A/N - Thanks for reading and reviewing.
The sun hadn't begun to rise yet, and Danny was already on his way. The drive would take about an hour. If he got there early enough, then he wouldn't have to worry about calling in to tell Jack he would be late. He could have this early morning meeting and then be back in plenty of time to start the work day.
Danny was tired. So tired, even though he we was well into in second cup of coffee. Elena had stayed with him until two in the morning. Even though he was fairly certain that Carlos hadn't come back, he still quietly guided Elena out of the fire escape exit and then walked with her through the back alley until they found the cab on the next block that he had called for her. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to hide like that for much longer. If he was able to get the help he'd needed this morning, then they definitely wouldn't have to hide any longer.
Needless to say, they hadn't gotten much sleep while they were together.
Stretched out at the end of his bed, Danny watched as Elena polished off her third piece of pizza. She looked adorable, wearing his dress shirt that he'd worn that day to the interview - precariously held together by one button.
They hadn't even made it to the bedroom, instead making love on the couch. When they finally made it to his bed, Elena had declared that she was famished. So he'd heated up a frozen pizza and they ate in his bed.
"So good," Elena said as she ate her last bite and then wiped her hands with a napkin after putting the plate on the nightstand. "I was addicted to frozen pizza when I was pregnant with Sophie. I could pass five pizzerias on the way home and still only have a crazing for this."
Danny smiled as he ghosted his fingers over her legs. "That's…that's a little strange, Elena."
"I know. I know," she replied, lying back against a pillow enjoying the sensation of his touch against her skin. "I was so unhealthy. I gained sixty pounds with Sophie. You should have seen me."
Moving forward, Danny traced his fingers over her exposed stomach and then he feathered it with small kisses. "I did see you," he said as he glanced up at her.
"You did? That's right, you did!" she replied remembering that he'd come to a bar-b-que/baby shower that some of her fellow NYPD officers had thrown for her and Carlos.
"You were beautiful…absolutely glowing," he whispered as he laid more gentle kisses on her tummy.
"You're crazy. I was a whale, but God, I loved being pregnant. When I first found out, I was shocked and thought how I am going to handle this? But once I felt her inside of me, I just knew that I wanted her, you know? At that time, I still had faith that starting a family would somehow change Carlos, but more than anything? I knew I just wanted that baby so much."
Still focusing his attention on her mid-section, Danny suddenly asked, "Do you want more kids?" And he had no idea where that question had come from.
"Mmmmm…definitely," Elena answered as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I just want it to be different the next time I do it. I want stability. I don't want to go through it alone again. And if I have that, then I want as many babies as I can have!"
Looking up at her, Danny's eyes widened. "Really?"
Elena nodded, slightly embarrassed by her admission. "Hey, I love having a career, but if I could, I'd also love to stay home and raise lots and lots of kids," she replied while closing her eyes as if she could picture it. "What about you, mi amor? Have you had time to think about having babies while you've been living the single life?"
Chuckling, Danny pulled himself up so that he could face her. "Lately? It's all I think about," he said in a low tone as he leaned in to kiss her.
Smiling against his lips, Elena put her hand against his cheek. "You would be a great father."
Pulling away from her and looking in her eyes, Danny tucked her hair behind her ear. "What if I said I could give you that stability?"
Her heart beating fast after hearing his words, Elena shook her head uneasily as she began to speak.
"Wait," Danny interrupted as he put his finger to her lips. "Just hear me out. Okay?"
She nodded as he traced his finger against her skin and then kissed her on the forehead.
"I know that we really haven't had a chance to date or be a normal couple, but I know I love you. And I know I could build a life with you and Sophie. If that law firm gig works out, we could leave here together. They have offices in Boston and San Francisco. They even have one in Miami. I think I could go back there if I was with you. We could build new, great memories together to replace all the bad ones. That could be our answer, baby," he stated, his voice hopeful yet insecure all at the same time.
"Danny, that sounds wonderful, but we haven't been together that long. It would be a huge step and I would have to be sure—"
He stopped her from finishing by kissing her quickly and then asked, "Did you mean it…at Cherry Hill…when you said that you were falling in love with me?"
Elena nodded. "Of course, but—"
"We could get married," he said as he eased her onto her back so that he was hovering above her. "I'll get that job, we'll move away from here and we'll start a life together. A stable life. I know it could work. You, me, Sophie, and as many babies as you want to have."
Elena couldn't help but smile, even though she really wasn't sure what to say to him. Placing her hand on his face, she kissed him. "I do love you, Danny. But you didn't see his face tonight. If we leave here together, he'll come after us," she said as the smile faded from her face.
Sighing heavily, Danny rolled onto his back – the mention of Carlos making his blood boil.
Sitting up, Elena turned towards him. "I'm sorry—"
Reaching out, Danny took hold of her hand. "Look, we can't really bank on me getting that job anyway. So let's just forget about it—"
"No, no," she said as she moved on top of him and straddled his hips. "I don't want to forget it. We just need to be—"
"Be patient. Yeah, I got it," Danny said as he tried to keep the frustration out of his tone. Deciding he didn't want to ruin their night together, he traced his fingers up her tummy until it came to the one button that was still buttoning his shirt. "That was some expensive frozen pizza," he quipped as he unbuttoned the button and then traced his fingers higher.
"What?" Elena breathed not understanding what he was saying, but completely enjoying the way he was touching her.
Danny smiled. "You got pizza sauce on my brand new Prada shirt."
Glancing down, Elena noticed the bright red stain. "Oh no," she smiled slyly. "Guess I'll just have to take it home with me. Yes? But I bet I can make it up to you," she said as she shrugged the white shirt from her shoulders and then leaned down to kiss him.
Shaking his head, Danny couldn't believe he'd been so open with her. Any fear of commitment or responsibility he'd ever had completely went out the window when it came to Elena. He'd been completely serious when he talked about taking her and Sophie away. But he also understood her fear of Carlos. He would come after them. Danny was sure of it, so he had to do something to stop him.
It was early; just a little after 6 a.m. Danny had used his FBI credential to request a special meeting in the prison yard, away from the guards and other prisoners. He sat on a set of metal bleachers at the edge of a cement basketball court.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Danny looked up to see a guard escorting his brother towards him. When he met his brother's eyes, he could see surprise, happiness and worry in them.
"Thanks," Danny said as he stood up and nodded to the guard.
The guard nodded. "You have thirty minutes and then I'll need to take him back in. I'll be over there," he replied, motioning over to a guard stand about 100 yards away.
As the guard walked away, Danny smiled uneasily. "How you doing?"
Rafael gave Danny a confused frown. "What the hell is going on? Why the early morning meeting? Are Sylvia and the kids—"
"They're fine. They're all great," he assured him.
Rafael shrugged as he smiled at Danny. "Okay, then," he said as he held out his hand. "It's good to see you, hermano, despite the strange hour."
Danny took his hand and they half-hugged. This was still a little strange for Danny. He hadn't visited Rafi all that often and when he did visit, they rarely spoke about anything other than Rafi's family.
"I'm sorry to come out of the blue, but I need to talk to you about something," Danny said as he took a seat on the bleachers and motioned for Rafi to sit next to him.
"Is this about the commotion a couple of weeks ago? The warden asked me all sorts of questions and even put me in my own cell for a week. He said that there had been some kind of warning from a fed."
Danny nodded. "That's…that's part of it. Um, but I didn't know about what was happening or I would have come here myself to make sure you were okay."
"What is it? What happened?"
Rolling his eyes, Danny wasn't sure where to begin. "Um, there's a guy…someone who I used to be friends with…he's kind of threatening me right now and, a couple of weeks ago, he made a specific threat against you."
"A friend? What the hell kind of friend is he?"
"He's just someone who I've known for a long time, and…and recently, I started seeing his ex-girlfriend—"
"Elena? Sylvia told me about her."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, Elena. Things between her and Carlos were over and she and I had been working together—"
"Danny, you don't have to explain yourself. This guy sounds like a loose cannon."
Danny smirked. "That's an understatement. He kidnapped their daughter, Sophie, after he found out about me and Elena. I don't know what else he could be capable of, but when Elena found out that he might target you – she took steps to try to protect all of us."
"What are you going to do now?"
Rubbing his eyes, Danny shook his head. "I want to take her and Sophie away from here. I want to start a new life with her."
"Well, then you should. You deserve to be happy, Danny."
"He'll never let her and Sophie just go, Rafi. He'll come after them. He'll come after me. Or you. Right now, he thinks that Elena and I have broken up. As long as he believes that, then we're all safe."
"Can't you arrest him if he threatens you?"
Danny shrugged. "That won't mean anything unless he actually does something. The problem is that we're afraid of what he'll do."
"Well, don't worry about me, man. This place is a cake walk compared to where I was last time. It's easy to watch my back. I don't think this guy could touch me here."
Danny sighed. "He's connected, Rafi. He used to be in Vice. Deep cover stuff and he was very comfortable with lying down with the dogs if it could benefit him in some way."
Rafi took a deep breath as he rubbed his hands together. "That's not good."
"Nope," Danny replied. For a few moments, they didn't speak as Danny tried to find the words to ask Rafael what he'd come to ask him.
"You didn't' come here today just to make sure I'm okay, did you?" Rafi ask as he watched Danny's profile that show a conflicted, tortured expression.
Danny shook his head as he wiped the tears that began to form in the corners of his eyes. "I need your help, Rafi."
Realizing the full complexity of why Danny was there, Rafi replied, "Danny, no…no."
"What choice do I have? Am I just supposed to let her go? Or do we run away and then wait for him to hurt you or Sophie or Elena. I couldn't—"
"There has to be another way, hermanito," Rafi pleaded.
"There isn't. I wouldn't be here, if there was. I hate myself for coming to you like this…after all this time. But I don't know what else to do. I can't lose her, Rafi. I can't lose them," Danny said, failing to contain the emotion in his voice as he looked down at the ground – not able to look in his brother's eyes.
Reaching over, Rafi put his hand on the back of Danny's neck. "What do need from me?"
"A name," Danny whispered, voice full of shame because of what he was about to suggest. "Someone who couldn't be tracked back to either one of us and could make it look like it was one of Carlos's connections. Someone who could make Carlos disappear…forever."