A/N: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 26: Heart speaks.

Steve clung almost painfully to Danny´s arms and his head was hidden between his shoulders and pushing his friend´s chest with every unmercifully ragged sob he was a victim of.

Danny was surprised by the abrupt and sudden change of behavior. From being the goofy and annoying self, after apologizing Steve went directly and without notice to a crying mess snuggled up in front of him. Apparently he had an enormous burden on his head too, and this was the moment when it exploded.

Danny reacted from his stupor and, hugging his friend the best he could due to their uncomfortable positions, he patted him repeatedly on his back. The motion didn't help to soothe but instead Steve broke up more and cried long and disconsolately, without being able to catch up his breath at times.

Slowly calming down, blowing his nose and regaining his composure, Steve straightened up on the chair and locked eyes with Danny. The light blue eyes of his partner were as damp as his, clouded by oozing tears, in his case, silent ones. Danny just knew something was wrong the moment Steve tensed before going to the bathroom. His friend changed from a goofy mode, to a tensed and angry one, to a helpful and business one, to a goofy one again and now to a crying mess.

"Damn, I´m sorry Danny…I didn´t meant to make you cry, I´m so sorry, I don´t know…"

"Hey, zip it, ok?" Danny dried his own eyes and regained his composure really faster than his friend. He didn´t cry for himself, but for Steve and his family and ohana, all the people he knew that really suffered along with him. He has just now fallen into account of everyone´s suffering and his partner´s own calvary that this moths must have been for him too. Knowing and communicative eyes looked for and finally were able to maintain his friend´s clearly red, mortified and somehow guilty ones. They knew everything happening on their friend´s soul just by looking the other on the eyes. No words were needed to spoke what the heart already knew. But Danny also knew that talking was helpful, so he didn´t try to stop Steve´s relieving words that came out next, spited out with need and taking with them a lot of burden away.

"I missed you so much buddy…" Steve rubbed his eyes and cleared them from turbid tears. After drying his palms on the front of his shirt, he reached out and took Danny´s recently healed hands on his own. "I didn´t knew what else to do. I searched for you everywhere, every day and every hour and even in my sleep." Steve fought back the tears that were treating to reappear. Danny made an effort not to interfere and cut his friend´s relieving talking. Every person who worked with a partner knew the level of responsibility hanging on each other´s shoulders for the wellbeing of the person who trusted his back to the other. Danny perfectly knew that if the roles had been reversed he would be as mortified and feeling as guilty as Steve. He changed his mind and chose to interfere.

"I know you did everything and beyond, I don't doubt it for a second, so don't …"

"Danny, please, let me… let me do this" Danny closed his mouth and waited for his troubled friend to gather his feelings and thoughts together again. He rested his already tiring and aching back on the chair and waited for Steve to continue, promising to himself not to interrupt again.

"I need you to know that we didn´t cease to look for you". Danny almost lost the control he had over his mouth, but couldn´t avoid gesturing his exasperation. Did his friend really need to clarify that topic that he has since the first day considered an actual fact?

"Danny, come on, I know what you feel about it but I need to say it, I need I to let this out of my chest, ok?" Danny closed his eyes and nodded. Gesturing Steve to continue. "As time and months went by… I can´t imagine what you went through… but as time went by and we couldn´t find you… I… I, shouldn´t but I began to lose hope and to despair… I couldn´t cope with the thought of losing you. You´re my brother, great part of my life depends on you being there, on you being ok… on making sure you´re always safe…" Danny opened his eyes, finding Steve looking straight at him with red and slightly swollen ones. "I´m so sorry I didn´t find you sooner; for all the things and moments you had to endure alone; I´m so sorry this happened to you; I´m sorry I wasn´t there for you…" Steve´s voice faltered and gradually became lower and lower, almost imperceptible at the end, and this time he cried silently as Danny began to speak when he felt Steve wouldn´t add anything else to his tortuous speech.

"You know? Even if you doubted yourself I didn´t; even if you lost hope I, every day, knew you´d enter that door and bring me home." Danny made a pause to obviously compose himself after having to remember those feelings before adding "That´s what kept me fighting, because I knew you´d find me and bring me back to Grace and Charlie and see them again, to be on their lives and see them grow up. I couldn't bear any other thought. I trust you, Steve, always have and always will, and that´s what kept me alive and didn't allow me to lose hope."

Steve dried his eyes on the sleeves of his shirt and gently and affectionately pressed Danny´s neck with both hands, bringing his forehead to rest on his.

"And here I am, you see? You can´t get rid of me that easy."

Steve chuckled soundly and both smiled, sharing a bonding moment, one of those moments that Steve thought that would be forever taken away from him. Anguish was replaced with happiness and hopeless with a future of the eternal friendship. His heart expanded and was put in evidence by his mouth.

"I love you, buddy."

"I love you too."