Chapter 36

Marshall, Lizzy and Juliette quietly rode around for about half an hour before anyone said a word. They were all lost in their heads. After passing the same building for the third time, Marshall pulls into the nearest parking lot and shifts the car in park.

"Does anyone have a preference or suggestion for what we should do for food?"

Lizzy finally comes out of her thoughts and looks around, "I think there's a small family restaurant close by. They have great pizza and subs."

Juliette says she's not hungry but could use some caffeine. About ten minutes later they find the restaurant and file in quietly. The place was quiet and cozy. Juliette walks toward the restroom while Marshall and Elizabeth sit down at a booth. The waitress brings over the menus and takes their drink orders. Marshall and Elizabeth order coffee and get Mt. Dew for Juliette.

Sitting across from Lizzy, Marshall can see the toll the past few days have taken on her. She's lost in thought again. He sees the exhaustion and the sadness in her eyes. He understands the pain of losing your best friend and how lost she feels at the moment and he would do anything to help her. His thought begin to drift back to the earlier conversation he was having in his head about how he feels about Lizzy when Juliette returns to the table. She slides in to the booth by her dad and the waitress returns to take their order.

None of them are hungry but they all know they need food. Marshall looks over the menu and places an order for a medium pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni. When the waitress walks away Juliette is the first to speak. "Dad, can you take me to your place before you go back to Natalia's? I just can't go back over there right now. I love it and it feels like home but right now it's too empty."

Lizzy looks over as he puts his arm around Juliette and pulls her into a hug, "Yeah baby, I understand and that's not a problem. I was thinking of staying there tonight anyway. Nico needs time to process everything and I know what you mean about the emptiness." He looks over to Lizzy, "You're welcome to stay with us if you need a break."

This is the first time she really looks at him. He looks exhausted. She forgot he has a house here. She's a little curious as to what type of house he would have. She also needs a break from the house. There are too many memories and it's not home without her family there. She nods her head as tears start to well in her eyes. "Thank you. I may need to take you up on that offer." Marshall nods his understanding just as the food arrives. The distraction helps pull Lizzy from her thoughts.

They all sit quietly eating when the waitress brings the check. Elizabeth opened the app on her phone to check on Alex. Juliette moves over to sit beside her. Juliette hasn't seen him since the last day on the beach. They have spoken over the phone but that has been sporadic.

She is speechless when she sees him lying so still with machines beeping all around. Seeing him like that reminds her of the first time she met him. He had been sick and Natalia called Marshall to let him know. Marshall was in California on vacation with Juliette when he received the call and he took Juliette with him to check up on Alex. That was the first time Juliette met both of them. When they walked in the room Natalia was sitting in the chair next to the bed holding Alex's hand. Marshall walked over and gently kissed the little boy on the fore head and asked how he was doing. Juliette remembered how that was the first time in her entire life she felt jealous of anything.

Tears fill her eyes when she looks over to her dad, "I need to go see him. I need to talk to him. He needs to wake up." Her breathing is picking up and she is starting to talk faster. Elizabeth puts her arm over Juliette's shoulder and pulls her into a hug. "We can go right now but you need to calm down. He can't see you upset and you have to be strong for him. Can you do that?"

Juliette starts to take deeper breaths to calm down. Marshall is watching the two people he loves the most and he is so thankful Elizabeth is there. He never realized how close Juliette was to this family or how she felt about Alex. They've always had a special relationship but he never thought to ask why. The waitress returns to collect the payment and Marshall asks if the restaurant has a delivery service. The waitress explains there is about an hour wait but yes they do. He orders a pizza and writes down the address for the waitress. He sends Dani a text to let her know to expect a pizza. He didn't think Nico would be hungry right away but Dani will make him eat later.

The ride back to the house was quiet. Nico stared out the window lost in his thoughts. Dani knew he needed to rest and he would want to stay with Alex tonight. She can't imagine what he is thinking right now.

She also wants to see her kids. She misses them and it's been a long rough week. She just wants to hold them and tell them how much she loves them. Xeno has been sending her a few text messages to keep her updated on what they are doing and where they go. She knows they would be pissed if they knew people were watching them. She's has a nagging feeling of guilt for invading their privacy but since she can't be there to see them, it helps her knowing someone is close who will protect them with their life.

Two years ago she didn't know this world even existed. Now she is emerged in this world of celebrities, money and power. She has dealt with wealthy clients before but not on this scale. All of her new clients have problems she has treated before but now there are added layers to the problems due to their social standings. She has always prided herself with getting to the root of the problem instead of just treating symptoms. Now her job is complicated by security teams, endless money resources and celebrity gossip columns. She misses the days before Facebook and Twitter. The majority of her patients now are dealing with the added stress that the countless social media outlets are causing. Any minor slip up could cause wide scale damage to a celebrity's social status and career. Nico has always had Marshall's back when it comes to his investments. Dani was surprised when Marshall called her an investment. She took it as a compliment. She looks over at Nico and wonders if he realizes his career is over when he brings Alex home. She isn't even entertaining the thought of him not making it.

When they arrive in the driveway, neither of them moves to get out of the car; Nico looks out the window, "Dani, do you think he will be ok to move to New York? What should I do?"

She doesn't know how to answer that. She wants to say yes but she knows that answer is purely selfish. Ever since Janette moved to Spain, she and Nico have become close. He's the one who is always there even when she doesn't realize there is a problem. She knows she will miss him if he stays in Colorado.

"I think right now it's too soon to try to make any concrete decisions. We're just going to have to wait to see how extensive his injuries are. I know New York has an endless supply of hospitals, specialists and resources for dealing with injuries. Another thing to look into will be his education. I don't know much about Colorado but I would think the schools would have more resources in New York. All of these decisions will have to wait until he wakes up. There's no rush to any of this right now.

He knows she's right. He gets out of the car and heads inside. She hopes she didn't say anything to offend him. She takes a deep breathe to calm herself before she goes inside. Her phone beeps and a message comes through from Marshall about a pizza he will have delivered.

When she enters the house she sees Nico heading to his room. She needs to make sure he's ok. Today has been hell for him. She takes off her shoes and Gabby comes over to sniff them. Dani pets her on the head and asks if she needs to go out. She smiles when the dog heads over to the back door. She's never had a dog before and it feels weird that she talks to Gabby and it seems like the dog understands everything she says.

After letting Gabby out and grabbing a bottle of water from the Fridge, Dani heads down the hall to check on Nico. She knocks gently but he doesn't answer. She knocks a little louder, waits a couple of seconds and opens the door. Nico was standing at the foot of the bed staring into the mirror from Natalia's vanity. He has already removed the suit jacket and his shirt. He's staring at the scars that cover his chest and upper part of his arms.

"Dani, how will he live like this?"

She would have never guessed by the way he carries himself that his body would look like that. His muscles and chest were defined and strong. She walks over to get a closer view.

"Nico, do you realize that his physical pain is under control? The emotional burns will be the toughest to deal with. You will be able to help him more than anyone. It helps that you have been there and you can relate to his injuries but that is only a small portion of how to deal with this."

He sits down on the bed and kicks his shoes off. Dani moves to stand in front of him. He is looking down at his hands when she reaches down to hold them. He is feeling very exposed. The only three people who have ever seen his scars are Marshall, Natalia and Gabriella.

"Nico, please look at me." He hesitates but finally looks up to meet her eyes. She can see his fear. She takes a deep breath and calculates her words. "I know you are scared and in a lot of pain. I am also not talking about the scars on the outside. You hide the physical pain so that no one will ask about the emotional hell you live in. Have you ever been to counseling to deal with the explosion?"

Tears are streaming down his face. She knows him too well and she is too good at her job. He is about to say something when the doorbell rings. Dani looks at the clock on the table. Marshall said it wouldn't take long for the pizza guy to get there. She's pissed they were interrupted but she knows Nico needed a break anyway.