the only easy day was yesterday

Julian’s answer comes only in the form of a smile, pleased and satisfied. There was no reason for him to get lonely – what with his family at home and the swarms of people at work, and Mortensen everywhere –, but there was a need to talk, to share this moment with someone outside his own mind. He’d blame it on his extraversion, Julian decides.

“That’s true, I suppose.” And further proof of how much of an accuracy game Mortensen’s job was. To be noticeable enough that no threats arise, but invisible enough as to give the sensation that nothing’s changed. “Besides, you’ve done more for this country than all of them combined. The least they should do,” — he looks up to Mortensen for confirmation, then — “is be respectful of that.”

Daniel slightly nodded at his boss’ words – he was right. He didn’t like praising his job in the Navy and in the CIA but he knew he’d surely done great things for their country – from fighting terrorists, getting important information from other countries and maybe even avoid a big war or two. “Thank you, sir.” He said, “I think that everyone does their part for the country, you know... Even just by doing their normal jobs.” Daniel truly believed that – of course he and his fellow soldiers and agents did more for the country than an average person, but still, he thought that somehow everyone could do something.

He was about to speak again when a waiter – the same one who glared at him the moment he realized he wasn’t going to eat there – and asked him what he’d like for dinner. “Uh–” Daniel was taken aback by that question, especially because he hadn’t even opened the menu. He didn’t need to it, though. He’d come to that restaurant enough to know what they served. “I’ll have roasted chicken with salad.” He said, “Oh, and water, please.” He hoped he wasn’t ordering too much – he was definitely hungry, but he had to react quickly if needed, so having a full stomach wasn’t exactly the best. “Thank you again for this. I guess I’ll have to call my local Chinese restaurant to let me know I won’t have dinner there tonight.” Daniel joked, running a hand through his hair.

Exiting a cab, Christian Louboutin clad feet hit the pavement and it’s a sign of a new week. Oversized sunglasses shield light colored eyes and the designer outfit isn’t complete without the air of confidence she exudes with each clack of her heel. Before she heads to her office a few blocks down, Gwen is in desperate need of coffee. While she may’ve mustered enough energy to get out of bed and get dressed, she doesn’t feel human until caffeine is pumping through her veins. Stepping into crowded coffee shop, crankiness or impatience doesn’t arise despite the slowness from the overworked and understaffed baristas. “Tall non-fat soy latte.” Gwen orders when she finally reaches the front of the line. Her usual with a blueberry muffin, perfect way to start her day. “And whatever the next person wants is on me.” Glancing over her shoulder, she flashes a smile. 

It was early in the morning and almost as every single day, Daniel was already out of the house. The Vice President was probably still asleep, or so he thought, so he usually used this time to get his daily workout done. When he accepted his job as the VP’s bodyguard he considered the idea of getting a gym membership since he wouldn’t exactly be able to use the gym all CIA agents were able to use but he soon realized that his whole life was changing. His life turned around Julian Berkeley, his engagements and his life. So he ended up buying some equipment and put everything in a spare room of his new house and that’s where he worked out early in the morning and even sometimes later at night when he came home. It was relaxing – just like jogging at the Lincoln Park. He’d taken his daughter there once – they’d spent the day walking around, talking, eating ice cream and feeding the birds. Nowadays, he simply headed to the park for his morning run and doing his stretching exercises on the same bench he and his daughter sat back in the day.

Done with his run, he walked into the nearest coffee shop. Drinking coffee after a workout wasn’t exactly the best, but if he wanted to survive the day he needed a good amount of caffeine. He looked around and could notice that the city had woken up. There were business men and women getting their morning coffee, a mother buying some muffin to her child, a young couple who probably didn’t even sleep that night. Daniel was so focused on looking around him that he barely noticed the woman in front of him. He eyes moved rapidly as he studied her – or he tried to, at least. Taken aback by her kind offer, he looked at the waitress and ordered his drink. “Grande caffè latte.” Daniel said, quickly looking back at the red haired woman. She certainly did look like any woman who worked in politics or in the President or the Vice President’s staff. He’d seen tons of women like her since he became a bodyguard. “Thank you...” He said, “Uh––I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”

Despite June and Louis Mortensen not really caring about education as they thought it was just another way for the Government to “control” young minds, they did their best to provide their children with good education, wanting them to succeed in life, so when it was time to enroll Daniel to elementary school. He didn’t exactly have a great time there and only when he started high school he was finally treated in a good way, mostly because he grew up, got tall and his muscles were starting to show up. Bullies didn’t bother him anymore and he was free to attend whatever extra class he wanted without being judged. Daniel, however, didn’t care much about school back then, so it had been easy for him to choose something else rather than continue his education and go to college. 

Julian shakes his head, “It’s not in your contract.” Not that such contract had ever stopped Mortensen from doing more than formally requested. When it came to his needs and personal affairs, Julian couldn’t have asked for someone better. “But I’m offering. And like I said, I could use the company.” 

“Plus,” he tilts his head closer to Mortensen, confession-like. “You attract that much more attention standing there in the middle of the restaurant. And the waiters probably hate you for getting in their way.” This was a heavy stretch. Mortensen was a presence when he needed to be, and a ghost when he didn’t. Many times over, Julian could easily have forgotten he was there in the first place– doing his job, silently and seemlessly at that. “Come on, you don’t wanna be the reason they spit on my food.” 

Daniel was glad that his ‘boss’ was aware of that fact that having lunch or dinner with him wasn’t in his contract, but apparently this didn’t stop him to offer some food anyway. He slowly leaned towards Julian as he got the feeling that he wanted to say something privately, but as soon as he got closer to him, Daniel’s eyes wandered around the quite crowded room. He was right. Men weren’t exactly paying much attention to him standing there like a statue, but women were quite aware of his presence and while some looked at him with interest, others simply glared at him. He wondered if they ever saw a bodyguard in real life. They probably did at least once, or they wouldn’t even access this place.

He gave in. “I guess I can do that.” Daniel cleared his throat and unbuttoned sat down across from the Vice President. “Thank you, Sir.” He said, giving him a small smile. “I don’t mind the waiters hating on me – I feel like I can do my job better if people ignore me because I annoy them.”

Daniel loves animals. His parents got a beagle when his younger sister was three, his name was Bob and Daniel absolutely loved him. He and his sister were heartbroken when the dog passed away, so his parents decided to never get a pet again. During his first year in the Navy, he and his pals found a puppy hidden behind some blackberry bush – they didn’t know if someone abandoned her or if maybe the mom did, so they decided to took her in despite the strict rules of “no dogs allowed”. After a long discussion they decided to call her Cherry and she lived in the basement for a year until a superior, Captain Kane found her. Instead of throwing her out, he took her in and Cherry ended up living in the camp with the soldiers. 

If there’s something Daniel loves more than the Navy, this is his family. He grew up surrounded by his parents’ love and when his little sister joined the family, the love between the Mortensen family members grew even more. Despite his grandparents’ not exactly being in the picture and thanks to his parents’ hippy ideas, Daniel was taught that family didn’t exactly match with blood relatives – in fact, it could be anyone. However, he’s never been able to consider anyone that wasn’t his actual family, “family”. It’s just hard.

He was incredibly happy when he created his own family. Diana and Abbie were his world and never in a million years could he ever imagine that this could end. Yet it happened and after his divorce Daniel questioned the meaning of family, not understanding how something so important and solid could be ruined so quickly.

Daniel doesn’t get scared easily. Being a Navy SEAL definitely contributed to making him able to face anything bad, whether it’s war, secret missions, terrorists and death in general which can be described from others as him being cold. The way he reacts to anything may make you think that he’s heartless and extremely cold, but he really isn’t, he just doesn’t show his affection or soft side to anybody. One of the first things he learned when he joined the Navy was that he must be able to listen to his mind rather than his heart. 

“Please,” Julian says, gesturing to the empty seat across from him. As Veep, he hardly took lunch or dinner breaks, as those meant thirty minutes too long that he was away from work. Call it an exception for allowing himself one. And even if inviting, the food on his plate was still mostly there. “I could use the company.”

Daniel was standing not far from where the Vice President was eating. He was used to keep an eye on Julian whether he was having lunch or dinner, speaking to someone privately or publicly or just doing his stuff. What Daniel wasn’t used to was being offered anything during his work time, which was most of his time anyway. “Thank you for the offer, Vice President.” He said with a nod. His stomach was grunting as he thought of some good plate of pasta, but his mind said no. “I don’t think that eating with you is included in my contract as a bodyguard, so I’ll have to say no. But thank you, really.”