#and then. i can start making miniatures for my niece.

[bukuoshin]

It just takes two years of "I'll do it later"-s before I finally do it. :3c

[requiemforthepoets]

babysitting duties 𖦹 LN4

PAIRINGS: lando norris x female!reader

SUMMARY: who knew that babysitting your four-year-old niece would make you feel things and imagine a life with lando, with a kid and family of your own.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: all these lando interactions with kids in my fyp got me, so here you go. hope you enjoy this one! :)

REMINDERS: this is purely fiction, the way how the character is portrayed in my story does not reflect the person that is portraying my character in real life. always separate fiction from reality, and do not repost or copy my work in any way.

WORD COUNT: 1.2k

WARNINGS: typos, photos grabbed from pinterest, inaccuracies of the photos, and baby fever

It was a busy race week, but it didn’t stop you and Lando from taking on a new role as temporary guardians. Your brother and his wife are currently away for a business trip, and flew their four-year-old daughter, Chloé, to Monaco to be in your care for three weeks, so that’s basically a whole month with her. Chloé had quickly become attached to both of you, especially Lando, who had easily embraced the added responsibility very proudly. Now, she’s living with you both in your shared apartment in Monaco, and despite the busyness of the race week, she was certainly coming along for the ride.

You entered the paddock hand in hand with Lando, while he was carrying Chloé in his arms, balancing her weight effortlessly as if he’d done it a hundred times before, with her tiny arms wrapped around his neck. Chloé, with her bright eyes and boundless curiosity, had become an instant star amongst the paddock. She was also dressed to coordinate with you and Lando, with miniature personalized ear defenders completing the whole ensemble. You couldn’t help but laugh at how effortlessly she charmed everyone around her.

“She looks so much like you two!” Someone exclaimed as you passed by. Lando quickly gave you a playful nudge.

“Well, we do make a good-looking family, don’t we?” He said cheekily, sending you a wink. You couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of rolling with the misconception that Chloé was your daughter suddenly became amusing for you.

“You two look like a proper happy family, eh?” Carlos teased as he approached, grinning mischievously, and giving Chloé a high five.

Lando chuckled, glancing over at you with a playful smirk. “Maybe we should let them think that, huh?”

You playfully rolled your eyes and chuckled, “you really have a knack for stirring the media, don’t you?”

“Anything to keep them in their toes.” You all laughed. “Let them have their field day. They want headlines, then let them eat this up.” He added.

Chloé, oblivious to the whole conversation that is going on, tapped Lando’s shoulder gently. “Can we see the cars now, Uncle Lan?”

He ruffled her hair and pressed a soft kiss on her temple. “In a bit, Koko. First, we have to make sure that Uncle Lan wins this weekend.” She giggled, her innocent laughter melting the hearts of the people around.

As the three of you continued through the paddock, other drivers couldn’t help but stop and coo at her and with Lando joking that Chloé should call Fernando ‘grandpa nando’, in which the older didn’t mind, and find Chloé a very wonderful kid. She even got Oscar to play with her, pretending to race alongside her as she ran towards him, he got Chloé to behave like a car, and squealed so hard with laughter, clearly enjoying every second of her playful interaction with Oscar.

Then Max came over, pretending to be serious but a soft smile was threatening to break through. “I didn’t know you two had a secret kid. When did this happen?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “She’s my niece. But for the thrill of it, let’s start some rumors.”

“Could’ve fooled me! You three looked like a picture-perfect family.” Max smirked, “she’s too cute not to be yours, mate.”

“See?” Lando chimed in, nudging you lightly with his elbow. “Told you, we’re a great team. Maybe we should borrow her every race weekend, love. Just to keep everyone guessing.”

“Yeah and I’ll get an earful from my brother in return for making her miss Kumon just to attend a race weekend with us.” You laughed, shaking your head.

Chloé had asked to be brought down from Lando’s arms, wanting to walk, and now, she’s swinging between the two of you, and you couldn’t help but smile at the way Lando looked at her. Lando had always been really great with kids, but seeing him in this light, with Chloé, felt like something deeper. There was an unspoken ease in the way he handled it, as if it wasn’t a huge leap from where you both already were.

Just then, Charles strolled over, taking a good look at the three of you. “A mini Norris already?! This weekend just got more interesting, huh?”

Before you could reply, Chloé pointed at Charles’s shirt. “I like your red shirt!” She announced, earning a laugh from everyone around.

Charles knelt down to her height, his eyes lighting up with genuine affection. “Thank you! I like your ear defenders. Maybe one day you’ll be in the car too?”

She beamed, nodding with all the confidence in the world. “I will! And I’ll beat Uncle Lan!”

You all burst into laughter, and Lando playfully feigned shock. “Whoa, hold on! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Koko is really adorable.” Charles smiled as he put out a hand for Chloé to high five, “can Uncle Charles get a hug?” She giggled and ran up to Charles, her tiny arms wrapping around his neck.

You smiled, watching the scene unfold, heart full from how she effortlessly fit into this world. It was sweet, chaotic, and somehow, everything just felt right. But honestly, all of this is making you feel a little bit of a baby fever.

The day continued on and more drivers stopped by to say hello, each of them being enamored. Even some of the team staff were swooning over how adorable she runs towards Lando and climbing to sit on his lap during brief moments in the garage. Lando even gently placed her inside his car, much to her delight. Chloé’s eyes sparkled as she explored the cockpit and touched the steering wheel, her giggles echoing through the garage. The whole team watched it all with fond smiles, exchanging knowing looks.

Chloé continued to win everyone’s heart, even joining Lando in signing autographs, and each time a fan got their merch signed, she’d beam proudly and say, “I helped!”

At one point, Toto passed by, taking one look at the three of you and shaking his head with an amused grin. “You two should just get married already and have one of your own. This one suits you.”

You blushed, the thought of you and Lando getting married and having a child of your own. Stammering out a response as Lando laughed beside you. “Oh no, we’re…we’re just babysitting.”

“Sure,” Toto said with a knowing wink before walking away.

By the time the day came to an end, Chloé had fallen asleep in Lando’s arms, her tiny body curled up against him. You glanced over and saw how tenderly Lando held her, stroking her hair softly. Witnessing this scene had made your heart flutter and melt.

“You know,” Lando said quietly, not wanting to wake her, “if this is what having a family looks like…I wouldn’t mind having one someday with you.”

You smiled, feeling your chest tighten with a mix of emotions. “Someday,” you agreed, leaning in to kiss him on the lips and him meeting you halfway.

For now, this was enough—an amazing race weekend, Chloé, and the unexpected joy of playing family for a little while. It was sweet, it was funny, and it was everything you didn’t know that you needed.

yourusername

liked by landonorris, yourbrother, yoursisterinlaw, oscarpiastri, lilyzneimer and 67,938 others

tagged: landonorris

yourusername when koko is in monaco ✨ on babysitting duties while the parents are away! yourbrother & yoursisterinlaw 💗

view all comments

username1 GIRL DAD LANDO!!!!

username2 not her decking lando’s car with stickers 😭😭😭😭

yourbrother so the little monster went karting, huh ♥︎ liked by the author

yourusername yep, she has been BEGGING landonorris 😭😭😭 you might have a future racer in your hands soon 😆

yourbrother should we start saving now? 🙂‍↕️

landonorris oh you should, mate. koko’s got some talent

yourbrother 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

yourusername oh come on u drama queen, not like you can’t afford it 🤥 also lan asked if koko can join us every race weekend 😂

yourbrother ?????? make your own ?????? she can’t miss her kumon

landonorris what do you say, love? 🤩

yourusername marry me first??? 🤨

landonorris won’t be a problem 🤪

yourbrother already asking her to marry you, when you haven’t gotten our blessing yet? 🤨

landonorris working on it!

yourusername 😭😭😭😭

landonorris she’s (and our future kids) the only one allowed that can deck my car in stickers ♥︎ liked by the author

yourusername already thinking about the future, huh 🤨🤨🤨🤨

landonorris ofc??? you’re the only one that i want to spend my life with, woman

yourusername aw, lan 🥺 i love you 🫶🏻

landonorris i love you more 🤪❤️

username3 not this post and all the comments calling me single 😔

username4 HER KART NUMBER IS LANDO’S NUMBER TOO 🥹🥹🥹

lilyzneimer it was a pleasure meeting koko! she’s such a pure sweetheart! 🥺💗 ♥︎ liked by the author

yourusername she’s happy to meet you too, lils! when we got home, she asked me when can she meet you again 😆

lilyzneimer omggg what a sweet baby! i’ll visit you guys in monaco before she heads back home to france! ❤️

yourusername ofc! just beep me anytime 🫶🏻

username5 SHES DEFINITELY THE STAR OF THE PADDOCK!!!!

yoursisterinlaw thank you so much for babysitting koko, you’re the best! 🥺❤️ ♥︎ liked by the author

yourusername anytime!!! she’s such an angel ❤️

yoursisterinlaw you and lando are both life savers! i hope she’s not giving you a hard time

yourusername oh nooo, she’s such a good kid!

yoursisterinlaw thank you! we’ll see you by the end of the month ❤️ ♥︎ liked by the author

username6 oh i can already imagine the moment y/n and lando have their own kids 🥹

username7 lando is born to be a girl dad!!!!

username8 he’s gonna be the BEST dad

username9 NOT OSCAR MAKING KOKO ACT LIKE A CAR LMFAO THE EXACT SAME THING HE DID BACK WHEN HE WAS A KID 😭😭😭

username10 y/n and lando being the fun and cool aunt and uncle 🥺🫶🏻

username11 HER PUTTING STICKERS ON LANDO’S CAR IS SO CUTE WTF 😭

username12 lando with kids is definitely top tier, chef’s kiss

[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 26/?

Prev | Next

The first back-to-school meeting happened a month after school started. Jason decided to attend. He wanted to be on top of Danny’s education and ensure everything went smoothly. Parents were encouraged to bring in snacks for the kids.

Jason made chocolate chip cookies. He even made gluten and nut-free ones in case any of the kiddos were allergic.

He entered the school with the cookies and sat them on a table, making sure the labels were correct. Danny ran off to find his friends. Jason smiled. He was glad his son had people to talk to.

Jason turned around and came face-to-face with a blond woman. She was in her mid-thirties and wore a prim suit. She wore a pearl necklace. Three more women dressed similarly were behind her. She looked Jason up and down. He had worn his best pair of jeans, a clean T-shirt, and a leather jacket.

“Hello, my name is Avril Dubois. I’m the president of the PTA. I’ve never seen you here before, are you lost?”

Jason gritted his teeth at her question while she and her cronies laughed.

“No, my name is Jason Nightingale. I’m Danny Nightingale’s father. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said while putting out his hand. Avril ignored the hand and gave a look of distaste at it. So what if he still had grease under his nails? Her ignoring the handshake was rude.

“Right, I’ve heard about Danny from my little girl. Where’s his mother,” she asked while looking around. Wow, nosy much?

“She died while giving birth to him. It’s just me, Danny, my sister, and my niece.”

“That poor boy doesn’t know the touch of a mother’s love. It must be hard for you, especially since you’re so…young,” she sneered at the word young.

Judgmental to boot, she was the whole package.

“Don’t worry, I give my son enough love for two people.”

“Still, being a single must be tough. Well, I’ll talk to you later. Or maybe not. Ta-ta.”

Jason was glad to see the women leave.

He looked for Danny and saw him talking to a group of kids. Jason smiled once more, feeling how happy Danny was, which made Jason feel so much better about his decision to send him to school.

“Say goodbye for now, Danny. The assembly is about to start, then we can go to your classroom, and you can show me around.”

“Okay, daddy. Bye guys, see you later.”

Jason sat through the meeting assembly. It was a bit boring, but he was glad to see how the school operated. Danny was busy playing with a 6x6 Rubik’s cube. After the assembly, Jason went to Danny’s classroom, where he officially met the teacher.

Mrs. Duma was a friendly, middle-aged teacher who had been teaching for seventeen years. She spoke about how well-behaved and smart Danny was. His best subject was math, and Mrs. Duma had to print 12th-grade-level worksheets to keep him entertained. Well, that made sense.

 Jason couldn’t help but preen at the compliments Danny got.

Then Avril Dubois came up.

“Mrs. Duma, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Mrs. Dubois, what a pleasure to have you as a parent to one of my students again,” Mrs. Duma said through clenched teeth. Aw, it wasn’t just Jason who didn’t like the woman.”

“Excuse me,” Jason left the two women and looked for his little boy. He was showing a little blonde girl with glasses his Rubik's cube.

“Daddy, this is my friend, Sarah.”

“Hello, Sarah, I’m Danny’s dad, Jason.”

“Hi,” the little girl said shyly.

“Wanna see our drawings, daddy?”

Danny showed Jason his paintings. They were good. Then he showed them the models he had built. He knew his little boy was talented with his hands, but some of the things he had built looked very advanced. Hmm, maybe Jason should invest in buying Danny more things to build.

Seeing the models, he knew Danny would love working on the car with him.

“Mommy, look what I drew,” Jason looked up to see Sarah talking to Avril. The little girl was being ignored by her mom as she talked to a group of moms. Now that Jason paid attention, the little girl looked like a miniature version of Avril. The poor girl was shooed away from her mom without getting any acknowledgment.

His heart went out to her.

Danny went to Sarah, “Is everything okay,” he asked.

“Yeah,” the little girl answered, “mommy is just busy.”

“Can I see,” Jason asked. The little girl brightened at having an adult’s attention. It was a good painting.

“Wow, kiddo, that looks great!”

The little girl smiled, showing her missing teeth.

“Sarah, what have I told you about speaking to strangers?”

Avril took her little girl’s hand, ignoring the squeak of surprise she gave.

“Listen, I don’t know what your game is or how you were able to put your child in this school, but I would appreciate it if you don’t speak to my child.”

“Lady, Danny is Sarah’s friend. He was introducing me to her. Maybe if you paid more attention to your child, she wouldn’t be talking to strangers.”

The woman honest to God clutched her pearls, “How dare you? Come, Sarah.”

“Bye, Danny,” the little girl said while being dragged along.

“Is everything okay, daddy?”

“Yeah, ignore her. She’s a b—not a nice person.”

Thankfully, the rest of the parents weren’t like Avril and her little clique. They all seemed to welcome Jason.

At the end of the meeting, Jason went to sign up for the PTA.

“Are you sure you want to do this,” the woman scoffed, “We meet every two weeks. I’m sure you’re busy doing other things. We also engage with the school and teachers. Fundraisers, school activities, things like that.”

Jason smiled at the woman as he signed his name, “When’s the first meeting?”

Jason had a new nemesis. Her name? Avril Dubois.

Someone suggested that Jason has a PTA-style rivalry, but I cannot for the life of me find the comment to give the credit. So, to whoever suggested this, thank you! Anyway, now that we have Avril, does anyone want to see anything between the rivalry between the two?

@itsberrydreemurstuff @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @skulld3mort-1fan @theauthorandtheartist @emergentpanda-blog @jaggedheart11 @fisticuffsatapplebees @booberrylizard @fantasticbluebirdfan @thegatorsgooseoose @cyrwrites @kjoboo91 @crystallicedart @amaramizuki666 @spekulatiusmuffin @meira-3919 @kilasmess @bubblemixer @lexdamo @wonderland-daisy @mj-arts-n-stuff @amyheart19 @dolfay @the-church-grimm @undead-essence @aph-mable @lizisipancardo @purrloin77 @writer-extraodinaire @charlietheepic7 @sinfulloccultist @nootherusernameworked @coruscateselene @chaoticchange @itsberrydreemurstuff @gmkelz11 @feral-bunny31 @paroovian @thatonegaybitch68 @d4ydr34min9 @overtherose @fandomwandererer @vipower001 @thordottir45 @blackrabbitt3t @rosecinnamonbun @bianca-hooks123 @epilepticnerd @dat1angel @consouling @flamingenchiladadragon @all-mights-asscheeks @ender-reader @fuyu-bitch @ravenswife

[alizjay]

Secrets...

Secrets underneath the floorboards. Secrets swept under the rug. Secrets buried deep within each family hidden beneath each hug.

No one can imagine how heavy it is…to carry all the secrets in a tiny little body. No one can imagine how painful it is, to be only four and already feel naughty…

Like something inside you is wrong and defective, always trying to guess what comes next like a detective.

Could tonight be a secret night? Or a night you get to fall right to sleep? Will the bad guy visit my bed again? Will I ever be free of this great big bad creep?

The secret is too big, so it sometimes spills out of my little body like a hot geyser spout. And whenever my mouth unknowingly springs a leak, I start to get presents so I don't make a peep. 101 Dalmatians on a VHS tape. I can now use the VCR so his secret stays safe! I leak again and get a trip to the big city, just me attached to dad's hip.

Surely he loves me! We're playing miniature golf! Secrets must be good! I promise to be quiet enough! I'll keep your secret, daddy…just like you want me to…and if you keep taking me on all these dates, I'll soon forget about that secret side of you!

I promise to keep quiet, dad! The only thing I'll remember is that I'm dirty, rotten and bad. I'll even keep the secret from my own pure soul and believe that I'm the damaged one cause I know that's your goal.

I remember your secret now, daddy...now that it's 30 years later. I've only told a few people...I promise no one who matters will hate you!

I'm still too afraid to tell the police, daddy! Until then, I hope you leave my nieces alone! I remember your fingers on me, daddy. And for now I'll keep the secret at home.

But someday little girl me will be free and will tell your secret to the world! So brace yourself for your reputation to die, cause I'm grown now and no longer do what I'm told!

[sundove88]

Cookie Run Kingdom- Cheesyitis (Based on Frozen Fever)

Golden Cheese, Princess, Cavatappi, and the others plan a special birthday celebration for Mimolette months after her return, but when Goldie catches a cold, her Ancient Cookie powers put more than just the party at risk.

The Cheese Triplets, Casu Marzu, and some other characters belong to me.

Princess Professor Mimolette, Prince Professor Cavatappi, Lil Mac, and a few others belong to @thetropicalfairy

It had been a few months after Princess Professor Mimolette Cookie had returned after an epic journey to find her and her parents. But today, Golden Cheese was extra busy- for it was her daughter’s surprise birthday party. She wanted her to have something to remember, especially with her whole family and all of her friends and allies around. “Come on, Goldie. This is for Mimi! You can do this!” She nervously said as she placed the crystal butterfly cake topper on the cake, which was decorated with sugar crystals and fake sugar butterflies. “Relax, Mom in Law! It looks great!” Prince Professor Cavatappi, her son in law, said. “I just want her to have something to remember.” The golden sovereign replied as she walked over, while Pure Vanilla Cookie arranged flowers from Mimi’s garden, Hollyberry Cookie and her family supplied berry juice by the bottle, and Dark Cacao Cookie plus his son Dark Choco Cookie and wife ChocoPearl Cookie cut up paper chains. Sparkling supplied his signature juice; Cocoa helped make the hot cocoa bar, Herb helped with the table settings, Mint Choco and DJ chose some party tunes, and Vampire plus his sister Alchemist handled the piñata.

“Speaking of which, check this out!” Cavatappi answered, revealing a banner he and his nieces + nephews made that said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI” in bright letters. “Everyone, are you sure I can leave you in charge here?” Golden Cheese replied. “Of course you can!” Madeleine said as he got the party games set up while Espresso got a brewing station ready. “Because I don’t want anything to go wrong today.” Goldie replied as she flew over. The cheesebird triplets giggled as they ate some of the miniature cupcakes, which looked like Cheesebeetles. “Kids, those are for the party!” Sosha, their mother replied as she flew over with their father, Danby. “Yes, Mama and Papa.” The trio, made up of Fontina, Colby, and Brie said as they flew towards their parents. Prince Mac N Cheese Cookie, their neighbor and Goldie’s grandson, flew over as well. Then, Golden Cheese knew that the party was about to start for real. “Two things- One, Make sure to not let anyone in until we’re ready; and two, Keep an eye on everything, got it?” She said as she flew away quickly. “Got it!” Princess Cookie shouted as she, her sister Tiger Lily, Tea Knight and Eclair hung up balloons and streamers; while Cheesecake, Birthday Cake, Piñata, and Firecracker handled the rest of the decor. “What could possibly go wrong today?” Parmesan, Golden Cheese’s husband, said with a smile as he tied a few more ribbons. Burnt Cheese, Mozzarella, and Smoked Cheese also helped decorate too.

Inside her daughter’s house, Golden Cheese smiled as she approached her sleeping daughter. “Wake up, sweetie. It’s your birthday!” Mimolette sat up and gasped. “I-It’s my birthday?!” She said as she leapt to her feet. “Yes! I know how much you missed when you, your friends, and your father and I celebrated your birthday, so we’re going to make this one your best one yet!” Golden Cheese said, only for her to sneeze and two Cheesebirds to appear out of nowhere. Neither mother or daughter noticed. “But first, let’s get dressed!” Goldie said as both of them got dressed in party dresses with butterflies and jewels, respectively, while having their tiaras on as well. “Now… for the presents!” She squealed.

Laughing, mother and daughter followed a long string that the Ancients had wound through the kingdom, leading Mimi to various different gifts. Inside one of Tea Knight’s suits, was a silver butterfly bracelet. Inside one of Eclair’s cabinets, lay a Parfaedia snowglobe. And on the balcony of Hollyberry’s vacation home, there was a bouquet of desert flowers. Mimolette was so happy! But Goldie sneezed AGAIN. More Cheesebirds popped out of nowhere and flew to the ground. Both still didn’t even notice! The Cheesebirds flew into the party venue, where Lil Mac was thrilled to see them. “Hi, little guys!!” He squealed. “Uh oh…!” Cavatappi’s siblings said in unison as they placed the food on the buffet table. The Brave Gang immediately took action as well, stopping all the decorating and immediately chasing after the little birds.

Mimi and Goldie followed the string all across The Cookie Kingdom. Along the way, Mimi discovered more presents: A family portrait, a Cheesebird Doll, and even a fishing Rod! But Golden Cheese was sneezing way more often. And each time she sneezed, more Cheesebirds appeared. The pair didn’t see any of them. Finally, Mimolette broke the ice. “This day’s been amazin’. But I think ya need to get back home and rest.” “Wait! There’s more, sweetie!” Golden Cheese persuaded. She then led her daughter to The Squirrel Shop, where she presented her daughter with a gorgeous butterfly wing style cloak. The Maestro Sugar Gnome stepped out of the door and noticed Golden Cheese sneezing. “How about some medicine for you?” He asked. Mimi took the bottle without hesitation. “We may or may not need that.” Later, Goldie took Mimi to the Kingdom Plaza, where Lil Mac’s friends had another surprise for her. “Happy birthday, Princess Professor!” Gumball Cookie said as he unveiled a mural he had made himself. Goldie turned to her daughter. “They absolutely love you, Mimi- AHH, AHHH, AAAAACCCHHOOOOO!!”

More Cheesebirds appeared out of nowhere and flew into the venue. The Triple Cone Trio, Cavatappi, and the others tried to get things under control; but the little birds where all over the place! Cream Puff Cookie noticed the birds flying towards the cake. She conjured up a spell to keep them away. “Protecticus… Cakeicus!” She shouted as she shielded the cake while Walnut Cookie tore up some bread and got the birds away. Suddenly, the flock of Cheesebirds perched on the banner and wrecked it, sending pages everywhere! Prune Juice Cookie grinned. “We’ll get it!” He shouted. Cavatappi caught each of the Cheesebirds in the bowl just as the Triple Cone Trio finished repairing the banner. Capsaicin Cookie smiled. “All done!” He shouted. Kouign Amann Cookie grinned in return. “Whaddya think?” She asked. Cavatappi was horrified as he saw The Triple Cone Trio hanging from the banner. “PHAPY RHABDIOM TIMIY?!” Almond and Latte couldn’t help but laugh.

At the same time, Golden Cheese had led Mimolette to the last stop. There Was just a single gift left hidden in the Cookie Castle. But Mimi’s arms were filled to the brim with presents, and Goldie’s cold was getting worse. Mimolette persuaded her mom, “Please, Mom. Ya need to get some rest!” Golden Cheese wasn’t listening, though. She was feeling a bit… feverish as she flew up the stairs to the top of the castle. “It’s your happy birthday, my darling,” she sang. “Happy, jolly, hot, hot, birthday…” But just before Golden Cheese lost her balance, Mimi dropped the gifts and flew down to catch her. “Mom, ya practically have a fever! We need to get ya to bed.” “I really am that sick.” Golden Cheese admitted. She sighed as her daughter helped her through the venue gates. “I’m so sorry, Mimi. I ruined your perfect birthday.” But Mimolette just smiled. “Ya didn’t screw up anythin’, mom. Everythin’ was truly—!”

“SURPRISE!!!” Mother and daughter stopped short. Everyone Mimi had helped, was friends with, all of her students, and her whole extended family were all there in the venue- surrounded by who knows how many little Cheesebirds! “Wow!” Mimi said, ecstatically. “Wow.” Golden Cheese replied, shocked. Everyone ran up to Mimolette and hugged her, wishing the Princess Professor a happy birthday- especially Royalberry, Jungleberry, and Dark Choco, her three bestest friends of all. Princess and Tiger Lily, caught up in the excitement, ran up to her and tackle-hugged her. “Happy birthday! We love you, Mimi!” Then the guests stopped, stunned by what Princess had said.

Mimi had grinned at her biggest fan; then she turned to her mom. “Ok; mom. Time to go to bed.” But Goldie was persistent. “Wait! All that’s left is for the queen to blow the Birthday Bukkehorn!” She shouted. Mimolette knew what was going to happen next. “Nonononononono!” She replied. “ACHOO!” The Queen sneezed out Puffington, a massive Cheesebird, who was sent flying to Beast Yeast. Meanwhile, Casu Marzu Cookie, the Queen’s traitorous former advisor, was muttering her next plan… only to get crushed by Puffington himself. The other Cookies of Darkness burst out laughing, while Casu growled and flipped off the royals for not inviting her to the party.

But Mimi was still smiling when she tucked her mom into bed not long afterwards, giving her some nice hot soup she had made herself. “Thanks, Mom. That was the greatest birthday present ever.” She said. Golden Cheese looked at her daughter. “Which one?” “Me finally havin’ a genuine birthday party with everyone I know and love… and you finally letting me take care of ya.” At those words, Goldie embraced her daughter without hesitation. “I love you too, sweetie. Happy birthday.” She said as Sosha and Danby, dressed as a doctor and nurse; landed near her as she sneezed again, summoning their neighbors from their homeland. But not long after the party, Lil Mac was riding his tricycle with the triplets in the basket, leading a parade of Cheesebirds through the kingdom. Cavatappi sighed as he laid on the shoulders of his parents, Fusilli and Ravioli. “Don’t ask.” He said to them with an exhausted sigh. It had been a long day indeed.

The End

[talesfromsiteredacted]

High Tea With The Family

Seeing as it's my birthday, I thought I'd throw myself a tea party. I've sent out the invitations in advance, I've got everything but the tea itself ready on the cart, once I get to the staff lounge I'll start brewing.

Hmm. Okay, lemon cakes... check. Miniature pecan pies... check. Rainbow candy cookies... check. Blueberry scones... check. And those weird little cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off Dr. Gears is so inexplicably fond of... check. Giant jar of jellybeans... check. Sweet rolls... check. That just leaves the teapots and teas. I hunt down the four biggest teapots I can find, load up my large company tea set, and get to setting up.

To my surprise, it's my favorite member of Site Command that turns up first. Dr. Gears greets me, then starts to set up the tower of lemon cakes. Before long, the buffet is set.

"So, a tea party, Bunny? Isn't 27 a bit old for that?"

"Not for a posh tea party. Come on, Big Boss... I even made the cucumber sandwiches, I'm in a proper tea dress, if I had lace gloves I'd be wearing them."

"You're not kidding."

"Somehow I even talked Alto into wearing a suit, so... yes. Not kidding. Plus, Cain said he'd drop by for a bit, since half the typing pool quit he's been backlogged, poor guy. And my granddad is coming with Iris and Evelyn. I even invited my other brothers in arms, Drs. Iceberg, Myriad, and Glass, plus Draven and Jim. It's my birthday, I'm hosting a family tea. My one regret is there's no way my dad can meet you all. Not being home sucks, but having all of you around makes it less horrible. Kinda think you and my dad would get along, you're both very similar in the best ways. I would have also invited Abel, but he hates Myriad, and I do not feel like breaking up a fight today."

"We're short on E Class, good call. What's the tea menu?"

"Jasmine, earl grey, oolong, and... ginger lemon with honey." Tea kettles are filled, set on the stove top, heated. While we wait, Drs. Glass and Myriad arrive.

"Happy Birthday, Rabbit!" I'm nearly bowled over by Myriad as they bear hug me. "Ooh, tea party! Fancy." This is when I notice the new body, in a blue dress. Gotta say, they look great. Simon then gives me a gentle hug once Myriad lets go. Clef saunters in, wearing his "Yet Another Pointless Ethics Committee Meeting I May Have Been the Direct Cause of" brown suit. The red Polynesian style silk tie is a nice touch. Eyebrows raise when he greets me with a kiss on the cheek.

Once that's over, Granddad arrives with my two special guests. Both my sister and my niece are in yellow dresses, Evie even has a miniature silk sunflower tucked behind her ear.

"I thought you were kidding, Sis. But... this is, indeed, a tea party. There's scones and everything."

Dr. Iceberg arrives last, bearing regrets from Draven and Jim. Oopsie, forgot it was their long-delayed honeymoon this week. But, while my MTF brothers aren't here, a massive tiramisu is. I'm flabbergasted, Dr. Iceberg remembered after all. Okay, now that almost everybody is here, time to get back to the kettles and brewing tea. Just in time, they were about to really whistle. Tea is brewed, lemonade is fetched from the fridge... time for tea.

We're all seated around the table, eating and drinking. Three cookies and two glasses of lemonade in, Evie starts singing "Happy Birthday". Once the song is done, I politely clink my teacup with a spoon.

"Aside from my birthday... I bet you're all wondering why you're here. Very simply, I consider all of you my family. I've never really had a normal family gathering, thought I'd give it a go. It's a small thing, but it matters to me. I love all of you, even if some of you create way too much paperwork for me sometimes." A laugh as I side eye Clef and Myriad, the biggest offenders there. "You guys have made all the weird stuff bearable. Thank you."

"Hey, we're just one big anomalous family here, right? Besides, couldn't ask for a better sister, Rabbit. That being said, I know you said no gifts, but... I went ahead and got you one." Myriad passes me a small box, I open it. It's just a mug, black with our logo. But... under it is my new title, and a phrase I'll treasure... "Little Sister".

"Myr... you know what this means, right? You and TJ are both getting those light up Mario Star lamps on your birthdays now. Thanks. I needed a new mug, Liam kinda knocked mine over a while back."

"I, uh... also have something for you, but it's going to have to wait until later." I roll my eyes at Clef. I can only imagine. I feel my face getting warmer, just as Cain pops his head in.

"Hello, Little Sister! I was on my way back from a break, and just wanted to say a fast 'happy birthday' on passing." He blinks. "I think I missed something. I am not sure if I want to know. As I said, happy birthday." Off he goes. On that note, the party breaks up. Iris, Evie and I pack up the leftovers. Everybody gets a sampler platter, with a few spares for delivery. Hey, if 682 is cool with Evie, he gets birthday goodies too. Plus... even if things didn't exactly work with 049, I'm still fond of him. There's a few others too, like Abel and Dimitriov. Once that's done, it's time for Rabbit's Delivery Service to drop off care packages.

[unfriendlies]

okay so i'm at my old neighbor's house with my dogs, she's also my mom's best friend's older sister so it's not weird me being here, while somebody is at our house (long story, don't wanna explain). and i was told that i'd be here alone so me being here with five dogs, outside of the three that already live here, would be no problem. but the lady who is renting the room in the basement came home and started making a huge fuss about me being there because she "wakes up early for work" and now is when she sleeps so one of my dogs barking was a problem for her. i told her i'd be gone in like a hour (now it should be around a half hour), nobody was supposed to come home in the four hour time frame i'd be here. so now i'm sitting with my dogs in crates in our rental car (bc our car still hasn't been fixed over a month after it broke down) in the driveway of the house i should be sitting inside while it's raining and i'm just mad.

like i'd be less upset if this woman was at least nice to me about my being there but she just kept screaming and cursing at me, as if she owned this house and wasn't just renting a small room in the basement, as if i didn't get permission from the fucking owner of the house to be there. but here i am still trying to be nice and considerate by locking my dogs and myself up inside this car just so she can have some quiet.

oh, and my one dog, who is a miniature dachshund and only weighs 7lbs, only barked when her huge ass great dane started barking first. so the real issue isn't even me being there but how my dog reacted after her dog started to bark. my dog wouldn't have barked at all if she had better control over her own dog. put a muzzle on the dog or turn the volume up on whatever it is that you're listening to down there. i had something playing on my laptop, a giant fan running because the house doesn't have central air, and there was a closed door blocking sound as well. don't let your huge ass dog come to the top of the steps so it can hear everything going on up on the main floor.

you want someone to be considerate of you, try being considerate yourself. i'm not sure how long you've known the owner of this house but i've literally known her my entire life. all 31 years. she's basically like my family, her brother is my god father, her niece was my childhood best friend, i'd spend every single weekend with them growing up and basically every day with them during all holiday breaks. my mom has known her since she was in high school. i don't care if you're paying to stay there, go pay to stay somewhere else if you don't want to deal with the home owner's allowed visitors.

[or-something-better]

July 14, 2022

(Nightly RP - Charlie’s monster of the Week)

Sam

Sitting at the map table doing my usually slow-scroll through the police blotters of surrounding counties, before I move on to boarding states. Most everything is routine, a few domestics and one B&E that seemed to get quite a haul. Nothing really that would slow me down for long.

Charlie

scrolling through and running a program in the background that would give me any unusual hits I look up at Sam  quiet so far… but maybe it’s not a bad thing?

Sam

Chuckles Charlie, so help me if you jinx this night....

Charlie

You’re right… should never use the ‘q’ word

Dean

I come in with my arms loaded with groceries I struggle down the stairs and through the map room to the kitchen hey guys! Got everything I think walk into the kitchen setting the bags on the table and start putting them away

Ruby

Need to start one of those Swear jars only for jinxing

Charlie

Ruby no! I’d be broke

Henry

is making pizzas for everyone

Ruby

Henry can cook anytime!

Alex

Smiles mmmm smell good

Dean

finish putting everything away trying not to get in your way hey henry! grab a beer and head into the room with the others

Henry

Hi Dean

Charlie

my program hits on something but turns out it’s just a lot of county fairs are sharing the same dates so I sigh in frustration

Patience

How are the kids Alex

Henry

brings out the miniature pizzas

Ruby

Those smell incredible Henry!

Alex

They are good Olivia is reading and Skyler almost ready want crawling and my nuggets Riley and Athena and Austin they are good they are cranky sometimes Smiles

Sam

An article with the title salacious headline “7th Missing Pregnant Woman Reported” out of Saline County in southern Kansas catches my eye and then my complete attention. Hey guys, listen to this…down in a little southern Kansas town and three neighboring cities, they’ve had 7 pregnant woman reported as missing.

Henry

I made one for everyone

Ruby

That sounds suspicious.

Charlie

Are you sure it’s not just a serial killer with a fetish?

Patience

Oh my doesn't seem possible you are such a good mother

Ruby

I wonder how "small" they are talking? BB?

Sam

Thank you Henry takes one and get a big bite Mmmhh good

Alex

Aww thanks you and sometime it hard single parent and sometimes it easy

Dean

take one thank kiddo goes perfect with my beer

Charlie

taking one of the pizzas I have a bite and listen

Ruby

Sorry, I was thinking out loud. They say there was a small round hole in the window.

Patience

I bet thought if dad were here though you'd hate it

Henry

sets them down and listens while eat

Dean

look up from my pizza well that’s a hell of a calling card... Let me cut a hole in the window and take you for a ride..... smirks

Sam

Small hole in the bedroom of the vics? That would lead me to suspect a sex offender, you know, some kind of peeper pervert…

Alex

Pause he is….he gone Gabe turn him to stone and sent him to hell

Charlie

Again serial killer with a fetish…. What else would do it?

Charlie

Shifter maybe? Were the Vics ever seen again?

Crowley

I stand at the head of a meeting table glaring down the table at my demons. My plan is starting in to go into motion and your all dragging your feet. I need souls and I need them fast. Pure souks snatched from heaven.  So move your asses!

Patience

Yeah that kinda sucked but he did something bad right?

Dean

Maybe what about hmmm. No.... Never mind

Alex

Yeah he cheating on me

Pamela

flying in frantically I can't find my niece! so upset I'm shaking I talk to her every day.

Pamela

But she’s not answering my calls

Patience

Are you ok Pamela

Sam

Pamela? stands up out of concern. What?

Pamela

shaking my head I don't know what to do. trying to catch my breath. I start to tell Sam about my niece

Ruby

I give up my seat for Pamela

Charlie

Hey Pam… putting my arm around her shoulders take a deep breath… let’s start at the beginning…

Henry

gets her a cup of tea

Sam

Glad to see that Charlie is helping calm her down. Sit down and tell us anything you can about what’s happened…

Pamela

I talk to her every day, I haven't heard from her in 3 days. Thank you Ruby.

Alex

Pam Look over what wrong?

Pamela

She’s pregnant.  And we've spoken every day. But in last few days she hadn't answered her phone.

Henry

hands her tea

Dean

finishing my pizza as I hear pam I take a drink of my beer and almost spit it out when I hear her pam? Where does she live?

Pamela

Thanks Henry.  Can we add a shot whiskey?

Henry

Sure  gets a shot of whiskey

Pamela

Salinas

Sam

I recognize the name of the city, but don’t share it. Pamela is upset enough and there is no reason to scare her without any real information. I pull up a map of Kansas on the laptop. Salinas looks to be about 2 hours from here.

Dean

South?

Pamela

downing my drink would you guys mind helping me check it out?

Sam

I catch Dean's eye South

Charlie

turning to Pamela after all you have done and given up for us…. It’s the least we can do

Dean

I agree totally lets go...

Ruby

Can we take the car this time? Just in case I need to use my magic, I want to have enough energy for it.

Sam

Pamela, we don’t mind checking on her for you… it's practically our own backyard

Dean

Everyone get reedy

Pamela

taking a sigh of relief thanks guys

Henry

gets my bag

Sam

Yeah, sure Ruby. Let’s drive this time.

Alex

On it sir

Charlie

I head into my room and grab my go bag, I add my laptop and chargers to the mix  ready when you are

Patience

Got my go bag

Dean

grab my duffle that’s already packed and ready to go

Alex

Went to grab her gear and walking to the car

Sam

My gear in already in the trunk, so I find my keys and snag the laptop Who's riding with me?

Ruby

I check my satchel then head for the car

demon

walks into the room where Crowley is sir… we just got our 8th victim. A Barnes girl. We won’t need many more now

Crowley

A Barnes girl?  And where did you find this one that it took you so long?

demon

Salinas Kansas…. We are kind of located in that area right now

Crowley

You chose a Barnes in Kansas? You're going to get us all caught!!! She's most likely related to that psychic.  What have you done to her so far?

demon

We captured her boss. She’s being held like all the others

Crowley

I throw a knife at the demon pining him as I finish my drink and start pacing Why? Why do I ever outsource anything. If I wanted this done quick and efficient, I would have been better off doing this myself. Go, just get the hell out! I'm going to clean up your mess." I vanish topside to deal with their mistake.

Sam

Ruby and Charlie road with me and the 2 hour drive to Salinas went by so quickly. We played a Charlie-version of name that tune using Spotify and Ruby handed us our asses. Turns out when you’ve lived pretty much through the entire history of music, you know a thing or two.

Pamela

I hop in the impala just so nervous guys

Ruby

Heading for the Charger, I get in the backseat to give Charlie shotgun

Henry

hops into Deans car

Alex

Get in back seat in impala

Dean

I put my duffle in the trunk and get in the car and take off once everyone is in

Charlie

sitting in the car I watch out the window while we play I navigate as Sam drives leading the way

Dean

I turn up the music as we go since everyone is so quiet

Charlie

I point out our exit to Sam  there!! It’s not far now

Dean

take the exit behind Sammy

Alex

Dancing in her head whiles listening to music

Ruby

I look around at the suburban neighborhood. I hear the lyrics begin...'Or house, is a very very fine house..'

Sam

Pulling up before the address that Pamela gave, I shut off the car and look around. Nice neighborhood

Charlie

I get out of the car and wait for the others to pull in well let’s be safe while we investigate huh?

Dean

pull in behind Sam

Ruby

Getting out, I wonder if we'll draw attention?

Charlie

I wave to the others as they get out of the impala

Dean

I get out of the car looking around

Ruby

Hey, Sam. You suppose they have neighborhood watch?

Sam

I'd bet on it Ruby... I’m going to check around the side of the house. Pointing out my direction to Dean, I follow the shrub line next to the house, with nothing standing out to me. As I round the corner, I think I’ve gotta be near to a bedroom or possibly an office. Checking along the windows, it didn’t take me long to find the small hole that had been punched through the glass. Damn it. I lean over to see if there is a sightline view to anything inside the room or if it’s just a hole to thread a camera through.

Alex

Look around and get out the car

Charlie

looking around at the surrounding trees   not sure a watch committee would see much…. But surely we can find something…. Everything looks too…perfect

Henry

gets out of car

Dean

follow the perimeter the opposite way from Sam

Gabe

appearing ninja silently behind Sam with Donna at my side shhhhhhh belle  I pull out a clown horn and sneak it behind Sam’s ear squeezing the bulb  SQUEAKY SQUEAKY !

Sam

The sudden unexpected appearance of Gabe and Donna next to me, catches me off guard and causes me to jump in shocked surprise. SHIT! Jesus… ya gotta stop doing that.

Donna

Hi ya Sammy!!! laughs as he jumps!

Henry

Dad! face lights up like a child at a candy store

Gabe

Jesus? Where? looking around  I swore we left him at home

Dean

hearing Sam I run the rest of the way around the house to you Sammy?!? You ok?

Donna

Sorry. I couldn’t help but watch it! Lol

Sam

The sound of my heart beating in my ears, blocks whatever Donna said What?

Gabe

Hey kiddo picking you up and hugging you

Ruby

Sam! Did you hear that? I ask Charlie, running toward the backyard

Alex

Heard Sam and I run Sam! You ok what happen?

[9:14 PM, 7/13/2022] Donna SPN: We did!

Charlie

hearing the noise I run out back my heart pounding, relieved to see Donna and Gabe

Henry

giggles and squeals

Dean

Oh hey Gabe! Donna! laughing

Donna

laughs more!

Ruby

I round the corner and nearly run into Donna.

Sam

Pacing a few feet to calm down and walk it off, damn

Alex

Hey Donna and Gabe laughing

Donna

waves!

Ruby

Donna? Gabe?

Charlie

Impeccable timing as usual!

Donna

Whoa!!!!! You good?!

Ruby

You got that right!

Gabe

Hey guys. We were just kinda bored thought we’d check up on the fam.  looking around  you guys have this odd idea of fun

Donna

Yo! Lol Hi Alex!!

Dean

Not exactly fun...

Alex

Ahh we are on hunt

Donna

Agreed! looks around confused! a hunt? Ohhhhhhhh lol makes more sense now

Ruby

Pam's niece is missing

Gabe

Don’t you guys ever take a day off? Enjoy life a little? Speaking of which donna and I have an announcement

Dean

This is Pam’s niece's house there’s a case of missing pregnant woman and we came here because Pam’s niece who is also pregnant went missing

Gabe

Did you check behind the curtains? Maybe she’s playing hide and seek

Donna

Oh no!  looks to Pam! doing okay???? I know the feeling!!!!

Gabe

Pam family can’t seem to keep their clothes on

Donna

💛💛

Pamela

just rubbing my hands up and down my thighs I'm not ok.. I’m worried

Alex

What announcement you Donna have?

Donna

Oh shit!!!!

Patience

I walk up and touch window and have a vision ahhh I scream

Ruby

I turn toward the scream

Gabe

walking over  you good over here? Is it like three obese people going at it?

Donna

walks over and gives her a soft light hug! we found my niece we’ll find yours! giving you a warm smile!

Dean

You good?

Pamela

Thanks

Patience

Hey everyone there's an animal cut in half

Dean

Come again?

Gabe

Huh??? What’s going on here?

Ruby

Where?

Charlie

In your vision?

Alex

Where?

Patience

I saw it not sure where but it's in half

Donna

Ewwww

Patience

touch the window again hopefully I get another vision to tell me where

Dean

So an animal breaks into houses now?

Henry

That's gross

Patience

I think we should look out back

Ruby

I hope there's not a grave...for Pam's sake

Patience

I'm thinking that's where the animal is. Because I saw this house

Crowley

I pace invisibly around the group glad that the Winchesters seemed clueless to my involvement

Pamela

trembling I can't sense anything here guys. I'm too shaken up. Where has gone? trying to hold in my anger

Charlie

having searched the grounds over I’ve come up empty

Sam

No signs of any kind of animal that I can find

Henry

Let's go camp out

Sam

I agree Henry, but let's find a hotel and set up

Donna

Sounds like a great idea! nods!

Charlie

Yeah I think we need to research

Dean

That sounds like a good idea

Alex

I agree… besides checking the time I should call the sitter and check in

Ruby

Thinking back to previous stake outs, I hope we don't set up a tent in the room

Alex

Call sitter  Jane hello? Hey I calling see how kiddo doing

Jane

they are good

Alex

Ok thanks you Jane I hang up

Dean

I head back to the car and wait for the others

Henry

gets in the car

Dean

get a room and head to chars room

Charlie

after checking in I quickly set up my laptop and start surfing the hunter web for anything that might target a pregnant woman

Henry

follows Dean

Gabe

snapping creating an Oasis for Donna and I

Donna

after getting to hotel with the clan and beloved, I see Charlie on the laptop searching… I watch and read over her shoulder! Duh HECK??! Gawd I love you!!!

Gabe

Love you too gorgeous

Donna

I’m the luckiest woman in all the worlds!

Charlie

All the victims have been pregnant women… I need to know what we are up against

Dean

So what all we got so far? Anything useful?

Donna

Pregnant women???? Attacking ladies at their most Vulnerable??? raises an eyebrow! Well other women! wipes the smirk of my face, and quickly returns to worry for the Pam’s niece and other soon to be mommy’s!

Gabe

walking over putting a reassuring hand on your shoulder we’ll stop this thing Mi amour . I promise

Pamela

sitting at a hotel table, having a  glass of whiskey just upset and worried

Dean

Definitely just gotta figure out the what so we can get the how

Donna

I place my hand on yours and look to you! let’s get em!

Patience

really need another vision right now

Henry

Can we order room service and get dinner?

Crowley

I appear in the woods not far from where the abduction had been. They were so sloppy. Why is it that only morons become demons? We have smart people in hell and yet I throw my arms up in frustration.

Charlie

I’ve got it!!! Mananggal!!!

Sam

What?

Henry

Huh?

Dean

What the hell is man and gal??? Like is that like 69 only murderous?

Patience

Yes that's it as I look at the picture

Alex

Eww that is gross

Charlie

According to this, it’s an ancient creature. It preyed on pregnant women and took their life force after it eats the heart of their unborn fetus… they have a super long tongue stored inside their head for that purpose

Pamela

pissed off and confused as to why that thing has taken my niece this is just crazy! Why? WHY!!?

Sam

I’ve never heard of a Manananggal… I immediately pull out my laptop and look for information from some of my bookmarked sites.

Henry

That's gross

Donna

Ohh food! Avocado! Good question!!!

Crowley

my head whips up feeling insecure and go to the lair of my creature Manny? Where are you?

Dean

Nope definitely nothing of 69.... That’s just gross!

Henry

Looks like no one else wants food

Donna

my hand not realizing it moves to my tummy and look to my ArchAngel! More for US!

Henry

orders room service

Dean

looks at donna and back at Gabe... wait are you..... Um

Patience

Not really

Crowley

Hey, Manny. You need to change locations. The minions messed up. You're in danger.  Don't worry, I'll keep you fed.

Donna

looks to Pam seeing her worry, and Mama Angel clicks on again! We’ll get her back! Promise Pam! 💛

Gabe

Charlie how do we kill this thing?

Alex

Smiles

Charlie

Well… reading further  apparently it detaches it’s torso to get to its victims maybe why patience saw it cut in half…. When that happens if we can cover the legs in salt and burn them… it dies …. But these things have been locked in purgatory for centuries

Sam

My head snaps up from my computer screen Purgatory? Looking across at my brother. Dean, what do you think the chances are these things were let out when Eve came?

Henry

gets the food and hands some to Donna

Gabe

Salt and fire? looking around the room  where in the world will we find those things?

Donna

Duh HECK??!!!!!!

Charlie

grins one thing we are never in short supply of

Donna

Ohhhhhhhhhhh!!!! eyes wide! thank you Henry!!!!

Alex

Ohh

Gabe

Add in whiskey and beer and it’s the anti hunter

Donna

Hmmmm no idea! takes a bite of food! Mmmm

Dean

hearing Sam and again all deans fault..... shakes my head cuz I’m just this huge screw up huh Sammy?

Henry

You are welcome  eats

Sam

Not what I said Dean

Alex

Dean it not your fault

Ruby

There is an entry to purgatory through Hell.

Dean

Yeah because we dont ever have those right?

Henry

Yes Crowley

Dean

look at Henry

Sam

Crowley’s been keeping things kinda quiet for a while now Looks over at Ruby to see what her reaction is to Crowley being brought up.

Gabe

eyes lighting up as I hear that deceitful demons name  I’m going to enjoy killing that toad

Dean

Figures Crowley would be behind this somehow

Donna

Well… maybe Ruby could do recon? Insider POV? takes another bite of food!

Ruby

I still have a few friends down there. They can help me. I'll find out what I can.

Alex

That never good news

Henry

throws away my wrapper

Donna

Coolnesssss!

demon

I look up meekly at Crowley as he yells

Crowley

You have no idea,  NO IDEA how terribly you have endangered this for us. Why did you take the Barnes woman? I feel my eyes changing to glowing red as I yell at the demon

demon

I had no choice… stammering y-y-you told me to do whatever m-m-m-manny said…. He’s crazy he doesn’t care about the politics He said the power of the psychic would make him stronger

Patience

Oh so since Pam is psychic he thinks her niece may be also

Crowley

Gabriel is involved. An Archangel. The new guy sitting on the big man's chair. If we die, you'll wish I killed you. I glare darkly at him. I'm staying here to keep you in line.

demon

Yes sir—maybe you can talk sense into him

Crowley

Where is he right now? Or did you lose him as well as get the Winchesters on our ass? I glare at him intensely.

demon

Inside sir, follow me

Dean

So how the hell are we gonna lure this thing so we can kill it?

Sam

Chuckles Dean, I just don’t think either Henry or I can pass muster as a pregnant woman.

Henry

Yeah no we're dudes

Dean

Obviously we'd be rich if that could happen

Patience

Pamela try and get a feel for it

Donna

listening licks the wrapper of her dinner, not realizing how hungry I was!

Ruby

Popping back from my visit to Hell, I meet with the others to tell them what I've found. Well, it's like we thought. Crowley has his goons going after pregnant women. I had to leave before I found our more. I look at Pam I'm sorry.

Pamela

I've failed her. shaking my head in disgust with myself

Gabe

hands you a snickers  you’re not you when you’re Hengry

Patience

Maybe you should try and get feel for her

Pamela

Yes, let me try. touching the sonogram picture my niece sent me, I begin to search for something

Charlie

Well if you can find her… we can probably find the other victims too….

Crowley

I straighten myself up and stride after the demon. Manny, darling.  Did you get my warning?

Donna

Mmmmmmm CHOC-OLATE!!! eyes get huge, takes it thank you! and Yums down!

Henry

We need to get the monster out of the way first

Manny

growls and nods

Patience

Pamela are you ok can you send me anything

Alex

I can be a bait Look at her team

Sam

Alex, we appreciate the offer, honest we do. But you’ve just had new babies of your own, I think we should find some other way to do this

Alex

Nod ok

Dean

No....no...Absolutely freakin not!

Crowley

The Barnes girl, the psychic, she's drawn unwanted attention to us. Her family wants you dead. They have the ridiculous luck to manage it.

Pamela

Give me a min

Alex

Ok Nod

Manny

deep throaty voice  the Winchesters will have no idea what hit them and I’ll devour the Barnes girl my king

Crowley

You should lay low. They're going to try and draw you out. Trap you.  Kill you.' He warns.  "I can find your another psychic."

Charlie

I can see Ruby is thinking what’s on your mind Ruby? I can almost see those wheels turn

Manny

They want me? They shall have me. It’s the last thing they will ever do

Crowley

No, no. It's that arrogance that loses me my actually useful people.

Ruby

Well I could do it, I’m certainly stronger than Alex. And I’m sure I’ve faced worse in hell

Sam

Leans over to Ruby and mumbles under my breath I’d have a better chance pulling off being pregnant than you would.

Gabe

No, listen Ruby, you’re a demon, they would see that from a Mike away

Ruby

I could give it a shot. Anybody got a pillow?

Alex

Look over I right here

Donna

finishing my snickers bar, with a yum Well…. I mean…

Donna

I have an idea! I stand up!

Gabe

shaking my head no  no way not a chance. God has spoken!!! the heavens rumble

Alex

Look up heard thunder easy easy Gabe Hand him energy drink and snicker

Donna

my eyebrows go up! it’s okay daddy angel! We go this! I smirk a naughty, but evil smirk lets kick some ass!

Gabe

letting out a deep breath the heaven settle but I say nothing

Donna

I slip my hand into yours! tell ‘em Daddy Angel! I look into your hazel eyes!

Gabe

Well grinning ear to ear we’re expecting

Dean

Again? Awesome! Congrats!

Gabe

12 more ! A new personal best  kissing belle and smiling against her lips

Sam

I stand up and manage to stop myself from saying the first words that pop into my mouth and settle for just saying Congratulations… again, wow 12? I shake my leg to try and get the stupid thong into a better place under my jeans.

Dean

12? More?

Donna

giggles, and kiss you back! oh goodness! smiling bit too! let’s go for it!

Donna SPN: Wellllll….. working on it!

Ruby

Congratulations. That settles the question. The answer of you doing it is No, you have enough to worry about

Sam

Donna are you really sure that you want to take such a big risk? Isn’t the start of pregnancy one of the precarious times for... you know, a new mother?

Gabe

You good there Sammy ??

Dean

Yeah donna are you sure Gabe will kill us all if we screw any of this up and you get hurt

Sam

Slaps him in the chest and sits back down

Gabe

With tortures Crowley’s mind couldn’t imagine

Donna

I got this!

Dean

We better not screw this up....

Charlie

Let’s go find a place to set it up…

Donna

Aw thanks for the care… but I’m mama angel… it’s different! 😁 I’ll be okay. It’s just a monster… we’ve taken on gods. Like daddy angel says… easy peasy! 💛

Manny

laughing at Crowley there’s something delectable up there, something I e never had and I will find it and eat it. I can tell it will make me even more powerful!!!

Henry

zones back into reality

Dean

Well ok then let’s go grabbing my things ready to go

Crowley

Manny we just talked about it.  It's a trap. You can't go up there or you'll die.  The new God is involved. I grab at the monster’s arm alarmed

Charlie

I grab my surveillance and sound gear and take it with us

Henry

follows Dean

Sam

Follow but not sure we should really do this

Gabe

Hmmmmmm what kind of house would this monster like??? heading out  I assume something with a lot of nurseries and pregnant women. You know Donna I used to hang out at maternity wards before you came along ….

Ruby

Tags along after, hoping things go according to plan...for once

Dean

is extremely nervous about this trying not to imagine the tortures we would be put through if anything goes wrong

Alex

Gasp congratulations Gabe and Donna Smiles

Gabe

snapping a huge house with tons of nurseries In it

Dean

Nice work bro! That’s huge!

Sam

mumbles wonder where he got hte idea for that

Gabe

Donna says the same thing, minus the bro

Ruby

Hopes the neighbors don't call the cops before we catch the creature

Dean

laughs very funny Gabe

Henry

watches in amazement

Charlie

I grab my gear and start setting up cameras

Gabe

looking at Ruby  what cops ? snaps the police department to another country

Ruby

👍

Dean

That works no cops

Donna

Oh you did! I follow next to you and raise an eyebrow!

Manny

shoving past Crowley  don’t get in my way or I’ll eat you first little man

Gabe

Yep , I knew those chicks put out

Henry

Wonder what the people thinking of extra cops in their country

Donna

taps my nose! hello! Lol! HEY!!! Lol

Ruby

🤭

Dean

Welll besides you...

Crowley

I right myself and stand proud You will stop and obey your king. Going out there is certain death. We can build something great if you just stop and don't act on impulse.

Gabe

What? You I had to woo. With them a pint of hagndaz and I was in like Flynn

Pamela

making sure Donna has everything she needs with Ruby and Alex

Sam

Walks around the outside of the house and checks to see where the best sightlines for the house are

Manny

laughing I pick you up and throw you aside walking out the door  keep it up little man and I’ll eat you

Ruby

asks Sam. you think first floor or second?

Alex

Help set up the bedroom

Sam

I think outside, so that nothing can even get that close to Donna

Ruby

Good luck with that. I head inside to give a hand. You got enough pillows Donna?

Henry

outside making sure we have cover

Donna

Good NESS!!!! Lol! You naughty boy!

Gabe

Donna are you sure you want to do this?

Charlie

I set up the last of my sound monitoring gear and get into my place and wait for the others to do the same

Donna

Thanks so much! looks around!

Alex

Took a deep breath

Donna

Lol! ALLLL THE PILLOWS!

Gabe

You don’t have to there’s got to be another way if anything happens to you a guarantee I’m going apocalyptic on this things ass and theirs pointing at the team

Pamela

holds Donna's hand just be careful hun

Gabe

watching this I like

Donna

Baby I’m sure! I look into your eyes and give you a kiss! easy peasy!

Ruby

seeing I'm not needed, I go outside with Sam to surveil

Dean

jumps at Gabe’s words

Alex

Donna? Hand on her shoulder please be careful Donna

Donna

I give a soft laugh! I know you would. But us angels got this! walk in the park compared… L… and A.. raises eyebrows! and many more! laughs

Donna

Will do! Thanks! I will bear bear! That monsters ASS IS GRASS!! Well ash!!

Alex

Smiles hell yeah

Dean

Donna....this isnt your normal stake out.... THOSE were mostly human this..... Is most definitely.....well.....NOT

Manny

sniffing the air growling as I pick up the scent  oh this is different this licking meaty lips and razor sharp teeth  this is going to be divine letting out a roar that shakes the entire house to the foundation  Give me the special one , the pregnant one, my feast , and none of you shall have to perish!

Ruby

Trying to make as little noise as possible, I wait for the others to show up

Dean

head out taking my place outside as i see the man gal thing

Alex

took a deep breath walking with Sam we got this

Sam

Feeling like things are getting closer to happening, I tell Alex and Henry. Let’s find cover guys I hide behind a large tree, making sure the others are hidden from sight too and I keep my eyes on the house.

Henry

hides in a bush

Manny

stomping towards the house eyes wild nostrils flaring

Alex

Nod yes sir went to go take cover

Charlie

I stay in the shadows and wait for the inevitable

Manny

I can smell you hunters, all I want is the pregnant one! The rest of you can be on your way

Crowley

Crowley appears running behind the creature Manny stop. This is a trap! You're going after a heavily protected person. You're going to get killed! I grab the large arm pulling him.

Gabe

in the house ready to tear the damn thing apart

Dean

I start heading into the house behind the thing cautiously

Charlie

I listen closely and hear a second set of footsteps behind the monster and a whiny voice that sounds familiar

Manny

turning as you grab my arm I look down grinning, my face getting so close to yours you can see the saliva dripping off my teeth and smell the rancid rotting flesh of the other pregnant women I’ve eaten  and who is going to protect you? grabbing you I throw you sending you crashing through one of the windows and into the living room of the house. Turning back, I head to find my prey

Dean

duck back to make sure I’m not seen

Sam

Making a rush towards the monster, I see Crowley for the first time. Crowley! I knew it! This is all on you, isn’t it? What the hell have you done?

Dean

as I watch crowley get thrown

Henry

Crowley?!

Charlie

running out of my position I head towards the monster, unsure yet of what I was going to do besides distract, I pick up a rock and throw it

Henry

jumps from a bush

Dean

slip inside the house staying in the shadows

Crowley

I land with a grunt Well I tried to convince him this was a terrible idea for one.

Manny

smelling the scent of the woman on the breeze I turn and head straight for Donna I’ll devour you slowly and savor your unborn child, picking my teeth with its bones!! charging towards you

Charlie

I run behind the beast and grab a gun from my waistband and take a shot

Gabe

watching the commotion, I sneak of getting an idea

Dean

I feel a shot of pain go through my back just missing my spine and yell out FUCK!

Charlie

I take another shot at the monster this time hitting his leg, hoping it’s enough to warn mama angel

Manny

avoiding the bullet I laugh as the knife pierced my skin grabbing the flea off my back and throw you against a tree shattering your spine

Dean

fly through the air and feel ever bone on my back crack horribly as I drop to the ground

Crowley

I stand up and stalk towards the being again Manny stop! You'll die. Do your edge to return to purgatory?

Manny

head detaching from my body it flies around me grabbing you with my razor sharp teeth and eating you crushing your bones and skull between my teeth like nothing more than lettuce your blood dripping from my mouth as my body continues to fight

Alex

Gasp

Gabe

the hell?! seeing the monster nearby. I stand my ground. Fear washes over me for a second but instantly relaxed by protection strength and a little bit of rage! My eyes start to glow white, my hair starts to float! be gone Monster of Hell! and with a gush of hurricane force wind, breaking some nearby windows, I push the monster far away!

Henry

runs inside

Manny

falls back pissed and growling my head flying towards the blonde woman the hunger growing by the second  YOU!!!!

Charlie

Let’s go! We need to stop it! I run toward the monster and start unloading more bullets

Alex

Run inside

Henry

tries to shot at monster

Donna

Me!!!! my white eyes glaring him outside the house. Me inside! you don’t scare me!

Ruby

I head toward the house, ready to that that bastard.

Manny

head reattaching to body I storm towards the house

Ruby

I raise my blades Bringing them downward

Crowley

Looking around in the chaos I turn to run I messed up. Oh I messed up

Manny

grabbing the railing from the deck of the house I hit you with it sending you flying across the yard

Ruby

I am hit by his tremendous blow, feeling ribs crack

Crowley

I grunt and feel my shoulder shatter when I land Dammit Manny, things were going so well.

Charlie

I run towards the monster and shoot a few more bullets and watch the demons to see if they get up

Manny

turning back to the blonde incubator I go after my dinner

Ruby

I carefully sit up, feeling blood running out of my nose

Ruby

pissed now, I wipe the blood on my sleeve and return. gathering my energy, I bring it up and send it at the monster full force

Manny

using my huge paw and slapping you hard making you fly across the yard  NO MORE GAMES THE WOMAN IS MINE!

Manny

flying across the room I hit the ground body splitting in half

Sam

I run forward and grab onto the lower half of the body of the Manananggal and try to hold it down! Hang on!

Charlie

I’m thrown back, the wind knocked out of me, but when I see ruby I know this is our shot….running ahead I grab the legs

Henry

helps Sam hold the lower half down

Crowley

I grunt and stand up worried, grunting as my shoulder collapses on itself I'll get out of here. Live to see another day.

Charlie

Pamela!! The salt!!

Pamela

I pour salt all over the monsters’ legs

Patience

Come on

Gabe

appearing behind Crowley I freeze him letting my claws out holding them to his throat  I should end you for putting my wife in danger, you have 3 seconds to tell me where the other women are or I’ll carve you into things even Rowena wouldn’t recognize. eyes glowing bright blood red

Ruby

I stand back and watch the others take care of the monster

Manny

screaming thrashing and fighting as the salt spreads across my wounds

Charlie

grabbing a lighter from my pocket just for good measure I set the legs alight and stand back

Sam

Letting go of the thrashing monster, I jump back out of the way

Crowley

I shake and scrunch my eyes shut They're in the abandoned mine shafts. I tried to stop him from coming here. I knew it was a death sentence.

Alex

light the lighter now? Throw the liger

Gabe

The death sentence should be yours Crowley you’ve always been a despicable bastard but I’d never have thought you would go after women and unborn children. Your worse than Lucifer, and that’s not a compliment.

Henry

jumps back

Manny

exploding into purple goo

Pamela

feeling goo hit my face eww

Henry

Eww slime

Charlie

Gross!

Ruby

Is glad I stood back

Sam

I spin around and get covered from behind with goo

Alex

Gasp ewwww gross

Pamela

Pretty much. Lmao

Crowley

He went rogue.  I tried to talk him down. Everything has sacrifices, but it wasn't supposed to go like this.

Donna

hurrying out of the house! Back to normal! is it? looks around! Ewwwww… yep

Sam

Which mine shafts, Crowley?!

Gabe

pulling out my blades I hold them to your throat my hand quivering with anger  you disgust me , but I need to go save dean shoving past you I head for the exploded body

Gabe

looking around  well this can’t be good . Everyone back up!

Alex

Bear shaking off

Charlie

I back away from the mess wiping goo from my face

Crowley

I turn and look behind myself, following Gabe’s actions with momentary regret before making my escape.

Donna

watching … knowing much better than to interrupt my archangel like this! 🔥

Gabe

eyes glowing as I look down at the remains of the monster  my hands glow as atom by atom  the body of Dean  is reformed, his heart begins to beat and air fills his lungs

Alex

Walk over we all did it donna we kill it

Henry

Dean! watching dad make dean alive

Gabe

heading over to Donna you ok love? Are all 13 of you ok? dropping to my knees I lay my head against your tummy

Dean

I gasp loudly as my lungs fill with air and open my eyes looking around confused

Henry

runs to hug you

Dean

Henry hugging you back what'd I miss?

Henry

covering you with goo the monster exploded

Dean

Ugh I look up and around for everyone else seeing you all its over?

Henry

Yup just need to find the people

Patience

hopefully still alive

Charlie

The only mines I know of are just about a mile from here

Dean

I get up slowly lets go

Sam

I asked Crowley, but he didn't share the exact location

Henry

Let's go get them to safety

Charlie

Sam can you drive? And Ruby…maybe a spell so they forget?

Sam

Walking towards the Charger Charlie, you navigate

Henry

gets inside Dean’s car

Charlie

I get in the car with Sam and wait for Ruby

Ruby

I hop in the back Let's do this!

Pamela

in the impala

Alex

Get in car with Sam ruby and Charlie

Donna

13???? my heart skips a beat and giggle, I watch you rest you head on my tummy, and beam so big, my hand playing in your hair! I’m good my love! And so is she..she’s!? 😆

Dean

I get in the car and start driving

Charlie

I direct Sam and within minutes we’re at the entrance to the mine shafts  looking at the door I can see some recent damage look! I think they came out of there

Sam

Ruby can you feel anything?

Dean

follow Sam’s car

Ruby

I can sense them I'm going to go to them and lead them out. I turn on my flashlight Be right back.

Charlie

Thanks Ruby I get my first aid supplies out

Pamela

nervous, worried, scared with excitement I hope they're ok.

Ruby

Leading them out, I show them the way with the flashlight

Sam

I put my hand on her shoulder She will be

Charlie

I smile when I see Ruby and the women, they all appeared to be in good health and unharmed so far

Pamela

holding on tight to Sam’s hand thanks

Ruby

Quickly conjuring a spell, I quietly wipe their memories of the kidnapping until now

Charlie

Let’s hurry and get them home before they wake up too much huh Sam?? Pam, would you like to stay with your niece? We can come back and get you later

Sam

Agreed.. Starts leading the girls toward the cars

Pamela

Yes thank you. waiting for my niece impatiently. I grab her and hug her soo tight

Ruby

I can stay here with Pam and take them home

Charlie

once the girls are loaded and headed home I breathe a sigh of relief and am ready to go myself.  you sure Ruby?

Pamela

That works for me!

Ruby

Go, get the others home

Sam

Helping them into the back seat. They all look to be in pretty good shape, just dirty

Charlie

nodding I get into the car with Sam  let’s go then

Ruby

Waving as they leave, I turn to Pam. I'll bet you want to be home. Ready?

Sam

I drive to the local Hospital and let them out just next to the doors of the emergency room

Dean

help the load some in the car and follow Sam to the hospital

Pamela

I am. Let's take her my place so I can keep an eye on her. Thank you Ruby.

Henry

stares out of the window of Dean’s car

Dean

the women get out and go inside i honk at Sam  HOME???

Ruby

I pop us to Pam's and make sure they get inside Take care. I pop back to the bunker.

Sam

Home!

Charlie

as Sam finished driving I doze off until we reach the bunker

THE END

………………………………………

1. Sam and Charlie are sitting at the map table on their laptops looking for cases. Dean has been on a supply run and returns to put away the food. Henry is already in the kitchen making lunch. Alex and patience are sitting down talking about the babies. Sam is reading an article about several missing pregnant women across the state. So far 7, within three neighboring towns. Ruby says that sounds suspicious. Charlie asks if it might just be a serial killer and Ruby reads further into the article where it specifies a small round hole in the window of the pregnant woman’s bedroom. Dean says that’s an odd calling card and they start to talk about what might be doing it. meanwhile Crowley is in hell setting his plan into motion he is directing some demons to to choose targets and to be quick about it

2. Pam bursts into the bunker and is upset saying she can’t find her niece. She continues by telling them that she talks to her every day but hasn’t heard from her in three days. Charlie gets up to calm Pamela and Henry goes to get her a cup of tea. Alex and patience join the team and are asking Pam if she is ok. Dean asks where Pam’s niece lives and she tells them Salinas. Sam pulls out a map and sees that it’s just in the southern part of the state. About 2 hours away. Pam asks if the team would mind taking her to check it out. Charlie says after all Pam has done, they owed her at least that. Sam and dean agree and ask everyone to get ready. Ruby suggests they drive this time so she can save her strength just in case. meanwhile Crowley is receiving some information from some of his demons and cursing about one of the targets chosen—knowing the Winchesters will get involved, he goes off on a rant to himself and says if he wants this done, he will need to take care of it himself and goes earthside.

3. The team gets ready to go to Salinas, Pam Alex and Henry go with dean in the impala, Sam ruby and Charlie go in the charger. The drive is uneventful and the first stop is a small house in the suburbs belonging to Pam’s niece.  Sam and Dean take the perimeter while the others check the yard for clues.  Sam finds the hole in the window and swears. Gabe and Donna appear behind him scaring Sam almost to death. Dean and the others hear the commotion and run to his aid. Gabe says he was bored and decided to check on the family. Charlie and Ruby comment on his impeccable timing and Donna asks what is going on. Dean tells her about the missing pregnant women, Pam hearing this for the first time starts to worry. Patience comes up and touches the window, she sees some sort of creature cut in half, she screams and tells the others what she sees. Gabe says maybe it’s worth sticking around.  meanwhile Crowley is listening in, and is hoping to gain useful information

4. They don’t find much else besides the hole, and Pam says she is too upset to sense anything. Henry suggests finding a place to camp out, and to see what they can figure out. Alex agrees that’s a good idea, and she needs to call and check on her kids. They head to a motel and check in, they get three rooms but all meet in one to go over what information they had so far. Charlie is on the hunter web and is looking for anything that targets pregnant women, Donna is reading over her shoulder and comments on how that’s a dirty trick, to target women when they’re at their most vulnerable. Gabe rests his hands on her shoulders and reassures her that they will solve this. meanwhile Crowley appears in the trees and sees gabe and Donna appear and curses to himself and about the sloppy demons that chose this house. He heads out to find his monster to warn him.

5. Charlie says she’s found something, Sam and Dean are asking her what it is and she says it is a Manananggal. Patience comes over and says yes that’s what she saw.  Dean makes a remark on the name of it, Alex says it is disgusting and Pam is freaking out because that thing has taken her niece. Donna tells her they’ll figure it out. Gabe asks Charlie how they kill it, she tells him and he comments about how much of that should be available with this many hunters. Everyone kinda laughs at that comment, and then Charlie shares that they’ve all been locked in purgatory for years. Sam questions if dean let them out when eve came. Donna asks why they’d  wait this long to show up. Dean remarks how it’s always his fault, Alex tells him that isn’t true and Ruby reminds the team there is an entry to purgatory through hell. Henry immediately says Crowley

6. Gabe’s eyes light up at the mention of the name. Sam says he has been pretty quiet lately. Alex says that’s never good news. Donna asks Ruby if she can maybe go find out some insider information and Ruby says that won’t be a problem. meanwhile Crowley is meeting with a demon in an unknown location telling him how horribly he’s screwed up by taking the Barnes chicks niece and the demon tells him he had to and why. Crowley tells them that gabe has joined forces with the Winchesters and they had better not fail, and he was going to stay right here to make sure they didn’t screw it up.

7. Dean asks how they’re going to lure the monster. Sam says there’s no way he or Henry could pull off being pregnant ladies. Ruby comes back and affirms their suspicions and tells the team Crowley is behind it. Pam swears feeling like she has failed her niece. Patience suggests trying to get a “feel” for her and Pam readily agrees. Charlie says if they could find her, they could likely find the other victims too. Henry says they will need the monster out of the way in order to save them all. Alex says she could be bait, it’s not the first time she’s done it. Dean is adamantly against it and Sam says they need to come up with something. Ruby offers to do it, but gabe says that since it is a supernatural being it would probably know Ruby was a demon.

8. Donna speaks up and says she has an idea. Gabe tells her no, and she hushes him. She shares some news with the group and everyone reacts, then ruby says she has enough to worry about. Sam asks Donna if she’s sure and dean says Gabe will kill them all if they screw it up and Gabe agrees. They head out and Gabe creates a house and the perfect setting for the monster to strike. meanwhile the monster is headed out and Crowley tries to stop him the monster shoves him out of the way saying he senses some particularly yummy food out there and once he has it that will be enough. Crowley tells him it’s certain death—the monster laughs and leaves.

9. Pamela, ruby and Alex are setting Donna up in the bedroom of the new house while Charlie is setting up surveillance equipment and sound monitoring. Gabe is asking Donna if she’s sure about this and she’s telling him she’s been doing stakeouts since long before they met. Dean reminds her most of them were human and she waves him off telling them they all need to stop and take their places. Sam and Ruby are outside with Alex and Henry making sure they all have cover and the rest of the team joins them and they take their places just as the monster shows up with Crowley close on his heels telling him that this was a horrible idea he didn’t know what he was about to mess with. The monster throws Crowley back and heads straight for Donna. The team starts to move in headed for the monster, Sam and Henry see Crowley and yell at him asking what he’s done now and Crowley tries to defend himself saying hell has been boring.  And Alex tells him that’s no reason to go after innocents while they argue dean tries to fight the monster alongside Charlie Gabe has snuck off for a surprise attack

10. Donna is inside when she sees the torso of the monster in the window, her eyes and hair begin to glow and she throws the monster back, angering him. Forgetting about Crowley for the moment everyone runs toward the house and begins to battle the monster ruby is thrown back, and she’s angry about it so she uses her demon powers and throws the monster at the house causing him to split in half. Sam Henry and Alex hold the torso while Charlie and patience grab the legs and pam covers them with salt, the creature screams and explodes covering everyone with purple goo. Crowley tries to run and Gabe freezes him and demands to know where the victims are and threatens to end him for going after Donna. He quickly reveals where the women are and Sam and Ruby go to get them with the help of Alex Henry and patience. Gabe pulls out his blades and is about to take care of it when Crowley tells him the monster went rogue and he couldn’t stop him even though he tried. (Free run how you want to finish this—Donna comes down and joins the team after too

[marvel-m-lee]

Wrong Vision- P2

Words: 4665

Fandom: Encanto!

Summary: Bruno had a vision in P1, afterwards Mirabel makes sure this cones true and Bruno gets PLENTY of adorable t!ckles at dinner with his family

Warnings: t!ckling if you don't like it?

IMPORTANT!! also in my fics, I'm gonna try to use t!ckle as apparently the t word is/has been blocked for some users <3

A/N: I fucking did it. Just in time too. Oh my goodness do I love it. AND I'm so thankful that @pop kept me going because this is one of my longest fics and I didn't wanna disappoint! Also ove probably spent over 6 hours writing this? Maybe more? Anyway. Encanto tickles. (ALSO PLZ PPL SEND ME TICKLE ENCANTO IMAGES I LOVE THEM TWT)

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Oh how Bruno was terrified of dinner that night...

Mirabel always stood true to her promises, Bruno knew that, and a part of him felt terrified, yet excited all the same.

"Tio Bruno's gonna get t!ckles~" She teased as the two stepped into his elevator. This comment just made him hide under his hood, unable to take the teasing. Mirabel only laughed, then laughed harder as Bruno began to let put stiffled giggles and scramble to pull a rat put of his hood, she assumed it had or was snuggling up to his neck, tickling him even more.

"Told ya" she teased, elbowing him as he held the rat with a red face, trying to look mad but just totally embarrassed instead.

The two stepped off the elevator and began to walk out of Bruno's room.

"What did you want anyway Mirabel?" Bruno asked, curious as to why she'd come to find him.

"Oh, mum wanted some help in the kitchen and I offered for us to help" Mirabel smiled at her uncle, both of them walking down the halls and to the kitchen downstairs.

"Oh- uh, okay?" Bruno put down his rat and it scurried away to Antonio's room.

Mirabel and Bruno both entered the kitchen where Julieta was moulding some dough for the buñuelos for dinner.

"Hey mum!" Mirabel cheered, jumping in the room happily and going to wash her hands. Julieta smiled at her youngest and said hello to both Mira and Bruno.

Bruno gave a tiny wave, still slightly embarrassed at his previous vision and the situation Mirabel had put him in previously. He wasn't sure when she was going to tell everyone, so he was slightly on edge-

"Hey?..."

"Anyway mama, Bruno and I can help, Bruno keeps telling me how much time he wants to spend with the familia" Mirabel teased, but started to help her mum with the dough.

"Plus he's a terrible cook" Mira shrugged, smirking a little as her mum laughed and Bruno hugged, giving her a miniature glare.

"Am not-" Bruno mumbled, taking off his ruana and going over to wash his hands.

Julieta had just cleaned her hands as her daughter worked on the dough, she decided to get Bruno to help with the herbs. Before she did however, she walked up to her little brother and pinched his cheeks as though he was years younger rather than minutes.

Bruno cringed but giggled slightly in an adorable way, he couldn't help how much he missed his sisters, his family. Plus he never whined about physical love.

Julieta only awed at her brother even more, motherly instincts kicking in as she teased him.

"Brurito! Look at how skinny you are now, nada nada!" She teased, pinching and poking a couple of his ribs making him jump backwards and laugh out loud from the surprise attack.

Usually Bruno wouldn't jump back so soon, but honestly, so far he'd been WRECKED. It had been less then ten minutes ago or so since he's been totally wrecked by his niece and seen a vision where he'd also be wrecked by his family. On top of that, Bruno cloud never take teasing and wasn't wearing any protective layers other than the thin fabriced shirt over his most t!cklish spot- or at least one of them. (Bruno has a lot-)

Luckily Juileta wasn't one to jump on her lee, but she did tease him a little more before helping him cut herbs and other vegetables and foods for the dinner.

After about an hour, everything was almost done, only problem was that when they were making some more food, Mirabel had spilt flour over Bruno's ruana- meaning he wouldn't be able to wear it at dinner...

This caused many worries for Bruno. One, he never usually took it off. It made him feel safe, it was warm, soft, his. He loved it a lot- and always felt a little vulnerable without it so he tended to wear it most of the time; other than certain things so it wouldn't get too dirty, e.g. cooking.

Second problem, that was like his ONLY protection from the t!ckles. He knew for a fact it would be a thousand times worse because he wouldn't be able to hide or act if he was too frightened or flustered.

"Tio Bruno I'm so sorry!" Mirabel pleaded for forgiveness, she honestly never meant to get it dirty, if she wanted to take it off his she would have just hid it, but it never really crossed her mind.

"It's okay..." Bruno sighed, but also blushed, thinking about how much worse dinner would be now that this had happened, not only that, he knew SOMEONE would comment on him looking so much smaller. His ruana tended to hide his size a lot more than he would realise.

"Alright Mira, I'll get this cleaned, you and Bruno go set up the table please" Julieta took the ruana, and looked at Bruno, almost reading his mind in some sort, "it's okay Bruno, nothing bad is gonna happen, you'll be okay" she smiled, hugging her triplet and going off to tidy the ruana and finish up food.

Bruno and Mirabel both went to the dining room and behan to set up the table for dinner. Mirabel still apologising a million times.

"It's okay Mirabel, it's fine" her uncle would always reply with. Still, she felt bad.

"I'll make sure to make it up to you with plenty more t!ckles" she smiled, genuinely being sincere because she knew her uncle enjoyed it, though she couldn't help but laugh as her tio stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes at her.

He groaned and tried to hide his blush under his hair, realising his struggles on hot having a ruana- or being in public-

"Sorry?" Mirabel sounded more as though she asked, laughing slightly as her tio looked away with a small smile. He really did love his family, amd missed it so much...

Bruno chuckled at his niece as they finished up setting the table. Dinner time was coming up soon and Bruno was seeming together more and more agitated as time went on.

Finally, it was time...

Everyone was coming in and sitting down, Mirabel sat opposite to him and Isabela sat next to him, he himself sitting on the edge.

Bruno couldn't help as a blush grew on his face, everytime he would think about the dumb vision he would try to get it out of his head, try to focus on food or just anything else.

Everything ran smoothly for a while, everyone eating and chatting about how the day was, Dolores had just gone on another date with Mariano, Isabela was ranting on about some cacti she's help grow and how some of the towns folk explained multiple facts about them, Camilo was doing camilo things- we don't judge, or ask okay?

"Antonio what did you do today?" Felix asked his youngest, who was happily sitting eating his food and giggling to himself about something.

"Hm? Oh, I was talking to the animals! On of Tio Bruno's rat's came to see me" Antonio smiled, looking at Bruno and giggling as he played with his food.

Bruno couldn't help but blush, and look around the table for help. Everyone laughed though, letting it slip and continue talking.

Someone then asked about the food and how good it tasted, that's when Julieta explained that Bruno and Mirabel had helped out.

"Oh so thats why he's not wearing his ruana" Camilo pointed out, eating more food.

"Yeah, we can really see how small you are Bruno, just like when we were kids" Pepa teased, smiling at the younger triplet who just rolled his eyes and blushed lightly. A decade of left overs did that to you-

"Si, and when you and Julieta would pretend to count the poor boy's ribs" Abuela pointed out, laughing at the fond menories of her children. Bruno, once more blushed at the statement, too remembering the many, MANY tines his sisters would hold him down and t!ckled him, pretending to count his ribs.

"Oh yeah! Mama you're right! Bruno do you remember that? Oh the time you came home with mud everywhere and mama had to wash your shirt and ruana, Pepa and I could practically count your ribs!" Julieta unintentionally teased her younger brother, beginning to reminis on their younger days as kids.

Bruno couldn't help but blush and whine now, the conversation moving towards stories of him being t!ckled as a kid and how skinny he was-

"Oh and the time you came back with Felix and Agustín!"

"Oh yeah, we all totally got wrecked then- haha, totally worth it though" Felix winked at Agustín who was slightly blushing too as his wife gave him a playful glare.

"Oh everyone shut up, look at Bruno, he's blushing so hard he might be brighter than my sun!" Pepa said, putting all the attention back onto a blushing and embarrassed Bruno who was trying to hide behind his hair like an emo for some reason?

"Poor Bruno, I'm so sorry!" Julieta apologies but couldn't help but laugh a little at her younger brother.

"Julieta don't be, he loves it secretly!" Felix fake whispered behind his hand, making sure Bruno and everyone else heard as he winked at Julieta.

"Oh yeah! Is that true, does he still like being t!ckled?" Agustín asked, smiling at his brother in law and asking his wife, though once again, everyone heard.

It really was never a secret that Bruno enjoyed being t!ckled, most people in his family knew. It also made him feel a part of the family again too. Even when he was younger he enjoyed it, and everyone would tease him for it. Agustín only asked because it had been so long and partially forgot whether the man still enjoyed it or not.

Bruno couldn't help but squirm in his seat as he tried to pull up his shirt to hide also, absolutely dying as he tried to ignore everyone.

"Good question, hey tio Bruno~ do you still like being t!ckled?~" Camilo teased, leaning forward and winding his uncle up the wall. Bruno didn't answer and Dolores just wacked her brother in the side, though Camilo couldn't care as he died laughing at his uncles reactions.

"Yeah, he does" Mirabel answered, eating her food with a smirk on her face. Surprisingly Bruno glared up at her, as though begging her to shut up. No words needed to be spoken between the two though, almost reading each others minds.

'SHUT UP MIRABEL SHUT UP SHUT UP'

'I told you i'd make that vision come true~'

Everyone on the table laughed, even Antonio who was still giggling away at whatever the rat had told him before.

Bruno cringed and covered his face with his hands. His red headed sister though made him look up slightly, "Of course you do Bruno, you've always loved being t!ckled! T!ckle t!ckle t!ckle~" his sister teased him, wiggling her fingers at him just as she did so in the vision.

"Oh, remember that time we walked in on him with the vision?!" Julieta announced, looking over to her sister.

Bruno didn't remember seeing that in the vision, but he definitely remembered when his sisters had walked in on him doing a vision. Honestly it went down a lot like Mirabel's earlier- only twice as bad almost.

(Pepa was cruel.)

The two mothers began to talk to each other about the day and how adorable it was. Bruno looked up slightly and saw Mirabel with a wide smug look on her face, looking directly at him.

Bruno only whined but jumped out of his skin when Isabela poked him in the side to get his attention.

"I wonder if you can still count his ribs?" Pepa teased, wiggling her fingers at him once more.

"Oh you can" Mirabel teased, glaring at her tio with mischief glistening in her eyes.

"Oh really?" Camilo took this and ran with it, he'd been looking for a reason to wind up his favourite uncle, and of course Camilo wouldn't stop until he made you smile today!

Camilo ran round the table in a dash and began to run his fingers along his tio's vulnerable sides, Bruno jumping and dropping his fork as he burst out with giggles and laugher, unable to hold back from the t!ckles.

"Camilo! Waiaiaiaheheht!" Bruno kept squirming in his seat, Camilo standing right behind him and dancing his fingers all across his sides making the man giggle and unable to move away or push out.

Whenever Bruno would feel t!ckles on one side, he'd jump to the other, right back into it, and was unable to push out because Camilo was behind him and he wouldn't wanna hurt his nephew so he only giggled and squealed and jumped around in his chair.

"Tio Bruno, you're really t!cklish" Luisa stated, trying to hold back a smile from the adorable scene but failing.

Bruno gave out a tiny hiccup from that, almost wacking the table as he tried to save himself, he began to curse everything after that moment because everyone at the table awed, even Alma-

Camilo then decided to be a little shit and squeezed right above and on Bruno's hips making the man buck and squeal, kicking into the table and making it jump, though right after he began to perfusly apologise to the Casita while continuing to be wrecked.

"Bruno! You hurt Casita! Now it needs revenge~" Isabela teased, wiggling her fingers at her uncle and t!ckling on of his sides with all ten of her digits.

Isabela was much lighter with her touch after having to teach herself to be perfect over the years, even so, she was a mischievous menis when it came to it.

Bruno was jumping with laughter, whenever Camilo would squeeze his hips a little harder, he would jump and almost hit casita again, and all of Isabela's t!ckles on one side made him scrunch up to one side and turn giggly with laughter.

Everything also seemed much lighter without his ruana, no warmth, no protection, not that it would do much anyway.

"T!ckle t!ckle Tio~" Isabela whisper-teased, making Bruno blush even harder as his giggles seemed to hiss.

"Bruno can't escape the t!ckle monster!" Camilo teased from behind, beginning to make his way to a very flustered Bruno's ribs. From the second he attack, Bruno's laughed changed full heartily to bright belly laughter, pushing himself against the chair and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Wooo! Go Camilo! Bruno you can do it" Felix teased from across the table next to his wife.

Mirabel sat back and smiled at the scene before her, she knew she'd have to made it even better somehow... she just wasn't sure how.

That's when Antonio's giggles came up again and he had to cover his mouth. Mirabel noticed this and nudged her youngest cousin with a smirk on her face. "What's so funny hm?"

"Shh!" Antonio put a finger to his lips but continued to giggle, gesturing his cousin in so he could whisper. Mirabel took this and bent down.

"This is exactly what Samuel told me! That's one of Bruno's rats-" the five year old giggled yet again, seeing the smirk grow on Mirabel's face.

"He also told me about the vision and you" Antonio giggled some more, Mirabel only wiggled an eyebrow upwards at him and swooped him up in her arms, t!ckling his belly as his giggles became a lot louder.

"Yeah, because I'm the best t!ckle monster! Grrr!" Mirabel teased, joking around with a smile on her face.

"Nohoho! Nohoho! This ihihis supposed to be tihio brunono!" Antonio squealed, that's when the two looked up to see their uncle in the continuous hell of t!ckled and teased.

"You're right Antonio!" Mirabel ran round the table with Antonio and the two decided to help out. Antonio decided to add two more fingers, poking at his other side as Mirabel decided to tease him some more and run her hands over his neck.

Dolores and Luisa both sat back and watched as their tio got wrecked by t!ckles, squirming and laughing as he desperately tried to not die or fall off his chair. All the adults awed at the situation and knew they'd all tease Bruno about it later.

"Tio Bruno~ are you t!cklish?" Mirabel would ask, wiggling fingers in his face or gently against his neck.

"Mirabel, you're doing it wrong, here, everyone off" Luisa knew she just had to get in on this action, she stood up and walked round the table and behind a giggling Bruno. Camilo and Mirabel both stepped back, smirking as Luisa took her place. Camilo leaned on the table, Antonio and Isabel both stopping for a second and letting Luisa take control as Bruno began to drip with giggles and tingles.

"You're supposed to do it like this, Tio Bruno, is it okay if I give you a massage?" Bruno could bearly answer, his head was so dazed and couldn't think straight, giggling instead of actually talking. Julieta couldnt help but awe more.

Some what of a dazzled agreement came out after that and Luisa smiled, holding back her smirk as she placed her hands on her tio's shoulders. Bruno tensed up, still giggling a bit as he was incredibly sensitive from all the t!ckles.

At first Luisa gave a normal massage, but it quickly adapted to her squeezing Bruno's shoulders and neck, making him jump and laugh even more some how.

"THHIIHIIHS is NOHOT a ma55AgE!" Bruno's voice went high to low to all over the place as he giggled and squirmed beneath the strongest's hands, surprisingly gentle and hard at the same time.

Agustín laughed this time, cheering Bruno on and knowing what it felt like as Luisa would do it to him sometimes, though she was very gentle and kind with it.

"Come on Bruno, you can be that t!cklish!" Camilo teased, slightly not believing the man wad still going and giggling without having been made to beg yet. (Even though Camilo was that t!cklish-)

"He is, even the rats get him to beg" Dolores stated calmly, eating her food but also smiling, it just seemed to be in the air; Bruno did have a happy laugh.

"NO WAY" Camilo's jaw hit the ground as he looked to his Tio receiving a t!ckle massage as though he'd tell him.

Antonio giggled at that, secretly knowing all the stories the rats had told him previously.

"Really Bruno? You're that bad?" Agustín asked, chuckling at the thought of Bruno fighting t!ckling rats.

Bruno could only nod slightly, his fave bright red and hunched down as he was t!ckled on his neck and shoulders.

"Ihihi can't hehehelp iihiht!" Bruno tried to defend himself but ultimately ended up squealing as Camilo attacked his sides again.

"CAHAMILO!"

"Bruno!"

Everyone at the table laughed, "Bruno was always the most t!cklish out of you all" Alma stated, remembering her children as- well, children.

"Honestly, Camilo get his ribs or underarms and make him beg already" Pepa teased, she wanted to hear her brother squealing again before she would have to get involved. Not that she wouldn't wreck him later.

"Okay mami!" Camilo didn't have to be told twice, he shifted into his uncle and decided to WRECK HIM.

Camilo reached for Bruno's ribs and began to scribbled all down them, making the man jump and yell slightly, kicking his legs against the chair.

"Why are you t!ckling yourself Tio Bruno? Do you wanna be tickled? Do you like it huh? Huh?" Camilo teased, smirking wide at his uncle as his fingers danced across his ribs.

Even Dolores has decided to join in now, she stood up quietly and Bruno hadn't even noticed until he felt someone squeeze his knee caps, making him jump and burst out laughing even more.

"WAHAHAIT WAIT" Bruno began to beg, but there was no mercy from his neices and nephews. He threw his hands up to help, keeping his arms down at his ribs to try to stop Camilo's destruction.

"Bruno! Luisa can you hold his arms up?" Camilo sighed, pretending to act mad. Bruno scrunched his neck and looked up at Luisa who had a smirk on her face.

"Wahahait wahahahait! Luisa! AH!" Camilo had stopped t!ckling his ribs now and was waiting on Luisa to hold up his arms, now it was only Dolores who seemed to enjoy t!ckling his knees, everytime she squeezed he'd jump and yell.

Though everyone stopped when she seemed to hit a sweet spot under his knees, making the man bubble with gigglish laughter and try and curl in on himself, begging for her to stop or move to another place.

Bruno wasn't even thrashing, light giggles were bubbling up inside him and dancing around, fulling the room with the sweet laughter. Even Mirabel was surprised at how quickly her tio began to beg at this one spot. It tickles so gently, so bad he thought he'd slowly go even more mad, a bright red face and mini smile plastered on, unable to bare the light t!ckles.

"Woah-"

"Pleheheeeaseeeheheplehehease Dolores Dolores mohohoveeeheh spohohohotssss" Bruno vould feel his mind clouding and squeezed his eyes tighter, feeling the tears coming to hid eyes as her light fingertips t!ckled the fabric of his knees. Even with the clothes over the top, Bruno couldn't stand it, gently shaking his head as ge scrunched inwards.

Dolores chuckled a little as she continued to fog Bruno's mind with t!cklish sensations. Everyone else in the room awing over the man who couldn't seem to stop if he tried. He usually was adorable but this was a whole new level of adorable, cuteness overload.

Antonio began to giggle along with Bruno even after Dolores had stopped. Bruno felt so loved, so happy, so- fogged with t!ckles. Luisa had long ago put Bruno's arms above his head and so left the man there, giggling away as everyone awed him, his bright red face and glassed over eyes that scrunched up.

Everyone waited for Bruno to calm down a bit, when he opened his eyes he saw everyone looking at him, making him jump and blush more.

"Well that was adorable-" Felix said as everyone watched in adored silence. Bruno giggled nervously and apolgised for his reaction, even though he didn't need to.

"How did we never find out about that?" Pepa asked Julieta, but also everyone else, both kinda shocked at how adorable the scene just was.

"Probably too worried about making him scream" Felix explained, knowing how mischievous his wife was, honestly it was probably where Camilo got his mischief and playfulness from.

"Do it again please Dolores-" Julieta asked, still not believing what had just happened.

Dolores wiggled her fingers a little, not even touching Bruno and he already began to giggle and plead, tryna move his legs so she wouldn't reach him.

"Plehease don't- I cahahnt take it there!" Dolores luckily didn't continue, but Bruno's t!ckles still weren't over, no. Mirabel would keep her promise.

"Okay, then you'll have to deal with all of us, everywhere else" Mirabel decided, smirking at a flustered bruno who couldn't hide his blushing face in his hood, was vulnerable to all, giggling, arms up, no over layers.

"Ihihi don't mind, just not thehere" Bruno wasn't even thinking straight, barely able to think before talking, almost admitting to enjoying t!ckling. Not that he'd deny the claim.

"Okay then! Everyone, positions!" Mirabek teased, not letting her tio realise what he'd said before all the kids were around his body, over 50 fingers wiggling at him and an extra 5 for one of luisa's hands as she held his above his head.

Bruno looked up and saw this, Camilo sat on his lap, hands just above his ribs and belly, Isabela and Antonio at a side each, Mirabel on one armpit and his neck while was Luisa on another armpit with Dolores by Bruno's knees.

"Huh? I- wait! Wahahait!" Bruno was already spilling with giggles at the scene, blush spreading across his face and to his ears quickly, he tried to use his hands but just wiggled them out of view as if to show he surrendered.

"Come on Bruno, it's only a few t!ckles!" Pepa teased, eating the last of her food and smiling at her younger brother.

"You can do it!" Felix cheered, laughing with Agustín and Julieta.

"Oh we're totally doing this later" pepa whispered to the adults at the table, a smirk on her face.

"I CAN HEAR YOU PEPA!-" Bruno yelled, knowing their was no escape and just wanting to be cheeky with his sister.

"Oh yes, definitely" Julieta agreed, hearing Bruno whine and grunt from the chair.

"Bruno~" Camilo called his uncles attention and smirked, mischief written across his face, along with every other kids.

"Told you you'd get loads of t!ckles" Mirabel teased, "guess your vision was right"

"He had a vision?!" Camilo amd Isabela asked in union. "Okay you're showing us that after, first-" Camilo set off before everyone, digging deep into his tio's stomach and sending him into a giggling and laughing rampage. Though everyone soon followed after rather quickly.

Bruno couldn't believe what was going on. A month or so ago he would have never imagined this, but now? He was squealing with laughter! He couldn't take it all.

Isabela and Antonio both squeezed and t!ckled his sides, Camilo would squishy spider his belly and move to raking his ribs in torturous t!ckles, Dolores squeezed his knee caps making him jump and kick out- luckily she wasn't in the way and he wouldn't hurt anyone- Luisa scratched his armpit and word occasionally squeeze his shoulder, and Mirabel t!ckled his opposite side and his neck.

"EHEHEHEHAGAHA PFFT OKAY OKAY AKRIGHTTTTTTT PLEASEEEEE PLEASEEE STAHAGAGAPPP" Bruno screeched soon after, though he couldn't barely talk, screaming with laughter as butterlies and t!ckle bugs swarmed his belly.

"Hmm... nah" Mirabel teased, "yeah, sorry Bruno, we're gonna t!ckle you forever" Isabela agreed, making Bruno let out a whine that turned into yet another screech. He didn't say much after that until Dolores began to cheat and t!ckle under his knees again, it sent mixed signals to his brain and he couldn't comprehend anything, his laugher fading from screaming to giggles to silent screams.

"THATS CHEHAHAGATING-" was probably the last thing he said before his voice died.

That was everyone's signal to stop, though Camilo had to be dragged off slightly- ler moods, am I right? Luckily he was tempted by picking up his younger brother and t!ckling him to pieces instead of killing Bruno.

Bruno leant down and hugged his legs in a very strange position on the chair, chest to his thighs as he couldn't seem to do anything but greedily take in the air and laugh whole heartedly, picking himself up and leaning on his legs as he laughed on his own, hair covering him as it was all messed and curled.

Bruno hadn't laughed so whole heartedly in a while, he couldn't help the pure bliss and joy in his head as left over tears pooled down his face.

"Ihihi think you killed him!" Agustín laughed, unable to help himself from all the silliness.

"Sorry Tio Bruhuno, are you alright?" Mirabel laughed along with her papa, leaning down and seeing if Bruno was okay.

Her uncle looked up slightly, a bright, warm, happy smile on his face. He wanted to thank her, thank them all, tell them he loved them, but he just had no words. Mirabel knew though.

They all did.

[bukuoshin]

My dollies are arriving tomorrow. Yay! Yay! Yayyyy!

[flautistsandpeonies]

Yiling Wei Sect AU: Children of Yiling Laozu

Most fics like this have Wei WuXian teaching juniors demonic cultivation and I? just can’t see that??? Like it makes more sense for Wei Wuxian to have a sect that is primarily spiritual cultivation; just because he himself has no core doesn’t mean he can’t teach.

Yiling Wei Sect would more than likely be: -Spiritual Cultivation (Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, Wen Ning, Wei WuXian) -Medicinal Cultivation (Wen Qing) -Musical Cultivation (Wei WuXian) -How to live like a normal civilian/farmer, merchant, noble/gentleman/lady, etc.

Fic premise starts: Right before Jin Ling’s One Month Celebration. Wei WuXian loves Yanli but decides not to go for obvious reasons- aka, these people want to fucking kill me I canNOT risk that. So for the next 13 (or more) years there is little to no contact between Wei Wuxian and anyone he used to know.

Instead, Wei WuXian comes up with the idea to get him and Wen Qing’s finished inventions out there so that more money can come into the settlement. He and Wen Qing work together (maybe a Lavender Marriage) to make tons of deals with merchants, nobles, and the like. Just a bunch of rich fuckers buying Wen Qing’s “Immortal Medicines” and Wei WuXian’s ”Immortal trinkets”  The cultivation world still- begrudgingly- buys the inventions (they try to plagiarize and make the items themselves but without Wei WuXian’s manuscripts they all fail (and explode) and they have to deal with the fact that they’re making the man they all want to kill richer and influential.

Just imagine Wei WuXian grabbing a young feral Xue Yang back to the Burial Mounds. The kids ecstatic thinking he’s gonna learn how to summon the dead and demons, gonna exact revenge on the Chang Clan. But then the Yiling Patriarch puts him in front of this stern faced woman in red robes with black flames and before he knows it he’s putting a bandage on wounded animals instead of kicking them.

Xiao Xingchen meets his nephew- who is seven years older than him- while the man’s on a short journey to some backwater town hunting some yao that’s terrorizing people and they bond immediately. After meeting Song Lan, they both constantly- and secretly- visit the burial mounds so they can bond with all their grand nieces and nephews that Wei WuXian saves from the streets. They adopt A-Qing like normal and she uses her spiritual cultivation to with a spear instead of a sword because you know she would.

The Cultivation World is baffled when a bunch of teens with miniature Stygian Tiger Seals (Token to get into the burial mounds) on their belts are out and about as traveling medics and rogue cultivators. The people of Yiling and other civilian villages are calling them the Patriarch’s Children.

JC Stans & XueXiao Fans Don’t Clown on my posts

[mayans-sauce]

Positively Happy

@pantherclawz

Pairing: Coco Cruz x Female Reader

Word Count: 1.6K

Warnings: cursing

Request from anon Hi, if requests are open, I was wondering if I could request a Coco imagine? Where him and the reader had been trying to get pregnant but the reader deals with PCOS, which can make it extremely hard, and the last test she took said negative but she's had symptoms and then gets another test and it says positive? And she surprises Coco and they go to her 1st appt. And they see their baby?

A/N: sorry this is so late! But I hope I did well for this request and that you enjoy it!

You can read about what PCOS is HERE and HERE

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•• Main Masterlist •• Coco Masterlist ••

Coco had explicitly said for years that he didn’t want another kid, not after fucking it up so much with his previous ones. He was glad that he had Letty in his life now and had started to form a relationship with her. A year or two after having Letty in his life, he got to know you, the love of his life, and he felt blessed and happy that he had his two favorite women with him. That was all he needed, and frankly, so did you.

You had both agreed that having your own kids wasn’t a priority in your life, at least not now, or maybe it never would be, but you still had it open for discussion in case something changed in the future.

And for Coco, it did change. It changed the day your sisters dropped off your niece at your house for a few days because she was going overseas for a week for her job. His eyes opened up for a new possibility for joy and laughter in his life watching you interact with the toddler.

Playing, taking care of her, loving her. He wanted that, he wanted that so bad, he loved your niece, and she loved to be with Coco as well, but he was scared to bring it up to you in case you had changed your mind completely, but eventually, he did, and you were more than happy that he wanted to have kids with you.

He told you he was scared. Scared that he would fuck it up as he did with his two others and Letty. He didn’t believe that he could be a good father, but you and Letty convinced him otherwise, especially Letty. She had told him, even though he hadn’t been by her side most of her life, that she loved him with all her heart and that he was the best dad ever to her.

He then knew that he could do it, be a good and caring father with you and Letty by his side.

The baby-making part wasn’t the hard part of getting pregnant because you and Coco were experts; it was the getting pregnant part that didn’t work. You tried for a long time before you went to a doctor. They diagnosed you with PCOS, which along with a few other problems, also makes it harder to get pregnant, but it was still possible. So the doctor suggested that you try more before you could look into other methods of getting pregnant.

Each test you took came out negative, again and again, and each time your hopelessness increased.

“What does it say?” Coco asked as you both waited in the bathroom for the pregnancy test to get ready. You picked it up and hoped that it would finally say positive. But your face dropped when you looked at the results, and Coco knew what that meant. “Nothin?” “Nothing.”

He let out a long sigh, his heart sinking in his chest. He wrapped his arms around you and yours around him, just holding onto one another and giving each other comfort. “We can try again.”

After a few weeks of trying some more, you and Coco had given up on trying the natural way, so you scheduled an appointment with the doctor to work out some other methods. The appointment was some time away, so the weeks leading up to it, you and Coco hadn’t in your thoughts to make a baby while having sex; you just focused much more on each other than you ever had.

A few days before the appointment, you started to feel a little different. Your period was late since it had always been so irregular, so you didn’t think much of it, but you also woke up feeling very ill. So later in the day, you went to buy a pregnancy test just in case. Coco wasn’t home, so you asked Letty if she could join.

Letty loved you like you were her mother. You were best friends and always was there for one another. “Do you think you're pregnant?” “I… don’t know. I don’t think so, but I just feel different than the other times, so I figured just checking wouldn’t hurt.”

When the timer on your phone went off, you lifted the stick straight to your face to look at it, not thinking so much of it because you were expecting it to be negative as always. To your surprise, it said positive, and your heart started racing. “What?” You said in the tiniest whisper, your eyes glossy with tears that began to form in them.

“Y/N, what is it?” Letty came to stand by your side. “It’s… it’s positive.” “Are you sure?” You gave her the pregnancy test so she could check for herself. “I don’t have an extra to check it, but… it’s never said positive before. This is the first time.” Now Letty was crying and overjoyed with excitement. She hugged you long and hard, and you did as well. Emotions were running all over. “I’m gonna be a big sister.” “You're gonna be a big sister Leticia.”

“I need to call him.” You couldn’t wait for him to come home; you needed him to know right away. His phone went to voicemail, which means he was in Templo because he always answered his phone no matter what except when he was in there. So you sent him a message and a picture.

📲To: My Coco❤️

Let’s hope this means that baby Coco is on the way❤️ I’m so happy❤️

Letty and you moved over to the living room to wait for Coco’s response. Even though it wasn’t 100% sure that you even were pregnant, you started talking and planning for the baby already. What gender you wanted it to be. Letty wanted it to be a girl while you wanted a little Coco running around, but regardless of what, you would all love the baby no matter what. The future for the baby and all the adventures you all would go on.

Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang with Coco’s face lighting up the screen, and you picked up in a second. “Is-is it real,” his voice was shaky as he spoke; you could hear that he was on the verge of tears. “Yes, Johnny, it's real… it’s so real.” He told you he was on his way home to you. He didn’t care about the club or anything other than you right now.

When he arrived, he wouldn’t let go of you, holding onto you as his life depended on it. Letty joined in the cuddling and love. After some time, he got down on his knees so that his head was at level with your belly. His hand softly caressed it as he talked in a gentle voice, “I hope you are in there, little one. I love you so fucking much.” Only the appointment in a few days could tell, so you didn’t entirely hold onto the hope that you were pregnant, but you all wanted it to be real, so you acted that it was.

A few days later, at the doctor's appointment, you, Letty, and Coco all held your breath as they searched for a glimpse that you were pregnant. Coco held your hand tightly as he watched the screen, his leg bouncing up and down in anticipation. Letty held tightly onto her father, just as nervous and anxious as him. To your luck, they found evidence that you were indeed pregnant, and all of you were overjoyed at the news.

Letty squealed in happiness as Coco started lightly crying at the discovery of his entire world changing for the better, but the doctor told you that it might be too soon to celebrate. Because of your PCOS, there was a bigger chance for you to have a miscarriage or other complications with the pregnancy. So you would need to be closely monitored and taken care of.

Coco vowed from that day that you wouldn’t do any hard work around the house or anywhere else. He, Letty, and the rest of the guys would do everything for you. All you needed to do was sit your pretty ass down and relax as they all treated you like a queen.

A few weeks had passed, you and Coco were on the way to the doctor again for another appointment. This time hoping to know the sex of the baby. Coco was driving with one hand on the steering wheel and his other hand playing with your fingers, which always calmed him down. The window was down as the warm wind of Santo Padre seeped into the car.

“I hope it’s a girl,” he admitted. He had told you since the pregnancy was confirmed that his dream was to have a baby girl. A sweet and beautiful little creature that looked exactly like you that he would protect with his whole heart and kill anyone that dared to harm her.

“I hope it’s a boy.” You could see in your dream a little miniature Coco. Him and his father running around in the yard playing together as they laughed in the grass like it was the funniest thing ever. The two being messy boys and getting into trouble all the time and hiding it from mommy.

But you knew no matter what you found out today at the doctors that the little miracle in your belly would be loved unconditionally by everyone in your lives no matter what.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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[scapegrace74-blog]

New Ways of Turning into Stone, Chapter 5

A/N  Sorry for the long break between chapters.  As some of you might have seen from my Tumblr blog, I’ve been off on vacation these past two weeks.  Plus, when I felt the urge to write, it was my new Vaquero AU that kept calling to me (21,000 words and counting!), rather than this fic.  Which is probably a good argument for why I don’t like to post WIPs.  In any event, here is the next chapter some of you have been asking for, entitled Third Appointment.  Be careful what you wish for.  Angst ahead, plus a trigger warning for infertility trauma, miscarriage.

The first four chapters are available on my AO3 page.

The Thursday after her impromptu encounter with Jamie and his niece at the Royal Hospital for Children, Claire woke with a strange twisting pain in her gut.  Skipping breakfast, she was halfway to her office before she diagnosed herself with an acute case of nerves, the kind that sprouted between her lungs and ribcage like a vestigial organ whose sole purpose was to unsettle her.

She wasn’t in the habit of meeting patients outside of the clinical confines of her practice, but it was more than that.  Jamie had caught her in a moment of weakness, with both her personal and professional armour missing.  What he might have seen and how he could have interpreted it had occupied her thoughts ever since.

Eating lunch was out of the question.  By the time two o’clock approached, her insides were a buzzing hornets’ nest of anxiety, her palms clammy with sweat.  A half-empty bottle of Xanax called to her from the bottom of her purse.  Before she could weigh the implications of taking one at work on an empty stomach, Jamie’s familiar knock intervened.

She could tell as soon as he entered that Maggie hadn’t needed a transfusion that week.  His russet curls shone like garnets in the midday sun and his uncanny eyes glittered like sapphires.  Still, he avoided looking directly her way as he settled into his usual chair, and she wondered if the overlap of their personal and professional lives had left him feeling unnerved as well.

“No wheat grass smoothie,” he commented, his gaze running over her desk.

“No, I didn’t have time for lunch today.”  It was a blatant falsehood, since she’d spent her lunch hour picking her cuticles until they bled, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Ye should eat more, Sassen..., Doctor Beauchamp.  Ye canna help anyone else if ye’re no’ properly nourished.”  She caught the slip, and for some reason it angered her.

“Is this your attempt to negotiate a reduction in your fees, Jamie?  Dietary advice in return for counselling?  Because if so, I’m afraid I don’t bill on the barter system,” she snapped, despising her churlish tone.

Jamie’s eyes narrowed, then dimmed.  Message received, he sat up straighter in the armchair and crossed a foot over his knee, assuming a position of poised and detached calm that had no doubt served him well during business negotiations.  She regrouped by pretending to glance at her journal for the notes from their previous session, although the space next to his name was accusingly blank.

Boundaries thus defined, the session went surprising well.  Jamie spoke of his relief that Maggie’s latest round of chemotherapy was over, allowing her to return home and to some semblance of a regular life for a child of six.  Claire coaxed him gently towards the topic of his overwhelming guilt for abandoning his family when he was most needed.  Jamie processed pain through the recounting of stories, coming to terms with his self-decreed transgression by weaving together the tale of those he loved and pointing to the holes his absence had caused.

As his resonant voice spun its web of words, Claire became aware of an underlying hum.  At first it was subtle, like the mumble of traffic from a far-off motorway.  But as their hour together ticked by, it grew in strength until she could no longer ignore the buzz that pressed against her from all directions.

“... saw that it was really Jenny and Ian who I was... Claire?  Doctor Beauchamp, are ye well?”  Jamie was watching her with concern, and she realized she’d been shaking her head, trying to dislodge the omnipresent hum.

“Yes, I’m... yes.  Sorry.  Just a funny noise that’s...  Please, continue.”  When Jamie didn’t immediately pick up the thread of his narrative, she tried again.  “You were saying something about Jenny and Ian?”

Instead of continuing his previous thought, Jamie picked that moment to broach the topic she’d desperately hoped he would avoid.

“I hope ye’re no’ upset about the other day, at the hospital.  I didna mean tae impose or tae... o’erstep the bounds of our relationship.  No’ that we have a relationship, mind,” he hastened to add.  “Only a professional one.  But when I saw ye, I couldna resist introducing ye tae wee Maggie.  I hadna told ye about her yet, and I thought...”

“Jamie, it’s fine,” she cut in, halting his rambling explanation.  “She’s a lovely girl.  They all are.  It’s only that, I’m sort of...”

“Ye’re verra good with them.  Children, that is.  Ye’ll make a fine mother one day.”

All the oxygen left the room at once.  Her heart beat so hard there was a bruised feeling behind her sternum.   Launching to her feet, Claire stumbled blindly away from her desk.  She wanted to run, to scream, but her vision was a narrow chasm and a now-deafening throb filled her ears.  She only made it a few steps before her knees buckled and the carpet floated upwards to meet her.

“Ifrinn!”  Jamie leapt to her side, catching her by the shoulders before her head could hit the floor.  He lowered them both carefully to the ground, resting her body against his lap.  “Sassenach?  Claire?  Can ye hear me?  Do I need tae call an ambulance?”  The words reached her from very far away, but the threat of medical intervention acted like a dose of smelling salts.

“No,” she groaned, the room spinning around her like a kaleidoscope.  “No hospital.  I just... need to eat,” she grasped at the most innocuous explanation for her current state.

Without dislodging her, Jamie stretched his long arm and brought back the small basket of miniature muffins that were the day’s offering from Geillis.  With surprising dexterity, he peeled away the paper one-handed and broke apart a bite-sized morsel, holding it gently against her lips.  Realizing that her dignity couldn’t get any more battered, Claire opened her mouth and allowed Jamie to feed her.  After only a few bites, the buzzing disappeared and she was able to sit up on her own.

“Thank you,” she murmured, afraid to look into his eyes for fear of the pity she knew she’d see there.  “You were right. I  should have eaten lunch, I guess.”

“Claire.”  Jamie made a prose poem of the single syllable of her name.  She looked up at him through her lashes, stunned to find him looking back, not with pity, but with something akin to adoration.  “Mo nighean donn,” he ran a tender hand through her loosened curls.  “Ye need tae care more for yerself.”

“I will.  I’ll try.”  And when she said it to him, she really meant it.  Jamie made the impossible seem probable.

They stared at one another, shoulder to shoulder on the floor of her office.  She couldn’t think of anything else to say, but nor did she move.  Her gaze flitted over his face, noticing a vestige of boyish freckles across the bridge of his nose, a mole hidden in the harvest stubble on his cheek.  Jamie was performing a parallel inventory, eyes finally coming to rest at the level of her mouth.

“Ye’ve got a wee crumb, jus’ there.”  Unconscious, her tongue swept out, triggering a predatory response, twin blue laser beams narrowing on the target she had just painted on her lower lip.

“I... I’d verra much like tae kiss ye, Claire.  May I?”

An amputated moan was all she could manage in response, but Jamie must have understood its meaning.  He bent his head until only a whisper separated them.  The air crackled, sending that extra organ plummeting towards her hollow womb.  Clenching her eyes shut in defeat, she closed the infinitesimal gap until they met in an effervescent caress of lip and tongue.

Cold washed over her skin, bathing her in gooseflesh.  Jamie tasted like he looked; a banquet of fresh, volatile flavours that called to mind a picnic in a meadow, a spray of sea foam, the warmth of hearth and home.  She could feel him trembling against her, his moist breath rushing against her cheek in shallow pants.  For a score of heartbeats, Claire was the happiest she had ever been.  Then, reality crashed down around her.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered, pulling away.  “I... this can’t... I’m sorry.”

Jamie leaned back with a mixture of longing and resignation.  She hated adding herself to his list of regrets, but it was for the best.

“I’m your doctor, Jamie.  This isn’t right.”

“Aye, I ken.  I should apologize, but I canna seem tae find it in me tae repent.”

Jamie stood, reaching down to help Claire up as well.  As soon as it was apparent she was able to stand on her own, he dropped her hand as though it burned.  The line between his brows deepened, and she could see the question forming before he gave it voice.

“What if ye werena my doctor?  Would it be right then?”

“That’s neither here nor there, because I am, Jamie.  A relationship between patient and doctor of a romantic nature is ethically off-limits.”

Jamie nodded, apparently accepting her explanation at face value. Her heartbeat calmed.  He moved slowly, gathering his coat and starting to leave.  

“But what if ye weren’t?” he said, facing the door.  “If we’d met at the hospital, or out on the town?”

“I...” she stammered, searching desperately for any answer except for the truth.  “No, Jamie,” she said at last, watching as she destroyed his last bastion of hope.  “I’m sorry.  I just don’t feel that way about you.”

Nodding abruptly, Jamie let himself out of the office.  She listened to his low murmuring voice through the door as he spoke to Geillis, heard him make an appointment for the following week, then the loud snap of the main door closing.  Only then did she allow herself to collapse once more to the floor, angry sobs overtaking her.

***

“Are ye out of yer fuckin’ mind?” Geillis inquired with her usual brutal eloquence.

With the help of a Xanax, Claire had managed to see her last two patients of the day, and only needed to navigate the shoals of her office manager’s ire before she could go home and fully medicate herself into a dreamless sleep.

“Jes so we’re clear, ye want me tae write a letter terminating your services as a doctor an’ suggesting suitable alternative providers?  An’ ye want me tae send this letter, over email, tae Jamie Fraser?”

“That’s right.”  She had determined that icy calm was the best antidote to this conversation, which was fortuitous, since she felt numb all over.

“An’ what reason am I tae give fer this abrupt conclusion tae yer association wi’ Mr. Fraser?”

“I don’t owe him an explanation.  Only sufficient notice and an opportunity to seek counselling elsewhere,” she said, feigning reasonableness.

Pushed past her limits, Geillis rose from behind her desk, a tiny tempest of moral indignation.

“Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, ye are a good friend, a fine doctor an’ a fair employer.  But I swear by the Almighty that if ye dinna drop the façade and tell me wha’ is going on I am going tae smack ye until yer ears ring!”

There was a certain relief in knowing that Geillis wouldn’t take no for an answer.  And unlike Jamie, she knew where Claire lived and would not let her rest until the truth came out.

“He kissed me.  Or rather, I kissed him.  And I liked it!  That’s why, Geillis.”

Her friend’s shoulders sagged, all righteousness gone in an instant.  She reached around Claire’s frame and held her in a bone-crushing one-sided hug.

“Och, hen.  An’ ye figured ye could deal wi’ those pesky feelings by jes, what? firing him as yer patient?”  

“I can’t deal with this right now, Geillis.  I can’t feel the way he makes me feel.  And this practice is all that I have left.  There’s no way I can risk losing it just for an affair that won’t even last the summer.”

She didn’t need to elaborate on her reasons for that dire prediction.  Geillis knew them as well as anyone.

“He’s an intelligent man, Claire. He’s gonna ken something is up.  Moreover, he’s a good man.  He deserves tae hear the truth.”

Shaking her head sadly, Claire walked towards the door.  Just before exiting, she called back softly to her friend.

“Geillis?  Make sure to include Dr. Rafferty’s name on the list of referrals.  I think they’d be a good match.

***

Monday morning dawned with little promise for the fledgling week.  Moving robotically through her weekend routine, Claire thought frequently of chickens.  How their bodies kept moving once their heads were lopped off, nerves and muscle and bone continuing to function for a time despite the fatal blow.

The elevator chimed its arrival on her floor.  As the doors slide open, Jamie was the first thing she saw.  He loomed by her still-locked office, a sun-topped thundercloud gripping a sheet of printer paper.

She’d worn her best black suit and a pair of chunky heels that brought her closer to his height.  Perhaps, on some subconscious level, she’d anticipated this confrontation.  Perversely, she relished it.  Vitriol and deceit didn’t suit her, but it was preferable to feeling absolutely nothing.

“Do ye mind tellin’ me,” Jamie began before she’d even set foot in the hallway, “jus’ what this is about, Claire?” He brandished the paper like a wanted poster.

“I would think it was self-explanatory, actually.  I’m terminating our professional relationship,” she huffed, golden eyes coming to life for the first time since Thursday.

“Via email.  Sent tae me by Miss Duncan, because ye dinna have the guts tae do it yerself.  Christ, Sassenach, even my ninth grade sweetheart didna dump me so cruelly!”

“I’m not your sweetheart!” she burst out, a flood of emotion cresting with her rising anger.  “Don’t call me that!  I was your doctor, Jamie, and now I’m nothing to you.  Nothing.  Just go.  Please.  Just go,” she finished weakly and without any hope that he’d listen.

“All this jus’ because I kissed you?” Jamie persevered.  At her stubborn silence, he continued, “Nah, I dinna think so.  Ye’re many things, Claire, but a coward isna one of them.”

She found this hysterically funny, since a coward was the only role she played to perfection.  She didn’t have time to laugh, however, because Jamie was suddenly standing much closer, forcing her to lift her chin to meet his stormy eyes.

“Nah,” he continued smoothly, a big cat alerted to the smell of its prey.  “If ye’d objected tae the kiss, ye would have told me so.  Read me the riot act or kneed me in the bawls.  I think ye’re scared, Doctor Beauchamp.  I think that kiss terrified ye, because ye realized ye liked it.  Somethin’ ye couldna  plan for in yer wee journal, right there under yer nose.  Bet it made yer heart beat so fast. So fast, jus’ like it is now.”

Jamie’s hand rested gently over the placket of her suit jacket, where he could surely feel the trip hammering of her pulse.

“Please,” she begged.  “Don’t.  I can’t...”

“Can’t what, Sassenach?” he whispered back, goading her.

The truth hung on her lips, and the toll of the past few days meant that she no longer had the strength to stop it from spilling forth.

“Can’t have children.  Ever.  I tried, for years.  Fourteen miscarriages, fourteen lost chances.  And seeing you with those children last week.  I know it’s presumptive, but I could never deny you that chance, Jamie.  That’s why I can’t see you anymore.”

She was looking down, watching the buttons of his shirt rise and fall with his agitated breath, but as she finished speaking, their movement ceased.  Chancing a glance upward, she was stunned by the fury that had overtaken his expression. 

Jamie opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed to speak in a gritty growl.

“Mutation of the RUNX1 gene tha’ causes leukemia.  I was tested, along wi’ Jenny an’ Ian, after Maggie was diagnosed.  I have a fifty percent chance of passing it along tae my children.  An’ since I canna stand the thought of ano’er bairn havin’ tae suffer as Maggie has, as soon as I got the test results, I went out an’ had a vasectomy.”

Claire recoiled as though she’d been slapped, a high pitched whine in her ears.

“Ye’re no’ the only one who’s hurting, Claire!” Jamie continued, voice dashing against the rocks of her name.  “We’re no’ meant tae suffer alone.  Ye, of all people, should ken that.”

Stunned in the silence following the thunderclap of his revelation, she couldn’t find the words to express her sorrow, her outrage, and her crippling shame.  By the time the power of speech returned, Jamie was gone. 

[official-weasley]

Double the Joy - (The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley AU)

Warnings: scolding a child, fluffy family stuff

Word count: 4,585

Characters: Charlie Weasley and my OC Nova from TICW which you can find here

A/N: I still suck at writing baby talk so I am expecting an army of toddlers to get me soon! 🙈

Nova

“Alright, so then we place this one here...”

Charlie was sitting on the floor with Aoede and they were doing a puzzle together. It was gifted to her by Arthur when she turned 3 but she didn't show any interest in it until this morning when she found it in her room and the second she showed it to us Charlie had to promise her that they will complete it after lunch.

The puzzle is of a dinosaur mum and her newly hatched baby. I found it amusing but not at all surprising because Arthur loved Muggle things and for some reason, Aoede was more than intrigued by them too.

Charlie, on the other hand, wasn't very pleased that Aoede was more excited about some giant Muggle chickens that don't even exist any more than dragons but once they had the frame down, he got into it.

“Dad, we need another piece hele!” Aoede pointed her tiny finger to where she noticed a piece was missing and they both started to search for it on the big pile they set up together to easily find the right puzzle piece.

I was half laying on the sofa, sipping on my tea and observing them bonding. It was better than Tom and Jerry or any other show or cartoon. Every time they were doing something together I took my time to just stare and admire them. Aoede might be a miniature me but in so many hidden ways she was just like Charlie and I loved to figure those things out and later point them out to him because it meant so much to him to know that she caught some of his genes as well, besides his red hair.

One of the first things I noticed was the way she gets angry – it's all of a sudden and she gives it her all – and Charlie is the same. They both don't know how to handle their temper. With Charlie, I got used to it. With Aoede, it's adorable – for now.

It's also how she frowns and presses her lips together when she is mad. Charlie does the same expression and since she copies so many things after me, I think she got that one from Charlie – probably when he comes home mad when one of the dragons was disobedient and his interns didn't know how to handle it properly.

It shows the most, however, when they cook together. The way they both concentrate when they are measuring things or how they mix the ingredients in the pot. Aoede bends over when she searches for something in the fridge the same way Charlie does and she tends to lower her voice while baking for some reason and I didn't notice that Charlie does the same until last week when he had a sudden inspiration to make banana bread.

Being more than 8 months pregnant, I couldn't do much. Unlike the morning sickness when I was pregnant with Aoede, I feel constantly tired with this one so I am mostly resting and taking every opportunity I can to nap.

At first, it bothered me because I felt so useless, and seeing Charlie being so busy with cleaning and cooking while still going to work and playing with Aoede, I felt like I am not contributing much. The second I expressed my concern, Charlie was quick to calm me down saying that being pregnant and granting his wish to have another baby was contributing enough.

As always, I tried protesting for a few days and even cooked a few meals and bathed Aoede a few times – despite that being one of Charlie's favorite things to do because they splash each other and flood the bathroom. At first, Charlie just glared at me and said nothing, knowing full well that I was stubborn enough to try my best. But the second he saw that it was draining me and that I started sleeping more and more he made me stop and I finally gave in.

Now, I love my quality time on the sofa because I usually have the honor of watching Charlie play with Aoede and it's just the most beautiful sight of how much he loves to spend time with her and how much fun Aoede is having when she has daddy's full attention.

“Okay, we did that part, now to the tail...” Charlie started searching for puzzle pieces again, while Aoede came to me, gave me a gentle squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

She did that every time she thought that she was spending too much time with her dad and was making me jealous. Every fifteen minutes or so she would pause whatever she was doing and take the opportunity to come and show me that she loves me too.

A knock on the door disturbed our precious little moment and I started to get up.

“I'll get it, love, no need to get up.” Charlie lifted his hand at me to stop me.

“No, no. You two are busy. Let me go, I have to stretch my legs a little anyway.” I smiled at him and he bestowed me with an appreciative smile back, clearly having the best time with his daughter.

I slowly made my way to the hallway and opened the door.

“Good evening!” Bill grinned the second he saw me, his eyes moving from mine to my belly, before pulling me in a hug.

“Oh, my, you are getting big! I can't believe less than a month to go!” Fleur exclaimed and embraced me too.

“Aoede, your godparents are here!” I shouted toward the living room.

“Sorry, dad, I have to go.” I heard Aoede whisper to Charlie before she started running toward us.

“Uncle Bill, uncle Bill, uncle Bill, uncle Bill!” Aoede crashed into Bill with such force that she almost knocked them both over.

“Look at you!” Bill took her in his arms. “Since when are you so big?”

“Uncle Bill, you saw me less than a month ago!” Aoede giggled.

“I know, but still. You must've grown for a full head!” Bill exaggerated.

“Nuh-uh! Tell him, auntie Fleul, he is lying!” Aoede leaned closer to Fleur to hug her too before returning to pay her full attention to Bill's ponytail failing to make it into a braid.

“'e's right! You 'ave grown!” Fleur tickled Aoede's belly, loving how easily entertained she was.

“Look, uncle Bill, auntie Fleul! Daddy and I ale making a puzzle!” Aoede grabbed both of her god parent's hands and rushed them to the living room the second Bill put her down.

“Dinosaurs,” Bill sniggered, “let me guess, a gift from grandpa Artie?”

“Yes!” Aoede lifted her hands excitedly in the air.

“I can see Charlie iz very 'appy about dinosaurs.” Fleur pressed her lips together not to laugh as she sat next to me on the sofa while Bill joined Charlie and Aoede to finish the puzzle.

“So, 'ow are you?” Fleur put her hand on my knee, her eyes that were glued to my belly were sparkling.

“I am about the same. Still very tired but it's almost over.” I sighed and smiled at her.

“You are doing great and it will be worth it once you zee your new baby.” She exclaimed.

I narrowed my eyes at her – she was hiding something. Bill and Fleur were married for 2 years now and we have become really good friends and it's been nice to not be the only girl to marry into the Weasley family. They visit us often, especially now that the dark times are behind us and Aoede expresses that she misses her favorite aunt and uncle.

Only Charlie, Bill, Fleur, and I know that Aoede loves them the most and promised that we won't tell anyone else in the family no to crush their hearts as they all fought to be the favorite of their only niece.

Since we see each other more often, I had the chance to get to know Fleur better which meant I learned when she was hiding something. She has been very supportive ever since we told them and the family that we are pregnant again and even offered for Aoede to stay with them for a week at Shell Cottage so Charlie and I could get a breather and be properly excited about the expecting bundle of joy.

I was used to her asking me how I am and how I am dealing with everything and she even expressed a wish that she wishes to be a mum herself. But her grinning and having sparks in her eyes was something new – as if she couldn't wait to share something with me.

“You are on to me, aren't you?” She giggled as I didn't stop reading her face.

I only hummed in response before looking at Bill who's head was tilted, observing Aoede completing the puzzle with the same sparks in his eyes. I pursed my lips, going full detective mode on this.

“Will you say it on your own or should I just guess?” I smirked, locking eyes with Fleur.

“Guess what?” Charlie looked at us and I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

“William, Nova knows.” Fleur pretended to be disappointed.

“Knows what?” Charlie asked confused.

“How did you know? She isn't showing yet.” Bill furrowed his brows.

“Not showing yet?” Charlie's eyes were jumping from Bill to Fleur to me and back.

“Oh, I don't know, perhaps all the sparks in your eyes.” I giggled and pointed at both of them, leaving poor Charlie confused.

“I told you she will figure us out!” Fleur's cheeks turned slightly pink.

“Okay, somebody has to fill me in!” Charlie didn't look amused at all.

“As I said – will you tell us on your own or should I make a guess?” I cocked an eyebrow at them, giving them one last chance.

“Somebody please just say it.” Charlie ran a hand across his face, looking completely done.

“Let Charlie guess!” Bill laughed, pointing at his brother.

“But –” Charlie frowned at him before giving it some thought.

“So, Nova already knows and it involves both of you and it has to do with sparkling eyes and Fleur not showing something yet.” Charlie had his eyes narrowed, scratching the stubble on his cheek.

Bill, Fleur, and I were watching him solve this mystery, hardly keeping it together. Bill pretended to help Aoede with the puzzle while Fleur and I avoided eye contact not to start laughing. After about 30 seconds of Charlie's gaze switching between his brother and his sister-in-law, his eyes widened in realization.

“Fleur, you're pregnant!” Charlie put his hands over his mouth as Fleur nodded excitedly.

“Not you too!” Before either Charlie and I had a chance to congratulate them Aoede decided to share her opinion on the matter.

“Aoede, you should hug Bill and Fleur and be excited with them,” I said gently and got bestowed with a frown from my daughter.

“Yeah, don't you want a cousin to play with?” Charlie added.

“No!” Aoede stood up, shaking her head. “Couldn't you do this soonel so mum didn't have to get anothel baby?”

Bill and Fleur stared at her with their mouth open. They heard and knew about Aoede not agreeing with mine and Charlie's choice to have another child but they have never witnessed it until now.

“Aoede, that's enough!” Charlie said with a warning voice.

Aoede, who had her mouth slightly opened – ready to say something else – turned to her dad, frowned some more then sat back down in front of her puzzle pretending to search for a piece even though the puzzle was completed and sniffed so silently that I almost didn't catch it.

Bill and Fleur silently exchanged a look while I glared at Charlie who has never risen his voice at Aoede before and even though we couldn't enjoy and celebrate this pregnancy as we did with the first one due to Aoede always having something to say about it, we agreed to be patient with her in the hopes that she would come around.

“Uhm, I need some fresh air,” Bill cleared his throat, “don't you need some fresh air too, Charles?”

Bill nudged his brother and they both stood up. I smiled appreciatively at him and mouthed congratulations not saying it out loud not to get another negative reaction from Aoede.

When they closed the door leading to the back porch behind them, Fleur and I joined Aoede on the floor.

“Sweetheart...”

“Not now, mum. I am busy.” Aoede pretended to sigh, thinking she could hide that she was sobbing.

“Can we 'elp you?” Fleur tilted her head, hoping Aoede would look at her.

“No,” Aoede shook her head, “no, thank you, auntie Fleul.” She tried mustering a smile but failed and instead of her lips curving, she shed another tear.

“Aoede...” I searched for anything to say to her.

It was breaking my heart seeing her this way, trying to hold in the tears and pretending that Charlie's warning voice didn't hurt her.

“Shh, mum. I'm playing.” Aoede lifted her hand at me to stop me from saying anything else.

“Let's give 'er some space,” Fleur whispered to me and stood up.

I was observing my daughter for a moment or so more before Fleur nudged me with her foot to join her.

Charlie

“That was something,” Bill said after we were sitting on the bench in silence for a moment.

“Yeah. I don't know what got over me. I never raised my voice at her before.” I shook my head.

I was ashamed of myself – it was wrong and I should've handled the situation better.

“Yeah, it was evident that this never happened before,” Bill said gently.

“Nova and I promised to each other that we won't talk about the pregnancy in front of her and I guess it just got to me. We were so excited to have another baby and you know I want a bigger family and I just wish Aoede would share that excitement with us.” I pressed my fingers into my eyes.

“She'll come around. I was even younger when dad told me mum was pregnant with you and I was in complete shock trying to convince them that they were wrong.” Bill laughed.

“Wait what?” I asked, incredulously. “You never told me this before.”

“Yeah, I was mad and did not want you at all and now look at us. I can't imagine my life without you.” Bill put an arm around my shoulders and ruffled my hair.

“But you were always so nice and took care of me.”

“Yeah, you and your cute freckles grew on me.” He winked at me.

“How long did you need to warm up to me?” I wanted to know.

“You would have to ask mum that. I only remember that I threw a tantrum when I had to stay with aunt Muriel when you were being born. Don't you remember how angry you were when mum was pregnant with Percy? You were about Aoede's age.” Bill giggled.

“I do not remember that at all,” I answered honestly.

“We were both mad. I liked the idea of just being the two of us and when our parents told us that they will have another baby they ruined that fantasy and I remember we made a pact about not liking the baby.” Bill was clapping his hand against his knee, laughing so much.

“So we should expect the alliance between Aoede and our second-born when we'll have the third one?” I playfully shook my head.

“Yeah, get ready for that.” Bill gasped for air.

“Thank you for telling me this, Bill. I feel more hopeful that Aoede will come around but even worse about shouting at her.” I bowed my head.

“You're welcome and you'll apologize to her.”

“Mhm,” I mumbled, looking up at the starry sky.

“So you still don't know the gender of the baby?” He asked after us being silent for a few minutes.

“Nope. We loved the surprise when the doctor told us Aoede is a girl and we want to do the same this time around.” I grinned.

“I don't think we'll be able to do it.” Bill rubbed his chin. “We're just so excited, you know!”

“Oh, now I can finally say congratulations!” I embraced my brother. “I can't believe I'm going to be a dad again within a month and an uncle in...”

“About 8 months.” Bill finished my sentence. “And thank you. Fleur isn't even a month in so you are the only ones who know for now.”

“Understandable.” I nodded.

“So,” Bill nudged me with his elbow, “any fatherly wisdom to share?”

“I can't believe there is something I can lecture you about and not the other way around.” I chuckled.

“Yeah, you beat me to it.” Bill joined me.

“Well, up until the moment you witnessed inside before, I reckon we have been pretty great with our daughter. Treat your child as an adult and talk to them and pay them attention and value their opinion as much as you can. Children are smarter than we give them credit for and always listen to what they like and try making them happy with those things.” I pursed my lips, trying to think of more things.

“How about the pregnancy? Is it normal to feel left out?”

“Oh, yeah. I felt terrible when Nova had morning sickness and I couldn't do anything about it.” I sighed. “But I have learned that just being there for her and encourage her and tell her she is doing great goes a long way.” I grinned.

“Right.” Bill was focused, taking every word I said in.

“Also, try and do as much as you can around the house and for her so she can have a proper rest.”

“Of course.”

“Oh, and massage her feet every time you remember. I know Nova would kill for a foot massage especially in the final months when their feet get really swollen.” I explained.

“Got it.” Bill nodded.

“Other than that just be excited and celebrate every moment. Honestly, we were obsessed with Aoede before she was even born.” I giggled. “You mean how you told her stories and sang to her while she was still in Nova's belly?” Bill sniggered.

“How do you know about that?” I felt the heat on my cheeks.

“Nova wrote me about it.” He winked at me.

“Well, it's sweet and you'll turn all mushy too once you become a dad.” I lifted my chin, proudly.

“I have no doubt about that. I can't wait.” Bill couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

“You're going to be a great dad.” I patted him on the back.

“If I'm half a father you are, I'll be proud of myself.” He smiled at me and I couldn't help but return it – that compliment meant a lot to me.

Bill was always better in most things we did and he always beat me in everything. But I guess when it comes to being married and having children, I was more experienced and it felt nice to give him advice instead of receiving it for a change.

“Speaking of being a good father...” I cleared my throat and looked at the door.

“Go, go talk to your little girl.” Bill encouraged me and we stood up.

Nova

“She obviously wanted to be alone,” Fleur said in a low voice when we sat down at the kitchen table, my eyes still on Aoede.

“I know but – “ I pressed my lips together.

I knew that if I would say another word my voice would break and I would start to cry – my hormones were getting the best of me. We found the whole thing about Aoede not wanting a sibling funny and we knew that sooner or later she would warm up to the baby but now that I saw how hurt she was when Charlie stopped her from sharing her opinion with us, I realized how serious this was for her.

“Waz zis ze first time Charlie raised 'is voice at 'er?” Fleur put her hand over mine.

“Yes.” I nodded and finally turned to her.

“It must've shocked 'er,” Fleur said understandingly. “Mhm.” I hummed not really knowing what to say.

“Are you okay? I can zee zis is eating you alive,” Fleur said with concern in her voice.

“I have no memories of how I was when I was her age and being an only child I never had to deal with such information and it pains me that I can't relate to her or help her get through this.” I brushed the tear that ran down my cheek away.

“I 'ad no idea she iz zo against it.” Fleur was a bit shocked.

“Yeah, it came to a point where Charlie and I started to question if we made a mistake getting pregnant again.” I sighed, remembering all the moments when Aoede got mad when we discussed anything about the pregnancy.

“But you want a bigger family.” Fleur tried cheering me up.

“That's true but the first time around, we celebrated – just me and Charlie. This time we wanted Aoede to join us and share this happy moment with us and she is just not having it and how are we supposed to be excited about it when our daughter is completely miserable over it?”

“She will come around, trust me. I waz ze same.” Fleur chuckled.

“You were?” I brushed another tear away before looking at her.

“Of course! I zink all children are. When my parents told me about being pregnant with Gabrielle I wanted to run away from 'ome!” Fleur laughed, reminiscing on the memory.

“And when did you come around?” I sniffed, a bit cheered up.

“When zey brought 'er from ze 'ospital. When I saw 'er and saw that my parents wanted to include me and still loved me ze same, I calmed down and in a few weeks I was prepared to die for 'er.” Fleur sent me a smile.

“I hope she will be the same.” I looked back at Aoede, who was still sitting in the same position.

“Trust me, you 'ave nothing to worry about. You celebrate your second baby without worry.” Fleur stood up and hugged me tightly – as tightly as my big belly allowed her.

“Thank you, Fleur. Your words really eased my mind.” I murmured.

“Any time.” Fleur smiled and sat back down.

“And congratulations. I am so happy for you two.” I tried to sound excited and whisper at the same time, not wanting to upset Aoede again.

“Zank you! We couldn't be 'appier!” Fleur clapped her hands together.

“How far along are you?” I wanted to know.

“About three weeks. We are not telling anyone else yet but we wanted to tell you.” Fleur was shaking from excitement.

“Oh, our babies are going to be so close in age!” I jumped in my seat.

“I know! I never thought we are going to be pregnant togezer!” Fleur grinned. “Any tips?”

“Well, be prepared for the morning sickness which kicks in at about six weeks, and try to not overwork yourself even though you feel very energetic. Listen to your body even if it has weird food combinations in mind for you to try,” I giggled, “and ask Bill to often massage your feet. That feels so good when they get all swollen.”

“Oh, I can believe that!” Fleur chuckled.

“Other than that, listen to what your doctor says and advises you and try not to think about it too much and with that I mean just try and continue your daily life as much as you can. I went to work until my 5th month and I would continue to go if Charlie wouldn't protest so much.” I playfully rolled my eyes.

“Do you think Bill will be ze same?” She laughed.

“Oh, yes, most definitely! Be prepared for that!” I joined her.

After our giggles quieted down, I looked at Aoede again.

“I will try talking to her again,” I said to Fleur and stood up.

Right when I reached her, Charlie returned with Bill.

“Love, let me handle this.” He whispered to me, avoiding my eyes.

“No, I can do it.”

“Please, I feel bad. Let me fix my mistake.” Charlie pleaded. “I shouldn't have reacted as I did and I want to apologize to you too. We promised we will give her time and I snapped.”

“Okay.” I smiled at him and kissed him on the lips.

I watched him sit down next to Aoede and then joined Bill on the sofa, who welcomed me with his arms wide open.

Charlie

“Pumpkin, can I sit next to you?” I asked Aoede with a gentle voice.

“Yes,” Aoede replied, her head bowed down, looking at the puzzle.

“Do you have the time to talk?”

“Mhm.” She mumbled.

“Daddy wants to apologize for how he talked to you earlier. I was wrong and I am sorry.” I wanted to hug her so badly but I knew we weren't there yet.

“It's okay dad, I undelstand,” Aoede said with her cute voice.

“It's not okay,” I shook my head, “I shouldn't have lost my temper with you.”

“But you love the baby.” Aoede finally looked up at me, her red and puffy eyes broke my heart.

“I do, Pumpkin, but that doesn't mean I love you any less.” I dared to move a bit closer to her.

“I just don't want anything to change,” Aoede sighed, “I like that it's just you, me, and mum.”

“I know, Pumpkin but as mum and I told you before, nothing will change. We will still love you the same, treat you the same, give you the attention and play with you.” I ruffled her soft hair.

“You plomise?” Aoede bestowed me with the sweetest puppy eyes that I have ever gotten.

“I swear on my job.” I crossed my heart and smiled at her.

“But,” Aoede gasped loudly, “daddy, you love youl job!”

“Exactly, but I love you and mum and the baby more so that's how you know that I am not lying to you.” I gestured for her to sit in my lap and she climbed over my leg.

“Okay,” Aoede took a deep breath, “I will tly and do bettel.”

“Aoede, it's okay. I understand. Your uncle Bill and I were the same when we found out about your uncle Percy. I know how you feel now and I shouldn't have reacted as I did. I should've been more patient with you and give you time.” I frowned, still disappointed in myself.

“Do you and mum want this baby?” Aoede looked up at me.

“As much as you want to see a unicorn.”

“That much?” Aoede stared at me in awe. “But that is a lot!”

“Yes, that much.”

“Okay, daddy. I will tly to want the baby too.” Aoede pushed more into my body and I wrapped my arms tighter around her.

“You will?” I asked surprised, not expecting this outcome at all.

“I will. I sweal on a unicoln.”

I gasped dramatically, knowing how much unicorns mean to her, and made her giggle. As she turned around and looked at me lovingly with her big blue eyes, it warmed my heart knowing that we will be just fine.

[moonmothmama]

ok so we've been watching Kenobi, but we like to do it on the weekends, because then we have the time to take the projector out into the backyard after it gets dark and watch it on the miniature big screen. and that has been an excellent decision.

today our niece hung out with us while we watched even though she isn't into star wars and didn't know any of the context for what was going on. she's a good kid lol.

it was fine* bc we finally started watching the new season of stranger things immediately after, which she's been harping on us to get around to watching. we watched one episode outside and then the next inside because my laptop battery was dying

*- by fine i mean that both things were so good but also i'm like emotionally exhausted holy shit that was intense

also i'm not gonna turn this into a stranger things reaction post because a) i'm not even close to caught up and b) this post is about star wars, but since i mentioned it: oof, Eleven's Normal Kid Type School Problems... that shit is ROUGH

ok so about Kenobi

i got so emotional over the scenes w/ Anakin? this had me at the emotional level of clone wars and rebels. the prequels were... the writing had some serious problems, let's say. not a controversial opinion i know. let me go on record that i do not and have never blamed the actors for the prequels' flaws. but anyway.

shit man, this was good as hell. THIS had me really feeling the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. and god it hurts. what i mean by "at the level of clone wars and rebels" is, the whole fucking range of feelings, from like, that betrayal of a character you LIKED and ROOTED for falling so far, even though you knew it would happen... it hurts because it feels like he could've been saved, but he wasn't, and it also feels like you personally have been let down by this person, along with the other characters.

the things he's done are so terrible, so unforgivable, and it only makes it hurt worse knowing the kind of man he used to be, and could have been if things had been a little different, and knowing that it's still him. someone that, yeah, had issues! serious ones! but who loved so hard and did so much good... who had his compassion twisted into something hideous by the manipulation of someone who exploited his flaws/weaknesses. if only things had been a little different! it didn't have to be that way! but it was that way, and he leaned all the way into that hideousness. he became a monster.

shit, that hurts so much.

frankly i was near tears every time they had a flashback.

also the second that Reva had that grand inquisitor thing pinned on her i just fucking. oh boy i knew something Bad was gonna happen to her. and like, yeah she's an antagonist, but a) her origin story was pretty easily guessed and b) even if it wasn't, her presence is redolent with bitterness, and you don't become that bitter without some seriously bad shit having happened to you. even before it's clear that she's here on some kind of fucked up revenge thing you get that air of tragedy about her too.

and so many people in star wars do terrible things out of pain, and fear, and anger, and so on. and sometimes the bad guys win and shit goes to hell. but there's always someone else out there trying to make shit better through all that exhausting painful shit. and no matter how bad it gets there's always room to keep hoping that it actually will get better.

and like as much as star wars as a whole has serious problems- both egregious ones that could easily have been prevented, and ubiquitous problems that are baked into it- that's the appeal of it, that there's so much tragedy and yet it's still about hope in the end. that things can get better even after so much loss and suffering. that they can get better even when the threat persists.

not to be corny but like that's it right there. star wars might be a trash fire sometimes but when it's good it's REALLY good**, because that's the kind of story humanity will always need to tell and be told.

**- and those two things can coexist within the same star war tbh

but yeah.

Kenobi has been consistently impressive so far imo. it came out swinging and hits real hard, right where it counts

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Forever

 One Shot: She Is Worthy.

Summary: The time has come for Katie to be admitted for the birth of the 5th Little Rogers. It’s the biggest mission that the pair of them have faced before, but their friends and family come through.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Descriptions of a few things to do with childbirth that may trigger a few people…

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N:  So here she is…introducing Florence- Flossie- Rogers.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Steve stood in the doorway of their room, watching as Katie packed everything into the small suitcase. He let out a soft sigh and she turned to look at him.

“Honey, that’s the fifth time you’ve unpacked and repacked that.” He said gently, crossing the room.

“I know I just want to be sure I have everything.” She shrugged, her eyes flicking back to romper in her hands. “We’re gonna be in there for a long time and-“ “I know, sweetheart.” He nodded gently, taking her face in his hands. “But we checked everything off the list. And if there’s something missing then I can always fetch it. It’s not a problem.”

He took the baby grow she was currently holding out of her hands, folded it and placed it in the bag before he shut the lid, zipped it up and then turned to face her as she melted into his arms.

“I’m so scared, Steve.” Her voice was trembling as he simply stood there, his arms holding her as close as her bump would allow, his face pressing into her hair.

“I know but I’ll be with you the whole time.” He assured her. “And if there’s anyone that can get through this it’s you.��� They stayed still, Katie taking deep breaths and letting his soft touch and smell calm her. Eventually she pulled back and looked up at him.

“Love you.” “Love you too.” He smiled, dropping a kiss to her lips “Now, without spoiling the surprise Bucky, Sam, Pepper and the kids are waiting in the lounge.”

Katie smiled, “yeah, I heard the door before. Plus Rori was whispering very loudly to Emmy at breakfast about some secret plans which included Moo.”

Steve chuckled. “She can’t keep anything quiet.” “Well, at least she’s not throwing tantrums about Flossie anymore.” Katie shrugged, her hands resting on Steve’s chest over his blue plaid button down. “Small mercies.” Steve gave a little chuckle. “True. I’ll go down and tell them you’re coming then you can walk in and look surprised, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan…and you’d know, because-“ “Doll, just don’t…” He cut her off before she could launch into that infernal song and she giggled, her smile lighting up her pretty face, and it warmed his heart to see her worry melt away, even if he knew it was only temporary. He softly kissed her forehead before he left the room.

Katie glanced at the now closed suitcase and took a deep breath. She knew she had everything she needed, if truth be told she’d been re-packing because she didn’t have anything else she could do. This entire situation felt like it was out of her control, and that was what was worrying her. Not to mention the operation itself, the recovery, the apparent menopausal symptoms she was going to feel…but the worst bit, the bit she was absolutely terrified off was the fact they were going to have to numb her from the waist down.

But, Steve would be there. That she knew. And there was nothing else to be done about the situation, there was simply no other way their baby girl could be delivered without Katie’s life being left hanging in the balance, which both of them knew was just not an option. Steve because, well frankly the thought of being without her made him physically sick, and Katie couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him behind with her kids.

Wiping her eyes, she checked her mascara hadn’t run, fluffed her long hair out slightly which had been done that morning- one final pamper session before she was once more reduced to merely making sure there was no baby puke in it- and she headed out onto the landing and down the stairs. Taking a deep breath she fixed a smile on her face and walked into the lounge, and at the sight of her four kids, husband, best friends, sister-in-law and niece the smile became a genuine one as she was greeted with hugs and kisses.

“How you feeling?” Bucky whispered, his lips pressing to her temple in a friendly show of affection.

“Petrified.” She replied simply and he responded by gripping her a little tighter, his hand rubbing softly at her back

“You got this, Doll face. You always do.”

Katie gave him a smile as she stepped back and turned to Steve who was watching her, Harry perched on his hips. He gave her a wink as she walked towards them, smiling at Harry who stretched his arms out towards her.

“Hug momma!” He grinned and she smiled, allowing him to settle his arms around her neck, kissing his check, whilst Steve kept him safely gripped in his arms.

“So,” Pepper cleared her throat, “we know that you probably wanted a quiet evening with the fact you have a fairly busy day tomorrow…” at that Katie chuckled as Pepper picked a paper gift bag up from the coffee table, “but we just wanted to stop by and give you a little something that hopefully comes in handy whilst your recovering.”

Katie stepped forward and gently reached into the paper gift bag. Led on the top were some beautiful L’OCCITAINE toiletries, all in miniature sizes for her to take with her.

“They’re from me!” Morgan beamed from where she was sat next to Jamie on the couch, the pair of them looking at something on a tablet. Katie smiled and then returned to the bag, her hands brushing on the soft towelling of a robe as she pulled it free. It was a deep blue with gold detailing, just like her old Supernova suit and on the front over the left hand side her star had been embroidered. She took a deep shuddering breath and looked at Pepper, her eyes filling with tears.

“Just for those moments when you’re in there and need reminding of the Superhero you are.” Pepper said gently as Katie stepped towards her, the two women embracing.

“I wish he was here.” Katie whispered, who he was needed no explanation, and Pepper gave her a harder squeeze before she pulled back.

“He’d be so proud of you, you know.” Pepper whispered to her gently as Katie reached up to wipe the tears which had slid down her face.

“Momma’s upset Daddy.” Harry looked at Steve who pressed a kiss to the boy’s head, his own emotions threatening to bubble over.

“Don’t worry about it, buddy.” Steve assured him, smiling at the tot. “Momma’s just a little tired and the baby’s making her feel things, that’s all.”

“Are you okay Auntie Kiddo?” Morgan spoke and Katie turned to look at her, smiling as Tony’s eyes looked back at her form her Niece’s face.

“I am now.” She smiled, crossing the room and bending to give her niece a huge hug. “Thank you for the gift sweetie, it’s going to come in real useful.”

She rest a hand on her bump, her other hand going to her back and Steve, spotting the signs well enough, gently handed Harry over to Bucky and moved to help her sit down on the other sofa.

“You good?” His hand gently cupped her face and she nodded, smiling as he dropped a kiss to her cheek.

Emmy, who had been in the kitchen with Rori walked into the room and the pair of them dropped some snacks onto the table. The adults and kids alike descended like a swarm and Jamie took the opportunity to head over to his mom, handing her a box wrapped in gold paper upon which paw prints had been drawn.

She frowned at him and he shrugged at her.

“It’s from Stark.”

Katie glanced at Steve who was stood next to Bucky, watching Jamie. He gave his eldest son a wink as Katie tore of the paper and gave a little chuckle at the new Kindle.

“He says he’s sorry for chewing your other one.” Jamie popped his shoulder as the dog in question lay in the middle of the floor on his side, tail swishing.

“I’m sure he is.” Katie smiled. “Thanks Stark.”

He looked up and thumped his tails harder against the carpet.

“I already set it up and logged your profile in.  Emmy looked at her. “Dad was gonna try but I stopped him before he screwed it up like the laptop.”

Steve rolled his eyes and Katie chuckled..

“Thanks guys! You know you really didn’t have to. I wasn’t expecting any of this, at all, from any of you.”

“Hey, you aint seen our gift yet.” Sam smirked and Bucky snorted.

Steve looked at them “What did you get?” Bucky ignored him and Sam passed Katie a small gift bag. She pulled out a box and opened it, frowning at the plain white mug.

“Erm…” “Yeah, you need hot water.” Sam nodded and Emmy took the mug from her mother and headed back into the kitchen.

“It changes.” Bucky said simply, and at that point they heard Emmy’s loud laugh ringing down the hallway. She returned carrying the mug, grinning ear to ear as she handed it to Katie. Katie stared at it for a second before he started to laugh as she saw the picture that had appeared with the heat. It was a selfie of Bucky and Sam, in what looked like Central Park, but the pair of them were pulling ridiculous faces. Bucky was cross eyed, Sam had his tongue stuck out and nose scrunched up with his eyes closed, the pair of them were holding up their fingers behind the other one’s head in the peace sign. Along the bottom the words “Don’t you wish your husband was hot like us…and this drink?” glared out at her and she shook her head, her laughter showing no signs of stopping.

“I can’t,” she wiped the tears of mirth from her face as Steve took the mug from her and shook his head, looking at his friends.

“You said stuff she could use, Stevie.” Bucky shrugged.

“Yeah, use in the hospital!” Steve stared at the pair of them.

“And I can!” Katie looked at him. “Be nice to have my own special mugs for drinks.”

“Yeah, see?” Sam nodded “Practical and personal.”

“I love it.” Katie grinned “Thank you.”

Rori, who had been watching all this, walked to her dad and tugged gently at his jeans. He stooped to pick her up and she whispered into his ear. “Is it time for our present now Daddy?”

“Not yet.” He said, looking at Katie who was now talking to Pepper about something, looking far more relaxed than Steve had seen her in days.

“Why not?”

Steve looked at his daughter and took a deep breath. He knew what the kids had made for her was going to set her off again, hell, it had set him off when he had seen it so he knew full well she would appreciate it much more if it was just them around.

“Because I think it’s so special that Momma’s going to need time to look at it properly.”

Rori nodded, accepting his explanation and kissed her dad’s cheek, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder.

Everyone stayed for pizza which Emmy had made, from scratch Katie was impressed to find, having followed her recipe for the dough. The kids rolled a small one out each, decorating with their own toppings whilst Emmy loaded the larger ones for the adults with the standard Rogers favourites, with extra jalapenos for Bucky. Once everyone was stuffed to the brim it was time to say goodbye. Bucky arranged to come back in the morning to be on hand to help Emmy with the other three kids as Steve had a sneaky suspicion that wasn’t going to go as smoothly as they hoped, Rori already making noises about wanting to go with them. He’d told her she couldn’t several times but she’d simply shot him that ‘whatever’ look, thinking she’d get round him as she usually did. At least with Bucky around to help keep their little Diva entertained, Emmy could concentrate on Harry a little more. Jamie, well, he was old enough now to understand and had already promised Steve he would be good for his eldest sister, puffing his chest out slightly as Steve had told him he needed to assume the ‘man of the house role’ whilst he was gone.

The house felt a little empty when everyone had left. Katie sat still for a moment, taking in the quiet before she announced she was going to head upstairs and put her gifts in her bag, but Steve stopped her.

“There’s one more you’ll need to pack too.” He looked at her, and at that Jamie grinned at Rori who immediately skipped off out of the room before she returned holding something behind her back.

“We didn’t know what to get you.” Emmy started to explain as Rori held out the thin book to her mom.

“So we made you something.” Jamie added.

“Daddy helped.” Rori nodded as Katie took the book from her, looking down at the black leather cover upon which the words, ‘Momma’s Memory Book’ were written in beautiful gold stencilling.

Katie ran her hands over the lettering and looked up at her children, beaming before she opened the cover. On the first page, there was a message which had been drawn, the large lettering shaded in various different colours.

‘The best thing about memories is making them, and between us we’ve made a lot.’

Katie smiled and turned the page, her smile growing even wider as the first thing she was greeted with was a picture of her and Steve taken years and years ago, before they even got together, on a night out with the SHIELD team. The pair of them were both looking at each other, Katie’s nose wrinkled in a laugh and Steve’s face sported his trademark, lopsided grin. She looked up at her husband who smiled at her as she continued to look through the book.

The entire thing was littered with photos. From her SHIELD days, through to the Avengers days, photos of her and Natasha, the whole team, one of her and Tony both laughing hysterically in the office, and even some press action shots of her swirling through the air over Sokovia, flying in tandem with Tony.

“Where did you get all these?” She looked up and Steve hesitated for a second before he shrugged.

“Pepper had a lot on the Stark Industries archive and Queens may or may not have helped us acquire some too.”

“His name is Pete.” Emmy narrowed her eyes before she tuned to Katie and grinned. “He cracked the old SHIELD main frame,” she informed her mom, and Katie laughed, “with a bit of help from EDITH.” Katie continued through the pages and eventually she turned to one, which contained a photo of her, Steve and Emmy way back at the first Stark Christmas Party Steve had met Emmy. They were both in their Avengers suits, Emmy stood in front of them, giving a huge toothy grin. Underneath it was a photo of the three of them taken at Emmy’s graduation. Across the page opposite Emmy had written a message – ‘Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones that would do anything to see you smile and love you no matter what. Love you Momma x’

“Oh, Em.” Katie looked up at her, her eyes filling with tears. Emmy smiled and sat down next to Rori.

“Keep going!” Rori demanded. “My pages are the best.” “Shut up, Rori.” Jamie rolled his eys.

“Yeah, shuddup Rowi.” Harry glared at her and Steve arched his eyebrow.

“How about the lot of you shut up.” He spoke, and all the kids turned to him, narrowing their eyes.

Katie turned to the next two pages, which were Jamie’s and contained the photo that Katie adored, the one of him asleep on his dad’s chest when he was merely hours old, and a more up to date photo of him and her in the garden which had been taken on his birthday the year before. He hadn’t written a message, instead his artistic nature had taken over and he’d drawn a number of little sketches. A baseball, Stark’s head, one of his game console controller and an ice cream cone. All little things that were personal to him.

The next two were Rori’s and her baby photo was one of her, Steve and Katie taken the morning after she had been born in their bedroom. Both of them were looking down at her, Steve’s hand gently curled under Katie’s as she held her. The more up to date photo was one of her all her Diva glory as she stood, one hand on her hip, the other flicking her hair out whilst she pouted at the camera. Katie gave a snort at the photo, and then her eyes turned to the page opposite which was basically a collection of cuttings from magazines of all sorts of princess type stuff, and the entire lot was decorated in a fuck tonne of pink and gold glitter which now covered Katie’s hands.

Katie smiled and then turned to Harry’s page. Another baby photo, this time of him clutched to Katie’s chest in the hospital as she kissed his head. His more up to date one had been taken a week or so ago in the garden, wrapped up so much only his eyes were peeking out. Katie had laughed at the time, as his hat kept slipping down over his eyes. The page opposite was a hand print, which had been once more decorated with glitter.

“I helped.” Rori nodded firmly.

The next page contained a photo of Lucky led under his tree, then opposite was Stark sat in the same spot.

And when she turned to the next pages she took a deep breath. They were blank, except for the same writing that was across all the other pages spelling out the kids names, except this one spelt ‘Flossie’.

“It’s so we can add her in.” Jamie nodded and Katie swallowed, the lump in her throat thick as she smiled and turned to the last pages.

On one side was the photo of her and Steve taken at the New Years Eve Gala, their first formal event together, and a photo she could herself probably draw from memory. On the next was one of the pair of them taken at Rori’s birthday party the year before. It had been taken in the evening and Katie was perched on Steve’s knee, both of them flush from alcohol but the same love struck expression that was present in the first was just as evident on Steve’s face as Katie’s wore the exact same happy grin. Underneath Steve had written her a little message ‘Fate whispered to the Warrior ‘You can’t fight the storm’ and the warrior whispered back ‘Oh, but I am the storm’. Love you until the end of the line, Doll. Yours always, Steve xx’

“Guys,” Katie’s voice croaked and she looked up, tears clouding her vision, “this is amazing. I love it.”

“You can look at it when you’re away from us and we’ll be there, isn’t that right Daddy?” Rori asked, looking up at Steve who was choking back his own emotions.

“Sure is.” He nodded.

“Thank you.” Katie said, her voice cracking and all of their kids moved to give her a hug, Harry scrambling onto her knee, his hands tangling into her hair. “I love you all so much.” ***** After a pretty restless night, they were up and out of the house after Katie wished a teary goodbye to everyone. Rori had started to kick up a fuss but Bucky had quickly distracted her with the promise of a trip to the Waffle House and it was Harry that ended up having the meltdown, the fact that his momma was leaving him suddenly registered in his brain. Steve could see Katie was starting to get upset so he took charge and simply ushered her out of the house, Harry’s cries dying down as the door shut behind them. As they drove to the hospital, Katie remained quiet all the way, her hand simply wrapped around his where it lay resting on the central arm rest and he noticed her breathing growing a little more erratic as he pulled off the main road and down the small lane that led to the car lot. He raised his hand and pressed a kiss to her wrist.

This wasn’t the hospital she’d had Jamie or Harry at, this was a different one that Dr Kellet had suggested she might find more comfortable given how long she was going to be there. Katie had said to Steve that she doubted she would feel comfortable anywhere, but when they were shown to the room which Katie was going to call home for the next week or so, she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was more like a hotel room than a hospital suite. It was decorated in soothing neutral colours, the bed was a queen size, which Steve was thankful for as it meant not only could he snuggle up to her, but sleeping on those chairs or camp beds really did his neck in. There was a bathroom with a tub, a wardrobe with a set of drawers in, a small sitting area with a small kitchenette area where she could heat up food and make herself a drink, a two seater couch and a table and a TV on the wall.

The Midwife left them to get settled in and Steve helped her unpack, the pair of them smiling at the various baby grows they’d bought, one of which had been supplied by Bucky and Sam which sported the words ‘You think my dad’s bad, you should meet my uncles.’

Katie set her little memory book on the night stand and then frowned.

“You okay?” Steve asked as he spotted her face.

“Yeah, it’s just, when you go home, can you bring me the photo from my nightstand, you know the photo of all of us at Peppers from the summer?”

Steve arched an eyebrow and then reached into the suitcase and handed it to her. “I popped it in this morning.”

She smiled softly, his ever thoughtful nature always made her feel warm, and she leaned up to kiss him. “My hero.”

It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door and Dr Kellet arrived, flanked with a midwife and a kindly looking, white haired man who she introduced as the Anaesthetist. Despite the fact Katie knew what was going to happen off by heart, they went through it all again, and then it was time for her to get ready.

In a trance Katie changed, and before she knew it, it was time to start. She was led down to the theatre room and directed onto the bed. Once the IV was inserted she was instructed to lay on her side ready for the epidural. Steve helped her shift over, un-surprised to find that she was already trembling. He took her hand and leaned forward in his seat and she looked at him, her green eyes wide with fear and tears. He gently ran his other hand over her hair as he pressed his forehead to hers.

“Okay, Mrs Rogers, this shouldn’t take long at all.” the Anaesthetist spoke calmly to her, but Katie didn’t respond other than to reach for Steve’s hand. Her fingers laced through his and he raised them slightly, pressing a soft kiss to her finger, just above the place where her rings sat.

“You look ridiculous in that.” She said quietly, her eyes roving Steve’s hospital gown and he gave a smile.

“As ridiculous as the first Cap suit you saw me in?”

“I liked that suit.” She muttered, as she flinched a little as the anaesthetists hand touched her bare skin through the back of her gown.

“As much as the Stealth one?” Steve asked, but other than giving him a smile she didn’t reply as she was busy trying to blank out the fact that she could feel a sharp scratch where the needle had pierced her skin. But her attempts to focus on where she was were not working. For a horrible moment she was back in that painfully bright HYDRA cell, as three men pinned her to the floor, her body already violated and battered, whilst they stuck whatever fucking shitty chemical it was into her spine leaving her paralysed from the waist down for hours, laughing as she was forced to drag herself over the floor.

Steve instantly spotted that she was gone from the way her eyes were scrunched shut, her breathing deep. She was absolutely petrified. Swallowing slightly he did the only thing he could think to.

“Eyes on me.” He spoke, his voice stern and she opened them to see him looking at her. “I got you.” he promised, his eyes locked onto hers, his thumb gently arching over her knuckles. “Always.”

“Okay, all done.” The Anaesthetist announced and Katie let out a shaky sob.

“Well done Mrs Rogers.” Dr Kellet spoke softly and Steve smiled, brushing Katie’s face with his hand.

“You did it, baby.” He smiled softly “Hardest part is over.”

Whilst that seemed such a ridiculous notion, considering she had yet to go through the actual operation, Steve, and everyone in the room for that matter, thanks to Dr Kellet’s coaching, knew that the through of a needle in her spine rendering her numb from the waist down was the biggest issue here.  And Steve was grateful for the gentle nature they’d all conducted the procedure with.

“Okay, you ready to lay back?” Dr Kellet asked and Katie nodded. Steve stood up, taking over, helping her get as comfortable as she could.

Then, Dr Kellet, looked around the room and started barking orders to the various staff in the room, all of whom were scrubbed up. A heart and blood pressure monitor were attached to Katie, along with sensors to monitor Flossie, and then Steve watched as two nurses began to wheel the screens into place which would block Katie’s lower body from her and his view and then he turned back to his wife.

“Wonder if Rori has managed to paint Bucky’s toenails yet.”

Katie snorted “She’ll probably be sticking fridge magnets to his arm.”

“He loves it.” Steve smiled.

“He loves her.” Katie corrected him. “He loves all of them.”

“And this one is gonna be no exception.” Steve smiled. “You know, I hope she looks like you too.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.” Katie said.

Soon enough turned out to be fifty-five minutes later.

“And here she is.” Dr Kellet moved, gently rounding the screens and placing Florence onto Katie’s chest. Katie gave a little gasp as she held her daughter for the first time, her tiny face screwed up as she cried, all pink and soft. Her noises died down somewhat as she pressed against her mother’s chest and Steve glanced down at her, sniffing slightly as he pressed a kiss to Katie’s forehead.

“She’s perfect.” Katie breathed, her eyes watering, “Hi Flossie.” She studied her daughter for a moment, trying to get a lock on her features, but she was slightly different to what any of the others had looked like. Jamie had been recognisable as Steve instantly, Rori as her, and there’d been features of them both they’d spotted in Harry but here, well, she looked like Steve in some ways, she had the same eye shape and nose, but then in others she didn’t particularly look like either of them. It was strange. She turned to look at Steve to mention it to him and then frowned a little as the tears were pouring down his face.

“Soldier?” she frowned, “What’s…” He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, reaching out with a large hand to softly smooth over his baby daughter’s head. “She er,” he swallowed and then looked at Katie, smiling through his tears “she looks like my Ma.”

Katie’s own eyes misted over as she looked down at her baby, then back to her husband who was sat perched on the bed besides her. One of the midwives came over to take Flossie for the routine scores and clean up, before she was then brought back, and handed to Steve, wrapped in a soft pink blanket. He held her gently in his strong arms, staring down at the face that was sparking a million and one memories, before he placed a shaky kiss to her head.

“I’ve just had an idea for a middle name.” He looked at Katie who glanced up at him. That was still something up that point they hadn’t come to an agreement on. “What do you think about Saoirse?”

Katie smiled. “That’s unusual. I like it.” “It’s Irish.” He looked at her, then down to Flossie who lay still in his arms apart from the odd wrinkle of her nose and opening of her mouth. “It means Freedom.” “I love it.” Katie beamed “It’s perfect. What made you think of that.” “It was my Ma’s middle name.” Steve whispered, his eyes once more on Flossie.

“Wait, your Ma’s initials were SSR?” Katie looked at Steve who glanced at her for a moment as her words sunk in at which point he let out a loud chuckle.

“Yeah, so they were.” He grinned “Huh, how ‘bout that?”

******

Of course, giving birth is only one part of the journey as they both knew only too well, but whilst a C-section delivery left Katie feeling slightly less drained than the other three it brought with it a whole heap of other issues, the biggest being that as Flossie had been delivered five weeks earlier and by section, Katie’s milk hadn’t come in. Whilst, again, during the run up to the birth they had been warned that this could take a few days, what Katie hadn’t been prepared for was the utter helplessness she felt when she had tried and failed. Coupled with the fact that Flossie was finding it hard to feed due to her airway and throat being full of mucus, a very common issue with C-section babies, Katie was getting herself more and more worked up, the ever patient midwife simply remained on hand attempting to calm her down and assure her everything was perfectly normal and that being formula fed plus plenty of skin to skin contact would be perfectly fine.

Eventually they managed to get Florence comfortable and she took her first feed from the bottle, her cheeks working hungrily as Katie held her, Steve led on the bed, his arm curled round Katie’s shoulders.

“I’m so proud of you.” He whispered, kissing her head, his voice slightly choked. “So fuckin’ proud sweetheart.”

The second issue that Katie was struggling with was that because she had undergone major surgery, it was advised that there were no visitors until the following day. Again, this had been explained to them both prior to her admission, but once more Katie hadn’t realised how bad that would make her feel. She missed her other kids terribly and started to get a little bit emotional when she thought about them at home without either of them. But the wonders of modern technology allowed the pair of them to video call back home and introduce Flossie to the clan, Rori providing some well needed comic relief.

“I thought she would look like me?” She said rather indignantly as she was shown Flossie on the camera. “She’s all pink and wrinkly and….”

“Well, so were you.” Steve smiled at her “But besides, I told you, you’re one of a kind, Princess.”

Rori’s green eyes blinked at her father and she shrugged. “Well, dur…I know that, but she’s a girl. She’s supposed to look like me and momma.” “She actually looks like your daddy’s momma.” Katie smiled. “Your nanna Sarah.” Rori paused, and then shook her head. “How can she look like an old woman? She’s a baby.” At that Steve let out a loud bark of a laugh as Katie chuckled slightly, trying not to laugh too much as, well frankly it fucking hurt.

“Oh Rori.” Steve chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t ever change.”

She looked back at him on the screen and shrugged “Whatever, here Emmy you can have the phone.”

And with that she was gone.

Steve stayed with Katie that night, helping her with the night shift as she was struggling to move around as freely as she should due to the operation, but the pair of them managed. Steve didn’t say anything to Katie, but the fact he could feed Flossie during the first night was kind of nice for him and it also allowed Katie to sleep and recover as best she could.

As day broke, the Soldier found himself stood in his sweat pants and T-shirt, simply looking out of the window over the garden area of the hospital as the first rays of light streamed onto the frosty grass outside, nursing his baby daughter.

“Steve?” Katie’s voice was thick with sleep and he turned to look at her as she gave him a tired smile. “Is she ok?” “She’s fine sweetheart.” He smiled, crossing back over the room. “Do you want her?”

Katie nodded as she shuffled up, wincing a little, and once she was comfortable, Steve handed Florence over so Katie could finish off the feed.

The midwife was in a little later and told Katie that she could shower before they checked her wound and then that she should take a little walk around the ward, with Steve’s help, to encourage the blood flow to her legs.

“You might need some help showering, too.” She said, looking at Katie who shook her head.

“Managed fine the other times.” “Yeah, but last time you hadn’t had an operation.” Steve looked at her. “Don’t be stubborn.” “Pot kettle.” She mumbled, “I can manage perfectly fine.”

Steve sighed and looked at the Midwife who opened her mouth and Katie shot her a glare.

“Don’t.” She said sternly. “I’m fine. Yes, I know the heat can make my blood pressure drop, I’ve done this three other times, damned it.” Steve let out a growl of frustration as Katie began to shift and he stepped forward to help her. “They’re just doing their job.” “Yeah, well, I want a shower.”

Steve helped her out of bed and she took a few shaky steps towards the bathroom, Steve picking up her toiletry bag in one hand. He took her into the bathroom and she looked at him and he held his hands up.

“Fine, but I’m gonna be right outside.” “Whatever.” Katie grumbled, shutting the door in his face.

Steve looked at the midwife and gave her an apologetic look.

“It’s perfectly normal.” The woman waved him away. “Her moods will be up and down for a while Mr Rogers, especially following the hysterectomy. The main thing is you keep an eye on her.” Steve nodded and headed back to the small living area of the room, flipping on the kettle, his eyes flicking to Flossie as she slept in the basinet. It was about two minutes later when he heard a heavy thud from the bathroom. With a slight panic he moved quickly across the room, opened the door and pulled the shower curtain back so fast he tore half off the rings. Katie was sat down, and she looked at him, tears in her eyes. He leaned over, brushing her wet hair out of her eyes and she pressed her forehead against his chest, neither one caring that he was getting soaked.

“Don’t say a word.” Katie shook her head, sniffing “Not one word.” “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Steve said honestly, this was most certainly not an I told you so moment.

“Is she okay?” the midwife asked from the door.

Katie looked up at him, pleading with him, tears of frustration in her eyes and he pulled the trailing shower curtain round her a little more.

“She’s fine,” he said, blocking her from view, “just dropped the shampoo and can’t bend for it.”

There was a pause before the nurse spoke again. “I’ll be in the office if you need anything.”

Steve watched her go before he turned to Katie, weighing up his options. Decision made, he stepped into the shower fully, crouching down. Katie curled her fingers into his sopping shirt, sniffing slightly as he helped her to her feet.

“Hey,” he said, smoothing her hair back. “Doll, i’s ok.”

“You can say I told you so now.” Katie grumbled into his shoulder, blinking back tears of frustration.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He shook his head, gently washing the remnants of the soap off her body and from her hair before she handed him the conditioner.

“I feel so stupid. Can’t even manage a shower.” She sniffed as he gently massaged it into her hair

“Honey, you had a huge operation yesterday.” Steve pressed an affectionate kiss to the top of her head as the water drummed down on them both. “You need to give yourself time.” Once they were done, Steve made sure Katie was wrapped in her robe before he stripped out of his soaking clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. He hovered as Katie made it slowly across the room and once he was happy she was settled on the bed he grabbed himself a change of clothes and dressed before taking his seat in the chair next to the bed.

****

It was later that afternoon when the first visitors arrived, both Steve and Katie beaming as their kids walked into the room with Bucky. As they all shrugged off their jackets and various outer layers, Bucky turned to take Rori’s from her and Steve let out a snort as he spotted something on the back of Bucky’s arm. It was a yellow and black fridge magnet that sported the words ‘Wakanda Forever’ and had once been part of the traditional Christmas ale and liquor package T’Challa sent him each year.

Bucky spun to look at him and Steve handed him the magnet, smirking as Bucky shook his head, groaning.

“That’s nothing.” His eyes flicking to Rori who was perched on the bed, peering down at Flossie “I don’t know how you cope with her, Steve, she’s a fucking nightmare. Last night she made me sit through Mary Poppins whilst she sang and danced to it in front of the TV, because, apparently, she is much better than the actual actors.” Steve snorted and clapped his hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“I tell you,” Bucky continued, “give me a base full of HYDRA operatives to take down over that Diva any day.”

Once Flossie had been cuddled and held by everyone in the room and they’d had a spot of lunch which turned up later with Jen, the kids and Bucky headed off, Harry almost having another meltdown until Steve, spotting it, crouched down in front of his youngest son and told him to be a brave boy and that he could see his momma the very next day after Day Care. Accepting this, he wiped his tears and gave his parents both a hug. And then it was Rori’s turn, tearfully asking her dad when he would be home.

“Tonight.” Katie spoke gently “Daddy will be home with you all tonight and then you can come visit tomorrow okay?” And that’s how it went. It was strange for Steve, as for the first time his baby and wife weren’t home the day after they’d been born but that simply wasn’t possible. Katie was recovering well, and the doctors had said that she should be able to head home within the week as predicted originally, but still it felt strange. That said, the Rogers house fell into a simple and easy routine. Steve and Emmy would usher them all out of bed, get them breakfast, then deposit them at either school or Day Care before Emmy would head to work and Steve would come to the hospital. Then, he’d collect the kids, bring them to see Katie for a few hours, before he took them home.

It was hard, as he wanted to be with Katie all the time, but he knew he had the others to look after too so they managed the best they could.

It didn’t escape him however, how down Katie was. She had a steady stream of visitors with Pepper and Morgan, Jen, Happy and Rhodey all popping in to meet Flossie but he could just see it in her face, she was fed up. By the fifth day she tearfully told him she was bored. So they wrapped up and went for a small walk outside, Flossie bundled in a huge, warm baby snug and clutched to Steve’s chest in the baby sling, as they slowly wandered the grounds.

It wasn’t the days she struggled with though, it was the nights when Steve left. Katie knew if she asked him to stay he would come back once he had sorted the kids out but she didn’t want the others to miss out. So instead she simply kept reminding herself that it wasn’t for much longer, a few more days and she would be free to be at home with them all.

On the Thursday evening, however, at around eight pm, not long after Steve had headed home, there was a little knock on her door and Bucky poked his head into the room. Katie smiled as she looked up from where she had been sat on the sofa reading.

“What are you doing here?”

He held up a bag which Katie recognised instantly as being from Jen’s Coffee Shop. “Jen said before you seemed a little down and you may benefit from some kind of chocolate fix. So, here I am. Winter Soldier turned Delivery Boy.”

He handed her the bag and sat down opposite her as Katie peeked inside and groaned as she saw the six large, gooey brownies looking at her.

“She was gonna come up herself but her dad’s not so good.” He said and Katie smiled.

“She was here most of the afternoon.” She shook her head “I’ll message her later, tell her thanks.” “How you doing?” Bucky asked, and when she looked at him, he smiled “And tell me honestly, I’m not Steve. You don’t gotta hide it from me.” She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “I hate it Buck, I just wanna be home.” With a sigh he stood up and moved so he was sat next to her, curling his arm round her as she leaned into him. She began to cry and Bucky gently soothed her as she let all of the emotions she had been feeling over the last few days, but trying to hide, out in a torrent of tears and sobs.

“Not long now, Doll Face.” He soothed. “Steve said before you should be home Sunday at the latest.” “I know it’s just,” she sat up and wiped her eyes, “even when I go home I’ve got weeks of recovery ahead and…” “And you’ll be fine.” Bucky looked at her. “You just gotta take it easy for a while, and I know that’s easier said than done with the kids but you got a lot of support. You know that, right?” “I know.” She smiled, before she sighed. “Don’t tell Steve about this, please? He’d insist on staying and I don’t want the kids to be without him, they need him as much as I do.” “Promise.” He smiled, before he looked at the bag on the table. “Now, how about I put the kettle on and we dig into those?” Katie smiled, before she grinned “My mug is over there.” “Excellent.” Bucky stood up, moving to grab it, before he smirked and looked at her cheekily. “I finally, after all these years, get to see what you look like with your mouth wrapped around me.” “James Buchanan Barnes!” Katie gasped, shaking her head as he let out a cheeky laugh, moving to fill the kettle up. “If Steve was here to hear that he’d be ripping your other arm clean off!”

“Like to see him try.” Bucky shrugged, tossing a tea bag into each cup.

***** Of course Bucky told Steve. Not entirely, as he didn’t want to break Katie’s confidence, but he did call Steve later that night as he drove home to his and Jen’s place to let him know she was feeling a little down. Steve felt like shit, he really did. He was finding this whole thing so hard but he knew that was nothing compared to how his wife must be feeling. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do. It eclipsed any of the missions they’d run with the Avengers…

And then he was struck with an idea. Oh, and it was good…if he could pull it off…

Reaching for his phone, he selected the names of the people he could reach, parking the one he couldn’t for a second and tapped out a simple message.

‘Avengers, assemble’

*****

The next day, Katie could tell Steve was up to something, she always could. As they were sat watching the morning TV shows as Flossie lay against Katie’s chest, sleeping, every so often he would check his watch. But she didn’t say anything, whatever he was up to he clearly wanted it to be a surprise.

And it certainly was when ten minutes later a familiar faced poked his head through the door.

“How you doing Nova?”

“Oh my God, Clint!” She beamed up at him as he crossed the room, the huge bunch of flowers held out. He placed a kiss to her cheek as Steve stood, shaking his hand and clapping the archer on the back. “How did-“ “Well, Cap messaged and I thought I’d come meet the latest Rogers addition.”

“Latest and the last.” Katie smiled as she passed Flossie to Steve who handed him over to Clint so he could give the baby a cuddle.

“Oh she’s gorgeous!” Clint smiled. “Florence right?”

“Yeah, Flossie for short.”

“You did good, Stark.” Clint grinned and Katie smiled, her attention flying to the door as once more it opened, the entire space being taken up by the hulking frame of Banner as he stooped to step into the room.

“Hey guys.” He smiled, and Katie stood up and made her way over to him. He gave her a gentle hug before she pulled back.

“It’s so good to see you both.” She beamed.

But before she could say anything else there was suddenly a loud commotion outside the room, and a very familiar voice boomed down the corridor. Katie felt her mouth drop open as she spun to Steve.

“You…”

Steve smiled and nodded.

“Thank you for your assistance, Lady Doctor.” The voiced travelled towards them and the door opened again, the familiar face of the God of Thunder beaming around at them.

“Friends!” His eyes flashed as he stepped into the room. “It has been too long.” Katie felt her eyes misting up as Thor crossed the room towards her, his hand dropping to the side of her neck in that affectionate way it always had.

“Hey Thunder God.” She sniffed.

“Little Stark.” He smiled, his face creased with emotion. “I hear you have given birth to another.” “Yeah, she’s,” Katie smiled, nodding to where Flossie was now back in Steve’s arms, Banner examining her, “she’s beautiful.” “I expect nothing else from a Little, Little Stark.” Thor beamed as he crossed the room to examine the baby. “What name have you given to her?” “Florence Saoirse.” Katie smiled “Flossie for short.”

“Flossie. I like it!” Thor grinned as he looked down at the baby.

“You got the message then?” Steve asked, passing Flossie into Thor’s strong arms. He had to admit, the God looked well. They’d seen him a handful of times since the final battle, he was spending a lot of time off planet but each time he re-appeared he looked better. And now, well he reminded Steve of the Thor he had first met.

“Yes, Valkyrie managed to contact me.” Thor nodded, his eyes fixed on the baby in his arms. “I was in the middle of a very tense game of Quadroblin with a man on Contraxia that Rabbit had roped me into. I was very glad of the excuse to escape.” Clint, Steve, Banner and Katie exchanged a glance before they looked at Thor.

“You have never heard of Quadroblin?” Thor asked, frowning a little as he looked round the room.

“No.” Clint arched an eyebrow.

“It is a very simple game, it involves four dice and various body parts…” “Yeah, okay, we don’t need to know.” Katie cut him off as she walked over to where Steve was stood. He dropped an arm round her shoulder and kissed her head. “Can you help me sit down?” She whispered to him and he nodded.

“Of course, Honey.” He said gently. As the two of them made their way over to the sofa, Banner and Clint were talking furiously, catching up as they hadn’t seen each other for over two years since they had visited post Harry’s birth. Thor was busy, now mumbling something to Flossie and Katie recognised the look on his face as being the same one he had adopted when he had held Jamie, Rori and Harry for the first time. He was giving Flossie an ancient Asgardian Blessing. His eyes were glowing with lightning fire as he held his hand gently over her forehead, his lips moving softly.

“Hey, Thor.” Katie spoke when he had finished and he looked at her, his eyes returning to their piercing blue. “You know, there’s a vacancy for Godfather if you want it. I mean Jamie has Banner and Rhodey, Rori has Bucky and Sam, Harry has Clint, Flossie doesn’t have anyone yet.” Steve squeezed Katie’s shoulder, as he agreed with his wife’s idea. “And who better than the actual God of Thunder?” He looked up at Thor, smiling.

Thor beamed, his eyes filling with tears as he glanced down at the baby in his arms. “I would be honoured.”

“Does this mean she will be worthy?” Clint asked, flopping down onto the arm of the sofa and Thor looked at him. “To wield your hammer, I mean?”

Thor chuckled. “It doesn’t work like that. The hammer makes its own decisions and it can also change its mind.”

“It’s a hammer.” Clint deadpanned. “Made of metal. It’s an inanimate object.” “No, no, Barton, it is much more than that. It has feelings.” “Whatever man, it’s a hammer, made of metal. How can it have feelings?”

“It deems you worthy at a certain point in time so you may lift it. It could therefore deem you unworthy as well at a future point.” Thor shrugged, matter of factly.

“I still think it’s a trick.” Clint rolled his eyes and Thor snorted, looking down at Flossie.

“If it was a trick then explain why the Captain was able to not only lift it but use it to summon the lightning that day during the Final Battle?”

Everyone fell silent and looked at Steve who gave a modest shrug. “You think you could still lift it, Cap?” Bruce looked at Steve who held his hands up, snorting.

“I have no intention of trying ever again.” He winked at Katie who smiled at him, before she lay her head on his shoulder and looked around the room which was full of five of the original seven Avengers. Two of their number might not be with them any longer, but the memory of them both was very much alive, especially as the chat inevitably turned to discussions of their Avengers days, memories being recalled, tears of laughter and sadness being shared.

Eventually, it was getting a little late in the afternoon and Steve knew Bucky would be arriving with the kids and having a room full would be simply too much to cope with. Thankfully, Clint could read the signs well enough with having three kids of his own and stood up, announcing he should be going. Thor and Banner followed suit and, after some emotional goodbyes they waved their friends out, listening to Barton and Thor’s good natured bickering as they left, the room falling silent and feeling slightly empty.

“Thank you.” Katie looked up at Steve and he turned to her, smiling.

“Well it occurred to me last night that this was the hardest mission I think we’ve ever run.” He said softly, “Thought it was only right that the five of us left came together.” “I wish it were still seven.” Katie said softly, peering down at Flossie who lay in her arms.

“I know.” Steve sat next to her, curling an arm round her shoulder.

The pair of them gazed down at their daughter, smiling softly as she moved her tiny fist, pressing it against her cheek.

Steve already knew the answer to Barton’s question. As far as he was concerned she was worthy, just like the woman that gave birth to her.

**Original Posting**