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moody-alcoholic · 22 hours

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These Violent Delights

Chapter 6 - Passion Colors Everything

Summary: Poly 141 x fem!reader, a/b/o alternate universe 12.3k words. Shepherd is here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.... and he’s all out of bubblegum.

CW: MDNI +18 explicit content. a/b/o alternative universe, a/b/o dynamics, typical a/b/o universe tropes (heats, knotting, claiming, nesting), nightmares, angst, mentions of past abuse, nightmare of past abuse (descriptions of physical abuse), angst, sex, oral (F receiving), PiV sex, fingering, slight overstimulation.

AN: I was going to post this tomorrow. I couldn't wait I have no self control.

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Enjoy <3

It feels like all the air has been sucked out of your lungs. Your ears are ringing, and you're not listening to what John is saying as he talks to Kate. There’s no way you’re going back? No way John would let that happen right? You close your mouth looking around the room, you want to leave, run, get as far away as you can. You can hear Kyle and Johnny talking now and Kate turns around. You use the opportunity to run out of the building.

You don’t know where you’re going, and you don’t care. You want to get away from this place, from whoever wants to take you back to the Professor. Your lungs burn and you find yourself running to the lab. You want to see Dr. Piper, she’ll tell them, she’ll make sure they don’t take you. When you burst through the door panting, everyone looks at you as you rush over to her office. You don’t knock, you throw yourself in. She stands up from her desk, and as soon as you see her you fall to your knees sobbing into your hands.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she says, coming around and bending down in front of you, trying to pull your hands off of your face. You’re just sobbing, you can’t go back, you can’t. She manages to get you to look at her.

“Breathe, look at me,” she says, her cold hands on your cheeks. You hear commotion in the lab, and it makes you panic. What if he’s here already? Hairs stand up on the back of your neck, and your hand flys up to protect it as you throw yourself in Dr. Piper's arms. You hear John’s voice behind you, Johnny’s too.

“What happened?” Dr. Piper asks as you continue to sob into her chest. She’s trying to project a calming scent over you but it’s not working. You hear John come in, closing the door behind him. You’re trapped, they’re going to take you away. You’re not listening to them. You don’t want to go back, you can’t go back. Dr. Piper pries you off of her chest and gripping your wrists. She’s shaking you to get you to listen.

“Look at me,” she orders, voice harsh. You’ve not heard her use that tone in years. You stop sobbing and look up at her. She lets out a sigh, loosening her grip on your wrists.

“No one is taking you away. No one is going to let you go back to the Professor.” Her eyes are burning into you, all you can do is nod. She looks up at John, you feel him bend down next to you placing his hand on your back. You let your hand fall off the back of your neck. He’s not going to hurt you.

“Why don’t you go take a nap? By the time you wake up it will be dinner time and you’ll feel a lot better.” You don’t know what to do, but you let them help you up to your feet. Dr. Piper's arms leave you as you lean onto John, wiping your eyes. He leads you out of the building as quickly as possible, his arm wrapped around your waist as you’re walking back to the barracks. You can feel people staring, probably the same people from the mess earlier. Let them stare. You won’t be around for much longer anyway.

“I’m sorry,” you say, shivering as the rain hits you.

“About what?” he asks, pulling you closer to him. You’re not sure. You don’t know why you apologized, it just felt like something you needed to do. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” His voice is low, level, and there’s an edge of something to it. He’s tense all of the sudden. You sniffle, dragging your feet as you make it to the barracks. It makes a pit form in your stomach knowing that the Professor knows where you are now and he’s sent someone to get you. You don’t want to go back to him. When you walk through the door the smell of alpha hits you. It’s anger. Simon’s back.

“Is it true? Shepherd is on his way?” Simon snaps as soon as he sees John. His scent is so strong in the air, it makes you dizzy. You can smell his anger, it's scary, thick in the air almost to the point of suffocating you. You stand behind John, gripping his shirt. Alpha anger is a scary thing, and Simon is usually so good at controlling his emotions. You look at him, he’s bigger than Johnny and Kyle, and he might even be bigger than John. You look in his eyes dark and sharp, trained on John as he talks. His body language has changed. You didn’t think he would care if you were here or not. Maybe he would advocate to send you back to the Professor, one less complication out of his life.

“He should be here tomorrow,” John says. He’s calm unlike Simon. You look up at him, tears still running down your face. His eyes meet you for a second before he looks back at John.

“What does he want?” Simon asks.

“The omega,” John says. You swallow hard as Simon’s eyes land on you again, goosebumps run up your neck.

“How did he find out?” He turns to Kate.

“I’m not sure. I saw the order and rushed over here,” she explains.

“There’s plenty of ways he could have found out. We’re not exactly hiding,” John says.

“Maybe we should be,” Simon snaps back. John sighs, turning and pulling you to his side. He walks you past Simon and Kate to the hallway. Johnny and Kyle are standing in the corner of the room. They look at you sympathetically as John walks you down to your room.

“Get some rest. Johnny or Kyle will come and get you for dinner.” You open the door then turn to look up at him. You want to be around him, near him. He makes you feel safe. His thumb comes up to stroke your cheek, you can tell he’s thinking about something.

“You’re a good omega. I’m going to make sure nothing happens, no one is going to take you away.” He bends down kissing the top of your head. You nod at him, smiling. He smiles back then heads back down the hall. You don’t want to sleep, you don’t want to be alone. You go over to your nest, crawling between the pillows and blankets. If you’re going to get any rest, it’s going to be in your nest. You can hear the rain outside, the wind blowing past the building almost like it’s whistling. You can hear low voices in the common room. You trust John, you trust him. You close your eyes and try to let yourself relax as you listen to the rain.

You dream. You don’t want to, you wish you could have a restful nap, but you’re back in the bunker. The door to your room is thrown open. You see the Professor standing there in the doorway. He’s taller than you remember as he steps in. He looks tired, his hair a mess, his white doctor’s coat covered in blood.

“Had to kill another beta because you can’t keep your mouth shut!” he snaps. You flinch, covering your face with your hands. He takes another step towards you. You can smell the blood in the air. It makes you feel sick.

“You are a bad omega, no alpha is ever going to want you!” His voice is low, his anger filling the room. His hand comes down to grip your hair. You yelp in pain as he pulls you up off the floor throwing you on the bed. You bang your head against the wall sobbing silently as your head throbs.

“The next beta I kill will be that stupid doctor you like. She’s been nothing but trouble,” he says walking round the room behind you. You squeeze your eyes closed.

“Dr. Piper,” you whisper. His hands are on you pulling you off the bed. Your body hits the cold floor.

“Got something to say?” he snaps. You shake your head wrapping your arms around your chest, you just want to be left alone. He reaches down gripping your arm pulling it out from under you and stepping on your wrist with his boot.

“No, please!” you beg. You cry as his boot presses down harder.

“You are an omega, you’re nothing!” he shouts down at you.

“I know, I’m sorry!” you sob, hoping he won’t push down the little bit of pressure he would need to snap your wrist. Punishment for disobeying him, being a bad omega.

“Say it!”

“I’m a bad omega, I deserve this,” you cry. You know it’s not enough, it’s never enough. You can see the anger in his eyes, his face contorted into something horrible, gritted teeth, red face.

“One day you’ll learn,” he says, lifting his boot and slamming his heel back down on your wrist. The pain travels all the way up your arm. You cry out but he keeps his boot pressed down. You scream and writhe until eventually he relents. Black spots appear in your vision as he leaves the room hitting the light and leaving you in the dark. The heavy door slams closed. At least you’re alone now.

Your body jolts awake to a knocking at your door. Your eyes snap open as you suck in breaths of air. You’re sweating, your shirt damp. You feel sick, you don’t think you could eat even if you wanted to. Your room is dark, it must be almost time for the mess to close. You turn over in your nest. You just want to be left alone. There’s knocking again.

“Go away,” you call, although it’s quieter than you want. You don’t even know if they heard you, but then the door opens. Light floods into the room and you smell beta in the air.

“I picked up some dinner from the mess, thought you would want to stay here instead of going out.” It’s Kyle. You don’t want to see anyone, you just want to be alone. You want to sleep but you don’t want to dream.

“You need to eat.” He sounds like he’s pleading. You don’t want to see him. You don’t want to see anyone right now.

“Go away,” you say, closing your eyes again before you start crying. You hear Kyle sigh but he leaves, closing the door behind him. It feels like he’s only been gone for a few minutes when there is yet another knock on the door. You open your eyes. They’re sore and dry. You hear your name called as the door opens. This time you turn to look. You see Johnny standing there. He sighs, tipping his head to the side.

“Price won’t be happy if you skip a meal,” he says. You prop yourself up on a pillow.

“I’m not hungry,” you say.

“I know, but we got you extra pudding,” he says smiling. “It’s vanilla.”

You sigh and get up off the floor. Your limbs are stiff and your head is hurting. Johnny waits for you, letting you go first as he follows you down the hall. Kyle is sitting on the sofa watching TV. He smiles at you as you head over to the table. You can’t smell John or Simon, they must be busy trying to figure out a plan. You hope that’s what they’re doing and not trying to figure out a way to hand you back over to the Professor.

You sit down at the table and Johnny brings you a glass of water. You try to listen to what’s playing on the TV but your mind is too preoccupied. You look out the windows and you can see the floodlights lighting up one of the training fields. There are soldiers running up and down the hill. They look tired, stumbling and losing pace. You squint looking at the person standing at the top of the hill with his arms crossed. It’s Simon, you can see the white skull mask he wears as he turns in the light.

“What’s Simon doing?” you ask, turning back to see Johnny heating your food in the microwave.

“You know those recruits from the mess? Well turns out they've been causing a bunch of problems. The base commander was more than happy to let Simon run them around and remind them to be respectful.” That makes you smile as you look down at the table. Johnny brings a plate of food over to you.

“It wasn’t anything exciting today, just some kind of chicken pie.”

You smile at him pulling the pastry top off the chicken and letting the smell fill your nose. It does smell good. You keep flicking your head to look out the window at Simon and the people he has running up and down the hill. It makes you smile. Maybe Simon’s not always the best with his words but actions speak louder than words anyway. You read that in a book once. You let Johnny talk while you eat, better than the silence that’s been hanging over the building since everyone else left.

You eat your food. Kyle joins you at the table and he and Johnny chat. You listen to them and eat until you can’t take it any more, a wave of sadness washes over you and you sulk off to the showers. You take your time, letting the warm water and steam lull you back into a state of relaxation. When you leave the bathroom, John and Simon are still not back. You head into your room. You are tired, and you want to go to sleep. You see the bottle of pills on your bedside table. You don’t care that they’ll make you sick, you just want a good night's sleep. You take two, and by the time you’re changed into your pajamas you feel a heavy weight fall over you. You pick up the book Simon gave you earlier, and getting into bed you flick through it. You read until the words on the page start to melt together and your eyes are drooping closed.

When you wake you feel different. Your body feels heavy, your head pounding. You want to just curl up in your nest and sleep. You look over at it from your bed, and it looks wrong, like there’s something missing. You can hear people talking in the common room. It must be later than normal. You don't have to see Dr. Miller today so you’ve enjoyed the extra rest. You crawl over to your nest, something about it doesn’t feel right. You pull the pillows and blankets out. You rearrange it, but there’s still something wrong. You try again. It feels like an empty nest, it smells like an empty nest.

You need more things, something that smells like your pack. You’re still rearranging when there is a knock at your door. You don’t pay attention to it, your fingers running over the wooly blanket. You ignore your name being called, you have more important things to worry about. You hear the door open and the smell of beta filling the air, but you don't want anyone disturbing you right now or have people in your space. You turn to look at the threat in the doorway. It's Dr. Piper. You grip the blanket waiting for her to talk.

“We’re supposed to be having a chat with Captain Price,” she says. You nod, turning back to the nest. You move the pillows a little more but it still feels wrong. You just can’t quite put your finger on it. You put the blanket down, getting up and walking to the door.

“You’re nesting,” she says as you close your door behind you.

“It doesn't feel right,” you say, looking back towards your room. She looks at you studying your face for a second as you make it to John’s office. You can already smell his alpha through the door. There’s this burning inside of you to be close to him, you rub the back of your neck.

“Preheat. Could be a matter of days now,” she says as a matter of fact and then knocks on the door. That explains it. John calls you in and the moment you see him you blush as your scent cuts through the air. He reacts to it flaring his nostrils, his eyes dilating. You almost want to throw yourself into his arms. Instead you follow Dr. Piper over to the chairs.

“You smell different,” he says, frowning.

“Preheat. It doesn't always happen,” Dr. Piper says.

“What does that mean?” John asks. You don't really listen to the explanation; you know all about it. You’ve only ever had preheat a few times before. It's supposed to be a normal part of the heat cycle but you’ve never really had a normal cycle. Your body will spend the next few days getting ready for your heat. You’ll nest more, eat more and sleep more. You’ll be clingy, wanting to spend more time around an alpha.

“I guess General Shepherd picked the best time to visit,” John sighs. You can hear the sarcasm in his voice. You’re causing a problem.

“Is he really going to take me back to the Professor?” you ask.

“No. Doesn't mean he’s going to make our life easy. According to Kate, he wants a meeting with you, Dr. Montgomery. He would like to see the progress of your cure. He would like to meet you too,” John says, his gaze resting on you. You don't want to meet him, you don't even want to be in the same room as someone who would so willingly hand you off to someone like the Professor.

“I don’t want to meet him,” you say, looking down at the floor.

“We’ll be there, you won’t be alone,” John says. You look up at him. Somehow that makes you feel even more embarrassed, like you're a trophy they’re showing off. You’ve gotten too comfortable with them. At the end of the day you’re just an omega, a thing to be bred. Maybe the general wants you all to himself. The Professor's voice is loud in your head; you’re just an omega, you’re not worth anything other than to be filled with babies one day. You look back up at John, but you can’t tell what he’s thinking.

“Are you sure you still want to go through with this?” she asks. You watch John. It’s his choice, he could say no right now.

“Of course,” he says. You smile.

“Okay, so Dr. Miller has been working on a hormone blocker to help Lieutenant Riley. Just to be on the safe side though, he will be staying away from the building for the duration of the heat. Mostly for your safety,” Dr. Piper explains. Price frowns.

“When the omega is in heat, you will be in rut. It's basically like heat for males. You’ll become super protective of the omega. Anyone who isn't in your pack will be a threat.” You look up at John trying to see his reaction. He just nods.

“How long do heats last?” he asks.

“Usually between 5-7 days. It depends on her stress levels,” she says looking back at you.

“And you’re going to be pretty out of it?” he asks, looking at you.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s all hazy,” you say, looking at Dr. Piper for support.

“Don’t be too worried. She’s not going to be unconscious or anything, more like extremely relaxed.”

“Yeah and it’s not like I'm new to this.” You smile at him.

“The betas will take it in turns to check on you both. I’ve already spoken to Johnny and Kyle. They’ll be making sure you eat and drink. You will also be out of it, not as much as the omega but things will definitely be foggy, especially when you’re knotted.”

“Knotting, you’ve explained it before,” he says. You’re blushing.

“One of the many wonders of the formula, don’t think about it too much, your body will do what's natural.”

“Okay, what about claiming? Is there anything else I should know?” You smile at him.

“You’ll need to let the betas check the wound, which might be easier said than done depending on how aware you are. Other than that, don’t be worried, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s after the heat when things will really start to feel different,” she explains. He's going to claim you, you’re going to be claimed. Then you truly will be his omega.

“Okay, and it could be any time soon?” he asks. Dr. Piper nods. It’s not really the best timing but you can’t control it.

“I can go through it alone again. I’m used to it,” you offer. Dr. Piper starts to protest but John stops her.

“No, we’ll work it out, don’t worry,” he says, and you nod. “Now we need to focus on this meeting with General Shepherd. He should be here in an hour or so.”

“She can’t go back to the Professor,” Dr. Piper says.

“That’s not going to happen, but he might have other demands. Unfortunately this is very much a gray area. Since you worked so closely with the Professor, I think it would be best if you’re in there from the start,” John says looking at Dr. Piper. She nods.

“It would be nice to have someone who is used to this world on our side,” he says.

“Of course,” she nods. You zone out, letting John and Dr. Piper continue to talk strategies. Before you know it, you’re starving, your stomach rumbling as the cravings come. You want something sweet, french toast or pancakes. You feel like you could eat a million puddings. Dr. Piper can sense your fidgeting, putting her hand on your bouncing leg to stop it. You sigh. You feel like a kid waiting for your parents to stop talking so you can leave and do what you want to do. It feels like they're talking forever before you’re finally allowed to go.

You find Kyle and almost drag him to the mess. When you get in, you see some of the soldiers who were making comments about you. They look embarrassed, quickly looking away when you catch their eyes. You don’t care, you're too hungry.

When you get back to the barracks everyone but Johnny has left. Johnny tells you they’ll be back later, after the meeting with General Shepherd. You know he wants to see you too, but you don’t want to see him. You don’t want to see anyone or leave the building. Johnny puts his arm around you when you sit down on the sofa. You watch the TV leaning against him.

“Don’t worry lass, what’s the worst that could happen?” he says. You let out a sigh. The Professor could come in your sleep and take you back.

“Probably nothing,” you sigh. You don’t want to think about it anymore.

It’s an hour later when Dr. Montgomery is called to a conference room for the meeting. She stands outside the door waiting for John and Simon to show up. The General and Kate are already inside as well as a few other people she doesn’t know. It’s the nerves getting to her. She wasn’t sure what to prepare for the meeting so she just bought everything. She’d read through each piece of paper, each piece of data multiple times before neatly packing it away in the folder she was now clinging onto for dear life. She hears voices round the corner, the smell of alpha in the air. She lets out a sigh of relief as Simon and John step round.

“Ready?” John asks as he reaches the door.

“As I’ll ever be,” she replies. John smiles and Simon walks through. She pulls John to the side before they step into the room.

“She’s never been able to advocate for herself, she’s never had anyone in her corner. I know he’s your boss but she needs us to stick up for her.”

“Don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere,” John says, patting her shoulder, smiling. She doesn’t know if she quite believes him, surely the General can override any order. Maybe he could take her by force. Piper walks into the room. There are more people than she thought here, but still no one she recognizes. Everyone takes seats around the table with a projector at the end. There’s formalities, people being introduced, their significance. Everyone from the base commander to some people the General bought. He starts off with some speech explaining what was going to be happening.

“Professor Hale has caught me up with some of the terminology. I also heard your team has been exposed to the chemical?” General Shepherd asks. John nods.

“And you’re Dr. Montgomery?” he asks, looking at her. She nods.

“Okay I think we should get the elephant out of the room first.” He moves around to the front of the table.

“What made you think blowing up the lab was a good idea?”

“We had intel that they were making and selling chemical weapons, so we decided to act on it,” John says.

“If you had gone up the correct chain of command you would have been told to stay well away from Professor Hale and his little project.”

“Little,” Dr. Piper scoffs, rolling her eyes. The General’s gaze snaps to her but he ignores her comment.

“You shouldn’t have not gotten involved with this, Captain. Now we have one hell of a mess to clean up,” he says. Clicking something on a laptop brings your folder up, the one from the lab. It makes Dr. Piper feel sick. It’s the fake one the Professor would give to people so they wouldn't know what was really going on. Even in your picture you look somewhat normal, flushed cheeks, nice hair. People would even think you were happy. That’s what the Professor wanted people to think.

“The omega initiative; you’re probably aware of the finer details. It is important we continue the core research to finalize the formula, and the only way we can do that is with the help of Professor Hale. Professor Hale is willing to work with us as well as forgive the destruction of his lab—and the significant damage to his mansion—on the condition that we return the omega back to him.”

“You’re out of your mind ,” Dr. Piper laughs.

“Doctor.” It’s John’s voice behind her, his alpha is strong in the air and it makes goosebumps rise on her neck.

“She’s not going anywhere,” John says.

“Captain, we’re lucky this whole project is still confidential and no one outside this room, or the Professor's circle is aware of it. If our enemies were to learn about this we would have a monumental problem.”

“She’s not going anywhere, especially not back to the Professor,” Price says. This time there’s an edge to his voice. The General sighs.

“Look we can do this the easy way or—”

“Sending her back is a death sentence,” John interrupts him.

“We do not have another option. If we want to work with Professor Hale then we need to try and comply with his demands."

“We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Simon speaks up.

“He is not a terrorist. He works for us,” he says.

“Excuse me!” Dr. Piper snaps. “He works for the government? Since when?”

“It is in the best interests of the nation to allow Professor Hale to continue his research and create a formula for the expressed purpose of improving the capabilities of our armed forces.”

“He gave you the super soldier speech then? That type of formula is years away, tens of years away,” Dr. Piper says, leaning forward in her seat.

“With all due respect Dr. Montgomery, the Professor thinks he will be able to have results before the end of the year.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but are you a scientist? Have you spent the last 20 years of your life working for the Professor? Well I have, and I’m telling you there is no way on earth he can have a working formula before the end of the year,” Dr. Piper says. Her anger is filling the air now. The General just looks at her for a second like he’s thinking about something.

“Regardless of your credentials, the Professor has made us a promise—”

Dr. Piper laughs. “I bet I have a cure before he even has time to start on creating a new formula.”

“It is my understanding that all he needs is the omega,” General Shepherd says. Dr. Piper leans back in her chair. He would need way more than that, his labs are gone. Even if he has a copy of the formula, as well as government funding, why is the omega so important? She’s stopped listening to him as he continues to talk.

“—I think it’s long overdue that we meet this omega,” Shepherd says. Dr. Piper is up from her seat before John needs to ask her. She wants to get out of the room.

“Let's break and meet her back in 10 minutes,” she hears someone say as she leaves the room rubbing the back of her neck. Something feels wrong. You’re more than just a toy for him, there’s something about you that he needs, otherwise he would have just created another omega by now.

You’re sitting at the table with Johnny and Kyle, nervous. You know they can smell it in the air, they’ve been trying to project a calming scent but it’s not really been working. It’s not their fault you’re way too pent up. You’ve felt nothing but the overwhelming urge to vomit for the past few hours. It feels like you’ve been waiting forever when Dr. Piper walks into the building. Kyle and Johnny immediately stand up but you wait until she comes over to the table.

“They want to meet you,” she says. You knew this was coming. You knew this was going to happen. You slowly get up, fear rising inside you. You wish you could run. Johnny and Kyle follow behind you as you all walk in silence into the main building on the base. You’re led to a room where Simon and John are standing outside waiting. They make you feel a little better that they’re both here. You don’t want to do this, it makes you feel like you’re just a thing, a toy to be played with or shown off.

“It won’t take long, we’ll be there the whole time,” John says. You nod at him trying not to panic. He comes to stand next to you placing his hand on your back. You swallow the nerves, digging your nails into your palms. Simon and Dr. Piper walk in first, then you and John. You look around the room.

There are people you don’t recognize and standing at the head of the long table is the person you assume is General Shepherd. He doesn’t look as mean as you thought. He reminds you of the Professor, big and old, only with less hair and no glasses. John is having to practically push you down the room over to him until you’re stood in front of him. You can’t smell anything off him. He’s not been exposed to the chemical and neither have the other people in the room.

“So you must be the omega everyone is talking about.” He smiles, turning to see you. You don’t know what to say. He holds his hand out and you almost flinch. You don’t want to shake his hand, you don’t care if you’re being rude. Goosebumps rise on your neck. You don’t want to be here. After a few seconds he drops his hand.

“So, are you aware that Professor Hale has requested you go back to work with him?” he asks. You nod. Work for him? So that’s how he’s phrasing it.

“And do you want to go back and work for him?” You shake your head. Why would he even ask?

“You are aware that refusing to go back may…complicate things?” He sounds serious. You don’t want to be a bother. You don’t want to be a burden. Maybe you should go back to make life easier for them all, to be a good omega. You nod. He sighs, taking a step back. You want to leave. You can’t help taking a step back, but John’s hand on your back keeps you in place.

“I would like you to think about all the options you have. Professor Hale is willing to offer Dr. Montgomery her job back as well as allow you to keep in contact with your pack,” he explains. You don’t believe it for a second. You don’t say anything, you just stand there in silence. He sighs looking up at John, then nods. You can tell he didn’t get what he wanted. You take a step back, turning to leave.

“Hold on a second,” he says. You stop breathing, freezing in place. “Professor Hale instructed me to check for a mark.”

“She’s not claimed,” Dr. Piper says. A pit forms in your stomach and your hand goes up to the back of your neck. You want to cry, there’s no way you’re letting him get close enough to see that.

“Hale insisted I check it personally.” You look at the end of the room seeing Dr. Piper stood with her arms crossed. You hear him moving closer to you, your hand reaches out to grip John’s shirt. You’re trying not to panic, you’re really trying hard. You can’t even control your scent anymore; you're filling the room with your fear. It causes Simon to move up next to John.

“It will only take a second,” General Shepherd says, and then he’s right behind you. You look down letting out a long breath and move your hand up to the back of your head pulling your hair out the way. He takes another step forward and you close your eyes, gripping John’s shirt harder wishing you were anywhere else but here. You feel panic rising in you, you bite the inside of your cheek. It feels like the seconds are taking hours.

“Okay, you’ve seen it. She’s not claimed.” It’s John’s voice. You open your eyes again, moving your hand and letting your hair fall back down to cover your neck. You look up at Dr. Piper across the room. She looks sad, her eyes not leaving you. You let go of John’s shirt as he moves to the side and you rush over to her. She opens the door for you and you rush out. Your eyes are already welling up with tears as you fall into Johnny’s arms. You’ve never felt so exposed, the fear and adrenaline keeping you going starts to fade and you feel sick. This time you let yourself breathe, letting their scent calm you.

“It’s okay,” Johnny says as he strokes your hair. It’s not okay, nothing about any of this is okay.

“A tracker!? She's not an animal, she's a human being!” you hear Dr. Piper shout. You pull your head out of Johnny’s chest, heading back towards the door.

“It’s just a precaution,” Shepherd replies.

“It's a human rights violation is what it is,” Dr. Piper snaps.

“You’re not putting a tracker in her,” John says.

“Captain, don't make this harder than it needs to be,” Shepherd says.

Kyle comes to stand next to you.

“Let’s head back, we don’t need to be here,” he says. You wipe your eyes. His hand wraps round your waist trying to pull you away. You hear John yelling as Kyle moves you away from the door. A tracker? You really are just livestock.

The rest of the day seems to move in slow motion. Kyle brings you food from the mess again. You’re hungry but you don’t want to eat. You know you have to though. No one has come back from the meeting yet, you’ve been waiting for an update all this time. You’re pushing pasta around your plate hoping that they will be able to come up with a plan that doesn’t involve you being handed over to the Professor. You’ve started to plan what you’re going to do if you’re not given a choice. You’re going to run. Anything is better than being back with the Professor. You put your fork down picking up the pudding cup. Johnny got you extra again, and he smiles at you as you open it, picking up the spoon.

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” you ask Johnny. He thinks for a second.

“I’d go home, back to good ol’ Scotland. I have a house in the highlands,” he says. Kyle chuckles coming over to the table.

“You could go literally anywhere and you pick to go home?” he asks.

“Well where would you go?” Johnny asks, crossing his arms.

“Australia, or New Zealand,” Kyle says. You eat your pudding, listening to their conversation. It’s caramel flavored today.

“That’s not that adventurous.”

“You said Scotland,” Kyle protests.

“Okay, okay, where would you go, that isn’t the UK or the commonwealth,” Johnny says, folding his arms and leaning back in the chair.

“I would like to travel around Africa,” Kyle says.

“Africa sounds good. Panama,” Johnny says. Kyle looks at him confused, shaking his head.

“Panama?” Kyle questions. You can’t help but laugh. They both turn to look at you. You cover your mouth with your hand. Shaking your head but you can’t stop laughing, you don’t know why the conversation has tickled you. You keep laughing. If you stop, you think you’ll start crying again. You like seeing them smile, today has been a long day and you could use a little joy. The sound of the front door closing makes you stop. You turn to see John and Simon walking in. You look back at the table spooning more pudding in your mouth.

“Shouldn’t you both be in the gym?” Simon asks. There’s silence but Johnny and Kyle seem to get the hint, getting up and heading to their rooms. John and Simon take their places at the table. You’re holding your breath expecting bad news.

“You’re not going back to the Professor, you’re staying here,” John says. You look between them, licking the rest of the pudding off the spoon.

“What’s going to happen then?” you ask, putting the spoon down.

“Not sure, but for now you don’t need to worry. Let’s just get through your heat, then we’ll go from there.” You smile. It doesn’t feel right but it’s something and you’re not going anywhere.

“You did well today, just get some rest, take it easy. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” You nod. You push the plate away looking between them both.

“You didn’t have to stick up for me today. I know it would be easier to give me back to the Professor. Thank you.”

“Who said it was easier to give you back to the Professor?” John asks. You look down at the table.

“We’re a pack right?” Simon says. It surprises you and you look up at him. You nod.

“Then we take care of the pack.” He looks over at John. You smile at Simon, he does think of you as part of the pack.

“We take care of the pack,” John says back to him. Simon looks at you and you keep smiling, nodding at him.

Simon walks into the lab. It’s dark but he can see the light from around the wall. He steps in, he can hear Dr. Montgomery mumbling. He peeks in her office. It’s empty, just lit up by a computer monitor.

“Christ,” she says. It sounds like a fist slamming the desk. Simon walks round the corner seeing her looking through a microscope.

“Everything alright?” he says trying not to spook her but she jumps anyway looking up from the microscope.

“I can’t do this!” she snaps, throwing the glass of whatever she was looking at at the wall. Simon almost jumps looking behind him at the broken glass. She runs her hand through her hair.

“Okay, calm down,” he says. She looks at him, rubbing her forehead. He’s never seen her this worked up before. She usually has such a calmness about her, level headed and in control. Right now she looks like she’s about to burst into tears.

“Sorry,” she says waving him away as she sits back down at the table looking at the computer monitor. He waits, watching her click through something before he walks round the table to join her. He doesn’t understand what she’s looking at but she’s muttering under her breath as she scans the images.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” he says. She takes her glasses off, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“He needs her, he needs the omega. I’ve never thought about it before but she’s special. He could have created another omega and continued his research without agreeing to work with the government.” She turns to look at him, but he doesn’t know what to say.

“There’s something about her, he needs her.”

“Maybe it’s just because he’s her father?” He suggests.

“He never loved her. He spent all those years torturing her. You know that.” She turns to look at him. He knows it’s a dig at him. She’s frustrated, and she’s taking it out on him. That’s okay, he's used to it. She sighs looking back over to the computer.

“If we can figure out why she’s important we can use it against him. She might even be the solution for all this, for the cure, for perfecting the formula…” She trails off clicking back through on the computer.

“You did a good job defending her today,” he says. She sighs, shaking her head.

“He knows where she is, it’s only a matter of time before he tries something,” she says.

“She’s safe here,” Simon says.

“She’s not safe anywhere. She never will be until the Professor is dead.” She says looking back in the microscope.

“Thought you were a pacifist,” he says. She looks over at him quickly before going back to the microscope.

“You and John saved her today, not me,” she sighs. “I could have never spoken to General Shepherd the way John did.”

“You did good, just take the compliment,” he sighs.

“I don’t need to be complimented Simon,” she says. He smiles.

“You’re a good person,” he says. She looks over at him.

“When you start believing that about yourself I’ll listen,” she says. A smile tugs on her lips. Simon scoffs—stubborn women.

“Want to go through this data with me?” she asks after a few seconds. Simon nods, sitting on a stool scooting over to her. She passes him some papers. He picks them up looking at them.

“More chromosomes?”

“It’s the formula, circle anything over 2. Turns out reverse engineering is going to be harder than we think,” she sighs.

“It’s never easy,” he says picking up a pen.

“No such thing as easy,” she replies.

You wake and you’re starving. You pull yourself out of bed, changing and rushing out of your room. You almost bump into Johnny as you’re still pulling your shoes on.

“Easy lass, where you going in such a hurry?” He smiles.

“Hungry, “ is all you say as you continue to the front door. You want to get to the mess, fill your plate with stacks of eggs and bacon and as many puddings as you can eat. You see John sitting at the table with a mug in one hand and a tablet in the other.

“Morning,” he says as you pass him.

“Morning,” you reply, rushing out the building. It feels like you can smell the food coming from the mess and it makes your mouth water. Johnny comes out behind you throwing his arm around your shoulder. He slows you down but as soon as you get into the mess your stomach is rumbling. It feels like you haven’t eaten in days. Everything smells and looks amazing, even things you haven’t tried yet. You get two plates filling them both up with a little bit of everything. Mostly eggs and thick slices of toast and butter. Johnny looks on in awe as you demolish both the plates then go back for more. The pudding is strawberry today and you manage to eat 3 before you finally feel satisfied.

“Is this because of your heat?” Johnny asks as you finish licking the pudding off the spoon. You nod.

“Is it going to be like this for every meal?” You shake your head, maybe you went a bit overboard. You'll have to sit here for a few minutes to let your stomach settle.

“Dr. Montgomery talked to us about your heat. Gave us a list of jobs we have to do for you and Price.”

“Like what?” you ask slowly sipping on your water.

“Making sure you eat and drink. Keeping John up to date with what's going on.”

“What is going on?” you ask.

“Well, we’re kind of just waiting to see what Shepherd says,” he says. You nod. So he’s still here, and who knows when he’ll leave. Suddenly you want to get back to the barracks. You get up throwing your tray in the pile as you both walk back. When you get in you can hear commotion in the hallway.

“How did they get the first bed in here?” Kyle asks, you and Johnny stick your heads round the corner seeing a bed frame sticking out of John’s room awkwardly.

“Christ, you need to turn it,” Johnny says, going to help them.

“We’ve tried that already.” Simon’s voice comes out of John’s room.

“Well clearly you’ve not done it the right way,” Johnny says, trying to pull the frame back.

“Watch it Soap!” Kyle shouts as the bed moves off the wall, almost hitting him in the head. You chuckle backing out the way.

“Teamwork!” John shouts from his office. You turn to look in the office, his door half open. He sees you looking and smiles. You take it as permission to walk in. He puts down whatever he's working on.

“You okay?” he asks. You nod remembering how quickly you left the building this morning.

“Sorry I rushed out this morning. I was hungry.” He smiles.

“It’s okay, if there is anything you need just let us know,” he says, you nod, hearing a bang coming from the room next door.

“New bed?” you ask him.

“Something like that,” he chuckles. “I was wondering if you would want to spend the evening together tonight? I can get the boys out and we could just relax, see where the night goes?” You blush, you’re pretty sure he’s trying to ask you for sex. You smile nodding at him.

“Great, it's a date.” He smiles leaning back in his chair. You can smell his alpha in the air. There’s a loud crash and some cursing. You watch John roll his eyes as he gets up out of his chair.You chuckle as he walks past you, and you follow him. You get distracted though seeing a hat hanging on a hook next to his jacket. You run your fingers over it. this would be perfect for your nest. You take it off the hook, it smells like John, it’s a wool beanie, soft as you bring it up to your nose. John walks back to his office making you jump.

“Can I keep this?” you ask, showing it to him.

“Sure,” he says, sounding a little confused. You hum, going past him. You need to put it in your nest, then maybe it will feel right. You make it into your room kneeling down next to your nest. You take your time trying to make it perfect. You don’t know how long you’re doing it for before you get up heading into Dr. Pipers room. You breathe in her scent. You don’t know what you want until you’re drawn to a scarf laid on the end of the bed. It’s silk. You run it through your fingers. You had no idea she had something like this. You take it out back to your nest ignoring Johnny as he calls you from the common room. It’s getting there. You smile pulling the pillows off of your bed to add to the pile. You follow your nose walking down the hallway. Johnny's room door is open, and you stand in the doorway for a few seconds. His room smells stronger than Dr. Pipers.

“Need something lass?” Johnny asks, coming up beside you. You walk into his room flaring your nostrils. You’re drawn to a shirt hanging over the back of his desk chair. You pick it up and bring it to your nose.

“Can I have this?” you ask turning to go back to your nest before you even hear him give an answer. He follows you watching as you rearrange your nest for what feels like the hundredth time today. It’s getting there. You stand back up turning to see Johnny in the doorway.

“Do you think Kyle will let me in his room?” Again your body moves before he’s had a chance to reply. You open his door standing in the doorway. Kyle sticks his head round the corner.

“What’s up?” he asks as you walk into his room.

“She’s collecting things. Putting them in her nest,” Johnny explains. They both wait in the doorway watching you looking round Kyle’s room. His is more organized than Johnny's. Your hands land on another scarf, this one is made of a rougher fabric though. You bring it up to your nose and smile. You leave the room without asking. You just want to get this perfect. You’re getting frustrated, it’s still not right. You stand up, you need something from Simon.

You look back at Johnny and now Kyle watching you, you walk past them over to Simon’s room. You can’t go in there, not without his permission. It’s an alpha’s domain. If you go in without him knowing and get your scent everywhere, he could get angry. You just stand there deciding on what to do. Johnny and Kyle stand next to you waiting. You should knock and ask him.

No, he doesn’t like you, he could say no. You want your nest to be finished but you don’t want to annoy Simon. You step back from his door heading back to your room closing the door behind you, and you crawl into your nest. It will have to do for now.

By the time the evening comes around, you’re strangely nervous. Everyone had left the building just as the sun was going down. It felt weird being alone. Simon left first, he didn’t say anything. Then Johnny and Kyle left an hour later joking about their temporary displacement and how long they can realistically stretch out a gym session. You felt embarrassed knowing you–or more John–was kicking them out so you could have sex. Although maybe it was for the best. When you’re in heat, they’re going to be around, helping even. This is different and that’s okay, that's the point.

“You ready?” John asks coming into the common room. You didn’t even hear him come out of his room. You nod getting up off the sofa, it feels so formal, you walk over to him, his hands wrap around your waist.

“Are you sure you still want to do this?” he asks. You nod looking up at him, in his deep blue eyes which look darker in the dim lighting. He looks tired as his hand comes up to your face, his thumb stroking your cheek. He leans down, planting his lips on yours. You relax into his kiss letting his hand run back down to your waist. His touch is nice, his hands warm as they map out your curves. You press up against him playing with his tongue as you make your way to his room. You’ve never been in his room before. You break from the kiss to look around. The double bed barely fits with the desk and built-in wardrobe taking up most of the space. Other than the smaller window the layout is almost identical to your room.

“They let you have a double bed.” You smile. “It’s just two single beds pressed together,” he shrugs, but you don’t care. You turn back to look at him, and there’s a glint in his eyes. You kiss him. He presses his tongue back into your mouth, you let it drag across yours. The smell of vanilla fills the room, and the musky scent of his arousal makes shivers run down your spine. His hands grip your waist, his thumbs dipping under your waistband.

“You are beautiful,” he says, breaking away from the kiss, his eyes soaking you in.

“Such a good omega,” he breathes, and you blush at the praise, which makes that warm knot come back in your stomach. You smile letting your scent fill the room. You want to let him know you’re ready, ready for him. He guides you over to the bed gently pressing you to sit down, he breaks away from the kiss.

“John, be gentle.”

“Of course,” his voice is low, humming in your ears. It sends vibrations down your spine. He sits on the bed next to you, his hands traveling up your thighs. You’re not really sure what you’re supposed to do—be a good omega just lie there. And keep calm. If he senses you’re worried or nervous he might stop, and you don’t want that. His hand squeezes your thigh, his other hand resting on the top of your back.

“Relax,” he says, and you drop your shoulders and let out a breath. “We can stop any time you want, you just have to say okay?” You nod, and he smiles, kissing you on the forehead before maneuvering your body so you’re both laid on the bed. His hand rests on your stomach as you lean in to kiss him again. This time you really do relax, letting the smell of vanilla fill your head to the point of making you dizzy. His hand slips under your shirt, it's warm and firm against your skin as he moves up to your breasts. His thumb brushes over your nipple causing you to moan into the kiss. He breaks away smiling.

“When was the last time you had someone just take care of you?” You frown at the question, your brain trying to think as he continues to rub circles with his thumb.

“Never,” you say. You don’t know why you feel embarrassed about that. He hums.

“That’s going to change, from now on it’s all about what you want. Because that’s what my omega deserves, to be taken care of.” You nod at his words, not quite knowing what to say. There's a tingle running through your body now, something you haven’t felt in years, you want to chase it. You go to kiss him again but instead he moves, his hands gripping the bottom of your shirt. You raise your arms letting him take it off over your head. The cool air hits your bare chest making goosebumps form.

You watch as John sits up pulling his own shirt over his head. He’s well built, of course he is, he’s a soldier. He’s got a nice stock of body hair too. That you expected. You wait till he’s done, soaking him in as he throws his shirt over the end of the bed. You smile as his eyes look over you, his hand coming down to your chest as he runs it over your body. You’re glad you decided to wear something comfy and forgo the bra, it makes it easier for John as his hand travels down to your abdomen. There's an ache throbbing between your legs as he holds his hand firm, looking at you. You smile at him and he leans down to kiss you.

The kiss is distracting, his hot tongue playing with yours as he slips his hand in your underwear. You spread your legs for him without even thinking. He goes slow, though, almost like he’s testing the waters. His fingers are warm as he pushes one between your folds. The brief contact with your clit makes you gasp pulling away from his mouth.

“So sensitive,” he says, his fingers pressing against your entrance. You nod blindly as he gathers some of your slick on his fingers then drags them back up, pressing them onto your clit. You moan as his fingers rub little circles. It feels like it’s the most contact you’ve had in years. Your head tips back as the scent of his arousal fills the room again. Of course you’re sensitive, you're in preheat, it’s not going to take you long to come especially like this, his rough fingers making steady movements, slowly building up speed. He knows what he’s doing, that's for sure. Your back arches as you chase the peak, closing your eyes and gripping the bedding as the orgasm washes over you.

It comes in waves, pulsating all through your body. It’s completely different to the ones you’ve had during your heat. It feels almost fulfilling, rushing through your body making your clit throb as John works you through it, slowing his movements until you relax back down on the bed. You open your eyes looking over at him as your hazy brain catches up with you. Your scent is thick in the air, you see his pupils dilate as he removes his hand leaning down to kiss you.

“That was amazing,” you breathe as he pulls away. He smiles, you can’t help your eyes traveling down to his crotch. There’s a prominent bulge there now, it must be uncomfortable.

“Not yet,” he says, pulling your chin back up so you meet his eyeline. “I want to make you cum at least one more time before that.” Holy shit. You nod blindly as he moves off the end of the bed. He stands up undoing his belt, you prop yourself up so you can get a better look. The only light in the room is coming from the bedside table light next to you. The shadows make his muscles look more defined, as he drops his pants. He stands there naked at the end of the bed. He’s big, or maybe it’s just the shadows. You’re trying not to gawk at him as he runs his hand down the shaft pulling back his foreskin to reveal the red hot tip.

Your mouth goes dry. He leans over you, grabbing the waistband of your sweat pants. You shuffle and bring your legs together so he can pull both your underwear and pants off in one go. He’s definitely done that before. You lay back down feeling slightly embarrassed, what if he doesn’t like what he sees? There seems to be no complaints as his hands grip your waist pulling you down the bed slightly. You see him bend down at the end of the bed, and he takes your legs putting them over his shoulders. You can feel his hot breath on your soaked cunt.

“You know what to do if you want me to stop,” he says. Even the feel of his breath is enough to have shivers running through you.

“I know,” you say, swallowing any nerves you had away. He hums, shifting his body one last time before his tongue slips through your folds. It’s like instant fireworks running through your body, you’re almost shaking, your legs squeezing his head. He chuckles which doesn’t make things easier, vibrations now running through to your core. You relax your legs arching your back instead, one of his hands comes to your waist while you feel the other slip between your legs. His mouth leaves your clit and you whine from the loss of contact.

“Being needy now, hm?” he asks. You can hear the grin on his face as your brain tries to comprehend the words.

“Yes,” is all you manage, you hear him chuckle again as his fingers brush your entrance. You moan from the contact as he inserts two fingers into you. You didn't even think about how thick they were until now that they’re inside you and you're clenching around them.

“Relax,” he breathes. You barely have time to react before his mouth is back on your clit. It’s a whole new sensation now, his fingers thrusting inside you in time with the strokes of his tongue. You’re trying to keep still for him, your hands gripping the bedding as he slowly builds up speed. Even now he’s so gentle, using just the right amount of pressure to build you up to the peak slowly. You’ve never felt like this before. You’ve never had sex like this before. Maybe Dr. Piper was right and there is some romance involved.

Suddenly he changes his pace, his fingers curling up and hitting that oh-so-sweet spot inside you as his tongue presses down on you harder. Your hand flys down to his head, your fingers lacing through his hair.

“John—” You breathe, trying not to clench your legs around his head again. He doesn't stop, and you clench round his fingers as the second orgasm hits you. You let go of his hair so you don’t pull it, panting as he keeps going until your legs start twitching. You feel almost empty as his mouth and fingers leave you. You prop yourself up so you can see him. You can see his fingers glistening in light covered in your slick. You smile at him as his eyes meet yours. He brings the fingers to his mouth sucking them clean. Why is that the hottest thing he’s done tonight?

“You okay?” he asks. Your brain is fuzzy, overwhelmed with the scents and the multiple orgasms. You nod, and he smiles. He climbs back into the bed, his body over yours. He leans down to kiss you, and you can taste yourself on him, his lips puffy as he gently presses his tongue into your mouth. You moan as the leathery smell of his arousal hits your nose. He breaks away, you see his eyes glossed over. You wrap your arms around his neck pushing your fingers through the hair at the base of his skull.

You press your thumbs gently on his scent gland, and he almost purrs as you do it, moving his body to a more comfortable position. He moves one of his hands down pressing his fingers on your clit then down to your entrance. For once you’re lucky you’re in preheat. There’s plenty of slick for him to work with. He gathers some on his fingers before moving and lining himself up with your entrance. You’re suddenly nervous, he looks big. He’s an alpha, they're always big, at least that’s what you’ve been told.

“I’ll be gentle,” he says, still nudging your entrance. You nod, you trust him. “Just relax.” You’re trying, it’s easier said than done. You smile at him as he pushes inside you. It takes your breath away, you feel like your lungs have just been emptied. He is big, bigger than anyone you’ve been with before. He rests there for a second moving his hand away and sucking in breath of air. You clench around him which makes him moan, a deep moan from the back of his throat that has goosebumps rising on the back of your neck. You relax for him, letting him get used to your body.

“Okay?” he asks, looking at you. You smile and nod. He reaches down to kiss you as his hips start thrusting. It takes a few seconds for you to get used to it but before you know it you’re panting into his ear. There is nothing going on in your brain now, your body moves with him as he whispers in your ear, his voice low, vibrating as he tells you how much of a good omega you are for him. With each thrust it feels like he’s going quicker, hitting you deeper. It burns but in a good way as he’s stretching you out, hitting a deep spot inside you that has you moaning into his neck.

You don’t know how long you’re going to last. You clench around him in an attempt to slow your drive to the edge down. It feels too good and you don’t want it to stop. He moans and pants in your ear which make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. You wish he could claim you now, then you would be his, all his. The thought makes you shiver, tightening around him as your hands grip his hair.

“I know, I know you’re close,” he says between breaths. “Just cum for me, it’s okay.”

It’s like music to your ears. Your brain doesn’t comprehend it but your body does, moaning out his name as you come, clenching around him. His thrusts slow as the smell of his alpha fills your nose. It makes you dizzy, all you can focus on is his throbbing cock inside you. Maybe he’ll knot you, maybe he won’t be able to help it. He doesn’t though after a few seconds of panting his breathing goes back to normal and you feel him pull out of you. You feel empty all of a sudden, he lays down on the bed next to you turning and propping himself up on his elbow so he can look at you.

There’s a chill in the air now as you come down from the high. You look at him and he smiles. You wonder what it’s going to be like when you’re in heat. Will he be as gentle? Probably not. You smile back at him as his thumb comes up to stroke your cheek.

“Was it good?” you ask, feeling self conscious all of a sudden.

“Amazing,” he chuckles, and it makes you blush. He wraps his arms around you pulling you up against his chest. You can hear his heartbeat as you yawn. Your body feels heavy, eyes tired. You let out a long breath, the smell of leather and wood is heavy in the air. The smell of a satisfied alpha. You did that, you satisfied your alpha. You close your eyes, relaxing up against him. You don’t know how long it’s been but you feel like you’re just about to fall asleep when he moves. You open your eyes watching as he goes into his wardrobe.

“Have you ever had a girlfriend?” you ask, sleepy.

“A few. It’s hard to keep steady relationships when you travel so much,” he says. You watch as he pulls on boxers and a shirt. He comes over with a towel in his hands, you’re not sure what he wants but then you feel the slick between your legs, taking the towel from him.

“Want me to get you some clean clothes?” You sit up looking round the room. You shake your head, you put fresh clothes on a few hours ago after you spend 40 minutes scrubbing your body within an inch of its life in the shower. He walks round the room and collects your clothes as you swing your legs out the bed, throwing the towel in what you hope is a pile of dirties.

“You can stay if you want?” he says. You look up at him smiling.

“Yeah, that would be nice,” you say. He holds his hand out, and you take it, getting dressed. You skip the sweatpants, you’ll be too hot, especially with another person in the bed. He stands aside waiting for you to get into the side of the bed pressed up against the wall. You climb in, pulling the duvet over you.

He gets in and before you have a chance to lay down properly his arms are already around you pulling your back up against his chest. He’s warm as he nuzzles his face in your neck squeezing you in his arms like he’s worried you’ll disappear. You close your eyes again, relaxing into him. Your ears prick up when you hear the door to the building open. They must be back from killing time wherever they are.

“John, promise me you won’t let anything bad happen,” you sigh, your eyes heavy again.

“I promise,” he replies, kissing your neck. You let yourself believe him. At least you’re not going back to the Professor, and that’s all that matters. John will keep you safe, you know he will.

——————————

John can’t sleep. It didn’t take long for you to pass out in his arms. His head is too distracted though, too much going on too much to think about. Maybe he needs a break, maybe this heat is a good thing. He’ll get to spend a week away from the responsibilities. He should get up, stretch his legs, see if there’s any news from Shepherd. He waits, watching you for at least a few more minutes. Dr. Montgomery told him you needed to keep a low stress level to be able to have a smooth heat.

Now you’re in preheat, it’s even more important you keep you calm. It’s easier said than done, especially with Shepherd still being on the base. John takes his time, slowly slipping out the bed. At one point you murmur reaching out for him. He guides your hand to a pillow as he shuffles out of the bed. His eyes hardly leave you as he moves out the room as quietly as he can.

He leaves the door open slightly going into his office. He walks over to his desk, turning the light on and sitting down. When the PC screen comes on he sees the time, just after midnight. It’s a new day, another long day. He opens the drawer in his desk looking at the stack of paperwork he hasn’t had time or energy to go through. There’s a knock at the door, he doesn’t have time to answer before the door is opened.

“Got a minute?” Kyle says as he walks through the door. John smiles nodding at him. He leans back in his chair as Kyle walks round the desk behind him. His hands rest on his shoulders, pushing his thumbs into John’s shoulder blades.

“How’s things?” Kyle asks. John sighs, relaxing into the familiar feeling of his sergeant's hands on him. He knows Johnny has been taking care of Simon, but he hasn’t been able to find time for Kyle since they moved to Washington and now with the heat coming up, he’s not going to have time for much else.

“I cannot wait for Shepherd to be gone,” John sighs. Kyle hums in agreement.

“How is she?” Kyle asks after a few seconds.

“She’s fine.”

“You’re tense,” Kyle says. “You need to take time for yourself.”

“I will.”

“Yeah? When we’re on a plane back to the UK?” Kyle tuts.

“I’ll find time,” he sighs. He knows it’s a lie but he doesn’t need Kyle worrying. His hands move down to his arms, squeezing his biceps.

“Are you ready for her heat?” Kyle asks.

“As much as I can be. Dr. Montgomery keeps saying my body will know what to do,” he sighs. He trusts her, he just wishes she could give him more information. He knows he has to have a chat with Simon at some point. He needs to keep him busy, that's what Dr. Montgomery said, keep him busy, keep him distracted. Seems like the heat might be the hardest for Simon, never mind Johnny and Kyle who have to take up the role of caretakers.

“Did you pick up the food from the kitchen?” John asks.

“We’re going to get it tomorrow,” Kyle says, his hands moving back to his shoulders. He rolls his thumbs over his shoulder blades.

“Think Shepherd’s going to try anything?” Kyle asks.

“I don’t know. I hope not, the last thing we need is to be shipped off anywhere right now,” John sighs.

“What about Professor Hale?”

“I don’t know. Now that he’s working for the government, that complicates things. Unless we’re all looking to get court-martialed, we might just have to play along with his little games.”

“Do we know where he is?”

“No, they’re keeping that pretty confidential.”

“Think Laswell can find him?” Kyle asks.

“No idea. It’s not easy for her to do anything right now with Shepherd breathing down her neck.” John sighs, he’s tired. He wants to get back into bed with you.

“Go get some sleep Garrick, it’s going to be a long week,“ John says, Kyle’s hands leave his shoulders and he walks back round the desk.

“You too Cap, no use to anyone if you’re exhausted,” Kyle says as he leaves. John smiles. He waits until he hears Kyle’s door close before turning the monitor off and leaving the office. When he walks back into his room, you’re still sleeping cuddling up against the pillow he left you with.

Your scent is strong in the air, a mix of strawberries and vanilla. You look so peaceful, he almost doesn’t want to get back into bed and disturb you. His phone buzzes in his pocket, he takes it out seeing Kate’s name flash. He leaves the room heading back into his office and closing the door before picking up the phone.

“I found him, John,” she says. He lets himself smile for a second,

“The Professor?” he confirms.

“Yes, but you’re not going to like it,” she sighs.

“Where?”

“Seattle.”

Next Dividers by Plum98 & gild-ui rememberwren who proof read and eddited the longest chapter I have ever written. <3

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teddypines · 2 days

Text

To Scotland, (the aftermath part 2)

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Summary: The team made it to Scotland in one piece, getting the warmest welcome from the MacTavish family. It was time for healing, some fun and little outings.

Note: Soap's place of birth and his parents names are made up by me and my friend, because i couldn't find anything canon, so headcanon it is. Also part 3 will get more little outings and maybe more.

The aftermath part 1

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Location: Scotland, Stirling, countryside near Drip Bridge. Soap’s parents home.

Date: November 4th 20XX

Soap’s mom, Fiona, walked down the porch as Johnny walked over to the house with some of the bag’s. “Johnny, sweetpea!” She yelled while opening her arms for a hug. “Hey, mom.” Johnny answered once he let go of the bag’s and was safely in his mothers arms. “Missed ya, Mom.”

John walked over to Johnny and his mother with the other bag’s while Simon and Y/N helped Kyle walk after them. “OWh and look at them, you sure picked them out didn’t ya.” Fiona marveled as she looked at the others. “You three sure are handsome and you dear are an angel.” Fiona complimented the other four. “Now come in, come in, you all are probably tired from your trip here and everything that happened before. I have tea and cake inside.”

After Fiona got to hug and greet everyone and the bags were all inside and taken care of. Everyone gathered into the living room, Johnny quickly sat down in his usual spot before helping his mom with tea and the cake. Fiona made her famous apple pie for everyone, wanting them to feel welcome and loved.

Kyle was still a bit out of it, the pain meds were less heavy but his mind was still a bit foggy. He lay his head onto Y/N’s shoulder as he sat between her and John, nice and safe as the others talked over tea. Of course Soap’s dad, Callum, wanted to know everything about the mission, the escape and what happened at the safehouse. He didn’t get everything he wanted to know, but he got what the team was allowed to tell family and loved ones.

<-------------------------------------------------->

After tea and cake everyone took it easy. John took Kyle upstairs for a nap, because the poor man really needed one. Simon joined Kyle after about 45 minutes. He needed a nap too. Fiona went to work on dinner, wanting to make a feast for her son’s safe return home and to celebrate his loved ones. Y/N went with Johnny and his dad to check on the animals and John started helping Fiona after a while of letting Kate know everything was okay in Scotland.

Of course Y/N adored the sheep the MacTavish family kept. They were all so fluffy and adorable, like little walking clouds. Johnny was lucky when he caught the moment of Y/N holding one of the younger sheep in her lap on camera. Saving it for a rainy day and sharing it with the boy’s in their private group chat. Callum only loved it that Johnny’s partner loved the sheep just as much as he and his family did.

Monty, the barn cat, got the same kind of attention from Y/N as the sheep did. But Monty got the privilege of going back inside with Johnny, Callum and Y/N, while the sheep had to stay inside the barn for the night.

Dinner was nice and homey. It did bother Simon a bit and even John was struggling with this loving and warm feeling a parent could give. Fiona’s food was delicious as always and to her own delight there were no leftovers. Y/N helped Johnny with the dishes as the others went to do their own thing again until tea time.

<-------------------------------------------------->

The moment Johnny’s head hit his pillow something felt wrong. He was so used to having his loved ones in the same big bed as him when they were out of the field. Yet now he lay alone in his childhood bed, it just felt wrong. Even Though the others where in the two bedrooms across the hall, he missed them. Their warmth and closeness. Johnny was debating on going to one of the bedrooms to sleep there, but he was shaken out of his thoughts when his door opened.

“Johnny?” Y/N whisper asked once she got closer to the bed. Johnny slowly nodded his head. “What is it, bonnie?” “I can’t sleep… Kyle moved to sleep with Simon and John and I feel so cold without one of you next to me.” Y/N answered. Johnny quickly opened the covers for Y/N and let her crawl into bed with him. They didn’t need words to understand what they both needed. And thus Johnny rubbed Y/N’s thigh as she hugged him. The two of them fell asleep like this, both not so cold and lonely anymore.

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Location: Scotland, Stirling, countryside near Drip Bridge. Soap’s parents home.

Date: November 5th 20XX

Today was an easy chill day. The most everyone did was the necessary things, like taking care of Kyle and the animals. There was time to take it easy and to not worry about doing everything in a short time limit. It was nice, Johnny updated his journal. Simon was watching tv with Kyle and John was taking an old man nap with Callum. Y/N took the time to call her family. Telling them she is safe in Scotland and that Kyle and Simon are getting better by the day.

Later that day, around tea time Johnny was looking through the list of dvd’s. “Mom? Do you still have that one movie? You know the one used to love as a kid?” Johnny asked as he tried to find something to watch. “The one with the dog’s or the one with Hugh Jackman as a rat?” Fiona answered from the kitchen. “The one with the dog, but the scary one.” Johnny answered. This interaction confused John a bit, but he also loved it. He knew Johnny could communicate in a nonsensical way that made sense at the same time, but he never saw it happen like this. He saw it happen with Simon and Y/N, but that was different from this with Fiona.

“You mean the one with the penguin?” Callum asked Johnny as he looked back at his son. “What? No, it was a chicken right? Right?” Johnny asked, now even more confused than before. “It was a penguin, he just looked like a chicken because of the glove on his head and you are looking for 'Wallace and Gromit in the wrong trouser.'” Y/N answered, not even looking up from her phone. “And no, I did not just google this.”

Johnny slowly nodded his head. “Yeah.. That one.” He responded before searching for it in the dvd stand. “How? How do you know that is the film I was talking about?” Johnny asked after a long moment of silence. “I watched those too as a kid.” Y/N answered with a shrug. She shifted a bit, making Kyle groan. “Sorry, love.” Y/N whispered to Kyle. “Besides it’s a national treasure, not knowing Wallace and Gromit is like not knowing the queen. And not everyone on the team had a shittie childhood, Johnny. No offense Simon.” Simon just nodded. “None taken”

“Sooo… What is this I hear about Hugh Jackman as a rat?” Kyle asked as he shifted his head against Y/N’s thigh. Johnny turned red as Kyle asked him about the Hugh Jackman rat. Fiona could only smile as she walked into the living room with a tray and everything for tea and a movie on it. “Well, Kyle, Somewhere in the early years of Johnny’s life he watched an animated movie about sewer rats with the male lead being voiced by Hugh Jackman. My baby boy had to watch the movie every weekend and once he found out Hugh Jackman was in it he had to watch every movie with him in it. Some might say Johnny boy had a crush and a gay awakening.” Johnny whined in embracement. “Mom~ Stop! They don’t need to know about that” Johnny said only for everyone to laugh at his reaction.

“I get it, Johnny boy. Mister Hughs Jacked Man is very nice to look at.” Y/N said as she started to run her hand through Kyle’s hair. “Yeah and he was totally hot in Australia, the movie not the country.” Kyle agreed. “And in X-Men.”

“Yeah, yeah I get it, just stop!” Johnny whined and hid his head in his hand. Fiona could only laugh. “Owh and don’t forget your little crush on that Legolas guy.”

“No! mom! Shush! Don’t tell them about that!”

“Legolas, hu?” John asked with a teasing smirk on his face. “He is a very handsome man, elf, okay?!” Johnny answered. “No no, you're right, Legolas is very handsome.” John reassured Johnny. “I really liked that Aragorn fella,” Simon commented to which Fiona nodded. “I agree with that, Aragorn is a good man.”

And so the rest of the evening was spent talking about celebrity men, and women and the plants the team had for the next day.

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Location: Scotland, Stirling, Stirling castle.

Date: November 6th 20XX

Y/N had the little map and info brochure in hand as John paid for the tickets. It was like Y/N was the mom with how much she had to look up to make sure Johnny and Simon didn’t get into any trouble with the other people that were walking around the castle. Kyle looked over Y/N’s shoulder and smiled. “Can we go there after looking around the castle?” He asked as he pointed at a little café icon on the map. “Yeah, sure, wait… You really want to go to the Unicorn Café?” Y/N asked to which Kyle nodded. “Yes, besides it’s the only café they have here.”

Simon and Johnny gathered around Y/N and Kyle. “We are going into the little shop’s right?” Johnny asked. “Of course we are.” John answered as he came back with the tickets. “Now, one rule boy’s. Do not touch it if it doesn’t say you can touch it.” The boy’s nodded their heads and Y/N giggled. “So I can touch everything?” she asked with a cheeky smile on her face. “Oi, don’t get smart with me Princess.” John warned before taking Y/N’s hand and leading her to the castle like she was it’s queen.

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