Steve always assumed that any woman willing to put up with his partner for a long period of time would have to be made of strong stuff. The transformation from the woman he met the day they borrowed her room to set up surveillance on her neighbors, to the woman in front of him right now was not short of amazing. "Did Daniel say that I was keeping his daughter from him?" The ice on her voice would have frozen the Sahara.

This was certainly not the reaction Steve was expecting. "He… He said you were going on vacation next week, that you'd be gone for a month, and that this weekend Gracie was going to a party with you and Stan…"

Rachel crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Did he say that he hung up on me before I could explain to him that we wanted to take Grace to the party tonight but that he could pick her up on Monday and he could have her until Thursday? Or that he didn't allow me to explain that we were traveling with Stanley but we would come back in two weeks, so we wouldn't disturb his weekend with Grace again? Did he happen to mention that he was completely rude and didn't sound very interested on spending time with his daughter, and the fact that he still has not returned a number of calls and messages I've left for him?"

Steve looked confused by this information. "But… there was nothing he wanted more than to see Grace…" He said, shaking his head.

Rachel studied him for a moment. "Something bad happened this week, didn't it?"

Steve sighed, thinking how to answer. Finally he settled for the truth. "Yeah, something bad happened."

Rachel moved aside to invite him in. "I was just having a cup of tea, would you like to join me?"

Steve nodded, moving into the house.

Holding a flimsy looking tea cup, Steve told Rachel a glossed up version of the highlights of their latest case, and how bad Danny had taken it. Some would say that he was breaking his friend's confidence by sharing this information with Danny's Ex, but he knew that in spite of all of their disagreements, deep down, she cared about his partner.

Rachel considered the information for a moment. He looked at Steve seriously. "How bad is he?"

Steve shook his head. "I have no idea how bad he could get, but I'd say it was bad enough…"

Rachel took a deep breath. "Back in Newark, the worst cases had him working non stop, he wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep. He would get by on coffee and adrenaline, and when he crashed…" Rachel stopped, not sure if she should share this information with the man in front of her.

Steve prompted her to keep talking. "I'm only trying to help him…What happened then?"

Rachel shook her head. "He would sleep for a whole day, even more than that. Afterwards, he would take off. Sometimes I think he just needed time to brood by himself, he would come back a couple of days later, looking exhausted, but somehow lighter. Other times I would get a call from a bar across town, or Matt would drag him home in the middle of the night, he would attempt to drown it all in bourbon…" She took a deep breath, looking away. "At that time, Matt was nearby, Danny could be a stubborn ass, but he always knew to call his brother when he was like this… But now…" She hesitated, shaking her head. "Right now he probably feels like he has no one to go to…"

Steve shook his head. "He has his team! He has me! I'm pretty sure he'd have you, if he asked… He knows that… Hell, he should know that…"

Rachel leaned forward, taking his hand. "Maybe it's time you informed him of that?"

Steve patted her hand. "Maybe it's time we informed him of that… If you could make the time?"

Later that evening, everything was going according to plan at Steve's place. The food was on the fire and the guest had arrived. Every guest but the most important one. He looked at his watch for the nth time and was startled by the hand squeezing his shoulder. "Why don't you go there and check what's keeping our Haole?" Said Chin, smiling.

Steve moved to the door, grabbing his keys on the way. "Watch the fort for me?"

Chin nodded. "You got it, brah."

Steve parked next to Danny's Camaro outside of his small apartment. He knocked softly on the door, getting no response. Looking through the window, he saw that it was dark inside, except for the glow of the TV. Finally, he tried opening the door and was surprised to find it unlocked.

He stepped inside, noticing the TV showing some baseball game, two beer bottles on the coffee table and Danny sitting on the pull out couch, staring sightlessly into a shoebox on the table filled with what looked like family pictures. The glow of the TV made him look as bad as he did the previous night; the dark shadows under his bloodshot eyes, and his whole posture spoke of a defeated man.

Steve took a seat next to Danny on the couch, noticing that both of the beers on the coffee table were untouched. He didn't speak, waiting for Danny to make the first move. After a few minutes, Danny started talking. "Back in Jersey, I got pretty bad after a tough case. I would find the shittiest bars in town and get shitfaced. Other times I disappeared for a couple of days, trying to get my head straightened out. Rachel hated it, I never called her if I needed a ride or someone to talk to, if I needed someone I would always call Matt. I didn't even have to ask him to come over, as soon as he heard my voice he'd know that it was bad, and he would come over…" He took a deep breath, taking out a picture of him and his little brother. "As soon as I got home I took out my phone to call Matt, that was until I remembered that-" He cut himself off. Taking deep breaths, he leaned back on the couch, dropping the pictures and closing his eyes. "Did I mention that I fucking hate Hawaii?" He said in a choked whisper.

Steve put his hand on Danny's shoulder, squeezing softly. "You may have said something once or twice."

He gave Danny a couple of minutes to get himself together, not taking his hand from Danny's shoulder, after a while, he squeezed to catch his friend's attention. "Hey Danno, I know that I'm no replacement for a brother, but if you ever feel like calling me, I'd come… no matter the time… You know that, right?"

Danny turned his head to look at Steve. "I know that, man." He said, patting Steve's hand awkwardly. "And don't you think I don't appreciate it, but you're no good when it comes to let me wallow in misery…" He said, with a small smile on his face.

Steve shrugged. "Well, I've never seen much use in wallowing… But if you ever felt like wallowing, I wouldn't try to stop you though…"

Danny chuckled. "Thank you, I'll take that into consideration the next time I feel like wallowing…"

They were silent for a few minutes and suddenly, Steve got up. "Alright, why don't we carry on with our original plan?"

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Original plan?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, you. Coming over to my place. Where we would have some beers and drop some steaks on the fire."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure that some wallowing was already taking place by then… And anyways, whatever happened to you letting me wallow in peace?"

Steve shrugged. "I thought you were done?"

Danny shook his head sadly. "You see? That's the problem right there… You thought…"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Haha… very funny. So, are you coming or not?"

Danny took a deep breath, looking resigned with his fate. "You're not leaving me be until I come with you, aren't you?"

Steve pulled his most innocent looking face. "I've no idea what you're talking about, man…"

Danny shook his head. "Alright, let's go already. Annoying Rambo super seal…" he muttered under his breath.

Steve led him to his truck, hoping that things went according to plan once they got to his place.

TBC...

A/N: Thank you to all who've read and reviewed! I'm glad you're liking this story!

I hope to see you soon!