Preparations

Standing Up

"Linda!" Danny followed Linda upstairs and to his old bedroom. He knelt down next to her as she cried.
"It's not fair, Danny!" She hugged her knees and buried her head. "All I wanted was for them to get along. For a measly hour. Is that too much to ask?"
He put his hand on her shoulder, "it wasn't that bad."
"Wasn't that bad?" She looked at Danny, "it was a nuclear war!" Hiding her head again, she bemoaned, "you probably don't even wanna marry me now..."
Danny pushed Linda's hair behind her ear, "Listen to me." She looked at him through her tears. "I'd wanna marry you no matter how awful your parents were... or are. I love you."
"Really?"
"I really do. I just wish I didn't take so long to realize it."
Linda smiled, "I love you, too."
Danny kissed his fiancé, "feel better?"
"I suppose so..."
"Let's go back to the nuclear war," he helped Linda up as she giggled.
When they came back down, the O'Sheas were in a heated argument with the Reagans.
"Stop it!" Linda yelled over the noise. "Stop it, all of you! Why can't you see eye to eye? Weren't you ever in love? Haven't you ever felt like you're walking on sunshine? And you just wanna... sing all the time cause you're so happy? Cause that's how I feel, and if you've never felt that, than you're missing out on a lot."
Everyone stared at her for a minute.
"Linda, can we talk to you?" Steve led his wife and daughter to the kitchen.
"What?" Linda asked angrily.
"Why on earth would you wanna marry that pig?!" Sofia wondered.
"Don't call him that."
"Why not?"
"Cause it's offensive. How'd you like it if he called you a tramp?"
"Don't talk to your mother like that!" Steve warned.
"Or what? I'm not your little girl anymore. I'm twenty five years old, I'm an adult! And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
"Oh yeah? Just wait. When he gets bored with you, he'll leave you. Just like the others!" The others were three or four people Linda dated before she and Danny went steady.
"This one's different; he wouldn't do anything to hurt me." Linda told her father gently.
"He's a guy!" Steve said.
"Look, you can disown me if you want, but I'm marrying Danny Reagan and that's that. I love him, Daddy. And there's nothing you can do to change that. So kick me out of your life if you want, but just remember this: I will always have a family in the Reagans. A better family than you could ever give me. And on July 18, 1997, I will officially be apart of that family. And I am not gonna back down to threats!" Linda grabbed her purse and stormed out of Frank's house.
Danny stood up from the chair and followed his fiancée.