monaboyd | The Beginning of Us

Title: The Beginning of Us - 19/25
Author:

dylan_dufresne
Pairing: BB/DM
Rating: PG
Summary: Part 19. Dom is presented with something very unexpected.
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated. Many, many thanks to

frojane and

uisinger for their faboo beta skills.
Disclaimer: Not at all true in reality. *sigh* Damn.
Previous Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
A/N: Warning of angst. Next part will be posted on Friday.

Part 19 - Gifts

Sometimes the easiest way through a problem is to go straight through it.

When the director calls cut, Dom gratefully ducks into the shade of a nearby palm tree and sinks down to the sand before giving Evey a weak and weary wave. The heat is particularly intense today, and any escape from the blistering sun is welcome. It’s not even noon yet, and it’s looking to be another very, very long day.

“Okay, we’re ready to move onto the next shot,” Sally, the Assistant Director, announces to the cast and crew. “But before we do that, I need everyone to say goodbye to Dom.”

Surprised at the mention of his name, Dom looks up, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?”

“You’re wrapped,” Sally tells him, gesturing to her clipboard as Dom scrambles to his feet. “All finished.”

“But last night on the phone Evey said we had a new scene to shoot,” Dom protests. “We’re just waiting on-”

Gnawing on her lower lip, Evey steps forward and lays a hand on Dom’s shoulder.

“I lied,” she says, interrupting him. “Sorry.”

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Dom demands, head throbbing, tired, sweaty and very confused. “My shooting schedule has changed multiple times, every single day, for the last two weeks. I’ve been shooting eleven days straight, call times coming in day and night, and now I’m just-”

“Dom, shut up and let me talk, okay?” Evey requests firmly, giving him a look. “Give me a minute to explain.”

Noticing that everyone around him is grinning conspiratorially, a completely bewildered Dom shuts his mouth and gestures for Evey to continue.

“We all know how hard it’s been for you lately,” she says gently, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly and giving it a squeeze. “You’ve really tried your best to keep it from us, and not let it affect your work, but we’ve still seen it. All of us,” she says, gesturing to the people around her. “You’ve been quiet and sad for months now. I haven’t seen you smile three times since January. Not since the day Billy left.”

“I’m sorry,” Dom mumbles, averting his eyes. “I just-”

“You’re in love, Dom, and you miss him,” Evey continues, her eyes and tone sympathetic. “We get it.”

“So you want me gone?” he asks in a small voice, looking around in confusion. “Is that what this is?”

“No!” Evey cries, wrapping an arm firmly around Dom’s shoulders and pulling him close. “We’re not trying to get rid of you, silly. We love you. That’s why your schedule has been so crazy. We’re trying to help you.”

“Help?” Dom parrots.

Reaching under a small stack of papers in her clipboard, Sally produces a manilla envelope and smiling broadly, she hands it to Evey.

“I found your plane ticket to Scotland in your dressing room a couple of weeks ago,” Evey confesses nervously, meeting his confused gaze. “And I changed the dates on it.”

Dom’s eyes widen. “What?”

“You’re going to Glasgow.” Evey smiles as she ruffles his hair. “Today.”

Gasping in surprise and jaw dropping open, Dom stares.

“What?” he asks again, voice a low whisper.

“You’re getting on a plane this afternoon.” Glancing at her watch, Evey winces. “Damn. You’ll have to get going pretty soon if you’re going to make it.”

“I can’t,” Dom protests, looking around. “The show. The finale.”

“With JJ’s approval, Charlie has been cleared for the next sixteen days,” Sally informs him. “That’ll give you two weeks with Billy and a couple of days for travel.”

“Dom, your flight leaves in less than two hours,” Evey tells him. “You need to go. Now.”

“But I’m not packed.”

“Oh yes you are,” Matt announces, pointing to small grouping of vegetation. On cue, Jimmy, the Production Assistant, moves a fake plant sitting in front and sure enough, there is Dom’s suitcase and carryon, ready and waiting.

“How?” Dom asks, looking around, fingers sliding through his mussed hair, completely overwhelmed.

“I didn’t have a dentist appointment this morning,” Evey confesses. “I went by and packed your things for you before I came in.”

“But . . . I-”

“You’ll have everything you need, I promise,” Evey says quietly, laying a finger to Dom’s lips to quiet him.

“We’ve divided up who’s going to check on your place and feed the animals. It’ll all be fine until you get back,” Matt promises as Evey hands Dom the large envelope.

“Here are your plane tickets and your passport, oh, and Maggie is going to pick you up at the airport in Glasgow,” Evey continues. “She’s already got your flight details.”

“You talked to Billy’s sister?” Dom asks her, his head spinning as he tries to put all the pieces together, to absorb the tremendous gift he’s been given.

“Yeah. A few times. She’s great,” Evey says with a grin. “As soon as I told her what we wanted to do, she was more than willing to help.”

Stunned, Dom can only shake his head in amazement. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“There’s nothing that we haven’t taken care of,” Evey says with a soft smile. “Except telling Billy. We thought you might want it to be a surprise, so Maggie is going us to help run interference while you’re in the air. I’ll need you to forward your calls to my phone so I can pretend that you’re on set when Billy calls.”

Eyes filling, Dom looks around the room at all the eyes fixed intently on him. “I- I don’t know what to say. Really. I have no words.”

“Give Billy our love,” Evey says simply, her own eyes glistening. “After you give him yours, of course.”

When Dom grins, ducking his head and blushing to the tips of his ears, the cast and crew break out into light laughter and applause. A moment later, Dom is enveloped in a group hug of his cast mates, complete with murmurs of well wishes. And then he’s unceremoniously shoved into a dressing room to change out of his Charlie clothes.

He’s got a plane to catch.

* * *

Swinging his carryon over his shoulder, Dom pushes his wet hair out of his eyes, skin still damp from the quick shower he took before gathering up some last minute items from his trailer.

“You ready?” Every asks, stepping inside the door and tapping her watch expectantly, reminding him of the time. Like he could forget.

Looking around one last time, Dom nods and hooks his sunglasses on the collar of his t-shirt. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

They don’t speak again until they reach the parking lot, where there is a car waiting to take Dom to the airport. Opening the door, Dom turns and looks intently at Evey.

“Ev, I don’t know how to th-”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she interrupts. “I have something to say to you. Something that I didn’t want to say in front of everyone else.”

“Okay.”

“It’s in your bag,” she says, pointing at his carryon. “So it’ll be close by.”

Shaking his head Dom starts to protest. “Evey-”

“Shut up, Dom.”

The firmness in her voice shocks him into silence, and he closes his mouth.

“That’s why I insisted on packing your things myself. So I could be sure that you have absolutely everything you need.”

Sharing a long moment, Dom nods slowly, his eyes telling her that he understands what she’s talking about.

“It took me a few days, but I finally figured it out Dom,” Evey says, her tone softening. “I know why you’ve been hiding out there, on the lanai, day after day.”

“What?”

“You’re stuck, Dom. Your head and heart are having a serious difference of opinion, and you’re in the middle of it all,” she says, cupping his cheek. “I’m guessing your head is telling you that this is pointless, that you’re too far apart and it hurts too much. That it would be easier to walk away.”

Averting his eyes, Dom bites down on his lower lip and blinks rapidly.

“The thing that’s keeping you going right now is your beautiful heart, because it flatly refuses to give up,” Evey says softly, laying her hand on his chest. “That’s why you can’t move away from where you feel close to him. Your heart won’t let you, because you know you love Billy too much to end it.”

“Evey, that doesn’t change-”

“Shut up. I’m not done.”

Obediently, Dom closes his mouth again and watches her, chin lowered, his eyes sad.

“A relationship has two people in it, Dom, not one. It’s not fair to take all this on yourself, and make decisions about the rest of your life together without consulting Billy first. You know this. I know you do. He deserves, no, he’s entitled to have a say in his own future, especially where it concerns you,” Evey says, hand rubbing Dom’s shoulder in an attempt to soothe him. “After all the years you’ve been together, after the month he spent here with you, he’s earned it. You know that, and that’s why you haven’t been able to do it. I bet you feel guilty for even thinking it. Billy would want to know what you’ve been going through, all alone.”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Dom asks fearfully, looking up, his eyes wide. “Or Maggie?”

“No. I didn’t call Billy, even though I wanted to,” Evey informs him. “And I only told Maggie that you really missed him, but I really think you should tell him. Be straight with him. He would want to know, so he could help you. That’s what people do for the ones they love.”

“I can’t.”

“Ask yourself this, Dom,” Evey requests. “If you try to walk away, do really think Billy will let you go with without a fight?”

“Well-”

“Do you really think you’ll be able to even consider walking away when Billy puts his hands on your skin?” she demands further, fingers gripping fistfuls of his t-shirt and forcing their eyes to lock. “Kisses you? Pulls you into his arms and refuses to let you go for hours as he touches every last inch of you?”

Inhaling sharply, Dom’s eyes darken with arousal.

“That’s what I thought,” Evey says with a knowing smile. “You forget, I’ve seen the way he looks at you, when you don’t even know that he’s there. You are drawn and bound to one another, by some invisible force. It can’t be broken.”

Sighing, Dom sags against the side of the car when Evey lets go of his shirt.

“I’ve seen the way you two are together,” Evey finishes, her eyes bright. “You’re part of each other, and in this world, that kind of love is rare, Dom. The kind that if you’re really, really lucky, comes along once in a lifetime.”

“I know,” he says softly.

“You know that being so far away from Billy isn’t working, so this is your chance to sit down and talk. Be honest and find another way. Try something else. All I’m asking is that you think about it, okay?”

Exhaling a deep breath, Dom nods and pushes himself away from the side of the car before wrapping his arms around Evey to pull her close.

“Thank you,” he whispers. “For putting up with me when I’m a complete prat, and for giving a richly deserved kick in the arse when I needed it most.”

“You’re welcome,” she replies, kissing his cheek. “Now you better get going. Wouldn’t want you to miss your flight.”

“Right then.”

“Have a good time,” Evey tells him through the open window after he’s climbed inside the car and closed the door. “And think about it? Please?”

“I will,” Dom promises.

Arms crossed over her chest, Evey watches the car until it disappears around the corner, a soft smile gracing her lips.

* * *

As he promised, Dom uses the time in the air to search his mind for a solution, to ease the ache in his chest, and finally bring him peace. When the long hours of the last week of filming finally catch up to him, and the adrenaline that has sustained him for far too long runs dry, Dom gives into the exhaustion and closes his eyes, hoping that sleep will bring the answer he seeks.

Hours later, Dom is curled up in his window seat, staring out at the clouds, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, when the realization hits with such force that it steals his breath. The utter simplicity of it causes him laugh out loud, and makes him wonder why he didn’t think of it months ago. At last, he knows what he needs to do, how he and Billy can be together.

Every minute that passes brings Dom closer to Billy, and what he now realizes is the the most important flight of his life. The significance is not lost on him that the last time such an important flight was taken, it ended with Dom landing in New Zealand and meeting Billy, the man would steal his heart and change his life forever.

* * *

After Dom’s suitcase finally appears on the conveyor belt, he grabs it before swinging his carryon bag over his shoulder and heading for the exit. Uncharacteristically, he takes special care to stay hidden beneath his ball cap and not draw any attention to himself. The last thing Dom wants is for someone to recognize him and have Billy hear that he’s in town before he gets home tonight.

Stepping out into the cool, afternoon air, Dom looks to his left, and then grins. His joyful expression is returned, wrapped up in a petite female package with ginger hair and soft green eyes.

“Maggie!”

“Hello Dom.”

“Thanks for coming,” Dom says as he pulls her close for a tight hug.

“The most important person in my brother’s life is flying in to surprise him after they’ve apart for almost three months. Where else would I be?” Margaret admonishes, cupping Dom’s beard stubbled cheeks in her small hands and gazing into his eyes. “To be involved in something that will bring Billy such happiness is my pleasure.”

“How is he, really?” Dom asks, brow furrowing as Margaret releases him. “I know he’s been covering, not telling me everything. He doesn’t want me to worry about him.”

Sighing, Margaret opens the boot of her car so Dom can stow his suitcase. “He’s been pretty quiet lately, busy with rehearsals for the new play. He doesn’t want to tell me how much he’s missing you and make me worry, but I do anyways. I worry about both of you. I’m sure you know exactly how he’s been feeling. You two always were so similar that way.”

“Yeah, a wee bit,” Dom replies with a rueful smile. “Phone calls just aren’t the same, you know?”

“Well, you’re here now, and that’s the important thing.” Glancing at her watch before sliding into the driver’s seat of her car, Margaret smiles. “In a few hours he’ll come home and find you there. It’s exactly what he needs.”

“He’s not alone in that.” Settling into the passenger seat and fastening his seat belt, Dom gnaws on his lower lip for a moment. “He really doesn’t know?”

“We had lunch together at the theatre and he was telling me how glad he was that you were going to be here in a few weeks,” Margaret confides as she pulls away from the curb and into the traffic. “He’s counting the days. I think he might even be counting the hours and minutes.”

Fortunately the roads are not crowded, so the drive to Billy’s cozy house is short and uneventful. Despite the jet lag creeping up on him, Dom entertains Maggie with stories of being on set, shooting LOST, and of Billy’s cooking adventures while he was in Hawaii. The subject of Billy’s extended stay in Hawaii isn’t approached until they’ve arrived at Billy’s and Margaret has pulled the car into the driveway.

“It was so hard for him to leave you and come back to Scotland,” she says quietly. “Things were going along fine and then one day he called to say he was at the airport. That he was getting on a plane to see you. He wouldn’t explain why, just that he had to go. I figured something really important must have happened. He stayed so long and then when he got back-”

“He wasn’t the same,” Dom finishes quietly, the familiar ache in his chest returning.

“He never said what it was, but something changed between you two in Hawaii, didn’t it?” she asks, not really expecting an answer.

Fidgeting in his seat, Dom nods. “Yeah. The last time we spent that much time together, day after day, was back in New Zealand for filming. We’d gotten used to jamming everything into the few days that we’d normally have while promoting Rings or at conventions. I don’t think we were prepared for what it would be like to be together for weeks. Side by side, day after day. In each other’s personal space. It was wonderful, but intense. Saying goodbye and watching him walk away just about killed me.”

Breath catching in his throat at the painful memory, Dom breaks off and ducks his head.

“He loves you, Dom. So much,” Margaret whispers, emotion causing her voice to crack. “I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you found each other. I don’t know if you realize that Billy wasn’t really alive until he met you. You’re everything to him. He needs you like he needs air to breathe.”

“I love him,” Dom manages to say, eyes bright. “He’s this wonderful gift that I get to open every single day. My whole life, I’ve never loved anyone more.”

Brushing furtively at her damp eyes, Margaret sniffs and then laughs lightly. “Further proof that you two are meant for each other. He said that exact thing to me today.”

* * *

20-Surprise

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Date: 2005-08-10 07:54 pm (UTC)

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