FIC: Small Town 4/7 (Sports Night AU)

[ashinae]

Small Town: A Sports Night AU - chapter 4
by ashinae and linden_jay
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7


"When were you going to tell me?"

"I don't know."

"That's not a good answer, Daniel."

"Since when am I 'Daniel'?"

"Since you decided to leave without telling me."

"I was going to tell you! Can I please get to my milk?" Dan looked down at Natalie in exasperation.

"I don't think you deserve one percent." Natalie reached into cooler, grabbed a carton of skim, and shoved it into Dan's basket.

Dan fished it out and handed it back to her. "I hate skim milk. Have you ever had skim milk and Honey Nut Cheerios? It's evil."

"You don't deserve one percent. It's skim or go home."

"Fine." Dan made her take the skim milk, and wandered away, milkless.

"You can't leave!" Natalie cried, chasing after him after putting the milk away. "You love Casey. You need him."

"Don't you have a store to run?" Dan asked, peevishly, grabbing some butter.

"Don't you?"

"It's Casey's store."

"Well, this is Dana and Sam's store."

Dan kept wandering away to the tiny bakery/deli on the other side of the store. "Natalie, my mind's been made up. This is what I need to do."

"You didn't tell me."

"I know I didn't, and I'm sorry."

Natalie stopped next to him and watched as he ordered some turkey from Kelly, grabbed some bread, and then made his way to the produce.

"You're really sorry you didn't tell me?"

"Yes, Natalie. I'm really sorry."

"You'll send me Halifax postcards?"

"Yes, Natalie."

"And Halifax pens?"

"You've been to Halifax at least a dozen times."

"But I don't have any Halifax pens and postcards picked out for me by you."

He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, tugged her in, and kissed the top of her head. "You're my girl," he said, "and I'll miss you."

She gave a little sniffle, hugged him back, swatted him upside the head, and proceeded to run away. Dan watched her go, shook his head, and made his way over to the pharmacy to grab a bottle of Advil. He suddenly had a headache. "Hey, Jeremy," he called.

"Hey, Dan," he said, coming out from behind his desk. "Natalie told me I was to deny you all non-essential pharmaceuticals."

"I have a really bad headache," Dan said, tossing the Advil at Jeremy. "Is this essential or non-essential?"

He looked out to see where Natalie was, then decided it was safe enough. "I think we can let it pass," he said. "You can't have any chapstick though."

Dan pulled out his wallet. "Then I shall suffer from very dry lips, my friend."

"I feel badly for you, I do, but you know about punishment," Jeremy said, ringing him through and putting everything in bags. "Dan..." He hesitated, then went on after a few moments. "Are you really sure this is what you want?"

"It's a great opportunity for me," Dan told him. "More money, responsibility, inventory that doesn't come out of my pocket... more staff..."

"I know. It's an amazing opportunity," Jeremy agreed. "But you didn't answer my question." He handed Dan his bags.

"It's what I want," said Dan, not quite looking Jeremy in the eye.

He didn't believe it for a minute. But he clapped Dan on the shoulder anyway. "If you don't send her those pens, it will end badly for me. So don't forget, okay?"

"I promise I won't forget. And I'm not leaving for a while yet--I can't move into my apartment until the first. I don't want to live in a hotel."

"Okay. And good... I'm sure Casey's glad to have you for a bit longer," Jeremy said. "It's not going to be the same without you here, Dan."

"Nothing's going to be the same, Jeremy," Dan said, and turned around. "If there isn't black forest cake at my going-away party, I'll pout."

That made Jeremy sad, in more than just a few ways. "There will be no pouting," he said, in his very best 'I decree it' voice. "Black forest cake. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks, Jeremy," Dan said, over his shoulder, as he made his way to the front of the store, past Natalie and her accusing stare.

Well, wasn't he just the biggest jackass in the world?

*

"Dan was in this morning." Natalie was atop a ladder, arranging a cereal display.

Casey didn't want to talk about Dan. Casey didn't want to think about Dan. Casey didn't want Natalie to talk to him about Dan because that made him have to talk about Dan and think about Dan. Unfortunately, Dan no longer bought any of the things that Casey put on the grocery list, and the general store was the only place that sold them. "I know," he said, putting Honey Nut Cheerios into the basket, then taking it out again. Casey didn't eat them. Dan did. And Dan had bought some.

Natalie was quiet a moment. And then: "Oops," she said, right before a box of Rice Krispies fell on Casey's head.

"Ow! Natalie!"

"I said oops," she said, coming down the ladder and picking up the box of cereal. "So you're just going to let him march on out of town and go work for an evil corporation, huh?"

"It's SportChek, Natalie. It's not like it's Wal-mart," Casey said, rubbing his head and backing away from her. "Dan's a big boy, and I can't stop him." She didn't need to know that he'd encouraged Dan to go.

"Yes, you can."

"It's a great opportunity, Natalie," Casey said, turning and starting to work his way through the rest of the store, trying not to look like he was doing it quickly. "What kind of friend would I be if I told him to stay when this is so good for him?"

"You know what else would be good for him?"

Casey tried not to sigh. "If I ignore you, it's not going to stop you from telling me anyway, is it?"

"If you asked Dan not to go because you love him."

He dropped a jar of peanut butter on the floor. "Okay... wow. That's... I don't even know what to say to that except that whatever medication you're on, ask Jeremy for more."

"You're secretly in love with Dan."

"Seriously. More. And stop with the energy drinks. Why someone as naturally caffeinated as you would drink energy drinks is completely beyond me," he said, putting tampons in his basket for no discernible reason but that he was standing in front of the display and needed something to do with his hands.

"Who are those for?" Natalie asked. "Sally?"

"What?" Casey said, looking in his basket and shoving the box back on the display so quickly it was as though it was some kind of poisonous snake. "Who?"

"Casey, you can tell Dan to stay. He'll stay for you."

"I'm not talking about this," Casey said, moving quickly away from the feminine hygiene products. He needed toothpaste. It didn't feel right to share Dan's anymore.

"Well, you should, because in two weeks Dan'll be gone, Casey. Two weeks! He's lived here all his life, you've been best friends since you were seven, and he's leaving!"

"There are boxes piled up around my house, Natalie, so I'm not sure why it is that you think I don't know this."

She grabbed his arm and tugged him around. "You're secretly in love with Dan, and if you tell him, he'd stay. He's in love with you."

He stared at her for a few minutes, then turned away and started walking through the store. If he dragged her along with him, so be it. "I'm telling Jeremy to restrict your access to the internet too. It does bad things to you."

She clung to his arm and dug in her heels, but she was little enough and he was tall enough that he really did sort of just drag her along. "Dan's in love with you," she said. "He's loved you since high school, and he always will, and if you just told him the truth, he'd stay. He's yours."

"You know what?" Casey stopped, disconnected Natalie, and handed her the basket, "I don't think I really need toothpaste right now. I'll be okay."

"You need toothpaste," Natalie said, shoving the basket into his gut, "because Dan's leaving and taking his toothpaste."

"I can use baking soda and water, like the pilgrims did!" Casey pushed the basket back at her.

She shoved the basket at him. "No you can't, because it's disgusting, and you'll do it once and never again!"

"This is a ridiculous conversation!"

"You're in love with Danny! Admit it!"

"He's my best friend, and I love him, and you need to stop twisting that into something it isn't." Casey's hands were shaking, so he just set the basket down and turned to walk out. He'd manage without toothpaste. Maybe Sally had toothpaste. Which was almost as depressing as Danny leaving. Almost.

"When Danny was making out with Merlin the longshoreman at the bar the other night, you threw a dart at Elliott."

"I got distracted, and I didn't hit him," Casey said over his shoulder.

Natalie chased after him. "And a couple weeks ago--that other guy--Gary? You were doing Dana's crossword puzzle, and you broke three pencils." She paused, then added, "Three mechanical pencils."

"Natalie!" Casey turned around, took a deep breath, and set his hands on her shoulders. "You're reading a lot into nothing. Okay? He's my best friend, and I'm going to miss him, but I'm happy he's got an opportunity like this. Why can't you accept that?"

"Because you freak out every time he's with another man," Natalie said.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but Danny's got kind of crappy taste in men. And I care, because I'm his friend. And that's what friends do." Obsess about the men their best friend sleeps with, and mutter angrily about them under their breath.

"Right, and you obsess about them and mutter about them under your breath. I've seen it. And heard it. We all love Danny, even the people you would think would be freaked out about the fact he's gay. We'd all still love you, too."

"Well, then there's something you're forgetting, Natalie," Casey said, at the door now.

She grabbed his hand with both of hers and leaned back. "What am I forgetting?"

"I'm not gay." Casey walked out and closed the door behind himself.

No way on earth was he getting the last word. She yanked the door open, ran a few feet into the parking lot, and yelled after him, "Roger Federer! David Beckham! Joe Sakic! I've got your number, McCall!"

If it wouldn't have made him look like a complete twelve year old, he'd have put his hands over his ears as he walked away.

Oh what the hell. At least then he wouldn't have to listen to her, even if the entire rest of the town would.

*

Dan slammed the near-empty milk carton down in front of Casey on the kitchen table. "There's a mouthful in here. And it's all the milk we have."

Casey looked at the milk carton. "You were just at the store, Dan. You bought cereal, but you didn't buy milk?"

"There was lots of milk when I left. You were just at the store. Why didn't you buy milk?"

"Because I didn't buy anything," Casey said.

Dan threw his hands into the air, then went back to the fridge. Fine, he'd have juice.

"Natalie was being Natalie, and it was just easier not to," Casey said. "I'll go back when she's on shift at the pub." At least Jeremy let him buy things these days.

"What, you're afraid of Natalie now?"

"She dropped a box of cereal on my head, so... yeah."

"A box of cereal."

"It's Natalie. It was what was in her hand at the time. I'm just glad she wasn't rearranging cans of soup."

"And why did she drop cereal on your head?"

Because she wants me to stop you from leaving. "Because... look, it doesn't matter. Do you want me to go get milk?"

"No, it's too late. I'm fine with my juice."

"Fine," Casey said, going quiet for a few moments. "When's Rob coming back?"

"Bobby? He left this morning. He's gone to St John's for a few days."

"Disrupting more small town lives by picking up ex-flings and tempting them to Halifax?"

"Yes, Casey. I'm going to be part of his SportChek harem."

Casey stood up and pushed his chair back. "I've got work to do."

"Dammit, Casey, when did you turn into such a raging bitch?" Dan demanded.

"Forgive me for being busy trying to find someone I can trust to back me up in the store who isn't already working another two jobs, or who doesn't have Olympic drinking as their full time career," Casey snapped. "It's taking up a bit of my time during the day, and it means I've got work to do now. So, I'm sorry, but is it all right with you if I go work on the stock order for tomorrow so I can get it in before noon, Dan?"

Ask me to stay. I'll stay. I promise I'll stay. "Fine," Dan said, taking a step back. "You just--go do that."

Don't go. Please, please, don't go. Say you'll stay. I'll take it all back. Casey didn't say anything, just turned around and walked back to the den, closing the door behind him. He didn't have the energy to slam it.

Dan followed him. He stood on the other side of the closed door, and put his hand against it, then his forehead, and stood like that for a long moment. He had packing to do. A few e-mails to respond to. But he was frozen there, stuck in time, drawn endlessly to the one man in the world he wanted more than anything, and couldn't have. Time was running out--and Casey just wouldn't ask. Casey was never going to ask.

He stood straight, looked at the door, and took a step back. There were always walls and doors between them. There always would be. He swallowed hard, eyes closed, then turned away and headed for his bedroom. He sat down amid piles of years worth of accumulated crap, wondered if there should be melancholy Sarah McLachlan music playing as he thumbed through a photo album--lingering on the picture of him an Casey at their high school grad--before packing it away.

A couple hours later, he climbed wearily into bed, tugged the blankets up to his chin, curled on his side. Casey was probably right there. Just on the other side of the wall, not thinking about him, not thinking about barging into his room and begging him to stay.

Casey McCall wasn't worth tears.

At least, not more than a few.

*

"I said no presents," Dan said, quietly, to Isaac. "Why are there presents?"

Isaac just smiled at him and patted Dan on the back. "Because they love you enough to ignore you, Danny."

"This makes it harder," Dan muttered.

"I know, son. You know what I'd do?"

"Tell me."

"Suck it up." Isaac gave him a rough kiss on the cheek, another pat on the back, and went to pour drinks. Some things never changed.

"Dammit," Dan muttered, and sighed, and took a deep breath to head off to join everyone else.

Natalie got up, grabbed his hand, and dragged him closer to the tables they'd pushed together. "Come on," she said, "we can't start on cake without you."

"Casey's not here yet," Dan said, a note of desperation and distress in his voice.

Natalie and Dana exchanged significant glances, but didn't say anything.

"He's coming, isn't he?"

"Hey, you!" Bobby's arms slipped around Dan's neck, before he gave him a kiss on the cheek. "The kid behind the bar... Jeremy? He just made me possibly the best rum and coke I've ever had. He started babbling on about proper ratios, and something to do with the carbonation that made absolutely no sense, but the drink was amazing."

"Yeah, he's good at what he does," Dan said, smiling, lifting his hands to Bobby's arms.

Natalie looked at Bobby with some measure of hostility, then plunked herself down in a chair next to Dana.

Bobby looked at Natalie a bit nervously, keeping Dan between himself and her. Natalie kind of frightened him. "Want me to get you anything?"

"No, no," Dan said, "I'm fine." He laced his fingers with Bobby's under the table.

"So," Dana said, "when are you heading off in the morning?"

"Pretty early," Bobby said. "I've got to work day after tomorrow, so we need to get on the road as soon as possible."

"We're leaving at the ass-crack of dawn, apparently," Dan said, pulling a face.

"Poor Dan... something tells me you've never been a morning person," Bobby teased.

"Never. I was always happy to work closing shifts."

Monica brought over a plate of nachos, gave Dan a wounded look, then spun around and headed back for the kitchen.

"Dan? Why is the blond girl angry with you?"

Dan sighed. "Because I'm leaving."

"Does anyone ever leave this town?" Bobby murmured to him.

"They do, but apparently I'm not allowed."

"That's kind of sweet, actually," Bobby said. "Although it makes a lot more sense now why I'm being treated like the Big Bad Wolf or some other nursery rhyme equivalent."

"Isaac!" Dan suddenly cried. "Here comes Isaac, with drinks, because he loves us."

Isaac looked at Dan as though he might be slightly wrong in the head, but he handed out beer anyway, giving Bobby another rum and coke. "From Jeremy." Jeremy'd also tried to talk Isaac into guessing the relative length of Bobby's index finger and thumb, but Isaac just had to raise an eyebrow and Jeremy started babbling about something else altogether.

"Tell Jeremy to get his butt over here and join us," Dan added. "He's missed."

"He's making something special for you," Isaac said, grinning at Dan. "He'll be right over."

Dan sighed. "You're joining us, though, aren't you?

"It's your last night here, Danny. Don't you think it would be a shame if I didn't join in and tell a few embarrassing stories about you?" Isaac said.

"Oh... I think that sounds like a lot of fun," Bobby said, grinning at Dan.

Dan looked a bit shifty. "You don't have embarrassing stories."

Isaac smiled, slow and dangerous. "Oh, Danny. I think we know that's not true."

"Isaac, you wouldn't do that to me in front of my new boyfriend, would you?" Dan asked.

Natalie choked on her drink. Dana glanced at Sam, patted Natalie on the back, and gave her some water. It was going to be a long night.

"I think that's exactly what you're supposed to do in front of new boyfriends, Danny," Isaac said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go hustle Jeremy's butt out from behind my bar."

"I like him," Bobby said, watching Isaac go.

"So do we," said Dana.

"So... Halifax, huh?" It was the first time Sam'd spoken up in quite some time.

"Yeah," said Dan, looking a little startled. "Halifax. Haven't been since university."

"That's because you hate Halifax."

Dan shifted uncomfortably. "Only a little."

"You hate Halifax?" Bobby said.

Sam held up a hand to silence Bobby. "Something you should know, Robert. May I call you Robert?" he asked, then kept going without waiting for an answer. "We're a small town. Some seven hundred people, I'd guess, and we'll be minus one of them come tomorrow. Now, seven hundred people doesn't sound like much to most. But seven hundred people all out for your balls?" He smiled dangerously. "Now that's something that's a little more impressive. Just something to think about," he said sweetly. "Dana, honey, can I get you something from the bar?" he asked, standing up.

Bobby just blinked a few times, looking rather shell-shocked.

"Just a beer," Dana told him, smiling up at him. She was so hot for him right now it was kind of ridiculous.

"Right back," Sam said, passing behind Natalie and giving her a firm squeeze on the shoulder as he headed for the bar.

"He's scary sometimes," Dan said.

"Uh huh," Dana said. She smiled as she reached for a handful of nuts.

Bobby threw back his entire rum and coke in one long gulp.

Dan reached for the glass, pushed it aside, then handed Bobby his water. "You're officially cut off now," he murmured. "You're the one with the car."

"Then please tell your fellow townspeople to stop making me feel as though I should be sleeping with a baseball bat under my pillow?"

"Okay, everybody," Dan said loudly, "we're making Bobby feel like he needs to sleep with a baseball bat under his pillow, and that's not conducive to me getting laid."

"You know that was a rhetorical statement expressed in a moment of terror, right?" Bobby said.

"Okay, do I want to know what prompted that?" Jeremy said, taking a seat next to Natalie. "Because just before I left to come over here, Sam was ... I don't want to say giggling, but he was definitely giggling, and also I think I heard the word 'pussy'."

Dana smiled wickedly at Jeremy. "Maybe he was talking about me and what's happening after the party."

"Agh!" Dan covered his ears.

"You just made an announcement to the entire bar about how they were stopping you from getting laid, and now you're squeamish?" Jeremy said.

"Dana and Natalie are like the sisters I never had, and I don't want to hear or know anything about them having sex," Dan said, primly.

"I thought Natalie was on the list of women you'd sleep with," Jeremy said.

Bobby turned very slowly to look at Dan, and blinked at him.

"Yes," said Dan, "but that's me. Not other men." He paused. "Look, it makes perfect sense inside my head."

"Your head is a very strange place, Dan Rydell," Bobby said.

"You weren't here for the last round of charades," Jeremy murmured.

"It was Buffy the Vampire Slayer! How was that hard?" Dan demanded.

"It was the amount of time you spent on 'buffing' motions that caused the wheels to fall off the wagon," Jeremy insisted.

"I think you're just not very good at charades," Dan said, lifting his chin.

"Natalie? Defend my honour, please."

"You couldn't get Julius Caesar, either," she pointed out.

"Okay, if there ever was an et tu, Brute moment!"

She kissed his cheek. "It's okay. You always kick ass at Celebrities."

"Yes. Yes I do," Jeremy said proudly.

"I don't know what Celebrities is," Bobby admitted. He also couldn't remember the last time he played charades, but he was pretty sure he was in high school or younger.

"You put the names of a bunch of famous people into a hat," Dan said, "after dividing into teams. One person pulls out a name, and has to give clues to the person's identity, but can't say the name of that person. That's for the rest of the team to figure out."

"And Jeremy kicks ass at it?" Bobby said.

"Yes. Yes I do," Jeremy repeated. "But not as much as Isaac."

"Nobody ever kicks as much ass as Isaac," said Dan, and then he stood up, leaned over the table, and kissed the end of Isaac's nose. He retreated, laughing, before anybody could hit him.

"Did Danny just kiss me?"

"Why are you asking me, every one else is sitting here too!" Jeremy said, since Isaac was staring at him.

"Because I did, Jeremy, now answer the question."

"Yes, yes, Dan just kissed you."

Isaac was silent for a few moments, long ones, then smiled. "I think I'm flattered."

Dan beamed. "You should be," he said. "Hot young thing like me? Damn right it's flattering."

Bobby laughed too, leaning slightly on Dan's shoulder, and taking his hand again.

"I was going to say that I think I'm the real catch though," Isaac added. "And that you'd better watch out for Esther, young man."

Dan laughed. "Yes, sir," he said, "I'll sleep with one eye open. Now that we've all seen the hottest action this side of the Atlantic, where's my cake?"

*

Natalie was folding her napkin into a paper plane. "Casey's still not here," she said.

"Didn't he say he'd be here?" Jeremy said, clearing up the remains of the black forest cake and watching the dart game. Dana was kicking everyone's butt, as usual. Some things never changed, even when things were about to.

Natalie nodded. "He told me he'd come, yeah," she said. "And here it is... almost midnight, and he's not here, and he's not responding to my texts, either."

"Maybe..." Jeremy trailed off. "No. I've got nothing. I'm sorry."

She sighed. "He's standing us up," she said. "He's not going to show, and it'll break Danny's heart."

"Have you seen Dan and Casey in the same room in the past two weeks?" Jeremy asked.

"No," she said, looking at the table.

"Maybe they just need some time to get used to things. I don't know, Natalie," Jeremy admitted. "To be honest? I didn't think Dan'd really do it."

"Neither did I," she said, watching as across the pub, Dan wrapped his arms around Bobby's neck and kissed him as a reward for getting a bulls-eye. "But on the other hand, when he's with Bobby, I... I..."

"Yeah?" Jeremy murmured, sitting next to Natalie and taking her hand.

"I think he seems happy."

"I think he is too," Jeremy had to admit. "And I know you'd like if it Bobby was secretly an evil mastermind, but... I think he's kind of a nice guy. I'm sorry, but it's true."

"I know, and that makes it all so much worse," Natalie complained.

"I know," Jeremy said, giving her hand a tighter squeeze. "Maybe... maybe Casey and Dan aren't meant for each other after all," he said hesitantly. "If they were, wouldn't Casey be here?"

"Are you telling me I'm wrong?"

"I wouldn't dare."

"Good. Because I'm not wrong."

"Okay then."

"Good." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Jeremy?"

"Yes, Natalie?"

"Tell me everything's gonna be okay."

He kissed her temple. "Everything's going to be okay, Natalie."

"Good." She looked up when she felt someone else's hand on her shoulder, and there was Dan. She smiled up at him. "Hey," she said.

"Hey. Bobby and I are gonna take off," Dan said.

"Oh," she said, "but--it's not even midnight."

"Early day, Natalie. Ass-crack of dawn."

"Right." She bit her lip.

"Hey," said Dan, "hey, don't start any of that. I'll be here again before you know it." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then tugged her into a hug.

Her hands closed into fists at the back of his shirt. "Love you, Danny," she said.

"Love you too, Natalie."

Jeremy stood up and looked at Dan and Natalie, just a pace or two off to the side. Everything felt wrong. But if Dan was happy, shouldn't it feel right? And yet...

"Jeremy," Dan said, looking at him. It was as if Jeremy knew. He reached out for his hand, then tugged him into a hug. "I've got to go," he said.

"I know," Jeremy murmured to Dan. "We'll take care of him, Dan. I promise."

"I know you will," he said, and pulled away. Dana, Sam, and Isaac were all waiting by the door--he'd already said goodnight to them, and everyone else, and Dan steeled himself to rejoin Bobby, take his hand, and head to the door.

For a moment, he wondered if anyone else knew this his goodnight was actually goodbye. But then he looked at Dana, and saw the tears in her eyes that she was trying to fight, and for a moment, one wild moment, he didn't think he could go through with this. Then he leaned in, and pulled her into a hug, and said, "You start, I'll start."

"I know," she said, hugging him tight. "So I won't if you won't."

"Deal."

Bobby hung back, giving Dan the time he needed. It'd been a long time since he'd left home, and he couldn't quite remember what it felt like. He knew that it hadn't been a whole community seeing him off though. A whole community who would apparently do unpleasant things to his private parts if he hurt Dan. Good thing he wasn't planning on it.

Dan gave Isaac a hug, holding onto him for a moment, then said, "Thank you," in a choked voice.

"Come back soon, Danny. Bring your friend. You'll always have a home here, son," Isaac told him, squeezing his shoulders.

"I know," he said, and cleared his throat, then turned to Sam. "I think I'm honour-bound to remind you that I've known Dana all my life and if you don't keep treating her well, I'll have someone else do terrible things to you."

Sam smiled at Dan, and for once, it was a slightly less evil smile than usual. "Good luck finding someone. Since I doubt you'll be successful, I'll just have to keep treating Dana well."

Dan held out his hand to Sam, quietly, with a little smile of his own.

Sam shook his hand, just a little harder than necessary, but not as hard as he would have if he didn't like Dan an awful lot.

"Well," said Dan, stepping back and taking Bobby's hand again. "Tomorrow morning, huh?" He gave a lopsided smile, then just headed out the door. He couldn't look at Dana. He couldn't bear to think that she knew he was a big fat liar.

"Tomorrow morning," Bobby said, smiling at everyone, then following Dan out the door. "I don't even want to know how much coffee it's going to take to get you going at the time I'm wanting to leave."

"Can we go now?" Dan asked.

"Huh?" Bobby wasn't expecting that. "It's after midnight, Dan."

"Just get to another town, and we can check into a motel, and--I just can't face them in the morning."

"What about..." Casey. Bobby couldn't make himself ask the question, not when his name had been so carefully avoided all night. "We can go, if you're sure that's what you want," he said gently. "You're sure?"

"I've got my bags in your trunk."

"Okay," Bobby said, moving in front of Dan and kissing him, slowly. "Then let's go."


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