It Was A Firefight In Austganistan

"Angie, Hi, I'm Greg Sanders I work for Attorney Don Bishop, he has a new client Toby McBride." He watched as she smiled, she remembered his name. "He is seeking full custody of his son Travis," he told her, and watching her smile again he showed her a recorder and asked, "Do you mind." With another smile, he asked, "Do you remember him?"

"Sure, he was so concerned for his child. We were so happy to see someone come for the baby, and that someone cared about him. We have never had a baby abandoned here like Travis was. We have had a few adoptions but nothing like what Miss Masters did. How is he doing?"

"I haven't seen him, but I was told he is a big and healthy boy."

"I'm so glad to hear that. His mother showed no interest in him while he was here?" Angie the nursery nurse told him. "The delivery nurse told us she wanted nothing to do with the baby once he was delivered, but she couldn't find the father to sign adoption papers. She told them she was going to abandon him here. We knew he was a preemie. He was a little small and had some breathing issues, but overall, he was a healthy beautiful boy. Our head nurse said we could hang on to him for a week, but after that, she had to call CPS if no one came to get him. We could use the fact that he was premature to warrant the week's care. 

She hoped she would come to her senses and want him. The delivery nurse told me she thought that her father had given her Pitocin to bring the contractions on and speed up the delivery. The contractions were too strong when she arrived for it to be natural. If she waited until she was due, she would be late to start the new intern rotation for this year."

"And you think they wanted him delivered so she could start the next rotation?" Greg asked.

"Right, that gave her four weeks to recover. You can talk to Lisa Berger and she will tell you the mother's attitude. She wouldn't look at him at all. She didn't want to know anything about him. As I understand he was not breathing when he came out, so they rushed him away to the NICU, so she didn't even know if he lived and didn't care. We have talked about that one baby more than any other newborn here. We have had quite a few adoption situations, but her attitude seemed to be one of disdain for the baby. 

When Toby came, he was scared but accepted the responsibility. He was willing to learn anything and everything for his son. He had a letter from Candace Masters naming him as the father, so we packed him up and sent his son home with him." 

"Right now, he has not been contacted by Miss Masters, but he wants to 'dot his I's', he wants sole custody of him. He isn't concerned she will change her mind and want him back, but you never know."

"I doubt that unless the attitude of the other nurses about her spurred her on. But she had no interest in that baby when he was born. And apparently, no concern for his welfare to force him to be born six weeks early either."

"What do you mean?"

"No one can stand her here. She is tolerated but nothing more. There is no covering for her screw-ups or giving helpful suggestions. She should look for another hospital to intern at, but her dear daddy wants her here. He has lost his charm around here too for all the nurses," Angie told him, constantly turning her body to check on the babies in the nursery. After finishing their conversation, she told him the whereabouts of the other nurses involved and sent him on his way. 

Monday morning Greg sat with Don and listened to the recording he had of the three nurses involved with the case. He was able to find them all and have a nice long conversation with each one of them. They all gave him the same run down and all couldn't stand her. One spoke of the danger of giving birth so early. 

"Lisa told me she spoke to Dr. Masters the following week on Wednesday and told him that Toby took the baby. He would have been in CPS custody already if Toby hadn't taken him." And he had a conversation with Don about that. 'No, he seemed relieved at first and then concerned. He asked how we knew he was the father. I told him he brought a letter from Candace that said he was the baby's father and the baby looked like him already. He accepted my statement and went on his way,' Lisa told him. He clicked off the recorder.

 "Ok looks like a pretty clear-cut case, he was abandoned at the hospital. Have Maggie type up the talking points of the conversation and we will submit the petition to the court in the morning. Sounds like a slam-dunk case of abandonment to me. Thanks for getting on this so quickly. It is crazy what all can be involved in the production of a movie," Don said, shifting papers on his desk. 

Most of his work has been making rental agreements for filming sites, the work permits, and scheduling dates. He added this McBride to the production contract just a few weeks ago and he will make a good percentage if this thing ever gets made. They are falling behind daily, so he was concerned. He gets paid no matter what.

*

Toby sat at a desk on the visitor's side tapping his foot showing his impatience at waiting. He was dressed in a nice black suit and felt like someone with the CIA not security. They had him set up ready for filming and had gone over his lines with him. The actor he was working with today he had seen in several movies. He plays a lot of bit parts: a boss, a clerk, an old friend, no one who lasted long in the movies. He has three scenes with him to shoot and three clothing changes depicting three different visits. 

For this one he is the owner of the security firm Hank found a job at in his hometown. They would establish later that several other security firms had recruited him. The thought of guarding some Senator or big-money bigwigs didn't appeal to Hank. Plus living up north didn't appeal to him either. He had had it with cold winters and been away from home long enough. His wife was not the only reason he lived in Dallas. 

Toby knows he has a visit with his mother and sister to contend with soon. He has no idea who they will be. Hil is long gone, as is Steve. He only had fifteen minutes in the movie. He did get to crawl all over Hil right before Hank rang the bell and had done a good job according to the reviews in the screening room.

"Action," was called and he continued to tap his foot until the man entered the room. Hank stood as if he was an officer and the actor laughed. "You aren't in the military anymore Hank chill and grow that hair out."

"Sorry, Sir, too many years in the service, I'm comfortable with it this long. What do you have for me?" Hank asked as he ran his hand over his freshly cut hair and took his seat.

"We have a young actress who has moved to town and has a stalker after her. She has been attacked in her home but has refused to move again. We must set up three of our guys to guard her around the clock. I want to know if you would be interested in the overnight shift. It should be quiet. Read a book and guard the stairs for intruders. Make sure no one gets into the house. The actress is filming daily, and you will be delivering her to the set each morning and then one of the other guys will take over and guard her for the rest of the day. You sleep and do it all over again." 

"For how long, I'm not much of a night owl," Hank complained knowing he was the new guy he had to accept the crap hours. Seeing his nightly carousing going out the window. He expected to have a wife at home every night and not come home to an empty bed. So, working at night is going to extend those lonely nights. A thinking montage of how he wanted his life to be will be put here. 

"CUT," Rob called out, "let's do it again and move the cameras to the other side for a more rounded view." 

Toby sat and tapped his foot and thought they would pay me thousands for this. He did it as closely as he could to the last take and Rob yelled, "CUT, PERFECT." 

They did several other takes of short flirting conversations with the receptionist. Hank followed her to the boss's office, a joking conversation with someone Hank knew from another job. They were establishing that Hank had been working there for a while with the conversations. Toby didn't know him, but he knew his lines, so he said his lines, and the filming went on. 

Meanwhile, he kept an ongoing conversation with the pretend boss's secretary. The flirty way she interacted with him worked out earlier in the day. Finally, he'd taken the seat where he was waiting for his boss. It took half the day with the setup of the cameras make-up for them all. Toby got a light dusting continually of powder on his face. During down times he was in the restroom washing it off. 

The make-up girl was right back after him when the scene was set. They had him change a few times and filmed him as he checked in at the security company's front desk receiving his next assignment or his paychecks. One was of him and the boss when they talked about how pretty the actress was and another time pushing him to replace him. He was bored, Hank complained, "She could buy a guard dog, it could do this work probably better," he bitterly complained to his boss looking tired from being up all night. The make-up girls darkened his lower eyelid and lightened his skin color to make him look exhausted. 

"True, but she wants a human to protect her," he was informed, turned and faced the camera and ran his hand over his short cut hair looking frustrated. "I hear you," Hank told him, sounding unhappy.

"Maybe working up north wouldn't be so bad," he mumbled walking out of his office.

"What is the matter is she is becoming a pain in the ass," the boss called out finding humor in his complaint.

Toby went into his spiel that he practiced with the girl who played the girl who sat at the front desk to make sure he had it down. She was the only actress there who was not acting like a silly schoolgirl when he spoke to her. She has a big rock wedding ring on her finger. He figures she is happily married so she has become his go-to helper when she is around. 

"Yes, she is a pain in the ass, whining about everything all night and is dead set that I'm having sex with her. I'm not interested in bedding that vapid twit." 

They got through that scene with two takes and Rob was so pleased he played the frustration so well that he called off the other scenes and let everyone go home for the night. They had the building for the weekend and only had a few short takes left for tomorrow. 

Toby overheard Rob talking to the camera crew about the filming in Austin. Whether the weather was cooling down enough to go ahead and shoot with no rain in the forecast. They wanted to get it done before the rainy season started. Not waiting for the answer Toby changed his clothes glad to be in his stuff and done for the day. It wasn't hard work just taxing work. He was beginning to hate retakes. 

Slipping into the limo he took a beer from the fridge, sat back, and relaxed waiting for the others to come out. Then the conversation will be about the movie and how it is going. That is the never-ending conversation. But he knew if he called Bob he would talk about the store and if he called Marcus, he would talk about the latest girl he banged. This is what these people know so he better get used to it. 

Seven men climbed into the limo as Rob told Alex to find a good steak house that would take them as a group. Heading towards the far end of the limo he got on his phone and got to work.

"This was a phenomenal day we got so much done," Rob called out excitedly and reached out and patted Toby's knee and said, "And it is thanks to you and your get-it-done attitude. Thanks," Rob told him. 

"It could have taken the whole weekend to get half of that," he said, flopping back in his seat and relaxing. "Monday we will be filming in the house as long as Travis is quiet."

"Amy does a good job with him. We could always have them go to the safe room. You can't hear anything coming from there," James told them.

"I want to see it first or I'll give her my keys and let her take him to the store," Toby told them, "Louise would be thrilled to keep him for a while."

"Sure, no problem, but we weren't sending him to Alcatraz, Toby it is a nice, carpeted room and very large," James said. That was why they filmed in the house. It was perfect for the movie. 

"You know what I mean," Toby said, not looking to cause a problem. 

"No, I get it, I'd want the best for my kid too. Missy wouldn't have been willing to hide much less go in that room with a few Gopros if it wasn't big," Rob told him, "she has an issue with enclosed places." 

"Amy can watch the monitors and when we aren't filming, she can come out so you can be with him," Rob offered. 

"No problem, it is just 'no one puts baby in the corner'," Toby said. Everyone laughed and they got the lame joke. 

Alex found a restaurant that didn't require a tie to enter. A few of the men were dressed casually making the reservation hard to make at a good place. He wished he could dress casually like the others. This suit and tie were getting old. Rob dragged him from one end of this country to the other and still, he wore a suit. It is what Rob expected from his assistant and he knew that when he took the job.

The meal went well, and ideas were exchanged around the table. Toby listened to everything, and it sounded good to him and the next one sounded even better. They talked about the Marines as extras and adding them to the bar scene. 

"Maybe a good bar fight over a girl would be fun?" Toby added excitedly. He was getting into all the fantasy movie-making stuff and wanted to make the best movie they could. 

"Have you had many?" Devon asked with a chuckle.

"No, none but I have seen a few in my time and they can be exciting. With a bar top full of drunken Seals, I can see how one may start," Toby told the writer. 

"That is true and a lot more exciting than the one I wrote," Devon said. 

"I went to this place once called the Red River Club, it is a huge bar and dance hall. It would be easy to film in there during the day," Toby offered. 

"Alex, have the location scout contact that bar and check it out. We could add fifteen minutes to the film, add some excitement, and show a different side of our sweet Hank, the womanizing horn dog that he is." Rob teased. The dinner continued and several drinks made it around the table as the ideas flowed about a bar fight. A few men reminisced about fights they had. Toby thought of a few he could have been in, but once he stood the guy backed down. Apparently, the chubby chick wasn't worth the fight. That is another check mark for chubby chicks.

*

Toby got lost in the conversation and began to look around the restaurant. He saw a few familiar faces and one was Mister Menconi; he was on the far side with a couple of friends. Probably the ones he bought the big screen for. They were having a good time laughing and joking. Toby excused himself and headed for their table. 

After a few drinks, his common sense disappeared, and he wanted to join their fun. He was tired of talking about movies. Taking a chair from the next table he slid into their table and greeted him happily. Stopping the conversation all three of the men reacted to the invasion. He could tell they were all gay by the way they looked him over as he spoke to Menconi. 

"I saw you over here and wanted to say Hi. The movie is going great. We broke early for the day and are here for dinner."

"How exciting and who is the love interest?" Menconi asked, shaking his shoulder in a sexy manner.

"Missy Collins is the main star," Toby told them, breaking the secret about the movie. "But there are a few others so far, I'm ex-military, that is why the short haircut," Toby told them, as he ran his hand over his head. It felt so strange so prickly and short, but they were keeping it short, clipping it almost daily. 

Several of the men at his table watched him talking with those men and started to whisper to one another and that stopped once he started back. Rob became concerned about the movie. If he is gay it could come out before the movie. He never in a million years thought this man would be gay. What kind of love interest can a gay man be? He will be like that Rupert guy who was so handsome but once they found out he was gay he did a few gay parts and has now disappeared. 

When he sat back down Rob's alcohol-fueled mind asked, "I didn't know you were gay." 

Toby turned and looked at him as if he was insane, the table waited with bated breath for the answer. 

"I'm not. I know him from the store. I installed a system in his apartment a few weeks ago. He overheard me discussing the movie with my replacement and was excited for me. No, I'm not gay," Toby told Rob, shocked at the question. 

"Sorry, you just seemed so comfortable with them," Devon said which shocked Toby because he thought he was gay. Maybe he hopes he is and that was one more who wanted him.

"Because I know him and knew he would be happy to see me. I have no problem with gay people," Toby told him, kind of shocked that a person from California would be homophobic.

"I don't have a problem, it just kind of answers why you haven't shown any interest in any of the women on the set," Rob tried to explain as everyone leaned in to hear the conversation. 

"Nah I like my women with meat on them. All the girls around the movie that I have seen so far are too skinny to get my attention," Toby told him and finished his drink. 

Rob scanned the table and the others smiled. It made sense to them he was a big man and wanted a bigger woman. He has enjoyed a thicker woman a time or two in his years of womanizing. 

"I mean who wants to crawl all over a bag of bones? I like something to hang on to. Plus, they are more eager to please, and I do like being pleased, and that gives me the incentive to please them more. A bit of 'Pleaseception', if you will." Toby told them and took a sip of his new drink. Their waitress was good at keeping the bar tab going. That got him thinking about his time with Candace. They had been a good match at least in bed, she was wild and eager. 

"We should pick a few thicker girls for the bar scene. You know women with weight on them are making a comeback," Devon said and seemed to be deep in thought on how to write that. Toby thought about all the plus-size women on the internet he enjoyed looking at. He wondered if they could hire them for the film. Everyone was finished with their meal and the place was emptying as he stood to leave.

* 

Toby worked out for about an hour once they got home then took a shower. He slept like the dead until a sharp knock startled him awake. "They are leaving in thirty minutes if you want breakfast in a hurry," Amy called out. 

Toby groaned and got up and brushed his teeth and shaved then dragged himself out to the dining room. Travis was eating scrambled eggs and was thrilled to see his daddy. No one at the table looked too excited to be up so Toby felt justified in being grumpy. The meal had been heavy and the drinks strong. Kissing Travis's cheek, he then filled his plate and sat. Travis went back to eating, he seemed satisfied with the amount of attention he received. The boy loved his food. 

They made it back to the office building and security let them in. The camera crew was there along with the make-up girls, they all seemed eager to finish these scenes. All the women were still acting like silly schoolgirls over Toby, and they were only doing bit parts. The women were made up and dressed for the parts they played around the office. Some just walked through the scene but acted like they were integral to the movie. 

Toby was glad he didn't have to deal with them after today. He again had three clothes changes to finish off the office time and today he was to deal with some of these flirty women on film. They almost let it be a free-for-all and filmed him reacting to the silly women. Knowing this was the last day with them he did his part and finished the day without complaint. They just set it deeper in his mind, concreting the belief that women are crazy. Too bad they felt so good to have under him or on top... he was not picky with positions. 

* 

Don contacted him the following week with good news. A judge was willing to see him in his custody case the next day. After reading the case file he agreed and found the time knowing it would only take minutes. He was kind of shocked that such a prestigious doctor would dump his grandchild so willingly. But he does not think people are unpredictable.

*

Toby sat looking at the papers elated he was covered now. It had been so easy he just told the Judge the situation and he signed the papers with Travis cradled in his arms. He flirted with the secretary in the judge's office. They were impressed at what a healthy, happy boy he was. No way can Candace come around and try to take Travis from him now. His name will be the only one on the birth certificate. Showing everyone in the house the paperwork he was now. That constant worry was gone that easily. 

He started the next day with a new-found relief. He hadn't realized how much of his time had been spent scanning the onlookers for Candace. She couldn't do anything now he was all his. He was Travis McBride no one can stake a claim to him period. 

As the weeks went by Toby realized he was the star of this movie. It finally sunk in watching the Rushes every few days he was in most of the scenes and the storyline surrounded him. Even more so than Missy's part. They went into his background, his family, and his life, not hers. He was amazed at how realistic the scenes were and that he could act. Rob was pleased and often voiced his opinion of how quickly they were making this movie. Everything was flowing together and way ahead of schedule now that the other actors were there doing their parts.

* 

Tomorrow they are to go to Austin and the whole film crew will be there. The main characters will be flown out to a small personal airport south of the filming spot. This will be Toby's first airplane trip, but he keeps it to himself, so he doesn't seem so country-hick to the rest of them. Toby's problem was he had never left Travis overnight before and was kind of upset at the thought. He sat with Amy for a long time discussing what he expects from her. Then he thought about what if the plane crashed what would happen to Travis. He also knew at this point he could do nothing about it. He just had to pray he made it back. Amy patted him on his back as if he was crazy to be so concerned. It was an overnight shoot is all.

The Marines were already there and working out the logistics working with the site director. They have been camping out and scouting the area making sure it looked realistic. They needed to make sure the vegetation was suitable for an Afghanistan mountain side and these men knew the countryside in that 'God-forsaken' country. 

They had to put up a lot of green screens to block the unwanted views and they will impose the real Afghanistan terrain on them. He was told the Marines joined the crew and have been supplementing their income working with the crew at the site. Marty has also been working with them on the battle scenes to make them look believable. Toby is thrilled for them, they all needed jobs was their number one complaint when they spoke before. He was told to stop shaving a week before the trip to be more realistic.

They are a big rough-looking group and have probably scared off many potential job offers. In the movie they are perfect and none of them are what would be considered handsome. Rob liked that as he looked out for them. No one was to draw attention away from his handsome Hank. The reaction Toby receives everywhere they go is the draw he wants for this movie. That man is handsome and sexy, and we want to see him displayed in every woman's eyes as they take him in. 

Rob is eating it up. The reaction from the fricken extras for the office scene told him he was going to be a hit at the 'box office' as Missy calls it. Rob's assistant spent half of the shoot trying to calm the women down to be able to film the scene.

Trudging through the brush and dodging the cactus they made it to the shooting site. The cactus had to go, and a small local crew was clearing the filming area. Hacking away and tossing them in a cart dragged behind them as another shoveled a pile of dirt over the stump. The landowner was happy they were killing so many cacti, they had way too many on that plot of land. They hacked off the stem and blowtorched the root system.

 *

Everyone was excited to start filming and three extra men came to play the main parts that interact with Toby mainly. They worked on the scenes on the plane ride out. Toby knew they were known actors, but they meant nothing to him, just someone to bounce his lines off. Famous people do not excite him. So, they are actors and so is he and it was not difficult.

The others didn't need much after make-up spending the last three days working on the site in their fatigues. Finding a good dust spot Toby rolled as the others laughed at him. His fatigue was still too clean in comparison to the others, so he continued to roll. They had washed them a few times to soften them, but they were clean. The other men followed his idea, grinding dirt into their knees and elbows. They stood out as new to everyone. That was much faster than the make-up girls rubbing dirt on them. He knew some of them were enjoying the rub down, but Toby judged his clothing to the others, and he coated his face with a good dusting of the white dirt. Then dawned his helmet and after a few more handfuls of dirt falling from his head some sweat tracks down his face, and he felt he was ready. 

They were all fitted with discreetly placed gopros as the make-up girl dirtied them up a little more. The guys who are the Afghan rebels walked into the site and Toby watched the visceral reaction from the Marines. They must have done a good job of dressing them because they were about to be gutted by the Marines. Toby nudged George who was to his left, "They are actors, and we get to pretend to kill them." The people at the site laughed and the tension was cut. Most of them spoke with a Latin American accent but they had the look and were excited at the opportunity to be in the film. They had been taught a few phrases to yell at the Seals as they shot at them.

Rob and Marty got busy setting up the scene as the guys continued to dirty themselves up while listening to what they said. 

The story goes, that the Seals are chasing down a group of Taliban fighters. They blew up a shopping area five days earlier, killing dozens and hurting hundreds. They called in the Seals and the hunt was on. They have them trapped on a hillside. The problem was they could shoot at the Seals much easier than the Seals could shoot and hit them since the Seals were downhill. Both were trapped in this valley until they made enough kills to dwindle the enemy's numbers. That was their order, to shoot and kill the enemy. 

* 

It sounds easy to Toby the Afghans are going to be up the hill. So, they are firing down on them. The special effects guys were setting up a few more squibs, as they call them, to show missed shots and the rock will be puffing dust making bang sounds as the filming continued. A few men received fake blood to indicate injuries. One of the Marines agreed to be shot and all he had to do was pull away a flap on his fatigues to show blood. He was to fall and moan and groan but not too extreme after all he is a Seal. They must be able to hear the banter over his screams as the battle continues and they scramble to save him. Sure, they can dub it, but it never sounds the same as actual footage. 

An hour into the day they started the battle crouching behind a pile of rocks and a toppled spruce tree. Not the same species but close enough unless you're a botanist watching the movie with a flair for perfection. 

Toby fired his M-16 filled with blanks at the Afghan rebels who kept moving around the rocks above them shooting to try and kill them. The shots got closer and closer as they moved closer together. As the death count grew Keith shot a rocket launcher and it missed the cluster of rebels by three yards but brought down the hillside onto them. 

The special effects men sat off a rockslide with a foe explosion that will be dubbed in. The foam-painted hillside slid down towards the enemy. The bad guys were injured or killed in the falling rocks as they slid down the hill with the debris. Falling back while the rocks slid down the Marines celebrated with a few back slaps and pained smiles. Once the slide stopped, they rushed the hillside before the rebels could regroup and put an end to them all. 

They collected their wounded and made their way out of the valley they had been trapped in for what seemed like days. The guys had their banter down well and the scene was perfect much to everyone's surprise. Even the crudeness of the kills was considered and the loss of other Seals they carried out was discussed. The exhaustion along with the frustration of the loss of teammates set the end of the battle. 

Of course, the falling rocks were made of lightweight materials dropped on them by the special effects crew, and no one was injured. They were just covered in the white powder dirt and given quick squirts of fake blood coming out of people's mouths and noses. The whole thing was filmed from behind the green screen and with a crane from every angle. The Go Pros caught the movements so the action could be shown from every angle. 

Several men filmed low, crawling around dressed in green to catch the action. The site was overflowing with at least fifty people and the roadside was littered with limos and black SUVs and a large eighteen-wheeler for the equipment. The cost for that alone boggled Toby's mind. 

With close-up shots and banter about having so little backup and dealing with the wounded, the men pretend to move through the countryside, it seems like hours, and it was. They went on filming until the light was fading and Rob called a wrap when the top of a military tent came into view letting them know the shot was over. It was the crafts services tent, but no one could tell the difference from that angle. 

They had so much footage to go through with fifteen different cameras rolling during the filming on the site and the thirty go pros, "if they can't make the opening scene with all that footage, they needed a new job," Toby told his Marine counterparts. The area was beautiful, and a few homes dotted the landscape. Toby could see the draw to live out here, but what do they do to make money?

* 

The wrap-up was quick as the vehicles were loaded. Rob spoke to the Marines and the three extras about the idea of filming at a local bar. Of course, they were thrilled it meant more money and film time. They have gone from temporary members of the crew at Toby's urging and now actors in a film. 

As they walked back to the limos Toby handed them his Agent's card and told them to call him. "You never know what this could lead to. The bar scene sounds like it may be a fifteen minutes long scene, but it will take hours to film. I suggested we expand the scene. I thought it would be fun to have a brawl and have women involved."

"I like you're thinking, hell yeah this will be fun," Keith said patting Toby on the back as the others grinned their approval. They all seemed to be excited about the chance to continue in the movie and make some more money. They all knew how to have a fight in a bar they were telling Toby. He was happy to hear that because Devon didn't seem to know how to write one.

*

They took over the local hotels as the hours grew late. Freaking the manager out with the overwhelming numbers he called in help to deal with this group. With a number of them doubling up and tripling up. The make-up girls stayed in one room together and turned it into a slumber party with lots of little bottles of whatever was available. Alex started making calls to feed this group taxing the local restaurants with orders. 

The next morning, they went to the small airport where a plane was waiting for them. They got back to Dallas by noon and Rob gave the actors the day off while the crew had to drive back. They had to set up for filming tomorrow once the truck arrived with the cameras. 

*

They had a lot to do in the mockup house to film. They want one scene with him coming out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his hips. He was working out most nights and he must decide if he will show his bare butt or not. Missy teased him a lot about if he had a six-pack and a 'V'. Those aspects he had been working on, making sure to add leg lifts to his workout to tone his glutes. No one had seen him without his clothes, so they were taking him at face value that he was fit. 

He spent some time in front of his bathroom mirror doing atlas poses. Was he comfortable being seen by millions of people butt-naked? That thought unnerved him as he took another look at his body. 

Devon spoke to Rob about adding some more scenes to the inside of the home list on the trip home. Toby caught only a small part of the conversation. The others around him were talking too loud for him to catch much. He knew they would work it out and he would hear about it. Rob was good about keeping him in the mix and taking his suggestion to heart now that they are filming. Rob feels that he has proven he is worth his attention. 

Toby spent the evening with Travis and Amy. She was showing him how Travis was beginning to walk. At nine months it was early, but he almost had it down. Circling the coffee table and stepping between the table and the couch he entertained them all evening. Their encouragement and excitement spurred him on. Toby credited Candace for his smarts; it couldn't have come from him. "He is going to be handsome and smart, watch out world," He told Amy, smiling at his son's antics.

Missy had the last few days off and she joined them for a while. Her parts without Toby were filmed and now they must deal with each other for the rest of the film. 

Toby's first scene of the house shoot was him coming back to the house after kicking his wife out. He walked in looking for trouble with a large blue city trash can dragging behind him. It was his idea to add it to his anger after he saw them lining the street at the real house. He knew he would want to remove all signs of her from the place. Jerking things around and looking through cabinets to see what he was dealing with. Someone had emptied every thrift store in town because this house was full of mismatched stuff. He threw it away complaining about her chipping his mother's China angrily. 

A few things ended up smashed against the wall as he proceeded through the house. He knew if his wife cheated on him the house would do good to be standing once he was finished with it. But Rob told him to act pissed, not psychotic. As the camera crew followed his rampage with only a few cuts and restarts he trashed so much stuff. 

*

Stripping the sheets from the bed he stood and ripped them to shreds. Growling loudly, he yelled, "What a fool," and a few curse words under his breath. "And I dreamt of coming back to this shit," he uttered and collected up the sheets and took them to the trash along with several things that man may have used. That large blue city trash can was overflowing by the end of the scene. He dragged it out of the house and stood on his porch looking defeated. This is where visions of him thinking about her out on the battlefield will be played as he stands looking at his unmowed, weed-filled front yard. Visions of how it looked when they first bought the place with its lush green lawn before he left it to her to take care of the place he was told would play here. 

"Bitch," he said quietly and entered the house again with a resounding slam of the door. His anger was very evident on his face as the film crew surrounded him to catch his expressions. Trying to keep the anger the whole afternoon was difficult for Toby. He was a brooder, not an angry man. He was glad he had memories of Candace neglecting his son to use, it was enough to keep him looking pissed off. When they said action, and then of course the pain of his father came into play. All tips from Missy the other day when they played with Travis, she was telling him how she found the motivation for her emotions. Sounds like she had a shit father too. 

The movie was never far from her thoughts and how to make it better. She has millions from her last few movies tied up in this one. She is counting on Toby being a diamond in the rough and making a new leading man out of him as the draw.