Danny was in the hospital for three more days. When he was discharged, Kathryn wanted to take him up the the rehab facility in upstate New York. Danny told her that he needed to do it alone, but that he would love to see her when they allowed him visitors. He explained to her that getting clean had to be about taking care of himself. He couldn't do it for anyone else. He had learned that much in AA.

So Kathryn went back to work, and tried to resume her normal life knowing that in a few months her life was going to change drastically. She decided she should tell her parents and family about the baby, and it was best to do it while Danny was away. Her parents took it pretty hard. They didn't understand why she and Danny weren't rushing to the alter. Kathryn explained about Danny's injuries, and said they hadn't had a chance to talk about the future yet. But she assured her parents that Danny would be a part of their child's life, and that she was very happy with her decision. Her family finally got passed their reservations, and vowed to support her. Kathryn was thankful for that.

About two weeks into Danny's rehab, he called Kathryn to say that she could come for a visit on the weekend if she wanted to. When she talked to Danny, he sounded rundown and sad. She asked him how he was doing, and he just told her that rehab was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Danny wasn't used to failing at anything, and he was around constant reminders of his failure to stay sober. Kathryn also assumed that counselors were forcing Danny to deal with the past he fought so hard to bury. Danny told her that he couldn't wait to see her.

When she arrived at the facility, Kathryn was surprised about how much it looked like a summer camp. Kathryn was thankful that Jack didn't send Danny to a rehab that looked like a hospital. When she walked into the recreation room, Danny was sitting in a chair looking out toward the mountains. He looked like he was a million miles away. He also looked pale which was very unlike Danny. As she walked up to him, she called out, "Hey, stranger."

Danny turned to look at her. At first, it took him a second to process that it was her. Then his face lit up with one of his trademark smiles. He rose and enveloped her in his arms. Kathryn was caught off guard by the intimacy of the embrace. She hadn't felt his arms around her in months. Feeling his breath against her neck sent a shiver down her spine. She forgot how much she missed him. Danny finally said, "God...it is good to see you." Then he stepped away from her and looked her up and down. He put his hand on her stomach, and said, "I don't feel anything."

"Maybe you don't, but I do. I think I've gained ten pounds."

"You look beautiful."

"I wish I could same the same to you. Are you OK, Danny?"

"Yeah...I'm just not sleeping and I haven't been able to do many outside activities because I'm still recovering. So, I feel like death...I must look the same."

"No...I didn't mean...you just look tired. I'm just worried about you."

"Let's get out of here...all this smoke can't be good for you," Danny said as they noticed all the smokers in the room.

They walked outside, and started down a winding path toward the lake.

Kathryn started, "It really is beautiful here."

"Yeah...I always heard kids talking about summer camp when I was a kid. I dreamed about going to a place like this. Now that I'm here...it's not all it is cracked up to be."

Kathryn looked at him with concern, "Do you feel like you are getting better?"

"Yes...I guess...I mean I don't think I've ever talked so much about myself in my life. When I first got here, I went through the whole detox thing. That sucked. And now, I'm just trying to get through it. I keep waiting for this epiphany, you know. This realization of why I turn to alcohol...but I'm starting to realize that it's just this thing I have to live with, and I have to remember everyday if I have a drink...I will ruin my life."

They sat down on a bench overlooking the vast lake. Kathryn responded, "You can do this, Danny. You're the strongest person I know."

Danny looked at her and took her hand, "Let's not talk about this right now. Let's talk about something else."

"OK. Have you had any other visitors?"

"Yeah, right. Vivian called a couple of times. She told me she would come, but I know she doesn't really have the time. So I told her I could only have one visitor, and I needed to see you. I haven't heard from Jack...no surprise there. And Martin and Samantha -- Vivian told me that they know where I am -- but I won't hear from them."

"Why do say that?"

"They won't know what to say to me. To be honest, I don't know what to say to them, either. They all knew something was wrong with me, but I just pushed them all further and further away. I said a lot of mean things to them while I was drunk or hungover. To tell you the truth, I probably should just ask Jack for a transfer..."

"No...they love you, Danny. They want you back."

"I'm not so sure..."

Kathryn heart was breaking as she looked into his dark eyes. Those four people were the closest thing to a family that Danny has. "I'm sure."

Danny smiled at her, and said suddenly, "Do you want me back?"

Kathryn had to look away from him. She couldn't look in his eyes as she replied, "Danny...I...don't..."

Danny interrupted, "Before you say anything, let me say something..."

"No...this isn't the time..."

"It is the time. I can't waste anymore time," he said as his hand tighted around hers. "You are having my child, and I can't even tell you how happy that makes me. When I thought you were having an abortion...I hated that I made you feel like that. That I made you feel like you didn't want our baby..."

"I never felt that...I just didn't know what else to do."

"Well...how ever you felt...I'm glad we are going to be parents. I love you, Kathryn. And I want us to be a family. I know this isn't the best place to ask you this and I'm not really prepared..."

"Danny...don't...not now..." Kathryn pleaded.

"Marry me, baby. I love you. I love this baby," he said as he laid his hand on her stomach.

Kathryn looked at him as tears rolled down her face. "I can't."

"Baby..." Danny said as he pressed his forehead to hers, and then tried to kiss her lightly.

"No, Danny," Kathryn said as she pulled away. "You have to understand. I will always love you. And I know you will be an amazing father to our child, but I can't marry you now. We rushed into things...obviously. From the moment I really looked in your eyes, I knew I wanted to be a part of your life. And the moment you first touched me, I knew that I loved you. But too many things have happened..."

"I'm doing the best I can to fix that..."

"I know...and that's why this is so hard because I don't want to make this worse for you. But maybe you don't remember how bad it got...the things you said to me...and most of all, the way you just completely bailed on me...and to be honest...you bailed even before you started to drink. I can't let that happen to me again, and I won't let it happen to our child."

Danny raked his hands over his face and hair, and then stood up. "I would never do anything to hurt our baby...I would never..."

"You said you would never hurt me, too"

Danny turned away from her to look at the lake and then confessed quietly, "My father drank. When he drank...he was always looking for a fight. I've been talking a lot about him the last two weeks. It's amazing the stuff you remember when you just let yourself. He would come home, and just start yelling about nothing. My mother or brother would hide me in a closet. My mother actually put a lock on the closet so I wouldn't come out. And then after he passed out, she would come get me...and she or Raffi would have fresh bruises. A couple of times, they didn't get me in the closet in time. Or, he would come home before my mother would and Raffi would be playing outside. I didn't even have to do anything to annoy him...he would just be so angry. I never could figure why he was so angry...and I couldn't understand why he enjoyed hurting us."

Kathryn stood up and tried to put her arms around him, but he shrugged her away and continued, "I'm not like that. I'm not like him, Kathryn."

"I know," Kathryn whispered.

"I may have said some things I shouldn't have...I know that...but it was because I needed you to go away. Don't you understand? I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to become my father...so I had to push you away. I would never touch you like that...and I would never hurt our baby...I promise...I promise."

For the second time ever, Kathryn saw Danny with tears in his eyes. He dropped to his knees in front of her and held her around her waist with this head buried against her stomach.

After a few moments, Kathryn slid down to face Danny. She lightly touched his face and said, "I'm not saying we will never happen. I'm just saying I need time. And so do you. And maybe this time, we need to take things slower. And the thing is Danny...I think that I need to build another kind of relationship with you. Maybe we need to focus on our friendship. We've never done that before."

Danny looked down, and smirked, "You just want to be friends."

"For now...and don't forget, we will be raising a child together. So we will be a family...whether we are together or not."

Danny stood up, and then helped her to her feet. Kathryn could tell Danny was still not happy about her decision. "I think that visiting hours are over, so I should probably get you back. And I'm sure I'm late for some sort of group activity."

Kathryn smiled sadly as she followed him back to the center.

Before Danny left her, he said, "Listen...uh...I should probably just focus on finishing rehab...and starting AA when I get back. So, you probably won't hear from me..."

Kathryn nodded, "I understand. You can call me whenever you are ready."

"Thanks for coming. Take care," Danny said as he turned to enter the facility.

Kathryn walked back to her car and fought back tears as she drove back to the city. She knew she did that right thing for all of them: herself, Danny and the baby.

TBC