Notes: Once again, your reviews really do inspire me to keep this fic going. Thank you. And thanks to Mariel for being a great beta!
It hadn't taken long for Katie to be separated from Danny once inside the benefit. An old friend of her mother's had trapped her near the bar, clearly wanting to hear all the nasty details about her mother's incarceration. In the meantime, her father had taken Danny over to meet Walter Miller, the managing partner in the firm that had handled Rafael's case. As the woman rattled on, Katie watched as Danny engaged Walter Miller in conversation. She'd known Danny had felt out of place the minute he'd walked into the room. She'd felt the clamminess of his hand as he held hers. But then, just like always, he'd seemed to get control of the situation—her father and Mr. Miller laughing at whatever Danny was telling them.
Katie knew that Danny didn't give himself enough credit. She knew that he didn't think he was quite good enough or worthy, but Katie knew different. She'd known since the first moment she'd met him. Feeling compelled to be near him again, Katie excused herself and made her way over to Danny and her father.
"It looks like you guys are having more fun that me. Mrs. Willingham had me cornered," she said playfully as she joined the three men.
"Walter is extolling the virtues of his firm to Danny. It appears they'd like the inside track a federal agent might give them."
"Absolutely," Mr. Miller agreed. "Any advantage is useful when it comes to putting on a federal defense, and we have more than a few cases where we could use his expertise. As I said before, we'd love to have someone like you join our team."
"I appreciate that, sir, but Katie here already thinks I'm avoiding her with the job I have. With the hours I'd have to put in as a first-year associate, she'd leave me for sure," Danny replied with a charming smile.
"The hours are long, but that doesn't last forever," replied Mr. Miller as he clapped Danny's upper arm.
"Maybe we can discuss this further on the dance floor. You promised me a dance before dinner," Katie said smiling as she looked up at Danny. She could tell he was relieved to be saved from further career conversation.
"Excuse us. It was nice to finally meet you, sir," Danny said as he led her onto the dance floor. Taking her in his arms, he smiled as he looked in her eyes. "Your Dad and Mr. Miller are pretty persistent."
"They can tell what an asset you would be, but I'm sorry if it makes you uneasy."
"It's fine. It's more than fine, but I just find it hard to believe," he responded in an unsure voice.
"I know," Katie replied simply, even though she wished he could understand he deserved these sorts of opportunities
Letting Danny lead her in time with the music, Katie's heart beat faster and faster. When he leaned his head down and brushed his lips against her neck, she felt a surge go through her entire body.
"I can't even tell you how happy I am that you came tonight. I feel like I'm in a fairy tale."
"That's a good way to put it, because I never thought I'd ever be at something like this with someone like you," Danny said.
"When we walked in tonight, I could tell you felt unsure—despite your brave face."
For a moment, Danny didn't respond. He just looked at Katie with uncertainty, as if deciding whether to cop to his earlier attitude. Finally, he explained, "We had this case the other day. It was this guy who turned his whole life around. He went from being a gang banger to being this well-respected EMT who tried to help the kids who were going down the wrong path."
"Did you find him?" Katie asked hopefully, although she could tell by the look in his eyes that the case didn't end well.
"One of his old gang buddies shot him right in front of me."
She stopped dancing abruptly and stroked his upper arms in reassurance. "Oh, God, Danny. I'm sorry."
"His past caught up with him. It just makes me think that is bound to happen to me, and I don't want you to ever suffer from that. You know?" he asked with a slight hitch in his voice. "I'll never really belong in your world, Katie. I can put on a borrowed tux and do a good job of pretending that I do, but part of me thinks these people will see right through me."
Sliding her arms around his neck, Katie coaxed him into moving to the music again. "All they see is a great guy who I am completely in love with. I'm pretty sure I know about all the stuff in your past, and it doesn't scare me in the least. The only thing that could ever make me suffer is if you left me. You belong here because we belong together."
Smiling, Danny kissed her forehead as he tightened his grip around her waist. They continued to dance for another song, as they got more and more lost in each other. Almost losing track of time completely, they were both startled when Katie's father tapped Danny on his shoulder.
"I hate to interrupt you two, but I was hoping to dance with my daughter before the ceremony starts. It's been a very long time since we last danced, sweetheart. Do you mind, Danny?"
"Not at all sir," he said as he laid Katie's hand in her father's hand.
Taking her hand, her father continued talking as they started to dance. "You know, part of the reason I wanted you to come this evening was so that you could talk to our friends. You haven't seen any of them for ages," he said. "If you spend the whole night dancing with your boyfriend, that's not going to happen."
"Sorry, Dad. Danny and I haven't seen much of each other this week. We were just catching up."
"Do you remember the last time we danced?" her father asked suddenly.
Shaking her head, Katie responded, "Honestly? No, I don't."
"Your wedding. You did your duty and danced with your father even though that was the last thing you wanted to do."
"I'm not surprised I don't remember. I've done my best to block that out of my memory."
"The look on your face that day pales in comparison to the way you look tonight. I'm so happy for you, darling."
Katie smiled. There was a time when she never thought her father would say that about her relationship with Danny. "I'm happy for you as well. I'm happy that you have your life back, and things are getting back to normal. We went through some rough patches, but things will only get better for both of us now."
"How much better? Dare I hope for another chance to dance at your next wedding? This time I won't be so bitter about giving you away. I know that Danny will take good care of you."
Biting her lip, Katie felt herself blush a little. "That's a little soon. We haven't talked marriage yet, Dad. And believe me; I won't make you throw me the wedding of the century this time. I hope when the time comes that we can do something small and special."
She felt uncomfortable talking about a wedding when Danny had barely mentioned marriage yet. Just as she was ready to be pregnant, she was also very ready to be married. She'd been thinking about it ever since Danny had taken her to the AA meeting. In many ways, that had been their final hurdle to get through, as far as Katie had been concerned. But Danny didn't seem to have the same urgency. He wasn't pushing her to move in with him or for them to find a place together. And he had been very honest with her about not being ready for a baby. Katie was doing her best to be patient, but their current holding pattern had made her more than anxious.
Shaking her from her thoughts, her father continued, "When you were sixteen, I thought he was the last person I wanted to see you end up with. I remember when I first met him; I thought he was the embodiment of all things that fathers feared for their daughters."
Katie laughed. Danny had looked like the quintessential brooding, bad boy back then. 'I didn't exactly handle that in the best way. Hiding a boy in my bedroom for two weeks – you were bound to have that reaction. But I didn't think I had a choice at the time. I was living out my own little Romeo and Juliet fantasy."
They continued to laugh and dance before they finally settled down for dinner and the ceremony. Katie and Danny looked on as her father was honored. After dinner, they were cornered, once again, by Walter Miller and a few other high-level legal types. As Danny talked with them in legal terms that Katie barely understood, her eyes glazed over. Rising up, she whispered in his ear that she was going to powder her nose.
After doing just that, she stepped out onto a small balcony to get some air. At first, the cold January air felt good against her skin. She hugged her arms against her chest to try and enjoy the air for a few moments longer. Just as she couldn't take the cold anymore, she suddenly felt a jacket slide onto her shoulders. Smiling, she leaned back thinking that Danny had found her, but when she felt hot breath against her neck and the touch of a foreign hand on her shoulder—she knew it wasn't him. Turning quickly, she gasped.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Katie asked, as she looked into the eyes of her former husband, Eric Matthews.
"It's good to see you as well," he said sarcastically as he his eyes traveled the length of her body.
Shrugging off the jacket, Katie let it fall to the ground as she started to walk away.
"Katie, wait!" Eric said as he bent down to pick up the jacket. "Just give me a minute. Give me one minute to apologize."
Hesitating, Katie couldn't believe she could almost hear sincerity in his voice. "I don't care to hear any apologies from you, Eric. I've done fine without them."
"Yeah, I can see that. First, you go off to Europe to follow your dream, and now you finally have the life you always wanted with Taylor. I'm happy for you, Kate, but I still want to explain."
Katie winced at hearing him refer to her as Kate. It was something he'd done from almost the moment that he'd met her, and she always wondered if he'd called her that because it was what her father called her. "What is there to explain? You used me to get back at my father, and then you tried to destroy me." Katie wasn't sure why she was still standing there in the freezing cold. She knew he couldn't say anything to make her feel any differently about him, but there was something in his voice that seemed genuine and she still felt that same sense of fear that she'd felt around him when they were married.
"For once, I wish you could have felt what is was like to be in my shoes back then—before we got married. When we first met, you were like this wounded bird that I tried to fix. It wasn't about you father. I was in love with you, and I thought you loved me."
Katie shook her head. "You never loved me, Eric. You couldn't have treated me like that, if you loved me."
"Think back, Kate. We were good together that first year. You were happy…thrilled when I asked you to marry me. But then you saw Taylor, and within an hour of seeing him, you were in his bed. Can you really blame me for feeling the sting of that?"
"Yes, I can blame you and you know why. You more than made me pay for feeling the sting of that, Eric," Katie said sarcastically as she turned to leave again.
"But I wanted to marry you in spite of it. When he didn't have the courage to fight for you, I stuck around because I couldn't live without you. It was my mistake for loving you too much."
Turning around again, Katie sighed. He did look genuinely sorry. "It's all in the past, Eric. It's over."
"I know, but I was hoping we could get to a place where we could be friends," he said as he took a few steps towards her.
"No. We can't be friends, Eric. Being your friend would mean I'd have to trust you, and I could ever trust you again," she said as she felt a shiver trailed down her spine. She wasn't sure whether the chill was from the cold air or the slight fear she still felt being in the same space as Eric.
When he noticed her shiver, Eric reached out to her. Katie tried to back away, but his hand still made contact with her arm.
"Get the hell away from her!" Katie heard Danny's voice ring out from behind them.
