Chapter 11:

Passing beams along the highway flashed on Steve's face. Steve drove in the darkness of night with rain pounding on his windshield. He focused on the road ahead of him, which was slightly slick from the evening rain. He breathed in as he gripped the steering wheel.

He couldn't take this anymore. He needed to see Danny and talk to him about everything. Steve knew it was incredibly rude and blunt, but he needed a bit of boldness to help Danny understand.

He continued to think as he guided his truck off the highway and down streets. Danny had to understand where he was coming from. It would be unreasonable for Danny to say that Steve should've told him about Grace. It was top secret. . .Grace had been in danger. Steve had to keep it a secret. The many painful conversations he had with Grace over the phone made everything better and, at the same time, all the worse. The many tears he heard Grace shed ached his heart, even to this day. Knowing how much she had missed Danny everyday made Steve's days fill with worry, anxiety, and guilt. At nights, the same worries, anxieties, and guiltiness plagued him and kept him from sleep, knowing that he had to keep everything he knew about Grace from Danny.

Steve turned down a side street and drove along, coming to a stop in front of a house with the porch lights on. Steve turned off his truck. He drew in a breath, saw Danny's Camaro and exhaled. He stepped out of his truck and walked slowly through the pouring rain, up to the house's front door.

Why was his heart racing so fast? Why did his throat go dry all of a sudden? Why was his stomach clenched in knots? Why couldn't he bring himself to knock on the door? He stood there for a minute, nervousness gripping inch of him. He brought his fist to the door and knocked. He breathed in and closed his eyes. This conversation needed to happen, whether Danny liked it or not.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Look out! Waaaah!"

"Ooh, ooh…"

"Ohh. Oh, oh. Sorry! I didn't see you. Sir, are you okay?"

"He's gone, he's gone."

"There, there. It's all right."

"He's gone."

"It'll be okay."

"No, no. They took him away. I have to find the boat."

"Hey, I've seen a boat."

"You have?"

"It passed by not too long ago."

"A white one?"

"Hi. I'm Dory."

"Where!? Which way!?"

"Oh, oh, oh! It-it went, um, this way! And it went this way! Follow me!"

Danny chuckled as Grace moved from her spot right next to him, with his arm around her and her arms wrapped around his waist. "I have to go to the bathroom." She said standing up and leaving the room.

"Okay, monkey. Hurry back!" He called after her.

*Tap, tap, tap*

There were small knocks on the front door. Danny looked to it and frowned. He looked at his watch. 8:15. Who was knocking on his door at this time of night?

He got up from his couch and went to the door. He pulled it open and was faced with Steve. His hair and face were dripping with rain water. How long has he been standing out in the rain?

Danny clenched his jaw as he looked at Steve.

"Hey." Steve looked at him.

Danny swallowed, suppressing every need to just slam the door in the man's face. "What do you want, Steve?"

Is this going to work? Danny was pissed. "Um. . .I came over to, um. . .to talk."

Danny pressed his tongue against his lower teeth and his cheek. "I don't have time for this, Steve-"

"It will take 2 seconds. Please just let me explain."

Danny gritted his teeth. "Steve, I can't talk to you right now-"

"Danny, please. Just give me a chance." Steve spoke firmly.

Danny could feel anger and rage rise inside him. "Give you a chance? Give you a chance?! You've had nothing but chances everyday I spent thinking that my little girl was dead! You have had plenty of chances! Those days I spent crying in front of you, looking for comfort. . .You knew-you knew the whole time that my daughter was alive and you don't tell me? Because every time you saw me, wallowing in grief over, what I thought, was the death of my daughter, you didn't have the chance to tell me, right?"

Steve stood there, taking in Danny's rage. Steve had expected it, but not for it to be this explosive. "Danny, I-"

"You what? You want to say sorry for allowing me to think my only child was dead? For lying to me?! About the one person in my life that I live for?! That I would die for?! You want to say sorry for keeping her safe and hidden away in protective custody without telling me?! You what, Steve?! You what?!"

Steve could only look at him. Realization hit him hard. Danny wasn't ready to hear him out. Not yet. The question is, would he ever be?

"Just get out of here, Steve. I have nothing else to say to you." Danny spat at him.

"Danny-"

"No, Steve. I heard your message. . .you said you 'crossed some major borders' by not telling me something that concerned my daughter? Well, guess what? You did. And keeping that information from me is something that I don't easily forget. . .or forgive."

It felt like Steve had been punched in the gut. Knots bound and twisted in his stomach. It couldn't get much worse than this.

Danny took in a deep breath. "I'm filing to be placed in some department. I talked to the governor and he cleared it. I'll be working as a detective for the police force."

The air had been drawn from his lungs. Steve couldn't breathe as he took in Danny's words. He filed for a transfer?

"I won't be returning to 5-0. So, thanks for all of the 'amazing opportunities', I guess." Danny said smugly, sarcasm glazed over his words.

"Danny-"

"This is not up for discussion, Commander."

That did it for Steve. It felt like Danny had just thrown a bag of bricks against his chest. He couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Danny went to close the door.

Steve put his hand to the door to prevent it from closing. "Danny, please-"

A roaring rage surged through Danny as he opened the door and threw a fist.

Steve didn't have time to block the hit, and Danny's fist made contact, hitting him square in the eye. Pain spread from his eye up his face as he stumbled backwards into the rain.

"Have a nice life." Danny mumbled as he slammed the door.

Steve heard the deafening lock of the door. Steve straightened himself up and stared at the door for a second. It made him hurt to think, no, to feel every feeling he had for Danny. The pain in his chest didn't cease as he continued to stare at the door. He took in a ragged breath as he felt tears begin to form in his freshly hit eye.

Steve huffed out a single breath and shook his head. Rain, or perhaps tears, fell down his face. He brought a hand up to his right eye and touched it lightly. Yep, Danny knows how to throw a punch.

Feeling like the world bore down on his shoulders, Steve walked to his truck, misery clinging to him. A cloudiness had begun to cover his right eye. He got in his truck, turned it on, and drove away. So. . .this is what it feels like to loose your best friend. . .and the person you-

Steve gasped at the thought. Was this love? Surely, I knew I had feelings for Danny before, but had it been love the whole time? Love. . .for Danny? Steve gripped his steering wheel. Pick yourself up, Steve. You have to move on. Steve found it hard to breathe as he turned down a street. Even though this was painful, Steve thought he'd be feeling more hurt, more emotional pain. Instead, it was like he was starting to go numb. The full reality of the situation hadn't seemed to hit him yet. When it did, it would hurt, and a lot more than a punch to the eye.