Title: Sparklers
Characters: Summer Dylan, Jamie Page, Hayley Plant, Cameron Crowe, Robert Plant
Word Count: 2185
Rating: PG [cuteness]
Warnings/Spoilers/Summary: It's Independence Day, 1988. Jamie Page is very interested in fireworks, which Cameron attempts to diffuse before everyone heads to watch the firework displays in the valley. Robert stops in briefly to see his daughter.

Lots of spoilers.




July 1988
Los Angeles, California

While Summer sat in front of the high chair, attempting to get one-year-old Hayley to eat some baby cereal, Jamie sat nearby, pouring over advertisements of fireworks he somehow managed to find. It did not really surprise her that her nine-year-old son was that interested in the explosive displays, since his favorite Christmas present had been the chemistry set from Cameron. However, she had no intentions to allow fireworks at the house at all; not with a toddling young girl running around. She was not entirely sure how to break his little heart.

Hearing the door from the garage close, Jamie quickly perked up. Not even glancing at his mother, he pushed away from the kitchen table, leaving the flyers spread at his place, and hurried to greet the new arrival. Shaking her head, Summer had an idea as to what was about to happen.

“Cam! Cam! Cam!” Jamie exclaimed, practically jumping on the screenwriter before he had the chance to hang up the car keys near the door.

Cameron glanced at the dark-haired, blue-eyed boy, “What’s up, buddy?”

“It’s July now! When are we going to go get fireworks?” he excitedly bubbled.

“Um, well, we should probably okay it with your mother,” he responded cautiously, glancing down the hallway in hopes Summer was coming to rescue him.

Jamie shook his head, “No. She’s not interested in fireworks.”

“Jamie, I don’t—”

“It will be so much fun!” the young boy exclaimed. “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeese, Cam. Pleeeeeeeeeeease can we get some fireworks. I have ten whole dollars saved this week.”

Cameron smirked, “We’ll talk it over with your mom first.”

“But—”

“Cam! She’s coming at you!” Summer shouted down the hallway.

He looked towards her voice just in time to see the curly-haired blonde toddler hurrying towards him. With a slight smile, he scooped up the little girl and settled her on his hip. He grimaced a moment later as her sticky hands slapped against his cheeks before she kissed him in greeting.

“Hello to you too, Hayley,” he smiled, heading towards the kitchen, Jamie keeping instep and continuing to ask about fireworks.

Summer approached with a wet cloth as he stepped into the kitchen, “Sorry. She got really excited when she heard your voice.”

“It’s okay,” he smiled and leaned over to kiss her softly as she wiped her daughter’s hands clean. “Did she actually eat any of it or just play with it?”

She chuckled, “Mostly played with it. Hopefully she’ll eat more when we do. How did talks with the studio go?”

“Good. I’m just hoping we can find someone to play Diane’s father before rehearsals start,” he answered.

“I’m sure you will,” she quickly kissed him again. “Jamie has been —”

“CAMERON!” Jamie shouted. “Can we pleeeeeeeeese go get fireworks?”

Both Summer and Cameron looked at him for a moment.

“Jamie, clean up your mess in the kitchen and I’ll think about it,” Summer answered.

“Really?” his eyes widened excitedly.

“Really,” she nodded.

The young boy pumped his fist in the air before turning to clean up his mess. The two adults looked at each other for a moment, before stepping out of Jamie’s hearing range.

“You’re not really going to let him have fireworks, are you?” Cameron muttered softly.

“No… I don’t want them around Little Miss Daredevil here,” she messed Hayley’s curls.

“Then what are we going to do?”

Summer paused in thought for a moment, “Well maybe you could take him down to the studio and introduce him to some of the effects guys. They can teach him about the dangers of explosions and probably show him things he hasn’t dreamed about.”

He smiled, “That’s a good idea, Summer.”

“And maybe we can let him get some smoke bombs and some of those snake things and maybe some sparklers before we go watch the big fireworks,” she declared.

“You’re such a good mom,” he grinned, before stealing a quick kiss.

“Well if you hadn’t given him that chemistry set for Christmas, he might not be so fanatical,” she winked.

“But he loves that set!” Cameron quickly protested.

Summer grinned, “He does. Will you check her diaper while I go check the hard-boiled eggs?”

He crinkled his nose, “Of course you only keep me around for the dirty jobs.”

“Yep,” she quickly kissed him. “That’s what fiancés are for: dirty jobs and opening stuck jars.”

“I will totally open any jars you need right now, if you’ll do the diaper duty,” he responded.

Summer kissed him, “Nope. Jars all taken care of.”

He sighed, though smiled, “Diaper duty it is. Good thing I love you.”

Shaking her head, she watched him walk away with her infant daughter in his arms. Her best friend did not surprise her in how much he cared for her children, after all he was their godfather, but rather how seamlessly they all fit together in the small, makeshift family. Smiling as he paused to briefly to praise Jamie’s quick and eager cleanup, Cameron continued down the hallway to the small nursery near the master bedroom.

Everything felt right, completely right, for the first time in her life.



With Jamie and Cameron visiting the studio to meet with the pyro-technicians and Hayley finally asleep for her nap, a challenged without the sounds of Independence Day parties beginning early, Summer headed back towards her home studio, baby monitor in hand. Though she released an album not long after Hayley’s birth, she was itching to write again. She expected to spend much of her studio time in the near future, working on the score for Cameron’s first movie, but before that, she had a melody in her head she just needed to work out on guitar.

Sitting in her large papasan chair with her guitar in her lap, Summer took a deep breath before adjusting the tuning on the instrument. Folding her legs underneath her, she closed her eyes and slowly began to strum out the melody in her head and heart. She played through it three times before something felt different. Setting aside the guitar, she strained to listen to the baby monitor, certain it had to be her daughter waking that broke her concentration.

Instead of hearing baby gurgles or screams, she heard a very familiar voice singing. Turning off her simple recorder, Summer stored her guitar, picked up the baby monitor, and headed to the nursery. Reaching the bedroom, she peered in the open door. In the rocking chair next to the crib sat Robert, rocking his daughter as he sang to her. The young girl waved her hands happily in the air and grinned up at her father. The scene made Summer smile so much she nearly forgot to be upset he let himself into her house.

“Robert,” she spoke softly, drawing his blue eyes up to her.

He grinned, “Hello, beautiful.”

“We weren’t expecting you,” she commented.

“I promised I would not miss any of her holidays,” he pointed out.

Summer stepped into the room, “But I figured since this was an American holiday…”

“I know. But she’s half-American, so I figured I should participate as well,” Robert claimed.

“Your tour?” her fingers reached out, allowing Hayley to grasp her fingers.

His eyes flicked to hers, “…I fly out in two hours to make the first show in Denver tonight.”

“So this is just a brief visit,” she stated, pulling her fingers free from the baby’s grasp.

“Come with me,” Robert quickly requested.

Summer rolled her eyes, “I can’t just pick up and jet off with you, Robert. Those days are long past.”

“But —”

“I have a son and a fiancé that must be factored in every decision I make. I can’t just hop on a plane because you ask me too,” she pointed out. “Life isn’t that simple.”

“But—”

“MOM!” Jamie’s voice rang through the house. “MOM, WHERE ARE YOU!?”

Summer looked pointedly at Robert before stepping out of the nursery, “Right here, Jamie. No need to shout.”

“Mom! That was the most exciting thing everrrrrrrrr!” he declared. “They even let me push the button to make the building blow up!”

“You detonated a building?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

“Not a real building, Mom. A fake one. And it was AWESOME. Cam is SO AWESOME,” Jamie declared and quickly embraced her, noticing Robert holding squirming Hayley. “Oh, hi, Robert.”

“ ‘Ello, Jamie,” he gave up holding the baby and let her down onto the floor, watching her crawl over to her brother.

“Oh and MOM,” Jamie’s eyes went to his mother’s, “Cameron BOUGHT ME FIREWORKS.”

“Did he now?” she asked, glancing down the hallway as her husband-to-be stepped into the house with a paper bag.

Cameron smiled sheepishly, “Just some smoke bombs, black snakes, and sparklers, like you mentioned.”

Her eyes went back to her son, “You better go wash up so you can help me pack our picnic for tonight. We’re going to head to the beach to watch the fireworks tonight. Cameron has a perfect spot picked out for us.”

“Awesome!” Jamie exclaimed and hurried towards his bathroom.

“Oh, hello, Robert,” Cameron spoke up, noticing the former Led Zeppelin singer standing behind Summer. “When did you get in?”

“Not long ago. And I won’t be staying long, unfortunately not long enough to experience Hayley’s first fireworks,” he stated. 

“Ah yes. Two shows in Denver, right?” he responded, slipping his arm around Summer’s shoulders as she stepped closer to him and kissed his cheek.

“Yes,” Robert responded, staring at the couple.

Glancing down the hall as Hayley pulled herself up with the assistance of a small table, Summer pulled away, “I have to catch her before she gets too far. Excuse me.”

“I’ll take care of her. You go get ready for your picnic,” Robert declared.

Cameron followed Summer to the kitchen and softly spoke, “You didn’t say he was going to be here.”

“I didn’t know he was going to be. I went to go work on a song while she was napping. When I was done, he was in the nursery with her.”

“He was just in there?”

“Yeah,” she reached for the refrigerator handle.

“How did he get there?”

“I guess he still has his key from when we were together,” she responded before disappearing behind the door.

He sighed, “I don’t like that, Summer.”

Her head popped around the refrigerator door, “I don’t really either. I’ll get it back from him before he leaves.”

“Promise?”

She quickly kissed him, “Promise. Should we take tea and juice, or just water?”



Sitting on a blanket on a grassy hill with perfect views of two firework displays, Cameron held Hayley firmly in his lap while she slobbered on a piece of watermelon. Smiling at her son, Summer knelt in the grass in front of him and lit a sparkler. The young boy’s face lit up and he happily held up his own sparkler. His hand shook slightly, making it difficult for Summer to light his. He happily drew shapes in the sky with the trails of sparks and smoke. Hayley’s large blue eyes went wide and she dropped her watermelon, reaching for the glittering sticks. Cameron could barely contain her.

Once they burned through the two packets of sparklers, Summer returned to the blanket with Cameron and Hayley. She scooped up the discarded fruit and quickly wiped the baby’s face and hands with a baby wipe. Kissing her daughter loudly first, her glittering eyes went to Cameron. Saying nothing she kissed he gently before releasing his hold on the little girl. With her brother nearby and toys on the blanket, Hayley did not dart off, but instead sat down and chewed on one of the newer toys gifted by Robert. Summer snuggled close to Cameron, her eyes watching her children play as the sun began to set.

The preliminary boom of fireworks startled the small family. Jamie instantly exclaimed in happiness, rushing to find a place to sit on the blanket. Hayley squealed and crawled quickly over to Summer, hiding her face in her lap. Chuckling, Summer’s hand rested on the back of her head, playing with her short blonde curls.

Eventually the young girl lifted her head and crawled into her mother’s lap to watch the artistic explosions in the sky. Jamie shifted to sit next to Cameron, happily cheering the larger halos. He gasped, not knowing which display to watch, trying to direct his young sister’s attention as well. Excitement filled the air with each firework.

When the last sets of finales lit the smoky valley, Cameron leaned over and kissed Summer deeply, “I love you.”

She smiled, “I love you too, Cameron. You light up my skies.”

He kissed her again, “And then some?”

Summer nodded, “Definitely. Let’s take the long drive home, so hopefully the kids are asleep or at least ready to be by the time we get home.”

“I like the way you think,” he winked and stole another kiss.”No one better to be with tonight.”

“I definitely agree. Tonight and all nights.”