So Maybe We Will Keep up with Two a Day...
We Have a Situation
Word Count: 3,156
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nico/Dani
Spoilers: References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I just break things.
Summary: She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.
Author's Note: I was wrong. I don't think I managed to do half of what I was supposed to with this chapter.
A Complication
"That is it. Pull the car over and let me out."
"Maybe we should have given you drugs."
"I don't need drugs. I just need you to drive like you're paying even half the attention to the road that you should be," Nico said, trying to find a comfortable position in the back seat of the car. When he'd reluctantly agreed to let one of the others drive, he'd opted for Balzarini since she'd had her license longer and he had previous experience with Juliette's driving-he had actually taught her to drive, though she'd clearly forgotten everything he taught her-but clearly that was a mistake.
"Grumpy much?" Balzarini asked, and Nico glared up at the front seat. Santino laughed, taking his hand again. She smiled at him, but he couldn't manage one in return. "Really, the drugs would have knocked you out for the whole trip."
"I'm an alcoholic. No drugs," he snapped. "Eyes on the road."
"You should have let me drive, Nico," Juliette said, turning around in her seat. She wasn't wearing the seat belt. His eyes narrowed at her, and she smirked, challenging him. "I'm not really that bad."
"Speaking as the man who taught you to drive, I disagree," Nico said, touching his back with a wince. The cut had been a minor nuisance, but the bruising was severe. He was tempted by the drugs, but he knew that path and it had to be avoided. At the most, he might try an over-the-counter pain killer, but he knew that was useless as well. "Seat belt. If I have to reach up there and put it on for you, you will regret it."
"Probably not as much as you will," Balzarini observed, and Nico shot her another dark look. Juliette caught it and shook her head, buckling the seat belt.
"That's pretty close to the pushed-too-far look," Juliette explained. "Poor baby. You must be in a lot of pain, huh?"
Uncle Nick got his final say, Nico thought darkly. "I have actually had worse and complained less, but then I wasn't in the back seat of a car driven by a madwoman at the time."
"Hey!" Balzarini protested.
"Were you unconscious at the time?" Juliette asked.
"It's not the driving or the pain that's really bothering him," Santino said, looking over at him. "It's not being behind the wheel, not being in control."
"I told you before, if you continue to treat me like a patient-"
She leaned over and kissed him. It was a sufficient distraction, and one she seemed inclined to use often, at least now. He was not opposed to it, since it did distract him from the pain, at least temporarily. "You are not my patient. I'm just... nosy and observant and..."
She trailed off as she kissed him again. Juliette giggled in the front seat. "They need a room again."
"They need a week in a room, sweetheart, but since they had the bad sense to get themselves injured, I guess they're stuck with a few kisses."
"I'm surprised you think so, Ms. Balzarini. I would have expected you to think more creatively."
The car swerved, and Balzarini swore. Nico hit the door, and new pain seemed to flare up everywhere. He knew that he'd been hit several times by the assorted debris when the roof came down and further injured when the floor caved in, all before the support beam fell.
Juliette held onto the handle above the door. "We're all gonna die!"
"Don't be overdramatic."
"Oh, come on, Uncle Nico," Juliette twisted herself backward, looking up at him. "It was a joke. You need to lighten up."
Nico glanced at Santino and back at his niece. She grinned. "Okay, okay, I take your point. Try and be at least a little less of a stick-in-the-mud. For Dani? She deserves someone who cracks a smile more than once a month."
He considered making a comment on her habits-the drugs or the men-but he buried it. Though he still had some doubts about Juliette's determination to turn her life around, he knew that his reproach and censure would not help her to do it. It would only turn her against him again, and she could very well extend that to Danielle and Balzarini, both of whom seemed to help stabilize Juliette more than she had been in a very long time. It was not a perfect arrangement, but he would rather trust her care to Santino-even if she was not acting as Juliette's therapist-than anyone else.
"He does smile more than once a month, when he's with me-and he smiles at you, too, Juliette," Danielle said. He could tell that she wanted to put her head on his shoulder, but her concern for his injuries held her back.
He pulled her close to him, up into his lap, making sure that her leg was up. "You do realize you're supposed to be elevating that ankle, don't you?"
"You are too black and blue to be a pillow right now."
"I know my limits. Don't move."
"I don't want to," she said quietly. "Even though I should because you are really going to regret this later."
Maybe I already do, he thought, but he said nothing as he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. They should both try and get some rest before they got back to New York.
"Home," Dani muttered, looking up at her house and shaking her head. It wasn't that it wasn't good to be here. It was. She was looking forward to her own bed-though her stairs were going to be a problem. Getting in the front door was going to be a problem.
She turned as her door opened and frowned as TK gave her a wider smile that fell as he got a better look at her. "Yo, Doctor D, what happened to you?"
She forced a smile. "A porch. Don't ask. It's kind of a long story. What are you doing here, TK?"
"I'm here to carry whatever needs carrying. That's what I do."
"Carried?" Dani asked. She looked around for a moment. "What, me? I'm fine."
"No, you're not," Nico told her, and she turned to stick her tongue out at him. He shrugged and got out of the car. TK caught sight of him in the light and whistled.
"Damn, Nico, you look worse than the doc. What happened?"
"Suffice to say that... the past came crumbling down," Nico answered, wincing as he stretched a bit. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn't. He looked back at TK. "Where is Devin?"
"He wanted to be with his moms at the hospital," TK shrugged. "Can't blame him. He thought I'd be moving boxes or something. He might have felt differently if he knew I was coming to the fun house. Yeah, he likes it here. Likes Jaybird. I like the company."
TK winked at Jeanette, who smiled saucily despite getting the doctor's number. Nico shot him a look as TK started checking out Juliette. "I'll tell you the same thing I told the Santino boy. That is my niece. Watch your eyes."
Juliette giggled as TK's eyes got wide, and she kissed Nico on a part of his face that wasn't bruised. He frowned at her, and she just laughed harder. TK pulled himself together and smiled. "You're looking good, Julie. Haven't seen you in a while."
"Got cut off. Got really messed up. Nico had to bail me out, and Dani's been helping me."
"Dani? She gets to call you Dani?" TK demanded, hurt. He turned to Dani, accusation in his eyes. He'd never called her Dr. Santino like he should, and Doctor D was close enough, but apparently it was not enough for the receiver.
Dani sighed. "It's different. I'm dating her uncle. I'm not her therapist. I thought you were here to carry me in, and it's past time we take this conversation inside."
"Dating, huh?" TK asked, picking Dani up. Dani watched Nico for a reaction, but if he was regretting that he couldn't carry her, he didn't let it show. "You know, that wasn't what I heard. I mean, it's been kind of crazy around the stadium, rumors going everywhere... Now, I kind of thought you two had done the big break up, but then we start hearing that you two ran off and got married."
"Damn it, Juliette," Nico said, turning to his niece. She bit her lip. "The hospital was one thing, but if you perpetuated that rumor beyond those walls-"
"That was me," Jeanette said, holding up her phone. Dani looked at her in horror, and she shrugged. "I took a picture when you were sleeping on the side of his hospital bed. It was cute. And I said I'd add it to facebook, and nosy nurse wanted to see it, so I put a caption on it that said you two were married, and my facebook is linked to my twitter, so..."
"So everyone has seen this picture of us," Nico said, and Jeanette flinched at the tone of his voice. She held her ground for a moment before ducking behind Juliette. Juliette looked at her and shook her head, moving out of Nico's line of fire. "That explains the fight I had with my sister. Excuse me. I have some damage control to do."
"Nico," Dani called, and he turned back to look at her. She couldn't think of anything to say, though, and so she just sighed instead. He came back and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Don't hurt anyone. Including yourself."
"Like he could," Jeanette scoffed as Nico walked away slowly.
Dani smiled at Jeanette. After that car ride, it would seem like Nico was in a lot of pain, too much to hurt anyone else, but what Jeanette didn't realize was that Nico was constantly in pain. He hid it better than most, and most of it wasn't physical, but he was a very strong man who knew how to go beyond the pain-and had done so almost every day of his life. "Actually, I think he could."
"Gotta say, my money would be on Nico, too," TK agreed. "Especially if anything happened to the doc here."
She smiled a little. "Would you put me down on the couch please, TK?"
"Sure thing Doctor D," TK said, taking her into the living room and setting her down so that she took up most of the couch. Jeanette went to put a pillow under her ankle.
"Do you have any Kool-aid?" Juliette asked. "I'll make some."
She ran out of the room, and Dani groaned. "That is going to end up being pure sugar."
Jeanette looked after her and back at Dani. "I think I'm going to go make sure she doesn't destroy your kitchen in her latest sugar rush."
"So," Dani called as Nico reentered the room. She hated being stuck in one place. Juliette, Jeanette, and TK had all left her alone, and she'd gotten really bored waiting for someone to come back. She had half a mind to get up and get herself something to read or at least the tv remote, but she hadn't. Yet. "How bad is the damage?"
He walked over and sat down in the chair next to the couch with a sigh. "It would seem that-rather than noticing that either of us were injured in said photograph-everyone is now convinced of the idea of our marriage."
"Everyone," she repeated with a frown. "By which you mean... your sister and brother-in-law?"
Nico gave her a patronizing smile and handed her his tablet. "All of your patients, the entire Hawks team, and the stadium staff. The other parents at your children's school. Even your ex-husband, who should know better since your divorce has not actually been finalized."
Dani's mouth fell open, and she looked over the message board. There were more responses than she could read on a single page, most of them congratulations followed by a why weren't we invited? She pushed the button for the next page and shook her head. "I don't... How does that picture suggest that we're... married, other than the caption?"
He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It may be that the angle of it shows little of the rest of the room-just our faces lying close to each other's-and you have my hand in yours, but otherwise... I fail to see it as well."
"I mean, if there was a wedding dress and a tux or even just a dress and a suit, maybe. We could have fallen asleep anywhere for all they know," Dani said, shaking her head in frustration. "The funniest part of all of this-and funny isn't really the word for it-is that you hadn't even told me that you wanted to do this then."
"Most of it will blow over. The team can be addressed all at once, and you can have the discussion with your patients, but I think the most important part now is clarifying things with your children. That is probably best done in person, and they are on their way. In the meantime, I recommend calling your lawyer. "
Dani put a hand to her head. "Oh, damn. This is going to be bad."
"Not necessarily. And if need be, you can fire that one and use the ones from the team. No, they don't usually handle divorces, but they have enough flexibility to see the last part through," Nico told her, then closed his eyes as he put his head back against the chair.
"You okay?"
"Sore. Tired. Not used to this level of scrutiny."
"What did your sister say when you called to clarify things?"
Nico rose from his chair, and Dani frowned, looking at him worriedly. She hated that she'd managed to hurt herself so that she couldn't walk on her own. It was the worst possible thing for someone with a significant other who tended to walk away a lot. "Nico, please, it's not fair for you to take off and leave because I can't follow you."
He stopped at the door and looked back at her. He put a hand on the door frame and studied it for a moment. "My sister's ever so helpful suggestion was that I fix the situation by actually marrying you."
Dani choked on that one. "Okay, it has been, what, a week since my reunion? I think I missed a day or so in there after the porch, but... still... a little over a week that we've been doing this odd dance around how we feel and being attracted to each other and being together but not and... I'm not even officially divorced. We can't just get married like that."
"Her other solution was terminating your employment with the Hawks."
Dani struggled to find words again. "Does she actually mean that, Nico? Can she do that? I mean, I don't know how the balance of power works with you, her husband, and her. Does she have the direct authority to fire me? I know I can bring a wrongful termination suit against the Hawks if she does-"
"I assured her that neither were options. She was less than pleased, but she tends to be... more words than actions," he explained. "Don't let Gabriella bother you, Danielle. She's... flightier than her daughter, with half the common sense and a bigger mouth."
Dani forced a smile. "It might be easy for you to say that, but... working for the Hawks allows me to keep my house."
"You forget. No one gets to you except through me," he reminded her, and she looked at him. He gave her a smile. "I'm not saying you can't fight your own battles or that I'd try and stop you. However... You have been officially connected to me, meaning that some people will simply... avoid confronting you because they know that I will be nearby."
"Oh, so this has its advantages, does it?"
"You went into this without any? How truly selfless of you."
She stuck her tongue out at him. He seemed to provoke that from her a lot. "Of course not. I like the way you kiss. I am drawn into the mystery. I even like fighting with you... sometimes. I like the challenge."
"I still say the disadvantages of being with me outweigh the advantages, but you decided otherwise."
"I did," she agreed. "I haven't changed my mind, either."
"You can't walk because I took you to a house that should have been condemned years ago."
She remembered hearing part of his phone conversation earlier. "Did you have it torn down? Is it... gone?"
"I ordered it done. I don't know if it has been yet."
"You're okay with letting it go?"
"It was past time. That place is dangerous."
"Yes, but you went there to ground yourself. To make tough decisions. To remember," she said, taking a deep breath. "It was a big part of who you are, all symbolism aside."
"It's gone. And I don't care how fair it is, if you analyze me, I'm going to leave you where you are without a book and taking the remote so you'll just have to sit there and be bored while you can't walk," he threatened, and she made a face.
"I'm not trying to analyze you. I was just asking how you felt," she said, feeling a bit defensive. It didn't help that she couldn't move. "I want crutches. Now. And you said the kids were on their way."
He nodded. "You should probably expect them any minute."
She looked at her hands. "I don't know if I want you to stay or not. For that conversation, I mean. I want you to stay. Now. Here. I wish you'd come back where I could touch you. I want to be near you. Quit looking at me like that. I'd drag you back if I could."
He walked over to her, that same half-smile on his face. She amused him, didn't she? She reached over and took his hand. "Nico, I-"
"Mom! Tell us that you did not get married again!"
Chapter Thirty