Who: Dani & Ehren. What: Comfort and making amends. When: September 1st, late morning. Where: Marketplace. Rating: Low - mentions of death. Status: Complete.
While a lot of things had begun to turn out good for Ehren, the last interaction he’d had with Dani was not sitting well. She rejected his affection and yelled at him for bad mouthing Roman. While Ehren still didn’t like him, he knew that Dani did and she wasn’t about to give up on him any time soon. So, he needed to apologize and just let bygones be bygones when it came to Roman. Dani was too important to him to lose her like that.
A text was sent. Do you have some free time? Want to meet at the market and grab some lunch? He only hoped she would say yes since she didn’t seem to be responding much to his text messages last week.
Ding. Dani pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced down at the screen. A text from Ehren. Interactions with him had been few and far between ever since their argument a couple weeks back. The limited conversations weren’t because of what had transpired, not completely anyway, but rather both of them had just been busy. Dani had thrown herself into work at the Marigold - it was a good, if tiring, coping mechanism she used for years - while Ehren was busy trying to make a case for Logan. The work paid off; he had received a ‘not guilty’ verdict thanks to Roman.
Sure. She replied back. I just need to finish here. Meet you in 20?
Sounds good. He replied. The news of Hannah had come to him earlier that morning, her death was gruesome and Ehren was affected in ways he never thought he’d be before. He was going to save her, break her out and find her shelter. It was too late now, someone has killed her and Ehren felt responsible. As he made his way to the marketplace, he tried to think of anything else. His now boyfriend, his best friend who he felt at odds with, Daisy. It all ended up circling back to Hannah.
Once there he found a table and sat down in a chair, placing his book down on the table as he waited for her to arrive. The book was called Apollo’s Angels, derailing the history of ballet. He’d picked it out earlier that week when he’d thought about Dani. She occupied his mind a lot lately and he found himself gravitating towards things she might like.
Dani knew about Hannah, or rather, she knew there had been another death near the Facility. The victim's identity and the state in which she was found were unknown to her. There had been whisperings throughout the morning that threatened to give her details but she was quick to avoid them. It wasn't that she didn't care someone else had been killed - she truly did and mourned for another lost life - just the trauma from witnessing the last murder was still a bit fresh. Learning about the gory way in which another innocent person died would be too much for her right now.
She quickly made her way to the Marketplace, pausing for a moment near the entrance as the memory of the last death began to creep into her mind. Shaking her head, she pushed through the doors and headed to the location they had agreed upon.
"Hey," she greeted with a small smile and a little wave as she approached the table. "Long time, no see." Her eyes glanced at the book that rested in front of him. She couldn't help a slight quirk of a brow as she took a seat. "Interesting read?" She questioned, nodding toward the book.
Closing the book he offered her a smile as he glanced back down at it. “Yeah, there’s some fascinating history in here.” He said patting the book and looking back up at her. The sadness was apparent in his eyes though he was happy to see her. He nodded his head towards the chair across from her. The air around him felt thick and he wondered how long this weather would be around. Hopefully soon the rain would begin to fall, maybe he’d get a chance to see the wolf basking in it.
“Thanks for coming, I’m sorry I haven’t reached out to you lately, things have been a little bit hectic for me.” And he didn’t know what to say. He spent the whole time worrying about whether or not she still wanted to be friends with him. He didn’t know what he’d do with his life if things continued like this.
“I wanted to start by apologizing to you, about the things I said about Roman and trying to get you to talk about what happened to you. It wasn’t my place and it was unfair to you.”
“That’s good. Might have to read it sometime.” She noted the sadness in his eyes despite the smile on his face. Something was weighing down on him though exactly what was a mystery. So much had happened in the last few weeks; it could be any number of things.
“It’s alright,” she assured with a dismissive wave. “It’s been a bit hectic for everyone really.” Perhaps not especially for her but it had been for others. Roman had been particularly busy lately. No doubt that the recent death would add even more onto his plate.
Dani was quiet for a moment, considering her response carefully. It was a bit curious that he was suddenly bring up the incident now. An apology was better late than never. "I appreciate you recognizing that." She offered him a small smile. "And I accept your apology.”
Those final words lifted a weight from his shoulders that he’d been carrying around for days. It wasn't the entire burden that he still had but it helped him feel at least a little bit lighter. He pushed his hands across the table to gently lay atop of hers. It came with some grace because he knew how she’d reacted the last time he’d touched her. “Good. People are dropping like flies around here and I don’t want us to be at odds if something happens.”
That was the climate they were in now. A childish war between the Faction and the government. It was likely to get everyone killed and Ehren grew more afraid every day of what might happen. He’d always been paranoid but his reflexes were in high alert now. “I care about you so much and I don’t want to lose anyone else…” his voice cracked a little at the last part and he took a moment to breathe.
Her hands remained on the table, allowing Ehren to rest his atop of hers. “Dropping like flies,” she repeated softly, her gaze dropping to their joined hands. That was a terrifying thought. Were they, the residents and employees alike, really in danger of more incidents like this? So far there had been two murders less than a month apart… would there really be more? Why? Why would anyone do something so horrible?
The little crack in his voice brought Dani back from her thoughts. Anyone else? “The person they found…” Her gaze lifted to look into his face. “Did you know them?”
This was going to be difficult to maneuver. He couldn’t tell Dani about the faction but he also didn’t want to lie to her. He shook his head before he spoke. “Not really. I was running on the beach and I saw her. She looked like she was in pretty bad shape, said that people were doing experiments on her.”
He knew this didn’t bode well for his demeanor. Dani had noticed his paranoid behavior before, he couldn’t let her think that again. “I just, I feel like it was her cry for help, and I did nothing.” That wasn’t entirely true. Fitz and him had come up with a plan to help her but had gotten distracted by all that had happened in the last couple of months.
“Doing experiments? That’s horrible.” Daniela had heard stories about experimentation being done to unwilling subjects. She didn’t want to believe they were true but to do so would be willful ignorance. There were too many incidents - detainment, interrogation, abuse - to believe some in the government wouldn't go so far as to experiment on people.
She squeezed his hand. “Don’t blame yourself,” she told him gently. “You did nothing wrong.”
“Inaction is an action. I ignored it, which it worse. I just don’t want that to happen again.” That was the faction talking, the thing so deeply ingrained in him and a part that he’d forgotten about. “I’ve been so distracted with Logan, I need to pay more attention to what’s happening around me.”
His grip tightened in hers, rubbing his thumbs along the back of her hands. Maybe Ehren needed to look at her relationship with Roman differently. At least he could protect her. “I know it’s not my fault but I didn’t help it either.”
Dani offered him a sympathetic smile. “I understand how you feel. I’ve felt that same way.” She still did at times. “But you can’t beat yourself up over it. So you said you did nothing but, tell me, what could you have done? Like really done?” She asked him, hoping to bring some perspective. “Her situation… I don’t know exactly what it was, but it sounds like it would have been difficult for most anyone to take her away from it.”
She wasn’t wrong about it, even if Ehren had taken it to the higher ups, there was no way he could know if they’d try to do anything about it either. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He said offering her a small smile.
“Thank you for always being here for me Dani. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” The thought scared him, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get over losing her.
“Get in a bunch of trouble, I’m sure,” she teased with a smirk. This meeting was proving to be a somber one; she hoped a little playfulness could lighten it up a bit. It had been a while since they had gotten the chance to get together; they shouldn’t be dwelling on such upsetting things as death and losing loved ones. “I’ll be here for you. You don’t have to worry, okay?” She added, squeezing his hands one last time before releasing them.
Daniela sat back in her chair. “How is your friend? Logan?” A much needed change of topic.
Finally she mentioned something that put a smile on his face. “You mean my boyfriend.” He replied, his smile growing wider at the thought. Logan has proved to be the best partner he’d had in a long time and he was finding himself easily falling in love.
“He’s amazing Dani, he’s just so good. I don’t really know how I got so lucky.” He admitted. He hadn’t been the best to everyone he dated. He’d hurt Meg, he’d hurt Dorian. He was happy he hadn’t done that yet with Logan.
Her smile widened along with his. “Boyfriend, huh? Congratulations.” It seemed like only yesterday he was convinced he’d never be able to be in a relationship. Though that was before the still unnamed friend of his that messed with his brain. Dani had to admit that the procedure had helped Ehren’s anxiety but she would likely never be completely okay with it. Still, it allowed him to feel more confident and try once again to connect with someone which she was happy about.
“You’ll have to introduce me sometime.” She didn’t knew Logan well. They had spoken in passing, mostly when he’d come to do maintenance work, but that was about it. There had been rumors involving him possibly killing the guard last month but that had been proven false; it would be good to get to know him beyond that initial uncertainty.
“Yeah, I’ve mentioned you to him before. He's more the strong silent type. I had never spoken two words with him before I dragged him home drunk from Josie’s.” Which probably didn’t sound like the best start to any relationship, never mind the two didn’t even kiss until about a month later.
He knew some part of Dani still resented him for going to Caspian. He felt that guilt every day but she was offering him an olive branch and he was going to take it. “How are things with Roman?” It seemed silly and counterproductive for him to just talk about himself.
She recalled the time he had told her about meeting Logan for the first time. He had obviously been intrigued by the shifter from the get-go. “Are you sure he’s the quiet type or is it he can’t get a word in edgewise?” She teased, gently tapping his leg with her foot. “I look forward to meeting him.”
The shift in topic from Ehren’s beau to her own was unexpected. A single brow lifted. Was he really interested in how things were going with Roman? Would he be supportive when he found out things were going great or was he just asking in hopes it wasn’t? He had apologized about what he said about Roman a couple weeks back, which was appreciated, but that didn’t mean the feelings he’d been harboring toward him had changed.
She put on a bright smile. “Great,” she answered. “He’s been a bit busy lately but we find time to get together. He makes sure of it.”
A smirk came to his face and he playfully batted his foot back at hers. “No! I mean well probably actually but he doesn’t seem to mind it.” He teased, it felt good to have the reparte back between them. He missed that and he missed her. She would like him, he knew it, but it didn’t seem fair since Ehren had shown so much disdain over Roman.
Ehren was working on it, trying to see things from a different perspective. “Good, I’m happy. You know, if it weren’t for him, Logan might still be locked up. I am grateful.” He wasn’t sure how much she knew about the whole situation but he felt it was important to try and bridge that large gap between them. She was obviously in love with him and that wasn’t going to change any time soon.
Daniela nearly responded with ‘Are you?’ when he claimed to be happy for her but refrained, instead letting him finish his thoughts uninterrupted. While she didn’t know many details, she was aware that Roman had worked on Logan’s case and represented him during his trial. That was probably why Ehren seemed to be having a change of heart; Roman had helped prove his boyfriend’s innocence. Of course Ehren would try to give the man a chance after he spent so much time working to free Logan. She was glad for the change though disappointed that it was his success in getting Logan off the hook - not her insisting that her boyfriend was a good man over and over again - that ultimately made him give Roman a chance. But he was trying now so the reason didn't matter too much.
“He spent a lot of time working on that case,” she mentioned. “I’m glad he was able to prove his innocence.” Her eyes moved around the room for a moment, biting her lip somewhat. “I hope they find the actual person doing this and stop them.”
The problem was that it wasn’t the same person, couldn’t have been. He knew who committed the murder Logan was tried for, he was a member of the Faction, but Hannah’s death wasn’t on their hands. “I don’t know if justice will ever come to those people.” He replied.
He squeezed her hand and offered her a smile. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” And maybe that wasn’t his job, but Daniela was important to him and if Roman couldn’t help her then maybe he could. The truth of the matter was that it wasn’t his job anymore, not when they were both with other people. A small part of his heart still mourned for the fact that they never got the timing right.
Those people. Daniela noticed the plural used. Ehren seemed to believe that it was more than one person committing these crimes. She could only assume that was because the most recent death was different from the guard’s the month before. A small shiver went down her spine. The thought that there could be two or more murders wandering the island terrified her. “It has to,” she stated, face etched with worry and uncertainty.” For the victims and everyone else. We just, they can’t let this continue.”
She managed a small smile. “I’ll say the same to you,” she returned, squeezing his hand. She would do everything in her power to make sure those she cared about were safe. She couldn’t lose another important person; she had already lost too many over the years.
He returned her small smile and let go of her hands to sit back in the chair. “I want to thank you for watching Daisy too, I know it’s risky but she’s safe. I promise.” The little dog had been growing on everyone, most of all Logan, and she was one of the few things in his life he could be hopeful of. Dani was one and so was Logan. He’d almost lost Logan and he wasn’t going to let that happen to anyone else.
“She’s been a little much but I love her.” His smile grew bigger just thinking about her, the way she padded around the room.
Dani sat back in her seat and waved her hand some. “Not a problem. I enjoy watching her.” She could definitely be a handful but the pup was adorable and, really, it was nice having a little piece of positive energy around. Though she was beginning to feel a bit guilty about keeping her existence secret from Roman. She didn’t like hiding things from him. Maybe someday she’d be able to tell him but it would remain a secret for now. At least until Ehren opened up to him a bit more.
“They usually are at that age,” she noted. “Hopefully she’ll mellow out as she gets older.”
“She will, they are a handful, and we don’t have any of the usual supplies available here to take care of her. Who knows if it I still know how to train even?” He was careful not to use the words dog or puppy lest the wrong person heard their conversation. His shoulders came up in a shrug as he leaned far back into his seat so that his legs extended across the table.
“Honestly I wish I could take a million pictures of her, she’s so cute.” Photos were evidence and Ehren could get into serious trouble if anyone ever found out about her.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she reassured. “Might be a little harder but you have Logan helping.” He also had the help of Finn and Riley but the fewer names linked to their conversation the better. If anyone did overhear and their secret was found out she’d hate to involve the two men.
“I don’t think you’d have enough space on your phone to handle them,” she teased. It was a shame he couldn’t take pictures of Daisy. That was the trouble with having to keep her hidden; couldn’t have any easily accessible evidence.
Dani leaned forward, putting her arms onto the table and resting her cheek against her upright hand. She gave him a smile, a bit playful in nature. “So I seem to remember something about lunch?”
“Yes please,” He said, readjusting himself in the seat so that he could stand. After a quick stretch he stood up and placed his hands on his hips. This felt good, it felt like they were back to where they were and although he didn’t expect her to completely forgive him, at least he remained in her good graces.
“How do you feel about Chinese? I’ve had a hankering for some orange chicken.” His diet was thrown out the window for the opportunity to eat lunch with Dani. He’d be back on to it tomorrow. Besides, it was about time for a cheat day.
“Chinese sounds great,” she answered, sliding out of her seat and standing. Ehren seemed to be in better spirits now than he had been when they met up. Good, she was glad to make that happen. Dani motioned for him to lead the way. “Shall we?”