Disclaimer: No, Hawaii 5-0 doesn't belong to me. It does to CBS.

A/N: Time for Steve to confront Danny. Why do I have the impression he'd rather go against the Russian Mafia? Good luck Steve.

000

ROLLING IN WAVES SERIES: Second wave

7: Confronting Danny.

After Rachel had left 5-0, Steve had generously given Danny half an hour to compose himself before walking into his office. He sat down uninvited and studied his partner. Whatever Rachel had fed her ex-husband had given him back some colours. The haggard look was still there, but the blond man seemed more relaxed. The folder he had opened for her to see was nowhere to be found.

Danny reluctantly tore his eyes away from his copy of their current case file.

"Rachel showing up, that was interesting," Steve began. Danny gave him a murderously look in return. Alright, that had been the wrong thing to say. He started again, going straight to the point. "What's with you and not sleeping nor eating for over a week?"

"Not hungry. No sleepy." Danny sighted impatiently. "What do you want?"

"I think I just said that. Let me rephrase: what are you working on?" Steve asked with genuine interest.

His partner opened his month to say something, but then decided otherwise. "It's not important," he finally dismissed with a loose hand gesture.

"Could fool me," Steve replied.

"Look, everything's fine. Could you just drop it, please?"

"No, I can't. Everything is not fine. You're not sleeping nor eating because of whatever it is you're working on," Steve challenged. "That sounds like something important to me."

Danny fidgeted nervously in his chair. "Really, it's not. And I'm filled now; ready to go. Didn't you want to interview Henry Marks, again?"

"I sent Kono and Chin," the Lieutenant-Commander replied. "Didn't you notice?" Danny shook his head ever so slightly. "Your brain's probably already turning into mush from this unhealthy lifestyle you picked up. I don't want you backing me up if you're sick."

"Is that what it takes for me to no longer have to back up your crazy plans?"

Steve looked back at his partner feeling a little hurt. Danny was tired, angry and defensive. He knew better than to take anything the man said personally, but it was getting harder to do as their friendship grew. Steve wondered if the brake up between Danny and Rachel had started that way.

Hey! You aren't married to the guy, he told himself. Be patient. Danny needs help, so much that his ex-wife just walked out of the blue to look after him. That sure says something!

At the best of times, Danny tended to be flamboyant in his rants, but his true feelings were often hiding in shadows clouding his eyes. The former New Jersey detective might doubt it, but Steve could detect these things in people too. But what was it this time? Was Danny being his usual overly dramatic self or had he meant something else?

"Brah, if you don't want to be my partner anymore, you should just say so," he told the man.

Danny's face lost the little colour it had regained. Shocked blue eyes finally met his and Steve cursed himself. That had been the wrong thing to say too.

"No! I- I didn't mean it that way," Danny assured him. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he finally robbed his tired face with them. "Maybe you're right. You're always right anyway. At least, that's what you like to think. My sleep deprived brain must be turning into much. I should leave – go home – before I say something I'll regret."

"Danny, if you need anything, you know you can ask me, right?" Steve verified, failing to meet the other man's gaze once again.

"I know. Thank you. But I don't need anything. Everything's fine. I'm just a bit… stressed because of this project," Danny said as he opened a drawer and picked up the folder he had showed Rachel earlier.

"The supposedly not important project," confirmed Steve.

"Right." His partner rose to his feet. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Get some rest, Danno. I'll call you tonight. We'll do dinner."

"Don't bother," Danny told him.

"But I will," Steve called back.

000

A/N: So nothing on the bag, but we've learned that Danny is working on something important to him. I guess things could have gone worse between the two. Isn't Steve a good friend?