SN WIP: Danny/Accounting
Jun. 16th, 2004 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereJust in case I don't get the final bits written today, I might as well post what I've got. Previous bit here.
***
Casey held up his empty glass to Dan. When Dan didn't get the hint, he waved it back and forth in front of Dan's face.
"Quit it." Dan grabbed at his wrist, forcing the glass down on the bar top with a dull clank.
"I think you owe me beer."
"I owed you one beer," Dan replied, finishing his own glass. "One beer, which I have already bought."
Casey raised an eyebrow. "One beer does not cost twenty dollars. In fact, two beers don't cost twenty dollars either."
"Casey, I'm not buying you any more beer."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm going home," Dan finished as he stood up.
"How come?" Casey asked, glancing at the clock. "It's not even one yet."
Dan shrugged his jacket on. "I'm planning on getting an early night. Then, I'll have time in the morning to do a couple questions."
Casey smiled. "Topic seven?"
"Probably." Dan sighed and didn't look too pleased about the prospect of a relatively early night. "I'll see you tomorrow."
***
Dan was sitting at the table, accounting notes to one side and text book to the other. The laptop was slowly loading in front of him.
Casey was trying to be encouraging. "You know the accrual system?"
"I know the accrual system."
"You know the difference between gross, net and operating profit?"
"I know the difference between them."
"You know the depreciation rules?"
Dan looked up from the keyboard with a small grin. "Would it make you feel better if I described the methods of depreciation?"
Casey nodded, sitting down at the table. "The straight line method?"
Dan crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "The cost of the asset, less its net resale value, divided over its expected lifetime. That's the rate of depreciation. At the end of each period, you multiply the depreciation rate by the book value to get the depreciation expense for that period."
"What's the book value?"
"The book value," Dan said while rolling his eyes, "is the cost of the asset less the total accumulated depreciation. Happy?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah."
"So can you go now?"
"What?"
"Casey, leave me to sit the exam in peace. Right now, I think you're more tightly wound than I am."
"I think we're equally tight," Casey responded, and then frowned as he thought about that. "I mean, as tightly wound as each other. I just show it more."
Dan chuckled. "You're about five minutes away from biting your nails."
"For your information," Casey said, standing up, "I kicked that habit in high school." He grabbed the latest wire reports and a pad of paper.
"Thanks, Case," Dan said softly, and Casey could hear the nervousness hiding in his tone.
"Any time, Danny." Casey shot Dan a supporting smile as he headed out the doorway. He came back to close the door behind him and told Dan, "You'll do fine."
***
The second the allotted two and half hours were up, Casey started packing up his notes and his basically-finished script, and headed back to their office. He stood outside the closed door for a second, watching Dan.
Dan was sitting on the couch, elbows braced on his knees, head in his hands. He was either staring at his shoes or trying to work out the exact colour of their carpet (Casey said grey with blue specks; Dana said blue with grey highlights; so far, Dan had refused to give an opinion).
Casey opened the door quietly. "How did it go?"
"Alright." Casey closed the door behind him and Dan huffed a sigh. "I hope."
Casey took a few steps forward, his hands in his pocket. "Can you guess your result?"
"I'm hoping for about fifty-five percent." Dan shrugged and dropped his head. "Hoping really hard."
"So now that the exam's over," Casey said, sitting down on the couch beside Dan, "want to tell me what this was about?"
Dan frowned at him. "You already know what it's about."
"Trying to recapture your youth by perfecting your college transcript?"
Dan snorted. "That's one way to put it."
"You're not focused on the glory of your college years, Danny." Casey leaned forward on the couch, mimicking Dan's position. "You're also not the type of guy who can't admit to the occasional screw-up. I'd even go as far as to say that you don't have any real trouble acknowledging your weaknesses and strengths."
"So?"
"So you're not doing this for the sake of your transcript. What's going on?"
"Nothing's..." Dan trailed off.
Casey waited for Dan to tell him the truth, but couldn't help thinking that there was a good chance Dan would just bluff his way out of it.
Then Dan sighed and capitulated. "I went to college for four years, Casey. Every year I'd come home for the holidays and Mom would have something sweet in the oven, and say that I was doing well, that she was proud of me. Dad just... wouldn't."
Casey felt himself start to frown. "I'm sure he was just as proud of you."
"He'd say that I was back for the holidays and ask how long I was staying this time, and..." Dan shrugged and Casey let him take his time. Finally, Dan said, "I got good grades. I consistently got good grades, but..."
"3.75 GPA from an Ivy League college," Casey said gently. "That's very good grades. Anyone will tell you that."
Dan dropped his head. "But Sam would have got 4.0."
"Aw, Danny..."
"Don't get me wrong, Casey. It's not like Dad ever said it. It's just..." Dan swallowed and kept staring at the floor. "It was just *there*. That no matter how hard I worked, it'd never make up for..."
Casey sighed and wrapped an arm around Dan's shoulders. "What were David's marks?"
Dan smirked, a rather unpleasant expression. "2.9."
"So it's not like you were the drop-out of the family," Casey suggested lightly.
Dan's eyes narrowed. "That's different."
"Why?"
"*David* did a bachelor in business studies. *David* came back home and joined Dad at the family business. *David* is now the manager of one of the stores, and with his help, Dad's expanded it to three stores now." Dan took a deep breath. "Trust me, David is not the prodigal son in this situation."
"So that's why you wanted to do the accounting course?" Casey asked slowly. "Because David could do it?"
"That had nothing-" Dan started and then stopped. For a moment, Casey wondered if this was the type of thing that Abby should be hearing. Dan snorted and glared at their desk. "Over four years, do you know Dad only ever made one direct comment about my grades? Only one."
"What was it?" Casey said, even as he had a sinking feeling he could guess.
"So you failed basic accounting," Dan said gruffly, in a bad imitation of his father's voice. "Guess it's just as well you've got no interest in the store."
Casey closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't have the words for a comment like that. Well, he did, but calling Dan's father a harsh, unsympathetic jerk probably wouldn't help.
"Not that I even wanted to work in the store. And I complained every time I had to help out in high school..." Dan shrugged and plastered on a tight smile. "Would it have killed him to notice I'd passed all my other classes?"
Sighing, Casey squeezed Dan's shoulder briefly. "I'm sure he noticed."
Dan nodded sharply and stood up. "Yeah."
"And I'm sure you'll ace it this time." Casey rocked back on his feet, and noticed Kim's head bobbing towards their office. "But I think we've about to be asked for the rundown meeting."
"Let's shock them," Dan said, grabbing a pen and paper.
"How?"
Dan grinned brightly. "We'll show up early."
Casey snorted. "At this stage, we'll just show up on time."
"For us, that's still pretty shocking."
***
***
Casey held up his empty glass to Dan. When Dan didn't get the hint, he waved it back and forth in front of Dan's face.
"Quit it." Dan grabbed at his wrist, forcing the glass down on the bar top with a dull clank.
"I think you owe me beer."
"I owed you one beer," Dan replied, finishing his own glass. "One beer, which I have already bought."
Casey raised an eyebrow. "One beer does not cost twenty dollars. In fact, two beers don't cost twenty dollars either."
"Casey, I'm not buying you any more beer."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm going home," Dan finished as he stood up.
"How come?" Casey asked, glancing at the clock. "It's not even one yet."
Dan shrugged his jacket on. "I'm planning on getting an early night. Then, I'll have time in the morning to do a couple questions."
Casey smiled. "Topic seven?"
"Probably." Dan sighed and didn't look too pleased about the prospect of a relatively early night. "I'll see you tomorrow."
***
Dan was sitting at the table, accounting notes to one side and text book to the other. The laptop was slowly loading in front of him.
Casey was trying to be encouraging. "You know the accrual system?"
"I know the accrual system."
"You know the difference between gross, net and operating profit?"
"I know the difference between them."
"You know the depreciation rules?"
Dan looked up from the keyboard with a small grin. "Would it make you feel better if I described the methods of depreciation?"
Casey nodded, sitting down at the table. "The straight line method?"
Dan crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "The cost of the asset, less its net resale value, divided over its expected lifetime. That's the rate of depreciation. At the end of each period, you multiply the depreciation rate by the book value to get the depreciation expense for that period."
"What's the book value?"
"The book value," Dan said while rolling his eyes, "is the cost of the asset less the total accumulated depreciation. Happy?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah."
"So can you go now?"
"What?"
"Casey, leave me to sit the exam in peace. Right now, I think you're more tightly wound than I am."
"I think we're equally tight," Casey responded, and then frowned as he thought about that. "I mean, as tightly wound as each other. I just show it more."
Dan chuckled. "You're about five minutes away from biting your nails."
"For your information," Casey said, standing up, "I kicked that habit in high school." He grabbed the latest wire reports and a pad of paper.
"Thanks, Case," Dan said softly, and Casey could hear the nervousness hiding in his tone.
"Any time, Danny." Casey shot Dan a supporting smile as he headed out the doorway. He came back to close the door behind him and told Dan, "You'll do fine."
***
The second the allotted two and half hours were up, Casey started packing up his notes and his basically-finished script, and headed back to their office. He stood outside the closed door for a second, watching Dan.
Dan was sitting on the couch, elbows braced on his knees, head in his hands. He was either staring at his shoes or trying to work out the exact colour of their carpet (Casey said grey with blue specks; Dana said blue with grey highlights; so far, Dan had refused to give an opinion).
Casey opened the door quietly. "How did it go?"
"Alright." Casey closed the door behind him and Dan huffed a sigh. "I hope."
Casey took a few steps forward, his hands in his pocket. "Can you guess your result?"
"I'm hoping for about fifty-five percent." Dan shrugged and dropped his head. "Hoping really hard."
"So now that the exam's over," Casey said, sitting down on the couch beside Dan, "want to tell me what this was about?"
Dan frowned at him. "You already know what it's about."
"Trying to recapture your youth by perfecting your college transcript?"
Dan snorted. "That's one way to put it."
"You're not focused on the glory of your college years, Danny." Casey leaned forward on the couch, mimicking Dan's position. "You're also not the type of guy who can't admit to the occasional screw-up. I'd even go as far as to say that you don't have any real trouble acknowledging your weaknesses and strengths."
"So?"
"So you're not doing this for the sake of your transcript. What's going on?"
"Nothing's..." Dan trailed off.
Casey waited for Dan to tell him the truth, but couldn't help thinking that there was a good chance Dan would just bluff his way out of it.
Then Dan sighed and capitulated. "I went to college for four years, Casey. Every year I'd come home for the holidays and Mom would have something sweet in the oven, and say that I was doing well, that she was proud of me. Dad just... wouldn't."
Casey felt himself start to frown. "I'm sure he was just as proud of you."
"He'd say that I was back for the holidays and ask how long I was staying this time, and..." Dan shrugged and Casey let him take his time. Finally, Dan said, "I got good grades. I consistently got good grades, but..."
"3.75 GPA from an Ivy League college," Casey said gently. "That's very good grades. Anyone will tell you that."
Dan dropped his head. "But Sam would have got 4.0."
"Aw, Danny..."
"Don't get me wrong, Casey. It's not like Dad ever said it. It's just..." Dan swallowed and kept staring at the floor. "It was just *there*. That no matter how hard I worked, it'd never make up for..."
Casey sighed and wrapped an arm around Dan's shoulders. "What were David's marks?"
Dan smirked, a rather unpleasant expression. "2.9."
"So it's not like you were the drop-out of the family," Casey suggested lightly.
Dan's eyes narrowed. "That's different."
"Why?"
"*David* did a bachelor in business studies. *David* came back home and joined Dad at the family business. *David* is now the manager of one of the stores, and with his help, Dad's expanded it to three stores now." Dan took a deep breath. "Trust me, David is not the prodigal son in this situation."
"So that's why you wanted to do the accounting course?" Casey asked slowly. "Because David could do it?"
"That had nothing-" Dan started and then stopped. For a moment, Casey wondered if this was the type of thing that Abby should be hearing. Dan snorted and glared at their desk. "Over four years, do you know Dad only ever made one direct comment about my grades? Only one."
"What was it?" Casey said, even as he had a sinking feeling he could guess.
"So you failed basic accounting," Dan said gruffly, in a bad imitation of his father's voice. "Guess it's just as well you've got no interest in the store."
Casey closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't have the words for a comment like that. Well, he did, but calling Dan's father a harsh, unsympathetic jerk probably wouldn't help.
"Not that I even wanted to work in the store. And I complained every time I had to help out in high school..." Dan shrugged and plastered on a tight smile. "Would it have killed him to notice I'd passed all my other classes?"
Sighing, Casey squeezed Dan's shoulder briefly. "I'm sure he noticed."
Dan nodded sharply and stood up. "Yeah."
"And I'm sure you'll ace it this time." Casey rocked back on his feet, and noticed Kim's head bobbing towards their office. "But I think we've about to be asked for the rundown meeting."
"Let's shock them," Dan said, grabbing a pen and paper.
"How?"
Dan grinned brightly. "We'll show up early."
Casey snorted. "At this stage, we'll just show up on time."
"For us, that's still pretty shocking."
***
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 10:12 pm (UTC)*kicks Danny's dad HARD*
*hugs Danny more*
no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 10:18 pm (UTC)(Of course, having said that, if I ever do finish the therapy fic, it's going to be one long session of venting and danny woobie-ing.)
On the good side, at least he's got Casey there to... comfort him.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-16 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-16 12:23 am (UTC)I really can't argue against that.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-16 04:42 am (UTC)"Four million's not that many, is it ...?"
(Julie Cooper on The OC comes close when she tells stick-thin Marissa to wear her Donna Karan 'cos it's 'so forgiving'. Sometimes I wonder about the home lives of TV writers. Not often, though.)
no subject
Date: 2004-06-16 05:26 pm (UTC)See, I didn't understand a word of the accounting stuff (didn't stop me enjoying reading it, I just found my brain shorting out once or twice)...
Could you still follow most of the snark? Or at least, follow the idea the Dan was being annoying with a slight touch of almost-flirting?
no subject
Date: 2004-06-17 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-20 02:54 am (UTC)I love the scene where Dan is finally admitting why he's doing the course. The way he slowly opens up, with that little hint of glee that he got much better grades than David mixed in with the pain of being made to feel like a failure. It's a good, realistic, balanced scene.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-20 03:12 am (UTC)Hee! Well, if you ever study accounting, that's got to help a little... *g*
I love the scene where Dan is finally admitting why he's doing the course. The way he slowly opens up, with that little hint of glee that he got much better grades than David mixed in with the pain of being made to feel like a failure. It's a good, realistic, balanced scene.
Thank you. I'm really glad it worked.
Oh, you do know I posted the rough version of the last section, right?
no subject
Date: 2004-06-20 03:20 am (UTC)With the kiss? I'm assuming that's the last section. Didn't my comment show up there? In case it didn't, I loved it!