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
-5-
Mary slowly tried to open her eyes, but quickly squeezed them shut as the harsh morning sun shone brightly through the window. After a moment she tried again, this time easing one eye open at a time in an effort to gradually adjust to the light.
Once awake, Mary dazedly tried to take stock of the situation. Glancing around the room she realized she was in her own bed and a brief look under the sheet brought her attention to the fact that she was not wearing her pajamas, only her slip and stockings from the night before.
"What happened to my dress?" she thought to herself.
Suddenly, the memories came flooding into her consciousness. She remembered every terrible detail of the previous evening--the women, the drinking and the horrible way she'd thrown herself at Danny.
A sudden crash from the kitchen followed by a string of muffled curse words startled her and she sat bolt upright in bed.
"Danny?" she whispered to herself, surprised that he was still here.
Mary looked around the room for something to cover up with before her eyes landed on a white dress shirt hung over the small chair in the corner. She gingerly picked it up and held it to her face. The scent was a subtle mix of cigars and aftershave, but underneath it was something so comforting—something uniquely Danny. Mary smiled to herself and slipped her arms into the sleeves and pulled the garment around her body.
As she peeked through the doorway to the kitchen she tried desperately to suppress her laughter. Danny was rummaging through the ice box clad only in her pink chenille robe and a pair of black dress socks.
"Can I help you find something?" she asked, amusedly.
The sound of her voice caught Danny by surprise and he quickly stood up.
"Hey, good morning," he said as he crossed the room and leaned in for a kiss.
Mary's eyes grew big and she gently pushed him away, holding her hand in front of her mouth.
"Be right back," she said as she scurried towards the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth and walked back to the kitchen where Danny still stood, a perplexed look on his face.
"Sorry. I needed to brush," she offered by way of explanation.
Danny smiled. "Can I kiss you now?" he asked as he slowly brought his face to hers.
"Please do," Mary whispered when his lips were only a breath away.
The kiss was slow and gentle. Mary leaned into Danny as he softly ran his hands up and down her back. When he finally pulled back she whimpered at the loss of contact. Danny pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear as he waited for her to open her eyes, but when she did they were full of tears.
"Danny, I'm so sorry about last night….," she started but Danny silenced her with a finger to her lips.
"Merry Christmas," he said tenderly, kissing her softly one more time.
"Merry Christmas, Danny," she finally replied.
With a quick wink Danny turned away from her and back to the kitchen counter.
"I was going to help you out by getting everything started."
"I didn't know you knew how to truss a turkey?"
"I don't, so it's probably a good thing you woke up when you did."
Mary chuckled as she stepped up beside him and began preparing the bird.
"Danny, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," he said as he hopped up on the counter to watch her work.
"Where are your pants?"
Danny finally realized what he was wearing and how it must look.
"Uhh, you see, … I had a little accident…What I mean is… I spilled something…on my pants. I was trying to make coffee and … then when I tried to dry them by the oven they sort of … caught fire."
At Mary's horrified look, Danny quickly amended his statement, "It was just a small fire. I promise. You can't even smell that something was burning, now, can you?"
Mary stared at him speechless. When she still hadn't responded Danny decided to make his exit.
"Um, okay—so you've got a lot to do here so… I'm going to take off. I need to change and pick up some things and I'll be back later. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, I think that's probably the best idea," Mary agreed, still dumbfounded that Danny had wreaked such havoc in the kitchen in such a short amount of time.
Danny headed for the bedroom and returned a few moments later wearing his pants and jacket from the night before over his undershirt.
"Oh, you need your shirt," Mary said as she stepped towards the bedroom to change into her robe. Danny grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him.
"You keep it. It looks much better on you anyway," he told her as he gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.
Mary blushed furiously at his compliment. She had not realized how intimate the simple act of wearing a man's shirt could be until that very moment.
"Danny," Mary called out as he headed towards the car, "I thought you said your pants were burned?"
Danny stopped and looked at her, giving her a sly smile before turning again towards the car. As he reached to unlock the door he flipped the tails of his jacket up—treating Mary to a shameful view of blue boxer shorts through the saucer size hole in the seat of his pants.
---
Danny stepped off the elevator at the Jubilee with a spring in his step. He'd showered and changed into fresh clothes and was on his way back to Mary's. As he passed through the lobby he quickly said hello to several people before being stopped by one of the dealers.
"Danny Boy. How's it going?"
"Going good, Steve. Going good. Tables busy today?"
"Surprisingly, yes. Hey, remember that girl from the Flamingo?"
"The one with the legs?"
"Yeah, that's the one. I ran into her last night and she said to give you this," Steve said as he handed Danny a scrap of paper.
"Lana," Danny said as he looked at the name and number before stuffing it in his pocket.
"Yeah, she sure was a looker, wasn't she? Lucky bastard. Leave some for the rest of us, man," Steve laughed as he slapped Danny on the back.
Danny chuckled humorlessly, not quite liking the way Steve's words were affecting him. A few weeks ago he would have been all over a girl like Lana, but now everything was different. Had being with Mary really changed him that much? The uncertainty that had been lingering somewhere in his gut for awhile started to bubble to the surface.
Before Danny could push the feelings back down, Steve spoke again, "I got an extra ticket to the fight tonight. You wanna join us?"
Danny didn't think twice before accepting. "Sure. I'll be there."
Maybe this was just what he needed--a night with the boys to get a little perspective; just to see if he was really ready to give it all up.
---
"Mary, everything was delicious," Mike said as he sopped up the last bit of gravy from his plate with a roll.
"Really, Mary. I'm so full I think I'm going to bust out of my dress," Delinda added as she picked up her wine glass and plopped onto the couch.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Mike mumbled to Danny under his breath.
"Shut up, Mike," Delinda snapped as she glared at him.
"What? What did I say?"
Mary chuckled as she stood up and began clearing the dishes, casting a wayward glance at Danny who had barely said a word since they'd sat down to eat. Seeing Mary arranging the dishes in the sink, Delinda jumped up and tried to help.
"I'm not very good at this. We always have someone to do the cleaning up for us," she told Mary sheepishly.
"It's okay, Delinda. You're a guest. Please go sit down and visit."
"No, I really want to help," she insisted.
"Okay then, thank you."
The two women smiled at each other as Mary began filling the sink with warm, soapy water. Mary and Delinda chatted as they finished the dishes while Danny and Mike sat on the couch watching television.
"So, man, you give Mary her present yet?" Mike asked Danny quietly, so the girls couldn't hear.
"Not yet. I think I'm going to find her something else."
"Something else? It's Christmas Day, Danny, and you've been talking about this thing for a week. I thought you really liked this girl?"
"I do. It's just…I don't know. Maybe it's too much, too soon."
"Look, when this whole thing started I thought you were crazy, but now. I see the way you look at her. You've got it bad, Danny."
"Yeah. Well, maybe I don't want it," Danny responded defiantly leaving Mike to just shake his head in disbelief.
"Hey, Delinda, you ready to go?" Mike asked as he stood up and put on his jacket, giving Danny a pointed look.
"Sure, Mikey," Delinda said as she came out of the kitchen, "Thanks so much for everything, Mary. We should do this again next year."
"That would be nice," Mary replied, trying again to make eye contact with Danny who was still seated on he sofa, ignoring everything but the TV.
"Goodbye, Danny," Delinda said from the doorway, but she only received a slight wave in return.
Once they were gone, Mary set all the locks and turned to face Danny. She watched him for a few moments before finally asking, "Danny, is something wrong?"
"Everything's fine. I'm just tired," he replied without looking at her.
Mary crossed the room and opened the top drawer of the small dresser in the corner, carefully removing a package wrapped in bright green paper. Taking a deep breath she walked up to the sofa and sat down on the couch next to Danny, placing the package in his lap.
"Merry Christmas," she told him in a quiet voice.
Danny stared at the package for a long time before finally speaking, "You shouldn't have done this, Mary. I… didn't get you anything."
Mary was taken aback for a moment. While in the kitchen, Delinda had let a few details about Mary's gift from Danny slip out. She'd used the word "exquisite" to describe it and she'd also made a point of telling Mary that he'd picked it out all on his own. She guessed now that Delinda must have been mistaken. Not wanting to seem disappointed, Mary swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
"That's okay. You've done a lot for me, Danny," Mary told him as she laid a comforting hand on his knee.
"I've got to go," he said as he abruptly stood up from the couch, letting the package fall from his lap.
"Danny, have I done something wrong?"
"I've just got other plans tonight, Mary. I'll talk to you later," he said as he put his coat on in a flourish, something small and white falling from his pocket as he did so.
Mary was beyond confused at his actions since everything seemed so perfect this morning.
"Don't you want to open your gift?" she asked softly, handing him the package again.
Danny didn't say a word—just took the box from her and headed out the door and towards the car. As Mary moved to follow him she finally noticed the slip of paper that had fallen from his jacket. Glancing at the name and number, her hurt and confusion began to transform into anger.
"DANNY," Mary called out just as he reached his car.
He turned to see her approaching determinedly—something defiant flashing in her eyes.
"You dropped this," she said in an even tone as she placed the slip in his hand and turned to head back inside.
Danny stared at the offending object and then back up at Mary's retreating form, before crumpling the paper and throwing it away.
"Way to go, McCoy. You just ruined the best thing that ever happened to you," he thought to himself before starting the car and peeling out of the lot.