We've come to the end of another journey. I am utterly grateful to my followers for nourishing my passion for writing.

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It wasn't long after Steve regained his strength that the two partners were giving their leave from the hospital. Routine check-ups were mandatory to ensure that no complications from the transplant would arise.

Chin was also discharged from the hospital, but Kono had to remain a few more days. Although Chin was given the green light to return to work, Danny and Steve however were still forbidden to tackle field work.

Steve took a short leave of absence to fly to Seattle, Washington, where Lieutenant Boyle's widow resided. He found her living with her older sister. The woman gave Steve a hero's welcome by throwing herself into his arms, remembering how fond her husband was of him.

Steve felt awkward and downright embarrassed by the show of affection, which he thought he didn't deserve. He couldn't bring himself to stare her straight in the eyes when they reminisced about her husband's work in the Navy and how he idolized Steve.

That trip down memory lane ripped Steve's heart to shreds. He couldn't bear hearing her sing his praises. He had to leave before he would crack and break his promise to Danny.

As he crossed the threshold of the front door, he turned to the woman and vowed to make himself available for anything that she might need. She couldn't understand the reason behind this sudden solicitude but didn't question his intentions and accepted with gratitude.

"Thank you, Commander. Now I see why Harry was very fond of you. You truly are a good friend."

Those kind words sliced through Steve and send his emotions spiraling out of control. He left the premises before he lost it completely.

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The morning after landing in Hawaii, Steve went straight to HPD where a special section was set aside to accommodate the Five-0 team temporary while the Palace was being rebuilt. He locked himself in his office and buried himself under paperwork.

Danny showed up a few hours later. Today was Kono's first day on the job after leaving the hospital.

"Hey guys! Kono, nice to see you up and about. How are you?"

"Fit as a fiddle," Kono said with a tinge of relief. "I'm thankful to be alive."

"Yeah, we all are. It was touch and go there for a while but that stubbornness paid off. Looking at you now you'd hardly think you were in a coma three months ago."

Chin wrapped a brotherly arm around his cousin and said proudly. "She is something."

Danny turned to the glass-windowed office behind which Steve was seen working at his desk.

"I see that Steve's back from his trip."

"Yeah. He was there this morning when we came in," Chin said.

"He didn't call me to come and pick him at the airport or anything." He jutted his head toward his partner and asked with concern, "How is he doing this morning?"

"I don't know what happened on his trip to Seattle, but he's been sort of down in mouth."

"I thought perhaps that visit would get that load off his shoulders but apparently it didn't."

"What load?" Chin queried.

"It's complicated. I'll be right back." Danny made his way to the office and knocked on the closed door.

"Come in!" As Danny walked up to the desk, Steve quickly closed the folder that he was perusing. "Hey Danny!"

"Say babe why didn't you call when you got back in town? I would have picked you up."

"I didn't want to disturb you. I took a cab."

"Are you okay?" Danny asked as he picked up on his partner's morose expression.

"I will be. I saw Boyle's wife and she treated me like a hero, can you imagine?"

"Yes I can because you are."

Steve shoved his chair back and stood. "Come on, Danny!"

"I see there's no getting through to you."

"If roles had been reversed, would you have swept it under the rug so easily?"

"I did with Rick."

"Danny, you didn't kill him."

Danny felt this conversation was sinking into quicksand and before it went too deep, he veered off subject."

"The governor called while you were away. Since Kono, you and I aren't cleared for field work yet, he's giving us another two-week sick leave. So I thought why not take this opportunity to go to New Jersey for a few days? We could drop by my folks and I'll introduce you. I'm sure they'd like that."

"Thanks Danny but I don't think so."

"Come on, it'll be fun. We need to get away from this island."

"What's wrong with it now?" Steve was exasperated at Danny's constant bashing of Hawaii.

"Aside from my usual jeremiad, just recently the little horrific episode we went through. We need to put some distance between it and us for a while."

"New Jersey, huh?" Steve was beginning to show some interest.

"That's right."

"Isn't it the middle of winter over there?" Steve asked.

"Yeah."

"Well there must be snow?"

"I can't teach you how to ski without snow."

"Oh no. You won't get me on those," Steve griped.

"Skiing is just like surfing, babe."

"Snow doesn't behave like water."

"What's the matter? Afraid you might like it?" Danny teased with a smug.

Seconds elapsed before Steve conceded, "All right I'll go. But I don't have to enjoy it."

"Duly noted," Danny quipped. "It'll do us both a lot of good after what happened."

"Do your folks know about the transplant?"

"Not yet but I intend to tell them once we get there." Danny slanted his head to read his partner's expression. "What's wrong? You feel sick or something?"

"No it's not that, it's just -." Steve was at a lost for word. He sucked in a deep breath to prevent his emotions from spilling and out of the blue, he clenched Danny into a brotherly hug.

"Steven you're scaring me." Danny pulled back and stared dubiously at his emotional partner. "I've never seen you like this before. Something you're not telling me. What is it?"

"I've made a decision."

"And," Danny gulped nervously in dreaded anticipation of Steve's answer.

"I won't turn myself in." Danny's eyes dropped in utter relief. "It might haunt me for the rest of my life, but I need to get past it and focus on the job ahead."

"That's a sound decision."

"I'm still afraid of a repeat though. If it happened once it might occur again and this time with - ," he couldn't bring himself to finishing the sentence. He merely stared at Danny who quickly read his partner's grim thought.

"With me?"

Steve nodded. "Let's face it, I'm a ticking bomb. You tell me all the time."

"That's who you are and even though it often scares the hell out of me, I wouldn't change you for the world. You're our crazy Neanderthal and we love you just the way you are."

Steven fashioned a grateful smile. "Thanks Danno."

"Besides didn't you say that this kidney of mine was making you act like a normal human being?"

"Normal is not the term I used," Steve teased back.

Danny just smirked.

Steve tapped Danny on the shoulder. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go to lunch."

To Kono and Chin, he offered, "Say, how about you two join Danny and me for lunch? My treat."

"Well if you put it kindly like that, who are we to refuse?" Chin said glancing at Kono who nodded in agreement. Both were visibly stunned and yet happy to see a change in their leader's demeanour.

"What do you feel like eating?" Danny asked Steve.

"How about a large pepperoni pizza?"

"Sounds good."

"Hey wait, what did I just say?" Steve stopped dead in his track.

"You said you wanted a pepperoni pizza."

"That's right. But that's not my favorite topping."

"No it's mine," Danny said pursing his lips to refrain from chuckling.

"Oh my God, it's really happening."

"What? What's the matter?" Kono asked a bit baffled by Steve's horrified expression.

"He thinks now that he has my kidney that he's actually turning into me," Danny couldn't help but laugh. "The first week after he got out of the hospital he didn't go near the water and get this, he got up AFTER 5:30am, can you believe it?" He turned to Steve still bewildered and gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Congratulations! You are getting to be a normal human being, whatever term you want to use."

"No it can't be, "Steve shook his head in denial. "It's just temporary insanity. A reaction to all the meds I've been taking. Yeah that's it."

"Sure, let's call it that," Danny humoured and winked to Chin and Kono who were laboring to keep from laughing."Come on, I'll buy you a pineapple and ham pizza. I'm sure you'll see that you're still the deranged freak that we've come to love."

THE END