Chapter 27

 

Chapter 27

   I went by the Intel Office the next morning and accepted the reports Julia and the staff had put together, read thru them and told them they were doing great work and what a pleasure it was to work alongside of them. I gave them new assignments and told them what I wanted them to look for, then I headed out and went to visit Henderson in the Machine Shop.

   “Hey, Eugene, how’s it hanging?”

   “Daniel! Okay, so the rumors I heard were a bunch of shit after all.”

   “Rumors?”

   “Yeah, there was some crap going around that you and Packer had a major falling out and he had you locked up. I’m glad to see it isn’t true.”

   I laughed and said, “Well, we did have a disagreement over personal issues and it did get a little heated.”

   “So, he did have you locked up?”

   “Just for three days, he had Williams release me yesterday, so back to the grind, right? It was a nice little vacation though.”

   “Well, okay, so what’s up?”

   “I keep meaning to come by, but other shit keeps getting in the way; did you ever finish working on that breakdown silenced rifle?”

   “Yeah, I did and Packer liked it so well he wants twenty of them!”

   “Do you have one handy I can try out?”

   “Yeah, the original prototype, I think I might hang on to that one for myself.” He led me to a cabinet and opened it. “Here,” he said. “Check it out.”

   I have to give it to Eugene, he’s damn good at what he does. “How do you break it down?”

   He pointed and said, “See this lever? You flip it out, rotate the barrel assembly forty-five degrees and, wala!” The weapon came apart in two halves.

   “Sweet,” I said. “How long is the barrel?”

   “Twelve inches, another eight inches for the suppressor though. I swear to you, Daniel, this is one quiet puppy. You can see it’s bolt action, I did that because the low pressure of the ammunition won’t reliably feed in semi-auto, and it feeds from a seven round capacity Colt magazine. Some people don’t care for the limited capacity, but hey, it’s not an assault weapon, it’s for being discreet.”

   We took it to the range and I started putting it through its paces. It would take some practice, but the weapon performed well. “How accurate is it?”

   “Not very, but good enough for its purpose. I can consistently hit a six-inch bullseye at 100 yards. Naturally, the point of impact closes up the closer the target is.”

   “I really want one of these,” I said.

   “Okay,” Henderson said. “Packer wants twenty of them, but it will be easy to squeeze another one into the production run. I’ve delivered fourteen and I’m working on the fifteenth, how about I issue that one to you?”

   “Wow, Eugene, that would be sweet!”

   “Guess what else I have?”

   “What?”

   “A Matchpoint Thermal scope. I can’t use it on this one because I didn’t incorporate rails on the barrel assembly, the one I put together for you will have them, if you want it, it’s yours.”

   “Damn, Eugene, hell yes!” I didn’t have any sort of night vision equipment and the Thermal sight would make night shooting a lot more accurate. Plus, it could be used during the day with the thermal function switched off.

   Three days later, Eugene called and said the rifle was ready and I went by and picked it up. He included a few other items that he said were issued with the weapon; there was a small cleaning kit, a ballistic nylon case that could hold the rifle in its broken down state, a sling for the case, that doubled as a rifle sling though the case had PALS straps to mount it to a pack, and 300 rounds of the subsonic ammunition the rifle used. I considered it a worthwhile addition to my personal arsenal.

I was on my way to the apartment when I saw Danni waiting at the doors to Level Two. She was wearing her gear and was carrying her rifle, so I figured she had just got off duty. I kept walking and as I approached she straightened up, slung her rifle, and waited for me.

   “Daniel.”

   “We’re both in uniform, Lieutenant Monroe,” I said as I started past her.

   “How long are you going to play the fucking victim?” She asked as she turned and matched my pace beside me.

   “Was there something you need from Lieutenant Tarn’s apartment?”

   “Daniel…”

   “You don’t need to ask permission to enter, it’s yours and Debra’s anyway.”

   “Still whining I see; don’t you think it’s about time to man-up?”

   “How does that look to you, Lieutenant?” I replied as I continued to walk, “How would you like me to act in order to meet your requirements for, manning-up?”

   “Get over your anger to begin with, that would be an excellent start right there. Then we can have the discussion we need to have.”

   “Lieutenant, I’m not angry anymore.”

   She grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and spun me around to face her as she stopped, “Bullshit, you reek of it!”

   “How do you propose to have, a constructive dialog, if you deny, or denigrate anything I say? The first thing we need to establish is accepting the accuracy of each other’s statements; how else can a meaningful discussion take place? I’ll start, I accept you believe that I am a whiny, angry, un-manly, bullshitting victim.” I stood there and waited as her mouth opened and closed before I continued, “I guess the discussion is over?” I turned and started through the Level Two blast doors.

   “Hold it! Stop! God damn it!” She ran and caught up with me. “No wonder Debra hates arguing with you! You twist everything anyone says!”

   I stopped and said, “I’m sorry, I guess I misheard when you stated I was acting like a victim, and I needed to man-up, and I was angry, and…”

   “If you don’t stop this shit, I’m going to go ahead and let you hang yourself with your own words! I’m trying to save yours and Debra’s relationship. Why won’t you let me?”

   I softly said, “Because there is nothing to save, Danni.”

   “What? You don’t mean that, I know you don’t.” She reached out and gripped my bare forearm.

   “Remember when you and Debra were discussing the possibility of the two, Me’s, integrating?”

   She nodded her head as her eyes kept shifting back and forth between my own.

   “Two months ago, if this had happened then? I probably would have argued a bit and then given in and said okay, do what you think you need to do.”

   “Exactly!”

   “That was two months ago. This is now. I have discovered I rather like who I am becoming and I am becoming very comfortable in my skin. I’m not angry, Danni, I’m simply rejecting the subsidiary role I play in our relationship. I am tired of playing the dullard, the less than capable, the…”

   “Daniel!” She now had hold of both of my arms in a grip I recognized as a preparatory move to a take down.

   “Don’t do it, Danni.”

   She stared hard at me and finally said, “In our training sessions, you’ve been allowing me to submit you, haven’t you?”

   “I’m busy, Lieutenant Monroe, perhaps we can finish this, discussion, at a later date.” I quickly rotated my hands over her wrists and broke the grip she had on my arms. “I have an important meeting in the Intelligence Office.” I stepped around her and started walking away.

   “Daniel! We are not done!”

   “For the moment, we are,” I said without turning around and continued walking away. She didn’t say anything else and she didn’t follow me. When I reached the apartment, I put my new rifle away and then went to Intel.

 

   I kept my team of analysts late into the evening while I impressed the importance of the charts we created and drilled them over and over until I trusted they understood the system I used. I finally sent them home and after they left, I plugged my computer in and started downloading all of the programs onto CDs. When I finished, I placed the computer back into the safe and locked it. It was quiet in the level as I walked to the door of the apartment and then entered, but I was surprised by who was waiting for me to return.

   Danni was sitting on the couch, dressed in a bathrobe, with a glass of Bock in her hand. “Lieutenant?”

   She got up, placed the glass on the coffee table and walked past me to the fridge where she removed a bottle of Bock and started pouring it into a glass, “I’m not in uniform, Daniel, so let’s not go there, okay?” She handed me the glass and then topped off her own before sitting down and drawing her legs up beneath her. “We need to talk, so why don’t you shower and get comfortable.”

   “The shower sounds good, the talk? Not so much.”

   She exhaled heavily through her nose and finally asked, “Please?” She reached out to the table and picked up an envelope, “I’m sorry to say I’ve been screwing up pretty bad and I want to fix things the best I can.” She held up the envelope and said, “You need to read this, so take a shower and get comfortable, all right?”

   I had already drank half the glass of beer, so I drained the rest and said, “Okay, but I’ve had a busy and late evening, I’m not making any promises as to the company I might be.”

   “I can respect that.”

   I placed the empty glass on the counter next to the kitchen and then opened one of the plastic shipping crates I had stacked next to the door. I chose a set of fresh briefs, a tee-shirt and a pair of sweats before entering the bathroom and undressing. When I was done, I came back out as Danni was placing a newly filled glass of bock next to the Marlow Chair. As she returned to the couch, I picked up the glass and sat at the opposite end of the couch.

   “I thought you would want the Marlow chair?”

   “Too comfortable, I’m tired, second glass of Bock.” I said.

   She nodded and held the envelope out to me; my name was written on the front in Debra’s precise writing style plus a notation that said, ‘read this while Danni reads hers.’ “She intended for you to read that, the day she left. She wanted us to think about it and discuss the proposal while she was gone, and then we would all talk about it when she returned. It’s what she meant when she said the two of you would discuss your future together.”

   “So, what did your letter say?”

   “She was pretty adamant that we read them together.”

   “Okay, what did your letter say?”

   “You know me better than I thought.” She cleared her throat and said, “I tried to get the letter to you while you were locked up, but with the isolation decree and then the way we kept arguing and…I couldn’t help it, she was so serious and I knew it had to be important to  her, so, yeah, I already read mine.”

   “And?”

   “You should read it and I’ll reread mine at the same time.” She reached down and picked up the second envelope from the coffee table.

   I tossed the one addressed to me onto the table and said, “Whatever it says, the conversation we had from opposite sides of the glass pretty much nullifies it. Then again,” I reached down and picked it back up. “Maybe it will clarify her, shall we say, lack of interest in me as a father.”

   “Please don’t go there, Daniel, please don’t. Once you read it, I think you’ll understand why she insisted on going. There was more to it than just wanting to do her duty. Much, much more.”

   It dawned on me she was being totally different than she had been since I was released. She wasn’t being snappish, or accusatory. For some reason, she thought it was truly important that I read the letter. I drank a large portion of the glass of bock and then opened the envelope, “Alright,” I said. “But I’m making no promises.”

   She nodded and then removed her own letter and began to reread it.

   “Honey, I know you are angry and you feel I have turned on you, maybe you even think I don’t really love you, but nothing could be farther from the truth. You, and Danni Lynn, are my entire life, you are my everything. I love you so much, and I still want many more children with you. It hurt when you asked if Taylor was coming with me, and I reacted badly. I tried to explain why I had to go, but you didn’t want to hear me. You were angry because you thought the trip was too dangerous for Danni Lynn and I suppose for me also, but believe me, I fully trust everyone going to protect our little girl.

   I’m a soldier, Daniel, a warrior, and I know that you understand that and what it means. You may never have been a member of the armed forces, but you are a warrior also. We have different jobs, you in Intelligence and me as a Scout/Sniper, but you are one of the best fighters amongst us and I am proud to call you mine and for you to call me, yours. Please, while you read the rest of this letter, please do not think that I don’t love you as much as I should, because you are the only man for me. You are the only man that will ever father my children, I am yours, forever. No one will ever love you the way I do, and no one will ever love me, the way you do.

   Honey, remember the day we walked down to the rifle range and I told you that if anything happened to me, I wanted Danni, to be Danni Lynn’s mom? I know you were upset and didn’t want to think about it, I know because you tried to deflect the conversation with humor. John Trench? Really? So, I hit back with Toby Tyler, and about choked on how ridiculous it sounded. Like I said, there is no one, but you, for me. Danni would be a great mother and I think you know that as well. I’ve seen how the two of you have interacted since Dan was killed and it has made me so happy for how supportive of her needs you have been. I’ve seen and happily recognized the bonds that have grown between the two of you.

   Then another thought occurred to me, Danni is a beautiful, kind, gentle, loving and capable woman and I have had a number of men ask me if Danni was ready to start dating again. What if she finally did start dating, what if she found someone else? If she did, I know she would be there for Danni Lynn, but not for you and you would be alone. Remember when I was pregnant and you would find me so sad and crying? When you would ask me what was wrong, I would say nothing, that it was probably because my hormones were all screwed up because I was pregnant? I was lying, Daniel, I was scared you would be alone with no one to love you and it was breaking my heart.

   It was also breaking my heart to see Danni hurting and alone. I love Danni, I truly do, and I started to pay attention to the two of you. How the three of us would laugh together, how she holds Danni Lynn and the look in her eyes when she does. I also saw the pride she has in you and how much she cares for the two of us. Remember when she moved out for a few days because we had an argument? That wasn’t the reason she left. She left because she told me she was falling in love with you and decided to leave so it wouldn’t be a problem between us. There was no where she could go, so I talked her into coming back and she promised me she would not try to take you. I trust her, Honey, completely and totally and I know she has never betrayed that trust and neither have you, I know it.

   If you and Danni can agree to what I want, it will make my life so much easier and happier. I will never be afraid that I might leave you alone, you will always have someone to care for our children, someone who will truly love them and care for them. We both want large families, Danni and I, you want as many children as I am willing to give you and I am very willing.

   Now for the part that I hope the two of you will agree to. While I am gone, I would like for the two people in the world I love the most, to consider a blended family. You and I, Daniel, and our children, and you and Danni, and your children. I’m not sure what the terminology might be, but Danni would be my, co-wife? The children, from me and Danni will be sisters and brothers and Danni and I will be mom to all of them, no matter who gave birth to them. I know this sounds strange, but I think it will work if we are only open to it. Please, just think about it while I’m gone and if you agree? Wonderful, if not? I will still love both of you with all my heart and I will always strive to keep my Daniel happy and loved.”

“Your wife, your lover, Debra.”

   I folded the letter and slipped it into the pocket of my sweats. I couldn’t look at Danni, I mean what do you say to the woman your wife, what? Wants to be your wife also? I mean, all I’ve ever heard was one man, one woman, one life. You dedicated yourself to that one person and you worked at it until it worked the way it should. Debra was vastly more experienced than me, she understood…What? That Danni would want to share me? Why me? I mean, I’m nothing special, why would two different women want to become my wives, the mothers of my children, I started to panic and my thoughts started racing. I have trouble sometimes understanding Debra’s needs, now she wants me to try and understand another woman’s intimate needs also?

   “Daniel?”

   “Danni, I…I…”

   Unbelievably, she laughed.

   “This isn’t funny, Danni!”

   She stood up and retrieved my empty glass before going to the kitchen and pouring both of our glasses full again. When she returned, she handed me one and said, “Sip, swallow, then do it again. You’re reacting the same way I did, panic.”

   “Panic? You panicked?”

   “Of course, I did.” She sipped and then sat down next to me instead of the opposite end of the couch. “I rushed through an entire gambit of emotions, shame, anger, sadness, love, you name it. I actually considered tearing the letters up and hitting the road to, I don’t know, maybe Holloman?”

   “I thought women were supposed to be jealous, I thought…I don’t know what I think anymore. I don’t want to share her with someone else, I can’t imagine it. Maybe I would if I didn’t care for her as much as I do; does this mean she doesn’t…”

   “Whoa,” she said. “Don’t go there; she loves you more than her own life, never doubt that.”

   “But…”

   “No buts, never, ever, doubt she loves you with her entire being. She knew you would have doubts about her love for you, she told me in this.” She held up her letter and waved it, “She said it was up to me to allay those fears and to help you through it. It’s a different world now, Daniel, and we need to change in order to accept it.”

   “Yeah, poor little repressed, Daniel.”

   “Daniel, please don’t go to anger, don’t let that blue shit take over like it did when Packer told you Debra was going, and so was Danni Lynn.”

   “That wasn’t the contaminant.”

   “Oh, come on, yes it was.” She was smiling, probably to take the sting out of it. “You promised to burn down Asylum with Packer in it.”

   “What? No, I didn’t!”

   “Yes, you did. You were in the cell they had Parker and Stevens in and they had video surveillance in there. Williams showed me the recording because I couldn’t believe what Williams said was on it.”

   “I actually said that?”

   “Yes, and then Packer tried to hit you with a zinger. He told you, the penalty for threatening a superior officer was twenty years in Leavenworth and he wondered if you had the time.”

   “Geez, that sounds like something he would say.”

   “You really don’t remember?” I shook my head ‘no.’ “Then you flat shut him down, you told him, Leavenworth was an historical footnote, but you weren’t.”

   “I’m lucky he didn’t shoot me.”

   “No, that wasn’t going to happen. You really don’t know how much Packer cares about you, do you?”

   I just looked at her.

   “I think he feels the same way about you that he and Gilly think of Debra; sort of the child they never had.”

   “Danni, I don’t think…”

   “You really don’t understand how everyone around here thinks of you, do you?” Hers eyes started getting wet and she angrily wiped at them. “Sorry, it’s just, god you’re so…”

   “Dense?”

   “I think Gilly sums it up best, self-deprecating. You think so little of yourself, and you shouldn’t. Debbie has told me about some of the things that happened to you when you were growing up in foster care.”

   “Lots of people have bad childhoods, geez, look what Debra experienced, even you, you lost your parents when you were old enough for it to hurt. I was lucky, I never felt that kind of pain, and compared to Debra…”

   “Daniel,” She suddenly leaned forward and lightly kissed my lips. “You’re very special, hear it, believe it.”

   “Danni, I’m not sure…”

   She interrupted me and quickly asked, “Daniel, can I talk to the other guy for a moment?”

   Before I could ask why, he broke through, “What do you want to ask me?” I guess with all of the recent events, the letter, the confusion I was experiencing, he was hanging around ready to emerge.

   Danni kind of jumped and then settled down, before she drew her right knee up and turned to face me fully, “Debbie said if Daniel was reluctant, I should talk to you.”

   “About what?” He glanced down and looked at the expanse of inner thigh Danni had exposed.

   “What do you think of Debbie’s proposal? You know what she wants, right?”

   “Of course, how many times do you have to be…”

   “Hush! Don’t get pushy, we need calm and reason…”

   “Don’t hush me, you want to know what I think? Then don’t shut me down.”

   Debra squirmed uncomfortably and said, “Okay, sorry, uh, you read Debbie’s letter; what do you think?”

   “We love Debra, but this last stunt, she hurt us badly. We only wanted to protect her, we wanted to protect Danni Lynn. To be told you are nothing more than, as Danny put it, the sperm donor and we have nothing to say about what she does with the baby? That’s not going to fly.”

   Danni leaned back away from us and pulled her bathrobe over her exposed inner thigh, “Uh, okay,” She scooted back and drew up her other leg and pressed them together as she pulled the robe tighter around her. “So, you’re not going to support her idea?”

   He sighed heavily and said, “You know he loves you, but he’s never allowed himself to love you in any way, but as a sister. Anything else would have been too difficult for him to deal with. We would never want to hurt one of you. It pains us too much when we see disappointment in either of your eyes.”

   “You didn’t answer the question.” She scooted back a little more and used reaching for her glass of bock to move even farther away.

   “I don’t even think you know what you want. On the one hand, you start acting like you’re all for it, and then you ask for me. When you get me, you wish you hadn’t asked.”

   “I’m sorry, maybe I should just go to bed and we can talk about this later, maybe tomorrow, or…”

   “Not at all?” He smiled and patted the couch next to us, “Come here.”

   “No.”

   “Why not? You wanted to before.”

   “You make me nervous.”

   “I don’t make you nervous, you make you nervous.” And then he, we, thought for a moment and said, “That guy, the one you loved, but he beat you and caused you to miscarry, that’s why you’re afraid, isn’t it?”

   She didn’t respond.

   “Yeah, was he like us? Was he mentally ill? What was it about, him, that you see in us? What has you so conflicted?”

   “He almost killed me; he killed my baby. He wasn’t mentally ill; it was drugs added to he just wasn’t a nice person.”

   I shivered as I pushed him out, “Danni, no matter how this turns out, please don’t lump, me, us, together with that guy, please. Remember the night of the Spring Ball, when I go so angry at Debra?”

   “Yes.”

   “Danni, I’ve never been that angry before, or since, and it never even occurred to me to strike Debra, even after she slapped the shit out of me, remember?”

   Her lower lip was trembling as she nodded.

   “We would never harm you; we would never strike you, never. I, we, might lash out with words, I can’t deny it, but physically hurt you? Never. If you are fearful of that, then no, we shouldn’t accept Debra’s proposal. Maybe we should do as you suggested, maybe we should get some sleep and talk about this later. Why don’t you take the bedroom like I told you before, you can lock the door and rest?”

   She closed her eyes for a moment and then stood up with her glass and walked to the kitchen where she once again refilled it with Bock. She held the bottle up towards me with a silent question and I nodded, yes. She brought it with her, refilled my glass and sat back down on the couch, but in the center, closer to me.

   “My letter contained some advice that I know Debra didn’t include in yours.”

   “Okay.”

   She sat there quietly for a few moments and then said, “Between Debra, Danny, and I, I was the first one working here. You know that when I first came here, I told everyone I was a lesbian and you know why I did it.”

   I frowned as I said, “Yes.”

   “Then Debra was hired and we became good friends almost immediately. We hung out together, we went on leave together, everything.”

   “I know, she told me the two of you really hit it off.”

   “Yeah, we did.” She shifted uncomfortably and slid closer to me. “We used to spend a lot of time together in the women’s bay with the other girls and sometimes we would have celebrations; people’s birthdays, holidays, things like that and we’d have drinks, you know?”

   I nodded.

   “Debra says we have to be honest with you, so you don’t get blind-sided down the road.”

   “Thank you.”

   “She says you’re kind of prudish when it comes to discussing sex, but not so much when it actually comes to sex.”

   “I was at first with Debra, but not anymore.”

   She nodded and then said, “Debra and I were having some drinks one night and all the other girls that were there either crashed, or returned to their own squad bays. Debra and I were slamming shots of tequila and we were getting really shitfaced. She hadn’t been here very long and she said she missed the Jacuzzi she had at her old apartment complex in Dallas and I said I knew where there was one here in the Hole.” She started talking faster, as if she wanted to hurry and finish. “So, I took her there and it was really early in the morning and the place was empty. We walked to the Jacuzzi and realized, neither one of us had thought to bring our swimsuits and we figured what the hell, there’s no one here, so off came the clothes and into the Jacuzzi. Well, we were still drinking from a bottle and Debra knew I was a lesbian, supposedly, so all of a sudden, she leans over and kisses me right on the mouth.” She kept talking faster and faster. “I was kind of stunned, but then I kissed her back and one thing led to another and we ended up doing each other, and Debbie thinks we should tell you so that if you find out you won’t think we were keeping it from you and that’s it.”

   I sat there for a moment and then said, “So, you and Debra had an affair?”

   She frowned and said, “Well, I wouldn’t call it that, it was just one time and Dan was hired a little while after that and I was gaga over him and we never did it again.”

   I nodded, “Okay, you never did it again? Never?”

   “We talked about that night a couple of times and admitted we enjoyed it, but no, we didn’t do it again.”

   “Okay, I was afraid you were going to say the two of you had done it again while she was with me.”

   “Oh, no, never. I would never even suggest it; the two of you are together and, no, never.” She seemed really nervous and agitated.

   “It’s alright, Danni, I’m not going to go off on you.”

   “You’re not?”

   “No, but you thought I would.”

   “Well, yeah, sort of.”

   I shrugged and then took a drink of the bock I had forgotten about while she told her story. In my head, I envisioned what the two of them might have done and found myself becoming aroused. Inside, I heard him say, “I would have liked to have seen that, two hot ladies like them…” “Shut up!” I said, and then squeezed my eyes shut as I realized I said it out loud.

   “I’m sorry, I’ll never mention it again and I’ll tell Debbie…”

   “Not you,” I said. “Him!’

   “Huh?”

   “The other guy, I was telling him to shut up.”

   She frowned and asked, “Why?”

   “Because he said he would have liked…never mind.”

   She smiled, then chuckled, and then started to laugh. She had to place her glass of Bock on the coffee table because she was spilling it as she laughed harder. She turned towards me and still laughing, she crawled over me, turned towards me and then laid across my lap.

   Fanning her face with her hand, she said, “Oh, shit, I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. What did he say?”

   Sulking, I said, “I didn’t let him finish.”

   She snorted and started laughing again, before once again fanning her face.

   “It wasn’t funny, Danni.”

   “Yes, it was!” More laughter, and then, “Okay, okay,” she blew out several breaths while fanning again and said, “Okay, I’m good now, I am.” She blew out two more breaths and settled down, “Okay, Debbie said I should try and seduce you to sort of seal the bargain, that is, if you were interested. Are you interested?”

   “I have a beautiful woman lying across my lap with nothing on, but a bathrobe and she’s asking me if I’m interested and my wife is encouraging the whole thing, so yeah, I’m interested, but…” She pushed herself up with her left arm and then put her right hand on the side of her head as she grimaced. “Hey, are you alright?”

   “I laughed so hard; I think I gave myself a headache. Would it be okay if I just laid here for a few minutes and see if it passes?”

   “Of course, put your head on my chest.” She lowered back down and did as I suggested. I raised up my left hand and began to gently massage her temple with my fingertips, “Is that okay? Does it help?”

   She murmured, “Yes.” And closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was fast asleep and I realized she must have drunk quite a bit of Bock before I got home. I sat there for an indeterminate time before I gathered her up, carried her to the bedroom and put her to bed. When I finished, I poured what was left from her glass of Bock into my own, opened the front door and sat on the bench outside. Sometimes, late at night, when everything was quiet, you could feel a slight breeze from the HVAC as it pumped fresh air into the Hole. I sat there and sipped from the glass until I felt a cool spot on my tee-shirt. Looking down, I realized Danni had drooled on my shirt while she slept. For some reason, it struck me as funny; she seemed to want to seduce me so badly and fell asleep instead, I started to laugh. I probably looked like an idiot, sitting outside sipping beer, in a machine generated breeze, cackling like a fool. Then it occurred to me, did she drink so much Bock in order to prepare herself to make the attempt? I wondered if maybe she was just trying to make sure I was there when Debra came home. That would explain drinking so much, maybe she didn’t really want…I was trying to figure out a woman’s motivation for doing what she was doing, and to tell the truth, I was too tired to worry about it.

 

   I must have dozed off leaning against the wall and I woke up with my shoulder being massaged, “Huh? What?”

   Julia was standing in front of me with a concerned expression, and gently rubbing my left shoulder, “Why are you sitting out here sleeping?”

   “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” I leaned forward and groaned as I stood up because my ass and hips were stiff from sitting so long on the concrete bench. “Damn, what time is it?”

   “Almost eight o’clock, wow, judging from the way you smell, you must have tied one on last night.” She continued looking concerned.

   “Just a couple of glasses, I think it is more from being worn out and run down.”

   “There you are,” Danni said from the doorway. “Why are you out here?”

   “He says he fell asleep out here sitting on that cement bench, even I know that’s not good.” She sounded a bit disapproving.

   “He’s a man,” Danni said, “You need to keep a tight leash on them, or they’re forever doing themselves harm.”

   “Isn’t that the truth, there’s this guy I’ve been seeing that works down in Tech Support? He’s constantly hurting himself when he has Militia training. That’s how I met him, I had to bandage up another booboo he got.”

   I chuckled and said, “Go ahead and open up shop, I’ll be there in a while.”

   “Are you sure?” She gave me a dubious look. “I know you stayed after the rest of us worked late, what time did you knock off?”

   “He got in around midnight and then I kept him up even later talking and drinking.”

   Julia said, “It sounds to me like you should sleep for a little while, why don’t you do that and come in later?”

   “Out of the mouth of babes,” Danni said. “How about I deliver him around lunch time?”

   “Okay, I’ll see you then, Daniel.”

    She hurried away and Danni turned to me, “The way you’re standing, my guess is that bench sucked all of the warmth out of you. Come in, and take a hot shower, it will help you loosen up.” She stepped back as I walked through and then followed me to the bathroom door, “Why are your clothes in the crates by the door?”

   I hesitated and then said, “Because I was planning on leaving. I told you this was going to be yours and Debra’s place when I was gone.”

   “I figured you were being kind of melodramatic.” She stared at me and said, “You really were going to leave.”

   “I don’t talk just to hear my voice, Danni.”

   “Okay, but what about now, are you still planning to leave? I mean, since you read the letter?”

   I shrugged and said, “I’m not sure to tell the truth, the things she said, about my wants in regard to Danni Lynn not mattering; they really hit me the wrong way. Most of the time, when we argue, I ignore the things she says because we understand one another, we recognize that the blue shit causes us to over-react some times and we’re cognizant of it. We sort of lower our expectations with one another because we know we love each other and we give ourselves room to screw up. Am I making any sense?”

   “Yes, you are, and it makes me want to regret some of the things I’ve said to you the last few days.”

   “Debra and I have an agreement; we always try to give the benefit of the doubt when one of us over-reacts. Sometimes it doesn’t work out in the short run, but usually down the road it will.”

   “Is that, maybe, what we’re looking at now? That with time you can get over it?”

   “I hope so, I don’t want to lose access to my child, but I don’t want to be excluded from the decision-making process either.”

   “When she gets back, we need to tell her that, so she understands. Hell, it may not be necessary, you know how she says things and then apologizes, because she realizes she was over the line.”

   “Yeah, I guess so. It’s just, I never had a family, you know?”

   “I know, really, I do.” Then she smiled and said, “Sorry about last night, you know, crashing on you.”

   “That’s alright.”

   “Can I make it up for you?”

   I smiled and tentatively said, “What did you have in mind?”

   “Exactly what Debra suggested; I want to seduce you.”

   “Are you sure? What if she’s changed her mind and wishes she hadn’t written those letters?”

   She got a cautious expression and finally said, “We tell her the truth, and then ride out the storm.”

   “Danni…”

   “Daniel, do you think this was a spur of the moment decision on her part? If so, it wasn’t, she wants this, for all of us. She has for a long time, it’s a cowardly way of bringing it to us, but the intentions were thought out and good.”

   “I’m afraid that once we start, how will it play out? I don’t want anyone to get hurt, none of us.”

   “I’m not planning on it, just one thing, and I’m ready to jump in with both feet.”

   “What is it?”

   “I love you, Daniel, and like Debra told you, I want to feel your baby growing inside of me. Is that what you want?”

   “Like he told you last night, I do love you, but I never allowed myself to feel the kind of love you want, but now? Yes, I do, I love you and yes, I want to see you pregnant with my child.”

   She untied the belt of her robe and allowed it to slip off her shoulders and drop to the floor, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s take that shower, and then explore the possibilities.”

   In shape and size, Danni and Debra are the same, and they constantly exchange clothing and sometimes I think they lose track of what clothing originally belonged to who, but in color they’re opposites. Debra has a dark curly mass of long hair; Danni’s hair is white and very fine. She says she keeps it so short because when it grows out, she has to work too hard to get it to look good. Debra is olive skinned with eyes that are several shades lighter than her skin; Danni is the opposite, her eyes are much darker the Debra’s, but her skin is much paler. Debra has used the term, porcelain, when she describes Danni’s complexion. Is one of them more attractive than the other? No, I don’t believe so, they are both beautiful, just in different ways.

   After the shower and the lovemaking, we laid in bed and talked. I was feeling a little pensive and quiet, so I let her do most of the talking. After a while she said, “You’re really quiet and subdued, are you regretting what we’ve done?”

   “No, not at all. It’s just…I’m not sure I can describe what I’m feeling.”

   “I don’t, intimidate you, do I?”

   “Huh?”

   “Dan used to say I, wait, I shouldn’t do that.”

   “Do what?”

   “Compare you to him, or this relationship to that one. I can see how it might bother you if I did it too much.”

   “No, you loved him, if he was still here, you would be with him, and that’s okay, really. I don’t expect you to suddenly box up his memory and store it away; he was too much of who you are.”

   “I used to get a little irritated with Debbie because she was constantly talking about how perfect you were. I told her I felt the same way about Dan, he was perfect for me. I remember she kind of frowned and said of course he was, why wouldn’t he be? I realized she wasn’t being competitive and saying she had the better man; she was saying you were perfect for her. The last few months, well, longer than that really, I’ve come to realize why she feels the way she does about you. You are special.”

   “Dan was special for you.”

   “Yes, he was, and now you are. After Dan and I started spending time with you? I realized that if I would have met you, before him, I would have been perfectly happy to have been with you. I really liked you and that’s why I arranged for you and Debra to meet. She was special and so were you and I thought the two of you would be a perfect match. Now, here I am, in bed with my best friend’s husband.”

   “At your best friend’s request.” I said. Then I asked, “Can we make this work? The three of us?”

   “No relationship is perfect in the beginning, they have to be worked at, but yeah, we all love each other, so let’s make it work, for all of us. Like I said last night, this is a new world, with different rules.”

   “Have you thought about…” I hesitated.

   “What? What is it?”

   “Well, I was wondering, you said you wanted to have children with me.”

   “Yes.”

   “Are you going to continue on the pill for a while or…not?”

   She raised up and rested on her elbow so she could look me in the eyes, “Uh, Daniel, I’m not on the pill, I haven’t been since I lost Danny.”  She smiled and said, “You thought all this time I was on the pill?”

   “Well, I mean, once you start taking it, don’t you have to be regular with it?”

   “Yeah, you do, but if you’re not sleeping with anyone, why waste them?”

   “So, we just…”

   “Yep, we just did. If we’re lucky, I’m already caught, if not, I intend to keep you very busy until I am.” I guess the intense emotional reaction I had must have shown on my face because she frowned and said, “You said you wanted me to get pregnant, if you don’t, I’ll start taking the pill until you’re ready.”

   “No, Danni, you don’t understand. I’m happy, I don’t understand why you and Debra want me, but,” I wiped at my burning eyes, “But yeah, I’m happy.”

   “Thank god, it’s a little late for second thoughts.”

   “No second thoughts.”

   She smiled and said, “Good, because I’m thinking we have some time before I have to send you off to work. How about another deposit on that baby promise?”

   At 11:50, Danni hustled me out the door, much the same way Debra would have and as I walked away, she called after me, “Don’t stay late! I’m having some of the gang over, okay?”

   I smiled and waved, then entered the Intel Office; as I walked in, everyone stood and waited for any change of instructions, “Carry on, people, Julia? This morning’s workups?”

   “Yes, Sir!” She gathered a folder from her desk and followed me into my office. Before I could say anything else, she placed the folder on my desk and said, “You need to look at this right away! It just came in from the comms room and, well, yeah, you need to see it now.”

   I flipped the folder open and the first thing I focused on, was the name, Lieutenant Debra Tarn from Asylum. What the fuck! I started reading the transcription and asked as I continued, “Was this in the clear?”

   “Yes, Sir!”

   “Damn it, what was this idiot thinking?”

   “I know, he broadcast where she was, where she was going to be this afternoon and where she was going tomorrow. Daniel, I already sent a communication to Holloman with a warning.”

   “Good, good work, I’m proud of you. Have you received a response?”

   “No.”

   “Send it again, demand a response, an immediate, high priority request for confirmation!” What the hell was Holloman Air Security thinking? How could they allow something as important as Debra’s present and future location to become known! “God damn it!” I said.

   Anthony knocked on the door and without awaiting clearance rushed in, “Sorry, Captain, but I knew you would want to see this right away. It’s another transcript sent down from Comms.” He handed it to me and I started to read it. Julia was gathering her notes and preparing to call Comms again.

   “Julia! Hold up!” I continued to read and finally dropped the sheet and with my elbows on the desk, I lowered my brow into the support of my hands, “Christ, a little heads up would be nice, Packer, shit!”

   “Daniel? Send it, or not?”

   “No, do not send the request.” I raised my head and my face must have been white.

   Julia dropped the military protocol and said, “Daniel, were we, too late? Please don’t tell me we were too late.”

   I shook my head and said, “It’s too early in my day for this shit!” I looked up and said, “No, the broadcast was a cover for her real location; Packer and the powers that be in Holloman are using Debra for some sort of propaganda tour among the towns around the Air Force Base. They have ordered radio silence on the aforementioned matter.” I was reading from the transcript, “Sprinklerfitter’s better-half is safe and well, Little Bit is safe and well, tell Grandma, grandpa is fine, send no further comms on this matter, signed, Old Ranger.” I rubbed my temples and added, “Just like Danni Monroe, the Major refers to Danni Lynn as, Little Bit. The Major was a Ranger in the Army, and I used to be a Sprinklerfitter. My better-half is Debra; the Major has always referred to Debra as my better half.”

   Julia sagged into a chair and started to get misty-eyed. “Assholes! The least they could have done is warned us ahead of time!”

   “You know the Major,” I said.  “He likes playing fast and loose.”

   “My heart is racing and I feel like I’m going to be sick!” She actually was a little green.

   “Yeah,” I said. I reached up and started to massage my wounded shoulder, but it was very sensitive and I left it alone instead.

   She picked up a folder and started fanning her face and I smiled as I thought of Danni doing the same the night before. “Captain?”

   I looked at her and said, “Yes?”

   “Remember this morning, I told you I was seeing a guy in Tech Support?”

   “Yes.”

   “Well he’s kind of old school, and thinks he needs someone’s approval to date me. So, I sort of told him you were the closest person I had to family and he wants to ask you for permission to continue seeing me.”

   I raised my eyebrows and asked, “Seriously?”

   “Uh, yes, Sir, he really is kind of old school.”

   “No, I mean you consider me, family?”

   “Uh, I’m sorry, maybe I can find someone else…”

   “No, Lieutenant Monroe is inviting friends over this evening, why don’t you invite him to accompany you, and he and I can talk a bit?”

   “Really? That would be great!” Then she hesitated and asked, “Wait a minute, you’re not going to pull a Toby Tyler on him, are you?”

   I smiled and said, “What good is being family if I can’t cause a young man to squirm a bit?”

   She whined, “Daniel, I really like this guy, he’s really nice and, well, he sort of keeps his hands to himself.”

   “Sort of?” I growled.

   “Aw, come on, I’m almost eighteen.”

   “Almost, being the most important part of your statement,” I said.

   “Daniel, please don’t scare him off.”

   “He really is nice?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Old enough to drink?”

   “Yes, can I have one too?”

   “I guess, it’s a different world now, at least that’s what people keep telling me.”

 

   It was odd, coming home that is. It hadn’t taken me long to get used to being alone again, not that our friends had been avoiding me. We all have lives to live and everyone was living theirs. Walking into the apartment and seeing Danni busy in the kitchen was a welcome change though. “Hey, I’m home.”

   She turned around, saw me, and then greeted me with a passionate kiss, “Hey, you know, I’d forgotten what it was like to spend the day anticipating someone’s return. On my days off I used to sit around with Debbie and watch her waiting for you and after a while I realized I was waiting for you also. And now, thanks to her, I can reap the rewards too.” She kissed me again and glanced at the oven before saying, “We have some time before any one arrives, do you want a little something to tide us over?”

   I pulled her close and ran my hands down to the curve of her ass, “I think maybe that sounds pretty good.”

   “Great, I want to try something Debbie told me you liked and I’m wondering if I’ll like it as much as she says she does.” She grabbed my hands and pulled me towards the bedroom.

 

   When it was approaching time for our friends to start showing up, I opened the front door and left it open as an invitation for anyone arriving to come in. First, there was Thomas and Timothy, then Nadia and Rich; I passed out bottles of Bock and glasses and told everyone to get comfortable. Danni had prepared one of my favorite meals and was finishing up when Nadia walked in and started helping her. I’ve always had a thing for cold sandwiches and hot potato side dishes, so Danni had prepared several different sandwich meats, buns, condiments and sliced vegetables, with a large pan of scalloped potatoes as a side.

   Dak, Felicia, Sara and Ted all arrived together, and a short time later, Julia arrived with her new boyfriend, Walter Pix. Julia is very petite and as she says, vertically challenged at perhaps five foot. Her boyfriend was huge. I looked at the food that was prepared and wondered if we had enough. I’m five foot ten, but the young man was easily taller than Banner’s six foot two. He was light-skinned for an African-American, had a deep resinous voice when he said hello, and he probably outweighed me by sixty pounds. The physical differences between him and Julia were startling.

   And Julia was afraid I would Toby Tyler him. Good grief.

   I needn’t have worried though, at twenty-two, he was gregarious, self-assured and constantly asking questions related to his Militia training. He told us he was there to train and serve his time, after which he wanted to return to Tech Support full-time. It didn’t take long for everyone to accept him into the group.

   Danni is much like Debra in a social setting, she constantly makes the rounds, talks to everyone and can always be found laughing somewhere, but I noticed she was staying closer to me than she normally would. She would sit next to me, touch me when she spoke to me, basically just making sure I had a drink, another sandwich, whatever. I could have closed my eyes and thought it was Debra instead of Danni. Eventually, as usually happens, the guys ended up outside with the girls coming and going and we talked about anything and everything.

   Dak was the one who first broached the topic, “Hey, Daniel, what’s going on with Danni?”

   “What do you mean?”

   “She’s really upbeat tonight. It’s been a long time since I saw her acting like her old self.”

   “I hadn’t noticed,” I said as I turned my head to the sound of her laughter inside the apartment. “But, yeah, she does seem happier tonight, doesn’t she?”

   He shrugged and said, “Women, man, who can figure them out?”

   “It’s good to hear the laughter though, isn’t it?” I said.

   “Yeah, actually, it is.”

   Ted asked, “Dan, any word when Debbie is coming home?”

   “No, they’re playing their cards pretty close to the vest; security, you know.”

   “Yeah, I guess so. Having Danni here to fill in for Debra must be handy.”

   “Yeah,” I said. “When Debra is here, Danni always helps out with Danni Lynn, and keeps me on my toes.”

   Ted sort of hem hawed and finally said, “You know, Sara and I tried to come by and see you after Debbie left with Packer for Holloman; they wouldn’t let us visit you. What the hell, Dan, what happened? We heard some rumors, but nothing that sounded reasonable.”

   “Holloman wanted Debra to come with Packer and Higgins, I didn’t like it because Debra was going to have to take Danni Lynn and I resented it. Then I sort of made an ass out of myself when I couldn’t get my way.” I reached up and touched my shoulder where the bullet wound was and grimaced as it stung and started to ache.

   “That wound still giving you some problems?”

   “Once in a while.”

   “Daniel?” Danni had walked up beside me and wrapped her hands around my bicep. “Have you taken your antibiotics this evening?”

   “Not yet.”

   “I’ll get them,” she said as she walked away.

   Dak laughed and said, “It’s kind of like having two wives, isn’t it?”

   I smiled and said, “If you only knew.”

   The guys laughed and joked around a little, but shut it down as Danni came out, handed me two tablets, and then watched while I took them. Then she raised up on the balls of her feet and pulled down my shirt collar as she looked at my neck, “Daniel, that’s looking kind of red, come inside and let me check it.”

   “It’s alright, we can check it out later, okay?”

   She rested her hand on my shoulder over the site of the wound and said, “No, it’s not okay, I can feel a lot of heat there. Come inside, so I can check it in a good light.”

   I smiled at the guys and said, “I’ll be right back.”

   Dak laughed and said, “Ooo, Danni wants to play doctor.”

   Felicia, who had followed Danni outside, punched him in the shoulder, “Dak! I swear…”

   Danni led me in and had me sit at the table and unbutton my shirt, then she peeled back the bandage. “Shit,” she said. “Hey, Nadia, take a look at this and tell me what you think.”

   Nadia walked up and then leaned over, “That’s not good, Danni, it’s awfully red and swollen.”

   “Yeah, and look here,” Danni said. “He’s got some red streaks on his back where he can’t see them.”

   “Really?” I said.

   “Yeah,” Danni said. Then she placed her hand on my forehead, “You’re feverish; I’m going to take you to the clinic.”

   “Let’s wait until everyone goes home, then we’ll go. We haven’t had a get together in a long time.”

   “No, we’re going now. Debra left you in my care and I’m not dropping the ball for an evening of laughs and drinks.” She started to reapply the bandage, but stopped and leaning close sniffed at the wound, “Yeah, we’re going now, but I’m changing this bandage first.”

   “Come on, Danni, what’s another hour or so matter?”

   Nadia leaned over and did the same as Danni and sniffed the wound also, “Yeah, take him now, my mom had diabetes and ended up losing her leg over a minor cut because it got infected. I remember the smell, and this is really similar.”

   “What?” I started getting nervous.

   Nadia started looking green and said, “Excuse me,” as she hurried into the bathroom and closed the door. I could faintly hear the sound of her retching.

   Looking up at Danni from where I sat, I asked, “Does it really smell that bad?”

   “It’s a faint smell, but I think Rich’s diligence at attempting pregnancy may have done the job.”

   “Huh?”

   “Never mind,” she said. The bathroom door opened and Nadia came out and handed Danni our first aid kit we had hanging from a hook in the bathroom and then promptly returned. “God, she’s so sweet.” Danni quickly stripped off the old bandage and then started wiping the area down with alcohol wipes to clean it.

   I flinched from the discomfort, no, the pain, her cleaning was causing, “Hey, Hon, can you ease up there a bit?”

   “I’m sorry, Babe, I’m doing it as easy as I can.” There was a hitch in her voice and I realized she was getting upset. It became really quiet in the kitchen.

   “I know you are; it’s just getting more sensitive.”

   I had my eyes squeezed shut, and then I heard Felicia say, “Uh, oh, yeah, he needs the clinic. Julia, call for a crash cart and we’ll have him transported.”

   “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “I can walk there.”

   “No, you won’t,” Danni replied. “Fel is right, you shouldn’t exert yourself until one of the doctors checks this out; you might spread the infection through your system faster.”

    Felicia leaned in closer and said, “Yeah, it looks like your cleaning of the of the entrance wound removed the plug and now it’s starting to drain, but it’s probably going to need a drainage tube like they put in Dak.”

   “Aw, shit,” I said. “Not again. I hate those tubes.”

   I heard Julia hang up the phone and then she said, “Crash cart is on the way, I told them it was medical transport, but not an emergency.”

   Danni said, “Thank you, Julia. You know what I think? I bet there’s some sort of foreign object in there and his body is trying to reject it.”

   Nadia, who rejoined us agreed, “Yeah, I bet there is, but what? It was a through and through and from what I heard, probably full metal jacket.”

   Danni shook her head, “No, it wasn’t FMJ, it was a hollow point, but luckily, it didn’t expand. After Schwartz was disarmed, I checked myself, the gun was loaded with hollow points.”

   The crash cart arrived and we walked outside to get in. When I walked past Pix, I motioned to him and said, “Why don’t you ride with me, Walter? So, we can talk on the way?”

   “Uh,” he looked at Julia and she quickly nodded to him. “Yes, Sir.” He climbed in, as did Danni, and the driver left with us.

   “Julia seems to think you’re serious about being with her, are you?”

   “Yes, Sir, I am.”

   “You’re what, five years older than her?”

   “My dad was eight years older than my mom, and Julia is a lot older than she should be.”

   I nodded, “She is, we all are, given the world we live in.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “She has an important job; will you get in the way of her doing it?” We, he and I, were in the rear seat, Danni was beside the driver. She turned around and looked at me, before turning back and staring through the front windshield. Yeah, I know, questioning Walter about what I did myself.

   “Kind of hard for me get in the way when I don’t really know for sure what she does. I guess it might be hard for me to stay out of the way for the same reason.”

   I smiled, he was sharp, and that was good. “Yeah, we need her, Walter, always remember that. She has a lot of friends and we really love her.”

   “Yes, Sir, I understand why.”

   “Okay,” I said as we pulled to a stop in front of the Clinic, “Promise me one thing.”

   “Anything, Captain Tarn.”

   I smiled at him again and then, “Promise me, that if she calls it off, you’ll walk away, no drama.”

   “Sir, the most important thing for me, is to be wanted. If she changes her mind and doesn’t want me? Then I made the wrong choice, not her.”

   I held out my hand and he grasped it with a strong grip, “You’re pretty smart for a young man; you have my permission to court Julia.”

   “Thank you, Sir. Can I give you a hand walking into the clinic?”

   “No, the problem is my shoulder; my legs are working fine.” I slid out and so did Danni beside me. “Driver?”

   “Yes, Sir?”

   “Would you mind delivering this young man back to where you picked me up?”

   “No Problem, Captain Tarn.” They drove away and Danni walked me in.

   Mary Cho was sitting behind the admittance desk and stood as we walked in. “Daniel, Danni, tell me what’s going on?”

   Before I could answer, Danni said, “His bullet wound, it’s gotten infected.”

  Cho shook her head and waved for us to follow her. After installing us in an exam room, she had me remove my shirt and she closely examined the festering wound. “Daniel, you were told not to use this arm until Doc Horne gave the go ahead, what have you been doing, pushups?”

   “Uh, no, it’s kind of hard to function without using it, Mary.”

   “So, you ignored Doctor Horne’s recommendations because it wasn’t convenient?”

   I shrugged and looked away from the accusation in her expression.

   She turned to Danni and said, “So, helping him with his shoulder was inconvenient?”

   Danni frowned and asked, “What do you mean? Of course, we…” She stopped and looked at me as she said, “What was it we were supposed to be doing, Mary?”

   “We gave him a brace he was to wear to restrict the movement of the arm, it was supposed to strap that arm to his chest to limit its use because of the nerve and vascular damage.” She turned to me and said, “You didn’t tell Debra, or Danni, did you?”

   I stared at the floor and muttered, “I don’t like being a burden to anyone, it’s hard enough just being around and getting in the way.”

   Danni cursed and said, “How much of a burden are you going to be with only one arm?!”

   “Nope,” Mary said. “Taking the arm wouldn’t fix it, and amputating the head would be counter-productive, though satisfying.” She stared at me for a moment and then said, “Okay, I’m going to call Horne and have him check you out, but you may as well get comfortable. I guarantee when he sees this, you won’t be leaving.”

   “I have too much to do.”

   “Wait here. Danni, come with me.” Danni followed her out and I could hear them speaking in low terms and then Mary’s voice as she spoke on the phone, “…Horne…Tarn…Infection… STAT…” A word here, a word there and finally Danni came back in followed by Cho. “Horne is on his way, and I need to make a couple more calls.” She turned to Danni and said, “If you’re staying, you might want to organize some relief, he’s going to be here for a while.”

   “Wait a minute,” I said. “I was serious about being too busy to lay around and…”

   “Daniel, SHUT UP!” Danni startled me so bad, I jumped. “I promised Debra I would take care of you! Now this? Daniel, you are not invulnerable! This time, you’re going to listen to what you are told to do and by god you will do it! If not for yourself, do it for Danni Lynn, do it for Debra, please,” she said as her voice got softer. “Do it for me, I just got you, please…”

   She was on the verge of breaking down and Mary was looking on with a shocked expression, “Okay,” I said. “Okay, tell me what you want and you’ve got it, I promise.”

   “Just do what you’re told, okay? At Intel, you’re the boss, here, Mary is until Doctor Horne gets here. Just…” She suddenly walked away.

   We both stared at the curtain as it moved with her passing and then Mary looked at me before she brusquely said, “There’s an underlying story going on here and I’m not sure I would like it.” She turned to a cabinet and withdrew a gown, before depositing it in my lap, “Do you need help getting undressed?”

   I was familiar with the tone of her voice. It was the one I was subjected to when everyone had thought I cheated on Debra with Sara. “No, I’ve got it. Mary, it’s not what you think, so try to withhold judgement for the time being, okay?”

   “Yeah, sure it isn’t.” She turned around and walked out and a few moments later I could hear Danni and Mary quietly conversing. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I hoped Mary wasn’t making accusations of impropriety.

   I got my boots off and my socks, but getting my pants off was proving difficult, “Damn it!”

   It got quiet and moments later, Danni walked in as she wiped her red eyes, “What’s wrong?”

   I exhaled sharply and said, “I can’t get my damn pants down and off!”

   She knelt down and worked on them before saying loudly, “Mary what about his underwear?”

   “Everything!” She shouted back.

   Danni pulled off my briefs and then held a gown for me as I slipped my arms in, then she tied it off, “Danni, what did Mary say to you?”

   “Just trying to calm me down.”

   “Do you need to? Calm down I mean?”

   She straightened the wrinkles on the front of the gown with the palms of her hands and then pressed her face into the side of my neck as she whispered, “Yes.”

   “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

   “I know, but now you have to get your head in the game, okay?”

   “Absolutely.”

   At that point, Horne walked briskly in and said, “Okay, let’s see what we have.”

  He started probing with his fingertips, pressing here, pressing there, and gauging my pain response as he did. Finally, he said to Mary, “Scalpel.” She handed one to him and he made a small incision next to the entrance wound and connecting to it, handed the scalpel back and said, “Gauze.” She held the gauze over the wound as he said, “Brace yourself, Dan, this is going to hurt.”

   “Wait, what about…” I sucked in air and then grunted as a copious amount of nasty looking, thick, fluid started squeezing out of the entrance wound and the incision. “Damn, Doctor Horne!”

   “Ever heard the expression, play stupid games, win stupid prizes? Welcome to the stupid prize. There we go! I figured there might be something in there. Tweezers, Mary.” He used the tweezers and picked a dark object out of the bloody puss on the gauze. Holding it up to the light, he said, “Danni, weren’t you with Dan when he was shot?”

   I heard a weakly said, “Yes.”

   “Was he wearing, just guessing, a black tee-shirt?”

   “Yes.”

   He held it for me to see and said, “I believe this is part of your tee-shirt; do you want it?”

   “No thanks, uh, Doc, mind if I lay down? I’m not feeling very well.” I was actually seeing stars.

   “In a minute,” He started probing around the exit wound, but finally said, “Whatever is in there, it’s in there deep.” Then he turned to Mary and said, “Get him prepped, did you get hold of Simpson, Gerard, and Penny Martin?”

   “Yes, Doctor Horne, they’re on their way.”

   “Good, get an IV in him, and then I want you to scrub up, you’ll be assisting Penny.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   Horne hurried out and I said, “Yeah, someone want to tell me what’s going on?”

   Mary replied, “Doctor Gerard is the anesthesiologist; Doctor Simpson is the surgeon; Doctor Horne will assist and Penny Martin is a Surgical Nurse. I get to be step n’ fetch.”

   “Oh,” I said as I looked at Danni who was sitting in a chair and looking paler than she normally did.