Sometimes life takes some very unexpected turns…I hadn't meant to write the next chapter so soon, but once you get an idea, sometimes you just have to write it down…
"Dr. Santino, you look worse than my Uncle Bob after an all night bender at the old Hickory Stick"…
Dani had to struggle to not roll her eyes at that one. Coach had a way of putting words together that never ceased to amaze her.
"Well Coach, I was up ½ the night with your new kicker so he's ready to play in this weekends game", so yes, I am a little tired.
Ryan Doors had begun to have nightmares that just as he was about to kick the ball, he realized he was naked. They had freaked him out so much that he had paged her in the middle of the night after his latest episode and had asked to come see her.
When the knock had come to the door, she had opened it, halfway hoping to see Nico had driven the player over. But instead it was Xeno who had escorted Ryan in and had waited patiently in the SUV for him to finish.
Unable to get back to sleep, Dani had spent the rest of the night tucked up in her chair in her bedroom, a cup of coffee getting cold in her hands.
Over and over she had replayed the day she left Nico at the airport, wondering if there had been a sign that she had missed, something that would have told her he was leaving.
She had come in that morning for their regular 9AM meeting expecting to see him, excited to see him, only to find his chair empty. She had tried to hide her disappointment when Coach mentioned that Nico had gone to LA on an assignment. She had wondered if the "assignment" had anything to do with her, but couldn't dare ask any questions.
Over the next month, she had left him several phone mail messages, a few texts and a couple of emails before she finally gave up. Nico knew where she was, if he really wanted to get in touch with her, he knew how.
She had also made some decisions. She hadn't slept with Matt since coming home. She felt like she would be cheating on Nico, although she was smart enough to know that they didn't have a relationship that you could really cheat on. Matt hadn't been happy, but he accepted her decision and after a few rough starts, they had settled into a comfortable relationship where they could at least talk to each other without the awkwardness that had been there at the beginning.
She didn't even hear Coach leave and Matt walk in the room.
"Dani, earth to Dani". Matt snapped his fingers in front of Dani's face to get her attention. "Boy, you were far away, anything on your mind?"
Dani blinked several times to allow her to refocus on Matt. "No, sorry, I'm good, just didn't get enough sleep last night."
"You know Dani, you really don't look well. How about you come with me and get checked out with the Team Doc, the flu is going around and you are way too important for us to lose for a week." Matt held out his hand and she had placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her up. At that moment, a wave of dizziness came over her and if not for Matt, she would have fallen back in the chair. Matt pulled her into a hug to keep her from falling.
Dani didn't feel anything for Matt any longer, but it sure felt nice to be held, so she let herself relax in his arms and took the comfort that he offered. Just as she was about to pull away, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Nico had come in that morning expecting to see Dani. He had prepared himself for almost every situation, but he hadn't expected to see her this way, wrapped up with Matt. A wave of pure jealously went through him. While he had no right to her, no right to feel that way, she belonged to him, had the moment he had first taken her in the motel room in Kansas, she would be his forever. He just wasn't 'sure that he could ever tell Dani that.
After letting Dani go, Matt turned to Nico, ignoring the death stare that was Nico's trademark.
"Nico, when did you slide back into town." Matt was curious what had taken Nico out to California for the last 6 weeks. He suspected it was Gabrielle Pittman, but knew he wouldn't get a straight answer if he asked. Matt and Nico never talked, they traded sentences.
Nico didn't answer his question. "Matt, Marshall Pittman wants the complete training history on his first line, today."
"Sure Nico, I'll get right on it. Dani, go see the Team Dr., okay?" Matt held Dani's eyes until she nodded and then he walked out, leaving Dani and Nico alone.
Immediately, Nico took a step towards Dani, "Team Dr.? Why does Matt want you to see the Team Dr? What's wrong?"
Rubbing the bridge of her nose with her hands, she sighed and turned to him. "Nothing is wrong Nico, I've been up half the night and Matt thinks that I may be coming down with the flu, that's all."
"You would tell me if you were sick, wouldn't you?" Nico went to reach for Dani, but she stepped away from him.
"Nico, whether I have the flu or not is none of your business. You left Nico. For 6 weeks you have been gone without a word. I called, I left emails, I sent text messages, and you ignored all of them. So don't you DARE walk back in like you just went out for coffee and ask how I am. You don't have that right, understand?"
With that Dani left the office and didn't stop until she was in her car in her garage. Shutting off the car, she closed the door behind her and just sat in the dark and quiet.
She had missed him and she had hoped that they could figure this out. But when she found out that he was gone, and the weeks went by with no word, she had realized that she was a fool, the worst kind. The kind of fool that had fallen in love with someone who couldn't or wouldn't ever love her back.
Getting out of her car, she made her way into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and headed upstairs to bed. She was exhausted. Maybe some sleep would help her feel better.
Outside, Nico watched the garage door go down. He knew he had upset her by coming back and he had followed her home just in case she needed him. "Old habits die hard" Dani had told him that once. He had gotten her messages, all of them and had dialed her number a hundred times over the 5 weeks, but just couldn't bring himself to push the "send" button.
Instead he had Xeno send him reports. He knew that Matt hadn't stayed in the house since they had gotten back from Denver. Knew that she had taken on quite a few new clients, and from the latest pictures, knew she was working too hard.
But the pictures hadn't prepared him for the bluish shadows under her eyes, or the fact that she had lost weight. What had knocked him back was how sad she had looked in Matt's arms. Like someone who had been in a storm and found a warm dry place to wait it out. He's been jealous of the fact that when she needed a warm place, it wasn't in his arms that she found it.
But he hadn't been around. His own fault. He had needed space from her. He needed to figure out how to be around Dani, without wanting to be with Dani. Nico sighed and put the car into drive. He was going to have to figure it out fast.
Marshall Pittman had offered him the chance to go out to LA full time. He had thought about it, seriously. He still was. When Marshall had needed something done in NY, Nico could have easily delegated it to Xeno, but he had to come back. He had to see Dani.
"Danielle, Danielle, wake up." As Dani struggled to wake up, she became aware of her Mom sitting on the edge of the bed. "Ma, what are you doing, I'm trying to sleep here."
"The kids are hungry and so am I. Are you making dinner or should I take them out for Pizza?"
At the mention of dinner, Dani's stomach took a turn. "Can you take them? There are a couple of 20's in my wallet. I think Matt was right and I do have the flu."
"Okay honey, you sleep. I'm going to drop the kids off with their father for the night so you can rest. Call me if you need anything."
Dani waited for the house to get quiet and then slowly got up. God, she felt awful. She should have gone to the Team Dr. He could have prescribed something for her.
She barely made it to the bathroom before she threw up the little she had eaten during the day. After washing her mouth out with water, she splashed some on her face and took a look in the mirror.
"God, you are a mess". Her hair was stringy, she was pale as a ghost and the circles under her eyes were worse than usual. As her stomach started to roll again, she sat on the toilet with her head in her hands, waiting for the feeling to pass. Boy, she thought, the last time I felt this bad was with Linds...
"Oh my God, no. no, no, no, no. NO!" Her mind was racing, "Okay stay calm, just stay calm. You have just been working too hard, that's all."
She couldn't be. There was no way. She and Nico had used protection, they had been so careful. And then she realized that last time, they had been rushed and she figured that she was at a safe time during her cycle. They hadn't bothered, and she hadn't thought anything of it, until now.
The pounding in her head got worse and worse, until she realized it was the front door.
"Oh Xeno, this is so not a good time". But as the knocking continued, she belted her robe tighter and headed down the stairs to open the door, only to find Nico.
"What the hell do you want; you are not welcome here anymore. I would appreciate if in the future you just send Xeno with your latest clients" Dani was in no mood. Her thoughts were racing and she needed to be alone.
She tried to close the door, but he stopped her and pushed it open. She had had enough.
"Dammit Nico, leave me alone, just leave me alone. I kept my promise to you, just one night. We both got what we wanted, but it's done now. But you can't keep coming here, you just can't. I can't do this anymore Nico. I can't do this. You just have to leave me alone. I can't Nico, I can't ….." the words wouldn't come anymore and she started to cry.
Nico closed the door behind him and took her into his arms. His Dani, always his Dani. At first she resisted, and then stopped fighting him. He held her until she stopped crying.
He knew he had hurt her, again. It seemed like he was always hurting her. Maybe it was for the best that he head out to LA permanently.
He wasn't cut out for this; he loved her, more than his own life, but he didn't know how to do this, whatever this was with Dani.
"Dani, I came to tell you something. I'm leaving tomorrow for LA. I'm going out there full time. It's for the best for both of us. You can go back to living your life, and I can get on with mine. Matt is the better man Dani, you and Matt can….."
"Nico, there is no me and Matt, there hasn't been since we got back from Colorado. I couldn't go back to him now, even if I wanted to. I don't think he would have me."
"Dr. Santino, Dani, you don't know what you are saying. All you need is a little time. You will be happy again and with me in LA…"
Nico never did know how he would have finished the sentence, as all thoughts left his head after Dani interrupted him and her next words tore through him.
"Nico, I'm not sure but I think I may be pregnant"…..