Fic: Our Father 9/13
Title: Our Father 9/13
Author: Kelsey
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairing: Danny/Jordan
Spoilers: Up to and including Monday
Word Count: 1900
Summary/Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
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“Get up!”
Matt felt a pillow hit his face. Groaning he rolled over, covering his head with his arms. He felt the pillow hit him twice more.
“The hell?!” He was moving. He was lying in bed, horizontal, but he was moving.
*Bam*
Matt hit the floor, startling him completely awake. He looked up and Danny was standing above him, pillow in hand. Matt laid on the floor, tangled in the sheets that Danny had pulled off the bed, Matt in them.
“Danny? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He blinked against the light, groaning.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine?”
“I’m fine.” Danny repeated, breathing harshly.
“Oh good.” Matt said calmly, standing up. When he was standing he looked evenly at Danny a moment before reaching forward and grabbing Danny’s t-shirt. “Then why the hell am I awake right now?!!”
Danny pushed Matt off of him, Matt falling back onto the bed. “Come on!” Danny said, snapping into action. He grabbed Matt’s jeans off of the floor and threw them onto Matt’s chest, Matt having rolled over again. “No Matty, come on,” Danny sat him up.
Matt looked into Danny’s eyes blearily. “What is going on right now?”
“I figured something out and you have to drive me to the office.”
Matt blinked a few times. “What?”
“Put your pants on Matt.” Danny ran over to the dresser, pulling one of Matt’s sweatshirts on and throwing another at his friend, who was struggling into his pants.
Danny grabbed two flashlights and Matt’s keys, ushering Matt out the door. He put Matt in the passenger seat and ran around to the driver side, hopping in the car and starting the engine.
Matt settled himself in, still not fully comprehending what was going on. He glanced up at the stereo clock. “Danny, its three-thirty in the morning!”
Danny ignored him, speaking as if he were already in the middle of a conversation with himself. “I wasn’t really paying attention, but he dropped it in there…” he muttered.
“What?”
“The other day when Roger walked out of the office he threw something in the trash. I didn’t think anything of it.”
Danny looked over to Matt, not realizing that Matt hadn’t heard any of the previous reasoning that had gone on in his head.
Matt's mouth curved into a sleep-drunk smile, as he put his hand on Danny’s knee. “Danny, I love you, man. But what the hell are you talking about?”
“Roger threw something into the trash. I didn’t realize what it was until ten minutes ago.” He paused, Matt’s look urging him on. “Jordan had given him her picture of the baby from the doctor’s appointment. He threw it out, I’m sure of it.”
“Why does that translate into us being on the highway right now?”
“I’m going to find it. And then I’m going to prove it to her.”
“You’re going to find it.”
“Yes, I am.” Danny said, determinedly.
“Danny…”
“I know,” he said, frowning. “They took the trash out to the dumpsters today.”
“Yes, yes they did.”
Danny didn’t say anything more, but pressed his foot down harder on the accelerator. He was going to find it, no matter what he had to do. If he had to comb through the whole dumpster, he would. He had to show her who Roger really was. He had to.
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“Move it a little to the left.”
Matt sat in a dumpster, on top of a pile of trash, pieces of banana and sticky coffee coating his favorite sweatshirt. He was shining his flashlight down where Danny had crawled so that Danny could find his flashlight that had turned off when he dropped it.
Piles of garbage lay on the street next to the dumpster. They had gone through about half of it, and still hadn’t found the picture.
“Do we even know if it was put in this dumpster?”
“No.”
Matt groaned, flopping back onto a soft pile of who knows what, once Danny retrieved his light. Twice they had had to close the top and hide from people. Once from the light of a police cruiser, and once from a homeless man who had wanted to come in. Matt growled at him from under the lid and the man had moved on hurriedly.
“Wait!” He heard Danny yell from beneath a stack of paper.
Danny’s head popped up, a straw wrapper stuck in his hair. “I found a bottle of Fuze!”
“Fantastic!!!” Matt yelled, mock-happy.
“No, you don’t get it. That’s all Kevin drinks. It’s his flavor too.” Danny grinned, ducking back into the trash.
“Doesn’t Kevin recycle?” Matt asked disgustedly.
“Matt, focus,” he heard Danny continue muffled. “We’re getting close.”
“I don’t want to know why you know Kevin’s favorite flavor,” Matt grumbled, sitting there atop the trash.
“Early on, I had to get into her office somehow,” came drifting up from amongst the sounds of Danny’s rummaging.
“Appointment?”
“Are you looking?” Danny asked sharply.
Matt looked around, picking up a gum wrapper and looking under it dramatically. “Yes.”
After twenty more minutes and a clam chowder incident, Danny yelled out.
“What-what?” Matt asked, sitting up from where he had been lounging, starting to drift off.
A hand popped up from the hole Danny was in, the picture clutched tightly between his fingers.
“I got it.”
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“I’m just saying, you’re paying to have my car cleaned.”
Matt and Danny trudged up the steps, trailing trash everywhere and dripping from the rain that had just begun. “Wait, wait, wait,” Matt continued, putting a hand on Danny’s arm to stop his walk.
“What?”
“You think I’m letting you into my house with that on?” Matt paused, looking at Danny, who shrugged as if it was nothing. He was still holding the picture and was pretty much oblivious to everything else. “Take off the jeans, sweatshirt, and shoes.”
The two stood on Matt’s front porch, thankful for the surrounding bushes and fence, blocking them from the street. Once they were both down to their boxers and socks, Matt opened the door. “You take the downstairs shower.” Matt started up the steps, grabbing his towel quickly and heading into the bathroom.
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Danny watched Matt go up the stairs and pulled on an undershirt and jeans. He would call Jordan first. Then take a shower.
He called her house phone first because he knew even if she didn’t pick up she would still hear his message on her machine. As expected, she didn’t pick up. It didn’t occur to him she might be sleeping.
“Jordan, it’s Danny Tripp.” He started, pausing, not quite sure where to go. “Listen, I have to tell you something. I, uh… well I went searching for something tonight and I found it… That sounds spiritual… it’s not spiritual. It’s - Well, I have to tell you something and I really think-“
“It’s five a.m. Danny.”
“Jordan!” He paused, surprised she picked up and cringing that he hadn’t thought about the hour. “How… how are you?”
“Sleeping. What do you want?”
Danny frowned at her cold tone. “Listen, the other day, when Roger came out of your office…”
“It’s five a.m. Danny. I’m not listening to any more of this.”
“Wait!” Danny yelled, talking faster. “He had thrown something away, and I didn’t know what it was before, but then I realized it was the picture of the baby you gave him. And so I went looking for it and I found it. I have it here in my hand. He threw it away. See, he doesn’t-“
Jordan cut him off. She was sick of this. Why couldn’t he just admit he was being a jealous asshole? Roger’s repeated presence in her office and on her voicemail proved to her that he really did want to be involved. Danny was wrong and out of line. “Stop it, Danny! He does want to be involved, he’s still around. Where are you?" She paused, thinking about what Roger had told her in her office. "I heard about you and the Ball. Have fun,” she said bitterly. Pausing she tried to block out the feelings of regret and anguish that were overwhelming her as she prepared herself. “This is stopping,” she said sadly before hanging up.
----------
Matt stumbled down the stairs, drying his hair as he looked for Danny. “Danny?”
Matt walked down further, not hearing the water running. He saw Danny’s phone sitting on the coffee table, and walked towards the room Danny had been sleeping in, tossing his towel on the couch. “Danny?”
He poked his head into the bedroom, not seeing Danny anywhere. Matt’s stomach tightened and he jogged through the room towards the bathroom. He flicked the switch and saw that the shower was dry, not used since yesterday. Matt shut off the light and ran out to the living room, yelling Danny’s name as he went. He grabbed Danny’s phone off of the table and checked his last call.
“Shit.”
Matt dropped the phone onto the couch, grabbing his coat and heading out into the rain. He ran to his car, jumping in the driver seat, shutting the door, and heading out into the night.
“Damn it!” Matt slammed his hand against the steering wheel as he drove further down the block. Where the hell was he?
Squinting through the rain, he looked through the wipers, seeing something ahead. Pulling up to the curb, Matt jumped out of the car into the pouring rain.
“Get in the car!” Matt yelled over the rain. Danny was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning up against the column of someone’s garage-way entrance. He was only wearing jeans and a white undershirt, completely soaked through.
Matt looked at him, Danny’s head tilted down as he looked at the picture in his hand, becoming soggy with the rain. “For God’s sake, Danny, get in the car!”
Danny slowly raised his head, looking up to Matt, completely oblivious to the rain. “It’s over,” he said quietly, Matt barely able to hear him.
Matt sighed, looking up and down the street before moving his jacket aside and plopping next to Danny.
“I called her.” Matt thought he heard a catch in Danny’s voice, but couldn’t tell with the roar of the rain.
“I know.”
“She said I was wrong. Told me to have fun at the Ball. That it was done.” Danny looked for a few more minutes into Matt’s eyes before it became too painful and he dropped his head again. Matt continued looking at him, not sure what to say.
“Come on,” Matt said, pulling on Danny’s arm. Danny rose, letting Matt put him in the car and drive him home. Danny got out of the car and numbly walked up to the front door, waiting for Matt to unlock it. Matt held it open and Danny walked in, still holding the dripping photo. He went silently into the bathroom and Matt sat down on the couch, breathing heavily.
He thought he had lost him again. He needed to do something. This was getting ridiculous, and Jordan was being unreasonable. Matt looked up as Danny padded through the room, dressed in his sweats and a dry tee. Danny didn’t say anything, but continued into the dark bedroom. After a few minutes when Danny didn’t come back out, Matt went to the doorway and saw Danny curled up on the bed in the dark.
Matt shut the door quietly and headed back upstairs to grab a few more hours of sleep before they had to go into work and do it all over again.
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TBC
Author: Kelsey
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairing: Danny/Jordan
Spoilers: Up to and including Monday
Word Count: 1900
Summary/Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
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“Get up!”
Matt felt a pillow hit his face. Groaning he rolled over, covering his head with his arms. He felt the pillow hit him twice more.
“The hell?!” He was moving. He was lying in bed, horizontal, but he was moving.
*Bam*
Matt hit the floor, startling him completely awake. He looked up and Danny was standing above him, pillow in hand. Matt laid on the floor, tangled in the sheets that Danny had pulled off the bed, Matt in them.
“Danny? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He blinked against the light, groaning.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine?”
“I’m fine.” Danny repeated, breathing harshly.
“Oh good.” Matt said calmly, standing up. When he was standing he looked evenly at Danny a moment before reaching forward and grabbing Danny’s t-shirt. “Then why the hell am I awake right now?!!”
Danny pushed Matt off of him, Matt falling back onto the bed. “Come on!” Danny said, snapping into action. He grabbed Matt’s jeans off of the floor and threw them onto Matt’s chest, Matt having rolled over again. “No Matty, come on,” Danny sat him up.
Matt looked into Danny’s eyes blearily. “What is going on right now?”
“I figured something out and you have to drive me to the office.”
Matt blinked a few times. “What?”
“Put your pants on Matt.” Danny ran over to the dresser, pulling one of Matt’s sweatshirts on and throwing another at his friend, who was struggling into his pants.
Danny grabbed two flashlights and Matt’s keys, ushering Matt out the door. He put Matt in the passenger seat and ran around to the driver side, hopping in the car and starting the engine.
Matt settled himself in, still not fully comprehending what was going on. He glanced up at the stereo clock. “Danny, its three-thirty in the morning!”
Danny ignored him, speaking as if he were already in the middle of a conversation with himself. “I wasn’t really paying attention, but he dropped it in there…” he muttered.
“What?”
“The other day when Roger walked out of the office he threw something in the trash. I didn’t think anything of it.”
Danny looked over to Matt, not realizing that Matt hadn’t heard any of the previous reasoning that had gone on in his head.
Matt's mouth curved into a sleep-drunk smile, as he put his hand on Danny’s knee. “Danny, I love you, man. But what the hell are you talking about?”
“Roger threw something into the trash. I didn’t realize what it was until ten minutes ago.” He paused, Matt’s look urging him on. “Jordan had given him her picture of the baby from the doctor’s appointment. He threw it out, I’m sure of it.”
“Why does that translate into us being on the highway right now?”
“I’m going to find it. And then I’m going to prove it to her.”
“You’re going to find it.”
“Yes, I am.” Danny said, determinedly.
“Danny…”
“I know,” he said, frowning. “They took the trash out to the dumpsters today.”
“Yes, yes they did.”
Danny didn’t say anything more, but pressed his foot down harder on the accelerator. He was going to find it, no matter what he had to do. If he had to comb through the whole dumpster, he would. He had to show her who Roger really was. He had to.
----------
“Move it a little to the left.”
Matt sat in a dumpster, on top of a pile of trash, pieces of banana and sticky coffee coating his favorite sweatshirt. He was shining his flashlight down where Danny had crawled so that Danny could find his flashlight that had turned off when he dropped it.
Piles of garbage lay on the street next to the dumpster. They had gone through about half of it, and still hadn’t found the picture.
“Do we even know if it was put in this dumpster?”
“No.”
Matt groaned, flopping back onto a soft pile of who knows what, once Danny retrieved his light. Twice they had had to close the top and hide from people. Once from the light of a police cruiser, and once from a homeless man who had wanted to come in. Matt growled at him from under the lid and the man had moved on hurriedly.
“Wait!” He heard Danny yell from beneath a stack of paper.
Danny’s head popped up, a straw wrapper stuck in his hair. “I found a bottle of Fuze!”
“Fantastic!!!” Matt yelled, mock-happy.
“No, you don’t get it. That’s all Kevin drinks. It’s his flavor too.” Danny grinned, ducking back into the trash.
“Doesn’t Kevin recycle?” Matt asked disgustedly.
“Matt, focus,” he heard Danny continue muffled. “We’re getting close.”
“I don’t want to know why you know Kevin’s favorite flavor,” Matt grumbled, sitting there atop the trash.
“Early on, I had to get into her office somehow,” came drifting up from amongst the sounds of Danny’s rummaging.
“Appointment?”
“Are you looking?” Danny asked sharply.
Matt looked around, picking up a gum wrapper and looking under it dramatically. “Yes.”
After twenty more minutes and a clam chowder incident, Danny yelled out.
“What-what?” Matt asked, sitting up from where he had been lounging, starting to drift off.
A hand popped up from the hole Danny was in, the picture clutched tightly between his fingers.
“I got it.”
----------
“I’m just saying, you’re paying to have my car cleaned.”
Matt and Danny trudged up the steps, trailing trash everywhere and dripping from the rain that had just begun. “Wait, wait, wait,” Matt continued, putting a hand on Danny’s arm to stop his walk.
“What?”
“You think I’m letting you into my house with that on?” Matt paused, looking at Danny, who shrugged as if it was nothing. He was still holding the picture and was pretty much oblivious to everything else. “Take off the jeans, sweatshirt, and shoes.”
The two stood on Matt’s front porch, thankful for the surrounding bushes and fence, blocking them from the street. Once they were both down to their boxers and socks, Matt opened the door. “You take the downstairs shower.” Matt started up the steps, grabbing his towel quickly and heading into the bathroom.
----------
Danny watched Matt go up the stairs and pulled on an undershirt and jeans. He would call Jordan first. Then take a shower.
He called her house phone first because he knew even if she didn’t pick up she would still hear his message on her machine. As expected, she didn’t pick up. It didn’t occur to him she might be sleeping.
“Jordan, it’s Danny Tripp.” He started, pausing, not quite sure where to go. “Listen, I have to tell you something. I, uh… well I went searching for something tonight and I found it… That sounds spiritual… it’s not spiritual. It’s - Well, I have to tell you something and I really think-“
“It’s five a.m. Danny.”
“Jordan!” He paused, surprised she picked up and cringing that he hadn’t thought about the hour. “How… how are you?”
“Sleeping. What do you want?”
Danny frowned at her cold tone. “Listen, the other day, when Roger came out of your office…”
“It’s five a.m. Danny. I’m not listening to any more of this.”
“Wait!” Danny yelled, talking faster. “He had thrown something away, and I didn’t know what it was before, but then I realized it was the picture of the baby you gave him. And so I went looking for it and I found it. I have it here in my hand. He threw it away. See, he doesn’t-“
Jordan cut him off. She was sick of this. Why couldn’t he just admit he was being a jealous asshole? Roger’s repeated presence in her office and on her voicemail proved to her that he really did want to be involved. Danny was wrong and out of line. “Stop it, Danny! He does want to be involved, he’s still around. Where are you?" She paused, thinking about what Roger had told her in her office. "I heard about you and the Ball. Have fun,” she said bitterly. Pausing she tried to block out the feelings of regret and anguish that were overwhelming her as she prepared herself. “This is stopping,” she said sadly before hanging up.
----------
Matt stumbled down the stairs, drying his hair as he looked for Danny. “Danny?”
Matt walked down further, not hearing the water running. He saw Danny’s phone sitting on the coffee table, and walked towards the room Danny had been sleeping in, tossing his towel on the couch. “Danny?”
He poked his head into the bedroom, not seeing Danny anywhere. Matt’s stomach tightened and he jogged through the room towards the bathroom. He flicked the switch and saw that the shower was dry, not used since yesterday. Matt shut off the light and ran out to the living room, yelling Danny’s name as he went. He grabbed Danny’s phone off of the table and checked his last call.
“Shit.”
Matt dropped the phone onto the couch, grabbing his coat and heading out into the rain. He ran to his car, jumping in the driver seat, shutting the door, and heading out into the night.
“Damn it!” Matt slammed his hand against the steering wheel as he drove further down the block. Where the hell was he?
Squinting through the rain, he looked through the wipers, seeing something ahead. Pulling up to the curb, Matt jumped out of the car into the pouring rain.
“Get in the car!” Matt yelled over the rain. Danny was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning up against the column of someone’s garage-way entrance. He was only wearing jeans and a white undershirt, completely soaked through.
Matt looked at him, Danny’s head tilted down as he looked at the picture in his hand, becoming soggy with the rain. “For God’s sake, Danny, get in the car!”
Danny slowly raised his head, looking up to Matt, completely oblivious to the rain. “It’s over,” he said quietly, Matt barely able to hear him.
Matt sighed, looking up and down the street before moving his jacket aside and plopping next to Danny.
“I called her.” Matt thought he heard a catch in Danny’s voice, but couldn’t tell with the roar of the rain.
“I know.”
“She said I was wrong. Told me to have fun at the Ball. That it was done.” Danny looked for a few more minutes into Matt’s eyes before it became too painful and he dropped his head again. Matt continued looking at him, not sure what to say.
“Come on,” Matt said, pulling on Danny’s arm. Danny rose, letting Matt put him in the car and drive him home. Danny got out of the car and numbly walked up to the front door, waiting for Matt to unlock it. Matt held it open and Danny walked in, still holding the dripping photo. He went silently into the bathroom and Matt sat down on the couch, breathing heavily.
He thought he had lost him again. He needed to do something. This was getting ridiculous, and Jordan was being unreasonable. Matt looked up as Danny padded through the room, dressed in his sweats and a dry tee. Danny didn’t say anything, but continued into the dark bedroom. After a few minutes when Danny didn’t come back out, Matt went to the doorway and saw Danny curled up on the bed in the dark.
Matt shut the door quietly and headed back upstairs to grab a few more hours of sleep before they had to go into work and do it all over again.
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TBC