Chapter 6

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Danny wandered around the spacious guest bedroom at Emma's parent's house. Maybe he should call it a mansion; it was gigantic. While he knew Emma's father was a cardiologist and she was raised in an affluent suburb of New Jersey it was an easy thing to overlook when they lived so far away from it all. But standing here in the face of Emma's upbringing nagging doubts started to seep into his mind. At dinner, the family reminisced about all the fun family stuff they did; vacations to Hawaii and Europe and staying at summer houses in the Hamptons. Her life was the polar opposite of Danny's childhood. He wondered what she was doing with him; he could never offer her the kind of life she grew up with on a G-man's salary.

On the drive up, Emma had informed him that her mom already knew everything about him: Rafi's problems with the law, his family, his parent's death, and his own alcoholism. She said she wanted him to feel comfortable and to not worry about just being himself. There was a part of him that was really annoyed that she would do that but then he also knew that she was close to her mom and had most likely told her while they were in the early stages of dating and not necessarily as a big warning about the man she was bringing home to meet the family.

Her mom was so friendly and welcoming. Her brother, Randy, and sister-in-law, Rachel, were too. Unfortunately, her dad was more difficult. He was constantly asking questions about Danny's background, what school he went to, what his plans were for the future. He wasn't cold exactly but it was clearly obvious that he was sizing him up. Danny couldn't exactly blame him. He knew if a man brought his own daughter home he would most likely respond the same way. But it still stung that her dad most likely didn't think he was good enough for his only daughter.

He couldn't get too mad because Rafi did treat Emma differently because of her upbringing too. He recalled the dinner they had at Rafi and Sylvia's apartment the weekend before.

XXX

They were sitting around the dining room table eating dinner. Rafi sat at the head of the table with Sylvia on his right and Nick on his left. Danny and Emma sat on the other end.

"Sylvia, everything is so great. You're a great chef," Emma said, looking over at Sylvia with a friendly smile on her face. "I'm sure Danny wishes I knew how to cook as well."

"Thank you. I love to cook," Sylvia replied as she took a drink of her iced tea.

Nicky smiled and with a beaming smile said, "My papi says that she makes the best arroz con pollo in the world."

"Yes, she does." Rafi grabbed Sylvia's hand. "Do you cook Emma?"

"A little but not much, I wish I had more time to, though," Emma replied casually. "Lasagna is my specialty."

"Hey, you're a better cook than Sam," Danny interjected. While Emma may have thought Rafi was just being curious, he knew his brother was trying to point out her shortcomings.

"That's the best compliment you can give?" Emma joked with a look of feigned hurt. "I think I'm insulted."

She laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder. He grabbed her hand, kissed it and said, "I'm just kidding. You know I love whatever you make."

She smiled and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. When they broke apart, Nicky quickly asked, "Are you really a doctor?"

Emma turned her attention back to the little boy and replied, "Yes. I work at St. Andrew's. In fact, did you know that's how I met your uncle Danny?"

Nicky's eyes went wide and he asked, "Really?"

"Really," Danny replied as he casually rubbed Emma's back. "She was a bossy one too."

Emma gave him an annoyed but bemused look before turning back to Nicky. "I was only bossy because he was a terrible patient who refused to listen to me." She winked at Nicky and he smiled.

"Where did you grow up, Emma?" Rafi asked; his voice serious and low.

"Ramsey, New Jersey," Emma replied as she took a drink of her iced tea.

"I worked a few odd jobs there. That's a pretty fancy neighborhood." Rafi's tone was cool but Danny knew him well enough to recognize the cynicism underneath.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Emma replied unashamed.

"Rafi…" Danny warned. The two brothers exchanged a silent warring of eyes when Nicky spoke up again, unaware of what was going on.

"Did you bring your medical bag?" Nicky interrupted, completely oblivious to the tension around him.

Emma gave him a warning look to behave himself before turning to his nephew. She smiled and said, "I can do you better than that. I'll be right back, excuse me." She squeezed Danny's hand before getting up and walking to get her purse.

While she walked to where her coat and purse sat, Danny saw Sylvia lean over with a menacing look on her face and whisper something in Rafi's ear. Whatever it was she said must have worked because Rafi turned and mouthed, 'I'm sorry, bro.' and lifted his glass up to Danny who returned the gesture.

Nicky's eyes were completely focused on what Emma was doing and managed to miss the entire exchange. Emma returned to the table and handed Nicky a wrapped gift. Danny had no idea how she managed to keep it hidden for most of the night. His nephew made quick work of unwrapping it and gasped when he saw what it was: an official looking medical bag. He popped it open and inside was a real stethoscope, thermometer, bandages, tape, and other things that were completely fascinating to a kid.

"What do you say, Nicky?" Rafi said smiling along with Sylvia at how excited Nicky was by his gift.

"Thank you so much aunty Emma." He grinned from ear to ear as he pulled out the stethoscope and asked, "Can you show me how to use it?"

"Sure." Emma smiled back.

"Hey, we can go give Julia an exam," Nicky declared and Danny noticed that Sylvia turned pale at the thought.

"I think she's still too small for you to examine," Emma replied quickly. "You have to be really careful with babies but I think your uncle Danny might be a willing patient. Maybe you can figure out why his head is extra-hard."

Nicky laughed and rushed over to start his examination while Danny glared at Emma who just laughed.

XXX

There was a knock at the door and before Danny could move to answer it, Emma walked inside.

She closed the door behind her and asked, "Are you all set up in here?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

Emma smiled as she walked up to him, pressing herself to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I hate not being able to sleep with you tonight."

Danny kissed her lightly on the lips and murmured, "Me too but I'd rather sleep alone for one night than risk your father's wrath."

She smiled between kisses and said, "Dad's bark is much worse than his bite. My mom says he wants to think of me as his little girl for the rest of his life."

He gave a little laugh and replied, "No wonder he hates me. He thinks I've defiled his daughter."

This time Emma laughed. "'Thinks?' I'm pretty sure he knows that is a fact." She kissed him hard on the lips, her fingers playing with the hair on the back of his head.

Every time he kissed her he couldn't help but think this is what heaven would be like. Unfortunately, her kisses also lead to other thoughts. He suddenly got very worried because he could feel himself getting aroused and considering where they were it was not a good thing.

He gently broke the kiss and stepped back, "You better go."

She smiled at him mischievously and purred, "Are you sure you want me to go?"

"I didn't say I want you to go, I said you better go. I did notice that we are right next door to your parent's room."

Emma pouted and replied, "Okay, I'll go." She gave Danny a quick kiss and move to leave before turning around and adding, "Oh, by the way, my bedroom is the last door on the right on the other side of the house, far, far away from my folks. Maybe you could use some of that fancy F.B.I. training to sneak down the hall, say around midnight?"

He was surprised by her boldness but couldn't deny it was an intriguing invitation. He gave her a surprised look before he finally replied, "You know, I do have to brush up on my training…."

Emma winked at him and closed the door behind her.