The day after Danny’s release, Catalina awoke in her hotel room. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the now-familiar swirl pattern in the ceiling as thoughts tried to form and clarify in her head. 

All of her senses told her something was different today. Her body was stiff, and incredibly sore. The room smelled differently- earthy and masculine. When she turned her head, she saw the reason why it was warmer in here, and where exactly one of her aching legs had chosen to land during the night.

On Danny. Danny was here. Free. Safe. With her now, where he belonged. Catalina moved her leg off of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was a deep sleeper, at least he was now. There had been a lot of alcohol at the party last night, and they’d greedily worn each other down once they’d excused themselves and arrived at the room. 

As she stroked his back, there was a quiet knock on the door. Catalina looked at the clock and knew it would be room service with coffee and breakfast. She slid out of bed, tugging the top sheet around her as she went. She turned to see if this had awakened Danny, but it had not. The removal of the sheet had left him bare, though, and Catalina stopped. His body was utterly remarkable, and she found herself biting her lip and seriously considering another type of breakfast when the knock sounded again. 

“Mierda. Soy la mujer más afortunada,” she said with a sigh as she tucked the sheet more firmly around herself and answered the door. The room service maid rolled the cart in, did a double take at Danny, and crossed herself before hurrying away. Catalina would have to make sure to double her tip, although getting an eyeful of Danny Fitzgerald was likely enough of a tip in itself. Catalina then pushed the cart further into the room, poured herself coffee, then stepped over to the window overlooking the city. In the distance, she could just barely see Rikers. How often had she stood here, phone pressed to her ear while Danny spoke to her across the short distance? How many times had she sat on one of the decoratively upholstered chairs, one hand pressed to the glass? To herself?

Like an apparition, she saw him approach in the reflection of the window. Hands found her waist and she nearly dropped her coffee cup. 

“Buenos días, Daniel. As much as it breaks my heart to say it, you need to put clothing on. I can’t think straight,” she smiled, and then laughed when he refused to move and only squeezed her tighter. “I bought you something. Look in the closet,” she said, then turned to watch him go. 

“Mierda,” she repeated, then moved back to the room service cart and poured him a coffee as well. She had just finished buttering a slice of toast when she heard him.

“I don’t know about this, Cat.” He’d put on the suit she’d bought for him and was looking at her oddly.

“You don’t like it? I had to buy off the rack, because I don’t know your measurements. We can go to a tailor and-”

“No, no, the suit’s fine. It’s just not... me.” He looked sorry to have to say it, which made her smile.

“I understand. I do. And I would agree with you on any other day, but you have things to do today that might be helped by a sharp-looking suit,” she said, putting down the toast, brushing off her fingers, and running them down the sleeves of the jacket. 

“Your mother and your sister will love to see you like this. I’m sure there is a big dinner planned for you. And of course you need to meet with Derrick today, to talk business,” she turned away and went back for her coffee to steel herself for the next part. 

“Sit with me a moment, have some coffee. I’d like to- get you up to speed on a couple of things.” Danny sat, and she took a deep breath. “You remember when Marco made the run for me, when I had to cover Canada?” He nodded, and she continued. “There have been some changes since then. Structuring in my family. And possibly the structuring of yours. I still hold 50% of my family’s business, but Daddy has split his 50% between my brothers, 25% to Marco, and 25% to Mateo. Mateo takes care of production in Spain, I still do the runs, and Marco…well Marco has stayed here in the United States. New York specifically. He’s made quite the impression here, and distributes the cocaine for Derrick.”

Danny’s face remained devoid of everything. Catalina hadn’t known what to expect. An outburst? Laughter, perhaps? She was reminded of the day in the visitor’s room, when Danny had thought she’d traded herself away for visitations. 

“Daniel.” She reached for his hands, and he let her. Her thumbs ran over his knuckles gently. “This means nothing to you. Not really. Marco is only distributing cocaine. No one has stolen your job, or taken your work or your position away. But there is something else,” she said, wishing this was over. No telling what he was going to do with this next bit of news.

“I think...I think Marco and Elena are seeing each other,” she said, squeezing his hands so he wouldn’t pull away. She started talking very fast. “My brother is not a bad man. He is very intelligent. For what it’s worth, he appears to be very happy. They’ve told no one, but I saw her picture in his wallet. He would never keep her picture with him if she was just a toy to him. I believe he must love her. Deeply in fact, if he refuses to leave New York. The Rey’s… we do love passionately,” she said, trying to lighten the moment with a truth they both knew well.

By the time Danny had awoken, the first thing he realized was, he hadn’t had a headache this bad ever. Last night was the first time he’d been drunk due to over indulgence. While he was incarcerated, he didn’t partake in alcohol. It wasn’t exactly the environment he felt comfortable letting his guard down, even though he was protected. It just didn’t seem the place to enjoy himself in that way, just as he had held back on other urges and vices. He wasn’t in love with the pain in his head, but as the memories from the previous night began to flood in, he didn’t pleasantly enjoy those.

He realized rather quickly he was in Catalina’s hotel room. The bed he was in felt like heaven compared to the prison beds he’d slept in over the last few years. He felt like he could stay in this bed for the next couple of days, and not move. With his current company, he felt that time could be extended.

He knew that wasn’t possible at the time, as he had things that needed to be attended to. He rolled over onto his side and was greeted with the sight of the woman in his thoughts, standing at the window, looking outside with a sheet wrapped around her. He was curious as to her choice of attire, but he didn’t ask aloud.  Instead he rolled out of bed quietly and approached her. She must’ve been lost in thought, as she didn’t turn once he got to her. Once he pulled her to him she then seemed to notice his presence. 

She informed him that she had bought him a suit and left it hanging in the closet. He was getting used to her surprises, so he went to go check it out and see what it was. Just by looking at it hanging off the hanger he could tell it was a well tailored suit. He tried it on to fit and went to look in the bathroom mirror. It was hard for him to recognize himself. This was the type of suits he’d seen big shot gangsters wear. Either those, or the kinds that the wannabe big shots wear. Danny wasn’t a big shot, he was a nobody, freshly home from prison. He felt that he hadn’t earned this kind of suit yet, though he didn’t want to complain too much about a gift. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, because it was certainly nice. He just felt that it didn’t quite suit his stature quite yet. 

He stepped out the bathroom and tried his best to express it to Catalina, but it didn’t quite work right. The measurements were fine, it gave him room to grow into it, but it wasn’t too big. She eventually explained that it might help his image as he went into his meeting with his boss, and treat his family to the sight of him all cleaned up. Speaking of which he’d have to find some time to go and get a shave and a haircut. He hadn’t been properly groomed since getting out the joint. 

Once he came out of his own thoughts, he realized Catalina was no longer smiling. She now had a serious look on her face as she asked him to sit with her. He did, as he couldn’t help but wonder what it was she had on her mind to cause the sudden change in mood. She began to explain to him about the change in her family business.

It was things they didn’t go over in their phone calls. Time wasn’t very long on the phone on the inside, or at least it didn’t feel long enough for him, so the last thing they wanted to do was talk business all the time. He’d already figured Marco would get a piece of the business, based off the stories she told him from before. Her younger brother had helped make a drop off that set up Elena and Danny’s mother with funds they needed. He had to try hard to remember this other brother. He couldn’t recall him or hearing much about him, but seeing as he was staying in Spain, it didn’t matter much. 

Then she got to the heart of the situation. Derrick had began to fancy her little brother, in a business way. He was handling what Danny figured would be his job when he got out. Given the fact that it was him who sort of set up the connection between Catalina’s family and his boss, he thought he’d be the one to get to oversee the operation and handling of the work.

Apparently not, as it Marco Derrick had given the nod to to handle things. He tried to take it in and not just jump to a reaction. Prison had taught him patience a bit. He was sure this could be talked over, and figured out. It felt like a freeze out, or a beginning of one, even though Catalina promised him it wasn’t. He could feel her hands on his own. That calmed him a bit. He felt like he wouldn’t really flare up until he sat down with Derrick. Then that’s when she dropped another bomb on him. 

Her brother was seeing his sister. It took him a minute to fully understand what the implications meant. Her brother, a person in the drug game was in the middle of a romance, with his sister. His sister who was innocent to all that was involved with a criminal life. He wondered what this guy told her he did for a living. Of course he knew it’d be wrong to tell them that they couldn’t be together, but he envisioned an honest life for her, not for her to be involved in anything close to this. It was one of the reasons why he was planning to stay away from both her and their mother a bit more. 

It was his job to protect his sister, and he was unable to because he was rotting away in a prison. He wanted to be careful about how he went on about this to Catalina, as he imagined it was a sensitive subject to her. He needed to do something, but his hands were occupied. He was trying very hard to not just lash out again. Then another thought hit him. 

“Cat. If your brother is together with my sister and that becomes anything too serious, that puts us in a tight spot. A real tight spot.” He commented out loud. 

He turned to look her directly in the eye. Seeing as she was the thinker between the two of them, he was hoping that this had already been considered by her and that she would have some kind of idea in her head about how to handle it.

Catalina opened her mouth to address the problem that Danny seemed to have with their siblings being together. She had no idea what she was about to say, and it ended up never being said at all because the telephone sounded. She stood and went to it, picked up the receiver, and spoke in her curt business voice. 

“Sí.”

The solemn expression faded away when she heard the voice on the other end. “Yes, Mama Fitzgerald, we managed to get some rest. Yes, yes, of course, we had intended to- oh, I see, yes, that’s just fine. Would you like to speak- oh, okay,” she laughed. “He is already dressed, I will call a car right now, and we will be there shortly.” She hung up the phone and smiled at Danny.

“Your mother insists we go to the house for a luncheon. Would you mind calling for a car while I dress, Seda?” She grinned at him, bending down to kiss him quickly and rushing off to the bathroom before he could pull away the sheet she was still wrapped in.

The car was waiting for them by the time they came down the elevator of the hotel. The day was muggy and overcast, but it looked beautiful to a free man, and the woman at his side. They climbed into the car and were soon navigated through the streets of Danny’s childhood neighborhood. He pointed at a few houses here and there, telling Catarina funny stories of the colorful characters he had grown up around. When the car pulled into the Fitzgerald driveway, a small, mighty woman of grey hair and a deathlike grip came rushing off of the porch and embraced Danny in a crushing hug. 

“My son! He is home!” She said, over and over. Catalina eased away to give them some space, but the tiny monsoon soon turned to her and gave her the same treatment. 

“And this one! This beautiful girl has brought him to me, safe and sound!” She said, her face damp with tears of happiness. The hugging continued until Danny’s sister called out from the porch. 

“Mama, stop! Save some for the rest of us!” She said, and her smile could not have been any wider. Catalina and Danny were led up the porch stairs and into the house, where Danny was swallowed in hugs from his sister, an aunt, two cousins, and a few of the neighbors. Catalina had met only a few of the family, and was soon inundated with names and relations that she had no hope of ever remembering. Marco had been invited as well.

The table was already set and waiting with piping hot dishes of more food than an army could eat, and somehow, they all managed to be seated around it. Catalina watched as Danny’s eyes never left his little sister and her new beau. Throughout the dinner, Cat would reach her hand over and squeeze his until his attention on Marco and Elena would break, and he would look at her instead. She wouldn’t say anything...Catalina was simply refocusing his thoughts in order to calm him.

’There is nothing to worry about’, her eyes said. And it was true- all throughout lunch, Marco was a perfect gentleman. He was well-mannered, respectful, and looking after Elena’s tiniest needs. When she dropped a fork, he rose to fetch her a new one. He topped off her water glass, pulled out her chair, and gave every one of these same considerations to Mama Fitzgerald as well, who very clearly doted on him, and was on top of the world to see both her children here, healthy, and happy with their chosen ones. 

Coffee and pie was being circulated when Danny finally began to look fully relaxed with the new Fitzgerald family dynamic. The chatter never ceased, but everyone was very careful not to bring up Danny’s jail time, and certainly not his crime. Catalina was content to sit there all day and listen to the stories while she digested one of the best, and largest, meals she’d had in a very long time, but Marco tapping Danny on the shoulder had them all looking at the grandfather clock nearby.

It was already close to 3pm, and Derrick was waiting.

Danny enjoyed the time he was able to spend with his family greatly. When he was in prison, he only allowed his sister to come and see him. He didn’t feel like it would be good for his mother to see him while he was on the inside, even when things began to get better for him. He would call her occasionally, and send messages through his sister to tell her, but otherwise that would be it. He was surprised to see his aunt and his cousins there. He had expected that his mother would keep the gathering real small, but such was not the case. His sister’s man was invited, and he wasn’t family at all. There was no introduction needed, as the two knew of each other through name, and Marco knew of Danny’s reputation through Derrick, and Danny knew of him through Catalina. 

Still, Danny was not expecting him to show up there that afternoon. Elena introduced him as her boyfriend, and he treated her well under his watchful eye. Catalina would keep him calm throughout the afternoon, but Danny didn’t like it at all. He heard stories from his mother, once she got over her trauma. Their father, the evil bastard that he was, wasn’t always like that. He used to be sweet, used to be a charmer. It took only for a couple bad things to happen to him in his work for him to completely lose his way.

Danny couldn’t help but worry about the same thing happening to Elena. She was always so innocent. She didn’t even hate their father. Their mother, seeing the innocence in her and her not understanding at the time, had decided to leave her ignorant of the full situation, and told Danny to do the same. He did to a point, when she got older, he told her of their father, and still she didn’t hate him. She just thought he could’ve used some help, maybe something to fix him or someone to talk to, but it never went that way. 

Catalina wasn’t worried about the situation and she was in favor of it, along with everyone else. Danny on the other hand was irritated. The man even reminded him that Derrick would be waiting for him. The prick had even gotten close enough to Derrick that he had the man’s schedule down. Danny looked beside him over to Catalina and she returned his look. She could tell that he was deep in his thoughts, so he tried to hide the remorseful look from his face. He didn’t want to hate her brother, or insult him. He knew the younger Rey must mean a great deal to her, but he wasn’t a fan of the situation for many reasons. 

Still he knew his sister well enough to know, that if she kept him around this long, trying to talk her out of her decision wouldn’t work at this time. Even though she was softer and more ignorant, she was a Fitzgerald, and she was stubborn just like the rest. 

Danny decided it was best to leave it be for now and keep a close eye on it for the time being. He’d continue to talk about it with Catalina, instead of just reacting to see if he could come up with a plan, or just leave it alone all together. His focus changed to this upcoming meeting with Derrick. He had a lot to ask, and a lot to go over. He also imagined Derrick would tell him what the future held for him. 

He was surprisingly optimistic. When he sat down and thought about it, all the heat and the tough times his organization endure while he went away, was all because of him, and not keeping his end of the deal. When he thought about how this was usually handled, he figured he either would’ve been abandoned while he was in prison, or he would’ve been killed by the Irish themselves, and offered up for peace with the mob.

Neither happened to him, so that was a good thing. They arrived at the bar that Derrick had set up shop in, the first place he’d come to when he was released just the previous day. As the car pulled to a stop he noticed that Catalina was looking at him, like she was waiting to see what would happen next. She wasn’t moving to get out the car at all. 

“Let’s go love, we can’t keep the man waiting forever.” Danny said lightly. 

She shot him a look that said ‘are you sure?’ He just laughed and patted her thigh softly. 

“Did you think I’d make you wait in the car the whole time. We probably wouldn’t even be standing anymore if it wasn’t for you dear. Of course you’re not just gonna wait outside.” Danny said firmly but with a smile. She returned it, before finally exiting the car with him. 

When they entered, they noticed the place was significantly different than yesterday. A jukebox played music at a medium level throughout the bar. The place was clean and not too busy today. It was still early afternoon, but so was yesterday. There was a guard by the door who approached, but upon recognizing, Danny and Catalina, he gave a respectful nod to them both. He then looked to a guard in the back of the bar who was watching him, and gave an “all clear” nod to him as well.

Once he did, the rest of the guards planted around the bar looking like patrons relaxed. Some of the people in here were actual customers, but most were associates or people looking to earn favor by protecting Derrick. He received nods from many people that he had just seen yesterday at his party, as he made his way to a booth in the back that he knew was reserved for Derrick. When they got there, they were also received with a smile.

“Ah Danny boy, glad you made such good time, and you even brought Cat with you. Good, good take a seat you two. You go to see your mother?” Derrick asked.

Danny slid into the booth with Catalina sliding in beside him. 

“Yeah we just came from there actually.” Danny replied. 

Derrick nodded, pleased with this information. 

“Good, family’s important, and they missed you while you were away. Cat here can attest to that.” He said shooting her a knowing look. “I also wanna thank you, if it wasn’t for you gracing us with your presence, and the opportunities you did, we certainly would’ve been in a lot more trouble than we are now.” Derrick continued. 

This caused Danny to arch an eyebrow. He had heard things were actually okay when he was inside, and that there was a deal in place. He even asked about it, and he didn’t think they’d be partying like they were yesterday if things were truly bad. 

“What trouble ARE we in now?” Danny asked.

Derrick took a moment to sip the drink that was in front of him before giving a man standing over near the bar a nod as he tapped on his glass and held up two fingers. The man got the message and brought over two drinking glasses and placed them on the table. Derrick poured both him and Catalina a drink before refilling his own glass. He then let out a heavy sigh through his nose. 

“When ya did that thing you did Danny boy, and went away. The mob didn’t like it one bit. Things got heated inside with you, but when you didn’t go down for murder, things really heated up out here. We went to war my boy. Businesses got hit, shut down, some of em still need repairs. That’s why a lot of things look so new now, not all of it is remodeling by choice. We tried to fight back and for a while we were able to hold them off, but with knowing all our operations they slowly began bleeding us out.” Derrick informed him. 

Seeing as Catalina was came around this time, Derrick wondered just how much she knew about the situation. She knew that her focuses were more about Danny specifically when she came around, but she was aware of the situation when she approached him about the deal. 

“That was when your lovely lady here stepped in to save our areses. With moving her supplies we were able to put a little coin in our pocket, and the Italians had no idea where it was coming from to stop it. As the war went on, a lot of them wanted to make more money, so they decided to cut us a deal. They’d take a percentage from us, they’d call it allowing us to keep Hell’s Kitchen our own.” Derrick informed them. 

Danny’s hands had balled into fists hearing that. He wanted to wait and make sure his boss was finished before he spoke up. If it was the old him he would’ve already been shouting. He had a feeling that Derrick knew that as well. 

“We gotta pay those bastards to keep our own territory? Territory that nobody was fuckin’ interested in in the first place besides us. We build it up, make it worth a little something, and then we have to pay these motherfuckers to keep it?! Fuck them!” He exclaimed heatedly. 

He tried to keep it in, but the more and more he spoke the angrier he got by the moment. He couldn’t believe the nerve on them, he also couldn’t believe that Derrick would agree to such a deal. Derrick wasn’t surprised by the outburst at all. He calmly sipped his drink and then gave another sigh. 

“I see prison calmed you down some but hasn’t fully fixed that temper of yours.” Derrick commented. 

He looked around as most of the regular patrons in the bar were looking at them thanks to Danny’s outburst. They were getting hard looks from Derrick’s guards around the establishment, and many of them returned back to their own business. 

“I heard about what you did in the can. How you led our people to the top of the food chain inside, and did it all without getting physically involved. You used your mind and organized them, meaning you were paying attention and learned some new things inside. It’s because of those reports, and the situation we have up here, that I have the perfect opportunity for you, for both of you, actually.” Derrick said with a slight smile seeing he caught them both off guard. 

“We’ve sent a few good men down to Chicago to spread things out. With the pressure that’s being put on us here, we figured it’d be good to get some income without as much pressure. The Italians have their liquor smuggling they’ve been doing, through Canada and other states in the US, so we figure we could do some spreading out too. Anyway, we have a few of them down there working to get a foothold with some gentleman from Texas. When I heard about this, I figured you could go down there and get our boys organized while helping out this fella we have backing them. 

You Ms. Catalina would do wonders both for us and yourself, if you expanded down there, and helped Danny and the boys get set up down there by moving your product on the streets. It’d be an expansion for the two of you as well, and the two of you would get to continue to work together.” Derrick said. 

Danny was fuming. Now wasn’t the time for him to be leaving his state and his family. He also thought this had to do with other things, and he planned on letting it be known. 

“This is bullshit Derrick. I need to be here, and you need me here. Paying a percentage to those pricks to allow us to continue on doing like we been doing is fuckin’ ridiculous. I can handle them, just like I handled them inside. Let me do some recruiting, figure somethings out, I’ll get us outta this shit.” Danny declared. 

“Out of it? You got us in this shit to begin with boyo. You’re problem then is the same problem you have now. You can’t get out of your own way. One day out and you’re already ready to start things back up. I thought you would’ve been more receptive to this plan, it gives you a chance at some fresh territory, with your ole lady here by your side. Not to mention the fact that it’d give you something of your own to do.” Derrick pointed out. 

“I can do that here, Derrick and you know it. What’s the real reason you’re moving me? Is it because you replaced me with Marco? I didn’t wanna take a beating and you’re upset because I wouldn’t lay down for those fuckin’ dopes when they told me to, so now you’re shipping me off to some other place because of it.” Danny inferred. 

“You’re fuckin’ right I’m mad about it. Do you have any idea how much money, how many good people, and places we lost because you couldn’t keep your fuckin’ ego in check?!” Derrick asked in a raised voice showing his anger. “This is a business, and at the end of the day you do what you’re told, the sooner you learn that, the quicker you’ll get on in life. Now you’re going to Chicago. I want one of my own people down there to see things through, both for our thing and to help out our contact down there with his own business. If you don’t wanna be involved then fine, but at least think about this for someone other than yourself.” Derrick advised. 

Danny did stop to think about it. He was still mad at the outcome of this conversation, but thinking about it for Cat, it was a good opportunity for her to expand her business here in the states into a new territory. The Irish that Derrick sent down could act as muscle while Catalina attempted to set up down there as well, while most of the other organizations focused on other businesses. Danny didn’t like it, he didn’t like how he felt he was being pushed out of his home, but he couldn’t deny that if handled properly, this could be a big thing for his girl. 

He took a deep breath and turned to look at her beside him. She was watching the back and forth between the two men with an unreadable expression. Or maybe it was and he just wasn’t in the best headspace to do so right now. 

“What do you think Cat?” He asked as he took a sip of his own drink to calm down.

She took a moment to think on it or at least she seemed to. She then turned to Danny and placed her hand over his still clenched fist on the table. 

“I think it’s a good opportunity señor Derrick is giving to us. I say we make the best of it. Let’s go to Chicago.” She said with a smile at the end. 

He blinked, not sure what he was expecting, but was a bit surprised by her being so on board with the move. Maybe, he was being too stubborn again. He just never expected to leave his home, and his family behind, especially so soon. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t the planner, and such things were better left to people like Derrick and Catalina. Maybe they could both see something in this move that he couldn’t. Point being, if it was lined up like this two against one, he had no leg to stand on, and Derrick already put his foot down and said he was going. With all that in mind, it looks like it was already a done deal. Danny downed the rest of his drink and brought the glass back down with a little more force than usual, but not enough to break it. 

“Fuck it, off to Chicago then.” Danny relented. 

Derrick smiled to himself but not too wide to be considered mocking or provoking. He then began filling them in with details of contacts to meet and places to go upon arrival. It would seem he made plans for the duo to take off first thing tomorrow morning.