Fic: [NR] Mix of Dark Minors and Sunny Majors (Chapter 14/14)
Mix of Dark Minors and Sunny Majors
Word Count: Chapter 14: 3,325; [48,282 total]
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nico/Dani-Possibly. Eventually?
Spoilers: References something from 1x07 and 1x11.
Disclaimer: don't own. Don't profit. Don't … a lot of things
Summary: She'd be willing to bet the Nico of reality was somewhere between her good guy and his evil one but he wasn't ready to see that just yet. "Nico, I work on feelings and intuition. Of course I see the potential. You work in cold facts and realities that aren't pretty so you see the bad. In order for music to be beautiful, there has to be a mix of sunny majors with the dark, harsh minors."
Author's Note: So, you can blame or credit, jeer or cheer brokenroots & goodisrelative for this 92-page (20+ chapter) fic. Brokenroots started me thinking about NR fic (go read hers, it's better) and then they both beat me up to get more. Please note, this fic is done. finished. fin. over. ended. ... that doesn't mean there might not be a sequel. at least a "Sunday Supper at Mama C's"
Yes, we have made it to the final chapter. Resolutions will appear. Mama Coluni sends "guys who still do her bidding" and a note to Dani. The culmination happens.
....
And then all you hard core shippers will scream. And dance. Or just scream. Or just dance.
-%-
Nico was fifteen minutes early to his visit with Juliette on Monday morning. They had been expecting Lindsay's friend, so Juliette went to open the door in her pajamas and robe since she was on her way upstairs to change. She stared at Nico in the doorway. Nico stared right back at her, taking in the pajamas and robe.
Dani stood at the top of the stairs ready to say hi when she spotted Nico. She swallowed hard and ran down the stairs. "Jules, why don't you go get changed and meet us in my office." She pushed the woman toward the stairs. "Nico, go around back to the office." When he stood there, his eyes darkening, Dani sighed. "Nico, please, the kids are about to head for school."
Nico held her eyes with his glare for another moment before he turned and headed to her office.
Dani told her kids goodbye and headed into her office, ready for the blow up she knew had been slowly coming.
"She's been living here? With you the entire time?" Nico swore. "How the hell did you get Xeno to lie to me?"
Dani just gave into her emotions and let them out. She knew this wasn't going to be pretty and had prepared for it. She also knew Nico had no clue how ugly this was going to get. "I gave no orders to Xeno about anything he reported to you. What did he tell you? All my chargers were safe and accounted for? Or did you even get reports from him? Just trusting him that he would let you know if there were problems? Did you ask him about Juliette? Or did you lie about that too?"
Nico whipped to face her, his voice rising. "I do not lie. He gave reports saying all charges were safe. I never said I agreed to that. You decreed it."
"I decreed it because it was necessary! Juliette needs to find her strength on her own. No one else can find it for her. She needs to decide her future, who to deal with and when to deal with them. We can stand beside her but we can't stand for her." Dani yelled.
"Is this why you would never tell me where she was? Because you thought I would hate this idea? Because you thought I would fight you on this?" Nico yelled right back. "I love that you took her under your wing. God knows she needs a champion and it will never be me. You are the strongest person I know, so who the hell better to learn strength from?"
Dani stood frozen, staring up at him at his words. She couldn't believe this. He thought she was strong? "Then why do you insist on tearing me down, Nico? Destroying me? I thought we were friends." Her words were whisper soft.
"Because I am not the good guy, damnit, and you refuse to see it!" Nico shouted. "Why the hell won't you tell me who told you she was in rehab?"
Dani blinked back her tears and shook her head. "Why does it always come back to that, Nico?" Dani let the heat drain out of her. She gave up on holding the tears in. "I cannot tell you, Nico. You said you trusted me. You said you trusted me with Juliette. So, why, then, is my word not good enough?"
"Because her mother is still out there waiting to tear her down!" Nico lowered his voice but the anger was still there. And for once, Dani heard the fear there.
Dani shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nico. I cannot tell you that. I just can't."
"Stop it! Damnit! Just stop it! Nico, you are beating the hell out of her with words. Yes, she does battle with them every damn day but that doesn't mean they don't tear and rip at her. Look at her, damn it! She's crying because of your words." Juliette stormed into the room screaming. "And I know I asked but it isn't worth this!" She told Dani, her eyes clearing.
Dani watched Juliette straighten and turn back to Nico. "Jules, you don't have to do this." She whispered.
"Yes, I do, Dani. For everything you have done for me in just over three weeks. For the strength you have shown me, for the strength you have lent me, and because, for once, I can help you." Juliette whispered still facing Nico. "You want to know who called Dani to tell her I was in rehab, Nico? So you can protect me, I know you mean well, but sometimes protecting someone just hurts people even more. I called her, Nico. I called Dani and asked her to help me. I texted myself her number from your phone. I knew I wouldn't be strong enough to stay and I refused to drag you in anymore. I knew you trusted Dani so that meant I could too. Only as I called her, my phone died. And they wouldn't let me recharge it; I wasn't supposed to have it in the first place. I called her the day before she got me out."
Nico stared at Juliette. "You called her?" He couldn't believe she had been that strong. "When did I stop thinking you could help yourself, Juliette?"
Juliette hugged him. "When I let you believe it was true." She was crying but she pushed the words out, "I'm sorry, Nico. For everything: for the pain I caused you, for the disappointment I caused, even for the embarrassment."
Nico hugged her back. "It's okay, Jules. Can I call you that?"
Juliette nodded and she held onto him. "You and Dani."
Nico looked up at that, wondering where Dani had disappeared to-and wondering if she had learned a touch too much from him. "Where did Dani go?"
Dani had made her way silently out of the room when they first started talking to each other. She couldn't stand there any longer. She sat on one of the barstools and laid her head on her arms on the counter.
Juliette pulled back from him. "Nico, you destroyed her so many times these last few weeks. I thought you trusted her but every time you tested that, you ripped the rug out from under her before she could even prove herself. Why don't you trust her? You told her you did."
Nico stared at the young woman before him. Was that the other time he had lied to her? He recalled telling her he trusted her, that he always trusted her. He sighed. And yet he had never truly trusted her with Juliette. "I need time to fix this, Jules. You go make sure she is okay."
Juliette grabbed his hand. "You leave now and you won't be able to fix this, Nico. She's been bending for weeks. You leave and she'll break."
Nico shook his head. "I need to plan-."
"No! You need to talk to her right now." Juliette glared then pushed him toward the kitchen.
Juliette went outside through the office door while Nico walked into the kitchen and froze at the sight that greeted him.
"There have been many more dark, harsh minors in my life, Danielle, that I tend to push the sunny majors away." Nico stated quietly.
Dani raised her head to look at him. "I don't want to fight, Nico. And not just because I don't have the energy right now."
Nico smiled and moved over to her. He was careful with her broken hand as he lifted her up to stand. He looked down at her and cupped her cheeks to wipe away her tears. "You really are the strongest person I know, Danielle. You take on TK, the Coach, even me to prove he could better himself. You take TK's anger and fear and joy in stride and make him be a better man." He paused to smile down at her. "You know he asked me to fix you? Then was good for a few days so I could have the time to fix what was breaking you. He had no idea it was me who was breaking you."
Dani smiled. "He told me and I didn't have the heart to tell him you were most of the problem. He was worried about you too, Nico."
Nico nodded. "I'm not used to that, Dani. People worried about me and caring about me. I don't know what to do with it." He sighed. "All I did with you was throw it back in your face after I stomped it to the ground. You asked for Tuesday Nights for us and I couldn't even do that right." He looked away then brought his eyes back to hers. "The take-out order was just an excuse, I wanted to be able to say I was there, you weren't. But then you were and that scared me. Hell, you scare me. Protecting you was easy. I knew what to do: find the threat and eliminate it. And I couldn't even do that right with you. You took the threat down literally with one hand. I was 200 feet away dealing with a vindictive, toxic bitch."
Dani put her fingers on his lips. "I told you, you took care of me, Nico. You made sure I didn't hit the floor when I crumbled under the fear and stress. You protected my heart: my kids. If anything had happened to them, I would have died inside. You made me smile with the beautiful flowers. You did these things despite the fear. Okay, so I don't usually see the bad side of you. Scratch that, I do see it, I have even asked that you be the bastard you say you are, but I also see the compassion under it. I see the reason you do it and it isn't to control the players or make them fear you. You care, Nico: that's the reason you do what you do."
Nico smiled down at her, still cradling her face in his hands. "You see too much and that scares the hell out of me. I'm going to let you down. I already have."
Dani laughed. "And you think I won't let you down? Please don't put me up on a pedestal, Nico. I'll get mad. I'll frustrate the hell out of you and argue with you. I'll disregard what you ask me to do. It's a part of a relationship, Nico, the give and take, the good and the bad, even the yelling and the l-caring."
Nico caught her slip though and filed it away for later. He pulled her to him and just held on to her. "So Tuesday Nights are still for us?"
Dani smiled. "I was there. You weren't." She reminded him quietly and listened to his laughter rumble through his chest.
"True enough. Tomorrow I'll be there." Nico promised.
Dani chuckled. "Damn straight you will be. I don't care if Marshall Pittman decrees you be in Timbuktu!"
"We should go find Jules, let her see we are better. It will take time, but we are better." Nico stepped back from her. He took her good arm and smiled when she rested her head on his arm as they walked outside to find Juliette.
-%-
Dani sighed. She was late, it was already 830 PM, but TK had had a meltdown: Super Bowl pressure was getting a lot of the team. "Hi, Marcie. Is Nico here yet?" Dani asked.
Marcie smiled at Dani. "Not yet. He called to say he'd get here about 9 PM. Something about getting TK home."
Dani laughed. "One of the players. The team is a little stressed with the Super Bowl coming up. I can sit at the bar if there isn't a table ready."
"Nope, the table is all ready for you and Mr. Careles. The Chef is in tonight. He's in a much better mood and I'm sure he'd love to see you again. He's asked a few times if you have been in again." Marcie smiled as she led Dani to the table. She frowned when she realized Dani had stopped. "Doctor? Are you okay?"
"He got me flowers." Dani whispered when she saw the bouquet of a ring of red tulips then white tulips on top of those and three blood-red gerber daisies crowning the arrangement. She blinked the tears back.
Marcie smiled again, thankful they were happy tears unlike the week before. "They are beautiful, aren't they? Mr. Careles sent them over about thirty minutes ago. There is a card with them. Can I bring you the malbec, Doctor Santino?"
Dani forced her eyes off the flowers and onto the waitress beside her. "Call me Dani, Marcie. How is your boyfriend? Still safe? And let's have the South African tonight."
Marcie's eyes were haunted for a moment. "Donnie's safe but he has a new mission and I'm worried about him. I'll bring you a glass of the South African."
Dani watched her walk away as she reached out to finger the red tulips. An idea came to her for a project for Juliette to run. The young woman needed something to work on and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of taking a college class yet. Dani leaned down and smelled the flowers before she headed into the kitchen. She'd say hi to the chef before Nico arrived.
"So, no swearing tonight, Chef?" Dani asked as she walked into the kitchen.
Antioco grinned and went over to hug her and kiss both of her cheeks. "How are you, Dani? What secrets can you divulge to me tonight?"
Dani laughed. "None. I only give out one old family secret to each person."
They talked while Antioco worked. Dani forgot to pay attention to the time until Nico's voice cut through their laughter.
"And here I thought the flowers would make you smile after TK. Little did I know you would be laughing with the chef."
"Careles, I thought I told you to never enter my kitchen again." Antioco glared. "And you cannot tell me the wonderful Dani is here with you."
"I only came to collect my date. And, yes, she is my friend and my dinner companion when I eat here." Nico nodded. Dani blinked at his word choice.
Antioco looked horrified. "I knew you were too good to be true. There is no such thing as perfection." He sighed. "But I suppose you could have a worse flaw than Careles here, Dani."
Dani watched the interplay between the two men and smiled. There was a story there with the friendly animosity. It was like they wouldn't allow themselves to like each other. She kissed Antioco's cheek. "I'll look forward to the food, Chef."
Nico raised a brow in question as he took her arm and they headed out of the kitchen.
Dani smiled and hugged his arm. "The flowers are beautiful, Nico. I love them. I figured I would say hi to Chef Antioco before you got here. I hadn't realized I had lost track of time."
Nico smiled down at her. "Stating the obvious, Dani. I'm glad you like the flowers."
They sat and talked, enjoyed the food Chef sent out, and he left his hand touching her one in the cast the entire evening. He smiled every time she suddenly reached out to finger the red tulips.
Dani caught him smiling at her when she fingered the red tulips during their dessert. She eyed him and wondered if she should bring up the meaning of red tulips. He had dodged the question last time, but he had pretty much held her hand the entire dinner. And he had bought them again.
Nico frowned. "What is the question you want to ask me but are debating the wisdom of doing?"
Dani blinked. "Sometimes, Nico, you do scare me: only with your ability to read me. But then I suppose it is all part of your observation skills." She smiled over at him and reached over for his hand with her good one. "I cannot wait until this cast is off." She growled softly and he laughed.
"Are you going to ask the question? Or would you prefer that I just tell you that, yes, I do know what red tulips signify." And Nico had the pleasure of shocking Dani.
Dani's mouth opened in a small 'o' but she quickly turned it into a smile. "Does this mean I can find out where your Friday Night Restaurant is during the off-season?"
Nico smiled. "You can find out this Friday if you don't have other plans."
-%-
Dani heard the car in the drive a couple weeks later but when no one came to the door, she frowned. With all the crazy of a Super Bowl win, a lot of people were stopping by lately. She opened the front door and watched four men in black suits carry two sawhorses and a gate to her backyard under her old weeping willow tree. She didn't even recall dialing. "Nico, what is wrong with Mama Coluni?"
"What do you mean? She is fine. What's wrong, Dani?"
Dani blinked, looked out at her backyard, and frowned. "Nothing's wrong. Something just felt, I don't know, Nico. Something felt off." Dani sighed. "It's nothing, Nico. I'll check on her later."
One of the suits in black walked up to her as she hung up. "Doctor Santino? Mama Coluni I asked us to drop this off and to give this to you." He handed her the envelope then disappeared.
Dani's hands shook as she opened the envelope and took out the letter. It was concise and so Mama Coluni, Dani just had to laugh.
Dani, now that you have him, you have to take care of him. Remember, a knife to the ribs where I showed you will only hurt him a short time, but it will straighten him out long-term. He'll never underestimate you again. But you've already learned the hard part of loving a man everyone else, including himself, calls bastard: life, pain, and love are all four-letter words. At the best of times, two of them are interchangeable. In the rest of times, all three of them are interchangeable. As long as you come out heavier on the life and love side, count yourself blessed. As for the gate, seeing he's going to be at your place a helluvalot more than mine and I want to see it finished before I kick the bucket, he can't give me excuses anymore. You come see me and bring your kids and Juliette. Heck, bring Jeanette and her new man Xeno. Even your Ma, TK, and Vivica. We'll have a big Sunday dinner. You can come early, the rest can come later. You and I'll cook and swamp Nico stories. Only don't tell him that part or he'll come and censor. Hell, seeing as he's Nico, he'll know something's up and come early anyways and ruin all the fun! I'll expect you at 10 AM and the rest at 3 PM. No excuses. I still know people, as you saw, who do my bidding. Only kidding. Well, mostly. - Mama C
Dani laughed so hard she missed the call from Nico. When he called back immediately, she answered out of breath. "Love, she's fine. She just sent over something. You'll see it when you get here tonight for dinner. Also, we are expected, all of us, at Mama Coluni's for supper this Sunday. You, Jules, the kids, Ma, TK, Vivica, Jeanette, and Xeno are expected at 3 PM. I'm heading over at 9 AM to help with making dinner. No, you are not allowed to come early: Mama Coluni still knows people who do her bidding, you know." Dani chuckled.
"Wait. Why Xeno?"
Dani smiled. "You'll see on Sunday. And you had better leave the man alone until after Sunday!"
Chapter 13
Word Count: Chapter 14: 3,325; [48,282 total]
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nico/Dani-Possibly. Eventually?
Spoilers: References something from 1x07 and 1x11.
Disclaimer: don't own. Don't profit. Don't … a lot of things
Summary: She'd be willing to bet the Nico of reality was somewhere between her good guy and his evil one but he wasn't ready to see that just yet. "Nico, I work on feelings and intuition. Of course I see the potential. You work in cold facts and realities that aren't pretty so you see the bad. In order for music to be beautiful, there has to be a mix of sunny majors with the dark, harsh minors."
Author's Note: So, you can blame or credit, jeer or cheer brokenroots & goodisrelative for this 92-page (20+ chapter) fic. Brokenroots started me thinking about NR fic (go read hers, it's better) and then they both beat me up to get more. Please note, this fic is done. finished. fin. over. ended. ... that doesn't mean there might not be a sequel. at least a "Sunday Supper at Mama C's"
Yes, we have made it to the final chapter. Resolutions will appear. Mama Coluni sends "guys who still do her bidding" and a note to Dani. The culmination happens.
....
And then all you hard core shippers will scream. And dance. Or just scream. Or just dance.
-%-
Nico was fifteen minutes early to his visit with Juliette on Monday morning. They had been expecting Lindsay's friend, so Juliette went to open the door in her pajamas and robe since she was on her way upstairs to change. She stared at Nico in the doorway. Nico stared right back at her, taking in the pajamas and robe.
Dani stood at the top of the stairs ready to say hi when she spotted Nico. She swallowed hard and ran down the stairs. "Jules, why don't you go get changed and meet us in my office." She pushed the woman toward the stairs. "Nico, go around back to the office." When he stood there, his eyes darkening, Dani sighed. "Nico, please, the kids are about to head for school."
Nico held her eyes with his glare for another moment before he turned and headed to her office.
Dani told her kids goodbye and headed into her office, ready for the blow up she knew had been slowly coming.
"She's been living here? With you the entire time?" Nico swore. "How the hell did you get Xeno to lie to me?"
Dani just gave into her emotions and let them out. She knew this wasn't going to be pretty and had prepared for it. She also knew Nico had no clue how ugly this was going to get. "I gave no orders to Xeno about anything he reported to you. What did he tell you? All my chargers were safe and accounted for? Or did you even get reports from him? Just trusting him that he would let you know if there were problems? Did you ask him about Juliette? Or did you lie about that too?"
Nico whipped to face her, his voice rising. "I do not lie. He gave reports saying all charges were safe. I never said I agreed to that. You decreed it."
"I decreed it because it was necessary! Juliette needs to find her strength on her own. No one else can find it for her. She needs to decide her future, who to deal with and when to deal with them. We can stand beside her but we can't stand for her." Dani yelled.
"Is this why you would never tell me where she was? Because you thought I would hate this idea? Because you thought I would fight you on this?" Nico yelled right back. "I love that you took her under your wing. God knows she needs a champion and it will never be me. You are the strongest person I know, so who the hell better to learn strength from?"
Dani stood frozen, staring up at him at his words. She couldn't believe this. He thought she was strong? "Then why do you insist on tearing me down, Nico? Destroying me? I thought we were friends." Her words were whisper soft.
"Because I am not the good guy, damnit, and you refuse to see it!" Nico shouted. "Why the hell won't you tell me who told you she was in rehab?"
Dani blinked back her tears and shook her head. "Why does it always come back to that, Nico?" Dani let the heat drain out of her. She gave up on holding the tears in. "I cannot tell you, Nico. You said you trusted me. You said you trusted me with Juliette. So, why, then, is my word not good enough?"
"Because her mother is still out there waiting to tear her down!" Nico lowered his voice but the anger was still there. And for once, Dani heard the fear there.
Dani shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nico. I cannot tell you that. I just can't."
"Stop it! Damnit! Just stop it! Nico, you are beating the hell out of her with words. Yes, she does battle with them every damn day but that doesn't mean they don't tear and rip at her. Look at her, damn it! She's crying because of your words." Juliette stormed into the room screaming. "And I know I asked but it isn't worth this!" She told Dani, her eyes clearing.
Dani watched Juliette straighten and turn back to Nico. "Jules, you don't have to do this." She whispered.
"Yes, I do, Dani. For everything you have done for me in just over three weeks. For the strength you have shown me, for the strength you have lent me, and because, for once, I can help you." Juliette whispered still facing Nico. "You want to know who called Dani to tell her I was in rehab, Nico? So you can protect me, I know you mean well, but sometimes protecting someone just hurts people even more. I called her, Nico. I called Dani and asked her to help me. I texted myself her number from your phone. I knew I wouldn't be strong enough to stay and I refused to drag you in anymore. I knew you trusted Dani so that meant I could too. Only as I called her, my phone died. And they wouldn't let me recharge it; I wasn't supposed to have it in the first place. I called her the day before she got me out."
Nico stared at Juliette. "You called her?" He couldn't believe she had been that strong. "When did I stop thinking you could help yourself, Juliette?"
Juliette hugged him. "When I let you believe it was true." She was crying but she pushed the words out, "I'm sorry, Nico. For everything: for the pain I caused you, for the disappointment I caused, even for the embarrassment."
Nico hugged her back. "It's okay, Jules. Can I call you that?"
Juliette nodded and she held onto him. "You and Dani."
Nico looked up at that, wondering where Dani had disappeared to-and wondering if she had learned a touch too much from him. "Where did Dani go?"
Dani had made her way silently out of the room when they first started talking to each other. She couldn't stand there any longer. She sat on one of the barstools and laid her head on her arms on the counter.
Juliette pulled back from him. "Nico, you destroyed her so many times these last few weeks. I thought you trusted her but every time you tested that, you ripped the rug out from under her before she could even prove herself. Why don't you trust her? You told her you did."
Nico stared at the young woman before him. Was that the other time he had lied to her? He recalled telling her he trusted her, that he always trusted her. He sighed. And yet he had never truly trusted her with Juliette. "I need time to fix this, Jules. You go make sure she is okay."
Juliette grabbed his hand. "You leave now and you won't be able to fix this, Nico. She's been bending for weeks. You leave and she'll break."
Nico shook his head. "I need to plan-."
"No! You need to talk to her right now." Juliette glared then pushed him toward the kitchen.
Juliette went outside through the office door while Nico walked into the kitchen and froze at the sight that greeted him.
"There have been many more dark, harsh minors in my life, Danielle, that I tend to push the sunny majors away." Nico stated quietly.
Dani raised her head to look at him. "I don't want to fight, Nico. And not just because I don't have the energy right now."
Nico smiled and moved over to her. He was careful with her broken hand as he lifted her up to stand. He looked down at her and cupped her cheeks to wipe away her tears. "You really are the strongest person I know, Danielle. You take on TK, the Coach, even me to prove he could better himself. You take TK's anger and fear and joy in stride and make him be a better man." He paused to smile down at her. "You know he asked me to fix you? Then was good for a few days so I could have the time to fix what was breaking you. He had no idea it was me who was breaking you."
Dani smiled. "He told me and I didn't have the heart to tell him you were most of the problem. He was worried about you too, Nico."
Nico nodded. "I'm not used to that, Dani. People worried about me and caring about me. I don't know what to do with it." He sighed. "All I did with you was throw it back in your face after I stomped it to the ground. You asked for Tuesday Nights for us and I couldn't even do that right." He looked away then brought his eyes back to hers. "The take-out order was just an excuse, I wanted to be able to say I was there, you weren't. But then you were and that scared me. Hell, you scare me. Protecting you was easy. I knew what to do: find the threat and eliminate it. And I couldn't even do that right with you. You took the threat down literally with one hand. I was 200 feet away dealing with a vindictive, toxic bitch."
Dani put her fingers on his lips. "I told you, you took care of me, Nico. You made sure I didn't hit the floor when I crumbled under the fear and stress. You protected my heart: my kids. If anything had happened to them, I would have died inside. You made me smile with the beautiful flowers. You did these things despite the fear. Okay, so I don't usually see the bad side of you. Scratch that, I do see it, I have even asked that you be the bastard you say you are, but I also see the compassion under it. I see the reason you do it and it isn't to control the players or make them fear you. You care, Nico: that's the reason you do what you do."
Nico smiled down at her, still cradling her face in his hands. "You see too much and that scares the hell out of me. I'm going to let you down. I already have."
Dani laughed. "And you think I won't let you down? Please don't put me up on a pedestal, Nico. I'll get mad. I'll frustrate the hell out of you and argue with you. I'll disregard what you ask me to do. It's a part of a relationship, Nico, the give and take, the good and the bad, even the yelling and the l-caring."
Nico caught her slip though and filed it away for later. He pulled her to him and just held on to her. "So Tuesday Nights are still for us?"
Dani smiled. "I was there. You weren't." She reminded him quietly and listened to his laughter rumble through his chest.
"True enough. Tomorrow I'll be there." Nico promised.
Dani chuckled. "Damn straight you will be. I don't care if Marshall Pittman decrees you be in Timbuktu!"
"We should go find Jules, let her see we are better. It will take time, but we are better." Nico stepped back from her. He took her good arm and smiled when she rested her head on his arm as they walked outside to find Juliette.
-%-
Dani sighed. She was late, it was already 830 PM, but TK had had a meltdown: Super Bowl pressure was getting a lot of the team. "Hi, Marcie. Is Nico here yet?" Dani asked.
Marcie smiled at Dani. "Not yet. He called to say he'd get here about 9 PM. Something about getting TK home."
Dani laughed. "One of the players. The team is a little stressed with the Super Bowl coming up. I can sit at the bar if there isn't a table ready."
"Nope, the table is all ready for you and Mr. Careles. The Chef is in tonight. He's in a much better mood and I'm sure he'd love to see you again. He's asked a few times if you have been in again." Marcie smiled as she led Dani to the table. She frowned when she realized Dani had stopped. "Doctor? Are you okay?"
"He got me flowers." Dani whispered when she saw the bouquet of a ring of red tulips then white tulips on top of those and three blood-red gerber daisies crowning the arrangement. She blinked the tears back.
Marcie smiled again, thankful they were happy tears unlike the week before. "They are beautiful, aren't they? Mr. Careles sent them over about thirty minutes ago. There is a card with them. Can I bring you the malbec, Doctor Santino?"
Dani forced her eyes off the flowers and onto the waitress beside her. "Call me Dani, Marcie. How is your boyfriend? Still safe? And let's have the South African tonight."
Marcie's eyes were haunted for a moment. "Donnie's safe but he has a new mission and I'm worried about him. I'll bring you a glass of the South African."
Dani watched her walk away as she reached out to finger the red tulips. An idea came to her for a project for Juliette to run. The young woman needed something to work on and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of taking a college class yet. Dani leaned down and smelled the flowers before she headed into the kitchen. She'd say hi to the chef before Nico arrived.
"So, no swearing tonight, Chef?" Dani asked as she walked into the kitchen.
Antioco grinned and went over to hug her and kiss both of her cheeks. "How are you, Dani? What secrets can you divulge to me tonight?"
Dani laughed. "None. I only give out one old family secret to each person."
They talked while Antioco worked. Dani forgot to pay attention to the time until Nico's voice cut through their laughter.
"And here I thought the flowers would make you smile after TK. Little did I know you would be laughing with the chef."
"Careles, I thought I told you to never enter my kitchen again." Antioco glared. "And you cannot tell me the wonderful Dani is here with you."
"I only came to collect my date. And, yes, she is my friend and my dinner companion when I eat here." Nico nodded. Dani blinked at his word choice.
Antioco looked horrified. "I knew you were too good to be true. There is no such thing as perfection." He sighed. "But I suppose you could have a worse flaw than Careles here, Dani."
Dani watched the interplay between the two men and smiled. There was a story there with the friendly animosity. It was like they wouldn't allow themselves to like each other. She kissed Antioco's cheek. "I'll look forward to the food, Chef."
Nico raised a brow in question as he took her arm and they headed out of the kitchen.
Dani smiled and hugged his arm. "The flowers are beautiful, Nico. I love them. I figured I would say hi to Chef Antioco before you got here. I hadn't realized I had lost track of time."
Nico smiled down at her. "Stating the obvious, Dani. I'm glad you like the flowers."
They sat and talked, enjoyed the food Chef sent out, and he left his hand touching her one in the cast the entire evening. He smiled every time she suddenly reached out to finger the red tulips.
Dani caught him smiling at her when she fingered the red tulips during their dessert. She eyed him and wondered if she should bring up the meaning of red tulips. He had dodged the question last time, but he had pretty much held her hand the entire dinner. And he had bought them again.
Nico frowned. "What is the question you want to ask me but are debating the wisdom of doing?"
Dani blinked. "Sometimes, Nico, you do scare me: only with your ability to read me. But then I suppose it is all part of your observation skills." She smiled over at him and reached over for his hand with her good one. "I cannot wait until this cast is off." She growled softly and he laughed.
"Are you going to ask the question? Or would you prefer that I just tell you that, yes, I do know what red tulips signify." And Nico had the pleasure of shocking Dani.
Dani's mouth opened in a small 'o' but she quickly turned it into a smile. "Does this mean I can find out where your Friday Night Restaurant is during the off-season?"
Nico smiled. "You can find out this Friday if you don't have other plans."
-%-
Dani heard the car in the drive a couple weeks later but when no one came to the door, she frowned. With all the crazy of a Super Bowl win, a lot of people were stopping by lately. She opened the front door and watched four men in black suits carry two sawhorses and a gate to her backyard under her old weeping willow tree. She didn't even recall dialing. "Nico, what is wrong with Mama Coluni?"
"What do you mean? She is fine. What's wrong, Dani?"
Dani blinked, looked out at her backyard, and frowned. "Nothing's wrong. Something just felt, I don't know, Nico. Something felt off." Dani sighed. "It's nothing, Nico. I'll check on her later."
One of the suits in black walked up to her as she hung up. "Doctor Santino? Mama Coluni I asked us to drop this off and to give this to you." He handed her the envelope then disappeared.
Dani's hands shook as she opened the envelope and took out the letter. It was concise and so Mama Coluni, Dani just had to laugh.
Dani, now that you have him, you have to take care of him. Remember, a knife to the ribs where I showed you will only hurt him a short time, but it will straighten him out long-term. He'll never underestimate you again. But you've already learned the hard part of loving a man everyone else, including himself, calls bastard: life, pain, and love are all four-letter words. At the best of times, two of them are interchangeable. In the rest of times, all three of them are interchangeable. As long as you come out heavier on the life and love side, count yourself blessed. As for the gate, seeing he's going to be at your place a helluvalot more than mine and I want to see it finished before I kick the bucket, he can't give me excuses anymore. You come see me and bring your kids and Juliette. Heck, bring Jeanette and her new man Xeno. Even your Ma, TK, and Vivica. We'll have a big Sunday dinner. You can come early, the rest can come later. You and I'll cook and swamp Nico stories. Only don't tell him that part or he'll come and censor. Hell, seeing as he's Nico, he'll know something's up and come early anyways and ruin all the fun! I'll expect you at 10 AM and the rest at 3 PM. No excuses. I still know people, as you saw, who do my bidding. Only kidding. Well, mostly. - Mama C
Dani laughed so hard she missed the call from Nico. When he called back immediately, she answered out of breath. "Love, she's fine. She just sent over something. You'll see it when you get here tonight for dinner. Also, we are expected, all of us, at Mama Coluni's for supper this Sunday. You, Jules, the kids, Ma, TK, Vivica, Jeanette, and Xeno are expected at 3 PM. I'm heading over at 9 AM to help with making dinner. No, you are not allowed to come early: Mama Coluni still knows people who do her bidding, you know." Dani chuckled.
"Wait. Why Xeno?"
Dani smiled. "You'll see on Sunday. And you had better leave the man alone until after Sunday!"
Chapter 13