86: Interlude: Danny - Firewatch Negotiation
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Brockton Bay: Danny's Truck- 8:35am
TAYLOR:
I don't care about a paycheck, Dad. I care about rooms where people who know how to do this let me watch, then let me try, and don't treat me like a problem when I mess up the first time. I care about gear that fits my hands, so I'm not guessing while someone bleeds. I care about rules that don't change when I look away, because that already happened and I'm not doing that again. I want this. I want the map they're offering. I need you to say yes and keep them honest when I can't see the whole picture.
PRT HQ Conference Room 9:00am
THINKING DANNY:
The room is glass on three sides. The lights are bright. The table is polished and a little dented at the corners. Raymond stands at the head, jacket open, hands relaxed. Taylor sits one seat back on my left, jacket straight, fingers laced. Phoenix sits across from Taylor, tablet on a kickstand. The screen stays dark, for now.
[Raymond sets a booklet in the center.]
RAYMOND:
This covers the scope and protocol for live ops. I am open to better wording. The frame stays where it is.
THINKING DANNY:
I came ready for confrontation. I get a door held open instead. I still do the job she asked me to do.
DANNY:
Start with control. Taylor decides. She sets the pace. She picks up any extras. Keep me looped in so choices stay choices. I am not here to block her. I am here so she gets the benefits without getting railroaded.
RAYMOND:
Sure. The agency stays with Taylor. We supply structure, options, and continuity. If snacks somehow become the bottleneck, I can escalate to the Boss.
THINKING DANNY:
Fine. A joke helps the wheels turn. The point still stands.
[Danny reads the page headers: Training. Patrol. Safety. Protocol. Compensation in kind.]
DANNY:
Baseline next. Training first. School hours stay protected. One patrol a week. Anything extra is her call after you tell me.
RAYMOND:
Got it. The baseline is modest on purpose. Extra hours pile up where she already prefers to be. I expect she will volunteer past the cap without a push. My priority is clear procedure when she is active. Clear order of operations beats posters and pep talks every time.
THINKING DANNY:
He knows the gravity here. He leaves the names off it. That's fine. He doesn't need to say Lawrence's name for me to hear it.
[Phoenix taps the tablet and tilts it toward Taylor. Success Kid. Taylor's mouth twitches, then she straightens.]
RAYMOND:
We start with precision. We layer timing under controlled pressure. When schedules converge, we add partner work. Rhythm and trust keep people alive.
THINKING DANNY:
He doesn't look at Taylor when he says converge. The air still shifts. I don't follow it. I keep us on the track we picked.
DANNY:
Hard rule. Chain of command. Put it on the record. She needs to know exactly what happens when sirens pull attention sideways.
RAYMOND:
Authority follows function. Orders travel through the vest, not age and not reputation. In a live scene, she follows the chain without delay. If the most qualified officer is twelve, that officer commands. Quick compliance. Clean execution. Boring, but it keeps people breathing.
[Phoenix swipes. Rage Comic face. Taylor presses her lips together, then fails not to smile.]
DANNY:
No fuzzy language. Cause first. Fuzzy rules make people freeze at the worst time and get people hurt. Write exits that open when hands shake. Taylor can step back at any point. No penalty on paper and none in practice. She moves forward when she is ready. No pressure verbs. No hinting at the answer you want.
RAYMOND:
We will formalize a step back with no adverse record and a public rationale of the school and health. We will map an opt-in progression that needs explicit consent and evidence of readiness. Coercion can file paperwork and get declined like everyone else.
THINKING DANNY:
Good. Keep going until daylight reaches every corner.
DANNY:
Compensation next. No checks. We get that. Be clear that you are replacing money with training, gear, and access. List her compensation without brochure gloss.
RAYMOND:
Compensation is not monetary. Training is tuition-free on the mat, the range, and the simulation floors. Mentored blocks across the term. Standard gear is issued with custom fitting when needed. Consumables and raw stock for practice with a locker that locks every time. Transport with vetted drivers. Medical coverage for incidents on or off the clock. Counseling available, opt in unless safety requires a mandate. Confidentiality is guarded by policy and by habit. No tote bags. There might be a mug pilot in discussion because tradition is stubborn.
THINKING DANNY:
That's the trade school I expected. Mat time. Tools that fit. Doors that open when you pull. It can grow a life or grind one down. Which one it does depends on exits and on honest people and realistic schedules.
[Phoenix swipes. Doge. Taylor hides a laugh behind her wrist.]
DANNY:
Media. Do not turn a student into a sign. Cap mandatory appearances at twice a month. Veto stays with us. No cameras on school nights. No mask off images. No leaks from clever angles.
RAYMOND:
Outreach stays scheduled and chaperoned. Releases are opt-in. No end to the request. Some community nights are consistent and useful. If she chooses those, crowds and cameras behave. A steady team does more for public safety than a slogan. I will still approve a tasteful poster for morale.
THINKING DANNY:
He talks rhythm and keeps optimism off the page. Good habit.
[Phoenix swipes. Grumpy Cat. Taylor coughs into her sleeve and pretends she didn't.]
DANNY:
School day protection. Pulls during class go through me unless someone is in immediate danger. Break patterns so no one maps her walk.
RAYMOND:
Approved. We meet her at the doors when needed. The umbrellas belong to people. We even open them when it rains. Revolutionary, I know.
DANNY:
Pair work. Heat sticks to people and places. If you put her with someone who draws it, record the plan, the location, and the exit. Put an adult in the room who can end drills with one sentence and will use it before pride performs.
RAYMOND:
Plan documented. Exit named. Adult empowered to stop the moment stopping is needed. Transparency note. A reconciliation block launches next month. An independent under observation runs basics under heavy oversight. The focus is de escalation and safety culture. Presence matters. Kairos stabilizes groups in measurable ways. If Taylor volunteers, the room steadies faster. Faster is ideal when gauze is the alternative.
THINKING DANNY:
That matches what I heard. It also matches where she'll be on her own time if I pretend she won't. Better to write it down and supervise it.
[Phoenix swipes. Bad Luck Brian. Taylor snorts, covers it, and looks back at the page like she just caught herself drifting.]
DANNY:
Equipment scope. Basic issue first. No live-edge toys. Do not start with a lethal kit outside supervised sims. Eye protection. Respirator. Gloves that fit. Storage that locks. Sign in and sign out. No side lending to friends or teammates.
RAYMOND:
Agreed. We track equipment by serial and by hand receipt. No unauthorized transfer. No exceptions. If she needs specialized fittings for unique capabilities, we schedule fittings and document usage limits.
DANNY:
Training schedule. Cause first. School comes first. No weekday drills start after nine. No scheduled overnights on school nights. Weekend blocks are fine if she asks for them and her grades hold. Quarterly review with me and with your training lead.
RAYMOND:
Accepted. We can set it as a rolling six-week evaluation with adjustment windows. If school performance drops, we pivot to academic training until it rises again. If she accelerates safely, training volume can step up by request.
DANNY:
Transport. No unsecured rides. No last-minute pickups from unknown numbers. If a ride changes, a live human calls me, and I call back the number on file.
RAYMOND:
Yes. Dispatch calls with a single-use code phrase you choose. No code, no ride. We will keep the phrase boring. Boring is harder to guess.
DANNY:
Medical response. If she's hurt during training or during the weekly patrol, I get the call before the press does. Keep me out of spin. Keep her out of press conferences.
RAYMOND:
Affirmed. Family first, not optics. The media office can learn patience. We have a binder for it.
[Phoenix swipes. Trollface. Taylor's eyebrows jump, then drop. She looks at me, not Raymond.]
THINKING DANNY:
She keeps her voice careful. The edge underneath is an old cut. She wants the work. She wants the gear. She wants a schedule that overlaps with someone she trusts. I hear it. I don't repeat it. Knowing is enough.
DANNY:
Therapy. Make it easy. No grading. No punishment in a friendly wrapper. If she says she's going, that's the end of the conversation.
RAYMOND:
Access is low friction, in the building and outside. No black mark for using it. Safety is the metric, and we enforce it. Notes get read, not filed and forgotten.
DANNY:
Contact chain. Nights fail where you forgot to look. If I call, someone answers. If I ask for eyes, someone with eyes goes to her.
RAYMOND:
Confirmed. Live voice. Live presence. If you get voicemail, I owe coffee and an apology, in that order. Good coffee, not punishment coffee.
DANNY:
Privacy. Names and addresses break fast and don't fix clean. If a reporter plays games, call me first. If a rival plays games, call me faster.
RAYMOND:
Carefulness is a habit. Faster is the principle when harm starts sniffing around. I can Sharpie it on my hand if that boosts confidence.
DANNY:
Boundaries on appearances. No recruiting pitches using her likeness. No staging her next to someone who needs a photo op. If you want her at a community night, you ask her and you ask me. If I say no, that's a no.
RAYMOND:
We'll route all appearances through the same approval path as operations. No back doors. No surprises. I dislike surprises almost as much as lawyers do.
DANNY:
Probation window. First four weeks are training first, patrol second, zero discretionary interventions. She builds rhythm and understands the board. Four, she can volunteer for one extra patrol every week. That stays volunteer, not expectation.
RAYMOND:
That is workable. We can publish a four-week plan with milestones and a first four-week review. If she wants more after that, she asks. If she wants less, she says it. Paper will match reality.
THINKING DANNY:
This is where the hook usually hides. I don't see it on the page. That doesn't mean it isn't in the room. I'm here for the page.
[Phoenix swipes. Philosoraptor. Taylor nods once like she filed the idea where she'll find it.]
DANNY:
Grievance path. If she's told to do something that violates safety or ethics, she stops, says stop, and calls me. No retaliation. No freezing her out. No schedules that look like punishment while pretending they aren't.
RAYMOND:
Agreed. We will write a stop clause and a no retaliation clause with examples. We will add an escalation ladder that reaches me directly. If retaliation appears, I want the chance to end a career with due process.
DANNY:
What I want to avoid. I don't want Taylor used as a symbol. I don't want Taylor carrying the weight of adults who should know better. I don't want Taylor choosing between someone she cares about and a procedure you forgot to teach. I don't want Taylor alone in a room where the plan fell apart, and people act like that's normal.
RAYMOND:
What I want to avoid. Overextension, heroics, and the illusion that instinct replaces training. Also, meetings about preventable messes. We can collaborate on all four.
[Phoenix swipes. Doge again. Taylor tries not to grin and looks exactly fifteen.]
TAYLOR:
I'll play by the rules if the rules are where I can see them. I'll follow orders if the orders fit the situation and the person giving them knows why. I'll add hours if I'm steady and school is steady. I'll walk back if I need to, and I won't let pride dig the hole deeper. I want this. Please let me have it, and stand behind me when I say Slow down.
THINKING DANNY:
That is the whole ask. Training. Gear. Time in rooms that make sense. A schedule that lines up with a person she trusts. We both know it. We don't say it.
DANNY:
If Taylor adds hours, she tells me first. If Taylor needs out, she says it, and we do it. That rule is not up for debate. Policy can keep up.
RAYMOND:
Agreed. Simplicity helps in the field. Honesty too, when we use it.
DANNY:
Next steps. Send me the redlined draft. Include the step back clause, the no retaliation clause, the media guardrails, the equipment list, and the schedule template. We will sign when the language says what the room said.
RAYMOND:
You'll have it today. Orientation would be Saturday morning if she accepts. Gear fitting at eleven. ICS overview at noon. Scenario block after lunch. We will bribe participants with pizza, which is ethically complex but effective.
THINKING DANNY:
I can live with that. She can walk out after any block and call it a day. That exit matters most.
[Raymond nods and steps into the hall to take a call. The glass door settles.]
[Taylor slides an inch toward Phoenix. Phoenix mirrors the inch. The tablet becomes their small stage.]
[Phoenix brings up Grumpy Cat, then Rage Comic, then Trollface in quick succession. Taylor tries to school her face and only gets the edges.]
TAYLOR:
If I ask for extra blocks, I'll text you first. Pacing keeps hands and keeps friends. If I need air, I'll say it. You don't have to guess.
DANNY:
I hear you. I'll hold you to that, and I'll hold them to this paper. The rest is calendars, rides, and locking up after.
THINKING DANNY:
That's the shape. A partner. A square of floor. Two people sharing it without speeches. A friend learning daylight who needs a steady witness. A city that does better when good rules get followed and bad ones get deleted.
[Raymond returns with a short nod. Danny collects the folder. Taylor pockets her phone. Phoenix clicks the case shut.]
RAYMOND:
For the record. I appreciate coherent parents. It makes my job resemble a profession.
DANNY:
For the record. I appreciate you writing what you mean.
RAYMOND:
Dangerous precedent, that. Let's keep it going.
THINKING DANNY:
Baseline holds at one patrol per week. Training leads. Extra hours will grow where the right people stand close. That's fine if she's the one planting them and if the exits work. Reconciliation block is coming. Four weeks to learn the rhythm, eight weeks to test the load. Twelve and sixteen sit next to each other in my head and refuse to move. Both are mine in the ways that count.
[They stand. The door opens. The hallway carries the afternoon forward.]
THINKING DANNY:
We step into that and try to hold our promises where someone can see them.
TAYLOR:
I don't care about a paycheck, Dad. I care about rooms where people who know how to do this let me watch, then let me try, and don't treat me like a problem when I mess up the first time. I care about gear that fits my hands, so I'm not guessing while someone bleeds. I care about rules that don't change when I look away, because that already happened and I'm not doing that again. I want this. I want the map they're offering. I need you to say yes and keep them honest when I can't see the whole picture.
PRT HQ Conference Room 9:00am
THINKING DANNY:
The room is glass on three sides. The lights are bright. The table is polished and a little dented at the corners. Raymond stands at the head, jacket open, hands relaxed. Taylor sits one seat back on my left, jacket straight, fingers laced. Phoenix sits across from Taylor, tablet on a kickstand. The screen stays dark, for now.
[Raymond sets a booklet in the center.]
RAYMOND:
This covers the scope and protocol for live ops. I am open to better wording. The frame stays where it is.
THINKING DANNY:
I came ready for confrontation. I get a door held open instead. I still do the job she asked me to do.
DANNY:
Start with control. Taylor decides. She sets the pace. She picks up any extras. Keep me looped in so choices stay choices. I am not here to block her. I am here so she gets the benefits without getting railroaded.
RAYMOND:
Sure. The agency stays with Taylor. We supply structure, options, and continuity. If snacks somehow become the bottleneck, I can escalate to the Boss.
THINKING DANNY:
Fine. A joke helps the wheels turn. The point still stands.
[Danny reads the page headers: Training. Patrol. Safety. Protocol. Compensation in kind.]
DANNY:
Baseline next. Training first. School hours stay protected. One patrol a week. Anything extra is her call after you tell me.
RAYMOND:
Got it. The baseline is modest on purpose. Extra hours pile up where she already prefers to be. I expect she will volunteer past the cap without a push. My priority is clear procedure when she is active. Clear order of operations beats posters and pep talks every time.
THINKING DANNY:
He knows the gravity here. He leaves the names off it. That's fine. He doesn't need to say Lawrence's name for me to hear it.
[Phoenix taps the tablet and tilts it toward Taylor. Success Kid. Taylor's mouth twitches, then she straightens.]
RAYMOND:
We start with precision. We layer timing under controlled pressure. When schedules converge, we add partner work. Rhythm and trust keep people alive.
THINKING DANNY:
He doesn't look at Taylor when he says converge. The air still shifts. I don't follow it. I keep us on the track we picked.
DANNY:
Hard rule. Chain of command. Put it on the record. She needs to know exactly what happens when sirens pull attention sideways.
RAYMOND:
Authority follows function. Orders travel through the vest, not age and not reputation. In a live scene, she follows the chain without delay. If the most qualified officer is twelve, that officer commands. Quick compliance. Clean execution. Boring, but it keeps people breathing.
[Phoenix swipes. Rage Comic face. Taylor presses her lips together, then fails not to smile.]
DANNY:
No fuzzy language. Cause first. Fuzzy rules make people freeze at the worst time and get people hurt. Write exits that open when hands shake. Taylor can step back at any point. No penalty on paper and none in practice. She moves forward when she is ready. No pressure verbs. No hinting at the answer you want.
RAYMOND:
We will formalize a step back with no adverse record and a public rationale of the school and health. We will map an opt-in progression that needs explicit consent and evidence of readiness. Coercion can file paperwork and get declined like everyone else.
THINKING DANNY:
Good. Keep going until daylight reaches every corner.
DANNY:
Compensation next. No checks. We get that. Be clear that you are replacing money with training, gear, and access. List her compensation without brochure gloss.
RAYMOND:
Compensation is not monetary. Training is tuition-free on the mat, the range, and the simulation floors. Mentored blocks across the term. Standard gear is issued with custom fitting when needed. Consumables and raw stock for practice with a locker that locks every time. Transport with vetted drivers. Medical coverage for incidents on or off the clock. Counseling available, opt in unless safety requires a mandate. Confidentiality is guarded by policy and by habit. No tote bags. There might be a mug pilot in discussion because tradition is stubborn.
THINKING DANNY:
That's the trade school I expected. Mat time. Tools that fit. Doors that open when you pull. It can grow a life or grind one down. Which one it does depends on exits and on honest people and realistic schedules.
[Phoenix swipes. Doge. Taylor hides a laugh behind her wrist.]
DANNY:
Media. Do not turn a student into a sign. Cap mandatory appearances at twice a month. Veto stays with us. No cameras on school nights. No mask off images. No leaks from clever angles.
RAYMOND:
Outreach stays scheduled and chaperoned. Releases are opt-in. No end to the request. Some community nights are consistent and useful. If she chooses those, crowds and cameras behave. A steady team does more for public safety than a slogan. I will still approve a tasteful poster for morale.
THINKING DANNY:
He talks rhythm and keeps optimism off the page. Good habit.
[Phoenix swipes. Grumpy Cat. Taylor coughs into her sleeve and pretends she didn't.]
DANNY:
School day protection. Pulls during class go through me unless someone is in immediate danger. Break patterns so no one maps her walk.
RAYMOND:
Approved. We meet her at the doors when needed. The umbrellas belong to people. We even open them when it rains. Revolutionary, I know.
DANNY:
Pair work. Heat sticks to people and places. If you put her with someone who draws it, record the plan, the location, and the exit. Put an adult in the room who can end drills with one sentence and will use it before pride performs.
RAYMOND:
Plan documented. Exit named. Adult empowered to stop the moment stopping is needed. Transparency note. A reconciliation block launches next month. An independent under observation runs basics under heavy oversight. The focus is de escalation and safety culture. Presence matters. Kairos stabilizes groups in measurable ways. If Taylor volunteers, the room steadies faster. Faster is ideal when gauze is the alternative.
THINKING DANNY:
That matches what I heard. It also matches where she'll be on her own time if I pretend she won't. Better to write it down and supervise it.
[Phoenix swipes. Bad Luck Brian. Taylor snorts, covers it, and looks back at the page like she just caught herself drifting.]
DANNY:
Equipment scope. Basic issue first. No live-edge toys. Do not start with a lethal kit outside supervised sims. Eye protection. Respirator. Gloves that fit. Storage that locks. Sign in and sign out. No side lending to friends or teammates.
RAYMOND:
Agreed. We track equipment by serial and by hand receipt. No unauthorized transfer. No exceptions. If she needs specialized fittings for unique capabilities, we schedule fittings and document usage limits.
DANNY:
Training schedule. Cause first. School comes first. No weekday drills start after nine. No scheduled overnights on school nights. Weekend blocks are fine if she asks for them and her grades hold. Quarterly review with me and with your training lead.
RAYMOND:
Accepted. We can set it as a rolling six-week evaluation with adjustment windows. If school performance drops, we pivot to academic training until it rises again. If she accelerates safely, training volume can step up by request.
DANNY:
Transport. No unsecured rides. No last-minute pickups from unknown numbers. If a ride changes, a live human calls me, and I call back the number on file.
RAYMOND:
Yes. Dispatch calls with a single-use code phrase you choose. No code, no ride. We will keep the phrase boring. Boring is harder to guess.
DANNY:
Medical response. If she's hurt during training or during the weekly patrol, I get the call before the press does. Keep me out of spin. Keep her out of press conferences.
RAYMOND:
Affirmed. Family first, not optics. The media office can learn patience. We have a binder for it.
[Phoenix swipes. Trollface. Taylor's eyebrows jump, then drop. She looks at me, not Raymond.]
THINKING DANNY:
She keeps her voice careful. The edge underneath is an old cut. She wants the work. She wants the gear. She wants a schedule that overlaps with someone she trusts. I hear it. I don't repeat it. Knowing is enough.
DANNY:
Therapy. Make it easy. No grading. No punishment in a friendly wrapper. If she says she's going, that's the end of the conversation.
RAYMOND:
Access is low friction, in the building and outside. No black mark for using it. Safety is the metric, and we enforce it. Notes get read, not filed and forgotten.
DANNY:
Contact chain. Nights fail where you forgot to look. If I call, someone answers. If I ask for eyes, someone with eyes goes to her.
RAYMOND:
Confirmed. Live voice. Live presence. If you get voicemail, I owe coffee and an apology, in that order. Good coffee, not punishment coffee.
DANNY:
Privacy. Names and addresses break fast and don't fix clean. If a reporter plays games, call me first. If a rival plays games, call me faster.
RAYMOND:
Carefulness is a habit. Faster is the principle when harm starts sniffing around. I can Sharpie it on my hand if that boosts confidence.
DANNY:
Boundaries on appearances. No recruiting pitches using her likeness. No staging her next to someone who needs a photo op. If you want her at a community night, you ask her and you ask me. If I say no, that's a no.
RAYMOND:
We'll route all appearances through the same approval path as operations. No back doors. No surprises. I dislike surprises almost as much as lawyers do.
DANNY:
Probation window. First four weeks are training first, patrol second, zero discretionary interventions. She builds rhythm and understands the board. Four, she can volunteer for one extra patrol every week. That stays volunteer, not expectation.
RAYMOND:
That is workable. We can publish a four-week plan with milestones and a first four-week review. If she wants more after that, she asks. If she wants less, she says it. Paper will match reality.
THINKING DANNY:
This is where the hook usually hides. I don't see it on the page. That doesn't mean it isn't in the room. I'm here for the page.
[Phoenix swipes. Philosoraptor. Taylor nods once like she filed the idea where she'll find it.]
DANNY:
Grievance path. If she's told to do something that violates safety or ethics, she stops, says stop, and calls me. No retaliation. No freezing her out. No schedules that look like punishment while pretending they aren't.
RAYMOND:
Agreed. We will write a stop clause and a no retaliation clause with examples. We will add an escalation ladder that reaches me directly. If retaliation appears, I want the chance to end a career with due process.
DANNY:
What I want to avoid. I don't want Taylor used as a symbol. I don't want Taylor carrying the weight of adults who should know better. I don't want Taylor choosing between someone she cares about and a procedure you forgot to teach. I don't want Taylor alone in a room where the plan fell apart, and people act like that's normal.
RAYMOND:
What I want to avoid. Overextension, heroics, and the illusion that instinct replaces training. Also, meetings about preventable messes. We can collaborate on all four.
[Phoenix swipes. Doge again. Taylor tries not to grin and looks exactly fifteen.]
TAYLOR:
I'll play by the rules if the rules are where I can see them. I'll follow orders if the orders fit the situation and the person giving them knows why. I'll add hours if I'm steady and school is steady. I'll walk back if I need to, and I won't let pride dig the hole deeper. I want this. Please let me have it, and stand behind me when I say Slow down.
THINKING DANNY:
That is the whole ask. Training. Gear. Time in rooms that make sense. A schedule that lines up with a person she trusts. We both know it. We don't say it.
DANNY:
If Taylor adds hours, she tells me first. If Taylor needs out, she says it, and we do it. That rule is not up for debate. Policy can keep up.
RAYMOND:
Agreed. Simplicity helps in the field. Honesty too, when we use it.
DANNY:
Next steps. Send me the redlined draft. Include the step back clause, the no retaliation clause, the media guardrails, the equipment list, and the schedule template. We will sign when the language says what the room said.
RAYMOND:
You'll have it today. Orientation would be Saturday morning if she accepts. Gear fitting at eleven. ICS overview at noon. Scenario block after lunch. We will bribe participants with pizza, which is ethically complex but effective.
THINKING DANNY:
I can live with that. She can walk out after any block and call it a day. That exit matters most.
[Raymond nods and steps into the hall to take a call. The glass door settles.]
[Taylor slides an inch toward Phoenix. Phoenix mirrors the inch. The tablet becomes their small stage.]
[Phoenix brings up Grumpy Cat, then Rage Comic, then Trollface in quick succession. Taylor tries to school her face and only gets the edges.]
TAYLOR:
If I ask for extra blocks, I'll text you first. Pacing keeps hands and keeps friends. If I need air, I'll say it. You don't have to guess.
DANNY:
I hear you. I'll hold you to that, and I'll hold them to this paper. The rest is calendars, rides, and locking up after.
THINKING DANNY:
That's the shape. A partner. A square of floor. Two people sharing it without speeches. A friend learning daylight who needs a steady witness. A city that does better when good rules get followed and bad ones get deleted.
[Raymond returns with a short nod. Danny collects the folder. Taylor pockets her phone. Phoenix clicks the case shut.]
RAYMOND:
For the record. I appreciate coherent parents. It makes my job resemble a profession.
DANNY:
For the record. I appreciate you writing what you mean.
RAYMOND:
Dangerous precedent, that. Let's keep it going.
THINKING DANNY:
Baseline holds at one patrol per week. Training leads. Extra hours will grow where the right people stand close. That's fine if she's the one planting them and if the exits work. Reconciliation block is coming. Four weeks to learn the rhythm, eight weeks to test the load. Twelve and sixteen sit next to each other in my head and refuse to move. Both are mine in the ways that count.
[They stand. The door opens. The hallway carries the afternoon forward.]
THINKING DANNY:
We step into that and try to hold our promises where someone can see them.
I'm always wary of writing main characters straight-on.
Everyone's got their own idea of how they sound, so there's no way to please every reader.
I'm just trying to keep the heart of their voices and still let this version breathe inside the AU timeline.
So, do these scenes feel like Danny and Taylor, or did they drift into DINO and TINO?
Everyone's got their own idea of how they sound, so there's no way to please every reader.
I'm just trying to keep the heart of their voices and still let this version breathe inside the AU timeline.
So, do these scenes feel like Danny and Taylor, or did they drift into DINO and TINO?
