A/N: See, I told you I wouldn't leave you hangin' too long, didn't I? ;) Now come on, did anyone really think I was going to let Nico die? Seriously, people? No way!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 14

This was the way life was supposed to be, Dani thought, as she relaxed into the embrace of the man she loved. Strong arms held her close and safe, a warm solid chest supporting her head, as they swayed to an old-fashioned tune just made for lovers to slow dance to. The kids were gone for the weekend, the night was still young, and they had all the time in the world.

"I think I could stay here forever," Nico whispered against her hair, and Dani smiled.

"You're not the only one," she agreed dreamily, moving to look up into his eyes then. "I didn't see it coming, not for a long time, but... Nico, I love you," she confessed.

"And I love you, Dani," he replied with a smile, leaning down to kiss her.

She was surprised when after a few seconds she felt no contact from his lips, and opened her eyes to see pain cross his face.

"Nico?" she checked, gasping with shock the very next moment as she noticed the red patch growing ever larger on his white shirt. "Nico!"

Dani woke up with a yell, sitting bolt up right in her seat. It was a dream, a beautiful-turned-terrifying dream. The reality was that she was still here, sat in the hospital waiting area, with T.K. at her side.

"You okay, Dr D?" he asked her, a hand at her shoulder when he realised she was shaking badly and yet couldn't be cold.

"Yeah," she nodded absently. "Or no," she amended, tears coming back to her eyes when she remembered every detail of why they were here all in a rush.

Nico had been shot, somewhere in the region of his chest, which couldn't be good on any level. How much damage had been done and how fixable it was, they still didn't know, and she wondered if the doctors would tell them even when they figured it out. As much as she knew by now that she loved Nico, as big a part of her life as he had become, Dani had no idea who his next of kin would be, if his parents were alive, if his ex-wife would care...

"How long have we been sitting here?" she asked hoarsely, only looking towards T.K. after she had posed the question.

"I dunno," he shrugged, his expression blank and tone numb. "I told Viv she should head home a half hour back. She got work tomorrow and all. Matty took her so I could stay," he explained flatly.

Dani nodded that she understood but had nothing more to say. She felt almost as numb as T.K. seemed to be, when she wasn't wanting to scream and cry like an angry child. That thought triggered a chain reaction of thoughts in her head and she stood up fast.

"My kids," she said suddenly. "Ray Jay and Lindsey, they're at Ray's place..."

"Jay Bird texted you a while back," he said, handing Dani the phone she knew had been in the purse she was now rummaging through. "I heard the buzz and you were out cold. It was right there at the top so... I'm sorry, I wasn't exactly thinking," T.K. apologised, looking like he might cry himself.

Dani didn't have it in her to be mad at him for crossing a line or whatever. It wasn't worth it. She was relieved to see that Ray Jay had sent a text saying he and Lindsay would be staying over at their Dad's house tonight. It meant they didn't have to know about Nico until the morning. That was probably for the best.

"Oh, Terrence," she sighed as she slumped back down into the seat beside him. "How can this be happening?" she asked, though she didn't really expect an answer to such an unanswerable question.

"I dunno," he replied anyway, putting an arm around his friend when her head landed on his shoulder. "I don't even get it, man. One minute I'm just telling this guy that I don't want trouble nor nothin', that he should just walk away. Then there's this gun in my face, and before I can react, Nico's there and… and then he's on the ground and there's all this blood," his voice broke as he described the scene, and Dani's heart broke for him as well as Nico and herself too.

It was bad enough hearing about what had happened, knowing how her man had suffered. T.K. was actually there, bearing witness to it all, and now living with a strange kind of guilt that Nico's life might hang in the balance because the fixer was trying to save him.

"It shoulda been me," T.K. muttered. "If he hadn't stepped in. If I hadn't walked off that damn field today..."

"No, Terrence," Dani said definitely, as she pulled his head around and made him meet her eyes, even as tears streaked down from her own. "No, this is not your fault, not in any way. Okay, this person with the gun, he has problems, problems that you couldn't've known about or controlled," she tried to tell him. "Besides, Nico was just doing his job. You didn't ask him to protect you or step into your place, he did it because… because he cares about you and what happens to you," she explained.

"I just feel so bad, Doc," T.K. told her, collapsing into her arms.

The pair were holding on to each other for dear life, crying their hearts out over a man that might yet live or die on them. After the elation of the day, tonight seemed ten times more harsh somehow, as the one man who they always turned to for fixing any given situation fought against something that none of them could ever help with.

It was early in the morning. Matt had come straight back after dropping Vivica at home, and he and T.K. had been sat either side of Dani ever since, all three of them waiting for news on Nico. Coach dropped in to see if there was any news, but on hearing that there wasn't left again promptly. He had a meeting to attend about what had happened, and apparently Pittman was likely to be in attendance. Dani vaguely recalled Nico telling her that Marshall saved his life once. She wished such a thing were possible for any of them now. As it was, Nico's fate was in the hands of the doctors, and more so God and fate. Dani had never felt so useless in her whole life.

"Er, are you Mrs Careles?" asked a doctor then and Dani was on her feet in a second.

"Actually…" she began to explain, only for Matt to stand up beside her and cut in fast.

"Yes, she is," he lied, shooting a warning look at Dani when she looked like she might argue. "Can you please tell us what's happening?"

The doctor looked from one of them to the other and back, then at T.K. as he got up from his seat too, looking sick with worry. He got the distinct feeling he was being lied too, but it couldn't really matter. They said they were the guy's family and he was going to need all the support he could get right now. If they were lying, well, he'd worry about the possible consequences of that later.

"As you know, Nico took several gun-shot wounds to the chest and shoulder" the doctor began to explain. "Now it's actually to his advantage that the shots were at close range. It allowed the one bullet not stopped by the kevlar to pass cleanly through his shoulder without getting lodged anywhere inside of him."

Dani was startled by what she just heard. Of course, Nico would've been prepared for anything. Of course, he would've gone out to that club wearing a bullet-proof vest. Somehow, he saw something as bad as this coming. Still, Dani wasn't sure whether to be pleased so far or not, and was hardly breathing as she leant a little on T.K., and then more so on the doctor's every word.

"It's also good news that the bullet didn't pierce any vital organs. It actually only grazed the artery. In that sense, Nico is a very lucky man," he said with a small smile. "Unfortunately, he did still suffer a great deal of blood loss," he continued, that smile fading all too fast, "and when he fell it seems he hit his head. We'll be keeping him in for a few days, watching out for infection, any head trauma…"

"But he ain't gonna die, right, Doc?" asked T.K. desperately.

Dani had a hold of his hand by now and honestly wasn't sure which of them had the tighter grip as they waited for the answer that seemed forever in coming.

"I can't make any guarantees in these cases," said the doctor with a regretful shake of his head. "Nico seems strong and healthy in so many ways. If he's lucky and suffers no complications, he should make a full recovery," he explained. "But I have to impress upon you that I'm using the word should. As I said, there are no guarantees, at least not right now."

A nurse appeared then, needing the doctor's assistance. Making his apologies, he turned away.

It seemed like good news, or if not good at least hopeful. It was all Nico's friends had to go onto right now, all Dani had to cling to.

"Can I sit with him, please?" she asked the doctor just the moment she could get his attention back.

She was pretty sure he couldn't say no, not when Matt had gone right ahead and said she was Nico's wife!

"He's under sedation right now," he explained, "but you're welcome to be with him if you wish," he smiled kindly, asking the nurse he'd been speaking with to show Dani the way to Nico's room.

As the doctor walked away, Dani asked the nurse for just a moment whilst she spoke to Matt and T.K.

"You guys should really go home, get some sleep," she advised them, since both looked shattered, particularly Terrence.

She knew how much this had shaken him up. He really shouldn't blame himself, but she understood why he would see it as his fault. T.K. was a good person, better than the public thought most of the time. He hated to see those closest to him suffer, especially on his account. This whole situation was killing him, and all Dani wanted to do was give him a hug and tell him it'd be okay. Unfortunately, she wasn't in a position to be giving guarantees right now.

"You sure you're okay here alone?" asked Matt worriedly, but Dani just smiled.

"I won't be alone, I'll be with Nico," she told him. "And I promise I will call both of you if anything changes."

Matt nodded that he understood, put a hand to T.K.'s shoulder to led him away.

"C'mon, man," he said as he turned him towards the door, knowing that Dani was right about them getting some sleep whilst they could.

The cops would probably want to talk to T.K. again before long, and reliving what happened to him was never going to be pretty. It might just be a little easier if he was rested before then.

"Hey, Dr D," Terrence suddenly turned back to talk to Dani. "What about the chicklets?" he asked her as she looked back from a few paces away down the hall.

"I called my Mom before," she assured him, smiling because she was so grateful that he would think of her kids, even at a time like this. "She's going over to the house and she'll explain everything when they get home."

Satisfied that all was as well as it could be, T.K. let Matt lead him out of the hospital then. Dani turned back to the nurse who led her down a maze of corridors and then opened up a door to a private room.

"Thank you," Dani smiled at the kindly woman as she stepped inside, that expression sliding from her face in a second when she saw the state of the man she loved.

Bandages were bound around his chest and shoulder, a pad was stuck on the side of his head where he had fallen. There were tubes and wires, beeping machines, it was horrifying, but at the same time it was a relief, to see Nico with her own eyes and know he was still alive, still breathing, still there.

"Hey, you," she said in a shaky voice as she pulled the chair up beside the bed. "I... I'm here for you, Nico," she told him, carefully picking up his hand in both of hers. "I'm here, and I'm gonna stay here, until you wake up. Please wake up."

Dani was answered by silence. She cried.

The room was lighter when Dani woke up. She hadn't meant to fall asleep but the drama of the night had clearly caught up to her at last, and she had fallen asleep sitting up in the chair, slumped over with her face pressed onto Nico's hand. He was still out for the count, but still breathing steadily. She thanked God he had lasted the night and silently prayed in a way she hadn't done for years that things got better today.

A commotion outside the door caught he attention then, loud voices that she couldn't fail to recognise. Dani stood up fast and immediately wished she hadn't as the blood rushed from her head. She sat down again with a bump just as the door flew open and her two kids came rushing inside.

"Oh my God!" Lindsay gasped with shock, one hand flying up to cover her mouth.

Ray Jay put his arm a round her and she turned into her brother's chest, not wanting to look at how bad Nico appeared to be right now. He was a good guy, he didn't deserve this, he really didn't.

"Ray Jay, what are you doing here?" Dani asked her son, whose eyes were still fixed on the injured man in the bed for now.

"Grandma told us what happened," he explained. "We didn't even stop for breakfast, just got back in the car and came over. We figured you'd need us," he shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

Dani wanted to cry all over again, but in a happy way this time. Her kids could drive her crazy on a regular basis, but in moments like this she was so proud of how they'd turned out - she couldn't love them more.

"I love you guys," she told them as she moved to hug them both together, kissing the top of Lindsay's head for good measure. "It's not as bad as it looks, baby," she promised when she caught her daughter peeking at Nico again. "I mean, he's been through a lot, but there's every chance he'll recover and be just fine."

"It doesn't seem right," Ray Jay said sadly. "I mean, he's the good guy. He helps everybody out, keeps people safe. I guess nobody is looking out for him."

"Well, they are now." said Dani definitely as she moved to re-take her seat by the bed. "We're gonna be here for him now, like he has been for us."

"Right," Lindsay nodded in agreement as she came to stand by her Mom. "Can he hear us?" she asked uncertainly.

"I don't know for sure, honey," Dani sighed. "I hope so. I hope he knows we're here and we really want him to wake up," she said pointedly, picking up Nico's hand once again.

"Hey, Nico," Ray Jay tried hopefully, even though he felt a little dumb. "We're right here, man."

"We are." Lindsay agreed with a forced smile. "And... and I'm sorry that I asked you to look into J.D. Aldridge and got you in trouble with Mom," she blurted out, hoping Dani didn't lose it when she heard such a confession, hoping that the fact she was apologising now would be good enough.

"You did what?" Dani asked sharply, looking up at her daughter.

Lindsay wasn't sure what to say, and was saved from having to say anything at all when Dani's attention was taken by the stirring man in the bed.

"Nico?" she checked, holding on tight to his hand. "Nico, can you hear me?"

"I can hear an argument starting," he groaned, wincing as he tried to open his eyes and found the light just too bright at first.

"Get used to that," Ray Jay told him with a smile he couldn't help. "If you're gonna be hanging around our family too much."

"Oh my God, I am so glad you're awake," Dani told the man she loved, leaning closer so he didn't have to turn so much to see her. "The doctor said it'd take longer for the anaesthetic to wear off."

"Yeah, sedation doesn't usually take with me," the fixer told her with a groggy smile, before turning serious again in an instant. "Is Terrence okay?" he checked, at which Dani smiled.

"He's fine. You saved his life, Nico," she told him, in case he hadn't realised it.

The news that he had completed his job seemed to help him relax more. Though he was clearly suffering, in more ways than one, it was comfort to know it was in the pursuit of doing what was required of him. Everybody else was okay, and Dani was right here. All the rest could be worried about later.

"Er, kids, could you go make some calls please?" Dani asked Ray Jay and Lindsay then. "I promised Matt and T.K. I'd let them know what was going on, and then there's the coach, and your Grandma," she rattled off.

"We got it covered, Mom," her son promised. "We'll let them know Nico is awake, that you're staying for now, and that you'll call again later when you have more news, okay?"

"Perfect," she smiled. "Thank you"

"You need anything when we come back, Mom?" asked Lindsay as they turned to leave. "Coffee? Breakfast?"

"Um, yeah," she nodded slowly. "A coffee and a sandwich would be great, thanks," she told them gratefully, remembering that Nico would be the first to admonish her for not taking care of herself, even now.

"They're good kids," said Nico, as Dani turned her attention back to him. "They're not the only reason I looked into J.D.," he admitted then, taking Dani by surprise on two counts.

She honestly hadn't thought he had heard all that stuff, and on top of that, she had trouble with taking in the concept that Nico had wanted to look into J.D. without prompting from Lindsay and Ray Jay. Maybe she should've known better. She understood how much he cared about her now, maybe even loved her like she loved him. That being true, anything from protecting her to good old fashioned jealousy would have made him want to over-step the mark that way. Far from feeling mad about that right now, it kind of made her love him all the more.

"It doesn't matter now," she promised him, squeezing his hand, only to watch him wince as he shifted a little in the bed. "Should I call for a doctor or..."

"No, it's fine," he assured her. "These sheets aren't quite the quality I'm used to," he joked, an Dani laughed out loud because she just couldn't help it.

"Well, the sheets at my house are much better," she told him definitely. "Just as soon as you're well enough, that's where you'll be."

"Dani..." there was a hint of a warning in his tone that was almost indistinguishable underneath the fatigue and pain.

"Hey, no arguments," she cut in fast, reaching to put a hand to his face. "Nico, you spend your life taking care of everybody else, including me and my kids, in ways I never expected," she smiled fondly. "Now it's our turn. You're gonna be taken care of Santino family style, okay?" she said as if it were a question, and yet he knew all too well it was an order, albeit a kind and well-meant one.

"I never thought," he sighed, leaning his face into her hand.

"Never thought, what?" she asked curiously.

"That anyone could care that much, about a guy like me," Nico told her honestly, his eyes already falling shut again, his body craving further rest.

"Then you're a stupid fixer man," Dani told him, glad to see a smile grace his lips for all of a few seconds. "I love you, Nico Careles," she said, running her fingers through his hair and across his cheek.

"Love you too, Dani," he breathed, just before sleep claimed him once again.

To Be Continued...