TruLuv mentioned a "splash camp" Frankie story. I wrote this a while back as part of my not-finished-and-likely-never-to-be-posted season 5 "fix-it" so figured that I would put it here. But when I read, I felt like it was a bit depressing. So you are getting a two-for-one. The first is a canon, mid-season five, and we all know what Danny was like then. The second is my preferred version of Danny - the one where he didn't regress back to season 1 jerk. Hope y'all enjoy! xoxo - tmtcltb
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Mid Season 5 - Florida
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Danny stepped out of the truck, gazing around the community center. Kara had written out detailed directions which Danny tossed as soon as he left her office, figuring that a pool full of kids couldn't be that difficult to find.
Turns out, he should have kept the directions.
Everywhere Danny turned there were kids. Kids chasing each other through the palm trees. Kids playing basketball and soccer. Kids lounging on beach towels eating ice creams. Kids sitting at long picnic tables doing some sort of art project. And in addition to all the kid-related noise, there was also music blasting.
Kara had been thrilled when Frankie was accepted into the summer recreational program - excitement that Danny hadn't shared. In fact, he would much rather have had Debbie watch Frankie this summer. Debbie didn't complain when he forgot to pack Frankie a lunch or charge them thirty bucks every time Danny was late to pickup. There was no need to remember sunscreen and extra clothes and bandaids and coins for the vending machines because Debbie had all of those things at her house. Best of all, Debbie was free. Still, Danny could hardly complain about the arrangements that Kara made when he was home, at most, one week out of twelve.
Now, standing here, Danny suddenly understood the appeal - for both Frankie and Kara. Danny would have loved this place as a kid. No doubt Frankie was having the time of his life. And coming home every night exhausted rather than bored and looking for entertainment.
Although speaking of his kid...
Danny collared the first adult he could find, asking for directions to the pool where Frankie was supposed to be having swim team practice. A five minute walk and two wrong turns later, he rounded the hedges that surrounded the pool. He paused in the shade, looking for his son.
Who was relatively easy to locate since he was the only child who was still swimming, the other kids waiting on the side of the pool for Frankie to complete the lap. Thirty long seconds passed as Frankie swam at the pace of a slug. The second that Frankie hit the edge, a kid of perhaps twenty started clapping. "Good job, Frankie! Next time let's put a little more oomph into those kicks. Okay, now we're going to do two laps of backstroke. On the one!"
Frankie took a long drink from his water bottle, waiting as the coach directed each group of kids to begin. Frankie was in the last group, and by the time he was a quarter way across the pool, the first group was lapping him. Danny felt himself frowning. When Kara told him that Frankie was now on the swim team, she hadn't mentioned that their kid was terrible.
"Hi, I'm Chris," a man said from Danny's left, hand outstretched.
Danny took and shook. "Danny."
Chris grinned. "Always nice to see another dad here. I tend to get outnumbered."
Danny could relate. It was the reason he started delegating these activities to Debbie, back before he re-joined Delta Team. Chatting with the moms had been fine at first, until he realized that half of them were interested in more than a chat and the other half were suspicious that he was interested in more than a chat. He watched as Frankie's goggles started to come off and the child stopped to fix them. "I hear that. You have a kid on the team?"
"Yeah, lane 5," Chris replied, pointing. Danny watched as the child in question executed a perfect turn, pushing off the wall and surfacing almost halfway across the pool. Chris's voice was filled with pride. "Evan just turned thirteen. He qualified for the junior Olympic tryouts this year. Assuming they go forward. Committee's worried about an attack, of course. Which one is yours?"
Danny winced as Frankie, who was doing some odd version of a backstroke, bumped into the lane divider. His head popped up, he corrected, and continued on. At the flags, he stopped again, before stretching his hand above his head and moving slowly towards the edge, checking numerous times to ensure that he wouldn't bump. Realizing that he hadn't answered Chris's question, Danny waved towards the pool. "Lane 1."
He stood stiffly, waiting for the inevitable awkwardness when Chris realized that their kids were about as opposite as you can get. But instead Chris grinned. "Frankie! We love that kid. I swear he's like the Energizer Bunny. Nothing gets him down."
Danny blinked, feeling disoriented, speaking without thinking. "He gets that from his mom."
"I've seen her around a few times." Chris paused. "She's Navy, right?"
"Yes," Danny replied shortly. In general, he and Kara tried to keep their connections to the Nathan James and the Navy quiet. If there was one thing they had learned from Shaw's reign of terror, it was how easily kids could be used as leverage against their parents. But good intentions and five-year-olds didn't always mix, and Frankie frequently forgot that he wasn't supposed to be talking about Mommy's ship or Daddy's mission. Fortunately, Mayport was heavily populated by Naval personnel, so Frankie's comments usually went unnoticed.
"Must be hard having her gone," Chris observed. "I'm guessing you're military too?"
"Marine," Danny confirmed. He glanced sideways. "You in the service?"
Chris chuckled. "Me, nah. I was a CPA before. Lost my wife and two younger kids, as well as Evan's mom, to the Red Flu. It's just the two of us now so I changed paths and teach middle school history. It lets me come to all of Evan's afternoon activities."
"I'm sorry about your losses," Danny murmured.
"We all lost people," Chris replied, face sobering for a moment, as though lost in a memory. "Thank you for your service. You and your wife. The Navy has saved us twice already and now with this mess down in Central America. We would be in a world of hurt without people like you."
"Thank you." Awkwardness fell as they watched the kids swim, Frankie actually doing slightly better on the breaststroke. If, by slightly better, you meant that he was only about five yards behind the second-to-last kid to finish.
"So," Chris spoke again, voice back to being cheerful, "you going to be at the swim meet on Thursday?"
"Swim meet?" Danny queried, again regretting tossing out Kara's instructions. "Kara didn't mention anything."
Chris was nodding. "First one of the season. Kids are super excited. Oh, looks like they're done." Danny watched as kids began piling out of the pool while Frankie completed his last lap. Chris held out his hand again. "Hope to see you on Thursday!"
"Until then," Danny agreed, wincing at the thought of watching Frankie struggle through an actual meet.
Danny wandered towards the pool, waiting as Frankie scrambled out of the water. He looked up, his face splitting into a grin. "Daddy! You're here!"
Fifty pounds of wet child hit Danny, Frankie's arms wrapping around his waist. Chuckling, Danny ruffled his damp hair. Realizing, as he did so, that Frankie had grown again. Had it really been that long since he managed a visit? "Hey, buddy."
"Did you see me swimming?" Frankie demanded, pulling Danny by the hand over to a pile of belongings.
Danny watched as Frankie grabbed his belongings, all marked FRANKIE G. in big, black letters. "Sure did. Soon enough you'll be swimming like a fish."
"Can we get pizza, Dad?" Frankie asked, eyes wide and, despite knowing that Kara expected Frankie home for dinner, Danny knew that he couldn't say no.
"Sure, bud. Let me just call Mom."
Ninety minutes later, Danny pulled into the driveway, following Frankie into the kitchen of the bungalow. He poured himself a cup of coffee while Frankie told Kara a long involved story about a lizard that he almost caught using his sandwich as bait. Finally, Kara sent Frankie down the hall to wash his hands and change his clothes.
She turned to Danny. "Thank you for picking him up. I didn't get out of there until almost eighteen hundred."
"Any progress?" Danny asked, taking a drink.
Kara shrugged. "Reiss is still waffling on what to do about Cuba."
"Idiot," Danny muttered. Kara nodded, allowing silence to fall. Danny was the first to speak. "About Frankie's swim meet..."
Kara looked surprised, then pleased. "He would love for you to be there."
"He's terrible, Kara," Danny said bluntly.
In an instant, her expression changed, and Danny realized that he had disappointed her. Again. Her chin lifted. "I know."
Out of all the possible responses, that wasn't one Danny anticipated. "If you know...then why are you sending him? He's going to be embarrassed!"
"No, Danny," Kara corrected, arms crossing over her chest. "You would be embarrassed. Frankie doesn't care. He just wants to swim and see his friends and get a participation ribbon. Which you would know if you were ever here."
Danny jerked, the words a blow. "I'm here right now, Kara."
"I know. I'm sorry. It was a long day." Kara sighed, reaching out to touch his arm. "He really would love it if you went, Danny. You may not see it but the only thing Frankie really wants is to make you proud of him."
He nodded, feeling a lump forming in his throat. Wondering when everything got so complicated. "I already am."
"I know that," Kara whispered. "But Frankie doesn't. If you can, you should go."
"Thursday, then?" Danny asked, voice gruff.
"Thursday at sixteen hundred," Kara confirmed.
Danny glanced down the hallway towards Frankie, who was now wearing his pajamas but still chatting about the lizard. "I'll be there. I promise."