Clara hesitated as she reached the door and turned back to watch Danny and Steve. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but she also wanted to know that Steve had taken her advice and was now telling Danny how just how important her son was to him and how he really felt about Danny. She bit her lip as she saw Steve hesitate and it took all of her inner strength to stop herself from going back to him and slapping him across the back of the head. She held her breath as she watched Steve begin to talk softly to her son but her heart plummeted when she saw Danny weakly pull his hand free from Steve's and turn his head.
Every mothering instinct in her body screamed at her to go back and help them to sort everything out, but she knew that any hope of them getting together rested on the two of them being honest about their feelings with each other and working through this together. She sighed as she turned and walked away, silently praying that they could.
Steve's heart sunk when he saw the all too raw hurt and confusion in Danny's drug glazed eyes as Danny pulled his hand free and turned away. Swallowing hard, he ran his hand over his head as he stared at Danny, uncertain of how to fix things. "You love him, don't you? Have you told him yet how you feel about him? You know you should and soon, 'cause if you don't, Daniel is going to leave." Clara's words echoed in his head, causing his chest to tighten with fear.
Taking a deep breath, he reached for Danny's still too warm arm and lightly placed his hand on it, squeezing it lightly. "Danny?" He paused a moment uncertain if Danny had drifted back to sleep, but the sudden tension he felt beneath his hand and the soft, racing beeps from the heart machine told him Danny was awake and listening. Lightly squeezing Danny's arm again, he sighed as he stared at the back of Danny's head before he took another deep breath and softly admitted, "I screwed up, Danny, I really screwed up and I don't know how to fix things…us."
He felt Danny's breath hitch beneath his hand and ignoring his own tears that now trickled down his face, he bit his bottom lip and tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat, threatening to choke him as he continued, "I … I have so much to apologize for and I can only hope that you can forgive me, 'cause I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you."
He paused a moment, squeezing his eyes shut in pain and gritting his teeth as his stomach muscles began to cramp in protest at the strain of standing for so long. His hand holding onto the bedrail tightened as he felt his legs begin to tremble, and he ignored his body's demands for him to sit back down. A fine sheen of perspiration formed on his face as he waited for the cramp to ease a little.
Steve slowly released the small breath he was holding and opened his eyes as the pain subsided. Looking back down at Danny as he heard footsteps enter the room and approach the bed, he squeezed Danny's arm a little tighter as he whispered, "I love you, Buddy."
His heart shattered into a million pieces as he felt Danny pull further away.
"I'm sorry, Commander, but I have to return you back to your room now." the young nurse told him quietly as she reached the side of the bed and gently grabbed his arm, easing him back down onto the wheelchair. She glanced over his shoulder as the doctor entered that room and hurried across to the bed before she looked back down at the pale Commander. "The doctor needs to examine Detective Williams."
Running a shaky hand over his head as he stared at his partner's back, Steve swallowed hard and slowly nodded, not trusting his voice to speak as the nurse began to wheel him out the room.