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Chapter Text

(     ii. the lonely road.      )

❝ the rain's tears mingle with mine, a silent understanding between the skies and my heart. ❞

•• ━━ ••●•• ━━ ••

THIS WASN'T HOW THE NIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO.

Yet there she was, walking through the streets of New York city in the pouring rain, lonelier than she had ever thought possible. As she wrapped her arms tighter around her shivering form, still wobbling in her too high heels, all she wanted was to be in bed, under the comfort and safety of her duvet, the only shelter needed from the outside world. With her wet hair sticking to her equally as damp skin, she knew a cold was inevitable; she'd be a sniffling mess before the week was up. 

That didn't matter though, none of that seemed to matter anymore. For the first time in almost three years, she was alone, unsure as to who she had to turn to, who was there for her to bare her soul to. To listen to her whimpers and tell her that she made the right decision. Reassure her that as hurt as she was now, it was nothing compared to the hurt she'd face ten years down the line if she had married him.

If anything, she felt like a child again. Like the little girl who had fallen off her bike and broken her arm, crying out for the warm embrace of her parents. 

Instead she'd been met with her mother's anxious lecturing and her father had been half way across the country working. 

No, it had been her older brother soothing her, scooping her into his arms, making sure the paramedics knew she didn't like needles or hospitals. Her brother had been the one distracting her from the pain, keeping her company while she was trapped between the sterile walls of her hell.

Out of everyone in the world, it was always Stephen who was there for her, even when separated between several states. Despite her abundance of friends she so easily made, he'd always been the one she had turned to for everything. Every breakup, every bit of good news, every life update - Stephen was always the first to know. 

However, as she found herself stumbling down the streets of New York, for the first time in her life, Stephen was the last person she wanted to talk to.

While he wouldn't admit it so soon after her breakup, his smug 'I told you so' wouldn't be hard to miss, and she could do without the reminder that Stephen had been telling her for almost three years she could do better than Chase. Because even if she could do better than Chase, she had still loved him.

Or at least, she thought she had - maybe she hadn't.

If she wasn't willing to sacrifice her career for what he wanted, maybe she didn't love him. But he couldn't love her very much if he was asking her to make that sacrifice.

As she continued on, one more twisted ankle away from taking her shoes off and just leaving them in a puddle, she already had plans on burying herself under her duvet and remaining there until she became one with it; cocooning herself up seemed like the only way to deal with her heartache.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Jumping at the noise, Dani was reminded of her phone hiding in her clutch, hanging over her shoulder with a thin, beaded strap. Assuming it was one of her friends from the party, wondering where she and Chase had gone off to, Dani had half a mind to let it ring, not wanting to have to tell anyone what had happened since stepping out. But she couldn't do it. While she was partially drunk (the rain and the reality of the past thirty minutes sobering her up) she knew, from experience of interning for the FBI, anything could happen to her walking down the dark streets of New York, especially in her dress.

Fumbling for her phone, she frowned when she didn't see her friends' name, instead 'Dad - Cabin' popped onto the screen and she was instantly reminded as to why she hadn't wanted to go to the party in the first place.

Her dad.

Quickly, Dani accepted the call, all thoughts of Chase and her impending lonely life immediately replaced with concern for her father. The man had been struggling for a long time, and, as he had always been, was far too stubborn to accept any help. Especially since his college girlfriend had been brutally murdered in his apartment by a sadistic serial killer with a terrifying obsession with him. For weeks he had ignored her and Stephen's calls, not wanting to worry his children.

Of course, all it had done was increase her worry.

Seeing his call in the middle of the night only pushed her over the edge of concern.

Dead in her tracks, no longer caring about the onslaught of rain, Dani began frantically speaking, a combination of the alcohol, her general personality and genuine concern for her father mixing together, so that her words came out with little breath in between.

"Dad? Dad, are you okay? What's wrong?" She began, words spilling out so quickly they were practically one big word, "We've been trying to get ahold of you for weeks. Is everything okay? Why didn't you tell me you were at the cabin? Dad, are you okay?"

Silence followed for a few moments, and the only indication Dani had that he was on the other end was his heavy breathing, something she could only just make out over the downpour of rain.

"Dad, please talk to-"

"Dani," Came the quiet reply interrupting her interrogation.

Oh God, he was okay. He was alive. At the knowledge, Dani gave a sigh of relief, the weight lifting off her shoulders.

His radio silence for the last few weeks had left her worried he had gone and done something stupid. And while Dani would never be in the position to judge, she'd rather her father at least try and talk to her before making any rash decisions.

"Oh, God, Dad, are you okay?"

"Sweetheart, I'm fine-"

"Are you sure?" She quickly interrupted, flinching as a particularly large raindrop hit her nose, "Because I know the past few months haven't been easy and you're calling me in the middle of the night and-"

"Danielle, I'm fine," He firmly replied, the tone she had heard many times growing up, whenever she tried to disobey the few orders he gave her.

"Sorry, sorry," Dani began to ramble, head starting to hurt from the events of the evening, "I just worry, you know I do and I-"

"Have you been drinking?" Jason asked, knowing her tendency to talk only ever increased when she'd had a few.

"Maybe," She sheepishly replied, even though she had no reason to act like she was a teenager caught with her hand in her parents' alcohol cabinet. It was a Friday night and she was a grown woman after all, perfectly legal to be drinking. There was no point her even asking how he knew, Dani's dad knew everything about human behaviour, especially that of his only daughter.

"Are you safe at least?" Jason knew the risks of drinking, let alone in a crime riddled city like New York.

Glancing around the dimly lit street, fifteen minutes from the club, rain falling from the sky as she was wearing nothing but a short dress, no one around but her father down the phone, she grimaced. She was far from it.

"I'm always safe," Dani tried to deflect, knowing her humour wouldn't work, "You know I'm built different."

A light snort could be heard on the other end, nothing compared to his usual laugh, but it was something at least. If anybody could make anyone laugh, it was Dani and her bubbly personality. Even if she felt like a bubble about to be popped any moment as it slowly drifted through the air.

"Sure," Jason sarcastically agreed, "Built stubbornly-"

"Wonder who I get that from?" Dani interrupted, reminding him of his own stubborn nature. As if proving her point, Jason continued talking.

"Even though she is well acquainted with the risks of walking alone in the dark while intoxicated."

If anyone was, it was her. Having spent the past two years interning for Sexual Offence crimes in New York, she knew full well what the risks were; she encountered them on the daily. Men and women who felt like their lives were over because they were victims of the most horrendous crime possible. Sitting across from the most evil people she could ever imagine was a haunting experience she wasn't sure she would ever get used to.

While she was of the firm belief that women didn't need to change their behaviour to please men, she knew some things were just easier to change than risk dying. Or worse.

"How'd you know I'm alone?" She focused on, not wanting to think too hard about the potential threat she could be under. He was right, she was stubborn.

"Is Chase with you?" Jason asked, unaware of the events that had taken place just before he called. Perhaps if he'd called sooner, this whole night could have been avoided. Or made it ten times worse.

For a moment, the question hung in the air, and Dani swallowed, unsure of what to say. As much as she loved her dad, he was never one for dealing with emotions or complicated feelings. Despite dealing with them for a living, his whole profession built on his ability to read people and know exactly what to say, it seemed that talent hadn't always extended to his children. Or many people in his personal life for that matter.

Besides, the wound was so fresh, the last thing she wanted was him accidentally pouring salt in it. 

Then again, she had never been able to lie to her father.

"We um," She hummed, nose wrinkling as she tried to think of something to say. It was clear from his tone, his parting words, his anger, that they were in fact broken up, but what was the reason? Sure, it was because she wouldn't marry him. But was that because she didn't love him, or because she wasn't going to give her career up for him? Were they not the same reason? "I think we broke up."

Silence.

As usual, Dani hadn't expected much. Her father wasn't known for his comforting speeches, saving them for special occasions - in fact between her and Stephen, they could probably count on two hands the amount of moments like that they'd had with their father. Often about Dani's issues with eating, or Stephen's gravitational pull towards the bottle. A breakup with Chase, someone Dani knew her father wasn't a big fan of in the first place, was not going to warrant a sympathetic speech most fathers would offer their daughters.

Instead, they remained quiet, Dani unsure what else to say. Very unlike her in both her and Jason's opinions.

"Oh," Jason replied, though it was hard to tell if he was surprised or not, "You think?"

Sighing, Dani scrunched her face up, even if she was alone, she didn't want to cry - the nickname 'crybaby' she'd had growing up still rung true. Rubbing her nose with her free hand, she shook her head slightly, no, she definitely knew they had broken up. Even if the words 'I'm breaking up with you' hadn't left either party's lips.

"Well neither of us actually said it," She clarified, pushing her sopping wet hair back, "Back I think he kinda implied it."

"He broke up with you?"

Honestly, he didn't even know why he asked. While Dani took after her father in some ways - her empathy and duty to help people, her love of cooking, her appreciation for nature - she was her own person. A kind person with a deep love for everyone she met, even if it was a brief exchange on the subway. But that had left her with a horrible tendency to put other people's thoughts and feelings above her own in almost every situation.

It took a lot for his people pleasing daughter to disappoint someone. Even if it was someone she didn't really love - like Chase.

 "Yeah," Dani scratched the back of her neck, "He proposed and I said not now-"

"Not now?" Jason echoed. Somehow that was more shocking than being told his only daughter had just been proposed to without his prior knowledge.

"Yeah, I told him in a couple years I would," She nodded, even if he couldn't see her, "But he didn't seem happy with that."

Another beat of silence followed, as the wind whistled in her ears, whether it was mocking or supporting her, she didn't know. What was there to say to that? Of course he wasn't happy, of course it had been a stupid thing to say, but she'd said it, the words were out there and they would no doubt follow Chase around for the rest of his life.

And whether he deserved it or not, Dani never wanted to inflict that feeling on someone. Regardless of if she loved them - because the jury was still out as to how she felt towards the man she had given almost three years of her youth to.

"No, I don't imagine he would be," Jason offered after a moment, never one to be a natural at comforting, even towards his own daughter, "He proposed to you?"

It wasn't surprising to hear.

As much as he hadn't liked the man, Dani had been in a relationship with him and he loved his daughter enough to put up with him. On the few occasions they had met, coupled with what his daughter had told him, it was clear Chase had wanted to settle down, get married, have kids, live the picket fence life. All things he wanted for his daughter, things he wanted Dani to have, knowing nobody deserved them more than her.

But he also knew how ambitious his daughter was, he career driven she was. Stubborn genes ran strong in the Gideon family, and Dani had just as many, if not more than him. There was no way his daughter would give up her dreams for Chase. There was no way he would let her.

If anything, he was damn proud of his people pleasing daughter for saying no.

"Yeah," Dani nodded, scratching the back of her neck, finding the wet hair stuck to her skin as uncomfortable as the conversation, "Take it he didn't ask for your hand?"

To be fair, Dani couldn't have blamed Chase for that one. For the past two weeks, even she hadn't been able to get ahold of her father, every call going straight to voicemail. Although, in the moment, Chase's proposal had been born out of alcohol and embarrassment; he hadn't cared to get anyone's approval. 

Because everyone Dani cared about would have told him that a proposal was the last thing she wanted - they all would have talked him out of it. And Chase had been too determined to let anything stop him.

"Sweetheart, I've met him twice," Jason hummed, thinking back to their brief encounters. Both times the conversation had extended to nothing more than simple pleasantries. Enough for Jason to know that Dani could do ten times better. "How are you, um, feeling?"

If the urge to cry wasn't so strong, she would have snorted at the question. Here he was, Jason Gideon, profiler extraordinaire, her father, unsure as to how she was feeling. Which, okay, honestly, she didn't even know how she was feeling - part of her feeling relieved she no longer felt the suffocating pressure of their relationship, the other part left wondering if she had ever truly loved him - but she had never known her father to not be able to read someone. Not with all his talents and abilities.

"I don't know," She answered honestly, hoping he didn't notice to tremor in her whisper, wishing he had never brought Chase up. This wasn't how she wanted to talk about it, she wanted to do it when she was sober and warm and not five minutes after it had happened. Least of all with her father who had enough on his plate without her adding to it, even if her problems did seem petty in comparison. "I'll be fine."

Because at the end of the day, she would be.

While it hurt now, or at least it felt that way under the harsh bullets of rainfall, she knew she would bounce back - she always did. Push herself back up with a wide smile, that was Dani's approach to setbacks, and this would be no different. It just had to come when she was already at a bit of a low, unsure as to what direction her career was heading in, her internship over and done, while her father ignored each call she made.

A proposal was the last thing she needed with everyone else going on, and Chase had known that. In a few weeks, or months, or however long it took, she would bounce back. Until then, she'd plaster a fake smile on her face and pretend like nothing was wrong.

Just like her dad was doing.

"Hang on, why're you calling?" Dani sniffed, suddenly remembering that Jason had been the one to initiate the call, not her. As much as she loved her father, he wasn't one for frequent calls, especially in the middle of the night. It was hard not to be concerned - even if he sounded perfectly fine.

"Dani, it's not important-" Jason tried, able to tell the night had been emotional enough for his sensitive daughter, without him adding to it.

"No, Dad, tell me," She argued, shivering from an unexpected gust of wind, "Please, I'll only worry more if you don't. You know I will."

Down the phone, Jason sighed, if there was anyone to blame for his daughter's empathy, he knew it was him. Both of them shared that passion, the drive to help and make others feel safe, and if there was anything he could have passed down to his children, he was glad it was that - even if it was a damn curse sometimes. While he loved knowing how much Dani cared, how big her heart was, how easily she could understand people, he hated knowing that that meant she felt the bad just as strongly as she felt the good; every heartache always left it's scar on her soul.

The only difference between the father and daughter, was that Jason through his years of work, years on the field, had learnt how to isolate the empathy, he could care for others from a safe distance. It had taken him a long time to learn, and even he slipped up sometimes, but keeping himself detached was how he coped. 

Which was why he had been struggling so much recently.

Fresh-faced and still new to the big wide world, Dani hadn't yet learned to shut herself away, her heart led the way in every decision she made, which was always an attempt to make others feel better. Knowing his daughter, Jason knew she would never allow herself to grow as detached as he had, for she loved her heart, she loved making others happy. At twenty-four, she hadn't yet learned the dangers of wearing her heart on her sleeve.

And Jason hoped she never would - though with the news he called to tell her of, he knew it would be inevitable. 

Which was why part of him wanted to keep it to himself, make up a flimsy excuse and protect his daughter's already fragile heart, the heart that prioritized others, even if it's soul purpose was to keep Dani alive. As a father, he had never been overly protective, he hadn't been around enough to have earnt that right, and logically he knew she was ready. The woman had aced every exam, physical and intellectual, she had stellar references from everyone she came across, and she had the most important thing.

Heart.

His daughter cared so much about the world, it seemed only right she be one of the people to try and fix it. Even if he did want to shelter her.

"Please, Dad," She continued, her voice echoing the whine of her childhood tantrums, "I just want to help-"

"I'm leaving the FBI."

Anything Dani wanted to say, all the words she had been about to exclaim in an attempt to get her father to finally say something to her, died in her throat as she let out a surprised squeak. Leaving the FBI? The idea alone seemed ridiculous, like a joke told by a child, it wasn't real and it wasn't funny, yet somehow, it was laughable. 

For goodness sake, the man hadn't even given up the FBI for his family, his children - he'd been content to watch them fly off to L.A and see them a handful of times a year in the name of his job. Never in her life had Dani ever even considered her dad leaving the BAU, stepping down from the team he had created. 

Because who was her dad if not SSA Jason Gideon, member of the BAU?

"W-what?" She sputtered out, mouth parted in shock, allowing a few drops of rain to fall onto her chapped lips.

"I'm leaving the team," Jason repeated, his tone firm and resolute, his mind clearly made up. But Dani couldn't understand. Sure people left jobs for new ones all the time, but not Jason, the man who had only ever been off work for sickness or injury. The man who had been so dedicated to saving others he had managed to miss out on his children growing up. The man who cared so deeply about everyone, even if he didn't know how to show it.

"Uh, you're leaving the team?" Dani echoed, voice dazed as she tried to process the information, once again standing still in the middle of a violent rainstorm, "W-why?"

It seemed a fair question. Sure, he had been having a rough time lately, especially after Sarah, it was no wonder he wanted a fresh start, time away, but he had been through so much before, and always bounced back. Why had this been the final straw?

"Sweetheart, it's been a long two years," Jason sighed, not wanting to get into his emotional wellbeing with his daughter. Or anyone for that matter. "I just need some time-"

"Oh, so you're going back?" She interrupted. In her mind, that made perfect sense, it was something he had done before. Something bad happened, he would be signed off for a few weeks or months, take the time to be alone in his cabin and then return to work. That was something her brain could understand.

"No," He answered after a moment of silence, "No, I'm not going back."

So that was it?

After everything her dad had been through, everything he had sacrificed for his career, this was it? Leaving on such a low, it felt insulting, even to her. As if this was his legacy. This was how he would be remembered.

"When did you uh, when did you decide that?" She asked, scratching the back of her neck. It had been over two weeks since he'd stopped answering her calls - had he really been out soul searching the entire time? 

While she had been worried sick, thinking something had happened to him, that he had done something stupid, he had been busy in his cabin, watching the birds, deciding to completely change the biggest aspect of his life.

"Earlier this week," Jason admitted and a frustrated breath of air escaped Dani's lips, because of course he had. Of course he hadn't wanted to discuss anything with anyone. He was Jason Gideon - he didn't need to talk to people.

"Have you spoken to anyone about it?"

"I've written a letter," Jason sighed, knowing he was taking the coward's way out. But he genuinely didn't have it in him to go back and face the team, not after everything he had been through. Not after everything he had put them through.

"You haven't told them?" The question came across louder than she had intended for it to, her voice rising a couple octaves as she processed what he said. God, his team would be worried sick if he just left without a goodbye. The only evidence Jason Gideon had ever been apart of their lives would be a letter, wishing them the best and apologising he couldn't be that for them.

Somehow it seemed unfair she was worthy an explanation and his team wasn't.

"They'll find out soon enough," Jason hummed, already knowing who would be on his way to the cabin to check on him after a few days of silence.

"S-so that's it then? You're leaving the FBI?" Dani clarified, almost struggling to process all the information she was learning that night.

All she had wanted was to stay in and watch a film, and here she was stumbling home from a party she had been proposed to and broken up with at, while being told her dad was leaving the one thing she always thought would be a constant. If she'd had anymore to drink at that party, she would have been throwing up by now.

"What're you gonna do?"

Truly, what would he do?

Sure, Jason loved bird watching and classical movies, and he spent far more time in his cabin than she thought possible. But retirement? What would he do then? Repair the burnt bridges with Stephen? Try and be more active in his children's lives? Make up for the time he lost travelling around the country.

"I'm going to travel for a bit," Jason told her, and even though he couldn't see, Dani's face scrunched into an awkward smile. Of course he was, just because he wasn't an FBI agent anymore, it didn't mean Jason Gideon was going to stop travelling. Honestly, it had been foolish to even consider otherwise - even if it had been a two second dream.

"Travel? Where? With who?" Like she was the parent interrogating her child for wanting to go on a gap year, making it out like there was nothing beneficial to be gained from exploring the world, it was a clear role reversal between to the two. Instead of being supportive, she felt like a nag - like her mother.

A chill raced down her already cold spine, spreading out across her nerves and into her limbs. No, that was different, she wasn't nagging him or telling him he couldn't do anything. She was asking questions out of love.

There, she was nothing like her mother.

"I don't know yet, sweetheart," Jason admitted, all he knew was he needed to get away from the BAU, needed to clear his head and remind himself who he was outside of SSA Jason Gideon. Though he seemed to be forgetting he was a father. "But I'm a phone call away."

"Yeah, when you actually answer," She quipped, her tone light, though the words genuine. It was rare Jason answered his phone. Rarer for him to call first. "When are you going? Can I see you?"

Too much time had passed since she'd last seen her father - while New York and Virginia were a train journey away, his job had him a plane ride away. Maybe if she saw him with her own eyes, the worry would stop and she could let him get on with his life.

Or maybe seeing him and the state he'd managed to get himself into would make her worry more. It was worth the risk.

"Probably tomorrow, Dani," He informed her, voice gentle, self-aware enough to know he was hurting her feelings. Breaking the bad news that, no, she wouldn't get to see her dad before he left. And he didn't know when he would return, didn't know when they would see one another.

"Oh."

Growing up, she'd been used to her father disappearing to another state at the drop of a hat, prioritising work over spelling bees, talent shows, graduation. Hell, she'd been whisked away to another state after her parent's divorce, and she'd only see him if a case had him working in L.A. His travelling wasn't surprising, and if it helped him cope with everything that he had been through, then she supported it completely. But it did little to ease the sting that he didn't want to see her.

Silence hung over them for a moment - Dani now immune to the droplets of water hitting her exposed skin, so used to it now that the shivering of her body and chattering of her teeth felt comforting. Had she really been in the club, life still perfectly normal, just an hour ago?

"I spoke to Erin before I left," Jason continued, either not noticing or ignoring the pain in his daughter's voice. Unfortunately, Dani was used to that. However, she was also used to feigning her emotions for the sake of other people - able to look and act perfectly happy when in reality she felt like joining the rain and letting her emotions fall. And this was no exception.

"Strauss?"

A weird turn to the conversation, but if her dad was telling her, letting her know something so madaune about his resignation, then it must be important. Over the years, she had met Erin Strauss a handful of times, and while she wasn't the nicest, their conversations had never extended past polite pleasantries as one of them waited for Jason to be available.

"Yeah, the Section Chief," Jason hummed in confirmation, "There's an opening at the BAU, and I put your name down."

Just when she thought she couldn't be given anymore surprises that night, here she was, hit with the biggest shock of all. Stopping in her tracks, blood as still as her body, colder than the air that momentarily stopped flowing through her, the only action she could muster was her hazel eyes widening. News she had been dreaming of hearing ever since she decided she wanted to join the FBI at the naive age of thirteen, had finally been spoken. Yet, given the night she was having, her brain seemed to stumble, struggling to catch up.

"W-what?"

"I told Erin to interview you for the job," Jason informed her, tone far too casual for someone who was practically handing her her life's dream on a silver platter, "It's in two weeks time. I figured you'd want time to book a train and tell Chase-"

"Dad, I am hardly qualified," She cut him off, surprisingly firm despite expecting her voice to match the tremor of her hands. Ignoring his comment about Chase, all she could think about was how out of her depth she would be. Criminals would take one look at her and know she was a learner thrown into the deep end of the pool without so much as an armband to keep her afloat.

Agents needed years of training to even be considered for the BAU, and all she had was an internship and her time at the academy to back her up.

"That hardly matters, sweetheart," Jason dismissed, "I recommended you-"

"So it would be nepotism?"

There was nothing on earth she wanted more than that job. Ever since she learned what kept her father from being there, the work he did, the people he saved, she knew she wanted to be just like him - even if Stephen always told her she was better than him. Working in a way that saved people was all she wanted out of her life. 

But if she was only given it because her father had put in a word, her dad had pulled some strings, her daddy handed the job to her, then she didn't want it. Jobs like profiling were stressful and put innocent people in life or death situations everyday, and the last thing she wanted was to harm people because she had been given the job too soon. Before she had earned it or trained for it.

Not only that, but she didn't want to swan in, tarnishing her father's legacy. Or for people to only ever see him when they looked at her.

"It's not nepotism," Jason told her, as if insulted she could think that little of herself and her abilities, "Dani, I wouldn't have recommended you if I didn't think you were fully capable and ready."

"You think I could do it?" She whispered, her voice a hopeful child who had just been told they definitely had a chance of winning the football game. If anyone's opinion mattered more to her in that moment, it was her father's.

"I know you can. I know how hard you work, how dedicated you are. The only thing you're missing is field experience, but that's not an issue," He informed her, like he was the one offering her the job, pushing the contract into her hands, "Six months of probation under Aaron and you'll be a full-time, fully qualified agent."

Six months.

Six months of probation and then that was it. By April, she could be living out her childhood dreams, finally reaping the rewards for all the work she had put in over the last ten years. Although, that in itself was haunting.

Everyone knew her as Dani, the woman working towards the FBI, trying to follow in her father's footsteps. Accomplishing her one dream, the thing she had been working towards for so long, the life that always seemed so far away, if she completed it at twenty-four, what was she supposed to do then? Who would she be if not chasing a fantasy? Would she be expected to find a new dream, work towards a new passion?

Did she even have any passions outside of work?

"Wait, you said interview?" Dani frowned, mind circling back to his original statement, as she considered this new life before her. 

"Well, Erin can't just give you the job," Jason almost laughed, "You'd have to interview for it."

Interview. She could do that. If anything, it was just talking, and Dani was amazing at talking - her ability to talk to anyone about anything was astounding, even if the topic of conversation was her least favourite one. Herself. 

For the sake of her dreams, for the work she had put in, the little girl who had been in her room, playing superheroes because she mistook that for her dad's absence, she could suck it up. With two weeks to prepare, Dani knew she could smash an interview.

"And you really think I can do it?" Her timid question, almost fearful of the answer barely had anytime to sit with either of them, as the response came quicker than she knew her father capable of.

"Dani, I couldn't think of anyone who would do a better job than you."

•• ━━ ••●•• ━━ ••

THIS WASN'T HOW the night was supposed to go. But as Dani continued home, so close, yet so far under the downpour of the rain, she couldn't help but marvel at how the night had unfolded. Having left her apartment a few hours ago for Este's party, she been almost jobless, her internship over and in a relationship with a man that clearly didn't respect her. Now, as she turned into her road, she would be entering her apartment single and (hopefully) with a job.

The interview was leaving that up to fate, but Dani quite liked her odds. Even if the experience wasn't on her side, her talent for talking could spin it into a good thing.

As her father had hung up, just five minutes before, Dani had made him promise to call, as if he were a child going out without his parents for the first time. But she knew her dad, and she knew if she didn't have a verbal promise, she would be left to worry and fret like a mother. Just not her mother - for she was nothing like her.

So, the night hadn't ended how she had expected it (drunken sex with Chase while she faked an orgasm so she spared his feelings and could fall asleep) it was hard to feel sad after the turn of events.

There would be the rest of her life to mourn Chase and what would have been a resentful marriage, but this opportunity was rare, once every few lifetimes. And Dani had no plans on wasting it.

Meow.

Through the whistling of the wind, Dani turned, frowning at the faint noise she could barely hear from her left her ear. After a moment, her vision caught up with her body, now aligned with the shrubbery her landlord had grown next to the steps of her apartment. While it was a nice sight, getting to see the greenery every morning, even getting to see some flowers in the warmer months, it was an eyesore when teenagers chose to litter in it.

Meow.

Crouching to investigate, knowing she wasn't imagining and could definitely hear a little voice crying out to her amongst the rainstorm, she pulled a face at the fast food wrappers littered amongst the bushes. Already kind eyes grew soft, a gentle smile on her face as her lips parted in shock as she met eyes with the source of the meowing.

"Oh, hello there," A quiet coo emerged from her lips, not minding that her knees were now as wet and uncomfortable as Chase's had been earlier that evening as the gravel dug into the exposed skin. For in front of her, all wet and disheveled, looking like a drowned rat, was a tiny kitten, gazing up into her eyes, as if pleading for mercy from the first god it had encountered.

Under the impression all animals were beautiful, Dani knew this cat was gorgeous, as the round eyes, resembling that of liquid honey, seemed to stare into her soul. Hazel and honey remained at a stalemate for a moment, each processing the other, before the little thing let out a sweet meow, begging for kindness. 

"It's a bit wet out here, isn't it baby?" She hummed, gently reaching a hand out to the timid thing. Despite knowing deep in her heart, she had good intentions, animals didn't know that, especially on a first encounter in the middle of the harsh streets of New York. Animals tended to be on edge whenever she approached them, and the last thing she wanted was to scare the little thing off, not when it looked no more than six weeks old.

Only, to her surprise, the cat didn't flinch or hiss or run out into the road, instead it let out a weak pur, rubbing it's head into her hand, as if it truly had been staring into her soul for the few moments of eye contact. And it had seen nothing but love, kindness and good intentions swirling together, the very essence of Dani's being.

Letting out a small laugh, Dani continued to stroke the kitten, knowing how uncomfortable the poor thing must have been. For it was tiny, clearly wandering the streets of New York on it's lonesome, just like she had been doing that evening. Another clap of thunder seemed to startle it, and Dani was reminded she was dripping just as much as the creature in front of her was.

"Oh, baby," She cooed, resting the water and gently moving both hands towards the cat, before scooping it up, and it let her, instantly moving towards her chest, desperate for any kind of warmth it could get. And Dani was so full of love, even through the wetness of her dress, the kitten could still feel the heat of her heart.

"How would you fancy coming to Virginia with me?"