So I decided to add a few more chapters to this. It probably won't be to long but I wanted to give it a little more of a wrap up. This one got away from me, there was supposed to be alot more stuff going on with other people in this chapter but these two kept wanting to flirt and after that kiss the other night who was I to blame them. So insted of a chapter with a bunch of other people you get a chapter full of Dani and Nico fluff and flirting, which isn't really a bad thing at all. Hopefully Nico isn't to out of character here, I wanted to play a little bit more with his humorous side, it's something we don't see often but that I think is pretty great and I thought I'd have a go at it. Enjoy!
"You're going to tell me everything you know Doctor Santino." Troy said menacingly, a bright shiny gun gripped tightly in his hand.
"I already told you, I am not telling you a damn thing." She was tied to a chair; she could feel the bruises forming on her wrists and ankles.
"That's a shame Doctor, but don't worry, I have a few other ways of making you talk." He walked into a darkened room and disappeared for a few seconds, she wasn't sure what was happening. When he came back out he was pulling another man along behind him, his head was down, and she couldn't see who it was. Troy pushed the man onto his knees and leveled the gun at his temple.
"Feel like talking now Doctor?" Dani heard the click of the gun cocking as the man lifted his head and she stared into Nico's eyes.
"No! You leave him alone!" She screamed at Troy, pulled so hard at the ropes holding her she was surprised they didn't snap.
"Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear." He turned his gaze on Nico and braced his hand on the gun, his finger tight on the trigger.
"No!"
Dani shot up in bed, she was breathing so fast she felt dizzy and she could feel beads of sweat rolling down her back. She tried to take a few calming breaths but it wasn't working to well. She reached her hand up to push her hair out of her face and instead got caught on the bandage stuck to the side of her face. Her eyes widened, she thought it was a dream, now she knew she was wrong. She glanced around frantically as the events of last night played out in her head, Nico had brought her home, and he was laying here with her when she fell asleep so where was he now? She hadn't heard anything in the middle of the night, had Troy somehow gotten out and come back for him, did he send someone else?
She knew she wasn't thinking logically but her mind was moving too fast.
"Nico!" Her voice sounded frightening and broken, had she been screaming in her sleep that bad? When no one answered she flew into a full panic. She tossed the covers back from her bed and moved to stand up but her legs gave out underneath her and her vision went spotty.
She cursed as she tried to steady herself.
"Nico!" She called for him again. Her breathing hadn't slowed, her vision was tunneling, she knew if she didn't calm down she'd pass out. Finally she heard footsteps racing up the stairs. She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again she'd be able to see better.
"Dani, hey, I am right here okay." She felt his hands grab her arms and she tried to open her eyes to make sure he was okay but she just couldn't.
"Breath Dani." He pushed her head down between her legs, vaguely remembering that it was supposed to help when you were going to pass out. She shook him off though and cracked her eyes to look at him.
"You're okay."
"I am fine Dani, I am right here." She closed her eyes and nodded then went limp in his arms. He picked her up and laid her back down in bed.
"Jesus Dani." He whispered, more to himself. She was breathing better now and her pulse was strong. He brushed the hair out of her face and shook his head, this time he'd wait for her to wake up before he left.
A few hours later Dani woke up slowly, her head was pounding with what she knew was going to be a pretty fierce migraine. Her arms and legs felt heavy and bruised and she had a horrible pain in her stomach that she knew was probably hunger. She groaned against the light from the window and tried to squeeze her eyes shut tighter but that just made it worse.
"Dani?" She opened her eyes slowly to the voice and found Nico sitting next to her. She looked around confused for a second.
"I passed out." She said, he nodded.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a truck." He gave a small laugh.
"You're probably pretty hungry; do you want me to get you something to eat?"
"You don't have to,"
"Dani," He interrupted her; she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"I am here for you okay, whatever you need." She stared into his eyes for a few seconds, somewhat hesitant to break eye contact.
"I dreamt that he shot you." He blinked and pulled her in close.
"I am fine." He whispered. She wrapped her arms around him tight and held on.
"I don't think I've ever been so scared about anything." She said quietly.
"I understand."
She looked up at him, his eyes were open and clear, he'd taken his walls down today, at least for now.
"Do I have PTSD?" She asked. He gave a small smile
"You're the therapist, you tell me." She sighed
"I don't know, I think maybe I am just shaken up over it, I mean no one was hurt badly and it wasn't like I was tortured."
"That doesn't mean anything Dani, little things can have a big impact on people." She watched his eyes carefully, he understood this, he had firsthand knowledge.
"I am sorry, this is probably really difficult for you."
"It's not about me." He shook his head and took her hand in his.
"What I went through was different than what you went through, and under different circumstances, but that doesn't mean I don't understand what you're going through." She nodded and gave his hand a small squeeze before letting it go.
"Thank you Nico."
"I am gonna go make you something to eat, I'll get you some pills for the migraine and then we'll have to change the bandage on that cut." She smiled and nodded, he'd take good care of her. He stood to leave but she stopped him short.
"Nico, about last night," He turned to face her
"What about it?"
How did she want to handle this?
"Just, thank you, for being here for me, it meant a lot, it means a lot." He gave a small smile and nodded.
"I'll be right back, don't get up, you'll just pass out again." She snorted and nodded.
"Yes sir."
She lay back in bed and closed her eyes, she needed time to think. Not only was she now dealing with after effects of being held hostage or kidnapped or whatever, but she also had to figure out what was going on between her and Nico. They'd kissed last night, she smiled a bit, they kissed a lot last night. It wasn't anything fiery or super passionate it was, she tried to think of words. It was comforting, it was safe.
"It was pretty damn hot." She whispered to herself. But what was she supposed to do now? Should she ask him his feelings? Should she continue on like it never happened? No she couldn't do that. Maybe she should just go with it, kiss him again and see what happens. She sighed and rubbed at her temples, she didn't need things to be confusing right now, she needed them to be stable. She couldn't deal with fallout from a kidnapping and trying to figure out a relationship at the same time.
Nico came back a few minutes later with a tray full of food and a few pills to fight at her migraine. She ate the food so fast she was sure it would probably only make her stomach hurt more but she couldn't even remember when she'd eaten last and it tasted like heaven so she didn't care.
"Did you make all this?" She said her mouth half full with scrambled eggs.
"Classy." He squinted at her, she shrugged.
"Yes I made it, where did you think it came from?" She swallowed.
"You don't have Xeno down there whipping up banana pancakes?" Nico was stunned, how did she even remember that?
"That was almost three years ago."
"They were good pancakes." She took a piece of bacon and handed it to him.
"Hungry?"
"I am fine; do you always turn into a barbarian when you eat?" She rolled her eyes.
"When I can't remember when the last time I ate was, yes I do go full caveman." He smirked and shook his head.
"Well be sure to breath between bites, I am not gonna do the Heimlich on you." She laughed.
"Scared of a little mouth to mouth?" She regretted the words the second they left her mouth, the room got so quiet she could hear herself breathing. She didn't want to break his gaze but she couldn't think of anything to say.
"Sorry." She said simply.
"It's okay." She popped another forkful of eggs in her mouth and offered a smile.
"And trust me, mouth to mouth doesn't scare me, in fact I've been told I am pretty good at it." She just about choked. She coughed a few times and swallowed then watched him retreat into the bathroom to grab the bandages for her head.
What was with him this morning? She'd never seen him so open before, he was always so guarded and closed up, very rarely did she get to peak behind his walls but she'd never seen anything like this. He was funny, and flirty, and apparently a little bit sexual, none of which bothered her, it was just such a change from the normal, elusive, quiet man she was used to.
She'd finished eating when he walked back into the room; she swallowed the pills as he made his way over to her bed. He set the tray on the floor and sat down in front of her.
"How does it feel?" He asked, peeling off the old bandage.
"Alright, it's just bruised pretty badly, I can tell." He nodded.
"The cut looks okay but you should keep a bandage on it at least for today, we'll see what it looks like tomorrow." She nodded and watched as he got everything ready to clean it up and re dress it.
"So, do you normally make breakfast in bed for the kidnapping victims you save?" He smiled.
"No, just you."
"It's a shame; if you weren't dressing my wounds this could be pretty romantic." She felt like a teenager, what was wrong with her?
"Who says it can't be?" His look made her throw out any snappy retort she had planned.
He reached a hand up to rub some kind of antiseptic cream on the cut. It stung, she shut her eyes and winced then she felt his lips on hers. He rubbed slowly at the cut on her temple and she couldn't be sure but she thought she let out some kind of moan. He didn't say anything when he pulled back, just picked up the bandage, and turned her head gently so he could see better. He taped the bandage to her head with some kind of tape and then kissed her temple, down her cheek to her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. How could she have ever been nervous about a relationship with this man When he made her feel like this, from something as simple as changing a bandage?
When they finally pulled apart to breathe he let his head rest against hers.
"Alright?" He asked quietly.
She knew what he meant. He must have picked up on her nervousness earlier; this was his way of letting her know he was okay with where they were going, so long as she was.
"Yeah." She was to breathless to say anything else. He nodded and kissed her once again then gathered up her old bandages and the empty tray.
"I have a few calls to make; I'll just be downstairs okay? You should rest." She nodded wordlessly. He turned and left. She fell back against her pillows and sighed.
"Yeah, defiantly hot."