And drum roll please………Here is it; the final chapter! Again I want to thank everyone who's read and reviewed. Seeing those are what kept me writing even when I felt like I was getting no where.
There will be more I promise. After all there's two more Walker sisters to go. This time we'll delve into Vanessa's life. I'm not going to give away the pairing yet you'll just have to stay tuned.
Enjoy!
I own nothing dealing with CSI NY or Walker Texas Ranger.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Four days later...
Headed to meet Stella and the rest of the team for lunch Flack looked up from his cell phone to see Frank Messer stepping off the elevator; determination in his stride. It was rare that Danny's father came to the lab; claimed that he felt stupid walking into a building full of people with IQ's five times higher then his. Even if he did love his son and supported what he did for a living. So to see him there raised red flags to the Italian detective. Calling out to the older man he soon realized that Mr. Messer had a one track mind as he ignored him; heading in the direction of Mac's office.
Having to pick his pace up to a jog he laid a hand on the mans shoulder; catching him just as he was getting ready to open the door to the senior CSI's office.
"Where's the fire Mr. Messer?" Flack questioned.
"Follow me and you'll find out."
All business he offered no other explanation as he did as the older man suggested; not sure whether to stand or sit. Opting for the former when he saw the other two men were going to do so once they'd exchanged pleasantries Flack was seriously confused and hated being out of the loop when it involved his best friend. Though no one had said anything to confirm it he didn't need them to. The presence of Mr. Messer and the looks on both his and Mac's face was enough to tell him so.
"He's on his way." Mac informed them.
"Good." Frank gave a curt nod. "Maybe the both of us can talk some sense into that boys thick skull."
"Are you guys staging some sort of intervention or something?" Flack started to put it all together.
"Or something." Mac answered. "We've all seen the way Danny's slowly been going down hill. It's time things changed."
All Flack could do was nod his head in agreement. Since Arianna had flown back to Dallas leaving the native New Yorker behind in the big apple with a heart that would never mend he'd been a mess. Rarely if ever sleeping; coming into work with clothes wrinkled as if he'd been in them all day and night. Barely eating; avoiding the foot that people tried to give him. Snapping at lab techs over things that were ridiculous and absurd.
His mood had only two ranges lately; moping and extra surely with a side of brooding. Talking to him had been next to impossible; especially when the topic of the roan haired ranger came up. Then again it didn't help that everyone of his friends were routing for them to get back together. That they believed they could get past it.
From the moment the team had seen them together every single one of them had known the pair were meant to be together. And they'd be damned if a little bit of stubbornness was going to keep them apart.
"You wanted to see me Mac?" Danny knocked on the glass door. Before his boss was able to say anything the blonde looked over to see his dad's stern face staring at him. "What the hell? Dad what are doing here?"
"He came to help me set you straight." Mac was blunt and to the point.
"What'd you mean set me straight?" Danny's mean was back full force. "There's nothing wrong with me."
Stepping forward Frank gave him the look he'd reserved for his children when they did something extremely bad when they were younger. "Yes there is. You're a complete and utter mess."
Snorting Danny moved to leave; not wanting any of this. Lunging forward Flack blocked him; getting the glare of death in return. "Get the hell out of my way Flack or I'll make you."
"That may work for Arianna but not you tough guy." The taller detective told him.
Seeing the opportunity Mac and Frank stepped forward; effectively blocking him in. In no mood to hear what they had to say Danny was more then willing to tackle them all in order to get out of there. His heart was still in pieces over what the young ranger had done to him. He liked to think he had it in the little box next to the picture of them on his desk that held the dog tags she'd given him for Christmas.
"We know you've been calling and emailing her but she hasn't been answering." Frank murmured.
"How.." Danny was perplexed.
"We're a forensic scientist and an ex- NYPD officer." Mac reminded. "We have our ways of finding out."
"You bugged my phone and computer?" Danny couldn't believe he was hearing this.
"That and we called her father." Frank confessed. "He said she's not much better then you. Every time she see's your number show up she has to leave the room. That he found her crying her eyes out in one of the interrogation rooms one day."
Rubbing his own eyes Danny didn't really want to hear any of this. Over the past couple of days he'd been trying to harden his heart towards the woman he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Them telling him she was falling apart as well made it all go to hell. Not that there was much to ruin. No matter how much he tried he couldn't do it. Especially when the pieces of his broken heart knew she'd done what she had because she loved him. But they didn't have to know that.
"It serves her right after what she did to me." Danny growled.
"I've never hit any of my kids as long as I've lived." Frank threatened. "But you say one more thing like that and things will change in a heartbeat."
Dropping down on the couch the young man put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry pop. It's just that I don't know what to do. I know she told me to leave it alone; to move on with my life but I can't. She was my life and always will be. Without her it's just pointless."
Sitting down next to his employee Mac put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Do you want her back?"
"Yes." Danny's voice broke with emotion. "More then anything."
"Then go get her." Flack told his friend. "You take that ring with you and don't leave until you get her to say yes; again."
"It's not going to be that easy." Danny told them.
"Nothing worth it in life ever is." Mac reminded.
"What about work?" Danny couldn't believe he was worried about something like that. "I'm on a case right now."
"I'll worry about that." Mac assured. "Besides I'm going to have to pick a new team member when your transfer to Dallas goes through."
Smiling for the first time at the three men who'd managed to get him to dig his head out of the sand Danny wasted no more time. He was already on his cell phone for the next one way flight to Texas; forgetting all about thanking the people who'd just helped him realize that as much as a person loves you in order to let you go it's the true love that makes you come back fighting.
"If you don't eat something soon I'm going to shove it down your throat." Jenny threatened.
Glaring at her friend and co-worker Arianna pushed the sandwich the woman had set on her desk father away; getting her own evil look in return.
Almost a week had passed since she'd ripped hers as well as Danny's heart out and left them bleeding on the floor of the hospital in New York. And everyone and their brother had been on her ass about taking care of herself. One to normally be well dressed in a pressed shirt and pair of nicely ironed jeans she'd come with her hair in a bun or pony tail; clothes wrinkled. Dark circles had started to form under her eyes that she hadn't bothered to cover with make up. That combined with the lingering bruises made her look like hell. And that was putting it mildly.
"You need to keep up your strength. Your bodies still healing." Trivette walked in.
Tossing her pen down on the desk she sighed in exasperation. "Now you too? Between you, dad, mom; Gabby and Van checking in from places unknown I feel like I'm never get any privacy."
Perching on the edge of her desk the black man gave her his trade mark grin. "That's because were worried. You haven't been eating or sleeping. Not to mention more miserable then I've ever seen you before."
"We're not even going to talk about your wardrobe." Jenny chimed in from the desk across from hers.
"Hey! What's wrong with my clothes?" Arianna defended.
"In all the years I've known you everything you've worn to work has been pressed or ironed." Jenny pointed out. "Even your t-shirts. The past week though you've been all wrinkly looking; like you slept in them. And you wore the same shirt to work two days in a row."
"So I haven't had a chance to do laundry." Arianna went back to her paperwork. "I have been dealing with a major drug bust lately."
"It's more then that and you know it." Trivette and Jenny said at the same time.
Knowing that justifying that with a response would continue a conversation she really didn't want to have Arianna let it go; focusing on the files that were starting to blur before her eyes.
About fifteen minutes into what seemed to be her third attempt the young ranger threw her pen down once again; saying to hell with it. Her mind was too jumbled to think straight. Gingerly she leaned back; stretching her arms over her head. Rubbing her temples she could've sworn the radio in the corner had been playing country music a second ago. Now it sounded like it was playing the song from the Phantom of the Opera that she and Danny had sung in the kitchen of his parents home on Christmas day.
Now I'm starting to hear things; great, Arianna grimaced.
With her back to the door the way the desks were situated at the moment she'd been unable to see who had changed it to a channel that was not playing Broadway show tunes. Unable to see who she'd be giving a reaming to in a couple of minutes she decided she needed to get up and move. Get the blood flowing back through her body. Sitting for hours at a time was hell on your circulation system.
Pushing back her chair she felt it bump into a body. Getting up she turned to the person as an apology spilled from her lips.
"I'm so sor..." Arianna's voice trailed off when she came face to face with the one man she'd been aching to see for a week.
"Hi" He murmured.
Seeing her again after all this time made the small seed of hope he'd been harboring since leaving New York grow that much more. On the flight he'd been trying to think of what he'd say; what he'd do once he set his sights on her again. None of it came to mind as he surveyed her; aching when he saw how frail she looked. When he saw how much she'd let herself go when she should've been getting stronger.
"Danny what are you doing here?" Arianna wondered.
Here goes nothing, He thought.
"Taking the advice of three very wise men." He spoke. "Well two very wise men; the verdict is still out on Flack."
A grin threatened to break the mask of nothingness she'd plastered on her face. Despite the time and space put between them her heart hadn't mended. Hadn't forgotten him or what he meant to her. Still remembered the feel of his arms around her. The sound of his laughter; of his voice when he tried to sooth her to sleep or calm her down. With him standing in front of her; looking as ragged as she felt; her resolve to keep him at arms length. To keep him out of his life was slowly shattering.
"Danny I told you at the hospital that we can't be together. That I won't put you in that kind of danger." Arianna sighed.
"And I'm going to tell you now what I should have told you all those days ago." Danny was determined. "It's my choice; my life to do what I want with."
"I understand that but I just don't want it to be cut short unnecessarily because of me. And if we get married that's what will happen." Arianna argued.
Closing the gap between them he gently ran his fingers over the cheek where a bruise was still healing. "Do you remember telling me that the reason you were doing all of this was because you loved me enough to let me go?"
"Yeah." Arianna answered.
"Well I love you enough to fight for you. For us and what we stand for." Danny confessed.
"And what do we stand for?" Arianna was curious.
"A second chance at love." Danny told her. "The Mandala's and rest of the world's criminals be damned. Call me crazy if you want but I kinda wanna be a part of your life."
It was hard to think straight when he was touching her. When she was this close to him after believing she was never going to see him again. Avoiding his eyes up until that moment she couldn't do it anymore and gasped at what she saw.
Love; unabashed and unleashed shone in his blue depths; tears swimming with them. Determination in the set of his jaw. After everything she said to him. After everything that had happened to him he was here. Half a continent away in an attempt to win her back after she'd basically gutted him in front of all this friends and half the hospital staff. Willing to lay his life on the line for the chance to call her his wife. For the chance for them to be together now and forever.
In that moment as she gazed into his ice blue orbs she saw the life she was meant to lead. The happiness she was meant to have. Her father had been right all along. Instead of embracing her second chance she'd pushed it away in order to protect the one she loved. When in all reality she'd hurt them more then any criminal ever could.
"So you kind of want to be a part of my life?" Arianna inquired.
Joy burst through him as he saw the walls she placed around her heart fall. As the pieces of his shattered one slowly started to mend. Before he was able to get ahead of his self he remembered the box that was in his jacket pocket.
Taking it out he got down on one knee; opening it as he did so.
"Make that a definitely." Danny grinned. "Now how about we try this again?"
All that came out of her mouth in response was a squeak so he took that as a sign to continue.
"Will you; Arianna Marie Walker; the most stubborn, pigheaded, intelligent, beautiful woman I've ever met. Marry me?"
"If you don't say yes young lady your father and I are both going to disown you."
The young ranger turned to see her father and mother along with the entire rest of Company B standing there waiting for her response. Concentrating her gaze back on the man who had given her a second at love. Who hadn't given up on her even at the worst of times Arianna knew what her answer was going to be.
"Well we wouldn't want that now would we." She grinned. "So I guess my answer is yes."
Slipping the ring on her finger Danny ignored the cheers and applause that filled the room as he lifted his fiancée in his arms; hugging her tight before planting a kiss on her lips. Just as they pulled away from one another a dark thought dawned on him.
"You didn't say yes just because of your parents did you?" He cocked an eyebrow.
Grabbing the front of his shirt with her hand she pulled him down to her for another kiss. This time rendering him a mumbling idiot.
"What do you think?" Arianna grinned wickedly.
"I think that's a good thing. Because If you'd said no I'd be in serious trouble." Danny confessed.
"And why is that?" Arianna wondered.
"Well my plane ticket was a one way and Mac already approved all the paper work for my transfer." Danny explained. "So whether or not you would've said yes you'd still be stuck with me."
By this time they'd managed to make it through all the well wishers and onto the elevators to head down to where her vehicle was parked. Already planning to move him in without needing to communicate the words to each other.
Lacing her fingers with his Arianna have him a kiss on the cheek before leaning against his shoulder. "This way I can keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't get into any trouble for the next fifty, sixty years or so."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Danny agreed. "Though I don't see how you think I'm going to be the one to cause more trouble in this marriage. I mean after all you did kind of destroy the ballroom at the ……"
Lips covering his in a sweet kiss stopped the rant he'd be on; giving him something else entirely to focus on.
"Did anyone ever tell you you talk too much?" Arianna questioned as they parted.
"All the time." Danny grinned. "Apparently there's nothing that can stop it. It's like a disease."
Gently pushing him up against the wall to the elevator Arianna pushed the stop button; rendering that one immoveable. Once that was done she turned to him with a wicked grin on her face.
"I think I might have the cure for that."
There was no more talking from either of them for the rest of the night; the music of the night filling the silence outside their home. Apparently they both had the cure the other had been seeking. In more ways then one.