008: Dinner for Two

Danny had selected a small Italian restaurant not too far from the office. He assured Angela that they had a very fine menu selection, and he wasn't wrong.

Angela's heart was beating out of her chest. She couldn't believe where she was and who she was with. But she was also terrified that she would be completely awkward around him.

However, as it turned out, she and Danny had a rather nice dinner. The conversation never got too entirely awkward, and it seemed as though he was genuinely enjoying himself. She hadn't seen Danny laugh in a long time, and it sent shivers up her spine whenever he did.

It was official, and she wasn't going to deny herself any longer: She liked him. She liked him a lot.

Danny paid the bill even after must protest from Angela, and the two left the warmth of the restaurant for the outside chill.

"Do you want me to call a cab?" he asked after they had walked in silence for a few moments.

"Oh, no, that's alright. My apartment's not far from here. Just a block or two."

"You think you can stand the cold for that long?" he teased.

"I can do it," she grinned.

The two walked along the sidewalk in comfortable silence. Their warm breath rose in the air. Angela was convinced that Danny was purposely blowing out warm air just to watch it.

It was absolutely freezing outside, but she would have walked for all hours of the night just to be with Danny. They walked close together, as if they were trying to keep warm, but not close enough to cause any questions in their friendship. Every now and then, Angela would feel his arm brush up against hers, and she found that she was walking slightly closer to him to make sure that it happened often enough.

"Remember when you asked me why I wasn't a lawyer?" Danny asked in a soft voice, breaking the silence.

"Danny…" Angela said quietly.

"Do you?"

"Yes, but I didn't mean it—"

"I used to be an alcoholic."

"You—what?"

"For a long time. It completely ruined me. It almost killed me." Danny was silent for a moment as their steps slowed. Angela's was shivering but not just because it was cold. "I told everyone that I just didn't pass the BAR exam. But the truth was that I never took it. I was drunk. I was a mess."

Angela didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She knew that this was his way of opening up to her. She wanted to let him finish.

"My father, he was a drunk too. A bastard," Danny said bitterly. "Both of my parents died when I was young. My brother, Rafael, he was supposed to look after me after that. But… he fell into the wrong side. Drugs. More alcohol. He was in and out of jail so many times, I've lost count. But I managed to turn my life around. It was almost a fluke that I ended up in the FBI, but when Jack got a hold of me… he didn't let go. And so. Here I am."

He looked briefly over at Angela who was afraid to look at him. Danny had had so much pain in his life, she was now not surprised about what Martin had said about Danny putting distance between himself and others.

"I've been sober for ten years, one month, and twenty-two days," he said quietly.

Silence fell over the pair again. Angela felt as though she should say something, but she had no idea what. She was barely conscious that Danny's arm was now right beside hers, rubbing against hers as they continued to walk.

She wanted so desperately to turn and just fling her arms around him and to never let go. She didn't want to let anything hurt him.

Danny's arm left her side and reached up to his face, and Angela knew that he was having a small breakdown of his own. She placed a hand on his arm and stopped him. He didn't look at her, but at the ground instead.

"Danny…" Angela said softly, feeling tears of her own coming on. She stood in front of him as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. Very cautiously, she lifted her hand to his shoulder.

At her touch, Danny's eyes met hers. It looked as if he wanted break his gaze, but he couldn't. He looked broken, sad, and alone. Unable to restrain herself any longer, Angela's arms pulled Danny's broken form towards her body, one around his neck and one around his waist.

His controlled tears finally were released slowly, and his arms hung loosely on her body. He buried his face into her neck, and she could feel his evening stubble on her skin. Danny's breakdown was no where near as violent or as out of control as Angela's had been, but he still needed someone to hold him all the same.

It wasn't for a few minutes that Angela realized that they were standing right outside of her apartment building. It was pretty late now, and the temperature was dropping by the second, although standing next to Danny, it didn't seem cold at all.

"You should probably get home," Danny whispered gently as he pulled back from her hold.

"Probably," she agreed softly. "This is my building."

He just nodded and stepped back from her, letting her arms drop from around his body. Angela thought that he was probably feeling vulnerable at that moment, and might even be embarrassed for breaking down like that.

"I'll see you Monday, Danny," Angela said quietly. Before she could stop herself, she took a step towards him and leaned up and kissed him gently on the cheek. She lingered next to his face probably longer than she should have, but she stepped back before she let anything else happen. "Take care."

Danny nodded again and watched her walk up the steps and into her building. As Angela climbed the stairs up to her floor, she couldn't help but wonder what this meant for their continually changing relationship.

A/N: Well, hello again, all. :) Hope you've all had a marvelous week and now a marvelous weekend.

Hoorah for a first "date" for Angela and Danny! What's gonna happen between the two of them?! Gosh, those two are so stubborn when it comes to admitting their feelings, hmm?

In chapters to come some teasing from our favorite match-maker Martin and possibly a second dinner?

We'll see on Tuesday!

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Laura