The Paula and Dani Series Bonus #36
Thought I do a little continuation of The Paula and Dani Series, hope you enjoy this little tale!
Dani LaVine stood in the middle of her empty New York City condo and let out a heavy sigh. Her head was a mess of emotions; happy, sad, excited, worried, and so many other feelings that she couldn’t put words to.
Four years ago, if someone would’ve told her that she would be married to Paula LaVine, daughter to the infamous Pauly LaVine, Dani would have laughed before handing them a small cup to pee in; because clearly that person would be on drugs.
Yet there she was, standing in the middle of her empty condo, the first, and up until recently, the only place, that was her own.
The memories of her father, Jackson, and her partner, Clark, helping her move in, were still fresh in Dani’s mind. The way her and Paula’s voices bounced off the walls, now that all their furniture had been removed, reminded Dani of her first night in the condo;
Ellie and Maggie had convinced Evan to grab a couple of friends and help them move Dani into her apartment. In typical Dani fashion, she wasn’t even there for her own housewarming party, but Ellie and Maggie did a great job at making her place look like a home.
Home, what a funny word; while Dani loved her apartment, as cheesy as it sounded, Dani had never associated her condo with the feeling of being at home. Before Paula moved in, Dani’s apartment was just the place where she slept and sometimes hung out while she was between shifts at the station.
It was strange really, after everything that had happened with the investigation, the death of Pauly and Vinny, and everything else, Paula and Dani found themselves in a weird spot.
Paula didn’t have any friends or family, outside of Leo and Mikey, and all of Dani’s friends were cops.
In the beginning, they were rightfully suspicious of Paula; especially Jackson and Clark, but as Paula got to know more of Dani’s colleagues and friends, Paula began to feel more comfortable with them, as did they with her.
But everything wasn’t smooth sailing; after Mikey had learned that Dani had killed their father and uncle, Mikey was livid. And when he learned that Paula had been working with Dani, and then began dating her shortly after the death of their father, he about lost it. Mikey called Paula insane and accused Dani of brainwashing her, but when Paula and Leo sat Mikey down and told him the story of how Ronnie died, Mikey was crushed. He didn’t want to believe them at first, to Mikey, Pauly was God, and he couldn’t imagine him doing such a thing. But when Paula had shown him some of the files Jackson and Dani had shared with her, Mikey had no choice but to accept that his father wasn’t the man Mikey had thought him to be.
It took some time, but eventually, Mikey began warming up to Dani, and by the time Dani had popped the question, Leo and Mikey were already calling her sis.
“And as one chapter ends, another one begins.” Paula said, as she walked out of the bedroom and walked over to Dani.
Wrapping her arms around Dani, Paula hugged her from behind.
The second Paula’s chest touched Dani’s back; the detective melted into the other woman.
Together, they stood in the middle of their now-empty living room and stared out the window.
“I can’t believe it, I’m actually leaving this house.” Dani said.
Her voice was ghost-like and filled with both wonder, but also a bit of sadness.
She was grieving in a way, and Paula understood that; after all, Paula had done a lot of grieving herself during the first year of their relationship. And Dani gave Paula her space to do that grieving.
While Paula wasn’t an only child like Dani, both women did share a love for their solitude. After nearly five and a half years together, the women had developed an unspoken language, and both women could almost sense when the other needed their space.
“I know I didn’t live here as long as you did, but it’s crazy to think that I’d ever called any other place home.” Paula said looking around.
Dani smiled brightly as she turned in Paula’s arms.
“Not to be cheesy or anything, but this place didn’t become a home until you moved in.” Dani said as she took Paula’s face in her hands.
Paula was at a loss for words; Dani had this way of saying the cheesiest of lines, and still making it sound so original. Dani meant every word that she spoke to Paula, and Paula could tell.
“Oh my God! No! Daniel, you’re gonna make me fucking cry!” She said, shaking her head.
Dani laughed.
“Alright, alright. Let’s go home so I can ravish you.” Dani said with a seductive grin.
Paula laughed.
“Lead the way English man!” Said Paula.
Rolling her eyes, Dani grabbed ahold of her wife’s hand. As she laced her fingers in with Paula’s, Dani looked around the apartment one final time, smiling as she remembered all the great times, she’d had both by herself and with Paula, within those four walls.
“Come on, we gotta get these keys to the office before they close.” Said Paula, as she tugged on Dani’s arm.
Dani let out a final sigh before allowing Paula to pull her out the door.
“With every ending comes a beginning.” Dani said as she watched Paula lock the door.
Paula was prepared to make another comment about how cheesy her wife was, but as she turned to the detective, Paula could tell that Dani was in a vulnerable state; so rather than teasing her, Paula wiped the stray tear from her cheek and pressed a few kisses to her lips.
“Come on love, let’s go home.” Said Paula as she grabed Dani’s hand.
Lacing her fingers in with Paula’s, Dani allowed her wife to pull her away from the door and onto the elevator.
Well, what did you think of this little peek into Paula and Dani’s world after everything they’ve been through? I think I’m gonna be going back through the catalog and adding more parts. Does this mean I might finish some project I abandoned? Potentially, but I can’t make any promises.
Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this story! If you did like this, then hit that star and maybe consider leaving a comment letting me know your thoughts. If you aren’t following RBN on social media, especially Instagram, then hit those buttons below and get on that! Also, if you’d like to support queer art, and help spread the word about The Royal Blue Network, then buy a cup of coffee! A single cup is only 4$, and would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading-J
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