Anne McGarrett

Chapter 1

Anne sat on the edge of her hospital bed trying to ignore the pain coming from her ribs and head. She had had another falling out with her boyfriend this time ending up with her in hospital after 'falling' down a set of stairs. It wasn't the first time her boyfriend had assaulted her, but it was probably the most damage he had done in one go. It was usually a punch here or a slap there which she could pass off as something else if she had been daft enough to let anyone catch a glimpse of the bruises. Of course he had been verbally abusive, but that was a lot easier to hide from those around her.

The main issue Anne currently faced, other than being in hospital, was what to do next. She wanted to phone her Brother and get him to pick her up but knew she couldn't do that as he would ask too many questions. It was the same with her best friend. The other issue with telling them was that her boyfriend had threatened to go after her friends and family if she breathed a word to anyone.

The only thing that Anne could think of doing was moving back to the mainland. In her mind that was the only thing she could do to keep everyone she cared about safe. The only problem with that would be getting off the island without anyone realising what she was doing. A task that would be more difficult given her Brother was the Commander of the Hawaii 5-0 task force.

It took Anne a lot longer than she planned to get discharged from hospital (most of the time spent trying to convince the staff that they didn't need to call her Brother). By the time she got home she didn't have a lot of time to pack a bag and get back out again before her Brother came home. She had made the decision to get the 9.15pm flight to San Francisco, although she would need to buy the ticket with cash at the airport as her Brother would have his team track her bank card. From their she didn't know where she would go, but figured she had to take things one step at a time.

The only thing left for her to do was to let her Brother know she was leaving and ask him not to look for her (although she knew he would look anyway). She debated between phoning him and leaving a note with her opting for the latter. She was likely to get upset if she spoke to him and that would put an end to any chance of sneaking away. In the end she wrote a brief note and then called a taxi.

Steve, I'm sorry for telling you like this but I don't know how else to do it. I can't speak to you about what's happened because you'll try to change my mind and that's not an option, at least not right now. Anyway what I'm trying to say is that I need to get away for a while and I don't know when I'll be back. I can't explain why I'm leaving, but I promise you it's for the best. Please don't try to stop me, or find me, I'll be ok on my own. I'll get in touch when I can. I'm so sorry for telling you like this but I hope you understand. Love, Anne xx

Anne left the note on the counter where she knew her Brother would find it and went outside to wait for her taxi. When it arrived she took one last look at her home, took a deep breathe, and headed for the airport.