The holes being drilled into the back of his head by her curious eyes was kicking his heart rate up to twice as fast as it usually beat. Daniel still tapped rapidly at his side, trying to distract himself from her gaze upon him. The four horsemen walked swiftly down the cramped tunnel towards Dylan who waited for them at the end of the hallway. Did he know about this? Would he really play into Merritt and Jack's childish secrets and go behind Danny's back? The thought flared even more anger within him.

However, as they got closer to their leader, Dylan's face was similar to Daniel's when he had first seen Henley. Instantly, Danny knew this was a surprise to him as well. What were those two thinking? He swore to God, somehow they'd pay for this.

"Danny..." her voice came gently from behind him. Hearing her voice say his name again was enough to twist his chest to the point where it felt like it was hard to breathe. He just continued to walk quickly to Dylan who had his arms raised in the air in confusion, but his face showed that it was a good kind of befuddlement. He gazed behind Danny towards where the sound of heels clacking on the cement floor emanated, taking in Henley's appearance with shock.

"What was that?" he asked, although not accusingly in the slightest. "Was this you guys?"

"No." Danny answered immediately and bitterly. He could almost feel the blow that it took to Henley which he felt a bit bad about, but at the moment he was mostly just pissed.

"Jack and I did some digging..." Merritt said, before anyone could react to Danny's rude commentary. "And convincing." he added, looking at Henley with a mock-annoyed facial expression. Danny looked away from them, but watched her out of the corner of his eye. She forced a smile at Merritt quickly but her gaze kept shifting to Danny; a very concerned gaze at that. He still refused to look back. He kept his stubborn glare at the wall, trying to keep his nervous ticks controlled.

"Well, I'm ecstatic to see you." Dylan was saying, moving in for a hug.

Oh, how disgustingly adorable. Danny thought to himself. He'd never admit that every inch of him wanted the same- just to throw his arms around her and enjoy the fact that she was with them again and the horsemen were whole. He liked Lula a lot and wouldn't have minded if she had permanently been the fourth member to their "little family" as Lula had always called it. Nothing would ever feel like it had when the original four were together, though. Especially when it meant Henley being there. God, he had missed her like crazy. But he was J. Daniel Atlas. He didn't often willingly do sentiments or anything that left him vulnerable for that matter. He wouldn't admit that anyone affected him in anyway, no. Nothing that would compromise his ego or the walls he had built so high.

"Thrilled." he muttered sarcastically under his breath, earning a punch in the arm from Merritt and a disapproving glare from Jack who were the only ones who heard. Daniel didn't care though.

"I wish Daniel shared your enthusiasm." Henley inserted a sassy comment, stepping back to cross her arms and look at him. Danny scoffed. Any other person would try to dance around the awkward tension in the air, but Henley being Henley went straight for what she was thinking. It drove him crazy sometimes, but it was one of the reasons he had liked her so much in the first place.

"I'm just wondering why this all went on without me hearing as much as a word about it. That's all." He said, throwing his hands up and letting them fall back to his sides. Merritt took a deep breath like he was about to go into a long explanation, so Danny just turned in irritation and began walking away.

"Look, Daniel. Henley didn't know we didn't tell you. Don't take this out on her."

"Yeah, we were just afraid of how you'd react." Jack added. Danny spun around at this, fuming at this point.

"Oh, so the logical solution then would be to go behind my back with a decision that should've been made as a team, is that it?"

"Do you mean a 'team' decision, or a J. Daniel Atlas decision?" Merritt asked. Danny glared at him, clenching his jaw and fist. They always did this. Whenever they all got into fights they always ganged up on him. Maybe with good reason, he secretly would admit. In the moment however, he only cared about making his point clear.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You would've shot us down instantly! Don't deny it! And it wouldn't have been for any damn good reason either. You would've been much too emotionally connected to-"

"Okay, okay. No. If you're trying to say that you were just too much of a coward to come and tell me, then just say it."

"Are you angry at them for going behind your back or are you angry at me for leaving in the first place?" Henley suddenly spoke up, her eyes staring knowingly at Danny making him want to cringe back. She was sassy and sarcastic, but Henley's underlying nature was kind and gentle, so it was always a little unsettling when her demeanor changed to a more rigid and unforgiving appearance. It was just as troubling when she completely guessed what he was really feeling at the same time. His mind shouted yes but of course, his lips refused to give into that loss of power. Instead he was just quiet, unable to find words to prove her wrong (mostly because she was right). The only thing she may have been wrong about was that he was angry. Sure, he turned his feelings into anger as a safeguard but what he really was feeling was hurt. One year later and he still was hurt by her abandoning him.

"Come on, Man." Jack spoke up. "Don't be a dick."

Daniel scoffed again, rolling his eyes and shifting his weight. He looked directly at Henley, locking gazes with her. In her eyes he saw hope that he'd let up. He had always let her down, though. This time wasn't an exception. With every bit of sarcasm and bitterness left in him after being tired out just thinking of the situation in general, he narrowed his eyes and began walking backwards.

"So very glad you're back, Henley." he muttered, turning on his heel and walking away. Part of him hated himself. That was pretty shitty, even for him. Daniel could envision the fall of her facial expression, the disappointment written in her features. She disappointed him first though. That's what he kept convincing himself to keep walking.

"Where are you going?" Dylan yelled after him. Danny didn't answer, instead tugging off his tie and tossing it aside as he walked to the exit of the tunnel. "We're leaving for Vegas tomorrow. Don't forget!"

Danny sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He needed to get drunk.

~X~

Danny walked for hours around the city. He kept his hood up both so that no one would recognize him and because there was a constant and irritating drizzle that sent shivers through his body. He thought about nothing but then again everything which didn't make sense when he thought about it like that, but it was exactly how it felt taking one mindless step after another traveling Manhattan. Thank God everyone was always in a hurry to be somewhere and too preoccupied with their own lives in New York, or else there would've been crowds to force him into some sort of card trick or something of the sort. He could've even attracted the attention of the FBI, but Daniel wasn't worrying about that for once. His mind was running wild and he needed to get away from everything for a while.

When it began to get dark, Danny found himself in a 'hole in the wall' type of bar. He sat on one of the creaky old wooden stools, downing another glass of liquor. He couldn't even remember which one he had ordered this time. He just knew that it clouded his thoughts distracting him from thinking of Henley which he liked. With this in mind, he got the bartenders attention again.

"One more please." he said, pushing away the empty glass. Sighing, Daniel ran his hands through his hair and closing his eyes against the dizziness that was building from his drink after drink. His hair was starting to get long again. He had cut it after Henley left and said it was because it was just getting annoying. That was partially true but he mostly just needed a change. Seeing it would just remind him of how much she loved to ruffle it to drive him nuts. He had missed it after a while though. As Henley began to become more of a memory as time passed by, he wanted it back almost as if it would keep her from falling further into distant memory.

"Here you go."

The man behind the bar slid another drink to Daniel who quietly thanked him before taking a swig of more alcohol. The world was really getting blurry at this point. Usually Daniel hated being drunk. Maybe it went hand in hand with the control freak thing. He didn't like not being able to predict his actions. This was a special occasion though.

"Bloody Mary, please." a feminine voice sounded from besides Danny. He ignored it for the most part, only interested in taking another drink of his own alcohol. That's another way he had drastically changed ever since Henley had left. He used to make it his first priority to bring in girls with the most elementary of magic tricks that still managed to amaze them into his apartment afterwards. He had no interest in that anymore.

"Hi." The girl said in an obviously over the top flirty voice. Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked over at her, giving a slight nod, then returning to his drink.

"You look familiar."

The phrase would've normally caused Danny to flip out and get the hell out of there, but why should he care? No matter how hard he tried to keep everything running smoothly for the group, they always ended up going behind his back and screwing everything up anyway.

"Do I?" His slurred words sounded foreign and distant to him.

"Wait..." the girl said, dropping her fake, high-pitched flirty act. "Are you that magic guy?"

Danny chuckled. "That magic guy..." he repeated. "I suppose you could call it that."

"Soooo..." The girl said, putting her hand on his. Danny was a little too out of it to process what she was doing at first, only looking down at her hand. "Can I see a trick?" Danny retracted his hand then stuttered out a response.

"I mean, I guess I could. Something..." he rambled, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cards. "Real quick."

Within minutes he had attracted a small crowd around him. He only performed simple tricks that were like second nature to him, partly because he didn't care enough at the moment to really bring out the extra wow-factor but also he was too inebriated to have great motor skills at the same time. Still though, the crowd was nevertheless pleased with him providing entertainment (particularly the girls).

"It's in your pocket." a rough voice came from behind the crowd. Danny furrowed his brow and looked over to see the blurred image of a tougher looking guy with a can of beer gripped in his hand so tightly you'd think it was his lifeline.

"Uh, Ms." Danny beckoned to the noticeably beautiful girl sitting next to the skeptic. "Do you mind checking my pockets for me?"

She smiled shyly and stood up, making her way over to him to the other guy's chagrin. Danny cocked an eyebrow at the man the whole time, his trademark smug smile across his lips as the girl dug around in his jacket pockets, finding nothing. The infuriated and slightly embarrassed expression on the cynic's face was enough to satisfy Daniel. Usually the typical doubter would shut up after being proven wrong, however this guy would not let his pride go.

"Whatever. This stuff is bullshit. A sham." The guy said. His girlfriend rolled her eyes.

"Anthony, stop." the girl said, obviously embarrassed by the scene he was making. She turned and gave Danny an apologetic smile.

"Come on, we're leaving." Anthony said, grabbing her arm and beginning to walk out.

"Ow." she muttered, angrily trying to pull away. Daniel felt anger flare up in him. He took a King of Spades and whipped it at the asshole making his way towards the door. He retracted his hand with a hiss and turned to Danny with a snarl.

"Yeah, Anthony." Danny said. The little voice that was supposed to be his conscious told him this was a stupid idea, however the alcohol was really clouding his decision making at the moment. Not that Danny was ever able to avoid turmoil sober. "Why don't you stay a while?"

Anthony slammed his drink down on the nearest table, his eyes ablaze and the muscles in his arms pulsing.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen." Danny said, clumsily shoving his cards back into his inner jacket pocket. "That'll be all for tonight."

The crowd "awed" in disappointment as Daniel started to stumble towards the back door of the bar despite the protests of the employees in the kitchen. He walked backwards so he could see Anthony pushing over chairs in order to clamor through the room towards Danny. When he felt the cool metal of the handle on the small of his back, Danny turned and pushed open the door into the cool night air. The sound of New York traffic filled his ears as he attempted to keep upright while making his way out of the dark alleyway at the back of the restaurant before he got snapped in half by an angry drunk guy.

"Hey!" the scruff voice emanated from closely behind him. Danny felt a steel grip bear down on his should, forcing him around to stare directly at the monster of a man.

"Don't ever undermine me in front of my girl." he breathed, the smell of beer heavy in the air.

"Right." Danny said. "However, I don't think you need me to do that. You seemed to be doing just a swell job of that on your own."

Shut up, Daniel. He told himself. His mouth always got him into trouble, but it wasn't like this guy didn't deserve it.

"You fucking prick." the man huffed, raising an arm to land a punch. Luckily Danny was faster, even in his drunken state. He reached into his pocket and felt the smooth metal surface of his handcuffs, maneuvering to snap them onto the guy's wrist in lightning fast speed, the other end closing around a pipe jutting out from the back of the building. Anthony tried to swing down, his arm stopping mid punch with the constraint of the handcuffs. The look of pure idiotic confusion was enough to make Danny smirk. However, his victory was short lived when the man tugged and the pipe came crashing down.

"Shit..." Danny muttered. Before he had any time to react, Anthony got in that punch he wanted. It felt like a ton of bricks had crashed into Daniel's face. There was more than enough hard impact to leave a good mark, he was sure. Danny grunted and felt his legs collapse under him from the impact. His face throbbed as he pushed backwards away from the heavy breathing neanderthal, noticing that he was still handcuffed to the pipe- the pipe was just no longer attached to anything else. Danny was able to grab the steel tube and yank it backwards as he kicked forward, getting him in his tree trunk of an ankle. Both these things contributed to the guy going down, his giant body crumbling to the ground.

Daniel took that time to stumble up onto his feet. He didn't know whether it was the alcohol or being knocked pretty hard in the face, but he was not finding standing easy. The world was twisting and turning around him, everything just an indefinite blurred shape of bright colors.

Now's the part where you get the hell out of here, Atlas. He ordered himself. His brain tried to get the message to his limbs to get moving, but everything felt so heavy. Before he got the chance to even try to inarticulately stagger out of there, he felt hand grip the front of his shirt, hoisting him off of his feet until his back slammed into a brick wall.

"You're dead." Anthony breathed. Danny knew that for once in this guy's life he may actually be right this time. There was no way he was going to be able to fight this sack of steroids- not plastered, anyway.

"When I count down from five, you're going to get very tired." A familiar voice came from somewhere behind the giant mass that was holding Daniel against the wall. "Five, four, three, two, one, sleep."

The pressure forcing Danny up against the cold, hard stone lifted and Daniel crumpled to the ground. He would've fallen to his knees if it weren't for two sets of hands grabbing each of his arms and hoisting him up.

"You sir, are the dumbest of the dumbasses." Merritt's voice came from Danny's right. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, trying to see the world around him a little more clearly. Merritt and Jack surrounded him, lifting each of his arms over their shoulders to drag him out of the alley and away from the seemingly asleep Anthony on the ground.

Danny was honestly very relieved to hear his friend's voice. He was also a bit disconcerted, refusing the truth that he needed help in the first place.

"How did you find me?"

"We tracked your phone. You're welcome by the way."

"I didn't-"

"I swear to God, I'll match the left side of your face to your right if you say you didn't need our help." Jack interrupted, helping Merritt pull open the door to their car and helping Danny into the back. Daniel just groaned in response as he laid down again the leather seats, moving his hand up to feel the right side of his face and feeling blood. The sound of the front doors open and closing as Jack and Merritt got into the car sounded and the car started up with a low hum. Daniel closed his eyes and draped an arm over his eyes against the harsh street lights around him. Everything was especially bright at the moment.

"How much did you have to drink?" Jack asked, shifting in his seat to turn to look at Danny.

"Can't remember."

Jack scoffed and shook his head. Jack and Merritt continued with their own quiet conversation the rest of the ride home. Daniel didn't mind. He was very dizzy and very tired. He didn't feel like explaining himself to his friends who he was mad at anyway.

"Alright. Come on, kid." Merritt said when they arrived at the safe house. He popped open the back door and Danny pushed himself up, wincing all the way.

"Don't call me kid." he muttered.

"Well that's exactly how you've been acting, like a kid having a tantrum." Merritt said calmly back. Danny groaned and rolled his eyes, allowing Merritt to support him from one side as Jack ran to get through the security of the front gate to open the front door for them. The journey through the house was a blur to Daniel. All he knew was that he ended up in his room, sitting at the edge of his bed.

"Jack..." Danny muttered, his thoughts feeling as if someone had thrown his mind in a blender and set it to high. "You're a good magician." He wasn't sure where this was even coming from, but he felt like he needed to say it right then in that exact moment.

"Um... thanks, Danny." Jack said, surprise clear in his voice as he set a water down next to Danny's bed.

"I'm just... a better... a better-er magician." he muttered. Jack seemed like he tried not to laugh at this but failed.

"Great, thanks."

"Merritt?"

"Yes, Danny Boy?"

"Fuck You."

Merritt sighed and Danny chuckled like it was the funniest thing in the world. Man, he was not going to have a good morning.

"Where'd you find him?" a light voice came from the doorway.

"Drunk behind a bar about to have the shit beaten out of him." Jack answered, setting a hangover pill next to the water he had left on the nightstand.

"God, Danny. What'd you do this time?"

It was Henley's voice, this he knew right away even with his mind boggled.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, okay." Merritt said sarcastically. "I'm sure it had to do with his inability to shut the hell up."

"Yeah, you can leave now." Danny mutter bitingly.

Merritt threw up his hands in the air defensively and turned and left, Jack patting Danny's shoulder and following. That just left Henley in the doorway, a box of some sorts in her hand. She made her way over to him, but even in the discombobulate image around him, Daniel could tell she was stiff and uncomfortable. She was probably worried that he'd snap at her again or make some rude comment. Suddenly, he felt really bad.

"Hold still." she said quietly, taking medical supplies from the box. Oh right... he thought, remembering his wound below his eye.

"Ow." he groaned when she began cleaning his injury. Her face was only about a foot away from his, her eyes focused and her hair in a pony tail. She was wearing dark sweatpants and a tank top. Danny knew that was what she generally slept in. It made him realize he really had no idea how late it was.

"You're an idiot, Daniel Atlas." she said, dabbing away the blood with gauze. Danny knew that if he was sober and in the right state of mind, he'd find a snarky counter to her sassiness, but all he could do was stare at her. His mind and mouth found no words to say. He was more confused than anything. He wanted to hate her forever for leaving. He wanted to be stronger than his will to run back to her and give her all of his vulnerabilities. Who was he kidding though? He loved her. He never stopped loving her. God, why was his pride and ego always making such a mess of things?

"Get to sleep. You can go back to hating me in the morning." she said after she finished. He couldn't tell if she was joking or if there was bitterness and hurt behind her words. Either way, she stood and started making her way out rather coldly. Sighing, Danny eased himself to lie down on his bed, pulling up the covers around him.

"Thanks." he muttered groggily. He watched the silhouette of Henley turn in the door way, her posture softening just a bit.

"It's fine." she said, shrugging. "You won't remember it tomorrow anyway." she said. That time he could tell that she had a hint of amusement in her voice. He would've smiled but he was so tired. Instead, Daniel let his eyes slide close to the sound of Henley gently closing his bedroom door. He probably wouldn't remember any of this the next day. It was a shame too. Waking up the same bitter version of himself was going to make for a rough car ride.