Wow its been ages since I update but life in general got in the way. My most sincere apologies for that. I hope that this chapter is ok and hopefully I'll update again soon. Please R & R, I really appreciate it. Also if anyone has any suggestions on how they would like the story to go, please feel free to let me know!

Steve sat on a bench in the hospital corridor watching the sunlight glint off of the polished marble floor. In front of him the door to the private room was firmly shut, the blinds closed against the outside world. Behind that door his friend and partner grieved, refusing to leave the body of his child. His mind drifted back to earlier events. Back at the mariner, Danny had refused to let the paramedics take Grace, steadily becoming more aggressive and hysterical. Eventually Seven had placed her fingers on the back of the Detective's neck, but before the sedation could kick in Danny had lashed out, catching Seven full in the face with his elbow, knocking her flat on her back, blood running from her broken nose. Chin had caught Danny as he slumped sideways, whilst Steve had gone to Seven. The medic had managed to sit up, her hands going to her face and as Steve knelt beside her he heard the cartilage snap back into place. On their arrival at the hospital Seven had disappeared whilst Grace and Danny were taken to a private room. A little later Rachael had arrived but Stan was nowhere to be seen. Chin and Kono had gone back to HQ. As awful as they felt, there were procedures to follow.

A pair of black boots appeared in his vision, he looked up. Seven looked down at him, her wet hair brushed back from her face. Her face was now clean of the soot and blood that had caked it earlier but the smell of smoke still clung to her uniform, burnt threads visible on her elbows and shoulders.

"Anything?" she said, motioning to the door. Steve shook his head. Seven sat down beside him, folding her arms and legs,

"The doctors want to take Grace for post mortem, speed up the investigation"

"You know COD, don't you?"

"Blow to the back of the head caused cerebral haemorrhaging. She was dead before the fire started, at least it was quick"

Steve looked at her sharply,

"That's very unfeeling Seven, you seem completely unaffected by this!"

Severn didn't look at him,

"For one, burning is an awful way to die so be thankful she knew nothing about it, secondly, you do this job long enough you learn to cope with these things, something I would have thought you would know plenty about considering your line of work and thirdly", she turned her head towards him, pinning him with an intense gaze,

"Don't think for one second that I'm unaffected. Just because I'm good at putting on a facade, doesn't mean that I don't care"

It was then Steve noticed the slight redness that rimmed Seven's bright blue eyes. Before he could say anything the door to the private room opened and Rachael stepped out accompanied by a nurse. Steve stood and embraced her, Seven stood just behind his shoulder,

"I'm so sorry Rachael", he said softly into her hair. Rachael stepped back, wiping her eyes.

"Thank you Steve" her gaze settled on Seven and the emblems on her uniform,

"Are you the Medic that tried to save her?"

Seven nodded,

"My deepest sympathies Ma'am. I only wish I could have done more"

"You tried" Rachael said quietly, before the nurse steered her away. Tentatively the pair stepped into the room. Inside, vases of flowers created a kaleidoscope of colours, the petals glowing in the late evening sunlight. Grace lay amongst the crisp white sheets, her face peaceful and serene. Danny was by her side, tenderly holding her small pale hand in his. The Detective had his back to them and didn't react when Steve approached. Seven stayed by the door.

"Danny?" Steve said softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder,

"The doctor's need you to let them take Grace"

Danny tensed, shrugging Steve's hand off of him,

"No" he croaked,

"Please Danny, don't make this harder than it already is...please"

After a moment of tension Danny sighed, hanging his head in resignation. He stood, placing Grace's hand by her side, before leaning over to kiss her forehead and gently stroke her hair. Only then did her turn to them, his face drawn and grey. His blue eyes were red with grief and ringed with dark circles. Steve stepped back to allow the blonde man to walk to the door. Seven moved aside as Danny walked towards her like a zombie,

"Danny, if there is anything I can do to help _"

Danny turned on her,

"I think you've done enough don't you? What good have you done huh? What use are you?" he growled, looming over her despite their similar heights. Seven, uncharacteristically took a step back, clearly alarmed and hurt by the onslaught,

"I...I tried – "

"No don't!...Just don't!"

Danny stormed by her and disappeared down the corridor. Steve went to rush after him but paused in the doorway,

"Sev-"

"I'm fine, go after him"

After a second or two Steve obeyed, leaving the Medic alone.

Steve found Danny in the male toilets. The Detective was gripping the sink so hard his knuckled were white, his forehead pressed against the cool mirror. He was breathing heavily and Steve could see his shoulders were shaking. He pushed a wedge under the door with his foot to make sure they weren't disturbed.

"That was uncalled for"

"Was it?"

Steve crossed his arms, trying to keep his voice level,

"If it wasn't for Seven you wouldn't have Grace at all"

He didn't know what reaction he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the Detective attacking the mirror. Danny reared back, punching his reflection, the mirror cracked and soon became blood stained as the broken glass lacerated his knuckles. Steve leapt forward grabbing the smaller man as her snarled and struggled,

"Whoa Danny enough...enough!"

The Detective suddenly sagged and Steve went with him gathering Danny to him as he began to sob, clutching at Steve's shirt and burying his face in the Commander's chest. Steve just held his friend, gently rocking him, allowing the tide of grief to subside. Danny soon calmed down enough to become coherent, although he didn't move from his prone position on the bathroom floor,

"I'm sorry"

"It's not me you should be apologising to"

"I'm not-"

"She tried Danny, but you heard what she said. Once someone's gone she can't bring them back. Your sensible side knows that...you owe her an apology" he said, standing and helping Danny to his feet,

"And we'll get a Doctor to look at that hand"

Seven stood at the window of Grace's room and watched the sun set over the ocean. Around her she could feel the workings of the hospital, of life starting and ending, of pain, sorrow, grief, and loss but also happiness, relief and gratitude. But more so than any of those, she could feel the emptiness behind her, a void of lifelessness. She focused on Grace's reflection in the window. The warm sunlight gave the girl some colour, driving away the deathly palour for a moment. Seven sighed, closing her eyes against her sadness. It wasn't her place to grieve, she hadn't even known the girl, but she hated loosing anyone. Admittedly there had only been a few but she remembered each one as clearly as it had happened yesterday. Their faces. Their stories. And each one left a scar, albeit a one that was impossible to see. She turned away from the glorious view, went to shut the blinds and stopped. Something about the atmosphere in the room had changed, then she felt it, a tiny prod of pressure at the base of her skull. Seven turned to Grace, quickly moving across the room to place her hands on the girl's forehead and heart. She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing her senses on the small body under her hands. Then she allowed her gift to wander, encompassing the room...and there it was again! Her eyes snapped open. She couldn't do this...could she? Then she remembered Danny's face...but more than that. She had felt the erratic ebb and flow of his life force, without Grace, Danny would give up and they would lose them both. She had to try. Seven vaulted across the bed and locked the door, before returning to Grace, ripping off her gloves and dropping them on the floor. She pulled back the sheet, replaced her hands and let her gift loose. She felt the energy of the flowers in the room and of the plants outside the window. The Medic took a deep breath, pulled that life force to her and pushed.

Steve and Danny made their way back towards Grace's room. Steve didn't think Danny should be there when the Doctors took Grace but the detective had insisted, besides he needed to take Grace's belongings home. As they rounded the corner they saw the commotion outside the private room. Danny immediately broke into a run, Steve close behind him.

"What's going on here?" he demanded. A nurse held out a hand to stop him, behind her a team of porters and nurses were buzzing around the door, an empty trolley bed stood in the corridor beside them.

"Please don't panic Mr Williams, we just have a problem with the door. Someone has been sent for the master key"

"It's locked?"

"Yes Sir but the strange thing is" the young nurse looked confused for a moment, "it's locked from the inside"

Steve stepped forward,

"Has the woman who came with us left?"

"The redhead in the uniform? No, I haven't seen her leave and she would have had to come past me to get to the door"

Steve brushed past her, rapping on the door,

"Seven? Seven, open the door"

Behind him Danny growled,

"I'm gonna kill her...what the hell does she think she's doing?"

"I have no idea...Seven?"

Danny pulled the taller man out of the way and put his boot into the door. The lock gave and Danny's momentum took him into the room, where he stopped dead. So sharply in fact that Steve ran into him,

"Danno!"

Behind them the nurse fainted.

"Grace?...How?" Danny croaked.

Grace was sitting up in bed, her eyes bright and very much alive. She held her arms out to him and her Father ran to her gathering her to him in a fierce hug. Steve stood dumbfounded in the door way, and then he noticed something. All the flowers in the room, previously so bright and vibrant, were now brown and brittle, the plants outside the window were also looking worse for wear...and Seven's gloves lay discarded on the floor. As he bent to pick them up Danny spoke,

"Steve!"

There were spots of bright scarlet blood on the white bed sheets that had almost been pulled off the side of the bed. Steve rushed forward, pulling the bed clothes aside to reveal Seven collapsed beneath. He pulled her to him, laying her in his lap. The Medic was cold, her skin grey and clammy. Her breathing was shallow and blood ran from her nose and ears. Steve looked at her eyes and shuddered. They were open and stared blankly at him, a milky white film marring the bright blue. He instinctively knew what she had done. Seven's breathing faltered,

"Get a crash team in here!" he yelled as beneath his palm Seven's heart stopped.