Chapter 12

A month later, with three Burned episodes in editing and a fourth in rehearsals, thanks to no other schedule twisting incidents, David Fox got a phone call. "Murray, please don't mess with me like that...it's really true? This is great news! We'll be back in about a week, just have to wrap up some extra shots...Yes, make sure everything is ready by the time we get back, because I wanna hit the ground running."

"Everybody, let's finish up here in the next two days. We're going to Miami!" A cheer went up from the actors, but the crew was a little less enthusiastic. "Hey, did you think I was leaving you guys here? Anyone who wants to continue working on the show in Miami can come along, if you're willing to sign the same contact as the union...and join the local union." More grumbling followed and David held up his arms. "I'm sorry, my hands are tied in this situation. We don't want to get them upset so they start another strike, and then you won't be able to work at all because we'll be stuck in Miami."

He had a point. Some of them packed up and headed southeast with the cast and David, but most of them bid their goodbyes and good luck to the crew before leaving for home at the end of the day. David was so excited that they were going back to sunny Miami to work in the comfortable warmth. In another month or so, he would probably wish to be back in Oregon, but for now, he was only thinking about tomorrow. That night, he couldn't sleep a wink.

Ian and Leesa locked up the house and gave the keys to a responsible college kid who would keep an eye on the place while they were gone. Usually during a season of shooting, Leesa stayed home. However, this time he was concerned with her being alone, so she accompanied him for the duration of filming.

The hot sun beat down on Ian as he sat in his chair waiting for the next scene to be set, sweating through his undershirt, the only thing that protected him from the wrath of wardrobe. They had a limited budget for his Tommy Bahamas, and he was kept to two a day. Sometimes he stayed in his air-conditioned trailer until they called for him, but he was so glad to be back in the warmth of Miami, he decided to risk the sunburn and a lecture from Theresa. He tilted his phone away from the glare and busied himself with answering tweets.

"Hey, Ian!"

"I'm sorry, Sir, you can't cross the line."

"But I know that guy!"

"Doesn't everybody," the bored guard asked as he pushed his considerable weight around.

Ian broke away from his phone mid-tweet and turned toward the commotion. As he focused on the man who argued with the guard, his eyes widened in recognition behind his sunglasses and a grin crossed his face. He stood, shoved his phone into his pocket, and quickly closed the distance between them.

"Sam! Hey, it's great to see you, man!" Ian shook his hand, held it in his grip, and pulled him past the line created by security. He said, "Come on over here. I know everyone'll be glad to see you. How's M..." He stopped himself from giving everything away and glanced at the guard. "He's okay. He's my...stunt double. New stunt double. For, uh, wardrobe." He returned his attention to Sam and pulled him by the elbow over to craft services. "Come on, let me buy you a cup of coffee or something, and you can catch us up on what you've been doing."

"I'd love to, but I was just on my way to meet Mike and Fi. We've got a big job, and I can't really talk about it. I'm just glad to see you're doing okay. How's the war wound?" He chuckled.

"Never better. You did a great job fixing me up."

"Let's just say I've had a little experience." His phone rang. He glanced at it and frowned. "It's Mike. I'm gonna have to go, but hey, when we get this mission done, we've all gotta get together."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan! Thanks for stopping by, Sam. And take care."

"Will do. And you...you make me look good, okay?"

Ian laughed. "You bet." He waved as Sam hurried across the street and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Some of the fans gave him a second look as he passed. Ian himself wondered how often that would happen, now that they knew their real life counterparts existed in Miami.

He didn't have much time to ponder it. "Ian, you're up!"

"Coming!" He grabbed a bottled water from the iced bunch on the craft services table and sauntered over to the set. It was a beautiful day, and he was ready to get back to work.