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charmedtodeath · 1 year

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These Traps We Fall Into | Robert Stahl/fem character (Part 1)

Summary: Agent Stahl is working on a case investigating corruption in the NYPD when he discovers his asset has more to offer than just intel and evidence. (Third person POV)

TW/CW: stalking, obsession, obsessive behavior, abuse of authority, abuse of power, possessive behavior, inappropriate behavior, general creepiness, age gap

a/n: Hello, fellow Warren Kole enjoyers. I didn’t want this to be Shades of Blue 2.0 so in place of Harlee, the detective character is a man with an unnamed adult daughter. Third person despite being a reader insert because it’s easier to tell the story that way and a lot of people hate first person POV lol. Loosely inspired by an idea sent to @rors-grvs

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Part 2

Special Agent Stahl has never been the type of person to just let things go. Winning and being right are the most important things to him, and he'll stop at almost nothing to get what he wants. He craves control and power, among other things. What he didn't expect during his most recent investigation on corruption in the NYPD was how much he ended up craving her.

Stahl, of course, had profiled her detective father and knew almost everything there was to know about him: where he lived, what kind of car he drove, where he stopped for coffee in the morning, and all about the racketeering and corruption he was about to be arrested for. His daughter, on the other hand, only thought of her dad as a morally upright man who'd sworn to protect and serve, and had no idea about the payoffs he was taking. He was just one of New York's finest. Dear old dad was simply making the community a better place and it showed, according to the improved crime statistics in Brooklyn.

So when her dad suddenly began having to work on more cases than usual and was acting strange, she chalked it up to coincidence. New York City was always a busy place and there's no rest for the wicked. She herself was too swamped to really pry into him and figure out what was going on, and she felt like a bad daughter for not trying harder.

After all, emotionally supporting him was the least she could do while he was letting her stay with him, rent free. Medical school isn't going to be cheap and scholarships and grants won't cover everything. She's been spending nearly all her available time picking up extra ambulance shifts to save as much money as possible in an attempt to avoid drowning in debt later down the road.

As much as she wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a detective like him someday, she took after her mother instead. They had been a stereotypical couple; a cop falling in love with an emergency room nurse. After a couple of kids and a divorce resulting in her younger brother preferring to live with their mom and stepfather, she stayed in NYC with Pops.

Medicine seemed like a more promising career, anyway, with a lower likelihood of getting hurt on the job. On the advice of her pre-med academic advisor, she had picked up a job soon after turning 18 as an EMT for the FDNY to get a taste of emergency medicine. She loved the adrenaline rush and the chance to help people at their worst. Eventually, she was able to complete the steps to become a paramedic the year before finishing her undergrad degree in biology. The acceptance to four different schools soon came along and she'd be starting at NYU this coming fall. She loved the energy of the city and didn't want to give it up for more rural locations. There was simply no better place to live and breathe the intensities of emergency care.

All in all, it was really the perfect situation- she got to move back in with her father and save thousands on rent, work was close by, and it would still be a few months before she had to start commuting to Manhattan for school. That being said, things had changed by the end of May. Her dad was suddenly working insane hours and she'd usually end up eating dinner alone, sometimes not running into him again until the following morning. Seeing him abruptly run down and anxious sparked her worry and she decided to catch him at breakfast to investigate after a week of his strange behavior.

"Is everything okay at work, Dad? I haven't seen you around much this week."

"Oh, there's no need to worry about me, kid. Just have a lot going on with an extra heavy caseload, that's all." It wasn't unrealistic for him to have a thick stack of case files to get through, but it had been relatively quiet in Brooklyn for the past few months. The uptick in activity has been worrying her.

"If you say so. Just so you know, I'm gonna be back super late tonight. Running a double today."

"Don't hurt yourself working too hard. I love you."

"Love you, too. Maybe you should take your own advice, though. I'll see you later." Without another word, she slides on her work boots before leaving the apartment, and she swears she hears him sigh in relief once she's halfway through the door.

It seems like everyone in Brooklyn decided that today was the day they absolutely needed to go to the hospital. There were nonstop ambulance runs all morning and afternoon, and she and her partner barely had time to go back to their base location in between runs. So much for catching up on podcast episodes.

By the time she gets back home, it is well after midnight and all she wants to do is shower off the sweat and grime before collapsing in bed. Luckily, she's on second shift next so she would be able to sleep in. If she had been more awake and alert, maybe she'd have noticed the contents of her dresser being slightly askew, or her hair brush a few centimeters to the left of its usual spot. Her father had taught her to always be alert and observant, but pure exhaustion made her overlook the fine details.

In fact, she had become so hyperfocused on work and training a new EMT for the past few days that she had failed to notice she was being tailed. Nobody would have questioned a man in a suit with a badge at the scene of a shooting. If she had seen him, she would have assumed he was just another detective milling about while she treated victims and sent away anyone who needed to be transported to the hospital. The following day, she paid no attention to the same man watching her in the freezer section of the grocery store on her way home.

She had learned to be vigilant about more traditional threats in the city- people walking a little too closely behind her at night, creepy onlookers who were overly fascinated by female paramedics and tried to flirt while she was working, or intoxicated patients that harassed and tried to hurt her in the back of the ambulance. These kinds of threats felt more real because she could see, hear, and sometimes smell them.

All the years of training and learning to defend her personal space and emotional boundaries were worth nothing compared to someone who picked apart people for a living. Her father and his Street Crimes Unit had been under surveillance for weeks before he was ever arrested, and she was simply an afterthought to most people working on the case. Daughter, age 23, lives with surveillance subject in Brooklyn is what they'd note about her before moving on to the next part of the profile. Robert Stahl is not most people.

At first, he was only interested in taking down her father's corrupt lieutenant and trying to link him directly to the laundered payoff money. But as soon as Stahl laid eyes on her, he knew this detective was the one he'd be picking up and offering an immunity deal to in exchange for becoming an FBI informant. Her dad was very careful to hide all of this from her, not wanting to add any more undue stress in her life when she was about to start medical school. Stahl was careful to hide his tracks as well, making sure she didn't spot him while he was watching her and not stealing anything each time he broke into their apartment. He would look, he would touch, but he wouldn't take.

She had become a personal project to him, a bonus that came along while he was working on a real investigation. It took only weeks for his obsession to grow and fester into something so powerful that he swore he'd do anything to protect her. If her father didn't hold up his end of the bargain and ended up in prison, Stahl would ensure she was taken care of. He could give her a better home and a better life than her father was capable of.

When things began to fall apart for the detective and he was spending more and more time away from home, Stahl was able to sneak into their apartment as often as he wanted. With a GPS tracker carefully hidden in the thick sole of her work boots and location tracking on her dad's phone, he didn't have to worry about either of them showing up at home unexpectedly. He was free to invade her space, touching her clothes and imagining her wearing outfits for him, laying in her bed and picturing her there with him. He was fully hooked and didn't want anything getting in his way. He'd be damned before he let another man take her away from him.

Stahl quickly began manipulating her environment to get what he wanted, jealousy getting the better of him. The little things bothered him the most. Firefighters talking to her and making her laugh, male partners on her ambulance, and any other man that got a little too close for Stahl's comfort when he was watching her.

All of this, and she had no idea he was there in the background every step of the way. She didn't have that feeling of being watched. There was no presence in every room she went into, or an inkling that she was being followed down the street. Stahl was too careful for that, so he intervened in invisible ways.

She often stops at a convenience store near the EMS station to pick up snacks and drinks, and it was clear one of the clerks had taken a liking to her. Most of the time she'd be in and out in less than five minutes, sometimes by herself and others with her partner. Either way, Stahl didn't like the way this young man looked at her.

"Getting the usual again, I see." She places the energy drink and peanut M&Ms on the counter, pulling out her credit card to pay as her trainee waits by the door, flipping through a magazine and sipping his own energy drink.

"Any small treat on a busy day is worth it. Probably shouldn't be drinking this crap, though."

The clerk takes the opportunity to shoot his shot with her, and clears his throat before making a move, "I know you come in here all the time and that you're really busy, but if you want to let off some steam, there's some pretty good parties in Flatbush on weekends. Let me know if you ever feel like hanging out. Don't bring the ambulance, though." Seeing that cute little laugh through the windows is enough to make Stahl furious.

To rectify the situation, he takes out his phone and places a fake 911 call for an old woman having chest pain in the vicinity of the convenience store, knowing the call will almost certainly be sent to her unit. He smiles to himself when he sees her talking into the radio. Once she comes outside again, he can finally hear that sweet voice.

"10-4, ALS unit responding," she tells the dispatcher. "Come on, Probie. Let's see how you do with this one."

Stahl watches as she hops in the back of the ambulance while the trainee rides up front with her partner, flipping on the lights and siren before pulling away from the curb. He follows far behind, not worried about losing them since he already knows where they're headed. It's too bad he can't follow her around for longer today. After all, there's still a real investigation to work on and he has to meet with his asset. He wants to hate her father to the core, but this angel was created by the man he so desperately wants out of the picture and he has to be somewhat thankful for her existence.

Following another attempt of getting her father to wear a wire to collect a scrap of indictable evidence, Stahl waits in his car to listen in on the conversation while scrolling through all his pictures and videos of her. He touches the screen in an attempt to stroke her soft skin, his imagination working on overdrive to think of what it would be like to touch her. It would be so easy for him to sneak into her room later while she's sleeping and play with the loose strands of hair splayed across the pillow or sweep his fingers over those strong legs she keeps hiding from him under her cargo pants. But no, he wants her to want him first. He needs to hear her say it.

#robert stahl #robert stahl shades of blue #agent stahl #robert stahl x reader #shades of blue fanfic #warren kole characters

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bluebloodsgurl · 1 year

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Lifeline: Part 2

Characters: Jamie Reagan, Reader, Frank, Danny, Erin, Diana (OFC)

Mentioned- Henry, Linda, Jack, Sean, Rourke, Brian (OMC), Ryan (OMC)

Starting Paring: Jamie X Sydney, Reader X OC Paramedic Brian

Word Count: 4600

Warning: Language, Angst, Reader being an ass, Mentions of a Dead Parent, Asshole Father, A little bit of Fluff.

A/N: This is part 2 of Lifeline. I still don’t know how many there will be as of this moment.

Also, I’m sorry it took me so long to get something out. Life has been kicking my ass. Hopefully, I will be posting more but I am not making any promises.

Feedback is always welcome. The Good and The Bad. Requests are also open.

Want to be updated on my work Tag Yourself Here

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By the time you got home that morning, you were completely exhausted. You dropped your bag by the front door, not caring where it landed. Then your boots followed quickly after, just like your bag not caring where they ended up. Walking over and throwing yourself over the back of the couch, pulling the blanket down over you as you went. You just let the couch swallow you up. As you were on the cusp of falling asleep, your phone starts going off. You shift to pull your phone out of your pocket, looking at the screen before answering it.

“You better be dying or dead.”

“Well good morning to you too Sunshine.”

“Jamie, it’s not a good time right now.” You let out a sigh. “What did you need?”

“I was going to see if you wanted to get breakfast before both of us went to work. I also wanted to see how the night shift went.”

“Oh, it was great.” Sarcasm was dripping from your mouth.

“Wow. Really?”

“Well, if you call getting myself suspended great, then I had a grand ol’ time.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Jamie, I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“Well either you come with me to breakfast willingly, or I will come into your house and drag your ass out kicking and screaming. What’s it gonna be?”

“I hate you, and I want my key back.”

“I know you do. Yeah, good luck getting the key from me, you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.” He let out a laugh. “I’ll be there in about five minutes to get you. So, hurry up.”

You hung up the phone, grunting as you got up from your couch and throwing your blanket down. You quickly went to your room to change out of your work clothes. You knew Jamie wasn’t joking when he said he would drag you out. He has done it before; he will do it again. You changed into a pair of joggers and a FDNY shirt just to mess with him. You were pulling on your socks when you heard your front door open and Jamie yelling.

“Y/n!” There was a slight pause, before you heard him stumble and curse. “Son of a bitch. Y/n, why didn’t you pick up your damn shoes. Y/n! Don’t make me have to come find you.”

You just laid back on your bed, closing your eyes and rubbing your hands over your face. You heard footsteps heading towards your room, they stopped in your doorway for a second before they came to a stop in front of you.

“You are not wearing that to breakfast.”

You open up your eyes to see him pointing to your shirt. You just closed your eyes and let out another sigh.

“Then I’m not going.” You crossed your arms like a child who was pouting.

You heard him walk away for a second, thinking you had won. Which was a short-lived dream when he came back, he pulled you up into a sitting position, causing you to let out a squeal and open your eyes. Only to have him pulling a hoodie over your head.

“Jamison! Stop it!” You struggled against him, to no avail. Once it was on you looked up at him, with an angry pout. “I am not a child.”

“Then quit acting like one.” He laughed at you.

You stood up and walked out of your room towards the front door. As you did, you looked down at the hoodie. It was Jamie’s old Harvard sweater that he got when he had gotten accepted. He lent it to you one day when you forgot your jacket, and it just never found its way back to him. He never asked for it back, so you just held onto it. At this point if he did ask for it back you wouldn’t be able to give it back.

The two of you left your house and got into Jamie’s car. There wasn’t much conversation, just comfortable silence. You were tired enough that you had started dozing off on the way. Once he pulled up to the curb of your favorite breakfast spot you were completely out. Jamie got out and walked to the passenger side door, slowly opening it not to wake you.

After all of these years, you really should have known better than to fall asleep around Jamie or any of the Reagan siblings for that matter. Jamie leaned in slightly and started screaming and shaking you. Your eyes shot open, screaming yourself. You looked over to see Jamie laughing so hard as you are clutching your chest.

“You’re an ass.”

“Oh, that was so funny.” He got out in between laughs.

He was hunched over with his hands on his knees, not caring that there was quite a few people staring at you. You got out of the car and pushed Jamie, knocking him on his ass.

“Hey!” You stood there just looking down at him. “You just assaulted a police officer ma’am.” He was up in a second.

“You have been a police officer all of two seconds.” You cocked your eyebrow at him. “Besides you wouldn’t arrest your best friend.”

“Are you sure about that?” He was right in your face, trying so hard not to smile.

“Yep.”

“How so?”

“I have friends in high and low places buddy. You don’t want to mess with me.”

“You’re such a dork.” He smile breaking out along with a chuckle. “Come on, let’s go eat and talk about how you got suspended.” He threw his arm over your shoulder as he pulled you into the diner.

Diana greeted you as you both walked into the diner.

“If it isn’t my two favorite troublemakers.” She had a big grin on her face.

“I’m not the troublemaker, she is.” Jamie pointed at you as the two of you sat down.

“What? I am not. You are a hundred percent the troublemaker out of the two of us.”

“No, you are. I’m not the one who got suspended.” He had a big grin on his face.

“What!?”

You gave Jamie the dirtiest look you have ever given anyone. You could feel her eyes starring you down, and it is not a feeling you want to have. Ever since you were young, Diana has been a big part of your lives. The two of you would come in here quite a bit with your families or even just each other. She practically watched the both of you grow up.

“Dude. Why would you say that in front of her?” You whispered harshly. Your eyes haven’t left Jamie’s, in fear of what would happen if you looked over to Diana.

“Y/n, what happened?” You looked up at her slowly, with a shy grin on your face.

“I punched another paramedic in the face.” You said quietly before looking down. “Then I slammed him into the back door of the truck.”

“Woah! What did he do to piss you off?”

“Why would you do that?” She asked while hitting you in the arm.

“Ow! We had a call for a car accident right at the end of our shift. He wanted to take a child away from his mother right after it all happened. He was going to traumatize that poor kid. Then he had the audacity to bring up my mother, then I flipped out on him. I punched him in the face and slammed him up against the back of the truck. Then I got suspended, and I can’t return to work until I take an anger management class.”

“Well then he deserved it.” Diana put her hand on your shoulder. “You don’t do that to a child, and you sure as hell don’t bring up someone’s past trauma.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” Jamie questioned you.

“Tyler texted me earlier saying that he was suspended for a day or some bullshit like that. I don’t know, I’m just hoping I never have to work with him again.”

“That is stupid, he should have to take a class on how to be a decent human.”

“That is absolute bullshit.” Jamie rubbed his hands down his face.

“Yeah, but it is what it is.” You just shrugged. “Can’t take it back now. Then again, I don’t think I would if I could.”

After that, Diana took your order and left the two of you to talk. The two of you sat there for just over an hour, before Jamie had to head into work. After paying and saying a quick goodbye to Diana, the two of you left. Jamie walked around to the driver-side of his car, while you looked around at the busy street. Somehow you aren’t as tired as you were before. You need to clear your head on the early morning events, and there was really only one place you could do that.

“Hey, I think I’m gonna walk.”

“What? Y/n you look like you’re going to pass out. I’m not gonna let you walk home.” He gave you a look like you were crazy.

“I’m fine Jamie. Plus, I’m not going home just yet.”

“Where are you going?” He came back around and stopped in front of you.

“I need to think for a little while, so I’m gonna go visit my mom.” Jamie quickly pulled you into a tight hug.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I don’t know, I just need to talk to her.” You stood there for a moment longer before you broke the hug.

“Alright, come on. Go to work.”

“I can drop you off.”

“No, I’ll be fine. Besides, you don’t want to be late on your first day, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” He looked at you, with his signature smirk.

“What?”

“Nothing. Look, text me when you get there and…”

“And when I leave, and then when I get home. Ya’ know sometimes it’s like she’s still alive and is just using you as a vessel to make sure I’m okay.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad.” He looked at you like he was a little offended. “I just want you to be safe, I would still be doing this if she was still here.”

“I know. You have been protecting me since we were seventeen. Hell, maybe even before that and I was just too stubborn to notice.”

“Yeah, you were.”

“Hey!” You went to hit him in the arm, he was quickly able to dodge your hand before it made contact. He moved to the front of his car. “Get out of here, before I personally call the commissioner and tell him that one of his officers is causing as scene instead of going into work.”

“You wouldn’t.” He narrowed his eyes at you.

“Try me.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket, holding it up and waving it back and forth.

“Umm… Y/n?”

He pointed to your phone; you gave him a confused look before looking at your phone.

“Speak of the devil.”

You quickly looked back at him before answering.

“Hello, Commissioner Reagan.”

“Y/n, we have talked about this. Call me Frank.”

“Sorry Frank, how are you?”

“I am doing good. How are you?”

“Funny you should ask because I was just talking about you.”

“Oh, to who?”

“One of your officers, who is bound to be late for his first day of work if he doesn’t leave me alone.” You had a smirk on your face, while Jamie gave you an annoyed look.

“Can you hand the phone to Officer Reagan.”

“Sure.” You walked over to Jamie. “He would like to talk to you.”

He slowly took the phone and put it to his ear.

“Hello.”

You watched as the conversation unfolded. Jamie was just nodding his head and saying “Yes, Sir.” Soon he handed you the phone back.

“I have to go brat. Text me, call me if you need anything, okay?” He pulled you into another quick hug before heading to get into his car.

“I will. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Once he was gone, you quickly turned your attention to your phone.

“So, what’s going on Frank?”

“Well, I was just wondering how you were doing this morning.”

“You talked to Rourke didn’t you.”

“I may have.” You rolled your eyes.

“Frank, I really don’t want to get into this. I’m sure you got all of this information from Rourke but, Ryan pissed me off and now I’m suspended until I take an anger management class. It happened and now I have to deal with the consequences of my actions.”

“I know what happened, I’m still wondering how you are doing. Which you still haven’t answered by the way.”

“I’m fine.”

“Y/n, I have known you long enough to know when you aren’t telling me the truth.”

“Frank, I appreciate you checking up on me, but I am not one of your kids that you have to check up on when something pops up, okay. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself. I have been doing that for a long time, longer than you probably realize.”

“I know that. You are a strong person. I just…” You cut him off.

“I have to go. I have things that I have to deal with. I will talk to you later.”

“Okay. Bye kiddo.”

As soon as you hung up the phone, you felt like a complete ass. Frank has been there for you more times than you could count. He was just being the friend to you that he always has been. This is the man that helped you get through things when your own father couldn’t. He welcomed you into his home and his family all those years ago and you just threw it back in his face.

“Fuck.”

You haled a cab, then you made your way to the cemetery. When you found your mom, you sat down next to her. You pulled your legs up and wrapped your arms around them. You just sat there for a little while not speaking.

“Hi mom. I really fucked up big this time. I got suspended because some jackass decided that it would be a clever idea to take a child away from his mother right after a car accident. He also brought up you and I lost it on him. I’m honestly surprised that I held back. Then I got a call from Frank, he was just trying to check up on me and I took it out on him. I know I shouldn’t have but I did.”

You had tears forming in your eyes, threatening to fall at any second. You looked up to the sky, before leaning back to lay on the grass. You laid there for a little while just talking to her about other things that were going on. You also tried to figure out a way to apologize to Frank. After a few hours of sitting there, you said your goodbyes to her and got up and went to get another cab.

You had the cab drop you off at a store, so you could pick up the ingredients for your mother’s cheesecake, that you know Frank loves. When you got everything home, you got to work. After it was finished baking, you let it cool while you lay down on the couch to take a long-awaited nap.

When you woke up you had quite a few missed calls and unread text messages. Most of them were from Jamie, which you should have expected since you didn’t text him when you got to or left the cemetery. There was also a couple of missed calls from your father and a text from Erin.

You decided to get the more unpleasant phone call over with first.

“Hello?”

“Hi dad.”

“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Excuse you?”

“Y/n, what did you do at work?”

“Ya’know, I had a shitty night, thanks for asking.”

“Seriously, that’s how you’re gonna act right now?

“What do you want me to say? Huh. Do you want me to tell you that I got suspended because some asshole thought it was a good idea to traumatize a child, then bring up my past trauma because he fucking felt like it? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

You were met with silence, which didn’t surprise you at all. Ever since you mother died, he has only ever called to complain or yell at you.

“Y/n…”

“Don’t. Don’t even pretend that you care. I know where I stand in your life. I wasn’t able to help or save mom and now you blame me every chance you can for her death. So why don’t you just stop pretending to care about me. You leave me alone; I will leave you alone.” You hung up the phone, not wanting to deal with him anymore, the sad part is that no matter what if he needed help and called you. You would be there for him, even after all the shit he put you through.

You sent a quick text to Erin, saying:

Y: Sorry Erin. I had a rough night; I was sleeping it off when you texted me. I’m doing okay now. Thanks for checking up on me.

Then you texted Jamie.

Y: Sorry, I’m home and I fell asleep.

J: That’s it…

You have been MIA for five hours and all I get is I fell asleep.

Y: Jamie please don’t do this right now. I already feel like crap. Please don’t make it worse.

Instead of getting a text back, Jamie’s face popped up on your phone. You stared at it for a second before picking it up. You stayed quiet and waited for him to talk first.

“Are you okay? What happened? You seemed to be doing better at breakfast.”

“I’m an asshole, and I am so done with peoples shit.”

“You are not an asshole, and people are stupid.”

“Well, you’re only half wrong. People are stupid, but I am an asshole.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I took my anger out on one of the few people who actually care about me. When all they were doing was making sure I was okay.”

“Y/n you had a bad night, no one is going to hold that against you.”

“That’s not the point Jamie.” You let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not really in the mood for this right now. I have things I have to get done. I will talk to you later.”

You hung up before he had a chance to talk. Throwing your phone onto the coffee table, ignoring the ringing. You got up and walk back to your kitchen. You pull the cheesecake out of the fridge, making sure it has fully set before wrapping it up to take over to Frank’s.

Before you decided to take it over there, there was a few things you needed to do. The main one being find an anger management class, so you could get it over and done with. Once you were all signed up, you put on some music and started cleaning.

It was about five when you decided to head over to Franks. When you got there you notice the extra vehicles that were there. You almost turned around, but luck wasn’t on your side today. The front door opened as you went to grab your trucks door handle.

“Y/n?”

You looked up to see Danny standing in the doorway. You looked down at your hand and just let it fall from the handle. You heard the door close and footsteps coming towards you. You turned to see Danny leaning on your truck.

“What’s going on slugger?”

“Oh God! Not you too.”

“Come on did you really expect to keep this quiet. Especially around here?” He pointed to the house. “Everyone’s in there talking about it.”

You were just hoping the ground would swallow you up, right there and then. You leaned forward leaning your forehead on the door frame and let out a big sigh.

“I wasn’t expecting everyone to be here when I showed up.” You turned your head to the side to look at him.

“I bet. Well, it’s too late to leave now.” He points to the house, you lifted your head off the truck and looked at the house to see Erin, Henry, Frank, and Jamie looking out the window.

“Of course, it is.” You gave them a quick wave. “Or… You could take this inside to your dad and let him know that I’m sorry and I will call him later.” You had a big smile on your face, as you lifted the cheesecake up into his line of sight.

“Not gonna happen.”

“Ugh.” You dropped the smile and lowered the cheesecake. “It was worth a shot.”

You walked past Danny as he laughed at your reaction. The two of you walked up to the door and it opened just as you got to the top step. Frank was standing there with a smile on his face. Danny slipped inside as you stood on the front step.

“Hi.” All of a sudden felt like you were the shy teenager you used to be all over again.

“Hi.” He just smiled at you. “So are you going to just stand there or are you going to come inside.”

“Actually, I came to apologize for today.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I was a complete asshole to you, and you were just trying to look out for me. I took my anger and frustrations out on you. I am so sorry Frank. I know it won’t fix anything, but I made you this.” You lifted the cheesecake for him to take. “I know you like this one, it’s my mother’s recipe.”

He stepped out onto the step with you and took the cheesecake. What you didn’t expect was for him to pull you into a hug. It was one of those big bear hugs, which cradles your entire existence. The kind of hugs really only dads can give.

“Sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know you had a difficult day at work. I shouldn’t have overstepped.”

“No, you didn’t overstep. I should feel so lucky to have someone like you to check on me. I was harsh on you, and you didn’t deserve that.” You pulled back to look at him. “Those hooligans in there don’t know how lucky they have a father that checks up on them when they had a bad day or just to see how life is going.” You pulled away from him as soon as you could feel the tears starting to prick at your eyes. “I should get going.” You started backing away.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Umm… Home?”

“Nope. You are going to come inside and enjoy a piece of this” He lifted up the cheesecake. “We will talk for a little while, then you can go home.”

“Frank, I really need to get home.”

“Ten minutes, fifteen tops.” He stepped inside the door. “Come on. You know I’m not going to take no for answer.”

“I… Okay.” You walked into the house, and you were greeted by all of the Reagans.

Turns out fifteen minutes actually means three hours in the Reagan world. You did try to leave a few times, but they somehow convinced you to stay. Now you are finally able to leave the house when Danny and Erin said they needed to head out. Quickly that turned into having a chat at your vehicles, then Jamie came out to leave as well.

“I thought all of you needed to get home.”

“We do, we were just saying goodbye.” Erin was the first to address him.

“Well, you’ve been standing out here for like twenty minutes. You don’t seem to be in a rush to me.”

“Has it really been twenty minutes?” You looked at your watch to see it have been. “Wow…”

“I guess that’s what happens when friends get together.”

Danny wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you towards him. You already knew what was going to happen. You tried to get out of it but you were too slow. Next thing you know he had you in a head lock giving you a noggie.

“DANNY! Let me go!”

All while Erin and Jamie are jus laughing their asses off. You struggled against Danny for a little bit before his phone started going off.

“Aww, saved by the bell Y/n.”

“I hate you. This is why Erin is my favorite Reagan.” You started fixing your hair when Jamie spoke up.

“Hey! I thought I was your favorite.” He looked a little offended.

“Nope. After what you did this morning, you were demoted to fourth.”

“Fourth?! Who are the other two ahead of me?”

“Frank and Henry.” You started thinking about it. “Ya’ know you might actually be lower than fourth. I didn’t factor in Nikki, Linda, Jack, and Shawn. You might actually be like eighth. Butthead over there is nineth.” You pointed over to Danny who was still on the phone.

“Wow, after all I have done for you.” Jamie just shook his head; you shrugged your shoulders.

“It happens.”

Danny turns back to the group. “Alright, now I really have to go. I will see you all later.” He went around and gave you and Erin a hug and Jamie a pat on the shoulder before getting into his Jeep.

“I should be going to, I still need to pick up Nikki and make dinner.” Erin turned to you. “We should get lunch soon.”

“Yeah, I have some free time for the next couple of days. My anger management class isn’t until Friday.”

“Okay. How about Thursday?”

“Sounds like a plan.” You smiled as she stared walking to her car. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

You turned and unlocked your truck. When you opened the door and got in, Jamie had his hand on the top of the door to hold it open.

“You were joking when you said that Erin was your favorite right?”

“No.” You just looked at him with the straightest face you had.

“Really?”

“Why are you sad? Jealous? Angry even?”

“No, I just don’t believe you.”

“Well, believe what you want.” You were close to breaking.

“Y/n. I know you better than anyone, so I know when you are lying to me.”

“Goodbye Jamie.” You shook your head, pulling on the door but he wouldn’t let go.

“I want to hear you say it.”

“Fine. I guess you’re my favorite.”

“I didn’t need the sarcasm but ill take it. Bye Y/n.” He closed the door and walked to his car, he watched as you drove away.

Once you got home things went quickly. You greeted Brian and went to the kitchen and started dinner. He came in to help you, then when it was almost done he set the table. The two of you talked about your days. Then you spent time together and watched t.v. for a while before going to bed. That’s how it was with you too as of late. You have tried to change it, but nothing was working. It was like the two of you fell into this comfortable routine, that neither of you wanted to address. After three years together, you started thinking this is all that it would be.

You hate this feeling.

The feeling of something ending.

Tags-

Reagan’s (Everything)

@the-wolfie @navs-bhat @daddyslittlevillain @halstead-severide-fan @romanceandsarcasm @shelbygeek

Jamie Reagan Tag

@traceyaudette

@cute-baby-ducks (it won’t let me tag you)

Series Tags

@everythingand-nothing @traceyaudette @1-800-stray-kids @francopasta@goingwiththewind @irrelevant-86

#danny reagan #frank reagan #jamie reagan #erin reagan #henry reagan #fan fiction #fanfic #jack reagan #nikki reagan #sean reagan #jamie regan x reader #jamie reagan fanfiction #jamie reagan fan fiction #jamie reagan fan fic #jamie reagan fanfic #jamie reagan x reader #jamie reagan x paramedic reader #paramedic reader

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the-chickenshit-oddity · 2 years

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B99 Obsession Chart Season 1 :) PART ONE

SPOILERS FOR ALL OF SEASON ONE OF BROOKLYN 99

so, i'm rewatching B99, and a lot of it makes me want more stories, more details, more more more. so, here are my notes, and what they make me think of.

for efficiency's sake, this will also be where i "store" my B99 s1 prompts. might be some spoilers for later seasons if the inspiration came from watching this one. just look for links in there to see the prompts. also, some prompts are grouped as an "arc" and i don't know what the hell i'm supposed to do with those so they're a bit randomly placed.

1:1

bear nanny cam has same backstory as pimento (long undercover, forgotten who i am)

diaz's type : anyone but boyle > diaz dated a shit boyle 1

diaz "old people gunk" > diaz working at old ppl home 2

holt sneaking up on jake count : ii

holt's sneaky dad lessons : team uniform (jake)

>> all the lessons prompts 8

1981 disco strangler

jake's lessons to dad : robot noises

1:2

holt's sneaky dad lessons : clean your room ; job > career ; don't be late (jake jake and jake again)

holt 12 years to get command

holt & jake vs authority count : i

1:3

holt's sneaky dad lessons : get out of a slump (jake)

gina = "at risk kid"

holt & jake selfie 9

1:4

amy skipped 4th 11

holt pokerfaced > harassed over evth 3

jake appendix inflamed 10

squad sexcapades : boyle futon couch mode

jake's lessons to dad : pa pa pa papa

holt says "baroque" > holt & amy bonding over art history 4

1:5

oldest collar : 81 JP 96 AS 78 RD 2x50 S/ 68 CB > rosa's old ppl home UC work

holt's sneaky dad lessons : team work (jake); gun certified (terry)

jake good baby holding technique > babysitter jake 5

diaz wants to shag vulture & knows where he lives

holt has seen top gun

vulture obsessed by jake's "big white ass"

1:6

"was it a maple" > scully catches a maple shagger.

>> oldest collar : AS = flasher, RD = old, S = tree hot twins, JP = drug 6

rosa : catholic school - dance thingy > kicked outta dance school for beating ballerinas 7

>> holt teaches jake chess

amy hates halloween

rosa picks locks

1:7

jake at splash mountain

terry plays guitar

jake knows amy's only friend kylie

amy caught guy subway bag human ears

terry's mean bro in law

>> jake statue dance floor 12

argos bakery 1912 >> charles reincarn 13

1:8

"is this a dream am i asleep" >> amy dreams of perfect employee jake 14

jimmy brogan reporter >> kevin book about cops 15

>>jimmy brogan school bully ? 16

Amy’s grandpa cop >> baby amy tagging along / meeting holt? 17

1:9

Jake’s sal’s pizza

Diaz’s captain job offer

Gina’s IT job itws. >> gina ruining teachers? Tie up to gina’s at risk childhood // gina ruining nannies? 18

Nypd v fdny fight >> injured jp & cb 19

Baby jake plays baseball

“you’ve been booned” >> prank war 20

1:10

Holt’s mom is a judge >> jake stalks judges ref. Girls stalk kevin prompt 21

Holt’s sneaky dad lessons : team as family (jake AGAIN geez mate)

Amy’s shit at cooking >> amy did boy stuff, jake did girl stuff? 22

Amy’s shit at thanksgiving

1:11

Safe house ep

>> missing Hanukkah ep + jake hosting? 23

>> holt reluctantly plays jake’s pretend game 24

Holt misjudges jake

“don’t say son” count since beginning of show : dozennnns

Sleepover vibes

Jake can read holt

1982 holt says punk

Jakes asks holt for a train trip 25

Boyle gets shot in the butt

1:12

Holt offers maths lessons (jake)

Jake & diaz academy buddy

Holt is a puppy’s grandpa

>>jake becomes buddies with mrs judy 26

#stupid #hi i'm weird nice to meet you #the-c-odd-prompt #codd-sequel #codd-sequel-organised

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imkeepinit · 2 years

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Facebook post by Georgia McBride, September 13, 2016

I'm angry and hurt today. I've read some of your posts on my feed in recent weeks. Said nothing. Felt the sting of your words, but said nothing. Long post to follow. Please forgive typos. Feel free to share. My posts are set to "public. "Today, I will speak. I will speak because some athletes not standing for our flag doesn't affect you. Sure. It might anger you, but it does not affect the quality of your life. But every time a black person is gunned down and the video is played over and over on national and international TV, it affects me. It affects my kids and my family. And we're not criminals. We aren't walking down the street wearing hoodies and carrying Skittles and Iced Tea. You know, like a criminal who deserves to be killed. And when YOU defend that action, it affects me. It affects all of us. And you know what else? It affects my husband. It makes his job a lot less safe and it makes him a target of additional violence and hatred. If you want to "unfriend" me, go right ahead. If you want to label me, I assure you, I have been called worse than anything you can fathom. I have been treated BY COPS in the most disrespectful and blatantly racist ways. I don't speak about it in public to protect my husband. One day, I will, to protect my children. If you don't get that we have a problem in this country with the way blacks and whites are treated, you and I aren't really friends to begin with. It isn't a difference of opinion. We don't "disagree." It is a fundamental underlying point of view that sets you above me in a position to determine whether blacks have a legitimate right to be heard on their grievances and have those grievances addressed. And because those grievances don't directly affect you, you dismiss them and employ the same tactics as those who victim shame women who are sexually assaulted, raped and beaten. Ryan Locthe went to represent the United States to the world in another country. He committed a crime, lied about it and fled prosecution. This is a true disgrace to our country. The Constitution doesn't protect his right to commit crimes in other countries or flee responsibility for them. I never once saw anyone call him a criminal, anti-American or refer to his race when referencing the crime. No real outrage except to dismiss him as dumb, a tool, a jerk. Yet, more people are outraged that an American football player who represents his team, not the United States, refuses to stand for the national anthem. More people are concerned that Gabby Douglas didn't place a hand over her heart during the anthem than they were about Ryan Locthe's criminal behavior. Several other athletes (white) never covered their hearts during the anthem and crickets. No outrage. None from the Internet patriots. No posts about how lucky they were to be chosen to represent the country and how they failed to show gratitude. Fast forward. All ppl posting negative comments re Colin Kaepernick, meet Georgia McBride. Let me address what I've seen you call the man "and others like him." I'm not a spoiled millionaire athlete. I'm not "ignorant." I don't hate cops. I don't hate America. I'm not leaving America - tho nice try. I stand for the anthem. I'm not "brainwashed" by Black Lives Matter. My mother does not have 20 kids by 10 different men. My father never abandoned us. I am not on welfare. Don't know anyone who is. I am not on drugs. Don't know anyone who is. I'm not racist. No really. I'm not. 95% of my friends are white. I come from a family of Ivy-League and City and State college-educated people. My husband is a cop as was his father and uncle. My brother was a cop. My father was in the military. My cousins are in the military. I was never a latch-key kid. I don't know anyone in a gang. My cousin is a politician. I have never lived in the "projects." I have teachers, nurses, businessmen, former FDNY in my immediate and extended family. So what will you call me? How will you disparage me? My kids? My family? My friends? How will you discredit me? How will use my skin color and background to prove I'm wrong and uninformed? How will you convince the world that I am brainwashed by Black Lives Matter? How will write me off as a gang-banging, welfare-loving, no-father-in-the-house-having, Black Lives Matter racist terrorist? I owe my entire life to protests - both peaceful and violent. To civil disobedience, and acts of courage and defiance that seem inappropriate or un-American and at the time, were illegal. Neither laws nor minds nor hearts are changed by silence and compliance. Think about that. Maybe it is disrespectful to kneel during the national anthem, but the Constitution protects that right same as it does for civilian gun ownership, which you all know I am fervently against. Back to protests. Were it not for brave protests like this one, my life and that of my family would be vastly different. I ask you to think about that next time you label something a "joke" or "disgusting" or "wrong" or post disparaging memes and comments about a few young men doing what they can to change the lives of many and who are giving a voice to those without one. I ask you NOT to judge them on what YOU feel they should be doing, but rather what they are doing. Would you risk your job, future income, personal safety and that of your family and friends to bring attention to injustice in this country? How do you not realize that this is what they're doing? Should I have to risk my job, my home, my life just to have the same rights afforded to you? Just to be able to have my kids walk down the street in their own neighborhood without being suspected of being a criminal or worse, shot to death? All those people saying he is disrespecting the military - think about this. This is HIS way of fighting. He has no protection. No training. Few people on his side. He is fighting here, in the United States, as people have threatened to kill him and his family. People burn his jersey on YouTube, football fans are filled with so much hatred that they are vowing never to watch football again in order to bankrupt the NFL. Why? Because a few black men kneeled or sat during the national anthem. These people are more concerned with this than WHY the men did what they did. Think about how YOUR comments and YOUR actions impact those around you. Think about how the memes which started out as calling him anti-American have now have turned blatantly racist. THINK ABOUT THAT. Think about how your lack of concern for the people he is speaking out for reflects on you. Think about all the smart white people telling the not-too-smart black people how to solve problems in "the black community" as if they have any clue at all? And the kicker? Posting the one or two black people who share your POV as proof that the millions of other blacks and whites are actually wrong. Please stop. PLEASE STOP. You stand for the national anthem at sporting events. Big deal. I'm guessing you don't when you're out to eat and a game is on. Or when you're watching the game at home. Nope. Only when people can see you and judge you for how patriotic they think you are. If it weren't for people calling bullshit on this country, our kids wouldn't be in school together. I wouldn't have my own business. My husband would not be allowed to be a cop. I would not have been allowed to marry my husband. It would've been illegal for me to have both my kids. As a woman I would not have been allowed to have credit in my own name or to have property such as a house or car in my own name. We would not have equal pay for equal work. I wouldn't be able to live in the neighborhood that I currently live in. Local friends, we would not have a female Chief of Police. I reprimand and punish my kids because I love them. To teach them that what they did was wrong so they won't do it again. Does this mean I hate my kids? I'm anti-children? If my spouse does something to hurt me and I tell him about it - I ask him to change - it isn't because I don't love him. If someone has an issue with a teacher or a doctor - do they hate teachers and doctors? Are they anti-education and anti-medical science? If someone has an issue with a cop's behavior, this makes him anti-cop? Un-American? Oh wait. We need to get right in this country. We need to recognize the problems we have and address them, no matter how painful. No matter if they don't affect us. Feel free to speak out against an athlete not standing for the national anthem because yeah - that's the change we need. All will be right in this country once NFL players return to showing respect for the national anthem. That's sarcasm.

#BLM #civil and human rights #Black Lives Matter #Georgia McBride #Facebook

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samrsgyi · 11 months

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Detectives are humans as well, y'know

Ally had got up from her bed early and took a shower. It wasn't always something shed run into but for some reason she forgot to put in the Matts on the bathroom floor. So, when Ally came out she slipped and fell. When she fell she cursed so loud that most likely the whole of New York could hear her. Her brunette-golden hair got in her face and was wet which she knew water would cover her more. She got up and carefully walked without falling again and grabbed her towel to wrap around her body. She dried off herself and got on her clothes then headed to her car. She remembered something like the taste of food poisoning while driving. Hmmm, maybe just the food that she ate yesterday 🫠. Oh well shed heading to the precinct anyway 😮‍💨. She has to admit NYC was beautiful and so was she.

" I hope everybody's ok. "

She hoped stopping when the light turned red. She looked out the window and saw the view of NYC. She stopped at the precinct and went in with her bag. She and her team worked with the FBI they could always count on them. She always thought of the FBI as " The more intelligent police ". Aside from all that, they were frenemies with the FDNY and hating on each other in a friendly way. She didn't really care about it as long as she was still a person that put themself on the line in front of the people they were serving they were happy. Ally was the type of person that would say, " No you're not, you're just nobody to me." The only time she would say that is if somebody would turn on her. She has no problem with forgiveness but a problem with forgetting. If you tell her to forget something that was traumatizing to her she'll feel even more empty and stop listening to you. She was soon snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a loud honk at the back of her.

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freeworldallahexecutivembaclass · 1 year

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Love to Brooklyn New York for the rest of my life I owe you my love and sorry to every community in the hood if I ever disrespected you I want to apologize to the music industry and all the other stars in the industry besides myself and say that I'm backing off of them and their name or disrespecting them in any kind of way I'm truly sorry for any drama or problems I may have cause between us and promise to stay out of drama with them for now on it is an echo in my room my cell and place I live people are their with their devices agents bugs voodoo and poisoning spraying in my personal living environment hating on me while I get bigger in this world I don't need or want their attention or attachment to me but they are in all my rooms apartments and even hospital room or my cell they have spells on me taking away my senses my hearing they are in my inner ear and talking through me starting wars I suspect it to be police , the media , correction officers, city workers like FDNY and one set of people that has been bullying me since a kid since my mother brought me here to New York City this is my way of saying sorry to you by paying tribute to Christopher Wallace AKA the Notorious Biggie from Brooklyn and I'm him painted as me in Brooklyn New York no lie come to Brooklyn New York they painted Biggie Smalls as me I'm honored thanks they made me in his image and likeness and legalized the weed in New York City on March 31 , 2021 no fire and sorry to every community again and no war with any community , goodbye I'm laughing my way out of the drama thank you enjoy your life . Thank you Drake for the video game and my new phones my new match puzzle decor video games now I got projects to take care of and peace to every religious community now go enjoy your life .

youtube

#Youtube

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divergent-one-1984 · 1 year

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Organized Crime Ring in Astoria, NY, in a neighborhood under the jurisdiction of 114th PRECINCT and in apartment buildings managed by CENTRAL ASTORIA, LLC. I have been the victim of TARGETED COMMUNITY HARASSMENT SINCE SUMMER 2016 because of my race and gender, I am an African American woman (because of a rumor / gossip mill started by staff at NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION while I was employed there from 2014 to 2016 I was made the victim of targeted psychological harassment). Due to the illegal access and leaking of private, personal, confidential information by wiretapping / cloning / hacking of personal devices and illegal surveillance in my residence. This includes leaking of confidential medical information (HPV, strains that can cause cervical cancer and an Abortion) - NOISE HARASSMENT SIRENS JUST NOW OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT

As soon as I grabbed my tablet to video record, the sirens stopped because of the ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE DIRECTED AT and INSIDE MY APARTMENT. THEY DON'T WANT ME TO GET THIS RECORDED BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE I AM SURE. TOO MUCH SIRENS IN A HIGHLY RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD, ITS GOING TO LOOK LIKE EXACTLY WHAT IT IS, HARASSMENT, and since it's NYPD AND FDNY who does this frequently, TOTAL INVASION OF PRIVACY, & INTIMIDATION as well.

In addition to the HATE CRIME element to the ongoing stalking and harassment there is a Religious Zealotry / Nuttery / Judgmental / Fundamentalism / Extremism element to my daily harassment as I am being harassed by mostly Muslim and Latino people. Based on facts / my observation, I would estimate that 9 out of 10 people harassing me on a daily basis are Muslim or Latino, with Muslims ranking number 1, Muslims who appear to be from Middle Eastern / Arab countries and countries on the Asian continent. All of the tenants in my apartment building are involved in my daily harassment, especially the 3 apartments surrounding my apartment. 2 of the apartments are occupied by Muslim tenants and the 3rd apartment is occupied by Latino tenants. Out of the 9 apartments in my apartment building. 2 of the tenants, including myself are African American, the remaining 7 apartments are occupied by Latino and Muslim tenants, with the Muslims being in the majority. IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING CHANGE OF TENANCY IN APT BLDG (NEW TENANT(S) AS OF FEBRUARY 1, 2023): 1 OF THE FAMILIES IN THE APT BLDG MOVED OUT TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023. I BELIEVE THESE TENANTS WERE AFRO-LATINO OR BLACK FOLK OF CARRIBBEAN DESCENT (I HAVE KNOWN THEM SINCE I WAS YOUNG, PROBABLY LATE TEENS EARLY TWENTIES) IN MY MIND I WAS THINKING I BET THE NEXT TENANTS TO MOVE INTO THEIR APT IS EITHER MUSLIM OR LATINO, MOST LIKELY MUSLIM.

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phoenixrising0308 · 2 years

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The Pencil Chronicles: Along came Polly

Day 15 Solitude

Books: The Royal Romance and minor usage of characters from other choices universes.

Rating: M (Mature content and implied sexual activities)

Pairing: Drake x OC, Liam x (MC) L.I x Jessica (MC)

Pencil Chronicles- Series premise (TPC): Longhand pencils inspired this series. The pencils have a phrase that can prompt a line from a show, book, movie song. It can be a theme. This is a random A/U with stories that are not meant to have a happy ending, a sad ending, or even an ending at all. Sometimes I use the pencils in other series for writer inspiration. I will A/N when I do that; in that case, it’s just a prompt or theme of the story. In this A/U, anything is possible. It could be any character, any pairing, any scenario. I will go where the pencil goes. SO take what you know and throw it out the window.

Disclaimer

Triggers: None

Words according to blogger: Dulce means sweet in Spanish. Sora or Zorra (both pronounced the same in my book) means slut/whore in most Spanish-speaking areas. Suelta - Loose Sucio (masculine) Dirty.

A/N: Drake meets someone that changes his life.

I just want to explore a bit and so I create this little A/U that flips things up a bit for Drake, Liam, and Jessica. I don’t know if anything comes out of this A/U but for now, the A/U is called “Prince Charming”.

Pencil Chronicle Theme(s): Grumpy and Sunshine- Bonus trope collection

Additional dialogues Prompt(s) - 1,6,10,20,22,26,37,39, 47, 61, 67,69,74,75,76,98

Chapter Song inspiration: You - Great Big World

Word count: 3,450 *As always, forgive my typos and grammatical errors.*

DUMBO, Brooklyn, New York

On the waterfront - Restaurant

He intertwined his fingers in hers, holding her hand for the first time since her engagement ring now adored her left hand. She always forced him to dance. He hated it, but she loved it, and he would do anything for her. They knew each other their whole lives, and they had an unbreakable bond.

“So, are you?”

She smiled. “Pregnant?”

“Yea, I’m fucken serious.”

“So, you think I would tell you here and with an attitude like that? No… I don’t think I’d tell you.”

“Jessica, are you pregnant?” Drake said with a softness in his voice and tenderness in his gaze.

Jessica looked back at him with a glowing smile on her face and said, “So, much better. No.”

“I hate your boyfriend. He is no Prince Charming. I’ll tell you that much.”

“Well, now he’s my fiancé. Is it because of his job? Because an FDNY Par-”

“No. That shit means nothing to me. You’re settling. No one fucken likes this guy. He still lives at home with his fucken Grandmother.”

“Drake, he is trying to finish his masters. It’s New York.”

“I know he helped stitch you up BUT, do you see yourself spending the rest of your life with him? Having a family? I sure the fuck don’t. He is way too flirty, Jessica.”

She sighed, “Drake, just be happy for me. Please. I addressed it. It’s not a regular thing. I forgave him, and we are looking to start fresh.”

“BUT it’s a thing. It should have never been a thing you had to address at all. I noticed it, and I don’t fucken like it. When you love someone, there isn’t a need to look at anyone else because the person in front of you is the most beautiful thing that has ever existed.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the restaurant …

“You did what?” The brunette with a blunt cut and brown eyes glared at her date.

“I quit today. I couldn’t stop thinking about the offer, and I want to slow down. I am hardly home to visit. I need to visit more, especially now. Things don’t look good for him, and I’m needed. I haven’t taken a vacation in two years; anytime I’m traveling, it’s for family reasons. It’s stressful.”

She scoffed, “You are on the partner track at the firm. Do you plan on practicing after this little dream of yours proves not to be an investment?”

“It’s a career change! No, I don’t want to practice. It seems like my whole life I’ve done everything by the book and things people wanted me to do in accordance with my role.”

“Well, I have needs and a lifestyle you won’t be able to afford. AMELIA would not be pleased.

WE live in a penthouse in Central Park, for God sake. I would have to go to a place with an intercom instead of a doorman.”

He leaned back in his chair, and his blue eyes stared back at her with disappointment. “I could care less about what AMELIA has to say. I care more about what KATHERINE has to say. WE don’t live anywhere. I live in a penthouse, and there is a reason I have never asked you to move in. I’m glad we had this conversation. Katie, it’s clear what you wanted out of a relationship with me. I believe our night and our time with each other has ended.”

Back on the dance floor

“I’m gonna die alone,” Drake said with a half-smile.

“Look, I know you hate yourself, but I love you, and it really hurts when you say things like that. I’ve been wanting you to find someone special since… we never worked out.”

Drake laughed, “It was a whirlwind romance between two fourteen-year-olds in a treehouse confused because I thought I was moving to Texas.”

“I know the perfect girl. SHE looks at you too. I’ve seen you look at her.”

“Well, I can ask her myself, Jessica.”

Jessica looked at him with hopeful eyes. “Tomorrow at work, right before our press conference. We will be in the area. You know how she gets.”

“Fine. I’ll do it…ALONE. IF she stops.”

“Drake, if she stops, it’s the fucken universe telling you to ask this girl out.”

A uniformed police officer walked over to them and said, “Hey Sarge, Commissioner Thompson is ready to move.”

The next day

Williamsburg Bridge

“Okay, and we are due for an address at the 91st precinct at 1200 hours,” Jessica said as she looked at her father’s Timex watch that she hardly took off.

“Do we have time to stop at that bakery on Union Street? Commissioner Thompson asked.”

Jessica could hardly contain herself. “Walker, we need to reroute. ‘Ducles’ on Union.”

“Alright, you got it, but I’m gonna go in ALONE since we are down a guy.”

Moments later, the car stopped in front of a small Williamsburg Bakery.

Dulce’s

Drake walked into the bakery, list in hand. Only one person was at the counter. But he wasn’t looking at her; he was looking at the brunette in the back frosting cupcakes. He saw her a dozen times before, but he never spoke to her.

“Um, can I help you?”

“Hi. I’m sorry, I was just thinking about what I was going to order.”

“Oh, we know what you want.”

Drake didn’t respond. “I’m sorry, I just remember you from the few times you’ve been in here. You always come with the Police Commissioner, SO it’s kind of a big deal. Oh, sorry, my name is Sue.”Sue smiled at him. “I will grab those cupcakes for you. We will pip them fresh.”

Sue walked to the back and grabbed the attention of the baker. She put her piping bag down and wiped her hand on her apron, and walked to where Drake was standing.

“I wanted to come out and say hi.” She gave him a warm smile. Her chocolate brown eyes looking deep into his “My name is-”

“Emily. Emily Flores.” Drake smiled at her. “Don’t worry, and my job is to know.”

Emily bit her lip. “I get it. I guess you should know who’s the place you’re coming into.”

“Yeah.”

15 minutes later…

Sue walked over with a box, cutting off their conversation. “Here you go. Thank you for coming by.” Sue’s face soured at the thought that Emily seemed to be hitting it off with Drake.

“Hey, can I get you something? You never order anything for yourself. I insist.” Emily said.

Drake nodded, “Sure.”

“I think I have something you would like.”

Emily bent down to grab something from the case in front of them. She handed it to Drake and said, “It’s a Coquito twinkie.”

“Coquito?”

“Yea, it has some rum in it.”

“On the clock, so I can’t have it.”

“OHHH, okay, um, let me think, do you like s’mores? I’ve been playing around with Marshmallow icing.”

10 minutes later…

Jessica stood outside the car as Drake came back out with the box. He got in, and Jessica instantly demanded, “Well?!”

“I didn’t ask her.”

“Drake, what the hell? I’m about to go in there and ask her for you-”

“Don’t you fucken do it, Jessica. I will ask her when I’m ready.”

“When? 5 years from now when some other guy already snatched her up because you were too scared to ask her right now?”

Drake groaned, “I do not need this convo right now. Just give this to Thompson.”

Jessica took the box and mumbled, “Wimp.” To which Drake gave her an eye roll.

Three hours later…

Drake walked in. “Ms. Flores.”

Emily turned around and said, “Hi Drake, you’re back. Um, was there a problem?”

Sue snickered and whispered, “I told you that frosting was too sweet.”

Drake had an ear full from Jessica the whole way, and her reasoning was sound advice. He realized he needed to try, at least. And he had the perfect excuse.

“No. I’m off the clock, and I was wondering if maybe you let me try that twinkie.”

Sue frowned as Emily smiled, “Sure.”

Sue scoffed and interjected, “Maybe you should let me get you one of my favorites first. It’s a strawberry jam-filled cupcake with a white chocolate frosting.”

Drake politely declined, “Sorry, but strawberry isn’t my favorite.”

Sue faltered but batted her lashes at him, “Well, one bite-”

“No, thank you.”

“How about a rocky road?”

“I’m allergic to nuts. I will take a coffee, though. Black is fine.”

Emily said, “Oh Sue, the coffee filters are still in the back. You’ll have to let the coffee perk a new batch. We just made our last an hour ago.”

Sue smiled, but her eyes were glaring at Emily. “Sure thing.” She stalked away as Emily got Drake his Coquito twinkie.

“Here. I think you’ll like it.”

“If you made it, I’m sure I will, and that S’more cupcake was the best damn thing I’ve had in a while.” He admitted before taking a bite. He gave a moan of appreciation. “Yep, exactly what I hoped for.”

Emily chuckled and smiled at him, “Well, thank you. I’m glad you came back all this way just to try it. You should come in more for yourself more often. If it’s after hours, just send me a text, I’ll stick around.”

Drake nodded, Jessica’s voice screaming in his head to ‘Just fucken do it!’

“Uh…Actually. I didn’t come back just for the twinkie.”

“Really? Is there something else I can get you?”

Drake sighed before just going for it, “I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date sometime. If not, I get it.”

Emily looked surprised before smiling at him, “Oh, I would love to.”

Drake grinned, “Yeh?”

“Yes! I look forward to you coming in; I would love to.” She took out her phone so that he could exchange numbers with her.

Sue came back with a cup of coffee in a mug, faster than what was expected. “Here you go. I made it fresh and just the right temperature.” Sue smiled, but her smile faltered as she saw Drake and Emily so close.

Drake said, “Make that to go… When are you closing up?”

“In 30 minutes, but…Looking like this?” She gestured to her apron and clothes.

“I think you look…beautiful.” He wanted to hit himself at how awkward that came out. He was rusty. Emily didn’t seem to mind as she blushed and smiled at him.

“You know what? Okay. It won’t take me just a few minutes to freshen up in the bathroom. Sue, do you mind closing shop today?”

Sue openly glared, gritting her teeth before huffing. “I guess.”

Emily was oblivious as she grinned at Drake, “Perfect! I’ll be right back.”

The minute Emily left, Drake was alone with Sue. Sue gave him a desperate gaze before she leaned over the counter to whisper.

“Listen…I like Emily but…I wouldn’t go out with her if I were you.”

Drake raised a brow, “Why?”

“Well… she a bore.” Sue suggestively ran her hand up to his arm, and he shook her off.

“Oh really? Well, I like her even more now. We can both be boring fucken awkward people together tonight.”

Sue gaped at him as Emily came back; she changed it to an off-the-shoulder green dress. She looked at the closeness, and the awkward tension before Drake smiled at her, “You look gorgeous, and that was before the outfit change.” Ready?”

Emily smiled back, “Yep! Thanks again, Sue!” She waved over her back as Drake opened the door for her. Sue gawked at them in outrage.

One year later …

Drake’s Apartment

Drake sat with his arm around Emily on his couch as they binged watched Drake’s new favorite show ‘Bridgeton.’

Today, she seemed more nervous than usual he thought it was because she was hired to bake for election night. Commissioner Thompson insisted that Emily be in charge of the ‘Sweet Victory table.’

“So, remember we tasted that maple bacon frosting? Then we got really into tasting it off each other?

“I said bacon belongs on my plate… But frosting belongs on you. Bacon and Emily; best fucken cupcake ever. Why?”

Emily nervously blurted out, “Don’t freak out, but… I’m pregnant.” Drake nodded his head slowly as he sat there in silence, taking it all in.

“Drake, I know it’s too soon to think about anything major like this. It’s not even a year.”

Drake barely let her finish her sentence. “Marry me.”

Emily frowned, “I’m pregnant. Not made out of glass. You don’t have to take that step with me now or even if you don’t want to.”

Drake smiled softly, “You make me so happy. Like I’m fucken happy, Em. I’m glad Jessica gave me shit and made me go back to ask you out.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yea, I’m fucken sure. They used to call me Grumpy at work… and now they call me sunshine.”

Emily chuckled at that but frowned once again as she replied, “But maybe you weren’t gonna do it if it wasn’t for the baby…”

“Oh. Wait here.”

10 minutes later…

Drake walked out in a new suit, and Emily said, “Wow. You look so- wow. My Marshmallow lover looks handsome. I guess I should calm down for a second. Seeing how we are in a bit of a situation.”

“So, this was what I was gonna wear to election night which was also gonna be my chance to say this.” He got on his one knee in front of her.

“Wait, you were going to ask?”

Drake smiled and said, “You’re the reason I get up in the morning... Emily, you are the most beautiful person who has ever existed. I love you so much. I can’t imagine my life without you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Marry me.”

Emily didn’t respond, putting a hand over her mouth as tears shined in her eyes as Drake pulled out a green velvet box and opened it displaying.

“No, don’t cry! Don’t do that to me.” Drake got up and enveloped Emily in a hug. “I just want to hold you forever. Emily, let me hold you forever.”

“Yes,” she whispered through her sobbing. He placed the ring on her finger and said, “It was my Grandmother’s. It got here about two weeks ago.”

“Really?”

Drake smiled warmly, “Yeah. I was going to ask. It’s just out you are giving me something just as important to me. Em, you are going to be an amazing mother. Me…I just know I’m going to be a horrible parent.”

Emily scoffed and hugged him back, kissing his cheek. “Stop, you are going to be the Dad who goes to the roof to make a fire pit so that they could have real s’mores.” She whimpered with a sniffle.

Drake’s eyes watered as he kissed her repeatedly before resting his face on her shoulder.

After a moment, he spoke again. “So, what should I call you. Walker or Flores?”

45 minutes later …

Jessica’s Apartment

Jessica held her wedding dress in her hand. As she tried to open the door with one hand and her ear pressed to the phone.

“That is amazing! I’m so happy. Congratulations, times two, I guess?”

Jessica walked through, and she called out, “Hey Raf, I’m home! I took off early and picked up my wedding dress.”

Jessica heard the unmistakable sounds of moaning coming from her bedroom. Jessica felt rage and every other emotion about ready to explode.

“Listen, Drake; you remember that thing you told me not to do? I agree with you. I will call you back.” She hung up as she gave a vicious glare in the direction of the moaning.

‘On your life, that better be a fucken porn tab you have blaring and your beating off to.’ She thought as she snuck into their bedroom. ‘And in our fucken bed?!’

Jessica opened their door to see the man she would marry in two weeks, FDNY Paramedic Rafael Aveiro, deep in orgasmic bliss with a waitress from a local dive bar they frequented.

Jessica was hurt; she was calm. Glaring at the scene and shaking her head in disgust before she spat, “You’re a fucken asshole. How many times are you going to do this to me? I’m so over it.”

Rafael got off the other woman as they both quickly covered themselves, “Fuck! You are not supposed to be here.”

Jessica gave a bitter laugh at his audacity. “Oh, that makes it any better?”

“I’m so sorry.” He mumbled with his hard-on barely covered and the waitress trying to pick her things off the floor to leave.

“YOU’RE ONLY SORRY YOU GOT CAUGHT! Here I am, like a fucken idiot, working around the clock to pay for our wedding, this Loft, and if that’s not enough, doing your fucken homework while you play Fortnite! I should have left you in your Grandmother’s basement!”

Jessica threw her wedding dress at the waitress and looked at Rafael, and said, “We’ve been going to that restaurant for two years; how long has this been going on!? You fucken Sucio.”

The lovers didn’t respond. The waitress looked everywhere, but Jessica’s direction, and Rafael looked like he was formulating some excuse out of this situation.

Jessica huffed, “I guess I’m gonna assume that it wasn’t the Buffalo Wings that made you like the place.” Jessica took off her engagement ring and threw it. “Here you go, RILEY. YOU fucken Sora! Suelta! You piece of trash, find a new job! I got a fucken feeling the health inspector is going to shut your restaurant down.”

Rafael got on his knees and pleaded with Jessica in Portuguese “Desculpe. Vamos resolver isso! Jessica. Estraguei tudo.” (Sorry. Let’s fix this! Jessica. I screwed up.)

“Fuck you! Get the hell out of my house!”

Most Holy Trinity Elementary school (Pre-kindergarten)

He was a former corporate attorney who worked twelve-hour days, but he wanted to slow down and enjoy life, maybe meet someone special, and settle down. It was his first year teaching pre-kindergarten.

All the children laid down on their mats as he walked around with his guitar singing the lullaby that would make any rambunctious four-year-old sleep during nap time. “Sleep, little love, sleep easy…while the stars dance high above…Dream, little love, dream easy…Till the warmth of morning comes.”

“Mr. R, I’m scared.”

“Oh no. What is it?”

“The tree.” the little boy pointed to a tree that was shaking in the wind.

“What if I gave you my friend to help you sleep during nap time? Would that make it better?”

“Okay.”

He walked over to his desk and picked up a stuffed animal, and said, “I like to call him Sir Winston.”

Nine months later…

Brooklyn Methodist hospital

Drake held his daughter in his arms and said, “This is the second time in my life I fell in love with someone I just met.”

Emily smiled and said, “God, she is so tiny in your arms, Drake.”

“Emily, she is perfect. Just like you.”

Jessica walked into the room. “So, can I hold her? “Did you name her?”

Emily smiled. “Her name is Paloma Bianca Walker.”

“Oh, that’s a good fucken name.”

Drake groaned, “Garcia… You’re gonna tone it down around my daughter.”

Jessica rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Daddy Drake, she is like 15 minutes old. Remind me again when she starts talking, but for now, I don’t think she’s going to repeat it.”

“OH, trust me, I will. I don’t want her going to school and being that kid.”

“Drake, let me hold her; come on, I promise to watch my language, okay.”

Drake gave his daughter a glowing smile and said, “And along came Polly.” as he handed Jessica his daughter, and she looked at the little girl. “God Drake, she is SO beautiful. So worth the police escort I got to get her here.”

Twelve hours later…

Outside the hospital entrance

“You know Jessica; maybe you could slow down yourself. Maybe give dating a try again. Your Prince Charming will come. I didn’t watch all those Disney movies with my best friend to see her not get a happy ending.”

Jessica lowered her gaze. “I got my hands full. This job keeps me busy. I can be the fun Aunt.”

He wrapped her in a warm embrace. “God. You are the worst liar. I know you’re having a hard time. Don’t fucken settle. He gotta look at you like you’re the only person in the room.“

"God, I was so stupid. Maybe I’m not enough you know it happened so many times. I was like a welcome mat.”

“Why settle for being someone princess when you could be their Queen? Jessica, you are enough, and one day your gonna meet someone that’s gonna treat you like the Queen you are, and it will all be worth it just to get to him.

Central Park Towers - New York

He opened up his safe and gently placed his Royal Cordonian passport inside, wrapped around his Royal sash, and took off his signet ring and placed it into the velvet jewelry box inside. He turned and sighed as he looked at the empty bed and said, “Okay, so we didn’t meet anyone on this trip. But one day, you will roll over on your side and kiss the love of your life good morning. She won’t care who your father is. She will see you, and she will love you as you are. She will make us french toast. She will get on her toes to kiss me as many times as I desire, which will be just as much as she wants; she will call me by my name, no titles. You will simply call her love because that is what she is to you, and you will always make sure to look at her like nothing else exists in the world because she is your world.”

He padded his leg, and a little Corgi puppy came running. He picked him up and said, “Chance, you are such a good boy. You made this whole trip worth it, and we will find you a mommy soon enough.”

* Yea that was Katie from ROE and Rafael Aveiro from OH*

Originally published on 4.15.21 and transitioned to this URL on 10.21.22 by the original author. -J

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h20 · 4 years

Text

my doctor told me I need to go to the emergency room because of my stupid fucking foot that may or may not even be actually broken and im furious and sad and nervous and don’t wanna go anywhere fucking near a hospital but uh it feels bad it’s swollen and a bunch of colors and I’m just gonna feel like an idiot who is wasting doctors and hospital personnel’s time for even showing my face there bro

#i feel really bad about this and horrible and i hate it #my step dad is in the FDNY and thankfully he actuslly has an N95 i can use but jesus christ #sys.txt

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marjansmarwani · 3 years

Text

trust that there will be light always waiting behind

8.4k || ao3

TK has gone out of his way to prove to Carlos that being a paramedic is every bit as dangerous as being a firefighter, it seems.

But Carlos will do whatever it takes to find him and bring him home safe, and he always will. Even if it means he needs to face some personal demons on the way. But it's worth it - he refuses to lose TK for anything. ------ A 2x08 speculative fic

All the kudos and thanks to @officereyes for not only convincing me to actually write this but for also brainstorming with me, a lot.

Will it happen like this? Probably not. But we can dream. All I can ask for is some quality Carlos and his dad content, and maybe Owen not being as shitty as he has been lately. But because I don't trust Fox to give us that, I wrote it.

Title from "Six" by Sleeping at Last

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

TK wasn’t sure how things had gone from normal to total nightmare in a matter of seconds, but here they were.

In this case “here” meant that the pregnant woman they were meant to be helping was not in fact, pregnant and that he and his team were now being held at gunpoint in an empty parking garage.

So yeah, total nightmare. And the day had started off so well.

He stood quietly, body tense with his hands up wishing he had been paying more attention; that he had noticed them coming from behind before they had gotten the drop on them. That he had noticed before he and his team were in danger. But he hadn’t and here they were: at gunpoint looking at a critically injured patient they were expected to save with only the gear in their medpacks. Which was especially bad, considering it seemed pretty clear that their survival depended on his.

He exchanged a glance with Nancy as he pulled open the bag to start grabbing gear, doing his best to shoot her a reassuring smile. All the while he couldn’t help but think about something Carlos had said when he had discussed becoming a paramedic with him. One of the pros, he had noted wryly as he planted a kiss on the top of TK’s head, was that at least his boyfriend being a paramedic instead of a firefighter would mean he would have to worry less. TK had rolled his eyes at the time but now he could say quite firmly that Carlos was wrong.

After all, he had never been held at gunpoint as a firefighter.

----------

A surprise party worked best when the person who is supposed to be surprised shows up, Carlos figured.

If it were anyone else, he might have been amused. But it was TK, who was supposed to be at his parent’s house for his surprise party 40 minutes ago. Tommy and Nancy were going to bring him by after shift but instead, none of them had shown up and Carlos couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He could see the unease growing in the eyes of some of the others too as they made the transition from amused to concerned as the time ticked by. Carlos had tried calling TK almost a dozen times now, only to get his voicemail each time. He knew that Tommy and Nancy had gotten calls too, from Judd and Marjan respectively, with the same result. Now, 40 minutes later it had moved from a feeling to a fact: something was wrong. He could see Owen off to the side of the yard now, speaking lowly into his phone as he tried to get an update from dispatch. His expression was grim and when he ended the call Carlos crossed the yard towards him.

“Well?” he asked when he drew close enough, “what did they say?”

Owen shook his head, “They can’t reach the unit, and it hasn’t been in contact for over an hour.”

Carlos could feel the fear solidifying within him even as he asked the next question, “Were they able to tell you where?”

“I’m waiting on that info now.”

Even as he said it his phone dinged with an incoming text and Carlos craned his neck to read the address over Owen’s shoulder.

“That’s not too far,” he said, “if we leave now we should be there within the hour.” At Owen’s surprised look he raised an eyebrow, “What? You thought I was just going to stay here while you go look for them? Not likely.”

Owen nodded and managed a small smile, “Let’s go then. We have a paramedic team to find.”

--------

It took some negotiating but Tommy had managed to ultimately convince the people with guns that their friend would be better off receiving treatment in the ambulance rather than in the back of a van. As they packed up their supplies and got the patient ready to move to the ambulance TK’s mind was racing through all the implications. This move meant that they were planning on relocating, which meant that they would be leaving their last known location. Once they left this parking garage unless they were somehow able to check-in, dispatch would have no way of knowing where they were and they would be officially labeled as MIA.

Which was less than ideal, but did at least mean that someone would be looking for them. TK pushed the used gauze into a pile, taking care to make sure that his back was turned to their kidnappers as he reached for his neck and pulled at his necklace until the chain came undone. He slid it under the edge of the pile, where it would hopefully be spotted by anyone looking for clues. He looked up to see Nancy and Tommy both giving him curious looks. He met their eyes and mouthed, “Carlos.”

Once they were reported missing there was a zero percent chance that his boyfriend would not be involved in the search, he knew that without a doubt. It was subtle enough that it would hopefully pass their captors’ notice, but Carlos would recognize it instantly. It was something that would tell him that they had been here, and that they were in danger. Carlos would know that TK wouldn’t have parted with the pendant otherwise.

Nancy raised an eyebrow and Tommy shot him a quick smile as they finished their prep and got ready to move the patient. When they entered the ambulance and got the patient settled TK crossed to the cab and pulled himself into the driver’s seat, only to look down and get a sinking feeling. While traveling by ambulance would be ultimately better for the patient (and by extension, them) TK had also been banking on the fact that once in the ambulance there would be more opportunities to call for help.

Which was a hope quickly dashed when he saw that their radio had been ripped out, effectively eliminating the possibility of getting help that way. TK bit his lip and turned his eyes to the road in front of him as the armed man climbed into the cab beside him. “Drive,” he instructed plainly and TK complied, switching on the engine and shifting the vehicle into gear, acutely aware of the gun leveled at his chest the entire time. Getting shot was not an experience he had been looking forward to relieving ever again if he could help it.

“Where to?” he asked.

“Just drive and I direct you.”

TK nodded and slowly pulled forward, keeping his eyes trained on the road.

Maybe, just maybe these people were more reasonable than they seemed and maybe this wouldn’t end in disaster, TK thought to himself as he pulled out of the parking garage and headed to the right as instructed. They just need to keep everything calm until help arrived. Because it would, TK was sure of it.

--------

The ride there was filled with tense silence, their combined anxiety filling the car to capacity and leaving no room for words. Carlos kept an eye on the phone in his hand, the small blue dot tracing their location and showing their progress as they grew closer and closer to the destination flag. They were almost there. They would have answers soon, one way or another.

He spared a glance at Owen. The fire captain’s eyes were glued to the road and his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles shining white against the black upholstery. His jaw was set and his expression was full of a panic Carlos was sure was reflected in his own face. He wondered if Owen was thinking the same thing: things had been going so well. Possibly too well, and now the universe was looking to even the score. Carlos hated the thought — TK deserved all the good things the world had to offer, in his opinion — but it was one he couldn’t help but wonder. He just hoped that no matter what, TK would be okay. No matter what the universe was trying to throw at them as long as he was safe at the end, Carlos could take it.

Reaching the parking garage had been the easy part, it turned out. He and Owen drove the levels in tense silence, each scanning for any clues, any signs of the missing paramedics. It wasn’t until he saw a black panel van parked haphazardly that Carlos broke the tense silence: “Stop the car!”

Owen did and Carlos was out his door before the car had even lurched to a complete stop. He ran to the van, heart sinking as he noticed the back doors hanging open. He approached with increased trepidation, not sure what he was hoping to find. When he reached the back and got his first look inside the van, he was pretty sure this wasn’t it.

Bloody gauze and other medical scraps littered the ground, along with three broken cell phones, all of which seemed to have been smashed. Carlos could feel dread building in his gut as he surveyed the destruction. He sensed Owen come up behind him, heard the low curse he let out at the scene.

“There’s no saying any of the blood is theirs,” he reminded Carlos as if he could read the frantic thoughts racing through his mind, each possibility worse than the last.

Carlos bit back a retort — there was no good in reminding Owen that there was no saying it wasn’t either — and was about to ask another question when he noticed something silver poking out from under one of the gauze scraps. He leaned forward to grab it, heart sinking when he pulled it out to reveal a very familiar necklace.

“Maybe,” he told Owen as he turned, holding up the necklace while the FDNY pendant glinting in the low light of the parking garage, “but they were definitely here.”

Carlos hadn’t been sure it was possible but he was certain he saw the fear in Owen’s eyes grow as he took the necklace from Carlos, running his thumb over the numbers engraved in the pendant. “He left this as a clue,” he said quietly, and Carlos nodded.

“Which probably means they were taken somewhere else and TK wanted us to know they were here.”

Owen nodded, pulling his gaze up from the necklace to meet Carlos’s eyes, “We need to find them.”

His voice was tinged in desperation, a feeling Carlos knew well. He nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone as he took another look at the mess in the back of the van. “We will,” he told Owen, “and I think I know someone that can help.”

------

Their destination had turned out to be an abandoned restaurant, shuttered by the pandemic. As workspaces went it wasn’t a bad one, if a little dusty, and they got their patient set up on a prep table in no time, falling into their usual rhythm as they returned to this relative familiarity. TK was currently retrieving supplies from one of their cases and running through the situation in his head, separating it into pros and cons.

Pro: they had come here in an ambulance with their house number clearly painted on it in broad daylight. Once people started looking it shouldn’t be too hard to spot.

Con: they were deep into a neighborhood known for being an entertainment district. While traffic had decreased significantly overall since the start of the pandemic it was nearly non-existent this early in the day. The odds of a casual observer being in the neighborhood were slim to none, which was not a thought that brought much comfort.

The man shouted at him to hurry up and TK quickly added another con to his list as he grabbed the last thing and crossed back to the table: their kidnappers were not reasonable people and every moment that passed seemed to push them just that much closer to the edge. Even as he thought it the woman edged closer to Nancy, causing her to tense as the cold metal of the gun was pressed against her side.

“Hey,” he said firmly, “if you want us to save your friend, you need to let us work. That means you and your guns should be at least 6 feet away. It’s a little hard to focus otherwise.”

The woman glanced at the man, who was studying TK. TK met his gaze steadily, not looking away until the man nodded and turned to his companion, “Go wait by the door, just in case. They’re not going anywhere.”

She nodded and TK could breathe easier as she stepped away from Nancy, who visibly relaxed and shot TK a grateful look. Tommy eyed him quickly before returning her focus to the patient. “I appreciate what you’re doing, Strand, but in the future maybe let’s try to not antagonize the criminals with guns, yeah?”

TK nodded as he worked, “Sorry Cap, I just really don’t like guns. Chalk it up to bad personal experience.”

Nancy grimaced at the reminder and Tommy nodded, “Then let's keep this calm, no one needs to get shot today. I’m not losing another member of my crew, you both got that?”

“Yes Cap,” TK and Nancy chorused, lapsing into silence as they worked. Unfortunately, with their supplies, there was only so much they could do. They had had a busy morning before this call had come in and no time to restock in between. They were running low on pretty much everything, and everything they had would have hardly been enough to repair the damage before them on a good day. But, despite everything, he was still a patient and he was still in need of treatment so they did what they always did: everything they could.

Even as they worked TK made sure to keep one eye on their kidnappers. With each passing minute, they seemed to get more and more restless, and increasingly desperate. The woman even seemed twitchy and TK vaguely wondered if she was going through withdrawal. All the signs were there and if she was that made their situation even worse. TK knew how that felt first hand and knew what it could do to a person’s mental state. The idea that she might be coming down from a high and was currently pointing a gun at them was less than ideal and he mentally added it to his con list.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t the one to crack first. TK was helping Captain Vega to do what they could to clean and secure the entry wound when the man stepped closer, waving the gun around as he shouted, “What is taking so long? We’ve been here too long, we need to get moving!”

“Do you want it done right or do you want it done fast?” Tommy asked evenly, her voice calm and level.

The man scowled at that, but stepped away, “Just, go as fast as you can.”

TK watched him walk away, glancing at the clock above the door and cursing before running his free hand across his face, the hand holding the gun tapping against his leg.

“He’s spiraling Cap,” TK noted softly, “we might need a plan if you want to avoid that whole one of us getting shot thing.”

“And we’ll find one,” Tommy agreed, “but for now we stick with the original one: do our jobs and keep calm.”

TK nodded tersely and continued with the task at hand. It was only a few more moments before his Captain gave a soft curse and he looked over to see her scowling at the bag next to her. “We’re out of saline,” she said in answer to his questioning look, “can you go see if there is any more in that bag by the door?”

TK nodded and crossed the bag laying on the ground next to the door they had entered. As he grew closer he noticed that the bag wasn’t the only thing by the door: a fire alarm, bright red against the white of the walls and shining like a beacon of hope as he drew closer, was situated on the wall just past the bag. If he could reach it and pull it, dispatch would be notified. A fire company and at least one APD unit would be called and the alarm might be enough of a distraction for them to get out of here and get somewhere safe until help arrived. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder to see that the two armed assailants were not watching him and made up his mind. He was going to pull it, and hope for the best. If it doesn’t work it’ll have been his idea and his idea alone — the rest of his team doesn't need to be involved in this. This was a stupid choice he could make for himself and by himself.

He stepped forward, hardly daring to breathe as he drew closer. He was just about to reach out his hand when he heard footsteps behind him, loud and fast. He turned in time to see a hand reaching for him, aiming to strike him with the side of the gun. He ducked, the hand missing his target as he dodged the blow. The man came for him again and TK managed to dodge the next blow as well, and the one after that.

They moved away from the wall and TK had the frantic thought that maybe he could get the gun away from him, maybe he could actually get the upper hand. He reached for it, throwing himself into the man’s space and reaching around for his arm. He leaned closer, so intent on his goal that he didn’t notice the man rummaging on the nearby shelf with his free hand. He didn’t notice his other hand at all until a sharp pain ripped through his side, causing him to release his grip on the other man involuntarily. He stumbled back, hands reaching blindly to the source of the pain coursing through his body. He felt a warm and sticky wetness and was about to lift his hand to examine it when he felt another sharp pain which caused his vision to go white before everything went black and he knew no more.

-----

Carlos hadn’t had to say too much before his dad had agreed to help out. One of the perks of being a Ranger, Gabriel reminded his son, was getting to choose the cases he focused on from time to time. He wasn’t sure if it was the words he had said or the tone of his voice that had done the convincing but within two minutes his dad had taken down the address and was on his way. He had said he was likely 10 minutes out but each one of those minutes seemed to stretch on endlessly.

He and Owen waited in tense silence, neither saying a word since Carlos had hung up the phone with the news that a Texas Ranger was on the case. Owen had raised an eyebrow but after Carlos clarified that it was his dad his expression had shifted to something unreadable and Carlos wondered how much Owen knew about his parental situation in regards to TK.

He didn’t have to wait long to find out, as it happened. About 4 minutes into their wait, after Owen had made a phone call to Gwyn and Carlos had sent out some updates to the team, Owen cleared his throat, turning to Carlos before he spoke.

“I don’t want to pry, Carlos, but TK mentioned something about you and your parents a few months ago and I just want to know where that stands. I don’t want to make things weird for you, but I also don’t want to accidentally reveal any information you’re not okay with.”

Carlos nodded, feeling a rush of appreciation for the older man’s tact as he responded, “They know I’m gay,” he told Owen plainly, “but they don’t know I’m in a relationship. They’ve never known about any of my relationships, we just don’t talk about it. When TK and I ran into them at the farmer’s market I introduced him as a friend and as far as they know that’s the truth.” Carlos turned to see Owen’s reaction, not sure what to expect. Anger maybe? Frustration or upset?

When he did turn he didn’t see any of those. Instead, the older man’s face was neutral as he nodded. “They won’t find out otherwise from me,” Owen promised him, and Carlos nodded his thanks, letting out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. He was surprised, however, when Owen continued talking.

“I know it’s not my place to tell you how to interact with your parents,” he began, “but for what it’s worth, I would never want TK to keep something that was important to him from me because he was worried it might make me upset or uncomfortable. From everything you and TK have said about your parents, I wouldn’t be surprised if they felt the same way.”

Carlos could feel Owen’s gaze on him, steady and reassuring despite everything, and he nodded. He could feel Owen’s words rattling inside his head, but there was no way to process them right now, not when the fear of possibly losing TK and the worry that his danger-prone boyfriend was missing was so soundly occupying the forefront of his thoughts.

He was still trying to parse through it all when he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. He stood as he recognized his dad’s truck, crossing to meet him as he pulled to a stop. “Thank you,” he told his dad as he stepped out, “I really appreciate this.”

“Anything for you, mijo,” his dad assured him with a smile, “all you have to do is ask. Which you rarely do, which tells me this is pretty important.”

There’s something else there, in his dad’s words and his expression, that tells Carlos that his dad knows there is something Carlos isn’t telling him, but he ignores it. It didn’t matter right now — nothing mattered except for finding TK. “Still,” he says instead before turning to Owen who has been hovering at the back of the van. “This is TK’s dad, Captain Owen Strand of the 126.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain,” Gabriel says with a nod, “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Likewise,” Owen replies quickly before diving right in. “Were you able to find out anything yet?”

“Actually yes,” Gabriel admitted and Carlos tensed at the expression on his dad’s face. It was the one he used when he tried to break bad news gently. “We think we may have identified the suspects. There was a bank robbery this morning and the suspects fled in a van matching the description Carlos gave me. There were three suspects — two who entered the bank and one getaway driver — and bank security thinks that they hit one of them while exchanging fire as they fled.”

There was so much information trying to squeeze into Carlos’s head now. None of it was good but one fact jumped out amongst the others. The suspects had exchanged fire with the security guards which meant…

“They’re armed,” he said tersely, the dread he had already been feeling threatening to overtake him now, “the suspects are armed.”

“And they needed the paramedics to treat their partner,” his dad agreed grimly.

“Do we know anything about what kind of shape the injured suspect was in?” Owen asked and Carlos could tell that his mind had gone to the same place his own had: if the paramedics were not able to save the injured bank robber, things didn’t look great for them. Their best hope was for a minor injury but judging by the amount of bloody gauze in the back of the van and the fact that it was a gunshot wound the chances for that were slim to non-existent.

Gabriel shook his head, “No, and the security cams in this parking garage are just for show, I already had someone check.”

So TK and his team were being held at gunpoint, being asked to provide medical care that should be done in a trauma room, and there was no way of saying where they had been taken or if they were okay. Carlos could feel his chest tighten in panic as the hopelessness of the situation set in.

“Are there any leads?” he asked, not even bothering to hide the desperation in his voice.

“Well, they did leave in an ambulance, and that’s not exactly subtle,” his dad reminded him bracingly. “We’ve put out a bulletin — every cop, sheriff, and ranger will be looking for it. We’ll find them, mjio.”

Carlos nodded because he didn’t trust himself to speak and because he desperately needed it to be true. They needed to find them, and TK needed to be okay. Nothing short of that would be enough.

----------

TK knew he was somewhere he shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t seem to do anything about it.

There were voices nearby, but TK couldn’t process any of them. Some of them sounded familiar but others were foreign; unknown with a hostile edge. He tried to open his eyes, to try and take stock of his surroundings but all he could see were vague and blurry shapes. He thought that someone called his name but he couldn’t bring himself to answer. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was in pain, and he was in danger.

The pull of the darkness was stronger than any fear or curiosity, however, and it washed back over him without hesitation, pulling him back under.

---------

Riding in his dad’s truck with his dad and Owen Strand would have been awkward on a good day but today, with his mind full of fear for TK and the tension of the secret between them all, it was unbearable. Carlos couldn’t stop his leg from bouncing anxiously against the floor — the exact same nervous tick he teased TK about on an almost daily basis. The irony wasn’t lost on him, or Owen it seemed as the man leaned forward from the back seat to put a steadying hand on his shoulder, empathetic eyes meeting his own in the rearview. Gabriel kept up a steady stream of one-sided chatter, undaunted by the lack of response from his traveling companions. Every once in a while his radio would crackle to life and Carlos could swear that he could feel his heart seize each and every time.

But every time it was the same: no news, no one had spotted the ambulance yet. Crime scene techs had scoured the van and surrounding area, pulling fingerprints and looking for anything else that could give them a lead on who these people were and where they may have gone. Carlos knew all too well that criminals, especially ones involved in crimes that took as much planning as a bank robbery did, were creatures of habit. If they had somewhere they felt was safe and secluded enough, they would go there. It was up to them to find it.

Carlos knew that his anxiety had not gone unnoticed by his father. He sent him surreptitious glances from time to time, in between radio updates and idle chatter. Finally, he asked a question: “You really care about this TK, don’t you?”

The opening was there, Carlos could see it. A part of his mind told him his dad must too, to open the door so plainly. But the fear of what could happen, of what he has convinced himself he stands to lose is too much. There was already so much fear in his heart from this nightmare he was trapped in, he can’t stand any more. So he nodded and simply answered, “Yeah, I do.”

He tried not to notice the disappointment and pity he could feel from all sides as Owen met his eyes again in the mirror. But his boyfriend’s father stayed silent as promised and Carlos looked away, turning his attention to the window instead. He knew he needed to tell them, he had been coming closer to making that decision on his own with each passing day. Now he just had to hope that they both survived this one and that there would still be something to tell at the end of it all.

His pessimistic spiral was interrupted by the familiar crackle of the radio. He listened absently as his dad grabbed it and at the words that came in response. At least he was only listening absently until some of the words processed in his mind: “Ambulance 126 has been spotted in an alley off W. Fourth St.”

His heart was working on beating its way out of his chest now. He sat upright, looking around frantically to get their bearings. They were only a few blocks east of West Fourth, they could be there in minutes. He relayed this to his dad who nodded before flipping on his lightbar and heading in the direction of the address provided. As they drove Carlos sent his desperate hopes out to the universe. Let them all be okay, let them actually be in or at least nearby the ambulance. Above all, let TK be safe.

As they sped through the city that was the thought that Carlos played on a loop in his head. Let TK be safe, and everything else would be fine

----------

TK came to awareness slowly and at first, the only thing he was truly aware of was the feeling of someone repeatedly tapping his cheek.

“Cut it out,” he whined and heard a relieved sigh in response.

“He’s awake,” a voice — Nancy? — declared and TK tried to open his eyes. It took several tries but he managed, painstakingly blinking them open to reveal the worried faces of his Captain and his partner staring down at him.

“Hey guys,” he said as he tried to pull himself into a sitting position, “why the long faces?”

Captain Vega looked unimpressed with his efforts and pushed him back down onto the ground. “Don’t try to play nice with me Strand after you did that. Of all the reckless, foolhardy things. I really thought you had more sense than that.”

TK frowned at her, trying to piece together all the uncategorized shapes and sensations floating through his hazy mind, “What do you…” he began, but broke off when a sharp pain ripped through his side and Nancy pressed gauze down onto his side, “oh.”

It was coming back now.

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” his Captain scoffed, “what were you thinking TK?”

“I was thinking that they were getting more and more unhinged the longer we were here and that if I had been able to pull the fire alarm dispatch would be notified and it would have given us enough of a distraction we could have maybe saved ourselves,” he said defensively, trying hard to sound assertive when even just the dim lights of the kitchen were causing explosions of pain in his head.

“And how did that go for you?”

“Not great,” he admitted. “How long was I out?”

“Not too long,” Nancy told him as she lifted up the gauze to check on his stab wound, “and I’ve got the bleeding slowed but this wound is pretty deep. Not to mention the knife did not look particularly sterile so this needs treatment, soon.” She nodded towards the abandoned blood-covered chef’s knife on the ground that the man must have grabbed during their scuffle, and TK groaned.

“So probable infection,” he muttered, “great.”

“Not to mention with the width of that knife likely some significant damage,” Tomy reminded him, her unimpressed look holding firm.

“It’s not like I had any way of knowing he was going to find a knife, to be fair.”

“To be fair, I would think the guns should have been enough of a deterrent,” Tommy countered. “Wasn’t getting shot once enough for you?”

TK shifted uncomfortably under his Captain’s gaze and was about to fire back a retort when Nancy interrupted, “Can you both knock it off? Yes, that was incredibly stupid TK and if you weren’t already hurt I probably would have hit you myself. But it was also pretty brave, Cap, and he meant well. Either way, arguing about it is not going to change the fact that we’re still being held hostage and TK is still hurt so maybe it would be best if you both stopped, for my sanity if nothing else.”

She gave them both a hard look and TK did his best approximation of a nod with his throbbing head, not eager to be on his partner’s bad side. Tommy nodded as well, though the look she gave TK promised that they would be revisiting this later, assuming there was a later. He cleared his throat and glanced towards the table where their patient was still laid out, “How is he?”

“Stable, for now,” Tommy answered, following his gaze. “He’s going to need more blood than we can give him though: his friends don’t know his blood type and we only have so much O neg on hand.”

TK nodded, reading in between the lines of what his Captain wasn’t saying: he didn’t have much longer and if he didn’t, neither did they. “What are the others up to?”

“Arguing,” Nancy said softly, “about what to do with us.”

TK turned his gaze to them and though he couldn’t hear their words, he had a feeling he knew what they were saying and it wasn’t good. His suspicions were confirmed a few moments later when they approached.

“That’s enough of that,” the man informed them, gesturing roughly to where Nancy was tending to TK’s stab wound, “get away from him.”

“He needs—” Nancy tried to argue, but TK put a hand on her arm and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile before holding out a hand for the supplies.

“It’s okay,” he told her, “I can handle it from here.”

She didn’t look impressed or convinced, but a wave of the gun prompted her to hand them over and pull herself up from the floor, stepping in the direction indicated by the woman. The man looked down at TK with disdain, “You’re done causing trouble,” he announced, “Because if you do it again, I will start shooting, but I won’t be aiming at you. Got it?”

TK swallowed and nodded. What else could he really say to that? He wasn’t about to risk his team’s safety for anything.

“Good,” the man declared with a nod, “glad we’re on the same page.” He turned to Nancy and Tommy now, “Is he stable enough to be moved right now?”

“He’s as stable as we can make him with what we have on hand,” Tommy told him calmly.

“Then we’re moving,” he declared, “we have another van stashed nearby. We’re going to move out,” he gestured towards himself and his companion, “and we’re taking our friend and this one with us.”

When all eyes turned to him TK realized “this one” meant him with a start. Which was...less than ideal, but at least he would know that the other two were out of danger and could probably get help.

“Absolutely not,” Tommy said in her firmest tone, “he’s injured, he needs treatment.”

“Which is why I know he’ll be no trouble,” the man countered, “plus he’s a paramedic, isn’t he? He can treat himself. I’ll let you give him some supplies, I’m not unreasonable.”

TK could practically see Tommy’s anger rising from his position on the floor and he spoke up before his Captain could say anymore, “It’s okay Cap,” he said, hoping his voice sounded more sure out loud than it did to his own ears, “I’ll be fine.”

Tommy turned her gaze to him and was more likely than not going to tell him how many ways that was not happening, but any arguments she may have made were abruptly cut off by the sound of the door banging open and a barrage of police officers entering the scene, guns raised.

TK let himself sag against the wall in relief as he saw their two assailants surrounded and even more when he spotted a familiar gaze in the crowd, filled with fear and worry as it grew closer to him.

“Carlos,” he said quietly, managing to pull a small smile to his face.

“Hey Ty,” Carlos said roughly, reaching out to run a hand through his hair even as he surveyed him for damage. His eyes widened and his jaw clenched as he spotted the bloody gauze poking out from underneath his hand just above his hip.

He reached for it, but TK called his name softly before shaking his head ever so slightly, “leave it be, I’ll be fine. I’m just so happy to see you.”

Carlos looked like he wanted to argue but he bit his lip, turning instead to the crowd behind them. TK followed his gaze and froze when he spotted Gabriel Reyes amongst the officers. He pulled away from Carlos ever so slightly, “Your dad…” he began, but Carlos shook his head, gripping TK hands tighter, not letting him pull away.

“That doesn’t matter right now,” he told him, “all that matters is that you’re safe.”

TK had so many questions, but his head was swimming. He wasn’t sure if it was the blood loss or the head injury, but it was getting harder and harder to follow a fluid thought. He opened his mouth to try and ask any of them but was saved from the trouble of doing that by his dad appearing at his side, expression anxious as he kneeled down. He looked him over before calling over his shoulder for a medic and TK tried really hard to follow what was happening but it was becoming so much harder with each passing moment.

He was so disoriented he almost missed the commotion that erupted around them. All he knew was that Carlos’s hand was suddenly gone from his and he blinked several times, forcing himself to focus on what was happening around them. The woman had somehow managed to free herself of the officer cuffing her and had managed to grab her gun again. She was waving it frantically and shouting, but her words were a blur to TK. All he could focus on now was the fact that Carlos was closest to her, and that he was stepping closer to her.

That he was standing firmly between her and TK.

The rest of the world might be a blur of noise and light but this was clear as day. Carlos was stepping towards the woman, hands raised as he tried to speak calmly to her. But TK knew in his heart that he had been right about her state and knew that there would be no reasoning with her. But he also knew that Carlos would try, because that’s what Carlos did. He helped people, no matter what.

The next moment happened in a blink of an eye but TK saw it as if in slow motion. Carlos took a step forward, his soothing voice still speaking to her, still vibrating its way through the air as another sound erupted between them, eclipsing Carlos’s voice.

It was the sound of a gun firing and TK could do nothing but watch in horror as Carlos’s stride faltered before he stumbled. He could do nothing but try to call out his name with whatever breath he still had in his lungs as Carlos went down, and he could do nothing but feel his heart shatter when he didn’t get up.

TK tried to go to him, tried to push himself off the ground. He needed to help, he needed to save Carlos. But his body wouldn’t listen. The pain in his side sliced through him again with a vengeance and the last thing TK saw was Carlos’s unmoving body before his vision faded to black and he knew no more; left with the worst sight he had ever seen in his life as company as he fell into the darkness.

-------

Carlos woke slowly, bits and pieces of his surroundings making themselves known to him and helping to fill in the blanks in his mind: he was in the hospital, he had been hurt, he had been searching for TK…

And that was the thought that brought him back to consciousness. He opened his eyes with a gasp, feeling hands on him instantly. “TK,” he tried to ask, “is he…”

“Relax, mijo,” his dad told him soothingly, “TK is safe. He just woke up from his own surgery a short while ago. His dad assures me that he’s fine, and asking about you.”

Carlos took a deep breath and willed his heartbeat to slow. TK was alive, they had found him. He was hurt, but he was doing okay and Owen was with him. That did answer a lot of his questions, but there were still so many left. Starting with, “What happened?” he asked his dad.

Gabriel settled into the chair at the side of the bed, leaving a hand on Carlos’s arm as he studied him, “What do you remember, Carlos?”

“I remember TK and his team going missing, calling you, and finding them. After that, not much.”

Gabriel nodded and his hand on Carlos’s arm tightened, “One of the kidnappers, the woman, went a little crazy when your colleagues tried to bring her in. She freed herself from the officer’s trying to cuff her and you were closest. Well,” he amended, “you and TK. But you put yourself between them and tried to talk her down. It…” his dad broke off, clearing his throat and continuing with a thick voice, “it didn’t go well. You were shot, Carlos, right in front of me. I was so scared I was going to lose you, mijo. You cannot scare me like that, I am an old man.”

Despite it all, Carlos chuckled, “Please, you are not old dad. There are 20-year-olds older than you.”

His teasing didn’t put a dent into his father’s upset, and Carlos sobered, “I’m sorry,” he said instead, “that can’t have been easy. I know what it’s like to see someone you care about hurt like that. I’m sorry you had to see that, dad.”

Gabriel shook his head, leaning forward again, “You have nothing to apologize for Carlos,” he said firmly, “you only did what you thought was best, what you needed to do to protect the man you love.”

Carlos’s breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened, but his dad held his gaze, a small smile playing on his lips, “You are not subtle, mijo. I had a feeling since this all started, but the moment I saw you with him, I knew.”

“I’m sorry I kept this from you and mom,” Carlos apologized softly, “that I lied to you when we met at the Farmer’s Market.”

“Stop apologizing Carlos,” Gabriel instructed, his tone matching his son’s, “you have nothing to apologize for. If anyone should be apologizing I think it should be me. Clearly, I did something or said something that made you feel like you couldn’t share this and for that I am so, so sorry. I never wanted you to feel like you had to hide anything from us, especially not this. I’m...” he trailed off and Carlos was surprised to see tears in his dad’s eyes, “I’m just sorry,” Gabriel finished, “I need you to know that. That and the fact that both your mother and I love you so much, no matter what.”

“I do know that,” Carlos assured him, “I never doubted that for a second.”

His father smiled at him and Carlos could feel a weight that had been subtly resting on him for nearly 10 years lifted. He met his father’s eyes and returned the smile.

“Dad,” he said clearly, with a confidence that had been so many years coming, “I have a boyfriend. His name is TK Strand, and I love him. He means everything to me.”

“I’m happy for you Carlos,” his father told him, a soft smile covering his face, “you deserve nothing but the most wonderful love the world has to offer, and I hope this boy can give you that.”

“He can,” Carlos assured him, “he does.”

----------

TK was staring moodily at the dark ceiling of his hospital room. Yes, he was beyond grateful to have been rescued and that his teammates were safe. They had just been by actually — both women very clear that they would stab him themselves next time if he ever tried to do something so reckless again — and he had been happy to see them. Just as he had his parents and his friends, all who had stopped by before the doctor informed them all that he needed rest.

That was all wonderful and he was grateful, but the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else — that he needed to see — was in a room of his own on the other side of the hospital. He had been assured by multiple reliable sources that he was fine: awake and alert and recovering nicely from his gsw (fuck, Carlos had been shot. That was a thought and a memory that was going to haunt him for a while, he knew it). But he had been denied any and all requests of seeing him with his own eyes due to his concussion — hence the dark room as light still wreaked havoc on his head — and the antibiotics slowly dripping their way into his system in an effort to cut off any possible infection from the dirty knife blade before it had a chance to take root. Which, as a paramedic, he recognized was reasonable. If it were anyone else he would have recommended the same. But it wasn’t anyone else. It was him and it was Carlos, and TK needed to see him with his own eyes before he could believe that he was really alright.

Since that was beyond his control, that left him with pouting about it in the dark, which is what he intended to do about it for the foreseeable future.

A soft knock at his door interrupted his plans and when he turned his head in the direction of the door, his breath caught in his throat.

“Carlos,” he breathed, his name emerging from his lips like a prayer as the other man gave him a small, tired smile from his wheelchair in the door. Behind him stood his father, looking at TK with a smile that told him everything he needed to know.

He waited as Gabriel pushed the wheelchair into the room, reaching out for Carlos, taking his hand in his own as soon as they were close enough to touch. He moved to the side of the bed, leaning over and meeting Carlos in a soft, tender kiss that he hoped did something to relay even a portion of the emotions he was feeling. They pulled apart and he met Carlos’s eyes, studying them and him for any signs that he wasn’t okay, but his study was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked up, startled, to see Carlos’s father watching them with a bemused expression.

“I will leave you both alone,” he promised, “but first I just wanted to take a moment to meet you properly, TK. I am very glad you are okay.”

“Thank you, sir,” TK said warmly, still clutching Carlos’s hand.

Gabriel shook his head, “None of that ‘sir’ business now,” he told him, “as far as I’m concerned we’re family now. Call me Gabriel, please.”

“Well Gabriel, TK said lightly, “I am happy to meet you, officially.”

He grinned at Carlos, he matched his expression without a second thought. Gabriel watched the pair of them, smile growing.

“I would love to talk more with you TK, take some time to get to know you, but I know when I’m not wanted so we’ll take care of that later. Just remember Carlos,” he told his son, voice suddenly firm, “you’re injured too. Don’t overdo it.”

“Yes dad, thanks.”

Gabriel gave them both a smile and with an affectionate squeeze of Carlos’s shoulder, he was gone.

“So,” TK said as he watched the older man walk away, “you told him.”

Carlos scoffed, “I didn’t have to. He spent all day with me, looking for you. He figured it out pretty quickly.” He paused here, swallowing thickly as he looked back at TK, “God Ty, I was so scared. I don’t know what I would have done…”

TK cut him off, pressing a hand against his face, “Hey, none of that. We’re both okay, and that’s what matters.”

But even as he said it, he could feel his voice waver. The last memory he had before blacking out of Carlos collapsing after being shot would be forever ingrained in his memories, a vision he was sure would come back to haunt him for many nights to come. Carlos leaned forward now, placing a hand on top of TK’s and pulling it away from his face so he could twist their fingers together.

“Same goes for you,” he said firmly, as if he knew where TK’s mind had gone. Because of course he did. It was Carlos, and TK knew there was no part of him that was a mystery to the other man.

“Hey, remember when you said being a Paramedic would be less dangerous than being a firefighter?” TK quipped in an attempt to lighten the mood and Carlos rolled his eyes.

“Only you could manage to prove that wrong,” Carlos fired back, his voice a blend of fondness and exasperation. “Maybe you can try not to keep proving that wrong though, for my sake?”

“I guess I could try,” TK said softly, “if only for you. I love you an awful lot, you know.”

Carlos leaned forward and pulled him into a kiss with more heat than before. It was warm and bright and so full of everything TK had been so afraid of losing for good. When they pulled apart, both breathing heavier and both leaning in, resting their foreheads on each other, Carlos responded, “I love you so much, Tyler Kennedy. Don’t you ever get kidnapped on me again.”

“I’ll do my best,” TK promised, “but I know that if I do, you’d come find me.”

“And I always will,” Carlos assured him, squeezing their linked hands, “no matter what.”

#911 lone star #911 lone star fic #tarlos #tarlos fic #911ls season 2 #911ls speculation #my writing #userkimmy #userjilly #userac #usermaximus #tuserpaige #userbones #jazzyjess #hierophvnts #maizsnex #buckybarnesalways #reyeslonestartag #immortalstrand

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adaine · 3 years

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cozy

post tuc1 rickyesther sickfic! only a day late! for @dimension20alphabet

Esther was a strong woman. She had avoided creating deep connections with others to protect herself from sadness for years, even at the cost of feeling any strong happiness. Now that she was allowed to feel those feelings and make deeper connections, she was able to open herself up a bit more, but some old habits fell hard. Esther Sinclair looked out for herself and didn’t need anyone to do that for her.

Half of her wished that she wasn’t that stubborn when she woke up to the blaring of her alarm with a throbbing head and a turning stomach one morning. She’d have to call in sick which was perfectly fine. But she still hated being sick. A weakness that she couldn’t prevent and one that, for the majority of her life, she’d had to endure alone.

She sent a text to Ana and Amelia, informing them that she wouldn’t be able to come in today. With Alejandro having recently passed, Esther had taken over his position but the twins had also taken on a bigger role in helping to uphold his legacy and keep the Gramercy Occult Society run among all these sudden changes.

She briefly considered texting Ricky to let him know that she was under the weather but decided against it. He would be getting off a 24-hour shift in just a few hours and she really didn’t want to worry him while he was working or pressure him to come by after he’d been on-shift for so long.

So Esther slipped back to sleep, shivering a bit even wrapped in her heavy comforter.

---

She woke up a few hours later, feeling just as shitty as before and twice as sweaty, and decided to draw herself a bath. Being clean would probably make her feel at least a tiny bit better.

While sitting in the lukewarm bath, she continued to shiver but forced herself to clean herself anyway, even if crawling back into bed seemed like the better option by miles.

With a creak, she heard the front door open from across the apartment and cursed to herself. Of course now of all times someone was going to break in. What’s worse was that she wasn’t sure that she had the energy to cast anything to protect herself.

“I have a gun!” she shouted, trying her best to keep the weakness from her voice.

The bathroom door opened and she swiftly pulled the curtain forward to cover herself.

“Really? Since when?” Ricky’s voice asked.

She groaned and pulled the curtain back. “You scared me. I thought you broke in.”

He threw up a hand to cover his eyes. “Why would I break in? You gave me a key?”

“Nevermind,” she grumbled. “Why are you here? And you don’t have to cover your eyes. You’ve seen me naked before.”

Ricky sheepishly moved his hand but kept his eyes fixed on her eyes, not wandering anywhere else. “Amelia texted and said that you weren’t feeling well. I stopped by to bring you soup that would make you feel better. I got you pho from the Vietnamese place down the street from the station.”

She raised her eyebrows. “But you just got off of a 24-hour shift.”

He shrugged. “And it’s over. There’s nobody that I would rather spend my time off with.”

God, she was so happy that she was finally at a point where she could allow herself to love somebody. She was even more happy for the fact that somebody happened to be Ricky Matsui.

“I’m almost done with my bath,” she told him. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen when I’m changed.”

“Alright!” he said with a smile and walked out of the room.

---

She changed into a fresh pair of sweats and a FDNY hoodie that Ricky had left when he stayed over earlier that week before heading out the the main area of the apartment.

Even with her churning stomach, the pho smelled really good.

Ricky intercepted her before she made it to the kitchen, guiding her to the couch and swaddling her with blankets before setting a bowl of pho and a large glass of water on the side table next to her.

“You just sit down and get comfy,” he told her. “Let me take care of you.”

Esther opened her mouth to protest but then closed it. She didn’t have to do everything for herself anymore.

He turned on a movie for her and began rushing around her apartment, cleaning up the mess she’d left in the kitchen the night before and throwing her sheets in the wash.

Eventually, he settled next to her and leaned his head on her shoulder. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Not really,” she replied honestly. “I think I need to sleep it off. But I’m happy that you’re here.”

He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head. “I’m happy to be here.”

As the movie played, she began to drift back to sleep, absolutely comfortable in Ricky’s arms.

#dimension 20 #the unsleeping city #d20alphabet21 #rickyesther #esther sinclair #my fic #welcometomyteddytalk

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notyetneedcoffee · 4 years

Text

Soul Seer, Pt. 12

Loki Master List

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: Angst, 18+ Smut

Author’s Note: Takes place right after Avengers 1, with time travel elements and hints of Infinity Wars. Does NOT follow cannon after Avengers.

Sorry for taking so long to update... there’s only a couple parts left to go!

“We have a problem.” Tony Stark strode into the conference room Steve Rogers had taken over as his head quarters for the rescue and clean up operations. Cap looked up from the tablet he’d been studying. Tony didn’t usually sound that angry even in the middle of a fight.

“What is it?” Cap stood up.

Tony looked around the room. You felt the wave rage, betrayal, flowing off him and looked over at Loki with confusion. The other three men in the room, Army General Ramirez, Colonel Whitehall and the FDNY Fire Chief all stopped, waiting.

Tony flicked his mobile unit, sending a holographic display over the table. A huge group of citizens was gathered outside the damage zone. They were chanting and carrying signs with things like “Justice Must Be Served”.

“Someone leaked who our out of town help really is.” Tony flipped the display to a news anchor. An image of Loki taken from the battle sat next to an image someone caught on their cell phone of him in his “Luke” disguise. Tony crossed his arms and scowled. “They’re calling for him to be turned over to authorities.”

“He’s helping us.” Steve scowled. “He’s been held accountable by his own people.”

“Anyone know who leaked?” The General slapped his notebook down.

For all of the confusion and anger flying around the room, Loki was a center of calm. You stood, walking slowly to Loki’s side. You placed both your hands on his chest. His eyes remained on the holo image, but his focus was elsewhere. At your touch, his hands came up to cover yours.

“Loki?”

“The secret is out and cannot be put back. There are now but two choices. You deny your people a justice they deserve and watch as dissent and violence erupt amongst the masses, or you turn me over.” His eyes lowered to meet you wide stare.

“No.” You shook your head.

“That- “ Tony waved his finger around. “That is not going to happen. God, I can’t believe I’m going to say this! But we actually need your help.”

“He’s right” Steve rubbed his forehead. “We would not have accomplished what we have in the last three weeks without your help.”

“Loki is also right,” General tapped his pen on the desk. “If people know he’s here, even if we prove he’s helping, they’ll call for blood. People are terrified. This was an alien attack on American soil. It’s going to be ugly either way.”

“Excuse me.” Jarvis cut in to the conversation. “Sir, Secretary of State Wallace is calling for you.”

“Fuck.” Tony shut down the holo image.

“Buy time, Tony.” Steve folded his arm. “We need to talk about this before we agree to anything.”

“Yeah.” Tony brought his mobile to his ear. “Hey Jack! How’s it hangin’?” He marched out the room for his office.

“Loki, why are you so calm?” You studied his face. “Oh, no. No. You knew this was going to happen. You’ve been waiting for it to happen.”

His cool hand cupped your face, thumb ghosting over your lower lip. “Yes, my pet. I knew.”

Within an hour, you found yourself sitting beside Loki in a room filled to the brink with Avengers and US officials. You listened to the arguments fly around the room, felt level of animosity rise. Fury insisted if Loki was going to be incarcerated it should be with SHIELD. Others insisted there be a trial. Some wondered if sentenced to death, could he even be executed. What it mean in the public opinion if he couldn’t be killed. Bruce was adamant that Loki had already been tried by Odin.

“Are you alright, my pet?” Loki’s baritone voice cut through the noise.

“No.” You shook your head, realizing how close you were to tears. Anxiety, anger, and frustration raged inside. “You can’t let them take you.”

Loki stood and held his hand out for you. Before you made two steps from the table, Rogers called out. “Loki. Where are you going?”

“Captain, I believe you know my intentions in regard to the work you are doing here. I am bound to whatever order is given me. Being here, while my fate is decided, is not necessary.” Loki’s gaze moved to you then back to the Cap. “Don’t you agree?”

He understood. This was about you. “You’re right. The conversation may even be a little more honest with you out of the room. We all know the weight of Dr. Banner’s opinion. We’ll let you know when we’re done.”

Loki tipped his head and led you from the room with a hand at your back. The calm radiating off of him was infuriating. He was normally full of fire and fight. It scared you and you hated being scared. You managed to keep quiet until the elevator doors closed.

“Don’t you dare tell me you’re just giving up.” You growled, staring at the readout taking you to your floor.

“I must do as Dr. Banner orders. What is there to give up?” Loki sounded distant.

“What is there – “ You spun, instantly furious. “My entire life, my entire existence, has changed! Do you have any idea what would happen to me if they took you! Do you know what that would do to me! What is there to give up?! You selfish- “

Loki’s mouth crashed over yours. His hands roughly pulling you flush against his body, lifting you off your toes. Waves of possessive need, protective outrage, wrapped around you as tightly as his arms. Your fingers slipped through his silky hair as you clung to him.

The elevator doors opened, Loki waltzed you onto your floor. A tickle dance across your skin just before he dropped you down on the soft sheets of your bed. The cool air tickled across your bare flesh. Loki pinned you to the bed, hands holding down your wrists.

His face hovered over your, eyes blazing. “You are mine. I will not allow you to be . . . taken . . . from me. I will do whatever I must to keep you safe.”

“But you were so calm.” The tightness in your chest began to unravel. “What if they decide to. . .”

“It doesn’t matter what they decide.” Loki’s nose ghosted over yours, his breath mingling with yours. “The only word that matters is Banner’s.” His tongue slipped along your lower lip. “He is a man of reason.”

“You’re not concerned?”

“No, my pet, worry not.”

“But…”

His mouth covered yours, tongue dancing around your, drawing a moan from your throat. He nipped your lower lip between his teeth. “Whatever may come, I will protect you, my feisty little pet.”

“Don’t laugh at me. I was furious.” You rocked your hips up against him, causing Loki to growl. You twisted your wrists until your fingers entwined with his. “You are mine.”

Loki fell upon you like a man starving. He bit marks across your neck. His body slid along yours. The coolness of his skin against your flushed skin sent shivers over your body. His teeth grazed your nipple. You pulled at his hair, calling his name. Loki marked your delicate flesh.

“So fine.” Loki growled. He pushed apart your legs, teeth nipping, hot tongue painting wet trails along your inner thighs. It sent fire racing through your veins. His fingers slid through your wetness, delving into your depths. With a wicked smile, Loki licked his fingers. “My sweet.”

“Loki, don’t tease.” You clawed at the sheets.

He pressed your knees toward your shoulders, his tongue taking a long sweep across your sex. His voice rumbled deep. “Don’t tell me what to do, my pet.” He flicked your clit with his tongue. “I do what I want.”

You wrapped your legs around him and twisted. He allowed you to flip him over onto his back. Straddling his waist, hands on his chest, you nipped at his jaw. “I wanted to stand in front of you, and dare anyone to take you from me. I would rip them apart. You are mine.”

His fingers dug into your ass as you rubbed against his hard cock. Loki’s eyes fell closed. Your declaration feeling more intoxicating than any Asgardian mead he’d ever tasted. “You are a marvel, my dear.”

“Loki,” you breathed, lowering yourself on him. “Loki,” you sighed, relishing in the stretch and the feel of him. “Oh, fuck, Loki,” you panted sitting up and rocking on him. His cock hitting you perfectly.

His feet anchored on the bed, thrusting up. So powerful. Your cunt clenched around him. Loki growled, holding you in place and fucking you harder. You reached back, balancing with a hand on his knee. Heat coiled in your center.

Loki watched the sweat break out on your skin, delighted in your tits bouncing for him. He extended a tendril of magic. A cool vibrating thrum pressed against your clit.

“Oh fuck!” You began to quiver.

“Do not come until I say.” Loki ordered. You whined, but nodded. The onslaught of his cock and the vibration overwhelming.

An icy pinch nipped along the edge of your breast. You yipped. A series of them circles your breasts, making them feel tight and hyper-sensitive. Ghost finger pinch your nipples hard, sending a shock to your cunt that near pushed you over. “Oh, god, Loki!”

He growled, a smirk upon his face. The thrum upon your clit became stronger and pushed against you harder. “Not yet.” Loki slammed into at a brutal pace. Wet, skin slapping skin. You panted. Shook. You couldn’t help it. The pinches upon your nipples pulled hard, coming free, the flash of pain making you snap.

Heat burst forth. You flooded, squirting over his cock. Soaking everything. Shaking uncontrollably. Falling forward. Loki wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against him. Burying in you deep, coming hard with groan.

You lay boneless on his chest, breath slowly returning to normal. Loki stroked your skin, holding you gently. He allowed himself to get lost in your breath and heartbeat. You sighed and drifted into near sleep. He would not say it aloud, but if Banner makes any decision that takes you from him, he would tear everything to the ground.

You’d become his salvation. Loki once again wondered if the Norns laughed at him. A fragile little mortal.

He let you sleep, just holding you.

In short order though, Jarvis quietly alerted him of visitors. “Loki, excuse me, but Captain Rogers wishes me to inform you that he and the others are on their way to your suite.”

You lifted your head, sleepily.

“Thank you. Have they come to a decision?”

“I believe so, sir.”

“Time to get up?” You sat up, the worry returning.

“Yes.” Loki stood and held a hand out for you.

With a shimmer of magic, you were both clean and dressed. You smiled, leaning into him. “Magic is so cool.”

His lips covered yours in a gentle kiss just as the door to your suite chimed. You both walked out of the bedroom just as the living room filled. Rogers was joined by Stark, Banner, Romanoff, and surprisingly Fury.

“You’ve come to a conclusion.”

“Yeah.” Banner was smiling. Good sign.

“We explained about Odin’s orders and the oath.” Cap began. “But the court of public opinion is a pretty powerful force.”

“Indeed it is.” Loki agreed. He took you hand in his to keep you from fidgeting. Everyone’s emotions were bounding all over the spectrum.

“We couldn’t exactly ask some of the others to defy direct orders,” Fury continued the story. “So we figured we’re going to have to handle this one on our own for a while.”

Natasha smiled. “We are the spies after all.”

“So what did you finally decide to do about Loki?” You finally blurted out.

“If we’re going to get the happy ending we all want,” Tony smiled. “Loki has to die.”