Chapter Text
“Where’s Linda and the kids?” He asks pretty much as soon as he sees his family.
“They’ll be here,” Erin answers, and that’s not a good enough answer. Danny needs to know their exact coordinates.
“Hey, everybody!” Linda’s voice calls out from the other room.
Danny immediately puts his beer down, rounding the table. As soon as he sees his wife, he wraps his arms around her. He seats her back and forth, kissing her neck, while she talks about the zoo.
“How about you guys? Everybody have a good day?”
No, he did not have a good day, but he isn’t about to tell her that. Not yet.
“What?” Linda looks at the family. “What’s wrong?” She lightly grabs his chin, and her fingers feel like the best thing that’s ever touched him. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s great!” He lies through his teeth, moving to take a seat. He holds her hand throughout dinner and dessert, and doesn’t let her out of his sight.
*********
Linda let’s Jack and Sean stay up and hour later than usual, because it’s my birthday, Mom!, and they can sleep in a little tomorrow morning. She kisses them goodnight first, then heads to the shower. Danny wants to follow her, but he’s stuck listening to Jack and Sean recount the day for the third time. He’s in there fifteen minutes before he tells them they need to go to bed.
“I’m glad you had a good day, Jack.”
“Yeah, it was a great birthday! Thanks, Dad!”
“Don’t thank me. Thank Mom. She chased you around the zoo, didn’t she?” He prays they don’t hear the quaver in his voice. He bids them goodnight one more time.
When he walks into his and Linda’s bedroom, he almost has a heart attack. Where is she? She’s supposed to be in here! He’s about to call her name when he hears the shower running. Almost as if he’s on autopilot, he walks into the en-suite undresses.
Danny pulls back the curtain and steps in, and she looks at him with those beautiful blue eyes. The blue eyes he thought he’d never get to see again…
She gives her husband a smile, “may I help you?”
He doesn’t say anything, unsure of why he’s suddenly mute. He wants to take her in his arms and have her right then and there. And while the last time had excellent results, he doesn’t. And he isn’t sure why.
“Want to wash my hair?” Linda’s voice penetrates his thoughts, and he nods. She smiles again and he swears he’s going to faint.
He grabs the shampoo and steps behind her, squeezing the right amount out. (He had been yelled at when he was squeezing out generous amounts). He lathers her hair, not saying a word, and piles it on her head. He isn’t sure why he does that; maybe because it made her smile and laugh the first time.
“Do you want to tell me something?”
“Later.” He knows what she’s asking. Why are you so clingy tonight? Why do you have the look in your eyes? What happened to get you so spooked?
“Please,” she says as he gently tips her head back.
They don’t talk much, mainly because Danny can’t think of anything other than how grateful his is that she’s standing here, and how he couldn’t lost her. He watches her silently as she puts the conditioner in the ends of her hair.
“Did something happen today?”
“I told you,” he’s washing his own hair quickly. “I’ll tell you later.”
“When is later?”
“When I’m good and ready!” He doesn’t mean to snap at her.
“When will that be?” But her voice isn’t annoyed. Her posture isn’t annoyed. She’s just standing there, staring at him, waiting for an answer.
So he doesn’t answer. He only grabs her hand and takes the sprayer down, moving it over her body, carefully avoiding her hair. He doesn’t look up at her when he rubs the soapy washcloth over her skin, too focused on her being alive and well. She doesn’t have a scratch on her- only a fading bruise near her hip, and he knows she got that trying to avoid running into Pops on the kitchen. He’s too focused on checking for injuries, which means he misses her bite her lip when he washes her torso, breasts, and hips. Once the soap is washed away, she takes the sprayer from him.
“Let me do you,” Linda says and all he can think of is yes, please!
She washes him like he did her, and he can feel himself starting to react. She washes the soap off of him, then he washes the conditioner from her hair. They towel off, and he stares at her while she dries her hair. She doesn’t style it, however, sans the bangs.
“Will you braid my hair?” She’s holding a hair tie.
Danny smiles and takes her hand, leading her to the bedroom. They sit in the bed and he braids her hair, being transported back to high school. Her hair was very long back then, and once she taught him to braid, he was constantly doing it while they studied or watched a movie together.
Linda smiles once he’s done and pecks his lips. “Thanks, babe.”
Just as she’s about to crawl over to her side, he grabs her arms and kisses her passionately. She’s a little surprised- he can tell- but she quickly kisses him back, and her neatly plaited hair doesn’t stay that way for very long.
**********
Her hair is sticking to her flushed face and neck, and he swears she’s never looked more beautiful. How many times tonight has he sworn that same thing?
“Now will you tell me?” Linda asks as she pushes her bangs out of her face. Her face is pink and flushed, and the sated smile on her face makes him not want to tell her what happened.
Danny grabs her hand and starts playing with her engagement ring. He doesn’t think he can look her in the eyes. “Is your phone charging?”
“Yes, of course it is. The battery died.”
“I know. You want to know how I know? Because I tried calling you about a million times to tell you there was a f***ing bomb in Manhattan!” He doesn’t mean to yell and curse at her- they had rules about that- but he’s still a little scared.
Linda’s taken a back by that, “what?”
Calmer and softer, he responds, “there was a bomb in Manhattan. It would’ve easily taken out the zoo, where you and —“ his voice involuntarily cracks. “Where you and the boys were. That’s why I….”
Linda bites her lip when he finally looks at her, staring into her eye.
“I can’t lose you, Linda. I can’t.” He starts to cry against his will.
She moves to hug him, only telling him, “we’re okay now, Danny. It’s okay. We’re safe.”
He nods against her, but doesn’t say anything more. He only holds her tighter, praying that when he lets go, she will still be next to him.
*********
I’m sorry,” Linda apologizes once he’s done crying. “I didn’t mean for my phone to die. It’s just the damn battery…”
“We’ll get you a new one tomorrow,” he grabs her hand. “I don’t want to not be able to get a hold of you again, Linda.”
She nods, moving to give him a kiss. “I promise to make sure it’s charged before going anywhere. I’ll even keep it plugged in in the car.”
“I really thought I was going to lose you and the boys—“
She shushes him, “you didn’t. You didn’t, and we’re all safe now.”
She kisses him again before snuggling up close. “I’ll charge it whenever and wherever I can, I promise.”
Danny only kisses her and holds her tightly, convinced if he lets go, she’ll be gone.