"Your what?" The room suddenly felt three sizes too small. Nina could her blood pulsing hotly through her veins. This couldn't be happening.
"Nina." Sean reached out to grab her arm, but she wrenched away from his grasp. "I can explain everything."
"I have to leave." She fetched her coat from the hall closet and shrugged it on. She needed to go. The world had snapped in two and it was getting harder to breathe by the second. Buttoning up her coat, she headed for the door. Sean edged his way in front of her, blocking her exit.
"Nina, please don't go like this. We need to talk." He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. When he looked into her eyes, he saw nothing. Her eyes were empty and blank.
"Take your hands off me," she said softly. "Or I'll put your ass back in a hospital bed." Her voice was monotone, but he could hear the dangerous flicker. Wisely, he did as she requested and she moved toward the door. Delia stepped out of her way.
Sean looked at her retreating back. "Pretty," he whispered. "Don't walk away like this."
Nina paused for a minute. Her heart was urging her to turn around, run to him, and hear what he had to say. But that stubborn streak took over; she was Nina Gill, dammit. She didn't get hung up on boys.
Wordlessly, she stalked out the apartment and into the cold February chill.
*****************
Sean paced around his apartment. "I have to go find her." He started to shrug on his jacket when Delia stopped him.
"Are you crazy? She'll kick your ass."
"Delia, what am I supposed to do? I can't just let her leave like that!"
"Yeah, you can. You have to give her some time Sean. You just basically kept a big secret from someone you supposedly love. You can't just fix that with pretty words."
"How do you know that?"
Delia smiled. "Because I've known you since you were four years old. I can tell these things about you. I know how much you care for her Sean, but if you try to fix everything right away she'll resent you. Give her some time, okay?"
Sean sighed. He knew Delia was right. He just didn't want to hurt Nina. "God, I am so fucking stupid!" He plopped down on the sofa.
Delia patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Yeah, you are. Why would you call me your wife, jackass? We've officially been divorced for nearly a month."
"Force of habit, I suppose. I really screwed up, huh Deals?"
"Yeah, but I have faith in you to fix things."
Sean nodded. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Your mother called me. She said it would have been a good idea to come by."
"It would have been nice if you had called first."
"Would you have answered?"
He eyed her. "What kind of question is that?"
"A legitimate one. I haven't seen you in a long time."
"I've been super busy, Delia. That doesn't mean I don't want to be around you. I've been working an important case."
"I know. Your mother told me what happened. You know, how you ended up in the hospital. I was just really worried. I would have come sooner, but I just got back from a business trip two days ago."
Sean held her hand. "It's okay, Deals. We're both busy. I just...I just don't know how I'm going to make things up with her."
"I know you'll figure something out."
*****************
It had been nearly three days and he hadn't heard from her. Sean was beginning to get worried. He tried to reach her by cell and her house phone but she must have been screening her calls. He had decided that if it was more than a week before he heard from her, he would go over to her house and demand that she listen to him.
Things at work were beginning to return to normal. Everyone was happy to have him back, especially Angie. The Morelli case had become even more important now, especially since one of their own had almost been killed.
It wasn't easy, but they were able to track down Sean's shooter. He was a lower guy on the Mafia ladder, just a punk trying to get made. Once in police custody, the guy started singing like a canary. Though there was nothing the police could do about his attempted murder charge, they did attempt to cop a plea with his attorney for a lesser sentence.
When Sean discovered their intentions, he was outraged. He barged into Adams office demanding for them to call the deal off. "I could have been killed, Lou and the DA doesn't seem to give a shit!"
"I know this. But you know how those assholes are. They want Morelli and his crew taken out. This guy, this Jonny Mancini may be the ticket. It's bigger than you, Reilly."
"Fuck this, Lou. I'm out, you hear me? If this guy gets a lesser sentence, then I'm fucking done with this precinct."
He had stalked out of the office and went home early to a bottle of gin and a shot glass. In the midst of his drinking binge, he realized Adams was right. It didn't make shit better. To think, he almost lost his life and Nina for a case, for people that in the end didn't really give a shit about him.
The epiphany hit home. He needed Nina, now more than ever. He was so stupid to let her walk out, to end things the way he did. Is it really over? Sean couldn't accept that answer.
He dialed her number once more. This time it went straight to voicemail. Just hearing her voice, its usual breathy sweetness made him ache for her.
"Neens," he began. He cursed himself for the slur in his words. He shouldn't have drunk so much. "Babe, please pick up the phone. I miss you. You have to let me explain things.
See, that thing with Delia is ancient history. I should have told you about it, yes. But I don't know, I didn't think things would go this far. How was I supposed to know, Nina? But you, you can't just walk away from all this. Don't just shut me out because you might not like what I have to say. Maybe I'm out of line considering the circumstance, but you're not being fair."
He paused. "Maybe I shouldn't say that. Dammit, Nina just answer me. I lo..." the beep signaled the message had reached capacity. Sean sighed. Maybe it was for the best.
