Taking Chances

by Cori Lannam

The sequel to "Getting Lucky"

TAKING CHANCES

"Ninety seconds VTR, two minutes live." Dave's words fell out into the control room along with a dozen requests for sound and light checks, and Dana automatically reset her internal clock to match the countdown.

"So is it true or not?" Casey's voice was light and teasing, meant, as it usually was, solely for the ears of the man seated next to him at the anchor desk, even though he had to be well-aware that everyone in the control room could hear him. Not that it mattered; ten minutes was a ripe old age for a secret in this office, as both Dan and Casey had found out to their chagrin less than a week ago.

"Is what true?" Dan kept a tone of bland curiosity, but Dana could tell he knew perfectly well what Casey was talking about. It was obviously a conversation that had been taking place off and on throughout the day, as was usual with these two. Most of the time, however, it was Dan doing the pestering and Casey feigning cluelessness.

Except, of course, that more often than not, Casey wasn't pretending. Dana smiled and shook her head. How a man so intelligent could be so oblivious was beyond her.

"That you've had a thing for me since the day we met."

Dan raised his eyebrows. "The day we met? The day we met, Casey, you were covered head to toe in mud and sweat and you smelled like a sock that's been on the locker room floor for six months."

"And yet you were strangely attracted to my boyish charms."

"That wasn't quite the point I was trying to make, no."

"And yet I've definitely heard the rumor that you had your eye on me, even then."

"Who told you that? Dana?"

She leaned forward and spoke into the microphone. "Don't you bring my name into this." Despite the fact that it had, indeed, been she who had told Casey that, just to see what would happen.

Dan looked up and grinned. "I never had a thing for him."

"Yes, you did."

"Did not."

"Did, too."

"Did not"

"Did Danny take your lunch money again, Dana, or is there just no sports news we should be dealing with tonight?" Isaac's voice was right at her ear, making Dana jump slightly.

"Isaac, I didn't see you come in."

"Obviously not. You were too busy exchanging witty repartee." Isaac was frowning at her, but she could tell he wasn't really mad. Or at least, she hoped he wasn't.

"Everything's under control, Isaac. No last minute news of any kind is going to break tonight. We're going to have a nice, smooth show."

"I've heard that before."

"I mean it this time."

Isaac gestured to the monitors where Dan and Casey had given up their argument in favor of a last-minute run through of their scripts. "They seem to be doing better."

Dana smiled. "Things are finally settling down." She turned to Natalie, sitting beside her. "Aren't they?" she asked pointedly.

Natalie lifted her hands defensively and slid her chair a few inches away. "It's cool."

"Glad to hear it," Isaac said, putting on his headset as Dave called out the minute warning. "It's been like a circus here this week."

"It certainly has," Dana agreed, shooting Natalie another look. Her assistant merely looked back at her innocently. Natalie had been among the worst offenders this week, when the office was abuzz with speculation and rumors about Dan and Casey's personal relationship. She had made her displeasure over the new developments more than plain to everyone, taking offense on Dana's behalf despite frequent reminders that Dana herself was fine with it. Mostly fine. As far as Natalie was to be concerned, anyway.

"I'm getting Charlie tomorrow night," Casey said, eyes still on his script.

"That's right, it's your weekend with him," Dan replied, also not looking up.

Dana stopped her usual paranoid satellite check to listen again, and heard Isaac shift beside her, listening as well. Two days ago they had watched Dan and Casey dance around the issue of what to do the night Casey had his son with him, until finally Dan had firmly said that he would spend the night at his own place, end of discussion. Casey hadn't looked happy, but he said no more about it. Typical of the week as a whole, and the cautious uncertainty that still tinged their relationship, despite their obvious happiness at being together.

"I was thinking we could get up early Saturday morning and go do something," Casey said with such careful nonchalance that Dana was instantly aware it was not a casual statement at all.

Dan recognized the tone as well, lifting his head to look at Casey before answering. "Sure. We could do that."

"Cool." Casey kept looking at his papers as Dan kept looking at him, until finally he had to look back. "What?"

"Is there something else you want to say?"

"Not here."

"Why not here? Like you never say anything personal on the set?" Dan swiveled his chair toward the camera again. "Hey, Dana, is there anything in Casey's personal life that would come as a surprise to anyone within earshot of us right now?"

She leaned forward and hit the microphone button. "I really don't think so, no."

"Much though we may wish it otherwise," Isaac said with long-suffering annoyance as he read the final lineup over her shoulder.

"Isaac agrees."

Casey sighed and turned to face Dan, his face burning with equal parts irritation and embarrassment. "Fine. Will you stay over this weekend?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." And they both turned back to their scripts.

"Aw, they're so cute," Kim said, sliding into her seat with fifteen seconds to spare.

"I'm sure they'd be delighted to hear you say that," Isaac said, watching the tape roll.

"Hey," Dana said, "it's like I told Casey on Monday: if he didn't want anyone to know, he shouldn't have come to work wearing one of Danny's old sweatshirts." She leaned into the microphone again. "Good show, everybody."

Ignoring the by-play above him as he always did, Dave calmly counted down the final seconds until they went live. "In threeone."

Out at the desk, Casey went smoothly into the teaser, showing no sign that he had been engaged in an intimate moment with his partner just seconds before. Beside him, Dan offered his restrained on-air smile, but his eyes shone with an expression Dana knew meant he was holding back an earsplitting grin. Dana sighed a little as Dan finished off the teaser and took them into the first commercial. She only wished she could be even half as happy as he looked right now.

****

"Uncle Danny?" The voice was coming from somewhere around Dan's left shoulder, but he found he could block it out almost completely if he just burrowed down into his pillow a little bit more. The small hand tugging on his arm was harder to ignore, although he was perfectly ready to do his best for the sake of a few more minutes sleep. "Uncle Danny? Wake up."

Dan reluctantly lifted his head off the pillow and peered blearily over at the clock on Casey's side of the bed. Still another hour before the good cartoons came on. Casey lay on his side next to Dan, still deeply asleep.

The realization of where he was sank in, and Dan flushed a little. Normally he slept on the couch whenever he stayed over on a weekend when Casey had his son. Charlie would come out of his room at five minutes till eight and bounce on Dan until he was awake enough to sit up and watch TV. Despite the decision not to hide their relationship from Casey's son, it was a little strange to have the child coming in to wake him while Dan was sleeping beside Casey. "Charlie, what are you doing in here? It's only seven o'clock."

"I'm hungry."

"Then go eat. You're big enough to get cereal by yourself now."

"Dad put the Cheerios up on the top shelf again."

"Oh." Casey did have a tendency to forget that not everyone was over six feet tall. At least, not yet, although Charlie showed every sign of someday inheriting his father's stature. Still, someday was not today, and today there was a hungry little boy waiting to be fed. Dan gave Casey a good hard kick under the covers. No response. He kicked him again, but his slumbering partner did not so much as stir.

"He's not gonna wake up, you know," Charlie said matter-of-factly.

Dan sighed. "Yeah, I know." He dragged himself up and swung his feet out of bed. "Okay, champ, let's go get breakfast."

He cast one last exasperated look at the blissfully unconscious Casey, then padded out into the hallway after Charlie. The living room seemed chilly, even in his sweatpants and t-shirt, and he stopped to adjust the thermostat. Casey liked it cooler than Dan did, but he saw no point in worrying about Casey's comfort when Dan himself wasn't even allowed to stay asleep.

The Cheerios were indeed on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet. Dan retrieved them, then grabbed two bowls and spoons on his way to the kitchen table where Charlie was already waiting with the milk. "I can do my own cereal," Charlie declared impatiently when Dan made to pour it for him. He took the box away from Dan and poured out a heaping bowlful of Cheerios. Dan smiled as Charlie very carefully drenched the cereal with milk, then solemnly pushed the bowl over to Dan. "There, you can have that one. I can do another one for me."

"Thank you," Dan replied with appropriate gravity. He picked up his spoon and dug in, grateful that even a seven-year old chef couldn't ruin a bowl of Cheerios. They ate in silence for a few minutes, with Charlie consuming his breakfast even faster than Dan, despite having to deal with smaller-sized bites. Dan still had some cereal left in his bowl when Charlie slurped up the last of his milk and set his spoon down on the table with a clank.

"Uncle Danny, can I ask you something?" he said.

"Of course," Dan answered in between bites.

"Are you Dad's boyfriend now?" Charlie asked with wide-eyed seriousness just as Dan started to swallow another spoonful.

There couldn't have been more than two or three Cheerios in that spoon, but they all managed to go straight down Dan's windpipe at that moment, forcing him to choke and splutter. "Wh-what?" he managed to gasp out once he could get enough air into his lungs to speak. He wiped the tears from his eyes to see Charlie looking back at him with the exact same serious expression as before.

"Are you Dad's boyfriend?" Charlie repeated. "I mean, you slept in his room last night, and you didn't used to, and this kid at school, that's how he knew he knew his dad had a boyfriend, 'cause they were in bed together doing stuff. And Mom's boyfriends always do, too. With her, I mean, not with Dad."

"Yeah, I knew what you meant," Dan said weakly. He should have known this was coming and, on some level, he had. After all, Charlie was a very bright boy, and they had fully expected that he would notice and question the change in sleeping arrangements eventually. Dan just wasn't expecting it over Cheerios on a Saturday morning, and he wasn't expecting to be the one put on the spot. "Maybe this is something you need to talk about with your Dad, Charlie." He turned slightly and raised his voice, trying not to sound panicked. "Casey! Case, get out here."

Charlie was shaking his head. "I'd rather talk to you. Dad gets all weird about stuff like this."

Well, that was a good point. Casey really did get weird about this kind of stuff, as Dan could personally testify. It was the main reason why Dan had no ready answer for the question; he and Casey had never talked about a label for their relationship. For two men who put pithy labels on things for a living, it was a testament to just how skittish they were about this burgeoning love affair. For his own part, Dan had never been happier in his life, but despite the almost instinctive sense of security he felt in Casey's arms, he was reluctant to push his partner into words or commitments he wasn't ready for, lest he ruin everything. In just over a week, they had moved so far and so fast, and yet the assurances they had given each other at the very start were still real. No pressure. No promises.

Still, Casey would never have asked Dan to stay with him this weekend if he didn't want to take this step. Casey did not take his responsibilities as a father lightly, and letting Charlie know that Casey was involved with his best friend was not something Casey was likely to do unless he was absolutely serious about said best friend. The offer had touched Dan deeply and given him the surest indication of serious feelings that he had allowed himself to see so far.

Charlie was still waiting, watching Dan with wide-eyed curiosity and total faith that Uncle Danny would provide the information he wanted. Just like always. Dan took a deep breath. "Yes, I guess I am."

"You guess? Don't you know?" Charlie pressed earnestly and Dan couldn't restrain a grin. Imprecision of expression was one of Casey's pet peeves, and obviously Charlie had learned the lesson well already.

"Of course I know."

"Good." Charlie nodded with satisfaction. Dan breathed a sigh of relief that Charlie seemed perfectly happy with the situation. "I like you a lot better than Mom's new boyfriend."

Dan couldn't conceal his surprise. "Your mom's new boyfriend? Does your dad know about this?"

"Nah. He'd just get weird about it." Charlie reached for the cereal box again. "I won't tell Mom about you, either."

"Thanks, kiddo," Dan said, reaching over to ruffle Charlie's hair. Getting weird was probably a mild description for how Lisa would react. Dan had no problem dealing with her, but Casey didn't need that right now. "We better let your dad handle what to tell your mom."

"Tell her about what?" With great relief, Dan turned and saw Casey standing in the doorway, rubbing his eyes sleepily and looking much like a little boy himself.

He got up and went over, taking Casey by the shoulders and guiding him to an empty chair. "Your son has some questions he'd like to ask you," Dan said, allowing himself just a brief kiss to Casey's cheek before moving away. "And I'm going to go take a shower."

Casey's face took on the proud, eager expression he always had whenever he got the chance to do dad-type things. "Sure, Charlie, what do you want to ask?" Dan headed out of the room as fast as he could go without breaking into a run. He almost pitied Casey.

"Dad, are you and Uncle Danny going to get married?"

Casey's surprised splutter was the last thing Dan heard as he shut the bathroom door.

****

"We will, we will rock you," Dan sang under his breath, pounding the outside wall twice with the flat of his hand as he went into his office, reading the latest news off the wire. He was in a great mood; his only problem in the world was that "We Will Rock You" kept trying to mix with "We Are the Champions" in a very distracting way as he hummed along.

The office was empty and he plunked himself down on the couch. He leaned back and tossed the sheets he had already read to the side. The Knicks were doing well this season, he noted from the Monday morning league standings. The LC wire was a great invention, he decided, since he couldn't even remember the score from the game he and Casey had taken Charlie to last night. He had been too busy enjoying the experience to pay all that much attention to what was going on out on the court.

"Here are some tapes for you guys." Natalie breezed in the door and put a stack of videos on the desk, then immediately turned to leave.

"Thanks," Dan said, looking up just as she started to head out the door again. "Hey, did you have a good weekend?"

She paused in the doorway. "Yeah. It was good."

He frowned. Her voice was just a little too bright. And Natalie was never in too much of a hurry to chat. Something was wrong. "You and Jeremy get out and do anything?"

She hesitated. "Yeah, we went to the Knicks game last night."

"Hey, cool, Casey and I went, too, with Charlie. Too bad we didn't know, we could have gotten together for dinner or something."

Natalie smiled, a bit too quickly and briefly. "Maybe next time." She took a step forward, but Dan stopped her before she could go any further.

"Is something wrong, Natalie?"

"No, nothing's wrong."

"I don't believe you. Something's wrong. Did you have another fight with Jeremy?"

She shook her head. "No, everything's fine with me and Jeremy."

"Then what is it? And don't tell me nothing, I know better. I can tell when something's wrong, and something is definitely wrong right now." He gave her his best 'I'm listening, I'm here for you, talk to me' look, but she only shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm fine, Dan. And I have to get back to work, Dana'll be looking for me."

Something clicked in Dan's mind as Natalie turned again and he stood up. "Natalie, is everything okay with you and me?"

She stopped short one more time. "What do you mean?"

"You and me. Are we okay?"

"Why wouldn't we be okay?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm asking. I just feel like there's some tension here, and where there's tension, there's usually something causing it. At least, that's the way it usually works, although you can tell me if I'm wrong. Now, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"You know, nothing doesn't usually cause things, the way I understand it."

"Dan, you're not my boyfriend, so would you please stop talking like him? It's getting weird."

He walked over to sit on the edge of the desk. "No, I'm not your boyfriend. But I am Casey's. And you have a problem with that, don't you?"

The slightest tightening of her posture told him he had scored a direct hit. "Why would I have a problem with that?"

Dan shrugged. "I don't know why you would have a problem with that. It's not the guy thing, is it?" The look of offense on her face was enough of a response. "No, I knew you weren't homophobic. So, if it's not that, there's really only one thing it could be about. Dana. Am I right?"

Natalie stood very still for a moment. "What are you talking about?"

He sighed. The feeling of contentment he had been sustaining all weekend was slowly draining out of him. "Come on, Natalie, be honest with me. I know how long you've been working to get Dana and Casey together, and then here I come, messing up all your plans."

She stared at him for a moment, clutching her clipboard to her chest, then jerkily stepped over to one of the swivel chairs at their writing table and sat down. They remained in silence for several moments before she responded. "It's not about me, Dan. I never had plans."

"Sure you did." He leaned back and folded his arms, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible. "You had a whole bunch of them, as I recall. I know, I was there for a lot of them."

"That's not what I meant," she said, shaking her head. "It wasn't like I had some ulterior motive for seeing them together. It's just I was so sure they were perfect for each other. I thought they needed each other. I never doubted they would end up together, it was just a matter of how long it would take."

Dan nodded thoughtfully. "And then last week."

She nodded in return. "Last week."

"I screwed everything up."

"That's not it, Dan. It's just this isn't the way it was supposed to happen. And no matter how often Dana says she's okay with it, I know she isn't. She's got that look."

"What look?"

"You know, that look when she really wants to talk about something, but can't. She wants to get upset about you and Casey, but she won't, 'cause you're her friends and she can't."

"So, what, now you're going to get upset for her? Is that what's going on here?" Dan asked. She was already shaking her head and he fought down his rising frustration. He didn't know whether to be on the offensive or the defensive, and he still wasn't sure exactly what playing field he was on. It was not a feeling he was comfortable with.

"That's not it, either," she said softly, looking away.

"Then what?" he demanded. "Come on, Natalie, just tell me already."

She looked up and met his gaze steadily. "I don't think you're going to last."

He stared at her, completely flabbergasted. "What?"

"You and Casey. I don't think you're going to last. I'm sorry, but I don't. And that's why I can't be happy about it. Because when you and Casey are over, Dana's going to be right back at square one, trying to put him back together and suppressing her own feelings because of it. Just like before."

With a shake of his head, Dan tried to get his stalled mental processes working again. "Whoa. That's a hell of a thing to say."

She shrugged, looking down at the clipboard in her lap. "I know. That's why I didn't want to talk to you about it. I'm sorry."

"Natalie," he started. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why don't you think we're going to last?" He looked at her intently. How many other people shared Natalie's opinion but just didn't want to say so?

She smiled a little sadly. "See, this is why I didn't want to have this conversation with you. I really didn't want to hurt you." She got up, came over to him and squeezed his hand. "The odds are just too long, Danny. Two guys, in your career, with your personalities? Way long against it working. I thought about it and thought about it all last week, but." She shrugged again.

"I hope you're wrong," he replied, still dazed. He was really starting to regret that he had ever started this conversation.

Natalie started to leave, then turned back to him again. "Danny can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you in love with Casey? I mean, really in love?"

Dan swallowed a couple of times. Even Charlie hadn't gotten him on that one. And something he might whisper to an unhearing Casey in the dead of night took on terrifying proportions in the light of day. He couldn't help being superstitious about saying it out loud. But Natalie had asked a question, and he wasn't going to lie to her. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"And he's in love with you?"

He hesitated again. Damn these questions. "I have every reason to believe that he is, yes."

She bit her lip, then smiled and squeezed his hand again. "Then I hope I'm wrong."

"I think you are," he said firmly. He was definitely regretting starting this conversation.

"Okay, then," she said, nodding and stepping back. "We're okay now, right?"

"We're okay," he affirmed, although it seemed to him that she was the one who should be reassuring him of that. That was the worst thing about women who knew you too well. Once they got into the game, you never knew where you would end up.

Dan sighed as she went out and disappeared down the hallway. Fool that he was, he thought his troubles with women would be over once he stopped dating them. Obviously, no such luck.

****

"So when are we starting the Super Bowl pool?" Casey asked, catching up with Dana as she walked down the executive corridor.

"Ask Jeremy. We're leaving the oddsmaking to him this year," she said with a quick glance away from her clipboard. She couldn't help but smile; he had a bounce in every step and a grin on his face that made him look very much like an over-caffeinated cartoon character.

"You better warn him about that boyfriend of yours," Casey said. "Just about every time I see him, he threatens to take me in for illegal gambling."

Dana made an exasperated noise. "Are you still going on about Gordon? You haven't made a smart remark about him since you started going out with Danny. I was beginning to hope you were going to lay off him for good."

He gave her an exaggerated look of disbelief as they approached the catering tables. "You actually thought that spending more time with Danny would make me less snarky? Dana, Dana, Dana."

"What can I say? A girl's gotta have a dream."

"Yeah, but there's no point in setting yourself up for disappointment."

The words Dana heard next were so close to her own thoughts that for a moment she thought she had inadvertently spoken them herself. "I bet there are a lot of girls saying that about you these days, Casey."

By the time Dana identified the voice, Casey was already turning to face the newcomer, a strange expression on his face. Dana turned as well, dismayed to see that it actually was Sally standing there and not just a figment of her imagination. "Oh really?" Casey said.

Sally showed her perfect white teeth. A lion, stalking her prey. Dana fought the urge to look for a tranquilizer gun. "Sure. Now that you're, how shall we say, batting for the other team?"

"Descending into cliches this early in the morning? Why, Sally, I'm disappointed," Dana said with as much false civility as she could muster.

The other woman spared her the briefest of dismissive glances before targeting Casey again. "But I have to say, listening to all the talk this week has been very educational. I always thought Dan just couldn't stand that I liked you, instead of him. Now I see that he was jealous that you liked me, instead of him."

"What are you talking about?" Casey said with genuine confusion. Dana assumed he was unclear about the assertion that he had liked Sally, not that Dan had been jealous of her. The latter was pretty much a given.

"Hey, you may be a little old for that sort of experimentation, but I don't have a problem with it," Sally said with another flash of teeth. "In fact, I have to admit that I find the idea of two attractive guys together sort of sexy. Does that surprise you?"

"Uh, no," Casey said. He looked stunned and, when Sally took a slow step toward him, took a jumpy step back that almost sent a coffee urn crashing over. "Um, Sally, I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything, but - we're really not - I mean."

He trailed off miserably, but Sally merely laughed indulgently. "Oh, I'm not trying to suggest anything kinky, Casey. I just want you to know that I don't find it a turn-off that you're with Dan now. And when the novelty of that wears off, there are some other tricks I could show you." Casey started to respond while shaking his head vigorously, but she cut him off with a coyly raised finger. "Uh-uh, you don't have to make the token protests for Dan's sake. Just keep it in mind when the time comes."

"My God, you are low," Dana said in disbelief. What did the woman think she was doing?

Sally turned and winked at her. "I bet you didn't know he had it in him, either," she said as she sauntered away.

They stared after her for a long moment after she disappeared through the doorway to the corridor. "Wow," Casey said finally, then turned back to getting his breakfast.

Dana got her second cup of coffee of the morning. After the first soothing sips, she decided to brave the conversational waters again. "So how is Charlie?" she asked.

"Good," Casey said around a mouthful of donut as they headed back toward the newsroom. "He's good. We had a fun weekend."

"Dan looked happy when I saw him this morning," she remarked casually, accepting faxes from two staffers passing her in opposite directions.

Casey gave her a curious look. "It's not usually hard to tell whether Danny's happy or not," he said. "He likes to tell people about it in great detail."

"Yes, but I noticed it today just because it was your first weekend. You know, with Charlie." She kept her eyes glued to the news reports in her hand until they reached the fax machine, where she dug through the pile of unclaimed transmission reports.

His heavy sigh told her he wasn't fooled by her carefully assumed air of nonchalance. Not that most people ever were, for some reason. "It's not like it's the first time Dan's stayed over when I had Charlie. Nothing's changed." He used the remainder of his donut to punctuate his statement. "Why is everyone acting like something's changed? Dan and I are the same people we've always been, doing the same jobs and living the same lives. Nothing's changed."

Dana shot him an incredulous look before she could stop herself, but managed to bite off the sarcastic remark following it in time. She was trying to be supportive, after all. "Okay," she said simply. "I just wondered how Charlie took it. About you and Dan."

Casey hesitated. "He took it well. He goes to a very liberal school, apparently."

"Ah. I see." She wasn't sure what to make of that, and was grateful to spot Jeremy across the newsroom, making a beeline for them while clutching a folded newspaper in his hand. Hopefully, whatever he had found to interest him this time would engage Casey enough for her to make a graceful escape. It was an awkward conversation, even if she had started it.

Jeremy stopped in front of them and looked from Dana to Casey uncertainly, shifting nervously. Dana waited to see what he had to say, but when the silence lasted for several seconds, she gestured impatiently for him to speak, just as Casey said, "What's going on, Jeremy?"

He tapped the paper against his palm. "Well, there's something in the New York Post today that might be serious or might not be, but I think you need to see it."

Casey took a sip of his coffee and brushed the donut crumbs from his shirt. "Tell us what it is and we'll tell you if it's serious or not." With a look of trepidation, Jeremy handed Casey the paper. Casey looked at it with surprise. "What is this, the gossip column?"

"Yeah," Jeremy answered, tapping where Casey was to read. "Down at the bottom of the page."

It took Casey only a few seconds to scan the relevant section, which he did with an expression of growing anger and dismay. "I don't believe this."

"What?" Dana asked impatiently. When Casey did not answer, she tugged at the paper until she managed to pull it from his hand. "What am I looking at?" Jeremy tapped the page for her, too, and she read the section aloud. "'Casey McCall, co-anchor of CSC's nightly sports news hour, Sports Night, and one of the City's most eligible bachelors, was seen at Madison Square Garden last night keeping company at the Knicks-Spurs game with another man, whose identity was unknown by our correspondent. The two spent much of the evening holding hands, engaged in intimate conversation and affectionate touches, which may signal that McCall is not quite as eligible a bachelor as we had previously reported. Sitting with the couple was McCall's young son. The boy, from McCall's now-ended first and only marriage, seemed a good deal more interested in the action - on the court -- than his sportscaster father. We suspect McCall may have had to watch his own show afterward to find out the score. Of the basketball game, that is.'"

"Those rags are a scourge upon humanity," Casey said from behind gritted teeth.

"An unknown man?" Dana said, rereading the article to herself.

"I was with Danny, of course," Casey said. "I don't know why whoever the snoop was didn't recognize him, if they knew who I was."

"Like bookends, you are," Dana said.

"And we weren't holding hands."

"Uh, yes, you were," Jeremy interjected hesitantly. When Casey gave him a strange look, Jeremy held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I wanted to come over and say hello, it was Natalie who wouldn't. Probably had something to do with the fact that you were holding hands."

"Whatever," Casey said in what sounded suspiciously like a growl.

"Anyway, you have been doing a lot of press on your own the past few months," Jeremy pointed out. "Dan's still under that gag order from the network until March. So maybe they saw you on one of those interview programs."

"Great," Casey said with a sharp exhalation. "Never thought I'd be grateful for Danny's big mouth getting him into trouble."

"How do you mean?" Jeremy said.

"I've been a good boy since September," Casey said. "I'm not on probation. As long as this is just me, I can take whatever heat comes from the network. Danny's name doesn't ever have to come up."

Dana shook her head. "Relax, Casey, I really don't think it's gonna be that bad. This is a tiny snippet of unconfirmed gossip in a paper that everyone knows is practically a tabloid. There's no reason Luther Sachs should even hear about this and, if by some chance he does, there's no reason he should care."

"Luther Sachs is a narrow-minded Bible Belter with delusions of moral supremacy," Casey argued. "Someone's going to tell him, and he's going to care."

"He can't do anything to you," Dana insisted. "Just don't freak out. Continental Corp is an equal opportunity employer."

Casey groaned a little and shook his head as if in pain. "This is stupid. I'm not gay."

"No, you're just dating a man."

He glared at her, then turned baleful eyes on Jeremy. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Jeremy said hastily, backing up a step.

"Good. Don't start with me, either of you." Casey turned back to Dana. "You're really sure there isn't going to be a problem?"

"I'm not sure of any such thing," she said honestly. In truth, she was fairly certain that Sachs couldn't fire Casey outright, but she was equally certain that the CSC owner could, and probably would, make life very uncomfortable for him. And if there were any noticeable dip in the ratings it would be all too easy to point fingers and eliminate any threat to CSC's purported image.

"Great, thanks for the reassurance," Casey said sarcastically.

Dana patted him on the arm. "I'm telling you, it'll be fine." She spotted Isaac moving toward them. "Look, there's Isaac. He'll tell you."

Casey turned to face Isaac as he approached. "Is everything going to be fine, Isaac?"

Stone-faced, Isaac merely glanced down at the newspaper in Dana's hand, then up at Casey. "My office, one o'clock," he said.

A sinking feeling shot through Dana. "Sachs has seen it," she said.

Isaac nodded. "Sachs has seen it."

Dana exchanged a dismayed glance with Casey as Isaac turned and walked away. "Damn," Dana said under her breath. "This might not be good."

****

Two hours later, Dana was becoming even more convinced that a certain portion of things that were not good was in their immediate future. Things that were not good tended to happen at meetings like this. Once these meetings actually started, that was.

She shifted in her chair, staring along the edge of Isaac's desk at Chase, the network lawyer who dealt with Standards and Practices issues. She vaguely remembered that he had been the one who had come over the last time Dan had gotten in trouble, but she didn't remember hearing anything specific about the man. Next to Chase was J.J., who could be a weasel, but invariably cowed under Isaac's rare moments of wrath. Isaac sat behind his desk, his face dispassionate in a way Dana knew meant he was inwardly furious, but had no intention of giving anyone the satisfaction of seeing him show it.

All they were missing was Casey.

The silence was oppressive. Dana fought the urge to tap her pencil on the top of Isaac's desk. A few quick taps with the eraser end escaped without her volition.

"Dana," Isaac finally snapped. Dana jumped and slammed the pencil down on the desk. "Go find Casey."

She would have been happy to do so, just to get out of the room and maybe find some excuse not to come back, but the door opened before she could reply. Relief collided with disappointment inside her as Casey appeared in the doorway, then gave way entirely to concern as Dan followed his partner into the room. Danny hadn't been summoned to the meeting for a reason; she could only hope he would keep his cool and not make matters worse.

"Casey, Dan," Chase greeted.

"Hey, Chase. How's it going?" Dan said as Casey nodded civilly.

"Pretty good," Chase said. "You know, we really only need Casey for this, Dan. You don't have to be here."

"Sure I do," Dan returned, smiling with no warmth. He and Casey both looked agitated, and Dana wondered which one had had to pull the other one off the ceiling before they showed up for the meeting. "Anything that concerns Casey, concerns me."

Dana exchanged a worried look with Isaac. Dan was clearly not in a mood to make this easy.

Casey moved to take the last chair in the room, and Dan leaned against the window sill next to him. It could be a show of solidarity or intimacy, depending on how much you knew and how you chose to view it.

"All right," Isaac said. "The sooner we get this started, the faster we can end it. Mr. Chase, J.J., tell me what problem Luther Sachs has with my show this time."

Chase appeared perfectly calm, but J.J. wet his lips nervously before speaking. "As I mentioned to you over the phone, Luther is concerned with the article on Casey that appeared in this morning's Post."

"I don't know that I'd call a six-line mention in the gossip column of a rag that barely deserves to be called a newspaper an article," Dan said. His arms were folded across his chest and his brows were lowered aggressively. Dana began trying to plot ways to get him to shut up before he got them all into bigger trouble. "And even if you chose, for whatever reason, to take this so-called article seriously -"

"Let's not make this more complicated than it has to be," Isaac interrupted, shooting Dan a stern glance until he settled back. "Getting right down to it: Luther is unhappy with the thought that one of the stars of his top-rated show might be gay."

"Luther is concerned," J.J. said carefully. "While he has no desire to criticize or interfere with the private lives of his employees, he is concerned about the possible effects on the show if this perception becomes widespread."

"What kind of effects is he concerned about?" Dana asked, knowing the answer.

"Our core demographic is men aged 18-35," J.J. said. "They make up the majority of our viewers."

"As you've pointed out to us many times, J.J.," Casey said impatiently. "What's your point now?"

"Simply that male homosexuality is off-putting to the majority of Americans in that demographic. And if these viewers find it off-putting that one of our anchors is openly homosexual, then they may decide they'd rather get their sports news elsewhere."

"All their manly, masculine sports news," Dan muttered sarcastically.

Casey ignored him. "I'm not openly homosexual, or openly anything else except a sports anchor."

"You were holding hands with a man at a major sporting event," Chase replied. "You may have been on your own time, but you were in a public place and you are always considered to be representing CSC in such situations. Especially when it makes the paper the next day. It affects your image, and thus the image of this network."

"I assume this would fall under the morals clause of my contract," Casey said evenly. There was still an edge of anger to his voice, but he showed no signs of an imminent explosion. Dana had long ago noticed, and was daily grateful for, the way Dan and Casey tended to balance each other's moods. She didn't ever want to have to deal with both of them in a temper at the same time.

Chase was nodding, but Dan spoke again before Chase could say anything further. "What, now holding hands with someone is immoral, if it's not someone Luther Sachs approves of? You know, there ought to be a law against that. Oh, wait, there is."

"I appreciate your display of loyalty," J.J. interrupted. "But this really doesn't concern you, Dan."

Dan leaned forward and looked ready to take J.J. apart, piece by piece. Dana braced herself, having failed to find a way to bring any of the lighting fixtures down on Dan's head before he spoke again. "Oh, this certainly does concern me, J.J., it concerns me very personally, just as much as it concerns Casey. It concerns me because I'm -"

Chase stopped him this time, raising one hand in warning. "Dan, please don't tell me anything I don't need to know. Anything you tell me, I have to tell Luther Sachs. And there's no need to make this more difficult than it has to be."

"Hey, I just want to know if we have to get our dates cleared through Sachs' office like we do with vacation days," Dan snapped.

"Danny, shut up." Casey's voice was sharp and Dan's face instantly went blank with surprise. He slumped back against the window as Casey turned to Chase and J.J. "What does Luther want from me?"

"It's not a matter of what he wants so much as what he doesn't want," J.J. said.

"He would like for you to be more discreet in terms of your romantic life," Chase clarified.

"If that romantic life is to include men, in other words," Casey said, sounding tired. "I'm sure I'm free to do as I please as long as it's with women."

Chase inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment of the point. "I know it isn't fair, but our society is not as enlightened as any of us might like to see. This industry has certain standards, makes certain demands on its personalities, demands you all have to comply with, at least in the public view."

Casey looked over to Isaac, who looked steadily back at him. Dana willed Casey to get through this without losing his cool, whatever happened. "All right," Casey said finally. "Tell Luther I'll be good. He won't hear about my love life in the media anymore."

J.J. seemed to want to say more, but Chase stood up. "That's all we ask. Thank you for helping us out on this."

"No problem," Casey said dryly. Dan's head was down, arms crossed tightly across his chest, face set. Dana let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding as she realized that this was all almost over.

"Thank you, gentlemen," Isaac said, standing up and nodding to Chase and J.J. as they went to the door. "Let us hope this will be an end to this."

Chase nodded in return, then followed J.J. out, the door clicking shut behind him.

They remained in silence for what seemed like forever to Dana, who felt her nerves stretching thin. "Well, if this is what you have to deal with everyday, Isaac," she said when she just couldn't stand the quiet anymore, "count me out. I don't want your job."

Isaac smiled a little. "And you did before?"

"Now I really, really don't."

He turned to Casey. "You did what you had to do. Thank you. I know it wasn't easy."

"No." Casey sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting his head fall back. He turned his face slightly to look at Dan, but Dan avoided his gaze, keeping his head down and turned to the other side. "Danny," Casey started, then stopped and sat up straight again.

"Okay, people," Isaac said firmly. "The soap opera is over. Get back to work."

And that, Dana reflected, was that. At least until the next crisis.

****

"Oh God," Dan groaned when enough blood returned to his brain for speech. He trembled, still moving against the warm body beneath his, coaxing out the last shocks of pleasure. With a shuddering breath, he slid his hands under Casey's shoulders, gripping them to brace himself just above his lover.

"God," Casey echoed, panting, his breath hot against Dan's face. His hands slid easily over Dan's damp flesh before his arms tightened around Dan's back. "Uhn," he added incoherently, closing his eyes as he finally gave out and lay back against the pillows, a boneless mass.

Dan made an equally unintelligible sound of pleasure and satiation. He let his body collapse slowly onto Casey's, looking down into his partner's slack face. They remained still for a few seconds as their bodies cooled and their breathing slowed, then Casey opened his eyes to look up at Dan, their faces barely an inch apart.

"Pizza?" Casey said, lifting his eyebrows questioningly.

"Yeah," Dan said after less than a second of consideration. "Sounds good."

Dan sat up as Casey reached for the bedside phone, but kept one leg thrown casually over Casey's thighs. He reached for the towel that they'd started keeping beside the bed ever since they realized that sex now was a bit messier than they were used to.

By the time he was done, Casey had hung up the phone and was lying back against the pillows, watching him with a contented smile. He returned the smile and reached out to affectionately push Casey's sweat-matted hair off his forehead. The caress lingered for a moment and, when he pulled back, Casey caught his hand and held it.

They stayed in silence for a little while, then Dan felt a tug on his arm as Casey used his hand to pull himself into a sitting position, catching Dan by the waist to keep him close. As Casey leaned toward him, Dan reflected that although Casey would rather eat nails than talk about feelings, he was very, very good with the physical proofs of love. Their mouths met softly, Casey's hand coming up to hold Dan's head as he deepened their kiss as if to prove Dan's point.

Dan was just beginning to relax for the first time since the meeting that afternoon when a loud ringing made them both jump. In unison they turned their heads to glare at the phone. "Let your machine get it," Casey said, turning back to capture Dan's mouth again.

Just as their lips touched, a slightly softer ringing from across the room joined the first. Dan broke out laughing as he drew back. "That sounds like your cell," he said, reaching for his own phone as Casey shrugged resignedly and padded across the room to look for where he had thrown his jacket. "But if it's Dana wanting us to come in and do the West Coast Update, the answer is absolutely not."

He picked up the receiver just as Casey found his cell phone. "Hello?" he said, trying to half-listen to Casey at the same time. He barely caught the name "Lisa" when the voice in his ear distracted his attention.

"Danny?"

"Mom?" he said with a rush of panic. His mother never called him this late at night. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. I just wanted to talk to you, and I didn't want to bother you at work."

"Since when have you ever had a problem with bothering me at work?"

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt anything?"

Not as much as she would have if she had called five minutes earlier, he wanted to tell her, but the thought stopped him cold. Oh, God. That tone in her voice She knew. "Nothing, Mom," he said cautiously. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I just wanted to know why you don't love me anymore."

"Mom!" he protested. Oh, she was going to play this one for all it was worth. But he wasn't going to give anything away until he found out how much she actually did know.

"Well, you have to expect that it's going to hurt when you find out about your son's love life from the New York Post. Which, of course, I don't even read, so that half of New York still knew before I did. Including your great-aunt Rosemary, which, I must add, was an unbearable humiliation."

Dan considered his options and went for the gamble. "There's nothing about me in the Post."

"Sure there is. Right here on page six, down at the bottom. Do you need me to read it to you?"

He winced. This was going to be a losing battle. "No, that's okay. I've had it read to me several times today."

"Oh, good, then you already know all about it."

"It has nothing to do with me, Mom."

"Please, Daniel, don't even try. Who do you think raised you? And please don't even try to tell me that Casey McCall has suddenly discovered a taste for men and that you had nothing to do with it."

"Mom!" he said again, but this time it came out half-strangled. Dan looked around the room, but Casey had taken his phone call out to the living room. He could hear Casey's voice raised in anger, but decided his partner would just have to cope on his own. Dan had his own problems right now. "My God, what are you trying imply?"

"Just that I've been half-expecting to have this little talk with you for years now. It's okay, Danny, I wholly approve of him. I always felt like I had another son in Casey. I even get a grandson out of the deal, though admittedly I would have preferred for you to have your own."

He was beginning to remember from whom he had inherited his liberal leanings. It certainly hadn't been from his father. "Why does everyone seem convinced that I just suddenly persuaded Casey it would be fun to be gay? And that I did it because I've been longing after him for years?"

"Well, you have to admit, it's the most plausible explanation."

"But it's not true!" He was well aware of the whine creeping into his voice, but he felt that he was entitled to it in this instance. Everyone was picking on him. Even his own mother.

"It's not true that you were the one Casey was pawing at the basketball game?"

"Yes - no - no one was pawing anyone," Dan spluttered. Yet another conversation he had lost control of before it even started.

"Oh, but I've heard otherwise." His mother had a smirk in her voice, and he had no doubt that she had indeed used her considerable connections to thoroughly check out the story. "Two of those nice young people you work with were there and, when I called this morning, one of them was nice enough to tell me all about it. It was quite a treat to chat with such a courteous young man."

Or her connection could have been as simple as Jeremy's big mouth. Evidently, her sudden qualms about disturbing him at work did not extend to disturbing his coworkers. Dan sighed gustily. He was going to have to find something really embarrassing and then call Jeremy's mother. It would simply have to be done. Although he couldn't blame Jeremy entirely; his mother could get state secrets out of James Bond without breaking a sweat. "Mom, I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away."

"Well, that's better." Her voice was amused, and he had the distinct feeling that he'd been had. Maternal guilt was a powerful weapon. If only she would use it for good. "So when are you bringing Casey home for dinner?"

He smiled and shook his head fondly. "It's not like Casey doesn't already come to dinner every chance he can manage."

"Yes, but now it's different. He's practically my son-in-law now."

Dan laughed with embarrassment. "Don't push it, Mom. It's barely been a week."

"Oh, well, how would I know that?" Her tone was pert, but this time Dan knew she was only teasing. "Give Casey my love. If you can spare the time, that is."

He grinned. "I will."

"And be happy."

"I am, Mom. I am." He hung up the phone, stood up and stretched before finding his boxers and putting them on. The apartment was still and silent when he listened again, and he went out to find Casey, pulling on his robe as he left the bedroom.

The living room was dark, and the motionless figure on the couch was illuminated only by the city lights glowing softly through the window blinds. Casey sat hunched over, forearms resting on splayed knees, staring fixedly at the closed phone in his hands. At some point he had pulled on his boxers, but Dan could see the skin on his back prickling where the cool night air struck it. Dan went to turn on the central heat, then came back and sat by Casey on the arm of the couch.

"Well, my mom took it well," Dan said at last. Casey looked up at him briefly, then down at the phone again. Dan paused before speaking again. "I take it that Lisa was not so happy."

Casey shook his head a little. "No," he confirmed with no sign of impending elaboration.

Before Dan could probe any further, the doorbell rang. He blinked in surprise, then remembered. "The pizza," he said, jumping up and trying to remember where his jeans had gotten to after they came off. He almost stumbled over them in the doorway to his bedroom and fished his wallet out of the back pocket as he went to answer the door.

If the pizza guy thought it was weird for someone to answer the door with a pair of jeans draped over their arm, he didn't say anything. Dan supposed the pizza business probably took him to much stranger places, being that this was New York. All the cash he had in his wallet managed to cover the pizza with a mediocre tip and Dan gave the guy an apologetic look as he took the box and closed the door.

"Soup's on," he called to Casey as he carried the pizza box into the kitchen. Several seconds later, Casey appeared at the kitchen door.

"I'm not really that hungry," he said. "I think I'm just going to go back to bed, okay?"

"Okay," Dan said with a confused look to Casey's retreating back. He stared down at the pizza blankly; someone had to eat it. Almost defiantly, he pulled a piece loose and reached for a plate, but stopped with the pizza dripping in midair. After a moment, he sighed and dropped it back into the box. There was no fun in eating pizza by himself. He would rather be with Casey. He stuck the pizza in the fridge and made his way back to the bedroom.

Casey lay sprawled on his side, eyes closed and breathing even, but although he did not stir at Dan's touch to his shoulder, Dan could tell he was not asleep. Dan bit his lip, repressing the urge to shake Casey until he was forced to sit up and talk about it.

He tossed his robe over the post of the headboard and climbed into bed next to Casey, draping his arm around his friend's waist and tucking his head against the back of Casey's neck and shoulder. With a soft sigh he pulled the covers up around both of them and closed his eyes. If Casey didn't want to talk, that was fine. The problem would still be there in the morning.

And so would Dan.

****

Two days later and Casey still was not talking about it. At least, not with Dan. But then, Casey had never really been comfortable talking about Lisa with Dan, and their current circumstances made the prospect of such a conversation even more awkward. Dan continued to hold his tongue, contenting himself with the fact that Casey was now taking the simple gestures of physical affection to a new level, as if to make up for his silence.

He detoured to the conference room for more coffee on the way to his office. The urns on the craft table would be down to the dregs by this time, but here Kim kept a fresh pot on almost the entire day. Dan refilled his mug and headed for the door, trying to refocus his mind onto sports. Casey had Charlie tonight, and the little boy was always as much a distraction as he was a delight when he was around the set during the time when Dan did most of his writing. On the up side, Casey was always in a better mood when he had his son, and Dan wanted to finish his script early so he could be around to enjoy it.

"Danny!" Dan stopped short, turning to see Dana coming in the door opposite to the one he was going out of. "Come on back, stay a while. I want to talk to you."

He went back and took a seat at the conference table as Dana refilled her own coffee mug. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to give you the latest on the Luther Sachs situation," she said, dropping her ever-present clipboard on the table and taking her own usual chair.

"We still have a Luther Sachs situation?"

"When don't we have a Luther Sachs situation?" He saluted her with his coffee cup to acknowledge the point and she went on. "Isaac went to the monthly luncheon meeting today and Luther pulled him aside afterward. Someone told him you were the one Casey was with, Danny. And apparently it was someone from here."

"From here?" He was surprised, even if he shouldn't have been. The people here were his friends, his extended family; the thought that any of them would rat him out to Luther Sachs was depressing. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "Someone from this building, probably from this floor. But much as that deeply sucks, it's secondary to our main problem."

"I assume Luther isn't going to be sending us any anniversary presents."

"I think that's safe to say," Dana said dryly. "Isaac says he was having kittens. Apparently he could deal with the thought of a gay anchor, as long as he didn't look too gay, but the idea of two of his anchors sleeping with each other was just intolerable."

Dan frowned. "Luther's opinion of my love life doesn't concern me, Dana. Just tell me what he intends to do about it."

"He intends for your love life to cease, if you want to continue working at this network, was the gist of what he told Isaac."

"You know he can't do that." Dan was calm; the anger hadn't hit yet, although he was sure it would before this conversation went much further. "He'd have the ACLU down on his ass before he finished signing the pink slips."

"This is Luther Sachs we're talking about," Dana said. "He'll find a way, even if he has to drive you out by making your life a living hell for as long as it takes."

"So what are you saying?"

She bit her lip and flipped a few pages on her clipboard without looking at them. "I'm saying you're going to have to be careful, even here. Isaac is protecting you as much as he can, but if we've got someone reporting to Luther things could turn ugly real fast."

"Then basically, for fourteen hours a day, plus whatever other time we might be seen by another living soul, we just have to pretend like we barely know each other?" He heard his own voice rising and made a concerted effort to calm down. Dana had been a good friend through everything and didn't deserve his anger.

"I know you don't like this, Dan, but for the time being."

He grimaced. "There has to be some other way to deal with this."

"People will forget about it, eventually, even Luther Sachs, but for now we have to keep it quiet - no, don't interrupt me, Danny, you know it as well as I do. If we fight this out in the press, your career in sports will be over."

Taking a deep breath, Dan leaned his elbows on the table and stared down at the empty surface for a long moment. Every nerve in his body was screaming to say the hell with Luther Sachs and damn the consequences. But Dana was right. There would be no going back, and there was no way Dan could ask Casey to give up his career for him. Not when Dan wasn't sure he could even make the same decision for himself.

"Danny?" Dana's voice broke his contemplation and he looked up at her.

"All right."

"All right?"

"All right. I promise I'll keep my hands off Casey where anyone can see us. Everything will be just like it was before, when we're here."

She nodded slowly. "Thank you, Dan. I know it isn't fair of me to ask this of you. But just give it some time. It'll all blow over sooner or later and Luther will find someone else to pick on and leave us all alone."

Dan managed a smile. "Nah, everyone knows I'm his favorite target, besides Isaac, and obviously the man has no joy in his life other than harassing us. So, were you going to give Casey this cheery piece of news, or am I supposed to tell him?"

"I'll do it. I wanted to talk to him anyway." She hesitated. "It may be stupid to ask this, with everything that's going on, but is Casey okay? He's been so moody the past couple of days, except on the air. It's almost like a time-warp back to the divorce."

He hadn't thought of it like that, but she was right. "That's a pretty good analogy, considering he's been like that ever since Lisa called him the other night. I don't know what she said, but Case was pretty upset afterward. Of course, he won't talk to me about it."

"Well, duh," she said with a small grin, which he returned. "And I think we can both guess what Lisa had to say." She started to say something else, but the door opened at that moment and Kim stuck her head in, waving a note in the air.

"Either of you know where Casey is?"

Dan shook his head. "Haven't seen him since we came in. You tried editing?"

"Yeah," she replied. "He's not there. I took a message from his ex-wife, and she said to get it to him right away."

A surge of anger boiled up in Dan's chest, but he struggled not to show it. Dana shot him a look of concern. "You don't think there's something wrong with Charlie do you?" she said.

"No," he answered. "I think she's calling to give him a little more abuse because she has nothing better to do with her time."

Kim swallowed visibly. "Poor Casey," she said softly. "I'll go check editing again."

"Maybe it's nothing," Dana said as Kim left. "It could be nothing."

"Maybe," Dan said, calmly sipping his coffee. "But the next time I see her, I'm going to rip her limbs from her body, just on principle."

"You and Casey are okay, right?"

"Oh yeah," Dan said. "Except for him refusing to talk about anything personally significant, it's been great. But that's just Casey. And he does his best to make up for it."

Dana smiled warmly at him. "I really am happy for you, you know."

He smiled back and squeezed her shoulder as he stood up. "I know. Thanks."

She leaned back in her chair and waved him away. "Go on. Get back to work."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a mock salute and went out the door. He had only taken a few strides down the hall when he almost ran over Natalie, who was turning the corner in the opposite direction. "Whoa there, pardner," he said, swinging his coffee away so he wouldn't spill it on her as they both took a hopping step backwards. "Where's the bronco you're running to buck?"

"Dan," she said brightly. "I was just looking for you."

"Talk to me quickly, Natalie," he replied, resuming his trek down the hall and into the newsroom. "I've got a lot of work to do."

"I just wanted to say," she started, running a little to keep up with him, "that I'm sorry for what I said before about you and Casey."

He glanced down at her bemusedly. "Thanks, but didn't you already apologize for that, or did I just dream it?"

"Yes, but I wanted to tell you that I think I was wrong," she insisted.

"I'm glad to hear it. I think so, too."

"You and Casey have been through an awful lot this week -"

"And it's only Wednesday," he interjected wryly as they reached the door of his office and stopped.

"Seriously, I think you guys have handled all the pressure really well," she pressed on.

"Thank you."

"I wouldn't have given you a full two weeks, but watching you this week, I think you could really stick it out for the long term." She bounced on her toes, looking up at him earnestly.

He couldn't help but chuckle, and thumped her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Natalie. I appreciate the endorsement."

She smiled. "I'll let you go work now."

"You do that."

"I just wanted to say -"

"Thank you." Dan rolled his eyes in mock exasperation as she finally hurried off and he could close the door.

Once he settled in at his desk, it was surprisingly easy to concentrate on his writing. He worked steadily for almost two hours, glad for the opportunity to clear his mind of all emotion and let himself revel in the dry wit that sports news always brought out in him. By the time the door opened again and Casey came in, he was almost done with the first draft of his script. "Hey," he said, looking up briefly, his good mood made even better by the presence of his partner.

Casey's greeting was considerably more subdued. "Hey, Danny."

Dan looked up again and focused on Casey this time. Casey's face was set in a way that set off alarm bells in Dan's head. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

Refusing to meet his eyes, Casey grabbed a rolling chair from the table and pulled it over in front of the desk, straddling it. "We have to talk."

A cold prickling sensation went up Dan's arms. "That's really not a phrase a guy likes to hear, Case," he said with an attempt at a casual tone.

"Danny listen to me," Casey said, eyes focused somewhere in the vicinity of Dan's left hand on the desk.

"What's going on?" Dan felt almost frozen in place, waiting for whatever Casey was going to say. His mind was mostly blank, except for the frantic part somewhere in the back that was screaming out a thousand possibilities, none of them pleasant.

Casey took a deep breath, then finally looked up to meet Dan's gaze. "I think I think we need to stop this," he said very slowly, each word seeming to come with effort.

"Stop what?" He felt as though he were suspended in limbo; Casey couldn't possibly mean what it sounded like he meant, and therefore Dan would simply have to wait it out until Casey was ready to achieve verbal clarity.

"Danny, don't do this."

"Do what?" A hint of annoyance crept into his voice. "I'm not doing anything except sit here and wait for you to get to the point. What are we doing that we're supposed to stop?"

"*This*," Casey said. "Us. The past two weeks."

Dan slowly nodded. "So you do mean what it sounded like you meant."

"What?" Casey was beginning to sound a little frazzled, which just made Dan even more annoyed.

"You're breaking up with me." He was surprised at how calm his voice stayed when it felt like his heart was about pound out of his chest. Unable to stay still, he got up and walked around the desk until he was facing the coat tree and away from Casey. "Wow. You're breaking up with me."

"Danny, come on. Let's talk about this like adults." Casey's voice still had a frayed edge, but was calmer. "We both know this is the way it has to be."

"Well, obviously I missed the memo." Dan's back was so stiff it was beginning to ache, but he was afraid to move and risk losing the fragile control he was keeping.

"You know how much I care about you, Danny. About our friendship," Casey said in a low voice, and Dan turned around to face him before he realized he was moving. Casey's eyes were bright but steady. "And that's why I think it'd be better just to stop now, before something happens and we can't ever go back."

"Go back?" Dan said blankly. "You want to go back to the way things were? You just want to forget we ever had feelings for each other, like it's some video game and you can just hit the reset button?"

"Danny."

"Good God, Casey, you can't seriously expect me just to nod and go along with your little plan like none of this matters." The anger began to build and he saw an answering spark in Casey's eyes. Good. Let them both be angry. Then at least he'd know Casey even cared about what he was saying.

"Look," Casey half-yelled, jabbing his finger in the air between them. "No pressure, isn't that what we said? We were just going to try, and if it didn't work, if it wasn't what we both wanted, then we could end it without any hard feelings. And nothing will have changed."

"Yes, but the key phrase there is we were going to try," Dan responded with equal heat. "It hasn't even been two weeks. That's not trying. That's just quitting."

Casey closed his eyes and turned his face away for a moment, clenching his fists by his sides. "I can't do this, Danny," he said softly when he looked back. "I thought I could, but I just can't. I'm sorry."

Dan breathed deeply, the anger freezing into a lump inside him with the finality of Casey's tone. "Then I expected too much from you," he said with equal softness. "I'm sorry, too."

Suddenly feeling unable to stay in the room for another second, he went to brush past Casey and head out the door, but Casey stepped into his path just enough to block him. "You promised," he said. "You promised I wouldn't lose you over this, no matter what happened."

Casey had no right to demand assurances of any kind, to Dan's way of thinking, but nor could Dan turn away coldly from his best friend, no matter how empty of affection he felt at the moment. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched Casey's elbow lightly. "You're not losing me. I just need some space right now. Okay?"

"Okay," Casey whispered and swallowed hard. He reached out a hand, but Dan backed away.

"Space," he repeated numbly, turning and grasping for the door handle. He yanked the door open and tried to flee the room without looking as if he were in flight. Blindly, he turned left around the outer wall of their office and strode down the executive corridor.

"Danny!" Dana's hail gave Dan a shock of déjà vu and halted his tear down the hall. He shook his head a little to clear it and saw Dana and Natalie coming down the corridor toward him. They were at the very top of his list of people he did not want to talk to at that moment, so he mumbled a barely civil greeting and kept walking. Dana made a grab for his arm as he went by them. "Danny, hang on a second, I need to tell you something."

"There really isn't anything you could tell me that I want to hear right now, Dana," he said without breaking his stride.

She hurried after him anyway. "I have good news. Isaac may have found a solution to the Luther Sachs problem."

"There is no Luther Sachs problem to be solved," he said. "Tell Isaac he doesn't have to worry about it anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

He could tell she was practically having to run to keep up with him, but he did not slow his pace. "It's all over. There's nothing for Luther Sachs to have a problem about." Just ahead he spotted the men's room and zigged toward it.

Dana seized his arm to stop him as he was pushing open the door. "You broke up with Casey?"

"Casey broke up with me," Dan corrected, his voice harsh.

"My God, Danny," she said with a shocked expression.

"Just let it go, Dana," he said and broke free of her grip. He barged into the bathroom and heard the door slam shut behind him with relief. At least she couldn't follow him in here.

He walked to the back of the room and leaned his forehead against the wall, swallowing past the tightness in his throat. He took a deep, shuddering breath and blinked rapidly to clear his blurred vision. No way was he going to cry over Casey McCall. No way.

Dan turned, slumped back against the wall, and began the process of pulling himself together enough to go back out among people. Normally, he depended on Casey to get him through whatever crisis he was in, but this time he was on his own. Because no matter what Casey said, nothing would ever be the same between them again.

****

Dana stood staring at the restroom door, fully aware that her mouth was gaping open but not caring enough to do anything about it. What the hell had just happened?

A few seconds later, Natalie caught up with her. "What's going on?" she asked. "Was Danny upset about something?"

"Casey and Dan broke up," Dana reported, not even trying to keep her own shock out of her voice. "Just now, I think."

"They what?" Natalie said.

"They broke up."

"As in, really broke up? For good?"

Dana snapped out of her trance. "Yes, for good, Natalie, not like these faux break-ups you and Jeremy have."

"Sorry," Natalie said, then clapped her hand to her mouth. "Oh, my God."

"What?"

"I just told Dan like two hours ago that I didn't think he and Casey were going to break up after all."

"After all?" Dana repeated. "When did you tell him that you thought they *were* going to break up?"

"A while ago," Natalie said evasively. "But then I told him just today that I thought I was wrong about it."

Dana pinned Natalie with her stare until Natalie actually backed up a couple of steps. "My God," Dana said coolly. "Could you have jinxed them any worse?"

"It's not my fault," Natalie responded indignantly. "I changed my mind. I was rooting for them."

"The kiss of death," Dana said solemnly, then continued before Natalie could protest further. "Stay here. He's got to come out of there eventually. When he does, grab him and find me."

"Where are you going?"

"To find out what the hell happened."

"But-"

"Stay there!" Dana said firmly as she walked off. Casey's office was empty and she glanced around the newsroom. "Where's Casey?" she asked Elliot curtly, walking up to his desk.

He looked up at her with surprise. "He went out toward the elevators, just a second ago."

"Damn," Dana said. "That's right, it's Wednesday, he has to go pick Charlie up from school."

"Actually," Kim interjected, walking over and sliding into her chair opposite Elliot, "I think Lisa was dropping off Charlie and he was just going to meet her at the elevators."

Dana frowned. "But Lisa never drops Charlie off."

Kim shrugged. "That's what Casey told me when I gave him the message from her earlier."

Before Kim had finished speaking, Dana was already moving again, this time out toward the front of their suite of offices. When she dashed out through the doorway that led to the elevators, she stopped so suddenly she had to grab the wall for support. Casey and Lisa were standing just a few feet away, facing each other, Lisa's hand grasping her son's so tightly the boy was squirming.

"Well?" Lisa was saying. "Did you?"

"Yes," Casey replied grimly. "It's done. Now will you lay off me?"

"Gladly."

At that moment, Charlie spotted Dana and broke free from his mother's grip with a glad cry, dropping his backpack at her feet before running over. "Aunt Dana!"

"Hey there, Charlie," she said, hugging him. When she looked back, Lisa was watching her with a strange look of amusement. Casey wore a cautious expression, as if Dana had seen something he had hoped she wouldn't. "Hey there, Lisa."

"Hello, Dana," Lisa said with a small smile. "Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do, but I've got to run. Let's get together sometime."

"Sure," Dana replied neutrally.

Lisa came over and bent to put her hands on Charlie's shoulders. "Okay, sweetie, you be good for your father. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Mom," Charlie said, kissing her on the cheek. He turned back toward Dana, then looked past her and abruptly took off down the hall. "Uncle Danny! Uncle Danny!"

Dana turned and spotted Dan walking with Natalie down the hall in the opposite direction. He stopped when he heard Charlie's shouts, turning with a stricken look. By the time Charlie reached him, he had composed his face into a cheerful mask. The pain in his eyes was visible only to someone who knew him as well as Dana did.

Or Casey.

She looked over at him and saw an almost identical stricken expression on his face. Lisa was watching him as well. "Casey, remember," she started with barely concealed hostility.

He turned to her with a flare of anger. "That's enough, Lisa. You've made your point. I'll drop Charlie off at school tomorrow like usual."

Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't pursue it. She picked up Charlie's backpack and handed it over to Casey. "His homework is in here. Call me if anything happens."

Casey nodded and watched as Lisa disappeared into the elevator. He kept his eyes focused on the closed doors long after they had closed; Dana suspected he was avoiding looking at her. A few moments later, Charlie came running back to them. "Dad, what's wrong with Uncle Danny?"

Dana glanced back down the hall. Natalie was still standing there, watching them, but there was no sign of Dan. Turning back to Casey, she almost enjoyed the expression of extreme discomfort on his face. "Yes, Casey, why don't you tell us? What is wrong with Danny?"

He glared at her, shaking his head warningly. "Come on, Charlie, let's get you started on your homework. We'll talk about it later."

"Actually," Dana said, "I know just the person who can help you with your homework."

"Really?" Charlie asked eagerly. "With multiplication?"

"Absolutely," Dana answered, ignoring Casey's rolled eyes and beckoning to Natalie to follow them to the newsroom.

Jeremy was at his desk, poring over a thick sheaf of papers with rows and rows of numbers on them. They were the kind of papers that made Dana very glad she had hired Jeremy, because he was the only one of her staff who even knew what they were, let alone how to interpret them. He looked up as they approached. "Quite a cavalcade here. What's up?"

"Is he the one who's going to help me with math?" Charlie asked Dana.

"He sure is," Dana answered. "Jeremy, you and Natalie keep an eye on Charlie for a while, okay?"

"Sure," Jeremy said, looking somewhat befuddled. Dana had no doubt that Natalie would fill him in, but hopefully she would have the sense not to do it in front of Charlie. The boy took his backpack from his father's hand and plunked himself down on the floor next to Jeremy's chair. Dana nodded with satisfaction and took Casey's arm, pulling him back across the room.

"Dana, this better be about work," Casey warned, tugging his arm out of her grip.

"Sure is," she replied easily. "Come. In here." They entered the conference room and Dana pointed to a chair. "Sit."

He obeyed with ill grace. "Dana, if this is about Danny, please don't take it the wrong way when I tell you it's none of your business and I don't give a damn about your opinion on the subject."

"That's fine," Dana said pleasantly. "Because this isn't about Danny. It's about you."

"About me."

"About you. You and the fact that you're a moron."

Casey sighed with exasperation on the verge of anger. "Jesus, Dana, lay off me."

"For God's sake, Casey, what's going on here? Two days ago, you and Danny were happy as clams."

"That was two days ago," he replied sullenly.

Dana took a deep breath and sat down in the chair next to Casey. She swiveled to face him. "You know what was so remarkable about seeing you so happy?" He didn't answer, but she didn't need him to. "What was remarkable was that I didn't even recognize the emotion on you at first. That's how long it's been since I've seen you happy, genuinely happy. Not since the night of our first broadcast here."

"So it's been a rough couple of years. What's your point?"

"My point is that you had something that made you happy, and you intentionally threw it away. That's just plain stupid."

He closed his eyes briefly. "I didn't throw it away. I saved what I could of it before it was too late."

"Why, because you're too chickenshit to stand up to Luther Sachs? Or to your ex-wife? Is that what this is about?"

"No."

"I think it is," she pressed. "I think I'm seeing a whole new side to you. Casey McCall, chickenshit coward."

"What the hell right do you have to lecture me about my personal life?" The anger was flaring again, and Dana was almost glad to see it. An angry Casey she knew how to deal with.

"I have every right. I've been watching you screw up your life over and over again every chance you get for as long as I've known you." She matched him stare for hostile stare; if he thought she was going to back down, he had no idea how pissed off at him she was just starting to get. "I'm your friend, and I'm sick and tired of seeing you deliberately self-destruct and make yourself miserable."

"You're a fine one to talk. Have you taken a look at your string of romantic failures lately, Dana? Am I mistaken, or aren't you the woman who runs as fast as she can from any man who might actually be interested in a long term relationship?"

And just that simply, he derailed her completely. She stared at him in disbelief. "That was a low blow."

"You deserved it," he responded unrepentantly. They sat in silence while the clock on the wall ticked louder and louder. Finally, he hung his head and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she said, not meaning it. The clock ticked on.

"You've got to understand," he said finally. "She threatened to take Charlie away. To have my custodial rights rescinded, and to tell every newspaper, magazine and TV show in the country about what a horrible father I am, subjecting my son to such depravity."

Dana was still silent, but this time it was in an effort to control the sheer fury welling up inside her. She could hardly believe that even Lisa would be so bitter as to sink that low in order to deny her ex-husband his chance at a new happiness. "That bitch," she breathed. "I don't believe this."

"And she'd do it, too. You know she would."

"Not once I get my hands on her. She won't be saying a word to anyone, trust me. Casey, if that's all you're worried about, then you're overreacting. Lisa can be dealt with."

Casey shook his head and looked up at her. "It isn't just Lisa. Or Luther. Or that article in the Post. It's the fact that absolutely all the odds are weighed against us. If people knew about us, we would be objects of mockery or disgust for most of the country, and a thousand different axes could come down on our heads at any second."

"You don't think Danny's known that since the beginning?" Dana said softly.

"I know he has," Casey answered. "And that's what scares the shit out of me. Because he's so damn brave, he'd face down a howling mob for me, just on principle. He'd give up his career and all the respect he's earned in a second, just for me."

"And that's a bad thing why, exactly?"

His eyes were steady and deadly serious. "Because I'm not that strong. No matter how much I love him, I can't guarantee that I would be as brave as he is. Someday, somehow, I'll let him down when he needs me. I don't want to take that chance. This just isn't meant to be, and we might as well get it through our heads sooner rather than later."

"Casey," she said with a sigh. "This is stupid. You're underestimating yourself, and you sure as hell are underestimating the people who love you. Isaac just spent the bulk of his day canvassing the CSC Board of Directors to find ways to put enough pressure on Luther to make him back down. And he succeeded. There aren't any insurmountable obstacles unless you create them yourself. And I know you wouldn't let Danny down."

"How can you say that?" he said softly. "I already did."

Dana shook her head ruefully and stood up. "If that's all you can think of, then I still say you're a sad, sorry man, Casey McCall." She had done her best, but even she was no match for over three decades of accumulated insecurities and well-taught self-abasement. Her hand was on the door handle when his voice stopped her.

"I promised him, Dana."

"You promised him what?"

"That I wouldn't break his heart."

Slowly, she turned on her heel to face him again. "What?" That was a weird thing to say, even for Casey.

"I promised him I wouldn't break his heart. That I wouldn't let him fall in love with me if I wasn't serious about going on with it."

"So let me see if I have this straight. You think that by cutting him loose now, you'll keep his heart from being broken over you."

"Exactly." He sat back and slumped in his chair as if exhausted from the effort of revelation. And maybe he was, it being something he did so seldom.

"I think," she said softly, each word coming carefully, "that you may be a little too late on that account." He blinked up at her, clearly befuddled. Dana sighed and reached for the door handle again. There was only so much time in her schedule for the Casey therapy detail. "You know, Casey, for such a well-educated man, you can be a real fool, sometimes."

She felt his gaze on her back long after she was safely back in her office.

****

New York Harbor was very, very cold at two o'clock in the morning. Dan hadn't noticed it as much on the first round trip on the ferry, but he had been inside for most of that. But in Manhattan a large crowd of rowdy teenagers had gotten on the boat and decided to seat themselves just feet away from Dan. He had seen them spot him and heard their whispers as they dared one another to go up and ask for his autograph. Normally he loved getting recognized, but tonight he was not in the mood. In fact, if he were any further from the mood, he'd be on Staten Island already.

Coming up the last steps to the empty top deck, he folded his arms around himself for warmth. He dearly wished he had worn something warmer than his light leather jacket, but when he had left that morning he had assumed he would just be going straight home with Casey, with the parking garage being the coldest environment he would have to face.

Of course, a lot of things had been different that morning.

He shivered slightly as he sat down on a bench and looked out at the lights of Manhattan going by. Normally it was sight that brought him great comfort and joy, but tonight he just felt cold, inside and out. Cold and lonely. He desperately needed to talk to someone, but there wasn't anyone he could turn to about this. The only person to whom he had ever been able to bare his soul, who could take his most intensely humiliating moments and make them okay, was the one person he couldn't talk to at all.

"I am such a bonehead," he groaned aloud. No one else would be up here this time of night, and talking to himself was better than not talking at all. "I'm just a thick-skulled, idiotic bonehead. I can't believe I was so blind."

A soft sniffling sound and the bang of something metal against a post a little ways away made him jump. Heart racing, he called out. "Hello? Someone up here?"

The sniffling sound continued. Dan stood up slowly and walked toward where the clinking sound had come from. He stopped when he was close and waited until he heard it again. Then he crouched down and peered under the bench closest to him. Two beady black eyes peered back. "Well, hi there," Dan said softly, looking closer until he saw the big ears of a chihuahua. Another sniffle and a soft yip answered him. "No wonder you've got a cold, if you've been hanging out up here all night."

He sat down on the bench and waited until the tiny dog crept out from its hiding place. It trotted out onto the deck, dragging its leash behind it, and sat down facing Dan. They watched each other for a few minutes. "You're not going to sing, are you?" he asked the chihuahua eventually. The dog merely cocked its head at him. "Good. That would be a little more freakiness than I could really handle tonight."

The dog yapped once and jumped up onto the bench next to Dan. "I knew you'd understand. But hey, you don't really want to hear about my problems." The dog yapped again and Dan looked over at it. "You do? Really? That's real good of you, buddy."

It was silent this time, looking up at Dan with patient eyes until he couldn't help but laugh. "At least you're not telling me what a loser I am for falling in love with my best friend and thinking he was in love with me, too." He sighed. "Not that anyone's come right out and said that, of course. In fact, no one was talking to me at all tonight. Just giving me all their pitying glances. I could really do without that, you know. I know how pathetic I am without outside confirmation."

Slumping down and sprawling out his legs, Dan stared out at the slowly shrinking Manhattan skyline. "And the looks Casey was giving me God, could he have rubbed any more salt in the wound? He kept looking at me like he still wanted me, like he wanted to talk, but I know that's just a figment of my imagination. He made that perfectly clear this afternoon." The dog whined a little and Dan laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I know, I really have no right to complain. I mean, I'm the one who said that we were going to take it slow, not make any commitments until we were both sure. That was the understanding, that we had an escape clause. He was well within his rights to use his."

Abruptly he stood up and paced a few steps before wheeling around and stopping again. "But honest to God, I didn't see it coming. I was so happy, so fucking happy, and I was so sure that he was just as happy with me as I was with him. The way he touched me, the way he looked me no one's ever looked at me like that before. How could that not be love?" He took a deep breath and started coughing as the freezing air seared his lungs.

"I thought it was safe to let myself love him back," he went on when he could breathe again. He had the brief sensation that it was downright stupid to be pouring his heart out to a chihuahua, but he had been bottling up everything so tightly just so he could do his job tonight, and he couldn't stand it anymore. "He knew how I felt, he wouldn't have done the things he did if he didn't mean it. Right?"

The dog merely whined again. Dan stared at it blankly for a long moment, then felt all the energy drain out of him in a rush. "I'm talking to a chihuahua," he muttered. He took a few aimless steps, then leaned over the railing and stared down at the black water far below. "I must be hitting rock bottom if my only confidante is a lost chihuahua on a boat."

"You must be."

The familiar voice sent a shock of adrenaline through Dan's system. He straightened up and turned to face the newcomer. Sure enough, Casey stood there a few feet away, watching him with mild amusement. Dan felt his face burn, noting with resentment that Casey didn't look at all cold in his heavy overcoat. Of course not; Casey had undoubtedly checked the weather forecast before leaving that morning. He just hadn't told Dan. One of many things he hadn't told Dan. "What was it about 'give me space' that you didn't understand? And how long have you been here?"

"On the boat? Since we left Manhattan," Casey replied deadpan. Evidently he was choosing to ignore the first part of Dan's question. "Up here? Just a minute or two. I apparently missed the heart-to-heart with your furry friend over there."

"Hey, Pedro and I were having a serious conversation," Dan said. He had to physically brace himself against falling into their comfortable pattern of banter.

"Pedro?"

"What the hell else do you name a chihuahua?" The dog yapped one more time - in agreement, Dan hoped - and, with a hop down to the deck, trotted off toward the bow, dragging its leash behind.

"You got me." They fell into silence after that. Dan leaned against the railings again, waiting for Casey either to say something else or leave him in peace. "We need to talk," Casey said finally.

"Can I just say that if I never hear those words come out of your mouth again, it'll be too soon." He caught Casey's flinch out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry."

"Look, Casey," Dan said after another long pause. "If you came here to apologize, it's not necessary. I wasn't honest about my feelings, either. Maybe you were right, and it just wouldn't have worked out anyway."

"No, I wasn't right," Casey said. "I was so far from being right I couldn't even see right from where I was. Dana told me I was a fool, and it's absolutely true."

Dan remained silent. No more jumping to conclusions about what was going on in Casey's head. Casey would just have to come out and say whatever he wanted Dan to know.

"I was scared, Danny," Casey went on at last. "I know that's not an excuse, but I was. Everything was hitting us at once, and I managed to convince myself we had no chance in hell of making it. I've already had one long-term relationship end in hatred and grief. There was no way I could go through that again."

The bark of laughter escaped before Dan could stop it as he looked at Casey with disbelief. "I can't believe you're comparing our relationship to your marriage. Do I look like Lisa to you? Do I act like Lisa? Do you see any resemblance between us whatsoever?"

Casey gazed at him seriously. "Yes. You're the only two people I've ever been in love with."

Dan opened his mouth and closed it again without speaking. He leaned heavily against the railings. "Lisa," he said finally. "She said something to you, didn't she?" Casey avoided his gaze. "What did she do, try to blackmail you?" When Casey still did not answer, Dan shook his head and laughed a little again with the realization. "She did. Monday night. That's when you changed. What did she threaten you with? Charlie?"

Casey's nod was barely perceptible, but it was enough to confirm Dan's suspicions. The bitch goddess just couldn't stand back and leave any portion of Casey's psyche unscathed. He was going to kill her, just as soon as he found a foolproof way to dispose of her body. "Damn it all to hell, Casey."

"Danny."

"No, listen to me. I know it may seem like I have nothing better to do with my time than to ferret out everything that's bothering you and fix it, but I can't keep doing it every other day. You've got to talk to me, Casey. Especially when it's something this serious."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

Dan took a deep breath and looked back at the shimmering harbor stretching out between them and the island. "Do you have any idea how in love with you I am?"

"As much as I am with you."

He nodded, swallowed hard. "I believed that this morning."

"You weren't wrong, Danny. And you can believe it now. If you want to."

Dan met Casey's gaze for the first time. The familiar brown eyes were wide and dark with emotion, and Dan could have no doubt of his sincerity. "I do believe it."

"Then will you give me another chance?" The question was hesitant, as if Casey was afraid of the answer. Knowing Casey as well as Dan did, there was no doubt that he was terrified. But he had taken the chance. It was all Dan had ever asked of him, and it was all he could offer in return.

And given the choice between going home alone to a dark apartment and a cold bed and spending the night in Casey's arms, there wasn't much question as to what any sane person would choose. Casey was worth the risks.

"If we do this, then this is it," Dan said slowly. "And if you back out again, then it's really over. I can't do this again." He knew he was lying even as he said it; he would take Casey back as many times as it took for them to get it right. But as long as Casey didn't know that, he figured he was safe.

"Okay," Casey said hoarsely, swallowing and blinking back the brightness in his eyes. "I can live with that."

"What about Lisa? And all the rest?"

"We'll deal with that," Casey said. "Whatever I have to do, you're worth it."

"Good," Dan whispered. Casey took a step forward just as the ferry shuddered and bumped against the dock. Dan's laugh had genuine joy in it for the first time as he steadied his friend. Then it was the most natural thing in the world for their arms to come around each other, and Dan relaxed completely into their embrace. The nervous tension that had sustained him the entire day vanished, leaving his legs rubbery with exhaustion. Casey seemed as boneless as Dan felt, but somehow they were supporting each other. Resting his chin on Casey's shoulder, Dan grinned and spoke softly into his partner's ear. "You know, you're going to have to spend a lot of time making this up to me."

Casey pulled back enough to look into Dan's face. "I can't wait to start," he said, leaning forward. Dan closed his eyes just as their lips met, and he opened his mouth wholeheartedly to the gentle pressure. The kiss was brief, but lingering, and they broke apart only when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the lower decks.

"Last run of the night," a thickly accented voice called. "Everybody off."

They kept their eyes on each other long after the footsteps had faded away again. "We'll have to take the bus back to Manhattan," Dan said at last.

"Can we grab a hot dog first?"

He grinned and slipped his arm around Casey's waist as they walked toward the stairs themselves. "Sure," he said. Casey could and should have anything he wanted, in Dan's book. As long as that anything included Dan. "Sounds good."

The night, he reflected, was somewhat balmy after all.

****

END