Necessary Roughness

Nico - Danni

Disclaimer: I don't own them, just the story line.

Summary: The morning after my previous story, "For You I Will". This is a type of Futuristic piece so please understand it is just how I see what is going on up until this last episode.

The soft whispers of harsh winds startled Danni out of her dreamless sleep, and the cracking of several branches jarred her eyes open. Her mind was a blur, and hazy at best, but she felt an odd sense of warmth, partially coming from her own body, the part coming from the set of arms that were firmly wrapped around her slim waist line. Her thoughts had remained jumbled until she saw the face of the man that was spooned against her, the man that for all intent and purpose had broken down every barrier that she had put up, every single one. She gazed down at his sleeping face, and then she chanced a glance outside the window where the strange noises were coming from. While her clock read the time as somewhere around seven in the morning, the clouds outside caused her body to believe that it was earlier then that, they were the most monstrous grey she had ever seen, and it seemed as if the lightening that was spewing from them was trying to escape the wrath of God himself. She only had time to place her head back down on her pillow before Nico's arms had tightened around her and pulled her impossibly closer.

"Why are you already up? I thought that I would wake up before you." he mumbled, his eyes not open, but his voice was semi clear.

"The wind, and several branches have fallen from the trees." she whispered, "It looks like we are going to have a storm."

"It's the calm before the storm." he said quietly, pulling her close and leaving a soft kiss on her cheek.

"It is a bad omen when the day starts off with a storm," Danni mumbled, curling into his body more, craving his touch, "Bad things are bound to happen."

"Where are the kids?" he asked, letting her get situated next to him.

"Before you came over I sent them to their dads." she replied, looking up at him, his own dark eyes piercing her hazel ones, "He was begging for them anyway and I needed to get my own head straight."

"The head doctor needing to get her head straight? Now I have seen it all." he joked, allowing a rare smile to pierce his normally stoic face.

"Funny." she replied, squinting up at him, but then she turned serious as her head found a place in the juncture between his neck and shoulder, "May I ask you a question?"

"Yes." he answered automatically, again placing a kiss on the crown of her head, and he slightly tightened his arms.

"Can we just go away for a while?" She asked, "After everything is settled, and we not only get those tapes but also get TK and his head straight, can we just go away?"

He had to consider his answer carefully before he blurted out 'hell yes'. After she had drifted off into a dream world last night he did lie awake and allowed his brain to process everything. Danni had been the most amazing creature to ever walk into his life, more so then Gabrielle or his ex wife. She was like a sleek panther, poised and ready to fight to the death for what she believed in, and she wanted to go away on a vacation with him. In truth he was going to see about the kids sleeping arrangements and then ask her the same question in a few more days, but leave it to the panther to already know what was on his mind.

"I was going to ask you this in a few days, but leave it to you to know what I am thinking." he teased her, but just shook his head when she moved her head to look up at him, "Where do you want to go? Where are the kids going to be? What about all your clients?"

"My children will be with their father for the remainder of the summer come this Monday, part of the divorce agreement," she began, "I don't care as long as it is somewhere I can where a bikini, and all my clients are not due to come see me again for two weeks, again starting Monday."

"Then we can go where ever you want." he whispered, placing his lips on hers, but both groaned when Nico's cell phone began to ring on the night table, "What Xeno?"

The change in him was almost instantaneous in her eyes; One minute they are relaxed, probably would of spent the day in bed, but as he listened to the call his body became rigid, and his hands would fist together and then let go on her skin. She could see the look in his eyes that the call was not making him happy, but angry, upset, and she swore she had seen hurt in his coffee colored eyes as well, but they were quickly darkening.

"When?" he asked his second in command, "What hospital?"

Danni jumped up at the word hospital, and she began to grab clothes from her bureau all the while Nico is grabbing his own clothes to throw back on; There would be a slight detour on the way; he needed to grab a second set of clothes from his apartment. Danni grabbed a pair of her well worn jeans and the first top that she could find, a t shirt with her college insignia on it. Throwing that on, and washing her face, she quickly found a pair of running shoes, and put them on with socks. Nico had her coat in his hand and he was holding her bedroom door open for her as they rushed out, he was still on the phone. Running to the kitchen, she picked up her purse and his keys, knowing that he would be on automatic, especially if it was the player she was thinking it was.

"Who is it?" she asked as he slipped his phone back into his pocket and helped her slip her coat on, along with taking his keys.

"TK." He said, opening her car door for her, and shutting it, not speaking again until he was behind the wheel, "He was in a car accident, apparently two small children rode out on their bikes in front of him, and he swerved to miss them."

Danni could not speak, she could barely breathe; After all they had been going through, now they had to deal with TK and his drug problem; No doubt he was not looking where he was going. She almost asked if the children were all right, but Nico beat her to it and stated that they were scared but other wise un harmed. He sped most of the way to the hospital, only stopping when he hit a stop light, but they made it there in record time. It all threatened to break the damn that was inside of her, but somewhere deep in her own heart she found the strength not to cry at that moment. She would cry when her and Nico were alone and no one else could actually see it. She did not think of crying as weakness, but she did not like others to see her upset, it just meant that she was human. Rushing toward the elevators, they pressed the sixth floor button and rode up the steel cage in silence, but Nico's hand was firm on her lower back, and when the doors opened, they grasped at each other's hands and interlinked them.

"Coach Parnell." Nico said, his voice louder then normal to gain the older man's attention.

"Nico, Dr. Danni." the coach said in a somber voice, looking at their interlinked hands, but then back to their eyes, "He is in surgery now."

"How bad is it?" Danni asked, her hand gripping Nico's tightly, while her other hand went to her throat.

"They don't know the extent of the damage yet." Coach answered the young woman, "They said that they would come and tell us once they knew more after the surgery."

Danni could feel the onslaught of tears pricking her eyes, and her hand that was intertwined with Nico's shook slightly, but just enough for him to notice. Ushering her to a seat in the waiting room away from prying eyes, he sat her down on one of the couches, and sat beside her, allowing her to curl up into his side, his arm going around her upper body, and her head finding its' normal position at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The coach took a seat near them, knowing how close the doctor felt for TK, how much she strived and fought for him to only end up back in the hospital and out of commission for a whole season; There was no way he would survive this, but he knew Danni would try. As the coach watched the man that had protected his team for the last several years he could not help the small bit of happiness that came to his mind. Nico deserved someone that was going to make him happy, and Danni was that person. Her heart and soul were pure, but they were also fighters; just like the two people he had the privilege of knowing and that were sitting right there next to him. More people joined their little group, Matt Donnelly was included but he wisely chose to stay away from Danni, mainly due to Nico and his cold looks clearly stating he was not welcome. Players came and went, mainly sitting with Danni and Coach as Nico made a coffee run. When the doctor came out, it was several hours later and he had blood on his dark royal blue scrubs, and his face showed pure and utter exhaustion.

"Family of Terrance King?" he called into the near empty waiting room, only coach, Danni, Nico, and a few players remained.

"Over here doc." Coach called out, "We are his family."

"It was touch and go for a while there." the doctor informed them as they stood around him, as if in a game huddle, "He sustained heavy injuries from where he ran into the other car in order to miss the two children."

"Will he be ok?" Danni asked, her voice near cracking.

"He is in critical condition for the next forty eight hours, or at least he will be in the ICU." the doctor stated, looking around the room, "He had several areas of internal bleeding, but we managed to close them all up, so for now all we can do is wait, and pray. He is in a chemical induced coma."

"Can we see him?" coach asked, his own hard exterior cracking.

"Two at a time." the doctor said, then motioned down the hallway, "If the first two will follow me, I can show you to his room."

"Dr. D and Nico you guys go first." one of the line backers said, he was crying openly, "He was close to you two more then anyone."

The doctor led the couple down the hallway and Danni could not help but think that she was heading down the one path, the path that everyone says to avoid, much like when you are in that state of life or death, a voice tells you to head toward the light; This is what she felt like. When they slid open the glass door that was the entrance to TK's room, Danni could not stop the gasp that came out of her mouth. The man on that bed was not TK, his face was heavily bruised, both eyes were slightly swollen and he had a breathing tube down his throat. As she came closer, Nico staying behind her, closely behind her, she saw the wires and tubes that were protruding from his arms feeding the necessities into his body. His ribs were wrapped, and the monitors weaved his vital signs like a sordid fairytale gone wrong, and it turned into a night mare. Her hands gripped the bed railing for support to her own body as she felt weak, too week to even stand. Nico was behind her in a second holding onto her, keeping her upright while she watched the machines keep the young man that she fought so hard for alive. The tears flooded her eyes, coming down her cheeks much like a waterfall. Her hands found Nico's arms and she held onto him much like a man that was drowning in the sea. Gently, he knelt down to the ground bringing her with him, and placing her face in the juncture of his neck and his shoulder, using his now free hand to run gently through her hair in an effort to calm her down, if only slightly.

"I can't look at him like this." she whispered into his throat, "I just can't."

"Come on." he whispered to her, gently helping her up, and grabbing a few tissues that were situated in a box near the bed, and handing them to her, "You're coming home with me, and not leaving my site for the next several days."

She did not have the energy to disagree, and as he led her through the hallways and then to his car after a tearful goodbye to Coach and the other players, her hazel eyes looked out the window to see that the rain had finally began to fall to the ground from above. The angels were crying for the soul of a young man that held so much life, and so much spirit, a young man that was too young to die, that had too much life left in him, but he was a fighter, much like the two in the car, so maybe just maybe he would survive, and he would be stronger. As she was about to fall asleep later that night, Danni did two things, the first was that she prayed to what ever God was out there that TK make it out of this, and the second was:

"Nico," she whispered into the darkness of his bedroom, she was curled into his side.

"Hmm." he answered her, tightening his grip on her, placing a kiss on her temple, "Yea?"

"I love you." she whispered, "So much."

"I love you more." he whispered back, and both of them cried, the tears now flowing for the man that rose to fame as a football star was now a falling star; and hopefully he would shine again.