CHAPTER 24

Danny leafed through his mail as he unlocked the door to his condo. This was the first time he'd been here in almost a week and he was planning to keep this visit brief. He'd talked to a realtor yesterday about putting the place on the market and they'd agreed on a fair asking price—almost $100,000.00 higher than what Danny had paid for it a year ago. It had been pretty easy to convince Mary that she needed him around full time and since his place held too many bad memories they'd decided to stay in Mary's condo at the Montecito until they could find something bigger.

As he pulled a duffle and his suit bag out of the closet, Danny thought about everything they had learned so far from Mark Benton. After Ed's initial interrogation the FBI had taken over and it was decided that they should remain on the property so as not to attract suspicion from the other members.

While Mark had been able to tell them how they'd infiltrated the security systems and the purpose of the virus Danny had uploaded, he had no idea how to contact the other men in the Group. The two weeks immediately following the ransom drop were a communications blackout period. Mark was to spend that time erasing any trace of his activities at the Montecito and then rendezvous at a designated place and time as yet to be determined. He'd given the FBI the location of every meeting place, every training facility and every hideout they'd used since he'd been recruited, but all of them had been abandoned. Their only chance now was to wait a few more days for these guys to make contact and try to set up a sting. Mark was being shadowed 24/7 just as much for protection as he was for security.

Once his suitcases were full, Danny headed to the kitchen to dispose of anything suspicious in the fridge and then opened the pantry door. He moved aside the Lucky Charms to reveal the wall safe and carefully entered the familiar code into the keypad. Taking what he needed from inside, he secured the safe, grabbed his bags and locked the door behind him.

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Mary's first few days home had been filled with visitors—Delinda, Sam, Jillian, Ed, Mike, Sarasvati and even Mitch had kept Mary occupied during the day, but those visits had dwindled and now it was just her and her thoughts. Her friends had returned to their busy lives and Mary felt left out and alone. The last thing she ever wanted to be to anyone—especially Danny--was a burden and in her current circumstances she couldn't help but feel that's exactly what she was.

Of course Danny had been wonderful, making sure she had everything she needed, but Mary was used to taking care of him—especially emotionally--and this role reversal was unfamiliar territory. Delinda and Sam thought she was crazy. They'd told her that she should enjoy the attention while it lasted because the minute she was back on her feet Danny would revert back to his old insensitive self, but Mary didn't think so. She didn't know if it was the baby or something else, but she recognized a change in Danny. He was still the same fun-loving man she fell in love with, but there was an air of responsibility that followed him now. He was more sure of himself; more attentive to her needs; more concerned about the future and not just living for the moment; and all of these changes, while new and unfamiliar, gave Mary a tremendous sense of pride and hope.

She smiled as she thought about their discussion yesterday morning. Mary had mentioned they would need to find a bigger condo—one that could accommodate a nursery—but Danny was insistent that only a house would do. There was no way his kids were going to be raised in some high rise condo off the Strip. Kids—that was another thing that made her smile. Every time they talked about the future Danny always used the word "kids", as if in his mind's eye there was more than just the baby she carried inside of her. It was little things like that which encouraged Mary whenever she started to question their relationship and this week any doubts she might have had all but vanished.

She was uncertain about many things, but she knew for sure now where she fit into Danny's life. A few nights ago when she'd woken from a rather troubling nightmare, she felt Danny's arms wrap around her as he softly whispered how much he loved her. How he'd almost given up hope during the previous year that they would ever find their way back to each other. It was in that quiet moment that Mary made a confession.

"Every time I dreamed about my future, even when I was with Jake, the babies I held in my arms always had warm brown eyes and adorable dimples. I guess my mind never stopped hoping that they would be yours ."

Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered Danny turning her to face him so she could see the sparkle in his eyes. "My dreams were always filled with tiny little redheads with smiles that lit up a room." Mary had been speechless. She'd never imagined that Danny might have dreamt of their future the way she did and for him to admit it only made it that much more meaningful.

Sensing that she was yet again on the verge of tears after his admission, Danny had tried to lighten the mood. "Of course those little redheads were pretty bossy so let's hope fate took pity on me and decided that one bossy redhead in my life was enough."

They both chuckled and relaxed in each other's arms, drifting off into the shelter of their dreams once again. It wouldn't be long before those faraway dreams became a reality.

Mary swiped at her eyes, trying to stop the tears before they got out of hand. Sighing in frustration she picked up the remote and clicked on the television. She'd already read the two pregnancy books Jillian had bought her and been through a stack of magazines two feet high. She'd watched every Olympic event known to man and even tried to catch up with All My Children, but it just wasn't the same since they'd killed off Leo. She'd been in bed for over a week and it was starting to wear on her nerves. There was no way she'd make it if the doctor decided to prescribe bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy.

That thought brought a fresh round of tears to her eyes and she started sobbing uncontrollably. Flinging the remote across the room, she buried her head in the pillows and let her emotions take over.

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Danny had just walked through the door when he heard the sound of something hitting the wall, hard. He dropped his bags and rushed into the bedroom only to discover Mary in an obvious state of distress.

"What is it? Are you alright?" He joined her on the bed and immediately pulled her into his arms.

"Sshhh, tell me. Tell me what's wrong," he asked again, gently rubbing his hand up and down her back when she still didn't respond.

It took a moment, but Mary's sobs slowly gave way to soft hiccups and she was finally able to speak. "I'm going to be a terrible mother." The minute the words were out of her mouth the sobbing started anew.

"What?" Danny said, surprised. "Why would you say that, baby?"

"Because, I'm so selfish--all I care about is myself."

"Mary, honey, you're not making any sense. You're the most selfless person I know. Look at everything you've already gone through to protect this baby. Now tell me, why would you think that?"

"Because I'm bored," she snorted a bit as she tried to get her crying under control.

Danny bit his lip hard in an attempt to suppress his laughter. He'd been warned repeatedly by Jillian to expect quite a range of emotions from Mary, but he was still a bit unprepared. He knew that she was being irrational and that her hormones were causing her to overreact, but according to Jillian, drawing attention to either of those facts would probably be the last thing he ever did.

"I know you're tired of being in bed, Mary, but that certainly doesn't make you selfish."

"But the doctor said it was best for the baby and, Danny, I should just be thankful that we're both safe and that we even have a baby and instead all I can do is gripe about how much I want to get out and how much I miss you being able to make love to me and how nobody wants to come visit me anymore and they all have these exciting lives and all I can do is sit here and watch stupid daytime television and read these idiotic magazines and worry about being a burden on you and on everybody else when all I should be doing is thinking about my baby and how lucky we are that it's even still alive…" Mary's rambling finally dwindled off when she stopped to take a breath, but the break ended up leading to more sobbing.

Pulling her tight to his chest, Danny gently rocked them, cradling her head in his hands and dropping soft kisses to her neck and shoulder.

"It's alright, everything's okay. I don't want you to ever think you're a burden on me or anyone else for that matter. We all love you so much and we would do anything for you, okay? And you are not selfish, Mary. Just because you don't like the circumstances, doesn't mean you love this baby any less."

"But…"

"No, buts. You are an amazing person and you're going to be an amazing mother."

"I'm scared, Danny."

"So am I, but we'll get through this together, okay?"

Mary nodded her head and Danny handed her a tissue so she could wipe her nose.

"Now …I picked you up a new laptop and Mike said he'd come by tonight and set it all up so maybe you can start looking at houses and baby stuff."

Mary's eyes lit up and Danny mentally gave himself a pat on the back for his last minute purchase.

"And…," he leaned down to give Mary a soft kiss on the mouth. "We go back to the doctor next week so hopefully she'll give us the all clear on some of the other stuff." He waggled his eyebrows a little and Mary couldn't help but giggle.

"How'd you get so good at dealing with crazy pregnant women?" Mary asked as Danny retrieved the remote and tossed it on the bed.

Sensing that she was in a better mood Danny decided he could tease her a little bit, "What are you talking about? Between you and Sam and Delinda, I'm surrounded by crazy women everyday. The pregnancy thing is just a bonus since now I get a little prize at the end of it all for putting up with you." Danny gave her a wink as he dodged thepillow she tossed his way before heading into the bathroom to shower and change.