#ellie's parents have officially divorced

[theroyalsims]

BREAKING: BABY HARVELLE’S NAME FINALLY REVEALED!

Meet Lady Angela Marguerite Leonore Ingrid!

No, no. You’re not alone. Baby Harvelle’s name IS a mouthful!

Their Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Harvelle finally revealed their baby’s name to the world by means of a social media post shared via the royal family’s official channels. 

The announcement was accompanied by a sweet new photo of the now family of three, courtesy of Auntie Ingrid. Wrapped in a pink and white polka-dot swaddle, the little bundle of joy made her world debut, alongside her doting parents.

The snap was captioned:

“Their Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Harvelle are happy to announce that they have decided to name their daughter Angela Marguerite Leonore Ingrid. 📸:HRH Princess Ingrid”

The little Lady has already been nicknamed “Ella” by her family, which is, no doubt, a sweet nod to her mum’s nickname “Ellie.” All four of Ella’s given names hold a significant meaning.

“Angela” is taken from Ibrahim’s mum’s name “Angelica.” Born “Angelica Marie Fournierre,” the late Queen of Al-Simhara was only 18 when she we wed King Phillip, who, at that time was well over a decade older than her. She chose the Al-Simharan variation of her name, “Anjali,” as her regnal name. 

(Above: Lady Angelica Marie Fournierre was the mother of The Earl of Harvelle. Born into Champs Les Sims aristocracy, she later wed King Phillip of Al-Simhara and became Queen Consort at age 18. The marriage lasted for a little over five years, after which, King Phillip filed for divorce. However, before the divorce was finalised, Queen Anjali perished in a diving incident.)

Marguerite is derived from our very own Queen Emilia’s many, many names. The Queen's full name is “Emilia Marguerite Alexandrine Victoria Helene.” Meanwhile, the little Lady’s third name, Leonore, she reportedly got from her mum’s name, Eleanore. 

Finally, the baby also appears to have been named after her aunt, Princess Ingrid. The lovely gesture comes as no surprise. Princess Ingrid and the Countess have remained very close through the years. The Princess also helped facilitate the Earl and Countess’s reconciliation with the rest of the Royal Family. 

It’s great to finally meet you, Lady Ella! And congrats again to the Earl and Countess!

[writing-rat]

Danny's Breakdown

Pairings: Danny and Ellie, Danny and Bridget, Danny and Kassie

Content Warning: Homophobia, Transphobia, Homophobic attack, minor violence, blood, breaking down, family fluff, arguments

Summary: Danny's night was going to be bad. He just knew it. He didn't know how bad though...

WC: 1533

Danny knew it would be a bad night already. He had walked into his parents fighting as usual. He was aged 15 and had just finished school, which was stressful enough. He had failed some homework, had failed a test and had been beat up by bullies so this made the day even worse. Dinner would be late, he wouldn’t be allowed to listen to his vinyls (thank god Beth had got him some Sony headphones and let him join her plan of Spotify Premium so he could still listen to his music at least). 

He walked to his room, putting his head down, not wanting to be involved. Luckily he passed in time, glad that Bridget was spending time with her friend. He went into his bedroom and leaned back. Well, it wasn’t officially his bedroom, but it was his designated room with his electric guitar and drums as well as his DJ set that Beth had given him. His mom helped supply him with the drums and the guitar as well, which he was thankful for. He repaid his gratitude by doing extra chores around the house. His mother was thankful for that as he was doing her chores specifically hoovering the rooms and washing the dishes in the evening. She loved her children more than anything. Danny knew it was hard financially in the house as well, so it was double appreciation.

Soon enough the shouting stopped and the door was slammed, causing Danny to wince. He knew it was his dad who left. That’s when a knock came on his door. “Baby, it’s ok now. I’m sorry you had to walk in on that,” Ellie spoke through the door, not opening it and respecting his privacy. That’s when he opened it. 

“It’s ok Mom. Don’t worry about it,” he spoke gently, smiling at her. “It’s getting close to you divorcing him, hm?” he asked quite bluntly. Ellie sighed and nodded.

“You won’t have to deal with him no more, I promise sweetheart,” she spoke. She knew how he was transphobic and didn’t support his son. “You want to pick Kassie up with me? I assume Bridget is at Mark’s house?” she asked and Danny nodded. “Yeah, I can help you pick up Kassie. I can help make dinner too and Bridget is away at Mark’s for a bit of the evening. Group project,” he explained, putting on some casual trainers. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she spoke, rubbing his hair as a thanks before they went to pick up Kassie.

-

It was around 7 pm when their dad came back and he was still pissed and also was a bit drunk. It was obvious with the way he walked. Danny went silent as he ate his pasta, Kassie and Bridget were in their bedroom eating as they were wanting to eat there and Ellie allowed it. Ellie meanwhile was sat with Danny, talking about their days. Danny lied a bit about his day, however, not that he would admit to his mom. He didn’t need to stress her out more. 

Meanwhile, Ellie understood. “Your plate is in the stove, keeping warm,” she explained. 

“I’m leaving after tonight,” he gruffly spoke as he grabbed his plate and went to Ellie’s bedroom. Ellie sighed in relief, actually happy he would be leaving however that would be a more financial strain. As long as she had her kids she would be happy though. Danny was also relieved. “That’s good,” he commented with a smile, soon finishing his food. Ellie nodded to agree. “Yeah, it is,” she agreed and was kissing his forehead. “You’re safe here now at least,” she added and Danny smiled, understanding that she just stayed with Jay to help pay the bills of the house. 

Danny was just happy as long as his family was ok.

-

It was soon 11 pm and Danny was dressed for his midnight run he did around the block, 3 laps. He stood in front of the mirror, looking at his body. Fortunately for him, he had small breasts so he didn’t need a sports bra. He was wearing a simple black shirt and a pair of gold and blue shorts with his black and white running trainers. That’s when he walked out, seeing Ellie making a blanket. “Off on your run?” she asked. Danny nodded.

“Yeah, I am,” he spoke with a smile. 

“I’ll be up for a while so I probably will be here when you come back, just be quiet,” she warned, not wanting Danny to wake up Jay. Danny nodded.

“I will be,” he spoke with a soft smile before he started for the door, grabbing his key, ready for his run.

After his second lap, he was face-to-face with his bullies. He didn’t know how but they had found out where he lived. There were 3 of them. Henry, Evan and Charlie. “Shit,” he hissed as he was backing up. “H-hey,” he stuttered to them, nerves taking over. Henry smirked, being the leader of the group. “Hey tranny,” he spoke, looking him up and down and snickered. “God you look pathetic,” he spoke as the other 2 surrounded him. “Yeah, she looks like a girl anyway,” Evan spoke and Charlie cracked his knuckles, not one for saying words and doing the beating while Evan held him and Henry helping Charlie by punching at the same time.

They continued to say homophobic and transphobic stuff before Evan quickly grabbed his arms. “Get him boys,” Evan spoke, holding him. Danny was weaker than him, he knew he was fucked. That’s why he just took the multiple punches and kicks. Eventually, they stopped, laughing as they slowly walked away after taking a photo. Danny knew that would be shared.

In total, he had a bleeding nose, and bruises all over his face and also over his stomach. He was sure he was bleeding on his elbow from a wound reopening it too. His legs also hurt as they were kicked. That’s when he called for help. Grabbing his phone, he messaged his mom. ‘I got beat up mom, I’m just outside the garage on the main street. Everything hurts’ he texted. He was trying to stay strong, but after sending the text, he finally broke from all the pressure that day, not so much the pain. He was used to it.

Thankfully his mom was quick. It had been about 3 minutes and she came rushing over. She seemed tired and was even breathing heavily. He assumed she ran down the stairs. “Oh sweetheart,” she spoke quietly before she was lifting him up. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” she spoke, not commenting on his crying (which was quite loud). They were soon in the elevator, some of his blood getting on her. He tried to apologise but Ellie just shushed him. She just wanted to take care of him.

Eventually, they were in the house, and Bridget and Kassie were in the kitchen with a first aid kit. Ellie admitted what happened in her rush so they were going to help him out no matter what. Danny just hid his face, still crying. “Everything will be ok, don’t worry. I know it hurts right now,” Ellie stated quietly. Jay thankfully was fast asleep.

“It’s not just the pain… it’s the entire day that’s gone wrong,” Danny spoke, ranting about his entire day as his sisters and mother helped his wounds. Ellie was mad to hear he was bullied, she would be going to the school the next day to deal with it. For now though she would help her son. 

Danny was thankful he had his entire family, and Bridget handing him his favourite stuffed toy. It was a shark plushie that was an off-brand Ikea one that she had bought him after he came out. Kassie meanwhile hugged him when she could and complimented him with all the masculine compliments. 

He felt loved, he felt like life would be better soon enough. Eventually, he was sorted out and that’s when Ellie lifted him again. “You both should sleep now. It’s a school night. I’ll be with Danny tonight so go to his room if you need me,” she spoke gently. The girls nodded as they said their nights, saying compliments to Danny (which was rare as they always insulted each other but in a sibling way showing they didn’t mean the insults). He smiled as he said night to them all, accepting his Mom being with him. He knew he would sleep badly tonight but having her around would help.

“Thank you, Mom,” he spoke gently as he was trying to help Ellie set up a sleeping bag in his room. He would be sleeping on the couch in his room and Ellie on the floor. Danny had tried to say he would sleep on the floor but she refused. 

“It’s no problem baby. I just want you to be ok. I will deal with it tomorrow I promise. Now let’s sleep ok? We can talk more about your grades tomorrow and see what would help. I’m not mad at you,” she reassured. Danny smiled and nodded.

He was truly loved.

[thetrampette]

get to know danielle tramp :

Danielle Tramp, or Ellie as she likes to go by, has always been a bit of a perfectionist. At least in the way that most eldest daughters are. It wasn’t as bad when it was just her and Scamp, when they were young she was far more free and willing to run around doing whatever he said even if she knew it might get them in trouble. As she got older though, her worries began to grow more and more. Especially once her younger sisters were born and started growing up themselves. 

Lilah was always a perfect mother in Ellie’s eyes - and while she loved her father as well, on a subconscious level she knew he wasn’t the greatest father in the world. He was absent at times and when he was around, it was clear the kids were far from his top priority in the world. So even though no one asked it of her, Ellie took on the responsibility of behaving somewhat like that second parental figure Tramp never was. She looked after her sisters and brother, did her best to scold them when they did wrong, and was just you know Eldest Daughter. They didn’t often appreciate it though, finding her to be more of a nuisance than any sort of figure they needed to listen to. 

Still to this day she hates disappointing anyone, especially her parents. She’s slowly trying to work on it - or at least she will be once she finally goes to therapy. She just hates when people are upset at her and will oftentimes bend over backwards to ensure that doesn’t happen.

For most of her time growing up she wanted to be a teacher, but then in high school after helping work a blood drive at school she completely changed her mind and decided to become a nurse. 

Despite knowing that her mother could likely easily support both Ellie and Scamp throughout all of college, she was determined not to have to rely on her parents at all after her freshman year. She became an RA which offered free room and meal plan, as well as a small paycheck every month. And on top of that once she was 20 she started working as a part time nude model at a local art studio for lessons and private sessions. Upon graduation she cut down how often she worked there, no longer doing any lessons but she’s still to this day on the list of potential models and does private sessions on occasion for some extra cash. 

Works as a nurse at one of the local pediatricians on the island. She had thought about going into hospital work but the hours seemed a bit unbearable and she’s always loved being around kids - so it just made sense to go the family care route.

When Scamp left with no warning or forwarding address or way to keep in touch, Ellie had a bit of a breakdown. She knew that things weren’t perfect in their life but between that and her parents’ divorce, it just all hit really hard at once. Before that she hadn’t thought her family would ever fall apart, she hadn’t ever considered that she could lose so much. It took awhile for her to forgive him once he finally did return - but once the truth about her father’s abuse started coming to light, it seemed stupid to hold onto any grudge she may have had against her brother. Though a part of her is constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, like the only thing actually keeping him around is the fact that the borders are closed and he doesn’t actually want to be here or resents them for having to deal with all of their messes. 

Had a fling with Dodger that none of her family knew about, nor do they now. Ellie was ready to finally tell her family about them, wanting to make things official and serious - but instead he broke it off. It hurt a lot and she hasn’t had any serious type of relationship since, only casually dating or random hook ups. 

Is vaguely torn about the whole Tramp thing. Obviously does not condone or support any of the behavior he has shown lately or what he’s done in the past to her mother - but when he was announced dead it had been a hard blow to take. And now that he’s back, she’s struggling to find a way to potentially try to keep him in her life while also holding him at arm's length and not getting involved in his bullshit. There are days when she wants nothing to do with him and others where she misses him like hell. She has no clue how to feel about it all - the only thing she knows for certain is she doesn’t want him dead and gone forever again.

[tea-and-conspiracy]

Prompt 8: Tepid

When some gangly Ishgardian named Emmereaux Dufresne first showed up in the colony, Olivie Lachansseau thought he was hilarious.

He was clearly no magician. In fact, the boy probably wouldn’t know magic if scarves started blowing out one of his ears. But as out of place as he was, he clearly wasn’t of Ishgard’s upper crust, either; he had the arrogance, but lacked the narrow mind. So he was in the right place, as far as she could discern.

In order to figure out why, Olivie began to station herself in the same lobby after her classes ended, and studied there – or occasionally “studied” there -- all afternoon. Inevitably Emmereaux would pass, allowing her to heckle him. That hadn’t been part of the plan, but for whatever reason as she saw him appear, the first words out of her mouth were:

“Is that the only outfit you own?”

It turned out that it was. Oops.

But that did open the floodgates to conversation. He was a goldsmith’s son, who had grown fascinated with his father’s watchmaking. Unfortunately his sire had perished in a recent Dravanian attack and, as that was the only family that Emmereaux had left, he had come to Sharlayan to learn clockwork from their mammet masters instead. He’d had to sell everything he owned, including his father’s little shoppe, in order to afford the tuition.

“But this is just a temporary setback,” Emmereaux said, with ironclad confidence and eyes as cold and bright as Ishgard’s winter sky. “When I return home I will open a factory, and then I’ll be rich enough to live up in the Pillars. I’m going to make it so that my children never know hunger and cold the way I have.”

Perhaps a wiser woman would have found that laughable – the empty boasting of a cocksure youth, who’d yet to be body-checked by reality. But there was something different to Emmereaux’s brand of confidence. It was less arrogance and moreso roaring defiance: a bold-faced challenge to the hand fate had dealt him. As a student of astrology, Olivie couldn’t help but to find herself intrigued.

And as it turned out, the unique combination of his single-minded determination and her celestial guidance achieved just that. Emmeraux got his factory and his fortune. Olivie never would have pictured herself living atop a high tower in distant, snowy Ishgard, but somehow she fell in love and became a baroness in the process. Now here she sat almost thirty years later, long hair blowing out the window as though she were some fairytale princess, watching fresh powder drift onto the rooftops far below. She watched it fall and fall, and found her heart had frozen over as much as the land outside.

She hadn’t been awake for that. No, she was the only person in Eorzea to have slept through Dalamud’s fall, at least in the metaphorical sense. Ishgard had only ever seen a witch when she walked through its gates in Emmeraux’s arms, and neither was it wrong. The Inquisition had cost her her sanity for a full decade of her life. And while she was eternally grateful for Eliane and Barengar’s efforts in fishing her back to reality, those were ten years she would never get back.

A lot had changed in those ten years. She knew she certainly had.

So had Emmereaux.

It wasn’t the accident. She would have loved him regardless of how able-bodied he was or wasn’t. But it was harder to ignore what was within. Emmereaux had always been sharp and calculating before – had always had something of an ego – but he’d also been an honest, honorable man. Pillars life had eroded that away, warping him into a cunning patriarch. He’d absorbed many of Ishgard’s less-endearing traits in a bid to survive and fit in up here in the Pillars, and they were traits she noticed in Eliane now as well. Despite Olivie’s best efforts, Eliane was very much her father’s daughter. As House Dufresne-now-Requingris continued to grow in power and wealth, she could tell which way the winds were blowing.

No, too much had changed. The longer Olivie haunted these halls – whether with or without her mind – the more she felt adrift. She could feel the sea calling to her again, found herself longing for the foggy shores of home. She’d never even seen Old Sharlayan before, but her family had secured passage for her there.

She could live with them, maybe finally earn her Archon’s mark...

And...

A rugged knight rode up on his chocobo far below. Even if the bird hadn’t been the only purple one in the yard, the man stuck out from his sheer beastly size alone. Olivie had to smile, warmth blooming in her chest to see him safely returned home.

If he could come with her, selfish though the thought was, her new life would be complete.

But now came a rap at her door. Olivie turned to open it; Emmereaux was waiting on the other end, as golden and regal as ever. Once upon a time she would have blushed at such a sight; it saddened her somewhat to feel so tepid towards him now.

He’d worked so hard to save her, and now here they were.

“Is it time?” she asked.

He nodded. Emmereaux understood, of course. This had been his decision as much as it had been hers. How could one hope to rekindle a romance ten years dead?

“All the papers are in order. We need but sign them,” he said. “I’ve made certain you’ll have enough to live off of comfortably.”

She smiled a little. “And your peers? Are you not worried?”

For just a moment his eyes sparkled, and a coy smile stretched across his lips, and he looked his younger self again. “Oh, don’t worry about our reputation, my dear,” he said. “Eliane will have us covered.”

[flamingredanon]

(Continuation of the werewolf Henry prompt where Hubert and Dmitri are divorced, Henry lives with Dmitri and doesn't trust Hubert etc.)

After the events of his visit, Dmitri and Henry treated Hubert's connection with them like it didn't exist. Henry ignored all the new letters from the Government that came clattering through their letterbox. Dmitri ignored all of Hubert's phones calls, with there being one time he answered and cussed the general out.

"How could you be so fucking stupid?! Doing that to your own son! He was so excited to see you Hubert and you just had to fuck it all up didn't you?!" He remembered shouting down the receiver as the General stuttered out apologises and begged to talk to Henry. How they could 'work this out' and how 'Henry wouldn't get hurt'. Dmitri hung up and never answered a call from Hubert again, always letting it go to voicemail until he eventually muted the number completely.

Henry was upset, obviously... He generally thought his Dad wanted to reconnect, with how sincere the letter he got before sounded. There was also the fact that Henry had only gotten to speak to Charles for about an hour, if barely that! He didn't get to know him at all... Only getting told that he was found as a baby and was now a brilliant Pilot. Henry still had so many questions, questions he knew wouldn't be able to leave his lips.

Not until his dad actually wanted to be his Dad, not some... General in the military that wanted Henry to help him with a criminal organisation... Now Henry was worrying about Charles and how he was raised...

-----

A couple months past and things were looking up for Henry. He had gotten a new job at a jewelry shop down town and was very good friends with one of his co-workers, Ellie Rose. A short, snippy woman who was brutally honest at times and had a brilliant eye for Gems. She also didn't mind that Henry was a werewolf as, a great bonus to an already perfect friendship.

Dmitri and Grigori were having no problems with The wall which Henry was very thankful for. He knew very well just how brutal and violent the wall could get if you got into a bad situation.

Henry had also stopped recieving letters from Hubert, as they had stopped rather abruptly a couple of weeks ago. Dmitri had also told him that there were no more phones calls or text messages from the General either.

'Good.' Henry remembered thinking, 'He needs to understand that I won't drop like a hat if he needs something.. especially if he disguises it with an apology just to slap me in the face with the cold truth.'

He had told Ellie everything, she was sympathetic and had told Henry that 'if a parent treats their child like nothing but an employee, an asset to a plan or job all the time, that they weren't a parent at all.'

Henry had cried that day, hugging Ellie like his life depended on it. Even after almost 2 months, The whole situation still stung at Henry's heart like an irritated burn. He was just glad Ellie was here with him...

----

It was Henry's 29th Birthday, officially 3 months since the incident when Henry received a phone call from a Private Number. He was, at first, very confused. He didn't have a doctor's appointment or anything, especially over the phone, Dmitri would have told him if he did.

A thought flashed into Henry's mind, 'What if it's Dad?...' but that was impossible. Hubert didn't have Henry's number! Unless Dmitri had told him it but... His father wouldn't do that.

Henry's thumb hesitated over the green answer button, unsure of what to do. With a sudden increase in courage, he pressed the green button and readied himself. Whatever his dad or... Whoever this was wanted to say, better be good.

"Hello?" Henry spoke, voice firm and confident. "H-Henry?" A shaky, almost pained voice responded and Henry nearly dropped his phone. "Wh- Charles? Is that you?? H-How do you have my number?- Are you ok??"

"I'm- sshg-" A sudden intake a breath interrupted the pilot before he continued. "Kinda in a bad situation...I need your help.."

"H-How bad? Charles you sound in pain-" Henry was starting to freak out now but was desperately trying to act calm, both for his sake and Charles'. "Well..." Charles paused, the sound of sticks or... Leaves? Being moved around muffled the phone for a moment. "Me and... Dad were flying to.. to Canada to see you and... I don't know what happened! Something hit the propellor and the system shut down!-"

Charles was starting to hyperventilate before he took a deep breath in. "Henry my.. legs are stuck! I can't move! I tried calling out to dad but..." There was a pause.

"He.. he isn't moving Henry.."

Henry ran outside to see black smoke bellowing from a distance. Henry's heart was racing as he spoke up "Hang on Charles, I'm getting help now and will be there soon."

Henry then hung up the phone and ran back inside their house, grabbing the emergency first aid kits and a few blankets while dialing Grigori's number.

"Uncle Gri, we got a helicopter crash about a few miles from our house, it's... Dad and Charles that were inside. I'm running ahead to the crash site so you can have the med team track my phone for an accurate location. Tell Papa whenever you can, please."

Before Grigori could speak, Henry hung up the phone, making sure it was secured as he quickly ran out the front door, locking it behind him before getting on all fours and bolting it, adrenaline fueling Henry as he ran.

Henry kept running as the smell of smoke got closer, eventually seeing the helicopter wreckage nearby.

"H...Henry!" Charles gasped out, seeing his brother running. Henry let out a whine as he asked "Where is dad!" Charles pointed to where Galeforce was, a bad wound to the head and he wasn't moving.

Henry laid his father on his back and saw he wasn't breathing. Panic wanted to set in, but Henry quashed the feeling as he started chest compressions and rescue breaths on Galeforce, stopping ever so often to check to see if Galeforce was breathing and had a pulse.

Time felt like it slowed down for Henry, each round of CPR feeling more hopeless then the last. Sure Henry was mad at his father for seeing him as a tool, but he was still his father, and the thought of losing a parent was terrible.

Just then, Galeforce let out a gasp of air, coughing a couple of times as Henry felt tears in his eyes.

"D... Don't move too much dad... help is coming... just keep... keep breathing for me and Charles, ok?"

Galeforce just nodded his head as Henry turned him on his side. Henry then ran to Charles, seeing the large chunk of helicopter debris that had his brother pinned.

With the last of his adrenaline, Henry pushed the large metal off of Charles and dragged him away from the helicopter and near Galeforce.

"Holy crap Henry... you were amazing. And you even saved dad." Charles felt tears start to prick his eyes as Henry wrapped Charles and Galeforce in blankets before the werewolf himself collapsed on the ground from pure exhaustion, hearing several helicopters and various voices getting closer before he fully passed out.

---

Henry fluttered his eyes opened to see himself in a hospital bed and an iv of some kind in his arm.

Henry turned his head to see his papa sitting in a chair next to him.

"Good morning sleepy head." Dmitri gave Henry a smile as Henry sat up in the bed.

"Hubert and Charles are recovering just fine, Charles has a broken leg and fractured arm and had a mild concussion and Hubert had a head fracture, bruised ribs and several legs fractures. But the two are doing well, and it was thanks to you."

Henry let out a pained whine and saw that his hands were wrapped up in bandages. "How did I hurt my hand? I don't remember getting them cut."

"From what Charles told me, you were running on nothing but adrenaline and with moving the debris off from him, your hands were cut pretty deep from the sharp burning edges of the metal. You were too occupied keeping Charles and Hubert safe that you never noticed."

Henry let out a small embarrassed chuckle before asking his papa a question "Has Dad... explained why he and Charles were coming this way?"

Dmitri let out a sigh "Hubert can explain more, but he and Charles were coming over to your birthday to surprise you. Turns out that several Government troops gave Hubert hell for what he did to you and he actually thought about things. He even got yelled at by the former criminal organization's leader for his attitude after they reached a deal with the Government."

"So Hubert officially retired from the Government and was going to mend things up with us, with Charles transferring to become a helicopter pilot for the Wall. But American helicopters are just cheaply made and a defect happened, causing the crash to occur."

Henry's ears unconsciously perked up on hearing everything, with Dmitri ruffling his son's hair.

"Hubert still needs to prove himself to me and you, but his healing comes first. And so does your healing, my son."

Dmitri and Henry heard a knock on the door, Dmitri turning to see Ellie with Charles in a hospital wheelchair.

"Hope we aren't interrupting anything?" Ellie said, with Charles giving a wave.

Henry felt a smile form on his face as Dmitri spoke "Not at all, I'll leave you three to talk while I check in on Hubert."

Henry, Charles and Ellie talked for what seemed like hours while Dmitri found himself catching up with Hubert.

There was still a long ways to go to mend the wounds made, but a once broken family would slowly grow to be stronger then before.

[thecandywrites]

Jewel Of The North Chapter 13

I know, I know. Another Hot Minute for this story. But to be fair, my life is this.

But this has been sitting in my drafts for...way too long. And I've actually had this as the first part of the last part of the story..which was 27 pages and that was just way too much to try to cram it all in. So I'm breaking it up. Yes. Those are pictures of plane crashes. Yes. Noah crashes his plane, with Zara and the kids on board. Yes. I'm evil. And A Dramatic Bitch. But I promise, it really brings everyone together and if they can get through this, and the other Murphy's Law level of 'everything that can go wrong goes wrong', they can get through anything by relying on each other and working as a family and a team.

Enjoy!

Jewel Of The North

Chapter 13

“That went well, for once.” You teased Noah as you all drove back to his house, all the kids still riding in the back, talking and enjoying the scenery as Sakura was pointing out who lived where along the way. 

“Yeah, because Alorna wasn’t there.” Noah laughed as he had you under his arm as you happily helped put the truck into gear for him since it was a manual gear shift. So he could keep his arm around you. 

The official documents laid in a folder next to you. The folder contained not just certificates from all the clans that contained “shares” of tribal lands to you, but also to both of your children as “recompense” for them believing the lies Doug and Alorna told about you. Especially since once it was investigated and their claims had proved false. Justice was served. In the form of Doug and Alorna in jail, awaiting trial. And you and every member of your immediate family, both present and soon to be future- having their due recompense. It also contained official apology letters from each clan and invitations to attend every summer solstice event from now on. Which you had accepted with grace from Noah’s parents as well as Neena’s. 

“Exactly. And John was much better. And the kids, the poor things, they act like it’s no big deal to have their mom in jail.” You mused. 

“It’s not the first time Alorna has been in jail in their lives, and I’ll bet it won’t be the last either. But it is the first time that no one has enough money to bail her out. Which is nice, that means that our peace gets to last at least a little while.” Noah grinned. 

“Yeah, the peace was nice but I still feel bad for her kids though.” You murmured. 

“Well there is not much we can do about her kids, but it serves Alorna right for defaming and maligning you.” Noah insisted. 

“Plus, Ellie and John have had an affair going on for months now. And now that Alorna is in jail and officially moved out and is staying out this time, John and Alorna are finally getting a divorce. That means that Ellie and her kids got to move in with John and they’re happy and the kids get along. So that worked out.” Noah informed you. 

“Yeah, it was still weird seeing John though.” You muttered since John was just a little excessive in his apologies and trash talking his ex wife.

“Yeah it was, I think we’re better off by not getting too close to him.” Noah reassured you. 

“Agreed, nothing against Ellie and their kids, just...until John isn’t weird, let’s give them a wide berth.” You readily agreed. 

“So you gotta work tomorrow?” You asked him, changing the subject. 

“Yes I do, it’s gonna be a long day tomorrow too.” Noah admitted. 

“Well I think you’ll have plenty of help if you want it.” You mused. 

“Nah, you guys need your rest, sleep in tomorrow, finish getting adjusted to the time change and then the day after should be a light day work wise, let them ease into it.” Noah suggested. 

“Many hands make the workload light.” You reminded him. 

“And plus if you have extra hands tomorrow to make the workload light, tomorrow and the day after that, that means that we could, potentially, get some work done early and possibly go fishing some more after work tomorrow. And if you want the kids to get a good taste of just how hard you work and how much is involved, don’t you want their snap shot on your life to be you on your busiest days with the heaviest loads? Don’t you want to impress upon them how much of a real job and real work it is?” You tempted him. 

“True, and there are about three to four varieties of salmon that are running.” Noah admitted. 

“So is that a yes?” You prodded. 

“It’s a yes.” Noah readily agreed before he took his arm off your shoulders to open the window behind your head. 

“Hey.” Noah called back to them. 

“Yeah.” they all answered. 

“Who wants to go to work with me tomorrow?” Noah asked. 

“I do!” Both of your kids eagerly accepted. 

“Well that settles it then doesn’t it.” You beamed. 

“It does.” Noah nodded before he pulled into his driveway as the kids raced upstairs to get ready for bed so they could get some sleep to wake up early enough to go to work while you went ahead and got in the fridge and got a broaster out out and began tossing some moose meat, vegetables, broth and spices in to cook overnight so that you would have at least lunch ready for tomorrow as Noah came in and put his keys on the hook and simply came over to the kitchen and leaned against the door way, smiling serenely, watching you doing something so simple yet complex yet humbly domestic. He had forgotten how beautiful you could be in these candid moments. Just doing something simple and to some it could be described as mundane. But to him. It was such a beautiful sight. Just you, being a mother, making food for your family, humming to yourself as you did it and moving about in this kitchen as if it were your own, because it was. 

“What?” You asked when you looked up and saw him watching you intently. 

“Gods you’re just so beautiful Zara. I almost forgot just how breathtaking you could be. You are where you’re meant to be, in this moment and all I can think of is...how humble this setting is for a jewel like you.” Noah murmured. 

“Aww, thanks, and likewise. But what I’m worried about is you seeing the setting I usually set myself in and think of yourself as not being good enough to settle in it too. Because nothing could be farther than the truth. I want you to feel just as comfortable there as you do here.” You professed. 

“Well I doubt that’s going to be a problem. Even though John kept on insisting that it’s “a mansion”. But from what you’ve shown me, it’s just a house, granted a big one. But a house all the same. I wouldn’t consider it a mansion unless you keep like a full time housekeeper and a butler and a personal chef and all that.” Noah waived off which got you to chuckle in amusement. 

“Well I don’t have a butler. And I love to cook for myself and my family too much to have a personal chef. But I do have a maid service that comes about once a week to help out just to keep things from descending into complete chaos. To do things like vacuum, scrub toilets and dust. And do a few loads of dishes and laundry and make sure any or all the food in my pantry doesn’t expire before we can eat it. Or make sure that nothing grows mold or anything in the fridge. And I do have a landscaping outfit come out and take care of the landscaping for the house and the business, because that’s a tax write off for the business too. And I do have a hay field that I pay a farmer to run for me and bale it up and put in my barn for me for the horses and stuff because I’m too busy with work to do it myself. But that’s it, otherwise we manage everything else just fine.” You explained. 

“Nice. Honestly I think if more people could afford that kind of help, I know they would get it in a heartbeat. And there is nothing wrong with getting help when you need it.” Noah insisted which made your eyebrows raise in surprise and start laughing. 

“Can I get you a mirror so you can say that to yourself?” You gently teased as he opened his mouth to argue but his argument died on his tongue and instead playfully narrowed his eyes at you as he scrunched up his face and laughed with you. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, haha, I get it, "big strong tough guy doesn’t ask for help" is preaching to you, the one who actually took the initiative and not only asked but got the help she needed.” Noah readily admitted, seeing the irony. 

“And you said it yourself, that there was nothing wrong with asking for help. And because you said it, I get to hold you to it.” You insisted as you finished up and put your spices away and cleaned up after yourself and made sure that the broaster was actually on so it would cook overnight. 

“Well as a matter of fact, I do need help.” Noah insisted as he came over and roped you into his embrace. 

“With what? Taking your clothes off?” You guessed with a licentious grin. 

“How did you guess?” Noah teased you. 

“Just had a feeling. Also that’s a pretty big hint.” You teased back as you rubbed your pelvis into his to feel his hard cock press between you before you pulled out from his embrace and took him by the hand and led him upstairs. Then you put the kids to bed, Skylar and Sakura sleeping in the same bed. With Zane taking an air mattress on the floor. You gave them all kids melatonin gummies before you went to bed with Noah. Replacing the last memory you had together in this bed with a new one, and a much more pleasant one at that. 

The next morning, Noah and yourself got up extra early and you put the cooked down contents of the broaster into to go containers and lunch boxes for everyone and set the broaster pan in the sink to soak in soapy water for the day.

Then Noah and yourself then got your family up and went over with all the kids how to pack proper overnight bags for the plane that were also emergency go bags and a emergency prepardness kits and bushcraft kits all in one huge backpack that had special flotation packs on them so that if you needed to jump out of the plane and parachute down into the water, the flotation devices would both keep the packs and the kids from sinking and would be a flotation device to help them swim to shore while everything in the kits would be safe from getting wet, or catching fire.

When you had told Noah, you liked to be prepared, he did not think you would take this to quite this extreme but everything in these things was extremely practical. And the fact that you got him and yourself the same things too. It would ensure that even if you all got seperated, they could find each other and especially if you were straded somewhere, you would all be ok until you could get rescued.

You had already packed a whole crate of things just for this occasion. Each child had everything that they needed to actually be stranded for a couple of days for up to a week, and could in theory, be alone by themselves and still be ok and defend themselves. Sakura was already used to the concept of an Arctic Tundra Survival Kit and bushcrafting. And your children were already familiar with the concept of go-bags in case of emergencies. Like tornadoes or other natural disasters and were happy that they basically had another go bag just for Noah’s plane and the Arctic Tundra. But these go bags were bigger and had a lot more to them because being stranded in the Arctic Tundra had its own challenges and you had made sure that you and they could be prepared for anything and everything. You made sure that each bag had enough supplies that even if it was winter, everyone would stay warm, safe, well fed, clean and cared for, for at least a week. 

Then you all left and found good places for your go bags in the plane. Noah had already put extra parachutes for everyone in the plane. And he walked them through how to put them on and how to work them as well. And then he went through what to do in case of a crash landing. He showed everyone how to get the emergency doors open. Where the fire extinguishers were. Where the satellite radio was. Even though their bags already had special two way radios in them too so they could always stay in touch. And the satellite phone. And in the case of a crash landing, to put their go bags on backwards on their chests to put the parachutes on their backs. Then you all did a safety drill so that everyone felt safe and confident in their own individual abilities to stay safe on the plane.

Then he got everyone situated before you had Zane take his turn first in the cockpit and started your day for flying with Noah. To your delight, it was in fact a very busy day. All the kids and yourself took turns in the co-pilot seat and “flying” the plane for a few minutes each time. The whole plane felt like a constant conveyer belt of goods getting loaded and unloaded and then reloaded again several times over.

Sheshna, the owner of High Jacks was super happy and excited to see you again for breakfast since she was your first drop off spot and especially to meet your kids. She was happy to get a free extra long back and shoulder rub in exchange for breakfast on the house for your whole family. Your kids devoured the crab omelets and thought the berry pancakes were the best they had ever had in their lives. Zane sweet talked Sheshna into the recipes for the pancakes and the omeltes so he could make it at home. Which Sheshna, for once, agreed to in exchange for a couple of recipes from Zane which he was happy to barter for, as Zane was happy to write down the recipes that he knew by heart. 

“So, ‘just the pilot’ huh?” Sheshna teased Noah after she hugged everyone goodbye and Noah was holding the door open for all of you which got him to laugh and blush. 

“Turns out she was in the market for more than a pilot.” Noah tried to shrug off but his smile was bright and happy and bashful as always.  

“Uh- huh, I expect to see them as regulars from now on.” Sheshna wagged her finger at him. 

“You will.” Noah vowed before he gave her a hug and left himself before you went to the same Tavern for dinner and thankfully once they saw that you came in with your family and learned that Noah had snagged you himself, thankfully you didn’t get over a dozen drinks sent to the table this time. But that didn’t save Noah from some good natured teasing and jeering that he still bagged the prettiest daughter of the Arctic Tundra, again. 

The kids did surprisingly well, all day long. They got along beautifully. Just like they had ever since they had first met face and face and they all worked together as a team with Noah and yourself. By the time all of you made it home, he gave them each a hundred dollars as you all staggered into the house, tired and exhausted but well fed and happy. 

“What’s this for?” Skylar asked. 

“You guys worked really hard, it’s only fair that you get paid too.” Noah answered.

“Yes!” Skylar, Zane and Sakura all cheered before Skylar and Zane put their money in their wallets before Sakura went and put her money in her piggy bank before they took turns getting showers, playing rock paper scissors to see who should go first, just like they had been doing this whole trip. After they were done getting showers, they all practically crashed into bed, barely getting the covers up and over themselves before their tired little bodies succumbed to sleep. No melatonin gummies or bedtime stories needed.

You quickly cleaned the broaster pan and then repeated your previous process, putting elk roasts in the broaster instead of moose this time. You changed up the spices but still added plenty of beef stock and other vegetables and put the lunch containers in the dishwasher to wash overnight as Noah did his paperwork and things for his business at the table. 

“So how are things looking?” You asked Noah after you finished with the broaster and quickly wiped off the counter before you joined him at the table. 

“Really good.” Noah answered as he diligently and honestly recorded each and every cent he made which only impressed you that he was still so honest and forthcoming. Even with his money. Which was a personality trait you highly admired because it bled through to every other area of his life. 

“In the black?” You hoped. 

“Very much so.” Noah smiled with a chuckle. “All thanks to you Babe.” He added before he leaned over to kiss you sweetly before he got back to going through his paperwork as you helped him sort the money by check and cash and Noah even had a special sack that he kept all of the gold that he got paid in along with a scale to weigh it all. 

“That’s a lot of gold.” You noted as you picked it up and realized it was small but very heavy. 

“Thanks. After I got back the first time, I got a ton of loads out to gold mining operations both on the sea and in the interior and they just outright paid me in gold. Granted the gold price was really low that week and those operations pay based on the average price of gold in a week. So I got a lot of it all of a sudden and it replenished the reserves I usually always like to keep on hand for emergencies.” Noah answered. 

“That’s smart.” You praised. 

“I do that too. But it’s with gift certificates. During the High Holidays, I can make 20-30 grand just selling gift certificates in a single month. And then when Valentine's Day and Mother’s Day rolls around, all of them get turned back in. So, while I make a killing during the High Holidays. I don’t let myself spend any of it and when the gift certificates get cashed in, then I pay myself for what they’re worth.” You revealed. 

“Yeah but at least your gift certificates are always worth the same amount of money. Because the price of gold is always changing, it means that the value of what you have stowed away fluctuates by hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars, based on how much you have.” Noah groused. 

“I take it, the last time you had to use it up, the price was low.” You ventured. 

“That is correct.” Noah admitted. 

“Was it for Neena’s funeral?” You asked as he nodded. 

“Talk about adding insult to injury.” You muttered as he nodded again before you reached out and stroked his arm comfortingly.  

“Well hopefully that won’t happen again.” You offered softly. 

“It better not.” Noah insisted which made you snort a laugh. “Going through that once was already one too many times.” Noah added. 

“I’ll bet.” You offered as you thought back to what you felt like when you lost Andy as you couldn’t help but shake your head a little, as Noah gave you a thoughtful look. 

“Why are you shaking your head?” Noah asked. 

“I'm remembering the advice I gave myself. To not look at the past with rose colored glasses." You answered with a bittersweet smile.

"How so?" Noah asked.

"I’m just remembering the flurry of emotions I felt the day Andy died. I woke up that morning so irritated with Andy. Because it felt like we just kept having the same arguments over and over and over again. He was bitching at me about how emotionally needy I was that I felt I needed the cats for emotional support. I was mad at him for not fulfilling those needs for me himself. And I was mad that no matter what I had tried to do over the thirteen years we were married to get him to just be nice to me. That’s all I wanted from him. I could do with less money in the bank account and having to clip a hundred coupons to save a few dollars for the food budget. All I wanted was kindness. All he wanted was obedience." You recalled as Noah frowned deeply at that. He still couldn't wrap his head around the idea of any man who would not treat you like the goddess you were.

"I remember how he was irritated with me because he took my lack of vigilance with cleaning the house as a sign I didn’t love him, and not seeing the truth, that was always overwhelmed by it all, I had two little kids who constantly destroyed everyting I tried to clean. Even now, there is always laundry to do. Always dishes to do. Always something. And while he occassionally helped out to do a load or laundry, he acted like he was owed all kinds of praise and sexual favors for doing the bare minimum while demanding that I do everything without so much as a thank you." You remembered as even now there was a bitter resentment in your tone.

"And the fact that I had cats that he had allergies to- didn’t help. His mother outright apologized to him in front of me that 'she was so sorry that I didn’t love him enough to get rid of the cats' and that 'if I was “a good wife” or “an easily contented one”, I wouldn’t need them to begin with'. And it was all my strength to tell her off that she fucked up rasing her sons so much that they couldn’t even show or express love and affection unless it was in the form of an insult.” You recounted as Noah frowned even more darkly. Because if Andy had been alive, he would have wanted to knock his lights out.

“She didn’t grow up with animals did she?” Noah asked. 

“No she did not. And neither did Andy. Andy’s grandparents had a farm nearby and that was enough. Meanwhile before I married Andy. I didn’t sleep at night unless I had Kelly and Duchess sleeping with me.” You recalled, remembering your beloved dog Kelly and your cat Duchess.  

“And then Kelly died of liver cancer the year before I met him and Duchess died of brain cancer a year after I married him. I brought Duchess with me into that marriage. And the only reason Andy liked Duchess is because she left him the hell alone. And looking back, I should have seen that as a sign. Animals are usually pretty good at reading people." You recounted.

"But at the time, all Olga would tell me about Andy when she met him was that 'if I married him, he would provide a large comfortable home and modestly comfortable and moderately lavish lifestyle and give me a beautiful family, despite his homely looks. He would protect me from harm from others and that he would give me everything I wanted, but would struggle to give me what I needed'. I was too young and stupid at the time to realize that my wants and needs were not the same things. And while he gave me a decent house to turn into a home for him. And he earned enough that I didn’t have to work. Granted I was always encouraged to work just so we had more income after Sky got into elementary school. He gave me protection, financial stability, and the basics- food, clothing, shelter. But the man had no idea how to sympathize with me other than saying “you’re family is crazy”. He had no idea how to care for my emotional and spiritual needs other than to hand me the sacred sculptures of the gods to hang on the wall and go “here, pray.” or “here’s a cat, let the cat give you the love you so desperately need”.” You recounted in the same condescending tone Andy always used as Noah just frowned deeper and darker the more you talked. 

“He had no idea how to make love to me. Because all of his sex education came from porn. Because while he was a virgin when me married me. His ideas of sex and my ideas of sex were very, very different. And every time I tried to talk to anyone about it, all the advice his mother would give me is “don’t give him anything to get on you about”. Meaning, 'if you just keep the house perfectly spotless, your face painted with “natural” makeup so that it looked like you weren’t wearing any makeup at all. And that you were just naturally beautiful all the time'. Which is what his mother did. 'And if you never have an idea or an opinion that clashes with your husband and you’re always an obedient and submissive wife, and never blow the budget and can actually either save your husband money or make him money, you’ll never have any problems'. You know, the way housewives were expected to be like in the 1950's.” You recalled. 

“And what I struggled with, was once he was dead, and once I literally had to have my parents, my inlaws, my adopted grandparents hold my hand through the whole process of getting his funeral arranged, getting his life insurance money and all that and invested. And once I realized that the world hadn’t ended and that I could actually do it all on my own. Which was something Andy always taunted me that I wouldn’t know what to do without him “handling everything”. That once I proved to myself that I could actually do it and could do it well. I felt guilty that I was so relieved he was dead and that I was free of him. And I had to put on this ‘sad widow’ act to his parents and family. Because to them, especially his mother, both of her sons were her little Prince Charmings. And just these ‘amazing catches of men’. Which wasn’t true at all.” You remembered as Noah stopped his paperwork to hold your hand in both of his and just listened attentively. 

“Don’t feel guilty about losing Andy. Honestly, with everything you’ve told me about him, the universe did you a favor in killing him off for you so that you didn’t have to go through divorcing him. And may all the gods forbid- but if I ever even hint at acting like that or saying anything like that. You have my permission to tell me I'm acting like him and that should be enough for me to knock it off.” Noah comforted you. 

“Will do. But I want you to promise me something.” You prompted as you fully turned towards him. 

“What?” He asked. 

“If I, for some reason, can’t make you happy or can’t love you the way you want to be loved and need to be loved, please tell me. But also, if after you tell me and I can’t compromise or find a way to make it work so that we’re both happy and we’re both getting what we need and want from each other, tell me and we can either get divorced or separated or whatever we need to be. I don’t want to spend another 13 years in resigned demoralized discomfit. And I don’t want you to suffer the same or feel that just because I currently have wealth, that you should put up with whatever bullshit I would throw at you. Or my kids would throw at you. I never want to flirt with your breaking point, or mine. If we have any arguments or fights about anything, I would really only like to have them once. And then for the problems to be equitably resolved the first time. I know that while we both have our own culture and traditions and backgrounds. And I know there are some that we don’t see eye to eye on- on both sides. But I don’t want those to be the hairline fractures that end up being cavernous cravasses between us. Could you do that for me? Promise me that you’ll tell me if you’re not happy?” You pleaded tiredly. 

“Only if you’ll promise me the same thing.” Noah offered. 

“Deal.” You nodded. 

“Any hairline fractures right now? Are there any needs, wants or desires that you have right now that I’m not fulfilling?” Noah asked. 

“Only my need to sleep beside you tonight, hopefully soon. It’s been a long hard day.” You smiled happily but tiredly. 

“Yes Ma’am. All the paperwork is done. Let's get quick showers and get to bed.” He offered as he let go of your hands to close up his account book and put all of the payments away in the proper bank deposit envelopes. 

“What about you? Is there anything…” You began to ask. 

“Nope. Not a single thing. I’m still getting used to being this happy in every aspect of my life.” He cut you off which made you softly laugh. 

“Good, me too.” You beamed back. Happy and relieved he felt the same way you did in that respect as he had you go up the stairs first as he made sure the house was locked up and all the lights got turned off before he quickly caught up with you and pinched your butt as you climbed the stairs which got you to softly squeal and laugh and hasten your pace. 

“Damn your butt is too cute not to pinch.” Noah praised. 

“Likewise.” You giggled before you had a quickie in the shower, because even though you both were tired, you weren’t going to turn down any opportunity you had to finally get made love to- right, and neither was he. 

The next day however, after Noah flew all the loads he needed to and was on his way to fly all of you to a good place where the salmon were running, there was the unmistakable smell of an electrical fire in the cockpit. You smelled it first as it smelled like it was coming from right under your seat and you instantly smacked Noah on the arm to get his attention. 

“Noah! There’s a fire! You need to land!” You yelled just as Noah’s instruments started going off and going berserk before you grabbed your bag that was between your feet and the money envelope just as smoke came up from your floor boards and tried to unbuckle to get out of there but the smoke was coming from right between you and Noah and the rest of the plane. Noah did his best to get on the radio and send off a mayday signal while he did his best to land in a nearby lake.

Which of course scared and freaked out the kids, who were thankfully buckled and once landed you threw your bags and stuff back through the curtain of smoke and bolted from the cockpit because where your feet were, was smoking and getting extremely hot. It melted the soles and toes of your sneakers which you hastily kicked off to keep your toes from burning any more as smoke started to fill the cockpit. 

Skylar, Sakura and Zane were all screaming and freaking out and unbuckling and grabbing their gobags and parachutes and running towards the tail of the plane to get away from the smoke and trying to remember in their panic- what to do and how to do it.

Noah landed roughly into the water which caused all of you to fall down, as you all reached and held onto each other as you made sure you fell so that the kids landed on top of you so that they wouldn’t get hurt. Then you and the kids were scrambling to get to your feet as you were more concerned about getting all three kids to the safety of the back of the plane. All while Noah tried to turn everything off and and grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire as much as he could. You were still working on getting a door open to get the smoke out of the inside of the plane. 

Just as you managed to kick the door open and got all three kids to lay down on the floor and stick their heads out to keep from inhaling any more smoke, along with yourself as all of you were coughing horribly from the smoke. Then Noah finally got the electrical fire under control but was inhaling a lot more smoke and started coughing up quite a bit. As you could hear him more than see him as you worried he was still standing but braced against the galley as he coughed and coughed and coughed before he fell to his hands and knees and you could see just how red the whites of his eyes were as he could hardly breathe he was coughing so hard. 

You yelled for Zane to help you drag Noah back from the cockpit since he was already on his hands and knees as the smoke gathered at the ceiling of the plane. Zane and yourself managed to crawl to Noah and then help get him to the door where he could breathe fresh air as smoke billowed out of the door of the plane as you and Zane then went to the back of the plane and got the second door open so that the interior of the plane wouldn’t fill with smoke as you got Skylar, Sakura and Zane to climb out of the plane and sit on the special pontoons which were the plane’s water landing gear before you went back to Noah who was still coughing. 

"Noah! What do I do?" You asked as you fought to keep your head and wits about you. 

"Kids!" He coughed. 

"They're outside, on the landing gear so they don't inhale any more smoke. They’re ok. What else do I do?!" You demanded worriedly, praying he hadn’t breathed in too much smoke. 

"Radio!" Noah kept coughing. 

"OK." You nodded as you went back to the cockpit but everything was fried and nothing was functional. But then, right as you heard Noah hurl from coughing so bad. Which got the kids to start getting sick before they all threw up in the water. All the kids were wailing as you got the satellite phone, since that wasn’t damaged and called Noah’s dad Ukluk.

But Ukluk was leading a group of hunters and wasn’t in his plane and therefore couldn’t hear the phone ringing. So you put the phone next to Noah and got the rest of the emergency bags down as the last of the smoke finally left the plane before you noticed the plane was starting to sink towards the other set of pontoons since the other side’s pontoons had been punctured and were now taking in water causing the plane to tilt in the opposite direction which made the kids all scream as they clung to the other pontoon and landing gear so they wouldn’t fall into the water as the pontoon suddenly raised out of the water.

Thankfully there wasn’t any cargo in the plane itself to shift, other than you. But since you were barefoot, ignoring the burns on your feet and the plane leaning to the other side forced to you to body slam into the other side of the plane as things in the cupboards fell out and fell on you as you yelled in pain and started cussing. But you still managed to climb your way to the kids and helped them climb up and get back into the plane’s fuselage and got all of them to at least get their emergency packs out and set aside the parachutes since they didn’t need those. Noah was using the phone and called every number he could think of before he got in touch with Tim Baker, who was a semi retired pilot as you did your best to hush and calm the kids so that Noah could talk on the phone. 

“Where do you think you are?” Tim asked as Noah did his best to try to remember exactly where he had touched down at as Tim promised to get in touch with Noah’s family and the other pilots to come and help before Noah managed to get over to you. 

“Ok, who’s hurt?” Noah asked as he took his first aid kit that had already fallen from the cupboard and landed near you. 

“Mom.” All the kids answered. 

“Where?” Noah asked you. 

“I burnt the bottoms of my feet from the fire. It melted my shoes and singed my socks.” You answered as Noah got some burn cream out as all the kids did their best to put the cream on your feet and bandage them up, Zane having the most experience with foot injuries as he took the lead in bandaging your feet. 

“You’re really good at this.” Noah noted. 

“I’m in ballet, where dancers routinely injure their feet on purpose. Of course I’m good at it. I’ve had lots of practice on myself and the other dancers.” Zane cracked a grin through his tears but happily accepted the pat on the back from Noah all the same as he carefully bandaged your feet.

“Ok, who else is hurt?” Noah asked. 

“You are, you inhaled the most smoke. There’s an inhaler in my first aid kit as well as all the kids, that will help with that.” You answered as Zane went through his own first aid kit and handed Noah the inhaler as Noah happily took it and took a few puffs from it which helped to alleviate some of it. 

“Who else?” You asked as you looked to the kids.

“My tummy hurts.” Sakura whined as she nuzzled into your side tightly. 

“Well you threw up. First, get in your bag and change out of all the clothes that all the puke got on.” You suggested before all the kids got their packs and went to the back of the tilted plane and used the cold room to get changed before they came back, changed and now wearing their coats and warmer clothes from their packs. While they had been gone, you peeled off your own clothes that had gotten the kids’ puke on them. Noah helped you get changed into clean clothes yourself before Noah got your own coats from your own packs and put them on now that the doors were open and the chill in the air was making the whole plane cold. 

“Are you sure you’re ok otherwise?” Noah asked worriedly. 

“Yeah, my feet will heal. What I’m worried about is your lungs, are you ok otherwise?” You asked him worriedly. 

“Yeah, I’m just so sorry this happened in the first place. I knew I should have replaced all the wiring last year and not just the worst of it. Now I have to replace all the wiring and all the electronics if the plane is even salvageable.” Noah lamented as he sat down next to you and held his head in his hands. 

“Guys I am so sorry this happened. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was one of the worst case scenarios. The last thing I wanted was to give you guys another traumatic experience. I wanted you guys to trust me not to hurt you guys or allow you guys to get hurt, and I failed and I’m so sorry.” Noah apologized profusely to you and your kids through his own tears before Noah was surprised when all of you formed one big family hug. 

“It’s ok Dad, accidents happen. You at least did your best to prepare us. And at least we knew what to do. And at least we had our emergency packs and parachutes even though we didn’t need the parachutes. We’re just happy you’re not hurt any worse than you are. You saved us by having us land in the water instead of in the trees which would have ripped the plane to shreds with us in it. And seeing as how it’s just half of one of the pontoon's that’s flooded, that means that we’re not sinking completely. It’s salvageable. And while I know you were really looking forward to remodeling the houses, the plane takes priority. And if it’s not salvageable, we can get a new plane. I don’t know if you know this but mom is loaded, and she can buy you a fleet of planes if you let her.” Skylar soothed as she wiped the tears from his eyes and clung to one side of him as Sakura was in the other which made all of you start laughing despite the circumstances. 

“Yeah, but your mom shouldn’t have to pay for my mistakes or shortcomings.” Noah gently argued. 

“Hey, we’re a family now. We stick together and take care of each other and when one of us falls, the rest of us pick them up. This time it’s your turn, who knows who will get the next one.” Zane offered. “But not it!” 

“Not it!” The rest of you echoed which got another round of laughter. Which got Noah to stop crying and the fact that he was crying, spoke volumes about how sensitive and kind hearted he was which your kids adored seeing.

"Hey, what doesn't kill you, gives you a dark sense of humor and potentially self destructive coping mechanisms." Skylar teased which got some more soft chuckles from everyone.  

“Noah, I know this plane is like another baby to you. However, in the big picture, it’s just a plane. Planes are replaceable, you, me and the kids are not. And from where I’m sitting, we’re ok. Sure we are going to need a lot more therapy because surviving a plane crash is traumatic. At least we were prepared. At least we all had emergency kits and medical kits in those emergency kits. At least none of us broke a limb, or worse, or got a concussion or died. We are all alive and besides some cuts, bruises and burns, and some smoke inhalation, we’ll be ok. You were able to contact at least someone. That means help is on the way." You comforted Noah.

"It’s like being stranded on the highway with a broken down car, but bigger and more complicated because it’s a plane, on a lake, in the middle of nowhere. But it could be so much worse. I’m grateful it’s not worse. I think if we can weather this just like we weathered the storms at sea, we’ll be ok. We have each other, and we have enough food and water to last us at least five to seven days, if not ten. I doubt it’ll take three to five days for someone to find us and rescue us. In fact I would guess it’ll be more like three to five hours, probably several hours at the most. And then we’ll all be safe back at home.” You reminded him as you got into your own pack and pulled out boots and gingerly put on socks and then put on boots over your burned, and bandaged feet to protect them.  

“What’s this in your pocket dad?” Skylar asked as something was bulging from his pocket. 

“That’s your mom’s engagement ring. Once we landed, I was going to propose to her but now…” Noah began, feeling like now was the worst time to do such a thing. 

“Well now is a good as time as any Dad. If we just survived horrible storms on the cruise ship and a plane crash, do it now before anything else can happen.” Zane encouraged him with a laugh that got all of you to laugh. 

“Are you sure? I feel like right now is the worst possible…” 

“Do it! Do it! Do it!” All three kids chanted. 

“It’s the best time. For the love of all the gods, just propose to me before anything else happens.” You encouraged him with a laugh before Skylar and Sakura got off as the girls kneeled at his feet before Noah knelt next to you. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t do this before everything went to shit today. But would you marry me Zara?” Noah asked as he fished the engagement ring box out of his pocket and presented it to you. 

“Yes I will.” You happily agreed as you gave him your left hand so he could slip the engagement ring onto your finger. Then you kissed him and giggled when your kids all ‘awwed’ in response. 

“I love you.” You urged him. 

“I love you too, and I love you, and I love you, and I love you.” Noah said as he went around to all the kids and hugged them, giving Sakura and Skylar fatherly, affectionate kisses on the cheeks as Zane and his sisters giggled and laughed and hugged him back. 

“We’re a family, families stick together and work together.” Skylar insisted brightly. 

“So how do we work together- to get out of this?” Zane asked Noah, without a hint of judgement, but rather resolve and determination which was immediately mirrored in the girls and yourself. 

“Well the smoke is out of the plane. And we still have some light left. Let’s see what we can do. Maybe by a miracle, we can pin point at least what wires need fixing and hopefully not all the electronics are fried. At least we’ll start to know how big of a problem we’re looking at.” Noah answered. 

“Ok kids, you heard Dad. Put on your gloves guys, just in case it’s still hot, we don’t want your hands getting burned. And then you should put on your head lamps and let’s light the lanterns so we can see what we’re doing better in here. Just in case the light fades before we’re rescued.” You suggested before you got out a notepad and a pen and handed them to Noah before he got up and went and got his onboard tool kits and opened them up.

And thanks to Skylar’s smaller size and more aptitude and skill with tools, she was able to get in the foot well and use the screwdrivers and such to unscrew the metal panels and get them out of the way with the help of her forehead light to light up what she was looking at. And her own smaller sized work gloves to keep her hands safe meant she could literally grab screws and panels with ease.. 

“You know, I never thought the last few years on my grandpa’s construction sites, my uncle’s construction sites and my other uncle’s mechanic shops would be paying off in an airplane cockpit in the Arctic Tundra.” Skylar practically giggled as she happily unscrewed everything she could find and was yanking things out with her work gloved hands and handed it back to Noah who was putting the burned wire into a trash bag which got everyone to laugh again while Sakura stayed with you, cuddled and huddled with you under a blanket to keep you warm and safe. 

“And who would have thought Zane’s ballet training would do the same for Mom’s injuries? Because Mom is right, a plane is just a plane, all of you are irreplaceable. Especially Mom who pushed through her own pain to make sure all of us were safe and out of danger. Because Zane knew exactly what and how to heal Mom’s feet.” Noah praised which got Zane and yourself to both smile proudly and blush bashfully at the praise.  

“Thanks Dad.” Zane offered as you were in a similar state, seated by the tool kits and pulling out all the different tools needed as Noah was orchestrating the efforts before the satellite phone rang and it was Noah’s dad Ukluk. 

“Hey Dad,” Noah answered as he grabbed the now barred corroded wires with his own gloved hands and once a trashbag was full, handed it off to Zane to put in the back of the plane and get a new trashbag from the roll. 

“Are you ok? I heard the plane caught fire and you crashed.” Ukluk asked as he hastily was packing up his own little plane with supplies as the rest of the family was near frantic at the news. 

“Yeah, we’re all ok. The wiring in the copilot seat failed, corroded and caught fire. It burned the bottom of Zara’s feet. But she got out of the cockpit before it burned her feet off and got all the kids out of harm’s way and kicked the doors open to let the smoke out. And after I used the fire extinguisher, she and Zane pulled me out of the cockpit and at an open door so I didn’t inhale too much smoke. We’re banged up a bit, and the left pontoon got punctured on some trees and is taking on a little bit of water so we’re sitting on…” Noah said as he estimated about where he was and what his last heading had been before the instruments had gone haywire before the crash.  

“...but thank the gods Zara likes to be prepared. All of us had our go emergency preparedness go bags and first aid kits and all kinds of things. Zane patched Zara up. Skylar is in the cockpit tearing this apart like a beast. And Sakura is keeping Zara warm. It’s a testament to how good of a mom she is and how great the kids are because after the initial scare of the crash, we’re all tackling this thing together.” Noah praised to his dad with a proud smile. 

“Oh thank the gods.” Ukluk breathed in relief as did everyone else who stopped to overhear the conversation. 

True to your own prediction it only took a few more hours before Ukluk and Nago both flew their own personal planes to the lake and landed and taxied over to you before they got out their inflatable rafts and went over to where you were. 

“Ok, who is hurt the worst?” Ukluk asked. 

“Zara.” Noah answered. 

“Noah.” You answered at the same time. 

“I burned my feet, but he inhaled a bunch of smoke from the fire.” You clarified as you continued to hand off tools to Noah who then handed them to Skylar who was still knee deep in plane parts. And despite the crash, was loving every minute of pulling this plane apart. She estimated that she would have even more fun putting it back together, once they somehow got the plane back home. Wherever and whenever that would be.  

“But does anyone need to go to the hospital?” Ukluk asked. 

“Nah, I’m good.” You shook your head no. 

“Noah?” You asked as he shook his head no. 

“Nope, I’m good. That inhaler did the trick, I’ve used it a few times and after coughing up a punch of sludge, my lungs feel fine. I’m good. Embarrassed by the catastrophic failure and mentally kicking my ass for not replacing all the wiring instead of just the pilot’s side of wiring when I had the chance.” Noah confessed with an embarrassed flush to his cheeks. 

“Well, hindsight is 20/20 and poverty charges interest.” Zane noted as he sat next to Noah, helping him bag up burned up wiring and other components while also handing off tools from you to Noah to Skylar as she needed them. And then taking the burnt wiring from Skylar to Noah to inspect and then bag up again.

“How do you mean?” Nago asked Zane. 

“Well, if you don’t have the money to go to the doctor to get a cough looked at, or take a sick day when you have a cold or the flu. You’ll have no choice but to be down and down for a long time when you have to be admitted to the hospital for when the flu turns into pneumonia. Or if you don’t have money to go to the dentist to get a cavity filled when you notice a little sensitivity, well it’s going to be a lot more expensive when the whole tooth gets lost. And you’ll need a crown and a root canal later. Not having the money to take care of little problems in the present- just because they aren’t dire urgent needs in the present. It leads to problems being ignored until they do turn into dire urgent needs and by that point they’re so bad that they always end up costing you way more later than not spending any money on them in the present. Because by the time you get to it later, the problem is always much bigger and much worse, thus it charges interest. And at rates that check advance places would be ashamed of.” Zane explained. 

“We’ve all seen it. For me, I’ve seen it when a small leak leads to whole sections of pipes bursting when it freezes in the winter. When a slow drain leads to a massive clog and the whole plumbing system backs up into the house. When a small termite problem is actually gigantic and the only thing holding the floor up is a three floor joists that are only partially compromised and the subfloor. Or that dark spot under linoleum is actually hiding a gigantic black mold spot that is eating it’s way underneath an entire bathroom floor. And the mold eats the subfloor. so now the whole bathroom has to be replaced. Or not clearing out your dryer vents regularly and the build up of lint in the vent catches the house on fire.” Skylar continued to give examples. 

"I've seen it in clients who have no health insurance, or who ignore an ache or a strain in in a muscle, and then the muscle tendon tears and they have to have surgery. Or diabetics, not watching their insulin or diet, and then lose a foot or so much more. Or not fully resting after an injury because they need to go back to work to earn money and they end up re-injuring themselves and doing it so much worse than initially." You supplied.

“Noah, the way you described it to me when we talked about it, was you had a choice. Your choice was to replace all the wiring or just the pilot’s side and feed yourself and Sakura for the winter. But that you couldn’t afford to do both. For any parent, that’s a no brainer decision.” You comforted Noah. 

“And I thought that I would have this winter in the Great Lakes to fix it before it did this to me. But I figured and guessed wrong.” Noah confessed. 

“So now we just need to figure out how bad this problem is. See if the plane is salvageable. And if it is, great, we’ll figure it out. If not, it sucks but last I checked planes are replaceable, even as special and sentimental as this plane is to you. But people are not. And when we get back to civilization, we can go plane shopping if we want to or need to. And then we can all get some good ol’ fashioned therapy for surviving a plane crash. Which as awful as it was, could have been a lot worse. I’m just grateful it’s not worse. We are all walking away from this wreck.” You added with a reassuring smile to Noah. 

“Granted, I will be doing so very gingerly, but I’ll be walking away just the same.” You teased which got everyone to laugh. 

“My guess is because he was switching the controls from pilot’s side to copilot’s side so we could all have opportunities to fly the plane for a few minutes in the air- is what taxed the already delicate wiring. But, woulda, coulda, shoulda.” Skylar noted with a shrug as she pulled out more and more things that she saw were damaged before she found the piece that started the blaze in the first place. 

“Ok Dad, I think this is what caused it. All the flames and burnt things are all centered around this.” Skylar said as she unscrewed it and untangled it and heaved it up and handed it to Noah. 

“And that would be the…” Noah rattled off exactly what it was with a heavy sigh.

“And you’re exactly right Sky. Because this is basically the switch to give the control of the plane from the left to the right.” Noah praised as Skylar and everyone else nodded in understanding.  

“Yeah, you kind of need one of those to fly the plane Noah.” Nago lightly teased his older brother. 

“Yeah,” Noah sighed as he looked it over. 

“So do you want me to pull everything around it out too since it’s all damaged and burnt to hell?” Skylar asked. 

“Yes please. Get everything that you can reach and safely lift- that’s burned and damaged- out.” Noah said as he wrote down what the piece was and then continued to list off all the pieces that he would need to replace what had been damaged by the fire and stuff.

Skylar, rather gleefully began unscrewing everything and in quick order, had gotten everything else that even had a hint of fire damage- out which impressed Nago and Ukluk very much that she was a natural. 

“Ok, I got everything that looked burnt or damaged- out.” Skylar announced as she handed back the last of the melted wires and burnt pieces to Noah for inspection before Noah took notes of what it used to be and then put it in the bag that Zane was holding before he handed you back all of the tools to put away. 

“So? What’s the damage?” You asked Noah before Noah rattled off what had been burned and what would need to be replaced and what it would take to get the plane just functional enough to fly it out of there and fly it to the closest hanger and did some quick math and the answer was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

“And how much is the plane worth?” You asked. 

“Much less.” Noah admitted. 

“And how much would a plane this size cost brand new?” You asked him. 

“About a few to several hundred thousand dollars more than all the cost of repairing it.” Noah answered honestly. 

“Ok, so how much is this plane worth to you? What is it’s sentimental value? Because you and I both know that certain sentimental things have value that can’t necessarily be quantified by a dollar amount. So is it worth it to you, to try to fix it? Or would it be better for you to try to get this thing to a junkyard? Because I doubt you can leave it here because it’s a risk to the pristine environment. Would you rather turn it into your insurance and collect any insurance you have on the plane?” You questioned as Noah thought it over but didn’t give you an answer because honestly, he had the bare minimum as far as insurance went.

“Tell you what, let’s sleep on it. It’s been a long day, hell a long and hard week. Let’s just get out of here, get home, sleep on it, try to price out our options and see where we are then. And if we have to get you a new plane to at least try to finish out the season for your customers, we will. We made it this far and we’ve gotten through this much, and we agreed that we’re in this together. So let’s figure it out together and get through it together.” You encouraged as you could see Noah was still in a state of being overwhelmed by how much it was going to be to fix his plane. 

“Good idea.” Noah nodded in agreement as your family did rock paper scissors to see how you all were going to be split up between Nago’s plane Ukluk’s plane to fly it back home. Which cracked Nago and Ukluk up. Then Ukluck and Nago got you and your kid’s to their planes then helped Noah lock up his plane before they injected styrofoam into the partially sunk pontoon so the plane wouldn’t sink into the water until they could come back to it later. 

“You got one hell of a good woman and mother.” Nago praised his big brother in the boat as Nago, Noah and Ukluk were in the same inflatable boat going around the plane and noting what damages the exterior of the plane sustained.  

“Thanks,” Noah smiled appreciatively despite the circumstances. 

“Like even if she didn’t have a penny to her name. The fact that she handled that so well. And the fact that her kids were right there helping and understanding the situation without judgment. And instead of crying in a corner, they were right there willing to help and work together and solve a problem. That, in all fairness, shouldn’t have been their problem to solve. But because you all are just one cohesive unit, meant that one’s problems could be helped and solved by everyone pitching in. It sings the highest praises about Zara as a woman and a mother and a lot about her kids. The fact that they knew that shit happens, and that ‘poverty charges interest’. Which is one hell of a lesson and a principle. They all gave multiple examples of it too- it says that they’re really great kids too and have already learned so many life lessons, even for as young as they are. I think you’re going to be just fine Noah. With a woman like that by your side and kids like that in your family, you can’t go wrong.” Ukluk consoled his son.

“Thank you. Please tell Zara that too. I got really lucky. Even in the unluckiest of circumstances. If it wasn’t for Zara's boderline obsession with always being prepared for worst case scenerios. And having those emergency disaster preparedness packs for each and every single one of us. We would have been screwed. If wasn't for Zane’s ballet history and working with feet professionally, he knew exactly how to heal and patch up his mom’s feet and help heal her best. And he kept very calm and he kept the girls safe. Because the moment there was smoke, he was grabbing both of them and getting their packs and on towards the back of the plane where it was safest. And because he was calm the girls were calm. Sakura thankfully listened and obeyed Zane and was trying to get Zara and me to safety too. Skylar, I feel like she was born with a screwdriver in one hand and a hammer in the other. She was amazing in that cockpit tearing stuff out. And even though she’s never seen, much less worked on a plane’s systems- because of her uncle being a mechanic, she still figured stuff out on the fly. literally and figuratively. And because of her small size and nimble fingers, even in thick work gloves and the only light coming from her own head lamp, she did more work in just a few hours than most could in a day or two.” Noah readily admitted, rather proudly. 

“Well, tonight, just rest. You’ve done more than enough work for today, we can pick it back up later.” Ukluk suggested before they got into their planes, deflated their inflatable rafts and then loaded up and flew home. Ukluk made a point to repeat his previous praise to you as he flew you and Noah back while Nago got all the kids, which you really, deeply appreciated. 

Once you got back home, Noah helped you get in the house since you had to walk on your heels since your toes were very tender to walk on since they were already blistering from the burns. Then Noah made a very late dinner as the kids pitched in and helped make it with him as you sat on the couch with your feet propped up by pillows. Once dinner was done, all of you went to bed, tired and exhausted.

Noah had to carry you up the stairs, which you didn’t mind one bit. Despite your aches and pains and cuts, scrapes and bruises. All of you were just happy that all of you made it back safe and as sound as possible. And that none of you were hurt worse than you already were. Then all five of you got into your bed with Noah and yourself so that you could all cuddle together. Just like you had done on the cruise ship as the kids slept in the middle while you and Noah happily framed your little family in as you reached across your children to hold each other’s hand. 

“We have one hell of a family.” You praised to Noah tiredly as Sakura was cuddled up with your chest and used your arm as her pillow. And Zane was spooning Sakura while Skylar was nestled into Noah’s chest and sleeping so happily and contentedly in her Daddy’s arms. 

“Yeah we do. Goodnight Babe. I love you.” Noah murmured tiredly. 

“Love you too. Goodnight Love.” You cooed sleepily back before Noah and yourself fell asleep too.

[argylemnwrites]

Sliding In

Pairing: Logan x MC (Ellie Whitnall) - referenced

Book: Ride or Die (~27 years later)

Word Count: ~1200

Rating: PG

Summary: An innocent question prompts some reflection

Author’s Note: Written for @rodappreciationweek Day 1 - Logan. It’s kind of more of a teaser for my upcoming MC piece than anything, but I figured it might be a fun contribution to the Time Capsule Challenge! And yes, this is my same MC from my RODAW Colt x MC pieces from last year. My ROD MC was with Logan until the “it was all planned” reveal, which pushed her to fully embrace her connection/attraction to Colt. This is set about 14 years after the end of those stories as a point of reference.

“Dad, when was the last time you went on a date?”

Logan glanced up from the email he was reading, caught off guard by his daughter’s question. “What?”

“When did you last go on a date?” Lily persisted from across the table, her algebra homework scattered in front of her.

“Why are you asking, Ladybug?”

Lily rolled her eyes at the nickname, one she used to smile widely at when she was little, clinging to Logan’s arm. But now that she was officially a teenager, she was way too mature for it, or so she said. “Just curious. Like, when we’re at Mom and Amy’s, do you go out?”

“Sometimes. Last weekend I went to a Rangers game with some guys from work.”

“That’s not what I meant. Do you go out go out?”

“Don’t you have homework that needs your attention?”

Lily shook her head, adjusting her glasses just slightly. “It’s not due until Thursday. Why won’t you answer my question?”

“Because I’m the dad, and it’s none of your business.”

“Uhh, I’m not little like Landon! It’s not fair for you to blow me off like that!”

“Lily, come on. There is no way you care that much about my social life. So what actually brought on this line of questioning?”

Lily bit her lip and twisted her pencil through her fingers before she asked, “Did you hear that Dani’s parents are getting a divorce?”

Logan resisted the urge to laugh. His daughter was about to try to set him up with her best friend’s mother. This was going to be interesting.

“Yes, your mother told me.”

“Right… well, Dani’s mom is nice, isn’t she?”

“Uh huh,” Logan glanced back at his laptop, pretending to read over the agenda for the meeting tomorrow he had open.

“Dad, stop it! You know what I mean!”

“I do, Lily. But sorry, I don’t do set ups.”

“Ugggh,” she groaned out with a sigh as rolled her shoulders. “Why not?”

“Let’s just say the last time I was set up with someone, it ended pretty badly.”

Lily seemed to accept his answer, though not without a massive sigh and another eye roll, but her topic of conversation stuck with him all night long. Past tucking in Landon and calling out for Lily to get off her phone and go to sleep.

Sitting in bed, he pulled out his own phone. He hadn’t really thought about her in years. And while every so often she would drift across his mind, it had been almost two decades since he last saw her. But even though Kaneko’s instructions to pursue Ellie Whitnall hadn’t exactly been a traditional set up, it was close enough that he was thinking about her now.

He hadn’t kept track of her after they all split up. Not that he hadn’t wanted to. But she needed space, from the whole Mercy Park Crew really, but from him in particular. He’d hurt her, violated her trust, broken what they had. She deserved a wonderful life where she could succeed and thrive without a bunch of wanted criminals holding her back. He’d known if he knew where she was and what she was up to, it would have been too hard to stay away. He would have been behind the wheel in an instant, drawn back to her side.

So back when they’d all gone their separate ways, he’d made the choice to let her be. He resisted the urge to check in, to see where she was, how she was doing. At first, it felt nearly impossible. But as time marched on, the desire to search for her, either digitally or in person, faded into something more manageable. Cold, lonely nights eventually shifted into a new life and existence as he moved from Detroit down to Dallas. He got his GED and got hired on the design team at Toyota. He met Lucy, got married, had two children. His life filled with new joys, ones he never could have dared to dream of. Thoughts of Ellie shifted from a deep pang to a fleeting nostalgic glow. Not for the life he lived back when he knew her, and certainly not for the role he played in the destruction of their relationship, but for the way his first love shaped him. For the hope and compassion she’d introduced to his life, without which, there was no way he would be where he was today.

He wondered, for the first time in quite some time, what she was up to. How she was doing. He hoped she was at least as happy as he was. She deserved that much. Hell, she deserved much more than that. He was divorced, trying to figure out the coparenting thing with his ex and her girlfriend. It had taken him a long time to find steady work. While all of those struggles were manageable, particularly compared to his teenage years, they still weren’t ideal. And if anyone should have an ideal life, it was her.

He wasn’t sure why he did it, why he started to search “Ellie Whitnall” tonight of all nights. He had no idea if she was still in LA or even if Whitnall was still her last name. She could easily be married at this point, although searches for “Ellie Kaneko” didn’t bring up any results. He scrolled through dozens of Ellie Whitnalls on Pictagram, trying not to imagine his daughter screeching out that only “old people” were on Pictagram anymore, glancing at faces, trying to see if any of them looked familiar. But maybe twenty or twenty-five profiles down, he stopped in his tracks.

It was her. She looked so similar. Her hair was a bit shorter, and she didn’t look like a teenager anymore, but he didn’t need the frequent location tags of Los Angeles to know it was her. She looked just like she always had in so many ways. Same thoughtful eyes. Same wide smile. Same little crinkle of her eyebrow when she laughed.

Seeing her again, even just through a screen, was how he always knew it would be. He scrolled through her posts, ravenous to see more of her, to catch any glimpses of her life that he could. She had a daughter, who looked to be a few years older than Lily, with dark brown hair and Ellie’s nose. She seemed to have a close group of friends, as she posted numerous photos of her with the same six women. She didn’t seem to have a partner, though. And there was no ring on her finger.

He had no excuse for what he did next, nothing to blame it on other than seeing her again tripped something inside him. It wasn’t exactly regret or hope or expectation. More a curiosity than anything. After all, he’d always been drawn to her quiet intensity. But for whatever reason, he swiped, pulling up the option to send her a DM.

Hey Troublemaker. It’s been a while

Perma: @mom2000aggie @octobereighth @kingliam2019 @lovingchoices14

ROD: @burnsoslow @mskaneko @iplaydrake @louvregirl

Logan x MC: @ridemelikeiamyourdevoregt​

[swiftiesimonriley]

hurts like heaven (divorced! frankie x lawyer! reader)

divorced! frankie x lawyer! reader, silver linings playbook! au

rating: teen (I guess), no explicit content except for drug use

warnings: depictions and descriptions of drug use (if this makes you uncomfortable you may want to skip this one), mentions of divorce and custody battles, mention of time spent in an inpatient behavioral health setting

word count: 3.9k (WHOOPS i got excited)

a/n: I am so excited for my first frankie oneshot!! thank you so much to @hailmary-yramliah​ for this request, I hope you like it!! here is my masterlist, and if you have any requests you can send me an ask! also credit to @hunterschafer​ for the beautiful frankie gif!!

"Mr. Morales, after a thorough review of the details of this case, including but not limited to testimonies of your close friends and NA sponsor, revision of your record, and speaking with the judge who oversaw the suspension of your pilot's license, I have come to the conclusion that you are currently unfit to have full custody of your daughter. I am hereby granting full custody of Eleanor Luciana Morales to her biological mother."

The minute Francisco Morales hears the words of the family court judge before him ruling in favor of his now ex-wife, he nearly passes out.

The former Delta Force soldier vaguely heard the protests of Pope, who is the only person sitting within the rows of seats on the side of the courtroom where he currently resides. He doesn't register his lawyer uttering a half-assed apology or even the cheers from his ex-wife and her family on the other side of the room.

All he hears is white noise as the judge bangs the gavel to settle the room, explaining that Ava now will have primary and sole custody and that Frankie will only be allowed supervised visits with a social worker, and that Ava can take her daughter home today.

Their daughter.

Frankie knows he isn't perfect - fuck, he is far from it but this just seems like a sick joke.

As soon as his license was officially stripped from him, he knew his marriage was over. The tension had started almost a year earlier when Ava suspected Frankie of using, to which he vehemently denied.

Of course, it was true, but how was he supposed to explain and admit to the love of his life that he needed the cocaine flowing through his body in order to feel anything anymore.

Things began to crumble soon after the initial suspicion by Ava. 

The best way Frankie thought to deal with this problem was to put some space between himself and his wife. He didn't want her to see him when he was strung out and begging for one last hit - God forbid his daughter see him like that.

In a way, Frankie was grateful that Ellie was still an infant, and that she would have no memory of the fights he had with her mother over his addiction.

He began staying out late at bars and other places downtown where he knew he could meet his dealer and get more of his fix, trying to keep it as far away from his home as possible. 

After a few drinks and a successful meeting with his dealer, he would make his way home where he eventually came down, the immediate rush of guilt and sorrow filling his heart as he would return home and see the bedroom door was locked, indicating he had to crash on the couch.

It was when he stepped through the threshold of his small cottage that he felt the shame bubble up from deep inside him, knowing that he couldn't just snuggle up next to his wife and pretend things were fine, or even cradle his daughter in his arms and rock her to sleep, as on these nights Ava made sure to keep Ellie in the bedroom with her. 

Those were the nights that haunted him the most.

Breaking Ava's heart was something long in the past - and he knew she wouldn't be able to just forgive him for what he put her through. She was always the one to give people the benefit of the doubt - something he used to tease her about but now feels scorned by. She was the one who stood by him when he admitted he had a problem - giving him support and resources for healing all while lending a helping hand. 

She knew he wouldn't try to harm their relationship on purpose.

But when his use began to impede more on their relationship, Ava put her foot down. She was getting tired of the cycle of hurt that came with each band of withdrawal and promises of this being the "last" time, only to see her husband relapse again and again. She tried her hardest to continue supporting him, her high school sweetheart, but she had reached her limit. She started spending more time with her parents, leaving Ellie in their care for most days so she didn't have to see her father stumble through the door after a night out. 

Two weeks later she served him with the divorce papers.

Frankie knows that he fucked up, be he never meant to harm Ava or Ellie along the way, especially his baby daughter, whose brown eyes were almost carbon copies of his own. He can't even stomach the idea of Eleanor growing up without her father in her life - she is his whole world, and since the day she was born he promised her that he would always be there for her.

But now, his heart aches knowing he is going home to a semi-furnished one-bedroom apartment, no wife or daughter waiting up for him like when he returned from missions or deployment.

Francisco Morales was not one to take the easy way out.

He clutches his patient belongings bag tighly in his right hand as he walks out of the lobby of the inpatient rehabilitation center, scanning the outside pickup area for a familiar truck. After looking around for a moment a truck horn beep startles him, turning to see a familiar mop of black hair peeking out of his truck.

Chuckling to himself, Frankie jogs over to the passenger side and hops in, feeling Pope immediately wrap him tightly in a hug. "I missed you Cat," he murmurs into the pilot's shoulder, giving him a comforting pat on the back before releasing the brown-haired man from his arms.

"I missed you too Santi," Frankie sighs, placing his bag down on the floor at his feet, "I don't know how much longer I could stay there without seeing a familiar face."

Santi lets out a low laugh as he starts up the truck and pulls out of the patient drop-off area before turning onto the main road. The two sit in silence for a few moments as Frankie stretches out his limbs, turning his head to look out the window as they drive down through the city.

The black haired man knows better than to pry and quiz the pilot about his 2 month stay at the local inpatient rehabilitation center. After the fallout of the trial, things got rough really fast. Santi knew deep down there was a chance of relapse, even with Frankie left the courtroom promising that this would never happen again - but it was all too much.

At 3:11 am Santi got a call from Frankie.

By 6:30 the pair were at the very same doors that Frankie had just emerged, with Santi comfortingly rubbing his hand up and down the brunette's back and they waited to check him in and head over to intake.

But Santi doesn't pry.

He just drums a tune on the steering wheel as he continues driving down the main stretch of road in the city. He watches out of the corner of his eye as they get to a red light as Frankie fixes his hair, running his fingers through the brown fringe across his forehead and he lets out a chuckle.

"What's so funny Pope? I don't wanna look like I'm fresh out of the hospital." He huffs, looking over his hair again before closing the mirror.

To say Frankie was nervous was an understatement. He had been out of the hospital for less than ten minutes and he was already on his way to meet a new lawyer. His new lawyer.

The previous week Frankie received a call from Santi during his afternoon rec time. At first he couldn't make out what the other man was saying, he remembers huffing out something the lines of "are you fucking drunk?" but made sure to keep quiet as he knew some people in the rec area didn't take too kindly to brash language.

He then remembers the hearty chuckle on the other end. "No I'm not fucking drunk 'fish, I'm excited! I just ran into one of my old college buddies-"

"Do you mean fuck buddies?" Frankie teases, letting out a quiet laugh as he hears a scoff on the other end of the line.

"No you idiot! I didn't sleep with every girl I knew back then, I know it's hard to believe," Frankie lets out a loud laugh, "I ran into an old friend of mine who went to law school, and let's just say she owes me a favor and she agreed to take on your case! Fish? Frankie?"

The pilot drops the phone as soon as the words are processed.

He has another chance. Another chance to see Ava and his baby girl. A chance to get them both back into his life for good this time, now that he has detoxed and spent his time working on his coping strategies.

They could be back in his arms once again.

"Mr. Morales? Mr. Garcia? She's ready for you."

"It's go time." Santi nods, standing up out of his seat and motioning for the pilot to follow him.

The pair make their way down the white and bright hallways of the law offices, walking past several cubicles full of lawyers and other workers chatting away before coming to an office with a glass door at the end of the hallway.

Frankie nervously plays with his fingers as Santi knocks on the door, hearing a soft "come in" from the otherside.

He follows the black haired man into the office and freezes in his tracks when he sees you get up from your desk and rush to pull Santi into a hug. He tries to keep his eyes from widening like a cartoon character but he can't help it - Santi didn't mention how gorgeous you are.

He listens to you both talk for a few moments before you reach your hand out and introduce yourself, a light smile playing at your lips. Frankie nods and takes your smaller hand in his before watching you go back to your desk. You open your laptop and pull out the file your assistant gathered on the details of the previous case.

"Mr. Mora-"

"You can call me Frankie," the pilot interjects, his cheeks turning red as you nod and take a mental note of that. "Frankie, do you want to start off at the start of your story for me? I always find it more beneficial to ask from the client's perspective about the details of the case, it makes a stronger case," you say, picking up a pen and looking at the brunette sitting across from you.

Frankie lets out a small cough and takes a soft breath in before laying his cards out on the table.

Santi stays quiet in the seat next to him, nodding along at the details of the story and offering a comforting hand on the back as one of his closest friends speaks about some of the darkest points in his life with you as if you have known him as long as you have known him.

It takes about 45 minutes of Frankie's explanations and your questioning to get all of the information you need for the initial meeting, making notes of the progress the pilot has made within the inpatient treatment center as well as Santi's testimony. You put your files away in the folder on your desk and stand up, making your way over to the two soldiers and giving them each a handshake, telling them both that you feel extremely confident in this case, and that you can't wait to help Frankie get his family back.

You can't miss the way he breaks out into a grin, probably one of the first genuine ones in a while, and you see Santi nod his head approvingly at you before giving you a quick "thanks" as the two begin to stand up and walk towards your door. 

Before they leave you quickly call out to Frankie, who turns around quickly and his chocolate brown eyes lock with yours.

"What's your daughter's name?" You ask softly, watching as his posture relaxes at the mention of his pride and joy. He reaches into one of his back pockets of his jeans and pulls out a small photo from his wallet and hands it to you.

You look over the tiny photo - it must have been from the day she was born. Her big brown eyes are the same as her father's, a small smile on her face.

"Her name is Eleanor, Eleanor Luciana," he smiles, a small tear welling up in the corner of his right eye.

A smile plays at your lips as you see the absolute adoration in his eyes as he talks about her.

You know you have to win this case.

You spend the next 3 months prepping for the case.

You know this process is not an easy one, especially for Frankie. At first, he came to your office twice a week in the afternoon right after his NA meetings, most times with Santi in tow. It was awkward at first for sure - I mean it isn't fun working with a lawyer about the bad choices he had made or the fact of the matter that he feels like a piece of him has died since he has been away from his family.

Santi helped ease the tension.

When it got hard for Frankie to talk about some of the details of his drug use, or the fights he had with Ava, Santi was there to help ease the conversation and help Frankie get through it. It helped that the two knew each other like the back of their hands, with Santi being able to crack a joke at a moment's notice and bring the pilot back down to the ground.

It was when Santi brought up old memories of your time back in college that you heard real laughter from the brunette.

They weren't your proudest memories, but the way that Frankie laughed at you and Santi's old college stories brought a smile to your face and gave you a feeling of butterflies in your stomach that you didn't want to go away. You knew deep down you shouldn't feel those butterflies, especially when dealing with a client, but something about the pilot made your heart flutter.

But the minute you would feel the butterflies, like after Frankie gave you a compliment about your outfit, you would feel the guilt wash over you in waves. Frankie was a father, a former husband who was working with you in order to win back his ex. How could you feel this way about a man who was fighting through hell to get his family back.

You were just his lawyer.

Seeing him open up each time he came into your office was something that struck you deep down, knowing that being this vulnerable is something that he doesn't take lightly. 

The two of you continue meeting twice a week after NA, with Frankie telling you about his feelings from his meeting and talking about his goals for this upcoming trial.

You continue preparing him with questions you know will be brought up by the family court judge, focusing on his plans for the future after his discharge from the inpatient center, focusing on the changes in behavior he has made of the past few months. His answers become more confident the harder you work, and you feel your heart start to swell as he talks about how excited he is to see his baby girl again.

But you also feel pain in your heart at the thought of the man before you leaving your life after this week.

It's the Friday night before the trial, a night you typically take off early on, but tonight is different.

Frankie was sitting here in your office earlier this week when he casually mentioned that he was getting his 6 month sober chip on Friday. Upon hearing this news you gasp and stand up from your desk, your feet carrying you over towards him before you could even register what you are doing - suddenly you realize that you have pulled him into your arms.

Frankie is shocked at first, a small "oof" escaping his lips as you held onto him, but he is grateful you cannot see the blush rising on his cheeks.

You quickly pull yourself back and subconsciously smoothing out your light green work pants before taking a step back. "I'm so proud of you 'Cat, that's so amazing!" You smile, brushing a piece of hair back behind your ear.

The pilot nods, a small smile playing at his lips.

"How about you come here on friday. You, me and Santi can have some pizza and a beer to celebrate," you suggest, watching as Frankie furrows his brow before letting out a chuckle.

"You don't ask all of your clients to have a pizza party in your office after hours do you?" He laughs, taking his hat off and fixing his brown locks before sliding it back on his head.

"I can't say that I do, but this is what Santi and I would do back in the day to celebrate, so why not celebrate this achievement before we get in the courtroom." 

You chuckle, remembering the days spent in the shitty apartment Santi had off campus. "Alright I'm in." Frankie smiles, "I'll bring the beers."

That night the three of you sit on the floor of your office like kids and chuckle at old stories, both from college and from the boy's times spent overseas. You watch as Frankie laughs at something Santi says and you feel the pain in your heart return, knowing that in a few short days your client would be back to his old life, and you would be stuck here back in the real world at your job. You know it's wrong, but these past months have been different than any other case you have taken on.

You know Frankie is going to be able to go back to his family after all of this - he is stronger than when this whole ordeal started and he has the support to prevent another relapse. 

Hell, you are proud of him outside of work, knowing this process wasn't easy - but the idea of this man walking out of your life brings you sadness. Knowing he won't be in your office twice a week for hours, cracking jokes and talking about nothing in particular towards the end. 

Sometimes you wonder what things would be like if you met under other circumstances. Maybe you two would have a shot - walking hand in hand at the local farmer's market, singing karaoke at the bar with Santi, Benny and Will, or even going on a flight with him.

You even opened up to him, telling him things even Santi doesn't know. But you need to remember why you are here - to win this for your client.

"Mr. Morales, after going over the details of this case, I see the dedication you have made towards your rehabilitation and future. I have talked with the treatment team at Maple Grove rehabilitation as well as your NA sponsor, and based on all of the information I have gathered is that you are fit to have custody of your daughter. You will now have shared custody of Eleanor Luciana Morales."

Before you can properly process the words of the judge, you feel two strong arms wrap around your torso and lift you in the air. You feel a blush come over your cheeks as you hear Frankie saying "thank you" over and over again as he sets you back down on the ground.

You both simultaneously pull back and hide your blushes as you thank the judge for his discretion and you faintly hear the bang of the gavel in the background as the court is dismissed.

You don't miss the way Ava storms out of the courtroom with her family and you have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes. Santi walks over to the two of you and pulls you both into a hug, rubbing a hand comfortingly up and down your back and thanking you for everything you did.

You nod as Santi pulls back and turns to his brother in arms, chatting about something you can't quite hear as you begin to pack up your white briefcase, pausing when you see a photo of Ellie on the table.

Since the beginning of the trial Frankie felt the nerves wash over him as this suddenly felt so real. You had suggested that he bring in a picture of Eleanor to place on the table so that whenever he became nervous, he could look down and see who he was doing this all for. Seeing the photo now brings tears to the corners of your eyes and you close up your briefcase - turning around to see that Santi has left the courtroom, just leaving you and Frankie.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for everything," he says softly, nervously scratching at the hair at the nape of his neck.

You nod curtly, trying to ignore the sore feeling in your throat - a telltale sign that you were about to cry.

Frankie tilts his head in confusion and walks closer, reaching out and grabbing your smaller hands in his. "I mean it - you have helped me through this whole process, and you are the reason I get to see Eleanor again, and for that I cannot thank you enough."

His words cut through you like knives - you knew this was coming. Your job is over, and it's time for him to move on.

"All in a day's work," you chuckle quietly, having to look down at your shoes to avoid letting the tears fall.

You suddenly feel softy fingers tilt your head up. Blinking through your lashes you see the pilot looking at you with only adoration in his eyes. You lock onto his chocolate orbs and nod slightly as he moves closer, softly crashing your lips against his.

You feel his strong arms wrap around your waist, pulling him flush against his chest in a soft yet comforting way. You find yourself getting lost in the moment, one of your hands tangling in his hair as he pushes a strand of hair behind your ear.

A moment later you both pull away, leaning your forehead against his as he lets out a small chuckle.

"I've been wanting to do that forever," he smiles, locking eyes with you once again, "I had to wait until I wasn't your client anymore, I didn't want to make it awkward or unethical."

You smile at his confession, brushing a piece of his brunette locks out of his eyes.

"Well now that you are no longer my client, would you like to go grab a beer?" You ask, looking at the way his eyes light up at your question.

"I would love that."

He watches as you grab your briefcase and wraps an arm around your waist as the two of you head for the courtroom doors.

He feels his heart swell in his chest knowing he not only has Eleanor back in his life, but now he has you too.

taglist: @hailmary-yramliah​ @babyprim​ @shadowolf993​ @jasterslegacy​ @collectorofexperiences​

[imherongraystairstrash]

The Broken Hearts (tsc AU) Part 1

A/N: I’m sorry if you’re tired of Ella Herondale, but I can’t get enough of her! This is about the “second wave” of TID children. Ella is NOT cannon, and I don’t think she ever will be, but I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you guys get a kick out of reading it! Also, if anyone has a better title, I’d really appreciate it, since I had no idea what to name this😂

It’s official. Ella was going to be single for life. She stared out as her parabatai Alex Lightwood danced with Matilda Fairchild. He twirled her and her skirts fanned out. Ella could see the smile on her face, that made her look so pretty. When they faced each other once more it was as though there was nobody else watching; as though the only person that mattered in the world was the one in front of them. Ella could feel it through her parabatai bond. It was incredibly annoying.

It wasn’t only Alex and Matty. Everybody in Ella’s life had someone they loved. Ella heard that, over time, adults start fighting more often or get bored with each other, and begin to drift apart, followed by a divorce. That was a load of werewolf droppings. At least, the adults in Ella’s life were sick with adoration for each other. And her parents? They were leading the army. Uncle Gabriel and Aunt Cecily still shared a mischievous and lustful glance at each other, even though they were well into their 50s. Sophie and Gideon still made doe eyes at one another. Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Henry, James and Cordelia, her parents, the whole lot of them. They were all so deep in love, they might as well have been drowning.

Except for Ella.

Ella had nobody.

The World War will end before Ella finds someone to love. And it’s been more than four years since the prospect of war wasn’t hanging over their heads.

Ella sighed and turned her attention elsewhere, only to find Jocelyn Fairchild (Matilda’s twin sister) and That Carstairs Boy dancing together. (Ella strictly referred to Cordelia’s younger brother as “That Carstairs boy” or “Carstairs boy” just to spite him and as payback for The Incident). How sad. Oh, how incredibly sad. Ella missed being in love so much. That feeling when you catch someone’s eye across the room and the rest of the world dims. The way it feels to have someone’s soft lips on your own. How it feels to be loved by someone.

Ella was still thinking about her sad and unfortunate love life when Alex walked over, pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.

“El?”

“Huh? Oh, I didn’t see you there.”

“Uh, you clearly did. I could feel your depressive gaze from a mile away.”

“I’m sorry to ruin your wonderful dance with Matilda Fairchild. I’m sorry I was staring at you because I was lonely and have nobody to dance with me other than Jonathan Dearborn.”

They both shuddered.

“By the angel, I hate him.” said Alex.

“You don’t have the right! I’m the one he keeps staring at and fawning over. It’s horrible. He’s literally staring at me right now.”

Sure enough, there was Dearborn, looking at Ella…well, at her body mostly.

Alex stood up. “I’ll make sure he never looks at anyone with those eyes again.”

“No, Alex, sit down. I don’t need your help. I can fight my own battles.”

Alex reluctantly took his seat.

“Tell me about Matty.”

“You know Matty.”

“Yes, but you are so desperately in love with her, I thought it would be adorably sweet to hear stumble over your words when you describe her.”

Alex blushed. “I’m not in love with her.”

“You’re not fooling anybody, Alex. Just twenty minutes ago, Aunt Cecily whispered ‘it’s happening!’.”

“What’s happening?”

“My words exactly and she told me, and I quote ‘The Lightwoods and the Fairchilds are finally interbreeding’. Her words, not mine.”

Alex banged his head on the table repeatedly.

“Are we killing our neurons?”

“Ew, get out of here, Carstairs Boy.” Ella said, scrunching her face as she looked at Carstairs Boy.

“Seriously? You’re still mad at me? Ellie, I said I was sorry fifty times.”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, are you implying that a simple apology can fix the damage you did?”

“You’re impossible.”

“Correction: I’m a free independent woman, who will stand up for herself against men who wish to contain me.”

Anna Lightwood was walking by just as Ella said that. She didn’t stop, only held her hand up for Ella to high five as she passed.

“You tell him, Ellie.” She said.

Carstairs Boy sank down in a chair, meanwhile Alex kept banging his head.

“Alex!” Ella said.

“What?” He said. He sounded mournful.

“Stop doing that! You are giving me a headache.”

That’s the bad thing about being parabatai: you feel what the other does. In Ellie’s case, the banging of a head against a table.

“What happened?” Carstairs Boy asked him.

“I do not want to talk about it.” mumbled Alex.

Ella looked over at Matty, who was kneeling beside Henry’s Bath chair, surrounded her aunts and uncles. She said something that made them all laugh. She caught Ella’s eye and waved, smiling widely. Ella blew her a kiss.

Ella couldn’t have chosen someone better than for Alex to love than Matilda Fairchild. She’s truly one of the sweetest people she had ever met. She is perfect for Alex. They compliment each other so well; whenever Alex was awkward (which was most of the time), Matilda was there to even things out. And whenever someone was trying to take advantage of her kindness, Alex was there to put them in their place.

“I approve.”

“Of what?” said Alex.

“Of your relationship with Matty.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Ella smiled. “You’re very welcome.”

“Uh oh,” said Carstairs Boy, “Dearborn alert.”

Ella looked up and saw Jonathan striding over to them.

“Quick Alex, stop moping and ask me to dance.”

“What?” he said, peeling his eyes away from Matty.

“Ugh, never mind you are so lovesick, you’re going to get us killed.”

“You can dance with me,” offered Carstairs Boy, “but you’re going to have to call me by my name.”

“Carstairs Boy.”

“My actual name.”

“Not happening.” said Ella. Apparently, stubbornness was an inherited trait.

“Ella, Would you do me the honor.” said a voice from behind.

Ella turned and was face to face with none other than Benjamin Penhallow.

This could not be happening.

[harryissuchalittleshit]

Reflections sounds great. I hope you do figure out how to edit it because I’d love to read it. Why does Padma leave Theo? Also, I’d lii ok ve some headcanons on the kids.

I might look into it this week and just post the whole thing on Ao3, we’ll see.

Also I have to keep some thing secret, it just makes the stories more fun!

Devansh “Devon” Theodore:

Born August 30, 2000

He pushes Padma and Theodore together

Padma moved in with Theodore when she was about halfway through her pregnancy

Devansh is a really clingy baby and Padma adores him, he is a complete Amma’s boy

Dean and Parvati are his godparents

He’s really upset when Padma and Theodore break up, he doesn’t like his parents fighting

When they get back together and he finds out about Anamika, he is so excited

He didn’t think he would get anymore younger siblings and he loves being an older brother

He’s really close to Hajari and also Anamika and Minali

They were all born before he went to Hogwarts

He’s sorted into Ravenclaw at Hogwarts and Padma is so proud

He feels a bit disjointed from his three younger siblings because he was at school when they were born, also because he’s so much older than them

He has a great relationship with his older cousin Naveen and his too younger cousins Sasha (same age as Hajari) and Anika (three years younger than Hajari)

The five of them get along really well and make time to hang out while at Hogwarts

Devansh is really worried when Anamika starts at Hogwarts, but he keeps an eye on her as Head Boy

He decided when he was fourteen that he wanted to be an Auror after Harry and Ron came to speak in his DADA class that year

Hajari “Jared” Raavi:

Born January 19, 2002

Padma and Theodore were barely talking when he was born, but it changed how the co-parented Devansh

He’s their troublemaker

Pansy and Gregory are his godparents and it honestly adds into his chaotic nature

They all kind of expected Sam and Hajari to get together, so it was a bit of a shock when it was Devansh and Sam

He is very easy going and part of that is growing up between homes for his first five years or so of life

His best friends are Sam and Sasha, they keep him from causing too much trouble

He loves being an older brother, especially to his baby sisters, he loves them soooo much

He’s sorted into Gryffindor and it’s a bit conflicting to Theodore, but he knows that Hajari will do well there

He starts up a rivalry between himself and Veronica Finnigan, though it’s sort of half rivalry/half friendship depending on how much they annoy each other

Seventh year they’re made Head Boy and Girl and they hook up quite a bit

Mutual attraction, stress of being heads and leaving that year, and the added family pressure

Hajari has always loved visiting St. Mungo’s, and having so many younger siblings becomes very familiar with the maternity ward

He becomes an OBGYN/Pediatrician Healer after graduating

He helps deliver Ernika!! His goddaughter!!

After a few years he sees Veronica in a pub and they drink and have some fun and hook up again

Veronica gets pregnant

With triplets

TRIPLETS!!!!

Hajari doesn’t even know what to do or say, and he just shuts down

Luckily he can’t be her Healer

He’s always known that he loved Veronica, but more in a friendship way, not in a really romantic way (denial at its finest)

They both mature though and Hajari realizes that she is what he wants in life

They get married when the triplets are four and their next daughter is two

They have one more baby, a little boy when the triplets are eleven and their daughter is nine (they are not happy about it, but grow to love him)

Anamika “Mia” Parvati:

Born July 29, 2007

The first Nott daughter to be born (and survive) in seven(?) generations

Theodore cries so much when he holds her for the first time, he never imagined that he would get to have a daughter

She looks just like Padma and Parvati when she’s older, she could pass off as their triplet if they were the same age, but she has Theodore’s green eyes

She’s exactly 22 days older than her best friend (and godsister) Lyla Zabini

Their godparents are Draco and Astoria

Because Anamika and Lyla are so close, they count Lyla as their second daughter and she is the first honorary Nott child

She is the oldest of the younger five and the one who always bridges the gap between the older brothers and the younger siblings

She and Lyla are sorted into Slytherin and share a dormitory room together

She’s very shy around new people and it makes most think that she’s standoffish or judge mental, but she’s really not

She starts writing for the health and beauty section of the the school paper her first year and is welcomed back the next year

Her seventh year, she and Louis Weasley are asked to be co-head Editors and it’s not what either wants, but they are a great team

They both have strengths the other doesn’t have

Anamika kisses him one night while their working and Louis is just shocked that she felt the same way he did

They get very close after that (they have “relations” on the Editor’s desk)

When they graduate, they move into a little cottage in the middle of nowhere by the water

Louis stays home and works on his art while Anamika works at the Prophet as an editor on the health and beauty section

They elope when their nineteen and have their first baby about a year later

They have three kids and then twins nine years after their youngest

Louis actually becomes quite successful after doing a few portraits of different Ministry officials, but landscapes are his real speciality

Anamika though, is always his favorite subject and he never tires of drawing or painting her

Minali “Ali” Theresa:

Born February 3, 2011

She is born nine months after Padma and Theodore get married

Millie is her godmother and she makes sure this kid is independent

All three of her older siblings couldn’t wait for her to be born!!

Devansh cried when he left for Hogwarts because he knew he would miss so many of her firsts

But Padma and Theodore take so many photos to send to him (and you know, to keep for themselves)

She an Appa’s girl, she loves Theodore and follows after him everywhere (and he loves it)

She is his first child to actually look like him (like it’s eerily similar, more than either of the boys) and he loves seeing himself reflected in someone

She grows up very independent, but she also loves and adores her family and falls on them when she needs too

She’s sorted into Slytherin and doesn’t take shit from anyone

When Anamika graduates and moves out, Minali takes Vee under her wing as Anamika did for her at school

She is Navya (Anamika and Louis’ first daughter) godmother

When she graduates, she goes to the Ministry and floats from department to department

She meets a man named Adrian Pucey at the Christmas Eve party and gets knocked up by him

He’s eleven years older than her, married, and wants her baby

She’s hounded by a lot of powerful men who tried to get her to give up her baby and Adrain decides to propose to her to get her under his control and Minali says no

She doesn’t want a life like that

She has her daughter in secret and moves to a cottage on the Nott family manor property

(They don’t live in the manor, in fact it’s rented out to visitors for weddings)

Minali takes over managing the property while raising her daughter and helping with the Society

It’s simple, but she feels like she has a purpose and Adrian can’t find her there

Vinanti “Vee” Padma:

Born May 1, 2013

The day after she’s born is the first time that Theodore goes back to Hogwarts after the war

He just wants to tell his sons about their new baby sister

It causes a lot of stress and anxiety for him, so he brings along Anamika and he feels a little better

Seeing his sons thrive does also

Daphne and Blaise are her godparents, and they’re very hands off with their own daughter so it’s the same with Vee

They show their love in weird ways and with over the top gifts

She’s very shy and loves the protection of her older siblings, especially Hajari and Anamika

Anamika is in her seventh year when Vee starts school and it reminds Anamika of when she was eleven and Devansh was seventeen

She’s sorted into Ravenclaw!

Her best friend going into school is Ellie Davies, Cho Chang and Rodger Davies only daughter

Vee can’t imagine havin her parents be her teachers (Cho teaches Charms and Rodger is the flying instructor) or her parents divorced

But she is there for Ellie through everything

The summer between her sixth and seventh year is very complicated, mostly as she realizes she might be gay (she is)

She has a long talk with her cousin Sasha (who is out) and comes to realize that she’s very attracted to girls, more than she could pretend to be to boys

She comes out to her family in stages, first to Minali who she’s closest too, then her younger siblings, then all of her three oldest siblings (she had been most scared of what Devansh and Anamika would think of her, not so much Hajari) and finally her parents (they knew)

It’s such a relief to finally admit this to herself

You know who has known that they were gay since they were thirteen and was in love with Vee?? Ellie Davies!

She’s not out to her parents, but Cho catches them snogging in a broom cupboard and Ellie cries while Vee comforts her

Cho makes sure that her daughter knows that she loves her, Rodger kicks her out of his life, so does her oldest brother Conrad, her other brother Mason showers her in love

Ellie gets signed on to play for the Tornadoes!! Her favorite team!! And Vee becomes a writer for Quidditch Weekly and follows the Tornadoes everywhere

Vee has both of their daughters (thanks to Mason) and they just live a happy little life

Tarika “Taylor” Millicent:

Born February 9, 2016

She is the older twin!!

Padma and Theodore were not prepared to have another baby let alone TWO

Her godfather is Marcus Flint and he teaches her how to lie and she runs after it

She is very close to her twin brother, even if she teases him all the time

She loves her older sisters and thinks they are all so glamorous and cool

She is really close to Hajari though, especially when he has the triplets, even if she’s at school for the first few months of their life

She’s sorted into Gryffindor just like Hajari and writes to him often about it

When she graduates, she gets a job writing about new/up and coming Quidditch players

It’s how she meets Ollie Jay

He’s the new Keeper for the Magpies and the attraction is instant

About five months into the relationship, Tarika decides that she wants a baby, and Ollie Jay is so for it

Exactly a year after they meet, they get married while Tarika is six months pregnant

They’re really happy together, despite both of their families concerns

And the bridge the Nott and Wood families, which means that their kids have soooo many cousins

Rishi “Ray” Terrance:

The younger twin!!

He is the absolute baby of the family and hates it!

Padma gets postpartum depression after having the twins and it takes a few months (and some therapy) to break out of it

She had been so happy to have them, but knowing that they were her last babies (after accepting that Vee would be her last baby) was really difficult for her to accept

Theodore is really supportive, but it’s not easy to care for the four youngest kids by himself

Rishi’s godfather is Cassius Warrington and he is so happy to even be considered let alone actually a godfather

Rishi struggles a little being the youngest and with such a big age difference between him and his brothers

Theodore sees this and they often go out just the pair of them, and it’s really good for both of them to not only get time together but also away from all the girls

He is so happy when Ernika is born because he thinks that makes him not the baby of the family, but it’s not how that works

He’s sorted into Hufflepuff at Hogwarts and he likes that he’s completely by himself and none of his siblings

When he’s fourteen, a new family moves into their building, and Rishi meets Eliza Russ

She’s a year younger than him and they start as friends, but they are so in love within hours of meeting each other

Padma and Theodore know that something is up within two days and they’re happy to meet Eliza

(It was not complaining when Tarika teased him about being the baby, the usual bait)

When he graduates, he starts his training at St. Mungo’s and it’s interesting working with his Appa and brother (at least in the same building)

He goes into Oncology (cancer treatment)

When Eliza graduates he proposes and they move in together

They get pregnant within a year with triplets

Eliza wasn’t very happy at her job at the Ministry and is just happy to be home with their kids

They adopt a little girl after struggling to get pregnant again, and a month later Eliza finds out she’s pregnant

They have three more kids

I just love Padma and Theodore and their big happy family!!

[tabloidtoc]

Star, January 18

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Duchess Kate and Duchess Camilla holiday from hell

Page 1: Teresa Giudice goes Insta-official with her new businessman beau while her ex Joe Giudice posts a pic of his own -- Luis “Louie” Ruelas lavished Teresa with gifts and he doesn’t let her pay for anything while Joe posted a photo of his supposed love writing Happiness doesn’t depend on wealth 

Page 2: Contents, Bachelorette Tayshia Adams slipped on a bauble from Zac Clark 

Page 3: Jennifer Garner pulled on a Santa-approved sweater and a striped mask before heading out in L.A., Sophia Bush wore a mask saying I’m Smiling as she stopped by Greenblatt’s Deli in Hollywood, newlyweds Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts piled into their car to see Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami in Malibu 

Page 4: Bilingual mom of five Hilaria Baldwin gets flamed for faking her European identity -- the yogi is upset that so many people were bashing her and she felt compelled to defend herself -- her husband Alec Baldwin went on the attack in a rant because he won’t tolerate anyone trolling Hilaria 

Page 5: It’s the role of a lifetime and actresses are lining up to play Madonna in her biopic and current frontrunners are Florence Pugh and Julia Garner -- the bosses at CAA which is the agency helping put the movie together want Florence and promised to take her to the next level but on the other hand fans and press want Julia because she’s such a dead-ringer for early-career Madonna

* Days after Dakota Johnson flashed a giant emerald ring from boyfriend Chris Martin the singer’s ex Gwyneth Paltrow is calling dibs on their wedding -- Chris and Dakota are looking to get married next summer and Gwyneth has already talked to them about playing a big part in their big day -- Gwyneth feels very close to Dakota which puts the bride-to-be in an awkward position because Dakota wants to make her mom Melanie Griffith her bridesmaid and Melanie is warning Dakota that Gwyneth will end up upstaging the whole day if she’s in the wedding party 

* Soleil Moon Frye and Jason Goldberg have parted ways after a 22-year marriage -- the parents of daughters Poet and Jagger and sons Lyric and Story will move forward with love and compassion and they have a good chance of keeping their split amicable -- they’ve been drifting apart for years and eventually it dawned on them that they’re on different paths 

Page 6: Six months after splitting from wife Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green was spotted boarding a flight at LAX with Dancing With the Stars pro Sharna Burgess -- their relationship is new but it’s moving fast and they’ve become inseparable over the last few weeks -- the timing has some friends of the dancer concerned because no one wants to see Sharna get hurt or caught up in a toxic rebound relationship as Brian’s still clashing with Megan over their divorce 

* Emmy Rossum looks unrecognizable playing Angelyne but that’s not what caught her coworkers’ eyes on set: she looks pregnant -- Emmy wed Sam Esmail in 2017 and they’ve talked about starting a family forever so it’s a very special time 

* Star Spots the Stars -- Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber, Angela Bassett, Chrishell Stause and Keo Motsepe and Gleb Savchenko and Cassie Scerbo, Irina Shayk, Ramona Singer and Colin Cowie 

Page 8: Star Shots -- Mark Ballas and his dog Hendrix both donned holiday sweaters, Reese Witherspoon and her dog Minnie

Page 9: Martha Stewart on her snow plow, Emma Slater who hails from the U.K. and Russia-born Sasha Farber passed their U.S. citizenship test

Page 10: Director Regina King suited up for the drive-in premiere of her film One Night in Miami at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, Donnie Wahlberg and Marisa Ramirez headed to the wintry beach to shoot scenes for Blue Bloods in Queens

Page 11: Tessa Thompson brought along her father Marc Anthony Thompson to a film premiere, Bindi Irwin at 26 weeks pregnant 

Page 12: The Bachelor Matt James hit the links in Jupiter, Marlon Wayans on a pre-holiday getaway in Tulum, a masked Katie Holmes toted some last-minute Christmas shopping 

Page 13: Eva Longoria working out, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen enjoyed a hike together during a getaway to St-Barth 

Page 14: Days after saying goodbye to her beloved New York state home Sandra Lee was on garbage duty at her $3.4 million west coast digs in Malibu, Jordana Brewster with boyfriend Mason Morfit enjoy a stroll in Los Angeles 

Page 15: Elle Macpherson during a day of shopping in Miami, Candice Swanepoel with her youngest son Ariel at the beach in Miami 

Page 18: Normal or Not? Renee Zellweger did some heavy lifting while out in L.A. -- not normal, Bella Hadid made a snow angel in NYC -- normal, Bai Ling stepped out in Hollywood dressed in a currency-inspired ensemble -- not normal 

Page 19: Madonna with pink hair -- normal, Justin Bieber appeared to be deep in thought leaving the studio in Burbank -- normal 

Page 20: Fashion -- stars look marvelous in metallics -- Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jessica Alba 

Page 21: Kate Beckinsale, Camila Morrone, Zoe Kravitz 

Page 24: Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson engaged -- despite their rocky history the couple are happily tying the knot -- Khloe is convinced Tristan has changed and won’t dare deceive her a third time 

Page 25: After a year of dating Liam Hemsworth and Gabriella Brooks are playing house -- Liam recently purchased a $4.9 million five-bedroom estate in the posh seaside town of Byron Bay and the model has moved in -- they get along great and have a nice easygoing vibe between them and Liam loves that there’s no drama with Gabriella and he says she is the one; they both feel that they are soulmates 

* Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli marriage on the brink -- things were fraying between them well before they went off to prison and there’s been a lot of finger-pointing and blame and they both acknowledge their foundation has crumbled 

* The release of Justin Timberlake’s latest film is bringing back a bad time in his eight-year marriage to Jessica Biel -- as he gears up to promote the premiere of Palmer the couple are bracing for a new round of headlines about Justin’s bad-boy behavior in which he was spotted getting handsy with costar Alisha Wainwright -- Justin’s expected to do promo interviews alongside Alisha albeit via Zoom and that’s not cool with Jessica at all and the bickering between Justin and Jessica is setting in again big time 

Page 26: Cover Story -- Christmas From Hell -- with Duchess Kate and Duchess Camilla at war over who should fill Queen Elizabeth’s shoes the holidays were anything but merry for the royals

Page 29: It’s been a year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world by stepping back from their royal duties last January and now it seems they’re rethinking severing all ties with the monarchy because the couple are seeking a 12-month extension of their so-called Megxit deal which expires at the end of March in the hope of keeping their royal patronages and reinstating the military titles that Harry was devastated to lose when the pair left the U.K. for the U.S. 

Page 30: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: the wedding is off -- postponing her Italian nuptials with Alex gave Jennifer time to think and now she’s rethinking getting married at all 

Page 32: Teen Heartthrobs: Where Are They Now? Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Donny Osmond 

Page 33: Leif Garrett, Andrew Keegan 

Page 38: Entertainment 

Page 48: Parting Shot -- Paris Hilton and little sister Nicky Hilton Rothschild showed off their good sides in pastel Alessandra Rich frocks during a recent photoshoot 

[ellisonhaney]

Rose, 26, GMT, she/her, vomit ⇢ i swear i just saw MARGOT ROBBIE out on the streets but it turned out to be ELLISON HANEY. SHE was born on APRIL 19TH making them only 31 years old. They’re known to be +RESOURCEFUL, +CREATIVE and -PROUD -WOUDED. They spend most of their time being a RECEPTIONIST. Rumour has it they’re HETEROSEXUAL, and can be found in VAN NUYS. You know you’ve found them when you come across PILES OF BABY LAUNDRY, SLEEPY MORNING VOICE, AND THE SMELL OF HONEY.

(miscarriage tw, cancer tw, death tw, divorce tw, infertility tw)

BIO

Ellison was born in Highland Park, Texas, hailed as the seventh most expensive superb in the USA with an average annual household income of $358,994 it was no surprise that the girl had a very cushy lifestyle. Both her parents were said to be ‘old money’ with basically a never-ending income that they were more than happy to spend on holidays and the best of the best. When the girl was seven she was vaguely aware of her mother and father setting up a charitable organisation to help spread the wealth of the 1% to those who weren’t as blessed and as she started to understand what that meant the pride in her family just grew. Sure they had a lot of money, but they helped others as well, so there was no need to be embaressed about indulging.

The typical southern family her mother was a society lady, her father spent a lot of time at country clubs, their house was filled with their rare art collection and played host to elaborate parties. Every single one Ellison would get a new dress, prancing around in fairy wings before graduating to tight designer cocktail dresses inside, she loved everything about it. She was raised with a strong sense of family so when she met the man she ended up marrying it was always with the intention of becoming a housewife and raising his children in some pile of a home. Probably still in Texas because after all that was her home, her community, and she loved it.

Always with a creative streak the girl loved to design small dresses for toddlers, imagining she might one day get to put her own daughters in them, launching her own designing line called Toddler Delights. Never needing it to make money but just because she wanted to share what she loved. Nothing Ellie ever did was because she needed money. Meeting the love of her life at the age of twenty four the two of them were married in a lavish southern wedding two years later with the intention of starting a family. Sadly the girl’s father passed away not long after she returned from her (month long) honeymoon, but still with the support of her mother the newlyweds started trying for a baby. To say it didn’t go to plan would be an understatement. Not only was she seemingly unable to conceive naturally for a long time, when Ellison finally did fall pregnant she wasn’t able to maintain the pregnancy.

By twenty nine she’d suffered three miscarriages, two rounds of IVF that had failed altogether, and the couple’s relationship was hanging on by the skin of it’s teeth. To add insult to injury in May of 2018 Ellison’s mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Everything was falling apart around the family that had not long ago seemingly had everything, but the determined blonde wouldn’t be deterred and in August of that year the couple officially filed to be considered for adoption. Thanks no doubt to her parents charity work as well as her own family wealth it didn’t take long for them to be approved, whoever said the adoption process could be arduous was being dramatic if you asked Ellison at the time, but by the time they were informed they would become parents to a baby boy in June of 2019 the damage to their relationship was too far gone. Holding things together long enough to push through the adoption her husband Grant promptly left Ellison two months after Walker was born, leaving her devastated.

On September 13th 2019 her mother passed away from terminal cancer, leaving her with no living family apart from the baby who was now her entire responsibility. Medical bills for her mother had been extensive, and it was when Ellison started to formulate a plan to pay them from her parents funds that she realised the devastating truth. Not only had the family never had the money she’d thought they’d really had, for the last twenty two years Mr and Mrs Calhoun had been funding their 1% lifestyle from the money they had been apparently giving to charity from a plethora of fundraisers and drives.

Once the news got out their daughter was shunned from the society she’d grown up in, the people she’d grown up calling friends turning their backs on her with limited exception, and with nothing now keeping her in Texas the two person family left for Los Angeles. Most people don’t believe her when they find out about how she grew up living, especially since the young mother is now a receptionist living hand to mouth in Van Nuys, Los Angeles in a one bedroom apartment with more issues than assets. The money she makes from her part time job and limited sales from Toddler Delights which was once a hobby and was now a lifeline, everyday was a struggle. Not to mention she was still paying off her mother’s medical expenses. Still, Ellison kept her married name for both her and Walker’s sake. He deserved his fathers name and she deserved the anonymity it would occasionally buy her from her family scandal, though it was always a matter of time before people found out.

Other:

Ellison had suffered the worst humiliation she could imagine in every way possible, and so her pride was all she had left in her own eyes. The woman refuses handouts even from those who are her best and oldest friends. She sees it as pity, and hates that more than anything.

Despite everything her love for her parents runs as deep as it ever did. Maybe people don’t understand but she knows they weren’t bad people, whatever they did was likely done to protect her, rather than hurt others. It might not be true, but it helps her fall asleep at night.

Ellie hates her job but knows she has to do something to support her family. It’s not mentally stimulating at all, so she just goes through the motions, and would much rather talk about her designing than she would ever her reception work.

Walker was born on June 22nd 2019, so he is about to turn one, and she will protect him with everything she has even if things didn’t pan out exactly how she’d wanted them to. Because she has no family now apart from him, and he has no family apart from her.

Sometimes she can be angry because of leftover emotion about what she’s been through in the last two years. A lot of it hasn’t been dealt with properly because she’s too intent on survival. Ellie just doesn’t have the time to stop and take stock, she is just trying to keep her head above water.

Ever since she was a little girl she’s used the same honey body wash that her mom introduced her to, and that will never change. A year ago the company that makes it announced they would be discontinuing it, so she bought a hundred bottles. This was before she no longer had access to her ex husbands credit card, but she made sure she kept those bottles in the divorce.

She seems to have the look of someone without enough hours in the day 90% of the time, her apartment is full of piles of unwashed baby onesies, and last nights dirty plates are in the sink. It’s not because she doesn’t want to get these things done, it’s because she physically cannot do everything required of her, the woman never stops. For mental healths sake she has to step away to see friends or let loose sometimes, but this costs getting in a babysitter or convincing someone she already knows to watch Walker, and these are favours she doesn’t want to end up running out of.

Sometimes that side of her that was a southern pageant girl, a debutant, a kept woman, rears it’s ugly head. But mostly she tries to blend in as best she can because then people ask less questions.

[crystalcityrpg]

❝ THEY CALL ME DEVIL, AND YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID. ❞

ALL ABOUT ELIAS

NAME: Elias Morgan GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Male, He/Him DATE OF BIRTH: July 24th, 1984 BIRTH PLACE:  Cardiff, Wales CURRENT RESIDENCE: Downtown/Mystic Point OCCUPATION: Owns LUX nightclub, mob boss.  FACE CLAIM: Tom Ellis

BIOGRAPHY

Trigger Warnings; Child Abuse, Violence, Murder, Guns, Drugs

Elias Michael Morgan was born on July 24th, 1984 in Cardiff, Wales to Edward and Charlotte Morgan, a real estate mogul and a nurse.  But he was raised in London when his family moved there when he was just a few months old for his fathers job. He was the only child up until his father had an affair resulting in a brither when he was just four years old, and then, when he was eight, his father had another baby with someone else, resulting in his youngest, and last sibling, a sister.  Elias’ mom Charlotte, divorced his father after she found out about the brother, but because the mothers wanted their children close, the women stayed friends, and the kids spent time with their father. The problem with this was that Edward Morgan for some reason, didn’t like his oldest son. A man who claimed to be godly, who loved his two other kids, tormented his young son, from five years old on, he verbally and physically abused Elias, telling him that he could see something bad in his son, and that he had to beat it out of him. 

 Elias, eventually, learned to push back, until he was 18, when he came out as bisexual to his parents, his mom was receptive, but his dad cut him off completely. Elias took that opportunity to  uproot his entire life and go NYU as a business major (and English minor), one of the many US schools he applied to. Once he touched ground in New York, he didn’t speak to his father ever again. Elias didn’t tell a single soul about his abuse until his later years.

Elias knew from the beginning that living in New York would be hard, and even with roommates and a job as a bartender, it was difficult, but he could never predict the life he would fall into. Crystal City was never the plan, but on a weekend out when he was nineteen years old, Elias and his friends ended up in a bar owned by Raphael Berk. One bar fight and an impressed owner later, Elias found himself as a bodyguard to the mob. It wasn’t long though, that he proved just how much of an asset he was an he rose up the ranks, from general fighter and muscle to bodyguard to the bosses twin daughters, Elias was incredibly skilled in fighting and with a gun, and he was loyal, a young man just looking for a family, so becoming Raphael’s most trustworthy employee and his right hand man was a no brainer, and a role he happily took on.  He began to love this life, always a sucker for a bit of danger and a hedonist who had access to top shelf liquor, drugs and men and women falling at his feet, what more could he ask for? 

Eventually though, Elias, ever charming realized he could do more, earn more money and status for both himself and Raphael. He had connections, and so he started doling out favors, sometimes he had a returned favor in mind, but a lot of the time it would be for money, or an IOU, deals with the devil he would call them, a paly on the way his father would tell him he was ‘beating the devil out of him’ when he was younger. Elias fully embraced the devil persona.  Elias didn’t officially move to Crystal City, the central hub of Raphael’s business, until he was 21 and out of university completely. 

  Around the same time of him moving to Crystal City, he started dating one of the daughters, Maia. They had a whirlwind passionate romance and Elias truly thought he was in love. It seemed Maia didn’t feel the same way. She was cheating on Elias with someone from the Wilkes family.  And if her dad or Elias ever found out, it would destroy the two of them, so she kept it a secret. But when it came down to making a choice, Maia never got the chance. Maia Berk was found murdered, and with no evidence, there were only suspects left behind, the Wilkes’ family member she was dating, or Elias. 

Raphael, devastated after loosing one of his daughters stepped down from his position, but positive Elias didn’t kill Maia, he handed the business over to the male. With taking over the business, Raphael offered Elias a deal, he would buy  the stories high building for LUX downtown, which turned into two floors of  the nightclub/burlesque/piano bar and mob front, and the rest luxury condos, with Elias living on the top two floors as the penthouse.  This deal entailed that Elias would be working for Raphael for the rest of his life. Since Elias didn’t really have a family except for the Berks’, he accepted.   The club became his home and his baby. He lived and breathed the place, and still does.  He lived there for  alone years, just him and his two cats, Cain and Abel.  

 Elias became pretty well known in Cryatal city, being the owner of a popular night club, and incredibly promiscuous, people tend to notice, and remember the 6’3 brit with the too charming smile. He also throws a lot of parties, both for the fun of it, and for charities.  True to form, Elias has had multiple hookups, but not as many one night stands, that is until Casey Delilah Wells walked into LUX and turned his life upside down. What was supposed to be a one night stand turned into a far too often hookup turned into them engaged with four month old twin girls nearly two years later. The problem with that is that Casey Wells is the assistant district attorney, and though she knows about what her fiancé does, she tends to turn the other cheek because of her love for him and their family.   Despite his lifestyle, Elias is fiercely loyal and protective of his found family, if anyone even thinks about touching them, they won’t stand a chance.

[foofygoldfish]

A L L F I F T Y for Tilly :3

oh my god

also this is from literally two months ago whoops

Personal

1)      Age? 23!

2)      Gender? female

3)      Romantic/Sexual Orientation? lesbian

4)      Height? 5′6…ish? i swear i’ve said this before, but i can’t find it dslkfj

5)      Race? Half black, half white

6)      What do they look like? (i.e, hair color, eye color, etc): fiona nova!

7)      Any disabilities? No

8)      Is there a meaning to their name? she was named after her great-grandma, matilda!

9)      What makes them, them? she’s a major horse girl. major. and awkward as fuck, but also intensely curious about the world.

10)   What do they want to be when they grow up/what do they want to do with their lives? she wants to work with horses! she considered working in the clinic with her mom, but she really prefers it in the barns.

Family

11)   Do they have parents? What are they like and how do they act with their child(ren)? yes! her parents are hannah, who runs the clinic in jackson, and charlie, who teaches at the school! they’re both very caring, and have done their best to raise their children in this new world. 

12)   Do they have siblings? How do they interact with them? If not, do they wish they had siblings? she has an 8 year old sister, leticia! tilly is very protective of her - she knows that leticia can handle herself, but that’s her baby sister, y’know? also the two of them love gossiping in sign language - not many people in jackson are fluent, and they take advantage of that.

13)   Extended family? Do they see them often? unfortunately, no - hannah and charlie lost track of their families after the outbreak. tilly assumes that they’re all dead.

14)   Do they like where they live? (Is it a safe place?) yes! she does think it’s too safe, but that’s just her wanting to go on an adventure.

15)   Where do they live? Are they wealthy? Poor? Middle-Class? jackson, wyoming! i feel like pretty much everyone there is probably roughly around the same level? the norths were firmly middle-class before the outbreak though, and they do have one of the nicer/larger houses in town, just by virtue of being one of the first settlers.

16)   Do they have a lot of expectations/pressure on them from family to do great? nope - hannah and charlie would like her to do amazing things, of course, but they want their kids to be happy first and foremost.

17)   Do they have pets? yes lol - she has three dogs, a pit bull named timber, a german shepherd named grizzly, and a rotweiller named bear. they’re all giant softies. she has a horse as well, callie, and honestly thinks of all the horses in jackson as her own.

18)   Who do they look up to the most/are the closest to in their family? her mom. shes close to her entire family, but her mom.

19)   This there anything special about their family? i… don’t really think? before the outbreak, they were pretty average - a med student and an adjunct professor. 

20)   Do they wish they lived in a different family/household? nope. 

Friends

21)   Best Friend(s)? talisa york

22)   Who was their first friend? will and ben!

23)   What is their friend group like? .... small. tilly doesn’t really have any friends? she has will and ben, but they’ve drifted apart over the years. she’d still drop everything to help them in a heartbeat, but she’s not sure if they’d do the same for her.

24)   Do they have a love/hate relationship with any of them? ...see above?

25)   Do they consider any of their friends to be like siblings?  aaaand above

26)   Have they ever hurt a friend or lost one? not intentionally, but she had a very bad habit of speaking first, thinking later when she was growing up, and said some things that came out much harsher than she intended

27)   Do they have a crush on any of their friends? ...does talisa count?

28)   Do they share classes with good friends? she was in the same ‘grade’ as will and ben when they were still in school

29)   Whom do they go to the most when they need a shoulder to cry on? tilly, her mom, and maria

30)   What would this person do without their friends in their lives? uh. she handles it better than her parents expected, honestly?

School

31)   What grade are they in? If they aren’t in school, how come? ....she’s 23

32)   Do/Did they like their teachers? Was there a good one? Bad one? she did like him, but her dad was her main teacher lol

33)   Do/Did they listen to their teachers or are/where they goofing off a lot? yes, because her dad is really good at the disappointed dad stare and the disappointed teacher stare 

34)   Are/Where they a good student grade wise? she was average - didn’t really have the attention span to pay attention in class. 

35)   Do/Did they need extra help? a little, particularly with math

36)   What is/was their school like? it was pretty much a one-room schoolhouse when she started - there is an actual school building in jackson, but there weren’t enough students to justify spending energy on it at first. they moved into that building her last year.

37)   Do/Did they have bullies in school? ohhhh boy. school was rough. she was the weird kid who never quite fit in, and even in the apocalypse, kids are mean.

38)   Have they ever gotten into a fight at school? ...yes.

39)   Have they ever done something stupid/embarrassing at school? yes. no, she won’t tell you.

40)   How far do they plan to go with school? If they dropped out, do they want to go back? she graduated!

Other

41)   Are they dating anyone? Do they want to date? Are the married? Divorced? at the time of joel and ellie’s arrival, she’s dating talisa! they get married roughly a year and a half after the game.

42)   What is their favorite hobby? Do they keep it a secret? besides spending time with the horses? writing. she doesn’t talk about that much, though. mostly just tells the stories to the horses, or leticia, if she’s convincing enough.

43)   If they could have one thing in life, what would it be? to be able to travel.

44)   Do they work? If so, what is it? If not, are they looking for one or even want one? she works in the stables and the clinic!

45)   Do they use social media? no social media in the apocalypse 😔

46)   Have they ever been in the hospital? an official one? not since she was a baby. she’s had to go to the clinic for broken bones a few times since she started working in the barns, though.

47)   Do they believe in the supernatural, that there is more than the eye can see? she’s convinced the old school and the dam are haunted.

48)   What do they do when they get angry, stressed, or upset? cry. or she’ll get really quiet - that’s a dead giveaway that something is bothering her.

49)   Would they consider themselves as a good person, bad person, or morally grey? good.

50)   Does this OC have any part of you in them? (I.e, personality traits, similar background, etc) yuuuuup. as the resident Weird Kid with adhd/autism in my elementary school, i know what she’s gone through, and i really apologize to her because it really sucks... also, horses

[renee-writer]

The Diner Chapter 45 No?

He stares at her a moment. Her head is down, staring at the top of the baby's head.

“No?” He is finally able to ask.

“Ah yah. But not really.”

“Claire, you are making no sense. Please, just tell me, will you marry me or not?” He joins her on the bed, feeling awkward and vulnerable kneeling by her.

“No. Not now. It is to soon and you wouldn’t be doing it if not for Ellie.”

“How do you know? Claire, this ring has been in my family for five generations. I didn’t just go by a jewelers. I had my sister send it to me.”

“When?” She is feeling breathless, weightless.

“The day after Lori showed up. I knew I wanted to marry you almost from the first moment we meet. But, I knew I needed to make it official, or have the ring to anyway, when you didn't leave after finding out about the baby. I am not asking you because we will be parenting Ellie together. I am asking you, because there is no other woman I ever want to raise babies with. Because I love you with every bit of my heart.”

“Oh Jamie,” She lays Ellie Grace in her portable crib and takes his hand. “I want no one else. I never will. I will marry you. Will wear the ring. Just not yet. We meet only months ago. This whole thing has been crazy. But, this, marriage, it is far to serious to rush. I don’t want you to wake up one day and regret it.” He starts to say something and she places her hand on his mouth,” You say you won't. My parents got married because of me. They were separated by the time I was born and divorced before I turned one. I want us. I want forever with you. I want to add Dallas James and Daisy Elizabeth to Ellie Grace. Because I do, I can’t marry you yet.”

“I canna argue with that. Will you let me know when you are ready. So I know you will say yes?”

“I will. I am sorry.”

“Nae, I am. It was a spur of the moment instinct and you deserve better. Oh man!”

“What?”

“We are still at the gas station. I was filling up when Jenny called.”

“A story for our children.”

He pulls her against him. “I really adore you.”

“I love you too. Not to shatter the romance but, don't we need to be getting to Texas.”

“Holy hell. I am going to be late!” He places the ring back in the bag and they are off. Their laughter fills the cab.

[what-if-rpg]

Welcome to the family, B! Your application to COOPER ANDERSON was accepted, as well as the changes. I am really happy to have you around! Make sure to read the beginners checklist, and remember, have fun! I can’t wait to roleplay with you! Have fun!

IN CHARACTER

CHARACTER NAME: Cooper James Anderson. CHARACTER AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 27 / 18th January 1992. OCCUPATION: Actor and Musician. (Broadway) FACE CLAIM: Brendon Urie. HOMETOWN & CITY WHERE LIVES NOW: Boston MA, New York City. SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER: Bisexual and Male. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: In a Relationship. POSITIVE TRAITS: Loyal, Caring, Passionate. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Hot-tempered, Impulsive, Arrogant. CHARACTER QUOTE/LYRIC: Now I’m gonna fuck up a hotel lobby. ANYTHING ELSE?: FC change please!

HEADCANONS

Cooper has always dreamed of the arts after growing up with his passions fuelled by his mother. He is a multi-instrumentalist who writes music as a hobby. The man has a band named Saint!California who regularly releases music. Cooper makes appearances as a singer but is torn on where his loyalties lie in his career. He feels tied to Broadway by more than one thing but often thinks he should move away from it and pursue music full time. The band seem to be in demand and he is proud of the work he has created, leaving him with guilt over the lack of attention he gives it. Cooper has become rather fond of the stage, escaping as someone else for a few hours each night can help with the confusion he finds himself clouded by, it’s a good compromise…. for now.

As a child, Cooper shined in a local stage school he attended on weekends. The boy was picked up for multiple commercials and his acting resume grew more and more. When he reached High School, he had an arrogance and ego around him though being turned down for a role in the school’s production of Grease had him swear off musical theatre. Cooper went in a mood with all things musical, including Broadway. After graduating, he left Boston for Hollywood and spent six long months scrapping around for work. His agent then turned his attention to New York with an audition as a swing in Newsies. The nineteen year old turned his nose up at the offer immediately, though after long conversations with his mother and agent, they suggested he bite the bullet and try it out. It would give him a step into the industry as his mother said, he was “only nineteen, he had time to be in line for the next Oscar.” Now, Cooper feels like he’d gotten lost in Broadway. He does enjoy it though he also wonders What if? What if something else had happened instead?

Cooper has a few different ticks about him. He’s a bit of a mess when you look close enough. His biggest fear is not being able to escape situations. When in the middle of an argument, Cooper will often storm out of a room and leave for a few hours. He needs to feel as though he can remove himself from a situation otherwise it sends him into a flurry of a panic. Paparazzi is one thing that Cooper internally struggles with. On the outside, he’s all smiles and cheery tones though he’s battling a fight inside him. Cooper is very open with his fans and they usually hold great respect for him. The paparazzi are ones who care less about his personal space and more about capturing the right photo. It’s a part of his life that he tries to avoid as much as possible, if and when he can.

You’ll be pushed to find someone who loves their fans more than Cooper does. With an addiction to Instagram, his fans are never shy of content and the latest smiling selfie. The man also takes a great fondness to Instagram Live where he will sit and talk to fans while cooking or waiting in his dressing room. Cooper is one to hold free signing events and concerts when possible, which he funds himself. Though raised in a middle class, it’s his mother’s roots that bring him back down to that humble level. The eldest Anderson holds great appreciation to those around him and does his best to give back as often as he can, whatever the cost.

CONNECTIONS

PARENTS: Pamela and Richard Anderson. Born to middle-class parents, Pam (a children’s book author) and Richard (a renowned lawyer) Cooper is probably the biggest Momma’s boy you’ll ever come across. After the family struggled to conceive, the news of their first child brought them so much joy. Pam always had a soft spot for the eldest who adored her more than anything. Pam is someone Cooper will often turn to for advice or comfort but his father and he hold a tense relationship. Richard has always pushed a lot of high expectations on his eldest and when he grew less and less like the young lawyer his father dreamed of, he became cold towards him. Though his father and he don’t get along, the only joint interest the two share are working lazy Sundays in the garage on old cars. Cooper became a bit of a grease monkey during the summer and when he was fourteen, he fixed up his grandfather’s old 1965 Ford Mustang. Even though he’s moved out of the house, he’s still close to his mother and always go home for the holidays. Christmas isn’t the same without his family. SIBLING: Blaine Anderson. The two Andersons have always held an interesting relationship. Cooper truly does care about Blaine, maybe a little too much that he often pushes his little brother to achieve his potential. Ultimately though, they hold a true brotherly relationship. Cooper loves nothing more than winding up his younger sibling and teasing him. At the end of the day, Cooper will jump into a fight to defend his brother in a heartbeat. Family is important to him. BOYFRIEND: Jesse St. James. Broadway was a daunting place for the new actor and starting a big show such as Les Miserables couldn’t be more than intimidating. Befriending an experienced actor hadn’t been his worst idea. That was until one night at a cast party, six months into their friendship and the show, the two shared a drunken kiss. He can’t really tell you when they started ‘dating’ behind closed doors but he knows he’s conflicted. Giving into Jesse’s advances, he finds feeling like a dirty secret eats away at his conscience, as well as the drama happening in Jesse’s life, he never knows where he stands. After Jesse’s divorce was filed, his cast-mate moved in with and within months they became official. It was a relationship the fans generated and they melted into. Cooper knows he has at least some feelings for his cast mate who have become something of a Broadway Duo, appearing regularly in shows together that only appeals further to the fans. Now eleven months into dating officially, he finds himself bickering with his boyfriend with a few treasured moments in-between. Cooper can’t decide if he wants to get out of this relationship but he finds himself falling back into that man’s life, even if it’s not a completely happy one. BEST FRIEND: Ellie Weeks [NPC]. A friend he grew up with after she moved to Boston from London. He attended school with her and the two are incredibly close. She’s someone who has seen every side to him; giggly; upset; moody; or blackout drunk on the floor. Cooper runs most of his big ideas past her and she’s more often than not, the one to intervene on his impulsive ideas. She knows him inside out and adores his friendship, he’s like her adopted American brother. Ellie is one of the few people who sees through the lines with Jesse and Cooper’s relationship. She is not fond of the other man by any means but holds her tongue for Cooper’s sake. She has warned him enough but trusts when he tells her “I’m fine, El, trust me.” She can’t help but worry about him getting hurt. RIVAL: Wanted Connection [UTP]. Someone Cooper can’t stand. They know how to get his back up and provoke the hot-tempered attitude in him. The mention of their name can draw a scowl to his face and he will easily rise to the bait. The two often find each other by chance and there’s always some sort of tension or altercation when they’re in the same room. As of late, they’ve ended up seeing more and more of each other and Cooper can only grumble about it.