Page 121 of Second Chance

She breaks off, tears running down her cheeks.

Daniel pats her hand awkwardly. “I don’t blame you. I want you to get healthy, okay?”

There are plenty of things she could have done differently. She could have not brought a gun to Daniel’s office. She could have explained about the knife instead of taping it to the door like a serial killer. She could have decided not to threaten Daniel. She could have told him Sean was waiting outside the officedoor. She could have told her therapist about the drug use; she could have reported Sean’s dealing to the police.

None of them can turn back time and undo what she did. At least this way, Daniel did everything for her he could. Even if Tony thinks it was the wrong call; even if he thinks Lily is to blame for at least some of it, Daniel will be relieved.

Taylor assures them all that Sean is in custody, and he’ll be charged at the very least for illegal possession of weapons and drugs and for what happened in the restaurant. So long as Daniel doesn’t press charges against her for abetting the kidnapping, Lily will be free to recuperate until she’s needed as a witness. Later, after they leave Lily’s room, Taylor adds that it probably won’t be difficult to charge Sean for Amelia Lawrence’s murder, forensically, as the stab wounds don’t match Lily’s height or weight.

Part of Tony can’t believe it’s over as they walk out of the hospital into the blanket of cold night air. Not after he thought everything was done once and turned out to be wrong. He sucks in awful, deep breaths, too done with everything to say anything about what they’ve just learned.

Daniel pulls him tight in a hug. “Thank you for being here. Thank you for… I know how rough this has been on you. I’m so glad you’re with me.”

Tony buries his nose in Daniel’s neck and clings to him.

And then, Tony lets Daniel take him home.

They knock on Colette’s door on the way up.

Meredith answers, shooting a wary look back into the room where Colette is sitting on the couch, crumpled up and small. “Is everything all right?”

“Definite all right.”

“Daniel.”

Daniel sighs. “It was probably Sean who did it. The murder, I mean. We’ll find out in the next couple of days. He was trying to make Lily confess to cover it up.”

Meredith nods sharply.

“Is she…” Tony tries, glancing at Colette.

“I can hear everything you’re saying,” Colette answers, sharp and clear.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“Do you want—”

“Daniel, you’re my best friend, but right now, I’m trying to process that I was once again wrong about who was trustworthy and who was not. You being here and being right about what it means to be an advisor or being responsible for our students…it’s not helping.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think I was right.”

Tony almost whoops with relief.

“I don’t think either of us could have stopped this by giving more,” Daniel adds.

Colette tries to smile. “That’s good to hear. I still don’t feel okay about anything that has happened these last few days.”

“Yeah. I understand. I’m upstairs if you need anything.”

“I know.”

Meredith looks between them shrewdly. “Hey,” she says to Daniel. “I think I’ll stay down here tonight, yeah? All my stuff is still here.”

He nods and doesn’t say thank you, to spare Colette’s feelings, but Tony can tell he’s thinking it before Meredith closes the door, and they head upstairs.

Neither of them is tired anymore, jittery and hopped up on adrenaline, not to mention they slept all day. They crowd into the shower together instead, unwilling to part for more than a minute.

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