Page 21 of Second Chance

Only, Daniel’s here now, and Tony still hasn’t told them anything.

Only, they know now, and there’s nothing to talk about.

Only, now it’s all said and done with nothing having been said or done, and Tony doesn’t feel relieved.

Instead, he still has all sorts of things weighing on his chest, and he doesn’t know what he’d have to say to get them off. The one time he felt anywhere close was in Daniel’s car the other day, and even then, Tony’s not sure he managed to scratch the surface.

It takes him much longer to wind his way into town in this direction. He takes a wrong turn once, and he has to pause to walk once or twice when the stitch gets to him. He could use some water. And a hat. The sun makes his head feel swollen and warm, or maybe it’s the exertion.

Daniel’s car is in the lot when he gets there.

Tony takes the stairs up two at a time with the last of his energy.

He has a key, technically. When Daniel and Colette had to go to a conference in Atlanta in April, Tony fed Worf and watered Colette’s plants, and Daniel told him to keep the key for next time. Tony still feels weird about using it when Daniel’s home. He presses the buzzer instead.

“Hey,” Daniel says when he opens the door. He looks tired, the top buttons on his shirt undone and the little worry lines he’s starting to get on his forehead more pronounced. “When did you get here?”

“An hour or so ago.” Tony doesn’t know how long he was running for. “Gianna told me something happened at the college?”

Daniel steps aside wordlessly and lets Tony in. While Tony’s busy untying his laces and getting some water from the kitchen, Daniel collapses onto the couch, slumped over.

Worf trots over immediately as if he can sense Daniel’s mood. He probably can, tiny gremlin. He jumps up onto the couch with one of his weird squawks and squats next to Daniel, purring like an unoiled hinge.

“Bad day?” Tony asks, padding over to Daniel once he’s drained two glasses of water.

“Amelia Lawrence was stabbed in her office. We don’t know by whom. The police shut the whole college down for the next who knows how long.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.” Daniel scrubs his hands over his face. “I don’t know what to do… I mean, it’s not safe on campus. Students only got here last week, and we’re sending them home already.”

Tony doesn’t want to sit on the couch in his sweated-through clothes, but he also doesn’t want to leave Daniel alone and head for the shower. He hovers awkwardly instead, trying to find the words. “That’s awful.” Those are definitely not the words. “Is she, um…I mean… Gianna said there was an ambulance?”

Daniel shrugs. “We don’t know yet. We’re supposed to hang tight and stay available.”

“Fuck.”

“Fuck is right. God, Gianna saw?”

“Oh shit,” Tony says, realizing. “You probably didn’t— Lily Peterson is the one who found her. Gigi was on the phone with her before. I know you were worried about her.”

“Jesus fucking Christ on a tricycle.” Daniel forces himself upright, much to Worf’s displeasure, and reaches for his phone. “I’d better call her. Sorry.”

“Go ahead. I’m gonna shower.”

When he gets out of the water, freshly washed and slightly headachy from running before the heat let up, Daniel’s still on the phone. Tony pulls on clothes while Daniel talks—he has six different shirts stored in Daniel’s dresser, it turns out, and he should offer to help with the laundry sometime. He does try not to listen in on another of Lily’s private conversations. In a small apartment, Daniel’s voice carries, and Tony can’tnothear Daniel’s side.

“I’m sure no one thinks that,” he’s saying. “It was a coincidence. A terrible coincidence.”

Daniel smiles at Tony as he sprawls out on the couch and thumbs open one of the awkwardly sized coffee-table books Daniel got from another academic and actually put on the coffee table. Mostly, they use it to put drinks on in the absence of coasters. Daniel really needs more shelf space and maybe a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond.

“Listen, Lily, I’ve watched a lot of crime shows, and I’m pretty sure the worst that can happen is the police asking you a few questions. And I’ve met the police who work around here. They’re not that scary.”

Tony blinks. That’s an odd twist.

“No, I’m sure— Listen, how about you stop by my office tomorrow or the day after, and we can talk about it? Yeah? Okay.”

Daniel hangs up and flings himself onto the couch next to Tony.

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