The Truth Hurts

By Shaz1

Disclaimer- none of the recognised characters belong to me etc etc etc…..

This follows on after the episode To Tell the Truth (the one where Linda gets kidnapped etc)

The Truth Hurts

"Christ I am so sorry Babe" Danny told his wife when they had time alone together. "I am so so sorry, I never meant for you to be put at risk" he told her, his voice cracking with the thoughts of what could have been. Linda shushed him, and pulled him towards her, holding him in her embrace as all of the tension of the last few days held him rigid. "God I thought I had lost you" he whispered into her hair, as she held him.

"You haven't, you saved me Danny- just like I knew you would" she replied, and was shocked when he pushed himself away from her, almost violently.

"It was my fault that they took you in the first place" he hissed, his voice low due to the boys being in bed, but his frustration and anger carried in his tone regardless.

"Oh Danny, you didn't ask for any of this" she replied, trying to calm her upset husband. He threw his hands up in despair, his mind a whirlwind of emotions.

"But I didn't stop it either" he whispered, ignoring the look of desperation on his wife's face he turned and left the room. Linda bit back on the tears that threatened to fall- she was used to being a soldier's wife, a cop's wife and a detective's wife. She had been on the receiving end of the phone call, enough times that the phone ringing in the middle of the night always makes her fear the worse, but she didn't know how to deal with him right now.

BB-BB-BB-BB-BB-BB-BB

Danny headed straight into the garden, needing to clear his head- but not willing to be too far away from his wife, after he had come so close to losing her. His job had never put his family at risk before, and he didn't mind admitting that it stung. Linda was his rock, his soul mate and his best friend- and he couldn't imagine having her snatched away from him, especially if it was his fault. He was confused, he had always loved his job yet suddenly he found himself hating it with a passion. If he couldn't protect his own wife, then what good was he to his family. He rubbed his hands over his tired face and leant back against the grass of his back yard. He heard footsteps from behind him, but didn't turn around.

"You ready to talk now?" Linda asked softly. He sighed, his gaze locked in front of him. "Danny you cannot control everything in life, and you can't always protect everyone. It wasn't your fault that you stopped at a convenience store and witnessed a murder. If you hadn't pursued it then you wouldn't have been the man that I married- you wouldn't have been the man that I love" she told him, her hand gently stroking his soft dark hair as she spoke. Unconsciously he leant into her touch, savouring the contact. "Danny I am okay, the boys are okay, and a bad man is in jail for murdering a young man. You did your job, and I don't just mean as a cop" she told him softly, praying that her words would hit home to him. He sighed as he absorbed what she was saying.

"When did you get so smart?" he asked her softly with a ghost of a smile. She returned the smile and ruffled his hair for good measure.

"You know you are the beauty and I am the brains" she commented.

"Na, you're both" he replied softly, allowing her to embrace him once more- drawing comfort from the warmth of her skin, the tenderness of his touch and the beat of her heart. He still felt responsible for her ordeal, and he would never forgive himself if anything had happened to her, but he did see the truth in her words. "I love you so much" he told her, as he gently pulled her towards him and kissed her. When he released her, she rested her forehead against his, and just looked at the man that she adored.

"I love you too Reagan" she told him. He smiled genuinely, and it lit up his eyes. "Now come on take me to bed, before I freeze to death" she concluded, and he got to his feet with a long suffering sigh, he leant down and guided his wife to her feet, before the two of them walked back into the house, hand in hand- as they always would be.

The End