The Ghosts of Christmas
The slam of the office door reverberated throughout the empty building. Steve paused in his darkened office to listen to the final vibration of sound die away before allowing himself to think again.
DAMN! This is just great. It was the night before Christmas and they were at a crucial point in a huge, high profile case and Dan had just walked out on him. The disagreement had started because Steve didn't see the need for Dan to spend an hour or two that evening playing Santa to the children at the Kanakua orphan's home. Worse than that, Danno had asked Steve to go with him and help! Here they were, right in the middle of the biggest drug bust in Hawaiian history and Dan wanted to take a break. Steve had tried to reason with him by pointing out that this was an exceptional time and that they didn't have an hour or two to spare, but Dan was of the opinion that two hours, even one whole day, (after all it was the night before Christmas) would not make a difference in the case.
"Steve, this case or some other case will always be pending. There will be lots of important cases but the future depends on more than just law and order," Dan had argued. Having made the commitment to the orphanage months ago, he wouldn't back out now at the last minute and at the risk of disappointing the children. It was bad enough that they were already short one Santa and he would have to visit both orphanages himself that night. He had wanted Steve to help and that only fueled the argument further. "Absurd!" Steve thought and shook his head.
Steve then tried the iron fist approach. It had worked in the past on his young lieutenant, but not this time. Williams grew quiet, turned on his heel and left.
Steve took a deep breath, trying in vain to get his breathing under control. Not ready to be calm yet, he threw the papers he was still holding down on his desk in frustration, opened the door to his lanai and stepped outside into the darkness.
Christmas in Hawaii always seemed so disconcerting in some ways. The weather didn't really change and there was something about palm trees with lights instead of evergreens that didn't seem quite right. The night air which usually calmed his nerves just served to agitate him further. Didn't anyone understand that he was trying the best he could to preserve this peaceful island paradise. And what was he going to do about Williams now? Williams was not shy about voicing his opinions, and he had clashed with Steve on numerous occasions in the past. Somehow they always managed to hammer out a solution; however, this time was different. The battle had interfered with work and Steve was tired of dealing with it. He would have to send Williams back down to HPD, find another recruit and begin training anew. There was no shortage of eager officers who wanted to join the elite police unit, but the thought of having to train someone was almost too much for him to bear. It would mean more work for him until the new recruit was operating at an optimal level, but he didn't see how that could be avoided.
His thoughts were interrupted by singing. Christmas carolers! Didn't anyone understand that important work had to be done even during Christmas?! He stepped back into his office and firmly shut the lanai door. No matter, he thought. He could handle this alone if he needed to. He had done it before Williams had joined 5-0 and he could do it again.
The now quiet office was illuminated only by the single desk lamp which cast a harsh light across his paperwork. Slowly, he sat back down at his desk. He was suddenly very tired. A quick nap would revive him for the rest of the night. Ten minutes, that was all he needed, he thought, as he laid his head onto his folded arms on top of the desk.