*Looks for Falling Houses*
We Have a Situation
Word Count: 3,033
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: Okay... I think I may finally be on my way to reclaiming this fic and getting it back on track. Of course, I say that, and some random house is going to get me next time...
An Answer
"Easy, Sweetie," Jeanette said as Dani's eyes opened, brushing back some hair from her face. "You kind of gave us a good scare there."
"I don't..." Dani frowned. Her head ached, and the more she woke up, the more she could feel a throbbing down by her foot. Her ankle. Her ankle was-what, twisted? Broken? She didn't remember. She didn't understand. This was definitely a hospital. White walls, the bed, the whole thing. "What happened?"
"Well, from what I understand, for some reason the two of you were at some house that should have been condemned years ago, and when you were on the porch, it collapsed. The roof fell, and when it did, it took the rest of it with it," Jeanette said. "Or so the very adorable EMT told Juliette. I swear, that girl missed her calling, Dani. She should be an actress."
Dani smiled a little and tried to sit up. Jeanette pushed on her shoulder gently, but it was enough to make Dani wince. "Stay put. They said you got pretty banged up, and you're bruised all over the place."
"I think I feel it," Dani agreed. Her head was starting to clear a bit-it still ached, but it was clearing. "My ankle got stuck, and Nico tried to get me out. Wait-Where's Nico?"
"He has a bed of his own," Jeanette said. She pushed on Dani's shoulder again. "Easy. You really need to stay put. He is going to be okay. He got banged up, just like you-"
"But his stitches-"
"Dani, please, you have to stay calm. Juliette is with him," Jeanette told her. Dani wanted out of this bed. She wanted out right now. She didn't care about her ankle. She needed to see Nico for herself. She had to see him, now. "Honey, you're not going anywhere on that ankle, and I have half a mind to let you try to stand on it only to fall on your stubborn butt."
"Jeanette-"
"Okay, okay, here's the full story, as much as we got. Like I said, the roof came down and the rest of the porch went down after it. It looked like he tried to get the two of you out of there, but when the lower part collapsed, the support beam came down on him. If you want to hear something romantic... Well, he covered you with his body to protect you."
Dani smiled a little. Then she shook her head. "And yet he still can't admit that he's a good person or that he wants to be with me."
Jeanette gave her a slight smile, patting her cheek. "Only you. Only you would go to some condemned house and only you would get caught when the porch collapses."
"Nico said we had to leave because if we didn't-you know what, that doesn't matter. What does matter is that, in his way, Nico opened up when he showed me that house. He showed me a lot more than I think he realizes. He can't let go of me even as much as he's trying to pull away and push me away... He can't."
"It's so romantic."
Dani frowned at her. "Okay, what did you and Juliette go see while Nico and I were talking?"
"I'll show you later. We'll drink, we'll cry, and I'll hit you because you have a man that wonderful," Jeanette said. She smiled. "The good news is that they'll probably spring you as soon as they know you're awake. The bad news... he's in at least for the night."
"What happened, Jeanette? What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing. He hasn't woken up, that's all. Here, sweetie, I'll get the doctor and let you talk him into getting you out of here," Jeanette promised, rushing out the door.
Dani leaned back against the pillows and sighed. Jeanette was right about one thing. This kind of thing only happened to them. She shook her head. She didn't want to wait for her doctor, though she knew Jeanette was also right about her ankle. She couldn't get anywhere on it. Wait, she hadn't even asked Jeanette about the kids. They were supposed to be at their father's, but had they heard about this? How long had she been in the hospital, anyway?
"Ms. Santino?"
Dani looked over at the doctor as he came in the room. Jeanette had a wide grin, and Dani felt like rolling her eyes. It wasn't that the man wasn't good looking. He was. Dani just had no interest in looking, not like Jeanette. Jeanette never seemed to stop. Dani was-apparently-a one-man woman. All she cared about was Nico. "I just want to get out of this bed and see Nico. What is it going to take to get that?"
"I think I can get you out after a short examination, but you're going to need to stay off that ankle," he told her, and she groaned. She really didn't need that, especially since she spent most of her time chasing after Nico these days. He was still in his own bed, though, so maybe it would slow him down for a while.
"Fine. I just want out of here."
"Dani, you're a mess," Juliette began as she got up from the chair next to the bed. "I'm surprised they let you out."
"Oh, the doctor says I'm really just bruised everywhere, other than my ankle," Dani said, though Jeanette had turned the wheelchair that was supposed to be taking her out the front door and taken it three floors up instead, up to the ICU-nice of everyone to keep that detail from her-instead. She was sore, and she was feeling more pain the longer she was awake, but at least she was here. "I don't think I look as bad as he does, though."
"Don't worry about it. Uncle Nico has a very hard head," Juliette said, pulling the chair closer to the bed. "So... You guys went to Great Uncle Nick's place, huh? I think that place is creepy. It was bound to fall down one of these days."
"Great Uncle Nick?"
"Yeah. About as creepy as his house. Nico hated him. But he got his house after the old guy died. I don't know why. I really don't know why Nico kept it, either," Juliette answered with a shrug. She fidgeted in her chair, and Dani frowned at her. She saw the look. "Okay, it's so time for me to go get that stuff the doctor gave me. Only... Nico has it locked up somewhere, and I don't know where it is. I couldn't get in if I did. He's that paranoid. Of course, he knows me."
"Well, I'm sure we can get something here if your uncle doesn't wake up soon-"
"Excuse me, what are you doing in here? This is the ICU. Visitation is restricted," a nurse said, coming into the room. "Family only."
Juliette shot the nurse a dirty look. "This is my aunt. His wife? Yeah, she's not going anywhere. She just got released, so now she'll be at his side. I guess her sister doesn't technically count as family, but you should let her stay, too."
The nurse looked at Dani suspiciously. "You're his wife?"
"Are you expecting me to yank a marriage license out of my purse now?" Dani demanded. "I don't even have my purse. I left it in the car when we went to the house. How did anyone know to contact you, Jeanette?"
Juliette smiled. "Chalk that one up to his paranoia again."
Dani decided not to ask. She watched the nurse leave, still not appeased. Juliette and Jeanette started giggling, and Dani sighed. "She is going to come back. And she's going to throw us all out when she confirms that I'm not his wife and Jeanette's not my sister. Before that happens, you need to get your medication. I know that Nico has it locked up, so we won't bother with that. Just call the doctor you saw and get him to give you a short term prescription-two, three days worth at the most would be best but if he can't, then a week. Just long enough to give your uncle a chance to wake up and tell someone where he put the full one. Jeanette, if the doctor is giving Juliette any trouble-"
"I'll handle it, I swear," Jeanette said, saluting her. She took Juliette's arm, leading her toward the door. Half the time, Dani thought she'd made a mistake in introducing her best friend to Nico's troubled niece, and the other half... She thought she couldn't have made a better choice. "Come on. We'll get Dani something to change into, too."
Dani leaned over in the chair, forcing the rail on the side of the bed down out of her way. She reached over to brush the hair back from Nico's bruised forehead. "You know, you're not supposed to get injured like this. Ruins the whole mystique. You're like... invulnerable or something. And you scare the crap out of me, and I hate that. And we were fighting right before this happened, and... I am so sick of fighting. Why can't you stop being stubborn and admit that you care? And so help me, Nico, if you're in here because you tore those damn stitches, I am going to kill you."
She laughed a little as the tears started. She took his hand and wrapped hers around it as she put her head on the bed. "It's really been one hell of a week, hasn't it? You know, I never thought that TK would be more willing to make a commitment than you are, and yet he pretty much adopted Cherise and Devin. He's not dating her, but he's providing for her and Devin... I guess you're doing that for Juliette. I shouldn't complain. I just wish I'd gotten an answer from you before I fell through that damn porch."
She sighed, realizing that the entire time she'd been rambling on to him, she'd actually expected him to answer her, like he was faking or something. She shook her head a little. "I guess it's okay if I say all of this to you. They say sometimes people hear-or was that just with comas? It doesn't matter. You're going to wake up, and then you have no more time, no more excuses. You have to give me an answer."
"No, I'm telling you, I want the whole thing razed. Clearly it should have been condemned a long time ago, and it's a death trap now. I don't want anyone getting injured. What would it matter if they were crackheads? I don't even understand why you're fighting me on this. You haven't set foot in that house since you were fifteen and he-"
"Nico! If you finish that sentence, I'll make sure no construction crew touches that site."
"Don't start with that, Gabriella," he warned, reaching a hand to his back. He'd disconnected himself from the morphine drip as soon as he woke, and his body wasn't happy with that, but he knew he couldn't continue on the drugs. "The company has a construction and demolition division, and I expect that house down today. End of story."
He hung up on his sister and had to resist the urge to throw his phone. It was never simple with her. He didn't know how she'd gotten wind of the request or why she felt the need to try and block it, but it wasn't going to happen. Someone had been hurt there, again, and he was not going to let that happen to anyone else.
"Nico? What the hell are you doing out of bed?"
Nico looked over at Santino in the chair and shrugged. It sent a wave of pain down his back, but he forced himself not to react to it. "I got hit with a support beam, and they were worried about the bruising on my back. It's nothing. They monitored my kidney functions the entire time, and there's no sign of damage there. I'm fine."
"And who told you all that?"
"The chart."
"I thought you said you're not a doctor."
"I'm not. I did teach myself how to read them since I have come across them several times in my job," Nico explained. He hesitated for a moment and then decided it was best to deal with this particular subject quickly. "I hear you became my wife while I was unconscious."
She winced. "Juliette told them I was when they tried to say you could only have family visitors."
"So you moved your ring from your middle finger to your ring finger?"
"There was a very, very suspicious nurse hanging around. I think she wanted to see a license. I wonder how she accepted that Juliette was your niece. It's not like she looks that much like you," Santino told him. "I guess your plan is to sign yourself out AMA and leave as soon as you can, right?"
"I have no fondness for hospitals, and I don't need treatment. I'm-"
"You're not fine, Nico," she interrupted. She would have gotten up and been right in his face if she could stand. "And I have waited way too long for that answer. I can't really wait any longer because next thing you know that kidney damage will be there and you'll be pulled into surgery or another freaking porch will collapse on us. Just... tell me. We can go our separate ways from here if that's what you really want. I just want a damn answer."
He knew that she deserved one, that it was far past time that she had it. He had more he could tell her, more arguments against it, but she had already made up her mind. Nothing he could say would change it at this point. She wanted too much to believe in the good in him, that he was better than he appeared, and even if he gave her the full lists of his sins, she'd still believe that some part of him was worth saving. She had done the same with TK when everyone else said he was a lost cause. Nico knew the situation was different-she seemed to have adopted TK as a son and Nico as something... else.
He was still preparing his answer when someone spoke from behind him. "Mr. Careles! You're not supposed to be out of bed! How long have you been awake? Get back in that bed now."
"Oh, god, it is a conspiracy," Santino muttered. "There's Ray and Rudy and TK and Juliette and hostages and a freaking killer porch and I'm just never going to get an answer. Maybe I should consider this answer enough. The whole world is against it, so it's just over, right? Simple enough. No more agonizing over it and-"
"Danielle," he began, holding up a hand to the nurse who had taken a step toward him to push him toward the bed. That was not going to happen. "You, nurse, stay where you are. And you, Danielle, will have your answer. Before there are any more interruptions or malevolent houses or any other part of this so-called conspiracy to interfere again."
"Oh, damn," she said, swallowing. "Um... I think I-Oh, I really don't know if I'm ready to hear this, after all of that ranting and babbling. No, don't tell me, Nico. I don't think I can take it."
He had to fight a smile. "I thought you were stronger than that."
"I did, too," she admitted quietly. "But if the answer is no, I... I really don't know what I'll do, at least not at first. Pull through, eventually, but the first part is the hardest, and that's the fear that's talking now."
"You're a strong woman," he reminded her, stepping close to her. He lowered himself to the chair's level, and his whole body protested, though his back was the loudest. "Actually, I think you're more like a force of nature. Perhaps a tornado, given what happened to the house."
She made a face. "For a second there, I thought you were going to make me the wicked witch or something. You know, since the house kind of fell on me."
"It was just the porch, and it fell on both of us," he reminded her. She shrugged. He smiled. "Besides, you're more like Dorothy."
"And I was going to call you the wizard, but that makes it kind of creepy, you and me..."
"Hmm. You're not supposed to pay any attention to the man behind the curtain."
"How could anyone ignore you, Nico?" she asked, and he gave her a look. He was overlooked all the time in the course of his job. It allowed him to do what he had to do. "I thought you said I was getting an answer."
"I know. I just choose my words carefully."
"Right, and so-"
He put his hands on her face and interrupted her with a kiss. She half-rose from the chair, forgetting her ankle, and he had to push her back before she put too much weight on it. His back didn't like the position he'd put it in, and he had to let her go to relieve the pain a little. She touched her fingers to her lips.
"I think I might need... interpretation there."
He frowned at her. There were some things, he had always believed, that were better when they were not spoken at all. "Really?"
She shook her head. "No. I just want you to kiss me again."
Chapter Twenty-Nine