Danny watched them argue from the back seat. This was the nothing new. His father would always start yelling when he was drunk. He must have had beer in the trunk because he wasn't drunk when they drove to the baseball field. Danny had a double-header that day and was so happy when both his mother and father were there to watch. When he looked over to them in the bleachers, he always saw his mother dutifully cheering him on, but sometimes his father was no where to be found. He even missed watching Danny steal home to win the first game.

After the games, Danny watched in embarrassment as his parents argued in the parking lot. His father was yelling at his mother in a combination of English and Spanish. Danny just ducked into the back seat hoping they didn't attract too much attention. Finally his mother gave up and slid into the passenger seat. She looked back at Danny and shrugged. "Lo siento, mijo. When we get home, we'll celebrate. You played like a champion, mijo."

Danny just smiled at her sympathetically, and then his father stumbled into the car.

"Shut up…I'm fine," Danny's father shouted as he drove along the dark road.

"You're not fine. Please pull over. I can drive," his mother pleaded as she started to cry.

"I told you to shut up…you dumb bitch," he shouted again.

And then Danny couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't listen to him yell at his mother for one more minute. "You shut up…you shut up, papi," he cried out. "Don't talk to her like that."

His father turned and raised his hand to backhand Danny. "You little bast…" his father started to yell, but then his mother cried out as the car swerved into oncoming traffic. His father tried to recover, but they went over an embankment and crashed into a tree.

Danny hit the back of the passenger seat and was slightly dazed. When he came to, he looked into the front seat. "Mama? Papi? Mama…Papi," he called over and over. He saw his father slumped over the steering wheel, but his mother wasn't in the car anymore. He pushed open the door and stumbled out of the car. "Mama? Mama? Where are you?"

And then he saw her lying on the ground. She was covered in blood from being ejected through the windshield. When he turned her over, he saw Katie's face covered in blood…

Danny woke up in a cold sweat. There was a nurse holding his wrist to take his pulse. "Where…where's Katie? Where is she?"

"Mr. Taylor? You were in a car accident. You lost consciousness, but it looks like you'll only have a minor concussion."

"Katie…. where's Katie? Is she…?"

"The driver of the car was rushed to surgery. She suffered severe internal injuries. The doctors are doing all they can for her."

"The driver?" Danny asked confused because he knew this happened because he drove drunk.

"Yes, sir. Katie…is that her name? She was driving the car when it spun out of control. The car flipped. You are very lucky. You only have minor injuries."

And then it came back to Danny…

"Danny…Danny…please wake up. Please wake up. We have to get you out of the driver's seat. You have to help me," Katie cried.

He opened his eyes. There was blood on her beautiful face. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I think so. My stomach and back are sore, but I'll be fine. We have to move you. I already hear the sirens in the distance. You can't get caught like this."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

"Don't…don't say anything. Just help me," she pleaded. He helped her maneuver his body over to the passenger side. She secured his seat belt and then walked around to the driver's side. She struggled to open the door. As Danny watched her, he started to feel groggier. Right before he lost consciousness again, he watched Katie fall to the ground.

"Oh my god…oh my god…Katie. It's my fault. It's all my fault," Danny said as he panicked. He tried to pull the IVs out of his arm and get up. "I have to tell someone…I have to tell them…."

A doctor rushed over and helped the nurse hold Danny down, and then the doctor injected something into Danny's IV that immediately made him feel groggy again. "You have to stay calm. Just relax, sir. There's nothing you can do for your friend right now," the nurse said soothing as Danny slipped back into unconsciousness.

A few hours later, he woke up again. This time the IVs were out of his arm. He was in a recovery room. He sat up in the bed and hit the nurse call button. A nurse came in within minutes. "Mr. Taylor, you're awake…"

"How's Katie?" Danny asked weakly.

"Katie Mason?"

"Yes, how is she?"

"She's out of surgery. I can't really tell you specifically about her condition. She's still in ICU. Her family is here. They can tell you more."

"I have to see her. I have to see her now."

The nurse was going to tell him no, but the look in his eyes told her he was going with her or without her. So she brought him down to ICU in a wheel chair. "I don't see her family around."

"Can I go in?"

"Only family is allowed in ICU…"

"Please…please….I have to see her."

The nurse sighed and wheeled Danny into the room. She was hooked up to several machines, and there was a breathing tube in her mouth. "I'll give you a minute. I'll be right back," the nurse said gently.

Danny took Katie's hand in his and started to cry. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…" was all he could say.

He sat with her for several minutes and then heard a voice from behind him. "You shouldn't be here," Katie father said.

Danny turned around in the chair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"What the hell was she doing driving back to the city at that time of night?"

Danny didn't know what to say. He knew if he told the truth that he would go to jail. "Um…I went out there to see her. I was trying to convince her not to get married. We got into a fight. It was late…so the only way for me to get back…"

"Was for her to drive you back…" Mr. Mason finished.

Danny nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mr. Mason."

The nurse then came in and apologized to Mr. Mason for the intrusion. "I'll take him back to his room now."

"No…I'll take him back," Mr. Mason said.

"Are you sure? He's in room 432."

"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you."

And then Mr. Mason wheeled an almost despondent Danny back to his room. Once they got in the room, Mr. Mason took a seat across from Danny. "If she pulls through this, I doubt that Mathews will still want to marry her. It's doesn't look good…you and she driving back to the city at 2 in the morning. I'll make sure Eric knows the history of your relationship."

Danny lookedat Mason in disgust. "How can you even think about that? You're daughter is fighting for her life, but all you care about is settling to score with some enemy. What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? How dare you…you little punk. How about I ask you a question? Why was Katie driving last night? Why was it so important that you leave in the middle of the night? The doctor told me…he told me that Katie was probably driving because you were drunk. He said your blood alcohol was five times over the legal limit. She's in there because of you."

Danny couldn't respond. Mr. Mason didn't know how right he was.

"So when she pulls through this…and she will pull through this…Mathews will be out of the picture because he'll find out all about you and why you were with Katie. And you…you, son…will be out of her life for good. Is that understood?"

Danny held his aching head in his hands. "Yeah…I understand. She's better off without me."

"Exactly. I'm just trying to protect her," Mr. Mason said as he stood up and walked to the door. "I know you care about her, but sometimes things aren't meant to be. I hope you can accept that."

Danny was discharged two days later. He didn't go back to see Katie, but Mr. Mason sent a nurse in to tell Danny that she was out of the woods. They repaired the internal injuries, and she was expected to make a full recovery. He was thankful for that.

When Danny returned to his apartment, the first thing he did was empty every liquor and beer bottle he had. His drinking almost took Katie's life. He tried going cold turkey without any help for the first couple of weeks, but it wasn't working. He was miserable during the withdrawal. The only good thing was the he was on winter break, so his studies weren't suffering, but he knew he had to get it together. He had to get his life together and stay clean.

A few days before returning to school, Danny found himself standing outside a community center. It took every ounce of courage he had to go to the AA meeting. The one thing that really pushed him to do it was Katie. She saved his life. If it weren't for her, he'd be in jail at that moment. He had to repay her by staying clean…even if she would never know about it.

And so Danny started to go to AA meetings. For the first few months, he went everyday. Once he decided to do it, he was committed. There was nothing to stand in his way. He returned to school and finished out strong. He took the FBI exam and passed on the first try. He focused all of his energy on this so that he wouldn't think about Katie. He was due to go to Quantico for FBI training during the summer after graduation.

One morning after he graduated, he was reading the newspaper. As he flipped through, he stopped when he saw her picture. He opened the page and looked closely at the picture of Katie Mason and Eric Mathews. According to the announcement, they were getting married the following Saturday. He couldn't believe that Eric took her back, especially since Mason made a point of using Danny to break them up. For weeks, Danny had been agonizing about whether to contact Katie. He needed to make amends with her. His AA sponsor said it was the only way to truly move on. Danny wrote her a letter, but couldn't send it. Something didn't feel right about saying it in a letter. Now, knowing she was getting married, he didn't want to disrupt her wedding…but he knew he had to tell her.

All that week, Danny tried to track her down, but she was nowhere to be found. On Saturday, the day of her wedding, he knew she would be at the church. He knew it was stupid, but he decided to try and see her before she got married. A couple of hours before the wedding, he slipped into the church. He found a set of rooms behind the altar that were a flurry of activity. He finally found Katie in a room getting her hair done. When Danny walked in the door, the stylist asked, "Can I help you? Are you delivering something?"

Katie looked up and her breathe caught as she locked eyes with Danny through the mirror. "No…no delivery," Danny answered. "I just need to speak with the bride-to-be."

The stylist looked at Katie for direction. "Can you give us a minute, Clay? Thanks."

The stylist walked out and Danny closed the door. "I'm sorry to bother you, today. I've been looking for you all week outside your parent's place, but I never saw you."

"I moved in with Eric…two months ago," she replied quietly as she turned around in the chair to face him.

Jealous feelings bubbled in Danny's heart. "That explains it. Um…I…uh…I have so many things to say, but I don't know where to begin."

Katie nodded. "Why don't you start with why you never once contacted me after the accident?"

"I thought it was for the best. I thought I had hurt you enough…"

"Look…there's really nothing you can say now. If you are trying to stop this…"

"I'm not. I promise. That's not what this is. I want you to be happy. I want you to marry Eric Mathews and have kids…. and I just want you to be happy. I'm here because I need to tell you how sorry I am."

When Katie heard his well wishes, tears filled her eyes. "You don't have to…"

"I really do," Danny interrupted. "I almost killed you. And if it weren't for you…I would have gone to jail. What I did that night was unforgivable. And what you did for me…well…I could never repay you for that. Because of you, I have a future. I graduated in May and I start FBI training next month. All of that is because of you."

"Why are you telling me this now? Why now?"

"I've been going to AA for over six months now. I haven't had a drink since that night. I just needed to tell you how sorry I am. I was wrong. I was wrong to put that pressure on you. I said things I didn't mean. I know you were confused, and I just made it worse. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry if I made you feel guilty for what happened between us."

Katie stood up and walked toward Danny. She took his hand as tears rolled down her cheeks. "All this time, I thought you still hated me. I thought…I thought you wouldn't be able to forgive me for not telling Eric the truth about us."

Danny shook his head and wiped the tears away. "I could never hate you. I was drunk when I said those things. I didn't mean any of it."

"I guess…I guess…we just were never meant to be," Katie said in a weak, trembling voice.

Danny looked at her as his heart ached. He knew he had to let her go. "I guess not, but I'll always love you. No matter what, I want you to be happy. You're happy with Mathews, right? I mean…you're doing this because you love him? It's not about your father, is it?"

Katie let go of Danny's hand and stepped away. She looked at him sadly before answering. "I love him."

Danny smiled at her. "Then be happy," he said as he took a step toward her and lightly kissed her forehead. "You're the reason…. you're the reason for everything good in my life," he whispered in her ear before turning and walking out the door.

Danny stood in the back of the church and watched Katie walk down the aisle. Watching her get married was like a punishment for ruining things between them. As she said her vows, his heart told him to say something to stop her, but his head told him to let her be. He left the church that day knowing he had to start the next chapter of his life without the woman he loved.

Note: One chapter to go. Thanks for all the reviews.