As they neared the location of the motel, Steve informed the team that he was going in alone, leaving the rest of them to anxiously wait around the corner, for their leader to get back to them. Steve rushed into the hotel, flashed his badge at the receptionist and demanded to know what room Danny Williams was in. The flustered receptionist rushed to look through the logs and found someone had checked in using the name "Williams" Steve knew that this must be Danny. Thanking the receptionist, he dashed towards the room and composed himself, before gently knocking on the door.
Danny heard the gentle knocking on the door, from the bathroom, he looked down at the full bottle of whisky and the full bottle of pills, which sat next to his gun. His hair was dishevelled, and tears streamed down his face. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't go on pretending like he was alright when he really wasn't. He just wanted it all to be over. He assumed the knocking must be from one of the cleaning staff and ignored it, hoping they would go away. The knocking continued, growing more and more louder and faster. He didn't care. He simply picked up the bottle of pills and removed the cap, considering the contents. He'd gotten the painkillers after he'd been shot, but never took them. They left him drowsy and incoherent. He poured several pills into his head and went to grab the whisky when the door to his room suddenly burst open. Danny jumped and grabbed his gun, aiming it at the door to the bathroom, from his space on the bathroom floor. The bathroom door was suddenly flung open and Danny nearly pulled the trigger, when he saw Steve running at him, dropping the gun, he lowered his head and sobbed as Steve gently removed the bottle and the pills from his hands and pulled him into a hug. Steve held Danny as he cried and rubbed his hand through his hair. Danny had nearly done it, he nearly ended it all. Steve pulled away from Danny when he heard the team asking if he'd found him, from his earpiece. "Yeah" he heard movement on the other side of the comms. "Don't" He simply said and the comms went silent, followed by the sound of car doors shutting again. "Here if you need us" Kono said, before the comms went silent once more. Steve pulled Danny up from the floor and walked him into the bedroom, sitting him down and kneeling in front of him once more. "Danny? Please talk to me" Steve almost pleaded with him, Danny hadn't said anything when he'd arrived almost 15 minutes ago. He was scared for his partner, he nearly ended it all, alone and scared. "I can't do this anymore Steve. I'm so fucking tired" His voice was a whisper, and Steve's heart shattered as he stood and pulled him into another hug. "We're going to help you, alright? It's going to be okay Danno" Steve said, holding his partner closer. He'd never seen anyone so strong, shatter in this way before. They stayed in this position for almost an hour, before Steve felt Danny pull away from him. "Thanks" he mumbled, still shocked from the events of the day. He knew he would've regretted it immediately, if he'd taken those pills. He couldn't do that to his kids, if he'd succeeded, they would be left without a father in their lives. They'd already been through so much, Grace was heartbroken when Matty had died. He didn't die, he was murdered. The words rattled him, these thoughts had kept him awake for countless nights. "…to Grace and Charlie" Danny was brought out of his thoughts by the names of his kids. He was confused, he completely zoned out and had no idea what Steve had said. "Danny, did you hear what I said?" Steve asked, shaking his arm a little. "Oh…uh…what was that?" he asked. "I said, let's go home, to Grace and Charlie" He spoke, softly, beginning to stand when Danny pulled on his hand. "Do you mind if we don't see Grace and Charlie today? I just want to go home" he sighed, his eyes filling with tears once more. "Sure Danno, whatever you need" Steve kissed him on his forehead and they left the room, Danny holding onto Steve's arm, as the exhaustion crept up on him once more. Walking over to the Camaro, Steve helped Danny in and within seconds of climbing in, he had fallen asleep. Steve buckled Danny in and clicked his comm on again. "I've got Danny in the Camaro, I need someone to clean up the room he was in and someone to drive my truck back to the Palace. I'm taking Danny straight home" He glanced back at Danny, who was snoring quietly. "I'll take the truck to your house, Sir" Junior's voice came through the comms as he walked towards Steve, who shut the door and met him halfway, silently passing him the keys to the truck with a nod. "We'll sort the room brah, just take care of Danny" Chin spoke, with agreements from Tani, Kono and Lou coming through. "Thanks guys" He sighed, and climbed into the Camaro and peeled out of the car park.
