I am hugely honored and quite honestly flabbergasted that there is enough interest to warrant a continuation of the Jersey/Jax series. Seriously, you guys are the best. Every bit of this is dedicated to all of you who have shown such enthusiasm for this universe, especially F and C and S - you know who you are, and you know how much you mean to me.

You definitely need to be familiar with the Jersey universe for any of this to make sense. The fics are as follows, in order: A Little Piece of Jersey, Bits and Pieces of Jersey, To the Gates of Hell and New Jersey, Jersey Shore to North Shore: The Long Way Home. Also in the Jersey series is Timestamps and Postcards, a series of one-shots and "deleted scenes".

It's been a while, so please be patient - it might take me a chapter or two to shake off the rust. As I did with the four previous installments, I'm posting this unbeta'd and as it's written so . . . here goes . . .

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Chapter 1

The couple stepped off the plane, and headed straight to the rental car kiosk.

"We'll need a sedan," the man said.

"And directions to Iolani Palace," the woman added. "We're going to surprise our daughter and new son-in-law for the holidays."

It had taken a few years, but Steve had grown to enjoy the holidays. His first Christmas back on the island had been a disaster; he'd avoided everyone's efforts to include him in their holiday plans. He chuckled to himself. Fast forward a few years, and he was the one hosting the biggest and brightest holiday parties. This year was special. The twins' first Christmas. Oh, they couldn't have a tree at home, of course. Billy and Annie were both crawling, and Billy was trying to pull up on anything he could get his chubby hands on. But they'd strung lights outside, set on a timer so that the porch was aglow with hundreds of tiny white lights when they came home after a long day. And the house was smelling wonderful – Jax had been baking in bulk to give cookies and treats to all their friends. She'd burned a couple of batches, much to Steve's surprise.

"Baking is an entirely different skill set than cooking," she'd sighed. Pupule had put a paw over his nose, offended.

The tree at Five-O more than made up for not having a tree at home. Kono had designed it this year; an artificial tree, of course, because it was notoriously difficult to find a live tree, much less one scaled for the huge space of their floor in the Palace. But it was beautiful; decorated generously with silver and seashells. He couldn't wait for Jax to see it when she came by later with lunch to enjoy with the team.

The security guard was more curious than concerned about the couple in front of him, demanding access to Commander McGarrett.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked.

"Do we need an appointment to see our own son-in-law?" the woman demanded, flipping her red hair over her shoulder.

The man put his hand at her waist, and she twitched away, annoyed. "We do not, I apologize," he said. "We rather impulsively flew here from New Jersey to surprise our daughter for the holidays. We'd sure appreciate it if you'd find out if we could see them. We understand they both are part of this task force."

The guard didn't bother to correct them; it wasn't his place. But he made mental note of the fact that they had no idea that Jax was now at Tripler. He wondered what else they didn't know.

"Give me just a moment," he said. He slipped from behind the reception desk into his tidy office and picked up the phone. "Commander McGarrett," he said quietly, "there is a couple down here insisting that they see you – they claim you're their son-in-law." There was a moment of silence as he listened to the Commander's instructions, then, "yes, sir."

He went back to the reception desk, where the woman was impatiently tapping her impeccable nails against the top of the computer monitor.

"I'll just need you to fill out the visitor registration form, see your idea, and then I can issue you a pass to go upstairs. Commander McGarrett will be expecting you."

Danny glanced up from his desk and saw Steve pacing, his cellphone in a whiteknuckled grip. Curious, he stood up and made his way out to the smart table.

"What's up?" he asked.

Steve slid his phone back into his pocket and looked at Danny, his eyes wide.

"I'm pretty sure Jax's parents are here."

"On the island?" Danny exclaimed.

"In the building."

"Does Jax –"

"No, and she's probably on her way here with lunch," Steve said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Call her, warn her — I don't –"

"I'm on it," Danny said, already dialing. "Shit. Straight to voicemail. I'll text." He was fumbling with his phone when the elevator pinged. The doors slid open to reveal a man and woman.

They stepped off the elevator, the woman flicking her sleek auburn hair over her shoulder. Her eyes landed on Danny.

"Well. I might have expected the prodigal daughter would travel halfway around the world to remain in your proximity, Officer Williams," she said.

"Detective Williams," her husband corrected quietly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Nolan," Danny said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "What a surprise. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," she retorted hotly.

"Now, Jeannie –" the man started.

"Robert," she said, "you don't need to take that tone with me. We have every right to be here. Where is Commander McGarrett, may I ask?"

Steve stepped around from behind the smart table. "I'm Commander McGarrett. How can I help you?"

"Don't be silly, darling, we're your in-laws," Jeannie said. She reached out a hand to Steve, who stood impassively. She patted his bicep awkwardly instead. "Oh, my," she said, "I see the Navy still turns out fine young men. Now, where is that naughty daughter of ours, keeping you hidden away from us?"

"She's not here," Steve said, "and I don't think it's a good –"

The elevator pinged, the doors swooshing open smoothly to reveal Jax, her hands full of take-out bags. "Hey, I hope you guys are hungry, I think I went a little –" She stopped short, her face falling blank as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Let me get those," Kono murmured, and Chin stepped up quickly to help her. "We'll just take these to the conference room, give you guys some space."

"Jacqueline," Jeannie exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us you'd married such a fine young man? An officer, no less?"

Steve was at Jax's side in two long strides. "I had no idea they were here," he murmured, bending down to kiss her cheek.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jax asked flatly. Danny smirked; he couldn't help himself.

"Jacqueline. That's no way to speak to your parents. We're here to see you, darling."

"How'd you find me?" Jax asked. Steve wrapped her small hand in his, ready to kick these people out of the building at a moment's notice.

"Your father had to find out your happy news through one of his Navy friends," Jeannie pouted.

"I keep in touch with several of the guys," Robert said quietly. "One of them retired here after he was stationed at Pearl. It was in the local paper, he said."

"Well, I can imagine it was big news," Jeannie said. "Commander McGarrett, after all, must have been one of Hawaii's most eligible bachelors. I'm just dying to hear how he ended up with you, of all things, Jacqueline."

Steve slid his arm protectively around Jax's shoulders. "Do you mean how I was lucky enough to convince this amazing woman to marry me?" he challenged. "Maybe we should discuss that in my office." He gestured toward the open door behind them.

"Officer Williams, be a darling and bring us some coffees, will you?" Jeannie asked, sweeping past Danny.

"Hey," Steve said quietly, tucking his fingers under Jax's chin and turning her face up to him. "Say the word, I'll send them packing. You don't owe them anything; you don't have to do this."

"It was inevitable," she replied. "Let's just get it over with."

Robert and Jeannie had settled into the chairs, Jeannie crossing one elegant leg over the other.

"Such a lovely space," she said, as Steve and Jax entered the room. "So many commendations and awards, my goodness."

Danny followed, leaning against Steve's desk. He wasn't sure if he was going to be needed to keep Steve from bodily throwing Jax's mother out a window, but he figured he should be prepared.

"We apologize for just barging in like this," Robert said. "It seems we've caught you at a bad time."

Steve glanced at Jax, who remained silent. "Well, sir," Steve said, "I think it would have been better to meet under different circumstances."

"Yes, it would have been better to meet at an engagement party, at the very least," Jeannie said. "Jacqueline, I can't believe you didn't tell us that you were here, in this beautiful place, and with this handsome man. I'm so devastated that we weren't included in the wedding plans; just devastated. Why did you do that to us?"

"You haven't wanted anything to do with me since Billy died," Jax said. "You barely wanted anything to do with me before that."

"Oh, but I'm sure your police friend was invited."

"Her police friend," Danny spat, "was with her in the hospital after she almost died. Her police friend was there when her parents should have been."

"We were grieving," Jeannie said. A perfectly formed tear rolled down her cheek. "We'd just suffered a horrible loss. Is that going to be held against us forever?"

"I don't hold it against you," Jax said. Her voice was flat; resigned. "I honestly didn't expect to see you."

"See, Jacqueline understood," Jeannie said.

"I hardly think that's what –" Steve started.

"Well, perhaps we can just put that behind us, and I'm sure you have some lovely pictures, right? Maybe even a video, that would be fun! I'd just love to see Commander McGarrett in his dress uniform, and Jacqueline in . . . well, whatever you wore, I'm sure it was fine. I hope someone did something with that hair for the big day. And it looks to me like you've let yourself go already; look at you in that boyish get-up. Those boots, honestly. And when did sunglasses perched on your head become a hairstyle? I would think an officer's wife would –"

Steve was standing, towering over Jeannie before he'd even consciously made the decision to move.

"You need to leave," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "You were not invited here, but we extended you the courtesy of the opportunity to explain yourself. If you think you can just sit there and insult Jax, you are sadly mistaken. I won't tolerate it."

"Since when can a mother not give her own child some advice?" Jeannie protested.

"Jeannie, I think we'd best be leaving," Robert said. He stood, taking Jeannie by the elbow and nudging her out of the chair. "Commander, I apologize again for showing up unannounced. I can see it was a bad idea."

"I hope you never have children to reject you like this," Jeannie said, her face contorting. She turned and flounced out of the office.

Robert pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to Steve. "I'd love the opportunity to speak with you both again, before we leave the island. We'll be here a week. But only if it's okay with you, Jacqi. I'm sorry we upset you, honey."

"Robert, come on," Jeannie called from the elevator. "We know where we aren't wanted."

"I'm sorry," Robert said again, raising his hands in a helpless gesture. With that, he caught up to the elevator, and disappeared with his wife behind the doors as they slid closed.

Steve stood staring at the elevator for a moment in disbelief.

"So, those are my parents," Jax said, dropping her face into her hands with a sigh. Steve looked back and forth between her and the now closed elevator, at a complete loss for words.

Danny snorted back a laugh. "Wait until they find out you have kids."

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