Notes: This is Post-The Stranger in Season Four. Thank you for the reviews and thanks again to Mariel. Hope you like the more lighthearted chapters because here is another one.
It hadn't taken Katie long to move in to into Danny's apartment. A few days after he'd asked her to move in, she'd borrowed one of her father's SUVs and she and Danny had proceeded to move all of her clothes and personal belongings into his apartment. Hours after they'd begun, she found herself sitting Indian style in the corner of his living room, literally walled in by her books.
"Where the hell are you?" Danny called out in slight irritation as he walked in carrying the last box.
"Down here," she answered in a distracted tone. She'd been leafing through one of her favorite old stories and had quickly become engrossed.
"It seems as though you've lost some productivity. You're supposed to be sorting through this mess, not doing book reviews," he said in an annoyed, but playful tone.
Looking up, Katie gave him an innocent smile. "Sorry. I always forget what I have until I'm forced to look through it."
"It looks to me like you need to do some major purging. I mean, all of this stuff can't still be useful to you?"
Giving him a horrified glance, Katie responded. "I can't purge any of this. They're books, not junk. This isn't stuff you throw away," she said, motioning all around her.
"You could give it away. Judging by the weight of the boxes and my aching back, you could probably stock a whole library with this stuff."
"Are we feeling a little grumpy after a long day of moving? I told you that I could have asked my Dad to get some help for us."
"You didn't have any furniture. I didn't realize there would be so many boxes. And the clothes – where are we going to put all those clothes?" he said as he sat down on the floor next to her because the couch was covered in said clothes. "My clothes already fill up the bedroom closet. That's it. That's the only closet in this place, and it's tiny," he finished in a dramatic tone.
"Having second thoughts?" Katie asked in a hesitant tone.
Shaking his head, Danny reached out and massaged her neck. "No, but maybe we need to look for a bigger place – as much as I'd hate to move."
"You really are this freakish creature of habit. Normal people often find it necessary to move every once in a while."
"I don't like change. I love having you here, but I don't like change."
"Well, Agent Taylor," Katie said as she inched closer to him until she was in his lap. "I'll do my best to make this change worth your while."
Danny smiled in response right before they started to kiss. Very slowly, he leaned her back onto the hardwood floor as they continued to kiss. As he maneuvered them down, he accidentally kicked a large stack of books.
"Sorry," he said as he looked away.
Putting her palm against his cheek, she focused his eyes back on her. "Don't worry. I'll deal with it later."
"I'd suggest we take this to the bedroom, but I don't think we can get back there right now."
Laughing, Katie shook her head. 'Here is good," she said as she leaned up to engage him in another kiss. "I want you to feel really good about this whole decision. I'll even rub your aching back later, if you want."
Hovering above her, Danny smiled as he kissed her forehead. "I'll take the back rub, but I am fine with all of this," he said as he looked around the cluttered room. "Any change that involves you is a good change. We'll figure it all out."
XXX
The next morning, they still hadn't moved from the spot on the cold floor. Danny had pulled a blanket from the couch on to them, but neither had had the energy to actually get up. Having both fallen into a deep sleep after making love, they were startled when they heard the shrill ring of Danny's cell phone.
Sitting up abruptly, Danny winced and gasped loudly at the deep, intense ache in his back that had been made worse by spending time on the hard floor. "Phone…where's my phone?" he asked, still not completely awake.
Snuggled comfortably against Danny's chest, Katie was forced to sit up abruptly when Danny moved quickly. "I think your jeans landed over there," she said motioning over a mountain of books with her eyes still closed.
"Great!" he exclaimed in distress as he maneuvered up and over the pile. Grabbing his jeans, he pulled the phone from the belt clip. "Taylor," he answered in a grumpy tone. "Hey….Yes….okay. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Work?" Katie asked as she pulled on Danny's sweatshirt. She already knew the answer.
"Work," he said as he slowly stood up and stretched out his aching back. "I hate to leave you with all this."
"Sure you do. It's better this way. I'll do the best I can to get it cleared out before you get back. And I still owe you the back rub."
Despite the pain and the irritation of the early morning phone call, Danny smiled. "Don't worry. I wasn't going to let you forget. At this rate, I may need a chiropractor as well." Leaning down, he gave her one more kiss before heading to the shower.
Leaning back against a box, Katie pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. Inhaling deeply, she took in the scent of Danny from his sweatshirt. Looking around the room, she had no idea how she was going to fit all of her stuff into his tiny apartment. But in that moment, she realized that it didn't really matter. What mattered was that she was here with the man she was crazy in love with.
Katie wasn't delusional. She'd realized in the last year that they both had their issues. Sometimes Danny could be so stubborn and distant that it drove her crazy, but it was all worth it. Their simple quiet moments together made it worth it. Their passionate, intense moments, like making love on the hardwood floor, made everything worth it.
XXX
"Thanks for the truck, Dad. We got everything in three trips."
"You should have let me hire movers. Or at the very least, I would have been happy to help."
"I think we underestimated how much I actually had. By Danny's tenth trip up the stairs, he was wishing we'd accepted the help. But it's done now."
"Where is Danny?"
"Work. They called him in earlier – a missing stay-at-home mom. Hopefully, it's nothing serious. But it would be nice if I could actually get things organized before he gets home."
"Having trouble fitting everything?"
"That's an understatement. He definitely has a bachelor apartment."
Katie watched as her father shook his head in response.
"What?" she asked with perplexed expression.
"I have buildings full of great apartments – with plenty of room."
"I realize that, Dad, but we can't afford a place like that. I'm barely making enough to clothe myself right now. And they aren't really paying federal employees top dollar these days."
"I don't mean to pry, sweetheart, but I can't help but question your and Danny's choices lately. I mean, he could be making double what he makes now, plus bonuses, at Walter's firm. He'd be putting in roughly the same hours he puts in as an agent."
"He's not ready to make that jump right now."
"Okay, well, what about the two of you? You're moving in together, but wouldn't it make more sense to get married? When I saw the two of you at the charity benefit, I thought for sure that was where you were headed. I half expected Danny to show up at my office to ask for your hand. If you were married, then maybe it would be easier for both of you to accept one of my properties as a gift."
"For not meaning to pry, you sure are jumping right in. Don't hold back, Dad."
"It just doesn't make much sense. I like Danny, but I question his choices right now."
Shrugging, Katie smiled sadly. "Danny's had an unbelievably tough life. He seems to constantly operate on the assumption that everything could be taken away from him at any moment. My moving in is a big step. Doing anything that involves any level of trust is big for Danny."
"He's afraid of having the rug pulled out from under him," Mr. Mason said quietly, remembering a conversation he'd had with Danny several months ago.
"Exactly. He comes from a completely different place than you and me. And life experience has taught him to be very cautious in his decision-making. Danny needs routine. He needs to know what is coming next. Yes, he could make more money as a lawyer, but he'd lose this whole support system he has come to depend on. I'd never want him to give that up."
"Okay. I guess I can understand that, but what about an apartment? It wouldn't have to be one of the luxury properties – just something simple with a bit more room."
"Tell you what? I'll talk to him. Knowing Danny, he'll see it as a handout, but maybe we can work something out. In the meantime, I'm going to do my best to fit my life into his world."
XXX
After returning from her father's office, Katie worked non-stop on organizing and reorganizing her and Danny's things to try to fit everything. She'd stopped by Bed Bath and Beyond and found a portable wardrobe and some large storage bins. By the end of the evening, she'd done a fairly good job of merging their things together.
Deciding to reward herself with a hot bath, she'd been soaking in the lavender-scented bubbles for almost an hour when she heard the front door open. She'd expected Danny to call out to her as he usually did, but he didn't this time. She suspected that he was taking in the new look of his living room. She'd taken a painstaking amount of time stacking her books against the wall to try to make them a part of the room instead of just cluttering the room. It had helped that Danny hadn't had a single thing hanging on any of the walls. He was a minimalist to the say the least.
Finally, he appeared in the doorway with a small smile on his face. He didn't say anything at first. He just watched her for a few moments as he casually leaned against the door frame.
"So I take it you aren't irritated by the changes?" Katie asked as she tried to gauge his reaction.
"What changes?" he asked in an airy tone. "Currently, I'm completely distracted by this beautiful woman in my bathtub."
Laughing, Katie closed her eyes for a few moments as she suddenly felt her self blush. "I'd ask you to join me, but the water is almost cold. I haven't had the energy to get out yet, though."
"Allow me," he said as he stepped toward the tub and grabbed a towel.
After flipping the drain switch, Katie stood up and let Danny wrap her in the towel. "I could get used to this."
"You and me both," Danny replied with a sexy smirk before kissing her softly. "Everything looks great, by the way."
"Not too dramatic?" she asked as she stepped out the tub and followed him into the bedroom.
"No. It looks great. Sorry I had to bail on you."
"Did you find her? The missing woman?"
"We did, sort of. She and her son are safe now. And we closed about ten open homicide cases."
"That's good, I guess," Katie responded with a frown. "What happened to her?" she asked as she slipped into her robe.
"It's a long, scary story," he replied as he took off his tie and unbuttoned his dress shirt. "I'll tell you about it over dinner. I'm starving."
XXX
"After seventeen years of marriage? Oh my God!" Katie exclaimed.
Taking another slice of pizza, Danny nodded. "She had no idea. He'd been going on these hunting trips for years. From the outside looking in, they looked like this completely normal family."
"Well, all couples have secrets, but that is unimaginable. I mean, I can't imagine being with someone, sleeping next to someone, having a baby with someone, who is pure evil. My marriage was bad, but at least I knew he was jerk pretty early on. That woman won't be able to trust her own judgment ever again."
Danny shrugged. "She was pretty tough while she put together all the pieces of the puzzle to figure out what he was doing. She has her son to look out for. I'm betting she'll be okay."
"Still…I mean, how well do you ever really know someone? It's frightening."
"Well, rest assured, you already know all the skeletons in my closet."
This made Katie smile. "Really? Because when I was reorganizing and making room for my stuff today, I found some pretty interesting pictures in one of the kitchen drawers."
Frowning, Danny asked, "Pictures? Pictures of what?"
"Not of what. Of who. And I don't know who she is, but she's awfully flexible."
Sighing, Danny rubbed his eyes as he shook his head, clearly embarrassed. "I don't still have those, do I?"
"Yes. You still have them. They were buried in a drawer underneath old bills and bank statements. Not such a shocking secret, but a secret nonetheless."
"It's no secret. Her name is…her name is Paula. We dated, and I use that term loosely, about five years ago."
"Why didn't it last? She looks very talented," Katie joked.
"It wasn't ever a serious thing. That was during one of my 'unhealthy relationship' phases."
"Oh," Katie replied. "Well, I didn't throw them away, in case you want to reminisce later."
"That's quite all right," Danny replied dismissively. "Did you find anything else interesting?"
"Not really. It would be hard to find anything out about you by being in your apartment. On the other hand, you'll probably find out a lot more about me now. I realized today that I am a pack rat. It's a sickness, and I've brought it into your apartment."
"Our apartment. It's our apartment now."
Katie smiled at that statement. She'd planned on bringing up the earlier conversation she'd had with her father about a bigger apartment, but decided against it. There was something extremely comforting to her about Danny asking her to live with him. That was a big step for him, and she didn't want to put additional pressure on him.
"My heart really breaks for that woman, because I can't imagine waking up one day and realizing that I don't really know you," Katie said suddenly. "I don't need to look through things to find out more about you. The best things I've learned about you are just from being with you."
"Really? And what have you learned?" Danny asked curiously.
"You treat people with this innate politeness. You know that woman you buy the morning paper from when we walk to the subway?"
"Gladys," he replied matter-of-factly.
"Right. Gladys. Her eyes light up when she sees you because you are always so nice and respectful to her. You even know her name. You make her a little bit happier every time she sees you."
"I've been getting the paper from her for years. It would be wrong for me not to know her name."
"We live in Manhattan, Danny. No one ever gets to know anyone's name."
"So you're certain I don't have a dark side because I'm courteous?"
Katie continued as if she hadn't heard his question. "You always put your hand on the small of my back when we enter or leave a room. And at night, you trace these patterns on my back when you think I'm asleep. You always try to call me when I'm leaving my classroom at night so you can talk to me until I get in a cab. You do so many little things for me and for people you come in contact with that are just so…so genuinely sweet. I can't imagine ever finding out that you are any different."
"Sweet? You think I'm sweet? You're going to ruin my reputation. I try to give off a cool, tough guy vibe."
Katie laughed. "Sorry to ruin the illusion, but anyone who really knows you, knows that you are softy at heart."
"Oh well. What am I going to do?" Danny asked, throwing up his hands in surrender.
"Don't ever change," she replied simply.
