Being There

Tag to 2.15 Mai Ka Wa Kahiko. Spoilers! This takes place immediately after the end of the episode where Grace was kidnapped by Danny's ex-training partner who was out for a vendetta.

No slash! Never have, never will.

I do not own any of these characters nor am I making any profit with this story.

I've tried to figure out how to reply to comments to my first story but can't figure out how to do it. Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Until I figure out how to reply to them, please accept my thanks.

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Rachel pulled back from Danny's embrace. Grace was safe and in her arms. "I need to go to the hospital. I can't leave Stan alone."

'You left me alone,' Danny thought, 'and flew 4,948 miles away from me,' but he didn't say it. Instead he reached for his daughter. "I can take Grace with me."

But Grace had heard what her mom had said. "Stan is in the hospital? Is he sick? Is he going to be ok?"

Danny's stomach clenched, well actually it had been clenched for hours, keeping him on the verge of nausea for most of the day. Rachel spoke up before Danny could pull himself together. "He'll be okay, honey. Don't worry."

"I want to go with you," she said to her mother before turning to Danny and adding, "When you were in the hospital I went to see you so now I should go see Stan."

The voice inside Danny's head was screaming 'it's not the same; he's not your father,' but he couldn't say it. He could control himself for his little girl's sake. "Ok, Monkey, if that's what you want, that's ok with me."

Rachel spoke again now. "Grace, would you go wait for me in the car for a moment?"

Danny kissed his daughter and told her "Danno loves you", then watched as she walked to the car and got in the back. He thanked God again, for keeping her unharmed.

Rachel, who had been hugging Danny just minutes ago with Grace between them, turned on him. "What am I supposed to tell her about Stan?" she hissed. "That her father shot him?"

"Rachel…" Danny started, but she cut him right off.

"She'll find out, you know. I can't keep it from her. It will be in all the papers and the parents will find out and then one child will hear about it and tell the others and whisper behind her back until she hears it. And she'll tell them they're liars, that her Daddy wouldn't do that. But they'll keep taunting her with it, making her cry as she defends you. No, I can't hide it from her."

"Rachel… " Danny tried again, with the same result.

"You know what, just forget it. Stan and I will figure it out. I've said it before, Daniel, violence follows you, and this time you brought it to your daughter." With that, she turned and headed to the car without looking back.

Danny stood there, stunned. The euphoria of finding Grace safe just minutes before was now replaced by the fear and guilt and self-doubt that had pounded through his veins all afternoon.

Just steps away, Steve watched and listened as Rachel lambasted his partner. She had been fully informed about what had happened - about the duress that Danny was under, about how Danny was supposed to silently pump three kill shots into Stan but had instead explained to Stan what was happening and carefully placed a relatively harmless through-shot into his shoulder and two more in the ground beside him so that Peterson wouldn't kill Grace – and yet here she was throwing it all in his face. He knew she was still in shock from all that had transpired but what about Danny? Did she even think about what he had been through that day?

Steve watched as Rachel turned away and Danny took a step, calling her name again to try and stop her. Steve moved now, stepping in front of Danny and placing his hand on his chest stopping him. No good could come from speaking to her now. They'd have to hope, even pray, that Rachel, and Stan and Grace, would come to understand what an impossible position Danny was in and hope even more that Peterson's plan to make Danny lose the love of his family would not be accomplished.

He couldn't look him in the eye, though. The pain was too deep, the emotions too raw. How many times could one man have his heart torn out of his chest and stomped on and still go on?

Just weeks ago, Danny had spent over 12 hours with Rachel as she was in labor with Stan's son, then had taken the newborn's picture and sent it to Stan because it was "a moment no father should miss." How many men loved that deeply, that sincerely, that unconditionally to do that for his ex-wife and her husband? Steve had witnessed this and still couldn't begin to fathom the depth of his partner's heart

"Come on, I'll buy you dinner," Steve told Danny. It was kind of lame but he didn't know what else to say.

"I couldn't keep it down."

"Make it a drink then."

"I can't handle people right now," Danny told him honestly, his voice cracking with the strain of the day.

"Then we'll stop at the liquor store and drink at my place. I'm not 'people'."

Normally Danny would have had a field day with an opening like Steve had just lobbed at him but today he didn't even notice it. He also didn't have the strength to argue and, besides, drowning himself in a bottle sounded like a very good idea just then. "You actually have your wallet with money in it?"

Steve shook his head with a smile. Vintage Danny – not that the man didn't have a point but he'd never admit that out loud. "Yes. Let's go." He slapped his partner on the back and headed for the car.

Not a word was spoken in the car, only the sound of the radio breaking the silence until Danny turned it off when Steve went into the liquor store. Silent Danny meant only one thing – that he was struggling to control his emotions, his mind swirling with sadness and turmoil.

At the house, as Steve opened the bottle of Jack, Danny settled into the sofa with a weary sigh. This had been a crazy, long day. He took a shot of the fine whiskey, relishing the burn as it made it's way down his throat, and then poured himself another shot. "She's right, you know," he told Steve, finally speaking as he stared at the glass in his hand. "Grace will find out. How do I explain this to her?"

"Stick with what you do best," Steve replied, sipping at his drink. "Tell her the truth."

"The truth? You want me to tell her that I shot her step-father for her? A man she loves, by the way." Swallowing the next shot at that revelation. "So she can carry that guilt with her the rest of her life?" He reached for the bottle again, wishing this stuff would somehow dull the pain.

Steve realized then that he had never seen Danny drink anything harder than beer before but he didn't say anything about that. "You make her realize that this was Peterson's fault, not hers." Steve grabbed Danny's arm as he lifted the bottle, looking him in the eye as he startled. "And not yours."

"Not my fault?" Danny shouted as he stood from the sofa, bottle and glass still in his hands as he pulled out of his partner's grip. "Not my…? I'm the one who put Peterson away. I could have kept my mouth shut like every other cop he worked with. Could have skimmed a bit for myself here and there like some of them did. But, no! I had to be the 'star witness' that put him away. Rachel begged me not to do it, begged me to let somebody else take him down." Third shot poured and tossed back as he finished.

Steve hated to see his partner hurting like this, pain so deep it felt like a physical pain. He knew pain and grief and guilt. His father's death had dumped all of that on him but having your child in the middle of it – a child you lived and breathed for, a child you loved more than your own life? He had no words for that kind of pain. But he was relieved to see Danny finally talking and moving. A silent and still Danny like he saw in the car was a sight he hoped he never saw again.

Steve spoke his reply softly, the words catching in his throat, the idea that he knew this man well enough to know that what he was about to say was truth, humbled him. "But then how would you have looked Grace in the eye ever again?" Danny was the most honest man he knew. He couldn't let a dirty cop go unpunished anymore than he could go without breathing.

"Yeah," Danny sighed, sinking back into the sofa next to Steve. There was just no answer to some questions. "Rachel will use this to try and take away my visitation rights completely. I see my daughter two weekends a month and that's too much for Rachel."

Steve hadn't thought about that. One more weight added to Danny's day. "We won't let that happen. You'll fight it and I'll be there with you. You were under duress. You did nothing wrong here, Danny. You did the only thing you could do in a horrible, messed up situation. In the end that will be what matters."

Danny's mind was like a pinball machine right now and his thoughts bounced in a slightly new direction. He stood and held up his fourth glass of whiskey in a toast. "To the best partner I've ever had." He swallowed it down. "Thanks for having my back."

Steve finished off his glass in honor of the toast. "Best partner, huh?" he said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "I thought you didn't like me."

"I don't," Danny replied with just a hint of a smile. "But I'm comparing you to Peterson so you win."

A soft smile crossed Steve's lips as he chuckled lightly. Now this was more like the Danny he was used to. Danny put the bottle and glass down, much to Steve's relief. Four shots in 20 minutes was a lot for a man who usually only drank a couple of beers, always staying in control. The alcohol did seem to be taking a bit of the edge off of Danny, though. He needed it.

"Of course I win," Steve boasted, keeping up the light banter. "I always win."

"Tell me what that's like sometime," Danny told him bitterly as he moved around the table to the window. Danny felt like he never won – other than Grace of course, the best prize ever.

With the movement, Steve could feel the tension return to his partner after the momentary relief. Before he could think of what to say, Danny turned back to him and spoke again, subject changing once more. "I want to escort Dave's body home."

Steve had forgotten that this hellish day for Danny didn't start with Grace's kidnapping but rather had started much earlier with seeing his old friend's bloody dead body in that airplane bathroom followed by making the phone call to notify the man's wife himself.

"Of course. That shouldn't be a problem. I'll make the arrangements." It felt good to be able to actually do something to help.

"Dave volunteered for this assignment, you know. Wanted to surprise me." He ran his hands through his hair and let out a long sigh. "I still have to tell Rachel and Grace that he's gone," Danny added, the weight just about crushing him.

"They knew him?" Steve asked, somehow surprised by this. The fact that Danny had a real, honest to goodness life that he left behind in New Jersey just never seemed to occur to him.

"I told you we were friends."

Danny turned back to the window, staring into the dark night. He was quiet again for a bit. When he spoke, his voice was a choked whisper. "Dave died because of me, didn't he? He was trying to warn me. That's why he was in the bathroom with his phone and that's why Peterson killed him."

Steve realized that Danny hadn't been there when they found out that Collins' last call was meant for Danny, but his partner was a detective, a very good detective, and he had figured it out on his own already. His brain brought up a line right out of Danny's book of names – 'freakin' super sleuth' – but he held his tongue, obviously not the time for that kind of humor. He stood, barely able to speak. When he did, his voice mirrored that of his partner moments before. "He had already entered your phone number but never got to send it."

With that the dam broke and all the pent up emotions of the day were released. Danny tried to choke back the sobs, tried to be the strong one that everyone always counted on him to be but today there was just too much on his shoulders.

Steve stood still for a moment, unsure what to do. He had been taught from a young age that showing emotion was a sign of weakness, but this man in front of him had taught him, by example, that it took courage and strength to love deeply and thereby risk being hurt, risk great loss - much more courage and strength than it ever took to hold oneself aloof.

Steve was honored to be Danny's friend, honored that he would allow such deep emotion to show in front of him. He truly understood the deep abiding pain his friend was feeling. But watching a man cry his heart out was something the Navy SEAL was not particularly good at. There had been no training for this but he let his instincts take over. He moved to him and then led Danny back to the sofa and sat down next to him, resting his hand on the back of Danny's neck as a show of support, not saying a word because there was nothing to say. Nothing he could say or do could make this situation even remotely right.

There was nothing to say and nothing to do but be there.