Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Long story short, we had a bit of a meningitis scare between my son and his grandmother and spent the last few days in the hospital. Then when we made it home, my son developed night terrors on top of still not feeling well. It took roughly a week for him to get back to semi normal, allowing me to start a new job with some intense training. PLUS an impromptu move…let's just say my brain is on over load and part of it is because I've had ideas for my fics running rampant with no time to let them loose. I finally have a couple hours of down time and I wanted to get this out to y'all. I'm going to try to have another update next Sunday, along with a new fic for the tumblr Danico challenge so keep an eye out!

A quick shout out to Lisa1972 (lzod on twitter) for all of the support while my lil man wasn't feeling well; it really does mean a lot darling.

On with the story.

X

"It's really no problem Juliette. Uh huh. Yeap, I'll see you at six. Bye." Dani hit the end button on her phone. Despite Nico telling her earlier to expect the phone call, she was still a bit shocked when she answered to hear the tiny voice of Juliette Pittman on the other line. It was obvious by how her voice wavered and shook that she was not having an easy time. Not that Dani, or anyone for that matter, could blame her; she was going through withdrawals, her father just died, and her mother viewed her as a pawn in some sickening game.

Dani let out a sigh as she sat down at the island in her kitchen. She rested her head on the backs of her hands and closed her eyes. It was only one in the afternoon and she was already exhausted. Even though her day had started out great with Nico's texts, the minor confrontation with Matt had been draining to say the least. And she could tell from the look in his eyes as he left earlier that it was far from over. She wasn't lying when she had told Nico the more time went on, the less she had to pretend she had more than friendly feelings for Matt any more. Their breakup had been hard, but as far as she thought, it had been mutual. Though if she was totally honest, it had mildly pissed her off when he had admitted he thought she would change her mind about having children. He had let their relationship carry on based off a hopeless wish. And that fact made her feel significantly less guilty over not compromising herself.

Dani let out a loud snort as the word 'compromising' went through her mind in Nico's voice. It shouldn't really surprise her how similar they really were. They were both fixers; though Dani one of people and Nico one of the situations said people had gotten themselves in to. Yes, they had a bad habit of butting heads but in the end, they both wanted what was best for the people closest to them. And for Nico, one of those people had been Marshall Pittman. Dani brought her head up slowly as she was reminded of her former boss, her eyes coming to rest on the small brown box filled with the wiretap tapes she had left on the counter two nights ago.

With a huff, she pulled the box to her and glared inside at its contents.

"You little fuckers caused me so much grief the past few days." She mumbled. Dani stood and carried the box to the sink, flipping the garbage disposal on once she was leaned against it. It was more than past time to make good on her promise to chop the tapes up. She turned on the water and lowered one of the tiny, plastic rectangles in to the drain, letting out a bitter laugh at the satisfying crunching sound once it met the spinning blades. It took about ten minutes for her to grind up all twelve tapes. When she tilted the box to drop in the last one, a sliver of white at the bottom of the box caught her eye.

Dani reached in and pulled out a long envelope with her name scrawled across the front in what was obviously male hand writing. She tossed the last tape down the drain and turned off the disposal and water once it was washed away. She tucked her finger under the back of the envelope and tore it open as she sat back down on the stool. Inside was what appeared to be a simple one page letter in the same writing as the front of the envelope. As she unfolded it and began to read, it quickly became apparent who it was from.

Dr. Dani,

Whatever you do, please don't rip this up once you realize I am the one who wrote it. I know I have been the world's biggest asshole towards you and, whether you believe this or not, I am truly sorry for it. I make no excuses for ordering the bug in your office. I honestly don't have any, other than admitting that I'm a dick. My temporary need to hurt Nico at any cost got the better of me. I wanted revenge for him sneaking behind my back with Gabriel. So, I ordered something that would devastate you, which in turn would hurt him. He cares greatly for you, you know? But I digress. The regret I have in regards to that revenge is something that I carry now to my grave.

The moment the tapes were sent to me, I knew I had genuinely fucked up. Not only was Nico my best friend my entire adult life, he was my only friend. I know he gave Gabby up for me. I know he put a stop to their affair. He didn't, and doesn't, deserve to have me and my actions as a headache. And then there's you. You've done nothing but care for my team. Never once have you done a damn thing to deserve being caught in the crossfire of my mental instability.

I'm sure by now you have found that I have taken care of your IRS debt. Please, take this as my meager way of apologizing for the stress I have brought in to your life. Along with the delivery of these tapes. It's the least I can do to try to make up for what I've done…what I'm going to do.

If you haven't figured it out by now, yes, Doctor, I have taken my own life. Trust me when I say, this world will be better without me in it. The people in my world will be better off…

Anyway, I guess I have one more request of you as your former boss. Take care of Nico. And Juliette. I know that if she stands a chance at a semi normal life, it'll be because of the two of you. Oh, and have a great life Dr. Santino. I mean that with all the sincerity I have left in me.

With all my respect,

Marshall

Dani had a hard time reading the last few sentences because her hands had begun shaking so badly. Marshall had committed suicide, and one of his last acts had been to write her an apology letter. Well, an apology slash "deal with the aftermath of my death" request letter. As a therapist, she wished she had seen the signs. Professionally she told herself she could have helped the troubled man. Personally, she was confused as hell. Part of her was touched that he had seen his mistakes and tried to fix them. The other part, the more emotional part, was pissed the fuck off that he had been coward enough to take his own life and had the balls at the same time to ask her to take care of the two people that would be most affected. Yes, she had every intention of taking care of Nico and Juliette, even before his request. But it was still the fact that his letter read "I'm sorry for my bullshit, so I'm going to off myself. BTW, take of this for me would ya?" that infuriated her.

She spent the next four hours reading and rereading the letter, all the while trying to figure out how in the hell to tell Nico. The sound of a soft knock coming from the door in her office made her jump up and hurriedly hide the letter in her silverware drawer on her way to answer it. She tugged the door handle open and was met with the sight of a tense Nico.

"I have come to deliver an extremely wigged out Juliette to your capable hands." His voice was smooth despite the clench in his jaw. Dani offered him a nervous laugh and avoided meeting his eyes. How in the hell was she supposed to tell him his best friend had killed himself? All she knew was right this minute was not the time.

"I am not wigged out! Wait…did you seriously just say 'wigged out'?" Juliette popped her head around Nico's shoulder and walked towards Dani. The girl's amusement melted in to a shy smile as she looked at the therapist.

"Hey Doctor Santino." Her voice as quiet. Dani could hear the slight tremble in it that went along with her body shakes. She was definitely in withdrawals. Luckily for her, if she was honest about the last time she had used, she should be through the worst parts soon.

"Hi Juliette. Come in and make yourself comfortable. I'll be with you in just a moment." Dani reached out an arm and guided the fragile girl in to her office. Once she was settled, Dani turned back to face Nico, who had her under a studying gaze.

"Something's wrong." It was a statement, and it gave her chills that he knew something was off with her without even having to ask. She finally met his eyes with a pleading look.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say there isn't, but we both know I need to focus on Juliette right now."

He gave her a look that said he was about to protest but she raised her hand and placed it gently on his chest.

"We'll talk about it later okay? I promise."

Nico wasn't happy with her response but she could tell he knew she was right. He gave her a quick nod and rested his hand over hers on his chest.

"Later." Was all he responded before turning and walking back around the front of the house. Dani let out a sigh as she shut the door and turned back to face Juliette. It was time to put her game face on.

X

"So you and Nico huh?" Juliette questioned as Dani sat down in her chair across from the couch. Dani shook her head and clicked her tongue against her teeth.

"Juliette I need you to understand something. And this is the only time I will talk about this okay?" She paused and waited for the girl to nod her head in acknowledgement.

"This is an extremely unorthodox situation. Yes, I care greatly for Nico, which puts our relationship as doctor and patient in a grey area. In order for us to keep this as professional as possible, we can't discuss my personal relationship with Nico. Do you think that is something you can refrain from doing?" Dani attempted to keep her voice stern but she couldn't help the softness that entered it once she saw the cringe overtake Juliette's features.

"So I can't talk about Nico at all? If that's the case then I think I should maybe find another therapist." Juliette had already started looking around at the windows and doors, trying to decide what would be the quickest escape. Dani shook her head.

"No, we can talk about Nico in regards to how he has affected your life, or what roles he has played for you. I would never say that we can't discuss someone who has obviously had a great impact on you."

Juliette fidgeted and picked at the ends of her sleeves. Dani recognized it as a symptom of her withdrawal and reached on to her desk to retrieve her favorite stress ball. She reached forward and set it on the coffee table between them, offering it as an alternative to destroying her clothes. Juliette reached forward hesitantly and took it, giving it a hard squeeze between both of her hands.

"I've been to rehab enough to know how this is supposed to work. You ask me a bunch of questions about my childhood, I spill my guts out about how neglected I was, and you scribble out a bunch of notes saying how fucked up I am. That about right?"

Dani blanched at her words. She couldn't help but want to cause mass amounts of physical pain to the sorry excuses of therapists who had given her such a negative view of her profession. Dani rested her hands on her bent knees and looked Juliette in the eye.

"I will absolutely as you questions about your life Juliette. But I will never push you to talk about something you aren't ready to discuss. Since it's our first session, I am more than willing to let you begin where ever and with whatever you want to." Her voice as reassuring, something she took great pride in mastering.

Juliette was silent for a moment before looking down at the foam ball in her hands and speaking.

"I don't even know where to start." Her whisper was so soft Dani had to strain to hear it. She sat back in her chair and crossed her left ankle over her knee.

"I want you to close your eyes for me Juliette. If you're comfortable talking about it, tell me about the first memory that comes to mind."

Juliette let out a slow breath and closed her eyes. An instant later they shot open and she fixed Dani with a wide eyed stare.

"The first time I overdosed."

Dani nodded her head solemnly in encouragement for Juliette to continue.

"I think that is an excellent place to start."

X

An extremely emotional hour later, Dani lead Juliette to the door of her office with her arm around the girl's shoulders. When they reached it, Juliette turned to look up at the older woman.

"You know, I feel like there is a tiny weight lifted off my chest. I can almost breathe a little bit easier. I'm not even shaking as bad." She held out her hand, which still shook significantly. Both women couldn't help laughing at the sight. They were beginning to calm down when the sound of Nico's firm knock sounded on the other side of the door.

Dani opened it, and the smile she had dropped as soon as she got a look at the barely hidden devastation on Nico's face. His hazel eyes bore in to hers, begging for a moment of her time. Juliette, sensing the tension, excused herself to his car, leaving them alone. Dani reached for his arm and tugged him inside, quickly shutting the door behind him.

"Nico what-"He cut her off with a strangled voice that sounded nothing like his usual self.

"We finally found his Will…it was all there. The suicide note, the plan, everything. He killed himself Dani. Marshall killed himself…" Nico collapsed on to the floor in front of the couch, his knees drawn up, elbows resting on them and his head in his hands. Dani fell to her knees beside him and pulled his head to her chest and tried her best to comfort him. His strangled sobs vibrated through her soul and she couldn't help the flood of tears that streamed down her cheeks and in to his shortened hair. She rocked them back and forth as if she were comforting one of her children and whispered to him.

"I know, baby. I know."

X

Okay please don't hate me. I know there was hardly any Danico in this chap but I felt it was necessary to move the plot along. I do promise more next chap, along with a clever 'rehab' idea from Dani concerning TK and Juliette. I did cut her session short in regards to actual descriptive progress, but there will be plenty more chances in the future to see inside the wonderfully messed up mind that is Juliette.

As ever, an ENORMOUS thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved, and followed! You guys light up my life!

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See ya'll next chap!
Nic