#derek wills telling anyone and everyone that because of the time difference technically it was backlund’s birthday already!

[hxneyandespressx]

if i were a man (i’d be the man)

summary: jj holds a press conference while on a high-profile case. she has to deal with the stupid male reporters. after the conference is done, jj goes to the nearest bathroom, away from the crowd, and screams and swears to her heart’s content

word count: 6.2k 

content warnings: mentions of emotional and verbal abuse, guns, violence, blood, suicide

a/n: inspiration for this fic is from criminal minds season 4 episode 16 “pleasure is my business”

☆。*。☆。

It was a rough start to a Wednesday morning for a particular FBI agent. She almost twisted her ankle on her early morning jog, got stuck in traffic, and had to wait in a long line for her co-workers’ coffee orders. Soon enough, she started to wish that she took the metro instead. Media communications liaison Jennifer “JJ” Jareau woke up today and chose violence. She huffed in frustration at how her morning went.

Walking toward the bullpen with the coffee orders in her hands, JJ was greeted with “hellos” and “good mornings”. Not wanting to have her co-workers profile her, JJ bottled up her frustration and grumpiness and put a smile on her face. It was a rule amongst the group to never profile each other. With learning an assortment of profiling tactics, JJ knew how to form a realistic smile without genuine happiness. Creases around the eyes, smile lines contoured the mouth, sparkles in her baby blue eyes. The short blonde perfected the fake smile that could fool anyone, even expert profilers.

“Good morning, guys.” JJ said with a bright smile on her face. She held two cardboard trays filled with various coffee orders. She placed one of the trays on Emily’s desk, so she can pass out the orders to her co-workers. She called out the order name as she passed the cup to the person.

“One French vanilla latte for Ms. Garcia. Two black coffees for Emily and Derek. And finally, a coffee with extra cream and sugar for Spence.” Everyone said their thank you’s to the blonde. Then, there was one coffee cup left. A cappuccino.

“Happy Wednesday, my nerds.” Rossi said as he approached the group of tired agents. JJ smiled and handed the cappuccino to the elderly man.

“Grazie.” He thanked the media liaison for her efforts to bring his favorite morning beverage. The group spent some time chatting nonsense before the case briefing. Thirty minutes went by and all of them disbursed into their desks to finish up the paperwork. JJ headed down to her office to work on choosing the next case after the one that was currently ongoing.

After settling in her office chair, JJ took a look around her office. Messy stacks of pending files scattered her desk. Empty coffee cups and water bottles lined the file cabinet. JJ checked the time on her watch. 8:12 AM. About two hours to kill. The blonde put her hair up into a ponytail and took in a deep breath. She dove into the nearest pile of manila files, looking through all the documents and photographs to determine which case for the BAU team to take on after the current case.

As the clock ticked closer to 10 AM, JJ picked up today’s case files and head out of her office. Strutting through the bullpen, JJ entered the briefing room slightly out of breath.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone,” JJ said while passing the manila folders out to her co-workers. After handing out the necessary materials, she grabbed the remote from the center of the wooden table.

“Sam Winchester was found in Fulton Park, in the Stuyvesant Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eighteen stab wounds to his chest and neck,” JJ explained as she clicked on the remote to switch between the crime scene photos. “He is one of the victims dumped at various locations of Brooklyn that was found last night.”

“Hold up. One of the victims?” Derek asked.

“Yeah. So far this killer built up a rep sheet of five kills.” JJ stated. Hotch raised one of his eyebrows at the new information.

“Seven? Why haven’t the NYPD notified us immediately after the first three kills?” Hotch asked the media liaison.

“Probably the department thought they could handle the crimes,” JJ explained. “That was the case until they realized that they needed help.”

The young blonde switched to the next slide, showing one of the other victims dumped in North Williamsburg.

“What’s interesting about the locations is that the first victim was drowned in the Hudson River. And as more victims appear, the disposal methods get more dramatic. Maybe it plays some role in the unsub’s pathology.” Spencer said as he looked at the screen, observing for any patterns.

“Like with one of the recent victims, the disposal site is in Cobble Hill. It’s typically occupied by those who are relatively wealthy.” Rossi said to continue Spencer’s thoughts. “This unsub is getting bolder with his disposal sites. I’m concerned with there being an end game to this.” Emily stated. Everyone at the round table shifted through the various crime scene photos and documents. Rossi took hold of one of the crime scene photographs: a reversed ten of cups tarot card. “It is also apparent that the unsub is leaving tarot cards at the scene of the crime.”

“Tarot cards? What’s the significance?” Derek asked.

“Maybe to tell of the inevitable fortune the victims faced?” Emily said. 

“Well, each card has a different meaning when it is upright and reversed. And usually, when doing a reading, three to five cards are pulled to tell a fortune.” Penelope explained as she typed away on her work laptop. It had not surprised anyone that the technical analyst had an interest in tarot readings and astrology.  

“You know, the first documented tarot packs were recorded between 1440 and 1450 AD in Milan, Ferrara, Florence, and Bologna when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack. These new decks were called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards are known simply as trionfi, which became "trumps" in English. The oldest surviving tarot cards are the 15 Visconti-Sforza tarot decks painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan. The Duke of Milan described a 60-card deck with 16 cards having images of the Roman gods and suits depicting four kinds of birds.” Spencer talked about the history of tarot cards, with hand gestures to accompany his little ramble. When he finished, everyone at the table stared at him. The young FBI agents sheepishly smiled as Emily poked his left cheek.

“Since when did you learn about tarot cards?” Emily asked. 

“I learned about it when I took a college course on the Italian Renaissance.” Spencer sheepishly smiled.

“Well, whatever it is, it seems like there is a story to be told––or rather to be heard.” JJ said as she stared at the crime scene photos, her eyebrows knitted together in bewilderment.  

“That’s what we need to find out. Wheels up in 20.” Hotch called out. 

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The BAU members sat comfortably on the jet, each in their little world. That was until the unit chief called on everyone for a case discussion. 

“Let’s go over victimology.” Hotch said to call on the group. Everyone moved closer to the unit chief to better discuss the case. Derek sat in an armchair, with Emily next to him. Across from them were Spencer and JJ. Hotch leaned against one of the seats, practically sitting on the adjustable arm of the plane seat. Rossi sat on the tan velvet couch, adjacent to JJ. 

“Reid.” Hotch called on the genius of the group. 

“White. Male. Between the ages of 45-55. Jobs ranging from a stockbroker to assets protection manager. All of them have cheated on their wives multiple times and some even had sexual harassment accusations.” The young curly-haired man said to start the discussion. 

“Even if these men cheated on their wives and got those accusations, they still didn’t deserve the multiple stab wounds to meet their end.” Emily said. 

JJ looked through the case file to see the reports on all five victims.

“The victims’ names are Igor Andreevich, Lucas Duncan, Hunter Mcevoy, Sam Winchester, Jared Kalinski.” JJ called the names out like it was a roll call. 

“These are the five victims that this unsub killed so far?” Hotch asked. The blonde nodded her head and said “yes, sir” in response.

“As the victim count increased, the more stab wounds appeared on the body.” Rossi said to point out an observation.

“But the M.E. said that most of these stab wounds were created post mortem. Meaning that the initial stab was to get the job done efficiently and he went back in to fuel his rage and/or sexual needs.” Spencer

“Are we assuming his sexual orientation? Because there aren’t many homosexual serial killers, kid” Rossi said. 

“It could be a possibility. We have to consider our options.” Hotch said. 

Just then, the laptop turned on and showed the beautiful Penelope Garcia. 

“How’s it going, my crime-fighting musketeers?” Penelope asked. Everyone, even Hotch, smiled at her cheery greeting.

“Garcia, start compiling files on each of our victims,” Hotch told the technical analyst. “Everything financial and personal. Bank statements, credit card bills, investments, wills, trust funds. Anything that will tell us more about the victim’s lives.”

“Faster than a Hotch rocket.” After that was said into the air, Penelope felt embarrassed while Hotch looked at her with his usual stone-cold face. Derek sighed and shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee to hide his second-hand embarrassment for his babygirl.  

To break the silence, Rossi grunted and coughed into his fist. 

“Based on the jobs these men had, we could safely assume that they were killed in the financial district of New York. Then, the unsub transported the bodies to a dumpsite.” Emily said as she read off from the case file in her hands.

“But why from Manhattan to Brooklyn? That is a lot of weight to carry.” Derek asked. 

“Maybe Brooklyn holds a lot of significance to him. Something from his childhood and he can’t let go.” JJ said. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement as they all closed their files. 

“Once we land, do you want me to get in contact with the media to inform the public?” The media liaison asked the unit chief.

“No. We need to hold back on it. Giving him the media’s attention is exactly what he wants. He wants his story to be heard and we will not give him that.” Hotch explained. JJ nodded in response and wrote down media concerns in her small blue notepad. 

“Dave, You and Prentiss go to the crime scene,” Hotch instructed the group. “The rest of us will get up to speed at the precinct.” Everyone nodded in agreement with the unit chief.

After discussing the victimology and the nature of the case, everyone separated and occupied their own space on the jet. Derek on the couch, listening to music. Spencer by the window, reading the Hound of the Baskervilles. Rossi and Hotch in the back, conversing whatever two elderly men talk about. 

The blonde media liaison stared out of the window until she felt a presence next to her. She looked away to find Emily standing in the aisle with a cup of coffee and a bag of Cheetos in her hands.

“Want some company?” Emily asked as she took the empty seat.

“I don’t mind at all.” JJ smiled at the brunette. The shorter woman felt special that Emily did this for her. She took the Cheetos and the coffee mug from her co-worker. As she grabbed them, their fingers brushed against each other. A little pink blush formed on JJ’s cheeks. Not wanting Emily to know about the silly crush the blonde had on her, JJ covered half her face with her beloved blue blanket. Emily chuckled at JJ’s actions and placed her hand on the blonde’s right shoulder, closing her eyes for a quick nap. 

JJ carefully took some of her dark blue blanket and wrapped it around Emily’s right shoulder. She looked at the brunette who was sleeping on her shoulder and softly smiled.

The blonde took sips of the coffee as she stared out of the window. The sunlight bounced off the water particles in the clouds, creating a mini rainbow over the tops of the white clouds. The media liaison took in the silence as a treat, before landing into the chaos of New York.

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A government-mandated black SUV arrived at the 25th precinct. Everyone––sans Emily and Rossi––got out of the car and was greeted by a lively short woman. 

“Detective Miller? We spoke on the phone.” JJ shook hands with the short woman. 

“Please, call me Kennedy. Thanks for coming in.”

“No problem. These are agents Hotchner, Morgan, and Doctor Reid.” JJ introduced them while gesturing at the person, in respective order.

“Hey, why don't you go on inside and make yourself comfortable.” Kennedy said. The remaining BAU members nodded their heads and made their way inside the busy precinct. Police officers swarmed everywhere as the federal agents weaved their way to an empty conference room. 

Everyone worked at a swift pace to get everything set up. JJ and Derek went with a police officer to get boxes filled with case files and other materials. Hotch talked with Detective Miller to get information on how her officers dealt with the unsub so far. While all this is happening, Spencer worked on the geographical profile, so the agents know where to look for the unsub. 

“What do these tarot cards mean?” Hotch asked the group. Everyone shook their head “no”, signifying that they had no clue what each card meant. 

“I’ll call Penelope and ask her about the meanings of the cards.” Derek said as he took out his flip phone to dial Penelope’s number.

“Live from Quantico, Virginia, it is the Divine Miss Penelope.” Penelope greeted the group. 

“Hey, sugar mama. I need something from you.” Derek said.

“Talk to me.”

“I need you to interpret the meanings of the tarot cards that were left at the different crime scenes.”

“Ah- I’ll be your little witch today. Hit me with have you have.”

“Alright, I’m putting you on speaker.” Derek puts down the phone on the wooden table, so everyone could hear what the technical analyst has to say. 

“Ten of Cups, Garcia.” Hotch said. 

“When upright, the Ten of Cups embody happiness, joy, contentment, and emotional satisfaction in your family, relationship, or companion. It represents an idyllic state of comfort, harmony, peace, and love which makes you feel like you are in paradise. When reversed, it could mean shattered dreams, disharmony, or a broken family.” Penelope explained. 

“Reversed Wheel of Fortune card.” Spencer called out. 

“When the wheel is reversed, it means that luck has not been on your side and misfortunes have been following you. When it's associated with this card, you must understand that these are due to external influences that you cannot control.” Penelope said. 

“Reversed Justice card.” Derek said next.

“A reversed Justice tarot card could indicate various things. One Justice reversal meaning is to show you are living in denial. You are not willing to accept the consequences of your actions or others. You are running from your guilt. You must, however, be aware that these are actions that are in the past. Other Justice reversal meanings could be injustice, retribution, dishonesty, corruption, dishonesty, unfairness, and avoiding accountability.” The technical analyst interpreted. 

“Lastly, the reversed Emperor.” JJ said the final card they had. 

“The Emperor reversed is a sign of abused authoritative power. In your social life, it can manifest in the overreach of power from a father figure or a possessive partner.” Penelope described the final tarot card.

With all the information in their heads, the BAU members felt puzzled about how to move forward. 

“How are these cards related to the crime scenes?” Derek asked. 

“It’s like a performance,” Penelope chimed in. Everyone turned their heads to listen to the cheery woman on the phone. “Like there is a story behind these killings. The cards are telling how the unsub is feeling. She wants us to know her story.” Everyone stood in shock when Penelope made a breakthrough in the case.

“Wait, Garcia. You said ‘she’. Why do you think it is a woman?” Hotch asked.

“Well, sir. The first victim was drowned, with no signs of sexual assault on his body. Doesn’t that usually indicate that the unsub is a woman?”

“Not necessarily but it is a quiet and efficient way of murdering someone.” Hotch explained. 

“Female serial killers are a fascinating field. We don’t have much information on them. But what we do know involves throwing the riles completely out of the window,” Spencer started going on one of his rambles. “For example, female serial killers typically don’t leave a signature.”

“But this one leaves tarot cards at the scene.” Derek pointed out.

“Maybe it was what Garcia said: she’s telling us her story.” JJ said. “Alright. Let’s start from the beginning. What could be inferenced from her childhood?” Hotch asked. 

“She could have had a domineering father who worked on Wall Street. And with that dynamic, he could have sexually and emotionally abused her, making her feeling like damaged goods.” Spencer explained the backstory of the unsub. “Also because the victims cheated on their wives, we could also conclude that the father also cheated on the mother, who always forgave her husband and tried to rationalize to stay for her daughter. And that made the unsub feel rage and being inferior. That she didn’t do anything to help her mother and herself.”

“But there is no indication of sexual gratification.” Hotch interjected. 

“However, there’s a reason why there are so many lacerations on the later victims. It could be the rage from her abusive father that this unsub is using against the victims, who acted like surrogates.” Derek said. 

“The stressor?” Hotch asked. 

“To follow her father’s footsteps, she may have also worked in the financial field. As a stockbroker, a financial analyst, or even as a secretary for a company,” Spencer said. “And as she continued at her job, she had a bunch of little comments and slights against her”

“As for the trigger, maybe she got passed up for a promotion by a male co-worker who was less qualified than she was.” JJ explained. 

“Any sane person would get miffed about it, but she’s built differently,” Derek said. 

“So much so, she killed five men so far.” Hotch said. 

“And she did it in an efficient manner where no one had any idea until now,” Derek said right after the unit chief. “But how did one woman kill five men in one borough and disposed of them in another?”

“She must know the area like the back of her hand. Brooklyn is what? Around 72 square miles?” JJ said in response to Derek. 

“Uh, 69.5.” Spencer corrected JJ. The blonde sighed, not surprised that the boy genius would know the exact measurement. 

“And the fact that no one has seen her either abduct or dispose of says she knows the city and its patterns well.” Derek said to continue what JJ had said before she was cut off by the boy genius. Just then, both Rossi and Emily had returned from the latest crime scene. In Emily’s hands were coffee cups on cardboard trays while Rossi had Chinese takeout. Everyone shared the food as they continued to work on the case. Being the little tease he was, Derek flung a wonton piece at Spencer, who was struggling to eat with the wooden chopsticks. The wonton piece gently hit Spencer’s forehead and the boy genius pouted, hiding his frustration at both the chopsticks and Derek.

“The M.E. said that the cuts were clean, no serrated edges. It would have to be a very sharp knife to be able to cut through human skin like nothing.” Emily said, to drive the discussion about the M.O.

“A knife like that could get the job done efficiently. Could be the work of a throwing knife. Take out the victim with a single throw to have them die quickly, then she stabs them to feel something.” Derek said. 

“Throwing knives? What is she? A secret agent of the Dai Li?” Rossi joked sarcastically. 

“From Avatar the Last Airbender?” Hotch retorted, remembering that his son Jack watches that show on Saturday mornings. 

“What’s Avatar the Last Airbender?” Spencer asked. Nobody bothered to answer the young man’s question. 

 “But this one is different. It’s like the more she kills, the more anger builds up inside and it gets released on the victim when she goes back in.” JJ stated. 

It became silent in the conference room, quite the opposite to the noise of the New York precinct in the evening rush hour. Tired from both traveling and working, Hotch could see that the rest of his team was also exhausted from the day. The unit chief called everyone to head to the hotel and rest, as they can always come back to the precinct tomorrow morning. 

Slowly one by one, each of the agents packed their things and get out of the New York precinct, and hopped into the cars, praying the soft hotel beds would lull them into a deep slumber.

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Day Three at the New York precinct. All the BAU members were getting irritated that they hadn’t proceeded much on the case. Derek tossed a small basketball up and down to pass the time. Spencer twirled a pen as he stared at the geographical profile, the gears turning in his mind. Both Hotch and Rossi were discussing the case quietly while JJ and Emily doodled on each others’ arms. The blonde was innocently drawing hearts and flowers until Emily came up with an idea. Feeling a tad mischievous, Emily took her sharpie marker and started to outline something on the media liaison’s left forearm. JJ raised an eyebrow, questioning what her co-worker was doing. As the image came together, JJ gasped softly, however, not surprised that Emily drew a vagina. 

Emily quietly laughed as JJ, annoyed by the brunette’s actions, took her sharpie marker and tried her best to transform the vagina drawing into a flower. Taking her time, and with only a sharpie, JJ showed off her artistic talent by creating a masterpiece: a carnation blooming out of a vagina.

Emily rolled her eyes when JJ stuck out her tongue at the brunette. Taking Emily’s right arm, the media liaison started to outline a grid for a game of tic tac toe. The brunette started the game by marking an “x” in a spot and JJ took her turn. The two women continued their game of tic tac toe and 

Everyone was silent in their own world until Hotch’s phone rang. The unit chief picked it up and it was a number he couldn’t recognize. Hotch silently motioned Derek to call Penelope to start triangulating the call’s location. 

“Hotchner.”

“Hello, Aaron.” A sultry voice talked. On the other side of the call was the unsub, Taylor Evans. 

“Seems you know my name.” Hotch asked.

“I researched you in preparation for this phone call,” Evans said. Through the phone receiver, Hotch could hear the soft whooshes of pages turning. 

“You reading a book? What’s the title?”

“Le monde comme il va by Voltaire,” Taylor closed her book. “Have you read his work?”

“No, I haven’t. You seem highly educated.” Hotch stated. 

“You seem to know a lot about me.” Taylor retorted.

“But I don’t know you that well since the start of this phone call.” Hotch responded. 

“What would you like to know?” Taylor asked. 

“May I know your name, for starters?” Hotch asked. A cold laugh could be heard through the landline speaker. 

“Evans. Taylor Evans.” the unsub replied. 

“Nice name,” Hotch complimented her to bring her guard down. 

“Now that we are acquainted, you can ask me questions.” the unsub’s content sigh could be heard on the landline. 

“Has life been hard on you?” Taylor asked, wanting to jump the gun. 

“I try my best.”

“Try my best,” Taylor said mockingly. “Is that the best you can do for your family?” A sarcastic tone filled Taylor’s voice, not liking what the unit chief said in response to her question. 

“With what I’ve got.” Hotch said. 

“You got any children?” Taylor said to divert the conversation. 

“I have a son.”

“How often do you see him?” 

“I try to see him every week.”

“Do you see him every week?” Taylor tried to put Hotch under pressure, to get him to crack. 

“No, I don't get there as often as I want.” A pitiful sigh was heard on the phone.

“I believe you, but don’t compare yourself to the men I see and work with. You are nothing like them. You’re just another whore.” Taylor said with such disgust in her tone. 

“How am I a whore?” Hotch asked. 

“You come when called on short notice. Begging to be put to work. Saving your reputation. However, even though you’re a workaholic, you make the time to see your son. You care for your son. You want the best for him.” Taylor explained. 

“You’re right. I do want the best for him” Hotch said. The unsub sighed, wishing that she had a good man, like Hotch, for a father.  

“Enough about you. What do you have to say about me?” Taylor asked the unit chief. 

“You've been betrayed so many times, You don't know who to trust, And that's why that first murder felt so good. But each one since has been less and less satisfying.” Hotch explained. 

“Good deductive reasoning,” Taylor said. “But how do you know if what I find provides me less satisfaction each time?”

“It’s a part of your nature. Until you hit a psychotic break and start devolving.” Hotch said. 

“Hm. Want to find out, Agent Hotchner?” She hung up on him after that last sentence. Everyone in the conference room stayed silent in awe. The unsub injecting herself into the investigation surprised all the agents in the room. 

“She contacted us,” Spencer said in astonishment, breaking the silence. 

“She’s getting impatient. Have Garcia look up everything on Taylor Evans. We need to find if she lines up with the preliminary profile.” Hotch instructed Derek. The olive brown-skinned man did exactly what the unit chief said: call Penelope and extract as much information as possible on the potential unsub.

“Her use of the word whore is interesting,” Spencer quipped. “It suggests she's trying to disassociate herself from her actions.”

“But she's become more personal with the murders,” Emily said. “This doesn’t make sense. She is contradicting herself.”

After gathering the information, and debilitating on the facts, everyone came to the same conclusion: Taylor Evans was their unsub. 

“Reid, tell Detective Miller that it’s time to deliver the profile.” Rossi said. 

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Every law enforcement officer occupied the main space of the precinct. All of the BAU members stood at one side, making it like a stage. JJ stood beside Emily, thinking to herself that she could have been this girl in a way. Both her and the unsub look eerily similar, maybe even mistaken for each other. 

“We wanted to give out the profile as soon as possible. We’re looking for a white female, between the ages of 20 and 25,” Hotch said to start the profile. “Her name is Taylor Evans. Dirty blonde hair with grey eyes. She’s organized, methodical, and knows how to blend in with the crowd.”

“When this unsub kills, she does so mercilessly and without an ounce of pity. She also wants her victims to know they are going to die by her hand.” Rossi said. 

“That’s why her preferred weapon of choice is throwing knives. They provide a clean cut. No mess required.” Emily said, slowly rocking on her heels. 

“With her choice of weapon, she can be quick and efficient with her kills, as murder is her only goal,” Spencer paused to catch a breath. “But all the bottled-up rage gets released when she goes in for a second time, post mortem, and stabs the body multiple times.”

“It is a way for her to get sexual gratification. And revenge, from her years of being emotionally and sexually abused by her father,” Rossi said. “The victims fit the description of her father and they are surrogates for him.”

“She is also a textbook psychopath, exhibiting all of the classic traits: incapability of feeling any empathy towards others, neither guilt nor remorse, and claiming no responsibility for her actions. Like others of her type, she is highly intelligent, manipulative, and narcissistic.” Spencer explained the unsub’s pathology. 

“Evans had received higher education. She graduated with a business degree, most likely a subconscious influence from her father. With the business acumen and the social skillset, this unsub can easily blend in with all the other business people and manipulate them.” Hotch explained, walked slowly around the large room. 

“Based on her background, she came from a wealthy family. However, the family wasn’t perfect. Her father constantly cheated on his wife. The mother always forgave him. As a young girl, Evans most likely has experienced emotional and sexual abuse from her father. It was a way for him to control his daughter, and she had resented that for years.” Emily said about the unsub’s childhood. 

“She mostly has experienced misogyny in her professional life. Had little comments and slights against her. Perhaps a less qualified male co-worker took a promotion that she deemed herself to be of a better fit,” Derek explained about the stressor. “Something in her work life triggered her to start killing the men who represented her father.”

“With this profile, we should search for Taylor Evans’ location and any potential victims. We suggest going public with the information as soon as possible… Thank you very much.” Hotch ended the profile with his parting words. Everyone at the precinct was disbursed from the room to get back to their work. The agents huddled together to prep themselves in case something big were to happen. 

“JJ, I would like for you to conduct a press conference,” Hotch said.

“Why is that, sir?” The media liaison asked. 

“I would like to draw her out. Have it known that we are after her.” The media liaison nodded her head in agreement and left the main room to work on getting a press conference together.

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Before entering the press room, JJ took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself down. Thoughts were rushing in her mind. Don’t let them get to you, JJ. She neatly fixed her hair to seem presentable. Taking her golden heart necklace, the media liaison kissed it for good luck. 

The media liaison walked into the conference room with great confidence and stood behind the mahogany podium. Standing tall, JJ was not willing to lose a fight with the media, especially with a high-profile case. 

“Ok, can I have everyone's attention,” JJ said to gather the media’s attention to her. “Please, if you could just take your seats…”

“There have been a series of murders that appeared in random locations around Brooklyn. There is sufficient evidence that the victims were murdered on Wall Street then transported to their disposal sites.”

“We believe she may have experienced a psychotic break recently, causing the unsub to escalate to murder to regain a sense of control. You should increase your patrols in and around Wall Street… “

“Why would you focus your profile on the finance guys when the unsub has also contacted members of the FBI?” A male reporter interrupted the media liaison.  

JJ stood at the podium in shock. How could he know about that? We kept that under wraps. 

“I- How did you obtain that information?” JJ asked. 

“I overheard one of the cops saying it.” The journalist said casually. The blonde’s right eyebrow lightly twitched in anger. What couldn’t those cops just shut their mouths, JJ thought.

“What you heard from these officers isn’t true,” JJ lied to keep confidential information private. “Now, do you have any questions about the case?” A new wave of hands came up. JJ took a few more questions to answer. After a while, it was time to end the press conference.

“If anyone works in or around Wall Street, and sees anything unusual, please do not hesitate to call the number on your screen. Thank you.” JJ said her final statement, ending the press conference. As she walked down the steps down the small stage, a reporter called out her name.   

“Agent Jareau! I have something that may be of interest for you!” A different male reporter called out. JJ turned to face him, excepting the same male reporter from earlier. Trying to keep her anger inside, she greeted the news reporter with dignity. 

The male reporter handed the media liaison a letter. JJ took a look at it and was surprised at what she saw: the signature of their unsub. 

“How did you get this?” JJ asked the man. 

“It was sent to me yesterday, directly to the New York Herald.” The man said. JJ called for one of the officers by the wall to collect the letter for evidence. 

“We are going to take this in for evidence processing. One of the officers here will take you in for some questioning.” The man nodded as another officer whisked him away for interrogation. 

JJ sighed and went to search for the officer that unknowingly leaked information. She saw him with another cop, talking, against the wall outside of the press conference room. 

“That information was not for the public!” JJ said, angrily at an NYPD officer. 

“Listen, lady. I don’t know how and where he got the information from,” The beat cop explained himself. “He could have been creeping around the crime scenes or the precinct. 

“Keep your mouth shut, pal, as this case is private and under federal jurisdiction.” JJ huffed as Derek grabbed her shoulders and slowly tried to drag her away. The blonde complied with her co-worker, not throwing a fight as this was not her battle to fight in. 

Once Derek loosened his grips, the media liaison dashed out of the conference room to find her own space to calm down. 

JJ speed-walked once she was out of the hallway’s vicinity. She rushed into the nearest bathroom. Breathing heavily, the media liaison slowly walked into one of the stalls and locked the door. Taking a deep breath, JJ prepared herself for the biggest scream she would take in her life. 

“Fuck. These little shits. Those bastards. Assholes. Son of a bitch. Fucking shit. Why can’t they keep their mouths fucking shut! Those cocksucking motherfucking god damned jackasses!” JJ yelled at the top of her lungs. Her chest fell hard as the blonde was taking deep breaths. She felt better after taking out her anger by screaming. Feeling a little tired, JJ sat on the closed toilet and placed her head between her knees to calm herself down. A few minutes went by, and someone knocked on the bathroom door. 

“JJ… Are you okay?” Emily’s voice could be heard on the other side. JJ sighed while getting up. She opened the stall door and tried to make herself more presentable. Unlocking the silver lock, she opened the door slowly to reveal a relieved Emily Prentiss. 

“Ah–,” Emily gently grabbed JJ and brought her in a warm embrace. They stood together in that position for a few minutes before heading back to the conference room, where the others were, preparing themselves to capture the unsub tonight.

Later that evening, the BAU team, along with SWAT, raided a luxury apartment building in Downtown Brooklyn. Upon entering the only penthouse, Derek broke the door with his strength. The group of agents entered the area and in the middle of the living room, was Taylor Evans. Black mascara ran down her cheeks as she held a gun in her left hand and the final tarot card in the other. 

“Just in time for the show, agents.” Evans croaked. Her sad grey eyes filled with tears, her cheeks flushed from her mental breakdown. 

“Taylor… Listen. You’re young. You don’t have to do this. If you come with us, you can get a lighter sentence and live your life.” Emily said to calm down the broken girl. 

More time passed by as Emily and Spencer tried their best to negotiate with the unsub, but the end was already written. Taylor Evans planned to do an end game, one where she put herself out of misery. 

“I’m sorry….” the blonde girl whispered. In a swift motion, Taylor pulled the trigger onto herself and shot herself underneath the jaw. Her body dropped quickly but Derek ran up to the body to catch it. 

“Damn it,” Derek said. “She was young. Broken. Felt like she had to prove herself that she was something.”

“There was nothing we could have done to help, Morgan. She already had planned her end. She was long gone before anyone else could have noticed.” Hotch responded to Derek’s little monologue. 

Right next to her body was the Emperor card. A beautiful deep purple with gold lining depicting an emperor. The gold detailing reflected against the tall mirrors in the room. The card was reversed, like if she purposefully did that to tell the end to her story. 

taglist: @homosexualyearning / @ssajelle / @iconicc / @sunlightgalaxy / @jemilyology / @pumpkin-stars / @lgbtbau / @drinkingcroissants / @abbyprentiss / @pen3mily / @morcias / @hotchsbabygirl / @gravelyhumerus / @notsosmexy / @rxcklessly-bratty / @hqtchner / @girlbossjareau / @pagetsimp

[calwrites]

The Illusion (pt 4)

Summary: The BAU is officially on the case, the outcome of which will probably decide the reader’s future with the FBI. The reader begins to realize that there’s more going on with this case than she thought and she can’t share with her team just yet.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x UA!Reader

Warnings: Umbrella Academy spoilers

Word count: 6.4k

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

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes as you entered the department store. Already, local officers were wandering around contaminating the crime scene. You had hoped that your team would beat you here, so you wouldn’t have to order the locals around. It always made you feel a little weird, especially when no one else from your team was at the scene.

After setting up a room at the station for your team, Hotch had called and told you to head over to the department store, where Morgan and Prentiss would meet you. You had a feeling that he was trying to stay away from you. You had questions about why you had gone from desk duty to being required to be in the field in less than 24 hours. Chances are Hotch didn’t have any answers, but he would have ideas. Ideas that it seemed he didn’t want to share with you.

“All right,” you called, making sure that you could be heard easily over all of the low chatter. Immediately, curious eyes were on you, wondering who the new woman was. You made yourself continue standing tall under their gaze. Luckily, you hadn’t changed since leaving Quantico, so you were still dressed professionally. Unfortunately, you hadn’t changed since leaving Quantico over 12 hours ago, and you probably looked a little worse for the wear. “I’m Agent Y/L/N with the FBI. Crime scene techs can keep taking pictures, but I need everyone else to get out. Carefully, please, so we don’t contaminate the crime scene any more.”

You could see some officers muttering amongst themselves. They were being a little slow to follow your orders. It was pushback that you were used to getting. Local officers often didn’t love the FBI showing up and telling them how to do their job. But it just so happened that in some cases they were doing their job wrong.

You were about to repeat your order when a loud voice behind you yelled, “You heard the agent. Get to it and get out.”

You allowed yourself a small smile as you turned to find Derek and Emily walking into the store. It was possibly that you had never been so relieved to hear Derek yelling before.

“You know, if you were going to drag us back here, you could have at least warned us. Imagine how much time we could have saved if we weren’t flying back and forth.” You rolled your eyes at Derek’s teasing, but a weight lifted off your chest at his words. At least for now, Derek was going to act like everything was normal. And if Derek was willing to ignore the whole super hero thing, chances were everyone else was too.

“Hey, I had no part in picking this case.”

“Oh, so you didn’t give the detective Hotch’s card and tell her to call if she wanted out help?” The heavy sarcasm in Emily’s voice made you grin, but you didn’t get a chance to answer before Detective Patch approached your group. She quickly shook hands with Derek and Emily.

“Detective Patch. Was all of that really necessary?”

“All of what?” Emily asked carefully. While it was usual to get some resistance from most of the local officers, the person who called the team in to help was usually pretty helpful, if not friendly. You weren’t surprised by Patch’s less than friendly demeanor. She struck you as a person who liked doing her job well on her own.

“That little display of power.” She gestured to the now mostly empty department store. Crime scene techs were still taking pictures, but the rest of the officers had cleared out.

“Detective, that was to make sure that no crucial piece of evidence gets destroyed because too many officers are stumbling around the crime scene.” Morgan raised his brows at Patch as he spoke. “We don’t play power games with officers that we’re supposed to be working with. We hope your guys will do the same. So, what do we have here?”

“Got a report of shots fired. So far, we don’t have anyone who’s seen anything. I’m not sure if this is even connected to the donut shop shootings, but I figured I’d check it out.”

“You were at another crime scene when you got the report of the shot here, right?” Patch shot you a look you couldn’t quite decipher. You could tell she was dying to ask why you were here.

“Yeah. I went by to question the tow truck driver from the donut shop, but he was dead when I got there.” For a moment, Patch looked tired and maybe a bit frazzled. This case was turning into more and more of a mystery. It was already stranger than most cases in the city were.

“Rossi and Reid are heading to that scene,” Derek told you. You tried to ignore the butterflies in your stomach at the mention of Reid’s name. You had to focus on the crime scene in front of you.

“I guess you should have listened to me earlier.” You and Patch both rolled your eyes at the voice coming from a few rows over. Derek and Emily, on the other hand, were immediately alert, quickly following the voice. Diego knelt on the ground, inspecting a bullet. Derek and Emily both looked over his leather outfit critically.

“I’m sorry. You are?”

Diego looked up at Derek. “You don’t recognize me? You crashed my father’s memorial. Got to see a pretty good show. I would’ve thought it’d be hard to forget.”

“But what are you doing here?”

“And do you seriously still not understand the chain of custody? If you touch it, I can’t use it.”

“Let me save you some time running ballistics,” Diego started like Morgan and Patch hadn’t said anything. “These nine millimeters haven’t been manufactured since-”

“1963. Odd. I know.” You tried not to smile at the exasperation in Patch’s voice, but it was nice finally having someone else be more over Diego than you usually were.

“They match the casings at the other scene?” Morgan asked. He took the bullet from Diego. “And, unless you’re a detective, you need to get out of here.”

“Y/N said I could be a consultant.” You started shaking your head before Diego had even finished his sentence. He tried to sling his arm around your shoulders, but you promptly pushed him away.

“I never said that.”

Diego ignored you. “What other scene?” He looked at Patch for the answer, most likely figuring that she was more likely to give him information than Morgan or Prentiss were.

“Ishmael’s Towing. The driver from the donut shop. I found him hanging from the ceiling.” Patch sighed. “I guess he must have known something after all.”

“Told you.” Diego sang.

Patch turned to look at your teammates. “There are other agents there, right?”

“That’s right. Between Rossi and Reid, hopefully they can find something useful.”

“I’m sure by now Pretty Boy has already read through any and all paperwork there. Maybe we’ll be lucky and he kept detailed accounts. Maybe a planner.”

“How did they get stuck going there?”  You tried hard to keep your voice level. “I can’t imagine Rossi would be happy going to a garage when it smells like burnt flesh.”

Derek laughed, shaking his head slightly. “Well it wasn’t his idea. He and Reid were supposed to meet you here, but Reid kept telling Prentiss and I that it wouldn’t be so bad at the garage. Smell is the weakest sense, so we’d be able to ignore the scent after a few minutes. Hotch told him that if that was true, then surely Reid wouldn’t mind going to the garage.”

“Poor Rossi.” You could imagine the scene perfectly in your head. Reid probably thought he was being encouraging. You were sure Rossi wasn’t very happy with him.

“Poor Reid. The kid looked like Hotch had taken away his puppy.”

“I think he wanted to see you.” You narrowed your eyes at Derek’s teasing, but you could feel your cheeks heating up. Luckily, Patch saved you.

“In the span of 24 hours, I’ve had attacks in three different places across town. Whoever this is, they’re not slowing down. That’s why I asked for the BAU’s help.” She paused, clenching her jaw slightly before turning to Diego. “And that’s why I’m also going to ask for your help, Diego. If you actually give a shit, and you have any fresh ideas.”

“What about the guy’s kid? From the donut shop?” Suddenly, Diego’s bravado was gone. The cocky smirk was replaced by a seriousness you hadn’t seen since you were seventeen. That’s how it had always gone. The second the mission was on, Diego stopped playing around.

“We have our technical analyst looking into extended family. Once they’re found, we’ll question them and, in case anyone goes after them, we’ll give them some protection,” Prentiss answered.

“I’m surprised she hasn’t already called. Something like finding children should be easy for Garcia. Plus, she’s always looking for an excuse to talk to the Derek Morgan.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Y/N. I am going to call her though. Make sure she hasn’t found something, and Hotch just didn’t tell us yet.” Derek took out his phone and stepped a few feet away. You could see both Patch and Diego raise a brow at the flirtatious way Morgan spoke, but you ignored it. 

Instead, you took a careful look around the room. “They really didn’t care whether or not they trashed this place, did they?” 

Prentiss huffed in agreement. “Any security footage?”

“Nothing from in here. Outside cameras caught two shooters fleeing. Get this, they were wearing some creepy kids masks.”

“This town really is going to shit,” Diego sighed.

“Coming from the guy dressed in spandex.” Prentiss’s eyes once again looked critically over Diego’s outfit.

“It’s leather.”

“And don’t act like you didn’t wear an outfit like that in high school. I’ve seen your yearbook pictures, Prentiss.”

“All right. You guys go fill out your forms. I’m going to go catch these animals.” Diego paused as he walked to the doors, turning to look at Patch. “And Eudora, I do give a shit.”

“Let’s hope he does,” Emily mutters as Patch leaves you two. “If your brother does something to screw up this case, the brass are going to be all over you.”

You sighed, nodding slightly. You had figured as much. It would be best for you if this case was solved quickly and quietly.

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

You chewed your lip thoughtfully as you studied the crime scene pictures stuck to the board. The room that your team had been given at the police station was empty currently. Hotch and JJ were dealing with the press. Rossi and Reid were heading back from the garage where the tow truck driver had been found. Derek and Emily had gone to the medical examiner’s office to see the body of the tow truck driver. Based on the pictures in front of you, that wasn’t going to be a pleasant sight.

It was clear that the man had been tortured. He had severe cuts and bruising. Not to mention the electrocution. Placing the clamps on the man’s nipple to electrocute him was an...interesting choice the unsubs had made. 

You glanced outside into the bullpen to see Hotch and JJ talking to Patch and the other detective working the case. Beeman, you thought his name was. He was much more receptive to you than Patch was. It wasn’t that she was hostile, per say. It was more that you could tell that every time she looked at you, you could tell that she was assuming that you were going to behave just like Diego. You had kept yourself busy in the small room by looking over all of the information so that you didn’t have to talk to her.

As you watched, Rossi and Reid walked into the bullpen, making their way over to Hotch. After a few words, Reid looked up sharply in your direction. You looked away immediately when he caught your eye through the glass, feeling like a kid who got caught staring at their crush as your cheeks heated up.

You didn’t look up from your papers when the door opened, but you could tell that it was Spencer who sank into the seat next to you.

“So I was thinking that maybe, if you wanted to...I mean it might be a good idea if we, maybe-” The softness of Spencer’s voice pulled the corners of your mouth into a small smile. You looked up at him, watching how his hands moved as he continued to ramble nervously.

“Spencer, do you want to talk later today? About what happened yesterday?” Spencer looked at you gratefully and nodded.

“What happened yesterday?” The tone of Rossi’s voice made it obvious that he had his own suspicions. He, Hotch, and JJ took their own seats around the table. Hotch, of course, was pretending he hadn’t heard anything. JJ and Rossi, on the other hand, both wore victorious smiles. On many occasions, both of them had encouraged you to ask Spencer out.

“Garcia called when we were on our way back from the ME’s office.” For the second time that day, you thanked the timing of Derek Morgan. He and Prentiss walked into the room and took the last two chairs. “The bullets from the department store definitely match the bullets from the garage.”

“But not the bullets from the donut shop?” Rossi asked.

“No. All of the bullets found at the donut shop match guns found at the scene.” Hotch checked his notes. “Did Garcia run the prints found on the knife?”

“Yep. They don’t match the driver’s prints. And she ran them through all of our databases. The only match is the cold case that local PD told us about.”

Hotch looked at Prentiss for a moment, going over her words. “Tell her to run them again.”

“She already did. Multiple times. She said that she could try to get access to some international databases if we wanted her to check those.”

“That won’t be necessary for now.”

“Hotch, you should also know that Garcia said she can’t find any records of the driver having kids. He’s married. Wife lives in town. No kids though.”

Hotch nodded, but you could tell by the way his eyes shifted that he was stumped by this. “Might not have been his child. Maybe the child of a family friend. Morgan, you and Prentiss go interview the wife after we’re done here. Try to find out who the child is and whether her husband might have had any enemies.”

Your team was quiet for a few seconds. The case didn’t make much sense yet. You were still missing a few pieces. Hopefully, you could start figuring out the puzzle before more people died.

“Say the driver was the target,” Rossi began slowly, thinking off the top of his head. “Whoever’s after him sends a bunch of local goons to the donut shop. He manages to get away, but they find him at his garage. Then they torture him for information.”

“They probably killed him after he gave them the information they needed.” Derek threw his pen down onto the table. 

“Or after they realized he didn’t have the information they needed.” Your team looked at you in confusion. “The woman working at the donut shop said she heard the tow truck drive off before the shooting started.”

“She could have been misremembering.” You nodded slightly at Derek’s suggestion, but you didn’t agree. 

“Someone should head over there to interview her after this.”

“I’ll go,” you volunteered quickly after Hotch spoke. He hesitated a second too long before nodding. Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but a room full of profilers definitely did. He didn’t want you out in the field. But was it because he didn’t trust you or was there another reason?

“Take Rossi.”

“Actually, Hotch, I was hoping to look over the file for the cold case. JJ and I were wondering if there might be anything in there that’s similar to this case.” Hotch missed the quick look of confusion that JJ shot at Rossi, who cut his eyes between you and Reid in response.

JJ’s brows raised in realization. “Yeah, we were hoping some fresh eyes might shed some light on the case.”

“Fine.” Hotch looked between you and Reid. You tried not to shift your body language in any way that might make him suggest something was going on between the two of you, but you immediately started overthinking it. Did you always sit so much closer to Reid than you did to whoever was on your other side? Was your head usually turned ever so slightly to face him more. “Reid, you go with Y/L/N.” Hotch turned his serious gaze to you. “Why do you think they weren’t after the driver?”

“Well, say the woman at the donut shop is misremembering when the car drove off, it still doesn’t make sense. Looking at the pictures of the driver, I wouldn’t think he would be able to fight off all of those men by himself. Were any of the wounds on the body gunshots?”

Derek shook his head. “No. The ME said there were no gunshot wounds. All of the wounds were made well after the attack at the donut shop.”

“And you’re right,” Emily said slowly. “There’s no way the driver could have overpowered all of those men.”

“So when the driver left there must have been someone else in there. Whoever that is was skilled enough to take out all of those guys. I doubt he did it without injuring himself though. Garcia should check hospitals for any gunshot wounds after the attack.”

“So then why torture the driver?”

“Maybe…” You were distracted from Prentiss’s question by your phone buzzing in your pocket. You dug it out quickly, but declined the call when you saw it was Allison. It was the third time she had called since you got to the station. You had sent her a quick text telling her you were busy, but apparently she didn’t care.

“Everything okay, Y/L/N?” You nodded quickly to Hotch, pocketing your phone once more.

“Fine.” You sighed as you thought over the situation quickly. “Maybe whoever killed the driver didn’t know that he wasn’t the target.”

“What do you mean?” Rossi asked, leaning back and steepling his fingers as he studied you.

“What if whoever killed the driver just assumed that he was the target? What if this is some sort of organized crime? Whoever is in charge hired some local goons to kill the target at the donut shop, but he kills them all and gets away. So they send in two new people, who are maybe the next tier up. All these people know is that the target was at the donut shop, but got away.”

“So they assume it was the tow truck driver, and then torture him for whatever information they’re after.”

You nodded at Morgan. “But then they realize that he’s not the target, so they kill him. I bet whoever they’re after was at the department store, but got away again.”

“There’s only video of two people leaving the store, though. Looks like a man and a woman.” Prentiss frowned at the picture in front of her. “And what’s with the weird masks?”

“Maybe the target knew another way out. The security system at the store wasn’t exactly top notch,” Rossi suggested.

“Do the masks mean anything to you, Y/L/N?” You looked up at Hotch in surprise. “Are they local mascots? Characters from a local business? Something like that?”

“I don’t recognize them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t mean something to the community. They could still be from a pizza place or a school. It’s not like I got to spend a lot of time at either of those places.”

For a second, it was like the wind had been sucked from the room. Everyone sat still, once again aware of how different your upbringing was. As your team had gotten into the groove of trying to work out his case, any of the remaining awkwardness had started to dissipate. Now, it was back in full force.

“We can ask local PD if they recognize the masks,” Rossi suggested after a second of silence.

“You know it’s common for children to be scared of people in masks. While most kids grow out of it with time, many adults are naturally unsettled when faced with strangers in masks. It’s one of the reasons so many horror movies feature villains wearing masks.”

“Good to know, Reid,” Derek muttered.

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

The bell rang clearly through the empty store as you and Spencer entered. The mess from the attack was gone, but the store was still devoid of customers. The door to the back swung open and an older woman came out.

“Hello,” she greeted cheerfully. “What can I get for you two?”

“We’re actually with the FBI.” The woman’s face fell as you and Spencer both flashed your badges. “I’m Doctor Reid and this is Agent Y/L/N.”

“You two are here to ask about the attack the other night.”

“We are.”

“I’ve already gone over it with both of the detectives. Do I really need to go through all of this again?”

“We wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” you answered gently. “We’re trained to see things differently than local detectives. It would help us greatly if we could ask you some questions.” You could see that the woman was still unsure, so you put on your best smile and hopped on one of the stools. “And since we’re already here, we’ll go ahead and take two monster donuts.”

The woman’s eyes lit up as she looked over you once again. “You must be from around here. You didn’t even have to look at the menu to know that the monster donuts are the best donuts. Let me go grab your donuts and then we can talk.” With another smile, she disappeared into the back again.

“What exactly is a monster donut?” Spencer slowly sat on the stool next to you.

“When they mess up a donut, they decorate it to look like a monster instead of throwing it away.”

“So we’re paying for the misshapen donuts that no one would buy without a gimmick?”

“No.” You smiled sweetly at Spencer, watching in delight as his cheeks reddened. “You’re paying for the misshapen donuts. After all, the guy is supposed to pay for the first date.”

Spencer grinned at your teasing. “So this is a date? Here I thought we were on the clock.”

“We can multitask.” You took Spencer’s hand in yours, squeezing it slightly. The back door swung open again and you two sprang apart.

“Here we go. By the way, my name is Agnes.” She placed a plate in front of each of you. Grinning, you inspected the donuts.

“Oh I got Frankenstein. You know, my brother used to beg for a Frankenstein one whenever we came here. Lucky you, Reid. The vampires were always my favorite.”

“We can trade if you want.” You started shaking your head, but Spencer was already switching your plates. You tried to frown at him, but couldn’t stop the corners of your mouth from turning up.

Agnes’s eyes flicked between the two of you. “Well aren’t you two a lovely couple.” You and Spencer both sat up straighter, leaning away from each other slightly. This was still work. You couldn’t afford to do anything unprofessional right now. Spencer muttered something about not being a couple, but Agnes didn’t seem convinced.

“So can you take us through what happened that night?” Spencer seemed relieved that you interrupted his ramblings. He took a big bite of Frankenstein’s head as Agnes began to talk.

“It was a pretty slow night. Only the one man and his son. The man ordered an eclair. His son got coffee.”

“Decaf?” Spencer asked through another bite of the donut. Anges shook her head. “How old would you say the son was?”

“About 13, I’d guess. He seemed so serious though. Very mature for his age. He was wearing a school uniform, but not one that I recognized. I don’t see many private school kids in here. I remember thinking that they looked like an odd pair.”

“Odd how?”

“Well the boy looked perfectly put together. The man, on the other hand, looked a little dirty. Not that there’s anything wrong with getting a little dirty while you’re working. Heaven knows that I can work up a sweat making donuts all day.”

“All right, so you give the two of them the eclair and coffee. Then what do you do?”

“I went into the back to start getting ready to close. I figured I might as well call it a night once those two left. While I was back there, I heard a car start up outside. I looked out the window and saw the tow truck driving away. Then people started shooting. I hid under the desk until I thought it was safe to come out.”

“How much time would you say passed between when the truck drove away and the shooting started.”

“Oh not long. Less than a minute.”

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. You dug it out, ready to decline another call from Allison, but instead you were greeted with a text from Prentiss. Spencer met your eyes, waiting for you to talk.

“They’ve talked with the widow. The driver didn’t have any kids.” 

Just then, Spencer’s phone started ringing. “It’s Hotch. I’ll be right back.” You watched as Spencer quickly exited the donut shop before turning back to Agnes.

“That boy was not the driver’s son. Did you see him leave with the driver?” Agnes shook her head. “Can you describe him for me?”

“Dark hair. Maybe lighter eyes. I didn’t really look very closely to be honest. Very serious demeanor.” You nodded slightly and began to get up from your seat. It was unlikely that you would get anything else useful. Still, it had been nice to have another Griddy’s donut, you thought as you popped your last bit into your mouth. “Oh wait. There was something else. He had a tattoo on his wrist.”

Your blood ran cold. You looked at Agnes, trying to control your facial expression. “A tattoo?”

“Yes. It was an umbrella. I remember thinking it was strange that someone so young would have a tattoo. Is that helpful?”

Without thinking, you pushed yourself into her head. It was easy to find the memory of that night. And sitting there, at the corner of the bar, was Five. Blinking quickly, you exited her head as quickly as you had entered it.

Well it definitely made your life more difficult. “Yes. Thank you, ma’am. And thank you for the donuts. They were delicious.” You dropped some cash onto the counter and walked back outside.

“Did she have anything useful?” Spencer asked as you approached the SUV.

“No,” you replied without missing a beat. “Nothing she hadn’t already told Patch. What did Hotch want?”

“He wants us back at the station to start working on a geographic profile for the potential target. He thinks that if we can find the target, we’ll be able to find the unsubs.”

You nodded slightly before sliding into the driver’s seat. Without any hesitation, you began making your way back to the police station. 

Another car pulls into the parking lot as you’re pulling out. “At least she has some more customers coming,” you say, trying to ignore Spencer staring at you from the passenger seat. Finally, you glanced over, eyebrows raised in question.

“Sorry. It’s just a little weird seeing you here. I mean, it makes sense that you would be familiar with the city since you grew up here, but you didn’t need directions to the donut shop even though we ran into construction. It’s like you know the city off the back of your hand.”

“I do. We had to memorize the layout of the city as kids. We had to be able to come up with the quickest routes between any two points.”

“Oh. And here I thought I was weird for learning classical literature and theoretical physics as a kid.”

“We had to do that too.” Spencer didn’t respond. Instead, he looked through the window as you continued to drive. For a second, you almost looked into his head to see what he was thinking. It was almost second nature, like it had been in the donut shop.

You had to stop whatever was going on with you. It had been a mistake to come back to the city. It had been a mistake to agree to work on this case. You were regressing too much. Wanting to look in everyone’s head just because it would make your life easier. Putting your siblings above all else. You had just lied to Spencer for crying out loud. You should have told him about the tattoo. You should tell your team that Five was at the diner. That he’s probably the target.

But you can’t. You won’t. At least not yet. You have to talk to Five first. Because as much as you hate to admit it, saving the world is probably more important than solving this case. Even if that means you might lose your job.

All of this is running through your head as you pull up at the police station. Your phone buzzes again as you enter the bullpen. “You go ahead, Spence. I need to take this.” Spencer hesitates slightly, but you urge him on with a small smile. You accept the call. “What, Allison?”

“Y/N finally! Where are you?”

“Where am I? I’m at work. Now why do you keep calling me?”

“You have to come home. We’re having a family meeting.”

You run a rand through your hair, trying not to snap in the middle of the bullpen. “Allison, I am working. I can’t go back to the house right now. I’ll probably be by later, once we’re done for the night. I don’t even know if the team got me a hotel room, so I might be sleeping at the house.”

“Y/N, you have to come now. It’s about Mom.”

“About Mom?” you repeat. “Look, whatever it is, I’m sure she’s fine. Let her recharge or ask Pogo about it. I’m busy, so please stop calling. We’ll talk later.”

“Please, Y/N. Diego should be on his way to the police station. Just go with him so we can all talk about this.”

“Diego should be-” You turn sharply to look at the room your team is set up in. Sure enough, Diego is in there, gesturing wildly while Patch seemingly tries to get him out. You hand up on Allison, stuff your phone back in your pocket, and stomp over.

“Y/N, there you are,” Diego says when you walk in. The rest of your team takes in your stoic face and clenched fists without a comment. They know you’re pissed and they know better than to mess with you. “Come on. We need to go home.”

Diego tries to take your arm, but you grab his wrist before he can. “No, Diego, you need to go home. And you need to tell Allison to stop calling me. Because I don’t care about what she and Luther have to say.” Diego tried to get his wrist back as you dragged him out of the room, but to no avail.

“It’s about Mom. It’s serious.”

“I think whatever is going on with Mom can wait until later. She’s a robot. Now, leave me alone. I’m working on the case. You know, the one you’re supposed to be giving a shit about.”

Finally, you let go of Diego’s wrist. He looks at you for a minute and you wonder whether he’s going to try to pick you up and carry you back home. Instead, he shakes his head. “Fine. But if we make a decision that you don’t like, you can’t complain.”

“Ok fine. Goodbye, Diego.” You watch as he stalks out of the police station. You groan into your hands before turning back to the room. Cases were so much easier before your family was involved.

Without looking at anyone, you drop into a seat in between Morgan and JJ. It’s quiet for a moment before Hotch speaks. “Is everything okay, Y/L/N?”

“Everything’s fine.” You push yourself up to look at your boss. “Sorry about him. Diego has no boundaries, professional or personal. He’s also just a general pain in the ass.” If you aren’t mistaken, there’s the littlest movement of Hotch’s mouth. It’s probably the most you’ve ever been able to make him smile.

“So I know that we should pretend like we didn’t hear that, but did you say that your mom is a robot?” You turn to JJ, who’s trying not to smile. However, she can’t help herself when you nod, grinning back at her. “Ok, once this case is over I’m going to need to know more about that.”

“Until then, let’s go over what we just learned.” You sat up straighter, giving Hotch all of your attention. There’s an uneasy feeling in your stomach, reminding you that you have important information. You just need to talk to Five first.

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

“All right, everyone, let’s stop for the night. We’ll go back to the hotel, then come back fresh tomorrow.” Everyone groaned in relief as they began to gather their things to leave the station. You stood slowly, cracking your neck as you did. Next to you, Reid was doing the same thing. The two of you had been hunched over a map for most of the evening, trying to work out the geographical profile of the unsub’s target. It was easy to make yourself forget that it was Five you were profiling, though your breath caught every time you saw your house or the eyeball factory on the map. You just hoped that Spencer bought it every time you turned it into a yawn.

You hesitated for a moment, unsure whether you should follow them out to the SUVs or take your family’s car, which had been sitting at the station all day, back to the house. Spencer paused at the doorway, looking back at you, which caused Hotch to turn back too.

“Oh, Y/N, we couldn’t get you a room when we checked in. You can come with us to the hotel and try for yourself. Or I guess someone might be willing to share.” Spencer opened his mouth, most likely to volunteer his room. The two of you had shared rooms before when the local hotels didn’t have enough rooms for everyone to have their own, but you weren’t sure if it would be weird now that you two were kind of a thing.

“I’ll just go back to the house. My sister has been calling me all day, and I told her I’d be back tonight.” Right on cue, your phone started buzzing. “Speak of the devil,” you muttered as you answered your phone. “Hey, Allison, I was just-”

“Y/N, you have to get back quick. We were just attacked.”

“You were just attacked?” Your voice rose in alarm, drawing the attention of your team. They quickly returned to the room, watching you with concern. “What do you mean you were attacked? What happened?”

“We had a family meeting earlier and then afterwards some freaks in masks showed up and started shooting up the house.”

“Masks? Like creepy animal masks?” Your team’s eyes widened. They quickly began putting their stuff back down. It looked like it would be a longer night than any of you anticipated.

“Yeah some woman in a pink mask and a man in a blue one. We managed to fight them off.”

“Who’s ‘we’? Is everyone okay?”

“Me, Luther, Diego, and Vanya.”

You made a face before you could stop yourself. “You had a family meeting when half the team wasn’t there? But you included Vanya?”

Allison huffed on the other end of the line. “Yes, we included Vanya. Mom was her mom too. And you and Five wouldn’t come. Klaus was here for the meeting, but he’s gone.”

“He’s gone? Was he there when you were attacked?”

“No he probably left to go get high.”

You hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to let the matter of Klaus go. You’d know more once you got the house, you finally decided. You headed out the door, your team following close behind you. You stuttered for a moment as something Allison had said finally landed. “Did something happen to Mom?”

Your team glanced at you as everyone piled into the SUVs. Allison’s voice sounded small on the other end of the line. “What makes you say that?”

Answering a question with a question. She was deflecting. “Allison, what happened to Mom? You said that she was Vanya’s mom too. Past tense. She is our mom.” Your team was doing a good job acting like they weren’t listening, but you knew they noticed how your voice cracked with panic.

“They killed her. We don’t know what happened. We lost them for a few minutes.”

“They killed-they can’t have killed her. She’s a robot. No they can’t have just turned her off. It can’t just work like that.”

“It can, Y/N. And they did.”

You clenched your jaw, forcing the tears to stay back. “I’ll be there soon.” Without waiting for a reply, you ended the call. Your fingers moved restlessly as the drive continued, until Spencer took your hand in his. He gave you a comforting squeeze. Looking up at him, you managed a small smile before letting out a shaky breath. Whoever these masked freaks were, they were going to be sorry they had messed with your family. You would make sure of it.

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

taglist (if you’d like to be added or removed just let me know)

@perfectlysane24 @mcntsee @ofbooksandaesthetics @aprildwyer-ludgate @l0ve-0f-my-life @sarcasm-n-insomnia

[kirstenvangsness]

not like the others

Synopsis: Derek and Savannah join Penelope and Luke on a double date

Pairing: Garvez (ft Derek and Savannah) 

A/N: This isn’t perfect, but I promised it to my friend MONTHS ago, I may fix it up when I have the time but I think for right now it should be fine. So enjoy!

“Do we have to go?” Luke comes up behind Penelope who is putting the final touches to her curls and rests his arms around her waist. Feeling the warmth of his torso against the curve of her back, she closes her eyes as she leans into his touch. “I’d like to remind you, Alvez. This was your idea.” 

“I know.” He groans, shifting his chin to her shoulder and glancing forward, his gaze meeting his reflection. “But that was before I walked in here and saw you wearing... this.” 

Penelope feigns ignorance as she tilts her head down. “I can change if you -” “No, no.” Luke tightens his grip. “Please don’t do that.”

Without moving from his grasp, Luke watches as Penelope twirls in his embrace. “Counter offer.” “Hm?” 

“We text them and tell them we’ll be 20 minutes late.” He squints. “You’d waste 20 minutes of precious time with your lover so we can fool around a little?” 

Penelope pauses. “You’re right. 10 minutes.” ** “Baby!” Penelope barrels her way through the restaurants small crowd with high speed and excitement and when she’s close enough, launches herself into Derek’s awaiting arms. “Oh, I have missed your arms around my sweet physique but most importantly, I have missed your wife.” She untangles herself from her best friends' arms, all but shoving him aside to instead collect Savannah in a tight embrace. 

“Damn,” Luke says, finally catching up to the group and watching as Penelope and Savannah whisper quietly to themselves. “I thought I was going to have to fight you for her attention tonight. Didn’t expect this.” Derek tilts his head slightly and furrows his brows; Luke seems amused, relaxed and less stilted and uncomfortable like previous men in Penelope’s life. Just by his stature, he knew there was something about Alvez and he was willing to test it out. 

Penelope rolls her eyes. “Oh. Ha. Ha. You’re so funny.”

  “Mama.” Derek chides. “Behave.” 

Her mouth opens and closes into a thin line, her eyes sparkling with a glint of something -  as if a challenge had been accepted. “Only because you asked.”

“It’s alright, Morgan. It’ll work in my benefit later.”

Savannah snorts, trying to repress the growing smirk from the edges of her mouth. Luke barely batted an eye at the sultry tone his girlfriend had just used, instead biting back quickly with a good quip of his own. “Oh, I like this one.” 

Shrugging her jacket off her shoulders, Penelope huffs. “Makes one of us.”

Rolling his eyes, Luke takes her jacket and pulls out her chair before maneuvering around  to settle on her left. This small act has Penelope’s cheeks turn a different shade of pink and it’s then, the couple opposite them know her words hold absolutely no weight. “So,” She begins, lifting her arm and beginning to scrap slow circles around the ends of Luke’s hair. “How’s my boy?” 

Savannah places her elbows on the table and leans forward slightly, at the same time Derek opens his mouth. “He’s growing up far too quickly.” “Oh. Hank. Got it.” Derek deflates. “Sorry to break it to you, babe. I don’t think you’re her favourite Morgan anymore.” Savannah says. 

“That’s right.” Penelope agrees, winking at the woman across from her. “You are.”

“Do you see what I have to put up with?” Derek waggles a finger between the two of them but looking at Luke, who had been quietly observing the interaction.

“Would you rather the two women in your life hate each other, though?” “Been there.” Penelope grins. “Whatever you saw in - what was her name? Amy? Oh she was so sure we were sleeping together.”

“To be fair, baby, she did come over and you were in my bed.” Luke dips his head and smirks. “I was cold!” “You were naked.” Derek remarks, frantic eyes snapping to Luke. “Not like that, man. She -“

“Strips all her clothes off after one too many Jagers?” Luke waves him off. “I know. It’s okay.”

Knitting her brows together, Penelope sits back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m feeling very picked on right now.” “Would you rather the two men in your life not get along?” Savannah raises a brow.

“Right now? Yes.” ** Falling into an easy rhythm, the group order their food quickly and settle into comfortable conversation. Savannah is carefully watching Luke with every move their significant other makes but it is all so natural. She knows the story of Kevin and the few times she met Sam, he was lovely as ever but Luke? She couldn’t put her finger on it yet but by the end the night she would. “Wait, what?” Savannah frowns. “Our Penelope? Being unkind to anyone? I don’t buy it.”  

“You didn’t see her babe. She was cold as ice.”

“Queen of ice.” Luke adds. 

Lifting her chin, the woman in question squints.  “I will leave you and take Roxy with me.” Luke sobers quickly. “The sad part about that is she would go willingly.”

“Roxy?” Savannah questions. 

“Our dog.” Penelope replies. 

“You guys have a pet together already?” Savannah hums. “I’m impressed.” “Well, no. She’s Luke’s but I have her whenever he’s on a case so she’s ours on a technicality, I guess.”

When he was a teenager, Derek’s mother had told him how to tell when someone was in love and he’s pretty damn sure he just witnessed Luke have that realization. But that wasn’t his place so he took a swig at his beer and cleared his throat. “Baby girl,” he coaxes Penelope’s attention. “He passed.”

Beside him, his wife whips her  head around. “He – what?” Confused, Penelope’s date looks between everyone at the table. “He who? Passed what?” The three of them only smirk. ** “Where are our better half’s?” Savanna steps outside where Luke s waiting for their valet to bring both cars around.

“Bathroom.” Luke nudges his thumb over his shoulder. “So, probably making out in a closet, then?” 

Alvez shakes his head. “In that dress? Penelope would be too afraid of tearing it on a hanger. My votes against a door.”

  Breathing out a chuckle, Savannah bites her lip. “They really don’t bother you, do they?” “I know my place in her life and I know Derek’s. They come as a package deal, I’ve always known that.” “And that doesn’t… make you uncomfortable?” “Did it make you uncomfortable?” Luke pushes against her question. “I guess I’m with you.” She replies honestly, wrapping her arms around her stomach. “I’ve always known my place. I just — some men Pen have dated were slightly insecure about what they have.”

Nodding in understanding, Luke hums. “It’s a good thing I’m not Kevin Lynch then.” From their hiding place, secluded around a tight corner, Derek snorts — revealing themselves. 

“Good going, Morgan!” Penelope shoves him forward. “You gave us away.” “Nah, babe. I think it might’ve been you whispering cues to Savannah that did it.” Luke smirks, drawing her into his side. He leans in and kisses her, soft but a hint at what the evening might bring. 

“Hey,” Penelope’s voice is low. “You passed though.” “Passed what?” ** “I’m forwarding you his address now,” Penelope says into her speaker the following Monday. 

“Thanks Pen!” JJ speaks first. “We’ll check in afterwards, we’re gonna head  there now but if you could –“ 

“Make sure his work addresses are legit? Already ahead of you. Give me a mo and I should be able to send it through to you guys.” JJ sighs happily. “What we ever did a without  you is beyond me. Okay we’ll call you – OH wait! I heard someone passed?”

Luke frowns, suddenly sitting up straight in the backseat. “Wait, you know what that means???” Before the call disconnects, all the SUV hears is a low laugh from their tech analyst.

[phoebehalliwell]

I wonder how Chris’ relationship with his fam would shift if he (and Bianca obvi because in the good charmed in my head she’d not dead 😂) stayed in the past? Like he’s “born” in the new timeline but it’s not him (plot twist it’s Mel and now this Chris is the youngest!). Like he’s a Halliwell but he’s not, he didn’t get to live up to that legacy. Not to mention he’s almost as old as his parents (sorta) and everyone is so different from what he knew?

Like I can see Piper offering to let him stay at the manor but Chris declines. So when he gets his own place she insists on coming over and cooking him home cooked meals (they bond over it) and he gets back some of that childhood he never had. Plus Bianca getting to learn how to have a proper family and being adopted into the Haliwells as Piper slowly breaks down her walls with her sheer force of will (and food) 😂

Idk Bianca was such a waisted character and you have made me fall in love with her character again! !! 💖💖

i feel like as far as his relationship to his technical siblings i think chris would basically be an uncle like he and bianca would be like uncle chris & aunt bianca to the next gen but at the same time i think he'd still call piper "mom" and anyone who hears it would just go hey um what oh wait hmm oh hmmm because like. idk about about y'all but To Me that situation really reads like teen pregnancy (even tho there's less than a ten year age delta between him n piper i think if you're not close enough to know exactly what happened you're not close enough to know Both of their ages and do the math). i also think the name chris would now be off the table for the next gen (and i think it would be wonderful if mellie was born next!! bonus if she had a feature like blonde hair or brown eyes something that really screams This Isn't Chris) so we get melinda penelope and then a third kid which will just like. Also be a daughter bc i can. and you know what the daughter can be names patricia christina just as like a lil shout hey hey thanks 4 saving the world.

in regards to Specifically legacy / relationship to the halliwells, i think chris would continue to go by perry and only occasionally call on the halliwell name when it would like. have a really big impact to do so. i also think chris is more likely to live with victor than he is to live in the manor because like quite frankly. i mean a) the manor's crowded a lot's going on there b) constant demon attacks but c) i don't think chris coming from the dark timeline has ever felt wanted by the manor i mean obviously it's a seat of power there's the nexus and it has to choose u right that's kinda how it works right so i think evil wyatt really wanted the manor as his bc that really cements his place and i really thing chris tried to hold onto it like whatever it takes like not let the house fall to dark magic but i think he failed so. i think he's not like. a huge fan of the manor. or he thinks the manor isn't a huge fan of him. and then i don't think he and bianca would live in the same place off the bat but i think once them become Officially engaged again they probably move in together (okay you know what could actually make a quirky sitcom? chris and bianca living in the giant montana manor with richard. actually i would love to see that. besties. i love richard.)

and then bianca. 💞💕 my love. for starters, i think the girls would be just straight up fascinated with her because they have so few other witch friends (friends being used loosely here) like really the only other witch they know is like richard who like. i say this with love in my heart. is like a fuck up that's a big part of his character is that he's a fuck up. as opposed to bianca who really is like a master. i think paige would really be interested from bianca from like a craft perspective, i think phoebe, esp after having lost her powers, would be interested from a combat perspective, and i think piper would be really interesting in a "tell me about your mother" sense. i don't think bianca'd be able to touch the book of shadows at first. mainly bc i want the drama and the big emotional moment when she finally can, but i'm justifying his by her being a neutral figure so theoretically she can but like the book can smell all the blood on her hands so to speak it knows how many lives she has willing taken and is protecting itself accordingly. and then for what it's worth i think bianca really reminds piper of prue because like. she is so hard on herself. she has to be the best. and when it comes to chris, like she sees how protective she is of him and like how she'll totally go behind his back if that means saving him it's just her fierce loyalty coupled with like. no self-forgiveness. piper's really seen it before. oh hell u know what. chris and bianca live in suburbia with derek and they help raise the manticore baby. anyways. i really just want a scene where chris is doing something he's really tightly would he's like arguing with phoebe and paige he's like you know what fuck this where's piper maybe Someone Here will be able to see reason and phoebe's like bet she's gonna side w me but u can try she's in the kitchen and chris goes in the kitchen and bianca's helping piper cook and it almost just stops him in his tracks because it's like. they won you know? they actually did it? they got what they were fighting for. and now here they are and piper's in the kitchen teaching bianca family recipes and it's just like wow. : ). and then phoebe rolls up and chris is like right okay here's [situation] and piper's like i agree with chris and phoebe's like what the fuck and bianca goes mm no i actually think phoebe's right and chris is like hey what the fuck???

[chachkayes]

Just Between The Two of Us

What do you do when you wake up at 4am because of a nightmare and can’t get back to sleep? Why, you write a Merhayes one shot of course. My friend on twitter had posted asking someone to write a one shot of Hayes finding Meredith in the supply closet in 17x01 instead of Deluca, and this is a scene I’ve thought long and hard about, and knew that this was the perfect time to do it, since I always do my best angsty writing when it’s late and everyone is asleep. So, enjoy :)

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. People weren’t supposed to be dying so brutally… so alone. She wasn’t supposed to be running a code every 5 minutes. And yet, the pandemic started, made its way to America, and ruined everyone’s chance at a normal year - all because leadership didn’t believe in science. And people don’t wear masks. God, this was infuriating. People didn’t have to be dying - not at this rate, at least. Meredith Grey was no kind stranger to death, but she was to this. She was to the blinking of her pager calling her for a code blue every 5-10 minutes. She felt her heart break more and more every time it went off. Because it meant a family wouldn’t get to say goodbye. She’d have to call a family that’d been praying for a good outcome and tell them that their loved one was dead - and it was all preventable. That’s what she couldn’t wrap her head around. This was preventable. If people cared about each other and the health of the people around them, this could all be prevented. 

The supply closet on the 4th floor took the brunt of her anger and sadness. She’d reached her boiling point - she couldn’t take all the death, all the disease, and certainly not all the codes she’d been doing. She’d been run thin, and the innocent supply closet was just unlucky enough to be the target of her anger when she finally broke down. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. And so, in the safety of the supply closet, tears fell, carts were smashed, supplies were thrown and a mess was made. She never understood why it made her feel better to trash supply closets when she’d reached a boiling point, but she knew they were safe. If no one walked in, no one knew the rage, the pain, or the heartbreak. Of course that was only if no one walked in. Just after everything had been trashed, Meredith leaned up against a shelf and cried. There was no trying to stop it, and so she didn’t. She cried so hard that she didn’t even hear the turn of the doorknob and see anyone walk in. Her demeanour quickly changed when she heard, “Grey?” She didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was, the Irish accent gave it right away. Hayes. How did he always seem to find her when she needed someone? She turned around to face him, tear stained eyes. 

“Oh - Hayes. Sorry, I’ll uh… I’ll clean this up, okay?” She’d forgotten she was in a peds supply closet. “Hey - it’s okay, no need to be sorry. I was just looking for a couple of things, though it seems like they might... be on the floor right now.” He said in an attempt to try and make her laugh, which he was successful at. He could tell that whatever had happened was a long time coming. He’d only slightly dealt with the effects of COVID. He felt the sting of it in different ways, from the decrease in nurses, to the decrease in patients all together. Grey, Pierce, Bailey, Altman - they were the ones on the frontlines, dealing with the brute of it all. “Are you okay?” He said after a few fleeting moments of silence. The most she could muster up was to shake her head no, knowing that more crying was imminent. “Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything I can do?” He asked calmly. This was the longest they’d seen each other in weeks. And he wanted to help her. Slowly she sat on the ground and hugged her knees, prompting him to do the same. He was all ears if she was willing to talk.

“Wanna make this pandemic end?” She asked with a slight joking tone to her voice. It wasn’t like them to sit and have conversations like this without cracking a few jokes around each other. “Ay, if I could, you know I would Grey.” Meredith raised her eyebrows and nodded at his words. “Everyone’s dying. And you know as well as I do that we see death every day, but not to this extent. Not when it’s preventable, and they’re dying alone. I just finished calling my patient’s daughter, this sweet 16 year old girl who lost her dad 4 years ago - I had to tell her that her mom had died too. That girl is an orphan now, because of a preventable virus. And I mean… it’s just…” “Infuriating.” He finished her sentence. “Yeah. Infuriating.” Hayes closed his eyes and shook his head. “The world’s gone mad, Grey. And we’re the ones taking the brunt of it all. You more so than me, but I’ve spent a fair bit of time down in the COVID ward trying to help out when and where I can. People praise frontline workers, and then they don’t wear a mask and hold parties with 20 other people, which only adds to the caseload and doesn’t help in the slightest.” 

“Tell me about it,” Meredith said as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry your patient didn’t make it. I know it probably hits close to home.” He said empathetically. The story struck a nerve in him as well, but he didn’t know the patient. All he knew was the chaos of her aftermath. And he thought of his boys, 16 and 14 in their own respect, and how devastated they’d be to lose both their mom and him within a 3 year time frame. “You’re probably the only person who really understands just how much it does.” She stated - she and Hayes had become quite close in the weeks leading up to the pandemic sweeping the states and infiltrating every little bit of their lives. They’d spent a couple of nights sharing whiskey in his office, talking about their kids, home lives, their past cases, finding new cases that she might be able to help him out with, Derek and Abigail, and ironically more recently, what they’d do if they were suddenly put into a life or death situation. And then, here they were. That was all just supposed to be what ifs over whiskey talk, not a real life situation they’d find themselves and every other healthcare worker stuck in just a few weeks later. 

In a moment of quick thinking, Hayes stood up and walked over to Meredith. Both of them were in full PPE - gowns, gloves, and PAPR gear. He extended his hand for her to grab, and she curiously took it in her own. After pulling her to her feet, they stood in front of each other, making full eye contact. As if they were reading each other’s minds, both of them extended their arms and pulled each other in for a hug at the same time. They were safe from the absolute mess that was the world in that little supply closet. And so, they held each other. And for those few fleeting moments, the world was okay. No one was interrupting them, there was no bad news coming from the televisions, and most importantly, nobody was dying. For the first few moments in over 2 weeks, Meredith let herself breathe. “Thank you. I needed that.” Meredith said quietly as they pulled away. They’d technically broken a protocol but this counted as an extenuating circumstance in Hayes’ books. “I should probably get to cleaning this up before they call me for another code.” She said, looking around him to get a sense of the mess she’d made in there, so she could determine how long it’d take her to put it all back. “I’ll help you, it’ll make it go faster.” Hayes offered, to which Meredith smiled. “Sure, thanks. That would help a lot. And by the way, no one has to know about what just happened.” She said with a grateful look in her eye. “There’s already enough craziness past these doors, Grey. We can just keep this between the two of us. Now, let’s get to cleaning this place up before a nurse comes in and rips us a new one.”

And as they cleaned the place up, Meredith thought about how maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing when someone walked in after she’d broken down in a supply closet, it just had to be the right person. “You know where to find me if you need to vent or escape again.” Hayes said as they headed for the doors. She nodded at him, gave him a small smile, and then it was back to the madness. 

[asterekmess]

S3A - E9

The last episode took me Hours to get through with all my notes, let’s hope this one doesn’t hurt my fingers so bad.

My fingers hurt too much to come up with a clever pun so Read More:

Thoughts:

This is a dumb first bullet point, but I love Tara’s hair. It looks like it’s braided or something, then in a bun at the back? I like it.

What exactly was the reasoning for her walking into the school alone like this? Let alone going That far into it? If it’s a 911 call that she’s so nervous about she has her hand on her gun, then shouldn’t there be more than one officer??

ALSO, that seems like Very Bad routine procedure? You got a 911 call (but we get no explanation as to what it was FOR) and the first thing you say when you see someone is “Why are you here?” shouldn’t you be asking “Who made the 911 call?” And then you tell them to leave, and to tell anyone Else they see to leave. When they could easily SEE the person you’re wanting to aim a gun at and TELL them to leave because there’s a cop in the school.

So I’m torn between Julia being just that sick and wanting to terrify each of her sacrifices (which...she talks about them like she’s Genuinely sad she had to kill them, but it was necessary to save the world, so that doesn’t sit right with me?) or fear being a Necessary part of the ritual, like, that the sacrifices Couldn’t be willing?

Honestly, Lyds, that’s so smart and reasonable. “I had to have the weird blackout to get here. YOU get to go find the body.”

What was the point of the staging in the shower room if she was gonna get thrown onto the sign?? Why move her at all?

ALSO if this is supposed to be a threefold death, then didn’t she do it wrong? She killed Tara by strangulating her, but didn’t do the head bash or the throat until after she’d moved her body, for some reason??? Don’t they need to happen like..near the same time?

No to mention that there wouldn’t be much blood bc her throat was slit After death, so the blood wasn’t pumping. Even laying her down wouldn’t render a large amount. But they’re going for horror, so...i guess i’ll let it pass.

Why does it feel like Julia is going after people close to STiles specifically? First Heather, now Tara? And then his Dad? That’s a weird coincidence when she’s got the entire town to choose from.

Also, sheriff, i love you, but ‘they’re not going to get away with killing one of our own.” is a REALLY fucked up line. Police getting pissed ONLY when other Police are the ones killed is SO FUCKED UP. Logistically, police are FAR more likely to get killed than citizens are, aren’t they? They’re the ones that’re supposed to be running into danger? Like, Soldiers don’t Only get pissed when other soldiers are killed, right? It’s literally like...your job to be in potentially fatal situations? that’s not even my point! My point is that your line implies that law enforcement was Half-assing it before a cop got killed. half a dozen people have died, so Beacon Hills should be Swarming with cops, but for some reason the big guns don’t come in until a cop dies? Your phrasing sucks, Noah. Were you gonna let them get away with it if they killed everybody BUT the cops? I’m being sarcastic on that last bit, btw.

I’ll admit, it’s nice to get some actual SUNSHINE in CALIFORNIA

Is Chris letting Allison stay home because she saw a dead body? FOr as long as she wants? I’m so confused, she’s seen Much worse things, shouldn’t it like raise an alarm that she’s choosing NOW to stay home?

Your badassery is tainted by the fact that you’re wearing a dress and fishnets, Allison. If you’re gonna go hunting put on some pants. or shorts AT LEAST. that’s just not Practical.

I love how blatant a lie Stiles is telling Julia in class. “do you play?” “No, my father does” when we Know he plays, and besides if his dad plays then stiles MUSt because that’s a two person thing most of the time? But no, he doesn’t want Julia to know Shit about him.

the loyalty of Lydia not going near Aiden after learning he killed Boyd is SO refreshing. I TOLD you, if she knew Aiden was a murderer she’d never have gotten with him in the first place.

NOt Derek. CORA. MY BABE BONDS FAST. (I mean, she was locked in a bank vault with him for however long)

FIrst off, I love Stiles losing his shit. Second, the acting here is so sub-par, and it looks like a writer’s mistake. okay, so, in acting, interruption is an ART. You have to let someone say enough to get their line across, but INterrupt them before they can finish in a way that looks natural. And you have to make sure not to come in late or you get an awkward pause (this is more common with newbies bc experience actors don’t stop their line, they keep it going until you figure it out.) So like The line is ...And shove it up your freaking--” Now, Scott needs to interrupt without being late, otherwise, unless Stiles Continues the line, he’ll pause after saying ‘freaking’ and it’ll be noticeable. here, the way scott interrupts him feels So Wrong, in part because he let’s Stiles get so far into his threat.

Also, I’m fucking pissed that Scott is downplaying how angry Stiles is. “okay, we get it.” is just...a garbage way to respond to a friend who’s hurting and clearly on edge, thinking Ethan is threatening him.

Exactly How do you “Know” Ethan didn’t want to kill Boyd? You weren’t there, fuckface.

Is this set after school? They’re shouting their heads off and no one’s coming? Even Stiles was shouting about wolfsbane.

THAT IS NOT HOW ACTUAL WOLF PACKS WORK YOU FUCKER. THAT’S A GARBAGE MYTH.

Hearing Cora’s little gasp as her head hit the wall hurt my heart.

Normally I’d be pissed about the girl standing back and not doing anything, but Lydia would be ripped apart and I do not blame her for shouting from the sideline.

I don’t understand what the hell is going on with the Chris stuff. Like, I guess he’s supposed to be looking into it on his own, but that still doesn’t explain where he got the information on this very specific ritual.

But I do understand Allison’s hesitance to outright ask her father what the fuck he’s doing, since last time that happened she was taken to a chained up derek in an underground tunnel system. Finding out her family are monsters is kind of her entire life, unfortunately.

Honestly, fuck yes. Cora go off. Though, I’m sad that no one is mentioning Erica, like At All. You realize she ALSO died at the hands of the ALphas, right? why does no one mention her when they talk about getting revenge?

I...am not talking about this scene.

I gotta say that I enjoy the fact that Allison called Stiles. That’s just...that’s p cool. BUT while it’s cute that her contact picture is from her conversation with Stiles in s2, it’s weird bc it’s a screenshot of the show, and we know that Stiles wasn’t taking pictures at that moment. But the effort is sweet!

I will say that it’s interesting that Cora doesn’t fight Stiles about helping him with his dad. She just finished yelling at Scott, Lydia, and presumably Stiles, and she’s clearly unhappy with literally everyone but Derek, but she’s been very humoring of Stiles. In every scene together, even when she’s snarking at him, she’s not an Asshole.

This conversation with Morrell makes...no sense. Scott literally said in the last episode that good liars wouldn’t have jumping heartbeats when they lied. Then he immediately went to ask Morrell if she was the killer and believed her (even though she’s sketchy as fuck) just because her heart didn’t jump. Wtf?

“But if I kill someone, I can’t be a True Alpha, right?” WHO SAID THAT EVER? WHO TOLD YOU THAT? SINCE WHEN? WTF?

I don’t know if it was intentional (maybe they mention it, but i haven’t gotten that far) but technically having this history teacher disappear leaves an empty class for Kira’s dad to fill when she shows up. Which is neat.

I will forever be angry that Aiden is touching Lydia here. He shouldn’t be near her. And that’s not even me being cranky! She IS PISSED AT HIM. She was avoiding him before today and even then the only reason she went near him was to act as a distraction.

Also, again, I am amazed at Cora’s PATIENCE with Stiles here. Seriously, they’ve clearly been there for a while as Stiles tries to find the words, but Cora didn’t just get pissed stand up and say “I’m a werewolf. People are dying. Help.” She continued to wait for him to talk.

When does stiles rearrange his room? I swear in the beginning of this season it was still in the previous formation with the corner bed sticking out and the desk under the window. Now the desk is facing a totally different direction and his bed’s up against the wall. It’s great, but like, when does it happen? Isn’t this literally the second time we’ve seen his room the whole season?

that’s such a weird text. “Mr Westover Missing” like I don’t know if it’s from Lydia or Scott, but you’re allowed to add some detail? Your keystrokes aren’t limited and there are no government agencies watching your texts for information.

Oh, poor Cora. I honestly wasn’t expecting to bond with her so quickly when I first saw her, but there’s something about getting to see characters being calm that really helps me vibe with them? Like, when they’re nothing but Fight Fight Fight it’s hard to actually relate in any way, but when you actually get to see them talk or relax, then you worry about that being taken away from them.

However much I hate Isaac and everyone else Constantly saying “But I want Scott here. We should ask Scott, blah blah blah” I will say that it’s getting REALLY annoying that Allison’s entire personality is “I”m going to run in with almost zero backup bc I want to be powerful and strong, but then I have to be saved bc I refused to ask for help in the first place.”

Wtf do you mean ‘i’m not that good at this yet’ Isaac? You’ve been a werewolf for literally like 5 months, only like two months less than Scott, and you were LIVING with a born werewolf for that ENTIRE time.

Chris you were shooting at nothing for like two-thirds of that time. That was an empty room. ALSO, if you’ve been there the whole time, why did you wait until he was dead to come out shooting?

Chris yells “help Him” and you go run to stand next to his body without bothering to pull him off the cord around his neck? You realize he might not be completely dead right? Or is his throat already cut?

Also, I wanna note, it was daylight when Cora passed out. Now it’s dark! He went to the ER with her and STAYED with her. I get that people say STiles is kind of callous, but he Constantly goes out of his way for near strangers, and I don’t think that should be overlooked.

No youfcking wouldn’t have Chris, you had tons of time while they were using the garrotte and you just stood there. They came in just before the kill was done, and except for Tara Julia has been leaving people’s bodies where they fall so she wouldn’t left right after. You were NOT ‘this’ close.

Yeah, yeah, and you’re both fucking guilty of being incapable of conversation. Chris you are the adult here, fucking act like it. You had a million chances to confront your daughter and you didn’t. Apparently that’s a habit she picked up from you.

What are they talking about, Scott healing himself?? He was thrown back, he wasn’t injured. I literally just went back and rewatched that scene. He falls backward and he’s completely fine. Stiles, there are so many better instances you could point to. For example, things that actually Happened.

That line is never gonna not hurt.

Stop touching Danny. Stop being near Danny. You are a literal serial killer, get your hands off him. GOD. your brother literally said he would murder danny if he saw you with him anymore, why are you putting him in danger? FUck you.

.....okay, lydia’s speech was meaningful until she fucking turned it into scott worship. Why couldn’t you have stopped at letting her say “maybe I’ll find them before it happens” Why couldn’t it be about HER for once? Why did you have to make it about how everyone thinks sunshine comes out Scott’s ass even though he’s literally not done a single thing to warrant it. He hasn’t Saved Anyone. He hasn’t done Anything to warrant all this trust. Lydia wasn’t there when he made Derek kill Gerard. SHE was the one to save Jackson. And Scott was the one who had to be saved BOTH when Allison had to stitch him up and when Stiles had to go after him in the gasoline. Jackson is the one who saved Lydia when Peter went after her. Scott Didn’t save deaton, that was Noah. He wasn’t the one who killed Peter, that was a combination of Stiles and Jackson’s molotovs and Derek’s claws. Scott wasn’t even the one to protect Lydia when Derek and the pack went after her, that was Stiles, Allison, and Jackson. SHe had no idea that Scott was even THERE until she ran out of the house. Scott didn’t stop Matt, that was Allison’s family scaring him off and then Gerard killing him. THe only possible thing that could count was him saving the two little kids while Boyd and Cora were running around in the woods, and Lydia doesn’t even KNOW about that. Scott has canonically done NOTHING worth all this faith and ‘leader’ nonsense.

were...were they hinting at a Scott/Lydia relationship before they brought Kira in? Holding hands isn’t really a friend thing...?

That....is the softest most broken little ‘hey’ that I’ve ever heard and I’m Instantly on the verge of tears, holy shit.

Derek, honey, what do you mean ‘not again’? You’ve never left Cora, unless you count moving to New York with Laura and Cora was in South America! This line would make so much more sense if they’d given us Any idea what happened to Cora after the fire.

Normally, i’d be annoyed that Melissa is just ignoring the laws about paperwork. I’d even be annoyed that she did it for the Sheriff. BUT, Melissa is in the know about the supernatural and she KNOWS that the murders are supernatural. I’m sorry but Supernatural needs trump human laws. Melissa is totally a boss for this.

EYYYY actual druid (specifically magician druids) thing they got right (though i’m not sure it was on purpose). Magician Druids were Very Well Known for their nature magic. For causing storms and droughts and high winds and fog. The building storm around the school is like, Peak magician magic.

God, it really....it really grinds my gears watching Isaac’s progression toward the most abuse he can find. You notice how, in season 2 when Derek was attacking the Betas on the regular and doing awful shit like breaking Isaac’s hands, Isaac was loyal as Fuck to him? (right up until randomly going to Scott to decide whether to leave town) Then, this season, we start off with Derek being pretty fucking gentle, there’s no indication that he’s been continuing the abuse. Isaac questions his command and Derek’s response is ‘do you trust me?’ to which Isaac easily says yes. In fact, Isaac asks Derek to be the one to hurt him for the memory seeking thing, and Derek refuses because he wants to do what’s Safer for Isaac.Then he throws the glass and Isaac bails bc it’s a direct reminder of what his dad did. Only he goes to Scott, who was incredibly violent toward him in the previous season. (And who we know will be violent toward him in the future as well) But the only time he lists away from Scott, is to go after Allison, who Tackled him to the ground and held a knife to his throat, and whose father inherently hates werewolves and is a constant danger to him. Yet he never goes in the direction of people who Haven’t hurt him. He could go to Deaton, who’d taught him the pain-drain thing and was nothing but kind to him in that short time. He could’ve gone to Boyd after Derek’s lashing out, his pack member, who would never hurt him. Hell, he hates Stiles’ guts, but he could still have gone to him. Stiles was the one to help Derek free him from Jail after all, and he’s not wanted anymore so Noah wouldn’t have anything against him. Stiles may have threatened Isaac to keep him from hurting Lydia, but he never personally laid a hand on him. But he went to Scott. Someone who’s beaten him bloody multiple times.

So, really focusing on the details here, but on Julia’s death record, her  ‘jane doe’ occupation is listed as “Child” Oh, and apparently there was Froth present on the body.

Okay, so I think I understand what they’re saying. The reason Julia lived after getting to the hospital was because the birds sacrificed themselves and their life force kept her holding on. Now, either this was a spontaneous thing, and the birds did it For her. Or she Made them, because we know she doesn’t need to Be There to control weird shit. She could’ve set it up before she left the Nemeton or passed out or whatever. My confusion is. If that’s the explanation for the bird suicides, then what the Fuck happened on the first day when all the birds came crashing through the window?? There was no reason for that to happen. She was totally fine! And doing it to frighten people doesn’t make sense because she set off the radars of everything supernatural in town. (And Stiles.)

This kind of mass mind-control is kind of insane and makes the situation with Derek just That much more awful. I am so sickened.

Now, on the subject of the chanting, I assume it’s part of the ritual since it’s present at the deaths so much. The question is, where did Julia Get it? THOUGHTS: This chant isn’t present at any of the virgin kills. It’s not there with Heather, and while we don’t see the boy at the pool’s abduction/death, Emily Also didn’t hear it during her hallucination. What if it’s part of the virgin sacrifice perk? Like, Julia could Only Use it after killing the virgins, because it’s got some kind of mind-control thing about it?

Wh--why didn’t Julia tape her arms down before she woke up? Why make the garrotte before ensuring her victim couldn’t Punch her in the face??

I thought you JUST said she wasn’t going to be a sacrifice?

Still confused. You didn’t sacrifice Lydia, so that doesn’t count as the third philo, but then the teacher who died onstage wasn’t a threefold death, or the hanging thing, they just got their throat cut and they were poisoned. So....what? Was that supposed to count as your sacrifice?

Nobody TOUCHES Noah, who managed to be the only fucking cop on tv i’ve ever seen follow sensible procedure which is to shoot them in the fucking leg when they walk toward you menacingly, rather than threatening to shoot them in the head and doing nothing.

Final Thoughts:

There was a lot in this episode that didn’t make sense. It’s very clearly an amping up for the finale thing, but it’s annoying that after all this time they’ve essentially made the Alpha pack a time waster. The whole thing with getting Derek in the pack is relatively meaningless now that there’s a Darach going after the Alphas. I dunno, feels kinda off.

Anyway, onward.

[siren-queen-imagines]

Talking To the Moon: Chapter 3

Story Summary: REBOOT: Cassidy Fernandez, an omega, finds herself smack dab in the middle of a war between the hunting Argents and alpha werewolf Derek Hale. She joins his pack and helps out with his new betas, growing close to him and beta Isaac in the process. Will these budding relationships be too distracting as the pack deals with hunters and a monster running around? (Spoilers for Season 2)

Masterlist

Previously...

(gif by me)

Chapter 3: Ice Pick

_____________________—————————————

Cassidy awoke with a start, sitting up and groaning at the pain filling her entire body.

"Hey, hey, hey." Isaac said as he rushed to her side. "You should lay back down."

"W-what happened?" Cassidy asked, her voice raspy.

"Apparently, you and Derek got into it last night."

"We what?" Flashes of the previous night came to her mind; all the roars, swipes and kicks. At least it explained enough. "Never mind...I remember."

Cassidy moved to sit along the side of her bed.

"You should lay back down."

"It's okay. I feel myself healing already. I'll be good to go in 15 minutes."

"What happened last night between you two?" Isaac asked as he sat down next to her.

"It was nothing. I was dealing with some stuff and he thought it would be the best time to test my-abilities." She shrugged. Isaac nodded, sort of understanding what she was saying. "Where is he anyway?"

"He said he found someone else. Went to go see her. If it helps, he was limping when he left."

Cassidy couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped her.

"It does. Thank you. Help me up?"

"Uh, you sure you're ready?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

It was once she stood up she realized that she was in completely different clothes from the previous night. When did that happen?

"Hey, um...weird question." Cassidy started. "Who changed my clothes?"

"I-I think Derek. He was with you all night. I think he felt bad."

"Answers my question on who won the fight." She mumbled. "I'm gonna kick his ass for changing my clothes...hold on." They stopped and Cassidy looked down her shirt. "At least it's the same from yesterday."

Isaac carefully helped Cassidy outside of her room and down a shorter set of stairs than the ones at the entrance.

"Anyway, how are you today, Isaac?" Cassidy asked him as they reached the platform.

"I'm alright." Isaac replied as he let her arm go so she could move around on her own. "Tired."

"Thank you." She referred to his help before adding on, "First full moon will do that to you. It gets easier with time, I promise."

Isaac offered her a small smile and a nod. Before he could say anything further, the door to the entrance opened, Derek walked through with a blonde teenager wearing a hospital gown, whom Isaac recognized as Erica Reyes. She was known as the girl who would get seizures and someone was horrible enough to take a video and post it online once.

"Who's this?" Cassidy asked Derek as they descended the stairs.

"This is Erica. Our new beta." Derek introduced. "Erica, this is Cassidy. She's the other alpha I told you about."

"Hi." Erica replied meekly, nervous but kind smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you, Erica." Cassidy walked over to the blonde. "It's nice to have you. I was thinking of doing some shopping. I need some new clothes. Would you like to go with me?"

"Sure."

Cassidy offered Erica a comforting smile before turning to Derek.

"We're gonna go out for a bit." She told Derek. "I also have some words for you changing my clothes while I was unconscious."

Derek nodded, he understood. But he also didn't want her to wake up uncomfortable after the previous night. He knew she would be in a lot of pain.

"Understood." Derek told her.

"Come on. Let's both change so we can go." Cassidy turned back to Erica and led the way to her 'room'. Just as they got to her door, Cassidy got another flash of the fight from the previous night. "Derek, did you bite me on the arm?"

Derek smirked and turned to walk away.

"How else was I gonna get out of that choke hold?" He called out behind him.

Cassidy couldn't help but smile as she watched him walk away.

_____________________—————————————

The next day, Cassidy officially started school at Beacon Hills High despite her the fact that her first day was technically was supposed to be yesterday. Not only that, it was the day Derek and Cassidy chose for Erica to make her debut as the new version of herself as she healed from her bite.

Cassidy walked into her homeroom class first thing in the morning and it immediately caught the eyes of Scott and Stiles. She paused for a moment, surprised to see the two best friends before giving the note from the front office to her teacher. The teacher motioned for her to take the empty seat behind Stiles, who of course was seated next to Scott. She walked over to her seat and sat down, Scott and Stiles immediately turned around to face her.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked.

"Going to school." Cassidy replied with a shrug.

"Aren't you like, too old for that?"

"How old do you think I am?"

"I-I-I don't know." Stiles didn't want to offend her. He just assumed she was at least the same age as Derek...come on, she was an alpha.

"I just turned 17. I'm a junior." She explained.

"Everything okay with Isaac?" Scott asked, lowering his voice.

"He's fine. Safe."

"That's vague." Stiles added.

"I don't know what else you want me to say."

"You need to talk to Derek." Scott continued. "Tell him to stop turning people."

"You know if they're willing, there isn't much of an issue." Cassidy told him. "It's not like he's keeping secrets from who he turns. They know everything."

"It doesn't matter, Cassidy." Scott's voice raised, earning some looks from his classmates. He looked around and lowered his voice. "It isn't fair to put anyone in the situation we're in."

"Scott, I hear you. I really do. But I can't make Derek do anything. It was their choice and they said yes. I-" Cassidy was cut off.

"Wait, "they"? Who else did he turn?"

Crap. She let the cat out of the bag early...well, kinda. But before she could say anything, the bell rang and the teacher began to speak.

_____________________—————————————

As luck would have it, Cassidy managed to avoid both Scott and Stiles as the day went on. That was until lunch time when Erica reemerged looking very different than the last time everyone saw her. She strode through the cafeteria with confidence, her blonde hair done in curls with leopard print heels, wearing a short black skirt, a white shirt and a leather jacket.

Cassidy couldn't help but smile as she saw a big difference already in the previously insecure teenager. The bite was already working its magic.

She watched as Erica grabbed an apple from a kid and took a bite from it, not once messing up her red lipstick. As she left the cafeteria, she took one look back. Almost immediately Scott and Stiles followed her so Cassidy took the time to go to her locker and get ready for the next period in a few minutes.

At least Derek's plan worked...it was to get Scott's attention.

"Erica?" Scott asked angrily as he stood next to Cassidy's locker.

"Erica." Cassidy confirmed as she took a book out of her locker.

"Why her?"

"She wanted the bite." Cassidy closed her locker. "If it helps, I didn't know about it until it was over."

"It doesn't. Would knowing have changed anything?"

"Probably not." Scott scoffed at her. "Look, I know you don't like it but this is what needs to be done. She knows the risks. We need all of us right now because you were in the woods that night. We're being hunted and murdered because some crazy old man wants to blame all of us werewolves because one, who is already dead by the way, killed his psychopath daughter."

"Who's next?"

"You really think that I'm gonna tell you that?" She asked him. "Come on, Scott. I'm not gonna possibly jeopardize my life because you want to play hero. This is our reality. I don't like it either and if I had a choice, I wouldn't let anyone be turned. But I personally, like living my life. Maybe it's selfish but I'm not ready to let your girlfriend's family kill me and other innocent werewolves. If you were smart, you would know that just because you're secretly dating an Argent doesn't make you safe either and you would join us until there's another way."

"Sounds like you don't want another way." Scott crossed his arms.

"I do. I don't want to fight. But I will if it means surviving. If we were dealing with your girlfriend, things would be different. She seems like a nice girl. But we're not dealing with her."

The bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch period. Student began to fill the hallways, immediately putting an end to Scott and Cassidy's conversation.

_____________________—————————————

"How'd it go?" Derek asked Cassidy as she got back from school.

"Fine. What you expected." Cassidy said, a slight gloominess in her tone, as she walked down the stairs.

"Does he know who our next member is?"

"Not yet. I'm sure he'll figure it out tomorrow when your next plan to keep his attention happens."

Derek caught on to her change in attitude from this morning. This morning, she was doing well, she seemed happy but now...it's almost a complete 180. He looked over to Isaac and Erica, who were nearby, before motioning for Cassidy to follow him. With a small sigh, she followed him to the train car.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked her.

"It's nothing." Cassidy replied, sitting down and running a hand through her hair.

"Doesn't sound or look like nothing."

Cassidy sighed once more, pausing as she gathered her thoughts.

"It's just...first of all, I was a jerk to Scott earlier and I feel bad about that. But, he really thinks he can fix things."

"Cass, he'll say anything to get-"

"He didn't say it. It was just in the way he's been since he and I met. He's not like us." Cassidy looked up at Derek. "I mean that in the best way possible. He's a good person."

"It'll get him killed."

"Will it? Because maybe he might actually be the only one of us who can get us through this. Us changing more people? It's only making things worse for us in their eyes."

"Look, Cassidy." Derek squatted down in front of her. "We need as many of us as possible. As many as we can teach at a time. Because there is no changing or reasoning with someone like Gerard Argent. We have to do this to keep us safe. All of us. Even Scott. He'll see that soon enough."

Cassidy looked Derek in his eyes. She wanted to believe him but she also believed in Scott's way. She was caught in between Scott and Derek's methods. All Cassidy wanted was for the Argents to stop murdering innocent werewolves.

"Maybe you shouldn't go with us tomorrow night." Derek told her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"It's fine." Cassidy spoke up immediately. "I'm fine. I'm just having a weird day. I'll be better tomorrow."

Although Derek wasn't sure about that, he nodded and let it go. Was he already losing her? How much longer until he would lose the rest of his pack? He had to find a way to keep her faith in him. As long as he had her, he knew the rest of his pack would follow.

_____________________—————————————

"Why Boyd?" Scott asked as he once again, found Cassidy at her locker during lunch time the next day.

"Hello to you too, Scott." Cassidy sighed, closing her locker.

"You and Derek need to stay away from Boyd."

"I'm seriously not in the mood today, Scott." She faced him, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, you got us. Boyd is next in line to be turned."

"Did you bite him yet?"

"I didn't."

"Leave him alone."

"I'm not about to have the same argument with you two days in a row. Rest assured, I won't be biting or turning anyone. Isaac and Erica are not my betas."

"You have to stop Derek."

"Again, I am not gonna repeat this argument."

Cassidy turned to walk away.

"When they end up dead, can you live with yourself?" Scott called out after her, stopping her in her tracks. "Because you know that's what will happen if you and Derek don't stop what you're doing."

"You're not the only one who can protect people, Scott." Cassidy told him before the bell rang and continued on her way to her next class.

That thought had gone through Cassidy's mind. But she also knew she could protect them. Right?

_____________________—————————————

Cassidy listened as Derek went over what tonight's plan was once Scott came into the picture. Isaac and Erica listened as he explained that it would also be a way to see how some of his battle training was coming along.

"Cassidy. You listening?" Derek asked irritably.

"Mm hmm." She answered, her mind still turning the words Scott spoke in her head.

"Then maybe you can share what I just talked about." Derek waited as Cassidy came up with nothing. "Maybe if you were paying more attention to this instead of your crush on Scott, you would know."

Isaac and Erica looked over to Cassidy in surprise.

"Wait, wait, whoa. I don't have a crush on Scott."

"You sure about that?"

"Just get back to the plan." She said through gritted teeth.

_____________________—————————————

Derek's mind drifted as he drove the pack to the ice rink. This whole thing with Scott...her seeming to lose faith in Derek...it bothered him. It hurt him more than he cared to admit. To be honest, it made him begin to question his feelings for his fellow alpha. Why would this hurt so much? Maybe because deep down he had feelings for her that had snuck up on him.

And when he's hurt, he tends to lash out at times. Blaming a crush was just easy.

Derek seemed to snap back into the present when they got to the ice while Scott was in the middle of conversation with Boyd as Boyd sat on the zamboni.

"I just wanna not eat lunch alone every day." Boyd told Scott.

"If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek." Scott said.

"That really hurts, Scott. I mean, if you're going to review me, at least take a consensus." Derek said, catching Scott by surprise. "Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"

"Hmm. In a word? Transformative." Erica replied, letting out a growl as she bared her fangs.

"Isaac?"

"Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I'm great." Isaac answered more aloof than Erica.

It was in that moment that Cassidy realized that Isaac had changed too. He wasn't jumpy and the confidence oozed out of him as much as it did Erica. Only difference was he wasn't trying to be seductive as she was.

"Dare I ask you, Cassidy?"

"Honestly, it's been better since we met." Cassidy gave her reply. She wasn't gonna lie about it. She did find things better with Derek. Before this pack, things were a lot different for her.

Derek seemed impressed with that answer as Scott watched her for a moment. There just seemed to be something behind her words...was she just as lonely as Boyd seemed to be?

"Okay, hold on. This isn't exactly a fair fight." Scott told Derek, snapping back into reality.

"Then go home, Scott." Derek shrugged, smug smile on his face. He looked back at Isaac and Erica who took their cue and made their move.

Scott shifted and punched the ground, cracking the ice.

"I meant fair for them."

Scott let out a loud roar. Derek and Cassidy watched as Scott fought off both Isaac and Erica, almost with ease. Boyd looked over to the alphas in worry because it wasn't long before they both lost their fight against the lone beta. Both Derek and Cassidy were impressed with his fighting abilities.

"Don't you get it? He's not doing this for you. He's just adding to his own power, okay? It's all about him. He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!" Scott yelled at Isaac and Erica, sliding them across the ice to Derek's feet.

"It's true. It is about power." Derek admitted.

Cassidy checked on Isaac and Erica as Boyd watched in awe when Derek shifted and fought Scott. He was impressed to see Scott McCall, a beta, hold his own against the alpha werewolf Derek. Unfortunately, Derek won this fight.

"Derek, you made your point." Cassidy called out as Derek kept his foot on Scott's throat.

Considering that Cassidy just said it to remind him and not out of arguments sake, Derek let up. He stared down at Scott for a moment before looking to Boyd as he walked away. Scott watched helplessly as Boyd got off the zamboni, going to follow Derek, Cassidy and the pack.

"Don't. You don't wanna be like them." Scott tried once more to reason with Boyd.

"You're right." Boyd replied, showing Scott the bite he already received. "I wanna be like you."

_____________________—————————————

"Hey." Derek greeted Cassidy after lightly knocking on her open door.

"Hey." Cassidy replied, looking up from her homework.

"I know tonight wasn't easy on you. But I just wanted to say thank you. You had my back when it mattered and I appreciate that."

"Yeah, of course. We're a pack, right?"

"It's not just that." Derek sat down next to her. "I know I was a dick earlier. I was out of line and I'm sorry."

"I should kick your ass for that." She joked, smiling lightly. "We're good. But I thought a lot about what you said yesterday. And you're right. There's no reasoning with the Argents and we're gonna do what we have to so we can stay safe. I hate that that's our reality but it is."

"I'm sorry that it's where we're at. If I could change things, I would. Then maybe we wouldn't have to keep preparing these guys for battle almost all the time. And we could just be."

"Yeah. Maybe one day."

"Maybe."

He lightly smiled at the hopeful look in her eyes. They held each other's gaze for a moment when she noticed Derek's moving between her eyes and her lips. Just as she was about to lean in, someone cleared their throat. Both alphas looked over to Erica at the doorway as she held up her book and notebook.

"Sorry to interrupt." Erica said, sounding anything but sorry. "But Cassidy has a test to help me prep for."

"I guess I'll let you get to it then." Derek got up and walked to the door. He glanced back at Cassidy once more before he left.

"What was that all about?" Erica asked with a smile, full of interest.

"Nothing."

"That didn't look like nothing to me."

"So, Biology…" Cassidy changed the subject.

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

Now we know what the creature is...

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @agna333!

Length: 4745

Rating: Teen and Up

Summary: Stiles was supposed to be back two days ago, so when his team returns without him, Derek goes to find him. (And it's totally not because he's in love with Stiles, despite what Erica says.)

A Naruto-inspired Sterek AU! In which Derek and Stiles are team leaders, the nogitsune is to Stiles what the nine-tailed fox is to Naruto, and there is, at one point, ramen.

Note: I hope this is to your liking and that you're having a happy holiday!

Read on AO3

******

hold your breath and cut through the darkness

Stiles had always been a little odd, had a little too much energy. It wasn’t until Derek’s life was in danger that it had manifested as a creepy fox spirit.

Deaton didn’t own up to why Stiles had a creepy fox spirit in him until it happened again. And again. And the fox spirit—a nogitsune—threatened to take hold of Stiles completely.

At that point, he hunted down some special lichen, did a binding ritual, and explained how the nogitsune that currently resided inside of Stiles had once fed on the town of Beacon Hills. It had taken his mother everything—and more, so much more—to lock it away in her only child and she had thought that, despite the fox inside of him, he would be okay. She had been strong with magic and, if it worked right, Stiles would be stronger with the nogitsune than without.

What other choice did she have?

Everyone had always known, in some way, what Stiles was. He had always been different. The kitsune and wolves alike had been suspicious of him even before the nogitsune emerged, but after a time, it started to be okay. The nogitsune could almost be forgotten, now a devil known rather than a mystery.

Derek can’t forget though. Not when he’s seen the thing firsthand, has seen the sort of hold it can have on Stiles, how it can take those traits that Stiles normally controlled, could amplify and twist them to make it seem like they were just part of who he is. And Stiles is annoying, definitely, but he’s not evil.

The nogitsune, even when it tries to fake it, is definitely not Stiles. And Derek knows Stiles. They didn’t get along when they first met, but they’re… Well.

Derek and Stiles are friends, sure. He has to admit that now after all the times they’ve saved each other’s lives and all the embarrassingly open conversations they’ve had and how much they—ugh—care about each other.

But really? Stiles gets to help train the wolves and kitsune at the school?

Stiles?

He barely even counts as a supernatural given how far buried the nogitsune has to be for him to even function.

Meanwhile, Derek was born a wolf. He had tracked down and killed his own uncle in revenge and inherited the mantle of Hale Alpha. He’s strong even when he’s in control, while Stiles…

Stiles can barely swing a baseball bat without the nogitsune.

And Derek can remember when they’d been caught together in the attack, when he’d been ready to bleed to death, outnumbered and out of options. Stiles had snapped, hadn’t been Stiles anymore but had become something other. The thing that wasn’t Stiles had taken down three Alphas like they were whiny children, had dipped a finger into the hole in Derek’s chest and licked the blood clean, savoring the taste of his suffering.

It could’ve killed him. Derek knows that.

But instead Stiles had struggled to the surface long enough to ask for help, to beg Derek to knock him out, kill him, anything, anything, to keep the nogitsune away (away from Derek, he hadn’t said, but his eyes had pleaded).

Derek doesn’t like to dwell on that, another horrible thing he’d witnessed. Another horrible thing he’d had to do. But it had been necessary and Stiles, when he was really Stiles again, had thanked him for it.

It still doesn’t mean that Stiles is qualified to help supernatural beings find their focus and learn how to fight.

Stiles has his own team. They’re totally screwed, in Derek’s opinion. Then again...Scott has his own team.

Derek isn’t sure which is worse.

Liam, one of Scott’s, nearly bowls Boyd over and Derek thinks maybe Stiles is the better option.

Stiles spends a great deal of time talking to his team. Reassuring them while simultaneously emphasizing just how dangerous it is to be caught alone, to forget their own strength, to let what’s inside of them take over. His eyes, those brilliant amber eyes of his, they go loose for a second, far away to something Derek had seen from the outside but can barely fathom seeing from within.

Derek had always been one with his wolf.

...And maybe Derek shouldn’t be so focused on what Stiles is doing with his team when he should be focused on his own.

Derek’s team is older and more experienced, a couple of them his own Beta wolves that act as seconds in command. Boyd is big, strong, and stoic while Erica is sassy, ready to test anyone she thinks needs to be tested. She’s come the farthest, really.

His younger sister Cora is on his team, another born wolf, and even though Stiles has their cousin Malia, Derek is certain his team would have no problem taking on Stiles’s.

To be fair, Malia had been an actual coyote until a year ago, but still.

Derek feels better for just a moment when he thinks about how his experienced, established team could easily take down Stiles’s ragtag bunch.

And then he feels guilty.

“If you keep watching him,” Erica remarks, “everyone is going to know about your big dumb crush.”

Derek is startled out of his thoughts and glares at her. “What? Shut up.”

“Come on,” she wheedles. “You two were paired together, what? Six times? Everyone knows he only lost control because you were hurt.”

“That’s not— He would’ve done it for anybody.” Which, maybe, is too close to the truth or too kind or too something, because Derek feels like he’s choking.

“Whatever.” Erica flips her hair over her shoulder. “You can call it a hate fuck if it it makes you feel better.”

Derek grits his teeth. “I don’t...hate Stiles.”

“Because you loooove him,” Isaac butts in.

Isaac had been his Beta, too. Before Isaac had fallen head over heels for Scott. (Derek still isn’t sure if it’s romantic or platonic, but whatever it is, it’s intense.)

Thankfully, Boyd has Derek’s back. “Leave him alone.” Derek gives a tight nod of appreciation before Boyd adds, “Obviously he’s in love with him.”

The betrayal.

~

Stiles bumps Derek’s shoulder with his own when they’re grabbing dinner. “You ready for our teams to go head to head? I’m willing to place a pretty good bet on Malia.”

“Well,” Derek acquiesces. “She’s a Hale.” He raises his eyebrow.

Stiles sputters, flushes slightly. “Yeah, well.” He taps his fingers on the counter. “She’s got Stilinski training.”

Derek rolls his eyes, he places his order and takes out his wallet but Stiles is pressing cash into the guy’s hand instead.

“I know I can’t afford much, but I can pay for your ramen, alright?”

Stiles’s smile is bright and disarming and Derek would like to pretend the heat he feels is from the bowl being set in front of him, steam curling over the hot broth. It takes him far too long to mutter a stilted, “Thanks,” before he’s watching Stiles grab his own bowl. “Do you want to…”

“Eat together?” Stiles finishes for him, grin even wider. “Sure!”

They settle across from each other and Stiles slurps his noodles so aggressively that Derek feels little flecks of broth spattering his own face. It’s disgusting and he sneers, ready to tell Stiles so, but he opens his mouth to speak and Stiles looks up at him with those big round doe eyes (and noodles hanging from his mouth, of course) and Derek shuts himself up.

“What?” Stiles asks, but it’s nearly unintelligible, garbled around his ramen.

Derek shakes his head, resumes eating like he’s not the one closer to a wild animal.

~

Stiles’s team gets sent on a mission that’s supposed to be easy. They’re just going to escort a cub back to her pack.

It should’ve taken two days max. Get her there, settle things with the pack, return to Beacon Hills.

Derek had been antsy after two days, at which point Erica had teased him again, but it’s been four now and Derek is seriously worried. Erica is worried. Hell, even Boyd is worried at this point, in his own quiet way.

Malia and the two younger wolves return, but Stiles isn’t with them.

The wolves are scared, don’t want to talk, and Derek growls when he talks to Malia, which she meets with a growl of her own. “What happened? Where is he?”

Malia pulls herself out of Derek’s clawed grasp and flashes her own eyes and fangs. It’s probably for the best that she had been on Stiles’s team and not his. He and Cora were stubborn enough, another Hale would’ve only made things worse. Malia snaps her teeth in warning when Derek doesn’t back off, and Derek retreats to give her space. She shakes her head. “Hunters.”

“Is he—” Derek’s throat closes with a click.

Malia sets her jaw. “I don’t know.” She glances back at the wolves where they cower together, explaining what had happened to Noah, and Melissa, who checks them over, talks them down. “They weren’t after us.”

And it’s clear what she means. A sick, twisting, sour thing churns in Derek’s gut.

The hunters hadn’t been after the shifters.

They had been after the nogitsune.

“Where?” he asks.

Malia huffs. “The scent ends where the northern trail splits. I tried to follow but I lost track and I had to make sure they got back.”

Derek’s nostrils flare. Technically, she made the right decision. She went for the good of the many when she found the way to be too difficult and too dangerous to take.

He gets it.

But he hates it.

“I’m going,” he says, and doesn’t wait for any other information. He stalks off only for Noah to block his path.

“What are you doing, son?”

“I’m going to find Stiles.”

There’s a tension, a furrow in Noah’s brows that says he agrees with Derek. That he’d loved to head right out there with him. But then he says, “He might not be Stiles when you find him.”

Derek knows the other thing better than anyone else, at least so far as it’s connection to Stiles goes. He’d just rather pretend that he isn’t what brings out the nogitsune. (And it’s only been him. Somehow, only him. Three times.)

Noah is waiting for a response, won’t step out of the way until he’s satisfied that Derek knows what he’s getting into, but it takes Derek a moment to muster up the words.

Derek’s heart is stone as he says, “I know.”

Cora is staring at him when he leaves, worried. They used to have a family, parents and siblings, and they have Malia now, but it’s mostly just them. Cora isn’t ready to be an only child and Derek doesn’t want to leave her that way.

He just can’t leave Stiles in the hands of hunters.

And he isn’t sure if it’s because he fears Stiles will be lost to the nogitsune’s destructive powers or if it’s because Stiles will be unable to summon it to his own defense, now of all times. Stiles defends himself, but he defends others far more fiercely. The nogitsune would likely be happy to destroy the hunters and anyone else who crosses its path, Stiles included.

If Derek can get there, and get there soon, maybe there’s a chance.

He sticks to the shadows, has to suppress his own heartbeat a couple of times as the loud thudding in his chest becomes difficult to hear over. He can smell the fear of the wolves, sharp and sour and too bright, but underneath he finds Stiles. Stiles was scared and...something else. There’s something threading through his emotions, the chemosignals more difficult to define, but what matters is that Derek can scent Stiles.

He’s better than most at this; he’s had to be with all that’s happened to him.

Derek hears a twig snap and climbs into one of the trees, hoping against hope he hasn’t already been spotted. He used to sneak up on Stiles sometimes and Stiles would always clutch his chest, scold Derek. He wishes this were like that, just a game.

Watching the ground through his wolf eyes, sensitive to movement, Derek spots a human, but she doesn’t smell like hunters. Derek waits until she’s out of sight, gone the opposite direction, before he continues his pursuit.

It’s likely the hunters have a camp. Something as dangerous as the the nogitsune would need to be dealt with, and soon, so they’d probably try to find somewhere just far enough. Derek knows that their scents will be blocked, that there will be a red herring leading elsewhere.

At least, if these are Argents, and Derek is certain that they are. Deep in his bones, he knows Kate is here, trying to take away one more thing that matters to him. (Because that, Derek can admit. Stiles matters to him. Whatever Erica and the others may think, that much is true.)

But Derek knows Argents well enough to see through all their tricks.

It takes him a while, but he starts to hear the rustling of people, the clinking of chains. There are at least five different heartbeats and he can’t yet determine if one belongs to Stiles. Right now he’s just surprised he can’t hear Stiles’s voice, but that must mean—if Stiles is alive, if—that Stiles is gagged or unconscious.

Chills go down his spine as he hears Kate laugh and he hates being right.

“It looks so human,” she coos, and there’s a crackling sound that Derek knows far too well.

There’s the muffled sound of someone crying out in pain, and Derek has to rein in his wolf so he doesn’t do anything rash because that someone is unmistakably Stiles. He scents the air. They’ve got something else, too, but if Kate’s with Stiles, he’s likely the prize.

“Are you trying to bring it out?” a man’s voice hisses and Derek thinks it must be Kate’s brother, Chris. “We just need to put that thing out of its misery while the host is in control. You don’t need to play with it.”

Derek can hear Kate’s pout. “You’re no fun,” she whines. “I wouldn’t mind taking this one out for a spin,” she continues and Derek has to dig his claws into his own leg.

“This thing is dangerous, Katie.” A third voice. He’s more teasing than chastising. “But since your mother passed, you are in charge.” A fondness. Gerard.

“Dad, do you really think we should—”

Gerard makes a noise you might use to scold a dog. Chris isn’t the favorite, probably because he has some sense in him. In Derek’s opinion, Argents have never seemed overly fond of sense. “Your sister makes the decisions. You follow orders.”

Derek could almost feel bad for him...if he weren’t an Argent.

He risks a move, wants to see, and it’s just as horrifying as he had imagined.

Stiles is strung up, hands tied over his head and his feet dangling, all his weight supported by his bound wrists. He’s certainly feigningunconsciousness, but Derek has a feeling that Stiles is more aware than he lets on. Derek doesn’t have to be a genius to know there’s mountain ash that makes his rescue more difficult than it appears. It looks easy, but the Argents are unfortunately not that stupid.

Kate trails lazy fingers down Stiles. “Less lean than you’d think, huh?”

She turns and Derek ducks down, hopes she doesn’t see the movement through the foliage and get suspicious.

The silence goes on too long but it’s Chris who speaks. “Not paranoid, are we, Kate? That’s not very becoming of a leader.”

“Shut up,” she snaps. “Being cautious is what keeps us one step ahead of the beasts.” Derek can hear her sneer, but Chris’s heartrate stays even.

Derek listens as her footsteps retreat, the sound of a tent flap. He calms himself, starts thinking of a strategy now that Kate’s threat is just a littleless immediate.

“Derek,” Chris whispers. “It’s Derek, isn’t it?”

Derek’s heart drops to the pit of stomach.

“Look, if you’re here for the nogitsune, I’m willing to help.”

With a careful ear for noise, Derek drops down on the other side of the tree and waits, knowing Chris will approach.

Derek keeps his claws out, but hidden, curled toward his own palms. “Why would an Argent go against Argents?”

“I have a daughter,” Chris says. “About the same age.”

“And that means you’re ready to let him go?” Derek shakes his head. “Doesn’t add up.”

“Look.” Chris’s eyes are sharp and blue, but they’re not like Kate’s, not filled with saccharine sympathy that belies the utter disregard for life underneath. “Boy or not, I’m willing to put that thing down if it comes to the surface,” Chris says and Derek wants to rip his throat out, tear him to pieces.

Derek stiffens. “Then why don’t you?”

Chris’s gaze darts over and Derek can hear Kate and Gerard inside.

Derek lets out a low growl. “They think they can use him?”

“It,” Chris corrects.

Normally, Derek would agree, but what they have now is Stiles through and through. Still. Thankfully.

“They haven’t figured it out and I’ve seen one before. They don’t go down easy.” He grits his teeth. “That thing could destroy everything, and I’m not ready for that kind of civilian casualty just because my father and my sister think they can harness it for their benefit.”

“Stiles is not the nogitsune,” Derek warns, hopes his anger covers his worry. “It just lives inside of him. It… It stays there.”

Chris raises an eyebrow. He may not hear the blip in Derek’s heartbeat but he’s trained, and Derek has been obvious. “You’ve seen it.” Not a question.

Maybe… Maybe there’s a way to convince Chris that it’s okay, to hedge this into Stiles’s favor. “Yes. And I survived.”

“How many times?” His mind is calculating and Derek hates that he’s trying to reason with an Argent.

“Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t come out.” He tries to push all the certainty he can into the words.

“It comes for you.” Chris chuckles.

Derek exhales sharply through his nose. “He doesn’t— He doesn’t protect himself with it. It won’t come out because you have him under threat.”

Chris Argent doesn’t say anything else, but Derek can see what he’s thinking, what he must think of Derek and Stiles.

There’s no point in correcting him; it would just be more time wasted that they don’t have if Stiles is going to survive this. Speaking of time… “How long until she comes back?”

“Minutes, if we’re lucky,” Chris says. He eyes Derek warily. “I’ll cut the ties and then you have have fifteen seconds before I start shouting.”

Derek raises an eyebrow. “Fifteen seconds?”

The look he receives in response is hard and incredulous. “Fifteen seconds.”

Derek swallows down any further protest. “Thanks.”

There’s a noise and Chris’s teeth grind. “Alright.”

He moves swiftly and Derek is barely processing before Chris is sawing through the rope that binds Stiles, letting Stiles fall with a painful-sounding thump, just a hint too sharp for his complete safety to be assured.

“Already broken,” Chris informs him offhand, as if the fact that Stiles’s bones had already been cracked was any possible consolation.

Derek drags Stiles out where his arms are beyond the ash, pulls him over his shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” he murmurs, and if Chris hears him, so be it. He uncovers Stiles’s mouth and Stiles’s eyes flicker to his but it seems he’s hit his limit, relieved to see Derek.

“Five seconds,” Chris warns.

Derek doesn’t bother trying to respond. He manages to make a small distance before he hears Chris yelling for help, catches blood in the air and knows that Chris has cut himself to make the story plausible.

“Goddamn it, Chris!” he hears, Kate’s voice, and does his best to move faster.

The shock of the force is what gets him, causes him to stagger and shield Stiles’s body from the hunters. His shoulder already burns from the aconite poisoning and he keeps moving.

“Der— Derek.” Stiles swallows thickly.

“Shh. Don’t try to talk, alright? We’re gonna get out of here.” Stiles shifts and Derek hisses.

Stiles moves around more in his concern. “You’re hurt. What—”

Another bullet flies their direction, missing Stiles only because Derek’s reflexes urge him to protect.

“Whoa.”

“Now is not the time,” Derek grits out.

“I can maybe—”

Derek falls to the ground, cradling Stiles to him as he arches over him and Stiles’s voice goes small.

“Derek?”

When Derek doesn’t respond, Stiles goes deathly still.

The sounds of shouting and footsteps grow closer, cacophonous and chaotic.

“There!”

But then Chris is saying, “Wait, wait!”

The footsteps come to a halt and Kate lets out a growl more wild than any wolf Derek has ever known. “What?” she demands.

“We injured the wolf. I’ve heard the nogitsune has only come out when the wolf is in danger.”

“Good. Two birds with one stone. Two beasts.” Kate clicks her tongue, pleased. “Derek, honey,” she croons. “Don’t worry, we can save you for last.”

“I’m okay,” Derek says, but he obviously isn’t. Two wolfsbane bullets take their toll much quicker than one. “Just… When they get closer, I’ll get them. They won’t think—”

“Aw, puppy,” and Kate’s voice is far too close. The toe of her boot pushes into his injured shoulder and he flinches, refuses to arch completely under the pressure. “Just give in.”

“Back off,” Stiles says, edging into something dangerous, something other.

Derek’s fingers turn to claws, curling around Stiles. “I’m not worth it.”

“Kate,” Chris warns.

Kate laughs. “It’s perfect. Maybe they’ll tear each other apart.”

Stiles’s eyes shut tight and Derek’s feels his body thrumming with energy that isn’t his own.

“I’m okay,” he tries again. Whispers again and again like a mantra, but then Kate cocks her gun, the click deafeningly loud, and Stiles isn’t Stiles anymore.

The nogitsune stands, ignoring whatever of Stiles’s body might protest. It glances down at Derek and frowns.

Derek turns to watch, horror chilling him to the bone. Even as the aconite works toward his heart, it’s this that is truly frightening: Losing Stiles to the nogitsune forever. To know Stiles is trapped inside his own mind as his body rains destruction on all he loves. They’ve bound it but it breaks free, and Derek doesn’t think they’ll ever be able to hold it forever. The thing holds itself differently, its slouch too affected and purposeful, casualness false and wrong.

“Don’t,” Derek says. Not that it’ll matter. He almost misses Kate’s wide grin as she looks to what was Stiles.

The nogitsune raises an eyebrow at him. “Shhh.” It puts a finger to Stiles’s lips, winks.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” Kate starts, pulling its attention. “I’ve been trying so hard to get you to come out for a couple of days now. Glad to see something finally worked.” She takes a step toward it in her usual swagger and offers her hand like she’s meeting a new acquaintance over coffee, not a thousand-year-old demon.

Derek would shudder if he had the ability to move at all in this moment, if terror didn’t keep him locked, stock-still.

“Something worked,” it agrees, tilting its head. Its voice is a mockery of Stiles’s. It reaches out for Kate’s hand, but it doesn’t shake, it twists. It takes her down to her knees and leaves her staring up, hair falling over her face as she finally shows pain, some semblance of fear passing through her features before she schools them into anger.

Chris holds out his arm, stops a couple of hunters that had followed from closing in. “Hold on,” he tells them. “Unless you want to get ripped apart.”

The other hunters pause, look between Kate and Chris.

“What are you doing?” Kate snarls. “Shoot it.”

Derek crawls forward, brings himself behind Stiles’s legs and pushes himself up, wraps his arms around Stiles’s body. He wants Kate dead, but not like this. He doesn’t want more blood on Stiles’s hands under the nogitsune’s will. “She’s not worth it.”

“Nothing is,” the nogitsune retorts, “but that’s half the fun. She hurt you and he”—Stiles, the vessel, it’s clear in the nogitsune’s disdain—“got so scared, he let me out. I might as well do him this one little favor...and end her.”

Chris Argent says nothing, just watches the whole exchange with gritted teeth, deep lines creasing around his eyes. The hunters lift their guns uneasily, aim at Stiles, but he waves them down.

“Stiles,” Derek murmurs. “I know you’re in there. Don’t let it do this. Don’t— Don’t be like me. Don’t let anger and fear control you.”

Kate opens her mouth to sneer something else, but the nogitsune forces her back, smiles at the sound of a loud crack and her scream.

“Mmm,” the nogitsune intones. “What a lovely sound. Don’t you think, Derek?”

Derek winces. He forces himself to continue. “Stiles, stop. You have to stop.” Derek hesitates. “Please.” The nogitsune twitches, minutely. If Derek wasn’t a werewolf, he may not have even noticed. “Please, Stiles,” he says again. “Please. For me.”

Kate lets out another noise, animalistic and angry. “Shoot it!” she shouts.

“Please, Stiles. Please. For me. I won’t survive much longer and I want to see you again. You. Please.” He presses his face to the back of Stiles’s neck. “You’re stronger than this.” He can feel his blood seeping through, causing his shirt to stick to Stiles’s.

The resounding explosion of a gunshot deafens Derek and he finds himself on the ground, cradling Stiles’s body whether or not Stiles is its active host.

He’s overwhelmed by the smell of Stiles’s blood and his heart stops in his chest.

Gerard stands beside Kate, although he offers her no help. He likely expects that she should be strong enough on her own if she’s an Argent.

“Derek.” Barely a whisper.

Derek spares a glance to Gerard, to the drawn gun, before gently turning Stiles. Stiles. He can see it in his face.

Stiles’s breath stutters.

Derek starts to leech his pain, but Stiles shakes head, brings up a hand to touch Derek’s chest.

“St— Stop. Derek, you can’t. The wolfsbane.”

Derek’s face crumples. At least he had felt useful, even if only for two seconds.

“Did the team—”

“They made it back.”

Stiles manages a grin that comes out half-grimace. “And you came for me like a self-sacrificing idiot?”

Derek smooths a hand over Stiles’s cheek.

“Can’t we do something?” Kate says, wrestling herself up off the ground. “Shoot them?”

“They’re dying,” Chris says. “Give them a moment.”

Gerard chuckles. “For once, Katie, I agree with your brother. You can see it, can’t you? Beasts in pain, acting like they have the capacity to care for one another. See how they imitate emotion?” He gestures with the gun as if it isn’t incredibly dangerous.

Kate doesn’t respond. She may be the oldest female in the family now, but she still cows to her father’s will.

Derek hears something in the distance, quiet but not so quiet a wolf won’t hear. Multiple heartbeats approaching them.

Familiar heartbeats.

A roar echoes through the trees surrounding the hunters camp, surrounding the hunters. Snarls and howls and Derek closes his eyes, collapses next to Stiles as the sounds of carnage reverberate through his skull. He feels something touch his hand, Stiles’s. Stiles’s fingers finding his and oh.

Oh.

“Erica was right,” Derek says.

Stiles hums and Derek feels it through their little connection.

“I came after you because I loved you.”

The near-inaudible huff is something like a laugh. “Yeah.”

The wolfsbane is working his way into his heart, he can feel everything slowing, feel himself fading.

“Derek?” His voice goes in and out but it’s Stiles. Derek tries to concentrate, to let the last thing he hears be Stiles’s words. “I love you, too. That’s why it— For years.”

Derek twitches his fingers, the closest he can get to a squeeze. He wants to say something else. He wants to, but—

Derek wakes up in the medical ward a couple of days later.

Stiles is still by his side.

They’re… They’re alive.

And Stiles is Stiles again.

Derek lets out a breath of relief.

[comicteaparty]

January 14th-January 20th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from January 13th, 2019 to January 20th, 2019.  The chat focused on Sunstrike and Bluemist: An Origin Story by ShaRose49.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Sunstrike and Bluemist: An Origin Story by ShaRose49~! (http://sunstrikeandbluemist.thecomicseries.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until January 20th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Who do you think Kairo being a double agent for and for what reason? What are the organization’s goals? How does Kat and Evan’s training factor into the organization’s goals to the point it’s an advantage?

QUESTION 4. Do you feel the secret police are a force for good or a force for evil? How might Kat’s dad’s return to investigations play a role in the story, especially considering he’s investigating super-human traffickers?

DeNay

Kat is definitely my favourite character. Hey what's not to love? She's fiery, driven, sweet, and wild. And she has green hair... I love that she doesn't let anything stop her. Not the prosthetic leg, not the challenges of being a mutant, not anyone else's fears. She courageously stands up for what she believes is right.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Why do you think Evan wants to keep his true self hidden, even from Kat? Do you think Evan will open up more as time goes on? How might his work for the secret police help or hurt him where this is concerned?

ShaRose49

I’m encouraged that some people really like Kat. She’s a real outlet for me

These are really interesting questions, some of them I haven’t really thought of

Idk if I’m allowed to answer a question since I’m the author, but I think my favourite scene so far is the scene in the bedroom

DeNay

I think Evan has a lot of pain and scars and he's afraid to open up and create attachments because he might lose them. To me he seems equally scared of getting hurt and hurting others. That's a theory anyhow.

And I think he will open up more, especially with someone like Kat around.

As for secret police..I think it will force him out of his comfort zone, and that's probably in and of itself going to be very good for him...can't wait to see where it all goes.(edited)

snuffysam

Favorite scene was the fight with the mugger. It was a great showcase of the two's powers, and also the mugger was kind of funny.

my favorite is dad. he's not perfect, but he tries his hardest, and i love him for it

ShaRose49

Awwwwww! That is so cool @snuffysam!

Usually people like the teens best so it’s refreshing to hear a different perspective but you’re totally right

@DeNay well you’re not wrong, but hiding your true self is probably more fear of what others will think if they knew his true self

@DeNay And yeah, his comfort zone is like a cage

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Do you think working for the secret police will be everything Kat dreamed of? What unfortunate obstacles do you think might interrupt Kat’s dreams of living openly as herself?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene is probably the bedroom scenes. if only cause shallow-ly, i really loved evan just walking through the damn wall. hes so dang casual about it that i can help but admire how normalized the powers are to them in comparison to other ppls reactions. 2) the dad because he walks that fine line between looking out for the kids' safety and acknowledging that they are ppl who need room to grow and become their own ppl. that honestly a really rare depiction that i feel we dont get to see enough of in comics. 3) i want to assume its for an agency that is trying to disstablize the use of things like secret police. and the advantage comes in that if they can show the secret police are dangerous and have super powered ppl working for them, they can convince others to shut it down. 4) i have mixed feelings on the secret police. i assume its a bit of both. the little guys just want to do good things for the world. but the larger entity has probably slowly corrupted or something. become riddled with office politics. something like that. i feel the dad returning to investigations is significant to the story since hes probably gonna find leads the kiddos are gonna follow. 5) i think evan wants to keep his true self hidden cause he doesnt trust anyone and kind of hates everyone secretly cause he hates himself. i actually think working for the secret police is gonna hurt with him opening up. cause i feel hes always gonna get into trouble doing with kat wants instead of developing as his own person and its gonna get overwhelming. 6) i dont think the secret police will be everything kat dreamed of XD cause i think kat is gonna find when an organization doesnt have huge oversight, bad things tend to happen. not to mention, i feel like she has this delusion shell suddenly be accepted with open arms by the world when more likely theres gonna be some levels of discrimination.

ShaRose49

I love how in thought out these answers are

Thought out I meant

snuffysam

yeah i think the secret police aren't going to be as rosy as kat expects. there's levels of bureaucracy, or she isn't allowed to be open the way she wants, or something...

ShaRose49

Well I guess we’ll see. I do think @RebelVampire is the most accurate when describing Evan’s internal struggle so far. And I love how many people favour the dad, Derek. And it sounds kind of like you guys think the Secret Police is like S.H.I.E.L.D. or something lol

And yes, while Kat is a beautiful gem she is too accepting to the point where she is naive and even clueless. But what else would you expect from someone who’s grown up kind of in hiding with no or few friends? It’s actually amazing that Evan is more cautious and less trusting, but to be fair he’s had some traumatic experiences with people, much more so than Kat, but I won’t spoil it

I didn’t expect people to think so highly of Derek I thought I was better at writing younger characters so thanks you guys🥳

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. In general, what tasks do you think Kat and Evan will be doing for the secret police? Do you think Kat and Evan will run into other people with abilities? Do you believe the two will be able to handle it, or will they be outmatched?

DeNay

Hmm that's an interesting question...

I'm not really sure what they'll all be up to, but I'm definitely curious to see. I'm guessing they will run into some other mutants down the road...although I can't really see them fighting one of their "kind."

ShaRose49

Oh reaaaally?

You can’t imagine the, fighting, say, a mutant SUPERVILLAIN??

I’m not saying that’s gonna happen this episode, but keep in mind this story has superhero themes

As for other mutants showing up this episode...let’s just say there may be a cameo

DeNay

Well, maybe I could imagine that... Sounds pretty awesome.

snuffysam

I'm not sure what the secret police will be willing to let Kat & Evan do at first. Because even though they are supermutants, they're also children. Maybe they'll be sent to deal with parking violations at first?

Delphina

Whoo, finally caught up with work, so I can read comics again! I'm really enjoying the family dynamic in this one and probably like Kat the most. She's very earnest and energetic about her goals, and I'm looking forward to seeing if the secret police will encourage that or just add layers of moral grey.

I'm assuming Evan's parents died in a tragic mutant-power-related accident that he blames himself for and he was trying to attempt suicide back there before Kat called out to help with her prosthetic leg. I would hope he learns how to overcome his feelings of guilt and shame, but that seems like a long road and I could also see him giving in to those dark feelings and becoming an antagonist. Too early in the story to really tell!

(The banner at the top with Kairo and Kat in the foreground and Evan's eyes menacingly in the background indicates the latter from a design choice standpoint though. )(edited)

ShaRose49

@snuffysam Parking violations XD I’m dying

@Delphina wow you are perceptive. Not 100% right but you’ve noticed a lot of subtle details

You’re really good at examining Evan

@Delphina and yeah, work’s been a little nuts for me too recently

RebelVampire

lol parking violations. XD somehow i dont think being children will make them go easy on them. cause they already didnt care about the children fact when they hired them. and if them being kids bugged them all that much thats probably when they wouldve decided it wasnt a good idea.

ShaRose49

I think you’re sorta right

ShaRose49

But technically they’re not hired yet they’re just in training

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. How exactly do you believe Kairo ends up working with Kat and Evan, and what is the mess he supposedly gets them into? Do you believe they’ll manage to get out of it?

(the archive for the chat on MoonSlayer is now available~! https://comicteaparty.com/post/182104413735/january-7th-january-13th-2019-ctp-archive)

RebelVampire

7) i assume theyre going to be handling super powered ppl and perhaps other situations where the situation is easily solved with their powers. like evan's walk through wall ability could come in really handy for doing the sneaky sneaks. but i assume super villains cause this is why you get ppl with superpowers, to fight the super villains that regular civilians cant. as for their ability to handle it, they are 1000% going to be outmatched i think for a while. mostly because youth breeds arrogance and cavalier attitudes while their inexperience breeds clumsiness for lack of a better word. not the best combo. 8) i assume kairo specifically requested it, and im going to guess that the situation is them having to fight a super powered bad guy or something. cause for kids just starting out in the secret police, thats not a situation youd want to be involved in right off the bat. i assume theyll manage to get out of it though. just cause if they dont the comic ends cause everybody be dead.

ShaRose49

Yeah everyone dies XD

People who weren’t familiar with anime kept asking me why Kairo had no eyes on that one panel. It was a little hard to explain lol

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Overall, how do you think being “superheroes” will change Kat and Evan, both in regards to their own personalities and their views of the world?

Delphina

Kat's been strong-willed and taking risks and doing things she's not supposed to because she feels it's right, so I expect that'll get her into a fair bit of trouble when going after bad guys is her job. Evan is less risk-averse, but also prone to being pulled into trouble by Kat. I expect their problems are going to get a little more complex working with double agents and sides may become more difficult to choose, but I'm curious where becoming less sheltered and open to the world about their powers will take them, since we haven't seen many other examples of how people with powers are treated in society. Is it an X-Men "everyone knows they're around and hates them" thing or a Superman "superpowers are rare and letting people know my secret will be a huge hassle for me"?

ShaRose49

It’s probably more like X-Men

And yeah, Kay and Evan have a lot to learn, but I think they really balance each other out, or they will eventually

Kat stupid autocorrect

snuffysam

i think both good things and bad things will happen to kat & evan due to be more open with their powers. but it'll end up with kat seeing the good side of people being helped by them, and evan will focus on all the people who look at them funny.

ShaRose49

Haha!! That’s so sweet

@Delphina Were you the one who came up with the Evan turning evil theory? I spent a few seconds scribbling doodles based on this. I think I scared myself

ShaRose49

I think it’s the last day, so I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read this comic and for chatting about it (and listening to me geek out). I also wanna thank Comic Tea Party for hosting this!

snuffysam

'bout 26 hours left, yeah. Thanks for offering your comic up! Discussing stuff has been really fun so far!

ShaRose49

@snuffysam Aw, thanks!! Yeah I’ve had so much fun too

Also, as for whether or not Evan turns evil...that depends on what you define as evil

khkddn

welp i showed up to this discussion late but nevertheless i have things to say that are pretty similar to what others have said

first off my favorite character is kat. i decided this when she was like "by the way, you disgust me :)" to that criminal in the beginning of the story. great moment! i also like her design a lot, and the comic's use of bright colors in general

kat and evan view their role in the world v differently and i don't think they'll change easily. maybe evan will come around to accepting that it's okay to be in the spotlight, but i think it's more likely he'll keep wanting to hide away and that'll interfere with their work. even if he doesn't become a full on villain i think he'll at least want to do his own thing

as for kat, i'm worried for her, because i always worry about upbeat characters lol. what if being a Hero isn't what she expected huh, what if it sucks at first? i think evan would handle a reality shock better than kat since he isn't that enthusiastic about it to begin with. but kat might end up being really disappointed until she can adjust.

i really hope evan doesn't turn evil (or, like... evil adjacent?). then turn into a sibling vs sibling fight and ahhh oh no ;_;

Beef Liver

I hope being super heroes won't change Kat and Evan TO much... I really love who they are!

@ShaRose49 Thanks for writing the comic so we could discuss it!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

RebelVampire

9) i think for kat she's going to learn that doing the right thing is less black & white than she wants to believe. and that sometimes ppl do bad things with good intentions. so playing superhero is complicated and not just this 100% awesome thing. and i think shes really going to have to come to terms with the fact powers dont make her invincible and that ppl can get hurt as bystanders. as for her personality, i think overall itll mature her and make her more conscious of how her actions affect others at the end of the day. as for evan, i think hes gonna have an internal conflict about his personal feelings on his powers vs. the world showing him he can make a positive impact. and so while not evil, i think its gonna make him super angst for a while until eventually he chills out and learns to care about himself. i also think hell learn some independence and that he doesnt just have to follow kat everywhere. 10) im actually most looking forward to more world-building. seeing things like how the secret police are generally regarded, how powers are regarded, who kairo might be working for, etc. i think these are some elements thatll really set the stage for the future for kat and evan.

ShaRose49

@Beef Liver My pleasure!

@khkddn I’m so glad you like the bright colours!:

@RebelVampire You’ll See more world building soon! Kim looking forward to it as well. And as for Kat and Evan changing, @Beef Liver don’t worry, they won’t change drastically right away. However I think they both need to change, perhaps especially Evan. We’ll see why later on

EhNeli

Evan is my favorite. I'm sorry I'm not very good at elaborating (I did terrible in high school english class xl )

snuffysam

One thing I'm really looking forward to is Kat & Evan's first day at the secret police. Just seeing how various people there react to their powers and stuff.

ShaRose49

@EhNeli no worries mate.

I guess I’m looking forward to drawing more of the awesome sibling relationship and going into depth with Kairo. If he doesn’t seem like an important character yet get ready...

@snuffysam I’m really looking forward to that too. I don’t think it will be too long from now (I less it takes me ages to draw cause of work or something)

*unless

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Sunstrike and Bluemist: An Origin Story this week! Please also give a special thank you to ShaRose49 for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Sunstrike and Bluemist: An Origin Story, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://sunstrikeandbluemist.thecomicseries.com/

ShaRose49’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KadachSharon

[sourwolf-hobrien]

The Adventures of FBI Stiles - Part One

Stiles wants to thank Rafe a thousand times over and he wants to throw him in the nearest pit of hell for all the shit he's had to put up with since he was offered the ability to work with the FBI. Sure, he was used to skirting the law, hell it felt weird when he WASN'T. But this was the FBI for fuck's sake. And okay, there were a lot of people involved in the application process, and things easily could be lost or messed up, but on the chance that he got found out, Stiles could go to prison. Guantanamo Bay at this point, for all the things he'd seen on FBI time.

Not to mention all the people that he'd come in contact since he got his official FBI badge. Would he drag every one of them down with him too?

Okay, okay. So maybe he could convince the big guys in charge that it was all on Rafe for this? He was the one who said he could help Stiles in to the FBI. He never said it would involve ILLEGALLY entering the agency without the usual four years of college, the strenuous background check, and security clearance.  

Well, the security clearance was a work in progress. Even just the basic clearance takes about 60 days and he'd only just been in DC for a month. He may have been given the account info of his superior so he can access the more top-secret databases. (Top Secret clearance can take up to 9 months, and there were important baddies Stiles had to help catch. Legal channel could wait, apparently.)  

For the background check, god, the favors Rafe must have had to use to interview Stiles' neighbors and practically everyone in Beacon Hills about him, and NOT make him sound like a psychopath or serial killer … The FBI personnel file on Mieczyslaw "Stiles" Stilinski was wrapped in blackmail, secrets, lies, and NDAs of all involved so that Stiles looked as wonderful and sought-after as possible.  

On paper, he was the well-behaved son of the Beacon Hill's sheriff. Glowing school record; salutatorian, right below Lydia Martin, of course; edited compliments from Finstock (the original of which Stiles found and vowed to frame in the future). Every interview of neighbors and acquaintances (especially nosy Mrs. Carson) were nice and normal. Comments from the staff at Sarah's Café was void of any mention of supernatural events or odd mentions of him having bruises constantly and blood always showing up on his clothes when he'd show up at their diner at ridiculous hours of the night. He looked so stellar, Stiles didn't know if anyone would believe he was the same person as his file.

*     *     *     *     *

By the time Stiles was leaving Beacon Hills after the Ghost Riders disaster, Rafe had already begun processing Stiles' FBI application. (He still thought about finding someone to complain to and demand recompense for his pain from that nightmare)

Sometimes Stiles had to stop asking questions, because the whole goddamn town was a disappearing act for three months before he left. That almost definitely meant that Rafe had people working on him getting in to the FBI for a while.  

Thankfully Scott's dad had realised that there were things that went bump in the night and the rag-tag group of teenagers and Derek were actually trying to fight off those creatures.  So it was only slightly surprising that Stiles was offered to work with agents on the more supernatural cases. Stiles may have tried to ask about the X Files division a bit to enthusiastically as soon as Rafe told him the news.  

It was actually quite a quick thing, because one minute Team Good Guys finally defeated the Big Bad of the Month (the semester, really at this point), and the next Stiles was told there was a spot at the FBI waiting for him if he wanted it. It was really only after Stiles was packing up the most helpful magic books and clothes that weren't flannel and screen tees, did Rafe decide to mention that bringing Stiles on as an agent involved all kinds of illegal actions. Yet, because of unexplainable and gruesome crimes reaching dangerous levels and Stiles' extensive experience, the people in charge of "It's Not the X Files, Stiles" Totally the X Files were willing to do whatever it took so Stiles could work for them.

*     *     *     *     *

After a decent flight and barely a second of reprieve in the almost swanky hotel room, all paid for by the lovely people at the FBI, thank all the deities that shine upon him, Stiles had to report to some random business building to meet the people in charge of his fate.

He had another X Files joke on the tip of his tongue the moment he entered the right room, but was instead intimidated in to sitting down in the nearest chair by the angriest, buffest guy in a suit he'd ever seen.  Perhaps he had a history in the military, maybe a bodybuilder. Definite possibility of both.

"I have been fully briefed on you Mr. Stilinski," the man glowered at him. Well, that was DEFINITELY not a good sign. Stiles' eyes went comically wide in concern and slight fear.  

"Yes, I do mean fully." The man showed no signs of letting Stiles speak any time soon. "Agent McCall has used resources in extreme measures to help get you here, and my people speak very highly of you. I have seen what you can do." Stiles began to open his mouth to respond, but the man didn't allow him. "My people have our ways. As soon as Agent McCall found our office and informed us that all unexplained events had not only been explained but handled by you and your friends, we began doing what we could to keep an eye on you. You aren't the easiest group to keep track of."

Despite the importance of the situation, Stiles was already getting distracted by his surroundings, specifically the stacks and stacks of papers covering the handful of tables that filled the room. It was a pavlovian response of sorts; whenever his father had case files strewn across the dining room table, he did whatever it took to get as much info as he could when his dad wasn't looking. So being surrounded by manila folders, envelopes, and the occasional photo peeking out of the papers, they were all just calling his name to be looked at.  

He had started running his hands across the papers the moment he sat down, but he was about to reach for one of the files, when he thought better of it. "Can I..." he thought twice about waving a folder in the guy's face. "If these are above my clearance, this is severe cruelty to my curiosity," Stiles flailed his arms in the general direction of the mountains of paper.  

"Technically everything you do and see here will be above your security clearance." The man looked both smug and severe at this, which only made Stiles want to mentally swear louder. "The legal aspects of your work will be handled by me and the rest of the team. You will be officially documented as an intern with us, but will act with the capacity of a fully-fledged agent."  

Stiles spluttered in surprise. "You actually trust me with that much power? Didn't you just say you were fully briefed about me?"

"With the amount of cases and depth of research you will have to go through to solve them, you'll want all the resources available to you."

"Hey Giles!" A voice started from the hallway, getting closer to the room. "You even tell the kid what our division is, or are were you planning on shrouding us in a shadow mystery for a few more hours?" Someone with frazzled hair poked their head in to the doorway, eyes quickly narrowing in mock annoyance at Giles (if that actually turned out to be his name, Stiles might have to rethink his life choices. And maybe sharpen a stake or two.) "You know we got a shit ton of cases to solve by the Winter Solstice so if you could hurry this up, that'd be great." The door quickly opened the rest of the way, and they more or less swooshed in to the room, now clearly panting. And maybe smoking a bit? Yep, there were definitely singe marks and wisps of smoke throughout their clothes.

They quickly walked over to Stiles and patted his shoulder. "Actually no, scratch that. There's a dragon manifesting itself in the relics library and the ghost of Hannibal haunting my ass, so I'm gonna steal our illegally acquired prodigy here and get to work on saving the day. You know where the timer is, I'm trying to beat my personal best of the week." Trying to keep track of what was happening, Stiles hadn't realized he was being whisked away by the crazy scientist type agent.  

Halfway out the door, as his brain restarted, Stiles halted. "Wait, what are you timing? Are we saving the day or working on your lap time?"  

Scientist Agent smiled so brightly as they answered. "I'm trying to beat my personal best. Current winner is when I stopped the rise of zombie Hitler, a coven of witches planning on killing all readheads – no really, they were close, I was a bit slow on that one, and solved an argument between two different culture's angels of death. In between breakfast and lunch."

God, okay. What kind of lives do these agents have? "That must have been quite the morning," Stiles eyes couldn't get wide enough. Maybe he could pick the team's brains for their adventures and knowledge on different creatures. Good thing he had a copy of the bestiary encrypted and hidden in his suitcase. If he could just ask a few questions about the crazier days, he'd probably put the whole Hale library to shame, he'd have to find a larger file system to hold it all, he could...

"What? No. Just a slightly shorter morning. That was just last week. And I've been trying to get as fast as the rest of the team. I'm one of the slower ones when it comes to saving the day. That's why I've got the timer."

Shit. What kind of abilities did Rafe think Stiles had? They know he's human, right? And this division of supernatural crime fighters expected him to what, be able to do what they couldn't do?  

The smell of smoke was getting stronger, and yep, he just heard a lion sized roar blended with the sound of paper rippling.  

"You know how to calm down book dragons, right? This one's in a rarer dialect of Arthurian Welsh, and whatever monk copied this did a really bad job. But it shouldn't take too long. God, you're lucky today's apocalypse is so easy."

Oh fuck.

(A/N): Sorry for the late posting, had some terrible car troubles. I should have this up on AO3 soon. Check back for new updates on this as 6B continues 

info on this story HERE 

[49datesandcounting]

49 Dates and Counting....

I sit here in a corner bar in OTR, short for Over the Rhine, an up and coming district in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am here because I had a date scheduled for 5:30PM. A first date that is. We were meeting for happy hour at the Lackman. The bar is very hipster, which is not my typical place to resonate to say the least, but it has a very calming vibe that brings me a weird sense of peace. I sit here and listen to the alternative yet upbeat music playing quietly in the background and I also take a look around and wonder how many of these people have suffered through …okay, maybe I shouldn’t be so overdramatic…how many of these people have “experienced” online dating? My hipster date canceled on me at 3:45PM. 🙄 If this has happened to you before, I feel the rolling eye emoji speaks for itself, BUT I will spell it out for those new to this scene....”Now, hipster date, tell me did you really find out at 3:45PM that you had to pick your daughter up from band practice?” I used to give bumblers/tinderers/matchers/eharmoniers/etc. the benefit of the doubt. This has changed over the years of dealing with last minute cancellations. I am willing to bet he forgot he had to pick up his daughter. STRIKE ONE. Irresponsible parent. OR maybe the boys from work offered a better happy hour option he couldn’t refuse? STRIKE TWO. Rude and not ready for a relationship. Or maybe, just maybe, this is true, that he did find out at 3:45PM he had to pick up his daughter, but probably most likely from his crazy ex who sprung this on him at the last minute. STRIKE 3 – ain’t no body cool with baby mama drama. Oh…so if he canceled, why am I still here at this bar…well, I was already dressed and ready to roll and had changed my work plans to make this 5:30 happy hour date happen. No big deal – hipster dude, I am going to go on this date without you. 🖕

I will be the first to acknowledge that online dating has worked for several couples I know. They don’t have any horror stories. They went out with a few nice people. By the 3rd try, they had found their soul mate and now live happily ever after. I have heard of this potential bliss it can offer to us singletons. However, after 6 years of giving it “the old college try,” I am convinced, that these married, happy, blissful people probably settled or are just lucky sons of bitches.

So just how many dates have I been on exactly??? Welllllll…..To be honest, it’s hard to be exactly sure, I lost count along the way, but there are 49 men I can remember that I met through online dating. I am sure there are other people out there whose dating numbers far exceed 49. God bless you by the way. But keep in mind, when I date, it is NOT to look for a hook up, nor am I bored person looking for something to fill my time. In fact, I am a super busy person. I own my own business. So every moment I devote to a committed date is precious to me. It generally involves schedule rearranging, scheduling blocking, shift covering, etc. “Yeah that’s right, I changed my whole schedule around for you, YOU BETTER FUCKING SHOW UP.”

I know exactly what a lot of you are thinking… “There must be something wrong with you, Erin. How can you NOT make it work with 49 different options?  Surely, there had to be some good catches along the way.” I have contemplated this therapeutic assumption about myself as well. We can take the comparison of the person who keeps getting fired from job after job after job. Let’s call him Derek. Derek claims the boss had too many expectations or was mean or had him working crazy hours or screwed up his schedule, etc. They never take the blame. It’s always someone else’s fault, when in fact, “Derek, you are a just a lazy son of a bitch who is irresponsible and can’t hold a job:” So maybe this is me in dating form. Most of the men have not worked out because (or at least I claim) that they are rude or emotionally unavailable or sometimes overly available or “baby men” - (you will hear a lot more about this term in future blogs), or alcoholics or self absorbed or into fucked up shit or just downright crazy. I think to myself that I am normal and how can I keep going out with these men that are SO NOT normal. I guess it’s possible through self reflection that I will come to a different conclusion. I’ll let you guys be the judge through this blog...

So let’s start with a little background on myself. I am 37 years old. I have never been married, nor do I have any children. I was born and raised in a white, middle class family. Firefighter dad. Nurse mom. Great loving parents. We were not rich, but we had plenty growing up. I went to college and earned a chemical engineering degree (PS - That’s not it. That’s not what is wrong with me. I’m not an enginerd. Math jokes repulse me. Sorry engineering friends! But you know you guys get way too much excitement about applying thermodynamic equations to sexual innuendos). Spent 6 years with a prominent global organization as a technical sales representative and eventually opened a gym. Yep – that’s right, a gym. I went to a small local gym as a client. The man who ran it was irresponsible, selfish, lazy, not personable, cheating on his wife with a fellow member and completely unqualified. I thought to myself, “If this fucker can do it, anyone can.” So I dedicated the next 8 years of my life to starting, running, growing a very successful local gym. In conclusion, I am pretty darn smart, hardworking and successful. Since I own a gym, it probably goes without saying, that I am in good shape. Also I am attractive. I’m not a 10, but probably a solid 7.5. I feel the need to mention looks. Yes, we can all tell ourselves that looks don’t matter. It’s about what’s inside that counts and the connection you develop. While I am a true believer in this fairy tale, it cannot be ignored that attraction is a real thing and that the many means of online dating has subjected us to evaluate people on their appearance. Swipe Right if you agree 😬

So how did it all begin??? I had just gotten out of a TERRIBLE relationship to say the very least. The relationship lasted 2 years. The first year was an affair, and the second year was us together where every day of that year he regretted our affair. HE WAS NOT MARRIED. But he had been with the same woman for 7 years and was living with her.  He was a good friend of mine. As our friendship grew stronger, so did the attraction and eventually the cheating commenced. It was a typical affair. He was telling me day in and day out that he was going to leave her. He never actually did leave her, but rather got caught through social media messages (typical, huh?). And that is how our one magical year together began. I could go on and on about the way I was treated by him and the regret I felt towards the situation and the anguish it left me with for many months following. But the sum of it all is that it was over. He never loved me and was definitely still in love with his ex. And so I left him and made the decision to start over. And just for shits and giggles, I’ll thrown this in...he is married to that woman now and they have two beautiful children. I do not say that with sarcasm. I am truly happy for them and so glad my indiscretion did not damage a future marriage. 

After the break up, I figured I would give this whole online dating thing a try. Online dating was acceptable at this time frame. It was no longer an embarrassment to admit to meeting your significant other by these means. However, it was still pre-tinder times. This means rather than swiping left or right on your tiny iPhone screen, you were looking at a large screen of your computer of MANY potential suitors. You would click on the most attractive one and start judging...oops I mean reading...about their life choices. Were they divorced, widowed, forever single? Did they smoke? What was their religion? What was their political view? Do they have kids? Do they want kids? Did they workout (which by the way - EVERYONE lies about this. Very rarely doesn't anyone just say...” I never workout, minimal activity, stay at home and play videos every Saturday night.”)

My first date was a match.com date and we went to Panera bread for lunch. We had attended the same college and we were about the same age and he was relatively attractive in his pictures. I wish I had more to say about this guy. I don’t even remember his name. The date was fine. He was not as attractive as his pictures showed and probably about 20lbs heavier. But it was not his looks that turned me away.  I did not feel “the spark” that I thought I was supposed to feel back then. Now 6 years and 48 dates later - will someone please tell me what the fuck “the spark” is? 

And so it began, date #1 of 49 dates and still counting....