Allie could hear the squealing of angry tires on pavement a block away and she caught the sound of a door slamming through walls and panes of glass. She leaned against her headboard, exhaling slowly. She had begged him not to go with Louie, to not give Louie a ride. Sonny would be there, and that could only mean trouble for the Messer brothers. She saw the light in his bedroom go on and shut off just as unexpectedly. Allie let out a sigh, fighting back tears. When Erin had told her that Sonny had taken Bobby, the foreboding fear had crept into her stomach and set up residency there.

Crawling off of her bed, she crept to her bedroom window where she could see into his room. Danny was rifling through the vast multitude of junk on his floor, chucking whatever he could find that had once belonged to Louie. "He keeps that up and he won't have anything left," she mumbled to herself. Sighing, Allie grabbed her jacket from her chair and opened her window quietly. If she woke up her mom now, she'd not escape her room for a month. Barely breathing, Allie slid onto the fire escape, shutting her window without a sound. She was silent going down the ladder and she crossed the alley to brush her fingers against the cold metal of the Messer's fire escape. She vaguely heard glass breaking combined with Danny's swearing, and she bit her lip. He's even more pissed off than I thought.

Slinking up the ladder, she stopped outside his bedroom window. Through the glass, she could see Danny. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, shoulders heaving: whether he was crying or out of breath, Allie couldn't tell. She took a deep breath and rapped lightly on the window, smiling and waving slightly when he looked up. His glasses weren't covering his eyes and she could see his features soften slightly at the sight of her.

He opened the window quietly, helping her in off the fire escape. "What are you doin' here?" he asked, voice raspy with tiredness and frustration. She shrugged and leaned against the window. "I heard you come home earlier than you said you were planning, and I thought I'd come see what was up." She cocked her head. "Your cigarette's gone."

Danny snorted. "No kiddin'." His face contorted into a grimace and Allie quickly dodged out of the way as he picked a baseball up off his desk and threw it at his wall. She stared at the dent apprehensively. "Okay. Apparently, the name of your brother—"

"I don't have a brother." Danny rounded on her with such fury in his eyes, Allie actually gulped. "Apparently, I'm an embarrassment," he snarled and Allie winced at the sarcasm in his voice. Danny let out a strangled sound that she had never heard before and drew back his fist, ramming it into the wall where the baseball had hit. He pulled back slowly, wincing. "Shit."

"Alright, Muscles, let's get you out of the range of hurting yourself." Allie pulled him away from the wall and pushed him into his desk chair, forcing him to look at her. "What happened, exactly?"

Danny surveyed her for a moment before closing his eyes. The previous hours rushed back to him in an ugly reminder of why he felt so angry.

Danny pulled up in front of Giants' stadium, keeping a brave face as a very drunk Sonny and Sal caught his sightline. Louie glanced at his younger brother. "You up for this?"

Danny shrugged, parking the car. "Yeah. Why not?"

As the Messer brothers climbed out of the car, Sonny's voice cut through the night. "Yo, Louie, sorry 'bout the detour. I had to pull over! I'm hearing all kinda knocks and pings in my trunk." Louie smiled grimly, not looking at Danny. The younger Messer could hear the pounding as well, but he didn't let on that he noticed; with Sonny, you could never tell.

That's when Sonny opened his trunk to reveal an actual human being inside the trunk of the car. "Buon giorno," he wisecracked, spreading his arms wide. Danny could see the look of horror on the guy's face, and he shook his head in disgust as Sonny told him, "Stick around, Messer." Danny looked away, grabbing the cigarette behind his ear. He could hide behind the smoke, if the situation called for it. "Don't turn away!" Sonny's voice taunted, "You may learn somethin'!" Danny shook his head again, disbelief on his handsome features. There was no way he wanted to learn anything about where this was going.

As Sonny began to beat the kid, Danny felt the shame boiling in his stomach. He turned and closed his eyes, but couldn't block his ears. This poor kid didn't stand a chance, and all Danny could do was stand there while Sonny issued threats of every kind. What would Maria say if she saw her son there? The kid gasped for breath through the blood and Danny vaguely recognized him as one of Allie's friend's friends. Jesus, what would Allie say if she caught him there? Finally, Danny couldn't take it anymore. "C'mon, enough already! The kid's bleedin' from his face, and everywhere else! Leave him alone!" Danny pleaded with Sonny, hoping he sounded nonchalant enough to not be considered a pansy.

Apparently, he wasn't smooth enough. "Louie, screw your brother!" Sonny demanded, disgusted, and Danny winced as Louie came over, yelling. "Hey, go off! Hit the road!" Louie struck his brother across the face and Danny stared at him in disbelief. "Get outta here, hit the road, D!" Louie shoved him in the chest, and Danny stumbled backwards, soon finding himself on the ground. "You embarrass me in front of my boys?" Louie kept yelling as Sonny and Sal laughed and kept beating the kid. Danny cursed the boy's existence, and his own. If it weren't for that kid, this wouldn't be happening. Tossing his cigarette at his brother, Danny picked himself up off the ground and turned to leave.

"Get outta here, you're a disgrace!" Louie's last reprimand, though directed at the young man's back, cut Danny to the core, and he quickly climbed into his car, speeding away. "Get outta here!" echoed through his mind, and Danny quickly wiped his eyes, determined not to lose face, in front of God and everybody. "Fuck you," he muttered under his breath, all respect for Louie gone.

"Sonny's an asshole." Allie stood up, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. Danny looked up at her, feeling feeble. "What did I do wrong, Al?" he croaked, watching her eyes for comfort. Allie smiled and bent down so he could see into her eyes better. "You did nothing wrong. You stood up for Bobby. That was the best thing you could have done."

Danny stood as well, nodding. "I know. I just felt so stupid when Louie told me to beat it. If I'm not there to get him out of trouble, what'll happen to him?" He walked over to the window and placed his head against the glass, sighing as the cool pane made contact with his heated flesh.

"It's not your fault, Danny. Louie's in over his head is all. He'll figure a way out of it, he always does." Allie gently put her hand on his arm, feeling his muscles tense beneath his t-shirt.

Danny looked at her helplessly. "Yeah, but I can't help but thinkin' somethin' bad could happen to him if I'm not there."

"Danny, somethin' bad could happen to you if you are there." Allie shook her head and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I don't know what I'd do if you got in trouble because of this."

He smirked and pulled back slightly so he could see her face. "Well, I won't now, thanks to Louie. I'm not good enough to keep him from doin' somethin' stupid!"

Allie rolled her eyes. "I'm allergic to bullshit, Danny. Keep that up and I might not make it through the night."

His eyebrows shot up as he realized what she had said and she bit her lip, catching it as well. "I mean, umm…well, shit."

He cracked an amused smile. "So is that what you had in mind?" He chuckled, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, like a child. "You're somethin' else, Al, let me tell ya."

She hit his shoulder playfully, pouting. "I just meant that I wouldn't stay to help you get over your heartache. I can leave, if you'd like." She turned to go, smiling when Danny grabbed her arm, holding her back. "No, don't leave! I'm sorry Al, really."

She turned to him, smirking. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She moved closer to him brushing her fingers against his chest. "You're still full of it, though," she informed him quietly, like it was a big secret only to be known to the two of them. He smiled and leaned down to press a gentle kiss against her lips. She leaned forward, strengthening the kiss a bit more, tangling her fingers in his hair. Danny groaned and his arms moved around her waist, holding her more firmly to him.

Without warning, the electricity in the air exploded in a flash of passion and Allie couldn't detach herself from his lips. Her hands snuck down to the hem of his white t-shirt and pulled it up over his head, a muffled yelp not quite escaping her vocal chords as he hungrily sought her lips again.

She didn't know when it happened, but she was spiraling towards out-of-control, and she liked it.

"Danny… oh, God," Allie couldn't keep herself from blaspheming as he clung to her body tighter, hands wrapping behind her neck for leverage as his lips explored hers. So much for just taking his mind off of his anger: she wanted him now in more ways than she had ever imagined possible.

"Jesus, Al… if this isn't what you had in mind when you came over here, tell me now, 'cause I can't hold back much longer." Danny's blue eyes darkened and burned with a fervor that scared him. He moved his mouth over hers, slipping his tongue between her lips, asking for permission. She gave it willingly, and he could feel his breath getting shorter as their tongues touched lightly. Allie's hands tangled in his brown hair as she whimpered. "You're not allowed to stop, Messer," she mumbled against him, hazel eyes daring him to defy her. He groaned and ran his own hands down her sides, brushing her breasts in the process. Allie shivered and enfolded him in her arms, pulling him to his bed. "Are your parents home?" she asked, breathless as the pair of them fell back on the bed, his body snugly covering hers. Danny shook his head no, closing the space between them with another kiss. He pushed her arms above her head with one hand, grasping the hem of her shirt with the other. A single look from her and he used both hands to deftly pull the shirt up and over her head, leaving nothing but her bra.

Allie could feel the blush clear down to her toes. His clear eyes roamed over her body and she grew apprehensive at his silence. "You must be used to the anorexic types," she joked, trying to lighten his serious mood.

"Shut up," he muttered, kissing her neck and moving down to her collarbone. Her breath caught in her chest and she gripped the sheets beneath her, trying hard not to grab his head and force it up to her mouth. She bit her lip as he slid the straps of her bra down her arms and she could feel the roughness of his fingers against her skin. She shivered, loving the feeling. "You baseball players and your calluses," she whispered, catching her breath when he looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. "It's from grippin' the bat," he informed her, pulling Allie up so she was sitting in his lap. "We concentrate so hard," he reached behind her and unlatched the clasp of her bra with ease, "that the bat leaves blisters on our hands," the piece of clothing fell free from her body and he momentarily forgot to speak. Her hands on his face brought his eyes to hers and she smiled. "And makes our hands rough," he finished breathlessly, kissing her gently as his hands found her breasts and cupped them, squeezing lightly. Allie gasped in his mouth and her nails dug into his bare shoulders, leaving crescent-shaped abrasions that would surely bruise. Danny returned the favor by squeezing harder, and Allie could feel his arousal against her thigh. "Danny…I need…"

He mumbled something incoherent into her shoulder and began fumbling with the snap on his jeans, desperate to relieve the pressure. She moved her hands to her own shorts, lying back so she could easily slip them off her knees and throw them onto the floor. She proceeded to smile as she watched Danny struggle with the snap and zipper of his jeans, combined with the sight of her nearly naked on his bed. Finally, the obstruction gave way and he shucked the offending clothing item onto the floor. Agonizing in the sight of her, he kneeled on the bed and wrapped his fingers in her panties, pulling them down slowly. Allie simply forgot to breathe when the underwear came off and she bit her lip, trying her hardest not to cover her body. "For God's sake, Danny, say something."

He looked up at her, eyes wide and innocent. That is the last thing I ever thought I would call Danny Messer: innocent. "What do you want me to say?" He crawled up her body slowly, trailing a finger over her thigh, gently brushing her curls, up her stomach, between her breasts, to come to a stop in the hollow of her throat. "You're amazin'. I don't really have words for that."

She rolled her eyes, licking her lips. "Not what I had in mind, Casanova, but it'll do."

"I try." Danny grinned down at her and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "You know, I'm waitin'."

Allie was confused for all of three seconds before she realized what he meant. She stretched with her arms over her head, biting the inside of her cheek like she couldn't be bothered to give him the time of day. "You're a big boy, Messer. Undress yourself."

He chuckled and leaned down by her ear. "Yes, but wouldn't you like to see just how big?" He pulled back to see her eyes wide with disbelief and felt a rush of pride and satisfaction when Allie took his boxers off in record time. He hadn't really known what she had meant with the whole "anorexic" thing, but he knew that her body wasn't disappointing in the slightest; he was also confident that his own person wasn't all that bad either. It's the baseball that makes her stare like that. That, and workin' for my uncle all summer. "Like what you see?" He grinned cockily as her eyes reluctantly left everything south of his shoulders and traveled across his face to meet delicious cobalt pools that had darkened over the passing minutes.

"Shut up," she muttered, suddenly self-conscious. She took a deep breath. "Danny…"

He silenced her with a strong kiss, wrapping his fingers in her auburn locks. "Just tell me if you don't want to do this," he whispered, sincerity and honesty in every syllable. Allie's hands reached up to trace his face gently. "I want to do this. With you," she whispered back, feeling her face burn with embarrassment and exhilaration. God, if I ever live through this, please, let me think of better, less corny, statements.

Danny nodded and gently pushed her back so she was looking up at him. Allie bit her lip and he felt his insides twist with desire. He positioned himself above her on strong arms, watching her eyes for signs of reluctance. "Al? You ready?" He licked his lips in anticipation. All he need now was a yes.

Her hands running up and down his biceps, Allie didn't have to think twice. "God, Danny. Would you quit askin' already?" she murmured, holding her breath, waiting. He didn't need any more coaxing and slid into her slowly, understanding the moment of pain that would accompany that first time. Allie wouldn't shut her eyes against the agony. Instead, she allowed herself to become lost in the cerulean pools above her, biting back a cry as tears sprang to her eyes. Danny noticed the tears and leaned down to kiss her eyelids slowly. "It'll be over soon," she reassured him, digging her nails into his back as that time came and an immense wave of pleasure overpowered the pain.

For his part, Danny reveled in the feel of her wrapped around him. Though he was not a stranger to women, he was new to this feeling as much as she was, and the sensation alone took his breath away; to know it was Allie beneath him simply increased the intensity of the moment. He kissed her lips softly, deepening the kiss when he felt her hands tugging his hair, pulling him closer. "God, Al," he moaned into her mouth, arms trembling from holding back. It physically hurt him to not give her immediate happiness, and Allie could feel the ache in the way his whole body tensed until he was sure she was ready. "Don't hold out on me," she smirked into his ear and he groaned, beginning to move.

Their heartbeats quickened simultaneously, and she grasped his shoulders, desperate to keep as much contact as possible. He kissed a line from her lips, down her chin and neck, across her collarbone, before finally taking a nipple in his mouth, gently biting. Allie twisted below him, letting out a whimper of pleasure. Danny growled back, moving to the other breast and her eyes closed while her back arched, her hips meeting his. Her ankles reached around him to lock in the small of his back, deepening the contact between them. Danny buried himself in her to his hilt before pulling out slowly and pushing in again in a tantalizingly unhurried manner

Allie could feel her climax building in her belly and she knew she wasn't going to last much longer. But something inside told her that there was something she could do to make Danny get the most out of this as possible. Summoning what little power she had left, she pushed against his chest just enough to get him to lose his balance and roll over so she was on top. Panting, she straddled his hips, watching him. Danny's eyes were half-closed with lust and love combined and she twined her fingers with his, holding his hands to the bed. "Let's see how you work on your back, hmm?" Her suggestion was met with a smirk and he drove up into her, making her head fall back with a momentary loss of breath.

"I told you, Al, I aim to please. No matter the position." Truth be told, Danny was losing himself in the sight of her. He had always inadvertently known that Allie was going to be his first. His hands snaked up around her hips, across her ribs, to gently cup her breasts, fingers toying with her nipples. "Let me know if I'm not hittin' my mark," he growled, grinning when Allie shivered from the low sound of his voice. "Jesus…Danny…that's…not…fair," her breath came in short gasps and he grunted his consent.

She found herself on her back and him thrusting strongly into her. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she discovered that he hadn't pulled his fingers from hers. He dropped his head to her neck, breathing in the smell of her usual scent of vanilla combined with love-induced sweat. "Better?" he asked, unable to say much more. She dragged her nails across his back and down his arms in reply. He shivered and bit her skin softly, feeling her tense around him. "Come for me," he whispered into her ear and Allie obliged, feeling the heat seep out of her soul and surround the pair of them. "God, Danny…" she whimpered, her nails digging into his shoulders. He thrust a few more times, prolonging her happiness before he felt himself start to give way. "Allie…I think…I'm…gonna…" He let out a low groan before letting go himself and his arms shook with the strength of his climax. She pulled his lips to hers to kiss him gently and he kissed back, reaching behind them to pull up the blanket that lay discarded on the end of the bed. He collapsed next to her, face down, struggling to catch his breath.

Danny slowly raised his head to watch her just as Allie tilted hers to the left to look at him. Blue eyes locked with honeyed hazel and they both smiled. He reached over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. Allie was too tired, too satisfied, and too happy to mind and she nuzzled into his chest, stroking his hair softly. She understood that at that moment, the pair of them had broken major boundaries; vulnerability wasn't something they had been taught how to show easily, and she had never felt more fragile, or seen him so exposed. Literally and metaphorically. She chuckled to herself at her own cleverness.

"Allie." His voice came softly and she realized she had been drifting off.

"Hmm?"

Danny bit his lip, considering. If he told her what he was thinking, this could be it. Or it could be the beginning of something amazing. I've never felt like this before. He took a deep breath and plunged into the emotion that was raging through his body, which threatened to take over his every thought and seep into every pore of his body.

"I love you."

Her eyes flew open and all notions of sleep disappeared. Danny was looking at the ceiling, and she had to touch his cheek to get him to move his eyes to her. In those eyes, clear pools of crystalline blue that had gotten brighter, if that was even possible, Allie could see his uncertainty at his confession, but confidence in his feelings. Danny didn't say something unless he truly felt it, and though he would never admit it, she knew he felt a lot. But this was a different confession than any she had ever heard fall from his lips, and if the warmth in her stomach meant anything, she could be guilty of the same.

"Tá mé chomh mór sin i ngrá leat," she whispered, stroking his cheek and chin softly. His eyes sparkled and he shook his head. "You're gonna have to say that again, in English. I don't speak Gaelic."

Allie giggled and pulled him to her, resting her mouth just below his ear. "Now you know how I feel, Italian." She could feel him shake with laughter below her and she kissed his earlobe gently. "I said, I love you too."

Danny stiffened and held his breath until he could see her eyes again. She smiled shyly and he couldn't contain his grin. Twining his legs with hers, he held her in his arms, beaming as she fell asleep. Danny held her, not being able to drift off for many minutes, content with watching her.

It struck him, while making the journey to dreamland, that for the first time in a long time, he was completely, totally, inexplicably happy.

You got a fast car

But is it fast enough so you can fly away

You gotta make a decision

You leave tonight or live and die this way

---

Reviews? Please?

Lyrics: Fast Car by Tracy Chapman