WILD CARD

Based on the characters and stories of Hawaii Five-0.

Hawaii Five-0 is owned by CBS and their respective creators.

Jude cursed under his breath. He could already see Catherine's smug face as she said, "I told you so" over and over and over. The drive to the M.E.'s office felt endless.

At first he had picked up the phone to call the social worker in charge of the Shaw kid's case, requesting that he be named the emergency caregiver. If the Odessa mafia had a price on Andrew's head, there was no way he was going to let him get put with some well-intentioned, but tactically unprepared family. There was just one blaring detail he had skipped over when he went on his do-good rampage.

Telling her.

It's not that he was avoiding the conversation. He and Noelani were engaged for goodness sake. It was more that he was waiting until the opportunity presented itself.

Well, it was now or never because as soon as the social worker picked Andrew up from school, she was going to bring him to Jude's house and there was no going back.

"Hey, you," Noelani smiled as he walked into the M.E.'s office. Shit. When had he gotten out of his truck? He didn't remember pulling into the lot. Hell, he didn't remember the last three miles of the drive. She stripped off her latex gloves and rounded the exam table, "You got here fast. I just called HQ."

Jude looked around as if he didn't quite know where he was, "Wait, what?"

"You're here about the Shaw case, right? I just finished the wife's autopsy and called over to see if someone wanted to come down for the results."

"Um, sort of…" Jude mumbled. He glanced out the window and saw the Camaro pull up in the parking lot, "There's, uh, there's something we need to talk about. You got a minute?"

Noelani led him into her office where she sat on the edge of her desk, plucked her engagement ring out of the dish she stored it in for safe keeping, and slid it back on her finger. "What's going on?"

Jude took a deep breath, "Look, I should have brought this up earlier, but…."

"But you called family services about being Andrew's guardian for the time being?"

He pressed his fingertips to his eyes and groaned, "On a scale of one to ten how mad are you?"

Noelani giggled, "I'm not. I figured you weren't gonna keep me in the dark for long."

"How'd you find out?"

"I've told you a hundred times that the boys on Five-0 gossip worse than little old ladies in a church prayer group."

"Which one told you? I'll kill him."

Noelani slid off the desk and placed her hands on his chest, "It was actually Tani, but don't kill her. I'd hate to see Junior dismember you."

Jude slid his hands around her waist, "Sunshine, I know I should have told you-"

"You had your reasons for keeping it to yourself and I trust that. For now. We'll discuss this later, but you should probably get going and get ready for him."

There was something definitive about her tone and he knew better than to argue with her. Jude leaned down and kissed her gently. "Have I told you how wonderful you are?" He murmured.

Noelani smiled, "Remind me again." The second kiss was enough to erase her frustrations for the time being.

"I'll cook tonight. What sounds good?"

She offered a soft smile, "Why don't you take tonight to get Andrew settled in and I'll join you two for dinner another night. Besides, I haven't seen the inside of my house in two weeks. I should probably take care of a few things there."

Jude frowned, "Sweetheart, don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't act like everything's fine when it's not." His hands rested on her hips, anchoring her feet to the ground. "Fight with me."

"Jude, I'm not going to fight with you about this." She nudged her bottle cap glasses back up her nose.

"Come over tonight as soon as you get off work. Eat dinner with us. Stay at my place."

She raised an eyebrow, "I don't take orders from you."

Jude grimaced, "I'm fucking this up, aren't I?"

She nodded, "Royally."

"Tell me what to do to make this right."

"Give me a little space to process."

"I hate that. Can't I just fix it?"

She pursed her lips and stifled a smile, "I know you want to fix everything for everyone, but right now I need to go back to work and you have to get ready for a kid who needs you."

Jude fought back a growl and pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry."

"Get going, Beckett."

"At least think about dinner? I want us to have this conversation."

She looked up at him and nodded, "I think about it."

Jude spread out the dark green comforter over the guest bed and set the pillows up against the headboard. It was weird being on the other side of the scenario, he thought; opening up your home to someone with nowhere else to go.

Smell was a powerful memory trigger. The plastic scent of black garbage bags that the Shaw kid would have to pack his things in washed over him like a wave. It had been decades since Jude was the one packing his things in those damn garbage bags. Still, the memory haunted him.

Nothing makes you feel more disposable as a human being than hauling around your few earthly possessions like they're trash. That's why he had made another stop and picked up a simple luggage set. He didn't know how long Andrew would stay with him, but there was no way in hell he was going to send the kid off with his clothes in a garbage bag.

He kept the room sparse. Partially because he wasn't much of an interior decorator, partially because he wanted to give the kid a sense of control. Jude planned on giving him a few days to settle in and then wanted take him to a store to pick up some things that would make his room feel more like home.

He glanced at the bedside clock. It was just past five and the social worker was supposed to be there any minute. She had called him shortly after picking Andrew up from school and asked if it was okay to take him for ice cream and talk to him about his new foster home before bringing him by.

Jude couldn't argue with that. There were a lot of bad eggs in that particular line of work; people who should have retired eons ago were just muddling through and doing the bare minimum to look out for their wards. He wasn't going to deny anyone who was willing to put in the effort.

Jogging back down the stairs and moving into the kitchen, Jude began dinner preparations. Over and over he checked his phone to see if Noelani had called or texted.

Nope. Nada.

So, Catherine happened to be right this one time. Then again, wasn't she always?

It was too late to have flowers sent to Noelani's office. She would have been packing up to go home. He filed that plan of attack away for the morning and kept thinking as he diced up the sweet potatoes and dropped the cubes into a pot of boiling water. He could swing by her office in the morning and bring her breakfast after dropping off Andrew at school. That was half a day away, though. There had to be something he could do before then.

Jude threw the chicken in the oven and gave the countertop a quick wipe down. The doorbell rang and the sound made his pulse shoot through the roof. He did a cursory check of the kitchen and living room as he moved to the door. Steeling himself to welcome Andrew Shaw into his home, he opened the front door.

"Hey."

Jude raised his eyebrows in surprise before stammering, "Hey, uh, hi. Sorry, I was expecting the case worker."

"Sorry." Noelani smiled sheepishly, "I couldn't get the door open." She nodded towards the stack of boxes in her hands.

He chuckled and unloaded her arms, spying a pink bakery box from Leonard's in the mix. "What's all this?"

Noelani closed the door behind her and followed him in. "Well, you can be… you know… healthy. And he's a kid who just lost both parents…"

"So you decided to protect the good people of Honolulu by ridding the city of all traces of sugar?" He teased.

She blushed, "I, uh, I went home a little early and made cookies and then I panicked because what if he doesn't like cookies, so I made a pan of brownies, and then I worried that he wouldn't like chocolate so I went down to Leonard's and picked up some malasadas on my way here just in case and I-"

Jude shut her up with a kiss, "You're wonderful."

"Can we still have that talk tonight?" She asked timidly.

"Yes, ma'am."

Sensing his nervous energy, Noelani glanced around, "What can I do to help?"

He tossed a bag of marshmallows her way before draining the water from the sweet potatoes and mashing them with a little butter and cinnamon. "Put those on top of the sweet potatoes. I'll finish the broccoli. Chicken should be done in a few minutes."

Noelani smiled as she arranged the marshmallows on top of the casserole dish, "Jude Beckett is willingly putting sugar on vegetables?" She peeked in the oven. "And you made fried chicken?" She giggled, "Who are you and what have you done with my fiance?"

Jude gave her ass a playful swat, "No one likes a smartass, Sunshine. And for your information, the chicken is baked. Not fried."

"Even when you're being unhealthy, you're healthy."

"Just trying to give the kid some comfort food. First day is always the worst."

There was something in his tone that tipped her off to the fact that he was speaking from experience. She knew that his parents had passed away when he was young, but had he been in foster care after that? Is that why this was so important to him?

The doorbell rang and Jude looked like he was about to come up out of his skin. Noelani gave him a reassuring smile and made herself busy as he went to answer the door.

"Hey," he grinned, "Come on in."

"Alicia Reynolds," the woman said, introducing herself and extending her hand to shake his, "Andrew, this is Mr. Beckett."

Jude gave the kid a fist bump, "Hey, Andrew. You can call me Jude."

The kid's eyes widened, "You're my foster parent? You… You look like the Terminator."

Noelani laughed from the kitchen. The kid had him pegged. Maisey darted around the corner at the sound of new potential humans to love.

"You have a dog?" The stoic lines around Andrew's face began to crack.

"Yeah," Jude grinned. "This is Maisey," he said as Maisey plopped down in front of Andrew and thumped her tail on the wood floor. "Her bark sounds mean, but she's a real sweetheart. If you want her undying loyalty and affection, there are t-r-e-a-t-s on top of the fridge."

Andrew knelt down and gave Maisey a good rub behind her ears, "Cool."

"Noelani?" Alicia peered around Jude. "Is that you?"

Noelani craned around the kitchen island. "Oh my God! Reeshia!" She squealed, using the nickname that their circle of friends called her.

Jude looked between the social worker and his fiance, "How, uh how do you two know each other?"

"Book club." They said in unison.

Alicia walked into the kitchen, "I haven't seen you the last couple times the group has gotten together. How have you been?"

Noelani giggled, "Busy." She nodded towards Jude, "That guy's been taking up most of my free time. Not that I mind."

"I don't blame you, girl." Alicia grinned, "Where did you find him and does he have a brother? One who looks exactly like him?"

"Sorry, he's one of a kind."

"And you're…."

"Engaged," Noelani said with a grin as she flashed her engagement ring.

Alicia's eyes widened. "Holy shit!" She whispered, "Damn, girl! He did GOOD!"

Jude and Andrew joined the ladies in the kitchen, "Andrew, this is my fiance, Noelani."

"Nice to meet you, Andrew," she beamed.

"Word to the wise," Jude stage-whispered, "She brought enough sweets to feed an army. I think she's trying to fatten us up."

Andrew stifled a laugh and gave her a once-over, taking note of her blue scrubs. "Are you like… a nurse or something?"

Alicia shook her head, "She's the chief medical examiner for Honolulu County."

His eyes widened, "Like the people on CSI?

Noelani nodded, "Mhmm."

"Cool," he grinned.

"Come on, kid," Jude said as he clapped Andrew on the back, "Let's get you unpacked and we can throw those garbage bags away."

Dinner was a riot. Jude invited Alicia to stay and eat, so the four of them crowded around the table with Maisey circling like a vulture waiting for someone to drop some people-food.

Afterwards, Alicia said her goodbyes to Andrew, taking time to make sure that he felt comfortable with the situation, and promising to check in soon. Jude and Andrew teamed up to clear the table while Noelani loaded the dishwasher. He didn't seem quite as scared as Jude had been expecting, but his one word answers and general apathy were warning signs that he wasn't handling things as well as he pretended to be.

He was only fifteen. Sure, he was closer to adulthood than being a child, but what he had gone through was something that no person- no matter the age- is ever prepared to handle.

Maisey hadn't left Andrew's side all night. She followed him upstairs, hopped up on his bed, and made herself right at home.

"Mr. Beckett?" Andrew knocked timidly on Jude's door.

Jude threw a pair of sweatpants on and opened it up, "What's up?" His brow furrowed with concern and immediately, he put on a less intimidating face.

"I, um… I was just wondering if it was alright if Maisey slept in the guest room with me… I didn't know if she was 'sposed to go in a crate or something."

"Yeah, it's cool if you want her to. She'd probably like that." Jude leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms. "And it's Jude, remember? Or you can call me Beckett. Just no 'Mr.'." He put on a sly smile like he was sharing a secret. "Noelani calls me Beckett sometimes, but usually just when I'm in trouble," He winked. "And the room is yours. Not a guest room. This weekend we'll go out and get whatever you want to spruce it up."

Andrew raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Of course." Jude nodded his head towards Andrew's room, "Get some sleep. I'm right down the hall if you need anything."

"Hey, you." Jude crawled across the pillowtop mattress and straddled Noelani's waist. He leaned down and pressed a slow, seductive kiss to her lips as he took the novel out of her hand and set it on the bedside table.

"You're gonna make me lose my page," she whined, "I was just getting to the good part where Luke and Harper-"

He kissed her again, his tongue lavishing languid strokes on hers as it dipped past her lips. "This is the good part."He whispered when they finally broke apart. Jude sat beside her and pulled her into his lap, "I think we have some things to talk about, Sunshine."

"Is Andrew settled in?"

"Mhm." Jude took a steadying breath and busied his hands by massaging the tense muscles that knotted her shoulders, "I told you my parents passed when I was young."

"Uh huh."

He sighed, "After they passed I got put into foster care. I had an aunt on my mom's side but she wasn't really capable of taking care of herself much less a kid with an anger issue and a chip on his shoulder. So, I got put in the system. Bounced around to a couple homes before I landed with Mr. and Mrs. Conner. They were kind. Good to me. Didn't let me get away with anything. About a year after my folks died, I started getting in more trouble at school. Getting in fights. Getting put in detention. Picking fights just so I could get put in detention..."

"What happened?"

"Mrs. Conner picked me up from detention and instead of taking me home, she took me to a gym. Not one of those chain places with rows and rows of treadmills that plays pop music on loop. She took me to this place that stank to high heavens and marched my ass inside. Said if I wanted to pick a fight that this was the place to do it. Handed me a pair of boxing gloves and told me to get in the ring."

"Let me guess, you were a natural?"

"Hell no!" He laughed, "I was a scrawny fifteen year old with an attitude problem. I got my ass handed to me. The men who worked out there, they all knew Mrs. Conner and they knew she didn't want them to take it easy on me."

"What then?"

"One of the guys who worked out there took me under his wing. He was a Marine stationed at the base nearby. Taught me how to fight. Taught me how to be a man. Taught me that being a man isn't about who's the most aggressive or who can knock out the other guy the fastest. He taught me that being a man means taking care of people. He'd meet me at the gym most days after school and grapple with me. Taught me how to lift and train properly. He showed up the day after I graduated high school and enlisted in the Corps. He and the Conners kept me on the straight and narrow."

"So you're paying your dues now, huh?"

Jude nodded, "I picked up the foster parent application the day after I moved here."

Noelani leaned back into his chest and closed her eyes, "Why didn't you tell me? Did you think I wouldn't be on board with it?"

His hands stilled and he rested his forehead on the back of her shoulder, "I didn't want it to be your burden. This was something I had to do to pay it forward. I couldn't put that expectation on you."

"Jude, we're engaged. We're getting married." Noelani looked down at the diamond on her hand. "Your burdens are mine too. That's the point."

"I have trouble trusting people," he admitted.

Noelani shook her head, "I don't buy that for a second."

"Baby, listen to me. Every time I've opened up to someone in a really intimate way, I've lost them."

"Beth?"

Jude nodded, "And Catherine."

That stung. Noelani looked down at her hands and Jude felt every muscle in her body go rigid. "Tell me." Noelani knew she was asking for trouble, but she couldn't help herself as she nervously twisted her engagement ring.

He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck to try and ease her anxiety. "You know about Beth." He sighed, "With Catherine… I fell in love with her fast and never told her. I, uh, I don't know how much you heard over the years, but her leaving Five-0 and Steve… it wasn't really her choice. She got caught in a bad situation in Afghanistan and long story short, ended up getting put on my team for a couple'a years."

"You guys were together…"

Jude nodded, "Yeah, for a few months. After she and Steve ended things, she started dating a little and eventually her and I hooked up. I was already in love with her then. She was clear that she wasn't interested in anything more than something casual…." He shook his head, "I never should've done it. She was never mine to have. Even when they were apart I knew the way she felt about Steve. I was stupid to think I had a chance. She ended things, but that didn't change the way I felt about her. In the agency's eyes, she went AWOL when she left an assignment to help Steve hunt down Agent Greer. After that, she got moved to a different team and we lost touch. The day I debriefed and officially retired, I was in my truck ready to go home, pack a bag, and find her."

"But you didn't?"

He shook his head, "I was pulling out of the parking garage at Langley and Steve called me. Said he was looking for me on her behalf. Invited me to join them for Christmas when they went to their place in Montana."

She let out a slow breath, "Talk about good timing."

"I almost didn't go."

"Why?"

"Steve and I had talked a few times after that. He filled me in on what had been going on with her for the last few years. Told me they got married, had Shelby Jo and Will. Said she was working through some PTSD and thought that her seeing me and knowing I was okay would help her."

Noelani smiled softly, "Commander McGarrett's a good man."

"I agree." Jude wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, "There are only two women I've ever opened up to and trusted with my burdens- Beth and Catherine. When I finally got it through my head that Catherine wasn't mine to love, I swore I wouldn't do it again. It hurt too much. I decided to just be happy fixing other people's problems and handling my burdens on my own."

She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Do you trust me?"

He cracked a smile, "More than anyone." Jude let out a quiet laugh, "The day we met, I had just told Catherine that she and Steve needed to stop trying to set me up." He kissed her lips, "And then you came out of nowhere and knocked me on my ass and I knew I was a damn fool if I didn't go all in." He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and cradled her head against his chest as she hugged him. "I'm sorry it's taken me this long to lay it all out there for you."

Noelani sat up and pressed her palms against his cheeks, "I love you."

"I love you too, Sunshine."

"No more secrets?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jude released his arms around her and tugged his shirt off in one smooth motion.

"Baby, it's late and Andrew's right down the hall," she chided.

Jude chuckled, "I know, Sweetheart. I just have one more secret to tell you about." He pointed to the brand new tattoo on his right pec, "You got a ring, but it's only fair that I have something to show you how serious I am. Got it done before I went to work this morning."

She trailed her finger along the lines, admiring the artwork, "Does it hurt?"

"Nah," he grinned.

"Tough guy," she giggled. Noelani looked up and met his gaze, "The queen of hearts?"

Jude nodded and peered down at the playing card tattoo that was inked over his heart, surrounded by Beth's pixie dust. "You're the queen of my heart. You're my wild card." He pecked her lips, "The one I didn't know I needed, but can't live without."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Leave your comments and feedback in the reviews, loves!

I hope you've all had a wonderful week! I've been in my writing cave, chugging along with the book project.

Stay happy and healthy! Spread love and kindness!

XO,

-Mags-

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