A/N: More silliness for you, mostly because I couldn't get the image of Danny singing karaoke out of my head. The backup part is again in parantheses, but note that it isn't Danny this time, he's got the lead.
And thanks very much to GiorgiaKerr for beta-ing this--if I write another Danny story, I'm gonna need a new keyboard, too :P
It was over a month before he saw her again.
Of course, Danny wasn't exactly staking out that karaoke bar, nor did he have a lot of free time to spend waiting in said bar for a woman to show up. But he managed to sneak away a few times, always on the lookout for his impromptu duet partner.
The one he couldn't stop thinking about.
After five weeks he got lucky, walking through the door and spotting her with the same group of Financial Planners she'd been with the night they met. Striding purposefully over to her table, his lips curved into a broad smile as he brazenly interrupted the conversations already in progress.
"Kady! It's great to see you again!"
So startled was she by his presence she didn't respond at first, staring openly at him for a long moment. I can't believe he's here!
Instead, one of her coworkers jumped in to fill the silence. "Oh I remember you," the woman told Danny, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "You're that FBI guy that sang with Kady a while back. 'The Shoop Shoop Song' was it?"
"That's right," Danny replied smoothly, grabbing an empty chair from the next table and swinging it around beside Kady. "She made me a promise that day, and I'm here to collect."
Kady watched him drop onto the backward-facing chair, his arms folded across the support, his brown eyes fixed squarely on her. "I promised I'd sing backup for you," she remembered with a chuckle.
"'Anytime' I think you said," he reminded her, tilting his head to one side.
She nodded. "I did. But it's getting late…they'll stop taking names soon, so we won't be able—"
He rose, his gaze locked on hers. "Then I guess I better sign us up now." He could hear Kady's female colleagues giggling as he left the table, knew what the male ones thought he was after, but he ignored them. As corny as the whole thing had been, Danny'd had fun singing that old song with Kady that first night, and he was looking forward to doing it again.
Plus, there's the small matter of payback.
He sped back to the Financial Planners' table and reclaimed his seat next to his partner, turning the chair to its proper orientation this time and sloughing off his suit coat. He was met by her inquisitive expression, but offered no explanation.
"Aren't you going to tell me what we're singing?" she prompted, trying to get a look at the slip of paper he was holding.
"You," he replied pointedly, folding the paper and shoving it into his pants pocket, "will get as much notice as I did."
"Great."
She sounded annoyed, but Danny noticed the sparkle in her dark eyes and smothered a grin. Round two, and this time I'm in charge…
Twenty minutes of small talk finally gave way to the opportunity he had been waiting for when the keeper of the karaoke machine called his name.
"Danny T.! You're up!"
Taking Kady's hand, he led her eagerly toward the stage. "Ready?"
"I will be when you tell me what we're singing," she prodded with a raised eyebrow.
"Ever hear of Ray Charles?" he asked, unable to contain a cheerful grin.
"Yeah," she responded warily.
Handing the slip of paper to the guy running the machine, Danny picked up the microphones and passed her one as they made their way up onto the stage. "The backup part starts this one, so make sure you're paying attention."
Kady followed his pointing finger to the screen displaying the lyrics to the song, understanding dawning across her face just as the opening harp notes donged from the speakers. "I can't stop loving you," she sang, turning to Danny with an expression that was equal parts mirth and embarrassment.
He picked up the lead vocals, his voice both heartfelt and teasing.
"I've made up my mind
To live in memory of the lonesome times
(I can't stop wanting you)
It's useless to say
So I'll just live my life in dreams of yesterday
(Dreams of yesterday)"
She kept herself together remarkably well, he had to admit, though he could see her trying to hold back a laugh. And when he reached over to clasp her free hand once again, singing earnestly to her as the color crept up the fair skin of her neck and into her cheeks, he could see her self-control fraying around the edges.
"Those happy hours that we once knew
Tho' long ago, they still make me blue
They say that time heals a broken heart
But time has stood still since we've been apart"
She was laughing aloud now, squeezing Danny's hand in an effort to steady herself and continue to sing, but was only halfway succeeding. Danny ate up Kady's reaction to him, playing the spurned lover in the song as though she had broken his heart irreparably, even in the face of her obvious amusement.
"(I can't stop loving you)
I've made up my mind
To live in memories of the lonesome times
(I can't stop wanting you)
It's useless to say
So I'll just live my life in dreams of yesterday"
There was no interlude this time, no instrumental break for the pair to gather themselves for the call-and-answer portion of the song so Kady plunged ahead with her part, stepping closer to her companion to flash him a confident grin and slip into character as the sorrowful mate. Danny, thrilled by her enthusiasm, winked in return and let loose a laugh of his own before he dove back into the melody.
"(Those happy hours) Those happy hours
(That we once knew) That we once knew
(Tho' long ago) Tho' long ago
(Still make me blue) Still make me blue
(They say that time) They say that time
(Heals a broken heart) Heals a broken heart
(But time has stood still) Time has stood still
(Since we've been apart) Since we've been apart"
She began laughing again, struck by his soulful rendition of the song juxtaposed with his off-duty-Fed appearance, tie hanging loose in his unbuttoned collar, sleeves rolled up above his elbows. Too cute, she thought between lines. And though she knew he didn't mean the words he sang literally, his appeal was enhanced by his sincerity in the sentiment of the piece. He really did miss me…
"(I can't stop loving you)
I said I made up my mind
To live in memory of the lonesome times
Sing the song, Kady"
The ad lib caught her off guard, triggering a girlish giggle that she wasn't able to suppress, and she saw Danny's eyes twinkle in response. The smile on her face blossomed and she felt her blush deepen, but no longer cared or even remembered that she hadn't come here alone. She was having a great time—again—and recognized that he was too.
"(I can't stop wanting you)
It's useless to say
So I'll just live my life of dreams of yesterday
Spontaneously, he released her hand and trailed the back of his fingers over her cheek, cupping her chin as she echoed the last line softly.
"(Of yesterday)"
The whistles from the Financial Planners' table and the applause from the rest of the crowd broke the solitude of the moment, but not the affection. As before, he held her hand and presented her to the audience to take her bows, but slid an arm around her when she stepped back, planting a kiss on her hair. Dropping his mouth to her ear, he managed to make himself heard over the din.
"That was worth waiting for."
Rendered speechless for the second time that night, she recovered more quickly this go around and whispered back, "Now imagine what I could do with some advanced notice."
The surprise registered plainly on his features as they returned their microphones and exited the stage, his arm still draped around her waist. "Is that an invitation?"
"To sing again?" she asked, shrugging. "Sure. My sister's the one with the real voice in the family—I'm just fooling around when I get up there—but I'll go again. Definitely."
"What about 'fooling around' somewhere by ourselves?" he countered. The shock in her expression confused him briefly, until he realized what he'd actually said and laughed heartily. "I meant we could go out…maybe you'd let me take you to dinner or something," he clarified, smirking.
"Oh, you mean spend some time together and actually talk?" she asked, letting out the breath she had unconsciously been holding and permitting a hint of sarcasm to surface in her words. "I think I'd like that."
"And you are going to give me your number this time." Danny's smirk relaxed into a gentler smile. "Because I don't think I could handle any more nights in this place looking for you."
Kady leaned against him as they walked back to the table, mirroring his smile. "We can't have that—you might find yourself another partner."
"That won't happen," he assured her. When she stopped walking and looked up at him, he continued, "You think I would do that with anyone else? For anyone else? Uh-uh, no way. I only subject myself to such public humiliation for very few, very special people."
"And I'm one of 'em, huh?" Her dark eyes were bright and teasing, and she spoke again before he could answer. "I'm glad you didn't stop looking for me, Danny—every time I hear 'The Shoop Shoop Song' I get this big grin on my face that won't go away."
His mouth spread into a playful smile. "I bet the ladies at the office keep a supply of Betty Everett on hand, too, don't they?"
"Oh yeah."
"Well get ready for more," he chuckled, directing her gaze to the table full of her gossiping colleagues, "because I think they just added Ray Charles to the playlist."
The Financial Planners caught the pair staring and exchanged mischievous glances before bursting out in a loud chorus, "I can't stop loving you…"
Kady felt her cheeks burning and threw an apologetic look at Danny, who was enjoying the serenade immensely. "It's not that funny," she told him, poking his chest.
"They aren't my friends," he explained cheerfully.
"Next time," she replied with a cunning smile, "they will be."