Danny walked into the office with a smile. Steve looked up from the paperwork he'd been forced to finish, scowling in concentration. His insurance company wasn't playing nice about the renovations from the fire. And being chained to his desk, almost literally, for just less than a month, did not make for a happy boss. Handcuffing him to said desk had become an old joke fast.

"A postcard from Eric." Danny waved the colorful piece of paper in Steve's face.

"You're happy about a postcard from New Jersey?" Steve shoved a small stack of papers haphazardly into a folder. "I better not find it in the Camaro."

Danny laughed. He knew how frustrated his partner had been lately, so he ignored the jab. "It isn't from New Jersey, Steven. For your information, it's from Key West."

Steve followed Danny to his office. "Seriously? Let me see that."

And before Danny could stop him, Steve snatched the postcard out of his hand.

"Wet T-shirt contest? Seems Eric has adjusted to college life quite well." Steve narrowed his eyes and scanned the picture. "Didn't he just start back to school?"

"It's not what it looks like, babe. I choose to be optimistic." He refused to let his aggravated friend spoil his mood.

Steve grinned, nudging his partner. "Sounds like he's having a really great time, Danny. Did you read this?"

"Yes I did." Danny tilted his head and smiled. "He deserves it."

This stopped Steve. He studied his friend. Gone was Danny's usual frustrated tone when speaking of Eric.

Danny shrugged. "Eric's been doing really well since he left Hawaii. He got an actual legal job. And he's made up some school work. I'm proud of him."

"You sure he's telling you the truth?" Steve wasn't buying it.

"Everything's been verified by my sister. And she's been double checking with his professors."

Steve handed the postcard back to Danny. "Like high school? Poor Eric."

Danny shrugged again. "Well, she figures if she's the one footing the bill, she's gonna keep track of what her money is buying."

"I'm glad he's okay, man."

Danny looked down pretending to admire the postcard again. Closing his eyes, he sighed. "Yea, I'm glad he's okay too. The kid's flesh and blood. A pain in the ass, most definitely. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to him."

Steve smiled. "You're a good uncle, Danno."

"I am, huh?" Danny smiled back at his friend with a nod. "I am."

There was silence for a few seconds, Danny propped the postcard next to his picture of Grace. Steve leaned against the door frame.

They hadn't spoken much about Eric or Joey Franklin. Neither one being very eager to broach the subject. It was over.

The case had been closed by the time both of them were out of the hospital with some cooperation from New Jersey cops. And a lot of help from Chin, Kono and Duke. Everyone was happy to have Joey and the Russians off the streets for good.

It didn't matter that Danny couldn't use an elevator to save his life. And he wasn't staying at his place overnight, or that he cringed every time he saw one of those big tool boxes on the back of a pickup. He would never admit that after waking from a nightmare during one of their first nights back at Steve's place, he kept checking on his partner like he was a sleeping child.

But Danny surprised himself by actually feeling happy. In spite of the unpleasant leftovers from their encounter with Joey Franklin and the Russians. And to top it all off, Steve had even stuck to his therapy schedule, religiously following the doctor's orders so he could be declared fit for more than desk duty.

The flipside to Steve behaving himself meant everyone else had to fall in line. Especially his partner. "You need to go to physio, Danny. You know it."

He nodded, spacing out a little. He wasn't quite in the mood for this particular argument. "Yea, Steve. I know. I've been busy. Anyway, my knee is fine. I did the required two weeks of torture." His voice trailed off.

"No excuse, Danno. You've been running yourself ragged taking care of me." Steve noticed the change in his friend. "Hey, you alright?"

Thinking about Eric knocked loose something that had been eating away at him. He couldn't look at his best friend, but Danny had something to get off his chest. "You know, you scared me, babe."

Steve cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I never thought I'd see you give up." Danny stared at his picture of Grace. Tears at the corner of his eyes.

"It was a side effect, a symptom of the poison." Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"No." Danny shook his head. "Not buying it."

"I don't want to talk about it, Danny. Not right now." Steve turned to leave the office.

Danny stopped him. "Now is a perfectly good time. We have to talk about it, Steve. I've never seen you just give up like that."

Steve closed his eyes and turned away from Danny with a loud exhale. "I was scared, okay? Is that what you want to hear? Scared out of my mind. I couldn't find you. I couldn't breathe. Even back when Wo Fat had me, I was able to resist. I could spit in his face. I could look him in the eyes and deny him the satisfaction of breaking me. This – this time I just felt empty. Exhausted. And I realized if I just let go-"

"All the pain would go away?" Danny finished the sentence.

"Call me a coward." It seemed like a dare more than a statement.

"No, I won't do that. I'll call you human, you animal. Our little secret."

Steve smiled, glad to have a chance to change the subject. "Let's go back to my place, D. Have a few beers."

"Your place still smells like a BBQ."

"You're the one who just had to cook hamburgers on the stove."

Their eyes met. And Steve caught something. He closed his eyes, shaking his head. It was a mistake. He didn't mean it. "It wasn't your fault, Danny."

Staring straight through his friend, Danny had become a brick wall. Immovable. Solid. Void of emotion.

"I'm sorry Danny. I didn't mean it. This was not your fault."

Steve hoped he'd gotten through this time.

Danny blinked and looked away.

And then he walked out of the office.

"Hey wait." Steve grabbed his arm. "I'm not letting you go home alone."

Danny willed himself to be pissed off. Anger would be better than the confused mess of frustration and guilt he was feeling.

Steve wasn't letting his friend off the hook. "You know none of this was your fault, right? Answer me."

Now it was Danny's turn to be on guard. "Please stop."

"Come on, you know that guy was unstable. And he just happened to pick you. Hell, it's more Eric's fault than yours if you want to go that route." Steve locked eyes with Danny, waiting for the inevitable response.

Danny held up his hand. "Wait a minute."

"No, D. You wait a minute. You want to play the blame game? You messed up one poker game all those years ago. Big deal. Jimmy couldn't get it back together. Not to mention he lied to you. So maybe it's all Jimmy's fault then."

"Stop Steve."

"What? I could go round and round like this all night."

The two friends glared at one another. Neither was backing down.

"See Danny, it doesn't matter. Joey woulda found someone else. It's what guys like him do." Steve closed his eyes and took a deep slow breath. "It's all on him, Danny. Joey did this."

Danny was still lost, a little emotional. "I can't help but wonder-"

Steve wasn't happy. "And you know where that will get you? Stuck in the past. Locked in that box."

He hesitated, instantly afraid he'd gone too far. And he saw the change in his friend's eyes. He had to say something and fast. "I thought I'd lost you, Danny."

Steve's quick thinking worked. What could Danny say to that? He thought he'd lost Steve too.

"You know me better than anyone else." Danny's eyes were wet with tears. "I almost lost you because of something I did. Don't you think that's one of my biggest fears? Aside from something happening to Grace. It's you."

"You're my best friend, Danny." Steve couldn't stop himself from tearing up. "When I woke up on the floor and you weren't there –"

"I know, babe. I am so done with this."

Steve nodded. "Yea I agree."

"Come here, you Navy Seal Animal." Danny grabbed his best friend, pulling him into a fierce hug. After a few seconds, they separated.

Steve grinned. "Now how about those beers."

/././

Until next time...

Mahalos to everyone for reading and commenting on this story. I really hope you've enjoyed the ride!