CHAPTER 26
Two days. Two days have passed after the doctor's visit. Two days have passed by in which Emily has hardly seen Daniela around.
It's not like Daniela has been outside the loft. She hasn't gone out of the building ever since the doctor's appointment. She has barely stepped out of her own room.
Something in the girl changed and Emily has definitely noticed that.
The way how Daniela became so distant and kept the woman away at an arm's length is something that Emily didn't expect.
Yes, it could be that Dani was still holding some type of remorse because of the whole therapy thing but the profiler knows it's more than that.
Something is making the girl act so distant all of the sudden. Whatever it is, it's killing Emily inside. She isn't used to the girl treating her this way.
She needs to know what is bothering her. She needs to know today.
There isn't much going on inside the Prentiss loft. If it wasn't for the lights that are on in the living room, no one would think that there is someone inside.
There is no usual sound of the television making background noise, music playing from Daniela's room, or just usual movement inside the house.
Dani spent most of her day upstairs in her room with the excuse that she was doing homework. Emily knows what the teen said isn't true.
It's a Friday afternoon. The teenager never did any school work during the weekend, which by her means starts on Friday.
She knows she just said this in order to avoid going out of her room.
Emily was also in her home office for the majority of the day. Though she isn't working in person, she still has certain paperwork duties that she does from home.
She loves her position as Unit Chief but with that comes the horrible burden of endless paperwork.
Now she knows why Aaron Hotchner would stay in his office more than his own home. He practically lived in the BAU office at one point.
The brunette checked out the time and decided it was about time for a break. She hasn't eaten since the morning and needs something to regain her energy.
She turns off her computer and steps out of her office, making her way to the kitchen.
She is mildly disappointed in seeing that the girl wasn't out in the living room which she tends to be.
It's weird how she misses her presence even though they are under the same roof.
Emily finishes making toast for a sandwich when she sees a certain teenager entering the kitchen.
The teen enters and appears to be quite surprised when she sees Emily there, expecting her to be in her office during this time of the day.
Emily doesn't reproach her and instead greets the girl with a warm smile.
"Hey, I just finished making toast. Why don't you sit at the table while I finish making sandwiches for both of us," she said while gesturing at the table.
"I uhh... I just wanted a bottle of water," Dani replies while leaning against the kitchen's entrance.
"I don't want to be a bother."
"No, bother at all. In fact, your company would be of great help after a long and tiring morning of paperwork," The woman responds easily.
She can see the doubtful look on the teenager's face as she is still standing at the entrance. Just a foot away from leaving.
"Please?" the woman asks with a soft voice as she looks directly at the girl's soft hazel eyes.
Something about the woman's eyes made Daniela put down her guard. At least just a little. The teenager looks at her and sighs.
"Okay," she said while walking towards the fridge and opening it.
She takes out a cold bottle of water and walks back to the table, taking a seat.
Emily hides her smile as she makes sandwiches for both of them. She grabs the mayo jar and places a touch of it on the slices of bread.
Once she finished, she placed a slice of ham on both sandwiches, accompanied by a slice of mozzarella cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.
She places them on an individual plate and walks back into the dining room where Dani was waiting quietly.
"Here you go," Emily said while placing a plate in front of the teenager.
She puts her own plate on the table while she sits right across from Dani, hoping to have a face-to-face conversation.
"Thanks," the teen replies while taking a bite of her sandwich.
Emily carefully watches for a few moments before she begins eating.
Emily can't help but notice the teen's behavior. She noticed that Dani had no plans in talking with her. Hell, now she sees that the teen doesn't even want to see her.
Her silence was killing Emily. She wants to know why Dani was acting this way. Why did she suddenly become so distant? Was it something Emily said or did?
She tries to think of reasons why the teen was acting this way.
Maybe it's because I never told her about my past? She could be mad at me for not telling her?
She knows her telling Dani about her past as an undercover agent came in as a huge shocker to her. Emily has always been open to her about a lot of things.
She always believed that in order to form a strong bond with a person that there has to be trust and honesty.
Both of these things are interchangeable. There cannot be one without the other.
She always had that with Dani. Emily never lied to her or at least not on purpose. She always came clean with the teen because she has no reason to lie to her.
This particular instance was different. Technically, she never lied to her, she just held back the truth. A flawed logic she knows this thinking is.
They eat quietly, Daniela completely ignoring Emily's presence. She never looked up at her, always looking down at the table as if the woman wasn't right in front of her.
Emily feels a sting in her heart in seeing how the girl doesn't acknowledge her at all.
There is no other way she can describe what she is feeling than being ignored by the teenager. Just one word. Hurt.
Emily waits a few more minutes to see if Dani would at least acknowledge her.
After a few minutes with absolutely no attempt from the girl, Emily decides to address the situation between the two of them.
She clears her throat in an attempt in getting the teen's attention. As if on cue, Dani glances up at Emily, both eyes locking each other.
Emily takes this opportunity and starts to talk.
"Dan, I can't help but notice that you have been acting differently lately," she starts off in order to keep the girl's attention.
"Is everything okay? Is there something that is bothering you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Everything is fine," the teen replies as she looks down and places her sandwich on her plate.
"Hun, we both know that's not true. I can tell something is disturbing you and I want to know what it is," Emily says.
"I want to help you."
"Help me with what?" the girl asks as she places her hand down on the table.
"You've been restless. I know you say that it's the medication that is keeping you up at night but it's more than that," Emily answers, placing her hand on top of the girl's palm.
"Whatever it is, it has been keeping you up all night ever since you got back from the hospital."
Dani quickly removes her hand from the table, removing it from Emily's touch.
"Emily, I told you I am fine. I don't know what else you want me to say," the teen said with a rather annoyed tone.
"Then why are you acting all differently all of the sudden? You talk less often and you rarely get out of your room. You don't have that spark of energy that is always in you anymore. This isn't you,"
"Nothing is wrong. It's all in your head," Daniela tells the brunette, her tone slowly revealing her annoyance.
"And quite frankly, quit talking like if you know who I am."
"Because I do know who you are," Emily states calmly, not wanting to escalate the situation.
"Well if you do then you can figure out why I supposedly change," the teen challenges. No longer masking her politeness.
"After all, you're the great agent Emily Prentiss, Unit Chief of the BAU. You've profiled the biggest criminals. Just go ahead and profile me," she states, almost mockingly.
"So you want me to profile you?" Emily questions with her brow raised.
"Do whatever you have to do," the teen simply replies.
She pushes her chair back and gets up. "You'll just be wasting your time. I told you I'm fine."
Emily stands up and looks at the girl.
"We're not done talking. Stay. You can go back to your room once we finish this conversation."
"Well I'm done talking because there is nothing to talk about," Dani said while rolling her eyes in annoyance.
She pushes her chair back at the table and turns her back, walking away from Emily.
Emily moves her head to the side with an astonished expression. She couldn't believe Daniela was just going to walk away from her.
Emily paces behind Dani until she catches up to her. Before the teen can make it to the stairs, Emily walks in front of her, blocking her path.
"Sit," Emily told her with a stern voice while gesturing at the living room couch.
Daniela stares at her for a moment, hoping the adult would just move out of the way. The girl's eyes showed defiance but Emily's eyes reflected a stronger will.
The teenager quickly noticed that the woman wasn't budging so she lets out a frustrated sigh and reluctantly walks in the living room.
She sits on the couch as instructed. Emily takes a deep breath and walks inside the living room. She sits at the coffee table, wanting to be able to see the child face to face.
"You told me to profile you," she says, sitting up straight while looking at the teenager.
"I will but only to prove that there is something going on."
The girl sits up as well but keeps her gaze on the floor.
Emily doesn't want to have to profile Daniela but it looks like she doesn't have much of a choice.
The girl refuses to acknowledge that her behavior has changed and profiling can explain both how and why.
The agent uses profiling as an asset but she hates when her own tool is used against her.
She doesn't like when other people tell her why she does things and she knows the teenager won't like it either.
Profiling is about picking apart a person's behavior. Every part of it. Some people feel that invades their person. Their thoughts.
But by giving the girl her profile, she knows she will talk.
"The past few days, you've displayed certain behaviors in which one would consider emotional detachment," she starts, being careful in how she phrases things.
"Since we've been back from the doctors, you've been distant. You've been avoiding me in almost every way you can. You lock yourself in your room and only come out when you absolutely need to."
"I just need some time alone," Daniela says quietly, bouncing her foot as she still looks down.
"And I can understand wanting some alone time but another thing is completely detaching yourself from the people you love," Emily tells her.
"People like me."
Daniela has no response. She stays quiet at the agent's statement.
"I also noticed that you are not able to see me in the eyes anymore. You can't look up at me most of the time," the agent continues.
"You did this before. Right when I first met you. Lack of eye contact among foster kids can have various meanings. Lack of trust and fear of attachment are the main reasons."
"Now I think you are avoiding eye contact because of the feeling of anxiety. Your constant feet bouncing confirms it."
Daniela abruptly stops bouncing her leg and leans back to the couch.
"It's just a bad habit I have," she mumbles, almost inaudibly.
"All this change of behavior has happened because of that night," Emily says in a soft voice.
"I am a profiler but not a mind reader. Please just tell me something."
The teen just shrugs her shoulder and slouches further on the couch.
"What happened that night made you look at things differently. Made you look at me differently," Emily says with a worried tone.
"What makes you think something it's about you?" Dani mumbles while staring at the ground.
"As I said before, you have been acting distant lately. Especially from me," the agent said, sounding a bit hurt.
"You hardly talk to me and each time I try to start a conversation you shut me down. You try everything you can to not cross paths with me, avoiding me at all costs. It's like I'm a complete stranger to you."
Dani starts bouncing her foot once more without her realizing it.
"I told you. I just need space."
"And I respect that. I thought in time you would start to open up but I see that's not the case," Emily said while placing her hand on the teens bouncing knee.
"I need to know why you are avoiding me. Is it because you are mad at me?"
"No," Dani answers firmly while shaking her head.
"Then why?"
Dani opens her mouth but closed it, not knowing what to say.
"It's complicated. I... It doesn't matter. I'm not mad at you."
"You have the right to be mad at me though. I didn't tell you about my past as an undercover. It came to you as a shocker and I'm sorry. You have to understand that-"
"I told you that I'm not mad about that! Why won't you believe me?" Dani said in a wretched tone while raising her hands.
"Then why, Daniela?" Emily shoots back.
She hates pushing the teen like this but she had to know why her daughter was becoming so detached.
"It's nothing, Emily! I just... I just want to be alone. Is that too damn hard to ask?" She said with her voice cracking in the last sentence.
She tries to stand up to leave but Emily doesn't allow her to go.
"You are not going until you tell me. It's the only way for me to help you," Emily said, sounding a bit more demanding than she intended to be.
Dani looks at her and frowns with both anger and confusion. She feels like her chest is on fire and her throat was burning with feelings she refuses to let out.
The way Emily was confronting her directly is something she should have expected coming from her but it doesn't make it easier to handle.
The teenager has always had trouble handling her emotions. Adding Emily's consistent badgering makes it harder to manage.
Fight or flight.
An automatic physiological response of the human body under perceived stressful or dangerous situations.
That natural response has been guiding Daniela her whole life.
She couldn't confront seeing her brother at his funeral. Her instinct was flight.
When social services first came to her house to take her away. Her instinct was flight.
Each time she was placed in a foster house that wasn't her home. Her instinct was flight.
When her older foster siblings would pick on her for being one of the youngest. Her instinct, fight.
When her classmates would pick on her because of her living situation. Her instinct, fight.
In this particular situation, she doesn't have the luxury of choosing either-or. She can't run away from this. Emily isn't allowing her to do so.
She doesn't want to confront her. Confronting Emily means confronting the truth.
But it looks like she has no other choice.
"Fine! Do you want to know why I've been acting like this? Why do I suddenly want to walk away from you and cut you off?"
"You want to know the truth about all this shit, well fine I will tell you!"
She has rarely raised her voice at Emily. In fact, the only time she does is when she snaps.
She can control her anger for the most part but sometimes certain subjects touch a nerve, causing her to practically explode.
This is one of them.
Part of her doesn't mean to at this moment but all of this is too much for her.
She has tried everything she could to suppress what she is feeling. The fear, the anxiety, and the confusion. She thought she could handle it all.
After all, she has done it before.
She has been able to handle her emotional burden as a younger child.
All the negative feelings. She was able to suppress and push through. She has done this because she had no other choice.
If she were to let her emotions get the best of her, she would have been long gone.
Gone to an endless pit of darkness.
She has been doing this for years but in her case, practice doesn't make perfect. In fact, those years have taken a mental toll on her.
She can't do it anymore. She can't continue to hold the weight of her emotions right now.
She is tired.
Physically tired. Emotionally drained.
Now everything she has been keeping in is coming out in a mix of emotions that she can't understand. It's like a volcano about to erupt.
On the other hand, Emily looks at Daniela trying her best to hide her initial shock. She wants Daniela to talk and now she has her doing so.
But seeing Daniela suddenly snap was something unexpected.
Now she truly sees that Daniela really didn't want to tell her but now that she is, she is getting out all her emotions at once.
"The reason I try to distance myself away from you is not that I'm mad at you. It's... it's because I'm scared of losing you," she said with her voice cracking more and more with each sentence.
The teenager looks straight at Emily for a moment, feeling tears lingering in the back of her eyes.
She immediately looks away and tries to compose herself. She blinks several times, trying to get rid of her tears.
Dani's response was unexpected to Emily. She thought that the girl was mad but in actuality, she was scared.
She looks at the girl who was looking down at the floor, avoiding her look. She looks tense and scared.
Emily wants to calm her nerves down. She gently reaches for her, lifting up Dani's chin, and moving her head until they meet face to face.
Dani's eyes are glossy and Emily knew that she is hurting.
"Hun, what do you mean by that?" She asks softly.
Dani looks away again and inhales deeply before starting to talk.
"The day I was taken. I was scared. Hell, I was so fucking afraid. I didn't know the guy. All I knew is that he was angry and all that anger was directed at me."
She pauses and glances up at Emily for a second before drifting her eyes down to her hands.
"I came to a conclusion that I wasn't going to make it out. That I was just gonna die and for a second, it was less scary accepting that instead of thinking of the unknown. But then you came in."
She swallows down the fiery feeling she felt in her throat. Emily is attentively listening to each and every word Daniela is saying.
Her heart clenches as she heard the teenager saying that she practically accepted her death.
"You came in and then everything made sense. The guy was never mad at me, he was mad at you. He wanted to hurt you."
"Dios mío, Emily! Why couldn't you just set this one out? Why did you put yourself at risk?"
"I did it to protect you," the agent answers with a soft but firm voice.
"But at what cost? Yeah, I was scared of what he was going to do to me but when he had the gun pointed at you... the word scared doesn't cut it. I was fucking terrified."
All her words are coming out at once. She is saying what she felt. What she is truly feeling.
"Emily, I can't do this anymore. I don't want to bury another person I love. I've already done it twice and my heart can't take it anymore."
"First, it was my brother then it was my mom. Emily, I was about to lose you too. I don't..." she starts to sniffle, not being able to hold back much longer.
"I just can't go through that again," she whispers.
She feels tears streaming down her face and tries to wipe her face but there was no use, more tears came pouring in right afterward.
Emily's heart breaks immediately as she sees the girl break down. She stands up from the coffee table and sits next to Dani, pulling her into her arms.
Daniela tried to pull away but she feels too weak and Emily has a firm grip on her.
Emily pulls her close, both hands wrapped around the teen's smaller frame. She held her without saying anything as the girl cried.
Dani releases everything she has been holding inside for the last couple of days. The tears and sobs slowly built up inside her until she just couldn't bear the weight any longer.
She thought suppressing them would work but now she sees that wasn't the answer. She leans on Emily and continues to cry, strong sobs escaping from her chest.
Emily wraps one arm around Dani while smoothing her hair with another, soothing her quietly.
She hates seeing her daughter cry because she knew it meant that she is hurt. Each sob that she heard from the girl pierced through her heart.
The teen is having a rather hard time breathing at a normal pace. Her cries are making it difficult for her to do so.
Emily continues to talk to her in a gentle voice, telling her that it's okay.
She is holding back tears of her own that are stinging in the back of her eyes, wanting to be strong for Daniela.
Emily held Dani close to her until the girl calmed down. Once she hears Dani's breathing back at a normal pace, she kisses the side of Dani's head and slowly lets go of her.
Dani wipes her tears away as she looks in the opposite direction, not wanting to make eye contact with Emily.
She did this for a few reasons. One of them was because she felt too embarrassed about her crying like a small child in front of the woman.
Another reason was because of all the guilt she feels about treating Emily like a stranger.
It wasn't fair of her to do so. Emily didn't deserve to be treated like this from her. All she wanted to do was help but Dani kept pushing her back.
Emily gently rubs the teen's back with one hand, knowing this motion would help her calm down. Then she looks at Dani, trying to find the right words to say.
"Dan, is that why you were pushing me away? You don't want to get attached because you are afraid of losing me?" she said with a small, saddening voice.
Dani looks up, eyes slightly red from crying.
"I thought that if I walk away from you now it wouldn't hurt as much when I lose you. I just... it's the same story over and over again."
" I meet someone, I get too close, and just when things are starting to look bright, I lose them," she looks down at the floor.
"I don't want to lose you too."
Emily's heart aches as she hears Dani say this. The poor girl was right.
The people she would consider family was taken away from her one way or another leaving her out alone.
The world has treated her so cruelly, hardly ever allowing Daniela to be a normal kid.
Dani has been taught the toughest of life lessons, one of them being there is no such thing as happy endings. Emily wants to change that.
"Baby, I didn't know you were feeling this way," the adult admits.
"But you have to know that you won't lose me. I will never leave you alone," Emily promised.
"And how are you sure of that?" Dani asked while looking at her.
"Because I love you. Dan, you are the reason why my heart keeps beating. As long as we are together, nothing bad is going to happen to me or you," Emily said while reaching for the girl's hand.
"And it's not only me. You have a whole family now. Everyone in the team sees you as another member of our crazy dysfunctional family."
Dani cracks a small smile at Emily's comment.
"It is pretty crazy but I think that's why I fit in," said the girl with a sniffle.
"I really love all of you guys. I just... I just don't want to lose you all."
"And you won't. You will always have us for as long as you want. We will always be here. I promise," Emily said while giving the girl's hand a light squeeze.
Dani looks at her hands and squeezes back, knowing that Emily wouldn't break her promise. She then lowers her gaze to the floor.
"Em, I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I was an idiot. I'm really sorry," she said, completely guilt-ridden.
"Hey, you don't have to apologize for anything. I completely understand," Emily said in a soft voice.
"But I do. I treated you badly and you are the last person to deserve it. You did everything to reach out to me and I acted like a complete ass, pushing you away." She takes a deep breath, recalling all the times she closed off Emily.
"After everything that has happened you should be mad at me and I get that. I always screw things up."
"Hey, that's not true," Emily tells her.
"I could never be mad at you, hun. I know why you felt inclined in backing away from the people you love. I... I do that sometimes too," she admits rather melancholy.
"You do?" asked Dani with a brow raised. Emily nods.
"I landed in a few situations where instead of reaching out for help, I shut people out, wanting to run away from them," Emily explains.
She recalls various situations in the past where she did this. One of them is going after Doyle without telling her team.
She still wasn't sure whether or not she did the right thing. She pushed them out in order to protect them but ended up hurting them. Part of her regrets her decision.
"And from personal experience, I can tell you that it doesn't work like that, baby. When you step away from the people you love you will end up hurting yourself more than you can think."
Dani looks at her hands and sighs. "I just want to live without this fear of everything being taken away from me again. I just... I don't want to live through that again."
"And you won't. I promise," Emily assures her once more.
She scoots in closer to Dani and wraps her arms around her. Dani leans on the woman, feeling complete comfort in her embrace.
She rests her head under the crook of Emily's neck, smelling the scent of fine Marc Jacobs perfume. The nice vanilla fragrance Emily would always use. She snuggles closer, feeling the warm protection of the hug.
Emily keeps her close, not wanting to let go. Part of her feels better knowing what was bothering Dani.
Emily desperately wanted to know why the kid was acting so differently and if there was something she could do to help.
Now she knows the reason but that doesn't take away from the fact that it made her heart wrench knowing how much Dani was suffering emotionally.
She never wants her child to be tormented with the thoughts of being abandoned.
She just wants Dani to be happy.
Still having her arms wrapped around Dani, Emily starts to speak.
"Dani, I do have one more question that I have to ask you," Emily says.
"What is it?" Asked Dani while looking up at her.
"After we came back from the appointment. You said that the night you were taken, it wasn't the first time you had a... you had a gun pointed at you," she says cautiously.
"The person who took you the first time, William Jones, you said he had a knife not a gun so I know it wasn't him. When was it? The first time that happened to you?"
Daniela sits up, loosening the woman's grip but Emily still has an arm over her shoulders.
"Wow, agent. Looks like you are not pulling any punches today," the girl replies with a dry chuckle.
"I just want to know. That's all," Emily explains
And Daniela nods in understanding.
"Yeah, I get it. I mean, I grew up in South East MD. Let's just say getting mugged with a gun to your back isn't uncommon as you might think," she says, sounding unbothered.
"You know well who my father is. Or at least you know his rap sheet. He is the leader of a gang and whether I liked it or not, I grew around his people."
"Gang bangers. But I started to be more around them after my brother passed," she explains.
"My father, Marcos, ordered his goons to be around me and my mom more in order to 'protect' us. I mean, they are strapped all the time so he thought it was a good idea."
"Did they ever do something bad to you? Did they ever threaten you?" Emily asks, visibly worried.
This is one of the few times Daniela gives her insights about her childhood and how it was connected with her father's gang.
It makes her feel uneasy hearing how Daniela was so close to potentially dangerous criminals.
"Nah, they were alright. I mean, there were one or two dude's that kind of scared me the the rest of them were chill. After all, I am the Daughter of "La Muerte". None of them ever thought about betraying him," she answers.
"But apart from the security detail, Marcus assigned. He also told them to umm... I'm not sure how to explain it. To train me I guess?"
"He wanted me to know how to defend myself in case one of his rivals were to get me. The whole concept was crazy."
"How did they train you?" The brunette asks.
"Hand-to-hand combat for the most part. Call me crazy but I thought that part was kind of cool. What wasn't cool is them pointing their 9-millimeter Glock at me."
"Why did they do that? I thought they didn't threaten you," Emily questions with fret.
"They didn't. I mean... it's hard to explain. Basically, the whole thing was to teach me how not to show weakness to his rivals."
"They feed on that. They want to see a person afraid of them. It gives them power," the girl responds.
"So by pointing their gun at me, they tried to show me how to not be afraid of it. No descendent of Marcus Rivera would die showing fear. They die with honor," the girl pauses for a second and frowns.
"Oh man, talk about a lovely childhood," she says with a sarcastic smile.
"I'm really messed up, aren't I?" She says, resting her elbows on her knees while covering her face with her hands.
Emily sighs and takes hold of Daniela's hands, pulling them out of her face so she can see her properly.
"You're not messed up in any way, Dan. Please don't think of it like that," She tells the teenager.
"You seriously think I'm not fucked up in the head or something?"
"You can't possibly think after all you know about me that I'm a normal person. Nothing about my life is normal, " the girl responds, sitting up.
"Your life hasn't been easy but none of it is your fault. The things you've had to face, that either makes or breaks a person," she says as she pulls in the girl with one arm.
She rests her chin on the crown of Daniela's head as she continues to speak.
"In your case. It made you the great person you are today. Honest, loyal, loving, and protective of everyone you love. Me entiendes?"
"Sí," the girl simply responds.
She still has lingering doubts in the back of her head. Emily can be right.
The bad stuff that happens in life can make or break a person. The woman told her that it made her a better person.
But the teenager feels it has also broken her.
"Dani, I need you to promise me something, love," Emily says while still holding the girl close.
"Promise what?"
"I need you to promise me that you will talk to me about anything that is bothering or upsetting you."
"No matter what it is or how insignificant you think it is, I want you to tell me. I just want to help you and the only way I can do that is if you tell me."
Dani looks at her a little confused but nods.
"Sure, I guess."
Emily slowly pulls back from the embrace and frowns lightly. She lifts Dani's chin up so that they are seeing each other at eye level.
"Promise me, Dan," she tells her, wanting a firm response.
"I promise," the teenager responds with a smile.
Emily smiles back happily. She reaches over and places her palm on the side of Dani's cheek, smoothing her skin.
"You know that I love you so much. Right, Dan?"
Dani rests her head slightly on the palm Emily was holding her, feeling the soft touch. She nods, hearing the words out of Emily's mouth.
She noticed that Emily truly loves her without any limitations. She doesn't understand why but she knows that it's true. That is all that really mattered to her.
"I love you too, Em."
Emily's smile widens hearing her words. She leans forward and kisses Dani's head, making the girl slightly blush in the process. They both smile at each other, feeling a weight off their back.
They know everything they went through has been really hard to get through, both are still scared of something bad happening to one another but they know they can get through it as long as they are together.
And both of them promised they will always have each other's back.