A/N - this chapter brought to you by insomnia and caffeine. Enjoy. :)

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Chapter 16 - Ghosts of the Past

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"Die Hard or Twelve Monkeys?" Kara asked, glancing over at Danny as she scrolled through the options. Since his arrival at the house twenty minutes ago with Indian take-out for their planned Bruce Willis movie-a-thon, he had been distracted. When there was no answer, she made an executive decision. "Twelve Monkeys it is."

"What?" Danny apparently had caught onto the fact that he was annoying her. "That's fine. Actually, before you put on a movie, I wanted to talk to you."

Kara kept her gaze fixed on the television, ignoring the cold seeping through her body. Nothing good ever started with the words let's talk. She supposed that it was better to find out now that this wasn't going to work, as opposed to once she was more invested in the relationship.

Fuck.

Who was she kidding? She was already completely invested. She was thinking about sides of the bed and merging careers and kids. Hell, she was even wearing a brand new matching bra and panty set that Alisha helped her pick out specifically for tonight. Not that Danny ever seemed to care much about that sort of thing. Most of the times that he had seen her undergarments she had been wearing the extremely practical but not-so-sexy granny panties and sports bra that she typically wore under her uniforms, and his clear goal had been to get her out of them as quickly as possible. But the last few weeks had been ... nice. Dating. Talking. Doing all the things that they skipped the first time around. And so Kara had wanted to make tonight special. Different. Part of the whole fresh start thing.

Guess the joke was on her.

"Talk about what?" Kara snapped, knowing that her voice was too sharp, giving her away.

There was a short pause, before Danny cleared his throat. "About what Carlton said when we ran into you this afternoon..."

xxxxx

Kara followed Alisha into the small café, juggling her shopping bags, attention immediately drawn to the corner where Carlton and Danny sat. Alisha followed her gaze, before rolling her eyes. "Fine, we'll go say hi. And then we are out of here. I already share you with both Burk and Green too much. I'm not giving up our Saturday afternoons."

Carlton was the first to see them. A wide grin spreading across his face. "If it isn't my favorite CO, as well as the reason why my best friend has a chronic case of blue balls."

"Says the man who hasn't gotten laid since before the virus started," Kara shot back without missing a beat.

Alisha nodded. "And he says things like that and then wonders why he has such abysmal luck with the ladies."

xxxxx

Kara stared at Danny blankly before she connected the dots. She snorted, unwilling to consider just what the relief cascading through her at the realization that Danny wasn't breaking up with her might signify. "You mean about the state of your testicles?"

Danny narrowed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. "My testicles are just fine, thank you very much."

"Good," Kara started the movie, ready for this discussion to be over. "Glad that we had this talk. Clearly I was worried."

"Kara, look at me." Danny reached over to pause the movie, waiting for her to turn back with an exasperated huff. "I meant what I said before, about not rushing things. I'm not fucking this up because Carlton thinks that I can't hold my load."

xxxxx

Carlton leaned forward to check out the logos on Kara's bags. "Is that La Perla? It appears that your dry spell may be ending, my friend."

Carlton jerked and Kara was fairly certain that Danny had just kicked him under the table.

"Oh these?" Alisha asked, pulling the rather skimpy hot pink panties out of the bag and dangling them by a finger. "Do you think Val will like them?"

Grabbing the underwear and shoving it back in the bag - they were in public, after all - Kara turned to Danny, who was busy glaring at Carlton. "We still on for a Bruce Willis marathon tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah," Danny muttered, attention still on Carlton. "Indian sound good?"

xxxxx

Setting down the remote, Kara swung her leg over Danny, planting herself on his lap and leaning forward to brush a kiss across his lips. "Danny, there was a reason that I suggested a movie marathon tonight. This is date six."

"Date six, got it." Danny's hands dropped to her waist and he tugged her closer, leaning forward to give her a slightly more thorough kiss, although he pulled back before Kara was anywhere near satisfied. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

Kara giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Standing rule. Date six is sex night. And, yes, I'm wearing La Perla."

xxxxx

"La Perla is definitely wasted on Val," Carlton muttered. "Does she even own a bra?"

Kara shook her head at Carlton. "You're an idiot."

"I think he might be jealous," Alisha added. Grabbing Kara's arm, Alisha turned them to the exit. Over her shoulder, she called. "And go to the place on Central for food, Danny. Their garlic naan is amazing."

xxxxx

At the mention of her underwear, Danny's gaze dropped to her chest, and Kara reached down to pull her demure, black t-shirt over her head. Revealing the hot pink, lace trimmed bra underneath. She bit her lip. "What do you think?"

"I think you would look even better with it off," Danny replied bluntly, drawing a laugh from Kara. Damn she loved this man. Suddenly Danny's eyes narrowed, as though he had just realized something. "Carlton knows about the date six sex rule, doesn't he?"

Laughing, Kara stood up. "Of course."

"Fuck-head," Danny muttered.

Kara tilted her head in the direction of the hallway, hand out-stretched. "So the real question is whether you are willing to forego Twelve Monkeys in favor of joining me in my bedroom?"

"Hell yeah." Danny was on his feet instantly, then he hesitated. "Assuming that's what you want."

And, in that moment, Kara understood why Danny had insisted on waiting. On doing this right. Because right now, right here, she didn't have a single doubt. She reached out to intertwine their fingers. "This is exactly what I want."

"Thank God." He was tipping her onto the bed when he spoke again. "I can kill Carlton tomorrow."

xxxxx

Kara reached out blindly for her phone, blinking against the sun that was streaming into her bedroom. She usually closed the shades before going to sleep as protection against early Florida sunrises but last night she had been somewhat distracted. In the best way possible. As though reading her thoughts, Danny's arm snaked around Kara, pulling her back against his chest. She snuggled into his warmth, her lips nudging into a smile as she recalled the night before. The lack of sleep had definitely been worth it.

Her phone beeped again. Danny buried his face in her hair. "Ignore it. Probably Carlton being an ass. Again."

Danny had a point but ... She cracked one eye open to check the screen just as it came to life again.

"Crap, it's Debbie." Sitting up, Kara realized that her mother had called ... six times before eight am on a Sunday. Her stomach turned to ice. For years, early Sunday morning phone calls had meant only one thing - that Debbie needed to be picked up after a night in the drunk tank. Had Debbie fallen off the wagon? Pulling the sheet to her chest, Kara hit the button to connect.

"Mom?" Debbie was sobbing so hard that Kara could barely make out the words. "Where are you?"

"I'm at home." That, at least, was intelligible and not noticeably slurred.

Kara relaxed slightly, glancing at Danny apologetically. A hysterical call from her mother was definitely not the way she planned on starting this morning. No, her plans had run more to lazy morning sex, followed by bagels and perhaps a joint workout, and then more sex. He shrugged, then nodded towards the shower. Kara stood up as Danny disappeared into the bathroom, pulling his shirt over her head and rummaged around her drawer for some cute underwear just in case she managed to salvage the morning. Alisha might have a point about her needed to do a little more shopping. "What's wrong, Mom?"

If possible, the sobbing intensified. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Kara asked absently.

She heard the shower snap on just as Debbie managed to choke out the next words. "That you were pregnant."

For an instant, Kara couldn't breathe. How could Debbie know...? She jerked the phone from her ear, switching screens to check for other calls, only to find a dozen texts and voicemails from Alisha, Carlton, Andrea, Val, Tex, Rick, and, worst of all, Admiral Chandler. Fuck.

"Mom, I just woke up. What is going on?" Kara demanded in her best no-nonsense captain voice.

Which, apparently, worked on hysterical mothers as well as new recruits. "You haven't seen the newspaper?"

"No," Kara replied, walking briskly down the hall, swinging the door open and grabbing the Sunday paper from the porch.

The front page held three pictures of her and Danny. The first was one of the official pictures from Brazil. Those had been widely circulated already so Kara didn't waste any time studying it. The second picture was one from the night Danny hosted the TAC team at the bar, showing Danny's hand on Kara's back as they leaned towards each other. Nothing inappropriate but clearly suggestive. Kara was a bit surprised that news of their relationship broke so quickly but she had given Slattery a head's up that they were dating weeks ago, and Sasha knew before the Nathan James hit Florida, so a simple disclosure of their relationship would not have resulted in a seven a.m. call from Admiral Chandler. When her gaze turned to the third picture, Kara felt her heart drop. It was a rather grainy shot of a much younger Danny Green, his arm wrapped around the shoulders of a much younger Kara Foster, her head against his chest. They were both dressed informally and Kara knew instantly that the picture had been taken during the memorial that then-Captain Chandler had arranged shortly after the Nathan James reached St. Louis. He had barred cameras from the event, insisting that the crew needed a private moment to mourn. One without uniforms or ceremony. One that was just about them.

Hence the rare moment of public affection that was apparently coming back to haunt her.

Kara hadn't expected to keep her relationship with Danny under wraps. Rick and Courtney's wedding had been a circus, and Kara had seen how crazy the press went when Liam was born, staking out Tex and Andrea's house until Tex threatened to start shooting people and Captain Slattery created and enforced a "no-go" zone. And there was a good reason that Rick was land-based until after Courtney delivered, half of his current job to shield her from the reporters desperate for a bump shot. Still, Kara had not considered what would happen if her past with Danny came out.

Unfolding the newspaper, Kara stared at the headline. Separated by Tragedy and Reunited by Serendipity, a Second Chance at Love for Two Heroes of the Nathan James. And then further down, The Secret Sacrifice of Captain Kara Foster, see page 2.

Her stomach twisting, Kara began skimming the article. The beginning was a recitation of the events in Brazil. Or, rather, the version that had been publicly released. Kara's kidnapping, Danny's rescue attempt, his resulting injury. The only real difference from a dozen other articles was the suggestion that Danny's actions were based not on duty so much as love. A storyline that had Kara rolling her eyes. At least there was no mention of Vargas. The article then shifted to a discussion of Danny and Kara's relationship in the Arctic, one that was far too detailed to be based on rumor.

Sources from the Nathan James confirm that Foster was pregnant at the time of the Vaccine Trial, suffering a miscarriage as a result of her brush with death. The tragedy was apparently too much to handle for the young couple, who split shortly thereafter, with Green re-joining the Nathan James for its trip to the Pacific and Foster moving to President Michener's personal staff while recovering from her loss. Was their reunion in Rio de Janeiro divine intervention? A second chance at love for two star-crossed lovers?

Kara slapped the newspaper closed, unable to read another word, suddenly realized that Debbie was still talking. "Mom, I'm going to have to call you back."

"Wait!" Debbie cried. "I'm coming over there right now."

"No!" Kara forced herself to take a deep breath. "No, I'll call you later. I promise. I need some time right now."

"So it's true. You were pregnant during the trial." Somehow the sadness in Debbie's voice was worse than her initial hysteria.

Her eyes squeezed closed, Kara sighed. "Yes, Mom, it's true. I had a miscarriage." The slight noise came not from the phone, but from the other side of the kitchen. Kara looked up to see Danny standing in the doorway in just his shorts. Their eyes met. "I have to go. I'll call you later."

Terminating the call without giving Debbie a chance to argue, Kara switched her phone to silent and set it on the table. Stepping forward, Danny glanced down at the newspaper, eyes skimming the pictures and articles, much as Kara had earlier. The lack of surprise on his face suggested that he already knew what it said. "Miller just called me. He thinks that he was the source."

"Rick?" Kara was stunned by the idea. Of all the people she would have considered, Rick wasn't in the top hundred. Hell, he wasn't even on the list.

"Apparently he and O'Connor were reminiscing the night that we all went out with the TAC Team. Rick thinks he mentioned you losing the baby," Danny explained. "Apparently it's been on his mind a lot. What with Courtney being pregnant."

Kara sighed, collapsing into one of the kitchen chairs. It wasn't surprising that the events of five years ago were on Rick's mind. Rick was an only child and few of his friends were even married, never mind parents. So his closest brush with pregnancy was probably in that vaccine trial tent, and lord knows that would have left a scar. "God. I never thought about that."

Danny moved to the counter to begin making coffee. "Remember the obnoxious guy at the bar? Check the byline on the article."

As Kara snagged the newspaper again, Danny popped out to his truck. Returning a minute later with a duffle, digging through until he located a t-shirt with the arms cut off, clearly designed for gym use, which he pulled over his head. Despite the circumstance, Kara immediately missed the sight of his bare chest.

A phone rang and Kara looked at Danny. "Mine is on silent."

He disappeared for a minute, returning less than two minutes later. "Yes, sir. I'll speak with Kara and get back to you."

"Who was that?" Kara asked.

"Slattery," Danny explained. "Command is being inundated by requests for comment. Apparently some of the news outlets are asking whether there was an investigation into our behavior on the Nathan James. Conduct unbecoming an officer, that sort of thing. Currently he has Val feeding them innocuous material from our official files and giving the usual statement that the Navy does not comment on the personal life of officers but he wants to know how we want to handle things."

Crap. The mention of Val reminded Kara that Alisha had called multiple times. Picking up her phone she quickly texted Alisha. Talking to D. Call later. The response was almost instant. You better. xoxo.

Danny passed Kara a cup of coffee and, despite the disaster of a morning they were having, Kara found herself smiling. "Not exactly how I planned to spend this morning."

That drew a chuckle. "Agreed. None of my plans included talking to Slattery or Miller or even getting out of bed." Danny pulled a chair around the table so that he was facing Kara, their knees inches apart. He leaned forward, but didn't touch her. "Mike said we can issue a general denial. Say that the article is full of shit. You know that the crew will back you."

Kara blinked. Was it only last night that they were eating Indian food and talking about Bruce Willis movies? "Everything here is true, Danny. We broke the frat rules. I got pregnant. I had a miscarriage. We broke up. And then we got back together after Brazil. How do we pretend that none of it happened?"

"Wouldn't be the first time we rewrote history," Danny replied, and Kara flushed, remembering how she spun the story of his activities in Columbia only months ago.

"That was different. That was work. Besides, even if the crew backed us, they aren't the only people who know about our past. Maybe not everything, but enough. People from St. Louis who saw us together, Courtney, Debbie, hell, even Pablo knows that we were together then. How would Laura react to being hunted down for a comment?"

The question hung between them, before Danny admitted. "Probably not well."

"And we both have an official reprimand in our files," Kara continued. "If we deny this, and then people find out about the reprimand, what then? Do we backtrack? Will people think that we did something worse."

Danny sat back, pushing a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Kara. I didn't expect this to happen. But, more than that, I don't want this to fuck things up. Between us, I mean."

Kara reached out to take Danny's hand. "This isn't just about me. What do you want to do?"

Danny rolled her hand over, as though he were studying it. Finally he looked up. "I'm not ashamed of anything that happened, Kara. Besides, everyone who matters to me already knows. Wolf and Azima think it's funny that Mr. Straight-Laced has a reprimand in his file and Sasha doesn't care. Hell, pretty sure she has her own reprimand from when she was shacking up with the Admiral at the Academy..."

"What?" Kara interrupted, momentarily distracted by the idea of Tom Chandler flouting the rules. "Isn't he older than her?"

Danny flashed a grin. "Oh yeah. He was there as an instructor."

Kara just stared, her mind racing to take in this new information. "How did they keep that under wraps?"

"Cooper was a spook pre-virus," Danny reminded Kara. "Her past is buried deeper than the Kola Borehole. But, that's the thing, Kara. My job is murky. So long as the job gets done, nobody knows the details. Nobody wants to know the details. So stuff like frat rules and reprimands aren't a big deal. But for you..." Danny paused. "You're on the fast-track, Kara, and this could hurt you."

He wasn't wrong, and Kara nibbled on her lip. This would be a step backwards. But she wasn't wrong either. Now that this was out in the public, it wasn't going away. Lying just delayed the inevitable. Kara thought back to those days after Gitmo. After Danny broke things off, pushed her away, refusing to so much as speak to her. Leaving her alone. Maybe having this happen now was a good thing. A way for her to determine, right here and now, whether he meant all of those things that he said back in Rio de Janeiro. She swallowed. "I don't care who knows if you don't. So we brazen through it?"

Danny smiled tightly, as though he knew what she was thinking. "Together."

She nodded, echoing him. "Together."