Fic: Our Father 4/?
Title: Our Father 4/?
Author: Kelsey
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairing: Danny/Jordan
Spoilers: Up to and including Monday
Word Count: 1750
Summary/Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
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“She made, like, thirty excuses why she can’t go.”
“To the NBS thing.”
“Yeah.” Matt and Danny jogged up the steps heading into Matt’s office Monday morning.
“Maybe she really can’t.” Matt sat down at his desk and opened his laptop, while Danny flopped down onto the couch, laying back.
“That’s not it.” He paused thinking of how to get around her rejections. “In fact, it got so obvious that she was making excuses, she just gave up.”
“Gave up making excuses?”
“No, gave up trying to make them sound good.” He sat up and rubbed his hands through his hair. “She actually told me her aunt was going to be on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and that she was the Call a Friend person.”
“Is that even on the air anymore?”
“No!”
Matt smirked and turned back to his work. “At least she didn’t tell you she had to wash her hair.”
When Danny didn’t answer he looked up to see Danny staring at him. “No…?” Matt asked, aghast.
Danny’s silence was all the answer Matt needed. “Ouch.” He watched Danny flop back again, obviously confused. “Did the date go really badly?”
Danny stood up abruptly, moving around the room as he spoke. “No! That’s the thing. It was perfect. I mean, well, Roger was there, but the parts with her-“
“Wait, wait, wait.” Matt stopped typing. “Roger was there?”
“Don’t bring it up.” Danny sighed, and sat back down heavily, anger flowing back through him just from hearing the name.
“Don’t bring it up? Roger was there?! How did he find out-“
“I don’t know! I look up in the mirror and there he is smiling, and calling Jordan a blowfish, and pretending to-“
“Calling Jordan a blowfish?”
“--do lines off the table…”
“Danny.”
“I mean, how the hell did he find out? I don’t think Jeannie reaches that far. And its not like he has insider info anymore.”
“Danny.”
“Because you know, I took care of that pretty fast. But then he shows up and waves at me, and-“
“Calls Jordan a blowfish.”
“Yeah!”
“Danny. Sit down.” Danny listened to him, leaning his head against the back of the couch and closing his eyes. “It’s not like she’s rejecting you. She had a good time. You both had fun, and either she’s actually busy and just messing with you, or there’s a bigger picture.”
Danny didn’t open his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“There has to be another reason why she won’t go. Not why she won’t go with you. Just why she won’t go.”
“What, you think she has a fear of crowded places or something?”
“I don’t know. You should ask her.”
Danny just sighed and stood, ready to head to his office. “Danny.” He stopped walking towards the door, but didn’t turn around. “Roger?”
“Yeah,” Danny muttered.
“Did she see him?”
“No.” Danny paused, resting his hand against the doorjamb and remembering Roger’s words. “He was there for me.”
“You think this is because of the thing?”
“God, which one?” Matt didn’t answer. “Yeah, I do. And I’m pretty sure he’s sticking around.”
Matt paused, wondering how to help. “You know…” he started conspiringly. “I’ve got some golf clubs in my trunk. We could make him disappear. You take the nine-iron.” Danny snorted and turned back to Matt. “Don’t freak too much. She wants you.”
“Thanks.” Danny hinted at a smile before heading out to his office.
----------
“Hey there, boss.” Matt strolled up to Jordan, who was sitting outside eating lunch. Or brunch. Or she just really hadn’t stopped eating since breakfast.
“Hey, Matt,” She said glancing up. “You just missed Harriet.”
“I’m actually just out on a stroll. You know, looking for inspiration. Or… something.”
“Eating it?”
“Pretty heavily, yes.”
Jordan laughed and Matt took a seat next to her on the bench. He looked at his hands for a moment, wondering how to breach the subject. “So, nice day today.”
“Matt…” Matt took in her tone and knew she wasn’t going to explain it to him.
“Who wants to be a millionaire’?”
“Are you asking me? I do.”
“Jordan.”
She looked down, moving her salad around in the dish. “I’m just busy. I told him that. It’s not him.”
“I think you’ve used that excuse before with him.”
“It’s different now and you both know that. It’s not like I’m saying I won’t go out with him again. I just can’t go to the Ball. Why is this even a thing?”
“Because it’s Danny.”
Jordan smiled to herself despite her annoyance. “Yeah.”
“You really can’t go?”
Jordan swallowed a mouthful of greens and looked up. “My horoscope said to be wary of dimple-sporting executive producers that night.”
Matt smiled and stood up, continuing on his stroll.
----------
“She’s busy, moon doggie.”
Matt wandered into Danny’s office to find him slumped at the desk with his head resting on his arm.
Danny groaned. “You asked?”
“No…” Danny looked up. “Yes.”
“Matt…” he dropped his head back to his arm.
“Did you know the word for the fear of long words has 36 letters?”
“What?”
“We were talking about a fear of crowded places earlier and I remembered that the fear of long words is a word with 36 letters.”
Danny removed his arm and slammed his head directly onto the desk.
“She didn’t tell me anything more than she told you.” He paused, taking in Danny’s posture. “I have to run over to the NBS building. Wanna come?”
“Why?”
“Because you look pathetic and you need exercise.”
Danny removed his head from his desk and glared at Matt. “I meant why are you going over to the NBS building.”
“Oh.” Matt paused. “You look fantastic by the way.”
“Shut up,” Danny stood up and followed Matt out of the office.
“Harriet is upset because I cut her part out of the Wildfire sketch.”
Danny didn’t even bother to ask why that had anything to do with the NBS building. If his and Jordan’s relationship was a bit strange, it was nothing compared to Matt and Harriet.
“I might just cut the whole sketch anyway. It’s not like people who watch that will watch this. Most people probably don’t even know what Wildfire is. But it was so ridiculous, I mean how can you not make fun of it. But at the same time-“
“Matt.” The two left the front doors and started across the street.
“Right. So I cut her out and now she’s not talking to me. Although I think this is more about the Luke thing. I mean, I’ve cut her before. Do you think she would really be mad about the…” Matt turned to Danny, stopping when he saw his expression. “So Jordan has a message for me from Harriet.”
“Jordan’s not there. And there is email you know.”
Matt held the door open for Danny as they entered the lobby. “Well, first of all, I only have to get it from Kevin.” They walked to the elevators and Danny pushed the button. “And secondly, I didn’t know she wasn’t there and thought you might want to go over.” Matt paused as he and Danny got on, heading up to Jordan’s floor. “Plus, you know, the pathetic and exercise thing.”
“So she didn’t say anything more to you?” Danny bounced on his heels. He hated elevators.
“Did she use the horoscope excuse on you?” Matt asked, smirking.
“About not being able to be with hot producers with nice asses?”
“Yeah. Wait, what?”
The doors opened and they stepped out onto the floor, heading to Jordan’s desk. “She said her horoscope said she couldn’t be seen with hot producers with-“
“Yeah, yeah, I got that. She was a little more subtle this time around,” Matt said looking disgusted while Danny grinned.
Matt stepped up to Kevin, rolled his eyes and waved his arms around awkwardly. Strangely enough, Kevin smiled and reached into the desk drawer for the envelope.
“I just don’t understand what it is with the Ball. What’s the big deal? You go, you eat-and I’m surprised that alone didn’t draw her in-you dance, and you go home.”
“I don’t know, man.” Smiling, Kevin handed Matt the envelope, who muttered a “Thanks” before they left.
The two turned to walk back towards the elevators, but Jack walked over behind them, having overheard their conversation. “You’re talking about Jordan?”
Matt and Danny both jumped, turning quickly to face him. “Jesus, Jack!”
“Sorry. You’re talking about Jordan?”
Danny eyed him warily, wondering what he knew that they didn’t. “Yeah.”
“And the NBS ball,” Matt butted in. “Or rather Jordan and the lack of the NBS ball.”
Danny elbowed him in the side and Jack smirked. “Don’t worry about it Danny. It’s not because she doesn’t want to go with you.” Jack started walking back to his office.
“Wait!” Danny and Matt followed him.
“I have a meeting.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jack sighed, seeing that they wouldn’t leave and moved to lean against the wall. “A few years ago Jordan and her husband went to a wedding for a FOX executive I knew.” Jack didn’t miss how Danny’s jaw tightened when he mentioned the ex-husband. Interesting. “There were a lot of big-wig executives there, and she wasn’t much back then. He wanted her to dance, and she didn’t want to, and they got into a fight and he left.” Danny was angry about the husband but wasn’t really sure why that would make her reject him.
“So…?”
“Jordan can’t dance fellas.”
“She can’t…” Matt trailed off wondering how a woman her age hadn’t learned how to sway. It wasn’t complex.
“Well, I’ve never seen her. But that’s what I mean. I’ve gone to quite a few things that she had to go to, and never once has she danced. Now I think she just avoids them altogether.” Jack paused taking in their faces. “So its not you.” He slapped Danny on the arm and retreated into his office.
“Wow.” Matt started walking back towards the elevators, Danny following on his heels. “So that’s it then, huh?”
He turned back to Danny, whose jaw was set in decision-mode. “We’re going.”
“You and me? While I appreciate the thought Danny…”
“Me and Jordan.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Did you not hear Jack? She has an unreasonable fear of dance floors.”
They stepped into the elevator and the doors started to close as they headed back to the studio.
“We’re going.”
----------
TBC
Author: Kelsey
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairing: Danny/Jordan
Spoilers: Up to and including Monday
Word Count: 1750
Summary/Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
----------
“She made, like, thirty excuses why she can’t go.”
“To the NBS thing.”
“Yeah.” Matt and Danny jogged up the steps heading into Matt’s office Monday morning.
“Maybe she really can’t.” Matt sat down at his desk and opened his laptop, while Danny flopped down onto the couch, laying back.
“That’s not it.” He paused thinking of how to get around her rejections. “In fact, it got so obvious that she was making excuses, she just gave up.”
“Gave up making excuses?”
“No, gave up trying to make them sound good.” He sat up and rubbed his hands through his hair. “She actually told me her aunt was going to be on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and that she was the Call a Friend person.”
“Is that even on the air anymore?”
“No!”
Matt smirked and turned back to his work. “At least she didn’t tell you she had to wash her hair.”
When Danny didn’t answer he looked up to see Danny staring at him. “No…?” Matt asked, aghast.
Danny’s silence was all the answer Matt needed. “Ouch.” He watched Danny flop back again, obviously confused. “Did the date go really badly?”
Danny stood up abruptly, moving around the room as he spoke. “No! That’s the thing. It was perfect. I mean, well, Roger was there, but the parts with her-“
“Wait, wait, wait.” Matt stopped typing. “Roger was there?”
“Don’t bring it up.” Danny sighed, and sat back down heavily, anger flowing back through him just from hearing the name.
“Don’t bring it up? Roger was there?! How did he find out-“
“I don’t know! I look up in the mirror and there he is smiling, and calling Jordan a blowfish, and pretending to-“
“Calling Jordan a blowfish?”
“--do lines off the table…”
“Danny.”
“I mean, how the hell did he find out? I don’t think Jeannie reaches that far. And its not like he has insider info anymore.”
“Danny.”
“Because you know, I took care of that pretty fast. But then he shows up and waves at me, and-“
“Calls Jordan a blowfish.”
“Yeah!”
“Danny. Sit down.” Danny listened to him, leaning his head against the back of the couch and closing his eyes. “It’s not like she’s rejecting you. She had a good time. You both had fun, and either she’s actually busy and just messing with you, or there’s a bigger picture.”
Danny didn’t open his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“There has to be another reason why she won’t go. Not why she won’t go with you. Just why she won’t go.”
“What, you think she has a fear of crowded places or something?”
“I don’t know. You should ask her.”
Danny just sighed and stood, ready to head to his office. “Danny.” He stopped walking towards the door, but didn’t turn around. “Roger?”
“Yeah,” Danny muttered.
“Did she see him?”
“No.” Danny paused, resting his hand against the doorjamb and remembering Roger’s words. “He was there for me.”
“You think this is because of the thing?”
“God, which one?” Matt didn’t answer. “Yeah, I do. And I’m pretty sure he’s sticking around.”
Matt paused, wondering how to help. “You know…” he started conspiringly. “I’ve got some golf clubs in my trunk. We could make him disappear. You take the nine-iron.” Danny snorted and turned back to Matt. “Don’t freak too much. She wants you.”
“Thanks.” Danny hinted at a smile before heading out to his office.
----------
“Hey there, boss.” Matt strolled up to Jordan, who was sitting outside eating lunch. Or brunch. Or she just really hadn’t stopped eating since breakfast.
“Hey, Matt,” She said glancing up. “You just missed Harriet.”
“I’m actually just out on a stroll. You know, looking for inspiration. Or… something.”
“Eating it?”
“Pretty heavily, yes.”
Jordan laughed and Matt took a seat next to her on the bench. He looked at his hands for a moment, wondering how to breach the subject. “So, nice day today.”
“Matt…” Matt took in her tone and knew she wasn’t going to explain it to him.
“Who wants to be a millionaire’?”
“Are you asking me? I do.”
“Jordan.”
She looked down, moving her salad around in the dish. “I’m just busy. I told him that. It’s not him.”
“I think you’ve used that excuse before with him.”
“It’s different now and you both know that. It’s not like I’m saying I won’t go out with him again. I just can’t go to the Ball. Why is this even a thing?”
“Because it’s Danny.”
Jordan smiled to herself despite her annoyance. “Yeah.”
“You really can’t go?”
Jordan swallowed a mouthful of greens and looked up. “My horoscope said to be wary of dimple-sporting executive producers that night.”
Matt smiled and stood up, continuing on his stroll.
----------
“She’s busy, moon doggie.”
Matt wandered into Danny’s office to find him slumped at the desk with his head resting on his arm.
Danny groaned. “You asked?”
“No…” Danny looked up. “Yes.”
“Matt…” he dropped his head back to his arm.
“Did you know the word for the fear of long words has 36 letters?”
“What?”
“We were talking about a fear of crowded places earlier and I remembered that the fear of long words is a word with 36 letters.”
Danny removed his arm and slammed his head directly onto the desk.
“She didn’t tell me anything more than she told you.” He paused, taking in Danny’s posture. “I have to run over to the NBS building. Wanna come?”
“Why?”
“Because you look pathetic and you need exercise.”
Danny removed his head from his desk and glared at Matt. “I meant why are you going over to the NBS building.”
“Oh.” Matt paused. “You look fantastic by the way.”
“Shut up,” Danny stood up and followed Matt out of the office.
“Harriet is upset because I cut her part out of the Wildfire sketch.”
Danny didn’t even bother to ask why that had anything to do with the NBS building. If his and Jordan’s relationship was a bit strange, it was nothing compared to Matt and Harriet.
“I might just cut the whole sketch anyway. It’s not like people who watch that will watch this. Most people probably don’t even know what Wildfire is. But it was so ridiculous, I mean how can you not make fun of it. But at the same time-“
“Matt.” The two left the front doors and started across the street.
“Right. So I cut her out and now she’s not talking to me. Although I think this is more about the Luke thing. I mean, I’ve cut her before. Do you think she would really be mad about the…” Matt turned to Danny, stopping when he saw his expression. “So Jordan has a message for me from Harriet.”
“Jordan’s not there. And there is email you know.”
Matt held the door open for Danny as they entered the lobby. “Well, first of all, I only have to get it from Kevin.” They walked to the elevators and Danny pushed the button. “And secondly, I didn’t know she wasn’t there and thought you might want to go over.” Matt paused as he and Danny got on, heading up to Jordan’s floor. “Plus, you know, the pathetic and exercise thing.”
“So she didn’t say anything more to you?” Danny bounced on his heels. He hated elevators.
“Did she use the horoscope excuse on you?” Matt asked, smirking.
“About not being able to be with hot producers with nice asses?”
“Yeah. Wait, what?”
The doors opened and they stepped out onto the floor, heading to Jordan’s desk. “She said her horoscope said she couldn’t be seen with hot producers with-“
“Yeah, yeah, I got that. She was a little more subtle this time around,” Matt said looking disgusted while Danny grinned.
Matt stepped up to Kevin, rolled his eyes and waved his arms around awkwardly. Strangely enough, Kevin smiled and reached into the desk drawer for the envelope.
“I just don’t understand what it is with the Ball. What’s the big deal? You go, you eat-and I’m surprised that alone didn’t draw her in-you dance, and you go home.”
“I don’t know, man.” Smiling, Kevin handed Matt the envelope, who muttered a “Thanks” before they left.
The two turned to walk back towards the elevators, but Jack walked over behind them, having overheard their conversation. “You’re talking about Jordan?”
Matt and Danny both jumped, turning quickly to face him. “Jesus, Jack!”
“Sorry. You’re talking about Jordan?”
Danny eyed him warily, wondering what he knew that they didn’t. “Yeah.”
“And the NBS ball,” Matt butted in. “Or rather Jordan and the lack of the NBS ball.”
Danny elbowed him in the side and Jack smirked. “Don’t worry about it Danny. It’s not because she doesn’t want to go with you.” Jack started walking back to his office.
“Wait!” Danny and Matt followed him.
“I have a meeting.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jack sighed, seeing that they wouldn’t leave and moved to lean against the wall. “A few years ago Jordan and her husband went to a wedding for a FOX executive I knew.” Jack didn’t miss how Danny’s jaw tightened when he mentioned the ex-husband. Interesting. “There were a lot of big-wig executives there, and she wasn’t much back then. He wanted her to dance, and she didn’t want to, and they got into a fight and he left.” Danny was angry about the husband but wasn’t really sure why that would make her reject him.
“So…?”
“Jordan can’t dance fellas.”
“She can’t…” Matt trailed off wondering how a woman her age hadn’t learned how to sway. It wasn’t complex.
“Well, I’ve never seen her. But that’s what I mean. I’ve gone to quite a few things that she had to go to, and never once has she danced. Now I think she just avoids them altogether.” Jack paused taking in their faces. “So its not you.” He slapped Danny on the arm and retreated into his office.
“Wow.” Matt started walking back towards the elevators, Danny following on his heels. “So that’s it then, huh?”
He turned back to Danny, whose jaw was set in decision-mode. “We’re going.”
“You and me? While I appreciate the thought Danny…”
“Me and Jordan.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Did you not hear Jack? She has an unreasonable fear of dance floors.”
They stepped into the elevator and the doors started to close as they headed back to the studio.
“We’re going.”
----------
TBC