(Not So) Secret Admirer

Introductions

Linda came down ten minutes before dinner was to be served. The Reagans apparently had late dinners, as the microwave clock read eight twenty. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take that long. It just felt so good."
Danny pretended not to notice the blush that crept onto his face when she said those words. She was talking about a bath, but the way she annunciated sounded like it was something a lot less innocent. "That's okay. Dinner's just about ready."  He noticed for the first time she wasn't wearing any makeup. Gosh, she's beautiful, he was surprised at himself for thinking that.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Her fingers went to her cheeks, worried something looked bad.
"No, no, it's just, uh... you're not wearing any makeup, that's all."
"Is that a problem?" She crossed her arms, suddenly aware she wasn't wearing a bra either. Maybe Danny noticed that, too. Maybe I want him to notice, she rested her hands on her hips wondering why she wanted him to notice her.
"No! No, uh, it's just that..."
Before he could finish, a tall brunette walked in. "Mom says it's time to set the table- oh. Who's this?"
"Hm?" Danny turned his head, noticeably surprised by his sister's presence. "Oh. Erin, this is Linda. Linda, this is Erin. We found her on the street."
Erin didn't miss a beat. "Right after Dad found you in the sewers." She smiled at Linda, "I'm his sister, as if you couldn't tell."
"I'm a witness. Victim, too, I guess." She shrugged, not wanting to relive the memory. "My apartment was broken into, so Danny said I could stay here."
"He did, now, did he?"
Linda nodded, pushing her wet hair behind her shoulder.
"Do you offer your childhood home to just about anyone?"
"Shut up, Erin."
The siblings bickered while setting the table. Soon, the dinner was on the table and Danny's big family sat around it.
"Guys," Danny put his hand on Linda's back, making her flush. "This is Linda-"
"Your girlfriend! You finally dumped Aimee!" A young boy smiled widely.
"No, Linda's in witness protection. Her apartment was broken into, so I said she could stay here. Linda," Danny pointed to each family member as he introduced them. "That's my grandpa Henry and grandma Betty."
Linda smiled and gave them a nod as they did the same.
"You know my Dad and Mom, Frank and Mary."
She nodded, waving awkwardly.
"You've Met Erin and Joe."
"I have?" She looked to him, she could easily get lost in his eyes.
"You met Joe a while back, when the case first started."
"I stole your cereal, remember?" Joe smiled at her.
"Oh. Yeah." She didn't remember, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"And that's the baby, Jamie." Danny finished introducing the family.
"I'm not a baby!" Jamie protested. "I'm twelve!"
"I definitely wasn't a baby when I was twelve," Linda said mainly to herself, sitting down next to Danny.
"See?"
**********
Intense, Linda thought- that's how she would describe the Reagans. But nice intensity.
"Sorry about my family," Danny apologized as he helped her set up the guest bedroom. "They're... intense."
Her face heated when he used the same word she had used. "They're really nice, though. A little antiquated."
Danny snorted, "they're the kings and queens of antiquated ideas!" He tossed a pillow at the head of the bed. "Tomorrow, we'll go to your apartment and get a few things. You've already fashionably upgraded my sweats, so I assume you can do that to my regular clothes."
She felt a shiver go down her spine- he was actually telling her to wear his clothes.
"Linda?"
"Hm? What? Yeah, yeah, I can do that."
"Good. I'm just down the hall if you need anything."
"Thank you." She watched him close the door behind her. She immediately fell to the bed, get a hold of yourself, O'Shea. It's not gonna work.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom at the top of the stairs, Mary Reagan sat in bed as Frank brushed his teeth. "It's Stockholm Syndrome, you know."
Wiping his mouth with his hand, Frank came out of the bathroom. "What?"
"Stockholm Syndrome. When the captured falls in love with the capturer. Only in this instance, it's the witness and the handsome cop."
"Danny and, uh, Linda?" He slid in bed next to her.
"Although, by the way she was looking at him when he was explaining, uh..."
"Us."
Mary giggled, "us, I'd say she finds him more than handsome."
"More than handsome runs in the family," he nibbled her ear.
"Yes, it certainly does." She kissed him as he lowered her into the mattress.