Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY. I wish I did.
Summary: Danny Messer's life is in danger. The past even he had forgot isn't a secret anymore, neither is the future he doesn't want to embrace. Danny/Don friendship. Set some months after Snow Day. No season four. Please read and review.
Warning: Rated for violence and mature references.
Today is my mother's birthday so 'FELIZ ANIVERSARIO, MAE!'.
Now it's just ranting: Thursday, for me, it's the best day of the week! Although I've got to work, it's when I can watch my two favourite series when I come back home: CSI:NY and Pushing Daisies! You gotta love them!
daytimedrama,
Thank you for your review! You know, sometimes I like D/L, sometimes I just hate it. There's definitely some D/L coming in the next chapters - and I hope you can call it hot... if it's not, forgive me as I've never written hot stuff before. It's the first time I write in English to be frank! - but the drama is the main plot in this story.
Leena7,
Thank you for reviewing again! I decided to post Danny's talk with his father for you, although it might come as a disappointment because there's no answers, just more questions in this chapter...
On Saturday, Danny arrived at his parents' doorstep a little after midday and rang the bell. A minute later, his mother opened the door wearing an apron, gave him a hug and a kiss while saying "Dan, you have the keys. Use them..." and ushering him inside.
"I told you already... I don't live here anymore, mom... it's just polite to buzz.", he justified while taking his jacket and hanging it up. "Smells good, ma. What is it?"
"Oh, it's just lasagna. I would've made something special if I knew you were coming. It's been such a long time since your last visit!", Catherine Messer complained.
"It's perfect, you know I love it. Dad called and asked me to come over. I thought you knew.", Danny replied, sitting at the kitchen table with his mother. "Where's he?"
"I'm gonna kill your father! He didn't say anything!", she laughed. "He received a phone call and left about 20 minutes earlier. Said he'd be back soon.", she explained.
"Who was in the phone?", Danny asked curiously.
"No idea, sweetie.", she shrugged. "But tell me about you. Are you eating well? You look a little pale..."
"For you, if I'm not eating your stuff, I'm at death's door.", he smiled.
"Ah, now you know that's not true... and how about girls? When are you bringing a nice girl here, huh?", she said, ruffling his hair.
"Hopefully never, ma.", he smirked and flinched when she tried to smack him.
They heard the unmistakable noise of the front door opening and closing. Soon, his father appeared holding a small package. "Son.", he acknowledged him with a brief nod.
"Dad.", Danny returned the nod with one of his own.
"This is for you.", his father said, giving him the package. Danny frowned and started opening it.
"You went out to buy a present for Danny? Why didn't you tell me? I'd have liked to go with you, help to choose it.", Catherine whined.
"I didn't buy it. It's a present from Danny's godfather.", Joseph replied.
Danny halted mid-action. "What? I haven't seen the guy since I was... What? Eight? Nine?"
"Yeah... around when you were eight years old. He moved to California when you were a kid, remember?", Joseph answered.
"What was his name again? Is he back in town now? I don't remember him anymore...", Danny remarked.
"He's not back. By chance a mutual acquaintance mentioned to him that he knew us. Looks like they were reminiscing about old times. So your godfather asked him to bring it for you. At least that's what this colleague told me today.", Joseph explained and Danny nodded his understanding, murmuring "how thoughtful..." and resuming his attack on the parcel's gift-wrap.
If Danny hadn't been so engrossed in opening the package, he'd have seen the looks his parents exchanged. His, a look of defiance, as if daring her to say something, which turned quickly to one of uneasiness. Hers, a mix of disbelief, fear and anger.
It was a thick silver ring with some kind of emblem on it. Danny tried it on. Pointless. It was way too tight for his fingers. So he went back to staring at it. "Do you know if this has any meaning?", he asked indicating the mark and handing it to his father. "It looks remotely familiar... Can't remember where I saw it though...", he frowned.
"Probably means something. Who knows?", his father said nonchalantly, tracing the sign with his fingers slowly, almost longingly, earning another glare from Catherine, who snatched the ring from her husband's hands and gave it back to Danny saying "Well, it doesn't fit. Tuck it away in a drawer."
Danny looked at the ring for a moment then put it on the table. Reaching inside his shirt, he took the chain around his neck off, inserted the ring into it as a pendant and put it on again. "Okay, let's eat?", he grinned.
They were in the living room relaxing a bit, feeling full of food and wine. His mother kept asking him about his life and he kept avoiding telling her anything important. He didn't want to talk about his sometimes gruesome work, especially considering that they just ate, or his paranoia about being followed. And no way in hell he would mention Lindsay, his mother wouldn't stop bothering him until she came for dinner if he did. Therefore he decided to do what he went there to do in the first place, talk about whatever serious subject his father wanted to discuss, even though he was getting more somnolent by the minute, result of his full stomach and his lack of sleep in the past week. "So, dad, you asked me here to tell me something. What's that?"
"Ahn... I... errrr... It's nothing.", his father stuttered.
"What do you mean with 'it's nothing'?", Danny raised his eyebrows. "You call, say you want to do serious talk and now you say it's nothing?"
"Yeah, it's nothing. I just wanted you to come so I invented this need to talk. Your mother has been a little down lately so I thought it would help if you came to visit us. That's all.", his father uttered.
Danny looked at his father suspiciously. "Is that it? You sure?"
"Yeah, yeah...", his father affirmed halfheartedly.
"Okay... you know, you could have told me this on the phone when I asked if it was about mom. I'd be here that day in the blink of an eye. No need to lie like this.", Danny told him off, hugging his mother briefly as he did so. His father just nodded and looked down.
"So, what happened, mom? Why are you sad?", Danny asked, looking at his mother, whose in turn was eyeing his father warily.
"Me?", she blinked as if returning from a dream, "I... I just... I guess I just have been... errrr... worrying about Louie a lot these last weeks... You remember his birthday is getting near, don't you?", his mother faltered.
"Oh, maaa... Yeah, I do... I think about him a lot too... I'm so sorry for what happened... And he did that to save me...", he lamented, choking back tears. "I paid him a visit the week before last... Didn't stay long, though. Doctor said nothing changed. Sorry for not stopping by that day but I had to work.", Danny informed her, hugging her again, the contact lasting longer than before.
"I understand. We go there every afternoon to see him. It's good he's here in Staten Island now. It's much easier for us to go and visit than when he was in Manhattan.", his mother smiled.
Danny smiled back and tried to suppress a yawn. "Someone's sleepy.", his mother singsonged, ruffling his hair. "You go and take a nap. Your old bed is always ready for you upstairs." He opened his mouth to protest but she stopped him before he even started, raising her hand. "No buts. I don't want you driving back ready to drop as you are." Too tired to argue, he obliged. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was sound asleep. If he hadn't been, he'd have heard the muffled sounds of the heated argument downstairs.
