Happy 4th, everyone! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! And thank you Vicky for being my beta reader and helping me out when I'm stuck!
I hope you'll enjoy Danny & Kara's reunion, let me know what you think ;)
When Peter had pulled up into the parking lot by the St. Louis harbor Kara felt like her heart had stopped for a second as her eyes landed on the ship that had been her home for so long. The Nathan James was already sitting at the dock and for a couple of seconds Kara just stared out of the window as images of that time aboard the Nathan James ran through her head. She looked down at Frankie who had fallen asleep during the ride as she remembered the moment after the Trail when Danny told her that she was pregnant.
"Hey how is it going?" Kara asked as she watched him sitting down across from her on her cot with a serious expression on his face.
"Kara, I have to tell you something…" Danny trailed off as he took both of her hands into his. She had a questioning expression on her face as she heard him taking a deep breath. Kara felt her start starting to race as she tried to figure out what ever the news will be good or bad.
"You're pregnant".
"What?" Kara asked as she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "You're pregnant. We're having a baby." Danny replied with a huge smile on her face and then she went on emotional rollercoaster ride as the tears started to run down her face.
"Our little miracle." Kara whispered with a soft smile on her lips as she brushed her hand through Frankie's fine baby hair. After she had gotten out of the car, Kara made sure that Frankie stayed asleep as she carefully removed him from his car seat and placed him into his stroller. As they got closer to the dock where the Nathan James was they noticed some familiar faces waiting for their family members and then Kara saw Kathleen standing all by herself a couple of feet away from the gangway so she went over to greet her. "Hey, no sign of them yet?" Kara asked as she hugged Tex's daughter. "Hey, nope. How is Frankie doing?" Kathleen asked when Kara let go of her and she took a peek into the stroller. "Sleeping, at least one of us manages to stay calm." Kara trailed off as she started to twist her fingers nervously. "Hey, uhm… I'll take a walk down the dock so if anything happens with Frankie…." "We'll get you." Debbie replied with a reassuring smile as she could tell how nervous her daughter was.
30 minutes had already passed and Kara was still pacing up and down the dock in front of the Nathan James with her eyes glued onto the gang way. She only stopped to salute the leaving sailors and then she returned to her path again. Her feet already started to hurt and she silently cursed herself for choosing a pair of heels instead of some more comfortable flats. She knew that by tonight, she'd have blisters and end up barefoot at the Homecoming Barbecue, but she was past caring anymore.
Where the hell is he? Kara wondered as she saluted another group of sailors. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she continued to pace down the dock. So far she had seen some of her old shipmates and a bunch of new faces leaving the ship, but so far there was no sign of Danny or at least Tex.
Maybe he got injured and is still waiting to be cleared by Rios…or he went overboard…or he found a pretty Vietnamese girl and… Kara rolled her eyes as she noticed how ridiculous her thoughts had become. "Seriously Kara? Do you really want to go down that road?" She muttered to herself, but still she couldn't help but worry and then a soft cry caught her attention.
Frankie! Kara immediately turned on her heels and headed over to where her Mother, Peter and Kathleen were waiting. "What happened? I told you to get me if anything is wrong." Kara asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice when she saw her son in Debbie's arms.
"Nothing is wrong with him. Your son woke up and decided that he wanted to see the ships instead of this boring blue sunshield." Debbie explained, hoping that it would calm her daughter down. "Isn't that right, Frankie?" She asked her grandson who was now happy that he had a much better view of the things that were going on around him.
"Say yes, Granny. I wanted to see my Daddy's ship." She answered her own question as she tickled his belly. "See, he is fine."
"Are you sure? Have you checked his diaper?" Kara ignored Frankie's gurgle as she senses were still on high alert.
"Do you doubt my Grandma abilities? Remember I'm watching him when you're at work and if I remember correctly I always handed him back to you in one piece with a smile on his face Debbie's voice suddenly sounded a lot more serious and Kara realized that she had spoken a little harshly, but then again she couldn't help herself but worry about her son's well-being.
"No I don't doubt them. I just want everything to be perfect and I want Frankie to be happy and smiling when Danny finally shows up." If he shows up, Kara silently added as she turned around to check the gangway again, but once again she got disappointed because there was still no sign of her husband. "What should he think if Frankie cries? What will he think of me?" There was a hint of desperation in Kara's voice. "That his son is a human being with a good voice?" Debbie moved Frankie so she could hold him in one arm. "He'll think that you're a wonderful mother no matter if he's crying or not. It's the moment where he will see his son for the first time and that's all that will matter to him." Peter tried to help Debbie to calm Kara down. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, honey. Pete is right. Now come here." Debbie replied as she wrapped her free arm around her daughter to hug her. "He will think that you're an amazing mother to your son and that you did an amazing job in the past few months." Debbie added as she placed a kiss onto Kara's cheek. "Just relax and everything will be alright." As her mother let go of her Kara leaned down and placed a soft kiss onto Frankie's forehead praying that her Mom was right and that everything will turn out to be alight in the end. "So why don't you take a deep breath and try to calm down?"
"I can't…"
Meanwhile aboard the Nathan James
The moment Danny had stepped out on to the flight deck he felt his heart racing in his chest and his hands started to sweat as his eyes nervously scanned the crowd down at the docks for them. He was about to set his foot onto the gangway when he suddenly stopped and froze in place as he spotted her for the first time. She was standing with her back turned towards the ship but he could tell that she was even prettier than he had remembered her and then a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he noticed that Kara hadn't cut her beautiful raven hair, the hair Danny loved running his fingers through. He stood there for a couple of minutes as he watched them and then Kara stepped aside, unblocking the view of Debbie's arms and then he saw his son for the first time and he felt like his heart stopped for a split second.
"Frankie." He whispered in amazement and then it hit him. This was the moment that he had been anticipating for weeks, the moment that he had been waiting for since the Captain had told her that Kara was pregnant and when Doctor Scott told him that the baby will be born immune.
I'm going to meet my son, A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he took deep in order to calm himself down.
"Lt. Green, aren't you supposed to be with your wife and meet your so?" CO Slattery pulled him from his musings "Green, what are you still doing here? She's waiting!" Slattery asked this time using his "CO" tone.
"Uhm, yes sir. I uhm… I just wanted to have a moment and watch." Danny immediately started to regret is answer, but he still tried to play it cool even though he knew that the CO could see right through his play.
"Nervous?" Slattery raised an eyebrow at him and Danny nodded. "You could say that."
"Well." The CO shrugged. "Don't be. This moment is going to be one of the best moment in your life and by the way I've seen Kara running up and down the dock ever since they'd arrived so I'd suggest that you get yourself down there." He pointed at Kara and her family. "Or else she might think that you've left her for some girl in Vietnam. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Danny nodded and then he took a deep breath. "Thank you." He closed his eyes for a few seconds and ten he stepped on to the gangway with Halsey by his side.
"I'm not in the military, but isn't he a senior officer now?" Peter asked as he watched Kara nervously eyeing the gangway. "Isn't there some kind of rule that says senior officers are the ones who leave the ship as the last?"
"He is a senior officer now." Kara replied as she turned her head back towards Peter. "And yes senior officers are always released last, but seriously it never took me that long to get off the ship and everyone knows that he will see his son for the first time." Kara replied and it was clear that this whole waiting situation was frustrating her more and more by each minute that passed. She looked down at her son and noticed that Frankie's eyes were focused on to the Nathan James.
"Frankie, do you see that big ship over there?" Kara asked her attention completely focused on to her son. "That is the U.S.S. Nathan James. Do you remember her? I've told you everything about her. It's the ship that brought the cure to the world and where you Daddy lives and works when he's away." Kara explained to Frankie and then she leaned in to place a couple of feathered kisses onto Frankie's face and then she felt Frankie's tiny hands on her cheek. "Mommy loves you." Kara whispered against his skin. "Your Daddy will be here soon."
"Speaking of which, Kara?" Debbie's voice ripped her out of her moment with Frankie and looked up at her to see if she was joking, but Debbie simply nodded towards the gangway.
"Isn't that Danny with that dog?" Peter asked pointing over to the gangway.
"Halsey." Kara whispered to herself as she turned around slowly to look for herself and then she saw him walking down the steps with Halsey by his side. Kara could feel all of the worries that she had vanish within a split second.
The second he had set foot on to the ground Kara started to run as fast as she could with her heels. At the same time Danny dropped his duffle bag and Halsey's leash to the ground and then he quickly walked towards her to meet her half way. The second they had closed the gap between them they instinctively wrapped their arms around each other and then without wasting another second he pulled her up for a long overdue and much needed breathtaking kiss. They were both lost in each other's arms and in the moment as neither of them wanted to break away from the other's lips but then they had to part to fill their lungs with some much needed air. Danny leaned his forehead against hers and opened his eyes only to find out that Kara's were still closed as was breathing heavily with a soft smile on her lips. After a couple of seconds Kara found the strength to open her eyes again and then she looked up into his beautiful blue eyes.
"Hey stranger." She smiled at him as she reached up to touch his beard. "I missed you." She added as she started to cares his cheek, but then Danny leaned in for another kiss. This time their kiss was gentle and slow and it seemed like they were both trying to make up for the time that they had been apart. When Kara pulled back they stared into each other's eyes as they were both afraid that the other one would disappear if they would look away for a second, even though they both knew that this moment was real. "Do you want to meet your son?" Kara asked her arms still wrapped around his neck as Danny had his hands on her waist. "Of course." Danny nodded as they both let go of each other and then Kara took his hand and lead him over to where Debbie was standing with their son in her arms.
"Look Frankie, there is your Daddy." He heard Debbie saying when they were only a couple of feet away from them and then he stood right in front of him. It only took him a split second to fall completely in love with that little human being in Debbie's arms. It was the kind of love that he knew that existed but he had never experienced it before. This was reason why he kept going even though things were so damn hard in Asia, this, his son was the reason why he fought the past 5 months.
"Hey Frankie, I'm your Daddy." He whispered his voice overcome with emotions as he reached for his tiny hands to touch them carefully. It was Frankie who took it a step further and grabbed Danny's index finger and Danny could feel the connection to his growing deeper and deeper with each second. Frankie had his blue eyes and obviously his blond hair, but then Frankie started to gurgle happily as if he was trying to tell him that he was so happy that to finally meet his daddy. It was then when Danny noticed Frankie's nose, it was the way he scrunched it that reminded him of Kara's.
"He's beautiful." Danny said as he looked up at Kara. "And strong." He added as Frankie's fingers were still tightly wrapped around his index finger.
"He is." Kara nodded as she could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of Frankie and Danny together. "He has your eyes."
"Do you want to hold him?" Debbie asked and suddenly Danny felt is insecurity about holding his own son growing again. "I…uhm…can I? I don't know how…" Danny stumbled over his own words as he didn't know what say or do. "It's easy, really easy. I'll show you." Kara jumped in as she turned around towards Debbie to take Frankie out of her arms. "Look all you have to do is hold him like this and make sure that you support his head. He can already hold it up on his own for a couple of minutes but he still needs a little help. Isn't that right, Frankie?" Kara spoke softly as she took Frankie out if her arms. Once again Danny felt his heart racing and his palms were getting sweaty again. "Do you want to try it?" Danny nodded and Kara turned around to hand him over. "Look Frankie this is your Daddy." Kara said and then after a couple of seconds Frankie was in Danny's arms. Danny had his eyes fixed on to this little bundle of joy in his arms as he spoke softly to him. It was then when Kara wasn't able to hold back her tears anymore. It felt like she was watching Danny falling in love with his son as he was holding him for the first time.
Danny heard a soft sob coming from Kara so he looked up. "Hey, what's going on? Are you alright?" He asked sounding concerned. "Nothing, I'm fine. It's just… seeing you holding our son. I've dreamed about this moment and I don't know…" Kara replied in between sobs. "Come here." Danny said as he carefully moved his son so he was able to hold him with one arm. "Come here, sweetheart." As she stepped closer he reached up and brushed the tears off her cheeks before he wrapped his free hand around her waist to pull her closer. With one hand Kara took Frankie's while she wrapped her other arms around Danny's hips.
"I love you both so much you have no idea." Danny said and then he pulled her in for a soft kiss.
"I love you too." Kara replied when he left her lips. "Both." She added as she looked over to Frankie who seemed like he was enjoying this family moment.
"I told ya, you won't break him." Tex voice ripped them both out of the moment and Kara couldn't help but laugh. Typical Tex!
