ficlets 6 + 7
22/3/04 10:57![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schmericaI was feeling the Natalie love yesterday.
*****
Natalie stomped into the office in a huff and stopped in front of Dan's desk.
"You didn't tell me."
Dan raised his head slowly. Natalie was leaning over him, palms flat on the edge of the desk.
"What?" Dan said. He blinked at her, but Natalie's glare only increased.
"Do not play games with me, Daniel."
Dan spread his hands in the air. "No games."
"Because I don't like games," Natalie continued.
"When have I ever played games with you?" Dan said soothingly.
Natalie leaned in further. "Why didn't you tell me about you and Dana?"
Dan looked left and right. There was no one else around, but he softened his voice anyway. "What about me and Dana?"
"You did it!" Natalie said in a low accusing tone. She jabbed his shoulder hard with her finger. "You two had sex. You bumped uglies. You made the beast with two backs--"
"Natalie, please stop using euphemisms," Dan said.
Natalie stood up straight and crossed her arms. She gave Dan a look.
"You know, there's something to be said for personal privacy," Dan said. After a minute he sighed and continued, "Look, it wasn't a big deal. It didn't mean anything. In addition to which, it would have been redundant for me to tell you, since I knew Dana was going to run to you immediately with all the lurid post-coital details." He waited and after another moment said, "What exactly did Dana say about the lurid details?"
Natalie continued to look at him.
"What?"
"What are you going to do about Casey?"
"Nothing!" Dan said quickly. "It has nothing to do with Casey. It's none of his business." He looked away from Natalie and back to the computer. "I actually do have work to do today."
"We'll talk about this later," Natalie said in a dark tone.
After she left Dan lowered his head to his desk. He thought about clunking it against the surface for a while, but he felt a little listless for that, so he just let it sit there.
*****
Dana calls from London on a Monday morning, on one of Natalie's days off. It's the first time they've talked in months -- between their schedules and the time difference, it's hard to get a hold of each other. There's less to say to each other now that they don't spend all day every day together, though.
"What are you eating?" Dana says suddenly, after they've greeted each other and giggled a bit.
Natalie swallows the bite in her mouth and says, "A banana."
"But you hate bananas," Dana says.
"I don't *hate* them. I just don't care for them." Natalie's sitting on a stool by the kitchen counter, and she shifts for a more comfortable position.
"Which still raises the question of why you're eating one."
"Potassium."
"Potassium," Dana repeats. "Oh."
Natalie considers going into the long explanation, but that involves Jeremy, his craziness, and his theories on the importance of nutrients in healthy and successful conceptions -- and *that* leads right to the argument Natalie's been avoiding having with him for months now. It's not that Natalie doesn't want kids, exactly, it's just that now isn't the right time, not when her on-air career is ready to explode.
But the whole thing is complicated and not something she really wants to get into with Dana on the phone, not least because Angela Whitaker-Davies is about to turn two next month.
Dana's still going on about some funny story that happened at her station, and Natalie just listens and makes some interested noises and chews thoughtfully on her banana.
It doesn't happen that often, but the sound of Dana's voice can still make her nostalgic. It wasn't that Sports Night didn't have a good run, because it did -- it came back from the dead over and over, and it was a great show the entire time. But Natalie still misses it sometimes, and everybody involved in it.
She and Jeremy are in New York still, but everybody else has drifted off somewhere. Dana's in London, Isaac's retired off in the country, Casey's got his own show in LA, out by where Charlie's going to school, and the last time Natalie heard from Dan he was up in New England taking a little hiatus after his breakdown.
"So what's new with you, Natalie?" Dana says brightly.
Natalie gets up to throw away the banana peel and begins her own polished anecdote. She'll be happy when Jeremy gets home today, and even happier when she goes back to work tomorrow.
*****
Natalie stomped into the office in a huff and stopped in front of Dan's desk.
"You didn't tell me."
Dan raised his head slowly. Natalie was leaning over him, palms flat on the edge of the desk.
"What?" Dan said. He blinked at her, but Natalie's glare only increased.
"Do not play games with me, Daniel."
Dan spread his hands in the air. "No games."
"Because I don't like games," Natalie continued.
"When have I ever played games with you?" Dan said soothingly.
Natalie leaned in further. "Why didn't you tell me about you and Dana?"
Dan looked left and right. There was no one else around, but he softened his voice anyway. "What about me and Dana?"
"You did it!" Natalie said in a low accusing tone. She jabbed his shoulder hard with her finger. "You two had sex. You bumped uglies. You made the beast with two backs--"
"Natalie, please stop using euphemisms," Dan said.
Natalie stood up straight and crossed her arms. She gave Dan a look.
"You know, there's something to be said for personal privacy," Dan said. After a minute he sighed and continued, "Look, it wasn't a big deal. It didn't mean anything. In addition to which, it would have been redundant for me to tell you, since I knew Dana was going to run to you immediately with all the lurid post-coital details." He waited and after another moment said, "What exactly did Dana say about the lurid details?"
Natalie continued to look at him.
"What?"
"What are you going to do about Casey?"
"Nothing!" Dan said quickly. "It has nothing to do with Casey. It's none of his business." He looked away from Natalie and back to the computer. "I actually do have work to do today."
"We'll talk about this later," Natalie said in a dark tone.
After she left Dan lowered his head to his desk. He thought about clunking it against the surface for a while, but he felt a little listless for that, so he just let it sit there.
*****
Dana calls from London on a Monday morning, on one of Natalie's days off. It's the first time they've talked in months -- between their schedules and the time difference, it's hard to get a hold of each other. There's less to say to each other now that they don't spend all day every day together, though.
"What are you eating?" Dana says suddenly, after they've greeted each other and giggled a bit.
Natalie swallows the bite in her mouth and says, "A banana."
"But you hate bananas," Dana says.
"I don't *hate* them. I just don't care for them." Natalie's sitting on a stool by the kitchen counter, and she shifts for a more comfortable position.
"Which still raises the question of why you're eating one."
"Potassium."
"Potassium," Dana repeats. "Oh."
Natalie considers going into the long explanation, but that involves Jeremy, his craziness, and his theories on the importance of nutrients in healthy and successful conceptions -- and *that* leads right to the argument Natalie's been avoiding having with him for months now. It's not that Natalie doesn't want kids, exactly, it's just that now isn't the right time, not when her on-air career is ready to explode.
But the whole thing is complicated and not something she really wants to get into with Dana on the phone, not least because Angela Whitaker-Davies is about to turn two next month.
Dana's still going on about some funny story that happened at her station, and Natalie just listens and makes some interested noises and chews thoughtfully on her banana.
It doesn't happen that often, but the sound of Dana's voice can still make her nostalgic. It wasn't that Sports Night didn't have a good run, because it did -- it came back from the dead over and over, and it was a great show the entire time. But Natalie still misses it sometimes, and everybody involved in it.
She and Jeremy are in New York still, but everybody else has drifted off somewhere. Dana's in London, Isaac's retired off in the country, Casey's got his own show in LA, out by where Charlie's going to school, and the last time Natalie heard from Dan he was up in New England taking a little hiatus after his breakdown.
"So what's new with you, Natalie?" Dana says brightly.
Natalie gets up to throw away the banana peel and begins her own polished anecdote. She'll be happy when Jeremy gets home today, and even happier when she goes back to work tomorrow.
