Chapter Text
It's Christmas Eve, the night is dark, too dark and silent . The only light is from the moon, shinning in the sea. The waves are calm and gentle today. The rocks are half covered in snow, a shady thin figure sitting on the wheel chair, legs spread on the table and head slightly tilted over a soft rock. A burning cigerette in one hand and a whiskey bottle in the other. He laughs watching the stars, coughs and laughs again. A tear rolling from his eyes, swallows the whiskey like water and he watches the stars.
He covered himself with a thick blanket, wearing only shorts and a thin t shirt. It's the first anniversary, he never thought he would survive. Never thought he would live to see the anniversary. He takes a puff from the cigarette and watches the brightest stars in the sky.
"Matty! Have you seen Grace and Charlie buddy? Those two brightest stars there! are Grace and Charlie right?" He points at those stars with his trembling fingers.
He sips the whiskey again, watching those stars with love.
The day flashes again in his mind, it's been a year but it's all still too fresh. The explosion that took all Williams clan, that fateful night.
[A year ago]
"Uncle Vitto, I just checked the guests list. Everyone has arrived. Don't worry, get your son ready. The bride's family is already here and waiting" Danny says in the call and cuts quickly.
Charlie running over to him and jumps at him.
"Hey buddy, stop running around and sit here. You want to see Uncle Tom's marriage right, where is Grace?" Danny rubs Charlie's hair fondly.
"Grace is with mom and Grandma, see Danno they are sitting in our same row" Charlie runs again to Grace.
"Stop running around Tiger" Danny says softly.
Phone vibrates in his pocket, he picks up quickly and walks out of the marriage hall. He doesn't want to disturb the ceremony.
"Detective Williams"
There's no sound on the other end of the call. He checks the phone again and tries to walk out of the building.
"Hello! Who's calling?" Danny asks again. A loud explosion causing the whole building crashing down throwing him towards the wall. It's deafening and now all he hears is a ringing sound in his ears. He couldn't move, a large concrete and rebar stuck to his back.
"Gracie! Charlie" he shouts. But all he hears is the ringing sound. Fire spreading quickly and he is trapped. He couldn't move, he couldn't check on his kids, but he saw.
Charlie's new shoe that they bought and his tailored gray suit. Gracies first heal, she wanted a stilleto and her pink frock. He could only see those shoes and frock, it's his kids under the pile of concrete ,the burning building.
He lifts himself and groans in pain, the rebar stuck on his back digs deeper into his body and bleeding heavily. Danny pushes himself again, and crawls away causing more damage to his body, his suit and torso on fire and he is not bothered to take it off. His legs are numb and dead, he couldn't feel anything below waist.
He crawls himself towards the fire, towards his kids. His trembling fingers slowly checking for pulse in Charlie's legs. He feels nothing.
"Please please please, common Tiger"
He checks for Grace's pulse. Nothing, he couldn't find it. He couldn't move those concretes, he couldn't lift anything, he groans and cries. He doesn't feel pain. His vision gets blurred, his hands falls lifelessly. He looses conscious and his willingness to survive. He just wished he will be dead too so that he don't have to leave his kids.
[Present]
Takes a long puff from his cigerette.
"You know Billy, I got stuck in the ocean in a dingy once" Danny waves his hands and laughs.
"Can you believe that? Crazy right?" He takes a sip from whiskey.
Danny comes here every night and talks to the stars. No human contacts for the past one year except for his nurse and his captain and two juniors. He distanced himself from everyone, he is a millionaire now, he no longer has to work. The only Survivor of the whole Williams family.
His captain never gave up on him, his colleagues from Jersey took care of the funerals. He is now the leader of the cold case unit, he still refuses to meet people unless it's for a case. He goes once a day to the office now, rest of the days he just spends his time at his remote house near the beach.
"Danny loves you all" he watches the stars in tears. Empties the whole bottle and lies there. Swallows a sleeping pill , Closing his eyes, listening to the waves, he tucks himself tight.
-to be continued -