Chapter 6: I said, "I already told ya I think that you should get some rest"

One Month Before Season 5

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"To hell with it," Kara muttered, stomping out the door and down to the sidewalk to where Danny stood. "Three months, Danny. Three months!"

"I'm sorry." Danny looked awkward and uncomfortable, but he also looked better than he had before he left. Healthier. Better rested. His cheeks fuller and the permanent lines around his eyes less prominent. Happier.

The thought infuriated Kara, adding to the anger that had been burning for weeks — ever since the first time she glanced out the window to find him skulking in the shadows. Even worse, they all knew. Everyone from Captain Chandler on down knew that Danny was back in Mayport, and not a single one of them said anything until the day that Kara ran into him at Command. "No phone calls. No visits. Just one lousy note saying you signed on with Sasha and that you would be in touch and then six weeks later I find out that you moved in with Carlton. What the hell, Danny?"

"I talked to Sasha and she said that I had to leave immediately," Danny shrugged, but Kara knew evasiveness when she heard it.

She hated how her voice cracked when she spoke next. "Did you even think about how Frankie was going to feel when you pulled your disappearing act? He kept asking me if you were dead and I didn't know. Do you know what that was like? Having to call Sasha Cooper to ask about my own husband."

God, that conversation had been awkward, but Kara had been desperate. She knew that he wasn't on official business, contract or otherwise. Alisha coordinated the contracts for all the contractors, including Naval Intelligence, and while Danny was on the roster, he was listed as "currently unavailable." When Kara heard that, all she could think about was that he was injured on his first day out and nobody thought to tell her. A silly fear, of course, as Sasha quickly informed Kara that, yes, she was still listed as Danny's next of kin and would be notified of any injury. The relief lasted for a day before the hurt returned, as well as the confusion. And now Danny was back, but he might as well still be gone given that the only times she saw him were at work or hanging out in the trees across from their house like a damn stalker.

"I'm sorry, Kara. Really."

But he didn't sound sorry. Not exactly. He sounded tired — weary — as though talking to her for even a minute was exhausting. Kara crossed her arms. Wanting desperately to believe that he was here for the right reasons. "So are you here because you're ready to come home?"

Danny stared at the house, a minute of silence passing before he shook his head. "No, I'm not ready. I need to get myself figured out first. It's not fair to you or Frankie to have me around when I'm...like this. I could hurt you."

There was something about the words, something that Kara knew was important, but right now she was too angry to care. "So this is like Gitmo again? Where you blame me for everything and walk away? Because you can do whatever you want to me. But this isn't fair to Frankie."

"No!" Danny took a deep breath. "That's not ... you haven't done anything wrong, Kara. Either of you. I know that. This is all about me."

The response was so instant that Kara felt a spark of hope. Maybe she could get through. She stepped closer, her hand closing in on his arm. "Talk to me, Danny. Please. I know that we can work this out but we need to do it together. You have to stop shutting me out. And you can't just leave because things get tough. We're in this together. You, me and Frankie."

Silence fell and Kara held her breath, only for her last bit of hope to be dashed when Danny shook his head. "I thought I was ready but I'm not. I need time Kara. Just give me time."

She stepped back, glancing at the dark window where Frankie was sleeping. So thankful that he wasn't awake to see this. To be rejected by his father. "What about our son?"

"You have access to all my accounts," Danny replied, his voice hollow. His throat worked and he glanced at the house again. "I'm leaving for Central America next week anyway. Intel mission. You can tell him that I'm deployed."

Barely keeping her fury in check, Kara stared at the man she fell in love with and married and had a child with. "You promised me that you would not make me raise that child by myself, Danny. You promised. If you really don't care anymore, you can get your damn ass in that house and tell him yourself."

There was a long pause, and then Danny shook his head. "I'm sorry. I just can't."

Kara froze, barely breathing, her gaze fixed on Danny. Yet this version of Danny bore almost no resemblance to the man she married. This was a man she didn't know.

For a moment, seeing Danny out here, she had almost believed that the hell of the last few months was over. That the constant fear and worry about where he was and why he left would finally be over. That they could talk and cry and work everything out. That they could start to heal, together, as a family. That the last three months would slowly fade in her memory until it felt no different than a deployment.

But Danny wasn't here to come home.

And this person she was looking at was a stranger.

In that moment, something inside Kara broke, something that had been growing since the day she walked in the door to find Danny gone. Devastation over how he simply left, shattering the life that they built together and leaving her to pick up all the pieces alone. Despair over being shut out time and time again as she did everything that she could think of to help. Anger about how many tears she cried and how much time that she lost with her son because she was too mentally drained by worrying about his father. But most importantly, fury over how he could claim to love her and Frankie one day and then turn around and leave.

"Do you see this ring?" Kara wrenched it off her hand, slapping it against his chest, forcing Danny to take it to avoid the ring dropping to the ground. "You can have it back. Because this sure as hell isn't a marriage and I'm done being lied to. Have a good life, Danny."

Stomping off, Kara slammed the door behind her, before collapsing on the floor in tears.

What had she just done?