Danni went to the kitchen rubbing her neck, as she didn't sleep well last night. Taking care of Avery and waking up at night every once in a while to make sure she is fine, was exhausting to her but she cared for her and she owned her a lot since she helped her brother.
"Don't tell me you were here all night?" asked Abigail and Danni jumped at her voice.
"You scared me"
"Sorry" She shrugged.
"I've been here with her all night, making sure she was fine and thank god she is better now... but I slept well though"
"I can see"
"Could you make me something to eat? I need to make a phone call"
"No problem"
She left the kitchen with her phone pressed on her ear waiting for the beep.
"Hey"
"Hey... I don't know if I could come today to work"
"... Okay, I'll cover for you but is everything okay with you?"
"Yeah, yeah... did you get Julie's number?"
He laughed lightly. "Yes I did"
"Alright, good for you. I'm gonna go now. Tell Ben that I love him" She hung up and headed back to the kitchen.
"Thanks, Abby" she said as she took a bite of the sandwich.
"Is she awake?"
"No, she was still sleeping. I'll go check on her after I finish my sandwich" Abigail nodded.
Danni finished her sandwich and headed upstairs, knocked on the door twice and she heard weak voice giving her the come in, so she opened the door and poked her head.
"Hey" She smiled as she sat properly on the bed. She motioned for her to come and Danni sat on the side of the bed, checking her temperature.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Better than yesterday actually. All because of your magical soup"
"I'm relieved. Did you sleep well?"
"I did because you were a comfortable pillow"
She chuckled. "I'm honored to be your pillow anytime" She locked eyes with her and the silence fell between them. "What do you want to eat, drink?"
"I don't know; why don't you surprise me?" She smiled.
"You got it"
Avery grabbed her hand before she got up and gazed at her before mouthing 'Thank you' and Danni nodded at her then left the room.
***************************
Four hours later, the house door opened and Meredith entered with her travelling bags, Abigail came out of the kitchen helping her with the bags.
"How is Avery?" asked Meredith.
"She was sick for a day but now she feels better"
"Did she go to the doctor?"
"No, she refused"
"Okay, thanks Abigail" She nodded and took the bags up to her room.
Meredith reached for Avery's room and let herself enter but she was sad to break the news to her daughter, but it was better to tell her now than later.
She opened the door, entered the room and smiled at Avery gently. "Avery, honey"
"Hey, mom. I'm glad you are back. I missed you so much" She hugged her mom.
"Me too sweatheart. What's going on? I heard you were sick. Are you okay now? Do you want me to call the doctor?"
"No, mom, I'm fine now. Danni took care of me"
"Danni?"
"Yeah, the new chief you hired who actually by the way turned out to be Steve's friend"
"What a coincidence! I guess we made the right choice, right?" she said. Her face turned serious and grabbed Avery's hand. "Sweetie... there is something I should tell you about"
"What? What is it?" She frowned.
"Your father and I are officially divorced. He won't be here with us, he will be staying at his girlfriend's house"
"What?" she said softly as her eyes turned glassy and she took back her hand slowly, looking down at the covers.
"I'm sorry, Avery but it was for the best" She looked down again. "I do love your father but we won't be together. We can't. Sorry to break such news to you... I'm gonna give you some space... you probably need it to process everything" She stood up and headed to the door, glancing at her daughter one more time before leaving.
Silent tears rolled down her cheeks and touched her bare hand. She stared at her hands and her vision blurred from the flow of her tears, she couldn't catch her breath for a split second and buried her face in her hand, letting it all out.
*********************************
Danni was leaning her back against her vespa and looking at her phone, checking the messages and one new message popped into the screen.
~Hey, I miss you~
She smiled at the text. ~I miss you more~
~Close your eyes and take a deep breath~
She closed her eyes and did as she was told then she felt hands covering her eyes and a smile spread across her face.
"Why are you covering my eyes?" she asked through her chuckles.
"Just helping you relax" she whispered in her ear and took her hands back.
Danni turned around at Chloe, pulled her closer into a welcoming hug by snaking an arm around her waist and Chloe circled her arms around her neck.
"You always know when I need you" Danni whispered in her ear.
She giggled and took a step back from the hug, looking at her. Her hand was caressing her cheek and her eyes glanced at Danni's lips wanting to taste them. As she was drawing closer, Danni gently stopped her.
"What?" she asked softly.
"Your father is here, what if he sees us?"
"Yeah, you are right"
She looked around quickly then grabbed Danni's hand guiding her to the corner and pushed her lightly against the wall.
"Now my kiss" She demanded seductively and Danni smirked as she captured her lips in a fervent kiss then switched their places that Chloe now was pinned against the wall and she laughed at the surprise. Danni held her against her body as the kiss deepened and turned into a tongue battle with their hands all over each other. They broke the kiss, and they were both panting.
"I told you I missed you" said Chloe as she stroked her hair.
"Did you come here to just see me?" She smirked.
"I did... then I heard that Meredith was back"
"So you are here for Meredith?"
"Kind of but mostly because I wanted to see you so bad" She smiled devilishly.
"Me too" she said kissing her again. "When are you gonna tell Robert about us?"
"Soon but not now for sure"
"I hear you" She held her hand and interlaced their fingers together "There is something I need to tell you"
"What is it?"
"... I have a brother... Ben. He is seven and I didn't tell you about him before because he was sick and I was taking care of him. I want you to meet him"
"Of course just tell me when"
"Does tomorrow sound good?" She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Perfect" She rested her hands on her shoulder and drew for one more kiss.
*****************************
At 7:00 Pm, Danni served dinner for Meredith, she was going to have dinner alone since she and Avery weren't on the good terms now but she knows that when she calms down, she'll come around. Danni made Avery chicken soup this time and took the tray to her room after Abigail's persistence to take it herself but Danni refused. She knocked on the door and found Avery looking at her left side staring at the view outside the window, looking distant and tired. Danni put the tray on the nightstand and sat on the bed beside her.
"Avery, what's wrong? You look kind of lost"
Avery turned to her playing with her fingers. "... My mom and dad are officially divorced" She pressed her legs to her chest and Danni rubbed her back gently.
"I'm sorry, Avery..." She inhaled then spoke again. "Look, I know I only have been here for a little while but I know how hard you tried to stop this from happening... maybe it's time to let it go... It's gonna be hard but I believe you can overcome it" she said sincerely as she raised her chin up to have a good look at her watery eyes. Avery nodded silently at her words and smiled a little. "Now, time for you to eat" She grabbed the bowl of soup on her lap.
"I'm not hungry"
"That's what you said yesterday and then you ate everything"
Avery let out a soft chuckle and opened her mouth as Danni held the spoon for her.
"Good girl. This will make you better when you wake up the next day"
Danni was filling the spoon again with soup but didn't notice that Avery was staring at her with a gleam in her eyes. "Hey, Danni?"
"Yep?"
"Thanks for taking care of me"
She smiled at her warmly. "Anytime" She looked at her nose. "I see your nose isn't red anymore"
She teased but instead of shoving her or hitting her playfully, Avery threw her arms around Danni, hugging her tightly that Danni felt her warm body against her and her heart rate sped up. Danni's phone buzzed in her pocket making them pull away.
"One sec" she said.
Avery nodded and then Danni left the room answering her phone.
"Yeah?"
"Hey Danni, since Ben is getting out of the hospital tomorrow, do you want him to stay with you or with me?"
"He could stay with me; I'm taking the day off tomorrow anyway"
"Okay, sounds good. He can't contain his excitement" He chuckled.
"Neither can I"
"See you tomorrow" He hung up and she went back to Avery who finished the soup. "Look at you, finished your food while I was on the phone" She sat again beside her.
"I was hungry" she said jokingly
"I know you were. Do you want another one?"
"No, I just need some rest" Danni wrapped an arm around her and Avery leaned her head on her shoulder.
"You have been clingy to me these past days; don't you think?"
"I can't help it, you are so warm and soft like a pillow"
They laughed together. "I have great news"
"Tell me"
"Ben is coming home tomorrow" She raised her head from her shoulder, looking at her with a smile.
"That's great!" She hugged her again and Danni chuckled. "I'm so happy for you Danni, that's the greatest news I've heard today"
"Yeah and I can see you got better now" She laughed at her and Avery pulled away with a grin. They locked eyes for a few good seconds then Danni broke the gaze by looking at her watch.
"I-I should go now, you need rest and by rest I mean you putting that cute little head of yours on the pillow and not on my shoulder and get some sleep"
She chuckled softly. "Okay"
"Goodnight"
"Night"