Jot it down July 2019 -- Marrieday #1
A day behind, but the muse insisted it was Monday so . . . ::shrug::
Sketching out a scene from an AU WIP . . .
“So, he’s what -- married?” He tried, and failed, to keep the hint of bitterness, of betrayal, out of his voice.
Chin stared at Steve for a long moment, his face impassive. When he began to speak, it was quietly, so quietly that Steve had to quit pacing and stand still to listen.
“Technically, he’s a widower.”
“He’s -- his wife died? Gracie’s mom?” Steve glanced down the hallway where Danny had disappeared with the little girl.
“Danny and Rachel had been separated for a little over a year. She couldn’t handle the pressure, the uncertainty, that came with being an agent’s wife. Then she met someone and filed for divorce . . . Danny threw himself even deeper into the Housand case, working weekends, working around the clock . . . he only left the office when it was his time with Grace. Rachel was happier, Grace was well-adjusted . . . so things were going well, the lawyers were working out the details to finalize the divorce. They were moving forward, co-parenting successfully. They’d taken Grace out for her birthday -- just the three of them. The hit was on Danny, as far as we know . . . Rachel and Grace were collateral damage.”
“Traumatic brain injury. The car they were driving was T-boned on the passenger side, forced onto a railroad track.”
“Danny got Grace out, tried to save Rachel but . . . the coroner said it was impossible to tell which impact killed her -- the truck that struck them or the train.”
Steve rubbed a hand over his face.
“When we got to the hospital, Grace was unconscious, holding on by a thread. We decided the best thing we could do was have them officially declared dead, create a cover for them, get them the hell out of New Jersey. If Housand knew Danny was still alive -- or worse, if he knew Grace was alive -- “
“He could have told me,” Steve said. “You could have told me. Does Kono know?”
“She does not. You think I want to put her in danger? My cover is easy to sell -- a disgraced former Honolulu PD officer comes back, tries to scrape together a living in private security. Hell, if it hadn’t been for your father and his recommendation to his friend in the Bureau on my behalf, that would probably be the truth of it.”