Hawaii Five-O belongs to others. This story is written for personal enjoyment. No copyright infringement is intended. Sgt. Haseejian is borrowed from The Streets of San Francisco.

Home Remedies

Steve McGarrett sneezed and sneezed again. He had a cold. Not just a garden-variety cold but the full-blown weed patch variety: slight temperature, runny nose, achy head, scratchy throat, sneezing, coughing. If he could harness the energy in all that sneezing and put it in the LTD's gas tank, it would be worth a fortune!

He took another sip of coffee. Even his team was avoiding him. He hit the intercom and squawked "Danno." Williams entered, followed by Bergman.

"No!" Steve growled. "Got too much to do. Need – another sneeze – some antibiotics."

Doc laughed. "I've got something better! Chicken soup!"

o-o-o-o-o

Chicken soup—miracle drug for colds. Only one problem: Steve's cold was better but now the team had it. Chin was sniffling, Kono was sneezing, and Danno . . . Danno looked and sounded terrible. Wheezing, coughing painfully, arms wrapped around his ribs every time he coughed; time for the boss to take control. He called Bergman.

Doc only needed a quick look and a once-over pass with the stethoscope. "Bronchitis! How long have you been ignoring this, young man?"

"Only a couple days. Can I just have some chicken soup?"

"Antibiotics. Home. In bed. Now!" the medic commanded.

Danny went.

Doc grinned. "What do you know? I finally got the last word!"

o-o-o-o-o

By the next day, Chin's sneezing had reached the point of complete unstoppability. Steve sent him home, ordering "Chicken soup!" Chin opted instead for hot tea with lemon and honey.

The Chinese detective entered his home, expecting an island of peace with most of the kids in school. Tea and sympathy, that's what he wanted. Peace and quiet, a soft, easy chair, an afternoon's rest. Instead, he was greeted with a chorus of sneezes and hacking coughs. Tim, Alia, Suzy . . . he went down the list. Only Tilda and his wife were feeling well. His long-suffering spouse greeted him with "Chicken soup!"

o-o-o-o-o

Things were getting out of control. Steve glared at the pile of reports covering his usually neat desk. Chin and Danno both home sick; even with the help of Ben Kokua and Duke Lukela, the growing caseload was taking on mountainous proportions. The McGarrett volcano was getting close to eruption stage. At least Kono was still here. He looked around for the big Hawaiian. No Kono. He checked the outer office. Sneezes and more sneezes. He sighed in resignation, growling "Kono!"

The big detective, nose red, eyes running, looked like a lost puppy. "Boss, I don't feel so good. Can I have the day off, please?"

"Go!" the boss growled. "Maybe crime will take a holiday until everyone recovers." Steve didn't really believe that was possible. He expected crime to take advantage of an unusual opportunity. Hopefully, Danno was on the mend by now. He dialed his second-in command. No answer. Probably asleep. He'd try again later.

Another call thirty minutes later brought the same results. Steve began to worry. He'd expected his young detective to at least answer the phone. Something's wrong. I'd better check on him. That coughing looked and sounded painful . . .

When Williams didn't answer the door, Steve asked the building manager to let him in to the apartment. The sounds of an uncontrollable coughing spasm drew him to the bedroom. Danny, flushed and feverish, was curled up on the bed, his body wracked with painful coughs. Steve called Bergman and an ambulance.

o-o-o-o-o

Danny woke in the hospital. He found a concerned and relieved Steve watching him.

"Good morning, Danno. Welcome back!"

'What? How?" the confused detective mumbled as he tried not to cough.

"That bronchitis went into pleurisy," Doc's gruff voice answered. You're lucky Steve found you when he did. You gave us a bad scare. You'll be fine, but I'm keeping you for a another day." He saw the look on Dan's face and barked, "No arguments! I'm the doctor and I still get the last word here."

Steve squeezed his friend's shoulder as he added, "I'm afraid he does this time! Kono's got it now!"

o-o-o-o-o

McGarrett looked contentedly around his office. Things were almost back to normal. Three detectives: Chin and Kono, fully recovered; Danno, out of the hospital and still on antibiotics and desk duty by Doc's orders, but otherwise OK. He sipped his coffee and almost choked. "Who made this stuff? It could take the rust off the Golden Gate Bridge!"

"Visiting cop from Frisco," Kono offered. "Nobody can say the guy's name. He's filling in for Jenny. Sort of."

A memory from his time as an intern at SFPD during his senior year at Berkeley flashed through Dan's mind: "Haseejian! Don't drink it!"

"Got to get Jenny back!" Steve thought aloud. "How?"

Four voices answered in chorus: "Flowers, cards, and chicken soup!"

o-o-o-o-o

Jenny blinked in surprise as she saw the flowers and macadamia nut muffins on her desk. She'd only been sick two days.

"Hi Jenny! Did we ever miss you! Glad to have you back!" Danny handed her a cup of fresh Kona coffee.

"Glad to be back!" Danny's cheerful greeting told her she'd been missed. She studied the stack of reports on the desk. The thought flashed through her mind: "How did they ever manage without me?" Even the usually stern boss looked relieved to have her back at work.

"Well?" She queried. "How did you . . ."

"We didn't," McGarrett smirked. "Danno can't type, Chin can't file, and Kono messed up the phones! And don't even mention Haseejian! Jenny, you're indispensable! Welcome back!"