Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.

Family Life Continues On, Chapter 3

April 2025

Steve and Danny were enjoying a beer in Finn and Kono's back yard while surveying the festivities going on around them. It was Eoman's and Quinn's second birthday party and the area was filled with friends and family. By Danny's estimate, there were at least forty children of various ages playing one of the games the littered the perimeter of the yard. Finn enjoyed manning the grill as much as any of the men present but like Steve and Danny he understood that sometimes it was more expedient to call in the professionals.

That is why Finn was free to seek out Steve and Danny for a private conversation. For a wildly successful businessman with a beautiful wife who adored him and three amazing children, Finn had a very troubled look on his face. Steve was the first to pick up on it.

"Finn, it's a great party so why do you look like someone kicked your favorite puppy."

"Thanks Steve. I think Kono underestimates you sometimes. I expected Danny to pick that up."

"Thanks a lot. I'll have to remember to assign some of my least favorite paperwork to Kono on Monday."

"Please tell me that you're kidding. I have a favor to ask and you're free to say no. Just be gentle with the boys when you turn them down."

That drew Steve's interest. "Why? What do the boys want to ask me? They're great kids, you know. We had a really good time babysitting them when Kono was called in to work and you and Cliff were on the big island."

"They want to camp out with you and the boys. We were over having dinner with Cliff and Lori last weekend. They went up to Mike's room and saw his pictures and certificates from your campouts. Now they want to camp out with you and the gang."

Steve considered it for a moment. "Are the boys potty trained?"

Finn grinned. "Yes they are. The advice you gave Kono about getting the urinal potty chair was brilliant. I put a target on it and after that it was a game to hit the target as often as they could. What do the boys do when they're camping out?"

"Well Steve lets them pee on the trees and bushes. I have to remind them not to pee on the same bush. They killed one the first year of camping."

"You two lead such fascinating lives. Is there any chance the boys could join you then?"

"Do you think that they're ready to spend the night in a tent with a bunch of boys?"

"They're pretty set on it. Mike told me that he was a little unsure his first night but you assured him that he could bunk in the living room with Danny if he would rather do that. Lori told us that you encouraged her to let Mike stay even if only through hot dogs and smores. I know that they're a lot young than the other boys."

"That's not an issue Finn. Jack was fairly young when we first started doing this. It was just Charlie and Jack for the first time. Andy and Kekoa didn't join us for another year or so. Jesse joined in when he came to live with us. Mike's first night was shortly after Lori re-joined the team. The older boys are really good with younger kids, and they love your kids. You know that we invited Fiona, but she wasn't interested."

"I know. She really enjoys going to tea with Grace instead. She's definitely a girly girl."

"Is Kono okay with it?"

"Kono trusts you with our children as do I. We know that they are safe with you and Danny."

"Then if the boys ask, I'll tell them that they can camp out with us the next time. I'll talk to the other boys so that they'll know ahead of time. We'll see how it works out."

"Thank you. You and Danny are already their favorite uncles. This will cinch it for sure."

After Finn left, Danny turned to Steve. "You know that will make it a total of eight boys."

"Danny, Charlie is 13 years old. Jesse is twelve, and Jack will turn twelve later this year. The older boys are old hands at this. It's good for them to mentor the younger kids. You saw how well they did with Mike his first time. They love Eamon and Quinn. Remember how thrilled they were to have two more boys for their boys' club? We'll have to help them with their hot dogs and marshmallows but it will be fun. We loved it when Jack was that age."

"Yeah, he grew up too fast."

"Now we get to play with a couple of two year olds without being responsible for them 24-7. It will be fun."

It only took a few minutes for the twins to catch up with their favorite uncles. Quinn was the spokesperson for them as usual.

"Uncle Steve, Uncle Danny, it's our birthday."

The men stooped over to give the little boys a birthday hug. They did love the boys although they could appreciate how much energy it took to keep up with a toddler.

"Happy Birthday Eoman! Happy Birthday Quinn! Wow, I can't believe that you guys are two already."

"Thank you Uncle Steve. We're getting growed up and we don't wear diapers no more. Can we camp out with you and Jack and Jesse and the other guys?"

"You want to camp out with us in the back yard? You know that it's just me and the guys in a tent? We sleep in sleeping bags, and we cook hot dogs over a campfire. Are you sure that you want to do that?"

Eamon wanted to camp out more than he ever wanted to do anything. He wanted it enough to speak up. "We really want to, Uncle Steve. We got sleeping bags for our birthday. Can we Uncle Steve?"

Steve looked at two adorable faces and knew that he couldn't turn them down. Either he was getting soft or they were even better than Grace at getting their way.

"How can I say no? As long as your Mommy and Daddy say it's okay, you can camp out with us the next time."

Eoman was jumping up and down for joy but Quinn was a little more measured. "When can we camp out?"

"I don't have a day set up yet. I'll have to check to see when I'm not on call and when the other boys can come. I promise to talk to everyone's mom and dad and see if I can't let you know before we have cake. How is that?"

Now Quinn was as excited as his brother. "That's great. We're going camping!"

The boys were still vibrating when they ran off to find the mom. Finn had been watching the exchange with admiration and respect. Kono once told him about her first year with 5-0. Steve had a lot of demons to slay back then, and he had done so very well.

The party was a lot of fun for everyone and the food was fantastic. Steve and Danny made the rounds to visit with their friends, but Steve deliberately corralled Stan and Rachel over by the gift table while Danny herded Chin and Malia in that direction. Everyone pulled out their smart phone and checked their schedules. Steve knew how anxious two year olds could get and he wanted to find the soonest available date.

It was decided that all the boys could come on the Friday after next. Sure enough, the boys came running over to Steve and Danny just as the birthday cakes were brought out. Each boy had his own cake made according to request. Eoman order chocolate fudge cake with butter cream frosting. Quinn preferred devil's food cake with cream cheese frosting. To everyone else, they looked like two chocolate cakes with white frosting. The boys, however, definitely knew the difference.

Steve stopped them before they could ask and showed them his calendar. "Guys, we have a date set up. This is today, and this is the day we're going to camp out. It is only twelve days so you don't have long to wait." Steve patiently counted the days out for them.

It was the best gift of the night for them. It was so hard being the babies of the 5-0 family and they wanted to grow up way too fast. Kono circled the day on the calendar in their bedroom so the boys could mark the days off.

The night before the campout, Finn joined the other dads to help put up the tent. There were a lot of jokes about erections and morning wood. It was like being in a high school locker room, only Finn never got to have that experience. His life during his teen years was very rough and he enjoyed the camaraderie with the men. The beer and wings after were pretty good too. He wished that he could be there to watch the boys' enjoy their evening under the stars. Well, maybe he could if he could wangle an invitation to dinner from the Williams.

I know this chapter is a little short and I promise to follow up with the next chapter by the weekend. I had someone contact me via a review asking me if I was okay because of the flooding in Detroit. I live north and west of the worst of the flooding although it hit close to where I worked before I retired. It will be days before all of the major highways are cleared, but fortunately there was no loss of life. Thanks for your concern.

Linda