Now Is End. :)

[brokenroots]

Never a Small Favor
Word Count: 7,048
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Nico/Dani (eventually); Dani/Matt (didn't last); Mike/Fi
Spoilers: up to 1x12 of Necessary Roughness and up to... uh, 4x01 of Burn Notice, I think.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I just break things.
Summary: Even with old friends, favors are never small and always have a price.
Author's Note: Long, long chapter, but it needed to be to tie up most of the loose ends. I say most because... things are better when they're left open to the imagination to continue... or possible insanity like a sequel in the future (and no, that's not a promise, just a statement. I have a lot of things to do before I write sequels. :( )



Practical Relocation



"There a reason that you didn't tell us the real plan was?" Jesse demanded as soon as they'd regrouped outside the warehouse. They all knew better than to stick around after one of Fiona's presents, and the fact that Hayes wasn't up and moving didn't bother any of them. It wasn't that likely that the bomb had actually killed him-if Fiona had really planned on that, the explosion would have been a lot bigger. This was definitely one designed to maim, to leave him thinking that he would have been better off if it had killed him. Especially when Mike's burn notice people got their hands on Hayes, as they soon would.

"Oh, now, don't take it personally, son," Virgil advised. Jesse gave him a look. "It wasn't because of you, new or not."

"Really? Because I get the feeling that none of you are even half-willing to trust me, and-"

"Hell, son, I'm not going to take it personal, even if I know it probably is," Virgil went on, shaking his head. Sam gave him a sympathetic look. It was no secret that Nico didn't think much of Virgil's abilities, and he'd told everyone as much. "Careles and I go back a ways, and he blames me for getting shot up in Columbia. I had bad intel, but I went ahead with the mission anyway, and my strategy was a near disaster, or would have been if he hadn't scouted it. He nearly died, but we came out okay. He's never wanted to work with me, not after that. Can't say I blame him."

"All of this assumes that there was an actual plan to exclude anyone from," Nico said, making Jesse and Virgil jump. They hadn't heard him coming, and even Sam might have jumped if he hadn't known the man was going to show up any second. "It owes more to Westen and I thinking rather alike than anything else. The situation was predictable. We both figured that Hayes would counter anything that we had that was visible, like the van. Westen had already noted the vehicle he kept outside the parking garage, and it was also likely that everyone would overlook me as having already played my part, especially Hayes."

"You had to have had a plan," Jesse insisted, looking from Nico to Micheal to Sam and back again. "Someone had to rig the car."

"Never said there wasn't a plan. I just said you assumed there was one."

Jesse shook his head, annoyed. "Cute."

Nico smiled a little and passed the files over to Micheal. "You do have someone who can help you with this, don't you? If not, I can recommend someone, and I don't think that the people watching you know who he is or that he's around this area."

Micheal looked at the device in his hands. "Maybe we should get an introduction. I'd rather not risk them knowing who can break their encryption, since if it's possible, we're probably going to need that person's help again."

Nico nodded. "Here's the address. You might send Virgil. He'll fit in with the locals better than you or Sam or Porter here."

"Anything else we should know before making contact with this person?"

"Don't mention the Packers, and if he gives you any trouble, remind him of Ernesto. Just the one name should be enough."

"Do we want to know what happened to this Ernesto?"

Nico looked over at Jesse. "You wouldn't have had the clearance for that, even in counter-intelligence."

"You know, if this works, we're probably going to have a lot to sort through and we'll need some help figuring out what to do with it," Sam began, looking at Nico. "So, buddy, you gonna stick around for a while?"

Nico shook his head tiredly. "As much as you all like to nag me about sleeping, it is impossible to do around you. I will meet you later."

"Fair enough." Sam looked over at Virgil as Nico walked away. "You know, I think he just might be ready to forgive you."

"Been a long time coming. I was starting to think it might never happen, but I'd be glad if he did. Never wanted to see him hurt. He was a damn fine soldier, even if that sneaky thing he does is downright creepy sometimes."

"You think that's creepy, let me tell you about this time in Europe..."

"A party? Really? What if something had gone wrong, Fi?" Micheal asked as he walked up to them. Fiona turned around and grinned at him. Dani wished that she could smile, but she wasn't in the mood to party, as much as TK had tried to get her into one. In fact, now that everyone was back, she felt even less like partying. Someone hadn't come back.

"I knew you'd handle it. You and Sam probably could have done it on your own, but then you had Nico and Jesse and Virgil with you. It worked like a charm, didn't it?"

Micheal handed her a phone. "Push play."

She did, and Dani craned her neck to see the video. Hayes was leaning over a car, and then Nico took his keys from him. The sound wasn't great, but they could hear him tell Hayes that Fiona had a present for him just before the car blew up. Dani stared even after the video ended.

"Thank you, Micheal, that was perfect," Fiona smiled, and he smiled back at her. She stepped up like she was going to kiss his cheek, but then she put an arm around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss far less chaste and a whole lot longer.

"Oh, get a room," Sam groaned as he saw them, and Dani watched as they stumbled backward toward the door. "Violence turns her on. She's wired wrong somehow."

Dani thought about explaining the connection between the adrenaline of a life-threatening situation or the chemical response that was created with fight or flight, but she decided not to. Sam really didn't want the explanation, and Dani wasn't even sure it fit.

"They're going to be like that for a while," Sam said, shaking his head. Dani looked over at him. Despite the things that they both said, she knew that Sam and Fiona actually had a deep respect for each other. Their bond had started through Micheal, and it would be denied if anyone asked, but it was there. They were good friends and a better team.

"Now that everyone's here, it's really time to par-tay!" TK called, cranking the music up louder and raising his plastic cup like he would have a drink in a bar.

"Well, I have to hand it to the guy. For a man who recently got shot, he throws one hell of a party," Sam observed, raising a beer to TK, who was leading the girls in a conga line. Dani didn't know how he'd managed to get them to do it, but there was something about TK-he just exuded fun. He had a lot more than that in his life, anger and pain as well, but he liked to bring out the wild side in everyone, to remind them what fun was and what was good about life.

"That he does," Dani agreed quietly. She looked over at the door again. "I'm sorry, Sam. I couldn't help noticing that not all of you came back. Still... you're in a good mood, so that should mean that he's fine, and he walked away from the car before it exploded, but... he's not here."

"Oh, Nico? Yeah, he's fine. He said he couldn't sleep around us, so he took off on his own for a while," Sam assured her quickly. "Don't worry. He'll be by later. Maybe a day later. The man can sleep like the dead when the crisis is finally over."

She nodded, but she couldn't say that hearing it made her happy. Sam touched her arm. "It's a good thing, Doc. He hasn't rested in at least two weeks, and that nap he got coming back from New York really doesn't count."

"I know. It's just hard not to think that even as much as he needs it, he's doing it to avoid me."

Sam winced, but he knew it was true as much as she did. Dani sighed. Nico was honest, but because he was, he had perfected ways of not talking if he didn't like the subject. This was just one of those ways. "You know, he thinks he's doing right by you."

Dani looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"Nico. He does care about you, and you're right-it tore him up to shoot you, even if it did save your life. He thinks he has to leave New York now, and he won't let you give up everything for him. The man has never seen his own worth in all the time I've known him," Sam muttered, shaking his head. "Point is, you're probably going to have your work cut out for you convincing him to stay-if that's even possible."

"You think he'll stay in Miami if he doesn't go back to New York?"

"I'm working on it. I'd like it if he did. We could use his help, and he'd enjoy what we do. He likes fixing things."

Yeah, he did. Nico was a fixer. He did whatever needed doing, he'd told her when they first met, and things like stopping a human trafficking ring or any of the other stuff that Hayes was into, that was the kind of thing that he would like to be a part of, a much better use of his talents than bailing some rowdy football player out of his own mess.

"Well, if he doesn't go back to New York, I hope he stays with you," Dani told Sam. He looked at her, and she smiled a little. "You're good for him, Sam. Really. I don't think anyone else could have gotten him through this. Micheal, Fiona, and Nico are all lucky to know you."

"Thank you, Doc. That's kind of you."

"It's the truth, Sam."

He smiled at her, finishing off his beer. "As much as I love a good party, I think a little chauffeur work is in order right now."

"You do chauffeur work?"

"Well, Mike's brother owns a limo, but actually, I was just going to take my car. Shall we?"

Dani frowned. She hoped that he didn't have the wrong idea now, and she had seen him with that beer. He shouldn't drive anything, and she wasn't going to encourage him to do it, either. She'd probably grab Xeno and get him to keep Sam here for now. "Just because I said that you're a good friend-"

"A good friend who knows where Nico's hotel is," Sam interrupted. "Ah, see? That changes everything, doesn't it?"

"It is impossible to sleep around any of you," Nico muttered, reaching up to catch the hand running its fingers through his hair. He didn't know why none of them would leave him alone-he was not a heavy sleeper, and he was used to waking up for whatever crisis needed handling or demand was being made. They did not understand the concept of privacy, either.

"That's not true. You slept for at least four hours since I've been here. I tried to sleep myself, but I couldn't get comfortable. Your hair was in your face, so I just went to brush it back, and then I found myself doing more than that. And you didn't react right away, either, or I would have stopped. I didn't mean to wake you," Santino began defensively. "I wanted you to get some rest."

He rolled over and looked at her. "You're the one that's injured, not me."

"Then what do you call this?" She touched the cut on his forehead, and he sighed. It was nothing, really, but now that she'd seen it, she wasn't going to let it go. "Well?"

"A minor cut-something from the car got further from the blast center than I expected, and I wasn't out of its reach like I had thought I was," Nico answered, sitting up and absently touching the bandage. "It's nothing, Doctor Santino; you can leave it alone."

"Do you really have to call me 'Doctor Santino?' Isn't-We're a bit beyond that, aren't we? You can't really use formal address with me now. I may have been the one that kissed you, but we are friends, too. Friends use first names. What we are right now might not be defined, might not be more than... You can't use a formal title to push me away. In fact, there's not much you could use to push me away, period."

He looked at her. "I'm not going back to New York. At least, not for any longer than it takes to pack up what little I have and pick up my car. My life is no longer there. Yours is. You have your work there, the people you help. Your children's lives are there. Your family is there. I can't ask you to come with me, and I won't. I don't even know where I'm going yet. I know that the logical choice is Miami because I have connections here, but I haven't decided. A part of me thinks that I should make a complete break from everything."

She bit her lip, frowning. "I know it's not my decision to make, but I don't think you should go anywhere else. I know I can't ask you to stay in New York any more than you can ask me to go... wherever you end up, and so I won't ask. But... Don't give up everything and definitely not your friendship with Sam. He is too good a friend for you to lose him when you need a friend the most. It's not just Sam. You're not moving on from the past-you're running from it and everything you could have in the future."

Nico shook his head. "The thing about the future is that no one knows what it will be. We can make decisions based on what we want it to be, but there are no guarantees."

She sat up slowly, wincing as she did. He'd caused that, and he couldn't hardly look at her knowing that. "So your decision is to cut yourself off from everyone and be miserable? Because I didn't think you were that stupid."

He laughed a little. "I'm as flawed as everyone else. If you want proof of my stupidity, you need look no further than my involvement with Gabriella Pittman."

"You loved her."

"No, I think..." Nico took a deep breath, not wanting to admit this or even talk about it, but he could not give Santino anything less than the direct truth, not now. "I think that was more the idea than actual implication. If I'd truly loved her, I would have seen her for what she was, flaws and all, and not had the idealized version of her that was able to hurt me as much as she did. I'm telling you flat out that I am in no state to begin any kind of relationship. My life has been caught up in between the two Pittmans for so long without me even seeing that it was for far too long. I don't trust my own judgment, and if that means-it means New York is absolutely out of the question. It means I don't know how long it would take for me to straighten myself out, and I won't ask you to put your life on hold or rearrange it for me. It is far more likely that you would throw away a number of good years on someone who can never give you what you really need, and you have done that already. Don't do it again, certainly not for me."

She was silent for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "If you can't trust your judgment, then at least go somewhere where you can trust someone. If you really believe New York is not an option, then Miami should be. And despite what you think, you deserve much better than what you've allowed yourself to have."

"I wonder, listening to you, if you've developed a bit of Stockholm Syndrome."

She laughed a little. "Now you're using psychology on me. Right. Well, here's the thing, Nico. You never held me captive-"

"I remember not letting you out of the car once."

"Okay, there was that, but that was only for a minute, and I could have refused to get on the helicopter with you, so... That's not really the point. You didn't use any kind of psychological conditioning to get me to like you, to consider you my friend, or to feel... more than that. I'm not even sure what I feel, and I did just break up with Matt after getting back with him almost right after signing my divorce papers, so I'm not exactly ready for anything big, either. Sometimes, though, what we really have to be open to is the possibility of more, and you've been so closed off that a part of me wonders if your relationship with Gabriella continued because she was unavailable, that she became the ideal or whatever she was to keep you from getting too involved with anyone else. You wanted someone you couldn't have, and that kept you alone."

It was a thought he'd had himself when he looked back on things, but he didn't want to admit that, either. He got up and started walking around. "I-you shouldn't have come here."

She shook her head, looking like she might try and get up on her own. "I had to come. I had to talk to you some time, and someone has to get you to see some kind of reason here. Even if you and I never have anything, I do care about you, and I want you to try Miami before you go somewhere else. I'd like you to give other things a try, too-mostly for selfish reasons-but at least stay where you have something-someone-to look out for you."

"Way to skip out on the party, Doctor D. You missed a great one," TK said, his mouth half full of one of Xeno's pancakes. Fiona would like to keep him around, too, because the man made incredible food, but he was headed back to New York as soon as the last of the girls was taken to her family-another man that didn't stop until the mission was done, despite having no formal training like the rest of the boys. "It was an absolute blast."

"You should have been resting, not partying, and that's... basically what I did," Dani said, trying to get herself to eat her own pancake. It wasn't the quality of the food-something else was bothering the good doctor. She'd been quiet ever since she got back, and it had to be because of the man in black. Fiona looked over at Micheal for a moment. It wasn't easy living with men like them, but it was worth it. No one else would ever get her or get to her like Micheal did.

"The girls had a blast, Mom," Lindsay said. "It was nice to send them off with a good memory for a change."

"I can't believe some of the stories I heard," Vivica added, shaking her head. Fiona looked at her, wondering if the reporter in her wanted to use this as some kind of exclusive. Then again, this was a woman who'd kept her head in the middle of Reiten's funhouse maze. She might not be all bad, and if she balanced out the crazy that was Terrence King, she was one hell of a strong person. "I'm glad TK made them laugh even if he should have been resting. Especially since he has an appointment today."

Dani frowned, looking over at TK. "Appointment?"

"Yeah, Doc," TK turned apologetically to Ray Jay, giving him a slight smile. "Thing is, my agent didn't want me taking off without doing a little... window shopping. The Hawks might just go down over this whole Sitek thing, and everyone's looking into other options, hoping to get traded before that happened. Miami made me an offer a while back, and I told them I'd take a look around while I was down here."

"You're... kidding," Dani said, shaking her head. The boy couldn't even force a smile at the idea of his idol leaving his team. "It-They really think-I don't understand. It was just one man, wasn't it? Why would everyone have to leave now?"

"So much for three hundred million," Nico muttered. They looked at him. He took a sip of his coffee. "I told Marshall not to bury it. I warned him that it would cost him more in the long run, and I'm not just talking about all the people he had to pay off to keep it quiet in the first place. It was a number that kept growing, I might add, and not only because of my efforts to notify next of kin, but because everyone who touched it had to be added to the code of silence. The taint kept growing with every year that passed. It would have been Sitek and the people who acted with him when it first happened. Now everyone looks guilty of protecting a monster, even if they had nothing to do with it, and no idea that it was happening. Even a full disclosure now probably won't save the Hawks since Reiten was able to continue Sitek's 'work' with his recent attacks."

"I can do what I can to make the story straight-I've got my own experience with Reiten and the new maze, but even then, I don't know that it's going to stop what's happening to the Hawks. TK might need to go somewhere else."

"I'm probably the only one who feels even a bit like celebrating right now, but I have to say, it's good to see the Pittmans going down in flames," Sam said, reaching for his beer. "If it wasn't for everyone else getting screwed, I'd say it was time for another party. You're not... the slightest bit amused by this, Nico? Not even an I told you so?"

Nico shook his head. "I didn't want this to happen. The Hawks were a good team, and it's a shame to see them go under because of Marshall's ego and stupidity. And I had my part in it, don't forget that. I could have done more to stop it back in the beginning."

"What? Get yourself thrown off security and arrested for harassment of this guy Sitek?" Sam asked, shaking his head. "No. You went above and beyond and got screwed for it as usual. How long did it take you to recover from what happened to you in that damn maze the first time? Two years?"

Nico realized he was rubbing at a spot on his arm and stopped, reluctantly nodding. "About that, yes."

"I'd like to have your side of the story, Mr. Careles. I think that people should hear it, and it may be the best thing-the only shot-of keeping the team alive after that scandal," Vivica told him, and he gave her a look that suggested there was no way in hell that was happening. She shook her head. "Well, we should probably go if you're going to be on time for that appointment, TK."

"Right," TK agreed, getting to his feet and taking one last sip of orange juice before he followed his girlfriend to the door. "Beach, later? And then I heard something about a boat?"

"When Virgil gets back," Maddie said, giving her son a dark look. He shrugged. "So, you two, kids, you want to come with me and find what you'll need for the beach? I promise, this is the last time you'll have to go shopping with me."

"Can I get a two piece?" Lindsay asked, "or is that going to be forbidden by all the moms? Maybe Fiona should come with us instead?"

Ray Jay looked at her and then his mother. "Can she just have the two piece I know she wants so that we don't have to spend hours looking at stuff she won't wear? Please?"

Dani thought for a moment. It was clear that she was torn. "Fine. But I want you to get one of those cover ups to go over it and pick me up a couple of those dresses that the girls were wearing. I think they'd be easier for me to manage with these ribs."

"Thanks, Mom," Lindsay said, hugging her mother in excitement. Ray Jay gave her hand a squeeze, and they followed Madeleine out.

She stopped at the door and gave Mike a pointed look. He forced a smile. "I'm sure Virgil will be back very soon, Mom. I asked him to stay until the work was done, that's all. Nothing dangerous. Right, Careles?"

Nico nodded. "The computer expert we sent him to is harmless to anything but code."

She smiled back, reassured. The rest of them were not so much. Micheal looked at him. "Are you telling me this guy is completely incapable of defending himself if something happens?"

"No," Nico disagreed. "That's not what I meant. The man has a lot of... electronic security. He might have trouble if the power is out, but then they all have self-destruct mechanisms that don't require power. What I said was true, if not complete, and your mother feels that her... friend is safe now. That's what matters, isn't it?"

"I still can't get over this whole 'honest spy' business," Jesse said, shaking his head. "It shouldn't work at all."

Nico smiled slightly. "Again, I never said I was a spy. There are other, better words for what I did, and I think it's best to leave it at that."

"Well, aren't we all working together now? I don't get to know what it is you did do? Westen's a spy, Sam's a SEAL, Fiona's IRA, Virgil's a SEAL, Westen's mom should have been something, Xeno looks like he came out of a street gang, and the doctor seems like more than a therapist."

"Xeno did not come out of a street gang," Nico said, looking over at his second-in-command. Former second-in-command, Fiona supposed. "He'd have a few championship fight titles if the wrong people hadn't taken an interest in his career."

"Working for you was always better than getting my head knocked in," Xeno said, smiling a little. He set down another plate of pancakes and looked at Nico. "You sure about it, Boss? I'm not really looking to go back to New York without you."

Nico refilled his coffee. "Your job is to make sure that Reiten was the only one."

"After that, though, we're having another conversation, Boss."

"Fair enough."

"So, I spoke to Vaughn earlier," Micheal began, looking around at the table. Santino probably didn't need to hear this, but she already knew more than she should, enough to where she might get in more trouble trying to figure out what they were trying to keep from her than it was worth concealing it. Besides, if Sam and Fi had their way, Santino would be so tangled up with Careles that if he was working with them, the woman would probably know-or guess too much anyway. Careles wasn't a talker, but she could read him pretty well, and that alone was dangerous.

"Lovely," Sam muttered. "What did that piece of work have to say?"

"He's worried about a possible leak in their security. Some potentially dangerous and misleading information might have gotten into the wrong hands. It's a disaster for them, and they want me to look into it," Micheal answered, getting a few laughs and a lot of smiles from everyone at the table. Both sides knew that he'd gotten a hold of the information, but the people behind his burn notice seemed to think they could convince him not to trust what he'd found or do anything with it, just hand it back to them.

"They didn't say anything about you keeping new, dangerous company? I'm almost offended," Careles said, earning a look from everyone. He smiled and drank from his coffee.

"They know he's dating me," Fi reminded him. "They must figure it can't get any worse."

"Oh, it can," Sam said. He looked over at Nico. "Hey, you remember that thing in Panama with the whole-"

"Virgil will not be pleased if you discuss that Panama incident in front of his girlfriend's son," Careles interrupted, and Micheal shot him a dark look. Virgil was not his mother's-Micheal couldn't even finish the thought. It really was not something he wanted to think about. At all.

"What about Hayes?" Santino asked, intervening. She'd end up doing that a lot, Micheal figured, if she was going to be around them. It might be nice not having to be the one playing peacemaker all the time, not with Sam and Fiona. Then again, if someone was going to try and talk him into liking the situation between Virgil and his mother...

"He was taken to the hospital for treatment-in custody-but someone higher up the food chain picked him up. The people he was working for have him, and he's probably going to wish that he took Nico up on his offer of a deal," Sam answered. "From what little we know of them, the best he can expect is a remote prison. The worst..."

She nodded. "I think we all agree he deserves the worst, but we are sure he's not going to be moved somewhere else and allowed to rebuild, right?"

Careles put a hand on her shoulder. "Not that it should be of any comfort, but the man is far more of a liability now than he could ever be an asset. The best thing for them to do would be to cut their losses, and they're not afraid to do so."

She reached up and gripped his hand. "It is a comfort, Nico. It means me, my children, and those girls are safe. And that you are."

Careles looked down at her, struggling with how he felt about her. Micheal knew that look well. Sometimes, with Fiona-it was so much simpler to be apart, and at the same time, it wasn't. The man should listen to his own advice, though, and not push away the people that really mattered.

The door opened, and weapons were quickly aimed at the door until everyone saw Virgil and relaxed. "Wow. You're a trigger happy bunch this morning. I thought we'd be relaxing now that Hayes wasn't an issue and we were getting those girls home where they belong."

"Better paranoid than dead," Careles told him, even though he had not been one of the ones to draw a weapon. He was one who did better with hand-to-hand, unarmed combat, from what Sam had said. Maybe a knife fighter. It really depended on who they'd sent him to kill, didn't it?

"Speaking of, that guy you sent me to? Completely nuts. All those robots. He's got ones that-I don't even want to think about what they do for him," Virgil said, shaking his head as he passed the disk to Micheal. "He got it open, and in what I figure has to be record time. He is good, just... insane."

"Thus the retirement home for the more or less senile," Careles said with a slight smile. "I take it he was in a cooperative mood?"

"Not until I used the word Ernesto, but that brought him around right quick," Virgil shook his head. "I don't think I want to know what happened to Ernesto."

"Above your pay grade."

"Figures."

Micheal looked over the disk. Sam got up and went for his laptop. They'd been working for this for a while now, but he didn't know how much this disk was actually worth. It could be that nothing would help them-or it was the break they had wanted for so long. This could be his ticket back in.

Fiona touched his arm, and he looked at her. "Whatever it is, Micheal, we'll deal with it together. I may not always understand why you have to do this, and I may not like the methods you use to get information on this burn notice, but I still care about you. Enough to stay by your side no matter what stupid idea is in your head."

"You just say that because you can't go back to Ireland anymore."

"No, I say that because I love you, you idiot," she muttered, rolling her eyes. She put her head on his shoulder. "Don't shut us out, no matter what's on that disk, okay?"

He kissed the top of her head. It was impossible to shut her out, no matter how hard he tried.

"It's funny to think of a bunch of spies-former spies-and terrorists and SEALs having a beach party," Dani observed, shielding her eyes as she scanned the shoreline for her children. She'd lost track of them after they'd settled her in the with the pillows, and she had to yell at TK not overdue things, either. She felt like the oldest person here, but that wasn't true. Madeleine and Virgil were on a blanket of their own, sitting together like they might have as teenagers. "Shouldn't there be some kind of rule against it?"

"It's not an ideal position."

"Try concealing a weapon in a bikini," Fiona added, shaking her head. She at least looked like she belonged at the beach. Micheal and Nico hadn't even tried. Sam's shirt was louder than usual, and he looked happy, but the others were just out of place. "And audio surveillance usually gets ruined. Still, we made a promise, and we keep our promises. Just don't expect Micheal to stay around long. Or your man for that matter."

Nico gave Fiona a look, but she was focused on Micheal. "Would you do my back, please?"

He took the sunblock from her and started putting it on. Fiona's smile remained smug, even though Micheal's eyes were barely on her back. He was scouting the area like he expected an attack any second. "How long do you figure?"

"They're at the house by now. Stop worrying, Micheal. If there's one thing Xeno knows how to do, it's take a convincing fall," Nico answered, and Dani looked up at him in surprise. Since when was it Micheal and not Westen?

"Is that why we're out here? As a part of some... plan?"

Nico smiled down at her. "Did you really think I'd come out to the beach for anything else? I never made any promises. No, this way they'd think it was clear enough to go after the disk."

"You're letting them steal it?"

Micheal nodded. "Yes. We are. If we do, hopefully they'll believe we weren't able to do anything with it, leaving us free to go through the files later. Otherwise, they'll be watching us. So we asked Xeno to take the disk to a computer tech who would never be able to break the encryption that was on there before, and on the way, they're going to get it back."

"But you had it decrypted."

"And copied and re-encrypted to send back."

Dani sighed. "Okay, I don't know when you found the time to do all that, and I'm still adjusting to the idea that everything has some kind of ulterior purpose with you, but I wish I'd known that before we came out here. I don't like being kept in the dark, and you do realize that as long as I can't move fast, I am a liability and should be warned."

"Maybe next time," Fiona told her with a sigh. "For all that they like to try and plan for everything, they have this nasty little habit of overlooking telling people those plans."

"Sometimes you like being surprised, Fi."

"I prefer being the one to do the surprising, but sometimes, yes," Fiona agreed, reaching over to touch Micheal's face and turn his head so she could kiss him.

Dani smiled. They could be so cute-and for a moment, she could forget just how dangerous they both could be. They weren't spy and terrorist right now. They were just a couple on a beach, and that... That was what the two of them should treasure, though she supposed as soon as this was done, Micheal would be off obsessing over the files he'd gotten.

She looked up at Nico again. "Shouldn't you at least pretend to be distracted? You look completely out of place, and won't they be expecting you to let them steal it back?"

"It's a possibility," Nico agreed, kneeling next to her chair. "Still, it's better they think we don't have the files-or at least better that we try and make them think that. Hmm. Terrence is going to injure himself again, despite Ms. Stevens' efforts to stop him."

"Vivica's good for him, and she'll nurse him back to health again after he's done being an idiot," Dani said. "What about you? Does all of this mean you made up your mind? Are you going to stay in Miami despite the heat that keeps you from your coats?"

"If I can adjust to New York after spending years south of the equator, I can handle Miami's weather, coat or no coat," he answered. "I'll be fine. You can stop worrying, too."

"You know me better than that," she reminded him, and he gave her a small smile. She reached over and took his hand, even though he gave her hand a look like it was some kind of monster. She put the other one over his, refusing to let him pull away. "Any suggestions on how I'm going to convince my children to go back and finish school after they've had a taste of Miami's beaches?"

"Be prepared for them to argue that you could build up a new therapy practice in Miami?" he offered, and she made a face. It wasn't that the thought hadn't crossed her mind, but it was a lot to deal with. Her work with the Hawks made it possible to keep her house, but she wouldn't have that if she moved. TK was giving real thought to the Miami offer-because he was interested in the beaches and parties, but then he had his relationship with Vivica to think about. If TK moved, that was one patient, but not enough to support her whole family, not like they were used to, not in Miami, and then there was Ray and visitation to think about. Her mother would be okay as long as there was a track to visit or game to bet on, but her ex would throw a giant fit about her moving the kids, and they would miss their father more than they realized right now.

"I'm tempted," Dani admitted, looking at Nico, and he shifted uncomfortably. "It's beautiful here. I've made friends here, and I'd like to continue working with the girls who had family locally, if I could, but there are so many things consider when it comes to moving, and I do have people who count on me back in New York."

"Then the decision is simple enough."

She shook her head, making sure he knew what she meant. "No, it isn't."

"There is the possibility of... a leave of absence. Obviously, it is impractical to pack up and move everything overnight-for some people. I have far more flexibility than you do-and in such a case, perhaps you could assess your finances, see if you can afford a short-term lease and attempt to build yourself the same type of practice that you had before. If you call it a leave of absence with the Hawks, the door may be open to return there if you can't make the situation elsewhere work. That doesn't answer the question of your ex-husband or your mother, though."

"Nah, give my mom something to gamble on, and she'll be fine," Dani laughed a little. "I'm not sure if anyone would survive her and Madeleine, though."

"Perhaps not. Mrs. Westen is a formidable woman, and the interaction between them could go either of two ways..."

"Yeah," Dani said, looking toward Virgil and Madeleine again. She used to think she'd get old with Ray, and now she knew that wasn't going to happen. She'd thought about the possibility with Matt, but for some reason, she couldn't picture him getting old. Odd. "Technically, with my ribs, I could be on medical leave. And what better place to recuperate than right here?"

"You would get very tan while you did it."

She laughed, pulling on the skirt of the dress for a second. She liked it, but all she'd get as far as a tan went was her arms and her feet. "Not until the ribs heal, but that's okay. As far as Ray goes, the kids could probably handle convincing him, if this was what they wanted. They might change their mind after the 'leave' was over."

"It sounds like you've thought all of this through."

"Just one more thing to factor in," she began, and Nico looked at her. She smiled. "You."

"You know where I will be, so why is that an issue?"

"It's more than knowing where you are-which is not as simple as you make it sound, either-it is about being able to be with you when you're here. I'm not saying you have to make any kind of commitment, just... that you're not going to avoid me if I find a way to stay."

"I don't think you'd ever allow yourself to be ignored, Danielle."

"Very true," she agreed, smiling like an idiot because he'd slipped and called her by her name and not her title, even if it was her full name. She sat up, ignoring the pain in her ribs as she did. He tried to coax her back down, and then she kissed him.