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We Meet Again	By : LindaG Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Savage Garden Views: 2076 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the members of Savage Garden. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Disclaimer: I own some Savage Garden CDs and some DVDs. Other than that, I don’t have cla claim to Darren or Daniel, or anyone other than my support characters. No harm intended.

We Meet Again – pt 18

Daniel’s forehead rested against Darren’s shoulder, as he began to laugh. The sensation felt quite weird to Darren, but soon he was giggling as well.

“How long… do you think… she was out there?” He gasped between fits of laughter.

“Um… long enough… I suppose… if… she… wanted to be sure… we heard her…”

“Ah… Daniel…”

“Yeah?”

“Um… are you feeling a bit… insble ble again?”

“You know what you… and chocolate… do to me…” he kissed Darren.

“Well… I—uh, um… our parents?”

Daniel sucked on Darren’s lower lip. Slowly rocked his hips.

“Ooohhh…”

Another knock.

“Are you boys going to be joining us soon?”

Daniel’s flush deepened, as he heard his mother’s voice.

“Ah—” his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Give us a few minutes, Mum…. ‘Kay?”

“I’ll give you fifteen. Time enough for a quick shower, and clean clothes, I would think?”

“Yeah… Right, Mum. Um…. See you in a bit.”

Darren started the laughter this time, as Daniel gave him one more quick kiss, and then carefully extricated himself from Darren’s grasp. He held his hand out, and pulled Darren up.

“Guess we’d better hurry.”

“I guess,” Darren chuckled again.

Everyone looked at them with raised eyebrows when they came downstairs, red faced, twenty minutes later. It had taken Darren a bit longer than he’d expected to cover Daniel’s wrists with foundation makeup to hide the telling redness.

“You’re late.”

“Mum!” Daniel groaned.

“I’ll forgive you this time, dear,” Chris Jones said as she kissed her son on the cheek. “Now, suppose we all sit down. Have coffee and eat some of these lovely cheeses Leonie brought; and we can discuss why she called us all here.”

Chairs were brought into the kitchen from the dining room, and soon everyone was squeezed around the smaller kitchen table.

Chris poured coffee all around before sitting beside Daniel.

“I’m needing a plan of attack for this latest revelation.” Leonie started.

“Latest revelatio Jun June asked.

“Our boys being seen together, at Prince Charles Hospital, performing “Crash and Burn”.”

“Really.” June said with admiration.

“A young fan, Mum. Not doing well. We went to cheer her up.”

“We?”

“Hard to do “Crash and Burn” without we, Mum.”

“Ah hah,” her tone telling Darren that there had to be more.

Darren looked at Daniel.

“They’re your parents.”

“But Paul said you’re supposed to do the telling.”

“I did. My parents. And Ben and Lee. Now it’s your turn. You are the spokesman, after all.”

Color rose in Darren’s cheeks, as he looked at his parents.

“Go ahead, son.” Robert said with a smile, enjoying his son’s discomfort.

“Mum… Dad… I—um,” he sighed, and took a deep breath. “Mum, Dad, DanielandIareinlove.”

“What did you say?” His father asked, laughing a bit, the smile never leaving his face.

“Darren, rushing things has rarely worked well for you. You need to enunciate more clearly,” his mother chastised.

“Okay, okay,” he heaved a sigh, and became intensely interested in pushing around a crumb on the table. “I said… Daniel and I… are in love.”

“Darren, I knew that years ago,” June teased lightly. “Well, I knew you were interested in Daniel that way. I thought he might be interested in you as well; until the band broke up and you stopped talking.”

“Oh,” was all Darren could say, and his mother laughed.

“Darren, you look as if you’ve lost your best friend. I’d somehow pictured you a bit more enthusiastic when you told us about the person you were going to spend the rest of your life with.”

Darren’s smile started shyly, as his mother’s arms went around his shoulders. Broke into beaming smile when his father held out his hand.

“Congratulations, Darren. I’m glad to see you two are friends again.”

“Now, what are we to do about the talk on the radio? Rumors on the Sony Web Site are already high that you two are back together.”

“We are.” Darrenuggeugged.

“What about your next album? Sony had it ready to release.”

“I’ll worry about that later. Right now, it’s more important that I’m here for Daniel. And for us.”

Leonie’s eyebrows rose, and Darren cringed inwardly. Waited for the explosion that didn’t come.

She sighed. “If that’s what you want. Have you decided if, or when, you’re going to publicly announce any of these… developments?”

“Soon, I think.” Daniel answered.

“Really?” She questioned skeptically.

“There are some things we need to discuss, but yes, I think soon.”

“So you want us to continue to basically tell those nosy bastards to “shove off”, until you and Darren are ready to announce it?” John Jones asked his son, his irritation with reporters still high.

Daniel smiled. “I’d appreciate it, Dad.”

They talked quietly for a bit, munching cheese and crackers. Darren took another éclair, leaving it on his plate, all the while making knowing glances sideways at Daniel.

“Daniel, you look a little flushed, are you feeling okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, Mum… I’m, um… fine. Really. Just a bit hot.”

“So how long have you been back in Brissie, Darren?”

“Just a—um few weeks, Mum,” Darren colored slightly. “I would have called, but, um… I’ve been a bit… preoccupied.”

June smiled. “I can see that, Darren. You and Daniel are both looking much better than the last time I saw either of you. It was months ago I last saw you, Daniel… with that terribly rude young lady.”

Darren put his hand on Daniel’s knee, but found he needn’t have worried. Daniel didn’t flinch.

“Michelle was a mistake,” Daniel replied quietly. “I’m past her now, thanks to Darren, and Dr. Willoughby.”

“Dr. Willoughby?” Robert asked.

“I—uh, apparently have Social Anxiety Disorder. I’ve been seeing Dr. Willoughby for a couple of weeks now, and his… treatment has been a great help overcoming my limitations.”

His father nodde“Wel“Well, now that we’ve had this little discussion, it’s late, I think we’ll be getting home.”

Everyone stood up, said good-byes around, and were walked out to their respective vehicles.

“Daniel, I just want you to know,” his mother’s eyes glistened with tears as she put her hands on his face. “I am so happy right now. You’re looking wonderful. I’m proud of you.”

She pulled him down and kissed his forehead. He kissed her goodbye, waved to his father and the Hayes’ as they left.

Leonie turned to them. “You’ll let me know when you’re ready to announce?”

“Of course, Leonie!” Darren smiled. “We’re going to need you there to keep the reporters in line.”

“Well, I’d better be going, for now. I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a long call back to Sony.”

Darren hugged her. Kissed her cheek.

“Thanks, Leo. For understanding. I—I missed you.”

She ruffled his hair, then got into her car and left.

Daniel attended classes at the clinic for the next two weeks, everything going very well indeed. Daniel was actually able to help the people in his group get over their fears of talking to important or famous people; because of his quiet insistence that he wasn’t important, he was just a musician. And Daniel’s interaction with the others in his group helped him realize his fears could be overcome.

Then the class had its first trip to the mall...

Daniel looked at his group members as they approached the mall in Paul’s van. He personally was most comfortable with Derek and Quinn, because of their musical background. But he liked Jana and Marcy, and Abbi and Kayla, too. They were all very nice girls.
They didn’t squeal, or fawn. Treated him and Darren like normal people. Of course, they had many of the same problems he had; but still, he was comfortable with them.

“Since this is our first trip in public, we’ll stay here,” Paul pointed to an outlined portion of the mall map he held. “In the food court just inside this entrance/exit.”

Everyone nodded silent understanding.

“If you begin to feel uncomfortable, just come back out to the van, get yourselves relaxed, and come back inside. It’s important to remember that some stress is going to be normal. How you deal with it will be a measure of your success with the steps you’ve taken toward your recovery so far.”

Murmurs of agreement sounded, with a bit of good-natured razzing between the members of the group.

“Okay, it’s early enough that it should still be fairly quiet. We’ll find two tables and move them together. Then we’ll sit down and go from there.”

Danieok aok a deep breath, as did Quinn, Marcy and Kayla. Darren nodded his reassurance, as did the other patient companions.

Then they all entered the mall, and stopped just inside the door. Paul looked at each of his patients, and waited until each smiled their readiness to proceed. Ryan stayed quietly in the background.

“How about off to the right?” Paul suggested, as he looked around the court, frowning slightly.

The group moved off to the right. Darren held back, and touched Paul’s arm in question.

“It’s just a bit busier than it usually is, this time of day. But I don’t want to say anything. I come here often enough to notice, but I don’t think they will.”

Darren nodded his understanding, but said nothing.

Daniel and Quinn selected two tables, and moved them together, while Marcy and Kayla pulled the chairs over. Then everyone sat down.

“You made a good choice,” Paul approved. “Not too close to the door, and not completely in the corner. Very good.”

Everyone smiled a bit nervously.

“Now… Kayla, I’d like you to get us drinks.” Paul pulled out a small notepad, wrote down everyone’s order, and handed it to Kayla. “But remember, you can’t hand the paper to the associate. Yoy rey read it off, but you have to ask out loud. Abbi may go with you, if you like.”

Kayla swallowed nervously as she took the paper. Daniel offered her a warm smile of reassurance, and she smiled back nervously. Then she went to the drink vendor and ordered their drinks.

“Daniel, she’ll probably need help carrying them a Pa Paul suggested.

It was Daniel’s turn to swallow dryly. Darren smiled at him, shooing him off with his hands. Daniel walked up to Kayla, and offered to help her. Darren watched her smile nervously, and then pass twinksinks to him. Daniel brought them back, set them on the table, then went back to help with the rest.

Three more trips, and everyone was sitting, and taking a welcome drink.

“Very good! You both did an excellent job!”

Darren watched Daniel and Kayla both blush. And realized that this outing was as much verbal reinforcement of the strategies, as anything. Paul praised every accomplishment, no matter how small it seemed. And thinking back to when he’d first seen Daniel at the theater, how uncertain and fearful he’d been then, Darren could only smile broadly at Daniel’s accomplishments.

“Marcy, if you’d be so kind. I’m feeling a bit hungry. What should we get to eat? We have a variety of options.”

Everyone looked around the food court. Comments were made, and finally everyone decided on meatless pizza.

“Two large? I think that should feed everyone here.”

Marcy took her partner Jana with her, and then ordered the pizza’s. She came back to their table and told Paul it would be fifteen minutes before they were ready.

“Thank you, Marcy. You did well.” She smiled nervously, and Paul nodded to Quinn. “Quinn would you go up and read that mall
advertisement, please?”

Paul pointed toward a sign at the entrance to the mall promenade.

Quinn pursed his lips, then nodded, and walked over to the sign. He came back just as Marcy went to get the pizza.

“They’re have a high school talent show on the opposite side of the mall.”

Paul nodded. “Thank you, Quinn. Well done.”

Marcy and Jana returned with the pizzas then. Small talk and relaxation became the order.

A girl came up to the table. “Excuse me, aren’t you Darren Hayes?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Could you sign this please?” She held out a brand new copy of SPIN.

“Sure.” He asked her name, and then ended up signing her sales receipt, since his pen didn’t work well on the cellophane.

He noticed Daniel’s slightly widened pupils. “Do you want to leave, Daniel?”

Daniel blinked, looked from him, to Paul, who raised his eyebrows, but left no doubt that this would be Daniel’s decision.

“No… no, I think—um… I think I’ll stay.”

The words were no sooner out of his mouth, than a scream sounded to their right. A group of girls descended on their table. Paul watched quietly. Daniel smiled an embarrassedle, le, as they approached both him and Darren for autographs.

Quinn, Marcy and Kayla all appeared calm, considering the sudden chaos, and were relaxed enough to tease Daniel mildly about his earlier assertions that he wasn’t important.

Quiet followed, during which Paul praised everyone for their calm and patience. “Remember your coping thoughts. The ones you chose when you began this treatment. They can only help—”

Flashes and the sounds of shutters interrupted. Paul turned as a local television crew turned on a shoulder camera, and the reporter approached.

“This is Tanya Walters reporting live from Queensland Mall. We just learned that Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones are here, and we’re going to see if we can get anlusilusive interview. Darren, are you and Daniel here to see the talent show?”

She held the microphone out toward him. He looked at Daniel. Silently mouthed his question again. Paul moved around to stand behind Daniel, and Ryan moved closer to the others.

Daniel looked into Darren’s eyes. Darren could see fear, but not like before. Daniel gave him a small smile, and nodded slightly. Darren grinned widely, and then he turned around, and stood up.

“No, actually, we aren’t,” he looked at Daniel again, and Paul also. They both nodded. Paul after looking at his other patients. “We’re here because Daniel is being treated by Dr. Paul Willoughby, and I’d appreciate it if you’d turn your camera off.”

The reporter tilted her head a bit, and raised her eyebrows.

“Please.” Darren added politely. He didn’t really feel like throwing a fit on television, and besides, it would just make things worse at this point.

She smiled, then turned and nodded to the cameraman. Mall security approached, and began trying to move the crowd along. Ms. Walters was invited to stay.

“Since you seem to be a well mannered reporter, quite unlike most I’ve met lately, I’ve a feeling you’ll be getting some exclusive gossip today,” Darren offered with another winning smile.

Paul explained why they were there, and what his therapy was meant to accomplish. Quinn, Marcy, Kayla, and Daniel all took turns talking to Ms. Walters.

“So is this the reason you left the band, Daniel?”

“I didn’t know it then, but mostly, yes.”

“Mostly?”

Daniel looked at Darren, then toward Paul.

“You’re doing very well, Daniel. Really. I’m quiteaseeased.” Paul assured him.

“Danny, you’re not likely to find a better time.” Darren wanted to take his hand, but wouldn’t unless Daniel moved first. “I mean, you know how hectic press interviews can get. She gets an exclusive; you’re over the first, and biggest hurdle, really. Then if you want, we camp out at your place until the sky falls down.” Darren finished with a cheeky grin.

Daniel licked his lips nervously a bit of the old anxiety returning.

Ms. Walters, showing considerable restraint, sat quietly. Smiled encouragement. Darren breathed a silent smile of relief at her actions, because he could see she had thousands of questions.

He looked back at Daniel suddenly, as Daniel grasped his hand. Emerald eyes met Sapphire, seeking, and finding love and reassurance.

“Michelle was right… sort of… Darren and I fell in love a long time ago. But people around us told us we had to keep secret, because there are still so many people in the world who think it’s wrong. That is what started my… downfall. I just couldn’t handle the stress.”

“So you’re together now?”

Daniel simply gestured with their entwined ha

“Is there any chance of Savage Garden reforming?”

Darren looked up at Daniel again, and his eyebrows rose questioningly. He didn’t dare breathe as he waited to hear Daniel’s reply.

Daniel smiled his heart-stopping smile. “Ye thi think there is.”

“D—do you—do you mean that, Danny?”

“Have I ever lied to you, Dazza?”

“Oh my god! Danny!” He started to hug Danny, then remembered where he was and stopped.

“And you’re giving me permission to run this?” Ms. Walters asked in disbelief.

“An exclusive, yes. Just please don’t run it until the evening news, so we can be safely home.”

Darren smiled his best “give-me-what-I-want” smile. She looked at Daniel, who nodded. “Yes, it’s all right,” he answered, still smiling.

“Ten o’clock news okay for you guys?”

“That’ll be perfect. Thank you, Ms. Walters.”

“Thank you boys. By the way, as a die-hard fan, I’d like to say I’m thrilled by the prospect of a third record.”

Darren and Daniel both chuckled at that.

“Well, that may be a bit premature,” Darren replied. “But we’ll see what happens. Any further questions will need to be directed to our P.A., Leonie Messer.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Jones,” she nodded as she stood up. “I won’t disappoint you, like a certain reporter I can think of.”

Darren and Daniel stood up, and shook her hand before she left. When they sat down again, Daniel let out a loud sigh, and wiped his face with his hand.

“Daniel, I don’t know what to say. You were amazing,” Paul lauded. “I think you can safely move on to phase two. Don’t completely stop the group therapy, but you won’t need to attend as often as you have been.”

“I’m so proud,” Darren added softly, bringing Daniel’s hand to his lips for a quick kiss.

“You all did well today,” Paul continued. “I think we can label today a resounding success.”

They all congratulated each other.

“And now, since I see another group of students headed this way, I suggest we leave while we are successful.”

They all chuckled at that. Cleared their tables, and left.

…tbc…
- 17
- 18
- 19
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We Meet Again