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The weight of the world felt heavy on his shoulders as he trudged into the Dockworker’s Association, but Danny kept moving nonetheless. He waved to all the familiar faces, both those who had been there for decades and the newbies still full of idealism. Some were barely older than the teens Danny had passed on the way to work this morning, as they played in the streets and enjoyed the last days of their summer vacation.
The newer employees reminded Danny of himself at that age, so joyous and ready to take the world on. Ignoring the downward trends of Brockton Bay, certain that the future ahead of them was bright and exciting. Even now he could overhear one of the new guys bragging about his upcoming plans for a very special event.
“Yeah, we’re keeping the ceremony small, not a lot of friends out here.” Stewart shrugged, accepting slaps on the back as he passed around a picture of his wife-to-be. Danny poked his head out of his office just as the new hire continued, “Still, we want to get married as soon as possible, because I just found out that I have a little girl on the way!”
As the cheers erupted anew, Danny felt a sudden pain in his chest. Not the kind usually accompanied by a numb arm or a call to the hospital, but a different sort of ache. He was thinking of how he’d spent his weekend, avoiding press and visiting Taylor. Only Kurt knew where Danny had really been, and covered for him by telling others he’d been on vacation.
As he glanced out the window and saw the sun peek out from the clouds, Danny was proud to see that the reconstruction efforts he’d taken part in for weeks had paid off. The docks were more than just accessible now, they even had a few joggers and fishermen enjoying them. The paperwork on Danny’s desk wasn’t particularly inviting, so he decided to take his break early.
It only took a few minutes for him to reach the docks, and a small smile appeared on his face as he saw that his favorite sitting place was still just as he remembered it. Through sheer luck, Leviathan’s rampage had missed this little area, a particularly large rock blocking the view of the boat graveyard. From here, you could almost pretend it didn’t even exist.
Running his fingers over familiar knotholes, Danny let the sound of water lapping against the rock take his mind back. His shoulders unknotted, his face relaxed, and he felt himself drifting back through the ages to a happier time. He slowly sat on the edge, water sloshing beneath him, and thought of a happier time, when he’d been just as young as that new hire.
When he’d come to work with great news, only to have great responsibility thrust upon him before he could share it.
***
“Here’s to Danny!” Lucas shouted, clapping the surprised young man on the shoulder, ignoring his confused expression. The dockworkers all cheered, and began practically passing the smaller man around to get hugs, noogies, and handshakes. “Only been here a few years, halfway through your 20s, and already you’re playing with the big boys. Congrats, Danny!”
“W-wait a moment, just hold on!” Danny cried, waving his hands and struggling out of Kurt’s arms. The others reacted with more humor than anything, letting the skinny dockworker say his piece. A small cake was on a nearby desk, and he gestured at it. “Is this some kind of joke? How could I have gotten promoted? There are other people who’ve been here way longer.”
“Dunno. Otis put in his two weeks, and the guys upstairs said that you were his replacement.” Kurt shrugged, the others already digging into the cake and heading off to get to work. Just because things were tough didn’t mean they could slack off. “I think he’s the one who recommended you. Said you ‘exemplified the spirit of a hiring manager’ or something.”
“Well, as much as I appreciate it, I think he made a mistake.” Danny paused, then waved his hands again as he realized what had just come out of this mouth. Kurt raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by his friend’s resistance to a better paycheck and actual benefits. “I just mean, maybe he...um...look, I’ll go have a word with him. Where is-”
“The sun’s coming up over the horizon, you know where he is.” Kurt smiled knowingly at Danny, one he returned after a moment. “Probably out on the docks, doing his whole meditation thing.”
“Right, right. Well, thanks for the cake guys.” Danny started to get a slice, but realized there was little left beyond crumbs and some icing. He chuckled, knowing there was no sense in getting steamed over it, and ran a finger over the plate to grab some icing on his way out. “Mmm, Lacey is like some kind of baking goddess, Kurt. My compliments to the chef!”
“Between her sweets and Annette’s cooking, we’re both going to be well-fed for years to come.” Kurt laughed, slapping his friend on the back again and starting to clean up. “Good luck with convincing your boss not to promote you, Danny.”
Danny flipped his friend the bird, both laughing as he headed out the door towards the docks.
***
Danny had only been at the Dockworkers Association for a few years, it was true, but in that time he’d found a home like he’d never had growing up. As a child, his father had been a huge asshole with more bad habits than a legion of moths at a Nun Convention. For a while, Danny had been afraid that the big swaggering dockworkers would be just like the old man...
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Despite being big bruisers and rough fellows like his dad, these men and women had nothing in common with that man. They had all worked for very little, found camaraderie in their shared difficulties, and shouldered each other’s loads countless times. They weren’t just a group of teamsters, they were an actual team, and welcomed Danny into their ranks with open arms.
They seemed to see something in him that nobody else had...well, nobody besides his wife. A certain intelligence and kindness he’d developed, mostly thanks to Annette’s infinite patience and thoughtfulness, which he used to always be there for them. A union man, Danny’s first and last goal was to support his people, and they were happy to have him on their side.
It was why he worked so hard to try and keep the peace, often mediating disagreements and helping his fellow dockworkers with problems outside of work. This led to Danny’s ending up in Otis’ office, the huge head of hiring reading a long list of all the efforts he’d made to help people find part-time work outside of the Association. At first Danny had been afraid that he was getting fired, but then Otis praised him...and offered Danny a chance to join his team.
He walked out of that office with new responsibilities, new dreams, and a slight bump in pay, only to find people waiting for him. Half of them had already been tipped off to his promotion, having put in good word for him over the past few months, and the other half wanted help with their own resumes. But all of them wanted to congratulate Danny, and it filled him with joy.
The positive reply had been one of the reasons Danny looked forward to every day, putting all his effort into making his new family stronger and more able. If he didn’t already have a loving wife waiting for him in their house he’d have spent even more time with them.
The dockworkers paid Danny back for his efforts with more than just kind words. For instance, Kurt and Lacey both came over every weekend for months, putting their home improvement skills to use and fixing up Danny’s home. It had the added benefit of letting their families spend many dinners together, becoming friends with a bond stronger than blood.
But despite how happy his job made him, Danny still thought that getting promoted to Head of Hiring was a heck of a jump. So he slowly walked across the docks and towards a familiar spot. All of them could see it from the Association, a stretch of wood that was right next to a large rock, one that had been there for years. Tale was that it’d fallen off a ship decades back.
If the shipping trade was still a thing, it would’ve been removed, but these days everyone just left it there as a sort of tourist attraction. From there, leaning against the worn wood of the docks, one could look out upon an infinite ocean of possibility and forget about their dwindling work or the troubles of the world.
It was here that Danny found his boss, a man who was lightly humming to himself as he ran his fingers over the docks and looked out upon the water before him. His steps must have been a bit too loud, because the hiring manager turned to face Danny.
He grinned and motioned for his replacement to come have a seat beside him on the docks.
Nervous that this was all some kind of test, Danny did as ordered and plopped down.
He could have asked why he had been chosen to take the man’s place.
Instead, he wondered aloud why Otis always sat out here.
A wide grin split his boss’s face.
***
“Sitting in the morning sun…” Otis sighed, stretching his arms high above his head. Danny marveled at the hiring manager’s physique, muscles rippling under his dark skin as the sunlight danced across scars and wrinkles. Otis was almost twice Danny’s age, a light twang playing off his every word as he began to ramble. “I grew up back in Brunswick, Georgia, Danny. There was a little dock out past my house, and I’d always make time for the sunrise and sunset. Back in high school, with my bad grades and problems, it was my special place. No matter how tough the day was, I could say to myself, ‘I’ll be sittin’ when the evening comes,’ and then I’d find the strength to reach the sunset.”
“It must have been amazing.” Danny looked out at the waves, seeing the light play off the water. It looked so beautiful, but also so incredibly empty and lonely. He leaned to the right a bit, looking past the rock and seeing a wrecked ship, sighing as he muttered, “Probably puts these docks to shame, since you actually had boats that moved.”
“Ha! You got no idea, man. I’d spend all sorts of time just watching the ships roll in, knowing that it meant work for my pa and uncle. They were dockworkers, y’see, and I knew ships meant work for them.” Otis’ face twisted a bit, but the expression quickly faded as he shook his head. “Then I’d watch them roll away again, yeah...and wonder if that was my future. I hated it, as a teen.”
“I know what that’s like.” Danny crossed his arms, remembering his own youth and family. “My dad was a piece of crap, and just as much as I hated the idea of growing up to be like him...even more than that I hated the idea of working with him. We lived in a small town, and I knew everyone expected I’d just pick up and start working alongside him someday.”
“Yep, same here. It’s not that I didn’t like my family, but I wanted more out of life than just moving heavy crates and doing menial labor.” Otis spread both arms, as if trying to grab the beautiful view in front of him. “I wanted to see the world, to be someone! But there I was, day after day. Just sittin’ on the dock of the bay, watchin’ the tide roll away...”
“I mean, at least you figured it out eventually. I didn’t realize until I got to college that I could be someone other than my father, and then I fought for it with every fiber of my being.”
“Yeah, college wasn’t really in the cards for me, Danny. We couldn’t afford it anyway, so I went another route.” Otis rolled up his sleeve, and Danny could just make out a tattoo and some numbers. “Moment I got outta high school I joined up, going off to serve overseas. That’s how I found myself on a dock just like this one, just like the one I had back home, among dozens of other new recruits. All of us just sittin’ on the dock of the bay, waiting for our ship to come in, chatting about our dreams, and generally wastin’ time.”
“So you got to travel the world, make your dreams come true, right?” Danny was startled as Otis started laughing, and the older man slapped him on the back. “What? What’d I say?”
“Nah, turns out when you join up like I did, a newbie among newbies with no real skills, you don’t have a lot of say in where you go.” Otis sighed, flexing his hands and leaning against a wooden post. “I left my home in Georgia, but they didn’t send me to some foreign country or nothing. Nah, first I had basic training, so we were headed for the Frisco Bay.”
“I mean, probably best that you were learning on American soil, and not in the middle of a war.”
“Danny, I’d have gone into the pits of hell if it got me outta Georgia. I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but I was just so burned out on school and everything else. ‘Cause I had nothing to live for, and it looked like nothing was gonna come my way...other than just working at the docks.” Otis slapped his hands to his cheeks, groaning and shaking his head. “God, I was such a dumb kid. All through my service I was an idiot, waiting for success to come to me, just wasting time.”
“But I’ve had friends who joined up to get training in engineering, piloting, and all kinds of other skills, why couldn’t you do any of that?”
“All those other kids were fighting for their country, their family, their loved ones...but not me. I had no drive, and as they rose through the ranks I was just sitting around having fun. Sitting on the docks, like I had back home...never going anywhere with my life.” Otis knocked on the wood beneath them, a sad smile on his face. “While the others were learning and advancing, I was just sitting on the dock of the bay, watchin’ the tide roll away. I may have changed places, but I was still the same kid as before. I saw the world changing, and was too afraid to change with it.”
“So is that why you put in your two weeks notice?” Danny had talked to more than a few dockworkers in his time in hiring, and knew a funk when he saw it. Otis may have been his boss (for another few weeks, anyway), but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get caught in a spiral of shame and regret. Danny decided to try some tough love. “Because history seems like it’s repeating again, here in Brockton Bay? Because you’ve given up? It looks like nothing’s going to change, and everything still remains the same no matter what you do? You can’t just quit!”
“Speeches like that remind me why I’m giving you my job, Danny.” Otis laughed, leaning back to rest on both hands. Arms splayed out behind him, Otis arched his back a bit and looked straight up. “I just wasn’t made for the military, man. I had ten people screaming at me every day, and I can’t do what ten people tell me to do. I got out as soon as my time was over, moved on...”
“Did you go back to Georgia?” Danny felt a little embarrassed by his words earlier, and hoped that talking about the man’s home would perk him up. “See your family, maybe patch things up with them?”
“I wish it was that easy, man. Nah, I left out of nowhere, never wrote, and they weren’t exactly welcoming. I ended up back on those docks again, just sittin’ there resting my bones. No family, no home, no direction in life. The loneliness hit hard, and just wouldn’t leave me alone. I just started walking one day, going from town to town. Did a few jobs, drank at a few bars, and found that no matter where I went it was the same. I was the problem, and I’d just about given up...”
“Listen, you can’t give up on-”
“Nah, you listen to me, Danny Hebert. Two thousand miles I roamed, until I ended up in a bar here in Brockton Bay. My predecessor dragged me out here and put me to work.” Otis stood up suddenly, a fire in his eyes as if he’d scooped out a bit of the rising sun and placed them in his own head. “I fought and whined, but he refused to give up on me. So I paid him back by making this dock my home. Because these people became the family I never had. Like we did for you!”
“So why are you leaving?” Danny growled, rising to his feet and nearly falling off the dock. Otis’ hand snapped out and caught him, steadying the man. It was as if he just realized that Danny was confused, not angry, and suddenly the wind went out of his sails. “Why? Why leave all this behind, if you see us as a family? You have us, we have you, and-”
“Because even after all these years, I’m still alone in every way that matters. No wife, no kids, no real friends outside work. I left my family behind, without ever really trying to see things from their point of view...I just kept running away. I came here and found a bunch of people who had almost nothing, and after all these years I’m through wasting time.” Otis paced away from Danny for a moment, then turned and looked over his shoulder. “But you’re not like I was, are you Danny? You’ve got a fire in you, a family to fight for, and that makes you different.”
“Well, I have a wife, sure.” Danny found his hand going to his wallet, and he flipped it open to look at Annette, the love of his life. Still as radiant as the day they’d married, smiling at him from the photo. Otis was staring at him, and Danny tried to wrestle control of the conversation back. “But doesn’t that mean you should stay? Help me help our family, the dockworkers-”
“I may not be smart, Danny, but I’m no idiot. I’ve seen the signs too many times to count, and know that you’ve got more than just a wife, don’t you? That you’ve got a new child on the way.”
“How did you...yes. Yes, Annette and I just found out last month.” Danny was shocked that Otis had figured it out, he hadn’t even told Kurt and Lacey yet! “How did you know?”
“Like I said, I’m no idiot. You carry yourself proudly, and yet there’s a little bit of fear in your bones.” Otis pulled some paper out of his pocket, handing it over to the other man. “I’ve seen the numbers just like you have. You’re barely making enough on your salary and Annette’s teaching cash, a new baby’s going to put you three in danger. So I’m doing what’s best for my family...and for yours. I’m stepping down, letting you take my place and my paycheck.”
“But we can just take out a loan or sell the house, you don’t have to-”
“I’ve made up my mind, Danny.” Otis sat back down, leaning against the wooden post again. “Gonna try to make peace with my family, something I should’ve done years ago. In my place, you’ll keep our family together here at the Dockworkers Association. Hire new folks, keep the union strong, and protect our home from danger. I’m counting on you, because I know you.”
“I’m honored, Otis.” Danny felt like he should be hugging the man, but Otis just waved him off. “If there’s ever anything I can do for you, any way I can pay you back…”
“Don’t go thanking me before you have a few months doing my job. It’s tougher than you think, and even then you’re about to have the job of fatherhood added to your docket. Judging by your pa and mine, it’s a job that’s easy to screw up, so you’ve got a lot of stress ahead of you.”
“I’m not going to back down from a job just because it’s tough.” Danny could feel the steel in his voice, and saw Otis’ shoulders firm up. They both knew the man had made the right choice, it had just taken Danny some time to realize it. “I’ll put everything I have into this.”
“Well, don’t put everything into it.” Otis held up a hand, then laughed when he saw Danny’s glare. “What I mean is, it’s a balance. You put everything into a job and you’re gonna burn out. But if you put nothing into it, then you’re gonna fail. You need to make time...to waste time. It took me years to figure it out, years of wasting time and burning out, to find the balance.”
“Eh, I’ll think about it.” Danny shrugged, and both had a hearty laugh. Finally he started to head back inside, turning back after a few steps to see that Otis was still sitting. “You coming? There’s still two weeks left before you leave, and I need you to show me the ropes.”
“Sure, I’ll be there in a minute. You know more than you think, Danny...I’m sure even without me you’ll do a great job.” Otis stretched again, feeling the sun warm the deck around him. “Right now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the Bay, watching the tide roll away.”
Danny stayed behind a few extra minutes, silently watching the water with his friend.
***
In the years that followed, Danny tried to follow Otis’ advice as best he could. He worked hard, but also did his best to take breaks and find joy in the world around him. But it was so hard to find time to waste time, to relax with everyone and everything depending on him…
There was never a moment when there wasn’t something to do, as work dried up and supervillains tried to recruit his guys.
There was never a time when he felt like ignoring the world was good, as Alan pointed out when helping Danny realize that he’d been neglecting his daughter in his grief over Annette’s death.
There was never a period where he could afford to rest, as he watched his daughter grieve the loss of her mother, shut herself off from the world, and struggle in school.
There was never time to just sit and relax, as his town was overrun with criminals, Endbringers, monsters, murderers, and villains.
There was never time...until today.
The water sloshed beneath him, the dock was warm under his fingers, and he had nothing but time on his hands.
Work was decent, Brockton Bay was healing, and there were 13 days until his next visit with Taylor. Until then, he’d do everything he could for his other family...his dockworkers.
“Mr. Hebert?” He turned slightly to see the new hire, Stewart. “Can I join you, sir?”
“Sure, have a seat.” Danny patted the wood beside him, then hid a smile as the young man awkwardly plopped down beside him. “What brings you out here?”
“Um, to start with I wanted to thank you. I heard that you wanted to hire me to work on your team.” Stewart looked down at his hands, his face falling as he sighed, “But I don’t know if I’m right for the job. I mean, I need the money for my family, and I’ll give it everything I have, but-”
“Stewart, take a breath.” Danny patted the younger man on the shoulder, and waited for him to settle down a bit. Once Stewart was looking at him again, Danny continued. “Do you know why I come out here every morning, just sitting on the dock of the Bay? Do you know what I’m doing?”
“Wasting time?” Stewart flinched a little as Danny laughed, then continued as the older man motioned for him to complete his thought. “Er, I’m sorry. It’s just that with all the work we have coming in these days, I don’t see why you do it. I’ve seen you talking with some of the others sometimes, and you always seem relaxed afterwards...so maybe you’re just meditating?”
“Stewart, you’ve figured out something that took me years to get, and that’s one of the reasons I want you on my team.” Danny felt a grin split his face, and some of the weight that had been on his shoulders decreased. He could almost feel Otis beside him, smiling as well. “You get along with all the others, you’re not afraid to speak your mind, and you love your family. Speaking of, I hear you’ve got a marriage and a daughter on the horizon? That brings back memories...”
Stewart’s face mirrored Danny’s, and he took out a picture of his wife. The two men began to talk about marriage, fatherhood, and the meaning of family. Danny had walked a long road to get where he was, and Stewart was just setting foot on that same road himself.
In mere minutes, Stewart learned so much about what was ahead of him. He began to understand why Danny came out here every morning, and felt stronger for taking the time to learn from him.
As they stood and headed inside, ready to tackle the day, Danny considered the future.
He knew there were challenges ahead for him, his daughter, and everyone in his life.
But like Otis, he was through running from his fears and hiding from his pain.
He could see a bright future ahead, for his dockworkers and his daughter.
Both mattered to him, because family was about more than just blood.
It was about the people you loved, and that loved you in return.
He’d keep trying, keep talking to people, and keep hoping.
Otis might have called this sort of thing wasting time .
But for Danny, it was always time well spent.
Because it was time spent with family.