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Dani was always cool under pressure. No matter how hectic the situation got, she could always be depended upon to keep preternaturally calm before deciding her next move. It was what made her a great detective. It was also what made her virtually the only one able to handle Malcolm Bright. But at this current moment in time, she wasn’t feeling very cool or calm.
Meeting your boyfriend’s family for the first time was always a big deal. Meeting your fiancé’s family for the first time was an even bigger deal. When your fiancé’s family consisted of the notorious Jessica and Ainsley Whitly, it was the biggest deal. She felt silly knowing that she had once infiltrated the biggest Haitian drug cartel in New York State while undercover in narcotics but was very nervous about spending a few hours among the most well-heeled people in the city.
She absently ran her hands down the elegant, strapless black gown that had been delivered to her earlier in the day in a large black box with the word Givenchy stamped on the top.The note attached had read “For the most beautiful cop in the city, Love Bright” Dani had smiled at the incredibly thoughtful gesture, immediately texting her thanks. Her heart was warmed by the knowledge that Malcolm knew her well enough to select something she would pick out for herself.
Her eyes inevitably went to the admittedly huge diamond ring on her left hand. The team had teased them relentlessly when they saw it, with JT remarking that “you can go skating on that thing.” They had never officially told anyone that they’d started dating but no one on the team had been surprised when it happened. In fact, they all expected it. Much to her chagrin and Malcolm’s amusement, the team had actually taken bets on how long it would take him to pop the question. No one could ever accuse Malcolm Bright of being subtle and to her shock and quite frankly offense, she learned that she looked just as lovesick as he did.
Dani peered into the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. The woman staring back didn’t quite look like her as her curly hair had been straightened and fastened into a chignon at the base of her neck. She’d wandered into the Dominican salon near her apartment in the Bronx, once she’d left work. After telling the women working there where she was going later that night, one stylist vowed to make look just like “that Princess in England.” While she didn’t exactly feel like royalty, Dani thought she looked pretty nice.
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“Why are we frowning?” She saw her fiancé’s handsome face appear in the mirror as his arms encircled her waist and he rested his chin in the crook of her neck. She tried to suppress a shiver at the feeling of his rough stubble against her bare skin. Malcolm had a key to her apartment though it was hardly used as they spent most of their time at his apartment in Tribeca.
“What are you talking about? We’re going to a party, this is my happy face,” she answered, though her expression didn’t look very happy to her own eyes.
Malcolm laughed softly, kissing the spot just below her ear. “That most definitely is not your happy face. Also you just said a party the way most people say the dentist.” He could feel Dani’s discomfort and he felt guilty for putting her in such a weird spot.
They had gotten engaged a little over a week ago and Malcolm hadn’t exactly planned to propose. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true as he had an engagement ring designed specifically for her several weeks ago. He just didn’t anticipate asking her right then. The original plan had been to cook dinner for her that night.
Dani did so much for him, she had been long before they’d confessed their feelings for each other and he wanted to show her his appreciation. Malcolm just didn’t expect to see the expression on her face as she watched him finish up in the kitchen. Moreover, he never expected to see that expression directed at him–one of complete adoration–from anyone. He didn’t deserve it. Not the son of The Surgeon, the one who had been groomed as a child to become just like him.
Dani knew about the girl in the box. He’d told her once, giving her the option to leave him so she wouldn’t have to be with a murderer. She’d faced him head on, her soft hands cupping both of his cheeks. Her warm brown eyes met his icy clear ones and she told him without even a hint of uncertainty that he was a good man. That whatever happened back then hadn’t been his fault. All of that was on Martin Whitly and Paul Lazar, it was their sickness not his.
He had been reminded of that moment then and he knew what had to be done.
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She rolled her eyes at his teasing and turned around in his arms. Dani looked at him fully. Malcolm looked impeccable in his sharp tuxedo, not a single dark hair out of place and his all but translucent eyes nearly glowing. Truthfully, he looked impeccable everyday. Even bloody and bruised as was his way on more than a few occasions since she’d known him, Malcolm still looked better than anyone had a right to, “You clean up pretty well.”
Malcolm smirked, “I try.” He spun her around slowly to get a good look, “But you, Mrs. Bright, you look magnificent.”
She smirked back at him, a playful glint in her deep brown eyes, “Not yet.”
“No,” he allowed. “But soon.”
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As they made their way into the gala venue, Dani surveyed the scene. Her eyes darted from side to side as if a gun-toting perpetrator were seconds away from jumping out from behind one of the elaborate ice sculptures that dotted the ballroom. Malcolm’s “never-better” not currently shaky hand was resting at the small of her back as he guided her through the crowd of Champagne-sipping patrons. His fingers tapped her lightly as if telling her to relax. She knew she was acting like a total cop at the moment but she couldn’t help it.
Dani’s face was impassive but Malcolm knew she was moments away from jumping out of her skin at the slightest provocation, making him grateful that she didn’t have her gun on her. He rubbed her back, hoping to reassure her that the night wasn’t going to be that bad. Malcolm wasn’t actually sure such a promise could be made as he spotted his sister’s blonde head in the crowd. He was a little surprised Ainsley had made it as he knew she and their mother weren’t really getting along due to the fallout from her interview with their father.
Ainsley was chatting with some people he didn’t know and as if on cue, her attention snapped to him. Her brown eyes widened as she saw that her brother hadn’t arrived alone. Malcolm watched in mild amazement at how quickly she made her way over to them in her towering stilettos.
“Hey bro! Who is this?” Ainsley asked, clearly not wasting any time with pleasantries. Her curiosity was definitely piqued. Ainsley remembered awhile ago that she had thrown her brother under the bus on camera about his lack of success in the romance department among other things. She had later felt guilty about that but the penultimate rule of being a Whitly was never talk about your feelings. She also vaguely remembered their mother bragging about setting Malcolm up with some friend of hers. Ainsley didn’t think any of her mother’s henchwomen would be ideally suited for her brother but that wasn’t her fight and with Jessica Whitly, always pick your battles. That said, Ainsley was almost 100 percent sure that woman and this woman were two completely different people.
Ainsley noted that this woman was dark-haired, willowy, dressed in this season’s Givenchy–a dress that was absolutely to die for, in her opinion and very pretty. The tight line of the woman’s lips and her rigid posture indicated that she wasn’t some society maven. Despite being so elegantly dressed, this woman honestly looked like she could kick someone’s ass.
Who was she? Most importantly where did her brother find her? Ainsley knew he didn’t get out much.
Malcolm smiled, “Ains, this is Dani.” Ainsley noted the caressing way he said the woman’s name and she immediately knew there was more to the story.
Dani smiled politely and extended a hand in greeting. Ainsley went to return the gesture before the massive diamond ring on Dani’s finger, the one glittering in the light from the overhead chandelier, stole her attention. Instead of shaking, she impolitely brought Dani’s hand up to her face for a closer look.
He did not just do what I think he did.
“My fiancée,” her brother finished. Ainsley gaped at him. Malcolm had done a lot of things, all of which were varying degrees of surprising but this took the cake–the wedding cake apparently.
“Fiancée? As in like getting married? As in like you’re getting married?” To say Ainsley was floored would be an understatement of epic proportion. She could list her brother’s relationships on one hand and none of them lasted longer than a few months at a time and even that would be a generous assessment.
Malcolm nodded slowly and Dani gently pulled her hand from Ainsley’s grasp, “How long have you guys been together?” Ainsley was trying to do the math in her head, trying to see how Malcolm would have the time to date someone long enough to propose to them in between briefly dating someone else and getting kidnapped by their psychotic dad’s psychotic bff. Nothing was adding up.
Ainsley watched as a look passed between her brother and the woman he was apparently going to marry. She noticed that they had that weird telepathic way of communicating that only people who really really knew each other were able to do. “Almost three months but we’ve known each other quite a bit longer,” Malcolm answered.
“We work together with Gil,” Dani chimed in. Ainsley nodded and suddenly everything made sense. Working with Gil meant that Dani had probably seen a lot especially in regard to her brother. Dani probably knew a lot too and the fact that she still wanted to tie herself to Malcolm forevermore, made Ainsley like her already. You couldn’t afford to have a weak stomach if you were marrying into their family.
Once her initial shock had somewhat worn off, Ainsley couldn’t help but be a little impressed that her brother had managed to pull all of this off under their mother’s nose and it was kind of romantic too if she were being honest. Furthermore, the fact that Malcolm had fallen in love with a cop made this so much better, their mother would die when she found out.
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“Okay, while I’m still digesting the fact that I will have a sister-in-law. You must tell me the proposal story,” Ainsley said taking a sip of Champagne. Knowing her brother, this was going to be good.
She noticed Dani relax a bit and she found herself pleased by it. Ainsley knew Malcolm must have told Dani about her, including her toad-like behavior in the past and she wanted Dani to like her. Her brother was embarking on a whole new life and even though their relationship hasn’t always been the smoothest, Ainsley did want to be apart of it. Especially if future nieces or nephews were involved. Any child of her brother’s, Ainsley knew she would spoil to the high heavens.
“It was very sweet. Bright proposed on a night he cooked dinner for me,” Dani said, a fond smile appearing on her face as she recalled the memory.
Ainsley didn’t know her brother to be much of a cook, considering that he barely ate, but she did remember him spending a lot of time in the kitchen with Jackie when they were younger, “You made her one of Jackie’s recipes didn’t you?” The look that passed between Malcolm and Dani was almost diabetes-inducing and she absolutely died at their cuteness.
“I did.”
“Bright then vowed that he would kill anyone in the world for me,” Dani stated matter-of-factly, bumping her shoulder against Malcolm’s before grinning at him. Ainsley snorted. Now that was on brand for her brother.
“Okay, that was a mistake,” Malcolm jumped in quickly. “But it’s what I said after. Now that was good, if I do say so myself.”
“What did you say, Romeo?” Ainsley joked, though hanging on his every word. This was the most exciting thing to happen in their family that had absolutely nothing to do with murder in a long time.
Ainsley then realized that she’d never seen her brother so lighthearted. Sure, he’d joked with her in the past but that often had a tinge of bitter self-deprecation. Malcolm looked so at ease, his blue eyes no longer reminding her of shattered crystal. Ainsley realized that this was all because of Dani. He loved her and she loved him right back. Ainsley hadn’t been in their collective presence very long but she could tell. A blind person could tell.
“I said that I love her more than I ever thought it was possible to love another human being,” Malcolm replied, obviously pleased with himself.
“Oh my God! You sweet talker,” Ainsley squealed loudly, causing a few of the surrounding patrons to look their way. She swatted his shoulder playfully and Malcolm rolled his eyes at his sister’s melodrama.
Dani watched this exchange between her fiancé and his sister and she couldn’t help but soften at least a little toward the youngest Whitly. She had seen the infamous interview and judging by the way Malcolm had brushed her off when she brought it up that time, she knew he had been hurt by it. For that reason alone, she had to force herself not to judge Ainsley harshly. That said, based on all of her professional and personal dealings with Malcolm, she knew that Martin’s poison had infected all of them and everyone didn’t react in the same way. Even though Malcolm refused to give himself any credit, Dani knew it took real strength to act in the way he did. Malcolm chose to give compassion when he’d only been given pain. Not everyone was strong enough to do the same.
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As Ainsley continued to talk with Malcolm and Dani, over her brother’s shoulder she could see their mother nearby and it would be mere seconds before Hurricane Jessica made her way over. “I have to go to the bathroom! You know, undergarment check,” She announced suddenly. “Dani, come with?”
Malcolm made a face, “Ains. Gross.”
Ainsley rolled her eyes at her brother for being twelve and without waiting for Dani’s answer, she grabbed the taller woman’s thin wrist and pulled her away from what would likely be an utter scene if Jessica had anything to do with it. Ainsley knew she owed her brother one and this was her way of repaying her debt. Clearly, Malcolm had to break the news of his engagement to their mother at some point but an ambush was quite literally the worst idea ever. Ainsley seriously wished he had told her ahead of time, at least then they could’ve come up with a game plan.
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Malcolm watched in complete bewilderment as his sister and fiancée disappeared into a throng of gala-goers.
“Malcolm, my darling!” He heard his mother’s voice ring out from behind him. Suddenly, Ainsley’s impromptu trip to the bathroom with Dani in tow made a lot of sense. He turned around, forcing an easy smile.
“Hello Mother, this is some party you’ve thrown.” He saw his mother wearing a sparkling blue gown, making a beeline for him. A Champagne flute in one hand, the arm of some woman he didn’t know in the other. He clinched his jaw to keep his pleasant expression in place, knowing full well what was about to come next.
“Of course it is, “ Jessica said dismissively, noting that her son had done exactly what she’d asked him to. He looked perfect in his tuxedo but he was her son after all–so it wasn’t like he had a choice.
“I would like you to meet Brittany.” Jessica motioned to the young blonde woman with a stiff looking updo, too much blush and an overeager smile. His mother presented this woman to him like a gameshow host would present a contestant with a new car.
Malcolm nodded politely and he saw Brittany’s already too eager smile grow. Christ
“Brittany is a Dartmouth graduate with a degree in economics. Isn’t that impressive, dear?” Malcolm fought the strong urge to roll his eyes at his mother practically reciting this woman’s CV to him. He briefly looked over his mother’s shoulder and saw that Ainsley and Dani had returned from the bathroom. Ainsley was excitedly explaining something to her and Dani was nodding reluctantly.
An idea popped into his mind.
As if sensing his eyes on them, they both looked up. He caught Dani’s attention specifically and beckoned her over to him. He waved off Ainsley mouthing, “What are you doing?!” Malcolm knew what he was about to do was a little unkind but he really couldn’t help himself.
Malcolm was unable to stop the smirk that the stretched across his lips. “It’s lovely to meet you, Brittany. I would like you to meet my fiancée, Danika,” he said, using Dani’s full name. He knew she’d hate it but he kind of had a point to make.
Dani sensed exactly what she’d just walked into and while she wanted to scold Malcolm for doing such a thing for no reason other than his own amusement, the blonde was standing entirely too close to him for her liking. She extended her hand, “Please call me, Dani.” She said smoothly, taking a bit of satisfaction when the blonde’s smile vanished at once.
The blonde shook Dani’s hand limply, excused herself and scurried away. Malcolm immediately rested his hand on the small of Dani’s back, at once feeling comforted by her warmth. As soon as he’d announced Dani’s presence, he saw the color drain from his mother’s face. He knew he was in for it.
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“Your what?” Jessica wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly because it sounded an awful lot like her son was introducing a girl she had never met, much less never vetted as his fiancée. Malcolm had to have been joking. He knew better than this.
Did he though? The unwanted thought entered her head. As much as she hated it, her son did whatever the hell he wanted, whenever the hell he wanted. Her approval or lack thereof never factored much into his decision making.
She dismissed those thoughts as soon as they arrived, preferring to go back to thinking that he had been joking but then she noticed the ring on the girl’s left hand. It was a solitaire set in platinum, with an elongated cushion-cut diamond that had to be at least five carats by her estimation. That ring, however ostentatious in her opinion, was no laughing matter. Jessica felt herself growing lightheaded.
This could not be.
Jessica looked at the girl from head to toe. She was tall, an inch or so taller than her son and thin. Her nearly black hair was fastened in a sleek chignon. Her face really was quite beautiful, Jessica noted sourly. The girl had high cheekbones, full lips and big brown eyes. Her makeup was simple but it complemented her olive complexion. Her dress was black and strapless with a tasteful asymmetric slit going up the front. Jessica could tell the dress was very expensive, possibly one of Clare Waight Keller's designs. Jessica kept searching the girl’s appearance for some sort of defect, something that would clearly mark her as unsuitable for her son but there was none. The girl was as elegant and graceful as anyone she’d ever introduced Malcolm to–perhaps more so. Where on Earth did he find her on his own? The more she looked at her, the more Jessica had the overwhelming suspicion that she had seen this girl before, she knew her.
“My fiancée,” Malcolm said again. Jessica narrowed her eyes at the way her son had his arm casually looped around the girl’s tiny waist. She could see their ease around each other. Her son was never at ease around anyone.
“Hello Mrs. Whitly.” The girl said politely, her outer borough accent grated on Jessica’s already raw nerves. She didn’t return the pleasantry. Who was this girl and why did she think she was going to marry her son?
Jessica could see Malcolm stiffen, moving closer to the girl though they were already too close in her opinion. His hand, the one that once had uncontrollable tremors, had migrated to the bony ridge of the girl's hip and she could see his fingers tap against her. The girl looked at him and seemed to be communicating something to him with only only her eyes. Jessica didn’t like this at all.
All of a sudden, Jessica knew where she’d seen this girl before. Jessica had seen her in her very own home. She remembered Gil being called over to investigate that mysterious phone call that ended up being from Paul Lazar. Gil had brought over his team of detectives. The girl was one of them. She had been dressed far more casually and her shoulder length hair had been curly at the time as Jessica assumed that it was naturally that way but it was the same girl, she was sure of it.
Jessica was at a complete loss for words. She didn’t know if it was due to her fourth glass of Champagne or her son’s audacity but she could not find words to accurately express her feelings about her murder obsessed son thinking he was going to marry an officer of the law. It was preposterous.
Jessica noted the girl’s expression. She had none. The girl coolly stared at her as if looking through her, completely unfazed by her growing distress. She could picture her son and this girl having quite the laugh at her expense on their way home. His silly mother being delusional enough to think that she could ever pick a girl who could compete with this pretty crimefighter. Jessica forced herself to relax her grip on the Champagne flute lest it shatter and the alcohol ruin her dress.
She also noticed the glass of sparking water in the girl’s hand and a horrible thought crossed her mind, “Are you pregnant?” The girl’s eyes widened and an “O” of surprise formed on her glossy pink lips.
“Mother! How dare you?!” Malcolm was utterly mortified that his mother would suggest that the reason he proposed to the love of his life was because of some shotgun situation. The reason Dani wasn’t drinking was because she had decided to treat this night like an undercover mission, she was keeping all of her wits about her. Malcolm had teased her for acting like a cop but it had been for good reason.
He didn’t exactly expect his mother to take the news well as she wasn’t the biggest fan of surprises but this was far beyond what he expected and he had never felt so humiliated. As with Ainsley, he thought that once she got over her initial shock, she’d be happy for him. He’d been very wrong.
“How dare I? HOW DARE I?” Jessica’s voice sounded shrill and far too loud to her own ears. They were attracting the attention of everyone nearby. She shook her head, she wouldn’t cause a scene, though she knew very well that that ship had long sailed by. She couldn’t deal with this right now.
“We will discuss this later,” his mother threatened lowly before storming off. People quite literally jumping out of her way lest they get mowed down.
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“Dani, I am so so sorry,” Malcolm said apologetically, misery clouding his ice blue eyes. He couldn’t stand the guilt flooding through him at the fact that he’d pretty much walked her into a set up. “I would say that she’s not usually like that but that would be a lie.”
As always, he didn’t find any condemnation in her soft brown eyes. “It’s okay, Bright. I didn’t really expect to be welcomed with open arms.”
The honesty and resignation in her voice broke his heart. Dani was amazing–she was more than amazing actually. She was kind, compassionate and patient. Not only with him but he saw it everyday at work. Dani did everything she could to find justice for the victims and their families. She did so much without expecting a single thing in return. She didn’t deserve his mother’s hideous treatment and he felt like the world’s worst fiancé for allowing it to happen.
“This is all my fault but I promise, I’m going to fix it.” He vowed.
Dani nodded. She hated how crestfallen Malcolm looked and she wanted to at least end their night on a positive note, “How about you make it up to me with a dance?”
The band had started playing a jazzy rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” She honestly preferred the Ms. Lauryn Hill version but she was going to take what she could get.
Malcolm smiled though it didn’t meet his eyes, “Of course.” He swept her up in his arms and she remembered just how light on his feet he was.
He noticed Dani’s expression turn wistful for a moment, a smile playing at the corner of her lips, “What?”
She laughed softy, “I was just thinking of the last time you asked me to dance.” He gave her a funny look. He didn’t remember dancing with her at any point. “It was the night you tracked me down at Estime’s club.”
Malcolm thought back to that night. He and Dani hadn’t been at the club very long before Estime had summoned them. He remembered seeing the imposing man glowering at them from behind what he’d called a "bad guy window.” They really hadn’t been there ten minutes before they began dodging bullets courtesy of Salo Reyes, the Dominican drug lord. It had been a wild night but he still didn’t remember that they’d danced together.
He shook his head as he twirled her around, “I don’t remember.”
Amusement danced in her beautiful brown eyes, “That’s not surprising but it was at your place. You were jumping on furniture, inviting me to throw axes with you. I was made aware that you have five or six broad-bladed ones.”
Malcolm nodded still very much confused. He did, though those axes were mostly for his personal collection. If she wanted to go axe-throwing, he’d certainly take her. “Then you turned on what was Sinatra, I think and asked me to dance–though ‘asked’ was more like accosted.”
“And then what happened?”
“Then I threatened to kick you in the business.”
He laughed, “Of course you did. I bet that showed me.”
She laughed too, “Actually no. It went completely over your head but you did inform me that ‘the business is good.”
Malcolm groaned internally. He had been high out of his mind, flirting with her. And here he thought the snake incident was embarrassing. “Well, we both know that I was right,” he said cheekily.
He watched Dani’s eyes widen before she threw her head back, dissolving into giggles. He was grateful to see her smile again after the night’s previous unpleasantness.
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Once they’d made it back to his apartment, Malcolm had shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket and loosened his bowtie and Dani had collapsed on his black leather couch, too tired to take off her dress. Malcolm had offered to help with that, waggling his brows at her. She snorted and rolled her eyes.
Handing her a mug of freshly brewed Earl Grey, Malcolm sat down beside her. Dani immediately put her legs in his lap, wiggling her red painted toes. Her strappy stilettos though beautiful had absolutely killed her feet and though Ainsley had told her that Champagne made it hurt less, she’d chosen not to drink and she was honestly glad she did.
“Hey, I saw you and Ainsley talking right before I made you walk through that landmine,” Malcolm said, his fingers gently massaging her ankles. “What was she telling you?”
“Oh, nothing really. But apparently I have been invited to something called a ‘Sunday Funday.’”
Malcolm couldn’t help but laugh. His sister was unbelievable.
“So…are you gonna tell me what that is or…” Dani shot him a peeved glare over her mug of tea.
“It’s brunch.” He laughed harder at Dani’s groan and the adorable way she scrunched up her nose at the idea of yet another social gathering with his family. “But look at it this way, there will be Mimosas.”
Dani realized that she might actually need a Mimosa or two in order to deal with the Whitly women.
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His mother barged into his apartment the very next morning. When she had threatened that they were going to talk about his engagement, Malcolm had expected that it would be soon, though he didn’t expect it to be first thing the following morning.
“You’re going to have to stop doing that.” Malcolm sat at the island, washing down his wide array of prescription pills with his customary black coffee.
“Doing what?” His mother asked, her face filled with self-righteous indignation.
“Barging in here whenever the mood strikes you.”
“Sweetheart. I own the building,” Jessica said slowly as if speaking to a child. After the stunt Malcolm pulled last night, Jessica was in no mood to be trifled with. She came over for answers and the only answer she’d be satisfied with was her son agreeing to end this ridiculous farce so they could all go on with their lives as usual.
“I could buy it from you.”
Jessica blinked. She was always pestering him to be the Milton man she knew he was capable of being but now that she had seen it, she wasn’t a fan. She looked at her son. Really looked at him. She noted the hard set of his jaw and the steel behind eyes that weren’t entirely different from her own. Her son was practically begging her to call his bluff.
Malcolm couldn’t believe how quickly the conversation had escalated. All he was asking for was some common courtesy so that his mother wouldn’t walk through his door whenever she wanted without calling first but now they were drawing lines in the sand. It was quite frankly absurd but it was the Whitly way. She wouldn’t give in and neither would he.
“You would buy out your own mother?”
“Yes, if I had to.”
Jessica realized that she had never seen her son this way before. Suddenly, she knew that she was no longer looking at the ten year old boy, the one she couldn’t–didn’t protect but instead she was looking at the man who had forged his own path, largely without her help.
Ainsley had always been fiercely independent even as a child but Malcolm was different. Jessica always felt like he needed her–even as an adult. She had been determined to mother him in the way she should’ve done twenty years ago. She wasn’t the best at showing she cared but her constant presence, in her mind was a way to remedy that. She was stung at the fact that he no longer required that–if he ever did.
Refusing to concede the argument to her son, Jessica continued on. “Honestly, Malcolm. You would really choose a stranger over your own family?”
Malcolm closed his eyes as he slowly counted to five in his head. He wasn’t known to be hot tempered but his mother was “trying it” as Dani would say.
“Dani is my family too,” he said resolutely, feeling more calm than he had five seconds ago. Jessica knew right then that she had lost. There was nothing she could say and whatever she did say would only cause Malcolm to dig his heels in more.
When Jessica selected girls for her son to date, it wasn’t done as a means of controlling him as he probably thought. She only wanted to be around and those girls wouldn’t mind her presence in their lives. With this girl–Dani–that wouldn’t be possible. Dani and Malcolm worked together. They clearly had similar interests and the synergetic way they behaved around each other meant that it would be the two of them and she would be on the outside. Jessica also knew that the inappropriate way she behaved last night didn’t exactly help things.
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“You know, if you gave her a chance. I think you’d like her.” Malcolm said, his eyes softening a bit. Being a profiler, he close read people’s expressions and emotions for a living and it wasn’t hard to figure out that his mother was afraid of losing him. He understood where she was coming from but he needed her to know that him having his own life wasn’t a personal affront to her.
“How do you figure that?” Jessica asked, still unwilling to let go of her stubbornness.
“Because she’s wonderful and she loves me.”
At that, Jessica softened. She knew Malcolm was a lot–more than she had been able to deal with in the past and if this Dani could stick around through the night terrors, the medication, the hallucinations, the anxiety, the PTSD, the depression, the visits to his father and the repressed memories; that meant she had to be one tough young lady. Toughness was something Jessica couldn’t help but respect, in fact there was nothing she valued more.
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“Powell, would you get in here for a minute?” Gil called her over into his office. She wondered what he wanted as they were massively busy with this new case that was bigger than they’d originally thought. She had been in and out of the interrogation room all day.
Expecting him to send her to a new location to investigate, Dani stopped short when she saw Jessica Whitly. In her expensive white coat and matching Birkin, Malcolm’s mother looked quite a bit out of place in a police station.
“Danika, it’s lovely to see you again,” Jessica said formally and Dani refrained from bristling at the use of her full name. She noted that while the older woman’s posture was stiff, the expression on her face was pleasant enough.
Gil quickly ducked out of the room to give them some privacy and Dani realized she was suddenly alone with the woman. She wished Malcolm were at her side and immediately felt ridiculous as she had personally collared some of the most notorious drug dealers and murderers in the city. She could handle a society matron.
“And you as well, Mrs. Whitly.” Dani didn’t know what Jessica’s angle was but she hoped it wasn’t to tell her how she didn’t think she was good enough for her son. That was a message Dani had already received loud and clear.
Jessica noticed how the young woman’s face didn’t change and she continued on, “I just came down to apologize for how I behaved the other night. It was unacceptable.”
Dani agreed, it was. But she wouldn’t give this woman a hard time no matter how much Jessica deserved it. Dani knew in the long run that would hurt Malcolm and he was the last person she’d ever want that for. She loved him too much. “I accept your apology,” she said.
Dani still looked impassive and Jessica felt like she still had more to say. Jessica found herself fidgeting with the leather gloves in her hands, “Honestly, it wasn’t anything against you personally, dear. I guess, I’m just not ready to let him go.”
Dani knew that Malcolm’s mother was of a different sort but she appreciated the sincerity on the older woman’s face, “Mrs. Whitly, I’m not trying to replace you. And even if you and I don’t get along, I would never forbid Bright to have a relationship with his mother. That’s not me.”
Jessica smiled a bit. Maybe her daughter-in-law wouldn’t hate her after all.
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Malcolm felt a bit of a spring in his step as he returned from the crime lab with a fresh M.E. report in hand. Their case had been upped to a quadruple homicide and Gil was letting him back out in the field albeit with a stern warning of “No shenanigans, Bright.”
He passed by Gil’s office, completely unprepared to see his mother and fiancée talking. Neither of them looked angry so that was a good sign. “What’s going on?” Malcolm asked cautiously, unaware of what he was walking into. He took his place beside Dani, wrapping an arm around her out of habit.
“I just came by to set things right. After our talk yesterday, I had a lot to think about.” Jessica said, her expression fond as opposed to perturbed at the sight of them together. “Also as usual, we will be having our weekly dinner at the house. I will be expecting the both of you.”
“We will be there,” Dani answered, a small smile forming on her lips.
“Wonderful!” Jessica smiled warmly–or whatever constituted as warm for her. She took her leave, squeezing Dani’s hand and kissing Malcolm’s cheek on her way out. His mother paused, halfway out of the door, “Danika, darling. Do keep an eye on him.”
Malcolm rolled his eyes and Dani’s smiled widened, “Yes ma’am.”