"Shit!" Danny knew he was running late and was already anticipating the comments he would receive from his partner as soon as he walked in the door.

As per their usual routine Danny was on his way to pick up his partner before heading into work. It was an unspoken agreement they had for months now, since Steve never let Danny drive and since Steve's house was on the way to the palace Danny would stop by, grab a cup of freshly brewed cup of coffee, and let Steve chauffeur him into the office.

He pulled into the driveway, hopped out of the car, and walked briskly through the door. "I know, I know, I'm late, I'm sorry ok? We're not all up at 4:00am like some…" the words died on his lips as he realized he was talking to nobody.

Danny stopped, turned, and walked back to the door. He opened it slowly and peered out to see if he had missed the fact that Steve's truck wasn't even in the driveway. Nope, it was there, Steve hadn't left without him. Puzzled he walked into the kitchen looking for the pot of coffee. Seeing none he made his way out to the beach. Could Steve have added a few more miles to his swim this morning expecting that Danny would be late?

The beach was empty. No towel over the back of the chair, no flip-flops (because he refused to call them slippers), not even Steve's phone on one of the chairs. Turning back to face the house Danny felt a flicker of something in the back of his mind… worry. Steve was a creature of habit, it was part of what drove Danny crazy. Up at sun rise, brew coffee, jog, swim, shower… regardless of what was going on in his life Steve's default was routine. Could it be possible Steve overslept? He checked his watch 8:45… the thought again ignited the flicker in the back of his mind.

The months since Joe White's death had been hard on Steve. He would never admit to it… but Danny could see the cracks starting to show. The dark circles that were now a permanent fixture, the forced smile that didn't quite seem to reach his darker than usual blue eyes, and the faraway look in his eyes when he didn't know anyone was watching.

Danny didn't know the details of Joe's death or the immediate aftermath. The man he met at his arrival in Montana was someone he barely recognized, there was a hardness that hadn't been there before. For a month Steve had been alone dealing with the demons… well not alone, with Catherine… he had called Catherine, not Danny. A fact that still felt like a punch to the gut every time he thought of it.

"I didn't want you to see me like this Danny" the explanation Steve had given when asked why he didn't call. A response he knew that Steve meant completely, he was trying to protect Danny, like always. But it didn't prevent the anger from rising in the pit of Danny's stomach nor did it do anything to quiet the alarms that had been ever present since Danny had heard the news.

Walking back into the house Danny slowly made his way up the stairs to check on his partner. As he reached the landing, he could hear the shower running. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned to go back down to the kitchen to start the coffee and find just the right comments to let Steve know he was there on time and had been waiting for ever for Steve to come downstairs when he heard the shower turn off. The lack of white noise allowed a softer sound to register, soft snoring… The flicker of worry was replaced in quick succession by confusion followed by concern and then embarrassment.

He slowly crept up to the open door and peered in. Steve was sound asleep on his back, arms flung over his head, snoring softly. Did Steve have a lady friend over last night and he had walked in on the aftermath? He suppressed a laugh and turned to walk back downstairs when he realized that Steve's truck had been the only car in driveway… the confusion was back.

He heard the bathroom door click open and before he could duck out of sight, he locked eyes with the woman exiting the bathroom clad in shorts and a t-shirt, Catherine.