Ch. 3 Dani

Eliot sat at the end of the bed running his fingers through his hair. It had been several days and Savannah hadn't said a word to him about the night in Parker's jungle gym. She'd barely said a word to him at all. She was poking through drawers, possibly looking for something. A cell phone started ringing. He checked his to find he had no call coming.

Savannah dug through a stray jacket pocket and pulled out the ringing cell phone. She picked it up and put it to her ear. "Dani?"

"When did you get a cell phone?" he blurted out with an offensive amount of irritation. But there was a bigger question that picked at him. Who the hell was Danny? Was the sucking on some other guy as well as Parker?

She waved him off. "Shush, I'm on the phone." She turned her back to him to continue the conversation. "Alright….Yeah...Okay...Right...Uh-huh...Okay...The Park? Got it. Be there in twenty."

She hung up the phone, grabbed a leather jacket and headed for the door. Eliot stood up to follow her. "Hey, where are you going?"

Savannah whipped around. She opened her mouth as to hurl some witty answer, but then she just seemed really conflicted. Finally, with a sigh, she answered, which seemed kind of difficult for her, "My friend Dani, we went to the Academy together, she needs help."

"Our kind of help?"

The conversation was making her uncomfortable. "I don't know. I'm meeting her to find out."

Eliot stepped forward to go for his keys. "I'll go with you."

"No!" She put her hands up defensively. She struggled to explain. "I...Dani and I haven't seen each other...in a long time….We've gone through a lot...and...I think the first time I see her in 16 years...It should be just me."

He wanted to push, but he couldn't think of a good argument. He was both relieved and unnerved to hear Dani described as "her". Savannah had made things so frustrating, fooling around with Parker while playing in the chemistry between them. His look of surrender gave Savannah permission to leave.

He waited about fifteen minutes then headed for his truck. He knew which park she was talking about. It was the park she went to when she was getting stir-crazy and it hadn't rained in a while. She had taken Eliot with her quite a bit. It always ended in those weird moments full of sexual tension and frustration, but at the same time, he always enjoyed them. Savannah was the most open and relaxed at the park or when it was raining. He always felt like these were the times he could really be with Savannah, he just never took that step. He was scared to push her. She was a strong woman, to be sure, but her psyche was fragile, and he wasn't sure she'd ever dealt with romance before...well, not with a man. Man, this girl was confusing.

He parked about a block away then pulled out binoculars and started watching. He was just in time. He watched Savannah walk up to a little redheaded girl. sitting on a merry-go-round. There was an overcast so the park was pretty empty, probably why they decided to meet in an open place. She was shorter that Savannah, and rounder. Though Savannah had gained some weight since she joined the team and was eating regularly; she was a healthier weight now. The girls hugged, tight and long. Savannah's hand perched on Dani's shoulder and she spoke with a concerned look on her face. Dani looked a little ashamed. He was only looking at their profiles, so he couldn't read their lips. After about a half-dozen exchanges, their expressions softened and became nostalgic smiles. After what was likely idle chatter or catching up, Savannah's expression became more business-like. She made a couple phone calls and then went back to the idle chatter with Dani. Eliot tried to read their interaction. They were close, but it wasn't clear if they were just best friends close or...Parker's jungle gym close.

The girls began leaving the park hand-in-hand. Still unclear. He'd seen plenty of girl (just) friends hold hands. He snuck through the back roads to get home long before the girls. He slipped into the gym and started working out vigorously to be sweaty by the time Savanah made it back so it looked like he was in the gym the whole time. It was about twenty minutes before he heard her voice in the hall.

"Eliot?" she called, and her head appeared in the gym doorway. She appeared refreshed, cheery. Dani appeared behind her.

"What is she doing here?" That was not a good question. The angry arch in Savannah's eyebrows told him so.

"She's staying here a while; she's our next client." There was a suspicious syrupiness to her voice.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"That's not your call."

Eliot pulled back a little. She didn't take that kind of stance with him. Feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed, eyebrows arched, head tilted as if to say, "I dare you to argue."

"You don't run this team," he spat.

"Hardison and Parker are on board," she shot back with a satisfied smirk. He opened his mouth to retort, but he had nothing. "And uh, Eliot?" Her arms relaxed. He hadn't even answered her when her fist crashed into his jaw. She'd caught him off-guard, and he hit the floor. Before he could even demand a reason, she roared, "Don't you ever follow me again!" Her voice returned to a dangerous calm. "Dani, this is Eliot Spencer. He appears to be a little off his game today. I'm sure he'll come through when he's needed."

"How did you know?" Eliot grunted. He stayed on the ground. If he tried to get up, she'd probably pop him again. It wasn't that he couldn't take it, but they'd gotten into some altercations that got physical and ended in repairs being needed the few months. It had gotten bad enough that Hardison and Parker started taking advantage of the repelling rigs in the ceilings. Parker would sneak up and clip carabiners to belt loops, then Hardison would hit a switch, and he and Savannah would go flying in opposite directions and end up hanging from ceiling tiles. The snags were easy to get out of, but it forced them to take a timeout from each other.

"I saw the damn truck when I walked up to the park. Do you think I'm stupid? Come on, Dani, let's get you settled in."

And she escorted Dani out, leaving Eliot humiliated on the floor, lying there out of no good reason to get up.