A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews on chapter 19. As you may have noticed, I was kind of nervous when I posted that, so it was good to read that you liked it. Now, as for this one… After all the intense drama that has been going on in the last ten chapters or so, I figured our favorite couple could use some breathing room. This is the result. Enjoy!

Chapter twenty

Dani lay on her side, a soft smile on her face. She felt like she could study the sleeping man next to her for hours. The morning light coming in through the window divided his face into contrasting planes of light and dark, which struck her as fitting in light of his personality and the secrets he harbored. But sleep had smoothened the hard lines of tension that had been in his face the night before. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever seen him this relaxed before. She longed to touch him, but he was sleeping so peacefully that she really didn't want to disturb him. Stretching her sore muscles, she decided to go take a shower instead.

Getting up as quietly as she could, she slipped on Nico's shirt again and stepped into the bathroom. She couldn't help being a little impressed by the luxuriously decorated room. The black tiles on the floor and the dark grey ones covering the walls should have made it look dark in here, but the large frosted window in the wall behind the whirlpool let in more than enough daylight. The sleek and expensive-looking white furniture did the rest. A T-shirt lay crumpled on the floor, the only thing out of place in the otherwise neat and tidy room. Because Dani just couldn't help herself she picked it up and folded it, then put it on the sink.

One large corner was separated from the rest of the room by a glass door. Opening the door she found herself staring at six showerheads that were mounted to the wall in the back and angled straight at her – and none overhead. She took off Nico's shirt, hung it on a hook and stepped into the shower. "This should be interesting," she mumbled, studying a chrome handle that she suspected would operate the shower. She turned it. And could only barely hold back a surprised shriek when water came streaming down on her from above, instead of from the back of the shower as she had expected. Looking up, she saw that the water came from what appeared to be a shiny metal panel that was mounted to the ceiling. Wow – a ceiling shower? She'd heard about those, but had never expected to actually use one… Not that she was complaining, of course. She soon found out that the jets on the wall were operated by the button underneath the shower handle. Closing her eyes, she sighed in contentment as she let the water massage her body and wash away all the worry and anxiety of the past week.

Feeling relaxed and refreshed, Dani tiptoed back into the bedroom to get her clothes. Nico was still sleeping. She couldn't help but be a little amazed by the fact that he'd slept right here with her the entire night instead of moving to a guestroom or the living room sofa. And he didn't seem to have had any nightmares either. That struck her as kind of a miracle, considering the memories he had shared with her. She realized that he still had a long way to go in coming to terms with those memories and that this would probably not be the end of his nightmares either, but she was happy that he had at least taken the first step on the road to recovery. Putting on her jeans, she wondered if he would be open to the possibility of therapy. Not with her of course, given the ethical issues that would raise, but she did know a few other good therapists that might be able to help him out. Doctor Gunner maybe? Hm, might not be such a good idea, given the things she'd shared about Nico with him… Well, she'd think about it a bit more before bringing it up with Nico. That would also give him some time to get used to the idea that opening up to her had been the right thing to do… Her stomach rumbled then, reminding her that she hadn't eaten nearly enough pizza the previous night to suffice for the amount of physical exertion that had ensued – however pleasurable that exertion had been. She was starving. Once again deciding to let Nico sleep a little longer, she went to the kitchen in search of food.

Dani hadn't paid any attention to her surroundings the night before – at least no more than absolutely necessary. So she hadn't really prepared for walking into a kitchen that seemed to have come straight from the pages of a high-end interior design catalogue. She stopped in her tracks just inside and took it all in. With its smooth and shiny surfaces and expensive-looking appliances it made her own kitchen look cheap and oldfashioned in comparison. How had Nico been able to afford all this – not to mention the bathroom? And did he even cook in here? The kitchen looked like it had never been used… Shaking her head, Dani opened the refrigerator door to see if he had anything edible in there. Turned out that he had, in fact the fridge was better stocked than her own. Feeling like she could eat a horse she decided to go for an omelette instead. She took out three eggs, turned around to go look for a frying pan – and then dropped the eggs to the floor with a little shriek at the unexpected feel of something warm brushing her ankles. Looking down, she found a black cat sniffing the broken eggs, then giving her a slightly accusatory glance. "Meow," it said, which Dani assumed was cat-speak for Now look what you've done. Then the cat raised its tail and strode away in the direction of the bedroom, leaving her with the mess.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too…" Dani muttered as she began searching for salt and a wet cloth.

Nico woke up to the sounds of Dani rummaging around in his kitchen and smiled at the thought of her feeling comfortable enough around his place to start breakfast without waking him up first. He could get used to that, he thought as he stretched and yawned. Sitting up, he saw Onyx walking into the room. The cat jumped up on the bed, tail straight up and trembling in greeting. "Goodmorning – I was beginning to wonder where you'd disappeared to," Nico said, petting him. Onyx stared up at him adoringly for all of a heartbeat. Then the usual headbutting, meowing and purring in order to get Nico to feed him ensued and he jumped off the bed again, going to sit by the door with an impatient stare on his face.

Nico got up and quickly put on jeans and a T-shirt before walking into the kitchen barefoot, Onyx leading the way. Entering the kitchen he saw Dani looking in the fridge and he just stood there for a moment, enjoying the sight of her in those jeans and the red tanktop, her hair falling down her back, leaving a slightly wet spot where it touched the top. So she wasn't just feeling comfortable around his kitchen but had also showered. Again, the thought put a smile on his face – but he was also a bit surprised that he had slept through all this. It occurred to him then that he should have woken up on the couch instead of in bed too, and he frowned slightly. He must have been more exhausted than he'd thought last night. But he didn't remember having any nightmares, so maybe he should stop worrying about it for now. He'd be more careful next time though.

Nico was just about to make his presence known to Dani when she turned around and shrieked in surprise when she saw him standing there. "God! Nico! When will you stop sneaking up on me?" Then he thought he heard her mutter something about saving the eggs this time, before she walked over to the counter and very carefully put three eggs down on it. She turned around, put her hands on her hips and squinted at him. "I would have made you an omelette too, but your cat ruined that."

He couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. "Goodmorning to you too." Walking over to her, he gave her a quick kiss. "So, you've met Onyx? You should feel honored. He's usually very shy around strangers."

"You mean sneaky, right?" She directed her squint at Onyx, then looked back at him. "I hadn't figured you for a cat person."

For a brief moment, he considered telling her that he hadn't been much of a pet person at all before he'd joined the Navy. But he decided against it, since he didn't want to ruin the good mood he was in. So he just shrugged. "Cats rule."

She released a surprised chuckle. "Cats rule? What are you, a teenager?" Nico's stomach picked that moment to rumble loudly, and Dani nodded once. "Yep. Definitely a teenager. I remember that sound from Ray Jay… Oh!" She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Have you seen my phone? Ray Jay must be worried sick about me!" She stepped past him and hurriedly walked out of the kitchen. "And don't you dare touch those eggs!" He heard her yell. "That omelette is mine!"

Unable to wipe the smile off his face Nico got out a frying pan and started making her the omelette she wanted so bad. Then he got himself some toast and cereal, figuring he could always go grab more to eat on his way to work later. When he was done, he walked into the living room to find Dani standing in front of the window with her phone pressed to her ear. He cleared his throat and she turned around. "Breakfast," he mouthed, holding up the plate with her omelette.

She held up a finger, then spoke into the phone. "Ray Jay, I said we'll talk about it later… I don't know, but TK's coming, so I won't be any later than two… Yes, I will go visit with Lindsay too, don't worry. Okay, gotta go now, bye!" Putting her phone down she smiled at him, but her earlier cheerfulness seemed to have faded. "So, you can cook. I was wondering about that…" Taking the plate from him she went back to the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Nico asked, following her.

Sitting down on one of the bar stools by the kitchen island, she sighed. "Yeah, sure, Ray Jay was just worried about me being gone all night. Guess I can't blame him. You know, given everything that's happened." She avoided looking at him and took a bite of her breakfast. "Oh, this is really good," she said after swallowing the food. She quickly took another bite, still not looking at him.

Something was definitely going on with her, and suddenly he felt a little nervous. "Dani. What's wrong?"

Sighing, she put down her fork and finally looked at him again. Her eyes had the guarded look in them that Nico remembered all too well from their time at V3, before he'd told her about his involvement with the FBI. "Well, he… He told me about Paris," she said.

Nico felt his brow furrow. Paris? He had no clue what she was talking about, although he had the feeling that she thought he knew. "Can you be a bit more specific?"

She eyed him suspiciously, then seemed to decide that he really didn't have a clue and told him what she meant. "He told me you were in Paris last year – and that you tried to buy him off."

"What? Why would I do that?" Nico asked, but he was beginning to understand what Ray Jay must have told her.

She raised her eyebrows. "You tell me. You're the one that supposedly offered him, and I quote, a shitload of money to get his ass back home." Her fingers drew quotation marks in the air.

Nico couldn't believe it. "That's what he told you?" She nodded and he pinched the bridge of his nose, not sure where to begin explaining this. "Look, Dani… That's not what happened – exactly."

She frowned at him. "So you're saying Ray Jay's lying?"

"No, I'm saying he must have misunderstood. Or something." Why would Ray Jay tell her something like that? He shook his head and sighed. "Let's eat first, okay? Then I'll tell you everything."

He watched her consider it for a moment before she picked up her fork again. "Okay. But you better really tell me everything. Because as much as I love you, I'm done with the secrets, Nico." She put a piece of omelette in her mouth and started chewing on it, her brow furrowed. They finished their breakfast in silence. Well, Nico thought as he ate the toast that had seemed appealing before but now tasted like cardboard, at least she still loved him…

Dani sat on the couch drumming her fingers on her knee while Nico was busy loading his dishwasher and feeding his cat – and making coffee, judging by the smell of it. Good, she could use some caffeine. This morning had started out so wonderful, and now the tension between them seemed to be back in full force. He hadn't denied offering Ray Jay money… But she had the sneaking suspicion that Ray Jay hadn't told her the whole truth either. She sighed. What was it with men keeping secrets from her?
She looked up when Nico came in, carrying two mugs of coffee that he put down on the coffee table before he sat down beside her. Dani crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at him. "Dani, what exactly did Ray Jay tell you?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"He said you came to Paris to offer him money so he would stay away from Juliette. Which I think is weird, because if I recall correctly, you told me that the FBI came to you right after you walked out of the Hawks stadium on the night Ray Jay left home. So, tell me…" She wasn't gonna mention Gabrielle, she wasn't gonna mention Gabrielle, she wasn't… "Was the FBI okay with you flying off to go meet Gabrielle Pittman?" Darn! Dani sighed and held up her hands. "Sorry, forget that I asked that – none of my business."

He frowned. "Gabrielle? What does she have to do with this?" He sounded genuinely confused.

"Well, Ray Jay said…" Dani's voice trailed off and she frowned as she tried to remember exactly what her son had said about Gabrielle. Juliette's mom was in Paris too, you know. When he was there. Yes, that was it. He hadn't said anything about them actually being there together. "Wait. Are you saying that… you didn't go there for Gabrielle? That it was just a coincidence that she was there too?"

Nico glanced away from her and she heard him take a deep breath. "I didn't even know she was there at the time. The reason I went to Paris…" He released his breath, seemed to brace himself and looked her in the eye, his voice going soft when he spoke again. "The reason I went there is that I wanted to talk to Ray Jay. Trust me, Gabrielle was the furthest thing from my mind at the time. You wanna know why?" Dani nodded, unable to look away from the earnest look in his eyes. He took her hand. "Because all I could think of was you, Dani." He looked down at their joined hands and shrugged slightly. "That night at the stadium… I saw you kiss Matt, and…"

Her eyebrows shot up when he said that. He'd seen that? Well, that explained a lot. She cleared her throat. "I-i'm sorry you saw that. No, wait, let me rephrase that. In hindsight I'm sorry that I did that, actually… But what does me kissing Matt have to do with anything?"

He smiled a little and raised their hands to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. "Well, as much as it hurt me to see it, that's also when I realized that all I wanted was for you to be happy – and you weren't."

Dani released the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding as he lowered their hands again. She had to swallow a few times before she could speak. "And you thought that… what, that leaving was the way to make me happy?" That would be so like him…

He shook his head. "No. I figured that getting your son back home was the way to make you happy."

Dani frowned when his words triggered a memory. About a week after he'd left, Ray Jay had called her from Paris for the first time. It had been an awkward conversation, with him giving only one word answers to most of her questions. In the end, she'd lost her patience and asked him why he had even bothered calling if he didn't really want to talk to her. His answer had been a bit weird. It was… Pointed out to me that I made you unhappy. You know, leaving the way I did. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for that. She even remembered thinking that Juliette must have more sense of responsibility than Dani had given her credit for. Shaking her head she focused on the here and now again, still trying to process what Nico had just told her. "You went all the way to Paris. To make me happy. After you saw me…"

He shrugged. "Figured it was the least I could do after turning your world upside down… But just so you know, I never offered him money. I just told him how unhappy you were and gave him the… advice to get his ass back home. Told him he'd be better off going to college here. Then I offered him a job."

Dani's jaw dropped. "You did what?"

"Well, he said he didn't have any college money, so I figured he could use the job to earn some." Nico smirked. "Kid told me to go to hell, and that he already had a job. He's a lot like his mother, you know. Too stubborn for his own good." He tugged on her hand and she let him pull her closer to him, feeling a goofy grin coming on her lips. "Good thing I've got a thing for stubborn women," he muttered, before kissing her thouroughly.

Dani gladly kissed him back – and they would have done a lot more than kissing if her phone hadn't started buzzing on the coffee table right about then. Reluctantly she let him go and reached for the darn thing. It was Lindsay, asking her how she felt and when she was coming to the hospital. Looking at the time, Dani was shocked to realize that it was close to noon already. She told Lindsay she was on her way and hung up, turning back to the man she loved. "Sorry – gotta go," she said. "Wanna come over tonight? We can have dinner with Ray Jay. You know, talk things out?"

Nico smiled ruefully. "Wish I could… But duty calls. Lot of catching up to do at work."

Dani squinted at him. "You're not thinking of running away again, are you? Because I know where you live now, so it won't do you no good."

He shook his head and pulled her close again. "Trust me, I'm more than aware of that, Doctor… So no. No running, you have my word." He sealed it with a quick kiss. Then he smiled at her. "Actually… I was gonna ask you if you were interested in a second date with me. Tomorrow night, maybe?"

"Mm, sounds great," she murmured. Then she kissed him again.

A/N: Hm, sounds like the happy ending you've been waiting for, doesn't it? Well, here's a surprise for you… I have not one, but two more chapters planned before this is really over! There are after all, still some more questions left – like where did Nico get his money? What about his private jet? And whatever happened to Abby Bruce after Dani and Nico saved her sister? You will find out!