Danielle Santino was sitting alone, disappointed, in her kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee and reading over the morning's newspaper. Her children were with Ray for the weekend and, with TK quieted since his new relationship had developed, Dani had nothing to do but sit and pine for the excitement JD would have brought to her day. Instead, Dani fully expected a boring day all to herself.
That was why she was so surprised when her doorbell rang.
She drew her robe closer around her and opened the door to find Nico standing before her.
"Nico." He smiled.
"Hello, Doctor."
"Please, come in." He obliged and she closed the door behind him. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"
"Please," he said. Together they walked into the kitchen where Dani poured coffee into a mug and handed it over to him.
"So, what brings you here, today?"
After taking a long drink of his coffee, Nico answered, "I knew you'd be alone. And, I seem to have the day off as well." He took another drink and watched as she tilted her head in surprise. "I wondered if we could just… talk."
She smiled suspiciously and answered, "Talk, Nico? I thought that was the last thing you liked to do."
He smiled and bowed his head in mock defeat from her playful teasing.
Looking up at her, he asked, "How is JD?" Dani chuckled in surprise.
"That's not what I expected you to say," Dani confessed. "But, he's fine." Nico nodded. "Well," she began, "the last I heard he was fine, anyway." He looked at her expectantly. "We broke it off last week," she said.
"I can't pretend that I'm sorry about that," Nico started, "but I am sorry for you, Doctor. Although I did hear that Matt has made you an offer as well." Dani squinted at him.
"Matt did come on to me, Nico, but how did you know that?" He shrugged.
"I have ways."
"Obviously," she scoffed.
After a second, he asked, his own voice betraying a hint of the jealousy he felt, "What did you tell him?"
She looked him in the eyes and said, "I haven't said anything yet. Why? Is this the part where you discourage me from dating people within the workplace?"
"No," he said evenly. "I like to keep up with the team. You are both part of our team. I was just… curious."
"Hmmm," she replied.
They sat together in silence as they each took a drink from their coffee mugs. After a moment Dani asked:
"Why are you here, Nico?" He smiled in defeat.
"I was worried about you, Doctor." Dani stared into his eyes and saw the full truth of the matter.
She reached out and rested her hand on his forearm.
"You're a good man, Nico," she said.
"I'm glad you told JD no," he told her. "The Hawks need you."
Dani grinned. "The Hawks need you a lot more than they need me." He smiled a sad smile and told her:
"I'm afraid the Hawks will very soon cease to be the same team. I'm worried about it, Dani." He placed his hand on top of hers. "It will affect a lot of people, a lot of them our friends." She watched him, sensing his fear. "I'm going to do everything I can, but I need you to be prepared. Not even I can stop Marshall Pittman when he's made up his mind." Dani nodded.
"Thank you, Nico," she said tenderly. "I appreciate the heads up." Nico acknowledged her words with a dip of his head. "But, Nico, I trust you. I believe in you. You'll get us through this. You always do."
Suddenly, Nico stood up, pulling his arm and hand away from her. He walked to her sink, and began to rinse out his coffee mug, saying, "Thank you, Doctor. And thank you for the coffee and conversation." He finished rinsing out his mug and turned to face her. "It was most refreshing."
Then, before she even knew what happened, he said, "Have a good day," and walked out of the kitchen. She barely managed to call out, "Anytime! Goodbye!" before she heard the door shut.
She suddenly felt cold and drew her robe closer around her. She stared at the newspaper on the table, dumbfounded.
She knew Nico was impulsive. It was one of the first things she learned about him because it wasn't something about which she had to ask. She just knew. Nico was impulsive.
But she was very disappointed when he walked out so suddenly, so impulsively. It was in his nature, sure, but very disappointing.
Her mind was preoccupied as she finished her coffee. She pondered what had made him leave as she showered. She wondered about it while she dressed. And later, much later that day, as she sat in front of the TV before heading to bed, she still thought over that one question: What made him leave so abruptly?
She had no answer.