"Hmm," Mathew said, eyeing the control panel. "Are you sure I’m not allowed to touch any of the buttons?"
"Quite sure, Matthew," Isaac said firmly. "No touching, just watching."
Matthew pouted.
"If it makes you feel any better," Dan said to Matthew, "they never let me touch anything either."
"There’s a very good reason for that," Casey replied.
"You erase one pre-show interview, and everyone’s a critic."
Dana threw a dirty look in Dan’s direction. Obviously, she wasn’t ready to laugh about the incident yet. Isaac suspected that she never truly would be.
"Some people, Matthew," Dana said, "don’t understand how to follow the rules. You know how to follow rules, don’t you?"
Matthew nodded eagerly.
"That’s what I thought. Say, I could use someone who knows how to follow the rules to help during the show. What do you say? Want to be my production assistant?"
"What do I have to do?" Matthew asked.
"Well…." Dana pretended to look thoughtful. "You have to wear this official hat, and sit right next to my seat during the show, and pay very close attention. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes!"
"Great. Okay, so you sit right here, with Natalie, while I go talk to your grandpa about your qualifications."
"Hey Dana, where can I get an official hat?" Dan asked.
"Dan, I’m not sure you’d like my answer," Dana said, before heading out of the control room. Isaac chuckled.
"You’re going to have to forgive him sooner or later, Dana," he told her, once they were in his office.
Dana looked thoughtful. "I’ll forgive him if you don’t do this."
"Do what?"
"Retire."
"Dana…."
"I know, I know," she sighed. "I’m not ready for this, Isaac."
"Dana, you’ve been ready. You’ll be fine." Isaac knew this was true. Of any producer he’d ever worked with, no one had ever shown as much promise as Dana. In a lot of ways, he’d been the one holding her back. She’d been ready for his position for awhile now, and it was only her loyalty to the show that kept her from seeking it elsewhere.
"You’ll all be fine without me. You’ve got an amazing team of people out there, Dana. Don’t ever let them forget it."
Dana sniffed. "I won’t. I’ll make you so proud."
On an impulse, Isaac leaned forward and brushed a kiss against her cheek. "You already do, Dana."
"Okay, I promised you no tears, so you won’t see any," Dana said. "So, excuse me while I run to the bathroom to cry."
"Dana…."
"Isaac, I need this," she stated vehemently. "If you expect me to function through this day, I need to get my crying done in private. You have to allow me that."
Isaac nodded. "Go, Dana. We’ll meet later."
As she walked out of the room, Isaac wondered if he’d be allowed some private time himself. Goodbye was proving a lot more difficult than he’d expected.
"Grandpa says that we can go fishing."
"That’s pretty cool."
"We’re going to do lots of things together. Grandpa says he’s going to be around a lot more often."
"You’re a very lucky guy, Matthew."
Isaac smiled, listening to the conversation between Danny and Matthew. The enthusiasm with which his grandson described all their plans confirmed for Isaac that he’d made the right decision.
"Matthew, Jeremy’s looking for you," Isaac told the child, making his presence known.
Matthew bounced to his feet. "He’s going to let me edit a segment," he squealed, before racing down the hall.
"You don’t even know what that means," Isaac called out after him. Matthew didn’t seem to care.
"Isaac, your grandson’s going to be running the place before the week ends." Danny grinned.
"I wouldn’t be surprised at all."
"He’s a good kid."
"That he is. He’s a lot like his mother at this age." Isaac smiled, remembering the first time he’d brought Cathy into a studio. "She loved watching me work. She was so awestruck, that she’d never say a word until we left the studio. And then she wouldn’t stop talking about it for a week."
Danny laughed. "The night after my first show, I just sat in the studio for hours afterwards. The janitors finally kicked me out."
"My first week at CNN, I never wanted to leave. Esther would complain that I loved that studio more than her. She was wrong, though. I’ve never loved a thing more than her."
"Will you miss it?"
Isaac nodded. "More than I could say. I’ve been working in television more than half my life, and there’s no place I’ve ever loved as much as Sports Night. This crew has been part of my family for a long time, and leaving them is harder than anything I’ve done before. But I've gotten to that age where I look forward more to my first fishing trip with my grandson than the annual trade day. It's about time I devoted myself to my other family, Danny."
"We’ll miss you, Isaac."
"I know, son."
"You know where to come if you get bored."
"I won’t get bored."
"I know."
The show had gone well. Matthew was excited, not only about being able to visit, but also, having received permission to stay up late. Of course, as soon as the show had wrapped up, he’d curled up in a chair and fallen asleep. He didn’t even wake up when his mother picked him up in her arms and carried him down to the car.
Most of the crew had already left for the night. The office was quiet, except for a few stragglers. Isaac could hear Danny and Casey in the bullpen.
"Isaac, are you still here?" they called out to his office.
Isaac walked out to meet them. "I am."
"Do you want to grab a bite to eat?" Casey asked. "We’re meeting the rest of the guys at Anthony’s."
"Not tonight, Casey."
"Okay."
"We’ll see you tomorrow," Danny said.
"Yes, you will, Danny. You’re not getting rid of me yet. We still have a week to go."
They grinned. "We’re glad for it, sir," Casey said.
Isaac watched them walk out. He knew it would be one of the last times he could do it.
After they left, he walked back to the studio. It was quiet. Sally’s show was in the studio upstairs.
Isaac opened the door and walked over to the anchor chair. He sat down and looked around. He remembered when Luthor Sachs pulled him out of retirement the first time, offered him a chance to manage a cable sports channel. It seemed like yesterday.
"We’ve done good things," he said to the empty studio.
Outside, he could hear the janitors making their rounds.
The End