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
-8-
"I thought my warning would be enough, but he's gone too far, Ed," Danny had never raised his voice to his employer before, but his worry for Mary had left him with little control over his anger.
"I hear you, kid," Ed replied calmly, trying to diffuse Danny's temper, "I've already got a call in to Lou Segaretti. He's in Chicago, but I promise you we'll get this taken care of. But, Danny, we're not even sure this Bobby character is the one who jumped her."
"Why else would she run? I'm telling you, Ed, she's scared to death of this guy."
"You try her apartment?"
"Yeah, she's not there. She could be anywhere by now."
"Mr. McCoy," Ed's secretary Nadine came running into the office, "there's a Nestor Saldiva on the phone for you. He says it's about Miss Connell."
The minute he realized she was gone, Danny had put the word out to everyone he knew to keep a look out for Mary. Nestor was a bell boy at the Jubilee who moonlighted as a porter at the bus station. Danny didn't hesitate before grabbing the phone on Ed's desk, "Nestor?"
"She's here, Mr. McCoy," Nestor told him in a heavy Spanish accent, "She just bought a ticket to Denver, but you better hurry. The bus leaves in fifteen minutes."
"I'm on my way," Danny said as he dropped the phone back in the cradle and ran out of the office, not even stopping to give Ed an explanation.
---
When Danny pulled into the station, Nestor was waiting for him.
"Did I miss it?" he asked, frantic.
"The bus left, but she did not get on. She's over there," the young man told him as he pointed towards a bench near the pay phones.
Danny's heart broke when he saw her. Mary sat slumped over in the hard seat, her face covered by both hands as her body shook with sobs. He walked until he was standing right in front of her. The sound of his shoes alerted her to a presence and Mary slowly removed her hands from her face--staring at his wingtips for a moment before slowly bringing her gaze up to his face. Before Danny could say a word she was in his arms.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't go--I just couldn't, but I'm so afraid, Danny. I'm so afraid he's going to hurt you," she sobbed almost incoherently.
"Shhh, baby. Everything's going to be alright. I'm here now," Danny held her close, one hand gently cradling her head to his chest as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.
When Mary's crying finally gave way to soft hiccups, Danny gently sat them both down on the bench, never letting her out of his arms. "Tell me what happened."
"It was Bobby. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, but…. He grabbed me when I was leaving work. He tried…he..he tried…," Mary struggled to catch her breath as the sobs threatened to consume her again.
"It's okay," Danny told her as he kissed her forehead. "Did he say anything to you?"
"He said if I told anyone it was him he'd kill you. I can't let that happen, Danny. I just can't," Mary said as she buried her head in Danny's chest.
"It won't. Ed's going to talk to Bobby's boss and we're going to get this taken care of," he said, cupping her chin and gently forcing her to look at him. "Okay?"
"But, what if…," Mary began to argue, but Danny stopped her with a soft kiss.
"No. It's going to be over soon so I don't want you to worry about it anymore, but you have to promise me something."
"What?" she asked him quietly.
"Promise me you won't run away again," Danny held her face in his hands and gently touched his forehead to hers. "Promise you'll let me take care of you."
Mary wrapped her arms around Danny's neck, nodding her head once it rested in the crook of his shoulder. Danny held her close, his fingers running through her hair, softly tracing the knot that had formed at the back of her head.
"Does your head hurt?"
"A little," she told him through her sniffles.
Danny turned to place a kiss on her temple. "I want you to stay at the Jubilee--at least until we get this whole thing worked out."
"Danny, I can't afford…," she tried to interrupt him.
"It'll be taken care of, Mary. Consider it a perk of being the restaurant manager," he assured her with a smile.
When she didn't try to argue again, Danny slowly pulled back, glancing around for her bags. In that instant, Nestor approached with a cart.
"Don't worry, Mr. McCoy. I'll take the bags out to your car. You just take care of that pretty lady."
Danny and Mary both chuckled before Danny replied, "Thank you, Nestor, and you can expect a nice bonus in your next paycheck for all your help."
"Thank you, sir. Thank you," the young man told him before heading out of the station with Mary's bags.
Danny and Mary stood a few moments later and followed him, neither wanting to let go of the other just yet. Once they reached Danny's car he opened the passenger door and carefully helped Mary inside.
"You know," he said as he trotted around to the driver's side, "I still owe you a Christmas since I messed up our first one."
"Danny, you really don't have to do anything," Mary told him as he slipped behind the wheel and started the engine. "I'm just glad you're back. I missed you."
"I missed you too, baby," Danny said as he leaned over and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips, "but I've been planning this all week so how about you just humor me. I promise you won't regret it." Danny gave her another kiss before turning his eyes to the road.
"Well, I'll have to check my schedule," she teased as they headed back towards the Jubilee.
"Dr. Kildare?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wagon Train," she replied with a smirk.
---
Once they arrived back at the hotel Danny took Mary straight to her room with orders to rest for the remainder of the day. He also posted a guy in the hallway outside just to make sure she was safe.
At 7:00 a knock sounded at Mary's door and she opened it to reveal a bell boy with the most beautiful bouquet of red roses she'd ever seen. There must have been two dozen of them and they all sat atop a plain white dress box.
"For the lady," the man said as he handed the package to Mary. When she reached for her purse to give him a tip, he refused, "Oh no, ma'am. It's all been taken care of," he insisted. "Mr. McCoy will be here to escort you to your destination at 8:30."
"Thank you," Mary told him before closing the door and setting the box down on the bed. She carefully untied the bow and lifted the top to reveal the most stunning dress she had ever laid eyes on. Mary lightly caressed the deep red silk as she pulled the garment from the box. Holding it up to her body, she took a moment to stare mesmerized at her reflection in the mirror before spinning around like a princess and collapsing in a fit of excited giggles on the bed. It was perfect and she knew that whatever Danny had planned for tonight would be just as wonderful.
---
Danny knocked on Mary's door at 8:30 sharp. He was dressed in a tuxedo, but his white dinner jacket was thrown lazily over his shoulder. He couldn't wait to see Mary in the dress he'd bought her.
When he saw it in the shop window in Frisco he knew she had to have it, but he wasn't prepared for her to knock him off his feet the minute she opened the door. Danny was speechless for a moment before stuttering, "You ...you're…."
At Mary's expectant look he finally decided on a word, "gorgeous."
The dress fit her like a glove and the deep color against her soft golden skin sent Danny's mind racing to some very inappropriate places. He knew right then and there it was going to be impossible to keep his hands to himself tonight. As he watched Mary chew nervously on her bottom lip under his intense gaze, Danny couldn't resist reaching out and caressing the silky fabric at her waist. He moved his hand around to the small of her back and pulled her body to him—kissing her for all he was worth.
"Wow," Mary responded when he finally broke the embrace.
"My thoughts exactly," he told her with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"
"Just let me get my coat," Mary turned back into the room, but Danny stopped her.
"You don't need a coat," he said as he pulled her into the hallway, careful to lock the door behind them. She looped her arm through Danny's as they headed towards the elevator. Once inside, Danny pressed the button for the top floor.
"I thought we were going out?" Mary asked him curiously.
Danny just smiled and brought her hand to his lips. When the elevator arrived at the top floor he escorted Mary to the end of the hall and opened the door marked 'Presidential Suite' to reveal a virtual winter wonderland.
"Danny, it's beautiful," Mary gasped as she took everything in.
The entire room was white—from the furniture to the soft shag carpet which lay atop the white marble floors. The only color in the room came from a Christmas tree which sat in the corner against the huge picture windows overlooking the city and the orange glow of the fireplace. Twinkling white lights adorned not only the tree, but were strung from one end of the room to the other and a small table dressed with white linens, silver trays and candlelight sat in the corner opposite the tree.
"I'm glad you like it. Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
"Good, then let's eat first," Danny said as he led her to the table.
After their meal, during which Danny regaled Mary with stories of his trip to San Francisco, he led her to the soft white rug which lay between the Christmas tree and the fire. Mary sat and removed her shoes while Danny rummaged around under the tree.
Finally, he pulled out two small packages and laid them in front of Mary before joining her on the rug. Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and glanced at it nervously before looking up at Mary.
"Mary, first of all, I want to thank you for the beautiful gift. I'm sorry I ran out before I opened it, but it really is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me," Danny said nervously before glancing at the paper again.
"Second,"
"Danny, why do you keep looking at that paper?"
"Oh, Ed and Jillian thought I'd mess it up so she helped me write some things down," Danny told her as he held up the well-worn piece of paper, "They think I'm a bit dense when it comes to things like this."
Mary smiled, her eyes filling with tears. "Danny, you don't need to give me some romantic speech," Mary reached out and gently pulled the paper from his hand, setting it on the floor behind them. "Just tell me what's in your heart."
Danny took a deep breath and collected his thoughts before picking up the first wrapped package. "I'm so sorry I didn't give you this before. I bought them weeks ago, but when it came time to give them to you I got scared--scared of how I felt, scared of what it meant… So, for us this gift represents the past."
At Mary's puzzled look Danny continued, "I'm not afraid anymore, Mary, not of us. I love you," he told her as she carefully unwrapped the box to reveal an exquisite strand of pearls.
"I love you too, Danny," Mary said through her tears. "They're beautiful. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Danny pulled the necklace from the velvet box and carefully fastened it around Mary's neck—leaving a trail of kisses all the way across her collarbone.
"Mmmm," Mary moaned as she ran her hands through Danny's hair gently tugging his head up so their lips could meet. After a few moments, Danny pulled away and Mary whimpered at the loss of his warmth.
"Wait, there's more," he told her with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"More? Danny, you shouldn't have. The dress, the pearls…"
"Oh yeah, the dress… I almost forgot. The dress represents the present. You know, 'cause you're wearing it right now."
Mary laughed at his explanation as he handed her the second box. This one was smaller than the first, but wrapped just as beautifully.
"This gift represents the future--our future."
Mary stared at the box, not knowing what to expect. "Go on, open it," Danny gently encouraged.
Mary's hands shook as she carefully removed the paper to reveal a tiny, velvet box. Noticing her hesitance, Danny softly took her hands in his and helped her lift the lid to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. He gave her a few moments before positioning himself on one knee and tilting her chin to look at him.
"I want to spend every Christmas with you for the rest of my life. What do you say, Mary? Will you be my wife?"