I am in a semi-good mood today, so I present you with a new chapter. Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and reading the last chapter. Drop a comment if you can, and please enjoy.
See you in the next chapter,
Bye...
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Danny…
2008…
I had a date, somebody Matty set me up with. I think she worked a floor above him or a building down. Maybe she rode in the elevator with him. Whatever their relationship, I didn't want to go. But, I owed Matty this little favor, he did sit up with me for six months after Rachel left me, so I told him yes.
Her name was Amy or Kelly or Julie… something like that. She was okay, I guess. She liked salad. We weren't going to connect, ever, and I knew why. Because Rachel was still on my mind, and she wasn't ever going to get off my mind.
I didn't need a date, I needed a shrink…
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2008…
Rachel's lawyer left me two messages while I was away from my desk and I called him back on my way up to my apartment that night. His receptionist answered on the third ring, "Andrew Nicholas: Attorney at law."
"Yeah, this is Danny Williams," I responded juggling my phone, a box full of case files, and a six pack while I tried to unlock my door.
"Mr. Williams, Mr. Nicolas has been expecting your call," he said and put me on hold. I rolled my eyes, using my hip to close the door. I dropped the case files by the door, hung my gun in the closet, and kicked my shoes off before Nicolas picked up.
"Mr. Williams?" to me he always sounded smug, no matter what he was talking about. I wasn't sure if that was the attitude of all lawyers or just the ones I dealt with. "I am assuming you received the paperwork in the mail."
"You mean the paperwork that tells me the exact agreement Rachel and I came up with when we split," I said slowly, walking into the kitchen, replacing the manila envelope, sitting on the counter, with the beer. "Because I know I have Grace every other weekend and every Wednesday. I don't know why you need me to sign what I already know."
"It'll make everything official," Nicolas responded his smile still on his face, but I could tell it had wilted some. "I just need you to sign…"
"You know, before she met Stan the only reason we needed a lawyer was to draw up divorce papers. And she hadn't even used you. And, honestly, I liked the other lawyer better. At least she tried to sound half-way decent while being a total bitch."
"Mr. Williams…" weary, that was a new emotion from him.
"I'll sign your stupid papers," I said and hung up before he said anything else. God, I hated lawyers…
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Steve…
Present Day…
I stayed at the hospital that night, sending Grace home with Chin and Kono. For a while I sat in the chair next to Danny's bed, checking my email. Jameson sent three of them, asking how Danny was. I answered her as truthfully as I could, but otherwise kept Wesley's theory out of my response.
Kono and Chin, of course, knew what Wesley had said. Kono didn't want to believe the doctor's theory. She said Danny would wake up soon. Chin, on the other hand, believed it was Danny's body's way of coping with all the crap he put up with since Rachel died. He went on the say that Danny would wake up when he was ready. Both theories sounded plausible, sure, and I had no idea which one to agree with.
"Bosley," I said reading the spam I was sent. "You think I need more hair. I mean, my hair has grown since I came back to Hawaii." that was true, and the sole reason I hadn't bothered to cut it was because I had been too busy. I looked at Danny, hearing him say 'At least it's not Viagra. Of course, if it was I'd suggest you order it. You may not need it now (and please don't correct me either way), but you will someday.'
"Viagra is for seventy-year-olds who still have sex." I wasn't sure if it was the hidden twelve-year-old in me, or what, but the thought of seventy-some-odds having sex sent an involuntary chill down my spine. 'Yeah, Steve, you have that image of Grandpa going at Grandma. You sick bastard.'
"Shut up." Yes, I was aware I was talking to myself, but it sure beat watching Danny lay there, unmoving, so unlike himself. He was a constant ball of energy, when his mouth wasn't moving, his hands were. And when his hands weren't moving… I always feared he'd pace a hole in the floor if he wasn't careful.
"Come on," I whispered, leaning forward, "wake up already..."
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I hated hospital coffee, it tasted like oily piss dipped in tar and left out in the sun to spoil. But I got some anyway, just so my hands had something to hold. I carried the cup back to Danny's room, stopping short when Wesley pulled the door open.
"What's wrong?" I asked moving toward him.
"Danny's fever rose another half degree," Wesley responded slowly. "It's nothing to be alarmed about," he pushed on, my words dying on my lips. "I just upped the dosage of antibiotics."
I was quiet for a second then blurted out the question that had been bugging me since Wesley told me his theory, "Why wouldn't he want to wake up?"
Wesley was quiet for a second, before replying, "Stress could be a major factor." exactly what Chin said. "And I'm sure he has had a stressful couple weeks." he had no idea. "Maybe he's got to deal with some things before he's ready to wake up."
"But he wouldn't do this to Grace," I heard myself say. "She's too important to him."
"Maybe she's the reason he came back after his heart stopped, why he hasn't completely let go. Ever think of that?" he gave me a knowing look then walked past me, heading down the hall to another room. I waited until the door was closed before ducking back into Danny's room…
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2002…
It was another six months before Cat and I had leave at the same time. We had a weekend together, and spent the first night 'catching up' back at her apartment. The following morning, I was pulled from sleep by persistent knocking.
"Who's at the door?" I groaned rolling onto my back.
"I don't…" Cat trailed off when a female voice said, "Catherine, it's mom."
"Shit," she said clambering out of bed, scrambling around the room in a frenzy collecting clothes.
I interlocked my hands behind my head and said, "I would love to meet your mother." she glared at me then threw my shirt at my head.
"Not like this," she hissed pulling a tee-shirt over her head.
"You are an adult, you're mother does know you…"
The door opened from the front room, keys jingled. Cat grabbed my arm and tried to haul me out of her bed. I resisted for a second, a smirk on my face, but eventually relented and stood up. "Get in the bathroom, and stay there." she ushered me toward the room, kicking my pants and one of my boots under her bed.
The bathroom door was barely closed behind me when her bedroom door opened and her mother's voice said, "Why didn't you answer the door?"
"I didn't hear you at first," Cat lied hurriedly. "Sorry mom."
"You barely get leave, and you spend it sleeping all day? Come on, your brother wants to see you."
"Okay, just let me get dressed." I could tell she thought she was home free, the underlying sigh in her voice was easy to detect, until I heard her mother ask, "Whose boot is that?"
"What boot?" playing dumb had never worked with my mom I doubted it would work with hers. And sure enough, "This boot." I could easily picture her mother picking my shoe up. A shoe, might I add, that probably wasn't the most pleasant smelling thing in the room.
"Size twelve combat boot?"
"Um…"
"Closet or bathroom?"
"Um…"
"Young man, come on out." I glanced down at myself, realizing I only had a tee-shirt in my hand. Suddenly I wasn't so sure I wanted to meet her mother. But before I could come up with an exit strategy, the bathroom door was pulled open. "Oh dear."
"Hi, Mrs. Rollins," I said sheepishly looking into eyes so like Cat's. "I'm Steve…
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2003…
I didn't meet Cat's mother again until a year later. Catherine had been injured during a recon assignment. The cabin labeled as HQ had had a grenade thrown through the window. If it wasn't for the trap door under the cabin she and the two guys with her would be dead.
I hadn't heard about it until a few days later. I got to the hospital she was held at as quickly as possible, running into her mother after a nurse told me where to find Cat. I stopped short of Marigold Rollins, not sure what to say to her.
"She's going to be okay," Mrs. Rollins said breaking the awkward silence between us. I nodded my thanks, sinking into a chair.
We were quiet for a few more seconds then she sat next to me and commented, "At least you're clothed this time." I chuckled once, shaking my head. Yeah, Marigold Rollins and I were going to get along just fine…
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Danny…
2010…
It was a few weeks before Easter when I got the news. Rachel had called me, asking if we could talk over coffee during my lunch break. At first I didn't want to go, my bad feeling was back, in full force, but I eventually agreed.
I found her at the small coffee shop we used to go to when we were dating. She was sitting in the last booth, looking into her coffee mug. I remembered her hair was up in a ponytail and she was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. I hadn't seen her dress so casual since she met Stan.
"Hello," I said formally sitting across from her.
"Daniel," she greeted me, meeting my eyes.
"No lawyers?" I glanced around expecting Andrew Nicolas: Attorney at law to pop out of nowhere. But his blond headed, smug face hadn't shown itself. I guess I was safe.
"He requested he come with me, but I told him I had to deal with this myself."
"Deal with what?" I asked cautiously trying and failing to push my bad feeling down.
"Stan's company is transferring him," she said slowly breaking eye contact, looking at her steaming mug again.
"What does that have to…?"
"We're moving, Danny."
"Moving…? Moving where?"
"Hawaii." okay, this wasn't happening. She wasn't telling me they were moving thousands of miles away. That she was taking my kid thousands of miles away from me.
"You can't," I said through numb lips. "You can't take Grace from…" a ringing started in my ears, my blood was boiling. "We had an agreement, Rachel. And now you're breaking it by taking Gracie from me." I clenched my hands into fists, "You can't do this."
"Stan's my husband, Daniel. Where he goes, Grace and I go…"
"I'll…I'll fight you for custody," I argued regretting the words the moment they left my mouth. I didn't want to fight over Grace with Rachel, but I wasn't going to sit around and let her take my daughter away.
"You fight for custody," Rachel hissed leaning over the table, "you'll only be delaying the inevitable. I am there for our daughter, while you are at work half the time. No judge will give you primary custody if half the time she'll be with your mother.
"And, do you honestly want to put Grace through all that stress? She's only seven, Daniel."
"She is my daughter too, Rachel," I hissed back, albeit a little louder than her, not wanting to admit she was right. "I have rights…"
"I know you do," she said leaning back. "And you'll see Gracie during holidays and the summer. I'll fly her to you whenever she's free." I knew she would keep it up for a few months, a year tops, but eventually she'd just make excuses. 'I'm too busy to fly with her, maybe next Christmas' or 'Stan's parents are coming down for Thanksgiving, they want to see Grace.'
So, I said the only thing I could think of, "If you have to move than so do I…"
"What?" she was taken aback by my words.
"I'm moving to Hawaii, too." And as much as I didn't want to leave my friends and family, didn't want to leave the only home I've ever had, I knew that I had to. Because Gracie was my daughter, she was my world, and I'd do anything for her…
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Present Day…
The first thing I was aware of when I came to was the pressure on my chest, followed by the heat rolling off me. It felt as if I were under a sun lamp turned up full blast. Both were uncomfortable, and I wanted them to stop, but a little part of me knew wanting something didn't necessarily mean I was going to get it.
I tried opening my eyes, but it was as if they were made of lead. After a few tries of trying to open them, I gave it up as a bad job and used my other sense instead. I could smell the clean smell of a hospital; feel the rough sheets of a hospital bed. I could hear a steady beeping nearly drowned out by loud snoring. My throat was dry, my mouth tasting as if something had died.
I tried to wrack my brain as to how I ended up in a hospital, figuring it had something to do with Steve, but eventually gave up when it just wouldn't come to me. Instead, I concentrated on testing my limbs, trying to figure out if anything had been hit by a bullet or stabbed or blown off (because with Steve, I could never be too sure).
My legs moved and my right arm, but I found my left arm was immobilized. I had to see why, so I tried, once again, to pry my eyes open. I succeeded that time, the dark, blurry room taking a second to slip into focus.
As usual, even without a light, the room was white. I wondered why they chose white as the fallback color for hospital rooms. It wasn't soothing, it was just…white. Bright, colorless, blah-ish white. At least they could put a poster up.
I let my head loll across the bed, glancing down at the collar and cuff sling binding my arm to my side. I let my eyes scan my arm, wondering what the hell I did, my eyes trying very hard to slip closed, spotting the stark white bandages poking out of my gown.
"What the…" I managed to rasp out my throat feeling more raw than dry.
"Hello?" a familiar voice whispered and a hulking figure rose at my left. A light was flicked on and my eyes slammed closed. I groaned, moving my right hand to shield my eyes against the foul light as I opened them again.
"Danny?" the voice said above me and I lowered my hand to reveal Steve, a relieved smile on his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was sticking up.
"You look…" I tried to say, but gave up when my throat started to rebel.
"…worse than you feel?" he finished for me and I nodded. "Yeah, we'll, I'll take that as a compliment."
"What…?"
"…happened?"I nodded again. "You were shot, Danno."
"Stop…"
"…calling you that?" God, I wished he'd stop that. It was creepy, how he could finish my sentences. His smile widened, but quickly wilted. "You have two bullet wounds, and a slight infection. Wesley has been treating you and your fever has gone down some since your last check-up." by the look on his face, I'd say the last check-up had to have been a few moments before I woke up.
I nodded a third time, my eyelids slipping closed. "Grace?" I whispered not even trying to open them.
"She's fine," Steve said quickly. "With Kono and Chin right now. She's been worried, but I'm sure she'll like to know you're awake."
"Thanks." was the last thing I said before I started to drift. I couldn't be sure, but I thought Steve replied, "Anytime, Danno. Anytime…"
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Yes, Danny is awake now. I'm not sure how many more flashbacks he'll have, but I'm sure I'll come up with something :)
Anyway, I was iffy on leaving in Steve's encounter with Cat's mother. I was trying to keep up with the theme of Mother's. Because, well, there's been a lot of mother's in this story. But if you don't like it I can easily take it out.
And that's that. So, once again, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya later...