Just In Case

Danny kneeled outside the NICU watching his daughter from behind the glass window. Harriet had told him to humble himself- and he was humble. Things were spinning out of control too fast for him to handle. In the span of a couple of hours he had gotten engaged and now had a little girl. But Danny knew that half of what he had gained could be taken away from him….

….Jordan was critical. His fiancée was in critical condition and it took all of Danny's willpower and strength not to destroy something. All night the doctor had been saying that things sounded worse then they were- but as Danny stared at his little girl he realised that things were as bad as they sounded. And he felt as though he couldn't do anything- he felt as though he was powerless.

'Please…' Danny begged silently, still on his knees not knowing who he was begging but hoping that something, somewhere was listening to him. '…please let everything be alright.'

"Danny…?"

Danny looked up and saw Matt Albie and Mary Tate standing over him with Harriet behind them. Mary was back in her evening dress, and Matt looked no worse for wear but Danny could see that he was dealing with the crash that his system had undergone.

"What are you doing?" Mary asked, slightly confused.

"He's praying…" Matt answered as Danny stood up. "…he's praying."

"But I thought-"

"When there's nothing else that we can do," Harriet interrupted stepping forward in between Mary and Matt. "-we do what can. And sometimes praying is all we can do…"

"…well sometimes we can do more than just pray." Mary added, pulling papers out of her briefcase. "Danny, you need to take these to Jordan."

"Uh- Jordan's in critical condition…."

"We know." Matt interrupted taking the papers from Mary. "But you need to get her to sign these."

"What are they?" Danny asked, knowing full well what the papers were but he didn't want to even contemplate what those papers were.

"They're guardianship papers." Mary answered softly. "You need Jordan to sign them and make you the guardian of the baby."

"But I'm her father-"

"We know." Matt interrupted quietly. "But if anything were to happen to Jordan she wouldn't be-"

"She's my daughter…"

"Danny." Mary stated firmly causing Danny to look at her. "She might be your daughter in your eyes but in the eyes of the law she wouldn't be…."

"…this is just to ensure that you don't lose everything that you've just gained." Matt added handing the papers to Danny. "You need to get Jordan to sign these papers…"

"I can't… I can't go in there."

"Danny…" Mary began

"I can't ask her-"

"Danny…" Harriet began as well.

"I can't-"

"Danny!" Matt stated firmly causing Danny to snap.

"I can't go in there and ask her to sign the guardianship of our daughter over to me!" Danny argued. "It just- it feels as though I've given up."

"It's not giving up." Mary stated softly. "It's just having all your bases covered…"

"Danny," Matt began softly. "-think of what Jordan would want for her baby- your baby…"

Danny just stared at the three people standing in front of him. Harriet looked as defeated as he felt, Matt looked stressed out and Mary looked exhausted. Danny knew that they were all looking out for him, Jordan and the baby but he still felt as though they had all given up…. just like he felt he himself had given up.

Ring…ring… ring…

The sound of Mary's cell phone cut through the silence and she answered it in hushed tones, before hanging up and turning towards Matt. She simply nodded and Matt seemed to jump into a whole new gear.

"Listen," Matt began forcing the papers into his friend's hands. "Have Jordan sign the papers, don't have Jordan sign the papers. The choice is up to you…but Mary and I have to get back to the studio."

"Why?" Danny asked, gripping the papers tight. "What's going on?"

"We're going to help Tom get his brother back." Mary answered over her shoulder and with that she and Mat were gone; leaving Harriet and Danny alone.

"What are you going to do?" Harriet asked quietly, walking up to her friend.

"I don't know…" Danny answered stifling an exhausted yawn. "….but I get the feeling like I'll have to decide soon…"