#jack sloane needs to be protected at all costs

[fangirlspammer]

Sparks Fly (part 1)

This is just an idea that came to mind. I'm not yet sure how many chapters there will be. I'm tagging those who I think might want to read this new story. @regal-roni @x-multifandom-trash-x @sassystrongsexysloane @catlynhoss05

What if Jack showed up on your doorstep that first night, instead of Gibbs'?

"One second!" You called out to the unexpected visitor at your door. Your brow furrowed as you turned your burner down and took a look at your mashed potatoes, you sighed. The tots would just have to wait you hadn't been expecting any visitors, so you were extra cautious as you opened the door. Your guard dropped and you opened the door a little more when you saw an older beautiful blonde, standing there in the pouring rain. "Hi," you have a small smile, unsure if she even had the right house. Maybe she was here for your brother? "I'm sorry, but if you're looking for Ethan, he isn't home," your apology brought her confusion and even more to you now.

"No, I'm sorry to bother you, but my cellphone died and my car broke down down the block. You're the first person to answer the door," she flashed and grateful smile and you swore that you felt your stomach flip. "I was just hoping that I could borrow your phone to call a tow truck?"

"Oh, well, of course," you nodded and let her in. Normally you would be extra cautious about letting a stranger enter your home, but there was just something about this woman that made you believe that you could trust her. "Here," you offered her the cellphone in your hand and then gasped. "Oh!" You exclaimed and she jumped back slightly. "Oh I'm sorry," you chuckled slightly and apologized. "I just forgot about my food," you excused yourself and went to turn off the stove. A sigh of relief escaped you when nothing was wrong and you began to fix yourself a plate. Your eyes then set onto the blonde standing in your archway and a smile crossed your features again.

"They said it would be over and hour with the storm," she handed you your phone back and you slid it in your back pocket. "I will go wait in my car so I'm not putting you out. Thank you though, you saved my life!" She exaggerated and her smile only grew. You had never met someone whose smile lifted your spirits so much. What was it about this woman?

"Don't be silly," you shook your head and smiled right back. "There's no need to go back into the storm. You can stay here until the tow truck gets here."

Her eyes shot up in surprise. "Are you inviting a stranger over for dinner?" you could hear the hint of amusement in her voice.

"Well," you arched your brow and grabbed a second plate. "You haven't tried to rob me or murder me, and I've given you plenty of opportunities to do so, so I'll take my chances," a smirk crosses your lips as you made both of your plates and handed one to her.

She eyes you for a second, but then accepted the plate and a glass of water before following you to the dining room. "Maybe I am just feeling you out? Laying a little ground work before I make my move?" She suggested light heartily.

"I may as well enjoy the company before I die then," you played along and rolled your eyes. Why did this feel so normal? "I do have one request before you 'make your move' however."

"What's that?"

"I should at least know your name," you took a bite of steak and eyed her curiously as she cut her meat.

A smirk played on her lips, was she always this way? "Jack," she looked up. "Jacqueline, but my friends call me 'Jack'," and there it was. An official introduction, a name to that beautiful face.

You cursed yourself for the feelings bubbling inside of you towards this stranger. "Jacqueline," you smiled at the way her name rolled off your tongue. "I'm Y/N," you introduced back and relaxed in your seat. "So, are you new around here or just visiting?"

"I just moved here from California," she admitted after downing the rest of her water.

"California?" You were intrigued. "That's a big move. Was it for your job? Or boyfriend?" you hoped she didn't find it odd of you to throw that in, but you couldn't help yourself. Just as she was about to answer your question your cellphone rang. "Oh I'm sorry. I have to take this it's my boss," you quickly apologized, but she nodded in understanding. "Y/N," you answered and moved towards the kitchen.

It was Gibbs. There was a dead body at the river bottoms and they needed you now. You assured him you'd be right there before rushing to gather your things. You grabbed your work bag, slipped on your shoes and threw your hair into a tight ponytail before realizing you still had company. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry," you looked a little panicked but she stood up to leave. "No, it's alright. Stay, enjoy dinner while you wait. Lock up when you leave?" You grinned and tossed her your keys.

"You don't even know me," she looked amazed, but you just shrugged it off.

"I trust you," you smiled as she rolled her eyes. If you had more time you might have stalled, but you were on a mission and needed to go. You gave a friendly smile before quickly leaving the house. Something inside of you told you that you would be seeing her again.

The entire evening your mind was otherwise distracted. That blonde still had your focus and you knew the team was beginning to notice. Ellie had already covered for you twice and you knew she was about ready to ask for an explanation. You couldn't blame her though, you had taken up her time and she was your best friend on the team after all. Ellie took her chance at lunch time after the men left to grab food for the team, and the two of you were in the elevator on your way down for a coffee run.

"Anything in particular on your mind, Y/N?" You knew that she knew something was up.

You could hear the amusement in her tone and just rolled your eyes. "I don't know what would make you think that."

She smirked and turned to face you now. "Who is it? How long have you been seeing them?" She started to jump to conclusions and you let out a little laugh. "I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner!" She exclaimed dramatically.

"I'm not seeing anybody!" You quickly protested. You looked up at the numbers above the door. You were almost to the lobby. "I just have a lot on my mind," you shrugged. Just then the doors opened and your eyes widened. It was her. She was standing there in the lobby of NCIS. In your shirt?

"Well if it isn't my gracious host," she smirked, amused by the startle plastered all over your face. She dug through her pockets and tossed you your keys. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you again," she pressed a button as she stepped in the elevator and smiled at you until the doors closed once again.

You stood there with wide eyes. So many thoughts were running through your mind, and you couldn't seem to move from that spot. You could feel Ellie's eyes boring a hole into you, and you swore you could hear her smile.

"You're not seeing anybody?" She laughed and you elbowed her playfully. "Who is she?"

"I...I don't know," you stammered, still confused by her sudden presence. "She said her name was Jack," you shrugged and looked to Ellie. You rolled your eyes and linked arms with her, turning to head towards the coffee carts now. "She just showed up at my door claiming her car broke down."

Ellie couldn't seem to get rid of that grin and you rolled your eyes. "She's cute. Definitely your type," she laughed.

You nudged her playfully and stuck out your tongue, finally reaching the cart. Who was Jack? And why had she sought you out?

[geekkatsblog]

.............. I .............. well at least one problem is gone, adios Ingrid.

I'm writing this while I'm sleepy so sorry in advanced.

Well this episode was something.

Travis' dad was pushing it, flaunting the relationship to his son while he was still married to his mother. Of course Travis would be angry, it's his mother. I'm sorry I know he's in love but in away he was doing too much and then his mother goes and blames Travis. I just idk it was too much.

Jack hardly had any screen time again what are they doing to him. At least he had a few seconds to grieve but no one was really there to comfort him, hug him nothing. It's as though no one except a selected few were allowed to grieve. He deserves better. I was really hoping that the therapist was going to help him as well but I guess not.

Andy is going through her crisis right now, at least she knew she was projecting her trama because I was starting to get a little tired of her making comparisons. Was hoping for a Andy and Sullivan reconciliation but I guess not, besides I'm pretty sure it's going to come out at some point that she slept with Beckett. That's going to bring some hot mess as well so I don't know if their reconciliation is going to happen now.

Yay Marina and Carina are having a great time, however they're making decisions kinda fast and that worries me. Protect Maya and Carina at all cost. I'm sensing some upcoming drama and honestly I'll be pissed let them stay in their honey moon bubble a little longer. Also the them with baby Pru was just adorable. Nervous Maya and sweet but comfortable Carina. Oh my heart ❤.

Vic is having heart palpitations everytime she thinks or hears about Dean and Anyone connected to him. That heart monitor went off a hell of a lot I'm surprised she didn't faint. I am glad she got to talk to someone about it. In due time I'm sure she'll be fine again, but for now it hurts to see her so sad.

Pru Miller better go back with her family with station 19. They really had me for a second when the grandfather was looking at them during dinner but nope he up and takes Pru. Also I am disappointed because I was sure I saw Dean walking around with his will, he asked Ben twice, he was scared for Pru. Where the hell is the will l???? What was the point of Dean discussing one if he never wrote it. I feel as though Ben and Bailey will eventually get custody but if Dean really didn't write a will then what is the point? They're really dangling and baby girl in front of them only for her to be snatched away.

And the thing is at first I was saying that the grandparents had a right to fight for their granddaughter, but then he goes and refuses to call her Pru, they returned with the very attitude that made Dean run from them in the first place. The grandparents definitely have the right to visit their grand baby, but they don't deserve full custody. Not with that attitude.

Lastly is Ingrid. I could not be the only one who was cheering her on to take the leap off the building. How could she assume that BEN WARREN was on the market. Also she could have done a ring check or ask first anything but showing up to the Thanksgiving dinner and trying to take her own life because, the man who is literally to good to be true wasn't single. I'm just glad she's getting the help she needs, the only thing is I hope she doesn't try to bother Bailey while she's at Grey Sloan. Would be some lifetime movie shit.

Funny moments included Beckett falling on his back on spillt food, Bailey marking her territory when she saw Ingrid. Vic laughing inappropriately when Travis's father snapped and watching Maya with Pru.

[forlornmelody]

Video Game Questionate

Tagged by @joufancyhuh

Tagging: @sunnydae and @nym7, if you want to play. 

You’ll discover real quick here that I have not played many games. I like what I like XD

-Games-

First game you ever played: Pirates of the Caribbean online? I burned through the free version in a couple days and then my friend bought me Sid Meier’s Pirates. 

Favorite game: Either ME2 or ME3. I just love how the second upends the optimism of the first game and shows you the dark underbelly of the galaxy. And I always love me a good lazarus story. And the raw emotion of the world ending in 3. And how it ties together so many threads of previous games (though sometimes it gets a little weird.)

Game you hated at first but now love: Can I say ME1? It was a steep learning curve getting through that game the first time. I nearly rage quit SO many times fighting that Krogan battlemaster on Therum. 

Game you used to love but now hate: I spend a lot of time in Skyrim. Hundreds of hours. But I don’t see myself going back. No matter how many times it gets remastered/rereleased. 

Game with the best group/companion(s): ME2. They sound like the literal worst of the galaxy, but then you get to know them all and realize they must be protected at all costs. God, even Zaeed won me over in the end.

A game with your favorite ending: ME3, destroy ending specifically. There’s something about Shepard shooting a wannabe god with a pistol. The anger on their face. Their resolve. The ensuing explosion. Everything that happens after I would have written differently, though, tbh. 

A game with the WORST ending: ....this might be an unpopular opinion, but I really hate how DA2 ends. It kind of feels like the main events of that game happen no matter what you do? I was kind of hoping to see a less violent side to the mages, especially since they seem queer coded to me. It feels like Bioware was trying too hard to justify the Chantry’s behavior. (Yes I’m aware that it sounds like Anders wrote this. xD)

Best character customization?: Of the one’s I’ve played? Mass Effect Andromeda. Though I feel like Femryder has better options than Maleryder.

-Hero and Companions-

Your favorite playable character:  Shepard << hands down. Though being gay in Ancient Greece as Kassandra was a ton of fun too.

The funniest playable character: Hawke

Your favorite companion(s): (in no particular order) Kaidan, Peebee, Aria (it was just a DLC, but STILL), James Vega, Grunt, Jack, Anders, Isabella, Zevran, Merill, Morrigan, Ikarous, Legion

Companions you could live without: Oghren.  Cora Harper. Liam Kosta. Wynne. Liara T’Soni. Leliana. 

-Relationships-

Favorite game friendship(s): Vega & Cortez, Tali and Legion (as late as it was), Joker & EDI (hey it was total enemies -> friends -> lovers over the course of the game), Merill & Isabella, Hawke & Varric, Shepard & Joker

Favorite companion banter:  “You would be one to like grizzly bears, Mr. Vega!” “Heh, heh...huh?”

A relationship you loved but went bad: Alistair/Warden, Femshep/Vega (in game only. I don’t mind the fix it fics)

A relationship you weren’t sure of but loved: Zevran/Warden

A character you wish you COULD romance: *deep breath*  Sloane Kelly. Jeff “Joker” Moreau, Kasumi Goto. Miranda Lawson (as Femshep). Ashley Williams (as Femshep). Jack (as Femshep), Aria T’loak (actual romance please), Morrigan (as a female Warden), Tali (as Femshep), Gianna Parasini. Honorable (or dishonorable??) mention to Brynjolf of Skryim Thieves Guild. 

A minor character you wish could be a companion:  I really can’t think of any? Unless we’re counting Clone Shep. :P Oo! Nyreen Kandros. 

-Fun-

Shoutout to a random NPC: That Salarian construction worker you find on his break during the Citadel DLC. May I have that much chill when meeting Commander Shepard. Rolan Quarn. 

A game you love watching playthroughs for and want to play: None. I hate watching playthroughs and only do it when I need dialogue for a specific scene. ^^This!

Love watching playthroughs but won’t ever play: see above <-

Online gaming or solo?: I may have got my start in online gaming, but I prefer solo. The only exception seems to be playing Among Us with friends.

Why do you play video games?: To be honest, I started playing games regularly because the hormone regulator I take (spironolactone) makes me kind of light headed sometimes. And when I first started taking it, my dermatologist gave me a much stronger dose than I needed. I was basically useless for two hours a day. I take a more reasonable dose now, but the habit remains. Eat lunch, take meds, and play games for two hours when I can. Now it’s more of a self-care thing. I find video games help me cope with PTSD. Combat situations that I can beat without too much challenge relieves that fight instinct my reptile brain is always trying to activate. Puzzle games like sudoku and mahjong (the matching game, not so much the original strategy game) help me with freeze responses. 

[sylvanfreckles]

Allergies (FebuWhump 01)

Here we go again!

This is also posted on AO3

Fandom: Supernatural Summary: Dean and a newly-human Castiel try to interview the owner of a restaurant for a case. Things go badly...and, as usual, Cas faces the consequences. Warnings: Mild warning for allergic reactions, but this one is pretty tame.

* * *

“Here we go,” Dean announced, pulling the car into one of the restaurant's parking spaces. “This the place?”

Castiel, sitting in the passenger's seat, stared down at his phone with a frown for a moment. “According to Sam the chicken bone from the hex bag showed signs of being deep-fried, and three of the members of city council who opposed Deputy Mayor Sloane's proposed interstate bypass operate restaurants that serve deep-fried chicken...”

“Short story, Cas,” Dean cut in, holding a hand up. “I was there for, y'know, the exposition the first time.” He shoved open the door to the Impala and climbed out, automatically checking his pocket for the wallet with his counterfeit FBI badge.

Cas had climbed out, too, and stared at him over the roof of the car for a moment. “That was a rhetorical question.”

“Yeah, see, he gets it!” Dean shot him a grin to take the edge off of his words. “Let's go.”

He felt more than heard Cas fall into step beside him. Cas had been returned to them three months ago—alive and whole and human, thanks to Jack. Chuck was gone, they finally had full control over their own lives, and even more important they had the time to figure things out now.

Providing, of course, Dean could ever bring himself to say anything out loud.

“Here we go,” he said, pushing the restaurant's door open. There was a teenager behind the counter, dressed in a ridiculous apron and hat that went with the restaurant's theme.

“Hey there,” Dean approached the kid, wallet out to show his badge. “We need to speak to the boss.”

The teen's eyes widened behind her glasses. “He's, uh, he's out back. Disposing of the oil.”

“Thanks.” If he'd been a younger man...and if things were less complicated...he might have flirted with her. But as it was, now that he was past forty and Cas was right behind him snuffling into his sleeve (Dude, come on), it really didn't seem appropriate.

Cas sneezed.

“Bless you. Jeez,” Dean held the door open to let Cas exit first. “You getting sick, man?”

“I don't think so,” Cas shook his head and sniffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “I feel a sudden...discomfort.”

Dean pulled a face. “Well, let's talk to Mr Chicken, then we can get you back to the hotel to get some rest, all right?”

“I'm fine, Dean.”

Right. Fine. With the way he was blinking and trying to surreptitiously wipe the corners of his eyes on his sleeves. Either Cas was coming down with a cold or he'd gotten a lungful of something that didn't agree with him.

They made their way around to the back of the restaurant, where Dean spotted a man pouring out a bucket of oil into some kind of bio-waste bin. “Excuse me, Mr. Graham?”

Graham looked up, and when the two of them got closer Dean pulled his wallet out again so the other man could see his ID. “We'd just like to ask you some questions.”

The man hesitated, looking from Dean to Cas for a moment, then with a low oath he hauled the bucket up and around and threw its contents at the two Hunters.

Dean shouted and ducked and managed to avoid most of the mess, but when he looked up he realized Cas's reflexes hadn't been as good and the former angel was covered in disgusting, filthy frying oil.

“Duck next time, jeez,” Dean half-snarled, pushing himself up to his feet to take off after Graham. Cas was usually quicker than that...either he was still adjusting to the whole “things can hurt me now” stuff, or whatever was making him sick was hitting harder than Dean had thought.

“D-Dean?”

The stammered cry had him wheeling back around. Cas was pawing at his face, rubbing his sleeve across his eyes. “Cas?”

“It's—something—something's wrong. I can't...” Cas let out a gagging cough and doubled over, and when he glanced up at Dean there were already bright red spots blooming on his exposed skin.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean grabbed the back of Cas's jacket and hauled it off. “Take it off. Get it all off.”

“Dean...”

“It's the oil, Cas, you're covered in it.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. The redness was spreading. Dean could already see the rash spreading down Cas's neck, puffing up the skin as it went. “Take it off,” he repeated. “I'll get the kit.”

It was Sam who'd made the unfortunate discovery that Cas's humanity came at a cost. His immune system was basically non-existent, and with that came a broad spectrum of allergies. And, judging by the smell, Mr. Graham's restaurant fried their chicken in peanut oil.

(It turned out bees were one of the few things Cas wasn't allergic to, and Dean suspected it was actually some hive-mind magic to protect the angel that had once watched over them so lovingly. He was happy about it, of course, and seeing Cas sitting in his little garden reading ancient Sumerian to his little beehives always brought a warm feeling to his chest.)

Dean grabbed the kit out of the Impala's trunk and tucked it under one arm to sprint back to Cas. It had some basics for an emergency like this—antihistamines, hydrocortisone cream, epi-pens, baby wipes. He rounded the corner and found Cas bent over at the waist, shirt hanging loose from his arms, fingers clenched into the fabric of his pants as he gasped for breath.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean muttered again. He slid to a stop next to Cas and dropped the kit. “Cas?”

The former angel looked up at him, face already swollen and mottled red and white. He tried to talk but let out a cough and clawed at his throat.

“No, no, hey, don't do that,” Dean caught his wrist. “Let's get this shit off you.”

There was a spigot with a hose near the back door. Dean cranked the water on and hunted down the end of the hose, pulling out his phone to call for paramedics.

“Yeah, hey,” he said, when the emergency operator picked up. “My buddy's having an allergic reaction to peanut oil, some asshole threw it all over him.”

Cas let out a wheeze of protest. Dean rolled his eyes and tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear, redirecting the water in the hose toward Cas's face. He hadn't turned it up too high, just wanting to rinse as much of that shit off as possible. “Yeah, I'm still here.”

He listened as the emergency operator listed off things to check for, relaying Cas's answers to their questions. “Ambulance on its way, man,” he said, helping Cas sit down on the curb behind the restaurant. “Nope, no buts about this one.”

Cas's face was already swollen, and his breaths were a painful-sounding wheeze. He hung his head and slumped against Dean with a pitiful sound.

Dean shifted the phone to one hand and gently rubbed Cas's back with the other. “Yes, he's still awake,” he said into the phone. “I have an epi-pen...no, no, I haven't used it. Yeah, yeah, I can hear the sirens.”

As the flash of red lights came around the corner, Dean shifted his hand up to the back of Cas's neck. “Dude,” he finally whispered with a shaky laugh. “Why are you allergic to everything?”

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Shayna Jacked Up

VERY different year this for once, which is good 

Usually we have a couple frontrunners out on top who almost make everyone from like third or fifth down redundant.

Not so this year. Top is clearly top, but not $1.50 with the bookies. The favourite has only just got into the top four, yet without its best defender. Third place is a wildcard at its best, and is there still something valuable out of fifth through seventh to come? Every chance.

All to play for.

  1.       Trent Dumont first up this week. Monday night on Channel Nine he spoke about his mental health battles. “Sometimes I still struggle to speak about it, but I was really flat. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

 “I called off all 21st birthday celebrations and closed off myself to everyone in those times. I did think about potentially what it would be like if I wasn’t around anymore, would I be doing everyone a favour? I never put it into action, but I definitely had thoughts about potentially suicide.”

 This issue ain’t going away, we had Majak last year and now we have just another typical 24-year-old talking about something that 200 Australians attempt every day. It ain’t going away.

 Keep talking.

 2.       Melbourne. Deplorable. Look at their close games. One point win to Gold Coast. Yes, a two point loss to Adelaide in the NT but two five point wins over Hawthorn and Carlton. Imagine if they were 2-16. So could have easily been. And it’s nothing to do with injuries. Aside from not being able to start numbers off the square anymore tactically, there’s no other real difference. Damming stat, St Kilda looked so much better than them on Saturday and were a year younger on average and a whole lot more inexperienced. Dees have to try and top up and go for it, otherwise, maybe like the Pies, it’s almost clean out start again time. Deplorable.

3.       Tom Lynch wasn’t a top 50 player in the comp for a while, maybe he might just prove that he is before year’s end. Certainly capable of being the best key forward in the game, no doubt.

4.       How bad was that Crows camp last summer? 2016 they went 16-6, 2017 they made the Grand Final after going 15-6-1, so it wasn’t a year out of the box. Last year 12-10, but 12th, and now 9-9 and just hanging on to 8th.

5.       Rumblings the Crows would part with Don Pyke. I can sort of get it. He clearly has, not so much lost the players, but good players are not playing well under him anymore. Rory Sloane doesn’t fear opposition coaches, nor does Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts is droppable, Brodie Smith was a weapon, now he is far less – you really get the sense, sadly for Pykey, that the chemistry between coach and optimising his talent has gone.

6.       Rhyce Shaw wins the North job. Good. But not great. The three wins he had from his first four that got him the job, Richmond when they lost three in a row without any fit players, Gold Coast, and Collingwood which looking back from where we are now – ‘so what’? Is he an upgrade on Scott, absolutely, is he the answer and gets North their fifth flag, almost certainly not. They did try and tempt Horse and Simo, to be fair.

7.       David Teague, if anything he is more compelling than Shaw. Why? What the players are doing for him. There is no more loved coach in the comp by his playing group than Teaguey. Could have easily won seven straight. I think with the talent on that list, and whatever momentum you call this, you almost need to give him first rights. Let him ‘caretaker’ into next year, so to speak.

8.       So Brad Scott then, well, some say he is a fool for going early. No dice. Leaving so soon into the year he got a bigger break from football than otherwise, plus, whilst he was positioning himself for a role in 2020 he ultimately appears to miss out on, the fall-back is that he gets his full payout from North which is over $700k. Laughing. Mind you, I reckon he’ll have a footy role next year anyway, not as a senior man, but think developmental or football department head of, something like that.

9.       Jake Niall made a great point about how the Tigers got their injury issues out of the way whereas the Pies’ timing is awful. Richmond is basically fully fit again outside of Rance, Collingwood’s just getting worse. In four weeks Richmond’s going to be unbackable for a second flag in three years, Collingwood needs to hope with some form and fitness it can be regain half a chance of winning an elimination final.

10.   Mind you, Pies yes, this is a bad spot and the injuries need review, but even though the current slide precedes a lack of player availability lets go back to the Giants game two weeks ago. When the Pies got it back to four goals, ‘had’ they gotten up and won, regardless of the Tigers result they’d still be second or third favourite for the flag. Small margins here. And whilst they were vastly different games, Richmond won last Friday by 32 points, the equivalent late-season blockbuster last year, Richmond won by 28 points. Don’t get me wrong, don’t jump on the Maggies, but let’s not forget, yesterday was still July, still a ways to go here folks.

11.   That said, Richmond still wins the flag for mine. We know the bit about beating Geelong first final to make a prelim, or somehow getting Geelong in a prelim going the other way. But, the only potential banana skin comes up if they were finish fourth, beat Geelong, get the week off straight into the prelim final. Meanwhile, West Coast beat Brisbane first week, the Lions get the double chance semi final at home. They would be play the winner of Essendon, Collingwood, who could get enormous belief by winning that elimination final and would fancy themselves then the next week. If the Bombers, for example, then topple the Lions they’d then get a date with Richmond in a prelim. The Tigers, playing one game in four weeks basically, are sitting ducks to a fellow big Melbourne club racing at them like, I don’t know, the Pies did last year. That elongated theory aside, Richmond’s home.

12.   Hawks are going to miss the finals, and they should not be. Losing to Brisbane in Tassie, alongside the failures to Melbourne in Round 7 and Saints in Round 4 will cost them eighth, where they’d be good enough to compete. Injuries, transitioning list, all that aside, this team has beaten Geelong, Collingwood, GWS and lost to the Eagles by a kick in a thunderstorm, they’re worthy. Or should be, anyway.

13.   Some swimming before the Ashes. How’s about the hot bed of mess that was. It does sound like there is something plausible about the suspect supplements that young Shayna has got herself in trouble with, but that’s neither here nor there, diligence doesn’t care for youthful slip ups. But the Swimming Australia leadership, namely Leigh Russell who was a mental health coach last time I checked, has failed here. Yes the anti-doping process is harsh, but you kind of feel Jack’s copped it worse off the back of it.

14.   And yes, Mack Horton makes his stance but then Jack gets done, bad look perhaps. But mind you, Horton was protesting Sun being there in the first place with a WADA appeal pending, at least with Jack once her results were declared she was sent home, it was a more cut and dry situation. I think we should be happy to still point fingers elsewhere providing we accept that we’re not immune whether you’re a systematic cheat or a blasphemous professional.

15.   Right, the cricket, only a couple hours away. Bancroft over Harris seems contentious but a couple reasons why they went with the Sandgroper sander. Being right-handed helped, if we went Harris six of the top five are all lefties, and that’s just too much. Especially too in an opening pair it is better to have left and right. But also there’s a fear on Harris outside of ‘Shield conditions’. He looked ok in the test summer, but didn’t blow anyone away. And if you’re a good batsman in Australian conditions against State bowlers, you can cash in. Bancroft has had a couple better moments, for Australia A but also for Australia, but too recently for Durham, where he has shown maybe his skills and toughness go up that extra level. That will be key against Anderson and Broad with Duke balls in English conditions.

16.   Jimmy Pattinson, what a story. He had a back like Stephen Hawking only five minutes ago and now he is bustling and breathing fire with Duke in hand and will definitely get some LBW’s. Remember, last summer at home, six tests, not one quickie got a leg before. Pattinson is going to be beating the bat and hitting lots of pads and lots of poles, no question. Castles should go a-flying. Great story.

17.   Now, Pete Siddle, he is the other one, might even get a go too tonight. Why? Well the answer lies with Tim Murtagh. Who? He is the ‘not-quick’ Irish seamer who took five for bugger all at Lords last week in the first innings against England. Bowls a very tidy, tight, nagging length and gets a little wobble off the seam, which on our decks gets you smacked, but in England with some cloud cover you’re unplayable. If 38-year-old Murtagh can get Michelle Pfeiffer’s at Lord’s, imagine what Siddle might be able to do somewhere. Will play.

18.   England’s top order is the key. We said in the World Cup the lower order was their Achilles heel and early on it was, but back end of the tournament Roy and Bairstow got going and they deservedly won the World Cup. Ashes, red ball, it’s the opposite. The top order is their weakness which is not where you’d want it. At least in one-day cricket when Roy and Bairstow get going they protect the middle order, in test cricket it’s going to go wrong from the start. Joe Root does not want to bat three, at all, not one bit – but such is their issues at the top he is. He will probably still bat well, but if doesn’t, they could be four for not much and that is a problem they can’t afford too often needing to win something like three of the five tests.

19.   Predictions? Nah dunno, I know that because it’s later in their summer, in fact I think two tests will be in their autumn maybe, there is every chance we draw a test due to rain interruptions. So the Poms will need a 3-1 result to get the urn back, or 2-1 if we lose two tests to weather. I reckon Australia wins at least one test, and if the batting is ok at worst, good at least, then that’s probably two wins and the urn is retained. But India nobbled our batting at home, it’s now Anderson and Broad and over there. Might come down to Warner and Smith, they go ok, we win, they miss and the batting still is a problem, we don’t, England does the World Cup-Ashes double.

20.   Lastly, A-League got some good news, Channel Ten will air two games a round this year on the main channel, which is a great result in all honesty. However, kind of trumped later in the week when the NBL announced its SBS-ESPN deal, which sees every afternoon game on SBS (three plus games a round), and all primetime games on ESPN, away from the Fox Sports channels. That would not be cheap, big leap of faith by ESPN. Larry Kestelman runs that sport as well as the FFA tries to bury its sport into the ground.

[newssplashy]

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Johnny Walker, 45, has been a NYPD officer since 1997. On September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers fell, Walker and almost every cop in the city worked for days without rest at Ground Zero.

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Like many first responders, the horrific conditions at Ground Zero changed Johnny’s life forever. Years after the pile was gone, and the Freedom Tower in its place, Johnny contracted invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon, a life-threatening form of colon cancer. Emerging research has suggested that there is a possible link between cancer rates among 9/11 first responders and exposure to certain chemicals at Ground Zero, though more research is needed to support these findings.

As Walker fought the disease, he heard about

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

The morning of 9/11, I was out like a light. It was supposed to be my day off. I remember my wife, Jessica, came into the bedroom and told me that a plane had just hit one of the towers. I kinda just rubbed my eyes, thinking, "Ah, crap, that’s going to be a mess, especially for all the guys downtown." So I figured I would get up to check the news out, and by the time I got into the living room, my wife screamed, “Oh, my god, another plane.” And then I realized, holy shit, this wasn’t an accident. I told my wife, “I’m sorry, but I gotta go to work.”

It was complete chaos that first day. Guys were running all over, commandeering city buses to get downtown. We just grabbed whatever we had and got down there and started cutting through rubble, trying to pull people out. Everyone was covered in dust, constantly. You’d start digging in one part of the pile, load stuff into a bucket, and pass it down. One of the things I remember is as you were passing the buckets along, you’d see body parts. That was a pretty eerie feeling - looking down, and seeing a hand in the bucket, realizing that was part of a person.

After three straight days, I made it home. I remember stepping out of the shower and seeing my wife, and I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll. I couldn’t sleep, so I just headed right back to the precinct.

\"I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll.\"

In August of 2015, I went into the hospital for what doctors thought was diverticulitis. After rounds and rounds of tests and a laproscopic operation, I came into the recovery room with a scar that looked like a zipper going from my chest to my groin. After the surgery, doctors told me that it turned out to not be diverticulitis. It was colon cancer, but they'd caught it early. Then the pathology came back, and it turned out they hadn’t caught it so early. Now all of the doctors started talking about Ground Zero, and they thought it was connected to my time on the pile.

Fortunately, the lieutenant from employee relations pulled some strings and got me into Sloan Kettering right away, and, thank God, the WTC health program picked up all the medical costs. The guys from my team were there 'round the clock to help with everything and anything. They even helped decorate my house for Christmas to cheer me up.

The treatment was torture. I had every side effect possible, and even when I thought it was all over, it wasn’t. In June of 2017 cancer reared its ugly head again, and it had spread. I have two new tumors on the lymph nodes near my spine.

 When I first heard about Everence, at first I was like, "Dude, that is a little creepy." They take your family’s DNA with a cheek swab and put it into tattoo ink. But when I started to think more about it, it made sense. When I went out on the job, I kept photos of my wife and kids in my hat, and when I wasn’t wearing the hat, I’d slip the stack of wallet-size photos in a little pocket on the inside of my body armor, just to have something physically close to me. This is kind of the same thing.

"I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me."

I spent months deciding what I wanted to get. I ended up deciding on four designs, which I got done at SAVED Tattoo in Brooklyn earlier this year. For my son, Jack, who’s a freshman in college right now, I got the Templar Solar Cross, which represents mental health and fortitude. For my daughter Bella, I got a Shield Cross, another Templar symbol for protection from evil. For [my partner] Liam, I got the Two Riders, the seal of the Knights Templar, which symbolizes true brotherhood. And on the inside of my arm is basically the oldest symbol for man and woman, the blade and chalice, which has my wife’s DNA in it.

Man, when they put my wife’s Everence in, I teared up. It wasn’t from the pain of the needle. I remember holding my wife’s hand, and a wall of emotion just opened up and I started crying my eyes out. It wasn’t the pain, it was the emotional attachment I felt to my wife, in that moment.

 Prior to meeting Patrick Duffy [the founder of Everence], the only time I’d ever talk about 9/11 was once a year, when we’d get together to raise a drink in honor of those who died. You know how cops are - we don’t really like to talk about our feelings. It’s one of the things we have to do in the law enforcement community: put our emotions aside and be able to do our jobs. When it’s all over or you get home and you get a chance to take a break, it’ll hit you like a ton of bricks. Processing my fight with cancer has been a lot like dealing with what I went through on 9/11 - both experiences changed my life and who I am completely.

Now the doctors say that I will have cancer for the rest of my life, and that I’ll have to go through chemo again indefinitely. Each time I’ve gone in for treatment, I'm stuck in a room by myself. I think: "Man, I may be going somewhere else. The big man may be calling me home." It’s kind of a scary thought, but now I’m not as afraid, because I’ll have my family with me on my skin: my wife, my kids, and my brother from work. 

Everence is tangible. It’s physical, it’s there. Wherever I am, I can just look at my body, and say, "Here’s my wife, there’s my daughter, there’s my son, there’s my partner." It’s hard to describe that confidence, that feeling that it gives me. The thing that nobody wants to talk about is the fear of death. Right now, we’re just hoping for a period of remission, and maybe a miracle or two. But I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me. I know they’ll be there with me in the room, where I can just reach out and touch them.

via NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News,Ghana News ,News,Entertainment,Hot Posts,sports In a Splash.

[talabib]

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[fangirlspammer]

Sparks Fly (part 5)

I'm not entirely happy with my writing in this chapter, so please bare with me🤧 this took longer than I wanted

Gif credit @regal-roni

6 weeks had come and gone since you had been suspended from NCIS, since you had refused to talk...since you kissed Jack. Since then you had apologized to Vance and agreed to talk to someone. Vance had suggested Agent Sloane, but you had been quick to request Dr. Grace instead. He hadn't questioned it, only agreed and informed you that Dr. Grace would determine when you could return to work. As frustrating as this whole situation had become you had agreed. The longer you were away from the team, the more anxious you became. 6 weeks was far too long to be away. Bishop and you had gotten drinks with Torres a few nights, but the case they were working on now was a big one and they hadn't really had time for social calls.

"Waiting on her to come out of that thing?" Travis' voice caused you to nearly jump off of the kitchen island.

You furrowed your brow and let go of the phone you had been staring at for the past ten minutes. "What?"

He shook his head with an amused smirk dancing on his lips. "Nevermind. You're popcorns done you know," he gestured towards the microwave and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl beside you. He watched you go back into your daydream and sighed. "You haven't heard from her have you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," it took all you had to hop off the counter and retrieve your popcorn from the microwave. You pouted when it was just barely warm now. You must have dazed off longer than you thought. "Besides, how would you know?"

Travis chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You won't stop staring at your phone, and you've been extra distracted," he shrugged and grabbed some frozen waffles from the freezer. "Besides, popcorn for breakfast? You must be distracted," you hated that he knew you so well.

"Well it's just the opposite. I have heard from her," you sighed and locked your phone for the third time in 60 seconds. You looked up to see him put the waffles in the toaster and hopped back on the island. "Sorry," you mumble when you realize that you came in here to do just that.

"Then what's the problem?"

You focused in on your fingers fiddling in front of you and shook your head slightly. Travis set a plate out and then took a step towards you. You swallowed. "I just don't know how to talk to her right now. I've been dodging her calls for 6 weeks," you looked up and ran your hands through your hair with frustration.

Travis reached over and stole a piece of popcorn, popping it into his mouth and gave a teasing smirk. "Well, I'm not sure how to help. You see, I myself am in a serious relationship now, and am no longer succumbed to the problems that come with the single life."

You rolled your eyes and kicked at his shin. "You really are an ass sometimes," you stuck your tongue out. In reality you were happy for Travis and Lydia. Things had finally worked out for them, it only took forever, but they were happy. Engaged even! You envied them.

"I think you need to suck it up and face her," he was serious now and you silently cursed him for throwing your own words back in your face. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Uhm, she could hear me??" You scoffed and crossed your arms.

"Oh come on, what's that pout for now? You're going to see her today regardless. You may as well make it less awkward," he shrugged.

"Because you're right," you muttered in annoyance, "and I hate it when you're right," you rolled your eyes and hopped off the island.

You walked over and grabbed your popcorn before heading for you room. You had a stash of M&Ms in there and you needed the privacy. Lydia would be over soon to talk about the wedding and you knew if you stayed she would pull you in, and you needed to talk to Jack as well as get ready for work. Just as you sat down at your desk your phone rang. How did she manage to do this?

"It's like you can sense my every move," you answered after the second ring. You tried to sound light hearted but you were nervous.

"I figured my 50th time had to be the winner," she retorted sarcastically.

You could hear the smile in her voice and your stomach did a flip. You frowned. This was exactly what you were avoiding. "I know, I know. I'm really sorry about that Jack," you sighed, running a hand through your hair.

"Are you coming in today? Vance said you had been given the all clear."

Did she sound hopeful? "I mean I may have to be persuaded. After all, I was sure hoping to get in one last week of lying in my pyjamas and eating my weight in take out and tubs of ice cream," you smirked. Falling back into this playful banter was easier than you thought, and that put you at ease.

"Hmm," she sighed. "It's not exactly ice cream, but what about coffee and a blueberry muffin? My treat," she offered.

You let out a dramatic sigh as you pretended to think about this offer. "Alright, I've be persuaded."

"Great! See you in 10?"

"See you then," you agreed and hung up the phone.

You jumped off the bed and raced around the room to find the perfect outift. You grabbed some black jeans, a green cashmere sweater, boots and your leather jacket. You tied up your hair in a high ponytail and quickly painted your face. As you rushed out of the room you nearly tripped over your go-bag and Travis snorted in amusement.

"Going somewhere?" He asked knowingly. "Thought you weren't due for another hour?"

"Change of plans," you huffed and tossed your bag over your shoulder. Just as you rushed out the door you ran into Lydia walking up the path. You said a quick hello and goodbye before jumping in your car. You hadn't realized how eager you were to let your guard down and face Jack. Maybe it wasn't facing her that you were eager for, maybe it was just seeing her again. Either way, you couldn't get there quick enough.

*

Jack sat in her usual booth in the back of the diner. She had already started her second cup of coffee and eaten part of her breakfast donut before you had even arrived. She tapped her fingers nervously while glancing out the window every few seconds. The only thing on her mind, when she had a free moment, was that kiss the two of you had shared. She just couldn't shake the feelings that surged inside of her when your lips touched. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time, but even still it was different. When she had pulled away it was only to make sure it was what you had wanted, but when you told her to leave it was all but confirmed that it wasn't what you wanted at all. She had tried calling and texting, but you never returned any of her messages.

That night had helped her see things for what they truly were, and seeing that hurt. When she had dropped by to meet you that first night, with that faulty story, she hadn't expected you to be... Well you. She hadn't expected to be invited for dinner, let alone stay in your home unsupervised. That there told her all that she needed to know about you. Once she got to know you her thoughts had been confirmed and this feeling in the back of her mind kept becoming more clear as time went on. These were feelings she had to keep bottled up, because from past experiences she knew getting involved with a co-worker was dangerous. San Diego had proven just that and she wouldn't put herself out there like that again. If you didn't want to talk about it then she was going to pretend like it never happened. It's what was best.

The bells rang as the diner door opened up and Jack couldn't help but look towards it eagerly. She gave a small smile as you walked over and took a seat. Her fingers tapped the side of her mug until she noticed you watching curiously, and realized that neither of you had said a word yet.

"You got here fast," she moved the coffee to her lips to busy herself.

"I was already prepared to ditch out any minute," you lied with a little chuckle.

"Oh?" Her brow arched curiously.

You shrugged. "Travis' fiance was coming over to talk wedding and I didn't really want to stick around."

"Travis is engaged?" She couldn't help but sound surprised.

"Oh that's right," you grinned. "I forgot you meet him when-" you stopped quickly when you remembered the kiss. You broke eye contact and looked to the glass of water in front of you. You cleared your throat and decided to bypass that conversation. "He got engaged three weeks later. They've known each other since grade school."

Jack gave a small smile when you carried on. By the way you avoided the conversation she figured you weren't going to acknowledge the kiss at all. It probably wasn't the best option, but it was the easiest for now. "Y/N," she started, but when you made eye contact she couldn't bring herself to carry on. "Don't forget to order. It's on me remember?"

You felt your shoulders relax and breathed out quietly in relief that she didn't carry on. You knew it couldn't be avoided forever, but you could try couldn't you? What was the use in getting all flustered and risking losing one of your closest friends? After you ordered, and the food came, you both began to relax and fall into easy conversation. You admitted how you were nervous about returning after your big scene, and Jack told you about the case they were currently working on.

"It's Gibbs," you confessed as the phone rang and quickly answered. "Hi boss," you greeted with a smile, but it vanished when he carried on about a body and hung up. "So much for that morning work out," you sighed, standing and grabbing your purse.

"Got a lead?" Jack asked curiously.

"Another dead body by the marina," you gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

Jack shook her head and forced a smile. "Don't be. I'll catch up with you later on," she shrugged and waved you off with a smile. A part of her was relieved to see you go, only because it gave her that much time to figure out how to talk to you.

*

The moment you came back into the office things had been non-stop. First was the discovery of a body, and when you all arrived at the scene of the crime you were to discover that the male had been bludgeoned from behind. Secondly was the discovery that the male Lieutenant Cromwell, had a wife and a child that were now missing. As of now your suspect was the wife, and you had issued a BOLO on her.

"Coffee, anyone?" Jack entered the bullpen with a big, sympathetic smile on her face while carrying a tray of coffees for the team. She had gotten wind of the big case you all had been working on from Jimmy, and knew that this would be a long night for the team.

"God bless you, Agent Sloane," McGee accepted his steaming cup and took a long drink.

"You are an Angel," Bishop chimed in with a wide smile.

Jack just rolled her eyes and laughed. She turned to you and handed you your cup. "Sugar with a dash of coffee and cream," she smirked. The two of you shared the same order, and you both got teased for it often.

"She brings me my lifeline too?" You grinned, but immediately blushed and took a long said to hide it. You saw her eyes focus on you a little longer before her attention was turned to Gibbs as he cleared his throat.

"I didn't forget about you, Cowboy," she laughed and set his cup on the edge of his desk. "How's the case getting along?" Gibbs only grunted in response, so she looked to the rest of you for some sort of an answer. "Do you need any help?"

"Nope," Gibbs stated simply.

Just as Jack turned to go, McGee spoke up. "Actually, Y/N mentioned needing some," he admitted innocently.

"Oh, well, I think I've got it for now," you shook your head and forced a small smile. "I'll let you know though," you locked eyes for a moment before she nodded and slowly retreated. If the two of you were left alone you had a feeling that something would come of it, and you didn't need the distraction.

Just then Jimmy came into the bullpen out of breath. It was as though he had run all the way up here. "Gibbs!" He called out and the entire team looked to him. Gibbs greeted him with a glare. "Agent Gibbs... sir," he rambled on.

"Get to it, Jimmy."

"Right," Jimmy cleared his throat and looked down at the clipboard he held to his chest.  "It wasn't the wife," he began and paused, but Gibbs' stare told him that there was no more patience to be held.  "With closer observation, I noticed that the wounds were about 4 inches deep and towards the top of his skull.  Kasey and I were discussing it, and with the full description she was able to find on the wife, it couldn't have been her."

"Well, why not?" Gibbs barked.  He hadn't been in the greatest mood today.  Toress had made a comment to the team about Fornell coming in that morning, and so it was concluded his mood might have to do with Emily's drug problem.  No one knew for sure though, it was all just pure speculation.

"She was 5'4"," you spoke up, looking up from your paperwork.

"That's right, and the Lieutenant was 6'2", wasn't he?" Jack piped up this time.

"Exactly," Jimmy nodded and handed the clipboard to Gibbs to show the results of his investigation.  "Kasey did some digging on the wife, and it showed that Mrs. Randall had her last round of chemotherapy 4 months ago.  She wasn't tall enough to bludgeon the Lieutenant from that angle, and she wouldn't have been strong enough for the murder weapon to go that deep," he explained.

"So what does this mean?" McGee questioned fearfully.

"It means we have two missing people on our hands," you looked to the team and then went back to your desk to do some more research.  This night had gotten much longer.

*

For the rest of this week this case was your sole focus.  NCIS was sent a ransom note the day before last, and your team had been working hard to come up with the right plan all while trying to figure out a way to abide by the ransom.  Every night this week you had come home after midnight, completely exhausted, and you started all over at 7 am. With everything on your mind you had been able to get rid of the thoughts of your kiss with Jack.  The two of you had been busy enough that you didn't have to work to hard to avoid her when it wasn't case related, and you hadn't seen Travis enough for him to tease you about it.

You woke up at 5:30 am Friday morning, completely restless.  This case was only getting worse, and you wanted it to be over with.  If you couldn't get to Mrs. Randall and her daughter in time, you didn't think you would be okay.  The child was only 5 years old.  The thought of putting a child through something like this made you sick, and it had you questioning the humanity of these suspects and murderers that you saw day in and day out.  The only reason you survived this job was, because as much sickness you saw on a daily basis, you saw twice as much goodness when the cases were closed.  Even when a case didn't turn out the way you hoped, you told yourself that at least you were able to give their families closer.  It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep you going when you needed it the most.

As you got out of bed, you lazily made your way through your morning routine.  There was no use trying to get that extra hour of shut eye.  You made a fresh pot of coffee, threw a waffle in the toaster and went to hop in a quick, cold shower to wake you up.  Jack popped in your mind as you ran your hands through your hair.  You could still feel her lips on yours, the way that she had kissed back for a split second.  Your heart began to race and you let the cold water run over your face for awhile before turning off the shower. You stepped out and began to dry off and get dressed.  By the time you grabbed your breakfast and made it out of the house, Jack was the last thing on your mind once more.

You focused on the case the whole drive, and when you arrived at NCIS you realized that you were the first one on the team there.  The silence was killing you when you sat and tried to get some work done, and with a huff you stood up and made your way down to the gym.  You needed to clear your head and get a fresh perspective on everything. You tied up your hair and slipped on your gloves, standing ready at the punching bag.  It wasn't long before you were going at it, music in your ears, and you could feel your thoughts cleansing as the time went on.

"Thought I'd find you in here," a voice came from behind after awhile and you froze up a bit.  You didn't know how long you had been down here or how long she had been standing behind you at this point.

This was what you had been avoiding all week.  Once Ellie told you that Jack had been asking about you all day, you knew that it was only a matter of time before she found you.  Of course, you had assumed she had gone home hours ago, but apparently not.  Now you were trapped in the gym with her, and you didn't have an excuse to get out of it this time.

"Jack, I don't really have time to talk," you knew she wouldn't buy it.  She didn't answer and you stopped hitting the punching bag to look behind you.  She was bent over with her hair flung over her head, trying to tie her hair up and out of her face.  You swallowed hard seeing how her sweats formed to her body so well.  Your mind started to wander and you had to turn away when she stood up.  "What are you doing?"

She shrugged as she began to pull on some gloves.  "This seems to be the only way that I can get you alone."

You shook your head and walked over to your bag.  "I was just leaving," you hated yourself for being so distant with her, but what else could you do?

She stood in front of you now.  "Y/N, please just talk to me," her big brown eyes had a certain longing in them.  "We can be professional about this, can't we?"

"Professional?" you almost scoffed and her eyes widened a bit.  "Jack, I can't be professional around you when all you want to do is discuss the least professional thing I've ever done."

"You were upset," she was trying to make excuses that not even she was buying.

"Because you wouldn't stop prying.  I shouldn't have done it," you shook your head.  "It was stupid and unprofessional, and it's not like it meant anything to me anyways," you didn't even realize what you had said before you saw Jack step back.  That was too far.  Did she look... disappointed?  No.  She couldn't be.  Why would she be.  "Jack I-"

"No," she put her hand out and forced a small smile.  "You're right," you swore that you heard her voice crack.  "It didn't mean anything.  You were going through something, and I just happened to be there for you."

She was playing this off to easily for your liking.  "Right," you whispered and looked away.  She turned to leave and you didn't know what came over you, but you reached out to stop her.  "Did it mean something?" your eyes were hopeful this time.

Jack's big brown eyes searched yours for some sort of angle, but she couldn't find one.  You wanted an honest answer, and she wanted to answer honestly, with all of her being, but if you didn't feel the same way then she could risk losing you.  "Y/N," her voice was so low that if you weren't looking at her you wouldn't have heard.

"It meant something, Jack," you confessed and felt hot tears sting your eyes.  "I didn't mean what I said before, but I didn't think you wanted me to admit how much it did mean.  I was vulnerable, you aren't wrong about that, but that is something I had wanted to do for a long time," your confessions just seemed to flow out of you with no filter now.

Jack looked up at you, her eyes flashing with hope and longing. You watched her tongue come out to wet her lips. She swallowed hard and you could see her chest rising and falling a bit heavier now. You looked back up at her as soon as you realized that you were staring, but it was no use. She had seen your eyes wander and a smirk played upon her lips now. "Do you mean that?"

You nodded slowly, closing the distance between the two of you now. Your heart was racing more than ever and you felt her hand reach out, her fingers slowly entwining with yours. Now you were the one wetting your lips. "With every fiber of my being," you whispered.

It wasn't long before Jack closed the gap between the two of you. Her hand reached up to brush the loose strands of hair from your face and her nose brushed against yours. Her breathing was shaky and it was the sexiest sound you had ever heard. You couldn't wait anymore and leaned in to brush your lips over hers. Once...twice...your lips locked this time and a soft moan escaped your lips as the kiss deepened. Your arms reached up and wrapped around her, pulling her closer than before until you both were lost in a heated moment of passion. The moment was cut too short by a clearing of the throat from behind you both. You both jumped back, hearts racing and eyes wide, to see Director Vance standing in the doorway. His arms were folded and he didn't look too happy.

"Leon," Jack was the first to speak up. You silently thanked her for that, since the two of them were so close. Maybe that would soften whatever form of punishment would come your way? "We were just-"

"Never you mind what you were just doing," he frowned. "Gibbs got a lead. He's been trying to get ahold of you both, but I can see you were otherwise occupied."

You bit your lip nervously and decided to grab your things as quickly as possible. You looked at your phone. 2 missed calls. You knew Gibbs didn't like even 1 missed call. You held the phone to your ear as you played the voicemail and your eyes widened. "They have a lead on where they're being held. I have to go," you rushed towards the door.

"I'll go with you!" Jack called out and reached for her things.

"I don't think so Agent Sloane," Vance shook his head with curious eyes. You weren't sure if he was upset or if he was just looking out for a good friend. "You'll best serve here."

Jack looked to you apologetically, but you just smiled and shook your head. "It's fine Jack," you assured her before you turned to go. This was certainly the start of something new. You only hoped that it wouldn't cost either of you too much.

[fangirlspammer]

Can someone please explain to me the hate on Jack Sloane?? I seriously don't understand why so many people hate her🥺 so far I just see the hate on Facebook but still..

I mean how could you hate that face🥺

[newssplashy]

Guy Smarts: Why a 9/11 first responder got tattoos made of his loved ones' DNA

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Johnny Walker, 45, has been a NYPD officer since 1997. On September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers fell, Walker and almost every cop in the city worked for days without rest at Ground Zero.

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Like many first responders, the horrific conditions at Ground Zero changed Johnny’s life forever. Years after the pile was gone, and the Freedom Tower in its place, Johnny contracted invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon, a life-threatening form of colon cancer. Emerging research has suggested that there is a possible link between cancer rates among 9/11 first responders and exposure to certain chemicals at Ground Zero, though more research is needed to support these findings.

As Walker fought the disease, he heard about

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

The morning of 9/11, I was out like a light. It was supposed to be my day off. I remember my wife, Jessica, came into the bedroom and told me that a plane had just hit one of the towers. I kinda just rubbed my eyes, thinking, "Ah, crap, that’s going to be a mess, especially for all the guys downtown." So I figured I would get up to check the news out, and by the time I got into the living room, my wife screamed, “Oh, my god, another plane.” And then I realized, holy shit, this wasn’t an accident. I told my wife, “I’m sorry, but I gotta go to work.”

It was complete chaos that first day. Guys were running all over, commandeering city buses to get downtown. We just grabbed whatever we had and got down there and started cutting through rubble, trying to pull people out. Everyone was covered in dust, constantly. You’d start digging in one part of the pile, load stuff into a bucket, and pass it down. One of the things I remember is as you were passing the buckets along, you’d see body parts. That was a pretty eerie feeling - looking down, and seeing a hand in the bucket, realizing that was part of a person.

After three straight days, I made it home. I remember stepping out of the shower and seeing my wife, and I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll. I couldn’t sleep, so I just headed right back to the precinct.

\"I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll.\"

In August of 2015, I went into the hospital for what doctors thought was diverticulitis. After rounds and rounds of tests and a laproscopic operation, I came into the recovery room with a scar that looked like a zipper going from my chest to my groin. After the surgery, doctors told me that it turned out to not be diverticulitis. It was colon cancer, but they'd caught it early. Then the pathology came back, and it turned out they hadn’t caught it so early. Now all of the doctors started talking about Ground Zero, and they thought it was connected to my time on the pile.

Fortunately, the lieutenant from employee relations pulled some strings and got me into Sloan Kettering right away, and, thank God, the WTC health program picked up all the medical costs. The guys from my team were there 'round the clock to help with everything and anything. They even helped decorate my house for Christmas to cheer me up.

The treatment was torture. I had every side effect possible, and even when I thought it was all over, it wasn’t. In June of 2017 cancer reared its ugly head again, and it had spread. I have two new tumors on the lymph nodes near my spine.

 When I first heard about Everence, at first I was like, "Dude, that is a little creepy." They take your family’s DNA with a cheek swab and put it into tattoo ink. But when I started to think more about it, it made sense. When I went out on the job, I kept photos of my wife and kids in my hat, and when I wasn’t wearing the hat, I’d slip the stack of wallet-size photos in a little pocket on the inside of my body armor, just to have something physically close to me. This is kind of the same thing.

"I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me."

I spent months deciding what I wanted to get. I ended up deciding on four designs, which I got done at SAVED Tattoo in Brooklyn earlier this year. For my son, Jack, who’s a freshman in college right now, I got the Templar Solar Cross, which represents mental health and fortitude. For my daughter Bella, I got a Shield Cross, another Templar symbol for protection from evil. For [my partner] Liam, I got the Two Riders, the seal of the Knights Templar, which symbolizes true brotherhood. And on the inside of my arm is basically the oldest symbol for man and woman, the blade and chalice, which has my wife’s DNA in it.

Man, when they put my wife’s Everence in, I teared up. It wasn’t from the pain of the needle. I remember holding my wife’s hand, and a wall of emotion just opened up and I started crying my eyes out. It wasn’t the pain, it was the emotional attachment I felt to my wife, in that moment.

 Prior to meeting Patrick Duffy [the founder of Everence], the only time I’d ever talk about 9/11 was once a year, when we’d get together to raise a drink in honor of those who died. You know how cops are - we don’t really like to talk about our feelings. It’s one of the things we have to do in the law enforcement community: put our emotions aside and be able to do our jobs. When it’s all over or you get home and you get a chance to take a break, it’ll hit you like a ton of bricks. Processing my fight with cancer has been a lot like dealing with what I went through on 9/11 - both experiences changed my life and who I am completely.

Now the doctors say that I will have cancer for the rest of my life, and that I’ll have to go through chemo again indefinitely. Each time I’ve gone in for treatment, I'm stuck in a room by myself. I think: "Man, I may be going somewhere else. The big man may be calling me home." It’s kind of a scary thought, but now I’m not as afraid, because I’ll have my family with me on my skin: my wife, my kids, and my brother from work. 

Everence is tangible. It’s physical, it’s there. Wherever I am, I can just look at my body, and say, "Here’s my wife, there’s my daughter, there’s my son, there’s my partner." It’s hard to describe that confidence, that feeling that it gives me. The thing that nobody wants to talk about is the fear of death. Right now, we’re just hoping for a period of remission, and maybe a miracle or two. But I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me. I know they’ll be there with me in the room, where I can just reach out and touch them.

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/guy-smarts-why-911-first-responder-got_5.html

[newssplashy]

Guy Smarts: Why a 9/11 first responder got tattoos made of his loved ones' DNA

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Johnny Walker, 45, has been a NYPD officer since 1997. On September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers fell, Walker and almost every cop in the city worked for days without rest at Ground Zero.

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Like many first responders, the horrific conditions at Ground Zero changed Johnny’s life forever. Years after the pile was gone, and the Freedom Tower in its place, Johnny contracted invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon, a life-threatening form of colon cancer. Emerging research has suggested that there is a possible link between cancer rates among 9/11 first responders and exposure to certain chemicals at Ground Zero, though more research is needed to support these findings.

As Walker fought the disease, he heard about

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

The morning of 9/11, I was out like a light. It was supposed to be my day off. I remember my wife, Jessica, came into the bedroom and told me that a plane had just hit one of the towers. I kinda just rubbed my eyes, thinking, "Ah, crap, that’s going to be a mess, especially for all the guys downtown." So I figured I would get up to check the news out, and by the time I got into the living room, my wife screamed, “Oh, my god, another plane.” And then I realized, holy shit, this wasn’t an accident. I told my wife, “I’m sorry, but I gotta go to work.”

It was complete chaos that first day. Guys were running all over, commandeering city buses to get downtown. We just grabbed whatever we had and got down there and started cutting through rubble, trying to pull people out. Everyone was covered in dust, constantly. You’d start digging in one part of the pile, load stuff into a bucket, and pass it down. One of the things I remember is as you were passing the buckets along, you’d see body parts. That was a pretty eerie feeling - looking down, and seeing a hand in the bucket, realizing that was part of a person.

After three straight days, I made it home. I remember stepping out of the shower and seeing my wife, and I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll. I couldn’t sleep, so I just headed right back to the precinct.

\"I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll.\"

In August of 2015, I went into the hospital for what doctors thought was diverticulitis. After rounds and rounds of tests and a laproscopic operation, I came into the recovery room with a scar that looked like a zipper going from my chest to my groin. After the surgery, doctors told me that it turned out to not be diverticulitis. It was colon cancer, but they'd caught it early. Then the pathology came back, and it turned out they hadn’t caught it so early. Now all of the doctors started talking about Ground Zero, and they thought it was connected to my time on the pile.

Fortunately, the lieutenant from employee relations pulled some strings and got me into Sloan Kettering right away, and, thank God, the WTC health program picked up all the medical costs. The guys from my team were there 'round the clock to help with everything and anything. They even helped decorate my house for Christmas to cheer me up.

The treatment was torture. I had every side effect possible, and even when I thought it was all over, it wasn’t. In June of 2017 cancer reared its ugly head again, and it had spread. I have two new tumors on the lymph nodes near my spine.

 When I first heard about Everence, at first I was like, "Dude, that is a little creepy." They take your family’s DNA with a cheek swab and put it into tattoo ink. But when I started to think more about it, it made sense. When I went out on the job, I kept photos of my wife and kids in my hat, and when I wasn’t wearing the hat, I’d slip the stack of wallet-size photos in a little pocket on the inside of my body armor, just to have something physically close to me. This is kind of the same thing.

"I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me."

I spent months deciding what I wanted to get. I ended up deciding on four designs, which I got done at SAVED Tattoo in Brooklyn earlier this year. For my son, Jack, who’s a freshman in college right now, I got the Templar Solar Cross, which represents mental health and fortitude. For my daughter Bella, I got a Shield Cross, another Templar symbol for protection from evil. For [my partner] Liam, I got the Two Riders, the seal of the Knights Templar, which symbolizes true brotherhood. And on the inside of my arm is basically the oldest symbol for man and woman, the blade and chalice, which has my wife’s DNA in it.

Man, when they put my wife’s Everence in, I teared up. It wasn’t from the pain of the needle. I remember holding my wife’s hand, and a wall of emotion just opened up and I started crying my eyes out. It wasn’t the pain, it was the emotional attachment I felt to my wife, in that moment.

 Prior to meeting Patrick Duffy [the founder of Everence], the only time I’d ever talk about 9/11 was once a year, when we’d get together to raise a drink in honor of those who died. You know how cops are - we don’t really like to talk about our feelings. It’s one of the things we have to do in the law enforcement community: put our emotions aside and be able to do our jobs. When it’s all over or you get home and you get a chance to take a break, it’ll hit you like a ton of bricks. Processing my fight with cancer has been a lot like dealing with what I went through on 9/11 - both experiences changed my life and who I am completely.

Now the doctors say that I will have cancer for the rest of my life, and that I’ll have to go through chemo again indefinitely. Each time I’ve gone in for treatment, I'm stuck in a room by myself. I think: "Man, I may be going somewhere else. The big man may be calling me home." It’s kind of a scary thought, but now I’m not as afraid, because I’ll have my family with me on my skin: my wife, my kids, and my brother from work. 

Everence is tangible. It’s physical, it’s there. Wherever I am, I can just look at my body, and say, "Here’s my wife, there’s my daughter, there’s my son, there’s my partner." It’s hard to describe that confidence, that feeling that it gives me. The thing that nobody wants to talk about is the fear of death. Right now, we’re just hoping for a period of remission, and maybe a miracle or two. But I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me. I know they’ll be there with me in the room, where I can just reach out and touch them.

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/guy-smarts-why-911-first-responder-got.html

[newssplashy]

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Johnny Walker, 45, has been a NYPD officer since 1997. On September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers fell, Walker and almost every cop in the city worked for days without rest at Ground Zero.

All told, Johnny spent more than 400 hours “on the pile,” clearing debris, trying to rescue survivors, and retrieving bodies of the victims.

Like many first responders, the horrific conditions at Ground Zero changed Johnny’s life forever. Years after the pile was gone, and the Freedom Tower in its place, Johnny contracted invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon, a life-threatening form of colon cancer. Emerging research has suggested that there is a possible link between cancer rates among 9/11 first responders and exposure to certain chemicals at Ground Zero, though more research is needed to support these findings.

As Walker fought the disease, he heard about

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

The morning of 9/11, I was out like a light. It was supposed to be my day off. I remember my wife, Jessica, came into the bedroom and told me that a plane had just hit one of the towers. I kinda just rubbed my eyes, thinking, "Ah, crap, that’s going to be a mess, especially for all the guys downtown." So I figured I would get up to check the news out, and by the time I got into the living room, my wife screamed, “Oh, my god, another plane.” And then I realized, holy shit, this wasn’t an accident. I told my wife, “I’m sorry, but I gotta go to work.”

It was complete chaos that first day. Guys were running all over, commandeering city buses to get downtown. We just grabbed whatever we had and got down there and started cutting through rubble, trying to pull people out. Everyone was covered in dust, constantly. You’d start digging in one part of the pile, load stuff into a bucket, and pass it down. One of the things I remember is as you were passing the buckets along, you’d see body parts. That was a pretty eerie feeling - looking down, and seeing a hand in the bucket, realizing that was part of a person.

After three straight days, I made it home. I remember stepping out of the shower and seeing my wife, and I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll. I couldn’t sleep, so I just headed right back to the precinct.

\"I just started crying as it all hit me. All that work took a toll.\"

In August of 2015, I went into the hospital for what doctors thought was diverticulitis. After rounds and rounds of tests and a laproscopic operation, I came into the recovery room with a scar that looked like a zipper going from my chest to my groin. After the surgery, doctors told me that it turned out to not be diverticulitis. It was colon cancer, but they'd caught it early. Then the pathology came back, and it turned out they hadn’t caught it so early. Now all of the doctors started talking about Ground Zero, and they thought it was connected to my time on the pile.

Fortunately, the lieutenant from employee relations pulled some strings and got me into Sloan Kettering right away, and, thank God, the WTC health program picked up all the medical costs. The guys from my team were there 'round the clock to help with everything and anything. They even helped decorate my house for Christmas to cheer me up.

The treatment was torture. I had every side effect possible, and even when I thought it was all over, it wasn’t. In June of 2017 cancer reared its ugly head again, and it had spread. I have two new tumors on the lymph nodes near my spine.

 When I first heard about Everence, at first I was like, "Dude, that is a little creepy." They take your family’s DNA with a cheek swab and put it into tattoo ink. But when I started to think more about it, it made sense. When I went out on the job, I kept photos of my wife and kids in my hat, and when I wasn’t wearing the hat, I’d slip the stack of wallet-size photos in a little pocket on the inside of my body armor, just to have something physically close to me. This is kind of the same thing.

"I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me."

I spent months deciding what I wanted to get. I ended up deciding on four designs, which I got done at SAVED Tattoo in Brooklyn earlier this year. For my son, Jack, who’s a freshman in college right now, I got the Templar Solar Cross, which represents mental health and fortitude. For my daughter Bella, I got a Shield Cross, another Templar symbol for protection from evil. For [my partner] Liam, I got the Two Riders, the seal of the Knights Templar, which symbolizes true brotherhood. And on the inside of my arm is basically the oldest symbol for man and woman, the blade and chalice, which has my wife’s DNA in it.

Man, when they put my wife’s Everence in, I teared up. It wasn’t from the pain of the needle. I remember holding my wife’s hand, and a wall of emotion just opened up and I started crying my eyes out. It wasn’t the pain, it was the emotional attachment I felt to my wife, in that moment.

 Prior to meeting Patrick Duffy [the founder of Everence], the only time I’d ever talk about 9/11 was once a year, when we’d get together to raise a drink in honor of those who died. You know how cops are - we don’t really like to talk about our feelings. It’s one of the things we have to do in the law enforcement community: put our emotions aside and be able to do our jobs. When it’s all over or you get home and you get a chance to take a break, it’ll hit you like a ton of bricks. Processing my fight with cancer has been a lot like dealing with what I went through on 9/11 - both experiences changed my life and who I am completely.

Now the doctors say that I will have cancer for the rest of my life, and that I’ll have to go through chemo again indefinitely. Each time I’ve gone in for treatment, I'm stuck in a room by myself. I think: "Man, I may be going somewhere else. The big man may be calling me home." It’s kind of a scary thought, but now I’m not as afraid, because I’ll have my family with me on my skin: my wife, my kids, and my brother from work. 

Everence is tangible. It’s physical, it’s there. Wherever I am, I can just look at my body, and say, "Here’s my wife, there’s my daughter, there’s my son, there’s my partner." It’s hard to describe that confidence, that feeling that it gives me. The thing that nobody wants to talk about is the fear of death. Right now, we’re just hoping for a period of remission, and maybe a miracle or two. But I know that wherever I go, I’ll have my family with me. I know they’ll be there with me in the room, where I can just reach out and touch them.

via NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News,Ghana News ,News,Entertainment,Hot Posts,sports In a Splash.

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Tape it or leave it

ROUND One in the books, already nine teams are flag contenders and the pitchforks emerge for the rest.

Wasted pre-seasons, scarves thrown away and discarded in disgust, the Grim Reaper seemingly looms for half a dozen coaches already.

Could be worse, could be Steve Smith...

 1.        Let’s touch on the cricket up front. Warner is a pit bull, a junkyard dog, and has blown his top. A high-energy Ashes summer, further fuelled by the De Kock sledge against his wife and then Rabada’s antics, made worse by his suspension being overturned, has finally lost self-control when the ball wouldn’t go reverse in the third test – straw, camel’s back basically. Irrationally he has pressured Bancroft into an idea, Smith, the quiet, younger man child who before this all happened had a reputation for coming across as sweet, well-educated and the next Bradman basically, can’t contain his vice-captain when in this mood. Warner is the instigator, the sole proprietor of all the untoward descriptions of the ‘culture’ within the team. Smith is far from the kind of character needed to curtail him (Border, Waugh, they would have no issues you’d imagine), gets caught up and tries to protect his deputy. Bancroft, at the crossroads, out of form and feeling the pinch, gets leaned on and sees a way out, reverse swing might win us the game, a win might save my spot, an alliance to the leaders might be favourable come selection – its wrong but you can see why it might have been compelling. So now what? Smith probably gets 12 months, misses the summer but comes back in time to get a run up to the Ashes, Warner gets the same ban but is never picked again, Bancroft gets a ban but is certainly not lost to the national team down the track and the Test team has a resurgence against two Asian teams this summer who are notoriously bad travellers.

 2.        Onto the footy, and I’m going to start with the media, which is a bit rich coming from this column but alas. We are ok with ex-players jumping the fence and getting behind the glass passing comment on their former craft, be it in print, in front of a camera or behind a mic. But the old school journo, who never played the game, has come through the caper as someone with a nose for news and able to get the mail, the good oil, why are they now being celebrated for their on-field commentary. My main beef is with the media vehicles of Damian Barrett, Triple M most notably, airing segments and splashing headlines for his critique of club’s round one results. Now Damo, break news, write wonderfully prosed columns on the game, but when it comes the Bulldogs’ performance in Canberra, you are not at all qualified, we have better options! Mind you, watch me now do exactly that for the remainder of this column…

 3.        The Cats on Sunday, wow, get out of jail much? Didn’t look overly impressive, or that cohesive. Yes, Ablett and Selwood will likely share five Charlie votes between them, and they have another Brownlow medallist midfielder to come back in perhaps this week, but whilst they are very good trick ponies, the Cats in 2018 will be just that, a three-trick pony.

 4.        Ah the Pies. Glimpses of something good and then whooshka, a horrible disposal, a brain fade mistake, zero defensive coverage, and the Hawks walked it in. Their best footy looks to be ok, showed that last year, showed it in patches on the weekend, but the ultimate downfall is that it’s never there enough, there’s no reason to suggest it will change anytime soon and given they’ll go 2-4 at best after six rounds it’s all superfluous really. A ‘proper’ circuit breaker at the Holden Centre is their only remedy.

 5.        Tom Mitchell gets 54, he got the ten votes from the coaches, he’ll likely be best on from the umpires too. He is still probably underrated, a tremendous get by the Hawks. But, sure, Bucks should have sent someone to him no doubt, but he is far from the new Diesel. Take Clayton Oliver the next day, he only got 28 touches to Mitchell’s 54, yet the Dee laid ten tackles whereas Mitchell laid just the two. Between the two, take age out of it, I know who this column would rather.

 6.        Buddy, Buddy, Buddy. Wasn’t so much the local team christening the new stadium on Sunday but the local boy. Here’s a tip, and its paying $50 which for a two-legged multi is delightful, Franklin for the Coleman into the Brownlow. He plays 22 games he is a massive show.

 7.        Canberra showed us that the GWS are in this year up to their necks, yes, only one game but we saw what we needed to see in the first ten minutes. But for the Dogs, oh gosh, the sky has fallen in at Footscray it seems. Please. It was first up, with a key man going down early, on the road, against this column’s premiership tip, you know what, on the Dogs, yes I will hold thanks caller. They’ll win this week.

 8.        Lot to like for the fans of the losing team last Thursday. Yes, ended up 36 shots to 20 in the reigning premiers but its about 2019 for the Blues. Tangible results are secondary to ‘good signs’, and to that there are plenty, Cripps, Curnow, the other kids, the way they play, etc.

 9.        And on young Charlie Curnow, he is a tall forward that works in the 2018 version of this game. Mason Cox is not. So whilst it’s a project, its an experiment and the American clearly has potential strengths that could ‘help’ the Pies, there will always be weaknesses in his game that are not just exploitable but a liability. The best team minimises liability, the Tigers forward line last year for example, may have been awesome with say a Josh Kennedy in the goal square, but one thing you can’t say about the forward group is that it contained liability. The Cox liabilities are going to cost moments, which can cost games, and a long bow perhaps but those lost games could lose Buckley his position, a butterfly effect if you will.

 10.     The Bombers got themselves a nice, big, early scalp. And here’s the good news for those who enjoy seeing their team who play this grand old game – they only one have one game outside of Melbourne before Round Nine. Between now and then they are a more than a fair chance to win the majority of those which, by the bye periods, will have them set up with a very healthy win-loss record. This column puts a lot of emphasis on how good starts are integral to deep September action, this all bodes very well for the Dons.

 11.     And as for Port, yep, same thing, as we said last week they’ll get off to a great start, tick the box for last week. And good form is good form, whether its something impressive or just games you are expected to win, so no matter really the opponents or performances if the Power can get off to a good start, the momentum is such a strength in itself. Good starts breed success at the pointy end, Port are definitely a ‘buy’.

 12.     Poor Libba, such crap news; he is very important to the Dogs setup but overall it’s such a shame for him. Here’s to a big 2019, he is a genuine star.

 13.     So North Melbourne are throwing money at Andrew Gaff - good luck to both parties I say.

 14.     The Saints still have plenty of room that they actually have to use. Convoluted way it works, there is a salary cap and salary floor, so you cannot obviously exceed the cap, but you must have a minimum salary too. Further complicating things is that you must stay within these markers over a rolling four-year period. Therefore, you can be over the cap providing the rolling four-year result is that you were under on average. That’s the same with being under the cap, its ok for one year, but you need to ensure you compensate when the four-year average is calculated. Long story short, the Saints have been saving cap space, being deliberately under the cap floor on average in the knowledge securing a big fish would get them into the sweet spot – yet without luring such a star they would need to re-do existing deals to make the finances work, which is hardly ideal (overpaying for the sake of it). Jeremy McGovern, Olli Wines, two names that are seemingly open to the enquiry. Rory Sloane is ideal but I think he stays.

 15.     Paddy McCartin. Where’s he going? Bruce is the number one gorilla in the forward line and reasonably so, has earned the credits somewhat. McCartin clearly has the tools, but not convinced he can flourish. No-one had less touches than him on the weekend with his team getting the four points still, yes it’s a long road for him after last year’s badly interrupted year, but he turns 22 in a few weeks, drafted four years ago, this year needs to be somewhat progressive otherwise it’s time for some decisions down at Moorabbin. Not drastic, but things to ponder.

 16.     If Luke Parker played for a Victorian club he would be seen as a superstar. Credit on this rare occasion to Mark Robinson who put the Swan at no. 26 in his pre-season Top 50 but damn he is a gun. Has averaged 25 touches and six tackles a game pretty much the last four years, has only recently turned 25, a Brownlow runner-up two years ago, makes tremendous decisions, and is a rare mix of extremely gritty but very skilful. Had 32 touches on the weekend with nine tackles, that sort of game in Melbourne gets huge Monday night media coverage, but a Sydney performance Sunday twilight in Perth, in Buddy’s shadow, not so much.

 17.     Only 44 tackles laid by Dockers on Saturday, not the effort you want to start the year. Still bullish on their chances, potential, but their home opener against Essendon this weekend is crucial. Couple selection changes, better effort, get the season back to 1-1 and go from there, otherwise, as per our ‘starts’ rule, they will be doing themselves no favours.

 18.     Five goals between Jack Watts and Steven Motlop in the same game with old Toddley Marshall bagging four. Port won’t have much of an issue scoring this year, but ensuring the ball doesn’t just waltz out and result in opposition scores is going to be key. It’s hardly the Richmond mosquito fleet; turning the ball over close-ish to goal and scoring is what works these days.

 19.     How tough were the ladies at Princes Park on Saturday? Throwing themselves around, the hits were hard, it was damn impressive in less than helpful conditions. But notably, the defenders, intercept marking, showing composure, defending and rebounding under immense pressure, there’s a number of spuds in the men’s league who could take note.

 20.     We started with cricket, lets end with tennis – whilst he ended up losing to Fernando Verdasco in three, Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated world no.1 Roger Federer more or less within hours of Cam Bancroft stuffing tape down his Reg Grundys. It meant that essentially no media outlet noticed, or cared, but this column does. Annoyingly it seems we’re jumping off jungle-conqueror Bernie Tomic, but for Nick Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, this column sticks fat. A clean bill of health between the best Greek-Australian offering since The Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos will end up in many satisfied Aussie tennis fans this year and beyond – get on board and stay on board with these two.

(originally published 28 March)