All In A Day's Work (Dan)

[Sara Jane Lyena]

Sara slipped into her thick down jacket, a pretty thick, but light, black jacket, then picked up Cinder's leather tab from the desk where she had left it. As the malamute looked up from where he was resting, on Sara's bed, Sara called him to her, then clipped the lead to his collar. Letting it dangle, as she was doing more and more often to keep her hands free, she walked out of her room and towards the small kitchenette that was part of the first floor. Reaching into the small student fridge, she pulled out a bag of carrots labelled clearly with her name. She pulled two of the carrots out and stuck them into the side pocket of her ever-present backpack before she resealed the bag and put it back into the fridge.

Leaving the Blue Ribbon House, Sara detoured by the Red Willow barn to pick up Rolo's halter from where she had hung it on the hook by the gelding's stall, then made her way out towards the pasture. Her plan for the day was to work on spins with the gelding, although if the arena was full, she probably wouldn't say no to a trail ride either. The snow was still nice, and the weather wasn't all too bad for that. Once she reached the pastures, Sara left Cinder and entered the pasture, walking to where Rolo was grazing with Balian to halter the paint gelding.

After returning to the Red Willow barn, Sara clipped Rolo into the cross-ties, her eyes gazing at the gelding's dirty coat. Sighing, she walked to the tack room to grab Rolo's grooming kit, then returned to the gelding and started on the task, focusing on what she was doing.

[Deleted]

Dark eyes narrowed as he watched Chillie lounging on his bed, a glove hanging out of her mouth. He stalked toward her while her eyes were closed, careful to remain silent. He grinned triumphantly as he managed to swipe the glove, wiping the slobber that his labradoodle had lovingly slathered on it into his jeans leg and then pulled it on. "Good try, my friend. Better luck next time." He grinned, ruffling her ears and then straightening up. "I'll see you later, Chillie. We'll go for a nice walk once you've woken up properly." Dan grabbed his backpack and a few of apples he knew his three horses would love before leaving his new apartment. Yeah, that's right. Daniel Wallis was now a staff member at Blue Ridge Academy. Dan grinned as he descended the stairs that would lead him outside. There would be no more cramped, single beds. No more house mates running around at three in the morning while he was trying to sleep. And best of all? No more room mates. Unless you counted Chillie. It could be argued that she was just as annoying.

Dan had been back in Britain for the last few months after his graduation to look after his grandmother before she had gone into the home. He had applied for a job not long after he had left so that he could remain in the academy for one special reason. The dark skinned male smiled in anticipation as he walked toward the barn. His horses had been boarding at another stables while he was in Britain, and had arrived back at Blue Ridge last night as he had. He'd been hoping to run into Sara, but had had no such luck and jet lag had kicked in before he'd had chance to look for her. But today, feeling refreshed, and ready for the day ahead of him, Dan knew he'd see her one way or another today. The girl he loved would not escape him today, that was for sure. Officially he started work tomorrow, having one whole day to settle in and unpack. He was mostly done already.

He decided to go to Red Willow barn first, since he only had one horse residing in the barn that he would be working in come tomorrow. Kas, his grey Arabian gelding, was always so pleased to see him after he had been away. He knew Tyke and Thor, his other two horses, would take a lot more persuasion and spoiling to forgive him. Dan chuckled as he rounded the corner to enter Red Willow barn. He started to walk toward the rear of the barn where Kas's stall was situated but stopped in his tracks as he drew closer to the cross ties. His eyes lit up when he noticed the familiar gelding first, and then the beautiful girl beside him. "You know, you look really familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked her with a wide grin as he walked closer. "Hey Sara, I've missed you."

[Sara Jane Lyena]

Sara frowned as she worked on removing the dirt that Rolo had managed to get into his coat, in the muddy field that was the pasture now. With the snow, and the dirt and grass underneath, he had certainly had a good time rolling around in it. A strange, out of place, but yet very familiar, voice startled her, and she spun around, her eyes widening as she saw who it was.

Resisting the urge to shriek in surprise, Sara couldn't hide the broad smile that came over her features, "Dan! I don't believe it!" She left Rolo where he was standing and walked over to her boyfriend, "You had better remember me." Leaving it at that, she threw her arms around him, surprised, but overjoyed to see him again, "What are you doing here? Is your grandma okay?" She looked at her boyfriend, hoping he wouldn't say he was here just to visit, and then leave again. After his graduation, Sara had missed him so much, but had guessed that he would move on as he went to college, but here he was again. She was so happy to see him, but a part of her was worried about what that meant.

[Deleted]

Dan grinned at her excitement in seeing him, his heart swelling happily at the warm reception. That was good. She could have slapped him for leaving so suddenly and without much of an explanation. He chuckled at her response to his cheeky questions, and hugged her back tightly. He looked content at how comfortable it was to be around her, and how right it felt to hold her in his arms. Her further questioning made him realise how much explaining he had to do. Hopefully his announcement would please her though. He did hope to eventually attend college, but maybe when Sara could to. If she did not want to go to college, then he was sure that they would be able to work something out.

"Slow down, you." He smiled fondly at her. "Grandma is perfect. She's in a residential home now though, which has allowed me to do something I hope you'll be happy about." He grew a little nervous as his mind ran over all the possible negative reactions from Sara but then he realised he was being stupid. Smiling again confidently, he started to talk once more. "So, Kas, Tyke and Thor arrived back last night. And Chillie, with myself." He grinned, his eyes bright. "I've been employed as a barn hand. Here." He announced, watching her for reaction.

[Sara Jane Lyena]

Sara leaned her head on Dan's shoulder, raising an eyebrow as he told her to slow down. She had worried about him, and his family, but here he was again, at least for the moment. She remembered when he had asked her to be his girlfriend, in her junior year and his senior. Since then, it had just been natural, until he had left. Pushing away her worries about later, she resolved to just enjoy it for now. As Dan started talking again, she listened, raising an eyebrow as he mentioned doing something that she would be happy about. She was glad to hear that his grandmother was still alright, although she knew that moving her to a home must have been a hard decision for the boy.

At the pause, Sara worried about he was going to say. He had said it would probably make her happy. As Dan told her that his horses had arrived again, Sara had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping. He was coming back? Here? She smiled broadly, "That's wonderful!" She gave Dan a squeeze, "Which barn are you in?" She raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, "Did your 'helping' the barn hands to spy on new horses help win you the position?" She remembered when she had bought Rolo, how Dan had known about it before she had said anything.

[Deleted]

Dan realised he'd left her in a lurch after his sudden departure, but there had been some problems with his grandmother. She had fallen ill, and there were chances he could have lost her. As much as it killed him, he knew that he had to be strong. But she had recovered. Dan knew it was time that she had to move out of the large manor home they had both shared while he'd lived in Britain. His childhood home had been placed in his name, but was currently being inhabited by a family friend. His grandmother was now living in a residential home for her own safety and care. He knew it was the best decision, and she was actually enjoying her knew home.

Dan couldn't help the soft laughter that escaped at her shocked expression, and then grinned at her happiness at his announcement. He knew he had no need to be worried. Besides, they now would be able to spend more quality time together. Before he could answer her first question, the suspicious one that followed made him laugh again. "Yeah, kind of. It's always helpful to have someone who doesn't miss a thing when it comes to horses." He grinned. "And I'm in this barn." He glanced up as a hoof connected with a door and saw an impatient Kas staring at him. "One moment."

Dan walked over to Kas and gave him an apple to distract him for the time being. Patting his neck, Dan chuckled as his interest completely changed to the apple. Rolling his eyes, he walked back down to Sara and Rolo and smiled. "So, tell me what I've missed. I'm sure there is a lot." He smiled. Truly, he didn't really care what he'd missed. He just loved listening to Sara talk again. He had missed her more than he'd thought, and being back with her had reminded him of that.

[Sara Jane Lyena]

Sara chuckled at his confession, "I won't tell anyone you used your connections to get in, as long as you stay." She knew that her boyfriend was very good at working in the barn, and she was glad that he'd chosen to come back to Blue Ridge. She raised an eyebrow as he seemed to contradict himself, turning to go take care of his mount. Smiling, she nodded, "Go take care of your horse, already." She watched Dan walk over to the Arabian horse and give him an apple.

As Dan came back, Sara saw him rolling his eyes and grinned, knowing that Dan loved his horses, although they were silly sometimes. As Dan asked about what he'd missed, Sara thought about it, her lips pressed together. "Not too much, I think. We had a winter formal dance, which the cheer team set up, and I think it turned out pretty well. I entered a few shows with Rolo and Balian, they did really well, and we placed in most of them." She paused, thinking about what else had happened. It felt like nothing too much, especially of out-of-the-ordinary things. Remembering something she hadn't told Dan, she smiled, "Nunya passed her TDI test, so she's back at work." She smiled sadly, thinking of the dog, then brightened, "I actually went down there for a few days and did the test with her, so I can handle her in public again, whenever I go back home."

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Dan grinned. "Thank you." he chuckled, his dark eyes sparkling with humour. He rolled his eyes fondly at her comment as he walked toward Kas. "I am, I am." As he returned, his attention back on Sara completely.

He listened as she spoke closely, simply enjoying her voice and tone. He nodded at the winter formal, smiling as she deemed it a success. He looked at Rolo as she spoke of him and Balian and their showing capabilities and chuckled. Rolr was looking quite a bit fitter than the last time he'd seen him, so he guessed Sara had been working him a lot more. When Rolo had arrived from the auction first, he'd been rather round. That had been due to lengthy pasturing and over feeding, but he'd slimmed down easily. He was looking fantastic. He didn't doubt that Balian was the same.

As Nunya was mentioned, Daniel perked up. Like Sara, he had a soft spot for the large malamute. He'd been disappointed to hear that the dog wasn't accompanying Sara to school last year, but he knew to Sara it had been like losing a best friend. He knew that was the case for his dog, Chillie. She'd adored Nunya, believing her to be the best play mate around. "That's fantastic." He smiled. "It's good that she's helping people as much as she helped you." He commented to make her feel better. "And that's a bonus." He looked around for Cinder, smiling when he saw Nunya's replacement not far from Rolo. "How is Cinder doing?" He remembered that in the beginning, Cinder and Sara had gotten off to a rocky start.

[Sara Jane Lyena]

Sara smiled as she saw Dan's reaction as she mentioned Nunya's name. That was one of the things that she appreciated most about Dan, if she ever bothered listing the things, although the list was nearly endless, and there wasn't a comparable opposite list. He was able to listen, and converse, with her about her current, and past, companion, without making it an awkward conversation, without making it seem to be a chore, and yet showing interested in what was going on with them. When she was totally honest, it was the fact that he talked about them as if they were normal dogs, while most people never seemed to be able to look beyond the vest to see that there was actually a living, breathing, feeling animal behind it.

As Dan commented on Nunya's new path, Sara nodded, "I've seen the library that Mom's going to be taking her to, she'll really do wonderfully there." She grinned, remembering the first time she had ever met Dan, "As she's proven before, she does well at waiting surrounded by books, although I've never caught her trying to read them yet." She saw Dan glance around, and as his gaze rested on a place where Sara knew what he was looking at, she smiled. His question came as no surprise, a few heartbeats later. Turning to grin at her new companion, she enthused, "He's really learning to be wonderful, we've worked out the few kinks, and really, he's getting the hang of almost anything I can ask him to do by now." She giggled and joked, "I think the only one he has problems with still is flying." The malamute had a wide range of skills, which Sara ran through with him regularly, but of course, flying was not one of them. Ready to turn the conversation back to Dan, she asked, "How's Chillie doing?" She liked the rambunctious dog, who had hit it off with Nunya, although she hadn't been introduced to Cinder yet.

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"That’s really good to hear. I’m so glad she’s doing well." Dan smiled, his hand reaching out to take Sara’s. He entwined their fingers together and squeezed gently. He’d always been a touchy, feely kind of guy. The fact that he was able to do it freely with Sara pleased him no end. He grinned as she made a reference to their first meeting, and he nodded eagerly. "I’ll bet she does read them, but only when nobody is looking." He chuckled. When the conversation switched to Cinder, he was genuinely pleased to hear that they were working well together. Their rough start had worried Dan, and though he knew they’d settle into a routine eventually, it was good to hear it had finally happened. He smiled fondly at her comment about flying. "He’ll get it. We just need to install his wings." He countered, grinning. He loved how witty Sara was. It was one of his favourite things about her. One of many.

Eventually, the conversation was returned to him. Or, at least, his dog. "She’s fine. Still as wild as ever, but she’s perfect. She was mauling my glove this morning before I left." He rolled his eyes affectionately, lifting his hand to show Sara the small hole that could have only been made by a dog’s teeth. "She needs to meet Cinder too. I wonder how they’ll get on." He pondered aloud. Nunya and Chillie had got on instantly, the two becoming best friends from the get go. He wondered if Cinder would be the same. He kind of doubted that, but he knew Chillie would be welcoming. She loved making new friends.

"So, while I was away, my grandmother was insisting on meeting you." He smiled slightly, a little hesitant. Would Sara even want to meet his grandmother? If she had been younger, Daniel was sure that his grandmother would have been to the academy to visit numerous times. However, she was now deemed unfit to fly. It would mean that Sara would have to come to Britain with him, if she agreed, to meet her. Dan wanted nothing more than that. He just hoped Sara would feel the same. He didn’t believe it to be too soon, but was it too much? "Don’t feel pressured into it. You don’t have to come and meet her if you don’t want to. But you are more than welcome." He rushed out, not wanting to make Sara feel forced into doing anything.