-36-

Danny leaned against the wall just outside the Great Divide Bar & Grille at the Denver Marriott. After checking in, he'd left Mary in the room and gone in search of food, very grateful that he didn't have to go too far. Letting his eyes drift closed for a moment he tried to relax, but his body jerked suddenly--a last ditch effort to ward off the sleep he so desperately needed.

"Hey, man," Danny heard Mike's voice across the lobby. He turned to see his friend walking towards him with what he hoped was Delinda's pink and yellow overnight bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey," Danny greeted wearily.

"Where's Mary?"

"Upstairs in the room. I'm just waiting for our food."

"She okay?"

"She's just tired," Danny replied automatically until his brain finally caught up and he realized that Mike's question had a more serious than casual tone. "Why? Do you know something that I don't?"

Mike hesitated a moment. He had promised Mary that he wouldn't guilt Danny into getting some rest, but seeing as how they were already here in the hotel, maybe he could give the man a few hints that his wife was on the verge of a major nutty. Unfortunately, he'd just opened his mouth to speak when Delinda made her appearance. She barely acknowledged Mike's presence as she wrapped her arms around Danny and leaned her head against his shoulder. Recognizing his friend's need for comfort, Danny immediately put his arm around her and she snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"I can't believe this is happening. He looked so…he just doesn't look like himself, Danny."

"He'll get better, Delinda. The doctors are already impressed with his progress."

"Yeah…I know you're right. I'm just not used to seeing him like this."

Danny rubbed her arm a bit before giving her a kiss on the head and releasing his hold. "Mike got you a room so why don't you try and get some rest. We'll all meet down here in the morning to head back over."

"Okay," Delinda replied. Taking her key and bag from Mike, she leaned up to give Danny one last hug–kissing his cheek before heading towards the elevator.

Mike had observed the scene with a bit of trepidation. Watching Delinda interact with Danny had definitely made him uncomfortable–especially since he'd just overheard Mrs. D's lecture about her behavior--and if he'd reacted that way he could only imagine what Mary would have thought. The words, laced with accusation, were out of his mouth before he could stop them, "What's going on with you and Delinda?"

"What?" Danny asked, shocked. "Nothing! Why the hell would you even ask me something like that?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just getting a weird vibe."

"Well get over it! There's nothing going on. I'll admit--Delinda's being a little clingy, but she's just had a major scare."

The fatigue had apparently affected Mike as well and he'd lost his patience with his best friend. "You don't think it's strange that she's only clinging to you? Maybe you should let me take care of Delinda and you worry about your wife."

"What the hell, Mike? What's going on?"

"I know today has been hard, but you didn't see her earlier, Danny. It scared the crap out of me."

"Delinda?"

"No… Mary."

"What are you talking about? What happened?" Danny's alarm for Mary's well-being was increasing and he'd unconsciously started inching his way toward the elevator.

"Nothing happened. At least I don't think it did, but she was just so strung out and exhausted and she was refusing to leave you. She practically bit my head off when I mentioned talking to you about it. I was just really worried. I've never seen her look like that, Danny, and I think there may be more to it than what's going on with Ed."

Danny sighed heavily, dropping his gaze to the floor and shaking his head. "She was fine before I left yesterday…"

"And she was fine when I was talking to her before we got the call, but there was something in her voice earlier when she was talking about Sam…about being afraid and feeling guilty…I just got the impression that at some point she wasn't talking about Sam anymore."

"What could she possibly have to feel guilty about? She's been my rock…," Danny argued, but Mike cut him off.

"I don't know, man. Women are still a mystery to me," Mike gave him a slight smirk, trying to diffuse the now-heated conversation and get them back on familiar ground. "Didn't you get some sort of manual when you got married?"

Danny chuckled a bit, "My copy must have gotten lost in the mail… and you know a lot more than you give yourself credit for, Mikey."

"Yeah, well…listen, I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything…I just…with Delinda… I just wouldn't want Mary to get the wrong idea. She's about the most caring, understanding person in the world–she'd walk across broken glass if it would make Delinda feel better right now, but everyone has their limit and I think Mary got pretty close to hers today."

Danny nodded in understanding. "I appreciate you looking out for her today. I just haven't had my head on straight."

Their conversation was interrupted as a waiter brought Danny two white take-out bags. "Okay, I'm going to head up. Let's meet back here at 7:30 in the morning. I've got a meeting with the FBI tomorrow that I'm not looking forward to and I'm hoping Ed will be awake enough for me to talk to him first."

"What are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know, but you and I both know that if that shooter wanted to get to us they missed a perfect opportunity when we were out in the middle of nowhere with Hinojosa. There's only one reason why they would wait until we were in that parking lot."

"Because they didn't know where you were until you called the FBI and set up the meeting."

"Exactly."

"Damn, Danny. This is bad."

"Colossally bad," Danny agreed.

"7:30?" Mike confirmed.

"Yeah, see ya then," Danny and Mike shook hands before heading in opposite directions, Mike to grab a bite and Danny back to his room.

---

Danny had only been gone for twenty minutes, but in that short period of time Mary had managed to unpack their bag, take a quick shower and change into her favorite sleeping attire--Danny's Montecito Lancers t-shirt. While the warm shower had been helpful in relaxing her aching body, it had done little to alleviate her overall feeling of anxiety. She wasn't sure she'd be able to eat whatever Danny brought back, but she knew she had to try. She'd been neglecting her body–and by extension her baby–all day long and that was definitely going to stop. Mary wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure two bags of pretzels and three bottles of juice did not make up a healthy diet–especially for a pregnant woman. If she wasn't careful, Dr. O. would have her back on bed rest and that was something Mary desperately wanted to avoid.

As she cleared off the small table in the corner of the room, her thoughts turned to Danny. He seemed to be doing okay and she was definitely glad he'd decided to get some rest, but she was still worried about the emotional toll this might be taking on him. He thought of Ed as a father–especially since Larry was gone–and Mary knew seeing him in such a fragile state was extremely traumatic for her husband. The sound of the door opening drew her from her thoughts.

"Hey," Danny said softly, balancing their dinner in one hand as he stepped inside. Mary crossed the room and took the bags from him, returning to the table to lay out the various containers and utensils.

"Do you mind if I jump in the shower?" Danny asked as he moved to stand behind her, softly kissing the spot where her neck met her shoulder. "I think I passed gross about ten hours ago and moved into the disgusting category."

"You are pretty smelly," Mary commented with a smile, turning to face him and placing a light kiss on his lips. It still amazed her how much Danny's presence could calm her. An hour ago, she'd been exhausted almost to the point of collapse–her nerves frazzled and her worry for Danny at a fever pitch, but now–after just a few short minutes alone with each other-- the rest of the world shut away-- Mary felt like she could breathe again. Here in this room she could focus completely on his needs and give him her unquestioning devotion and support–the two things she'd failed to provide last year when Larry had died.

"Hey," Danny questioned, his brow creased with concern, "you still with me? You drifted off for a second."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I think the day's just catching up with me." Mary turned back to their dinner, hoping Danny didn't see the tears forming in her eyes. "Your shaving kit is in the bathroom and I laid out some shorts for you to sleep in."

"Thank you," Danny placed another feather-soft kiss on her lips. "Do you know how much I love you? How much I need you? I don't think I could have made it through this without you. I don't know how I ever made it through anything without you."

Surprisingly, Mary stiffened a bit in his arms-- not quite the response Danny was expecting and he tilted her face so he could look into her eyes–now brimming with tears.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry," Mary's voice broke as she tried not to cry, "….so sorry, Danny."

"For what? You've been amazing."

The sincere look in Danny's eyes was Mary's undoing. She didn't deserve his gratitude–not after what she'd done. Not after she'd abandoned him when he needed her the most. "I should have been there…I should have been with you the minute I heard…I just…I couldn't. I was so afraid that I wouldn't be what you needed."

"Mary, honey, what are you talking about? You've been here the whole time."

"Not now. Then…when your father died."

"Sweetie, you were a thousand miles away," Danny tried to protest, heartbroken that Mary had been carrying this guilt around for so long.

"NO! I could have made it back, Danny. I could have…I made up all these stupid excuses," she told him in between sobs.

"Mary, baby, stop!" Danny put his arm around her shoulders, using his other hand to hold her head so he could touch his forehead to hers. "You're not the only one who made mistakes back then. I wanted you with me so bad…" Danny was cut off as Mary tried to pull away from him--devastated all over again at his admission, but he refused to let her go. "Sshhhh, let me finish…I could have called you, Mary–right away–I should have called you, but I just couldn't. I knew that if you came back I would grab onto you and never let go and that wouldn't have been fair–not to either of us. Baby, I'm thankful everyday that we found each other again, but if we'd let sorrow and grief bring us back together we might not be where we are right now."

Finally letting go of the shame she'd held onto for so long, Mary wound her arms around Danny's neck-- burying her head in his chest while his hand ran soothingly through her hair. Whispered words of love, regret and hope filled the room as Danny finally picked Mary up and set her down on the bed. He held her until he knew she'd completely quieted, leaning back to look at her face.

"How'd you get so good at saying the right thing?" Mary asked through a watery smile.

"Lots and lots of trial and error," Danny grinned in return, before his expression turned serious again. "No more feeling guilty about the past. We need to focus on our future," Danny laid his hand against her growing middle, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth across the fabric of her shirt. "Agreed?"

Mary smiled again, laying her hand on top of Danny's, "Agreed."