A/N: I thought it might be interesting to see Nico interact more closely with one of Dani's kids... He needs to stretch his fatherly wings a bit. :)

The club was humming with activity that night. People dancing, drinking, laughing… Nico stood quietly in the corner, just watching, as people paired off – some holding hands, some kissing. His heart ached.

He knew he had chosen this lonely life. But at this moment, he suddenly began thinking about how it could have been. A wife. Children. A family to love, to be loved by. Someone to wake up to every morning. He sighed and reached into his pocket as his Blackberry buzzed.

He scrolled through the messages. Nothing important, just tweets from the Hawks players. His trained eyes scanned the club, and suddenly his gut tightened as he saw someone who shouldn't have been there.

Lindsay!

He immediately stiffened, crossing his arms over his chest. What the hell is she doing here? His eyes narrowed as he studied her. She was dressed in a skirt that was much too short, and a glittery tank that barely covered her torso. He quickly realized that she had been drinking… heavily. A wave of anger flashed through him. God, she'd better be glad she's not my daughter… Then he softened. He felt sorry for her. So young, so confused, so angry. So much like himself at that age.

Her face suddenly changed, and she stumbled clumsily towards the bathroom. Nico pocketed his phone and went into security mode. She was going to be ill, he knew, and it was time for this little party to be overwith. He moved quickly to the ladies' room, and opened the door to a barrage of complaints from the occupants. He uttered one word.

"Out."

As they scrambled to leave the room, he heard Lindsay in the middle stall. He leaned against the wall, waiting for the other occupants to finish up. When the room was empty, save for himself and the young Santino girl, he locked the door and knocked on her stall.

"Miss Santino."

The commode flushed, and he heard her cough and scramble to her feet. She opened the door, and her face twisted in fear as soon as she saw him. "Oh, my God," she whispered, "Are you following me now?"

He shook his head. "No. But you shouldn't be here."

"What do you care?" She pushed past him to the long counter of sinks, turning on the water.

He moved behind her and pulled out some paper towels, wetting them in a neighboring sink. "It's illegal for you to be in this club. You're underage." He handed them to her, and she glared at him as she yanked them from his grasp.

"God, I can't go anywhere! I can't do anything!" she cried, wiping her face. Her mascara had run with her tears, and made black streaks down her cheeks. "I just wanted to have some fun."

He smirked. "Are you having fun right now?"

She stared down into the sink and began to cry.

Nico's heart twisted. "Your mother would be very worried if she knew." He wished he could hug her as she coughed back a sob.

"She doesn't care! She hates me!"

Grasping her arms gently, he peered down into her face, gazing into chocolate eyes that mirrored those of her mother. "I know for a fact that your mother does not hate you."

"Yes she does! She never lets me do anything!" She pushed at Nico, but he didn't budge. "Let me go."

He released her. "She's your mother. It's her job to protect you, to raise you to be a responsible adult."

"Yeah, well, whatever, Mr. Security Guy." She sniffed and grabbed more paper towels.

They stood in silence for a moment. "I'm taking you home," he announced.

Her eyes grew wide. "No! You can't! I'll be grounded for life!" Panicking, she began to cry again.

"I cannot allow you to stay here. It would be irresponsible of me. And if your mother found out, she would never forgive me."

"Why do you care?" she cried.

Because I…I'm in love with her, he thought. "Because she and I have a working relationship, and she needs to be able to trust me."

"So I'm the one who gets fucked, as usual."

He shook his head. "There's no need for language, Miss Santino." He leaned in close. "Do you really want to be here? Drinking until you're sick? Parading yourself around with adult men? What if one of them decided he wanted a little something more? Would you be able to defend yourself?" He pointed to the mirror. "Go on. Take a good, long look."

She stared into the mirror as he continued. He sighed.

"I know you think you know everything. I did too, when I was your age. But listen to me. You have to let the adults in your life help you." He paused as she took in her appearance. "If anything happened to you…" he crossed his arms over his chest and left his sentence unfinished.

Her bottom lip trembled.

"Let me take you home," he urged softly.

"Don't let Mom ground me," she whispered.

He shook his head. "Do you really think you don't deserve some type of punishment?"

Knocks sounded on the door. He rolled his eyes. "Come on. We'll talk in the car."

As she settled in the front seat, Lindsay began to shiver slightly. Nico reached into the back seat and retrieved his long, black coat and placed it over her. "Text your friends and let them know you are going home."

She did so dutifully as he started up the Lincoln and pulled away from the club.

As he pulled on to the freeway, he heard her whisper, "What's your name?"

"Nico. Nico Careles."

"Nico," she repeated in wonder. "So you're the guy my mom always talks about."

His heart fluttered. "I guess."

She stared at him. "What do you… do?"

He smiled. "Mostly security. I make sure the players keep themselves in line. And, if anything happens, I… fix it."

"Do you kill people?"

Laughing softly, he shook his head and pulled onto the freeway. "No. I find that money is a much better motivator."

"You're really scary."

"Thank you," he smirked.

"No, I mean, you look like a… hit man or something."

He glanced at her. "I assure you, I'm not a hit man." She was still intoxicated, and her eyelids were heavy. "Rest, Miss Santino. We'll be home soon."

She settled into the comfortable seat, and her eyes finally closed. Nico studied her. She was beautiful to a fault, just like her mother. Same chocolate eyes, same long, thick eyelashes, same nose. Sighing, he thought again of how angry she was. That anger mixed with her undoubtedly high intelligence made for a dangerous combination. He knew her parents' impending divorce was fueling her already rebellious slant, and he shook his head. He knew how that felt, for sure.

He finally pulled into the Santino's driveway and turned off the car. He sat there for a moment, dreading the coming conversation, then exited the car and headed for the front door. He knocked three times.

After a few minutes, Dani opened the door and frowned. "Oh, my God, Nico, do you know what time it is?"

"Yes, I do. I'm afraid this couldn't wait. We have a… situation." He pointed to the sleek, black Lincoln.

Dani peered around him and stared at the occupant of the passenger seat. "Nico, who is that?"

His face was sad. "I think you know who it is, Dani."

Her hand came to rest on her open mouth. "Oh, my God. Oh, Jesus. Lindsay? What happened?" She pushed past him, but he caught her arm.

"Dani… she's fine. She's had a little too much to drink, but she's alright."

"Too much to drink?" she hissed. "What the HELL?" She pulled away, but Nico held her arm. "I'm going to kill her."

"Dani," he said sharply. She turned to look at him. "She had a grave lapse in judgment. She snuck into a club with her friends. She drank too much, and it caught up with her. I was there watching one of the players and happened to see her." He paused. "I was able to talk her into allowing me to bring her home."

Dani's eyes filled with tears. "Why does she do this, Nico? Why does she do this to me?" She covered her face with her hands.

He couldn't stand to hear her cry. Moving closer, he held out his arms. "Dani." She fell into them and lay her head on his chest. "We'll talk in a bit. Let's just get her inside and into bed."

Nico lay Lindsay on top of the bed. She groaned, and Dani pulled the covers up over her small figure. She was still crying, although silently. He motioned for her to follow him out of the room, and he closed the door behind them. "Do you have any bourbon?"

"Um, yeah." Her eyes narrowed. "Nice time for a drink, Nico!"

He led her down the stairs. "Not for me, Doctor. For you."

Dani sat down on the sofa in the living room while Nico poured her two fingers of bourbon. He sat down beside her and placed the highball in her trembling hand. "Drink."

She sipped the bourbon and coughed as it burned her throat. "Arrgghh. Tastes like shit."

"Yes, but it will calm your nerves."

Slowly, she began to relax as she sipped the honey-colored liquor. She sighed and stared at the bottom of the crystal glass. "Nico… she exhausts me."

He studied her face and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure she does. She's an angry, rebellious young woman."

"But why?"

He laid a hand on her arm. "Do you remember how you felt at her age?"

Dani sighed. "Yeah. I guess so." She took another sip. "I've done everything for her… tried to give her everything, and she still pushes me."

Nico released her arm and leaned back into the sofa. "It's a teenager's job to frustrate their parents. It's their way of finding out who they are." He smiled. "I was the same way."

She looked at him incredulously. "I doubt that."

"I was."

She sighed again. "What am I gonna do? Ground her until she's fifty?"

"No. She'll wake up with one hell of a hangover, and she'll be embarrassed. She knows she made a poor judgment call." He paused, and continued. "I think that's punishment enough for now."

She closed her eyes. "Nico…" she whispered.

"Yes?"

She gazed over at him. "You'd make a great father, you know that?"

He smiled, but her words felt like a stake in his heart. "Thank you."

She leaned back into the sofa. "God, I'm so tired."

"Then perhaps it's time to get you back into bed." He rose, and gestured to the stairs. She tossed the rest of the bourbon back and set the glass on the table. She allowed him to escort her to her bedroom, where he helped her out of her robe and laid it across the foot of the bed. He tucked the covers around her as she snuggled into the pillows. "Thank you, Nico," she said softly. "Can you be here when I talk to Lindsay?"

He considered it for a moment. "Yes. I'll be glad to."

"You can stay in the guest bedroom if you like."

He smiled in the dark. "I think I would like to. I… live in the city."

"Of course," she said. "Sleep well."

"Sleep well, Dani," he said, laying a hand momentarily on her shoulder. "See you in a few hours."

As he undressed and slipped between the soft sheets, his heart was pounding. The woman he loved was just around the corner, sleeping soundly. How he wished he could lie next to her, holding her close, comforting her.

He hoped that time would come.

Soon.