SN: Homophobic WIP - Part Twelve
May. 26th, 2004 07:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereIt's a short update (and half of it is the Eddie the Eel bit everyone read a week ago) but I have a fear that if I don't officially update, I'll end up forgetting to post bits.
Previous parts here.
***
"What sort of country has a snake as a mascot?" Dana demanded as soon as he stepped into her office.
"Eliot said it's an eel," Casey replied.
"Apparently, it's Eddie the Eel," Dana said suspiciously. "What sort of country has a snake as a mascot?"
"It's an *eel*," Casey said.
"It's a snake that swims." She wiggled one hand in front of her. "It slithers through the water."
"It's freaking you out because it knows the fish?"
Dana scowled. "Don't mock my fear."
"You fear fish. It's hard to take that seriously."
Dana glared at him.
Casey sighed, and walked around her desk to see the graphic she had printed out. He studied it for a second, and then said, "Would it help you to know the eel isn't a mascot?"
"He's Eddie the Eel," Dana said. "He's a mascot."
"There's four mascots in that picture."
"So?"
"There's only three official mascots."
"Really?"
Casey stared at her. "Haven't you been paying attention to them? They've been on every PR release."
"It's a bunch of brightly coloured cartoon animals. How much attention am I supposed to pay to them?"
"Enough to notice there's only three of them?"
Dana rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone. "So the eel isn't a mascot?"
"The eel isn't a mascot. The bird, the porcupine and the... what the hell is that?" Casey asked, pointing at the middle one.
"It's a platypus." Dana smirked. "You can recognise the mascots but you have no idea what they are?"
Casey shrugged. "At least I knew there were only three."
"Well, I know there's a platypus, a kookaburra and an echidna."
Casey blinked and then glanced down. "You're reading that straight off the print-out, aren't you?"
"Possibly," Dana said, grinning cheekily. Then she looked at the page and frowned. "But if there's only three mascots…"
"Yeah?"
"Who added the fourth one?"
Casey shrugged. "Who gave you the picture?"
"Graphics department. They're trying to work out the..." Dana trailed off, realising who was behind this. Her eyes glittered dangerously as she said, "Did you know they're scared of me down there?"
"I'm thinking they're going to be even more scared of you," Casey said carefully, "when they see your reaction to this."
Dana nodded sharply and grabbed for the phone. "Damn right they are."
"Dana, in this time of being short-staffed, it could pay to be just a little diplomatic," Casey suggested.
"I'm the boss." Dana spread her arms wide, gesturing at her office. "I don't have to be diplomatic."
"Be that as it may..."
"Be that as it may?" Dana raised an icy eyebrow. "I'm the boss, and they tried to freak me out by including a snake as a mascot."
"It's an eel," Casey said, "and they weren't trying to freak you out. They were playing a practical joke."
"They were playing a practical joke on *me*." Dana punctuated her point by stabbing the desk with her finger. "They're supposed to be frightened of me, Casey."
"Lord knows I am." Casey sighed.
She paused in the middle of dialling. "You're frightened of me?"
"You frighten me frequently," Casey said sombrely.
Dana huffed. "That's not much of an accomplishment. A lot of people frighten you."
"Right now it's you, my ex-wife, and the IRS," Casey said and then shrugged, "and the rest of my friends."
Dana laughed and put down the phone. Casey considered it a victory.
"Okay, I won't cause anyone in Graphics physical harm," Dana said slowly, "as long as the correct graphics are on my desk when I get back."
"Where are you going?"
Dana shrugged. "Lunch?"
"How about Anthony's?" Casey smiled hopefully. "My treat?"
"Why?" Dana asked warily.
"It'll give Graphics about an hour to fix it," Casey admitted.
Dana snorted. "I'll meet you at the elevators."
Casey nodded, and headed back to his office to get his jacket. Conveniently, Eliot and Dan were in there talking.
"How did it go?" Eliot asked reluctantly.
"Graphics added an unofficial mascot," Casey explained as he put on his jacket. "You'd better tell them that if they know what's good for them, they'll get the correct copy to her desk within an hour."
Eliot's brows shot up. "You got her to wait an *hour*? How did you delay the blood-soaked carnage?"
"I'm taking her out for food." Casey turned to Dan. "If you need me, we'll be at Anthony's."
"Anyone else going?" Dan asked without much interest.
"Just us. I've got my cell," Casey said, and checked his pocket to make sure that he had it.
Dan looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "See you when you get back."
***
"Casey-"
Casey held up a hand to silence Dan as he finished writing his sentence. He jotted down a couple words to remind himself where he was heading with it, and then gave Dan his attention.
"Yes, Danny?"
Dan had perched on the edge of Casey's desk, twisting his back to face Casey. "Isn't Charlie coming in today?"
"Yeah." Casey turned back to writing. If Dan wanted to avoid his script, fine, but Casey was on a creative roll. A creative roll that Dan seemed determined to halt.
Dan walked around and leaned over Casey's shoulder to read Casey's notes. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Casey blinked and read over it, trying to ignore the sensation of Dan's breath against his neck. Then, he spotted the missing comma. "Thanks," he said as he added it.
"You did need that comma," Dan said, wandering around to the other side of the desk, "but that wasn't what I meant."
"I don't think I'm missing any other punctuation."
"No, you're forgetting something."
Casey frowned and concentrated, but couldn't think of anything. "What?"
"Charlie?"
Casey snorted. "Charlie isn't coming here until five thirty."
Dan raised an eyebrow. "And the time is...?"
"I don't know, Mr Wolf." Casey looked over at the clock, expecting it to say about two. Instead, it happily ticked the seconds past five forty-five. "Damn."
"Yeah. The new schedule keeps messing around with my internal clock, too."
"Is Charlie here?" Casey asked, as he organised the notes sitting on his desk.
"At the moment, he and his decidedly hot new nanny are in the conference room." Dan grinned, rather wolfishly. "How long has she been working for Lisa?"
"Hands off the nanny, Danny." Casey grimaced at the rhyme and stood up.
"I haven't had my hands on her, yet."
"Keep it that way," Casey said, shooting a sideways glare at Dan.
"Regardless of Lisa's irrational claims, I am not the cause of her high nanny turnover."
Casey blinked at the phrase 'high nanny turnover' and tried not to think about nannies and food. "Actually, you are," Casey replied and headed out the door.
Dan stopped him with a hand on his arm. "No, I'm not."
"You freaked the last one out by calling her Rebecca."
Dan looked confused. "Her name wasn't Rebecca?"
"No, it wasn't." Casey rolled his eyes. "And the one before that quit because of your ten minute tirade against soccer."
"It's *soccer*," Dan pointed out, slightly outraged.
"She coached an Under Thirteens girls' soccer team."
Dan shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that?"
Casey started walking again. "And the one before that? I think we all remember the orange juice incident."
Dan's jaw dropped. "That was an honest to God accident."
"She asked you to open a *small* glass bottle, and ended up with you face down in her lap and orange juice dripping down her legs."
"I tripped!" Dan objected loudly. "I tripped, Casey. The floor was uneven and I tripped. It could have happened to anyone."
Casey chuckled. "Just goes to prove that you and Charlie's nannies are not a good combination."
Dan sighed dramatically. After a moment, he said, "I think you're jealous."
Casey felt the color rise in his cheeks. His voice was slightly strangled as he asked, "Jealous?"
Dan waggled his eyebrows. "I think you have intentions towards the nanny and don't want me as competition."
Casey almost sighed in relief. "Dan, she's twenty-two. I am not interested in someone over a decade younger than me."
"But you've got to admit she's a looker," Dan said cheekily.
"I'm not denying it," Casey said as they rounded the corner and the girl in question came into view. Sandy blonde hair down to her waist; wearing a practical t-shirt and jeans that really didn't disguise her long legs or ample bust; and she had the type of bright smile that had always attracted Dan. Still, she was just a *girl*, Casey repeated to himself, and hoped Dan would agree.
"Lisa sure knows how to pick the pretty ones." Dan turned to Casey. "Do you think she could pick one for me? If I asked nicely?"
Case snorted and didn't mention that the only person Lisa disliked more than Casey, was Dan. "You still want a nanny?"
"I think so."
"You do need one."
Dan leered, an expression that somehow still managed to look attractive on his face. "I need one that looks like that."
Casey rolled his eyes and opened the conference room door. "Hey, Charlie."
Charlie looked up and smiled. "Hey, Dad."
***
Previous parts here.
***
"What sort of country has a snake as a mascot?" Dana demanded as soon as he stepped into her office.
"Eliot said it's an eel," Casey replied.
"Apparently, it's Eddie the Eel," Dana said suspiciously. "What sort of country has a snake as a mascot?"
"It's an *eel*," Casey said.
"It's a snake that swims." She wiggled one hand in front of her. "It slithers through the water."
"It's freaking you out because it knows the fish?"
Dana scowled. "Don't mock my fear."
"You fear fish. It's hard to take that seriously."
Dana glared at him.
Casey sighed, and walked around her desk to see the graphic she had printed out. He studied it for a second, and then said, "Would it help you to know the eel isn't a mascot?"
"He's Eddie the Eel," Dana said. "He's a mascot."
"There's four mascots in that picture."
"So?"
"There's only three official mascots."
"Really?"
Casey stared at her. "Haven't you been paying attention to them? They've been on every PR release."
"It's a bunch of brightly coloured cartoon animals. How much attention am I supposed to pay to them?"
"Enough to notice there's only three of them?"
Dana rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone. "So the eel isn't a mascot?"
"The eel isn't a mascot. The bird, the porcupine and the... what the hell is that?" Casey asked, pointing at the middle one.
"It's a platypus." Dana smirked. "You can recognise the mascots but you have no idea what they are?"
Casey shrugged. "At least I knew there were only three."
"Well, I know there's a platypus, a kookaburra and an echidna."
Casey blinked and then glanced down. "You're reading that straight off the print-out, aren't you?"
"Possibly," Dana said, grinning cheekily. Then she looked at the page and frowned. "But if there's only three mascots…"
"Yeah?"
"Who added the fourth one?"
Casey shrugged. "Who gave you the picture?"
"Graphics department. They're trying to work out the..." Dana trailed off, realising who was behind this. Her eyes glittered dangerously as she said, "Did you know they're scared of me down there?"
"I'm thinking they're going to be even more scared of you," Casey said carefully, "when they see your reaction to this."
Dana nodded sharply and grabbed for the phone. "Damn right they are."
"Dana, in this time of being short-staffed, it could pay to be just a little diplomatic," Casey suggested.
"I'm the boss." Dana spread her arms wide, gesturing at her office. "I don't have to be diplomatic."
"Be that as it may..."
"Be that as it may?" Dana raised an icy eyebrow. "I'm the boss, and they tried to freak me out by including a snake as a mascot."
"It's an eel," Casey said, "and they weren't trying to freak you out. They were playing a practical joke."
"They were playing a practical joke on *me*." Dana punctuated her point by stabbing the desk with her finger. "They're supposed to be frightened of me, Casey."
"Lord knows I am." Casey sighed.
She paused in the middle of dialling. "You're frightened of me?"
"You frighten me frequently," Casey said sombrely.
Dana huffed. "That's not much of an accomplishment. A lot of people frighten you."
"Right now it's you, my ex-wife, and the IRS," Casey said and then shrugged, "and the rest of my friends."
Dana laughed and put down the phone. Casey considered it a victory.
"Okay, I won't cause anyone in Graphics physical harm," Dana said slowly, "as long as the correct graphics are on my desk when I get back."
"Where are you going?"
Dana shrugged. "Lunch?"
"How about Anthony's?" Casey smiled hopefully. "My treat?"
"Why?" Dana asked warily.
"It'll give Graphics about an hour to fix it," Casey admitted.
Dana snorted. "I'll meet you at the elevators."
Casey nodded, and headed back to his office to get his jacket. Conveniently, Eliot and Dan were in there talking.
"How did it go?" Eliot asked reluctantly.
"Graphics added an unofficial mascot," Casey explained as he put on his jacket. "You'd better tell them that if they know what's good for them, they'll get the correct copy to her desk within an hour."
Eliot's brows shot up. "You got her to wait an *hour*? How did you delay the blood-soaked carnage?"
"I'm taking her out for food." Casey turned to Dan. "If you need me, we'll be at Anthony's."
"Anyone else going?" Dan asked without much interest.
"Just us. I've got my cell," Casey said, and checked his pocket to make sure that he had it.
Dan looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "See you when you get back."
***
"Casey-"
Casey held up a hand to silence Dan as he finished writing his sentence. He jotted down a couple words to remind himself where he was heading with it, and then gave Dan his attention.
"Yes, Danny?"
Dan had perched on the edge of Casey's desk, twisting his back to face Casey. "Isn't Charlie coming in today?"
"Yeah." Casey turned back to writing. If Dan wanted to avoid his script, fine, but Casey was on a creative roll. A creative roll that Dan seemed determined to halt.
Dan walked around and leaned over Casey's shoulder to read Casey's notes. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Casey blinked and read over it, trying to ignore the sensation of Dan's breath against his neck. Then, he spotted the missing comma. "Thanks," he said as he added it.
"You did need that comma," Dan said, wandering around to the other side of the desk, "but that wasn't what I meant."
"I don't think I'm missing any other punctuation."
"No, you're forgetting something."
Casey frowned and concentrated, but couldn't think of anything. "What?"
"Charlie?"
Casey snorted. "Charlie isn't coming here until five thirty."
Dan raised an eyebrow. "And the time is...?"
"I don't know, Mr Wolf." Casey looked over at the clock, expecting it to say about two. Instead, it happily ticked the seconds past five forty-five. "Damn."
"Yeah. The new schedule keeps messing around with my internal clock, too."
"Is Charlie here?" Casey asked, as he organised the notes sitting on his desk.
"At the moment, he and his decidedly hot new nanny are in the conference room." Dan grinned, rather wolfishly. "How long has she been working for Lisa?"
"Hands off the nanny, Danny." Casey grimaced at the rhyme and stood up.
"I haven't had my hands on her, yet."
"Keep it that way," Casey said, shooting a sideways glare at Dan.
"Regardless of Lisa's irrational claims, I am not the cause of her high nanny turnover."
Casey blinked at the phrase 'high nanny turnover' and tried not to think about nannies and food. "Actually, you are," Casey replied and headed out the door.
Dan stopped him with a hand on his arm. "No, I'm not."
"You freaked the last one out by calling her Rebecca."
Dan looked confused. "Her name wasn't Rebecca?"
"No, it wasn't." Casey rolled his eyes. "And the one before that quit because of your ten minute tirade against soccer."
"It's *soccer*," Dan pointed out, slightly outraged.
"She coached an Under Thirteens girls' soccer team."
Dan shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that?"
Casey started walking again. "And the one before that? I think we all remember the orange juice incident."
Dan's jaw dropped. "That was an honest to God accident."
"She asked you to open a *small* glass bottle, and ended up with you face down in her lap and orange juice dripping down her legs."
"I tripped!" Dan objected loudly. "I tripped, Casey. The floor was uneven and I tripped. It could have happened to anyone."
Casey chuckled. "Just goes to prove that you and Charlie's nannies are not a good combination."
Dan sighed dramatically. After a moment, he said, "I think you're jealous."
Casey felt the color rise in his cheeks. His voice was slightly strangled as he asked, "Jealous?"
Dan waggled his eyebrows. "I think you have intentions towards the nanny and don't want me as competition."
Casey almost sighed in relief. "Dan, she's twenty-two. I am not interested in someone over a decade younger than me."
"But you've got to admit she's a looker," Dan said cheekily.
"I'm not denying it," Casey said as they rounded the corner and the girl in question came into view. Sandy blonde hair down to her waist; wearing a practical t-shirt and jeans that really didn't disguise her long legs or ample bust; and she had the type of bright smile that had always attracted Dan. Still, she was just a *girl*, Casey repeated to himself, and hoped Dan would agree.
"Lisa sure knows how to pick the pretty ones." Dan turned to Casey. "Do you think she could pick one for me? If I asked nicely?"
Case snorted and didn't mention that the only person Lisa disliked more than Casey, was Dan. "You still want a nanny?"
"I think so."
"You do need one."
Dan leered, an expression that somehow still managed to look attractive on his face. "I need one that looks like that."
Casey rolled his eyes and opened the conference room door. "Hey, Charlie."
Charlie looked up and smiled. "Hey, Dad."
***
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 03:07 pm (UTC)Casey has it bad. That's just the way I like it!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 04:17 pm (UTC)Happy to please. *g* And, where Casey's concerned, I've got to say that when he decides to pine after someone, he really *pines*.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 04:58 pm (UTC)And good lord, that sounded odd.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 05:07 pm (UTC)*giggles* Yes, it did. I'm going to have to think about the idea of a title soon, but I figure it's pointless changing it until it's finished (since I still mentally refer to it as the Homophobic fic...).
no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 06:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 07:36 pm (UTC)Thanks!
And the saga of what Dan's done to Charlie's nannies was wonderfully fun.
Well,in the original scripts, there was an extra scene at the end, of Dan traumatising the new nanny.
CASEY: And try not to traumatize the new nanny.
DAN: Why would I traumatize the new nanny?
CASEY: I don't know, but you always do.
DAN: I like nannies.
CASEY: I know.
DAN: I'm thinking of getting one for myself.
CASEY: Good.
DAN: 'Course she'd probably end up going back to her ex-husband.
***
DAN (to Charlie) Who's your friend?
HOLLY I'm Holly, I'm the new nanny. Deborah had--
DAN: I lived through the trauma.
***
DAN: (TO HOLLY) It was nice meeting you, but I've forgotten your name. Is it Rebecca?
HOLLY: Holly.
DAN: I thought it was Rebecca.
HOLLY: It's Holly.
DAN: I don't like girls named Rebecca. I find they usually go back to their ex-husbands.
HOLLY: We should go.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 10:37 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-26 03:29 pm (UTC)He does, indeed, need a nanny of his own, and may I just mention at this juncture that many years ago I trained as a nursery nurse ...?
no subject
Date: 2004-05-26 05:31 pm (UTC)Yeah, you and me both, babe. I mean, if she doesn't work, and he's out at school most of the day...? Maybe the nanny comes with Charlie over to Casey's place? Maybe it's really lazy parenting for both of them.
Or, maybe Charlie has a lot of after-school activities, and the nanny is just a formal term for 'the person who schleps him around everywhere'?
Alternatively, if I'm being nice, I like to believe that Lisa doesn't work, but does spend a lot of time doing fund-raisers, etc, for charities, and that's why she needs someone else to look after Charlie.
...but now I see: it's all for Danny's benefit.
He does, indeed, need a nanny of his own, and may I just mention at this juncture that many years ago I trained as a nursery nurse ...?
Heh. I think you'll have to submit your resume to him.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-29 01:37 am (UTC)So I hope you're planning on spending the weekend writing more of it, and aren't wasting any time on such stuff as study!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-29 02:26 am (UTC)Thank you. I am totally reassured.
However, I have examines in less than two weeks, so... actual study could be good. On the other hand, I have spent this weekend writing a short SN fic, and betaing someone else's SV fic, adn researching Olympic events from 2000... *sniggers*