Alternate

Chapter 6: Caress

A/N: Took a while to get this chapter done and I hope it was worth it.

Dedication: To my wonderful reviewers ChristyLoisGilmore17, Wolfhound159, DaisyDay and megspazzy.

Kate found herself back in her hospital room surrounded by Donnie, her father, brother and sister-in-law. The group peppered her with questions. Kate filled them in and learned about what she'd missed from Donnie and Joey.

Apparently the CPD officers hadn't been in the right place at the right time by coincidence. They had been one of two cars sent to Tasha Ogden's home after Donnie had gotten Rosenthal to give up the name of his accomplice. Shortly after they had arrived in the neighborhood dispatch had relayed a 911 call about an armed woman in a nightgown who matched Tasha's description. Leaving one pair of officers to search the seemingly empty house, the other pair went to investigate and came upon Daniel and Kate just in time.

As interested in the details as Kate was she was eager to see Daniel. However separating herself from the small cluster of people seemed impossible. They were determined to fawn over her and hover around her. Only when a nurse came to check Kate's vital signs did she get a reprieve.

"I thought you were supposed to be resting?" the nurse asked. Her tone was accusatory but she flashed Kate's visitors a soft smile "All of you out," she shoed them out and turned to Kate "In bed right now Agent Moretti."

Kate complied "I feel fine," she protested as the nurse wrapped a sphygmomanometer around her right upper arm.

"Until your blood work comes back and we know just what you were injected with, we can't just take your word for it," the cuff began to tighten around Kate's arm.

Kate sighed heavily as the nurse stuck a thermometer under her tongue.

"You and Doctor Pierce are like two impatient peas in a pod," the nurse reflected "He wants out of here too," the cuff on Kate's arm relaxed and the nurse stared sternly at the numbers "Lie down right now," she advised Kate "Your blood presure's a little low," she snatched the beeping thermometer from between Kate's lips "At least your temperature is normal," she observed.

Kate tried to get comfortable in the hospital bed as the nurse checked her blood oxygen level. It was hard to believe that her blood pressure was running low when she was feeling so antsy. She was eager to see Daniel, to talk to him. She was glad that the nurse had shoed Donnie away before he could attempt to kiss her goodbye and that none of her guests had had time to bring up the wedding because quite honestly she wasn't sure what to tell Donnie. She had to know for certain what Daniel felt, she had to hear him say it. She was clear on how she felt about him. She loved him and had for a long time. But she'd never imagined he could return those feelings. And then there was Donnie.

She did care about Donnie. The effort he'd put into trying to get her back had been endearing and being proposed to in Paris, she'd been swept up in the romance. And there was a part of her that felt as though she owed him. The first marriage had gone by in a blur. Now that they were both a little older and a bit wiser... But she didn't really love him, not in the head-over-heels heart-a-flutter way she had always secretly dreamed of being in love. The way she felt around Daniel.

For a long time she had tried to tell herself that it was just the remnants of a girlish crush. But the feeling that she got when he looked at her, when he said her name, they persisted. She had indulged in a fantasy the night before of Daniel standing up at the wedding and declaring his love for her. It had been foolish but he had kept creeping into her head as she'd tried to sleep.

"Now, I want you to stay in bed," the nurse was telling her.

Kate nodded, knowing she was probably going to disobey as soon as she possibly could. The nurse left Kate alone and she immediately sat up in bed. She listened to the nurse making her way down the hall.

After having been ousted from Kate's room Donnie had gone to see Daniel. There was something the two of them needed to discuss. Daniel was lying on his stomach, his arms crossed beneath his pillow and his face turned to one side. Donnie pulled up a chair and took a seat.

"What do you want?" Daniel asked, sounding exhausted.

"Good to see you too Daniel," Donnie countered. He looked around "Where's Max?"

"I sent him home," Daniel answered "He was hovering."

Donnie sighed "We have a problem," he began.

"Is Kate okay?" Daniel inquired, his tone suddenly one of concern.

"She's fine," Donnie assured "It's about Rosenthal. His lawyer's trying to get his conviction overturned."

Daniel lifted his head and stared in disbelief "What?!"

"Since Tasha's testimony was a key factor in his conviction..." Donnie scrubbed his hand across his face "Look the best situation we can hope for is a retrial. To get Rosenthal to give up Tasha's name I may have had to help push through the appeal his attorney was filing. I'm gonna need you to testify."

Daniel lay his head back down on the pillow facing away from Donnie "Do I have a choice?" he asked.

"You do," Donnie pointed out "Unfortunately the other option is that Rosenthal may walk."

"When do you need me?" Daniel asked, resigning himself to the task.

"Sometime next week," Donnie told him "I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Appreciate it," Daniel mumbled.

Donnie stood up and was about to leave when he spotted someone standing in the hall "Kate?" he questioned "I thought you were supposed to be resting."

Kate Moretti looked away from her fiancé's gaze "I came to see how Daniel was," she said quietly, not revealing the other reason she was there.

Daniel managed a small smile at her "I'm fine Kate, go get some sleep."

Kate felt the sudden urge to grab him by the collar of his hospital gown and shake him. He was either being oblivious or deliberately evasive. It was infuriating. But she was determined to talk this thing over with him as soon as possible.

Donnie smiled softly at Kate as he reached out to wrap an arm around her waist "See," he began to guide her towards the door "I'll walk you back to your room."

"No," Kate's tone was far more snappish than necessary as she pushed Donnie away. She felt a momentary pang at the flicker of hurt that flashed across his features "I really need to talk to Daniel," she clarified.

"About...?" Donnie asked, not unreasonably.

Kate paused, not sure what to say. She looked over at Daniel for help but he offered none.

"I'm gonna go get a cup of coffee," Donnie decided after observing Kate's evasive body language. He wasn't sure exactly what they were going to talk about but he got the feeling he was better off not knowing. He left the room as fast as he could.

Kate made her way over to the seat Donnie had been occupying and dropped into it "Where's Max?" she questioned, choosing to start on a benign topic.

"Sent him home," Daniel explained "He kept bringing me juice boxes and graham crackers from the nurses' station."

Kate noticed the pile of tiny packages of crackers on the table beside the bed and the assortment of juice boxes that sat beside them. "You don't mind do you?" she asked, reaching for the pile.

Daniel laughed "Not in the slightest," he replied.

Kate withdrew an apple juice box and a packet of graham crackers. She stabbed the juice box with the pointed end of the straw and sipped at it.

Daniel watched her silently. He knew exactly what she wanted to talk about but he didn't want to be the one to broach the subject.

Kate set the juice box on the table and took a deep breath "In the basement before we escaped the second time...?" the words she needed to say just wouldn't come and the question was left dangling between them.

"And you caught me talking to a hallucination?" his tone was bitter and accusatory as if she'd been purposely eavesdropping on him. But his voice was also oddly subdued with a note of soft acceptance to it.

"Were you talking about what I think you were talking abou?" she asked.

"That's awfully vague Kate," Daniel remarked.

"You were talking about me," she stated rather than asked.

"Yes," Daniel confirmed.

"And how I'd be better off with Donnie than with you," she didn't even wait for confirmation this time "What gives you the right to decide who I'm with Daniel Pierce?" her voice had become slightly elevated.

"Because I want you to be happy," he defended, raising his head off the pillow and rolling onto his side.

"How do you know what or who will make me happy?" she had stood from the chair and was leaning over the bed, her face perilously close to his.

Like in the basement, Daniel found it impossible to break eye contact "I don't," he admitted "But I know it's not me."

"How wrong you are," she whispered. She traced his cheek with her index finger "How wrong you are."

Daniel placed his hand over hers "I can't have my illness do to you what it did to Miranda," he told her.

"Miranda was a bitch," Kate stated simply, feeling so much better now that she'd said out loud what she'd been thinking for months "When you love someone you find the strength to love them even when things aren't easy," she leaned in and pressed her lips to Daniel's "You love them always," she said as she pulled back.

Daniel stared in wide-eyed wonder. A slow smile crept onto his face. He took in the beautiful, strong, incredible woman in front of him. Her words replayed in his mind. She was correct. It was not his place to say who would make her happy.

Daniel reached for her, drawing her back to him. He rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. The pain of his injuries nothing compared to the joy of having Kate Moretti, safe and sound, in his arms.

Kate managed to rearrange the both of the so they were lying on their sides, facing each other. She refused to be responsible for making Daniel's injuries worse. The two lay gazing at each other for a long moment.

Daniel finally broke the silence "I love you."

Kate smiled brightly "I was hoping you did," she kissed him again. This time the kiss deepened as Daniel reciprocated. The kiss was sweet, tender and yet still somehow passionate. As they came up for air both wondered why they hadn't done this long ago.

"By the way Daniel," Kate, still panting, remarked "In case that didn't make it clear: I love you too." She relaxed into Daniel's embrace and closed her eyes.

In the hallway an emotionally shattered Donnie Ryan turned on his heel and walked quickly away.