Chapter Twenty Two

Well here we are! The final chapter! Thank you so much to everybody that has read this, reviewed it, story alerted it etc etc- I have been so pleased with the response and I am really glad that you seem to have enjoyed it. Please review just one more time for me!

Here goes…

Chapter Twenty Two

A week passed relatively peacefully for the Reagan family, although things had been tense between Danny and Frank, but they were gradually accepting each other's opinions on the matter. Finally it was the day that Danny had been looking forward to and he was being released from hospital. The nurse was currently giving him a lecture of what he was allowed to do, and what he strictly wasn't to do and he was trying to appear as though he was listening whilst Jamie and Erin stood behind the nurse pulling faces and laughing at him. He turned his attention back to the nurse when she handed him a bag of medication.

"Ok this one is OxyContin- it's a pain killer. Follow the instructions to the letter. This is your antibiotic this needs to be taken three times a day for the next week- don't miss a dose. These are sleeping tablets, take as required although don't take more than the recommended dose" she told him- her tone serious. "Your follow up appointment is scheduled for Monday at 10am, these prescriptions will last you until then" she told him, she then pointed out the contact number on the side of the bag. "This number is answered 24/7 so call if you need anything" she concluded with a smile. Danny returned the gesture.

"Thank you" he told her sincerely. She nodded before leaving the room. Danny sighed in relief that he was going home- finally. He looked down at his sock clad feet and the sneakers that sat taunting him. There was no way he was going to be able to bend down and put his shoes on and tie the laces. He sighed again, but this time in frustration. Erin noticed his discomfort and silently stepped forward, kneeling down at her brother's feet and gently pulling each shoe on in turn and tying the laces for him without saying a word. Danny could feel his face burning in embarrassment, but as she finished he managed to thank her- truly grateful that she had helped.

"You ready to go home?" she asked him softly.

"I'm ready to see Lopez" he replied, his voice serious.

"Are you really sure about this Danny?" Erin questioned. "Hasn't he hurt you enough?" she continued, unable to hide the pain that recent memories brought her. Danny offered her what he hoped to be a reassuring smile.

"I am a grown up Erin, all I wanna do is talk to him" Danny replied. She sighed- knowing that there was going to be no persuading him otherwise. She refrained from commenting any further, not willing to risk riling her brother up further. She was saved from having to by the arrival of her father and Linda brandishing a wheelchair. "Ah come on, no way" Danny retorted upon seeing their suggested method of transportation.

"Policy" Linda replied with a smile.

"Have you arranged for me to see Lopez?" Danny asked his father softly, and Frank nodded. "Thanks Dad" Danny replied, honestly grateful at the ease at which his father had accepted. Frank smiled at the gratitude in his son's voice. "Let's go then" he continued, dragging himself to his feet and sitting down in the wheelchair, he allowed his father to push him until he stopped outside a room a couple of floors up from his own.

"You sure you are ready for this?" Frank asked his son quietly.

"Yeah Dad, I'm ready" he replied his tone flat. Frank nodded and began pushing him towards the door. "No Dad" Danny halted him. "I'm walking in to see him, and I'm seeing him alone" Danny told him emphatically.

"Danny…."Frank muttered warningly.

"No Dad, my terms. I am walking in and seeing him- by myself" Danny responded, turning pleading brown eyes on his father. Frank hesitated, he understood why his son was asking this, he didn't want to appear weak in front of the man that had tortured him and his family. He still couldn't help the protective side of him coming to the forefront, and his father's words sprang back to his mind and with a sigh of worry.

"Okay, but please be careful" he eventually replied. Danny smiled, grateful for the quick agreement. He got to his feet accepting a small amount of help offered by his father. He walked the few paces to the door and took a deep steadying breath before stepping through the door and into the room.

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"Hello Emile" Danny greeted in a deliberately chirpy tone as he stepped into the room. The man that was laid on the bed looked up sharply at the tone.

"Reagan" he replied in surprise. "You're looking very pleased with yourself" he continued, confused at the turn of events. The detective was looking rather well for someone that had been nearly strangled to death and should by now be newly widowed.

"What's not to be pleased about? I have got a huge insurance pay out coming for my car that you wrecked, I am going on a long vacation with my beautiful wife and my kids- and you my friend are going to jail- so what is not to be happy about?" Danny replied, his grin remaining in place throughout. Lopez looked at the other man in shock, his wife was still alive? His hatred of the other man grew even further as he suddenly realised that all of his plans had failed.

"You son of a bitch" he yelled, as he attempted to surge towards the detective. Danny stepped back as a hand weakly swatted towards him, laughing at the man in front of him. "Don't you laugh at me, you murdering bastard" he hissed at the man in front of him, Danny stopped laughing and stepped back forward, "what you going to do now? Beat up on a cripple?" Emile taunted the man.

"I wouldn't waste the energy" Danny replied, "You're not even worth it, you are a sad, bitter, twisted man- whose pathetic attempts at revenge for a misguided wrong have left him a cripple who faces life in jail" he told him, his tone soft- but deadly. "I wonder, would your brother have still been alive if you had moved quicker and not gotten yourself hit, what do you think?" Danny asked quietly, working at keeping his temper in check. "Maybe you're the murderer Lopez, killing your own brother" he finished, the gasp that came from the other man testament that his words had hit home.

"No" Lopez uttered his eyes brimming with anger. Danny sneered at the pathetic specimen of life before him.

"Shame your kid brother, showed promise- more than you ever did. Have a nice life Lopez" he concluded heading for the door as quickly as his weakened legs would carry him, and not looking back. He stepped out of the door and leant gratefully against the wall his eyes closed as he worked on steadying his breath.

"Danny?" his father asked him softly, before finding himself practically pushed to one side as Danny moved passed him and went into the rest rooms, Frank was unsurprised to find his eldest son stooped over in a cubicle heaving as all of the emotional trauma caught up with him. Frank stepped closer to his son and tenderly rubbed his tense back, eager to offer whatever comfort he could to his suffering son. When it was clear that he had finished retching Frank stepped out and returned seconds later with a Styrofoam cup of water which Danny gratefully accepted. "You ok?" Frank asked him softly.

"I'm good" he replied, rubbing his hand over his face, before allowing his father to carefully help him to his feet. Wordlessly the older Reagan helped him out into the hall and back into his wheelchair, where his wife and siblings were lovingly waiting.

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Two weeks later and Frank was hosting a relaxed dinner party, Baker and Jackie were both there- as well as the entire Reagan Clan. Danny had not seen his partner since that day in the hospital and he could immediately see her guilt by the sheepish way that she looked at him. At the end of the meal he left the table and made his way into the kitchen. He held a glass under the faucet and tapped two pain killers out of the container into his hand, taken them with the water and leaning against the counter whilst he waited for them to take effect.

"Are you still in a lot of pain?" a woman's voice asked behind him.

"Some" he replied, not turning around to face his partner.

"Danny I'm so sorry" Jackie told him softly, she felt awful for her part in deceiving her partner, and hated the tension between them.

"Why did you lie to me Jackie?" he asked softly, his back still turned to her as he waited for the pain killers to kick in and ease the pounding in his head and the agony in his chest.

"I didn't want to" she told him. "I was told to Danny" she continued. "Just like you were told to lie to me with that undercover agent" she told him, not wanting to throw the past back at him, but desperate to get through to him. Danny sighed deeply, he hated that everybody had gone against him in some half-baked attempt to protect him, but he also understood why they had done so. "Please Danny, let's just move on from this?" she pleaded, and Danny found it impossible to stay mad at her any longer. He carefully turned round and looked at her.

"Please don't lie to me again" he asked her quietly. She nodded and smiled, pleased that they seemed to be moving on from the unfortunate mishap.

"I won't" she agreed softly. "Now you need to hurry up and get back to work, Woody is driving me nuts" she told him and he chuckled lightly.

"I don't know about that, I am kinda liking this whole house husband thing" he replied, and she rolled her eyes at his blatant lie- struggling to think of her partner as a domestic god.

"Seriously make sure you take time to heal Danny" she told him.

"Yes Mom" he replied with a grin. "Me and Linda are taking the boys away for a couple of weeks, should be perfect" he continued, leaning tiredly back against the counter.

"Sounds perfect" she agreed softly, "I'm glad you're okay" she concluded seriously.

"Me too" he replied with a smile, before he pushed himself lightly away and draping his arm around his partner he led her back into the lounge and re-joined the rest of the family.

The End

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