‹ Prequel: Goodnight, Beautiful.
Sequel: Second City. ›
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
05.
There had been one minor detail Bristol had over looked while putting the finishing touches on her vacation plans. Sure she had called the hotel to change rooms but the one thing she had forgotten was to call the airline and chance her seat. Her boarding pass still had Bristol sitting next to Daniel for the first three hour flight from Philadelphia to Dallas. There were no direct flights to their destination of Cabo San Lucas and she wondered if she could change it once they arrived in Texas—that was depending on how uncomfortable and awkward the first few hours would be.
Behind her, Jeff Carter wrapped his arm around Bristol as they stood in the long line of their boarding plane. “Do you want to change seats with me? You’ll have to sit next to Mike.”
So far, the morning hadn’t been as bad as she had predicted it to be. Thankfully she and Dan had been running on almost two different schedules. While she was the responsible one, arriving with more than enough time to get through security and walk around the terminal, it had been Dan and Mike who frantically raced through to make sure they made it on time. They hadn’t spoken or seen each other since the night they broke up, and it gave Bristol a slight feeling of authority when she saw Dan. He looked like shit. That was the only word she could think of when she laid eyes on him. His jaw was covered with rough whiskers, his hair was a mess and the bags under his eyes made it look like he had been punched.
Bristol looked the opposite. It was Visine that had helped, and many slices of cucumbers to bring down the swelling and redness around her eyes. She’d rather live under a rock than give Dan the satisfaction of knowing how much he had really affected her emotional state. Bristol had gotten up around five-thirty in the morning, carefully selecting a perfect tank top and ripped capris that fit her bottom half snugly. She gathered her hair into a messy ponytail. It amazed her it had taken almost sixty minutes to make it seem like she had just rolled out of bed, looking as if she wasn’t losing a second of sleep. In the mirror of Danny’s bathroom, as Bristol started herself down, she realized it was Danny she was more so trying to convince what had happened no longer bothered her. She couldn’t break his heart, not after what Kris had said.
“No,” Bristol crossed her arms over her chest, blinking her eyes. “We are adults and I am not going to let something as petty as airplane seats ruin a vacation for the both of us. Besides, if he doesn’t want to sit next to me, Dan would have called the airline himself and gotten a ticket for another flight.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Pushing her ahead, Jeff handed his and Bristol’s boarding passes to the attendant.
She took a deep breath and headed down the tight isle of the airplane, passing Mike Richards who sat slumped in his seat, eyes focused on the ground. Dan was seated as well. His fingers tapped anxiously on his shaking knee. She could feel his face heat with the effort he was making not to look at her. It felt unnatural to Bristol as she slipped past him and not feel the strong grip of his hands on her hips, or tugging at her fingers trying desperately to gain her undivided attention. Sliding her bag underneath the seat, it almost became impossible for Bristol to fasten her own belt. Her hands were shaking almost as bad a Dan’s were. The nerves weren’t preflight jitters either. She noticed he was wearing the Metallica shirt she had borrowed from him the night of Kris’ pre-playoff party. Vivid memories filled the blackness Bristol tried to hold on to as she closed her eyes. The feeling of his fingertips grazing her skin was almost tangible—she swore she could taste his lips on her own as they captured her lower lip in a long, passionate kiss.
Bristol could smell him—Old Spice shampoo, peppermint gum and the cool mist of utter ice. It was the same lingering smell on the shirt Bristol had taken by accident when packing her belongings. Unbeknownst to Danny, it sat in the very bottom drawer, hidden beneath piles of her own tee’s. Bristol would take it out only when she was sure he was deeply in sleep. She thought she was crazy, but it kept memories fresh in her mind. Bristol was afraid she’d forget the callous on the edge of his wrist which was rubbed raw by his hockey glove or the grit that coated his voice when he’d whisper I love you after a long night of slow, passionate sex.
Tears pressed on the back of her eyes as Bristol told herself to stop thinking. It wasn’t doing her any good. They only thing that would result from such thoughts was a week of lying in a hotel room, crying and missing out on the planned fun. From behind her, Jeff could sense her discomfort and wished she had taken him up on his offer to change seats. Deciding it was time to lighten the mood, have a little fun, Jeff kicked the back of her seat.
As he expected, Bristol turned around, punched him in the shoulder. It worked; Bristol had a smile on her face. “Take that as your one and only warning.” Jeff tilted his hat to her when she mouth the words, thank you. Bristol knew he was only trying to keep her from losing her balance. After the safety speech, weather conditions of Dallas and reminder not to use any electronic devices, Bristol fell back into an old habit she found rather hard to break. As the plane descended down the runway, Bristol’s hand descended into Dan’s. She hated the takeoff. Daniel’s fingers gripped tightly around hers as the familiar feeling of safety and comfort shot through her veins like wild fire. It was then Bristol realized she had missed him more than she had given herself credit for. No matter how many times she told herself he had done her wrong, the feeling of hate and depression faded as Bristol felt the smooth caress of his thumb.
Her stomach tightened with knots. All of a sudden Bristol wanted to crawl into her favorite flannel pants—the ones that had been washed so many times they had small holes in the inseam. She wanted it to be February again, so she could make sure the present didn’t turn out the way it had. She wished she would have stayed in Philly over Easter, and stayed with Dan in Boston following the sweep. He had been there for hard times when she needed him, and she hadn’t been there for him. The thought made Bristol feel like shit. She had been too wrapped up in trying to make her own self feel happy that she had forgotten Dan was only human too. The playoffs—and suspension—had devastated him. Like every other man on the team, Dan thought for sure they would go far. But when his dream didn’t come true, he needed someone—Bristol—at his side as he licked his wounds.
Blinking rapidly, Bristol could feel the hot tears slid down her burning face. She quickly wiped them away before someone caught a glimpse. It became painfully obvious that Dan had noticed her slight breakdown. Pulling her head into his chest, Dan sat there frozen, unable to think as he held her in his arms. He never thought he’d get the chance to feel her silky hair between his fingers, or smell the coconut of her shampoo. It felt as if he had finally been awakened from his two week long nightmare. He still felt terrible for the way he had treated Bristol. No amount of sorry’s could possibly make up for the fact he had destroyed her heart by cheating, but Daniel knew he could change. He had been a mess without her; it amazed him how someone whom he’s only known four, long months could have such an impact. Dan whole-heartedly loved her. Bristol was the only woman who could make him feel nervous and excited and make his heart beat faster and slower at the same time. She knew what it felt like to be a misunderstood middle child, and like him, was content living her own life.
“Sorry,” Bristol picked her head up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “This isn’t the time for me to be turning into a crying slob.”
The hurt which Daniel had seen glaze her eyes several weeks ago during their short visit to Chicago had returned. He couldn’t believe he had put the one woman he loved the most in this world—besides his mother—in heart-wrenching pain. It broke his own heart to even think of how much a struggle it had been for her to get through the last few weeks. Bristol had turned off her phone, closed herself to the world.
When he had returned home the night Bristol had discovered he had been sleeping with other women in Boston, a thousand terrifying thoughts had raced through his brain. The hole in the wall caused him immediate concern when Bristol didn’t respond to the multiple times he called out her name. After opening the drawers of the dresser seeing half her clothes in the closet were gone, it had become a sickening reality she had really left him. Daniel had frantically called everyone he knew in an attempt to track Bristol down. Her phone automatically rolled over in to its voice mail system and when Danny Briere began ignoring his calls too, it felt like a thousand daggers in his chest knowing she was sharing a bed with him. It had been Kris who informed Dan of Bristol’s broken fingers and fractured wrist. He looked down at her hot pink cast, decorated in a plethora of black, Sharpie hearts and couldn’t help but internally laugh. Daniel had every intention of tossing things around and punching a wall or two if he found Bristol gone. But, it hadn’t surprised him to find she had beaten him to it. He had to admit, the hole she left was rather impressive, it had cost a fair sum of money to have it repaired.
Dan tucked a lock of her hair behind Bristol’s ear and soon after kissed her cheek. The feeling of his lips brush upon her flesh was enough to send Bristol’s heat into palpitations and her head into a dizzy spell. “It really sucks not having you around the house.” Daniel admitted. He missed the smell of her perfume lingering in the bedroom every morning. He missed reminding her to put the cap on the toothpaste at night even though he had told her a million and a half times how much her childish habit annoyed him.
“I miss being at home.” Bristol stuck out her bottom lip. All she wanted was to fall flat into the cloud they called a mattress and snuggle with a feather pillow while poising her mind with garbage reality television. Even though he knew the issues between he and Bristol were far from resolved, Dan wrapped his arm around Bristol and kissed her lips.
Behind her, Jeff Carter wrapped his arm around Bristol as they stood in the long line of their boarding plane. “Do you want to change seats with me? You’ll have to sit next to Mike.”
So far, the morning hadn’t been as bad as she had predicted it to be. Thankfully she and Dan had been running on almost two different schedules. While she was the responsible one, arriving with more than enough time to get through security and walk around the terminal, it had been Dan and Mike who frantically raced through to make sure they made it on time. They hadn’t spoken or seen each other since the night they broke up, and it gave Bristol a slight feeling of authority when she saw Dan. He looked like shit. That was the only word she could think of when she laid eyes on him. His jaw was covered with rough whiskers, his hair was a mess and the bags under his eyes made it look like he had been punched.
Bristol looked the opposite. It was Visine that had helped, and many slices of cucumbers to bring down the swelling and redness around her eyes. She’d rather live under a rock than give Dan the satisfaction of knowing how much he had really affected her emotional state. Bristol had gotten up around five-thirty in the morning, carefully selecting a perfect tank top and ripped capris that fit her bottom half snugly. She gathered her hair into a messy ponytail. It amazed her it had taken almost sixty minutes to make it seem like she had just rolled out of bed, looking as if she wasn’t losing a second of sleep. In the mirror of Danny’s bathroom, as Bristol started herself down, she realized it was Danny she was more so trying to convince what had happened no longer bothered her. She couldn’t break his heart, not after what Kris had said.
“No,” Bristol crossed her arms over her chest, blinking her eyes. “We are adults and I am not going to let something as petty as airplane seats ruin a vacation for the both of us. Besides, if he doesn’t want to sit next to me, Dan would have called the airline himself and gotten a ticket for another flight.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Pushing her ahead, Jeff handed his and Bristol’s boarding passes to the attendant.
She took a deep breath and headed down the tight isle of the airplane, passing Mike Richards who sat slumped in his seat, eyes focused on the ground. Dan was seated as well. His fingers tapped anxiously on his shaking knee. She could feel his face heat with the effort he was making not to look at her. It felt unnatural to Bristol as she slipped past him and not feel the strong grip of his hands on her hips, or tugging at her fingers trying desperately to gain her undivided attention. Sliding her bag underneath the seat, it almost became impossible for Bristol to fasten her own belt. Her hands were shaking almost as bad a Dan’s were. The nerves weren’t preflight jitters either. She noticed he was wearing the Metallica shirt she had borrowed from him the night of Kris’ pre-playoff party. Vivid memories filled the blackness Bristol tried to hold on to as she closed her eyes. The feeling of his fingertips grazing her skin was almost tangible—she swore she could taste his lips on her own as they captured her lower lip in a long, passionate kiss.
Bristol could smell him—Old Spice shampoo, peppermint gum and the cool mist of utter ice. It was the same lingering smell on the shirt Bristol had taken by accident when packing her belongings. Unbeknownst to Danny, it sat in the very bottom drawer, hidden beneath piles of her own tee’s. Bristol would take it out only when she was sure he was deeply in sleep. She thought she was crazy, but it kept memories fresh in her mind. Bristol was afraid she’d forget the callous on the edge of his wrist which was rubbed raw by his hockey glove or the grit that coated his voice when he’d whisper I love you after a long night of slow, passionate sex.
Tears pressed on the back of her eyes as Bristol told herself to stop thinking. It wasn’t doing her any good. They only thing that would result from such thoughts was a week of lying in a hotel room, crying and missing out on the planned fun. From behind her, Jeff could sense her discomfort and wished she had taken him up on his offer to change seats. Deciding it was time to lighten the mood, have a little fun, Jeff kicked the back of her seat.
As he expected, Bristol turned around, punched him in the shoulder. It worked; Bristol had a smile on her face. “Take that as your one and only warning.” Jeff tilted his hat to her when she mouth the words, thank you. Bristol knew he was only trying to keep her from losing her balance. After the safety speech, weather conditions of Dallas and reminder not to use any electronic devices, Bristol fell back into an old habit she found rather hard to break. As the plane descended down the runway, Bristol’s hand descended into Dan’s. She hated the takeoff. Daniel’s fingers gripped tightly around hers as the familiar feeling of safety and comfort shot through her veins like wild fire. It was then Bristol realized she had missed him more than she had given herself credit for. No matter how many times she told herself he had done her wrong, the feeling of hate and depression faded as Bristol felt the smooth caress of his thumb.
Her stomach tightened with knots. All of a sudden Bristol wanted to crawl into her favorite flannel pants—the ones that had been washed so many times they had small holes in the inseam. She wanted it to be February again, so she could make sure the present didn’t turn out the way it had. She wished she would have stayed in Philly over Easter, and stayed with Dan in Boston following the sweep. He had been there for hard times when she needed him, and she hadn’t been there for him. The thought made Bristol feel like shit. She had been too wrapped up in trying to make her own self feel happy that she had forgotten Dan was only human too. The playoffs—and suspension—had devastated him. Like every other man on the team, Dan thought for sure they would go far. But when his dream didn’t come true, he needed someone—Bristol—at his side as he licked his wounds.
Blinking rapidly, Bristol could feel the hot tears slid down her burning face. She quickly wiped them away before someone caught a glimpse. It became painfully obvious that Dan had noticed her slight breakdown. Pulling her head into his chest, Dan sat there frozen, unable to think as he held her in his arms. He never thought he’d get the chance to feel her silky hair between his fingers, or smell the coconut of her shampoo. It felt as if he had finally been awakened from his two week long nightmare. He still felt terrible for the way he had treated Bristol. No amount of sorry’s could possibly make up for the fact he had destroyed her heart by cheating, but Daniel knew he could change. He had been a mess without her; it amazed him how someone whom he’s only known four, long months could have such an impact. Dan whole-heartedly loved her. Bristol was the only woman who could make him feel nervous and excited and make his heart beat faster and slower at the same time. She knew what it felt like to be a misunderstood middle child, and like him, was content living her own life.
“Sorry,” Bristol picked her head up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “This isn’t the time for me to be turning into a crying slob.”
The hurt which Daniel had seen glaze her eyes several weeks ago during their short visit to Chicago had returned. He couldn’t believe he had put the one woman he loved the most in this world—besides his mother—in heart-wrenching pain. It broke his own heart to even think of how much a struggle it had been for her to get through the last few weeks. Bristol had turned off her phone, closed herself to the world.
When he had returned home the night Bristol had discovered he had been sleeping with other women in Boston, a thousand terrifying thoughts had raced through his brain. The hole in the wall caused him immediate concern when Bristol didn’t respond to the multiple times he called out her name. After opening the drawers of the dresser seeing half her clothes in the closet were gone, it had become a sickening reality she had really left him. Daniel had frantically called everyone he knew in an attempt to track Bristol down. Her phone automatically rolled over in to its voice mail system and when Danny Briere began ignoring his calls too, it felt like a thousand daggers in his chest knowing she was sharing a bed with him. It had been Kris who informed Dan of Bristol’s broken fingers and fractured wrist. He looked down at her hot pink cast, decorated in a plethora of black, Sharpie hearts and couldn’t help but internally laugh. Daniel had every intention of tossing things around and punching a wall or two if he found Bristol gone. But, it hadn’t surprised him to find she had beaten him to it. He had to admit, the hole she left was rather impressive, it had cost a fair sum of money to have it repaired.
Dan tucked a lock of her hair behind Bristol’s ear and soon after kissed her cheek. The feeling of his lips brush upon her flesh was enough to send Bristol’s heat into palpitations and her head into a dizzy spell. “It really sucks not having you around the house.” Daniel admitted. He missed the smell of her perfume lingering in the bedroom every morning. He missed reminding her to put the cap on the toothpaste at night even though he had told her a million and a half times how much her childish habit annoyed him.
“I miss being at home.” Bristol stuck out her bottom lip. All she wanted was to fall flat into the cloud they called a mattress and snuggle with a feather pillow while poising her mind with garbage reality television. Even though he knew the issues between he and Bristol were far from resolved, Dan wrapped his arm around Bristol and kissed her lips.