Scarred for Life by Shea K

1: The end. Already?

An early spring typically makes people think that the year had promise. The beauty brought on by the bright greens of the grass and leaves, the cheerful songs of all types of birds, and the caress of the light breeze makes it seem like everything was fine in the world. It was as if everything was right everywhere and nothing could ever go wrong.

Keeping up the façade that everything was right was the look of the neighborhood, holding just as much promise as the day. Well-kept, two-story houses lined the spotless streets. If fences made good neighbors, everyone around must have gotten along rather well since either a fence, gate, or hedge separated each home. Each house had a large front yard with lush green grass, as if no one dared to mess up the perfect picture by having a piece of grass out of place. Some yards did have children's toys or bikes littering the walkways or the lawns, but those flaws added a soft touch to the scene, making everything seem almost sickeningly sweet.

Would everything be so sweet if they knew a former predator roamed their fair streets? If they knew a Wolfe was wandering about their picturesque little neighborhood? If they knew that the Great Dane was outside their doors and could later on be picking up their daughters? Well, could, but more than likely would not.

Dane shook those thoughts away, continuing down the street of the pleasant looking neighborhood, a noticeable limp in her step. Quaint was the word that came to mind; it seemed like some place comfortable, and even held the possibility of being… real. She had not had the opportunity to spend time in many real places, but she was willing to bet that the quaint-looking neighborhood was just as phony as other environment she had had the displeasure of walking through.

Dull grey eyes glanced around each house, Dane liked to think that each held a happy family that was doing the right thing to an extent, but she was certain that was just a dream-the last shred of human hope held in her withered, tired heart. From her experience, she was sure that every house, every individual, had more secrets than most would fathom. Some of those secrets were quite benign, she would give them that; any healthy life racked up a few mild secrets. But, others…others could mean jail sentences, children taken away, property lost, excommunication, and exile from the community. She had met and kept her fair share of both.

Dane liked to think that she was not completely jaded with the world, as her eyes were grey, not green. She figured that somewhere in all of those prim yards, tidy driveways, and well-kept houses there was a family that was generally all right. Somewhere in the pile there were people that actually cared for each other and others and tried to do the right thing more often than not, no matter how insignificant matters might seem. It was the law of averages, she supposed.

But, all in all, she could guess the story of the suburban neighborhood. The beautiful façade was draped over everything, hiding the real show from the world like curtains on a stage play. All the world was a stage, she knew, but some places wanted to hide their show more than others. The show had stopped interesting her years ago; the masks were better left off, and all the actors naked before her to let her know that everybody was more fucked up than they wanted to let on. Herself included, of course.

As she continued on down the dark grey sidewalk, she came to a street with children playing. She chuckled a bit to herself; she used to think that children did not do that anymore, but apparently she was wrong. Well, it was either that or she managed to get sucked back in time ten years. Not being high, she leaned more toward the former than the latter. It was nice to see kids playing outside, on a block, almost like a television show.

Youthful eyes stared at her as she came through. She suspected that she might have had the word "outsider" branded to her copper-tone forehead or they just knew that she did not belong. This time, she was sure it was the latter; she liked to think that she was alert enough to notice if someone branded her sometime in the last twenty-four hours.

It seemed like the type of little neighborhood where everyone knew everyone else, at least in passing. Of course, no one knew her. She was new, she stood out, and she carried herself in manner that she doubted was fit for the pure-and-simple area.

There was the chance that she might be mistaken for a delivery person. She was pushing a ratty, rusted bike. In fact, the bike was disturbing the peace and quiet because it squeaked rather badly. She had a bag; sure, it was a book-bag with one strap broken and duct tape covering the bottom as well as a hole on the side. She doubted that anyone was going to think that she was delivering any kind of food and if she was, they were probably going to urge the recipient not to eat it. Destroying any chance of being mistaken for anything but the weirdo she knew they thought she was, she was carrying a worn guitar case.

She doubted that it helped that she had piercing on her face; there were two bars in her left eyebrow. She was also wearing a worn-out pair of sky blue shorts that went past her knees; some puffed-up scars poked out from underneath the right cuff while light scars cut cross both legs. She had a clear limp that seemed to beg people to stare, at least for a few seconds. A chain dangled from her pocket to her belt loop, and the movement seemed to catch some of the attention that she was getting. The noise of the chain hitting against her slim thigh also deflected some attention from directly on her.

Having become an expert in ignoring people and shutting out the god-forsaken world whenever she wanted to, Dane pressed on as if she walked these streets a million times in her life. She crossed a street and noted the sign telling her that she was now on 23rd street. She went into the pocket of her large, blue jean shorts and pulled out a wrinkled sheet of yellow paper. Written on it was simply, "23rd and Jordan ave. 23-07."

She checked the deep green and perfect white street signs to make sure she was on the right track. As far as she knew, she was. She scratched her head, mussing her already wild mop of ebony hair, with the hand that held the paper. She then put the paper away, pushed her bike onto 23rd street, and began scanning for the house in the fading light of day.

She came to the middle of the street and thought that she had finally come to the house that she was looking for. It was a clone of the houses around it, but painted a deep red while most of the other houses were white. The short, verdant lawn was divided in two by a walkway leading up a clean, long porch. There was a tree on the left side of the lawn that her gaze lingered on for a moment, thinking about how she would have loved to climb the long, thick branches when she was a child. She quickly rid herself of that thought, knowing that it would take her to dark, dark places.

She dropped her bike at the bottom of the steps at the porch and scaled the five low stairs to the porch. She glanced at the two windows flanking the door and saw that the house was dark. Still, she decided to knock before assuming that no one was home. When the loud knocking was not answered, she figured no one was there or she was not wanted. Either way, she was not getting in the house.

She glanced over at the driveway and noted the luxury black sedan that was parked there. She was a bit curious why the car was in the driveway, but no one was home. She considered that someone might be back quickly. There were stores, restaurants, and take-out places not too far from the house, so a person walking was not farfetched.

Dane was about to sit down on the stairs and wait, as she had nothing better to do with her life. She could use a break too; her leg was practically screaming for her to take a moment to stop. A grumbling noise halted any plans that she had for resting. She glanced around and when she did not see any angry bears around, she gathered that the noise had come from her stomach. She glanced down at her growling belly, seeing nothing but her torn black, short-sleeve shirt.

"All right, monster, I'll feed you. I just need to see how much money I have," she muttered as she went into her pocket. She pulled out her worn leather wallet, which was connected to her shorts by the long chain at her side. When she opened the wallet, she was surprised that a moth did not fly out of the thing because it was so empty. "Hmm…couldn't even buy a stick of gum right now. Isn't that always the way?"

She chuckled a bit at her own question and shook her head while placing her wallet back into her pants. She gathered her bike and proceeded to make her way off of the property. Her stomach voiced its displeasure again, much louder than before, and she just laughed again.

"Cry all you want, but it damn sure isn't putting food in you and it ain't putting no fucking money in my wallet either," she remarked, but her empty belly missed the joke. It grumbled again and she ignored it, like the rest of the world. She could get some money, but she just was not in the mood to search for a bank right now.

-----

A pair of car doors slamming echoed through the quiet neighborhood that was now blanketed in a comfortable spring night. The bright moon overhead, shining down on the world like a spotlight, was witness to the loud clicking of high heels that moved in annoyed stride up the stone walkway. The heels were quickly accompanied by the soft sound of leather shoes.

Pink-painted, glistening lips twisted into a frown when the sound of the other shoes echoed through the night. The high heels clicked quicker for a few seconds before resigning to fate and returning to the original, but tense pace. They clicked up the wooden stairs and were followed by the patter of the other shoes.

Keys jangled mirthlessly as they were freed from the small black handbag that had been their prison for hours. Before they could do their job, they had a meeting with gravity and ended up on the wooden porch. A groan followed the plummet; the groan did not come from the injured keys.

"Come on, babe, it's cold," the owner of the leather shoes commented. He was a slightly tall man with dark brown hair combed back, but a few strands fell into his equally dark brown eyes. He had a sort of baby face with his deep brown eyes and rounded jaw. He was wearing a white oxford shirt and black slacks. He had left his jacket because it was so nice when they left. He did not assume that it would be a few degrees cooler when night rolled around.

"Yeah, I hadn't noticed that all, Tyler," his companion answered as she leaned down to pick the keys. To help the matter, Tyler checked out her ass as her black dress rode up her lovely legs a little more.

If she saw his "help," she did not say anything about, but she did roll her emerald green eyes; eyes that were fiery and hard as the gem they were colored after. She picked up the keys and put them in the lock. She quickly opened the door and almost shut it before Tyler could come inside. She caught herself, as well as the door, before it slammed into Tyler's perfect nose.

"It was great to go out, wasn't it, Nikki?" Tyler asked as he shut the door. He failed to see her visibly flinch when he said "Nikki."

"It was all right," Nicole, as she preferred to be called, answered in a flat tone. Really, the only way the evening even ranked "all right" was if she was truly fine with picking up the entire check at a restaurant that she did not even like to eat at after seeing a movie that she had never wanted to waste her time on. If she was going to be honest with herself and rank the evening on a scale of one to ten, she would give it a two and the only reason it got such a good score was because she was able to check her email while she was at dinner. She was going to have a light day at work on Monday.

"It was more than all right," Tyler insisted while wrapping his arms around Nicole's slim waist and pulling her to his taller form. He nuzzled her olive-toned neck, breathing deeply on her skin. "You smell so good…" he whispered in a seductive voice.

"Yeah, well, I'm tired," she replied in a clipped manner while pulling out his embrace.

"Babe," Tyler said as he reached out for her. She made sure to get out of his arm length as quickly as she could.

"I'm going to take a shower," she informed him and did not have to look back to know he was fixing his mouth to say something stupid. "No, you can't join me," she added.

Tyler's shoulders slumped and he pouted as she retreated from the room, going upstairs. After a few seconds, he marched up the stairs too. He heard the shower going already and he went to the master bedroom. He started unbuttoning his shirt before he even turned on the light. He flicked the switch and dropped his shirt to the floor.

By the time Nicole came into the room, dressed in a complete plain, light blue pajama set, the first thing she noticed were clothes on her otherwise clutter-free floor. She growled, low in her throat, and cast her eyes on Tyler. He was reclined on the bed, watching television in his boxers.

"I guess you're staying the night," she commented in a controlled tone. A vein throbbed at the side of her head.

"Yeah, I thought it would be a nice end to a nice evening," he replied with what he wanted to be a sexy smirk. She frowned at the sight and pushed down bile as it rose in her throat.

"Well, I'm tired," she stated soundly, hinting strongly that she just wanted to go to sleep.

Well, she thought that she was hinting strongly. Tyler apparently missed the whole clue because he leaned over to her side as soon as she lied down. He reached over, large hand caressing her thigh before she even completely settled in. She shuddered, but he mistook it for a shiver.

"I just said I'm tired," she snapped mildly while removing his hand. She actually thought his hand was small for someone his height. He stood just over six feet and she knew that he could not palm a basketball, so she assumed that meant his hands were small.

"Baby, you're trembling for me," he whispered before kissing her cheek and trying to turn around to him. She saved him the trouble and faced him.

"I don't want to!" she huffed, shoving him squarely in the chest, knocking him to the other side of the bed.

"Babe…" He looked incredulous, eyes wide with shock while glancing down at himself first as if making sure everything was intact. He then directed his gaze toward her. He glared at her, demanding that she explain herself.

"I said I was tired," she repeated in annoyed tone with a tight expression on her smooth face. Come on, she was wearing a full set of pajamas! Did it look like she was screaming, "Come and get me"?

"I thought you were just playing hard to get. The night was so nice, I thought we could cap it off," Tyler replied while reaching over to run his fingers up and down her arm, but she moved out of his range. She was close to falling out of bed now in order to get away from him.

A vein at the side of her bulged and throbbed. "I'm tired and I have work to get to in the morning," she stated in a deliberate manner.

"It's Sunday tomorrow," he pointed out.

She growled. "I had to bring work home," she informed him.

"Oh. But, I thought you had easy cases," he stated.

Nicole balled up her hands into fists, but then counted to ten slowly in her head to prevent herself from lashing out again. The vein at the side of her looked like it was ready to burst. She mentally asked herself why he was saying such stupid things. He knew that sometimes she had to take work home with her just like he had to take work home with him. They did have similar jobs, after all! But then again, she doubted that he was interrupted as much as she was when working.

"I don't have time for this. I'm going to sleep. Make sure you pick your clothes up off the floor," she said and she turned her back to him. Her tone held such finality to it, as did her move, that he knew better than to touch or any anything to her now.

Tyler grunted and frowned at the back presented to him. He looked at his offending clothes and decided to leave them where they were. She would get them when she woke up; he knew that as much as he knew the sun would rise in the east. He turned his attention back to his television show.

-----

There were lights on upstairs and a familiar-looking, red sports car was settled in directly in front of the house. The knock was loud, needing to reach upstairs as far as she knew. Mumbled curse words let her know that the knock reached its designated target like a missile, and as if being hit with that missile, the target did not seem happy. Without bothering to ask who, the door was ripped open; if it was alive, the door would have winced.

"What?! Do you know what fucking time it is?!" Tyler demanded to know, standing in the doorway in his orange boxers and white v-neck tee shirt.

She blinked hard; actually, no, she had no clue what time it was. Knowing what time it was usually involved owning a watch of some kind. She had lost hers some time ago and never bothered to replace it. The best she could do right now was say that it was late and the only reason she assumed that was because it had been dark for quite a while now.

"No, Tyler, I don't know what time it is, but then again, I was always skeptical that you could tell time," she commented. Her brain scolded her, "Don't insult the person you need to ask for a favor." She ignored her brain; she would insult whoever she damn well pleased.

"Dane? The hell are you doing in here?" he snapped, brown eyes glaring at the woman on the porch.

"I need a place to drop for a couple of days. Nothing too long," she answered while tugging at the one good strap that her book-bag had.

Tyler's hand on the door shook with the urge to slam the door in her face. His tongue was ready to lash out at her, tear her apart, and leave her standing on the porch looking like the ass he thought she was. But, he knew that would be a bad idea for a number of reasons. Aunt Christine would never forget it.

"A couple of days, but that's it," Tyler stated soundly while stepping out of the way to let her enter.

"That's all I need," she answered with a shrug as she stepped in. It was all that she would take from him. It was much more than she wanted, though.

"Good." He slammed the door behind her. "You stay in the den over there. Don't come out until you're leaving, don't eat any of the food, don't touch anything, and make sure I don't have to see you anymore."

"Wow, such hospitality," she remarked sarcastically while looking into the dark room that he wanted her to stay in. It was off to the right side and she could not see that far in, but it did not look very big.

"I could just leave you on the streets, you bum," he pointed out in a gruff tone, making it obvious that he thought he was going to win the Noble Peace Prize for just taking her in for two days.

She rolled her smoke-colored eyes and marched off into the room, swallowed whole by the blackness and peace. Tyler rolled his eyes too and marched back upstairs. He crawled back into bed and looked at Nicole's back. She still appeared to be sleeping, so he continued to watch television for a couple of hours.

-----

Nicole awoke to something poking her in the back. She groaned in disgust and moved away, only to find the annoyance following her. She ended up falling out of bed, which was quite the crappy wake-up call.

"Damn it," she muttered, rubbing the top of her wild, long, dark auburn hair.

"Nikki, what are you doing?" Tyler asked as he peered over the side of the bed.

"No, please, don't try to help me up," she commented sarcastically as she climbed to her feet.

"Come on back to bed. Let's have a little bit of fun," he proposed with a smirk.

"I've got work to do. I told you that," she reminded him in a sharp tone.

"It's Sunday, babe. You don't need to get to it right away. Besides, your parents own the firm. You know they'll cut you a break," he pointed out, still smirking from the confidence that he had in her getting back into the bed.

"That's not the point," she growled so deeply that her lips did not even move.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can do it later. Come on back to bed. We can start the morning off right and then you can make breakfast."

"And then let me guess what your plan holds, we'll go back to bed?" she figured. Her generally lovely face was twisted to the point of looking like a cartoon version of herself. The fact that her hair was going off in every direction did not help her look serious.

"Brilliant idea! So, come on, back to bed," he said while lifting up the blanket for her to crawl back into bed.

Nicole growled again; stray dogs would have run from her if they heard the noise. Tyler was either deaf or insane because he continued smiling as she glared at him. She knew that his expression was due to the fact that he did not take her seriously, which only made her glare harder, eyeing him as if she was trying to set him on fire. Nicole decided not to let him ruin her morning anymore than he did, so she walked to the bathroom in the master bedroom. She started brushing her teeth and then a thought came to mind.

"Who was at the door last night?" Nicole asked curiously with a toothbrush hanging from her lip.

"My cousin," he answered with a shrug as he sat up in bed.

"Oh. What did he want? Is everything all right?" she continued on, not thinking that it was all too strange for his cousin to come by. It was a little weird for the cousin to come by in the middle of the night without calling first, but there could have been an emergency.

"Everything's fine. The bum just needed a place to stay for a couple of days. I put her in the den."

Water continued to run, but the scrapping of the toothbrush stopped. Somewhere in the distance, there was the sound of a camel's spine shattering completely. Nicole emerged from the bathroom to stare at Tyler in disbelief. There was not even a hint of anger in her gaze, just sheer and genuine disbelief at the gall of the man.

"You're letting your cousin stay in MY den?" Nicole inquired in a stern tone. Her emerald eyes looked like they were trying to cut Tyler in two, vertically.

"What's wrong? It's just for a couple of days," he argued with a shrug.

"What's wrong is that it's MY house! You don't live here, so you don't just let your damn family crash in my damn den!" Nicole screamed.

"I live here too," he countered.

"No, you don't! This is my damn house! You have an apartment downtown and that's where you live and that's where you should have put your cousin! You're so damn selfish! You never take anything I want or how I feel into consideration! I'm not a fucking doormat and I'm not going to let you walk all over me anymore!" The dam was broke and her feelings were flooding out, and she was so happy for it.

Tyler blinked hard, in total shock. "Walk all over you?"

"Yes! It's always about you! Whenever we go out, it's where you want to go and what you want to do! You never ask me! You come here, you litter my house with all of your crap, not caring about how I keep house! You bring your dirty clothes over here and wait for me to do your damn laundry! You eat my food like a pig, never a word of thanks when I prepare meals for you and leave all of the dishes for me! You don't even bother to take the garbage out when you're here!"

Tyler scoffed. Take out the trash? How lowly did she think he was? All of that other stuff, well, he thought that was what a woman was supposed to do and he thought that she liked doing those things. The red fire in her face told him that he had better keep that thought to himself.

"Babe, come on, you're just nitpicking," Tyler said with a forced laugh as he stepped out of bed.

"I'm not! I'm so sick of you and how you never take anything about me seriously! I'm not your personal slave nor am I your whore and I damn sure am not your bank!"

"Is this about paying for dinner last night?" he asked while taking a step toward her.

"NO! And don't come near me, you ass! This is about everything! I pay for everything, even your bills on your apartment! Why is that? You work the same job as I do! In fact, you tend to have much bigger cases than I do based on the fact that you have family connections, so why the hell do I pay for everything? And why the hell is there money missing from around my house sometimes?" she demanded to know, stomping her foot hard on the floor, shaking every piece of furniture in the room.

Tyler sputtered his response, "You think I'm stealing from you?!"

"I think you're borrowing without asking and without intent to pay back, which sounds a lot like stealing to me!" she snapped like an angry alligator.

"Are you fucking insane? I don't need to take anything from you! Do you know the family I come from?!" he demanded to know. His face was now hard and his eyes were trying to match the fire in hers, but not coming close to her outrage.

"I don't give a damn! I want you out of my house! I want you out of my life!" In the back of her mind, she knew that last bit was roughly impossible because they worked at the same firm, but she just wanted him gone right now.

"Fuck you, you prudish bitch!" he roared and picked up his clothing off of the floor. "You'll regret this shit, Nikki," he promised her.

Nicole did not even wait for him to get dressed after that. She started shoving her boyfriend…well, now former boyfriend, out of the room and down the stairs. She was far from petite, but he was surprised that she could push him around so easily. He was almost six inches taller than she was, yet he found himself falling ass-over-head out of the front door. The door slammed shut before he even knew what the hell was going on.

"Hey, what about my stuff?!" he hollered while pounding on her door.

There was no answer, even after he punched on the door for over a minute. He grumbled incoherently as he dressed in his clothing from last night on the front porch. He then checked his pockets and realized that his car keys were inside on the stand by the stairs, where he always put them down. He tried the doorknob and was surprised to find it still open. He wondered if that was a hint that she still wanted him or if it was just an accident. He figured it was the former because he was irresistible…in his own opinion anyway.

Tyler stepped in and grabbed his keys. He then climbed the stairs, heading back to the bedroom. That door he did find lock and he started pounding on it.

"Go the fuck away, Tyler! I'm through with you!" Nicole screamed from the other side of the door.

"Goddamn it, Nikki! Be reasonable!"

"And stop calling me that! Only my parents can call me that!"

"Stop being such a fucking bitch!"

"Calling me a bitch isn't helping. Get the hell out of my house before I call the police!"

Tyler dared to grumble that five-letter word again, but he did it while marching down the stairs and out of the house. A yelp and what sounded like a bike hitting the pavement followed the slamming of the door. Nicole did not care what that was about and sighed in relief when she heard a car pull off, happy that Tyler was finally out of her life in a big way.

With that done, the auburn-haired woman finished her morning ritual of brushing her teeth and then she brushed her wavy hair. Her auburn mane fell just past her shoulders to the middle of her back when straight, but it always bounced up a little when she was done because of her waves, so it looked shorter than it was. She yawned and smiled as she finally exited the master bedroom and went to make herself some breakfast. She sat at her table with some pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a couple of slices of bacon. She was at peace until a strange voice called out to her.

"Would it be asking too much trouble if I could have some?"

Nicole spun around to see the owner of the voice and her heart pounded heavy as she saw a stranger standing in her doorway: a scruffy-looking girl with caramel skin that had a copper undertone to it, giving her a rich complexion. Her thick, jet-black hair was cut short, barely falling to her long neck, and there were traces of blond highlights thinly streaking through. She was tall, lean with grey eyes and two silver bars in her eyebrow. She looked like she could have been from the Middle East or possibly Hispanic or even an Aborigine.

"Who are you?" Nicole demanded to know.

"Oh, sorry." A sheepish laugh echoed through the kitchen. "I'm Tyler's cousin."

Nicole could have been knocked over with a feather. Tyler left the house and did not take his cousin with him? JACKASS!

-----

2: Relative

Nicole felt a headache building right between her eyes, pounding on the front of her skull like a spiked mace. She was almost certain that the bone was going to crack because of the rhythmic hammering. She could not believe that Tyler had left the house and failed to take his cousin with him. It just did not make any sense. She swore that man did not have two brain cells to rub together! What the hell did I ever see in him?!

Shaking that thought away, Nicole wondered how in the world the person standing before her was Tyler's cousin. The girl, well, Nicole assumed the young woman was a girl, probably a teenager, looked nothing like Tyler. The most notable difference was that Tyler was quite clearly Caucasian, but his cousin was quite clearly…something else. What, Nicole was not sure yet. Being half-Puerto Rican herself, she knew and was open to mixed families, but she did not expect that with Tyler's family, not after getting to know him.

"You're Tyler's cousin, huh? He didn't bother to wake you up or anything when he left?" Nicole asked curiously, eyes not leaving the newcomer. Tyler had not left a good taste in her mouth, so she was not willing to take her eye off of someone related to him.

"Nope." She shook her head a little to emphasis her answer. The movement took Nicole's attention to the two piercings that were in the girl's left eyebrow. Another thing that made her skeptical that the girl was related to Tyler, but then again, who the hell would lie about being related to that jackass?

The pounding in Nicole's head just got worse. "What an ass! Look, I don't know what Tyler told you, but this isn't his house and he's not going to be back anytime soon," she stated in a tone that could only be the hard truth.

There was a nod of understanding. A copper hand went through short wild ebony hair while grey eyes looked off to the side, looking like she was rolling around the information in her head. Suddenly, she shrugged as if everything was great.

"I understand. I'll get out of your hair then," the younger woman said as if everything was that simple.

"If you wait a few minutes, I could give you a ride to wherever you need to go," Nicole offered. She did not have anything against the girl, after all. It was that damned Tyler that she was upset with.

"No, that's fine. Enjoy your breakfast."

"You can have some, you know. There's plenty." Nicole motioned to the counter where there was more food. She found it impossible to make enough pancake batter for only two pancakes, so a stack of six rested on the black marble kitchen counter near stainless steel sink.

"Thank you…"

Nicole blinked hard from the shocked that someone from Tyler's family knew such a phrase, but figured that it would be rude to say such a thing. "You can have anything up there you want. I'm not going to eat anymore of it," she informed the girl.

A nod was her reply. All six pancakes were taken as were the small spot of scrambled eggs that were left over. There were no complaints as the guest sat down with her food. She was ready to dig in, but was missing something.

"Um…forks?"

Nicole pointed the girl to the drawer that contained her silverware. Quietly, her guest retrieved a fork and proceeded to inhale her food. Nicole did not mean to stare, but she had never seen someone devour six pancakes in under a minute. She was treated to another "never" while in her guest's presence-a stench.

The stench was not something like her guest had just finished working out. It was more a smell that suggested her guest had not bathed in a few days. Nicole frowned and her guest noticed.

"Um…sorry about the table manners. I haven't eaten much in the past few days. Restaurants weren't too willing to let me in and from the tears in your eyes, I'm pretty sure you know why," the girl remarked with an amused smile. Oddly enough, her teeth were perfectly white and straight.

"It's all right. You can use my shower. Um…" Nicole glanced away and shifted a bit, not sure if manners permitted that she ask what was on her mind. "I get the feeling that offering to drive you some place isn't necessary, correct?"

"You are correct. Thank you for the shower offer. I'll take it so I don't have to choke anyone on the street with my smell." She laughed a bit, which got a giggle out of Nicole.

Both women smiled at each other, keeping things from being awkward, and then the guest rose. She walked over to the sink and proceeded to wash her dishes. Nicole's mouth hit the floor and her eyes rolled out of her head. Someone related to Tyler was doing dishes in her kitchen?! It was surreal.

Nicole was knocked out of her thoughts by the question, "You done with yours?" All she could do was nod to indicate that she was. The shock was then doubled as her guest washed her dish too. Nicole was almost sure that she was in a parallel universe.

"A Wolfe is actually doing dishes in my house?" Nicole muttered while shaking her head. She could not tear her eyes away from the scene, though.

"I'm guessing Tyler didn't wash anything when he was here," came that thought-disturbing, but smooth voice that would not let Nicole live in her own head for a few seconds.

"No, he wouldn't even turn on the dishwasher. Hell, he barely ever put dishes in it. He just left them on the table, like they were going to clean themselves," Nicole remarked incredulously, throwing her hands up while she was at it.

"Yeah, sounds just like the jerk I used to beat up when he came over to the house. I could probably still take him. You want me to go teach him a lesson or two?" The offer was made with a good-natured grin, but those stormy grey eyes were serious.

Nicole shook her head. "No, I don't want to have to bother with him anymore. I don't want him to have an excuse to come back here. In fact, I need to pack up his stuff, so I can just mail it to him tomorrow before he thinks about coming over here to try and make up."

"I can help you with that if you want me to. I mean, you did just let me camp out in your house, even if you didn't know until I disturbed your breakfast," the guest remarked with a half-smile.

"It's all right. You don't have to," Nicole objected. What kind of hostess would she be to if she let a guest, even an uninvited guest, to help her pack away her jerk-off, ex-boyfriend's stuff? It was bad enough that she allowed the girl to do the dishes, but she had just been in such shock.

"It's all right. Not like I have to be anywhere. So, let me just grab that shower you were offering and we'll get things done."

Nicole opened her mouth to argue, but the stranger in her house was gone already. She considered that her guest-whose name she did not even know, she realized-might just have been stalling to stay in the house a little longer. She shivered, thinking about what happened with Tyler. What if the cousin was like Tyler?

"Well, I don't have any loose money around anymore thanks to Tyler," Nicole reminded herself. She put everything away now. It was not like large amounts of money used to go missing, but five dollars here and ten dollars there added up over time. Not to mention a lot of CDs that she liked grew legs and walked out of her house, which she figured was thanks to Tyler.

Sometimes, Nicole wondered what Tyler did with her money that he made magically disappear. She figured that he brought little things with it, like snacks or added to his gas money. Other times, she let her imagination go and imagined that he started a savings account with all of the money and had managed to save up hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Suddenly, her thoughts were broken the same voice they had been disturbed by for the whole morning.

"So, let's get to dipshit's stuff!" her guest cheered.

Nicole snickered. "I can't believe you called your cousin that," she said, even though she felt it was an accurate description. She just would never say such a thing about her family, especially if talking to a complete stranger.

"It's what he is. So, we should get to it just to make sure we beat him out before he tries to come back and beg for your forgiveness," the guest explained with a smile that was almost wicked. Her grey eyes sparkled; apparently, the thought of putting one over on her cousin was amusing.

"Tyler beg for forgiveness?" Nicole rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, before dipshit comes back, blames everything on you, and then calls you an idiot if you don't take him back," she corrected herself.

Nicole smiled and laughed; her own eyes shining now. "Now, that sounds like Tyler!"

"He hasn't changed much at all, but then again, he's a Wolfe."

"Are you saying you act the same way?" Nicole asked curiously.

"I'm the black sheep of the family…in more ways than one. Well, the black wolf of the family…" Grey eyes glanced to the ceiling. "Hmm…not sure exactly how it would work. Never really thought of it. Not that it matters. Come on, let's get packing."

Nicole watched her guest leave the kitchen, correctly assuming that nothing in the kitchen belonged to Tyler. She finally noted the very bad limp that her guest had, but she found out that did not slow the young woman down. She favored her left leg, but it seemed like she was trying her best to balance on both…and Nicole was still the one that had to keep up.

She also took in the way that her guest was dressed. She still looked scruffy, but not like before; that was an I-just-got-out-of-bed scruffy. She was dressed in a faded black shirt tank-top with form-fitting white, long-sleeve shirt underneath it. She was wearing dark blue basketball shorts with high socks that reached her knees; the shorts went beyond her knees. Her hair was puffed up from the humidity in the shower. To avoid staring at the odd style before her, Nicole focused on packing up Tyler's things.

-----

Nicole breathed a sigh of relief while grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She offered one to her guest, who took it with a grateful smile. Nicole smiled back.

"Thanks. I can see why my aunt thought Tyler lived here. He's got a lot of shit under your roof," the young woman commented as she wiped her glistening forehead. She could not believe how much stuff they packed away for her cousin.

"Yeah, I didn't realize that there was so much stuff. I don't know how I'm going to get it all in my car," Nicole said with a sigh.

"Why would you need to get it in the car? I would just put that shit out on the curb and let the city do the rest."

"No, I'm not going to do that. I mean, he was an asshole and everything, but I'm not going to throw his stuff away. I can give it tomorrow to him at work."

The guest blinked for a moment and grey eyes watched Nicole. Nicole did not say anything and the staring did not last long at all. There was barely a break in the conversation.

"Geez! You work with that ass-hat too? I feel sorry for you. Well, if you don't need any more help, like putting the boxes in the car, I'm going to get out of your hair. I shouldn't waste any more of your Sunday," the guest said as she took a gulp from her water before screwing the cap back on.

Nicole watched her guest limp off and wondered where the girl was going to go. She really did not want to ask if the girl had run away from home or something like that since they had been getting along so well, but she would feel bad if the kid's parents were looking for her. Surely someone was worried about such a sweet kid, she thought.

"Hey," Nicole called and once again realized that she had not gotten her guest's name, despite the fact that they had just spent the entire morning together.

Not only had they spent the morning together, but they had gotten along fairly well. Nicole felt bad for not getting the girl's name through all that time. She strolled out of the kitchen through the living room and to the front of the house where the den was located. She knew that the girl had put her things in the small, front room.

"Is there someone you need to call or something to let them know that you couldn't stay with Tyler?" Nicole asked curiously, hoping that there was someone that the girl decided to talk to.

"Nope," was the simple answer from inside the dark room. The light bulb had blown out months ago and since Nicole rarely went in there, she never bothered to change it.

Nicole sighed and tried to think of an easy to put what she wanted to say. "You could call your parents to come get you, if you want," she offered.

There was a scoff. "I could do that, but they wouldn't come. Hell, they might hang up when they realize it's me."

Nicole blinked hard as if she did not understand what she was being told. "What do you mean? I'm sure your parents are worried about you."

"Not bloody likely, my friend."

"Why don't you give me the number and let me call them?" Nicole proposed.

That tall, lean body came to the doorway and leaned against the frame. "What the hell kind of questions are these? Why the hell would you need to call my parents?" she asked with a confused look clouding her eyes. Her forehead wrinkled a little, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh…um…well, I thought they might be worried and I'm sure you have school tomorrow, so you'd like to get home as quickly as possible…" Nicole explained, trying her best to sound normal.

A snort. "You think I'm some punk kid, don't you?"

"Aren't you?" Nicole countered. She was certain that the girl before her was no older than seventeen and that was being generous. Yes, she thought the girl was just some punk kid. A sweet punk kid, but a kid nonetheless.

"I'm twenty-four!"

"Liar!" Nicole blurted out with a laugh. She quickly put her hand over her mouth as she realized what she said. She waited for some form of fury, but was met with a few laughs, most of which was due to the fact that Nicole had her hand over her mouth like a child that just said a bad word.

"You don't believe me? Here's my ID," the young woman huffed while digging into her wallet. She flung a card at Nicole.

The homeowner yelped as she caught the card by sheer accident; she just put her hands up to block the object sailing at her. She looked down and found herself holding a driver's license. Upon closer inspection, it was her guest's license. Not remembering that she did not know the girl's name, she went right for the birthday and saw that the "kid" was actually twenty-four.

"This could be a fake ID," Nicole teased, but she was serious. She saw more than her fair share of those.

"Gimme this!" She snatched back her ID. "Fake indeed. Like I would waste a perfectly good fake ID on you. I'm twenty-four."

"Sure you are, kid," Nicole remarked, rolling her eyes to make matters worse. She was not sure if she believed her guest or not, but she had to admit that the girl had a point. Why would she waste a good fake ID on Nicole?

The guest scoffed. "Whatever. I don't have to prove shit to you. How old are you anyway? Twenty?"

"I wish! I'm twenty-seven! Hell, I'll be twenty-eight sooner than I like!"

"Now who's the liar?"

"I am twenty-seven," Nicole insisted.

"Sure you are." With that, the tall young woman disappeared back into the den. She reemerged moments later with her beat-up back-pack on her shoulder and broken down guitar case in hand. "Well, thanks for everything."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call your parents?" Nicole asked.

"I promise you I'm old enough to not only take care of myself, but also vote and legally obtain a drink if the urge overcomes me. So, no, you don't need to call my parents."

"Are you sure I can't drive you anywhere?"

"You already guessed that I really don't have any place to be, so there's no place for you to drive me."

Nicole's forehead wrinkled. "So, what're you going to do?

Where're you going to go?"

A lighthearted shrug was the first answer. "I don't really know right now. I'll just walk around until I get smelly enough to where I have to beg or buy a place to stay, so I can get a shower. That's pretty much what I do."

A strange groan escaped Nicole as she nodded her understanding. "That's some way to live there." She really wanted to say, "That's no way to live," but thought that it would be rude.

"It could be worse. Well, let me let you get back to your Sunday."

Nicole felt something on the tip of tongue as she watched her guest grip the strap of her book-bag tighter. Whatever was on her tongue started to weight the muscle down as she watched her guest limp toward the door. As a tanned hand reached for the doorknob, something finally leaped off that tongue.

"You never told me your name," Nicole blurted out. She doubted that was what she really wanted to say, but at least it proved her mouth still worked.

"I didn't? To be fair, you never told me yours either," the younger woman countered with a charming, lopsided smile.

"What're you, six? This is like a sick version of 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine'? C'mon, what's your name?"

"Most people call me Dane," she answered.

"Dane Wolfe?" Nicole laughed at the absurdity of it all. She knew instantly that was not her guest's real name. "Be serious, what's your name?"

"I told you, most people call me Dane. The Great Dane."

Nicole laughed again, harder than before. Oh, what a horrible nickname! It was just too much.

"Tell me your real name. What's the name on your birth certificate?" Nicole inquired.

Dane ran her hand through her short hair and looked away. Suddenly, her mouth was moving and saying things she was certain she did not give it permission to say. "Well, the name on my birth certificate is Danielle Wolfe…"

"Ah, now that is the name I would expect from someone in your family. I mean, I knew that no one from Tyler's family would be called 'Dane.' Great Dane no less," Nicole commented with a laugh.

Dane put down her guitar case in order to fold her hands across her chest and frowned. Nicole noticed and quickly stopped giggling. Dane leaned on her strong leg and scratched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry, Danielle," Nicole apologized.

Dane winced. That name sounded just as horrible now as she recalled it being the last time someone called her that, which was many years ago. She supposed it would not matter since she was going to be leaving her hostess' company in less than a minute, so she could let that slide.

"So, what's your name?" Dane inquired.

"Oh. I'm Nicole Cardell. It's a pleasure to meet you and never call me Nikki," she remarked while putting out her hand.

Dane wasted no time shaking the offered hand. The handshake lasted all of five seconds before Dane let the hand go. Dane then turned her attention back to the door, ready to get a move on. Nicole felt a nervousness flutter to life in her stomach and she knew exactly what it was.

"Hey, wait," Nicole said.

"Yes?" Dane inquired, turning to see her hostess.

"Look, I know I don't know you and you don't know me and for all either of us know the other could be an axe murderer, but I just don't feel right about letting you walk out with no destination in mind and no place to stay." She paused for a moment, needing to take time to consider just what she was about to offer. She fiddled with her fingers and took a deep breath before continuing. "You could stay here for a little while…until you figure out what you're going to do anyway," Nicole informed her guest, motioning to the floor with one hand.

Dane was set to decline; she knew exactly what she was going to do. Her words halted and died in her throat because she saw in those emerald eyes that the offer was not just for her, but also for Nicole. She finally took the time to realize that she was in the presence of a gentle soul, someone that actually cared about another person's wellbeing. The deep, bottomless expressive eyes told her that Nicole was someone that truly cared in general, not just when an audience was around or to make herself look good. Nicole was pure genuine and the fact hit Dane hard just because she was not used to such a thing.

She had a feeling that if she left, it would haunt Nicole, plague her for quite a while as she wondered whatever became of Tyler's homeless cousin. Nicole would wonder if there was something that she could have done or said to make things better. She would trouble herself, torment her mind, and bother her spirit as she imagined all sorts of horrible fates that could have become of the vagabond that left her house.

"I guess I can let her do a good deed for a few days," Dane said to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was screw up one of the few good people in existence. "I'll stick around on one condition."

"Which is?" Nicole inquired.

"You never call me Danielle again," Dane stated with extreme seriousness.

"Well, I'm not calling you Dane. That's just silly and I bet you made it up yourself when you were like four years old and your family had a great dane for a dog," Nicole quipped with a taunting smile.

Dane arched an eyebrow. "I was five and our neighbors had the dog, but that's beside the point, Nick. I'm Dane and that's that."

Nicole folded her arms across her chest and cocked out her hip. "I'm not calling you that. I'm sure your family doesn't call you that."

"Yeah, they do, Nick." Dane hoped that she was being annoying with the name that she was imposing on her hostess. She thought it would help convey her feelings with being called something she hated.

"Well, that they might, but I'm not calling you that," Nicole stated.

Dane sighed, once again able to read Nicole's mind through her touching eyes. Apparently, the matter was not going to be dropped. Well, Dane had no desire to be called Danielle, no matter how short her stay was.

"Fine, my friends call me Danny," Dane said while throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Nice to meet you, Danny. So, why don't you go put your stuff down? I'll fix us some lunch," Nicole offered.

Dane did not argue, noticing that she had not won the last debate and was not interested in racking up any loses too quickly. Besides, she could go for some lunch. So, while Nicole went to the kitchen, Dane went back into the den and put her things down. The pair decided to get to know each other a little better over lunch. Dane was not totally sure what to make of Nicole, but she was certain that she had come across someone without any serious secrets, someone without a mask on this stage, someone real.

-----

3: Law of the land

Dane, or Danny as she was now being called more often than not, set herself up in Nicole's den. Nicole had tried her best to give Dane one of the guest rooms; she had two spare rooms that were fully furnished. Dane would not hear of it, arguing that her stuff was already in the den. Nicole did not think that was a very valid excuse since all Dane had was a book-bag and a guitar case, but the copper-toned female would not concede the matter.

Nicole forced Dane to look around the rest of the house before letting Dane continue on with her wild idea of staying in the den. It was an impressive sight, with three bedrooms upstairs, a full bathroom on each floor, and library/office, but despite all of that Dane took the den: the smallest, most cluttered space in the whole place. It suited her just fine and she said as much.

Nicole sighed and gave up for the moment. She did not want to come across as pushy or bossy and she wanted her guest to feel comfortable around her. Dane took the opportunity to really look around the den while she had the sunlight to do so.

There was a broken bookshelf along the far wall, holding dusty books and torn magazines from years back. On the back wall, there was a grey sofa that had seen better days a long, long time ago. The coffee table was stained with ancient drinks and each leg was a slightly different height, causing the table to lean to the side with the most junk piled on it. And there was no shortage of junk on the table.

Dane did not bother with going through the stuff on the table. She also avoided going through the piles of things in the corners. She leaned her guitar case on the edge of the sofa and dropped her book-bag on the floor. She flopped down on the couch; dust leaped up to greet her.

"I guess spending the next couple of days here won't be too bad," Dane said to herself. All and all, she had definitely seen and spent time in much worse places. Having four walls, a ceiling, and heat was really good enough for her at that point.

-----

Nicole paced her bedroom, taking a few moments to panic over a couple of different things. First of all, she could not believe that she just suggested that a homeless stranger stay with her. What do I know about Danny, aside for the fact that she's Tyler's cousin? Hell, being Tyler's cousin should have been a huge strike against Danny for a bunch of reasons!

"What if she's a thief like him, but worse? She could rob me blind or something! What if she's as annoying as he is or worse? God, he got on my nerves almost every minute of the day after a while. Hell, what if she's plain worse than he was? Who the hell knows what kind of family he really comes from," Nicole muttered to the air.

Well, really, she knew some things about the family that Tyler came from. The Wolfe family was somewhat well known, having enough well-off businessmen in their ranks for people to take notice. But, they were infamously phony and she had seen that first hand with Tyler, so she stood by her initial statement. Who did know what type of family the Wolfes were when no one was around? She suddenly shook her head as she paced, like she was already disagreeing with herself.

From the short time in the morning that she had spent with Danny, she knew that the kid was nothing like Tyler. First off, there was no way that Tyler would help her with anything, even if she asked him to. Tyler would never thank her for anything or volunteer to do a household chore either. No, there was something almost tangibly different about Danny when comparing her to Tyler.

"She's sweet in a way that Tyler couldn't even dream of and it wasn't like she was pretending either, which is why I couldn't just let her go back out onto the streets. Despite what she says, I'm sure she is just a kid. Hopefully, I can get her to tell me about her parents eventually," she continued to converse with the air.

The second thing bothering her was, yes, she had opened her home to Danny and was willing to let her stay, but she did not think that she was being a very good hostess. She settled for putting Danny up in the den. She used the den as a storage space for junk that she never planned to use, but did not have the heart to throw out. It was full of old gifts from her parents and other family members for various occasions. She kept a huge box of Christmas lights in there; she just could not untangle the damned things. Old clothes were in there, waiting for her to have the time to go donate them to a charity. There were books in there that she bought, but did not like, but was certain she would donate them some place when she got the time. It was chock full of just junk and she had left a guest in there. The door to the room was not even on its hinges! It was just resting along the side of the doorway. And topping it all off, the light did not even work because she never bothered to replace the bulb when it blew the last time she was in there months ago.

"Horrible, horrible manners. Maybe at dinner I could get her into one of the guest rooms. I mean, I know she has to be used to better accommodations than my den," Nicole convinced herself.

Nicole figured that Danny had to be used to better places than her den because Tyler liked to brag so much about his family. The Wolfe family was basically full of business people and gained a fortune in owning retail outlets. Tyler liked to make it seem as if the family had more money than God, but she doubted that since he had to work for a living same as she did.

"Geez, she must think I'm cheap the way I just gave her the den. But, then again, who the hell is she to judge me? She's the homeless one…or the runaway…or whatever! She's the kid!" Nicole huffed, succeeding in confusing herself more so than she had when she started out because now she did not even know why she was pacing.

Nicole ran her hand through her lush, rust-colored hair and decided that just the idea of having a guest was making her jumpy. Well, a guest that she did not know, but a guest nonetheless. She was stuck between thinking of Danny as a guest and thinking of Danny as a stranger…a stranger related to Tyler to make matters worse. It had been a while since she had a guest point blank, but with the odd circumstances surrounding Danny, Nicole just felt out-of-sorts for reasons that she could not figure out.

In order to stop thinking, Nicole rushed out of the room and marched into the kitchen. She glided across her polished black tiles between the large, well-stocked silver refrigerator and the marble countertop, pulling things from one and placing them on the other. She then rifled through the snow-white cabinets, pulling out various spices and flavors. Cooking was done on autopilot, and plaguing thoughts ceased.

After making a meal that she knew would be too much for two people, but taking into account the way Danny inhaled breakfast, Nicole made the table in the corner of the kitchen. It was a cozy little nook that she liked to eat at when she was alone. She was still working on automatic for the most part, so it did not even cross her mind to set up anything in her dining room.

Once the food was on the table, Nicole marched off toward the den. She was about to walk right into the room, as she was used to doing, but stopped just shy of the threshold. It was someone's room now, she reminded herself. It would be rude to burst right in. Too bad there was no door to knock on.

"Danny, dinner's ready," Nicole called into the dark room where she could make out a figure moving.

"Dinner? You didn't have to make dinner for me," Dane said while poking her head out of the room.

"Well, it's too late. I already did and you're going to have to it or waste it," Nicole commented with a firm nod of her head.

"Well, I do hate to waste food," Danny replied with a smile that Nicole was sure could light up a room. How is Danny possibly related to Tyler?

"Somehow, I had a feeling that would be the case," the shorter woman said with a chuckle.

Dane flashed a monster grin, looking more childlike than ever and feeling better than she had in a while. Her grey eyes shined like silver when she saw the meal; Nicole could not help laughing. On the inside, she felt a little lighter too; no one had ever looked at something that she cooked with such intensity and appreciation. Maybe having a guest won't be so bad.

"This all looks wicked good," Dane said as she slid into one side of the small, booth-like nook.

"I hope it tastes as good as it looks. What kind of beverage would you like to go with it?" Nicole asked politely.

"Whatever you're having is fine. I'm not too picky."

"Are you sure you're related to Tyler?" Nicole teased with an amused smile.

"Unfortunate side-effect of our fathers being brothers and all," Dane replied with an equally amused expression.

Nicole laughed, her face lighting up in a way that would have surprised her a little. She knew that she had not been laughing much lately, so she was thankful for the ones that she was getting now. She recognized that it felt like a weight was being lifted off of her shoulders and off of her chest with each laugh that she had.

Dane could understand that. It had been a very long time since she laughed. In fact, she was surprised that she still knew how to laugh. Nicole managed to get through her barriers and she was stunned that she did not mind. It was refreshing to be around someone that wanted to bring a smile to her face just for the sake of conversation.

"Here we go. Two tall glasses of fruit punch," Nicole said while putting down a glass for her guest. She happened to glance at the taller woman's plate to see that she was already halfway done with her large portion.

Dane noticed the wide-eyed look she was getting and laughed. "Hey, it tried to pull a gun on me, so I did the only thing I could!" she joked about why half of her dinner was already missing.

"I'm sure you taught it a lesson it won't soon forget." Nicole chuckled as she settled into her seat.

"So, you said you work with Tyler. You poor, unfortunate soul. Defense attorney?" Dane inquired. If they were strangers on the street, she actually would have guessed that Nicole was a prosecutor, but dipping into the little bit of knowledge that she had about her cousin and where he worked, she figured that was not the case.

"Worse. Corporate."

"Oh, well, daughter of Satan, I'll be sure to sacrifice a live virgin to you before I leave," the Wolfe girl joked.

"You know…I didn't want to be a corporate lawyer…" Nicole muttered, green eyes glancing away as if she was ashamed. She was not sure what made her say that, but she did not like being teased about her job and not because she took pride in her career.

"Hey, it's cool. You're a step ahead of me. I don't have a gig at all!" Dane pointed out, hoping that would put the smile back in those emerald eyes and on that soft face.

"You're just batting a thousand in life, huh?" Nicole teased, forcing out a smile.

Dane grinned, but the expression did not quite take up her whole face like the others before it did. "You have no idea. So, aside for making a bunch of money and cooking a mean fucking chicken, oh, and of course taking in the homeless, what do you do in your spare time?"

"Read. You?"

"Nothing much."

"I noticed your guitar case. Do you play?"

Dane shook her head. "There's no guitar in that case."

From the way Dane's eyes clouded over, like a storm coming in, Nicole knew that she hit a topic she needed to walk away from. Instead of persisting, she took the conversation to something less personal. They spoke about television shows and things of that nature, finding out that neither of them watched much television or saw many movies, but wished they did. In between all of the light conversation, Nicole fetched her guest seconds and thirds on the meal; Dane really could put the food away. In fact, there were no left-overs by the time dinner was done.

"I'll get the dishes!" Dane volunteered, quickly hopping up to collect the used dishes quickly.

"Danny, you don't have to do that! You're the guest!" Nicole objected.

"I'm the freeloader. I can do a few dishes no problem. You just sit back and relax," Dane replied, making sure to flash a charming smile while she was at it. She was not sure what was coming over her. Typically, she hated doing anything, saying anything, but right now, she was pleased to return the kindness being thrown her way in any way possible, no matter how small.

Nicole decided to do just that, even though she really wanted to protest. It was just…well, it was nice to have someone doing something for her a change. She watched as Dane scrubbed the dishes and while taking in the scene, she noticed something odd-Dane's left hand.

The lawyer had seen the few scars marring her guest's hand, both the top and the palm. What she was witnessing now was something more than just old wounds, though. Danny's face tensed into a look of extreme concentration as she gripped the dishes with her left hand. Once she had the dish, her face relaxed and she thoroughly cleaned it. She would then shift the dish into her right hand to place it in the dish-rack, even though the rack was on the left side.

Nicole's mouth opened and she knew that she was about to say something about Danny's left hand. She dodged a bullet by managing to get mouth to say something different at the last moment. "I think I'm going to have a glass of wine. Would you like one?" she offered.

"No thanks. I try not to drink," Dane answered while finishing up the last dish.

"No? Well, I don't want to drink by myself, so how about we share some ice cream instead?"

There was that bright, toothy grin. "Now that's an idea I can get behind."

"You're just a bottomless pit when it comes to food, huh?"

"Guilty as charged, your honor."

Nicole fished out a container of chocolate and vanilla ice cream from the freezer, which was on the left side of her fridge. Dane grabbed two spoons and two bowls. They met back at the table in the corner and proceeded to feast on ice cream while getting to know each other a little more.

"Well, that was great. Danny, I think I have to call it a night because I have some work to get out of the way before I can actually go to bed. If you need anything, I'm right upstairs, basically the same place you could be if you take one of the guestrooms," Nicole said, not caring about subtlety anymore.

"I don't need the guestroom. I'll be fine in the den," Dane replied as she finished the last of their desert dishes. She could not stop smiling, even while doing such a boring chore. She was not sure what came over her, but she was enjoying it and did not fight it.

"Are you sure? I mean, the den doesn't even have a TV or a radio. It's the furthest room from the bathroom down here," Nicole pointed out.

Dane chuckled. "I'll live, Nick," she replied, using the nickname in an attempt to get her hostess to leave her be.

"I want you to live comfortably, Danny," Nicole countered, rolling the name off of her tongue as if it was a counter for this new moniker that her guest was trying to stick her with.

"Been there, done that, and I will again, in the den. I'm going to be fine, Nick. Go take care of your evildoings for your corporate masters," Dane teased.

For a moment, Nicole flinched and Dane figured that she went too far. One grey eye closed in anticipation for the verbal assault that she was too sure was coming. Nicole took a deep breath and chuckled a bit.

"You think you're so clever, don't you, big dog?" the lawyer countered, a half-smile gracing her olive-toned face.

"Hey, it's Great Dane!" the taller woman playfully huffed.

Nicole chuckled and they parted ways after bidding each other goodnight. She did not want to push too hard and end up pushing Danny right out of the door. So, if the younger woman wanted to say in the den, then she could stay in the den.

Later that night, Nicole crawled out from under her work and made sure to put it all away in her briefcase. She then took a long, hot shower and changed into her favorite pajamas, cotton light blue pants with a matching tank-top that had a baby duck on the front. She was about to flop into bed when she remembered her guest.

"I'll just go check on her and see how she is," Nicole murmured to herself.

The lawyer stepped downstairs as quickly as possible, finding the lower level of the house blanketed in darkness. She waited for her eyes to adjust before trying to find the den; she did not go there enough to feel confident enough to make it to the room in the dark without the aid of her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted, she went to the doorway of the den and saw Danny laid out on the undoubtedly uncomfortable and too short sofa.

"Oh, that's it. Tomorrow I'm going to get her to take a guestroom," Nicole stated soundly in her own head. There was no way that she was going to have a guest sleeping on a busted couch that was too small for her tall frame.

Aside for the fact that the couch was too small, Dane was not covered with anything except the torn clothes on her body, and the night was cool. Nicole retreated from the room and went to the linen closet. She pulled out a powder blue blanket that she was sure would not be too heavy and she draped it over her guest. Leaning down to make sure that every inch of Danny was properly covered, Nicole noticed that there were large earphones on Danny's head with music blaring through them.

"She's going to make herself deaf," Nicole said and she slid the headphones off.

After taking off the headphones, she had to locate the source of the music. Following the cord, she was able to yank the MP3 player off of the floor and turn the device off. Danny did not move at all during this time. Nicole left the room after that and went back to her own bedroom.

"God, Nicole, don't let your instincts screwed up all over again," Nicole silently prayed as she lay down for sleep. "Especially not with another Wolfe." It would be like making the same mistake twice almost.

-----

The sun invaded the small room with a vengeance, shining directly in Dane's copper face. A grumbled escaped her and she turned her back, hoping to escape her tormentor. The sun was not alone in its assault. Birds started singing, disturbing Danes rest.

"Fine, I'm up!" she huffed, sitting up and flinging the blanket off of her. "Wait, where did this come from?" she wondered aloud while holding onto the blanket. She smiled as she realized the only place that it could come from. She guessed that the blanket was to replace her headphones, which were resting next to her head.

She stood up and stretched out her long frame. Several joints and bones could be heard popping and snapping throughout the room. She did not seem bothered by that, not wincing or flinching as she heard the sounds. She then exited the room, making her first stop in the bathroom. She happened to glance at a clock on her way to find that she was up way too early in the morning; it was seven. Shockingly enough, she felt well-rested; sleeping on that couch was the best sleep that she had had in a very long time.

"I wonder when Nick wakes up," Dane muttered to herself as she washed her face, getting a good glop of sleep out of her eyes.

Her face lit up like a candle as a light bulb went off in her head that made her forgo a shower and she rushed into the kitchen. She started going through cabinets and the refrigerator, smiling proudly all the way through.

-----

Nicole awoke with a yawn and sat up while wondering why her alarm was not going off if she was up. She glanced over on her nightstand at the small, black clock-radio. Her question was answered; the alarm was not going off because she was up twenty minutes too soon. She groaned and dropped down onto the pillow.

"Why am I up then?" she groaned and wished that she could throw tantrum to get back to sleep. Instead, a scent caught her attention and went right to her stomach.

She followed her nose, out of the bed, and downstairs. She discovered Danny in the kitchen, setting up plates on the table in the corner. Nicole thought that her insides might fall out of her body and she might faint from the shock that she was feeling.

"Hey, Nick," Dane greeted the stunned woman when she saw her hostess standing in the middle of the kitchen.

"Morning… Nicole muttered in a perplexed tone. A bewildered expression twisted her normally soft features.

"Not a morning person, huh? I'm not usually one for it either…but then again, I'm just not good with waking up point blank." That bright grin followed like clockwork. "Today's different, though. I woke up feeling really refreshed."

"You made breakfast…" Nicole said in a shaky tone while trying to lift her hand in order to point at said meal. Her brain was not functioning properly enough for her to point, though.

"Yeah, I figured I could get breakfast since you handled everything yesterday. Plus, I was wide awake and needed something to do. I didn't know if you'd want something light or heavy for breakfast. I made French Toast, eggs, and sausage. You're going to have to make your own plate. I just set everything up on the table, like a buffet, because I didn't know how much you usually eat."

Nicole could only nod while making her way to the table. They both made their plates from the piles of food that were laid out on the table. They existed in a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"What do you usually drink with breakfast? Coffee? Tea? Orange juice?" Dane inquired. She had Nicole pegged for a coffee person because she did not seem to do well in the mornings and probably needed something to pep herself up.

"Danny, you don't have to do all of this," Nicole protested strongly.

"I don't mind. Let me do something for you, Nick," Dane said in an almost seductive whisper.

Nicole gulped. "Wha…what?" She suddenly felt warm and hoped that she was not blushing.

"I have a feeling you're the kind that just does for everybody else. Let me do something for you. You don't have to take care of me," Dane insisted. "Sit back and relax. Now, what do you take with breakfast?"

"Orange or apple juice is fine."

Dane nodded and gave Nicole a stern look, which caused the lawyer to sit back as instructed. Nicole's mind was spinning. Danny was very right; she was always taking care of everybody else. No one had ever in her adult life made breakfast for her, served her, and insisted in doing so. She always did that for someone else.

"Thank you so much, Danny," Nicole said as her juice was put before her.

"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do. You're going to need strength for when you got to work and deal with Tyler," Dane remarked with a teasing grin.

Nicole groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Just don't take any of his shit, Nick," Dane said in a stern voice. She received a nod and a smile.

-----

Nicole, dressed in a black suit with a silk burgundy shirt, marched into the firm like she owned the place. Her stride was powerful, majestic, like a tiger surveying her domain. Coworkers watched her move and wondered what had gotten into her; everyone was fairly certain that they had never seen Nicole step into the office with such command and presence. She made a beeline for Tyler's office, but spotted him in the lounge making coffee. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned from his conversation to insult whoever was interrupting him.

"What the fuck-" Tyler started and then stopped when he saw who it was. A huge, confident smile overtook his round face. "Hey, babe-" He did not get to finish that sentence either.

"I'm not your fucking babe," Nicole snarled. "Your shit is outside. Next time you invite your cousin to stay somewhere, try taking her with you when you leave." With that said, Nicole marched to her office, a smile tugging at her lips and her insides doing a happy dance. It was going to be a good day for her…meaning that it was going to be a tough day for anyone that she was up against.

-----

4: Wake up call

Dane yawned and stretched while standing in the living room of Nick's-she liked the nickname now-home. She did not know what to do with herself, which explained why she just walked in a circle for the sixth time, looking very much like a dog trying to figure out where to mark her territory. Although as large as the living room was, if anyone walked in on Dane wandering in the circle, she would assure them that she was doing that just to make sure she did not get lost and she figured that they would believe her.

"And I don't have any bread crumbs to drop," Dane joked to the air. She was not surprised that she did not get a laugh.

Really, she did not want to do anything, but she wanted to do something. Sometimes she was fidgety, and sometimes she was…well, she could make a boulder look active. She preferred the latter to the former, being able to completely shut down if she could, but she could not control when she would get fidgety. Sometimes, she could go weeks without restlessness creeping up on her and other times, it could hit her for days at a time. Right now, it was hitting her hard. She suspected that it might have been jump started from her activities yesterday and that morning.

She felt anxious and trapped by life at these times, feeling like everything around her could come to an end if she did not do something. Her muscles itched for movement and her nerves twitched, like everything inside of her was ready to flee her skin. If she could find something to do, everything would be fine, she promised herself.

"I just…I just…" She gnawed on her lip and ran a shaky hand through her hair. Panicked grey eyes scanned for something to do before she ended up running from the room screaming.

Thankfully, something caught her eye. She happened to glance down at the coffee table, which was a nice, shiny obsidian-colored table. There were some magazines scattered and she recalled that she and Nick made the mess yesterday. Tyler had a huge pile of various magazines, some over six months old, and those had definitely been dumped. They did not bother to stop and straighten up anything while ripping his stuff apart.

Dane was moving before she even realized what she was doing, neatly stacking magazines and the couple of photography books out. She also straightened the vase with its single, lavender rose in it, adding a dash of feminine color to the black and light blues around the room.

-----

Nicole sighed as she pulled into her driveway. She rubbed her eyes as she put her black sedan in park and cut the engine with the push of a button. She stepped out, her heels clacking against the concrete, and her eyes gazed at the lawn. She saw the ratty old bike that almost killed her that morning and a smile spread across her face without her knowledge.

Nicole stepped into the house and felt like the world was lifted off of her shoulders as soon as she was across the threshold. She was not sure why that was since it never happened before. She glanced to the left immediately, finding the den just as black as it always was. She arched an eyebrow, wondering where her houseguest was. She walked through the house, finding Dane in a backroom that started out as an office, but was now a library. A thoughtful look appeared in deep green eyes as a tanned head tilted to the side to take in what she was seeing.

Dane was on the hardwood floor, looking much like a very big kid, buried in a thick book. She had her legs crossed underneath her and cleaning products near her thighs, clearing up any mystery as to why she was in the library at first. She obviously got sidetracked from her original mission. Nicole could not help thinking that her guest looked adorable.

"I hope you haven't been sitting here long," Nicole remarked, teasing because of the small amount of pages that Dane had gotten through.

Dane's head shot up to the doorway to see a smiling face greeting her. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I can see you were too distracted by the book. I think it distracted you from a few things," Nicole commented while nodding toward the cleaning supplies.

Dane saw where those lime eyes were. "Oh." A sheepish laugh; she could not remember a time she felt silly. "I was cleaning. Sometimes, I get this urge…" She was not sure how to explain it. She also was not sure why she was trying to explain it.

"To clean?" Nicole asked. She could understand that one, as she often got hit with the urge, especially when she was frustrated or upset.

"Not to clean, per se. To do something," Dane explained. "It started out with cleaning and then when I got here it shifted to reading."

Nicole nodded, even though she no longer understood. She was happy to see that Danny was still at the house, though. She had feared that the kid-as she still thought Dane was one-would have bolted the second that she left for work.

"Well, I'll leave you to your book then," Nicole said as a beat of awkward silence tried to build between.

Dane did not reply and Nicole walked away, feeling somewhat dejected now. The lawyer thought it was odd that for that moment, Dane seemed strangely detached and cold, nothing like the person that she was yesterday and that morning. She decided not to let it bother her and just go through her evening rituals. The only disturbance in those rituals was that Dane cooked dinner.

"You don't have to keep doing this, you know," Nicole pointed out as she sat down to eat. If Danny kept cooking, Nicole thought that she might have to redefine what manners she actually learned when growing up.

Dane shrugged. "It was something to do." That horrible urge was finally going away and she did not need to do anything anymore; she thanked whatever divine being there was for that.

"Is everything all right, Danny?" Nicole asked with concern. Internally, she admitted that she did not like the change in her houseguest. She reached across the table and put her hand on Danny's arm.

Dane was about to pull away and say something when she looked into those emerald eyes. She mentally sighed and wondered when exactly she started giving a damn about people being sincere. Well, considering the fact that she could not recall the last sincere person she actually met, she thought it might have been a weakness all along and she just never knew about it because it had never come up.

"I'm fine. I just feel bad about freeloading off of you," Dane lied. She did feel bad about that, but her mood had nothing to do with that.

"It's fine. I'm glad you're here. It was nice to come home to someone, even if it was a person I just met." The smile was it for Dane, shutting her down for a few seconds.

Dane returned the smile and was shocked to find her brain working again. Her brain was stunned by the fact that someone was happy to come home to her. Since when? She ignored the thought and took Nicole at her word.

"So, how was work?" Dane asked, looking to start a proper conversation since Nicole was being so polite to her. The hostess blinked hard and her brow wrinkled slightly. Silence coated the room and Dane thought that she might have overstepped some line that she did not know about. "I mean…um…Tyler didn't give you any trouble, did he?" she asked, hoping to salvage the mistake now.

Nicole blinked again, which helped start her brain. "Oh, no! He didn't give me any trouble. He was more shocked by the way I stormed in there and told him just where his stuff was. I left it outside on the curb, like you said."

"That's good. It shows him that you mean business. He'll think about things for a while before he approaches you to try to take him back. And, do yourself a favor by not taking him back," Dane suggested.

"I never make the same mistake twice."

"Good because I can tell you're too nice. You shouldn't be too nice to Tyler. He's an asshole. Frankly, I don't see how you can be a corporate shark with how nice you are," Dane rambled; she was not totally sure why she was going on and on like she was. It had been a long time since she had a real conversation with someone, so she considered that might be it.

"I'm very different when working. Tyler…he's a different story. Usually, I wouldn't be so stupid as to date someone I work with, but my parents kept singing his praises and pushing for me to go out with him. I should've known something was wrong with him. He's a personal injury attorney," Nicole quipped with a smile.

The crack earned the desired laugh from Dane. "Is that what he does? My uncle and dad just say he's a lawyer. They're damned proud of it too."

"I don't know why. Tyler is an ass…" Dane had a smart comment to throw in there, but Nicole did not pause to give her the chance. "…He's so full of himself. I mean, even in the beginning, he just had no shame, like he thought he was God's gift to me. I did everything for him, but then again, I'm like that in every relationship."

"It's not a bad thing to be nice to people," Dane assured her hostess, wanting to get the sorrowful look out of those deep green eyes.

Nicole nodded, glad to know someone thought so. "Still…it's caused me more than my share of misery."

"I'm sure it has. You have to deal with dipshits like Tyler, forcing their way into your home and acting like they fucking live here and shit. But, in the end, you obviously have enough and you move on with your life."

Nicole nodded again. "Yeah, sometimes it takes longer than others. I was dating Tyler for almost a damn year. It didn't take long, but after a while, whenever we went out it was where he wanted to go and somehow I always ended up paying. You know, I think the bastard was stealing from me after a while."

"Tyler's lower than I thought. What the hell was he stealing, though?" Dane inquired curiously. Personally, she bet that it was something pathetic, like underwear.

"I think he took some of my CDs and some small amounts of money. I don't know what he was doing with it, maybe laundry money on days he didn't just dump his dirty clothing over here. Maybe gas money. I really don't know. He refuses to admit it."

"Of course. He's too much of an asshole to admit that he was doing something stupid and wrong. Well, I promise, this will be one Wolfe that doesn't steal any chickens from your henhouse." Dane pointed to herself and let loose a big smile.

Nicole burst out laughing. "Danny, that was just awful!"

Dane just flashed a dashing grin, surprised at how automatic it came. The pair continued on with their conversation as they ate. Before they knew it, they worked up a routine. It all just seemed so simple; something that they both needed and enjoyed.

-----

"Danny, I'm home!" Nicole announced as she stepped in the house. "And I almost killed myself on your bike again!"

Nicole arched a rust-colored eyebrow when she did not receive a response, especially in regards to her near-death experience. She wondered if Danny was sleeping; the kid seemed to take naps at the oddest hours. More than once, she had come home to find Danny knocked out on the sofa with the television watching her, or the radio listening to itself. So, the first place she checked was the living room, but found it to be empty…and spotless.

"She's on another cleaning binge," Nicole deduced from the state of the living room. She was aware now that Danny got "the urge to do something," as she put it. "Doing something" typically involved cleaning from what Nicole could tell.

The lawyer made her way through the house and found Danny in the one room that she never seemed to get around to cleaning-the library. Whenever Danny went in there she got "distracted," as they both put it, and started reading. As far as Nicole knew, Danny had yet to finish any books and never seemed too interested in doing so.

"Danny, what're you doing now?" Nicole asked with her hip cocked out to the side as she watched Danny just looking at the right wall of her expansive library.

"You have a lot of chemistry books here," the ebony-haired female answered, scanning the shelves in front of her. There were rows of chemistry books of all types. She was sure the selection could rival a college library's collection.

"I like chemistry. My bachelors' is in chemistry," Nicole stated while stepping deeper into the room to stand next to the taller woman.

"No kidding." Dane looked her hostess up and down. "Hottest damn scientist I've ever seen."

Nicole chuckled and waved the younger woman off. "Stop being silly."

"You've got like a mint of chemistry books here. That settles it, I'm calling you 'chem' from now on," Dane declared.

An olive-toned face twisted in bewilderment. "My name's nowhere near Kim. You're just desperate not to call me Nicole."

"Not 'Kim,' but 'chem' as in 'chemistry.' And you're right, chem, I'm not going to call you Nicole until you call me Dane," the taller woman proclaimed, folding her hands across her chest.

"Well, then, I guess I'll just have to start calling you 'kid' until you stop with your ridiculous nicknames," Nicole stated while crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can call me 'kid' all you like. I've heard much worse, Nick," Dane let the name roll off of her tongue and she hacked out the "ck" at the end. Emerald eyes narrowed on her.

"You've won this round, kid, but mark my words, I'll be back. After I have a nice hot shower, my brain will reset and I'll be ready for the second round," Nicole countered with mock determination.

A smirk hung on Dane's mouth. "Ah, then I'll just put some food in you and all you'll want to do is watch a movie before going to bed."

Nicole had to swallow down a laugh. "Damn, you know me so well." Amazingly enough, she meant those words. She was surprised by it because they had only been sharing a space for a few weeks.

"Yeah, I've been known to pay attention to a thing or two." Just not known for using the knowledge in a constructive manner.

Nicole smiled and then went off to take her shower. When she emerged from upstairs, she was dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of thin, long black pants and a matching tank-top. She was not surprised to find Danny in the kitchen, checking on a couple of pots.

"Did you have to go shopping today? Is that why I nearly broke my face on your bike when I came home?" Nicole inquired as she went to inspect the pots to see what they were having. There was already a small, roasted Cornish hen waiting on the counter. It was to be served with green beans, yellow rice, and carrots. Her stomach rumbled just a little to let her know that it agreed with what was prepared.

"Yeah, I went shopping," Dane confirmed with a shrug of indifference.

"You should've said something. I would've left you money," Nicole said and then she rushed to the fridge to see exactly what Danny's shopping trip involved. "Danny, you really should've told me. How did you even manage to carry all of this back with your leg? Does your leg hurt?" Nicole inquired with worry.

Dane looked dazed and her mind was trying to catch up with everything coming at her. Even after four weeks of being with Nicole, sometimes the older woman just took her by surprise and overwhelmed her, especially when showing concern. Her mind needed to catch up, which Nicole was starting to recognize; when she first started bombarding Danny with questions, she could go on for several minutes and panic when she did not get an immediate answer.

"Sorry. Too much, right?" Nicole asked with a sympathetic face. Sometimes, she worried that her concern was going to frighten Danny into leaving because of the look in Danny's eyes, like a deer in headlights. Nicole just could not help it, though.

"Not too much, Nick. It's just I needed to catch up. It wasn't that hard to carry all of the bags. I was able to put a lot of it in my book-bag. My leg is fine. I just needed a rest when I got in," Dane assured her friend.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Nicole knew by now just how bad Danny's lame leg was, having seen it troubling her housemate on a few occasions. She disliked Danny taxing her leg with chores that could easily be done if she would just wait for Nicole to come home.

"It's all right. I need the exercise every now and then."

Nicole could not argue that because as far as she knew, the only time Dane left the house was when she went out shopping. So far, Nicole was aware that Dane left the house twice in four weeks. Other than that, Dane stayed in the house, cleaning or sleeping by the way Dane told it.

"Okay, but next time you go shopping, tell me. I'll leave you money for everything," Nicole stated, trying to lay down the law, but already aware of the resistance that she was going to meet.

"You don't need to leave me money. I eat more than you, so it makes sense for me to buy the food."

"Yeah, but I know you brought more than food."

"Well, I brought some cleaning stuff, yes, but I clean too. I brought some laundry stuff and things like that because I do the laundry. Speaking of laundry, I'm going to be doing it tomorrow. You have everything in your hamper?" Dane asked. Her tone was like she was speaking to a small child.

"Yes!" Nicole replied with a laugh. She picked up a dry sponge and threw it at Danny as payback for the teasing.

A charming laugh rang out of Dane's mouth. It was something that Nicole was used to, but it perplexed the taller woman. Dane was not sure where the hearty laugh came from, but she could not stop it whenever it escaped her.

-----

Nicole entered the house and was greeted by soft, classical music playing. She was not surprised by it; such tunes had greeted her quite a few times when she had come home. She was also not surprised by the sight that greeted her when she walked into the living room; Dane was knocked out on the couch and the music was listening to itself.

"If I didn't see her most of the night, I would think she works the nightshift," Nicole remarked to herself. That simple joke did get the wheels in her mind turning.

The lawyer did not bother with waking Dane at that moment. She went to take her shower and get settled in for the night. She returned to the living room and turned off the radio. She then sat down next Dane and reached for the television remote. After finding something to watch, she shook her guest awake.

"Huh? Wha?" Dane muttered as she rapidly sat up, looking around frantically with a panicked expression in her eyes.

"Calm down, Danny," Nicole said quickly. She knew from experience that sometimes Danny woke up disoriented and confused. She thought it was just a quirk in her friend's personality, but she did realize that it could come from living on the streets. She hoped that it was the former and not the latter, but she was too scared to ask Danny about it. She did not want to find out that Danny had been hurt living on the streets or something.

"Nick?" Dane blinked hard and her grey eyes started to clear up, showing that she was coming to her senses. "When did you get in? What time is it?" She yawned and then glanced at the clock. "I should start dinner soon…"

"Don't worry about, Danny. Sit with me and watch a movie for a little while," Nicole requested and she noticed that Dane was still trying to get up. She put her hand on the bare, copper-toned arm. "Kid, sit still for a minute or two."

Dane shrugged and settled into her seat. "Whatever."

Nicole eyed her housemate curiously. "Danny, do you think that you might have a medical problem considering how much you sleep?"

"I don't," the taller woman grunted.

"Maybe you need a hobby, something to do during the day when the urge to clean everything doesn't hit you. You need more than just the usual chores you do."

"Ah, chem, you forget my hobby of reading the first twenty pages of yours books," Dane replied with a smirk. Mentally, she rolled her eyes because she never made it past the first ten pages in any of the books and she had no interest in any hobbies. Why the hell doesn't Nick just leave it alone?

"Don't be a smartass. I think you need something to do with yourself throughout the day. I mean, you've been here for a month and you've been outside a total of three times to hear you tell it, and that's only because you grocery shop. I'm sure it's not healthy to be cooped up inside this long. I come in and I find you passed out on the couch more often than not."

"Not true. Sometimes I'm passed out on the floor." It happened when she rolled over on the narrow sofa and fell over the edge. She never bothered with picking herself up whenever it happened.

"Well, have you considered getting a job?" Nicole suggested. She was certain that Danny needed something to occupy her time more often if there was nothing medically wrong with her to explain why she slept the day away. It just did not seem right for someone so young to sleep all of the time.

There was a flash in grey eyes and a storm seemed to gather. Faster than what Nicole would have thought physically possible, Dane was on her feet and glaring down at the lawyer as if she had just committed the ultimate sin. Nicole's heart sped up and her stomach flipped.

"What the hell are you trying to say? You think I'm just a bum?! A freeloader?! I can't hold a job? Are you saying that because Tyler said something to you? Well, fuck you and fuck Tyler! If you want me out just fucking say so! I don't need this bullshit! You're going to listen to whatever that asshole Tyler says about me and then make it seem like I'm a fucking deadbeat! What the fuck?!" Dane hollered before tearing out of the living room.

"What the fuck indeed…" Nicole muttered in shock. She then blinked hard twice and realized that she was staring at air. "Danny, wait!" She shot up from the couch and went to the front of the house, to the den.

"This is bullshit…" Incoherent mumbles were heard after that.

"Danny, wait! I haven't been talking to Tyler!" Nicole shouted into the room. She was standing at the doorway, looking in where she could make out a figure collecting things through out the dark room.

"You expect me to believe that shit? If you want me out of here just say so! You don't need to talk about me to that dipshit!" Dane demanded while marching over to the doorway with her book-bag and guitar case in hand.

"Danny, damn it, will you just listen to me!" Nicole screamed while pressing her hands into her guest's chest to keep her there.

Grey eyes cut into Nicole. "Why should I?" Dane snarled.

"You're being unreasonable! I wasn't talking to Tyler at any point. I haven't spoken to him since I threw him out. I make it a point to avoid him at all costs. I don't think you're a deadbeat and I don't want you to leave," Nicole stated soundly, voice laced with emotion.

"Then what the hell was that shit?" Dane demanded, motioning to the living room with a sharp cut of her hand.

"Come, sit with me and we can talk about this. Don't just leave like that," the shorter woman pled. Her hands moved to grip Dane around the shoulders and she did not plan on letting go.

Dane's frown looked like it could have diced a diamond, but she gazed into those eyes…those expressive eyes that seemed to keep her in check. She sighed and ran her hand through her messy hair. She started marching to the living room and Nicole followed behind her, watching as her guest limped heavily.

"How's your leg?" Nicole asked quietly.

"It's fine," Dane snapped while flopping down onto the sofa. She dropped her guitar case and back-pack while she was at it. Her leg was fine now that she was sitting down. Her knee was throbbing, but she ignored that pain to focus on the anger that she was feeling.

"Danny, please, calm down. I only suggested that you get a job so that you get out more. I worry about you being in the house all day without anything to do," Nicole said quickly, wanting that out there before her friend went on another tirade. When it did not come, she continued. "I haven't said a damn thing to Tyler. I don't know why he might talk about you or say bad things about you, but I wouldn't believe a damn thing he said anyway. You know that. Like I said, I just think you need something to do."

"I don't want to do anything," Dane stated blandly, turning her head to look away from Nicole. She figured that she might stand a chance in the argument as long as she did not look Nicole in the eye.

"What about when you get those urges to 'do something'?" the lawyer inquired.

"It's not that often."

"I still think that you need something to occupy your time. I just don't think it's healthy that you hang out in the house all day. I don't want you to go stir crazy or get cabin fever or anything like that," Nicole said in a tender tone. She then reached out and cupped Danny's face, gently turning her head so that Dane was looking at her.

Dane closed her eyes for a moment and took a few calming breaths. She then nodded. "I'm not."

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm sorry I brought it up. I just thought it would be good for you. I thought that a job would just occupy your mind and take up some of your energy, so you don't sleep the day away. I mean, I really don't think that's healthy." Nicole slide her hands from Dane's face down to her arms, noticing that the contact kept Dane calm and she did like touching her housemate.

A copper hand went through short ebony hair again. "Sorry I blew up at you. It's just I haven't had a real job in…well, ever. I spent my life hearing shit about getting a 'real' job and doing something 'useful.' I had a job and it was a damn good job. I just can't do it anymore," Dane said with an anguished sigh and her eyes clouded over with despair.

Nicole had never heard Danny sound or look so distressed. "Oh…what job did you used to have?" she asked while caressing Dane's arms, letting the younger woman know that she was there for her.

There was a long pause before the words found their way out of Dane's mouth. "Well, I was a musician. I've been making a living as a musician since I was fifteen. I made some good money from it…"

Nicole glanced down at the floor. "So, that's why you're traveling with a guitar case, but I know you don't have a guitar in there." She had been given a glimpse a couple of times and saw that it had junk in it. Danny described it as junk anyway.

Dane stared at her guitar case. "Once upon a time, it held my life, my dreams. Now, it holds crap." Sounds like my life still.

The lawyer nodded. "What happened to the guitar?" she asked quietly. Something in those grey eyes told her not to pry too deeply.

"Sold it. I didn't need it anymore."

All four eyes went to Dane's left hand. A frown cut across a bronze face while a lump settled in a tight throat. Suddenly, a lighter hand took that left hand. Dane glanced up, seeing a smiling face and shining green eyes. A tiny smile came over Dane without her permission.

-----

Next time: Dane lets Nicole in a secret before Tyler shows up and nearly ruins their weekend.