Listen to Her || A Chicago P.D. Fanfiction

'Recovery' Special

5 days later, 10:30 a.m.
Uccisore nudges Al's left hand that's hanging off of the couch, the older detective quickly opening his eyes to be greeted by the large dog staring at him as they're face to face. Uccisore whines as he sits, looking towards the bedroom then back to Al who's now sitting up, shoving the blanket off of his legs. "What is it, boy?" He asks softly, the Doberman hurriedly standing and walking into the fours' bedroom. Alvin quickly follows, finding Slayer sitting on the floor near the edge of the bed that's closest to the restroom, watching Danielle struggling to sit up. Uccisore softly and non-agressively growls at her, catching her attention which makes her look at the dog then to Al who hurries over to her. "Cupcake, what are you doing? Are you okay?" He asks, very carefully helping her be upright. "I need to pee." She answers shyly, feeling embarrassed she couldn't even get out of bed on her own. Hank and Antonio have been long gone to work, and she felt bad waking up Alvin, but Uccisore sensed she needed assistance beyond his own, a human's help. It's been four days and the stitches have been out of her wound, which has been causing her lower body great pain, but not as bad as the first night she arrived back home. Al helps her to the bathroom, having her stand near the toilet before he carefully pulls down her pants and underwear, helping her sit down. "Do you wanna shower after this?" He asks as he looks towards the bathroom door for a moment, finding both dogs standing guard of it, facing the bedroom. "Yes, please." "You got it, my angel." He lets her finish using the commode, going into the room to gather some clothes for his wife, hearing the toilet flush a few seconds later. He grabs her a pair of underwear, a pair of Antonio's sweats, a night shirt belonging to Hank, and sets a his own slippers near the bathroom door for her to use when her bath is done. He doesn't bother with a bra of any kind for her, remembering María told him at the clinic that her breasts may get very tender because they are adjusting to the fact that they aren't producing milk anymore, so to just not have her in a bra until a pill Howard put Danielle on stops the production of milk entirely. He walks into the bathroom, setting the clothes on the sink then helping his wife stand up, letting her take off her night shirt while he runs a bath for her, constantly checking the temperature of the water until he deems it worthy of her stepping into. Al lets her use him for support as she pleases, always ready to step in if she can't do something in its entirety on her own. He helps her sit down in the tub, the water now off and bubbles on the surface. A small sigh leaves her mouth, her body feeling comfortable and relaxed, something Danielle hasn't felt in a few long days, brain battling her emotions in a never ending tug-of-war. Al grabs her loofah and her signature rose scented body wash, squeezing a good amount before the small thing is covered in bubbles. He takes his time working on making her clean, letting his wife try and clean herself until the task becomes too much which results in the loofah being placed back into his hands. "I'm sorry." She apologizes in a whisper, feeling bad that she can't clean her own self. Al shakes his head a bit, moving so he can be in her sight a bit. "In sickness and in health." He says with a kind smile, watching the corners of her lips turn upward just a tad. He's very gentle as he washes her neck, arms, back, legs, everywhere. When he accidentally grazes her healing scar with a bit too much pressure, he earns a small hiss of discomfort from his wife. "I'm sorry, cupcake." He apologizes, Danielle telling him to not worry. Now that she's really thinking of it, it feels strange to have someone care for her in such a delicate, intimate, and loving manner. Before joining Intelligence and meeting her husbands, Danielle was so used to having to take care of herself, no matter the situation, even when her parents were alive. When she had had multiple surgeries to fix a few health problems at the age of 10 through 14, her mother was never so calm and gentle like Alvin is being with her right now. Her mother would always get fed up, frustrated or would say that at those ages, Danielle 'could take care of herself' so her mom would leave to be out and about with the men who she cheated on Danielle's dad with. At doctors appointments, Danielle always had to make her mom seem like a good mother when in reality, she wasn't. Her mom didn't know the names of the medications Danielle was taking, she didn't know how the scars were coming along, she didn't know how often her own daughter wouldn't eat because she couldn't make herself food aside a different sandwiches which grew boring to the then-child, she didn't know much aside the fact that when she'd get home, her daughter was already asleep and for the cheating wife, that was good enough so she didn't have to deal with the reality. Her mother was careless, and it was evident to the doctors, but upon the then-child's request, the health professionals never submitted reports of abuse to CPS. In the past year, she has tried getting used to the fact that she has three amazing partners who whole heartedly love looking after her, even for the smallest things, such as baths. Her men have already figured her out, and it amazes the sniper every single time. They're so caring and patient with her that Danielle had a hard time adjusting to it at the beginning of the relationship, but now seeks them out and is very open with each of them. She's pulled out of her thoughts as her scalp begins itching, looking around, trying to spot the bottle of shampoo she uses, but doesn't see it. "May I interest you in a hair washing, micetta?" Al asks her, knowing that's what she wants. "Yes, please." Her answer is soft. He grabs a small Tupperware container from the tub corner that he, Antonio, and Hank use to hold water when they help bathe their wife. He fills it up, carefully drenches her hair in a couple of takes, then puts a good amount of shampoo in one palm and begins scrubbing her hair with both hands, being gentle yet very thorough. The 21 year old takes deep, calming breaths, enjoying the hair washing process in its entirety, fully relaxing into her husband's touch.
~2 weeks later, first week of September~
Many will say she's kind, many will say she's rude. Many think she's unapproachable, many think she's a joy to be around. Something those closest to her can agree on is that Danielle is dangerous, because she knows what it's like to fall and get back up thousands of times. Rock bottom knows her name, and the only person who always saved her, for many years, was herself. Many times, she is not afraid of breaking. Yet that's changed for now, and with her recent loss, she is holding on, but barely. Gripping whatever she can to keep it together for another day. She doesn't think about next week or next month, just today. That's what she tells herself. That's how she's gone this long. 'Just keep it together, just today.' She's been journaling, a small hobby that gives her some peace of mind when she doesn't want to burden people's ears. Hank read her notebook acting as a journal when she lived with Trudy, Al and Antonio secretly came upon it when she lived in her apartment. They know what she's capable of writing. Her thoughts are always just seeped onto paper, and when they had read a few lines all those months back, the three found the words fascinating, being that they were able to see themselves and events as their wife saw them. They knew Danielle did that from time to time, but never have they seen her do it again after she began living with them. However, today is Alvin's lucky day, because he's been looking everywhere for what he and his two friends consider 'the sacred notebook', and if he were her, he knows she'd hide her it in the once place that would get overlooked, the bookshelf. And that's exactly where he finds it; the third row, 8th book in line. He plucks it from the shelf, taking it with him to the dining table as he waits for Antonio to be ready, Voight and Danielle already at work since she's been cleared to return by Howard. He looks through the pages, finding they date back to when he, Antonio, and Hank asked her to be their girlfriend, to marry them, a few days after their wedding day, when she and Al began trying for a baby, when she found out she was pregnant, everything. The most important things she wants to cherish have been written in these pages he's looking at, but there's also guilt evident in some small paragraphs. Al sees she's written on feeling guilty for involving him in moving Bingham's body, for everything Al himself is going through with I.A. and Woods, and for the loss of their child. There's a paragraph in particular that his eyes catch and do not hesitate to read: