Fic: Almost There: Chapter Two
Title: Always There
Author: Jayne Leigh
Matt was always there for Danny...Danny was always there for Matt... What happens when Danny can't be there anymore?
Rating: R
Characters or Pairing: Danny/Jordan Matt/Harriet
Disclaimer: I don't own them!
Always There: Chapter One
Always There: Chapter Two
“You need to go home.” Jordan told Danny.
“No, I can't go, I’ve got to talk to Matt.”
“Danny, we've been sitting here for 3 hours, I don't think he's coming back tonight.”
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I shouldn't have told him like that.”
“He was going to find out at some point.” She replied. “Just give him some space and let him get his head around all this.”
“I guess.”
“So, lets go home and you can get some rest then in the morning you can talk to him.”
“Okay, you're right.” He stood up.
She smiled, getting up and reaching for his hand.
XxXxX
Matt hadn't left the studio after he had found out about Danny; he had gone up to the roof. He had been spending a lot of time there; it helped him to think. No one ever seemed to think to look for him up there, which was a good thing for him. It meant he could always come up and hide away when things got too much. Things were getting too much a lot lately and he didn't know how to handle it any more. He had always taken for granted that Danny would be there to help him, no matter what with or when. That was all going to change now. The one person that had been a constant support was going to leave him, just like everyone else. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small bottle of pills, shaking some onto his hand. He stared down at them for a moment, knowing he shouldn't be doing it. What would everyone thing...Harriet.... Danny.... Screw them, they didn't care... neither of them were going to stick around.... In one fluent motion, he brought his hand up and poured the pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry. He leaned his forearms on the wall that went around the edge of the roof, resting his head down, waiting for the effects to take over.
XxXxX
“Matt here?” Danny asked Suzanne.
“No, not yet...” She replied.
“Can you ask him to come to my office as soon as he does, please?”
“No problem.”
Danny went back to his office. He got a call from Jordan who was checking up on him, he then tried to get some work done but couldn't concentrate. He sighed when he realised an hour had passed and Matt still hadn't shown up. He decided to take a walk and see what everyone was up to, make sure they were all working.
He was surprised when he saw Matt sat down with Simon and Tom, writing.
“There you are...” Danny walked towards him. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Why? What's up?” Matt looked at him.
“Um, well...I thought you'd want to talk about yesterday.” Danny replied.
“Yesterday?” Matt frowned. He tried to think back but all his memory would let him remember was stumbling home and crashing out on his couch.
“Matt, I know this must be hard for you but.... but we need to talk about it at some point.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Danny repeated, confused by his reaction. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm good.” He shrugged. “You look like hell though, maybe you're coming down with the flu or something.”
At this point Danny looked at Tom and Simon, wondering if they knew what was going on but they looked just as confused and concerned as he did.
“Maybe you should take a few days off or something.” Matt suggested standing up, turning to Simon and Tom. “I'm going to get Lucy and Darius to work on this, see if they can come up with anything.”
“Uh, okay...” Tom replied, sharing another look with Danny.
“Okay, well I'll head down to the writers' room.” Matt told them all. “Seriously, Danny... why don't you go up to your office and take a nap or something, it will make you feel better.”
“Yeah.... I might do that.” Danny replied but had no intention of doing so. He needed to find out what was going on with Matt.
“That was weird.” Simon commented.
“Yeah, what the hell was that?” Danny asked. “You two where there, yesterday right? I didn't imagine it. I told him that I was....”
“Yeah.... yeah you told him.” Simon replied when Danny's voice trailed off. “About that, I'm so sorr...”
“Stop there.” Danny held up his hand. “I don't want sympathy...”
“Right.” He nodded. “But if there's anything you need...”
“I know...” Danny cut in again. “Thanks. I'll be in my office.”
XxXxX
“Okay, Jordan, this better be important.” Jack said as he walked into her office without knocking.
“It is.” She told him, starting to stand up to greet him but he waved his hand, telling her to stay seated.
“What's it about?” He asked sitting opposite her.
“Danny Tripp.”
He sighed. “What has he done now?”
“He.... he hasn't done anything...” Jordan stated. “But uh... umm.”
“What is it?” Jack asked impatiently.
“A few weeks ago... he was diagnosed with… with a brain tumour.” She struggled to get the words out.
Jack opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. He stared at her for a few seconds.
“He... he told everyone at Studio 60 yesterday, I thought I should let you know.”
He nodded slightly, still taking it in. “Right, so he's going to need time off for treatment... I suppose, it won't be to much to do, considering the circumstances...”
Jordan was surprised by Jack’s reaction. She didn't know why. It wasn't as if she was expecting him to be mad at Danny for getting sick.
“There's no treatment...” She told him, cutting him off.
“What?”
“The...the doctor said it was too big to operate...” She explained. “They've given him medication to control the pain and everything.”
“So, there's nothing they can do?”
“No.” She whispered, looking down when tears filled her eyes. She had to stay strong.
“How...How long does he....” Jack couldn't finish the question but Jordan knew what he was asking.
“They couldn't tell... it could be 6 months to 6 years...”
Jack nodded but didn't say any more. The silence was broken when Jordan couldn't hold onto her emotions any longer.
“I”m sorry...” She cried, trying to dry her eyes.
“No, don't be...” Jack told her. “You're hormones must be all over the place with the pregnancy.”
“No, it’s not that...” She started but then realised Jack didn't know about her relationship with Danny.
“What is it then?”
“It... It doesn't matter.” She told him.
“Jordan, it’s obviously something.”
“I love him, Jack...” She didn't have the energy to fight. “I've fallen in love with him and he's going to be taken away.”
Jack didn't know how to reply. Normally he would have shouted at her. Told her, she was being unprofessional but he couldn't do that.
“Is he at the studio?” He asked and Jordan just nodded. “Then go...go be with him.”
“What?”
“I'll deal with everything here for today.” He told her.
“Why are you doing this?” She asked him.
“Just call it my good deed for the week.” He replied. “Now go before I change my mind.”
“Thank you.” She said, standing up, grabbing her bag on the way out.
XxXxX
Harriet knocked quietly on Matt's door, slowly pushing it open when she got no answer. Tom and Simon had told her what happened earlier with Danny and she just wanted to check on him. She stopped when she saw he was sleeping on the couch. She slowly walked towards him. He must have been sleeping lightly because as she got closer, his eyes opened.
“Oh, hi.” He sat up slowly.
“Hi.” She replied. “I came to check on you.”
“I'm fine.” He frowned. “Why wouldn't I be?”
“Well after yesterday...” She started. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“Yes, Harriet...I'm perfect!” He told her, standing up and walking to his desk.
“Matthew, Danny's dying...and you're saying your perfect.”
“What?” He looked at her. “What are you talking about?”
“What am I...?” She didn't get why he was acting like this. “Danny told you yesterday...”
“Y'know, I thinking maybe that sketch Lucy wrote yesterday wasn't as bad as I thought...” He interrupted, not listening to her. “Will need some work, though...maybe Tom could help her with it.”
“Matthew!”
“Uh, what? Sorry?” He looked at her.
“What's the matter with you?” She asked.
“I told you nothing... “I'm going to talk to Tom.'” He told her, leaving her standing in the middle of the office, concerned.
TBC
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