"Mom? Mom! No! Mom!" Steve was brought out of his deep thoughts by the weak sobs coming from Grace.

"Hey, hey Grace. It's Uncle Steve. Grace? Open your eyes. It's okay," Steve's voice was calm and gentle as he held on to Grace's arm.

Slowly, the sobs became softer and Grace's eyes opened. "Uncle Steve?" Her face was contorted with confusion and fear.

"Grace, you're alright."

Grace got up into a seating position and Steve pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into his shoulder. Steve stroked her hair as he comforted her, "Shh, you're safe now. It's all okay, you hear me? It's over now."

In between sobs, Grace managed to whisper, "Uncle Steve. My mom?"

"She's okay, Grace. And you're okay." Steve answered hurriedly, not wanting Grace to imagine otherwise. Grace heaved a sigh of relief as she continued crying on his shoulder for a few minutes.

Grace broke free from the embrace and looked into Steve's eyes, "Where's Danno? He came for me, didn't he?" The events that occurred were still foggy but Grace vaguely recalled seeing her father in the warehouse and getting her out.

"Of course he did. He's your Danno, isn't he? He'll come see you soon." Steve smiled reassuringly.

...

Danny opened his eyes slowly. It took him a while to realise where he was and what had happened. He looked around, no one was in the room. He sat up on his bed, letting out a groan as a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. A wave of dizziness hit him as the room seemed to spin, causing him to sit unmoving for several seconds, trying to collect himself. Once the pain settled and his dizziness subsided, Danny pulled out the IV lines and wires he was connected to, just as the door opened and Tani emerged, running towards him.

"Danny! What are you doing?" Came Tani's frantic voice.

"Where is Grace?" Danny swallowed.

"Danny, she's okay. She hit her head pretty hard and has a concussion but the doctor said she'll be fine in a couple of days. You don't have to worry," Tani assured him.

Danny heaved a sigh of relief. His daughter was still alive, "How long was I out?"

"Four hours. You took a through and through, luckily it didn't hit any vitals but still you shouldn't be out of bed yet," Tani continued when she saw him trying to get up.

"Tani I need to go. Please. Bring me to her, " Danny begged.

"But Danny..."

"Tani, I'm fine. Please, I just want to see Grace," Danny continued.

Tani knew that she would be fighting a losing battle. Danny was stubborn and when it came to his kids, there was no stopping him. She held on to him as they made their way to her room.

"Steve?" Danny called out to his partner who was sitting next to Grace's bed. "How is she?"

Steve rushed up from his seat and jogged towards Danny while eyeing Tani. Tani shrugged her shoulders and returned him with a guilty look. "Danny, what are you doing here? You alright?"

"I'm okay, Steve." Danny turned to look at his daughter who was lying all too still on the bed.

"Danny she's okay. She was awake for a short while earlier. There's nothing to worry about." Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. "You should be resting, buddy. I'll get you as soon as she wakes again."

"No, I said I'm okay," Danny tried his best to convince his team mates. "Hey Steve, how's Rachel doing?"

"She's fine. The knife did some damage and they had to remove a small part of her spleen but the surgery went smoothly. It'll take some time but she will be okay," Steve explained. He was worried about Danny. Danny was running around worrying about everyone else but himself. So much so that he ignored his own injury.

Danny listened to Steve's words in dismay. It was obvious that Rachel's injuries weren't as trivial as Steve made it out to be. "I got to see her."

...

Danny gazed at Rachel's face intently. He lifted his hand and traced her forehead gently. The bruising on her face was still apparent but her face was at least not as pale as he had last seen her.

"Danny?" Rachel called out softly as her eyes peeked open.

"Hey, Rachel," Danny whispered, giving her a small smile.

"Danny, are you okay? Steve said you were shot," Rachel asked, not hiding the concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. How are you feeling?" Danny redirected the question.

"I'm okay. I mean it hurts, I didn't know getting stabbed hurt this much. but I'm okay," Rachel managed a smile.

Danny took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Rachel. I'm so sorry.."

"Danny. This isn't your fault.."

"No? Because the way I see it, if it wasn't for me, none of these would have happened. Your life and Grace's were put in danger today because of me. How is that not my fault?" Danny interrupted.

Rachel fell silent.

"He hurt you and Grace. He came after my family. If Charlie wasn't with Stan, he would have hurt him too," Danny shuddered at the thought of his young son being hurt by the psychopath. "I thought I lost both of you today, Rachel. I could have been too late. Both you and Grace could have died. I'm so sorry. I failed to protect you and Grace. I told her I cared about her, and I want to keep her safe but I failed, Rachel."

"Danny," Rachel reached out her hand to his. "You didn't fail. You brought her back. You protected her. And you saved my life too. You did all you could to protect us. Steve told me what you did to get Grace back safely. Danny you're a good father, don't you ever doubt that."

"Am I, Rachel. A good father would never let this happen to his daughter. This is not even the first time someone's used Grace as a leverage against me." Thinking about it made Danny feel sick. He hadn't thought about it earlier but now he realised this was the second time that Grace's life was put in danger because of him. First Peterson, now Reyes.

"You got her back both times. All that matters right now is that the person who did this is behind bars and Grace is alright." Rachel stared at Danny who looked more broken than he had ever been before. "Please, Danny. Don't put this on yourself."

Danny couldn't answer. Nobody but him knew how close Reyes was to killing Grace. Grace was so close to not being alright. She had a loaded gun pointed to her head. It would have taken only a second for Emilio to pull the trigger. My whole world could have come crashing down instantaneously. And it would all have been because of me.

...

Steve scrutinised Danny's fatigued face. He wanted Danny to go back to his room and rest but he knew his partner was extremely stubborn. If he asked Danny to return to his room, he would risk an argument and he decided against it. He led Danny to Grace's room again.

If Danny was being honest with himself, he could hardly stand any longer. He was tired and with every step he took, the world spun around him. Lucky for him, Steve's firm grip on him steadied him. He needed to be by Grace's side when she woke up. To assure her that she's okay. To tell her he loved her.

"Steve, you go. I want to stay here with Grace." Danny said as he settled into the seat next to her bed.

"Hey buddy, you need to remember that you're a patient too. You look terrible right now. You need to get back in bed."

"Steve, I'm okay. I've got all I need here," he said turning to look at Grace. "You should go home and rest, you were up all night."

Steve neither looked convinced nor did he look like he was about to relent. "Okay I won't push myself, okay? I will call the nurse when I feel like I need to get back to bed, i promise," Danny assured.

Shaking his head in dissatisfaction, Steve gave in, "Okay, buddy. You take care." Steve turned to look at Grace and placed his hand on Grace's head, gently stroking her hair, "And you, my girl, you get better soon. I'll see you later."

"Steve?" Danny called as Steve headed for the door. "Thank you."

Steve nodded and left the father and daughter duo to have some time alone. Steve wasn't going home yet though. There was something else he needed to do.

Danny dragged his chair closer towards the bed. He placed Grace's palm in his. He couldn't help but notice the red ligature marks around her wrist. Scanning her face, Danny saw the strangulation marks around her neck and he felt a lump rise in his throat, thinking of what they had done to Grace. There was a bruise on her forehead. Danny lifted her hand and kissed it. He couldn't speak a word. Seeing the amount of suffering his daughter had to go through because of him was way too much for him to handle. He knew everyone had said that it wasn't his fault, but that didn't make it true. He knew it was his fault, and nothing would change that. If he hadn't killed Marco, his son wouldn't have come after him and his family. For the first time that day, Danny allowed his tears to freely spill from his eyes. "I'm sorry, Grace, and thank you for being okay," was all he could manage. He didn't know if it was his imagination but he felt Grace's hand give him a light squeeze. He looked at her face, still peacefully unaware. Danny rested his head on the small remaining space on Grace's bed. He closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

...

Before heading home, Steve had one more person to visit. He drove his Silverado straight to the headquarters where Emilio was kept. The doors to the interrogation room opened and Emilio's head shot up when he saw Steve entering.

"So is it time to kill me yet?" Emilio laughed maliciously.

Steve headed straight for Emilio and wrapped his fingers aroung his neck. "Is this what you did to her, huh?" Steve tightened his grip around Emilio's neck, wiping away the smug grin off his face.

Steve released Emilio, leaving him choking and coughing. After catching his breath, Emilio stared straight at Steve and smiled, "Yeah, I did that. You should have seen her face. Oh yeah I also slapped her face." He turned to show his left cheek, taunting Steve to slap him.

Steve felt the blood rush to his head. Lou was right. He was an animal. Steve punched him squarely in the jaw.

"Oh Danno couldn't come beat me up himself so he sent you? I like him better. Oh wait, how rude of me to forget... is he dead?" He could taste the metallic taste of blood and he spit it out exaggeratedly on the floor.

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if he was," Steve hissed.

"Oh pity..."

"HEY YOU LISTEN UP. What you did, let me tell you it was all in vain. You're just an idiot. You think you managed to avenge your father? You didn't. All you did was check yourself in for a long time in prison."

"Do yourself a favour will you? Make sure I stay behind bars because if not, the next time that blondie won't be so lucky. Tell him I would love to see him again. Really enjoyed our time together. Ahhh you have no idea, when I told him his daughter was dead, oh, I kid you not, you should have seen that too," Emilio laughed.

"STOP LAUGHING! WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY?" Emilio was really starting to get under Steve's skin. Steve couldn't fathom what Danny must have gone through to hear that Grace was dead.

"You know I really wasn't expecting that. That idiot, he was gonna drive the car off a cliff and kill himself along with me. I was going to play around with him a bit more but he was so eager to end it." Emilio shook his head, cackling. "Ahh we could have had more fun."

"HEY, HEY, I'm gonna make sure you spend the rest of your sorry life behind bars and you are never coming near Danny or his family again! Because the next time that happens, the bullet won't end up in your thigh, it'll be right here," Steve used his finger and pressed it against Emilio's forehead. "Just like your father."

Emilio stopped laughing and he stared menacingly at Steve.

"Can't bring yourself to laugh now, can you? You don't scare me. You're nothing." Steve stormed out of the room.

...