Hot Fuzzy Feeling
Prologue
"Nicholas!" Danny was screaming. He was running to where his partner lay on his back gasping from the impact of a massive bullet wound to the chest. Blood started to run slowly from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were panicked and glazing. Danny crashed to his knees beside him and pressed his hands over the gaping hole, the red stain spreading rapidly beneath his fingers.
"Nicholas, hold on!" He urged, his voice choking on dust and emotion. "Just hold on, everything's going to be fine!" Nicholas was covered in blood and dirt. Black dust from the explosion coated his skin and his once crisp white shirt, mixing with the vivid red from his many injuries. His eyes focused on Danny for a second and he tried to speak but all that came out was a gurgle through a mouthful of blood. It was the briefest of looks, but Danny felt the full force of his partner's intended meaning. Goodbye Danny. The blue eyes closed. His body stilled and went limp, his head rolling to one side.
"No, Nicholas! Please! Please don't!"
Chapter 1
"Arghhh!"
Nicholas leapt instinctively off the sofa and was on his feet before his eyes had even opened.
At the second scream, he was racing up Danny's stairs two at a time, drawing a hand gun from a holster at his hip. Before Danny could open his mouth to scream for a third time, Nicholas burst through the bedroom door, gun up and braced between both hands. He swept the room in less than a second, the door smashed back against the wall, confirming there was no one there but Danny. Nicholas focused on the bed. Danny was thrashing about from side to side, sort of moaning, no comprehensible words coming out of his mouth. Nicholas approached, lowering his weapon.
"Danny? Are you all right?"
Danny continued to moan, and began clawing at the sheets around him. He was soaked in sweat, his face wet with tears, and obviously having a vivid nightmare. Nicholas holstered his gun as he reached the bedside.
"Danny, it's me. It's Nicholas." Simply talking to him wasn't going to work and Danny was starting to flail his arms about, punching at the air. Nicholas grabbed hold of his wrists, attempting to still the random swipes he was making.
"Danny, wake up!" Nicholas shouted at him "It's Nicholas, Danny! For fuck's sake, wake up!"
Danny's eyes opened, but he was blind with panic and the lingering visions of his nightmare.
"Oh god! Nic'las! Nic'las!"
"Hey!" Nicholas shouted. Danny finally focused on him. "It's all right! It's me." Nicholas' voice quietened as he progressed through the words. "You're ok. Everything's ok. Ok?" The briefest flash of a half smile crossed Nicholas' face at his own choice of words.
"But you...I... What the fuck happened?" Danny gasped, bewildered.
"It's all right, Danny, relax. It was just a dream. I heard you screaming and I thought..." Nicholas trailed off. Danny was still panting with the exertion of his nightmare, the adrenalin still pulsing round his body. His eyes fell to where Nicholas' hands still gripped his wrists. Nicholas followed his line of sight and started slightly, releasing his hold.
"Sorry, you were thrashing about, I had to wake you up." Suddenly Nicholas felt incredibly awkward, what was he thinking charging in here in the middle of the night? Danny was only having a bad dream, for fuck's sake, he'd have woken up on his own eventually. Danny was nodding, though, wide eyed, still getting his breath back. He blinked hard, as though to test whether Nicholas would still be there when he reopened his eyes.
"Shit. That was... horrible. Fuckin' nightmare. Thanks for wakin' me up." Danny replied, seemingly not in agreement that this was in any way an overreaction on Nicholas' part. Nicholas released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding.
As the last of Danny's adrenalin seeped away, he slumped back into the bed, he wiped the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead and then swept his palm over each cheek, removing further moisture. Had he been crying in his sleep? Had Nick seen him? Danny cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment. Nicholas mistook this visible change in demeanour as a cue that Danny wanted him to leave and straightened up.
"Listen, I don't have to stay downstairs, you know." Nicholas paused, hoping Danny would insist he could.
"No..." Danny replied slowly, lengthening the short word, and not meeting Nicholas' eye. Nicholas silently berated himself for making the suggestion. He didn't want to leave Danny alone, but as it was what Danny wanted, he would have to comply. He looked down to do up the zip on his jacket.
"I'll head back to the hotel then, obviously you can call me if you need anything." He continued, pulling the zip up and turning away. A blush was starting to tint his cheeks and he couldn't wait to get out of there. Feeling embarrassed and stupid was not something Nicholas Angel was accustomed to, but for some reason he had often felt like that when in the prescence of Danny recently. He bumbled his way over to the door in the half light muttering that he would come to see him again tomorrow morning. Had he looked back at Danny, he would have seen his normally soft features crushed into an expression of bitter disappointment. Danny's interpretation of not staying downstairs was that he would stay upstairs instead, preferably in Danny's bed. But Nicholas didn't look back. Danny listened as he rushed down the stairs and out of the front door.