Work Text:
In the beginning there didn’t seem to be anything appealing or charming about Malcolm Bright. But now Dani was seeing him under a different light after recent events. There wasn’t a moment when she wasn’t worried about him. Questions like ‘Are his night terrors always like that?’ and ‘Is there something he isn’t telling me?’ always snuck into her thoughts.
She suspected he was having another night terror as she stood outside, ringing the door and waiting to be buzzed in. In fact, she had rung it about half a dozen times already and there wasn’t a single response. Please be okay, oh god please be okay.
“Excuse me, why are you standing outside of my son’s apartment?” Instincts kicked as Dani immediately turned her head to spot the source of the new voice. “More importantly, who are you?”
Dani briefly recalled seeing this woman at the party during the copycat case. So this was Malcom’s mother? It hadn’t occurred to her at the time why he would want to avoid his mother. Be that as it may, being this close to her and being directly confronted by her, she understood now. Even someone like her, who was a decent judge of character, could tell she wasn’t all that likeable. In fact, she came off as a bitch.
“I’m Detective Powel from the NYPD, I work with Malcolm, nice to meet you, Ms Whitly.” She extended her hand towards the other woman, a show of respect. Seeing as his mother seemed so nice and sociable at the party, she assumed the same reaction. Reality was always more disappointing in comparison to expectations. The offered hand was simply ignored.
“Let me guess, your dear old boss Gil Arroyo sent you? Well you don’t need to worry about him, I’ll take care of him.” Jessica huffed, “After all, it’s his fault Malcolm’s having problems in the first place. He’s supposed to be away from this Murder nonsense!”
No wonder Gil and Malcolm never talked about her. Still, it didn’t matter who she was because no one spoke ill of Gil, ever. “I beg your pardon? I came here because I wanted to make sure he was okay, because I care , not that I need your permission for that. Secondly, if Malcolm had a problem with helping the NYPD, he wouldn’t be doing it at all. Gil would never force Malcolm into anything.”
If looks could kill Dani would be dead on the spot. Now she had a whole new insight on why Malcolm had as many problems that he did, and they didn’t just originate from his father.
“Well obviously he doesn’t want you around, otherwise he would have answered.” Jessica brushed passed Dani, a set of keys jingling in her hands. Dani rose an eyebrow when every key the other inserted didn’t seem to work. The frustration clear as day. “Malcolm changed the locks.” First it came out, then secondly as a shout. “He and that retched parakeet are but tenants on the very building I own and he changed the locks? ”
Dani ignored the complaining, instead focused on the slightest bit of movement she was seeing. Annoyance disappeared in the wake of a re-emerging worry. Worry that increased tenfold when glass shattered and Malcolm hanging on the outside, the only thing keeping him in place being the one restrain still intact.
“Oh my god, Malcolm! Are you okay? Stay still before you end up falling!” Malcolm appear barely lucid, only now aware of the fact that he was dangling on the outside. It was a miracle that there wasn’t even a cut from all that glass. Needless to say, Dani was not okay . Something that apparently couldn’t be said for his mother.
“Mother? Detective Powell?” Eyes lashes flickered.
“About time, now buzz me in will you?” It was shocking, to say the least. The lack of concern for her own son…Dani couldn’t believe it. A real mother would have done something, not watch as Malcolm worked his way up around sharp shards of glass.
The second got in his apartment, she immediately ran up to Malcolm. She checked every area of concern, searching for any sort of damage. “What are you doing, Dani? Can’t you tell I’m perfectly fine?”
She frowned instantly, unconvinced. “You were just hanging outside of your window after you broke it. You’re not fine.” The frown deepened.
“Those restraints are clearly useless, I’ll look into buying a custom bed.” Two cups set on the island. Jessica looked directly at Dani. “Perhaps you should go, I need to talk to my son.”
“Anything you have to say to him you can say in front of me because I’m not leaving until I know he is okay.” Dani retorted as she made a cup coffee for herself. “Unless he asks me to leave. Malcolm?” Her eyes met his.
Malcolm smiled at Dani. “It’s okay, you can stay, but I really am fine.” Try as he might to fool everyone else, it wouldn’t work on Dani (or his mother.)
“I’d rather not talk about this in front of someone...outside of the family.” Though she obviously got the hint that no one was going anywhere. “Fine, I’ll talk to you later. In the meantime try to keep yourself safe?” She paused for a second on her way out. “Oh and Malcolm? I expect a key by tomorrow morning.”
Dani waited until Jessica left to do anything else. “What was it about this time? Must have been a hell of a dream if you broke through a window…”
Malcolm finally sat down, fingers rubbing against the frame of the cup. Whatever it was still troubled him. “I, uh, well it’s going to sound crazy. I’m not sure you want to hear about it.”
She sat down beside him and placed a hand on his arm in support. For the first time this morning a smile graced her features. “If you’re worried about scaring me off, don’t. I want to know. Besides you’re already crazy.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Malcolm chuckled awkwardly, though he made no move to move away from her touch. “You remember when I told you I’ve remembering things?” He waited until she nodded, noting the soft, caring smile. Yet the concern was evident. “I keep seeing this dead girl in a box...”
“Was that made you call the police on your father?” Dani brought another hand up to rub his back soothingly. “You don’t have to tell me everything, just know that I’m here to listen.”
The profiler’s body froze up temporarily, still not used to this but seemed more comfortable than last time. “Yeah, it was, well I think it was. But I’m not so sure anymore…” He suddenly stopped, shaking his head. “I-I.”
The small faded into a more sullen look. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to say anything else.” The hand that previously laid on his wrist was now on his cheek. “You’ll get through this, I know you will. And if you let me… I want to help.”
Dani was unaware of just how close her face was to his, how they were inches apart. Then, just as she was about to make a move, before anything could happen; The sudden sound of a ringtone interrupted the moment. It was her turn to be awkward as she pulled away, even if she didn’t want to, to answer her phone.
“There’s been a murder, we’re going to need you. And bring Malcolm with you.”