Bring me to life

Title: Bring me to life 6 of 7
Author: Simplyshelly (simplyshelly2@earthlink.net)
Pairing: Craig Parker / Dave Wenham
See part 1 for disclaimer
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07/15/2004
"Good morning, Mrs. Parker." Oliver Driver said as he was welcomed into the house.

"Good morning, dear. We haven't seen you in months. What have you been doing with yourself?" She asked.

"Just working. Is he up yet?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm up." Craig said as he came down the stairs. "You're early." Craig grumbled. He looked like death warmed over. To say that he'd had a few drinks the prior evening would be an understatement and now Craig was suffering for it.

"And you look like a corpse that was dug up." Oliver took one look at Craig's disheveled appearance and couldn't help but tease him. Craig always looked so perfect and seeing him like this was a shocker.

"Bugger off." Craig growled as he grabbed a bottle of water.

"Oliver, be gentle. Craig had a few drinks last night and I believe he has a headache. I think I know what will help, baby." His mother said. "Just give me a minute and I'll get it ready." She went to go into the kitchen but Craig stopped her.

"Mom, don't." Craig said sharply.

"But honey, it will only take a minute." She insisted, continuing to the kitchen.

"And I said don't!" Craig slammed the bottle of water down on the counter, shocking both Oliver and his mother. Craig rarely yelled and he instantly regretted it. He walked over to his mother and placed his hands on the side of her face. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Mom, I'm sorry. I had no right to yell at you. I'm sorry. Look, we're just going to go, okay? I'll see you later." Craig gave her a kiss and pulled Oliver towards the door before his mother stopped them.

"So," Oliver started once they were in the car. "What put you in such a piss so early?"

"Oli, last night, I got totally pissed in front of my entire family for the first time in my life. Now they all think I have a drinking problem. My head is pounding and if you hit one more bump in the road, I'm going to dry heave all over the inside of your new car." He burrowed down in the seat, trying to hide away from the world.

Oliver looked concerned. "What's up, mate? You never do this around your parents. In fact, I can't remember the last time you got this pissed. What's going on?"

"Just drive, okay? I don't want to talk about it." Craig requested.

Oliver could tell something was going on. This was not the Craig he knew. No, Craig was happy, even on his worst days and he was always aware of how he looked to others. He was also very concerned about how his family viewed him and getting drunk around his loved ones was not normal.

"We're heading over to Ginette's." Oliver broke the thick silence. "She brought in a catered brekkie and everything, saying we'd all work better being able to lounge around her place comfortably without getting kicked out of the restaurant." He explained.

"Good. Maybe I can sneak off to her guest room and get a bit more sleep." Craig said more to himself.

Oliver let Craig sulk through most of the drive. He was worried. There was something going on in his friend's head and for some reason, Chatty Cathy wasn't talking.

~~~~~~~~~~

"A fun guy to be with." Craig finished the punch line. "We know. We've all heard the joke a million times. Can't you come up with something new?" He asked with a groan.

"And I suppose you won't find some reason to make any obscure references to male genitalia or tell us how pretty you are, will you, Mr. Parker?" Ginette shot back without missing a beat. Craig laughed and held his hands up in surrender.

Comedians, all experienced in debates and with working with one another just wanted to make this debate as good as so many of the others had been. They worked together and much of the basic dialogue was planned. However, because they were all such accomplished improvisational speakers, chaos always ensued once you added the element of a live audience.

The last debate they'd done just a month ago had been a big disappointment. Mark hadn't been involved in that one but the organizers of the whole Winterfest had convinced Craig, Oliver and Ginette to try the newest craze in the entertainment industry. They were 'judged' in the "Idol" manner and it had gone over like a clown at a funeral. The panelists were far funnier than the judges and the entire night just turned out awful. Craig felt his own performance had been appalling. Some jokes were made about a particular individual's endowments and everyone had received a proper scolding the next day that ended up in print.

This debate had been scheduled without the benefit of having an entire Winterfest behind it and much less pressure on the actors. Hopefully, this one might be more fun.

Craig had arrived grumpy but after a short nap, food, and buckets of coffee, he was feeling better. Besides, being around this lot, it was pretty hard to stay upset.

"Aren't James and Tandi coming?" Mark asked, grabbing another danish.

"No, darling. They weren't invited. This was more just for us." Ginette explained. The four of them had known one another for so many years and had become close, both professionally and personally. "It's just been so long since this one," She tossed a pillow in Craig's direction. "Has been in town and I thought we all deserved some spoiling." She explained, sipping from her glass of wine.

"Yeah, what's the deal with you ending up here so early?" Mark asked. "I thought you were staying on a bit in Australia. That's why you didn't come home when the rest of us did." Considering he and Craig spoke almost daily, he knew he'd heard the time right.

"Had a bit of a barney with a mate and decided it was time to get out of there." Craig admitted.

"You? Mr. Congeniality found someone he couldn't get along with?" Ginette asked.

"I met someone." Was all Craig said.

"Where? Someone from the convention?" Mark asked, shocked.

"No, give me some credit. It was someone I was staying with." He said, getting a concerned look from Mark.

"Someone you stayed with?" Mark questioned. "Oh, no, please don't tell me it's ..." Mark shook his head.

"What? Who?" Ollie asked, now very curious.

"Please don't tell me you slept with Hugo." He said, clearly wanting the answer to be 'no'.

Craig started laughing. "God, I love Hugo but no, Mark. Not Hugo."

"Good thing. I mean, he's a good mate but a bit old for you. Now that other guy you said was staying with him, that Wenham bloke is a bit closer to your age."

"I saw him in something recently. He's pretty good. Wasn't he in Rings with you guys?" Oliver asked, watching Craig's face.

"Oh, no, Craig." Mark said, truth hitting him clearly. "Oh, love, he's as straight as an arrow. He just had a baby. He's been with the same woman for years." He warned.

"Not any more." Craig said, watching his own fingers.

"You didn't." Mark shook his head. This wasn't like Craig at all. He never got himself involved with straight men, much less straight men with girlfriends and children. He valued 'family' far too much to come in between them.

"He's staying with Hugo because they split up. He's having a bit of an identity crisis." Craig said, seeing the look in Mark's eyes.

"He's an actor, Craig. All actors have identity crises." Mark insisted.

"He seemed pretty sure of himself day before yesterday." Craig shrugged.

"You were the first, weren't you, Craig?" Oliver wanted to tease but he just couldn't. Not about this. What had Craig been thinking?

"It was just supposed to be casual." He groaned. "No strings attached."

"Craig, you don't know how to do one night stands." Mark said, seeing the distress on his friend's face.

"Obviously. Where the hell were you at the time, huh?" Craig got up and began pacing.

"Craig, this can't be that serious. So you rooted with a straight guy. So what? He must have wanted it also. Hot, steamy man-sex with some actor guy you hardly know. It's not like either of you cheated on your partners, right? Not like you two video taped it or anything? You didn't, did you?" Oliver asked, getting a glare from both Craig and Mark. "Two single guys, a lot in common, hell, I don't understand what the big deal is. You wanted it, he wanted it, done." Oliver pointed out.

"He's just so ... we had so much fun ... oh, I am totally screwed." He said softly.

"So, what's the problem, love?" Ginette asked.

Craig looked at her and shrugged. "I had said I'd stay for a few days. We had plans to get to know each other and just spend some time together. It was going to be perfect, you know? Just friends." He said, trying to convince himself if anything. "But I left. We slept together and before he woke up the next morning, I had packed up and left."

"You bloody bastard." Ginette said softly. She could tell Craig regretted it but she couldn't quite well support what he'd done.

"So, why are you beating yourself up over it?" Mark asked.

"I like him, Mark." Craig whined a bit. "I really like him. He hates me and I think he's someone I could fall in love with."

~~~~~~~~~~

07/15/2004
Craig was used to affection, of adoration even but to Craig, those close to him meant the world to him. He always took his friendships seriously and once you became a close friend, he made sure you never forgot it. He never forgot names, birthdays, always remembered particular likes and dislikes and would often call or just send an email reminding you that you'd been in his thoughts that day.

But so few had gotten to him in any other way than just a friend, a mate. While he so oso openly friendly with so many, he protected his heart with everything he had. He didn't let people get too close, too familiar, for a fear of getting hurt. When he lost a friend, he mourned the loss like a death but when he lost a love, his entire world shattered.

He'd joked about his break up with Michael but a few remembered how devastated he'd been for months. He and Michael had managed to get their friendship back but it would never be the same.

Craig had a few mates who knew him better than most. Mark and Ollie were two of the few that knew everything about Craig. He could never lie to them because they could always tell. Kevin had been the same and his sudden death had affected Craig and in fact still affected him. Craig was much more guarded about his personal life and who he let in ever since. Sure, most people who met him thought he was wonderfully open and honest but Craig had been perfecting his public persona for many years. If people took the time and looked closely, they could catch glimpses of the man hidden behind the outgoing, constantly silly and energetic actor.

Dave had been the one to break through that wall so easily, seeing the real person inside. He'd done so completely without effort and Craig found himself thinking about the man constantly. The way Dave laughed, smelled, spoke, thought, tasted, all of him had Craig under a spell and Craig had gone and treated him like he meant nothing.

Crag knew what it meant before they became physical. He knew Dave trustrusted him and Craig misused that trust. It was true that Craig felt very comfortable with Dave immediately and he was someone Craig could see himself with easily. Not just one night but long term. It had been so long since Craig had met anyone who he could see himself with in a relationship. But instead, Craig left, like a coward in the middle of the night. No goodbye's, no note, nothing.

Had Craig had happen to him what he did to Dave? Yes. Craig was used to waking up in the bed alone. He'd come to expect that part. That's the way casual sex was. Even though he expected it and even though he would tell himself that it would happen, it didn't make it hurt any less. That was why Craig let so few people in. He rarely allowed people to see his true self and expose his emotions much less his heart because so often this was the results. For some reason, no one wanted to stick around and become his special someone. Maybe it had something to do with his nomad lifestyle but something inside him told him that there must be something wrong with him. People used him to get what they wanted and then sent him back out into the world alone.

Now this wasn't saying that Craig didn't have good mates because he did. He had some of the best. Good, loyal, supportive, mates who'd defend you till the end. But Craig didn't share this part of his life with his mates and he didn't sleep with friends. It had been pretty clear since the first day there that he wouldn't be friends with Dave. In fact, he felt Hugo had all but hinted at what Dave was going through and how Craig could help him with his indecision. So, Craig had been set up and he went for it. He'd shown Dave something that Dave alw always been afraid to seek out on his own. He'd shown Dave that having intimacy with a bloke could be a good thing. Fine. They'd probably never speak to each other again but that was okay because that was what Craig had expected from the beginning.

But it's not what he wanted. He'd meant it when he said he'd like to get to know Dave a bit more. He liked the guy, felt like they had connected in a way. Craig should know better than to get his emotions involved. He'd told himself he wasn't going to do this and here he was, sitting on the porch totally absorbed in thinking about the man.

"Thought I'd find you here." His father said, stepping out and coming to sit next to Craig.

Unfortunately, Craig didn't have enough time to dispose of the joint he held between his fingers. He looked up at his father with a guilty face.

"Go ahead and finish it. We all know you smoke it so stop hiding from us. Just don't do it in the house." His father said lightly and Craig exhaled a mouthful of smoke.

"I don't do it that often." Craig said, hoping to sound convincing but his father just smiled as he held up his glass of wine.

"That is your generation's glass of wine. I know you don't, Craig. I think I've managed to convince your mother that you're not an alcoholic but don't let her catch you smoking that stuff." He smiled, bumping shoulders with his son. "So, what weighs so heavily on your mind that you need to smoke that stuff to forget about?"

"Just pondering about life, dad. Mostly my life." He shrugged, resting his head on his father's shoulder. His father brought his arm up over his shoulder and held gently.

"Are you happy?" He asked as his son snuggled closer. Craig had never grown out of being held by his parents.

"For the most part, yes. I have a good life." He said softly.

"But a lonely one." His father said, making Craig laugh silently.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Mark called me just a while ago. Mom also says you bit her head off this morning. Is this young man they both mentioned the reason for your overindulgence last night at dinner?" He asked, sipping his wine. He loved Craig and could tell his son was troubled. He usually avoided speaking with Craig about his love interests, it still was a troublesome subject between father and son even after all these years but he did want his son to be happy.

"Mmm." Craig mumbled, closing his eyes. "I think I messed up with someone who could mean something. I don't know. I mean, we barely know each other."

"Have you tried to call him?" His father asked.

"Several times. Voice mail. Either he's busy or he's avoiding me. He was pretty angry when I talked to him yesterday. Nah, not angry. Hurt." Craig said. His father nodded. He understood better now.

"Well, it's getting late. You should think about heading up to bed soon." His father got up and finished his wine.

"It's still early on my time clock, dad." Craig looked at his watch and saw that it was only a bit after ten. It had been a very long day.

"It may be early but you have a long day tomorrow, having to drive up to Auckland and all. You can use the jeep. I'll leave the keys by the door." He moved toward the door.

Craig stood up and looked at his father, confused. "I'm not going to Auckland, dad." He thought his father must have lost his mind.

"Oh, yes you are, Craig. Your flight leaves at nine."

"What?" Craig followed his father into the house. "Dad, I'm not going anywhere. I have the debate in two days here." He was now completely lost. His father turned around and placed his hands on Craig's shoulders.

"That's why I bought you tickets for one day. Get yourself to Auckland, fly back to Sydney, straighten out this mess with this young man and get yourself back here by the seventeenth. You should be able to apologize in twenty-four hours, right?" He said, smiling slightly.

"You bought me a ticket to Australia?" Craig asked, stunned.

"It was either going to be me or Mark. He said this fellow was important to you."

"Uh, yeah, he is." Craig was still stunned.

"Good. Get some sleep so you can go fix this. We all make mistakes, Craig. But most of the time, mistakes can be fixed, even if it means a bit of groveling." He hugged his son. "Good night."

Craig stood silent as he watched his father head up the stairs. He was going back to Australia, back to Dave. He was going to have a chance to make it up to him. He was going to have a chance to say what he couldn't bring himself to say before. He could fhis.his. Everything would be different this time tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~

07/16/2004
Before Craig knew it, he was standing in front of Hugo's house. The drive and the flight had gone smoothly although he did get lost a bit while driving the rental around looking for Hugo's place but he was here now and all was well. He'd make his apologies, they'd kiss and make up and he'd be off again, back home with a clear conscious.

Or that was the way it was supposed to go.

"Yes?" Hugo answered his door. He took one look at Craig bouncing on his front doorstep and a frown came over his face. Hugo stepped to the side to allow Craig to come in.

"Is Dave here?" Craig asked, too wound up to have seen Hugo's look.

"No, Craig. He's not." Hugo said, walking into the lounge directly for the bar. Yeah, it was early but he felt like he needed a drink.

"Oh." Craig said a little deflated.

"Here." Hugo handed him a glass without asking.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Craig asked innocently.

"He's not coming back, Craig. He moved out yesterday." Hugo said, waving his hand like it was no big deal.

"Moved out? Where?" Craig sat on the edge of the sofa, his knees feeling a bit shaky.

"I don't know, Craig. I assume he moved back home. I thought you were staying a few days." Hugo questioned, just trying to put everything together in his mind. He'd seen the shape Dave was in when he'd returned.

"Back home? As in with Kate? No, he said that wouldn't happen. He said it was definitely over." Craig said softly.

"What happened, Craig?"

"Look, Hugo, I need directions how to get to his house. I need to talk to him." Craig insisted.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I seem to remember him sputtering your name around along with a few expletive terms." Hugo warned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I did something I shouldn't have and I need to make amends."

"You slept with him, didn't you?" Hugo knew, he just needed confirmation.

"Worse than that, Hugo. I slept with him then left without saying goodbye." He admitted.

"You bastard." Hugo cursed quietly but Craig shrugged.

"Yeah, there are a few others that agree with you on that but that's why I need to talk to him. I need to tell him that it wasn't him, it was me. I really like him, Hugo. I can't stop thinking about him. Please, mate. I need to know where he's at so I can go say this stuff to him that I should have said that night." Craig pleaded.

Hugo nodded. If anything, Craig was an honest bastard. "Okay, fine." He got up and moved to the dining table. He wrote out a couple addresses and directions.

"Here's his place with Kate, Try that first. Here's the name of the pub I found him in. They all know him there. Besides that, I'll let you know if I hear from him."

"Thanks, Hugo. I'm going to make it right." Craig reassured the older man.

~~~~~~~~~~

Craig found Dave's house easily enough. It was a normal house, nicely manicured, beautiful gardens out front, the sort of home that belonged to a family. Craig's stomach was churning for fear of finding Kate and not Dave. He parked his car out front, took a few deep breaths and forced himself to be calm. He could do this. He needed to do this.

He knocked on the door and waited. He could hear movement inside so he knew someone was home. He wondered how much Kate knew, if she was supportive of what Dave was going through or if she was angry. He knocked again and fidgeted nervously.

"Yes?" A middle aged woman answered the door. Judging by how she was dressed, Craig figured she was probably the housekeeper or the nanny.

"Hi." Craig gave her his best smile. "Is David here?"

"No, they're not here. They took the baby out for a walk. They should be back anytime now." She said.

"Thank you." Craig nodded, trying very hard to hide his disappointment. He started to walk away.

"Who should I tell stopped by?" The woman asked.

"No one. No one important." Craig said, his voice sounded a bit dejected. He slowly walked to the rental car, wanting to at least leave a note but maybe this was meant to be. Maybe hsn'tsn't meant to have any more contact with Dave.

He knew he'd eventually get over this. He was strong and this just reminded him why he didn't let people get too close. He stood at the door of the car for a few minutes, feeling a bit lost.

When he looked up, his entire body froze. Walking up the sidewalk was the happy couple, arms hooked as Dave pushed the baby stroller. They were still far enough away not to notice Craig as he was there, hurting more than he thought possible.

The baby must have been fussing because they stopped and the woman, presumably Kate leaned over and picked the child up. As she busied herself with the cherub, the man, Dave looked in the direction of their house.

Craig could feel their eyes lock. He felt it in his entire body. It was like an electrical shock that stunned his heart and held him captive. He could tell that Dave saw and recognized him as well, both standing there looking at each other.

"Dave? What's wrong?" Kate asked, seeing the color drain from his face.

"That's him." Dave whispered. He'd told Kate everything, about how wonderful Craig was, about how well they got along and what they had done. He held nothing back, even telling her of what they talked about and everything they had done.

Before Dave had a chance to call out, he saw Craig smile slightly, shake his head and get into the car. Craig tu aro around in the street and headed in the opposite direction.

~~~~~~~~~~