#SIGH BIG SIGH OH WELL at least i still have game sam and henry to look forward to i will be getting back to that stream

[100storiesin2020]

Chapter 10: Welcome Home, Henry

Guess who’s back, yall! Come read on AO3!

******

Henry took a deep breath as he looked up at the Foxhole Court. He was a nervous ball of excited energy, emotions matching the bright shade of orange that surrounded him, almost too much to handle. He’d always loved cheerleading, but hadn’t exactly had the option to pursue that at Aglionby.

It wasn’t ‘a proper demonstration of masculinity’, whatever that meant. Henry smiled, remembering the fit that Blue had thrown when she first heard that phrase. He didn’t much care for the concept of masculinity himself. He just wanted to cheer, to yell, to tumble across the floor, and to be part of something bigger than himself. He wanted to put all his energy to a good use, and cheerleading seemed like a fun way to do that. Plus, he could be close to his friends that way. Exy wasn’t his forte, but he could, at least, make sure to be at all the games. This was his chance. With just one full week left before school started, the Vixens were holding open tryouts, followed by a week-long cheerleading camp. If he made it in today, he’d be set.

His phone started ringing, interrupting his thoughts. It was his mother’s ringtone. He ran his hand through his spiky hair and sighed as the country twangs blasted from his phone, then reluctantly answered. “Hey, mom.”

“I thought you were taking a gap year.”

Henry sighed again. “Not even going to start with a hello?”

His mother continued as if she didn’t hear him. “You’re welcome to start school right away, of course, but I would prefer to be told before you just show up in Palmetto.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “I stopped in to say hi to the Gang,” he told her. He really didn’t want to have the cheerleading discussion until after he made the team, assuming he did. “How did you know I was in Palmetto?”

“I always know where you are.”

“As much as I appreciate the in-case-of-kidnapping precautions,” he groaned, “I’d really rather you did not use them until after I get kidnapped.”

She laughed. “I didn’t, actually. One of my acquaintances was passing through and mentioned seeing you at the airport in Columbia. Complete coincidence. I hadn’t spoken to him in years, but he called to ask if I had any more magical items like RoboBee. Not RoboBee specifically,” she said hurridly, “but anything else along those lines.”

“I’m not asking Ronan if they have anything else lying around, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Oh, no,” she said airily, “I’ll ask the older Lynch boy about that. I was just wondering why you were in Palmetto. Enjoy seeing your friends. Keep an eye out.” She hung up before he could respond.

Mood soured, Henry picked up his backpack and started walking around the Court building. He knew the tryouts were here, and that he was on time but he wasn’t sure where -- there it was. A gate was open with a sign that said Cheerleading Tryouts and a large arrow pointing through. At least he knew where he was going now. Henry followed the arrows until he could hear music going. He walked through a final open door and found himself standing on the edge of the court.

It was a stunning view.

He was a little overwhelmed by the space. This was a proper stadium, so it was huge, and it was so orange why is this place so orange. Girls and guys alike were milling around on the court, warming up and chatting with each other.

A tall, redheaded girl ran up to him as he was taking in the view. “Hi! Are you here for tryouts?”

He flashed her a grin. “Sure am!”

“Sweet! I’m Katelyn. Come on over here, we will get you signed up.” She led him towards a table set up on one end of the court. “I’m excited to see you here. We always have plenty of girls come to tryouts, but we usually need to go recruiting to add boys to our ranks,” she grimaced. “Apparently they all think they’re ‘too manly’ for cheerleading.”

Henry laughed. “I went to an all-boys school, and we didn’t even have cheerleaders for that very reason.”

Katelyn groaned. “Sounds just about right, for the patriarchy. At least you’re not like that. Or, I assume you’re not, since you’re trying out. Do you have any cheerleading experience?” She eyed him up and down. “You look a little wiry to be lifting girls.”

Henry laughed. “Yeah, I haven’t done any of that,” he admitted. “I have done gymnastics though, and am decent at tumbling. Also my friends constantly accuse me of having too much energy for my own good, so I’ve got that going for me.”

She laughed. “An abundance of energy will help, yes. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Coach.” She pointed out various cheerleaders as they weaved through the crowd of hopefuls. “That’s Laura. She throws the best parties. That’s Pete, we dragged him in here freshman year and he stuck around. That’s Marissa.” She paused for a second as the brown haired girl walked past. “Are you straight?”

“Excuse me?”

“We have a bet going on,” Katelyn explained. “Marissa seems to have a knack for only flirting with boys who are not into girls. You don’t have to answer, but it would be fun to add you into the test pool, if you will.”

Henry smirked. “I’ll let you know if she flirts with me.”

Katelyn raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the subject. She pointed out a few more cheerleaders before they came to a table. “And this here is Coach Taylor.”

The coach was about Henry’s height if you accounted for the extra inch his hair gave him. She shook his hand firmly. “Hello, young man. I’m Samantha Taylor but these hooligans call me Coach Sam. Welcome to tryouts. What’s your name?”

“Henry Cheng, ma’am.”

Her iron grey eyes seemed to pierce his soul as she gave him a once over. “You look like you’re probably good at tumbling.”

Henry grinned. “That’s my specialty.”

A smile split her serious face, transforming her almost into another person. “I’m glad to hear that. Go warm up, I’ll look forward to seeing your skills.” He did so, chatting a bit with the many girls and handful of guys he saw while he stretched as thoroughly as he could. The Vixens as a whole seemed very nice, but Henry could tell that Katelyn was going to be his favorite.

Soon the tryouts were officially underway. Coach Sam took charge, leading the whole group through a short routine and then testing them on it in smaller groups. They did some cheers and some test lifts. Henry was new to this bit, but the others were helpful and encouraging. He wasn’t sure if he was doing well, but he was definitely having a lot of fun. Then it was time for tumbling skills, his chance to shine. He stood at the end of the mat, received his signal to go from Coach Sam, and took a deep breath.

run run roundoff handspring flip handspring handspring aerial

He stuck the landing with a flourish and looked over to where Coach Sam and her assistants were sitting with big grins. Katelyn ran up to him. “That was great!” she said enthusiastically. “We haven’t had any guys that could do proper aerials in ages! You’re going to be so much fun to work with!”

He gave her the trademark Henry grin. “I’m sure looking forward to it, assuming I make it in.”

“Oh, you will,” she stated. “I’ll take it up with C.S. myself if you don’t.”

**********

The results were posted and Henry was in. Almost all of the boys who had come to tryouts were in, except for a creep who had been thrown out after a rude comment to one of the girls. Still, he was the only boy who got a high five from the Coach, so that was something.

“Welcome to the team,” Katelyn said as everyone packed up their stuff. “Most of the team is going to go get pizza tonight. You in?”

Henry smiled but shook his head. “I’ve got some friends on the Exy team that I want to track down tonight.”

Katelyn raised an eyebrow. “You’re from Henrietta then?” Henry nodded, surprised. “My boyfriend is on the team. He’s been complaining about the freshman this year.” She smiled. “I’ve heard something about a pet bird.”

Henry laughed. “That would be Chainsaw. Ronan thinks he’s so edgy.”

Katelyn laughed. “Well, the Exy team is having a movie night, and I was off to it.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Do your friends know you made the team?”

“They don’t even know I’m in the country right now,” he replied. “Want to help me surprise them?”

“Absolutely!” Katelyn fired off a quick text which was answered almost immediately. “They’re in the girls’ dorm room tonight. Do you need a ride over or do you have a car?”

“A ride would be great, as long as I get shotgun.” They headed to the parking lot and hopped into her car. Katelyn fired it up and drove towards the dorms.

“So what brings you to Palmetto, exactly? Did you come here specifically to be a Vixen or did you just like the school?”

“My friends all came here,” Henry responded. “I’m closer to them than I am to any family I have remaining, and I couldn’t leave them behind for long.” Katelyn’s eyes were soft. “As for cheerleading, I’ve always wanted to do it, but it wasn’t a deal breaker for college. I’d find something else to keep me busy, but it will be fun to watch the Squad at their games.”

“The games are great,” Katelyn agreed. “How did you meet the Squad?” Her lip twitched at the last word.

“Oh, fancy rich kid boarding school, you know how it goes.” Henry waved a hand airily. “You scare a boy half to death and he adopts you into his magical myth-hunting squad.”

Katelyn laughed heartily as they pulled into the parking lot. “That sounds like a story I need to hear sometime.” She parked her car and they headed into the building. “I’m going to stop by my room and change real quick. Would you like to do that?” Henry agreed, and they took turns in her bathroom. The dorms were fairly nice, in Henry’s opinion. Once they had both freshened up a bit they climbed the stairs to the 6th floor.

Katelyn pointed out the correct door. “I usually just walk in since they know I’m coming. Do you want to know or would you rather sneak in behind me?”

“I have an even better idea.” He reached into his bag and pulled out RoboBee, which he handed to her. “This is RoboBee. I can control her from my phone, so don’t be surprised if she moves, okay?”

Katelyn inspected it. “Isn’t one of your teammates deathly afraid of bees? Aaron told me that all three of the boys freaked when a wasp got into the room. Matt had to go kill it for them.”

“Blue told me all about that one. Gansey is allergic to bees, but he knows RoboBee. Plus, if I scare him again that’ll just be a bonus!”

Katelyn laughed and took the bee. “This will be interesting then.” She opened the door and walked in. “The fun has arriiiiiiived! Thank you very much.”

“Stop quoting the movie before Neil sees it!” a boy called. The door swung shut behind her. He typed some instructions into the RoboBee app and waited. The commotion started about 30 seconds later. “A bee! A bee! Everyone hold still, I’ve got this!” said an unknown voice. Then there was Blue. “Hold up, that’s RoboBee! Don’t smash it!! HENRYYYYYYYYYY!” She threw the door open and launched herself at Henry, tackling him to the ground as RoboBee buzzed in circles around them.

Blue had her true smile on. “You’re supposed to be in Venezuela!” She helped him up and gave him a hug. “Also you scared Gansey shitless, I hope you know.”

Henry laughed. “I wanted to surprise you guys. The scare was a bonus.” He looked up to see Gansey himself in the doorway, looking a little shaken but overall happy. “Gansey-boy!” It’s good to see you!”

“It’s a pleasure to see you as well!” Gansey replied before joining the hug.

Some more faces came to the doorway. “So this is the famous Henry,” Captain Wilds said. “Blue talks about you even more than she does her own boyfriend.

He chuckled. “I hope you haven’t gotten any ideas about that working out,” he said to Blue.

She shoved him away. “In your dreams, weirdo.”

“She didn’t even mention that you’re cute as hell,” a boy said. Henry was pretty sure that it was number 8, Nicholas Hemmick. “That’s a crucial detail.”

“Depends on who you ask, I think. Where are Adam and Ronan?”

“Oh, they’re in here,” Captain Wilds said.

“Yes, Ronan has missed you,” Blue said loudly.

“Shut up, maggot!”

“He even said you can get glitter in his car any time.”

“I did NOT!”

Gansey spoke over their continued bickering. “What brings you to our lovely corner of the world, Cheng? Last we heard you were still in Venezuela.”

“You’re talking to one of the newest members of the Vixens,” Henry replied.

“No way!” Blue high fived him. “I thought you were going to try out in the spring!”

“I couldn’t wait. I missed you all too much,” he admitted.

“We missed you too.” Blue grinned and dragged him into the room. “Hey everyone, this is Henry Cheng, one of our best friends and apparently now a Vixen. Henry, you knew who everyone on the team was before we did, but that one-” she pointed to the Minyard twin sitting next to Neil “-is Andrew, and that one there next to Katelyn is Aaron. And on that note, we have some catching up to do so we will see you all later.” She dragged him back out of the room. “Adam, Ronan, we’ll be in your room whenever you come back.

“But you can’t just ditch movie night!” Nicky called, pouting.

“Try me!” she slammed the door. “Anyway, Henry, let’s all do a sleepover in the room tonight! It’ll be like old times!”

“We should look into the Fox Tower rules, see if we can add you to our room,” Gansey said.

“As much as I like that idea, I’m probably going to be put in a room with my fellow Vixens. I’m pretty sure we are just downstairs though, so I won’t be too far, and I wouldn’t want to bother you guys.”

Gansey looked stricken. “You’d never be a bother. You’ve been with us since-- you’re a part of us now,” he said softly.

Henry hugged him. “I’ve missed you guys.”

Both of them hugged him right back. “Welcome home, Henry,” Gansey said.

[southernbell91]

Some Secrets are Better left Dead Chapter 2

I groaned as I rolled over, reaching for my phone, the Golden Girls theme song playing for the 3rd time this morning, Wade was anything if not persistent. “What!?” I croaked into the phone, my dry throat painfully obvious.

“Is that any way to talk to someone who has an order of Donuts and Coffee on it’s way to your front door as we speak?” My Best friend Wade asked feigning annoyance. “Now get your ass out of bed before the grub hub guy eats your Birthday breakfast.”

“Birthday?” I mumbled, glancing at my phone checking the date, sure enough March 9th. “Oh shit” I whispered seeing the excess amount of notifications on my phone. “Seriously, it’s the same day every fucking year, after 24 of them you would think you would have this figured out. Remind me, how are you the smart one again?” he asked sarcastically.

“Shut up” I grumbled, climbing out of bed after hearing a light knock at the door.”and Thanks for Breakfast Wade,I gotta run I’ll talk to you later”

“Anytime Ace, at least one of us remembered. Oh and Happy Birthday”. After taking the food, and thanking the driver I plopped down on the couch to catch up on the morning news.

I was mindlessly scrolling through my social media, listening to the News when the newscaster caught my attention.

“Tony Stark steps down as head of Stark Industries, former assistant Pepper Potts named CEO” She says.

  Now, why in the hell would Billionaire Tony Stark pass running his company over to a glorified secretary? I rewound the clip while chugging my coffee watching for any hints of anything strange, well stranger than the segment itself. The Video showed Tony at some Gala, cheesing it up for the camera as usual, a fiery redhead on his arm. Stark was a notorious playboy, aside from his assistant he seemed to have a different woman on his arm for every event he attended. The clip also showed Starks massive tower in the heart of New York City, it was his newest project and had only gotten completed a few years ago when he moved his company here from California, after having changed his focus from Military grade weapons to energy, there were rumors already that stark was working on a new facility somewhere but no one had managed to lock down a location, yet. After watching the clip 3 more times I decided I had my new project, I was going to get to the bottom of Starks strange behavior. What could it be Illness? Midlife Crisis? Maybe even blackmail? Whatever it is im going to get to the bottom of it.

 I jumped from the couch and started working on getting ready to head to the office, putting my shoulder length chestnut brown hair into a high ponytail tossed on a vintage Tee and some jeans and slid on my blue converse, my signature work look, then I was out the door. 

       25 minutes later I strolled into my office at the Midtown Journal, a woman on a Mission. I knew I wouldn’t have long to prep for our weekly assignment meeting,  so I sat down and started digging. I started with known associates, business and other. Pepper his assistant was an obvious one, along with his Driver slash Security Happy Hogan but other than the basics there wasn’t a whole lot there, at least not on the surface. I looked into Tony’s former business partner Obadiah Staine but came up empty, his departure from the company had been very sudden 3 years ago, right around the time of the switch from Weapons to Energy and he hadn’t really been heard from publicly since, definitely something to look into. A few more quick social searches showed that Stark had suddenly been seen hanging out with notorious Scientist Dr.Bruce Banner, that was strange. Banner had vanished off the face of the planet a few years ago after an experiment gone wrong and had only resurfaced in the last 6 months or so.   I started scrolling through a collection of pictures of Tony from the last year and was surprised to see that redhead again at least a dozen times, who was she and why was she important enough to be seen with Tony “I don’t wear the same thing twice” Stark? Definitely something to look into. Glancing at the clock I quickly saved everything I could into a file aptly named “Mr Money Bags” and jotted down some notes to mention to my editor and headed towards the conference room for our weekly Meeting. Being one of the only investigative Journalists on the team had its perks, it afforded me more time to dig into my article, I wasn’t a slave to a deadline like everyone else working on weekly prints, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have to still sit through these boring meetings while everyone presented their assignments for the week.     An hour into the meeting, 35 minutes of which was spent listening to the Sports columnist and entertainment editor argue over who should cover some game that involved the husband of some Pop singer or something, it was finally my turn to present. I straightened up in my seat practically twitching with nerves over this prospective article. Uncovering the truth about Tony Stark could not only put our Little newspaper on the map, but throw myself and our staff to the next level, but I wasn’t blind to the fact that Tony was also one of the wealthiest men in the world and that fact alone made him dangerous.     Dean, along with his brother Sam, was the Editor in Chief of the paper and the one who gave me my big break, Sam was more like friendly competition given he was the other Investigative journalist on staff. I glanced from Dean to Sam and back to Dean before speaking.     “It was announced on the news this morning that Tony Stark is stepping down as CEO of Stark Enterprises, now before you go giving me that look hear me out.” I Said, noticing Deans expression shifted, as if he was prepared to argue. The Financial editor glared at me, probably mad I scooped his story. “Stark is stepping down and handing over his fortune 500 company to his assistant Pepper Potts. That strike anyone else here as strange?” I asked glancing around the room. A few heads nodded others looked confused themselves, Deans expression was unreadable as he let me continue. “Something is going on there, of all the people to pass it to why her and why now? I wanna do some digging and see if I can’t find the bigger story behind this sudden change. I want to unearth everything I can about Tony Stark and blow this story out of the water.”  I finished, watching Dean for any type of reaction. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sam move slightly before he finally spoke. “You realize this could be nothing right? Also, digging into a man as powerful as Stark could be dangerous, why don’t you let”   “No!” I cut him off quickly, “I can handle it Sam, i'm not passing this story off to you, besides don’t you have some Slumlord to shake down or something?” I added rolling my eyes, irritated he would suggest I just hand off an assignment like this.

“Look im just saying Layla, you already have a laundry list of Enemies and I would hate for” “And Im sure starks list is bigger Sam” I cut him off again, glaring daggers at the shaggy haired brunette.

“Alright alright” Dean cut in, finally speaking. “You get 14 Days, come up with something Substantial in 2 weeks or I pass this story off to Sam. And It should go without saying but let me remind you to be careful”

I nodded, happy I won this confrontation, another 25 minutes later assignments had been passed out and we left the meeting everyone going our separate ways, I rushed straight to my office ready to jump into this.   Moments after I sat behind my desk I heard a light tap, looking up dean was standing in my doorway arms crossed leaning against the frame.   “ I know you’re determined to turn this into a story, I just wanted to remind you to stay safe. Sometimes the story isn’t worth risking everything.” “As Henry Anatole Grunwald Said “Journalism can never be silent: That is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.” You may think im crazy Dean, but I feel it there’s a story here and Im gonna prove it.” He must have seen the determination on my face because after a heavy sigh he conceded “Ok, let me know if you need anything. I’ll do whatever I can to help you find the story. And if you need backup don’t hesitate to take Sam, I know he annoys you but he’s nearly as good a journalist as you, just don’t tell him I said that.” He added. I chuckled at his confession and nodded, “Thanks, I’ll let you know if something comes up.” He gave my a quick nod and tapped the door frame a few times before backing out the room, I fired my computer back up and sighed.   I’ve got work to do. 

Masterlist

Tags:  @lancetuckershairgel  @stuck-y-together   @buckmesideways22         @eurynome827    @book-dragon-13    @marvelous-meggi  @spacemansam @cametobuyplums  @loricameback    @collinsstanharbour       @marvelgirl7 @jewelofwinter @jobean12-blog​ @sebastiansloserclub​

[a-jynx]

Lost in the Heart & at Sea; Chapter Three: Give No Reason

Summary: Sam and Nathan Drake finds themselves running in circles when they catch wind of a new treasure that was supposedly lost to the sea; the Diamond of the Pacific, a ring that was meant for Captain Jules wife. With enemies at every corner, they’ll need all the help they can get… Including, inside jobs. How will Sam and Nathan react when they figure out who Y/N really is? How will Sam react when she shows him sides of her no one else has seen?

Pairing: Sam Drake x reader; mentions Nathan Drake, Elena Fisher, Victor Sullivan, Nadine Ross, Rafe Adler,

Warnings: Cursing, blood/violence, gun violence, implied smut, angst, testing fate/loyalty, major injury, 

Chapter Warning: Mentions of injury, mention of blood, stitches -- I hate stitches but they gotta happen. 

** In tags; {they are on the bottom of the fic :’)}  A/N: So, the guys did go after Henry Avery’s treasure, but in this fic, it turns out to be a bust – for now! I’ve decided to add a few things to the storyline about Avery and my own pirate, Jules! :) So, enjoy!

Enjoy! Feedback is appreciated!

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“Al-Alright, Flower boy! Let’s just... Drop the gun, okay?” I hissed, slightly arching my back away from his stomach as he growled, glancing around before forcing me to walk backward, further towards a small cave-like area where no one could see us... I guess he really was going to kill me. 

“Ahh, I don’t think that’ll be necessary, my dear. With your training, I have to  stay on my toes.” He chuckled dryly as I hissed, feeling the pressure growing tighter against my throat and the gun pressing harder against my temple. “This seems a bit... Harsh!” I sputtered as I tried to dig my heels into the thicker, wetter sand but the muck just built up beneath my feet as Flower boy drug me further into the overgrown cave. 

“So, Aviators, Adam -- whoever the fuck you are -- why are you, Nadine Ross, and Rafe Adler here? Huh?” He growled against my ear, making me hiss as I tried to claw at the meat of his forearm again. “Nice attempt, but I’ve been shot at, exploded, beaten to a pulp -- your little claws won’t do anything to me.” He snickered as I sighed, yet I kept my hands wrapped tightly around his forearm. I need to distract him! But... But with what?! “You know, my trigger finger is starting to feel a little itchy,” 

“Alright! Al... Alright, what do you want to know!?” I growl, feeling heat grow up through my throat and into my face as I leaned forward, dropping my head over his arm, my glasses tumbling to the wet sand. I felt anger and disgust rumbled through my body as he shifted his weight, trying to keep the gun against my temple. 

“Now, that’s much better! Alright, first question, what the hell are you doing in Bora Bora?” 

“Treasure hunting, the same as you, I presume.” I scoff slightly as he angles me back up, making me hiss at the upright angle my head twitched too. He stood there for a second; he didn’t know what to do next. 

“What treasure are you after?” 

“Does it matter?!” I spat, clenching my teeth as I tried to wring his forearm once again, only to stop as Flower boy reached over, aiming the gun right under my chin, ticking it upward. “Yes. It does. Now, answer the damn question.” 

“I... I don’t know! I’m the protector, dumbass, I hold the gun power and take orders from that psychopath, Rafe Adler!” I spat, as I felt his arm slightly loosen. I wasn’t lying -- not entirely at least. “You... You don’t know anything about why you’re here? Nothing at all?” He questioned, I could hear that he was hesitant about me telling the truth. I clenched my teeth and tried to angle my head more to where I could see his eyes; if I needed to beg to get out of this, then I’ll grovel. 

“I swear on my own life, I have no idea why the hell I’m here! I... I’m Nadine Ross’s right-hand gal, I follow her wherever she goes, I help with jobs where I can, and such.” I whispered, my bottom lip trembling as I felt his arm loosen even more -- I could work with this. “Come... Come on, Flower boy! You wouldn’t want to kill me before the first date, right?” I chuckled dryly as he slowly dropped the gun, allowing me to catch my breath as I somewhat relaxed against his grip. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re-” I clenched my jaw, firing back my elbow and reaching down, snapping the gun away from his hand before swiftly turning on my heel and aiming the Beretta at his head, my chest rising and falling quickly as I panted. 

“You little bitch,” he hissed, raising his arms slowly as I smirked, keeping the gun trained on him as I slowly reached down and wiped off my glasses, placing them back on my face. “You already forget, Flower boy? I’ve got at least 8 years of military training and 5 treasure hunting under my belt.” I snickered as he frowned, huffing slightly as I glared at him. 

“So, what was your big plan here?” I sneered as he slightly shrugged, making me frown. “What? Didn’t have time to think about it before coming over tonight?” I teased as I studied his facial features; curly unruly hair, dark yet cheerful hazel eyes, a jackass smirk, and a strange sense of security and safety. Wait... No. No! 

“Son-of-a-bitch! It’s you,” 

“It’s you-who?” He smirked again, even without the gun he seemed to keep his stupid sense of humor. “Dammit, why didn’t I see it before!?” I growled, wanting to slap myself upside the head. “You were that stupid waiter from the Rossi Estate -- Sam, right?” 

He slowly dropped his hands, a slow, sarcastic clap echoed around us as I scoffed, not finding his moves the less bit amusing. “Well done, detective! Now, can I have my gun back,” 

“How about you shut up and I don’t pump you full of lead right now?” I snapped, aiming the gun high once again, causing him to take a step backward. I couldn’t help but smirk. “Samuel,” 

“Just Sam would be fine.” He teetered as I rolled my lips together, flicking the tip of my tongue over them with a smile. “Sam... Tell me, what do you hope to gain from this little... Adventure of yours?” 

“Something that that bastard Rafe has enough of as is; money.” 

“Oh, so you’re as greedy as him, but you lack the more... Psychopathic nature.” I shrugged, swallowing thickly as I thought back to earlier this morning. We’ve been here for only two days the plan’s already falling to shit. Finish the job, then into retirement. I sighed, slowly dropping the gun as Sam straightened his back, feeling less threatened as I chewed on my lip. 

“Okay, Flower boy, how about if we struck up a deal?” I wavered as he narrowed his eyes, seeming as if he was trying to read if I was trying to play him like a fiddle or actually come up with a plan. “What deal?” He crossed his arms over his chest, arching a brow as I innocently smiled. 

“You and I leave this place, both alive, but we still meet up-” 

“Ha, let me stop you right there, Aviators. You’re cute -- hell, you’re hot -- but I don’t think our relationship should be built on us not firing a gun into each other.” Sam snickered as I frowned, rolling my eyes as I shook my head. “Let me finish, Flower boy.” 

“Please, do.” He teased as I snarled slightly, clenching the Beretta’s handle before rolling my eyes. “We leave here, both alive, but we meet up and trade information.” I arched a brow, waving my hands out to my side as he watched me, carefully. “I’ve got stuff you need, and if my memory serves me right, your little brother and his friend are off right now chasing some coordinates that Captain Jules wrote on his letters for his lover,” I paused, glancing up at him as I brought a hand to my chin, as if I was attempting to recall things of the past. 

“How do you know about him.” He growled; defensive of his family; noted. I shot up my brows and waved him off. “Drop the big brother act, Flower boy. Nothing will happen to him, you or whoever else was with him earlier this evening.” 

“And how do I know you’re not just dying to go tell Rafe we’re here like some little soldier?” He hissed, glaring daggers at me as I narrowed my eyes, taking a step closer, I aimed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. I watched a he turned, showing me his back as I smirked, watching him slowly turn back towards me with a shocked expression. “Empty.” 

“How the hell -- you didn’t know that!” He growled, showing his teeth as I grinned, shaking my head. “Of course I did. The moment I grabbed it from you, it wasn’t loaded, so you had no actual plan of killing me, you just wanted your information without feeling the guilt of shooting a girl who you thought was a lap dog.” I huffed, crossing my arms as I popped out my hip with a smug grin pulling at my lips. Gently, I tossed the gun into the drier sand off to the side, before turning back to him and straightening my back. 

“I don’t kill unless I’m given a reason, Sam.” I sent him a softer smile, taking a step towards him as he stood there looking at me with uncertainty in his eyes. “Just don’t give me a reason.” I lowered my voice as I stood just a few feet from him, only to stick out my hand with another smile. 

“So, what do you say..? Deal?” 

“I’m afraid to ask what happens if I say no,” He tensed as he went to reach for my hand, only to stop as I glanced up at him, noting that he was staring at me. “Again, how do I know you’re not waiting to report back after this?” He asked quietly as I sent him a soft smile; he was being cautious, smart. 

“How about this, you can bring that gun, fully-loaded next time and if you even think I did something behind your back; shoot me,” I stated calmly as he stared at me with wide-eyes. I couldn’t help but break into another grin; it seems to happen a lot around him... Suddenly, a heaviness slammed against my palm, making me look down with a small grin; he accepted... I was tugged forward, his other arm wrapping around my shoulders, I stilled as his lips came next to my ear. 

“I don’t kill unless I’ve got a reason,” he sighed, making me close my eyes and slowly smile. “So, give me no reason too.” 

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Sam and I ended up trading numbers, he says it’s to keep tabs on me but... I don’t think that’s what was the true intention. Now, I was riding backseat with Nadine and Rafe while examining my glasses under the blazing sun. Nadine and I had discussed more of our retirement ideas; her’s involving nothing but beaches and coconut drinks and mine... No clue. With only being 35, I didn’t want to think about my retirement already. Hell, Rafe was younger than Nadine and I both and yet he was already set in stone with his money, though it crossed my mind he would never put his money where his mouth is. 

“We’re here! Y/N, you take front this time, something tells me you need to work on your aim a little.” Rafe called, laughing at his joke as I fought the want to roll my eyes. Slipping on my glasses and jumping out of the back, I landed in a thick mud puddle, causing some to splash near Rafe, who growled. 

“Hey! Watch where the hell you’re stepping,” 

“My apologies, Mr. Adler.” I retorted, not turning towards him as I holstered my own Beretta, glancing at the smooth metal carving as Nadine stood beside me. “Are you alright..? You seemed off all night and this morning.” She whispers, I merely smile at her concern. 

“Calm down, momma bear... I’m fine. I found my glasses and then I came back to the hotel.” I shrugged, checking my ammo before slinging on my rib holsters and rolling my neck. “Besides, we practically blacked out after drinking so much high dollar liquor.” I grinned before stepping towards Rafe, who held an unimpressed look as I sighed, marching ahead of him as Nadine slowly trailed me. 

The caves around us seemed to groan and moan as we trekked through them. The occasional drip from seawater trying to find it’s way home, or the howl of the wind outside making me step up onto my platform of anxiety; maybe keep my finger off the trigger for now. I swallowed thickly when a sudden explosion came from above us, making me growl as I ducked and rolled away from a large boulder that shattered as it met the cave floor. I glanced around to see Nadine rush towards Rafe, quickly pushing him out of the way before a rock smothered where they once stood. 

“Y/N! Look out!” I snapped my head up as Nadine’s voice echoed around me, I rolled towards the left as I hissed, feeling a large chunk of my leg get pelted by a few smaller rocks. Hissing, I reached forward, tugging up my cargo pants as I noticed a dark crimson already leaking through. “Shit.” 

“Dammit, Y/N, are you alright?” Nadine took a knee as she peeled my hand away from my wound, making me hiss as she rolled it between her hands. I glanced up at Rafe with one eye as I squinted the other in pain, he looked disappointed...  “Okay, it doesn’t feel broken. Can you move it?” She asked, watching as I flexed my ankle and rolled it; thank God. 

“Come on, we’ve got to get you back to the Jeep and back to the hotel.” Nadine moved beside me, taking my hand and helping me up as I reached up, grabbing onto her shoulder as I felt painful throbbing echo from my open wound. “What? Are you insane, that’ll take at least two hours! That is not time that we can afford to lose, Nadine!” Rafe hissed as he glared at her, yet she didn’t freeze up or halt her movements as she pushed past him, helping me towards the Jeep. 

“Nadine, get your ass back here or so help me-” 

“Rafe! You injured my right hand!” She snapped. Turning us around before leaning me against the caves’ grassy wall for support as she took a few steps forward, almost to challenge him. “Those explosions were not supposed to go off until we reached the surface! Why in the hell did they go off already?” She snapped more, making me wince as I listened to her voice echo through the newly designed cave. It hurt to watch these places be blown to almost nothing, all for some stupid diamond... 

“I’m the one signing your paychecks, I’m the one who is above you, I’m the one who you are supposed to be ready to die for!” Rafe shouted, his loud voice echoing as I flinched, snapping my head up as Nadine glared at him, yet... I knew she wouldn’t walk away. 

“I’ll be back in an hour. My men are already waiting for you up top.” She hissed, turning on her foot and marching towards me, her eyes lightly softening as she hooks my arm over her shoulders and helped me hobble out of the cave. Rafe’s threats and anger slowly sinking behind us as I sighed, mentally scolding myself once again. I stayed quiet until we reached the Jeep, climbing in as she quickly drove us down the mountain and back towards the main roads. I sighed once more. 

“You didn’t have to come with me.” I murmured, slowly unbuckling the rib holsters and setting it in my lap, shifting the Beretta’s weight with it. “He’ll have you for dinner once you go back.” 

“He’s a child that isn’t used to being told no, Y/N. I’m not scared of him... Besides, you seem to forget that I was hired to protect him.” She grinned to herself as I snorted, nodding. 

“Y’know, I think he should double your pay,” I grinned as she scoffed, glancing at me as we came to a slow stop. “Why’s that?” 

“Because you’re babysitting him while also being a momma bear on me. And trust me, working with me you deserve the double pay.” I smirked as she rolled her eyes, frowning before taking off down the road again. 

“I’m not... Y/N, you shouldn’t compare yourself to him. Besides, I’ve known you longer than him.” She quipped as I shrugged, messing with loose strings on my shirt with a sigh. “Does that really matter? I mean, seriously?” Suddenly, I was launched forward as my hand grabbing onto the metal rib behind me, I snapped my head towards Nadine, whose foot was practically on the floor with the brake in between. 

“Are you fucking crazy?!” I hissed as she glared at me, shifting in her seat as she threw the Jeep into the park. “Yes. I am. Y/N, why have you been acting like this..?” She stared at me, her eyes hardening as I tried to avert her gaze to somewhere else. “Nadine,” 

“No! Don’t try to change the subject, you’ve been acting strange ever since we got here.” She sighed in frustration as we sat there, the silence growing between us as I found myself not wanting to speak. What has been going on with me? I struggled with becoming a lap dog for Rafe, wanting to fight him tooth and nail with how he was treating Nadine and I. Then, Flower boy came along... I thought about tattling -- fuck, I wanted to tell Nadine that I could’ve made our jobs 5x’s easier just by putting a bullet in his skull and walking away but... I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. 

“And there you go again,” she murmurs as I shift my gaze towards her, frowning with an arched brow. “You... You just go off into your thoughts, leaving me behind to try and figure out what’s going on inside that head of yours.” She grinned to herself, yet I could see it in her eyes... She was slightly hurt. 

“Nadine, I... You know about my past, it’s molded me into who I am.” I breathed, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling the built-up sweat and caked dust with a grunt as she looked at me, concern filling her dark eyes. I could see the sweat dribbling down her forehead and cheek. “I don’t let you in because it’s one hell of a place, and I believe that no one should see it,” I whispered, loud enough to where she could hear it, but low enough to where I was more-so talking to myself. Suddenly, the car jumped forward making me glance at her as she sent me a soft smile. 

“You don’t have to let me in, just... Give me a sneak peek every now and then, deal?” She smiled as I parted my lips, wanting to argue as I sighed, smiling as I nodded gently. We grew into a comfortable silence as I glanced down, twisting my leg around with a frown; blood crusted around my cargo pants while a few shreds of skin dangled there. 

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  “I’ll come back later, don’t wait up on me, alright? I’ll send someone up here to tend to your wound.” Nadine helped me settle onto the bed with a grunt. I went to protest but she held up a hand. “I’m not listening to it, so shut up and sit there.” She thrust her forefinger towards me as I smirked, sighing before flopping back onto the bed. 

“Thank you. You’ve got my number if you need anything.” She called over her shoulder, leaving the room with a loud slam of the door, making me shake my head as I propped myself up on my elbows. Boredom already moving through my veins as I sighed, sitting up fully before glancing around the room. I went to stand, only to fall back with a hiss. “Dammit.” I tugged my pants up, growling at the tug of dry blood on my clothes and flesh. The wound slowly began to bleed again, it leaking down my ankle and onto my sock and combat boot. 

“Great. Just great.” I sighed, slowly sitting back and lifting each leg up, tugging off my boots and socks before undoing my belt and dropping my cargo pants, stepping out of them I moved towards my suitcase, pulling out and on some running shorts before limping back towards the desk. Settling in the chair, I reached towards the small bag that Nadine and I kept in here for emergencies -- it is there mainly for me. 

Throwing the case open, I dug out some gauze, thread, a needle, and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol. Setting out the materials, I leaned back in the seat before placing my torn leg onto the desk, making sure to not settle it on any of our maps. “I really don’t want to do this...” I whispered to myself, resting my wrist against my forehead, closing my eyes with a soft sigh. 

“Don’t want to do what?” A voice asked as I screamed, reaching over and throwing one of the small compass at the intruder. A yelp made me snap my head towards them, readying the other drawing tool before realizing it was Sam. 

“Jesus Christ!” 

“Names Sam, but thank you for the compliment,” he smirked, moving towards me. I shook my head with a small snort, dropping the compass onto the desk as he paused, narrowing his eyes at the supplies I had set up on the surface. “Woah, what the hell happened,” he moved closer, stepping around me as he examined my wound, making me squirm slightly as he frowned at the amount of blood settling there. 

“Freak accident.” I shrugged, trying to hide my discomfort with his sudden care towards my wound. He shook his head, his curls sweeping over his forehead as he grabbed the footstool from the small chair, sitting next to my leg. I went to bend it away from him, yet he grabbed hold of my ankle, holding it against the wood as I frowned. 

“Flower boy, seriously, I can do it myself.” I slightly growled, feeling the pain pulse through my calf as he grabbed the rubbing alcohol, unscrewing it and suddenly dumping it on the open wound. I slammed my hand over my mouth, holding back the pained scream that tried to leave my lips, a small and pained whine worked through my teeth as he reached over, grabbing one of the bottles from the night before and placed it in my lap. “You might want to take a hefty drink, Aviators.” I merely nodded before untwisting the cap and taking a long gulp, almost biting the lips of the bottle as he sunk the needle in. 

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I groaned as Sam sat next to me, frowning as I downed a few pain pills, a small gulp of GreyGoose chasing after it. “Uh, thanks... Flower boy.” I grinned, slowly dragging my leg back from the desk, hissing as I flexed it. 

“Of course, Aviators... Hey, you know, I never got your real name..” He hinted as I arched a brow, turning my head towards him as I smirked. “So?” I teased slightly as he scoffed, leaning back against the desk. He reached over, taking a swig of the GreyGoose I had opened a few moments ago, before shrugging and cocking his head to the left. 

“I figured you’d get sick of Aviators.” He grinned as I laughed, keeping my small smile as I hummed. “Depends... Would you ever get sick of Flower boy?” I glanced up as he scoffed, yet he held a grin. 

“Y/N.” I sighed, glancing up through my lashes as he turned his head towards me, he eyed me with a smile. “Y/N..?” He asked, almost in an awestruck voice as I chuckled, nodding. 

“How’s it fit?” 

“I don’t know, I mean I’d get it changed if I was you-” 

“What! Are you serious, you asshole?” I growled, sitting further on the chair, smacking his arm as he laughed, waving his hands around, sloshing the GreyGoose around. 

“Kidding! Totally kidding! Y/N is a... Sweet name.” He quipped, a dazzling smile suddenly on his lips as I pursed mine, arching a brow while fighting back my own smile. 

“Sweet, huh?” I asked, my lips twitch as he slowly nodded, leaning his elbows onto his knees as I rolled my lips together. “Mhm, very sweet... Almost like honey with some pineapple thrown in there.” He grinned as I shook my head, turning it to the left with heat blooming across my cheeks. I went to speak when Sam’s thumb and index caught my chin, making me look up with confusion clouding my eyes. 

“Sam... Why are you here?” I whispered, glancing between us as I realized how close we had become. He gulped, his thumb seemed to almost brush against my bottom lip as I slowly leaned away from his touch, closing my eyes as I allowed a small, shaking sigh to pass my lips. 

“I...” Sam started to speak when a sudden knock came from the door, making us snap our heads up with wide-eyes. “Hide.” I hastily whispered, grabbing the bottle from him and setting it back on the desk before I pulled at his wrist, pushing him towards the bathroom. 

“Y/N? Come on, Nadine sent me up here to check on you!” A thick voice yelled through the door as Sam paused for a second, only to have me growl and glare at him. ‘Go!’ I mouthed, jutting my index finger towards the bathroom door with a snarl before slowly moving towards the door. Glancing, I made sure that Sam had the bathroom door shut before slowly opening the door to reveal Justin. 

“What, Just?” I hissed, trying to sound groggy as if I had just been abruptly woken up. He glanced over my head, then around before taking a step closer to the door, yet I kept it closed. “Nadine asked me to come to check on you. Make sure you weren’t dead.” He growled slightly as I glared, rolling my eyes. “Yeah. Well, obviously, I’m not dead. So, go away so I can sleep-” 

“Who else is in there?” Justin hissed as he pressed his shoulder against the door, trying to force more weight onto it as I growled, trying to keep the door shut. “Nobody, you asshole! I’ve been trying to sleep for the past hour!” I spat as he finally forced his way into the room, his AK raised as he searched around the room. Once, he seemed satisfied he glanced down, noticing the tightly wrapped gauze on my calf. 

“You patched yourself up?” He narrowed his eyes, arching a brow as I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest. “Yeah. I wasn’t about to let you or some other jackass do it for me.” I spat, moving back towards the desks’ chair, slumping in it as he glared at me, trying to see through any lies I could be telling. 

“Okay, then why the hell is Nadine’s compass lodged into the wall by the balcony?” He asked, hidden threats dripping behind the question as I frowned, rolling my eyes. “What? I lost my last throwing knife while at the Rossi Estate. Besides she has others.” I spat, narrowing my eyes at him as if asking him to challenge me. 

“Fine. I’ll report to Nadine that you’re fine, surprisingly.” He chuckled dryly as I scoffed, watching as moved out the door, shutting it loudly behind him. I waited a few minutes before slumping into my chair, sighing a breath of relief as Sam slowly snuck out of the bathroom, his Beretta out and ready. 

“You’re fine, Flower boy... He’s gone.” 

“How do I know that?” He glared, my lips parted as I hardened my eyes before shaking my head, looking to the floor before sighing. “You don’t...I,” I paused, swallowing at the small lump forming. “I almost forgot we’re still enemies,” I whispered, humming as Sam slowly lowered his gun and took a step towards me, but I held up a hand. 

“You should go, she might send someone else to check on me.” I breathed, feeling the burning pain in my chest grow as he frowned, staring at the side of my head. “Y/N,” 

“Just go, Sam. I’ll see you tonight.” I growled through clenched teeth, making him take a step back. He furrowed his brows before glancing at his gun, holstering it, sighing. “Fine... I’ll see you tonight, Aviators.” Sam whispered, moving back towards the balcony doors as I closed my eyes, feeling a strange twinge of pain throughout my chest as he whispered my new nickname with such... Hurt. 

I listened to his grunts until they faded, leaving me alone as I slumped forward, resting my elbows against my knees with a growl. Curling my fingers slightly until my nails dug gently into my hair, tugging at the strands as they slipped from my loose ponytail. What am I doing...? Falling for the enemy, really? I scoffed at myself, throwing myself back slightly, bringing my fists up and biting on my knuckle as I stared out of the open balcony. I swallowed at my pride and my instincts before I faintly smiled. 

“I’m not giving him a reason.” 

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To be Continued... 

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Oooooh, okay, so chapter 3 is actually so cute to me??? And I’m so happy with how this actually turned out :’) Thank you all for the support, it helps me write more and makes me more confident! Hope you enjoy! 

I’ll see you all later 💋

Tags:  @jodiereedus22, @littlemoonlightt, @clearlywayward95, @animallover4000, @kelsey-sheena, @kindablackenedsuperhero, @verytiredkate, @lordfloof, @cloudydayvibes, @aaudialeth, @aliceriddell-aka-zephyr, @paintingcrimsons, @fagen, @fanficsihaveenjoyed, @trappeddaydreams, @miss-puregotti, @ffofuxaa, @timaaaeus, @sophieelisabeth04, @slooshen, @kittykat1468, @holylulusworld, @reachagalaxy, @unchartedterritoria, @myommarie, @kerripamyupamyu, @rougeshadowkat, @icespinosaur,  @fandoms-pizza-wifi-ym13, @abookomaniac, @baby-llama-dont-need-no-drama, @popriskra, @chilldanvers, @clearlywayward95, @keanureeues, @lonelypenguinsworld, @dang-itdaisy,

** You can be added/removed, it’s your choice! A mark through your name means I couldn’t add you! Let me know if you’d like to be added or removed! 💖

[seenashwrite]

14.04 Round-Up

Here, have a Nash-Is-Running-On-Fumes round-up.

Disagree on Salem Ohio.  Shoulda gone Indiana. Why would you choose Salem, anyway? Given that this has nothing to do with witchy anything? Wait, does it?  [Post-show pseudo-addendum: Nope.]

Shocker. Like, THE Shocker, or... 😳  *ahem*

What is the fixation with giving characters the same/similar names? 

[Post-show pseudo-addendum: I get the shtick for the purposes of this episode, not entirely the point, keep reading] 

And I'm also not talking about super-duper-common names (Jane, Mary, etc.), I get how those would naturally come up over the course of 13/14 years. I mean they’re fixated on the same names for women that have more than a just-passing-through role. 

This chick is Sam, short for Samantha. So why not just call her Samantha? Especially given the tone of their conversation, we don’t typically revert to nicknames when we’re pissed, we typically dial it up to full first names (and for parents, to full first-and-middle). Nope, gotta be "Sam". And he said it three times. Three times in a conversation that maybe lasted a minute, to make sure we got it.

WE GOT IT

Welcome, Sam-Specifically-Not-Samantha! Meet Anna, Hannah, Anael, Jessica, Jo, Josie, Jody, Jessica, and Jo. Hope you don't die! PS: your hair is phenomenal.

I was about to say - I'd be in my room with all those people running around, too, archangel farts still bouncing around, or no.

So I take it Thundercats is DC property. Learn sumpin’ new every day (I will never need this knowledge)

You know, they *just* had a dinosaur toy come to life in Scooby. Writing wise, wish they'd have just said characters in general coming to life, would've covered the movie/comic spread and all the swag that comes with. Who wrote this? [checks] Oh fuck us, it's Perez.

Fortnite *vomit*

These outfits are fantastic, well-played, wardrobe.

"I don't know who Riley is. But cool." ---> Same, Dean-Who-May-Be-Michael-Faking. Same.

The gif of them ducking down in the car is gonna be precious.

[Post-show pseudo-addendum: Yup]

Why does Sam suddenly not know how to whip his jacket off and put pressure on a wound?

Goddamnit my food got here in time for me to miss the Dean-confronts-thing scene. Thank goodness for giffers and clippers. Though I still haven't gotten my Fluids gif from the Scooby ep. I want that gif.

Stewie is not breathing 27 times per minute. Just hire me. Let me deal with your medical shit. I ain't cheap, but I can be had.

"I like to watch movies where I know the bad guy's gonna lose"   ----> gooooood, Perez, you can doooo eeeeeeet (unless that was a script editor’s call, in which case ::sigh::)

See there now, Sam's calling her Samantha. Stewie could’ve just called her "Sam" once, that plus seeing her name come up on his phone is plenty, didn’t need three farging times in less than a minute at the top of the ep. No, I'm not letting this go.

Blood transfusers don't hang out in rando hospital rooms. It just ain't a hang-out, what-if, ya-never-can-tell type of jam.

This ep's pretty much squelched my Michael impersonating Dean option, might have to be in the Michael's hiding in his back molar camp. I say that because this is the most "Dean" he's acted thus far. I mean, I *guess* he could be accessing Dean's memories about the movies, but why lay it on so thick since Sam's not around to witness it? Doesn't matter, I don't know why I'm even going down this road, I don't trust this writer's room in the least to have a carefully crafted plan that they've shared with Jensen. Well, it's beyond trust - Jensen all but said it in that interview (go find it yourselves, I'm sleepy, and this sammich ain't gonna eat itself, but I love you)

I really want Samantha's hair, and now her flannel shirt. I like her and her personality about a million times more than Maggie, why couldn't she be Maggie? OH SHIT.  Samantha - I forgot to introduce you to two more members of the name game club, here's Magda and Maggie. [Post-show pseudo-addendum thanks to astute Nashooligan] We would also like to introduce you to Amelia and Amelia and also the Name Game Sorority’s den mother, Millie, who we aren’t quite sure should be included but are hedging our bets. Could be Millicent or Melissa, sure, but why not complete an Amelia trifecta? ---> I’m about to digress with a side note that has nothing to do with this ep, I just want to further cement how much you should trust my judgment: in my big story, this name shit infuriates me so much, it was a factor I considered when constructing Millie’s background. I made Millie come from a slightly posh background on her British mother’s side, and a military family life courtesy of her high-ranking American father. I searched for names that the nickname “Millie” could evolve from that I thought would sound appropriate with this somewhat upper-crust lifestyle, so I made her real name be Emeline (Em-ah-lynn for me, though I’ve heard the last part with a long “i”, too) which is a sweet and classy oldie-goldie jam I wish would come back. It’s Brit-y for her mom, allows for her dad to be the only one who calls her Millie til Henry comes along. Her brothers call her “Em”, which annoys her mom. My psychiatrist’s front office girl has this name (except double-M) but insists on going by “Em”. Not “Emma”, not “Emme”. Em. (As in Auntie Em, I just had a fever dream about little people who give out candy, and grown men dressed in costumes who like skipping down roads with young girls, and trees that throw apples, and flying monkeys, which are cool, but still.) I have found her to be idiotic in several respects over the years, and this decision was not a point in her favor. There, I’m done.

Stewie's respirations are not 115 per minute.

(I'm looking at the bottom feed, btw, in case you're wondering. His heart rate and rhythm is up near the top, BP would be bottom left and would be 2 numbers, and O2 sats max at 100. Also not art line nor ICP. I'll get a better look in gifs but pretty sure it's supposed to be his resps. Or else it is the sats and somebody's gotten their butterfingers on the training module. I mean regardless of their intent, 29 to 115′s a helluva spread for any vital sign unless it’s your heart rate whilst I’m doing CPR because straight up, I do happen to get after it pretty fierce when the occasion has arisen. Anyway, they are ass at this. All they have to do is ask. When Nashville the show was still in production, they asked us shit all the time. I’m revealing too much of my secret identity. Moving on.)

This is great, the cutting between movie and real life, high-five to editing.

Sam and Samantha are legit adorable in that scene.

HAHAHAHA hesitation elbow.

Nice cut to the movie commercial. I don't care for the reusing of all the same clips we just saw, I can't imagine there weren't extra little pieces of discarded scenes for editing to choose from, so... but otherwise, I dig it.

Thankfully, the M.E.’s stainless steel vegetable chopping knife was there in the morgue.🤨

I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally wish for a moment there, not even five seconds, when ol' boy was standing above him, we saw some Mikey flash across Dean's face with a touch - and I mean a *touch*, CG department, don't blow your whole wad per usual - of blue. That nobody sees, only the audience and the monster, have monster kinda pause, maybe look confused and hit his little button but this time it comes out with the tiniest lilt of a questioning upspeak on the last syllable, and nothing ultimately happens since Sam arrives, Dean shakes his drowsiness off, then proceed to choke hold, etc. It would fall in line with whatever route they're going (Mikey actively impersonating Dean/Mikey residuals left in Dean/Mikey passively hiding out in Dean), also be a nice audience tease.

I didn't think I needed to specify that I wanted mushrooms on this cheesesteak hoagie. On god, the world is completely falling apart.

That whole car convo was.... weird. The party memory story went on too long and was stupid as shit, sure, but the costume discussion is what I mean. And then the one it ended on was especially weird. Why not just end with a shot of the Impala and their conversation continuing with their voices fading away with the engine? End on a better duo than Thelma and Louise who, Perez, killed themselves by driving their car into a canyon. Hell, end on Scooby. I mean, you had the lunchbox which the camera held on for forever to make damn sure we all saw it, may as well double-down.

The doll's eyes should've flicked closed at the end. Missed opportunity.

Okay, cute little ep. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that this Perez kid can't have an original idea to save his life, though. Kinda taints it.  

Heh. Check it, yo - I brought things full damn circle.

You know.

Shocker. Taint.

HEY THERE YOU GO DEAN - duo Halloween costume!

My work here is done, see y'all next week.

[shirtlesssammy]

The Future: How’s Everyone Doing? Did Everyone Survive? Recap

Then:

To reiterate: Worried husband is worried. Also, Dagon, blah, blah, blah.

Now:

Kelly appears to be in far less posh accommodations than last we saw her. Dirty and chained to an old cot in the basement of an undisclosed location, she at least is getting round the clock care from Nurse Ratchet Dagon. Dagon reminds Kelly that she can do what she wants but the nephilim will destroy her, and the world. Before Dagon leaves Kelly alone again, she suggests Kelly “take a bath.” So, um, Kelly does. And she brings along a nice straight-edge. 1) that was kind of a weird voice-over, and B) that’s a lot of blood for someone we know isn’t going to die.

SAM IN THE LIBRARY MONTAGE ALERT

These 25 seconds are my Sam Jam. Dean finds his savant brother in the war room with a clearer picture about nephilim and how much time they have before they need to find Kelly. “I think she’ll be giving birth around May 18th.” All the Lolz and eye rollz. How Very Convenient that’s the same day as the season finale.

ABSENT HUSBAND ALERT

Yes, Dean, tell us more about how you’re pissed at your “friend” for disappearing for a couple months. Please, you’re pretty angry and we all believe you. Agggghhhh, Cas heard Dean’s “messages”. Like, his actual phone messages? Or his “it’s 2 am and I can’t sleep so I’m gonna pray to you messages?” Well, Dean is too pissed to even talk, so he storms off to his bedroom.

In his bedroom, he’s busy running some crazy tracking programs on his computer, when there’s a knock on his door. I swear I’ve read this fanfic before. Oh wait,

I did.

It’s Cas. He just stopped by to return a mix tape Dean had made him. A. MIX. TAPE. When I was 13, a boy made me a mix tape. I couldn’t give myself hope that it meant anything more than friendship. 20 years later, I confirmed that my 13 year old self was stupid. CAS, YOU ARE BEING STUPID. 

DEAN MADE CAS A MIX TAPE. Like, how is that not romantic? Like, I’m not a dude, but is that something dudes do for each other in the digital age? (And think about it, Cas doesn’t trust computers. Dean thought of that and went through the effort of making an analog gift.)

Anyway, I could go on all day and all summer hiatus about this.

Dean decides to at least open up a little to Cas. He can barely talk, but he makes it clear to Cas that he can’t just disappear like he did. “We were worried. That’s not ok.” Cas apologizes but confesses that he feels like he’s always failing. He failed to find them when they were in prison. He failed to find Kelly. Dean counters that they’re all in the same boat. They also had a chance at Kelly and lost her. Sam is determined to find a way to save Kelly before the baby is born. Cas wonders, if they can’t find her in time, if they can kill an innocent. “We will find a better way,” Dean insists. Team Free Will! Dean leaves his room before they kiss and make up. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, Dagon goes to check on Kelly, and finds a tub of blood ---and a perfectly healthy Kelly. It seems the nephilim wants to live.

Later in the library, Sam asks Dean about tracking the nephilim. That question leads Sam to wonder about extracting the angel grace from the nephilim, thus leaving it a perfectly normal baby. Kelly and her baby could both live. “Hot damn.” They have a plan. Dean runs to get Cas!

CAS HAS A ROOM ALERT

Dean knocks on Cas’s door, but no one answers. In fact, the room is empty. Cas is gone. 1) Cas has a room, confirmed. B) Oh, Dean Bean.

Dagon and Kelly are having a heart to heart about Kelly’s miraculous non-death. Kelly seems to have renewed faith in her demon spawn.

Cas did indeed ditch the Brothers Winchester. He also stole the Colt. He meets Kelvin and hands over the Colt. 

They’ve got 2 bullets and a give-em-hell attitude for killing Dagon and Kelly. Dean calls, but Cas doesn’t answer. Castiel. Smh. Cas makes it perfectly clear to Kelvin that he’s not working for the angels. “I’m doing this for the Winchesters. I stole the Colt to keep them out of this mission and to keep them safe from Dagon. And I will kill this girl so Sam and Dean don’t have to.” Can’t say that he didn’t pick up anything from Dean over the past 9 years. He’ll do anything to protect his family. Even when it’s the wrong way.

Dagon is busy watching her game shows when the angels sneak into the house. Dagon kind of has the jump on them --in the sense that she was totally ready and completely kicks their butts. Cas kinda wastes a bullet, but in his defense, I don’t think he’s ever used a gun before. (Natasha: he used a shotgun during the apocalypse.) Kelvin tells Cas to go find Kelly while he battles Dagon. Welp, I liked you Kelvin.

Cas finds Kelly in the basement.

Dean is back to silent treatment with Cas so he makes Sam call him, but Sam has no luck. Sam wonders how Cas grabbed the Colt from the safe in the first place. It seems that Dean was keeping it under his pillow.

Dean: I say we find him and we kick his feathered ass.

Sam: Cas wouldn’t have taken the Colt if he wasn’t going up against something big.

Dean: Ok, I say we find him, figure out what’s going on, then we kick his feathered ass.

Man Dean, you’re really focusing on Cas’s feathered ass.

Cas is currently on the run. He couldn’t complete his mission of killing Kelly, so he absconded with her instead. Kelly thanks Cas for not killing her, but he doesn’t want her thanks. He, once again, thinks that he failed at a mission. CAAASSS. Stop. You fight your humanity, but it’s a good thing.

Dagon has a little mental meeting with Lucifer. Luci isn’t too happy that Castiel has his child-to-be. And the end of their convo reveals that Dagon has Kelvin hostage.

Cas and Kelly meanwhile are still on the run. Cas tells Kelly that he’s getting orders from Joshua in heaven.  He couldn’t kill her before, but he can now bring her to heaven. Her life, and her baby’s life, will end as soon as they pass through the portal. (Me: squirrels away information for later.) Kelly refuses. Cas pleads with her that this is the only way to stop this very powerful human-archangel hybrid. Kelly seems to have faith in this all powerful being - nothing is born evil. (Dude, it will kill you no matter what else it does with the universe….ain’t no good coming for you in this scenario.) Cas’s very bad day continues when his truck won’t start.

Dagon tortures Kelvin for information on Cas's location. “WWCD,” she whispers. “What would Castiel do?”

Cas ushers Kelly into the hotel room while he googles “how to fix a truck.” (Cas, you adorable sunflower.) Kelly admits that she tried to kill herself – she died – and then her child saved her. Cas is astonished. That explains the pulse of power they felt in Heaven. Kelly promises that her child is good because he saved her. “It was a miracle,” she said, ecstatic. “Maybe it's part of some plan.”

Cas immediately protests. “I used to believe in a plan. But everyone is just winging it.” There's no grand blueprint. (Trust him, he met God. Not impressed.) “You were just there,” he tells her about how she came to be impregnated by Lucifer. And I have to pause here because all season Kelly has been sort of blah oatmeal, referred to by all parties as a container and having very little agency of her own. It's been hard to argue with that which was super gross given parallels between Kelly-as-container and political narratives which argue that a woman's body IS ultimately just a container. It's such a relief to get some personality in this episode – even if it is highly suspect given the nature of her child and resurrection. In any other context I'd be unimpressed, but the fact that she's arguing back is Such. A. Relief.

Cas sighs. Kelly still maintains that her child will be good for the world. Cas argues that she's going to die anyway. I'm going to imagine this next section as a song. Hum along with me, kids:

Cas: Who will care for him when you're gone?

Chorus: Cas-ti-el, Cas-ti-el!

Cas: Who is strong enough to protect him?

Chorus: Cas-ti-el, Cas-ti-el!

Cas: Who can keep him on the righteous path?

Chorus: Castiel can!

Cas feels the baby kicking and smiles. Kelly's eyes turn yellow and she has a vision of the playground to Heaven, Cas threatening somebody in order to protect her.

There's a knock on the door. It's the Winchesters! “Yeah, that's mine,” Dean says looking at Cas - I mean, the Colt in Cas's hand. Heh. This is immediately followed by Dean slamming Cas into a wall so.... brb just going to be sitting over here giggling.

Anyway, Dean and Cas have a heart to heart. And by “heart to heart” I mean they don't talk about anything at all because interrupting!Sam asks about Kelly.

Turns out the Winchesters have trust issues and Sam lojacked Cas's phone while he was flirting for the Colt in Dean's bedroom. Cas explains that he tried to use the Colt to kill Dagon and failed (cue Charlie Brown frown) and he's hiding out in a hotel because his truck broke down. He explains that he just tried to keep the Winchesters safe. Bullshit, they counter. They explain their grace extraction theory as an alternative to death by sandbox. (A sentence I never thought I’d type.) Kelly absolutely refuses to consider grace extraction – his powers are what make her baby special. Hmmm, oh dear. They all agree to get in the Impala and head to a hideout.

The car is locked (for the first time ever?) (Boris: Cas should have just shattered the window like Henry did) and Dean chucks Cas the keys while Sam and Dean hold their usual to-the-side conversation about the episode's plot. Kelly climbs into the driver's seat and takes off like a bat outta Hell, squealing tires and everything. She's headed for the sandbox, if Cas would be so kind as to tell her where it is. She tells Cas that her baby chose him and told her to go along with his plan and he would be born.

“I am not someone that you should put your faith in,” Cas protests. (Me: hugs Cas so TIGHT.)

Oh yeah? Kelly counters. Well, “before this I was a cut rate political flak in an embarrassingly unprofessional relationship with my boss. I don't know why it's me or you. But I know we're destined for something great.”

Back at the hotel, I don't know what's pissing off Dean more. Cas and Kelly going AWOL again or that he's got to fix Cas's truck. Dean speculates that Cas is so desperate for a win he can't see straight. And, I mean, he's not wrong.

Cas and Kelly arrive at the sandbox, Cas the one who's hesitating. The portal lights up and Joshua appears. Just when we're protesting that Joshua is now played by a white dude he explodes. So...I see what you did there, show.

Dagon waves away Joshua dust and taunts Cas and Kelly. Cas steps in front of her. Who's ready to rumble? Dagon immediately starts kicking Cas's ass which is when the Winchesters arrive. Sam unloads a clip in Dagon which only serves to piss her off and she smacks Sam across the playground. Dean pulls out the one-bullet superweapon and Dagon smokes out then wrenches the gun from Dean's hand. “Time to take this off the board,” she says.

NOOOOO, yell Dean and fans of the Colt everywhere.

Cas stumbles up to Kelly and begs her to run. In response, she holds his hand which, as Dagon notes, is “adorbs.” Kelly's eyes glow yellow and yellow energy zaps into Cas. His eyes glow yellow and, fueled by the power of superbaby, he grabs Dagon's smiting hand and torches the Prince of Hell.

It's a miracle!

Sam and Dean approach warily, asking what happened. It was Cas and the baby, baby! Cas ever so gently heals Dean's broken arm.

“I've been so lost,” says Cas. “I'm not lost anymore. This child must be born with all of his power.” Ruh roh. “I have faith,” Cas says just so we know something's really wrong. The Winchesters need to trust him, Cas tells them right before he zaps them straight into sleepytown. (Dean’s soft “don’t” before Cas knocks him out just slays me.) Cas and Kelly head off to his truck (thanks for fixing it, Dean-o!) Kelly asks Cas what her baby showed him. “The future,” Cas replies vaguely.

The truck peels away, leaving the Winchesters passed out in the playground. Peace out, bitches.

Boris: Where to begin with this? People have been paralleling this season with season 6, and this episode was a non-stop, flashing lights recall of season 6. Cas once again goes behind the Winchesters for the greater good, to keep them out of trouble, to not bother them with his failings. I couldn’t help but see flashes of Godstiel at the end, right? He’s all powered up, and completely brainwashed for a cause. I would think meeting God would jade you a little, Cas, but I guess hopped up on nephilim mojo will change a guy. Cas is still in one more episode, but I feel like we’re going to be left with serious doubt about the state of Team Free Will by the time May 18th rolls around. Dean and Sam (especially Dean) have made it very clear that Cas belongs with them. I think that Cas is confused about what it means to be an equal with the Winchesters --his whole existence has been to lead or serve or follow orders. He keeps fighting against that free will that comes natural to him. He feels the need to serve and protect the brothers, at great cost to everyone all the time! But once he learns that a true partnership is a give and take, maybe then he’ll give up this constant cycle of misguided actions. CAS!!

WWQD? What Would Quotes Do?

Where the hell have you been and why have you ignored our phone calls?

It's a gift. You keep those.

I needed to come back here with a win for you.

Yes, dumbass, we.

I'll be there right by his side to nurture him, love him, help him to kill everything. You know, like a mother should.

Lucifer – he's just breaking toys.

You're not our babysitter, Cas.

There are kinks, yes.