This is the first of a series of "alternative universe" stories about Hawaii Five-0 in the years that follow Season 12. This first story gives an answer to why Danny was missing in Season 12 (something others have also done) and leaves one with the opening to the eventual conclusion in the second story: It's How You Play the Game. There is not attempt here to steal, just borrow for a while. No money being made, this is strictly for the enjoyment of those who read. The only reward is your feedback, which is always appreciated.

Date: June 1979

Every Mother's Son
By Peg Keeley
onenerveleft59@hotmail.com

    He registered at the Royal Surf as Robert Chaney, his true name. It would never have occurred to him to do otherwise. In his room, he lay the two suitcases on the bed. Opening the smaller first, he reverently removed a framed picture and set it aside. He unpacked the small bag of clothes, then carefully lifted the larger one onto the bed and opened it. Packed firmly in foam rubber were an unassembled lightweight machine gun and a gleaming .357 magnum pistol. Everything had traveled well. He sat down on the bed and, with great care, picked up the framed 5x7 picture of a blonde-haired woman. She beamed happily from the photo, sunshine in her smile. He gently rubbed his hand over the picture.

"We're here, Mother. At last I've found him. It's going to be all right now, all right."

The picture dated back twenty-seven years. In the photo with the woman, in naval officer's uniform, was a very young Steve McGarrett.
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    Robert 's first purchase was one that many tourists made--that of a map of Oahu. On one side was the whole island, little numbered circles showing the many points of interest. The other side was a detailed map of downtown Honolulu. His point of focus would have been present on either side. Iolani Palace. He highlighted it on both sides in ballpoint pen. He'd planned to rent a car, but was convinced it would be far cheaper to a motorbike from the bellhop's uncle. The boy had even written a note to give him a discount.

On his yellow motorbike, the map folded in his shirt pocket; Robert quickly found his way to the Iolani Palace. He sat on a bench beneath the aged trees watching. Except there was nothing to watch. After an hour, he bought a Coke and a newspaper. A photo got his attention. Its caption explained a drug bust on Hotel Street and identified the three Five-O officers as Steve McGarrett, Duke Lukela, and Dan Williams. Robert carefully tore the photo from the paper.

And he waited. He did not know that Ben Kokua walked down the sidewalk in front of him and he did not recognize Jenny as she left the building for a luncheon appointment with hairdresser. When Duke headed across the lot for his car, Robert got up and followed from a distance.

Duke went home for lunch. His wife, Mary, met him at the door with a hug and kiss, just as she had every day for twenty years. Sam, his second son, was on his way to play basketball with friends and jokingly reminded his father that his birthday was next week.

Half a block away, Robert watched. And he continued to examine the activities of Duke's day through the afternoon and into the next morning. After another day of observing Duke, he was still unable to find a way to make contact. Lukela's life was full of not only his job, but also his family.

On the third day Robert was becoming anxious. He still had yet to see McGarrett--each day the parking spot had been empty. Then, the morning of the fourth day, the black Lincoln pulled into the spot and stopped. Robert's heart skipped a beat. Across the parking lot, in the flesh, McGarrett left the car, went up the steps and disappeared inside the white building. Robert stared at the closed door from his spot across the park for quite a while. No longer was McGarrett the aging photo on the dresser or the black and white lithographed newsprint. He was real, flesh and blood.

It was only half an hour before McGarrett came back down the steps and got into his car. Robert recognized the man with him as Dan Williams from the news photo. Hurrying to the motorbike, he followed the black Lincoln as it sped out into the morning traffic on Kapiolani Boulevard. Tailing McGarrett was not easy. The man drove hard and fast. And he never took the same route to anywhere twice.

Robert spent the week next tailing and dodging McGarrett all over Oahu. All the while, Robert kept little tracks across the map, and took notes in a small pad. He saw McGarrett confront drug dealers and politicians; watched as McGarrett played with the young son of a police officer. McGarrett was nothing like the smiling picture. He was crafty and illusive. Wary of everything, on two occasions McGarrett seemed to be conscious that Robert was tailing him and Chaney had dropped his surveillance.

    The morning of Robert's tenth day in Honolulu, he got up late. He glared at the pile of notes, the scribbled map and felt frustrated. I am no closer than I was back in Virginia. He went to the mirror and glared at his reflection. "You coward, just do this. Do this! Make it happen!" He touched his mother's picture and whispered. "For you. I promise, yes, for you." He snatched up the pages of notes and scanned through them. If he could not predict where McGarrett would go, he would make the man come to him. Robert had seen Williams with McGarrett often. McGarrett would most certainly come anywhere Williams asked him to. He would be trusted. Robert smiled quietly as he developed the plan.
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    Three days of following Williams had proved very productive. Unlike his co-worker, Lukela, Williams did not have a family to take up his time. And unlike McGarrett, he was very predictable. When he worked late, he stopped at one particular bar for a beer. On earlier days, he went to the health club. Chaney parked the motorbike at the health club late in the afternoon and waited outside the locker room. The idea of speaking with someone he didn't know was nearly as terrifying as his mission. Chaney had never been comfortable meeting people or making friends. The social graces escaped him. Williams appeared in shorts and a polo shirt, Robert licked his lips, fisted his hands at his sides and, nearly chasing Danny up the corridor, announced: "Hi, there."

Dan Williams, taken slightly aback, looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Hello." He paused. "Am I supposed to know you from somewhere?"

Chaney laughed. "No, not really. I'm looking for a game of racquetball. I've been in the islands for two weeks, haven't met a soul and decided today was the day to finally get a life started. Racquetball seems the way to go. You don't happen to play?" he asked, already knowing he did. His words had all run together in his haste. Now he held his breath in anticipation. If Williams said no, what would he do?

Danny hesitated, unaccustomed to such a forward person. This guy seemed kind of lost. He felt sorry for him. Racquetball would be more fun than the weight room anyway. "Well, all right. Dan Williams." He extended his hand.

Robert took the handshake in relief.   

    Two days later Robert was waiting for Danny at the health club again.

"How do you like Honolulu?" Danny asked him in the locker room after their workout.

"Very different that I'd imagined," Robert admitted honestly. "Virginia's a long way away."

He laughed. "Guess so. What brings you here?"

Robert felt a moment of panic. "Oh, I just needed a change. Decided that Hawaii would be a good place to start over."

"Start over?" Danny asked. Most guys doing that are leaving something behind. Wonder what. Divorce maybe? He dismissed the thought. "So, got a job yet?"

"Not yet. I don't have a lot of experience. I'll get something though."

"Hawaii isn't an easy place to find work."

"Don't worry about me," Robert assured him. He tossed a towel into the barrel. "Know a good place to get a bite?"

Danny finished buttoning his shirt, rolled his tie up and jammed it into his jacket pocket. He gave a grin. "Come on."

A few beers and a steak had eased Robert's spirit quite a bit. "I've always wanted to be front some place exotic," he said between bites.

"Exotic, huh?" Danny said with a shrug.

"There's so much to see and do."

"Want to know a secret?" Danny commented, a twinkle in his eye.

Robert looked at him closely.

"The dog sled races aren't very good."

Robert roared with laughter that was just a little too loud. "Good, real good."

A young Hawaiian waitress approached. "Hi, Danny," she said, her pretty face aglow.

"Hi, Linda," he replied.

"How's my favorite Five-O man?"

He shrugged.

Robert jumped at the chance. "Five-O? What's that?"

She giggled. "Mainlander?"

Danny grinned. "Yeah."

"You showing him around?! Be sure to bring him by my place. I'll show him everything he really needs to see!" She tickled Robert's ear and was gone.

Robert flushed, his gaze following her.

Danny gave an inward smirk. There was something childish about Chaney. He needed to be protected by a woman. Linda would probably just love his type. Danny finished his last bite of steak. It had been a long day. He was getting tired of the company and was ready to do nothing more energetic than change TV channels.

Robert suddenly spoke again. "What did she mean? What's Five-O? A business firm or something?"

"State police," he said briefly.

"You're a cop?" Robert asked innocently.

"Somebody's gotta be," Danny commented, disinterestedly.

"There a lot of crime here?" Robert leaned forward in sudden interest.

He shrugged. "Look, Robert, it's my job, okay? I'm not on duty."

Robert seemed not to hear. "I've never done anything exciting like that. I don't have a family or anything. I might like being a cop. I'm not married, so that's probably better. What do you think? You're not married."

Danny felt anger building at the line of questioning. How does he know I'm not married? I don't remember telling him that. Robert had been becoming a bother and the rush of questions was another irritant. "You sure you don't work for the National Enquirer?"

Robert sensed his contact escaping him and began to panic. His voice pitch rose slightly. "Do you think you could get me a job in the police department?" His words tumbled over each other in his haste.

Danny rose, dropping his napkin. "Look, do yourself a favor, Chaney, go get a tan, maybe take a helicopter ride over Mauna Loa, and go back to Virginia." He tossed payment for his meal on the table and left.

Linda came over to the table, giggling. "Where'd Danny go?"

"Out," Robert answered glumly.

She scooped up the money. "Don't worry about him. Everybody who works for McGarrett gets moody. What'd you do anyway?"

He shrugged. "Just asked about getting a job."

She shook her head. "They're all a pretty tight bunch. Like a brotherhood, you know?"

McGarrett, too?"

"McGarrett is like a granite wall," she answered. "Stay away from him. Stay away from all of them. Go down to the beach and find some of the good people."
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    Robert spent the night brooding. How was he going to handle this now? After all the tortures of all these years there was no going back now. He paced the floor of the hotel room, argued with the mirror, and whimpered promises to the photo. As the sun rose on his unrested face, he resolved that, come what may, he would do what needed to be done. He picked up the phone.
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    Jenny knocked on Danny's open office door. He looked up from his report. She stuck out a handful of pink phone memos. "Danny, you've got someone pretty anxious to talk to you. He's called four times this morning, three times this afternoon. I feel silly telling him you'll call back."

He sighed and took the memos. "He's just an irritant."

"He sounded very anxious."

"Yeah."

Steve came out of his office. "Jenny, I need this typed with two copies."

"Done, Boss," she said, accepting the letter, then glanced back at Danny.

"All right," he assured her. "I'll do it." He tossed down the memos.

"Is it Girl Scout Cookie time already?" Steve asked with a grin.

He smirked. "I wish. I met this--this tourist at the health club. Started ask nosy questions. Now he keeps calling."

"What does he want?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's selling insurance."

"Why don't you tell him that when you're not hang gliding or scuba diving, you're letting people take potshots at you?"

Danny forced a grin and reluctantly picked up the phone.
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    "All right, Chaney," Danny said tolerantly when Robert opened the hotel room door. "What is it that's so important?" He was angry and embarrassed. This had better be good.
   Robert ushered him in and nervously closed the door. His hands felt sweaty. "Look, I know you think I just tried to pull some trick or something. I don't blame you for being mad." He bit his lip. "Just let me explain, okay? This isn't easy. I-I really came to the islands to find somebody. And I need help."

"What kind of help?" His tone did not soften.

Robert ran a hand through his hair. "I, look, I knew you were a cop. I didn't meet you by accident. I thought you could help me."

Danny's hostility was growing by the moment. I was set up. "Five-O doesn't handle missing persons." He knew he should already be half out the door, but he hesitated.

Robert exploded, fists clenched. "Shut up! Just shut up! This isn't easy and you're making it harder!"

Danny knew he'd better back away from this. There was something really wrong with this guy. Chaney was clearly a man on the edge. At the same time, he somehow felt sorry for him. "Okay," he said calmly. "Go ahead. I'll listen."

"Sit down."

Danny sat, obediently, in a chair and watched in silence as Chaney paced the floor for several minutes.

Finally Robert spoke. "Until six weeks ago I didn't know where he was, didn't even care. But I saw this news special on crime and I saw him."

"Saw who?"

Robert looked at Danny. "Let me start over." He wrung his hands as he paced again. "My mother raised me the best she could. She worked herself so hard for me. Died of cancer three years ago..."he trailed off. Gradually, he slowed his pacing. "When I saw him and realized he was my father, I had to meet him. Don't you see?"

"I still don't know who you're talking about," Danny admitted. "If you've got a name HPD could-"

Robert whirled to the dresser grabbed the 5x7 from behind the lamp and shoved it at Danny.

He stared, openmouthed, in shock. "Um," he finally uttered, "are you sure about this?"

Robert didn't bother to answer the question. "I need your help."

"You need somebody's help, but not mine."

"You're his friend."

"This is none of my business!" he shouted angrily, jumping to his feet. "We shouldn't even be having this discussion!" He dropped the photo on the bed. "Now, look, this is between you and McGarrett. You need to talk to him."

"And say what: 'Hello, Daddy'?" Robert shouted back.

Danny took a deep breath. "That is your business. This is a private matter between you and McGarrett. What do you expect me to do anyway?"

Robert was pleading. "Dan, I need your help. I can't face him alone." He grabbed Danny's arm. "Tell him for me."

"No way." He pulled away. "I don't know who you really are. That picture could have come from anywhere!" What am I doing here?
   Robert thought for a moment. "Call him. Tell him to meet us here. Right here, okay? Right now. Yes, that's it. Right here, right now. All private, you know. No office or anything. I don't want to embarrass him, you know. And just be here when I tell him."

Dan put a hand to his forehead, then rubbed his eyes. Of all the outlandish fixes, this has to take the cake. "All right, all right. I guess I'm already in this now." He picked up the room phone. "Operator, give me Five-O.......Jenny? Dan. Is Steve there?" He hoped she'd say no, but she said to wait. There was a long pause, long enough for him to seriously consider hanging up.

In his office, Steve finally pressed the button. "Yes, Danno."

"Steve, I need you to meet me at the Royal Surf. Room--"

"403," put in Robert.

"403."

Steve frowned. "Now?"

"Yes. If you can."

"What's all this about?" he asked, sensing Dan's uneasiness.

"There's someone you'd better meet."

McGarrett scowled. It wasn't like Danno to be so secretive on the phone. "I'll be there." He hung up.

"Well?" Robert asked, expectantly.

"He's on his way."

Robert paced the floor becoming more and more restless. After a few minutes he murmured: "How much longer?"

"At least ten or fifteen minutes," Danny replied.

Chaney continued to pace the floor. Occasionally, he would mutter something under his breath. Danny noticed him glance into the mirror every time he passed it. As the moments ticked by, Robert was starting to unravel. Again Chaney asked the time. It had been only five minutes. "I can't do this." Robert declared. "What'll I say? What'll I do?"

Danny commented flatly: "It was your idea. You came all the way to Hawaii just to meet him."

Robert sat down on the bed. "Yeah, but now I'm not so sure." He got up wringing his hands and pacing the floor. "Please, you've got to do one more thing."

"What now?" Danny asked. He did not look forward to the impending meeting. How will Steve handle this? Furious? Devastated? And if it was true...well isn't that every young male's biggest nightmare: to have fathered some bastard who shows up at the door one day? Especially one as unbalanced as Robert. He kept eyeing Robert's features critically, trying to detect something that looked like Steve. He saw nothing.

"Go down and tell him. At least do something so I don't have to spring it on him," Robert pleaded.

He didn't respond.

"Just tell him my mother's name. Tell him Karen Smith's son is here and needs to talk to him. Maybe he'll figure it out for himself."

Danny summed up Chaney, clearly a man falling apart. And he thought of Steve. It would give him a moment to prepare for what was coming. The idea of the two of them discussing this in the relative private of the parking lot seemed like the closest thing to a reprieve he could get. "All right. You stay here. I'll bring him up."

Chaney closed the door after Danny, waited a moment, and then locked it. He dashed to the closet and snatched out the suitcase of guns. Any indications of his previous nervousness were gone and a look of grim determination accented his deft haste as he quickly assembled the ak47 machine gun. "Ah, Mother, I'm going to even the score for you this day. I'll destroy the man who destroyed your life!" He stepped to the window and gazed down the four floors waiting. The black Lincoln was just pulling into the lot. It was nearly fifty yards away and partially hidden by the large concrete garden wall. McGarrett was getting out. Chaney forced himself a wait until McGarrett was closer.

part 2
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