Mike Danko rolled over in bed reaching out to wrap his arms around his wife, but found himself hugging a pillow. Opening his eyes, he looked around the room and found he was alone. He glanced at the clock beside him. It was barely six. He climbed out of bed and wandered through the house. He was just about to panic when he saw her in the backyard. He pushed open the sliding glass doors and walked to her. She was sitting on top of the wooden picnic table that Eddie had built for them; built for her, years ago. She sat on the table her feet on the bench. He sat down beside her.
"Good morning." He said.
"Good morning." She smiled at him and he slid an arm around her shoulders.
"What are you doing up so early?" He asked.
"Couldn't sleep." She said quietly, resting her head against his shoulder. "Yesterday was really wonderful." She looked up into his eyes.
"It was." He agreed. "Course every day is better with you." She looked away, blushing.
"I can't wait until you get really mad at me again." She said laughing.
"What do you mean?"
"If you can get mad at me again, then I'll know I'm really alright." She explained.
"I'm starting to get a little irritated with you right now." He told her, but kissed her cheek. "Why couldn't you sleep? Bad dreams?"
"Not really." She said softly. "It's kind of strange that we got good news this week." She looked up at Mike.
"I know." His response was terse and she could feel his muscles tighten with stress. "Two years." He sighed.
"It's hard not to think about it." She said sadly. "I bet if we'd have worked at it a little longer, we would have convinced them to move back here by now. Julie was wavering."
"He talked about it. The last time we talked; the day before he . . ." He looked off in the distance remembering the conversation. "Said she'd be willing to move if he took a job at the Academy, like Terry."
"Turns out So Cal hasn't got the exclusive rights to danger." She sighed. "I'm not gonna lie to you Michael," She confessed, "These last two years have really been horrible."
"No argument here, Jillian." He agreed.
His mind travelled backwards. It was two years ago today that she'd got the phone call and driven to the station to tell him, Lizzie sleeping in her arms. The contrast between their youngest's peaceful face, and Jill's terror filled eyes so striking that it was forever burned into his memory. And then the next two weeks filled with utter chaos - that horrible flight, those four days at the hospital, Terry's anguish trying to choose between Beth, who was nine months pregnant at the time, and his best friend. Jill broken-hearted and finally agreeing to leave so that Terry could come and say goodbye, and somewhere in the middle of it all the birth of Jennifer Grace Webster.
Jill reached out with gentle fingers and traced his cheekbone. "I'm sorry, Mike. I should be really happy. Things are looking up. I don't know why I'm so . . ." She let a sigh. "He was such a good guy."
"He had the worst crush on you." Mike said grinning at her. "And he would've been here, the very first second we told him you were sick."
"He would've held your hand." She said trying to smile up at him.
"He would've held your hand, Baby." He pulled her close and rested his head on top of hers. "You are right, Babe, the last two years have been pretty shitty."
"Michael!" She said but mostly out of habit. "I guess you are right though. That pretty much sums it up."
"Well, better days are ahead, Baby. I swear it!"
"I feel like we should do something to mark this as the start of better days - plant a tree or adopt a village in Ethiopia or something." She said.
"Oh!" He jumped down from the table. "Wait here, Baby." He disappeared in the house and emerged a few minutes later carrying a tray that held two glasses and a champagne bottle.
"Wow! It's a little early, Mike." She laughed.
"A little late is more like it." He said. He poured two glasses, handing her one.
"That's what we drank at our wedding!" She exclaimed surprised.
"A gift from my Dad." He told her. "He gave me three bottles: one for our fiftieth, one for when Lizzie leaves home and one for today."
"Our fiftieth," She grinned. "I like the sound of that."
He leaned forward kissing her. "Me too."
He lifted his glass to her and said, "To my beautiful bride - the sweetest, strongest, most beautiful girl to ever take a breath. You are the sun, moon and stars, Baby, and we've got nothing but better days ahead. I love you, Babe. You are the best thing that ever happened to me."
Rendered speechless, she lifted her glass to his and wrapping her arm 'round his, they took a sip just as they had nearly seventeen years before.
She set her glass down and snuggled against him, her head resting against his broad chest.
"You always talk like you're the lucky one." She said. "But I'm the luckiest woman on earth - especially when I think of Megan or Julie. And we were lucky, Mike. Some people fight for years and years and still never have a test come back clear."
"I know darlin'." He kissed the top of her head enjoying the feeling of the soft strands of hair that covered it. "Now, that it's behind us,I've got a confession to make."
"What?"
"I really did miss your hair. I've always loved your hair."
"We'll, it looks to be black this time around and maybe a little grey in spots."
"I don't care what color it is. You are beautiful, Jill, and don't act like you don't know it. You've got a fine body - you always have. And the only reason I don't carry you back inside right now is that there are three little girls about to wake up." He kissed her.
"You are a crazy man, you know that." Jill shook her head.
"Crazy 'bout you." He said taking another sip of champagne. "Plus this champagne is the first thing I've had today so I might have a little buzz right now." He laughed.
"I better fix you breakfast then, you are actually working today." She rose and stretched and turned to go inside the house. "Come on, Danko, back to real life." She held out her hand and taking it he followed her inside.
"Remember that time, Willie managed to lock himself inside the pool shed? He was trying to hide from that one crazy girl who kept following him around - she lived in apartment seven, I think. He was missing for three hours - remember?"
"That wasn't funny, Mike. You talked me into letting you make out with me in broad daylight at that pool, and the whole time Willie was trapped in that shed just ten feet away. . . " She blushed at the memory. "That'll teach me to listen to you." She led him into the kitchen and began pulling things out of the refrigerator.
"God! Your face when I opened that door and he came out!" Mike laughed at the memory. "I've never seen your face that red."
"Why are you laughing, Daddy?" Amy said walking into the kitchen rubbing her eyes.
"Because he isn't very nice. Morning sweetie."
"Morning Mommy. Can we go back to the beach today?" Amy asked sitting at the table.
"Not today. Daddy has to work, and you've got school."
"Oh, man. School?" Amy whined.
"Just two more weeks." Her father said kissing her on the forehead.
"Can we have pancakes?" Kate asked coming into the room.
"Not today, Baby." Jill said.
"What was Daddy laughing about?" Kate asked. "It woke me up."
"He was telling a story about Uncle Willie." Jill said with a raised eyebrow.
"Tell me!" Kate asked.
"Well, this one time, Uncle Willie decided to be sweet to Mama and fix her a dinner all himself. But the thing is, Uncle Willie was not a good cook. But your Mama is sweet as they come, and she ate every single thing he cooked for her. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. I'll tell you, not one bit of it tasted good. After she was finished, Willie confessed that he knew it tasted bad, but was so impressed with Mommy's ability to eat his terrible food and smile, that he didn't stop her."
"Is that true, Mommy?" Amy asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is. And it tasted really, really terrible. Daddy wasn't exaggerating. Now, you two go get dressed and by the time you are these pancakes should be ready." Jill told them with a grin. "You should get in the shower, Mike, you're never gonna make it."
Mike rose and wrapped his arms around her, as she stood at the stove. "I like you being bossy first thing in the morning."
"I like feeling good enough to boss you." She said. "Now, go on."
***R***
"Look who dragged himself into work today." Chris leaned against the bank of lockers as Mike changed clothes.
"Every now and again I show up. It makes the people happy."
"How's Jill?"
"Excellent." He grinned.
"Geez, Danko, give it a rest already!"
"You asked, pal." Mike shook his head. "Who you riding with today?"
"Banks. See what happens when you aren't around to run things. He's gonna talk about his dogs all day - all day, Mike."
"You are a man serving the people." Mike grinned at him.
"Don't gloat just 'cause you get sit here all day."
"I'm not."
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"Monroe and Pauly are on vacation, and Dirk and Biggs are both out with the flu. We're short staffed. So, I'm hitting the mean streets."
"Does Jill know?" Chris' eyes widened in surprise.
"It just happened." Mike said.
"Today? You are going out on the streets today? You better tell her after the fact."
"You remember?" Mike was surprised. Chris had never met Willie - just spent his life under his shadow.
"Yeah, man. It kind of stuck out - everyone looking like they'd been sliced in half and all." He rubbed his chin. "You riding alone?"
"Perks of being the boss." Mike said with a smile. He rose from the bench. "Come on, time for roll call."
***R***
He stopped by the house at lunch not thinking about the fact that he was pulling up in a patrol car.
"Why are you driving that?" She asked.
"Oh, it . . ." He realized that Chris was right. She wouldn't like that he was on the streets today. "It is kind of complicated. You wanna go out? I'll take you out." He tried to distract her.
"Michael are you working patrol today?" She asked. "Did you get demoted because I was . . ."
"No, Baby! Don't be ridiculous! They wouldn't do that! They know you were sick. We were just short staffed, that's all. And, so, I had to . . ." He shifted uncomfortably under her stern gaze. "Look, Baby, it is no big deal. I just got to work the streets today. I'll probably get home early for once."
"Today?" She asked again. "And you didn't tell me."
"I didn't know until I got to work. I wasn't in at all last week, remember?" She had turned and walked down the hall and away from him. He followed her and found her sitting on the bench at the end of their bed.
"Mike . . ."
"Listen, Jill, you are just stressed out because of the date, that's all. It's just fear. How many patrols have I worked in the last sixteen years? How many? And I always come back home."
"You've been shot twice, Michael. Reflecting on your career isn't going to keep me calm." She looked up at him, and then sighed. "Look, I know I'm being paranoid. I know it is just fear."
"Babe, look . . ."
"No, I'm sorry. You are right." She rose slowly. "You must be hungry. Come on." Sighing she glanced back at him from the doorway.
"Actually, I'm not that hungry." He said still sitting at the end of their bed.
"No?" She asked.
"Uh uh, but I got an hour off, and I was thinking maybe we could spend it kissing." He grinned at her.
"You think that smile's gonna fix everything, don't you, Danko?"
"Well, not all by itself. I got some other stuff planned." He winked at her. "Come on, Mrs. Danko, be mad at me later." He crossed to where she stood, and pulled her close to him. "Please?"
"You better bring home ice cream." She said relenting and relaxing in his embrace.
"Anything you want, Baby." He said kissing her.
***R***
Standing at the door, watching Mike pull away in the police cruiser, Jill was filled with a strange sense of dread. She reminded herself that it was just the date that she was really upset over - not his being on patrol. He was right. He'd been on patrol hundreds and hundreds of days and come home safe - hell, he'd served two tours in Vietnam and still manage to find his way back to her. She turned from the door willing herself to settle down. She was turning to start the laundry when the phone rang which completely unhinged her; remembering a horrible phone call from two years ago.
"Hello." She tried to keep her voice steady.
"Jill?" She sighed hearing the familiar sound of Beth Webster's voice.
"Beth!"
"You okay? I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?"
"No, I was just . . .nothing. I'm sorry." Jill stuttered.
"I'm sorry to bother you. It's just that Jenny has a fever and I can't seem to get it to go down. I gave her Tylenol but it hasn't gotten better. She's just miserable." Beth said anxiously.
"I can come over and look at her if you want." Jill said calmly.
"Oh, could you? I'm sorry. I just hate hauling her into Dr. Roberts if I can help it. Is it okay for you to be around her? I don't want you getting sick."
"I'll wear a mask." Jill said. "I'll be right over, okay, Beth?"
"Thanks!" She hung up the phone and grabbed her purse. She had only just started driving again. Mike still wouldn't let her drive at night. It irritated the hell out of her that he was being so controlling. She knew a fight was brewing over the issue but for now she let it go.
By the time, she'd helped with Jenny and visited with Beth, it was time to get Lizzie from school. She was relieved that Jenny had picked today to be so sick, since it kept her fairly distracted. She picked Lizzie up from kindergarten and drove home.
"Mama, can we go to the park?" Lizzie asked.
"No, honey. You can play out back. Mommy hasn't got anything done today."
She was standing in the kitchen watching Lizzie play on the swings when the doorbell rang. She turned from where she'd been folding laundry and went to the door. Even before she swung it open, she could see the blue cars in front of the house, and even before Eddie Ryker opened his mouth to speak, she knew what he would say.
"Mike?" She whispered.
"Honey, let's go inside, okay?" Eddie said calmly. He stepped inside the house, putting an arm around her shoulders, while Terry Webster held her up from the other side.
"Come on, Jill." Terry said. "Let's sit down."
"Something happened?" She asked sitting on the couch and looking up at the two men.
"Yeah," Terry said kneeling in front of her. "Yeah, baby, I'm sorry. Something happened."