Disclaimer: I still don't own Magnum PI or Hawaii. Sadly, the US government is not willing to give up Hawaii to broke college students. Why not?

Rick watched the scene in front of him with astonishment. Thomas had a sister? A younger sister? A younger sister who had the face of an angel and the figure of a model?

Meanwhile, Magnum gave the girl another squeeze then pushed her an arm's length away. "Let me take a look at you! You look fantastic, Julz!"

Julie (at least, that's what Rick assumed her name was) laughed and shook her head. "Tommy's still a flatterer," she protested modestly. "Hawaii seems to agree with you, Tom. You haven't changed in… oh, how many years has it been? Five!"

Magnum gave her a sheepish grin. "I was busy?"

"Doing what, climbing through hedges to get pictures of cheating spouses?" Her hands fell to her hips in a stern manner.

TC chuckled at her summary of Magnum's work. "Hey, TM, keep this one around! I like her." Then he paused. "At least, I would like her if I knew who she was?" His pointed look apparently confused Julie.

"Tom, you didn't tell them about me?" she asked, looking hurt.

"Ah…"

Flashback

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark

"Tom?" Thirteen year-old Thomas Magnum blinked sleepily until his father's stern face came into focus. He rubbed his eyes, willing himself to wake up. "Tom, your mother and I have a surprise for you downstairs."

At the sound of his mother, Tom's face lit up and he hurriedly threw his robe on before tumbling noisily down the stairs. His mother had gone to the hospital the day before, and no one would explain why. But she must be better for her to be home so soon!

His mother stood at the foot, with a small bundle of cloth in her arms. Tom's mood changed from happily surprised to plain confusion.

"Mom, what is…"

Then a small little fist appeared from the blankets. To Tom's awe, his mother drew back the folds to reveal a small but sweet little face. The baby yawned and blinked at Tom. Its little brown eyes seemed fascinated with the new person in the room.

Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

Slowly walking to his mother, Tom cautiously held out a hand. "Mom, is it… ours?"

Nodding, his mother blinked back tears as her son met his new sibling.

Tom's hand gently caressed the soft little cheek. A tiny hand reached up and curled its fingers around his smallest one. A smile bloomed onto Tom's face. "What's his name?"

"Her name," his father corrected in a booming voice that startled the baby into tears, "is Juliet Denise Magnum. Your mother picked it out," he added, frowning with disapproval. Thomas Henry Magnum the Third thought it sounded like a name out of one of those trashy romance novels his wife liked to read.

Tom opened his arms, offering to comfort the baby for his now tired and unhappy mother. She cautioned him while handing over his little sister.

The moment she was in his arms, she stopped crying.

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

"Yeah, it's ok," Tom soothed her more, rocking back and forth. "I'm gonna teach you how to ride a bike, and how to throw a ball, and you'll be so cute you'll drive all the boys crazy, and I'm gonna take care of you, Julie. I'll never let anyone hurt you, I promise."

"I still can't believe you never told us you had a younger sister!" TC exclaimed.

The scene had moved from the front of the club to the back porch. After a brief explanation by Thomas that, yes, Julie was his sister, Rick offered to pay for lunch.

Now that I thought about it, that was the last thing Rick had said for a while. I wondered if he was feeling well. TC had told me on the way outside that Rick had broken up with his latest girlfriend moments before Julie walked in. I guess I sort of stunned him a bit.

Magnum suddenly noticed how Rick's eyes rarely strayed from Julie.

Huh. Maybe not.

Julie finally noticed Rick's silence and decided to bring him in.

"Thanks again for the lovely meal," she said, smiling at him brightly. She squeezed Magnum's hand affectionately. "It's been so long since I saw Tom, and he's told me so much about all of you."

Rick nodded, playing with his food. He felt his face growing hot at the looks on TC and Magnum's faces, dreading the fact that they had probably figured out the reason for Rick's silence. He couldn't explain it, though. Something about her left him tongue-tied.

"So where are you staying?" Magnum was asking Julie.

"Well, I didn't really plan that far ahead," Julie hesitated, as if she wasn't sure what to say. "I didn't really want to stay at a hotel, but…"

"Stay with me!" Magnum offered. "Higgins'll probably mind, which thrills me, and Robin Masters won't care, which gets me off the hook."

"Thomas, those guard dogs of Higgins will eat her alive!" TC warned.

"Guard dogs?" Julie asked, confused.

"Higgins has two Dobermans that patrol the place, remember?" Magnum reminded her. "And I'm not their favorite person in the world."

At that, Rick snorted. "Favorite? They think he's walking kibble!"

Julie arched an eyebrow at Magnum, a smile on her face. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that."

Soon, the two Magnums were on the road and on their way to Robin's Nest.

Julie tapped her fingers to the radio, smiling into the sunshine. "I can see why you'd prefer here to home. It's gorgeous."

"It also is as far away from Dad as possible," Magnum reminded her.

An impatient noise came from her. "When are you two going to stop that Alpha Male act?" Her tone changed. "He misses you, Tom, you know that. And you miss him."

"He'll never change, Julie." Magnum sighed. "He's getting old, though."

"Just visit, Tommy? You can stay with me, instead of him."

Magnum smiled at her magnanimous offer. "I doubt your Resident Advisor will let your brother stay in your dorm with you."

"Oh, you haven't heard? I have an apartment off campus now."

Julie had received her Bachelor's in English about three years ago, at the University of Chicago. Since then, she spent a year abroad only to return to Chicago for her Master's. Her ambitions continued to be vague, a fact which frustrated my father and worried me.

"Decided what you want to do when you grow up?" Magnum asked. He winced when she hit him on the arm. "Jeez, it's just a question!"

"You didn't phrase it nicely!" she protested.

"C'mon, Julie, you have the ambition of a ten year-old! When are you going to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life?"

"You're just like Dad, Tom, and that's not a compliment!"

Their bickering continued down the road. They were so involved that they didn't see the dark car tailing them. Nor did they see it veer off after they pulled into the driveway.

Later, Robin's Nest

Higgins hobbled over to the refrigerator, wincing every step of the way. He felt no pain, thanks to the medications his doctor had left that morning, but he caught a glance of himself in the reflection of the window. He thanked whatever celestial power that Magnum was not there to see his humiliation.

"HIGGINS!"

Speaking of Magnum… The growls and barks of the lads could be heard all over the grounds.

"Higgins, this isn't funny! I have a guest with me!"

Inwardly weighing his choices, Higgins reluctantly hobbled to the window and called out, "Lads-"

Then he realized the dogs had ceased barking. In fact, the grounds were silent.

Higgins felt his heart leap to his throat. As fast as he could, he limped down the stairs, breathing threats against Magnum all the way. "If you've injured my lads in any way…"

A young woman knelt on the ground next to the lads, rubbing behind their ears and cooing compliments. "Well, you're just so handsome, aren't you? I bet you drive all the girls crazy… Good boys, good boys!"

Magnum leaned against the side of the Ferrari, his arms crossed over his chest and his head shaking in wonderment.

"LADS!" Higgins snapped his fingers, to no avail. "Zeus, Apollo!" Nothing. "Please?"

They looked over at Higgins as if to say, "Do we have to?"

The girl stood, wiping her hands off on her dress. "You must be Higgins." She gave him a warm smile.

I had never seen Higgins melt like this to anyone. It was almost enough to call a flood alert on the island. Honestly, if anyone asked me, I thought it was one of the most endearing sights I had seen.

"I… What… What have you done to my dogs?" Higgins stuttered, utterly bewildered.

"Higgins," Magnum said with a smirk, "I don't think you've met my sister, Julie."

King Kamehameha Club

Rick looked up at the sound of a knock on his office's door. George, one of his head waiters, stuck his head in. "You wanted to see me, boss?"

"Yeah, come in!" Rick quickly finished the paper in front of him before looking back up. "George, I have a group of guests coming this evening for dinner, and I want them to have a wonderful time."

"Yes, sir."

"They should be here around seven; I want everything to look fantastic for them. The best table, the best service, the works." He waved a hand to emphasize his point.

George looked perplexed, but nodded.

Rick went back to what he was doing until he realized that George had not left. "Well?"

"Uh, sir? You didn't say who the guests were."

"Oh." Rick's face started to turn red. "Um, it's a few of my friends."

"A few lady friends, sir?" George asked cautiously.

"No, one lady with two gentlemen… Why?" Rick asked, looking miffed.

"Just wondering, sir; do you want the lighting dark, as usual?"

The reminder of Rick's past dinner dates filled him with loathing. "No! This girl's special, not some two-dollar tramp! Now get back to work!"

If Rick had looked up, he would have seen George grinning as he walked out to inform the staff that Mr. Rick had a new girlfriend, and apparently this one was "special."

A man dressed in a suit hurried across the street to a payphone. After dialing the number, he squinted at the sky.

A muffled greeting reached his ears.

"Ah, Mr. Romo, sir? She's staying at a place called 'Robin's Nest.' Yeah, she went with a big guy, about six and a half feet. Looks tough. Security tight." Pause. "Yeah, we'll try tomorrow. I'll see if he takes her out or not."

Author's Note: When You Say Nothing at All, sung by Alison Krauss. Review, c'est vouz-plais?