Author's Note & Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Bloods or any of its characters. All rights belong to CBS.
Chapter 9
The car ride from the precinct is mostly quiet. Danny tries making small talk at first but Maria doesn't seem to be paying attention. He puts the radio on low, hoping to make the car ride a little less awkward.
Maria is staring out the window, seeing the buildings and city lights flash by. The events of the night are replaying in her mind, and she can't stop the silent tears from streaming down her face. Maria keeps her head turned towards the outside, doesn't want Danny to see that she's crying again.
Danny can't see the tears but can tell she's crying, notices her hand come up to her face every few seconds. He focuses his attention back on the road, grips the steering wheel harder to help with the anger he's feeling because his partner is hurting and there's not much he can do at the moment.
Finally, they're only a few blocks away from his house and Danny clears his throat to tell Maria that they're close.
"Hey Maria, we're almost here." But there's no response. Is she asleep? Danny thinks to himself, glancing over Maria. Sure enough, her eyes were closed.
A few minutes later Danny is pulling into his driveway. The security detail parked on the side of the street, two of the men came out from their vehicle to follow them into the house.
Danny takes a moment and looks at Maria who is sleeping peacefully. Aside from the apparent bruising he notices that she looks a bit pale and thinner than usual. He's noticed that her clothes have been fitting her a bit loose around the waist. All the signs were starting to pile up, frustrating him even more.
'Has she been dealing with this longer than these past 24 hours? If so, how did I not notice this sooner?'
He then reaches over and gently squeezes her left hand, "Hey Maria, wake up," he whispers. He didn't want to startle her but she jumps a little when she feels him squeeze her hand.
"Hey it's ok. I didn't mean to startle you but we're here already. You ready to come in?"
"Oh my God. Danny, I'm sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep on you-"
"Hey, you don't need to apologize. It's ok. You've had a long day and you need some rest. Come on, let's get you settled inside. Heads up, 1PP security is here to check my house to make sure it's secure."
"Ok, thanks."
Danny helps carry Maria's bags into the house. He guides her through the house and eventually upstairs to the guest bedroom.
"You'll be next to Jack's room. Sean's room is the last one there at end. And my room is down the opposite end of this hall, over there" Danny says pointing to the bedroom
Maria just nods.
"You saw the kitchen and living room are on our way up here. Feel free to raid the fridge and pantry. If there's something you want or need, let me know and I'll make a trip to the store or send for it."
Maria nods again. She's about to respond to Danny, but they're both interrupted by Sean.
"Dad? Maria? What's going on? Why are there guys out in the back yard?" Sean says groggily, rubbing his eyes.
"Hey, kid. Sorry if we woke you. Those guys are just making sure that our house and the perimeter are secure. Maria is going to be our guest for a couple of days. Be on your best behavior especially with a lady present. Got it?"
"Ok. I'm going back to bed. See you in the morning. Goodnight Dad. Goodnight Maria," Sean says, retreating back to his room.
"Goodnight," both Maria and Danny say.
"Danny, thank you for this. Really. I do appreciate everything you're doing for me but I seriously don't want to be a bother to you or to Sean. If this becomes a problem, let me know so I can figure something else out –"
"Maria, you are not a bother to me or Sean. If it makes you feel better, I'll talk to him and ask if he's really ok with you staying here. Honestly though, the kid doesn't mind. Just relax, ok?"
"Ok, thanks," Maria says softly.
"Don't mention it. I'll leave you to get settled here and I'll be back up here shortly. I'm going to have a little chat with our security detail before I lock up the house. You want anything while I'm down there?"
"Yea just a glass of water?"
"Sure thing, one water coming right up" Danny smiles and leaves the room.
Maria took this moment to unpack a few of her things and change into her pajamas. She was unpacking some of her toiletries in the bathroom when she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. The sides of her face was swollen and has some obvious bruising now, the busted lip wasn't that bad but was also very noticeable.
How do I tell them about this? I didn't fight back. I just couldn't. They're going think I'm too weak to even defend myself against my own family. My mom, my sister…why do they hate me? Maria thinks to herself as fresh tears continue running down her face. She's tired, so tired of this pain. She's so tired of going through these hardships alone.
Meanwhile downstairs Danny is discussing areas of concern with the security detail. He arranges for an escort for Sean to and from school. Moments later the men leave and Danny locks up the house and sets the alarm.
He remembers that Maria wanted water so he heads into the kitchen to get her a glass of water. He also retrieves an icepack for her to put on the sides of her face, as well as the first aid kit to treat her busted lip.
Danny gently knocks on the guest room door, even though it was slightly open.
"Hey Maria I'm back." She looks up from where she's sitting at. He can tell she had been crying again.
"Water for the lady" he says, getting a small smile from her in return.
"Thanks," she says.
"Here's an icepack, it should help with the swelling," he says handing it to her which she takes. "May I?" Danny asks gesturing to take a seat next to her. Maria nods her head.
"I brought you some aspirin for the pain. Do you need some right now?" He asks and she nods her head. Danny gives her the medication which she takes as well.
Danny then takes out the antibiotic cream from the first aid kit. "I've also brought you this. May I?" He asks gesturing to her lip. Again Maria just nods her head. He carefully places a small amount of cream on her lip. He gives her a sympathetic smile.
"There you go. We'll talk later in the morning. Get some rest. If you need anything and I mean anything Maria, I'm just down the hall. Ok?" Danny asks looking into her sad eyes.
"Ok, Danny. Thank you for all this" Maria says.
"Anytime," he smiles back to her. He gets up and walks towards the door, looks to where she's at, "Goodnight, Maria."
"Goodnight, Danny."
He closes the door to her room and slowly walks towards his room. With each step he takes Danny feels that tightness in his chest get stronger. He badly wants to go back in that room and hold her close to him. When he reaches his door, he lets out sigh and then enters his bedroom.
Danny can't seem to sleep; he's just tossing and turning. He keeps thinking more about his feelings towards his partner. Is he confusing his need to protect his partner with romantic feelings? He had to admit, Maria is a very attractive woman but she is beautiful on the inside as well. She truly had a heart of gold.
His mind goes back to how close he held her in his arms, back in Lt. Gee's office right before they were summoned to the Captains office. He swore he felt a pull – no a strong urge to just kiss here right there and then. No doubt that he'll be fantasizing about kissing Maria from now on.
He closes his eyes and smiles at the thought of what it would be like to kiss and hold her close. He imagines what it would be like to wake up with Maria in his arms every day. He's now looking into her eyes, she's smiling back and him. He's happy again, a feeling he thought he would never feel again. He pulls her closer to him and then they begin to dance. He looks down and she's dressed in a gorgeous white dress. Was she now his bride? It didn't matter. She was breath-taking in anything she wore and right now, she was his. They both stop dancing and Maria moves in closer to give Danny a kiss as she closes her eyes, he does the same. The kiss is sweet, passionate and unlike anything he's felt before. They break away from their kiss and Danny says, "I love you, Maria Baez." He opens his eyes but instead of staring back at Maria, it was Linda…and she replies, "I love you too, Danny Reagan."
Danny is startled awake. He's sweating and breathing hard. He glances around his dark room. He must've fallen asleep sooner than he thought. He had just dreamt of Maria, of kissing and holding her. And now he's feeling guilty because of Linda. He moves to sit at the edge of his bed and places his head in his hands.
"Oh God, why am I feeling this way? I've known her for so long and we've been partners for more than seven years. But I still love and miss my wife, Linda. I feel like I'm cheating on her. Like I'm dishonoring her memory. I just don't know what to do." Danny cries.
He stays like that for a while before going back to lay down on his bed. He's going to try to get more sleep when suddenly he hears a loud cry, followed by the sound of something falling. It sounded like it was coming from either Sean or Maria's room.
He bolts out of bed and grabs the baseball bat he kept behind his door. When he runs out the door he sees Sean coming out of his room with a baseball bat as well. There's another cry. It's coming from Maria's room. Danny doesn't hesitate to go in.
"Maria! What is it?" Danny asks as he goes in but then sees that he bed is empty and sort of undone.
"Maria, where are you?" Danny asks as he walks further in the bedroom.
Then that's when he sees her. She must've fallen over the bed and has now curled her body against the corner of the room. She's rocking her body back and forth, trying to control her erratic breathing. He places the bat behind the door and starts making his way towards Maria.
"Hey, hey, Maria! Hey, it's ok. You're safe," Danny say as he carefully approaches her.
"Dad? Is she ok?" Sean asks as he stands at the doorway.
"Yeah, she's going to be ok. Do me a favor. Toss me a towel from the hallway closet." Danny tells his son. Sean comes back with a towel. "Thanks. I've got this. Go back to bed, ok? Try not to worry." Sean nods, gives a worried look over to Maria and then leaves the room.
"Hey Maria, it's me. It's Danny. I'm just gonna wipe your forehead with a towel."
She doesn't respond but let's Danny get close enough to wipe her forehead.
Danny reaches for her hand, "I'm right here Maria. I'm not going anywhere." He's surprised when she squeezes his hand in return.
"Danny…" Maria's voice breaks, her bottom lip quivering. She still has her head down, afraid to look at him.
"I'm here," he says with tear filled eyes. He moves a bit closer to her and now places a hand on her arm and starts to pull her a little bit closer to him. She finally lifts up her head and looks straight at him. She looks so lost, its heartbreaking. He can't take it anymore. He pulls her in for a hug, lifts her body to where she's practically on his lap.
"I d- don't know why they did this to me? What did I do to deserve this?" Maria cries.
"What do you mean, what are you talking about?" Danny ask as he looks down to Maria. He places a hand on her chin lifting it up.
"Are you talking about the person who hurt you? Who did this to you?"
Maria nods her head.
"Oh, no, no Maria. You and I both know you did not deserve this. Don't ever say that." Danny says, his voice cracking. He pulls her in for a hug again.
"Please just tell me. Please Maria..."
"I'm so embarrassed about it. I don't know if I can say it."
"Yes you can. You said you trust me, right?" Danny says, a few tears running down his face.
"Yes, of course I trust you Danny."
"Ok so then trust me."
Maria tells him everything. Every single detail she could remember. She explains how she's been trying for months to repair her strained relationship with her mom and sister. How they'd been blowing her off and the numerous times they stood her up either at her apartment or at restaurants.
She tells him everything she did from the moment she left the precinct, to the time she went to her apartment. He's furious with her mother and sister. He wants to personally arrest them himself and give them both a piece of his mind.
How could they do this to their own blood? Danny says to himself.
"Why don't they love me? That's all I want. Just their love and support. Was I asking for too much?" Maria says, her head leaning on his shoulder.
"I don't know Maria," Danny manages to say, despite the lump he feels in his throat. "But what I do know is that they don't deserve you. I'm so sorry that they've treated you this way. But you are not alone. You have me, and my family on your side. Always."
Maria lets out more gut wrenching sobs; Danny silently crying along with her. He's now swaying them back and forth, hoping that it brings her some comfort. He continues to whisper that she's safe and that he's there for her.
After a few minutes Maria has pretty much cried herself back to sleep. Danny moves them around and wakes her enough to get her back up on the bed. He tucks her in and rushes back to his room to get his phone. Shoots a text to his dad:
D: Persons responsible for bruising and busted lip are Carmen and Ana Baez. I will call you in the morning with the details.
Danny then retreats back to Maria's room. He sits at the edge of her bed and brushes a few strands of hair from her faces. Maria begins to stir and then mumbles, "Danny…. please…. stay." She reaches for his arm and squeezes it tightly.
Danny had planned to stay in her room for the remainder of the night but he hadn't planned on laying right next to her. He was tired as well, hardly got any sleep the night before. He decides that it's not such a bad idea sleeping next to her; his being there seemed to keep her calm for now.
He crawls over her to lay down near her and pulls his arm around her; the same one Maria has been holding on to. She stirs and turns facing him, their faces are only a few inches apart. He freezes for a moment; afraid she would wake up or worse freak out again. Luckily she doesn't wake. He can't help but stare at how peaceful she looks. Pretty soon his eyes are feeling heavy and he's sound asleep once again.
To be continued…
Phew! This chapter was kind of long and such a tear jerker. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the reviews!
