Thank everyone who has taken the time to read – especially those who leave me reviews! Hope you all enjoy the new chapter!
Chapter 36
Kara woke to callused fingers brushing across the side of her face. As she blinked Danny's face swam into view. She frowned, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for several seconds before remembering where she was. The hospital on base. After waiting for what seemed like forever, Rachel had succeeded in getting Joanne Green moved to the hospital for surgery. Kara realized that she must have fallen asleep while they were waiting because she was now lying on a hospital bed, Frankie beside her in a bassinet. Focusing back on Danny she turned her head to the side to press a kiss to his palm, her other hand reaching up to grasp his arm. He looked exhausted.
"How is your mother?"
"She's out of surgery but still in recovery. Rachel was rather unhappy when she found out that you were still here. I'm going to have Eddie take you back to the house. Debbie and Peter are there and I'll be home as soon as we know that Mom is out of the woods."
"Come here." Kara reached up to stroke his cheek softly. When Danny hesitated she slid both arms around his back and tugged gently. They had not had a moment alone since they left the processing center and right now she needed to reassure herself that he was alive and unharmed. "Just for a minute. Please."
"Kara. Eddie is right outside the door." His voice was deeper, huskier than usual and Kara knew that Danny was feeling the same tension that she was, both of their emotions still raw from the events of the day.
"And you are trying to tell me that Eddie has never caught you at a compromising position?" She arched an eyebrow at him.
The corner of Danny's mouth twisted into a grin. "He might have seen my bare ass on occasion or two but not since college."
"Well I'm not asking you to take your clothes off. All I want is to kiss my husband," Kara wheedled. She knew that she had won when the mattress sagged under Danny's knee before he stretched out next to her, his arms wrapping around her to pull her close, careful not to compress her side or chest.
"I'll stay for a minute but if Rachel catches us I am going to tell her that this was all your fault. Pretty sure that this would be on her no-no list."
Kara wiggled until they were face to face, cupping his face as she kissed him, gently at first and then with growing urgency as she thought about how close she had come to never doing this again, to never seeing him again. They were both breathing heavily when Kara pulled away, her arms still wrapped tightly around him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming for us. For saving us."
"I didn't even fire my gun. You and Zaya took down three of the men before we even got inside," Danny commented, his voice harsh, self-deprecating.
"I couldn't take the chance of one of them shooting you," Kara whispered. "I was so scared. Knowing that you were about to come through that door. Terrified that I would see you get shot. That I would see you die."
"When I heard that you were at that center…." His voice broke and he buried his head in her hair, his shoulders shaking. "God. I don't know what I do if I lost you."
"I know." Kara ran her hands over his back, reassuring them both. "But I'm fine. Frankie's fine. You're fine. We're all okay."
A minute later he raised his head to look at her again. "Zaya said you went to the center looking for my mother. Why didn't you tell me?" Danny's voice was soft but Kara could hear the underlying hurt, the anger. She grimaced.
"I was going to call you when I saw your mother's name on the list but then I realized that Chris's name wasn't there. And I started to worry that it wouldn't be the right Joanne Green. I needed to know for sure. I couldn't bear to tell you that I had found out your mother and then be wrong."
Danny shook his head, one hand grasping her arm. "I should have been there with you. Maybe I could have done something. Maybe it wouldn't have turned out the way that it did."
"No." Kara spoke firmly. "You need to stop this, Danny. Andrea told me what you said earlier. You need to stop blaming yourself for every bad thing that happens. Norfolk is safe. There was no reason to think that someone was going to attack the processing center. I know that you want to protect me and Frankie – that you want to protect your family and your team and everyone else. But you need to stop beating yourself up for things that are not your fault. You aren't responsible for what happened today and you aren't responsible for what happened to your mother or your father – no matter what Chris said."
Danny groaned. "The look on his face, Kara. He was so betrayed. He was counting on me to find them and I let him down."
"I know what Chris said earlier hurt – but he's wrong. You have obligations here Danny, and I don't mean me and Frankie, I mean to the mission. Chris doesn't appreciate how important what you – what we – do here is. Look at Commander Slattery. Do you think that he wants to stay here when his family is still missing? Of course not! But he knows that the best way to find his family is to spread the cure as widely as possible so they can safely return to Norfolk and find him. And that is what happened with Joanne and Chris. Once it was safe do so they went to Cornwall to look for Caroline, and then they came here to look for you. You did the right thing, Danny."
"I hope so." Danny leaned his forehead against Kara's, his breath hot against her cheek. "I know how lucky I am. So many people lost their entire family. And not only do I have you and Frankie, but I also have Caro and Chris and my mother. This just isn't how I pictured the reunion."
"Really? You didn't picture yourself rescuing your brother from a closet where he was hiding from gunmen? I can't imagine why." Kara rolled her eyes. She pulled herself away from Danny and propped her head up on an elbow so she was looking down at him. Absently she traced his bottom lip with her thumb. "I'm sure that it isn't how Chris pictured it either. He's obviously upset about your mother and everything that happened today and he lashed out at you."
"I told Chris that he could stay with us. I probably should have cleared that with you first. I imagine that dealing with a moody teenager isn't high on your list of fun ways to spend your off-duty hours." Danny's hand slid to Kara's hip.
Kara shrugged. "The CIC training course has given me a crash course in dealing with teenagers. I can handle Chris. Although we'll be short a bedroom once your mother gets out of the hospital."
They lay there in silence until Danny shifted, his hand slipping under Kara's shirt. "You know, since we're already breaking Rachel's rules…."
Kara laughed as she pushed herself to a sitting position, slapping away his hand. "Try again buster. You may not mind Eddie seeing your bare ass but I certainly do."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Eddie switched off the ignition as they pulled up in front of the house. Kara opened the door to the backseat to let Halsey out but Eddie stopped her before she could pick up Frankie. "I'll get her."
Unstrapping Tyler first, he grabbed Frankie's infant seat and swung both out of the jeep, following her towards the house. Debbie stood on the porch waiting.
"Kara!" Debbie's eyes were filled with tears as she enveloped Kara in a tight hug, letting go only when Kara winced.
"Sorry, Mom, just a little sore," she explained. Debbie's eyes widened.
"Of course! Commander Garnett said that you had a breast infection when she called. She said that you were not to leave bed for two days."
"Rachel just said to rest…" Kara protested but Debbie ignored her. "Up to bed! Peter is making dinner right now and I'll bring you up a plate in a minute."
Half smiling, half grimacing, Kara turned to Eddie, who had followed them into the house. "Thank you for driving us home."
"If Mrs. Foster doesn't mind, Tyler and I will stick around until Danny gets back. Especially if Mr. Walsh is cooking." Eddie winked at Debbie, who flushed.
"You are more than welcome to stay. Peter is making plenty. But where is Danny?"
Kara ignored the twinge of disapproval in her mother's voice. Given Debbie's painful track record in the boyfriend department, Kara had no intention of taking marital advice from the woman. "His mother is still in recovery. He was going to wait in case she woke up but he shouldn't be too long." Kara reached down to pick up Frankie, but her mother cut in.
"Nope. You need to rest. I will take care of Frankie and bring her upstairs if she needs to eat."
"Doctor Scott did say to rest," Eddie added.
Kara threw her hands up. "Okay, I know when I am outnumbered. I'll head upstairs but I am taking a shower before I go to bed. I need one after today."
Kara had just finished her shower and was pulling on a pair of worn sweatpants and one of Danny's shirts when Debbie appeared, carrying a tray loaded down with some sort of stew.
"That smells delicious." Kara sat on the bed. "Are those dumplings? Mmmmmm. Tell Peter that I love him."
"He knows beef stew with dumplings is your favorite." Debbie smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Kara reached over, touching her mother's hand. "I'm fine, Mom. We were in a supply closet the entire time and really in no danger. The people you should be worried about are the civilian volunteers. Several of them were tied up and used as a human barrier. I imagine they are pretty shaken and I am worried about how this will impact people's willingness to volunteer at the processing center. We don't have the personnel to run the centers without them."
"I know." Debbie sighed. "The city council had an emergency meeting today to discuss the situation. What has people most rattled is how the men got the guns inside. Everyone we talked to agreed that the guards were frisking people as they entered – which makes it worse somehow. If this was a lapse in security, there would at least be an answer. Not knowing what happened means that it could happen again. And conspiracy theories are already making the rounds."
"Admiral Chandler is planning a full investigation," Kara noted as she took another spoonful of stew. She didn't add that Captain Chandler was fairly certain that the guns had been smuggled in with injured refugees. Upon questioning the guards had all admitted that they had given only cursory checks of those arriving on stretchers due to concerns about causing more harm to the sick and injured.
"Who will be handling the investigation?" Debbie's voice was strained and Kara looked at her mother curiously.
"Commander Slattery. Why?"
"It's just that….."
Kara leveled a look at her mother.
"I just…" Debbie stopped again.
"Mom, what is it?"
Debbie looked away. "I remember when you were a little girl and I would come home…"
"Sick?" Kara prompted.
"Drunk, I was drunk, Kara." Debbie said flatly. "I would disappear for days and come home drunk and you would make me take a shower and eat and get some sleep. You never asked me why I left. You never got angry. You took care of me, even as a child."
"You had a disease, Mom. I know that." Kara shifted uncomfortably. She and Debbie never talked about the past. It was an unspoken rule between them, a way of avoiding the uncomfortable issues that it brought up and, for Kara, a way of protecting herself against Debbie's inevitable slid back to the bottle.
"It doesn't matter why I wasn't around. What matters is that you had to take care of yourself. And you did. But you don't need to do that anymore, Kara. Even if Danny can't be here … I know that I haven't always been there for you but I want to make up for that. I want to be there for you. For you and Frankie. I want to prove to you that I am never going back to the person that I was before."
Setting aside the tray of food, Kara pulled her mother into her arms. And for the first time, she actually believed that this current run at sobriety would not turn out like all of Debbie's past attempts.
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What are you still doing here?"
Danny's eyes popped open at Leslie's voice. He realized that he must have dozed off in the waiting room. A quick glance showed that Chris was still in the chair across the way, the furthest he could get from Danny without leaving the room completely (which might have meant missing the nurse who was giving them periodic comments on Joanne's status).
"Waiting for news about my mother. Why? What time is it?"
"Almost midnight," Leslie replied. "I heard Doctor Scott tell you to take your wife home hours ago. She – and the Admiral – won't be happy when I call to tell her that you disobeyed her orders."
Danny couldn't help but smile at Leslie's threat. "No need to bother Doctor Scott. I had Eddie Ward take Kara and Frankie home around eight."
"You sent your sick wife home alone?" Leslie clucked her tongue, her disapproval evident.
"Not you too," Danny groaned. "She wasn't going home alone. Her mother was coming over to watch the baby."
Leslie considered him for a minute. "Okay, since I like your wife I am going to give you a little bit of advice here."
"Yes, sir." Danny immediately regretted the flippant tone when Leslie narrowed her eyes at him. "Sorry. Rough day."
Leslie apparently accepted the excuse because she continued. "Mike – that's my grandson – used to try to get away with things by claiming that everyone was doing it or everyone said it was okay. And I always replied that he was free to follow everyone off a cliff the day the turned eighteen but until then I was the only person who mattered. But what I didn't say to Mike, and probably should have, was that sometimes, every so often, when everyone is telling you the same thing, sometimes everyone is right."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Twenty minutes later Danny and Chris pulled up in front of the house, careful not to block in Eddie or Peter. Caro had remained at the hospital for her regular shift, and Cruz had offered to stay with her, so there was really no reason for Danny and Chris to be there as well. Chris had been reluctant to leave, afraid that Joanne would wake up without them, but Caro had convinced him to get some sleep and come back in the morning.
"Where are we? I thought we were going to your apartment with Frankie."
Danny swallowed, the reminder of his apartment with Frankie causing a dull ache. Besides returning to gather some clothing and other essentials, he had not been back to the place since they left for the arctic. "Frankie's dead. We moved here after the baby was born. Caro has a room downstairs and Teylor stays here most nights but there is plenty of room for you and Mom as well."
Chris was silent until they reached the porch. "You have electricity?"
"Yes, we have a generator. Lieutenant Yates, who is charge of the base, has been working to get each home a generator for power. He also got the sewer and water system running so the toilets and shower work, although showers are restricted to five minutes."
They walked in to find Debbie, Peter and Eddie playing cards. Debbie was the first to react.
"Danny! We saved some dinner for you. And this must be your brother Chris. I'm Debbie, Kara's mother, and this is my boyfriend Peter. We were so happy to learn that you had made it here to Norfolk." As Debbie talked she bustled them both in the kitchen.
Eddie followed after them to give Chris a hug. "It's good to see you Chris."
"Where's Tyler?" Danny asked.
"Kara kept Frankie in your room for the night and let Tyler use the crib. You did a nice job building that. Any way I can talk you into making one for me?" Eddie asked, snagging a roll from the pile that Debbie had placed on the table.
"On my next day off," Danny replied.
Eddie snorted. "Forget it. He won't need a crib in five years."
"Where is Mrs. Ward?" Chris asked around the roll that he had stuffed in his mouth.
A pall fell over the group. "Amber didn't make it. The Red Flu."
Chris swallowed. "I'm sorry. Were you in Cornwall? Mom and I saw the graves."
"No, we were in Massachusetts with my in-laws. Once Amber got sick we headed south to Connecticut looking for a cure but it was too late. That's where I ran into your brother. The Nathan James made port in New London a couple weeks later. I went to Cornwall with Danny. I was there when we found Caroline and the others hiding from the Alliance."
"The Alliance?"
Danny kicked Eddie under the table. Chris didn't need to hear this. Eddie ignored him. "Wacko military group that poisoned half the town with arsenic – including my folks. Ask Caroline about the story. A couple kids your age survived though. We met up with them. What were their names, Danny?"
"Ryan Levy and Nick Sims. We left them in Norwalk."
Chris looked like he was going to puke. "Dad was poisoned?"
"No, he died of the Red Flu. He caught it at the school." Danny looked at Eddie. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Pulling his friend to the hall, he closed the door to the kitchen before hissing. "What are you doing?"
"You can't hide the truth from him, Danny. I know you still see him as the twelve years old who liked to prank us when we crashed at your house after a night out but he's not a kid anymore. Hiding things from him is going to backfire."
"Even if you are right, he doesn't need to deal with any more tonight."
"Fine." Eddie shrugged. They arrived back in the kitchen in time to hear Chris ask Peter and Debbie what they did in Norfolk.
Peter answered. "I own a restaurant downtown that we converted into a kind of community center. And Debbie and I both serve on the Norfolk City Council Committee for the Cure."
"What is that?" Chris asked.
Danny replied. "Norfolk is the hub for distribution of the vaccine for the Red Flu through the United States and abroad. The Norfolk City Council coordinates the teams that head inland. The Nathan James was distributing cure along the east coast until it made port two weeks ago. We have another ship, Solace, that is in Europe and we have a ship that will hopefully reach China any day."
"Any word on the Kidd?" Peter asked.
"Nothing but we were pretty distracted today. And, unfortunately, with Zaya unavailable the language barrier was a bigger problem than usual. My Mandarin sucks." Danny shook his head.
"I don't understand." Chris looked back and forth between Danny and Peter.
Eddie was the one who answered. "On our way to Norfolk a couple months ago we stumbled across a Chinese frigate. The crew was sick so we brought them the cure and helped them make it here to Norfolk. Somehow it resulted in Danny becoming the unofficial ambassador to China."
"You said that your job here was to train the new soldiers, like boot camp," Chris replied, staring at his brother.
"It is," Danny confirmed.
Eddie elaborated. "Well that might be his official job but unofficially, in addition to playing diplomat, Danny also coordinates security for the teams that take the cure inland. That's why we need new soldiers. The more people that we have, the more teams that we can send out, and the more people that we save."
"Danny also works with the City Council on local security issues. Since we no longer have a police force, we rely on the base to provide security patrols in the residential areas," Peter added. "Your brother has been a huge asset to Norfolk. We're lucky to have him."
Chris briefly met Danny's eyes before focusing on the food before him.
"This is delicious, Mrs. Foster," Chris said quietly as he scarfed down the soup. Debbie laughed.
"I wish I could take credit but Peter here is the chef. My cooking skills are about on par with your brother. Which means that without Peter and Kara we would all be eating a lot more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."