Trip to Childhood Memories || Nicole

Carla smiled at Nicole, when she said that. She was just like Danny had described her last time they talked. And she understood why Nicole was one of the few things he kept talking about. And from her statement, Carla noticed the adventurous spirit that this young woman had.
"Well in that case let me tell you this..." Carla started. "When it comes to my grandson, you don't need to be the perfect housewife who knows everything. I'm sure you'll be just fine and everything that you will need to know, you will most likely learn as you go along. Don't try to be perfect, just be yourself, dear. However..."
Carla stopped for a moment, and listened up, surprised that it was so quiet in the house now. But it brought a small smile to her face, before she continued.
"If you really want to impress him with something... ask his mother to teach you how she makes that lamb he loves so much."



A small smile came to Danny's face. Tiny and barely noticeable, but it was there. "I guess not." he said to his father.
"Peace then?" Harry offered, extending his hand to Danny.

Nicole listened to Carla as she told her that, nodding a bit as she listened to her. "I'll make a note of that." she replied, a slight smile coming to her face at the same time. Nicole relaxed as well, having been on edge a bit about what Carla might want to tell her. She saw the smile on the older woman's face in response to the silence that came from the other part of the house.

"You do that." the elderly woman said with a small nod. Then she walked to the tea-cart that was close to the kitchen door. She had prepared that one earlier and it held coffee cups, coffee, glasses and two bottles of water and some cake and cookies. "Come on, let's see what the boys are doing."
With that she took the cart back to the living room, arriving just in time to see her son and grandson shaking hands in peace. She smiled at that lovely sight in front of her.

"I'll give it a try." Danny said, shaking his father's hand, just as he saw his grandmother and Nicole coming back.

Nicole nodded, then followed Danny's grandmother over to were Danny and his father were standing. Nicole walked up to Danny and took his hand again. "Everything good as gold?" she asked while watching him, a sight smile on her face as she asked him that.

Danny smiled softly, when Nicole asked that. He interlocked his fingers with hers, when Nicole took his hand. He wasn't as tense as before and the atmosphere in the room was a lot less distant and cold now. Surprisingly things went a lot better than imagined. Even though Danny was still upset about the things his father did to him when he was little, he was now willing to put it past him and maybe get a chance to find out why all of that happened.
"Yeah. I'm good." Danny said to her. "Nicole, meet my father."

Harry Cooper looked at the beautiful woman at his son's side and with a small smile on his face, he extended his hand to greet her.
"Harry Cooper. Nice to meet you." Harry said to Nicole.

Nicole nodded, then looked at Harry, shaking his hand as well. "Nicole Byrne, nice to meet you as well Mr. Cooper." she said to him in a friendly tone, her accent showing as she spoke to him. Nicole could tell that Harry was happy to see her

Harry nodded a little, giving the young woman a friendly smile. Seeing his son after 16 years was something that he actually felt good about, but seeing him with a lovely woman, that made this meeting a little more nice. He was actually happy to see that his son had done good for himself, even though they parted in anger. He regretted that he tried to force him to join the army, like he did after his father. He shouldn't have pushed his son like that, but back then he was having a bad time, not only with Danny's mother being gone, but also at work. He just never talked about it, instead he made the mistake on taking his frustration out on his only son.

"Nicole... that's a lovely name. Victory of People." Harry said to her. "But please... it's Harry."

Danny was actually a little surprised that his father knew the meaning of her name, but not only that. He was also surprised that he offered a first-name-basis right after meeting her. But then again, he didn't mind either.

Meanwhile Carla had put the things from the tea-cart onto the coffee table and then looked at the small group talking. She smiled a little bit, glad to see that things didn't end in more anger and frustration, but that they were actually going to be okay. Or at least she hoped they would be.
"Come, guys... and gal." she then said to them. And Danny and his father wouldn't have her say it twice.

Nicole smiled a little when Harry said that about her name. "Thank you Harry" she replied gently, it was clear she felt uneasy with calling an elder of her's by their first name. Don't sweat it Nikki, he told you to call him that she said to herself. Nicole nodded a bit as she went with them over to the coffee table, taking in what Carla had done while remembering what she told her just now.

Harry nodded a little to Nicole and then went to sit down on one of the two arm chairs by the coffee table. He was smart enough not to have his mother tell them twice to join her, especially not during this stay.

Danny walked over to the couch, taking Nicole with him and sat down as well, while Carla sat down on the other arm chair. Although she had a warm and welcoming vibe around her and a friendly smile on her face, it was still noticeable that she lost her husband just a few days ago. But she was a strong woman.
"Take whatever you want. Don't be shy." the elderly woman said, while she picked up the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.

Nicole nodded a bit, then took what she wanted. She sat back after getting all that she wanted and started to eat. Nicole was impressed with what Carla had for them. "Ace" she said softly while sitting next to Danny. She glanced over to Danny, then to his father and grandmother.

Danny, not in the mood for coffee, poured himself a glass of water and then leaned back, holding it in his hand. He gave Nicole a soft smile, when she looked at him, feeling content, knowing she was there.
Carla watched the couple with a small, tender smile, knowing that these two were going to be married one day, even though Danny hadn't even planned on asking Nicole, yet. But the way they treated each other was saying more than words could.

"So... Danny told me you moved to Vegas from Australia." Carla said, looking at Nicole. "How long do you live in the States now?"

Nicole looked at Carla when she asked her that. "Two and half years" she replied while looking at Danny's grandmother. "I have dual citizenship between here and Australia......I can also get an Irish passport if I want. My grandparents were Irish citizens before moving to Sydney." Nicole added.

Carla smiled softly, impressed actually with what she just heard. If Danny really would marry her one day, this family would be really multicultural. "Now that's what I call multicultural. Impressive." Carla said to Nicole. "And both beautiful countries."

Danny just smiled softly to himself, while he ate a cookie and listened to his grandmother and girlfriend. Harry was listening to them, too. He was interested in knowing who the woman at his son's side was. He missed so many important events in Danny's life, he actually wanted to try and make up for it.

Nicole smiled a little in reply when Carla said that to her. "That they are" she said in reply to Carla's comment about Australia and Ireland. "I'd love to get Danny to one of those places at some point." she added honestly.

"Hear, hear." Carla said in a light tone. "I think you just might get to do that, some day. He's a smart man, you know."

Danny blushed a little, when they talked about him like that. He had a somewhat shy smile on his face though, which wasn't lost on Carla nor Harry.

Nicole noticed it when she looked back to Danny, then smiled a little and looked back to Carla. "That he is" she added gently while holding Danny's hand. Nicole looked back to him again and winked at Danny, smiling a bit as she did that to him.

"Oh c'mon guys... stop it." Danny said with a small, sheepish giggle, feeling just a little bit uncomfortable. He didn't like that kind of attention.

Carla looked at her grandson and laughed a little. He reminded her of Harry in many ways, even though Danny was usually very different from his father. But in some things they were very much alike.

Nicole giggled as well as she sat there with him. "Sorry Danny" she replied before kissing his cheek. "Whats it like to live out here?" she asked. Nicole was still keen on knowing what it was like to be a country girl....she still wanted to dress like one before the trip was up.

Danny just smiled a little at them. "It's alright. I'll live." he said in a slightly teasing tone.
Carla smiled a little at Nicole's question. Obviously Nicole hadn't been to the country before. It wasn't easy to decribe though, what it felt like to be out here.
"Well... living on a farm... now riding stable like me and I late husband did is hard work. You have a lot of work that needs to be done to keep things going, but at the same time it's a quiet life out here. Next neighbor is quite some distance from here and you have a lot of nature around you." she told the younger woman. "You've got be made for that kind of life though. No offense, but most city girls aren't."

Nicole nodded a bit when that was said to her. "I understand" she replied. Nicole had a feeling she could do it, given her background. She may have been a city girl, but her time in the army taught her how to adapt into any situation she was in.

Danny gave her hand a small squeeze, looking at her and then at his grandmother. He noticed the small smile on her face and her posture indicated that she took a liking to Nicole.
"I'm sure you could do anything." Carla said to her. "I get the feeling you come from a military background. Am I right?"

Harry listened up, when his mother asked that question. Him being a Navy guy, he got the feeling, too. Just from the way she behaved. Much like a woman, but very diciplined also. And he was surprised that his son chose a woman with that kind of background.

Nicole nodded in reply, "Yes you are......1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Royal Australian Infantry Corps." she said to him. "I still have a lot of the things I got while serving." she added as she looked Danny's grandmother in the eye. She glanced over to he Harry and noticed the look on his face. "I guess you served as well?" she asked while watching him. Nicole always enjoyed meeting other veterans, regardless of what branch they served in.

Carla nodded in satisfaction. She had been right about her. However, Carla was just as surprised about Danny actually being with a woman from the Military as his father Harry was, considering how little Danny liked the Military. Danny was surprised though, that she asked Harry if he served, when Danny told her once that he did. But he didn't say anything.

Harry looked at Nicole, giving her a small nod. "US Navy." Harry told her. "I didn't actually anticipate in any war action. I was a Commander on a supply ship."

Danny listened up when he noticed that his father was using past tense in that last sentence. He looked at him with raised brows.
"You were?" he asked.

"Yes. I just retired a months ago." Harry told his son. "I am too old for all that drill and being on the ship most of the year."

Nicole nodded a bit as she listened to Harry. "Ace" she said gently while listened to him. "Its good that you didn't see any combat." she added, her voice a bit different as she said that to him. Nicole had a brief flashback to the time she was overseas while in the army, but quickly controlled herself. Nicole didn't want to worry anyone during this trip and take away from the reason her and Danny were there.

Harry noticed the change of tone in her voice and he knew what that meant. He didn't worry too much though, because he knew from the way Nicole held her own, there was no need to worry right now. And besides, that wasn't his job after all. He would leave his son to that.
"Probably." he replied, with a slight nod. "Therefore I had some encounters at sea. Those aren't fun either."

Danny watched the two of them talk, eating his cookie. He remained quiet for most part of the conversation. Military stuff just wasn't his thing, really. That's why he barely asked about it, too. He wouldn't know half the things Nicole or anyone else would tell him.