AN - Hello! Last chapter! Just to wrap this ordeal up. I hope you liked this story (a continuation is in progress - which explains the abrupt ending - couldn't reveal too much). Be on the look out for my next works; 'Once in a Blue Moon' and the follow up on this one, which had yet to be named. Thanks for reading. Enjoy, review... /K.
Camp Baharia,Al Anbar, Iraq, November 2004
"Take cover!" a voice yelled after the first burst of bullets flew across the square. The whole platoon dived to the ground, all of them reacting on the sound of gunfire, rather than the two words. Danny pressed himself towards the low wall he was hiding behind when he heard the first salve of return fire from his guys.
"Multiple shooters, east and north rooftops!" another man yelled. Danny orientated himself and turned around, still crouching. He popped up, with his rifle ready and let out a burst of three shells before a bullet whizzed past his ear and he dropped down to the ground again. Danny caught a glance of a terrified Michael Price to his right and David Garcia further away, both of them taking cover. Either of them had never been pinned down before or actually been shot at. Danny started making his way over there when his vision blurred and the ground shook under him. Everything and everyone in front of him disappeared into the air and he couldn't see anything because of the dust. He called their names, couldn't even hear his own voice. He scooted back as another explosion hit and he returned fire with a roar from his throat. His left arm started to burn inexplicably but he didn't care. He threw himself down lower and reached for another magazine. Through the ringing in his ears and the screaming from his friends, he heard someone yell, but he couldn't make out the words. Only a moment before the hit, Danny realized it had only been a three-letter abbreviation. He ducked down lower, covered his head with his arms and felt himself being lifted from the ground by the pressure wave from the RPG.
Bay Ridge, 06.00 pm, June 17th
"Amen," say all said in unison before they started passing the food around.
"When do you go back to work, Jamie?" Erin asked and glanced at her brother.
"In three days," Jamie replied when he placed a piece of meat on his plate.
"Cheap bastards," Henry huffed.
"What would have happened to the Russian, if Uncle Danny hadn't killed him?" Nicky asked and Erin looked at her with strict eyes.
"Did you kill him, dad?" Jack and Sean asked at the same time.
"Boys," Linda tried to admonish them with a sigh. It wasn't exactly appropriate talk for her two boys.
"Yeah, I had to," Danny said, afflicted, between two mouthfuls of broccoli, his right arm still in a sling.
"It's not like he had a choice," Jamie quipped and locked eyes with his brother across the table for a moment.
"If you ask me, he got what he deserved," Henry chipped in from the end of the table.
"He would have a fair trial and then he would be sent to prison for what he did," Erin replied to Nicky's question, a bit reserved
"And if you didn't kill him?" Jack asked and looked at his dad.
"Then my partner would have killed him, when he shot me and your Uncle Jamie," Danny replied after swallowing.
"Danny," Linda said, blamingly.
"What? It true," Danny said, going all in on the defense.
"I probably wouldn't be here today, if Danny hadn't pulled the trigger," Jamie said and sipped at his glass. His two nephews looking at him, mixed looks in their eyes.
"Amen to that," Henry mumbled and reached for his wine glass. They all went quiet for a few moments.
"You don't have a say in this, dad?" Erin asked when she noticed how silent he had been. Frank cleared his throat and put down his fork.
"As the commissioner, I'm proud of my men and women's work. As a dad…" he paused a bit, looking around the table. "… I'm happy that both of my sons returned to this table," he said with all eyes on him. "The truth is, that no parent should have to outlive their children and what happened yesterday could easily have gone wrong," Frank said when he reached for the butter to the lump of bread on his plate. He knew what they were all thinking about, just now.
"Joe would have been proud of the two of you," Erin said, breaking the silence and looking at her two brothers. Both of them replied with a silent nod and a smile.
"Someone still has to fix the railing on the stairs," Linda commented, dryly, and all but Nicky and the boys laughed.
"I'll get right on it, as soon as I can move my arm again," Danny said with a smile and leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek.
"What happened to the railing on the stairs, Uncle Danny?" Nicky asked.
Staten Island, 10.30 pm, June 17th
Linda walked down the stairs, still looking at the broken railing, but relieved.
"Finally," she sighed and grabbed the glass of wine she had left on the coffee table, next to Danny's beer. She let herself fall down on the couch next to her husband and enjoyed the silence when he put his arm around her shoulders.
"We need a vacation," Danny stated and planted a kiss on the top of Linda's head.
"What do you have in mind, Fitzgerald?" Linda asked, using Danny's middle name to tease him, sipping at the wine.
"I'm thinking, you and me, next weekend in a fancy hotel, where we don't even have to get out of bed," Danny said and pulled her closer.
"Mhmm? What about the stairs?" Linda asked, snuggling in closer and pulled her feet up.
"I'll take care of it," he replied.
"And the boys?" she inquired.
"They've been begging for a sleepover at Gramps for a few weeks, now," Danny replied casually and planted another kiss behind her ear.
"It's a done deal, then. I'll get it sorted out with the hospital," Linda said and sipped at her wine again. They sat in silence for a little while, enjoying each others company when Danny spoke again.
"Don't you think the steps need a polish, while we're at it?" he asked and Linda turned around to look at him with a smile on her face and furrowed eye brows. "Or oil? Whatever works," Danny continued with his gaze on the stairs. It had been a narrow escape, he admitted. One of his closest calls yet. Of gratitude, he pulled Linda in closer and held her tight in his arms.