Chapter 21

Danny walks up to his apartment and opens the door. As he enters he sets the two coffees down on the counter and glances into his room. When he doesn't see Delinda sleeping on the bed he walks over to his room. "D…" He calls, as he approaches the bedroom. "Delinda?" He calls again after no answer. "Del…."

"Ahhhhhhh!" Delinda screams as she walks out of the bathroom and into the bedroom completely naked.

Danny's mouth drops as he stares, "I…I'm sorry." He says shaking his head.

"Don't just stand there, get out of here!" she yells, trying to cover herself up with her hands. Danny turns hurriedly and rushes out of the room. As he walks into the kitchen he can't help but smile.

A few seconds later Delinda walks out in her jeans and one of Danny's old t-shirts smiling. "Sorry I freaked out." She says laughing. "You just startled me."

"No no, I'm sorry. I called out looking for you, but you didn't…"

"Don't worry about it. Plus, it's nothing you haven't seen." She says with a flirtatious tone.

Danny smiles and looks away awkwardly. "I got you a coffee." He says picking the cup up off the counter and handing it to Delinda.

"Thanks." The two sit down at the bar overlooking the kitchen and sip their coffee silently.

"You worked with your dad, didn't you?" Danny says, now looking to her more seriously.

Delinda turns her head sharply and looks to Danny with a scowl. "Where's this coming from?"

"Did you or didn't you?" he says wanting a straight answer.

"For a few years, yes."

"Nessa too?" he says nodding his head like he does when he gets frustrated.

Delinda nods her head, not sure if she should be telling him this.

"Are you still?"

"No, Nessa and I got out a few years ago."

"Why?" He says, trying to take in all of this information.

"We didn't want the life that daddy had. Leaving your family behind, risking your life for a reason you don't entirely understand. That's when we moved to Vegas."

"and…." Danny says, knowing that wasn't the only reason.



"Shake and I were partners. About a year after we started working together everything started to go wrong. My cover was blown on every mission we were assigned to. Daddy would have to come in and bail me out. A year later I discovered that she was selling me out."

Danny sighs and looks over to her. "What about Nessa? Why'd she get out?"

"She thinks that they had something to do with her dad's death."

"Did they?" Danny asks, full aware of Ed's relationship with Nessa's father.

"If you're asking if daddy did it, no. But if you're asking if the CIA had something to do with it, then yes." There is a short pause while Danny tries to process the information he has just been given. "Where is all of this coming from?" She says trying to look in his eyes.

Danny sighs and looks to her, "Sam"

"Sam?" She says confused.

"When I went to get coffee this morning Sam was at the coffee shop. We were talking and I guess while you guys were away she picked up on something because she started asking me questions."

Delinda lets out a deep sigh in frustration, "Great, now Sam knows. Do you think she's said anything to anyone else?"

Danny shakes his head, "I doubt it, but you may want to say something to make sure she doesn't."

Delinda nods her head in agreement and looks up to Danny. As her eyes meet his she freezes. The look of longing in his eyes does not go unnoticed. She moves her hand and places it on top of his. McCoy looks down at her hand and slowly moves in for a kiss. As he does so Delinda lifts her hands to his face and embraces his kiss.

She pulls away for a split second and rests her forehead against his, "I love you." She whispers, still holding his face in her hands.

Danny smiles and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, "I love you too." He says now moving in for another kiss.
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Ed moves around in his oversized closet, looking for something to wear to the cemetery. He pulls a long sleeved collared shirt off a hanger and slips it on over his white undershirt. As he walks into his bedroom buttoning up his shirt he smiles at the sight of his sleeping wife. He moves over to the bed and sits down on the edge to slip on his shoes. While bending over to tie his shoes he sighs in frustration, thinking of how easy it used to be. Now it's a chore to try and tie his own shoes.

Jillian awakes to the smell of her husband's cologne and smiles. She lifts her head and looks around for him. The tired blonde moves over behind Ed and starts to rub his shoulders.



"Getting old is a bitch." He says matter of factly.

Jillian laughs out loud and nods her head. "Where's that coming from?"

Ed sighs and points down to his shoes. "My back hurts just trying to put my damned shoes on."

"You're probably just sore from kicking the bad guys' butts." She says smiling and kissing his neck; trying to cheer him up.

Ed laughs to himself, "You're a good liar." He says laughing.

"You pick up a few things when you're married to a spy." She says with a grin. Jillian smiles and moves around to sit on his lap, "You're the youngest old guy I know."

Ed grins and kisses her back. "I have to get to the cemetery." He says after staring at her for a few moments.

"The cemetery?" she says with a scowl.

Ed nods his head. "PFC Ryan is still under Danny's headstone, and Danny's friend Cody is being sent there today." He says with a sigh.

Jillian nods her head and looks to the floor. "Danny's going with you?"

Ed looks to his watch, "yeah, I'm going to pick him up. I'll be home as soon as I can." He says now standing up. Jillian looks to her husband with a skeptical look. "I promise." He says laughing. He then grabs his suit coat and heads downstairs. As he walks towards the front door he realizes that he forgot his cell phone upstairs. "Jill…" he starts to shout but stops when he turns around and she's right there, holding his phone in her hand. "I'll be home by four, I promise." He says leaning in for a peck on the cheek.
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Delinda rests her head on Danny's chest while he strokes her hair. She runs her finger over his bare chest and looks up to him. "Why did you do it?" She asks.

"Well I thought you liked it." He jokes.

Delinda laughs and hits him playfully, "Not that." she giggles.

"Then what?" he asks curiously.

"Why didn't you tell us you were alive?"

Danny sighs and looks away. He knew this question would come, it was just a matter of time; but now that it was here he didn't know quite what to say. "because…because I couldn't put you through it twice."

"Put me through what twice?" She says confusedly.



"You lost me once, or at least you thought you had. When I went after Achmed I didn't know if I was going to make it back. I didn't want you to have to go through losing me twice." He says running his hand over her face.

Delinda nods her head in understanding and looks to the clock on the nightstand. "You're going to be late." Danny looks over to the clock and slowly gets out of bed. "Don't rush or anything." She says laughing.

Danny smiles as he slips his boxer briefs back on and heads towards the bathroom. "I'm going to hop in the shower. If your dad gets here tell him I'll be out in a bit. Oh and make sure to put some pillows and a blanket out on the couch to make sure he knows I slept out there." He says pointing out into the living room.

"Danny, it doesn't matter." She says smiling.

"Yes it does, I don't want him to think that I took advantage of you."

"but you did, twice." She says with a flirtatious grin.

"Yeah but still, how awkward." He says shrugging his shoulders as he bends down to give her another kiss before getting in the shower.

Delinda laughs and nods her head. "Ok"

A few minutes later she hears the shower going and gets up to get dressed. Just as she's slipping a shirt on she hears a knock at the door. "Hold on!" She yells towards the door as she throws a couple pillows on the couch and hits them to make them look used, even though he really did sleep on the couch.

She looks through the peep hole just before answering the door. "hey daddy." She says opening the front door to allow her father in.

"Hi." He says half surprised.

"Danny's in the shower, he'll be out in a minute." She says walking over to the kitchen.

Ed nods his head and follows his daughter over to the bar. "How was he?" he asks referring to Danny's PTSD.

"uhhhh?" Delinda starts, her mind going straight to the gutter.

"Did he have any nightmares?" Ed asks trying to get the information out of her.

"Oh, no; I don't think so. I fell asleep before he did, but I didn't hear anything."

"Well did he sleep at all?"



Delinda stops and thinks, "I don't know. I would have assumed so, but…" she says not sure of herself. There's a short pause. "I told him." She says simply. Ed looks to her, clearly lost. "About me and Nessa working with you." She says clearing things up.

"Oh…" Ed says simply, nodding his head.

"That's it?" she says slightly shocked at his reaction.

"Well, yeah, what?" he says shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know I just expected more." She says laughing.

"I trust Danny." he says simply.

Delinda smiles at her father and reaches out to grab his hand. As she does so Danny walks out of the bathroom in a pair of gym short and waves to Ed.

"I'll be out in a second." He says as he shuts the door to his bedroom to get dressed.

Five minutes later Danny walks out of the room in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Danny looks to Delinda and furrows his brow. "You don't look ready." He says putting his hands in the air.

"I didn't know I was going." She says looking from her dad to Danny.

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"I don't know, I thought…" she stops and sighs.

"Hurry up, go throw a coat and shoes on." He says ordering her around jokingly.

Delinda rushes off to Danny's bedroom to find a jacket. Danny turns to look back at Ed, who is giving him a small smile. "Can I ask you a question?" Danny says, looking to Ed with a serious face.

"Yeah." Ed says shrugging his shoulders.

"I'd like to ask your permission to date your daughter." He says calmly.

Ed lets out a deep breath and tries not to smile. "You have my permission." He says extending his hand to shake Danny's.

Danny smiles and returns Ed's hand shake. "Thank you sir."

"Don't break her heart Danny or I'll have to break your neck." He says teasingly.

Delinda walks out of the bedroom smiling, "Ready." She states.

Danny looks to her, smiles, and then grabs her hand. "Then let's get going." He says guiding her out of the apartment.
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Sam walks through the casino at her usual fast pace when she catches Nessa's eye. Nessa half sprints after her and calls out her name. "Sam!" she shouts with her British accent.

The feisty brunette turns around at the mention of her name but doesn't stop to chat. "Hey Ness," she says simply.

"Sam, there's a man at the front desk looking for you, says he's your dad." Nessa says with a smile.

Sam halts in her tracks and turns around to look at Nessa. "My dad?" Sam says shaking her head.

"Yeah, he's at the front desk waiting for you."

"Have Ed throw him out." She says turning back around to walk away.

"Ed's not here…"

"Then have Danny or Mike do it!" She shouts.

"Sam they're not here." Nessa says, now getting worried.

"Just get rid of him Nessa!" Sam screams now stopping again to look at her friend.

Nessa looks to Sam with a look of concern. "Sam is everything…"

"I'm fine! Just get rid of him!" She yells again as she walks out of sight. Nessa sighs and calls security to have the man escorted of the premises.
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Danny, Delinda and Ed pull up in front of a small house about twenty miles outside of Vegas and sit for a minute. Danny looks to the house and then down to his feet. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Delinda asks grabbing his hand.

Danny nods his head and looks up to her, "I owe it to him." He says simply. After taking in a deep breath he opens the car door and stands in front of PFC Ryan's family's house.

Ed walks up beside Danny and puts his hand on the young man's shoulder. "We'll be right here." He says squeezing Danny's shoulder. McCoy nods his head and makes his way to the front door. The young man runs his hand through his short hair before knocking on the door.

A young boy, around the age of fifteen, answers the door and looks up to Danny. "Can I help you?"

"Are your parents' home?" Danny asks.

The boy furrows his brow and calls for his mother. A stout older woman comes to the door with a confused look upon her face. "Hello ma'am, I'm Lieutenant…."



"Danny McCoy." She says finishing his statement. Danny nods his head in confusion. "Johnny told me so much about you, please come in." she says waving him inside the house. Danny looks back to Ed and Delinda, "please bring your friends." She says again, still beckoning him inside the house.

McCoy waves to his girlfriend and mentor and makes his way into the house. "Mrs. Ryan this is my girlfriend Delinda Deline and her father Ed Deline." Danny says introducing them all.

"Very nice to meet you, you can call me Karen." She says smiling. "Please have a seat." She says motioning towards the couch. Danny and company take a seat on the couch and look to each other uncomfortably. "They told us last week……but I knew." Karen says softly, taking a seat in a chair opposite them. Karen's youngest son Keith enters the room and sits on the arm of the chair his mother's sitting in.

Danny nods his head and looks to the floor, not quite knowing what to say. "I was with John when….I was with him." Danny says, now raising his head to face her. "The last thing he said was to tell his family that he loved them."

A tear falls down the side of Karen's cheek and Keith grabs her hand. "Was he brave?" Keith asks, looking to Danny seriously.

Danny nods his head, "yes." He replies simply, remembering the look of determination on PFC Ryan's face right up until the point that they pulled the trigger. "I don't know what they told you…" Danny starts, taking Delinda's hand in his. "…but they thought that I was John when they found the body. They had a funeral service for me when really it was John."

Karen gasps with shock. "So you all thought that he was…?" Karen asks looking to Delinda.

Delinda nods her head and lets a tear escape the corner of her eye. "Yes." She replies quietly.

"Oh, you poor thing." Karen says scooting up in her chair to place her hand on Delinda's.

"They are removing the coffin from my burial site today. I understand if it's too difficult for you, but you are more than welcome to come with us."

Karen nods her head and looks to Keith, "That's very nice of you, but….I can't. We will have a service for him in a couple of days."

Danny sighs, "I understand, I just wanted to come by personally and pay my respects." He says, now standing up.

"Will you come to the service?" Karen says now getting up herself.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it."

"Thank you Danny." she says pulling the tall marine down for a hug. "You feel free to stop by anytime you like." She adds as she releases him from her hug. Danny nods his head and smiles before making his way to the door. "It was very nice to meet you Delinda." Karen says now hugging the young blonde.



"You too." Delinda replies politely. Danny and Delinda make their way to the car, but Ed hangs back a bit.

"I'm sorry for your loss ma'am." Ed says sincerely.

"Thank you." She says simply as she looks out to Danny and Delinda waiting by the car. "You take care of that boy." She says to Ed. Ed looks to Danny and then back to Karen.

"I will."
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