Steve held on firmly to Danny's arm as they made their way back to the Camaro. He could feel that Danny barely had any energy left in him as his weight sagged against Steve's arm. Danny allowed himself to be dragged to the passenger side while Steve got into the driver's seat. He was too exhausted to question Steve and frankly, he was glad that Steve was there to drive him home. He could barely keep himself straight, much less drive.

The moment he entered the car, Danny leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes in a futile attempt to stop the spinning in his head. Steve momentarily turned to look at his partner, his lips curled into a frown as he studied Danny's face. Danny was soaking wet, his lips were paler than usual and his forehead was creased with lines of pain. Steve knew better than to ask if he was okay. The answer would always be the same. He touched Danny's wrist which was cool and clammy and Danny flinched at the touch but he didn't open his eyes.

"I'm gonna get you home, alright." Steve said as he turned the engine.

Danny nodded as he swallowed the bile working its way up his throat. He was drained out and it was only still morning. Not only physically, but mentally he was exhausted too. If only he could stop his brain from thinking. But he couldn't. Every minute of everyday, he was assaulted with self-doubt.

I shouldn't have done that. Why did I do that? Now for sure he wouldn't want me as his partner. Why would he want someone like me? I shouldn't have agreed to seeking professional help. What does he think of me now? And the team.. HPD.. if they find out.. No not if, when.. When they find out, they'll never accept me. I should just leave before they throw me out. I shouldn't have agreed to this. Why did I agree? I'm so ashamed of myself. How.. How do I tell Grace? And Ma? She'll be heartbroken. Why? Why am I so weak? You're an idiot, Danny Williams. Why did you have to bare your heart out? Why couldn't you control your emotions? Crying like that in front of Steve. What is wrong with you?

Danny tried his hardest to suppress his tears. He had done enough damage by crying in front of Steve earlier, he wasn't going to do it again.

...

As Steve drove in the silence, he couldn't help but miss the banter he usually had with Danny while he was driving. This was way too quiet for his own liking. The pained expression on Danny's face only made it worse. Steve kept glancing at his friend to make sure he was fine.

I'm sorry Danny. I should have noticed the signs sooner. I let you go on too long without asking if you're alright. I should have known. I'm your partner but I didn't even know how much you were hurting. I'm really sorry. But I'm here for you now. And however long it takes to get you back, I'm not leaving your side. All I want is to have my buddy back.

Arriving back at Danny's house, Steve immediately searched for a towel and handed it over to Danny to dry himself up. "Danny, why don't you take a quick shower. Then we'll head over to the hospital for your dialysis."

Danny was quiet as he slowly dragged his feet to the couch. He let out a soft groan as he sat down on it. Steve who was following closely behind him looked at him with concern.

"Danno? You alright?" Steve asked.

"I'm not going." Danny said, his eyes unblinking as he stared into nothingness.

"What?" Steve asked, not sure if he heard his friend right.

"I don't want to go." Danny repeated. "I feel fine right now."

Steve sat next to Danny and sighed. "Dan.."

"Please Steve. I don't want to go. I hate it."

"Buddy, you have to go."

"I'm not getting any better. I feel sick after each treatment. Everything hurts. And I feel like crap. I am better without it." Danny resigned, bending in defeat.

"Danny.. I'm sorry." Steve said. "I'd trade places with you in a second. I know it hurts and I know you're in pain. But you have to do this. I'll be right by your side, I promise." Steve gently put his hand on Danny's back and softly patted it. He wasn't lying. He would trade places with Danny because seeing his partner suffering from both the emotional and physical pain was almost unbearable.

It wasn't easy for Steve to convince Danny to go for his dialysis but he finally managed to do it. After they had both freshened up, Steve drove Danny to the centre. It was another three hour session and Danny was really not looking forward to it. The treatment always made him uncomfortable. His chest and head hurt. And he felt nauseous during and after the dialysis.

As the nurse prepped him up and hooked him up to the machine, Danny looked up at Steve who was staring at the nurse to make sure she wouldn't hurt his partner any more than necessary.

"Alright, I'm all done here. The treatment will take approximately 3 hours. If there is anything you need, just press on the call button, okay? I'll come by again to check on you later." The nurse smiled.

"Thank you." Danny said, returning the smile. Once the nurse had walked away, he turned to Steve. "Steve, I'll be fine. You should go."

"I'll be here with you throughout." Steve said as he sat down on the chair next to his partner.

"It's going to take long. Don't waste your time. Just go."

"Danny, when I said I wasn't leaving you, I wasn't lying."

"I know you weren't lying." Danny said. "But how long are you going to be here, huh? If I have to do this for the rest of my life, you're going to be here every single time?"

"Yes. I'll be here as long as you need and want me around." Steve said. "Let me ask you a question. If the roles were reversed and I'm the one getting treatment, would you stay with me?" Steve asked.

Danny didn't answer. He took a deep breath in.

"I take your silence for yes. So Danny, why would you expect any different from me?" Steve said. "Now you just relax alright, catch some sleep if you can. I'll be right here if you need anything." Steve took the blanket that was hanging on the chair and unfolded it as he lay it over Danny's shin.

Danny looked appreciatively at his friend. "Thank you. And yes, I would do the same for you. But I hope that you never have to go through this so stop saying it."

...

Steve brought Danny straight home after the treatment. He led Danny to his room the moment they arrived home and helped Danny settle on his bed. "You rest. Do you want something to eat?"

Danny shook his head. "Need to get Grace from school. She's out in an hour." Danny said as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"Don't worry about that. I'll get her, alright. You just take it easy. Is there anything you need?"

"No, I'm alright. Thanks." Danny said.

"Hey.. Stop with the thanks alright?" Steve said as he squeezed Danny's shoulder.

...

It was slightly after six and the team had all gathered in Danny's living room after work. Grace was in her room doing her schoolwork and Danny had been asleep for the past few hours, waking up only intermittently. Steve was glad that Danny had managed to fall asleep because the eyebags under his eyes were clear indication of his insomnia.

Steve settled on the couch with Lou, Chin and Kono. They had come with dinner and were sitting, waiting for Grace and Danny before they had it. Steve hadn't wanted to wake Danny up, he clearly needed his rest.

"Steve, there's the number of that therapist you asked for." Lou said in a low voice as he sent the contact card to Steve. "Danny agreed to it?"

"Yeah," Steve said.

Lou nodded. "That's good. How's our boy doing?"

Steve inhaled deeply. "He's on the mend. We saw the doctor today and they said his kidneys are looking good. Seems like he won't have to go for treatment much longer. Maybe a few more sessions then the doctor will review his condition again."

"That's great news!" Kono exclaimed. "Why don't you seem happy?"

Steve shook his head. "I am happy about that. And Danny's also letting me stay by his side and not putting as much fight now. But... I just, I don't know if it'll ever be the same again." Steve said, his voice filled with regret. "I wish I had been there for him earlier. He was always there for me and I don't know.. I figured it would always be that way. He always spoke his mind so I never thought to ask him if he was alright. And by the time I noticed anything, he was already way too hurt. I failed him. I let my partner down."

"Steve, come on. This is not on you alone. We should all have been there for him. We all knew he was going through a difficult time. But we thought Danny was Danny. He would say it if something was bothering him. And we took that for granted." Chin added.

"Yeah, we should all have done things differently but that's done. We can't change what happened. But we can definitely change how we go about doing things from here on out." Kono said. "I don't want to lose Danny."

"We won't lose him. Danny's a tough one. And this guy, he's one of the best. He helped Samantha out after her kidnapping and I'm sure he'll be able to help Danny out. Besides, Danny has all of us supporting him so he's going to be fine." Lou affirmed. The alternative was something he didn't want to consider.

"You didn't let me down, Steve." Danny said, one hand on the door frame supporting him. His eyes glistened with unshed tears.

...

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry again for taking slightly longer with this chapter and thank you for the reviews on the previous chapter. I know I said I will wrap this up soon and I think I'm gonna have maybe 2 more chapters after this (I hope). Anyways, hope you guys liked this and do let me know what you think. Thank you!