Chapter Twenty One
Nyiestra- I completely agree ;-)
Liam- Frank is very cross with me actually for constantly hurting his son!
Montez- I think it was lucky for them that Danny was already injured, else they might not be breathing after doing that to Linda!
Accounting professional- yeah it is wrapping up now! I wanted to do something a bit different thus his captors being fellow marines!
As said this story is now coming to a close, I hope that you will keep going with it and reviewing- and there may just be a sequel….
Chapter Twenty one
Sometime later, when both of the marines had been led away, Linda had been treated and Danny was settled back in his room he finally turned to his wife with a raised eyebrow. Linda had been married to Danny long enough to know exactly what he was getting at, but was stubborn enough to not cave so easily. When she offered no response, he sighed deeply.
"What the hell were you all playing at?" he asked, his tone not carrying the venom of his words. Linda looked away, she knew he would be seething for them keeping him completely out of the loop, she couldn't blame him for being angry.
"I'm sorry Danny" she told him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as the events of the last 24 hours caught up with her. Danny sighed and reached out his hand to his wife, brushing his thumb tenderly over her cheek- avoiding the nasty bruises that marred her fair forehead.
"How about you start from the beginning" he suggested, his voice softer as he recognised her upset. She nodded before taking a breath and informing her husband of everything that he had missed out on.
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Frank paced nervously, he desperately wanted to see his son, but for the first time in his life he was almost dreading doing so. He had let him down by not trusting him enough to handle his emotions. Except that wasn't it, Frank had trusted his son- he had only done what he had in an attempt to protect the younger man. That was all that he ever wanted to do for any of his children- keep them safe, he was just all too aware that it got harder and harder to do, especially where Danny was concerned.
"You need a ride?" Jamie asked his father, dragging him from his reverie. He was just pulling his jacket on and making sure that his nephews were all zipped up in preparation of going to the hospital to see their Dad. Frank paused for a moment before answering.
"Yes Jamie, I do" he finally replied.
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"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Danny asked, his tone tired and weary rather than angry.
"Didn't want to worry you" Linda replied softly.
"And having me grabbed by armed men and held hostage along with my wife didn't worry me?" he replied rhetorically. "So Lopez is still alive and in this hospital?" he asked finally. She nodded carefully worried already about where this was heading. "I want to see him" Danny told her.
"Danny I don't think that's a good idea babe" she replied, rubbing his arm gently- just feeling the need to touch him.
"Linda I need to see him" Danny replied, his brown orbs locked directly on her face, and his tone serious. She knew there would be no arguing with him, she simply nodded in reluctant agreement.
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"No way" Frank responded without hesitation.
"Frank I think he needs to do this" Linda reasoned, willing to support her husband in whatever he needed to move on from this horrendous experience.
"Linda think of what you are asking, think of the stress it will put on Danny" Frank replied as a father, and not as the commissioner.
"And think of the stress it will put on him if he does it anyway without us for support" Linda replied, unwilling to back down on this. Frank sighed, he couldn't argue the logic, and if he was honest Danny had been right about most things during the last week.
"I'll see what we can arrange" he finally conceded. She smiled at him, glad that he was willing to help, before heading back to rescue her still recovering husband from two very active and excited young boys.
"Come on boys, time to go home" she told them in her strictest voice. Her answer was two groans from her sons, who very much wanted to stay with their father. "Come on, you can come back in the morning" she promised, and she meant it- they made her husband brighten immeasurably. They both reached up and hugged their father good night, before Linda walked over and gave him a tender kiss- pleased that this nightmare finally appeared to be over.
"Good night" she gestured quietly, almost reluctant to leave him.
"Night babe, I love you" he replied caressing her hair lovingly. She smiled, before turning to leave, she knew that if she didn't do it then, she probably would never leave. Just as she left Danny turned his attention to his father, his eyes blazing in a ferociousness that Frank hadn't seen for a long time.
"How could you let her put herself at risk like that?" he asked, his tone deathly. Frank sighed, he had known that this was coming.
"I'm sorry son, she was adamant that she wanted to do it. It was a good plan on paper" Frank replied, hating himself for inadvertently causing his son more pain.
"Why didn't you tell me that Lopez was awake?" Danny asked, catching his father off guard with the change of topic.
"I didn't think that you needed to" Frank replied. "I didn't want to set your recovery back and I thought if you knew about Lopez you might have been stressed out or upset by it" he continued.
"You had my partner lie to me Dad" Danny stated, his voice conveying all of the betrayal that he felt. Frank didn't know what to say to placate his son, he couldn't find the words. "Dad I think I need to be alone" Danny commented, his eyes closed and his expression unreadable. Frank couldn't help the bolt of pain that the one comment caused to shoot through him. He nodded, unable to argue with his son.
"I love you Danny" he whispered as he left the room. Danny sighed at the words, hurt, angry and betrayed.
"I love you too Dad" Danny replied to the empty room.
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"I have not seen him that angry with me in a long time" Frank told his father over a tumbler of Brandy.
"He'll come round Francis" Henry tried to console his son. He knew that Danny could be a hot head at times, but on this particular occasion he could actually see his grandson's point on the matter.
"He wants to see Lopez as well" Frank sighed.
"I'm not surprised" Henry replied.
"Really? You think I should let him then?" Frank asked in shock.
"Who are you to stop him Francis?" Henry responded. "He's a grown man! A marine and a detective! He's a gulf war vet I think he had earned the right to make his own decision" he continued. Frank pondered on those comments for a moment before replying.
"What if he gets hurt?" he asked quietly.
"He is going to get hurt Francis, you can't protect him from that for forever. All you can do is make sure that you are there to make sure he gets picked back up and dusted off ready to fight another day" he concluded, and once he could see that he had made his point, he chuckled lightly. "Now you need to get to bed son, you have the press conference in the morning"
"Thanks for reminding me" Frank groaned before bidding his father good night and heading up the stairs to his bed.
End Chapter Twenty One
Just one more to go! Please review if you want it quickly!