A/N: Hey there! This one was inspired by a prompt by Irene Claire and by the crappy month I've had. Just needed some Danny comfort, and wished I had a Steve of my own I guess.

Enjoy.

Not Broken, Just a bit Dented

The sound of his phone made Steve roll over and check his watch, frowning at the time. He reached for the annoying device on his night stand and took it, frowning again at the name on the screen. "Hey Grace. Sorry… I think I overslept… How pissed is your dad, huh?" He asked, moving to get out of bed and find some clean clothes.

"No Uncle Steve… I'm not with him. I'm at a friend's birthday party and she invited us to stay for a sleepover. I called Danno and asked him if I could… He said that it was ok, and that I he hoped I had fun but… Before he hanged up I think I heard that noise… That noise he makes when he's really upset and doesn't want people to notice?" Grace said in a concerned voice. "Uncle Steve… I think I broke him…" She finished worriedly.

Steve had foregone the idea of changing and just put on his shoes and moved downstairs, looking for his keys. "No Grace. We've just had a very long couple of weeks, I'm sure your dad is fine… I'll go check on him and keep him company, how's that sound?" He said, projecting a cheerfulness that he wasn't really feeling.

Grace breathed a relieved sigh. "Ok… But you gotta call me if he's not ok…"

Steve nodded, moving to his door, not really noticing that Grace couldn't see him. "I sure will, Gracie. I promise I'll keep you posted."

"Thank you Uncle Steve… Take care of him?" Grace said with a sigh.

Steve smiled, getting into his truck and starting the engine. "I promise, sweetheart…"

"Thank you Uncle Steve!" Grace said in relief, before cutting the call.

Steve took off, not really knowing where he was supposed to go. Last he'd heard before he got kicked out of the office, Danny, Chin and Kono would get some drinks after they closed shop, and they would let him know where they were heading. He dialed Danny's number, but it rang until it went to voicemail, so he hung up without leaving a message and tried Kono instead.

He heard the call being picked up, followed by the sound of rustling clothes. "Boss? Please tell me we don't have another case?" Said Kono, in a croaky voice.

Steve frowned. "Kono? No… Sorry. I thought you'd be with Danny? We were having drinks?" He asked, confused at the fact that Kono didn't sound like she was at a bar. She sounded like she had been sleeping.

"Danny? No… he had to stay at the office… The Governor asked him for another report I think… And I couldn't stay for drinks, 'cause Adam came back to town sooner than expected… But Chin was staying. They were heading to the Hilton I think…" She mumbled, still half asleep by the sound of her voice.

Steve sighed in concern. "Alright. Thanks… I'll call Chin. See if he knows anything." He said before cutting the call.

He dialed Chin's number next, getting a reply as sleepy as Kono's. "Steve? Hey… What do you need?" He asked.

Steve sighed again, growing more worried. "Chin. I don't suppose you're with Danny right now?"

"No… He said he still had at least an hour to go before he was done. He'd just pick Grace up and head home. Said he'd call you to let you know…" Chin said, sounding confused.

"Well, he didn't call me…" Steve said, sounding annoyed in turn. "You think he headed home?"

Chin was silent for a few seconds. "Yeah… that's what I thought he'd do. He looked exhausted… We all were, so I figured it would be better for him to head home and spend some time with Grace… I'm guessing he didn't call you?"

"No, he didn't. And he's not with Grace… She's got an unexpected sleepover at a friend's house…." Steve said worriedly.

"So you're probably heading to his place right now?" Chin asked.

"Yeah…" Steve said. "Unless you think he would head to a bar?"

"No, brah… He looked ready to drop. I doubt he'd manage to stay on his feet after one drink…" Chin said.

"Alright… I'm heading to his place…" Steve said tiredly.

"Let me know if you need anything…" Chin said.

"Will do…" Steve replied before cutting the call. Finally knowing where he was going, he turned the following corner, heading to Danny's place.

When he reached Danny's place he was relieved to see the Camaro parked outside and the lights still on. He got out of the truck and headed to the door.

He knocked twice, not getting any response, so he took out the key Danny had given him for emergencies. "Danny, it's me… don't shoot me, alright?" He said loudly, only half joking, as he entered Danny's living room.

The room was dark, with only the TV showing some hockey game. Danny was slumped on his couch with a galls of what looked like bourbon on his hand. "Wha' you doin' here? Didn't call you…" Danny mumbled, not really looking in Steve's direction.

Steve frowned, moved closer and sitting at Danny's side. "Well, maybe you didn't, but Grace did… She's worried about you. Said you sounded wrong…" He said gently.

Danny seemed surprised, but still wouldn't look at his friend. "I'm fine… You… you should tell her you came over, checked on me and found that I'm just fine… You can go now and carry on with your beauty sleep, ¿cause you sure as hell need it…" He muttered, waving his hand around.

Steve nodded in agreement. Taking out his phone and sending a text to Grace. "I'm at your dad's. he's good, just really tired. Putting him to bed soon."

He got a reply right away. "Good! Thank U Uncle Steve! Tell Danno I luv'im! XOXO"

That got smile out of Steve. "She says to tell you that she loves you, and sends lots of Xs and Os…" He said, as he placed the phone on the coffee table.

Danny just passed a tired hand through his hair, reaching to take another sip of his glass. "That's supposed to be hugs and kisses…" He muttered with a shrug. "So now that you've fulfilled your mission, you can leave, catch up on some sleep…" He said, waving his hand in the direction of the door.

Steve stood up, but instead of moving to the door, he moved to the kitchen, bringing a glass for himself. He sat down again and poured some bourbon into it. "Well, we said we'd have drinks after we were done at the office, so this is us, having drinks…" He said, lifting his glass in a toast.

Danny briefly turned to glare in Steve's direction, completely ignoring the raised glass. "Well, drinks were cancelled, Chin and Kono had some stuff to do, and the Governor needed one last stupid report and he needed it tonight, so after that I just came here…" He said with a shrug.

Steve was frowning, not liking the toll that the last case had taken on his partner. "You said you'd call… You didn't."

"Well, you were on a stakeout for almost 48 hours, you needed your beauty sleep… There was no use in calling you if there was no reason for you to wake up…" Danny said with a shrug.

Steve raised his eyebrow. "You're were on a stakeout for the 48 hours before mine, you slept a couple of hours and went right back to work, and still you looked ready to head over to the Hilton for drinks once we were done at the office tonight. So I want to know what happened to make you change your mind and head back here to get drunk by yourself." Steve said, using his best interrogation voice.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging with a tired sigh. "I don't know, ok? I hated every single thing about this damn case… We've been at it for like a month…" Danny started.

"Actually, three and a half weeks…" Steve corrected.

Danny finally turned to glare at his friend. "Oh… excuse me, Mr. Calendar, three and a half weeks then…"

"That's Lieutenant Commander Calendar, Danno…" Steve interrupted again, cheeky smirk firmly in place.

Danny just rolled his eyes at his friend and kept talking. "So as I was saying, we've been working on this case for three and a half weeks, practically around the clock. The few days that Grace was with me, I barely saw her in the mornings, when I dropped her off at school, and in the evenings I found her already sleeping half of the time… I missed her like crazy, I wanted my life back, and I wanted this damn case to be over already." He said, shaking his head.

He looked away reaching to take another drink. "You know I'm not much of a 'Glass half-full' kind of guy, but I was really trying to keep in mind that the damn case would be over soon enough and we'd get together to celebrate and Grace would be there and we'd go back to our crazy lives… But then the Governor couldn't just let me go home, he needed all of this paperwork filled, and Chin and Kono had better things to do than wait for me to be done with work, and last I saw you, you looked like one of those undead zombies, so I figured I'd let you sleep until it was time for your morning triathlon and I would just spend the evening with my Monkey…"Danny said, waving the hand with the glass around and spilling some bourbon all around him. "I guess I wasn't expecting her to have better things to do as well…" He said, noticing his glass looked empty and pouring himself some more bourbon.

Steve shook his head, leaning forward to catch his friend's eyes. "Hey, that's nonsense. Gracie loves spending time with you, buddy…" He said, reaching to put his hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny nodded, looking away to pass a tired hand down his face. "Yeah, I know… It's just… Coming here alone tonight, not having Grace or you guys over… For a while it felt like… like when I'd just moved to Hawaii. I was all alone when Grace wasn't around, and I'd work long hours, because there was nothing else waiting for me at home, so I was tired most of the time… I was homesick all the time, just wanted the nightmare to be over and to be back home with Grace and my family…" He said, shaking his head sadly. "The sad part is that now I don't even have that. My family is broken… And some part of me still feels like it's my fault." He finished in a broken voice.

Steve moved closer, pulling on Danny's shoulder until his partner finally gave in and leaned on Steve's shoulder. "You're not alone Danno. I told you so years ago… And about your family… I think they just need some time to grieve… I think maybe you do as well…" He said, running his hand up and down his friend's arm.

Danny didn't lift his head from Steve's shoulder, but Steve could feel him tensing. "You're not making me take some days off…" He grumbled.

Steve chuckled. "Fine, as long as you don't make me tell you again that Matt's death was not your fault… Maybe I should make a couple of posters, hang them at your office, your living room. Even make a little one to put in the visor pocket in the Camaro…"

Danny gave a teary chuckle. "You're an asshole…"

Steve chuckled as well. "Maybe, but you still like me…" He said, patting Danny's back.

After a few minutes, Steve shifted a bit, moving to stand and pull Danny along with him. "Alright buddy… Time to sleep…" He said.

Danny groaned, but didn't resist Steve's guidance. He was already wearing sweatpants and a shirt, so it was only a matter of getting his shoes off before he was ready to get into his bed. He looked at Steve blearily. "Thank you, babe…" He said with a tired smile. The smile fell once he took a good look at his partner. "You look like shit… Shouldn't be driving right now…"

Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Well, since you asked so nicely, maybe I'll crash on your couch…"

Danny shook his head. "Use Grace's bed, you can change the sheets tomorrow…" He mumbled, blinking tiredly.

"Alright Danno, I will. Now, get some rest, we'll go out for one of those greasy breakfasts that you like in the morning…"

Danny smiled. "Alright… Thanks Steve. You're a good friend…" He mumbled, finally closing his eyes.

Steve smiled, moving to tuck the blankets snugly over his friend. "Not better than you, buddy…" He said, before he moved to Grace's room, hoping that her bed was a little bit longer than the couch.

The end

A/N: Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear what you think of this one!