It's New Year's Eve and a time for reflection and fireworks.

Adding my usual disclaimer that the concept of the Original Hawaii Five-O belongs to CBS. I simply think of them as old friends who drop by for tea on a regular basis.

Reviews welcome.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

(I'm hoping google got the translation from English to Hawaiian right. If not, please let me know and I will change it!)

Hau 'oli Makahiki Hou

McGarrett leaned back in his chair and tried to stretch the kinks out of his back. Why am I still here? he asked himself as he hit the computer's save button. No use working most of the night and then losing everything to one wrong keystroke. Any key my Irish ass, that blasted machine is possessed. In a way it was frightening, how much of their job was being done by computer these days. It certainly made keeping up with case files easier and the direct line to the FBI's computers on the mainland meant that fingerprints, mug shots, and even DNA samples could be verified in minutes, instead of the days it once took. Everything was changing and he was determined that Five-O was going to be on the leading edge of any new law enforcement technology.

That was why he was in his office on New Year's Eve, putting the finishing touches on the proposal he was going to hand to the governor on January 2nd. He had facts and figures and equipment lists of the things they were going to need if Island law enforcement was going to keep ahead of criminals who were already three steps ahead in the cyber game and accelerating rapidly. He wanted to hire more officers, open offices on all the Islands but would settle for ones on Maui, Hilo, and Molokai. And, damn it all, he wanted his own chopper, two if he could get them. He was tired of begging for rides from the Coast Guard and HPD.

Then there was the biggest request on the list. Five-O was rapidly outgrowing Iolani Palace. If the overcrowded offices weren't bad enough, they still had to deal with the Historical Society. In a way, Steve could sympathize with them. Iolani Palace was the only royal palace on American soil and the Islanders wanted it back and completely restored. Five-O needed more room. What he wanted was a new building, with everything from offices to crime lab under one roof.

He had been working on the proposition for over a year now. The idea had started forming during the hunt for a serial killer who had been preying on the hookers of Honolulu. He hadn't been able to pry the funds he needed for a task force to hunt down the killer until the monster had killed a nineteen year old army private. After the funds had been approved, it was only a matter of a few days until they found the killer, a Navy Senior Chief who had killed at least 34 women that they knew of, leaving behind a string of dead bodies that ran from Whidbey Island to the Middle East. The CPO was now sweating out brig time at Pearl Harbor, his trial for the murder of three service women; two female sailors murdered on the high seas and a young Army private who had seen too much, was scheduled to begin in February.

The project had taken on a life of it's own after Maggie and Susan had been abducted by Big Chicken and his cronies. Maggie's spine had been re-injured and she had lost the child she was carrying. His child. They never knew if it was a boy or a girl, just a faint whisper that wasn't allowed to grow. He had taken leave from Five-O while Maggie was on convalescent leave. With Danny's help Steve had put together two home computers that rivaled the one sitting on his desk back at Iolani Palace. His was firewalled, password protected, and crypto enabled if he should ever need to encrypt anything. Maggie had shown him the ins and outs of web searching and what programs he would need to use. Her computer, while internet enabled, only ran a web browser, a couple of graphics programs, and a program that did word processing. She had decided to write a book based on the journals she'd kept since her first enlistment. My wife, he thought, keeps on surprising me. He really liked the way the words 'my wife' sounded.

McGarrett hit the print all button for the program and smiled as the printer started spitting out the pages. He glanced at his watch. It was a quarter after eleven and if he hurried, he could be home in enough time for a New Year's kiss from his wife. The day before had been his birthday and their first anniversary. Maggie had told him all she wanted was a quiet evening at home. He had gotten home to find the house filled with family and friends. All the kids were home for Christmas. Sophie and Lillie from Vassar, and Cooper home on leave from the Navy. Susan and Duke were there with little Michael, a chubby seven month old blond copy of his father. Danny was there with his wife Beverly, a newly minted Navy ensign. Maggie and Susan had even managed to get Chin Ho to come to the party with his two youngest daughters, Amy and Tilda, the two boys Gabe and Thom opting out to go to a cousins to spend the evening playing with the new video game consoles they had gotten for Christmas. Chin's wife, Lin, had passed away in late June from a sudden aneurysm. Chin had been devastated, but knew he had to hold things together for the four children still at home. Steve was pleased to see his old friend and glad that the two retired Army sergeants had managed to get Chin out of the house he had shared with his wife for twenty-six years.

"I thought you said this was going to be a quiet evening at home," Steve had said, smiling down at the small green eyed woman that had managed to shake up his entire world and re-arrange it into a much better place.

"It was, only it sorta got out of hand," she said. "Besides, I can't wait to see the look on Kono's face when he gets his surprise. Both Susan and I have the cameras ready."

"That's about the understatement of the year." Steve had said. Kono had been appointed Honolulu County Sheriff after the old sheriff had resigned for health reasons, in that he wanted to stay healthy and out of jail. Kono had spent his first six months in office practically tearing his hair out in frustration at the mess the former actor turned sheriff had left. He had finally got the department under control, but not before he'd lost forty pounds and his hair had started turning grey.

Kono's surprise was that Maggie's sister Vinnie was visiting. Steve would never forget finding his very hungover detective trying to sneak out of his house at four in the morning aided and abetted by a still tipsy Vinnie. Both were trying to be quiet, an impossible feat for Vinnie when sober, much less after a night of indulging in way too much alcohol. Vinnie had knocked over a table covered with framed photographs, making enough noise to wake the dead and one cop with extremely good reflexes and a houseful of firearms. Kono had had sense enough to freeze. Vinnie had just thrown up into a terra cotta pot containing a clump of plumeria.

After Vinnie went back to the mainland Kono asked about her every time he saw Maggie. Steve decided the big Hawaiian was carrying a small torch for Vinnie. Maggie just looked at Kono in disbelief. Her younger sister's track record with men was a little scary. Vinnie had a boyfriend and twin boys waiting for her back home in Dallas. Had being the key word because Vinnie had kicked the boyfriend out three months later.

Vinnie had called at Thanksgiving, asking if she could come for a visit at Christmas and could Maggie please pay for the tickets? Vinnie had flown in on the 23rd. Maggie and Steve got the shock of their lives when Vinnie got off the plane with a baby carrier that held a plump baby girl with head full of thick black hair. Steve had raised an eyebrow. Maggie had been speechless.

"Hey, Brother-in-Law," Vinnie had said. "What'd you do to my sister? She looks like someone hit her in the face with a wet cat."

After the initial shock was over Maggie asked the million dollar question. "Who's her daddy? And don't give me that 'Josh is part Cherokee' nonsense. That child is an Islander and unless I'm badly mistaken, Kono Kalakaua is her father."

Vinnie conceded there was a possibility that Kono could be the father of the little girl. Maggie had just shook her head and agreed not to say anything to Kono until Vinnie had a chance to talk with him first. That hadn't happened until their anniversary dinner, the Christmas holidays always being busy for law enforcement. Kono had taken one look at the baby sleeping peacefully in her carrier, did some quick math, and had fainted. After he had been revived, Kono, Vinnie and the little one retreated to Maggie's sewing room. When they returned to the party an hour later and just in time for dinner, the child, named Emily Claire had been re-named Hokaloni Iolana and a visitation schedule and child support payments worked out.

Steve thought that Maggie had handled the situation well. Maggie had came back from the Gulf War with a wired together spine and an extreme case of PTSD. The surgery that kept her from bleeding to death after her last injury had left her unable to have a child of her own. Shortly after their marriage, Maggie and Steve had applied to the state adoption agency only to be turned down because of Steve's age and Maggie's PTSD diagnosis. Steve was halfway hoping that Vinnie would decide the little half kanaka needed to stay in the Islands and would give the child to Maggie. No such luck. In four days Vinnie and Hokaloni would fly back to Dallas.

It had been quite a year all around. He had married a women he fell deeper in love with every day. Duke had married Maggie's friend Susan. Maggie retired from the Army on full medical pension. Susan, after the shock of finding herself pregnant at 43 had applied for and been granted what she called Mommie retirement after 24 years of service. Danny had married the red headed sailor from Alabama. Beverly Patterson had played a key role in bringing in serial killer Senior Chief Donald Wayne Waldrop. Steve had seen the potential in Beverly and had her assigned to Five-O until the next NCIS class started at Quantico. Danny had helped her tap into the confidence that she didn't know she had. Beverly had graduated tied for first place in NCIS training at Quantico with John Cooper McGarrett. Steve was proud of them both the graduates, as Beverly was his protégé and he was hoping she'd sign on with Five-O after her time in the Navy was up. He couldn't help but feel just a little smug over Cooper's career choice and following in his dad's footsteps. Margo had a few choice words to say about the whole situation. In truth, she had an entire dictionary full of words, and had refused to attend the graduation ceremony, especially when she found out Steve and Maggie would be attending.

The kids were all home for either winter break from school or on leave from the military. Sophie would be graduating from Vassar in June and had been accepted to the Georgetown University Law School. Lillie Lukela was in her first year at Vassar, a pre-med major. Eddie had graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in criminal justice and police science. He'd been commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant. All three of the kids thought their new baby brother was the greatest thing that could ever happen. Duke swore that the boy was never going to have to learn to crawl because if he wanted anything one of the kids would fetch it for him, and failing that, would carry him around until he stopped fussing. Eddie had also discovered that twenty something girls were absolutely ga-ga over babies and had no qualms about using baby Michael to attract girls. Susan and Duke were so proud of all their kids they were practically walking on air.

Steve was enjoying Cooper's Christmas visit immensely as it gave them time to have one of their very rare father/son talks. He was still having trouble with the idea that his son was a grown man with a career and responsibilities. Cooper was smart and down to earth at the same time. He had inherited his father's sense of duty and honor and his mothers eye for details that others often missed. From both parents he inherited a streak of stubbornness that was darn near visible and once he made up his mind, it was difficult to get him to change it. And he was head over heels in love with Susan's daughter Sophie. He had even survived meeting Lieutenant Colonel Yablanski. When he had related to his father the exact nature of his meeting with Sophie's dad, Steve had only one question. "Do you love her?"

"More than anything else. She's the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think about at night."

"Then ask her. Have you got the ring yet?"

"No, Dad, not yet," Cooper said, his face burning with embarrassment. "I'm saving to get her a really nice one. Only ensigns don't get paid that much and it's taking longer than I had planned."

Steve had smiled at this son's worried face. "Cooper, there's something I need to show you." They had gone to Steve's home office, where he had taken a thick file folder out of the bottom drawer of the antique roll top desk that had once belonged to his father. "Your mother would never take money from me. I'd send the checks, she'd send them back. She can be very obstinate when she puts her mind to it. I saw it as my duty as a parent to help take care of you. I think she refused the money because she knew it'd get under my skin, and she was right. Anyway, I put the money aside until the time came when I knew you could use it." He was sorting through the papers until he found the one he wanted. "Here it is," he said, handing Cooper the latest statement from the Bank of Oahu. "There's enough in there for an engagement ring and a nice down payment on a house in Georgetown. Or you can buy one outright in Norfolk." He smiled at the look of shock on Cooper's face. "Come to think of it, this is the first time I've ever gotten the last word with your mother. Only took twenty two years."

The next day they had gone to the bank and then to Cam's Jewelry. Cooper had asked Sophie to marry him at last night's dinner party and she had said yes. There had been champagne toasts and lots of good wishes. Maggie and Susan had dissolved into happy tears while all the men looked on.

In all, it had been a nice evening. He stood up, stretching as he did. He hit he save as button on the program he was using and renamed the file. Then he saved a copy to the server in the basement. He gathered the papers from the printer and dropped them into an expandable envelope. He was putting the envelope in his briefcase when he heard the door to the outer office open. He looked up, frowning. The cleaning staff wasn't suppose to be in tonight and the buildings security guards always called if they knew anyone was working late. He hadn't survived over a dozen assassination attempts by not paying attention to his surroundings. He turned off the desk light, sending the room into darkness with the occasional flash of light from early fireworks and stepped into a shadow, disappearing into the gloom.

"Steve, Honey," came the soft southern accented voice. "Are you in here?"

He re-holstered the gun before he turned on the light.

Maggie was standing in the glow of the open door, her hair loose around her shoulders, wearing a dress that left very little to the imagination and carrying a bottle of sparkling cider and two glasses. "I thought you'd be watching fireworks with the kids," he said.

"Wouldn't be the same without you," she said, crossing the room,"and I didn't want to start the new year without my best guy." She put the glasses on his desk. "You do the honors. It's sparkling cider."

"Fizzy apple juice," he said. "I was getting ready to go home."

"Traffic is horrible because there's a sobriety checkpoint set up on King Street and an accident on LikeLike. You'd have missed midnight."

He poured the cider, lifting his glass in a toast. "To the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Flattery will get you just about anything, Big Guy," she said as she sipped her drink.

He glanced down at this watch. "It's ten minutes until midnight. We can watch the fireworks from the lanai."

"Sounds like a good idea."

They stepped out on the lanai. It was a warm night, and the moon was behind the mountains. "It's a clear night," he said, "the fireworks should be spectacular."

He put his arm around her waist, drawing her closer. He knew she startled at sudden loud noise.

"I'll be fine," she said, smiling up at the tall man she was so much in love with. "I know it's going to happen, so no surprises, and I know it's not machine guns or mortar fire. And I know that you're here, and that you will never let anything hurt me."

"You've got a lot of confidence in this old Irish cop," he said smiling down at her.

"That's because I love you," she said. He bent to kiss her as the church bells throughout the Island started ringing in the new year, soon they were joined by the fireworks launched from a barge offshore. The sky was lit with temporary stars that burned blue and yellow, red and white.

He leaned down to softly whisper in her ear.

"Hau 'oli Makahiki Hou, my love."

(Pau, for now)