Ch. 4: Change of Plans
"Jack, Sean, time for bed!" Danny came down the stairs Monday night.
Normally, he would have gotten a moan or even a boisterous complaint about them not having enough time to play their game. But this time, he didn't get that or any other type of acknowledgment, causing him to react by walking over to the game console and pressing the power button.
This time, both boys reacted with a very loud complaint. Something Danny was more than expecting. Knowing how they felt when it came to their game.
"Dad! We could have lost everything!"
"You should have acknowledged me the first time," Danny was surprised he didn't feel any remorse, like he use to, when it came to his sons game. Remembering far to well, how it felt to be in their shoes, when his own father would come in and turn his game off. It was ironic, how fast things could change, and you could turn into your parents. Especially when you were a single parent.
"But Dad," Sean was the one to speak.
"No your not staying up any later Sean," Danny already knew what his youngest son was about to say.
"It's after 10:00, and I already let you stay up later than you should, because I was busy on the phone." Danny didn't say who it was he was talking to. He didn't think it was their business. Especially considering it was Maria, who he had called to check on.
"Now get to bed both of you."
"Goodnight," Sean sighed, before turning to make his way up the stairs.
"Dad," Jacks voice was low. Choosing to stay downstairs, instead of following his brother, so he could talk to his father alone.
"What?" Danny replied sternly.
"Are you mad at us about something?" Jack followed his father around the bottom floor of the house.
"No," Danny sighed.
"Your acting like you are," Jack wasn't trying to argue. Rather, he was trying to make a point.
"I'm not mad at you," Danny said pointedly. "I just wish you would have acknowledged me the first time."
"Sorry," Jack muttered. Knowing his father did have a point. They were raised to show their parents respect.
"It's fine," Danny waved him off. "Go get ready for bed."
Jack nodded, and started to leave the room. But just as soon he reached the foot of the stairs. He hesitated, and returned shortly.
"Dad."
"What now Jack?" Danny didn't think his son was trying to stall. He hadn't done that in a couple years. But he did have a feeling he wanted to say something. Yet he wasn't sure how to phrase it. Hence the hesitation in the boys behavior.
"Are you okay?" Jack finally, came out and said it.
"I'm fine. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I'm tired." Danny was thinking about how little of sleep he got, since he was trying to help take care of Maria. On top of that, what little sleep he did get was from sleeping on her sofa, and that, he had to admit, wasn't all that comfortable.
"Why not? You were home alone last night, since we stayed with Grandpa."
"I just didn't okay, now go to bed." Danny was getting tired of his sons endless amount of questions.
"Unless you didn't stay home last night?" Jack meant it as a form of teasing. Never imagining, where his father really stayed.
"Do you want to get grounded?" Danny crossed his arms in front of his chest. Deciding to put an end to the boys inquisitive state, before he became even more curious, and the truth came out. Danny wasn't sure how the truth would come out, considering he knew there was no way his son would hear it from him. But at the same time, he didn't want to take any chances.
"No," Jack shook his head. "I've just noticed how offensive you've been tonight."
"Jack!" Danny cut him off.
"Just hear me out," Jack tried. "This past weekend you were absentminded, and now you seem offensive. What's going on?"
"What's going on, is I have two sons that have been impossible lately. First by acting like a couple of smart asses, and now with not wanting to listen. And I can tell you one thing, I'm not going to put up with it anymore." Danny found himself having to be more of a disciplinarian now that his wife wasn't there to do it. "Now I don't want to get tough," he was careful to add. "But I will if I have to."
"I'm sorry," Jack apologized again. "I'm not trying to be impertinent. It just came out wrong. I'm going to go get ready for bed." Jack again, started to walk away. This time, not intending to stop short and returning.
"Jack," this time it was Danny's turn to stop him. "I'm fine, really."
"Just checking," Jack responded.
His sons choice of words reminded him of that of his own father, and Danny was taken back a moment.
Jack continued on his way, and had just reached the foot of the stairs when Danny spoke up again.
"Oh and Jack," Danny gave him a small smile. "Thanks for caring son."
"Somebody's got to do it," Jack grinned, before taking the stairs two at a time. Content that he had given his younger brother more than enough time in the bathroom, and he could have his turn.
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That night, and Maria continued to feel even worse than she had that day on the job. Making her grateful, her partner wasn't there. Knowing he would be pestering her about going to the hospital. Even though she was beginning to think he might be right. Especially after she was so uncomfortable she couldn't sleep, as well as due to the multiple times she had to run to the bathroom, due to bouts of nausea. What made it worse, was the fact that her hormones were all out of whack and she had yet to start her monthly. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was beginning to think she wasn't going to. She had been late before, but never this late. And never, had she seeked out comfort from another. Like she enjoyed when Danny was there.
The following morning came much too early for both Danny and Maria. Especially for Maria, who was doing her best to get up and make herself look somewhat presentable. Forgoing her usual cup of morning coffee, Maria instead took small sips of ice water. She hadn't had a solid meal in over 24 hours, and even though she was hungry, she refused to put even a morsel into her mouth.
Danny's alarm went off around 6:00. And as much as he didn't want to get up, he forced himself to get out of bed and take a shower. Hoping the hot water would help wake him up. Afterwards, he proceeded by waking both his boys up, before making his way downstairs to make a pot of coffee and fix breakfast for the three of them.
It was quite unusual for both boys to make it to the table at the same time in the mornings. But this morning for some reason they did. Causing him to wonder if his talk with Jack the night before made a difference, and he let on to Sean about him being on the verge of getting tough. Pushing these thoughts aside, Danny pushed a few buttons and placed his phone up to his ear.
"How you feeling?"
"Never better," she replied sarcastically. "Getting ready for work."
"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Danny sounded concerned, knowing how bad she had felt the day before. Especially when she yelled for him to pull over so she could throw up.
"Danny," Maria, even though she appreciated his concern. She couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed with the same question.
"Fine," Danny decided to let it go for the time being. But inwardly deciding that if she became sick again while they working, he would ignore her complaints and take her directly to the hospital.
"Now don't you have two boys to get to school?" Maria said hurriedly, getting the feeling she was going to need to drop the phone and make a sudden run to the bathroom.
"Yes," Danny glanced at the clock.
"Then I'll see you in an hour," Maria hung up the phone abruptly and made a quick dash to the nearest toilet.
Flustered, Danny ran a hand through his hair. Normally, he was the stubborn one. But now that she seemed to be turning the tables on him, he didn't know what to think.
Knowing there was nothing he could do about it for the time being, Danny placed his shield over his belt, returned his revolver to its holster, and called for the boys to get their stuff and get in the car, so they wouldn't be late for school.
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The two partners started their day out as usual. They met at the precinct, reviewed the case files on their desk, and hit the streets to either question a witness or a possible suspect.
Inwardly, Maria was priding herself, at how well she had been able to handle the dizziness and bouts of nausea that plagued her. Unfortunately, just as she started to do so, she found herself having difficulty standing, from the swirling going around in her head. She had just stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk when she noticed her eyesight blurring. Maria turned back to the car and reached for the top in a defense mechanism to try and steady herself.
Danny hadn't noticed a change in her behavior, not until he saw her left hand lying flat on the hood of the squad car and the other hand gripping the cars handle bar so tightly, her knuckles were turning white.
"You okay?" Danny stopped short.
"Fine," Maria shook her head, after taking a deep breath.
She had just turned away from the car to follow her partner, when her knees buckled, and she struggled to catch her breath. She started to lose focus as things started to blur, and in an instant, everything turned black and before she knew what was happening she hit the ground.
"Maria!" Danny rushed to her side.
Maria didn't respond, she had passed out. Her breathing was labored and Danny struggled to hoist her into his arms, so he could shuffle her into the back seat.
Seconds later, and he was speeding away to the hospital. He was kicking himself for not going with his intuition and forcing her to go before like he wanted to do in the first place. There were tears streaming down his face as he stole a glance of the backseat. She was still passed out. There was a lump in his throat, and he had to swallow it before he could regain control of his bearings. He had to be able to show concern, but not too much concern. Otherwise it would be far too obvious that they were both falling for one another, in which they were doing their best to not only hide but also ignore.
Arriving at the hospital, Danny let them in on everything he knew regarding her symptoms and change in behavior over the past two days. With his partner being rushed into an exam room, Danny waited impatiently in a rather surprisingly vacant waiting room.
"Must have come at a good time," he said to himself as he took his phone out from his pocket to call the precinct and take them out of rotation for the day.
He had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity, and it was already two hours passed their usual lunch break. Part of him wanted to go over to the hospital cafeteria, but he was too afraid to leave the waiting room. Wanting to be there when the doctor came out to talk to him regarding her prognosis. His stomach growled, and in the corner of his eye, he saw a vending machine. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before, his senses usually being extremely adept to his surroundings. He purchased a bag of chips. But once he opened them, he realized he couldn't eat them. The very smell making him sick to his stomach. He knew he wasn't I'll. He was worried. He started out pacing the hospital corridor, but after awhile, he returned to his seat. Unfortunately, that didn't last long, and he was back to packing a hole in the floor.
"Detective Reagan," Maria's Doctor stepped through the swinging doors of the emergency room.
"Yes," Danny said immediately.
"Your partner is asking for you." He held one of the double doors open for him to follow him down the hall, and over to Maria's room.
"How is she?"
"She's awake now," he nodded. "But she was dehydrated, some have her on an IV."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Your partner wants to tell you," the doctors lips were perched in a firm line. Appearing as if he wanted to say something, but had been sworn to secrecy.
"Nice to see you awake," Danny grinned, walking into her room.
"Why did you bring me here?" Maria looked impatient. Appearing as if she was already wanting to get out of bed.
"You passed out," Danny justified his actions.
"An irrelevant fact," Maria's voice didn't exactly show worry.
Putting her partner a bit more at ease. Even though it didn't completely erase his concern.
"So what's wrong?"
"Later," Maria pushed his concern aside. Still trying to wrap her own mind around her prognosis, and she had no idea how she was going to be able to tell anyone. Especially considering it was something she never thought would happen to her.
"Just tell me Maria," Danny took a seat on the edge of her hospital bed.
"Don't you need to go be a dad or something?" Maria wasn't ready to get into such a deep conversation that would probably last most of the night. And she knew that if he stayed in the room with her, all he would do was push her into telling him before she was ready.
"It's 1:30" Danny gestured at the clock. "They aren't even out of school yet."
"In that case," Maria thought of another way to get rid of him. "Since I'm going to have to stay here a couple days."
"Make a list, and I'll go over to your apartment," Danny knew what she was trying to say.
Maria took the pad and paper off the table next to her hospital bed and started to jot down the first few things she could think of. The first was her cell phone charger, the second was clean clothes, and the third, her laptop to help with the long hours of boredom. She was getting started on the fourth thing on the list when Danny interrupted her train of thoughts.
"Tell me what the doctor said first."
"Just go, and I'll tell you when you get back," Maria handed him the now completed list. "I'll text you if I think of something else."
"Maria," Danny sighed, trying once again to get her to talk.
"Just go Danny. And stop trying to interrogate me. I'm a detective the same as you are, and it's not going to work."
"Fine," Danny muttered as he headed for the door. "But I'm not going to rest easy till you tell me what's going on."
"Bye," Maria waved him away.
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With her partner gone, silence refilled her room. She needed some time to think. Her whole world was changing and she had no idea how to handle it. She felt like crying.
She never thought she would have children. She didn't live the kind of life that would be suitable for children. Her partner was able to make it work. But he was better than she. He had the support of his family. Which was another reason she found her love for him growing. He worked a difficult job, yet he still found the time to be a dad to his sons.
Part of her wished she would wake up and this entire episode would be a dream. On the other hand, part of her wondered if it would draw them closer together.
She wanted to be with him, but there were too many complicated factors that made it impossible. They were partners, his father was their boss, the loss of his wife was still fresh, and if that wasn't enough they both worked the same dangerous job. Which could leave the child an orphan if they were a couple and something was to him. On top of that, as much as she did care for him. She just wasn't sure if it was enough to keep them together as a couple. Facing not only the day to day challenges of work, but also the day to day to challenges of raising children. She didn't know why she was so worried about him. After all she remembered telling him years ago, that he was the only person that had never disappointed her. And he told her in response, that he never would. She knew she believed that, yet she couldn't help but wonder, that if she really did believe that, like she said she did, then her concerns were for nothing. But even with this in mind, she still couldn't bring herself to change her life so quickly. Especially considering it was already changing, and in her opinion, it was too fast.
Danny was trying to read through the lines of her illness as he roamed through her apartment and dug through the dresser drawers. He had just gone into the bathroom, where he was reminded of the night he spent holding her hair back while she threw up. He had no idea why, but his thoughts drifted to the time he had to do the same for Linda. It was when she was pregnant with the boys.
"Oh my God," Danny backed and slumped onto the edge of the bed in Maria's room before dropping his head in his hands. "The Conference."
"But It couldn't be, not all the symptoms were the same," Danny remembered. "Linda all though she did have a great deal of nausea during her first trimester, she never passed out."
"Oh dear God," Danny prayed. "Please let me be wrong."
Then again, a simple case of pregnancy would mean nothing was seriously wrong with her. And he had to admit, he was concerned about her.
"What was he thinking?" Danny returned to the bathroom, where he could splash some cold water on his face and regain his bearings. There were no simple cases of pregnancy, especially if he was the father. He would be responsible for another life for the rest of his life. And he already had his hands full with Jack and Sean. He knew Maria wasn't the type to sleep around. So if she was pregnant, it had to be his. But could she really get pregnant after a one night stand? And was it too soon to even know? This time Danny filled the sink and submerged his whole head, hoping that would do a better job of clearing his head instead of just a few droplets, that apparently didn't do anything to help.
Danny took a deep breath, and eventually stood. His knees were a little shaky, but he had to push through. There was only one way to find out if he was right or wrong. And that was by getting the rest of Maria's things together and rushing back to the hospital.
Danny drove unusually fast back to the hospital. Even though he wasn't really in a hurry. He hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast and it was already 2:00 pm.
He had driven past multiple fast food restaurants but he knew he couldn't eat. In fact he was feeling worse now than he had before, now that he was half expecting her to be pregnant.
What made things even more odd, was even though he had been in a hurry while he was driving, once he got to the hospital, all he could do was sit in silence for several minutes while his mind raced. If Maria really was pregnant, it would make perfect sense as to why she didn't want to tell him earlier. She was probably still trying to come to terms with it herself. And if that wasn't enough, she was probably worried about how he would react. At that moment, Danny made the decision that no matter what Maria said or did, he would support her and do the right thing. Even if she did try pushing him away. After regaining his composure and taking a deep breath, Danny stepped out of the car to face his destiny.
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"Maria, are you pregnant?" Danny asked abruptly the second he walked through her hospital room. Thinking that the only way they would get past the small talk was by him taking charge.
"What? Danny?" Maria dropped the cup of ice chips they had given her to help get her hydrated.
"Now look what you did?" She started to pick pieces of ice off her shirt.
"Are you?" Danny didn't even move to help pick up the ice.
"How did you know?" Maria sighed, setting the cup down on the tray so she could give him her full attention.
"I am a dad," Danny took a seat on the bed next to her.
"That's a lot of stuff you brought," Maria changed the subject, gesturing at the bags he brought in with him.
"One's yours one's mine."
"Danny, you can't stay here all night."
"Sure I can, there's a couch right there," Danny pointed at the vinyl covered sofa against the wall of her hospital room where he set their bags.
"That's not the point Danny. Not only would it be obvious that your the father, but you also have two boys at home."
"Our relationship is going to come out eventually. I mean your only going to be able to hide it for so long." Danny pointed at her belly. "As for Jack and Sean, I've got everything under control."
"What relationship? We don't have a relationship." Maria's voice was serious.
"Maybe not yet," Danny admitted. "But..."
"I don't want to talk about it. Not here. It's your fault I'm in here. And I'm not happy about it." Maria crossed her arms in front of her chest angrily.
"How?" Danny was trying to figure out, how she could blame this entirely on him. She was the one that passed out. But he stopped himself from arguing with her. He knew she was still having trouble processing the news of her pregnancy, and yet to come to terms with what she was going to do. Especially considering, she wouldn't let Danny talk, and let her in on his plans for her and the baby.
"And we have to talk about this. Your pregnant with my child."
"Which reminds me of something else that is your fault! It's your fault I'm pregnant!" Maria yelled, not caring if she was in the hospital or not.
"SHH!" Danny tried to keep his voice down as he rushed to close the door to her room. "Maybe you were right, maybe we shouldn't talk about this here.
"Don't shush me!" Maria's hormones were completely out of whack, and right now Danny was her prime target to expel them on.
"Alright I'm sorry," Danny surrendered. Just trying to get her to calm down enough so they could talk.
"I don't want to talk about this right now." Maria who usually wasn't the type driven to tears, couldn't hold back any longer, and they started to stream down her face profusely.
"I'm sorry Maria," Danny returned to the edge of the bed to offer a measure of comfort. Just in case she decided to forgive him for something he wasn't at fault for, but she thought he was.
"Oh Danny, what are we going to do?" Maria rested her head on his shoulder.
"Take it one day at a time," he whispered.
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Exhaustion took over, and after awhile Maria fell asleep next to the man she was finding to be her source of comfort through it all.
Danny waited for her to fall asleep before he moved to the sofa. It wasn't very comfortable, and the vinyl material made it worse.
"Oh well," he said to himself. He had slept worst places and he was just going to have to make do.
He remembered telling Maria that he had everything under control when it came to having Jack and Sean but that wasn't completely true. He still didn't have them a ride home from school. The clock read 2:45 and Danny knew he had to figure something out. They got out in fifteen minutes.
"Harvard," Danny said, just as his kid brother responded. "I need you to pick up your nephews from school and take them over to Gramps. He already knows they're coming."
"No please?" Was all Jamie said.
"Just do it Jamie. They get out at 3:00."
"You working a case?"
"No, I'm at the hospital," was all Danny got to say before Jamie interrupted him abruptly.
"What?! Are you okay?"
"It's my partner, she's sick." Danny didn't let on, as to the reason why she was sick. He hadn't told anyone, and when he did have to tell someone, he wasn't sure how he was going to say it.
Danny had to shake his head in order to clear it. That was a problem that could wait till later. Right now he still had to process what he was going to do, now that he just got his partner pregnant and was now going to have to deal with the consequences. But how? The thought repeated in his head for at least the hundredth time since he came to terms with the reasoning behind her sickness. Maria was even more shocked and confused than he was, and she had no idea what she was going to do. Danny on the other hand, knew what he had to do, it had been breed into him since childhood. He came from a responsible family and he was going to do the right thing. He was going to have to take on the responsibility of being a father to another child. He knew he was attracted to Maria. After all, wasn't that what got him into this kind of trouble In the first place. He thoughts changed and he suddenly came to terms with his feelings. And even though he hadn't said it, he had to admit he loved her.
Danny almost dropped his phone. Here he got a woman pregnant, and he had never even told her he loved her. He was doing everything the wrong way. When he met Linda, they dated for a while, they got married, and then they had a baby. After they had already adjusted to living with one another. Again, Danny almost dropped his phone. He had to ask her to marry him. He didn't know when, and again he didn't know how.
"So does Dad know?" Jamie pulled him back to the conversation at hand.
Danny had completely forgotten that he had been on the phone with his brother and he hoped with everything in him that he hadn't said anything he was thinking out loud.
"I guess he'll find out when he finds his grandsons doing their homework at his dining room table."
"I meant about your partner." Jamie hadn't really noticed the moment of silence on his brothers end of the line, and for that Danny was grateful.
"I don't know," Danny hadn't really thought about it. He had too many other things on his mind.
"Probably does," Jamie said thinking about it. "You know what he says about being the Commissioner and it being his job to know everything about one of his people.
"How can I forget? I've heard it enough times."
"So what's wrong with your partner?"
Once again, for the third time, Danny almost dropped his phone. His dad was going to kill him when he found out he got his partner pregnant.
"Oh no," Danny grunted, feeling almost sick. He was about to be leaving not only Jack and Sean fatherless, but also his unborn child.
"What?" Jamie didn't miss his brothers muttered grumble.
"Nothing," Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just pick up the boys, take them home to get their things and then drop them off with Pop." Danny hung up the phone, before his brother could ask any more questions. And he came to terms with any more truths and let something slip.
His eyes settled on Maria's face. She was sleeping soundly and for it Danny was grateful. Over the past few days, she had been too sick to sleep well. And even if Maria didn't know it, now that she was pregnant, it was going to change not only her sleep patterns, but a whole lot more.
Danny's stomach started to growl, and for some strange reason, he felt as if he was slowly beginning to get his appetite back. He had no idea why, nothing had been settled between he and Maria. Yet at the same time, he felt happy. He was going to be a father again. And it was for that, that made him decide to make a quick trip down to the cafeteria while Maria slept.
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Maria was just getting her own meal delivered by the time Danny returned with his plate to go.
"Doesn't look very good," Maria made a face, once the nurse left.
"Just don't eat the green jello," Danny warned with a smile.
"I was saving it for you," she teased, appearing not to be as emotional as before.
"One of us not able to work is enough," Danny shook his head. "I don't want to end up in a bed next to you."
They had just started eating, when their conversation turned to something that what was on both their minds.
"We're going to have a baby."
"Kind of hard to believe," Maria was slowly beginning to get use to the idea.
"Do you want a boy or a girl?"
"I don't know," Maria shrugged. "Haven't really thought about it until now. What about you?"
"Well I've already got two boys," Danny pointed out. "So I think a girl would be nice."
"You know I'm only going to be able to work for so long," Maria sounded as if that was something she wasn't looking forward to at all.
"I already thought about that," Danny sighed. "It's going to be hard not having you sitting across from me at the precinct.
"Do you have any idea what the Commissioner is going to say?" Maria's eyes widened. Her biggest fear obviously coming to light.
"Did you have to bring him up?" Danny made a face before setting his fork down. "I just lost my appetite again."
Danny spent a rather uncomfortable night, tossing and turning on the sofa that was too small for him in the first place. And by the time his alarm went off, not only was he awake, but he was dressed and ready for the day.
"When are you leaving for work?"
"I don't know if I'm going in today," Danny enlightened her. "I just have to run to Bay Ridge to take my boys to school."
"You have to go," Maria urged.
"I don't want to leave you alone all day."
"We still have a case to solve," Maria was showing her true blue colors. "Now get to work. But leave me the case file and hand me my laptop. I'll do what I can from here."
"You need rest Maria," Danny knew he would be doing the same thing had he been in her shoes. But at the same time, he couldn't help but want to take of her and the baby.
"Now don't start trying to be overprotective Danny," Maria warned. "I'm going to work for as long as I can. Besides I'm in the hospital. What safer place could I be in?"
"You win," Danny gave in, before placing a kiss gently on her lips. "I'll come back on my lunch break."
"Only if you promise we can talk about the case," Maria smiled laughing.
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That evening, and Maria was hard at work. Her hospital bed was elevated to a sitting position, and her lunch had been pushed aside to make room for the case file, her open laptop, pens, papers, and multiple colors of highlighters.
She was busy on the phone, talking about the case and completely missed seeing her boss approach her open door.
"Danny, just shut up and listen!"
Frank had to laugh when he heard her on the phone, but he didn't see any reason in stopping her, if she hadn't even noticed him.
"I've been going over this file for the past three hours, and I know we're missing something. Call me when you finish doing your part of the job." She hung up abruptly.
She had just closed the lid to her laptop when she saw the Commissioner standing in her doorway.
"Commissioner," she felt her face flush. Immediately feeling embarrassed that she hadn't noticed him before and left him standing there for who knows how long. "Come in." She managed to find her voice. "I hope you weren't standing there long."
"Just long enough to hear you bawling out your partner.
"Mm," Maria's expression fell. "Sorry about that."
"Don't apologize," Frank put her mind at ease. "I've yelled at him a lot more than you have."
Maria didn't say anything, but she did smile in response.
"You know most people who are in the hospital, take that time to rest," Frank pointed at the case file.
"Your son said the exact same thing." Maria, who hadn't really been around the two of them together, was slowly beginning to notice a few similarities.
"So how are you doing?"
"To tell you the truth sir, I've barely been in here for 24 hours and I'm already going stir crazy."
"I can relate," Frank smiled. "So I hear congratulations are in order."
"I guess so," Maria wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Still trying to adjust to the news yourself?" Frank could tell she was pondering something deep inside. That she wasn't ready to release yet.
"Is it that obvious?" Maria was hoping she wasn't revealing too much. And her many years as a detective and skills of being able to keep things hidden was paying off. At least to some extent.
"It is for someone who's experienced it themselves," Frank let on.
"Sir?" Maria said confused.
"Let's just say you aren't the first who's had to adjust to news you weren't prepared for."
"Your family?" Maria quizzed.
"My wife," was all Frank said.
"Danny," Maria guessed, that it was when she found out she was pregnant with her their first born.
Frank nodded, and Maria sighed.
"It's just bad timing. We have too many important cases on our desks." Maria said, regarding herself and Danny.
"I'm not sure if timing has anything to do with it," Frank knew how overworked his detectives were.
"Job security," Maria interpreted.
"Seems that way." This time it was Frank's time to sigh, as he thought on the levels of crime. Even though they were down, that didn't mean his son and his partner would ever be found sitting at their desk twiddling their thumbs.
"I do plan on working for as long as I can," Maria was sure to say.
"I know that," Frank knew how dedicated she was, just by the way his son talked regarding her character.
"And I can assure you, I will return as soon as the proper time lapses," Maria said in all honesty.
"Just take care of yourself. Now I have to get back to work," Frank replied.
"As do I," Maria nodded at the case file that remained on her desk.
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It was maybe an hour or so later that evening and Danny returned with dinner.
"Don't tell, but I snuck something in for you," Danny pulled a small paper bag out from under his jacket.
"Smells good," Maria opened the bag.
"I take it your feeling better then," Danny figured that not being nauseous had to be a good sign.
"Doctor said that I should be able to go home tomorrow," Maria said happily.
"Great," Danny knew that she hated being in the hospital, just as much as he did.
"So the Commissioner just left," Maria enlightened him. Knowing that if she didn't tell him. It was likely his father would, and she figured it would be better if it came from her, given the circumstances of him being the father.
"Did you tell him?" Danny started to turn pale.
"He already knew I was pregnant."
"Must have talked to the doctor before coming in," he figured. "Did you tell him about us?" Danny choked out the question.
"Are you crazy? I didn't want the entire hospital staff to hear him yelling at me."
"Good choice," Danny knew how his father was going to react. "But we are going to have to tell him."
"What do you think he's going to do to us?" Maria's voice held both worry and fear.
"Kill us," Danny shrugged in between bites of his hamburger.
Maria had been wanting a shower since she passed out. But since she had been so dizzy, the nurses hadn't allowed it until now. Danny volunteered to help, but she denied his help, saying that one of the nurses would do just fine, leaving Danny alone and time to think. Not that he needed anymore time to think. He had been doing that since he found out Maria was pregnant. He didn't think now was the time, but he knew he needed to do it, and soon. He was Catholic, and that meant there would be quite a bit of lengthy paper needing to be completed, amongst countless other things, before they were given permission. And time wasn't by any means on his side,
Maria would be getting out of the hospital the next day and would be having the baby within the next several months.
Danny forced himself to take a deep breath but before he caught it, he charged right into the bathroom, not even caring if the nurse was in there or not.
"Marry me Maria."
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