Dark Division - Dani Ch. 08

"Good morning." Nick was chipper with a sly grin as Vince came in.

"Morning. Do you know what's coming in?"

"Nope, just a delivery. Sorry to pull you away from..." He gestured down the hall and lifted his eyebrows.

"It's fine. She's just exhausted, so sleeping another hour or so."

"Exhausted? So, you finally got your do-over?"

"It's not like that. If you must know, Dani just didn't want to sleep alone, so she crashed in my bed last night."

"And I wasn't born yesterday." Nick rolled his eyes and went back to the food on the stove.

"I'm actually serious man, nothing happened. She just slept next to me."

"Really? Interesting."

"Cool it man, leave things alone. I'm just trying to be a good friend."

"Alright. Hey sorry man."

"All good, just don't give Dani a hard time or anything, alright."

Nick nodded and went back to making breakfast. The rest of that day was work as usual. Dani pitched in again, helping to catalogue and photograph the rather large unwieldy vase that came in. It was made completely of bronze and heavy as hell. The three agents worked the whole day only taking breaks for meals. Again, Vince found himself hoping that Dani was liking this just as much. He already had fantasies of asking Oz to let her join their team permanently in his head.

That night, he was again dozing off, when a soft knock sounded on his door.

"Yea?" This time Dani didn't wait to respond through the door, instead just opening it and smiling at him.

"Can I crash here again?" Her voice was sweet and Vince smiled and nodded. He hadn't even turned his light off yet, and part of him wondered if Dani even gave sleeping alone a try. Either way, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Sure, come on in." He rolled back the blanket and Dani came over quickly curling on her side facing him. After a small smile, he rolled onto his back and flicked the light off.

As he lay down, he felt that same hand from the night before creep across his chest. He slid his own hand over top and lay there listening to hear her soft breathing as she dozed off. It was a dream laying there with her and pretending like it could be his life forever.

The next night, Vince was almost asleep after lying and wondering if Dani would come back to join him. The familiar knock made his mind quiet and soon she was curled up in bed with him. This time, her head landed on his shoulder before he turned the light back off. The smell of her hair in his nostrils all night made his dreams maddening. They were full of Dani and ran the gambit from x-rated to Hallmark movie. By morning, he had fallen in love with her even more.

The two weeks that followed only solidified how Vince felt. There wasn't even one night that Dani didn't come in to join him in bed. They never did anything, and it was never even expected. Vince wouldn't have refused, but he certainly wasn't going to push for anything. As for Dani, she grew more and more at home with the situation. By the end of the two weeks, she didn't even knock, just came in and curled up. They slept each night closer and closer, and would wake in each other's arms. It was perfect by Vince's estimation, and he only hoped it would last.

Unfortunately, nothing good ever seemed to last in Vince's world.

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"Hey Dani, so Oz called today. Said he had a quick assignment for us, and we need a female to accompany. It looks like it's a ghost that likes to get couples." Nick came in as Vince and Dani sat researching in the library. They had been trying to crack a Greek code that some agents requested.

"Really?" She looked up at Nick excited, and Vince's heart sank a little.

"Yep. Oz said if you're ready we can handle it. I, for one, could use some field work and I figured you might want to get out of here too." Nick was pumping her up, and Vince was going to have to have a serious talk with him. Dani wasn't ready. She lost her best friend barely over a month before, how could she be ready.

"I am so ready. I mean don't get me wrong guys - I have enjoyed my time here, but I'm a field agent. I can't wait to get my hands dirty." Dani practically beamed as she spoke. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. Looks like they have a social at the hotel to welcome perspective couples for intensive therapy. It appears that they have had three couples die in the last few months, but they just keep going. From what Oz says, it's worth a lot of money and they focus on strengthening newly married couples."

"Alright, well shit. I'm going to go hit the range for a bit. I want to make sure I haven't lost my touch after this last month." Dani bounced up and headed down the hall way. Vince waited until she was out of ear shot before speaking up.

"You really think she's ready?" He glared at Nick as he put down his book.

"I don't know, but I think we need to find out."

"Why? What's the rush suddenly?"

"Vince, it's been over a month and there are no agents covering where she and Stan were. Oz asked me if he should transfer her into D.C. for a while or if he can just look for a partner for her. You know it will kill her to go on desk duty for a full year. So, I said we'd take an assignment and see if she was ready. He agreed that if we think she is close, he would give her another month to sort herself out and find a new partner for her."

"Damnit Nick. I know you were doing what you thought was best, but I was going to ask Oz to just assign her to the bunker with us. That way she stays somewhat in the field and..."

"And here with you?"

"Fine, yes, here with me. I want to make sure she's okay. Stan was a huge loss for her and I don't know if she is ready." Vince sighed, letting Nick see just a little of what he was holding tightly.

"Vince, it's her choice if she's ready. If you want her to stay, then you should really discuss that with her and not me or Oz. Either way, we're heading out tomorrow for this assignment and it will at least buy you another month to figure things out."

"Fine, but I'm not happy you didn't discuss this with me first."

With those words, Vince relented and went back to research. He would have to talk to Dani later and assure himself more than anything that she was ready to get back to field work. She meant a lot to him and there was no way he was chancing her life by pushing her too far too soon.

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Later that night, Dani came in as usual, and slid into bed next to Vince. He was just settling himself as she lay there watching him with a soft smile on her face.

"All set to sleep?" She asked it casually and he knew he had to talk to her now or never.

"I actually wanted to talk to you first."

"What about?"

"I just wanted to make sure you felt ready for tomorrow. I mean it's only been a month since the Stan thing and if you weren't ready you know..."

"I think I am ready Vince. You know, I've been thinking about it a lot and now that I'm out of that massive self-destructive phase, well I need to get back to it. I'm the best when I'm in the field and if I don't go back I'll just go crazy. Besides, what if Oz sent me to the home office? I might literally go postal and kill some people."

"Well, you know those might not be your only options."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just thinking that I could talk to Oz and maybe you could stay here with Nick and I as extra help."

"Look, Vince as much as I like it here, this is not my jam. I am a field agent. I need to get my hands dirty. Honestly, I've never volunteered for a bunker for that very reason. I like to be out roaming around and doing stuff."

"I get that, I do. And, you know Nick and I won't be on this assignment forever, so you could just take it easy for a while and then when we go back out stick with us."

"Does Oz think I'm done? I mean is he saying that I need to be a third somewhere?"

"No, not at all. I'm just saying that it would mean the two of us would have more time together."

"Vince, I feel like you want to say something, but you're avoiding it. You can stop bullshitting anytime and get to the point." She sat up and faced him, crossing her arms.

"Look, Dani, I...I want you to stay here with us."

"Are you trying to look out for me? Because, I can handle myself Vince. I did it for years, so I don't need a babysitter."

"It's not that. I..I love you Dani and I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay with me. It's not that I want to babysit you; I want you. I want you to stay and be with me. This way we can be together and keep working. I think Oz will go for it too." He finally poured it all out and just stopped taking in her face as she absorbed his words.

"Vince...shit. Look, I've told you before we can be friends, hell we can be fuck buddies sometimes. But, more than that, I can't do. I care about you as a friend, but we can't be more than that. I'm a lesbian and I always will be."

"So, you're telling me there's nothing between us?"

"I'm telling you that whatever future you're picturing or hoping for with me isn't going to happen. We're not going to be a couple Vince." He felt his lungs deflate as her words sucked the air from the room.

"Look, just lay down and let's sleep and we'll talk tomorrow." It was all he could say as he looked at her.

"You know, I think I'm going to go crash in my own bed tonight. It's probably time I got used to sleeping alone." Dani got up then and walked out of the room, leaving Vince to consider what he just said and if he could truly stay just friends with this woman.

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