Dempeo: The Whole Truth

Chapter 24: The Emmys Part 2

*Ellen*
They were backstage just the two of them, Patrick was holding the cards. 'Nervous?' he asked, reading through what they had to say, 'Do I strike you as the type of person that gets nervous Paddy' she said playfully. He laughed and said 'Of course not, you're my Ellie', she reached out and grabbed his hand, she knew that he got a little nervous before doing anything live because of his dyslexia. 'Are you ready?' she said leading him to the side of the stage, 'You're here with me how could I not be' he said looking into her eyes. She let go of his hand as they walked out and hooked her arm through his instead, grabbing hold of the front of her dress to make sure she didn't trip up. It felt as though they were out there for only moments as they recited the nominees and congratulated the winner, before walking back off stage. 'I think we did pretty well' she said winking at him, 'Of course we did, and I got to walk on stage with the most beautiful woman here' he replied with a smirk. He really was the most charming man she had ever met, always making her feel like the only woman in the room.

*Patrick*
He was reading through the cards, trying to make sure he wouldn't mess up any of the words. At least when they were filming Greys he could reshoot it if he needed to but this was live and in front of so many people. He looked over at Ellen remembering it was her first time there 'Nervous' he asked with his Mcdreamy smile, 'Do I strike you as the type of person that gets nervous Paddy' she replied. No his Ellie was probably one of the most confident people he knew, well they had to be confident being actors but Ellen was different. He laughed and said 'Of course not, you're my Ellie', she reached out and grabbed his hand, she knew him way too well. Always knowing what he needed before he even knew. They heard their cue to get ready, she walked him to the side of the stage, 'Are you ready' she asked, 'You're here with me how could I not be' he replied looking into her eyes. Her eyes looked even more green than normal, her dress was the perfect colour to make them stand out, he hair perfectly curled. She hooked her arm through his, the feeling of her hand resting on his arm settling his nerves, she always made him feel better. They walked onto the stage, while they were up there he could see everybody marvelling at the beautiful woman standing next to him. How did he get so lucky, he had to be the luckiest man there, except for maybe Chris. Once they walked back off stage she said 'I think we did pretty well' winking at him, 'Of course we did, and I got to walk on stage with the most beautiful woman here' he replied with a smirk. He watched her blush, not much made her cheeks turn that lovely pink colour so when they did he usually felt pretty proud of himself.

- The After Party -

*Ellen*
She had basically had to drag Chris to the after party, he kept on saying he was tired and would rather spend time with her at home. There was no way she was missing her first Emmy after party, especially not since most of her cast mates were going. Did he really think she was going to give up the opportunity to party with Sandra? But anyway she got him there and she and Sandra already had drinks in hand, talking about how Blythe Danner won best supporting actress and not Sandra. Not that either of them had really expected anything different considering the first season had only aired a few months ago and the first episode of the second season had just come out. Chris was just standing awkwardly beside her, he hadn't really made an effort to talk to anybody except for a quick conversation with Jill about how long their work hours were. Sandra nudged her and whispered 'Dr Mcdreamy is coming over and giving you that look', Ellen looked up to see Patrick giving her his Mcdreamy eyes as he walked over with Jill. Ellen rolled her eyes at Sandra, 'That's just the way he looks at everybody and besides you know that's his wife walking next to him' she whispered back. Sandra smirked and replied 'Mmm ok, he definitely hasn't looked at me like that', Ellen nudged her harder causing her to stumble a little and give Ellen a death stare. 'How are you lovely ladies' he said smiling at the two of them, 'Oh we are doing just fine, but Ellen was just about to go get us some more drinks' Sandra replied smiling at Ellen. 'I was?' she asked with her eyebrows raised, 'You were' Sandra replied. 'I'll come with you, what would everybody like' Patrick said, Ellen made a mental note of everybody's drinks and they left the group to go get them. She almost jumped when she felt Patrick's hand on her lower back, she supposed that she should be used to it by now, and besides she was just as bad as him, finding any little excuse to touch him. They got to the bar and ordered the drinks, Patrick's lips came to her ear and he whispered 'Yesterday's party was much more fun', she smiled remembering the way they danced 'It really was' she said nodding her head in agreement. He lightly kissed just below her ear, the feeling made her shiver and her eyes close, 'Paddy definitely not now' she mumbled. Chris and Jill were waiting for them and their drinks, he looked at her and sarcastically said 'So now I can't kiss my co-star on the cheek'. She hit his arm and picked up the drinks put out in front of them 'We both know that wasn't my cheek' she whispered back to him, 'As far as anybody else is concerned it was' he said winking at her. They were playing a dangerous game.

*Patrick*
He was incredibly bored, he and Jill had been talking to some directors from a TV show he had never heard of for what felt like hours. All he really wanted to do was find Ellen and spend the rest of the evening with her, even if Chris and Jill were there, it's not like they were animals and couldn't control themselves. He spotted Ellen and Sandra talking in the crowd, finishing his conversation he led Jill in their direction. Ellen and Sandra were whispering about something, he couldn't tell what but whatever Sandra had said caused Ellen to nudge her hard enough to knock her off balance. He suppressed a laugh as he stopped in front of them and said 'How are you lovely ladies', nodding at Chris to acknowledge that he was there too. 'Oh we are doing just fine, but Ellen was just about to go get us some more drinks' Sandra replied smiling at Ellen, clearly trying to make her regret nudging her that hard. 'I was?' Ellen said raising her eyebrows at Sandra, like he said when they met, they really were trouble. 'You were' Sandra confirmed, thinking it was the perfect opportunity to get some alone time with Ellen again he said 'I'll come with you, what would everybody like'. Ellen turned around to leave and he kissed the top of Jill's head and told her to stay there and talk with the others, before walking quickly to catch up. He placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked to the bar, he felt her tense and then relax once she realised it was him. While they were waiting for their drinks he couldn't help but remember what they were doing that time the day before, the way her body moved and her skin tasted. 'Yesterday's party was much more fun' he whispered into her ear, her eyes sparkled as she replied 'It really was'. He leaned in and kissed the spot under her ear that he knew made her shiver, 'Paddy definitely not now' she mumbled. She was right, Jill and Chris were only a few metres away, he really had no self control. He looked at her and sarcastically said 'So now I can't kiss my co-star on the cheek', trying to think of a way he could cover up his mistake of anybody had seen. She hit his arm, she really was much stronger than she looked, they both picked up a few drinks each, 'We both know that wasn't my cheek' she whispered back. 'As far as anybody else is concerned it was' he replied winking at her. He was either going to have to stay away from her or seriously get control of himself if he was going to make his marriage work.

*No ones POV*
They chatted with their cast mates for the rest of the evening, Patrick and Ellen tried to make small talk with each other's partners. Ellen and Jill already had a relationship of sorts that they had built up over the past year but Chris and Patrick found it a little harder to get to know each other. Patrick and Ellen made sure not to talk to each other alone, only in group conversations. They would sometimes catch each other's eyes for a moment or two before returning back to their separate conversations. Patrick left early, a couple hours before everybody else, he had always found events like this boring, that was until Ellen had given him something to stick around for. Except now he left early because he couldn't watch her talk to people with Chris' arm wrapped around her, knowing that she should be in his arms.