Restless Days and Restless Nights

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Ch. 31

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Photographs and Memories Ch. 8 Part 24
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As dinner was winding to a close, Admiral Magnum called down the table. "Orville, could you come over here for a moment, I have a question for you?"

Thomas frowned slightly at his Uncle. "Uncle Terry, what are you up to?"

"Nothing..." His uncle started to reply.

Rick cut in. "What's the matter, Tommy boy, you jealous your Uncle wants to talk to me one on one?"

"Of course, not, Rikki, but I know my Uncle...he's up to something...probably something that will embarrass me."

"Oh, good." TC cracked. "You blush so pretty!"

Higgins couldn't resist smiling as she thought Magnum was probably correct. Kumu looked queryingly at Magnum's Uncle who did NOT deny the charge. In fact, a slight grin tugged at the man's lips.

Rick went over and squatted next to Uncle Terry and the two conferred for a moment, which resulted in Rick vigorously nodding his head, telling the older man something, and hurrying out the door before Thomas could say a word. A moment later, Wolfgang, the restaurant's owner came in and advised them all they were going to move to the next room for dessert and some light entertainment.

Thomas rolled his eyes and remarked, 'sotto voce' to Junior. "Guess I won't be getting dessert. Want to make a bet I am the entertainer?"

Evidently, the comment wasn't made quite quietly enough, because his Uncle chimed in, "Surely you wouldn't deny this old man the pleasure of a few of his favorite tunes played by his favorite nephew."

"Old, my left toe," Thomas sniped, sarcastically. "And I'm your only nephew, thanks to Victor Charlie."

"Thomas," Kumu said, "you show your Uncle respect."

"Yes, ma'am." Thomas' face tinged slightly red at the remark. "Uncle Terry, I know the ones you mean, but I haven't practiced them in ages...I won't do very well with no preparation."

TC shook his head. "Man always says that, and he always does just fine."

"Theodore, you've never heard me play these particular songs. It's been a damn long time since I played any of them and longer since I played the instrument in question."

"Thomas, you learned to play these pretty damn well by ear long before you ever read sheet music, my boy. And I don't care how long it has been since you played piano, you are a natural and you know it!" The Admiral remarked.

"Nobody's a natural at keyboards," The younger Magnum remarked softly to Junior who grinned a little at the interplay between uncle and nephew. The younger Hawaii Five-O officer had the feeling this was a common game between the two men and he didn't know just how right he was, but the back and forth he was finding very entertaining.

Never the less, they all sojourned to the next room in a timely fashion. This room was tastefully furnished with comfortable seating in a rather homelike arrangement that included low tables, chairs and sofas and a baby grand piano at the far end. Thomas shook his head with a wry expression on his face. "Got it in one." He remarked aloud to no one in particular. He walked over to the piano, sat down at it, carefully raised the cover over the ivories and played a couple of scales to check that it was properly tuned. He looked at his uncle, smiled and remarked. "Well played, Uncle Terry. The usual?"

Terrence Magnum smiled. "And Melissa's Song at the end."

Thomas sighed and nodded his head. "Okay, Uncle T. As you wish."

Higgins and Kumu both sat near to the older Magnum. Higgin's was frankly curious. She knew Magnum played the guitar, but he played piano as well? She chuckled when he started out by playing Chopsticks, rather well, she had to admit, but still a pretty fundamental and basic exercise. He grinned over his shoulder at her when she chuckled, but the amusement she felt quickly died when he began the next musical interlude, what she would guess was an original arrangement of Canon's Pachebel in D Minor for piano. After he had finished playing Chopsticks, out of Thomas' view, Wolfgang opened several doors down the side of the sitting room allowing others in his restaurant to hear the music. When Thomas was a short way into the opening of the Pachebel, he startled slightly, his shoulders visibly stiffening, though he kept playing, when his piano playing was joined by a number of strings, other orchestral instruments, and harp accompaniment. Though the other musicians were clearly improvising to match his arrangement, the results were very pleasing indeed and had Higgins' mouth hanging open until TC reached over and closed it for her, very quietly remarking, "You'll choke if a fly flies in, sweetheart. Told you the man would do fine."

"I had no idea he knew classical music like that."

"Me neither, little sister, but nothing that man does REALLY surprises me anymore," Calvin replied steadily. "He's a multi-talented individual, isn't he?"

"I'll say..." Higgins replied, still stunned by how much she didn't know about the former SEAL and his many hidden abilities. Next, Thomas played Fur Elise, Claire du Lune, Eine Klein Nachtmusik, and three more classical piano pieces, frequently in what she realized to be either personally arranged or some obscure arrangement she had never heard before, which she rather doubted as her classical knowledge was rather broad, if she did say so herself. Finally, he began to play what was clearly an original piece which was poignant and beautiful, seeming to speak of fresh young love, simple joys and youth, maturing as the piece went on, suddenly turning sad and dark, almost hopeless, before a crashing piece that spoke of loss, sadness, despair and pain, following by a melancholy piece that gradually seemed to speak of hope and memory and joy in remembering the love that had gone before the loss. Though not nearly the same story, the music Magnum played brought tears to Juliet's eyes as she was remembering the early days of her romance with Richard, his loss and the pain of his death and the loss of her hoped-for-future and brought to mind her anger and despair at discovering his murderer was one of Britain's own...a co-worker and former trusted ally. What a terrible disappointment Ian had turned out to be...the horror of that and the memory of how Thomas had unquestioningly stood by her side and fought to bring that murderer to justice actually caused a few tears to slip past her control. As the song ended on an almost religious note, she smiled and nodded. It had truly been a beautiful piece.

Thomas visibly jumped when applause came through the open doors. Still, he stood by the piano and bowed to the room which also had his friends and family who were applauding as well. A gentleman entered the door and went directly to Magnum with a hand held out to him. "Young man, I understand we have you to thank for that wonderful entertainment. Thank you. I've never heard that piano arrangement of Pachebel's Canon in D minor before."

Thomas' Uncle chuckled, "That would be because Thomas wrote that himself when he was what, 7, Tommy?"

"I created it, Uncle Terry. I didn't write it. I still don't write music down myself. I just really liked that piece and wanted to play it myself, so I created it. Would I be correct to surmise you were the source of my accompaniment by actual orchestral instrumentation, sir?"

Steve McGarrett stepped up next to his former SEAL student. "Thomas, let me make the introductions, this is Maestro Michael McKean, the leader of the Honolulu Orchestra. Maestro McKean, this is Commander Thomas Sullivan Magnum the IV, a retired Navy SEAL."

"You recruiting another young man to Five-O, Steven?" The Irishman asked, good-humoredly.

"No, sir." Thomas said, firmly. "I'm just a private investigator now."

Just as firmly, the senior Magnum remarked. "For the moment, anyway."

"Ah, and here I was hoping I could convince you to fill in for my pianist in the orchestra who just went out on maternity leave the other day," McKean said, sadly.

"Oh, sir, thank you, but I'm nowhere near a competent enough a musician for something like that, Maestro."

"I think I'm a better judge of that than you are young man."

Thomas literally squirmed. "I'm not on that professional a level of ability."

"This discussion will be continued later." Higgins chimed in. She could see the private investigator/security consultant was genuinely uncomfortable with the situation. "Maestro, you can reach Thomas at Robin's Nest."

"Mr. Masters is a major contributor to our orchestra," McKean commented

"Of course he is," TC remarked to Rick, quietly.

"The last piece you played was very beautiful but I had never heard it before...what was it?"

"I call it, Melissa's Requiem, which is probably over-pretentious," Thomas explained. "Melissa was my first girlfriend. She died of a brain tumor when we were both young. I 'wrote' that and played it for her funeral mass, but Uncle Terry has always just called it 'Melissa's Song'. I worked with the music leader at the Cathedral and that piece IS actually written down. He did that for me."

"It was absolutely marvelous," McKean said earnestly.

"Music..."

"isn't really his gift." Higgins, TC, and Rick all chimed in with Magnum.

McKean tilted his head to the side and regarded all four of them incredulously.

"It's what Thomas always says when someone compliments him on his music," Higgins explained.

"It's been that way ever since one of the attendees at Melissa's funeral mass tried to get Thomas to accept a scholarship to Julliard based on that piece..." That information made Higgins' head whip around to regard Magnum's Uncle with shock clear in her expression.

"I was already down for Annapolis, Uncle Terry...my course was already set," Thomas said firmly.

"Course's can be adjusted," The admiral replied.

"Not mine, sir. It was never an option." The younger Magnum shook his head, resolute in his conviction of that fact.

A/N: It's hard to believe that today was my one month anniversary of being gainfully employed after 16 years off work, so I suppose you could call this chapter a celebration of that fact. For those who are groaning and saying no one could be this multi-talented and diverse, I would respond by pointing back to the story of Magnum breaching the rock wall separating the estate waters from the ocean and say my distant cousin who actually was capable of breaching that way was also an almost concert-level pianist and a guitar player, so it happens. Shame Robert got himself killed. Considering he was running numbers at the time, so he might have had more in common with a young Rick than Thomas Magnum(right down to being a blonde in Chicago, now that I think of it), but still. Hope y'all enjoyed it! I didn't beta this nearly enough so I apologize for any mistakes, but I have an infected toe (hangnail) that is throbbing right now, so that's my excuse. Mohr soon! Ta y'all!