This one's a bit drama central, but the next one will be more plot centric. So now, the moment that (I hope) you've all been waiting for... the answer to Don's question in Chapter One...
Chapter Seven
When David and Liz reached Don's apartment, their faces were set as stone. Her phone was back at her apartment, along with all of her effects which Edgerton had been in contact with. After the long and cautious process of having to rid Liz of all objects which could potentially be bugged then having to explain why, David headed straight to the caffeine in Don's cupboard. Liz took a step further and went for the whiskey.
"Yo, Liz, keep it straight. We might have to be moving out sometime soon." Nikki said, not even looking up as her colleague knocked one back and made a face.
"Baby, this is sharpening me up, not dulling me down." Liz snapped, and threw herself down in the empty chair next to Nikki. "Any leads on Wright?"
"Somethin' that might be nothin'." Nikki slurred, exhausted. "A case which Wright signed off on, closed files." Looking up to check if Don was in the room, and seeming relieved that he wasn't. "The irony is that I need Charlie and Amita to hack into it." David leaned over her chair, to look at the computer screen, eyebrows close together.
"I don't want to excite you, but I think I have an idea." He said, slowly. "Which does involve a small road trip."
"I'll grab my coat." Nikki's voice didn't have the same sassy spin on it as it usually did, and her movements were slow and sluggish. David and Liz traded doubtful glances and eyed the bloodstain on the back of her shirt. It was faint and smudged, like a brown dye watermark on the dark surface.
"Are you sure that you don't want to..." David was unsure of what really to say, so Liz spoke for him.
"Go get Don. Ask him for a change of clothes and meet us in the car." She ordered, though her tone was not authorative. Nikki did a wonderful impression of a goldfish for a split second, before nodding, almost embarrassed, and waiting until they had walked away before sidling into Don's bedroom, where he was fighting with someone on the phone. Once the stream of harsh profanity had halted, he snapped the phone shut and stared at her expectantly.
"What, Betancourt."
"Uh..." How would she put this?
"I don't have time for you." He stowed away his phone in his back pocket, and tried to push past them. "Where did the others go and does Colby have any progress?"
"They're waiting in the car, we're going for a road trip. Colby hasn't checked in yet, but I'm expecting a call soon." Wordlessly, Nikki turned her back on him, revealing the bloodstain on the back of her shirt. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed the surprised look on his face convert to sympathy, and he looked away.
Still silent, he walked over to his closet and rummaged around for a moment, before pulling out a blue button up shirt and holding it out to her. Limply and without the usual Betancourt defiance, she held out her hand and took it, suddenly unable to make eye contact.
"Thanks." She said awkwardly, and he stared at her for another moment before realising that he had to leave before she undressed. She didn't turn around, though she heard his footsteps halt at the doorway. Felt his eyes on her back. Made her shiver. Shudder. Her boss watched her as she pulled her shirt over her head, whining softly in pain. Nikki could feel his gaze waver as he saw the wound across her back, then grow more intense as she pulled his shirt around her.
"Nikki, we have a minute." The voice said, deep and calm from the doorway.
"For what?" She asked, confused.
"To talk." Turning around, still buttoning up the top buttons of the shirt, she stared at him expectantly. When she noticed the soberness of his expression, realisation dawned.
"It's no conversation. There's nothing to talk about." She knew that he wanted to know about her curse. But she couldn't tell him and she didn't know how to make him understand that. "The others are waiting."
"There's no way in hell that I'm letting you out that door unless you give me a really good explanation." He was blocking the door; there was no way that Nikki could pass without his consent. "Tell me what you meant."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nikki bluffed. "When?" It was a long shot that a simple question would throw him off his line, but she asked it all the same. Just in case.
It didn't.
"You know exactly what I mean." Pushing himself back off the doorframe, he strode closer, moving very fast. "You said to me, three days ago, that you thought you had nothing to lose. That you thought you only have a few years left anyway. And I wanna know what you meant!" He came up close to her, nose to nose and pupil to pupil. So close.
"I... I didn't mean anything." Nikki lied, too tired to even hide it anymore. "Why can't you just let it go?"
"Why can't I let it go?" Don was astounded. "Did you seriously just ask me that?"
"Yes, I did." She sassed back. "You don't care about me. If it starts affecting the way that I do my job, then I'll resign. It's none of your damn business-" Her voice was rising now, echoing in the otherwise empty apartment. Don's brown eyes narrowed.
"If it starts affecting your job? You mean that it's progressive?" He snapped, launching onto her words. "Tell me what it is." His tone was forceful now. Almost intimidating. Nikki pulled at the front of her shirt, refusing to look at him, and staring at the ground like a moody child.
"It's none of your business." She repeated, though this time she sounded almost sad. Small and scared, like a mouse in a warehouse, far away from any walls, doors, windows, any means of escape. Trapped in too much space. "Keep off, Eppes." His hands came out to steady her, holding her shoulders, and good thing too, because she was just about to collapse.
"Nikki, you have to tell me. I need to know." He cocked his head to look into her downturned face, her hair brushing his forehead. "You want to tell me." His thumbs dug into the flesh just above her breasts, firmly but not painfully. The warmth of his face soaked through the air into her, and she felt an oddly comforting sensation as his the skin of his cheek touched her temple. His breath on her ear made her lean in, sagging against his form. Small hot hands pressed flat against his stomach.
"I don't want to tell you." For a moment again, she sounded like a child. Asking her father over and over again, why her mommy had to leave her. "I want to just go to the car and get into the car and I want to leave. Now." Her voice was shaking; her breathing was erratic. Not only was her voice shaking, her body was convulsing like electric shocks were being charged through her muscles.
"Shh..." It was not as much a shushing noise as a rumble, echoing deep in his chest cavity. "Nikki just talk. Don't think about your words. Just open your mouth, and speak."
"I don't-"
"Speak or I can't allow you to keep up with this investigation." Sharply, almost without warning, Don's tone changed from soft to sharp, and his hands tightened on her shoulders. Nikki felt the first pangs of fear, stabbing low down in her stomach.
"Let go of me." She hissed, trying to front bravery but still shaking uncontrollably. "Let go-"
"No."
"Eppes-"
"No. Talk to me, Nikki. Talk to me."
"I'm not a suspect, Eppes, you can't talk to me like this!" She shouted, shrilly. "I am your partner." He shook her body roughly, by the shoulders, pulling her once more close to him. Frustrated.
"Yes, and that is exactly why you need to talk to me!" He hissed, angrily. "Tell me Nikki, this is the last time that I'm going to ask." There was a dangerous edge on his voice, which made Nikki anxious. In her few weeks working with him, she had never been the reciever of his anger. Before, she never realised how scary it would be in the suspect's seat.
"I..." He steered her to his bed, where he set her down onto the white sheets. He sat next to her. "I found out a few days ago. Now almost a week, but because of the case..." She cleared her throat, her voice strengthening. "I didn't really notice the time go by."
"How do you know that you only have a few years?" Don asked softly, as if scared that if he spoke too loud, she would close up again. "What makes you so sure?"
"It was my mom. I was only twelve when she left, and even though my dad never really spoke about it, I thought that she had left for another guy. He wasn't even my dad, though, he was my step-dad. I don't even know my real dad-"
"Nikki, you're rambling." He cut in, keeping his shoulder up against his, so she could feel his body heat, and be comforted by his presence.
"Right." She smiled, and wiped her cheek, sniffing slightly. "Well he told me... what really happened to my mom. She was hospitalised, roundabouts February '95." Nikki took a deep breath. "Huntington's disease." He pulled away immediately, eyes wide at her concession.
"Huntington's disease?" He asked, even though he didn't need verification. "Nikki..." To tell the honest truth, Don didn't know what to say. And Don always knew what to say.
"Symptoms haven't shown, but it's only a matter of time. Twenty-five to Thirty are the most common ages for them to start." Nikki sighed, shivering as Don pulled away from her slightly, leaving her shoulder exposed to the cold. It was thirty-five degrees outside and try as she might, Nikki could not regulate her temperature. "I'm twenty-seven. Close to twenty-eight. It's a surprise that they haven't..." Nikki cleared her throat again, awkwardly. "Yeah."
"Maybe you don't have it." Don offered, hopefully. "Have you had a definitive test done? Which means that you most certainly-"
"I only found out a few days ago!" Nikki insisted, almost angrily. "You don't expect me to-"
"Shh. Sorry, no. Of course I don't." He assured her, holding up his hands in an attempt to calm her. "I'm sorry." Gazing into her downturned face, his voice became stronger. It was verging on his boss tone, and Nikki wasn't sure if she found this discouraging or comforting. "But you should take a test, quite soon." His partner's eyes were still on the ground.
"I know. And I will. But right now, we need to concentrate on getting Charlie and Amita back safely. And that means chasing David down on his idea." Nikki smoothly changed the subject, and Don was so shocked at the information that his partner had just divulged that he let it change without objection. He stood, and walked over to the door, holding it open to her.
Nikki grabbed the laptop on the way out.
