A/N — this is set just before Chapter 10, when Debbie shows up at Kara's house to help her "recover." Warning for language. xoxo — tmtcltb

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Danny sat straight up in bed, almost falling on his ass as he struggled to escape the tangle of sheets. For half a minute, he thought he'd imagined the sound. But no, there it was again, someone knocking on his door. And this time it was followed by a voice.

"Danny? Are you in there? It's Debbie. I brought you some food!"

Shit.

Struggling to his feet, raising a hand to his aching head, Danny swore that he was never drinking with Tex again. The man was either half distillery or he was cheating like a motherfucker. Stumbling towards the hallway, Danny snagged a t-shirt, dragging it over his head.

Azima's upper body appeared at the guest room door, a sheet wrapped around her shoulders. Apparently, she and Taylor hadn't been too drunk to have a little fun last night. "Your wife's mother appears to be visiting."

Too hungover to think of a proper answer, Danny flipped her the bird. Since the team learned — after pouncing on him within minutes of returning to his cabin after talking to Kara — that Kara had agreed to start seeing each other again, they had consistently referred to her as the ball-and-chain. Danny could only be thankful that they hadn't done so in front of Kara. "Why are you still here? I distinctly recall telling you to go home when Andrea showed up to retrieve Tex."

"Commander Cooper prefers we not appear intoxicated in public," Azima replied, as if Danny hadn't been treated to the same lectures. Not because Sasha cared what they did on their own time, but because any hint of misbehavior in the ranks inevitably resulted in Reiss yelling at Chandler. Danny had to hand it to Reiss. It took the guy less than a month to figure out that the way to keep Sasha — and Delta — in line was to blame Tom.

Danny scowled at Azima. "Sasha doesn't get to decide who is allowed to sleep at my house."

Azima shrugged. "What is it you Americans say? Better to ask for forgiveness?"

"Danny?" Debbie called again. "Did you say something?"

Double shit. The last thing he needed right now was for Debbie to say something to Kara about finding him with a clearly naked woman. Especially since he was quarantined for the next two weeks, with no way to fix things on the fly. If Danny knew anything about Kara, it was that she was going to spend the time over-analyzing everything that happened in Brazil and on the Nathan James. The last thing she needed was ammunition from Debbie, no matter how innocent the context.

"I'm coming." He turned to Azima. "Do not let her see you."

Azima disappeared and, a moment later, Danny pretended not to hear a male groan, followed by female giggling. On the way to the door, he poked his head into the living room, only to be greeted with a full-on disaster. Brushing a pile of beer cans behind a chair, Danny kicked the couch where Rick was sleeping. "We have company. Get presentable."

Rick sat up, looking distinctly green. "Is Courtney here?"

With the Nathan James gone, Courtney had retreated to her family's vacation home on the Outer Bay of North Caroline, with no way to quickly return to Florida when they arrived home unexpectedly early. The initial purpose of the gathering last night was to cheer him up, but they might have taken it a bit too far, if Rick's mad dash towards the bathroom meant anything. Sticking his head into the kitchen to make sure the room was half presentable — thankfully this was the room used the least last night so the only real issue was the pile of take-out containers — Danny opened the door.

Debbie stood on his doorstop, beaming, Peter behind her buried in catering pans. "Danny!"

Accepting Debbie's exuberant hug, Danny nodded towards the pans. "Those smell good."

"Peter started cooking the moment we knew you were home," Debbie gushed, pushing past Danny and heading towards the kitchen. Catching sight of Rick at the end of the hall, she waved. "Congratulations Rick! Kara told me that Courtney was pregnant. Such wonderful news. Now if someone could only remind my daughter that her biological clock is ticking."

Rick ducked into the bathroom, leaving Danny to deal with the bomb that Debbie had just dropped so innocently. Or not innocently. Danny could hear Kara's voice in his head, before announcing that Debbie had no filter or discretion and couldn't keep a secret to save her life. The reason, Kara claimed, that she never told her mother about the miscarriage. Danny never quite bought that argument. After all, Debbie never told Kara about the ring she gave Danny in Norfolk, when he asked her for permission to marry Kara — the surprise on Kara's face when he gave the ring back had been real. And, as far as he knew, Debbie had never leaked anything to the press about Kara's various boyfriends over the past few years.

But if there was one thing Danny had figured out over the past five years, it was that family dynamics were unique. He might not understand them, but he knew Kara had her reasons for keeping Debbie at arm's length.

"Debbie," Peter began, seeming to sense the tension, but Debbie interrupted him.

"I saw the pictures of you and Kara in Brazil," Debbie continued, making her way to the refrigerator before turning, pinning Danny with her eyes. Behind her, Peter set the containers on the table. "I assume that your intentions remain the same?"

Danny gave Debbie a cool nod. Was it too much to ask the people around them to stay out of their business? "Nothing has changed on that front."

And just like that, Debbie was back to the bubbly woman who appeared at his front door. "Now, there's lasagna, chicken parmesan, beef stew, and broccoli and cheddar soup." She looked around, nose wrinkling. "If you don't feel up for it, Danny, I can help clean up before I leave. Kara won't mind."

"No!" Danny blurted, then in a milder voice added. "I can take care of it."

But Debbie was looking past him. "Wolf! I didn't know that you were here."

"Yes, ma'am." Wolf stumbled into the kitchen, moving towards the coffee pot. "The team is keeping Green company while he recovers."

"You boys have always been close," Debbie continued, stuffing the last pan into the refrigerator. "I'm going to be staying with Kara for a few days..."

The choking sound from the coffee maker was immediately covered by the sound of coughing. When Debbie turned in Wolf's direction, Danny scowled. "Uh, sorry."

"We should get going. Give Danny a chance to relax," Peter said, wrapping an arm around Debbie's waist and steering her into the hall.

"We'll be back with more food soon," Debbie called over her shoulder before, thankfully, the front door closed and they were gone.

Wolf passed Danny a mug of coffee just as Azima appeared, wearing a t-shirt and underwear this time. She leaned a hip against the counter. "What did Mrs. Foster want?"

"To make sure Green's intentions were honorable before she stuffed him full of food," Wolf replied. "Oh, and the plan to sneak Green over to Foster's place for quarantine is off. Mrs. Foster will be staying there to take care of Kara."

"That was never the plan..." Danny began, only to be cut off.

Azima shook her head. "I do not think Kara will enjoy her mother's visit."

Wolf and Danny both turned to her, then Wolf shrugged. "On the plus side, we don't need to order food." Wolf opened the refrigerator, pulling out one of the trays.

Danny glowered at both of them, before turning towards his bedroom. "Make yourself at home."

"Thanks mate!" Wolf called back, uncowed by the blatant sarcasm.

Dropping onto his bed, Danny leaned back, his head throbbing while Wolf continued to bang pans in the kitchen. Reminding himself that he only thirteen more days to go.