Despite Eric's confused protest, Danny set out instantly for Rachel's house, Grace's duffel bag in hand. Somewhere, the back of his mind, he understood Eric's confusion. Danny himself longed for sleep and a shower and a beer. Or food. Any sort of food. He hadn't had anything to eat since last night. On the other hand, the thought of being locked in a closet for hours was still fresh in Danny's mind, and he had no appetite whatsoever. He enjoyed the silent drive to Rachel and Stan's place.
Rachel answered the door a little distractedly. "Hello?" She asked before opening the door fully. When she saw Danny she gasped. Danny wasn't sure if she knew he was coming over, or if it was just his disheveled state that was so surprising.
"My God, Daniel," Rachel stepped forward, "This was more than a long day at work."
Danny knew his ex-wife would see right through a fake smile, so he simply nodded. There was no use in pretending. He cleared his throat, hands clutching Grace's bag. "Can I see Grace, please?"
Rachel let Danny into the entryway, but stopped him before he could go further. "Tell me what happened, first."
Danny gave her a knowing look. "I can't."
"Daniel, you're shaking." Rachel protested. "You-"
"It's probably the, uh, dehydration." Danny interrupted. Partly true, he supposed.
Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to determine the validity of this statement. In the end, she decided to go along with the ruse. "Would you care for some tea?"
"Yeah." Danny said after a moment of thought. Rachel's Earl Gray sounded perfect at the moment. She took him into the living room and gestured for him to sit down before she went into the kitchen. Luckily, she had been making some for herself already. It helped relieve stress. Rachel always became stressed when her daughter called with news about Danny and his dangerous line of work.
"Grace," Rachel called, "Your father's here."
Grace bounded down the stairs. She went into the kitchen first, noticing her suitcase but not her father.
"Living room." Rachel said, handing the mug of tea to her daughter. Grace took the mug and went into the living room.
"Danno." Grace stopped short when she saw her father. Her eyes were wide. "Danno?"
"Hi, monkey." Danny held out his arms. Grace cautiously hugged him, but Danny was clammy and he didn't smell as fresh as he had the day before. She pulled back and handed him the mug, nose turned up slightly. Danny took the mug gratefully.
"Daniel, do you have any appetite?" Rachel asked.
"Uh, no." Danny took a sip of tea. "No, I better not."
"Are you okay?" Grace whispered.
"Yeah, of course. He kissed the top of her head before leaning against the soft couch. "Just a busy day."
"Danno…" Grace didn't believe him. She was as smart as her mother. Danny looked away, his forced smile fading. He was tired. Perhaps he shouldn't have come. Sitting on the couch now, knowing his daughter was safe and he was finally out of that hole, Danny felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. He sipped his tea again, numbly, before setting it down on the coffee table.
"Grace, please take your bag to your room." Danny heard Rachel say. She sounded so far away. Everything sounded far away. As Grace left the room and went into the kitchen, Danny felt himself drifting off.
By the time Rachel went out to speak with Danny once more, he was asleep, his arms folded across his chest, as they had been, so his daughter would not see he was shaking.
When Danny awoke, it was well into the next morning. The sleep had been refreshing, but he awoke confused, hungry, dizzy, and thirsty.
After a few seconds of staring at the ceiling, Danny realized he was still at Rachel's place. He was on the couch, still, as well. A blanket had been draped over him.
Hearing voices from the kitchen, Danny lifted his head. Rachel was dressed for work and had her arms crossed at her chest. Next to her was Stan. Danny hadn't seen much of Stan since Charlie was revealed to be Danny's son and not his. Danny simply didn't know what to say. Presently, Stan looked weary. Danny noticed how his shoulders slumped invariably. Resting his head on one of those shoulders was Charlie himself. He was curled in Stan's arms.
"-All I'm saying is we don't know what sort of germs he was exposed to. Clearly he was kidnapped or something." Stan was saying. He stared at his wife, searching her eyes before sighing. "I don't want him infecting Charlie."
"All right, I understand." Rachel was complacent. "You're right."
Stan nodded. "I'm just worried. For Charlie, for you. For Grace. Danger seems to follow the man everywhere he goes. Rachel-"
"I know. I know." Rachel interrupted. "You're going to be late for work."
"Mm." Stan gently handed Charlie to Rachel. "Right." Stanley kissed the top of Rachel's head. "I'll see you tonight."
"Of course. I love you." Rachel said a little timidly. Danny hated to see her this shy. Rachel was fiery — that's what had initially drawn him to her. Now, although it was her fault, she was dancing on eggshells with Stan and Danny.
Stan touched her cheek. "I love you." He returned, leaning in. He kissed her on the lips. Their eyes were closed. When he pulled back, he kissed Charlie, and grabbed his briefcase before heading out the door.
Rachel went over to Danny on the couch, who was slowly sitting up. She still had Charlie in her arms. "Good morning, Daniel." She said.
"Have I been here the whole time?" Danny cleared his throat. His voice was out of use, and scratchy from the day before.
"Yes, Grace insisted. You were in quite a deep sleep."
"I guess." Danny sat forward and rubbed his face. "Uh, I should go. I need to get to work. What time is it?" he checked his watch. It was 8:30 a.m. He had really been asleep. He had done far too much sleeping lately.
"Daniel, I'm worried." Rachel pressed. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about me." He said. He caught her look. "Really, Rach."
"Would you at least tell me if you were in danger? Or if you still are? Something clearly happened yesterday, more than just a regular investigation."
Danny groaned loudly. He didn't want to discuss the events of yesterday. He didn't want to relive the events.
Charlie stirred at the noise. He stared sleepily at Danny. "Danno," he said.
"Good morning, buddy." Danny was relieved for the change. He held out his arms and Charlie crawled into his lap to hug him.
"Danno, you smell." Charlie giggled.
"All right, point taken." Danny said, kissing Charlie on the top of the head and standing. "I should go. If Charlie says I stink, I stink."
"I would still like to know." Rachael stood as well. "I think I deserve to know, since our daughter was left alone for hours without any explanation."
"Rachel, please." Danny fished his keys out of his pockets. "I don't have to explain my job to you." He also didn't have to explain keeping a few secrets to Rachel, who had kept a pretty damn big secret from Danny. But he saw the look on her face, and reconsidered. He glanced at Charlie on the couch before taking Rachel by the arm and leading her into the hall.
"There was an investigation. I'm not sure where it stands, now, but the gist of it is that the case was exactly like with Mattie, and how he was killed."
"Oh."
"We thought we made a breakthrough yesterday. But it was a setup. Chin Ho Kelly and I were trapped in some…" Danny grimaced, "hole for the better part of the day, and you know how I am about closed spaces…and then finally we got out and I went straight here to check on Grace and now I'd really like to take a shower and get some food and…"
"All right, all right." Rachel pulled Danny into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're going through this. You don't need another reminder of your brother's death."
Danny sighed and put his arms around his ex-wife. He closed his eyes. He forgot about her hugs, and how they made him feel. He felt like he could finally breathe. His shoulders dropped.
"I was so stupid." Danny admitted with a soft whine. He hoped he wouldn't hear. "I was so stupid."
"What do you mean?"
"I really thought he might be alive." Danny shook his head. "I actually thought my brother was trying to send a message to me."
"What were you to think?" Rachel pulled back. "Please don't feel stupid. You're an incredibly intelligent man, Daniel."
Danny was frowning. Clearly he didn't believe her. "I need to get going, so, uh, thank you, for housing me, and…and tell Grace I hope she had a great last day of school before break, yeah?"
"Yes, of course."
"Okay. I'm leaving with my dignity." Danny tried to joke. He swallowed the lump in his throat, but found it hard to keep a fake smile going, so he just left.