A/n

So I just remembered/relearned that an Iraqi war was in 2004. With that knowledge, my books Can't Do It Without You and You're Not Alone are in the wrong time period. But it is fan fiction, after all, so that's okay.

This chap is going off the fact that the Iraqi war ended- at least Danny's tour ended- 2008.


Danny drove back to his house in dead silence. He had talked just a little bit to the doc at work; the doctor had insisted it wasn't Danny's fault. Eventually, the detective got tired of hearing those words. He knew it was his fault; there was no other way to look at it. It was his fault. He shook his head as he turned the corner to his street. All he wanted to do was see his wife and kids.

Danny walked through the front door, "hey."

Linda frowned, the exhaustion practically rolled off him in bucket loads. "Hi."

He crossed the short distance to her, taking her chin gently in his hands. He kissed her lips like he'd never see her again; he kissed her, pouring out all his love straight to her soul. He broke away, heading straight for the kitchen. "Where're the boys?"

It took a second for Linda to recover from that kiss, "...Huh?"

"Jack an' Sean?" He walked into the living room, "where are they?"

"Oh, uh, they're at Joshy's. Big birthday sleepover."

Danny nodded, sitting next to her.

"They've been waiting for it for months. They're first sleepover that's not here or at Frank's." She studied his face, "Wanna talk about it?"

He draped his arm around her shoulder, sipping his beer. "No, not yet."

She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "Whenever you're ready, I'm here."

Danny kissed her hair, "thanks."


Danny stood under the spray of the shower, his Marine tour weighing heavily on his mind. For both tours, he was the only one who made it home alive. He hadn't told Linda about it yet, but deep down he knew she was either going to find out or pry it out of him.

Linda slipped into the en-suite, after staying downstairs for two hours. She wanted to come up and talk to him as soon as he went to shower. She watched him through the glass door, his frame slumped over. She hugged herself, desperately wanting to take him in her arms, tell him everything would be okay, and kiss all his problems away. Decidedly, she started undressing. She slipped into the shower behind him, automatically yelping. "The water's freezing, Danny!"

"Hadn't noticed." He mumbled, not looking to her.

She looked at the tabs and realized that the hot water had long since gone cold. "Come on," she turned the tab off. "Let's get dry, get cozy in bed, and warm up with some hot coffee." She led him out of the shower, and handed him a towel. She helped him towel off, knowing that she just wanted to be near him and vice versa.

About twenty minutes later, Linda and Danny sat in bed, holding matching novelty mugs of hot coffee. Linda took a long sip and sighed as it warmed her chilled bones. "I'm waiting, babe."

"For what?" Danny sipped his coffee, looking lovingly at his wife.

"For you to tell me what's bothering you."

He sighed, "the case I was working on-"

"The one with the ex marine? The ex— oh." Part of it had just dawned one her. "What, uh, what happened?"

"He took a dive. From about fifty feet up."

She took his hand in hers, threading her fingers between his. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. Everything's my fault-"

"Danny. Stop it." Linda said firmly. "I know coming home from war is hard. I can't even imagine what you've been through, the sights you've seen. But you have to stop blaming yourself when things don't turn out as initially as planned! It's not healthy. It was his fault that he took a nose dive. Not your fault. You did everything you could, and it was his choice not to listen... But I know there's more that's bothering you."

Danny sighed, his eyes fixated on his black coffee. He wasn't ready to tell her, he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to tell her. He closed his eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm the only one who made it out alive."

Linda lifted her head and looked at him, "I'm so sorry."

He only shrugged, "just like this guy was my fault, the marines were my fault."

She shook her head, "no."

Danny deftly nodded, putting his mug on the nightstand. He looked at the duvet, not wanting to look into his wife's eyes. "You probably don't even want me anymore."

Shocked, Linda put her cup on the table as well, then shifted positions. She knew what she had to do to prove to him she loved him no matter what. She kissed him passionately, moving onto his lap.

"Linda," his hands moved instinctively to her waist, "What are you doing?"

"Shut up," she commanded between kisses.

"What?"

"Shut. Up."