xp_logs | Log: Dani & Hank - The Return of Sheldon (Reply)

Hank brings Dani her mail this afternoon. It is not well-met and things turn ugly.

Hank tapped gently on the half-open door and peeked around it. "Danielle?" he said softly, in case she was napping. "Are you in?" He held the envelope out of sight, for now... if she was already upset, or anything, he'd hide it until later. After all, given the return address, he didn't think it likely to be something that would make her happy.

"Hey Dr. McCoy," Danielle turned around from her desk, smiling. She had several books on various cars open with bits of notebook paper sticking out to mark her page, "What's up? Did I miss an appointment?"

"No, not at all. Er." He sighed, and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. "The mail has arrived," he said quietly. "You got a letter from home. Since... well, the last one wasn't very good news, I thought I should bring it up at once." He held it out to her. "If it would help, I'd like to stay while you read it. If it's upsetting, it might help to have someone to talk to."

Puzzeled, she opened the manila envelope, "It's from a lawyer," she read, scanning it. She'd been to see a lawyer in Oklahoma last time she had been there, and they emailed fairly regularly, but this was the first time she had recieved anything from Sheldon since then, "He's refusing to pay alimony or child support..." she trailed off, crying. "Bastard!"

"Oh, dear..." Hank said softly. He'd suspected bad news, and had come prepared, offering her a handkerchief and resting a comforting hand on her back. "I am sorry, my dear..."

"Móéšêto'sêhestsevévêšêhéhe*," she replied, pacing around in a circle and muttering to herself in Cheyenne. "I hate him!" she screamed, throwing a book at Hank.

Hank ducked the book easily. "I don't blame you," he said mildly. "I'm starting to dislike him myself, and I've never even met him."

"I'm not some slut! I'm his wife!," she grabbed more books, throwing them into the hall, "He can't do this!"

Hank winced. Dani had quite the violent temper, and hurting books was something that generally annoyed him. Still, under the circumstances... "Well, it certainly holds true to what I've heard of him so far," he said gently. "Given that he's unwilling to take any responsibility for you or your safety, I suppose it's hardly surprising that he feels the same way about the baby. I can't imagine how anyone could do such a thing, myself, but it happens."

Finally out of library books, Dani looked around for more things to throw. Since she didn't have many possessions to begin with, there wasn't much left. "So he hates me. Fine. But to hate his baby? He doesn't want anything to do with it..." she sat on the floor, pulling her feet up to her chin and sobbing. "I hate him."

Hank knelt beside her, and risked putting a gentle arm around her shoulders. After all, she couldn't do much harm even if she did try to hit him... except in certain areas, of course, and he'd made sure his leg was in the way. "I'll do whatever I can to help," he said gently, retrieving the handkerchief from the floor. "We all will, I hope you know that."

Flinching slightly at the touch, she shuddered, unable to really cry anymore. Hyperventilating, she tried to breathe unsuccessfully. This was just not happening.

"Dani, look at me," he said firmly, resting one hand on her back. "Breath in slowly... and out..." He pressed lightly on her back to prompt an out-breath, trying to stop the gasping of hyperventilation. "Good. In... and out. I know this is frightening, but everything will be all right. In again, slowly... and out, good girl..."

"It is not all right! It is everything except all right!" Dani yelled, not caring that it was Dr. McCoy that she was yelling at. Standing up, she glared at him before stalking out of the room.

"I didn't say it was all right *now*," Hank pointed out, following. The last thing he was going to do was let her wander off in this state. "But it will be, Danielle, I promise you. Someday."

Whirling around in the hallway, she continued screaming, "Someday doesn't matter! Someday doesn't help me get the money to raise my baby or go to college like you all say I can do! This is why I can't! People like me don't go to college! We don't do nothing! Someday doesn't matter now!"

Hank nodded. Clearly, something in the way of immediate helpfulness was required. Okay, he had to think of something really quickly...

It was good to be a genius, some days. "How are you at typing?" he asked, trying to project calm optimism. Dani's empathy was kind of spotty, but it couldn't hurt. "You've been doing fairly well on the journals and so on, lately."

She looked at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted an ugly head from his torso, "Argh!" she cried, heading back down the hall. This was all too much at once.

Hank followed, knuckling along behind her, still projecting calm. "Danielle," he said gently. "Would having a job help? Make you feel better about being able to cope on your own?"

"I got a job to pay for stuff," she informed him tartly, "For now. What I need is for...him," she didn't want to say his name right now, "to at least pay child support! I ain't no Virgin Mary!"

"I meant a job that pays actual money," Hank said mildly. "That you could do as well as working for your keep in the kitchen." The thought had only just occurred to him, but it seemed to him like a good one... and although Dani obviously felt overwhelmed right now, he thought that offering a prospect of relative independence would do more help than harm.

Storming the middle of the stairs, she replied not paying attention,"Fine. Whatever you want - Ah!" she tripped, falling down the long staircase.

Hank lunged, catching her as she fell forward, and scooping her up in his arms, holding her gently. "We're going to the Box," he said firmly, cradling her as if she was a child as he headed down the stairs. "And, when you feel calmer, we're going to discuss your options. Of which you have several."

*he's crazy