"Give me the old Danny back. Then we're even. Can you do that for me? I just want my partner back." Steve's words replayed in his head, he hadn't missed the slight crack in Steve's voice or the pleading tone it held, something he never thought he'd hear from the fearless Navy SEAL.

He wanted nothing but that too. He wanted things to go back to the way it did before. Before Jackson came into his life and took away everything good he had. Before he became the man who shot his best friend. He wanted to return to that time when he and Steve were best friends. Well they still are now because Steve was not a neanderthal like he always thought, the guy was a saint apparently. Forgiving him so effortlessly, so unequivocallly and so understatedly. But there was no denying that their friendship was different now. As much as he tried to return to 'normal', that guilt was still clinging on to him, clawing onto his insides, leaving him in breathless anguish. He didn't think it would ever really go away, nor would it ever be less agonizing. Yet, he found himself being less frequently attacked by those godawful memories. Up until a few weeks ago, looking at Steve had been one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. The blankness in Steve's eyes, the way his breath hitched after being shot constantly made an unannounced and uninvited appearance in his head. But now.. now not so much. Now, when he looked at his friend, his heart was at ease. At ease and at peace. He'd come so darn close to losing his friend. But he hadn't. His friend was still next to him, and that thought filled his chest with warm solace.

So he thought, maybe.. maybe it was time he tried to put everything behind him. It was time he stopped feeling sorry for himself and got his act together.

No doubt his life had changed. In fact, he had no idea what was next for him. 'I just want my partner back.' Steve's earnest plea hurt almost as much as the stab to his torso. Surely that wasn't possible. Even if that was something he so desperately wanted, he could neither admit it nor dream of it. He'd lost the right to have Steve's back the moment he pulled the trigger on his best friend. And this wasn't just his guilt talking. The governor had made it clear what he thought of the incident. There was no going back to life the way it was before, no matter how much he or Steve wanted to. There was no way they could still be partners. Was there?

He had to get his life back, though. He couldn't possibly stay here with Steve for the rest of his life. He had to find something he could do. Being a cop was all he knew to do. But now that was out of his grasp and the sooner he accepted that, the sooner he could move on with his life.

"Danny." Steve called out to his friend, frowning at the way Danny was massacring the spaghetti in his plate by mindlessly roaming the fork around instead of actually eating the food. "Danny?" Steve called again, knocking lightly on the table to get his friend's attention. "Danno, you alright?"

"Huh?" Danny looked up at his friend.

"Missing Grace already?" Steve asked, a knowing smile on his face. Grace had gone back to Rachel's that morning after spending a week with her father. It was understandable that Danny's mood was more than slightly affected.

"Yeah." He said simply. Talking about Grace was easier than whatever was actually on his mind.

"It is much quieter without her around." Steve said. "She can come over anytime, you know.. if it's fine with Rachel." He continued. He knew just how much Grace's presence had helped Danny. A week ago, if anyone had asked about Danny's condition, Steve wouldn't have an answer for it. But now, he was cautiously optimistic that his friend was going to be just fine. In the past week, the smile he'd seen on Danny's face, though still a rare occurrence which didn't quite reach his ears, was genuine. Not faked nor forced, as it was before. Steve felt like he could finally breathe easy.

"Anyway.. Danny?" Steve started. "Chin, Kono and Lou, they were wondering if they could come over tomorrow? You know just.. hang out like we used to. Barbecue dinner maybe? You up for that? They've really missed you, buddy."

Danny hesitated slightly. He was afraid that it would be as awkward as it was when he'd gone to HQ. Yet, he actually did miss them and he needed to thank them for being there for Grace when he wasn't around. He gave Steve a small smile. "Yeah, I've missed them too.. Sure, that'll be nice."

"That's great." Steve smiled. "I'll let them know."

…

He put on a pair of blue jeans and pulled a black shirt over his head and stood in front of the mirror. He took a deep breath, trying to push away the discomfort lingering in his stomach. They were people he was so comfortable with, his chosen family. He told himself everything was going to be alright. If he wanted things to go back to the way it used to, it had to start somewhere. Maybe this was it. The team was almost here. Steve had texted him that they were on the way home 20 minutes ago. He combed his hair back, straightened his shirt and headed downstairs to wait for his team.

Whatever small misgiving he had on agreeing to have the team over at Steve's evaporated into thin air the moment they each enveloped him in their warm hug. Their voices instantly filled the house with a certain familiarity and comfort which chased away any remnant doubt in his chest. This felt just like the old times. They were sitting in the lanai, cooking enough meat to feed the whole block, as the sun slowly set, splashing a majestic hue of orange across the sky. Chatting, laughing, making digs at one another and bantering back and forth. He was mostly quiet, relishing the moment he never thought he'd have again. It was good. All good.

He couldn't help the look of wistfulness that crossed his face when the team began talking about the case they'd just wrapped up, applauding Steve for his insane actions to catch the guy they'd been after for the past few days it seemed. Danny hadn't realised just how much he'd missed being in action. Or maybe that was a lie. He did know. But he couldn't really say it out loud just how much he'd missed being on the frontline. The adrenaline rush of catching a break in a case, of chasing after criminals, of hearing his partner's pet phrase 'Book'em Danno' (though he'd never admit that out loud). He used to complain about it so much, people would think he hated his job. But the truth was, he didn't. There had to be a reason he'd been doing this for close to half his life, and money definitely wasn't it. He loved what he did. This was what his whole life was about. His purpose, cliched as it might sound. Being a cop had become more than just a job for him, it was something that was part of his identity. Detective Williams, that was who he was. Was.. Because he would no longer hear someone call him that. He no longer was a detective. And he would never feel the rush of catching a perp after a high speed chase or anything like that. That was something he needed to leave in the past.

"So Danny, when are you planning to come back on the team?" Lou asked suddenly, derailing from the current flow of conversation.

Danny looked at him wide-eyed. He wasn't really sure what Lou meant. He made it sound like it was actually up to him when he wanted to return but it obviously wasn't. There was no way he could return to the team.

"Yeah, Danny. Your office has been empty for a bit too long now." Chin said.

Okay, now he was really confused. They had to know that he was fired, right? Fine, technically, not fired but he had no choice but to submit his resignation. He looked at each of his team member. They all had the same expression on their faces. They were looking at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"I.." Danny's face was quickly turning red from not knowing what to say. "I'm not." He felt everyone's gaze on him.

…

Blood rushed to his head, turning his face a frightening shade of red. Steve was beyond furious. How had he not known anything about this? The fact that Danny had all but been forced to turn in his resignation. He now understood just why Danny had done what he did. Why he had left without a word. Why he had decided to shut everyone out. Everything made perfect sense in his head now. Danny's depression was clearly unavoidable but this had definitely added on to his steep decline.

Steve stepped on the accelerator, he had to get things straight with the governor. His partner's career couldn't be over just like that. Danny had given up way too much for his only pride and honour (apart from Grace) to be stripped away from him so unjustly. His partner was one of those rare few who wore the badge with sincerity, with grit, with honesty and most importantly, with utmost dedication. To have that taken away in the blink of an eye, Steve could not guess what that must have done to his partner. And to have gone through all of that alone, it was unthinkable.

He spotted Danny's Camaro through his rearview mirror chasing after him and although he really didn't want to, he pulled up by the side of the road and got out of his truck. Danny followed suit, stopping his car just behind the truck. Wearing concern over his face, he jogged over to his friend who was obviously fuming as he paced next to his truck.

"Steve.. You alright?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asked, his voice trembling with a mix of anger, shock and disappointment as he stopped pacing and stared right at his friend.

"Steve.." Danny swallowed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He repeated, his voice softer, sounding even more brittle.

"I thought you would have known by now.. It's been a while, I was sure the governor would have told you and the team." Danny said and he wasn't lying, he really did think so. But now that he thought about it, maybe there was no need for the governor to mention his involvement in Danny's resignation. After all it would have made things easier.

"Clearly, he hasn't." Steve said. "Damn it!" He slammed his fist onto the side of his truck.

"Steve.." It seemed like the only thing that Danny could get out of his mouth.

"This isn't fair Danny. It isn't fair!" Steve said. "You did nothing wrong. You shouldn't have to be punished for it."

"That's not true."

"It is. Everyone knows that you were forced into it. You had no choice." Steve said. "I don't understand why the governor made such a decision. Danny, you should have told me..I could have said something."

"I don't think there was anything you could have done." Danny said.

"When was this? Huh? When did you see the governor?" Steve asked.

Danny shook his head in hesitation. "Steve, just leave it."

"Danny."

"It was.. The..the day after we got discharged from the hospital." Danny said.

Steve heaved a sigh, closing his eyes as the realisation hit him. "It was that day I found you at your house?" Steve asked. "The video. That was the governor as well?"

"Steve, this is no one's fault but mine. I brought this upon myself." Danny said. "I have to accept this and you do too."

"I can't accept it. Danny, you can't give this up just like that."

"It's fine, Steve. I'm okay." Danny said. "I..I don't need the job. I can find something else to do. As long as I still have you around, it doesn't matter."

"No.. Danny no.. How can you be okay? I know it matters to you. And it matters to me." Steve said. "Why do you think your position is still empty? I don't see anyone else filling that place. You're my partner that I chose."

"Steve, liste.."

"Danny, you listen to me. If you're telling me that you don't want to do this anymore, it's purely your decision, I will accept it and I will respect that decision. But if your decision came with pressure from the governor, I'm going to do everything I can to get you your badge back."

"You saying that is enough for me, Steve." Danny said. "It really is. You've done enough for me, I don't need you to do anything else for me."

"Danno.." Steve said. "Answer me, do you still have my back?"

Danny broke away from Steve's gaze, his face pulled in a grimace. "Always." He said quietly, his voice almost drowned out by the sound of cars wheezing by.

...

Steve could not sleep the whole night. Be it anger that kept him up or the uncertainty of whether he could reverse the Governor's decision. He had made up his mind. He would have gone to set things straight right away but even he knew that it was definitely not a good idea to barge up to the Governor in the middle of the night. So he made sure, that was the first thing he did the following morning.

"Commander McGarrett, what brings you here? I don't think we have an appointment today."

"No, we don't." Steve said.

"Take a seat."

"I'd rather not." Steve said.

The Governor raised his eyebrows, not quite sure where the hostility was coming from. "Alright. What is this about?"

"Detective Danny Williams."

"Detective Williams? What about him?" The Governor asked as he leaned forward in his seat.

"I recently found out that his resignation was not entirely his own decision." Steve said. "You had asked him to submit his resignation."

"That is correct. At the time, I did what I thought was in everybody's best interest."

"Best interest?" Steve sniggered. "Pardon me for saying this but I don't think you know what's in our best interest. You fired one of the umm.. most capable members of my team, without consulting me."

"Commander, I did what I needed to do. You know full well what Detective Williams did."

"Detective Danny Williams has dedicated half his life to this job. It's more than a job for him. The number of times he has, as a member of Five-0, risked his life for the safety of the people.. to protect the people on this island is testament to his dedication to this job. I would completely understand your decision to dismiss him if he had done anything wrong. If he had gone against the law for his own personal gains. But right now, just so we are clear, Detective Danny Williams was COERCED into doing such a thing."

"It doesn't change the fact that he took matters into his own hands and could have endangered many lives. As a member of the law enforcement, he should have known that is not something he should have done."

"With all due respect, governor. If he hadn't done what he did, his daughter would have died. He did what he had to do."

"I am aware of that." The governor said. "And I am glad that no lives were lost as a result of the incident. But.. unfortunately, what he did, it wasn't something we could conceal. The video of his crime was leaked and word got out that he was law enforcement. The public was questioning the integrity of our law enforcement. The question of their safety was brought forward. Under the circumstances, I had no choice."

"No choice? The public has no idea the person that Detective Williams is. They based their judgement on one video. They've not seen the countless times he had ended up saving people's lives. The times his life was secondary to theirs. The times he put his life on the line to ensure they lived. But you should know better. You know better. How you could fire him over this is beyond me." Steve said.

"Look, commander, like I said, I did what needed to be done. And I am certain you would be better off with a new partner and second in command of the Five-0 Task Force."

"I am not here to discuss my new partner or the second in command. I am here to inform you that your decision to dismiss Detective Daniel Williams was completely unjust and I would like to request you to rethink that decision." Steve said.

"I'm not sure there is anything to rethink." The governor said.

"Well then, in that case.. I don't have anything else to say. I suggest you start looking for someone to run the task force." Steve said with a finality in his voice as he turned to leave. Impulsive or not, he stood by his decision.

"Is that a threat?" The governor raised an eyebrow. "Are you threatening me?"

Steve stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the governor. "Threat?" Steve laughed. "No..no. I don't have the capacity to threaten you. You are the governor after all.. That was not a threat. That was a promise. A promise I made to myself, to my partner and to every member of my team. A promise to fight for them and to protect them. Governor Jameson created this task force five years ago, but I hand-picked every single member on it. Detective Williams was the first person I recruited and I am not going to stand by and watch all his hard work, all his sacrifices be disregarded and disrespected the way it is now."

"And you're sure you can still trust him after what he did to you?" The governor said.

"There is no one I trust more than him. Five years is not a long time, but I feel like I've known him my whole life. I trust him." Steve said. "And I'm not running this team without him."

...

A/N: Hi guys, thank you for all your kind reviews! I'm sorry this chapter took slightly longer to post. It was a tough one to write in a coherent manner and I am pretty nervous about posting this chapter. But I hope the final product is not too bad. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Do let me know what you think of it, okay? Thanks for reading!