So, I actually found this on my computer and thought I'd publish it (with Amy's *ehem* assistance). It's pre Danico kiss, so that episode hadn't aired yet when I wrote this. I saw Lindsay in the promo and honestly just used my imagination. I haven't altered it at all, so it's a bit scary how close I got to some events.
Uh, just a oneshot that I was told should be shared...just because. Enjoy? Yeah.
Shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, Nico made his way purposefully to his rental car. He'd been in Colorado for almost three weeks and had yet to acclimate himself to the snow still. It wasn't that he couldn't adapt, but he'd been so busy trying to either keep Juliette from leaving rehab and keeping Gabrielle and Marshall at bay that he didn't honestly care much. He wasn't a fan of snow in general, but the look of pure innocent joy on Juliette's face when she found out rehab looked like a winter wonderland was more than enough to make him forget his personal preferences.
Making his way back to his hotel, the muted buzzing of his cellphone broke him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at his phone on the deserted highway and pulls over almost immediately. He sees Dani's name appear and he can honestly say he wasn't expecting her call, though he'd admit to hoping. He'd made the mistake of leaving the night after their…encounter, and hadn't been able to reach her due to the policy at the rehab facility. He'd just gotten a hotel room tonight because his goodbyes with Juliette had taken longer than expected, and coupled with the abundance of snow; he wasn't going anywhere just yet. He picked up the phone and waited to hear her voice, disappointment and panic quickly pushing his anticipation aside.
"So, you're the Nico" he kept his face blank despite the fact that his relief was palpable at the slightly curious tone of one Lindsay Santino.
"Ms. Santino, is there something I can do for you?"
"Actually, there is Nico. You could come home."
The way Lindsay said home made his chest tighten with a longing to do just that. He knew she hadn't meant it in that way, but he longed to have a family to come home to. It had taken two weeks for him to come to terms with the fact that he loved Dani, and the last few days to recognize that admitting that was only half the battle.
"If something is wrong, I'm sure one of my staff can-"
"You're dense, did you know that?" Nico stared at his phone as if it had grown a second head, his amusement outweighing his urge to turn the conversation on her. If she was calling him, it had to be important to her. Much like with her mother, he'd wait for her to make her point.
"Ms. Santino-"
"Lindsay, it's Lindsay. Geez, you're not my guidance counselor. I need you to come home, like yesterday"
"I'm actually out of town on business-"
"Not my problem. Come home and make mom realize she's not some crazy cat-lady in training"
"As much as this conversation has been interesting-"
"Are you not listening to me or are you purposely talking in circles?"
"All I've done is listen to you. What you seen to ignore is the fact that you've done nothing but interrupt me when you haven't liked the answer I've given you, no matter how incomplete that answer is" Nico sat back and listened to the silence at the other end of the phone, knowing that his tone had taken on more of a warning.
"I told Ray Jay about you and mom. About the whole crying thing, and then she told us why and…" Nico waited, his heart hammering in his chest at the loaded pause, "You make her better. She needs better, she deserves better"
"Look Lindsay, your mother and I-"
"Are meant to be together"
Those five words killed anything else that he could have said to Lindsay. Nico had just come to the conclusion that he loved Dani last week, but he had no way of gauging her feelings on the subject. It was the fear of the unknown that kept him from dialing her number every hour, but leave it to her daughter to make it all seem so simple.
"Look Nico, I know nothing about you. All I know is that mom cares about you and still smiles every time she sits on the back porch because you were there that night-"
"How exactly did you know I was-"
"Seriously? You're talking to a teenager that has snuck in and out of the house. Plus, I could see you from my window" she said smugly, and he laughed at the sound. It was so much like Dani's voice when she thought she'd bested him that he couldn't help but enjoy the sound.
"Can I finish a sentence Ms. Santino?" he asked mockingly, continuing before she had a chance to get a word in edgewise.
"Your mother is very important to me, just as you and your brother are. I'd do anything to protect the three of you, but I'm not sure your mother understands the difference between love and loyalty" he stated, closing his eyes and pulling the phone away at the slight squeal he heard escape Lindsay.
"I knew it! For being Mr. Tall-Scary-and-Secretive, you suck at keeping your feelings in check. How do you ever get anything done?"
"Lindsay…" he said warningly, his patience running thin as he made himself transparent to a teenage girl. He was beginning to think that she might have a point…
"Hey, you said it not me, I just implied it"
"Look, I have to drive the rest of the way to my hotel Lindsay. I'll talk with your mother when I get back to New York in a few days" he waited for a few moments, then checked the phone make sure she hadn't hung up on him before she spoke again.
The drive to Denver International took no time at all.