[Daria] With An "Uh", And An "Um" [21/?] (PG-13)
Title: With An "Uh", And An "Um" (Part 21 of ?)
Author: Kimmie
Fandom: Daria
Type: long fic, ongoing
Rating: PG-13 (so far)
Disclaimer: Daria was not written by me! I only wrote this fic.
Summary: A "What If?" What if Trent moved to Boston after the end of the canon timeline?
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Trent scratched his head and yawned as Jane came through the front door smiling. "Janey? You aren't just getting home, are you?"
Jane laughed and took off her jacket. "Yup! I stayed up late... or early..." She yawned lightly, but shook it off. "Is there any coffee?"
Gesturing toward the kitchen, Trent nodded. "Yeah. It just finished brewing. Pour a cup for me, too?"
"Liquid breakfast it is!" Jane marched to the kitchen and came back moments later with two steaming cupfuls. "Daria still in bed?"
"Mmm... nah. She had some meeting early this morning with her advisor."
"Ouch." Jane grimaced. "She normally scores a better meeting time than this."
Trent cleared his throat. "I may have distracted her a little right before she had to head out to sign up for that."
"Stop!" Jane held a hand in front of herself. "I don't want to hear it."
"Whereas, I *do* want to hear what kept you out so late... or early..."
Jane sat down on the couch and shrugged. "We were... talking. I met him at a bowling alley, we were both miserable at it, but we had fun. He asked if I wanted to go to an all-night pancake place with him, and next thing I know? We were actually there all night. You could have punched me in the face as I noticed the sunrise and I'm not sure which one would have shocked me more."
"So... good?" Trent finally let himself sit on the edge of the armchair.
"Yes, Trent. Good. You can stop worrying about poor, lonely Janey for a bit."
Trent drank another measure of coffee. "I wish I could stay and talk a bit, but they asked if I'd come in early today. Some big order or something. Whatever. I get off a little sooner, so maybe we can do dinner?"
Jane bit her lip. "Um... I'm kind of seeing James again tonight." She swirled some of the coffee in her mug. "You can make it a nice night in with Daria. I mean, you told the girl you can make pizza, but you haven't proven this yet."
"Yeah..." Trent nodded. "Cool. Okay, Janey. Gotta get to work. Don't think I don't realize you're skipping a class right now."
"Damn!" Jane scowled. "This teacher doesn't take attendance and there's nothing due today?"
"Uh huh." Trent stood up and walked to Jane, leaning down to hug her quickly. "Hey, if I can make it some place on time, you can."
"If anyone else were making that comment, Trent, it wouldn't mean nearly as much." Jane swigged back the rest of her coffee and headed upstairs to get ready.
Trent finished his own coffee and brought both mugs back into the kitchen, He grabbed a cereal bar and ate it on the short walk to work, making sure to brush off any errant crumbs before walking through the front doors. He clocked in and headed to the deli and went through the morning routine. Paulie was there with him, and they were making good time on putting together a large platter of lunch meat and cheese with Paulie cutting it and Trent arranging it.
Paulie was searching through the cases for the kind of ham they were supposed to be using. He groaned when he pulled out a small chub of it. "This is all that's left. Can you believe that?"
"Is there another one in the fridge?" Trent fanned out slices of cheddar with bits of wax paper in between.
"Nah. I had to go in there for the turkey and I didn't see any of the ham. And there's enough here, but just barely." He unwrapped the plastic from the meat and loaded it into the slicer. Trent watched for a bit as Paulie sliced the meat, but turned his attention back to his task.
Moments later, he heard the slicer catch on something and heard Paulie gasp and scream. Trent looked up and saw the the slicer had cut off a large section of the tip of Paulie's finger and he was quickly losing blood. Grimacing, Trent tore off his plastic gloves and grabbed a clean apron. He ran over and folded the apron over a few times and pressed it firmly against Paulie's thumb. "Look, man, don't sweat it. Hold this in place. We'll get this take care of." Trent looked out to see if anyone had noticed. "Ron!"
The older man in produce looked up from where he was picking out overripe bananas. "Yeah?"
"Call an ambulance and get a manager back here. Paulie's hurt and bleeding bad." Ron's eyes widened and he ran off toward the front of the store. Trent looked around and saw a large chunk of pale flesh sitting on the floor. Feeling bile in his throat, he turned toward the meat department. "Jeff! Bring me some ice as fast as you can."
Jeff looked confused, but turned quickly to head through a set of swinging doors. Trent turned his attention back to Paulie, instructing him to continue to sit on the floor, breathe and not to get too excited. When Jeff came into the deli less than a minute later with a bag of crushed ice, Trent instructed Jeff to help calm Paulie down. Trent slid on a fresh glove and picked up the piece of thumb and slid it into one of the bags for lunch meat, horrified as the fingernail separated from the flesh. He sealed it and placed it into the bag of ice, and tied it off at the top.
Looking at Paulie for a moment, Trent frowned and knelt next to time. "It's okay, Paulie. You're probably going into shock. Are you cold?"
Paulie nodded slowly. Trent mouthed curses and grabbed for a few more clean aprons. He wrapped them tightly around Paulie and willed the ambulance there faster. It was an excrutiatingly long few minutes before Mrs. Fieldmont came running over with two EMTs pushing a stretcher behind her.
And like that, it was over. Trent was being told he could go home for the rest of the day, and he was being led away from the streaks of blood on the floor and the slicer, and away from the surfaces that still seemed to echo Paulie's scream. Trent nodded and tossed his apron into the hamper and peeled off the one glove he was wearing to throw it in the trash. He glanced back to see Paulie loaded up and being pushed away with the bag of ice by his feet. Trent clenched his hands into fists and headed to the back of the store to clock out.
Hours later, Daria came home to find Trent sitting on the couch and hugging his guitar to his chest. "Practicing?"
Trent licked his lips. "Something like that."
Daria checked her watch. "You're home early. Did something happen?"
"Um..." Trent set the guitar to the side of the couch, a single note sounding as his thumb ran across a string. It echoed in the room for a moment. "I was working with Paulie this morning. I don't know how he did it, but he sliced off a big portion of his thumb. There was a lot of blood."
"Oh, Trent. Is he going to be okay?" Daria sat down next to Trent and put a hand on his forearm, rubbing at the tattoo there.
"Probably. I mean, I did what I could to put pressure on it and we got the finger on ice. I had this bad dream years ago about playing too fast and slicing off my fingertips, so I read up on what to do. You know, just in case. Then I found out it'd be pretty unlikely to happen. But I was reminded of that dream when it happened. And I know that Paulie may never be able to use that finger right anymore, and I thought that if it happened to me, would I still be able to play?"
"You're scared, aren't you?"
Trent nodded and placed his hands together, running his fingers over one another. "Yeah. I mean, maybe he was doing something he really shouldn't have been doing. I wasn't really looking. But, what if? I don't know if I could ever really make it in a band anymore, but playing helps me get through things. So, I'm thinking of quitting."
Daria pulled one knee up onto the couch so she could turn to look at Trent more closely. "Don't quit. Not music, and not your job. Instead, go to your boss and express your concerns and see what they can do for you. If, after talking to them, you still feel the same way, then look for another job first. But, who knows? Maybe things can work out okay. Maybe you'll feel better after talking to them."
Trent reached over and grabbed Daria's hand and held it firmly between his own. "Thanks. I needed that."
"You're welcome. Oh, did you see Jane this morning?"
"Yeah. She was out all night with that James guy. They're going out again tonight."
Daria quirked an eyebrow upward. "Wow. She's moving fast. But it's good for her. But since she'll be gone, what do you want to do for dinner?"
Trent smiled. "Well, Jane suggested I make pizza."
"Homemade pizza?" Daria's eyes widened slightly.
"Yeah."
"You *do* know the way to a girl's heart."
-----
End: Chapter 21.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 11b NC-17
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Author: Kimmie
Fandom: Daria
Type: long fic, ongoing
Rating: PG-13 (so far)
Disclaimer: Daria was not written by me! I only wrote this fic.
Summary: A "What If?" What if Trent moved to Boston after the end of the canon timeline?
----------
Trent scratched his head and yawned as Jane came through the front door smiling. "Janey? You aren't just getting home, are you?"
Jane laughed and took off her jacket. "Yup! I stayed up late... or early..." She yawned lightly, but shook it off. "Is there any coffee?"
Gesturing toward the kitchen, Trent nodded. "Yeah. It just finished brewing. Pour a cup for me, too?"
"Liquid breakfast it is!" Jane marched to the kitchen and came back moments later with two steaming cupfuls. "Daria still in bed?"
"Mmm... nah. She had some meeting early this morning with her advisor."
"Ouch." Jane grimaced. "She normally scores a better meeting time than this."
Trent cleared his throat. "I may have distracted her a little right before she had to head out to sign up for that."
"Stop!" Jane held a hand in front of herself. "I don't want to hear it."
"Whereas, I *do* want to hear what kept you out so late... or early..."
Jane sat down on the couch and shrugged. "We were... talking. I met him at a bowling alley, we were both miserable at it, but we had fun. He asked if I wanted to go to an all-night pancake place with him, and next thing I know? We were actually there all night. You could have punched me in the face as I noticed the sunrise and I'm not sure which one would have shocked me more."
"So... good?" Trent finally let himself sit on the edge of the armchair.
"Yes, Trent. Good. You can stop worrying about poor, lonely Janey for a bit."
Trent drank another measure of coffee. "I wish I could stay and talk a bit, but they asked if I'd come in early today. Some big order or something. Whatever. I get off a little sooner, so maybe we can do dinner?"
Jane bit her lip. "Um... I'm kind of seeing James again tonight." She swirled some of the coffee in her mug. "You can make it a nice night in with Daria. I mean, you told the girl you can make pizza, but you haven't proven this yet."
"Yeah..." Trent nodded. "Cool. Okay, Janey. Gotta get to work. Don't think I don't realize you're skipping a class right now."
"Damn!" Jane scowled. "This teacher doesn't take attendance and there's nothing due today?"
"Uh huh." Trent stood up and walked to Jane, leaning down to hug her quickly. "Hey, if I can make it some place on time, you can."
"If anyone else were making that comment, Trent, it wouldn't mean nearly as much." Jane swigged back the rest of her coffee and headed upstairs to get ready.
Trent finished his own coffee and brought both mugs back into the kitchen, He grabbed a cereal bar and ate it on the short walk to work, making sure to brush off any errant crumbs before walking through the front doors. He clocked in and headed to the deli and went through the morning routine. Paulie was there with him, and they were making good time on putting together a large platter of lunch meat and cheese with Paulie cutting it and Trent arranging it.
Paulie was searching through the cases for the kind of ham they were supposed to be using. He groaned when he pulled out a small chub of it. "This is all that's left. Can you believe that?"
"Is there another one in the fridge?" Trent fanned out slices of cheddar with bits of wax paper in between.
"Nah. I had to go in there for the turkey and I didn't see any of the ham. And there's enough here, but just barely." He unwrapped the plastic from the meat and loaded it into the slicer. Trent watched for a bit as Paulie sliced the meat, but turned his attention back to his task.
Moments later, he heard the slicer catch on something and heard Paulie gasp and scream. Trent looked up and saw the the slicer had cut off a large section of the tip of Paulie's finger and he was quickly losing blood. Grimacing, Trent tore off his plastic gloves and grabbed a clean apron. He ran over and folded the apron over a few times and pressed it firmly against Paulie's thumb. "Look, man, don't sweat it. Hold this in place. We'll get this take care of." Trent looked out to see if anyone had noticed. "Ron!"
The older man in produce looked up from where he was picking out overripe bananas. "Yeah?"
"Call an ambulance and get a manager back here. Paulie's hurt and bleeding bad." Ron's eyes widened and he ran off toward the front of the store. Trent looked around and saw a large chunk of pale flesh sitting on the floor. Feeling bile in his throat, he turned toward the meat department. "Jeff! Bring me some ice as fast as you can."
Jeff looked confused, but turned quickly to head through a set of swinging doors. Trent turned his attention back to Paulie, instructing him to continue to sit on the floor, breathe and not to get too excited. When Jeff came into the deli less than a minute later with a bag of crushed ice, Trent instructed Jeff to help calm Paulie down. Trent slid on a fresh glove and picked up the piece of thumb and slid it into one of the bags for lunch meat, horrified as the fingernail separated from the flesh. He sealed it and placed it into the bag of ice, and tied it off at the top.
Looking at Paulie for a moment, Trent frowned and knelt next to time. "It's okay, Paulie. You're probably going into shock. Are you cold?"
Paulie nodded slowly. Trent mouthed curses and grabbed for a few more clean aprons. He wrapped them tightly around Paulie and willed the ambulance there faster. It was an excrutiatingly long few minutes before Mrs. Fieldmont came running over with two EMTs pushing a stretcher behind her.
And like that, it was over. Trent was being told he could go home for the rest of the day, and he was being led away from the streaks of blood on the floor and the slicer, and away from the surfaces that still seemed to echo Paulie's scream. Trent nodded and tossed his apron into the hamper and peeled off the one glove he was wearing to throw it in the trash. He glanced back to see Paulie loaded up and being pushed away with the bag of ice by his feet. Trent clenched his hands into fists and headed to the back of the store to clock out.
Hours later, Daria came home to find Trent sitting on the couch and hugging his guitar to his chest. "Practicing?"
Trent licked his lips. "Something like that."
Daria checked her watch. "You're home early. Did something happen?"
"Um..." Trent set the guitar to the side of the couch, a single note sounding as his thumb ran across a string. It echoed in the room for a moment. "I was working with Paulie this morning. I don't know how he did it, but he sliced off a big portion of his thumb. There was a lot of blood."
"Oh, Trent. Is he going to be okay?" Daria sat down next to Trent and put a hand on his forearm, rubbing at the tattoo there.
"Probably. I mean, I did what I could to put pressure on it and we got the finger on ice. I had this bad dream years ago about playing too fast and slicing off my fingertips, so I read up on what to do. You know, just in case. Then I found out it'd be pretty unlikely to happen. But I was reminded of that dream when it happened. And I know that Paulie may never be able to use that finger right anymore, and I thought that if it happened to me, would I still be able to play?"
"You're scared, aren't you?"
Trent nodded and placed his hands together, running his fingers over one another. "Yeah. I mean, maybe he was doing something he really shouldn't have been doing. I wasn't really looking. But, what if? I don't know if I could ever really make it in a band anymore, but playing helps me get through things. So, I'm thinking of quitting."
Daria pulled one knee up onto the couch so she could turn to look at Trent more closely. "Don't quit. Not music, and not your job. Instead, go to your boss and express your concerns and see what they can do for you. If, after talking to them, you still feel the same way, then look for another job first. But, who knows? Maybe things can work out okay. Maybe you'll feel better after talking to them."
Trent reached over and grabbed Daria's hand and held it firmly between his own. "Thanks. I needed that."
"You're welcome. Oh, did you see Jane this morning?"
"Yeah. She was out all night with that James guy. They're going out again tonight."
Daria quirked an eyebrow upward. "Wow. She's moving fast. But it's good for her. But since she'll be gone, what do you want to do for dinner?"
Trent smiled. "Well, Jane suggested I make pizza."
"Homemade pizza?" Daria's eyes widened slightly.
"Yeah."
"You *do* know the way to a girl's heart."
-----
End: Chapter 21.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 11b NC-17
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20