A/N: You lovely reviewers give me so much confidence. You're all awesome, thank you! :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3

"Don't you pull that with me, Raymond!" Dani yelled into the phone. "I don't see why I am having to clean up your mess, one more time!"

She was furious about all this but it didn't seem as if there was going to be a way out of it. Every American knew what it was to get on the wrong side of the IRS and thanks to Ray that was exactly where Dani was finding herself now. She was far from amused, and yet her ex-husband was being his usual pathetic self, not even caring about her, only about his own interests.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I don't care enough to listen to your excuses, Ray!" she told him in no uncertain terms, still pointlessly waving the paperwork about her taxes in the air, despite the fact he couldn't see her anyway.

She might have calmed down if he had just been reasonable about it, but that wasn't the way Ray behaved. In the middle of a post-marital dispute, he had to go and pull a joker from up his sleeve and start laying into Dani about the new love of her life. The second he started making comments about Nico moving in, Dani just about lost it.

"Oh, no! No way! My life is no longer any of your business, Ray, and don't even try to tell me you're thinking of the kids in all this!" she warned. "Nico loves Ray Jay and Lindsay, they like him too, and it's none of your damn business!"

She ended the call and threw the phone, along with her IRS paperwork, hard against the couch cushions then. Putting both hands over her face, she turned away and all but screamed in frustration. Dani had no idea she had an audience until she moved her hands away and found Nico, Matt, and T.K. all staring at her.

"Hi," she found a smile as she let out a long breath. "I'm sorry," she apologised then. "My ex-husband, the fiend," she said, gesturing towards the phone.

"If he's causing trouble..." Nico began to say, but Dani shook her head and literally waved away his concern.

"It's not him, not really," she promised, though she was still glad of the arm he slipped around her and the kiss pressed to her temple. "He was being kind of snotty about you moving in, but only because I got mad about something else. We'll talk about it later," she smiled, making her meaning clear.

As much as she liked Matt and T.K., Dani was not about to discuss her financials in front of them. She and Nico could figure that out later, after all the moving in was done.

"So, you're here, that means the truck is here, and my mood can improve because it means you're finally moving in to stay," she smiled genuinely as she waved her arms aloft in a proper cheer.

Nico smiled at her enthusiasm, however over the top it may be. He was still concerned about whatever her fight with Ray was about, but if she wanted to leave that to later he would. Moving in with Dani was what they both wanted and nothing should spoil the event.

"You think the kids would wanna be involved or left out of this?" asked Nico as all four adults headed outside to start fetching boxes and furniture from the moving truck.

"Well, they're out right now," Dani told him. "Not because of the you moving in thing, I promise. Lindsay had a sleepover last night and isn't back yet, and Ray Jay had a study session for his S.A.T.s," she explained.

"On a Saturday? I'm impressed," said Nico as he moved to the back of the truck with Matt and T.K.

It hadn't actually occurred to Dani until he said it that it was weird for Ray Jay to voluntarily be studying on a weekend. Honestly, she hadn't seen much of him this past week and it was just now starting to bother her. It made Dani feel just a little guilty to realise that she hadn't noticed Ray Jay's absence sooner. She told herself it wasn't really her fault. She just got back to work, there was all the stress of the Pittmans possible break-up, and Nico moving in, as well her usual patient problems. Now on top of all that there was Ray and the IRS. It was enough to make her head swim.

"Yo, Dr D!" said T.K. so suddenly as to make her jump. "Now, I do not expect a little lady like yourself to be hauling no boxes, but I wouldn't say no to somethin' cold and icy when I get done with a bunch of this moving in," he said with a wink as he strolled by with a large box under each arm.

"You got it," said Dani with a smile she had to force right now.

Today was supposed to be such a happy day in her life. So why did she have to feel so stressed out?


Most of the boxes and assorted belongings were inside the house. Dani knew from what Nico told her that he really didn't have that much essential stuff but she did insist he bring as much as he wanted, at least to start off with. She wanted her home to become his home too. He should't feel like a lodger, having to make himself fit in with the Santinos stuff. It was going to be his home too and that was just that.

Dani felt good about the situation, she genuinely did, and yet her mind was wandering to topics that made her less happy. This was how Matt came to find her standing in the centre of the living room, staring blankly at a couple of boxes in the corner as if they held the answers to life, the universe, and everything. Given that they were marked simply as 'clothes' and 'books', he somehow doubted that was the case.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, touching her shoulder.

It came as such a surprise to Dani she literally jumped.

"Oh, Matt. You really startled me," she confessed, though honestly she knew she ought to have seen or at least heard him come back in. "Um, is everything okay?" she checked, literally shaking the fuzziness out of her head.

"That was what I just asked you," he said, ducking down a little to meet her eyes. "You don't seem okay. Regrets?" he checked.

Dani appreciated his being a friend, especially given the circumstances. Of course, she might have appreciated it more if he didn't almost sound hopeful in his question.

"Nope, not a one," she assured him, every word an honest one. "Me and Nico... Nico!"

Her sentence broke off into a worried yell as she rushed to the front door and challenged her boyfriend about his lifting of heavy things. Honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. Though the lamp was metal and almost as tall as Nico himself, it probably didn't weigh that much. Still, it panicked Dani to see him doing anything that might hamper his long term recovery.

"Dani, seriously, I'm fine," he promised, though he couldn't help but smile at her genuine concern.

"Hey, no lifting for the injured party, man," T.K. added his own opinion as he appeared behind Nico in the doorway.

He tried to take the lamp from the fixer, balancing the box he'd been carrying in two hands on one arm instead. Dani didn't think that could be a good idea and tried to intervene and help with one item or the other. T.K. just wouldn't let go of anything, and started to verbally argue the point, even as Nico insisted he was just fine carrying the light load. It was like a childish squabble over a toy, and when Nico decided to relent before something stupid happened, T.K. lost his grip and his balance all at once. The lamp hit the floor with a crash, smashing the glass shade all over the hallway.

"Damnit!" T.K. yelled. "I'm sorry, man. Seriously I am so sorry 'bout this. I'll clean it up, and... and I'll buy a new lamp, I will," he rambled on, crouching down to put the box on the floor and reach for the broken glass.

"Terrence, don't," Dani told him, mindful of him cutting himself.

"Really, T.K. it's not a big deal," said Nico, trying to help, but the guy just wouldn't listen.

It was no surprise to anyone when T.K. suddenly drew back his hand as if burnt, yelling and dripping blood from the end of his finger. Nico put a hand to his shoulder, asking if he was okay, whilst Dani offered to clean T.K. up. Feeling mothered and smothered, the wide receiver stood up fast, making Nico flinch and wince at the sharp pain that persisted in his shoulder.

"Can't deal with this..." T.K. muttered as he ran out the door.

Dani was too distracted checking Nico was okay to give chase and Matt then appeared with a brush and pan for the mess.

"There's something wrong there," said Dani a moment later, as she watched T.K. walk away.

Outside, T.K. just kept walking, almost getting hit by a car that screeched up onto he drive way. He was about to yell at the driver when Lindsay hopped out and thanked Winter's latest step-monster for the ride home. She looked at T.K. with surprise and then with concern when she realised he looked upset and was bleeding.

"Hey, T.K. What happened?" she asked worriedly.

"Nothing," he replied, turning away, but knowing he had nowhere to run to right now. "I just... I'm havin' one of those crazy days when nothing goes right, y'know?" he said with a laugh that didn't quite come out properly.

"Oh, yeah. I know those," Lindsay sympathised. "You, er.. you wanna talk about it?" she asked, realising how upset T.K. really looked.

He was usually so cool and unaffected. It was weird to see him so out of it, almost as if he was going to cry or something. T.K. had come from the house so maybe he had a fight with her Mom. That being the case, she figured it was best if they stayed outside for a while. She gestured for T.K. to follow her and they went around the side of the house, sitting down together on the porch.

"Here," she said, getting his attention and pulling on his arm.

She took a wad of tissue from her purse and wrapped around his finger, then dug round for a while until she came up with a band aid.

"Thanks, Linds," he said with a grateful smile as he patched up his own finger and sighed.

"No problem," she smiled right on back. "So, you get into a fight with my Mom?"

"What? No, no. Not a fight. Why would I fight with Dr D? She's too cool for that," he shrugged it off, until he caught the incredulous look on the teen's face. "Yeah, well, she maybe ain't so cool to you. I guess Moms never are," he chuckled. "None o' this is her fault, not at all. Her and Nico, they always lookin' out for me, even when I don't deserve it."

"They do that," Lindsay agreed. "Kinda weird though, the two of them hooking up. I never really thought about having a step dad or whatever."

T.K. felt a lot calmer than he had before just sitting here chatting to Lindsay. When he glanced over, watching her look at her own feet, he realised maybe his problems weren't the most important thing right now. Here was a kid having a hard time, maybe he could help her feel better.

"Y'know, I get that it's weird for you and Jaybird, to have some new guy in your life," he told her. "But Nico, he a stand up guy. Me myself? I grew up, no parents to talk of, no real family, y'know? Now you got a Mama that loves ya to death, a Dad that has to give some kinda damn, and now you got Nico watchin' your back. You two of the luckiest chicklets I know, girl."

She laughed a little at that, not because it was really all that funny, but T.K.'s way of talking did amuse. Besides, he was really trying to be nice and make her feel better. Since that was what she had intended to do for him when they sat down here, it all seemed a little backwards now that she thought about it.

"I guess it'll be cool," she shrugged, "but will you? Be cool I mean?" she checked. "You seemed kinda freaked out...?"

"C'mon, girl!" he laughed then as he got to his feet, faking an affronted expression. "Will I be cool? I'm Terrence freakin' King, little girl. I was born cool!" he told her, adjusting his sunglasses on his face as he strolled away.

Dani glanced up in time to see him pass by the window and sighed.

"He's just not right," she repeated. "I know we talked about it before, about what I suspected was wrong, but now I'm sure, Nico," she whispered, mindful of Matt not so very far away, taking care of the broken glass from the lamp. "T.K. may have been saved from the physical injuries of the shooting thanks to you, but the emotional scars are there," she explained. "I'm not sure if it's just guilt that you got hurt, that's certainly a part of it."

"The rest could be shock," her boyfriend considered, remembering instances from his past, shots he'd taken and others he'd known that did the same. "Realisation that somebody was actually that determined to harm him."

Dani nodded her agreement to that, and looked out the window to see T.K. wandering around aimlessly on her driveway. This was not going to be easy.

To Be Continued...