Well, we have come to the end of this fic! Thank you so much to all my reviewers...you were the inspiration to keep coming up with great chapters for this story!

Chapter Fifteen - Lovein the Bubbles

"We're here." Katie's eyes popped open at the sound of her best friend's voice. She looked around and realized that they were parked in front of her apartment building. She had fallen into such a deep sleep on the ride from the courthouse that it took her a minute for her eyes to adjust.

"Thanks for the ride home, Maria. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem. It was on the way." Maria grabbed her things from the back seat and handed them to her as she opened the door. "You did great today. Made us all proud."

She smiled a tired smile. "Yes, I am sure that Gloria is always proud of all her witnesses who practically collapse the moment they get off the stand."

Maria shrugged and reassured her, "Just means you gave it everything you had. Literally. No shame in that. No shame at all." She looked past Katie toward the steps of her apartment building and Katie turned her head, which caused the kink in her neck to snap. Danny was sitting on her front steps, yellow roses in hand, looking at the car intently. "I hope it's ok that I called him for you. Thought you could use a little TLC."

"Thanks again." Katie smiled and got out of his car. Danny stood up, nodded to Maria as she pulled away, and reached out take Katie's hand. He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek as Jimmy, the doorman, opened the front door for them.

"Hi." He whispered with a smile as they waited for the elevator. He handed the bouquet of pale yellow flowers to her.

Squeezing his hand, she whispered back, "Hi." Burying her face in the fragrance of the roses, Katie inhaled deeply. She smiled up at him in thanks as they stepped into the elevator and leaned up against his warm strength as the elevator doors closed behind them. They didn't speak as the elevator took them up to her 11th floor apartment. Sometimes silence was all that was necessary. Once inside, she barely made it to the couch before she collapsed.

Danny shooed Max off the couch as he sat next to her and pulled her legs into his lap. "So I heard you had a bit of a day, hmm?" He had removed her shoes and was massaging her tired feet. She managed a tired smile at him before closing her eyes. "What can I do?"

"What you're doing is good." she murmured into the couch pillow. She was quiet for a moment as Danny continued to massage her feet and moved his skillful hands up her legs. Realizing that she was still clutching the roses, she moved them over to the coffee table and shooed away Max's curious nose. He and Danny were old friends by now and the German Shepard didn't even bat an eyelash when Danny came into the apartment with her. "I never in a million years thought that I would be called as a character witness in defense of Frank Runyeon's wife. What a strange turn my life has taken." Max, always able to sense when she was having a bad day, laid his head on her stomach and she moved to scratch his head. "I almost lost it up there, Danny. I thought I was ready to testify, but when I stood up to take the stand I almost crumpled like a paper doll. My emotions and my legs betrayed me, at the same time, right there in front of everyone."

"I'm quite certain that they won't hold it against you. You're pretty convincing on the witness stand. And you have first hand knowledge of what kind of monster her husband was. That should go a long way in aiding her 'battered wife' defense." Danny said, looking over at her as she closed her eyes. "I talked to your dad today. He invited me to the Yankee game on Friday night."

"You hate the Yankees." She grinned, but didn't open her eyes.

"Which is why, I'm sure," Danny said,with a grin, "we are going to sit in the right field bleachers and he is going to announce to every die hard Yankee fan there that I am a Mets fan. Then they will all promptly throw beer on me and throw me off the upper deck."

Katie smiled. "And you can't take your gun with you for protection. They have rules about that sort of thing."

"I guess I will have to depend on your rugged father and brothers to protect me, which I'm sure was their plan all along." Danny smirked. "They get a strange sort of delight in torturing me."

"It means they like you." She told him. "If they didn't, they wouldn't bother."

"He wanted me to remind you that they are very proud of you." Danny said quietly. "And so am I."

Katie looked as if she were about to protest, but the look Danny gave her silenced her. "Thank you." was all she said with a smile.

"See...you can take a compliment." He grinned. "I blame it on my superb influence in that department and take all the credit."

"Mmmmm." she murmured, too tired to argue with him. "I need a nap. A 24 hour nap." She paused, "No, I need a hot bath. To soak my aching muscles in. But which do I need more?"

"Why not take a nap in the tub?" he asked quietly, not sure she was aware she had spoken the words out loud.

"Well, I have this little fear of drowning. If I fall asleep in the bathtub, achy muscles will be the least of my concerns. And I'm sure the girls at Avalon will be none too pleased. We're supposed to have a girls night out on Friday. Lucy is finally going to join us." She was slowly working up the strength to head to her bedroom.

"If that's all your worried about, I can fix that. Wait here." He got up and left the living room, leaving Katie smiling after him. Where did he think she was going to go? She heard him running the bath water and assumed he had decided that she needed a bath more than a nap. She was too tired to argue with him, so she dragged herself to the kitchen to find a vase for the roses, and then into her bedroom and began to undress. As the soothing scent of bath oils filled the air, Danny came into the room. "I thought I told you to wait in the living room." She gave him a look that let him know that she was too tired to be messed with and he held up his hands in a mock surrender. It was only then she noticed that he had stripped down and was wearing only a towel. Reading her quizzical look, he smiled and said, "I thought a bath sounded like a good idea. So, I'm joining you. And that way, if you fall asleep in the tub you won't have to worry about drowning."

Katie settled back against his strong body and let the hot water engulf her tired body. Danny wrapped his arms around her and she realized that she had never completely known contentment until that moment. "I love you, Danny Taylor." she murmered, as she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

"I love you, too." He whispered, closing his eyes as she whispered the words he had been longing to hear her say. And at that moment, neither of them could think of another place in the world they would rather be.