There had been many, many rough days at the Barn, but today was quite possibly the worst day the station had ever been witness to. Corruption had been going on for some time, that was no secret. But what had all started with the death of one officer, Terry, had led to something more than corrupt, more than evil. Two of the strike team members were dead, one had been injured, and one was in jail. The worst part? The heart of the strike team, the ringleader of all that had been bad and wrong and evil, was a free man. And even worse, that man, Vic Mackey, was the father of Danny's baby.

She'd learned to be strong in her profession. She had to. She couldn't break down at the sight of every body she'd come across to, or she'd be no better than that vapid Tina whom she couldn't stand. Tina hadn't really even known Lem, but her wails at the discovery of Lem's charred body had been almost as sinful as the crime committed against the fallen officer itself.

But now, at the end of the day, when all was said and done, Danny had never felt so alone in her life.

Normally she was anxious to get home, to see her little son. But now...she didn't want to go home. She didn't know where to go. The sight of Shane blowing his brains out, after killing his wife, son and unborn daughter...how was she supposed to go home with that in her mind? Ronnie, she almost felt bad for. Almost. But all of this...this was just too much. Just too much.

The tears fell, and thankfully the locker room was empty. Every officer was in far too much shock to do much of anything that day. Perhaps all of them felt like she did- what was the point in serving and protecting when they couldn't save their own?

She heard a knock. That could only be one person. Dutch was the only one around there with any kind of manners at all.

Quickly drying her face the best she could, she called out a quiet "come in", but she hadn't fooled him.

He didn't say much. He sat next to her, and he held her hand, and together, the two of them just tried to process all that had happened, what would happen next, and how the hell they'd all put the pieces of their lives back together again.

Danny leaned against him, and Dutch wasn't sure of how he should react. Instead, he just gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and tried to remain strong. He owed it to their friendship, to whatever feelings he'd once had for her, to stay strong. But even through the locker room, they could hear Ronnie's wails of injustice, of how he'd make Vic pay.

They said nothing. Comrade to comrade, friend to friend, they just sat in shock, neither of them daring to even begin to process what their next move would be.

TBC