AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well ladies and gentlemen of all species, it has FINALLY arrived!! May I present to you the re-makes of the "Rhythm of the Night" fics! If you are unfamiliar with the story, go on and read. Even if you've seen it in it's original form, look at it anyway. I guarantee you will love it. Like before, this is set about 2 and a half weeks before Jake goes to Hollywood himself.

This point of view focuses on our favorite farm cat.

"Rhythm Of The Night"

A story by 32


This is the rhythm of the night 
the night...oh yeah 
the rhythm of the night

This is the rhythm of my life 
my life...oh yeah 
the rhythm of my life

    This is just going to be a friendly visit, nothing more, nothing less.

I casually (well, as casually as I could) put on my straw fedora and bow tie in front of the mirror. I have a comb, which is put to good use as I fix a few strands of hair from my face. My purpose of this trip is a special one.

And that's to try and go a little further in a special relationship.

Oh, pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Danny. If you really must know my entire name, it's Daniel Scott Richardson. You already know I'm a cat, don't you? I'm in Hollywood and the movie business.

Trust me; nowadays we do more than just make animal noises. I really should know. I did help the animals achieve the possibility of stardom. Before I came along, even that was denied.

That's hard to believe, isn't it? I'm just a simple country cat from a simple country town with high hopes, grand dreams, and a naïveté about the size of Cleveland, or so I've been told. I had no education from college, or even in high school. How in the world could I have managed such an unbelievable feat to the eyes of anyone and everyone in this world?

Just a desire to dance, I suppose. I know you wanna say it.

This mirror I bought at a very cheap price for my hotel room is actually the last thing I need to look myself over with. It's dusty, it has a large crack in the middle... I can't help but wonder if I've been cursed by it already. Geez, I'm starting to sound like T.W............... From what I can see, which isn't much, I look reasonably good.

I guess it's time to go.

You could put some joy upon my face
 oh sunshine in an empty place 
take me to turn to and babe I'll make you stay

Oh I can ease you of your pain 
feel you give me love again 
round and round we go, each time I hear you say....

    I know the way to her house. It's about a half hour walk form the hotel I live in for now. I visit her about every other day, and it has been that way for a week. She invades my thoughts constantly, like she is doing so right now.

Who is she, you ask? Her name is Sawyer. Sawyer Jasmine McDermid. She's persian. That means a persian cat. Quite lovely too. No, lovely is too weak a word to describe her. Beautiful, that's the word to describe her. Absolutely beautiful. Her hair is very white, which often reminds me of the snow that would sometimes fall in my hometown. Hey face expresses a very high degree of radiance no matter what mood she is in. Her light copper eyes glisten like sapphires if you look directly at them, and man, at times have I believed that sooner or later she would blind me with that gaze. It isn't that I would mind being "blinded by beauty" as the saying goes, letting her entire being be the last thing I ever see burnt into my memory...it's just that I like the job I have, and who ever heard of a blind dancer?

And those sweet, rosy lips...

What would it feel like to kiss them?

She has an unbelievingly high list of moods that she uses almost daily. When I first met her, she wasn't exactly angry, but I do believe she seemed somewhat irritated of me at the time. When I asked her about being irritated, she said that I seemed a lot like her when she first arrived, but of course, more controlled. I knew what she meant though. She also felt she could do anything, and climb as high as it was possible to climb in the movies. And she got put down HARD.

I'm rambling, ain't I? Sorry.

There are times when she is very uncertain. I do know she spends plenty of days in total thought when she isn't on the job or doing something, whatever it is that ladies do, I suppose. Like the Ark disaster.... at the time, she wasn't sure about helping out. When she gets like that there's still a hint of innocence within her that three or so years have failed to destroy. She's just like a child at those times.

But when she's happy...Wow. I remember the day after I arrived in Hollywood, basically because I spent that day trying to rouse everyone's spirits. It was just after a great dance routine with her, first we ever had in fact, and I looked at her face. She was smiling what had to have been the purest smile I ever saw, or ever would see, on her face. It was like she never smiled for 3 years.

I just realized that my thoughts made me stop. I start back up again.

You know, I remember that one Friday, at the Chinese Theater, the very night we won it all. The night that was only a week ago. I remember her comment about "getting the girl." I even remember that almost-kiss right on stage in front of a lot of people. The big nosed director guy.... what was his name? Oh yeah, Flanigan. He got in the way.

I remember the walk to her house. I insisted upon escorting her home. Maybe I was using that as an excuse to stay close to her for that night. We had just stepped onto the porch and headed to her front door when she stopped suddenly. She was in though, I could easily tell.

She asked me if she could tell me something. I was still somewhat naive at this point in time, despite my earlier mistakes that nearly doomed us all. And because of that I instinctively told her that she could tell me anything.

One look at her face staring directly at me and I immediately got a bad feeling in my gut. Somehow, I KNEW whatever she was about to say was going to hurt. A lot.

She explained that she had been thinking during the walk home, about us, about where we were intending to go afterwards. She was not sure if she was ready to take this relation this far. I'm not exactly an observant being.... but I could definitely tell she had a dose of fear within her features at this point. It had to be a feeling of anxiety and confusion.

Then I said the very words that I shall remember until my dying days. "Well, I would be perfectly happy just being friends."

And the entire week since then has been anything BUT happy. I swear I relive that moment in every one of my dreams at night! My ultimate mistake!! I had become significantly less naive, not from the fiascos with Miss Dimple, but by that one little moment.

But what could I do? Try and drag her along though such things? For crying out loud, she looked afraid! It's like she never went through such a thing in her life!

Now I am forced to sit down on a curb to think things through.

I feel scared myself right now, you know? What I intend to do has to be one of the toughest things I have done.... sort of like taking a trip all the way to here to become a star. I want to admit my true feelings, but I want to take it slowly...one step at a time.

I don't want to dump my feelings on her just like that.

I understand she would be somewhat scared, but I know she would not leave as a result. Having gotten to know her the past week and those five days before, she strikes me as a strong being emotionally. She withstood three years of a crushed dream and a dead-end job, constantly reminded of the unfairness that the city kept on enforcing. So much for possible outcome number one.

Could she have found someone else? God, I hope not. To screw up like I did, gather my courage for a week, and tell everything, only to find that she found a better being within that week? I would be kicking the crud out of myself if that happened! But then again, how could she find someone in one week when she couldn't even do that in three years?

Okay, it's time I stopped kidding myself. I already KNOW why I am afraid and why I cannot just dump everything in front of her.

I fear she will not have the same feelings.

Anybody interested in a romantic relationship would be scared to death of this possibility. For the object of your affection to only think of you as a friend...your heart would be ripped to pieces right in front of you.

It must be tonight, it HAS to be. This is a one-time opportunity, now or never. No going back.

Wish me luck, I may need it. I may need lots of it.

This is the rhythm of the night 
the night...oh yeah 
the rhythm of the night

This is the rhythm of my life 
my life...oh yeah 
the rhythm of my life-life-life-life-life-life......

    I calmly step onto her porch and approach her front door. I suppose being here for three years like she has, with rather skilled and clever investments, would allow you to buy something rather nice. Although I can't figure out why she just didn't get an apartment. I mean, it is cheaper, isn't it?

I really only wait about a few seconds after I knock on her door for her to answer, but it feels like a few minutes to me. I'm given unwanted time to think this entire thing over. It's like some inner part of me taunts me to just give up and go back home. It strengthens my resolve in this matter.

The odd thing is I cannot tell whether she is tired or really bored. I do recall her telling me at one time that she usually spent 8-10 hour days in the agency for 6 days a week. I casually note that she's wearing a simple yellowish sweater with red work pants, a very familiar attire. She appears glad to see me, since she's smiling, ever so slightly, as she casually moves a few stray strands of hair from her face that was in front of her eyes.

"Hello Danny." She says. It's all she needs to say. I return her smile and reply, "Hello Sawyer, may I come in?"

She looks relieved. "Yes, please."

So, having been allowed to enter, I casually place my straw boater on her coat rack as she walks back to the table she was sitting at. She will not object to my actions because I have done it before. I turn and notice she is now sitting in a slumped position, nursing a half-full cup of coffee.

"Hasn't been a good day at all, has it?" I ask. I get a look from her, the kind that says, "Noooooo...really." Complete sarcasm.

Well, she chooses not to retort, and just replies, "it has been a very boring day." She continues as she carefully stirs her coffee out of boredom with a spoon. "I had no idea there would be days like this as an actor."

"You mean days off that aren't Sundays." I say. She nods in response.

Poor Sawyer, she's spent too much time with a heavy work schedule. Even as I turn away she takes another drink from her coffee, but I'm pretty sure that will not help her. I must think of something, anything...

I might as well turn on the radio.

The moment I turn on the knob, the sound of dancing music fills the air, a nice number for a duet. I smile; luck must be on my side on this night. Slowly, calmly, I turn and regard my feminine companion. She has a slight look of confusion, but unlike all the other times when she is uncertain, I see a smile on her lips. I suppose I'm pushing my luck, but what the heck. I do a quick, yet elegant two-step towards her.

I offer her my hand. "Would you like to dance?" I ask, very simply.

She puts one hand to her chin, puts one leg up over the other, rolls her eyes, and thinks, or at least, pretends to think. I've seen her do this before. It's a mocking gesture, mixed in with a dose of sarcasm. Really, even I can tell I was being a little too dramatic at the time.

"I'd love to."

Won't you teach me how to love and learn 
there'll be nothing left for me to yearn 
think of me and burn and let me hold your hand

I don't wanna face the world in tears 
please think again I'm on my knees 
sing that song to me, no reason to repent

    The lovely thing about the living room that Sawyer has is that it's roomy. It makes sense because she bought a human-sized house. We're cats, in a human living room. In fact, we have actually done a couple of practices here, after the workday has ended and we cannot use the studios.

I do believe that we are evenly matched when it comes to dancing. I cannot help how interesting it is that we turned out to be dancing partners instead of dancing rivals. She is from a different social world than I. She took lessons, I just copied from movies. And yet, we match each other bit for bit.... almost as if it was destiny that put us together.... we were just meant to be on the dancing floor.

I can faintly tell that she is laughing as we move. She's enjoying herself, just like I was. We were moving slowly at first, and soon we began to get more daring. Tricky maneuvers, flips, and at fast speeds too. We were just two blurs to any common observer.

And then, as if on instinct, we finished just as the song ended.

In a dip. I know you wanna say it.

The sounds on the radio vanished from my hearing. The sight of the living room around us gently faded to black. All of my senses were directed towards her. Seeing her eyes stare right back at mine, seeing her gentle smile on those lips....

Those sweet, rosy lips....

I am standing at the threshold of what could be the most important decision of my life! Do I ignore temptation and play it straight, or do I risk it all on a desperate roll of the dice, all for one simple and brief pleasure?

I don't even know what the outcome will be for either decision!

I gather my courage...take a slight but deep breath...then I connect her lips to mine.

Oh. My. God.

I feel as if I am melting at this simple touch, all my senses directed to this one slight contact, and magnified a million times over. I feel as if my brain imploded with the sensation of tasting...honey. It seems just like honey. I absentmindedly find my free hand moving towards her head, gently keeping her in place. I hear nothing of protest, but I can tell her hands are mimicking mine.

For what seems like an eternity we remain in this position, like we were endlessly content with this simple contact. I know I am.

Alas, like all things, this must end as well. I gently disengage from her lips, still holding her very close, as if unwilling to let go for fear she would vanish the very moment she left my arms. I can tell her look carries a drugged expression and I firmly believe I have the very same look. For an even longer time, we remain this way, staring into each other, looking for some kind of answer to what just occurred.

"I couldn't resist." I say, somewhat sheepishly.

She then surprised me by stroking the side of my face, testing if I was real. "What on earth took you so long?" She whispered, just loud enough for me to hear.

I didn't know what I could say.

This is the rhythm of the night 
the night...oh yeah 
the rhythm of the night

This is the rhythm of my life 
my life...oh yeah 
the rhythm of my life

This is the rhythm of the night 
the night...oh yeah 
the rhythm of the night

This is the rhythm of my life 
my life...oh yeah 
the rhythm of my life-life-life-life-life-life......

    For minutes we sat in total silence on the couch, carefully regarding each other with a sense of caution. After what just occurred, how could we not? We needed time to sort out our scrambled minds (and mine were scrambled beyond belief, I might add).

It was I who managed to speak first. "Sawyer...I really needed to speak to you about something." I lost a lot of my humor, my tone resembling someone who seems very scared of a possible outcome. But that's an understatement, for I was positively petrified.

She casually looked up. She was a far better actor than I originally believed. "About our friendship?"

I nodded. "How do you feel about that thing?" I ask carefully.

For an even longer time, she silently stared out into nothing, taking an occasional drink of coffee..., which was near empty now. This did nothing to help my confidence, which was already as flat as a pancake at that time. Then without warning, she turned her head towards me and spoke in an even tone.

"I'm sick of it."

I could catch a slight glimpse of a smile on her face when she saw the sickened look on my face. "Must you think the worst Danny?" She asked.

"Right now it's all I can think about." I honestly answered, feeling a bit better.

She nodded slowly and resumed speaking. "Danny, that Friday, that...I was somewhat scared at the time. Think about it, I barely know you for a week and all this happens, and it all seemed to be going too fast! Sorry, I'm rambling..." She reached for her cup and put it aside disdainfully when she realized it was finally empty.

"No, you're making perfect sense." I replied.

She smiled a bit again. "I probably wasn't thinking at my best that night either. I reasoned that with everything we wanted achieved that we could wait before we got close, let alone like what just happened a while ago..." Without a doubt she was blushing in her ears, and chances are I was too. "I will say part of me wanted to jump right into it without worry...it's just..."

"You were acting like a responsible adult." I finish. I've surprised both of us by actually defending what she had decided!! "Sawyer, you come from a side of the social ladder that teaches patience and caution before taking steps. I come from a completely different side, where such reckless abandon is allowed and sometimes praised. You obviously had to have come to that sort of conclusion, while I would have blindingly charged ahead regardless."

She was silently listening, appreciating a good discussion that seemed to belong in her world than mine. So I continued on. "Believe me Sawyer, I wouldn't have hesitated one second had you chose to keep going, but after that night.... I have to wonder why I even said what I said..."

"About being perfectly fine as just friends?" She asks, I nod. "After a few days, how did you feel?"

I was perfectly honest. "I felt like I had lied through my teeth just to keep you comfortable. And it hurt rather badly if I'm not mistaken."

"Then you know how I felt." She replied, the smile faded from her face, her look one of sadness. "I felt I was protecting myself from any harm...three years I've spent here Danny, and I seemed to always find someone who just wasn't...well.... who was just a pain in a certain area."

I couldn't muster the energy to laugh.

"It did hurt, very badly, after that night." She continued. "I just couldn't help but feel I made a mistake that I could never correct."

"Because of what I said?" I asked. She nodded in reply.

It was another long while before I could speak again. "So what do we do about this?"

She spent the next few seconds in thought before she could give a helpless shrug, her face still confused.... something seemed off about it though. It was like she was planning something.

You know, the conversations Sawyer and I have are really good conversations. She doesn't talk and talk and talk until your head explodes, but she touches a broad variety of subjects. It's like she's in her own element when in a conversation. Through the next half hour or so she talked of many things, from what was happening with her this upcoming week to the weather to her past, to her rather impeccable interest in clothing, like most ladies.

It's easy to see she's relaxed, the smile returning to her face. Seeing this makes me wish I could talk to her forever, if she could keep this up that long. For all the depression and realistic viewpoints she expresses half the time, I just wish I could...well, wrap myself around her and protect her from the world, just so she could be like this without worry.

There are times when I should just insist I stay the night, like right now, something, ANYTHING to stay and enjoy myself in her presence.... but I cannot. I must be a guest, and a darn good one at that too. So when the clock struck ten, I knew it was time I had to depart.

She calmly guided me towards her front door, handing me my hat in the process. She looked calm, and so I must return the favor, as I bowed slightly, in good humor. "Goodnight Sawyer.... and thank you."

Her eyes seemed to gleam as she grinned suddenly. "No Danny.... thank you."

And before I knew what was going on she pressed me against the wall and kissed me!!!

Once again sensations swirled though my brain, my body, my soul.... I could not help but capture her slender and feathery-soft form within my arms and return everything she was giving me. There wasn't anything awkward about this one. We both wanted this, I am sure of it! These passions, these sensations, this loving embrace!

I felt like melted butter.

Reluctantly, her lips leave mine and I must let her go from my grasp, the last thing I wish to do. I only want to hold her, kiss her, love her and be loved in return.... not in that way yet!!!!

Without words, I leave. Good byes are not necessary. This is only the beginning.

This is the start of something special.

This is the rhythm of the night 
the night...oh yeah 
the rhythm of the night

This is the rhythm of my life 
my life...oh yeah 
the rhythm of my life

This is the rhythm of the night 
the night...oh yeah 
the rhythm of the night

This is the rhythm of my life 
my life...oh yeah 
the rhythm of my life-life-life-life-life-life.......

There was the very answer we had to know...we shall continue onward, forgetting this awkward friendship and press forward into deeper waters, darker challenges, and higher levels...and I look forward to all of them.

This is the rhythm of the niiiiiiiiight........

Oooooooohhhhhh.......

I hold no regrets now for what I had failed to do in the past. I have no guilt to endure, no recollection of mistakes recently made...all had been wiped away this very night. Sawyer, thank you for this gift...I feel as if I'm walking on air, even though I know I'm only dancing a jig as I walk back to the hotel.

This is the rhythm of the niiiiiiiiiight........

Ooooooooohhhhhh.......

This was certainly a most pleasant surprise, expecting the worst and receiving the best...

Rhythm of the night..........

This is the rhythm of the night........

But then, that's the rhythm of the night, isn't it?

This is the rhythm of the night!!!!!

THE END

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