Disclaimer; I do not own "Las Vegas". I wish I did.
Notes; Sorry for the wait. This part may be a little sad. I hope you like anyway. And thanks for the feedback!
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Mary tucked Danny into his bed after driving him home. "I'm gonna make you some soup, okay?"
"Mary, you don't have to do this. I'm fine, really", he ended with a fake cough.
"I'll be the judge of that", she then walked into his kitchen. Danny took the moment alone to revel in having Mary take care of him. He stretched happily in his big soft bed like a cat. "This is so easy", he remarked to himself.
"What was that?" Mary surprised him by suddenly coming back into the room.
"Uh, I'm a little queasy. Is all", he covered.
"Poor baby." She began to rifle through his closet and Danny sat up in confusion. "What are you looking for?"
"Your blankie that you always use when you're sick", she stated.
Danny scoffed. "I do not have a blankie." The redhead then retrieved the object in question and turned to him with a knowing smile. "It's not a blankie", he denied, then corrected, "it's a quilt."
"Mmmhmm", she simply raised an eyebrow at him and spread the blanket out over his body. "I'll be back with your soup."
"Mary, wait." She turned back towards him and waited in the doorway. "I'm sorry for... you know, ruining your night."
She waved off his apology. "It's ok. It's not like you planned on getting sick." She smiled warmly at him and walked out.
A wave of guilt passed through him, but only for a second as he thought of Mary making him soup, watching TV with him and just generally hanging out together for the night. He then smiled contently.
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Mary was cuddled next to Danny on his bed. She yawned as the movie they were watching ended. "That was good."
"Can't go wrong with a Johnny Depp film."
She giggled. "I wonder if you're like the only straight guy in the world with a crush on Johnny Depp."
"Hey! I do not have a crush. I just think he's... cool."
"You're so cute", she shook her head at him in amusement. "How are you feeling?"
Danny started at the question, as he had forgotten all about his imaginary ailments. "Oh! Um, better."
She nodded, "good", then got up to collect the dirty dishes scattered on the nightstands. Danny got up to follow her into the kitchen. "Let me help you with that."
"Oh no you don't, buster. You're sick. You need your rest", she reprimanded him.
"I'm fine. You wash, I'll dry?", he compromised with a sly grin.
She could never say no to that smile. "Deal." They made their way to the sink and began their routine in silence.
"So... tonight was fun, wasn't it?"
Mary nodded. "It's been awhile since we've hung out together like this."
"Yeah", Danny sighed. "And I know that's my fault. I keep screwing up."
She wanted to agree with him but didn't and just handed him a clean wet dish. "I understand. You're busy."
Danny paused while drying and looked into her eyes, seriously. "Never too busy for you, Mary. Don't ever think that I am."
She gave him an embarrassed smile and continued washing.
"I'm glad you're not disappointed about not going out with Jeff tonight."
"I didn't say that."
He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "So... you are disappointed?"
She sighed. "A little. I mean, it's been a long time since I've seen him. But it's cool. We're going out tomorrow tonight."
Danny frowned. "I never saw what was so great about Jeff Cooper anyway. I mean... just because you slept with him...", he trailed off as he realized he spoke those words out loud.
Mary simply stared at him. "I thought you said you didn't remember him?"
Danny briefly closed his eyes, silently cursing his stupidity and jealousy for what he was about to do. He snapped. "Ok. So I do remember him. How could I not? All you ever did was talk about Jeff Cooper. How great he is, how sweet he is, how smart he is, how cute he is!" His tone began to rise in anger. "And when he left, you were heartbroken, Mare. I hated seeing you like that and I never want Jeff Cooper to do that to you again!"
She looked at him in shock. "You were faking being sick, weren't you? I suspected, I mean... we lived together. I knew when you were faking sick to stay home from school. Why did you do that? And don't give me that crap about not wanting to see me get hurt! You just don't want to see me with another guy. Like always. You never want me until someone else does!", she was slightly breathless from her rant.
"That's not true", he answered quietly. "I always want you."
She licked her lips. "Danny..."
He ran his hand through his short hair in frustration. "Ok! I faked being sick. I didn't want you going out with him because... I was jealous", he admitted. "I don't like it, Mary. It scares me to see you with another man because, I'm afraid he'll replace me. And I know that sounds stupid and selfish, but I can't help it. I don't wanna lose you. Not to Jeff Cooper, not to anyone."
She tucked her reddish hair behind her ear and shook her head sympathetically. "It doesn't sound stupid or selfish. Well, maybe a little selfish. But I know how that feels. I feel the same way whenever you so much as look at another girl. But... if you're not ready to commit...", she trailed off as she was becoming emotional. "You can't keep faking sick to prevent me from going out with other guys."
Danny opened his mouth to respond but found he couldn't. She gave him a sad smile. "I like Jeff, and I'm going out with him tomorrow. I'm not saying I'm gonna marry the guy", she lightly chuckled, "but I have some unresolved feelings for him and I think I owe it to myself to see, you know?"
Danny clenched his jaw. He knew she was right, but it would kill him to admit that out loud. "You do what you have to do."
She slowly walked up to him, ran a hand down his cheek and smiled. "No matter what happens... no one will ever replace you."
He grabbed her hand, preventing her from moving away from him. Instead of telling her he loved her like he wanted to, he merely placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Looking down at Mary sternly, he reminded her with a smirk, "I still want to see this guy before you go out with him."
