A/n: So I'll warn you now that Danny's kind of a jerk in this chapter. I don't mean for him to be, he just came out that way. We all know how he can be when he's upset.

There's no problem so awful that you can't add some guilt to it and make it worse—Calvin and Hobbes

Steve paused for a moment outside of the holding cell. Casey was sitting on the bench with her head in her hands. Strands of golden blonde hair fell around her face like a veil and he could just barely make out the ice pack that she was holding to her face. Casey didn't notice his presence until the officer opened the cell door and Steve walked in. She looked up at him and sighed.

"Where's Danny?"

"He's talking to the arresting officer." Steve informed. He had overheard the officer discussing the charges. She had been charged with assault while Micah was being held on aggravated assault charges. Casey frowned.

"He's pissed at me." She stated with a frown. Steve opened his mouth to deny it and then thought better of it.

"You know how he gets when he's upset. He'll calm down, just give him time." Casey sighed and shook her head with a wince.

"Even when I try to do something right, I manage to find a way to screw it up." She muttered to herself.

"You want to tell me what happened?" Steve asked gently, sitting down next to her. Casey looked over at her brother in law. She really didn't want to talk about it but she knew that there was no way for her to avoid it, plus Steve was less likely to explode.

"Micah called me a few days ago and said that he was going to be in town and he wanted to see me. With so much unresolved between us I figured I didn't have much of a choice but to go if I was ever going to get on with my life. So I agreed to meet him. I thought I could get him to sign the termination papers so you guys could finalize the adoption. He was being his typical self, trying to sweet talk me and it pissed me off so I told him that I knew he was cheating on me."

"And what did he have to say?"

"He denied it like I knew he would. I tried to get him to sign the papers but he was being stubborn just to get me upset which it did." Casey admitted bitterly. She hated the fact that she had let Micah get to her. "He threatened to take Makayla….to raise her as his own. I couldn't let him do that, Steve. I couldn't let him have her. So I punched him in the face-"

"Nice right hook, by the way." Steve interjected, nudging her shoulder in support as she continued.

"He grabbed my wrist before I could move away. We yelled a little more. He called me a terrible mother and said I was a bad role model for Makayla…so I kneed him in the groin. That set him off and he hit me back." She explained, readjusting the icepack on her face.

"Who called the police?"

"Bar tender I think, I was knocked out for a minute or two." Casey admitted.

"You okay? Did you get checked out?" Steve asked, suddenly worried.

"I'm fine. I lost my balance when he hit me and hit the edge of the bar. EMT's at the scene checked me out. It's just a slight concussion. I'll have a killer headache but nothing more." She said dismissively.

"Well Danny's working on getting the charges against you dropped." Steve said, still staring at her in concern.

"Let him press charges. It wouldn't be the first time." Casey declared. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have a record." He stated.

"That's because we always drop the charges in a couple of days after we've calmed down." She explained.

"Why do you keep going back to this guy when you know he treats you like crap?" Steve sighed.

"Because Micah and I are two people who really shouldn't be together yet we keep thinking every time that this time we're going to make it work and be normal. But I'm done. I won't go back to him again-I can't. I have to have a higher standard for myself and start setting a better example for Makayla." Casey stated with conviction.

"Well that's good to hear." Danny announced, suddenly appearing outside of the holding cell. He was trying to sound neutral but Casey could tell he was still extremely mad at her. "Come on, let's go."

"You got the charges dropped?" Casey asked as Danny opened the cell door.

"No, I got you released into the custody of the 5-0." He replied, not looking at her. Casey hung her head.

"Thank you, Danny." She said sincerely.

"You're welcome." Danny replied curtly. Steve just looked at him. The three walked out of headquarters, Casey in front with Steve and Danny hanging back behind her.

"She really didn't do anything wrong." Steve said to his partner. "It was self defense."

"I do not care. The fact is that she lied to our faces and went behind our backs to go see the one person I specifically told her not to see. You know why? This is exactly why! Can you imagine what would have happened if she had gone while she was still pregnant? This is Casey's problem. She doesn't think when it comes to that asshole!" Danny hissed as he gestured towards his sister.

"She was trying to get him to sign the termination papers." Steve started.

"I don't care what her intentions were. I told her we would deal with this the proper way but why should she listen to me?"

"I'm just saying go easy on her. It wasn't all her fault." Steve added. Danny didn't say anything as he opened up the passenger door and waited for his sister to get in. Casey hesitated.

"I think I should stay at a hotel tonight. You're obviously mad and I'm sure mom will have something to say and we just don't need that kind of drama around Makayla. It's not good for her." She explained.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you went and did this." Danny stated. Steve shot him a look over the top of the car. "You're not getting away that easy. You're coming home with us." Casey just sighed and climbed into the backseat. They made it about half way home before Danny started in on his rant.

"What the hell did I tell you about getting revenge? I thought we agreed that you were going to stay away from him." Danny shouted.

"No. I agree to stay away from him while I was pregnant. I'm not anymore which means that I am free to do whatever I damn well please. I went to get him to sign the papers so that Makayla would officially be yours. I was doing it for you, you ass." Casey yelled back, tired of her brother's attitude towards her.

"I told you we would all deal with this." He reminded, trying to get himself back under control.

"Ya I know how you deal with things and your way wasn't going to work so I took things into my own hands." She declared.

"God what do you think you're Steve now and you can just do whatever the hell you please?" Steve looked over at Danny and frowned but his partner didn't notice.

"You know what Danny? Pull the stick out of your ass alright? You can't always do everything by the book. Sometimes alternative methods are required to achieve a favorable result. The ends justified the means." Casey stated. Danny looked over at Steve.

"It's like talking to a female version of you when you get in your Rambo mode." He stated before turning back to his sister. "This was not some covert operation alright? It was a stupid decision that you made with your hormones instead of your brain. You took a stupid risk, understand that." Danny chastised as they got out of the car. Casey looked him dead in the eye and gave him the finger before walking in the opposite direction of the house. "Oh that's real mature. Where are you going?"

"Away from you." Casey shouted as she walked up the driveway and out towards the street.

"Give me the keys." Danny demanded.

"Let her go, Danny." Steve replied.

"Let her go? What the-why would I let her go?" Danny shouted.

"Because if you don't, she's likely to punch you in the face. Give her some space and give yourself some time to calm down. Then we can finish the discussion." Steve explained. Danny frowned at him as he slammed his door closed.

"I hate it when you're rational."