Is It A Dream?

Cold And Surprised

"Linda," Danny sat down and put his hand on hers. She let him hold and kiss her hand, but not much else. "You gotta eat something. Please? For me?" He had been trying to get her to eat for the last half hour. He was very grateful for the neighbor's inviting Jack and Sean to stay the night.
"I'm not hungry."
"You're gonna waste away to nothing." Danny frowned, noticing how frail she looked. Two months of antidepressants and therapy, and she was no better.
"No I'm not."
Danny sighed. Thanksgiving and Christmas went by quietly, Linda not wanting to engage in the festivities. January was doing its best to make sure the brunette was totally depressed. "What is it that you want, Linda?" A teensy not if annoyance coated Danny's voice.
She looked at her husband, unshed tears shining in her eyes. Very quietly, Linda answered, "I wish they had killed me. It'd be better for everyone." She got up and walked towards the stairs, leaving Danny dumbfounded.
"Linda," was all he could say at that moment. He stood up and walked to their bedroom to find Linda picking out clothes. "Linda?"
"I'm gonna take a shower." And she disappeared into the en-suite, locking the door behind her.
Danny sighed, knowing better than to follow her at this point. He sat on the bed and pulled out his lap top, intending to do some research.
*********
The next time Danny looked at the clock was two hours later, and Linda was still in the shower. He got up and knocked on the door, "Linda? Baby, you okay?" He heard nothing except the sound of the shower. "Honey, open up." When nothing happened, Danny started to worry. She had mentioned wanting to be dead... would she actually...? He walked over to the dresser and took one of Linda's bobby-pins. He easily picked the lock, letting himself in. "Linda-"
"Don't look at me." Linda hid her face in her hands, her knees pulled up to her chest. She sat in the tub, the curtain acting as a barrier between herself and her husband.
"Linda, I have to. I wanna help you. And I can't if I don't see you... so I'm gonna pull back the curtain..."
Linda whimpered and put her head on her knees. She put her hands on the back of her neck, as if she was trying to curl into a ball.
Danny frowned deeply and held back his gasp. He hadn't realized how skinny Linda really was, since she had been wearing oversized sweaters. "Linda..." he knelt in front of the tub, and placed a hand on her back.
Linda jumped when she felt Danny's hand, but she remained still. She didn't want him to see her at all.
The detective felt the icy cold water cascading onto Linda's fragile body. "First thing's first. Let's get you out of that tub." He turned the cold water off, and grabbed Linda's towel. When he tried to help her up, she whacked his arm away.
"Don't look."
"No matter what you've been through, Linda, you're always gonna be beautiful to me."
She didn't make a move, just heaved a sob, her backbone bumps obvious beneath her skin.
It broke Danny's heart to see her like that, "do you want to get better?" He asked softly, trying a different tactic.
"Yes."
"Will you get out of the tub for me? I'll leave if you want to get dressed alone."
Linda nodded, then held out her arm for the towel.
Danny draped it over her arm, "when you're ready, I'd like to talk to you, okay?"
"Please leave."
"I'm going. I'll be in the bedroom." Danny lingered at the door, "Hey, Linda?"
"Yeah?"
He paused for a moment, "I love you."
She closed her eyes and tears fell, "I love you more."
A big smile spread on Danny's face- she hadn't said that for a while. "I love you most." He closed the door behind him, hoping that that was a good sign.