Fic: Stuck (2/?)
Title: Stuck: Elevator
Author: greta_garbo
Fandom: The Newsroom
Pairing: Don/Sloan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1370
Spoilers: General season one, specifically Blackout Pt. 1
Disclaimers: I own nothing.
Summary: Don and Sloan get stuck together in random places. Tonight's chapter: An elevator during the blackout.
Notes: This takes place right after tonight's episode. Wanted to post it early so I can pretend it's canon for as long as I possibly can before it's completely blown apart by next week's episode.
“Have you watched them practicing for the mock debate?” Sloan asked, looking up from her phone at Don, who was watching the numbers tick by while the elevator climbed to their floor.
“Maggie’s been researching and practicing at home, but I haven’t watched everyone else in action yet,” Don responded.
“It’s pretty funny. “
“How is it funny?”
Sloan laughed to herself as she remembered the rehearsal she’d witnessed a part of earlier in the day. “Well, for one, Jim is playing Michelle Bachman. Which is hilarious for two reasons. One is that there are women, a lot of women, who could have played Bachman. Jim requested to play her. Two is that it’s funny to watch him practically choke out things you know he would never want to say.”
“Wow, you’re easy to amuse,” Don said, though he was smirking.
“Shut up, it was funny.”
A comfortable silence settled over them as Sloan returned to her phone. After a moment, Don said, “Can I ask you a question?”
Sloan looked up at him curiously before slipping her phone into her pocket. “Sure.”
“Do you think I’m a bad person?”
“No!” Sloan responded immediately. “Why would you be a bad person?”
“Because of the kind of news I report.”
“What do you mean ‘the kind of new you report’? You report the same news as everyone else.”
“Yeah, but…”
“What?”
“Mac asked me to-”
The lights went out and the elevator lurched to a stop.
“Oh my god,” Sloan breathed out.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh my god.”
“Sloan?” Don asked, growing worried. He reached out gingerly, unable to see her, and found her trembling hand. “Whoa. Are you alright?”
“It’s just… dark. Dark and… small. And we aren’t moving,” she responded, her voice trembling.
Don drew her closer. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“I just don’t like the dark…or small places. Or really small, dark places. And unmoving elevators. I don’t like those either.”
“It’s okay,” Don said again softly as he gently wrapped an arm around her. He felt her shoulders rising and falling rapidly. “Calm down. It’s alright. Let’s sit down.”
Sloan’s hair moved against his chin as she nodded, so Don slowly maneuvered them to the ground, keeping his arm around her shoulders. Once they were sitting, Don dug his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. The light from the phone filled the elevator and for the first time since the elevator stopped Don could see Sloan’s face, wide eyed, pale, and terrified.
“There. See? We’ve got light.” Sloan only nodded in response. “I’m going to call Mac and see what’s going on.” Don dialed and brought the phone to his ear, decreasing the light in the small space. He felt Sloan’s hand move up and clench in his shirt in response.”
“Don,” Mac answered. “Where are you?”
“Stuck in the elevator with Sloan. What’s going on?”
“The entire building is out.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. It may be indirectly my fault, but-”
“Wait, what?” Don stopped her.
“Well, I asked God-” Mac tried to explain.
“Yeah, never mind, I don’t want to know.”
“Okay.”
“Do we know how long this will last?”
“I don’t know. People are on the phone. It’s the heat,” Mac explained.
“Yeah,” Don sighed, stroking Sloan’s arm comfortingly.
“Are you okay in there for awhile?”
“Yeah. Sloan’s freaking out a little.”
“Well, tell her we’re working on it. Other than that, I don’t know what to say.”
“Thanks, Mac,” Don said, sighing as he ended the call. He pulled the phone away from his ear, illuminating the elevator once again. He tightened his arm around Sloan as he said, “We’re going to be stuck here for a little while.”
Sloan let out a sound between a groan and a whimper, and Don instinctively pulled her closer. “The whole building is out, and nobody knows how long it’s going to last.”
“How does a whole building like this go out of power in this day and age?” Sloan said, the tremor in her voice decreasing slightly.
“It’s probably the whole heat wave,” Don said gently. “But according to Mac, God did it for her.”
He breathed a small sigh of relief when Sloan chuckled. “There, see? It’s not so bad.”
Seeking more comfort, Sloan turned into him slightly. “Yeah, it’s just… I’ve had this thing since I was young…”
“A small dark places thing?”
She nodded. “I got… stuck in a locker.”
“’Stuck’ in a locker?”
“Shoved into a locker.”
“Seriously?”
“I was a nerd.” Sloan shrugged.
“Well, yeah, but you’re…” Don trailed off, not sure how best to end that sentence.
“I’m what?”
“You know… pretty.”
Sloan lifted her head slightly to look at Don. “You think I’m pretty?”
Don shifted uncomfortably, which only managed to bring Sloan closer. “Come on. Fans send you tweets asking you to pour water on yourself. You know you’re pretty.”
“Well, sure, but it’s different, you know? When some faceless fan you’ve never met says it, it’s different from when someone you know says it.”
“Yeah, well…you’re pretty.”
Sloan smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
After and awkward pause, Don said, “And if you wanted to pour water on yourself on the air, it would probably be really good for the ratings. We could promo the hell out of it.”
“Shut up,” Sloan giggled.
“Okay, so, the small, dark places mystery is solved. How about the unmoving elevators thing?”
“It’s not really a thing. Who likes an unmoving elevator? Usually if an elevator isn’t moving it means there’s something wrong with it. Doesn’t everyone have a thing about broken elevators?”
“Hmm. Good point.”
“Thank you,” Sloan responded as she leaned her head against Don’s shoulder. Don’s finger swept up and down her arm absentmindedly as they settled into a silence.
“What were you going to say before?” Sloan said after several minutes.
“Hmm?” Don hummed.
“You thought you were a bad person, and you said Mac had asked you to do something.”
“Oh, she has to cover Casey Anthony.”
“I know,” Sloan replied, rolling her eyes.
“So she asked me to come in and tell the staff how to cover it.”
“Why would that make you a bad person?”
“Because she basically asked me how to teach her staff to throw out journalistic ethics and cover the story in the most profitable way, which in this case means the most morally bankrupt way.”
“Don-”
“She called me the master of the dark arts.”
“She was joking!”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“Stop being dramatic. You are not the master of the dark arts. You know how to get ratings. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Sloan, I was basically brought in to teach a good news show how to operate from the gutter.”
“That just means you know how to do your job.”
“Shouldn’t my job be reporting the news the right way?”
“You do!”
“Then why would she come to me for that?”
Sloan paused for a moment. “You do report the news the right way most of the time. And you want to report the news the right way all of the time. But you ‘re also an expert at ratings. And there’s nothing wrong with that. As long as you know the difference. And you do.”
He looked down at her. “You think?”
“You wouldn’t be worried about it otherwise.”
Don nodded. Sloan watched him for a few moments. “Thanks. For calming me down.”
He looked back at her and smiled softly. “Any time.”
“I’m really glad you’re the one I got stuck her with.”
Don’s brow furrowed as he realized he was really glad he was stuck with her, too. Instead of saying so, he said, “Wanna play Words With Friends?”
“Sure,” Sloan said, digging out her phone, finally smiling a real smile.
Don tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach that smile gave him.
THE END
Author: greta_garbo
Fandom: The Newsroom
Pairing: Don/Sloan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1370
Spoilers: General season one, specifically Blackout Pt. 1
Disclaimers: I own nothing.
Summary: Don and Sloan get stuck together in random places. Tonight's chapter: An elevator during the blackout.
Notes: This takes place right after tonight's episode. Wanted to post it early so I can pretend it's canon for as long as I possibly can before it's completely blown apart by next week's episode.
“Have you watched them practicing for the mock debate?” Sloan asked, looking up from her phone at Don, who was watching the numbers tick by while the elevator climbed to their floor.
“Maggie’s been researching and practicing at home, but I haven’t watched everyone else in action yet,” Don responded.
“It’s pretty funny. “
“How is it funny?”
Sloan laughed to herself as she remembered the rehearsal she’d witnessed a part of earlier in the day. “Well, for one, Jim is playing Michelle Bachman. Which is hilarious for two reasons. One is that there are women, a lot of women, who could have played Bachman. Jim requested to play her. Two is that it’s funny to watch him practically choke out things you know he would never want to say.”
“Wow, you’re easy to amuse,” Don said, though he was smirking.
“Shut up, it was funny.”
A comfortable silence settled over them as Sloan returned to her phone. After a moment, Don said, “Can I ask you a question?”
Sloan looked up at him curiously before slipping her phone into her pocket. “Sure.”
“Do you think I’m a bad person?”
“No!” Sloan responded immediately. “Why would you be a bad person?”
“Because of the kind of news I report.”
“What do you mean ‘the kind of new you report’? You report the same news as everyone else.”
“Yeah, but…”
“What?”
“Mac asked me to-”
The lights went out and the elevator lurched to a stop.
“Oh my god,” Sloan breathed out.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh my god.”
“Sloan?” Don asked, growing worried. He reached out gingerly, unable to see her, and found her trembling hand. “Whoa. Are you alright?”
“It’s just… dark. Dark and… small. And we aren’t moving,” she responded, her voice trembling.
Don drew her closer. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“I just don’t like the dark…or small places. Or really small, dark places. And unmoving elevators. I don’t like those either.”
“It’s okay,” Don said again softly as he gently wrapped an arm around her. He felt her shoulders rising and falling rapidly. “Calm down. It’s alright. Let’s sit down.”
Sloan’s hair moved against his chin as she nodded, so Don slowly maneuvered them to the ground, keeping his arm around her shoulders. Once they were sitting, Don dug his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. The light from the phone filled the elevator and for the first time since the elevator stopped Don could see Sloan’s face, wide eyed, pale, and terrified.
“There. See? We’ve got light.” Sloan only nodded in response. “I’m going to call Mac and see what’s going on.” Don dialed and brought the phone to his ear, decreasing the light in the small space. He felt Sloan’s hand move up and clench in his shirt in response.”
“Don,” Mac answered. “Where are you?”
“Stuck in the elevator with Sloan. What’s going on?”
“The entire building is out.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. It may be indirectly my fault, but-”
“Wait, what?” Don stopped her.
“Well, I asked God-” Mac tried to explain.
“Yeah, never mind, I don’t want to know.”
“Okay.”
“Do we know how long this will last?”
“I don’t know. People are on the phone. It’s the heat,” Mac explained.
“Yeah,” Don sighed, stroking Sloan’s arm comfortingly.
“Are you okay in there for awhile?”
“Yeah. Sloan’s freaking out a little.”
“Well, tell her we’re working on it. Other than that, I don’t know what to say.”
“Thanks, Mac,” Don said, sighing as he ended the call. He pulled the phone away from his ear, illuminating the elevator once again. He tightened his arm around Sloan as he said, “We’re going to be stuck here for a little while.”
Sloan let out a sound between a groan and a whimper, and Don instinctively pulled her closer. “The whole building is out, and nobody knows how long it’s going to last.”
“How does a whole building like this go out of power in this day and age?” Sloan said, the tremor in her voice decreasing slightly.
“It’s probably the whole heat wave,” Don said gently. “But according to Mac, God did it for her.”
He breathed a small sigh of relief when Sloan chuckled. “There, see? It’s not so bad.”
Seeking more comfort, Sloan turned into him slightly. “Yeah, it’s just… I’ve had this thing since I was young…”
“A small dark places thing?”
She nodded. “I got… stuck in a locker.”
“’Stuck’ in a locker?”
“Shoved into a locker.”
“Seriously?”
“I was a nerd.” Sloan shrugged.
“Well, yeah, but you’re…” Don trailed off, not sure how best to end that sentence.
“I’m what?”
“You know… pretty.”
Sloan lifted her head slightly to look at Don. “You think I’m pretty?”
Don shifted uncomfortably, which only managed to bring Sloan closer. “Come on. Fans send you tweets asking you to pour water on yourself. You know you’re pretty.”
“Well, sure, but it’s different, you know? When some faceless fan you’ve never met says it, it’s different from when someone you know says it.”
“Yeah, well…you’re pretty.”
Sloan smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
After and awkward pause, Don said, “And if you wanted to pour water on yourself on the air, it would probably be really good for the ratings. We could promo the hell out of it.”
“Shut up,” Sloan giggled.
“Okay, so, the small, dark places mystery is solved. How about the unmoving elevators thing?”
“It’s not really a thing. Who likes an unmoving elevator? Usually if an elevator isn’t moving it means there’s something wrong with it. Doesn’t everyone have a thing about broken elevators?”
“Hmm. Good point.”
“Thank you,” Sloan responded as she leaned her head against Don’s shoulder. Don’s finger swept up and down her arm absentmindedly as they settled into a silence.
“What were you going to say before?” Sloan said after several minutes.
“Hmm?” Don hummed.
“You thought you were a bad person, and you said Mac had asked you to do something.”
“Oh, she has to cover Casey Anthony.”
“I know,” Sloan replied, rolling her eyes.
“So she asked me to come in and tell the staff how to cover it.”
“Why would that make you a bad person?”
“Because she basically asked me how to teach her staff to throw out journalistic ethics and cover the story in the most profitable way, which in this case means the most morally bankrupt way.”
“Don-”
“She called me the master of the dark arts.”
“She was joking!”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“Stop being dramatic. You are not the master of the dark arts. You know how to get ratings. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Sloan, I was basically brought in to teach a good news show how to operate from the gutter.”
“That just means you know how to do your job.”
“Shouldn’t my job be reporting the news the right way?”
“You do!”
“Then why would she come to me for that?”
Sloan paused for a moment. “You do report the news the right way most of the time. And you want to report the news the right way all of the time. But you ‘re also an expert at ratings. And there’s nothing wrong with that. As long as you know the difference. And you do.”
He looked down at her. “You think?”
“You wouldn’t be worried about it otherwise.”
Don nodded. Sloan watched him for a few moments. “Thanks. For calming me down.”
He looked back at her and smiled softly. “Any time.”
“I’m really glad you’re the one I got stuck her with.”
Don’s brow furrowed as he realized he was really glad he was stuck with her, too. Instead of saying so, he said, “Wanna play Words With Friends?”
“Sure,” Sloan said, digging out her phone, finally smiling a real smile.
Don tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach that smile gave him.
THE END