AUTHOR: Bridget Frawley (scarecro9@aol.com)

TITLE: ALL IN A DAY'S WORK - PART FIVE

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of Viacom and Spelling/Goldberg Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. It is meant for enjoyment purposes. I retain the rights to the plot and not the characters.
 
 
 

Jill was sitting on the sofa in her best dress, fidgeting nervously. She got up and walked over to the window for the fifth time in two hours, wondering just where her husband was.

The door opened and a thoroughly soaked Mike came in, followed by Lt. Ryker.

"Mike!" She exclaimed in relief, hurrying over to him. "What happened?"

"Ah, my car broke down at the beach," Mike answered shortly, brushing his damp hair out of his eyes.

"All right, Danko, I see everything's under control here," Ryker announced, putting the wet gear down on the corner of the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir," Mike nodded.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Jill added gratefully.

"No problem, Mrs. Danko," Ryker said gruffly. "Someone has to keep an eye on these rookies." He left.

"How did things go at the doctor?" Mike asked anxiously as he tried to take her in his arms.

"Mike, stop! This is my best dress!" She protested as she pulled out of his grasp. "He said that everything's fine."

Mike settled for kissing her cheek. "That's great. Let me just jump in the shower and I'll be ready in..." he stopped and glanced at his watch. "Tell me that's not the time," he groaned.

"It's a little after seven," she confirmed. "I already called your parents when I got home and told them we'd be late."

"What'd they say?" Mike asked with dread.

"That if I planned things better we wouldn't have this problem," she answered in a quiet voice.

Mike winced. "Baby, I'm sorry."

"Look, Mike, you're the one who said that we have dinner with them. If you hurry up and shower we can be there in about an hour."

He took two steps towards the bathroom and froze. "Oh, man, I don't believe this!"

"What?"

"Ryker drove me here."

"So?"

"So...the car's still at the precinct."

"I am not calling your parents again!"

"I don't believe this," Mike sighed unhappily.

The front door flew open and Terry and Willie came in. "Hey! Didn't you say that you were having dinner with your parents?" Willie asked innocently.

"Yeah, why?" Mike asked.

"Be helpful if you had your car," Terry answered with a grin. He placed the keys on the top of the counter.

"Man, you are a life saver!" Mike exclaimed. "I'll be as fast as I can," he promised as he hurried into the bathroom.

"Yeah, Terry, you're a life saver," Jill mumbled unhappily as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, how'd things go with the doctor?" Terry asked.

"Fine," Jill answered shortly.

"Hey, we'd better get going," Willie interjected. "We were supposed to meet the girls at seven and we're already late."

"Sorry, Jill. We've gotta go," Terry agreed rapidly. Both Terry and Willie kissed Jill on the cheek and left.
 
 

Mike and Jill got to his parent's house and were seated at the formal dinner table at 8:30.

"I'm glad you finally managed to show up," Audrey Danko stated archly, giving Jill an icy look. "As you know, we normally eat at six."

Jill shifted uncomfortably in the chair, not looking up.

"I'm sorry, mother," Mike corrected quickly. "My patrol car broke down on the beach and that put me behind schedule."

"Well, they're here now, and that's all that matters," Jonathan Danko announced in a friendly voice.

Both Mike and Jill stared at this uncharacteristic behavior.

The maid brought in the first course and then discretely withdrew.

"Son, I'd like you to come into the family business with me," Jonathan announced. "Danko and Danko."

"I'm a cop," Mike began with forced patience. "I like being a cop."

"You'd have more money to spend on your wife...get her the things she wants," Jonathan reasoned.

Jill started playing with her fork, not touching her food.

"It's time you grew up and stopped playing cops and robbers," Jonathan pressed.

"I'm not playing cops and robbers," Mike corrected through gritted teeth. "I like helping people. I'm making a difference."

"You'd have more time and money to be able to start a family," Audrey interjected.

Jill dropped the fork abruptly and shivered.

Mike discretely reached over, took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

Jill looked up at him with a faint smile, seeing that he was as uncomfortable as she was.

Audrey looked over and saw Jill's reaction. "That's assuming that you do want a family, of course," she added coldly.

Jill glanced up at them quickly with tears in her eyes. "Excuse me," she whispered in a tremulous voice. She jumped to her feet and ran out of the room.

"Jill!" Mike called after her in alarm, getting to his feet.

"Sit down, Michael," Jonathan instructed. "She'll be back in a few minutes."

"The reason Jill was in the hospital was because she lost our baby," Mike snapped, sparks shooting out of his eyes.

"What?" Audrey questioned blankly.

"That's right," Mike continued in a furious voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He hurried out of the room and found Jill standing by the front door, crying as though her heart would break. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry," he apologized as he gathered her in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

"Mike, can we please leave?" She begged, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. "I can't stay here."

"Shhh," he soothed, stroking her back gently and nuzzling her neck. "Let's go home."

"Michael," Jonathan's voice boomed from behind him.

Jill cringed and tried to press herself closer into Mike.

"Sir, we're leaving. Right now," Mike announced in a voice that brooked no argument. "Come on." He kept his arms tightly wrapped around Jill as he led them both outside to their car.
 

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