It Had To Be You

Pairing: Danny/Mary
Disclaimer: I don't own Las Vegas. Things would be a lot different if I did. Also, I was not alive in the 60's so if anything is not historically accurate then I apologize.
Summary: This story takes place in 1962, immediately following the 60's portion of the episode Everything Old is You Again. It's a bit of fluff about a budding romance between Danny and Mary with some mobster drama thrown in for fun.

Rating: PG-13

-3-

Danny sat patiently on a bench outside Mac's Deli, his face hidden by the newspaper he was reading. The bell on the door indicated someone was exiting and it only took a slight flick of his wrist to move the corner of the paper aside and determine that it was just the person Danny was looking for. He folded the paper and laid it on the bench as he jumped up to follow the man down the street.

Bobby walked briskly toward his car. He'd been out all morning collecting "rents" from various businesses on the strip and Mac's was his last stop. He stuffed the last bite of Reuben into his mouth as he reached for his keys. Just as he opened the door to his car a hand shot out and slammed it shut. Startled, Bobby whipped around ready for a fight, but there was little he could do as he felt a hand slide under his jacket and grab his gun.

"Hey, Bobby. Long time no see," Danny's voice was cheery as he smiled down at the shorter man. Bobby heard the clink of bullets hitting the ground as Danny quickly unloaded all the rounds from his gun and handed it back to him.

"Hi, uh, Danny, right?" Bobby's voice sounded unsure as he reholstered his weapon.

"Yeah. Danny McCoy. We met a few nights ago at the Copa," Danny's voice was still light, disguising the rage he felt at the sight of someone who had caused Mary pain.

"Sure, I remember now. What can I do for you?" Bobby asked, regaining a bit of his bravado and trying to establish some physical distance between himself and Danny.

"I think you know why I'm here, Bobby."

"Little Mary Sunshine," Bobby chuckled, "I must say it was a surprise running into her after all this time. Did she fill you in on our little history?"

"She told me enough."

"Oh come on, McCoy. Just because you're dipping your pen in that well now--don't act like you wouldn't have done the same back then."

The gangster's sudden smugness enraged Danny and he grabbed Bobby hard by the arm—twisting it until he heard it crack and slamming him hard against the hood of the car. Bobby screamed in agony as Danny tightened his grip.

"That's the difference between you and me, Bobby. I don't need to force a girl to do anything."

Danny leaned in until his lips were only a breath away from Bobby's ear and spoke in a low and menacing tone, "Now, I'm warning you. If you so much as think about Mary again, you'll be doing a swan dive off the Hoover Dam. Are we clear?"

When Bobby didn't respond right away Danny gave his injured arm another twist.

"Aaahh! Yes! We're clear," Bobby spat out.

"Good. It's been nice talking to you, Bobby," Danny said as he quickly released the man, letting him slide to the ground.

"Hopefully, we won't meet again," Danny said as he straightened his jacket and walked purposefully to his car, anxious to get back to the casino.

---

"So, how was your day? Anything exciting?" Mary asked Danny as they waited for their burgers at the malt shop.

"Not really. How about you?"

"I had an interesting visitor. Doris Brennan, Ray's wife. She wanted to know if I'd heard from him. Apparently, he's been missing since the night of the Sinatra concert. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Danny?"

Danny took a deep breath before replying, "Listen, Mary, you know better than most people how things work in Vegas. Ray probably just made enemies with the wrong people."

"Ray was not a nice guy, Danny. I know that, but I would hate for anyone to get hurt because of me. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Baby, I understand, but you need to understand something too," Danny took both of her hands in his and looked her straight in the eyes, "You're very important to me and if I feel like you're in danger, I'm going to protect you no matter what."

Mary's eyes filled with tears and it took a moment before she trusted her voice to respond, "You're important to me, too. I never thought I'd feel like this, but you're all I have, Danny, and if something happened to you…"

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Mary," Danny quickly cut her off, pulling her hands to his lips so he could pepper them with kisses. He leaned his forehead against their joined hands and breathed in the scent of her hand cream. He recognized it as the one he'd picked up for her last week when he'd gone to LA.

"Ray was connected, Danny. Bobby is too," at the sound of that name Danny glanced up. Mary's look told him she knew exactly where he'd been this morning, "What if they come after you?"

"Mary, everyone in this town is connected. Ed's got my back. I promise," Danny leaned over the table and kissed her softly on the mouth, "now, let's talk about something else."

Mary wasn't too happy that Danny had ended her argument, but she decided it was an argument she probably wasn't going to win.

"So, Miss Connell, what are your plans for the holidays?" Danny asked with a grin as he leaned back so the waitress could deliver their food.

"I hadn't really thought about it. It's always just me so I usually don't do anything special."

"Well, that's going to change. Ed and his wife are having a huge party Christmas Eve and we're invited."

"Both of us?"

"Of course, both of us!"

"But…"

"No 'buts'. We're going."

Mary smiled as Danny took a huge bite of his burger. For the first time since she could remember she was actually excited about the holidays. Maybe it was because this year she had someone to spend it with.