The times they are a'changin' and Five-O is finding they have to change with the times.

Especially when it's Friday the Thirteenth.

Once again the cast and crew that make up the Original Five-O belongs to CBS but I am having ever so much fun playing with them.

For those of you not familiar with my stories, I moved everything to the mid-90's, mostly because I can and because I thought it would be fun to watch the team try to deal with rapidly changing technology.

This can also be considered part of the September Challenge. I chose The Child Stealers. Part of the dialog in chapter three of this story is paraphrased from the episode. As far as I can tell the larcenous couple, Gar and Nina, didn't have a last name, so I gave them one. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Not too much sex and violence in this one but read and enjoy anyway.

LMS

O-O-O-O-O

McGarrett awakened to the sound of the surf and an empty bed. The bedside clock read five minutes after four. He stifled a yawn as he got up and put on the robe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and went in search of the small green eyed woman who had changed his life so dramatically.

He found her sitting on the lanai, her hands wrapped around a mug of chamomile tea, watching the dawn breaking over the Pacific.

He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "How long have you been up?" he asked.

She gave him a weary smile. "Since about three. I didn't want to wake you."

"Nightmares again?"

She didn't answer. She sipped her tea, her eyes focused on a point somewhere out over the ocean.

"Maggie," he said, "Put down the mug and talk to me. We've been through this before. You are suppose to wake me if it's nightmares. I can't help you if you don't let me know what's going on. Which one was it this time? The old one or the new one?"

She set the mug on the table and reached out to take his hand. "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't want to wake you. You work such crazy hours and looked so peaceful. Next time I'll wake you. I promise."

"It was the new one, then?" he said. She had came back from the Gulf War with a wired together spine and a world class case of PTSD. She had been making real progress in the battle with the nightmares and insomnia; the sound of the surf and the cool ocean breezes enabled her to sleep through the night snuggled peacefully in his arms. Then Big Chicken and his cronies had kidnapped Maggie and her friend Susan in a twisted attempt at revenge. They had been rescued with the help of Johnathan Kaye and Andreaus Yablanski, Susan's ex-husband, before Chicken and his buddies could make good on any of the threats made against the two women. During the ordeal, Maggie had lost the child she was carrying, forcing her doctor to do an emergency hysterectomy to stop the bleeding and save her life. The new set of nightmares were a replay of the incident, causing McGarrett to mentally murder Big Chicken every time Maggie woke up crying. Fortunately for all concerned, Big Chicken was now occupying a cell in the new Supermax prison in Colorado, locked down 23 hours a day, away from his hired muscle and without access to the funds provided by his various criminal enterprises, confined to a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down by Duke Lukela's bullet.

"Maggie, sweetie, listen to me, please, baby?" He got up, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet and into his arms as he did. "I love you, and nothing is ever going to change that. You are the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. The next time you get the bad dreams, wake me up. Understand, sergeant?"

She looked up at him and gave him the first real smile of the day. "That's retired sergeant, Commander." The injuries she had received when Frank Collins had hit her across her lower back with a riot baton finished her military career. She had retired eight months early on full medical pension.

"And that's retired Commander, if you please." Steve said, smiling down at her. He had retired from the Navy Reserve the day after his birthday and their wedding. He reached under her chin, tilting her head back to kiss her. Her arms went around his neck as her lips parted beneath his. She tasted of chamomile with just a hint of lemon, her lips soft and warm and inviting. He swept her off her feet and carried her inside.

"You are going to be late for your morning run," she said as he carried her to the bed.

"I think I'll skip this morning's run." he said, giving her a naughty smile. "I know a much better exercise that's a lot more fun."

O-O-O-O-O

Later, she walked with him to the door. "What's the plan for today," he asked. He knew she was having trouble adjusting to retirement.

"The same plan that me and everyone else has had for the last two weeks, waiting for Susan to have that baby," Maggie said. Susan was two weeks past the due date given by Dr. Sessums. Steve had to smile. The last two weeks of waiting had managed to do something no one would have ever anticipated. Duke Lukela was turning into a nervous wreck. Normally, nothing seemed to phase the man. He went through life with a calm, quiet demeanor that everyone who knew him thought was unshakable. Until now. The only reason Steve hadn't sent him home on stress leave was because he knew Duke would have driven Susan bonkers. As it was, he called her at least six times a day and would have a small anxiety attack if she didn't answer by the third ring.

"Are you going over to sit with her today?" Steve asked.

"No, she's coming here. She wants a beach day before the little one makes his debut."

"Good idea. That little kanaka is going to hear the surf and make his escape. I swear these Hawaiian kids are born knowing how to surf." Steve had tried surfing one time and that had been enough for him, especially after the board had flipped him into the water and still managed to whack him in the head so hard he saw stars.

"Maybe that's the plan. Only he'd better stay in there until tomorrow, or he's going to have an infamous birthday."

"Don't tell me my little pagan menehune is getting superstitious." Steve said.

"Not me," she said, smiling back. "It's everyone else I'm worried about. You need to get going or you are going to be late. And be careful, please. It is Friday the thirteenth."

He bent to kiss her good-bye. "I've already got lucky once this morning. Maybe it's a sign."

"Oh, you!" Maggie said, blushing. "Quit being irresistible and go to work!" He kissed her once more before he left for work.

O-O-O-O-O

He was still smiling when he got to his office at Iolani Palace. As usual he was the first in the office, the rest of the crew meandering in around six thirty. Everyone, except Duke.

Danny was stirring sugar into his coffee. "Looks like Duke's running late," he observed. "You don't suppose the wait is over?"

McGarrett shook his head. "I don't think so. Susan would have called Maggie and then Maggie would have called me."

Chin had a cup of green tea. The older he got, the less the strong Kona coffee the rest of the crew insisted on drinking agreed with his tummy. He sipped his tea, recalling how nervous he'd been before the birth of each of his eight children. "Duke's got first time father nerves. We keep him busy, he'll be fine."

Steve thought about the folders on his desk. "That's not going to be a problem, Chin. I've got warrants on my desk, waiting to be served. I don't know why Duke is so anxious. He's got two kids and Susan has a daughter. It's not like they are first time parents."

"It will be their first together," Chin said. "And this one was a surprise for both of them, like my little Tilda." Chin's youngest daughter had been a late in life surprise baby, unexpected and unplanned but welcomed all the same.

"That little girl of yours is something else," Danny said, smiling. Tilda had been everyone's favorite since Chin had brought her to the office during the annual "Take Your Daughter To Work Day". She had charmed the entire staff, asked serious questions about what Five-O did, had listened intently to the answers, and at the end of the day, announced that she was going to be a police officer like her daddy. Chin couldn't have been prouder.

"You and Beverly need to start working on a couple of kids." Chin suggested.

"When she's out of the Navy," Danny said. "Or at least when she's done with training at Quantico, which will be in four weeks and two days. Not that I'm counting." He had already gotten his vacation days approved. As soon as Beverly graduated, he was going to take her on the honeymoon they didn't have time for after their quickie wedding last August.

The outer door opened to admit a harried looking Duke. "Sorry I'm late," Duke said, hurriedly entering the office, tie at half mast and his shirt collar unbuttoned. "I was helping Susan put her bags in the car before she heads out to Maggie's, just in case." He poured a cup of coffee, downing it without sugar or cream.

"Settle down and come here," Jenny said, frowning. "Your shirt is buttoned wrong and your tie is all wonky." She re-buttoned his collar and straightened his tie. Sometimes she felt more like Five-O's mother than their secretary.

"Thanks, hon," Duke said. "If Susan calls put her through immediately."

"Yes, Daddy," Jenny said, smiling. "Hopefully it won't be today. I can't imagine having Friday the thirteenth for a birthday."

"I don't care what day it is as long as Susan is okay and the baby is healthy. But I did tell her this morning that since she's already two weeks overdue she could wait until after midnight. It'd be the best birthday present I ever got." The fourteenth would be Duke's fiftieth birthday.

"Alright, gentleman," Steve said, refilling his cup. "Meeting in my office in ten. We've got work to do." He went into his office, opening the blinds and letting in the morning sun. He sat at his desk, reading over the folders, formulating the days plans, and reluctantly acknowledging that he was just a tad envious of Duke and Susan. Three weeks after their wedding, he and Maggie had started the first steps on the long and complicated road to adopting a child, and even though he was the head of the state police and a good friend of the governor, there was still a waiting list.

He sipped his coffee as the rest of the team came in, balancing cups and notebooks.

"Okay, gentleman, here's what we've got for today. The first one's the easiest. Three female suspects wanted for embezzlement from their employer. Danno, Officer Welles is going to help on this one. She and two more female HPD officers will meet you at the address."

"Says here its in Waikiki," Danny said.

"On Kapiolani Drive, no less," Steve said. "It's a real estate investment firm. Three women from the accounting department found a way to skim off 2.5 million and change over the last four years. We sent Ms. Mendoza in undercover at the board of directors request. Took her half a day to hack their system and trace the missing money."

"Let's make sure we pay Mendoza enough," Danny said. "That girl can do some spooky stuff with those machines." Pacita Mendoza was a petite Fillapina with huge dark eyes and long black hair that she usually wore in French twist. Danny had taken one look at her and fallen in lust. He had asked her out several times, each time turning on the charm, to no avail. Kono had struck out as well, leaving both men with bruised egos. It wasn't until months later, at a party at Steve and Maggie's, that the truth finally came out. Maggie introduced Pacita to Ebony Thompson and sparks flew. The girls had been dating since.

"The owner's wife got a little suspicious when she saw them at an invitation only trunk show at Neiman Marcus. They were buying up designer dresses like there was no tomorrow. Owner's wife could only afford one. I have a feeling the poor man caught hell when she got home." Crooks always had their Achilles's heel, in this case three inch spikes made by Louboutin.

"Wait until they see the women's prison uniforms," Danny said. "I don't think those are included in a Neiman-Marcus trunk show."

"That's the easy one for the day," Steve said. " All three of the ladies involved should be at work by nine. You also have search warrants for their homes, cars, work spaces, computers, and any financial records they may have. Co-ordinate with HPD for the searches and impound all vehicles and computers they may have lying around."

McGarrett sipped his coffee before returning to the folders on his desk. "Duke, Chin, this one is going to be a little more difficult. The Taumamua Brothers have been misbehaving again."

"I thought they were still in jail," Chin said, frowning. "Or at the very least on house arrest."

The Taumamua brothers were Samoan's, a set of twins; Mano and Pano, and their younger brother, Kimo. The twins were mirror twins, one right handed, the other left, both standing six-three in their bare feet and weighing in at around 210. The youngest, Kimo, also known as 'Tiny,' was the baby in the family but certainly not the runt of the litter. He stood six foot six and weighed in at around 350 pounds.

"What did they do this time?" Duke asked. The Taumamua Brothers were the bane of the existence of every law enforcement agency on Oahu. Their criminal records, both individual and collective, had it's own self at HPD headquarters. There wasn't much they hadn't done, or attempted to do. They tried their best to be criminal masterminds, unfortunately their room temperature IQ's kept them from achieving their goals.

"This time it's extortion, breaking and entering, communicating a threat, grand theft auto, vandalism, and littering." Steve read from the warrant.

"The old strong arm tactic?" Chin asked.

"The same," McGarrett replied. "This time it's food trucks. If the owners didn't pay up, they'd find their trucks sitting on flat tires, or with sugar poured into their gas tanks."

"What kind of threats were they making?" Duke asked.

"The usual. About how it's hard to cook with two broken arms and how bad it would be if the health inspectors found roaches on board. All this while holding a mason jar full of the nasty little buggers."

"HPD has been trying to nail the three of them for ages," Duke said. "Every time we thought we had an airtight case, the witnesses would suddenly get a bad case of amnesia." The Brothers were huge. Having them show up on a witnesses front porch was usually all it took to induce a change of testimony.

"How'd they get a littering charge?" Chin asked. He'd arrested all of the Brothers at one time or another, and for the Taumamua Brothers, littering was the least violent charge they had ever managed to accumulate.

"It says here that the Brother's stole a food truck belonging to a lady known only as Hilo Hattie after she had threatened to, and I'm quoting here, gentleman,'wear their asses out with a cane stalk.'" Steve read, trying not to laugh. "The brothers must have taken her at her word, because they left her alone. However, two nights later the truck was stolen from her locked garage and found overturned with it's contents thrown out onto the beach near Koko Head. We know it was the Brother's because the youngest one spray painted his name on the side of the truck and the Twins left fingerprints everywhere."

"Did he spell his name correctly?" Duke asked. "The three of them share a brain, that is when they can find it."

"This time we've got hard evidence tying them to a string of strong arm threats they can't weasel out of because they scare their victims." Steve continued. "Charges are being brought by the state of Hawaii, and last I heard, Hawaii isn't easily frightened, nor is Ms Hilo Hattie. She wants a few minutes alone with the Brothers when we catch them."

"Never mess with an Hawaiian grandma," Duke said, wincing from memory. "Especially if she has access to a cane stalk. Those things smart."

"You know they gone put up a fight," Chin said. "They always do. We give them a chance to come along quietly and they still want to fight."

"That's why I want Duke out front. Maybe they will be more inclined to surrender to an Islander."

"When pigs fly," Duke said. "Where are they? In town or hiding out at their mom's."

"They're at Mama Taumamua's. Kono is going to provide backup from the SO since it's out in the county." McGarrett handed the folder containing the warrants for the Brother's to Duke.

"Great, we get to bring in the Taumamua Brother's on Friday the Thirteenth. Their mom's place is in the middle of nowhere. If they come along peacefully, which I doubt they'll do, it's still a two hour drive back to Honolulu. I'm bringing a transport van. That way if they decide to start singing, I don't have to hear it." The Taumamua Brothers considered themselves talented singers, and they weren't half bad. They weren't half good either.

"I thought you liked Island music," Steve said.

"Not the way the Brother's sing it. All three of them try to sing harmony, which wouldn't be too bad, except that all three are baritones." Duke shook his head at the memory. "The last time they were arrested was at Karaoke Kate's on Hotel Street. They took over the machine and refused to let anyone else near the mic."

"I remember that one," Chin said, grinning. "The bartender got mad and swung a ukulele at Tiny. That's when the Brothers turned the place out. I hear the judge gave them a lifetime ban on karaoke."

"Any questions?" Steve asked. There were none. "Okay, go get 'em. The bad guys aren't going to arrest themselves." He watched as the team filed out, wishing he was going with them. He had a meeting with a social worker from the state adoption agency at ten. The social worker had asked to see him without Maggie being present and he had a feeling what they were going to discuss wasn't going to be good news.