On Sunday morning, Danny did as Maddie directed him. After a good night's sleep, he stopped by the hospital first thing in the morning and then went to Maddie's small, one-bedroom apartment on the upper West side. She met him at the door wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt.

"Over ten years in New York and still not a Knicks fan? That's almost blasphemous, McGrath," he said as he greeted her with a smirk.

She laughed. "Well neither team has been much to cheer about lately. I'm still basking in the glory days of the 90's."

Danny remembered they'd watched countless games together. Jason was never a basketball fan. The Knicks would almost always lose to the Bulls back then. "Those were the days—not that I remember them that clearly," he responded with a smile as he walked into the apartment. He noticed a pizza on the coffee table surrounded by mounds of law books and study guides. "Isn't it a little early for pizza?"

"It's never too early for pizza. Don't you remember? We'd always order pizza when we had to study for anything. It was like a necessity."

"I remember thinking tequila was more of a necessity," he responded with a wry smile.

"Right. I modified your regime this time. I honestly don't know how you did it back then," she said as they both took a seat on the couch.

"Oh, well that's easy," he said as he sat down on the sofa. "I'm what AA calls a high-functioning alcoholic. Apparently, my motivation to succeed and not to fail allowed me to drink myself into oblivion without flunking out of law school; although, I came close at times. I had to talk to a few professors into letting me retake exams I slept through."

"I do remember that," she replied taking a seat next to him. "Jason and I used to get so mad at you. We'd spend weeks studying and take our test on time, and you'd charm some grad assistant into giving the test at a later time."

"I guess that's what they mean by high-functioning," he said matter-of-factly.

"How's Sylvia?" Maddie asked changing the subject.

"Good. She's good. She's tired, and she can't wait for them to bring Angel into her room, but other than that, she's good."

"How are you? Did you get some sleep last night."

"Yes, ma'am. I followed your orders to the letter."

Maddie smiled. "That's nice to hear. What do you say we get started, then?"

Danny nodded as he took a slice of pizza. They spent the rest of the morning, afternoon and evening studying. The only breaks they took were to talk about Rafael's case. Before they realized it, it was close to 10 p.m, and they were sitting on the floor with their backs against the sofa surrounded by books and papers.

Danny rubbed his eyes after looking at his watch. "You realize we've been at this for twelve hours? You're a slave driver, McGrath."

"I know, but I think you are really ready. You know this stuff," she said genuinely.

"Knowing it now and knowing it when I take the exam are two different things," he replied shaking his head.

"You're going to do great," she responded sincerely as put her hand on his leg.

Danny smiled as he put his hand on top of hers. "You know, underneath your hard as nails exterior, you're really one of the sweetest people I've ever known."

"Don't tell anyone. You'll ruin the rep I've built the last few years."

"My lips are sealed," he responded quietly as he removed his hand from hers and gently tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. He let his fingers rest on her neck as he leaned into her.

Because it was late and she was tired, her lips parted as her eyes locked with his. They stared into each other's sleepy eyes for what seemed like several minutes before leaning closer to each other. While still staring at each other, precariously on the verge of kissing, Maddie bit her bottom lip before softly stating, "This isn't a good idea."

Danny traced his fingers down her neck and whispered, "I tend to agree, but for the life of me, I can't think of a reason why it's not a good idea right now."

Maddie smiled as she took his hand from her neck and kissed it lightly. "I can give you two fairly good reasons. First, I'm a woman in severe rebound mode. I haven't had sex since Jason and I separated. It would be too easy for me just to get lost in this. Second, you are under a lot of stress, and you want to escape. I'm kind of vulnerable here—

we both are. I don't want either of us to get hurt."

"I won't hurt you," he replied. "I thought we were getting closer—"

Maddie shook her head as she interrupted him. "I want to help your brother and his family. I want to be your friend again, but we can't be anything else. You're needy right now. You're going in twenty different directions, and you want to connect with something…someone, so you'll feel grounded. I know you, Danny. I can be your friend, but I can't be anything else."

Suddenly feeling the need to put distance between them, Danny nodded his head as he quickly rose to his feet. "You're right. It's late and we're both tired. Thanks for helping me today."

"You're welcome. You're going to do great, Danny," she said with a reassuring smile.

Danny returned an uneasy smile to her and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead before walking out the door.

Maddie hadn't meant to hurt Danny, but she knew she couldn't afford to be anything more than friends with him. As she cleaned up the mess of law books and papers, her mind wandered back to the days of living with Jason and Danny.

During the Christmas break right after she'd met Danny, Maddie had gone back to the apartment early—the day after Christmas. She'd thought she'd have the apartment to herself because Danny had told them that he was going home with his current girlfriend – a vapid eighteen year old aspiring model whom he met at the gym. She thought he could do so much better, but hadn't said anything to him.

She settled into bed for the night when she heard someone come in the front door. Grabbing the baseball bat by the bed, she opened her door a crack and was surprised but relieved to hear Danny's voice in the living room. He wasn't alone, but he wasn't with the aspiring model, either. Watching through the crack of the door, she saw Danny guide the girl over to the couch as they kissed passionately and removed their clothes all at the same time. She knew she should close her door, but for some reason, she was spellbound, watching until Danny had finally led the now nearly naked girl into his bedroom. After, she'd tried to sleep, but it had been impossible. She'd heard Danny's conquests before, but for some reason it was louder this time. The girl moaned and grunted every time the headboard hit the wall, and then she started to scream his name and say other things that made even Maddie blush.

With each passing moment, Maddie felt herself grow grew angrier and angrier. She couldn't understand why Danny always drifted from one girl to the next, leaving a trail of broken hearts. She'd consoled a few of them when they called or stopped by, wondering why they hadn't heard from him. Whenever she'd confront him about his behavior, he'd told her it was none of her business and she should focus on her own relationship. Maddie had known he was right, but she'd grown to care for him. She had known that Danny had so much potential, but he seemed destined to drink himself into oblivion.

Eventually, the sounds of sex ended. Not more than five minutes later, she heard Danny's door open. Disgusted at the thought that he was going to make the girl leave in the middle of the night, she rose from bed. When she opened her door, however, she saw him walking towards the kitchen by himself. Remaining in her doorway, she watched as he opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of beer and felt thankful he'd put boxers on, considering he thought he was alone in the apartment. Still, her stomach felt queasy as she watched him. His chest and back were slick with sweat, and his hair was sticking out every which way. Focused on staring at him, she didn't notice he saw her in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he looked at her in surprise.

Finally snapping out of her dazed state, she'd met his eyes nervously. "Um…I…um…I came home early. I thought…I thought you were going away for the holidays. I didn't know you were here until…" she trailed off as she looked at his bedroom door.

"I decided not to go. You should wear a bell or something. I had no idea you were here. Sorry about…," he said as he motioned toward the bedroom.

Maddie nodded. "What happened to the model?"

"How do you know she's not in there?" he asked with an amused glance.

"I saw you come in with her. It's a different girl."

A slight smile came to Danny's lips as he looked at the couch where he and the girl started their encounter. "Did you enjoy the show, McGrath?"

"You're really pathetic, you know that? I guess I should be thankful you're not sending her home in the cold."

"Are you kidding? The night's still young. No sense in sending her home just yet," he said callously. Maddie could tell Danny was drunk again. He was always more hurtful and inconsiderate when he was drunk.

"When are you going to stop, Danny?" she asked with a concern-filled voice.

"Stop what?" he responded as he walked towards her. "You think there's something wrong with me because I like having a good time? Because I'm not tying myself down like you and Jason? Doesn't it ever get old McGrath? The same person, the same conversations, the same sex every night. Life's too short and we're way too young to live like that," he said as he stopped just inches from her.

Maddie crossed her arms self-consciously suddenly very aware that she was only wearing a t-shirt. The stench of alcohol was thick on his breath. "If I thought this was really making you happy, then I wouldn't say anything. If you are really happy living like this, then why can't you go a day without getting wasted? You're not acting like this because you are carefree. It's because you hate yourself and don't think you deserve any better," she stated matter-of-factly. "It wouldn't be so bad if you were just hurting yourself, but you bring others into it, and that's not fair."

Danny smirked. "Stay out of it. This isn't your concern," he said as he leaned even closer to her. "I'm not your concern."

Maddie softened as she looked in his hurt-filled eyes. "It is our concern because we care about you. We love you, Danny and we don't want you to screw up everything that you have worked so hard to accomplish. And you will screw it up if you keep acting so carelessly."

"We're concerned? Who's we, McGrath? You and Jason? Spare me. I think you two like looking down on me because then you don't have to look at your own problems."

"Jason and I are fine."

"You and Jason are a cliché. You're together because you both think you have the same goals. Can you really say you are as excited about being with him now as you were when you first met him?"

"I love him. We're committed to each other. I wouldn't expect you to understand—,"

"What's going on?" a tired voice interrupted.

Maddie and Danny looked to his doorway to find a young woman wrapped in his sheet.

"Nothing, baby. Go back to bed," Danny replied.

"Who's she?" the girl asked as she looked at Maddie. They were still standing conspicuously close to each other.

Danny sighed heavily. "She's my roommate's girlfriend. We're just talking. Go back--,"

"I'm Maddie," she interrupted as she rolled her eyes and stepped away from Danny. "And you are?" she asked as she walked toward the petite girl with long dark hair and exotic-looking features.

"Amy," the girl replied with a smile. "Um…I didn't know anyone else was here," she continued in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Neither did I," Maddie responded. "Are you student at NYU?"

Amy giggled. "Gosh no. I…uh…I tend bar across the street."

Maddie nodded in polite recognition assuming that Danny just picked her up that evening at the bar. "Well, nice meeting you, Amy. I'm going back to bed," she said as she looked at Danny one last time before shutting her door.

Maddie expected to hear them in the next room again that night. She figured Danny would take the opportunity to make a point, but she didn't hear another word or sound out of them. They were both gone by the time she got up the next morning.

Later that day, she went for a run in the park. She completed one lap around the water when she heard someone behind her. Her heart-rate quickened even more until she looked behind her and saw Danny running towards her. They fell in step with each other and ran their usual route. Afterwards, they caught their breath while sitting on a park bench.

"Do you hate me, McGrath?" Danny asked suddenly interrupting their comfortable silence.

Maddie shook her head. "How can you even ask that? Of course, I don't hate you. I am worried about you."

"I'm sorry about the way I spoke to you last night."

"You don't owe me an apology. You owe that girl an apology. You owe the model an apology. You can't treat people like that. It's not right."

"I never make any promises. Amy wasn't with me last night because she thought we'd hit it off and start dating. She was with me for one reason."

"That's enough for you? I'll never understand that, Danny."

"I would never expect you to understand," he replied in a whisper. "Look, I know I have…issues, but I don't lie to anyone. I never make any promises. But if my lifestyle is hurting you or Jason, then I'll be gone—"

"No!" Maddie interrupted. "We don't want…I don't want you to go," she said taking his hand.

"I don't want to go. You two are really important to me, and I think what you have together is really great," he said remembering the things he'd said the previous evening. "Still friends, McGrath?"

She squeezed his hand and smiled at him. "Always friends."

Maddie smiled as remembered how close they had once been. Her smile turned to a frown as she thought about the way their friendship had ended. She and Jason had always regretted not taking a harder line with Danny. In so many ways, they had enabled his self-destructive ways. Danny had always been able to talk them into forgiving and forgetting until he did the one thing that Jason could never forget.