Mary counted the turns the car took as it moved through the sleeping suburbs of Las Vegas. One, two, three… With every one taken and every street sign passed, she felt her heart beat quicker every time. They were close now, she didn't need to look out of the window to know that. She felt it because this was her home, her life, and she knew how to get to the McCoy's house from pretty much everywhere in this town.
"Oh, God…" she heard herself mutter as she shifted on the back seat of the black limousine that had collected her and Jake as they had landed. They turned another corner, and she knew they were less than a block away.
And then they were there. The car came to a slow stop at the kerb by the side of the driveway. Danny's car was there, parked askew, probably in a hurry, and if she needed any kind of proof that he was in a bad way, that was it. That car had been his pride and joy, ever since he was small. The car had belonged to his mother, and when he was old enough, he and his father had spent hours restoring it after it had been sat in storage for god knew how long.
She took a deep breath when that light-headed feeling came back. She sat forward on the leather seat, her hand on the door to open it after she had told the driver it was okay, and she caught Jake's movement out of the corner of her eye.
When she looked at him, his movements were mimicking hers, his hand on the door, and she put her hand on his arm to halt him.
He looked at her, already knowing what she was going to say. "You shouldn't do this alone," he told her.
She smiled. "I should," she said. "I have to."
"Look," he said softly, "I know that Danny isn't going to be any state to see anyone, let alone me. I'll wait outside, Scouts Honour."
"Were you in the Scouts?"
"No, but the promise still stands."
"Jake…" she began, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Jake, but I really think it would be best if you left."
She saw his face fall, just a fraction, and she realised there were a hundred better ways to phrase that as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It was something that would hardly be noticed at all if you weren't looking too closely, but it was there. She had hurt him, she knew it, but on her list of priorities right now, he hardly rated.
"I am sorry," she repeated, and that's when he looked away from her, his eyes dropping down to his lap for a second and then moving back towards her face. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me, for getting me here so quickly and for understanding. It's just…" she paused, "I just don't think it would be fair for you to be here. For you or Danny."
"And he's your priority, right?" he asked, the smallest hint of bitterness in his voice that made her pull her hand from his arm.
"Yes," she told him seriously and without hesitation. "He has to be. He's my best friend."
"And is that it?" he asked.
Mary looked taken aback, speechless for a moment until she recovered. "Seriously?" she asked. "You want to discuss this now? Your sense of timing really sucks, you know that?"
His expression was instantly apologetic as he reached out for her as she opened the door, one foot on the sidewalk, "Mary—"
"No, Jake," she said, interrupting him, already out of the car. "There is no way that I'm going to do this now."
"Look, I didn't mean to—"
"Whatever," she told him, standing in the open doorway.
He moved quickly, jumping out of the car and jogging around to her side. He moved his hands to her arms to still her before she could go anywhere. "I'm sorry," he told her, one hand moving to her chin to lift her face to look at him. "That wasn't meant to come out like that," he said. "I just want to be here for you."
She glanced at the house, and then back at Jake, shaking her head. "Fine," she said reluctantly, because here and now really wasn't the time to be arguing. "But wait outside, okay?"
She didn't even wait for an answer before she pulled herself out of his grasp and turned towards the driveway, taking slow steps towards the big front porch that she and Danny had re-painted white just before he had left for the Marines.
She could see that the house was in darkness, no lights on inside, none outside, but by the glow of the moon she could make out three figures standing there on the porch. Two standing, both male, and she knew who they were right away. The third, however, was unfamiliar, sitting on the porch swing where she and Danny used to sway for hours after dinner.
She got closer, and she knew Jake was behind her from the sound of his feet on the gravel of the drive as it crunched under him, but he didn't get any closer to her, which was a good thing because if he tried to crowd her right now she was likely to turn around and hit him.
Ed came forward from the shadows of the house, looking tired and worried, unusual things to see in someone who hardly ever exhibited any weakness, and she knew it was more than what was going on now that was making him this way. Mike followed him, the both of them coming down the few steps to meet her, nodding their acknowledgement to Jake behind her.
Ed was there first, hugging her tightly, not saying anything but his strength spoke volumes, and that was what she appreciated. He pulled back, kissing her forehead briefly before Mike took his place, his arms around Mary, not as strong and sure as Ed's, but she was grateful all the same.
"Sorry for calling," he told her as he released her. "I didn't mean to interrupt your—"
"Hey," she said, her hand moving to take his. "I told you, it's okay."
"I know Mr McCoy meant a lot to you," he said, shaking his head. "I thought you should know. Plus, we didn't know what to do about Danny, and…" He let the end of the sentence linger when Mary visibly flinched at his name, and she felt Ed's hand on her shoulder.
Mike looked at her sadly. "He won't open up. He locked himself in. he won't open the door, he won't talk to us
She felt herself nod gently as she looked up at the house. It was then that Mary saw the women standing up there, recognising her as Jenny Cho.
"Have you spoken to him?" Mary asked.
"No," Jenny replied. "He took off pretty much as soon as I told him what happened."
"He had us pretty worried," Ed said. "We didn't know where to start looking until Metro spotted his car a few blocks away running a red light." He shook his head to himself. "Looking back, it seems pretty obvious that he'd come here."
"It makes sense," Mary said.
"I didn't even have to tell you where we were," Mike said with a knowing smile. "You knew he'd come here, didn't you?"
"We haven't actually seen him yet," Jenny said. "The lights have been off the whole time we've been here. No sign of movement inside. I'm not even convinced he's here."
"His car's here," Mike pointed out.
"He could've left it here," Jenny replied. "Gone somewhere on foot."
"He's here," Mary said, certainty in her voice.
"We've been knocking," Jenny told her, sharpness in her voice that Mary didn't particularly care about now, irritation perfectly obvious in her stance and her face. "We've shouted through the door, tried his cell… He hasn't replied once."
"He's here," Mary repeated.
"How do you know?"
Mary shrugged, "I just know."
She let go of Mike's hand and started up the stairs. One, two, three, four… Were there always this many steps? She didn't remember it taking this long before. She reached the porch, passing the spot where Jenny was now standing with her arms crossed over her chest, looking every inch the determined detective. At some other time, Mary might have felt intimidated, but right now it didn't even register.
She fished into her jacket pocket, pulling out the bunch of keys she had grabbed from her purse on her way out of her room at Jake's house in Hawaii, trying to examine each of them in the non-light they were standing in. Finally, she had the one she was looking for, and she stepped towards the door and placed it in the lock.
"Wait a minute," Jenny said, confused. "You have a key?"
Mary hardly replied, just looked over at her and shrugged, feeling the turn of the lock in her palm and hearing it click open.
"I don't think this is exactly right," Jenny interrupted, frustration in her voice and her hands up defensively.
No one said anything as Mary opened the door and let herself into the house. Ed and Mike climbed the few steps back up to the entrance of the house, Ed placing a hand on Jenny's shoulder and gently shaking his head to her.
"You know this is technically breaking and entering, don't you?" she said to him accusingly.
Ed shrugged. "Nobody broke anything," he told her. "See?" he said gesturing to Mary, "She has a key."
"Don't you think we should respect Danny's privacy?"
"I think we should," Ed told her. "Mary…" he said thoughtfully. "Well, Mary's different."
"Why?"
"Has Danny ever talked about Mary?" Mike asked.
"Yes."
"Have you ever seen them together?"
"Yes."
Mike nodded, a wistful look on his face. "That's why," he said simply.
Gee, thanks, Mary thought to herself, looking back at them through the stained glass of the old front door. Keep piling on the pressure, Mike.
And then she saw Jake, standing alone at the foot of the porch, a realisation coming over him. She could see as he listened to Mike's words and took them in, could almost hear him telling himself that he knew it, that this was what he knew would happen.
And then she watched him walk back to the waiting limousine and drive away.