There are no excuses for my utter lack of updates. I beg your forgiveness. I think I fell into a swoon-induced coma at how amazing the last episode was. Also I apologise for not responding to reviews, the system has locked me out of my inbox, so I can't send messages. Anyway, here is the – rather belated – next chapter:
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Steve was annoyed at himself. He knew that if he wanted to solve this case and catch the bastards who had murdered his friend, then he needed to remain calm and to look at things from a detached perspective. That was easier said than done.
He knew that Danny had been right when he'd said that he wouldn't let go of this case until it was over, and it was the perceptive nature of his partner that had grated his nerves. Steve couldn't stand the feeling of being vulnerable, and under Danny's watchful eyes he felt as though all his flaws and failures were being laid out for examination. It irked him more than he would have thought possible.
Sleep was dragging his limbs down again, despite his best efforts to shake off the exhaustion. He didn't want to sleep anymore; didn't want to have to suffer through the dreams that had established themselves within his subconscious. Faces of friends long forgotten and left behind that plagued him with his own self doubt. Taunting him with gleeful smiles upon their twisted features, that seemed to shift and change like the tide of the sea.
Sitting up in the bed, he looked around the gloomy apartment. The place was a mess, too small to house two men with oversized egos. The air was stuffy and he was hit with a sudden sense of oppressiveness. His want to escape intensified, but he reined in his emotions, knowing deep down that he really didn't have the energy to get up and move around right now.
Idly he wondered where his partner had run off to; not that he could possibly blame him for wanting to be away from the ex SEAL. The noble, polite side of his nature told him that he really should apologise whenever he next saw the Jersey native, but his pride told that voice to shut the hell up.
After a while, he realised that his throat was starting to burn again in demand for water. Ever so slowly, he eased himself forward, lifting himself over the edge of the bed. Taking his own weight left his sweaty and breathing heavily, but he was determined. The first step forward was badly placed and he staggered slightly as his centre of balance shifted away from his core, but thanks to sheer force of luck, he stayed upright. Whatever illness was plaguing him was outraged by his success and retaliated with a knife of agony through his skull.
Groaning and gripping his head he continued towards his goal: the sink. As soon as he reached it, he slumped his weight against the counter, desperate for the support. His entire body was trembling and his vision had tunnelled, fuzzy around the edges. At this point he had to concede that Danny may have been right in saying that he wasn't fit to be going back to work yet. The knowledge that he was wrong didn't bother him as much as he thought it might, though that was probably due to the fact that his concentration was currently preoccupied with keeping him standing.
He turned on the tap and filled up a glass, his movements sluggish and his hands uncooperative. He had just pulled the glass to his lips when he heard the door to the apartment open and close quietly. Half a second later the silence was shattered by a cry of alarm.
"What are you doing?" Danny's voice demanded. Steve turned towards him, careful to keep his weight balanced on the counter. The Jersey native's face was twisted into a strange combination of irritation, disbelief and maybe a little awe.
"I was thirsty," Steve deadpanned, his voice clawing his throat on the way out. He took another gulp of the icy liquid. The relief was instant and he had to smother a small sigh of contentment.
"And you didn't do the logical thing of waiting for me to get back and asking me to get you one. No, of course you didn't. Because you're you. And you have to make everything so much more difficult." The irritation appeared to be winning in his sea of emotions.
"I didn't know when you'd be back. And I'm quite capable of looking after myself," he said indignantly.
"Sure. Why don't you go ahead and stand on your own then, and stop leaning on the counter?" Again with the incredible observations. Steve scowled, but made no move to stand; he was almost certain that doing so would only end up with him on the floor and Danny crooning about how he was right.
"It's actually quite comfy," he supplied with a self mocking smile.
"Of course it is. Do you want a hand?" He took half a step towards the ex SEAL, but came no closer. For the first time Steve realised the oddity of this situation; in any normal circumstances, Danny would be right beside him, trying to drag him back to the bed and forcing him to sit. But right now, the Jersey native was all but hugging the wall on the opposite side of the room, staying well out of arms reach, almost as though he was worried Steve might start throwing punches. That was of course ridiculous: he would never hit his friend – out of the two of them, Danny was the only one who had landed a punch on the other – and besides, it wasn't like he had the strength to do any damage right now.
"Danno," he started and then broke off. He knew he needed to apologise, but talking about things like this had never been his strong suit. "Look, about before... I'm sorry. It's just-" He paused again, looking away. God, what he wouldn't give to be anywhere else.
"Steve." Danny's voice cut him off, but he said nothing else, waiting for the ex SEAL to meet his eyes. When he did he paused for a moment, getting his words straight in his mind. "I know that this is hard for you. I don't even want to consider what you're having to deal with right now, but that doesn't mean that I can't help. I know that to solve this we need you. Even on unrelated cases we need you. Five 0 is a team, and we'll look out for each other. And if that means grounding your sorry ass when you're too proud to admit that you're not one hundred and ten percent, then so be it. We'll get them Steve, never doubt that."
The sincerity in his partner's voice astounded Steve, and it took his sluggish mind several seconds to fully compute what had been said. It took another few minutes to properly form a coherent response.
"I- Thanks. Just... Thanks." Maybe not so coherent after all, but right now it was close enough. Strength finally failing him, the ex SEAL swayed alarmingly, grabbing the counter in an effort to stop his fall. Danny was at his side in an instant, pulling an arm over his shoulder and taking a large proportion of Steve's dead weight.
"Bed time again, I think," Danny pointed out delicately, before proceeding to drag Steve towards said destination. Unable to resist, the ex SEAL allowed himself to be hauled across the small room and then deposited on the soft surface. "Sleep. You might feel better in the morning."
Too tired to really respond, Steve rolled over onto his side, so that no weight was pressing on the wound in his arm. The pain had mostly ceased around the area, but every time it was jostled, the agony would flare up again. He had decided early on in his life that pain medication was a godsend.
It didn't take long for the waves of blissful unconsciousness to wash over him, and with a small sigh he succumbed to the darkness once more.
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When Steve next woke up it was dark beyond the still drawn curtains, and from somewhere beyond the end of the bed there was the soft sound of the breath of someone sleeping. A glance at the clock told him that it was very early morning. He sat up; trying to work out what it was that had woken him up, but he couldn't see anything in the darkened room.
Reaching out, his hand searched for his phone blindly, before he eventually discovered it on the bed side table. Unlocking it, careful not to shine the light towards his partner, he frowned as he saw the multitude of texts he had received. There were a couple from the rest of the team wishing him well, then another one or two from friends asking after him. There was a text from Cathy to say hi and informing him of her next leave dates. With a smile, he realised he would be able to see her in a couple of days, and he took great comfort from the thought. It was times like this when he really valued her companionship.
None of those messages really surprised him though. What caught his attention were the three messages from withheld numbers. The first one had been sent hours ago and was simple, though all the more chilling because of it.
'Don't think you can win Commander.' He stared at the text for several long moments, before deciding that he wasn't going to be able to decipher anything from it right now. The next text, sent about half an hour ago, was longer, and much less threatening.
'Steve, I can't tell you who this is, and please don't try and find out. You'll lead them right to me if you do. I was a friend of Benji's too, and I want to help. I don't know what you know about Benji's work, but I think you would do well to start at the end and work backwards. You'll find what you need.' With another frown he went to the final message. He had received is a few moments ago, and the alert would have been what had woken him. There was no text, just a phone number which he didn't recognise. It appeared to be a mobile number; it could belong to absolutely anyone.
Setting the phone down again, he leant back and pondered what all of it meant. He was getting stressed out by this case. It demanded him to think outside of the box, and as soon as he found answers, all he was met with was more questions. Could the sender of the second text be one of the friends that Benji had mentioned? Or, more likely, one of the enemies? He really had no clue any more.
The first message was obviously a threat to scare him into giving up on the case, which he wouldn't do. Even if this hadn't been a personal matter, he would never respond to threats, especially from someone who was too cowardly to face him openly.
'What do I do now? I have to tell the others about the messages, they're important to the case. But if they think I'm under threat they won't let me anywhere near. Of course, that wouldn't stop me, but this will all be over quicker if I have their help.'
He spent the next few hours sat there, thinking, barely registering when the sun breached the horizon, sending stray shafts of light into the darkness of the apartment. He did notice that the light no longer caused his head to explode, which was a pleasant revelation. On that thought, he realised that he felt much better than he had before. The final trembles had left his limbs, and though his strength was still severely depleted, it was no longer completely gone. Stretching, he relished the cracks in his joints, releasing the tension that had built up over the last few days.
"You know, I really hate it when people do that," came an indignant voice from the floor. Looking over, Steve saw Danny awake and watching him. "How long have you been up?"
"A while. Got some interesting texts." Without further explanation, he flipped his phone towards the Jersey native who grabbed it out of the air with impressive reflexes. Flicking through the messages, his face darkened considerably, and Steve suddenly felt pity for the criminals that had been chased down by Danny Williams. Poor bastards didn't stand a chance.
"More threats," he said eventually. "I must say they do appear to lack originality." At that Steve had to laugh. Only Danny would be so utterly random.
"You might have a point. What do you think we should do?"
"I think..." he trailed off, looking his partner over. After a second he nodded to himself, and made a decision. "I think we go to the office and track down the bastards behind this. Objections?" Steve was already grinning in anticipation.
"None at all babe," he said with a laugh.
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So yeah, more apologies for the delay. I wouldn't be surprised if no one was reading this anymore.
What do you think? Yeah, another slow chapter. But the action (and by definition further whump of our lovable commander) is definitely on the way. Promise. Cross my heart.
Anyone who is bothering to stick with this, many thanks. I'm sorry for being such a useless updater. I'm trying my best.
Anyways, see you next time.