Tough Love

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Six

Eli's POV

I can't believe Dani made such an admission to me, and so freely as well. The intensity of our exchange is keeping me awake. She freely admitted she'd be hurt if I think badly of her. I know that I will look at her differently, but it won't be out of disgust. It may be out of pity or whatever, but never out of disgust. I think if I let the medication do its thing and take the pressure off a little, Dani may actually trust me a bit more. I think she wants to, she's just battling with her head and her heart. I make sure my guns are by my side before I close my eyes.

It's been a rather restless night. Dani has been awake quite a lot, the nightmares plaguing her again. It feels like I've just blinked and it's already time to get ready for work. Dani is sleeping right now. I don't want to wake her, but I know she'll panic if she wakes up and I'm not here. I wash, dress up and have breakfast before I go back in to Dani's room. I want her to get as much sleep as possible. I stand at the end of the bed and whisper, “Dani?”

It takes her a minute or so to realize what's going on and she quickly sits up, breathing heavily. I don't know if I scared her or if she thinks there's something wrong. I don't ask, I just apologize and let her know I'm leaving.

“Ok sir. Thank you for letting me know.”

“You'll lock the door behind me, right?”

“Yes sir. Have a good day.”

I can't bring myself to tell her we're sorting out this Paul mess, so I just shoot her a quick smile and tell her to get some rest. As I head for the door, I say, “I'll be back at noon to give you your medication.”

“Ok.”

I hear the locks slide back across the door before I walk away. I'm preoccupied as I walk into the precinct. I don't even notice that Ash and Cain are waiting at the elevator. My head clears when I hear Ash say, “Ramirez. How's it going?”

“Hey guys. It's going.”

Ash sends me a sad smile at my answer, I know he's going to catch me later to get a real one.

“Anderson. Thanks for doing this. Is your Cap ok with you being here today?”

“Yeah. Cap Michaels cleared it with him on Friday. Feels like an age ago, right?”

“You have no idea.”

Cain asks, “How is Dani doing?”

I shrug. I don't want to give any information away and I think they know this because they don't question me anymore about it.

“Scott, I need you to run through the last few days with me. Get me up to speed on everything. Anderson, I'll need to speak with you before you talk to Paul. Give me 20?”

“Yes sir. I'll go find the Cap.”

I nod in acknowledgement and head to the locker room with Ash. Dani's station is empty, but there's a stack of files on her desk. It's a mess, exactly as it was when we left that night. Ash snaps me out of my thoughts as he starts filling me in on what's been going on. He briefs me for about 10 minutes and then I find the Cap. His first question is regarding Dani. He wants to know how she is.

“And don't give me a cop out answer. I want the truth, Eli.”

So I give it to him pretty straight. “She's better than she was. I had to call my dad. He had to sedate her so she spent 2 days sleeping. We're trying out a medication to stop her mind from being so active. Hopefully it'll work, but we just have to wait and see.”