The four of them took a walk, following a trail that led away from the cabin and further up the mountain, valley and scenery on one side stretching for miles and dense vegetation on the other. Al and Laura walked ahead, Steve stayed by Danny but they didn't talk, Danny was caught up in his thoughts again. He found himself confused with his feelings, still yearning to be gone from the place and back with Victor yet part of him wanted to remain where he was. He knew Steve was partly watching him in case he took off, but even he knew he wouldn't get far, with a steep drop on his left and thick jungle to his right. The feeling of flight was starting to dissipate, even if he did 'escape' where would he go?

His mind kept reeling back over the last few days, how changed everything was. During the night he'd had nightmares, finding Victor dead by the pool, blood on his hands. At one point he'd jerked violently awake, rubbing his temple where he'd pressed the cool metal muzzle of the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Only in his nightmares there was gun shot where in reality there'd been a dull click of an empty barrel. He shuddered and rubbed his hand over the side of his face, like the cool touch had imprinted itself onto his skin. Had he become so reliant on Victor, so dependant on him that his own survival, his life, had become so easily sacrificed?

"You okay?" Steve said, interrupting his thoughts. Danny blinked, realising he'd come to a halt, caught up in his thoughts and Steve was watching him cautiously.

"Yeah, sorry, just thinking," Danny nodded, moving on again. Up ahead he noted Al and Laura had also paused to look back at them.

"Want to talk about it?" Steve asked him, falling into step by him again.

"No," Danny said quickly, pressing is lips together. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to bring the subject up with Steve. Another thing he had dreamed out, been haunted with the memory of, was Steve's face when he'd put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The look of horror, dissolving to relief as he launched into action. He'd jumped forward, knocking him down, wrestling the gun from his hands. Danny hadn't put up much of a fight. He knew it was all over, no more Victor, no more anything. Soon after he'd been bundled into the car and Steve had begun to drive, brought him here.

Dann frowned and paused again, turning to him.

"How'd they know?" Danny asked, motioning to Al and Laura.

"What?" Steve asked, brow furrowing as he tried to follow the question.

"How did Al and Laura know we were coming? How did they know to be prepared for this? All my clothes, my stuff, your stuff -," Danny shrugged.

Steve smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, getting him to walk again. "All part of the plan Danno."

"But how did you -," Danny started, trying to figure it out in his head. "You were locked up, kept under surveillance."

"You think we came up with all of this in a few hours?" Steve questioned with a shake of his head. "Danny, the plan went into action as soon as I left Oahu to come get you. We knew there was a chance I'd be caught, so we had a back up option. I knew Victor wouldn't kill me outright, he'd enjoy torturing me first. It wasn't expecting resistance from you to leave but at least you appealed to him to keep me alive. I just had to play along and make him think what he was doing was working on me until the right oppurtunity came along to finish the mission."

"But how did you even come up with a rescue mission?" Danny said, struggling to understand. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Easy," Steve grinned. "We had someone on the inside. Took a while at first, trying to piece together what had happened, especially when you were first taken. Eventually we found out where you were being held but had no idea what we were dealing with and we knew it was too dangerous to storm in. Then iyou/i provided the perfect oppurtunity to get to someone inside and use them to our advantage."

They came to clearing high up on the trail, a large open space overlooking the valley. Al and Laura neared the edge and sat on some boulders that lay there. Danny thought back over his time with Victor, of how things had been at the beginning. He looked up at Steve, realisation coming to him.

"The doc," Danny said, figuring it out before Steve could explain further. "You used the doc to feed you information."

Steve grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "Very good Detective. The doctor was in Victor's pocket, we just needed some leverage to get him on our side. It's amazing what Kono and Chin will uncover when they put their minds to it and the good doctor had quite a few skeletons in hs closet, some not very well hidden. Things got stalled when Victor moved you to a new location, but again, we were able to use the doc to keep us in the loop. I guess I didn't believe him when he said Victor had turned you, but after he tried the same shit out on me, I can understand what you did to survive. It isn't weakness Danny."

Danny stood back a little, like he'd been slapped and Steve winced himself at his words.

"No, it isn't weakness," Danny shook his head in agreement. "And it wasn't survival. Can't you understand? Can't you see? It was a simpler way to be. He showed me that. I didn't understand at the beginning but towards the end, I got it, I got how perfect it could be living like that."

Steve shook his head also, stepping closer and reaching out a hand, cupping his cheek. "You did what you had to do to survive Danny. You may not believe that, but deep down you know it's true. You just have to remember when you made that choice. Comply or die."

Danny grimaced, pulling away and walking to where Al and Laura sat. For the rest of their time outside he didn't talk to anyone and when they returned to the cabin, he went straight to his room to be alone. He heard footsteps on the stairs and he glanced behind, seeing Al following him upwards at a safe distance.

"I'm just going to my room to sit for a while," Danny informed him.

"All right," Al replied with a small nod of his head. "Leave the door open, please."

Danny did, going to the chair, kicking off his shoes and curling up in it. He thought about his conversation with Steve, digging into his pocket and pulling out the picture of Grace. It was crumpled now after only a few hours, but he didn't care. He stared at it for a long time, taking in her features then turning his attention to his own face reflected back. As he studied the picture his mind whirred and he stood, going into the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and stared at his reflection, he looked different. He'd lost weight, his hair was shorter, a different style now since he'd been living with Victor. He lifted up the photograph like he could compare himself. Never mind his daughter changing in seven months, he'd changed a whole lot. Would she even recognise him as her father?

Steve came into view behind him, tapping on the door frame. "Laura says supper will be ready in a half hour. What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Danny said, dropping his hand and looking away.

"You're still in there Danny," Steve said without moving. "Just going to take some time for you to figure that out."

They had supper out on the lanai again that evening and Danny ate rather than scowling and ignoring everyone. He didn't enter into conversation much though, save for when Laura asked him how the food was and seeing if he was okay every few minutes. If she didn't ask him, then she'd reach out and pat his arm or rest her hand over his, giving his fingers a quick squeeze before she continued eating or talking. After they'd finished and the meal had settled, he got to his feet when she began clearing the dishes, following her into the kitchen.

"So, do you and Al live here?" he asked quietly as he scraped scraps into the trash.

She paused and gave him a smile, piling up the dirty plates for him to rinse when he was done.

"Sometimes, yes," she nodded in reply. "Our time is divided between here and the city, depending on who needs our help and attention."

"Attention?" Danny asked with a small frown. It was still yet to be explained to him just who exactly Al and Laura were.

"Yes," she said, coming to stand by him and resting a hand on his arm. "Our help if you will. When we began piecing together the details of your situation we thought it best to have you brought here rather than right back into the city. You need to come to terms with what's happened in a calm, safe and serene environment. You've been through a traumatic experience."

"It's a nice place," Danny offerred, turning to the sink and rinsing off plates. "So what is it you and Al actually do?"

"We're counsellors," Laura told him. "Don't worry, we're not some quacks Steve picked up on a street corner. We have credentials if you want to look at them but, well, we have a certain unique perspective Danny, on situations like yours."

"How do you mean?" Danny asked, watching as she began stacking the dishwasher.

She stood straighter with a smile, taking a plate from him.

"Have you ever heard of 'exit counsellors'?" She asked him. Danny shook his head in reply.

"It's an old term used for people in our 'field' of work," Laura continued to explain. "Not really used these days but it fits our role well enough. We work closely with people who have come our from unique, controlled environments, such as cults. In a way we are the first stepping stone for them to fit back into society. Not all the people who come to us are from cults and sects but most are. A few come to us from abusive relationships, ones where the control has been a very intense part of their life. Think of us as psychologists within a certain specialist field."

"What, you find many people wandering out of cults and into your front yard in Oahu?" Danny asked with a small smile.

Laura grinned and put an arm around his shoulder, giving him a squeeze. "You'd be surprised. Often we're contacted by families who think a family member is being coerced into a cult and are looking for help and advice. Others who have come to a realisation about the people they are involved with and need some clarity. Some people just need some place safe to deal with their thoughts, their feelings if they manage to remove themselves. For some the effects of their situation remain with them for years, we simply provide a haven for them to escape to when they need, with people who understand what they are going through."

"What makes you two experts?" Danny asked skeptically.

"I was brought up in a cult, my mother, she ran away with me when I was eleven," Laura told him honestly. "And Al, Al was sucked into one when he was nineteen. He was in it for many years until his family forcibly removed him from the situation, with the help of some exit counsellors, as they were called then. They managed to help him see what was happening in his life was wrong and he decided he wanted to do the same thing, help people in similar situations. So here we are."

"And you think you can help me?" Danny asked her. "Shouldn't I want to be helped before you get to work on me?"

Laura smiled again, closing the dishwasher door and coming to lean on the counter by his side. "We're here to help clarify things. The way I see it, you should be free to make your own choices in life Danny. So the way you want to live now, is that a concious decision or something someone has convinced you of? When you make a choice or think about things, is it you or are you always thinking 'what would Victor think? What would Victor say?'. I know you weren't brought here of your own volition, but we just want to give you the chance to make your own choices, freely. Understand?"

"Yeah I guess," Danny nodded, moving as she began wiping down the counter top. "Al said the same thing too, about making my own choices."

"You're a grown up, a free man, with a free will," Laura said with a nod. "Nobody has a right to take that away from you."

"But he made it so easy," Danny said quietly in thought, leaning on the back of a kitchen chair.

"What was that?" Laura asked not hearing him.

"Nothing," Danny replied shaking his head. "Thanks, I think I'm going to go read for a little while."

"Okay," Laura nodded, smiling as he left to go to the den.

As he looked through the books on the shelves Steve joined him, sitting down quietly and watching him. Danny ignored him, becoming used to his silent watchdog like he did with Huggy and Mo. Only Steve wasn't his guard, not really, Steve was his friend. There used to be a time they were best friends, maybe even something more if the timing had been different, if Victor hadn't taken him away. Danny was aware there was a barrier there now, where once there used to be an easy going relationship. He felt something deep inside wanting that closeness back. He glanced around at Steve, expecting to find him still watching but Steve had turned his attention to a book.

"Good book?" Danny asked and Steve looked up at him with slight surprise that he as actually attempting conversation.

"Yeah, I suppose," Steve nodded. "The writer is an ex marine turned author so I guess he's gotten most of the facts right and it isn't a far fetched plot. Not sure it's you're kind of thing though."

"How would you know?" Danny asked, but with a smile, grabbing a book and sitting down beside him.

"You're more of a classic action adventure kind of guy," Steve informed him. "You forget I've seen your Ian Flemming collection remember?"

Danny half smiled and read the blurb on the back of the book he'd picked up. He ignored the way his stomach had flipped when he'd seen books on the shelves that were the ones Victor used to bring him. With a sigh he curled his feet up on the couch and relaxed, reading the first few pages to see if it would tip his interest.