AN: Once again, thank you for the lovely comments. You all are the best.

Chapter 20

There were a few times in Danny's life when a month had seemed like forever. The time between when Grace had moved to Hawaii and he had followed. The first month after he and Rachel split up. The weeks after he found Matt.

This month was different, because while the waiting sucked, it was in service to a good kind of anticipation.

He and Cassie talked every day. Usually Danny called her first thing in the morning his time, or Cassie called before she went to bed, catching him just before he left the office or while he was out with the team. They texted, too, and even though Danny had never been much for text conversations, he relished being able to send her notes throughout the day. Sometimes it made all the difference just to know she was there.

Occasionally he'd call from the office so the others could say hi. And Cassie and Grace talked, about her math project and other stuff.

But talking with her paled in comparison to being with her, so when Steve offered him the opportunity to travel to DC several days early, he jumped at it. He'd have to work some of the time he was there, but it would be worth it to be with Cassie.

He'd worried about leaving Grace, especially since he wasn't going to be there for Thanksgiving, but she wrangled extra time with him before he left, and told Danny he had to go.

Danny knew Cassie would hate missing him arrive at the airport, but the temptation to surprise her was too much, so he called her before he left and told her they'd caught a case and he'd text or call when he could, but would probably be out of touch for the next day or so.

He checked in with her quickly when he changed planes at LAX, telling her he was just taking a break. He made sure to double check her plans for the night. He knew she was supposed to be out at a work event that night, and learned she was planning to meet friends for drinks at a hotel bar across the street before the event.

Danny didn't bother to rent a car when he arrived, instead taking a cab into the city. He found the hotel, a stately old DC institution with a storied bar inside, easily and staked out a spot in the lobby. She'd mentioned bringing him here when he was in town, and he could see why. It was definitely a DC thing to do, judging from the people walking through the lobby and into the bar or restaurant.

He could see the main entrance, but he wouldn't be noticed immediately by anyone walking in. He sat down and waited, this being a far more pleasant stake out than he was used to. He checked his phone; he'd gotten a text from her saying she was headed out for her thing but she'd try to call him when she got home that night.

He didn't have to wait long for Cassie to arrive. Danny took a moment to admire her in her dark purple dress. It was a simple sheath with some kind of lace sleeve, but it fit her perfectly and Danny supposed a month really was a long time.

Cassie met some of her friends just inside the front door, and they stopped there, it looked like to wait for others since they were watching the front door. Danny called her. He watched her as she reacted to her phone ringing and was gratified to see her smile as she recognized the name on the screen.

She answered immediately. "Hey there."

"Hey, love. You at your event yet?"

"No, we just got to the Willard. I've got a few minutes to talk. How's the case going?" He watched her step away from the group so she could hear better.

"Ah, you know. The usual. But I may not be around when you get in this evening, so I thought I'd call now."

"I am so looking forward to you being here in the same time zone."

He chuckled. "Believe me, I know." He could see her other friend join the group and she lifted a hand to let her friends know she was almost done with her call.

"Hey, babe, I've got to go. I'll text you later on in case you've got time to talk." she said.

"Go, have fun. Be careful out there. Oh, and Cass?"

"Yeah?"

"For the record, you look stunning in that dress. I am particularly fond of that color on you." He saw her freeze. "I'm really hoping I can talk you into wearing it again when we go out to dinner, though to be honest, I'm more looking forward to taking it off you tonight." He was proud that she didn't look wildly around the room for him. Instead she assessed the space, turning so that she started at one end of the room for a visual sweep, and when her eyes landed on him, he was pretty sure they could have seen her smile from space.

"You're here," Cassie said into the phone.

"I am," Danny replied, grinning at her.

"You may like this dress, but I can't run and fling myself into your arms in it." She started walking towards him, her friends looking after her in confusion.

Danny chuckled. "I'll settle for some intense but location-appropriate PDA."

"Done." Cassie kept the phone to her ear until she was right in front of him. He reached out and cupped the side of her face, and then kissed her until she was breathless and clutching the front of his shirt.

It felt amazing to have her in his arms again. Danny didn't want to let go, but they were in a public place and her friends were watching them with a mix of curiosity and amusement.

"You're here," she repeated. "How are you here?" she pulled back so she could see his face.

He shrugged. "Steve dropped me off at the airport, I got on the first plane I saw, and when it landed, this was the closest city."

"Smartass. I love you. Why are you here early? Why didn't you let me know?"

He touched her face gently. "And lose the chance to surprise you like this?" She smiled and leaned her face into his hand. "As for why, love, Steve sent me out here for, of all things, a conference and some meetings. He said to tell you he hopes this is what you had in mind."

"Yes. I'll take you here any way I can get you." He raised his eyebrows, interpreting that in the most suggestive way possible. She blushed and Danny grinned. "You're incorrigible. I love you. Come meet my friends."

Danny grabbed his bags with one hand and let her pull him by the other to meet her friends. He joined them in the bar and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, Cassie tucked close by his side the whole time.

There was even a familiar face. Susan grinned and greeted him with a hug, saying, "I knew there was something between you two."

Danny laughed. "You and every other person there, apparently."

"I'm so glad you and Cassie met, even though you're stealing her away from us."

Danny shook his head. "We're still talking about that."

Susan gave him a look. "Keep telling yourself that. Just make sure you have a spare bedroom for when I come to visit you two."

When they had to leave, Danny planned to stay there to wait for her, and Cassie shook her head. "Why don't you come with me? It's just an industry reception."

Danny said, "I don't want to get in your way."

Susan leaned over and said, "You should come with us. You will be, by far, the most interesting person there."

Cassie laughed, but didn't disagree. "If it helps, I'll call Linda and see if there's anyone there she wants you to talk with."

Danny nodded once. "Oh, so you're bringing in the big guns."

Cassie looped her arm through his. "If I were bringing in the big guns, I'd call Steve and just let him annoy you into coming with me."

She knew him so well, and he loved it. "Okay, okay. If you're sure it's alright, I'll come with you." Cassie gave him a brilliant smile. He followed her out the door, a few steps behind the rest of the group, and said in a low voice in her ear, "If only because I intend to talk you into leaving early."

Her smile took on a mischievous glint and she said, "Yes, please."

It was, improbably, fun. Cassie introduced him to more of her friends, including her industry association friend that had supplied key information in the Greer case. She worked the crowd and specifically made sure Danny met a few people she thought he might be interested in bringing to Linda's attention.

She also introduced him to her boss, the NASA Administrator, who was a flown astronaut, as well as a retired military officer. Danny was genuinely impressed and couldn't wait to tell Grace and Steve.

After about an hour, Cassie took advantage of the end of a conversation with the head of a satellite company to grab a quiet moment at the side of the room. She'd noticed Danny starting to zone out a bit. "Did you sleep on the plane at all?" she asked.

"Little bit, yeah. I'm fine."

She bit her lip. "Thought you were going to talk me into leaving early."

One of Danny's eyebrows went up and he nodded. "I'm terribly, terribly tired and really should go home. And I can't find my way on my own here in the big city."

Cassie grinned. "Poor thing. Grab your stuff and I'll meet you at the front door. I'm going to let a couple of people know that I'm headed out."

Danny had a cab waiting for them and he gratefully sunk into the back seat as she gave the driver her address. Cassie leaned her head on his shoulder and he enjoyed having her close again.

Once inside her building, Cassie led him into the elevator and hit the button for her floor. Once the doors closed, she stepped close and kissed him deeply. Danny automatically pulled her to him and kissed her back, almost missing the sound of the elevator doors when they opened.

To be honest, Danny didn't get a good look at Cassie's apartment that night. He dropped his bags inside the door and kicked them out of the way while occupying his hands with far more important activities like finding the zipper on the back of Cassie's dress.

He kept getting distracted by the way she was unbuttoning his shirt and he finally pulled it over his head and tossed it somewhere in the vicinity of his suitcase. She was careful to lay her dress over the back of a chair, but the rest of their clothes ended up scattered between her front door and the bed.

Danny supposed more finesse might have been called for, but the second Cassie's skin touched his, any rational thought he might have had fled and she responded in kind. But later on, he realized what he missed most was lying in bed with her, listening to her breathe, listening to her laugh, listening to that little gasp she made when he ran his fingers down her skin.

Cassie finally slept and Danny watched her. Part of it was the time difference - it still felt like early evening to him - but part of it was simply not wanting to sleep, still needing to make sure this was real. And when she woke up halfway through the night and reached for him, he lost himself in her once again, savoring every second.

When Danny woke up, he was by himself but he could hear Cassie in the next room. And after a minute, she came back into the bedroom, carrying a mug that smelled wonderful. He grinned and propped himself up on one elbow. "I thought I was supposed to bring you coffee."

"I figured you might appreciate it more this morning. Did you sleep at all?" She sat down on the bed.

"A little." Danny sat up and carefully took the mug from her. "Not complaining, though. I like watching you sleep. I like it even more when you wake up in the middle of the night." She blushed and he set the mug down on her bedside table so he could lean over and kiss her. "That would be my favorite way to lose sleep."

Cassie rested her forehead against his, her hand warm on his arm. "Might be my favorite way to be late to work." She kissed him again.

He finally woke up enough to notice that she was mostly dressed for work, so he pulled back a little and cupped her cheek. "I love you. Good morning."

She chuckled. "Good morning. Love you, too."

"As much as I would like to make you late for work, I've got to get going, too. I've got a meeting at Justice at nine."

"You want me to wait and take the train in with you?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What, you think I can't find my way?"

"I don't know." She cocked her head. "Been a while since you had to take the subway. You'll have to change trains."

Danny knew she was teasing, but he looked offended anyway. "Your little metro with five lines…"

"Six. Sort of."

Danny snorted. "That overlap part of the way and no express trains? I think I'll manage, babe." He ran his fingers over the bit of bare skin showing at her neck. "But taking the train with you sounds like fun, if you can give me a few minutes."

"You got it. Want breakfast?"

"Yes, please. Whatever you're having."

To anyone else, being crushed in a crowded subway car during morning rush hour would probably be a lower level of hell. To Danny, it was bliss. And it wasn't just because of the woman pressed up against him. He enjoyed the crowd of people ignoring each other, the quiet of people who hadn't had enough coffee yet, and the mostly efficient way people moved on and off the cars.

Cassie got to her stop first, so she kissed him quickly and he watched her get off the train. It felt very domestic and familiar, and Danny marveled at the ease with which they'd come back together after a month apart. It wasn't just the physical aspect, though honestly, Danny couldn't wait to get her alone again that night.

It was that he felt right being with her. That whole morning hadn't been awkward or weird, and even though they were rushed getting out of the apartment, it all felt… normal.

Danny got through his meetings that morning, and then grabbed lunch from a food truck Cassie had recommended since she couldn't get away from her office for lunch. He took a quick swing through one of the museums downtown, then went back for more meetings.

By mid-afternoon, the lack of sleep was catching up with him, so he called Cassie and told her he was heading back to her apartment. She'd given him a key before they left that morning, so he let himself in and crawled into bed.

Danny woke up groggy and noticed that it gotten dark outside. He also noticed that he wasn't alone. Cassie was curled up on the other side of the bed, arm tucked under her head, fast asleep. He brushed hair off her face and ran his hand down her arm. She stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey, love," Danny said, voice still raspy from sleep.

She smiled and shifted so that she was half-draped over him, head on his chest, one arm thrown across him. "Hey, babe," she replied.

He wrapped his arms around her. "What time is it?"

She turned her head so she could see her clock. "About eight."

"Ah, sorry for sleeping the evening away."

"S'okay. I like watching you sleep, too."

He huffed a laugh. "Oh, is that what you were doing?"

"Of course, that's what I was doing."

Cassie could hear the smile in his voice as Danny said, "Right. I always watch people with my eyes closed. Works out much better that way." She poked him in the side and he squirmed and laughed as she hit a sensitive spot. "Okay, okay. You were totally awake, keeping an eye on me." He caught her hand and stilled it, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb over the pulse point on her wrist. She took a ragged breath and suddenly Danny wanted her. "How do you do that, hmmm?" He sounded a little perplexed, like she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out.

She propped herself up on her other arm to look at him. "Do what?" she asked.

"Make me laugh and then make me crazy with wanting you." The hand on her back lifted for a second. "Not that I don't always want you, but right now it's all I can think about." He brought her wrist to his mouth, and kissed where his thumb had traced. She shivered and took another ragged breath and all Danny could see in her eyes was heat and desire. And then she smiled at him, and he realized that under that heat was love, and that's why he wanted to laugh and kiss her at the same time. He was just, simply, purely happy.

Friday was another rushed morning as they both tried to get out the door on time. Danny teased Cassie, asking if she was going to show up unexpectedly at his conference. She laughed and promised she had her own set of meetings that day, but they were all safely at her office.

They made plans to meet up that evening, and then once again rode the train in together. Cassie leaned against him as they stood in the packed car, and Danny kissed her when he got off the train first.

His phone buzzed with a text as he stepped off the escalator. BTW - I really like riding the train with you. Who knew Metro could actually be fun? Love you.

Danny grinned and sent a quick note back. Definitely the second best part of my morning. Love you, too. He knew she'd be blushing as he reminded her of how he'd woken her up that morning.

His phone dinged. Thank you for that very distracting thought. Hopefully no one will notice if I'm daydreaming during meetings today.

This conference wasn't nearly as interesting as the last one he'd been to, and he missed having Cassie there to liven things up. He welcomed the interruption when Steve called him later that afternoon.

"Hey, partner. How's DC?"

"Really good. The meetings are going fine."

Danny could practically hear Steve roll his eyes from halfway around the world. "How's Cassie?"

To be fair, Danny was pretty sure Steve could hear the smile in his voice. "Cassie is good." And because he thought it was important to say, "Hey, Steve. Thank you for sending me out here early."

"You bet, brother. I'm glad it's been a good couple of days. Bet you're glad to be back on the East Coast, too."

"Ah, yeah. It's nice. But mostly…" he trailed off, not wanting to sound too much like a sap.

Predictably, Steve got it anyway. "Mostly, you're just happy to be with Cassie."

"Yeah."

"She's happy to have you there. She sent me an email this morning."

"She did?"

His phone dinged, and he saw that Steve had forwarded him an email. The subject simply said "thank you." The body of the email was a picture of him talking with the NASA Administrator at the reception on Wednesday night. At the top, she had written: Promise he still likes SEALs best, even if an astronaut Marine is pretty impressive.

Danny smiled. He knew Cassie had taken the picture so he could send it to Grace. Of course, he would have shown it to Steve, too, but Danny was happy she felt comfortable sending it directly to him. "You know, astronaut Marines are really impressive."

"Come on, you miss me."

"That's very presumptuous, Steven. I've barely had any time to miss you."

"Now I know you miss me."

Danny sighed. "Fine. I miss you."

"What are you doing now?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah. You're obviously not in a meeting."

"Well, no. My phone rang, so I stepped outside to see who it was interrupting my very busy schedule."

"Can't be that busy if you can step outside."

"You should know since you were the one that set my schedule."

"And that's why I want to know what you're doing right now."

Steve sounded like he thought he'd scored a point, and Danny grinned to himself. "Right now, at this very moment, I am outside the convention center. It's incredibly interesting."

"You should go do something fun."

"I hesitate to ask this, because I know what your definition of fun is, but what do you think I should go do?

"Well, partner, you're the one in town to visit your girl. If you have to ask what you should do, you may not be doing it right."

"I take it back. I don't miss you at all."

Steve laughed. "I assume Cassie is taking you to Air and Space?"

"Both of them, yes, tomorrow. She's giddy about it and it's adorable. She's got a few other things on her list, too, before we head down to her parents."

"You ready to meet the parents?"

"Yeah, actually. I'm looking forward to it."

"You're very Zen right now," Steve said. "I can't decide if I should encourage Cassie to move here, or just send you to DC to visit her every month."

"Funny. Listen, I'm going to go finish these meetings that my boss is making me do, so that I can go meet my gorgeous girlfriend and do something fun.

"Sounds like a good plan, Danno. Tell Cassie I said hi."

Cassie left work a little early so she could meet Danny downtown. She took him to one of her favorite restaurants, an upscale Indian place. They sat at the bar, which Danny decided was an excellent idea because instead of sitting at an appropriate distance across a table from her, his arm brushed hers and he could lean into her throughout dinner.

And dinner out with Cassie was fun. It wasn't that going out with her in Hawaii hadn't been fun, but it was more that beginning of a relationship, anticipatory fun. This was just fun, pure and simple. No pressure and no stress. Danny hadn't enjoyed himself this much in ages, and he was happy to let go of everything else and just be with her.

After dinner, Cassie took him for a walk on the Mall down by the monuments. They sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and people watched. It was warm for the end of November, and there were a lot of people out. They talked about nothing in particular and Danny stole the occasional kiss, until he finally looked at her and asked "Home?"

Cassie leaned her head against his. It meant so much to her that Danny thought of her apartment as home, and she didn't think it was the place so much as it was her. She was beginning to think, too, that home was wherever he was. She kissed him softly and said in agreement, "Home."