#god I am so beyond excited for the future seasons these kids have already killed it in season one and this is just the beginning!!! 💓

[jooniez]

this is actually the best thing that’s ever happened to me 😭😭 The percabeth talking about The percabeth I WON!!!!! walker & leah and percy & annabeth you will always be loved by me 🤧💘🫧🍃🦋

[carinyms]

We're three days from the Loki finale and I’m back to spout more meta and theories about episodes 5 & 6! It’s a long one (again.)

I really enjoyed episode five. People have complained that they felt it didn't do much to move the show forward, but one of the things I've loved most about this show is the time it takes to sit with the characters and learn about their backstory, their feelings. (I'm always a little bugged when critics say that an episode hasn't done enough to move the plot forward, because without adequate character development, why should I care about the plot?) I thought the pacing of it was really well balanced.

….and I have never been so nervous for a finale in my entire life. There’s a lot of reasons.

The first is just the fact that I’ve been waiting for this show for a whole year, and the anticipation and excitement of it literally helped get me through the pandemic--so when those final end credits roll I’m going to be a whole mess no matter what happens. (I really hope the rumors floating around about season two are accurate) I also just feel like it’s somewhat inevitable that this is our final farewell to Tom’s Loki, and like—I’ll never be ready, but especially right now, amidst all the rampant controversy around this show, I’m just not ready to deal with that. I have a *small* modicum of hope that this won't be the case, but it feels unlikely. Anyway, guess I’ll die.

I really want this show to stick the landing, so to say. I loved the last episode, but a lot of the response has been that it felt like a lull in the plot. I want this show to end in a satisfying bang so it can get the credit it deserves.

Also I’m a whole hypocrite eating my words from last week—I’m fully on-board with Loki/Sylvie now (not that I was ever really against it)--I’m not sure why I’m surprised. They’re so adorable and wholesome, and I’m in love with seeing Loki in love. It’s so precious. (Just as a PSA, if you’re not into them that’s chill, and you’re allowed to dislike a ship without trying to justify your opinion by labeling shippers as morally problematic. Selfcest isn’t a real thing, therefore there isn’t a moral high ground to stand on here. Okay? Okay.) Wherever it ultimately leads, their relationship is still a really sweet exploration of them both growing and learning how to love themselves and trust others. Also, them cuddling under a tablecloth is the cutest shit I’ve ever seen with my two eyes.

MY THEORIES:

I love Sylvie so much, SO MUCH — and she is 100% going to stab Loki in the back by the end of the next episode. I don’t think the betrayal is going to stick, and by the end they’ll both be on the same page again, but the conversations on trust have been way too one-sided for my comfort. If nothing else she's going to seriously consider it. Here’s one way I can see that going. Spoiler alert: it hurts.

Sylvie betrays Loki at one point—and we see Loki’s growth and arc come full circle as, even after being betrayed by the person he hinged his entire development around, he still believes in doing the right thing, in saving her regardless. It ends in a heart-wrenching self-sacrifice of some kind, and his actions serve as the catalyst for her full development as well. We keep seeing different versions of Loki die for their ‘glorious purpose’, just like how Classic Loki shouts the phrase as he was consumed by Aloith (RIP King, I love you).

Loki has already called Sylvie his glorious purpose (or inferred it). There’s been backlash around him saying that, but the way I see it, it’s less “I’m obsessed with this girl she’s my purpose now” and more “I believe that she’s the best version of us and I’m going to make it my purpose to help her succeed and be what the rest of us aren’t”. That’s why seeing all the other variant Loki’s at their worst in the Loki clubhouse (? what do I call this lol) only fuels him more to find her. I think about what Mobius told him: “You exist to cause pain and suffering and death, all so others can achieve the best versions of themselves”. I don’t think Loki truly believes he can be the best version of Loki — I think he saw Sylvie and thought, "it's her". He’s decided he’s going to help her achieve the best version of herself, but he'll do it giving her love and trust and devotion, rather than through betrayal, pain and suffering. He’s re-writing his pre-determined role, in his own small way. I’m so proud of him.

So who’s behind it all and what’s truly going on here? (This isn’t really one theory, more like a string of possibilities and I don’t really know how they’d fit together.)

I still think it’s another version of Loki. And if it is, I can’t help but appreciate the connections between his position dictating the end of time in the show in relation to Loki’s role in the Norse myths, where he’s the catalyst for the destruction of all things. It feels relevant, considering the whole idea that ‘the end of time hasn’t been written yet’ has come up twice now. That would be a fascinating tie-in to the mythology. (Also—Alioth looks like a giant dog. And Fenrir’s role in Ragnarok was devouring the world—I realize this is a reach but am I the only person seeing this connection?) The thing I really can’t predict is the motivation. What would cause a Loki to want to prevent Loki’s from changing? Was there something that happened in the sacred timeline this Loki is trying to preserve? (I also like the idea of us maybe seeing another version of Sylvie behind it all, but I’m just going to leave that rabbit hole alone. )

But here’s the theory I can’t stop thinking about. There’s a theory floating around tik tok (by user twelvepercentcredit) saying the ‘castle’ we see beyond Alioth looks like a place called the House of Ideas, something that appeared in a (discontinued?) Loki comic. Here’s the wiki page on it. Just looking at the imagery of this compared to the location we’re seeing in the trailers, it’s too similar to be a coincidence. The huge bookshelves, the towering ceilings.

Here’s a description from the wiki:

“The House of Ideas is also home to a library which archives the exploits of every hero who has ever existed in the form of books, written unconsciously by the collective minds of their believers. This collection is curated by Now and Then, two of the children of Eternity. Now and Then routinely seek out heroes to bring into the House of Ideas to bargain with them and give their collections more pages, therefore more time for adventures and exploits. “

And later on the page on how Loki ties in:

“Heeding the desire in Loki's heart to do more with his life, Now and Then approached Loki and brought him to the House of Ideas,[5] where they struck up with him the deal to give more pages to his collection of exploits, rewriting the Books of Loki with a hero's stories in exchange for an eventual hero's death.”

Are they gonna play with the exact happenings of this? I don't know, but it sounds pretty cool!

It would be gutsy to go this route with the show given how meta it is, but I love the idea of it. Would they put characters that embody the abstract ideas of “Eternity” “Now & Then” into the show in the last episode? I’m not sure. Something I could see as a possibility though is an alternate version of Loki having overthrown whoever was previously guarding the timeline, and Loki and Sylvie will have to take them down in turn, thus ‘releasing’ the multiverse to its default, chaotic state.

What if our Loki’s ultimate destiny, ultimate Glorious Purpose, is to release the timelines--restoring all the variants back to their original timelines--and remain in this place for eternity, guarding the timeline and ensuring the multiverse is allowed to exist in its natural state? It seems a pretty fitting role for the God of Chaos. It would also explain why whoever’s behind the TVA would be so desperate to eliminate all variant Loki, if that was his ultimate destiny.

It would be an effective way to remove Hiddleston’s Loki from the movie-verse without killing him, AND place both Sylvie and any other Loki variants back in the the main timeline for use in future films—which we know has to happen somehow, because Young Avengers is definitely happening, and Kid Loki has got to get out of the void somehow.

And yea, this outcome would hurt like a bitch. Because even though that would truly be a lovely glorious purpose for our Loki, he’d be alone. And the whole point of this show is that he doesn’t have to be alone! It would be a very poetic sacrifice for him to take on the burden of watching over the timelines alone for all eternity so that his other variants could be the best versions of themselves, but I really just want him to be happy. I will be crying my eyes out if this happens. I’ll be proud but I won’t be okay.

And this all is probably speculative nonsense and could go off in an entirely different direction. Who knows. All in all, I just really want to see Loki fully believe in himself and his ability, to truly absorb what he said about being stronger than he realizes, and to take control of his destiny.

WHAT I WANT (NEED) FROM EPISODE 6:

Let Hunter B-15 and Mobius team up to burn the place to the ground. She was nerfed in the time-keeper fight, I want to see B-15 kick some ass.

I kind of want Ravonna to escape and be a character that carries over into the films for her tie-ins with Kang? I want to see more of her.

Give Loki a new badass costume. I’m begging. If he’s gonna go down, he deserves to go down in something other than khakis.

And then I want to see him and Sylvie fighting side by side in matching outfits.

I want a Mobius-level hug between them. Or a kiss. Or both. But I want the hug more. And you know what? I want her to initiate the hug or kiss or whatever it is because I want Loki to experience receiving love and affection from others as much as giving it. He deserves it ok??

I expect Mobius on a jet ski in the post credits and if I don’t get it I riot

@marvel these are my demands.

As always, if you've made it this far I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[darkstar6782]

15.04: Atomic Monsters - My Review

All the standing ovations here for Jensen’s final directing gig on Supernatural. As much as I would love to see him act in other TV shows or movies for the rest of forever, I would happily settle for watching anything he chooses to direct in the future as well. It’s amazing to see how far he’s come, and hearing about all of the behind-the-scenes collaboration that he did on this episode beyond just directing what was written in the script makes me think that he’s looking more than one direction into the future as far as his career is concerned.

The monster-of-the-week storyline in this episode felt a little underdeveloped, but that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking. In fact, it was so emotionally rich in places, and had just enough callback parallels to Sam and Dean’s past that I almost wish they had done a little more with it. How did that kid become a vampire? Was it affecting him in more ways than just accidentally killing his girlfriend? And why, in God’s name, did the parents think that kidnapping cheerleaders was the way to go? How did they not realize that they were more likely to get caught if they did that? Don’t they know anything about America? Even just a scene with them all actually talking about it might have helped clear up a few of my questions, but the episode’s direction made it clear that that wasn’t the story we should really be focusing on, and Jensen made the absolute right choice there, because the storyline with Becky and Chuck was definitely the one worth telling in this episode.

(more thoughts below the fold...)

I was initially concerned by the thought of bringing Becky back again, given that I always found her a very unflattering portrayal of fandom, especially in ‘Season Seven, Time for a Wedding’, which I can say after having watched it again recently, really doesn’t hold up well. So the fact that the writers brought her back as someone who not only has a much healthier and more accurate relationship with fandom but who also recognizes and apologizes for the type of fan she was before, tells me that the show not only understands fandom much better than they did back in the Kripke and Gamble days (which we kind of knew already, to be honest, thanks to the musical episode), but that they are willing to apologize for their missteps in the past when it came to writing fandom meta into the story. And given how much this final season seems to be relying on meta and callbacks, their sympathetic portrayal of Becky makes me hopeful with regards to where they are taking the story.

Some other things I am here for:

That opening scene, holy shit! All the props to Jensen for writing and directing himself in one of the most badass, John Wick-style actions scenes I have seen outside of a movie theater. Bringing back Benny was a perfect decision, and I will never not enjoy a little evil!Sam, even if he does kill Dean in the end. I can’t wait to see what other alternate endings they choose to pull out of the story and recreate for Sam to dream about, but directors of future episodes will have a lot to live up to to beat this one.

The final scene between the boys in the car, which was one of the more honest and heartbreaking dialogues between them ever. I don’t think either of them are doing all that great emotionally at the moment, as evidenced by Dean both eating junk food or sipping on his flask in practically every scene, but he’s trying to be there for Sam right now, because he knows how much the guilt of having to kill Rowena is weighing on him right now. And kudos to Sam for admitting that he appreciates what his brother is trying to do, but that it’s just not what he needs right now. He is sad and hurting, and what he wants is to acknowledge his feelings and feel them for as long as he needs to without being forced to act like everything’s going to be okay, because there is a chance that it’s not. And Dean just letting him do that, and just being there for him, is a true marker of just how much they have matured as individuals and within their relationship with one another.

Chuck as the season’s Big Bad (or at least, the Big Bad for now; who knows if that’s really where all this is going). We’ve caught glimpses of his potential in the past (in Don’t Call Me Shurley and Moriah), but that was Chuck when he was angry or wrathful. To see him revel in Sam and Dean’s suffering, to watch him plan a horrible, devastating end for them, and then for him to wipe away not just Becky, but her whole family, when she tries to stand up to him was truly terrifying. I was waiting all episode for her to react to the reveal that Chuck was God (because you know he wouldn’t have been able to resist letting it slip at some point), but I definitely wasn’t expecting him to go that dark that fast, and it makes me both excited and very scared for what he might have planned for Sam and Dean.

[pitchsecretadmirers]

Home Is You

Happy Valentine’s Day to @pitchsecretadmirers!

Rating: Teen Word Count: 7,002 Additional Tags: kid!fic, future!fic, established Bawson

Author’s Note: Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day!! From your secret admirer!

Also, this is my first attempt at a one-shot, hopefully it’s ok. Thank you!

“I just put him to sleep,” Mike ran a hand through his already ruffled hair that had been unkempt from the day’s activities. Needless to say, he was exhausted and felt his eyelids getting heavier but hearing her voice instantly brightened his day even if it was at 11:00 at night. “Violet did great at practice, she fell and tore up her knee pretty good but she’s tough….like her mom.” He could hear the smile through the phone and knew that made her feel better.

Ginny and Mike had discussed their options of her returning and he had shared all the valid points of the fact that it was healthy for her to return after the season, whereas Ginny did not see it that way. She didn’t want to be away from Finn and Violet for over 2 months, the thought of that scared her more than anything, even with Mike reassuring her along the way.

Finn had just turned 2 and Violet was 5, so she understood a little more why Mommy had to go and play and why daddy stayed home. His knee gave out pretty quickly after they had Violet which meant he couldn’t play anymore and retirement called his name. Violet looked exactly like Ginny, even down to the curls whereas Finn had a few of Mike’s looks with a hint of Ginny throughout. Violet even loved baseball, which was kind of Mike’s fault since he wanted to play with her teaching her at a very young age how to properly hold a ball, and now they went to see Mommy play as often as they could.

Ginny and Mike also had a couple disagreements on the reason that Mike and the kids didn’t move with her to Chicago, they stayed behind in San Diego. Violet loved her teammates on the baseball team that Mike had put together with a few other moms and dads in the neighborhood. She would be starting school in the fall and pulling her from that environment was not healthy for anyone, even if she was still pretty young. Which is why Ginny tried to argue that she didn’t know any better yet since she was too young to grasp that idea, in the end, Mike won the argument and they made a deal that they would fly out every other month and watch her play and would come to every game that she was in San Diego.

Her sigh was very heavy and he knew she had a lot more on her mind that she wasn’t sharing. “What is it, baby?” He sat down, making as little noise as possible to not wake up Finn, which would consist of Mike staying up till 2:00 in the morning getting him back to sleep. Mike winced in pain as he pulled a book from underneath him, smiling as he read “Winnie the Pooh” on the cover which was Ginny’s favorite and insisted they buy it as soon as they found out they were expecting.

“Nothing, I’m just missing you guys like you have no idea,” Ginny admitted, looking at the bed of her hotel room, it made her sad how empty it was. When the 3 of them came to visit her they would take up her whole entire bed, definitely on purpose but she loved it. There was nothing she loved more than the 3 of them, and she hated that the 2nd thing she loved more than anything which was baseball, was taking her away from them.

“I know baby, but remember what I always tell you when you feel that way—“

“Yeah, yeah, that it won’t always be this way. How can I keep saying that to myself when right after I say those words I immediately think of you because you spoke those words to me, and then it makes me think of our beautiful kids.”

“I know, trust me, I miss you more than anything, the kids miss you, but I don’t want to stress you out about stuff that we already spoke about. I want you to just focus on playing—“

“Babe, with all due respect, it’s hard to play and focus when I’m away from my babies. They’re both so young, what if they don’t remember me? What if I made a mistake?”

Mike could hear the fear behind those words, it seemed like especially lately, even more so when it was getting closer to a game she would get scared and think about these things that he knew she knew were unhealthy for her.

Ginny sighed and he could hear her start to relax “I know, I’m sorry love, I just need to relax.” Ginny said but mainly to herself.

Mike chuckled because he could picture exactly what she was doing, her eyes were closed and her right hand was pushing on her temple to stop a throbbing headache she must have caused and calming herself down. God, he missed her.

“Well, would it make you feel better if I told you I already scheduled our next flight out there?”

Ginny squealed through the phone which caused Mike to pull the phone away and look at Finn to make sure he hadn’t heard that, but he softly chuckled at that.

“Yes! I can’t wait, when?”

“In 2 weeks. I even have a nanny in case…well, you know.” He could feel his cheeks flush even though she wasn’t here; her laugh reassured him though but only intensified his cheeks burning.

“Daddy…” He sighed as he heard Violet’s little voice come through the bedroom door across the hall. “I got to go, baby, Violet’s calling, yes; I’ll kiss her goodnight for you.” With that, he hung the phone up and walked across the hall to his daughter’s room making sure he was extra quiet to not wake Finn up.

He opened the door and poked his head inside, Violet’s little frame was sitting up; he gave her a smile that she did not return. “What is it, sweetheart?” Now fully inside the room he continued smiling and sat down on the bed; the one he bought for her that was constructed to be a small baseball field. She huffed quietly and looked upset, but Mike wasn’t bothered by this considering she did this quite often, especially when she missed her mom.

“I had a bad dream daddy, and you weren’t there to save me from the flying monkey.”

Mike pouted and gasped in shock “What? Okay now you know it’s a dream because I would never ever not save you from a flying monkey!” his sarcasm was clearly evident, but not enough for a 5-year-old to grasp.

“Daddy, I’m being serious.” Or so he thought. He laughed and scooted closer; pulling her little hands so he could hold them in his, squeezing softly.

“Honey, you know I will protect you from anything, right?”

Violet gave a little nod but still looked visibly upset.

“You miss mommy, huh?”

She gave another nod, tears followed quickly after. He sighed and hated how upset she was, Ginny would know exactly what to do; she was the best mom and he definitely considered himself to be a great dad for sure, but it was hard to make a 5-year-old understand everything.

He couldn’t blame her for missing her or feeling that way, he didn’t even feel hurt that he wasn’t enough for Violet at least in the meantime because he missed Ginny just as much, and that killed him that he couldn’t just have her here all the time. He put his hand on her chin and brought it up to look at him. Her big brown eyes staring back with such intensity.

“You know that mommy misses you so much, and I miss her too, but…” He wanted to tell her the big surprise, he had wanted it to be revealed with Ginny on Skype, but his whole being wanted her to feel better. “I have a surprise; do you want to know what it is?”

Violet sat up her smile pushing past the tears, nodding fast making her look a little like a puppet in the dim light coming from the night light. “Okay, but you have to promise me that you will be a big girl for me and go to sleep tonight, and also promise me that you won’t tell mommy I told you.” He put his pinky finger out for her to take, which she did quickly not even thinking twice and nodding at his requests.

“What is it, daddy?”

“We get to see mommy in two weeks.”

Violet squealed back at him just as Ginny had moments ago on the phone, making him smile, god she reminded him so much of Ginny it was just the best. He touched her cheek and gave her a wink. “Okay, so I guess that means you are excited. Now, are we able to go to sleep?”

“As long as you also promise me one thing?”

He raised his eyebrow and stared shocked at his sassy 5-year-old “And what might that be?”

“Can you take me to the park tomorrow to play?” He laughed and nodded “You got it, sweetheart, now sleep.” He leaned down as she scooted down the bed and kissed her on the forehead. “I love you.” He whispered and got an ‘I love you too daddy’ right back which instantly warmed his heart.

He wasn’t sure what he would do not being a father, or not being Ginny’s husband. Hell even a few years ago before they had Violet and got married, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get married again or even have kids, and here he was with two beautiful kids who he loved beyond words and married to a woman who is beyond amazing and he wouldn’t change it for anything.

~0~

“Daddy you said you would take me to the park.” Violet huffed and puffed, getting more and more irritated by the second. He put his finger up to try and ease her, with no luck as she continued to climb him on the couch and pull on his beard.

He put his hand over the speaker “Honey, I will take you to the park; this is an important call, go get ready.” He said as he saw the huge smile spread and he groaned as she got off of him with her tiny little legs accidentally kicking him in the stomach as she stood up on him to get down.

“I’m sorry about that Dr. Metzer, so what is this about exactly?”

Mike closed his eyes and shook his head at the news that the Dr. gave him. How exactly did everything get so crazy in such a short amount of time?

“Okay, thank you Dr. I will get back to you when I speak with my wife. No, I understand that I need to make an appointment as soon as possible, but I also am home alone for the most part, so I will need to speak with my wife.”

He hung up the phone, placing it next to him on the couch and sighing, his head falling back to rest on the armrest of the couch.

“I’m ready daddy, but I think Finn made a poo-poo.”

Mike lifted his head to stare at his daughter’s face that was currently holding her nose with one hand while the other was fanning her face as if she was disgusted by it all. He laughed easing the tension he had felt moments prior.

“Alright, I’ll check on your brother, why don’t you go be a big girl and get the glove and baseball from the box, okay?”

This was one of those moments he truly wished that he had Ginny to help, he shook his head of those thoughts, though, he didn’t want to think like that because he knew that he would always feel that way when something hard came into his life and that was unfair.

~0~

“Jesus man, you look exhausted” Blip eyed, Mike, up and down, handing him the coffee he brought for him as he took a sip from his, clearly noting that Mike needed the caffeine. His sons ran up to Violet, hugging her tightly and each taking turns high-fiving her while Violet giggled uncontrollably.

“Hey Marcus and Gabriel, remember that she’s 5 years younger than you two; gently now, why don’t you all set up while the adults have a quick talk, huh?”

Mike thanked him for the coffee while pushing Finn higher up on his chest from the Tula wrap that at this moment he was thankful he had it on. Finn thankfully was completely asleep even from the movement of getting him out of the car.

“Man, you have no idea,” Mike said as he lifted his brow and sighed. They continued watching as the boys and Violet were getting the mounds ready and laughing at something that Marcus said.

“Vi is still having her nightmares?” Blip said as they leaned against the car, Mike scoffed “Yeah, it’s getting to be like every other night now, and she’s been great when I talk to her but she misses her mom.”

“Well to be fair moms are much better, trust me the boys remind me that I can’t get their stuff ready on time like Evelyn.” Mike chuckled at this, because it was true, men were just not as well put as women were, especially when it came to their children.

“Speaking of though how is Ginny man? Last I spoke to her she lost the last game.”

“She’s okay, she misses the kids, I don’t blame her and honestly it’s getting harder and harder to continue to give her good news when all I want to say is to come home.”

“It sounds like she isn’t the only one missing someone.” Blip said, looking at Mike in a more serious way.

Mike knew he couldn’t lie to Blip, it was almost impossible to do so.

“God man, I miss her every single second, how do you do it when you have to be away from Evelyn for so long?”

“Well I’ve only been away for a short while, not a whole season….so I can’t really give my expertise…”

They both started laughing at his comment “What am I talking about, of course, I can give my expertise.”

Mike elbowed him playfully. “Man it is hard, I know what you are going through, but you have it a bit harder because our roles are reversed. She was the one staying home with the kids, but it’s still hard, you just have to take it day to day and hope to god that when you see them next you don’t ruin it by saying something stupid because let’s face it, we’re idiots.” Blip said referring to men in general.

“Daddy come onnnn!!!” Violet said dragging the last word for emphasis that they were taking too long.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Mike said loudly so they could hear.

Violet threw the first pitch and Blip chuckled noting just how much she threw like her mom, he always forgot that about her every single time she threw. Blip took Finn from Mike so he was able to coach, he knew that he loved that part about this and the kids loved him so he took over watching the younger kids when it came down to it. Plus Finn was his little man; he definitely didn’t mind watching him while Mike did his thing.

Mike tried his hardest to put what the Dr. had said earlier out of his mind, but as he ran to catch the ball he could feel it, he winced in pain and had to take a few seconds before going back in.

“Guys, huddle in, come on,” Mike said as he called them over “Baby, can you practice with the boys for a few minutes while daddy takes a break?” He said as he wiped away the sweat that was threatening to go inside his eyes.

Violet nodded, and they separated but a little hand pulled him back and he saw Violet standing there now with her hands on her hips, giving him a grumpy face. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“That daddy, you can’t keep calling me these names when I’m doing my thing. I want to be unique and by you calling me those names, the boys won’t take me so seriously, you know what I mean?”

He stifled his laugh but couldn’t feel more proud to call her his daughter. He definitely was just happy to know that they instilled great values in his daughter, although he didn’t like being able to call her anything he wanted, but he understood so he just nodded. “You got it, captain.” He winked at her and walked away, before looking back once more to see her running back to the field and immediately telling the boys what to do.

“Man, she’s so sassy…she is definitely not Ginny’s daughter.” Both men laughed at Blip’s comment. Mike winced once more as he sat down next to Blip, grabbing Finn as he passed him over. “You’re telling me, dude, I have to deal with both women, but you know I overpower in that household.” Once more both of them laughed, he looked down at Finn who was still sleeping. “How is he still sleeping? You’re seriously a miracle worker with him.”

Blip shrugged as if it was whatever that he was so good at taking care of Finn.

“How’s the knee?” Blip said looking down at the knee and raising his brow, noticing that Mike looked surprised “I’m not stupid dude; I could tell you were struggling out there.” He put his hands up “No disrespect, you still rock out there but maybe—“

“Don’t say it,” Mike said in warning.

Blip chuckled back “I just think you should take it easy and stay off of playing, didn’t you just go see your doctor, what did he say?”

Mike waved him off “I’m not going to stop playing when my daughter really loves the game, and yeah I saw him and he said I was fine.” He lied through his teeth, but he couldn’t very well tell Blip the truth especially when he had a big mouth and would tell Evelyn which would end up being told to Ginny, and he wouldn’t hear the end of it if he didn’t tell her first.

“Look, I am not saying to stop playing indefinitely, but just for your knee to heal up a bit more, if you keep going this way, man—“

“Don’t.”

“You could really hurt yourself man, and you know I’m only saying this because I care about you, especially because I want to see you continue to play with Violet AND Finn when he’s old enough, but not if you keep coming out here every single day, and on game days for the Tigers.” The Tigers were the name of the little league team he put together that his daughter was in, even as little as she was, everyone knew better than to tell him she couldn’t play, especially with Ginny as her mom.

“I get it man and thank you for your concern, but really I know my limits.”

“Okay, as long as you do that’s all.”

Finn stirred and both men looked down at his little face. “I miss that.”

Mike looked up at Blip who stared at Finn with such admiration. “You miss the constant pooping, getting pooped on, vomiting and not being able to sleep for 3 days straight?” Mike joked but smiled instantly “Is Evelyn still?”

“Yup, won’t change her mind about it either, we’ve been having the same argument for over 7 years man, but maybe we will adopt one day. I wanted a house full of kids. I wanted a whole team.”

Mike nodded in understanding, he felt bad for Blip he had known about their marital problems with the whole ‘children’ situation, but they had worked out most of it but every so often…especially when Finn or Violet would be around, he could tell it was brought up again and he hated that, but there wasn’t much he could do.

Blip’s phone rang “Speaking of, that means only one thing; I have to go.”

Mike nodded once more and stood up; they both called their kids over and side-hugged, while Blip gave Finn a kiss on the head and then gave Violet a huge hug.

“See you guys for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Love you uncle Blip.” Violet said, which made Blip immediately smiled back at her “I love you more doodle bug” Which only caused Violet to roll her eyes, taking a hold of Mike’s hand walking back to the car.

~0~

“So you are leaving tomorrow instead of in 2 weeks?” Blip said while pouring another beer onto Mike’s cup.

“I can sense…” He looked back to the kid’s table where Violet sat with Marcus and Gabriel as they ate their pizza, while the adults sat at the big dining table discussing stuff that the kids didn’t really need to hear; smiling as Violet gave her crust to Gabriel.

Mike turned back around to face Evelyn and Blip who stared waiting for his response. “Violet really needs her mother, and I really miss Ginny. So I’ve just pushed it up.” He sighed and shook his head “I don’t know guys, I feel like I’m failing as a dad.”

Evelyn raised her brow “You’re kidding right?” The men turned their attention to her who looked thoroughly annoyed at Mike by his confession. “Those kids adore you, Violet always is talking about how ‘daddy improved my pitch yesterday’ and ‘daddy was so great at catching that I can’t wait till I can play pro like mommy and daddy so I can have my teammate catch as well as he does’ I don’t think those words would be considered failing as a dad Mike,” Evelyn said as she imitated in her best way his daughter.

Blip just smiled at Evelyn, he was so used to taking Mike on alone with trying to reassure him he was doing just fine, but every so often it was nice to get her take on it and somehow it rang truer than his words because Evelyn was a mom, she understood Ginny and the kids more than the guys would be able to.

“It’s totally normal to feel that way Mike, it’s a tough job, trust me I do it every single day, but those kids are safe and protected on every level and I can see it in the way Violet is so confident when she plays or even when she talks. You’re doing just fine.”

Mike felt his cheeks flush, he was used to Blip telling him positive things to make him feel better but every time it came from her it quickly proved why he loved being a dad. He knew he was a good dad, he also understood that these feelings came with the territory, he was just thankful that he had great friends and a loving wife who were so supportive that it made it easy to appreciate their words of wisdom.

He looked down at the baby monitor camera he brought with him as Finn made a sound but no cry came. Evelyn was about to stand to take care of him, but he shook her away noting that Finn wasn’t going to follow through with his cry.

“Can you please give Ginny a huge kiss from me?” Evelyn asked now sitting back completely giving him a warm smile and returning to her slice of pizza. “Are you surprising her?”

Mike nodded at both those questions. “She still thinks we are coming up in 2 weeks.”

“Well she plays in 2 days, so I think that will give her some inspiration.” Blip said taking a quick sip of his beer.

~0~

“Now, do you remember what I told you?”

“Daddy, I really wish you wouldn’t continue to badger me, I’m not 4 years old anymore, I can understand a request as simple as ‘don’t say anything until we open the door’” she rolled her eyes and pushed her curly hair behind her, he wanted to laugh at her words, she was the sassiest girl he knew and he couldn’t be more proud to say that she had his DNA.

“Alright then, you ready?”

Mike had been to this hotel so many times before that he knew the names of the doorman and that list also included the clerk who always gave him a key without asking any questions. He had Finn wrapped on him and of course, was still sleeping, he gave Violet a quick wink before he put his fingers up and said ‘go’ quietly.

Violet shoved the door open to reveal Ginny sitting on the corner of her bed, reading something on her phone and quickly shooting up to stare at the scene before her. She looked to have been crying before they got there, and stood up running to meet them half-way and bending down to pick Violet, grabbing her so tight and having Violet wrap her little legs across Ginny’s waist.

“Mommy!” Violet said it so loudly that Mike’s laugh was blocked from her voice.

“I missed you so so much, my baby, let me take a look at you,” She said, grabbing Violet’s face into her hands and examining every single thing about her. Ginny’s tears couldn’t be contained any longer and she pulled her in once more and continued to hug her.

Finn stirred and she looked up to see Mike standing there watching at his two girls that he loved more than anything besides little Finn here and stared with such intensity and love. Ginny wiped away the tears and walked over to Mike, placing Violet down gently.

Mike pulled Finn off of him and passed him to Ginny, who took him with ease as a mother would and gave him kisses throughout his face, making him stir once more but not once opening his eyes, this kid was unbelievable how much he could sleep and other times he liked to stay awake and not allow Mike to sleep at all.

She looked up finally to examine Mike’s face; she grabbed his shirt and touched his chest, softly slapping it. “You jerk, why didn’t you tell me you would be here?”

Mike laughed but could feel the tears start to fall from his eyes now and pulled her into his chest, allowing room so Finn wasn’t squished by their hug. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, god that smell was intoxicating; he hadn’t been able to smell her coconut shampoo for a while, and her pillow no longer did smell like her so this was pure heaven. She brought her head up to stare at him in the face and just continued to look at him completely.

She brought her free hand up to touch his beard “God I missed you.” She pulled him in gently for a kiss, a kiss that was much needed and the only reason they parted was Violet’s little “Ewwww” in the background. She was always so patient when Mike and Ginny were taking each other in after not seeing each other for so long, but every time they kissed she wasn’t having it, but she was also giggling and smiling which was clearly evident that she did like when they did it.

They laughed with Violet’s hands covering her eyes but quickly peeking to see them staring at her. Ginny pulled her in and hugged all of them.

~0~

Violet was playing with the puzzle that Ginny had purchased for her a few days ago, and Finn was luckily still asleep and was in his small crib that they had purchased shortly after she got here.

Mike had Ginny wrapped on his arm as she had her head resting on his chest, running circles around his shirt and every so often would lean up and kiss him. This was her definition of heaven, all of them here in the same room.

“Why did you look so sad before we walked in?” Mike already knew the answer to that question, but he asked it regardless.

She shrugged, bringing her face to stare at his. “I was looking at our last family vacation, it was when Violet was 2 and Finn wasn’t even born.” She shook her head “I hate that we are always apart and that we haven’t been able to take a vacation for a while.”

“Baby, we will take a vacation as soon as the season is done.”

“We always say that, and then I have press or have spring training, or something else comes up”

Mike sighed, she wasn’t lying, all of that had happened in the past hence why they hadn’t taken a vacation since, but he wanted to keep her happy while they were here.

“Well it’ll happen, I promise, okay?”

Ginny’s body softened as she relaxed against his touch and nodded, kissing his chest and continuing to run circles on his chest “Okay.”

“Mommy, are you coming back with us this time?”

Her body tensed up once more and Mike hated that she couldn’t relax, he knew that Violet was only asking and was curious as for any kid but he didn’t want to stress her out any more than she already was, especially when she had a game tomorrow.

“Mommy has to stay here a little while longer baby” Ginny’s face dropped as she saw Violet’s drop “but I promise you that I will be there as soon as I can, in the meantime, you can keep coming here, how about that?”

Violet shrugged and turned her attention back to her puzzle with disappointment.

“It’s okay love.” He whispered but she shook her head. He opened his mouth but the knock stopped him. He got up and put his hand up for her to wait. “I got it, you stay there.”

He walked over and opened the door to reveal Jessie, their nanny who was fantastic and couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Who is ready to go for some yummy dinner?”

Ginny sat up and smiled as Jessie entered the room. Violet ran up to her and gave her a hug.

“I didn’t interrupt anything?” Jessie asked as she saw everything about in her room. “No please you are fine,” Ginny answered back.

“Alright, I’ll take babies and I’ll be back before 11 pm, you two have fun,” Jessie said winking at both of them.

“What?” Ginny said but stopped as she watched Mike as he grabbed the already packed a bag and everything that Jessie would need. What Ginny didn’t know was that he even made reservations for the kids and Jessie for everything, including buying out a room in the theater so they could go watch a movie of their choice.

Ginny stared in confusion. “No questions, I’ll let you in on it later.” He turned to stare at Violet and gave her a huge kiss “Be a good girl for Auntie Jessie, okay?”

Violet nodded, she already was in on the plan that daddy had told her so she tugged her coat on further, Ginny stood up and gave Violet a hug and a kiss while Mike picked up sleeping Finn and put him in the stroller; as Ginny bent down to kiss him on the head.

They left and Ginny crossed her arms “Explain please.” She said as she stared at Mike who looked to be impressed with himself that he pulled it off.

“Let’s just say I had everything ready to go so you and I could have a date tonight. I think you could use it.”

“But don’t you—“

“The kids will be fine, and yes, you will get time to spend it with them after your game tomorrow, as I have already planned that as well.” He finished her questions before she even asked them, which he knew she would have.

“Wow.” She said, still with her arms crossed but now smiling completely.

“You’re impressed aren’t you?” Mike said getting a little shove from Ginny but he pulled her in towards him and kissed her, this time with such passion that he felt her knees buckle.

The knock once more interrupted them, but he was expecting that knock so he kissed her once softer than the last and parted, putting his hand up once more to explain that he needed her to wait, she just stared still impressed by everything.

He opened the door to reveal a man dressed in a very nice tux, he had a box with a bow on it and gave him a nod. “Thank you, Jeff.” He gave him his tip and took the box turning around and putting the box out so Ginny could take it.

“For me?” She asked, knowing the answer to that question. She looked excited and took it as Mike stared with so much love as he saw her opening the box quickly and revealing a dress inside gasping immediately. It was the same dress that she wore on their first date, she stared not believing it. “How?”

He laughed “let’s just say I had a very fancy designer re-create it” she had lost that dress somewhere during when they moved and was devastated that it happened, so he could see how that meant the world to her that he took the time to do that.

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

Mike shrugged and shook his head “Meh every so often, here and there.” He joked, and she ran up to him kissing him once more, this time he was the one whose knees almost buckled.

“You really want to get laid, don’t you?”

“Oh, that never came up.” He once again joked about that, now both of them were laughing.

~0~

“Come on mommy!” Violet screamed loudly from the VIP room, hanging her little body on the railing and staring at Ginny who was on the mound and just got her second out in a row.

A few people’s chuckles could be heard from behind Mike who sat on the table staring as well. He had Jessie watching Finn on the couch behind them while he spent time with his daughter, watching Ginny play. It was the best and he loved getting to enjoy this time with his daughter.

He was definitely in a good mood, not just because he was here with Violet or that he was in the same city as his wife, but that he got to spend some amazing quality time with her when they went on the date which was a smashing success. Not to mention he got laid, that was a bonus, which is why he couldn’t hide the stupid smile plastered on his face.

His face dropped as he watched a confrontation unfold with the guy named Jackson who played for the opposing team the Giants and Ginny, he had been hitting and something was said, as he threw the bat to the side and started walking towards Ginny who looked to not be backing down. Damn Ginny, she never backed down which was usually great, but not when someone could really hurt her.

“Why is that guy yelling at mommy?” He snapped out of it and looked down to see Violet’s worried little face staring at what he had been watching seconds before.

“Jessie, can you please take her.” He grabbed Violet’s attention and she still looked frightened as Mike looked back and noticed both teams were now out and throwing punches, his heart started beating fast as he found himself not being able to find Ginny in the massive crowd. Jessie was there within seconds. “Baby, mommy is fine, Jessie is going to get some ice cream with you” He heard Violet say ‘but daddy’ but his mind started to race, he could feel eyes on him as he grabbed his phone to call down to the pit, no answer, he groaned, grabbing his jacket and leaving the room with continued eyes following him.

“Blip, did you see? No man, they won’t answer and I’m freaking out, the last I saw Ginny was being yelled at and—“ He stopped talking and walking as he saw some of Ginny’s teammates yelling at each other but no Ginny. “I’ll call you back man, yes, I promise” He hung up and walked towards them.

“Hey Jarvis, where’s my wife?” Mike asked, staring at Jarvis who from all the phone calls of Ginny, he came to knew Jarvis as a great friend to Ginny one who would take a hit for her, which clearly was the case here when he noticed the blood spilling from his nose.

Jarvis waved away to let Mike know he was okay, grabbing and pinching his nose to alleviate the pain and subdue the blood, which was not working. “I saw her for a second before I was hit and then got tumbled into the whole mess and I didn’t see her when I came out man, I’m sorry I tried–”

“No, it’s okay, thanks, man.” He said hoping that would ease his discomfort and fear, but it definitely didn’t as more and more players came out with more and more blood.

Matthews who was the lead coach came out shaking his head, and talking to someone, Mike walked up to him and interrupted his conversation, in any scenario this would be considered rude and he liked to think he was far from that; but this called for it, considering he had still not seen or heard where Ginny was.

“Oh hi Mike, no look calm down.” Matthews started talking and putting his hand on Mike’s shoulders to try and calm him down but that wasn’t working.

“Matthews, where the hell is my wife? My daughter was watching as her mom was being yelled at, so I need to know where she is. & what the hell was that all about anyway? Why was he so angry?”

“He called me a negro bitch who can’t throw,” Ginny said from behind, making everyone turn to stare. She had blood on her shirt and her ponytail was slightly coming out, but the fear in her eyes was still evident.

Mike sighed and ran up to her, giving her a hug but quickly letting her go to look at her. He cupped her face in his hands and stared. “Did they hurt you?” He felt himself getting angrier by the second, not just by what happened, but what that jerk said to her. She shook her head “It’s not my blood, Jarvis he…” she pointed at Jarvis and gave him a nod who returned it while still holding his nose in place, wincing at the pain. “He took a really good punch and I tried helping but got pushed to the side. I’m fine, a little shaken up but it’s okay–”

Ginny’s eyes went wide “Oh my god, Violet she was–”

“She’s fine, well I think she’s just as shaken up since she had that exact face.” He laughed as he saw Violet’s face in Ginny’s, they were definitely mother and daughter.

“That bitch had it coming….” Jackson stopped talking with one of his teammates when he saw the scene in front of him. Mike started towards him but had multiple hands on him including Ginny’s, Jarvis and a security’s.

“Oh, you’re the husband?” Jackson laughed, while the other teammate looked embarrassed about the things he was saying, and looked as if he didn’t agree.

“Don’t, Mike,” Ginny said, grabbing his hand. Ginny could tell that Mike was seeing red and he was in no mood to talk someone as ignorant as Jackson.

“You’re so lucky that she’s here,” Mike said, grabbing Ginny’s hand and walking away, Jackson continued talking but it seemed to piss him off more that no one gave him any attention.

“You should have let me clock him, just one punch.”

Ginny laughed and shook her head “No, that’s what he wanted, guys like that don’t deserve any more attention, he’s a troll.”

Mike shook his head and stopped walking, making Ginny turn to look at him. “I hate that I can’t protect you from guys like that out there….”

Ginny chuckled lightly. “it’s not funny baby.” Mike said, leaning against the wall and pulling her with him so her body was pressed against his.

“I’m only laughing because you can’t protect me from racist asshats like him, I’ve been dealing with that my whole life, but thank you.”

He shook his head once more “For what?”

“For being my person, my rock. The reason I didn’t do more than I wanted to was you. You are the reason I breathe beside our babies. I love you so much.”

Mike softened and nodded now giving her a big smile “Wow, you really know how to butter me up, Mrs. Lawson. I love you too my love.” He leaned in and kissed her, breathing her in, god he loved her so much.

“You really scared me, and Violet too.” He said as they parted and put their foreheads together, she closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry, I was scared too, let’s go see our baby and get me out of these clothes.”

“Ooh, can I help?”

They both laughed and stopped walking hand in hand when they saw Violet in the far end of the hallway with Jessie who had a huge grin on her face, and Finn was wide awake in her hands.

“Let’s go, babe.” He whispered as they walked towards them.

At this moment was the reason Mike felt alive and happy, even when life threw hard things at them they were still a family and a happy one at that. He wouldn’t change it for anything.