Danny's consciousness returned slowly and painfully. His chest felt tight and achy, prickling sharply with every breath. His eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds, so he settled for listening for awhile. 

Somewhere nearby, he could hear a steady beeping noise. After a lethargic moment of thought, he realized that it was keeping time with his heartbeat. There were little rustles of movement too. It could have been fabric or paper, but he was too tired and disoriented to care. 

He tried to take a deep breath, but winced and coughed at the spike of pain across his chest. 

His eyes cracked open unwillingly as he finished his painful coughing fit. 

A dim, blurry scene came into focus. 

He was in a wide room, illuminated with cool, ambient lighting. His eyes traveled downward, taking in the clean, white bed he was lying in. One of his arms was pinned in a firm cast, and he could now see that his chest had been heavily bandaged. Several needles and monitors connected him to the beeping equipment surrounding his bed.

Danny took all of this in with a feeling of surreal disinterest. He felt light-headed, disoriented and a bit nauseous. He wished he had some water. 

He tipped his head to the side, trying to see if there was anything to drink. But he saw something quite different at his side.

D'yani was curled up on a cot next to him. A little pang of shock broke through the fog in Danny's head as he looked at her. Her hair was messy and unkempt, spilling over her sleeping face. One of her arms was draped over the edge, loosely holding onto his free hand. 

Danny blinked at the strange sight. 

Hazy memories of their last few encounters came floating to his mind. Vlad had told her he was a traitor. She had run away crying, unable to look at him. And then... during the last fight. She had looked at him with such fear. Such hatred. 

What had changed?

A new sound made Danny turn his head the other way. The door to his left had opened, spilling light from the hallway into the room. He squinted through the light and heard D'yani shift and grumble in her sleep at the disturbance. 

A figure approached his bed, backlit and unidentifiable for a moment. But as Danny watched him, he realized who it was. 

Vlad. 

The man gave a hesitant smile as they made eye contact. He quietly turned his attention to the various monitors and machines, adjusting a few of the settings now that Danny was awake. Danny watched him warily, tightening his grip on D'yani's hand. 

After a few minutes he pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. 

For a long moment, he and Danny just looked at each other. 

"How does your breathing feel?" Vlad asked softly, careful not to disturb D'yani. 

Danny gave a tiny shrug and grimace. 

"There was a lot of shrapnel in your chest after that last explosion," Vlad explained. "I got it all out, but the damage was extensive. You needed a lot of blood transfusions and you'll probably have some permanent scarring."

"What else is new?" Danny croaked grimly. 

Vlad cracked a sad smile, eyes flicking to the scars on Danny's forearms. 

"The others will be glad to hear you're awake. Most of them are asleep right now, but I'll tell them all in the morning."

Danny's eyes narrowed. 

"And what else will you tell them? That I was working together with the Grangen? That you saved the day again?"

Vlad looked away. 

"I've already told them what happened Daniel," he said softly. "I told them everything."

Danny's eyes widened. 

Vlad kept his eyes on the ground as he continued.

"I know there's no way I can make up for what I've done to you... to them. I hurt you all so badly. I turned your own species, your family against you."

His eyes drifted over to D'yani. 

"There's no way to change what I've done but I swear I'll do whatever I can to protect you all. Even if that means staying away for the rest of my life."

His voice wavered, thick with emotion. Danny just stared at him, caught in a haze of pain medication and shock. This didn't feel like the same man he had known for the past few weeks. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Danny tried to process everything that was happening. 

Finally he managed to speak. Keeping his eyes down and rasping through the breaths, he said,

"I won't forgive you. I... I can't do that. You deserve to suffer for what you've done."

Vlad nodded, still not managing to raise his head. 

"But... it's not my choice. The other Halphas... they deserve to decide. They've been the ones that have been hurt over all this time. They know the truth now. I'll accept their choice. And if they decide to stay with you... I won't stop them."

Vlad swallowed. Voice quavering, he whispered,

"No. I can't be trusted with their care. I don't deserve their trust. It's time that they know what freedom feels like."

Danny closed his eyes, feeling the peace of that acknowledgement settle over him. 

"That's a... step in the right direction," he croaked.