A/N: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews, follows and faves! I hope you won't mind too much, but this chapter dials down on the romance a bit. After all, there are other plotlines to discover… Hope you like it anyway!

Chapter 5

That friday morning, Dani woke up feeling a renewed sense of purpose. Amazing what a good late night crying fest could do, she thought. She was now determined to get her life back on track, ready to take control instead of simply reacting to circumstances. Last night she'd made a start by realizing that, for a woman who prided herself in not walking away from a fight, she had done an awful lot of running lately. Now that she was done running, it was time to take action and begin moving forward. Starting with Abby Bruce. Nico would get her all the facts, but that didn't mean that she couldn't do her own research in the meantime.
When she came downstairs, she found a note from Lindsay on the kitchen counter, saying that she would be home a bit later than usual, because she wanted to do the cooking for girls night herself and had to stop by the grocery store on her way home from school. Dani smiled at that. She was really looking forward to catching up with her daughter.
The past seven months they really hadn't seen much of each other. Of course they had had conversations over shared meals, and even the occasional hour or so together in the family room, but there had een so much going on in both their lives that they really hadn't been able to spend real quality time together. Another thing she was going to fix. And not just by making sure that she and Lindsay could have an uninterrupted girls night, but also by calling Ray Jay, who was still in Paris. She hadn't spoken to him for more than five minutes in weeks. But first: breakfast, she thought when she heard her stomach rumble.

Dani walked through the park, looking for an empty bench. They were all taken, it seemed. Old ladies enjoying the early spring sunshine, a guy in a hoodie and sunglasses staring down at his phone, some couples sitting hand in hand enjoying each others company… On the last bench sat a young businesswoman, her short blond hair cut in a stylish coupe. Dani blinked when the woman wiggled her fingers in greeting, a shy smile on her face. It couldn't be… She checked again, just when the woman took off her sunglasses and stood up. "Oh my God, Paloma… Wow! You look amazing! Just… Wow!" She ran over to the bench and hugged her former assistant.

"You like the new look?" Paloma asked, as they both sat down again. She raised a hand to touch her hair.

"Are you kidding? I love it! And look at your clothes!" Paloma was wearing a navy blue suit and a fuchsia-colored blouse and Dani thought she looked stunning.

"Thanks. I figured it was time for a change. But hey, tell me, how was Barcelona? You've got a nice tan on you."

"Great, it's a beautiful city and it's always nice to catch up with old friends, right? Speaking about catching up, how's your new job? I heard you were an agent now."

"Well, technically I'm a junior agent, but at SBG there really isn't much difference. And really, Dani, it's been wonderful so far, but sometimes I'm afraid…" Paloma's voice trailed off and she shrugged.

Dani was immediately on guard. "Paloma? What is it? What do you mean, afraid?"

"Oh, you know…" Paloma waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, "After everything that happened at V3… I'm afraid sometimes that I will wake up any minute now to discover that it was all just a dream and that I'm still merely an assistant… Well, not that I minded being your assistant, of course, but, you know…" she smiled an uncertain smile, "I guess I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop or something."

"Well, that's understandable, I guess, given all that's happened. But let me ask you this: do you have reason to believe that Abby hired you for any other reason than wanting to give you a chance at making your dream come true?"

Paloma thought about that for a while, then slowly shook her head. "I guess not… She's been really great so far. But then again, as we both know, I haven't been the best judge of character lately."

"You mean Troy Cutler?" Paloma nodded. "Look, Paloma, making mistakes is a part of life. But failure is not in falling down, it's in staying down. And in the end you stood up to Troy. Don't you think that maybe it's time that you gave yourself a little credit for that part of the story?"

Paloma smiled. "Well, maybe you're right. And Abby did say that she was glad to have me onboard, so…"

"See? There you go. She doesn't strike me as the type that would hesitate to voice her dissatisfaction."

Paloma chuckled. "You've got that right…" She proceeded to tell an anecdote about how just yesterday, Abby had scolded some delivery service about not keeping decent records, in no uncertain terms.

Dani smiled. "So, you really like working for Abby, huh?"

"Oh, absolutely. And she told me that she had offered you a job at SBG too. Are you gonna take it? It would be great to work together again!"

"Well, I haven't decided yet, but I will soon," Dani promised.

They talked a bit more about what working for SBG was like, and then Paloma had to go meet a client, so they said their goodbyes and left, both going in different directions.

The man with the grey eyes watched intently from behind his sunglasses as Santino and Madsen hugged goodbye after chatting for nearly an hour. They hadn't even noticed him, thanks to the hoodie and the shades. Thank God he'd wised up and decided to disguise himself before he came here today. He'd been too far away from where they were sitting to hear what they had been talking about, but it seemed to him like the good doctor really was upto something here. He didn't like her popping up near SBG for the second time in one week. Maybe he should… Take care of her. She was far too perceptive, as he knew from personal experience. He didn't want her sticking her nose in his business. For a moment, he considered following her. Then his phone buzzed and he was reminded of his reason for being here in the first place. "Tell me good news," he answered.

"A date was set for the start of the trial. That good enough for you? It's gonna be the eighteenth."

"Yes, excellent. It gives us plenty of time to make our preparations. And what about the girl? You get her yet?"

"My guy just called in to say he had her. Went smoothly too, she never saw him coming."

"He take pictures yet?"

"They should be in your inbox any minute now."

"Good, I'll pay you in the usual way." The man with the grey eyes ended the call and checked his inbox. Sure enough, there were the pictures he'd been waiting for. Pretty girl, tied to a chair, looking kinda out of it. Time to make another phonecall, he thought, and put the phone back to his ear. He looked up at the SBG building while he waited for someone to answer. Then he said: "Hello, Abby. I have something that belongs to you..."

After her meeting with Paloma, Dani had treated herself to a long overdue mani/pedi. Her French manicure once again firmly intact, she got home just before six and was treated to a delicious smell, coming from the kitchen. She walked in there to find lasagna warming in the oven and the table already set for two. The only thing missing was her daughter. "Linds? I'm home!" she yelled. There was no answer. Dani frowned, then went upstairs to change into something more comfortable. The lasagna wouldn't be done for another half hour, so she figured maybe Lindsay had gone back to the grocery store because she'd forgotten something earlier.

She put on jeans and a T-shirt and went back downstairs, just as the front door opened and Lindsay walked in. She was talking on the phone and hadn't noticed Dani yet. "Yes, Winter, I told you I would, right? … I know, but she only just got back from Barcelona three days ago, so when was I supposed to tell her? I promise I'll tell her tonight. Gotta go now, bye!"

"Tell me what, Linds?" Dani asked, startling her daughter.

"Oh! Mom, hi, didn't see you there, when did you get back? I've got lasagna in the oven, so…" Lindsay made a beeline for the kitchen.

"Tell me what, Linds?" Dani repeated. She stepped in Lindsay's path, crossed her arms and looked sternly at the teenager. She remembered the look of discomfort she'd seen on her daughters face the other morning and started to silently pray that Lindsay wasn't going to tell her she was pregnant or anything.

"Mom… please, can we do this later? It's nothing serious, I promise." Lindsay looked at her pleadingly.

Dani wasn't convinced, but she didn't want to ruin their girls night either, so she sighed and stepped aside to let Lindsay into the kitchen. "Okay then… But you better not tell me you're pregnant," she said, trying to sound as if she were merely joking.

"Of course not! Really mom, I'm not pregnant, okay? I don't even have a boyfriend! Let's just eat. Look, I even made us some bruschetta as an entree!" Lindsay proudly pointed to the plastic covered plate in the center of the table. Dani decided to let her off the hook for now, but couldn't escape a feeling of impending doom as they sat down and ate, while talking small talk for the next hour or so.

Dani had to admit that her daughter had done a wonderful job, but when she made her a compliment at the end of the meal, Lindsay brushed it off. "Hey, what can I say, you taught me well, huh?" She smiled sweetly at her mother, who gave her a suspicious look in return.

"Okay. Enough with the sweet-talk already. Out with it, what's going on?" Dani watched her daughter squirm for a moment, then take a deep breath and square her shoulders.

"Okay, I guess there's no real easy way of telling you this, so… Mom, I'm moving out." Dani choked on her wine.

"Wait, what?" she said when she was done coughing. She must have heard Lindsay wrong, right?

"I'm moving out. Winter has found this great appartment, but she can't afford it on her own. So I figured, you know, since I'm going to NYU in September anyway…" Lindsays voice trailed off and she looked at Dani with an expectant smile. But when the silence stretched for half a minute, the smile faltered. Lindsay opened her mouth to say something else, but Dani held up her hand.

"And do I, ya know, your mother, get to have a say in this, Linds? Or were you just gonna, oh, I don't know, pull a Ray Jay on me?" Dani winced as she said it. That had come out all wrong. And judging by the mutinous expression on Lindsay's face, it had been the exact wrong thing to say. So she tried again. "I'm sorry Linds, I didn't mean that. I'm just… shocked, okay?" Lindsay's face softened a bit.

"I know, mom. But I'm eighteen now, and… it's not like I can live here with you forever, right?"

"Yeah… No, I know that, honey, it's just… I feel like you've grown up so fast, and I don't really know how to handle that. And it's such a big step, you know?" Dani swallowed.

"That's why I thought I'd tell you now. So you'll have time to get used to the idea, you know? I won't be moving until the schoolyear's over... And, hey, at least it's not Paris, right?" Lindsay tried.

"Well, yeah, that's something, I guess… So where is it, then?"

"Greenwich Village. It's real close to NYU campus, so that works out great!" Lindsay's voice still sounded a little nervous, but her eyes lit up in enthusiasm.

"Okay, well… I guess I'll have to get used to the idea of living by myself then, huh?" Dani's smile was a bit shaky. Lindsay got up to give her mother a hug. Dani grabbed on real tight and wished she could hold on forever. "I love you so much, Linds," she whispered.

"Love you too, mom."

After that, Lindsay showed her pictures of the apartment online and Dani had to admit it really looked like a nice place to live. She still wasn't wildly enthusiastic about Lindsay moving out, and at such a youg age, but she also knew there was nothing she could do to stop her daughter. So for the rest of the evening, she tried to be as supportive as possible, while trying not to think about how big and empty her house would seem after her daughter left.

When Lindsay had gone to bed, Dani sat on the couch in the family room with another glass of wine. She stared absently at the photo of herself and her children that had replaced the big family picture that used to hang in that exact same spot when she'd still been married to Ray. Smiling, she remembered the day she had taken that picture down, only to discover it in the back of Lindsay's closet a few days later. That led to other memories of her children growing up and often acting out, and soon she was so immersed in her trip down memory lane, that the buzzing of her phone on the table literally made her jump.

"Hey Nico," she answered, her voice sounding tired even to her own ears.

"Hi. Did I wake you?"

"Oh, no, I was still up." She let out a sigh.

"Dani? You allright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… You know, family stuff."

"Want to talk?"

"Nah, not really, I feel like I've done enough talking for a year today. But thanks."

"Okay, guess I'll do the talking then. I checked out Abby's story – seems she was telling the truth."

"Well, that's good news. I could use a little of that... Thanks again for checking."

"Anytime. You gonna accept her offer?" he asked, and Dani thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah, I think I will, actually. I talked to Paloma today, and she seems very happy there…"

"So… you did a little digging yourself there, doctor? Still don't trust me?" He made it sound like a joke, but Dani had the feeling that he was actually being very serious. And she didn't miss a beat.

"I do trust you," she simply said.

"That's good to hear." They were both silent for a moment. Then Dani took a deep breath and decided to go for it already.

"Listen, Nico... I think we need to talk."

"So do I." His response was quick, his voice holding a note of relief.

"Good. So do you want to come over? Um, maybe tomorrow night?"

"I'll be there at eight."

They ended the call and Dani went straight to bed. Unlike the previous night she fell asleep right away, a smile on her face.