The door closed behind Robby and Kreese and still no one moved. Miguel looked to his sensei for direction, but the man was still only staring at the door. A moment later, Johnny took a shaky breath, shifted his feet and with eyes still on the door said, "Let's go."

The others shared a look between them as Johnny moved slowly to the side of the van. As he gripped the door handle, Johnny bent his head forward and closed his eyes. It was only for a second, but enough that Daniel's voice was laced with concern as he said, "Johnny, why don't you let me drive?" At the incredulous stare he received he continued, "You were…" he looked at the kids a few feet away before lowering his voice further. "You nearly died in there; at the very least you were unconscious. You probably shouldn't be driving."

Johnny also looked to the teens; Miguel looked better than before, but it was still bad. "I've had worse. Besides, Miguel can ride with me and… I'm not leaving my van."

"Ok, first of all it's not your van. Second, you may have driven in worse shape, but are you really willing to take the risk with Miguel in the car?" It was a low blow, but if Johnny had no concern for his own life, the same couldn't be said about his feelings about Miguel.

Johnny took a deep breath and was only partially successful in holding back the ensuing coughs. "You're lucky I'm too tired to argue with you. But I'll be back tomorrow to get my van."

Daniel just rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Johnny. Come on, my car's this way."

When they reached the Audi, Daniel watched as Johnny gingerly lowered himself into the car and once he was down, put his head back and closing his eyes as he exhaled; again, eliciting a cough. "Hey, Sam. Why don't you go ahead and drive back with Miguel; we'll meet you at the apartment complex."

"Ok, Dad," she replied. "See you soon." Both teens walked over to the other vehicle and as they got in, Daniel waved and got into his own car.

…

The drive was mostly silent as Johnny seemed content to recline against his headrest. Every once in a while he would clear his throat and reach a hand up to rub at his undoubtedly sore neck, but his eyes remained closed throughout. While normally Daniel would welcome the silence, in this instance he found himself growing more and more concerned about its implications regarding the physical and mental state of the man beside him. Hell, he'd almost welcome Johnny adjusting the radio or talking with his usual machismo.

Looking over at his passenger yet again, he was startled when Johnny said, "Take a picture, Larusso. It'll last longer."

Daniel scoffed, "You're not exactly looking picture-perfect at the moment. Seriously, are you feeling ok?" he asked, his tone taking on a more serious edge.

Johnny opened his eyes to look over at Daniel and then once more closed his eyes. "I'm fine. Just been a long day."

"I hear that." Silence filled the car again for several minutes before he spoke again. "You know," he started hesitantly, "we need to talk about what happened. And what we're gonna do moving forward."

"What's to talk about? Terms are set; now we just gotta get the kids ready for the tournament."

Daniel's voice grew louder with frustration. "You know it's not that simple. We're gonna have to work together on this. Train our students side by side. I learned some things back in Okinawa that'll give our side an edge, but you…" he hesitated, unsure how to broach this particular subject.

"I what?" For the first time since getting in the car, Johnny sat fully upright. "I was on his side? I'm a traitor? Is that what you were going to say?" His voice rose in volume with each question; though the strain of it was plainly audible.

"Johnny… you know that's not what… I mean, I wasn't going to…" He stammered over his words. "That's not how I meant it. I'm sorry." The rest of the drive was silent.

When Daniel pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later, he could see Sam's car already there. Johnny opened his eyes and seeing where he was, moved to get out of the vehicle. Moving was the last thing he wanted to do, but there was no way he was going to show that kind of weakness in front of Larusso. He made his way slowly up and out of the car.

Daniel looked once more like a caught fish, opening and closing his mouth on the verge of speaking. Johnny beat him to it, turning back to the car and bending to look at Daniel through the open door. "Listen, thanks for what you did back there. I know you didn't come for me, but... thanks."

"You're welcome. And Johnny, we do need to talk about…"

"I know," Johnny interrupted. "And we will, just…not tonight."

"Alright. We'll talk tomorrow. Goodnight, Johnny."

"'Night, Larusso." He closed the door and made his way slowly into the courtyard towards his apartment.

tbc

AN: Sincere thanks to you for reading and I hope that you'll stick with the story as it develops. I'm doing my best to write true to the established characters and welcome your feedback and suggestions.