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

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you all so much for your kind messages. I know this is a short chapter, but it's just a piece of the large chapter I've been working on. I thought you'd appreciate a quicker update.

As always, thoughts are in italics.

Enjoy!

DivaLola

CHAPTER 34

"So," Maddie whispered, hating the silence that had fallen over the room.

Doc cleared his voice. "I got everything out of your foot... It's really infected," he told her. "Have you taken your antibiotic today?"

Biting her lip, she shook her head. Carefully, she moved her foot the smallest amount, testing the waters. The pain that shot through her foot nearly took her breath away and she immediately stilled. How am I gonna perform, she worried.

"You should take a pain pill," Steve said, his tone quiet and calm. Although she hadn't winced, he could tell she was in agony.

"I'll be okay," she lied.

"Maddie, come on," he said, sighing in exasperation. "I know you're in pain." He didn't understand why she wouldn't just admit it.

"Steve's right. I don't even need to look at you to know you're hurting." Doc paused as his eyes traveled from her face to her foot. "I mean, look at this," he motioned to her right foot. He waited until she was looking towards it before continuing. "Remember how it was really only red along the bottom of your foot?" He took a deep breath and let it out before proceeding. "Now it's up your heel about a quarter of an inch. And it's slightly visible on the left side of your heel." Doc sighed, shaking his head, and returned his eyes to her pale and exhausted face. "Madeline, this is really bad. People can, and have, lost their foot because of a terrible infection like this. You HAVE to keep this clean and stay off of it."

Steve studied Maddie's injured foot as Doc pointed out what was going on. Wanting to see Maddie's reaction to Doc's warning, his eyes flitted from her foot to her face. Although she was doing her best to keep a calm and collected façade on, he could tell it was just that. A façade. She was clenching her jaw in what he assumed was not only pain, but also worry over the realization of how bad it was. And God was she pale. She seemed to be getting paler and paler by the minute. The makeup that had hid as much of her exhaustion and illness as possible was now fading significantly. Dark bags were now visible under her gorgeous, but dull blue eyes.

"How can I stay... uh... off it for the show?" Maddie managed to ask. She was so tired it was taking everything she had to form sentences. Doc cleaning her foot had taken what little energy she had left. She wasn't sure how much longer she could fight sleep, something they were all aware of. They eyed one another, silently communicating their concern.

"I know you have no choice," Doc sighed. "Mads, it's a perfect time to take a pain pill. I know they make you sleepy and loopy, but that's okay because you have some down time.

As much as she wanted to prove she was fine, they were right. She was in agony. "Okay," she finally said, admitting defeat. She sighed. "Aren't you gonna ... wrap it up?"

"No, it needs some air for a while. Plus, it's still really bleeding." She glanced in the direction of her foot and took in the blood on the towel it sat on. Gross, she thought.

Doc flashed her a sympathetic smile at her obvious disdain at the idea of airing it out before asking, "Speaking of pills, have you taken any of your pills today?"

Pills? Steve thought. As in plural? God, he really hoped she wasn't taking what he thought she was. He turned and noticed she was even more uptight than she had been thirty seconds before. That alone answered the questions he hadn't yet asked.

Maddie swallowed visibly, knowing exactly what Steve had discovered from Doc's question. Great… she thought. "No," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Maddie," Steve slowly said, the anger he suddenly felt poorly concealed. His tone, although warning, also had a slight hesitant quality to it as if he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. He waited for her to meet his eyes, but she didn't. Instead, she stayed rooted in her tense position, eyes straight ahead, unmoving. "What pills?" he finally asked, knowing she wasn't going to respond. Again she said and did nothing. Feeling his irritation rise, he ordered, "Look at me."

Knowing he wasn't going to let it go, she hesitantly turned her head to look at him. His eyebrows arched questioningly as he waited for her to speak. "Prednisone," she whispered, hoping the quieter she was the better chance he wouldn't hear.

"Damn it, Maddie!" Steve exclaimed, shaking his head. He paused, trying to get his rising anger in check. "How much?"

Seeing her hesitate, Doc decided he would try to explain why she was on it. "A lot. More than she's been on in a while," he replied honestly. A little too honestly for Maddie's liking.

"I don't like her on that. She loses her appetite. Most people," Steve began.

"- have an increase in appetite. But in Maddie's case it takes it away. I know," Doc interrupted. It was one of his own concerns and reasons he did everything he could to avoid putting her on the medication.

Doc's admission only angered Steve more. "Then why give it to her if you know it does that?" he asked, fuming.

"I rarely do. Unfortunately, the situation we were in-" He paused. "- are in," he corrected himself. "It was our only option. I was trying to keep her from getting sick and help her voice at the same time." Doc paused, taking in the Navy SEAL's angry demeanor. "Just know I've been keeping an extremely close eye on her. She has to drink a special shake if she's not going to eat. It helps give her the nutrition she'd get from a meal."

"I don't care," Steve said. "I don't want her on it." He remembered four years before when they'd put her on a high dose of it, the most she'd ever been on. She'd been extremely sick and needed to get through an important week of appearances and performances, including the Grammy's. She'd had a bad reaction to the medication and, since Steve was her emergency contact, he'd been called. He was in the Middle East at the time and couldn't get to her, which nearly killed him. He was, however, able to video chat with her while she was in the hospital and she looked horrible. She was hospitalized for almost a week and he'd made her promise she'd never take it again. "It's not just the appetite. Four years ago-,"

"I know, Steve," Doc interrupted again. "I was the doctor assigned to her case in the hospital. Afterwards, she switched and I became her primary care physician." He gave the man a small, reassuring smile. "I promise, I am watching her. I've been on top of it. So far, she's fine." Doc paused, meeting Steve's worried eyes. "I promise, I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

Although he knew Doc meant what he was saying, Steve shook his head. "It's not worth the risk. She can't take it."

Maddie had been doing everything she could not to lose it on Steve. Where did he get off trying to control her and tell her what to do? He didn't get a say in this. It was his last statement that was the final straw. "Are you kidding me right now?" Maddie asked, turning to him.

Steve knew what was coming, but he didn't care. He stared back at her, his eyes challenging.

"You don't get a say in this, Steve!" she cried.

"Yes, I do!" he argued, only angering her further.

"No, you don't! You aren't my boyfriend or anything close to it. Therefore, you don't get a say," she yelled softly. Realizing what she said, her face began to turn red. "And... um... Not that I'm saying you would get a say if you were – or, uh, that I want you to be, ... but," she stuttered, embarrassed.

Steve smirked. He couldn't help it. She was cute when she was embarrassed and flustered. "I do get a say because I care about you." He paused, sighing loudly. "Like I told you earlier, I was gonna wait until after the show, but do you want to talk about it now? Clear things up?" he asked. "I told you I was sorry, that I didn't mean it."

Maddie tensed as she stared over his left shoulder, unable to meet his eyes. Or his face for that matter. "I don't know what you're talking about," she responded. Not only did her voice take on a distant quality, but her demeanor as well as she put her invisible walls up.

"Maddie," Steve began, his chest tightening.

"I'll take them now," Maddie interrupted, turning to look at Doc. She refused to have this conversation with Steve, especially in front of others.

Steve sighed, frustrated and unsure how he was going to get through to her. However, as Doc rooted around in his bag for her pills, Steve realized now wasn't the time to think about it. This was more important. "Maddie, I'm not kidding. I don't want you taking Prednisone. It's too dangerous," he said, his tone taking on a slightly desperate quality, something she'd never heard from him before.

Confused, Maddie turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed as she studied him. She knew what had happened years earlier had scared him, but there was more to it. Suddenly it dawned on her. He was worried about an eating disorder. That the side effect of the medication would provide her with an excuse to not eat. "Steve," she said softly as she searched his eyes. "I'm taking it for exactly the reason Doc said. And he is watching me closely. Okay?"

"This will be her last big dose, I'll be weaning it down over the next two days," Doc added.

Steve was silent as he thought things through. He knew what she was trying to tell him, and he wished more than anything that it made him feel better. That it made him worry less. But it didn't. The rumor that she had an eating disorder was just an extra reason he didn't want her to take the drug. She'd could've died from it before; it wasn't worth risking her life again. Sighing, he finally said, "You can't take it until you eat lunch."

Maddie's shoulders dropped a bit at his statement. "Steve, I'm not hungry. Really."

"I don't care. You need to eat something," Steve told her authoritatively.

Maddie was annoyed, but she could see he was scared. Scared the rumors were true. Because of that, she conceded. "Fine." Seeing his small, triumphant smile she added, "But I'm not promising I'm gonna eat a lot."

"We'll see," he told her cockily.

Wanting to leave the two alone to see if they could hopefully work things out, Doc began packing up his small, black leather bag. "Speaking of lunch," he began. "I'm gonna go get some." With his right hand he gently lifted Maddie's still bleeding foot from his lap.

"Me too," Tina announced, also wanting to leave Maddie and Steve alone.

"Perfect," Doc said, looking to Maddie's assistant and friend as he stood from the coffee table. "I want to check you out anyway." He placed the towel on the edge of the coffee table and then very gently placed Maddie's bleeding foot on it. At her sharp intake of breath he said, "Sorry, Mads. I know it hurts. Get some food in you and then take these pills." He set a handful of pills on the coffee table. "Alright, T, let's go and check that head of yours."

"It's really not necessary. I'm fine," Tina claimed.

"Yes, it is," Steve stated, again taking on that commanding tone he often got.

Tina's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, but," she looked over at Steve. "Can we keep what happened between us?"

Steve squinted his eyes as he studied her. He remembered how Pete had looked at Tina worriedly in the main room. Was something going on between them? "You mean, you don't want Pete to know?" Steve asked, fishing for information.

She paused, not expecting his question. "Anyone. I don't want anyone knowing. It was no big deal."

The fact she'd paused before answering told him his instinct was correct. She didn't want Pete to know. But why? he wondered. "If it's no big deal why can't anyone know?"

"Steve," Maddie intervened, her tone taking on a warning quality. "Leave her alone. You don't need to know everything about everyone. She's fine, so no one needs to know about it." Maddie wasn't sure what was going on with Tina, but ever since she'd come back from getting them food she could tell something was off.

Feigning mock annoyance, Steve rolled his eyes. "Fine," he mumbled. "I won't say anything."

"Good boy," Maddie teased. Their eyes met, and they smiled at one another. The entire simple exchange was difficult for her, but she had promised herself that although she wasn't back to her old self, she'd pretend she was.

Tina looked to Doc, her eyebrows raised in question.

"Your secret's safe with me," he smiled. "Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Do you guys need anything before we leave?"

"No," Steve said. "We're good."

"Your lunch is on the table," Tina told them standing slowly before beginning to walk to the door, ignoring the strange feeling in her head. Suddenly she stopped, realizing she'd forgotten to do something. "Mads, let me help you finish getting dressed."

"I can help her," Steve said as he met Maddie's eyes mischievously. He was testing the waters with her, seeing how she'd react.

Maddie immediately grew nervous. Is he making fun of the fact I have feelings for him? she wondered. If she'd been thinking clearly when it came to him she would have acknowledged that he would never do something like that. He wasn't a mean person. However, she wasn't thinking clearly. Suddenly feeling even more self-conscious she tucked the blanket under her legs.

Steve forced himself to keep from frowning as he watched her emotionally withdraw. How am I gonna get through to her, he wondered.

Seeing that Maddie was beginning to panic, Tina said, "Why don't you finish getting Maddie's big brace ready as I'm sure Doc wants her in it."

"Yeah, I do," Doc smiled and walked towards the kitchen. "Come on, Steve."

Reluctantly, Steve rose, never taking his eyes off Maddie. He moved slowly, hoping to catch her eye, but she refused. Instead, she busied herself with the blanket on her lap, pretending to readjust it. Finally he sighed, "I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything, Mads."

She nodded, biting her bottom lip uncomfortably.

With how she'd curled into him and sought his comfort, Steve had been feeling a bit more hopeful that he'd be able to fix things with her. But that hopefulness was replaced by fear and uncertainty now that she was shut down again.

Tina approached Maddie. "How do you want to do this?" Tina grabbed the clean pair of black leggings she'd set on the coffee table. Maddie reached forward, preparing to set her elevated right leg onto the floor in order to stand. "Wait, just stay like this for a second."

As Tina squatted down in front of her boss, she bunched up the left leg and slid it over Maddie's left foot, leaving it pooled around her ankle. She then bunched up the right leg. However, because she didn't want to bump Maddie's injured foot she stretched the leg hole as wide as possible. Carefully she began guiding it over her elevated foot.

It didn't take long for Tina to get the black leggings pulled up her legs. Once she got them to her upper thighs, she stopped. Before she could ask Maddie how she wanted to get them over her butt, the singer used her hands and lifted her bottom half off the couch a few inches.

"Would you mind-" Maddie began. However, there was no reason for her to finish because Tina had already pulled the leggings up the rest of the way. "Thanks, T. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"No problem," Tina smiled. However, Maddie immediately noticed there was something different about her smile. Not only did it not quite reach her eyes, but there was a sadness to it.

"You okay?" Maddie whispered.

Tina nodded sadly, trying to keep her emotions from showing.

"T?" Maddie asked, her voice taking on a concerned tone. "You know you can talk to me."

A sad smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she recalled what had happened while she was getting lunch for Steve and Maddie. "I know... it's..." She stopped, her eyes darting towards the kitchen.

Before she could finish, Maddie said, "No worries. I got it. We'll talk later. And if you need me before then, just let me know and I'll kick my overprotective babysitter out of the room."

"You better not be talking about me," Steve said, walking around the couch and stopping next to the coffee table, the knee brace and tank in his arms.

"Of course not," Maddie said, flashing him an innocent smile. "I would never do such a thing."

Steve jokingly narrowed his eyes at her. "Uh huh," he muttered skeptically.

Seeing them slightly banter, although she knew it was forced on Maddie's end, Tina felt it was time to give them privacy. "I'm gonna go. Let me know if you need anything."

"T?" Maddie called out to her, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Later, Mads," Tina responded, trying to smile as reassuringly as possible.

"Everything okay?" Steve asked, picking up on their cryptic exchange.

After a few seconds of the two women staring at one another, Maddie turned to look at Steve and plastered on a smile. "Yep! Everything's good."

Steve studied her. Finally, he hesitantly said, "Okay."

"Mads, keep that foot up and let it breathe," Doc told her from the door. "I'll be back to check on it in about an hour. Until then, eat something, take your pills, and try and get some rest. Okay?"

"I'm fine," Maddie said as she stifled a yawn.

Steve shook his head, inwardly cursing her stubbornness. "She will do all of those things." He turned and met Maddie's eyes.

She wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes at Steve, preparing to challenge him.

Doc only chuckled, shaking his head at their complete denial over the fact they were in love. He pulled and held the door open for Tina. As she walked through they shared a knowing look.