Danny stood in the kitchen, watching his Christmas dinner of stir fried vegetables simmer to perfection.
"We've got a bloody great Christmas turkey, you know," Grissom said, entering the kitchen and going to the fridge for a drink. "Should be done any moment now, then we call the guys down for dinner."
"I'm a vegetarian," Danny replied.
"Oh yeah. You eat like a girl..." Grissom said, grinning.
"I just feel too... close to animal parts. You know? It'd be like you eating a human hand," Danny explained. Grissom nodded.
"So how was Melbourne?" Grissom asked, after a slight pause.
"Cold. Wet. Then warm. Then wet again. Then somewhere in the middle. Melbourne weather is like that," Danny answered.
"And what've you been up to these last couple of months, then?"
"I had... business to take care of. Back in Melbourne. I hate to sound cryptic, but trust me, it was important. And it was where I needed to be at the time. I'm sorry to have left you guys at a tough time, I really am, but..."
Grissom held up his hands and nodded in a gesture of understanding to stop Danny talking. "I get it. Sometimes we've all got places we have to be."
"You'll all hear about it. Soon enough," Danny said. Grissom nodded again, then turned to leave the room.
"So are you comin' to dinner then?" The Brit asked.
Danny followed him into the dining room and sat down nervously at the table, waving to his teammates as he did so. Most of the roster of Vanguard International was gathered there, and the rest were expected soon.
"Guys... before we eat," Danny began nervously. "I have something to say before we eat."
"What, like grace?" Drake asked.
"More of a question," Danny said, then continued. "I know I let you guys down, ducking out like that when we had a crisis to face. There was something I had to do, but still, I know my timing was shit. So I may be way out of line in asking you guys this, but..."
He trailed off. There was silence.
"What?" Brianna asked.
Danny started talking, a newfound conviction in his voice. "I love you guys. I really do. I love this team. Without it I would have had no reason to keep on living when I came back to this time, nothing tying me to this world. I feel an immense amount of loyalty and duty when it comes to you guys, and the work we do. I guess I'm saying... if you'll still have me... I want my team back. I want your trust back. I want to lead you again."
Danny dropped his head and contemplated his dinner, waiting for someone to speak. For a little while, nobody did.
