Rating: PG13, T (language, adult themes)
Wordcount: Approx. 5,200 of 15,000 total
Warnings: None really for this chapter
Disclaimers: See my profile page.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Katt for staying up late last night to finish the beta and for today's input as well. As always, all mistakes are my own however.
Originally I'd considered just keeping this story private and sharing it with only a few of my fellow Crane and Daniel lovers. Your reviews have validated me posting it here so I absolutely do thank-you for them.
As mentioned in my story notes for the first chapter, this final narrative takes place in the "present"… or rather a not too distant future for the McFaddens. I truly hope you enjoy!
Lastly, I've included some related trivia and spoilery notes at the end too.

Part 3

"Hey, are you heading down to see Daniel?" Hannah asks me as she adjusts the blanket around the infant in her arms. She's sitting in the shade of our porch, the light breeze moving the swing, rocking the baby for her.

"Yeah, he's expecting me," I tell her.

"Do you want to grab some sandwiches? I made extra," she says, and I know it isn't just a suggestion. She was born to be a mom. "You know he doesn't eat enough when he's writing."

See what I mean.

"You sure you're okay if I leave?" I ask, indicating the two month-old beginning to fuss in her hold.

She gives me a well-deserved eye-roll so I plant an apologetic kiss on her cheek before hunching down to place another one, this time in the baby's soft, abundant hair. Tiny fingers reach for my beard and, since the only star I intend to see in the immediate future is my brother, I kiss them too and distract the little thing. It works.

I heed Hannah's wishes and head back into the house. Smoke and Cody follow me inside, vigorously wagging their tails as I grab a few sandwiches for Daniel and toss some scraps their way.

"Hey, I saw that!" Hannah scolds me.

I duck. Even with a baby in her arms, she's stealthy. I didn't hear her come inside.

That doesn't stop me from stealing a few more slices of roast beef - for me this time - for the road.

In no time I pull the Jeep up in front of the recording studio.

"How's the leg?" Daniel asks me as he steps outside the studio's front doors. He must've seen me pull up.

His lips are quirking and I know he's being a smart-ass. After all, I may not have made People's "Sexiest Men" list like he did but I'm still in perfect health. I don't respond.

But it's hard to ignore that shit-eating grin. I'm his brother, trust me, I know this.

He doesn't let up.

"Or maybe it's your back?" He continues; his brow furrowed in feigned concern. But the corner of his mouth keeps twitching so I'm totally expecting, "Wouldn't want an old fella like you to strain yourself walking all the way over here."

He just loves it that I've turned thirty.

I pull the still-warm plate off of the Jeep's passenger seat but hold it behind my back. "You'd better treat your elders with more respect, Sonny, or next time I will walk your hot beef down here and it'll be cold and soggy instead."

He laughs at me before lifting a hand and waving toward the house. "Thanks, Hannah," he calls out to her where she's standing now with Delainy still in her hold. She waves back at us and, while I'm looking her way, Daniel steals the plate from me - of course.

It was intended for him anyway and he knows it but, he still giggles that stupid laugh of his - forever the little brother who's just pulled one over on his big brother.

"You comin'?" He asks and I follow him into his place of work.

With our permission - like any of us would have denied him - he had the state-of-the-art studio built up here four years ago. It's been a godsend for my kid br-for my brother. He's named it "The Haven" and I know that's what it is to him. As is home and even Murphys too, for that matter. Everywhere else Daniel's a bonafide celebrity now and he spends more than enough time under the bright lights and scrutiny of Hollywood. And that's when he isn't on the road. He needs the peace of this studio and, even more importantly, the sanctuary of his family.

The building includes a spacious two-bedroom apartment which is where he stays when he's here. Though, for this stay, I've got dibs on the master and he's using the other room.

He still has the beach-house too, though Guthrie's living there these days while he's attending USC. Upon pain of death if he scratches it, our youngest has possession of Daniel's Corvette too. Lucky bastard.

We bypass the studio, with its gold and platinum records on its walls, for the apartment and Daniel settles down at the island bar in the kitchen to eat his sandwich. I help myself to a cold beer from the fridge and, since he's preoccupied stuffing his face, I turn on the television mounted on the wall across from us and begin channel surfing.

I flick past it at first but, I guess the imagery is imprinted on my brain so, before I even realize what I'm doing, I've flipped back to it.

VH1 is showing "Long Gone Highway".

Though he's six years older now, my brother looks exactly the same to me. Maybe even younger than the haunted drifter looking out at us from the screen. I sneak a glance to my right. Daniel's watching too, watching a younger incarnation of himself, and I'm mesmerized.

But no longer afraid.

We never really talked about the night he shot that video. I don't think we ever really needed to. I'd mistakenly feared it had destroyed him and, in a way, it had. But, in the end I realized shooting it had been a catharsis for him too. Hell, more like an exorcism.

I wonder what Professor Kovacs would think about that?

I think sometimes that, if the head-injury hadn't robbed Danny of the memory of saving his siblings from the mine, he might not have needed to rescue the family in the video. Or maybe I'm full of it, I don't know. What I do know is that after shooting that video, Daniel rose from the ashes with the strength to finally, truly end things with Tally and take back control of his creativity. And to stop being afraid that his meds were stealing his soul.

They're not even an issue anymore. He no longer needs them.

There's no such thing as resilient people, my ass.

He's set down his sandwich now and, as he's watching the good-looking kid with the dark mop of hair strum his guitar, I can't help smiling when he does.

As the music starts to fade, his sputtering laugh draws my gaze away from him and back to the screen. It's a good thing I wasn't taking a drink because my own laughter comes straight from my belly. Oh, this is too good.

On top of the atmospheric black and white footage, beneath Daniel's name and the song title, is a single word emblazoned in wholly inappropriate - to the song, if not the moment - neon bright fuchsia and yellow letters.

Letters that spell out: Retro.

"Look who's old now," I tell him and his beaming grin lets me know he was waiting for it.

"A-minor? You sure?"

"Yeah," I answer and strum the chord progression we're working on to make my point.

"Isn't that a little unoriginal?" Daniel grumbles and that tells me he's due for a break.

It doesn't stop me from giving my brother an eye-roll. But, before I can remind him of Johann Pachelbel's influence on everyone from The Beatles to Aerosmith, he shakes his head and smirks. "I know; I know… Johann, Schmohann."

It's good to know some of the classical training I passed onto him when we were kids didn't go completely to waste. "Atta boy," I tell him and I'm surprised by the hint of pink suddenly coloring his cheeks. He's a major recording artist now with awards coming out the wazoo but his eyes still light up like a kid at Christmas when he gets praise from me.

He adds the chord to the sheet music piled on the table beside him and the two of us play what we've written so far. It sounds good; really good.

I have to remind myself not to feel guilty.

Brian and Evan have driven Sherman down to New Mexico to scout some new bucking bull lines; Ford's at work in town and Adam's on a supply run plus picking up Katie and Zach from a birthday party. Jess has gone in with him, ostensibly if Ford happens to ask, to lend Adam a hand. Guthrie's in school; Hannah's looking after the baby and I'm sitting here drinking my second beer and jamming with my little brother.

And getting paid for it.

Assuming the song we're writing together sells, that is.

Odds are, since Daniel plans to record it, it will.

Ever since he built the studio, we've started writing together again. Oh, he still writes his own songs all the time but, I know the fresh air and being home with family rejuvenate him. And always kick-start his muse. He's much more prolific up here whether I'm working with him or not.

I couldn't even say when we officially started collaborating again. He came home, we played guitar. Just like that. Just like breathing.

Actually, I hadn't even known it was official until Daniel's lawyer sent me the contract documents for the joint publishing company. I didn't get a say in its name - Danny knew I would've fought him on setting anything up at all - but, I don't mind. He called it: "Thick As Thieves Music".

Yeah, it makes me smile too.

Especially when the checks come in.

He's been on a lengthy, exhausting tour but he's back home now. We're just in the early stages of the writing process again, far from ready to lay down any tracks or vocals yet. So, since we're not working inside the sound booth, I can hear the Suburban crunching along the gravel drive as it passes the open windows of the studio. I hear the dogs now too, barking excitedly at the familiar vehicle, eager to greet Adam and his passengers.

So am I.

Daniel looks at me. "You ready for a break." It sounds more like a declaration than a question and I know he could use some of that fresh air. Though he helped me turn out the horses this morning, he got a head start in the studio while Adam and I continued with chores around the place. The fact that he even heard Adam drive by tells me it's time to take a breather. When Daniel's completely in the zone, he wouldn't hear a bomb-strike.

"Sounds like a plan," I reply; trying not to sound too enthusiastic. I love spending time with my brother, writing music or otherwise. But what's waiting for me up at the house is even more appealing.

Daniel hops in behind the wheel and I resist the temptation to throw his earlier taunts back at him. He knows I'm really eager to get up there. The boyish grin he's wearing tells me he is too.

The silvery blue dogs meet us as we pull up next to the big Chevy, tails wagging and tongues lolling, though Daniel's getting the bulk of the attention. Apparently the fact that they haven't seen him since morning trumps the table scraps I gave them after lunch.

As we head through the gate toward the house, the dogs circle us. When I nearly step on Daniel's heel, it occurs to me that they're herding us closer together even as they work us toward the porch and the rest of the family.

The two Cattle Dogs have been a huge help around here. With Daniel away so much and both Ford and Guthrie in school, we need the extra manpower - so to speak.

Smoke and Cody are brothers, albeit from litters whelped two years apart. Brian calls them "Little Evan" and "Little Ford". Ford tried to remind us all that Adam and Brian share the same age difference but to no avail, the nicknames have stuck.

I'm sure glad they're here, and not just because of their stellar work ethic.

"Daddy!"

They introduced me to my wife.

Well, Smoke did.

The dogs split apart as Zachary, my almost four year-old whirlwind charges me. "Hey, buddy," I greet him, swooping him up into an airplane ride to prevent him from taking out my knees. And because he loves it so much.

"Careful," Jess says with laughter in her voice. "Apparently he's had a lot of hotdogs."

"Well, in that case…" I stop mid plane-ride and hand him off to a bewildered Daniel. "Here, you take him," I tell him. "He only looks a little green."

Daniel holds his nephew at arms-length and with exaggerated gravity in his voice asks, "You wouldn't throw up on your favorite uncle now, would you, little man?"

My son laughs delightedly in response and that giggle is so familiar, I'm transported over twenty years in time. Or maybe only twenty minutes, I chuckle to myself. I wonder if Zachary will ever grow out of the laugh his uncle never has?

I sure hope not.

Zach is still suspended above the ground and, just like Daniel at that age - and Evan and Guthrie too - the inactivity has become intolerable. "Swing me, Unca Danny, swing me!" he squeals.

His "Unca Danny" complies.

Danny.

Zach's picked that up from me, maybe a bit from Adam too. No one but us two has gotten away with calling him that since after our folks died. His grieving heart couldn't tolerate hearing it from anyone that wasn't Mom and Dad, not even from his siblings back then. Though Brian's always used "Dan'l" instead, gradually, and without any objection from Daniel, "Danny" slipped back into Adam's and my lexicon.

He's always corrected anyone else who's tried to use it though.

Until Zachary.

With my son being thoroughly entertained by his uncle, I can turn my attention to the other reason I was so eager to get back to the house: Jess.

We met about two months after Daniel's release from the clinic; after he'd come home with me to meet Katie, rest up some more and regroup. Once he felt strong enough to head back down to L.A., the reality of just how short-handed we'd be here sunk in with all of us. With Ford leaving for Davis and Evan's hand still limiting him, not to mention Adam and Hannah becoming parents for the first time - okay, well, you know what I mean - we were going to be up the proverbial creek.

It was Evan who suggested getting a cattle dog. We'd had them growing up but, when Jeeter died a few years after Mom and Dad, and the boys had to mourn that loss too, I think Adam's protective instincts just wouldn't allow us to replace him.

Time heals though. And things change.

Smoke came along first and, at twelve weeks I took him to the vet in Murphys for his second set of shots. Doc Markell was off courtesy of a disc he'd herniated trying to pull a hip-locked calf at Silas' place.

That was the first time I met the new vet he'd hired on: Dr. Jessica Campbell.

Yes, another vet managed to turn my knees to jelly. I'm not sure what to think about that. Or what Professor Kovacs would have to say. Then again, I don't really give a damn.

To say there were sparks between us from the start would be an understatement. And open to a fair amount of interpretation.

I'd walked into the place already with a chip on my shoulder; annoyed that she'd insisted I bring the pup in for an exam before she was willing to vaccinate him. There wasn't a single one of us who hadn't administered a shot by the time we were eleven. We were ranchers, for crying out loud.

Jess was by the book back then. Very bright and extremely capable but pretty green too.

Speaking of pretty green, once I got over my frustration, it didn't take long for me to notice those eyes. By the time Smoke was due for his sixteen-week booster, despite Doctor Markell's assurances that I could just swing by and pick up the vaccine, it was me who'd insisted on booking an appointment… and making sure that Jess was the vet on duty that day.

She's been a great friend and mentor to Ford. He's in Davis' vet program and has been working his practicum at Markell's clinic. Today he's pretty much on his own there so, going into town with Adam to pick up the kids was a great excuse for Jess to pop in and check on him. Though we all know he'll do fine. The kid's a natural.

Jess and I were married five years ago in the same church as Adam and Hannah. But, in our case, the family was all in attendance. Hannah got a lot of leverage with Adam out of that fact.

She's a great girl and I'm still hopelessly, madly in love with her. She's an awesome mom too. Zach is the apple of my eye, though I have to admit both Jess and I did feel a twinge of guilt over how easy and quickly starting a family was for us.

Though Hannah and Adam were blessed with Katie, giving her a sibling hasn't come easy.

I smile as I watch Jess take Delainy from Hannah's arms as Adam swoops in to greet his wife with a kiss. They act more like newlyweds now than they did nine years ago. His palm settles on her round belly and he slips his other arm around her waist. Her vitals are all good so she's not confined to bed-rest this time, though we're all making sure she's taking it easy.

That's one of the reasons Jess and I are staying here at the ranch instead of our place in town. Not only am I staying nights to work with Daniel - after all, writing inspiration doesn't follow a time-clock - but, with Jess still on Maternity Leave, the girls are helping each other out too.

Yeah… Delainy's mine too. My second son.

"Hey, Babe." I follow my big brother's lead and lock lips with my girl. The baby between us is making another grab for my beard though so I offer him my little finger instead. It satisfies him for now.

"You're going to have to lose that," Jess says not for the first time and Daniel, who has joined us now, huffs out a laugh. The dogs are keeping Zach entertained. Or maybe it's the other way around.

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Daniel tells her and Jessica feigns a pout. My eyes are drawn to those lips and I somehow manage to stay upright.

She's seen pictures of me from before Davis and is dying to see the clean-shaven me in real life. I didn't even shave it off for the wedding. Now that I'm thirty though, married and a dad, I'm actually contemplating it. I can't possibly still look fifteen. Daniel knows I'm thinking about it which is probably why he's tormenting her like that. I haven't entirely committed to the act though, so instead I reach out and tug on a strand of Daniel's hair. "I'll shave when he cuts this."

My brother's a rock-star now. His hair's longer than mine.

He looks horrified.

"Daddy, look what I made at Chrissy's!"

Katie's enthusiasm draws our attention to my oldest brother. He's squatted down next to the little table Brian built for the kids, completely engrossed with what his daughter's showing him.

She's pulling pictures out of a brightly decorated folder, presumably something she made at Chrissy Turner's party in town. Will's daughter just turned five and both Katie and Zach were invited to the celebration.

While Jess settles next to Hannah on the swing and begins nursing Delainy, I wander over to the table too. Danny follows me.

"Good luck trying to get up, old man," Daniel teases and Adam shoots him a look of disdain just before gravity takes its toll and his ass kisses the deck.

I contain my laughter, even with Daniel snickering beside me but, when Katie delivers an equally withering look upon her father and chastises him with, "Daddy, quit being silly; this is serious," it's a lost cause.

When her glare's directed at us though, I pull myself together and elbow Daniel. I know it's as hard for him to behave as it is for me - it's impossible not to see to the miniature Hannah in front of us - but his chuckles eventually sputter to a stop.

"Yeah, come on, guys," Adam reproaches us with a satisfied smirk. "This is serious."

This is the crayon work of Katie, the family's budding Mary Cassatt. Though, admittedly her canvasses lean toward the abstract right now. She has something to say about each picture and her father is giving her his rapt attention.

Daniel's crouched down beside me, mirroring Adam, and he and I are looking at them too. It's hard not to smile at the familiar, youthful drawings of horses, cows, dogs, barns and people.

Our family.

"This is Evan and Diablo and Sally," Katie tells us, pointing at each figure as she names them. My brothers and I raise our eyebrows at her depiction of the couple - as a couple. As far as I know, Sally Liston and Evan are only friends but Katie's figures are clearly holding hands. Just like in her renderings of the twosomes we know about, including Cleo Wheeler and Ford. I can't help but wonder if Katie knows something we don't.

Despite her lively narration, I don't need it. Everyone's names are there; printed in Zach's haphazard scrawl. Katie's incredibly sweet with her cousin and is showing him a world of patience and generosity. Much like her mother did - still does - with the brood she inherited.

At not yet four, Zach's drawings are indistinguishable muddy blobs but, he has already learned his alphabet and has been practicing his lettering. I think between his mom and I, we're going to have a nerd on our hands. Though that gives me pride, I do secretly hope he's inherited some McFadden musicality too.

As my eyes continue to scan over Katie's images, one in particular grabs my attention. And my heart. I slide it toward me so that I can get a better look.

It's a picture of only five of us and it's so poignant, I have to look away. But only briefly. Much like the drawing she's made of her immediate family, with Adam and Hannah holding Katie's hands, she's created one of mine. It's Jess and I holding hands with our boys… all three of them.

Daniel's the third, shown standing right beside me. The guitar across his body tells me so, as does Zach's bold lettering.

Though fairly advanced for his age, he struggles with the spelling of his brother's name.

It's no wonder, so did I.

And I made my beautiful wife cry in the process. We'd chosen "Delaney" as our boy's name long before the little guy even came into the world. It wasn't until his official birth certificate arrived in the mail that we'd discovered that I'd inexplicably messed up the intended spelling on the forms and registered "Delainy" instead.

Understandably, Jess was pretty upset and I felt like a complete and utter ass. All I could do was promise to fix it for her. Well, that and grovel a lot.

Though I definitely did the latter, thanks to Hannah I never did have to go to Town Hall and register the change.

The sisters-in-law have become very close and, outnumbered as they are; they tend to talk a lot. Or maybe commiserate is more like it.

So, when Jess called Hannah to vent about what an idiot her husband was, she was fairly shocked by Hannah's laughing response. "Of course he spelled it that way," she'd told her. "Throw out the "Y" and it's an anagram for "Daniel".

After hearing that, we both fell in love with the lesser-known variant and it stuck.

Oh, and word to the wise… don't ever play word-games with Hannah. She's a bright lady to begin with but, after all that bed-rest with Katie, she's become a master.

Zach has mangled the spelling of both his uncle's and his brother's names in such a way that the similarity couldn't be any more obvious. Though I'm sure Hannah had mentioned it to Adam, I still haven't told Daniel. I'd been waiting until we'd firmed up our plans for the baby's christening.

So much for that plan.

He's looking at me now and I can tell he sees it. He looks a little shocked but, more than that, he looks overwhelmed. Between Zach's unintended revelation and Katie's depiction of us, Danny's more moved than I am.

In my periphery I catch Adam's eye and he throws me a wink. He's seeing all this too.

Though I know the raw emotion shimmering in Daniel's eyes is a positive thing, I'm still incapable of resisting it. I'm kneeling next to him at the table now; my hand settled at the nape of his neck. I feel a slight tremor beneath my grip but when we lock gazes with my softly insistent, "Hey," I see acceptance in his hazel eyes. And, even better, a reflection of joy.

His.

And mine.

"Oh no!" Katie shrieks, as only little girls can, when the wind suddenly picks up and ensures an end to her impromptu mini art exhibit. Despite the three men in much closer proximity to the table, it's Hannah who arrives on the scene and efficiently starts gathering up the pictures and sliding them back into their folder.

With Katie's permission, I've claimed the one still in front of me so I secure it to the table with a well-placed elbow. I won't be taking it back into town with me though. I've already decided that there's a magnet and fridge waiting for it in the studio.

Jess has accompanied Hannah though and my attention shifts. As I look at the baby sleeping contentedly in her hold, I get lost in my own feeling of complete and utter peace.

Not even the noisy arrival of Zach and his two silver sidekicks can break the spell. They've finally ascended the porch; presumably seeking shelter from the rain that's beginning to fall and somehow their collective chaos only adds to my serenity.

It's clear though that Jess wants to help the girls rescue the artwork but, as she begins to pass the baby over to me, Zach reaches up for his little brother instead.

"No, me! Me!" he insists and he knows better. Despite his affection for his canine companions, Zachary adores his baby brother in ways that melt my heart and already fill it with pride. But, he's been told he's only allowed to hold Delainy when he's calmly seated with one of the grownups beside him.

I'm just about to remind him of the rules when Hannah reaches for the picture I'm shielding and, before I even realize I've done it, I slap my hand down on it. My, "No," sounding as demanding and desperate as Zach's.

Hannah's been a part of this family a long time and doesn't even bat an eye at my behavior, only shakes her head. There's laughter in her eyes though, even as she leaves the picture with me, pats my arm and then ushers Katie, Zach and the dogs inside the house.

While Hannah might not have been offended, I'm absolutely mortified. I think Daniel is too. His head is down and he's barely breathed let alone flinched at my side.

It's my wife's reaction that has me worried. After all, that was quite the example I've just set for our son.

I meet her gaze and I see a sternness there that makes me wince. Wordlessly she passes Delainy over to Adam, who accepts his nephew with practiced ease. "I'd best get him inside," he announces, his voice tight. Big brother follows through on the plan, swiftly heading into the house with my son but not before shooting me a sympathetic look.

I know that logically he's sheltering my baby boy from the inclement weather and I should be grateful. Still, a part of me is thinking: chicken.

Not Daniel though. Jess is radiating irritation and disapproval but the kid is sticking by me.

Thick as thieves.

It's official after all.

Jess knows it too and I'm hoping she doesn't take out any of her disapproval on him. Despite his fame and accolades, Daniel's got an insecurity about him when it comes to Jessica. Which is definitely ironic since she was most anxious about meeting him when we first started seeing each other. Getting to know the rest of the family had been an organic thing, a natural progression of our relationship. Meeting Daniel though was different.

It was in the middle of his first tour to promote his debut album. He was still an opening act back then; playing two nights at the Coliseum in Oakland and had some time off both before and after those gigs. Not surprisingly he came home. The fact that he was opening for Bruce Springsteen on the fifth leg of his Born in the USA tour definitely made things a little strange. You see, Jess was a fan of both the headliner and the opening act and was actually more than a little tongue-tied when she met Danny. I think he mistook her silence for aloofness and maybe even disapproval in some warped way so their initial meeting hadn't gone as smoothly as I'd hoped. After all, I knew I had it bad for Jess and desperately wanted them to hit it off.

It didn't take long at all though for Jessica to grow to love him like a little brother. She's even protective of him, especially when it comes to whichever model he happens to be dating at any given time. Danny though? Even though he adores and admires Jess, I know he worries sometimes about being a fifth wheel in my immediate family. It's ludicrous but, I'm conscious of it so, I worry that Jessica's annoyance with me in this moment might ricochet and hit Daniel too.

I really should know better by now.

She huffs out an exasperated sigh and holds out her hand and I feel like I've been caught stealing from the cookie jar. I acquiesce to her wishes anyway, of course, and hand over Katie's picture.

Immediately Jess' features soften and those voluminous lips quirk as a different sigh altogether passes through them. One that melts my heart. "Well, that certainly explains it," she says warmly, before placing a tender palm against Daniel's face.

"It does?" he asks, and I know there's a hopeful but unspoken and you're really okay with it? putting that tremor in his voice.

I don't come to my little brother's rescue this time. I'm too busy patting myself on the back for the choice I've made in brides. Not to mention falling head over heels for her all over again. Jess gets me even better than he does and I'm an awfully lucky man.

"Yeah," I tell him as I drape an arm around his shoulder. My other one wraps around Jessica's waist when I walk them both to the door.

"It explains a lot."

.

- Fin -

.

Endnotes:

Despite how short this story is, I wanted to include these notes which, if you read on, you might find interesting...

First though is a comment about the dogs. Smoke and Cody are real, though they passed over the Rainbow Bridge many years ago. Smoke was actually Cody's father, not his brother. They were Australian Cattle Dogs, aka Blue Heelers, and though they never worked Cattle, they both did work sheep. Cody was my boy - my first dog that I got as an adult. I'd fallen in love with his mother Jackie (owned by a friend) so was first in line to get a pup from her when my friend added Smoke to the family and bred them together. This story is dedicated to Jackie, Cody and his dad "Moke".
Jeeter's real too, well sort of. There's a very early draft version of the 7B pilot script floating around that places the McFadden family in Carbon County, Montana instead of California and Jeeter belongs to the McFaddens. When Hannah joins the family, she brings with her Cat, her -wait for it- cat. Chaos ensues. So, though there's no Cat, I decided that Jeeter would become a part of this backstory too ;).
I've referenced Crane being small and baby-faced as a teen in a few fics now. Though this doesn't come from canon, I've based this on interviews with Peter Horton and pictures I've seen of him as both a teen and without his beard up to about age 30. He looked so young, it's no wonder he had the beard as Crane! According to Peter though, his growth-spurt didn't hit until college.
Speaking of Peter, though I've given Daniel the title of one of People's "Sexiest Men of 1991", it was actually Peter who made their list of the "50 Most Beautiful People" that year. I for one would definitely agree ;)
As for Roger Wilson, the reference to Daniel dating models is definitely a nod to Roger and his reputation as a "serial super model dater" LOL.
And finally, if anyone checks, Bruce Springsteen's massive "Born in the USA" tour did not have a 5th leg. It did have 4 though; the last falling around the time Daniel's video and single hit the charts. So, I decided to give that tour one more leg and bring "The Boss" back to Oakland so that Daniel could play close to home ;)