armstrong-james

[armstrong-james]

kelsiewoods‌:

He held her hands and spoke about money, of a house, and cars.  In some ways it felt like things had never happened.  They had been talking about money and a house before.  Things were full circle.  How much were they paying him that she didn’t have to work?  Could she go back to school?  Maybe, but not with a newborn at home.  As wonderful as the thought was, she pushed it away quickly.  It wasn’t time to think about things like that.

But before she could question the money, the look in James’ eyes changed.  He looked terrified, desperate, like there were a million thoughts swirling behind his eyes.  She wanted to know.  She wanted to understand what he was saying, but the more he spoke the more the pieces clicked together.  Her right hand moved from his to cup the side of his face.  Whatever the truth was, he couldn’t tell her.  It hurt, but she understood.  He was protecting her.  He was protecting their baby.  He was ensuring their future.  Maybe someday they could find a way to be honest with each other, but for now Kelsie knew she had to be satisfied in the dark.  Prying would only make this worse.

Her thumb brushed against his cheek and she nodded once.  “I trust you,” Kelsie murmured.  “And I love you.  I know you didn’t do this to us….but I won’t ask anymore.  If it’s better that way, safer that way for our baby…I won’t ask.”  She leaned in then, tilting her head up just enough to kiss him.  No matter what he went through she would be there to support him and no matter how vague he had to be about the truth, Kelsie would believe him.  There were still so many questions swirling in the back of her mind.  Why?  How?  Who was the man she killed that day?  Why James of all people?  But Kelsie wouldn’t ask.  She would rather stay in the dark and have her family than have answers and lose it all again.

Breaking the kiss, she took a moment, resting her forehead against his before she spoke.  “Come sit with me,” she murmured.  Kelsie took his hand and led him over to the couch.  She knew he had to have just as many questions as she did, but unlike her questions, he could actually ask his.  He could have the answers she was denied.  Whatever the Hamlin Group had done and their motives for doing so would remain hidden away and Kelsie just had to accept that.   She eased herself down, hand on her belly and mindful of her always shifting center of gravity.  Once he was seated, Kelsie curled up next to him, needing to touch him for that reassurance he still existed.  He wasn’t a phantom hallucination that would disappear without warning.

“I’m okay with putting my faith in you,” she told him.  “That’s where it’s always belonged anyway…but at least one of us can have our answers.  I’m sure you have questions too,” she started, her hand moving to interlock with his.  It was an opening for him, but Kelsie would understand if he wasn’t ready to ask.  This whole situation was a lot for them to process.

James’ gaze shifted towards something more apologetic. He knew she deserved answers and more-- he wished more than anything he could give her the closure, the certainty, and healing that she probably needed. That they both needed. Because in all honestly, James only knew what he had been told. The Hamlin Group, from his intimate experience, was not known for its transparency. Who was to say the information he was fed was even the entire truth? He held Kelsie’s hands in his and smiled softly, grateful for her understanding. This was how she was his other half-- the steadiness, the trust. James had grown up skeptical, paranoid, questioning everything. But Kelsie was the one constant, the only person who could ground him. Even now, when so much had been unknown and at stake, she remained faithful in her trusting him. He felt a gratitude that words alone could not express.

“Thanks,” he breathed as they moved to a seat. He noticed how his gaze kept flicking from her swollen belly back up to her face. He missed her bright eyes, her warm smile. But he was also so distracted by their child growing in her. Her body had changed so much in the past several months. She, of course, was still his Kelsie. She was still as beautiful as ever. It was a change he hadn’t even envisioned before returning home, though. He swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yeah, where to begin...” he said with a soft, awkward chuckle. He exhaled. He leaned forward and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus his mind back on the questions he held the past several months.

“Well, let’s start with the pack,” he decided, sitting back up and instinctively taking her hand. The time apart and uncertainty of ever seeing each other again made him want to be physically close to her. Simply sitting side-by-side was not enough. His fingers interlaced with hers as he spoke. “Who is the alpha? What happened after that night? When I was attacked, I lost my bond with the pack. I think it was almost like an instantaneous shift into being human and cutting off my pack telepathy was...the first thing to go,” he said with a shrug. “Who is in the pack anymore? Was Nick okay?”

[armstrong-james]

astridofthemoon‌:

Astrid nodded, understanding clearly that something else was lurking beneath his words. But she knew better than to push. She didn’t really know him, not really. She’d known him longer as the man in Kelsie’s memories than she had in person. That didn’t really change the fact that they’d had some sort of connection from the start. Or, they had, at least, to her. And she probably knew more than anyone what lugging around something she couldn’t or wouldn’t talk about did to a person, so she simply nodded again, her face drawn. Something about it was concerning, something niggled at the back of her head, urging her to pay attention. She took a small step forward, pitching her voice low in case there were any prying eyes or open ears nearby. “Are you in trouble?” A possessive sort of protectiveness stirred deep within her as she thought about her alpha’s safety (ignoring the fact that it seemed like a natural reflex). “Is Kelsie?”

James’ nostrils flared slightly as he let out a heavy exhale. Her questions were simple, but their answers were so complicated. How could James answer without further entangling anyone in the web of lies that the Hamlin Group spun? That James aided in creating? He stiffened, almost defensively. Astrid’s question was well-meaning and he believed it came from a sense of loyalty to the pack. To the alpha. That made him feel both proud and guilty, that he could be the source of danger for Kelsie. That he had failed to protect her before and there was a very real possibility that he would fail again.

But this also meant Astrid cared. In the brief time he had known her, he hadn’t anticipated that sort of transition from her so quickly. Sure, months had passed. But for a wolf on their own, with all walls up? Kelsie must’ve been doing a great job at being alpha. 

“If I play my cards right, I’ll never have to go back,” James said, lowering his voice. “They said they wouldn’t touch anyone. They’re done doing their tests, all they care about is distribution now,” he explained, looking over his shoulder quickly. “If Kelsie is in danger, the Hamlin Group is not the thing she’s in danger of.”

[armstrong-james]

nickk-robinsonn‌:

Nick swivelled on his heel when he heard James’ voice. It was like hearing a ghost. James had been like a big brother to Nick, and these past months without him left Nick shaken. The pack was the closest thing Nick ever had and probably would ever find to a family. He had dreams every now and then, where James would be there. Like he never left. Sometimes they were memories of full moons, other times, Nick was drowning and he could just barely hear James’ voice, muffled and drowned out by the imaginary tides. 

“James?” He asked, his voice raised in shock, eyebrows pushed up. He reached out and grabbed the man’s shoulder. “Holy…Fuck. No.” He shook his head. He was seeing a ghost. He felt James leave. He felt the bond disappear. That didn’t just happen. “You died.” He said, furrowing his brows, like it was an accusation.

James smiled softly at his-- his former-- beta. Nick had been like a little brother to him these past several years. Comical but loyal, hard-working as much as he was a partier. James missed the levity Nick would bring to any situation, but also how reliable he was. James wanted to hug his friend but this was not that moment. This wasn’t a tearful reunion (they weren’t much for those anyway. Well, James wasn’t.) 

“Metaphorically, yeah. The werewolf James is gone.” He confirmed, his smile growing sad and a sinking feeling settling in his gut. James was no longer part of the pack. He was an outsider of the group his family spent generations building, that he dedicated his life and future to. Now, he was nothing to it. He shrugged, an attempt a nonchalance. “But I’m back. Human, but I’m back. I’m...” He reached out and patted Nick’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He said, his voice low. “I’m sorry I couldn’t reach out sooner. Be here. But Kelsie told me what you did for her. Thank you.”

[armstrong-james]

alisonhashart‌:

The teasing smile fell off her lips and her brows drew together. It didn’t take her longer than a moment to realize this was James Armstrong she was talking to. Hearing that he’d returned at lunch with Kelsie had been one thing, but seeing him now in the flesh was another entirely. She couldn’t help immediately drawing the comparisons, wishing that one day Ben would knock on her door. But she knew he never would. She had to blink down to the cup in her hands for a moment.

There was something else she could focus on, though. Something else that had been grating at her, albeit in the background of her fuzzy foreground of a world she currently lived in. She’d heard about the cure, heard the buzzing background noise, heard the arguments from both sides. To offer a cure to something was to suggest being supernatural was like measles or chicken pox and that didn’t really sit well with Alison. Not to mention Kelsie had believed him to be dead. For months. There’s no logical explanation for someone to leave like that, no matter how badly they might have wanted to be human. Her eyebrows pulled together, her mouth twisting to the side. “Why do it?” she blurted. She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud and she immediately regretted them, immediately wanted to take them back. But she couldn’t. Kelsie was her friend, possibly the only real one that she had, and she had had to live with this awful nightmare for so long and for what? “I know it’s not my place to ask you, but I don’t understand. I was Kelsie’s nurse at her first sonogram. I held her hand, I cried with her. There is nothing worse than losing the person that you love. Get cured, sure, but don’t let the people you love think you’re dead when you do.”

James sucked in a sharp breath, bracing himself for her question. He had spent hours with his case worker, rehearsing answers to pressing questions and accusations that were sure to come after returning from being gone for so long. For being gone under these circumstances. The Hamlin Group was under a microscope with the unveiling of the cure and it would be bad for business if they were exposed for their unethical practices. In all fairness to the Group, their lawyers had found enough loopholes for what they did, but they needed compliance from their test subjects. James was among the few paid handsomely for his silence or support-- the two seemed one in the same at this point. When the opportunity was presented to him, it didn’t seem like much of a choice. He wondered if anyone refused to comply and where they were now. In his opinion, it was better to take the money and go home. Try and forget this ever happened.

But people couldn’t return from the dead without a few questions asked. That was part of the deal.

He stiffened when Alison talked about Kelsie, about the baby. It felt like a shard pierced through his heart. Those were the moments he wanted to be present for, to be the one who held Kelsie’s hand, who marvelled next to her at the first ultrasound and sonograms. He wanted to take Alison by the shoulders, grip her and tell her everything. That he didn’t want to be human again. That he wanted to be here but instead he was taken and tortured. But he bit his tongue, swallowing the bitter taste of lies, his integrity just a word and nothing put in practice anymore.

“Thank you for doing that. For being there for her,” he said, looking away and trying to keep his tone even. He was swarmed with regret, with guilt, with anger. But he couldn’t lose it over something like this. Then he wouldn’t be there for the birth of his child, he wouldn’t be able to take care of Kelsie. “I’m sorry it happened the way it did.” Was all he could manage to say before looking at Alison, his eyes pleading for her to not ask anything else. Those were his canned responses. Those were the Hamlin Group-approved things he could say and he couldn’t risk saying any more. 

[armstrong-james]

kelsiewoods‌:

Kelsie could barely comprehend what was happening.  Once they were securely inside the house, she allowed her gaze to sweep over him.  He looked weaker, more fragile than he had when he left.  He was taken.  He was stolen from her.  Nothing about this made sense to her.  James was human.  She could smell it on him, but the Hamlin Group claimed they were volunteers.  James would never have volunteered for something like that.  She knew he never would have left her.  She allowed her fingers to trail over his jawline, memorizing the way he looked in this moment, as if he would disappear again if she closed her eyes.

She went into his arms and inhaled deeply.  It was him.  She knew it.  This was the man she loved.  How this miracle happened was unknown, but Kelsie almost didn’t want to question it.  Did it matter?  She had him back.  Emotion made her throat thick but she gave herself a few moments to breathe.  It was jarring, unexplainable.  She couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

“Yes,” she murmured softly, her forehead leaning in to rest against his.  She closed her eyes, but he was still there.  She could feel the warmth of his skin beneath her palm as she cupped his jaw.  “Your mom thought it was safer and a better financial decision if I stayed here, you know…since I can’t shift,” she murmured. It felt weird saying that knowing James couldn’t shift either.  He was human.  Not that long ago, Kelsie would have done anything to be human again, but now?  Now she had a pack to look after and a baby to protect.  No, she couldn’t be human again.  Not now.  Maybe not ever. “And babies are expensive.  Without having to pay rent it’s given me a chance to save up to get things for the baby.”

She looked her fiancé in the eyes, her hands cupping his face and the light hitting her engagement ring just enough to sparkle.  “What happened?  Why did they…do this? Where were you?”  As incredible as it was to know James was alive, that guilt still settled firmly in her chest.  If she’d been faster he could have been saved.  The Hamlin Group wouldn’t have taken him.  “They were saying the cure was only tested on volunteers,” she murmured.  “But I know you didn’t volunteer for this and I can smell you are human.”  She couldn’t shake the memory of that day he disappeared.  It was haunting, painful, and how Kelsie knew without a doubt James never agreed to any of this.  

He chuckled softly, eyes welling up again but with pride this time. His mother had taken care of Kelsie. James knew Dianna enough to know that simply by Kelsie accepting this help, she was in turn helping Dianna through this. His mother had been through so much the past several years, considering the disgraceful and tragic murder of his father, her husband. Then losing James, even if it was temporary, there was no way she would have known that. Dianna did right by both James and Kelsie by being there, by protecting James’ fiancee and unborn child. 

“I know, baby, I know,” he said, smiling. This was the one good thing about what happened to him: the money. The Hamlin Group would pay handsomely to keep him quiet, to keep their unethical practices a secret. That money, while not enough to cover the grief, the months lost, the legacy of James’ linneage, would be enough to provide for his family. He took both of Kelsie’s slender hands in his carefully. “But we don’t have to worry about money anymore. You don’t have to work, if you don’t want to. They’re paying me. They’re paying me a lot for this. If I do what they say, the money keeps coming. We can get a house. A new car. Two, even. Trust me, things will be different for us.”

His smile fell when she asked him what had happened. Where he was. He knew those questions would come, he had been prepped, he had ‘role-played’ scenarios with his case manager and the lawyers from the Hamlin Group. But looking into Kelsie’s eyes, holding her hands, and being asked for the truth? Nothing could have prepared him for that. And James froze for a moment. His breath was caught in his chest as he wasn’t prepared to lie to her or feed her the canned, unsatisfactory responses fed to him. He knew she wouldn’t believe him, either. He owed her the truth after what he put her through, but at what cost? The Group whisk him away? They suffer endless debt in lawsuits? A conglomerate with that power would find a way to take legal recourse and bury them. Maybe even take Kelsie from him. 

“They cured me,” he said stiffly, shaking his head softly. His expression melted into something more pleading. Begging her not to push, begging her to somehow read his mind and understand. He frowned. He didn’t want to keep secrets from her, and this was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. “There’s...I don’t know what I can say,” he admitted, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I want to tell you, Kels. Believe me. But they can do things. I don’t want to lose you again. Just trust me. We have to take their money and we can start to forget about all of this.”

[armstrong-james]

reidcassidy‌:

Keeping up appearances meant, well, making appearances. It wasn’t enough to hold blood drives or host charity dinners. He knew he spent more time than he should at Saints and Sinners and less time in everyday places like coffee shops and diners. To be completely honest, he hated these kinds of places. He hated the crowds, the people, the lines. He especially hated the god awful Top 40s that was playing over the loudspeaker. 

The words were a welcome distraction, a reason to step out of line while still maintaining the image of being a kind and social man of the town. It wasn’t until he saw exactly whom it was he was speaking that the intrigue really set in. What a delightful day it was indeed because, it seemed, Reid Cassidy was talking to a ghost.

He breathed in the very human scent, tinged with a little something more perhaps, and smiled. “The prodigal son returns from the dead. Not a very original trope, but effective, nonetheless. Things used to have to get quite messy to pull something like that off. Tell me: what’s your secret?“ 

James looked over from the corners of his eyes at Reid. Reid, a man who had been in Shadow Falls longer than James had been alive, who knew his family and their legacy. Dianna had always warned him that Reid was savvy, the type to find things out one way or the other and it was better to not make an enemy of him. The Armstrongs had been wary of vampires ever since Atticus’ untimely and unsavory death, but James knew his mother hadn’t rejected the silent partner of Saints & Sinners entirely.

“Maybe it’s Maybelline. Or the other conglomerate equivalent,” James retorted, cocking an eyebrow at Reid. For once, someone wasn’t raging at him for leaving. Someone wasn’t looking at him like he was a ghost. While he acknowledged all of those feelings as valid, James found he didn’t love this attention. All those months locked away, fantasizing about even the most trivial things of freedom (the burnt coffee at Procaffeination, the smell of the dewey grass in the park, the crowded farmers’ market in the summer time) he simply wanted to slide back into his old life, no questions asked. Things were never so simple.

“I took part in a clinical study that cured me of my supernatural ailments,” he said stiffly, reciting the lines his case manager had drilled into his mind. James hadn’t been free long, and he wasn’t about to sacrifice everything for the sake of truth. He took another bite of ice cream, the taste seeming more bitter than sweet now. “What did I miss?”

[armstrong-james]

astridofthemoon‌:

Astrid, her teeth still bared, didn’t straighten up until a beat after he did. She narrowed her eyes, alarm bells sounding off in her head, though she wasn’t sure if it had to do with him or the situation. “Aren’t I?” she countered. 

Honestly, she wasn’t entirely sure this encounter was even real. Maybe her symptoms had grown to full blown hallucinations. Maybe joining a pack had actually made everything worse. Obviously, she knew that was ridiculous, but it made about as much sense as standing before him now did. His congratulations set her off kilter a little. This was really James? This very human male standing before her was the same one that had meandered into her job that very first day of work. Well, mostly the same. “How?” she asked, and it was an umbrella of a question. How are you here? How are you human? Just… how?

James stiffened when she didn’t relax. What had he expected from her? James had barely known Astrid before he had been taken away, but he had wanted her in the pack. He could tell she was good, deep down. Rules and expectations would take her some time to adjust to, but she would fit in well. He based all he knew about her, really, on intuition. He sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils at her questions. They were uncomfortable, sure, but he had been coached on what to say and how to say it. That certainly didn’t mean he liked answering the way he was legally obligated to.

“The cure.” He responded simply, offering her a thin, tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s truly...a miracle.” He rolled his eyes softly as he looked away, his tone hard. “I’m just glad I’m back. I’m here now. I’m alive.”

[armstrong-james]

kelsiewoods‌:

It felt like the world was moving in slow motion.  Never in a million years did she expect to find James there when she opened the door.  But he was there.  He was back.  Kelsie was crying, but when he kissed her everything clicked.  He was back.  He was home.  She was overwhelmed, her already rampant emotions making this even more overwhelming than she ever could have expected, as if she could expect to find him standing there.

“You’re alive,” Kelsie gasped as she held him.  She didn’t want to let go.  She didn’t want to lose his warmth or his closeness.  She could hear his breathing as proof that he was real.  He was alive.  It felt like some sort of dream.  The baby was kicking as if it was reacting to it’s mother’s emotions and she smiled when James pulled back to rest his hand against it.  She couldn’t even believe this.  He was alive.  She could remember it.  The last time she’d seen him he was dying and now he was here.  He was safe.  He was alive.  Kelsie’s mind was spinning a mile a minute as she struggled to make sense of what was happening.  “You’re alive!”

It was so vivid, the memory of him bloody, beaten, and struggling to breathe in that alley.  Then he was gone and her world lost it’s color.  He kept holding her as Kelsie’s tears streamed down her face.  She didn’t care what a mess she inevitably looked like, crying in his arms with her hair a mess from her nap.  She nodded once, her hand moving to rest over his as he touched her belly.  “They’re fine,” she murmured.  It had been too much.  The idea of finding out the gender without him was too painful.  “They’re healthy,” she promised him.

Kelsie looked him in the eyes and took a step back, but she never stopped touching him.  She needed the constant reassurance that he was alive, he was safe.  “Come inside,” she begged him.  They didn’t need to do this while they were standing in the doorway.  Dianna was going to be over the moon.  “I just….I can’t believe you’re alive….you’re here…”  She was sobbing as she looked at him, unable to believe her fiancé, the man she loved, was standing right in front of her.  Another tear raced down her cheek and dripped off her chin.  “This feels like a dream…Don’t wake me up if I’m dreaming…”

James laughed breathlessly at her response that the baby was healthy and fine. All of those months spent aching and worrying over Kelsie and their child, thankfully, held no truth to them. This was the best-case scenario that he could have returned home to. For once, he couldn’t calculate, he couldn’t think, he was just overwhelmed with relief. 

He nodded at her suggestion to move inside. The brisk March air certainly didn’t help his shaking. His hands gently found their way to her arms as he moved them both out of the doorway and into Dianna’s living room. He saw she was also crying and rose a hand to her cheek, wiping away her tears with his thumb. He was smaller than before, just lean and relatively weak muscles from the poor diet at the facility and from lack of exercise. Everything he had done the past months had been tightly regulated and often he had been too sickly from the serum to put up much of a fight or walk further than a dozen feet. But now, the Hamlin Group wanted him to be a perfect example of the glory that came with their serum. He could stand on his own two feet, he could hold the woman he loved, but everything else? He’d have to work hard to get even remotely close to the shape he had been in before he left.

“I’m here. I’m here to stay, I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured softly, shaking his head. His lips pressed against her forehead again, inhaling a deep breath. When he pulled away, his mind started to kick into gear, the shock leaving him for a moment. His mind flickered back to searching for her in her apartment only to find someone else there. He furrowed his brows softly. “Are you living here now? I went by your place and you weren’t there...I was so scared that something--” he shuddered and cut himself off, pulling her in again for another hug. “I’m staying in Shadow Falls. I just have to do what they say and I can stay here.”

[armstrong-james]

alisonhashart‌:

A warm cup of hot chocolate between her hands, Alison looked up at the quiet musing. She wasn’t sure that the words were really meant for her, but they held such a reverence that she’d been compelled to look. She tilted her head slightly, eyebrows coming together with a small laugh. “Where did you go that didn’t have chocolate or ice cream? Just so that I know where I need to avoid.”

James’ lips twitched into a sad smile before he looked up at Alison. He knew her from around, as a human barista in town. At least they had their humanity in common now. “I uh, used to be allergic to chocolate,” he explained, tapping his temple with his finger. “You’re looking at a fully recovered werewolf,” he said with little enthusiasm. He lowered his hand and sighed. “At least I have chocolate now, right?”

[armstrong-james]

synfulxhalifax‌:

Cured. James had been cured. Syn didn’t know what to make of that? One of her regulars had been trying to talk to her into it but she hadn’t thought that any one would ever get the cure? They weren’t wrong for being a supernatural, they were just as good as humans even better in most cases. Humans were just so drab and boring, why would anyone become one voluntarily? He had to volunteer for this, right? He hadn’t been forced into had he because that opened a whole new can of worms Syn didn’t want to think about.  “You’re cured? and you willingly did so?” She didn’t know what to say about it. 

James looked away at her questions. Evidently, she didn’t pick up on what he had been trying to say. It was laughable how the media and how the Hamlin Group expected everyone to believe that hundreds of supernaturals over the years just vanished out of the blue only for some to return suddenly human and ‘over the moon’ about it. Did they not think people would be suspicious that those supernaturals voluntarily left and chose not to say anything, leave any notes, or contact anyone until the ‘trial’ had been completed.

He didn’t respond verbally, knowing that he hated to lie but that the Hamlin Group was likely keeping eyes on him. Just enough to make sure he didn’t break the NDA. It wasn’t worth putting Kelsie and the baby at risk to tell the truth. He simply took a long sip of his tea, an indirect message to Syndra that no, he most certainly did not volunteer to be yanked away from his pregnant fiancee and wolf pack that he had been the alpha of to become a puny human. “And everyone else there, too,” he said with a simple nod.

[armstrong-james]

marcolatz‌:

Though there were times when the mere thought of ingesting food made him feel queasy, he couldn’t help himself when it came to certain treats. Hot dogs, fries, and now mint chocolate chip ice cream. He almost didn’t catch the other’s presence, so engrossed in the chilled, creamy goodness lacing his taste-buds. “Yeah well, no better time to enjoy it, right?” He knew who it was. And he understood where James was coming from - there had to be positives to all the horrors they had undergone, right? Well, wrong from Marco’s point of view, but, he couldn’t bring himself to rain on the other’s tiny parade just yet. “Not like we were given anything five-star on our little ‘vacation’,” The words were hushed, a glance thrown in either direction, as though they were being watched. But who was to say they weren’t? 

James snorted at Marco’s line about the food they served at the facility in New Mexico. He kept his eyes trained on his ice cream though, sharing the paranoia and suspicion Marco held. A large corporation like Hamlin Group had a lot of pull, they had come to learn. They could literally snatch people off the street and make out like bandits at the end of the day. Not to mention, they were probably being watched to make sure they didn’t break the NDA they had signed. James wasn’t willing to risk anything, not when he finally had Kelsie back and their baby would be due in a few months.

“You mean that space food garbage?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. He lifted his head and surveyed the street. Damn, he wished he could hear more than his immediate surroundings. Losing his heightened senses made him feel more vulnerable than losing his strength and speed. He sighed softly. “Is it weird that it’s strange seeing you in street clothes? Holding ice cream?” he looked down at the cup in his own hand. “It’s weird being in street clothes. Outside. Eating real food,” he mused with a frown.

[armstrong-james]

astridofthemoon‌:

Lounging across a bench in the crisp March air, a voice drifted into Astrid’s subsconcious. Vague familiarity bit at her, drew her brows together as something like urgency shoved at her to sit up, to look around, to take stock of her surroundings. Actively listening now, she heard the same voice again. Her head snapped up and swiveled around, landing on a figure that tugged again at that sense of vague familiarity. She was sure that she should know him but she couldn’t quite recall…

And then it hit her all at once. James. She’d known him longer as a ghost, as the haunting shadows behind Kelsie’s eyes, than she’d ever known him in the flesh, but it was unmistakable. She stood, stalking closer as she shoved between him and whoever it was he’d been talking to. Her lips pulled back in a snarl thinly disguised as a tight smile, mistrust at his very human scent. “James?”

James’ gaze lifted from his ice cream to the brunette nearby. He couldn’t rely on heightened senses anymore, which was probably why he didn’t immediately recognize Astrid while focused on his food. His eyes widened slightly. Aside from Kelsie, this was the first person from the pack he had seen since he had returned. He gave her a tense, tight smile.

“Astrid. You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he replied, straightening up. The irony of his statement was not lost on him. He paused and cleared his throat awkwardly. He was glad she was in the pack now. He wished he could have acted as a guide for her, helped her find her path. But that would be Kelsie’s responsibility now. And Dianna’s and Nick’s. “Um, congrats on joining a pack. The pack, I mean.”

[armstrong-james]

synfulxhalifax‌:

“And where were you exactly?” Syn said pulling out the chair to sit in front of him. Now this was interesting, she had been pretty sure he was dead. Since who would have left a pregnant wife/girlfriend behind? Though did he know about the baby? Syn wasn’t actually sure about the whole pack situation that had been going on. It would be interesting to see the fall out of James coming home. “But to answer your question, I’ve been good.”

James stiffened at her question. It felt like she was implying something and he wasn’t too keen on how misinformed that subtle, possible accusation was. But then again, maybe he was being paranoid. No, he knew he was. It was hard to not constantly be on edge after what he had just endured and still had to swallow. He had to be a puppet for an organization that at one point didn’t care if he lived or died. It didn’t care if he was happy or healthy. They just wanted to push their product without getting sued. And here he was, trading his dignity just to walk around freely. Was this even really freedom?

“New Mexico at some testing facility. Hamlin Group.” He said, eyes looking away. He couldn’t say anything negative about his experience. Like his mama taught him, if you had nothing nice to say, it was better to tighten your lips. “I’m cured.” He said, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at her. Hopefully she could read between the lines of what he was and wasn’t saying. “Glad to hear it. Sounds like things have been quiet here, then, if you’re bored.”

[armstrong-james]

kelsiewoods‌:

The third trimester had hit Kelsie like a brick to the face.  It had only just started, but she was exhausted.  Her nesting instincts had finally kicked in, but she wasn’t ready to make a nursery yet.  Neither was Dianna.  They’d have to tackle James’ room and she was too emotional for that, too exhausted, too everything.  She’d taken a morning shift at the Hellmouth and promptly fell asleep on the couch when she got back home.  Dianna wouldn’t be back for a few hours and Kelsie had planned on making dinner for the both of them as some sort of thank you for putting up with her over the last few weeks.  Especially since Valentine’s Day had been rough on her and the baby moving just…forced her to move forward.  Everyday she got closer to meeting her baby and the reality of what was going on would become real.  A widow without ever saying I do.  That always brought pain to her each time it crossed her mind.

It wasn’t uncommon for her dreams to feature James.  He was there a lot, the one blessing of her exhaustion.  When she closed her eyes at night things could be normal.  They could be the same.  Everything felt right then.  The downside was those first few seconds as she woke, with sleep lingering in the back of her mind.  For those few seconds, she could forget what happened.  She could forget what she lost.  So when the knocks at the door jarred her from her slumber, Kelsie could have sworn she heard his voice.  Then reality settled back in.  James was gone.  He was never coming back.

Her baby kicked and she rubbed her hand over the spot to sooth her child before pushing herself up from the couch.  Everything was harder as her center of gravity shifted, but Kelsie managed to get up and waddle over to the door.  She unlocked it and pulled it open, half expecting it to be a member of the pack worried when she hadn’t replied to a text.  What she didn’t expect was to come face to face with James.

Suddenly the world stopped spinning and Kelsie’s eyes widened.  This couldn’t be real, could it?  He sounded like James.  He smelled like James, though not quite.  That distinctly wolfy smell had disappeared.  For all intents and purposes, James seemed…human.  Then it clicked.  The Hamlin Group.  The cure.  Nick had asked her a few weeks ago if she thought it was possible, but she dismissed it.  How he vanished…it didn’t line up with what they were saying.  

For those first two seconds, Kelsie was frozen.  Her eyes started filling with tears as reality sank in.  James was alive.  He was right in front of her.  She couldn’t believe it.  “….James?”  In a blink, her arms were around his neck and she inhaled deeply.  He smelled almost the same.  Part of it was wrong, but Kelsie didn’t care.  James was back.  James was alive.  For the first time in months, she was home.

Without his heightened sense of hearing, James felt more on edge as he anticipated what he would say to his mother when she opened the door. If she opened the door. His heart lurched when it did, but he froze for a moment when it wasn’t Dianna standing in the doorway. It wasn’t a stranger. It was Kelsie, not as he imagined her, but her. Her belly was swollen, which meant...The baby. The baby was still there. Kelsie was still there. They were both here, alive, and here. His breath caught in his throat as shock took over.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, eyes wide and welling with tears against his will. They collided together once the initial shock wore and propelled them into each other’s arms. He wrapped his arms around her, his face nesting into her red tangles of hair. Her stomach pressed against his body, a small kick pressed from it against him. He gasped in surprise, a gentle, shaky laugh escaping his lips. Emotions flooded him: relief, love, and a release of anxiety. He was shaking when he pulled away just enough to cup her face in his hands, planting a kiss on her forehead, then her cheeks, and lastly her lips. He felt that kick again and broke away to laugh again in surprise. “You’re here,” he said, one hand dropping to her stomach. James was never really emotional, more a knot of anxiety. But here he was, standing on the porch of his childhood home, crying in the arms of the woman he loved. “It’s okay?” He asked, his eyebrows creasing in concern for a moment, his large hand on her belly, referring to the baby. God, did she already know the gender? It had to be a boy.

James had pictured Kelsie the way she looked when he had disappeared. Seeing her this way, he realized, made him see just how much he missed. His heart was in his throat when he briefly imagined the appointments, the first kick, the first ultrasound. So many milestones that had passed while James was gone. But he would make it up to Kelsie and their child. He would find a way. He looked into her eyes, cupping her face again and shaking his head softly.

“I’m so so sorry. I’m never going to leave you again,” he gasped before pulling her back in for a hug again. He kissed her hair, his hands lowering to around her waist. “I’m just...You’re safe. You’re alive. Thank God.”

[armstrong-james]

“Well...At least ice cream still tastes the same,” James mused quietly, taking a bite of his Neapolitan flavored dessert. At least now, he didn’t have to eat around the chocolate part. Maybe he was trying to find something positive amidst all the hell he had experienced the past four months. That hell wasn’t over, but at least it was more bearable. He could live like someone with rights again, see his friends, see his family. Eat ice cream. “I can’t remember the last time I had chocolate,” he said, tilting his head.

[armstrong-james]

@kelsiewoods

James had asked the driver to take him to Kelsie’s address. Despite the flashes from the cameras on his exit of the facility in New Mexico, despite the words his case worker pounded into him the whole drive across the country, his mind remained focused on the same thing: his family. Kelsie and their child. For months, they were all he thought about. When his skin silently burned from an invisible fire, when his bones ached, and his heart raced, he could only think of her smile. Her bright eyes reflecting in the pools of Shadow Falls. Her dark hair falling over her bare shoulders. Her timid but excited smile when he enveloped her in a hug when they discovered she was pregnant. Those moments kept him going, kept him believing he would live to see more.

He fidgeted, his thumb rubbing against the skin on his pointer finger. He was human again. He couldn’t see as far, hear as far, and he certainly wasn’t stronger. Would the pack turn him away? Would his mother? For not being strong enough to protect them, for becoming something else? What would they think of him siding with the Hamlin Group, allowing himself to be their puppet for the safety and security of his family? Anxiety pulsed through him as the car slowed before Kelsie’s building. His mind went back to his previous final moments in Shadow Falls, his last thought before going unconscious was wondering where she was, if she was alive.

He nodded for the driver to leave and he hauled his bags up the stairs. All he wanted to know these months was that she was okay. Upon knocking on the door, a stranger opened up. Both James and the stranger were confused. The apartment was no longer Kelsie’s and the current tenant had no idea where she was. James’ heart raced as he called a cab and headed to his mother’s house. Maybe Dianna knew where Kelsie was, that she was okay. While the thought of seeing his mother again, under such uncertain conditions, didn’t help the fear and anxiety aching in him, he needed answers. He’d lived too long in the dark, and so had they.

The cab pulled into the driveway, James noted his mom’s truck was gone. For a moment, he worried she no longer lived in town, either. But the house didn’t look abandoned. Maybe she still lived there. Maybe someone lived there, someone with answers. He hopped out of the cab with his bags and walked briskly to the door, setting his bags down and rapping his knuckles on the wood. “Hello? Ma?” He called out, knocking again, harder. The anxiety was becoming too much. He was back now, with answers of his own but still needing more from the people he left behind. “It’s me. Open up.”

[armstrong-james]

synfulxhalifax‌:

Syn was starting to find this town to be boring, she missed being in her club but it was getting renovated right now. Plus with the whole news of the cure coming out, she actually had a regular come up to her and suggest she get it like she actually wanted to be a human. She never in the last hundred years had regretted being a Succubus and she wouldn’t in the next hundred more. She just didn’t get why humans thought that they would want to be one of them? 

“Honestly is there anything fun to do in this town?” Syn ask the person who was behind her in the coffee shop. She needed her caffeine as she was dealing with the final consultants for her club and if they messed anything up their heads would be on a platter.  

James sat with his hands curled around a cup of chamomile tea, a feeble attempt to ease his nerves. Caffeine was the last thing he needed, but his case workers suggested he put something in his stomach before seeing anyone who would give him an emotional rise. Namely, his family, his former pack. The tea was fine, but he thought even a horse tranquilizer wouldn’t calm him down. When Syndra spoke, James felt his hear skip a beat from the sheer familiarity of it. He turned so she could more easily see his face.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he asked, a tight smile on his lips. “I’m the one who was gone for four months. How’ve you been, Syn?”