Ive often wondered what how Steve would react if something ever happened to Catherine. Something tells me his "calm cool and always in control" facade would fade pretty quickly. This may give us a glimpse into the "what ifs".

As always, please review and let me know what you think.

THANKS for reading! :)

Grace and Catherine made their way back into Steve's house after a swim to get some snacks and drinks. Grace was spending the day with Catherine after Steve and Danny had been called out on a case. That was fine with her because she loved 'girl time' with Aunt Cath.

They had spent a couple of hours on the beach behind Steve's house and worked up an appetite. It was definitely time for lunch.

"How about a sandwich, Gracie? I think Uncle Steve might have some fruit in here too," Catherine said as she started looking inside the refrigerator and got out a few things to put onto the kitchen island so they could start assembling their sandwiches.

All of a sudden, Catherine let out a pained shriek and doubled over until she was on her knees. Grace was so startled, she dropped the knife she'd been using to spread mustard on their sandwiches and moved quickly to the other side of the counter to peer down at Catherine who was now holding her side in pain.

"Aunt Cath! What's wrong?!"

"I'm okay, Grace. Just give me a sec." Catherine answered even though she was panting and in obvious pain. It took her a few minutes to get the pain under control as she took deep breaths and tried to calm down. Seeing how Catherine was struggling, Grace wasn't at all convinced she was really okay.

"Aunt Cath? Oh my God….I'm calling Uncle Steve." Grace moved to get her phone, but Catherine stopped her.

"No, Grace. I'm okay."

"But you're in pain!" Concern was etched all over her young face.

"Sweetie, I promise I'm okay. Five-0 is on a case right now, so there is no need to bother them with something little like this." When Grace didn't look convinced, she continued, "Sometimes I have problems like this but it always goes away. I'll be fine. I just need to catch my breath. AND, if it doesn't go away, I'll have Uncle Steve take me to the doctor later. Okay? " Catherine offered what she hoped was an encouraging smile and saw Grace calm down as well.

Although Catherine had no intention of letting Steve know about this because he would have a friggin' cow…..but right now, her priority was making Gracie feel better.

She would be okay. She willed it in her mind…..and knew it would happen that way.

She hoped.

After a few minutes, it seemed as if Catherine had recovered, so she picked herself up off the floor and tried to distract Grace by getting back to the task of making their lunch. They made their way back outside to eat on the lanai, and even though Grace occasionally cast a worried glance in Catherine's direction, it did appear as if she might be okay.

They spent a little more time in the water before getting dry clothes on and driving to HQ. The Team was back, so Steve had called Cath to bring Gracie in so they could all go to dinner together.

Catherine and Grace were walking into HQ when it happened again. Catherine could have cursed her body's timing.

If this was going to happen again, why the hell couldn't it happen when I was by myself? she fumed.

She knew instinctively Steve was going to have a fit as she felt her body give in to the pain and started falling again. The pain was so sharp and sudden that she didn't have time to brace herself before she was doubled over on the floor again. Alarm filled Steve's face as he sprinted towards her and lowered himself down beside her.

"Catherine!"

He started looking her over frantically trying to see what was wrong, "Catherine?" his voice choked out again.

Catherine wasn't at a point where she could answer him yet because the pain was too intense. She continued to take deep breaths in and out and willed the pain to ease up.

Grace stood helplessly beside her as she looked from Steve to Danny, "This is what happened earlier. I knew I should have called you!"

Danny looked at her, "This happened once already today?"

Grace looked at him and shook her head.

"Well, why didn't you call?" Danny asked her.

"Aunt Cath asked me not to. She said she was okay…but I knew something was wrong!" Grace cried. Danny pulled his daughter into his arms and held her while Steve tried to tend to Catherine.

"Cath….talk to me, babe. What's wrong?"

Catherine's breathing was finally slowing down, "Gimme a minute." She pleaded on a whisper.

Steve looked towards Grover who was now at their side, "Call an ambulance."

His reaction was exactly what she'd been afraid would happen. She reached her free hand up to grab his arm. "No, Steve. Please. I don't need an ambulance. I'm fine now."

Steve was not in the mood to argue. He picked her up gingerly and began carrying her into his office so he could lay her on the couch. "The hell you are, Cath. You are obviously not okay, so we're calling paramedics. Don't even think about fighting me on this."

When Catherine didn't argue with him anymore as he'd expected, he looked down at her in his arms and was worried to see that her eyes were still closed in pain. She was also burning up and obviously had a fever. Something was definitely wrong. He entered his office and gently placed her on the couch before asking Danny to grab a blanket for her. Then he got down on his knees beside her.

"Talk to me, babe. Where does it hurt?"

Catherine swallowed and opened her eyes to look at him. "Steve, I promise it's nothing. I think it's probably just a cyst. If you'd just let me up for a second, I can walk it off."

She tried to shift on the couch to sit up but the pain in her side wouldn't allow it. Steve pushed her back down, "Stay down," He demanded softly. "You're not going anywhere. Now…..tell me what's going on. What kind of cyst?"

Catherine let out a frustrated sigh, "A couple of times in the past, I've had a cyst…..On my ovaries. Both times I went to the doctor and was told there was nothing to worry about and they would eventually go away…..and they did. I must have another one. Soooooo, it will go away too. It's no big deal…..really."

Steve knew she wasn't telling him the truth. Catherine didn't like to be stuck in bed any more than he did. Well, unless they were doing something enjoyable….Then they both loved being in bed together. But that was beside the point. Steve shook his head and turned his attention back to her.

It was typical of Catherine to pretend everything was okay even if it wasn't.

"Has the pain been this bad in the past?" he asked.

Grace walked in with a blanket and handed it to Steve. He gave her a grateful smile, "Thanks, sweetie."

"I'm sorry Uncle Steve. I should have called you." Gracie looked so guilty that Catherine suddenly felt shame for putting her in this position. It hadn't been her intention to worry Grace…..and she honestly hadn't expected it to happen twice in one day.

"Gracie, it's okay." Steve tried to comfort her. "Cath will be fine."

"That's right, honey. I'm going to be fine." Catherine assured her as Steve put the blanket around Cath. He noticed that she had started to chill and also picked up on the fact that she continued to avoid his gaze and evade his question. Obviously because she knew she couldn't lie to him.

He looked back to little girl, "Can you give us a second, Gracie?"

She complied and walked back out to join Danny and Grover who were both hovering outside and waiting for the paramedics to arrive. Chin and Kono had also returned from a visit to Max, so they were being told what was going on…..or what little they knew at this point.

"Look at me, Cath. Was the pain this bad the other two times?"

She shook her head and sighed again, "No. It wasn't this bad before. But Steve, I think I'll be okay. I don't want you to call the…."

"Stop." He interrupted her. His voice was low and firm, "Lou's already called the paramedics and we're getting you to the hospital. End of discussion. Do you understand me?"

She knew she wasn't going to win. And honestly, she was a little nervous herself this time. The pain was unlike anything she'd felt before. Steve leaned down to kiss her forehead before glancing up to see the paramedics entering. Danny led them to Steve's office.

"Commander McGarrett," one of them said in greeting, "What's going on?"

Steve pointed towards Catherine, "This is Catherine Rollins. She has doubled over in pain a couple of times today. So much so that it took her breath and she couldn't stand up. It feels like she might also have a fever."

As if on cue, Catherine grabbed her side again. She was obviously trying to downplay the pain but they could see the truth written on her face. Both men made their way to her side. When she could speak again, she told them about her previous problems. A quick check of her temperature showed that she had did indeed have a high fever and her blood pressure had also spiked due to the pain.

"We need to transport you, ma'am. Occasionally, cysts can be large enough that they don't go away on their own. It could also be your appendix. If either of those is the case, you'll need surgery. If it is a cyst or your appendix and they burst, you're going to be in critical condition very quickly. We need to get you checked out."

Catherine suddenly looked exhausted and didn't argue with them on that point which caused Steve's worry to spike even more. If she wasn't fighting tooth and nail about going to the hospital, she must really feel bad.

"We're going to go down for the gurney and will be right back up to transport you downstairs." One of the men said.

Catherine tried to get up, "I don't need that. I can walk."

Steve glared at her and his gaze was intense enough that she didn't move anymore, "…or maybe not." She said weakly.

The paramedics chuckled softly, "Okay, stay put and we'll be right back."