Even though her morning with Danny had ended abruptly, Katie stayed in a great mood all day. Her father commented on her mood when she met him for dinner at her favorite upscale restaurant, Nobu.

"Look at that smile. You look radiant, sweetheart," he said as he pulled the chair out for her before sitting down.

"Thank you. I'm feeling fairly radiant."

"Is Danny going to join us?" her father asked, looking around the restaurant.

"No. He was called in for a case early this morning, and I haven't heard from him all day. That's not unusual, though," she replied, still smiling as she took her surroundings. Then she turned to her father and said, "Thanks for getting the reservation, Dad. I tried to get in here a few weeks ago, but didn't have enough clout."

"My pleasure," he said as he looked over the menu. "That's too bad about Danny. I was afraid he was avoiding me. He never seems to be able to make it to our dinners."

"He's not avoiding you. He's just been really busy, and he's genuinely thankful that you put him in touch with Mr. Miller's firm. According to Danny, they are close to making some sort of deal that will limit his brother's jail time to a year. He could get out in six months with good behavior."

"He actually called me last week to let me know as much, and to thank me again. Of course, he is still insisting that he pay me back."

"That doesn't surprise me," she responded, shaking her head. "He's beyond stubborn about stuff like that. He's just not used to having things easy or getting any kind of handout. On the other hand, I respectfully accept your generosity with my student loans."

After enjoying dinner, Katie's cell phone rang while she was waiting for her father to get his car. Looking at the display, she answered, "Hey stranger. Guess what you missed out on tonight?"

She heard Danny laugh before he answered. "Let me guess. Your Dad finally got you into Nobu."

"Yes, and it was fantastic. We'll have to come back and use his name to get a table."

"Sounds good."

"How's your case? Everything wrapped up?"

"As much as a case involving international terrorism can be wrapped up."

"What?" she asked in a confused tone.

"Nothing. I'll explain later. I was just calling to check in with you. Martin and I are about to transport someone to lockup, and then I'll be headed home."

"Any news on Vivian?"

"Not yet. I think Jack is going over there, so maybe we'll know something soon. Hang on a sec," he said and then she heard him say something in a muffled tone before returning to her. "Listen, baby, I have to go. You want to meet me at my place in about an hour?"

"If that's what you want, unless you're tired—"

"Never too tired for you. I want to see you. I've got to go, though."

"See you soon. Bye."

"Bye," she heard him say before hanging up the phone.

As Katie put her phone in her purse, her father walked up to her and commented, "There's that smile again."

XXX

When Danny hadn't made it home within an hour, Katie wasn't very worried. She just assumed that he was running late. When he hadn't made it home in two hours, she started to worry, because he was usually pretty good about calling her. Yet she hesitated to call him because she knew that he could have gotten called back in to the office for some reason. Sitting on his couch with her knees pulled up to her chest, she turned on the evening news to pass the time.

"We have an update on the late-breaking story that we reported on earlier. According to our reports, two federal agents exchanged gunfire while transporting—"

Her mind going blank after the word 'transporting', Katie shook her head to try to focus on the reporter's words.

"One of the agents was hit and has been transported to a nearby trauma center. One of the assailants died on the scene, another died en route to the hospital, and the third is still at large. We continue to receive updates on this story—"

Standing up, Katie hurried into the kitchen and picked up the phone. Her fingers trembled and her heart raced as she tried to dial the numbers of Danny's cell phone. Just as she was about to dial the last number, the front door opened.

Dropping the phone, she rushed to the door and gasped when she saw him. He hurried in the door not bothering to take his key out of the lock. Before he could go past her, she grabbed his arm.

"Danny, Danny, oh my God. What happened? Are you okay?" she asked as she almost became sick at the sight of all the blood on his shirt and hands.

As if just noticing that she was there, he stopped and looked at her with the most haunting eyes she'd ever seen. "I…I…I can't talk now. I have to…" he started, but then he just continued back to the bedroom.

"Danny," she said with tears falling from her eyes as she tried to keep pace with him. "Are you okay? You look hurt."

"Martin's hurt," he said in almost a whisper as he took off his bloody shirt and trousers. "I'm fine. Martin's hurt," he said again. "I need a shower. The blood…I need to get the blood off…"

Walking into the bathroom, he didn't say anything else to her before getting into the shower. Katie sat on the edge of the bed hoping he'd be more coherent when he got out of the shower. Minutes later, he rushed out of the bathroom as he dried himself off. Again, he seemed to not even notice she was there. Hurrying, he grabbed clothes from drawers and his closet and started to dress.

"What are you doing, Danny? Tell me what happened. Is Martin okay?"

When he heard Martin's name, he stopped for moment. "I don't know," was all he could say.

After he put on his trousers and undershirt, he sat on the bed to put on his socks and shoes.

Kneeling in front of him, Katie tried again. "What are you doing? You're hurt, Danny. Your head is hurt, baby. You need to lie down."

Looking up at her sharply, he replied, "I have to get back out there. I have to find him. I can't explain anything now. I just have to get back out there." After he tied his shoes, he stood up and grabbed his shirt, coat and tie before going into the living room.

Following close behind, Katie watched as he put on his shirt and jacket. Looking in the mirror by the front door, he ran his hands through his hair to tame it and rubbed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he then exhaled as he started to open the front door.

"This isn't right. The news said there was a shootout. You shouldn't go back out there," Katie pleaded.

Taking another deep breath, Danny turned to her and put his hand on her face—the crazed, haunted look from moments earlier replaced with a calmer more focused stare. "I'm fine. Don't worry," he said. And she couldn't help but think he was practicing those words because he knew he'd have to say them again. "I'll call you later," he said and then walked out the door.

As he closed the door, Katie collapsed onto her knees. Feeling a combination of shock, worry and elation, she tried to stop herself from completely losing it. She almost felt guilty for the relief she'd felt felt when she'd seen Danny walk in the door, especially knowing now that Martin was hurt and that it must have been his blood on Danny's clothes. Not knowing what else to do, Katie just sat in that spot on the floor, desperately hoping Danny would come back, but knowing that he wouldn't. At least not for a long time.

After sitting there for an hour, she finally found the strength to get up. She went to the bedroom and gathered the bloody clothes from where Danny had taken them off. She put them in a plastic bag and set it by the door. Seeing the blood on his clothes made her think that she needed to do something. He was in no condition to be out there right now. Remembering that he kept of list of telephone numbers by the phone, she rummaged through the mail and other papers trying to find it.

Picking up the piece of paper, her finger traced along Jack Malone's name. Knowing Danny, Katie realized that he would never let his co-workers see how panicked and in shock he actually was. She knew she should tell them. She wanted to tell Jack Malone that Danny wasn't as strong and together as he always tried to appear. Biting her lip, everything inside of her was telling her to call him, but she knew Danny would never forgive her. Putting down the piece of paper, Katie sat down in the nearest chair and once again, started to cry. There was nothing she could do to help him.

XXX

He didn't call her. Hours passed, and she didn't hear a word. The only updates she received were from intermittant television reports about a manhunt for a mercenary named Emil Dornvald. Katie vaguely processed other details about a far away country called Makeeba and a suspected international terrorist named Adisa who died in the shootout. None of that made much sense to Katie, but it was her only link to Danny. Her breath hitched every time she heard a new update because she feared they would report another agent down.

And then late in the afternoon, a wave a relief swept over her when she heard the report that Emil Dorvald had been killed while being pursued by law enforcement. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the phone and willed it to ring, but it didn't. A few more hours passed and she was beginning to think he'd never come home. That's when she heard a knock on the door.

Hurrying to answer it, and sure it was Danny, she flung it open without even looking through the peephole. Her heart sank when she saw it wasn't him.

"Katie?" Samantha asked in surprise.

Nodding, Katie couldn't speak at first. And then a sense of panic overwhelmed her. "Oh God. Is Danny…is he?"

"He's fine. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…I didn't know you'd be here. I mean, I knew you were dating, but I didn't know you'd be here," Samantha stammered. "So Danny isn't here?"

"No…no…I haven't seen him since he stopped by here to change his clothes. I…I don't know where he is."

Samantha's face changed from concerned to calming. "I'm sure he's fine. He was with Jack when Dornvald was…," she stopped, not wanting to go into detail. "And then, I thought I'd see him at the hospital after that, but he never showed up there. I shouldn't have come here, but when he didn't answer his cell phone, I figured he just turned it off when he got home. He's probably back at the office. I'm sure he has paperwork to file on the shooting, and he just wants to get it done while it's still fresh in his mind," she reassured.

"How is Martin?" Katie asked as she suddenly remembered what Danny had told her about Martin and Samantha.

"Better. It was rough for a while, but things look good right now. I'm headed back there. Like I said, I just thought I'd see Danny at the hospital. When he never showed…" she didn't finish.

"Maybe I should call him," Katie said hesitantly.

Samantha nodded. "I'm sure he's at the office. I…um…I should get back to the hospital."

"Okay. I'll tell him you stopped by when he gets back," Katie said still trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Bye," Sam said as she walked away.

Katie closed the door and slid down onto the floor. She knew she should just be thankful that Danny was alive, but she couldn't help but feeling like she'd just lost a part of him.