A/N: I don't own the show or the characters. This plot takes place after the finale, 3x16. Higgins will not much be focused in this story, sorry about that. It's just that I thought I will look into different ideas.

My native language is not English, so apologies in advance for any mistakes. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and I look forward to hear what you think. All feedback are appreciated.

Have a nice day.

And yet another case wrapped up in Magnum's favor. The best part was, he had another client, calling him in the middle of the investigation, requesting a meet-up. And just like that, an appointment was made to discuss a potential case. He was mindful to take a day off in between to rest but it will not be a full resting day as he has to go through the routine Robin's Nest security check exercise with Kumu and he also happened to volunteer to help Rick a supply run in the evening.

It had been a few weeks since Higgins had left and things had not been as easy as he expected it to be. Cases kept coming in and although she promised to help in any way she could, with all the time differences and regular poor internet connection from her side, it was a shortcoming Magnum had anticipated. At first, Magnum was disturbed by the amount of time he was taking to wrap up one case. Honestly, there was nothing much to be surprised there, now that Higgins was out of the equation, he had to cover the all grounds by himself, not to mention, he wasn't exactly thrilled to handle the part of the case which required the use of technological equipment. That was always something Higgins's would take up in their partnership.

Magnum sighed as he drove back. The word partnership brought out a round of mixed feelings. There was no way he would have made her stay using their partnership as a reason. It was her life, her decision and he respected that. However, what agitated him the most was, all these while Magnum didn't have the slightest idea on how dependent he was on her, both professionally and emotionally. Now that their partnership was taking a momentary break, he began to understand the importance of standing on his own feet with or without her in the future. Anything can happen in six months that could change their dynamics once and for all. She may choose not to come back at all, or she may come back with a ring on her finger and even a baby bump. It was a rather dreadful thought but a small voice in the back of his head kept reminding him of the possibilities.

If there was one thing he was grateful for in the difficult times was his Ohana. His brother in arms, Rick, and TC were there for him more than anything. Even without him asking, they volunteered to help with the cases. Magnum knew why they were doing it and he appreciated their help but it was not fair. Both Island Hoppers and La Marina's business was booming and for that reason, Magnum should be able to run his PI business on his own. One of the biggest help Rick had gotten him was hooking him up with Nathan, a second-year forensic science undergraduate. The IT geek was looking for real-life experience outside of lecture class to put his skills into practice. Magnum was more than happy to let the kid work for him with the cases. Nathan was more like an intern, mostly helping Magnum the technical part of the case. He was skeptical at first, but the kid proved his capabilities, even going to the extend of cracking one of the cases for Magnum. Nathan was slowly becoming a part of their Ohana and as for Magnum, he was content to leave a positive impact on the kid's studies and life.

And there was Kumu. Being the new majordomo of the estate had let her spend more time with Magnum on daily basis. And surprisingly, the more he spent time with her, the more she reminded him of his mother. Kumu had always been the mother figure for him but lately, it had been strikingly visible. The days where she would simply wander in the guest house, bringing him a plate of home-cooked food or simply standing behind him, listening to him explaining the case as she tenderly rested her hand on the back of his neck was something Magnum starting to look forward to. The memory of Kumu and him cooking lunch over the weekend, as they sang old Hawaiian songs echoing throughout the main house tugged a smile on his face. The smile curved wider when he remembered the way the lads were howling together in tune with their singing. Magnum still wasn't able to decide whether the howl was 'I join you singing' kind of howl or 'for god's sake, stop it' kind of howl. Anyhow, he was still alive after the mini-concert in the kitchen, so probably the lads tolerated his singing.

Talking about the lads, there had been positive progress between them. Zeus and Apollo had been more tolerant of him lately, there was no chasing involved so far, and for Magnum that was already the biggest victory. Magnum did feel bad whenever he noticed Zeus and Apollo circling the estate looking for Higgins. Perhaps the common ground of missing Higgins and trying to adapt back to life without her was chopping the distance away in between them. There were changes in their body language, the long ears were perking up to his presence and the lads seemed to be interested to follow him around the estate. Most importantly, Zeus and Apollo were letting him feed them. Of course, there was no physical contact involved yet but seeing how the lads were slowly warming up to him, it was just a matter of time before they let him pat their heads, scratch the back of their ears, or maybe not. Magnum was more than happy to let the lads pace their budding relationship.

The thoughts about the lads made Magnum check his watch. Kumu will be away for a cultural event on the other side of the Island tonight and if he remembered the schedule correctly, he was due to feed Zeus and Apollo in an hour. He still has enough time to make a quick stop and grab some grocery items on his way back. Automatically, he put on the blinker and pulled over to the store nearby.

There was no parking lot close by, sighing, Magnum parked the Ferrari at a certain distance. Walking in, he greeted the owner, "Aloha, Mr. Lee. How is going?"

"Magnum." The old man cheered as he waved from the counter. "I have your favorite chocolate muffins fresh from the oven. You want some?"

A sweet treat after a whole day of hard work. That sounds lovely to Magnum's tired ears. "You know I never said never to those sweet treats."

"Great, I will get them packed."

"Mahalo." Magnum thanked before he walked further inside to grab the other items. Magnum was back at the payment counter in a few minutes.

"How's work?" Mr. Lee asked casually.

"You know, just…" Magnum stopped when the door beeped signaling the entry of a new customer. Mr. Lee tensed instantly when he saw a hooded figure with a black backpack. Magnum was startled as well, he wasn't looking forward to being a victim of an armed robbery at gunpoint.

However, the hooded figure simply took long strides to the back of the store.

"You think…?" Mr. Lee trailed off.

Magnum didn't want to simply brush away Mr. Lee's distress. He held up his hand. "Hold on," Mumbling those words, Magnum walked slowly to the aisle on his right, slightly hiding behind the piled cartons of mineral bottles.

The hooded figure went straight to the end of the store, stopping at the dairy case aisle. The figure pulled down his hood and Magnum could see a teenage boy, probably high school age. He was out of breath and he bent down, resting his hand on his knees. It appeared like he took quite a run.

The door beeped yet again and automatically, Magnum's head turned to catch the glimpse of whoever was entering. To his surprise, another hooded figure with almost the same body structure entered in. Even before Magnum could mentally grasp the situation, the new entry had also taken the long strides back to the back of the store.

Turning back momentarily, Magnum caught Mr. Lee's alarmed eyes with his hand on the phone. Magnum held up his finger, asking him to hold on again. It could end up being nothing. Magnum turned his vision back to the dairy aisle and his eyebrow went off the roof instantaneously. The second figure had also pulled down his hood, revealing his face.

It was another teenage boy, but it was not any random teenage boy. He had seen the facial features in one of the photo frames in Katsumoto's house.

"Who is this?"

"That's my son."

"Wow, Gordy. You are full of surprises."

Magnum's mind played the memory to further justify what he was seeing.

The boy right here, was unmistakably Katsomoto's son, Dennis Katsumoto.

Magnum took a few steady steps, getting closer to the boys, hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Dude, I think we have been made." The other boy spoke in a rush. His voice was giving away the panic state he was in.

"You think?" Dennis was equally anxious. "I told you to keep it together."

"Excuse me?"

"Alright, I'm sorry." Dennis apologized.

"Well, do something!" The boy threw his hands in the air, expressing his frustration, dropping the backpack he was holding to the ground.

"Kale, you're going to break the only evidence we have." Dennis quickly picked up the bag. "Calm down, we will figure this out.…"

"We're so screwed!"

Magnum's gut feeling was telling him something was wrong. Very wrong.

Stay tuned for more.

Thank you for your time and support.