Chapter One
'I'm starting to think we'd have to be total masochists to actually enjoy working with these guys.'
'Or just people trying to stay on LB's good side. Might be the same thing, come to think of it.'
Sawyer sighed, pulling Danny closer to her as they walked. They had been filming their latest movie for the last few weeks, and while the script was more than entertaining the backers left a lot to be desired. The main reason they had both accepted their parts was because they wanted to work together more, but the pressure they were under made that beyond difficult. Still, she supposed it wasn't too bad. They still had the chance to spend the evenings together, and being together in those circumstances was vastly superior to being apart.
This was the first time either of them had worked on a genuinely stressful project. They saw each other, but neither had much of a chance to see their friends outside of the brief stolen conversations gained when they saw each other on set, and Sawyer had barely spoken to her father since the project had begun. In the year and a half both had spent working in Hollywood they had each made three films, all of which were a joy to work on. Having to spend their day hating what they were doing and who they were doing it for was not something they were used to. Sawyer sighed at the thought. It would all be over soon enough.
Sawyer threw herself down onto her couch as soon as they reached her apartment, as she listened to Danny trying to take the most optimistic view of their situation that was possible. 'It may not be any fun now, but the script is really good! And L.B. doesn't like these guys any more than we do so this'll probably be the last time we have to work with them! And anyways, our next jobs will seem really easy in comparison to this one!'
Sawyer smiled to herself as she listened to him speak on and on. One of the things she really admired about him was that, even after all that they had been through, he still genuinely saw the best in everything and everyone. He may not have been as naive as he was when he first arrived in Hollywood, but he hadn't lost any of that spark that made him him.
She doubted anyone's life had ever been changed by a single person to the extent that her's was by Danny. Over the last 18 months both had gained not only their dream careers, but also their perfect (Or as close to it as either would get) partners. It may have taken them some time to adjust at the beginning - There were some huge differences in their personalities, and that coupled with huge changes both were undergoing in their own lives made it difficult at first, but together the two had fought through everything, and had reached this point together. It may not have been a family yet, but it was a start.
Sawyer smirked at the thought of family. It was an interesting topic where her and Danny were concerned, considering how much of it she would be gaining through Danny. Between his four siblings, parents and in-laws, it seemed as if there would be more people that she knew what to do with. She had managed to meet all of his family, excluding his mother (much to May's disappointment, as she often liked to remind her son), and had gotten on with them all famously, so it shouldn't have been too great a source of distress.
She nearly pitied Danny more when it came to her family, considering it only consisted of her father. Danny had yet to meet Jared, and even the thought of it was enough to send him into a cold sweat. She could understand why; she was his only child, and if he didn't take to Danny he could jeopardise everything, at least in Danny's view. That never worried Sawyer though; she couldn't imagine the two most decent men in her life being anything less than wonderful with each other. Or at least that's what she liked to tell herself.
She was struck by how much she missed her Dad. Their life may not have always been perfect, but that didn't mean it wasn't, in his words, 'A goddamned good one'. She had gotten to visit him more often thanks to the greatly increased income which came with her new career, but there was only so much time she could spend with him. She worried about him being lonely. Still, she hoped that at Christmas she could fly him out to her, and that maybe the two of them along with Danny could spend the holidays together. She could think of worse things than a week with her boys.
Sawyer was brought back to reality with a bang with the sound of the radio, and looked up to find Danny standing over her with a smile and two coffee cups in hand, clearly having realised at some point during his rambling that she had drifted off. She smiled gratefully, taking one of the mugs from him and shifting so that they two had space together on the sofa as they drank their coffees. They didn't speak, but Danny pulled her legs up into her lap and they sat there, listening to the music and the sound of the other's breath as Danny kept a comforting hand on her legs. Both had to admit, that even at its worst this life wasn't half bad.
They lay together like that for a while, until a song change caused Danny to perk up and look at her expectantly. Glenn Miller. A favourite of both of theirs. Sawyer wasn't even mildly surprised when he jumped up and held a hand out to her, his eyes bright. She might have been tempted to turn him down; she was tired and sore and the thoughts of any kind of movement didn't sound too appealing, but at that moment she couldn't bring herself to turn him down. She took his hand with a wry smile, as he pulled her up into position.
They moved together easily; they always had. Things started off slowly, but it didn't take long before the two were spinning around her living room. Both laughed as they moved, just barely avoiding her furniture, but the potential for damage mattered less to them than the other cat they were pressed against. At those moments Sawyer lost all of her worries and sensibilities, and could feel herself wanting to spend all of their lives together like this more and more each moment.
The pair came to a halt as the song ended, with his back against the wall and her face pressed into his shoulder, both still giggling at the remnants of adrenaline coursing through their veins. She looked up into his eyes and felt a sudden throb of love for the man; she couldn't even bring herself to feel ridiculous about this, as she leaned in and closed the gap between them with a kiss, which he returned eagerly.
Both were brought back to reality with the harsh sound of the phone ringing. Sawyer was sorely tempted to just let it ring out, but the adult side of her brain took over. Pulling back from Danny, she walked over and picked up the receiver.
Danny sighed as she pulled away, silently cursing whoever it was on the other end of the line. Moving away from the wall, he sat down and began fixing up his clothes, which had gotten somewhat disrupted during their activities. He glanced up quickly at Sawyer, and was struck by the way she looked. Eyes wide, face pale, barely containing her panic. Oh no. Danny shot up off the couch and over to her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. It didn't seem as if she was saying much of anything.
After what seemed like forever, Sawyer finally put down the phone. Time seemed to stretch on forever as she said nothing. Danny could feel the tension in her shoulders, and tried to think of what could have happened. He was struck by the look on Sawyer's face; shock with barely contained blind panic.
'Dad had a heart attack.'
