2am
Danny heard something; a noise of some sort. He listened to see if it would be repeated and it was. He knew the sound but needed to get up to take care of the situation. He gently moved Maria away from him, stood up and walked into Elena's room. "Hey, there, what's wrong, sweetie?" The baby looked at him and smiled but began to cry again. He picked her up and knew immediately what was wrong. Danny found a clean diaper, clean pajamas and laid her on the changing table. Within moments, the crying stopped. Danny used the wipes making sure nothing was left behind before fixing the diaper and getting her into new pj's. Then, he picked Elena up, checked the pad in the crib and replaced it. Danny cuddled with the baby before sitting in the rocking chair. He began to hum a tune to the baby as he rocked her gently. He watched her struggling to keep her eyes open but failed and he had her back to sleep in moments. Danny gave her a few more moments in his arms to be sure she was sleeping and then put her back in the crib. Maria had woken up when Danny got up but let him take care of the situation. She admired his skills with the baby and how comfortable he felt taking care of her.
Maria waited for him to come out. "Thank you, she has fallen under your Reagan charm. She'll do almost anything for Da-da."
"And I would do anything for her… and her mother." They walked out of the bedroom and picked up their empty coffee cups. After making sure all the doors were secure and the gun safe was locked they said good night and headed to their respective bedrooms. Danny took care of his normal night ablutions and turned out the bathroom light. He noticed a book by the bed, turned off the overhead light and sat down in the chair. The light was in the perfect position for reading and the book held his interest but after thirty minutes he put the book down and prepared for sleep. As he lay on the bed he thought about everything that had happened that day and remembered to thank God for the day and spending the evening with his partner and her daughter. He prayed for guidance in courting Maria, wanting to do everything right so that when he was finally ready to begin living again she would be by his side.
Morning had started earlier than normal. Danny was up with the sun and made coffee then checked for something to make for breakfast. Elena heard Danny and called out to him, "Da-da, da-da, da-da" until Danny walked in and picked her up. Maria had a chair in the kitchen just for the baby so she could keep Mami in sight but not in a position where she might be in the way of anyone working in the kitchen. Danny found enough eggs in the refrigerator along with some sausage patties and most of a whole loaf of bread on the counter. French toast would be a lovely way to wake his partner. He found a bowl to hold the egg mixture and allow him to dip the bread into the mix before cooking in the frying pan currently on the stove. The oven had a warming drawer function; sausage was cooking in the pan and then Danny could keep that warm while cooking the French toast. Syrup was poured into a microwave safe container to be warmed when the meal was almost ready. While he was cooking Danny chatted with Elena describing all the steps involved in making breakfast. The sausage was cooked, the toast was almost done and Danny turned around to wake Maria only to find her standing in the doorway watching the baby and her partner.
When he saw Maria, hair all tousled, but looking absolutely gorgeous, Danny smiled. His heart began to beat a bit faster and he was lost for words to tell her how happy he was in that moment. The woman he truly loved and wanted to spend his days with was smiling at him. Then she saw her daughter who became excited to see Mami. Maria began putting silverware on the island where they would sit to eat breakfast. She poured two glasses of juice and filled two cups with coffee. Danny took the sausage out of the warmer and put it on the table while he finished cooking the French toast and added it to the island. Maria took Elena's bowl and put a few small pieces of toast in the bowl. She took one of the sausage patties and cut it up in very small pieces. She took Elena's spoon and walked over to the high chair. She put a few pieces of toast and a piece of sausage on the spoon and put the contents in the baby's mouth. She seemed to enjoy the food so Maria put the bowl on the tray and let Elena enjoy it. Maria and Danny sat at the kitchen island and enjoyed their breakfast. They worked together to clean up after they ate then discussed a plan for the day.
Sunday morning
The ceremony would be at the Community Center so Jamie arranged for a room the family could use to change into their dress uniforms. The Monsignor was surprised to see the family at the earlier mass but didn't say anything. He had a meeting later in the week with Frank and would see what he could discover at that time. The attendance at the earlier service had only about one third the number of congregants than the service the family normally attended so they were on the way to Jill's ceremony sooner than expected.
The parking lot was filling up but everyone found a spot. Jamie led everyone inside and directed those needing to change into their dress uniforms to the room they could use. The room had been split in half so Maria and Eddie could change at the same time as the men. Erin waited in the hall with Elena until Jamie poked his head out and asked for her help making sure the men had their ties all straight. Eddie and Maria joined the group and they headed toward the multipurpose room where the ceremony would be held. They found seats all together and waited for the ceremony to begin.
"Good afternoon, everyone. If those of you who are still standing would find a seat so we can begin?" The leader paused to allow everyone to sit down. "Thank you. I'd like to introduce our leader for this meeting and coin out, David Craven." A tall, thin man stepped forward. He looked around the room trying to determine how many of the people were members or people supporting the members.
"Thank you for being here today. Even though this is not our traditional closed meeting I would still like everyone to rise and join us in saying the Serenity Prayer. For those of you who may not have it memorized yet, there is a card on each chair for your use. Let us begin," and everyone began saying the prayer. "Thank you, please be seated. Now, I'd like to ask, what are the four absolutes for us?" The members responded. "And what are the three legacies?" Again, the members repeated the words. The leader had a few more questions but finally reached the point of this meeting.
"Today we will be acknowledging several members by giving them their next sobriety chips. Please come up when I call your name." He called several members up and handed each person their appropriate chip. "Jill, please come up." Jill took a moment then stood and walked to the front of the room. "Jill, you have reached the two year level. I have been here for most of your struggles and watched you grow. You did the work and have now attained the second year level of sobriety. Congratulations." David turned to the group. "I have asked Jill to tell us about her journey." David stepped back to allow Jill to talk to the group.
"I tried more times than I can remember to get off drugs and alcohol. I had friends bring me to rehab places and most of the time I never even collected the first chip. This battle I fought to get to where I am now was harder than anything I had ever done before. And that includes the years I spent in the Marines overseas. But, I ran into a force greater than anything I've ever experienced before and that was love. I'm not talking about relationships that lead to marriage and building a family but the love that exists in family. This family stood by me through all of my failures and never gave up on me. I've lost track of how many times they would bring me back to try rehab one more time. We've all said something like one more drink and I'll stop or one more pill and won't take drugs anymore. I've made two years, something I thought would never happen. Now, I'll be working with fellow members of the military who need help. I can honestly say I've been where they've been and failed at getting sober and off drugs but with help and really hard work I can stand here and say, hello, my name is Jill and I'm a drug addict and an alcoholic. Thank you." She walked back to her seat and sat down.
David stood in front of the group, "Thank you, Jill. Now, the coffee pot is ready and there's also some cake. Everyone, please enjoy." People began to stand and greet each other. Jill walked back to where the Reagan family had been sitting. She walked up to Jamie and gave him a hug then walked up to Danny and did the same. She stood in front of Frank, stood at attention and saluted. Frank returned the salute and then gave her a hug.
Jill stepped back and looked at everyone. She turned to Jamie and asked for an introduction. "Jill, this is my wife, Eddie. We had been partners as cops but somehow we fell in love and were married. We aren't working together anymore but still love what we do." Jamie turned to Erin and Maria. "This is my sister, Erin. She's a lawyer in the DA's office and this is Danny's partner, Maria. She and Danny have been together for more than ten years and are the best detectives we have in the NYPD. This adorable baby is Maria's daughter that she adopted when she was just a few days old." Jill shook hands with each lady and they walked away from the men to plan a 'Ladies Day Out'. The men waited for the ladies to return so they could plan the move from their current location to the family home.
"Danny, Elena and I are going home with your father and Pops. Then, you and Jill can catch up on the ride over and I can help Pops with dinner."
"Will two hours from now be enough time?" asked Henry.
Danny looked from Maria to Jill. "Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked Maria.
Maria took him by the hand and they walked away from the group. "You and Jill share something, and no one else in the family can say that. She saved your life. I also know that you've been letting Jamie help her get to this point. I'm sure you have things to talk about like the past and the future. You two deserve the time and privacy to talk. You have a bond that's different from any other bonds you have with the family or with me."
"You really don't mind?"
"Of course not. If you want to tell me anything later, I'll be there for you. Now go, be with Jill. I'm sure you both have lots to talk about. I'll see both of you at the house."
Danny reached out to take the baby. "You know, kiddo, I really don't deserve your mother. She's like no one I've ever known before. Both of you are the best part of my life." He kissed Elena, gave her a hug and allowed Maria to take the baby. Maria walked over to Jamie and asked him to move the car seat from Danny's car to Frank's SUV. Danny walked over to where the rest of the family was gathered. "Jill, may I ask you a question?" She nodded and they stepped away from the group. "Maria thinks we should have some time to catch up without anyone listening to our conversation. Would you like to do that?"
"Yes, I'd love that. You know I've been invited to dinner, would you take me there in time for dinner?"
"Yes, I'm glad you'll be there. Let me find out what time we have to be there." They walked back over to the group. Danny walked to Frank and explained what he and Jill would be doing. Jill said goodbye to her leader and a few friends then walked out with Danny. Maria watched from a distance and knew she had done the right thing. If there was something between the two veterans they deserved the time to see what it might be. She knew Danny had feelings for her but wanted him to decide what he wanted.