#They went ‘we know you haven’t gotten your labs done to make sure this medicine isn’t hurting you.’

[daphnis-is-screaming]

LMAO shifting a bit in my bed gave my heart a big ass start and it’s been ~16 hours since I’ve taken my bp meds maybe listening to the doctor about a dose increase wasn’t a good idea.

[im-not-looking-for-forgiveness]

hiiii. i would love it v much if the reader adopts a therapy dog for tommy shelby!! bonus points if he doesn't know it's a therapy dog until it's bringing him blankets and medicine bottles when he's having one of /those/ nights 🥴

Daybreak - Thomas Shelby x Reader

This request has a special place in my heart 😭❤️

*****

"I don't need a dog."

"Tommy, don't tell me you haven't missed Alfie's dog, Cyril."

"I haven't." Thomas insisted, giving the black labrador retriever at your feet a stern look.

"Just give it until tomorrow, yeah? Please, Tommy?" you pleaded with your boyfriend.

"Fine." he gave in reluctantly, and pulled you against him.

"Good. Thank you. I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do." you smiled and kissed Tommy's cheek.

"What's her name?"

"I haven't named her yet. I thought you would want to." you admitted sheepishly.

"Ah. Well, we'll see about that."

"We will. I've got to go, Tom." you said, checking the time. You were traveling to London tonight for an important morning meeting at work.

"I know. I wish you could stay a little longer." he told you, uncharacteristically honest about his feelings. Tommy hugged you tightly.

"You know I would stay with you constantly if I could, but I need to be there tomorrow. They're announcing the promotion." you frowned, hugging him back.

"Why don't you quit and work with me instead?" he asked for the umpteenth time.

You smiled, "Tommy, we've talked about this. Working for you would just be keeping you company, and you certainly don't have to pay me to do that."

"I'll pay you double what you make now." he pressed his forehead to yours.

"I know this, and I love you ever more for it, but I just can't. Now, I've really got to go." you told him, before giving him a quick kiss.

"What if I make you late?" he tried again, sliding a hand to your ass.

"Tommy!" you giggled.

"I know, I know. Come on." he relented, taking your hand in his.

Tommy walked with you until you were seated safely in the car. The black lab followed happily behind. Johnny Dogs was taking you to the train station per Tommy's request.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you." you told Thomas, a little worried for him. You had a vague feeling that something was going to go wrong.

"I love you." he said quietly, pressing a kiss to your temple.

And then, you were off. You tried to calm your fears with the knowledge that Tommy had accepted the dog. See, the dog's purpose was not to replace Cyril. It was to replace you. The unnamed dog was trained to pick up on when someone was in distress and find solutions for them. Aberama Gold had put you in contact with the dog trainer, and you felt you could trust him. After all, men in the business of war and politics needed all the support they could get.

---

Tommy stared at the dog, and the dog stared back. What was he to do with her? He didn't need a dog. He didn't even want a dog! They were a lot of work that he didn't have time for. So why was he unable to think about anything else?

"What do you want of me, eh?" he asked the dog.

She, obviously, said nothing back.

Feeling frustrated, he put the dog out of his office and shut the door. Out of sight, out of mind. Right?

"Move on, Tom." he whispered to himself, and went to work sorting through the papers on his desk. He constantly had a lot of work ahead of him.

A few slow hours passed, and Thomas decided he should be done for the day. His eyes were irritated with staring at words on paper.

Just as Tommy stood, a loud crash sounded down the hall.

Immediately, his thoughts and heart started racing. Someone was out to get him! He pulled out his gun. Tommy then ducked behind the desk and cocked the weapon. His mind was tricking him into thinking he was back in the war. His office had become a tunnel, and the door was now a wall in which he expected a shovel to burst through any moment.

When the door did open, his brain mistook the four paws for boots on earth. Tommy's breathing was erratic, and he couldn't seem to focus. He felt like he was completely helpless, and absolutely hated it. Every time he thought he was getting better, this would happen and he'd be reduced back to square one.

A black shape came into view, and Tommy pointed the gun. He nearly fired before he realized that the other gun he was expecting was a small black nose.

"Damn dog!" he shouted, fear still wrecking havoc on his system.

The sweet girl had a blanket in her mouth, and she draped it over Tommy without hesitation. She didn't cower or shrink back. This was her job. She was supposed to take care of her new master, and that's exactly what she intended on doing.

She turned and left. While she did so, Tommy tossed the gun away and sank entirely onto the floor. He felt so off that he didn't even bother removing the blanket. How had she gotten in? He was sure the door had been closed. Was he really losing his mind this time?

A moment later, the dog returned with a whiskey bottle wedged in her jaws. Tommy gave her an incredulous look, but accepted the bottle. Where had she gotten it? Tommy quickly decided he didn't care. He took the stopper out and took a swig. This was an unexpected turn, but not an unpleasant one.

The dog left again. He was still finding it hard to breathe.

Tommy took another drink before setting the bottle aside. The familiar taste was helping to ground him in the present. He was not in France! He was home. He was home.

She trotted back over to Tommy, his medicine bottle carefully in her mouth. She dropped it in Tommy's lap before sitting back and wagging her tail.

"Where the fuck did you learn that?" Tommy asked in a whisper, coming to the realization that Y/N had gotten this dog on purpose. Oh, god, he loved that woman.

The dog barked at him, and he snorted in amusement. Tommy took a small sip from the bottle, and only then did she leave again. He scoffed, and set that bottle aside too.

When the dog returned for the final time, she carried a pillow in her mouth. Tommy gently took it from her, and placed it behind his head and against the desk. The dog, wagging her tail, promptly climbed into his lap.

"Hey." Tommy began to complain. He let it slide, however, when he realized how comforting this truly was.

Tentatively, Thomas wrapped his arms around her. She wagged her tail more fiercely, and even licked his face a little bit. He sighed against her black fur, and kept holding on. She wasn't Y/N, but she was a close second.

Unwilling to sleep after all that, Tommy just stayed in this spot. He had whiskey and a dog. What more did he currently need, besides you? You were safe, and you were returning tomorrow. He was safe, and had a lovely dog. That was something he couldn't ignore.

He didn't realize how much time had passed after that until he could see rays of light peeking through the curtain. It was morning! Mornings were always his favorite time of day. They were a sign of a new beginning, and a sign of hope. He'd never admit this out loud, of course.

"We made it." he told the dog, and then immediately felt embarrassed. The dog didn't think they were in danger, only he had. Then again, the dog didn't judge him for that. The dog just helped him without expecting any reward. Dammit. He was already too attached.

Yawning, Tommy finally got off the floor. He wrote a brief note and took it with him as he went to your shared bedroom. It was then placed on your nightstand. He was suddenly so tired, that every action seemed twice as hard as normal.

Thomas completely undressed, and climbed into the bed. He patted the empty space next to him, and the dog immediately joined him. She plopped down, and wagged her tail when Tommy pulled her closer. Within moments, he had fallen into a deep and peaceful sleep.

---

"As much as I like driving you, you should really get you your own car, Y/N." Johnny laughed, pulling up to Tommy's house once more. You had been ushering him to drive faster nearly the entire ride back.

"Thank you. I'm sure he's fine, but you don't always know with him." you said, giving Johnny a quick kiss to the cheek before hopping out of the car.

"Let me know, alright?" he asked, sobering up a little.

"Always. Have a safe drive back." you nodded before turning to go inside.

As soon as you went through the doors, the dog was there to greet you. You pet her and gave her a few kisses. Hopefully the fact that she was still here meant something.

"I fed her and let her outside already, Y/N. She was in Mr. Shelby's room all night." one of the maids informed you, smiling. She had secretly hoped they would keep the dog, too.

"Thank you. Is Tommy still here?" you answered.

"Oh, yes, he's still in bed."

Quickly, you went to go find him. He usually had such trouble sleeping that even if he had been up all night, he wouldn't sleep through the next day. It made you worried. You had had a feeling that something was going to happen when you were away. It was why you had adopted the dog in the first place. You had just hoped the dog wouldn't have to do her job on the very first night.

You read the note Tommy left:

'Her name is Daybreak.'

Tommy must have had some sort of episode or nightmare in the night, and Daybreak obviously did her job well. You smiled, relieved. If you were gone, Daybreak could save him. If he shut you out, as he did some times, the dog would do what you could not.

You took off your shoes and your outerwear, and climbed into bed beside him.

"Y/N?" he murmured softly, rolling to face you. He barely opened his eyes. His hair was messy from sleep, and he looked absolutely adorable.

"I'm here, Tommy." you said, putting yourself in his arms.

"Welcome home." he whispered, hugging you against him. He ran his fingers through your hair a few times, just taking you in.

"Are you alright?" you asked tentatively.

"I am now. I'm keeping that dog." he answered.

"Good. I hoped she'd grow on you." you told him, aware he was avoiding the subject of last night. If he didn't want to talk about it, you wouldn't pry.

"That she did." was all he said, before placing a kiss on the top of your head.

You'd tell him about the promotion later on. For now, you were just going to be there for him. He deserved some peace.

[yusuke-of-valla]

like rats fleeing a sinking ship, pt. 2

Whumptober Alt. 14

Prompt: Shot

TW: mentions of gunshot wounds

<- Previous  Next->

AO3

~

Haru gets off the train in Yogen-Jaya, trying her best not to look too stiff and awkward. She’s still terrified someone will recognize her, and that will do more harm than good. Morgana had said that staying calm and acting like you were supposed to be somewhere was a good way to sneak in unnoticed while she was nervous about being seen loitering around Okumura company headquarters.

Speaking of Morgana, Haru keeps an eye out for a splash of black fur as she makes her way to the clinic. Akira’s vouched for the doctor there, and that’s the last place Haru knows he was, so that’s where she’s going.

She walks in to see the front room of the clinic empty except for the woman behind a desk in a lab coat.

“Hello, how can I help you?” the doctor says, eyeing Haru impassively.

“Um- m-my friend recommended your medicines.” Haru shoves her hands into the pockets of her hoodie to keep from fiddling with the strings. “He said you make good medicine for exams! They give you energy, or something.”

The doctor taps her pencil against the desk. “So, you’re a part of Kurusu-kun’s study group?”

“Yes!” Haru says, and flinches at how loud and excited she sounds. The doctor smirks and writes something down on a sheet of paper then places it on a desk with a bottle.

“Well, as long as you're here, can you bring this to your next study session? Kurusu forgot it. I’d take it to him myself, but as you can see I’m very busy.”

Haru strides forward and takes the bottle and note, shoving them into her pockets.

“You kids stay safe, alright?” the doctor whispers.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Haru replies.

The address is in Yogen-Jaya, a few blocks away from the clinic. Haru climbs the steps to the front door and knocks, nervously.

After several agonizing minutes, there’s still no answer, so Haru hesitantly knocks again. “It’s Noir.”

Suddenly, the door swings open and Akira is staring at her, still wearing his hoodie, and pulls Haru into a giant hug.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.” He says.

“Same to you,” Haru says. Akira leads her inside and shuts the door. Morgana runs up to her.

“Haru!”

“Mona-chan!” Haru scoops Morgana up into her arms and hugs him.

Haru’s joy at reuniting with her friends is dampened by another voice. "Finally. Took one of you long enough to get here.”

Haru frowns to see Goro Akechi lying on a couch.

“Akechi. I see you’re alive.”

“So sorry to disappoint you, Okumura.”

Akira clears his throat. “Coffee?”

“I’m fine. I just want to know what the plan is. I take it you haven’t heard from the others?”

Akira shakes his head. “No. I know where Sojiro and Futaba were headed before…” Akira trails off and Haru pats him on the shoulder. As hard as it had been for her to hear about Boss, Akira had been taken in by the man and saw him as another father figure, of course he would be upset.

Akira swallows. “Anyway, I’ve been in touch with Mishima who’s looking into internet rumors and tips, but he’s under close watch for being the Admin of the Phan Site. If we want to figure out what happened to everyone else, we’ll have to do our own leg work.”

“Why waste time, though?” Akechi says. “We’re four now and decently balanced, let’s just go after Shido and be done with it."

“We have to make sure our friends are safe!” Haru snaps.

Akechi rolls his eyes. “The only way they’ll truly be safe is if they’re no longer wanted criminals. Until then they’ll be hunted nonstop. Our priority should be changing Shido’s heart.”

“But we can’t do that if we’re not at full strength, you must have seen his ship, it’s massive! We need the others.”

“Your sentimentality is blinding you, Okumura. I know Shido, he won’t rest until all the loose ends are tied up!”

“You know him so well, yet you apparently weren’t prepared for him to come after you,” Haru says. Akechi practically growls, moving his hand to his abdomen where fresh bandages are covering his bullet wound. Haru ignores him and continues. “Besides, I’d think at this point you’d know not to underestimate us since we’ve already fooled you. The others are probably hiding out somewhere, we just have to find them, then we can go after Shido.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Akira says. “Akechi’s right, I think we need to prioritize changing Shido’s heart-” he puts a finger up before Haru can interject, “-but we’re still going to wait to do that until Akechi’s bullet wound is healed so he can actually fight without killing himself. Which means we have time to look for the others. Believe me Haru, I don’t like the idea of not knowing what’s happened to them either, but we can’t afford to wait until after the election.”

Haru and Akechi both grunt in agreement. Morgana leaps out of Haru’s arms and onto the counter. “We should start a plan of action as to who we’re going to track down.”

“Well if the Niijimas have any sense between the two of them, and they admittedly have a lot, they’ve gotten out of the city, so we’ll have to wait for them to contact us,” Akechi says. “I wouldn’t put it past Shido to order a full scale lockdown soon though, so we shouldn’t bother waiting past that.”

Haru nods. “Ann would probably head to her friend Suzui’s house first, right?”

“Yeah, probably,” Akira says. “There’s no way Shiho turns Ann in, so I think that’s a good place to start. Kawakami would know if she or Ryuji showed up near the school and would be willing to help.”

Akechi scoffs. “You have a lot of faith your accomplices won’t turn any of you in for the reward money, or to simply lighten their own sentence.”

“They won’t.” Akira says, staring him down.

Akechi just rolls his eyes. “Well, Sakamoto might not be subtle but I assume his mother would help him. We should see if they have any other family in the city they could go to.”

“And then Yusuke-”

“Oh we’re not bothering with Kitagawa or Sakura, are we?” Akechi says.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Haru asks.

“Sakura is probably on her own in the middle of the woods somewhere and we have no way to contact her or even track her down. She’ll either be found by someone who will turn her in, find someone who will keep her hidden, or get mauled by wild animals. In any case we don’t have any way of getting to her.”

Haru bites her lip. “Fine, but why shouldn’t we look for Yusuke?”

Akechi laughs. “Kitagawa’s just fucked in general. I mean, where was he most likely to be when the news went out? In his dorm, surrounded by other students and teachers who’d love 15 million yen, in the school art studio which has the same problem, or in the heavily crowded Shibuya station, sticking out like a sore thumb. Even now we’re assuming Takamaki and Sakamoto had someone around to help them, or at least someone who could get to them before anyone who wanted to turn them in could. Kitagawa though? He’s a lost cause and a waste of our already precious time.”

“The police haven’t reported his arrest!” Haru counters.

“That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been captured. Maybe they're holding out in case they can’t get the rest of us and want to use him as bait to lure us out. Maybe Shido’s goons killed him and they don’t want to report that yet.”

“Don’t you dare say that!”

“I’m simply stating the facts as they are. Kitagawa is unlikely to have avoided capture, and we can’t know for certain where he would be either way. Again, it’s not worth worrying about him.”

Haru balls her hand into a fist, but Akira puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Alright. We start with trying to find Ryuji and Ann, keep an eye out for Makoto, and watch the news in case Yusuke or Futaba shows up there. Morgana and I know someone else we can ask for help, if she’s up for it. Then in a week, we gather everyone we can and try to change Shido’s heart. Agreed?”

“If you insist on wasting time, that’s acceptable,” Akechi says.

Morgana flicks his tail. “Sounds like a plan.”

Haru crosses her arms and looks between the three of them. “Fine, if you think it’s best.”

Akira nods. “Good, then let’s get to work. We don’t have a second to waste.”

[i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend]

Sexiled (Part 16/23) ~ Steve Rogers x Reader ~ College!AU

A/N: Hello my lovelies! Happy Monday. I hope everyone is doing alright and staying safe and sane. 

So I am excited (but also sad) to say that Sexiled is almost complete. I have the next few parts basically ready for posting. And I should have the story completely written and edited in the next few days. Once I have everything done, I’ll schedule the remainder of the story and I will update the masterlist with the scheduled post dates so you can keep an eye out in case tumblr is eating my notifs. So for now onto the story. 

Summary: Girls night and subsequent studying with Steve. Are your friends ever going to figure it out? 

Characters/Pairings: Steve x Reader, Natasha, Wanda, Skye

Rating: T

Warnings: Language. Feels? Fluff. 

Word Count: 1487

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

After an exam, turning in your final writing assignment, and completing your last two labs of the semester you were practically skipping back to your room. Most of the doors on the floor were open as people packed to go home for Thanksgiving. You could hear the laughter coming from your room from the elevator.

“I can’t believe you started the party without me,” you announced before you walked in.

“We didn’t start anything,” Skye called back.

Wanda and Skye were on your bed, and Nat was standing on hers trying to string up the last of what looked like eight strings of fairy lights.

Wanda started to get up, but you waved her off, stowing your bag under your desk.

“Nat, what are you doing?”

“The lighting in this room sucks. And you said you liked the little strand that I had on my wall. So when I found these for cheap I figured why not.”  

“And eight strings doesn’t seem like overkill?” you teased.

“Oh be quiet. Hurry up and change. Sweatpants are mandatory.”

“Okay, okay.”

You quickly went to the bathroom to change into your favorite sweatpants and Steve’s hoodie. When you came back Natasha had gotten the last strand up and the room was illuminated only by fairy lights. It was very calming, almost magical.  

“Whoa.”

“You like?” Nat asked with a hopeful grin.

“I love.”

“Good,” Nat smiled as she sat on her desk. “Because I wasn’t taking them down. This took five hours.”

“Oh my god, Nat.”

You giggled and rolled your eyes as you crawled onto her bed.

“Worth it.”

“It’s perfect,” you agreed.

 A few hours later there were half eaten pizza boxes piled on your desk and you were laying with your head hanging off the edge of Nat’s bed with your legs against the wall.  

“What do you think the guys are doing right now?” Skye asked the room.

“Drinking whatever beer Tony smuggled in and playing video games,” Nat snorted.

“Somebody pass the Oreos,” Wanda called from her spot on the floor.

“Here you go,” Skye dangled the pack in front of her face. “Who’s got the Twizzlers?”

“Catch.”

Nat tossed the pack across the room and Skye caught it easily.

“Thank you.”

“So, how’s it going with Barnes?”

Skye’s smile turned soft as she dragged her knees up to her chest.

“It’s good. He’s such a good guy. It’s a nice change of pace from my ex,” Skye’s tone dropped and you stifled a growl.

She had told you all about Ward and all you could say was that he was lucky he didn’t live in the state because you would have gone and kicked his ass.  

“You guys are really cute together,” Wanda cooed. “He never smiled this much when he was with Dot.”

Skye blushed slightly, clearly pleased.  

“That’s because Dot was sucking his soul out of him,” Natasha grumbled.  

“He makes me really happy. And he’s easy on the eyes.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

“Are you guys going to make it official soon?” Wanda asked softly.

“I think so. I mean, it’s still early, but it looks like it’s going that way.”

“See, y/n, that’s how it works. You like someone. You go out on dates and then start a relationship.”

You rolled your eyes nudging her shoulder with your knee.

“Oh really? I had no idea. Thanks for clearing that up,” you sassed, earning you a flick on the ear.

“Ow.”  

“Come on,” she practically whined. “You and Steve have been basically dating for months. You spend literally all of your time together. You’re even going home with him for Thanksgiving. When are you going to tell him how you feel?”

“Who says that I haven’t?” you asked coyly.

“Have you?” Wanda asked with knowing eyes. You had to wonder if she somehow knew. She was talented like that.

You considered fessing up.

“There’s no way,” Nat interjected before you could speak. “If she’d told Steve, they’d be together and insufferable.”

You shrugged. Skye was doing an admirable job of suppressing a laugh.

“I’m happy with where Steve and I stand. Isn’t that enough?”

Sweetheart that she is, Wanda smiled and nodded.

“As long as you’re happy. We just don’t want you to miss out on a good thing.”

“I appreciate that, Wanda.”

“But speaking of meeting parents,” Skye started, saving you. “Wanda. I heard a rumor that you’re meeting Sam’s parents this weekend.”

Wanda’s cheeks turned as red as her signature leather jacket. She and Sam had gone public a couple of days after his birthday and you’d been relieved you didn’t have to keep that secret for long.

“Yes. They’re coming up on Wednesday. They’ve invited me and Pietro to join them for dinner.”

“That’s going to be really nice.”

“I’m really nervous.”

“Don’t be,” you soothed. “They’re really nice. And they’re going to love you.”

“I hope so,” she sighed.  

The four of you stayed up talking until nearly five in the morning, so you didn’t wake up to meet Steve until after noontime. You watched him from the doorway to the study lounge, admiring his focus. When he noticed your presence, he lit up with a wide smile.

“Hey, sweetness.”

“Hey. Sorry I’m late.” You pushed off the wall and took his outstretched hand as he pulled you between his legs. “How was guy’s night?”

“It was fun. We played Call of Duty, and Tony managed to sneak in a couple six packs.”

You chuckled at Nat’s accurate prediction.

“What?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Nothing.”

“I missed sleeping next to you last night,” Steve admitted as you carded your fingers through his hair.

“I did too.”

“Did you have fun with the girls though?”

You nodded happily.

“It was a lot of fun. It was nice to have all of us together for once and just be able to talk. And being done with all the assignments was nice too.”

“Mmm. What did you all talk about?”

You smirked and shook your head. “That is privileged information. Girl’s night code.”

“Oh. Right. Very official.”

“It’s a binding contract. I’m sure you guys have the same.”

“Oh yeah. Of course. I can tell you that the guys did are really rooting for me to ask you out. For the most part.”

“For the most part?”

“Mhmm. Tony thinks you can do better.”

You chuckled, “I mean…”

Steve narrowed his eyes.

“I’m kidding.” You leaned down to kiss him tenderly. “You are everything I have ever dreamed of.”

He pulled you into his lap, touching your foreheads together.

“You are better than anything I could have dreamed of.”

“Did you tell them?” you asked after a quiet tender moment.

“I thought about it. I probably would have if they’d let me get a word in edgewise,” he rolled his eyes. “At this point I think they just like to hear themselves talk.”

“Wanda actually asked outright if I’d told you how I felt,” you admitted.

“Did you tell her the truth?”

“Didn’t get the chance. Nat said there was no chance. She’d think we’d be insufferable if we were together.”

“Is that right?”

“Mhmm.”

“They’re going to be so pissed when they find out,” he chuckled.  

“I’m looking forward to it,” you grinned kissing him once before extracting yourself and unpacking your books.

 You were taking a break between your Chem and Bio lab reports when Steve spoke up.

“Oh, I didn’t get to tell you. Erskine does remember me.”

“Really? How do you know?”

“I went to his office hours yesterday to ask about the atomic orbital stuff, and I was the only one there. So after he helped me, I decided to thank him whether he remembered me or not. He did.”

You smiled smugly.

“Told ya.”

“Yeah. Yeah. You were right. Anyways, he said he recognized me right away and he was glad to see me doing so well. He also invited me to see his lab after we get back from break.”

“That’s so cool. I’m so excited for you.”

“Thanks, sweetness.”

“Do you feel better knowing he remembers you?”

He hummed, shaking his head slightly.

“You know me well. Yeah. I do. He had such a big impact on my life. It’s nice to know that he cares as much about his patients as I hope to someday.”

You rested your chin on your hand listening intently as he launched into a rant about the need for compassion in medicine. After about ten minutes he seemed to realize he’d been ranting.

“Sorry, I.”

“You’re going to be such a good doctor.” You surged forward, cutting off his apology with a kiss. “Do not apologize. You are so hot when you talk about the things you’re passionate about.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked with a smirk, waggling his eyebrows. “You must love when I talk about you.”

“You certainly won’t catch me complaining,” you agreed.  

~~~~~~~~~ 

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy. 

Tag Lists are Open please send an ask. Strike throughs didn’t work

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[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

My Friend Got Turned Into A Werewolf

Part 7 Learning

Tagging: @melyaliz @dilpickledd @coffee-randomness @speedypan

A/N Red belongs to @melyaliz

There were only so many times Red could read the werewolf book, he was starting to get antsy staying in here and not being able to do much. It didn't help that Aquata also tended to hole herself up in her room most of the time. Turning on the tv Red began flipping through the channels when he felt his phone buzz. Checking the name on the phone he couldn’t help but be puzzled when he answered.

“Seamom?”

“Is it bad I’m glad you still call me that after all this time.” Annabella chuckled lightly.

“Well honestly I’m not sure what to really call you.” Red said sheepishly.

“Seamom is fine.”

“Alright but um why exactly are you calling me?”

“Oh your mother and I have some food that’s on the way and also I wanted to see how you're doing.”

“I’m okay, well as okay as I can be. I don’t know I’m trying to do research and see how I’m progressing but I… I’m not sure what I’m doing. I've asked Aquata since she’s dealt with things like this before but.” Red paused not sure what exactly he should say.

“Aquata has a tendency to focus on something in order to distract herself. However sometimes she focuses a little too much on the wrong thing.” Annabella sighed. “I was hoping being with a friend again would help her. Just keep trying to ask her for help, as much as she holds herself up she can’t help but be there for her friends.”

Red wasn't really sure how to take the second part of what Annabella said. She had hoped Aquata being with a friend would help. What did that mean?

"Sorry." Annabella said, bringing Red back. "I just can't help but worry so be ready for lots of food being sent."

"And we'll be here ready to eat it all." Red said. "And don't worry I'll keep an eye out on her."

"Thanks Red." Annabella sighed. "And take care of yourself too."

"I will. Thanks seamom." Red heard one last small laugh before the phone disconnected.

Putting the phone away Red began to make his way up the stairs when his body became alert and he turned towards the door. Without thinking he ran straight towards it only to be knocked backwards before he even reached the door.

He groaned as he felt his back and neck ache. There was a rushing of footsteps and suddenly Aquata was standing over him.

"What happened?" She asked her eyes flicking from him to around the cabin as if trying to spot danger.

"I dunno." Red groaned as he tried to get up. "I just ran towards the door?"

Aquata looked at him puzzled then there was a squawk that came from the other side of the door. Red perked up and growled at the noise making Aquata turn to look at him and then suddenly she was laughing. She was trying to compose herself but everytime it seemed like she was done she'd burst into another fit of laughs.

"I'm glad my pain amuses you." Red pouted, but he had to admit hearing her laugh was making his day. When was the last time he even heard her laugh?

"Oh gods I'm sorry I'm sorry." Aquata snickered as she straightened up.

However instead of helping Red she walked towards the door.

"There's a reason the mailman doesn't come too far into town. However it's a little hard to banish animals, I guess mom underestimated your transformation. Tyler didn't however it seems he added more runes to protect the house from your outbursts." Aquata said as she opened the door.

An eagle with a little blue vest was standing on top of a box. It flapped its wings and squawked again.

"Hello Harold." Aquata said, kneeling down and unclipped the package from his vest.

Red had gotten up and stood behind Aquata glaring down at the bird.

"Say hello to mom for me." Aquata said, patting his head.

Harold squawked and flapped his wings as he turned and took off. Red looked at the bird and sighed.

"Please tell me this doesn't last forever."

"Nah, you'll get used to it after a while. However I will admit Tyler stole a frisbee or two when we went on dates at the park." Aquata snickered.

Red stared at her wondering if she was just teasing him, however there was something about how naturally she said it that it almost seemed true.

Closing the door Aquata turned to go to the kitchen. And Red followed her quickly.

"Wait were you joking about the mailman and the frisbee?" He asked wondering if he sounded as stupid as he thought.

"I wish. There's a little mail center that wolves have to go to pick up their mail. Their houses are marked as "do not approach". One too many mailmen got chased in the early years of this town being settled and those cars don't drive fast enough." Aquata explained as she opened the package and pulled out seamoms famous mac and cheese casserole.

Red mouth began to water despite having eaten not too long ago. A loud grumble came from Aquatas stomach making both of them jump.

"I guess it's time to eat." Aquata laughed nervously as she turned to get plates.

Red stared at her puzzled, glancing up at the clock he realized it was way past lunch time. Quickly he walked over to the fridge only to find the lunches he'd been making for the past two days were completely untouched. How hadn't he noticed that?

"You haven't been eating lunch?" He asked turning around to see Aquatas place a large portion on her plate.

Aquatas opened her mouth as if to protest but upon seeing the fridge she quickly closed it.

"I lost track of time." She said lamely.

"Twice?" Red accused, pointing at the two pieces of tupperware.

"...yes." Aquatas sighed. "I have a lot to catch up on."

"That doesn't mean you should go around skipping meals."

"One meal. And I'm fine. See I'll take this up to my room and eat it."

"Uh uh." Red said quickly, blocking her exit.

"I," he started taking the plate from Aquata. "Am going to heat this up. You are gonna get your stuff and come down. And you will eat, if you take too long between bites I'm spraying you with water."

"You do know water doesn't affect me." Aquatas said, crossing her arms. But Red didn't budge.

"Fine." Aquatas caved letting her shoulders drop. "I'll be right back."

"You have until the microwave beeps." Red said, stepping aside to let her pass.

Ten minutes later Aquatas had her books and notebooks sprawled across the coffee table and the couch she was occupying. Her laptop was perched on a small tv tray table that Red was wondering where she had gotten it from.

Red nestled himself on the recliner and had the tv on low, he was starting to notice his ears would hurt if the tv was on too high. Every time the show would cut to commercial he would turn to look at Aquata and waited till she took a bite. One of the times he glanced over she caught sight of one of the books she was reading and tilted his head curiously.

“I didn't know you were studying to be a doctor.” He said looking at the medical book.

“I’m not.” Aquata said as she took the last bite from her plate.

Red scanned over the books trying to make sense of the mess. “It sure looks like it.”

“It's… complicated.” Aquata said, rubbing her head. Red looked at her expectedly, she sighed as she set her laptop to the side.

“Growing up you suffered from headaches right.” Red nodded turning around in his seat to face Aquata properly. “On a normal person they would chalk it up to migraines or just headaches from stress. However you were different yours were because of your powers. Now how often would you go to Starlabs only for them to estimate how much medicine you should really take or tell you to just learn to adapt to your powers?”

“Pretty much every time.” Red said, realizing she was expecting a real answer.

“I was in a lot of sports growing up besides doing our missions and my sister did dance. Our injury count was a lot higher than normal. A kid gets injured playing a sport they get sent to a doctor who then probably sends them to a physical therapist if they need to recover and call it a day. My sister and I got hurt and we jumped between labs trying to figure out the best way to treat us. We’re generation three going on four and science hasn’t caught up to metahuman treatment. The classes I’m in, the course that I’m taking, has barely been active since I’ve started. It's basically a mass learning center trying to learn everything and anything regarding metahumans, aliens, atlanteans, and mixed species. How to apply human medical knowledge so that we can start making clinics and medical facilities to help treat everyone properly.”

Red nodded taking everything in. “And how does this not make you a doctor?”

Aquata smiled sheepishly. “I'm only learning enough to be a physical/massage therapist. I don't think I have the patience to become an actual doctor. Besides sport and hero injuries are something I can understand.”

“Wait you said this program has barely been around since you started?”

“Perks of having a rich grandfather is that he’s willing to drop a lot of money for a good cause.” Aquata said, smiling as she looked down.

“I'm sure if you were to talk to the professor he’d be willing to make a donation.” Red said suddenly not sure why he wanted to help in some way.

“Oh he has.” Aquata said looking up. “About a few months after we opened up he reached out and even offered some professors to help.”

“So that’s where McCoy has been sneaking off to. Oh man I owe Jackson money.”

“What did you think he was doing?” Aquata asked.

“We thought he had a secret girlfriend somewhere. Leave it to him to be such a nerd. What?” Red asked noticing the smile on Aquatas face.

“Oh I’m not saying anything.” Aquata said, grabbing her laptop.

“You know something.” Red accused.

“I plead the fifth.” Aquata said focusing on her laptop. “And don't even think about it.”

“Think about what?” Red said, trying to look innocent.

“Probing minds is rude.”

“What’s rude is you being able to know what I’m thinking and I can never get a read on you, and I’m the mind reader.” Red said exasperated.

“How do you do it?” Red asked so seriously it threw Aquata off. It was strange how much more serious he could get now. “Ever since I’ve known you your mind has always been so quiet. At first I thought maybe you’re just different, but I’m starting to get the feeling you're actively shutting me out.”

“You really shouldn’t take it so personally.” Aquata said, trying to smile reassuringly. “My family has had a bad track record when it comes to our minds. My dad got brain blasted by Miss Martian when he was working as a double agent, he needed to get his mind reconstructed from scratch. My mom was kidnapped by a stalker who put her under a spell that made her bend to his will. My dad had to go into her mind to help her break free of it. My grandfather started teaching us from a young age how to protect our minds, how to shield it, make it harder for anyone to try and break in. After what happened to Shaylee I worked harder to strengthen mine. It's better this way.”

Red was about to ask what she meant by that last part when her phone began to ring.

“Hey Tyler what’s up?” Aquata asked as she answered the phone. “Oh… okay I'll let him know. Thanks, bye.”

“What happened?” Red asked, he had tried to avoid over hearing what Tyler might’ve said.

“Your trial has been set for tomorrow.”

[imaginesmai]

Tony Stark-Recovery

Because this man deserved the world. Because I can’t get over him being out of MCU marvel. Because I’ve only written sad stuff about him, and because this gif it just too cute to ignore it.

Plot: Tony Stark has a problem. Actually, he has a lot of them. Tony Stark has always been surronded by problems. But now it’s different, and he has found the will of getting out of them.

Warnings: apart from alcoholism, just fluff

Tony was looking at you with longing eyes, laying down on the coach face down. He had his head propped up on his hands, and the puppy eyes he was giving you were making hard to complete your duties. That, in that moment, were going to work.

“I’m sorry, Tony” you copied his pout, adjusting your bag on your shoulder. “You know I could spend hours and hours with you here, but I have to work”

“Billionaire, ring a bell?” he raised a brow. “Come on, you could just drop out of that shitty job and I could maintain you forever. We could stay trapped in this lab forever.”

You chuckled softly, but didn’t drop your backpack. If it were for you, you would lock yourself with Tony in the lab and never leave that paradise. It wasn’t as if you were poor; but not everyone could just have what Tony had down there. Things you had never seen. Machines you would never dream to build. Materials that you didn’t even know that they existed. It was all the perfect dream; a dream that you had to wake up from.

“I’ll be back tomorrow” you assured him.

In two quick strides, you were kneeling besides the couch, faces inches apart. Tony’s beard had been taken care of in the last few months, and even his hair seemed much more trimmed than before. Maybe you couldn’t really notice the impact you had had on his life, but people around you did.

“I don’t want you to go” he turned his head so that he was looking at you.

You were already running late. What was supposed to be just a quick visit to Tony, had turned out in a four-hours stay. And it wasn’t as if you had done any work in the lab. After that, you could only hug him and spend the next few hours cuddling. Although his wrinkled t-shirt and swollen lips, and your tangled hair and blushed cheeks said otherwise.

“I don’t want to leave either” you said, cupping softly his cheek. Tony closed his eyes and smiled into your palm. He gripped your wrist to kiss your palm, and when he opened his eyes again, you didn’t think anyone had ever looked at you with so much adoration. “I’ll be back tomorrow, how does it sounds?”

“Hm, good” he mumbled. “But I don’t know if Drum-E can survive without you”

As if the robot had really feelings and could hear you, Drum-E emitted what could be a whine. It tried to get out of the cell that Tony had built to keep it out of the lab, and you chuckled.

“He will survive, so will you”

For the last time that day, you kissed Tony. It was different. Warm, slow, gentle, an anchor in Tony’s mad world. The position was not the best, but the kiss was good enough. After tearing apart, you got up and walked to the elevator. Tony whined once more, but didn’t attempt to stop you.

“Bye, Tony” you smiled at him, as the elevator’s door closed behind you.

“See you soon” Tony answered, smiling at you too.

The second the doors closed and you could no longer see him, his smile immediately dropped off his face. The lab felt way too silent, and lonely. He could almost live again the moment where you had found him that afternoon, in the same position, and that was what fuelled him to move. Tony rose up from the couch, rubbed his face and started walking to the kitchen.

His way there was really confusing. Maybe he met up with someone, maybe he was alone in the tower. When an objective as big as that was on his mind, the rest of the things were insignificant. He opened his top drawer liquor cabinet.

As if he was repeating a motion well known, he opened the first bottle. It wasn’t as full as it should had been, and the cap was slightly misplaced. Which was understandable, since he had closed it not so long ago. The strong smell hit Tony’s nostrils and he backed away. He was tempted; he was always tempted, but that day had been hard. And he wanted to put the bottle on his mouth and close his eyes. Let the consequences come back at him later. His hands itched, but he didn’t pick up the glass.

Instead, he poured the alcohol down the sink.

Then, he did the same with the next bottle. It was one of gins, he liked that one much better. And the whisky’s was a good one too. There were bottles from different sizes, flavours and even countries. Tony poured all of them down, until finally there was none left.

He panicked for a moment, thinking maybe he had made a mistake. But then, he remembered your face and knew that he didn’t. You had surprised him when you had stopped by earlier; Tony had only had a few drinks, still able to control himself. But the way you had looked at him had broken his heart.

Tony didn’t know why that look had affected him so much. Pepper, Rhodey, Happy and a lot more people had seem him like that. Seeing the look of devastation on your face had stirred something up inside him.

After all the bottles were empty, he threw them in the trash. Then, he took the trash out. Not in the common trash bag, but down the street. He didn’t want the bottles staring at him. Finally, he sat on the living room couch, face on his hands and eyes closed. A nap sounded good.

“Tones?”

He looked up to see Rhodey staring at him, confusion clear on his face.

“One and only. What can I do for you?” Tony stretched the muscles on his back.

“Uhm, I asked FRIDAY what were you doing and she said you were cleaning out your liquor cabinet? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy” Rhodey quickly put his hands up, wide eyes. “But, what brought this on? Are you okay?”

That was the question. Was he okay? Tony had been lying so long he couldn’t remember what being okay was. The battle of New York, people getting hurt because of him, Rogers betraying him, and the constant reminder of what happened in Afghanistan. Tony couldn’t remember what being okay was. But he felt like it was something similar to laying in bed with you, hand running through your hair while watching a film.

“I’m fine” he mumbled, not sure of his words. “Not like-I’m not totally okay. But, I’m getting there. I think. I’m fine, yeah”

A smile crept to Rhodey’s lips, and the man crossed his arms in front of him. He couldn’t hide the happiness and proudness for his best friend. No longer than six months ago, Rhodey had met you. He had been looking for Tony when he had stumbled into the two of you fighting over the custody of Drum-E, and had known in that moment that you were the medicine Tony needed to be finally okay.

“Something I can do to help?”

“I don’t know, have I mentioned that I love you?” Tony shrugged, as if the words didn’t mean anything. As if it hadn’t been years since he said them.

“Love you too, Stank”

Rhodey only had time to duck his head to avoid the flying pillow thrown his way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truth was, Tony had expected you to avoid him for a while. You had called him next morning with an excuse about your boss, and his heart fell to the pit of his stomach. If he hadn’t thrown the bottles away, he knew he would have drown in alcohol; because you being angry or afraid of him terrified him. Still, you assured him and promised him you would pass by on Wednesday.

Faithful to your promise, you appeared in the lab Wednesday after lunch. He had a shorter temper than normal, and he hadn’t gotten the proper sleep his body asked him too. That wasn’t the problem, though; he knew he could keep his temper in check around you, and he was a pro at surviving on little sleep.

The thing that bothered him the most were his hands, that wouldn’t stop shaking. He had talked with Dr Cho early in the morning, and she gave him some advice and told him that, with time and therapy, it would go away. Having been hooked up so long with alcohol had its side effects. But he couldn’t really work in the lab because of his hands, and he didn’t want to see your disappointed face when he told you so.

It wasn’t as if you went there only for that, he knew you were there to see him. Yet you hadn’t done anything in the lab the previous day because of him, and he knew you loved it. So he swallowed down the pain and smiled tightly when the elevator opened.

“Hey Tony” you said as you entered the lab. You had your work clothes on, and a few hours free of your break to stay with Tony. That put a cheerful smile on your face.

You sounded normal to him. Maybe you had gotten over finding Tony drinking, or maybe you were just pretending it was fine; Tony’s fears hadn’t sound so real in years. He was half expecting you to greet him with a scowl, a disgusted look or just a nod.

However, you walked forward until you were in front of him, and pulled him down for a heated kiss. The doubts left his mind and he let himself enjoy the kiss, arms circling your waist. When you teared apart, you had still the happy smile.

“I missed you”

“You talked to me this morning” Tony chuckled, faces inches apart.

“Yeah, too long” you ran your hand across his stubble and pecked his lips again. “Well, how’s the day going?”

You set your backpack on the ground and listened to Tony talk about how Rhodey and him destroyed half of the living room a few days ago in a heated pillow fight. He didn’t give you reasons, you didn’t need them. Then, he started to talk about the new robot he was going to build; you two together, if you wanted. When he proposed it, with shy eyes and nervous cheeks, you just giggled.

“Of course!” you answered, pulling your wheeled chair closer to him. “How are we naming it?”

“Haven’t decided yet” he shrugged, hands fidgeting with a tool.

“If it’s going to be our son, it’s important for him to have a name”

“You can choose, but please. Let it not be something stupid” he joked. “No references of any characters in Star Wars, Trek, Game of Thrones, The Office, Lord of the Rings or any other thing”

You rolled your eyes playfully, and hit his shoulder. For a few minutes, you discussed different names, each one weirder than the last. You laughed, and had a good time; and Tony could hide his shaky hands on his lap. He was afraid of messing something up with them.

So he came up with the idea of guiding you through the process of building the robot. If you noticed something about him not doing much, you didn’t say anything. Ideas bounced back and forth for a while, and then you ran over the basic of the robots. Tony almost forgot about the problem with his hands. Until the nail fell and he bended down to take it.

“Damn, could you take that for me?” you asked, hands full of robot’s material.

“Sure”

When the nail was on his hands, he discovered he could just not keep it there. It kept moving from one side from another, and before he had time of steading it with his other hand, it fell to the ground once more. Two attempts later, you were done.

“Are you okay?”

Was the room too hot, or was it just him?

“Tony”

It wasn’t that hard. Only a nail. Tony bended to try again, but was stopped when you gripped his wrist. He looked up, not realised until then he had tears on his eyes. There was a knowing look on your face, and Tony didn’t have the heart in him to lie to you.

“They, uh, they just shake” he explained, retreating his hands back to his lap. “From the withdrawal.”

“Alcohol”

“Yeah” Tony sighed. “I… I threw all of it the other day. After you were gone. I-I just, it didn’t feel right to have it while I have you, you know? Thought I should get rid of it if I wanted this to go somewhere serious. But, it has not been too long, and shaky hands are only the beginning of it. I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have to deal with it, so-“

Tony was interrupted by the chair falling backwards, his body following after and your body attached to him like a magnet. He expected to see disappointment in your eyes, a sad frown or just watch you leave, as Pepper had done so many years ago. Tony Stark was no easy person. He wasn’t okay and had a long way there. But you had thrown yourself to his arms, and were hugging him with so much force he was considering the bruises he would have in a few hours.

And you had the most beautiful smile Tony had ever seen. So big that, after looking at each other for a few seconds, he smiled too.

“Thank you” you whispered, cheek pressed against his chest. There was a faint blue light on it, from its arc reactor. “And I’m not leaving, Tony. You’re stuck with me.”

Maybe, the next step would be finally getting ride of his arc reactor, a reminder of everything bad that had happened to him. Maybe, it was forgetting about his bad coping mechanisms. But for the time being, his next step would be believing there were people who loved him, and that would be there whatever happened.

Tony hugged you back, and kissed your forehead. Yeah, he would be okay.

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[jarofrebuke-transcripts]

Jar of Rebuke Episode 7 Unofficial Transcript

Season 1 Episode 7: Shifts

INTRO

The following audio recording is classified documentation for Case [audio distortion] with the Enclosure. Unauthorized access to this information will lead to immediate intervention. Progress further if proper clearance has been given.

JARED

So today I'm actually recording this from the lab I've had the room to myself for hours, just as it's been for a while now. Ever since my little vacation I've had more and more lab time to myself. It's nice? But also I just feel more lonely. I can play my music or whatever, but I do almost miss Dr. Castillo's presence. I guess I'd just gotten used to it no matter how weird it is at times. But having Grove around has helped immensely with the loneliness at home, at least. He's super cuddly, which I never expected from a literal hellhound. But Milo did mention the possibility of me being... touch starved? Which might also explain why the attention just feels so weird. I had never even heard of that before. I mean Dr. Daman has never brought it up. But again knowing that most hellhounds are not at all the cuddly sort... oh well, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. [door creaks open] Oh, uh, hey Jamie!

JAMIE

(to herself) Alright, oh shit! (to Jared) Um, hey! Sorry, I thought this lab would be empty.

JARED

I mean I normally would be out on the field at this time, but it's a bit too cold today. Can I help you with something?

JAMIE

Nah, nah. To be honest, I kind of steal your office to nap during my break. This weather is killer on my body and I'm just, well, I'm tired.

JARED

Well if you need a nap, I can keep quiet? Or I mean, I can even duck out if you'd prefer, I don't want to stop you from getting any rest if you need it.

JAMIE

(small laugh) No no no no no, that's, that's fine. I'm... I'll just go grab a cup of coffee. You want a cup? I can grab one for ya, no problem.

JARED

Uh yeah, yeah, that'd be nice actually!

JAMIE

How do you take it?

JARED

Just grab a handful of sugar and some things of creamer. I like it pretty sweet.

JAMIE

You got it. We get crap coffee anyways. I'll be back.

JARED

[door closes] Thanks! That's Dr. Everett, though she never really lets me call her that. She's great. We've talked a few times in the hall mostly. Sometimes we catch each other in the elevator or end up chatting at the coffee machine. We've never hung out outside of work, though. I mean, hell, the only co-worker I've ever hung out with is Milo. We, we didn't hang out much when we were lab partners, but we started hanging out more recently. I don't know if I'd prefer to have them as a lab partner again or what we have now. It's nice to have, I don't know, friends? Anyways, the weather's getting colder so we've been working inside more. Yeah we bundle up and go out sometimes, but not as much as we were a month or so ago. I've mostly been working with Dr. Castillo to go over old recordings that we gathered. With us being lab partners we typically are also project partners, though not exclusively. It seems like recently she's been assigned to a project that's more in line with what she used to be doing. Something far less dangerous, which she seems to be very happy about. Whatever it is, it's keeping her out of the lab a good amount. So here I am, alone, as usual.

After I got back from my little vacation I went to see Dr. Daman for another appointment. She asked what I got up to so I told her about taking in a dog. I didn't tell her about how Grove isn't, you know, like most dogs, but I told her how nice it is to have Grove around. I mean, heck, that dog knows when I'm waking up from a nightmare and is always by my side! I thought that she'd be happy about it! But she seemed, I don't know, disappointed? She asked if I thought that I really needed to keep a dog around just to manage. Her tone was concerned, but her words? I don't know, it just… it made me feel bad about having Grove around. Made me feel bad for finding him so comforting. I told her I guess not, but it does really help. I've also gotten pretty attached to Grove. It's just nice to have him around even when I'm not in a panic or whatever. She gave a soft sigh and then just moved on, as if she wasn't happy about my answer. Even though she's always taking so many notes I don't know how much of me she really remembers. Like she doesn't really mention my friends by name, ever. I say names like Holly or Darius, or I mention Laura and Ester, and I always have to re-explain who they are. Holly, you know, the person from the snipe hunt? Or Darius, you know, the guy that I hung out with on his birthday? And she just takes more notes. I hardly feel like I'm getting much from her anymore. She asked me about the audio journal again and actually seemed pretty happy that I'm still taking her advice. And listen, I get it, I get it, it feels really good to know that someone is taking your professional advice, and doing this really does help. But I don't like how she presses on it. I mean, I almost want to stop doing this out of sheer spite sometimes.

After a bit of talking Dr. Daman mentioned that there's going to be a change in our sessions. My stomach sank. She said that I need to come in more frequently which was weird considering the fact that I feel like I'm doing fine! In fact, I feel like I'm doing better! But she's insisted that I need more help in this whole remembering thing. Help that she alone can't provide, apparently. I don't know, maybe she could have provided the help if she tried to actively help me remember, instead of just leaving me to remember naturally. So now there's going to be another person getting involved. I haven't met him yet, I meet him my next session. Apparently he's helped patients who have received injuries that have caused memory issues in the past. I wanted to ask why I didn't just see him from the get-go, but whatever. Next session, I am meeting a Mr. Liam Zimmer. Not a doctor, like most of the people around here end up being. He's a psychologist though, and according to Daman, he's a damn good one. Though those weren't her exact words, of course. She spoke highly of his abilities, though by her tone I can't tell how she personally feels about Mr. Zimmer. She's not as blatant in her cheerful disliking of things as Dr. Castillo is. Mr. Zimmer will focus on my amnesia, Dr. Daman will work on my other day-to-day evaluations, and Dr. Rahal is still my general physician for these headaches and whatever else happens.

Speaking of headaches, they've kinda come back again. Not as fiercely as before, more annoying than anything else really. Not debilitating by any means, but my gods! Are they a nuisance. Amir is trying to help me find other methods of dealing with them since medicine doesn't really work. Started drinking more water, which I'm objectively just bad at drinking enough water in general. I also have started some light workouts like twice a week, nothing too strenuous, just enough to get the blood pumping. It kind of sucks but I know it'll get easier over time. Amir said that all of my vitals are normal which is definitely good, but like, I don't know. Still a bit annoying sometimes that I can't look over my own records. I think next time I get a scan done, I'm going to ask to see it. I don't think that he's the kind of person to keep things from his own patients, so I'm sure he'll show me if I just ask.

Not gonna lie I looked up Mr. Zimmer in the work database. After trying to look into Dr. Kelder, I've gotten a bit curious to look and see what I can find about others. And if this guy is going to be helping me do a deep dive into my own brain, yeah I want to know about him. It says he's been with the Enclosure for a few years, mostly working in rehabilitation. But that doesn't explain why they didn't have me see him sooner. Like if he's literally in the rehabilitation program. What the hell have they been considering my case, huh? According to his records there was a period of time a couple of years ago that he was involved in some highly guarded cases. Not the general, you know, “can't discuss my patient’s work file” thing, but I mean high level clearance, password guarded. The Enclosure seems to really shuffle people around a lot. A lot of his methods, by what I could find, seemed to be experimental.

So when I say how unsure I am about all this I cannot emphasize how much I'm not exactly feeling this one. I hate sudden change, and this is kind of a big deal! They didn't even ask if I wanted this, they just told me that this is how it was going to be. Not even Dr. Daman seems too thrilled but considering how often she seems huffy with me that might just be her usual state. She's rarely pleased with any progress I make. She used to at least seem curious but nowadays she's more and more sensitive to me developing my own coping mechanisms outside of what she suggests. And I don't know, it just doesn't feel very good. And it's not like that I can find another therapist anyways. I mean Wichton has a fairly small but a very good network of counselors and social workers, but not any that I could see about my specific needs. To say I need specialists is putting it lightly. I feel like anyone outside of the Enclosure just wouldn't be able to help. I mean, if they are from outside of the Enclosure I can't tell them anything. I wouldn't be able to explain what I do at work. I can't go into my personal relationships are being affected by these things, the headaches, the bad dreams, the not remembering anything! So Dr. Daman and Mr. Zimmer it is.

But I'm also doing more at home to try and work on that stress which is actually really helping. Again Grove has been a huge help, he always seems to know when I need him the most and he'll pull me back into the moment. It's nice! And I've been spending some time with Holly, Darius, and some other folks in town. I've gotten this weekly routine of stopping by Mrs. Weddington's bakery to pick up some sweets and also at least once a week stopping by the Chronicle Inn for a meal to see Laura and Ester. I'm starting with the people and places that I'm most comfortable before I start branching out. Though I'll admit, whenever I go to the Chronicle Inn I can't help but consider booking myself a room again and seeing if I could speak with the Blue Lady. I mean, at least to get her name, at least to ask more questions. Should I get on that? I mean, no time like the present.

I'm also working to not lose myself to fixations, uh, trying to balance work-related studies and well, I guess studies of myself. Balancing all that out with relaxing things. I got another crossword book from Christine. I have no idea where she keeps getting them but they're great, honestly. It's been a bit harder to focus on them recently but I am going to try. I've tried cooking more, but I'm not really good at it. As Holly would say, I somehow burn water. But Darius has offered to come by and teach me some recipes so we're gonna hang out here soon so that he can help me learn some basic dishes. And considering that Holly wasn't too phased by the children knocking at the door, in fact they said it was cool, it makes me feel a little better at the idea of Darius actually spending some time over at my place. Grove is very protective of me, but he got along very well with Holly and doesn't seem to have much issue with people when I'm walking him. I'm pretty sure that it won't be an issue when Darius comes by. I warned him, but he seems excited to meet Grove, so we'll see how that goes. I feel like it'll go well.

[papers rustling] I think here soon, I have to go back out onto the field though. Not today, but I'm expecting within the next few weeks. A file that I have here is something about some kids wandering the woods not too terribly far away from here so I think I'll be going out to investigate that soon. The file says something here about them being the ghosts of victims of some unethical doctor that tested on children suffering from a hydrocephalus or water in the brain. An old haunted mansion with a wide range of things, but the most notable are the lingering spirits of those kids. Or it may actually be the kids themselves? Immortal or transformed into whatever it may be. So I'm probably gonna be going out and taking a look at that here soon. But I'm not gonna worry about it until I get that official email telling me to head out.

Well, uh, a new therapist, potential lead… uh, well my week other than that was great. I didn't really record much after I took Grove in. I hung out with Holly. We watched a few weird movies, played some video games together. They brought over their own gaming system and we just hooked it up to my TV.  It was a lot of fun, and they got along very well with Grove. We did talk a bit about the whole gendered language issue. I started it by telling them about my whole situation with naming Grove, and it kind of just naturally led to the broader discussion of it. I also brought it up with Milo a little while later and both Holly and Milo asked if I'm non-binary. I wasn't expecting that question. I also wasn't expecting how right it would feel when I looked into it. Like, I don't mind people calling me sir or he all that much, but I just don't feel like the man that they see me as. Holly asked if I wanted to try they/them pronouns instead. But the pronouns aren't really what matters that much. I mean, as long as the person is addressing me in a way that I find respectful I don't really care much about pronouns. Milo made a similar offer, saying that if I ever wanted to try a new name or different pronouns to just let them know. I like my name, it's something that I have that's me, the only real tie that I have to my past, you know? And the pronouns thing? We'll see. Haven't talked to Dr. Daman about it yet. I really don't know if she'll care either way, in the dismissive way, not the accepting way. I have a feeling that Dr. Rahal would be accepting, he seems like the sort of type, the sort of person that would be accepting on this sort of thing. I might talk to Darius about it too. I don't know, I just have a feeling that he'd understand. Or at least be willing to listen. We've been starting to really open up to each other more about stuff, getting more personal. With that said I really don't know how much longer I can keep him entirely in the dark about my whole amnesia thing. He's smart, he's definitely gotta notice that I don't talk about my past. I'm surprised that he doesn't find me boring as hell to be completely honest. I mean, I'm glad he doesn't, I'm glad he likes to hang out.

Speaking of ties to the past last time that I was at the Chronicle Inn to pick up more dog treats for Grove, because I may or may not give him more treats than would be healthy for a normal dog. Spoiled rotten. I caught a glimpse of the inn's guest book, names dated back many years, and it was also strange to look over my own entry. I almost hadn't written in it but Ester reminded me on my way out a while ago to fill it out. And how could I say no? It got me thinking, like, should I go back? The Blue Lady insisted that she knew me and that must mean that she knows more about this whole situation. Since my headaches have been a lot better it might be a good time to go check in again and see what I can, you know, figure out from her. Figure out what she knows in a way that wouldn't leave me just with more questions like last time. Hell, maybe I could call work and see if they want to come fix some of my housing again. I'm sure Ester and Laura wouldn't mind if I brought Grove. I mean he may be huge but he's a really well-behaved softy most of the time. He does wander off at night, likely to do general hellhound things, but he hasn't caused much trouble. At least that's nothing that's gotten back to me. Well, I'll look into that.

I'm also pretty excited for time with Darius, I don't know if he'll stay the night like Holly did. My couch is pretty cozy, I mean I doze off on it all the time. But with the knocking at night and everything else, I don't... I'm worried I'd scare him off. I wasn't too worried about scaring Holly off with just, um, how they generally are. But I don't know how Darius would be about it. Guess all that I can do is just give him an heads up and let him decide if he wants to chance it. I mean, Holly's been trying to get Darius and I'd hang out more for whatever reason. [phone buzzes] Oh, alright, time to start getting ready for lunch. Um, I guess I might as well wrap up. This is Dr.- oh uh…

JAMIE

You won't believe the gossip I've got! I had a run-in with Todd in the elevator.

JARED

Wow, quickest way to have your day ruined! What did he say?

JAMIE

(small laugh) Well, he saw I wasn't using the wheelchair today, right? So I got all cocky and asked if my legs were finally working today. Even if I wasn't in so much pain, I wouldn't want to deal with that shit. So I asked him when his brain would finally start working. He looked like he was gonna have a conniption. But what's he gonna do, fire one of his most experienced people? Okay!

JARED

I would give my whole paycheck to be there next time you pull that. I would, god, I wish that I could say stuff like that to him.

JAMIE

Anyway, I was thinking of taking my lunch soon. You wanna pick up something in town? I could use the company.

JARED

Oh that that sounds great, yeah! You've been to the Royal Cow? They've got some pretty good food but their desserts are the best. Here, let me just wrap up here and um, this is Dr. Jared Hel signing off.

OUTRO

Jar of Rebuke is written and produced by Casper Oliver, who is also the voice of Dr. Jared Hel. Voice of Jamie Everett is Jenny O’Sullivan. The intro is read by Vanessa Rosengrant, and credits are read by Ashley Craft, who has created the podcast official graphics. Music was created by Luke Menniss, spelled m-e-n-n-i-s-s, who you can find and support on Bandcamp, Spotify and Twitch. Find us on social media for updates. You can support us on Patreon or Podhero by following the links in our episode description. And special thanks to our patreon supporters, Tristan, Perry, Devin, Becky, Nico, and Joyce.

[clintbartonswife]

Forever

@witch-of-letters  thanks for requesting this! I diverted from it slightly but I hope you still like it

Pairings: Steve x Reader, brother!bucky Warning: swearing, mentions of abuse masterlist

For as long as you can remember, it had been the three of you against the world.

When you and Bucky were 6, you had gone to the park to play when you saw a scrawny blond getting the ever-loving shit kicked out of him in an alley way by a guy who was easily a good few inches taller than him.

“Hey!” Bucky had shouted, rushing over to help, “Leave him alone”

You had followed your twin, and without much of a struggle had sent the boy on his way.

“I had him on the ropes”

You had offered a hand to help him up, offering him a soft smile.

“Sure you did punk” Bucky said, matching your smile as he rested his hand on the boy’s shoulder

“Jerk”

When you were 8, you learned the reason why Steve never backed down from a fight.

Bucky and you had snuck over to Steve’s apartment after dinner one night, climbing the fire escape into his room, only to be met with the sound of muffled sobs.

“Oh my god Steve are you okay?”

You rushed into his room through the window, Bucky close behind you.

“What – what are you doing here?” he asked, trying to choke down his sobs, “you shouldn’t be here”

“We were gonna ask to see your sketches, punk. What’s happened?”

The two of you fell into silence as a heavy thump was heard through the thin walls of his bedroom walls, followed by Sarah’s heaving sobs. The sound made Steve curl up into a ball again, whimpering at the sound of his mother’s crying.

“She locked me in so I couldn’t help” he sobbed, “he won’t stop hitting her”

You exchanged a look with Bucky, pure shock overtaking you. You had no idea this was going on, but suddenly a lot of Steve’s stubbornness was starting to make sense. Pulling him into a hug, the two cocooned him between you for the rest of the night, holding him as the repetitive thumps echoed through the small flat.

 When you were 15, the love you had for Steve started to blossom into something more.

You were sat next to him, eyes closed as the familiar scratching sound of charcoal on paper filled your ears. Bucky was out on a date with a girl called Belle, leaving you and Steve alone together. For the past few years, due to Bucky’s ‘charming good looks’ as your ma had put it, he had been going out with a lot of women, meaning that you and Steve would often hang out in the afternoons together.

“Are you drawing me Rogers?”

“Wha – no – I thought you were asleep”

You had opened an eye lazily, an easy-going smile on your face.

“And waste time with you? Never. It’s just relaxing to hear you draw”

You noticed that the more time you spent with him, the more nervous you got, and every time he’d call you ‘doll’ you’d get a weird feeling in your stomach. Rebecca had called you out, saying that you were sweet on him one night – something you avidly denied at the time – but the longer it went on, the less you could deny it.

 When you were 17, you couldn’t deny your feelings anymore.

Men had started taking an interest in you in the past few years, often trying to ask you out on dates around the town. Thankfully Bucky had managed to scare most of them off from the outset with his protective brotherly nature, but unfortunately some were still brave enough to ask.

“Want to go out dancin’ sugar? You look real pretty in that dress”

You had resisted the urge to roll your eyes, sending a silent plea for help to Bucky and Steve before turning back to the man in front of you.

“No thank you, but I’m sure Cindy would be interested, she’s been making eyes at you since you walked in”

Setting his eyes on the blonde at the booth opposite, he gave you a polite nod before making his way over to her.

“Why wont they stop” you groaned, slumping back in your seat unceremoniously, “I’m not interested in them!”

“You haven’t been on a single date Y/N, it’s become a sort of competition in the neighbourhood” Bucky frowned, obviously disapproving of them using you as a bet, “what’s the reason you haven’t gone on one anyway?”

You glanced at Steve quickly, crossing your arms.

“I’m waiting for the right person”

Bucky caught your gaze and his mouth dropped open, slapping Steve’s shoulder rambunctiously.

“Well would ya look at that!”

“Bucky!”

“Are you gonna tell him or am I gonna have to do it for you? Both of you are blind fools I swear”

You blushed, making eye contact with Steve before looking away to the floor, leaving Steve a stammering mess as he figured out what was going on.

“Me?”

“It’s always been you”

 When you were 18, you both said ‘I love you’ for the first time.

You had forgone going to the dance hall with Bucky and his date, opting instead to stay in the boy’s apartment. With the gramophone you had borrowed from Mrs Gillert upstairs, you twirled around the room in Steve’s arms, bare foot and care free.

“I’ll never understand why out of all the boys in Brooklyn you chose me” Steve admitted quietly, “I always dreamed about it, but I never once thought I’d be good enough for you”

“You’re everything to me Stevie”

“I love you, doll”

A blush bloomed on your cheeks, happy tears filling your eyes as you met his lips in a sweet kiss.

“I love you too”

 When you were 20, you saw Steve break for the first time since you were children.

His mother had been ill ever since his father’s death a few years prior, Bucky picking up an extra job just to help him pay for her medicines, but she was just getting worse. A few hours before she went, Sarah had grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers and placing them over her heart.

“You’re good for him” she said, voice shaky and weak, “Promise me you’ll look after him”

“I always will – Buck and I have his back Sarah, you know that”

You held him that night as he sobbed, the last of his family dead and gone, only passing him over to Bucky to make some dinner (which you forced him to eat). The situation felt very reminiscent of that night years ago, the three of you knowing that in that moment, there was nothing you wouldn’t do for the other.

 When you were 24, your life started to crumble around you.

After the announcement that the USA was joining WW2, Bucky and Steve started training in Goldie’s gym every day for 3 hours, eager to join the fight.

They ignored your protests, Bucky insisting that it was the right thing to do.

He was approved, Sargent Barnes of the 107th, ready for deployment in a few weeks. Steve, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Though it was horrible to say, you had never been so glad for his illnesses as that day.

He wouldn’t stop though, and on Bucky’s last night he ran off to the sign-up tent again. As always, the two of you followed him, ready to stop his mess, only for Bucky to cave in and let him try.

“You stay with him, okay? I’ll see you back at the house”

You just nodded, giving your brother a hug before following Steve again, holding his hand in yours.

“Steve please, you’ve tried enough. I can’t – I can’t lose both of you”

“I have to try, don’t you see? If I had stood up to my dad then maybe – maybe ma wouldn’t have gotten so sick and-“

“No. Steven Grant Rogers don’t you dare think like that. That was out of your control-“

“But I can help here. Please, just let me try. One last time, doll, I promise”

You sighed, ducking your head to hide the tears that had begun to gather in your eyes, nodding dejectedly. Steve pressed a kiss to your forehead, his hand slipping out of yours as he began to walk away.

“I’ll be back”

Not a minute later, you were approached by a middle-age German man, and the rest was history.

 When you were 25, you rescued your brother from HYDRA’s clutches.

After deciding that, fuck it, you’d follow Steve to the ends of the earth, you had accepted Dr Erskine’s offer and became the first female candidate for the super soldier serum. The following madness that ensued left you, now dubbed Liberty Prime, and Steve, Captain America, new dancing puppets for the government. That is, of course, until you heard of the 107th’s fate.

Taking the jet offered by Howard Stark, you and Steve had ignored your orders and broken out all the POWs that had been taken, eventually finding Bucky in a small lab, strapped down onto the table. After a very quick argument (“What the hell have you done?”, “joined the army”) and a dramatic fight with a dude with a red face, you were on the way back to base camp, holding hands with your two favourite boys.

Once Bucky was out of the med tent, the three of you went back to your bunk, huddling together like you did when you were kids the silent promise of forever suspended in the air.

 When you were 27, the realities of war caught up to you.

Being a member of the Howling Commandos, you had seen a fair amount of horrifying stuff, but nothing could prepare you to see your twin falling from the train, mere centimetres from Steve’s hand.

The two of you were inconsolable, only talking to each other because you were the only ones that understood. Nothing would ever be the same.

So when it came to making the call to put the plane in the ocean, you both decided stupidly fast.

“I love you, doll” “I love you Stevie”

You tucked your head into the crook of his neck, fully submerged in his embrace as the jet went down.

“’Til the end of the line”

 But now, as you woke up in the sterile hospital room, you were alone.

No Steve, no Bucky. Alone.

“What the hell?”

Your last memories of the ship crashing into the cold sea made no sense as you stared at the blank white walls around you, eyes blowing wide in panic. Your fighting instincts instantly kicked in, pushing yourself off of the bed and into a defensive position.

A crackly tune filtered out of the radio, the weird calmness of the room making you uneasy.

“Miss Barnes, it’s good to see that you’re awake”

You spun around to stare at the newcomer, the woman looking an awful lot like Peggy.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in a –“

She was cut off by a large man pushing her out of the way, his eyes wild and searching.

“Y/N?”

“Steve?”

“Don’t listen to them – somethings sketchy – the walls aren’t real” he urged, grabbing my hand and punching his way through the set’s walls, “We need to get out of here”

“How are we alive?” I asked frantically, keeping up to speed with him as an alarm started to blare through the building.

“I don’t know”

As you burst out of the building and onto the streets, you could immediately tell something was wrong. Your hand immediately flew to his arm, clutching his bicep as you were forced to a halt by black cars surrounding you. He pushed you behind him slightly, taking a protective stance in front of you as you searched the area for a way out.

“At ease, soldiers! Look, I’m sorry about that little show back there, but… we thought it best to break it to you slowly”

You moved to the side slightly, coming out from behind Steve, despite his quiet protest.

“Break what?”

“You’ve both been asleep. For 70 years”

 Ever since Fury had broken the news you refused to be separated from Steve. They seemed to have expected that though, as the housing they provided was set up for two people.

“We’ll leave you alone for the rest of today for all of this to sink in” an agent explained, “If you have any questions just press this button and someone will come running”

You nodded politely as she left, still in a slight daze as you stared at the luxurious apartment.

“They’re going to want us to fight”

“I know”

“Will you?”

“Im with you Steve. I’ll follow you til the end of the line”

He took your hands in his, pressing light kisses to each knuckle.

“For Bucky” he said, voice cracking slightly.

“For Bucky”

_______________________________________________________________

Steve Taglist: @patzammit​

[grinch-003]

UNDERSIDE (Test version) chapter 4

[Start] [Previous] [Next]

Chapter 4: “Project: “Fragmentation” 

 DAY: 23 AUGUST 

 YEAR: 2032 

 TIME: 7:19 PM

[“Cage”…]

Jack: (Exhales black smoke)

Alphys: (Not far from “Cage”) A–are okay th–there, Jack…?

Jack: (All black) (Looks down) Kinda, Al…kinda…                                  (Walls are covered with scratches)

[6 hours ago…]

[Area #5…]

Jack: (Exhausted) Huff…huff…huff… Undyne, please…gimme a break…

Undyne: Fufufufu… Fine, punk. I had to be on patrol anyway.

Jack: (Looks at Undyne) Then why are you here…?

Undyne: To make sure that you are still tough. (Smiles) K’ gotta go.   (Walks away)

Jack’s thoughts: Yeah, she wasn’t kidding, when she said, that training would deadly. But at least, she was going easy on me, if I couldn’t keep up.

?????: (From behind) Well, well, well, look what we’ve got here…

Jack: How and why did you come here? (Turned around) (Pissed) Oh, yeah… Still hiding behind your family’s skirt, wimp.

?????: Ha! Looks like you still hanging out with your friends, MONSTER?

Jack: (Getting angry) My name is JACK…and I recommend you to get outta here.

?????: Hey, I didn’t hurt your little sister this time.

Jack: Don’t you dare even talk about Saldels, Eline! Guess you didn’t learn that I hate humans like you. (Calmed down a bit)

Eline: At least, I am a HUMAN.

Jack: Yeah, so what’s your point in here?

Eline: (Pissed) You are not even a monster, you just a coldblooded and soul-eating BEAST!

Jack: (Thumb–thumb) (Turns black) SHUT… (Teleported)              (Appeared in front of Eline) UP!  (Attacked Eline with a scythe)

[Crack…]

W.D.Gaster: (Blocked Jack’s attack) You have to calm down, Jack. (Looks at Eline) And you…  (Looks at Eline) Eline Airelle, you should be ashamed. (Teleported Aline to a safe place)

Jack: Don’t forget that I’m still here, DOC! (Slashes Gaster)

W.D.Gaster: (Protected himself with a summoned blaster)

Jack: (Soul turned blue) Wha…?

Sans: You are blue now. (Throws Jack away)

Jack: (Flew into the wall) Ggghhhhaa…!

Sans: (Teleported to Gaster) (Looks at Gaster) You okay, dad?

W.D.Gaster: I think…I am…

Sans: What’s gotten into him? And what’s more questioning…he summoned a weapon…

W.D.Gaster: A scythe… That’s what he used for the attack.

Jack: (Stands on the ground) (Summoned Blasters) I’M NOT DONE YET!!!!! (Shooted)

Serjel: (Running to Sans and Gaster) (Jumped) (Landed on the ground in front of Gaster) I’m sorry, Jack. (Shooted)

[Flash…]

Jack: Ehh…? (Was shooted)

Serjel: (Cries)

W.D.Gaster: Ace…

Serjel: (Turns to Gaster) Answer me, Gaster. (Shouts) HOW DID IT ALL COME TO THIS!!??!?

Jack: (Appears out of nowhere) I think you forgetting something, dad… (About to attack) JUSTICE DOESN’T WORK AGAINST ME. (Slashes)

Saldels: (Blocked Jack’s attack with a sword)

Serjel: Uhh… Saldels…?

Saldels: (Shouts at Jack) WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, JACK?!?!?!?!?   DID YOU REALLY WANTED TO KILL OUR FRIENDS AND OUR OWN FATHER?!?!? (Furiously attacks Jack) (Stabbed Jack into the chest) (Realizes) What am I…?

Jack: Great job, sis… (With a sword in a chest)

Saldels: (Shocked)

Jack: (Bleeding) (Smiles) See, you are not a coward…

Saldels: J–Jack, w–why are you smiling…?

Jack: Can’t I be proud of my little sister. (Crying)

Saldels: But you are crying…! (About to cry)

Jack: That’s because of pain, and because your JUSTICE magic really hurts me. (Started to fall) (Sword disappeared from the chest) So, please…

Saldels: Bro…! (Catches Jack)

Jack: Become even stronger, to make sure that you’ll kill me next time. (Passed out)

Saldels: Ggghh… (Cries) (Hugs Jack tight)

[Now…]

Jack: It’s all my fault. (Looks up) That’s why I’m in the “Cage”–a camera for the most dangerous objects in this lab. And I’m here because I lost control above my emotions.

W.D.Gaster: Don’t be so harsh on yourself. Human or monster, you are still you.

Alphys: Yeah, th–that’s right…!

Jack: Thanks, but can you just leave me alone, please? I need to think…

[W.D.Gaster and Alphys left…]

[Control room…]

Serjel: Is he still there?

W.D.Gaster: Yes… (Looks at Serjel) he decided to stay there to think a bit.

Alphys: H–he still bl–blaming himself for everything wh–what happened…

Saldels: I’m not sure, maybe it’s because…

Serjel: Quit it, Saldels… (Looks at Saldels) he’s not mad at you, he even thanked you.

Saldels: (Remembers Jack’s words)

[Serjel’s office…]

Serjel: (Smokes) Emotions always were Jack’s problem, and I know, that sometimes he loses control above them. But still…what was that strange thing behind him?

[Later that day…]

[“Cage”…]

Jack:(Sits on the floor) (Leans to the wall) Buzz off already. And what was your name again…?

Jass: (In the air) It was JASS, and it looks like that you still didn’t understand WHO AM I.

Jack: NO, so what…? Are you gonna tell me who are you or what exactly?

Jass: Easier to say that I’M YOU, but it’s too boring… (Grins) don't you think?

Jack: You are my HATE, aren’t you? And this also explains why are you look like me or why are you all black and kinda jerk…

Jass: Tsk, smart ass. So, are you gonna curse me till death, because of me, you’ve almost killed your friends and family?

Jack: No, I’m not going to curse, or even blame you. Everything that happened is not your fault, it’s mine. G’night, Jass.

Jass: Hmm…better be on your side than against you. Goodnight, kid. (Smiles)

DAY: 11 JULY  

YEAR: 2035 

 TIME: 11:45 AM

Jack: (Smiles)

Jass: (Stands next to Jack) Congrats! You are 15 years old now…uuuhh… Remind me, what can you do now? I still can’t understand this AGE thing…

Jack: Well… (Looks straight) it’s been 5 years since I’m in this project, and it’s been a 1 year since I killed doctor Rose.

Jass: Sad…and rough. I remember, that you killed her by yourself, but she doesn’t blame. (Concerned) And do you even feel happiness or… Something?

Jack: Not sure. (Looked at the watch) It’s about time, I should go. (Walks away)

Jass: Good luck, Jack Ace Side.

Jack: (Snorked) Thanks.

Monica Rose: (Behind Jass) He didn’t change at all, and yet…he looks and acts differently.

Jass: He saved your life, by absorbing your soul. But he thinks that you hate him, that’s why he can’t see or even feel that you are right next to him.

Monica Rose: It’s okay, he just needs time. (Turned around) ‘Kay, bye. (Waved)

Jass: See ya later, doc.

[At the main lab…]

W.D.Gaster: Finally arrived. I guess you’ve been thinking, haven’t you?

Jack: (Shrinked) Ehh, maybe…

W.D.Gaster: Well then… (Turned around) (Starts to walk) let’s go.

Jack: (Follows Gaster) Right beside you, Wing Dings Gaster.

W.D.Gaster: (Looked behind)

Jack: (Smiled)

[The test area…]

Serjel: Greetings, Gaster. Hello, Jack. Are you ready?

Jack: Yeah, I am. And…(Looked away) sorry about your eye…

Serjel : (Smiles) Don’t worry about it.

Saldels: C’mon, bro. Let’s finish this quickly, and then we should celebrate your birthday.

Jack: (Comes to machine) (Stopped) (Turned back) Counting on you, guys. (Entered the machine)

Serjel, Saldels & W.D.Gaster: WE WILL DO OUR BEST!

[Inside the machine…]

Jack: I hope, I won’t have another amnesia, and it’ll erase all those years that I spent here.

[Glass brakes and alarm starts to work…]

Jack: What just…ghhhaaaaa… (Falls on his knees) (Hardly breaths)

[At the control point…]

Serjel: (Looks at Alphys) Alphys, what happened to the machine?!!?!

Alphys: I–I–I–I–I don’t know, something went wrong and machine went out of control…!

W.D.Gaster: (Looks at the machine) It’s an overload, Jack’s soul contains too much magic, even more than a machine can handle, that’s why it went out of control.

Serjel: (Looks at everyone) Evacuate, NOW!!!

Saldels: (Looks at Serjel) Dad, but what about you!??!!

Serjel: (Looks at Saldels) I can’t leave, I have to stay here and try to stabilize the machine.

Serjel’s thoughts: Besides… (Looks at the machine) I can’t leave my son to die in here.

[Meanwhilee in the machine…]

Jack: (Heavy breathing) It hurts… Why does it hurt so much…?

Jack’s thoughts: It feels like I’m dying, but…at the same time I like I’m already dead.

Jass: (Flies through the hall) What the hell is going on, where’s everyone. (Stoped) (Shocked) WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON HERE!?!??!!? (Notices Serjel) Hey, Oldman, what just happened here, and where is…?!

Serjel: Looks like everyone already evacuated, but the machine can explode at any moment… (Looked at the machine) I don’t have time to run…

Jass: “About to explode”…? (Flies to machine) Jack, get out of the…

Jack: GGHHHHAAAA…!!!!

[Flash…]

[Explosion…]

Jack: (Comes out of the broken machine) Nnghhh… (In pain) Damm it…that was close… (Checks his stats and soul) Heh…                                  (Soul cracked into pieces) In some way, it looks stable, but… my HP is falling down.

Serjel: (Shouts) JACK…!!!!!!

Jack: Shit…

Serjel: (Runs to Jack) You’re alive, thank God, I thought that you didn’t survive and… (Stopped) (Notices Jack’s broken soul)

Jack: Heh…hey, dad. (Turned to Serjel) Sorry, I have a little problem…

Serjel’s thoughts: NO…no no no. Why did it happen? Wait, maybe this exactly what we needed?

Serjel: (Grabs the box in his office with magic) (Box flew in hand) (Put hand inbox) (Took green pill out of the box) (Gives Jack a green pill)    Here, Jack, eat this.

Jack: Dad, I think It’s not the right time for medicine, but if you say so… (Took green pill) (Gulp)

 A piece of Jack’s soul turned GREEN, but the other seven pieces still the same. Serjel started to panic because he thought it would help. Then, Jack suggested Serjel give him the rest pills, to find out what would happen. Serjel gave Jack all pills with a face full of despair. Jack ate all those pills. Six pieces of his soul turned YELLOW, BLUE, LIGHT BLUE, PURPLE, ORANGE, and RED.

 And yet… The last fragment of his soul still WHITE, but suddenly all fragments started to glow. And for a moment, Serjel thought it worked, but Jack absorbed too much magic at once. His body was about to let out all this magic, but…it could kill him. Serjel begins to beg Jack not to do this. Jack didn’t listen to him at all. So Serjel hugged Jack, and then a big colon of light appeared in the sky. Serjel has gone, and Jack was lying on the ground all alone, surrounded by ruins of the laboratory, where he spent the hardest moments of his life.

[lurafita]

Obsession - Chapter 2

Again, to the people who don’t know how tags work, this is Starker. If you don’t like this pairing, then do not click on this story.

Thanks a lot to everyone who has liked, reblogged and reviewed the previous parts.

Which are here: Prolouge

and here: Chapter 1

Please inform me if you want to get tagged for the next part.

Tony is in a bit of denial in this chapter, which I have tried to indicate with this. If this striking through words makes it too hard to read for you, plese let me know, and I will try to think of something different. Though there aren’t too many sentences like it.

Obsession – Chapter 2

33 year old Pepper Potts was positively surprised, when her former boyfriend and current boss, dutifully read and then signed every paper she put in front of him.

After his little disappearing act the day before (something that happened quite frequently, if she were honest), she had expected him to be just as difficult as he normally was. Which wasn’t to say that Tony didn’t take his responsibilities seriously; but the genius had a rather extensive history of locking himself away in his personal lab, whenever company matters started to bore him. And since everything that didn’t directly involve his tech or other fields of his expertise usually bored him, Pepper really had her work cut out for her.

But today, Tony seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, almost eager to get all the dreaded work done.

“Did something happen yesterday?” She asked, as he signed the contract before him with a flourish.

“Why do you ask, Pep?”

There was a chipper tone to his voice, that seemed fairly out of place considering he was doing paperwork.

“You just seem to be in a very good mood.”

Tony nodded, while reading through a proposal for a joined project with Hammer Industries. He was going to decline, of course, but it was always funny to see what Justin offered this time in hopes of enticing him into working together. Tony mentally scoffed. As if he would ever put his name on anything that amateur had had his hands on.

“I met someone.” Did it count as a meeting when Peter hadn’t even been aware of his presence? No matter, he still couldn’t contain the little smile at the thought of the brunette.

Pepper sighed. “Do I need to prepare the PR-Department for an upcoming sex video?”

Tony cringed. “Ouch. … Though, fair, I guess. But no. Don’t worry. We were fully clothed the whole time and all that happened was talking.” Peter had done all the talking, and if one wanted to get technical about it, it hadn’t been directed at Tony, but, whatever. Details.

He turned just in time to catch the surprised look on Pepper’s face, and grinned.

“Starting to believe my bad press, Miss Potts? Contrary to popular believe, I don’t sleep with everyone I meet.”

The strawberry blonde woman shook her head.

“I know that, Tony. It’s just… no, you are right. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, though I’m still angry at you for just running off like you did. There is a reason we employ personal security guards.” She finished and pinned him with a penetrating expression. He just grinned wider at her.

“I know. This new batch is actually pretty good. What was the team leaders name again? Bates? Balm? Anyway, it took me a whole hour to distract him long enough for me to put on my Non-Important-Person disguise, for short: NIP-d, if you will, and get out of the tower. He even found me when I was halfway on my way back. Pretty impressive. Maybe we should give him a raise.”

Pepper just sighed in defeat. “Barnes, Tony. His name is James Barnes. Natasha personally recommended him for the job. And he was not impressed with that stunt you pulled to ‘distract’ him, by the way.”

Since Natasha’s job as head of security contained some 'extracurricular activities’, which often times took her to various locations, someone else needed to be in charge of the security in place not only at Stark Industries, but also to all of the people in higher positions and of course, Tony Stark himself. James Barnes had come highly recommended by Natasha, and if a woman who could kill you 27 different ways with a toothpick recommended someone to you, you didn’t ask questions and just fucking hired them.

Tony hummed in acknowledgment as he started on the last paragraph of the proposition. A few seconds went by in silence.

“It suits you, you know? Being happy. Are you planning on seeing them again?”

Hopeful anticipation filled him at the thought.

“I am.”

Then he grabbed Hammer’s proposal and handed it back to Pepper.

“Shredder this and send Justin a 'Better luck next time’ E-mail, would you? Anything else on the agenda for today?”

She accepted the papers and after a quick glance at her phone, shook her head.

“No, you are done for now. Wow, that was quick. Do I get to meet this person who apparently inspires you to actually do your work?”

She asked with a playful grin. Tony couldn’t help the smile that stole over his lips as he imagined introducing Peter to her. The younger man would be pressed into his side, with Tony’s arm around that narrow waist, and probably blushing.

“Sure. One day. If things go well and all.” He did need to introduce himself to Peter first, after all.

“I’m looking forward to it. Enjoy the rest of your day, Tony.”

And with those parting words, she left his office. He waited until he couldn’t hear the sounds of her heels clicking against the tiled floors anymore, before he addressed the room.

“Jarvis, commence project 'Baby Boy’. Let’s continue where we left off this morning.”

“Certainly, Sir.” Came the voice of the artificial intelligence Tony had created and installed not only in Stark Tower, but all of his other properties as well. “Also, I would like to inform you, that I have decided against reminding you that you haven’t slept ever since you started with your research, 22 hours and 18 minuets ago. Which makes it a total of 33 hours and 37 minutes that you have been awake. As previous instances have shown that trying to encourage you to keep a healthy sleeping schedule, have been ultimately futile efforts on my part, I will decline from further fruitless endeavors.”

Tony blinked in slight surprise. “Since when were you so passive-aggressive? You have been listening to Pepper too much. How about this then? We will give it another hour and 23 minutes, make it an even 35 hours without sleep, before I go and lie down like a good boy.”

The A.I. seemed to agree with his terms, as all around him, different holo screens popped up, all displaying various information about one Peter Benjamin Parker.

It had started smaller.

Innocent.

Only one screen, displaying Peter’s student credentials on Berkeley’s web page.

When Tony had made it back to his penthouse in the tower, after numerous promises and assurances that he would inform someone if he wanted to go for a stroll again, (all of which were lies, naturally) he had started with his research right away.

He had just wanted some facts, a point to start at. Full name, age, address, marital status. (It wouldn’t be completely unheard of for a college student to be married already, after all.) Peter wasn’t!

However, after he had gotten the answers to these most prominent questions, he had still felt… unsatisfied.

Just because Peter wasn’t married, didn’t mean that he wasn’t currently in a relationship. Though would it really matter if he was?

He had shaken his head then, thinking that he was getting way ahead of himself. He had only spent a little more than an hour in Peter’s presence, of which the other hadn’t even been aware of, and he was already contemplating how to deal with possible rivals? It was ludicrous!

Yes, the younger man was attractive (and smart, and empathetic, and insightful, and charming, and witty), but that didn’t mean that Tony wanted to start a relationship with him. (Oh, who was he kidding?)

Didn’t even mean he wanted to sleep with him. (No, really, who was he fucking kidding?)

So after this blessedly short mini meltdown, Tony decided that he needed to acquire more information to properly deal with his infatuation situation. And thus, Project Baby Boy was born.

After all the official records, it took no time at all for him to find Peter’s Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr accounts. Social media was a glorious thing. It made you bare some of your innermost, private thoughts and feelings to a world of strangers, without you ever realizing that you were doing it. Every post, every like, every picture and every comment the brunette made, slowly unveiled who Peter really was to Tony’s hungry eyes. As the hours had gone by, the genius billionaire found himself more and more enamored with the (single!) 24 year old. Between dorky science jokes, geeky Star Wars and other sci-fi posts, and a truly astounding amount of dog and cat pictures, Peter was revealing himself to be quite an intriguing individual.

He studied bio-chemistry as a main field, with a bit of bio-engineering and health and medical sciences on the side. There was a clear indication of the type of profession sweet Peter wanted to get into. Thinking back on the conversation in the diner, Tony wasn’t surprised. The younger man had been incredibly enthusiastic about the future of medicine and how he would one day be able to help people. It definitely explained why Tony Stark was only number 6 on Peter’s tumblr list of ‘The 10 greatest scientists alive today’. Since Peter was more into the squishy sciences (Tony wasn’t squeamish - he had had someone else’s blood on his person far too often for such sensitivities - but he preferred a circuit board and wires over organs and skin tissue any day), it made sense that the billionaire, genius mechanic Tony Stark, wasn’t on the top his list. (Still a bit of a blow to the ego, though) At least Peter had placed him before that insufferable ass, Reed Richards!

(And hey, it was a ranking based on corresponding interest in scientific avenues. Tony would soon be in the first  and only  place of ‘Scientist who regularly rocks my world’)

He was also a bit of a hobby photographer, it seemed, as Peter had uploaded many photos taken of friends, animals, sunsets, buildings and plants. Sometimes a photo would showcase a particular play with lighting and shadows, other times special camera filters would highlight different focus points in a picture. Tony may not be a great artisan, but he could appreciate talent.

He also found a short video clip in which one of Peter’s friends (the internet handle was ‘guy-in-the-chair’) had filmed Peter’s, frankly adorable, reaction to being served some monstrously sugary kind of dessert. The video’s caption had read 'Orgasm by Marshmallow stuffed chocolate Cupcake’, and to the inventors utter delight, it included 11 seconds of Peter taking his first bite and actually looking like he was having a tiny orgasm right then and there. Complete with eyes widening before rolling back into his head, and a moan that couldn’t be described as anything else but sinful. (Tony might have re-watched those 11 seconds more times than he cared to admit, while imagining the younger man lying naked and stretched out underneath him, on the silken sheets of Tony’s bed, moaning for a very different reason.)

He found only a few other video’s similar to this. Apparently Peter had a major sweet tooth – which Tony could think of various ways to exploit – and his friend had obviously thought it great fun to film him eating things that would send any diabetic into an early grave.

He had Jarvis save every one of those videos into a private folder, for his personal viewing pleasure. (Oh, and what a pleasure it was. Though the cupcake video was definitely his favorite, the one in which his darling Peter all but went down on a deep fried Mars bar, was a very close second.)

While Tony certainly would have liked to add even more to his collection, he was grateful that only a handful of such videos existed.

He didn’t like the thought of others seeing his Peter like this.

While most of the comments beneath the videos were obviously from friends and acquaintances, who either teased the brunette about his sweet tooth, or commented on the foods themselves, others had been… less PG.

Other people shouldn’t get to think about him like that.

Thinking back on it now, Tony contemplated if maybe he should take the videos down himself. He had already saved away his own copies of them.

Keep him them to myself.

Maybe later.

Right now he wanted to keep going, there was still so much to learn about the cute college student.

Tony knew that life hadn’t been very kind to Peter. He had been orphaned at six, mother and father dying in a plane crash. Taken in by his aunt and uncle, May and Ben Parker. Seven years later, Ben Parker had been shot in a robbery gone wrong, and if the police report that Tony had hacked was to be believed, Peter had been an eyewitness to the murder.

It was humbling in a way, to think that someone who had been forced to endure so much trauma at a young age already, could grow into the bright 24 year old man that the genius had met just yesterday.

Jarvis had also pulled some older records, that showed that the two remaining Parkers had been left in quite a lot of debt after Ben’s passing. (Well, Tony assumed the amount of debt was a lot for regular people. His bed had actually cost more than the number presented to him.)

May Parker, Peter’s aunt, was a nurse in Queens General Hospital. (Which could have possibly inspired the boy’s chosen field of study) Peter had taken on two part time jobs as soon as he was out of highschool – which Tony concluded were used to help pay the bills, since he was a scholarship student at Berkeley and still lived with his aunt.

“Jarvis, run a calculation. Considering the regular costs of rent and other living expenses, how long will it take the Parkers to pay back what they owe?”

“Keeping in mind the expected rise in interest rates, taxes and insurance, it will approximately take May and Peter Parker 31 years to eradicate their debt. This number is likely to change if Mr. Parker pursues a higher paying profession after finishing his education.”

Tony nodded thoughtfully.

“Still, that’s not for a few more years yet, especially if Peter wants to go for a Master and Doctor degree after he has finished with his Bachelor.”

This could work in his favor.

While Tony loathed people who wanted to use him only for his money, he liked to spend it on the ones he cared about.

Liked taking care of those who deserved it.

He let his gaze be caught by one particular screen, that displayed a photo of Peter Jarvis had pulled from the younger’s Instagram. In it Peter was outside, the sun shining brightly above him, in only a loose t-shirt and cut off jeans. A black cat was cradled in his arms, and he was smiling brightly at the camera. Tony re-read the text underneath the picture. 'This gorgeous lady decided to join Ned and I on our walk to A heart has four paws shelter today.’ (Because despite his two jobs and being a scholarship student at one of the tier universities in this country, Peter still made the time to volunteer at an animal shelter. Tony was starting to worry if the precious boy even slept anymore)

Peter most certainly deserved to have someone take care of him.

“You have received a text message from Miss Romanoff, Sir.” Jarvis voice interrupted his thoughts jarringly.

“What’s it say, J?” He didn’t think she had encountered any problems with her mission.

“It states ‘Mission accomplished. On my way back.’, Sir. Do you wish to give her any further instructions`?”

“No. Tell her good job and to treat herself to some sight seeing if she likes. Not every day one get’s to visit Rome. Well, unless you are me, of course.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Would Peter like to go to Rome? It was said to be one of the most romantic cities in the world, wasn’t it? Maybe keep that in mind for a second date.

“It has now been 35 hours since you last slept. As per your own-”

“Yes, yes, I know. Stop yapping at me, J.” He threw his hands up in surrender. “Save everything we have so far into my private folder. Separate the videos and photos of Peter into their own. Also, make sure I have some free time tomorrow when Peter is on his way back home from that restaurant he works at. I plan on running into him, completely coincidentally, of course.”

“Of course, Sir.”

For the first time in a long time, the idea of sleeping didn’t seem like a necessary inconvenience. He was looking forward to what his imagination could come up with, after those videos.

What sweet dreams he was about to have.

The next morning, the news were overflowing with reports of Norman Osborns demise. The business man had been on vacation in Rome, and suffered a fatal heart attack. He had apparently mixed up his medication. It was a tragic accident.

tbc..

@itfeelssogoodmrstark @starkravingspiders @spadestorm696 @diamondheart31 @the-neon-demon  @unknownshadyperson

[crazy4malex]

I know a lot of you have read this already but with all the hurt/comfort and sick Michael fics I thought I’d see if there are new readers who haven’t read this yet. Here you go.

I'm Head over Heals in Love with You, Michael Guerin

crazy4malex

Summary:

Michael gets surprisingly sick and Alex doesn't know what to do for him.

Alex came home from work and found Michael on the couch. He usually beat Michael home from work, now that his lover was working at the lab with Liz.

"Hey, Michael, What a great surprise." Alex said as he went over to the safe and put his gun away.

"Did you eat already? Want me to make something?" Alex asked, coming back over to the couch and leaning down to give his lover a kiss hello.

"Not hungry." Michael answered.

"Since when are you not hungry?" Alex smiled.

Michael just grunted.

Alex frowned. Michael hadn't uttered single word answers since they'd gotten together for good, 6 months ago. He kissed his lover and tried to deepen the kiss but Michael seemed lethargic and uninterested in more than a peck.

"What's up, babe?" Alex was perplexed as he stood up and removed his fatigue top.

"Nothing." Michael retorted impatiently.

Alex came back over to Michael who hadn't moved from his position on the couch. He sat on the table facing Michael and looked closer at his lover. He had a red nose and his eyes were glassy and his cheeks were bright red. Alex put the back of his hand on Michael's forehead and his eyebrows shot up.

"Michael, you're burning up with fever!" Alex exclaimed.

"Impossible, I don't get sick. I'm just tired and achy, I'll be fine." he coughed out his response.

"I think you have the flu. It's going around the base and I remember Liz having had it last week. But how do you have it?" Alex questioned as he went and got a glass of water for Michael.

Alex looked worried and picked up his phone.

Michael was so lethargic he didn't even ask who Alex was calling.

"Max. It's Alex. Michael has the flu. I know he can't get sick but he is!" Alex said in frustration and worry. "Do you want me to call Kyle? I don't want to give him aspirin cause we don't know what it will do to him, but I have to reduce the fever. I know Kyle probably won't be able to do anything for him but he is a doctor. Okay, so he's not an alien doctor. Well we don't have one of those handy right now. Okay, come on over. I'll leave the door unlocked. I'm going to put Michael to bed. Yeah okay."

And with that Alex hung up the phone. Michael coughed again and then sat up straight. "I'm gonna be sick." he stated shocked. He'd only been this way after drinking enormous amounts of alcohol.

Alex ran to get a pot in the kitchen and made it just in time. When Michael was finished, Alex cleaned the pot and then helped Michael get up and over to the bedroom, carrying the pot in case he needed it again.

"Don't know how I can be sick. There's something wrong. I don't like this shit. I didn't even enjoy the alcohol first to get this sick. But this feels real bad. How do you guys put up with this? Am I dying do you think?" Michael rambled on in a mumble.

Alex ignored most of his rambling, but at the last of it he turned ashen. Could Michael be dying? That would explain the reason he was sick?

He could feel the heat coming off of Michael as he helped him into the bedroom so he turned and steered them to the bathroom instead. He remembered what his mom once did when he was little and had gotten a bad fever.

He sat Michael on the toilet seat and went into the medicine cabinet and found the rubbing alcohol. He ran the water to just warm and undressed Michael without any help or complaints coming from his lover.

He put Michael in the water and Michael swore. "Damn it that's cold! What the hell are you trying to do, Manes?" Michael woke up from his fog.

Alex's lips twitched. "It's not cold. You just feel cold because you're so hot." Alex explained and pushed his lover back into the water.

"Thanks, babe, you're hot too you know." Michael remarked with a half-hearted smile.

Alex tried not to laugh as he poured some rubbing alcohol in the water and took a wash cloth and began to rub Michael down with the alcohol.

"That's cold too! What are you doing to me?" Michael jumped and tried to get out of the water.

Alex held him down and kept rubbing him down. "Take it easy, this will lower your fever. At least it did when I was little. I remember my mom did this for me. Before she left that is." Alex said in a suddenly quiet voice.

Michael looked at Alex with suddenly lucid eyes. "I've never had anyone take care of me before." he said seriously, grabbing Alex's hand to let Alex know he understood how he felt.

"Thank you for taking care for me." Michael said quietly. Never taking his eyes off of Alex's.

"I would do anything for you, Michael." Alex whispered trying not to cry thinking of a little Michael with no one to care for him. Ever.

Then he felt Michael's head and smiled. "Your fever has gone down. Good." declared Alex.

"It's to bed for you. And if you're real good, I'll cuddle with you and keep you warm." Alex promised as he helped Michael out of the water and patted him dry with a towel.

All the while Michael looked down in awe of what he lover was doing for him.

The more Michael looked as if he'd never seen this before, the more Alex wanted to cry for the little boy who until today had never had someone take care of him.

He put Michael in bed with a glass of water and the pot by the bed. Just in case. Then he snuggled into bed taking Michael in his arms.

"I love you, Michael. I always will." Alex whispered. "Sleep while you can."

"Alex?"

Alex stirred. He looked around. He had Michael in his arms and was confused.

"Alex!" came a worried whisper.

Max! he had forgotten and fallen asleep as well.

He slipped out of bed and met Max in the outer room.

"How is he?" asked an anxious Max.

"His fever's down. That's what I was worried about the most." Alex told him.

"How the hell is this possible?" Max asked pacing the floor.

"I don't know?" Alex bit his lip, then continued. "But I've been thinking about it. Could it be the same way I got his abilities?" Alex asked quietly. He hated that thought. It meant he was the one who had made Michael vulnerable to sickness now.

"You mean cause you slept with each other that you exchanged abilities with each other?" Max thought about that for a minute.

About 3 months ago Alex had been having an argument with Michael and all of a sudden a log went shooting through the window by itself. Alex had watched it with a sigh and a glare at Michael and told him he had to fix that window. Michael had replied that he hadn't done that. After a two day discussion with Liz, Max and Iz, they had determined that Alex's new ability came from sleeping with Michael. He had inherited Michael's alien ability.

"It does make sense. I mean I can't think of anything else. That must be it." Max concluded, bringing Alex back out of his daydream.

"Neither Iz or I have been sick from this flu bug going around. We'll just have to wait and see. It's not like we have an alien doctor to check him out." Max rambled in thought as he paced, this doctor bit having never entered his mind before today.

"Yeah. I know. It scared the hell out of me, not knowing what to do." Alex responded with a frown.

"How did you lower his fever?" Max stopped his pacing and began twirling his deputy sheriff's hat, in his hands, as he faced Alex.

"Something my mom taught me before she left." Alex said.

"Well a human cure worked on Michael. So I guess he could have gotten the sickness from you." Max said and felt bad immediately for it when he saw Alex's face turn ashen.

"Hey, I'm sure he's gonna be fine, Alex. If he's susceptible to human sickness he can probably be cured the same way."

A few minutes later Max left and Alex went back to Michael who was still asleep huddled under the covers. Alex climbed in to join him and Michael stirred.

"Alex?" Michael questioned.

"You expecting someone else?" Alex said with amusement.

"You were gone when I woke up a little while ago s'all." He mumbled, half asleep.

"Max was worried. He stopped by."

"Don't need Max. I just need you." Michael sighed when he felt Alex take him back into his arms.

"Well, you've got me whenever and wherever you want me, babe. I'm head over heals in love with you, Michael Guerin."

*Note:  If you want to know more about the storyline of Alex getting Michael’s ability, read “A Mating Bond” on AO3. My AO3 name is also crazy4malex.

[prophetandprincess]

X X X X X X X

Two updates in less than a month? Madness.  Hope you enjoy

“Today is an exciting day,” Dr. Banner said with a smile as he paced between the lab tables. “You all have gotten through the boring orientation stuff and into what we’re going to be focused on this year. How much do all of you know about organ transplants?”

There was a murmur about the lab, but no one said anything right away. Alex didn’t know much, but she did know that there were medical researchers in the room who could answer the question. She also wasn’t exactly working on a full night’s sleep and she hadn’t been able to talk to Peter that morning about the whole Spiderman business, so she had some things on her mind. Warren was watching them like a hawk, lab was cancelled, and Peter disappeared before Alex could even take a breath. Concentrating was not easy for her today, but then again, that wasn’t exactly new.

“Alright, that is a very broad question, let me change it. What is the biggest risk in organ transplants after the surgery is done?” Dr. Banner reached into his desk drawer and started to pull out piles of folders

This was an easy question, but Alex looked around at the other interns instead of making eye contact. She didn’t want to be a teacher’s pet, especially after already being singled out by Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner that first day of orientation. It would be nice to make friends with at least one of the other interns, or at least have them want to talk to her during work. Then again, with how her luck was going, whoever spoke to her would probably end up having some sort of superhuman abilities, so maybe she should appreciate that no one noticed her.

“Organ rejection,” Zachary finally spoke up. He was a Ph.D student from Atlanta that loved to sing along with his iPod softly as he worked. Alex would sometimes walk by his desk just to listen to him sing as his finger flew across the keyboard. He had a beautiful tenor voice.

“Exactly,” Dr. Banner smiled as he walked between stations, laying folders on the corner of each. “People wait for years for a matching organ to become available, survive the surgery, and then their own body betrays them because it thinks that the foreign body is well…a foreign body. This is devastating to both patients and the family and leads to people having to be added to the list and wait for another miracle.”

“It also sounds like a problem that a multidisciplinary team like this one, without any pressure from the people who make immunosuppressant drugs, can work to correct. We have some of the brightest minds in medicine, biochemistry, biology, and other areas that I am forgetting right now. I have the base of a serum that will keep the white blood cells from attacking the new organ and allow the patient to stay healthy for years to follow. I need your help to perfect it and get it ready for human trials. Everyone ready to start?”

There was a general murmur of agreement as Dr. Banner finished placing the folders and made his way back to the desk at the front. Alex’s fingers itched to open the folder and see what was inside, but no one else had touched theirs, so she sat on her hands instead. Patience might not be one of Alex’s virtues, but in the last twenty-three years of her life she had learned a very small bit of restraint when the occasion called for it.

“Inside the folders will be the names of your team members, these are the small groups that you will be working with before we come together as a larger task force. The lab assistants will head each group and be my eyes and ears,” Dr. Banner waved his hand to the four people who walked into the lab, all smiling. “There is also a list of studies that I want you all to read. It is important to know what has come before our research to make our serum as successful as possible. Today will be introducing yourselves to your groups and then I want you looking at those studies.”

Everyone flipped their folders open as if it was the first day at summer camp. Alex smiled when she saw that Zachary was part of her pod, along with someone named Zaria, Kyle, and Isabella with Liam as their assistant. Everyone looked up after reading their list, as if attempting to figure out who was who. Zachary met Alex’s eye and smiled.

“Alright, five minutes to introduce yourselves and then get to reading,” Dr. Banner looked toward the door, blushed, and then waved his hands that the group should get on with it.

Alex looked over her shoulder to see Natasha leaning by the door, smiling as Dr. Banner walked over to her. While there were very few people, man, woman, or something else, that wouldn’t be flustered by Natasha smiling at them from the door, but there was something extra cute about it being Dr. Banner. Here was a man with seven Ph.D’s acting like a high schooler with a crush.   

“Miss Harper, is it?” Liam asked as she moved over to her pod, a soft Irish accent caught Alex by surprise. “Well, the pods all here. I expect you all to keep up with the reading and pull your weight. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a wee bit of fun kicking the other pods asses as well.”

“I thought we were all a team,” Zachary said with a wide smile.

“Oh, we are, but we’re just going to be the best part of that team,” Liam winked. “Now let’s all share numbers and then you best get reading.”

It only took a few minutes to set up the group text message before they dispersed back to their desks. Alex looked through the list of five studies that they were supposed to read through before flipping open a page in her notebook to take notes. It wasn’t lost on Alex that she was now being paid to do what she was doing during her insomnia fueled nights, only a different topic.

“Miss Harper, Jarvis tells me that you haven’t finished all the orientation modules yet. Is something wrong?” Banner asked softly as he walked over to her table after finishing his conversation with Natasha.  

“I’m just having some problems with learning the computer programs is all, tech isn’t my thing.” Alex looked around and was glad to see that no one else was paying attention to the conversation. “I just need more time figuring out the programming since I have no experience.”

“I could help you if you want, or-”

“No,” Alex cut him off, then winced at how ungrateful she sounded. “No, thank you. I’ll get it, I just need some time with it.”

“Alright, well, if you need something just let Liam know. He’s well versed in the programs and it’s kind of his job.” Dr. Banner gave her a small smile before moving through the rest of the lab, making sure everyone was hard at work.

Alex knew that she was being stubborn, but she was telling herself it was because she didn’t want to be singled out any more than she already had been. The rest of her shift was spent reading through the studies and trying to move through another one of the modules. By the time everyone started heading out, there was one study left and three modules. As she moved to close the research study, the search bar caught her eye.

There was a good chance that Stark Industries had access to far more journals than her college library. Technically, she was off the clock, so there would be no harm in seeing what would pop up if she typed in something, like, say, PTSD. Thousands of results popped up on the screen, some titles she hadn’t seen before.

“Is there something I can help you with, Miss Harper?” Jarvis asked, making Alex almost fall out of her chair. The few interns that were still in the lab looked in her direction as they left.

“Not scaring me to death would be a good start, Jarvis,” Alex sighed as she closed out of the search window and started to pack up for the day.

“PTSD is not in the scope of the project that you are assigned,” Jarvis pointed out as Alex logged out of her terminal and went to hang up her lab coat. “Is there is something else you are researching, I would be happy to help narrow down the search, after clearing it with Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark.”

“What you mean is that I shouldn’t go poking around the Stark Industry databases without a chaperone,” Alex laughed as she slipped on her flip-flops and headed out of the door. “I promise you that there is no way in hell I could stumble onto something classified.”

“That was not my concern, I have been tracking your progress through the orientation modules after all.” Jarvis’s voice had a lot of personality for something that was supposed to be monotone and automated, snarky bastard. “I was just offering my assistance for any other projects so that it would go quicker.”

“As if my self-esteem couldn’t get any lower, you swooped in to kick me while I’m down. Thank you for that Jarvis,” Alex shook her head as she headed for the elevator, but then sighed. “Can you ask Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark if I’m allowed to go outside research, off the clock, and get back to me?”

“Of course, Miss Harper.” Jarvis almost sounded amused. “Have a nice evening.”

“You too, Jarvis.” Alex realized as she stepped into the elevator that she was thanking an inanimate object. At least this object talked back.

Instead of a straight descent to the lobby, the elevator stopped. It was past five, so she wondered if someone was working late or if it was environmental services employees making the whole Tower sparkle. Alex had never seen a handprint on any of the bits of glass or metal in the place, even with all the people in and out. The doors slid open and Alex couldn’t help but smile. She should have known.

“Well,” Steve smiled as he stepped in and stood beside her, “how about we cash in that rain check?”

“So, did Jarvis tell you that I was leaving or have you been stalking me all by yourself?” Alex laughed as the elevator continued it’s descent.

“Neither, it was a happy coincidence.” Steve laughed when Alex gave him a look. “I was alerted to a news report about a woman being accosted in an alley and saved by Spiderman that I wanted to talk to you about, but mostly it was just dinner.”

“Right,” Alex rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile. “You’re in luck though, as I am avoiding my Russian homework and am a sucker for free food, but you’re on thin ice Rogers.”

“I guess I’ll have to throw in dessert as well then.” Steve waved a hand to show that she should exit the elevator first. “Though I am going to warn you, Jarvis has probably already told Tony that we’re going to dinner together. It will start the rumors again.”

“I can tell that you’re devastated about that.” Alex couldn’t really bring herself to care all that much about it. All the other interns were gone so it wasn’t like any of them would see her with Steve. It wasn’t like he was a movie star and she had to worry about the paparazzi following him around. So the Avengers would think they’re dating, she could deal with that.  

“Hey, if they think I’m interested in you, they’ll stop trying to set me up with Roberta in accounting. Humor me.” Steve directed her over to his motorcycle that was parked right in front of the Tower and held out the helmet to her.  “At least you’re dressed for a ride today.”

“Is that an innuendo Mr. Rogers?” Alex took the helmet and slipped onto the back of the bike, ignoring how comfortable it was to lock her arms around his waist and press against his back. How many women would kill to be in the exact same place?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Miss Harper,” Steve laughed before the motorcycle reeved to life underneath them.

There was something very comforting about being on the back of a motorcycle for Alex. Even if it wasn’t the open road, just being in the flow of traffic and not having to think about anything was a nice respite from the normal chaos of her life. Just resting against Steve, the motorcycle rumbling, and knowing she was about to good food was the lightest she had felt in about a year.

Steve stopped the bike and kicked down the stand in front of a small store that read Eisenberg’s Sandwiches, proclaiming that it had been around since 1929. This was the type of place that Alex loved to go to in New York City, not the Michelin star eating, but the little holes in the wall that were tucked away from the tourists. These tiny pearls waiting for someone with five bucks and an empty stomach.

“This is one of the only places in the city that is still here from when I was a child,” Steve explained as he helped her off the bike. “Luckily, the sandwiches are still amazing and you look like you need some food.”

It was a tiny store, there was barely enough room to walk between the two person tables and the counter with red stool seats. Some of the equipment being used didn’t look like it had been updated since 1929, but it also added a bit of charm. Alex really couldn’t see much else as there was a bustling dinner crowd, but Steve managed not only to move through the store, but find a table for two.

“Did you come here a lot when you were a kid?” Alex asked as she looked over the menu, which had an impressive selection for being so small.

“A poor kid from Brooklyn? Nah, but Buck did take me here if either of us got some money from something, which wasn’t often. He took me here the day he told me that he got drafted and was leaving soon.” Steve had a soft smile on his face, but his eyes were sad. It killed Alex that she was so wrapped up in her loss of James that she hadn’t checked in with Steve about how he was feeling. Then again, even when she did, he rarely talked about what was going on with him. She wished he would, it would be nice to talk to someone else who loved James.

“You know, I forget that he was in the military all the time, isn’t that weird?” Alex said, trying to start the conversation in the most awkward way possible, but deciding to push ahead. “I mean, like, I know that Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes was in the military, obviously, but I forget that the guy I read about in history books is the same guy that lived in my apartment for a week. I mean, it happens with you too, but not to the same extent.”  

“That’s just because I’m pretty disappointing in real life,” Steve laughed as he leaned back in his chair.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Alex folded up her menu and smacked his arm with it. “It’s just, you seemed so…proper in the history books, not someone I could have dinner with in a tiny sandwich shop in Manhattan. The couple decades age different notwithstanding, of course.”

“Speaking of dinner, what do you want?” Steve gave her a real, open, and bright smile. While he usually had a smile for her, it had been a while since she had seen one this relaxed. It lifted her heart a little bit. Steve deserved some happiness.

Alex ended up getting a chicken salad sandwich with bacon along with a strawberry milkshake and an order of onion rings. Steve got a tuna melt, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. All that was missing was a poodle skirt, since Steve was already in a brown bomber jacket and white T-shirt, and they could have been on a date back in the fifties. While Alex didn’t want everyone in the tower thinking that she and Steve were an item, it wasn’t an unpleasant thought that these random strangers could wonder if the two of them might be dating.

“So,” Alex crunched into one of her onion rings, “I know that you didn’t ask me here just to show me a restaurant from your childhood. Let’s get to the nitty gritty of it all? Everything alright?”

“Define alright,” Steve gave her a small smile, but it slipped off his face when Alex gave him a look over his sandwich. “I just…after that call I wanted to make sure that you were going okay, honestly doing okay. And then Hill told me that there was another Spiderman incident and while the female victim was kept anonymous, I thought it might be you.”  

“Hill has a big fucking mouth,” Alex muttered into her milkshake, ignoring Steve’s gaze as she attempted to come up with a diplomatic answer. After a couple seconds, she decided that the truth was the best way, especially with Steve. “I was attacked yesterday, but it wasn’t anything too serious, and I was saved by Spiderman. The police are handling it and other than being tired, I’m doing fine.”

“Really, because you don’t look fine. No offense,” Steve added quickly. “You are very pretty, but an exhausted pretty. Are the nightmares worse now that you’ve been in a dangerous situation again? Do you need help? Also, who is this Spiderman guy? Can you trust a vigilante who wears head to toe spandex?”

“Steve, technically you are a guy in a spandex suit too, remember?” Alex was attempting to lighten the mood, but it was Steve’s turn to give her a look. “It was the same assholes from the Marquee club, they weren’t that happy that someone was witness to their assault and wanted to make me not remember much. Spiderman had been following them and stepped in. I think Spiderman just wants to help, being somewhere the police can’t and the Avengers are too busy to handle, ya know?”

“I appreciate what this guy is trying to do, but he’s going to get himself or someone else hurt.” Steve shook his head but then he gave her a hint of a smirk. “What is it with you and dangerous alleyways anyway?”

“What can I say, I like a bit of danger,” Alex returned his smirk.

“I know, you’re causing me to have grey hairs, which is impressive with the super soldier serum and all.” Steve grabbed a napkin to wipe something off his cheek. “I know that I’ve been busy recently, but I want you to call me if you need help, or Sam, alright? What’s the purpose of being friends with superheroes if you don’t let them help?”

“Getting them to buy me dinner now and again?” Alex said, which got Steve to laugh. After that, the discussion turned to her school work and working with Doctor Banner.

“I have to admit, a lot of this is going over my head. Buck was the science geek, I was more of an art kid. When Bruce and Tony start talking, it’s a different language and I don’t understand it. I’m just a simple boy from Brooklyn and the best I could manage was memorizing the periodic table,” Steve laughed as he finished off his sandwich.

“If it makes you feel any better, I am two semesters away from having my degree in Biochemistry and I don’t know what Dr. Banner is saying sometimes,” Alex waved an onion ring about as if that didn’t matter. “I don’t even think if I get my Ph.D, and I have to graduate first, I’ll be a fraction of as smart as he is.”

Alex pushed away the bubble of anxiety that came when she thought about graduation and focused on Steve instead. She never really thought about how Steve would feel out matching intellectually at the Tower with Banner and Tony. True, Steve was technically genius and a photographic memory, but it took more to be as innovative as Tony and Bruce. It had to be annoying to feel inferior all the time.

“Hey,” Steve nudged her leg with his knee under the table, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it. You’ll develop wrinkles.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Alex slurped up the rest of her milkshake and pushed it away. “I was just thinking about annoying if must be to live with people who don’t talk about the same interests that you have, nothing serious.”

“Which is why I asked you out to dinner,” Steve winked.

Alex felt herself blush a little and focused on finishing off her onion rings. She knew that Steve wasn’t flirting with her seriously, just being charming, and it was annoying that it was working. It didn’t help that Steve was also extremely attractive while also being kind and caring. Why wasn’t he dating someone?

“Any news about our favorite world traveler that I should know about?” Alex didn’t look up from her food, both to help hide the fading blush and also so that Steve’s expression wouldn’t betray him before he answered. “Did that phone call get you guys anywhere?”

“We traced the call to Europe, but that’s about as far as we got before it was lost. Sam’s gone over there to see if he can pick up the trail, but he hasn’t found much,” Steve sighed as he polished off the last of his food. “I feel selfish sending him out on these wild goose chases, but it’s not like I have the time to go with…everything.”

“Do me a favor? Whenever Sam gets back, don’t tell him about the Spiderman thing? I’d rather not get lectured again.” Alex missed Sam and the clarity that he brought to her life, but she could do without the judgement of her life choices. If she wanted that, she would call her brother, who she needed to call and finalize plans for when he was coming to visit her. Another thing to add to her ever growing list.

“Maybe you shouldn’t keep getting into trouble and you wouldn’t get lectured,” Steve said with a giant smile.  

“It took us weeks to even get together for dinner. If I didn’t get into trouble I would never see you,” Alex pointed out with a laugh.

“You also wouldn’t see that police officer that you keep mentioning. Michael was it?” Steve had a sly smile on his face as he sat back with a sigh. “First name basis with the law, it must be serious.”

“He had the misfortune of being one of the officers that helped me with the Marcus incident last year and then happened to be promoted to the vigilante task force, as apparently they are starting to become a problem in New York. Nothing serious about it at all.” Michael Sousa was a good man, one of the few that Alex knew, which meant that she would never date him. While he was a police officer, he really didn’t deserve any of the mess that seemed to find it’s way into her life.

“A police officer would be a step up from your previous boyfriends,” Steve pulled out his wallet and slid out a couple bills. “Why not give the poor boy a chance?”

“Why don’t you give one of the poor girls that Natasha throws at you a chance?” Alex countered with a raised eyebrow. “I’m sure one of them is interesting enough to take out to dinner, especially if you’re slumming it with me.”

“Why do you do that?” Steve’s voice had an edge to it.

“Do what?” Alex was startled by the sudden frustration in Steve’s voice.

“Act like you’re not good enough to be with me, as if it is some hardship for me to spend time with you?” Steve leaned forward so that she had to look him in the eyes.

“It’s just…” Alex had to look away, fingers coming up to play with her earrings as she attempted to come up with a good answer.

“You could be, like, having dinner with dignitaries or the president or Tony Stark and Bruce Banner or being briefed on national security matters. People who are way more important and interesting than me.” Alex shrugged at her very inelegant explanation. “Do you think if anyone in the restaurant knew who you were and who I was, they wouldn’t wonder why you were out with me?”

“Alexandra, if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people’s opinions are far less important than your opinion of yourself.” Steve reached out and grabbed her hand so that she had to look at him. “No one has ever made me do something I didn’t want to do, including coming out and having dinner with you. If I’m here, I want to be here.”

“Is this the part where you confess your undying love for me, right?” Alex leaned forward with a dramatic flutter of her eyelashes, the conversation becoming too serious for her to handle with no sleep. “And don’t call me Alexandra.”

“You’re hopeless,” Steve threw his napkin at her before getting to his feet. “Come on, let’s get you home so you can get some sleep.”

The night air was colder now that the sun had set, making the ride back to the apartment extremely enjoyable. She had forgotten how much she loved being on a motorcycle. Raphael, her first serious boyfriend, had given her one of the ones from his garage to use, but obviously that had been taken back when he went to jail. Then there was that one time that she snuck out at sixteen and was gone for three days because she almost joined a motorcycle gang she met at the bar. When she finally came home, Grace Harper didn’t even looking up from chopping potatoes, and told Alex that the trash needed to be taken out and her laundry was on her bed. Somehow, the fact that she never even rose her voice stung more than if she had screamed at Alex.

“Do you need me to walk you up to your place?” Steve asked when he parked out in front of her building, turning off the engine, and looking over his shoulder as Alex undid the helmet.

“I’m pretty sure I can get up to my apartment without being shot, stabbed, or assaulted in some fashion, but thanks for the offer,” Alex laughed as she swung off her bike as her phone started to ring. “Unless there is a Hydra threat that you didn’t tell me about.”

“That’s not funny,” Steve said. “You should get that.”

Alex rolled her eyes as she picked up the phone, not even looking at the screen, and said hello. There was nothing but static on the other end and Alex was about to hang up, figuring it was a telemarketer, when she heard an intake of breath.

“Alex, is that you?” James’s voice sounded far away, but the way her heart went into her throat, she knew it had to be him.

“Yes, yes it’s me. Where are you?” Alex spoke rapidly, looking up at Steve. It had to be something in her voice because Steve was off his motorcycle in a moment and beside her, leaning down to attempt to hear the conversation.

“I think…I think I might have called you before. I can’t really remember,” there was a sigh on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry about that. I know you didn’t want to hear from me again.”

“No, no, James, that’s not…that’s not true,” Alex closed her eyes, her thoughts in chaos. “Where are you, are you okay?”

“I will attempt not to bother you again, but…it is nice to hear your voice,” James admitted slowly. “I’m just trying to stay away from those who would use me or imprison me. Don’t come looking for me, please.”

“James wait!” But the other end of the call has already gone dead.

“I’ll get Tony to trace the call, maybe this time-” Steve is already pulling his own cell phone out and putting it to his ear.

Alex just stood there, not hearing Steve’s conversation, trying to not start sobbing in the middle of the sidewalk. James thought she hated him, that she never wanted to talk to him again, because of how they left things last year. Sure, that the time she stated that it was better if they goodbye, but that was before she realized just how deeply he had gotten under her skin in just a week. It wasn’t because she hated him that she told him to leave, it was because she was in love with him, and that scared her as much as the threat of death.

“Hey,” Steve put a hand on her shoulder, seeing the tears in her eyes, “we’re going to find him. He’s alright and lucid, that’s a good sign. Try not to worry about it.”

“Yeah, right,” Alex gave a shaky smile as she hastily brushed away some tears. “Not worrying about a super soldier assassin with a spotty memory out in the world all by himself. Why would I worry about that?”

“Come here,” Steve pulled her into a tight hug. “Buck can take care of himself, always has been able to, even before the metal arm. I’m going to find him and bring him home, but he’ll be fine until then.”

“He asked that we don’t come looking for him,” Alex said against his chest, finding comfort in his arms.

“Yeah, well, remember when I said that no one has ever made me do something I didn’t want to do,” Steve pulled Alex away a little so that she looked up at him, gently wiping away a tear. “I’ll find him. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Steve was probably the only person she trusted implicitly.

“Alright, now get upstairs and get some sleep. I’ll call you when I know something.” Steve gave her another tight hug, resting his cheek against the top of her head, before letting her go.

“Just…be careful out there, alright?” Alex let go of him and wrapped her arms around herself.

“You too,” Steve gave her another smile.

Alex gave him a little finger wave before heading into the apartment building, Henry opening the door for her. She looked over her shoulder to see that Steve waited until she was inside to get onto his bike and roaring off. Always the gentlemen. She was surprised he didn’t walk her up to her apartment even against her protest.

While it was cooler outside, the apartment was stuffy from the windows being closed since she left that morning. Steve was right, she should sleep, but there was so much nervous energy in her body that she could barely sit. After pacing the apartment for a few minutes, she pulled out her cell phone and hit Jake’s contact picture. It took him three rings to pick up.

“Lexie, everything okay? I’m about to go to work,” Jake sounded a little breathless, as if he had to run and grab his phone.

“Right, night shift, sorry about that.” Alex moved through the apartment, opening windows, needing to do something.

“No worries, it’s better than me having to send out a search party to get you to return my text. What have you been up to?” Jake was speaking as if he was doing something, like putting on his work boots, while talking to her.

“Oh, you know…” Alex trailed off, figuring telling him about the super soldiers and the fact that she was assaulted last night was not a good idea. “Just my internship and class, trying to be social when I can. I’m starting an extra credit assignment on Saturday. Nothing too exciting.”

“Nothing exciting? When do you sleep, Lex?” Jake’s voice had a joking tone to it, but after this summer she knew he was worried.

“I’m a big girl, Jake. I can take care of myself. How are things in the sunshine state?” Alex felt a little calmer talking with Jake, enough that she could flop onto her bed. There were articles that needed to be read, papers that needed to be written, and about a million other things she should be doing, but there was no way she’d be in the mental space to do them tonight.

Jake filled her in about the waves he tried to catch that morning and Felix, the stray cat that decided to live around his condo. It was also so nice to hear a smile in Jake’s voice and hear about normal problems. It had always been a carefree soul and the beach bum lifestyle seemed to really suit him.

“I’m gonna have to go in a minute, so we’re on for around midterms right? Before the weather gets bad?” Jake asked. “You work way too much and need someone to take you out onto the town.”

“That sounds great Jake,” Alex said and actually meant it. It was weird to think about her family in the city, they were such separate entities, but she did miss her brother. Besides, it wasn’t as if Alex would ever get to show her parents the city as her mother refused to step foot in New York.

“Great, I’ll book the flight and then give you the details,” Jake sounded relieved, as if he expected push back. “Now I really have to go, Lexie. Talk to you later, be good.”

“I’m always good. Stay out of trouble Jake,”

Alex knew that she should get out of bed, but her whole body was heavy. Hadn’t Steve told her to get some sleep? Maybe, for the first time ever, she should take his advice. Besides, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be woken up at three in the morning with heart pounding nightmares. Might as well take the rest while she could.

[dxmedstudent]

You see in a lot of TV shows about doctors being sued or losing their jobs because of patients dying. In the UK, how much emphasis is there on it being a particular doctors fault? Like, every one makes mistakes, so if something was missed and a patient died would you lose your job over it?

So that’s an interesting question, and one that’s relevant to anyone in nursing or medicine. I’ve never (all digits crossed) been involved in this kind of case, so I can’t speak from experience but I’ll try to fill it in as best as I can.When people gauge what happened to a patient, in theory they gauge whether a doctor or nurse acted reasonably. i.e. like a reasonable doctor in their field would have acted. Even if a patient died, if someone acted reasonably based on the knowledge they had, and investigated/treated things that they had a reasonable reason to deal with at the time, then that clinician would have acted to the best of their knowledge; there is not always a mistake to be found. Sometimes people die and nobody did anything wrong; whilst it would be understandable if a patient’s family complained in their grief, or even for it to be investigated, that wouldn’t necessarily mean that someone would be punished. Now, going on to mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes, but we have systems in place to minimise them. So for example, if a doctor forgot to check back on a patient’s lab result (which they SHOULD do), the lab would call if there was a really abnormal result; typically they call us before it’s released. Now, nobody would ever suggest not checking results because the lab would call you about them, anyway. A doctor is expected to check EVERYTHING before they go home, and hand over any bloods that aren’t back for the oncall team to chase. That’s ensuring that their patients are safe, and that if anything abnormal comes up, that it’s not missed overnight and is dealt with as soon as the bloods do come back. In the same way, if they’re worried about any patients, then the doctor will make sure to hand them over to the night team. It’s seen as every individual doctor’s responsibility to see their allocated patients that day, to review any investigations they have had on that day, and ensure that any sick patients are handed over to the oncall team and discussed with seniors or other specialties as appropriate.

Not all mistakes are major; many are small and/or easily corrected, have relatively little effect on patients. For most things, simply having an honest chat with the patient and owning up to what happened is usually enough. We have what we call a duty of candour; when something happens, we are obligated to be honest with patients and/or their families about what went on. And good communication usually helps in these cases. When something big and bad happens, we call that an adverse event; by this we mean serious mistakes, resulting in a poor outcome for the patient. This is always investigated; to find out more about what happened, who was involved, and what could have been done differently. This is why documentation is so, so important (write everything down, including the time and who it involved, ALWAYS), because some of the problems that arise are from bad documentation. We have a saying; “If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen”, and seniors will always be telling you to write EVERYTHING down, because they will have been burnt before. We also  have what we call ‘Never Events’; things that should never happen, and therefore there should be systems in place to prevent them from happening. Not every bad thing that happens is a never event, but all never events are bad things which should not have happened.  It’s hard to say about exactly how cases would be handled; I think it depends a lot on the department and hospital involved. I’ve seen places that have had a more open culture about discussing mistakes, and where things felt constructive.  But my friends and colleagues have also shared experiences of working in places where they felt that there is a huge blame culture where juniors are very much singled out. I really couldn’t comment on it as a whole, because I suspect there’s a huge degree of variation. And I wouldn’t want to minimise the experiences of those who felt scapegoated even when they felt there were significant wider failings. There are literally hundreds of thousands of us, working in thousands of hospitals, so I fully expect there to be both very supportive and very hostile, toxic environments. Given that we’ve established that there is poor support for whistleblowers, and understaffing is rife, that still leaves junior doctors in a vulnerable situation overall. Most incidents or mistakes don’t necessarily lead to further investigation beyond the internal investigation by the hospital.  However sometimes there are external inquests; if someone died, they may need to look at it in more detail, in a legal setting to find out exactly what went on. This can take years and be very draining for doctors or nurses involved. And sometimes, if a mistake was felt to be negligent (i.e. any reasonable doctor should have acted differently), then that doctor or nurse would be referred to the GMC or NMC for investigation. They will investigate the clinician and decide whether they should be suspended for a period of time, struck off or allowed to practice. I’m not going to lie, everyone is scared of being summoned by the GMC, and the suicide rates for doctors under investigation by the GMC are high. It can be very stressful to be investigated even if you are cleared. And although it’s a very small proportion of doctors who end up being investigated or struck off (not even 100 out of hundreds of thousands), it’s still something all of us take extremely seriously. Worrying about documentation, and whether you checked everything or forgot to do something for a patient is exactly the kind of thing that keeps junior doctors and nurses up at night. This is completely separate to whether there would be criminal proceedings brought against the staff (which is thankfully a rare necessity). However, if you have been convicted, even if you don’t go to prison, the GMC will have to know about it, and they might not let you practise medicine. Now, although we act as individuals, and sometimes it is our individual actions which could cause problems, going back to what I said about looking after patients; it is a team effort. We are all as a group responsible for catching if something is going wrong. So, for example, if a patient is deteriorating, even if they were stable when the day team saw them earlier, their observations would deteriorate, the nurses would pick that up, and they would get the oncall doctor to see the patient. Who in turn would notice the problem, and do something to stabilise them. What I’m trying to say is that we’re rarely just one person looking after a patient, and there is always the option to ask your seniors for help. Equally, seniors should be aware of what their juniors are doing, and the patients under their care. The reason I mention this is that sometimes, when things go wrong, it’s because lots of things have gone wrong. It’s called the swiss cheese model; the holes in the cheese have to align for something wrong to happen, because out of all the people caring for them, if one person had picked it up, it might not have gotten that far. When many things have gone wrong, that may well be due to systemic weaknesses rather than individual errors. This is why a lot of doctors were upset about the case of Dr Bawa Garba (I haven’t covered it here in detail); although the doctor and/or nurses may have made individual mistakes, there were a lot of failings on a wide level that lead to the death of that child. Some people feel that doctors and nurses are scapegoated unfairly when mistakes happen, rather than the wider problems being addressed. Perhaps, think the cynical among us, because it is much easier to fire or punish one individual than rearranging entire systems. Or perhaps because that’s the best the current system can do. Unfortunately, many people feel that the medicolegal system as it stands is still primarily set up to penalise individual doctors or nurses rather than deal with syestemic problems. Perhaps the system could be improved, but honestly it would take people with a lot more experience regarding how the medicolegal system works to explain it properly, and recommend improvements.   So in summary, though a doctor could, in theory lose their GMC number and hence their job over something they did at work, and even go to prison, this is quite rare in reality.

[mightyshieldevans]

Bad Ideas l Steve Rogers One-shot

Type: One-shot

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader 

Warning: Swearing 

You look through e-mails on your phone as you walk through Stark Tower.  You’re on your way to meet Steve for lunch, you two haven’t been able to get some alone time for a while.  What with him being busy saving the world and you constantly in the lab due to all these new aliens coming to Earth.   You loved your job, and being best friends with Tony Stark had its perks. Especially when he let you in on projects you would never even receive clearance for.  

“Psst! Y/N!” You stopped and listened. “Y/N!” You turned to see Tony sticking his head out of a door to a lab.

“What?”

“Get in here!”

“Why are we whispering?”

“Just get in here!” You roll your eyes but follow Tony into the lab. Bruce Banner stood across the room leaning against a counter looking very worried.  And then you notice the thing laying on a table in the center of the room.

“Is that- “

“Yep”

“But how did- “

“Hon, I’m Tony Stark, do you really need to ask?” You shook your head and smiled. “So… you wanna run some tests, maybe cut into it a little bit?”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Stark laughed and you two got to work.

“This is a bad idea”

“Look at these results! Its biology is like nothing I’ve ever seen!” “Again, this is not a good idea!”

“And look at the readings, I’ve never seen DNA like this before!”

“You two are nuts!” Banner exclaimed.  You and Tony ignore him, too obsessed with the dead alien you managed to get from the battle of New York.  

“It’s healing properties are off the chart! Think of what this could mean for medicine”

“Its skin is tougher than the armor they more, how did we even beat these guys!” Tony exclaimed, you laughed, and Banner shook his head.  

“You two are going to get us into so much trouble!”

“Oh, lighten up Bruce! Who’s gonna know?” You asked, Bruce just rolled his eyes and went back to whatever he was working on.  Which was much less exciting than learning about and actual alien! Sure, you had received samples and test results involving other creatures, but you had never seen one up close! Let alone be allowed to run your own tests on such a creature!

“Is that a dead alien?” Everyone froze and turned to see the Capsicle himself standing in the doorway.

“Maybe?” you tried to put on your best “I’m not doing anything I’m not supposed to do” smile.

“It is.  I can see it right in front of me”

“I’ll clean it all up before lunch!”

“Lunch was two hours ago” Steve crossed his arms over his chest, he was clearly annoyed.  

“Then I’ll clean it all up before dinner…?” Steve just shook his head and walked out of the lab. You felt horrible! This was supposed to be yours and Steve’s alone time.  You hadn’t been on a date in almost three months!  You looked at Tony and Bruce who were giving you the “You are so screwed” look.  You sighed and took off your gloves before going off to find Steve. You had an idea of how to make it up to him that you had missed lunch.

Steve sighed as he made his way through the tower.  He had received a text from Y/N asking to meet her on the roof, why? He had no idea. He wasn’t that mad about her missing lunch anymore, he kind of understood.  Y/N was a complete nerd when it came to alien stuff like that.  It was one of the things he loved about her.  So how could he expect her to pass up an opportunity to get an up-close look at the body of an actual alien? He just missed spending time with his girlfriend.

“Y/N?” Steve called out as he stepped out onto the roof, why was it so dark? All of a sudden, the roof lit up like a Christmas tree.  White lights were hung up all around and in the center, was a table set for two, but Steve was only looking at Y/N.  She stood there with her done, wearing the blue dress he had gotten her for her birthday.  She was stunning.

“I told you I’d clean up before dinner” Steve laughed, he walked over and pecked Y/N on the lips. He pulled out the chair for her and they took a seat.

“So, what are we having?”

“Good evening! My name is Anthony and I shall be your server on this fine evening”

“Sam!” Steve exclaimed, he howled with laughter.  There stood Sam Wilson wearing a waiter’s outfit and a mustache that was obviously drawn on with Sharpie, doing the worst Italian accent Steve had ever heard.

“I am not Sam! I am Anthony, your waiter! Can I interest you in some wine?” Sam poured two glasses of wine before they could even answer.  “I shall return with your dinner in a moment!”

“So, how did you come up with this?”

“Well, I felt bad for missing lunch because I know we haven’t had any alone time in a while so I decided to do something special” Y/N explained, Steve smiled.  

“And here is your dinner!” Sam reappeared, placing two plates in front of the couple. “Bon Appétit!”

“I thought you were doing an Italian accent”

“Shut up!” Sam exclaimed before walking off.

“So, you consider pepperoni pizza to be special?”

“I didn’t have a lot of time okay!” Y/N threw up her arms and Steve laughed. Steve raised his wine glass

“Here’s to spending more time together”

“And to you planning the dates from now on” Steve chuckled as the two of you clinked glasses.  

[whitelightning9999]

I’m Fine

22. Reborn

Words: 1460

Next: 23. Who Wears the Red Goggles

Raz groaned when he saw his desk. It seemed like in the short time he had been away the paperwork had only piled up more.

What did I do to deserve this? Raz thought, sitting down.

It had been weeks since he had left Gravity Falls for the fall. Lili was back in school and everyone else doing their own thing again.

And here I am doing paper work.

The 12 year old grabbed the first document, reading it over before signing it. Just a simple renewal form. The next paper was much of the same.

“Razputin are you alright?” said a voice behind him.

He jumped, spinning around. Not many could sneak up on him and those who could were not on base.

“Oh, hey Sasha you startled me.”

“Yes, I could see that… Forgive me but is something on your mind? You’re not one to relax your guard.”

“I’m fine, worse case I might be coming down with a head cold. Anyways do you need something?”

“Hmm, I was hoping you would help me with an experiment. Nothing too long.”

“Yeah just let me finish-“

Raz’s smile faded. Where there once was a pile of papers, now there was nothing.

“Razputin?”

“Last one to the lab is a rotten egg.” The boy yelled running out of his cubicle.

Raz ignored the incident. After all, so many things could have happened.

He could have accidentally set the papers on fire. There were no scorch marks.

He could have just imagined the papers. Someone had praised him for getting everything done so quickly.

He could have just been tired. He had gotten 10 hours of sleep that night instead of 5.

There were just so many possibilities, why should he ruin his day by thinking about it.

So, a month went by, and the psychonaut forgot about the papers and everything went on as normal. Well as normal as telekinetic sharks could be.

Smiling, he walked down the hall way. Why should he not smile after all. He was going to talk with his girlfriend tonight after all.

“Darling is everything ok?”

Milla’s voice stopped him.

“Oh, Milla, I didn’t see you there.”

“Yes you looked rather absorbed in your thoughts there.” She looked puzzled about something.

“Darling are you ok? You look…“ she paused thinking of the right word. “Tired”

“I’m fine Milla.” Raz waved her off. Milla was a the mother hen of the HQ. Once she thought you were having problems she would do everything to help.

“Oh, if you are sure darling.”

“Now son to get this trick you must-“ Augustus looked over. “Razputin are you listening to me?”

Raz shook himself awake. Every night he had been waking up in a cold sweat.  It had gotten so bad he was lucky if he could get a few hours of sleep.

“Sorry Dad. Just a little tired.”

“Just a little tired?” The tall man leaned over his son. “Raz, you finally come home for Thanksgiving and the only thing I see you doing is sleep.”

The man looked into his eyes. “Look son if the psychonauts are working you too hard then-“

“I’m fine Dad. I just a haven’t been getting a lot of sleep. And it’s not because of the psychonauts!” He added, seeing his Father’s look.

“Is it because of Lili?”

“No, its, I just haven’t been sleeping well. Different beds you know.”

His Dad hummed and for a moment Raz was worried he didn’t believe him. To the boy’s relief the man then stood up and walked back over to the training equipment.

“As I was saying. For this trick…”

The nights had not gotten better for him. It didn’t matter what he did he just couldn’t sleep through the night. It wasn’t that he even felt different, he just fell asleep and then woke up a few minutes later.

At one point, he had guessed nightmares but when he had used the brain tumbler he had found nothing.

There were black outs too. He didn’t think they were anything major but any time he started to nod off he’d wake up a few hours later. At first, he had thought they were from lack of sleep but when he had asked the other psychonauts, everyone just gave him a funny look and said he was just doing paper work.

Am I going crazy? Raz thought to himself.

Raz shook his head. Today was not the day to be worried about that. Lili was flying up for valentine’s day and they were going to eat at the best place in town before she left again.

Being Truman Zanotto’s daughter must be nice.

Patiently the young man waited outside the restaurant, every so often pulling up his phone to check the time.

Some couples would enter and exit, their thoughts drifting to him.

‘Oh, the poor dear. I hope his date shows up soon.’

‘Why is that kid still hanging around?’

‘poor kid just can’t take a hint’

After three hours of waiting, he finally had enough. Pulling out his phone, he prepared to call his girlfriend. Only to have her number flash on the screen.

Raz’s thoughts turned from anger to worry, pressing the answer button.

“Lili-“

“Hey Raz. I just wanted to thank you for the awesome date last night! I know we had to cut it a bit short due to our time budget but I wanted to let you know it was the greatest moment of my life.”

Raz didn’t answer.

“Raz? Is everything ok?”

He tried not to let his emotions into his voice. “I’m fine Lili”

“You’ve been saying that a lot. Are you really okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” A lump had formed in his throat. “Have you talked to your Dad about going to Gravity Falls again?”

“Jeez Raz, broken record much.”

“Sorry.” He could hear her roll her eyes.

“Yeah, like I said yesterday, it took me a while but I finally wore Dad down.”

“Cool. I guess I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah Raz, are you sure you’re ok?”

“I better go Lili, I promised I’d hang out with Sasha today”

He hung up before he could hear her response.

With a few taps the boy had his answer.

An entire day. I lost an entire day…

Raz swallowed thickly. I didn’t think it had gotten so bad…

Oh man, does this mean I really am going crazy? A-Are they going to lock me up like Agent Cruller?

Are they going to make me stop being a psychonaut?

It was dark by the time he got back to HQ. The familiar area now felt heavy with uncertainty.

Never before, have I’ve been so happy to have a brain like a tank. He thought.

Shakily, he pushed open the door to his quarters.

Maybe I just need to gets some more sleep. Yeah, that’s all I need. They even have medicine for sleeping right? I’ll have to get some tomorrow.

With a plan in his head. He curled up on the soft bed.

Tomorrow everything will be fine. Raz thought dozing off.

“Oh, look who’s back!”

Raz jolted up. Looking around at the familiar gray-toned circus.

“Bill” He hissed. Refusing to turn around.

“Give the kid a metal” The boy grinned his teeth trying to block out the clapping.

“Come on how long are you going to keep this up” The yellow triangle drifted into his vision. “It’s only been like 5 months.”

Raz looked down. Chains prevented him from moving around, or from punching the dream demon.

“All you have to do is just give me a tiny bit of time.”

“Why? You’re already able to erase my memories, take over my body, and haunt my dreams” Raz waved his arm around. Every night he woke up here, with his memories intact but in the morning, everything would be gone again.

“Aww, come on don’t give me that Goggles.” Bill floated closer. “After all its thanks to you I was able to be reborn.”

Raz lunged for the demon trying to claw his eye out.

Bill just stared at the chained preteen. “So, it’s going to be like that huh?”

Raz froze, a sense of dread filled him as he watched Bill snap his fingers.

Four glass walls rose up on each side of him.

“Bi- Bill wait” Raz tried, his voice cracking a bit.

“Are you ready to make a deal?” The demon was no longer looking at him.

“Not a chance you evil Dorito”

Raz frowned as Bill disappeared.

I will get out of this. He thought, trying to ignore the sound of water falling into the tank. And when I do, I’ll make sure you pay.

I own nothing.

As you may have noticed this story is a bit longer than the others. This is because I am changing things up a bit. The story length must be between 500 and 1500 words.

Another change I am trying is a bit of world building. Some prompts will be related to each other while others may just be for fun. Just remember the small stuff counts. 

[mindfulwrath]

Silver, Part XIV (Final)

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this whirlwind tour of Wrathfic, please come again soon! (No but seriously you’ve all been wonderful and brilliant and thank you so much to everybody who commented and otherwise came to talk to/yell at me about this fic. It wouldn’t have made it without you!)

Words: 1,973 Warnings: Themes of suicide

Part I Part XIII

Utterson came over again for tea the day after his initial visit, and Lanyon couldn't pretend he wasn't grateful. Losing Jekyll's friendship so suddenly had been like losing an arm—it had left him unbalanced, handicapped. He found himself struggling to do even simple things. It was difficult to think about anything else for any length of time. Having Utterson around helped, although the lawyer seemed preoccupied and gravely concerned.

They did not talk about Jekyll. Even though it left gaping holes in their conversation, it was probably for the best.

"How is Mr. Guest?" Lanyon asked, after one such silence.

"Convalescing admirably," Utterson said. "I believe he's enjoying being waited on."

"Couldn't possibly blame him," said Lanyon. "Just be sure he doesn't get too used to it."

"I doubt he will," Utterson said. "He's young enough that a sedentary lifestyle is unappealing. Sometimes I fear he'll run off and join the police, simply for the opportunity to be stabbed again. He's had a taste of what he thinks adventure is and it's softened his head."

"Oh, I don't know, young Mr. Guest could have a successful career in law enforcement," said Lanyon. "You've told me he's an avid student of handwriting, haven't you? Perhaps they'll make a detective of him."

"Tut-tut," said Utterson, shaking his head. Lanyon smiled at him.

"And I suppose you would be out a very fine clerk," he said.

"There are plenty of fine clerks in the world, Robert," said Utterson, offended. "I don't want the silly fool to get himself hurt again—and on my account, as well!"

"Consider it a voyage of self-discovery," said Lanyon, teasing. "And you simply the winds by which it set sail!"

"You're making fun of me," Utterson grumbled into his mustache.

"Only a little, Gabriel. Only so much as you deserve."

"I don't deserve any of it."

"It's only because you've got no sense of—"

Someone banged on the door so ferociously it sounded like they were trying to beat it down. Hopwood hurried past the conservatory door on his way to answer, but Lanyon got to his feet as well, curious about the disturbance.

"What on earth now?" he wondered.

"I hope no one's hurt," Utterson said, frowning.

"My good sir!" Hopwood exclaimed from the entry, and there was a thundering of feet and Poole dashed into the room. He was whey-faced and breathless, without his coat or hat. He ran straight to Lanyon and grabbed him by the arm.

"Something's terribly wrong with Dr. Jekyll, sir," he said urgently. "He sent for you, he gave me this."

He foisted a small glass phial on Lanyon. His hands were freezing cold. The phial was empty. It was labeled with a single word in Jekyll's hand.

Strychnine.

Lanyon sprinted for the door. He was down the steps and out onto the street in a heartbeat, in a single bound. His feet pounded against the cobblestones. Cold air stung his face. His lungs burned. His legs were on fire. His vision blurred. People scattered before him. Those that didn't, he shoved aside. He bounded up the steps to Jekyll's home, past the maid, up the stairs. Other footsteps thudded behind him. He burst through the door to the lab.

Jekyll was curled up on the floor, convulsing. It was too late for modern medicine already, he could see that. Lanyon ran to him and dropped to his knees. Utterson said something authoritative. Poole warbled out a yes, sir. The door closed.

"Henry," Lanyon panted, taking his face in his hands. "Henry, what do I do? What do I do, Henry?"

Jekyll's eyes were unfocused, weeping. His face was blue. He was drenched in sweat. He had minutes left, at best.

"Robert," he gasped, clutching at his shirt. "Robert—the wolf. The wolf."

"He's delirious," Utterson said, kneeling across from Lanyon. Jekyll moaned and spasmed. He kept repeating it, over and over—the wolf, the wolf—syllables slurred half into oblivion.

Lanyon looked back over his shoulder. There were papers strewn all over the floor, a drawer of the desk ripped out.

"No he's not," he said. He leapt to his feet, foisting Jekyll off onto Utterson. "Keep him conscious!"

Jekyll yelped and sucked in a breath through his teeth. Lanyon fell upon the notes like a madman—they were in Jekyll's own hand, smudged with bloody fingerprints. Dozens of pages littered the floor. Titles like Universal Elixir and Mediator stared up at him.

"Shh, shh," Utterson murmured. "It's all right, Henry. It's going to be all right."

"What is it called?" Lanyon demanded. "Henry, what is the potion called? I need the name!"

Jekyll cried out, a piteous scream of unbearable pain, and Lanyon cursed under his breath.

"Henry, shh, easy," Utterson said. "What's the name of the potion?"

Lanyon could not focus on the papers. They passed through his hands like water. Spagyric Tincture, Universal Fire, Flesh Weaver, Grossman's Herbal Elixir, all useless, all wrong.

"Gabe—Gabriel?" Jekyll whispered. "It—hurts, it hurts, please—"

"I know," Utterson said. "I know, Henry. You need to tell us the name of the potion, so that we can make it stop hurting."

"Robert—where's—"

"He's here. The name, Henry."

He gasped in agony, and Lanyon folded, mirrored pain striking through his heart. His fists clenched on the papers, the useless, stupid papers—

"Elixir," Jekyll mumbled. "Elixir of life. . . ."

Lanyon scrambled for the right paper, it had to be here, it must have just passed through his hands, where was the damn thing?

"Aha!" he cried, snatching it up. He leapt to his feet and darted to the lab bench. His hands shook, his eyes would not focus. Bottles, reagents, he needed the ingredients first, but God the place was such a mess!

"Gabriel?" Henry said again, as though he had forgotten.

"I'm here," Utterson said. "Robert's here. It's going to be all right."

"I'm frightened," Henry whimpered. "I don't want to go, I don't—I don't want—I can't—"

"Henry, your organization is abominable!" Lanyon called over his shoulder. His voice was trembling, like a wine glass in the instant before it shattered. "As soon as this is over, we are implementing a systematic categorization of your reagents!"

Jekyll made a choked noise and Utterson cursed. Lanyon glanced back. Jekyll's back had arched like a bow under full tension, his fists clenched and his jaw locked. Utterson was holding him, waxen and terrified. Lanyon vowed not to look back again. He put his full attention on the alchemy before him.

"Don't be afraid, Henry," Utterson said, keeping up his low murmur of assurances even as Lanyon tore through the laboratory like a whirlwind. "It's going to be all right. It's going to be all right. Robert and I are here. It's going to be all right."

Jekyll gasped suddenly, and whimpered, and his breath came fast and shallow and labored.

"Robert—" he slurred. "Robert . . . you were right. You were—you were right. . . ."

"There will be no talk of that kind!" Lanyon admonished. He dumped the reagents on the lab bench, fumbled with the glassware. "When you are healthy and well, good sir, you may grovel to your heart's content, but you will not talk like that now!"

Jekyll's only response was to cry out in pain again, weaker, God, so much weaker, they were running out of time. . . .

"I know," Utterson said to him. "I know. Hold on, Henry. Just hold on a little longer."

Lanyon set the first reagent to boiling, burning his hands on the bunsen flame. He didn't feel it. He couldn't possibly have felt it. The hiss and gurgle of the alchemy grew louder in his ears, deafening, drowning out Jekyll's gasping and Utterson's soft reassurances. The words on the page swam before his eyes, once so neat and scientific, written in Jekyll's immaculate hand.

"Not to mention your labeling!" Lanyon went on, because he had to speak or he would scream. "Simply abysmal! I don't know what sort of science you think you've been doing, but it's unacceptable!"

The solution boiled and Lanyon added the second reagent, the yellowish salt. He spilled half of it over the side. He added more, maybe too much or not enough. Precision was gone anyway, it was guesswork and prayer, instinct and hope.

"Clearly you never learned how to keep a proper laboratory in school," Lanyon said, choked by the lump in his throat. "I'll have to teach you all over again, you've gotten complacent, and now look at what it's bought you! Reproducibility, Henry, it's all down to reproducibility, and I'll not let you get away with this shoddy—shoddiness!"

Pale green smoke coughed from the bottle as the solution began to turn blue. Lanyon added the third reagent, drop by drop. His hands shook so hard that he had to hold his own wrist to even hope to get any of the liquid inside the flask.

"You're damned lucky I'm brilliant, you know! All this alchemical nonsense, even with your translations, half of it's gibberish anyway. You'd be lost without me, I've said it before, I'll say it again, completely lost, Henry! When all this is done with, you and I are going to have a very long talk about—about—about everything, and you're not going to go running off again, not this time, by God, I won't let you. Do you hear me, Henry? You'll not be running away from me again!"

"Robert," Utterson said.

"No," said Lanyon. The world was only smears of color. He couldn't breathe.

"Robert," Utterson insisted.

"Don't interrupt me, Gabriel, this is very delicate work!"

"It's too late, Robert," Utterson said, very softly, very gently.

Lanyon had to brace himself against the table. His eyes overflowed with tears and he squeezed them shut. There was a round river stone in his throat that he couldn't swallow down, stopping his breath, his words. The acrid, sulfurous stench of the alchemy thickened the air to a yellow miasma. His mind was full of white fog and silence.

He turned to look.

Utterson knelt on the floor, cradling Jekyll in his arms. The convulsions had stopped, and he was still, he was very still. The amber eyes were glassy, doll-like, the lips parted. One arm hung limply to the floor, the pale fingers half-curled; the other was draped across his stomach, relaxed, almost casual. He was not breathing. His head lolled against Utterson's elbow, baring his throat. He was not breathing. He was not breathing.

Lanyon sank to the floor, his legs unable to hold him any longer. Gently, Utterson closed Jekyll's eyes. Tears ran down his cheeks unheeded, dripped from his chin onto Jekyll's shirt. Something clawed and ruinous was rampaging through Lanyon's chest, shredding everything.

Utterson clasped Jekyll's hand in his own, as though there was any comfort left he could provide. Lanyon shattered all the way through. He collapsed into wracking sobs, ugly and unmindful, garish in his grief. Utterson was silent. Jekyll was silent. Jekyll was dead.

Henry was dead.

Lanyon's anguish spent itself as a fire would, leaving nothing but ash and smoke in its wake. He could not look away from Henry's body. Utterson was still holding him, still weeping silently over him, still holding his hand.

The alchemy boiled over, spilling sickly orange liquid all over the table. It dripped down onto Lanyon's head, forcing him to move, to take his eyes off of Henry. He'd forgotten that he could.

Utterson looked up, met his gaze. The wooden facade was gone, leaving only a man; a man cradling his friend's corpse in his arms.

"What in God's name happened here?" Utterson said, lost and in pain.

Lanyon could not answer him.

THE END