The Beginning

Special thanks goes to ~j for your help in picking a "bad neighborhood" for Danny to have grown up in. I really enjoyed discussing the city with you. Special thanks also goes to sunshine014 for her assistance in the phone conversation and the next conversation between Danny and Mallory. I couldn't have finished them without her and I know she greatly enjoyed reading them first. Thanks, Ashy!

Mallory looked up from her books at the knock on the glass door and shook her head when she recognized the grinning face on the other side. She shook her head at the clowning antics of the two men and pushed off the stool, going to the door. She unlocked it and cracked it open. "We're closed," she pointed out.

"Oh, come on, Mal," her cousin, Patrick, complained. "Be a sweetie and let us in, please."

She crossed her arms and looked at them, always fond of teasing her older cousin. "Why? What do you need?"

"The bathroom," the other man, a good friend of Patrick's, said. "Come on, Mallory, we've been doing parade duty for the past six hours. We're dying here."

Mallory grinned and opened the door wider, admitting both men. "You better be glad I love you, Patrick," she called after the dark haired one as he took off towards the back of the store.

"You're an angel, cuz," Patrick yelled back over his shoulder. "It's this way, Danny."

They brushed past her business partner on their way to the backroom. Emily admired both of them and then walked slowly towards the front of the store where Mallory was locking the door again. "Why'd you let customers in?" she asked.

"I didn't," Mallory explained. "The dark haired guy is my cousin, Patrick, and the blond is his friend, Danny. Apparently they've been on parade duty and needed a bathroom break. They're cops."

Emily turned back and looked the way they'd disappeared. "Really?" she asked with interest as Mallory retook her seat on the stool. "Either of them single?"

Mallory frowned. "Patrick might be at the moment, but I don't know about Danny. Why?"

Emily smiled. "I've always wanted to date a cop and both of them are pretty cute."

Mallory shrugged as Danny re-appeared from the backroom. He was running a hand through his hair and looked a bit more relaxed. "You'll have to ask him."

Danny apparently heard Mallory's last statement because he questioned, "Ask who what?" as he joined the two women at the counter.

Emily flushed pink all the way to the tips of her ears. "Nothing," she squeaked. "I'm gonna go finish the inventory," she told Mallory and fled to the loft.

Danny looked after the other woman. "Oookay," he said. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, Danny. It wasn't you. How did you end up on parade duty?" Mallory asked, as she set the bookkeeping she had been doing aside.

Danny shrugged. "It was an all hands on deck sorta thing." He leaned on the counter and peered up at her. "So what are you doing for dinner tonight?"

"Eating here at the store since we'll probably still be doing inventory," she replied.

"So I couldn't convince you to join me for a late dinner? Maybe somewhere small and quiet?" he pressed.

"Danny," she started to answer him and then looked up as a noise came from the back room. Patrick waved at her and then pointed to his cell. "Looks like you've got a call."

Danny sighed. "I haven't given up," he told her as he waved an acknowledgement to Patrick.

"Not interested," she reminded him.

He grinned at her. "Very interested. And I'm still working on you."

"Dan, let's go," Patrick called.

Danny pushed himself off the counter, but not before looking Mallory over one last time. "You look real pretty today," he tossed over his shoulder as he went to join Patrick at the door.

Patrick unlocked the door and held it open for the other cop. "Come lock up after us," he called to his younger cousin. He waited at the door until she joined him. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "What were you and Danny talking about?" he asked quickly. He glanced down the street where Danny was talking rapidly on his cell about the scene they had been called to.

"Just talking, Patrick. No big deal," Mallory replied.

Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Mallory," he warned.

She sighed. "He asked me to dinner, Patrick. I told him no."

Danny closed his phone as he finished his conversation. "Hey, Doyle, stop talking and let's go. Body won't get any fresher!"

Patrick pointed his finger at Mallory. "We're gonna discuss this further."

Mallory grabbed his finger and shook it. "No, we're not. My life, my business. Butt out, Patrick. Go do your job."

Emily was smirking when Mallory turned back around. "So you don't know if he's single or not?" she teased.

Mallory groaned as she felt her face heat up. Silently cursing her pale Irish skin, she answered, "He was seeing someone a few weeks ago or at least he was at dinner with a girl when I ran into him. I've known Danny about three years and he's been rather persistent about asking me out."

Emily picked up the stock sheets ready to start the inventory again. "So why not tell him yes? He's hot, he's got a good job, and he's obviously interested in you."

"I don't date cops," Mallory answered flatly.

"You don't? Why not? I mean it's not like you don't know what it's like what with your dad, uncles, and cousins all being cops."

"That's exactly why I don't date cops. I know all the shit they bring home. Fifteen skirts," she added. "Seven long, eight mini." She moved onto the next rack. "I deal with it enough with my family. I don't need it in my love life, too."

"Start with the belts," Emily instructed. "I don't see what the big deal is, but then again I don't live with your family."

"Cops have more instances of alcoholism, spousal abuse, and domestics than anyone. It just never gets reported." Mallory finished counting. "Twenty-eight belts. I dunno, Em. I like Danny. He's a nice guy on the surface, but there's more than meets the eye to him. He's seen stuff and I don't mean on the job. He's lived things that I'm not sure I want to know about."

Emily looked at her friend, who had paused in the counting and appeared to be thinking. "I guess he seemed so easy-going, I figured he was just a nice middle class guy."

Mallory shook her head. "No. I know he grew up in Crown Heights and that something bad went down. Whatever that was made him determined to get out. He's never said all that much about himself, but Patrick's told me a few things." She turned her attention back to the rack. "Let's get this finished and go down to Tony's for a slice. I'm going to be saying numbers in my sleep."

* * * * *

Danny glanced at his watch as the CSI finished up with the crime scene. He and Patrick had already done all the interviews they could and now they were just waiting for Sarah Turner to finish up. Patrick grinned at Danny when he caught the motion. "That's the third time you've checked your watch in the past five minutes. Why don't you call the girl and tell her you'll be late?"

Danny grimaced. He didn't think he had been that transparent. "I don't have a date," he replied.

"So what's with the watch thing then?" Patrick nodded towards Sarah. "She's almost done and we can get outta here."

"Guess I'm just antsy," Danny answered.

Patrick shook his head as the dark haired CSI stood up. "That's not you. Sure it's not that you were hoping to have a chance to talk to Mallory again?"

"She turned me down flat, Doyle. Again," Danny replied as Patrick picked up Sarah's kit for her with a smile. "Somehow I don't think pressing my case will help."

Patrick snagged Danny's phone off his belt as he walked by the other man. "Make sure Sarah gets outta that pit," he said as he continued on towards the SUV.

Danny turned to give the CSI a hand out of the hole she had been processing in. "Why did you take my phone?" he called over his shoulder.

"Trust me. You'll thank me later," Patrick answered.

Danny heaved; pulling Sarah up onto solid ground. "Trust me, he says," he grumbled. "That's how I ended up on the date with the girl who tried to light me on fire."

Sarah looked at him, well used to the two guys bickering good-natureredly at crime scenes. "Do I want to know?" she asked.

"Probably not," Danny said with a sigh. "Are you done here?"

Sarah looked around the scene one last time. "I think I have everything. Coroner has the body." She nodded. "We're ready to go."

By the time they reached the vehicle, Patrick had loaded Sarah's kit into it and was holding the door open for her. He handed Danny his phone back as the younger detective got into the back seat. "You might want to use one of the new numbers," he told his friend. He stopped Danny before the other man could shut the door. "Just...," he glanced forward, but Sarah was studying something on her palm pilot and ignoring them. "If you hurt her...I will..." He stopped again, obviously unable to figure out what to say. "Finnegan, she's the closest thing to a sister I've got. If you hurt her, there isn't a place on this earth you'll be able to hide."

"Yeah, I hear ya, Doyle," Danny responded. He knew they weren't friends in this instance; although he and Patrick went back to academy days. Patrick's ties to Mallory far outweighed any friendship and blue brotherhood he owed to Danny. Once the truck was moving, Danny scrolled through his phonebook and discovered that Patrick had added Mallory's home and cell numbers and also the store numbers to it. He closed the phone when he was done and leaned back against his seat. Apparently Patrick wasn't going to stop him from asking Mallory out.

* * * * *

Danny sat at his breakfast bar, his phone out in front of him. He had been staring at it for the past thirty minutes, trying to decide if he should call Mallory. Every few minutes, he picked up the phone, scrolled to her number, then closed it before he connected the call. He wasn't sure what he would say to her if she picked up. The longer he procrastinated though, the less likely he would be able to make the call tonight. He knew, from conversations with Patrick, that Mallory tended to go to bed by eleven o'clock and he had no wish to disturb her after that time. It would not get their conversation off to a good start.

He smiled as he recalled seeing her earlier that day. She hadn't been fancily dressed, but somehow that made her more attractive to him, not less. Since the two women were doing inventory, Mallory had been wearing jeans and a t-shirt with her shoulder length brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. He knew she had been surprised when he had told her she looked pretty, but he liked the cleaner look. It wasn't that he didn't like when she was dressed up for a normal day, but the jeans and t-shirt reminded him of the one good thing from his teenage years. Girls from his old neighborhood would dress in jeans and a nice t-shirt for a date and then plaster the make-up on. He was glad that Mallory didn't seem to think she really needed it.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he picked his phone up and dialed her number, listening to it ring while he stared out his kitchen window. "Hello?" she answered after four rings.

"Hey, Mallory, its Danny. I didn't wake you, did I?" he replied.

"No. I was just dozing in front of the TV. Why are you calling?" He could hear an edge of panic creep into her voice. "Is Patrick all right?"

He hastened to reassure her. "Yeah. Yeah. He's fine. Or at least he was when I saw him last. I'm sorry I guess I didn't think about what time it was."

"Oh. Okay. Why did you call then?" she replied.

"I just...So what's the weather like outside?" he asked.

"Kinda dark, Danny, its ten-thirty at night. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. So what do you think about the Yankees this year?"

She laughed out loud at that one. "All right, what is going on with you? Its November! And even you are not enough of a die hard fan that you would be concerned about the Yankees' chances now."

Danny felt like banging his head on the bar. He couldn't have looked more like an idiot if he tried. "Nothing's the matter. I just...I can't really think of things to ask you."

Mallory's voice was warm with laughter as she answered, "Just relax. Stop trying to think of a topic to keep us on. Where are you sitting?"

"On a stool at my breakfast bar."

"Okay. First thing you need to do is go find somewhere a little more comfortable to sit. Either in a stuffed chair or on your bed. I'll wait." He didn't move for a minute. "Danny, you aren't moving and you need to or I'm hanging up."

"Yeah. Just a minute." Danny got up and snagged the soda he had been drinking, carrying it with him as he crossed the room to one of the recliners at the other end of his living room. He dropped into the chair and set the bottle on the table next to the chair. "All right, I'm sitting."

"Now. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and think of something you want to know."

He did as she directed and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Are you still wearing what you had on earlier?"

"Dan-ny!"

He winced. "Okay. Sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that. What did you do after Patrick and I left?"

"Emily and I finished the inventory and then we went down to Tony's for a slice. I am so glad we're finished. I hate all the counting."

"Is that why you were closed today? I wondered why, but Patrick said you'd let us in anyway."

"We normally do it today. We never got much business during the parade so we just decided a couple of years ago to do inventory during it. Why were you and Paddy together today? Isn't he normally partnered with someone else?"

Danny relaxed as the conversation seemed to be progressing more easily. "He is and I'm normally partnered with Mike Burlington, but they stuck us together today." He realized what she had called Patrick. "Paddy?"

Mallory sighed. "Apparently I'm more tired than I thought. Don't let him know I told you. He'll kill me. It was his childhood nickname."

"Well, if you're tired, you should head to bed," Danny replied. "And I should probably get to your bed, too, since I have an early shift tomorrow."

There was dead silence on the other end of the phone for a moment and then Mallory said slowly, "Danny, did you listen to what you just said?"

Leaning his head back against his chair, he replayed what he had said, "Aw, shit, Mally, I'm sorry. I can't seem to keep my foot out of my mouth tonight. I guess I should hang up."

She giggled softly. "Its okay. I know you didn't mean it the way it came out. I am glad you called though."

"So does that mean I can call you again?" Danny asked, trying not to sound too eager. "And that some day you might say yes when I ask you out?"

"You may call me again," Mallory replied. "I'm not saying whether I'll ever tell you yes or not. Good night, Danny."

Danny smiled. She still hadn't said yes, but she also hadn't said no this time either, although he hadn't actually asked her out. "Good night, Mally. Sweetest dreams." Lowering the phone, he shut it with a soft click. Danny heaved himself out of his recliner, sure he would sleep well tonight after the conversation he had had. He felt it had gone decently despite his bumbling. And maybe he did have a chance with her after all.

* * * * *

Mallory looked up from her book as the bell on the door tinkled merrily. She smiled when she recognized one of the two men entering. "Hello, Danny," she called cheerfully.

"Hey, Mallory," he called back. The two men walked over to the counter. "Could Mike and I get a couple bottles of water?" he asked.

"Yeah. Of course. Did Patrick show you where we keep them?" she replied.

Danny nodded. "He did. Okay if I just help myself?"

Mallory waved towards the back room. "Be my guest." She turned towards the man that had come in with Danny. "Hi. I'm Mallory Sullivan."

The man smiled at her as Danny disappeared through the door in the back of the store. "Mike Burlington. Danny's my partner. You sure its okay if we take the water?"

"Patrick restocks it every so often so I'm not always doing it since I swear he drinks more than half of it. Its not a problem. Did you and Danny have a scene in the area?"

The large man shook his head. "No. We were talking to a couple of witnesses. Danny said we could stop here and get some water."

Danny came back at that moment and handed the larger man one of the bottles in his hand. "Thanks, Mallory. Tell Patrick I'll give him some money towards the next case."

"You'll probably see him before I will. And don't worry about it. Its not like he keeps track or anything." She held up the bottle that was next to the register. "Besides I drink it, too."

Mike's phone chose that moment to ring. He pulled it off the clip on his belt and looked at the caller ID, then said, "Excuse me." Stepping away, he answered, "Burlington." Continuing to a far corner of the store, he began a low voiced conversation.

Mallory glanced over at the other cop and saw he was firmly ensconced in his conversation. "Hey," she called softly to get Danny's attention. "What's wrong with you?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked, half of his attention on his partner.

Mallory tugged on his arm so he'd turn and face her. "You. What's wrong?"

He shook his head, turning his full attention to her. "Nothing's wrong. Why would you ask?"

"Danny, this is you we're talking about. You come in here and you flirt with me and then you ask me out." She frowned. "You haven't flirted at all today."

He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. "I'm sorry, Mallory. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"What happened to Mally?" she questioned.

"What?" he asked.

"When you called me a few weeks ago, you called me Mally on the phone. Did you change your mind about that?" She wanted to reach out and touch his face because he looked so sad, but that would be overstepping the bounds of their current relationship.

"No." He sighed. "I just can't do this today."

Mallory did reach out then, laying her hand atop the one he had set on the counter. "Danny, we're friends, right?" When he nodded, she continued, "And friends talk to each other. Please tell me what's bothering you."

Danny looked at her and couldn't read anything but concern in her blue eyes. He had never realized before how expressive her eyes were and that they were the exact same color as Patrick's. Most days the similarities in their looks were different enough that he forgot they were related, but something like this was enough to remind him. "I got a phone call a few days ago," he started slowly. Mallory squeezed his hand and hummed softly to encourage him. "I was just coming off shift and I thought it had something to do with the case, so I picked up immediately. It was my mother."

"I gather she doesn't call you much?" Mallory guessed.

"Mally, I haven't spoken to my mother in twelve years. Not since she told me that if I was going to become 'a fucking cop', I was no son of hers." There was bitterness in Danny's voice, but it was tempered by years of not having any contact. The rawness had worn off the wound although the scar had been torn anew with the phone call. "I honestly never expected to hear from her again."

Mallory reached across the counter and enfolded him in her arms, hugging him gently. She didn't care now if he thought she was being too forward. He was hurting and her heart cried out to help him. "Oh, Danny," she said. "What did she want?"

"She's decided she wants a son now." He laughed briefly, although there was a harsh sound to it. "Apparently a son who gets his name in the paper for helping solve murder cases is good enough. And she wanted to let me know that my father died. Of course I knew that since I read it in the papers."

"What are you going to do?"

He shook his head, running his free hand through his hair again. "I don't know. I told her I couldn't talk to her right then and hung up. I mean what do I say to her? I haven't been good enough for twelve years, but all of a sudden I am?"

Mallory frowned. She wanted to do serious damage to this woman who had hurt this man so badly. She wasn't used to seeing Danny so shattered. "I don't know what to tell you to say. But you, Daniel Finnegan, are a good man. You're a good cop and you've done a lot of good in your life."

"You don't know what I was like before I met you," he responded.

She shrugged. "I don't need to. I know what you're like now." She glanced over and saw the Mike was hanging up his phone. "Hey, your partner is done with his conversation. If you need to talk, you've got my number, okay? Call me whenever. Don't do something stupid."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, Mally."

She smiled as Mike rejoined them. "Anytime, Danny."

Mike looked from one to the other, obviously realizing that he had missed something, but deciding that he didn't want to ask. "We've gotta go, Finnegan. Looks like our lead decided to pop instead of fizzling."

Danny picked up his water bottle. "All right." He smiled at Mallory. "Thanks again."

Mallory reached out and squeezed his hand gently. "Go catch some bad guys." She watched them walk out of her shop and hoped that everything would be okay.

* * * * *

Emily pasted another smile on her face as the bell rang to announce a new customer. This was a day when she tried to remember why she thought opening a store with Mallory was a good idea. They hadn't really had any bad customers, but they had had a non-stop flow all morning and she was tired. They already planned to close at one for an hour to eat lunch and repair the store from the morning. Now she turned to face the new onslaught. Her smile turned genuine when she recognized the blond cop from the day of the parade. "Morning, Detective," she greeted him. "Danny, right?"

He smiled in reply. "Right. How are you this morning?"

"The Christmas shoppers are out in full force," she responded.

"Well, it is only a week until the big day," he answered. "Is Mallory around?"

A woman that had been looking at shirts interrupted, "Do you have this in an small?"

Emily turned to assist her as she answered over her shoulder, "She's in the storeroom. Go ahead back."

"Thanks, Emily." Danny weaved his way between the customers and racks until he made his way to the door that led to the back. Waiting until he was mostly unobserved, he turned the handle and slipped into the backroom. Once inside, he paused for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the difference in light and then to study Mallory for a minute. Her hair had been pulled up in a French twist, although strands had escaped that she was impatiently shoving behind her ears. She wore a black A-line shirt with a red camisole overtop and he glanced around until he found a sweater nearby that she had obviously discarded in the heat of the storeroom. Right now she was crouched down so she could reach one of the lower shelves, her hand stretched to the back trying to grab something. "Hi, Mally," he said.

Mallory let out what could only be described as a squeak and toppled backwards onto her rear. Looking up at him, she blew a few strands of hair out of her face and glared at him. "Don't do that!" she snapped.

Danny bit back a smile at the sight of her. She looked adorable sprawled on the floor, fiercely annoyed with him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Yeah. You sound real sorry." She started to struggle to her feet.

Danny reached out and gave her a hand up. "I really didn't mean to make you fall over. Are you okay?"

Mallory brushed off the back of her skirt and smiled sheepishly. "Yes, only my pride is damaged." She looked him over, admiring the tight t-shirt and well fitting jeans he wore under his bomber jacket. "Not on duty?" she asked, knowing that the dress code required he wear a suit and tie, although he could often get away with more causal attire during the summer.

"I'm on midnight to eight this week," he responded. "I'll go in later." He nodded towards the floor of the store. "You two are busy. I won't keep you. I just wanted to say hello and let you know that everything is okay now."

Mallory took a seat at the desk they kept in the backroom for doing paperwork, although they tended to work out front during lulls. "You talked to your mother again?"

He nodded, leaning against the wall next to her. "I did. And we had lunch together." He shrugged. "It went...well it went. We didn't argue, but it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world."

"It's a start, Danny," Mallory told him. "You knew it wasn't going to be easy."

"I know. She's living on Staten Island now. I guess after Dad died, she was able to get out." He pushed off the wall and motioned towards the door. "Have a good night. I'll see you after the holidays."

"Hey," she called softly as he started to open the door. When he turned back to look at her, she said, "Don't you have something to ask me?" When he looked at her in confusion, she elaborated, "You ask me something just about every time you see me. Are you going to ask me this time?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I've given up, Mally. You've out stubborned me. I won't ask you anymore."

She got to her feet and crossed over to him, coming to a stop so close to him that their bodies almost touched. She was wearing heels today and instead of standing so her head was just below his chin, she was now almost eye level with him. "Do me a favor?" she requested. "Ask me one more time." When he opened his mouth to refuse again, she placed a finger against it. "Just ask. Please."

He locked eyes with her and, with his heart in his throat, he asked, "Will you go to dinner with me?"

Mallory smiled as she gave him the answer he'd been waiting to hear for six months, "I'd love to go to dinner with you."