OK, Folks, please bear with us. This story is an alternative universe… kind of. It is set in the universe Steve created during his hallucinations in the 100th episode. We always thought how cool it would be to stay with Steve for a little longer.

In our take, it is not 2010 but a few years later. The reasoning for that is based on some simple facts. Steve created this universe and "met" a few people he knew years after the original events of 2010.

Jenna, is an example of that. Also, he knew that Grover is a golfer. That shows it must be after 408 when they knew each other better. Why else would Steve's mind make Lou a golfer from Chicago? Furthermore, Jerry is also in it, and we only met him in season 4. Wo Fat also has the burn marks which he got at the end of season 3.

But most importantly he tells Danny that he was seeing someone and hoped to 'get there'. In season 4 both he and Catherine said they were in a good place and were both happy. They lived together and were well on their way 'there'.

The only flaw in this theory is the silver Camaro. But if it were truly the beginning of Season 1, it should have been a Mustang anyway, let's simply assume Steve likes the silver better than the black one. Probably the reason why he bought a silver Silverado. LOL

We "borrowed" the title of this story from author Madeleine L'engle's wonderful book of the same title. I (Cokie) first read the book in elementary school and it changed my life as it was the first mystery/sci fi book I had ever read. Many new worlds were opened to me by reading this one book and I treasure my copy of it to this day. But we thought the idea of a "wrinkle" fit Steve's perspective in this universe.

We hope you will enjoy our story. …Sam and Cokie

P.S. If you want the full experience, please go to our blog to read this story with pictures. We also post exclusive stories on it. Whump-2-go dot wordpress dot com

A Wrinkle in Time - Chapter 01
By Sam and Cokie

Honolulu Police Department

Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett walked down the steps from HPD and looked back, having the odd feeling that this wouldn't be his last visit to the offices.

The detective's question had him caught by surprise; working in law enforcement? He had thought about that… back when he was five. Back then he had wanted to follow his dad and become an officer of the law. Well, life had had other plans for him. He did become an officer, but of a different kind.

Steve had to chuckle remembering the look on his dad's face when he had told him he wanted to attend the Naval Academy. He had been 17 then and almost finished with high school. His father was sure he would take one of the college offers he had received thanks to his football talent. But Steve had known back then that although he was a damn good high school quarterback, his path would not lead to the NFL.

College football was surely a great goal, and it would have given him a very good and free education, but Steve had his mind set on Annapolis. His dad hadn't been thrilled, but his Uncle Joe had been over the moon. It was Joe who had helped him with the needed recommendations and who had accompanied him to the interview.

When he had received his acceptance letter, he, his Uncle Joe and his dad had a big celebration, they even allowed him to have a beer later when they got home from the restaurant and were sitting on the lanai. It was then that his dad had told him why he hadn't been too happy with his decision to join the Navy.

He had just been scared to lose him too. Taken from him just like his wife had been in a stupid car accident. Steve had then promised him to be careful. Of course, he was sure his dad had had a fit when he learned that Steve thought about becoming a SEAL.

Steve smiled thinking about how proud his dad had been when his son had graduated from Annapolis. John had flown all the way to attend the ceremony; together with Mary, her new husband and of course Uncle Joe. But that was a long time ago; today Steve was no longer an active SEAL, he worked in Intelligence as a special investigator. Which wasn't a desk job by a long shot. He now saw almost more combat and action than during his SEAL days.

Thinking about his latest job, retrieving Anton Hesse made him shudder; and sad. He had almost lost his best friend during that operation. Freddie had managed to save his life by coming 'this close' to sacrificing his own. He hoped Freddie would soon be well enough to transfer to Tripler.

Steve looked up when a honking horn got his attention. A black Chevy Suburban stood at the curve with the back door open. Someone obviously wanted him to go on a ride. He threw one last look at HPD and then made his way over to the waiting SUV his curiosity outweighing his trepidation.

H50 – H50 – H50

"Commander, can I have a minute of your time?"

"Sir," Steve greeted the man in the back of the spacious vehicle. "You're Governor Denning," Steve stated the obvious when he climbed into the car. He closed the door and faced the older man. "Of course, Sir. What can I do for you?"

"I have an offer for you that you hopefully will be interested in."

"What kind of offer, Sir?" Steve looked at the governor of Hawaii in confusion. He had never met the man, and had only recognized him thanks to the picture that was hanging in Captain Kelly's office.

"Have you ever thought about working in law enforcement?"

"You are the second person to ask me that today," Steve said, shaking his head at the odd situation. "Sir, I'm on active duty with the Navy, and quite frankly, I have no intention to leave."

"Well, I know that your required time is up, and that you could switch to the reserves. If you wanted to."

"Why would I do that, Sir? I like my job."

"OK, I won't beat around the bush, Commander. I'm thinking of creating a special task force here on the islands. And I want some fresh air; that is why I am looking at an outside source to lead that task force."

"Sir, I'm not a cop," Steve interrupted.

"Let me finish, please." The Governor was unfazed by Steve's interjection. "You are perfect for this job. You were born and raised here, you are an outstanding officer, you are trained in special investigations. You have what it takes to lead from the front. In a way, you are the perfect cop."

"Sir, that is…"

"McGarrett, I know this proposition comes out of the blue. And I know that you have a great career in the Navy… I'm just asking you to think about my offer. Talk to your dad about it. You could choose anyone you want for your team. Immunity and means; you will decide which cases to take."

"You are serious about this," Steve concluded.

"Very. I don't want the problems we have to get out of hand, and the plans for this task force have been in the drawer for way too long. I think you are the one we have been looking for."

"I don't know what to say, Sir."

"That you will think about it," Denning said, smiling for the first time.

"OK, I will. But don't get your hopes up," Steve told him.

"Thank you, Commander. Can I drop you off somewhere?"

"Actually, yeah."

Twenty minutes later, Steve got out of the Suburban in front of his dad's home. He said his good-bye to the governor and made his way into the house.

H50 – H50 – H50

"Steve, that you?"

Steve smiled when he heard the voice from the back of the house. He headed that direction, shedding his uniform jacket in the process. "Hey, Dad," he said, lying his jacket across a chair and setting his cover on the table. "You will not believe who just dropped me off at the house."

"Let me guess… Governor Denning?" John McGarrett said with a grin. He turned the stove to simmer and covered the pot of gumbo he was making for dinner.

Steve reached into the refrigerator for two beers but glared at his dad over the opened door. "You knew?"

John reached for one of the bottles. "Let's go outside. I'll tell you all about it. Hey, I invited a friend over for dinner; hope you don't mind."

Several minutes later, Steve took a drink and shook his head. "So, just how close are you and this governor?"

"I've set on some committees with him. He has talked about this task force for almost a year now. It isn't a passing thing – he really wants it. But he just hadn't found the person he wanted to get it up and running."

"So, you gave him my name?"

"What? No, absolutely not, Steve. He called me and asked my thoughts after reading the police report on Hesse." John shook his head and grinned. "I gotta say, he was impressed with you. But I swear, none of this was from me. He drew his own conclusion. And," he paused and took a drink. "Denning knows what he wants and he goes after it."

"Yeah, I could tell that. But I'm not a cop. You know that," Steve argued.

"Your training exceeds that of any cop I know, Son," John reminded him. "But you need to think of the pros and cons of taking a civilian job."

"Why did you leave the Navy?" Steve asked.

"Truthfully?" John leaned back in his chair and thought about the question. "I was in 'Nam and then did a stint in Korea. When my ten years were up, I was just homesick. I had already met your mother and decided it was just time to come home. I missed it."

Steve looked out over the expanse of ocean that had been part of his back yard since almost as long as he could remember. The house had been his grandparent's house and his family had moved here when Steve had been young. A few years they had lived all under one roof; the younger family taking care of his grandmother. He finally spoke. "Yeah, sometimes I get homesick for this, too. I miss this view." He paused and then added, "but changing jobs isn't easy. I like what I do. I'm good at what I do."

"I agree," John said. "You are fighting crime all over the world. I understand that. One thing the governor said was that he wants that same type of commitment for this state. Maybe if we work on crime at a local level, there wouldn't be so much worldwide. At least it is something to think about."

"Yeah, makes sense," Steve said, pondering the statement. "I'm just not sure I want to be the one doing it."

John slapped him on the leg. "At least you are considering Denning's offer. That's all he asks."

"No, I think he's gonna push for it," Steve replied with a wry grin.

"Well, yeah, he probably will. Sleep on it." John leaned back. "But let me throw something else out to you. When you do come back home… notice I said 'when' and not 'if'… whenever it will be, you're gonna need a place to live."

"So, you're telling me I'm not bunking with you in the house, huh?" Steve asked with a grin.

"Not what I'm saying at all," John smiled back. "You know I love it when you're here. But there's a couple things you don't know."

"What's that?" Steve asked, draining his beer and setting the bottle in the sand.

"You were what, eight when your grandma died?"

"Yeah," Steve agreed, not knowing where this was leading.

"When I took her to draw up her will several years before that, she was adamant about a few things. One was that this house was deeded to you, my firstborn. Being you were a very young minor, it was in both of our names. She didn't want me to tell you about it because she didn't want you to feel pressure to come back here if you chose to live elsewhere. But she always said 'when you were ready', this was to be yours."

"But it's your house," Steve argued. "Not mine. I mean, not now."

"It's yours whenever you want it," John told him.

"Wow. But even if I do come back, I'm not taking the house. No way."

"Well, it would be fine," John assured him. "There's something else I need to talk to you about."

Steve looked at his dad in alarm. "What's wrong?"

"Calm down, nothing's wrong," John replied. "I already said there were a couple of things I needed to tell you."

"OK, what's the other one?"

"Our dinner guest tonight," John began. "Do you remember Kalani Wilson from your high school?"

Steve screwed up his face, he could clearly remember her. Not a fond memory. "Yeah, she was the girl's PE teacher, right? And a few times she covered for our coach."

"That's her," John nodded. "Well, I've been, she's… we are…"

"You have a girlfriend?" Steve filled in the blanks.

"Uh, yeah. Hey? So what if I do?" John shot back.

Steve began laughing. "Don't go gettin' all pissy on me. I think it's great. About time," Steve said with a smile. "So, you really like her? Like, like like her?" Steve teased his dad.

"Yes, smart alec. I do. And she is thinking about selling her house. And you know, I'm not getting any younger, Son. I had been thinking about maybe looking for something smaller without the upkeep. Kalani and I were thinking of getting a condo. Of course, I would still keep up the place here. That is, if you weren't around…"

"Real subtle, Dad."

"All I'm saying is to think about his offer. Talk to some people about it, if you want. You might surprise yourself and want the challenge."

"Oh, so now it is a challenge," Steve said.

"No, it is an opportunity," John countered, standing up. "I'm gonna check the gumbo and change clothes. Kalani should be here in about half an hour."

"Yeah, I'll change before then," Steve said. "I'll be in soon."

John clapped his hand on his son's shoulder. "Take your time. Enjoy the sunset."

H50 – H50 – H50

McGarrett's beach

Steve looked out over the ocean, watching the sun set in a kaleidoscope of colors. This was a view he had dearly missed, as he had just told his dad.

Thinking back to the conversation he shook his head. Calling their talk interesting would be an understatement. He had learned something from his dad that he had no idea about. Something that made him smile. It also gave him something to think about. But before that he needed more input.

Steve took his phone out and pressed speed dial. Surprisingly it only took two rings to connect.

"Hello, Sailor. I was just thinking of you."

"Oh yeah? Good thoughts?"

"The best."

"Hi Catherine, it's good to talk to you," Steve said as a late greeting. "I miss you."

"Are you OK? How are you holding up, and is your dad really OK?"

"He is a little banged-up, but he was lucky. He will be fine," Steve told her.

"What about you?" Cath repeated her question.

"Honest? Not so great," Steve confessed. "I talked to Kelly; she's pretty shaken."

"I can understand that. But Freddie will be OK; you know that too, right?"

"Yeah. His doctor wouldn't give me any details, but he said he should recover. Should, not will, Cath."

"He's a tough guy, he will be fine."

"Yeah."

"Steve, listen to me. None of this was your fault, and Freddie will be OK."

"Yeah. I know… it's just… we went after this guy, Wo Fat, and I still…"

"Wait; hold on. Who is Wo Fat, and who is we?" Catherine interrupted.

"Oh, right. You don't know. Ah, after I met with dad here in Honolulu I teamed up with a detective, Danny Williams. We went after Wo Fat, he's the guy behind the attempted murder. We got him, but he's dead and can't answer any questions."

"Did you get hurt?"

"What? No, no, I'm fine, Cath. Don't worry," Steve told her. There was no need to tell her about almost being blown up and hitting the ground pretty hard. He had the bruises and headache to show for it. "I'm just… really tired. And…"

"And what?"

"I'm confused. I have no idea why that guy wanted to kill dad… and then this detective… Danno… he is… I don't know what to think of him," Steve told his best friend beside Freddie. "And I got a really strange offer. Which is actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What offer?"

"The Governor offered me a job."

"In politics?" Catherine cried out which made Steve laugh out loud.

"No, as the head of a task force he wants to form."

"Huh, that sounds interesting. But are you thinking of leaving the Navy?"

"I don't know. Cath, can I ask you something? And I know this is a conversation we shouldn't have over the phone, but you are half a world away, and…"

"Actually, I'm not."

"What?"

"I'm in Tokyo, waiting for my flight home. I'll be in Hawaii in a few hours."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I requested leave and it was granted."

"You're coming home?" Steve couldn't believe it. "You requested leave to come here?"

"Yeah," Cath softly said.

"Cath, I… thank you."

"Listen, Steve. Why don't you get an early night… a good night's sleep, and we will talk in the morning… in person."

"I love you, you know?"

"I know. Go to bed, get rest… you will need your strength later," Cath replied and Steve could hear the smile in her voice.

"Uh, Lieutenant, is that a promise?"

"Absolutely, Commander."

H50 – H50 – H50

Hawaiian Hilton
Suite 507

"I'm telling you, kids, if you don't stop this, none of you will go on that sailboat in the morning," Renee Grover called to her two children currently fighting over the remote for the TV.

"Why the heck are you sitting in our bed anyway? Go to your room. Now," their father, Captain Lou Grover bellowed.

The two teenagers grumbled their displeasure, but moved out of the main room to their own smaller bedroom. Lou turned to his wife. "Do you really wanna go on a sailing trip tomorrow?"

"I promised them the trip, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just thought you would watch me tee off."

"With what? Did they find your clubs, honey?"

"Very funny," Grover mumbled.

"Honey, come on, they will find them."

"As if," Lou replied.

"How did the interview go?" Renee changed the subject.

"Good. I think it went really well. The chief of police said he had one other candidate who would also be a good choice."

"So, we might actually move to Hawaii?" Renee asked and couldn't quite keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Hold your horses, woman. We'll see," Grover told her with a huge grin on his face. "Do you even know how many golf courses they have here?"

"Lou!" His wife cried out and slapped him on the arm.

"What? Just taking everything into consideration," Grover said. "The chief said he'll call me at the end of the week. Until then we should enjoy our vacation."

"Oh, we will, we will," his wife assured him.

H50 – H50 – H50

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