.

"Okay, fair enough," he admitted. He tried another tactic. "The training I've had... I can't guarantee nothing will happen to me ever, but I can more than take care of myself."

Maddie searched his face, worry lines between her furrowed brows evident. Not even realizing what he was doing, he reached out and smoothed it with his thumb before lightly kissing it. "Don't worry," he whispered before kissing the spot again.

Her stomach did somersaults at his sweet gesture. "Okay," she said, slowly giving him a timid smile.

"I don't like when you keep stuff to yourself. I know you don't like worrying me, but when you hide things, I just worry more. So, no more." He tucked a couple more fly away hairs behind her ears as he stared at her. All I want to do is kiss her, he thought.

Maddie decided she better change the subject when she felt herself leaning closer to him and him doing the same. We can't kiss. As much as I want to, we can't go there, she told herself. She looked away for just a second before bringing her eyes back to his. "Do you have my phone?"

Her question snapped him out of his trance. "Yeah," he answered, pulling it from his pocket. Handing it to her he said, "I was at Five-O pretty much all night checking on the message."

"Yeah?" she asked, her interest piqued. Maddie was hoping he had figured out who was threatening her and then things could go back to normal. God, that would be amazing, she dreamed.

"Yeah. I checked on Winston Graves. He's still in jail. So, it's not him." Steve decided to leave out the part that he would be getting out soon. He didn't want her worrying about it, especially when she had a big show to do. "I have our best tech working on tracing the number. Don't worry, I'll take care of it." He smiled at her. "Mads, you're sure you've never received anything like that before?"

Her stomach clenched. "Yeah," she lied.

"Okay." He knew she still wasn't telling him everything, he just didn't know why. "Well, the team and I will get to the bottom of it. Don't worry." Steve paused, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. She refused to talk about it the night before, but he had to try again. "About the picture…"

Maddie interrupted him. She didn't want to hear about him and Lori. "Steve, it's fine. It's your life. I don't care," she lied.

"Lori and I-"

Again, she cut him off. "Steve, seriously. It's fine."

"She and I had fun-"

Maddie didn't know how much longer she could keep the tears at bay. "Steve. Stop." There was something in her voice that made him listen. Chin was right. The photo upset her, he decided to let it go for now, but would try and bring it up again later.

Feeling the sudden tension between them he knew he needed to do something to fix it. Steve reached up and playfully tugged on the messy bun she'd thrown her hair into when she'd gotten out of the shower. However, he noticed it was still damp. "Your hair's wet still! It's been hours. I don't want you to get sick."

Smiling, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"You worry too much. You sound like my…" she froze as his head shot up to look at her. "Sorry…"

Steve closed his eyes briefly. "I don't want to think about your dad right now, Maddie. That is literally the last thing I want on my mind."

One day soon, Maddie knew they'd have to have a serious talk. They'd never really had a conversation about what she'd hid from him for years when they were young teenagers. She knew it still haunted him. It was why she gave into his overprotective behavior so often.

"I'm sorry…" Maddie told him as she rubbed his shoulder. She watched him fight the anger. Finally, she took her soft hand and pulled his face to hers. Leaning forward she kissed his forehead. Pulling back, she made eye contact with him. He couldn't believe she had just done that. It was a glimpse of the Maddie he knew, not the one hiding from him. As they both stared into one another's eyes they began to lean into one another. Just as their lips were about to touch Maddie tipped her head down. "We can't do this," she whispered, her heart breaking.

"Why?" he murmured. With his lips against her forehead, he kissed her.

"It's just not a good idea right now. I think our emotions are running on high. I scared the hell out of you the last couple days and we haven't seen one another in two years," Maddie responded. While everything she said was one hundred percent true, she wanted, more than anything, to kiss him. How had she not realized until now how she really felt about him? "Not to mention, I think things are too crazy. There's so much going on. I just… I have to pull this show off, and I can't have this distracting me."

"This? You mean me?" He smiled against her forehead.

"Yeah," she mumbled trying her best to keep the tears from falling. As she pulled away from him Steve could, once again, feel the distance she'd put between them emotionally. He didn't even have a chance to wonder why when she continued, "You're just confused, Steve. You don't think of me like this. It's just everything that's happened. And… it's not fair to Lori. You started something with her for a reason. You should see where it goes."

Steve's chest tightened at her words. He didn't want to see if there was something between Lori. And, he didn't think he was confused. He wasn't sure where his feelings were coming from, but he knew they were real. However, he wasn't going to push the topic. Not with the headspace she was currently in. "Yeah, you're right," he lied, pulling away from her.

Maddie was going to lose it any second. She was not expecting for him to agree with her. See, he wants to see what happens with Lori, she thought.

Wanting to escape the awkward feeling in the room he said, "Breakfast is ready, Maddie. Let's go inside."

"Okay. I'll be right in. I just need to finish something before I forget. I need to make sure I write down what I just played," Maddie lied. There was nothing to write down or do. She'd already taken care of it. She just needed a minute to herself.

"Fine, but if you're not inside in five minutes," Steve told her.

"I know," Maddie responded and then turned to her piano and began playing the chords to the song she'd just finished.

Steve watched her for a brief moment before sighing and walking out of the room.

When she heard the front door to the studio close, Maddie broke down, no longer able to keep the tears at bay. She covered her face with her hands as she cried. He'd broken her heart. What had he meant when he said she was right. Right that he was confused about why he wanted to kiss her? Right that he should see where things went with Lori? It was probably all of that and more, she told herself. They'd grown up together and had always just been best friends. He'd only ever see her as that.

"Let it go, Maddie," she whispered. It was pointless to dwell on something that could never happen even if he wanted it to. Even knowing that, it didn't keep her from sitting at her piano crying for what she could never have.

The second Steve had walked outside to see Maddie, Chin, Pete, and Malia had gathered around the screen to watch the interaction. They felt guilty for spying, but couldn't help themselves. However, to feel a bit better they left the sound off.

"Why won't he just realize he's in love with her?" Malia exclaimed.

"He will," Chin and Pete said.

"They'll both figure it out," Pete added.

"Yeah, but by then it might be too late," she responded. Of course, she knew that Maddie had already figured it out, but couldn't tell them that.

Seeing Steve leave the studio they immediately busied themselves. While Malia finished Maddie's oatmeal, Chin set the table. Pete stood at the island putting the potatoes in a serving bowl, the TV screen in view. He frowned as he watched Maddie break down at the piano. He wished he could do something to help them, but he knew this was something they had to figure out on their own.

Steve walked in and immediately felt all eyes on him. Assuming it was because they were wondering if he fixed things after last night he said, "Don't worry, I fixed everything. She'll be in in a second." Meeting Pete's eyes, he could see worry there. He raised his eyebrows in question. Pete responded by nodding his head in the direction of the TV. Crap! He'd forgotten about the TV. I wonder if they were watching us? Steve walked into the kitchen and stood in front of the screen. He froze as he watched Maddie cry. "I don't understand," he whispered to Pete who only shrugged in response.

Steve replayed their conversation in his head trying to figure out what was going on as he watched her sob. As much as he wanted to go to her, he didn't. Instead, he decided to let her cry it out. Right now, he'd focus on getting food into her and getting her to rest. After watching her for a few minutes he saw her slowly stand. He straightened as he watched her grab her head and begin to sway, nearly losing her balance. She fought the dizzy feeling, wiped her face, and limped to the door to put her slippers on. As she stopped at the door he could tell she was preparing herself, pushing away her emotions and the fact she didn't feel good. Seeing she must have been satisfied, she walked out.

Breakfast had been a bit odd. There was definitely some tension in the room. Maddie could feel all eyes on her as she picked at her food. She thought it was because they were watching to see how much she was eating, but in reality they'd noticed her bloodshot eyes.

Setting her spoon down, Maddie leaned back in her chair. "I'm full."

Steve looked across the table at her and shook his head. "A little more. The last time you ate was nearly two days ago and you ended up just throwing that up. You need energy for the next few days."

Leaning forward she grabbed her fork and stabbed at the fruit on her plate. She brought the utensil to her mouth and ate the piece of cantaloupe while glaring at Steve. She really didn't feel up to eating, but didn't have it in her to fully fight him. She was still nauseous, and every bite only seemed to make it worse.

Unable to handle the silence much longer, not to mention all eyes on her she opened her phone and began to play around on it. They are staring at me like I'm a fragile piece of glass, she thought as she checked her email and took a bite of oatmeal. I mean, passing out the other day didn't help, but I'm fine. Suddenly, she got a brilliant idea. Switching from her email to her text messages she set the spoon down so she could use both thumbs to type the mass text. Once she finished and sent it, she set her phone down and looked to Pete, her red eyes meeting his brown ones. "Hey, at some point today we need to get a bunch of food."

"Why?" Pete asked suspiciously. "The cupboards are full. I sent Steve before we got here."

Maddie took a bite of oatmeal as their phones all dinged signaling a new text message. Swallowing she looked up at them, "We're having a barbeque tonight."

"Not gonna happen!" Steve exclaimed.

"You don't have to be a part of it if you don't want to. But your co-workers got a terrible first impression of me. Plus, I have people coming in tonight. No one's excited about this show, which I understand, trust me. So, I think this is a good way to start the next couple of days. It'll be fun!" Maddie paused as she looked away from a fuming Steve. "I don't have Danny's number or Lori's, so please invite them for me. And tell Danny to bring his daughter and wife."

"He's divorced," Steve mumbled, not thrilled by the idea.

"Well, she can come if she wants to. Or not. Whatever. He can decide," she said. Pushing her food away, Maddie stood up, "Well, that was absolutely delicious. Thank you so much, Malia. But, I have a ton of work to do, so I'm heading back out to the studio."

"Madeline, freeze. We talked about this," Steve said from his spot across the table. Although he didn't raise his voice, they could hear he was mad, and serious. Most people would do exactly what he said when they saw this side of him, but Maddie was different.

Ignoring Steve she said, "Pete, keep the TV mu…" Maddie stopped mid word. Her stomach dropped as her eyes closed. The security system was on. Steve saw me crying, she thought. She opened her eyes turning to meet Steve's. He knew exactly what was running through her mind.

By the look on his face Maddie knew he'd seen her breakdown. Feeling like she was unable to have any private moment she became angry. Turning back around she walked towards the back door. "Maddie, no," Steve said, his tone of voice still the same.

Chin, Pete, and Malia said nothing as they waited to see what would transpire between the two.

Maddie was nearing the door when she heard Steve's chair slide against the floor followed by his footsteps. "Maddie, you are not going back out there."

All the moments of having absolutely zero privacy hit her, along with the stalker and her heart breaking over Steve. Instead of listening to him, she quickened her pace. However, she didn't get as far as she had hoped thanks to her injured foot. Just as her hand touched the door Maddie felt Steve's arms wrap around her waist. "Let me go! I have shit to do!"

"No. We had a deal. Stop being so stubborn!" he growled, his voice showing his anger as he held her tight against his body.

"Steven Jack McGarrett! LET. ME. GO!" she cried as she tried to fight him off.

He knew exactly what had set her off. She was mad that she couldn't live life like a "normal person" and that her every move was watched. They'd had arguments about it in the past. Realizing he had seen her crying on the screen had embarrassed and upset her. Knowing Maddie was going to keep fighting him, Steve threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! Damn it, Steve!" Maddie yelled as he began walking towards the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the smirks from Pete, Chin, and Malia.

"Calm down, Mads," Steve told her as he walked them upstairs.

"You can't just make me do what you want all the time! Let me go!" Maddie yelled as she banged her fists against his back.

Entering her room, he used his foot to slam the door behind him. "Finally! What the he…" she began as he set her down. But as soon as her feet touched the floor a huge wave of dizziness hit her. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she started to go down.

"Maddie?" Steve whispered at the look on her face. Thankfully he was quick and reached out, catching her before she hit the floor. "Shit," he cursed as he set her on the bed. "Maddie?" He shook her gently.

Her eyes opened immediately. "You okay?" he asked brushing hair from her face.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Steve, I have to go." Maddie tried to get up but paused from the dizziness.

Steve kicked off his shoes as he shook his head. "Maddie, what you need more than anything is to get some rest." Lying down on the other side of the bed, he looked over to her. "But how about this? You sleep for a while and then you can go back and work on what you need to do for an hour or so. Then you rest again. Okay?"

Maddie knew he was right. Just lying there she could feel the exhaustion taking over. "Okay, deal." She paused. "Sorry I got upset."

Steve chuckled. "It's fine. I get it. I know how hard it is for you to feel like you can't just do what you want."

She stared at him, wishing there wasn't so much space between them, but also knowing it was for the best. "Did I hurt you when I was hitting you?" she asked, feeling guilty.

Smiling he shook his head. "You're teeny, Mads. There's no way you hurt me. It was actually pretty cute the way you were hitting me with your teeny, tiny fists," he joked.

"I don't have tiny fists! And if I wanted to I could've hurt you!" she exclaimed.

"Whatever you say, baby fists!" Steve teased.

Maddie smiled slightly shaking her head a bit before her eyes fluttered closed and then opened again as she fought sleep.

"Hey, I have an idea," Steve announced.

"Hm?" she asked.

"What if… no bodyguards for a couple weeks-"

"Really?" she interrupted. Although the idea made her nervous, it also sounded fantastic.

"Wait! Let me finish. We can send everyone on vacation, including Pete, after the show Wednesday. But... you get me."

Maddie loved the idea, but what if her stalker didn't. It was as if he could read her mind. "Maddie, I promise you and I hanging out will not cause something bad to happen. Is that what that text message was about? Someone doesn't want us to be around one another?"

Maddie's heart quickened. He's figuring it out, she thought. Just keep lying and playing dumb. "I don't know what that text was about. Like I told you before, that's the first one I've gotten. Anyway, it sounds great! I love the idea," she lied. She did love the idea, but was worried about something happening to him.

"Okay, it's a deal! Now, why were you crying after I left the studio?" Steve asked.

His question reminded Maddie about their earlier conversation and how he agreed he needed to see what would happen with Lori. "What is it?" Steve asked, feeling her put that emotional distance between them again.

"Nothing. I'm just tired," she whispered closing her eyes and turning over, her back now to Steve. Maddie had left a huge space between them even though deep inside she wanted to be in his arms. But, she just thought it would make things harder on herself. She had no idea that all Steve wanted to do was hold her as well.

Although upset, Steve reached down for the big, thick, fleece knitted blanket she kept at the foot of her bed and covered Maddie with it. Once satisfied she was warm enough he kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Maddie," Steve whispered before lying down and shutting his eyes. It wasn't long before they were both asleep.