Anne McGarrett

Chapter 16

Steve's POV

Steve waited until his Sister had gone upstairs before he phoned Danny. He was hoping she would get some sleep, she looked awful, but a part of him knew she wouldn't even try. Once he was sure she was out of earshot he called Danny.

'Do you have any idea how early it is?' Danny complained as soon as he answered the phone 'What can possibly be so important that you need to call me before 7am'

'Morning to you to partner' Steve smiled 'I didn't wake you up did I?'

'No you did not, but I was enjoying my breakfast which is now going cold'

'I'm sure you'll survive. Look I need a favour'

'Oh you need a favour. You phone me before dawn, interrupt my breakfast, and then make fun of me, why should I do you a favour?' Danny asked sarcastically

'Technically it's not for me it's for Anne'

'Oh well in that case consider it done. What do you need?'

'I need you to run the team today. Anne doesn't want to be by herself and I told her I would stay home. Can you do that for me?'

'No problem. How's she holding up?'

'Not great' Steve said sitting down and rubbing his temples 'She's not sleeping, and I think she's trying to manage without taking her pain medication, although I'm not sure. She's convinced herself that Kyle is going to come after her when he finds out she spoke out. I've told her I won't let him near her, but she doesn't believe me'

'Poor kid. I can't imagine what she must be going through. Make sure she knows that none of us will let Kyle get anywhere near her'

'Thanks man. Call me if you need me'

Steve ended his call with Danny, grabbed Eddie, and headed for a swim followed by a run. When he got home, and after he had had a quick shower, he decided to make some breakfast for himself and Anne. She hadn't really eaten anything yesterday, or the day before come to think of it, and he wanted to make sure she wasn't starving herself. He chopped up some fruit and made up a fruit salad before cooking up a batch of pancakes. He then proceeded to make his Sister a mug of tea before heading to see if she was awake, although he figured she would be. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he heard the shower running so decided to head back into the kitchen to wait for her to come downstairs.

As Anne walked into the kitchen Steve could see just how much the current situation had affected her. She had dark circles under eyes; she jumped when Eddie barked at something outside; and she was holding her arm across her rib cage which indicated that she was in pain. He wanted nothing more than to make everything ok, but knew he couldn't.

As his eyes scanned over her body he noticed she looked like she had been crying and he thought about asking her about it, but quickly changed his mind. He didn't want to cause her any more upset not that she would admit to crying anyway. Instead he pulled out one of the seats at the island and made sure she was settled before handing her a hot drink.

Steve watched as she gingerly leaned over to grab some fruit salad and pulled in back towards herself. He noticed she hadn't taken a lot of fruit, but was pleased she had at least taken something and looked like she was going to eat it all. Anne must have felt his eyes on her as she looked over at him.

'Thank you for making this, you didn't have to' she said smiling softly

'It's not a problem. It's not exactly like it took a lot of effort to whip up'

'Well I appreciate it all the same' she hesitated slightly before continuing 'Is Danny ok with you not going in today?'

'Absolutely, in fact as soon as I mentioned your name he didn't even stop to think about it before agreeing'

'Will you tell him I said thanks when you next talk to him?'

'Sure, but you can tell him yourself next time you see him. Knowing Danny he'll come over after work just to make sure everything is good'

'Ok and thank you for staying with me. I know it's probably not your first choice'

'I told you, you need me and I'm here. No matter what. You don't need to keep thanking me'

'I know, but I still appreciate you staying'

Steve didn't respond to his Sister instead going around the island and wrapping her in a hug. As he did he felt her relax as she leaned into him and he didn't let go until he felt her pulling away.