Rick sits back in his chair, and finally addresses something that he has chosen not to up until now. "So, Steve. What happened to your face?"
Steve offers a brief explanation of the minor kidnapping incident, and silently hopes that the fact that he seems to be a danger magnet – though Danny would say he's more of a danger seeker – will severely dampen his opinions of him. Seemingly, it doesn't. Satisfied with the explanation and apparently impressed with the lengths that the team endure to help victims, Rick sends Danny in the direction of the kitchen to make some drinks.
"And you used to be in the Navy?" Richard remembers Danny mentioning it before, and Steve has the military look about him.
Steve nods. "Yes sir, after I graduated the academy I spent some time in the SEALs, then transferred to Naval Intelligence. You mind me asking what you do, sir? Danny's probably mentioned it but you know what he's like."
Richard nods with a smile. Steve seems to have quickly acquainted himself with the ramblings of his son; and what's more, it doesn't seem to bother him. He has a funny feeling that the guy was good at the job. "Yeah, I know exactly what he's like. I retired a few years back, but I worked for New Jersey Fire Department."
Steve nods, and smiles broadly as he leans forward to rest his forearms on his knees. "Ahh, I wanted to be a firefighter when I was younger…I think it came somewhere inbetween pirate and ghost hunter." Richard laughs, before his face composes itself and he leans closer to lower his voice.
"Hey, tell me. How's Danny holding up? He seemed pretty upset last night."
Steve nods and lets his own smile fade. "Yeah, I mean, I only arrived this morning. He seems okay. I think he's relieved that you were so…" He searches for the right word; "understanding of things."
Rick nods and leans back ever so slightly. "Thanks for coming all the way out here. I can see it means a lot to Danny; you obviously know how to handle him."
Steve returns his back to the sofa. "Yeah, took a year to get there though." Rick and Steve laugh as Danny re-enters the room looking self-conscious, and Steve quickly realises that he and Richard Williams are going to get along just fine.
"You guys were talking about me, weren't you?" he accuses as he hands coffee to his father and Steve, leaving the room for a few seconds more to go back for his own.
Rick nods. "Yep, sure were." Steve gives a laugh and as Danny sits back down even closer to him than before, the older man winks at him.
As the afternoon wears on, and the three men continue to tell stories and share news of the past year, their conversation is punctuated by bouts of laughter and fond gestures. Steve and Danny are both hysterical by the time the ex-fireman has finished telling his stories of witty responses from fire escapees roused by the nerves of a dangerous situation. Though not funny at the time, it's hard not to laugh at some of the things people say…
(Firefighter: Do you know where you're at?
Escapee: Yes
Firefighter: Where's that?
Escapee: On the ground.
Firefighter: Okay, where are you on the ground at?
Escapee: Between the road and that house, duh... are you retarded or something?)
And as the evening sets in, and the light begins to darken, the situation grows more and more familiar, and Danny grows more and more comfortable with having his father and Steve in the same room together. It's not until almost seven o'clock that the sound of the door to the living room startles them out of their conversation. The opening of the front door apparently not enough to thoroughly disturb them, Rick tries to diffuse the argument that he knows is just seconds off, greeting his wife as he pushes himself up to peck her on the cheek.
"Honey, I wasn't expecting you home for another hour. How was your day?" As Zoe Williams glances at the position Steve and Danny hold and have been unable to alter in the few seconds warning they've had – Steve's arm resting along the back of the sofa, Danny simultaneously sitting close, close enough that she knows exactly who the stranger is – her eyes darken, and her features take a turn for the furious.