Author's Note: So I just need to take a minute to freak over the fact that last chap got 12 reviews alone! In addition to like 8 more follows and 5 more favorites…you guys are the shit. I feel like this fic is becoming more of an 'our' baby instead of just mine…and that is an awesome feeling! I won't make this long since the one last chap was bordering on derp length.

Lots'o'drama this chap.

X

Good morning beautiful. –N

Dani smiled at her phone for the millionth time since she woke up to the buzzing of it on the nightstand. Nico had sent her the text at 7am sharp, and by 7:05 she was officially in one of her best moods of late. Leave it to Nico to be able to only use three words to start her day off great.

She now sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen, coffee steaming in front of her and her phone in her hands. She quickly tapped out a reply.

Good morning to you, handsome. Thank you for that fantastic wake up. –D

She reached for her coffee and took a sip just as he responded.

That is what you consider amazing? Imagine if I had actually been there to wake you up ;) –N

Dani choked on her coffee and had to fan herself to catch her breath. Not only did Nico just flirt with her, he sent her a winky emoticon to go along with it. And now she couldn't get the image of him actually winking at her suggestively out of her head. She was still clearing her throat when Lindsay and Ray Jay came down the stairs ready for school.

"You gonna die on us mom?" Ray Jay asked, burying his head in the refrigerator. Lindsay took a seat next to her.

"Why are you so red?" Her daughter inquired before biting in to an apple. Dani's eyes flickered between her children, down to her phone, and up to the coffee mug siting on the marble counter top. Now was definitely not the time to tell her kids she was potentially dating one of the few men they were actually afraid of.

"I just swallowed my coffee wrong. Besides, who are you two and what have you done with my angst filled, normally dismissive teenagers?" Dani felt her phone vibrate in her hand and had to suppress the urge to immediately read the new text. Ray Jay turned and leaned on the island.

"You bailed me out of jail mom. Acting ungrateful is a little immature…even for me." Dani almost allowed herself to feel pride for her son before the beginning of his explanation reminded her of the previous afternoon. She squinted at him.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, it is a bit tainted by the fact that I did bail you out of jail." She put emphasis on the last few words, making sure he understood she was still not happy with him at all. Ray Jay clamped his mouth shut and chose to focus on his cereal. Lindsay stood up to throw away her apple core.

"Spending a couple months doing charity work for the less fortunate helped me put some things in to perspective. I realize how good I have it. And as hard as it might be for me not to be a pain in the ass, I do appreciate the things you do for us mom." This time Dani's heart did swell with pride. Her little girl was growing up so fast. With tears in her eyes, Dani walked over to Lindsay and pulled her in to a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you baby girl." Lindsay awkwardly patted her mother on the back.

"Okay mom…I need to breathe." Dani stepped back and let her arms drop from around her daughter's shoulders.

"Right. Um, shouldn't you guys be getting to school?" Dani wiped at her eyes and tried to change the subject before she became entirely too emotional.

"Oh shit! C'mon Linds, we're gonna be late." Ray Jay exclaimed as he looked at the watch on his wrist. There was a whirlwind of teenagers as they both kissed Dani on the cheek and bolted for the front door.

"Watch your mouth Ray Jay!" Dani shouted after him. The front door slammed shut and she let out a long sigh. She stood there for a long moment staring after her children before she remembered she had a text message. Dani unlocked her phone a little more excitedly than she should have.

But you're most welcome. Figured you'd need to be in a good mood to face the potential chaos that is going to be today. Meeting in coaches office in an hour. –N

Dani groaned.

You just had to remind me. See you in a bit. –D

She began walking back upstairs to shower and get dressed when she received yet another text that drew a school girl giggle from her.

I'm counting the minutes. BTW, I'm feeling pretty pathetic right now. –N

Dani's heart felt like it was about to burst as she remembered the previous evening at the cemetery when he'd asked her if it was pathetic that he'd missed her. She reached her bedroom and began undressing before she replied.

Well that's a relief…I spent all night being pretty pathetic myself. Now leave me alone. I'm naked and need to shower. –D

X

Fifty minutes later, Dani walked in to the Hawks training facility. She wore a pair of skin tight black dress pants, a silver and black blouse that had short sleeves and a corset type bodice, and a pair of black stilettos. She had taken the time to curl her hair in to loose ringlets that hung around her shoulders, and her makeup was flawless. She had dressed to kill. Well maybe not kill, just elicit a reaction out of her normally stoic boyfriend. Dani nearly stopped in her tracks as she thought that last word. Boyfriend? That word most certainly didn't fit Nico at all. It especially didn't match the sudden intensity of her feelings for him. But then what was he? She groaned to herself as she added one more talk to her ever growing list.

As Dani rounded the corner towards coach's office, she had to stop herself from nearly walking straight in to a solid male chest.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry-" She was cut off.

"Dani? Wow…you look…wow." The sound of Matt's voice made her head jolt up and look at him. His eyes roamed over her body and she couldn't help but shiver under his intense gaze. She couldn't believe that she had completely forgotten about Matt over the last 48 hours. Between bailing Ray Jay out of jail, Marshall's funeral, helping Nico with Juliette…oh god…Nico. As if he could feel his name being thought of, she heard his throat clear behind her.

"Good morning Doctor." His voice was smooth as usual, which made her feel a little uneasy. Dani turned to face him, pulling a hesitant smile across her lips. When she finally got a good look at him, her stomach turned. His face, the one that had been so expressionable the past two days, was fixed in to his normal unreadable mask. If it weren't for the appreciative once over he gave her, she would have thought he was mad at her.

"Good morning Nico. Thanks for the wakeup call. I would've missed this entirely if it weren't for you." She tried to push all of her reeling emotions in to her words without being too obvious. She may be having mixed emotions about Matt right now, but that didn't change the way she felt for the man dressed in an impeccably tailored dark grey suit in front of her. Nico offered her a small smile. The fact that it didn't reach his eyes didn't go unnoticed though.

"The pleasure is mine, as always." An awkward silence fell between the three of them and Dani cleared her throat as she started to fidget.

"Well…shall we?" She nodded her head towards the glass door that read Coach Parnell's name. Dani didn't wait for a response from the two men. She stepped around Matt's still form and walked straight in to the office. She was barely around the corner when she heard Nico's voice behind her.

"Something you want to ask me Matt?" She could hear the pure dominance in his words, and the sound of it sent heat running through her veins.

"Something you want to say to me Nico?" Matt's response was bordering on snarky, and instantly reminded Dani of her growing list of reasons they weren't together any more.

"Nope." He accentuated the 'p' with a popping sound, which was as close to teasing as she had ever heard Nico get with someone other than her. She heard Nico's footsteps make their way towards her before he stopped just shy of the doorway. "Although, you may want to watch your reporter friend. I'm sure there isn't anything she wouldn't do for a good story." Nico rounded the corner and almost stopped when he saw Dani standing there. She squinted at him as he made his way around her to lean against the wall on her other side. He shot her a sidelong glance and winked. Dani's breath caught in her throat. There was that damned wink she had spent most of her morning thinking about. And the real thing was so much better than any fantasy she could have come up with. She offered him a smile and made to move closer to him when Matt's voice spoke from beside her.

"Here Dani, why don't you have a seat? I'm sure those neck breakers of yours aren't exactly comfortable." He said with a little chuckle at his own joke. Dani stared at him for a moment. Her good boy, her Mr. Right, holding her chair out for her like a gentleman. She had flashes of their good moments in her mind, and then they were suddenly gone and she was overcome with a sense of annoyance. She had cared for this man in front of her. She had let him go because she had cared too much. And when she needed him, as a friend, he had shrugged her off. And based on what Nico had said to him before entering the office, she now knew why. And it pissed her off.

"No thank you Matt. I'm fine standing." She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest to make her point, and subconsciously mirrored Nico's position. A dark look passed over Matt's face as he looked between the two of them. He was about to open his mouth to say something when coach breezed in to the office, an air of no bullshit about him.

"Glad to see we're all here. Now we can cut to the chase." He leaned back against his desk and looked all three of them in the eye in turn.

"We're releasing an official statement regarding Marshall Pittman's death later today. The media is going to want to know why his funeral was so quickly executed. And also who the hell owns this team now. Any details on those fronts?" He stared directly at Nico as he spoke. Dani tensed, forcing her arms to remain crossed so she didn't reach out and offer her support through touch.

"All the media needs to know about his funeral is that it was arraigned according to his family's wishes." The bitterness in his tone was palpable, but only Dani knew the real reason for it being there in the first place. "As for ownership, no one has been able to find his Will. His lawyers told me that he had drafted a new one last week but had taken the only copy with him. Once we find it, we'll have a better understanding of what is going to happen with the team." Nico leaned back in to the wall, this time a little closer to Dani. She could feel the heat from his body and she just couldn't resist any longer. She made it look like she was shifting her weight on her heels and leaned her shoulder against his, the contact shooting sparks through her body.

"Alright. Let me know as soon as you find anything out. I'd like to avoid a disaster. On our other matter of business. How is TK?" This time his eyes went back and forth between Matt and Dani. Dani spoke up before Matt could get a word in.

"As far as I can tell he's doing well considering. I was planning on making a trip up to see him tomorrow." She felt Nico turn to look at her in shock.

"I'll go with. It wouldn't hurt for him to see another friendly face." Matt spoke up from his seated position, his megawatt smile turned in her direction. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"That won't be necessary. Besides, the less people he has around him from here the better. TK needs to focus on himself right now and if you're there all he'll think about is the team." She tried her best to give her tone a dismissive edge. But she never claimed Matt wasn't dense.

"But I-" Nico cut him off.

"She said no Donally. I thought you of all people would have some appreciation for her expertise, considering you are the one who recommended her for the job in the first place."

Matt's mouth snapped shut and he stood from his chair. He shot the two of them a burning look before taking his leave from the office.

"Right. Well, let me know how your meeting goes with TK doctor. The sooner I get my star back, the better." Coach mumbled as he gathered up a couple of folders from his desk and left the office as well.

Dani and Nico let out a relieved sigh in unison, which lead to them laughing lightly. They were quiet for a moment before Nico nudged her with his elbow.

"You didn't have to do that." Dani looked up at him in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Dismiss Matt like that. I understand how serious things were between the two of you. You don't have to pretend you don't like him any more just because I'm around." Dani snickered at him.

"Oh trust me, the more time goes on, the less I have to pretend." They were quiet for another moment before he leaned forward and lightly grabbed her arm, leading her out of the office and down the hallway. It took them two minutes to reach his office. He ushered her inside, closing the door behind him. Dani took a moment to look around. She had only been in here once before and she had been too preoccupied to really look around. He had a wall of shelves, all covered in row after row of books. He had a loveseat made of black leather, two black padded chairs faced his desk, which was made of dark cherry wood, and a very comfortable looking stuffed leather chair behind it. She walked over to run her hand across the polished wood when she felt him behind her.

Dani turned around to face him, her breath hitching once she realized he was all but pressed against her. Nico reached out and traced a finger along her jaw, down her neck, and across her collar bone.

"As much as I don't like him, Donally was right. You look absolutely delectable." His voice was growing husky, his fingers sending shivers through her. Dani managed to look in to his gorgeous hazel eyes and give him a playful smirk.

"Are you saying I look good enough to eat?" His eyes darkened with desire, but much to her dismay, he held himself in check and grinned wickedly at her.

"That is precisely what I'm saying Danielle." Her name rolled off his tongue in a completely intoxicating way. "Though I can't really be sure without a taste." She held her breath as he leaned forward and gently ran his tongue from the base of her neck to the sensitive spot just behind her earlobe, which he took between his teeth and nibbled, making her moan with approval.

"Absolutely delicious." His breath on her ear made her whole body shake. It was incredible the way he was making her feel. Never in her life had she felt her body so attuned with anyone, granted her experiences weren't many. She felt his hands on her hips as he drew her flush against him and crushed her mouth with his. Her tongue immediately darted out to meet his as if they had been doing this for years. Dani reached up and raked her nails through his slicked back hair, earning a growl from him. He picked her up and placed her on his desk, stepping in between her legs. Instinctively she ground against him, reveling in the hardness she felt through his pants. Nico inhaled sharply and pulled his lips away from hers, making her moan in disapproval. With their foreheads resting together, they gazed breathlessly at each other. Dani was the first to voice her thoughts.

"Why did you stop?" Her question sounded more like a whine, and it made him laugh out a breath.

"Because I refuse for our first time together to be on my desk."

"Oh so you do plan on there being a first time then?" She teased him by kissing along his jaw.

"Absolutely. And no, I will not change my mind if you keep doing that." Dani pulled back and mock glared at him.

"You know it's creepy how sure I am that you live in my head sometimes." He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Don't act like you don't love it." Her breath caught in her throat. There was that word again. It somehow managed to work its way in to their conversation again, without any prompting. And then it lingered in the air, making her wonder at how true it might just be.

Nico cleared his throat and offered her his hand.

"I'm guessing you need to get headed home?" Dani nodded and took his hand, allowing him to help her off his desk, her legs still shaking.

"Mm…yes. I have an appointment this afternoon that I need to get ready for." Keeping her hand in his, Nico lead her to the door and opened it for her.

"Speaking of appointments, how is Juliette? Has she mentioned anything about making one?" They walked side by side down the hallway, arms brushing against each other.

"I offered to make arrangements with you but she insisted on calling you herself. She says she wants to handle everything when it comes to her recovery this time. So I'd expect a call this evening probably." Dani nodded and turned to face him once they reached the outside doors.

"Excellent. If you talk to her before then let her know I have an opening tonight if she's ready." Nico's lips twitched in a smile.

"You're incredible." Dani shook her head.

"Not really. Just looking for excuses to see you again later." That earned her a genuine smile.

"I'm sure a viable excuse can be arranged regardless." He took a step closer to her.

"So now we're resorting to making up situations?" Her tone was mocking. Nico glanced around them quickly to make sure no one was watching before planting a soul searing kiss on her lips. He pulled back as quickly as he had started.

"I'm pretty sure that isn't a made up anything." Dani stared at him, mouth agape. Nico reached up and pushed her jaw closed with one finger. "You better get going before you're late for your client." Dani shook her head to clear it and turned to open the doors. She looked back over her shoulder.

"So that is a yes to seeing you later then?"

"You bet your ass; which, by the way, looks fantastic in those pants. You should wear them more often." Dani couldn't help but feel a bit bold under his appreciative gaze and wiggled her hips slightly.

"Bite me Nico." He grinned at her wolfishly.

"All in good time Danielle, all in good time." He winked at her again and turned to walk back to his office, leaving her blushing profusely behind him.

X

AN: Well here you go, our first real scene with some serious sexual tension. I hope you enjoyed it! I wanted to start to address Matt here but also give a little bit of fluff since next chap will be Juliette's first session with our beloved Dr. Dani and will be pretty intense emotionally again. The poor girl has a lot of issues to work through. The update after that though we'll get to check in on TK! I am extremely excited to write him…he's such a dynamic character on his own. Add in our other lovelies and it's bound to be good fun. Anywho, I hope you guys liked this update. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

As stated above, BIG, GIANT, MEGA lovings to all of you lovely readers for your reviews, faves, and follows. You are THE BEST.

Follow me on Twitter for updates and randomness! At NicAm13.

See ya'll next chap!

Nic