Note: I know some of you may think that Kathryn is being too hard on Danny, and she probably is. But, I am trying to show that their relationship isn't perfect. I hope I haven't made Kathryn too unlikeable in the process. That wasn't my intention. I'll try to redeem her.
Danny wasn't sure where he was going when he left. Of course, he wanted to go to the nearest bar and drown all his feelings. But he didn't do that. It was really only Michael who kept him from drinking because he wasn't sure he could forgive Kathryn for thinking the worst of him. He ended up at an AA meeting. As usual, he didn't talk. He just listened to everyone else and reminded himself that as bad as things got with he and Kathryn there were always people who had it worse. He went home that evening and slept on the couch. In the morning, Kathryn stayed in bed while Danny got ready for work. Then Danny got Michael up and gave him breakfast. Before he left for work, he brought Michael in to Kathryn. She was still in bed, but she was awake. Danny just said, "I fed him breakfast." Then he kissed Michael as he set him on the bed. "I'll see you later, Michael." He walked out without saying anything else to Kathryn.
He was thankful to not have a case that morning. He sat at his desk completely distracted while pretending to read a report. Samantha walked up to him and perched on the end of his desk. "You know you've been reading the same page for thirty minutes," she said teasingly.
He looked at her, but didn't return the smile. "I just can't seem to focus today."
"Is everything OK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied trying to put on the happy face that he puts on when he doesn't want to reveal how he really feels.
"OK...well, if I can help...let me know."
"Thanks," he said quietly.
While he didn't want to talk to Samantha about his problems, his conversation with her did give him an idea. He got up from his desk and walked down to the next floor. His heart pounded as he stood outside Dr. Lisa Harris's office. She was sitting at her desk when he knocked on the door. "Dr. Harris?"
"Danny? What can I do for you? Is there a case..."
"Um...no it's not a case. Uh...do you have a minute?" he asked with hesitation.
"Of course."
"A while back, Samantha said that you helped her get through a tough time. I just...I just was hoping I could run something past you."
"Well, this is a surprise. Usually, I can't get you to take your yearly psyche evaluation seriously," she said with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I know. This isn't really my thing, but I don't know what else to do."
"Why don't you take a seat and start from the beginning?" she asked.
Danny closed the door and sat down. "Um...my wife...we had a miscarriage about a month ago."
"I'm sorry. She was assaulted recently also, wasn't she?"
"Yeah...We just got through that and we thought that the baby was like a sign...a sign that we were passed it. But then, there wasn't a baby."
"It sounds like you two have been through a lot of stress."
Danny nodded. "We can't seem to connect again. We keep fighting. She thinks...she actually thinks that I'm having an affair. I would never do that...never. Part of me is so angry at her...for not believing in me. But I don't want to give up on her, and I don't want her to give up on me."
"Well, you and I can talk about it, Danny but that's not what you need. You need to talk to her. You need to tell her that you aren't ready to give up. I'm going to give you the number of a very good marriage counselor. I would suggest that you ask your wife to meet you half way. Let this counselor mediate for you. Sometimes it's easier to talk about things when someone is there to control the emotions," she said as she handed him the counselor's card.
Danny took the card and then thanked Dr. Harris. He then called the counselor's office. Since he had Dr. Harris as a reference, the counselor agreed to see them the next day granted that Kathryn agreed to come with him. He decided to go home early to talk to her. Before he walked in the door, he took a deep breath. When he walked in he noticed two overnight bags by the door. He walked back to the bedroom where Kathryn was.
"What's with the bags?" he asked her coldly.
Kathryn, clearly surprised to see him, responded, "You're home early. I…uh…was going to leave you a note."
"No…don't do this, Kathryn. Don't leave," he started to plead.
"I can't do this anymore. I'm taking Michael to my parent's house. We're leaving as soon as he gets up from his nap," she said in a frightened tone hoping Danny wouldn't lose his temper.
He walked towards her and tried to touch her arms, but she backed away. He just looked at her and shook his head. "You shouldn't leave. This is Michael's home. I'll go -- if you don't want me here."
"Where will you go?"
"It doesn't matter…I'll figure something out. But you shouldn't leave."
Kathryn looked down as she tried to fight back tears. "OK…we'll stay."
"If I go, will you do me one favor? Please."
She looked at him skeptically. "What?"
"I talked to our department psychiatrist today, and she recommended this marriage counselor," he said as he handed her the card. "She's agreed to meet us tomorrow morning…first thing."
Kathryn was genuinely surprised. Danny was not the type to talk about his marriage or problems with a stranger. "You want us to see a marriage counselor? I never thought I would hear that coming out your mouth."
"I don't know if what we have is worth saving or not, especially if you have so little faith in me. But, for Michael, I'm willing try this."
Kathryn sighed, "OK…for Michael…I'll try, too."
Danny spent some time with Michael after he woke up from his nap. Then, he packed an overnight bag and left. He checked into the cheapest motel he could find. The next morning he met Kathryn at the counselor's office. The sat on opposite ends of the couch similar to their sleeping arrangements lately. They always used to be so connected physically. They always held hands or sat so close that they touched. Danny brought that out in Kathryn. But lately, they rarely ever touched at all.
The counselor asked them to talk about the history of their relationship. They told her how they met and fell in love. They told her about their problems – Danny's drinking and secrets and Kathryn's trust issues. They told her about Michael and finding their way back to each other. And finally they told her about the assault and miscarriage that haunted their marriage the past few months.
By the time they gave the counselor their history, their hour was basically up. She told them that she would look over her notes and prepare a plan for them to work through their issues over the next few weeks.
"So, that's it?" Danny asked.
"It's not a quick process, Danny. This is something you both have to commit to long-term," the counselor replied.
"Yeah…but…"
Kathryn interrupted, "Did you really think we could fix things in one hour?"
Danny just looked at her and smirked and then turned to the counselor. "Thanks. We'll see you next week."
She and Danny left the office and walked outside. The Danny addressed her. "Look, I know I said that I would leave, but we can't afford it, Kathryn. I can't afford to live in a motel since you're not working."
"Oh…so this is back to me…right."
"No…that's not what I meant. It's fine that you aren't working, but we can't afford living in two different places."
"Then Michael and I will go to my parents like I planned."
"No, absolutely not. We aren't taking him out of his home," he said emphatically remembering what it felt like to be moved around all the time as a child.
"Well then, what do you suggest?"
"Let me come home. I'll sleep on the couch just until we've seen this counselor thing through for a few weeks. I won't come near you…I promise. If we don't see any improvement, then I'll start looking for a more permanent place to move to."
"Do you really think counseling is going to help us?" she asked desperately.
"What choice do we have? Are you really ready to give up on us? Kathryn, we lost a baby. That shouldn't tear us a part. That should bring us closer together."
"You don't understand. You don't understand how it feels."
"That's not fair. I wanted that baby. You know that," Danny responded in a frustrated tone.
"I know," she said quietly as they sat down on a park bench. "But losing the baby…it wasn't your fault, Danny."
"It wasn't your fault, either. How can you think that?"
"I can't talk about this with you. It's too hard," she said as she started to get up, but Danny grabbed her arm.
"Don't…don't walk away from me. We have to talk about this. The one thing I did learn today during our session, was that there is way too much between us to throw it away."
Kathryn sat back down and stared off in the distance. She didn't want to look at him. "Do you know how close I came to killing Michael?"
"What?" Danny asked confused.
"I was going to have an abortion."
"I know, but you didn't. You couldn't go through with it."
"But I went to the appointment, and I was laying there on the table. I was seconds away from doing it, and for what? All for selfish reasons."
"That was my fault, Kathryn. It was my fault because of the way I treated you while I was drinking. And you didn't go through with it."
"But I look at Michael and I think of how close I came. I think I am being punished. First, Hanes hurts me and then I lose our baby. I don't understand why this is happening to me," she said as tears fell from her eyes.
"Bad things happen. Maybe you aren't used to them happening to you, but they happen all the time. I used to feel guilty about my parents and my brother. But I had to realize it wasn't my fault that they died. You helped me realize that, Kathryn. You're the one who kept telling me that we were in this together…no more secrets, right? Well you can't keep this from me. Don't hide your pain from me. Let me help you," he said as he took her hand.
At first, she was going to pull away, but then she looked in his eyes. She laced her finger with his and said, "You can forgive me?"
"For almost having an abortion? Or for the miscarriage? Kathryn, you have nothing to apologize for," he said as he searched her eyes.
"No…not that. Can you forgive me for accusing you of having an affair?" she asked quietly.
Danny looked away from her and sighed. "That depends…did you really think I was capable of doing that?"
Kathryn shook her head. "No, but I wanted you to feel guilty like I felt guilty. I wanted to hate you so I would stop hating myself. But I never really believed it. Just seeing her there…it was hard. I was more afraid that you confided in her," she said as her voice cracked with emotion.
"I didn't tell her anything. I promise. And truthfully, you were right about her. She did want more from me, but I told her that I loved you. And that you and Michael are my life."
They continued to hold hands as they looked down at the pavement. Then Kathryn asked, "Where do we go from here?"
"Let's just take it slow. I'll come back and sleep on the couch, just like I said. We'll continue to go to counseling and work through all this."
"OK," she agreed.
They stood up from the bench and faced each other. "I have to get to work," he said.
"I know. I'll…um…see you tonight," she said as she rose up and kissed his cheek. He gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead and then put her in a cab.
Danny returned home that evening. They tried to return to normal by eating dinner with Michael and giving him his bath. After they put him to bed, they sat on the couch and watched the news. Then they started to get ready for bed. They just had polite conversation for most of the evening. They wanted to shelter Michael from any discussion about their relationship.
Danny came out of the bathroom and took a pillow and blanket from the bed. Then he said, "Good night. See you in the morning."
Before he left the room, Kathryn called out, "Wait…"
Danny turned around and looked at her. "What is it?" he asked wearily.
Kathryn walked toward him and put her hand on his arm. "You don't have to sleep out there. For the last month, you've been sleeping in here while we've been fighting. You might as well continue."
"Are you sure? I don't mind the couch."
"I'm sure," she said as she lead him over to the bed.
They laid down on opposite sides of the bed, but they turned towards each other instead of turning away like they had been doing. "I've missed you," Danny whispered as he reached for her hand.
"I've missed you, too."
"I didn't think it was possible for us to drift so far from each other."
"It's my fault, Danny. I stopped talking. And I was afraid for you to touch me. I felt so guilty," she said sadly.
"I shouldn't always leave it up to you to do the talking. I focused on work and going to AA…and I should have reached out to you, too," he said as he inched closer to her and ran a hand through her hair.
At the feel of his hand, Kathryn closed the distance between them and they started to kiss. She forgot how good his lips felt on hers and how good the roughness of his stubble felt on her soft skin. Danny pulled her close to him as his hands found her bare skin under her t-shirt. As his hands traveled down her body, she finally had to find the willpower to pull away. "I wish we could make love, but we can't. I'm not supposed to until I go back for my check-up in two weeks," she said breathlessly
Danny looked in eyes as she lay beneath him. "Sorry, baby. I forgot. It's better if we wait. It's always too easy for us to fall back on sex, right?"
Kathryn looked at him with an amused expression. She liked hearing him call her "baby" again. "I can't believe you just made that observation. This counseling thing may really be good for you, Danny."
"You have know idea. I'll be out of control when I really get in touch with my feelings," he said as they both laughed.
Kathryn curled herself against his body and they both fell asleep thinking about how fortunate they were to find their way back to each other.
The next morning, Danny's cell phone rang at 4 a.m. It was Jack asking him to meet Martin in New Jersey. Local police had a report of a possible missing person sighting. He wanted Martin and Danny to check it out as soon as possible. Danny quietly got out of bed, and got ready to go without waking Kathryn. Instead of waking her, he left her a note by the bed saying, "Following up on a case in NJ. Call you later. I love you."
Danny and Martin spent all day in Garden Ridge, NJ looking for a teenager that went missing six months ago. She was spotted with a middle-aged man. They finally found her in an abandoned house with the man. They arrested the man, and returned her to her thankful family.
As Danny was about to leave the office to go home, Martin asked, "Hey…Sam and I were going to get a drink. You want to join us?"
"No, thanks. I have to get home."
"This is what happens when people get married. They are no fun anymore," Samantha said as she joined their conversation.
Danny smiled. "Sorry guys. But I already spend way too much time with you as it is. You go ahead…have fun…and I will see you both tomorrow," he said as he started to walk out the door.
Danny went home to their apartment anxious to see Michael and Kathryn. He walked in and was surprised to not find them there. She didn't even leave a note for him, which was very unusual, but he figured they must be out getting groceries or something. So, he took a quick shower and got dressed. Then he called Kathryn on her cell phone, but there was no answer. While he was in the bedroom making the call, he noticed one of her drawers open. He went over to it, and saw that most of the drawer was empty. Danny started to get a strange feeling. Something wasn't right. So, he called Kathryn's parents.
"Hello?" Maggie answered.
"Hey, Maggie. It's Danny. Listen, is Kathryn there?"
"She's not with you?" she asked surprised.
The nauseous feeling in Danny's stomach was getting worse and worse. "No, she isn't. I've been at work. Why would you think that?"
"She dropped Michael off here this morning. She said she had several errands to run, and she would pick him up tonight. When I didn't hear from her, I just assumed that she was with you."
"So you have Michael? He's OK?" he asked starting to get frantic.
"Of course. He's fine. He's just finishing his dinner. Where could Kathryn be?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to look for her. I'll…uh…call you as soon as I track her down. And please have her call me if you hear from her."
"Of course. Should I be worried, Danny?"
"No, Maggie. I'm sure it's nothing. She probably just went shopping and lost track of time," he said trying not to sound panicked.
After he got off the phone with Maggie, he called Shelly and a few more of her friends. No one heard from her. Then he walked downstairs and combed their neighborhood while continuing to call her cell phone. He couldn't find her and there was no answer. He called Maggie one more time, but she and Kathryn's father still hadn't heard anything. After two hours of trying to find her, he finally called the only other person he could think of.
"Malone," Jack answered.
"Jack, it's Danny. I…uh…I can't find Kathryn. I think she's missing."
Danny wasn't sure where he was going when he left. Of course, he wanted to go to the nearest bar and drown all his feelings. But he didn't do that. It was really only Michael who kept him from drinking because he wasn't sure he could forgive Kathryn for thinking the worst of him. He ended up at an AA meeting. As usual, he didn't talk. He just listened to everyone else and reminded himself that as bad as things got with he and Kathryn there were always people who had it worse. He went home that evening and slept on the couch. In the morning, Kathryn stayed in bed while Danny got ready for work. Then Danny got Michael up and gave him breakfast. Before he left for work, he brought Michael in to Kathryn. She was still in bed, but she was awake. Danny just said, "I fed him breakfast." Then he kissed Michael as he set him on the bed. "I'll see you later, Michael." He walked out without saying anything else to Kathryn.
He was thankful to not have a case that morning. He sat at his desk completely distracted while pretending to read a report. Samantha walked up to him and perched on the end of his desk. "You know you've been reading the same page for thirty minutes," she said teasingly.
He looked at her, but didn't return the smile. "I just can't seem to focus today."
"Is everything OK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied trying to put on the happy face that he puts on when he doesn't want to reveal how he really feels.
"OK...well, if I can help...let me know."
"Thanks," he said quietly.
While he didn't want to talk to Samantha about his problems, his conversation with her did give him an idea. He got up from his desk and walked down to the next floor. His heart pounded as he stood outside Dr. Lisa Harris's office. She was sitting at her desk when he knocked on the door. "Dr. Harris?"
"Danny? What can I do for you? Is there a case..."
"Um...no it's not a case. Uh...do you have a minute?" he asked with hesitation.
"Of course."
"A while back, Samantha said that you helped her get through a tough time. I just...I just was hoping I could run something past you."
"Well, this is a surprise. Usually, I can't get you to take your yearly psyche evaluation seriously," she said with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I know. This isn't really my thing, but I don't know what else to do."
"Why don't you take a seat and start from the beginning?" she asked.
Danny closed the door and sat down. "Um...my wife...we had a miscarriage about a month ago."
"I'm sorry. She was assaulted recently also, wasn't she?"
"Yeah...We just got through that and we thought that the baby was like a sign...a sign that we were passed it. But then, there wasn't a baby."
"It sounds like you two have been through a lot of stress."
Danny nodded. "We can't seem to connect again. We keep fighting. She thinks...she actually thinks that I'm having an affair. I would never do that...never. Part of me is so angry at her...for not believing in me. But I don't want to give up on her, and I don't want her to give up on me."
"Well, you and I can talk about it, Danny but that's not what you need. You need to talk to her. You need to tell her that you aren't ready to give up. I'm going to give you the number of a very good marriage counselor. I would suggest that you ask your wife to meet you half way. Let this counselor mediate for you. Sometimes it's easier to talk about things when someone is there to control the emotions," she said as she handed him the counselor's card.
Danny took the card and then thanked Dr. Harris. He then called the counselor's office. Since he had Dr. Harris as a reference, the counselor agreed to see them the next day granted that Kathryn agreed to come with him. He decided to go home early to talk to her. Before he walked in the door, he took a deep breath. When he walked in he noticed two overnight bags by the door. He walked back to the bedroom where Kathryn was.
"What's with the bags?" he asked her coldly.
Kathryn, clearly surprised to see him, responded, "You're home early. I…uh…was going to leave you a note."
"No…don't do this, Kathryn. Don't leave," he started to plead.
"I can't do this anymore. I'm taking Michael to my parent's house. We're leaving as soon as he gets up from his nap," she said in a frightened tone hoping Danny wouldn't lose his temper.
He walked towards her and tried to touch her arms, but she backed away. He just looked at her and shook his head. "You shouldn't leave. This is Michael's home. I'll go -- if you don't want me here."
"Where will you go?"
"It doesn't matter…I'll figure something out. But you shouldn't leave."
Kathryn looked down as she tried to fight back tears. "OK…we'll stay."
"If I go, will you do me one favor? Please."
She looked at him skeptically. "What?"
"I talked to our department psychiatrist today, and she recommended this marriage counselor," he said as he handed her the card. "She's agreed to meet us tomorrow morning…first thing."
Kathryn was genuinely surprised. Danny was not the type to talk about his marriage or problems with a stranger. "You want us to see a marriage counselor? I never thought I would hear that coming out your mouth."
"I don't know if what we have is worth saving or not, especially if you have so little faith in me. But, for Michael, I'm willing try this."
Kathryn sighed, "OK…for Michael…I'll try, too."
Danny spent some time with Michael after he woke up from his nap. Then, he packed an overnight bag and left. He checked into the cheapest motel he could find. The next morning he met Kathryn at the counselor's office. The sat on opposite ends of the couch similar to their sleeping arrangements lately. They always used to be so connected physically. They always held hands or sat so close that they touched. Danny brought that out in Kathryn. But lately, they rarely ever touched at all.
The counselor asked them to talk about the history of their relationship. They told her how they met and fell in love. They told her about their problems – Danny's drinking and secrets and Kathryn's trust issues. They told her about Michael and finding their way back to each other. And finally they told her about the assault and miscarriage that haunted their marriage the past few months.
By the time they gave the counselor their history, their hour was basically up. She told them that she would look over her notes and prepare a plan for them to work through their issues over the next few weeks.
"So, that's it?" Danny asked.
"It's not a quick process, Danny. This is something you both have to commit to long-term," the counselor replied.
"Yeah…but…"
Kathryn interrupted, "Did you really think we could fix things in one hour?"
Danny just looked at her and smirked and then turned to the counselor. "Thanks. We'll see you next week."
She and Danny left the office and walked outside. The Danny addressed her. "Look, I know I said that I would leave, but we can't afford it, Kathryn. I can't afford to live in a motel since you're not working."
"Oh…so this is back to me…right."
"No…that's not what I meant. It's fine that you aren't working, but we can't afford living in two different places."
"Then Michael and I will go to my parents like I planned."
"No, absolutely not. We aren't taking him out of his home," he said emphatically remembering what it felt like to be moved around all the time as a child.
"Well then, what do you suggest?"
"Let me come home. I'll sleep on the couch just until we've seen this counselor thing through for a few weeks. I won't come near you…I promise. If we don't see any improvement, then I'll start looking for a more permanent place to move to."
"Do you really think counseling is going to help us?" she asked desperately.
"What choice do we have? Are you really ready to give up on us? Kathryn, we lost a baby. That shouldn't tear us a part. That should bring us closer together."
"You don't understand. You don't understand how it feels."
"That's not fair. I wanted that baby. You know that," Danny responded in a frustrated tone.
"I know," she said quietly as they sat down on a park bench. "But losing the baby…it wasn't your fault, Danny."
"It wasn't your fault, either. How can you think that?"
"I can't talk about this with you. It's too hard," she said as she started to get up, but Danny grabbed her arm.
"Don't…don't walk away from me. We have to talk about this. The one thing I did learn today during our session, was that there is way too much between us to throw it away."
Kathryn sat back down and stared off in the distance. She didn't want to look at him. "Do you know how close I came to killing Michael?"
"What?" Danny asked confused.
"I was going to have an abortion."
"I know, but you didn't. You couldn't go through with it."
"But I went to the appointment, and I was laying there on the table. I was seconds away from doing it, and for what? All for selfish reasons."
"That was my fault, Kathryn. It was my fault because of the way I treated you while I was drinking. And you didn't go through with it."
"But I look at Michael and I think of how close I came. I think I am being punished. First, Hanes hurts me and then I lose our baby. I don't understand why this is happening to me," she said as tears fell from her eyes.
"Bad things happen. Maybe you aren't used to them happening to you, but they happen all the time. I used to feel guilty about my parents and my brother. But I had to realize it wasn't my fault that they died. You helped me realize that, Kathryn. You're the one who kept telling me that we were in this together…no more secrets, right? Well you can't keep this from me. Don't hide your pain from me. Let me help you," he said as he took her hand.
At first, she was going to pull away, but then she looked in his eyes. She laced her finger with his and said, "You can forgive me?"
"For almost having an abortion? Or for the miscarriage? Kathryn, you have nothing to apologize for," he said as he searched her eyes.
"No…not that. Can you forgive me for accusing you of having an affair?" she asked quietly.
Danny looked away from her and sighed. "That depends…did you really think I was capable of doing that?"
Kathryn shook her head. "No, but I wanted you to feel guilty like I felt guilty. I wanted to hate you so I would stop hating myself. But I never really believed it. Just seeing her there…it was hard. I was more afraid that you confided in her," she said as her voice cracked with emotion.
"I didn't tell her anything. I promise. And truthfully, you were right about her. She did want more from me, but I told her that I loved you. And that you and Michael are my life."
They continued to hold hands as they looked down at the pavement. Then Kathryn asked, "Where do we go from here?"
"Let's just take it slow. I'll come back and sleep on the couch, just like I said. We'll continue to go to counseling and work through all this."
"OK," she agreed.
They stood up from the bench and faced each other. "I have to get to work," he said.
"I know. I'll…um…see you tonight," she said as she rose up and kissed his cheek. He gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead and then put her in a cab.
Danny returned home that evening. They tried to return to normal by eating dinner with Michael and giving him his bath. After they put him to bed, they sat on the couch and watched the news. Then they started to get ready for bed. They just had polite conversation for most of the evening. They wanted to shelter Michael from any discussion about their relationship.
Danny came out of the bathroom and took a pillow and blanket from the bed. Then he said, "Good night. See you in the morning."
Before he left the room, Kathryn called out, "Wait…"
Danny turned around and looked at her. "What is it?" he asked wearily.
Kathryn walked toward him and put her hand on his arm. "You don't have to sleep out there. For the last month, you've been sleeping in here while we've been fighting. You might as well continue."
"Are you sure? I don't mind the couch."
"I'm sure," she said as she lead him over to the bed.
They laid down on opposite sides of the bed, but they turned towards each other instead of turning away like they had been doing. "I've missed you," Danny whispered as he reached for her hand.
"I've missed you, too."
"I didn't think it was possible for us to drift so far from each other."
"It's my fault, Danny. I stopped talking. And I was afraid for you to touch me. I felt so guilty," she said sadly.
"I shouldn't always leave it up to you to do the talking. I focused on work and going to AA…and I should have reached out to you, too," he said as he inched closer to her and ran a hand through her hair.
At the feel of his hand, Kathryn closed the distance between them and they started to kiss. She forgot how good his lips felt on hers and how good the roughness of his stubble felt on her soft skin. Danny pulled her close to him as his hands found her bare skin under her t-shirt. As his hands traveled down her body, she finally had to find the willpower to pull away. "I wish we could make love, but we can't. I'm not supposed to until I go back for my check-up in two weeks," she said breathlessly
Danny looked in eyes as she lay beneath him. "Sorry, baby. I forgot. It's better if we wait. It's always too easy for us to fall back on sex, right?"
Kathryn looked at him with an amused expression. She liked hearing him call her "baby" again. "I can't believe you just made that observation. This counseling thing may really be good for you, Danny."
"You have know idea. I'll be out of control when I really get in touch with my feelings," he said as they both laughed.
Kathryn curled herself against his body and they both fell asleep thinking about how fortunate they were to find their way back to each other.
The next morning, Danny's cell phone rang at 4 a.m. It was Jack asking him to meet Martin in New Jersey. Local police had a report of a possible missing person sighting. He wanted Martin and Danny to check it out as soon as possible. Danny quietly got out of bed, and got ready to go without waking Kathryn. Instead of waking her, he left her a note by the bed saying, "Following up on a case in NJ. Call you later. I love you."
Danny and Martin spent all day in Garden Ridge, NJ looking for a teenager that went missing six months ago. She was spotted with a middle-aged man. They finally found her in an abandoned house with the man. They arrested the man, and returned her to her thankful family.
As Danny was about to leave the office to go home, Martin asked, "Hey…Sam and I were going to get a drink. You want to join us?"
"No, thanks. I have to get home."
"This is what happens when people get married. They are no fun anymore," Samantha said as she joined their conversation.
Danny smiled. "Sorry guys. But I already spend way too much time with you as it is. You go ahead…have fun…and I will see you both tomorrow," he said as he started to walk out the door.
Danny went home to their apartment anxious to see Michael and Kathryn. He walked in and was surprised to not find them there. She didn't even leave a note for him, which was very unusual, but he figured they must be out getting groceries or something. So, he took a quick shower and got dressed. Then he called Kathryn on her cell phone, but there was no answer. While he was in the bedroom making the call, he noticed one of her drawers open. He went over to it, and saw that most of the drawer was empty. Danny started to get a strange feeling. Something wasn't right. So, he called Kathryn's parents.
"Hello?" Maggie answered.
"Hey, Maggie. It's Danny. Listen, is Kathryn there?"
"She's not with you?" she asked surprised.
The nauseous feeling in Danny's stomach was getting worse and worse. "No, she isn't. I've been at work. Why would you think that?"
"She dropped Michael off here this morning. She said she had several errands to run, and she would pick him up tonight. When I didn't hear from her, I just assumed that she was with you."
"So you have Michael? He's OK?" he asked starting to get frantic.
"Of course. He's fine. He's just finishing his dinner. Where could Kathryn be?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to look for her. I'll…uh…call you as soon as I track her down. And please have her call me if you hear from her."
"Of course. Should I be worried, Danny?"
"No, Maggie. I'm sure it's nothing. She probably just went shopping and lost track of time," he said trying not to sound panicked.
After he got off the phone with Maggie, he called Shelly and a few more of her friends. No one heard from her. Then he walked downstairs and combed their neighborhood while continuing to call her cell phone. He couldn't find her and there was no answer. He called Maggie one more time, but she and Kathryn's father still hadn't heard anything. After two hours of trying to find her, he finally called the only other person he could think of.
"Malone," Jack answered.
"Jack, it's Danny. I…uh…I can't find Kathryn. I think she's missing."