Bring me to life

Title: Bring me to life 2 of 7
Author: Simplyshelly (simplyshelly2@earthlink.net)
Pairing: Craig Parker / Dave Wenham
See part 1 for disclaimer
*******************************************************************************************

7/8/2004
"Something smells good." Craig said, still keeping his voice low. He had never been in Hugo's house before but all he had to do was follow his nose to find the kitchen. He took a glass from the drain and filled it with water.

"Hugo complains that he's gained twenty pounds since I came." Dave laughed. "The aspirin is in the cabinet." He pointed with the spatula.

"Yeah, I think he once said something about starving without people to cook for him." Craig said as he got the medication. Once taken, Dave handed him a cup of coffee.

"Decaf." He smiled.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself there." Craig leaned against the refrigerator watching Dave toss various spices into the pan.

"I actually love cooking. Years ago I figured I needed a skill to be able to fall back on between the acting jobs." Dave explained, flipping a few fresh mushrooms into the skillet. "Took a couple classes, worked in a few restaurants, you know."

"I spent six months as a waiter back in the lean years but I wasn't ever very good. Made lousy money, spent a lot of time eating at mum's." He smiled.

"How are you at cooking?" Dave asked.

"My cooking skills are worse than my serving skills." Craig joked. He actually could cook a few simple things but standing there watching Dave's gracefulness in the culinary arts made him feel quite inferior.

"Could you handle putting some toast in?" Dave teased.

"Don't be silly. Of course I can. Where are the directions?" Craig asked, teasing back. Dave looked shocked for a brief second before he realized Craig wasn't serious.

"Nice try." Dave tossed him the bread bag. "Make yourself useful." He said lightly.

"Oh, so I'm going to have to earn my meals around here, eh?" Craig complained as he looked around for the toaster. "What am I going to have to do come dinnertime?" He asked.

"Depends on how many courses you want." Dave answered as their eyes locked. They stood that way, the pregnant pause apparent before Craig finally grinned.

"Well, then." He chuckled, clearing his throat. 'Sexual identity crisis' his ass, he thought. There didn't seem to be any confusion on Dave's part. It was perfectly clear that Dave was flirting.

"So, Hugo took you in off the streets, too?" Craig asked innocently.

"Ran into me in a pub actually. There I was, drowning in a pint or ten and he insisted I come home with him." Dave explained, dishing up their breakfast. He nonchalantly split the omelet in two and Craig thought it was a strangely intimate yet sweet thing to do.

"He did say you'd just gone through a break up." Craig asked, placing the toast on a plate and following Dave to the dining table.

"Ah, so he told you about me staying here then?" Dave asked, curious as to what else Hugo had told Craig.

"He mentioned something about having another house guest." Craig smiled, not sure just how muche wae wanted to hear. "Sorry to hear about your heartbreak. If it helps, I've been there also. Of course it's more like ancient history but one never forgets that feeling." He said as the two men sat down. "This looks fabulous. Thank you." He smiled.

"Are you not the relationship type?" Dave asked, watching Craig's face as he took his first bite.

"No, I could be the relationship type for the right person, I think." Craig said. "Let's see, the longest relationship I've ever had was six years. While everyone I knew was going to the pub every night and sleeping with anyone that offered, I was the responsible one going home each night doing the laundry and watering the plants. Completely devoted I was. I make a lovely wife." He joked.

"So what happened?" Dave asked.

"I got tired of waiting for them to come home." Craig shrugged, spreading jam on a piece of toast. "So, what about you?" He asked, looking up at Dave.

Dave poked around at his food a bit, thinking it over. What about him? The perfect couple, everyone thought. They'd been together for years, so many that they'd grown up together. So what had happened? What was the one thing that they'd been missing?

Craig placed his hand over Dave's, bringing the man out of his trance. "You don't have to talk about it. It was thoughtless for me to have brought it up. Here mine happened so long ago that both of us now joke about it and I forgot yours was still new. Sorry, mate." He said, giving Dave's hand a slight squeeze.

"No, it's okay." Dave smiled back. "I was just trying to figure out why we split. I mean, I've been basically away for the last three years filming the way it is. It's just that there's always been this ...this thing between us," He blushed. "I have some things in here," He tapped his head, "I need to figure out and I can't do that with her. I'm not like Hugo. His wife is a bit more open minded than Kate would ever

"That's true." Craig snickered, returning to his meal as Dave also began to eat.

They ate silently for several minutes. Finally, Craig just had to say something. "Uh, look, Hugo did mention a bit more about why you're here. I just had to tell you that I knew."

"Really?" Dave asked with a smirk. "And what did he say?"

"That you were. . . well, going through a bit of self discovery." Craig said, leaving it at that.

"Self discovery? I'm sure he worded it just like that, too." Dave laughed. "It doesn't bother you?"

Craig laughed. "Uh, no. I've been self discovered for quite a few years now." He giggled. "So, what is this crisis you seem to be having? Begin dreaming about blokes when you're snogging the littlman?man?" He asked a bit bluntly.

Dave blushed. Hugo had been wonderful but Craig showing up out of the blue seemed like a godsend to Dave. "Kate knew there was something going on inside my head and said that I needed to figure it out." Dave shrugged.

"I can see why." Craig smiled.

"Last year when she became pregnant is when it became something I can't just put to the side anymore. We tried. She'd come to the location as often as she could but there's always been something ... we just agreed that I needed to figure it out." He explained.

"And have you?" Craig asked, curious.

Dave looked up at him and smiled. "Some days yes, some days I feel more confused than ever."

Craig chuckled. "I know that feeling well."

"How long have you known?" Dave asked, looking at Craig intently for his answer. Craig finished the mouthful of food he had and laid his fork down on the plate. He took a sip of coffee before answering.

"I think I've always known. I mean, you can't be as pretty as I was and not be." He kidded.

"Really?" Dave asked, amused.

"Oh, yes, I was. Perfect skin, flawless cheek bones, high hair and one chin. I was the poster boy for pretty. Too bad gravity takes its toll in such a hideous fashion." Craig kidded.

"You're still pretty." Dave said warmly.

Craig blushed. "I went through stages." He said. "I tried to date women, well, two, that both ended tragically. One was in high school. She broke my heart. I thought I'd never love aguntiuntil I met this lovely boy in my theater class and forgot all about her. I tried again in my twenties. We did the whole dating thing and actually moved in together. My parents were so proud." He chuckled. "We ended up staying roommates for a few years and she's actually one of my best friends." He smiled.

"You make it sound easy." Dave mused.

Craig shrugged. "It didn't feel that easy when I was going through it but I came to accept it pretty early on."

"Have you and Hugo..." Dave asked.

"No." Craig giggled. "Have you?"

"No." Dave shook his head smiling. "He's been the perfect host."

They both continued to finish their meal in comfortable silence.

~~~~~

Hugo poured himself a cup of coffee, noticing the dishes drying in the drain. He smiled when he heard laughing coming from the lounge, obvious that his two houseguests had indeed met and were getting along charmingly.

"You didn’t." Craig giggled madly.

"I did." Dave laughed, equally tickled.

Hugo grinned at the two men. They were both sprawled on the opposite ends of the sofa, cushioned by pillows with their feet up on the coffee table. They were having a wonderful time together.

"Ye upe up early." He said looking at Craig as he sat down. He ruffled Dave's hair. "And I'm surprised you're still up."

"The company has been too good to go to bed." Dave smiled. "Besides, we finished up last night. I am now officially unemployed."

"Oh, God, that's right. I totally forgot you worked all night. I'm so sorry." Craig said, feeling guilty.

"Forget it." Dave tossed a pillow in Craig's direction. "If I was tired, I'd have said something."

"You hungry, Hugo? I could make you an omelet like we had." Dave offered as he up fup from the couch.

"Sure." Hugo sank further into the cushions.

Dave stood there looking at Craig for a moment.

"What?" the Kiwi asked.

"Come on, toast boy. You're not getting off so easily if you plan on getting hungry later." Dave winked making Craig laugh out loud as he got up to follow. Hugo looked at him strangely.

"Earning points toward dinner." Craig winked.

Hugo smiled. He had a feeling that these two would get along and they obviously were. He knew Dave could certainly use a friend his age and Hugo had always liked Craig. He seemed to be healthy emotionally, have good morals and just very easy to be around. That was exactly what Dave needed right now.

Hugo thought it was awfully ironic that of all people in the world, it had to be Craig Parker who he'd run into. Particularly with Dave staying with him and going through what he was going through. It really had little to do with the fact that Craig was comfortably gay. It was much more that Craig was Dave's age, a fellow actor and from Hugo's own experiences on set, very fun to be around.

He could hear the two men talking and laughing with each other. In all the time Hugo had been friends with Dave, he had never heard him laugh so much. He knew Dave must be tired. He'd been barely able to drag himself in the door each morning and he'd be asleep as soon a hit hit the pillow. To say Dave had been depressed was an understatement. Craig already seemed to do what Hugo hadn't been able to do after an entire month.

~~~~~

"How do you know what to put in it?" Craig peered over Dave's shoulder as Dave pulled various items from the refrigerator.

"You get a feeling for it. Has anyone ever shown you how to cook?" Dave asked, noticing how close Craig stood behind him.

"Mum tried once but the frying pan caught fire so instead she taught me how to find a good restaurant." He joked.

"Okay then." Dave moved Craig so that he was now standing in front of the counter. Craig was handed a knife.

"Come on, Dave. Hugo's planning on eating this."

"It's easy. Count this as your first lesson." Dave said as he moved in behind Craig and threaded his arms along his waist and placed his hands over Craig's. "We'll start by chopping the peppers."

Craig's breathing hitched in the very intimate position. He tried his best to remain focused on the task at hand. He could feel Dave's breath on his neck.

"Loosen up." Dave shook Craig's hands. Craig was trying hard to keep his body from leaning back against Dave's and Dave was having trouble guiding him.

"Sorry." Craig blushed.

"Look," Dave moved away. Instead, he got a knife and stood next to Craig, shoulders touching. "Let's try this. Chop the pepper like this." Dave demonstrated.

Craig tried but his pieces were all uneven where Dave's looked like they'd been chopped by a food processor. Dave tried to hold in the snicker.

"I can hear you, you know." Craig said. "Maybe if I cut this a bit more." He chopped some more before Dave stayed his hand.

"You've already killed it. Now just give the eulogy we'lwe'll move on." He teased.

"I can scramble the eggs." Craig offered.

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. It's all in the wrist. I can flick my wrist with the best of them and my eggs are unbelievably fluffy." Craig exclaimed, grabbing the bowl and reaching for an egg.

"Fluffy? Well, as long as we don't end up with meringue, it will be fine." Dave busied himself with chopping the rest of the vegetables.

"Oh, bugger." Craig muttered after several moments.

"What's wrong?" Dave asked, looking into the bowl. He couldn't help but laugh. "Just how many eggs did you crack?"

"I don't know. Seven, eight, nine, who cares. Look, there's a bit of a shell in there. How do I get that out? Can't feed Hugo shells." He complained, chasing the bit of shell with a spoon.

"I thought you said you knew how to scramble eggs? Don't tell me in all your years, you've never gotten a piece of the shell into the mix." Dave asked, curious.

"Well, sure I have." Craig stated.

"What did you do then?"

"I just . . . um, cooked 'em anyway and was careful when I chewed." Craig admitted.

"Oh, that's disgusting."

"Made me be real careful when cracking eggs from then on out." He said positively.

"I'm sure it did. L are are your fingers clean?" Dave asked. Craig looked at him with a bemused expression.

"Uh, yeah." He grinned.

"It's easier to get with your fingers." Dave explained innocently.

"My fingers?" Craig asked, staring at the raw yolks bouncing in the clear, slimy liquid.

"Sissy." Dave muttered as he poked his finger into the slimy stuff and easily plucked the bit of shell from the bowl. "Now, don't forget the milk."

"Milk?" Craig asked, fork poised and ready.

"realreally don't know anything about cooking, do you?" He asked, shaking his head. "Look, you pour some milk in and it makes it lighter, fluffy without giving you strained wrists." He teased.

Craig giggled. "Mm, can't have those wrists strained." He began whipping the eggs. "Never know when you'll need them." He grinned naughtily.

Dave got the joke and blushed. "So, what brings you to town?"

"We're doing a cabaret. It's a twist on the standard convention. Mark, Joel and I are taking a group on a weekend trip. We're going to the space center and doing a night of entertaining. I'm excited about it actually. This is something new for us and a great way to meet some lovely people. Some very strange people, but lovely all the same." He rambled as he whipped.

"I couldn't handle something like that. I don't understand how you've done all those conventions. All those people. Actually, I'm not going to have a choice here in a bit. Peter has talked me into doing one. I'm scheduled to be in San Diego in two weeks and while I'm there, he wame tme to appear with Billy. We get to preview some of the extended DVD which is good. We get to do all that signing stuff also but I'll never be the pro you've become. Peter says you've done quite a few." Dave said as Craig finished with the eggs and he poured it into the pan.

"You'll love it. Billy's great. The best part about them is you get to spend a few days with girls screaming for you, telling jokes, answering questions and basically misbehaving and no one to tell you that you can't." Craig smiled mischievously.

"You sound like a teenager being out on your own for the first time." Dave commented. "Is that why you do so many of these things?"

Craig leaned against the counter. "I started acting professionally when I was seventeen. I have spent the last fifteen years doing telly, theater, radio, and movies. I have hosted and debated myself blue. I have traveled to Nepal and done the Winterfest year after year. I have worked fifteenr dar days for months and years on end. When Mercy Peak ended, I made the decision to take a year off. In the past year, I have made more appearances, hosted more events and done more debates than I have done my entire career. So much for time. But still, this is my time. This is my chance to have fun and making a few appearances here and there just keeps the creditors off my back. I'm having fun doing one-offs. I come in for a few days and I'm out again. I've been all over the world and been treated great wherever I've gone. It's fun. It's stress free. Now, tell me that if the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn't you do the same?" Craig grinned.

"It does sound nice." Dave smiled. "I barely remember what it's like not having a 5am call."

"It's kinda fun not having to have any more responsibility than showing up every once in a while." Craig grinned. "You said you were done with whatever it was you were doing, right?"

Dave flipped the omelet and began to add bits of vegetables and cheese, just the way he knew Hugo liked. "Yes. After working the past three years non-stop, my commitments are done for a bit. This is my downtime and I don't even have a home anymore." He explained.

Craig held the plate as Dave dished the food onto it. "When you get back from San Diego, you wanna have a bit of a holiday with me?" He grinned.

"What?" Dave asked, shocked. "I hardly know you."

"From what Hugo tells me, you hardly know yourself, ma Cra Craig stated, kindly but painfully truthful.

Dave stared at Craig for a moment. Just what was this total maniac standing in front of him, this Peter Pan, this totally handsome and hilarious man proposing? Dave could use a vacation. He could use a chance to be able to just explore all the turmoil that he felt inside but that had been the reason he'd agreed to stay with Hugo, hadn't it?

So, he'd been here a month already and what had he discovered? Nothing substantial. What would it hurt to spend a bit of time with this hyperactive nutcase? Nothing. Besides, maybe hanging with Craig for a bit might expose him to another side of life, where he could explore some emotions and talk openly about what was in his head.

"I guess I could use a br I a I am done filming. What do you suggest?" Dave asked as they brought Hugo his breakfast.

"This looks lovely." Hugo joined the men at the dining table as they continued their conversation. "What are you two talking about?"

g smg smiled. "Tell him he needs a vacation, Hugo."

"You need a vacation, Dave." Hugo said without hesitation. "Where does he need a vacation to, Craig?"

"When are you due in San Diego?" Craig asked, his eyes never leaving Dave's.

"The twenty third. The convention is from the twenty fourth to the twenty sixth." Dave answered, noticing the look on Hugo's face as he listened.

"Okay, look. I have to be back in New Zealand on the seventeenth. Doing another debate on the eighteenth and I'm expected at mum's for a bit since I didn't see her last week when I was there. Instead of flying back here when you're done, why don't you come stay with me at my house in England for a bit? We could go to the theater, see a few museums, you know. I've got this internet thing to do one night but it's only one night." Craig suggested. "And then if you're up for it, Mark and I are hosting the Fellowship Festival at the end of the month and we're getting a huge group of people to show up for it. It would be sort of like a reunion of sorts. Hugo here has already told us he's committed that weekend otherwise we could all hang out." Craig playfully tossed a napkin in Hugo's direction.
ave ave me out of it." Hugo said with a mouthful of food. "Hey, what happened with you having the next six weeks off?"

"Hugo, I haven't had a job in a year. This is what I do while I'm off." Craig laughed.

"But you'll be here for a while, won't you?" Dave asked, not sure if he wanted to wait so long to be able to spend time with Craig.

Craig grinned. "If Hugo will have me, I'd love to stay until I fly out on the seventeenth."

"Of course, darling. My humble house is yours." Hugo belched loudly.

"That gives us a week with nothing after I finish this convention." Craig grinned evilly.

"I could give you quite a few cooking lessons in a week." Dave grinned, liking the sounds of Craig's plan.

Craig's phone started ringing. He looked at the display and looked guiltily at Hugo. "I've been discovered. I guess the jig's up." He giggled as he went into the other room to take the call.

"He's completely nuts, isn't he?" Dave asked, watching Craig leave the room.

"Completely but you won't find a better bloke to spend time with. I think it would be good for you. Get your mind off things for a bit." Hugo encouraged.

"I think you're right." Dave agreed, still smiling. Yes, this could be fun.