~ Scarred for Life ~
by Shea K

Disclaimer: See Part 1

9: The greatest gift of all

"How's the leg?" Nicole asked Dane as they moved about the kitchen for their usual breakfast.

"It's better. Still a little sore and swollen," Dane answered honestly. She was moving about much better, so the lawyer did not doubt her word on it.

"Do you have any students to see today?" Nicole inquired.

"Actually, today I get to give my first piano lesson, but it should be fine. The person lives a few blocks down," the former musician replied, gesturing with her hand what direction she would be going in as if that would help.

Nicole paused for a moment and regarded her roommate with a curious look. "You play the piano too? You really are just full of surprises."

Dane smiled and blushed ever-so slightly. It was a rare day for someone to find out that she played piano; it was rarer still for her to be complimented for that talent. Usually people just asked why the hell did a rocker like her play the piano.

"How many instruments do you play?" Nicole asked curiously as they sat down at the table.

"Well, don't go spreading this around…wouldn't want to ruin my reputation and all," Dane joked and she earned a light laugh before continuing. "I play six instruments. Guitar, bass, and drums."

"Somehow I get those aren't the ones I shouldn't go spreading around," Nicole remarked.

"And I play piano, violin, and trumpet."

"The trumpet?" Nicole echoed. It seemed a little out of place, even with that lot.

Dane shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe I always wanted to play something that would deform my face. I don't play it that well."

"You're musically inclined. That's wonderful. So, I'm guessing that the guitar is your favorite."

The taller woman nodded and smiled. "Of all time. I don't know why, but I connect with my guitar. I never told this to anyone, but I feel like I can work through anything as long as I can play my guitar," she said. She suddenly flinched. I used the wrong words there.

"What's wrong, Danny?" The attorney's face scrunched up with worry and she reached across the table, taking Dane's hand in hers. "Is it your leg?" Nicole had a feeling it was something deeper that than, but decided to go with the safer question.

Ebony locks shifted a little as Dane shook her head. "No, no. It's just that I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're sharing with me." It was incredibly touching for her to know that Dane felt safe enough to do that.

Dane smiled a little, looking almost shy. "I feel a bit better sharing…" she admitted. It felt like weight was lifted off of her every time she revealed a little more about herself to Nicole. She felt…safe. Not in a physical sense, but in some way that she did not even know existed. It was like everything about her was safe with Nicole; it felt weird, but good. Can't fuck this up, her brain ordered her. No, she definitely could not do anything that might jeopardize this new feeling.

Breakfast was over too soon for their taste, but it always was. Nicole left after their usual farewell with the additional kiss on the cheek from Nicole to Dane. Dane was also ordered to stay off of her leg as much as possible, which she did not respond to in order to avoid lying.

Nicole went to work with a good feeling in her system that was typically replaced by stress about an hour into work. Today things were a little different. She barely got to enjoy her happy morning before it was ruined by the presence of her ex.

Tyler barged into her office without knocking, as he had a poor habit of doing. He was smirking, looking cocky in a manner that made Nicole just want to punch his face in. She would never do that in real life, but she enjoyed entertaining the idea.

"Good morning, Nikki," Tyler cooed, trying so hard to sound charming. So much so that he forgot that she hated to be called that.

"What do you want, Tyler?" she demanded to know while moving papers out of his sight. She would not put it by him to try to find out what she was working on to somehow weasel his way into her cases; he had done it when he was trying to get her to date him.

"I was just wondering how much money you gave her," Tyler said with a strange glint in his eyes. He looked so cocky for a reason that was just beyond Nicole.

"Gave who money?" Nicole asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Dane. I know she had to scam some money out of you, playing up the fact that it's her birthday."

"Her birthday?" Nicole glanced off for a moment, devoting her attention to searching her memory rather than paying Tyler any mind. She tried to remember the date on Danny's driver's license. She blinked as she realized it was Danny's birthday. "She didn't say anything," she muttered with a frown. She could not believe that Danny had not said a word about it being her birthday.

"What? You're kidding? She didn't come begging to you for money since it's her special day? You know she's just going to use it for drugs," Tyler stated smugly, folding his arms across his chest.

"She doesn't use drugs," Nicole countered in a tense tone. She glared at him as if she was trying to set him on fire merely for suggesting such a thing.

Tyler flinched for just a second, unused to that voice or that look from her. His forehead wrinkled as a perplexed look conquered his face. Then, he was suddenly back to normal. He marched closer to her desk.

"She didn't do anything to you already, did she? You're trying to defend her. If she did something, just tell me right now. I'll have her removed from your house immediately," Tyler declared. "That filthy bitch is disgusting and low, putting her hands on whatever, acting like she owns the damn world," he grumbled, mostly to himself, but he was speaking aloud.

For a moment, Nicole was bewildered. She did not get what he meant by Dane doing "something" to her, but it quickly dawned her. He was implying that Danny might have touched her inappropriately, maybe even violated her. She frowned deeply and looked offended by the very idea that he would imply such a thing. Emerald eyes flashed as anger poured out of her directed right at Tyler.

"Danny would NEVER do something I didn't want. Stay out of my business, Tyler. Also, don't mix personal things at the office. I have a job to do here and I don't need you distracting me from that with your bullshit," Nicole said in a stern voice.

Tyler scowled tightly and his jaw tensed. "You think I'm distracting you? You need to open your eyes and realize that Dane is bad news. She's nothing but a junkie that's going to rob you blind."

Nicole tensed a little herself. She could not believe the arrogance, the gall of Tyler. Who the hell does he think he is? How dare he judge Danny?! Danny had been nothing but sweet and kind to her. Danny showed her affection that she doubted Tyler could ever imagine, yet there he was judging Danny. She could not believe how he was standing there, staring at her with hard dirt-colored eyes as if he truly thought that she was stupid for not listening to him.

"Funny, I'm missing less money with her around than I was with you around," Nicole snapped with a fury that he never witnessed before blazing at him in her emerald eyes. He was not sure where the emotion was coming from, but he wanted her to put it away. Hell, she was not sure where the emotion was coming from, but she would not put it away until he stopped saying horrible things about Danny and he got out of her office.

He cleared his throat and glanced away. "Well…she's obviously just bidding her time. I know Dane, Nikki. You're going to regret taking her in," he vowed.

"Get the hell out," Nicole commanded, pointing to the door.

"Just watch," he said.

She growled and scanned her desk for something to throw at Tyler. He was smart enough to retreat from the office before she got her hands on something that would give him a nice knot. She got up to slam the door shut-loudly-and then went back to her seat. She then tried to go back to work, but found it hard to concentrate.

"Damn him," she hissed and then went into her briefcase, searching for something else to work on.

Two folders were ignored and then she came across a folder that she did not recall putting in her case. She took it out and opened it. She could not help smiling when she saw what was in there-the applications for graduate school.

"Danny, you are too sweet. I can't believe it's your birthday and you didn't say anything. Maybe her friends are doing something with her. She didn't say anything about that, though. Well, Danny doesn't usually say anything involving her friends or plans or anything," Nicole reminded herself.

She absently went through the stack of applications while trying to think of what Danny might be planning for her birthday. The musician had not shown any indication that it was a big day, going about her morning as usual. There were no clues that Nicole could think of during the morning, yesterday, or at any point that hinted at Danny's birthday.

"Why didn't you say anything, Danny?" Nicole wondered.

The attorney was taken from her thoughts by the sound of her phone ringing. For a moment, she almost daydreamed right through the annoying sound. By the time that she picked it up, she had to pause for a moment to avoid sounding upset. She frowned when she was greeted by her father's voice.

"Nikki, I just got another case for you. It shouldn't be too difficult for you," Raymond informed her.

"Daddy, I've already got enough cases," Nicole argued. More than enough.

"Nonsense! I know you can handle this with no problem. We have to make sure you stay busy, so you can become the youngest partner in the firm!" he pointed out.

"Of course," she grumbled, making sure to say that away from the receiver. "Daddy, I'm only one person."

"One extraordinary person. I'm going to bring you everything you need and go over it with you, but it is your case. I know you'll be able to do it justice just as quickly as you always do," he declared, his pride so obvious that it would not have been surprising if it oozed through the phone.

Nicole did not have a chance to argue, not that she planned on trying. She knew that it was no use; she would never be able to talk her parents out of anything. Also, there was no point in arguing because her father hung up as soon as he was finished explaining why he called. She sighed, knowing that her workload was about to grow. She could only hope that her mother did not come across a case or a contract or anything that she could do or she would be working at home and through her weekends to stay on top of everything.

"Danny isn't going to like that, so I hope my mother doesn't call," Nicole said to herself. There was no way that Danny would let her do so much work, which she was thankful for.

A smile spread across her face as she thought about the times that Danny kept her from working. Danny would curl up with her on the couch and they would either watch movies or listen to music. Sometimes they would both read or just Nicole would read, but Danny would stay there with her, never complaining and always comforting. So different from Tyler.

The more Nicole thought about it, Danny was just different from any other person that she had let into her life-even her friends. Her friends were always on her case, trying to get her to help them with their work or personal problems or anything. Sometimes, she felt like a servant with her friends. It seemed like she was there to support everyone, but no one really did it for her. They would tell her nice things to appease her, "Oh, Nicole, you're so strong," "Nicole, you'd never end up in a mess like this," "Nicole, you're like a superwoman." She suspected that they said it more to ease any guilt that they might have than to really compliment her.

She shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts. She shoved the college applications back into her briefcase to get her head out of the clouds. She then went back to what she was working on before Tyler came into her office. Unfortunately, he was not the only distraction of the day.

Her assistant came in with some bogus story about needing to leave early because of a sick grandmother; by Nicole's count, her assistant's grandmother should have been dead considering all the ailments the elderly woman came down with. That was, of course, assuming the elderly lady was not already deceased considering that her assistant already went to her funeral three times as an excuse to get the day off. She supposed it was possible to just have about six grandmothers, although she was not sure how.

Nicole did not say anything, though. She would manage without the assistant, as she often did. The woman claimed that she would finish up with her work before she left, which was going to be during lunch. Nicole doubted that, but still did not say anything because she had other things to do.

Before lunchtime could even arrive, Nicole was interrupted yet again. Her good friend Mina entered her office. Nicole knew that it had to do with business since Tyler was the only one unprofessional enough to enter her office during work hours and want to talk about something personal.

"Nicole, I need you to look at this contract for me," Mina requested, holding up a folder.

"Why? What's wrong?" Nicole asked.

"That's what I'm hoping you'll tell me. I want to be sure that it's as good as it looks and I know you have that eagle eye for details like this. You're also good at finding hidden meanings to things."

Nicole sighed. "I guess I can look at it during lunch…"

"You're going to spend your lunch inside again?" Mina asked incredulously, throwing her hands up.

The redhead frowned a little, as if she was insulted by her friend's dramatic action. "I don't mind spending my lunches inside."

Mina smirked. "Oh, that's right. Your little roommate makes you lunch now. Does she give you midnight snacks too?"

Nicole glared, erasing the smirk right from her friend's face. "My relationship with Danny is nothing like that."

"Okay, okay. Ease up, Nicole." Mina held her hands up to show that she surrendered. "I was only teasing you. So, are you going to look at the contract?" she inquired, not to make sure, but to take the conversation back to the matter at hand. She would talk to Nicole about the fabulous Danny some other time, outside of work since she knew that Nicole preferred talking about personal matters when business hours were done.

Before Nicole could repeat that she would, the phone rang. She put it on speakerphone. Her assistant, surprisingly still working, reported that there was a "Dash" on the line that wished to speak with her. Nicole rolled her eyes.

"Put her through," Nicole ordered in an upset tone that made Mina arch an eyebrow. "Hey, Dash."

"Did that lazy bitch call me Dash again?" Dane demanded to know with a huff.

"Danny, please don't call her that," the attorney requested, shaking her head a little, even though her roommate could not see.

"Why? She is. One day I'm going to end up at your office just to put my good foot up her ass. I bet she's abandoning you in a few minutes too."

"Danny," Nicole said in a pleading tone.

"Fine, fine, fine. I was just calling to see how you are, chem. I don't want you to get too stressed. Just remember you're surrounded by ungrateful idiots."

Nicole smiled, which also got an arched eyebrow from Mina. The mocha-skinned lawyer eased her folder onto Nicole's desk and eased out of the room, just knowing deep down that she was in the middle of an intimate conversation-no matter what Nicole would tell her later on. She did make a mental note to ask Nicole about it sometime when they were not working.

"You're just too sweet, Danny. My day is going how it usually does. I just got a new case. My father is forcing me to work on it," Nicole reported with a huff, knowing that she would get some desired empathy from her friend.

"Well, that sucks. You should tell him that you already have enough on your plate."

"I tried," Nicole insisted weakly.

"Yeah, but you didn't try in your I'm-not-taking-any-bullshit tone. I've seen how you talk to people, chem. I don't understand how the hell you're a corporate lawyer with the way you do."

Nicole sank in her seat a little, looking much like a reprimanded child. "I'm…different…when really working."

Dane picked up on the mood and chimed in with a gentle, soothing tone. "Hey, you don't need to sound sad about it. It's good that you can be assertive when you're being a kick-ass spawn of Satan. I just want you to be kick-ass more often in life, so you don't have to get saddled with so much shit. Anyway, I didn't call to scold you or anything. I want you to make sure you eat lunch. I packed you two puddings to lift your spirits."

The smile on Nicole's face was priceless. "Thanks, Danny, although those things have a lot of calories in them-" she was quickly cut off by her roommate.

"Damn it, Nick, live a little. Don't be a calorie-counter for everything. If it helps, I'll go with you to the gym."

Nicole laughed. "And do what? The last time you went, you almost killed yourself on the equipment because you don't know how to listen."

"It wasn't me. It was my leg!" Dane joked. Never before would she have joked about something being her bum leg's fault, but she felt like she could do it with Nicole. She guessed that meant that she was comfortable with Nicole. When was I ever comfortable with someone like this? ...Was I ever?

"Yeah, it was your leg. Whatever." Nicole laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaking of my leg, I would like to tell you that it is feeling better. I went and taught my piano lesson, came home, and iced my leg down. The swelling is going down. It almost looks normal…you know, aside for all of the scarred tissue and everything," Dane remarked.

"Well, let's work on what we can work on. When you start leg modeling, we'll get the scarred tissue."

Dane burst out laughing. "You just made me spit out my apple juice!"

"Then my work here is done. Speaking of work, I need to get back to that since I now have more than I started with this morning."

"I swear, you're the only person whose work grows the more she does it on the daily basis. Have a good day, chem."

"Bye, Danny."

The call was disconnected and Nicole could not rid herself of the smile on her face. She was just so happy that someone called to check up on her and make sure that she was all right. No one ever did that!

"That settles it. I have to do something extra-special for Danny's birthday," Nicole decided.

-----

"Danny, I'm home!" Nicole called as she carefully entered the house, not wanting to ruin the bouquet of yellow roses that she had purchased on her way. She also had to be careful of the small box that she was carrying. It was a hard balancing act since she was carrying her briefcase too, but she managed it.

When there was no answer, she knew that Danny was sleeping. She marched to the living room and found her roommate in a familiar state. Dane was out like a light on the sofa, eyes closed and mouth wide opened. Her leg was wrapped and elevated by a throw pillow. There was faint heavy metal music coming through the stereo.

"And you say I'm precious," Nicole remarked with a smile.

She left Dane as she was for the moment, wanting to get comfortable in the house. First things first, she went to put the box that she was holding in the refrigerator. She then turned around to go upstairs. She barely reached the stairs when the phone started ringing. Luckily, she had a phone on the table right next to the stairs. She put down the flowers in order to answer.

"Hello?" Nicole greeted the caller.

"I'm looking Dane," a female voice stated.

"She's sleeping right now. May I take a message?"

The dial tone was Nicole's response to that. She did not think too much of it, even though she did note that Danny knew some very rude people. She made it to her bedroom before the phone rang again. Once again the person was looking for Dane and did not leave a message.

"I guess everyone's looking for her since it's her birthday. They probably all have big plans and things for her," Nicole thought. Danny did not seem like she was up for those plans, though, since she was knocked out instead of out partying.

The lawyer put down her things and went to take her shower. She changed into house clothes, which were the grey sweat-shorts and a white v-neck tee-shirt. She went to go sit with Danny, but the phone halted her for a moment.

"Hello?" Nicole greeted the caller once again.

"Is Dane around?"

"She's sleeping."

"Hey, is this the princess?" the caller inquired, sounding curious and oddly cheerful.

Nicole's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Shit, what was your name again? Nancy? Carla? Kim?" The guesses were not said in a rude manner, but it still bothered Nicole that someone would call her house, call her something other than her name, and then have the nerve to not recall her name.

"Nicole!"

"Right! Nicole. Well, this is Crow. Do you think you could wake the party animal up? Everybody's ready for her to give the word, so we can go get fucked up," Crow admitted shamelessly.

"Excuse me?"

"We want to party with Dane, so wake her up, please," Crow requested, having the nerve to sound polite there.

"I'll have her call you back."

Nicole disconnected the call before she could get an answer. She did not like the sound of the plans that Crow had, and the fact that she was trying to involve Danny made Nicole's skin crawl. It was like none of Danny's friends paid attention when she told them that she did not use drugs anymore. Hell, Danny did not even drink alcohol, so she would not want to a part of the parties that her friends were trying to throw.

The attorney went to the living room. She set the roses on the coffee table, right where Danny would see them after she got over her momentary disorientation that always accompanied her after sleep. Nicole then sat down, moving Danny's head to rest in her lap.

"Wake up, birthday girl," Nicole purred into a bronze ear.

A smile that could only be described as lecherous curled onto Dane's sleeping face. Nicole recognized the expression and decided that she should not joke around with Danny in her sleep, especially since it made her heart flutter a little. She quickly shook the musician awake as Dane was turning, seemingly about to rub her face into Nicole's stomach.

"What? What?!" Dane shouted as she shot up from her comfortable rest. Her eyes scanned everywhere in a panic.

"Danny, calm down!" Nicole put a gentle hand on Dane's shoulder.

"Nick?" Dane asked while rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger.

"Who else?" the auburn-haired woman replied with a smile.

"Who else indeed." Dane rubbed her face, trying her best to get herself together. She shifted a bit as she dropped her hand and she noticed something odd on the table. She rubbed her eyes again to make sure that she was not seeing things. "Did someone at work give you flowers?" she asked curiously. For a brief moment, jealousy shot through her, but her friend's response chased that feeling away.

"Those aren't for me, silly," Nicole answered with a light laugh.

"No? Then who are they for?" Dane asked, scratching the end of her nose while her brow furrowed in confusion.

Nicole smiled as she turned and regarded the flowers as if she had no idea where they came from or who they were for. "Well, the way I see it, they belong here and they're not for me. Only two people live here, so I'm guessing they're for the other occupant of the house."

Dane rubbed her forehead with two fingers and then ran her hand through her thick, onyx mane. "You brought me flowers?" She sounded like she did not understand why Nicole would bother to do such a thing.

"How'd you know it was me? I might have intercepted the delivery man outside," Nicole remarked.

"You're the only person that cares enough to do something like this," Dane honestly and seriously admitted.

"Oh. No old girlfriends out there that might be thinking of you?" Nicole asked curiously. She found it strange that no one would miss a sweetheart like Danny.

"Cursing my name possibly. No one thinks of me and then thinks 'lemme send her flowers.' I don't think I've ever gotten flowers in my entire life," Dane realized. She reached out and took hold of the bouquet that was in a thin vase. She smiled while taking a smell, delighting in the subtle aroma. "They look nice…" She was not sure what else to say, but from the shining look in her eyes, that was more than enough.

"I'm glad you like them. For a moment, I thought you might not like flowers or something and that's why no one's ever given them to you," Nicole said while breathing sigh relief. She felt good thanks to her gift and being able to be the first to present someone like Danny with flowers.

Dane flashed a charming grin while lying back down, putting her head in Nicole's lap. "I love 'em! I'm kinda happy that you're the first person to ever give me some, though. It makes them more special or something," she said, letting her mouth run away with her. She blushed as she realized what she was confessing. Her face would have turned completely crimson if she realized that she had just laid in Nicole's lap without permission, but then again, Nicole did not even bother trying to move her.

Green eyes shined with delight. "I'm glad you like them," she repeated, not sure what else to say. She felt a little emotional thanks to Danny's words and the musician's happy expression. I like it when she looks at me like that…Nicole mentally shook that thought away.

"Thanks. Why'd you get me flowers, though? I hope not because I do the cooking and cleaning around here," the taller woman said in a warning tone and a semi-stern glare.

"No! I got them because it's your birthday. Happy birthday, Danny."

Before Dane could reply, Nicole started to lean over. Dane knew what was coming and was suddenly hit with the urge to turn her head ever so slightly so that her mouth would occupy the space that her cheek was in. She resisted the temptation and Nicole's tender lips landed on her right cheek, sending a sweet, mellow sensation through out her whole body. A jolt of electricity followed the mellowness as Dane realized Nicole's breasts were rubbing against her face. She fought down the luscious and feelings and just reveled in kiss.

"You're just too much, angel," Dane said in a whisper as Nicole pulled away.

It was the lawyer's turn to blush. She made a conscious effort to get rid of the crimson stain; after a few seconds it dispelled. Nicole thought it might be wise to change the subject before she did something more embarrassing, especially since she was tempted to kiss Danny's other cheek…just to even things out, of course.

"So, a lot of people are calling for you. I'm guessing your friends have a big night planned for you," Nicole reported. She managed to keep her tone neutral, even though she had many opinions on Dane's friends thanks to their phone calls.

Grey eyes rolled and were accompanied by a scoff. "Like hell they are. They're calling because they think the Great Dane is going to throw a party like I used to, complete with enough drugs and alcohol to get a small state fucked up."

"Really?"

"That's the only reason. That's how I used to celebrate."

"You used to make enough money to blow it all on drugs and alcohol?" Nicole inquired in disbelief. She was not asking because Tyler was trying to make her think that Danny was a drug dealer and addict, but she just could not believe that a musician that was not famous could make that much money.

Dane laughed a little. "I was a local celebrity. Clubs used to beg for my band to play there. We made enough money to blow it on pussy, beer, and blow more often than not. My happy birthday to me used to be a big party in a club with all the free drugs and alcohol they could do. It felt like I had friends." A shrug capped off the statement, going along well with the tone.

Nicole was about to comment on how lonely Danny always seemed, but she stopped herself. She did not want to see rude or insensitive, but it did seem to her that Dane knew a lot of people, but she did not seem to have very many friends. Nicole then suddenly remembered something that Dane told her when they first met, "my friends call me Danny." But, no one called her Danny. Everyone called her that ridiculous-in Nicole's opinion-nickname.

"Danny, does everyone call you Dane?" Nicole asked curiously.

"Everyone except for you," Dane answered.

"Even your family?" She did recall that Tyler referred to his cousin as "Dane" all the time; he never even slipped and called her "Danielle."

"Everyone except for you," Dane repeated.

Nicole nodded and she had a feeling that meant something, but she did not want to admit to herself; it just seemed narcissistic to her to even silently admit what she thought the information meant. It was as if she was Danny's only friend if Danny exactly meant her friends called her Danny. If nothing else, Nicole was ready to silently admit that she meant something special to Danny to be the only one that called her that name and Danny was perfectly accepting of it. It did not even cross her mind to ask if it was all right since she was the only person that called the musician Danny; she was well aware that it was all right.

"Do you have any plans for your birthday?" Nicole asked curiously, wanting to change the subject again. She did not want to travel down the road her mind was on, where she was special to Danny. She did not want to deal with something like that, something like actually wanting to be special to Danny.

"I was planning to hang out with a girl," Dane answered and for a moment she watched disappointment flicker in those bright emerald eyes, so she continued. "I figured we would watch a movie or two on the couch. I'd make her dinner. Then I'd keep her company while she did a little homework and I'd send her to bed at a decent hour."

Nicole laughed. "You do that every night! It's your birthday, Danny. Surely you want to do something more."

"I don't mind, chem. I just want to stay in and be around you. It would actually be the best birthday I've ever had," Danny said with startling sincerity.

Nicole was paused for a moment, her heart beating just a little faster than usual. It was hard not to think that she was special to Dane when the musician was saying things like staying in and being around her would be the best birthday and she meant it. It was enough to blow Nicole's mind because no one had ever made her feel so important to them. She blinked a few times, clearing her mind, before she was able to speak again.

"Even if that's true, I want to do something with you. Now, I thought you would have plans with your friends, so I made us reservations to eat tomorrow at seven-thirty. Is that good for you?" Nicole inquired.

Dane ran her hand through her hair. "Um…you know I don't have clothes for that…"

"Let me worry about that. Is it okay for us to go out for dinner?"

"As friends, right?" Dane asked. Stupid! Why'd I ask that?! Of course as friends! She's not interested in a bum like me and I better not even think about ruining the best thing to ever accidentally step into my shitty life!

"Of course. You think I'm going to make a pass at you, Miss Dane?" Nicole's eyes shined as she bumped Danny with her hip.

"Well, I am irresistible," the taller woman replied with a laugh.

"I can tell by all of the phone calls you keep getting."

"Well, for the rest of the night, you should just ignore numbers that you don't know. Let's watch some movies. I'll make us some popcorn."

"Yay!" Nicole cheered like a child. "My hero."

Dane laughed as she got up to go make popcorn. Nicole decided to put on a DVD rather than scan the television for something. They curled up on the couch, like they did every night, and watched movies together. Nicole cooked since it was Dane's birthday. She also presented Dane with a small cake, which had been in the box that she was carrying earlier.

"No," Dane gasped as Nicole came toward her with the cake and singing the birthday song.

Nicole continued singing the song as she put the cake down. In lovely cursive writing, written in icing read, "Happy Birthday, Danny. Hopefully we'll share more days." Emotion bubbled up into the guitar-player's throat and she found herself unable to blow out the candles, two of them, when Nicole was done singing.

"Danny?" Nicole said while waiting for the birthday girl to blow out the candles.

Tears silently slid down copper-toned cheeks. "I never had a birthday cake before…" she said in a shaky voice, words barely escaping her trembling lips.

"What?!" Nicole screamed in disbelief.

"Never…"

"Oh, god." For a moment, Nicole was totally speechless and all she could do was hug Danny while the musician silently cried. Nicole had never heard of someone never having a birthday cake before. For a moment, she was angry with everyone that had known Danny before her and neglected such a sweet woman so openly, but she let that emotion pass. She made a promise to herself that she was going to make sure that never happened again as long as Danny was with her. "I hope you'll have many more birthdays and birthday cakes in the future. For now, blow out the candles and we can eat some," the lawyer suggested.

Dane nodded and did as she was told. She was glad that Nicole had not asked her about why she never had a birthday cake before; Nicole instinctively knew to steer clear of that subject for the time being since it was supposed to be a happy moment. They both had a slice of cake and Nicole complained about how long she was going to be in the gym working off all of the junk that she consumed all day. They retired a little after ten.

"Nick really is a damn angel," Dane commented, staring at the ceiling from her pallet on the floor. That was the only way she could explain Nicole caring so much about her and doing so much for her.

-----

"Nick, you really didn't have to buy me an outfit to wear out," Dane said as Nicole handed her a plastic bag.

"I did. You can't wear shorts and a tank out to a real restaurant," Nicole stated.

"You could, but you'd look like an ass."

"Well, I'd rather go out without you looking like an ass. I don't want to be an ass by association."

Dane could not help laughing as she went off to take a shower and get into her clothes. Nicole went to shower also and change. They met back in the living room and Nicole had to smile when she saw the clothes fit Dane like they were made for her. She had to fight off the urge to whistle.

"You're so handsome..." Nicole said, needing to get those words out to make sure she did not whistle.

"You're good," Dane commented while looking down at her outfit. It was nothing too fancy, just khakis and a black oxford shirt. The way everything fit her was perfect, though. Nicole thought things were perfect too, not the outfit, but the way Danny looked in the garments and the way that she filled the clothing out.

"Well, it wasn't too hard. You're not that much taller than me. I just had to figure out what style wouldn't be too offensive to you. I went with the plain thing just to be safe," Nicole explained. Plain worked very well. She was afraid that if she had gone with something just a little fancier, she would have done nothing but stare at Danny for the whole night.

Nicole shook her head, trying to rid herself of that thought. She did not know where the desire to leer at Danny came from. She tried to dismiss it as just admiring a beautiful body, which Danny certainly had. She also tried to tell herself that the thought came from the fact that she was no longer dating. Or maybe it was her brain just grasping for things now, anything to keep her from thinking of Danny beyond the friend that she was.

"No, no, no, this is more than fine. It's comfortable and not showy. Just my speed." Dane brushed imaginary lint off of her shoulder while trying to act like she did not notice Nicole staring at her. She downplayed it to shock since Nicole had never seen her outside of her street-clothes.

"You don't want to be showy? You go outside everyday in shorts and a tank-top, no matter the weather. If it's raining or cold, what do you do? Put on pants under the shorts. I'm sure a couple of people have stopped to stare at you, sweetie," Nicole remarked. Myself included apparently. She shook that away again.

Dane found herself sticking her tongue out at Nicole in retaliation. The lawyer rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend. They made their way to the car and were off to the city. They made small talk with some music playing for the ride. The conversation was paused when they arrived at the restaurant, which Dane could see did require suitable clothing if the outside of the place hinted to anything happening inside.

The inside of the restaurant did not disappoint either. Hell, Dane felt under-dressed even in her new clothing. It was not too bad, though. They were seated immediately at a good table by the window that had a view of the city's largest park, complete with the lake inside of the park.

"Wow, you were able to get this in a day?" Dane asked in disbelief. She could not help wondering what kind of pull Nicole must have in order to get such a table so quickly.

"Well, my firm does a lot of business here for casual meetings with clients and everything…" Nicole semi-explained.

"Oh, Nick, did you do something bad and it wasn't during work?" Dane teased, half of a smirk forming on her face.

"Hush." Nicole playfully swatted at the younger woman. "So, how does it feel to be fifteen?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Dane countered smugly.

Nicole laughed. "All right, you got me. Okay, for real, how does it feel to be twenty-five?"

"I'm glad I made it this far. Nick, I meant it when I told you this is the best birthday I've ever had. Hell, I'm surprised I lived through some of my 'better' birthdays. I don't even want to get into the birthdays I had when I was little. Some years I didn't even know I had a birthday! So, to answer your question, it feels good. It's a fuck load better than when I turned twenty-four. Thank you for this." Her voice was so sincere that it threatened to bring tears to Nicole's eyes, but the attorney managed to keep the waterworks at bay.

"It's not over. Let's make it through dinner and then you can thank me." Nicole then smiled and Dane was at a loss for words for a moment.

Dane nodded and ordered her mind not to think about any hiding meaning to those words. There is no hidden meaning! Dane was starting to think that she was going to have to go out and get a girlfriend. She felt like she had to be in need of a mate if she kept having inappropriate thoughts about Nicole.

They continued talking while they ordered. Nicole had a bottle of wine brought over; they both did have to show ID for it. They both only indulged in one glass of wine; Dane did not even finish hers. The pair enjoyed each other's company as always. Dane was happy that no one came out singing "happy birthday" to her in the end.

"So, what're we going to do now?" Dane asked as they exited the restaurant and waited for the car to be brought around.

"Let me worry about that. You just go with it," Nicole replied. She was happy that Danny went with things for dinner. She had not been in the mood to argue over the bill, especially since she knew that Danny had very little money on her.

"Fine." Dane sighed dramatically, but the noise fell on deaf ears.

They piled back into the car and took a short drive a part of the city that Dane knew about, but did not frequent. It was sort of the art district; there were plenty of upscale galleries and a few museums. She wondered what they were doing there and turned questioning eyes to the driver.

"Just go with it, Danny. Geez, I'm not kidnapping you," Nicole promised.

Dane only nodded. Nicole parked the car in a small lot adjacent to a dark building. Dane followed Nicole's lead, going to a back staircase that was poorly lit and through a door. Before Dane could even see where they were, her ears heard it and her soul felt it-jazz. Nicole paid the cover charge and they were seated at a small table with a clear view of the stage where a jazz band was playing.

Nicole did not say anything, just watched as Dane was wrapped up in the music as soon as they sat down. A faint smile worked its way onto Nicole's face as she saw Dane drift with each note. It was something she noticed when they listened to music at home. Music seemed like a whole different world for Danny.

Dane was mesmerized by the instruments and taken over by the songs. Her fingers moved without her permission, playing along with the bass. She tensed as seconds went by, but her fingers continued to move. Nicole noticed the change evolving in Dane's demeanor.

A bronze left hand trembled and then shook before starting over, as if holding the strings of a bass. Dane sucked her teeth after a few minutes, realizing what she was doing. She dropped her hands, but they could not keep still for long. Slender fingers plucked imaginary strings, but gradually the left hand slowed and trembled, being outpaced by the right. Teeth sucked again; a vicious cycle had begun.

Nicole had noticed the weakness of Danny's left hand many times before, but never before had she seen it cause such obvious distress in the younger woman. Grey eyes silently panicked and implored nothingness as the left hand slowed again and again before eventually having to start over. By the end of the show, Dane looked like she was ready to burst into tears and explode in pure fury.

"Danny, are you okay?" Nicole asked as they walked back to the car. She was glad that the show was only an hour or she was certain that Dane would have run out after a few more minutes.

"Fine," was the strangled reply.

Nicole sighed, not sure what to say at the moment. They entered the car and silence reigned before a short moment. Dane took some deep breaths and then turned her attention to the driver.

"Thanks for all of this, Nick. This is the best birthday gift I've gotten since my guitar," Dane said.

"Really? I didn't think you liked it. I thought you were upset at the show," Nicole replied in a low tone, keeping her eyes on the road.

Dane's eyes flashed with endless joy and her mouth dropped open incredulously. "What? Hell, no! The show was great! Those guys really know how to the play too. I was just pissed because…" she trailed off and looked away.

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to…" Nicole stated gently.

Dane nodded and there were a few tense beats of silence. "I know you've noticed my hand."

"I have."

Dane started speaking in a low, detached voice. "It got messed up back when I got the limp a little over a year ago. The nerves are pretty damaged and I'll probably never play the guitar the way I used to. I used to be so fucking good. You'd never believe a punk like me could be as good as I was. But, after what happened with my hand, I could never be that good again, no matter how much I tried. I quit trying after a while. I mean, you saw how hard it is to move and how slow it is. Makes teaching a lot of instruments a bitch. Makes playing 'em even worse…" She wanted to sound like it did not matter, like she was talking about anything else, but it was clear that she was talking about something that meant the world to her.

Nicole swallowed and asked the question that had been on her mind for a while. "How'd it happen? How'd your hand get messed up?"

Grey eyes flashed like a storm was brewing behind them. A snarl tugged at her lip for a moment and she made a tight fist with her good hand. Nicole doubted that she had ever seen Danny so emotional, so angry.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Nicole said.

Dane bit her lip, trying to gather herself. She took another calming breath while releasing her fist. She blinked before turning to Nicole with sorrowful grey eyes.

"Over a year ago, I had this best friend, Bryan. We were fucking joined at the hip when it came to a lot of things. Got along as smoothly as two punk kids can. Bryan played in my band. He played bass. He was pretty good, not as good as me, but good enough to be on stage with me. While I liked to waste money on drugs, Bryan liked to gamble. Not being good at managing money, he tended to gamble more than he had and he owed a lot. He owed a lot to the wrong type of people.

"One day he comes to me with a black eye and busted lip, crying about how they're going to kill him if he doesn't come up with the money. He begs me to go talk to them, tell them he's good for it and all of this bullshit. I was stupid. I went. I told them he was good for the money and we'd get it back. They gave us a deadline. I told him if we hustled our asses off we should be able to pull it off. He jumped on board.

"Time to collect rolls around, I met up with the guys, but Bryan's nowhere to be found. I had part of the money. Part of the money meant they wouldn't break both my legs. However, it didn't save them from beating the shit out of my knee and leg and fucking up my chances to ever play the guitar like a god ever again," Dane snarled with untamed ferocity.

"Oh, my god, Danny. You don't still owe these people, do you? They're not going to come after you and hurt you again, are they?" Nicole begged to know, concern pouring out of her voice and through her eyes.

Dane was paused for just a moment. She was shocked by Nicole's concern for her; it was not even that Nicole was concerned that her own life was in danger, but that Dane's life was in danger. Dane felt her heart beat in a manner that it never had before and she tried to shake it off while continuing the conversation.

"Nah, they're not going come after me or hurt me again. Bryan might have run then, but he did have to pay them back eventually. He handled his share, but by then I was already in the hospital. They cut my hand and leg pretty good before wailing on both with a bat, thinking I was hiding the money or some shit like that and I would tell them where it was if they did that. I was in the hospital for a good long time. The bastard even had the nerve to visit me, but didn't have the decency to apologize or tell anyone the fucking truth about what happened," Dane commented with slight bitterness, but not as much as one would expect her to have.

"And he was your best friend?" Nicole was incredulous. She would never do that to anyone that she viewed as a friend, especially not a best friend.

"Very best friend. Knew him for years and would've done anything for him, thought he felt the same way. Instead, he fucked me over as soon as it was convenient for him. These are the type of people I knew. Hell, these are the type of people I come from. After all, you've met Tyler and he's one of my parents' favorite nephews. My parents love Bryan too, thinking he got his life together because he's going to business school and shit, asking me why I can't be more like them," Dane stated in a bland tone.

Nicole nodded, not sure what to say. She glanced over at her passenger. She reached over and took Dane's larger hand in her own.

"I would never do anything like that to you," Nicole promised. She brought Dane's hand to mouth and gently kissed copper knuckles.

"I know you wouldn't," Dane replied in her usual plain manner, but sincerity oozed off of her like bright energy.

The rest of the ride home was spent in a very comfortable silence. They did not let go of each other's hands either. Dane silently admitted that it was the greatest birthday that she ever had and she wanted to share another with Nicole.

-----

10: Healing powers of music

"Come on, we're going out to lunch," Mina commanded as she marched to Nicole's office.

"What?" Nicole asked with a puzzled expression on her face as she looked up from her work.

"We're going out to lunch. We need to talk," Mina insisted.

"I have lunch," Nicole commented, still looking quite baffled. She pointed to the small, black fridge that most people did not know was in her office. Mina was very much aware of the refrigerator and she knew that Nicole kept all of her "Danny-made" lunches in it.

"I'm sure you do," Mina replied. "But, we're going to lunch anyway."

"But, I have lunch. It's left over lasagna. Danny makes a hell of a lasagna," the auburn-haired woman argued quite seriously. She was looking forward to eating her lunch too.

"You can eat it later. Right now, we need to go out to lunch so we can talk. I know you're not going to talk here," Mina pointed out. It went beyond Nicole not wanting to mix personal things and business, going on to include trying to avoid Tyler hearing something that she might not desire him to hear. They never knew when he was lurking about, after all.

"Why do we need to talk? I need to finish something today," Nicole groaned. If she got one more assignment to write a contract, study a contract, or figure out how to break a contract, she was going to snap. She needed to get something out of the way or someone was going to find her on the floor on her office counting the carpet fibers.

"Come on, putting it off for one day isn't going to kill you. I want to talk to you now," Mina insisted, folding her arms across her chest.

Nicole sighed and rubbed her eyes. She finished up with what she was doing and turned her computer off. She put away other files, making sure her desk was clear, and then stood up to leave with Mina. The mocha-skinned lawyer looked quite smug because she knew that Nicole was going to give in.

"I don't see why we suddenly have to talk so insistently," Nicole grumbled as she marched out of her office. Mina followed right behind her, closing the door as she left.

It was a nice day, so they decided to walk down the street to a little café that they both liked. They grabbed a table outside and ordered their lunch, along with a couple of drinks. They then turned their attention to each other.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Nicole asked curiously.

"What's going on with you and Danny?" Mina inquired directly, as was her style.

Emerald eyes blinked quite a few times. "Excuse me?"

"You and Danny, what's going on? There's more to this thing than her being your roommate, isn't it?"

Nicole balked. "No! We're just roommates. Why would you even ask that?" she countered as if she truly did not understand.

Mina scoffed. "Because I've known you for ten years, Nicole. I've never seen you react to a person the way that you do with Danny, not even people you date. You brighten at the mention of her name. When I saw you on the phone with her the other day, your smile could've put the sun out of business. What's going on? You're going back to women again?"

The redhead shook her head. "No. I don't like Danny like that. We're just good friends. You're seeing things that aren't there," she insisted, waving her hand to dismiss her friend's ideas.

"Sure I am." Mina rolled her chocolate eyes. "I know what I saw. Have you kissed Danny yet?" she asked with a smirk, as if she was walking her friend into a trap to prove that she was right.

"Only on the cheek and that's the only place I plan to. I'm not ruining what I have with her. The friendship I have with her is not something I'm going to screw around with," Nicole said soundly with a hard look in her eyes that told Mina to back off.

Mina obeyed the look in her eyes, having seen it before when Nicole was working. She just rarely saw it when Nicole was not working, which made it a shocker. She also found it hard to believe that there was nothing going on between Nicole and Danny considering what she witnessed when the pair was on the phone a few days ago. She did not even want to get into how Nicole spoke about Danny in general, but she did feel like it was evidence to support her theory that there was more between the two than being roommates.

"Is this really what you wanted to talk about?" Nicole asked incredulously. She thought it was nonsense and she disliked being dragged away from her work for nonsense. There was no way that she was going to ruin what she had with Danny by trying to make it more than what it was or more than what Danny wanted.

"I thought there was something to it. If you say there's not, I'm guessing there's not. You haven't lied to me before and I don't see why you would start now," Mina answered with a shrug and she meant that. Nicole told her pretty much everything and it would be silly for her to lie about her relationship with Danny. After all, Mina was aware and comfortable with the fact that Nicole dated both men and women; Nicole never described herself as bisexual, but in essence, she was bi.

"There's nothing going on there. Just a very different and fulfilling friendship," Nicole insisted, her voice still defensive. She would never do anything to ruin what she had with Danny because it made her feel wonderful in ways that she did not even know existed. She wanted to keep that feeling for as long as possible.

"Okay. I believe you. Ease up, cowboy," Mina remarked with a laugh, holding her hands up in a surrender-like gesture.

Nicole sighed and decided to put Mina's nonsense out of her mind. There was just no way that she would jeopardize what she had with Danny. She did not want to tell Mina, but she thought that her relationship with Danny was the best thing to ever happen to her; she did not want to hurt her oldest friend's feelings by admitting such a thing.

The pair had lunch then and discussed other things. They parted ways when they reentered the firm. Mina was not about to let go of her theory that there was something going on between her friend and the mysterious Danny, but she was not sure what it was. After all, Nicole had never lied to her before and she did not see why Nicole would start with her relationship to Danny. There was something that she was missing and she was determined to figure it out.

Nicole went back to work, frowning as she realized that she was going to have to take work home yet again. Every night I have to take something home, she mentally complained. Her mood soured more as she thought about sitting up until the middle of the night with draft after draft of legal jargon staring her in the face and she knew just what to do to lift her spirits.

The auburn-haired attorney retrieved her homemade lunch and went to the lounge area to use the microwave. She passed her assistant's desk on the way there to see that the woman was gone already. Nicole made a mental note to fire her assistant, who was now just leaving whenever the urge overcame her without bothering at least make up an excuse it.

-----

Dane hooked her guitar onto her back and rode off to teach a guitar lesson. It was not long, just an hour. She made a meager twenty-five dollars per lesson. She was happy for any money, even though it was nothing to what she was used to. It was a pain getting to the lessons and getting home later, yet she always left the house with a smile and always returned with one, no matter how much her leg ached and her hand frustrated her.

When she got home, she made sure to ice her leg and elevate the sore limb. She continued to smile, thinking about what Nick would like for dinner. Her mind then drifted from contemplating dinner to just lingering on Nick, going from thinking about how much she liked to cook for Nicole to just imagining Nicole around the house doing mundane things, which progressed to a little more than that. It took her several minutes to realize she was daydreaming.

"Shit, I've got to stop thinking about her like that. I need to go out and get a girlfriend before I fuck things up with Nick. The last thing I want to do is ruin things with that angel," Dane told herself.

When Nicole came home, they spent their evening like they usually did. As they lounged in the living room, Nicole took a few moments to occasionally glance at Danny. Nicole was supposed to be reading a book while Danny was resting against her and jotting something down on a legal pad. What Mina assumed floated through the lawyer's mind.

"There's nothing going on between me and Danny," Nicole silently insisted. "We just enjoy a nice…somewhat domestic existence. There's nothing wrong with that. Just because you like someone's company and like living with her doesn't mean something has to be going on. Besides, Danny doesn't seem to be interested in me like that at all…"

She thought about Danny's rocker status and how women probably threw themselves at her. Danny practically said as much, but she was not interested in those type of women anymore. Nicole could only wonder what type of women Danny was interested in now…and what would happen when Danny met such a woman.

"I guess I shouldn't get too attached to this domestic bliss. Surely, eventually Danny's going to find the perfect woman and move in with her. I'll be by myself again until the next asshole wanders into my life…" Nicole frowned. Her life was going to be miserable again when she lost Danny.

"Chem?" Dane said, snapping the attorney out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" Nicole asked.

"What were you thinking about so hard, chem?" Dane inquired curiously. She could not recall a time when she saw Nicole just staring at her, but obviously not seeing her. She felt more concern when she could see some distress in Nicole's eyes.

"Nothing."

"Nothing must've been on your mind pretty heavy. Personally, I think it's all of those chemistry books you're reading. They're rotting your brain."

Nicole could not help laughing. "Is that in your expert medical opinion?"

"Of course. Doctor Dane's prescription is for you to fill out those college applications, so that you can do something you like," the musician remarked with a charming smile.

"I did contact a few of the schools to find out what I would need to do aside for filling out the forms, thank you very much," Nicole said smugly.

Attention grabbed, Dane put down her pad and turned to fully look at her housemate. "Really?"

"Yes."

"I'm…" Dane bit back her words and mentally scolded herself. You think that she gives a shit that you're proud of her?

"Danny, tell me," Nicole pled.

"It's just…well, I'm happy you're going to try to chase your dream. Believe me, it's incredible for you to be able to do something that you love. There's nothing like it in the world," Dane replied.

Nicole was speechless this time. She realized that Danny knew what it was like to do the one thing that she loved for a living…and she knew what it was like to have that taken from her. Not only was that taken from her, but it was taken from her by her best friend. Without orders from her brain, Nicole found her hand reaching out and touching Danny's cheek. The musician flinched and pulled back.

"I'm so sorry, Danny," Nicole said in a sorrowful voice.

Dane shook her head and shrugged slightly, knowing why she was getting the apology. "Don't be. To quote a poem, 'life for me ain't been no crystal stair.' If it's not one thing, it's another with me."

"You surprise me everyday. You read poetry too?"

"I do a lot of things," the taller woman remarked. She then mentally slapped herself. No flirting!

"Just a regular renaissance woman." Emerald eyes sparkled like the gems they were colored after.

A smile from copper lips was the only answer that she received. They went back to what they were doing, enjoying their time together. Would things always be like this?

-----

Dane decided to go to the park after teaching her lessons for the day. Her leg was not bothering her much and she did feel a connection to the park that was close by. No, she had never been there, but there were parks in the city that she used to frequent when she was not sleeping her mornings and afternoons away. She was curious about the park around the area. It could end up being some place that she liked to go and then she would be able to get out more, which she knew would please Nicole.

Rusty bike wheels groaned as the bicycle was pushed up a small hill and then through a black iron gate to enter the grassy, vibrant park. The first thing that grey eyes took in was the playground area, which had swings, see-saws, slides, monkey-bars, a jungle gym, a castle, and even a little maze. Young children were playing on all of those things with their mothers, babysitters, and nannies not too far off, keeping a close eye on them.

Beyond the playground was just a huge meadow area, made for running around, playing with pets, and possibly flying kites since there were no trees there. A few dogs and their owners were currently using the space. A track, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and tennis courts were just beyond that. And no park was ever complete without a pond, which had to be the bluest and cleanest pond that Dane had ever seen. No parks like this downtown.

The musician parked herself by the pond on an empty bench. There were ducks not too far away and a little girl was going to feed them. The child could not have been more than three or four and each time she got close enough to a duck to give the bird the bread in her hand, she ran away when the ducks started coming to her for the food. Dane laughed while watching and silently rooting for the girl to eventually feed the ducks like she wanted to.

"Is that a guitar you have in that case?" The question was asked by a curious voice from Dane's left side, so she had to turn to see the person. Her eyebrows raised slightly as she laid eyes on a rather beautiful woman dressed in jogging gear, which consisted of little shorts and a tank-top; both of which were dark blue. Creamy, well-toned limbs were on display as well as the tops of pert breasts that were glistening slightly from the light sweat coating the jogger. Dane greedily drank in the sight, believing that it was never wrong to appreciate the beauty of a woman as long as she did not touch the woman without permission.

"Yes, it's a guitar," Dane answered, a nonchalant look in her eyes and a half-smile tugging at her lip.

The woman then glanced around the musician curiously, trying not to be too obvious with her actions. She appeared to be searching for something. She was disappointed after the thirty-second search.

"What were you looking for?" Dane asked.

"Well, I figured that you would have a hat or a heavier case if you're going to play the guitar for money," the woman commented.

A very light chuckle escaped Dane's throat. "That wasn't the plan, but if you want to give me a dollar, I'll do a little dance for you."

"And let me guess, you'll want me to stick it in your waistband," the woman replied with a smirk on her face.

Dane's grin was definitely wolfish in nature, as was the glint in her eyes. "Only if you want to."

The woman laughed heartily, throwing her head back, allowing her long blonde hair to flow behind her like a golden waterfall. She righted herself after a couple of seconds and focused interested blue eyes on Dane, who remained as cool as ice.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. Do you live around here?" the woman asked curiously.

"Not to far from here," Dane answered in a mellow tone. She knew the question was asked just to make sure she was not a bum or as homeless as she appeared to be thanks to her usual unkempt style. She doubted that it helped her case that her shorts and tee-shirt both had a hole in them.

"So, you're going to be in the park more often?"

Dane nodded. "Probably. It's a nice place. I think next time I'll leave the guitar and just ride my bike around."

"But, if you leave your guitar, you won't get to play for me," the woman pointed out with a pout.

"Then I guess I'm bringing my guitar, but it would be nice to know a few things if I have to lug this thing around again."

"And what's that?"

"Well, for one, who I'm playing for exactly and when you'll be around here again. It would be a little creepy to just come here everyday, sit in the park, and hope you show up. I'm sure someone would call the cops on me," Dane commented plainly.

"I'm Gloria and I jog here everyday at this same time," the blonde answered.

"Well, Gloria, I'm Dane and maybe I'll see you around," the musician replied in a noncommital tone.

Gloria smiled. "I'd like that."

Dane gave the blonde a small smile and Gloria then resumed her run. Dane made it obvious that she was checking Gloria out as the leggy woman disappeared back onto the track; Gloria continued to smile, knowing Dane was watching her ass as she left. The musician then turned her attention back to the little girl and the ducks, genuinely smiling when the child finally worked up the courage to give the birds her bits of bread.

-----

"So, how was your day?" Dane asked Nicole as they made themselves comfortable on the couch in the living room.

Nicole just looked at Dane with tired eyes. The musician did not say anything further and got up from the couch. Nicole did not say anything either, rubbing her face with her hands before throwing her head back on the couch. She closed her eyes and tried to will away the headache that was pounding between her eyes and at the back of her head. Between the painful throbbing, she wondered if Danny was just going to leave her alone for the night. The answer for that came quickly.

"Here, take this," Dane quietly ordered, placing a pill to Nicole's lips.

Nicole did not even bother to open her eyes and just took what Dane was offering. A cool glass of water was then put to her mouth and Nicole drank from that without opening her eyes. Dane caressed Nicole's forehead for a moment and then left the room again for a while longer that time.

"Okay, so I made hot chocolate, got you some cookies, and we're going to watch a marathon of your favorite cheesy romance movies," Dane announced as she sat down on the couch and put a tray on the coffee table.

"Chocolate chip…?" Nicole asked in a childlike tone, peeping out from underneath her arm.

"Yup. And since you can't eat or drink anything through your arm, put it down," Dane gently ordered while removing the limb for Nicole.

The attorney did not put up a struggle as Dane adjusted her to a comfortable position on the sofa. Dane put Nicole's legs up, resting them across her own thighs. She then passed Nicole her cup of cocoa and after that put the first movie of the night. By the end of it, Nicole's head was feeling much better.

"You know, Danny, I never asked how your day was," Nicole realized with some shame coloring her bright green eyes. She was so caught up in being pampered that she was forgetting her manners, she mentally scolded herself.

"It was cool. I taught a couple of lessons. I went to the park up the street, just wanting to check it out. Watched this kid feed some ducks; she was cute. Met this jogger, Gloria," Dane replied with a shrug.

"Gloria?" Nicole echoed, brow wrinkling and eye flashing with unnamed emotions for just a second.

"Yeah, she was jogging around the park. Stopped to talk to me for a couple of minutes. I think she thought I was a bum or something, dirtying up your nice, clean park," Dane remarked with a small smile. Well, maybe her first impression was that Dane was a bum, but she had shown a lot of interest after that, so Dane was not too sure what Gloria thought about her at first sight.

"If you were dressed how you're usually dress, I would think you're bum too. Where'd you get this style from anyway?" Nicole teased.

Dane shrugged. "I really don't know. I've been dressing like this for like ten years. I guess when you're a nutty teen, you just do things to be different. Now, just do it because I'm used to it and it's kinda like my look. So, what movie are we going to watch next?"

"You don't have to sit through a bunch of movies you don't want to…"

Dane gave Nicole a light swat to her calf since Nicole's olive-toned legs were still resting on her lap. "I do want to watch them. That's why I asked which one do you want to see next. So, come on."

A smile brightened Nicole's face and she picked another movie. They remained on the couch; Dane did not even move to make dinner. They ordered a pizza and continued to enjoy each other's company to the point that they fell asleep on the couch. Around midnight, Dane woke up and stared at Nicole's sleeping face, which was illuminated by the flickering television. Nicole looked practically ethereal.

"She's so beautiful…inside and out. Not for this world, not of this world…" Dane thought with a smile gracing her features.

The musician was not sure when she made the decision, but she stood up and gathered Nicole in her arms. She bit her lip as her leg screamed at her. She ignored the nerve endings' protests and slowly lifted Nicole off of her couch. She cradled the lawyer in her arms and started for the stairs, each step making a grimace tear through her face, but she was determined to make it upstairs.

Sweat gathered on a bronze forehead as she made it out of the living room. She was able to make up two steps before she winced. Halfway up, she fell against the wall and a cry escaped her throat. The noise disturbed Nicole's rest. Nicole groaned and shifted a little. She leaned her head into Dane's chest and rubbed her cheek into the warm space.

"Danny?" Nicole muttered as her eyes flickered open and tried to make out her surroundings. Something's off, she silently noted. She was pressed against something soft and warm, feeling safe, secure, and comfortable in ways that she would have never thought possible.

"You can go back to sleep, Nick," Dane said through gritted teeth. She was trying her best to hide the fact that she was in pain, but she was not doing a very good job because her knee was throbbing something fierce. Luckily for her, Nicole was not awake enough to notice the strain in her voice at first.

"Where are we?" Nicole glanced around as best she could in the dark. She then realized that she was being held. "Danny, your leg!" she gasped. She was wide awake now.

"It's fine," was the lying response.

"I think not! Put me down this instant before you hurt yourself," Nicole commanded in a very firm tone.

"But-"

"This instant!"

Dane sighed and did not argue. She quietly slid Nicole down to the next step, making sure to place the redhead down gently. Dane's leg cried out in relief and she slumped against the wall to take even more pressure off of her sore limb. She forced out a smile when she noticed Nicole was glaring at her, reprimanding her with those expressive green eyes.

"I just didn't want to wake you up…" Dane offered as an explanation, glancing away like a scolded child.

"So you hurt your leg? It's sweet that you wanted to carry me to bed, but I don't want you to hurt yourself, Danny," Nicole replied in a gentle tone, reaching down and putting her hand to a soft cheek. With her other hand, she reached down and placed her hand in Dane's palm. Grey eyes locked with green ones.

"I know, but you looked so peaceful…"

"Thank you for the thought, though. Let's both go to bed."

Dane nodded. "I hope you have a better day tomorrow. Make sure you look through more of those applications too."

A smile graced smooth, olive-toned features. They bid each other goodnight and went to their respective bedrooms, their hands gliding apart as they parted ways. The next day, Dane did not have any lessons and stayed around the house, fixing things up to make sure it was perfect for when Nicole got home. She called the attorney around noon to find out how the day was going so far and seemed like she made the right decision. It took a few days before Nicole's work life seemed to be getting back to normal, which for her was better than the way things were going now.

-----

"I'm home!" Nicole called into the house as she stepped inside, placing her briefcase down by the door. She went on her usual hunt for Dane, thinking that the musician would be knocked out on the sofa.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Dane replied.

Nicole almost fell over. She was unable to remember the last time the younger woman was awake when she got home. She marched to the kitchen, finding Danny moving about the place like a woman on a mission.

"What're you doing?" Nicole asked in shock.

"I went shopping today and just brought a bunch of junk," Dane answered with a smile as she dipped into a bag to pull out some items.

"How'd you carry all of this on your bike?" Nicole scanned the floor, seeing almost a dozen bags littering the area.

"I didn't carry it on my bike. I met Gloria in the park and she said that she needed to do some shopping. Since I did too, I tagged along. We had like a shopping date, I guess," Dane reported.

"Shopping date? So…Gloria is your girlfriend?"

Dane shrugged. "Haven't said so out loud or nothing like that. I've seen her a couple of times since meeting her. We'll see how it works. Should work out better than my last girlfriend."

An absent nod was the reply. Nicole moved mechanically as she went to help Danny put things away. The attorney was not sure why, but she was not as happy now as she would have been a little while ago if Dane came in and said she had a girlfriend. Maybe it came from the point that she thought it was a step closer to Danny leaving her and then she would be alone and fall back into her old practices. She was not looking forward to that.

"So, you like Gloria, huh?" Nicole asked curiously.

"I suppose. She's hot, but that's not the only thing about her I like, of course. She's a nice girl. She's really into athletics and sports. I know a little bit about sports, so it's something that we could talk about for a little while. She's a trainer at a gym or something like that. She talks a lot, so I sorta tune her out after a while," Dane admitted with a shrug.

Nicole blinked in shock. "You tune her out?" That did not sound anything like her Danny. One of the great qualities about Danny in Nicole's opinion was that she was such a great listener.

"Yeah, sometimes I tune people out. It's really easy when a person likes to hear themselves talk." Another shrug.

A wave of nervousness washed over the lawyer. "Have you ever…tuned me out…?"

Dane paused and stared at Nicole as if the shorter woman had lost her mind. "Seriously, chem, you shouldn't ask such silly questions. You know I never tune you out."

A flash of white teeth came with the smile that took over Nicole's face. "Well, it's good that you're going out more. I hope you make some better friends."

"I doubt I could," Dane said. "After all, friends don't come much better than you."

Right, friends. Nicole was glad that Danny reminded her that they were friends. They would always be friends if she had anything to say about it. No one would ever stop them from being friends. With that thought in mind, she was able to help Danny put the groceries away and make normal conversation without any worries. They went on to have a normal day after that.

-----

"Hey, did you know your assistant is gone again?" Nicole's friend Clara asked as she poked her head into the hardworking attorney's office.

"Again? I guess that explains the silence out there. This early she's usually making personal calls," Nicole said with a frown.

"I think it's time for you to fire her," Clara commented.

"Agreed. The only thing is that I would have to see her to fire her. At this rate, I'm going to have to call her cell phone to fire her or send her an email. She comes in late and leaves whenever the hell she wants to," Nicole stated. Not to mention, she still referred to Danny as "Dash" whenever she called…which had not been in the past few days. The lack of calls did sour Nicole's mood, but she refused to accept that as the reason for why she felt so down lately.

"Well, you need to get around to it. The fact that you have to do your job and her job is why you've been worn out lately. You look worn out too. The magic Danny not working her magic anymore?" Clara asked with a teasing smile, unknowingly striking a nerve that her friend did not want to acknowledge existed.

Nicole glared at her friend in a manner that would have made the devil run. The stare wiped the smile off of Clara's face and filled the large office with tension like a balloon with air. Clara closed the door behind her as she stepped deeper into the room, watching Nicole go back to pouring over her latest assignment.

"Is everything all right with you and your roommate, Nicole?" Clara asked while ignoring how strange the question seemed to her because of her tone. She asked it like a person would ask if there were problems between lovers.

"Everything's fine. That's not really something to talk about here," Nicole replied quickly. She wished that Clara would just leave, so she could get back to work and forget about the fact that Danny did not seem to be quite as interested in her life as she had been before she got a girlfriend.

"Then come out to lunch with me and Mina and talk about it there."

"There's nothing to talk about and I have lunch with me, like always." While Danny had stopped calling to check up on her, the former musician did make sure to send her off with lunch everyday. She wondered how much longer that would last; she feared the homemade lunches were on borrowed time, as was her life with Danny. It took a lot of willpower to keep from frowning at that thought.

The petite woman understood the underlying meaning of the statement; Nicole and Danny were fine enough for Danny to make her lunch as usual. Still, there was something that was putting the lines on Nicole's face and she knew it was not the typical overworked syndrome that Nicole forever suffered from. Nicole could stand the work, but this was something else. Something that Nicole could not even hide well, so she knew it was deep.

"Come on out to lunch, Nicole. Don't make me have to bring Mina in here to change your mind," Clara threatened.

Nicole sighed. "Fine, I'll go to lunch with you." It was either agree now or agree when Mina showed up.

On the way out, Nicole left her assistant a memo, informing the woman that she was fired. It did make her feel little better, not as better as she was sure that she would feel if she ate her "Danny-made" lunch, but it was a start. She would get to the lunch later on after she got her friends off of her back.

"Before you guys start..." Nicole began herself as they sat down in the restaurant.

"We know, you're only roommates with Danny," Mina said with a sigh.

"I am," Nicole insisted.

"But, you have to admit that you rely a lot on her to keep you centered, which is completely fine. Right now, it looks like she's not doing that job anymore, though," Clara pointed out.

"Why do you say that?" Nicole asked, her face scrunched up a little as if she was offended.

"You've been looking pretty worn out, sweetie. Now, we know a couple of weeks ago you were having a tough time, but you said that Danny kept you straight. Right now, it looks like she just abandoned you, though," Mina answered.

"Look, she's not married to me or anything, so you can't say she just abandoned me. I'm fine," Nicole insisted. The bags under her eyes and the worry lines marring her face said otherwise.

"So, why do you look so tired?" Clara asked curiously.

Nicole shrugged. "I suppose because I am. I haven't been getting as much sleep as I used to. I've been taking a few things home with me to keep up to avoid having weeks like I did before. So, that's probably it."

"You wouldn't have to do that if you weren't doing your assistant's job at work too," Mina pointed out with a very pissed-off frown.

"Well, I left her a memo, letting her go. Now, I have to start the process of looking for another one. Anyone willing to let me borrow an assistant for a few days?" Nicole asked, even though she knew the answer to that. The day anyone that she knew let her have something that would help her, she knew that Hell would have frozen over.

"You should just hire Danny," Mina suggested with a laugh.

Nicole took a moment picture Danny working at her firm, complete with her typical style of dress. It brought an amused smile to her face for a second and then she shook the image away. "Danny has a job that she loves very much, even if being my assistant would be a huge pay raise for her."

"Not to mention, she's not trained to be the type of assistant you need," Clara added, just in case Nicole was entertaining the idea of hiring Danny. She would hate to see what would happen if Nicole went through with such a ridiculous suggestion. Work had ruined a lot of relationships at their firm and she did not want Nicole and Danny to be the latest casualties.

"From the last five assistants I've had, I'm not sure any of them had been trained. Danny is also very intelligent. She would be able to learn the job, but she's out of the question. I'll figure out what to do," Nicole stated. She had to figure out something quickly before her parents decided to step in and "help." That was always a good way to rock her life a little more than she needed.

"You always do."

Nicole rolled her eyes; everyone thought that she was a miracle worker and somehow could turn water to wine. At least one person knew and she was happy to get home to that one person. As soon as she entered the house, she felt her joy peak and then it was all downhill from there.

"I'm home!" Nicole called.

"I'm in the kitchen," Dane replied.

"Of course," Nicole muttered under her breath. If Danny was working on dinner already, it meant that she was not planning to stick around for the rest of the evening.

"Go take a shower. Dinner should be ready by the time you get out," Danny informed her housemate, speaking loudly to make sure she was heard.

"Are you going out tonight?" Nicole asked while making her to the table by the stairs, checking the mail, lingering downstairs. She was able to hide the bitterness that she was feeling from her voice, but it was a good thing that Dane could not see the look on her face at the moment.

"Yeah, I told Gloria I'd go with her to the movies. She's accusing me of being boring since I haven't taken her out," Dane reported with a light laugh.

"Neglecting your girlfriend, huh?" Nicole said, more in a mumble than anything else. If only. She tried to shake away the burning thoughts of jealousy that she was feeling. She wanted to be happy for Danny because her housemate found someone that liked her for who she was. Everyone should be so lucky. She ordered herself to stop feeling so selfish.

"Hardly. She just doesn't like staying in. So, I'm going to walk down to her place at around eight and go out with her," Dane explained.

"You want to take the car? I have no problem with loaning you the keys. I'm not going anywhere tonight. You don't have to stress your leg and I'm sure you'd get points with Gloria if you picked her up."

"In your car? Hell yeah I could, but I'm not too interested in driving."

"Why? You can, right? Your license isn't expired, is it?" Nicole inquired, walking toward the kitchen to speak with her housemate face to face.

"No, it hasn't. Although I'm sure I'm like one D.U.I away from it," Dane remarked with a laugh, smiling at Nicole as she stood in the doorway. Nicole was smiling back, doing a good job of looking normal and projecting that everything was as fine as they could be with her.

"Well, I doubt you'll be driving under the influence of anything tonight."

"I'm fine with walking to her house and letting her drive. I'm actually a little nervous to drive. Sometimes, my foot doesn't respond like I want to and I'm scared that I might cause an accident or something too," the younger woman answered, looking a little sheepish at that admission. Even though she knew that Nicole would not judge her, Dane hated to confess her handicap to the lawyer. She disliked looking weak in front of Nicole, but on the flip side, Nicole was the only person that she would ever admit a weakness too. She made it a point not to contemplate why that was. She simply reminded herself that Nicole was her friend, only her friend.

"I'm sure you'd be careful."

"I would, but I'm still scared. It'll be fine, Nick. Now, you go get showered and into your jammies. I'll finish with dinner soon enough," Dane said.

Nicole did not argue. This had been the way things were for about the past week. She would come in and find Danny cooking dinner because by nine, Danny would be leaving rather than watching a movie with her. And it would be nine if she was lucky, which she was not that night.

Dane was gone a little after eight. Nicole kept herself occupied with work, as she always did at times like this. She stayed up until she heard Dane come in, which was around one in the morning that night. Nicole sighed, knowing that Dane would not come upstairs to say goodnight, probably assuming that she was already asleep. Nicole put her work away and turned out her lights.

"Goodnight, Danny," Nicole said as she settled into bed. She wished that she could say that to Dane's face again.

-----

"I'm home!" Nicole announced. And does it ever feel good to be home!

When there was no response, Nicole rushed to the living room, thinking that Dane might be asleep on the couch. The sofa was empty and Nicole's entire being dropped. She collapsed, hitting the cushions of the couch with a heavy thud.

"Guess I won't be telling anyone about my day or hearing about theirs…" Nicole muttered to herself. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she managed to keep them at bay.

She glanced down at the coffee table and saw a note addressed to her. Hey, Chem. I'm out with Gloria. Hopefully, I'll be back before you get in, but if not there's food on the stove. I promise I won't stay out too late.

Nicole rolled her eyes. She had heard that before, more times than she needed to from Danny lately. Gloria was always priority, which she supposed she understood since Gloria was Danny's girlfriend, but it was still bothersome. Nicole missed coming home to Danny, having a home-cooked meal, and curling up on the couch with each other. Ever since Gloria came into the picture that all slowly, but surely came to an end.

"I guess this is what happens when your most fulfilling relationship is with your roommate," Nicole grumbled. "I'm such a loser…" She threw her arm over her eyes and sat there, unsure of how long she was there.

-----

"Fucking bullshit…" Dane grumbled as she entered the house, kicking her sneakers off as she came in. She marched off, storming toward the kitchen, but paused when she glanced into the living room. Nicole was knocked out, still in her work clothing, with her arm covering her face.

Dane quickly forgot her anger and rushed over to Nicole, thinking that something might be wrong with her. She studied the lawyer as best she could and silently decided that there did not seem to be anything noticeably wrong with Nicole. Dane flopped down next to her, smiling a bit from the sight, even though she was not very happy with what she was seeing. The movement woke Nicole up.

"Danny?" Nicole turned to her friend, blinking several times to focus her eyes.

"Hey. What're you doing sleeping out here in your suit?" Dane inquired, shaking her head a little in a disapproving manner.

The redhead yawned a little, making sure to cover her mouth. "I guess I just nodded off. What time is it?"

"Just a little after eight. Sorry I'm here so late."

"Late? I didn't think you'd be back until midnight or something. What happened with Gloria?" Nicole asked, unable to bit back some of the bitterness in her tone. Damn Gloria and her Danny-hogging ways.

"Me and Gloria had a little disagreement." Dane chuckled a bit and motioned to her shirt.

"Are you wearing the disagreement?" Nicole asked. Her friend's shirt was covered in what was more than likely red wine.

"I am. Got all upset because I never drink when we go out. Threw the glass in my face. Made me walk back here."

"Oh, my god! Danny, is your leg all right?!" Nicole turned her attention to the aforementioned limb. She could not believe that Gloria would be such a bitch to make Danny walk home, knowing that her leg could not stand a lot of stress!

"A little sore, but I think it's getting better because I've been using it a lot more. Anyway, I guess we can have dinner and watch a movie tonight. It'll be nice to be with company that will have the decency to at least hit me with something I do drink." Dane flashed a very charming grin.

"I can't believe anyone would throw something at you." Her eyes were soft and she reached out to caress Danny's cheek for a moment. She almost moaned as she felt a jolt go through her as soon as she touched her housemate.

Dane had to fight to keep her eyes from fluttering closed. She swallowed down a pleasurable purr of her own and let loose a hearty laugh to cover up what she was feeling at the moment. "You'd be surprised! But, this isn't Gloria's first little temper tantrum and it probably won't be the last. She's out for a good time and a lot of the time we don't agree on what it is. C'mon. I'm starved."

Nicole nodded and went to take her shower while Dane went to heat up dinner for them. The phone rang while Nicole was showering and Dane saw the phone on the caller ID was Gloria. She shook her head.

"Not tonight, baby. I'm spending time with my favorite girl," Dane commented with a smile. She would speak with Gloria tomorrow, but tonight was all about Nicole. And it was good night, better than any she had had in a while.

-----

Nicole entered the house, not bothering to call out. She did not bother with it anymore because Danny was rarely in when she came home now. Spending time with Danny was pretty much a memory now, a memory that Nicole held onto. Thinking about their last night together helped her make it through the day much of the time, reminded her that once-upon-a-time someone cared about her enough to spend time with her that was not business related or in order to use her.

Her heart constricted a little as she remembered how things used to be with Danny. She decided that she would treasure those memories and try not to live in the past or mourn the future. Danny was supposed to put Gloria first; that was what a good girlfriend did. Nicole knew that she would do that, so she could not fault Danny for doing it. She just wished...no, she stopped that thought, knowing that it would not lead anywhere.

Her briefcase and keys were dumped on the floor. She did not even bother to go toward the living room and trudged upstairs to take a shower. Once she was changed into her pajamas, she felt some of the tension from the day melt away. She did not expect the level to go all the way down, but she could get it lower. For that to happen, she needed cookies and cocoa. So, she headed for the kitchen, but only made it halfway there.

Pausing, curious jade-colored peered into the living room, spying Danny on the couch with her guitar in hand. It was the first time that Nicole saw her housemate with her guitar. Her feet stepped closer without permission from her brain and she saw more than just Danny with her guitar.

There was pain in Danny's face. Grey eyes glared down at her guitar and her left hand, which was wrapped around the neck of the instrument. She strummed the strings, producing a heavenly sound…for thirty seconds.

"Fuck," Dane growled while flexing her hand. "Stupid fucking useless piece of shit…"

"Danny…" Nicole put her hand on Dane's shoulder, causing the musician to jump and turn.

"Nick," Dane said. "I didn't hear you come in…" she trailed off, not sure what else to say. She felt a little embarrassed for not hearing the door open or the shower going if Nicole's outfit meant anything.

"I didn't know you were here. You play beautifully…" Nicole commented for lack of a better thing to say.

Dane glanced away and scowled harder than she had already been doing. "Bullshit. Fucking left hand is a piece of shit. It's actually worse than it used to be. I used to…I used to be a god with this damn thing. And that's what everybody wants. Everybody wants the god. I just want to play." She sighed and shook her head in frustration. Not being able to play...she might as well not have a left hand in her opinion then.

"Gloria wants the god?" Nicole asked softly while moving to sit down. She went to Dane's left side.

"Yup. Everybody wants the god."

"How did Gloria even know?"

"It's not that she knew exactly about who I used to be, but she wasn't the right person for me. She wanted who I looked like, some wild woman or something like that. She wants a drinking partner and I just can't drink anymore. She wants someone to go to clubs with and dance and shit like that. Hell, I never danced even before my leg was fucked up. She wants to go out every night and party hard and I just don't want that anymore. I told her I couldn't be with her, not how she wanted."

"You broke up?" Nicole inquired curiously, hoping that her voice sounded normal.

A nod was followed by a weak shrug. "Didn't want me, so why stay together?"

"What do you want, Danny?" Nicole asked in a soft, tender voice.

Dane lost her concentration for a moment as the lawyer moved behind her slightly. The feel of Nicole's body brushing against hers was enough to make her forget what she was even talking about. She wanted to ask what Nicole was doing, but she could not trust her voice or her brain. She could not trust any part of her as her body felt like it would burst into flames from the light contact and pressure of Nicole sitting behind her. She watched as Nicole moved her crippled left hand, taking its place. Nicole then put Danny's left hand over her own.

"Wha-what...What're you doing?" Dane asked, her voice low and shaking. She was very close to running, but her body refused to move. She was barely breathing, scared that the slightest movement would chase Nicole away. There was no way that her body was willing to give up the feel of Nicole so fully against her. No, she was just going to have to bear the intense throb racing through her being and hope that reminding herself that Nicole was just her friend would be enough to keep her from doing something stupid...and keep Nicole from moving away.

"No, Danny, I asked what you want," Nicole stated in a whisper of a voice. She was fighting for control of her own body, which was close to trembling from the feel of being pressed against her roommate. She could not believe that she had been so bold as to move behind her friend and sit there like she belonged there. She almost felt like she was taking advantage of Danny, who was obviously upset, probably stinging from a breakup with her girlfriend. Still, this knowledge did not move Nicole. She wanted the closeness, craved it, needed it. She needed Danny and she knew that, but now she was rapidly acknowledging how she needed Danny. It was that knowledge that kept her in place, even though it also made her want to get up.

Dane had to bite her lip to avoid saying the absolute truth. She was able to make another confession, thinking that it would get her to avoid trouble. "I want to play again." She also wanted her heart to stop beating like she had never felt a woman's body against her own before. She did not want to mess up things with Nicole, she reminded herself.

"Then let me help," Nicole said. "Just guide me, like you would do your students." She then settled completely behind Danny, her breasts pressing into the musician's back. Both of their hearts were racing and they wondered if the other could hear the loud thumping in their chests. They were both also fighting back tears, their emotions wanting to get out of their bodies somehow. Dane hoped that the emotions escaped through her music, like always, so she could keep her friend.

Dane nodded, unable to speak at the moment, not that she would have trusted her voice if she could talk. She started strumming and pressed lightly against Nicole's fingers to get her to hit the correct strings with enough pressure. It did not sound perfect, but it lasted more than thirty seconds. The more seconds that ticked by, the better the music became.

"We play good together, huh?" Nicole remarked with a smile, turning to stare into Dane's eyes. Smoke-colored eyes were clouded over, swirling with mixed emotions and the deep look was mirrored by Nicole's eyes.

"That we do," Dane concurred, realizing the music had done nothing for her. All of her emotions were still there and still directed at the one person that she was trying her best to keep as a friend. The feelings raging inside her did not want to allow that, though, and even her beloved guitar could not be the outlet it used to be. She paused for a long moment, taking in the passionate expression in the lovely emerald eyes that were locked onto hers as if the grey orbs were magnets. She found her mouth moving without her permission, asking a question that she was almost certain she knew the answer to if the look in those eyes meant anything. "Nick, what do you want?"

"You…" Nicole answered before she could stop herself. She leaned forward, unable to help herself, and captured full lips with her own. The kiss was immediately returned.

The connection that they felt was like electricity flowing between them, but also like a warm, soothing stream passing through them, connecting them mind, body, and soul. Everything in the world seemed to still, put on hold just for them. Time froze and it was like they were allotted an eternity to feel each other. Even an eternity was not enough time. When they pulled away, they hardly put a millimeter of space between them.

"I want you too," Dane said, just to make sure that was understood. She eased the guitar to the floor and then went in for another kiss, which Nicole eagerly returned.

-----

11: Rest and relaxation at last

"Nick…" Dane said shyly. She and Nicole were settled on the couch after an intense make-out session. It was the first of its kind for the pair and they hoped for many more. They cuddled into each other on the sofa, enjoying their closeness and warmth.

"Yes?" Nicole answered in a semi-sleepy tone. Her head was resting comfortably against Dane's shoulder. She was listening to the steady, but fast pace of Danny's heart, knowing she was the reason that the organ was racing.

"What now?"

"What do you mean?" the lawyer countered while turning her head upward to look into Dane's eyes. She felt like she could get lost in the deep smoky orbs.

"Are we…a couple?" The musician's voice was low and her brow was wrinkled.

Nicole smiled a bit because Danny sounded so shy asking that question. She doubted that she had ever heard such a tone from the typically confident musician and it was rather endearing. Dane took the smile as a good thing.

"I would like that very much," Nicole replied.

Dane breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, me too."

"Um…Danny, please, don't get offended when I ask this, but you know how relationships have been for me. You're not going to change or anything, are you?" Nicole asked, even though she knew the answer to that one in her heart already.

Dane was silent for a moment. She readjusted her grip on Nicole and pressed the lawyer firmly to her. Nicole sighed as she felt the soothing thump of Dane's heart. After that move and sound, Dane really did not need to respond, but she did anyway.

"I'm going to be just the way I always am. I'm not going to get lazy on you…well, lazier. We both know I need my twenty hours of sleep," the musician remarked with a cocky grin.

Nicole laughed a little. "Yeah, where would you be without those twenty hours?"

"I'm not going to change, Nick. I'm not taking this as a signal to take advantage of you. Even if I start doing it-which I don't plan on it-you should tell me. You can speak up to me, you should know that. I want this to work, chem. I want us to be a couple," Dane insisted, caressing Nicole's thigh, which was propped up on her legs.

"I do too, Danny. I do too."

Dane smiled and then leaned in for another kiss. She doubted that she would ever get enough of those, already loving the feel of Nicole's mouth against her own. Nicole felt the same way, thinking that Dane's lips fit perfectly with hers, Dane's body fit perfectly against her.

The attorney wrapped her around Dane's neck, pulling her closer, wanting more of the musician. Moans echoed through the room as they tried to get impossibly closer, clutching and caressing each other as if they were scared that they might shatter the other person. They only pulled away when they required oxygen, but they did not pull far. They rested their foreheads against each other, smiling like happy pixies.

"You're so beautiful…" Dane put her hand to Nicole's face and stroked her cheek with her thumb.

Nicole giggled, which she could not believe. "You're not too bad yourself."

Dane could not help grinning. "Oh, man, you're making me cheesy and cliché. Can't help it, though. You're just beautiful, inside and out."

"Stop. What should we do now?" Nicole asked.

"I've got a few ideas." Dane came in for more, thoroughly kissing Nicole. The lawyer was left panting by the time Dane pulled away.

"I meant beyond that," Nicole said when she finally caught her breath.

"What? I'll cook dinner and we can watch a movie," Dane proposed…or so she hoped. She hoped that Nicole was not going to suddenly change too and abruptly find herself needing to be more social. Dane was not looking forward to being asked to go out every night like Gloria tried to pressure her into.

Dane considered that she might be expected to go out more now, which she did not really want to do. She enjoyed being able to just lounge on the couch with Nicole, doing nothing in particular, just taking pleasure in their existence together. Now, she would not mind going out every now and then, but she did not want to do it constantly, like Gloria wanted. She was a little relieved to know that at least Nicole would not expect her to spring for drugs like her most of her previous girlfriends-if they could be called that-expected. Still she was not totally sure what Nicole was looking for in a partner, but she was willing to take the risk and find out.

"You don't have to cook. Let's order something and then we can watch a movie," Nicole suggested.

She nodded. "Sounds good."

They decided this was their first date and they spent it in a manner that they both liked. They had Chinese food and watched a couple of movies while remaining curled up on the sofa. Nicole rested her head against Dane's chest, listening to her heartbeat just as much as she watched movies. Dane occupied her mind with brushing her fingertips up and down Nicole's arm and occasionally placing a chaste kiss to dark auburn hair. After the second movie ended, Nicole began yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"It's someone's bedtime," Dane commented with a small smile.

"You're not going to try to carry me upstairs, are you?" Nicole inquired suspiciously. She narrowed her eyes on Danny, warning the musician not to try it.

"I'm not going to start off of relationship by damn near putting you in the hospital," Dane remarked with a light chuckle. "But, if the lady would allow me to walk her to her door?"

Nicole's face lit up from the idea, even though it was so ridiculous. "I would love for you to do that."

Dane grinned, flashing Nicole a smile she recalled from the first few days of Danny's stay at the house. They tore themselves from the sofa, Dane taking Nicole's hand while she was at it. They paused briefly, feeling a connection, an exchange of warm energy between them, and they never wanted it to end. And then, Nicole yawned again, reminding Dane of where they were supposed to be going.

"Let's get you to bed. You do have work in the morning," Dane pointed out.

Nicole frowned at the mention of work as they started upstairs. She wished that she could just stay wrapped around Danny for the rest of her life. The walk to her bedroom door did not last long enough for her; Dane thought the same.

"Well, here we are," Dane said while glancing at the door, as if that would make it farther away and they could continue walking with each other.

"Indeed. Thank you for a wonderful time out," Nicole quipped, smiling impishly as she spoke. She thought their actions and words were funny and kind of cute.

"It was my pleasure, sweet lady. I enjoyed this date. I hope we can go out again sometime," Dane played along.

Nicole was near grinning now. "I'll be sure to call you."

"I'll be waiting. Will the lady honor me with a goodnight kiss?"

Game over, Nicole leaned in for the deepest kiss of the night. For the first time in both of their lives, they were certain that they had souls because they could feel the other touching it with each movement of their lips. Mouths slowly opened and tongues touched, shyly, but curiously. The taste was sweet as nectar and they craved more, trying to take each other in and share one body.

This driving need to merge ignited passions in them, which flared up as the kiss continued. Their hands began exploring their bodies, first gently, but with each touch the desire for more grew. Their actions fanned the flames of their passion little by little. Dane put one hand behind Nicole's head, trying to bring her closer and Nicole respond by pressing herself closer, sliding her tongue against Dane's with more fervor and desire. A copper hand that settled on Nicole's shoulder blade began to slip down to the small of her back, wanting so badly to go further, but she did not have the nerve to take such liberties just yet. Nicole's hands were doing similar things, one roaming temptingly close to Danny's breast while the other caressed her hip. With each passing second, they could feel a tug, but they finally broke apart from their intense embrace, needing to breathe again.

"I really want to ask you to come in…" Nicole whispered as they broke apart. Her body was humming from their kiss and she really wanted to give into the feeling, but she knew that would be moving too fast.

"I would really like to accept that offer," Dane replied in a low tone. Every fiber of her being was aflame, burning for Nicole. But, she did not want Nicole to think that this was all about sex. Yes, she would like nothing more than to make love to Nicole, but she wanted them to build a real relationship and be a real couple, not just good friends who happened to be fuck-buddies too.

"But, it's too soon."

Dane nodded on complete agreement. "Understood and agreed. Goodnight, chem."

"Goodnight, big dog."

Dane smiled while Nicole disappeared into her bedroom. A hand went through wild, short ebony hair afterwards. She shook her head as she turned to go down to her own room.

"I can't believe I agreed with that. I do agree with it, but it's just weird that I agree. In the past, I would've been all over Nick, trying to bed her from the first second I thought I could, like any other girl. But, then again, Nick isn't like any other girl," Dane said to herself on her way down the stairs. No, Nick was definitely in a league of her own and she planned to treat Nicole just like that.

She settled down on her pallet and stared at the ceiling. She smiled to herself. Life is looking up. She felt good for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time ever. Nicole had to be an angel, she was sure of it.

"Delivered right to me. Wondered what I did that was so good in a previous life," she muttered as the excitement of the past few hours started catching up to her. Her eyelids were feeling heavy and as she drifted off to sleep, she prayed for her dreams to be filled with Nicole.

-----

Dane woke up earlier and started on her morning routine. She glanced at her guitar and felt a stronger pull than usual to attempt playing it, but she knew from last night that she could not play it on her own. Her fingers ached to try, but she resisted the temptation. She considered that Nicole might be willing to be her fret fingers once again later on. It would be nice and Nicole seemed to enjoy when they played together.

She went and took a shower while thinking about last night, how wonderful it felt to play her guitar with Nicole's assistance, how heavenly it felt to hold the kindest woman in the world as far as she was concerned, how right it felt to kiss those soft lips. She had wished that last night would never ended, but then again, it did mean for a promising tomorrow.

"I hope we have a million tomorrows," Dane said to the water cascading onto her, washing away her troubles as far as she was concerned. For the first time in a long time, tomorrow sounded very promising.

She had never thought that she could spend a few tomorrows with a girlfriend and now she was thinking about forever-forever with Nicole. It was little overwhelming, but she was still high off of last night's joy and even the uncertainty of unfamiliar emotions was not going to take that away from her. She smiled to herself as she got dressed and went to start on breakfast.

"I'm going to take care of Nick in ways that no one could, especially that dipshit Tyler," Dane silently vowed.

The name caused her to pause and it was just the thing that slammed the brakes on her intoxicated moment, sending all happy emotions crashing through the proverbial windshield. Nicole dated Tyler, she recalled. For almost a year! And before last night, Nicole had not shown much interest in women.

"Wait, am I Nick's first woman? Shit!" Dane's whole demeanor dropped, along with her shoulders and expression.

As much as she had feelings for Nicole, she was not interested in being the experimental first. There were too many things that could and probably would go wrong with that. She doubted that that million tomorrows she wished for not even twenty minutes ago would end up being a few months and then Nicole would either decide that women were not for her or she would find a better woman.

"What do I have to offer anyway? I'm just a broken musician that used to have a drug problem," Dane grumbled as a sorrowful frown worked its way onto her face without her knowledge.

"Morning, Danny," Nicole said in a yawn as she entered the kitchen. She immediately took notice of the expression on her girlfriend's face. "Danny, sweetheart, what's wrong?" the lawyer pressed while urgently rushing to the taller woman's side.

She embraced the musician right away. Dane did not return the hug, which caused worry and tension to skyrocket in Nicole's system. She could not help wondering if Danny regretted last night.

Nicole figured that it was possible for Danny to regret last night. After all, Danny could have any woman she wanted-or so Nicole thought. In Nicole's opinion, Danny was so sweet and good-looking that she could have her pick of any woman. Why would Dane want to be tied down to an attorney who could hardly stand up for herself if she was not on the clock or pushed completely to the edge? She was pathetic and she guessed that Danny had come to that conclusion after having a night to think on it.

"Danny, it's okay…" Nicole whispered as tears gathered in her eyes. She sniffled and that got Dane's attention.

"Hey, chem, what's the matter?" Dane asked gently while wrapping her arms around the lawyer's waist.

"You want things to go back to the way they were, don't you?"

"What? No! Do you?" Dane countered, staring deeply into emerald eyes that were flooded with unshed tears.

"I don't…I just thought you did…" Nicole admitted with a sniffle.

"Well, nothing to fear. I do want to ask you something, though. Um…it's a little personal…"

"Well, if we're going to be a couple, we have to be willing to share a few personal things, correct? So, ask me what you would like," Nicole replied while wiping her eyes and smiling.

Dane nodded and took a breath before working up the courage to ask. "I was just wondering…have you ever dated a woman before?"

Nicole chuckled a little; so that was what was troubling Danny! She felt a lot better now knowing that Danny meant her words from before. She was back on cloud nine and could easily answer any question, as long as it meant that she and Danny got to remain a couple.

"I have dated women before, yes. Quite a few in fact. Although I'm sure my numbers wouldn't rival yours, but I have," Nicole admitted as if it was nothing.

Dane's face hit the floor and her eyes were wide as dinner plates. She could not believe what she was hearing. "And you never mentioned that?!" she shouted incredulously.

Nicole blushed a little, feeling somewhat sheepish for withholding that information. "Well, it never really came up in a conversation. We don't usually talk about past relationships and things. We just kind of glance over relationships in conversations, saying a few words and moving on. Hell, if you weren't here when I broke up with Tyler, you probably wouldn't know too much about him, either, would you?" she pointed out.

"Well, I would know he's a dipshit that harasses you at work, but other than that, you're right. All you ever talk about is how fucked up your past relationships were, but you never mention names or anything in real detail. Wow, I didn't think…I mean, I was getting vibes from you, but I thought it was my imagination from when I started to realize I was kinda attracted to you. So, you've seriously dated women. For how long?" Dane asked curiously.

"Ever since I started dating. I always went for guys and girls. I actually had a girlfriend for my senior prom. We went together and everything. Of course, she was an asshole like most other people I've dated," Nicole remarked, shaking her head a little.

"And your parents didn't have a problem with it?" Dane asked in disbelief. Her mouth was hanging out and her eyes wide with astonishment; she could have been knocked over with a feather right now. She would have thought that Nicole's parents would have picked out a husband for Nicole and everything when she was in kindergarten, but apparently, they were less controlling than she thought.

"Not really. My mother had some issues with it. Her biggest problem with it was it was something that was just me. She wants me to be just like her, like her clone. She used to tell me all the time that I'm her legacy to the world and she wants me to be perfect," Nicole tried to explain.

"So, being bisexual isn't perfect?" Dane stated, anger creeping out. She had heard more than her fair share of bigotry dealing with sexual orientation and it left a little raw spot in her. She did not want what she experienced to happen to Nicole, especially when it came to Nicole's parents.

"Calm down, honey. It's not that. It's that she wants me to be just like her. I actually used to like when she told me that I was her legacy in the world. It made me feel so important…" Nicole trailed off and then smiled. "You know how it is, little kids love to hear praise from their parents and all."

Dane shook her head, quite seriously. "No, I don't know how it is," she confessed. I don't have a fucking clue!

Nicole blinked hard and gazed into grey eyes as if trying to read Danny's mind. She could not hear the thoughts, but she realized something. Danny almost never talked about her parents and when she did, it was always connected to Tyler. Danny never said anything about her parents that had something to do with her.

"Tell me about them, Danny," Nicole requested in a soft voice.

"I should get back to breakfast," Dane mumbled and made a half-hearted attempt to escape the embrace. Nicole held onto her tighter, not letting her go anywhere.

"Tell me, please. Let me in, Danny."

Dane was silent for a long moment. "Out of all of the things that goes on with me, I'm pretty sure the fact that I'm a lesbian ranks pretty low on the reasons my parents are ashamed of me, even though they gave me shit for it too. It's something that they could ignore as long as I didn't come around them with a girl, which, depending on my mood, could happen often or rarely. My drug problem, they could ignore that. I walk around the house sniffling, they could just say I was sick or allergies or something else. Alcohol problem, hell, who doesn't have one of those in the world I come from." More silence.

"So…why are they ashamed of you? How do you know they are?" Nicole asked, sounding quite curious. She tilted her head slightly and her forehead wrinkled a bit, showing her confusion.

"My mother goes out of her way to ignore me and she always has. She tries her best never to look directly at me and if she has something to say to me, even if we're in the same room standing elbow to elbow, she uses a messenger. There is no talking to Dane." The report was made in a mundane tone, but the look in those grey eyes spoke of pain and resentment from being ignored by the one person who was supposed to love her unconditionally.

"Why?" Nicole was puzzled. She could not imagine going through life not talking to her mother. As much as the overbearing woman got on her nerves, they had plenty of meaningful conversations through her life and she would not trade them for anything.

"Well, apparently, the Great Dane ruined her marriage. Not that she ever told me that because that would require us to be on speaking terms. I've heard, though."

Nicole's face scrunched up from sheer bewilderment now, wrinkling her forehead more and squinting her eyes. "How did you ruin her marriage?" She considered herself a fairly intelligent person, but she could not for the life of her figure out how a child could ruin a marriage...unless the child was being used as a scapegoat to cover up for the parents' shortcomings.

"Her husband, my dad, doesn't claim me. He refuses to believe I'm his daughter, despite what two paternity tests said," Dane reported with a hollow laugh. She ran her hand through her hair.

"What? Why?" Nicole shook her head, like the action would sort out everything that she was hearing. Nothing about Danny's parents made sense to her and she could almost understand why the musician never talked about them if they were so strange.

Dane leaned down and gave Nicole a gentle kiss on the lips, hoping to change the subject and prove that she could give Nicole a kiss whenever the feeling claimed her. She smiled to herself when the kiss was returned. She pulled away before the show of affection got out of hand.

"I really should finish breakfast. I don't want you to be late. We'll save the long soap opera that was my life with my parents for another time, okay?" Dane suggested.

Nicole nodded, having a feeling that it was a story that would take a lot longer than one breakfast would allow. Dane went back to the food and Nicole went to finish getting ready. They had a normal breakfast between them, which caused the joyous feelings in their systems to increase because it seemed like nothing was changing with their routine. They both liked the routine and it felt reassuring to see that it was not changing because their status changed.

The break in the routine that they both were sure that they could get very use to came when Dane walked Nicole to the door. Before heading off, Nicole bid farewell to Dane with a deep kiss that left them both stunned when they pulled away from air. They stared into each other's eyes, saying things that their mouths could not work out. The messages that they shared led to another passionate kiss.

"At this rate, I might never make it out of the house again," Nicole joked in a breathless tone with a dazed smile.

"I would not complain, but you do need to go to work, so get moving, spawn of Satan," Dane playfully ordered, gently swatting Nicole on the butt to get her moving.

Nicole giggled, but she did as she was commanded. She practically floated into work, not caring that she still did not have an assistant and she was pretty sure her workload was going to double as soon as her parents found out that she was out of court cases. Nothing was getting the smile off of her face, though. People noticed and asked, but she did not explain why she was so happy.

She was eager to get back home, checking the clock on her desk and on her computer every few minutes. Time just was not passing quickly enough in her opinion. She was gifted with a surprise a little before noon when her phone rang.

"Hello, Nicole Cardell speaking," she answered her phone.

"Great, I was looking for the sexiest woman alive," Dane remarked, smiling if her voice was an indication of things.

Nicole blushed, her cheeks turning a deep crimson. "Oh, you. I was thinking about you…all day, actually. I'm having trouble focusing on the documents in front of me because of you."

"Oh, you were thinking about me? Should I talk dirty to you now?"

"Don't you dare! If someone came in here and saw me while you did that, they'd know just what you were saying. Besides, I want to wait a little while before we…Well, before you get me all hot and bothered…" Dane was quiet for a long moment, possibly not sure how to respond. Nicole laughed, knowing just why silence reigned over the phone. "You're thinking perverted thoughts, aren't you, Danny?" the lawyer accused her girlfriend.

"Guilty as charged. Can't be helped now that you put the thought out there."

"I guess you are a big dog," Nicole quipped. She did hope that Danny did not mind waiting for a little while before they slept together. She did not want them to jump into too much too quickly out of fear that it would somehow mess up their blossoming relationship.

"One that would like to lick you," Dane said before she could stop herself. "Oh, damn! Said that out loud. Sorry."

The attorney chuckled a little. "It's fine. It's nice to be desired…"

Honestly, Nicole never had a problem with being desired, but it was different with Danny. She was not sure why it was different, but it was one of the reasons that she wanted to wait before she was intimate with Danny. She wanted to sort all of these emotions out before she made a mistake along the line and messed things up.

"Um…Well, I was calling to make sure you eat lunch and everything," Dane said, trying to get the conversation away from sex before she ended up saying something that did cross the line. Or worse, getting herself more frustrated than she was now that she did want to talk dirty to Nicole.

"It's not lunchtime yet, but I will. I'm going to pop it in the microwave in a little while, though. Is there pudding in there too?" Nicole asked curiously.

Dane smiled, thinking about her girlfriend's sweet tooth. "Two. One vanilla and one chocolate."

Nicole pouted. "Did I eat all of the swirl already?"

"Don't worry. I'm going to get some more from the store today. You're also out of cookies, but I'm going to make sure you have more of those by the time you get in today."

"You are just too good to me."

"Somebody has to be. Don't work yourself too hard and look at those college applications," Dane commanded in a good-natured tone.

"All right, honey. See you later tonight."

"Okay. Oh, I wanted to tell you before…I like it when you call me honey…Well, really, I like it when you call me anything…" Dane admitted, sounding so adorably nervous.

"Good to know, big dog."

"I like that one too, chem."

Nicole chuckled and they said their farewells to each other before hanging up. The day could not end soon enough for her. She practically flew out of the office as soon as she could. The people still there could hardly believe it was her; she usually did not leave that early or that fast.

"I'm home!" Nicole called into the house as she entered the place.

For the first time, Dane actually met her at the door. They crashed into each other with a passionate force, meeting mouths and hands. Lips pressed and moved against each other, while tongues collided and caressed each other, trying to get to know each other as thoroughly as possible. Hands wandered shoulders and backs, wanting to touch more, but not wanting to cross the line just yet. They separated when their lungs were screaming for precious air. They pulled away from each other barely, panting and practically sharing breath.

"So, how was your day?" Dane asked in a low voice before leaning down to place a quick peck on red lips.

"It's looking up," Nicole replied, going in for her own small kiss for just a little longer than Dane.

"Well, before now, how was your day?"

The lawyer glanced away, looking a little embarrassed. "I actually don't know. I wasn't paying much attention to anything. I just wanted to get back to you."

Dane smiled and accepted that response. They had a semi-normal night, adding a lot of kissing and caressing to their usual routine. At the end of the night, Dane walked Nicole upstairs to her room like before. They shared a passionate embrace once again before bidding each other goodnight and going to their rooms.

-----

Nicole was sitting at her desk, going over a contract. She was waiting for a call from Danny. The calls had increased since they became a couple, which Nicole enjoyed. Danny showed such an interest in her and it never seemed to get dull.

Before the phone call came, Nicole was taken from her work and her thoughts. The door to her office opened. She looked up to see her father enter, smiling, and arms full with a box.

"No, Daddy, no," Nicole pled, knowing that her father was bringing more work for her.

"Sorry, Nikki. They're from your mother. They're divided into things you need to proof-read, redraft, and a court case you need to get prepared for. Why haven't you hired a new assistant yet?" Raymond inquired while putting the box down on her desk.

"I want to make sure to get the right person."

"There's been nothing wrong with your other assistants. You just let them control the job instead of you controlling them. If you don't hire someone by the end of the week, I'm going to hire someone for you, so you can stop wasting your time on it. You need to start returning business calls too. A few clients I recommended to you have called me complaining that you don't get back to them right away. It's unprofessional and you're better than that." It was clear that he was scolding her and he really did it in a way that she did not like. He managed to merge the fact that he was her father and her boss whenever he reprimanded her.

"Daddy, taking a day to review my work before getting back to a client is not unprofessional," she argued. She was thorough and most people appreciated that since it almost always translated into victory in some form.

"It is if they complain about it. Now, you're better than this and you need to stay on the top of your game. Understood?" he demanded to know, glaring down at her with a hard gaze.

"Yes, sir," Nicole muttered like a thoroughly scolded teenager. She slumped down in her chair, as if trying to hide from her father.

"And don't slouch. What if someone was to come in here and see you slouching?"

"Yes, sir." Nicole straightened herself out.

She breathed a sigh of relief when her father left her office. She then looked at her new pile of work. Her expression fell, and her desire to go home at that very moment rose exponentially. She made a conscious decision that she was not going to stay late, but she was not sure if she would be able to live up to that. She knew that Danny would not let her work too hard at home and she needed to get things done.

-----

"I'm home," Nicole called as she put down her briefcase, placing it out of sight because she did not want Danny to notice the bulge in the bag.

There was no verbal response, but Dane was out in the foyer almost immediately to properly greet her girlfriend. She took Nicole into a loving embrace and a passionate kiss. When she pulled away from the lawyer, she knew something was wrong.

"What happened at work today, chem?" Dane asked with concern, bringing up one hand to caress Nicole's cheek while her other hand went around Nicole and slowly rubbed Nicole's back.

The touch soothed much of Nicole's frustration, but there was a little underlying anger aimed at her parents for taking up her time, time that she wanted to spend with her girlfriend. "My workload just tripled in one day, that's all. It's not the first time it's happened, but…"

"That doesn't make it any easier to deal with. What happened?" the younger woman asked in a gentle, understanding tone.

"My parents. I guess they don't think I'm busy enough and they're always recommending me to people, getting me new clients. So, now I have a big pile of work to deal with. I just want to come home to you…" Nicole whispered the last sentence.

"Well, you are home with me right now. Let's work on unwinding you. Go upstairs and take a hot, long shower. I'm going to get things ready for you to relax and start on one of your favorite dinners."

Nicole nodded and Dane kissed her on the side of the head before releasing her. Nicole did as ordered while Dane went to get things ready for Nicole to relax. By the time the attorney came back downstairs, she could smell chicken cooking. She saw the latest book that she was reading on the coffee table in the living room with a plate of cookies and hot chocolate waiting for her. She sat down, thinking that things were almost perfect.

"You're good now?" the musician asked her girlfriend as she came to the front of the living room.

"Almost," Nicole answered.

"Almost?" An ebony eyebrow arched. What did I forget?

"I could use company."

The smile Dane wore lit up the whole room. She eased down onto the sofa with Nicole. The lawyer immediately made herself comfortable against Dane. Dane did not mind and wrapped her arms around Nicole to make sure that she was secure. While Nicole opened her book, Dane kissed Nicole's head and snuggled into her soft, auburn mane. They then had a normal night together.

Nicole ended up retrieving her briefcase later on, sneaking in some work. She had to get it done and it was either do it privately at home or stay late at the office. The latter really was not an option for her because she wanted to be with Danny. So, she made it her habit to stay up late at home and carry on working to make sure that she finished everything a prompt time.

Generally, Nicole was a morning person, so when she woke up, it was difficult to tell that she had been up late the night before. Dane did not say anything if she did notice anything about Nicole's late nights. She sent the lawyer on her way every morning with her lunch and the affection that Nicole craved.

At work, Nicole had to deal with the fact that her father had hired her an assistant, one that she did not very much like. Her assistant was a young man who leered her in a manner that made her uncomfortable. She told her father about it and he sort of brushed her off, saying, "Richard is overly qualified to work with you. Give him a chance." So, she was giving him a chance and hoping that lightning struck him, so she would not have to worry about firing him later on.

She settled in her office and it seemed like everyday without fail right before she got to her own work, someone needed help with their work. Help that had to come from her, apparently. All the time.

"How the fuck did these people make it out of grade school, let alone college and law school?" Nicole wondered while rubbing her throbbing temples. It was almost noon and she had not been able to start her own work. Her lunch was calling her, but she decided against eating and went right into her work, needing to get something done before her clients started calling with complaints again.

She was interrupted from doing her work when her assistant informed her that there was a "Darry" on the phone wishing to speak with her. Nicole arched an eyebrow. Who the hell is Darry?

"Nicole Cardell speaking," she said while putting the phone to her ear.

"Hey, chem," Dane purred into the phone.

"Danny?"

"Who else would it be? You sound like you expected someone else."

"No, my stupid assistant called you Darry. I was wondering who the hell that was."

Dane sucked her teeth. "Do they get all of your assistants from hospital trauma wards?"

Nicole let out a tired laugh. "I'm starting to believe that."

"You don't sound too good. How're you doing, baby?"

Nicole smiled because of the term of endearment. "Better since you called."

"That's good. You're eating lunch?"

"I'm trying to catch up-" Nicole was cut off right there.

"No, no, no, that's not you eating lunch. Eat lunch. It'll help keep your energy up, which you really need. You've been falling asleep a lot earlier than usual these past few days. Hell, last night you fell asleep at eight. I'm scared soon you'll just pass out in your dinner," Dane said quite seriously.

Nicole nodded as if Dane was right in front of her. She knew that her girlfriend was right. She was ruining her sleep-cycle because of all of the work. She fell asleep early now and then woke up in the middle of the night to do work. Sometimes, she took very short naps at her desk, in between helping people and trying to do her own work.

"Nick, you still there?"

"Sorry. I was nodding in agreement. I'm getting my lunch right now."

"Good. Try to take it easy, chem. Come in at a decent hour too. I don't want you to risk falling asleep behind the wheel."

"Yes, Mom," Nicole teased as she went into her refrigerator for her lunch.

"If I were your mom, I'd be forcing more cases down your throat rather than trying to get you to relax."

"That is the truth. Okay, I have my lunch out, I'm starting to eat. I'll see you at home, at a decent hour," Nicole promised.

"Good."

They bid each other farewell. Nicole worked and ate her lunch while praying that no one bothered her for the rest of the day, Meanwhile, Dane was working on fixing up a surprise for her busy girlfriend.

-----

Nicole pulled into the driveway and arched an eyebrow in curiosity at the odd sight that greeted her. All of the lights were out in the house. A certain, rusty, killer bike was not thrown haphazardly on the front porch. She wondered if Danny was gone.

"Maybe she got angry with me for not keeping my promise…" Nicole considered. She was home late; it was almost eight o'clock at night.

As she drew closer to the house, she saw there was an ominous glow in the hall. She opened the door and glanced around in the dark. She saw there were candles on the floor, cutting a path upstairs. Her heart rate spiked and beat loudly in her ears.

"Oh, Danny…"

Nicole followed the candles upstairs and saw that they led to the bathroom. She made it to the door before everything in her stopped, including her feet and her breathing. There in the middle of the bathroom, which was covered in scented candles, stood Dane with a bouquet of flowers.

"Welcome home," Dane said with a slightly awkward smile. She had never done anything like this before and she was not sure if she did it well.

"Oh, Danny, sweetheart…" Nicole rushed over to the musician, embracing her and engulfing her in a heated kiss.

When Nicole pulled away, Danny was left in a slight daze. "I did good, huh?" she managed to ask.

The redhead nodded. "You always do, honey. Now, was your plan a bath for one or two?"

Dane chuckled and glanced away while running her hand through her hair. "Honestly, hadn't thought that far ahead. I just wanted you to relax since I know how hard you're working. I don't want you to get too stressed or unhappy."

"I can't be unhappy if I have you to come home to," Nicole replied, unaware until she said it, just how true it was.

Dane did not know what to say to that one, so did the one thing that she now did when tongue-tied: she kissed Nicole. The lawyer moaned and melted into the taller woman as she now had a habit of doing. When they pulled away, Nicole accidentally yawned.

"Uh-huh, boring you, am I?" Dane teased.

"Of course not. I'm just tired. Those assholes at work-"

"No, don't talk about work right now. Don't think about work. Take these flowers and then take a bath. It's hot and just full of all sorts of things I never heard of, but was told help make a bath perfect. So, I'm going to go warm up dinner while you take a bath."

"You're not going to join me?" Nicole remarked.

"Some other time, chem. Right now, I want to make sure you get some food in you and wash away the grim of the day. I'll take you up on that offer on a day I know you won't fall asleep on me," Dane countered with a grin.

Nicole nodded to show that she understood. She would have liked for Dane to join her, though. She smiled as she sank into the hot bubble bath, thinking about how she would like to be intimate with Danny. She allowed fantasies to play in her mind while she relaxed and thought that they might stay fantasies if she could not stay awake for more than an hour when she was home. That night was not the night because right after dinner, she collapsed into bed.

When Nicole woke up, the first thing that caught her eye was not her work. She saw a stack of papers on her nightstand. She would not have thought anything of them, but there was a note on top of the stack that she knew was from Danny because of the handwriting. She grabbed the note.

Hey, I took the time to fill these out for you as best I could. There's still some info that you need to put in and some of them do need an essay to go with them. Please, fill them out, even if you don't know where you want to go right now. You need it, trust me. You can work out where you want to go after you get accepted to all of these for spring term, which starts at the end of January. Get on the ball, Nick, and do something for yourself.

Danny.

Nicole took a look at that was waiting for her and saw that it was the graduate school applications. A smile overtook her face and instead of doing her work, she started going through the applications. She started working on an essay to send out with those that required it.

-----

Dane watched Nicole leave, seeing how her step had slowed as days went by. She noticed the bags and lines getting darker and heavier with Nicole every day that went by too. She was running out of ideas on how to soothe the frayed nerves of the corporate attorney. She also finding it harder to ignore the hints that Nicole was dropping about what she thought would relax her, which was getting laid. The musician did not say so out loud, but she doubted that Nicole would be able to stay awake long enough to have sex. The only thing Nicole really did when she came home now was take a quick shower, eat her dinner, and then fall into bed. There was no room for anything else, so Dane thought that it would best to get Nicole to ease her way out of whatever was making her frustrated and tense before they hopped into bed together.

Dane scratched her head. "What's left for relaxing things to do? Flowers, bath, favorite meals, music, books, movies…I could take her away for the weekend. Oh, wait, no. Don't have the savings for that anymore. Shit."

The musician frowned, thinking about if only she had met Nicole earlier in life. She would have been able to take real care of Nicole. She might have found someone to spend her money on instead of snorting it or smoking it.

"Or I would've fucked her over like all of the other people in her life. Well, no use thinking about what coulda been. I need to do something before Nick breaks under the pressure," Dane told herself.

She sighed and figured that something would come to her eventually. She had time anyway. Most days, Nicole stayed at work late now and they rarely had their usual nights anymore because of Nicole's new work habits. Dane knew that she would not be able to do anything whenever Nicole was like that.

That day Nicole got in late and was so worn out that she did not bother eating dinner. Dane frowned as she put the food away, feeling like she had cooked for nothing. She had spent the entire day trying to think of how to relax Nicole, boggling her mind, all for Nicole to fall out around forty minutes after arriving home.

"Calm down, Danny. She's working hard, not because she wants to stay late, but because she doesn't want to let anyone down, because she doesn't want people to think she's slacking off, or because she doesn't want anyone to say that she's doing a bad job. I have to stand by her. She needs it. She deserves it," Dane reminded herself. She was not going to abandon Nicole just because times were rough. No, she could not do something like that.

Dane finished her clean up in the kitchen and went to the den. She stared at the ceiling most of the night, trying to sort out her feelings. She could not believe that she actually felt...well, under appreciated. She managed to shake away the thought by reminding herself how people took advantage of Nicole's kind nature. Nicole was sweet and gentle and needed someone around to take care of her. Dane wanted to be that someone and she was going to work hard to make sure she stayed that someone. She cared way too much about Nicole to run off when the attorney obviously needed her the most.

In the morning, when Dane woke up, she started in her usual routine. She paused when Nicole made her way into the kitchen, looking just about the worse Danny had ever seen her. Nicole was pale, pasty really. Her eyes were blood-shot and half-closed. The bags under her eyes were almost dark blue, like deep bruises. Her usually vibrant eyes were dull, glass-like. Dane would not have been surprised if Nicole dropped dead right in the middle of the kitchen.

"Nick, how're you feeling?" Dane demanded to know as she rushed over to the smaller woman. Her hand immediately went to Nicole's forehead, even though she really had no clue what she was doing. She had never done anything like that before, but right now, she felt like she could give medical tips to the best doctors in the world. Nicole felt a little clammy to her. She guessed that meant Nicole was sick, but she was not sure.

"Crappy," Nicole admitted with a pained groan.

"You look like that too and I don't like how your forehead feels either. Go back upstairs, go to bed. I'll call your office and let them know you're sick," the musician said.

"No, I'll call," the lawyer replied.

Dane blinked. "No fight over it?"

"No fight, on one condition," Nicole bargained.

A smile graced the taller woman's features. "Okay, what's this condition?"

"You lay next to me while I sleep." An arched eyebrow caused Nicole to continue. "We don't have to do anything. I just…I've been wondering what it would be like to sleep next to you…for a while. I've been dreaming about it-" Nicole was stopped there.

"It's okay, Nick. You don't have to keep going. I would be honored to sleep next to you."

That put a grin on Nicole's face that lit up the room. For a moment, she looked normal, like she usually did. She wasted no time calling, saying that she was not going to be in that day. She had breakfast and willing went back upstairs with Danny trailing behind her. Danny halted at the doorway, which Nicole noticed.

"Danny?" Nicole said.

"Sorry…it's just…" Dane ran her hand through her hair. "I've never been in your room, except that one time. You know, to leave your applications…"

An olive-toned hand reached out, taking a bronze hand in its grip. Dane was gently tugged inside the room and led to the bed. Nicole pulled back the sheets of her made bed and laid down, sighing as she touched down on the comfortable queen-sized mattress. It took Dane a few seconds, but she did lay down. Nicole made herself comfortable, cuddling against Dane's form. She was asleep in mere seconds and Dane was left to occupy her time, watching Nicole sleep. Dane drifted off with a smile on her face.

-----

Dane woke up a couple of hours later to find Nicole still sleeping soundly against her. It was one of the few times where Dane woke up and knew exactly where she was the moment that her brain turned back on. She smiled to herself and her hands, which were around Nicole, started caressing the pajama-clad attorney. She was happy to see that the color had returned to Nicole's face while they were asleep and she decided to lightly stroke Nicole's cheek with right hand.

"I can't believe I had a moment of doubt where I thought I might walk away from this…" Danny scolded herself.

She would have walked away from heaven, the heaven of having Nicole pressed against her in such a trusting manner. Her steady breathing against Dane's neck made the musician smile. She felt so many different emotions in that one moment that she dared think that she would never be able to leave Nicole. She would be there forever, or at least for as long as Nicole would have her.

"Shit, I love this woman…" Dane realized, speaking out loud.

Nicole suddenly moved, cuddling into the musician. Dane stiffened, thinking that Nicole might have heard her. The tension that shot through Danny disturbed the resting body against her. The lawyer groaned a little, lips touching against Dane's neck. The musician whimpered and squirmed, which only made things worse. Nicole moved with her, rubbing against her frame, and lips touching her skin. Dane felt like her body was on fire after long seconds of this torture.

"She's going to kill me," Dane feared, but she knew that she would go with a smile.

She was taken from thoughts on her impending demise as Nicole started rubbing her nose into Dane's neck. Her hands went from lying limp by Dane's hip to wandering up by Dane's breasts. An antenna went up in the musician's head.

"I thought you just wanted to sleep next to me," Dane said in a mock-accusing tone.

"Now, I want to sleep with you," Nicole replied with a voice that was low from sleep. She kissed Dane's throat.

"You're in no shape for that sort of thing."

"I'm very well rested and I have the whole day off. I want to be with you and I think you want to be with me too…" There was a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Guilty as charged," Dane confirmed. She wanted to be with Nicole more than any woman in her life, but she did not want to harm Nicole either. She doubted it would be good to work Nicole up if she was really sick.

Nicole bit her lip and decided to carry on with the confessions. "I heard you…what you said…"

Dane gulped, pushing down a lump in her throat. "Didn't I say that in my head?"

"No, you didn't. If it makes you feel less like your head is on the chopping block, I'll make a similar confession. I do think I'm falling love with you. Maybe I am already. I don't know. I haven't felt anything like this before."

"I haven't either. My conclusion was just a lucky guess. I do know I don't plan to ever leave you, Nick, unless you want me gone. And even then, I warn you that I will fight for you. I just hope it doesn't go to a creepy degree."

Nicole chuckled, but she did not respond verbally to that. She pushed herself up, going after Danny's inviting lips. Dane responded to the kiss like she always did, returning all of the passion that her body would allow. Nicole moved over Danny, making sure not to break their kiss, but wanting to feel more of Danny, wanting to take the initiative to show the musician that everything was all right, that she was all right.

Dane did not put up a fight, moving her hands to Nicole's hips as the lawyer straddled her waist. Their mouths refused to part, so they breathed through their noses, while their hands quickly made it their business to get to wander cloth-covered forms. When hands hit heated flesh, they both knew they would not be cloth-covered for long.

"You feel so good…" Dane growled, breaking the kiss for a moment. In the back of her mind, she knew that she had somehow fallen into a trap and was being distracted from a concern that she had a few minutes ago, but the rest of her mind did not give a damn about that. If this was a trap, she wanted to fall for more!

"So do you."

They both decided that they wanted to feel more of each other. They practically tore each other out of their pajamas. They took a moment to appreciate the other's body, believing them to be perfect. The moment was still until Nicole noticed something that she found interesting. Dane had five tattoos of small paw prints on her stomach, going upward to a body part that Nicole really wanted to inspect. She reached out, tracing the path that the tattoos took before arriving right where she wanted to be. Dane moaned lightly, which set Nicole on fire.

Greedy fingers clutched all of the freed skin, wanting as much tempting flesh as possible. Demanding palms rubbed, mapped, memorized each part of the bare body before them. Lips and tongues were not to be outdone and left the company of each other to feel the rest of the forms that they wanted to know better than their own.

Dane's mouth wandered down Nicole's neck, licking and kissing every inch she could. She wanted to taste all of Nicole at once and silently cursed that it was not possible for her to do. As she got to Nicole's breasts, her hands moved before her mouth had a chance to sample the goods. Nicole moaned loudly as Dane's hands played her like a fine instrument, making her body cry out.

"God, yes," Nicole hissed while pressing herself deeper into Dane's questing hands.

Dane growled, wanting to give Nicole more as she was silently demanding. Dane moved her decidedly useless left hand and replaced it with her mouth. Kisses and licks around the swell of the full mound made Nicole buck against the musician. The auburn-haired woman moaned loud enough to reach the heavens, when Dane's lips latched onto the center of her breast, suckling her as if she held the key to immortality. She wrapped her arms around Danny's head to keep her in place, even though she doubted Dane was going anywhere. She ran her hands through soft ebony locks while Dane continued playing her, bringing forth sweet notes deep from within Nicole's soul.

"Oh, Danny…" Tears gathered into emerald eyes, pleasure unknown coursing through her system. No one had ever touched her in such a way, making every little bit of her sing with bliss. No one.

Dane shivered when she heard Nicole cry out because of her. She sat up a little, wanting to take more of Nicole into her mouth. She also rolled them over, settling on top of the lawyer. Nicole moaned even louder, feeling the maximum amount of flesh against her in their new position. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman and tried her best to pull them infinitely closer.

Danny adjusted her mouth against Nicole's body and the wave of ecstasy that rippled through her was such a shock that she screamed. Nicole's body arched, letting Dane know that she definitely played the right note. Their bodies writhed against each other, which earned a hiss from Dane. I need more.

With one last nip, assuring that her mark would be left, Dane moved on. Nicole whined from the sudden abandonment, but the sour note was corrected as she felt quick licks going down her abdomen. She began panting, delight building as Dane played on. Kisses swirled around her navel before working down to her thighs.

"Danny…" Nicole cried, hands still lost in the unruly mop of thick onyx hair, stroking wild mane as Dane continued her wonderful torture.

Dane kissed the inside of olive-toned thighs and with each touch of her lips, it was as if she was hitting a button that controlled her girlfriend. Silky legs slide open with each loving touch. Dane purred and nuzzled her face on the warm flesh offered to her and the sound vibrated through Nicole, making her crave Dane even more, which she did not think was possible. Nicole's hips bucked and jerked slightly, begging for the heavenly touch of the musician. Toned, willing limbs were placed on an altar of broad shoulders and paradise was about to be achieved as Dane played on. Her tongue took short licks, like quick plucks to a finely tuned string. She soon had control of Nicole like she would any other instruments that she played and she used the utmost care with the woman that she suspected she loved.

Dane felt caring fingers glide through her hair as she tried to press herself impossibly closer to Nick's center while Nicole panted and pled for more. Dane was of like mind, loving the way Nick tasted and unable to get enough. She felt like she could drink of Nicole for the rest of her days and survive for centuries, especially if she kept getting such passion cries and adorable mews from Nicole. She wanted more of the noise as much as she wanted more this fine drink.

Dane's typically detested left hand was brought to show that it could still play with the best of them, stroking Nicole with skill, earning loud, sharp notes from the auburn-haired woman. Dane felt a shudder roll through her because of the sounds and she needed more. One finger, and then two went to know Nicole as intimately as possible, strumming her as if Dane knew all about Nicole's body, and the crescendo was reached quickly. Nicole screamed so loud the neighbors probably heard, but she could care less. Her back bowed, tears flowed from her eyes, and declarations of love slipped by her lips. Danny was not done, though. She played on, bringing forth cries from her lover until Nicole was too tired to even scream.

"No more, please," the attorney begged, her chest heaving as she tried to take in as much air as her lungs would allow. Her body was glistening with sweat and passion; she could not be any happier.

Danny smiled into a mass of dark red curls before kissing her way back up Nicole's body. The lovers kissed deeply, soul-searing affection flowing through them. They then stared into each other's eyes, telling the other just how much they were loved, in ways that words would never be able to express.

"You're tired now," Dane playfully accused, smiling and beaming with pride. She could see sleep creeping up on her lover as Nicole's eyes drooped, almost closing completely.

"Just a little," Nicole admitted with a small yawn. She thought that she would be able to take the bedroom acrobatics, but her body was not yet ready for activities, especially not the way Danny performed. She did hope for an encore, though...after a nap.

"Go back to sleep. The whole point of today is for you to get in some rest and relaxation." The younger woman kissed her girlfriend on the cheek.

"You're going to stay, right?" Emerald eyes were full of hope.

Dane smiled brightly. "A crane couldn't pull me away. Go back to sleep." Dane rolled over onto her back and then pulled Nicole against her side.

Nicole made herself comfortable against Dane body once again, resting her head against sweat-covered shoulder. Dane gently caressed Nicole, which put her to sleep almost immediately. Dane followed once again, smiling.

-----

12: Angels and demons

Nicole awoke from a nap and smiled unconsciously, memories of what happened an hour earlier playing in her mind. Looking for a prolonged repeat, she began kissing on the copper neck that was temptingly close to her mouth. She dragged her tongue along the tantalizing throat, feeling Dane's heartbeat under her curious tongue.

"Starting trouble again?" Dane asked in a sleepy tone, not opening her eyes. Her voice was playful and there was a smile tugging at her lips; she did not mind this sort of trouble in the least.

"I'm hoping I can finish it now," Nicole replied in a seductive whisper. This got smoke-colored eyes to open and looked downward, noting the lustful expression embedded in emerald orbs.

"Don't push yourself, Nick. You were exhausted. Taking the day off isn't to exhaust you more, but to get you to rest," the younger woman pointed out. "Besides, you might pass out halfway into this. Then we both lose!" The teasing grin on her face was precious, but it did not get the desired smile from her lover.

Nicole sighed, sounding defeated. "You're right. I just…I want to make love to you…"

Dane sighed too because she did not get the reaction she wanted, but caressed her girlfriend's shoulder to help lift her spirits. "Believe me, I want you too. I'd love nothing more than to spend the whole day making love to you, but we have to worry about your health first. Do you want some lunch?"

There was silence for a few moments. Hands wandered the somewhat soft form of Danny. Curious fingers traced ribs before going to Dane's slightly pudgy sides. A smile settled on Nicole's face as she played with Dane's stomach and sides. She could not believe the weight that Dane put on in the few months that they had been living together. She recalled when Danny first started staying at the house and how she looked like she weighed less than a leaf, but she filled out now. She had small love handles poking out of her sides, which Nicole adored and she continued stroking Danny's middle. Her fingers eventually wandered to the tattoos on her girlfriend's abdomen.

"These are cute and so you," Nicole commented. "Do you have any other tattos I might have missed?"

Dane smiled. "I could tell you, but where's the fun in that? Now, about lunch?"

"Can we just order something? I want to stay in bed and I want you to stay here too," Nicole requested, hands still busy gliding over Danny's torso. She was willing to bet that there were other tattoos, but it would be more fun if she discovered them on her own. It was something to look forward to, among other things.

"We can order. I'll just have to get up to get it when it comes. So, you wanna watch some TV?"

Nicole nodded and scanned around for the remote for her bedroom television. She found it and turned the TV on to find something to watch. She curled back into Dane's body while Dane was on the phone, ordering Chinese food. She did not have to ask Nicole what she wanted, knowing the lawyer's preference already. She wrapped her arms around Nicole after she was done with that.

"Thank you, Danny," Nicole said out of the blue.

Ebony eyebrows curled in, wrinkling a bronze forehead. "Why are you thanking me?"

"For taking care of me like no one else ever has, for loving me in a way no one else has… or will I hope."

Dane leaned down and kissed Nicole's forehead. "You make it very easy. Seriously, Nick, you're the sweetest, kindest person I know. I can only hope to love you properly for as long as you'll have me."

"I'm going to have you forever, so you stop talking like I'm going to throw you out tomorrow. And you're doing a damn good job in loving me. I hope you don't change," Nicole stated.

"I'm not going to change. Um…" Smoke-colored eyes glanced away for a moment, which caused a worried look to come over Nicole.

"What is it, Danny?" Nicole inquired in a soft tone.

"I'm kinda new at all of this talking and everything, so bear with me. But, I was just going to say…I wish you didn't work late all the time anymore…"

Nicole nodded and now that Danny said something, she realized how unfair she had been being for their budding relationship. She was acting as if everything was still the same, but some things had changed. She had a responsibility to Danny as her girlfriend.

"I'm so sorry, Danny. I've been acting like we're still roommates," Nicole apologized, hugging Dane tightly and kissing her cheek.

"It's okay…" Dane sounded almost child-like. She really did not want to add to her girlfriend's troubles, but she wanted them to be able to spend time together. She liked being with Nicole so much and that feeling was what pushed her to bring up the subject.

"No, it's not okay and I'm glad you said something. I will stop working so late. I promise. I'll make this up to you too. Starting right now."

Dane did not argue as Nicole went about making things up to her, starting with placing light kisses along her jaw line. Nicole worked her way on top of Dane, as she had done earlier, but she had no intention of surrendering that position this time around. She placed a deep kiss to Danny's mouth, taking her breath away, before heading south, wanting to taste every piece of Dane.

The musician whimpered and squirmed as she felt gentle hands stroking her ribs and sides. Wet, tender kisses floated across her neck. Teeth bit down on her pulse, marking her as Nicole's and she could only hope for more possessive marks, letting her know that she was desired, wanted, and loved. She wiggled a little more as an adoring tongue continued on it's journey and traced a path between the valley of her breasts while hands wandered her abdomen.

"I like that you have some weight on you," Nicole teased in a low tone. Her hands could not get enough of touching the taller woman, going over Dane's abdomen and sides.

"Should start working out…" Dane whimpered because Nicole decided at that moment to place a long, loving kiss to her collar bone. Dane had gained a healthy amount of weight since staying with the lawyer and she had been aware of the slight bulge around her middle. She had not really cared, but now that she realized Nicole would be seeing her naked more often, she considered that she might want to start working out to have a cut body to show off. She wanted to look good for Nicole and to make sure that she would remain desirable to the attorney.

"No, you're fine. I really do like it," Nicole vowed and touched Danny's abdomen as if she were worshipping the section, making her thoughts loud and clear that she really did like it.

Danny moaned from the attention and the sincerity in her girlfriend's word. Dane moved, seeking out more of the loving touch as Nicole's mouth continued on, as busy as her hands and just as vigil. She made her way slowly to Danny's right breast, lovingly kissing every bit of the rise before making her journey to the center, the cherry on top. She captured the tip with generous lips and suckled so righteously that Danny hollered her name to the ceiling, trying to reach the angels in heaven from the sound of things.

"Nick!"

The auburn-haired woman smiled to herself and took a deep nip out of Dane's flesh, earning another scream, and a nonsense word too. Enjoying the reaction where it seemed like she was zapping Dane of her ability to think properly, Nicole could not resist rolling the gem around in her mouth with her tongue. She switched sides after a while, treating the neglected mount with the same fervent attention. Dane was gone, grunting and groaning things that might have been words in other languages.

"I want to stay here forever…" Nicole thought. I want to love her forever.

While Nicole's mouth did not seem to have any intention of leaving her breasts, her hands decided to tend to the rest of Dane. Her fingers were now on a pilgrimage, traveling to the center of all that was Danny. Affectionate digits curiously explored the blazing hot, moist altar that they planned to adore for all time. Dane pushed herself into Nicole's hand, pleading for more with her body while her brain tried to remember words to really implore her lover.

"Nick…now…" Danny begged in a low breath. She was tempted to grab Nicole's wrist and force her hand where she wanted it, but she managed to resist that impulse. In the past, she had done such things to plenty of girls, but right now, she instinctively knew it would be inappropriate and spoil the mood. So, she laid there, eyes pleading, body begging, but waiting for Nicole to do whatever she wanted.

"Patience, big dog," Nicole whispered, smiling a bit. She wanted to keep going until Dane could not speak real words at all, so her fingers lightly traced the molten area that they were traversing.

"Gonna…die…" Dane was sure that she was going to die if Nicole kept teasing her. Her body wanted this, wanted Nicole in ways that she had never wanted anyone ever before. It was an intense throbbing that could only be relieved by the wonderful being on top of her. No one else would do and she imagined that no one else would ever do.

"Then I'll take you to heaven, like you did for me," the lawyer vowed before placing a sizzling, adoring kiss to the side of Danny's breast.

Dane cried out as she thought Nicole finally put her out of her misery, two long fingers found their way into her center, but she soon found out that she was so wrong. Nicole began a deliberate, unhurried pace with her fingers, caressing Dane in a manner that was maddening for the musician. Nicole's mouth, which was still attached to Dane's breast, moved much like her fingers, painfully slow and amazingly hot. The musician began to swear in ways that would have made Nicole blush if only she was not focused solely on keeping Danny so passionately wound up. It would seem that Dane went from nonsense words to total profanity with some begging sprinkled in for good measure.

"Please, Nick. Please, Nick. Please, Nick…" Danny chanted like a prayer, going in time with each slow movement of Nicole's hand. Despite the pace, Dane could feel pleasure all the way up to the roof of her mouth and she wanted so much more. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes, a mix of bliss and frustration.

Nicole said nothing, intent on bringing paradise to her lover, intent on worshipping Danny with all of her soul and letting Danny feel that through her touch. She wanted the musician to know that she was giving thier relationship everything in her. She desired nothing more than for Dane to know that Danny owned everything that was in her. She belonged to Danny.

The redhead knew that she would not be able to ignore those pleas for long, but she tried her best. The delight surrounding her fingers was too much, the taste of the skin in her mouth was too great, everything was going to have to end soon for the simple fact that she wanted more. She wanted everything that was Danny and her hands and mouth gathered all she could before Dane's body went into wild convulsions, letting her know that she had driven the younger woman to the point of no return. Danny had reached the nirvana that Nicole desperately wished to give her.

"Wow…" Dane muttered as she finally gained some control of herself after almost a minute. "That felt…different…" she muttered. Nicole certainly touched more inside of her than what was physical. She was glad that Nicole had stilled her fingers because she doubted that she would be able to survive that feeling a second time so close to the first.

"A good different?" Nicole asked, head resting against her new favorite place in the world, Dane's breast.

"Great different. Thanks to you, I'm damn near certain I have a soul because I think you touched it. It might take a few more times like to confirm that, though," the musician remarked with a tired smile. She could not believe that she just said that, but she wanted more. Apparently, making love had fried her brain, or at least her good senses because she was not sure if she would be able to live through that again...not until the euphoric feeling settled and her body came back down to Earth anyway.

Nicole smirked, looking sexy and confident. "I think I can oblige."

Before Nicole could make good on her word, the doorbell rang, alerting them that their meals had arrived. Dane was about to move, but as she shifted, she moaned, reminding them of their positions. Nicole grinned at Dane before leisurely, teasingly sliding her fingers from their warm cocoon. The musician squirmed and whimpered, missing Nicole's presence already.

"I'll get the door," Nicole stated while placing a gentle kiss to Dane's cheek.

Danny only nodded; it was about all she could muster. She did manage a groan as Nicole took a moment to put her fingers in her mouth and lick them clean. Nicole then had the nerve to smile impishly at Dane, who was ready to leap out of the bed and take her girlfriend on the floor. Nicole seemed to know what Danny was thinking, so she quickly wrapped herself in her robe and then disappeared downstairs. By the time she returned, Dane's mind had fully recovered and she had gotten enough of a second wind to sit up. The couple enjoyed a hot lunch in bed before cuddling together to watch some television.

Eventually, they did get out of bed to take showers. They were surprised that they were able to manage separate showers, knowing that they would never make it out of the shower if they took one together. Dane started on dinner while Nicole went to get the mail. The attorney smiled as she noticed one large envelope in the pile of mail and opened it first. She grinned wider and decided to share the news with Danny over dinner.

"I hope spaghetti is good for you," Dane said as she brought two plates to the kitchen table.

"Spaghetti is fine, you know that," Nicole replied, lightly slapping at Dane, who sat across from her. She then made a show of the mail in her possession.

An ebony eyebrow arched at the show. "What's all that you got here?"

A monster grin spread onto Nicole face. "This, Miss Danny, is the mail."

"I can see that. You don't usually play around with it while we're eating dinner. So, what's the deal?"

"This…" Nicole held up the manila envelope. "…Is my first acceptance letter into a chemistry program at a grad school."

"No way!" Danny's mouth hit the floor. She did not think that Nick paid those applications any mind after she had to fill them out for the lawyer! She was quite happy to find out that she had been very wrong.

"Yes way. I'm not planning to go here, but I wanted you to see that I did send out the applications and hopefully the school I really want to go to will accept me for spring term. I'm going to be chemist one day, Danny," Nicole promised with a smile that made her eyes shine.

The musician's response to that was to rush to Nicole's side of the table, gently cup her face, and proceed to kiss her senseless. While Nicole was left in a short daze from the long and deep show of affection, Dane planted several small pecks all over Nicole's face. She did that until she was sure that she covered all of Nicole's face with kisses and she then went back to her side of the table.

"Whoa…will I get that sort of treatment for all acceptance letters that come in?" Nicole asked. She could only hope that was the case.

"You'll get all of that and more, just for existing."

The smile that overtook the attorney's face could not be helped and it lit up the entire room. "You are just too sweet."

The fact was not disputed and dinner was eaten as usual. They retreated to the living room afterwards, as always. As the night drew on and bedtime came closer, Nicole was plagued by a thought.

"Danny?" Nicole turned to face the musician, who she was leaning against.

"Yes?" Danny replied, turning to lock eyes with her girlfriend.

"Um…will you sleep upstairs…tonight?" Nicole requested. She added the "tonight" at the last moment, hoping to remove any pressure that she might have placed on her girlfriend.

"Tonight and any other night you'll have me," Danny answered with a happy smile. Internally, she was playing the air-guitar from her joy.

They retired to Nicole's bedroom a little after that. Dane stared at the bed as if she expected it to get up and run away. Nicole noticed and wondered if Danny was having second thoughts.

"You know…you could still go back to the den, if that's what you want," Nicole pointed out, hoping that her anxiety was not in her voice. It did not matter anyway since Danny could see her nervousness in her green eyes.

"It's not that. I mean, I just know some people have a side of the bed they prefer and everything. Is there a side you want? I mean, it doesn't matter to me and it's your bed and everything," Dane explained with a shrug. She could sleep anywhere…and had, so it really did not matter to her.

"It actually doesn't matter to me either. I never really developed a favorite side of the bed…" Nicole replied with a shrug of her own. She thought that she might have at one point in time, but some partner probably took it and she learned to live with whatever side she got.

The two were quiet for a moment and then they both slid into the middle of the queen-sized bed. Dane settled on her back while pushing the pillows back; she was not used to sleeping with such headrests anymore. Nicole curled into Danny's side, putting her head the copper shoulder and draping one arm across Dane's torso. Dane put her arm around Nicole's shoulders.

"Is this okay?" Dane asked.

"It's perfect," Nicole answered with a small yawn. "I'm glad you made me take the day off."

"I'm glad too," Dane admitted. They both needed it. They shared a deep goodnight kiss before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

-----

Nicole walked into the office with a pep in her step and a smile on her face that people had not seen for over a month. Her coworkers watched her walk toward her office and they not sure what to make of her. They did have a few guesses, though, and they were not ashamed to talk about them…at least when Nicole was not in the room anyway.

"Good morning," Nicole practically sang as she went by her assistant, who eyed her as if she had sprouted two heads.

The looked went totally by the attorney, who hummed as she went into her office. She set herself up to get to work, but as usual, before that could happen, someone came in begging for help. Nicole then did something shocking, she turned the person away-with a bright smile on her face while doing it!

"Wait…what?" her coworker asked as the words reached his brain. Nicole never said no to someone that needed her help!

"I don't have time for that. I've got my own work to catch up on," she pointed out; her voice still sounded like she was humming. She had lost a day of work after all…and what a day it was.

"But-" She shut that down before he even got passed that one word.

"Yes, I know it'll only take a moment or something along those lines." She waved him off. "You'll have to solve the problem yourself, Ted. You can read as well as I can and you went to law school just like I did. In fact, you went to a better law school than I did, so you should be able to figure things out on your own. I have my own work to get to," she stated soundly.

Her tone made her colleague, Ted, blink hard. Her voice left no room to argue and he was not sure if he had ever heard the tone before-not from her anyway. He backed out of the room, almost running into the next person that was about to come beg Nicole for help. Nicole turned that person away faster than anyone would have thought possible.

The auburn-haired woman was not going to be distracted. She was going to do her work and make sure she got home at a decent hour. She owed it to Danny. She was going to make sure to take care of Danny as best she could, just like Danny did with her.

She made good on her silent vow, leaving her office a little after five. She was able to make it home before six. She was smiling proudly and then she checked the mail, which only made her smile grow. She practically floated into the house.

"Danny, I'm home!" Nicole announced.

There was no response. The lawyer wondered if Danny was not even home yet. She was not too sure how the musician's schedule worked…or if she had a real schedule at all. Whenever Dane talked about her day, everything seemed pretty random. She never did things at the same time consistently.

Nicole was not surprised to find Danny sleeping on the sofa. She decided to leave the musician there. She went to take her shower and get comfortable before she let Dane know that she was home early, and that she got another acceptance letter.

Dane shifted on the couch and her brain told her that she might want to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open, not panicking because her body was just too relaxed. She felt too safe to panic. Besides, after months, she knew where she was sleeping now.

"Hey, chem," Dane yawned and smiled. Her head was in Nicole's lap and her head was being caressed by very loving fingers.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, big dog," Nicole teased before leaning down to plant a kiss on very willing lips.

"It is a pleasure to be here. I think I'm going to stay here too," Dane commented while turning and burying her face in Nicole's warm stomach.

Dane nuzzled Nicole's belly until she forced the tank-top up just a little over Nicole's navel. Giggles escaped the lawyer as Dane's breath tickled her exposed flesh. She wrapped her arms around Dane's shoulders and kept her in place, despite the tickling. Dane sighed while fond hands rubbed her shoulders.

"So, how was your day? Did the firm get shot up? How'd you get away so early?" the musician teased.

"Easy, I did my work and no one else's. I turned away wave after wave of people as they came to beg my help. I just wanted to get home to you. You gave me strength," Nicole whispered with a smile. She then leaned down and planted a kiss onto Dane's lips.

"You're giving me too much credit, chem. The Great Dane didn't have anything to do with that. I am happy that you did all of that to get home to me," Dane replied, smiling quite brightly. She felt beyond special at that moment and realized that she never felt this way before, not even when she was on stage in front of adoring fans.

"I've got something else for you." Nicole held up the large piece of mail that she received.

Dane craned an eyebrow before reading the name on the letter. "Is that…?"

"I haven't opened it to see if I got accepted, but generally when they're this big, it means I'm in. I like this program and the school is respectable. It's not too far from the firm either. Danny, you do realize that if I go back to school…we'll end up spending less time together," Nicole pointed out, speaking low and regretfully.

Dane smiled in a way that made her eyes sparkle and set her lovers heart fluttering. The younger woman sat up to look Nicole directly in the face. She locked eyes with her lover and refused to let go.

"Nick, I want you to do this. I'm not going to resent you doing something that I kept bugging you about. This whole thing works if you like it or not. I don't want you to do this for me and I don't want you to use me as an excuse to hold you back. You like chemistry, right?" the musician inquired.

"Love it…" Nicole admitted in a quiet tone.

"That's why you should go. You want to be a chemist, right?"

"More than anything else in the world."

"Then go back to school and make it happen! I'm going to be here, Nick. I promise I'll be here for you, angel," Dane vowed.

Nicole practically tackled Dane, knocking the musician back down onto the sofa cushions and attacking her unsuspecting victim with demanding lips. A guttural moan bounced off of the walls, but neither woman was sure who made the sound. Dane wrapped her arms around Nicole to press her closer while Nicole hands were working their way into the ratty white tee-shirt that Dane was wearing.

"Why, counselor, are you trying to take advantage of me?" Dane remarked with a laugh. Not that she planned to put up a fight of any kind, especially not with the way questing fingers were kneading her wanting flesh.

"Yes, so why don't you make it easy for both of us?" Nicole replied with a grin.

"I throw myself upon the mercy of the court."

"Wise decision. We'll make your end swift and painless."

Dane laughed, but she was not laughing long. She was quickly a quivering mass of flesh at the whim of her feisty girlfriend. She was glad to be at Nicole's mercy, though, which might have explained why the silly grin never left her face. Until it was her turn away.

"It's your time to meet a sweet demise, my dear," Dane quipped with a rather good German accent.

Nicole giggled and shook her head, disagreeing. She put up a pretend-struggle, wiggling out of Danny's grip once only to slide to the floor. She was pinned to the carpet by a hot mouth and a burning body. Her arms wrapped themselves around nude shoulders and pressed Dane as close to her as possible.

"Yessssss…" Nicole hissed like a snake as Dane peeled her out of her clothes.

Dane's assault was heavy and hard; Nicole did not stand a chance. Minutes after Danny started, Nicole was screaming profanities at the ceiling while tears poured out of her eyes. Dane kissed the tear streaks while Nicole's body calmed down after nearly passing out from Danny's sweet touch.

"I get the feeling we got sidetracked," Nicole remarked once she could think again.

"If this is going to be our usual tangents, I will follow you anywhere," Dane quipped with a wolfish grin.

A taunting smile spread across an exhausted face. "Oh, so I get to hold the leash of the big dog?"

"Big, bad wolf," Dane corrected her with a playful howl at the end before leaning down for a long kiss.

"So, I guess I'm Red?"

Dane grinned brightly. "Oh, do I get to eat you again then?"

Nicole laughed. "I should stop encouraging you. You just tainted one of my favorite childhood stories." She then stuck her tongue out at Dane.

"Don't you point that thing at me, Red. I know where it's been after all."

"I'm hoping it'll be there more often now that I should be getting in earlier. Maybe I'll even take another day off."

Dane grinned and gently stroked Nicole's bare sides. "I like the sound of that."

"Down, girl. I can't do it so soon after taking the day off before. Although, with the way that you keep making love to me, I might actually need a day to really rest. I will be getting in this time more often, I promise you that." Nicole smiled as she spoke those words, thinking about how much they would both love to spend the time together.

"I'll take that for now," Dane stated while pressing Nicole closer to her. The redhead purred as she snuggled into her girlfriend's warm body.

The couple eventually picked themselves up off of the floor and took a shower together. It was there that Nicole noticed that Dane did indeed have other tattoos. She had a howling wolf's head on her shoulder. Running down the length of her spine was the word "demon," printed as if it was something out of a medieval manuscript. She lightly traced each letter with two fingers while she was supposed to be washing Danny's back.

"Danny, I hope you don't think that's true," Nicole whispered, speaking into her lover's shoulder blade.

"I did see myself as a demon for a while. That's what I was led to believe and after a while I accepted it. I got it put on my back as a badge of honor, to show that they couldn't hurt me anymore," Dane explained before turning around and embracing Nicole. She leaned down to kiss the lawyer to let her know that everything was all right.

Nicole accepted the hug and the kiss, as well as the message behind them. They finished up in the shower after that and then they settled in for their usual routine. Dane was surprised by how much she cherished their routine. It was really the first bit of normalcy that she ever had in her life and it touched her to know that Nicole was making an effort to keep up their routine just because she requested it.

-----

Nicole was sitting at her desk, getting her work done in silence with dreams of Danny dancing through her mind. A small smile that never seemed to leave her face nowadays remained steady when the door opened without a knock. Only a few people would barge into her office and she would prefer not to see any of them, even though two of them were good friends of hers.

"Nicole, I need you to look at something for me," Mina requested.

"Sorry, can't do it," Nicole answered, eyes not leaving her computer. Her fingers moved swiftly over the keys of the keyboard.

Mina blinked hard from confusion and stopped dead in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

"The Nicole help desk has been closed forever due to Nicole having her own work to do," the auburn-haired woman replied.

"I heard you stopped helping everybody, but what about me?" Mina put on an exaggerated pout, which included poking out her bottom lip.

"I can't help you either, Mina. I have to focus on my own work because I don't want to be here when they close the building down like I used to," Nicole replied.

An elegant, thin ebony eyebrow arched. "And why is that? You never seemed to mind closing the place down, unless you needed to get home to cook dinner or something like that. Who are you cooking for, girl?" A knowing smirk and a troublemaking glint appeared on her mocha face.

"I'm not cooking for anybody."

"Well, what the hell? You need to get home early to let Danny out or something?" Mina joked, having heard Nicole call Danny "big dog" a couple of times on the phone.

"What I need to do isn't much of your business, Mina," Nicole hummed. Her voice might have sounded playful, but it was very clear that she was being serious.

Chocolate eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything at all. I just want to go home with everyone else. Why is it I should be stuck here every night because everyone keeps asking me for help? Where's my help?" Nicole mildly snapped. Who the hell ever bothered to lend her a helping hand aside for her parents and Danny?

"Easy there, cowboy. We ask for your help because you know damn near everything," Mina pointed out, thinking that she was giving her friend a compliment. For as long as she had known Nicole, which was almost half of their lives, everyone always asked Nicole for help and Nicole always gave it…even when she had things to do. "Damn…" she muttered to herself as realization struck her like a bullet right between the eyes.

"What?" Nicole asked curiously because of the scrunched up look on her friend's face.

"It just hit me, we do ask you for everything. Hell, I've been doing it college, asking you for help and expecting it right then and there because you were always on point like that. I never thought about it because you never said anything about it. Sorry," Mina apologized, looking at the floor and feeling like a horse's ass.

Nicole waved her off. "It's okay. I let you guys do it, after all."

"This is true. If I ever noticed, I probably would've barked at you about it. Well, you know, if I wasn't taking advantage of you myself at the time. Damn, I can't believe I missed that." Mina scratched her head a little. "Who made you stand up for yourself?" She could take a good guess.

"Why can't I just take a stand?" Nicole countered.

"Because you don't take a stand until someone's pissed in your cornflakes right in front of you. This is way too early for you to be taking a stand, especially when no one's pushed your buttons. This is Danny's doing, isn't it?" A pleased smile graced Mina's face.

Nicole's grin grew at the mention of her lover's name. "Maybe."

"Is that smile her doing too?" Mina asked curiously. She doubted that she had ever seen her friend smile so big and so often.

The grin now threatened to split Nicole's face open. "Maybe."

"Do I need to call a lunch session?" Mina inquired, smiling herself now. Happiness must be contagious.

"I've got lunch."

"As always. Well, I'll leave you to your work and your lunch, so you can get out of here at a decent hour."

Nicole nodded. "Mina, if you really need my help, I have no problem giving it, but I doubt you really need my help."

Mina's face was conquered by a soft smile. "It just feels really good to get your okay on things. I don't think you know how much people around here respect your mind, Nicole. You're brilliant and it just makes us more secure when you stamp your approval on something. Well, some of us anyway. Others do come in here to take advantage of you. I'm happy that Danny made you stand up for yourself. Maybe one day I can meet your wonderful Danny."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mina. Right now, I just want to finish this."

Mina nodded and eased out of the office, more pleased with things than she would have been if Nicole did help her out. Nicole kept her eyes on her computer, making sure to make it out of the office at the right time. She could not wait to get back home, back to her love.

-----

Nicole typed away merrily at her desk, feeling pretty good about herself. She had been leaving the office at a decent hour every night, making it home to Danny at a decent hour. Hell, sometimes, she came in before Danny did since the musician's client list was steadily growing. Having more work seemed to make Danny happy, which made Nicole happy. It did cause a few arguments between them.

They had recently had a little spat over the fact that Nicole made dinner one day when she came in first. Danny made it seem like her domain had been invaded and started a big thing about something that Nicole viewed as very minor. It did not take long for Nicole to realize the reason that Dane was angry was because the younger woman felt like she was not contributing to the household if she did not do the everyday chores. Nicole was able to polish things over by apologizing and pointing out that Danny did a lot of things that contributed to the household.

Another small argument that they had was over the weekend when Nicole wanted to go out, but Dane-as always-wanted to stay in. Nicole was able to defuse that situation by promising nothing crazy, as she knew that was what Danny was always worried about. She also made sure the outing included some music, which instantly soothed away any left over sourness in Dane.

So, so far, their young relationship was going well. They had even celebrated a month anniversary not too long ago. It was the one night that Nicole was able to get Dane to go out without a struggle, mostly because Dane would follow her to the Gates of Hell if she was wearing a skirt and simple three inch heels.

"So far, so good," Nicole thought with a bright smile while continuing on with her work.

Her mental celebration was cut short as her door flew open. She hoped that Mina was coming in, but that hope was short lived. She knew her father had entered her office, even without looking up from her computer screen. She silently prayed that he was not about to hand her more work.

"Nikki, what's this I hear about you shutting you door to any and everyone that comes in here and asks you for help?" Raymond demanded to know.

Nicole blinked as she realized that she was about to be scolded; one of the drawbacks of working with her parents. Not only was she about to be scolded, but she was going to be reprimanded because one of her colleagues that the nerve to tell on her. Someone went and told her father that she was not helping people. What the hell?

"I work with kindergartners," Nicole muttered with gritted teeth. She was not really surprised, considering the fact that many of her coworkers were just assholes that seemed to think she was their personal assistant.

"What was that?" Raymond demanded to know, not quite hearing her.

"Nothing, sir."

"So, what's this I hear about you being selfish? You used to be such a team player and now you're telling people to go away because you don't have time for them?" he inquired incredulously. His voice, though a decent volume, seemed booming to her.

"That's not it, Daddy. Everybody comes in here everyday needing something from me that any four-year-old would be able to do. They act like they can't do anything and it keeps me from doing my own work. You can't possibly expect me to do my work and everyone else's," Nicole countered.

"I expect you to help this firm and they are members of this firm. If they come to you for help, I expect you to give it to them."

"Even if I have to forsake my own work? Why? I don't work with babies," Nicole stated venomously. She could not believe what she was being reprimanded for and it was grating on her nerves in a way that she never felt before.

"No, but you work with people that respect you enough that they come to you when they need assistance. You are to give it to them because they are members of this firm and you want what is best for this firm," Raymond countered soundly while trying to keep down the tension in his body because he was not used to arguing with his daughter.

"And what about me? Do you think any of these bastards ever offer me a bit of help when I need it?" Nicole demanded, eyes ablaze from her fury.

"You never need it. You know you were raised to give help when it is needed and you will do that. It'll help you go far in this firm and that's that. Now, I don't want to hear anymore of this nonsense about you not helping your coworkers," the father said in only a way that a father could. His voice held no room for argument and a hard finality that made Nicole just want to throw something at him.

Nicole was left seething as her father exited the room as soon as he was done speaking. Not even ten minutes later, there were people in her office, begging for her help. Slowly, but surely, time went away from her work to theirs. Only when the trickle of people stopped did she see what time it was. It took every ounce of self-control in her system to not break down and cry.

"I hate this place so goddamn much! I hate this job! I hate these people!" Nicole fumed while fighting back tears.

She packed up her things as quickly as she could and exited the office, slamming her door hard on the way out. She ended up crying in the car, unable to hold her frustration back anymore, and the only thing that stopped her was that her cell phone rang. Danny was calling.

"Hey, Nick. I was worried, even though I figured you had to work late," Dane explained.

Nicole sniffled. "I did, but it's so good to hear your voice."

"Yeah? You just heard it…whoa, seven hours ago. I guess it's later than I thought. What happened? Big new case or something? Top secret contract you're drafting?" Dane joked a bit, hoping to lighten the mood.

"No, nothing like that. Really, it's the same old garbage. I'll tell you about it when I get in."

"Okay. When are you going to be here?"

"I guess in like a half-hour. Is that good?"

"That is just enough time for me to light some scented candles, run a hot bath, make some hot chocolate-" Dane's plan was cut off.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Nicole corrected herself.

"Baby, don't kill yourself trying to get here. Everything will be there when you get here."

"Including you naked in the tub?"

"I dunno. If I agree is it going to miraculously take you fifteen minutes to get here?"

"Ten."

"Then, no, I'll be sleeping on the couch."

Nicole pouted. "Spoilsport."

Dane laughed. "I'm just trying to do what's best for you, baby. Do you want me to stay on the line while you're driving?"

Nicole did not even have to think of that one. "Yes, please."

"Can I talk dirty to you?" Dane teased.

"Not if you want me to make it home alive!"

The taller woman laughed and remained on the phone, without the dirty talk. Nicole made it home in one piece and collapsed into Danny's waiting arms when she came in through the door. Dane pressed Nicole into her, making sure to hold the exhausted lawyer up.

"I'm so happy to be home! I hate my job so much!" Nicole hollered into the warmth of Dane's neck.

"Rough day." It was easily a statement, but then again, almost everyday was a rough day for Nick.

"I'm so sick of everybody! Can I tell you about it in a hot bath with bubbles?" Nicole's voice was hopeful and quiet.

"Your wish is my command." It was times like there where Dane really wished that her leg was strong because she wanted to pick Nicole up and carry her up to the bathroom. She had to settle for walking with Nicole up there while keeping the lawyer pressed against her.

The couple disappeared upstairs. Nicole took a quick shower while Dane lit candles and prepared the bath. The taller woman also rushed out to get Nicole's MP3 player to play music while they bathed; it had a stand and speakers. Dane set the player up on the sink and pressed play as soon as it was right. Nicole exited the shower as soon as she heard the soft, classical music playing. She moved to the large tub while Dane stripped off her clothing.

The musician settled into the tub, wrapping her arms around Nicole and pulling the lawyer to rest against her. Nicole did not offer up any resistance and breathed a sigh of relief as she rested her head against Dane's chest. She closed her eyes as she listened to Danny's heart beating.

"You feel better?" Dane asked while rubbing Nicole's shoulder with one hand and caressing the redhead's thigh with her other.

"I always do when I'm in your arms. I love you so much, Danny," the attorney replied.

"I feel the same." There was a pause. "I love me too."

"Oh, you!" Nicole playfully swatted at the darker female. The hit ended up being a caress when it finally landed.

"So, what kept you so long? I missed watching a cheesy movie with you. I tried watching this horror movie, but I couldn't do it without you! Making fun of a movie by myself just seems like I'm crazy," Dane remarked with a laugh.

Nicole chuckled. "You are crazy."

"You make me that way. Now, tell me about your day. What kept you until crazy o'clock at night?"

"My dad. Some of my coworkers complained to my dad that I wasn't doing their work for them anymore and he came into my office and tore into my ass."

Dane's face twisted and scrunched up as she tried to understand what she was hearing. "Wait, your dad got on your case for not doing their work?"

Nicole nodded. "He told me that I should help my colleagues if they need it because it was good for the firm. I was…" Tears started building in her eyes again. "He just made it seem like I was the bad person for standing up for myself…"

"Aw, chem. You know you're the sweetest person to ever walk to the face of the Earth," Dane declared before kissing the auburn mane close to her head.

"Well, he made me feel so bad, like I did the worst possible thing by not doing their work for them. It's like he doesn't even care that I'm at the firm all hours of the night because they're too stupid to do their own damn work!"

Strong arms pressed Nicole tighter to a warm form. "It's okay, Nick. I'm sure he does care, but he probably thinks you can handle it since you've done it before."

"I don't want to 'handle it' anymore. I want to leave with everyone else. I want to get home to my girlfriend like everyone else."

"Did you tell him that?" Dane asked curiously.

"He didn't give me a chance. He never gives me a chance. It's just 'do this, this, and that, and you damn well better do it my way.' You should've seen the look he gave me today just for trying to argue. It's not fair."

"It's okay. It'll be okay."

Nicole sighed and decided to just believe Danny. They stayed in the bath for a few more minutes until the water began to cool down. They ate dinner and then retired to bed. As Nicole settled against Dane's side, she realized just how much better she felt, but there was still some underlying frustration with what happened.

"Danny," Nicole said.

"Hmm?"

"I want to stay in bed tomorrow. How about you?"

Dane looked down at the head resting on her shoulder. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm going to call in tomorrow. I just want to be with you for a while."

"I like that idea!" The grin that the younger woman was sporting confirmed that was true. Nicole smiled and pushed herself up to press a deep kiss to her lover's lips. Dane moaned and pulled Nicole on top of her. Yes, she was very much in favor of the idea of Nicole calling in and them staying in bed all day. It sounded like the perfect day.

-----

A/N: the poem that Dane quotes is a poem by Langston Hughes called "Mother to Son."

Next time: the world comes crashing down on the two lovebirds when Tyler shows up at the door and finds out about the relationship.

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