I am sorry that it has taken me o long to update this story. It is just lack of time - not lack of desire. I have been home recovering from knee surgery and had thought that I would be able to write, but writing and pain killers do not mix - Go figure. I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it moves things along in an interesting and exciting way. Niceluvsfanfic - thank you for being so patient my friend.

"Dano," Steve started as he saw the look on his partners face as he watched the retreating backs of the two men. "Dano. The guy is full of crap. He was…,"

Danny cut Steve off with a raised hand and a look of such stark disappointment and sadness that Steve, rarely at a loss for words, shut up.

"Its OK," Danny said, although his tone indicated that it was anything but OK. "Denise does not have to tell me anything. She doesn't owe me an explanation." Danny now just wished that he could believe it. He would just have to bury himself in his work and not think about it. Not think about the fact that Denise lied to him…not think about feeling betrayed… not think about the fact that he had actually cared for her and that she had used him like so many others. Danny was deep into his dark, brooding thoughts. He was both feeling sorry for himself and getting angrier and angrier at Denise.

The day crept by at a snail's pace. He had spent the better part of it catching up on paperwork, which left his mind free to dwell on his hurt feelings and permitted him to continue to wind himself up. By the time he and Steve needed to go and question a suspect, he was spoiling for a fight.

The suspect in a series of thefts was a local petty criminal named Kahikina. Steve and Danny converged on him in the interrogation cell where the man sat cuffed to a chair. Small and skinny, his hooked nose made him look like a rat and the small, dark eyes which rapidly moved from Steve to Danny and back again only reinforced the perception. "Look, Brah," he whined, "I don't know nothing. I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't steal nothing. You can't prove nothing."

Steve looked at the little man with a mixture of disgust and pity. The truth was, Five-O had no interest in him. They wanted his boss who was involved with the Yakuza on the island, bit they needed to get to him first. Steve took a deep breath, "Kahikina. We know you had no choice. Just tell us who ordered the thefts and you can go. It'll be our secret. No one will know the information came from you."

The rat faced little man continued to whine. "He'll kill me, Brah. I ain't done nothing wrong. Least you can do is cover some of my ongoing expensed if you want me to talk." The man stopped his litany of excuses long enough to check the reactions of the two cops questioning him to see if anything he'd said gained any traction. Steve was standing calmly with his arms crossed, but Danny was pacing from one side of the room to the other, hands in pockets to hide the clenching and unclenching of his fists. "Brah," Kahikina directed the next exhortation to him. "You get it, right? You know I can't just roll on my boss. Tell him," he indicated McGarret. "Tell him to get off my case."

Something about the man just set Danny off. Moving faster than Steve had ever seen him move, Danny had the small man by the front of his shirt, physically lifting him up out of his chair. "Listen to me you little punk. Tell us what we want to know," he snarled, "or I swear, I will drop you in the deepest, darkest hole that I can find."

Steve stared at his friend and partner in disbelief; in all the years that they had worked together, he had never seen Danny act that way before. Steve moved quickly to intervene. "Danny," he said and when his partner did not seem to hear him, he repeated it more loudly, "Danny!" He also put a hand on his partner's shoulder and only then did Danny react by releasing the man who plopped down into his chair. Steve looked at Kahikina and said, "Excuse us. We'll be right back. Come on, Danny. We need to talk." Steve did not take his hand off his friend's shoulder until they were outside. "What the hell is wrong with you," he hissed as he turned his friend around.

"Wrong with me," Danny's eyes were blazing with anger. "It seems to work for you, so I thought I'd give it a try." Danny was feeling belligerent and Steve took a deep breath and stepped away.

"Danny," he said with a sigh. "Go home. Talk to Denise. Get your head on straight. Wo Fat is still out there, we have the Yakuza staking their claim to territory and then whatever this is with Denise and the bank; I need your head in the game."

Danny was about to argue, but something about the look in Steve's eyes, made him draw a deep breath, give himself a visible shake and not his head. "Ok," he said resignedly.

"Go talk to her," Steve said, his voice gentling. "Find out what is going on. Giver her a chance."

Again, Danny just wanted to argue, and again he took a deep breath, nodded, turned on his heel and headed to the parking lot.

Denise had been trying to work for several hours, but it was challenging with the police officers constantly moving about her house. They were perfectly nice and very kind, but their presence was a constant reminder of how close she had come to...her mind shied away, but she forced herself to think it...she had almost died yesterday. She almost died and neither she nor Danny thought that it was an accident.

She missed Danny. His presence was a comfort and his humor kept her mind off things.

Her phone rang and she grabbed for his hoping that it was Danny.

"Miss Evans," a familiar voice on the line.

"Hi Jeff," she said trying to hide her disappointment.

"Sorry to bother you. We all wanted to make sure that you were OK.

"I'm fine, Jeff. Thank you," she said. "I am hoping that they will let me go back to work tomorrow if I rest today."

"That's good, Miss Evans. I wanted to show you what I figured out about the algorithm.

"Can you tell me, Jeff? I'm very curious."

"Its sorta hard to explain. I really need to show you. These guys...WOW. I thought I was smart. But whoever is doing this… oh man, I'd like to meet them." Jeff stopped, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Miss Evans…I didn't mean…"

Denise smiled at the excitement in the young man's voice. "I know Jeff," she reassured the young man. "I get it and I'm intrigued." She stopped and thought for a minute, "Jeff? Do you think this has anything to do with..." She was interrupted by the door opening and Danny walking in. Something in his face drew her attention immediately "Jeff, I'll call you later."

"Ok, Miss Evans. Take care. Bye." The young man said

Denise hung up her cell and ran to Danny. She was hoping for a smile and maybe even a hug and was brought up short when she saw the ice cold hardness in his blue eyes.

"When were you going to tell me?", he practically snarled at her.

I really do not feel all that sorry for Danny. I get that he's upset, but is he giving Denise a fair shake? He always does see the worst in people. Hopefully, he does not ruin something good that seems to be happening. Please stay tuned more to come...hopefully quicker than it has been to date. For those that are waiting for romance - patience is a virtue. Please read and let me know what you think. Thank you for your time.