And Then There Was You (Chris Evans AU)

September 4

The sun was shining brightly through the curtains by the time Daphne woke up Saturday. Rolling over and carefully stretching she noticed the time on her phone, 9:36 am. She carefully raised out of bed in an attempt to gauge if she'd over done it by going to the game the night before. 'A little sore, but not too bad,' she thought. She completed a modified morning routine and made a cup of coffee before sitting on her front porch swing.

Daphne's home was rather modest. She had worked a part time job all through her time at FSU before coming home with enough money for a down payment on a small home. With two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen and a living room, it was really all she needed.

From her front porch she could hear the town begin to come to life. Since it was Saturday it usually took longer for the sleepy town to wake up. Across the road from her home and up a block was the town bank. Two blocks to the left was the grocery store. And another block to her right was the small set of apartments. She was surprised when the apartments were being built. You wouldn't really equate apartments in an area as small as Callahan but to be honest they almost looked more like small townhomes.

She let out a satisfied sigh as she finished her coffee and decided it was time to stop being lazy and make the cookies she mentioned to Oliver the night before. Walking into her kitchen she tied her hair up into a messy ponytail and looked over her cabinet inventory. "Looks like peanut butter and chocolate chip it is," she said to no one. She connected her cell to her Bluetooth and cranked up her classic country station and got to work.

~~~~

Chris pulled his black Ford truck up to his apartment complex parking spot. Complex? Could it really be called a complex? It was a set of 4 right next to each. Almost as if the builders realized how ridiculous apartments were in this type of town and just stopped at four.

It was around 10 am when he arrived home. He'd already been out for a run with his dog, Dodger, came back and lifted a few weights, showered, and ran to the grocery store to stock up for a few days. He wasn't slated for a shift today so he was going to make the best of his day off knowing that it could change at any moment.

After his groceries were put away he decided to make himself a late breakfast of eggs on toast with bacon. He poured himself a second cup of coffee and scrolled through the news outlets from his phone. He saw more and more accidents reported in Jacksonville from last night and already this morning. Chris knew there would be more before the holiday weekend was over. Sometimes he felt like Labor Day weekend was as bad as New Years Eve. He leaned back from the table and stretched while taking a quick glance around the one bedroom, one bath apartment. He decided when he moved here that he wasn't ready to buy a home. With it just being him and Dodger he knew they didn't need much. But casting a glance over to the other side of his two seated table he was reminded of one of his dreams. Chris was ready to at least turn the page into a new chapter of his life. He wants a new chapter, not a footnote. "We'll just leave that to God's timing I guess huh Dodge." The pup looked up at him from where he'd been laying at his feet.

In an effort to get out of this melancholy attitude Chris decided to wash his truck. In Miami he could find a car wash at almost any stones throw. Sometimes he missed the convenience of them but he'd grown to enjoy putting in his own effort into his vehicle. He didn't need to change as he was already in a pair of navy basketball shorts and a t-shirt. He retrieved his bucket, sponge, soap and hose and went to work cleaning off his truck.

Just as he was hosing down the last section of the truck his cell dinged alerting him of a new message. A crew member was in need of switching shifts as she had a family emergency. With no other plans for the day Chris happily obliged. After returning the message he realized he only had an hour before the shift started so he rushed in to get everything ready.

~~~
Daphne took one more look in the mirror before leaving to deliver the cookies to the station. She knew she was just taking a thank you gift but it couldn't hurt to want to look decent. She had washed her hair and created light waves, applied just enough make up to cover her blemishes and scars from the accident. She wore a pair of denim shorts and had thrown on her Autism Advocate shirt. Nothing fancy.

For her entire life, Daphne knew she wasn't a head turner. She had been wearing glasses since the third grade. Taller than most girls her age she went through a lanky stage in middle school. She may have been a cheerleader in high school but she didn't stay up to date on fashion. And even now her face betrayed her by making her look like she'd just began puberty. Thus the reason for make up.

Sure she'd had a handful of boyfriends. One she was almost positive she was going to eventually marry but we'll just say he wasn't exactly who he said he was. The saying actions speak louder than words ring true for a reason. Daphne just wishes she hadn't wasted three years on him.

Grabbing the platters from the kitchen she carefully took them to the car. Since the accident totaled her car she was borrowing one from her parents until she felt ready to deal with a dealership again.

She drove the half mile to the station and pulled off to the side away from where the trucks were parked. Walking over to the house door with her hands full she rang the bell for entry. In no time she was buzzed in.

"Hi! Can I help you?" A greying man asked her.

"I sure hope so. My name is Daphne Jeffries. I was in an accident about a month ago. I wanted to say thank you to those who helped me so I baked some cookies and wanted to drop them off," Daphne answered.

The man grinned. "You're Adam's daughter aren't you?" Daphne returned the smile and responded yes with the quirk of a questioning eyebrow. The man laughed at her expression. "I'm Chief Parrs. Your dad and I were on a bowling league together a few years back."

"Oh, Chief Parrs! It's so nice to meet you in person. I really am just so thankful for what your men and women do for our town," Daphne gushed. "Do you know if any of those who worked my accident directly are here today?"

The Chief went over to a room that she guessed was his office. Grabbing a file from his cabinet he asked her what date was her accident. "August 10, first thing in the morning," she answered. He flipped through a few pages before finding what he was looking for. "Looks like that was Holmes, Michaels, Evans and Williams. Holmes and Michaels are here but Dvans and Willians are off today. Come on, I'll introduce you," he said as he walked towards the area where the rigs are kept.

After a quick thank you and letting them know there were fresh baked goods in the house kitchen Daphne walked back to her car. She had been hopeful to see Hayden and Mr. Handsome but she guessed that was wishful thinking. Getting ready to pull onto the road to head towards her parents she paused to let a black Ford truck turn in front of her.

Chris walked into the firehouse by way of the bay where the rigs were kept. Chief Parrs stopped him asking why he was there on his day off. "Helping out Marie. She had a family emergency," he told him.

"Well, there's some fresh baked cookies upstairs. Came from the Jeffries girl. Ya know that bad accident out US-1, about a month ago."