Drowning
By Shaz1
Disclaimer- none of the recognised characters belong to me, until the DVD box set eventually gets released and then they will constantly live in my DVD player!
I don't normally post stories whilst in the midst of a longer one (like Blood and Thunder), but this just won't leave me alone!
Drowning
"Doesn't it ever get to you?" the lone detective asked the police commissioner as he pulled out the stool beside him and perched on it.
"I wouldn't be human if it didn't son" the top police officer replied softly, observing the slight tremor to the young man's hand as it grasped at the whiskey glass. He knew that he would find his son in this bar, it was where he had gone when Joe had died, where he had visited when his partner had been shot and where he had disappeared to when Jamie had told him that he was joining the police force. Frank sat it out as his son remained silent, his face pale and sullen in the low lighting of the bar. Linda had called her father in law when Danny had failed to return home, and she had already fielded concerned phone calls from his loyal partner Jackie. Danny made no move to talk to his father, his thoughts travelling at a hundred miles an hour in his skull, and he welcomed the numbing effect that the scotch was having on him. He ordered another with a mere nod of the head, and downed it in two gulps. "Take it steady son" Frank warned, not intending on nagging his son, but hating to see him taking solace in alcohol.
"Take it steady? I'm a grown man pop" Danny retorted, ordering another to prove that he could do as he pleased. Frank sighed, partly in frustration, but mostly in concern- he hated it when Danny became dragged down into one of his black moods. He remembered the boy that had joined the marines, happy and relaxed- excited at his new life, at his chance to see the World and serve his country. Would he have done it if he had known what would happen in Iraq? He honestly didn't know, he supposed that the same could be said for the police service. No one could ever fathom the horrors that a police officer would see every week of their working lives, the people that they have to deal with and the diverse societies that they have to form links with. If they had known would any of them have chosen the path that they had?
"It gets to you because you are human Danny, because you care" Frank told his son softly, he had been worried to hear about his son's latest case as soon as he had been assigned it. He knew how certain things pushed the younger man's buttons and he had felt a shudder run through him when he had heard the outcome of this latest incident. "Its not your fault son" he told him softly, drinking from his own whiskey. Danny snorted at the comment, he closed his eyes but in the darkness the images just further haunted him.
"Who else's fault is it Dad?" he asked sourly, reaching for the fresh glass presented to him by the bar tender. Frank sighed, Danny was a damn fine detective and he was so proud of him- and he hadn't done anything wrong at all, they had been a mere moment too late to save the young girl and she had died in Danny's arms. Frank knew that it would be a day of his life that would haunt his son for forever.
"Danny you can't save everyone all of the time" he told his son emphatically.
"So how come you are here trying to save me?" Danny retaliated, before he got to his feet and unsteadily left the bar, leaving a worried father, colleague and boss behind.
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Danny walked through the streets of the city, New York had always been his home, and he would never live anywhere else, but the landmarks that he passed only signified previous pain and hurt, each area having seen another death. His life was surrounded by death and distrust- even his own family with the loss of his mother and his brother. He stopped and looked out across the water, his thoughts drifting as the effect of the alcohol wore off. His father had been trying to help him, he knew that now, but he had reacted out of his own pain and need to vent his anger at the world. He had been investigating a kidnapping in which a six year old girl had been taken from close to her house- he had been assigned many similar cases before, but they had all ended well. He had worked all the hours under the sun and finally located an address that the perp used, when they had arrived at the scene she had been there barely breathing. He had picked her up and held her in his arms, and a few moments later she had died. There had been nothing whatsoever he could do to bring her back, but if only he had been quicker.
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Frank stood in the dark, watching his son from a distance. He could see the waves of hurt radiating from the younger man as he stood looking out over the water. He wished that he could turn back time to help his son, help him get to the child in time, then they wouldn't be here now. Having said that in his heart of hearts he knew that he couldn't protect his son from all the hurt in the world. The detective of the family felt things very deeply, despite attempts to show no emotion to the outside world. He sighed as Danny turned sightless eyes towards him, not even seeing his father. Mind made up and hands pushed deeply into his pockets he moved towards where his son stood, intent on bringing him back to them.
"Son, we need to get you home" he told him softly, placing his arm lightly around the shoulder of his unresisting son. He guided him gently towards the bench behind them and sat beside him. "There was nothing you could have done son" Frank told him "You may not believe it, and you may not like it- but nothing you could have done would have saved that little girl" he continued, not releasing his grip from his distraught son. He forced himself to swallow past the lump in his throat as his eldest son turned into him, his head buried in his father's shoulder and his body wracked with tears. "That's it son, cry it out" he soothed him, squeezing him tightly against him in the hopes of offering him whatever comfort he possibly could. Danny cried on his father's shoulder until he was emotionally and physically spent, his emotions overwhelmed him and he struggled to breathe under the weight of them. Each breath took a concerted effort as if breathing in water, but eventually he managed to get himself back in check, he eased himself away from his father and run his hands through his hair and over his tired face.
"I'm ok Dad" he told the man beside him.
"Sure you are son, sure you are"
End
What do you think? Leave it as a one shot or another chapter?