I wasn't planning on writing another chapter, especially not one that ended up being a little lighter in tone. Enjoy and thanks for following along…

/././

Danny wasn't surprised to see his friend asleep on the couch. He smiled and continued on to the kitchen. Coffee was the first order of business. Steve was awake and waiting for him when he returned to the living room. A sleepy grin on his face.

"What? Did I win the SuperSEAL lottery?" Danny rubbed his eyes and laughed. "You get your very own Steve McGarrett for a day. Aren't I lucky?"

Steve stretched with a yawn, wincing at the crick in his back. "Morning, Danny. You sleep okay?"

"Yea, I did." He handed his partner a mug. "By the looks of it, you did not sleep well."

"Your couch sucks, man, face it."

"I've warned you previously and you chose not to listen."

Steve frowned when he took a sip of the coffee. "This is black, Danny."

"I figured you might need some high octane this morning."

"Yea well, thanks, but I can't drink it like this." He set the cup on a coaster.

Danny shook his head and looked away. He didn't know why Steve turning down his coffee made his eyes water. "I don't know what to do here."

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'll drink the coffee." He grabbed the mug, blowing on the hot liquid.

"No, it's not that. I know how you take your coffee." He sighed. "We're grown men. We aren't gonna change."

Steve wasn't sure where this conversation was headed but he replied anyway. "That's not true, Danny. You've changed."

"Thanks for that, babe. You're great. But no, I really haven't changed."

"You stopped wearing ties." Steve smiled as he caught the slightest twinkle in Danny's eyes; happy to see his friend was amused by the mention of his seldom adhered to dress code. Gave him courage to add the next bit of information. "You went swimming with Amber. In the ocean even."

"What? How did you?"

"She told me."

"When?"

"She gave me a rundown of your weekend."

"Since when are you chatting with my girlfriend?"

"When I went over her statement with her. She was scared to death to talk to HPD."

"So you coached her?"

Steve nodded. "Yea, I calmed her down. Tried anyway."

"Thanks for that." Danny flashed him a smile. "Means a lot."

"It's what friends do, buddy. No problem."

"I don't know what's wrong with me lately."

"You've been through the wringer. That's all."

"Yea okay." Danny sat on the couch, lowering himself slowly, one hand bracing on the arm of the couch, the other over his bandages like a shield. "The doc was right when he said this would take a while."

"You've got a lot on your mind." Steve continued his train of thought while moving to give Danny some room. "Your little girl is growing up. You lost your brother. Your girlfriend has a secret past. Your best friend has a death wish. You've got a lot on your plate."

"So, this is you trying to make me feel better?"

"Sorry, just trying to help, buddy."

"By cataloging my misery, Steven?"

"No, by acknowledging you've been through a lot."

"Giving me an excuse to act like an ass?"

"No excuses, Danny. Just reality. It's enough for anyone to lose their mind."

"Okay? I've lost my mind now?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all." Steve exhaled loudly.

"Uh huh?" Danny crossed his arms over his chest. "What about you, my friend? Like you don't have a lot on your plate?"

"So you're gonna list my misery too now?"

"Fair is fair."

Steve motioned for Danny to get on with it.

"Catherine left you. You were tortured by the Taliban. Wo Fat kidnapped you. Again. You found out Doris raised him, and then you killed him. If that wasn't enough, you thought your dad was alive." He paused to take a deep slow breath. "Oh and then you discovered Joe is lying to you. Of course, that shouldn't be a surprise."

"Jeez Danny – stop."

"See? Life sucks."

Nodding, Steve shifted closer to Danny. "I know this will sound cheesy but I gotta tell ya -"

"We're already one big fat walking, talking cliché, babe. Way past cheesy."

He rested his arm behind Danny on the back of the couch, but didn't say anything.

To fill the space and maybe ease his mind a little, Danny continued. "If the words I love you man, come outta your mouth, I'm going to kill you."

Steve laughed. "No such luck, buddy."

"Good because I'm too tired to kill you right now. And sore."

Danny leaned back against Steve's arm, turning his head so they were eye to eye. He smiled at his best friend. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

Steve looked away.

"Come on, tell me." Danny gave Steve's leg a light jab.

"You're my best friend, Danny. That's all."

"Yea babe. Well sometimes, that's everything."

They were quiet for a few minutes. Then Danny wiggled away from Steve.

"Please, go home. Shower. Go for a swim if it helps. You stink."

"Speak for yourself, Danny. Go take a shower. I'll help you change that bandage when you're done. And then I'll go. Deal?"

"Deal." Danny punched Steve again. "Now finish your coffee before it gets cold, you animal."