Notes: Um... spoilerwarning Y'know how Suzanne's mom took Percoset? I have a theory, based on her description of withdrawal, that Suzanne might've, too, when she was a bit older. So... just keep that in mind.

Distant

"Danny?"

Silence.

"Danny, please? Don't be mad."

He sighed slightly, his back still turned to the blonde girl sitting on the bed. "I'm not mad. I'm..." he hesitated, searching for the right word.

"Disappointed?" she asked in a small voice. He nodded, still staring out the window. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I think... I think you should go." It hurt to say it. There was a long pause, and a rustling as she got off the bed and pulled her clothes on.

"I'll see you at work," she said quietly. "Don't do anything stupid." Then she walked out, and Danny heard the door close behind her.

"Too late," he responded quietly, even though she wasn't there to hear it, and fingered the packet of pills in his pocket.

Fault

"He used," Suzanne told Matt, her tone and expression unnaturally flat.

"I- I don't... what happened?" Matt asked, his voice hushed and serious.

"He got high," she said, still flat. "It was my fault. You can fire me if you want. I deserve it."

Matt blinked, startled, and looked closer at Suzanne. Saw the guilt and pain in her eyes. Saw the circles under her eyes, from not sleeping. Saw the way she was twisting a tissue in her hands.

"No," he said gently. "But go home and get some sleep, okay?"

Suzanne nodded and left without another word.

Avoid

"Where's Suzanne?" Danny didn't bother knocking.

"Why yes, I had a good weekend, Danny, thanks for asking," Matt muttered. Then he shook his head. "She called me yesterday and told me she had a family emergency and had to go out of town. Why didn't you alre--"

"Shit!" Danny slammed his fist against the doorway, and winced slightly. Matt stared at him for a moment.

"She... didn't really have a family emergency, did she?" he asked slowly. Danny sighed and shook his head. "You guys fought?"

"Yeah," Danny said softly, his shoulders slumping. "I think I might've screwed up pretty bad."

Status

"Suzanne?"

Suzanne didn't turn around, didn't stop sorting through the papers that had piled up on her desk. Danny had to make due with watching her back. "Yes, Mr. Tripp?"

He grimaced a bit. She shouldn't be so formal, so distant. It answered his question without him having to even ask. They weren't okay. "I... It's good to..." He sighed. "Welcome back. We missed you."

"Thank you," she said. He waited a moment, then went back to his office. He felt tired, strung out, like he'd been crying for hours, even though he hadn't shed a tear. He'd missed her more than he'd imagined, he'd wanted to apologize for how he'd reacted, he'd wanted to hold her, kiss her again.

She hadn't turned around once.

Flaw

"It's a perfect plan," Danny said determinedly as he typed up an email.

"Oh, yeah," Matt agreed, grabbing one of Danny's uneaten french fries. "It's perfect. Except for one thing."

"What?"

"You tried this before with Jordan, and it didn't work."

Danny stopped typing for a moment, but didn't look away from the screen. "This is different," he said, almost as if he were trying to convince himself. "This is different and it'll work. She'll come back."

There was a long pause. "Yeah."

Danny sighed and deleted the email without sending it.