Notes: I know there's no plot whatsoever, but I hope that readers like this little glimpse into what might be happening in Danny's life outside of work. This chapter may seem like an ending, but if I can find a little more inspiration then I will continue these post episode-like chapters. They are fun to write.
"Are you going to open it?" Katie asked, almost giddy with anticipation. She'd been watching Danny stare at the envelope for a good two minutes.
Tilting his head, Danny sighed lightly. "Maybe I shouldn't. I mean, not tonight," he said in a shaky tone. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Katie with a calmer, resolved expression. "We've had a really good night. Let's just go to bed; we can deal with this in the morning," he said as he curled his hand around her neck and leaned in to kiss her.
Getting lost in the feel of his hands and his kiss, Katie almost let him convince her to drop it. Leaning back on the sofa, they continued to kiss as he dropped the envelope on the floor. It took her a few moments to regain her composure, but the she reached down with her free hand. Picking up the envelopment, she let out a pleasurable sigh before speaking again.
"As good as this feels right now, I can't wait until morning," she said as she looked at the envelope again.
At the sound of her voice, he stopped the kisses he was trailing down her body. Shaking his head, he looked up at her with uneasy eyes. "It's not going to be good news."
"Let me open it. I'll read it and then you can look at it in the morning."
Moving off of her and sitting back on the sofa, he responded, "Yeah, right."
Giving him a soft smile, she sat up and started to open the envelope. "You are such a pessimist, Danny. Have a little faith," she said in an encouraging tone.
Smirking, he replied, "Have you forgotten the last few months?"
"No," she said as she took the letter out of the envelope. "I haven't forgotten, but I firmly believe in the light at the end of the tunnel," she said as she watched him roll his eyes and tilt his head back. "Okay, here we go."
"Let's here hear it. How bad did I fail?" he asked, not opening his eyes.
"Dear Mr. Taylor," Katie started. "We are pleased to inform you that you have passed…OH MY GOD!" she exclaimed.
Opening his eyes at the sound her shriek, he took the letter from her hands.
"I passed," he said quietly.
Throwing her arms around his neck, she practically tackled him. "I knew it. I knew it. Of course, you passed," she said as she gave him a kiss on his cheek. Looking into his eyes, she could see he was completely stunned. Smiling, she said, "I never thought I'd see the day where you would be at a loss for words. Let's see how well you did," she said taking the letter from his hands.
Taking a moment to look at the numbers, she laughed with excitement. "You did amazing, Danny. You scored in like the 90th percentile in every category."
Rubbing his eyes, Danny still didn't speak.
"Did you hear me? You didn't just pass; you nailed it."
"I can't believe it," he said whispered.
"Believe it. You did it, babe. Wow!" Katie exclaimed as she kept rereading the letter. "So what do you do now? I mean, is there like a ceremony or something?"
Laughing, Danny responded, "No ceremony. If I want to, I can apply for my Bar card, and then get sworn in."
"If you want to? Is there even a question of wanting to?" she asked curiously.
"I don't know. I guess not. I just…I haven't really thought about what I'd do if I passed. When things went south with Rafi, I kind of put the whole notion of passing the Bar out of my mind. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have taken the damn thing."
"At least it's done. At least now you have another option."
"Yeah, but it's almost too much to think about. I mean, I'm glad I passed. I'm incredibly thankful that you made me take it, but maybe just knowing I passed is enough right now. You know?"
"Yeah. I mean you should do whatever feels right," she replied, but still not completely understanding his rationale.
XXX
A week later, Katie and Danny met her father at a very upscale restaurant in Tribeca. Her father greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and Danny with a handshake as they sat down at the table.
"How's business, Mr. Mason?" Danny asked as he opened his menu.
"Doing very well. We took a hit last year, but we're recovering nicely. And Danny, I've told you before, please call me Tom. When you call me Mr. Mason, I can't help but think of you two as teenagers."
"Right, sorry," Danny replied sheepishly.
"So what's the news, Dad? You said on the phone that you wanted to talk about something," Katie asked curiously.
"There are a couple of things, actually. Let's get the most controversial topic out of the way first. Your mother is on her way to being released. The parole board has agreed to let her finish her sentence at home, provided she wears an ankle bracelet."
Katie exchanged an almost horrified look with Danny. "How can they possibly let her out so soon? She almost killed a woman."
"Her doctors say she is much better. She's on anti-psychotic medication. She'll be under a doctor's care for the rest of her life. She's sick, sweetheart."
"And you're just taking her back? I thought you were getting a divorce?" Katie asked incredulously.
"We are getting a divorce, but she still needs a place to live. I can't just desert her, sweetheart. Part of what happened was a direct result of my carelessness."
"People have affairs all the time, Dad. If every betrayed spouse attempted murder, it would be happening a hundred times a day."
"If it's any consolation, she's moving into the Hamptons house. She's not coming back to the city, at least not right now. You won't have to face her if you don't want to."
"I don't want to, not after everything she's done,'" she responded and suddenly felt a bit calmer when she felt Danny's hand make circles on the small of her back.
"I understand completely, but remember, you were able to give me another chance."
"That was different-' Katie started. She stopped abruptly when Danny's hand tightened around her waist.
"It just takes time," Danny interrupted. "Forgiving, forgetting...it all takes time. The important thing is that your Mom will continue to get the help she needs. If she didn't have your Dad in her life, she might not get that kind of care," he said in a quiet, reflective tone that surprised both Katie and her father.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," her father stated. "Thank you, Da…, or should I say thank you, counselor."
Biting her lip, Katie closed her eyes as she felt Danny's hand leave her waist. "I told him. I was just so happy for you," she said as she looked over at Danny, who still had a surprised expression.
"Of course she told me. That was great news. Congratulations, Danny."
"Thank you, sir," Danny replied, humbly.
"That actually brings me to my second reason for asking you here this evening," he said as he motioned their waiter. "I thought we should celebrate. It's not every day that someone passes the Bar on the first try."
A waiter came to the table with three champagne flutes and a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne. After filling the glasses, Mr. Mason made a toast to Danny. After the toast, Danny put down his glass and shook his head.
"I do appreciate this, but it really isn't a big deal. It's about nine years overdue."
"It is a big deal," Katie countered, taking his hand in hers. "And it deserves to be celebrated."
"I couldn't agree more," her father said. "In fact, I did one better. I called Walter Miller. He says that his associate, who worked with you on your brother's case, was very impressed with you. Walter would love to talk to you about joining his firm."
Katie could almost feel Danny tense up as the words came out of her father's mouth. Removing his hand from hers, he ran his hand across his chin. "I…um…Mr. Mason…I mean Tom…," Danny started, but then stopped to gather his words. "First, I really do appreciate this. I've never…I mean I graduated high school, college, law school and even FBI training, and I never went out to a celebratory dinner after any of those. So this means a lot. And I'm flattered that you called Mr. Miller about me, but sir, I'm not sure what my next steps are going to be. I'm pretty happy where I'm at right now."
A look of disbelief crossed Mr. Mason's face. "You're happy?" he asked. Glancing at Katie, he continued, "Weren't you involved in…in an 'ambush' as they called it on the news, not three months ago? And then wasn't there some sort of failed bomb detonation just a few weeks ago? I have no doubt that your work is challenging and rewarding, but Danny, you could be just as challenged working as an attorney without contending with flying bullets and possible explosions."
Katie watched as Danny's mouth curved into a polite smile. "Those things are actually fairly unusual. In nine years, I can assure you that most of what I do has more to do with research and paperwork than bullets and explosives."
"Well, I just—"Mr. Mason started, but Katie interrupted.
"Dad, please, okay? Let's just drop it, and have a nice dinner," she said as she shot her father a discreetly pleading look. She knew her father was thinking about her well-being, as well as Danny's. Her father knew she'd be devastated if anything happened to him, and he wanted to do something to prevent that.
"You're right, sweetheart. I got carried away in my excitement, as I'm prone to do. I apologize, Danny."
"No apologies, sir. I appreciate the thought," Danny replied in a warm, but guarded tone.
XXX
After leaving the restaurant, Danny hailed them a cab and held the door for Katie as she got in. As soon as he sat in the seat next to her, she let out a deep breath.
"Sorry about that. I had no idea he'd go overboard like that. I thought he just pulled that kind of thing with me," she said in a hesitant tone.
"I guess that's his way of welcoming me to the family," Danny dryly. "Don't worry about it. No harm done and I know he means well. He's always meant well."
Riding in silence for a few blocks, Katie finally asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," he replied as he slid his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close.
"Why wouldn't you want to explore your options? I mean, what would be the harm in talking to Mr. Miller or someone in the DA's office if you want to be a prosecutor?"
Tilting his head back, he pondered the question for few moments. "I don't know. It just doesn't seem like the right time."
"After everything you've been through, the shooting, the stuff with Jack and Martin, and there's no part of you that wants a fresh start?"
"It's hard to explain," he said as the cab stopped in front of his apartment. After paying the fare, he opened the door and let Katie out. They walked in silence up to his apartment.
Deciding not the press the issue, Katie changed the subject when they entered his apartment. "Do you realize I haven't spent a night in my apartment in almost a week? At this rate, it's becoming a very expensive closet."
Smiling, Danny put his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest. "I like having you here. It honestly didn't even occur to me to give the cabbie your address. Maybe we need to have that living arrangement talk again."
"God, Danny, I love how romantic you make it sound," she joked, as she enjoyed the kisses he trailed down her neck.
XXX
Just falling in a sated sleep after they'd made love, Katie suddenly stirred when she felt hot breath against her neck. Then she heard Danny's soft whisper in her ear. "Hey. You awake?"
She wasn't anywhere near awake, but she forced opened her eyes to half-slits. "Danny, I just fell asleep. You're making me question the heartfelt "living arrangement" proposal," she replied sarcastically.
"I can't fall asleep," he said in a sleepy tone that sounded like a little boy. "Our conversation from earlier just keeps playing in my mind like in a loop."
Opening her eyes wider, Katie looked up at him. "About living together? If you aren't ready—"
"Not that. I'm ready for that, even though I have no idea where we will fit your clothes. I'm talking about the whole 'exploring my options' conversation."
"Mmmmm, that. I'm sorry. I wasn't pushing. I was just curious. That's all."
"I know, but I thought I should try to explain why I don't think I'm ready to leave."
"Okay," she responded, suddenly more alert as she propped her herself up on the pillow next to his.
"That place gave me a purpose and an identity that I'd never had before. The FBI gave me the routine that I needed so desperately back then. I've come to rely on it. I know that sounds strange, especially considering how erratic the job can be, but I've come to count on it. It would be hard to start something new and continue feeling strong, especially when I've been feeling so weak lately. Can you understand that?"
"Yes. Of course," she said, taking hold of his hand.
"Good. I know things were strained with Jack and the stuff with Martin is still unclear, but those people are the closest thing I have to family. They have no idea how important they are to my routine and to my life in general. That's part of the reason I got so freaked about Martin. And then there's the job itself. We always have hope. Going to work everyday and knowing there's a chance that things will work out okay makes everything a little more worthwhile. I'm just not sure I'm ready to give any of that up yet."
Leaning forward, Katie planted a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. "They're lucky."
"Who's lucky?"
"The people you work with and the missing people you look for. They're all lucky because you are a part of their lives, even for just a short while. But I'm the luckiest of them all."
