Date: May 7, 2008
Title: Running from the Past
Author: Soccer-Bitch
Chapter 1 of ?
Rating: T (for language)
Pairings: Don Flack/Madison Messer
Warnings: Some Strong Language
Feedback: All opinions are welcome!
Disclaimer: I own Madison Messer and any other characters that I make up as this story progresses. Everything else does not belong to me!
Summary: Close to twenty years after leaving the Big Apple, Maddy Messer returns home, running from a past that won't leave her alone. Will her cousin be able to save her or will the past catch up with her?
Chapter One
Madison Messer exited the plane with a little trepidation. She knew that coming back to New York was going to take some getting used to, but this was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. When she cleared the security, her eyes automatically searched the crowd, looking for the familiar sandy-haired man. A huge grin erupted on her face as she finally spotted him. "Danny!" she yelled as she made her way through the crowd.
Danny Messer looked up from crowd looking to where he had heard his name being called. When he turned his eyes rested on his cousin. With a backpack on her back and her purse on her shoulder, Madison walked towards her cousin.
"Look at you. You've grown up." Danny commented as he hugged her.
"That's what happens. I've missed you Danny." Madison said as he released her from the hug.
"Any luggage?" Danny asked her.
"No, its all being shipped out. Haven't you gotten any of it?" Madison asked.
"You mean all those boxes in my living room aren't for me?" Danny asked with a laugh.
"You're a riot, Daniel." Madison said with a smile as they walked out of the airport.
"Well, I am glad that you don't have any. I don't have a car anyways." Danny said as they walked into the direction of his newly fixed motorcycle.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing that I only have a purse and a backpack, then, huh?" Madison said laughing as they approached the motorcycle.
"You ready?" Danny asked looking at her as she put her purse in her backpack.
"Ready." Madison said as she put on the helmet that Danny offered her since he was already wearing one.
It was a nice ride to Billy's Bar and Grill where Danny decided to take Madison to dinner on her first night back in the city. What was nice was the fact this place wasn't over crowded or anything, unlike most bar and grills in San Diego, California.
"So tell me. What has made the woman who was born to dance come back to the city and give up her dancing shoes?" Danny asked as they sat down at a table and looked over the menus they were given.
"I haven't given up my dancing shoes. I don't think I ever could. Not forever anyways." Madison said as she played with the napkin before the waiter came back with the drinks that they had ordered.
"So why did you come back?" Danny asked repeating his question trying to catch her glance.
"I got offered a great job to teach dance and Mom and I had a falling out. So I guess I just needed to get out of there. Is it so bad to have me back in New York for a longer period of time?" Madison asked as she took a big drink of her Long Island Ice Tea.
"Addy, you know that isn't it. Your dad called me and said that you wouldn't tell him why you were moving back." Danny said using the nickname he'd given to her as a kid.
"Mom and I haven't been close since she got remarried and I missed Dad. They didn't tell anyone. After that everything started going down hill from there. I didn't even tell her that I was moving." Madison said as she sighed before meeting Danny's glance.
"Wow." Danny said in shock as he leaned back in his chair as he took a sip of his beer.
"I just didn't want to hurt my dad, Danny. He's been hurt enough." Madison said as the waiter came and took their food orders.
After an hour, Danny and Madison were walking out when someone was calling Danny's name as they were walking towards the motorcycle.
"You know him?" Madison asked as a guy approached them.
"Yeah. Hey Flack. What's up?" Danny asked looking at his friend.
"I've been calling your cell. Why don't you ever pick up?" the man named Flack asked him as he stood in front of Madison
"I turned it off. Flack this is my cousin Madison. Madison this is Don Flack. I work with him." Danny said introducing them.
"Nice to meet ya. We still on for tomorrow morning?" Don asked as Madison took the opportunity to look Flack over, and what she saw she liked.
"You know it. See you later." Danny said before grabbing his cousin's arm and walking away to his bike.
"Are all the men you work with that hot?" Madison asked once she was sure that Don was out of hearing range. She stole a look back and just in time to see him enter the place that they had exited.
--
"Addy, are you sure you don't want to come?" Danny asked as he slipped an old t-shirt over his head.
"Am I sure that I don't want to watch you play basketball? Yes, I am," Madison said as she turned on the TV in Danny's living room.
"Hey, Addy?" Danny said as he walked over to the couch where she now sat down on.
"What?" Madison asked looking at Danny for a second before looking back at the TV as she flipped through the channels to see if there was anything worth watching on.
"I know that you got upset last night at dinner. Are we cool?" Danny asked cleaning his glasses as he looked at her.
"Danny, we are fine. No worries." Madison said with a small smile as she looked at him.
--
Danny dribbled the ball, skillfully weaving around Flack before making a jump shot. He looked at Flack, who never let him make that shot. "Earth to Flack? What's up with you, man? I'm actually beating you."
Flack looked at Danny. "Sorry. Just a little distracted," he muttered before grabbing the ball and shooting it towards the basket, only to have it skim the rim, but not go in.
Danny smiled. He'd seen Flack this distracted before. "So, who is she?"
Flack just shook his head, not wanting to encroach on Danny's family, but not being able to get Madison out of his thoughts. "Don't want to talk about it."
Danny raised an eyebrow. Flack always talked about who he was interested in. He smirked when he realized why he was being closed lipped, "You're thinking about Maddy, aren't you."
Flack felt heat rush into his cheeks, before looking at his friend. "Yeah, but she's your cousin and I don't want to get in the middle of that. Didn't you say that you were more like brother and sister? And you never date your friends' sister."
Danny laughed. "Yeah, growing up, we were that close, but lately, she's been distant." He dribbled the ball a bit more before missing his next shot. "Look. Maddy needs to get back out in the field and I trust you with her. But I'm telling ya, you hurt her...I know how to make your death look like an accident," he said in a serious voice.
Flack nodded, feeling a bit relieved. "Okay," he said as he stole the ball from Danny and made the perfect shot. "Looks like I'm back in the game!"
--
Dinner the previous night hadn't gone exactly as planned. Danny hit a sore subject with Madison. It still hurt to even think about what happened between her mother and herself. But she never thought about it. She couldn't because that would bring the pain and the tears and she didn't want to deal with that. All her life she had been told she was a strong person, and she was, but like any other person she had her limit, but never let anyone see her cry, not her family, not her friends. She had tried to talk to someone about her problems, but it just made her feel awkward. So, she stopped trying and learned to take out her aggression in the gym or on morning runs.
As Madison was left alone in her cousin's home, she noticed how much of a slob Danny could be.
"Might as well be of some use to this place." Madison mumbled to herself as she went in search of cleaning products.
"Danny, Danny, Danny, why is it that you have barely any cleaning supplies here?" Madison asked herself after not finding anything in his whole apartment.
After a few hours alone in Danny's apartment, Madison was quiet pleased with herself. Danny's messy apartment was no more. She wondered if he would even recognize it when he got home from playing basketball. Probably, not. But then he probably expected something like this from her though.
About an hour and a half after leaving, the front door to the apartment opened up.
"What did you do?" Danny asked as he walked into the apartment that a whole lot different then it did when he left.
"I cleaned. Your place was a mess. Your neighbors were nice enough to lend me some cleaning supplies." Madison said with a smile.
"Did you cook dinner as well?" Danny asked hopefully as he took off his shirt and left it on the couch.
"Danny! Put your shirt in the freaking hamper! That is what it is for!" Madison told him. She didn't spend all day cleaning so that he could mess it up in less then an hour.
"Alright! Keep your shirt on. This is my place, you know?" Danny told her as he walked into his room with his shirt.
"I could tell from the mess. It looked like your bedroom at your house." Madison said as she fingered the ring on the necklace that was always hidden under her shirt.
Danny walked out of the shower ten minutes later.
"So, Addy. You ever gonna tell me what happened with you and Andrew?" he asked her.
Madison felt a stab of shooting pain engulf her heart. Averting her eyes, she answered in a monotone. "I told you, Danny; it just wasn't meant to be."
A/N: Please let me know what you think!!
