Who Needs Book Club?
Word Count: 634
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nico/Dani (can be considered just friendship, though)
Spoilers: up to 1x05, though mostly from 1x04.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I just break things.
Summary: Ray got book club. Dani has Nico. Sort of.
Author's Note: This little idea has been nagging at me since I saw episode four. It was just too insistent, wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. Also, I have no idea if any Ken Follet books actually have an issue like the one I used here (I haven't read any), but it seems possible that it could be there...

Who Needs Book Club?

"So," Dani began, crossing the room to the desk, lifting up the book as she got closer. "Explain the end of this to me."

Nico looked up from his desk, a slight frown on his face. "What?"

She sighed. "You were the one that said his World War II stuff was better than the other one that I read, and I have to admit, you were right. I just don't get the end of this one."

He took the book from her hand and looked it over, sitting back in his chair, nodding in thought. She watched him, wondering if he had understood it. Would he lie to her? Give her a vague answer to try and cover up his confusion? Or would he admit it? She had no idea what he was going to do. He was not an easy man to figure out. She kept trying, though.

"What exactly confuses you?" he asked, flipping toward the end of the book, his finger running over the crease where she'd folded the page. He nodded to himself absently. "You want the long or short version? My interpretation or the critic's?"

"Yours. I read the critic's, and it didn't make any more sense than that page did. Even what the author said didn't really make sense to me, and I think I'm a fairly intelligent woman. I'm not a genius, no, but it's driving me crazy. I just don't get this."

Nico smiled a little. "First time I read it, I figured the editor had to have missed something, like a part got left out of the printed version for some reason."

"But you don't think so anymore?"

He shrugged. "I had more time to think about it. A lot more time."

She frowned a little, wondering just what he meant by that, but before she could ask him about it, he was on his feet. "If you want an explanation, you'll have to walk with me."

"Something needs fixing?"

"You could say that."

She shook her head. Would he ever give her a straight answer? Who taught him to be so secretive? Was that a special SEAL course? "All right. If you won't answer that, then explain the book to me so that I can stop going nuts over it. You know, it is keeping me up nights. I can't stop thinking about it. That's kind of ridiculous, isn't it?"

"You're the doctor."

"Cute. Real cute."

"Not a word usually applied to me, but there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" he asked, and she shook her head, fighting the smile. She almost wanted to be mad at him, but she had a hard time staying that way despite the way he frustrated her. "You really want to know what I think about the book?"

"I thought that was the whole point of our conversation."

"Is it? Maybe you, as the analyst, have some other motive for asking, searching for some insight into my apparently disturbed mind."

"No. I don't," she said, a bit offended. "That's not the way I work. I don't use the word 'disturbed,' either. I want an explanation for this book. Not the whole book, even. That page. Explain your theory to me so that I can sleep at night."

"I don't know that it will help you sleep at night."

"That bad, huh?"

"Depends on the point of view."

She pulled on his arm, stopping them both. "That is it. Just spit it out. Tell me what the point of view is before I completely lose it."

His lips curved into a smile. "It's simple, really. It's all about the location..."