DISCLAIMER: I still, sadly, don't own any of the characters so please, nobody sue me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know, it's short… again! But it kind of ran it's natural course so I hope that you don't mind and still enjoy it! Please R&R if you do!
'How's she doing?' Jack questioned as Danny wandered the corridor, his voice, as ever, assuring, yet his tone somewhat concerned.
'Oh, you know Sam,' Danny attempted to lighten the mood, rolling his eyes slightly as he spoke. 'She's hurting… but she won't admit it.' He looked over to where his fellow agents were discussing the day's events. Everyone was shaken up, trying desperately to fill in all the necessary paperwork in a way that would mean that it would be impossible for their words to be twisted at a later date. It was the same pressure every day, but somehow this felt different – no, it was different.
'I'm going to take her home, if that's ok?' Danny asked, desperate to get Sam away from the environment of such pressure and gossip. Jack nodded, seeing the sense in his actions and knowing that if anyone was going to be able to get through to Sam, then it would be Danny. 'You take care of her though, yeah?' Danny nodded, already half way down the corridor to the office where Sam had been sitting ever since she had returned from the scene.
'Do you want me to take you home?' he asked gently. 'Jack said that it's ok,' he added quickly before she could use it as an excuse why she might have to stay. Sam got slowly to her feet, wrapping her coat around her. 'Yeah, that'd be great…. thanks.'
The two walked side-by-side to the car-park. A casual observer might have thought that they were in a long-term relationship, or maybe even married, but inside, both knew that they made the prefect friend for each other and that anything more than friendship might drive two such strong-minded individuals apart. Danny unlocked his old estate and, ever the gentleman, opened the passenger door for Sam, who obliged by getting in with a forced smile and a word of gratitude.
They were a few miles down the road when the first attempt at conversation was made by Danny, who was somewhat un-nerved by the awkward silence. 'How are you feeling?' he tried, trying to disguise it as small-talk but in reality desperate for Sam to at least start to admit the truth.
'Fine,' she answered predictably, shrugging her shoulders as she did so, as if wondering why she wouldn't be. She continued to stare intently at the road ahead and subconsciously ran her hand through her hair. 'All in a day's work,' she mumbled to herself somewhat sarcastically.
'You know what Sam?' Danny spoke again thoughtfully yet with intent, not longer prepared to put up with the façade. 'What?' she asked inquisitively, twisting her body around so that she was facing him.
'It's alright not to be fine,' he answered. 'No-one expects you always to take everything in your stride, no-one expects you never to falter, and no-one expects you always to be as solid as a rock. You were involved in a shooting. You were almost shot… again. No-one expects you to be fine.'
She paused for an instant, somewhat thrown before looking Danny back in the eye and replying simply, 'I do.'
Danny didn't know how to respond to this, he knew that she expected a lot of herself but this was… this was crazy.
The two sat side by side for a little while longer, neither speaking, neither needing more company than their own thoughts. Without a word spoken, Sam returned to staring out of the window, watching the world rush past her. The same trees that she saw every day swayed in the gentle evening breeze, the same views that she saw everyday, and yet something had changed, something that she couldn't quite bring herself to admit. Like it or not, the fact remained – something had happened and the effects would surely have to be more than merely a short-term ringing in her ears.
Danny glanced at her, desperately trying to understand what was going through her head. It amazed him that she still showed no sign of emotion. 'Rock solid,' he thought to himself. 'Absolutely rock solid.'
The only thing is that rocks don't have emotions; rocks don't feel anything when the tide launches its attack on them. Humans, whether it's a blessing or a curse, do, and sometime or later, Danny knew that Sam was going to have to face up to this fact. He just hoped that she would be able to do this sooner rather than later.