Chapter sixteen

"So… did he say why he couldn't stay?" Dani asked Ray Jay. He shook his head, his mouth full of pancakes. They were sitting at the kitchen bar having a late breakfast after Dani had woken up at ten thirty to the unpleasant surprise of Nico being gone.

"No, just to make sure you take your painpills if you need them. Did you?" Ray Jay gave her a worried look.

Dani nodded absently, taking another bite of her own breakfast. She had in fact taken two Ibuprofen and they had helped to dull the various aches in her body somewhat. She planned on taking a hot bath later to try and relax her sore muscles a little. But first she wanted to talk to Nico and ask him why he'd left. Well, isn't that obvious? A voice in the back of her head said. You told him you loved him, for God's sake! Well, sure, but why would that send him running? Then again, he had asked her to be patient with him and blurting out her love the very next day didn't exactly scream patience, did it? Given the circumstances she didn't really blame herself for that, though. She looked at her son again. "Well, then did he say if and when he'd be back?" Again, Ray Jay shook his head. Dani sighed and decided to give Nico a call as soon as possible.

Nico had to leave his office without taking his phone with him to restrain himself from picking up when the third call from Dani that morning came in. So he walked down the hall to get himself yet another cup of coffee, hoping the new dose of caffeine would help him stay at least somewhat focused on the research he was doing on his new client. He hadn't slept much after leaving her house the night before and when he finally had fallen asleep nightmares starring a dead Dani had plagued him until his alarm clock had beeped. Hearing her voice, if only for a minute, would probably go a long way in getting those images out of his head… But he knew he had to stay strong. She would eventually stop calling, as he remembered from the time right after he'd left the Hawks. You sure? Because that was before she loved you… Nico sighed and punched the button on the coffee machine with a lot more force than was strictly necessary. He knew it might take her a little bit longer to give up on him this time, but she would. All he had to do was hold out till then. Walking back to his office with the paper cup in his hand he tried not to feel the emptiness the thought of never hearing from her again evoked. Sitting back down behind his desk he stared ominously at his now quiet phone, then put it in a drawer so he wouldn't be tempted to check if she had sent him a text. Okay, enough already – get to work, Careles!

Dani was kneading dough to make biscotti, because she just hadn't been able to sit still and wait for Nico to call her any longer. And because visiting hours for Lindsay's floor in the hospital didn't start till two, that left her with a whole lot of nothing useful to do in the mean time. The kneading hurt her arm, but she welcomed the pain as it kept her from worrying about other things too much. Or that had been the plan, at least… Sighing, she started making cookie shapes from the dough and putting them on an oven plate. Why didn't he call her back? Was he just busy or… A knock sounded on her front door then, making her jump. Wiping her hands on a towel she rushed to the door, only to find a man she'd never seen before standing on her porch looking down at the brown bloodstain that was still vaguely visible there. "Um, hello," she said, trying not to sound disappointed.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Doctor Santino, good to see you in one piece. I'm Detective Paul Decker." He took a badge from his coat pocket and showed it to her. "I would like to ask you some follow up questions about yesterday's events – is now a good time for you?"

A sigh escaped her before she could stop it. "More questions, huh? I feel like I've already told you people the same story like a hundred times."

He gave her a sympathetic look. "I know. But this won't take very long, I promise. I'm just wrapping things up before the FBI takes over the case."

"Okay, come on in." She led the detective into the kitchen, where she put the oven plate in the oven before she sat down across the bar from him. "I thought the FBI was on the case already? I mean, Agent Bennett was there yesterday so I assumed…"

"Well yes, but we were the first to respond to your neighbour's call, before we knew about Mr. Cutler. I need to write a report on everything that happened before Bennett got here. Which reminds me, is Mr. Careles also available by any chance? I tried calling him this morning, but no luck."

Dani frowned, not knowing what to make of that. Nico dodging phonecalls from other people too, not just hers – should she be worried about him instead of feeling a little annoyed with his all too familiar elusiveness? "Um, well, I don't know where he is actually, I haven't heard from him either."

That seemed to surprise Decker. "Could you explain the nature of your relationship with Mr. Careles?" he asked.

She blinked. "Why? I mean, what does our… relationship have to do with anything?"

"Just want to get all the facts right, Doctor." The detective gave her a reassuring smile while he took out a notebook and a pen. But Dani didn't feel very reassured. Was there any chance they wanted to prosecute Nico for what he had done to Troy? Had the FBI maybe arrested him already and was that why he wasn't answering his phone? "Your son told me last night that you are dating Mr. Careles. Is that true?" Decker asked.

Dani figured she would only answer the questions about Nico that didn't have anything to do with him attacking Troy Cutler. "I guess… Well, technically there was only one date so far, but we've been… friends for about three years now."

Decker started scribbling in his notebook. "I see. So you met him before you both started working at that talent agency?"

"When we both worked for the Hawks, yes." Dani eyed her phone where it was lying quietly on her kitchen counter. When this was over, she would start calling Nico again. And this time, she was gonna keep hitting redial until he finally answered. She needed to know that he was okay.

"Did you ask Mr. Careles to send a security guard to your house the other night?" Decker interrupted her thoughts again.

"Um, no. He couldn't stay here himself, so he called one of his men… Oh! Do you happen to know anything about Bill's condition?" Nico had told her yesterday that the bodyguard was still alive, but hadn't known more than that either.

"Mr. Clark was lucky, at least that's what his doctor told me yesterday. I'm going to the hospital to interview him next. But can you tell me why Mr. Careles felt the need to have your house guarded?"

Dani took a moment to memorize Bill's last name, deciding she would go visit him after she'd visited Lindsay. She wanted to thank him for trying to protect Ray Jay. And ask him if he'd talked to Nico, of course. She saw Decker raise an eyebrow at her and focused on the conversation again. "Well, Troy Cutler had hurt Lindsay, my daughter. And he'd made it clear that he didn't want me anywhere near SBG. But didn't Nico tell you all this already? Or my son Ray Jay?" Of course Decker didn't answer that. He just went on to his next question, and then the next. Over the next fifteen minutes Dani found herself telling him the exact same story she had told the cops that had questioned her the day before. But he seemed no longer interested in Nico, so she figured it was a good trade off.

After Decker had left, Dani immediately grabbed her phone to start calling Nico again. Just when she was about to hit Send, Ray Jay came down the stairs. "Lindsay just called. She says she's bored and could use some company. But I think she's just saying that because she's worried about you and she wants to see you."

Dani smiled at her son. "Well, let's not keep her waiting any longer then, huh?" She put the phone in her purse.

"Yeah… So uh, have you heard from him yet?" Ray Jay asked.

"Nico? No, he must be busy or something. But I'll, you know, catch him later." She tried to sound relaxed about it.

"Asshole." Ray Jay muttered under his breath when they walked out the door.

"Hey! Ray Jay!" Dani admonished.

He turned around to her, an angry scowl on his face. "Well, he's not much of a boyfriend, right? Leaving you when you are hurt and then not even bothering to call you the next day?"

Dani frowned. What was it with her son disliking Nico so much? Well, only one way to find out, she decided. She stopped him when he started for the car and gave him her sternest look. "Look, Ray Jay, I love Nico, whether you like it or not. And I think he loves me too. But he has some… issues of his own, so he asked me to give him a little space and maybe I just need to be more patient – Ugh, I don't know, but I'll figure it out. What I do know is that I've had enough of you hiding things from me. So – spit it out. Why do you hate Nico?" Crossing her arms and tapping her foot, she waited for his answer.

"Mom, I told you he and Mrs. Pittman…"

Dani held up a hand to cut him off. "No, no, no. You are not gonna give me that crap about Gabrielle Pittman, because I know there's more to it than that. Try again." She watched him drop his eyes to his shoes. He raised a hand to rake it through his hair, then sighed and muttered something she couldn't make out, though she thought she heard Juliette's name. "What was that?" She asked. While she listened to his answer, she felt her jaw drop.

"I said, he tried to keep me away from Juliette, okay? Offered me a shitload of money in fact, to as he put it, get my ass back home immediately." Ray Jay shrugged and looked up at her with a defiant look in his eyes. "I told him to go to hell. Now, I don't know about you, but in my book that doesn't really make him a respectable man!" With that he strode over to the car and got in.

Dani's mind was completely blank for a moment. Then questions started tumbling around in her head, falling over each other like clothes in a washing machine. Could Ray Jay be telling the truth? Sure, Nico had always been very protective of Juliette, but… trying to bribe her son into staying away from his surrogate daughter? Would he really do that? And why? On the other hand, why would Ray Jay make something like that up? Or… Had Ray Jay somehow misread the situation? And, God, would that man ever stop trying to keep secrets from her? The unanswered questions kept coming as she joined Ray Jay in the car and they drove to the hospital in silence. The only thing she was absolutely sure of was that she really needed to talk to Nico, and soon. Now if only she could get him to answer his freaking phone already!

"Mom? Are you alright? You're so quiet." Lindsay's voice sounded worried.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, honey, I'm just a little tired, that's all." Dani shrugged and smiled at her, ignoring Ray Jay's snort.

Lindsay gave her brother a puzzled look, but he seemed very interested in the many get well cards, that were pinned to the board above Lindsay's bed, all of a sudden. "You sure? I mean, you don't get kidnapped every day, right? You're allowed to be a little… freaked out by that. You wanna go home and rest or something – you just go, okay? I'll still be here tomorrow…" she said to her mother.

"Aw, honey, that's very sweet of you. But no, I'm okay. Really. So, tell me, any cute doctors here?" Dani pasted another smile on her face as Lindsay rolled her eyes and giggled. She tried real hard to focus on her daughter's story about all the ugly doctors that populated the hospital, but it was no use. Her thoughts kept going back to Nico. "Oh my God… I'm so sorry honey," she said when Lindsay raised her eyebrows, making her realize that she was expected to give some sort of reply but having no clue as to what her daughter had just said – and feeling like a horrible mother because of it. "I guess I'm not great company today, huh? Maybe I should go home after all…"

"It's okay mom, I understand. Really." Lindsay reached out and squeezed Dani's hand.

Dani gave her a squeeze in return. She had to swallow a couple of times before she was able to say something again. "Okay, I guess I'll be going then. See you tomorrow, sweetie." She stood up and saw Ray Jay do the same. "Oh, no, Ray Jay, you don't have to come with me! Stay here and visit with your sister, okay? I'll take a cab home." She kissed Lindsay's forehead and saw Ray Jay frown at her.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Positive. Stay. We'll talk over dinner tonight." Dani gave him a pointed look and he averted his eyes as he nodded and sat down again. Lindsay's face took on a puzzled expression again as she looked back and forth between them, but she said nothing. "Okay. You kids have fun now," Dani said before quickly walking out the door. Leaning against the wall outside Lindsay's room, she released a heavy sigh. She hated herself a little for leaving like that, but made a solemn promise to herself that she would make it up to Lindsay tomorrow. Then she walked straight up to the nurses station and asked the nurse on duty in which room Bill Clark was.

The hallway on Bill's floor was empty when Dani got out of the elevator. She followed the signs till she got to his room and hesitated. Detective Decker had told her he was gonna interview Bill next, so maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go visit with him now. Then the door opened and a nurse walked out, and Dani saw that Bill appeared to be alone. So she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and walked inside, wincing a little when she saw the bandages that were covering his chest and the paleness of his face. "Um, hello, Bill… Remember me?" she asked with a hesitant smile.

He looked her over, his blue eyes going wide when his gaze landed on her face. "Aw, hell… I'm so sorry, ma'am… You know, for not doing my job properly."

She stared at him. Did he really think she blamed him for getting shot? "Bill, you don't have to apologize. What happened wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps telling me… But I still think I should've seen it coming." He turned his head away towards the window and sighed heavily.

Dani sat down in the chair beside his bed. How to handle this? She didn't have to think about that one long. "Look, Bill… You know I'm a therapist, right?" she eventually asked. He turned his head towards her again and nodded at her, his eyes guarded. He needed to know she understood how he felt, but also to see that he was only human, body guard training or not. And she had a story that would serve both goals perfectly. "As you probably know, therapists are trained to recognize the signs of suicidal behaviour in a patient. Kind of like you guys are trained to recognize the signs of danger, I imagine." She waited for him to acknowledge that statement with a nod. Then she took a deep breath and continued. "Well, here's the thing. A few months ago, I failed to see those signs and I lost one of my patients because of it. He jumped off a building." She watched him cringe in sympathy. "Now, would you blame me for that?" she asked him then.

"Well – no…" Bill looked genuinely shocked at the idea. "But that's different, ma'am."

"Really? How so?" Dani tilted her head and raised her eyebrow.

"Because… It's… Hell, you know…" Bill frowned at the ceiling. Dani just waited. "Wow. You're good, ma… Doctor!" he eventually said.

He looked more at ease now, and Dani felt satisfied that she had achieved that. He might not feel completely free of guilt yet, but the first step had been taken. "Thank you. You know, Bill – that's actually what I came here to say in the first place. Thank you for doing your best to protect us."

"Aw, ma'am, you're being too kind…" He looked away from her again.

"I most certainly am not. But that's not the only reason I'm here." Dani mentally crossed her fingers. "You see, I was also wondering if you had talked to Nico today – Mr. Careles, I mean."

Bill gave her a surprised look. "Well, sure. He came by just two hours ago."

"He did, huh? Well, that's…" Dani's voice trailed off as disappointment hit. A part of her had hoped that Nico just hadn't been able to find the time to get back to her yet. But he seemed to be avoiding her once again.

"He, uh, he said that he had to go meet with a client, so he didn't stay real long." Bill's voice was tinged with sympathy. "Only about ten minutes, then he was out the door again."

Dani smiled, but her eyes stung a little. "Okay. Um, thank you. I'll just try and call him again then." She sighed and stood up. "Well, Bill, it was good to see you, but I gotta go now. I'm kinda tired, so…" She shrugged and turned for the door, but his voice held her back.

"Doctor?" When Dani turned to him again, he was looking at her with an earnest expression. He shrugged awkwardly. "Just… If I can do anything at all to, you know, make up for… Well, you know… Just ask, okay?"

Dani smiled and was about to once again reassure him that he didn't have anything to make up for, when an idea came to her. "Well, there is something I would really like to know. Maybe you can help me with that…" She told him what it was and he didn't think twice about answering her question – and then some. "Thank you," she said when he was finished.

"You're welcome… But I don't think that's nearly enough. I still owe you."

Her smile felt more natural this time. "I say it's more than enough. Now, don't tell… anyone I was here today, okay?"

"Good luck." He replied with a smile of his own, and then Dani saw him make the gesture of zipping his mouth shut. She gave him a small wave in return and left the room, anxious to go home and think things over. She wasn't even sure yet what exactly she wanted to do with the information he'd just given her, but she did realize how powerful it was – and that Nico wouldn't like it one bit if and when he found out that she had it. Well, tough – all's fair in love and war, right? With a firm nod to confirm that thought, Dani punched the button for the elevator and took out her phone to check for any missed calls.

A/N: To those of you who really had their hopes up that Dani and Nico would finally figure things out in this chapter – sorry! But as one of the characters in the wonderful movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel would say: "In the end, everything will be alright. So if everything is not alright, it is not yet the end!" (And I for one am kinda glad this chapter isn't the end of this story yet…)

I will get to work on chapter 17 now, so I can hopefully update again soon. In the mean time, you know how much I love to read your reviews, so please tell me what you thought of this!