David and Danielle

David and Jack were on their way to the hospital to see Les, David's younger brother. Les went in a few days ago to have his appendix taken out, and had been asking for Jack. David led Jack through the maze of doctors, nurses and rooms until they reached the childrens' wing. When they walked into Les' room, they were amazed at what they saw. The room was covered with children, crowded around a teenage girl, who was telling a story. The children were completely enraptured in her story, when she stopped suddenly. "That's all the time we have today, I'm going to have to tell you the rest tomorrow." She said. This was met by a series of moans and groans from the children, but she just smiled and shooed them out of the room. She was about to follow them when she heard Les' voice.

"Danny, don't go, I want you to meet my brother and Jack."

"Ok Les." she said sweetly. "But then I really do have to go."

"It won't take long, promise. This is my friend Jack, but we call him Cowboy, and this is my brother David, he's older. Guys, this is Danny. She helps take care of us."

"It's Danielle, actually, but everyone likes to call me Danny." She shook hands with Jack and David. "I hate to rush off like this, but I have to run home. Les, I'll come see you tomorrow, ok? It was nice to meet you both. Goodbye."

Jack and Les started talking and it took a few minutes for Jack to realize David was looking outside at Danielle. "Hey, Dave you like her, huh?"

"Les, what exactly does Danny do here?" David asked, ignoring Jack.

"She reads to us and stuff. She's great." Jack and Les went back to their conversation, but David couldn't get his mind off of Danielle. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, with long golden-brown hair and big, brown eyes.

About half and hour later, Jack and David started to walk back to the Lodging House. "So Dave, Danny's pretty cute, huh?"

"You do realize you're still seeing my sister."

"Yeah, an' I love her, but I'm just sayin'…Danny's not exactly a dog or nothin'…right?

"She is gorgeous... those eyes... I could get lost in them."

"I think you just did." Jack said with a smirk. David gave him a dirty look.

Meanwhile, Danny was sitting on her bed at the city orphanage thinking about David. She was attempting to darn some socks for some of the boys in the orphanage, but she couldn't get her mind off of him. 'He's so handsome.' She thought. 'Oh, get over it, Danny, you only saw him for two minutes... besides, he probably has a girlfriend.'

The next day, David went back to the hospital to see Les…but mostly to see Danielle. Les was requesting some of his toys from home, so it was a perfect excuse. When he went into Les' room, the scene was the same as before: full of children listening to the rest of Danny's story. David just stood there watching her until she was done, captivated by her expressive eyes. As soon as the story was over, a nurse came into the room.

"Ok, kids, it's time to go back to your rooms and give Danielle a little break." The children silently but with sullen faces left the room.

"David, are those my toys?"

"Uh, yeah Les, here you go."

"David, you forgot my sword…"

David was no longer listening to Les, he couldn't take his eyes off of Danielle.

"David! You forgot my sword!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Mama didn't want me to bring it; she thought it would be too dangerous."

"Les, I'm going on break now, but I'll be back in an hour, ok?"

"Ok, see ya Danny."

"Oh hey, wait. Would you like some company"? asked David.

"But what about Les?"

"Oh, well, it's about time for his nap anyway, right, Les?" His eyes suggested Les had better catch on and start snoozing.

"Oh, yeah...I'm so sleepy... I need a nap." With a mock yawn, Les settled in his bed and pretended to sleep. "Well, I suppose I'll have to entertain you now, David." Danny said with a smile. David gave her his arm and they walked out of the hospital into the beautiful autumn day.

"Danielle, where exactly are we going?"

"Well, there's Antonio's Deli around the corner, they have great coffee."

"Great." When they got inside, they chose a table near a window and gave the waiter their orders. They talked a lot and barely touched their coffee when it arrived. "So, where do you live?" David asked.

"At the city orphanage. My parents died of scarlet fever when I was 6, and I've been there ever since. Mrs. Havisham, who runs the orphanage, requires everyone over 14 to do community service, so I volunteer at the hospital. I never really think of it as work, though; I love being around all of those children."

"And they adore you." They talked for a few more minutes and then David walked Danielle back to the hospital.

"I'd really like to see you again soon." Said David. "Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"

"Sure," Danielle beamed. "When?"

"How about Friday night? I'll cook."

"Wonderful! It'll be nice to have someone cook me dinner for a change."

"Great! I'll pick you up here at 6?"

"It's a date. See you then, David." Danielle gave him a big smile before going up to the childrens' floor. David ran back to the Jacobs' home, hoping Sarah was still there. She had three days to teach him how to cook a meal.

On the way to the hospital Friday night, David walked with a light step with a picnic basket under one arm. He had a date with a beautiful girl and he'd cooked a great dinner with Sarah's help. David could see Danielle waiting on the hospital steps as he approached. The very sight of her took his breath away, though she was just in a simple blue dress. Danielle turned, met his gaze and smiled. When he reached the steps, David offered Danielle his free arm and they walked together to Central Park.

They'd been walking for about half an hour when David told her to close her eyes. "David, what's going on?"

"You'll see, just keep 'em closed." A few minutes later, David told Danielle to open her eyes, and she gasped at what she saw. There was blanket spread out with food, candles, red roses and wildflowers. "It's so beautiful! Roses are my favorite and I love wildflowers! How did you know?" she asked. David just grinned and looked into her eyes, losing himself in them. He helped her sit down, and they ate and talked for hours.

It started to get really late, so David packed the basket with Danielle's help and they started to walk back to the orphanage. As they passed the hospital, a nurse who was sitting on the front steps called them over. "Danielle! I'm sorry to interrupt your date, but Billy in 312 had another of his nightmares and is asking for you. He can't get back to sleep and won't let anyone else near him."

"Oh, the poor thing! I'll go right away." The nurse, Danielle and David ran into the hospital and up the stairs to room 312. There was a little boy sitting up in bed, crying, but his eyes brightened when he saw Danielle.

"Danny! I knew you'd come! I had another dream… about mama and papa." Danielle was already at his bedside and was mopping his sweaty forehead with a soft cloth.

"It's alright now, sweetheart. It's all over. Now will you try and get some sleep for me? I'll stay right here until you fall asleep." Billy nodded and got back under his covers, lying on his stomach. Danielle kissed his head gently and began to sing while rubbing his back. "Sleep my child and peace attend thee, all through the night. Guardian angels God will send thee, all through the night…"

David was standing in the doorway observing the whole scene, completely awestruck. As he watched Danielle, he couldn't help but think what a wonderful mother she'd make one day. He was then suddenly struck with a vision of Danielle being his wife and the mother of his children, and he really liked the idea. At that moment, David felt his heart swell as if a hole in it had been filled, only until that moment, he didn't know anything was missing. He knew then that he needed Danielle to make his life complete.

When Danielle finished singing, Billy was fast asleep. She and David quietly crept out of the room and into the hallway. "I'm really sorry about that, David. Billy and his parents were in a fire a few weeks ago. He came out with a few bad burns, but his parents were killed. The first few days were the worst for him, he had nightmares every night. He's doing a lot better, but every now and then…" They were now out of the hospital and walking towards the orphanage. "David? What's wrong, you're so quiet." David turned and looked deeply in her eyes.

"I love you." Danielle started to laugh, thinking he was kidding, but when she looked into his eyes she knew he was serious.

"Love? It doesn't happen this way, does it? I mean, we just met a few days ago, and…oh my…" Danielle's voice trailed off as she realized that she was in love with him. David put one arm around her waist and drew her close. "It's not supposed to happen like this, is it?" Danielle asked again.

"Does it matter?" asked David, leaning in so their faces were just a few inches apart.

"No." Danielle put her arms around David's neck and kissed him. It was electric; they both had been kissed before, but never like this. David had both arms around Danielle's waist and she moved her hands from his neck to run her fingers through his curly hair.

When they finally parted, David interlaced his fingers with Danielle's and they walked back to the orphanage hand in hand. When they reached the door, they kissed again, not wanting the night to end.

"I'm going to the hospital tomorrow around 11:30 to take Les home. We'll get back just in time for lunch. Danny, I want you to come with us and meet my family."

"Ok, I'll be there. I love you." "Love you too." They shared one more kiss and David left for home.

Sarah Jacobs waited up back at their apartment for news from David about his date. She was in the living room when David walked in. She put her finger to her lips meaning for him to be quiet and they went out onto the fire escape. "So, what happened?!"

"Sarah, this has to be the greatest night of my life. Danielle loved the dinner… it was a great idea to picnic in the park…and she loves me."

"Wait a minute. Love? You two just met what, a week ago?"

"Yeah, I know how it sounds, but I love her too. She's coming for lunch tomorrow; I'm bringing her here when I pick up Les."

"Great, I can't wait to meet the woman who stole my little brother's heart."

The next day, Danielle had lunch with the Jacobs as planned. Esther and Mayer loved her immediately and knew by the way she and David were acting that she could become their daughter one day. Sarah was taken with Danielle as well. After a few hours, they were acting like they'd been sisters all their lives. David couldn't have been happier, now that his family had met and approved of the girl he loved.

© 1997 quinn_35@hotmail.com

Part 2, Stories or the Square

This page hosted by

Get your own Free Home Page