So what now? (Katydid50 x 5Bulletproof-Marshmellows)

[Katydid50]

((No, I got nothing planned until after they get out of work))
Daniel smiled as her laughter resounded in his head as he walked away. He was right. Her laughter was as beautiful as she was. Not that he thought she was beautiful, though there was no doubt that she was physically attractive, and maybe personality-wise too? Glancing back over his shoulder, he watched her walk away. He looked back ahead just in time to avoid walking into a wall. Jerking back, he stood there for a moment before shaking his head and making his way towards the elevator.
The rest of the day past uneventfully, for him anyway, save for the fact that he found himself day dreaming and nearly ran into three more walls. It also took him longer than usual to get all the packages delivered because he kept getting off on wrong floors. But, luckily, he never delivered a package to the wrong person. It had been embarrassing enough when he'd first started the job, it would be even worse now. But he did manage. However, after he'd delivered the last package, he went back down to his office only to find more there to deliver. Sighing deeply, he looked over their destinations before choosing a few and going back to the elevator.
It took him a while since more packages kept arriving but, finally, an hour after he was usually finished, he was finished. The sun had long since set and the city had come alight. Making his way from the elevator, he walked over to his office to find no more packages. Finally, he thought. Now he could go home. Locking his office, he'd just passed the front desk when the woman called out to him. Turning, he walked back over to her, grimacing when she told him that a man had called for him. "A Michael Ricks? He asked if you could pick up some milk for him on the way home." He knew what the woman was thinking. Daniel had never shown any interest in any of the women in the building -or any of the men for that matter but he doubted they noticed- and then this mysterious man calls up asking him to bring over some milk? It didn't take a genius to figure out what conclusion they would jump to. Muttering under his breath, he didn't say anything as he walked out of the building and made his way over to his truck.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Elenore worked the rest of the day, only stopping for lunch to go outside and have a bite to eat from the deli that was across the street. One of the pictures was being a pain. She couldn't get the people in the picture to look a bit more relaxed and have it all compliment each other. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes. Grace had called another time just to ask how late she was planning on coming home. Of course, she knew it would probably be the usual time, so she told them to eat dinner without her. She felt bad for not being there for them, but what else could she do?
Giving up on one of the pictures for today, she worked on the next one which proved to be a bit more easier. Creating a new background was the first thing she had to do. She found that her thoughts wandered back to Daniel a few times but she dismissed it every time. Work. She had to focus on work. Elenore wasn't about to become some love struck high school girl that drooled every time the guy she liked walked past her. Wait. No. She couldn't fall for a man that quickly. Yes, he had saved her from her terrifying boss but that didn't mean anything.. just that he was being friendly, right? Right. With that, she went back to work as the song changed to a different one.
She had gotten up several times whether it was to close the blinds since the sun was setting and to the turn on the light, or to hand whatever she had finished to someone else so they could do their part on the commercial or advertisement. Elenore mostly worked with advertisements since they were a bit easier, but every once in a while someone would ask her to do a few touch ups on a commercial.
After a while, she looked up at the clock before realizing what time it was. Time to get off of work. Smiling a tired smile, she saved everything before logging out and turning off the computer. Grabbing her purse, she pulled out her keys that locked the door to her office. Walking out, she made sure she had locked the door before heading down the hall to the elevator. A few other people walked in with her and they were all headed down to the first floor.. except for one woman who was headed to the top. Elenore refused to make any assumptions about the woman as she leaned against the stainless steel wall and the elevator went down. A few people were talking amongst themselves, planning on what they were going to do for the evening and she had nothing except going home. Running her hand though her hair, she walked out of the elevator after the double doors opened. It was a short walk to the parking lot and from there she looked for her car.  

[Katydid50]

Daniel walked over to his truck. It hadn't taken much since his truck stuck out like a sore thumb among the convertibles and sports cars. He frowned as he looked it over. It needed a few paint job and he should probably get the tired pressure checked. But not today. No. He'd get it checked on Sunday, his day off. Pulling out his keys, he unlocked the door and hopped in, pulling the door closed after him. Putting the key in the ignition, he started the car before carefully pulling out of his parking spot. In his rear view mirror, he spotted Elenore searching for her car and smiled before turning his attention back to the road.
He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, driving along the road that would lead him out of town. However, no sooner had he pulled onto the road that he remembered he had to pick up milk for Michael. Muttering angrily under his breath, he pulled into the nearest grocery store parking lot and turned off the car. Climbing out, he walked into the store, heading straight for the back fridges where the milk would be kept. Grabbing a jug of milk, he headed back to the front and up to one of the cash registers. After paying, he headed back out to his truck. He placed the milk in the passenger's seat before turning on the truck again and pulling out of the parking lot. This was just ridiculous. He was no one's errand boy!
The rest of the drive would have gone smoothly if not for the fact that, as he was driving down one of the many badly lit roads of the city, something slammed into the front of his truck. He hadn't been going very fast because this particular road was extremely narrow so whatever it was couldn't have been hurt. Slamming on the brakes, he jumped out of the car and ran to the front only to see a boy, about ten, sitting up and rubbing the side of his head.
"Are you ok, kid?" Daniel asked as he knelt down in front of the boy. He couldn't see any injuries and he hadn't been going very fast. It was most likely that he'd just knocked the boy over. When the boy nodded, he demanded, "What did you think you were doing? Running out in front of my truck like! If I'd been going any faster you could've been seriously hurt!"
The boy looked up at him before looking down again. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. He didn't even try to make excuses which made Daniel's anger fade. He stood up.
"What are you even doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be at home? I'm sure your family's worried about you."
The boy stood up as well but didn't meet his eyes. "No, they're not. They don't even realize I'm gone. They think I'm still in my room."
Sighing, Daniel shook his head. "What's your name, kid?"
"Nicholas. Nicholas Darling."  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Finding her gray Toyota, she got in before starting the car up. It didn't do anything in return.. Getting out, she pulled up the hood and checked the oil, water and everything else. It wasn't long before she found out what the problem was. Biting her lip, she locked up her car. More oil was needed and she didn't know any gas station that was near by. Calling a tow truck was her only choice. She guessed why this had happened as well.. it had been fine this morning and this was just payback from her boss. Most of the cars had driven away except for two by the time the tow truck came.
About half an hour and an empty wallet later, she was home and not in the best mood. Unlocking the front door, she saw Grace cleaning the dishes while Deserai was watching cartoons. A second later she recieved a hug from her youngest daughter. "Why are you back so late?" Elenore frowned as she was questioned but then covered it up with a small smile. "I just got held back at work." she said as she leaned down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Why are up so late?" she asked her, since she was supposed to be in bed by now and Deserai fidgeted under her gaze.
Instead of pressing the matter further, she turned off the TV and set her back down on the dinning room table after taking her shoes off near the entrance. "Where's Nicholas?" she asked Grace who was wiping her hand's dry with a towel.
"In his room." she answered.
Elenore blinked.. he usually came to greet her along with everyone else. Getting up, she over to the door before knocking on it. "Nicholas?" she called out as she pressed her ear to his door. No answer. Her heart sped up a bit as she slowly opened the door and turned on the light. He wasn't there. Don't panic.. don't panic.. she told herself as she stepped out of the room to see if the bathroom was occupied. He wasn't there either. Checking all the other rooms quickly, she soon found that Grace had picked up on her distress as well. At least Deserai was already in bed.
"Maybe he went outside to meet you.." Grace said as she frowned, brushing her curly hair away from her face.
The next second Elenore was going down the stairs of their apartment building with a pair of black flip flops on her feet.  

[Katydid50]

Daniel sighed deeply. This was not how he'd imagined spending his evening. First the milk, then hitting a kid and now this! Nicholas had refused to get in the truck with him -and Daniel couldn't really blame him. After all, he only had Daniel's word that he worked with his mother- and so he found himself walking the boy home. It turned out to be quite a distance. By the time they'd finally reached Nicholas' street, Daniel was glad his feet were toughened from years of wearing hiking boots. Any other person's feet would have been aching. Glancing down at Nicholas, he guessed the boy was feeling just like that. He must have taken his time getting to where Daniel had hit him.
When the boy looked up, he must have realized they were on the road he lived on because he said, "This is my street. I'll be fine from here on." Daniel just raised an eyebrow. He wasn't going to leave the boy alone until he was safely inside his house, and in his mother's grip. Sighing, Nicholas must have realized this because he didn't try to weasel out of it like Daniel would have done at Nick's age. Then again, Daniel had had a good reason to not want to be brought home to his father. Nicholas, however, had no such problems, as far as Daniel was aware anyway. He hadn't said much the whole walk so Daniel didn't really know.
Once they got near the apartment building, Daniel recognized a gray Toyota from work and realized it must have belonged to Elenore. Noticing marks on the back of the vehicle, he recognized the signs of it having been toed. He frowned, confused, but didn't comment on it. It wasn't like it was any of his business anyway.
Looking back ahead, he walked with Nicholas up to the door. It was only then that Daniel wondered how in the world Nicholas had managed to get out of an apartment without being noticed by a family member. Must be pretty sneaky, he thought. He would have to have been to get out a place like that.
Reaching the door, he pressed the doorbell for the apartment marked 'Darling'. Not even a second later, he heard the sound of quick footsteps. Frowning, he took a step back, placing a hand on Nicholas' shoulder and pulling him off to the side as well just in case the person didn't stop in time to keep from colliding with them. It had happened before.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Elenore pulled open the door rather quickly before almost coming face to face with Daniel. Embarrassment and confusion filled her expression before she realized he was holding onto something. "Nicholas!" without thinking she picked him up into her arms in a tight embrace. For that moment, she was just glad he was back. "Where were you?" she questioned him before looking him over, it seemed like his shoes were muddy. "Are you hurt?" her questions kept coming one after another, as she tried to make sure he was alright. "Why did you leave the house without telling anyone?" she added, her eyes filled with concern, happiness, and a little bit of anger to top it all off. She would speak to Grace to keep a closer eye on him and talk to him as well later.
Looking up at Daniel, she gave him a grateful look, guessing that he had brought him home. "Thank you." she told him as she put her arm around Nicholas' shoulders before urging him to go inside. Brushing the hair that was covering her face out of the way, she then bit her lip. She was in a rather foolish situation. A stranger bringing her own kid home when she didn't even know where he was. "Come on in.. the least I can do to repay you is give you a cup of coffee." she told him as she gestured for him to come in as well. The apartment was clean, just the way she liked it though there was a few stuffed animals lying around the living room. She didn't leave him a whole lot of room to argue as she walked in, leaving the door open for him.
Grace blinked when she heard her mother call out Nicholas' name. So he had come home after all. Messing up his hair with one hand, she smiled at him, though she knew she would be in trouble later on with her mother. She was supposed to keep an eye on her younger siblings and keep them safe.. she hadn't done a very good job. Looking back towards the doorway, she noticed that her mother was also talking to someone else. Her eyes narrowed a bit before she leaned against the wall. Who was this? He was about her mother's age, she guessed.. had she gotten a boyfriend? No.. otherwise there would have been something else between them.. some kind of contact. A friend then?
"Hello." she said as she stayed against the wall, watching him.

((I have to leave soon.. I may or may not be able to get in another reply))  

[Katydid50]

Daniel watched as the door opened to reveal none other than Elenore herself. He wasn't overly surprised though he was glad he'd stepped to the side. Otherwise, they could very well have ended up in a tangled mess on the pavement. He released Nicholas' shoulder half a second before the boy was picked up, despite his protest, by his mother, nearly squeezed to death and questioned. "Mom! I'm fine! Will you put me down?" Daniel couldn't help but smile at the boy's indignation but he also felt a bit jealous. His own mother had never embraced him like that. She was always too drunk or too in pain to care about him. Maybe that was why she left without him. She just didn't care. But that didn't matter. That was in the past. He pushed the memories into the back of his mind where they would no doubt rot the subconscious part of his brain.
When Elenore set the boy down, ushered him inside and thanked Daniel, he waved away her thanks. "Please, don't," he said. "I couldn't have done anything else." Especially after I hit him with my truck, he added to himself, though he wasn't about to tell her that. She would have a freaking panic attack if he did that. When she offered him a cup of coffee in repayment, he opened his mouth to protest but she was already walking inside. With no other choice, he followed after her.

Nicholas hurried into the house once his mother had finally put him down. She was overreacting. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd snuck out, though it was the only time he'd been caught. All the other times he'd managed to sneak back in before anyone had missed him.
At the feel of someone's hand on his head, he tilted his head back and scowled back up at his older sister, jerking away from her hand and doing his best to put his hair back in place. First his mother, now Grace! He didn't need everyone fussing over him, though Grace was hardly fussing. He just didn't like getting his hair messed with.
Once he was out of everyone's reach, he looked back to see Daniel walk into the apartment. He wasn't sure whether to be glad or nervous. After all, the man did bring him safely back home, even though he hadn't wanted to be, so he supposed the man deserved some kind of reward. But, on the other hand, he could always tell Nicholas' mom about him getting hit with his truck. That would start her fussing all over again and he definitely didn't want that.

When Daniel walked into the apartment, the first thing he noticed was how clean it was, a heck of a lot cleaner than his house. Then again, his house was pretty roughly thrown together so it was pretty hard to tell what was just lousy material and what was actual dirt. In some parts it was both. He also noticed the few stuffed animals littered around the place and smiled weakly.
However, he didn't have long to think about it when he heard someone new address him. Looking over, he saw it was a girl in her middle teens. He nodded to her. "Hello," he said back, watching her like she did him.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Grace gave her brother a small hug before letting him go. She loved him, no matter what he thought. He was her only brother after all.
Walking into the kitchen, she turned on the coffee maker and glanced over at Grace who happened to be staring at the new comer. And she had thought she had taught her kids manners. Her eyes returned to Nicholas who was busily fixing his hair. She smiled, glad that he was alright but she wouldn't tolerate him walking around at night alone. Who knew what could happen to him. Seeing Deserai walk out of her room with a kangaroo in her hands, she rubbed her eyes sleepily. "What's going on?" she asked, having missed the whole panic attack that her mother had gone through. "Nicholas is home." she told her, though she didn't bother to explain that he hadn't been home in the first place. Getting two mugs, she filled them with coffee before setting them on the table. "Go to back to sleep Deserai." she told her softly since it was obvious that the toddler was tired. And she almost did follow the orders.. up until she saw the stranger. "Is that daddy?" The cup that Elenore had been holding as she stirred the sugar in it fell to the floor and shattered, burning her skin as well. Hissing from the pain, she quickly stepped away from the hot liquid and was careful not to step on the glass. Why did Deserai have to be such a curious kid? Why? She didn't know what would be going through Daniel's head now but she didn't think it was going to be good. Biting her lip, she sighed and handed him the other cup of coffee that already had sugar in it. Deserai was looking wide eyed at the broken mug, forgetting about her question by now.
"Go ahead and sit-" her voice was cut off when she heard Deserai's question. That kid asked way too many questions.

((I have to go.))  

[Katydid50]

Nicholas glowered at his sister as she hugged him before quickly scurrying away, out of reach. He hated when people fussed over him, especially Grace. It seemed unnatural. Big sisters were supposed yell and scream at little brothers. This... This just wasn't right.

Daniel followed Elenore into the kitchen, once again glancing around the room and taking in everything. He was still aware, however, of the teenager staring at him. He'd come to know the feeling of being watched. It wasn't pleasant but he would tolerate it, for now anyway. Glancing over at where Nicholas, having escape his sister's grip, was fixing his hair. Daniel shook his head. There was something not quite right with that kid.
First wandering the streets alone at night. Now this. He seemed far too grown up for his age, whatever that was.
When he heard the sound of little feet, he glanced over to see a little girl, no more than three, enter the room. He smiled at the sight of the tired little girl holding the kangaroo. It was quite the cute sight. He watched silently as Elenore, vaguely, explained the situation to her before telling her to go back to sleep.
He looked over at the teenager as she told him to sit and was about to but froze when he heard the toddler's question. "Is that daddy?" He stared down at the toddler, shocked by her question. But his attention was torn away from her at the sound of glass breaking. He spotted the broken mug and spilled coffee on the floor at Elenore's feet. He was about to offer to help when Elenore handed the remaining coffee mug to him. To be honest, he was shocked by the little girl's question but that was about it. He didn't think any differently of the rest of the family though it did make him curious. Where was their father?  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

"No, Deserai." she simply told her before looking over at Grace, hoping that she would understand and take the toddler back to bed. Things had obviously gone downhill. Grace led Deserai back to her room, planning on tucking her in as well. "Nicholas, get ready for bed." she said looking over at him for a moment, he had school tomorrow and she didn't want him to stay up. If he sneaked out right now, she would know. Getting a mop, she knew that a few questions were probably running through Daniel's head.. it seemed like he found out more about her life in one day than anyone at the office had in a few years. "Sorry about that." she said softly to Daniel, it was odd to be put into another family's drama. She knew she would have felt out of place.
She grabbed a broom afterward. "You can sit down, you know." she gestured towards the couch and towards the dinning room table. Biting her lip, she finished up with the mess and threw all the shards away into the trash can that was under the sink. Sitting down at the dinning room table, she ran her fingers through her hair for the moment. "I didn't mean for it to turn out this way." Elenore said in a low voice before looking over at him. "I really do appreciate you bringing Nicholas home though.." she didn't know what she would have done if Nicholas hadn't been on the other end of that door.
((short.. sorry))  

[Katydid50]

((It's ok but you've gone bad timing. I have to go))

Daniel stared at the girl before her older sister ushered her into her room. He then glanced over at Nicholas, watching the boy look at his sister, then his mother before nodding and disappearing into another room, presumably his bedroom. When Elenore apologized, Daniel turned his gaze back to her and shook his head. "Don't be. It's not your fault." Kids did say the oddest things. Well, most kids did. He couldn't remember what he was like when he was young.
He took a seat at the kitchen table, setting the coffee mug on the table before him. He watched as she cleaned up the mess, feeling like he should do something to help but unsure if he should, or if it would even be welcomed. People were weird. It was impossible to judge possible reactions. When she sat down next to him, he smiled weakly. He knew she hadn't meant for things to turn out that way. Sometimes, things just happened. He didn't blame her.
He smiled again when she said that she appreciated him bringing Nicholas home. "Don't mention it," he said. "I couldn't just leave him out there all alone now, could I?" Then again, most people probably would have too. Nicholas was just lucky that it was Daniel who had found him and not someone else. He knew personally what kind of creeps skulked around at night and he had the scars to prove it.
He took a drink from the mug, surprised to find it was actually quite good. Usually, he didn't much care for the coffee other people made but this he actually liked. "You might want to consider putting bars on that kid's window," he said. "Though I'm not sure what good it would do. If he's half as smart as he seems, he'll find a way to get rid of them."  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

She had tried to tell Deserai that her father was gone.. out of their lives but she only replied with, 'he's coming back soon.. right?' It frustrated her to no end but it seemed like Deserai couldn't grasp the concept. Even though Deserai had no memory of her father, she was sure that she still wanted one. That wasn't possible though. Not now. So in a way it was her fault, though she kept her mouth shut, her mind bringing up the last few memories she had had with her ex-husband. You would think that he wouldn't have done something like that.. but he had. Shaking her head slightly, she pushed those thoughts away. Her only concerns were her children now and making sure that they were happy. Nicholas wasn't the same ever since they had left.. neither was Grace.
"You never know with people." she said with a small smile. Living in a city full of people wasn't always the best place for a kid at night, especially one that was all alone. A small laugh escaped her lips when he mentioned bars. No, she could never do that to her children. It would be like living in a prison instead of a loving home. Sure, their family wasn't the most ideal one, but at least everyone got along now. Folding one of the napkins that was on the table, she looked over at Daniel. "Nicholas is a smart kid.. he always has been." she said with a smile, proud of her son. He didn't always love affection from any of them but he knew that they all loved him no matter what. "How did you find him anyway?" Elenore asked, not knowing if he had just seen a kid on the street and decided to stop or if it was something else.  

[Katydid50]

Daniel took another sip of the coffee, watching as sadness flashed across Elenore's face, but only for a moment. He considered questioning her on it but pushed the thought away. The last thing she needed was him sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Heck, he shouldn't even be there. He should have declined her offer for coffee, dropped off the milk at Michael's and gone home. But he hadn't. He had hit a kid with his truck, even though he'd been going slower than a person could walk, and had walked the kid home since Nicholas had refused to get into the truck with him.
Sighing quietly to himself, he took a drink from the mug before placing it back down on the table. He still couldn't get over how she happened to instinctively make the coffee just how he liked it. He wanted to ask her about that as well but didn't.
When she said that you never knew with people, he nodded in agreement. "You got that right," he muttered. He knew from experience how unpredictable people could be; sometimes it was for the better but usually it was for the worst. And especially in the city. In cities, people seemed even more crazy than they were normally. He suspected it had something to do with living in such close quarters and breathing the polluted air twenty four-seven. Or maybe it was something in the water. He didn't have any of those problems, living where he did. He'd seen enough of the city and he would never live in one again.
When Elenore told him Nicholas had always been a smart kid, he wasn't overly surprised. He smiled back at her, seeing clearly the pride she felt for her son. She should be proud, but also worried. Smart but restless kids, like Nicholas, tended to get into trouble quite easily.
He was halfway through another drink from the mug when she asked how he had found Nicholas. He choked on his mouthful of coffee. Lowering the mug back to the table, he swallow the mouthful before giving a single, deep cough to clear his airways of any liquid. Taking a deep breath, he blinked back the reflex tears that had formed.  

[Katydid50]

(( heart ))  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

She drummed her fingers against the table top. Elenore knew that her ex-husband would find her soon enough and ask to see his kids. Of course, he knew nothing about Deserai and she would prefer to keep it that way. Even if he did find out, she knew he would probably think it was from someone else. While Grace and Nicholas wouldn't go back to their father, she knew Deserai would want to.. just to see what it would be like to have a father for once. Then again, he most likely wouldn't accept her. Why was she even thinking about this? She had thought about this for a while before, when Deserai was first born and she didn't want to think it over again. What happened happened. After Deserai had been born though, they rarely talked about her ex-husband. She didn't want Deserai to know anything about him. Grace didn't bother to ever ask why she had left.. perhaps she had figured it out. Nicholas on the other hand.. she wasn't sure what he thought about it but she knew he was angry with his father.
Hearing him choke and cough after her question, she blinked. "Are you alright?" she asked.. it now was obvious that he probably hadn't found Nicholas the traditional way.. by looking out the window. "What happened?" a bit of concern was added to her voice though she didn't realize it. Nicholas didn't have any blood on him when he came in.. and he had said he was fine.. Putting her hands together on the table, she looked at Daniel, waiting for him to answer her question. Maybe she was just worrying about nothing.. perhaps her question had just taken him by surprise.. but what if it hadn't?