O-O-O-O-O
Duke, Chin, Kono, and a deputy Hiapo Makamae crouched behind the low lava rock wall that surrounded Mama Taumamua's house. The house was on a small hill in the middle of pineapple and cane fields and had an extremely good view of the one road that ran past the driveway. It wasn't much of a road, either, as it was unpaved and rutted. But Kimo Tamamua had sighted the convoy consisting of one black SUV, a marked sheriffs car, the two local deputies, and the prisoner transport van and had raised the alarm. The Brothers had barricaded themselves into their mom's house and were refusing to come out.
"You tink maybe we can starve then out?" Kono said.
"I doubt it," Duke replied. "Mama's been feeding that horde of kids for years. She's going to have a well stocked pantry and a full freezer."
Another shot rang out, this one taking out Mama's mailbox. "I have never known the Brothers to use guns before," Kono said.
"There's a first time for everything," Duke said. "They can't shoot for beans."
Duke picked up the bullhorn. "I counted six shots. If they've got a revolver, and it sounds like a .38 firing, they are going to have to stop and reload. Wish me luck."
He stood up as he pressed the talk button on the bullhorn. "OKAY boys, you've had your fun. Time to get serious. Are you going to make nice and come out or do we have to come in and get you? You've got five minutes to give me your answer."
One of the windows on the second floor opened and an object flew out, end over end, until it crashed into the sidewalk near the officers and shattered, releasing hundreds of roaches.
A second jar followed the first. Duke scrambled atop the fence, joined by Kono, Chin, and Haipo. Roaches scuttled everywhere in a mad dash for freedom.
"If that ain't assaulting an officer, I don't know what is," Kono said. "Man, I hate those nasty little bugs."
Duke checked his watch. They had arrived on scene just after twelve and had spent the last two hours trying to get the Brothers to surrender. He suspected that the Brothers wouldn't be ready to surrender until they either ran out of ammunition, got hungry, or got bored and wanted to fight. If it was a fight they wanted, he was more than ready to accommodate them. "Anyone know where Mama Taumamua is?" he asked.
"This is Friday," Hiapo replied. "She'll be at bingo at the parish hall. They should be done around three. Don't no one want to mess with a bunch of Hawaiian grandma's playing bingo. That's askin' for trouble."
"Looks like we'll be waiting until three. Mama is not going to be happy with her boys after she sees what they did to her mailbox."
"Might as well relax," Chin said. "We gone be here a while."
O-O-O-O-O
Susan lay on the couch with her feet up, watching a movie. Maggie was pretending to watch the movie and work on her latest embroidery project at the same time. She had an odd feeling that Susan was about to start labor.
Susan suddenly sat upright. "Whoa!" she said, "I think I need to go to the hospital. Call Duke and tell him to meet us at Tripler, I'll call the doctor."
Maggie grabbed her phone, scrolling until she found Duke's number on speed dial. He didn't answer, instead the phone went directly to voice mail. She left a brief message. "Duke call Susan." and hung up.
"You sure it's the baby?" Maggie asked.
"I'm sure," Susan said. "What time is it?"
"Just after 1530. Why? And how far apart are the contractions?"
"I've just had the one, but Dr Sessums said to come in at the first sign of labor. I get special treatment because I'm over forty, a Gulf War vet, and a cancer survivor. She wants this birth monitored from start to finish."
"Then let's get you to the hospital and see if you can keep Junior in there until after midnight." Maggie said. She grabbed both their bags from the hall table and headed for the Susan's car.
O-O-O-O-O
Haipo had been sent to fetch Mama Taumamua from the bingo hall. It was half past three and both Chin and Kono were getting fed up with the Brother's. Duke very seldom lost his temper because he saw no need for it. However, the Brother's were starting to annoy him.
"If they throw one more jar of cockroaches, I swear I'm going to set the house on fire and shoot them when they run outside," Kono said. The Brothers seemed to have an unlimited supply of jars of cockroaches.
"I'll loan you a lighter," Chin said, lighting his pipe and hoping the tobacco smoke would keep the roaches at bay. He'd already pulled one out of the cuff of his pants, and if he brought one of the nasty little things home, Lin would have his head on a spike. Their first apartment had been infested with the things and she liked them even less than he did.
"Haipo needs to hurry up with Mama," Duke said. He took his cell phone out of his pocket, glared at the screen, and clicked it shut. Still no reception. He hadn't heard from Susan since early that morning and he was starting to get antsy. The last thing he wanted to do was miss the birth of his child because he was trying to arrest three overgrown juvenile delinquents.
"Relax, Duke," Chin said. "If the baby was coming, Steve would call you on the radio."
Another jar of roaches came crashing out of the window.
"That's it!" Kono shouted, so loudly he didn't need a bullhorn to be heard in the house. "The next roach bomb come out that window I will personally catch and shove it up the throwers ass! You hear me! I ain't playin'!"
They all looked at Kono. He was deadly serious. He didn't like bugs of any kind and was more than ready to make good the threat. The Brothers must have picked up the same vibe, because no more roach bombs came out the window.
The assembled officers settled down to wait for Mama Taumamua.
O-O-O-O-O
As soon as Susan was settled into a labor room at Tripler, Maggie called Steve's landline, only to have Jenny answer. She had forgotten about Steve's Friday meeting with the DA.
"Tell the rest of the crew that the wait is over," Maggie said. "Susan's been admitted to Tripler."
"You mean the baby's on it's way?" Jenny said with a happy little squeal.
"Yes!" Maggie said. "She's only about two weeks late and she swears she's not going to deliver until after midnight. I couldn't get through to Duke so y'all are going to have to let him know. Susan says he's out in the middle of nowhere making an arrest."
"I'll let him know," Jenny said. "Keep us posted, will you?"
"Not a problem," Maggie said as she hung up her phone.
"Did you hear that, Danny?" Jenny said, excitement in her voice. "Susan's been admitted to the hospital. It looks like the baby is on it's way."
"About time," Danny said.
"About time for what?" Steve asked as he returned to the office and made a bee line to the coffeepot.
"Susan's finally gone into labor," Jenny said. "And Maggie can't raise Duke on his cell phone because they're all out in the boonies. You're going to have to radio the message."
"Now that's the kind of news I like," Steve said. He picked up the mic for the police radio. "McGarrett calling Lukela. McGarrett calling Lukela, Come in please."
Kono was closest to the radio and heard the call before Duke did. Duke was arguing with Mama Taumamua. Mama was of the opinion that her boys could do no wrong and if they were in trouble again it was because they were hanging out with the wrong crowd.
"Hey, Duke," Kono yelled. "The Big Man need to talk to you!"
Duke ran to the radio. "Lukela here," he said.
"Duke, the wait's over," McGarrett said. "Susan's at Tripler. The baby is on it's way."
Duke stood there, stunned and speechless. Kono took the mic out of his hand. "I tink he's in shock. We gonna wrap this up and head back. Be another three hours before we make town."
"Roger that, Kono. McGarrett out."
"Duke, you okay?" Kono asked.
"I am not missing my son's birth because three overgrown kanaka's don't know how to behave." He said as he checked the Colt 1911 to make sure it was loaded and the safety off. He checked the charge on the Taser that nestled in it's own little holster next to the .45. He got the riot baton from the rack in the back of the black SUV that had replaced the big Ford and Mercury sedans that Five-O had used for years. He had changed into black fatigues and boots before heading out to make the arrest and was wearing a Kevlar vest. Without warning he ran up the walk, cockroaches and broken glass crunching under his boots, giving Kono, Chin, and the deputies no choice but to follow him as he kicked down the front door.
Tiny saw Duke coming and was waiting for him, ready to pummel the smaller man into jelly. Duke dodged his fist, planted a boot in Tiny's knee, and hit him with the Taser set to maximum voltage. Tiny went down, hard, only to make the mistake of trying to get back up. Duke gave him another zap with the Taser, and had his hands cuffed behind his back before he could regain the use of his muscles. The Twins, Mano and Pano, came thundering down the stairs. Duke stuck out a leg, tripping the leading twin. Both of them crashed to floor in a noisy human avalanche. They looked up into the muzzles of Kono, Chin, and the deputies guns, and even with their room temperature IQ's, they knew that fighting was no longer a viable option.
The entire take down lasted all of three minutes.
Chin read the Brothers their Miranda rights and with the aid of the sheriff's deputies, who had a hard time keeping Mama from delivering some much needed discipline to her errant children, got them loaded into the transport van for the trip back to Honolulu.
Mama was in rare form. She berated officers and offspring alike. "Who gone pay for the damage done to my house?" she demanded.
Chin was trying to explain the procedure for a damage claim. Kono had put in a radio call to McGarrett. It was going to be at least a two hour drive back to Honolulu on bad roads. He told McGarrett what he wanted, got an affirmative answer, and went back to work.
Duke was nearly jumping out of his skin. He couldn't concentrate on the questions he needed to ask, or the reports he needed to write. "Calm down, Brudah," Kono said. "You gone give yourself a nervous breakdown."
"Kono, I need to get to Tripler," Duke said. "As soon as possible."
"Well, you ain't driving cause I ain't pulling you out of no pineapple patch cause you won't payin' attention to where you was going. Settle down and give me a few. Gone be a while before we can get out of here anyway. Hang loose, Brudah."
Haipo came out of the house, grinning from ear to ear, and carrying a terra cotta planter in which a large marijuana plant was flourishing. "Hey, Kono, we hit the jackpot! There's enough weed growing upstairs to keep half this Rock high for the next six months."
"Come on, Duke," Kono said. "We need pictures of this. No wonder the Brothers was puttin' up a fight. They was guarding their stash."
Duke followed Kono into the house and up the stairs. The entire second story of the house was a massive grow room, complete with lighting and an automatic watering system. Duke took pictures while Kono looked around. He opened a cabinet to find it filled with jars of cockroaches. He shuddered and closed the door.
Duke looked around. "Which one of us gets to arrest Mama?"
Before Kono could answer, he heard the helicopter.
"Looks like it's gone be me. Your rides here."
"What ride?"
"I had the Big Man send a chopper. You gone be at the hospital in about twenty minutes. Get out of here. Me and Chin got it covered."
Duke ran down the stairs, and out the door, tossing the keys to the SUV to Chin as the HPD chopper was landing. He got in, waving as he took off. The pilot motioned for him to put on the radio headset.
"McGarrett to Lukela, how's it going?"
"Better now," Duke said.
"The chopper is going to take you to Tripler. Don't worry about getting the Brothers booked. We'll take care of that from this end. I'll see you at Tripler, because my wife isn't leaving until she's a godmother."
"Roger that, Steve, and thanks."
"That's what ohana is for. McGarrett out."
Ohana, Duke thought as the chopper turned to the southeast towards Tripler, mine just got a whole lot bigger.
O-O-O-O-O
Tripler may have been an Army hospital, but they weren't prepared for an armed man in black fatigues demanding directions to labor and delivery. After the elderly receptionist had calmed down, she called for an MP to escort Duke upstairs. The MP, apparently gung ho to do his job, asked for ID.
"Which one?" Duke asked. "The one from Five-O or the dependent ID. Make up your mind. My wife is having a baby."
"The Five-O ID will do," the kid said. "This way, please?"
They rode the elevator to the fifth floor. The MP asked if Five-O was hiring.
"Try HPD first," Duke told him. "You'll need the street experience." And maybe some common survival skills because one glance told Duke he could have the kid disarmed and on the ground before the elevator doors opened.
"Here you are, sir," the kid said. "This your first grandbaby?"
Duke didn't bother to answer. He went directly to the nurses station. "Which room is First Sergeant Lukela's?" he asked.
The nurse took her time before she looked up from her workstation. "Uh, may I see some ID please?"
"What is it with you people? My wife is having a baby and you keep asking for my ID." This time he took out both the police and the dependent ID.
"Sorry, sir. We can't take any chances with the newborns." The nurse looked all of twenty. "Most of our fathers are younger and unarmed. Your wife is in room 4B. Her friend is with her and I know she'll be glad to see you."
Duke found 4B. He opened the door to find Susan lying comfortably in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines monitoring both her vital signs and the baby's.
"About time you got here," she said as he crossed the room to take her hand.
"It's been that kind of a day. If Steve hadn't sent a chopper I'd still be in the boonies." He bent to kiss her, brushing a stray blonde curl out of her face as he did.
"She's being stubborn," Maggie said. "She says she's not having that baby until after midnight and the doctor has started agreeing with her."
"Thank you for taking care of her until I could get here." Duke said.
The nurse came in with a paper wrapped gown. "You need to put this on, sir." She said, handing the bundle to Duke. "And if you need to freshen up, the bathroom is that way." She pointed to a door on the left side of the bed.
"Do I look that bad?" he asked.
"No, sir," the nurse said hurriedly, "just a little rumpled. And kinda scary what with the gun and all." she trailed off.
"Oh, sorry," he said. "I didn't have time to disarm." The nurse left after telling Susan that Dr. Sessums was making rounds and would be in to check her in a few minutes. Duke retreated to the bathroom to wash his face and hands and run his fingers through his hair. Maggie helped him into the gown. He stood beside Susan, holding her hand.
"I wasn't allowed in the delivery room when Eddie and Lillie were born," he said. "Both were C-sections. Eddie was turned the wrong way and Lillie was just stubborn."
"Tripler's a lot different for the hospital in Munich where Sophie was born. Everything has changed," Susan stopped talking abruptly, her grip on Duke's hand tightening as she panted her way through the contraction. "Except for this. It still hurts. What time is it?"
"1710," Maggie said, reading the numbers off the clock. "You still got a ways to go."
"He's staying in until after midnight." Susan said.
"Sure," Maggie said, frowning. "If you say so. Have you got a name yet? Susan is being awfully secretive about the name."
"You will know when he's here and we introduce him for the first time," Duke said, smiling.
There was a knock on the door. Eddie and Lillie saw their parents and came in quietly. Lillie gave Duke a hug and kissed Susan on the cheek. Eddie just looked nervous.
"Auntie Magic left a message on the answering machine at home. We are not going to miss our little brother being born. Or at least I'm not. Juries still out for Eddie."
"It's going to be a while," Susan said. "Have you had dinner yet?"
"That's my Kukana," Duke said. "Worrying about everyone else while she's having a baby."
"We stopped by the In and Out and got some burgers." Eddie said.
There was a soft knock and Dr Sessums entered. "I see the whole family is here." She said. "Sgt Lukela, you've caused quiet a stir up here. The armed man in black is all you hear the nurses talking about. Not to worry, they all think you're hot."
Duke blushed as the women giggled at his discomfort. "Tell the nurses he's also taken," Susan said.
"That's rather obvious," the doctor said. "Everyone out except Dad, I need to check my patient."
Maggie and the kids obediently left the room, much to Eddie's relief. As much as he was looking forward to having a baby brother, he wasn't sure if he was ready for the whole childbirth experience.
Lillie was taking it all in. She hadn't told her parents yet, but she was planning on using her scholarship to Vassar as a stepping stone to medical school. She was fascinated by the entire birth process, thought Doctor Sessums made an excellent role model, and planned to specialize in obstetrics. All because her Dad had met and married that tall army sergeant. Susan had seen the potential in Lillie and had helped her to build the confidence she didn't know she had.
They were in the waiting room when Steve, Danny, and Jenny stopped by. After everyone had exchanged hugs, Maggie gave them an update: No baby yet and Susan was determined to wait until after midnight.
"If she's anywhere as stubborn as you are," Steve said. "we're going to be here a while."
O-O-O-O-O
Susan proved to be stubborn. At 1155 she was taken to the delivery room. Maggie, Steve, Lillie, Eddie and Kono were the only ones still there. Maggie refused to leave until the baby was born. Steve reminded Danny that he was on call for the weekend and that he should try to get some sleep. Chin had dropped by but had left shortly afterwards. After eight children, maternity wards made him slightly uncomfortable.
At a quarter past twelve, Susan gave birth to a nine pound six ounce baby boy who arrived squalling at the top of his lungs from the indignity of it all. Duke held her hand, tears of joy streaming down his face, as the doctor held the baby up for everyone to see.
At one o'clock, Dr Sessums came to the waiting room, smiling, and led the little party to the recovery room where Susan was resting and Duke was standing protectively by. Susan was sitting up in bed, holding a small bundle, a swathe of blonde curls visible above the pale blue receiving blanket.
"Congratulations!" Steve said. "A boy, right?"
"Yes," Duke said. "A fine healthy boy. My Kukana has given me a beautiful baby. Shall we tell them now, my love?" Duke asked.
Susan nodded. "Yes, time to introduce the little one to his godparents and the rest of the world."
Duke took the baby from Susan, and crossing the room to where Maggie and Steve were standing and handed the baby to Maggie. She pulled back the blanket. The baby had soft blond curls, fat little cheeks, and when he opened his eyes, looking directly into hers, they were the color of melted chocolates.
"Meet the newest addition to our ohana, Steven Micheal Lukela." Maggie and Steve were momentarily speechless. Steve saw a look of contentment on Maggie's face that he'd never seen before. He didn't trust his voice, he just nodded and smiled.
The baby was passed from hand to hand, with even Kono getting into the act and giving the child a brief blessing in Hawaiian. Duke finally gave the baby back to Susan, who looked tired but happy.
Steve could see that it was family time. "Duke, Susan, thank you. We're going home now and will be back to see you later on today." He kissed Susan on the cheek. "That's a beautiful baby. Congratulations and thank you."
Maggie kissed the baby, gave Duke the keys to Susan's car, and left with her husband. Kono followed after kissing Susan and the baby and shaking Duke's hand. Lillie and Eddie left soon after, pleased with their new baby brother.
Susan held her son and gave her husband a tired smile.
"Happy Birthday, Duke. I love you."
She fell asleep smiling.
Duke took the baby and sat down in the rocking chair thoughtfully provided by the hospital. He fell asleep, still holding his newborn son.
Pau for now...