A/N: This chapter is a flash-forward—it takes place in mid-May of this year.

Alex is fuming silently while he waits for Lt. Gee to show up. Alex had asked for this meeting—and arranged for it to be on his turf, so he'd have the home advantage. He has Danny's permission to tiptoe across that tightrope of confidentiality. On his desk is the dated, signed, and "permission granted" request for a personal day on May 28.

He's fuming because Lt. Gee is 20 minutes later.

He's fuming because Danny has asked twice to be excused from the mandatory meeting—and apparently found the courage within him to tell Gee why he's taking that day off—and it's still been denied.

But he's also proud as hell of Danny for restraining himself from punching Gee when those requests were denied.

He's also worried about his favorite patient, because Danny's drinking more coffee and less cocoa in their sessions, obviously isn't sleeping, and as of now, has endured two months of desk duty—without complaining about it, which is raising all sorts of red flags for Alex.

There's a knock on the door, and he walks over to it, opens it. "Please come in, Lieutenant."

"Call me Mike."

"Have a seat, Lieutenant," Alex says, stressing the title. This is not a friendly visit; he does not want Danny's C.O. to think he can call him "Doc" or "Alex."

"I'd prefer to stand," Gee grumbles. "I only have a few minutes."

Alex positions himself behind his desk, still standing. This man is more of a challenge than he'd thought…

"On March 18, Detective Reagan requested a personal day for May 28. Is that correct?"

"Yes, and I granted it before realizing it conflicted with a mandatory meeting."

"Did Detective Reagan tell you what Friday, May 28, is for him?"

Gee shrugs. "An anniversary or something. I told him he could still take his wife out for dinner the next day."

No wonder Danny's upset! This man should be grateful Danny didn't knock him down on the spot

Alex wants to punch Gee himself, but he restrains himself, hands balling into fists in his pockets. "May 28 is the anniversary of Detective Reagan's wife's death four years ago." He deliberately does not say "murder," because that piece of information is Danny's to tell, not his.

The man practically collapses onto a chair. "O my God, that's why he was mumbling. I thought…I'll talk to him; I'll give him the day off. I didn't hear him say that."

"Did you read the paperwork I submitted when I requested that he be put on modified assignment back in March?"

"There was a lot going on, with IAB investigating three of my detectives, and…I just signed off on it."

"If you had read it, you would have seen that I was concerned about Danny's mental state—and perhaps you could have checked in on him, or gotten him into the POPPA program. But since you failed to read that paperwork, it might be best if you let me tell Detective Reagan that you're giving him the day off. If you could email or fax me the paperwork, I would appreciate it."

He walks around his desk, stops with his hand on the door. "I would strongly recommend that you try your best to limit your interactions with Detective Reagan, and don't mention his wife—unless you want him to slam you into a wall. Have a good day, Lieutenant," he says, and opens the door.

"I…I'll have that paperwork ready for you by the end of the day, Dr. Dawson; it'll…it'll be on my desk," Gee stammers, and flees.

Alex slams the door behind him and allows himself the rare luxury of punching his filing cabinet.

At 4 p.m., knowing that Gee's work-day ends at 5, Alex makes a thermos of hot cocoa—cocoa is good for the soul, even if it is 70 degrees outside—and goes down to the precinct.

He doesn't see Danny anywhere, and goes over to his desk. Baez is at her desk with a mound of paperwork. "Detective Baez, I was looking for your partner."

She looks at him sadly. "He's in the dorms—he's the only one in there right now. Lt. Gee talked to him about something and, Danny locked himself in the dorms. He's…pretty upset, I don't know why, but…he looked like he was gonna cry."

"You have a key for the dorm?"

She hands it to him, and he unlocks the door, and knocks. "Danny, it's Doc, I'm coming in."

Danny's sitting on the edge of a cot, his head in his hands.

Alex sits down next to him. "Danny? What happened?"

"You told Gee about…Linda."

"Yes. Just so he would give you the day off. I didn't give him details, and I told him not to push you for any, not to mention her."

Danny sniffles and wipes his eyes. "Gee said he'd talked to you, and…. We used to be friends, but he's my boss now. Then he got all sympathetic, and was asking how it happened, and how the boys were; and I…bolted."

"I'm proud of you for not punching him. Let's go talk someplace more private, okay?"

He snags the paperwork from Gee's desk, giving the man a withering look, then jogs after Danny, who's half-way out the building.

They end up at a little park a few blocks away. Alex had grabbed his thermos from the car, and he pours two cups, hands one to Danny.

Danny drinks the cocoa gratefully. "I'm feeling like it's 2017 all over again. Everything reminds me of Linda…a whiff of perfume, my wedding band…I thought I'd be over the f-g unexpected crying jags by now. I think I'm going crazy, Doc," he whispers, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're not. You're grieving. Some years are gonna be harder than others. For me, it was the third year after my wife died—and it surprised me, because the second had not been that hard. Do you… talk about Linda…?"

"You mean, other than when my $$hole boss starts prying and acting like we're buddies?" Danny interrupts bitterly. "Yeah, some. But Sean…he doesn't wanna cry in front of me, and he's off to college this fall anyway."

"When's Jack coming home from college?"

"Next week, the weekend before… And Sean's doing classes online so he'll be around."

"I want you to put in a request for sick leave, vacation time, whatever it is. If Lieutenant Gee balks at the last-minute notice, I'll sign off on it myself—make it a professional recommendation. You need to spend some time with your sons, and you need to give yourself some time to grieve."

He's surprised when Danny nods, goes back to the precinct with him, and fills out the paperwork.

"Go home, get some water—and drink some water, Danny. Crying is very dehydrating," Alex says right before Danny gets in his car.

Danny gives him a thumbs-up, and drives off.