Author's Note & Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Bloods or any of its characters. All rights belong to CBS.

Chapter 16

The kiss was soft, surprising yet it felt so familiar. The tightness in his chest is gone but his heart is racing now with excitement.

They both pull away from the kiss to stare at each other for a moment. He can tell Maria is about to say something but whatever it is can wait because he needs to kiss her again. Danny takes Maria's face in his hands and kisses her again, firmer this time. Maria wraps an arm around him, sliding her hand up to his neck and into his hair.

Danny's hands trail from her face to around her waist pulling Maria closer to him. He deepens the kiss and is surprised that she responds by doing the same.

Danny gently pushes them into the nearby couch, braces one arm on the back cushions while the other gripping and lifting her leg towards his hips. They break their kiss for a moment as Danny lowers them further into the couch, positioning himself over her.

They're both breathing hard but waste no time closing the space between them. Their kisses are no longer soft or slow. Danny presses himself into Maria gently, earning a moan from her. His hand that was gripping onto her leg before runs up her side and to the small of her back. His hand comes in contact with bare skin This doesn't surprise Danny because his and Maria's shirt had been riding up a little from their make out session on the couch. However, his motions still when he feels her body tense up and she feels her hands push back against his chest.

Maria pulls back, "Danny… we can't…-" she breathes out, tears forming in her eyes.

Danny notices this is quick to sit up, and grabs her hand so that she can sit up on the couch as well.

"Hey, you ok? I'm sorry that I..." Danny says as he looks over at her.

"No Danny, don't be sorry. I'm sorry… I shouldn't have" Maria quickly responds but the tears are now streaming down her face. Maria then leans forward and brings her hands into her face.

"Hey…hey," Danny starts and he takes one of her hands in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Maria, it's okay. Look at me please."

Maria doesn't comply and continues to wipe the tears from her face. She does her best not look his way but of course Danny is not having any of that. With his other free hand Danny reaches for her face and gently moves her face to his direction, his hand resting at her chin.

"Hey," Danny says with a small smile. He then wipes a few tears from her face, his hand cupping the side of her face. He takes in her features again and smiles when she closes her eyes and leans into his hand. His smile quickly fades when he sees the corner of her eyebrows rise and more tears stream down her face.

"I'm sorry.." Maria manages to say before she begins to sob.

"Come here," Danny says and pulls her towards him holding her to his chest. "It's okay. You're okay," he says, rocking them back and forth.

"I'm sorry Danny…" Maria says between sobs.

"Shhh it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. You're ok. We're both okay," Danny says, tightening his hold on her while wiping away a few silent tears from his face.

After a few minutes Maria's crying subsides and they're both still holding each other, Maria's weight is mostly on Danny.

The last thing Maria wants to do is leave the comfort of his arms but she's starting to feel sleepy and knows that he's probably feeling the same. Plus, they both had to meet the other Reagans at morning mass which was only a few hours away now.

"Danny," Maria says, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Yeah," Danny hums. Maria just smiles.

"It's getting late and I've kept you up longer than I should have. You need your rest," she says, pulling away a little to look up at him.

"You sure?" Danny asks. "Nothing else you wanna talk about?"

She knows he's referring to the kiss. Maria looks down and then leans into his arms again. Danny tightens his arms around her again. "I'm tired Danny. I want to talk about it but I just don't have it in me right now to do it. I'm sorry," Maria says.

"Ok," Danny says. "We'll talk later then."

"Okay, thanks," Maria says, surprised he's not fighting for an answer like he usually does with her. They stay like that for another minute before she attempts to move away so that they can both head upstairs towards their rooms. She's surprised when Danny tightens his hold around her, not letting her get up.

"Ummm Danny?" Maria says looking up from his hold and can see his eyes are closed. He looked so peaceful and happy.

"Hmmm," Danny grunts. She smiles at his response.

"You kinda need to let go so we can go to our rooms, Reagan," Maria says as she is still looking up at him.

"Just a little while longer. Five more minutes please?" Danny responds, his eyes still closed.

"I know you're not asleep, Reagan." Maria says, letting out a small laugh.

"I never said I was, partner" Danny says with a smile.

She knows she won't win this battle so she begins to move around to get a little more comfortable for however long he wants to stay there. She needs him to move his legs so that she can stretch out her legs.

"What the hell are you doing?" Danny asks, slightly annoyed and amused at the same time.

"Trying to get you to move your legs. If we're gonna stay here a while I want to get comfortable at least," Maria says.

Danny shifts his body around until they're both laid out on the couch, Maria still pressed against his chest.

"How's that?" He asks.

"Much better," she says into his chest. He smiles but then senses her shiver for a bit.

"Are you cold?" Danny asks again.

"Just a little on my back and legs. Don't worry about it," Maria says.

"Hold on," Danny says as he grabs the throw from the back of the couch and lays it out over Maria. "That better?" he asks.

"100% better. Thank you, Danny" she says, breathing in his scent. She found it harder to keep her eyes open and felt herself drift off into sleep. Moments later she gave up and let sleep overcome her.

Danny felt her drifting off as well and looked down to move a few strands of hair from her face. He holds her close and smiles when Maria arms tighten around his torso. Maria began to stir in her sleep.

"Shhh you're safe Maria. I promise," Danny whispers to her, his face nuzzled in her hair. "I promise you that you're safe."

"Danny.." Maria mumbles in her sleep. She must be having a nightmare because her facial expressions looked as if she was about to cry.

"Shhh…I've got you. You're okay. You're safe," Danny whispers over and over again to her until her breathing has evened out again.

"I'll be here for you no matter what Maria. Always" Danny says. He's overwhelmed with many conflicting emotions and wipes a few stray tears from his face.

Despite the feelings of guilt he still carries over his late wife Linda, Danny knows that he cannot deny the feelings he has for his partner. To Danny Maria deserved so much better than what he had to offer and if she chose to be with him, Danny would make it his life's mission to give her all the love and support that she could ever dream of.

Even if she chooses not to be with me, I'll still love and support her no matter what, Danny says to himself. He begins to say a quiet prayer.

"God, I know I don't do this as often as I should. But I need some guidance here. My heart is so conflicted right now. I loved…love my wife Linda, and I'm starting to feel the same for Maria too. I think I've known for some time what I feel for her but I just don't know if I can be the right one for her, you know? I know what I need to do next and it scares me to my core. I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Please help me, guide me to be who and what I need to be for her, for my boys and my family. Please."

Danny silently cries and takes in the feeling of having Maria close to him. He breathes in her sweet scent, can feel and hear her slow and steady breaths. Having her close calms him like no one else has been able to do. Sure Linda was his calm most of the time but there were several times when she wasn't. Most of those times Maria was able to be there for him, especially after Linda passed.

Maria's heart is conflicted as well. I mean I would be too if it turned out that my late wife or fiancé turned up alive after all these years. What if she chooses to be with him? That last thought shook Danny to his core and instinctively he tightened his embrace a little.

"Danny.." Maria's talking in her sleep again.

"I've got you, Maria. Everything is okay," Danny whispers, kissing the top of her head.

"Always Maria. Always," Danny says before closing his eyes and letting sleep overcome him too.

To be continued….