The Devil is in the Details, Part 2/?
Series: TDS, TCR
Pairing: Jon/Stephen
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Author: ntjnke
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Authors Note(s): Credit to underthepiano and megantracey for the idea. I have a pretty good idea where the story will go, so hopefully I'll update regularly. Also, let me know if you see any heinous typos, as I don't have a beta for this.
Summary: Stephen may just have gotten in over his head. Part 1
*****
The Devil is in the Details, Part 2/?
Stephen walked restless circuits around his office, trying to make sense of the situation he'd gotten himself into.
Apparently, Jon had no idea whom he had e-mailed, which was a problem because Jon had also told some very personal things to a complete stranger on the internet. Why was he telling "Hank" there were times he hated his job? About his father? Stephen had known Jon for nearly five years before they'd had an honest conversation about the late Donald Liebowitz. Jon was half-drunk before he even brought it up.
One poorly planned joke, and now Stephen knew things about his friend that he couldn't just ignore. If he called Jon in the morning to explain the mistake, Stephen knew his friend would feel like an ass for sharing so much and that couldn't be allowed. Stephen had been asking Jon for years to take more risks and trust people.
It figured he would choose the worst possible timing to take Stephen's advice.
Sitting down in his office chair, Stephen cracked his knuckles over his keyboard. There was a way to solve this. He'd write back and give Jon someone to talk to, which he obviously desperately needed. And then, maybe in a few days, he'd slowly let it slip in who he really was.
From: Henry Geir (h.geir12@gmail.com)
To: Sid Berle Makes My Head Hurt (sid.berle.hurl@gmail.com)
Sent: Mon, 6/22/10 1:02 AM
Subject: Thank you so much.
Mr. Stewart.
Thank you so much for your e-mail. You have my sincere gratitude for not calling me out on the blackberry routine. I promise never to do anything like that ever again.
This may be overstepping my bounds, but you sounded...distressed?....in your e-mail. Like you said, I'm a complete stranger and there's no reason for you to tell me anything, but I figure I reached out to a complete stranger and got one of the kindest e-mails of my life in return.
Maybe I could return the favor?
Sincerely and confidentially (I promise),
Hank (Henry) Geir
Stephen hit the send button. After a silent prayer that he wasn't shooting himself in the foot, he grabbed his cup, turned out the office lights, and headed toward his bedroom. He had to be up in less than 5 hours.
*****
Stephen's morning had been spent with his head glued to the phone from the minute he woke up. In between dressing and packing for work, it had been his turn to cook breakfast, so he'd scrambled eggs with one hand and used the other tell his children that petty in-fighting wasn't tolerated. Stephen had seen the way Evie pursed her lips over her coffee cup and been consumed with a strange twang of guilt that he really didn't have the time to mollify her before he left. There were too many things to do and he sincerely didn't know what would make her happy.
He'd had better mornings.
The upshot was that now he was heading towards his studio in a company car. His assistant, Mary, was babbling over his headpiece, and his laptop, his beautiful, beautiful laptop, was balanced on knees.
Jon had once mentioned that he occassionally envied the solitude of Stephen's long drive in. "The trip from TriBeCa to Clinton isn't nearly as productive." Talking to Amy over the phone and marking up the script for tonight's Act II, Stephen was inclined to agree with him.
Along the bottom of his screen, Mail indicated that a new message had come into his private account.
From: Sid Berle Makes My Head Hurt (sid.berle.hurl@gmail.com)
To: Henry Geir (h.geir12@gmail.com)
Sent: Mon, 6/22/2010 7:48 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you so much.
Hey Hank.
How are you an intern at Reveille and managing to stay awake until one in the morning? One of my cast worked there before he came to The Daily Show, and he still complains about the work load. Take my advice. Taper down the coffee now.
Like I said, feel free to drop me a line whenever. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it.
As for the rest, well, I'm getting a divorce. Enough said.
Remember: Less coffee, more sleep. Eat real food when you can afford it and cut back on the porn.
Yours from New York,
Jon Stewart
By the end of the message, Stephen's hands were limp on his keyboard. Even though he could see the cursor in Word slowly deleting his script he didn't register the amount of work he was losing. Instead, his mind was racing in disorientation, far too occupied with comprehending how many secrets his best friend had been keeping from him.