I hope that you enjoy the next installment. I have been asked to provide some more insight into what is going on in Danny's head (and heart?). I hope this helps.

Danny practically growled out loud as he tossed in his bed and punched his pillow as he sought a cool spot. Yet again, Danny realized how much he hated Hawaii. Back home in New Jersey, there were always sounds outside. Cars, trucks, trains, and people talking – even in the middle of the night. Here, there was silence and that silence let him alone with his thoughts and right now those thoughts were unpleasant.

As a beat cop and then as a detective, Danny had seen countless instances of domestic violence. In almost every case, he counseled the women to report the violence and to seek help and in almost every case, when they did not do so, he vividly recalled the ambulances, and in too many instances, the coroner's van, taking the women to the hospital or worse. Akeona had hit Denise and she had refused to press charges; every domestic dispute case he had ever handled was now coming back to haunt him. When he thought how badly she could have been hurt – how badly things could have gone, he felt a rage that he could not explain – or at least explain in a way which he could currently accept.

Trouble was, he had taken his anger out on the one person who deserved none of it. Of all the lessons hammered into his head over the years, one of the crucial ones was to never blame the victim. And yet, that is exactly what he had done. He was not sure, why he was so angry; he had just met the woman that day, but for some reason, he felt that he needed to protect her. More importantly to his current sanity, he felt that he needed to apologize to her. Danny made up his mind, that the next day, he would seek her out and apologize for his behavior – maybe he would take her to an expensive restaurant for lunch – she should like that. Danny drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Danny rolled into the Five-O offices as a rumpled, cranky mess. He immediately went to pour himself a large cup of coffee, before scanning the office. "Where's Aly?" he asked nobody in particular.

"She said that she had something to take care of this morning," Chin responded without looking up from his computer. "She said that she would be in by about 10."

Danny could do nothing else, but sit back and wait.

At 10:05 AM, Alyssa entered the office. She carried a large manila folder and her face was swathed in a large smile. She greeted everybody and headed straight into Steve's office, and not bothering to close the door.

"Good morning," she practically sang out. Steve looked up, inquiry in his eyes. Alyssa opened the folder and started laying out various documents on his desk. "Got the doctor's clearance today," she said, "and here is the report from the department shrink. As you can see, I am a paragon of mental balance and stability." Steve raised his eyebrows, but refrained from jumping on the bait that his sister had set out for him.

"Good job, Aly. Congratulations," he said. "All that's left is for you to qualify on the gun range.

Alyssa could not refrain from grinning even wider, "Actually, there was an opening this morning, so I took it. And here are my scores," she laid another piece of paper in front of her brother. "Now. Am I good to get back to work?"

Steve looked alternatively at Alyssa and then at the paperwork. His lips narrowed into a thin line. He continued to study her. "I'll look over the paperwork and let you know, Aly" was the cool reply.

"But Steve, its all here," Alyssa was stunned. Why was Steve not giving her back her gun and badge? She was ready.

"I'll review the information and let you know, Aly." There was a note in Steve's voice that Alyssa was not used to hearing, but she knew better than to argue with it. She looked at Steve for another moment, trying to figure out what to say to him, but coming up with nothing. With a final glance, Alyssa turned on her heel and left Steve's office.

Steve looked after his sister, recalling the look of pained surprise in her eyes, and shook his head. She was not ready. He knew that she was not ready. He kept telling himself that as he fought back the memories of Alyssa lying at the bottom of the ravine and how his own heart had stopped when he believed that she was dead. No, she was not ready to return to active duty...absolutely not ready.

Alyssa avoided everybody's eye contact as she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. She was interrupted by a knock on her door. She looked up and saw Danny standing there. He gave her a sympathetic wink. "He'll get over it soon," Danny said. "You just took him by surprise."

Alyssa smiled gratefully. She knew that Danny was trying to make her feel better, but she would not really feel whole until she was back as a full member of the team. What had gotten into Steve, anyway, why was he hesitating reinstating her? Pushing all this aside, she looked back at Danny. "What can I do for you?" She asked him, putting on a brave smile.

"Where did you say, Denise Evans worked?" Danny jumped into his question with no preamble. When Alyssa looked at him dubiously, he continued. "I just want to follow up with her about yesterday. Make sure she's OK after yesterday." Alyssa looked at Danny, but he did not appear to be willing to discuss it further. She shrugged. "Denise is the CIO at First Hawaiian. It's the main branch on Bishop Street."

Danny nodded his thanks. "Danny, is everything OK?" There was something in his tone or his eyes that was telling Alyssa that something more was at stake.

"Its fine," was the curt reply. Danny then took a deep breath to regain control. "Thanks, Aly," he said. Danny turned and walked away.

Denise took another sip from her coffee cup and went back to staring at her computer. She had spent all morning trying to perfect the algorithm she would use to track the financial transactions for Five-O. It had proven more difficult then she had anticipated – primarily because she could not focus. Her mind kept wondering back to Officer Williams. Her face still tingled where he had caressed her cheek. Her fingers traced the same line as his had seemingly of their own accord.

"Not all men hit," he had said. He was kind and gentle, until his mouth took over and he became as much of a jerk as all the other men with whom she had experience. Just her luck, Denise sighed. All she wanted was to find a good man, a gentle man – but now she was wondering if they even existed. Her experience was that they were about as common as unicorns and her throbbing cheek, artfully disguised by makeup confirmed her opinion. Denise was pulled from her thoughts by the ringing of her phone. She looked at the screen and picked it up seeing that it was her assistant.

"Yes Missy," she said into the receiver.

"Miss Evans," came the perky reply. "There is a Detective Danny Williams from Hawaii Five-O to see you. Are you available?"

Danny stood at the desk of the Assistant of the CIO, trying to be patient and to look nonchalant. On both counts, he was failing miserably. All he wanted was to see her and apologize and to get this over with. She would probably look at him over her glasses and dismiss him out of hand as insignificant. He'd know people like her before. And yet – he had seen something in her that was different. There was a moment when she seemed...well...normal...even sort of attractive in a way. Danny just did not get it, but he found himself anxious to see her again.

"Detective Williams," the Receptionist interrupted his thoughts, "Miss Evans is available to see you.

Danny took a breath and opened the door into Denise's office.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully things are becoming a bit more clear. No apology yet and nothing on the hunt for Wo Fat. But both are coming - I promise. Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you for taking the time