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SN WIP: Homophobic - Part Twenty (The End)
Thanks to Celli, this wip is officially finished. *smooches her* Woooooooo!
Of course, it now needs to be beta'd. *big eyes* Since it's now 80,247 words (Eep!), anyone who wants to volunteer to help with beta duty will be adored. I think a couple betas will be needed for this monster.
Previous parts are linked here. Big thanks to everyone who's been so supportive over the last few months while I dithered over this. Trust me, all comments were gratefully appreciated. *hugs you all*
***
Casey spent longer hiding out in Dan's shower than was strictly necessary. He knew he was just delaying the inevitable, but that was a plan that usually saw him in good stead. Casey heard the clang of one of Dan's heavy, black pans and his hunger overcame his uncertainty. Turning off the shiny silver faucets, Casey couldn't help thinking that it was just as well Dan had gone first; otherwise, he might have been tempted to test Dan's claim of never-ending hot water.
With a towel wrapped around his waist, Casey stared at his reflection. He didn't look any different from yesterday or last week. Apart from the five o'clock shadow he didn't look any different from any other day. For some reason, he'd expected a noticeable difference. Possibly a tattoo across his forehead saying, "I slept with Dan Rydell."
His boxers were lying on the bed, on top of a pair of baggy grey sweats and possibly the biggest sweatshirt in existence. Whoever had bought that for Dan obviously thought Danny was about seven foot tall and two foot wide. Casey rolled his eyes and quickly got dressed, and then followed the sound of Dan whistling.
He leaned against the living room doorway, watching a slightly blurred Dan mix something in a bowl as he whistled some slow tune. He had a moment of wondering when he'd taken his contacts out and where he'd left them. They were probably at home, since he couldn't remember putting them in last night. Tugging his sleeve up, Casey screwed up his courage and left the relative safety of the doorway.
"This is like the biggest sweatshirt you own, isn't it?" he asked as he stepped into the kitchen.
Dan turned around and grinned. "How did you guess?"
"Never in your life have you had arms long enough to fit these sleeves." Casey held an arm out to the side to demonstrate. Dan laughed, but there was a tightness around his eyes that Casey did his best to ignore. He looked around at the bowl and eggshells sitting in the carton. "So I take it we're not having cereal?"
"Eggs," Dan replied, turning back to the butter melting in the pan. He was wearing a faded black t-shirt and an old pair of jeans that clung to his curve of his butt. Casey realized he was staring and turned his attention back to the food.
"Any reason why?"
"Everything's easier over eggs," Dan announced, only half-joking.
"Ah."
"Look, don't--" Dan started, looking over his shoulder. He held Casey's gaze for a moment, and then continued, "Don't just stand there, Casey. Butter the toast."
Casey nodded. "Sure." It was easier to stand with his back to Dan, buttering the slices and putting more in the toaster. Almost comforting to hear Dan futz about with the eggs behind him. He reached up for plates without looking, and placed them on the counter.
While he was waiting for the next lot of toast to pop up, he got the cutlery and set Dan's smallish table. It was a miniature dining set, all glass and black chrome, and far more comfortable than it looked. It only sat two people, but it was very unusual for Dan to have more than one guest at a time.
The toast popped up and Casey buttered it as Dan served the eggs on to the plates. Fixing up breakfast together was strange and weird but not altogether bad. Just really damn weird. When Dan managed to spill eggs down the side of one plate, Casey couldn't help laughing. Dan stared at him for a moment and then grinned back.
"Do you want to take these over to the table and I'll fix up the coffees?"
"That depends." Casey smirked. "Are you going to spill the coffees?"
"Just go," Dan said with a roll of his eyes.
Casey shook his head and carried the plates over. He politely waited for Dan to sit down and then they started eating. It wasn't quite companionable silence, Casey noted as he sipped at his coffee, but on the other hand, at least he didn't have to watch Dan struggle for something to say. This way, he could look at his eggs as he pushed them around the plate. He didn't even need to look up to reach for his cup.
After five silent minutes passed, Dan asked, "Casey?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you look at me?"
"I thought we had to talk," Casey replied as he picked up a slice of toast.
"Yeah, but it might be easier if you look at me." Dan reached over and lightly placed a hand on Casey's wrist. It was enough of a surprise that Casey looked up. Dan pulled his hand back. "This isn't the Spanish Inquisition. I just need to know what was going through your head last night."
"Why?" Casey bit down on the toast and nearly missed Dan's surprised expression.
"Why?"
"Mmm-hmm," Casey replied, chewing slowly. This would be a lot easier if he knew what Dan wanted to hear.
Dan blinked at him. "Because it makes a difference. A huge difference." Dan paused and then spoke to his plate. "Because while I've got nothing against casual sex, I need to know where I stand. It's as simple as that."
Casey nodded and kept chewing stubbornly.
"Where do I stand?" Dan demanded softly.
Casey shrugged and swallowed. "I don't know. Danny, I just... I don't know." Somehow, saying the words made Casey feel miserable, made him stunningly aware that he really didn't have a clue what was going on.
Dan stood up, picking up his empty cup and plate. "That doesn't help me."
Casey sighed but didn't say anything as Dan took his dishes into the kitchen. Slowly drinking his coffee, he listened to the sounds of running water as Dan rinsed the plates and possibly cleaned the pan. Casey found himself staring out the window, watching the grey concrete of the building opposite. He just... He didn't know what to say to Dan, how to explain any of this; how to say that for the last couple weeks, Dan was all he could think about...
But that was probably the best way to do it. Just tell Dan that he couldn't stop thinking about him. That he wasn't sure when it had started, or why, but for some reason, he was lusting after his best friend. He couldn't stop watching Dan, watching his hands and his mouth and his eyes; couldn't stop wanting him. Casey sighed and wondered if there was any way to say that where he didn't come off sounding like the latest celebrity stalker.
Of course, Dan chose that moment to walk back in. "I get that it's difficult for you, really I do, but you've got to tell me what's going on. I can't figure this out by myself."
Casey nodded and toyed with the last piece of toast. "I know."
"So, come on," Dan said wearily, sitting down across from Casey. "*Talk*."
"I..." Casey took a deep breath and then emptied his cup in one long swallow. Closing his eyes, he forced the words out. "I can't stop thinking about you. I tried and I-- I don't even know why, I just can't. I keep thinking of you, and imagining you, and--" Casey dropped his head to his hands, rubbing at his temples. "I don't know, Danny."
"Hey." Dan's voice was soft and warm, but it was the hand on Casey's shoulder that was even more reassuring. "That's not a problem."
Casey frowned. "It feels like one."
"It's not." Dan scooted his chair closer and wrapped a hand around the back of Casey's neck. "How long?"
"A couple of weeks. The last two, three weeks. Since you kissed me." Casey paused, looking over Dan's shoulder at the window behind him. "But it was probably longer than that. I mean, for us to kiss in the first place, I must have... at least thought about it. I guess."
Dan nodded and licked his lips, and Casey had the sudden urge to kiss him again.
"I want you, Danny. It's as simple as that."
Dan's mouth quirked into a half-smile. "You want me? Just like that. Out of the blue?"
"Yeah," Casey replied, but his voice sounded uncertain. No wonder Dan kept watching him as if waiting for the punch line. "I kept thinking that it would all go away. That it was the Olympics, and it was stress, and it was just some new way of going insane. I thought that all I needed to do was to get through the Olympics and it would go away, and everything would be normal again."
"No offense," Dan said as he raised an eyebrow, "but that's the type of scatterbrained plan I expect from Dana. Why in the world would you think that being attracted to someone would just go away?"
"Why did you say that a kiss didn't count if you were drunk?"
Dan grimaced and pulled back. "I was trying to make it easy on you. You were drunk and confused, and I was trying to give you an easy way to get out of it. I didn't want it to turn into some ugly argument. And I didn't want you to turn around and accuse me of trying to seduce you, especially since you kissed me."
Casey's memories of his birthday were still hazy and incomplete. "I did?"
"You did."
"Huh." Casey stretched his neck as he thought about that. Pushing the mostly empty plates away from him, he sighed. "At the time, it seemed like a logical explanation. Stress, or a minor breakdown. I mean," Casey paused, feeling his face start to heat, "it was the first time I'd even kissed a guy, and at thirty-five, that's the type of thing you're supposed to have figured out."
"Sexual discovery doesn't have an age limit, Casey."
"Could you make that sound any more like a PSA?" Casey demanded sullenly, feeling defensive. "I had my life worked out and this wasn't part of it. I was pretty sure I knew who Casey McCall was, and now? I have no idea. I was married, and I have a son, and this... this isn't..."
"This isn't how you saw your life?" Dan asked carefully.
Casey let out a long breath. "Yeah."
"What makes you think it isn't just 'stress'?" Dan asked with a sharp hint of sarcasm. When he glanced over at Dan, Dan smiled apologetically and Casey remembered that he wasn't the only one nervous about this conversation.
"Because I-- I thought it would go away. I thought that after the two weeks, after the Olympics, it would all be fine. It would all go back to normal. I thought that if it was just temporary insanity, it didn't matter. It didn't matter if I gave in to it. It didn't matter if I stopped fighting it." Casey folded his arms on the edge of the table, watching the last globs of egg on his plate. "I thought that it didn't matter if I watched you, if I let myself want you, because it would go away. But it didn't. I still want you and I still think about you, and I don't know. I don't know if I did the right thing, I don't know if I should have fought it harder or..." He wheezed in a shaky breath, but couldn't force himself to look up. "I don't know, Danny."
"Huh," Dan said and then he was quiet for a long while. Eventually, he said, "Let me give you some advice."
"What?"
"You can't fight this stuff forever, Casey. You can try. You can ignore it and push it down as far as it'll go, but eventually, you have to face it. And if you don't deal with it, you end up miserable. Or seeking professional help." Dan bit his lip and looked away, and Casey wondered how much that hurt to say. "But you're the one who's got to live with it. If it's really something you don't want in your life..." Dan shrugged and let that half sentence hang in the air.
"I don't want to lose my job," Casey said with the first scrap of certainty that he'd felt so far. "And I don't want to lose Charlie."
"That's not what I'm talking about--"
"It affects it, Dan. You know that," Casey interrupted. "It isn't something that can be considered in isolation. Regardless of how much I want this..." Casey hunched his shoulders, trying to at least be honest about this. "Regardless of how much I want you, it would ruin my life."
Dan pushed himself out of the chair and paced behind the couch, finally stopping at the window. He ran a hand through his hair and then turned around, leaning his back on the glass. "I'm not saying we have to be out about this. I'm not suggesting that we announce it on national television. I'm not saying that we have to tell anyone."
"It feels tacky," Casey said, before he could stop himself.
Dan snorted. "Tacky?"
"It feels tacky to sleep with someone and keep it this big secret. To want to be with someone and not want to tell anyone."
Dan stared at him in surprise. "Can I point out *Sally*? Considering you've already done that at the office, that's a really flimsy excuse for not wanting to do this."
"Sally was different."
"How?"
Casey thought for a moment, remembering Sally's long legs and low laugh, remembering the pettiness and her small-mindedness. Remembering the way she never got his jokes, and always managed to be harsh and uncaring about the wrong things. "I didn't tell people about her because I didn't want them to know about her. I didn't care about her, not really. And, to be honest, I liked sleeping with her, and that was one of the few things I liked about her."
Dan was scowling at the clean carpet. "So for the sake of good sex, you'd hide that relationship. But if you were sleeping with me, hiding that would somehow be against your moral code?"
"It would be different."
"Because it's me?" Dan asked, with a smile sharp enough to cut.
"Yes," Casey replied vehemently, standing up, "because it's *you*, Danny. Because you're smart and you're talented, because... Regardless of what you believe, you're not at your best when you're on air. You're brilliant and charming, eloquent and witty, but that's not your best. You're at your best when someone around you is in trouble, when they need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to step up to bat for them. It doesn't matter if they're like me, and they're being idiots about it. Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you know them or not, you'll stand up because it's the right thing to do. I know you, Danny, and I know there is nothing that you wouldn't do to protect the people you love. Nothing."
Dan looked somewhat shocked, but Casey didn't let that stop him. "You don't deserve this, Danny. You don't deserve to be someone's dirty little secret. You shouldn't have to put up with someone being ashamed, being *afraid* to acknowledge you in public. You should be with someone, someone who's proud to stand beside you, who's proud to know you. You should... You deserve that..." Casey trailed off, out of words. He sat down, not quite sure where that had come from but certain that he meant every word.
"You mean that?" Dan asked. Casey nodded and Dan rolled his eyes as he walked over. "Then you're an idiot."
"What?"
"You're lucky you're so likeable, Casey, because you're an idiot." Dan sat on the other chair, not even trying to hide his grin. "You spend how many years in a marriage that makes you miserable because you think it's the right thing to do, and then you say that you want me, that I'm this incredible guy, but since the situation isn't perfect, you can't do it? You're an idiot."
Casey didn't know how to react. On the one hand, Dan was smiling again and obviously pleased. On the other hand, he kept insulting Casey. "I don't think that's--"
Dan leaned forward as he cut him off. "I meant it when I said that you seemed happier these last two weeks. Do you think it's a coincidence that that's when you stopped fighting your attraction to me?"
"I--" Casey stopped suddenly, thinking about that. "I guess not."
"I thought you were going to say that you were curious about guys, that you were sleep-deprived and confused, and that you didn't mean to take advantage of me, but you weren't actually interested. Since that isn't the case, do you really think I'd want to let this pass me by without even trying to make it work?"
"Danny--"
Dan grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Casey, you like me and you want me. You said so yourself."
"Yeah."
Dan spread his arms wide, rather generous in his supposed victory. "What else do you need to give this a shot?"
Casey boggled at him. "A society where we could date without losing our jobs?"
"You can't have it all," Dan replied with an easy smile. Dan stood up and leaned across the table to press a open-mouthed kiss against Casey lips. It was warm and coffee-flavored, and it was the type of kiss that had Casey thinking this just might, maybe, possibly work. Casey kissed back, tangling a hand in Dan's t-shirt.
Dan laughed as he finally pulled back. "The path of true love never did run smooth."
"I didn't say anything about love, Danny. I'm not--I'm not in love with you," Casey hastened to add. "I mean, lust, sure. But that's not the same thing."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Dan smiled at him again. "Then what's love?" he asked, as he walked behind Casey.
"It's liking someone and it's lusting after them and..." Casey shrugged. "It's other stuff, Danny. It's more than just lust and sex."
Dan laughed and leaned over his shoulder. "Okay? The sex stuff? That's new to us." Dan paused to press a quick kiss against Casey's neck. "The other stuff? That's been happening between us for years. You just haven't noticed it."
Casey blinked, leaning forward as Dan started nuzzling his neck. "Huh." Dan was his best friend, so of course he cared about him, but he was pretty sure that wasn't the same thing. It was similar, but it wasn't the same feeling. Probably. It wasn't anything like the way he felt for Lisa, back in the day. It was something like the way he once felt for Dana, though.
Then Dan wrapped his arms around Casey's chest, and Casey relaxed into Dan's warmth and stopped trying to compare. "You know," Dan said softly, and then nipped at Casey's earlobe, "when I first met you, I really wanted you."
Casey tried not to squirm as Dan pulled at the huge sweatshirt, and slipped cool hands beneath it. "Yeah?"
Dan's hands quickly warmed up as he ran them across Casey's stomach, and up over his ribs. "I spent weeks thinking about you. About kissing you," Dan said, sucking a wet kiss to the corner of his jaw. "Imagining pushing you up against a wall somewhere, pulling your dick out and blowing you there and then."
Casey gasped in a quick breath as Dan scraped his fingernails down his chest, and kept talking. "I kept thinking about you, about the way you looked during an Eastern winter, the way you'd come in and pull off scarf and hat. Your nose would be red and your cheeks would be rosy, and you'd grin like walking a block through the cold was a fun experience."
One of Dan's hands crept up Casey's chest, whispering over his nipple. The other slithered down, under the loose waistband of the slacks, under his boxers, and cupped him as he hardened. "God, you looked as sweet as apple pie and I'd spend half my time around you trying to impress you with my sporting knowledge, and the other half thinking of ways to seduce you." Dan sucked hard against his pulse and Casey closed his eyes and groaned.
"Maybe seduce isn't the right word. I mean, it's not like I planned devious ways to get you naked, I just spent a lot of time imagining what I'd do once you were naked. How I'd touch you," Dan said and tightened his fingers around Casey's cock. He started to stroke, slow, carefully strokes against Casey's dry skin. Casey bit his lip at the friction, leaning his head back against Dan's shoulder. "How I'd kiss you. Whether you'd yell or moan."
Then Dan stopped and pulled his hands back. He pulled down the sweatshirt, smoothed it down over his torso. "Danny," Casey whined, but Dan had settled his hands on Casey's shoulder and didn't seem inclined to move them.
Dan pressed a light kiss against his cheek. "And then I saw you with Lisa. I might have doubted how much she cared, but it was incredibly obvious that you were head over heels in love with her," Dan murmured against his skin. "So I put you out of my mind. I told myself you were off-limits. And it works. You get used to being attracted to the person, and you get used to not acting on it. But it doesn't go away, it doesn't disappear. You just get used to it."
"Danny?" Casey scooted forward and swiveled around on the chair. "What are you trying to say?"
Dan watched him with dark, serious eyes. "I'm trying to say that there aren't a lot of people that you *want* this badly. It doesn't happen often and it doesn't happen easily. And you're an idiot if you want to throw that away because it's not perfect." Dan was watching him, waiting for... Casey wasn't sure what.
Feeling like a coward, Casey swallowed and looked away.
He didn't look up when Dan sighed. Or when Dan gathered the remaining dirty dishes. In fact, he didn't look up until Dan was in the kitchen, clattering dishes in the sink.
There was a part of Casey, a part he didn't want to acknowledge, that wanted to leave right now. He wanted to find his shoes and his keys and go home; just pretend this never happened. Pretend that they were still best friends and he didn't know how well Dan's cock fitted in his hand; didn't know the way Dan grunted before he came; didn't know the taste of Dan's shoulder or the feel of Dan's teeth on his skin. He also wished he didn't know Dan's look of disappointment, that almost hurt expression he got when people he cared about screwed up.
But Casey knew that look. He knew it well enough to be sure Dan was wearing it now. He didn't need to see Dan to know what the quiet sounds of careful washing up were hiding. Casey spent a moment feeling guilty and then his conscience got the better of him.
When he stepped into the kitchen, Dan was standing over the sink, watching the water drain out. Dan didn't turn around, so Casey took a few more steps and cleared his throat. "Danny."
Sighing, Dan turned around. "Couldn't find you keys?" he asked dryly. "Your coat's hanging in my closet."
Casey winced, almost regretting that Dan knew him so well. "That wasn't..." Dan was staring at him, face blank. "This is all pretty unfamiliar to me."
Dan's mouth tightened as he stepped closer. "Unfamiliar?"
"Yeah," Casey said, refusing to step back. He made a conscious effort to meet Dan's gaze. "This is unknown territory."
"Of course it is. And if you want to make the quick exit--" Dan paused and sighed. When he continued, his voice was quiet; sad and a little defeated. "What do you want, Casey?"
"Leniency."
Dan's brows rose and he took half a step backwards. "Leniency?"
"I don't know what I'm doing. This is all pretty new to me," Casey said carefully. "It's unknown territory and I don't know the rules."
"Casey--"
"So when it comes to the penalty calls, I want a bit of leniency." Dan boggled at him and Casey shifted on his feet and added, "I think I deserve leniency, Danny. I'm bound to screw this up at least a couple times, and it's probably going to be from ignorance instead of actual--"
Dan kissed him warmly. Casey decided he didn't mind being interrupted like that.
Dan curled a hand around Casey's hip and smiled. "I can do leniency."
Casey was tempted to ask what else Dan could do, but that was just asking for trouble. As he thought, he ran his fingers across Dan's smooth cheek. "Danny, is there a reason you're clean-shaven?"
"Because I know how to use a razor?"
"No, I mean..." Casey gestured vaguely. "What happened to the week of growing a goatee?"
"As it turns out...?" Dan grinned sheepishly. "Actually didn't suit me."
Casey fought the urge to say 'told you so' and smirked instead. "So what do you want to do now?" Dan leered at him and Casey rolled his eyes. "That wasn't what I was thinking of."
"No?" Dan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No."
"Huh. Maybe my kissing does need work." Leaning closer, Dan sucked a kiss against a tender spot on Casey's neck. Casey absentmindedly wondered if he already had a hickey there.
"Danny?"
"Mmmm...?"
"I'm not--" Casey dug his fingers into strong shoulders as Dan bit down hard. "Um. I'm not seventeen anymore."
"Which is just as well," Dan murmured against his jaw. "Otherwise, this would be statutory rape, and Standards and Practices might have something to say about that."
Casey laughed. "I meant that I'm thirty-five, Danny, not seventeen."
"So?"
"So there are some physical limitations that come with age."
"Aaaah," Dan said slowly. He stepped closer, pressing his body tight against Casey. "I'm sure we can overcome that with a bit of effort." He started to creep a hand down the front of Casey's sweatpants.
Casey stopped him quickly. "What's the rush?"
Dan looked unrepentant. "Have you seen the time?"
"No."
"I can drive you to your place than then to the station, but that still doesn't leave enough time for slow seductions."
Snorting at Dan's particular brand of charm, Casey leaned up and kissed Dan's forehead. "I'm not working today."
"Why not?"
"Isaac gave me a week off."
Dan blinked at him for a moment. Casey was expecting some crack about Dan's 'special bond' with Isaac, but instead, Dan asked, "And when do you have Charlie?"
"This weekend."
"So we've got four days before either of us actually has to go anywhere?" Dan looked ridiculously happy. "I suggest we should indulge in the three essential S's."
"The three S's?"
"Sex, sleep and sports. Televised sports, of course," Dan amended quickly.
Casey smiled. "Ah, the three essential S's," he said and then relaxed into Dan's kiss.
***
Casey didn't pounce on the telephone. It was just that the telephone happened to be sitting beside him when it rang, and he had speedy reflexes. "Hello?"
Dan laughed. "I'd swear that didn't even ring before you picked up."
"I have speedy reflexes."
Dan snorted down the line. "Whatever. Is Charlie still up?"
"Nah. He's asleep in my bed," Casey replied, shooting a quick look at his closed bedroom door.
"How come?"
"I wanted to stay up for the show and midnight is a bit too late for a ten year old on a school night."
"He's ten years and eleven months, Casey. He probably deserves a later bedtime."
Casey groaned, recognizing the ten years and eleven months argument that Charlie had raised yesterday. "Charlie asked you to say that, didn't he?"
"Worth a shot," Dan replied cheekily. "So you're staying up to watch the show. Any particular reason?"
Casey refused to give in to Dan's obvious attempt at fishing for flattery. "I have no life?"
"Pshaw. I think you're tuning in to watch me at my charismatic best."
Casey rested his head back and grinned at the ceiling. "If you say so, Danny."
"It's true." Dan sighed. "Guess who I'm working with tonight?"
"Initials?"
"S. S."
"Steve Sisco," Casey said, before he could stop himself. On the other end of the line, he heard the sounds of Dan choking.
Dan cleared his throat. "*No.*"
"Steve Sarris."
Dan groaned. "So, if I'm not at my best? You know why."
"If he doesn't dedicate the show to his current girlfriend," Casey replied easily, "you're doing well."
Dan laughed. "Good point." There was a quiet pause; Casey listened to the sound of Dan breathing. "Anyway. I've got to get going."
Casey nodded and adjusted his hold on the telephone handset. "Five minutes to air?"
"Yeah."
Casey bit his lip, remembering Dan sprawled naked across cotton sheets, eating pizza right out of the box. "Come over after the show."
"What?"
"Tomorrow night," Casey corrected. "I'm off until Tuesday, but I don't have Charlie tomorrow night. Come over after the show."
"Okay, I'll-- Yeah, Kim, I'll be there in a minute!" Dan shouted across the office, and into the handset.
Casey rubbed at one ear and held the telephone against the other. "Ow," he said pointedly.
"Sorry," Dan said apologetically, "but, you know. Live television."
"Yeah, I know." Casey rolled his eyes. "Go. I'll see you later."
"Tomorrow night." The last thing Casey heard was Dan's muffled, "Kim, will you just--" and Kim's "Talk when he gets back!" Then the connection went dead.
Hanging up the phone, Casey chuckled to himself and got up to check on Charlie. He crept into his bedroom quietly, just in case Charlie was still in that 'not quite asleep' stage, but Charlie was curled up on his side, dead to the world.
He'd managed to kick the comforter off, so Casey pulled it up, carefully tucking it around Charlie's small shoulders. Pressing a gentle kiss to Charlie's forehead, he whispered, "Sweet dreams, Charlie," and then lingered there for a moment, watching his son sleep.
The Sports Night intro music drifted from the living room. Casey closed the bedroom door firmly and made his way back to the couch. He sat down just as Dan appeared on the screen.
"This is Dan Rydell, beside Steve Sarris, since Casey McCall couldn't be bothered to drag himself to the studio today. You're watching Sports Night on QVN."
The End
Of course, it now needs to be beta'd. *big eyes* Since it's now 80,247 words (Eep!), anyone who wants to volunteer to help with beta duty will be adored. I think a couple betas will be needed for this monster.
Previous parts are linked here. Big thanks to everyone who's been so supportive over the last few months while I dithered over this. Trust me, all comments were gratefully appreciated. *hugs you all*
***
Casey spent longer hiding out in Dan's shower than was strictly necessary. He knew he was just delaying the inevitable, but that was a plan that usually saw him in good stead. Casey heard the clang of one of Dan's heavy, black pans and his hunger overcame his uncertainty. Turning off the shiny silver faucets, Casey couldn't help thinking that it was just as well Dan had gone first; otherwise, he might have been tempted to test Dan's claim of never-ending hot water.
With a towel wrapped around his waist, Casey stared at his reflection. He didn't look any different from yesterday or last week. Apart from the five o'clock shadow he didn't look any different from any other day. For some reason, he'd expected a noticeable difference. Possibly a tattoo across his forehead saying, "I slept with Dan Rydell."
His boxers were lying on the bed, on top of a pair of baggy grey sweats and possibly the biggest sweatshirt in existence. Whoever had bought that for Dan obviously thought Danny was about seven foot tall and two foot wide. Casey rolled his eyes and quickly got dressed, and then followed the sound of Dan whistling.
He leaned against the living room doorway, watching a slightly blurred Dan mix something in a bowl as he whistled some slow tune. He had a moment of wondering when he'd taken his contacts out and where he'd left them. They were probably at home, since he couldn't remember putting them in last night. Tugging his sleeve up, Casey screwed up his courage and left the relative safety of the doorway.
"This is like the biggest sweatshirt you own, isn't it?" he asked as he stepped into the kitchen.
Dan turned around and grinned. "How did you guess?"
"Never in your life have you had arms long enough to fit these sleeves." Casey held an arm out to the side to demonstrate. Dan laughed, but there was a tightness around his eyes that Casey did his best to ignore. He looked around at the bowl and eggshells sitting in the carton. "So I take it we're not having cereal?"
"Eggs," Dan replied, turning back to the butter melting in the pan. He was wearing a faded black t-shirt and an old pair of jeans that clung to his curve of his butt. Casey realized he was staring and turned his attention back to the food.
"Any reason why?"
"Everything's easier over eggs," Dan announced, only half-joking.
"Ah."
"Look, don't--" Dan started, looking over his shoulder. He held Casey's gaze for a moment, and then continued, "Don't just stand there, Casey. Butter the toast."
Casey nodded. "Sure." It was easier to stand with his back to Dan, buttering the slices and putting more in the toaster. Almost comforting to hear Dan futz about with the eggs behind him. He reached up for plates without looking, and placed them on the counter.
While he was waiting for the next lot of toast to pop up, he got the cutlery and set Dan's smallish table. It was a miniature dining set, all glass and black chrome, and far more comfortable than it looked. It only sat two people, but it was very unusual for Dan to have more than one guest at a time.
The toast popped up and Casey buttered it as Dan served the eggs on to the plates. Fixing up breakfast together was strange and weird but not altogether bad. Just really damn weird. When Dan managed to spill eggs down the side of one plate, Casey couldn't help laughing. Dan stared at him for a moment and then grinned back.
"Do you want to take these over to the table and I'll fix up the coffees?"
"That depends." Casey smirked. "Are you going to spill the coffees?"
"Just go," Dan said with a roll of his eyes.
Casey shook his head and carried the plates over. He politely waited for Dan to sit down and then they started eating. It wasn't quite companionable silence, Casey noted as he sipped at his coffee, but on the other hand, at least he didn't have to watch Dan struggle for something to say. This way, he could look at his eggs as he pushed them around the plate. He didn't even need to look up to reach for his cup.
After five silent minutes passed, Dan asked, "Casey?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you look at me?"
"I thought we had to talk," Casey replied as he picked up a slice of toast.
"Yeah, but it might be easier if you look at me." Dan reached over and lightly placed a hand on Casey's wrist. It was enough of a surprise that Casey looked up. Dan pulled his hand back. "This isn't the Spanish Inquisition. I just need to know what was going through your head last night."
"Why?" Casey bit down on the toast and nearly missed Dan's surprised expression.
"Why?"
"Mmm-hmm," Casey replied, chewing slowly. This would be a lot easier if he knew what Dan wanted to hear.
Dan blinked at him. "Because it makes a difference. A huge difference." Dan paused and then spoke to his plate. "Because while I've got nothing against casual sex, I need to know where I stand. It's as simple as that."
Casey nodded and kept chewing stubbornly.
"Where do I stand?" Dan demanded softly.
Casey shrugged and swallowed. "I don't know. Danny, I just... I don't know." Somehow, saying the words made Casey feel miserable, made him stunningly aware that he really didn't have a clue what was going on.
Dan stood up, picking up his empty cup and plate. "That doesn't help me."
Casey sighed but didn't say anything as Dan took his dishes into the kitchen. Slowly drinking his coffee, he listened to the sounds of running water as Dan rinsed the plates and possibly cleaned the pan. Casey found himself staring out the window, watching the grey concrete of the building opposite. He just... He didn't know what to say to Dan, how to explain any of this; how to say that for the last couple weeks, Dan was all he could think about...
But that was probably the best way to do it. Just tell Dan that he couldn't stop thinking about him. That he wasn't sure when it had started, or why, but for some reason, he was lusting after his best friend. He couldn't stop watching Dan, watching his hands and his mouth and his eyes; couldn't stop wanting him. Casey sighed and wondered if there was any way to say that where he didn't come off sounding like the latest celebrity stalker.
Of course, Dan chose that moment to walk back in. "I get that it's difficult for you, really I do, but you've got to tell me what's going on. I can't figure this out by myself."
Casey nodded and toyed with the last piece of toast. "I know."
"So, come on," Dan said wearily, sitting down across from Casey. "*Talk*."
"I..." Casey took a deep breath and then emptied his cup in one long swallow. Closing his eyes, he forced the words out. "I can't stop thinking about you. I tried and I-- I don't even know why, I just can't. I keep thinking of you, and imagining you, and--" Casey dropped his head to his hands, rubbing at his temples. "I don't know, Danny."
"Hey." Dan's voice was soft and warm, but it was the hand on Casey's shoulder that was even more reassuring. "That's not a problem."
Casey frowned. "It feels like one."
"It's not." Dan scooted his chair closer and wrapped a hand around the back of Casey's neck. "How long?"
"A couple of weeks. The last two, three weeks. Since you kissed me." Casey paused, looking over Dan's shoulder at the window behind him. "But it was probably longer than that. I mean, for us to kiss in the first place, I must have... at least thought about it. I guess."
Dan nodded and licked his lips, and Casey had the sudden urge to kiss him again.
"I want you, Danny. It's as simple as that."
Dan's mouth quirked into a half-smile. "You want me? Just like that. Out of the blue?"
"Yeah," Casey replied, but his voice sounded uncertain. No wonder Dan kept watching him as if waiting for the punch line. "I kept thinking that it would all go away. That it was the Olympics, and it was stress, and it was just some new way of going insane. I thought that all I needed to do was to get through the Olympics and it would go away, and everything would be normal again."
"No offense," Dan said as he raised an eyebrow, "but that's the type of scatterbrained plan I expect from Dana. Why in the world would you think that being attracted to someone would just go away?"
"Why did you say that a kiss didn't count if you were drunk?"
Dan grimaced and pulled back. "I was trying to make it easy on you. You were drunk and confused, and I was trying to give you an easy way to get out of it. I didn't want it to turn into some ugly argument. And I didn't want you to turn around and accuse me of trying to seduce you, especially since you kissed me."
Casey's memories of his birthday were still hazy and incomplete. "I did?"
"You did."
"Huh." Casey stretched his neck as he thought about that. Pushing the mostly empty plates away from him, he sighed. "At the time, it seemed like a logical explanation. Stress, or a minor breakdown. I mean," Casey paused, feeling his face start to heat, "it was the first time I'd even kissed a guy, and at thirty-five, that's the type of thing you're supposed to have figured out."
"Sexual discovery doesn't have an age limit, Casey."
"Could you make that sound any more like a PSA?" Casey demanded sullenly, feeling defensive. "I had my life worked out and this wasn't part of it. I was pretty sure I knew who Casey McCall was, and now? I have no idea. I was married, and I have a son, and this... this isn't..."
"This isn't how you saw your life?" Dan asked carefully.
Casey let out a long breath. "Yeah."
"What makes you think it isn't just 'stress'?" Dan asked with a sharp hint of sarcasm. When he glanced over at Dan, Dan smiled apologetically and Casey remembered that he wasn't the only one nervous about this conversation.
"Because I-- I thought it would go away. I thought that after the two weeks, after the Olympics, it would all be fine. It would all go back to normal. I thought that if it was just temporary insanity, it didn't matter. It didn't matter if I gave in to it. It didn't matter if I stopped fighting it." Casey folded his arms on the edge of the table, watching the last globs of egg on his plate. "I thought that it didn't matter if I watched you, if I let myself want you, because it would go away. But it didn't. I still want you and I still think about you, and I don't know. I don't know if I did the right thing, I don't know if I should have fought it harder or..." He wheezed in a shaky breath, but couldn't force himself to look up. "I don't know, Danny."
"Huh," Dan said and then he was quiet for a long while. Eventually, he said, "Let me give you some advice."
"What?"
"You can't fight this stuff forever, Casey. You can try. You can ignore it and push it down as far as it'll go, but eventually, you have to face it. And if you don't deal with it, you end up miserable. Or seeking professional help." Dan bit his lip and looked away, and Casey wondered how much that hurt to say. "But you're the one who's got to live with it. If it's really something you don't want in your life..." Dan shrugged and let that half sentence hang in the air.
"I don't want to lose my job," Casey said with the first scrap of certainty that he'd felt so far. "And I don't want to lose Charlie."
"That's not what I'm talking about--"
"It affects it, Dan. You know that," Casey interrupted. "It isn't something that can be considered in isolation. Regardless of how much I want this..." Casey hunched his shoulders, trying to at least be honest about this. "Regardless of how much I want you, it would ruin my life."
Dan pushed himself out of the chair and paced behind the couch, finally stopping at the window. He ran a hand through his hair and then turned around, leaning his back on the glass. "I'm not saying we have to be out about this. I'm not suggesting that we announce it on national television. I'm not saying that we have to tell anyone."
"It feels tacky," Casey said, before he could stop himself.
Dan snorted. "Tacky?"
"It feels tacky to sleep with someone and keep it this big secret. To want to be with someone and not want to tell anyone."
Dan stared at him in surprise. "Can I point out *Sally*? Considering you've already done that at the office, that's a really flimsy excuse for not wanting to do this."
"Sally was different."
"How?"
Casey thought for a moment, remembering Sally's long legs and low laugh, remembering the pettiness and her small-mindedness. Remembering the way she never got his jokes, and always managed to be harsh and uncaring about the wrong things. "I didn't tell people about her because I didn't want them to know about her. I didn't care about her, not really. And, to be honest, I liked sleeping with her, and that was one of the few things I liked about her."
Dan was scowling at the clean carpet. "So for the sake of good sex, you'd hide that relationship. But if you were sleeping with me, hiding that would somehow be against your moral code?"
"It would be different."
"Because it's me?" Dan asked, with a smile sharp enough to cut.
"Yes," Casey replied vehemently, standing up, "because it's *you*, Danny. Because you're smart and you're talented, because... Regardless of what you believe, you're not at your best when you're on air. You're brilliant and charming, eloquent and witty, but that's not your best. You're at your best when someone around you is in trouble, when they need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to step up to bat for them. It doesn't matter if they're like me, and they're being idiots about it. Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you know them or not, you'll stand up because it's the right thing to do. I know you, Danny, and I know there is nothing that you wouldn't do to protect the people you love. Nothing."
Dan looked somewhat shocked, but Casey didn't let that stop him. "You don't deserve this, Danny. You don't deserve to be someone's dirty little secret. You shouldn't have to put up with someone being ashamed, being *afraid* to acknowledge you in public. You should be with someone, someone who's proud to stand beside you, who's proud to know you. You should... You deserve that..." Casey trailed off, out of words. He sat down, not quite sure where that had come from but certain that he meant every word.
"You mean that?" Dan asked. Casey nodded and Dan rolled his eyes as he walked over. "Then you're an idiot."
"What?"
"You're lucky you're so likeable, Casey, because you're an idiot." Dan sat on the other chair, not even trying to hide his grin. "You spend how many years in a marriage that makes you miserable because you think it's the right thing to do, and then you say that you want me, that I'm this incredible guy, but since the situation isn't perfect, you can't do it? You're an idiot."
Casey didn't know how to react. On the one hand, Dan was smiling again and obviously pleased. On the other hand, he kept insulting Casey. "I don't think that's--"
Dan leaned forward as he cut him off. "I meant it when I said that you seemed happier these last two weeks. Do you think it's a coincidence that that's when you stopped fighting your attraction to me?"
"I--" Casey stopped suddenly, thinking about that. "I guess not."
"I thought you were going to say that you were curious about guys, that you were sleep-deprived and confused, and that you didn't mean to take advantage of me, but you weren't actually interested. Since that isn't the case, do you really think I'd want to let this pass me by without even trying to make it work?"
"Danny--"
Dan grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Casey, you like me and you want me. You said so yourself."
"Yeah."
Dan spread his arms wide, rather generous in his supposed victory. "What else do you need to give this a shot?"
Casey boggled at him. "A society where we could date without losing our jobs?"
"You can't have it all," Dan replied with an easy smile. Dan stood up and leaned across the table to press a open-mouthed kiss against Casey lips. It was warm and coffee-flavored, and it was the type of kiss that had Casey thinking this just might, maybe, possibly work. Casey kissed back, tangling a hand in Dan's t-shirt.
Dan laughed as he finally pulled back. "The path of true love never did run smooth."
"I didn't say anything about love, Danny. I'm not--I'm not in love with you," Casey hastened to add. "I mean, lust, sure. But that's not the same thing."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Dan smiled at him again. "Then what's love?" he asked, as he walked behind Casey.
"It's liking someone and it's lusting after them and..." Casey shrugged. "It's other stuff, Danny. It's more than just lust and sex."
Dan laughed and leaned over his shoulder. "Okay? The sex stuff? That's new to us." Dan paused to press a quick kiss against Casey's neck. "The other stuff? That's been happening between us for years. You just haven't noticed it."
Casey blinked, leaning forward as Dan started nuzzling his neck. "Huh." Dan was his best friend, so of course he cared about him, but he was pretty sure that wasn't the same thing. It was similar, but it wasn't the same feeling. Probably. It wasn't anything like the way he felt for Lisa, back in the day. It was something like the way he once felt for Dana, though.
Then Dan wrapped his arms around Casey's chest, and Casey relaxed into Dan's warmth and stopped trying to compare. "You know," Dan said softly, and then nipped at Casey's earlobe, "when I first met you, I really wanted you."
Casey tried not to squirm as Dan pulled at the huge sweatshirt, and slipped cool hands beneath it. "Yeah?"
Dan's hands quickly warmed up as he ran them across Casey's stomach, and up over his ribs. "I spent weeks thinking about you. About kissing you," Dan said, sucking a wet kiss to the corner of his jaw. "Imagining pushing you up against a wall somewhere, pulling your dick out and blowing you there and then."
Casey gasped in a quick breath as Dan scraped his fingernails down his chest, and kept talking. "I kept thinking about you, about the way you looked during an Eastern winter, the way you'd come in and pull off scarf and hat. Your nose would be red and your cheeks would be rosy, and you'd grin like walking a block through the cold was a fun experience."
One of Dan's hands crept up Casey's chest, whispering over his nipple. The other slithered down, under the loose waistband of the slacks, under his boxers, and cupped him as he hardened. "God, you looked as sweet as apple pie and I'd spend half my time around you trying to impress you with my sporting knowledge, and the other half thinking of ways to seduce you." Dan sucked hard against his pulse and Casey closed his eyes and groaned.
"Maybe seduce isn't the right word. I mean, it's not like I planned devious ways to get you naked, I just spent a lot of time imagining what I'd do once you were naked. How I'd touch you," Dan said and tightened his fingers around Casey's cock. He started to stroke, slow, carefully strokes against Casey's dry skin. Casey bit his lip at the friction, leaning his head back against Dan's shoulder. "How I'd kiss you. Whether you'd yell or moan."
Then Dan stopped and pulled his hands back. He pulled down the sweatshirt, smoothed it down over his torso. "Danny," Casey whined, but Dan had settled his hands on Casey's shoulder and didn't seem inclined to move them.
Dan pressed a light kiss against his cheek. "And then I saw you with Lisa. I might have doubted how much she cared, but it was incredibly obvious that you were head over heels in love with her," Dan murmured against his skin. "So I put you out of my mind. I told myself you were off-limits. And it works. You get used to being attracted to the person, and you get used to not acting on it. But it doesn't go away, it doesn't disappear. You just get used to it."
"Danny?" Casey scooted forward and swiveled around on the chair. "What are you trying to say?"
Dan watched him with dark, serious eyes. "I'm trying to say that there aren't a lot of people that you *want* this badly. It doesn't happen often and it doesn't happen easily. And you're an idiot if you want to throw that away because it's not perfect." Dan was watching him, waiting for... Casey wasn't sure what.
Feeling like a coward, Casey swallowed and looked away.
He didn't look up when Dan sighed. Or when Dan gathered the remaining dirty dishes. In fact, he didn't look up until Dan was in the kitchen, clattering dishes in the sink.
There was a part of Casey, a part he didn't want to acknowledge, that wanted to leave right now. He wanted to find his shoes and his keys and go home; just pretend this never happened. Pretend that they were still best friends and he didn't know how well Dan's cock fitted in his hand; didn't know the way Dan grunted before he came; didn't know the taste of Dan's shoulder or the feel of Dan's teeth on his skin. He also wished he didn't know Dan's look of disappointment, that almost hurt expression he got when people he cared about screwed up.
But Casey knew that look. He knew it well enough to be sure Dan was wearing it now. He didn't need to see Dan to know what the quiet sounds of careful washing up were hiding. Casey spent a moment feeling guilty and then his conscience got the better of him.
When he stepped into the kitchen, Dan was standing over the sink, watching the water drain out. Dan didn't turn around, so Casey took a few more steps and cleared his throat. "Danny."
Sighing, Dan turned around. "Couldn't find you keys?" he asked dryly. "Your coat's hanging in my closet."
Casey winced, almost regretting that Dan knew him so well. "That wasn't..." Dan was staring at him, face blank. "This is all pretty unfamiliar to me."
Dan's mouth tightened as he stepped closer. "Unfamiliar?"
"Yeah," Casey said, refusing to step back. He made a conscious effort to meet Dan's gaze. "This is unknown territory."
"Of course it is. And if you want to make the quick exit--" Dan paused and sighed. When he continued, his voice was quiet; sad and a little defeated. "What do you want, Casey?"
"Leniency."
Dan's brows rose and he took half a step backwards. "Leniency?"
"I don't know what I'm doing. This is all pretty new to me," Casey said carefully. "It's unknown territory and I don't know the rules."
"Casey--"
"So when it comes to the penalty calls, I want a bit of leniency." Dan boggled at him and Casey shifted on his feet and added, "I think I deserve leniency, Danny. I'm bound to screw this up at least a couple times, and it's probably going to be from ignorance instead of actual--"
Dan kissed him warmly. Casey decided he didn't mind being interrupted like that.
Dan curled a hand around Casey's hip and smiled. "I can do leniency."
Casey was tempted to ask what else Dan could do, but that was just asking for trouble. As he thought, he ran his fingers across Dan's smooth cheek. "Danny, is there a reason you're clean-shaven?"
"Because I know how to use a razor?"
"No, I mean..." Casey gestured vaguely. "What happened to the week of growing a goatee?"
"As it turns out...?" Dan grinned sheepishly. "Actually didn't suit me."
Casey fought the urge to say 'told you so' and smirked instead. "So what do you want to do now?" Dan leered at him and Casey rolled his eyes. "That wasn't what I was thinking of."
"No?" Dan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No."
"Huh. Maybe my kissing does need work." Leaning closer, Dan sucked a kiss against a tender spot on Casey's neck. Casey absentmindedly wondered if he already had a hickey there.
"Danny?"
"Mmmm...?"
"I'm not--" Casey dug his fingers into strong shoulders as Dan bit down hard. "Um. I'm not seventeen anymore."
"Which is just as well," Dan murmured against his jaw. "Otherwise, this would be statutory rape, and Standards and Practices might have something to say about that."
Casey laughed. "I meant that I'm thirty-five, Danny, not seventeen."
"So?"
"So there are some physical limitations that come with age."
"Aaaah," Dan said slowly. He stepped closer, pressing his body tight against Casey. "I'm sure we can overcome that with a bit of effort." He started to creep a hand down the front of Casey's sweatpants.
Casey stopped him quickly. "What's the rush?"
Dan looked unrepentant. "Have you seen the time?"
"No."
"I can drive you to your place than then to the station, but that still doesn't leave enough time for slow seductions."
Snorting at Dan's particular brand of charm, Casey leaned up and kissed Dan's forehead. "I'm not working today."
"Why not?"
"Isaac gave me a week off."
Dan blinked at him for a moment. Casey was expecting some crack about Dan's 'special bond' with Isaac, but instead, Dan asked, "And when do you have Charlie?"
"This weekend."
"So we've got four days before either of us actually has to go anywhere?" Dan looked ridiculously happy. "I suggest we should indulge in the three essential S's."
"The three S's?"
"Sex, sleep and sports. Televised sports, of course," Dan amended quickly.
Casey smiled. "Ah, the three essential S's," he said and then relaxed into Dan's kiss.
***
Casey didn't pounce on the telephone. It was just that the telephone happened to be sitting beside him when it rang, and he had speedy reflexes. "Hello?"
Dan laughed. "I'd swear that didn't even ring before you picked up."
"I have speedy reflexes."
Dan snorted down the line. "Whatever. Is Charlie still up?"
"Nah. He's asleep in my bed," Casey replied, shooting a quick look at his closed bedroom door.
"How come?"
"I wanted to stay up for the show and midnight is a bit too late for a ten year old on a school night."
"He's ten years and eleven months, Casey. He probably deserves a later bedtime."
Casey groaned, recognizing the ten years and eleven months argument that Charlie had raised yesterday. "Charlie asked you to say that, didn't he?"
"Worth a shot," Dan replied cheekily. "So you're staying up to watch the show. Any particular reason?"
Casey refused to give in to Dan's obvious attempt at fishing for flattery. "I have no life?"
"Pshaw. I think you're tuning in to watch me at my charismatic best."
Casey rested his head back and grinned at the ceiling. "If you say so, Danny."
"It's true." Dan sighed. "Guess who I'm working with tonight?"
"Initials?"
"S. S."
"Steve Sisco," Casey said, before he could stop himself. On the other end of the line, he heard the sounds of Dan choking.
Dan cleared his throat. "*No.*"
"Steve Sarris."
Dan groaned. "So, if I'm not at my best? You know why."
"If he doesn't dedicate the show to his current girlfriend," Casey replied easily, "you're doing well."
Dan laughed. "Good point." There was a quiet pause; Casey listened to the sound of Dan breathing. "Anyway. I've got to get going."
Casey nodded and adjusted his hold on the telephone handset. "Five minutes to air?"
"Yeah."
Casey bit his lip, remembering Dan sprawled naked across cotton sheets, eating pizza right out of the box. "Come over after the show."
"What?"
"Tomorrow night," Casey corrected. "I'm off until Tuesday, but I don't have Charlie tomorrow night. Come over after the show."
"Okay, I'll-- Yeah, Kim, I'll be there in a minute!" Dan shouted across the office, and into the handset.
Casey rubbed at one ear and held the telephone against the other. "Ow," he said pointedly.
"Sorry," Dan said apologetically, "but, you know. Live television."
"Yeah, I know." Casey rolled his eyes. "Go. I'll see you later."
"Tomorrow night." The last thing Casey heard was Dan's muffled, "Kim, will you just--" and Kim's "Talk when he gets back!" Then the connection went dead.
Hanging up the phone, Casey chuckled to himself and got up to check on Charlie. He crept into his bedroom quietly, just in case Charlie was still in that 'not quite asleep' stage, but Charlie was curled up on his side, dead to the world.
He'd managed to kick the comforter off, so Casey pulled it up, carefully tucking it around Charlie's small shoulders. Pressing a gentle kiss to Charlie's forehead, he whispered, "Sweet dreams, Charlie," and then lingered there for a moment, watching his son sleep.
The Sports Night intro music drifted from the living room. Casey closed the bedroom door firmly and made his way back to the couch. He sat down just as Dan appeared on the screen.
"This is Dan Rydell, beside Steve Sarris, since Casey McCall couldn't be bothered to drag himself to the studio today. You're watching Sports Night on QVN."
The End
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*marches along with parade*
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Hurrah! for finishing it, comment, lucid or otherwise, to follow.
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betaproof-reader. (Copy editor? Is that a better term for you?) I intend to give it a day or two, and then go through and edit it myself (there's some bits that say "[insert name of football team]" which I'll fix up first, and then send it through to you.I'm thinking I'll use a couple betas, since it's so ridiculously long, but you'll be (un)fortunate enough to get first crack at it.
Hurrah! for finishing it
*boogies on down*
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I think it's also a case of it's been going on for so long, it's just as much a relief as a celebration.
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Thank you for writing this terrific story.It's been a great ride!
*beams* Thank you.
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My favourite parts:
"Sexual discovery doesn't have an age limit, Casey."
and
"What else do you need to give this a shot?"
Casey boggled at him. "A society where we could date without losing our jobs?"
"You can't have it all," Dan replied with an easy smile.
Next up, Danny in Therapy!
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And took over three months. By the time I got to the end, I was so glad to have it finished!
Next up, Danny in Therapy!
Heh. Well, that's being written *very* slowly, so you're not missing anything.
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Um. That sounded bad. But, really, if you need additional beta work, let me know, OK?
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Hmmm... I have your email address somewhere. Expect it shortly.
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*twirls* Thank you so much! Oddly enough, I was reading over this story this morning (it's still in beta stage, but will eventually be posted in a more final form. Really.), so it was really nice to get a random piece of feedback on it.
Plus, I didn't even know
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It was a beautiful and well crafted series, I liked that the coming together of Casey and Dan was gradual, and of course the dialogue of pure brilliance.
I never managed to watch the whole series since I was always trying to fight someone for the rights to the AUSTAR remote, but now I'm all motivated to buy the DVD's. And I'm also surprised to see an Australian writing such great SN fic, I hadn't even heard of the show until a couple of years ago.
Anyway, great fic, thanks so much. :)
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*beams* Thank you so much.
I never managed to watch the whole series since I was always trying to fight someone for the rights to the AUSTAR remote, but now I'm all motivated to buy the DVD's. And I'm also surprised to see an Australian writing such great SN fic, I hadn't even heard of the show until a couple of years ago.
I got into it two years ago due to friends telling me that if I liked West Wing, I would *love* Sports Night. As it turned out, they were very, very right. I don't own the DVDs myself, but I've borrowed them from friends (for weeks and months at a time *laughs*) and it's the best way to watch this series.
If you get a chance, check it out.
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Where is the beta'd version of this? Do you have a link handy?
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Yeah, I have a link in my memories section. Aha. Here it is (http://www.livejournal.com/community/inthetallgrass/173941.html).
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Thank you!
I found it via a rec and I'm glad that the unbeta'd version is still up since all the others are gone.
Who recced it? I'm curious, since I've had a few queries about where it could be found recently. (I had this story on Geocities but since Geocities closed, I haven't had time to upload it somewhere else. but points to you for finding the unbeta'd version.)
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