Thanks for reading and reviewing or if you have just read hope you are enjoying the story.
This chapter is a bit longer its one of my favourites hope you enjoy. Still don't own Danny or any of the characters and no money made from this. Here goes!
CHAPTER FIVE
The boys can't wait for the weekend to arrive so they can see their Grandpa John and hope he brings them lots of presents. Although Jack is still grounded, Danny has told him as this is a special occasion he can go out with his Grandfather. The boys sit looking out of the window waiting for the car to pull up, trying to guess what gifts their Grandfather will bring them, talking in hushed voices so Danny and Linda don't overhear and extend the length of time Jack is grounded and add Sean to the list.
After what seems like an eternity, a dark car pulls up outside the house. Jack shouts to advise his mom their visitor has arrived and Danny gives Linda a kiss on the cheek as she nervously goes to meet her father. As he goes to the trunk of the car to get gifts out for the boys, Linda is alarmed to see a woman sitting in the front passenger seat. Linda has looked forward to seeing her father but she wasn't ready to meet her mother let alone have her see the boys.
As panic descended on Linda, her father approached her and hugged her to him. "I brought her now because she needs to see for herself how wrong she was and what she is missing out on."
Danny who is looking out of the window can see Angela sitting in the passenger seat and trying not to let the boys see how much he dislikes Linda's mom, makes his way outside to offer Linda support. "John, good to see you again," Danny says shaking John by the hand. "Please come inside, the boys are about to pop if you don't go in and see them soon," he laughs, trying to keep the mood light as Angela steps from the car and surveys the area around her daughters house with disdain. Linda stays stuck to the spot not knowing what her mother's reaction will be to her daughter's home and more importantly, to her family.
John turns to his wife and shouts "Come on in, you're letting all the heat out of the house," forcing Angela to make her way up the driveway to greet Linda. "Hey mom," Linda forces herself to say. "Thank you for coming over." Without making eye contact with Linda, her mother walks to the door. "This was your fathers doing darling, I don't really see the point in racking up old wounds do you? But he wants to see your children so here we are. What are their names again, your father told me but I have forgotten…" Linda is about to call the whole visit off when Jack comes to the door. "Hey Grandma, my name is Jack would you like to come inside?" he says sweetly. "Thank you Jack that would be nice," she says, stepping past Danny as if he wasn't even there.
Linda brushed past everyone and into the kitchen, not wanting the boys to see how upset she was. Danny heads in behind her and puts his arms on her shoulders. Linda lets out two sobs before Danny holds her to him. "Why does she have to be so horrible?" Linda says, burying her head into Danny's shoulder. Before Danny can speak Angela is standing in the kitchen. "I'd like a word with my daughter alone please," she instructs Danny. "Hey lady you're in my house now and I ain't seventeen anymore. You don't get to tell me what you will and wont do, if you got something to say lets hear it, then make up some excuse and get the hell out of my house," Danny told her, almost ready to physically remove her from his home.
Linda places an arm on Danny and quietly asks him to give her a moment with her mother. Once Danny had gone into the yard with the boys and John, Linda asked, "So why did you come over if you weren't even going to make an effort with my boys. What is it I did that was so wrong you would miss out on seeing your own grandchildren?"
Angela looked around the small kitchen and said, "I wanted you to have better than this. I wanted a husband that wasn't going to have you live your life in fear he would be shot or beaten to death every time he went to work. I wanted you to have security, a husband of good standing in the community, a nice house in a good neighbourhood, have a garden for your children to play in. Instead you chose this and I'm meant to be happy? He is a cop for Gods sake Linda, and from what I've heard, one that doesn't always keep within the rules."
"That's enough mother!" Linda yells. "You would sooner me be unhappy, married to a wife beater like Alan than have a husband I love, who loves me and would do anything for me, provides for me and our wonderful children. Mother, Danny is worth ten of any man I know and the fact you would rather me be involved with someone you know would knock me around after having a few beers… my God mother, what kind of a life would that have been? I chose to marry Danny because from the first moment I set eyes on him, I knew he was the one, that hasn't changed in fifteen years of marriage. I'm proud my husband is a cop. It's a worry, that goes without saying, but I would sooner sit at home every night worrying if my Danny is coming home safe to me, than wait in fear for a wife beater to walk through the door not knowing if tonight was the night he beats me to death."
Danny had heard every word Linda said and wasn't prepared to listen any longer. "Angela," he said as he walked through the door. "Your time line just expired. I don't even care anymore that you don't think I am good enough for your daughter. I know I have been a good husband and I love my wife and kids more than life itself, so do yourself a favour and don't give me the chance to show you if those rumours you heard about me are true."
Danny opens the door leading to the lounge and gestures for her to leave. John steps in from the yard and gives his wife a twenty dollar bill. "You will need this for a cab. I am staying here to spend some time with my wonderful daughter and her family, if you will permit it that is Danny?" Danny nods to John. " I have missed all those years of taking them out, seeing them grow and for what, because I was to scared to stand up to my own wife? Well no more Angela, it stops now. I will be home in a few days, gives you time to have my stuff packed. I have a friend I met at the school. She is a very kind loving lady, everything you are not. I will be staying with her a while. Goodbye Angela," John says as he walks back out to his grandchildren and Angela looks on in disbelief while Danny holds the door open and coughs, trying not to laugh out loud. "Erm, I think that is your cue to leave Angela," Danny says.
After Angela has gone, Danny grabs hold of Linda and hugs her to him. "I'm glad you take after your pop," he laughs, and Linda just holds him, still physically shaken by what had gone on. "I've got to hand it to your old man though, getting himself a new lady friend, good on him," Danny smiles. His smile soon fades as he looks at Linda who looked totally crushed. "Hey come on babe, you did all you could. Sometimes you just have to walk away." "Danny, she is my mother, she brought me into the world, how would you feel if it were your mother?" Linda crosses herself as she speaks about Danny's late mother. "Could you ever imagine your mom treating a dog like my mother has just treated us?"
Danny puts his head down and wait's a few moments before speaking. "Thanks by the way, for what you said about me. Glad you still feel that way after all this time," Danny says, his head still bowed not knowing what else he can do for Linda.
That night, Danny tried his best to shake off what he heard Linda say to her mother but he couldn't. After they had put the boys to bed, Linda asked him what was wrong, she could read Danny like a book and knew something was playing on his mind.
"What's up Danny, you pull a bad case at work, you have been quiet all night?" Linda asked. She had always tried to be there for Danny, letting him off load any troubles he may have onto her, as she always worried if he was stressed he wouldn't have his mind on the job when he was out on the street and she would do anything to help keep him safe. Danny not wanting to bring Linda's past up tried to brush it off. "Nah honey, it's just the events of today and being over tired just caught up on me I guess." Linda knew he wasn't telling her what was really wrong but decided to wait till later to bring the matter up again.
Later as they lay in bed, Danny seemed to be a million miles away. Linda leaned up so she was facing him and said as she stroked his chest. "Talk to me Danny, what's really on your mind?" Danny looked away, confirming to Linda something was troubling him. She pulled his face to her gently and kissed him soft on the lips. "Danny, what is troubling you honey?"
Danny looked up and gave a small cough to clear his throat. "It was just when you were talking to your mom and you said about that guy she wanted you to marry, you said about how he was a wife beater and it just made me go cold." Danny pauses for a moment almost too scared to ask the question that was burning in his mind. Linda kissed Danny again and whispered, "Don't worry, I wasn't speaking from personal experience."
The relief that over took Danny's whole body was visible to see, and he just held Linda in his arms without saying a word. After a few moments Linda cupped Danny's face in her hands and kissed him full on the lips before starting to speak. "I was only sixteen when I first started dating Alan, wasn't even really dating him he just used to take me the movies. Was more his mom's doing than his I think. We would spend Sunday's at each others houses, I had known him all my life. Then one Saturday night about three weeks before I met you he took me to see some school band play, probably because it was free to watch, anyway some of the older guys had liquor so Alan decided to try some even though he didn't drink. That night he tried to take things further than a goodnight kiss at the porch door. I told him no and tried to push him away but he pinned me against the wall." Danny's face went white and Linda could feel his body tighten as she continued to talk. "It's ok Danny I swear he didn't harm me, he just had his hands all over me he was so creepy. I managed to somehow lift my knee up and kick him and as he fell to the floor I managed to run away. I ran into my house and made sure I was never alone with him again. Then I met you and the rest is history."
Danny sat up in bed and rubbed a hand over his face. "You should have told me, I would have gone round and bust his head off every Godamn wall in the street." Linda placed her head underneath Danny's chin. "I figured as much and that is why I didn't say anything, I wouldn't have wanted you to get into trouble over an idiot like him." "Did you ever see him again after we got together?" Danny asked. Linda sat up and thought for a moment. "It was funny, his mom stopped talking to us after I met you. That's why my mom didn't like you. They had both been set on making us two kids an item that after I made it clear I was not going to stop dating you, they never bothered with us anymore. Then an old school pal started dating him and when Jack was small I heard through another friend that she married Alan but he would often beat her when he came home drunk. She is still with him, has a couple of kids but she lives in fear of him, Cheryl my friend told me. She still keeps in touch with Jan though I haven't spoken to her for years since the boys were small and I used to visit my parents house."
Danny was so relived that nothing happened to Linda. He had done many things in his time, had used violence in trying to nail a case far more times than any cop should, but never once had he raised a hand to a woman. It was alien to him how a man could use his fists against his own wife, the mother of his children. Danny shuddered as he tried to push those thoughts from his mind. He had enough bad thoughts to keep him awake at night, he didn't need to go looking for anymore. He hugged Linda tight to him, just glad of the life they had and, as he drifted off too sleep in her arms, that is what he tried to focus on.