Hijacked. Again. I Am Getting Tired of This.
We Have a Situation
Word Count: 3,832
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nico/Dani
Spoilers: References something from 1x11, 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: So I think I have it about done, and what happens? Freaking thing gets hijacked. Again. *grumbles*
Siblings
"Dani, whatever my parents say... I am grateful for everything you've done, and not just for me. For my uncle, too," Juliette said. She almost grabbed Dani's arm, but she stopped when she remembered that Dani was on crutches. "Nico doesn't know it, but he needs you. A lot."
Dani smiled a little. She was still feeling their last conversation, and she knew it was not that simple. Even if Nico wanted her, even if he'd agreed to give their relationship a chance, he was not adjusting well to the change. A part of him was still cut off, unable and unwilling to bend, and she knew that he'd been right-she did have to pick her battles. This one, for Juliette, was one that she was not about to back down from, but some of the others, yes, she'd just have to let go.
"It's just your mother," Nico informed Juliette when he returned from the other room. He glanced at Dani and then at Juliette. "And she's... not at her best."
"Meaning she's been drinking since she got up this morning?" Juliette asked, and Dani winced as Nico gave a curt nod.
"I told her we were leaving until she was sober, and you can imagine how well that went over," Nico went on, and by then Dani could hear the woman yelling. He shook his head. "Go back to the car. I'll handle her."
"Juliette, baby!" the voice called, and Nico moved to intercept his sister before she could reach them. Dani looked over at Juliette, who was chewing on her lip and shaking her head. "Oh, Nico, let go of me. I'm not going to hurt anyone."
"You already have just by doing what you're doing now, not that you understand that," he said as she struggled in his grip. She shoved a glass up near his face, and he turned away quickly.
"Is that what they tell you in AA?"
"You know I never went there. You need to stop this, Gabriella. You said you wanted to see Juliette, and I brought her here only because I thought that for once you'd try to make things right with your daughter. You and your husband. Now he's not here, and I find you like this. The conversation is finished."
"Oh, please. You going to try and fight for custody again? Hmm? She's too old for that now. She's not a minor."
"Yes, she can make her own decisions-notice how stubbornly she won't leave despite what I told her-but that does not mean that you have the right to do this to her, either," Nico insisted. He gave Dani and Juliette a look, and Dani nodded. He was right. Juliette didn't need to see her mother like this. It wasn't that Dani thought Juliette had never seen this before. She probably had seen it more times than any daughter should. She didn't have to see it, and she didn't need to hear whatever her mother might spout off while she was drunk.
"You just have to wait a few minutes," Gabriella muttered, shaking her head. "Then I'll pass out and my husband will show up and act like the calm, reasonable one. He'll say that he's proud of his daughter and tell her all the things that we should always tell her."
"Stop it," Nico said. He pried the drink away from his sister's hand and set it to the side. Dani let go of the handle of her crutch for a second and reached for Juliette's arm. The girl didn't seem to be able to turn away from the train wreck in front of her.
"Can't you stick me in whatever rehab you've got Juliette in?" Gabriella asked, shaking her head. "Just do it, Nico. Lock me away in one of those places again. I'm so sick of this. There's not enough alcohol, not enough pills, not enough men to make me forget. I've seen such terrible things, and I can't forget them, can't escape them."
"Do you think I haven't?" Nico asked, shaking his head. "I'll take you to your room. You can sleep this off. And you won't ask me to see Juliette again. Not unless you're sober."
Gabriella yanked on his coat. "No. I want out, Nico. I want a divorce. I can't do this anymore. I told you. There's not enough... I can't forget. I can't get away. I need out."
"Juliette," Dani called, worried about the effect this news would have on her. She tried to get a hold of her arm again, give a shake, but she almost lost her balance and had to lean on the crutches again. "Juliette, I think we should go..."
"I know you do," Nico agreed, brushing his sister's hair back from her face. "Sleep now."
She wrapped her arms around him, and Dani could hear her crying. "You know what? I actually miss those days back in Pittsburgh. I shouldn't. It sounds crazy, doesn't it? It is crazy. But back then, you could hold me and somehow that just made all of it go away. I knew I was safe, and it would all be okay, no matter how angry he was. I had my big brother, and Nico made it all better. He could fix anything."
"You know that's not true."
"My fault. Pushed you away," she went on, tightening her grip on Nico's coat. "Could you do it now, big brother? Hold me and make it all go away? Please?"
Nico sighed, picking her up as she passed out.
"Do you think she means it?" Juliette asked, and Nico looked over at her. He set his sister down on the chair and pointed Danielle to one of the others. She actually obeyed without protest, and he figured that she was starting to hurt on the crutches. She should not have been here, and he had tried to talk her out of it, but she was one of the most stubborn people he'd met. He still remained the most stubborn person he'd known, but not by much.
"Juliette, I... Your mother has threatened to file for divorce many times over the years. She never has. She probably doesn't mean it now."
Juliette shook her head. "Not that. You know I actually don't care if she's with my dad. All they do is make each other miserable. They shouldn't be married. She was just a pretty face to him, and he's had plenty of others. I'm not an idiot. I know about that. I know a lot more than they think. I just... I hope she meant it about the rehab."
Nico took a deep breath. "She also says that at least once a month and never follows through, Juliette. Don't get your hopes up. Your mother... says a lot of things she doesn't mean."
"Like that you actually tried to get custody of me?"
He ignored the question. It was not something he was willing to discuss. She might see that as some sign of some greater commitment on his part, and he wished it were that simple, for her sake, but if she didn't remember what prompted that particular incident, she was by far better off for it. She did remember enough other things that hurt her.
"We should go. You know how your mother is when she wakes up."
"What if she meant it? Shouldn't we at least stick around to find out?" Juliette asked. She folded her arms over her chest. "We could take her some place to clean out. Let her make the choice sober like you let me."
Nico had been down this road too many times with his sister to believe any of it, but he knew that Juliette had not. She had reached her own turning point, and she desperately wanted to believe that her mother had, too. He wanted to protect her from that long line of disappointment. He still had his moments where he fell for it just like he'd done with his father when the old man claimed he wanted to change. Two days later, Nico always seemed to be dealing with some broken bone and hating himself for being so gullible. That was the cycle of living with an addict or an alcoholic. Wanting to believe and being disappointed. Over and over again.
"Nico?" Danielle began, and he looked over at her. He supposed she didn't see it, either. She motioned for him to come closer, and he frowned as he walked over. He leaned down next to her, and she sighed. "As much as I-You might need to let Juliette do this. I know how you feel about what your sister's doing, and you may very well be right. I'm afraid that you are. I'm just not sure that Juliette will understand unless she sees for herself."
"I enable them. All of them. It's what I do. Fix things. By fixing... I enable."
"Nico, you can't blame yourself for your sister's decisions. You know what she's struggling with, and you know how hard it is to overcome. You also know how it feels to be on the other side, to be the one who wants to believe the best when all you ever see is the worst. You didn't give up on Juliette. I know it's not easy for you, but you'll have to let her see this through with her mother. If Gabriella hurts Juliette, then you'll be there for her. You don't have to be there for Gabriella unless she sincerely wants to change. You don't have to enable. Neither of you do."
He looked down. What Danielle said was reasonable, but he found himself wanting it not to be. He didn't want to expose anyone to his sister like this. "When Gabriella wakes up, it will not be 's extremely verbally abusive when she's hungover."\
"You know how to do damage control, and I will be there for Juliette, too," Danielle reminded him. "It may take only once to see it from this side. Let Juliette do it now. This should... help her in her own determination not to slip up again."
"You are inviting yet another alcoholic into your life," he said, shaking his head as he rose. He picked his sister up again. "We'll let her sleep it off at my house. There's nothing there for her to drink and even less for her to break."
Juliette stepped up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Nico. I know you didn't want to, so... Thanks."
He nodded, shifting Gabriella's weight and trying not to think about how much his back hurt right now. "Help Danielle to the car, please."
"And now to sit back and wait for the screaming to start," Nico said tiredly, sitting down in the chair. Dani looked up at him from the couch and frowned slightly. Despite his words to TK earlier, he should not have been carrying his sister around. It had taken its toll on him. So had the emotions of the morning. He was clearly in pain and warring with himself over attempting to help his sister. It went against his better judgment, and Dani didn't like encouraging it, either. Nico knew Gabriella far better than she did, and nothing she'd heard made her optimistic about the situation, but she knew that Juliette had to face this at least once to understand the way her uncle did.
"Nico, I don't-"
"Please, don't. I'm not... I'm bound to say something I'll regret at this point."
"Fine. Don't say anything. Just come sit next to me and let me hold you for a change."
He gave her an odd look at the words, and she shrugged slightly. She held out her hand to him, and he slowly took it, allowing himself to be pulled over to her side. It wasn't really possible to take him into her lap, so she ended up sitting up and getting him as a makeshift pillow again. "Sorry. Now you're holding me again."
"I suppose this will have to do until your ankle heals."
She looked up at him. "I feel like asking if you'll stick around until that happens, and that's not fair. It's just hard, you know. You always seem to need to push me away. I know why you're doing it, so I keep telling myself that I can handle it, that I just have to be patient, but you like to keep yourself closed off and distant. No matter how many frying pans these situations throw us in, you never seem to melt."
"Whereas I feel that I've 'melted' too much already. I'm not-I cannot be this open person that everyone seems to expect. It goes against my nature and my training. I do try to be honest. I'll tell you if I am unwilling to talk about something rather than lie about it," he said. "I can't change who I am."
"And I don't want you to," she agreed, reaching up to touch his face. "I just want to share more with the person that you are. We're both stubborn, and this is a give-and-take. I'll push you, and you push me right back. I've done a lot of pushing lately, and you got defensive and pushed back."
He took a deep breath. "Danielle, one thing I have to ask of you-do not push me in front of the team. I spent a long time building up a reputation that I need to use in doing my job. The threat of what I can be has kept me from being that person for a long time now. People see me give into you, and that reputation slips, little by little, until it's not there anymore."
"Will you agree to discuss these things in private, then?"
He nodded. "Yes. I know you have concerns over my methods, and you are allowed an opinion. I am not trying to take that from you, but at the same time, you cannot force my hand like that. If we talk about it in private, I may change my mind, but not like what happened back at Cherise's apartment."
She figured she was actually getting a huge concession from him in the fact that he was willing to talk about it rather than issuing a flat ultimatum that she never challenge him at work. "Okay. But I can't promise you that TK won't threaten you again."
"If I truly do hurt you, I'd rather he found a way to carry through with it."
"You're a twisted man, Nico."
"You must be equally twisted because you like me this way," he pointed out, and she laughed. She kissed him, turning around in his arms and ignoring her ankle as she tried to get closer to him. His words about creativity came back to her again, and she wondered just how much pain he was in at the moment-not enough to stop him from holding her or kissing her, but probably too much for anything else.
That, and his sister was in the only bedroom in his place.
Nico's current home was almost as empty as the one he'd held onto, the one that had almost killed them. She knew that he didn't go home much, so it probably didn't bother him, if he noticed at all. This place was just somewhere where he slept and occasionally worked. Actually, the sleeping seemed to be occasional as well. That had been a part of why she wanted him to move in with her. She thought he'd actually been sleeping more since he stayed over at her house. Seeing how little he actually had to give up, a part of her wanted to push him about it again. It wouldn't take much to add him to her house. Less than it had taken Ray, but then he'd lived there for seventeen years.
Someone screamed, and Dani groaned, sitting back on the couch. Nico gave her a rueful smile. "Duty calls."
Dani thought about reminding him that Juliette was still in with her mother and decided against it. He needed to do this, and she'd let him. It was a battle she didn't need to fight. Even if she kind of wanted to because making out with him was... really nice. She shook her head, wondering if she'd been this foolish over Ray. It had to have been worse, right? She was younger then and convinced she was right and if she'd met a man like Nico then she never would have held her own against him. She'd grown into a much stronger person, but if she'd known Nico back then...
She sighed. He could have used a friend in his life then, before, even now.
"Where the hell am I?"
"Calm down, Gabriella. You know exactly where you are," Nico told her as he walked into the room. Juliette looked back at him, relief showing on her face. He took in the bag of Skittles on her lap and shook his head. This would not be good. That was the second bag-the first one had been the original flavor and this one was tropical-and she had probably eaten all of them while she waited for her mother to wake up.
"Oh. This is your place, isn't it? I thought you said you were going to decorate it."
"I only told you that so you wouldn't hire someone for it. I like it the way it is," he told her, sitting down next to Juliette. His niece grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. He could feel hers shaking slightly, so he leaned down next to her ear. "Is that the sugar or did you forget something today?"
"Relax, Control Freak, it's just the sugar," she answered, looking at him and sticking out her tongue. "I like sugar."
"I know."
Gabriella put a hand to her head. "I need a pill the size of a horse to get rid of this headache."
"You can start with water. Technically, you're just dehydrated," he told her, getting up to fill her a glass of water. Juliette watched him, likely remembering the times he'd done this for her, though he'd never taken care of her mother in front of her before.
"I asked you to fix everything again, didn't I?" she asked, sipping from the water and making a face. He ignored it. This wasn't about what tasted good. She would want another drink-hell, he did at this point-but she would not find one here. "I'm sorry, Nico. I know I promised to stop asking."
"The only reason it's a problem is because I can't fix you," he said, looking at her. "Only you can do that. People can try and help you, over and over again, but it won't make one damn bit of difference unless you're willing to accept it."
"You're spending way too much time with that shrink of yours."
"That may well be," he agreed. "You never spent enough time with yours."
"I didn't want to sleep with mine."
"Why not? You slept with everyone else."
"Nico!" Juliette cried, and he lowered his head. He'd actually managed to forget that she was there. It was just that he was having the same old conversation with his sister. He didn't want his niece to hear this, not that he thought she had any illusions left when it came to her mother.
"Your uncle has never held back when it comes to me, and he's not going to start now," Gabriella said, finishing the water. He took the glass and refilled it, handing it back to her. "You really don't have anything here, do you, Nico? Not even... something for your back?"
"I fought long and hard to get sober again. I have no intention of throwing it away over some minor discomfort."
"Please. I saw your back, Uncle Nico. That's not minor pain. You should have like a medal for doing this without painkillers."
"I am not a hero, Juliette," he insisted. He looked at his sister. "If you intend to drink or find a pill, you can go. You know where I stand on that. There's nothing here, anyway. You were right about that. I'm afraid I don't have the patience left for these games. Your daughter wants to believe you. I stopped a long time ago."
"Why do you keep helping her, then? Why her and not me?"
He looked at Juliette and touched her cheek. "Because when she asks for my help, she actually means it. You... you just want it all gone, and life doesn't work that way."
"Like you don't act like it didn't happen or doesn't exist. You never even talk about what they did to us. Like it was nothing. Like you've put it all past you or something."
"You know I haven't. I'm not past it, but I don't want to discuss it. I don't like remembering it. I also know I can't escape it. I can't trust myself with alcohol. I have a problem with violence. I'm paranoid and have never had a normal relationship in my life, not even a friendship. The fact that Danielle has stuck around this long owes mostly to her own stubbornness and very little to anything that I have done for her," he said, shaking his head. "I am just as damaged as you are, Gabriella. It just shows in different ways with me."
Gabriella looked up at him. "I... meant what I said, Nico."
"About getting sober?" Juliette asked almost hopefully. She put a handful of candy in her mouth, and Nico reached for the bag, taking it from her. She glared at him.
"No... Well... Yes, I suppose I'll have to, but... I want the divorce."
Chapter Thirty-Four