#so i grabbed my emergency meds and carried them in my hand while i went downstairs

[crj-200]

nightmare low blood sugar situation neutralized

[passerine-writes]

Chapter 36

Warnings: Panic attack, minor medication usage, mentions of past trauma Word count: 2220

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Chapter 35 | Chapter 37

I snuck downstairs later on to get some food after not participating in 'family dinner', four boys on the phone since I refused to carry my laptop and they refused to leave me alone if it wasn't for the bathroom. I put in some earbuds and kept my phone in my back pocket, I felt completely and utterly out of it, but I slowly made my way over to the kitchen and pulled out left overs to heat them up in the microwave.

With a minute left on the clock, I heard a creak on the stairs and saw Komini coming down.

"What're you doing up?" I gestured to the microwave and he scoffed, resting against the kitchen counter. "Seriously though, you're so stuck up you won't even eat dinner with us?" I stayed silent, hoping I could just wait out the last forty eight seconds and go back to my room. I went to turn, flinching when I was stopped my hand tightly gripping my wrist. "Answer me." I tried to pull my arm back, my breathing picking up when he only tightened his grip.

"Get off of me." I couldn't help it as my voice shook, my breaths shallow and inconsistent. It took a moment to realize my body was shaking as well. His hand dropped suddenly as tears welled in my eyes, I could hear the boys in my earbud trying to get my attention but I couldn't pay attention.

He's not Jaakuna, it's not him.

He's not here.

It's just Komini.

He won't hurt you like he did.

"Kaara?" I heard the steady beeps of the microwave and Komini's voice.

"I'm going to bed, I-I'll see you in the morning." He looked like he wanted to say something but instead he sighed as I walked quickly and quietly up the stairs. I switched back onto my laptop and immediately started searching for my meds.

"Talk to us, little atom." I kept scrambling around, searching through my overnight bag from this weekend.

"Kaara," I looked up like a deer caught in head lights, "take a moment and breathe, you're safe." I swallowed the lump in my throat at Keiji's words, logically I knew I was safe, but every other instinct in my body was telling me otherwise.

I took a slow, deep breath before resuming looking through my bag. After I didn't find it, I gave up and grabbed my emergency bottle, quickly downing what I needed to dry. I turned off my camera in a daze, my meds could only do so much so I was still feeling it, but it was dulled. My heart beat calmed down a bit, my arms less tingly and the fuzziness in my vision decreasing, but I still felt the panic.

Without thinking too much, I changed into one of Tetsurou's old hoodies and Keiji's sweats, both things from middle school but still bringing a certain amount of comfort for some reason.

I turned my camera back on and locked my door before finally sitting back down. I curled up in a ball while one of my legs shook violently. I just wanted to disappear, I didn't want to feel this anymore.

"What happened, baby owl?" I glanced up at the sound of Kou's voice before quickly looking away again with a shrug.

"Just Komini being Komini." I finally muttered out, fidgeting with my fingers.

"I'd say tell your dad but he won't exactly do anything." I nodded absentmindedly with Tetsurou's words. All of us freezing when there was a knock on my door.

Hesitantly, I got up and unlocked it, cracking it open to see a tired Arise.

"Hey honey, Komini woke me up and told me what happened. Are you alright?" I shrugged after a second, keeping my arms wrapped around myself. "Can I come in?" I stepped aside and let her in, shutting my laptop as I sat on my bed. Whatever this was, the boys didn't need to hear it. "I noticed you haven't really left your room today, you're not taking well to the move, huh?" Her voice was sweet and gentle, not condescending or fake, but genuinely concerned.

"My mom did this a lot, so I'm not exactly thrilled." She hummed and smoothed out her clothes, trying to figure out what to say.

"And now your fathers doing it, so it's hitting a little too close to home?" I nodded, still overwhelmed after having a panic attack. "Komini told me that you had a panic attack after he grabbed your arm, he was a little shaken up and by the looks of it, he's beating himself up." I looked at her in shock.

He's feeling guilty?

"I just don't know why he keeps doing it." She let out a deep breath at my sentiment.

"I'm not sure honestly and I wish I had an answer for you. I'm glad he's protective of you, however I'll admit, he does need to learn to tone it back a bit. Especially when it comes to your soulmates. Speaking of, if you're comfortable with it, I'd love to meet them. Maybe one of these weekends you can have them over, set up the basement however you like and crash down there. I'll make sure Komini stays out of your hair and I'll run it by your dad." I smiled softly at her excitement. Something about how cheerful and open she is made me feel mutually happy, but it also made me feel guilty for giving her the cold shoulder.

"I'd like that, I'll talk to them about it and see if they can get away from practice one of these weekends." She smiled tiredly. "Arise?" She hummed and looked at me. "I- I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I know it seems like I don't like you at times and I just wanted to tell you that that isn't the case. I'm not good with change to begin with, and after all the stunts my mother pulled, it's just hard." My voice shook as I spoke, threatening to crack under pressure. "I just wanted to let you know that you haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh honey, you didn't give me that impression at all but thank you for talking to me. I'm just curious, if it bothers you so much then why not talk to your father? He's pretty reasonable at times." I immediately shook my head.

"He just, he wouldn't get it. And any time I try and talk about my mom or anything that happened there, he just doesn't believe me or takes her side without fully listening to me. That's what most of our fights are about, if you haven't noticed." She frowned at this, not seeming particularly fond of his actions.

"Well, if you'd ever like to talk to me about it, or have me be a mediator, I'll listen and help where I can. I know it doesn't change the past, but sometimes talking helps." I wiped away a stray tear, not expecting her to be so kind and compassionate about something she knows nothing of.

"Thank you. You remind me a lot of Mama Mei." Her head cocked to the side.

"Mama Mei?" I nodded and sniffled.

"She's Bokuto Koutarou's mother. She's really sweet and treats almost everyone like family. She loves cooking and baking and will always talk to you about whatever's going on in life. I've known her for over thirteen years now and she sorta became a second mother to me. Along with Keiji's mom, Akaashi Kanami. She loves her teas and we would always taste test new ones together growing up." She smiled delicately as I spoke, avidly listening to my rambling.

"So that's why you have a big tea collection?" I nodded along happily yet surprised that she actually remembered that.

"Yeah, anytime I was having a rough day, she would make me my favorite tea and wrap me up in a blanket. Keiji would feel left out so she would sit us on the couch, wrapped up in some blankets, put on a little cartoon and give both of us our favorite teas. If Kou was there, she'd make him a hot chocolate cause he was weird about his tea." She pulled one of her legs up on my bed and angled towards me more.

"I can't wait to meet them, they sound like great kids. What are they all like?" I chuckled a little, reminiscing on so many memories.

"They are. Kenma's on the quieter side and really likes his video games. Tetsurou is a huge science nerd but specifically with chemistry. Keiji loves reading and is very down to earth. Koutarou is volleyball obsessed, I actually met him with a volleyball. Kou and Tets are a bit on the more wild and energetic side, but know how to kick the brakes when needed." She now rested her chin on one of her knees, fully invested with the topic.

"So how did you meet, oh what's his name, Bokuto, with a volleyball?" I blushed in embarrassment but continued to tell her about that day. "I bet that's why he loves it so much." She said with a laugh, her words made me break out giggling.

"That's what we've all come to agree on! It can't just be a coincidence." She shook her head profusely.

"No, not in the slightest." She glanced at my analog clock and grimaced at the time. 11:56 at night. "I should probably head back to bed. You can stay home tomorrow, I'll tell your dad. I know how hard it is after a panic attack that bad." My eyes widened at her words, completely shocked that she offered.

Let along understood.

"Try and get some sleep, hun. I'm not going to work tomorrow so I'll see you in the morning, alright?" I nodded mindlessly, mumbling a small 'good night' as she left my room.

After a moment, I clicked back on to the group call to find Keiji and Koutarou fast asleep. Tetsurou insisted on waiting up for me and Kenma was on his video game but even he was looking tired.

"Everything alright, little atom?" I nodded, still mulling over what exactly we talked about. "What'd Arise want?"

"She wanted to make sure I was okay a-and told me that uh, she wants you four to come over one of these weekends." His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Really?" I nodded, still processing it myself.

"Yeah, sh- she uh, said we can take the basement and she said she would make sure Komini's doesn't try to start anything." He hummed in a delighted surprised tone.

"We'll talk to the others about it in the morning. You should probably get some sleep though." I shrugged and picked at my fingers.

"I'll be fine, I'm not going to school tomorrow. Arise told me to stay home for the day since I had a panic attack. Y- You both need sleep though." He shot me a look, silently telling me that I needed sleep as well.

"I'm glad she's letting you stay home tomorrow but you still need sleep. So if you're not sleeping then I'll stay up as long as I can with you." My face dropped, the guilt starting to consume me again.

"You don't have to, Tets. I don't want you jeopardizing your sleep schedule just because I had a rough day." He scoffed and sat up straighter on his bed.

"I'm not 'jeopardizing' anything, pretty. So stop trying to convince yourself of that. I don't mind staying up with you, okay?" I nodded begrudgingly, still feeling guilty that he's staying awake with me.

"Alright I guess." He smirked in content and leaned back a smidge.

"Good. So are we making a plan for when we visit? Cause knowing you, you're not going to want to stay inside the house with Komini all day." I chortled out a laugh, his joking assumption was spot on.

"You're not wrong, I'll try and find some things to do around here." He nodded and got this look on his face, one I had seen many times before. "Tets, just ask." He cocked an eyebrow and smirked again, having his own turn of amusement at how well I can read him. After a moment he turned serious and I started regretting opening this can of worms.

"What happened earlier?" His tone was delicate and warm, open and light but still serious.

"I had a panic attack." He shot me a pointed look.

"You had another flashback, didn't you?" I turned my attention to my hands, fidgeting with my fingers. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Instinctively, I shook my head before it sunk in that he deserves a verbal explanation.

"N-Not really, it's also something none of you would understand. It's a lot different then the divorce and stuff. I wish it wasn't as complicated, but I just can't get into it." He nodded sympathetically, accepting my ramble of words as a reason.

"Okay, just know if you do want to talk about it, all of us are here for you. Alright?" I nodded with teary eyes, silently grateful that I had them.

I truly am lucky.

[creativeashproductions]

Change of Scenery // Evan Buckley

IN WHICH: Captain Bobby Nash has kept a secret from his friends, his wife and his step children since 2015 when he came to LA. Bobby’s eldest and only surviving child comes to LA to reconcile and make amends all the while she catches the eye of a certain blue eyed firefighter.

Warnings: Swearing, death/familial loss, pregnancy, blood, angst, injuries/medical emergency, and fluff

Words: 8k

A/N: Back at it with another 9-1-1 fic. Hope you enjoy, and I may just have to do another crossover with 9-1-1 and Julie and the Phantoms.

TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX/ASK PLEASE!

Masterlist

There are moments in our lives that define us, whether it can be known as a positive or negative, but the outcome is always the same. A six-letter word that strikes fear and excitement into the souls of humans is change. The fear can be for ourselves or as a result of a child, a sibling, or a parent branching out on their own. Unfortunately, you had gone through a harsh and cruel experience on a cold winter night in the city you grew up in.

A typical Thursday filled with classes at the college you attended in Minnesota on a scholarship, nothing out of the ordinary. The plan had been to drive to your parents’ apartment to catch up with them for the weekend. Saturday morning was already reserved for a girls day with your little sister Brook and your mom. In the afternoon, you’d promised to take your brother Bobby to the ball diamond.

Your bag was packed, the plan to drive straight from class to St. Paul the following day to arrive in the daylight. Your dad struggled with worry when it came to you driving in the dark and especially in winter with icy roads.

“Y/N!” Dottie screeched from the living room of the four-bedroom dormitory. The pretty and curvy brunette had been the first friend you made in college.

Typically Dottie was on the quieter side, so when she screamed, you practically sprinted to the girl.

“Where’s the fire?” You demanded with a smirk at the reference to a topic that was a constant in your family. 

The fire drills your father conducted every four months for an exit plan in case of a fire and general information to save yourselves. He had also trained you to remember fire hazards and how to call dispatch with clear information if that time ever came. It never did and hopefully never would.

“The Lakeview Apartments in St. Paul.” Dottie’s dark brown eyes spoke only of pity and concern. The five foot ten roommate literally caught you as you tumbled into her arms with a loud grief-stricken scream.

You were forever indebted to the brunette for the plans she sacrificed to drive you back to St. Paul. There was absolutely no chance Dottie would allow you to both drive and be alone with no news. The media hadn’t released the names of the 148 deaths the fire relentlessly tore from the land of the living.

“I want to prepare you for what you’ll see. Your mother suffered severe third-degree burns over the majority of her body.” The kind nurse, also one of your friend’s parent, explained as she guided you to the Burn Center in the Regions Hospital, “I don’t want to lie and tell you she’ll be fine. You’re an adult Y/N. You deserve the truth and not be coddled.”

“Is she gonna survive?” You quietly asked, “Has she woken up since she was brought in?”

“The doctor placed her on a high dosage of morphine for the pain. Your father hasn’t left her side.” Lucinda informed you with sympathy written as over her face, The hazel eyes unable to adequately meet yours.

“I’ll check on her, then could you take me to the rooms my siblings are in?” You asked, completely unaware Brook and Bobby had been DOA at the hospital.

Your father hadn’t answered the text messages or the voicemails you had left on his phone—radio silent. You couldn’t be mad when he was with your mom, but a text would have been nice.

“This is where your mother is staying for the unforeseeable future. If you need anything, you can call me.” Lucinda softly replied before turning her heel to head back to the Burn Centre’s front desk.

It was horrific walking into a room with no idea if the occupant who had raised you would survive. The confident, gorgeous mother you had for the past nineteen years was unfamiliar to you, the extensive gauze covering nearly every inch of her body. You almost couldn’t even recognize the man sitting in the chair with his hands wrapped. 

“Dad? What happened?” You questioned the grieving man. The only person left in your family as you would soon come to know.

“Y/N?” Bobby gasped, pushing himself to his feet, staring at his only living child. The guilt ate at him just staring at you with those light brown eyes, “Oh, sweetheart.”

Your dad crossed the room in a few steps. The scent of smoke was still clinging to every part of him, but it was fine. Your dad was okay, minus the wounds on his hands. You’d always been closer with your father than your mother.

“Dad, what happened?” You quietly asked the ashamed firefighter that had to reconcile his feelings on the fire and his career—that struggle ending up pushing you away when he really just wanted you as close as possible.

“The building caught on fire after an ember from a heater lit a blanket on fire,” Bobby informed you with his eyes pinned on his wife. Bobby knew the chances of Marcy surviving were incredibly low, and he had to tell you that.

Bobby only knew the details passed on from a firefighter who pitied the man who’d lost most of his family. 

“Is Mom gonna be okay?” You questioned, and the said injured woman in the bed weakly responded.

“Baby?” Marcy quietly questioned from her absolutely still position on the hospital bed, “Uh, Bobby.”

You left your father’s side to be as close to your mom as possible, with the clear plastic separating you for her safety. Your heart shattered at the sheer exhaustion in her pretty blue eyes. 

“Hi, Mom.” You shakily spoke with one hand lightly pressed against the plastic divider. You didn’t even notice when your dad stepped up too.

“Marcy?” Bobby called out from right beside you, just as torn up, but Bobby carried extra weight on his shoulders, “We’re right here, Marcy. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

The muffled grunt of pain, your mom’s attempt to save you from grief, Marcy let out as she turned her head to look at you. You knew deep in your gut that this was the time place you would see your mom alive. And by the look in her eyes, she knew too.

“The...kids…?” Your mom’s breathing became more erratic as she questioned the man she viewed as her hero. The man she believed had saved her and their youngest children, “Where...are they?”

“The kids are fine.” The way your father said it and the tears led to the knowledge once kept from you.

“No.” You whispered, seeing the total grief written clear on his face. The pain meds and agony kept your mom from knowing the truth.

“They’re safe.”

“I knew you’d come and save us.” Your mom breathed as her eyes started hiding the pretty blue you’d now only see in pictures. In your dreams, until even those faded as father time cruelly pulled you along.

Then your worst nightmare happened. You watched as the woman you looked up to flatlined with the thought of her children safe. You’d always know she’d held on just long enough to find out the state of her children. You could only hope she’d forgive your father for lying to her as she died.

“Mom!” You screamed, fighting the arms of an orderly restraining you. You barely noticed the resistance to your frantic attempts.

One minute you were staring at a team unsuccessfully trying to revive your long-gone mother, then you were in a hotel room. The atmosphere tense and quiet between father and daughter, with the ghost of your dead family to keep you both company. You could hear Brook gagging every time you’d kissed your now ex. You could see Bobby toddling after you years ago.

At least you had your father—a father whose guilt festered until he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“It was my fault.” He murmured, staring at the barely eaten burger that tasted solely just cardboard. He couldn’t bear to look at your face, “I didn’t mean to leave it on.”

Your head snapped to stare at him in disbelief, “What do you mean you didn’t mean to leave it on?”

“I-I went to the roof to sleep after your mom kicked me out. I didn’t have my keys to the apartment I had below ours.” Bobby began spilling the lies he’d told to you about his addictions. Of the apartment, you’d had no clue was even in his possessions.

The pain of losing your family tore into you, “You took my mom away from me. I’ll never get to share my wedding day with her. Shopping for a dress and gossiping about boys. I’ll never be able to wipe Brook’s tears during her first heartbreak.”

Each word broke Bobby more and more.

“You stole my future. You’re selfish, ungrateful and utterly pathetic. You cost so many people so much, all because you sought out your next high.” You spat, glaring at someone you’d never expected to hurt you. You didn’t notice your hands grabbing your possessions nor opening the hotel room door, “You couldn’t even properly try to get clean.”

“Y/N-”

“Get your shit together before you kill anyone else. I never want to see you again.” You sobbed with regret already festering in your body, but pride held you back from apologizing.

Upon your return to your dorm with Dottie by your side, you immediately began the process to enter an exchange program. Within a month, your feet entered Sydney Airport. You didn’t return to America for several years.

You took a job as a casual lifeguard on Bondi Beach, met Lucas in a meet-cute situation at the grocery store. You graduated college and found a job as a paramedic as you began becoming a flight paramedic. In 2020 Lucas and you discovered you’d be bringing in a little baby into the world.

Learning about your little Cashew growing safe in your womb fanned the flame of desire to reconcile. Ultimately the pride kept pushing the urge to apologize for the cruel words you told your father further away. You naively believed you had all the time in the world.  

Remember the six-letter scary word? If losing your mom, siblings, and father was a devastating blow, losing Lucas was nearly tied. Your little Cashew lost their father before they even got to meet him. That was push enough to pack up your home and fly back to America with your father’s new address as soon as you could.

In the fallout of the apartment fire, your father relocated from Minnesota to Los Angeles. 

Los Angeles, 2020

As soon as you’d found the nicest but cheapest hotel to stay in until you found a place, you walked the streets of LA. The first order of business of approaching your father at his workplace as you had no personal address. Residing still in Minnesota, Deputy Chief Evans had only given you the address of Bobby’s work.

You could only hope Bobby wouldn’t turn you away. That he was willing to bridge the gap, you’d widened over the years. That he could forgive the silence to each email, he sent when you changed numbers.

“We should go out to dinner.” The female voice was what brought you back to the present time. The woman was beautiful with her buzzed head and clear skin.

Right by her side was a dark-haired male of Asian ethnicity with a bag thrown over his shoulder, “If you’re paying, you bet I’ll be there.”

The two continued to converse in their own world until the man had to literally dodge you when they finally noticed you.

“Does Chief Bobby Nash work here?” You inquired, having no desire to enter small talk when the baby was sitting on your bladder again. You nearly retched when the man stared down at your swollen midsection, shocked, “It’s not his baby.”

Hen caught the evident disgust on your face, “He’s in his office. I’ll guide you there…”

“Y/N.” You supplied the firefighter. Hen smiled in response, “And your name is…”

“Henrietta Wilson, but you can call me Hen. That was Howard Han. He goes by Chimney, and I’ve been sworn to secrecy on the name.” Hen chuckled in her steps to the closed door of the fire chief. Hen swiftly knocked on the door to give Bobby a heads up.

“Come in!” Bobby called from his pile of paperwork he had pushed and waited to work on. It had slipped as the date came closer. Your twenty-seventh birthday, the seventh one since he last saw you.

“Cap, a woman is asking for you,” Hen told her friend and boss. It’s a good thing you didn’t choose to surprise your father because Hen was shorted, and your bump made manoeuvring around tricky.

“What can I do…” Bobby trailed off when he saw the girl waiting to talk to him. The pen in his hand dropped to the table in shock.

Hen glanced between the two equally taken aback individuals, “Am I missing something here?”

“Hey, dad.” You whispered to the man who’d been dreaming of this moment since the minute you left. He’d searched for you at your previous college and nearly made a missing person report.

“Dad?” Hen couldn’t pick her jaw up from the floor if she even wanted to because this was juicy information. Sure, Bobby had caved into telling his team, his family that he’d lost his wife and two children in a fire.

He rarely talked about his life before the 118, but he’d never mentioned having a surviving daughter. Not in the handful of times he’d talked about the tragedy, nor did he have any objects or photos of you. 

“You’re really here?” Bobby lightly chuckled with a twinkle in his eye. Hen had only seen a handful of times. All of them had Athena in the scene, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” You beamed, stepping closer to the man you’d missed dearly, “I’m so sorry for the way I left. What I said was cruel and untrue. You aren’t selfish, and I can’t blame you for something you couldn’t control.”

Bobby grinned. He’d stepped around his desk only to halt when he took in an undeniable development—the baby bump you carried.

“Is-”

“I’m pregnant. Six months along with a baby girl.” You laughed to the apparent disbelief in your father’s light brown eyes. His gaze continued to shift between the bump and your e/c eyes.

“Wow. Sorry, this is...wow.” 

“She’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back. To fix our relationship because I want her to know her grandpa. You’re the only grandparent Poppy will know.” Bobby was quick to tug you into his arms as soon as the first tear dropped down your cheek.

There was so much you wanted to tell your father, but that overwhelming grief rose higher. You’d left Australia where Lucas laid in a plot in a cemetery. You left the friends you’d found in the city. Left the lifeguard job you’d come to love.

“Where are you and your partner staying?”

“He...uh...Lucas passed away recently.”

The arms holding you tightened in response to your confession, “Oh sweetheart.”

“I didn’t know where else to go. I can’t stay in the home we bought. Not the place he died when I couldn’t save him.”

“I don’t know what happened, but it wasn’-”

“Don’t coddle me. I was...am a paramedic. A flight paramedic, to be specific, so I know that my hesitation could be the reason he died.”

Your career took the father by complete and utter surprise because you’d always planned on a different job. Before the fire that claimed so many lives, you’d never entertained a career in the emergency field.

“We have a lot to catch up on. First, you need to know that I’ll always love your mother no matter what, but you need to know. I met someone when I first moved here, and we were friends at first. She divorced her husband. We started dating...sweetheart, I remarried.”

A wave of emotions flared in your chest, from betrayal to sadness and ultimately happiness. Having lost your first love, you understood and knew if love came around for you, you wouldn’t ignore it. Lucas wouldn’t want that.

“I can’t wait to meet her.”

Re-entering into Bobby’s new life was a difficult adjustment for everyone included. Tension had risen between Athena and Bobby for a brief period. Athena hadn’t even been aware of your existence, but she could fault Bobby. Athena had even told her first husband about her late fiance Emmett when they were still together.

It was difficult for you with the new addition of two step-siblings in the same birth order as Brook and Bobby had been. The Grant siblings had welcomed you into the family without any reservations.

“Did you ever get to fly the chopper?” Harry asked as he scrubbed the dirty dish from the Sunday family dinner. 

It was the first dinner that had no awkward tension since you arrived back in the country. Athena had taken a bit to warm up, but it was nothing personal. She’d actually been the one to find you you’d been staying at a hotel. Mama Athena did not like her pregnant step-daughter living at a hotel. She’d actually stormed your room with Hen and Karen as back up to pack your room and leave for the Grant-Nash house.

“No. I had to help keep the patients alive. If I’m telling the truth...sometimes I didn’t even notice I was in the air.” You whispered to your stepbrother. He was just invested in your career as he had been when Bobby first entered their lives.

“That is so cool!” Harry enthused with soap suds splashing your thin knitted sweater. Harry’s mouth formed an ‘o’ when you flicked water onto his face in retaliation.

“Do you know Bondi Beach in Australia?” You inquired the youth with the chore of dishes completed.

“Yeah! There’s a tv show called Bondi Rescue! I watch the clips on YouTube!” Harry exclaimed, hot on your heels to the couch. Out of May and Harry, he followed you around with questions about your life in Australia.

“I was a casual lifeguard. I’m not featured on that show, but I would get called in when a lifeguard was needed. It paired well with my job as a flight paramedic.” You half-smiled, remembering the Bondi lifeguards who had welcomed you into the family. You became one of them when they started pranking you.

“Did you ever see a shark-”

“Harry, go brush your teeth. Leave Y/N alone.” Athena informed her youngest from the open patio doors. Your father, Athena and May had been outside as soon as the table had been cleared.

“But-”

“Harry,” Athena warned the youngest Grant. Harry didn’t attempt to argue with his stern mother; all he did was hug you quickly. You watched the young boy disappear into the hallway.

“He reminds you of your little brother?” Athena questioned. In your time of reminiscing, the older woman had settled in Harry’s previous position.

“A little.” You whispered, “Thank you for welcoming me into the family. For making my dad happy.”

“You know I may have some baby clothes put away if you’d like to use them?” Athena offered with that smile that made you feel at home. Athena was far different from your late mother, with her presence commanding respect and intelligence. Your mom was similar, but I suppose it could be described as a softer touch.

“Anyway, saving a penny is appreciated. I have a question for you also.” You hesitantly started with a bundle of nerves deep in your belly. Athena turned to give you her full attention.

“Well? Out with it.” Athena pushed, but she had a slight feeling of what you were about to ask her.

“My mom was one the strongest women I know. It hurts that my baby won’t get to experience her love and guidance, and you can say no. We’ve only known each other a short time, but would you consider...maybe being a grandma to my baby?”

Giddy was the feeling Athena developed along with the laughing smile that only came from happiness. The woman could only nod her head in response to your hesitant question. To Athena’s knowledge but not yours, Bobby was softly smiling, watching his formerly estranged daughter getting along with your stepmom.

“Oh!” You gasped as your baby kicked hard enough for her foot imprint to be seen through your knitted sweater. 

Bobby was by your side in concern the second he heard your startled sound, but Athena wasn’t that concerned. Athena remembered having the same reaction.

“Are you okay?” Bobby frantically questioned. He faltered when the woman shared a belly-deep laugh at the sheer fear written in the seasoned firefighter’s eyes.

“Poppy was kicking.” You chuckled as your father’s shoulders dropped in relief, “Here.”

Your nimble fingers clasped around your father’s wrist to bring his palm to the spot Poppy was kicking. A certain lightness flooded your entire body, being capable of sharing this experience with Bobby. Watching tears well up in the grandpa to be’s brown eyes.

“Whoa.” Bobby breathlessly spoke as Poppy kicked against his palm. The feeling building in his was exhilarating with the small amount of grief mixed in, “I remember when your mom was pregnant with you. We didn’t know if we were having a girl or boy, but she was adamant you would be a kickboxer. So active.”

Athena watched as the relationship between father and daughter started healing directly in front of her eyes. The Sergeant was about to give you two some privacy when you caught her hand in your free one.

“Here.” You informed the older woman shifting to place her hand where your father’s hand had previously been. Your e/c eyes sought the wonder-filled different shades of brown eyes the couple had.

“You should get some sleep,” Athena spoke, staring at her hand resting on your bump. Her dark chocolate brown rising to find your gaze, “You won’t be getting a lot once she arrives.”

Bobby and Athena watched as you turned the corner to the spare room Athena’s parents used when they visited. For the time being, you’ve moved into the room, and the Grant-Nash house hoped you would stay. May had always wanted a sister, and Harry loved all the stories you told about Australia.

“You know, at some point, you’ll have to talk to her.”

“I just was-’

“-without anyone else being the buffer. Bobby, both your lives is evidence enough that some things are too trivial to stress over.” Athena pinned her stern gaze on her husband. The same husband is actively trying to avoid her penetrating gaze.

“What I did-’

“Is in the past, Bobby. You have a second chance with that wonderful woman in that bedroom and our grandchild. Now, are you sure that having the party at the firehouse is okay?”

A hand supported the base of your back where an ache tended to stay for most of the day. That ache wasn’t the worst symptom of your pregnancy. You had heartburn constantly that tied with unfortunate constipation that had thankfully lessened. Your purse always had a cardigan for the hot flashes as well.

“Perfect! May has my car, and Bobby needed that.” Athena beamed from the open bay of the 118. One of the firefighters, Eddie, if you recalled, snagged your purse and the specific ingredient for a recipe.

“You could have borrowed Bobby’s-”

“His vehicle is in the shop Buck.” Athena interrupted the only member of the 118 you had let to officially meet.

Now there were two suspects of the sudden shortness of breath you started experiencing. It could be Poppy in the limited space in your body or the handsome firefighter. Buck had to be hands down none of the most attractive men you’d ever encountered. His dark blonde hair had minimal height, but the soft waves made your fingers itch to feel it. His ocean blue eyes crinkled at the corners with mirth.

“Ah, so you’re flesh and blood of Cap?” Buck questioned from in front of you. His blue eyes centred solely on you, with half a mind thanking himself that he could navigate the station blindfolded in the dark.

“For the last twenty-seven years, I have been.” You retorted, stopping at the edge of the stairs to the apparatus. Your keen sense of smell catching one of your favourite meals your father had dug up from the recipes he hadn’t used in years.

A zing of electricity trailed off your arm when a calloused palm met yours. Your e/c eyes followed the path of tan skin until it reached the shirt sleeve of Buck’s t-shirt. The shirt emblazoned on the chest with the department’s insignia. The man in the casual uniform guided you safely up the stairs with his hand on your back.

The pressure of Buck’s hand on your aching back muscle nearly brought what would be an embarrassing moan from your lips. Thankfully a gasp of surprise fell out instead at the banner hanging with other decorations.

“What?” You choked, cupping your hands to your face. Pure unadulterated shock and affection flooded every inch of you.

The entire 118 squad intermixed with their loved ones surrounded the open area with grins. On a table behind everyone was many wrapped gifts. But the cake was the most impressive.

A large rectangular cake in the realistic shape of a fire engine parked in front of a fire hydrant with a fondant hose going to the truck. On top of the fire truck was the turnout boots next to the matching helmet, the 118 proudly on it. You adored the turnout coat draping off the top to hang off the side.

“If you look at the helmet, it says Poppy.” Buck enthused, guiding you even closer to catch the immaculate cake, “It has to be the best cake we’ve gotten from them.”

“Hey, my rebar head cake was phenomenal!” Chimney called with a belying grin on his face. His hand encased by a brunette woman about his height with her heels on.

“It’s a long story.” Buck offered as soon as you gave him a weird questioning look, “Let me introduce you to everyone!”

For the next five minutes, you spend it by meeting the family of 118, including Eddie’s completely adorable son. Christopher was happy to sit next to you as soon as Harry had found you. Slowly the others came closer to hear the stories.

“What’re the most common injuries on the beach?” Denny, Hen and Karen’s ten-year-old son questioned.

“Bluebottle Jellyfish stings. On one day, we had hundreds of people come to the tower for stings, and the treatment for the minor ones is stingose spray and ice.”

“My question is how a girl from Minnesota is a lifeguard in Australia. Especially on Sydney’s most dangerous beach.” Chimney inserted, waving his bottle of pop at you, his eyes kept moving towards the wine Maddie brought.

Unfortunately, the 118 wouldn’t be celebrating with the wine until their shifts ended in a few short hours. It was a damn miracle they hadn’t been called out yet.

“This former Minnesotan spent summers at my best friend’s parents’ place in Cali as a lifeguard. Also, Bondi is not the most dangerous beach in Sydney. That’s Tamarama.” You pointed towards the man who raised his hands in surrender.

“Have you ever seen a dead body?” Harry asked, bringing a sobering silence in the question’s wake.

Your body language changed as soon as he asked, “Unfortunately, I’ve seen death as a paramedic and as a lifeguard.”

“You’re a paramedic? I thought you were just a lifeguard?” Buck asked, interested in the new information. Buck could feel his Captain’s eyes on the back of his head; he was sure Bobby could smell the attraction on Buck.

“Casual lifeguard. Called when needed as a backup.” You turned your e/c eyes towards the arguably youngest member of the 118.

“How many dead-”

“Harry.” Athena warned her son from continuing a topic that killed the ease and happiness you’d shown previously, “Why don’t we stop talking about-”

“Too many, Harry.” You interrupted your stepmom with a gentle smile towards the woman, “It’s not just drowning that claims lives but also the cliffs surrounding the beaches. Lifeguards patrol more than the beaches and water. Lifeguards respond to medical emergencies, mostly spinal until the paramedics arrive.”

“Oh-”

“I had a fellow lifeguard leave the job because of the suicides we deal with.”

“...who wants cake?” Karen used the quiet interlude of the much too serious topic for a group of kids barely in the double digits of ages. All referenced children followed Hen’s life to the beautiful baked creation.

“Sorry for getting dark there.”

“We all know the dark side of the jobs we chose to do. You sound like you miss Australia. Are you going to return there?” Eddie questioned with one eye pinned on his son, consuming more sugar than he wished.

Eddie’s question did raise self-doubt, but you knew that ultimately living in Australia was no longer a viable option. 

“There’s nothing there for me.”

Eddie, Buck and your father understood that mentality to a ‘t’ with family complications keeping them away. Your father for obvious reasons, whereas Eddie and Buck each had a living family with opinions only they saw right.

“You’re always welcome here. Especially when you bring that little cutie to the firehouse.” Maddie cooed towards your baby bump. The 911 dispatcher had asked many questions about your pregnancy.

 Maddie was the type of person who could make a stranger feel like they had known for their entire lives.

“Here.”

A plate of the cake was thrust in front of your face courtesy of Maddie’s brother Buck. It is quite literally the perfect size you could ask for. In his other hand, he had a new bottle of water waiting for you to grab.

“Thank you, Buck.” Your shock must have shown in your voice when his cheeks flushed.

“This whole party is a celebration for you, so you shouldn’t have to get up...unless you want to!” Buck rushed to respond, getting more flustered with the amused look of his older sister on him, “You’re already doing something absolutely amazing, so you should get to rela-”

“Buck!” You laughed, ending the older man’s rambling thoughts. The entire party attendees had started watching Buck’s failed smooth attempt.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Buck mutely nodded in response, “No prob-”

The bell was the one to interrupt him instead. The on-duty firefighters rushed down from the upper levels to the lockers. The swift suiting up impressed you as it was like you blinked, and the bay was empty.

“Should be the last call before they get off shift.” Maddie, still occupied with the cake she was eating, “That wine looks so good!”

Your attention snapped from the vacant spots the 118 vehicles parked to the woman ploughing down on the cake. Sure it was good, but not that good. Maybe you could tell as a pregnant woman, or perhaps you just caught some of the symptoms you felt.

“How far along are you?”

Maddie froze, “What are you talk-”

“You’re pregnant, right?”

“Don’t tell anyone. Chim and I found out recently, but we want to wait on telling people. Once the first trimester is over, everyone can know.” Maddie pleaded with two hands cupped under her chin in a prayer position. The pretty brunette using the puppy dog eyes on the new friend she’d made.

“You should tell Buck-”

“We will once we enter the safe zone. So tell me about your baby’s father.” Maddie swiftly changed the subject, unaware of the ache developing in your midsection.

“Lucas Gowan.” You mussed, recalling the freckled half Australian half Scots man with the thick red locks.

“Ooh, is he still in Australia?”

“Technically, he is. I met him at the grocery store near the university campus. I’d transferred to escape my grief. It was purely an attraction at first sight before developing into love at first sight. We convocated and moved into a cosy little place. We’d only just found out about the baby when Lucas passed away.”

As you told Maddie, your hand had moved to cradle the only remaining piece of Lucas. 

“His death was unexpected and sudden. He’d taken a run the morning of our scan to find out baby Gowan’s gender. He fell off the side of the cliff. I was told he died instantly. The investigator believes his shoelace untied, and he stepped on it. Fell right off the side.”

“I’m so sorry.” Maddie breathed, leaning closer to hold your hands in her own, “He’d be so proud of you. For returning to the states. Do you keep in contact with his family?”

“He was an only child. Parents died in a car accident when he was ten years old. He was in foster care until he aged out of the system. Poppy is named after his mom.”

Maddie instinctively knew talking about Lucas was, “You know you get along pretty well with Buck... I’ve never seen him so flustered.”

“Maddie, I can tell you are a very intelligent woman, but you’re wrong here. Why would a guy like Buck be interested in a pregnant woman with a reconciling relationship with her father and his Captain while grieving her baby’s dad?”

Maddie tilted her head to the side, “Because I know my brother. He’s only ever had that look when I first moved to LA. Back when Abby was still important to him.”

“We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

Maddie’s mouth opened to speak, but you were saved by the bell when Athena called you over for pictures. Then her attempts got thwarted once more when the 118 returned to the house perfectly synced to the end of shift.

“Driving here was the last time until the baby’s here. You’ve got precious cargo-”

“I’m seven months pregnant; I can still drive. There’s no law saying I can’t-”

Never argue with Athena Grant-Nash, “It may not be illegal, but I won’t endanger my daughter or my granddaughter.”

“I have to get to my OB/GYN appointment tomorrow. You and Dad each have a long shift during my scheduled appointment. Harry is both too young to drive and in school. May has a shift at dispatch. There’s literally no one available to take me.”

Bobby watched as two of the most important women in his life argued over something as trivial as driving. Harry shook at listening to someone fighting against his mother; she could be terrifying.

“I can take her.”

Everyone in the fir house turned to the voice who’d offered suddenly and found the sheepish form of a tall firefighter. Eddie’s eyebrows raised at his best friend.

“I don’t work tomorrow. I’ve got no plans. Albert’s got some date with a girl at her place.”

“I couldn’t put you out.”

“You need a ride, and I’ll be bored, so why not take my new friend to her baby doctor.”

“Baby doctor?” Hen parroted to her wife in astonishment towards her coworker and close friend. Both the women found the blatant flirting from Buck to the soon to be mother.

“She’ll take you up on the offer. She’s staying in our guest room. Come early for breakfast before you go. We’ll be having waffles.”

Buck found any excuse to visit the Grant-Nash home with the motive to hang out with you ever since the baby shower. From delivering baked goods from your favourite bakery to insisting on driving you to appointments. Didn’t matter if Athena or Bobby could take you; Buck was adamant he drove you.

The friendship was easy going and very natural, like a ball glove still moulded perfectly to your hand. The hangouts in your home evolved to weekly visits to restaurants with guidelines to the current event happening worldwide. 

Ultimately it even led to a test date.

“You look breathtaking.” Buck breathlessly informed you once he’d gently pushed your chair closer to the table.

“Thank you.” You kindly responded despite thinking the complete opposite to the charming man sitting across from you.

Athena and May had helped you get ready for the date with calming words on how going on a date so far into the pregnancy was okay. Then, your father had tentatively inserted himself with sage advice on re-entering the dating scene.

“I thought we could grab some ice cream after,” Buck spoke up as soon as the waiter had taken your drink order. Buck had decided to refrain from alcohol and went with glasses of lemonade and water.

“You shouldn’t say that. I’ll just want ice cream.” You snickered, caressing the taut belly you’d grown to love. In fact, the firm push of a heel announced Poppy’s agreement with ice cream as dessert.

“How is Poppy?”

“The doc says she’s right on track. Healthy all around and in the position, she’s supposed to be at this stage.” Buck adored the affectionate smile that always appeared when the topic of your pregnancy was brought up.

“That’s amazing! Bobby gushes about you and Poppy. The fridge has an entire door dedicated to sonograms of Poppy. Even a few from that maternity shoot Hen and Maddie surprised you with.”

A few weeks had passed since the baby shower the 118 had surprised you with. Maddie had announced her pregnancy to the joy of the chosen family she had. Bobby had put together a crib he had painted. Michael, Athena’s ex-husband, had started making plans for adding on to the house for a room for the baby.

Despite informing the architect, you planned on moving out when you had saved enough, he’d made a sound argument. Athena would want a place for the baby to stay when you visited, or the woman demanded to babysit.

Now you found yourself in a National forest not far from Los Angeles, posing in front of nature. A surprise photoshoot Hen and Karen had organized with Karen’s brother Trey. Maddie and Athena had been the ones who drove you.

“Hold the teddy bear on your bump,” Trey informed you from behind his professional and intimidating camera. The photographer praised you in the rapid movement to listen to his offer.

“Hey! Maddie! You should take a few photos. I need a pee break.” You didn’t wait for Maddie to respond in your rush to the somewhat rustic bathroom hut.

By the time you returned, Maddie was taking a couple pictures. Then you took some with Athena to have on the nursery walls and for Bobby to have a photo for his desk.

“Now one with all three of you.”

Present

“So a daredevil.” You stated unsurprised that the firefighter had a history of recklessness. You don’t go into firefighting without a taste for danger.

“The bruises and blood fit better than the awful bleached hair during my time in Peru.” Buck laughed, recalling the questionable choice in his fashion pre-firefighting. Sometimes he missed the people he encountered in his period of self-discovery.

“You didn’t wear puka sh-”

“I did. Bleached hair, puka shells and Hawaiian shirts were my staples during my bartending years. I fit in with the aesthetic of the bar I tended.”

“Buck!” You nearly gasped at his raw honesty. Buck didn’t hold back any answers to your questions, but you each strayed from the topic of family.

Talking about the tragic family history wasn’t a good idea on the first time regardless of the time you’d known each other.

“You’re telling me-” Buck halted as soon as he caught the flash of discomfort flicker over your beautiful features, “Are you okay?”

“She shifted. Been sitting on my blad-” You cut yourself off with a hiss of pain. Buck’s eyes widened at the pain taking over your features, “Oh, that hurt.”

Buck went straight into work mode, “Have you been in pain for long?”

“No. A few cramps here and there today, but my doctor said it was nothing to worry about.” You informed the experienced first responder resting level to your knees.

Buck didn’t want to say it, but he was sure that you’d gone into early labour. There was no indication your water had broken, but he kept over the last hour together. Every once in a while, you shifted or pressed a hand to your bump.

“Has your water broken?”

You shook your head, “No, but...oh... that’s not a cramp.”

With that statement out, you clenched your fingers tight on the edge of the table as pain rippled in your belly. A contraction that stole your breath momentarily. In your contraction, Buck had dialled 911. Buck recalled that sometimes a woman’s water doesn't break until right before the birth.

“We’re not getting that ice cream, are we?” You snorted upon being lifted onto the gurney. How fortunate or unfortunate you were to have the 118 right there.

Hen had taken a position at your feet to check on your lower body while Chimney took your vital signs. You honestly didn’t like the look Hen and Chimney shared with Buck.

“What is it?”

“We’re gonna need to deliver here.” Hen sighed, giving you the facts that terrified you. When you envisioned having the baby, it was in a medical centre. Not in a restaurant.

“My office is large and away from the crowd if you want. I can show you the way.” Sophie, the restaurant manager, offered already starting to lead the way. Sophie would never know how thankful you felt for being able to have privacy.

“Okay, Y/N, is it okay if I check how dilated you -.” Hen breathed with her hand, gently disappearing until the thin blanket Chimney procured from the stocked ambulance, “Y/N when I saw I want you to do that.”

Hen didn’t need to check your dilation when she could see the baby’s head already.

“I’m right here.” Buck cooed in your ear. He had held your hand as his coworkers did their jobs around you.

“This isn’t the way I envisioned you seeing my pu-”

“Push.” Hen urged, cutting off your almost vulgar language, but it eased the tension in the small restaurant office. You couldn’t even see Buck’s flustered reaction as you bore down with the contraction, “Good! Take a breath.”

“You’re a strong woman. It never ceases to amaze me the strength women have.” Buck spoke, keeping your e/c eyes on his blue ones. His hand raised to push a strand of your sweaty hair off your temple.

“Once more push!” Hen called out just in time with the last contraction. The feeling of the pressure between your legs popping was moan inducing.

Poppy was silent. Your entire body froze, yearning for the sweet sound of crying instead of the eerie silence. The world stood still as Chimney worked on your baby girl.

“Pulse is strong,” Chimney announced, keeping his attention on the task of clearing Poppy’s throat and nose. And that sweet sound of crying commenced, “Congratulations Y/N, you have a beautiful baby girl. Let’s get you to the hospital.”

Your father beat the ambulance to the nearest ER in pure anticipation at meeting his granddaughter Poppy Nash Gowan. He barely noticed as Buck stuck to your side like glue. Bobby waited outside the door as you got checked over in the room.

“Quite the first date.” You mused towards Buck, who hovered in awe over the life form you had carried for nine months. You’d been pregnant for three quarters of an entire year to his fascination. 

“All my meaningful relationships started with a medical emergency.” Buck finally looked up at you. He’d kept Poppy company in the bassinet while you delivered the afterbirth upon entering the hospital.

“Seriously?”

“Had a tracheostomy on Valentine’s Day with Abby, an earthquake with Ali and a newscaster in a crashed helicopter.” Buck listed off. He hadn’t even noticed scooping the newborn into his arms until he’d sat in the chair by your bed, “Why not add a sudden labour and delivery.”

“He would have liked you.”

The sentence came out of absolutely nowhere. Almost like something had ripped it out of your vocal cords. At the look of confusion, you elaborated.

“Lucas. He would have liked you. I think if it is possible, he might have pushed me into meeting you. I’ll still need to take it slow, but I’d like to give this a shot.”

That was all Buck needed to lean in closer to kiss you—the first of many kisses.

Some might disagree on how quick your relationship with Buck developed, but they didn’t know yours at all. It was natural with the firefighter who stepped into the role of father figure for a growing Poppy. By the time Poppy was one, you’d moved into a house not far from your father’s place with Buck. By the time Poppy was three, a pretty ring had sat on your finger. By five, the young girl had a baby brother. 

“Your parents spoil Poppy.”

“You say that like you didn’t crawl into her crib during her afternoon naps.” You deadpanned towards your husband. Buck had the nerve to sheepishly grin, “You give in each time she says ‘pwetty pwease’ for a cookie.”

“It’s a crime to make her sad!” Buck defended himself, but a grin of amusement threatened his act, “Besides, you crack each time too!”

“Mhm. Just wait until Theo can talk.” You pressed a kiss to the sleeping infant strapped into the baby carrier. Theodore Robert Buckley could fall asleep in a thunderstorm if he was in Buck’s arms.

“Oh! Maddie wants to have Poppy over for a play date. Madster’s been begging for her cousin to have a sleepover.”

Maddie and Chimney’s daughter was only a few months younger than your daughter, but the two were thick as thieves. Buck had referred to the Han daughter as Madster with how similar her mannerisms were to her mother.

“Think they’d take the rascal?”

“Is this code for you wanting to have another?” Buck questioned with a twinkle of mischief in his blue eyes. The same blue Theo had inherited along with a birthmark like Buck’s on his bicep.

“I-” You choked, blinking furiously, “Evan, I pushed Theo out of my body barely three months ago!”

Buck inconspicuously winked in response with the sudden scream of excitement coming from Poppy. The rambunctious five-year-old ploughed into Buck’s legs full force. Falling into the practised ease, you’d unstrapped Theo from Buck’s chest and promptly had his tiny body stolen into his grandpa’s arms.

“There’s my boy.” Bobby cooed to the sleep drunk tiny infant. The little baby is crowded by his Gram Athena and Aunt May, “Gonna have to get you a Minnesota Wilds jersey.”

“Hell no. That boy is LA born and bred. He’ll be wearing a Kings jersey like the civilized.” Michael announced with the sudden arrival of Theo and Poppy’s Uncle Harry.

“Mommy? When are we going to Stralia?” Poppy inquired from right beside your leg. Her tiny handheld is the giant one of her dad.

“In a few weeks. Are you excited to see the mommy’s old friends again?”

“Hm. Can we see Dada?”

Buck may be Poppy’s father, but he’d never let Poppy go without knowing she had two fathers in all. Her first one waiting to meet here decades from the time she was born and solely referenced Lucas as Dada. Buck was grateful for the man who brought Poppy into existence; the little green-eyed tot Buck could never regret. Unlike Buck’s parents keeping his older brother’s existence a secret, the firefighter refused to follow in their footsteps. He’d continue to shower the late Lucas in gratitude and respect. He refused to make the same mistakes as Phillip and Margaret Buckley.

“Of course. C’mon Poppy, time to say goodbye.” Buck guided the little girl to the extended family showering her little brother with love. The little girl was quickly swung into Bobby’s arms, and Athena cooing at your infant son.

Changes. The six-letter word doesn’t have to be terrifying. It can be breathtaking, memorable and beautiful to experience. 

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[geekwritersworld]

Hey i hope I'm not bothering you.

Could you do Alfie Solomons with a male reader? Where Alfie gets hurt and we patch him up, just pure fluf. I need ir

Another life

pairing: Alfie Solomons x male! reader

Warnings: there's a slight description of wounds and cuts.Fluff other than that.

summary: As stated above in the request.

a/n: this isn’t my best I’m completely aware of that, but I am slowly emerging from writers' block. So please do bear with me.

Alfie never showed vulnerability. No one had ever seen him vulnerable. And he planned to keep it that way.

But just like everyone, sometimes he needed help too.

Nobody knew of Alfie's boyfriend. Disguised as his assistant, helped keep the suspicions away. It occasionally got hard to hide their relationship, but they knew it was for the best.

But on days when Alfie risked his life by being his usual reckless self, his boyfriend, Matthew couldn't help but lose his temper. Which, sometimes put their relationship at risk of being revealed.

When Alfie showed up at Matthew's apartment in the middle of the night, Matthew had a good mind of not helping his reckless boyfriend. But he loved the reckless man too much, and  Alfie was laid down while clutching his deep gash.

Matthew rushed around, grabbing all the med supplies he'd need to patch Alfie's wound, whilst cursing Alfie out.

"Fuck sake, Alfie! You always have to be such an unfiltered dick?!"

Despite the pain coursing through his side, and the wet blood seeping through his shirt, Alfie managed to chuckle. Which didn't amuse his concerned boyfriend.

They'd been together long enough to know each other like the back of their hands. Alfie's humor wasn't anything new to Matthew, but he did occasionally wish that Alfie was more cautious.

"Now if people can't take a fucking joke, yeah, that ain't my problem now is it love?" He hissed when his wound stung.

Rolling his eyes, Matthew hastily pulled a chair towards Alfie and sat down. Turning to the numerous med supplies he'd just placed on the table next to them.

Prying the wet and sticky cloth of his boyfriends skin, Matthew took a cloth and dipped it in water, before gently placing it on the wound. 

"Fuck me, you trying to kill a dying man matt?"Alfie hissed at the water seeping through his wounds.

"Shut up" Matthews quick hands, then immediately dried the gash on Alfie's side, when he saw some blood starting to slowly seep within the wound again.

Alfie continued to groan in pain; the one time Matthew had seen his boyfriend show any vulnerability after being injured.

Grabbing the vinegar he managed to find, dipping the cloth in it, he placed it on the gash.

"FUCK MATTHEW" hearing Alfie scream was nothing new, but this time, it did hurt Matthew to see his boyfriend in pain," fucking hell!"

"I'm sorry Alf but you know I don't have a fucking choice" looked at Alfie's face with sympathy, something neither showed nor felt very often.

"Right, yeah, keep going" it was surprising to hear Alfie whisper, the man was basically incapable of it. Until now apparently.

The smell of blood and disinfectant filled the room, the fire across crackled, keeping the room warm.

Squinting as he further inspected the wound, Matthew lifted his head and looked at Alfie "Alfie, I'm going to need to stitch this" Matthew found himself barely able to whisper.

 The image of having to sew his boyfriend's skin back together whilst he was already in pain, made him want to throw up.

He'd never get used to seeing Alfie hurt, even after 2 years of being together.

Matthew remembered the first time he'd seen Alfie injured which was only 2 months into their relationship. Alfie had Matthew removed from the room while Ollie tended to his wounds.

They'd come a long way, and as glad as Alfie's boyfriend was, he couldn't deny the fear that slowly crept into his mind.

"One of these days Alfie, your wounds may not be shallow enough to save you" his voice cracked, the lump in his throat starting to feel bigger.

"Listen, I once carried out y own personal form of stigmata on an it-" 

"I don't give a shit about hammering a nail up an Italians nose Alfie" the silver needle between Matthew's fingers felt heavy " I just don't want you dead"

The room was quiet enough for the injured gangster to have heard his boyfriends whisper.

The ceiling seemed all too interesting all of a sudden to Alfie, rather than the conversation his boyfriend was trying to have.

"Right, well where's fucking Cyril Matt?"

"With Ollie"

2 years with Alfie taught Matthew that Alfie was never one to be subtle when it came to changing the subject. 

Slipping the sterilized needle between Alfie's skin and between the other, a few deep breaths and multiple profanities later, Alfie was sitting up again. His shirt half torn from where he'd been wounded.

Matthew began to get up but was stopped short with the feeling of cold calloused fingers grabbing his face.

"I fucking think I'm done with this life love" his voice wasn't a whisper or a mumble, it was him speaking loud and clear, ye tit still left Matthew confused.

"what the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"meaning, I think its fucking time we fucking getaway, and just spend the rest of our fucking years waking u next to each other"

It dawned on Matthew what his love was trying to get across. And he'd be lying if he said that after 2 years of worrying every single day about his Alfie's safety, he just wanted to be able to sit in front of the fire with him. With no worrying involved.

He loved Matthew beyond words, and the life that he led, kept him from feeling. But with Matthew it was different.

He was tired of running, though he'd never admit it out loud, he was sick and tired of looking over his shoulder.

For once he'd fallen and fallen hard for Matthew. they loved each other without boundaries and regrets.

he'd plan it out, in a way that no one of their enemies ever found him or Matthew.

Pulling Matthew in closer, their lips molded with each other perfectly.

It was suddenly warmer and it the fire. 

Matthew slid his arms behind Alfie's neck, cradling his head with one hand, he pulled himself closer, if it was even possible.

Their breathings were heavy, soft sighs and moans filling the room, they lay in each other's arms. 

After 2 years of hiding and worrying for every second that either of them was out of the sight of the other, the idea of getting away and spending the rest of their years with each other was

It would take more than a month for Alfie to get his affairs in order, but he was going to get to it one last time.

He wanted nothing more than to be able to spend his days with Matthew, in peace. Which he couldn't even give his boyfriend with the life they lived.

Looking down at Matthew, Alfie felt something he hadn’t felt ever since he came back from the war. He felt excited. For the first time he looked forward to what was to come and it made him happier that he’d have Matthew with him through and through.

But to carry out his plan to make a getaway, he’d need help. Help that went beyond his bakers. 

He needed Tommy Shelby.

[4stars-uswnt]

Through Sickness and Health [USWNT x Reader]

requested by anon: Could you write something with baby reader getting sick/hurt and the rest of the team taking care of them, preferably with Christen & Tobin being the “team moms” to them.

A/N: yay for t & c scoring today!!!

You stare at the plate of breakfast in front of you, massaging your temples, as if you could somehow rub the pounding headache away.

“Woah, (Y/N), you don’t look too good.” Emily observes, pausing mid bite of her eggs.

“Wow, thanks, Em.” You roll your eyes sarcastically.

“No, she’s right, (Y/N).” Mal rubs your back, examining you closely. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, guys, I’m fine. It’s just a little headache, probably because I din’t sleep that well.” You mumble, leaning your hooded head onto Mal’s shoulder.

“Alright well, drink up, we gotta go to the field.” Mal pushes your glass of water in front of you.  

You gulp down the water, slamming the cup on the table, as you get up and follow your teammates onto the bus.

—————

It was almost the end of practice, and you felt like you were either going to throw up or collapse, or both. Your head was pounding, your throat was dry, and your stomach was doing somersaults.

As soon as Vlatko blew the whistle, you rest your hands on your knees, trying to catch your breath, exorbitant amounts of sweat dripping off of you.

“Kiddo, you okay?” Tobin comes up from behind you, resting her hand on your back.

You huff out a sigh and stand up right. “Yeah, I’m good.” You nod, sighing.

“Alright,” The older forward hums, squinting her eyes skeptically, “let’s get you on the bus.”

She wraps her arm around your shoulders, guiding you off the field. As you’re walking, your legs wobble like jelly, and you can feel them start to weaken.

“Tobes… I don’t feel so good.” You softly groan, before you completely faint, collapsing in Tobin’s arms.

“(Y/N)!” Tobin exclaims, gently laying you down on the grass. “(Y/N)? You with me?”

“Tobin!” Christen calls, frantically running up to the two of you, followed by the rest of the USWNT. “What happened?”

“I don’t know! She just fainted.”

Christen kneels down next to you and feels your forehead with the back of her hand. “She’s burning up.”

“She wasn’t looking too good this morning at breakfast.” Mal interjects, frowning worriedly.

“Yeah, she’d said she had a little headache.” Emily adds.

“Well why didn’t anybody say anything?!” Christen snaps at the younger defender, who just shrinks. An angry Christen Press was definitely a sight to fear.

When you first joined the national team a couple of years ago, at the age of 18, Christen and Tobin immediately took you under their wings, crowning themselves your official team moms. The two helped you both on and off the pitch, whether it be watching game film with you or discussing your decision to play professional. They were also particularly protective of you, especially Christen, who was also your Royals teammate.

“Chris, they didn’t know.” Tobin calms down the upset woman, reminding her the task at hand.

“Right.” Christen sighs, nodding her head.

Vlatko approaches the group, followed by the medical staff. “Guys, give (Y/N) some space.”

The women back up, making some room for the trainers and the stretcher, while Tobin and Christen stay close to you.

As they load you onto the stretcher, Tobin furrows her brows. “Where are you taking her?”

“We’re just gonna take her into the med room back in the locker room to check up on her. I don’t think it’s anything too too serious, but we want her to wake up before we make any diagnosis and take her back to the hotel.” One of the trainers explains.

“Can we come with you?” Christen asks, nervously biting her lip.

“If you’d like.” He nods, and the two forwards follow the medical staff.

Back in the med room, the trainers put you onto the bed and get a cool towel to put on your head. While you were not awake yet, they had a feeling it was a case of the stomach flu, so they got a cup of water and thermometer ready for you.

About five minutes later, you slowly opened your eyes and grumbled. “Whaaa…what happened?” You groggily rubbed your eyes, as you try to sit up.

“Woah, sweetie, how about you lie back down.” Christen gently pushes you back down to the med table. “You fainted, (Y/N). They say it’s the stomach flu.”

“Ugh… just great.” You mumbled under your breath, groaning in frustration and discomfort.

The head trainer, who’d noticed you were awake, reentered the room. “Hey, (Y/N), how are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a bus.” You mutter.

He picks up the thermometer and hands you a cup of water, which you sip, soothing your dry throat.

“I’m just gonna quickly take your temperature.” He motions for you to open your mouth.

A couple of moments pass before a beep sounds. “102.4” The trainer reads, before turning to Christen and Tobin. “Make sure she gets plenty of rest and drinks lots of water. I recommend taking her temperature every two hours or so, and when her fever breaks, then come talk to me.”

“You know I’m right here? I can take care of myself.” You protest.

Tom and Christen share a look, exchanging a silent conversation.

“Sounds good, Tom. Thank you.” The curly-haired forward smiles, and the trainer nods, making his exit.

Once the three of you are alone, Tobin starts, “(Y/N),” she brushes your hair out of your face, “Em and Mal said that you weren’t feeling too well earlier this morning. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t think it was that bad, and I didn’t wanna make a big deal out of it or worry you guys.” You shrug, avoiding eye contact with both women. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, honey.” Christen reassures. “We were just extremely worried when you fainted, especially since we didn’t know what was wrong.”

“Yeah, we care about you, kid.” Tobin coos.

“I love you, guys.” You mumble tiredly.

“We love you too, (Y/N/N).” Christen softly smile, reaching for your hand. “Now, c’mon, let’s get you back to the hotel, so you can rest.”

“Can one of you carry me?” You plead, giving them your best puppy eyes.

Tobin rolls her eyes at your childish behavior. “Sure, kiddo, hop on.” She squats down, so you can climb onto her back. The three of you make your way to one of the team vans, the bus having already left, and you head back to the hotel.

—————

As you’d fallen asleep on the ride over, Tobin carries you up to your room, takes your shoes off, and tucks you into bed.

After about an hour and a half of sleeping, you wake up, feeling a little better, but still quite uncomfortable.

“Hey, how you feeling?” Christen puts her book down, noticing you’re up.

“Eh, a little better.”

“Here, let me take your temperature.” She reaches for the thermometer and approaches you. “100.6. Not as bad, but not good. You’re still burning up.” She feels your forehead. “How about I draw you a warm bath? It might help cool you down, and you still stink from training.”

You stick out your tongue at her. “Chrissss, I don’t wanna move.” You whine.

“C’mon, you big baby. I’ll get it started.” She heads into the bathroom and starts the water, ignoring your grumbling and protests.

You throw the blanket off your body and begrudgingly enter the bathroom, where Christen’s sitting on the edge of the bath full of warm water and bubbles.

“Here, I’ll turn around, so you can get in.” The older woman stands up and turns to face the door.

You strip off your clothes and toss them to the side before sinking into the bath.

“You can turn around now.” You announce to Christen, as you close your eyes, relaxing in the warm water.

“Feel good?” She asks, returning to sit on the edge of the bath.

“Mhmm.” You hum, before opening your eyes. “Where’s Tobin?”

“She went to get you some snacks, medicine, and some more water.” Christen answers, as she reaches for the shampoo. “Wet your hair for me?”

You lean back, letting your hair fall in the water while keeping your face drying. You sit back up, and Christen begins to wash your hair. As she massages your scalp, you feel your eyes droop. You hear the door open and close, and Tobin peeks her head in the door.

“Hey, (Y/N/N), you’re up? You good?”

“Mhmm.” You blissfully hum.

“I see the bath is helping.” Tobin smirks, winking at Christen. “Well, I got you some snacks and meds.” She holds up a bag.

Your eyes fly open at the mention of food. “Oooo, what kind?!” You sit up so fast that water and bubbles splash onto the brunette forward.

Christen glares at you, and you shrink back into the water. “Wash.” She points.

You dunk your entire head in the water, squeezing your eyes shut, and you scrub the soap out of your hair. Emerging from the water, you wipe the water from your face and see Tobin has joined Christen, sitting on the edge of the tub.

“So what kinda snacks did you get?” You eagerly ask.

Tobin chuckles and leans down, reaching into the bag. “I got some cheddar popcorn, Oreos, pita chips, and some banana and peanut butter.”

You grin at the thought of all your favorite snacks. But before you could reach out for one, Christen cuts in.

“Wait, (Y/N/N), you sure you up to eating something? Is your stomach feeling better? I don’t want you to throw up again.” She gives you a worried glance. You wince, as you remember the throw up incidences in the car as well as when you arrived to the hotel.

“My stomach is feeling a little better.” You assure the older woman, who’s still looking at you wearily. “How about I start with a banana?” You propose, trying to rest Christen’s qualms.

“Okay.” She nods, giving in, and Tobin breaks off a banana from the bunch, peeling it and handing it to you.

“Thanks, Tobes.” You grab it and take a bite.

After you finish half the banana, your stomach not wanting any more, and after your bath, you find yourself back in bed, sandwiched between the two forwards.

The three of you start to make some light conversation, when there’s a knock on the door.

Tobin slides off the bed and opens the door, and the rest of your teammates flood into your hotel room, climbing either on your bed or the bed across from you.

Mal, who took Tobin’s spot next to you, much to her displeasure, cuddled into your side. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Mhm.” You nod, snuggling into her body.

“Good. I was really worried.” She mumbles into your shoulder.

Your heart swells, and you grin. “Don’t worry. I’m good.”

“(Y/N), open up.” Christen interrupts, holding out the thermometer. “98.7” She reads, smiling.

“Thank goodness!” Kelley calls from the table, as she puts an Oreo in her mouth and plops at the foot of your bed. “We thought you died.” She exaggerates.

“Shut up, Kel.” You roll your eyes. “And stop eating my snacks.” You kick up your foot, trying to nudge the defender.

“No, but in all seriousness, (Y/N), we’re all really glad you’re okay.” Megan insists.

“Yeah, when you collapsed, we kinda all freaked out.” Julie adds, several of the other women nodding along.

“I think the scariest part was that we didn’t know what was wrong.” Alex says, and Christen hums in agreement.

“We want you to know that you can come to us with anything because we’re always here for you.” She softly grins down at you.

“Thanks you guys. It really does mean a lot. I’ve never really had people like you guys in my life.” You confess, smiling at your team.

“Well, you better get use to it because we’re not going anywhere!” Ashlyn exclaims, as she jumps on the bed, encouraging the other women to dog pile on you as well.

You look around you and can’t help but feel warmth spread throughout your body, and this time not from your fever but from love. You were extremely grateful that you had this team of women, especially Tobin and Christen, in your life, who’d be there for you through sickness and health.

[magnoliabloomfield]

Gally Imagine 7

Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five Part six

The days had been getting hotter and I wasn’t fairing too well. One day I stood up from weeding the carrot patch and my vision went white, then I woke up in the infirmary. I had a cool, damp cloth on my forehead and along the insides of my arms to help with the heat. 

Behind the fussing pair of med-jacks, Clint and Jeff, I saw Gally in the background looking worried. I was transferred from the track-ho team to the med-jack team to keep me in the shade and off my feet, so it was from the surprisingly gossipy pair I worked with that I found out what had happened.

Apparently before I’d even hit the ground, Gally had taken off at a run for me, that’s why he was the one to carry me to the infirmary than either Newt or Zart. That had set my stupid little heart all a-flutter. 

That fluttering got quite frustrated after a while however. I think Clint and Jeff were on some pretty strict instructions to basically baby the hell out of me and keep me from actually doing much of anything. I was stuck inside for days learning my new job, memorizing where everything was in case of an emergency and what to do for the most common injuries and hearing about the strangest ones they’d had before too. But all that meant I wasn’t out there where I could see Gally.

Newt had come by once to see how I was doing, but since I’d be relegated to the med-jacks I hadn’t seen Gally except for at meals. He seemed really dejected lately, even downright moody at times and I wondered what was going on, of course worrying that it was my fault somehow. I got my answer the day he almost died.

Well, that’s a bit dramatic, but honestly when I heard how close it could have been it really scared me.

I had made myself comfy on one of the cots and was reading the notes Clint and Jeff had made on treatments and signs of infection and what not because I was honestly bored out of my mind, but still wanted to be good at my new assignment. That’s when Gally came in.

“Gally!” I jumped up, forgetting all about playing anything cool and letting him see just how happy I was to see him. But then I saw why he was there. “Gally!” I yelled in a completely different tone as I saw the bloody tear in his shirt. “Oh my God! Come here, sit down,” I took his wrist and led him to one of the cots. “What happened?” I asked him as I zipped around collecting the things I needed to help him.

He gave a heavy sigh. “The Greenie was goofing off and the axe head went flying off the handle.”

He saw me bolt straight up, dropping some items from my over flowing hands, and added “Don’t worry, it’s not that bad.” he assured me. “I got really lucky.”

“Oh my God,” I repeated as I regathered my things, feeling shaky at the thought that Gally could have been seriously injured if it had hit him in the head or something, the very thought making my chest feel tight.

When I finally had everything piled in my arms and turned to take it over to him he was slipping his shirt off. He grabbed the back of his collar with his good arm and just yanked it off. My brain was overloaded. I was still upset about the accident that could have hurt Gally badly, worried about the injury he did get, I was now confronted with him shirtless and also miffed at him for just stripping in front of me like it was no big deal.

“Wow, ok,” I said as I came over and set everything down.

“What? It had to come off anyway,” he raised a brow at me while shrugging with his good shoulder.

“I can’t bend over, but I’m glad you feel safe enough to just strip in front of me. Honestly though, you should really change how you do things, you never know how the girl will react,” I teased him. 

He didn’t give me much of a reaction but I chocked it up to him being hurt and went about things. I soaked a cloth with watered down peroxide to clean up the blood and get a better look at the injury. I tried to be extra gentle, if I was honest it was the most careful I’d been with anyone. Gally kept his head down avoiding my gaze. After it was cleaned up I gently checked to see how deep the gash was that went from shoulder to chest at a diagonal.

“Are you ok?” I asked him, noting how he was giving off some major depressed vibes.

“Really?” He glanced at me and I saw his rose colored cheeks before he turned away again. “I’m in the infirmary with a big cut.”

I rolled my eyes. “I mean aside from the physical injury, are YOU ok?”

There was a pause as I got the iodine and dabbed it gently on the cut.

“Yeah,” he finally answered, quieter and not as sure as he usually sounded.

I prepared two special bandaids, securing them on opposite sides of the cut before using them to pull the skin closer together. It was second best to stitches and he really didn’t need stitches, thank god, I could not bring myself to sew up his soft, freckled skin. I was so focused on doing a good job, making sure it would hold up well enough to heal nicely and not get infected, I was startled when he spoke up.

“So, you don’t like being called Princess?” he asked, still not looking at me.

“What?” I blurted in confusion. “The heck makes you think that?”

“I heard you were trying to stop boys from calling you that,” he replied, bowing his head even further. I felt like I’d just kicked a puppy.

“Oh, that- yeah-well,” I stumbled on my words before deciding to just come clean. “I just like it when you call me that, it doesn’t sound the same coming from the others.”

I felt like I’d just given so much away with that but he didn’t even acknowledge me. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to cheer him up and get the old Gally to come back. It was easier to talk when I was busy with my hands and didn’t have to try and hold eye contact or anything, so I kept going even after that as I secured the last few bandages.

“I wish it was under better circumstances, but I’m glad I got to see you. I’ve been cooped up in here so long, I was starting to miss you,” I dared to say just to see how it would go over, I needed some kind of reaction.

“You shouldn’t say those kinds of things to the boys,” He stiffened up but still didn’t look at me.

“I’m not saying it to the boys,” I stated clearly and waited for him to look at me before I went on. “I’m saying it to you.”

His face seemed to crumple and he shook his head. “Don’t do that. Not to me,” he said as if he were disgusted, but I could tell there was an underlying pain there. “Don’t tease me like that.”

“I-I’m not teasing, Gally,” I was taken aback. “I mean it sincerely, I wasn’t trying to tease you.”

He still shook his head. “I know what you’re saying about me, what you think about me-”

“Whoah, wait a second,” I interrupted, feeling upset now, not exactly at Gally but at whatever or whoever was causing some kind of misunderstanding between us. “What exactly am I supposed to be saying and thinking, and who the heck is telling it to you, and why the heck are you believing them? I think the only one who can speak for me is me.”

Gally seemed ashamed now, his ears red. The way he fiddled with his shirt in his hands and hunched over not looking up at me finally made me realize he was feeling insecure.

“Why would you miss me out of everyone?” He made it sound like a rhetorical question meant to put himself down.

I knelt in front of him. “Because you’re my friend. Because I like spending time with you the most. Because you’re funny. Because it feels like I know what you’re thinking just from the look you give me and no one else around here gets me like that. I like you, Gally. And you should take my word for it and stop listening to anyone who tells you otherwise.”

He still didn’t look at me. I saw his jaw clench though. I sighed and got back to putting his bandages on. “How’s that feel?” I asked as I gently ran my fingers over either side to make sure the bandaids had adhered properly.

I felt him take in a shuddery breath. “It’s fine.”

He went to put his shirt back on but I gently stayed his hand. “Leave that with me, I’ll have it cleaned up and mended for you by tomorrow when you come back to have your bandages changed.” I knew he valued useful acts of service the way I valued spending time with him.

He looked from my hand to my face and then gave a little nod, handing it over to me. He stood up and I tried not to stare at his very nice builder’s physique. 

“I’m sorry you got hurt, but I’m really glad nothing worse happened to you, that you weren’t hurt more,” I said to him, trying to sound more serious and sincere, less cheery uppy than before. 

He took a good look at me for the first time. “Me too.”

We both knew we were talking about more than just a cut.

Part eight

@poulterholland​ @anniemylennox​ @generallampdreamweasel​ 

[justanotherblonde23]

You Can’t Please Everyone - A Marcus Moreno Story

Author’s Note: Welcome to Part 3 of my Marcus Moreno and Doctor Iris Moreno one shot series! This wasn’t originally the one I planned on releasing today, but I was going through it last night and @autumnleaves1991-blog​ suggested that I write my feelings out and let it all pour into my writing. She was right, I felt so much better afterwards. Still no descriptions for what Dr. Moreno looks like, I want you to feel like you can see yourself as her <3 Thank you all for your love and encouragement, I really appreciate it. 

Warnings: angst, crying, parental problems, hurt/comfort, pregnancy mentions, language

Let me know what you think, what you’d like me to write next, want to be on a tag list for this series, etc. I want to interact with you all! 

Iris opened the front door, trying her best to be quiet; she didn’t want to wake the kids. If Marcus got the timing right, their girls should have just finished their bedtime routine and have settled in for the night. She took her jacket off, hanging it up in the coat closet. All she wanted was to grab a glass of wine and curl up and have a good cry. Unfortunately, being pregnant meant no alcohol, so she would soldier through with a good cry in the shower, maybe. 

Her heels clacked on the stairs. She went slowly, her heart and mind weary. Both girls had their doors open a crack, the universal sign that they wanted kisses and to be tucked in by momma, too, even if she came home a bit late. The drowsy kisses and ‘I love yous’ filled her with joy, covering the ache just a little. She knew that no matter what went wrong throughout the day, she would always be coming home to two precious little girls that loved her dearly. At this point, she couldn’t even imagine life without them. 

Marcus was right where she expected him to be, in bed curled up with a good book. It still blew her away every time she stopped and realized that he was hers, and she was his. Being his wife, it was bliss in every sense of the word. She hadn’t expected him to propose; how could she when his last marriage ended the way it did? Iris would have been happy to be with him forever in any way that he’d have her, but she had to admit that she had wanted to be his wife. She had changed her name as fast as humanly possible, for the thought of being Dr. Moreno filled her with pride. He had suggested keeping her last name or maybe hyphenating it after he proposed. He knew how hard she had worked to make that name worth something, and he didn’t want to take that away from her. She had appreciated the gesture, but she insisted that her work was her own, no matter her last name. She wanted to share everything with Marcus Moreno, including his last name. 

The man in question looked up, giving her one of his earth-shattering smiles, the one that made her feel as if she was the center of his universe. How could she not melt when his soft brown eyes held her gaze, baring his soul to her? She loved this beautiful man with every breath she took. 

He frowned when he noticed her eyes had welled with tears, leaving black mascara tracks down her cheeks. Silently, he stood up, gently unzipping her dress for her and helping her into a shirt of his that she loved to wear to bed. He knew that she would talk to him when she was ready. He would wait her out; it was better not to press her. Marcus led her into the bathroom, sitting her up on the counter while he cleaned her face with a warm washcloth and makeup remover. With each tender swipe of the washcloth, more tears fell. He could feel her shaking underneath him, the silent sobs giving way to heaving gasps.

Once he finished washing her face, he cradled her in his arms, carrying her back to their bed. He settled her on his lap, her legs straddling his hips, arms wound around his neck, face tucked in next to his own. The closer he could get to her, the better he knew she’d be able to feel. His hand snaked under the shirt, rubbing soothing circles on her back, fingers pressing patterns into her spine. He whispered words of comfort in his wife’s ear, willing her to hear what he was saying. Darling, I love you. I’m here for you; you’re not alone. Let it all out, baby. It’s okay to cry. Don’t keep it all stuffed inside; just cry it out. Missy loves you, Jules loves you, I love you. He went on and on, pouring his love and adoration into her. Eventually, her tears subsided, and she was ready to talk. She pulled back a bit so that she could look into those kind eyes of his that never judged her or made her feel less than. 

“Dinner with my dad was a disaster, Marcus, it was horrible. I should’ve known it would be bad, but I was hoping that this time might be different.” 

He nodded sympathetically; her relationship with her father was complicated. That man was manipulative, two-faced, selfish, and frankly a terrible parent. He had never approved of their relationship, blatantly refusing to even come to their wedding, insisting that they’d be getting a divorce at some point anyway. No matter how happy they were together, that man was always finding something to nitpick. If it wasn’t the age gap, it was the fact that Iris had stepped up and filled the spot of mother that the girls had so desperately needed. He hated their jobs, their house, the fact that they were individuals with enhanced abilities. Marcus couldn’t think of a situation where he had ever said anything positive about, well, anything. 

Despite all of this, he knew that Iris still loved him, still cared about him, and desperately wanted some type of relationship with him. She was the kindest person that Marcus had ever met. Her passion for people, her ability to truly empathize with others and try to help them heal was inspiring. He had never seen anything like it. He had seen it firsthand with his girls. She poured every ounce of love and devotion into them, treating them as if she had given birth to them herself. She said time and again that there was no difference to her. They were her girls just as much as they were his, and she loved them as such. That love and care extended to her father, too, no matter how many times he hurt her. 

“What did he do, honey?” he was hesitant to ask. Marcus knew that he would get mad at her father and have to rein himself in. He hated to see his wife hurting like this, and it made his blood boil. No one should cause her this much turmoil, especially someone that was her parent. 

“The whole thing was just a mess from the start. Dad was giving the poor waitress a hard time the second she came to the table. You know when he acts like he’s funny, but actually, he’s just rude? He was playing that game. I tried to talk him off the ledge and get him to bring it back in a bit. You should’ve seen her face, Marcus. She was petrified. Every time she came to the table, I could see the apprehension in her eyes. I tried to make sure that I was as nice to her as humanly possible to make up for him. Jesus Marcus, he should know better. I bartended to help mom with money when she was sick, for goodness sake. I was just like that poor girl all through med school and up until I got hired at Heroics HQ. You’d think he’d be willing to consider that.” 

He shook his head, placing a kiss on her forehead, not interrupting her as she spoke. He knew that Iris needed to get it all out before he chimed in. 

“Then he realized that I didn’t order any wine and commented on that, and oh fuck Marcus; it just came out. I just blurted out that I wasn’t drinking because we’re having a baby. He fucking laughed at me, told me not to joke about shit like that. When he figured out that I was serious, he was furious. He told me that I made a mistake, that this baby would just tie me down. He told me that this was a sign that it was time to give up my career and commit to being a mother. I just- I can’t believe everything he said. He went on and on about how I was finally having a real kid of my own as if Missy and Jules aren’t mine, and how it was unfortunate that this baby was yours. I thought that maybe he’d be happy that he’d be excited, but it was a shit show. He didn’t ask how far along I was or anything. I don’t know why I even do this anymore, why I even hope for his approval. It’s a battle I’m never going to win, so why even try? And fuck, these pregnancy hormones are making me so goddamn emotional. I couldn’t even make it through the main course. I made up a work emergency and left. I’m hurting, I’m fucking starving, and I just want to curl up and call it a night.” 

There was silence for a few moments, Iris once again hiding her face in the crook of Marcus’ shoulder. He wished he could physically take the pain away, that he could take her heart in his hands and cradle it to his chest, protecting it from everything that threatened to break it. It killed him to see her like this, and it wasn’t fair; she didn’t deserve this. It didn’t help that at 12 weeks, her pregnancy was beginning to take a toll on her. It was always tricky for enhanced individuals to carry a child, even more so when the child was also enhanced. It just made everything a bit more complicated. He hadn’t seen it up close himself before. His ex hadn’t had powers. To see Iris suffering and struggling with harsher than average symptoms tore at his heartstrings. They were both so excited to have this little one; it would just be a bit more challenging.  

“Baby, I’ll be right back. I’m gonna grab a few things, get comfy okay?” 

Marcus hated untangling himself from her, but he knew what might make her feel a bit better. She let out a noncommittal grunt, letting him know that she heard him. He quickly went down to the kitchen, grabbing supplies. He put everything on a tray, double-checking that he had what he needed before going back up to the bedroom. He set the tray on the bed, earning a grin from his darling wife. 

“Okay, so you said you were hungry; I thought I’d grab the things you’ve been craving recently. I’ve got a bowl of butter pecan ice cream with strawberry sauce, the whipped cream from a can, and crumbled up potato chips with a side of frozen Reese’s peanut butter cups and that guava juice you started liking last week. Oh, and a grilled cheese that I made earlier and put in the fridge. I know you like them cold right now. I’m not gonna question it. I’m sorry you didn’t even get to eat anything when you went for dinner, but this might be even better.” 

He settled into bed next to Iris, putting the tray on her lap. The giggle of delight that left her mouth made him feel warm inside. He watched her dig into the ice cream, telling him about the new developments that she was working on for his katanas, how she wanted to adjust the grips a certain way, and asking for his input. There she was, his wife was crawling back out of the pain and the hurt. He adored her enthusiasm for science and invention. She always had some idea or other to improve his weaponry and armor. He could listen to her passionately explaining her thoughts and ideas for the rest of his life, and he’d never get bored. 

By the time she finished, the disaster of a dinner had been wholly forgotten. Marcus got up, placing the tray on the dresser. He’d deal with it in the morning. They spent another hour talking, cuddling, and holding each other tightly. After a while, he noticed that Iris began to nod off, her eyelids struggling to stay open. He adjusted their position so that they were lying down, and his love was wrapped securely in his arms. She fell into sweet slumber to the sound of Marcus murmuring sweet nothings in her ear and his hand rubbing her tummy, holding her and their baby close. She may not be able to please everyone, but she had Marcus, their two girls, and this baby. In the end, that was everything. It was all she needed.  

Tag list: @autumnleaves1991-blog​ @madness-roses​ @bisexual-space-slut​ @dindjarindiaries​ @frannyzooey​ @cinewhore​ @revolution-starter​ @mrschiltoncat​ @softpedropascal​ @paniclana​ @jollyrancher87​ @hdlynnslibrary​ @maybege​ @corrupt-fvcker​ @cyaredindjarin​ @magicsuperheroes​ @flightlessangelwings​ @itspdameronthings @fallingoutofthe1975​ @thestreamergirl​

[kidney9-9]

No Teammate Left Behind (Peter Parker)

Anonymous asked:

ok so this is an idea i’ve had in my head for awhile. the reader is an Avenger, the same age as Peter. for whatever reason they don’t like each other, but then maybe she saves him on a mission and gets really badly hurt and goes into a coma and doesn’t remember him when she wakes up. if you could write something based off that that would be great, and your writing is beautiful!!

hi sweetie! thank you so much for the kind compliment! and i hope you enjoy this one! thank you so much for sending this in! feel free to send in any requests you guys would like to see! please read the warnings!!

Masterlist

Peter Parker x Reader (Angst!) Enemies-to-strangers!  Warnings: violence, cursing, medical problems, mentions of death, blood, and intense upsetting emotions Word Count: 2.3k 

You rolled your eyes as Peter took a seat across from you. Peter glared at you, “What do you want now?” He questioned harshly, not caring the others were starting to stare. You and Peter have always gotten along just horribly. It started when he accidentally hit you and didn’t say sorry; then continuously leading to arguments and insults.

“I just don’t want to look at you, Parker. Move it.” You demand, making Peter scoff at your mannerism. Steve moved uncomfortably next to you, suddenly wanting to jump out of the plane, like all those other times. Peter opened his mouth to respond, but Sam cut him off, “Hey! No fighting here, you guys can do it some other time. This mission is important.” Sam’s words moved sense into Peter, calming him down as you shook your head back to Peter, annoyed.

The flight was quiet. It was only twenty minutes, but with Steve and Sam occasionally whispering to each other, it was too long. You kept your head down, keeping to yourself and so did Peter. You had no idea what you were in for. The silence was much more forgiving this time for you, before you knew what would be out there.

When the four of you finally got there, it was so much worse than imagined. When the entrance lifted, showing the extent of the battle, all of you gasped. Debris was flying everywhere; yells and screams tore out over the violent scene. And most importantly, you could see Wanda was already down. Her foot was stuck by a wire, that wrapped around and attached itself to another piece of the wall. You could see the wall moving and shaking, about to collapse and you freaked out.

You immediately ran out, with Peter chasing after you, after spotting Wanda as well. You ran fast and straight, with one mission on your mind, to get her away from that wall. Peter ran after you, knowing you might need backup while lifting Wanda up, from the other machines and soldiers. Steve went his own way, as Sam yelled after everyone, trying to find a way to strategize during the mission. “Wanda!” You screamed, terror hitting you when the large wall fell over her body. Peter yelled out after you, trying to stop you from running straight to Wanda.

You weren’t aware of anyone or anything else around you, as you sprinted to Wanda. You were almost there, when you saw the red glow surround the wall that fell atop of her, and you stopped in your tracks, watching as she stumbled back up, sending the fallen wall straight into a group of soldiers.

You sighed in relief, smiling, “Wanda!” You yelled out again, about to run back to her. Peter screamed out in horror as one of the machines leaned over him, pointing the weapons straight into Peter. You turned back in the last second, watching as it powered up and you pushed Peter down quickly. It was a quick decision you knew you had to make. No teammate left behind.

Peter stared back at you in dread, as you huffed out a breath before slightly turning to run away, but it got you. The weapons fired at you, a weird electronic pulse sent into your body, blasting you harshly into the ground. Your body indented into the ground, echoing out across the battlefield. Peter could feel the waves of energy rolling off you and screamed. Smoke covered where your body was, and Peter couldn’t see you, as he started to scream your name again.

Wanda swiftly snapped out of her stance, rapidly firing energy into the machine, making it fall and explode. Before it exploded, she lifted Peter, and flew him out the way, but not you. She forgot in the last second, and Peter yelled out again, terrified for you. He stood back up, sprinting straight over to your body as the battlefield continued, with no one taking much notice of your fallen form. Your body was covered in burns, and weird rashes from the electric pulse they hit you with. Peter felt sick, confused, and angry.

“Wake up! Fuck, why did you do that!” Peter screamed down at your body, slapping your face, trying to get you to open your eyes. You didn’t bulge, you laid limp into the ground, making Peter tremble from fear, anxiety, and anger. “Open your fucking eyes!” He screamed again, shakily reaching to the side of your neck, trying to find a pulse.

He couldn’t concentrate, or pay attention, he couldn’t feel anything. “Please, wake up!” He sobbed out, suddenly reminded of Tony. You weren’t moving and Peter started hyperventilating, shouting out for help, from anyone. You weren’t supposed to die, not like this. Peter would never forgive himself; how can you save him like that when he was so mean to you? He wouldn’t live with himself, “Please! Help!” He screamed out again, picking up your body with numb arms. You limped in his arms, and he was sobbing louder, looking at your face, noticing the weird indents that the machine made.

Steve was the first one to see the two of you. Peter walked numbly, not aware of his surroundings as war raged in and out all around him. Steve sprinted in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders, “Peter! Take her to the jet now!” Steve yelled out, quickly pulling his shield out and throwing it into one of the machines behind them.

Peter only nodded, now becoming a little more aware, and he looked down at you with another sob. “Okay,” He whispered to himself, you and Steve. He walked faster back down to the jet, and when he walked in, he placed you on the floor suddenly. He looked down at your features, and then back to your hands, feeling how cold they were and started to sob even more. He stood back up, numbly reaching for the med-supplies, dumping them on the floor.

He couldn’t focus. He needed to focus, the syringes and bandages in his hands started looking weird, as his eyesight started to pulse in and out.  He fell to the floor, trying to read the medicine names but he couldn’t. He looked back down to you with another, “Fuck!” He glanced back to the console, suddenly remembering there was an emergency exit-shuttle.

He stumbled back up, dragging your body to the shuttle, carefully setting you in, before getting in after you. He closed the shuttle doors, buckled you in, and pressed the emergency button. Instantly, the two of you were up in the air, speeding straight back to the Compound, alerting the others. The emergency signal sent back from the shuttle to the rest of the team, back at the Compound.

Peter gazed at you with dried tears on his face. He didn’t bother wiping it off or away, as he tried finding your pulse again. He grew frustrated, now with new salty tears rushing down his face, “Fuck, wake up, please!” He cried out, pressing down onto your wrist now, trying to find the pulse there.

He still couldn’t feel it, he dropped his head, stuttering in a deep breath, trying to focus and calm down. “You can’t fucking die like that, you fuckin’ weirdo! I won’t let you! We were supposed to be friends! I wanted you to- I need you alive!” He yelled out, moving to your chest, pressing down to feel your heartbeat, but nothing.

It’s been five minutes now. Peter huffed out heavy breaths, quickly recalling how to perform CPR, and started. “Please! Wake the fuck up right now!” He yelled down, as he started seeing the familiar shapes outside the shuttle, and his hands kept repeating the motions into your chest. He couldn’t even tell if it was working, or that maybe he broke your ribs, he was terrified. Your eyes were closed, and the electric pulses that hit you started to draw into your skin more, making Peter scream again, “Stop it! No!” He couldn’t see you die like this, not how Tony died.

The shuttle came to a stop, and Peter glanced up, seeing it was the Compound. He instantly banged the door open, as people rushed out, ready to take out to the med-room. He tugged you up, and sprinted out, putting you into someone’s arms before collapsing to the grass with a loud uneven breaths and hiccups of cries.

Arms wrapped around him, carrying his now limp body as Peter stared down at the floor, confused. You weren’t dead, you couldn’t be. He rolled his head back up, looking at the people dragging him up inside, “Where is she? Is she okay?” He questioned, letting the tears roll down his face freely. The two people carrying him glanced at each other with worried looks, making Peter choke on his breath, “Fuck! Fuck, no- she can’t be- you better save her! I’m fine! Go, fuck!” Peter thrashed around, getting out of their grip and screaming at them.

Hours passed before they talked to Peter again. The rest of the team already came back, looking miserable and remorseful, seeming to already know the news. “She’s… the amount of electricity that passed through her is inhuman. She shouldn’t have survived, and she barely did, she’s,” The doctor paused, clearing his throat as Peter listened intently.

“She’s in an induced state, we’ve decided it was best, for the next few weeks of treatment.” He finished up as Peter shook his head in disbelief, not knowing whether to shout in joy or cry again. He felt like both. Wanda, instead spoke up, “What treatments?” Her question made Peter look back up to the doctor as he scratched his neck.

He sighed out, “Burn treatment, and we’re placing her through a rapid-repair study that’s been underway for quite some time. Her heart has been through intense damage, so has many other organs, as well-” Wanda cut him off, feeling guilt eat away inside. “She’ll be okay?”

“Yes, eventually, but there are still some worries.”

Some worries? Peter felt like shit. Weeks have gone by and he visited you every day, feeling multiple emotions. Anger- why did you risk yourself to save him? It made him feel sick, and he couldn’t help but compare you to Tony again, how he would save Peter in any situations. Guilt- It dug into him, and he felt himself spilling into the dirt, bleeding out this raw emotion when he saw you. He could barely even touch your hand without feeling the sickness of guilt hit his throat. Fear- it clawed straight into his mind and heart. It tore out feelings of safety just like a wild animal, hunting for its prey.

Your twitches in your sleep gave him small measures of hope, he refused to call it a coma, knowing you would awaken soon. The results were getting better every day, making Peter feel the tiniest bit of happiness. He noticed how Wanda felt as well. She hid it well, unlike Peter. Her remorse and guilt hit her hard, as she started training more with her powers. He tried talking to her, but she shut him out.

The day the doctors decided to lift you out of the induced sleep, Peter was feeling anxious. It took longer than expected, and only Peter was allowed in the room. Everyone decided it was best not to overwhelm you when you woke up, and the feeling of dread hit him, when you first started fluttering your eyes.

Your head lulled around as you started blinking away the dizziness. You had no idea what was happening, but you felt different. You glanced around the room, seeing someone sit next to you, watching you. A clock ticking made you lose attention, but you shook yourself quickly. “What…?” You quietly mumbled, trying to lift your arm up to itch your face. But it was too heavy, and you moved your neck down to stare at it.

You gazed back to the person seated next to you, “What’s happening?” You questioned, as you finally lifted your arm up, seeing the IVs and frowning in confusion. “How are you feeling?” The person asked you and you blinked at them, confused on how to answer. You had no idea how you were feeling, small worry hit you, but a lull of quietness hit you again.

You eyed the person again, with doubled confusion, “Who are you?” You asked, trying to think of people.

Peter felt his heart drop. “I-I’m Peter, you don’t remember?” He questioned, feeling anxiety double in him. What was he supposed to do? You couldn’t remember him, and it was starting to burn in his stomach, rolling in waves as he sipped in a shaky amount of air.

“Peter?” You asked, scrunching your eyes again, muddled at the name. A spike of hope hit him, only to be crushed again. “I don’t know a Peter. Where- where am I?” You questioned, as you looked around again, not understanding that Peter was going through heaps of emotion.

Peter sank into the chair as your heart rate started rising into unstable numbers, as you tried getting up and yelling. Doctors and nurses flooded the room as you continued your actions, while Peter covered his face with his hands, plummeting even further. “No, no, no, fuck, please…” He mumbled to himself, as he felt the sob build up.

Yelling from everyone in the room erupted into Peter’s ears as you tumbled off the bed, groaning out from pain. Peter couldn’t move, as the sob exploded out of his mouth, out of his mind and body. It was painful. The emotions from Tony and you, doubling harshly in scale, starting to attack him as another sob ranked through him.

You watched as the stranger fell apart. They pushed you back down, using the restraints built into the bed, as you stared. You had to help him, feeling the thought hit you- no teammate left behind. “Peter, please, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” You exclaimed to him, as he pulled his hands away from his face. He stared dully back to you, blinking through the tears.

No, he wasn’t.

-- tags: @lozzypoz321 @itscaminow​

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch 9-Doctors Orders Part 1 Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Hannah has a cold and of course Ari takes it upon himself to look after her. Once that little obstacle is out of the way trouble finds them once again on the morning of her birthday…and hell breaks loose at the Red Sea Diving Resort.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

A/N: This chapter is going to be split into a number of parts, posting over the next few days. A lot happening here. It ran away with us a little bit! Hope you enjoy, we’re proud of this one!!!

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 8

“Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race. A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin', and today is the day we've waited for.”  Mr Blue Sky by ELO

 Ari woke early the next morning and he immediately could sense something wasn't right. For starters Simon wasn't curled on his head, not that he was complaining but it felt quite strange to feel him at the end of the bed and not all over the pillow. Speaking of the pillow, he noticed Hannah's head wasn't on it, right next to his, even before he opened his eyes. Why couldn't he hear her breathing? And what was that other noise? Just with that thought he bolted his eyes open only to find Hannah sat up in bed, coughing.

Shit.

His eyes quickly roamed the dark room, it was still dark outside, but he could just make out her bare back as she was sat up, her knees bent to her chest as she tried to stifle the coughs in the palm of her right hand.

"Hey, you ok?" Ari asked with his sleepy voice before clearing his throat.

Hannah nodded in response but continued to cough as she did so.

Ari shifted on the bed and sat up, gently moving so he could see her, ignoring Simon's grumble as he was jolted from his position by his feet from where he was watching Hannah, again. Ari glared at him. He and that dog were going to need to set some ground rules. Well basically just one; no grumbling at him while on his fucking bed. 

He heard Hannah chuckle softly at Simon's reaction and he reached out to rub her back. Damnit, she was warm to the touch, so he moved again to lay the back of his hand against her cheek.

"You’re hot, Firefly."

"There’s a joke in there somewhere, Lobo." she mumbled before breaking into a hacking coughing fit again. "Fuck, I feel like shit Ari."

She definitely sounded like shit too.

"Let me get you some water." Ari offered before hopping out of bed. He found his shorts and threw them on and then he headed over to the small dresser where there were a couple of bottles. He grabbed one with a swift movement and brought it back to her, twisting off the cap. Hannah took a drink under Ari's watchful eye, spluttering a little as she coughed again but she managed to drink half of it before she handed it back. "You must have gotten a cold." He smiled sympathetically at her. "Or some random tropical disease." she coughed again, just before sneezing.

"Nope. You got soaked in the rain yesterday, Firefly." he stated, a little smug at the memory of her wet clothes sticking to her body.

"I’m the doctor not you." she managed to state between coughs and then looked at him. "Besides, you don’t get colds from getting wet Ari, it’s a virus."

Ari chuckles while rubbing her back softly. "Alright, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" "Drugs, Ari. I need some paracetamol and whatever else we have in the kit." Ari saw her scrunch her nose and she groaned. "Fuck."

"What?"

"The medical kit is in the office." "I’ll go fetch it sweetheart. You stay here." Ari offered, happy to be of use and take the reins. "I can’t Ari, I need to get back to my hut before anyone sees me…" and with that she set into another load of coughing and sneezing "...or hears me for that matter."

Ari pondered for a few seconds, noticing she was right as the first rays of sun were beginning to sweep through the window. "Then I’ll take you to your room and then I’ll go get the stuff."

She nodded "Can you pass me my dress?"

Ari picked it up from the back of the chair but turned to look at her "Han, it’s still damp." She groaned.

"Hang on…" he said before Hannah watched him disappear in the bathroom only to emerge from it a few seconds later with a towel in his hands "Wrap yourself in that for the time being."

"Yeah, cos that’s not gonna look suspicious."

"This whole thing is gonna look suspicious, Han. Stop being a pain in the ass and do as you're told." the natural leader in him commanded.

Grumbling, she took the towel, stood up and wrapped it around her before taking a shaky step. "Jesus."

"You ok?" Ari asked as he threw his shirt on.

"Just dizzy." Hannah replied as she stood put and rubbed her temples.

Ari rounded the bed concerned and in a quick movement hooked one arm under her legs, the other round her back beneath her shoulders. He was sure she was going to protest at the sudden movement and change of position but she gave a little sigh instead and relaxed into his arms, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder and Ari thought that was clearly testament to how ill she was. 

He made his way to the door with Hannah in his arms and clicked his fingers at Simon who followed him.  He opened the door with one hand, peeking out and once he had checked the coast was clear he quickly and quietly made his way to her hut. Praying to God and all the saints he didn't run into someone coz, honestly, he had no fucking idea how he was gonna be able to explain him carrying a semi-naked woman bridal style from his hut to hers.

 Once he had reached Hannah's hut he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath and letting relief wash over him before he set her gently on the bed. 

"That's it, sweetheart. Want me to tuck you in?"

Hannah shook his head while adjusting to the new position "Just pass me a cami and a pair of sleep shorts from the drawer."

He headed over and did as he was told, gently dropping her clothes onto the bed next to her.

"Can you manage or…" he asked, hands on his hips and nodding to the items of clothing.

Hannah smiled at his concerned face "You’re the expert at getting me undressed Ari, I’ll manage the other way round just fine."

He chuckled "Ok, I’ll be back in a moment."

Ari left her to it and headed to the main area. Once there he tried not to warn anyone of his presence by bumping into furniture as it was still fairly dark in that part of the resort. He carefully went into the office and turned on the light, locating the medical bag immediately and searched for the meds Hannah had asked for. Just a few seconds later he jumped out of his skin when he heard Max's voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Jesus, Max. You scared the shit out of me." he hissed, trying to buy some time to come up with a feasible excuse.

Max chuckled and then nodded to the box of pills. "You ok?"

"Just a headache. Needed some paracetamol." he said casually, avoiding visual contact with Max and looking at the pills in his hands instead.

Next thing he knew Max was handing him the water bottle in his hand. "Here I’ll get another."

And of course then he had to be watching him so Ari had to take 2 of the damned tablets himself before he managed to fob Max off, grabbing another 2 and heading back to Hannah’s hut once Max curiosity had been duly satisfied and he had watched him turn around and leave.

"What took you so long? Couldn't you find the bag?" Hannah blurted out when he saw him coming into her hut.

"I found something more than the bag. Don't ask." he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and handed the pills. "Here."

She frowned and sat up straight and reached for the water while he explained about his encounter with Max making Hannah chuckle and shake her head before breaking into another coughing fit.

"Are there any side effects to taking painkillers without being in pain?"

"Yeah, Lobo. Hair loss." Hannah deadpanned.

 "No need for sarcasm." he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well, stop asking stupid questions." she quipped before taking the pills with a mouthful of water, wincing. “My throat feels like I’ve been swallowing glass." "Want me to arrange for you to stay in bed all day?" Ari asked, his hand falling to her knee.

"I’ll be fine in an hour or so, besides if I stay here all day I’ll be bored and there’s stuff to do and ..." she whined.

Ari scoffed and cut her off.  "Ok let me rephrase that, I’m gonna arrange for you to stay in bed all day."

"No, Ari, like I said, it’s boring." she insisted.

"I’ll come keep you company as much as I can." he tried to bargain, knowing full well she wasn't one for following orders she deemed stupid.

"Oh yeah? And what you gonna tell the others as to why you keep sneaking in here to see me?"

"That I’m coming to check up on my teammate." he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you did with my aerobics classes…when Rachel noticed and asked why you never checked on hers?" she asked, a wicked smile on her face.

"No, that’s….I didn’t…" he sighed. "Well, can you blame me?" he asked with a whiney voice.  Hannah laughed and he smiled "You weren’t exactly being discreet, Levinson"

"Ok, look, forget about that now. I’ll figure something out." he said as he leaned over to kiss her frowning when she pulled back.

"Yeah I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

"Yeah, good point. Although isn’t a cold contagious days before symptoms?" he cockily asked.

"Hark on you Dr Levinson."

"You know, Guy Thomas is technically a doctor, I mean he has a PHD so…" 

She laughed loudly which made her cough. "In fucking Anthropology!"

"Details…" he smiled broadly.

Hannah snorted and locked her eyes on his "You’re right though. Chances are you already got it." Ari chuckled. "Ok, I’m gonna go for my run before everyone gets up. You gonna be ok?" "Sure I’ll manage. I’ve lived alone for the last 4 years Ari, had plenty of colds…" Ari grimaced, he didn’t like to think about that. For some reason it made him a little upset though he knew it was illogical as she was a grown woman and a doctor nonetheless. "Just try and get some sleep. When they start asking where you are at breakfast I’ll use it as an excuse to come see you, tell them I’ll come find out."

"Make sure it’s you who comes, please." she pleaded as she got under the sheets and rested her head on the pillow.

"Of course it will be. I’m the boss, can do what I want."

She sat up again and gazed at him. 

"Don’t let Sammy come or I’m never leaving this hut again."

"Dramatic much?" he tried to joke. "I know him, he won’t let me out of bed for days." she said and Ari could read the concern in his eyes.

 "Neither would I given the chance, albeit for a much different reason." he quipped cheekily, trying to brush her concern away.

His eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he saw Hannah's jaw drop. She slapped his arm and broke into a coughing fit. "You’re an asshole Ari. You can’t say that when I can’t kiss you properly."

"Then I’ll say it again when you can." he said, rubbing her thighs over the covers

"Promise?"

"Damned straight it is."

Hannah grinned before leaning back on her pillow again "Go, before I climb you like a tree and infect you with my virus."

"Now that's an image I intend to dwell in all through the day, Miss." he said before kissing her head and getting up and walking to the door. "Thing is firefly…" and he turned to look at her, one hand on the door handle. “…you infected me 9 years ago."

"That is so lame!" she said as she threw a pillow at him "Go. Now."

He chuckled and stepped outside closing the door behind him.  Hannah then looked at the pillow and groaned. "Now I gotta pick that up."

As if on cue Simon trotted towards the pillow and flopped down on it, looking up at her.

"Ok, guess I don’t…" she shrugged

**** Ari was hoping his run would keep his mind occupied and help quiet the noise in his brain. He was worried about Hannah and though he was well aware it was probably only a cold and, yes, she was a fully trained doctor who knew exactly what she was doing, he still couldn't help but think about how poorly she had looked and sounded. 

Fuck it.

With a sigh he turned his Walkman off when he was still a mile or so away from the resort. He couldn't concentrate on what he was listening to and the headphones were constantly falling from his head due to his furious strides. He wasn't in the mood and every little thing in the universe was apparently conspiring to bug him. 

Damn, Ari. Are you listening to yourself? 

His inner voice slapping him on the back of his head was the final straw. He groaned and quickened his pace, longing for the moment the cold water in the shower would ease the stiffness he was feeling in his muscles and mind. 

"I thought you were ill." Max greeted him when he emerged in the main area after making it home and showering.

"I had a headache. Hence the painkillers. And guess what, they killed my pain. So here I am." he explained, a bit too harsh.

"Woah chill man." Max frowned as he raised both his palms as a peace gesture.

"I’m perfectly chilled." Ari huffed as he sat down on a chair.

The truth is she wasn't chilled, not even remotely. He knew there was nothing he could do and Hannah would be probably asleep once the effects of the pills had kicked in, but he was twitchy as fuck to go check on her. "You look worried Ari." Rachel stated. More as a warning of his conspicuous behaviour than as a real concern.

"Do I? Well I’m not. What’s for breakfast?" Ari asked, trying to put on a genuine smile on his face but failing considerably.

"Whatever you want. The guests don’t arrive until 11 so it's up to you what you want. There’s plenty of bread for toast and pastries in the pantry." Rachel replied, squinting her eyes at him.

"Ok, I’m gonna grab some coffee." he said as he got up, praying someone asked about Hannah soon coz he was now seriously worried. 

He was not only worried about her but also about acting cool when they would eventually ask. He wanted it over and done with as soon as possible coz he didn't know how much time he was going to refrain himself from snapping at someone or something. He grabbed his coffee and then an idea came to him. He poked his head back into the main room and asked if he should throw a few rounds of toast in for everyone, knowing if he made enough there’d be some left over and they would be bound to notice one of them was missing.

An instant later Rachel came in to help. They made the first batch in silence, his mind still racing, and as the second batch was in she turned to him. 

"So, come on, don’t bullshit me Ari. What’s going on?"

"What do you mean what’s going on?" he asked back while cursing at a piece of toast who was still too hot for him to grab.

"You’re twitchy. You and Hannah had an argument already?"

"What? No…what makes you think that?" 

Rachel looked at him with that seemingly expressionless look that was yelling cut the crap and Ari sighed. It was Rachel after all, he could trust her and it would do him good to blow off some steam with someone.

"She’s ill."

Rachel frowned before asking "What do you mean? Like bad ill?"

"No, it’s a cold but she’s feeling pretty rough." he explained as he grabbed the bread from the toaster and dropped it onto the plate. He felt relief as he uttered those words, explaining what was going on to another person had really helped him realise he really shouldn’t be making a big deal out of it.

"Ah. Ok. Want me to go check on her?"

"No, I told her I would when you all realised she hadn’t shown for breakfast…" he paused and then bit his lip "Look, can…can you just maybe ask about her out there? My nerves are on edge."

Rachel smiled "Sure, good look convincing Sammy to stay away."

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that." he asked somewhat shyly.

"How?"

"You’ll figure something out."  His shy request had morphed now into a wicked smile making Rachel roll her eyes at him.

"You owe me Levinson. I don’t like lying to him, it’s not fair." she conceded but waved her index finger at him.

"You don’t have to lie to him…just don’t tell him the truth."

"Where I come from that’s called lying, Ari."

"You know what I mean, Rach." he remarked as he flashed his signature cheeky smirk at her.

"Come on man, I’m hungry." Max's voice suddenly startled them both.

Ari seized the opportunity and gave her one last pleading look at Rachel and she groaned before pointing at him again.

"Fine, let's get this over with but I mean it. You owe me, big time."

"I know, and if it's any consolation I don’t like all the sneaking around either but until Han is ready to tell Sammy there’s not much I can do." he shrugged.

"Whatever." she said, grabbing one big plate and handing it to Ari "Take the toast out there, Romeo."

They headed back out of the kitchen, carrying the communal breakfast and Ari sat back down, a bit more collected this time.

"About time, what were you doing? Baking the damned bread?" Max whined, raiding the toast plate.

"You wanna eat that toast or wear it?" Hannah cut his protests.

"Woah, easy Rachel…what’s happened this morning, why is everyone so tetchy?"

Ari looked at Rachel and she understood. The sooner they get this over with the better but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Sammy cut her off.

"Where’s Hannah?"

Everyone looked at one another for a few seconds. The only thing that could be heard being Max munching his toast. Ari tried to hold back the relief sigh he was dying to exhale. Rachel wasn’t needed after all, he had to thank Sammy for that.

"I ain't seen her." Jake, who had been getting the matches for his tan ready, shrugged. "Or Simon actually, he’s normally here before she is…"

 "I’ll go see if everything’s ok with her." Ari offered, standing up.

 "I can go." Sammy frowned.

No. No. No. Ari froze and panicked for a few seconds and gave Rachel a meaningful look.

"Let Ari.” Rachel l blurted out before pausing. "Because of Simon…you know the dog doesn’t like you, and it will only put you in a bad mood if he starts growling and you’ll end up arguing with Hannah.”

Well, that had been bold but it seemed to have worked as next thing he knew Ari heard Sammy grumbling. "stupid little gargoyle."

"And that’s why he hates you. You insult him, you hurt his feelings." he told Sammy, trying not to seem too eager to fuck the hell out of the room.

They were all too focused on their own act to notice Max who was simply looking at them, munching his toast. He clearly wasn’t buying any of the shit Rachel was saying.  Whereas Jake was too engrossed in cutting the matches he had previously taken from the matchbox with a knife, his coffee long forgotten.

"It’s a dog Ari, he doesn’t know what I’m saying." Sammy continued grumbling.

"Well he clearly reads your body language then."

"Yeah…that’s true. He copies body language too." Max deadpanned, sitting back on his chair.

Ari did his best to keep a straight face, ignoring him but clearly hearing his sniggers. Rachel was the one to glare at him and he shrugged as he resumed eating his food.

Thankfully, Rachel then took charge of the situation and started explaining the schedule for the new guests that would be arriving a few hours later, Ari took the opportunity and stood up, heading out  for Hannah’s hut. Gently opening the door he saw Simon was snuggled around her head and she was dozing. He approached and sat on the edge of her bed and watched her for a few seconds before feeling her forehead. She was still warm and he sighed.

Simon moved his head and licked the back of Ari’s knuckles when he recognized him.

 "You looking after her pal?" he cooed at the dog and moved his hand to scratch under the dog's chin, "Good boy."

Simon wagged his tail and rolled over demanding more belly scratches from the hairy human that seemed to be sharing his mom's bed. Ari chuckled as he obliged, rubbing his pink and black spotty belly.

"Demanding little bastard." he softly whispered so as not to disturb Hannah's sleep. But it was too late. With a little sigh she stirred at the movement, blinking.

"Hey, how you feeling firefly?"

"Still crappy." her voice came out hoarse. 

"Yeah, you’re still warm. You should rest in bed till you’re feeling better." he ordered softly.

"Yes Dr Levinson… or Dr Thomas, whatever." she said before yawning and Ari chucked. "How was it out there?"

"Not bad. I asked Rachel for help but it wasn’t needed, Sammy asked before she could."

Hannah nodded and shuffled down a little in the bed, coughing again. Ari waited until she was done and he then leaned down over her, one hand either side of her shoulders as she was led on her side. 

"Ok sweetheart. I’m gonna go back out now but once they know I’ll sneak to see you whenever I can." 

 "I’m just gonna sleep Ari, I don’t need babysitting." she grumbled.

Ari raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ok, so you don’t want me to take care of you or keep you company? That’s fine, I get it…" he mocked a complaint, a soft smile on his face.

"Shut up." Hannah groaned.

"And now you don’t want to hear me either." he chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest and shout if you need anything." and he pondered for a moment before speaking. "On second thoughts, just don't shout. Your voice is terrible today..." and he stopped when he saw her mouth drop open "You know what I mean, Firefly."

"Ari?" Hannah asked as he made to stand up. "Yeah?" "I could use some orange juice." she beamed at him before sneezing for the umpteenth time.

"Ok, I’ll bring some for you." Ari wandered back to the main area, all the way thinking how he was going to pull his next stunt. Just act natural, Levinson. You got this, he thought as he entered the main area, his hands falling to his hips as he walked in.

"Where is she?" Sam asked once he spotted Ari was back.

"She’s sick Sammy." and he held his hand up to stop Sammy’s impending babble. "It’s just a cold."

Sammy frowned. "A cold?"

"That’s what she said." He shrugged and turned to walk to the kitchen. "She asked for some paracetamol and orange juice." he said, ignoring the fact Max was narrowing his eyes suspiciously after he caught Ari with the pills before. He opened the fridge, considering if it would be good for her to drink cold liquids, and poured a glass of orange and went back into the main dining area just as Sammy walked in from the office with the box of pills and gestured to the orange juice.

"Want me to take it? I can examine her."

"She’s a doctor too, Sammy." Jake snorted.

Ari was getting more flustered by the minute. He just wanted to get rid of Sammy and get back and check on her again. Damned it. He knew he was being ridiculous but she really didn’t look well at all and if he had his way he’d be curled up besides her all day. He would trade posts with Simon on the spot. He looked at Rachel as a last resource, silently asking her to take the reins. 

Rachel took a deep breath and turned to Sam. "Sammy, she won’t want her brother fussing." She then turned to Ari. "Take her some toast too in case she feels like eating something." she said while putting a few slices from the large plate on the table onto a smaller one. "Tell her I’ll check up on her later and grab her laundry."

Thank you Rachel.

"I bet Simon is eating that toast." Max quipped.

Jake chuckled. "That’s a point, should we take care of him today?"

Ari shook his head. "He was curled up on the bed with her, looked pretty comfy. I’ll take him for a walk if he wants to go but to be honest I don’t think he’ll leave her."

“Unless it’s you.” Max quipped.

“What do you mean? Ari asked.

“Simon is conveniently deaf unless you or Cracker are talking to him.” Max grinned “You’re like his parents, it’s cute.”

Ari rolled his eyes and with that he headed back out, down to her hut. God, he was sweating already and he had showered less than an hour before. Simon looked up when Ari got in the hut. Hannah was asleep so he placed the orange juice, toast and pills on her bedside table before leaning to kiss her head.

"Sleep tight, my Firefly." he whispered as he straightened up and looked at Simon. "You coming buddy? Let’s get you some food and go for a walk, huh?"

Ari watched the dog look at Hannah, then him and then back to Hannah again, hesitating. Sammy could say whatever he wanted, but that dog did understand what they said to him. No one was gonna convince him otherwise.

"She’ll be ok pal." Ari rolled his own eyes at himself when he realised he was explaining to the fucking dog. But Simon was proving his point as he stood up and walked down the bed, jumping off the side. Ari saw him stretch and wag his tail as he headed out, Simon at his heels. 

*****

A few hours later Rachel went to Hannah’s hut and knocked on the door, walking in after Hannah told her to do so. Rachel found her sat up in bed and thought Ari, though being a painful drama queen, was right. She looked awful. Her nose was red, her eyes looked tired but at least she was reading.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better, thanks. I had a good sleep and the meds seem to have worked their way into my system." she explained and then she paused. "What time is it by the way? I can’t find my watch." she asked Rachel as she scanned her bedside table and drawers again.

 "Maybe you left it in Ari’s hut…I mean if you slept there last night…" Rachel offered, cocking an eyebrow.

Hannah looked at her and sighed, rolling her eyes.  There was no point in even denying it and she wasn't feeling strong enough to either. "How much do you know?" "Well from what the pair of you have told me and the fact his tee was mixed in with your laundry, I’d hazard a guess at all of it." "Ari’s shirt was..? Shit!" Hannah groaned.

"Yup, shit indeed. You’re lucky I spotted it before your brother did. Thankfully it was next to a pile of your panties and he wasn’t looking." Rachel chuckled at Hannah's mortified expression before continuing. "Then there’s also the fact that the dress you were wearing yesterday was on the chair in his hut. I washed that too, you can thank me later, or we can talk about how his bathroom was missing a towel and curiously enough there’s one that seems to have appeared on the floor by your bed. Your pick."

Hannah groaned again and rubbed her face down her hand.

"By the way it was the shirt he was wearing for dinner the night he came home." Rachel winked at her.

"Yeah I know…he left it here and I forgot I threw it in with my stuff." "You two had yourselves a welcome home party, huh?" Hannah laughed at Rachel's wriggling eyebrows and coughed a little. "Don’t be so nosey."

"Look, I’m happy for you two, I really am. And I love to see you happy, you deserve it but…well, Max suspects something and it’s only a matter of time before Sammy and Jake figure it. Especially if Ari is as shit at keeping a cover as he seems to be. He was a wreck this morning."

"A wreck?" Hannah asked, surprised. "I’ve got a damned cold, what’s he so fretted about?" "Well according to him you looked really bad and were burning up, moments from death…you know that type of thing. I had to smack some sense into him in the kitchen before he blew it with the rest." 

Hannah rolled her eyes. "He’s such a drama queen."

"When it comes to you he is. You should have seen him. Shittiest Mossad agent ever." Rachel mocked him.

Hannah laughed again and, as usual that morning, her laugh was punctuated by coughs.

"Luckily Jake is too focussed on his tan to notice and Sammy…well Sammy is oblivious and to be fair probably doesn’t even want to even consider anything like that so…"

Hannah pondered what she had said for a minute and looked at her. "You think we should come clean? I mean Ari said he would happily tell everyone but I’m not sure if I can handle Sammy already."

"That’s up to you. But the longer you leave it, then surely the harder it's gonna be?" Rachel smiled at her, sympathetically.

Hannah rubbed her eyes. "I don’t think I can do this until I feel better, and then it’s my birthday next week and don’t want anything to spoil it."

"I can’t answer Hannah, I can’t tell you what to do." Rachel patted her leg.

"I’ll speak to Ari about it." she mused and Rachel laughed.

"What’s so funny?" "That man will do whatever you tell him to do. I know that, you should know it by now." Hannah shook her head, though Rachel may be right that was not what she needed at that moment.  "I don’t want him to just do what I say, just want him to help me make a decision." She looked at Rachel and then grinned "I see you did a pretty good job covering the marks on your neck, unlike yesterday."

Rachel blushed. "You saw them?"

"Yes." And the grin on Hannah’s face turned into a grimace.  "And I don’t want to think about it. He’s my brother."

"Ari told you?"

Hanna nodded.

"Bastard."

"I’d already figured it out. I told them ages ago the pair of you were…you know, or at least there was something going on. He was like a bear with a sore head when you were on leave." Hannah explained

Rachel squinted her eyes at her. "Like you were when Ari was gone?"

Hannah shrugged, to be fair Rachel was right, the Navons were pretty shitty at concealing their feelings. And speaking of concealing?  "FYI that concealer on my desk is pretty good if you need to borrow it."

Rachel stared at her blankly and Hannah swept her hair to the side to show her the now fading bruises Ari had given her the other evening and Rachel snorted. 

" Wild Ari, huh?"

"You got no idea." Hannah smirked mischievously.

"Pity Sam is your brother. We could have traded stories." Rachel shrugged amused.

"Don’t get me wrong Rach, I’m happy you’re with him. He needs someone in his life that’s for sure but…yeah, no. I’d rather not listen to them…but if you need to talk hey, I can pretend you’re talking about Chef Aziz…"

At that the pair of them burst out laughing and Hannah had another coughing fit just as Sammy walked into the hut.

"What are you two laughing at?" he asked as he glanced at Hannah. "You feeling better, Han?" "Loads. Rachel is great company." she said, raising her eyebrows at Sammy who went immediately red and cleared his throat. "Need some water Sammy?" Rachel who was sitting on the edge of the bed slapped Hannah’s leg through the covers and mouthed to her Don’t be mean.

Hannah shook her head and looked around, allowing her brother to collect himself. "Hey, where’s Simon by the way? He bailed on me…"

"He was with Ari. They went for a walk then down to the diving hut and then Ari was going out with Jake to prep the tour route for tomorrow." Sammy explained.

 "Has Simon gone on the boat with them?" Hannah frowned.

 "Yeah, why?"

 "I thought he only went diving because he wanted to be with me." she pouted. "He’s been stuck to Ari like glue all day." Rachel confirmed.

 "He even ignored the new group of tourists." Sammy scoffed.

"Judas." Hannah grumbled, folding her arms.

****

3 days Hannah was in bed laid up, and Ari hated it. He’d popped in as much as he could, stealing half an hour or so here and there to lay with her, until Sammy pulled him up at one point over lunch on the second day.

I’m the doctor, she’s a doctor…I don’t see why you have to be checking up on her all fucking day.” Sammy pouted.

“Because you’re busy with the guests.” Ari reasoned “I’m the manager so I can just float about. Besides, it hasn’t been all fucking day, I’ve been to check on her like 3 times to take her some water and something to eat, that’s it.”

Nevertheless, he backed off after that. On the 4th day Hannah eased back into light duties so Ari managed to spend some time with her during the day as but he continued to sleep in his own hut to allow her to sleep properly to fully recover and also to avoid further suspicion as he had also developed a little sniffle himself and was running out of excuses to the rest of the team as to what it was.

But all this meant it was nearly a week since they’d last managed a night together, and it had left him a total needy bastard.

One morning he arrived at the main area of the resort after he’d been talking to a few guests who had asked him for ideas of what to do in Port Sudan. He headed into the main rooms, looking for Hannah, mentally ticking off where she could be. She wasn’t with Jake and Sammy as they were out diving, she wasn’t with Rachel and Aziz helping set up for lunch and Max…well he had no idea where Max was at all. He stood pondering for a moment when he spotted Simon trotting out of the office and he gave a grin.

Bingo.

Hannah was looking through the filing cabinet in front of him as he stepped into the room, silently. He took a moment to appreciate her, taking in her long legs right from her bare feet up to the hem of her pale, strapless blue sundress which hung mid-thigh. It curved neatly over her ass and hips trailing the curve of her waist up to her shoulders which were bare, hair pulled into a messy pony tail, halter neck of her bikini tied at the nape of her neck.

Fuck this, it had been far too long. And he was horny as hell. The damned world could wait.

He shut the door with his foot and she jumped slightly, turning to face him but before she could register what was happening his lips were on hers, the kiss demanding as his hands held her cheeks, tongue finding its way between those soft pillows, sliding forcefully against the roof of her mouth. She let out a soft moan and her hands moved directly to the ties on his swim shorts. His lips curved into a smirk at her demanding nature, the fact she wanted him just as much was getting him even more worked up, and she pulled back to look at him a little, her fingers undoing the string easily as his hands slid to her waist, yanking her even closer so their pelvises were flush and she could feel his arousal pressing into her stomach.

“Stop smirking.” She mumbled, and he chuckled a little, his nose brushing hers “Cocky bastard.”

“You want cocky?” he muttered, his lips brushing hers, the feather-light touch sent a shiver down her spine as his mouth slid to her jawline and that spot on her neck just behind her ear. “I’ll show you cocky Firefly.”

His lips crashed to hers again as he pivoted them away from the cabinets and towards the desk at the side of the room, his movements effortless as she gave into his directions completely. Submission had never been her strong point, but when it came to Ari she was weak and now was no exception. She was weak to his touch, his mouth, his every damned action as she allowed him to man handle her, his hands gliding up her back to her neck, fingers of one grasping at the nape as he held her face to his, his mouth dominating hers.

In a quick, almost forceful movement he spun her round, his mouth trailing open mouthed kisses down her neck to her shoulder, moving to the other side to repeat the action and she let out a low keen of delight.

“Shh.” He stopped, what he was doing and Hannah stilled, her breathing deep. Once she’d obeyed he picked up where he had left off, his hand sliding up over her covered breasts, palming them in his large hands, letting out a gently sigh of his own as he felt her nipples peak through the material.

“Ari…we can’t…” She mumbled, suddenly coming to her senses as she heard voices pass by the reception desk “There’s people outside…”

“I don’t care.” He whispered into her hear, his right hand gently sliding back7 up her neck, fingers flexing over her smooth, delicate throat “You can be quiet, right?”

“I…” he cut her off as he tilted her face to his, swallowing her protests with another filthy kiss, his other hand moving down, rucking her dress up, the pads of his calloused fingers tracing a slow path up her inner thigh. He gently brushed over the spot between her legs and a soft growl rolled in the back of this throat as he could feel her arousal through her bikini bottoms. He released her mouth, his lips staying millimetres away from hers “You’re fucking soaked baby girl”

Hannah couldn’t find the words to reply. She was putty in his hands, and happy to let him take control. All truth be told she was aching for him too, and although this hadn’t been going on long in the grand scheme of things, the way he did make love to or fuck her had her craving for his touch whenever she could get it. She let out a gasp as his fingers brushed her bottoms to one side, skating her slit as he found her nub and began to coax at her expertly. She bit her lip, hard, the taste of copper flooding her mouth as she found herself desperately trying to control her noise.

Releasing her throat, Ari’s other hand gently pressed at the base of her spine, bending her forward a little over the desk and her hands splayed flat against the wooden surface sending a few papers floating to the floor, her check pressed to the cheap oak. Ari moved her bikini to the side, and with one hand still on her back he used the other and gave himself a few strokes, before he lined himself up and sank into her.

“Fuck…” She hissed between gritted teeth as he pulled back, sinking straight back in again, his eyes focussed on the spot they were joined, watching himself move in and out. His thrusts were slow, deliberate at first, and his eyes flicked to Hannah’s face as her head raised from the desk, tilting back slightly. He saw her jaw slacken and in a flash his hand reached out, palm clamping over her mouth.

“Gotta be quiet sweetheart…” he grunted out, his other hand gripping her shoulder so he could pull her back onto him and he picked up the pace, fucking her with desperation, like a man starved.

The sound of skin slapping skin, her muffled moans and his own low hisses filled the room as he continued his assault on her spot, his cock dragging against her walls again and again. It was quick and dirty, and before long Hannah could feel herself unravelling. Ari felt her too, the tell-tale fluttering of her clamping down on him signalling she was close.

“Nearly there baby?” he asked, even though he knew the answer and she gave a quick nod, his fingers flexing over her mouth. Releasing the grip on her shoulder he reached around, found her clit and she felt the teasing of his thumb and forefinger as he rolled it between them, his chest pressing to her back, mouth nipping at her ear. With a shudder, the world faded to nothing but a bright, white light and she came, her groan stifled by his hand as she bucked back, eyes fluttering shut, knees trembling as she went limp over the desk. Releasing his hold on her mouth he grabbed her hips, his own snapping back and forth with enough force to jolt the desk slightly, causing it to scrape over the floor as he felt his balls contract and he came inside her, hard, and it was all he could do to keep himself from yelling out.

“Fuck…” he mumbled, his hips slowing to a stop as his head fell forward a little, his breathing deep, T-shirt sticking to him as sweat coated his entire body. He took a moment before he stepped back and looked down as Hannah pushed herself up, his hands gently pulling her up by her hips helping her to stand.

“Cocky enough?” he quipped as he straightened his pants whilst she turned to face him, her cheeks flushed. She reached up and pulled her pony tail free, shaking her hair out whilst she shook her head, grinning at him.

“One word for it.” She arched an eyebrow as she re-tied her hair and squirmed a little, feeling his release dribbling down her inside leg “And now I need to go change.”

“I thought bikini bottoms were supposed to be waterproof.” He chuckled, pulling her in for a quick kiss.

“You’re an ass hole.” She mumbled, before she pulled away, patted his chest and opened the door. The sound of the guests outside grew louder as the flow of fresh air filled the room, well, fresher seeing as it was fucking hot out there too, and with a last glance over her shoulder she smirked and left.

Part 2

[draganasimpsforjeff]

Hunting Dogs: Chapter Nine (proxies x reader)

ou waited for your mother with your earphones in, playing your F/S and look around occasionally. You didn't know how long you were going to be at her house, but you didn't want to pack too much and at the same time leave enough behind in case those psychos wanted to gain information on you.

You use to not be like this, but ever since the move you have changed, maybe it was because the adult life and the stress that came with it, but before here; you were a bright student, with at least one failing grade but your school let everyone graduate the year even with one failing subject, you were creative and loved to take pictures around the town you use to live in, ambition was a strong suit of yours, though it would also get you into trouble. Like, you desired and kept pushing to leave your mother's to this city...and after only a while this shit happens with being chased.

A bit of a curious cat as well, but it helps with your imaginative side...something you had lose through the transition, sure, you could definitely pick it up again, but recently it was like your head was in a constant fog and everything you use to love was like a smudge? You always use to try to stay positive as that was how your mother raised you.

After the incident with your father and the fall of his death....it was like the sun split in half, cracks falling off while staying still until it fell, casting your whole life into darkness. If it did get lighter- it was just grey.

God, how depressing I've become. You snickered, jumping at the sound of a honk. You look over, seeing your mother wave frantically from the drivers seat and your lips crack into a grin. One you haven't shared in a long time. You run over, opening the door to her car and nearly knocked her out as you swing your bag into the backseat, but she dodged in time and pulls you into a tight hug. "Oh, honey, I've missed you so much!" you smile and pull away from her, settling into the seat, "yeah, I've missed you too, ma."

You send a text to your boss about how there was an 'family emergency' and that you had to leave for a week, along with an apology, which you let out a sigh of relief when he said that Kristine would be able to cover for you and that he hopes everything would be okay.  "So, you never told me. Have you met anyone?" she smiles, nudging your arm and you roll your eyes, "Yeah, definitely, while working full time and barely having a personal life." you said sarcastically.

"Well, the twenty-minutes I've been passing through I've seen a lot of good looking people, tell me that there's no way you have someone on your mind." she signals and turns to the next lane, taking an exit. You thought about the men and how you thought one of them was cute, but too bad they were trying to fucking kill you! "No, mom. I haven't."

She sighs, dropping the conversation, "Okay, so how's work? Not too stressful? Pays enough?" she asks and you scoot up on the seat, looking around at passing cars, the trees, and then finally the clouds. The sun was trying to break the grey that the clouds have cast over the city the last week. You smile weakly, it feels like everything was starting to fit and you are glad that your mom called.

You roll down the windows enough to where you can leave your hand out, the wind pushing against your hand and you smile, feeling free from the shit behind you. "Yeah, it's not too stressful. It's a job so, obviously I can't escape it if there is a problem and I make tips so it makes up for the minimum wage part. Everyone's pretty nice." you giggle, thinking about Mr. Saka. What the hell is he going to do while I'm gone?

But then you broke into a frown, remembering the last call you had from him...about his wife.

Your mom notices and looks over at you before, taking a turn. "What's wrong, hunny?" she asks, making you sigh. "There's this older guy, he's a great customer; a regular, actually and one I've become close to, but his wife died last night, I think or maybe the day before? I don't remember. "

Maybe I should give him a call when I get to the old place. Just to check on him and also let him know I won't be back for a week.

"Oh, that's horrible." Your mom was a pretty soft person and not in a ad why but she could be very sympathetic and understanding, which was a good quality, but sometimes you wonder if it's a bit much...but who were you to judge? Maybe it was the bitterness getting to you that makes you a little uneasy around her.

Man, the city really does change you.

"It is." you said simply, looking down at her phone, seeing maps was open and that you were forty minutes away from your old home. "I think when we get there, I'll make us something to eat and sometime today, you should get some sleep. I can see bags on your eyes." You nod. Sleep sounds wonderful right now. How much have you gotten the last few days? Maybe a total of like 20 hrs? When the recommended hours of sleep was 8, you would get between 3-6 hours of nightmares mixed in with you being unconscious.

Hopefully this will be a quick ride. You slowly close your eyes while your mom was droning about the local market, being upgraded and you chuckle before dozing off.

The sound of tires screeching and something bumping into the car jolts you awake. You look around, focusing your eyes and notice the windshield was broken, smoke was coming out from under the hood and there was a red Nissan that hit the front of the car. How does that happen?! Where are we!?  You look over and see your mom with a bleeding head and her eyes closed. "NO! Mom! no, please!" You struggle to take your seat belt off as you hear sirens and reach over to check her pulse.

There was none. Suddenly the passenger side door opens and arms pull you out, you struggle, kicking and screaming for them to let you go. You couldn't see their face as your back was against their chest. You look over at the Nissan. It looks fine besides the huge dent in the front and there was no one inside. You look back over at your moms car and tears run down your cheek, "NO! MY MOM!" but a hand clamps over your mouth and a vehicle you didn't see earlier was in your sight now as you got directed towards it. You elbow the guy and kick his knee, sending him to let go and hit the ground.

Just as you turn around, your heart leaps out of your chest. It was him. It was fucking him! The guy with the side burns!

"I'll get you! Don't think for a fucking minute that you're safe!" The man with the white mask growled, shaking the bars.

You gasp and turn around, heading straight for the Nissan. You didn't want to leave your mother but the sirens were coming closer and you knew she would be taken care of, surely you would get a call or something from the hospital soon to let you know whether or not she was okay. You turn the key in the ignition and that's when you saw the other two.

"You're fucking dead bitch! Just like your mom!" the boy twitches in excitement and throws the hatchet into the Nissan's tires, the front of the car lowering on your side and you curse. How the hell are you going to make it out alive?

You search around the car, under the seats, glove compartment, back seats but there was nothing there. Like there was no one inside here previously....those fuckers!

You look back at them with immense heat in your glare, which you were sure they were only grinning like blood thirsty animals. They have trapped their prey. They move closer to the car and jump out of it, almost losing your balance but they were too quick and the one with black mask and red eyes grabs a hold of you, slamming you down against the ground so hard that you lose your vision for a moment.

"You have made our lives a living fucking hell, YOU KNOW THAT!?" A punch was sent straight into your face with enough force that a 'crack' was heard, blood gushed from your nose and down your throat, but you swallowed, tasting the metallic. "Your life?" you let out a laugh but it held no humor, shaking your head as you stare up at the man. "You guys have been chasing me since day one!"

"Because you are a witness!" The guy with the sideburns hissed while the twitchy guy pulls his hatchet out of the tire of the car. "You're fucking murderers!"

"And yet, you would think to keep you goddamn mouth shut!" red eyes said before picking up up and right as he did, a syringe with silver almost greyish hint liquid was jammed into your left arm and while you fought as hard as you could, your system shut down and all you could see was their faces gets smaller, the black borders growing bigger until you went limp.

"Let's get to the car. " Masky says while Hoodie carried Y/N's body into the backseat of the car they have stolen. Toby sat in the backseat along with Y/N. The car was started as Hoodie slid into the passengers seat. "Are you sure you're okay to drive?" He asks and Masky nods. "I took meds before I got out to help you with the fucking prick."

Hoodie nods and stares outside the window as Masky rolls out of the shadows that they hid their getaway car in and drives back to one of their locations.

[weathergirl8]

Master of Deflection - Part 2

This is for you @ak47stylegirl and anyone else who enjoys Alan whump/smothering. Of course, there will be some extra Virgil in there too, because I just love the big guy.

As a friendly reminder, I originally came from the TOS and TB 2004 era. I’ve tried to write a few TAG point of views, but my comfort zone is the previous. This will take place with Gordon as the redhead, and I’ve always had Virgil as the middle bro. Sorry!

Summary: Being the youngest of five is always hard, especially when they pounce at the slightest hair out of line. Sometimes the art of deflection can sting.

Part 1 | Part 2

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A fuzzy feeling was the first sensation he felt as consciousness welcomed him. Turning to look at the clock on his nightstand, Alan sighed as 8:00 glared back at him. Throwing his back against his bed, the teen groaned quietly. He felt like he had just fallen asleep.

Forcing himself up, Alan sniffled as he noticed his nose was a little runny and his throat felt a little scratchy. Reaching for a tissue, he blew his nose without a second thought. “Maybe my morning run will help clear this fog,” he whispered to himself and quickly dressed into his running clothes.

Alan entered the kitchen and smiled at his father. “Hey, Dad.”

“Morning, Alan,” Jeff greeted as he took a drink of his coffee. “Late night last night. I’m surprised to see you up. I think you’ve beaten all of your brothers.”

“Wow. Been ages since I’ve beaten Scott up,” Alan said as he grabbed a bottle of orange juice and a breakfast bar. “I slept straight through and wanted to catch a run. I’m sure they’ll be down by the time I get back.”

“Well, John said things are quiet,” Jeff smiled. “I think you’re safe to enjoy your run without interruption, son.”

“Thanks, Dad. See you in a bit,” Alan nodded as he took one last bite of his bar.

Jeff watched as Alan made his way down the deck, vanishing into the trees along the path that led to the beach. He smiled as he allowed memories of nostalgia to fill him. Where had the time gone?

“What’s got you so happy this morning, Dad?”

Jeff turned to see his second youngest before him. “Just your younger brother continues to surprise me.”

“What’d the squirt do this time?” Gordon asked curiously as he took a drink.

“Nothing worth sharing,” Jeff sighed. “Going for a swim?” he asked as he noted the redhead’s attire.

“Of course,” Gordon beamed as he slung his towel over his shoulder. “Best physio after such a tough rescue yesterday.”

“You feeling okay, otherwise?” Jeff asked worriedly.

“Back is fine, Dad. I promise. A little stiff, but nothing to worry about. The pool always does the trick,” Gordon winked and headed for the pool. “Headed to the office?” the redhead paused at the door.

“Yes,” Jeff said. “John and I are going to go over the rescue last night. It was a straight forward mission, so I don’t think it’ll be necessary to have everyone there this time. Let you boys unwind a little while we can.”

“Thanks, Dad. We appreciate it. See you later,” Gordon smiled and headed to the pool.

Jeff chuckled at Gordon before heading up the stairs to call John. The plan was to talk about the mission, but the patriarch hoped to let John unwind as well. He knew just the topic to do so.

-TB-

Alan jogged along the sand, each step feeling weighted as he pushed himself toward the next mile. The blonde reduced to a walk as he slowed his breathing. He allowed his mind to wander as he watched the waves crash along the cliffside near the north side of the beach.

Taking a seat in the warm sand, Alan sighed. Apparently, today was going to be a struggle. Running was not proving to be the stress relief that usually worked for him. Today he felt off. His body felt sluggish and tired. Usually, the morning air he inhaled from his runs would wake him up.

Not today.

Placing his head in his hands, he groaned. The sensation made him realize his head was beginning to pound. All the feelings of an incoming headache becoming clear.

“I guess a run isn’t in the cards either.”

Forcing himself up from the sand, Alan made his way back toward the villa. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping it would help ease the tension he was feeling but felt no relief. All the blonde wanted was meds and his bed again. The first thing he had to do was avoid his nosey older brothers.

“Hey!”

Alan jumped as he turned to see Gordon climbing out of the pool, the jolt sending a small pulse through his head.

“Hey, are you okay?” the swimmer’s concerned voice asked as he got closer.

“I’m fine, Gordon. Just a headache. Once I take something, it’ll go away.”

Gordon eyed Alan with uncertainly. “Are you sure? You look tired and a little pale.”

“Don’t we all,” Alan joked. “It was a late night.”

“Point taken, little brother. Go get something for that head before the smother hens descend.”

“If you need me, I’ll be hiding in my room,” Alan said but looked around cautiously. “That’s between you and me. I don’t need them hunting me down.”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Gordon saluted. “I’ll check on you later.”

“Thanks, Gordo,” Alan replied in appreciation and made his way back into the house. He quietly skirted past his father’s office, where he could hear the voices of his father, Scott, John, and Virgil.

Pushing his door open, he quietly shut it and took in a sigh of relief. The eighteen-year-old couldn’t help but chuckle at himself. He felt like he was ten again sneaking food from the kitchen.

His head pounded once more, quickly reminding him why he needed to be so stealthy. Alan walked into his bathroom and opened a storage drawer. His blue eyes immediately latching onto the meds he needed, ever thankful he had a stash for such occasions.

Grabbing a couple of the pills, he made his way to his nightstand as he opened a new water bottle. Downing the drugs and several gulps of water, Alan laid back on his bed, allowing his eyes to close for a few seconds…. Just a few….

“Alan!” somebody shook him.

Alan opened his groggy eyes, puzzled. “Alan?” Scott called, concerned. Where had Scott come from?

Scott placed a soothing arm along Alan’s shoulder. “Allie, you with me?”

“Scott, what?” Alan asked, confused. He just closed his eyes, hadn’t he?

“Hey, buddy,” Scott smiled, but the worry was visible across his features. “You missed lunch. Gordon said you had a headache and to leave you be, but it’s not like you to sleep the day away. Are you feeling okay?”

Alan slowly pushed himself up from his bed and leaned against his headboard. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I’m okay.”

Scott watched him suspiciously. “I don’t know, Allie. You look kind of pale. Maybe Virgil should check you o-“

The emergency klaxon blared across their watches and the house, immediately stealing the words from Scott’s mouth.

Scott stood but looked back at his baby brother with concern once more as the teen moved slowly from the bed. “Alan, maybe you should sit this one out.”

“I’m fine, Scott,” Alan said, shoving his eldest brother out of the way and rushing toward command and control.

“Alan….” Scott continued behind him.

“Scott, I’m fine! I’m only tired from our late night, and my headache caught me off guard. I’m good now,” Alan uttered in frustration. “Just drop it, okay.”

“Alright, but if you start feeling unwell, you better say something,” Scott ordered as they entered the command room.

Alan’s only response was a dangerous glare toward his oldest sibling.

“What do we have, John?” Jeff asked as he met his second eldest’s image before him.

“Northwest Passage just north of Alaska. A cargo ship carrying metallurgical coal has run into trouble. Coast Guard is unable to assist due to another ship underrun,” John reported.

“Is Thunderbird 4 needed?”

“Affirmative, but it is rough seas as an early winter storm has ravaged the area. They’re hoping we can repair the ship,” John added, a layer of annoyance seeping through his voice. “I explained we are more interested in human lives than the precious cargo.”

Jeff smirked in understanding. “F.A.B. Notify the crew we are on our way. Alan and Gordon, you’re with Virgil, and I’m riding with you boys this time. This mission looks like it will require all hands on deck.”

“F.A.B,” his sons each echoed.

Nodding to Brains, Jeff stood inside his portrait. “Thunderbirds Are Go!”

-TB-

Thunderbird 4 dipped into the rocky water with ease. The yellow sub was heading straight for the penetrated ship’s underbelly. “What do you see Thunderbird Four?” Jeff’s voice spoke in Gordon’s ear. Gordon had been sent to investigate the ship's damage while Virgil and Alan went aboard the vessel to persuade the workers onto the rescue platform.

Gordon whistled as his ‘bird’s light illuminated the damage. A large, jagged hole stretched at least a foot of the ship’s belly. “I’m good, but not that good, Thunderbird Two. The damage is too extensive. She’s a lost cause.”

“F.A.B. John notify the Captain it’s time to abandon the ship. Scott, see if you can help steady the ship with a line and coordinate with John. Virgil, Alan, get those workers aboard before she sinks,” Jeff ordered. “Gordon, see if you can help slow the process. Any time you can buy us will be an immense help.”

“F.A.B, Thunderbird 2,” Gordon responded and began analyzing his situation. This was going to be fun...

-TB-

“Sir, I understand your frustration, but there is nothing more we can do for your ship. You must disembark. Your ship will sink,” John explained, trying to hold in his frustration.

“That is unacceptable!” Captain Sterns yelled. “You’re International Rescue. You’re supposed to be able to do anything!”

John looked pointedly at the image of his older brother to the left of him. When the man refused to accept John’s words, the field commander joined the line providing support for his space-bound brother. “We appreciate that sentiment, Captain, but even we have our limits,” Scott responded, taking a deep breath.

“I have a shipment full of coal that my boss is expecting to arrive in Europe. What am I supposed to tell him? I can’t just leave it!”

“I’m afraid that’s exactly what you’re going to have to do. Your crew’s lives are more important,” Scott demanded.

“I can’t!” the Captain’s voice shouted across the line once more. “I’ll be fired!”

“We can’t work miracles!” Scott screamed back.

“Scott!” John admonished. “Captain Sterns, with all due respect, you are running out of time. Our operative in Thunderbird Four is currently trying to give us more time, but even that won’t be much. You must get your men off that ship now! For the sake of their lives and our operatives who are risking their lives to save yours. You must see reason in that.”

“You called us for help,” Scott added, finding his calm. “Please let us do our job.”

The Captain remained silent on the line before emitting a long sigh. “Fine, we will leave.”

“Thank you, Captain,” John acknowledged. “We will begin to load your men aboard our craft immediately. Please make your way to the deck now. Our operatives will be waiting for you.”

“Understood,” Captain Sterns responded and closed the line.

John quickly turned back to the image of his older brother before him. “What the hell, Scott! What was that?”

“I’m sorry, John. I shouldn’t have lost it like that.”

“You’re just lucky Dad wasn’t on the line,” John said, shaking his head. “I better report to him. I’ll be sure to keep your incident out of the conversation.”

Scott nodded in appreciation. “Thanks, John.”

“You owe me,” the blonde exhaled.

“I know. Just add it to my list.”

-TB-

Alan helped Virgil load another round onto the rescue platform as a burst of cold water surrounded them. “Go! I’ll stay down here with them,” he yelled across the com as the boat swayed side to side.

Virgil hesitated but nodded as he shut the door to the platform and initiated the mechanism that rose them into the belly of Thunderbird 2. Once aboard the green Thunderbird, Virgil led them to the safety of the cargo hold. He provided thermal blankets to those who needed them before heading back to the platform for what he hoped was the last round of crew members.

The sea was anything but a friend right now. Fierce northerly crisp winds sliced across the area, each new gust rocking the doomed ship at a sickening pace. Each minute the engineer could tell the ship was sinking lower and lower into the ocean.

Heading back down the platform, he watched Alan as he helped a crew member up who had fallen on the floor deck as another wave violently splashed aboard. Fifteen crew members were remaining, including the somewhat disgruntled Captain.

The rescue platform came to a halt. Virgil opened the door and nodded to Alan. “Alright, let’s get the last of you on here, and we’ll have you warm and secure.”

Most of the crew members were agreeable. They were cold and tired and ready to be anywhere else. Captain Sterns, however, continued to hope they could help him transport part of his shipment.

“Sir, we must go.” Virgil heard Alan tell the older man, who reluctantly climbed aboard the platform. Virgil patted Alan along the back as he helped his baby brother into the platform and lifted them toward Thunderbird 2.

“You’re soaked, kiddo,” Virgil said, nudging his little brother.

“Yea,” Alan sighed as he noticed the water collecting around his boots. “You’re not much better.”

“We’ll have to change once we have the passengers secured,” Virgil realized. “Don’t need either one of us catching a cold, huh?”

Alan smiled but didn’t respond as the bay door sealed below them. Stepping forward, the youngest Tracy opened the gate to the platform and helped escort the remaining crew to the holding area while Virgil informed their father they were secure.

Captain Sterns grabbed his arm as the teen prepared to head toward his brother. “Kid, there’s plenty of room to store a few loads of my shipment. It’ll only take us a few minutes to load it onto your platform. It’ll be easy, I promise.”

Alan shook his head, trying to hide his dislike for the man. The guy didn’t know how to take no for an answer. “Sir, we can’t do that. Now, please just take a seat, and we’ll arrive in Prudhoe Bay in no time.”

Captain Sterns clenched his fists in anger and reached inside his jacket. Before Alan knew it, he felt the cold metal of a gun forced against his back, as the Captain grabbed his left arm forcefully. “We aren’t leaving without it. My life depends on it and now so does yours.”

TBC…

[notgonnarememberthis]

find your way (back to me) - chapter ten

God, I have been SO EXCITED for this chapter. BIG praise to Em who helped me get through little hooks and finding Martin’s voice. Honestly they are crazy talented and have such a grasp for his tone and movements they’re such a big help to me and I love my best friend so damn much ok. 

Anyways!! I wanted to send this out after tonight’s ep but I have yet to watch it. I was out with my sister helping her get over a sad spell so I unfortunately missed it live and won’t be able to watch until tomorrow so I would love to avoid spoilers. Thank y’all so much!! Hope y’all enjoy the update!

Gil opens the door to the morgue, Edrisa looks up from the body with a small nod but her normal smile isn’t quite there. Malcolm stands beside her shifting from side to side. He raises an eyebrow but says nothing. JT lingers in the corner of the room, jaw set. “Ready?”

This presentation feels heavier than most. It doesn’t help either he or Malcolm that they both had to reluctantly leave the apartment so early in the morning. Ainsley remained behind, having called in a few favors to work from his place at least until the case was solved. Still, he worries. They both do.

“Yes,” Edrisa breathes, settling into the motions. “Cause of death was the slit throat. There were traces of tranquilizer in the victim, that might be how he was transferred from place to place. The state of the body suggests he’s been dead for a day.”

“He was alive an entire week. Our killer waited. He waited until mother was out of the hospital.” He’s already agitated, it’s not good.

“He wasn’t killed in Mrs. Whitly’s home. He was transported post mortem.”

“We can assume our killer has completely unraveled. This kill goes completely off M.O.”

“He’s desperate.” Gil agrees. 

“Has she remembered anything yet?” Gil turns to where JT is standing.

“No.” Malcolm sighs, “She’s going through dissociative amnesia. Ainsley did after…” He gestures, it’s enough for them to understand. “Honestly, I hope she doesn’t.”

“You do?” The question isn’t meant as a harm but he sees Malcolm flinch. There’s a flash of guilt on JT’s face but Malcolm waves him off before he can apologize.

“From an investigative standing? I would. It would certainly help narrow it down.” He shakes his head, like trying to rid of a thought that was too much even for him. “But after Ainsley remembered? She completely shut down. She looked right past us and it tore my mother up.” Gil remembers that. The blank stare lasted for hours before she finally broke down. It was Jessica who finally got her out of it, playing with her hair and singing her a lullaby. “I don’t want that for her.”

Edrisa places a gentle hand on his shoulder, and to Malcolm’s credit rather than flinching away he subtly leans into the touch.

“Did we find out any more about Freddy?” The question seems to bring a new heaviness to the room. Edrisa and Malcolm share a look, one that tells they know something that hasn’t been spoken quite yet.

“We found an ID card on the inside of his jacket.” Edrisa grabs a baggie with the ID badge inside passing it to Gil. “He was a student volunteer at Claremont Psychiatric.”

“Claremont? You think-”

“We don’t know if he has any connection to the surgeon.” Malcolm’s eyes fall to the body. “But I’ve seen him around. It was only in passing but he was nice. Always smiled when I passed.”

“Does Jess know?”

“No. But it gets worse.”

“Worse?” Malcolm bobs his head before straightening, trying to summon every ounce of professionalism he has to ignore the warring feelings.

“Freddy’s full name is Francisco Garcia. When mom was delivering her statement to the police she said Freddy helped tie the tourniquet on her leg. That his mom is a trauma surgeon.” Gil’s face sinks, coming to the same conclusion. Jessica’s doctor that had been helping in the investigation, Dr. Garcia. “Agent Swanson is on her way to the hospital to confirm our findings. But we’re almost certain it’s Dr. Garcia’s son.”

“Did she know he was missing?”

“My guess? No. He was a med student and a volunteer. He probably went weeks at a time without checking in.” Gil runs a hand through his beard. Even thinking about telling Jessica was ripping him apart. She’d connected well with her doctor, it helped that she was a friendly woman. But Jessica will want to help with funeral expenses, help the family financially for whatever they need. There’s no way he can get past telling her.

A ringtone startles them out of the somber silence. Malcolm reaches into his pocket, eyebrows furrowing when he reads the caller ID. “Ains?” His anxious movements stop as his eyes meet Gil’s “What’s wrong?” He can barely make out the sound of crying coming from the phone “What do you mean she’s gone?” Gil sucks in a breath. Gone could mean too many things. “It’s ok. Is her phone still there?” He waits with a fearful beat. “That’s good. She might have left on her own. I’m going to go see if I can track her phone. Have Dani drive you here and we’ll find her ok?”

Malcolm hangs up and he looks ready to throw something. It’s Edrisa who slips the phone out of his hand before he decides to do just that. He clenches his hand taking a deep breath before speaking.

“My mother is gone.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jessica’s eyes open to the sound of her phone chiming followed shortly by the sound of the front door shutting. From the light pouring into the bedroom she would guess its at least the afternoon. Sleeping in Gil’s bed made it easier to chase away the nightmares and if she did wake up his presence was enough to soothe her. Listening to his slow breathing lulled her back to sleep eventually, too exhausted for another nightmare.

She picks up her phone, squinting as the light hits her face.

Work emergency. Will be back soon, order takeout and have them give it to George.

So it was Ainsley she heard leaving. She sits up carefully pulling her hair up out of her face. Her phone chimes again

And don’t leave!!

She bites her tongue staring at her bags in the corner of the room. Gil and Malcolm carried all that she’d need for the stay for at least a week. The memories of last night hang over her head precariously, like a rope ready to snap.

She takes her medicine with the glass of water on the nightstand.

Her eyes fall on the shirt from last night. Gil had her change when they arrived and, truthfully, it helped her feel lighter. Yet the note in the pocket still weighs on the back of her mind. There was only one possible way he’d know how she took her tea. It was such a small detail even Malcolm, at his age, wouldn’t remember much less Ainsley. She’d stopped drinking tea for a while after his arrest. It took her years before she found a blend she liked again.

Nobody should know that.

And yet.

Jessica rubs her eyes, dread threatening to push her down into the covers where it was safe and warm again. The thoughts taste foul as she files through. She needs to go see Martin, he’s the only one with the answers. If Gil knew there would be no chance he’d let her go anywhere near Claremont, for perfectly good reasons. Hell, if Malcolm and Ainsley knew they wouldn’t let her out of her sight. Ainsley will only be gone for a short bit, if her texts are accurate.

Now is her only chance.

Getting dressed takes slower than she’s happy with. The pull makes her breath catch in her throat more than a few times. She eyes the wheelchair next to the bed for a moment. She knows the doctor’s order, but around Martin showing weakness at all is a loss. It gives him control of the conversation.

Giving him any sort of control is the last thing she wanted.

She gathers herself, dressed as she normally would. She uses makeup to cover what she can. However some of the scrapes are still so sore that she doesn’t bother. She grabs the note, giving herself a few beats to change her mind and stay. Finally, when she deems herself ready she sweeps out into the living room, opening the front door doing her best annoyed mother tone.

Her eyes settle on the officer patrolling, ready to put on the performance of her life. “Will you drive me to Claremont? My son insists that I shouldn’t be left alone and he’s visiting his father.”

“Sure thing Mrs. Whitly.” The officer, George, grins at her.

“Wonderful.”

The ride there is silent. She practices what she will say in her head over and over. Not that any amount of practice will prepare her to speak to Martin again. It only gets worse as she’s escorted through the halls. She can feel his presence long before she reaches his cell; it’s choking, a cavern that threatens to swallow her and her entire family whole.

“Jessica!” He gasps as she steps in, like he hadn’t known she’d be coming. The shock doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Mr. David didn’t mention you’d be visiting today. I’ve got to say, you’ve looked better.” He gestures vaguely, talking about the scratches on her that she couldn’t cover with makeup. She’s just thankful that she could cover the bruises. “I thought for sure that our children, Malcolm especially, would have you on lockdown. Though, I suppose that never stopped you before.”

She bites the remark that’s on the tip of her tongue. If she wants answers she’ll have to appeal to him. “Malcolm is on the case, Ainsley had some kind work emergency and had to leave.”

He tuts, tilting his head. “Sneaking out? Giving them a taste of their own medicine, huh?” He straightens, narrowing his eyes oh so slightly. “Now don’t tell me you visited just to chat. Not that I’m complaining but come on, I would have put on my good cardigan.”

“No.” He purses his lips at her rejection, but doesn’t interrupt. “Last night there was a body in the kitchen-”

“Someone broke into our home?” My home. She aches for the rebuttal but the answers are too important and she doesn’t have enough time before Ainsley realizes she isn’t there. She will text Malcolm and he’ll no doubt pull every resource he has to find her here, of all places. So she sets her jaw.

“There was a note on my nightstand when I woke up next to a cup of tea that said, just how you like it.” His brows furrow before an understanding washes over him. She thinks, just for a moment.

“Classic stalker behavior.” He shrugs. “Who knows how long he’s been watching you.” She swallows, the thought making her heart freeze. His aloof behavior is betrayed by the years of visits between him and their son. He knows. “And where was the Lieutenant?”

The question scratches her world to a deadly halt. All of the anger at what had happened; the days she was trapped, the injustice of Freddy’s death, her family being threatened. All of it topples over with the words he meant as a knife to her most cherished relationship other than her children.

“Wouldn’t he be there to protect you?”

“Malcolm was.” Darkness washes over him and she watches all the fake humanity drain from his eyes. Barely contained rage makes the room feel colder. She doesn’t allow herself the step backwards that would make her feel more comfortable. “Malcolm was asleep in the chair in the corner of the room.”

“Malcolm was there?”

“Of course he was there! You know Malcolm! He wouldn’t fucking leave let alone sleep in a different room!” She lets out a shuddering breath. “He wouldn’t- he can’t-” Her words jumble and anger is making her shake painfully. Her core aches and she is almost certain if she doesn’t calm down she’ll accidentally pull stitches. “He was in my home. He was in the goddamn kitchen. He was in my room where we were sleeping!” Martin tilts his head, it’s the disapproving tilt. One that she’s seen hundreds of times when a curse slipped out in front of Malcolm or Ainsley when they were so young. He always hated when she cussed. “Malcolm, god he was so tired he didn’t even stir when I woke up.” She can feel the tears coming down but she’s hopeless to stop them now. She’s in an absolute spiral. “God knows how long he was there. How many times he walked past Malcolm. It could’ve been Malcolm.”

The last words are an almost incoherent sob. She had come here, every intention of holding her ground. And here she is having a fucking panic attack in front of her serial killer ex husband. A bitter laugh escapes her.

“It could’ve been Malcolm.” She repeats. “And every time I remember I don’t see that poor boy’s face. I see Malcolm’s. Our son.”

A hand reaches out stroking the tears from her cheek. It takes her far too long to connect the touch to Martin. “Jessie-”

She rips herself away the second her mind connects the dots. The sudden movement causes a new wave of pain. She curses again leaning against the furthest wall to regain her self control. “Stop!” She shouts, getting the attention of Mr. David. “Stop acting like you fucking care.” It hurts too much. She feels like she’s going to stop breathing at any second. When he looks at her with that much sympathy it’s too much. It reminds her of being hunched in the bathroom, morning sickness taking a toll on her. He stayed with her, holding her hair. That sympathy is not only fake, it’s toxic. Another way to gain control.

“That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?” She snaps. “You know. You know who it is and you let us be hurt by him. What did you do Martin? What the fuck did you do?” The room holds impossibly still for what feels like an eternity. He heaves a sigh, defeated.

“Lieutenant Arroyo wasn’t the first to catch me.” The words stop her in her tracks. She watches him warily, not trusting a single word he says. “I never met him, but I received a call, a year or two before.” Her stomach sinks, the year or two before was when she’d noticed his growing absence. “He had connected me to a missing woman, able to pin me at her last seen location.” She swallows, realizing he isn’t moving. No shifting head, wild gesturing movements. It’s the truth. “He wanted money.”

“Oh god.”

“I told you I was funding a project at the hospital. Every month I would send him money for his silence.” She holds her breath. “When I got arrested the money stopped, but the calls didn’t.”

“What.”

“He would threaten Malcolm and Ainsley. He was a belligerent drunk. From what I could gather after he lost that money he lost everything, wife divorced him and took the kids. He drank to forget.” He twists his shoulders back, fixing his posture. “I helped him again. Got him into rehab. From what I could tell, he got his life back together.”

“And became a serial killer.”

“Well not all of us can be perfect, Jessie.” He continues with a shrug, “Never got the wife back but found his faith in religion. Not to keen on it myself but to each their own.”

“Where is he now?”

“From last I heard? He got his job back.”

Just like that the world stops spinning. Her pain makes way for horrific clarity. The black clothes with the covered badges. Malcolm and Gil’s frustration over his ability to get in and out of the park despite there being patrols all over the city. How he got into her home without alerting anyone. “He’s a cop.”

“Yes.”

Anxiety clamps down on her stomach. The man has been right there all along. None of them had even suspected. Hell, it could’ve been the man that drove her here. She suddenly, ironically feels herself not wanting to leave. She can’t seem to move. Her feet feel too heavy. Her mind and body aching from overexertion. 

“Jessica?” She hears Martin call to her but she feels too far away to respond. Only the wall behind her is holding her up. “Jessie.” The annoyance laced in his tone exacerbated as she hears the door to the hallway slide open. “Jess!” Panic.

The door opens beside her and Malcolm and Ainsley step in, looking equally alarmed and agitated. Their eyes fall on her, and she sees the color strip from their faces. Malcolm is on her in a second, hands holding her up by her elbows. She must look too pale because he looks like he’s ready for her to faint.

Ainsley, on the other hand, whips around to Martin, eyes accusatory. “What the fuck did you do to her?” She should stop her, a part of her thinks. Yet she still doesn’t move. It’s Mr. David who grabs Ainsley by the middle pulling her back over the red line towards safety. Whether it’s her own or Martin’s she’s not entirely sure.

“Mom. Hey, mom. Look at me.” She does. “We gotta go. Ok?” No, they can’t. It’s not safe. How did they get here? “Gil’s waiting outside. They wouldn’t let him in, but he’s going to take us back.” She relaxes a little. She needs to warn them about the cop. She needs to. But she feels lightheaded and her heels are far too unstable. “I got you, it’s ok.” And he smiles, that gentle smile when he swears that everything will be alright. “Ains, come on.”

She’s braced on both sides by her kids as she walks out with Martin shouting behind them.

[justjessame]

Starting Over Chapter 39

I woke up wrapped in the security of Bucky’s arms - and wearing my nightclothes which I have to admit took a few extra beats to catch up to remembering the cause - but his lips were on mine and it didn’t matter why.  Nightclothes, late nights, even gunshot victims sleeping their pain meds off on our couch didn’t matter - not when Bucky was kissing me awake.  

“Brooke!,” the tiny voice that called my name had both mine and Bucky’s eyes snapping open and widening. “Buck kissed you up like Rora in Sleepin’ Beauty.” And then a round of toddler giggles that had both of us pulling away with what I had to think was a silent prayer of gratitude for our fucking nightclothes.  

There, with her tiny chin propped on Bucky’s side of our bed and her dark eyes staring up at us, was Bryn.  And now that we were WIDE awake, I could hear voices downstairs - and if I wasn’t completely fucking insane - I was hearing MORE than just Connie and Sharon’s.  

While I kept Bryn occupied, Bucky slid out of my side of the bed.  A three year old does NOT need to see what Bucky Barnes is packing early in the morning, trust me.  I pulled her up into the bed with me and grabbed the remote to the TV.

“What do you want to watch?”  After putting it on her favorite early morning cartoon, I settled back against the headboard and smiled when I realized that Byrn had compared Bucky to a prince.  “Bryn?”  She hummed and I slid my fingers through her loose curls.  “What’s the prince’s name in Sleeping Beauty?”

“Phillip.” It didn’t come from Bryn.  It came from the doorway and a very masculine voice.  I glanced over to where Bucky stood, fully dressed now and I grinned with a raised eyebrow.  “What? She told me while we were talking about her dolls and our tea party.”  

I nodded and he came over to join us.  “Did you do any recon?”  He snorted.  “What would you call it? Super sneaky Winter Soldier ninja snooping?”  

Shaking his head, he kissed me again.  “I did.”  He sighed.  “Sam, Chris, Carrie, Connie, and Sharon.”  I knew my eyes were wide enough to be in threat of falling out of my head, but for fuck’s sake.  “Come on, Bryn,” he held out his arms and she hopped up and jumped into them.  “Let’s go downstairs and see if we can get some breakfast ready for Brooke while she gets ready for the day.”  

I contemplated staying in bed.  Our house had been invaded - and while I’d sworn that I’d answer my phone and door, I hadn’t been given the OPTION of answering - they’d just barged right the fuck in.  Giving myself about five minutes to stew and wallow, I finally rolled out of bed and grabbed some clothes to toss on.  A stop in the bathroom to brush my hair and my teeth and then downstairs to meet the invaders.

They were in the kitchen - ALL of them.  Gathered around the table and island, watching as Bucky worked on another omelet - omelets I corrected as I came in and moved closer to him.  Sam was drinking coffee, and I almost asked where he’d gotten it since he was drinking out of one of my mugs, but then I noticed that someone had started up my parents’ coffee maker.  I hadn’t tossed it out, of course I also didn’t buy coffee for it - Connie shook her head and nodded toward the bags of groceries that she’d clearly put away before we woke up.

“Morning,” I greeted our guests, “everyone.” Started strong, but the landing left something to be desired.  “To what do we owe this -”

“Well,” Connie came over and wrapped her arm around my neck.  “I knew that you probably hadn’t had a chance to go shopping for groceries since you got back.” Whispering very quietly in my ear that she knew exactly WHY I hadn’t and she APPROVED of why.  “I thought I’d do a run while Bryn and I were out -”

“We saw how much she grabbed and -” Chris volunteered, grins growing.  Such good samaritans and great friends.   “We couldn’t let her struggle.  She had her own stuff, yours, AND Bryn.”  

Carried piped up, “we stopped by her house and dropped hers off first.  When we got here, Sam had just arrived.”  She was beaming - and why not?  She just met the new Captain America, after all.  

“Since I have a key for emergencies,” Connie finished the tale with a shrug.  

I nodded.  “You have a key for emergencies and groceries are an emergency.”  Bucky’s shoulders were shaking, and I knew he was enjoying this shit immensely.  “And letting Captain America in - I mean, I’m sure he made it sound like it was an emergency.”  

Sam was taking a drink when I said it and he snorted, spewing coffee just a bit.  “Don’t make it sound like I was being all sneaky or something, Brooke.” He sputtered.  

I raised an eyebrow and reached for one of my tea towels.  Tossing it to him, I waited while he cleaned up.  “It’s broad daylight, I highly doubt you were being sneaky, Sam.”  He nodded.  “So?” 

“So?”  Confusion glowed on his face. 

“The reason for your visit?”  

“Ah,” I shook my head as realization dawned on his face.  “Sarah -” shit the print, but he went on.  “She and I wanted to invite you and Bucky to a celebration back home.”  

They were planning on a huge party in Delacroix - and for good reason - hometown boy makes VERY good.  And now that they weren’t selling the boat, or house, I could see why they’d want to have a party. Bucky glanced at me over his shoulder, wanting my input on whether we should go or not, but in this instance the ball was in his court.  

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, plating our breakfast - for all eight of us - and lining them up on the island for us to carry into the dining room.  “We’ll drive down.”

“Drive?”  Sam was curious, carrying his plate and refilled cup of coffee into the dining room.  “Renting a car instead of flying?”  

We settled around the table and I shook my head when Bucky moved to sit at one of the sides.  “Head, Bucky.”  His eyes went wide, but I stood firm.  OUR house, and he was the man of it.  Everyone waited to tuck in until he sat, and then I took my seat.  “Yes, drive, Sam.”  I smiled across the table at Bucky, who was staring at me like he was amazed by me again.  “We like to take our time - Bucky and me.”  That got a few chuckles, but then everyone took a bite of their food and suddenly no one was laughing - because once again they were surprised by Bucky Barnes.  

Our guests didn’t stay too long.  Bryn understood that it wasn’t the day for our tea party, since she hadn’t brought along any princesses for it.  I watched as Bucky got down on his knee to have a long conversation with her - privately, they told the rest of us, and I smiled when she hugged him tight at the end of it.  

“I think Bucky has a fan,” Sam was beside me, watching Bryn with Bucky.  “Seeing him like this -”

I felt my smile growing. I loved hearing anyone’s tone change to reflect them seeing him in a new light.  “You think this is the Bucky that Steve knew, don’t you?”  He hummed an affirmative.  “It is,” I bit my lip as Buck turned, his gaze meeting mine.  “He’s always been there, Sam.  Just took him a little longer to surface than he expected.”  Bucky came closer to include me in Bryn’s goodbye hug, and got me to promise her that sleepover too, despite my misgivings.  A kiss to her soft cheek and she was handed off to Connie.  

“We’ll let you two get back to -” I rolled my eyes as Connie waggled her eyes in her attempt at being suggestive.  “Bye, Brookie.” She was grinning when she gave Bucky his own parting, then Chris and Carrie gave us a less gregarious, but no less friendly goodbye, leaving just Sharon and Sam behind.  

“And then there were two,” I murmured, getting a chuckle from Bucky, coupled with a soft sigh.  

“I heard that,” Sam offered, carrying a stack of dirty dishes to the kitchen and shooting Sharon a dirty look when she hissed while she tried to grab some to help.  “Sit your wounded ass down.”  

She glared at him, but with a hand on her side, complied.  “Hey,” I got her attention and tilted my head toward the hall bathroom.  “Want me to have a peek at your bandage?”  

“Do you have -” she bit her lip, and I nearly laughed at her conundrum.  Does she insult me by asking if I have first aid experience after I gave her clothing and a roof over her head or does she humor me?  

“I took some classes,” I assured her.  “My parents liked to make sure all the bases were covered.”  Helping her carefully to her feet, I got her to the bathroom where one of the many family first aid kits lived.  Opening it up and setting it on the countertop, I saw her eyes widen.  “I told you - my parents liked to keep the bases covered.”  Our first aid kits weren’t something you bought at a local pharmacy or online.  “Mom was an RN,” I gestured for her to take her place on the toilet seat again.  “She made sure to keep me up to date on my safety classes.”  Every CPR class, first aid requirement, and anything else she imagined a layperson might need - she signed me up for.  I helped Sharon with the loose shirt Bucky had grabbed out of my drawer, and smiled at the wrapping the ER had put on her wound.  “Good news,” I bent down and took a closer look.  “You haven’t started bleeding through the packing and wraps, so I don’t have to rewrap you.” She sighed and I chuckled.  “Damn it,” I glanced up to see her looking down at me wearily.  “I kind of hoped to use you for practice.”  

She shook her head and a tiny smile threatened to creep onto her lips.  “It hurts like hell though.”  She started to pull the shirt back into place.  “Gonna make getting back on the road a trial,” I was just opening my mouth to tell her she didn’t have to rush when she stopped me.  “Thank you, Brooke, for your and Bucky’s generosity and hospitality, but trust me, I should go - and soon.”  

I nodded, standing up to help her to her feet.  She was taller than me, just like every other person in my life.  “Take my number,” I watched as she pulled a phone from her pocket and I rattled off the number while she tapped it into the contacts.  “If you need me or us -”

“Thank you,” she smiled, a small one, but I thought it might be genuine.  “Steve would have liked you.”  

“So I’ve heard,” I shook my head and put the first aid kit away.  “Do you need another change of clothes?”  Sharon wouldn’t hear of taking more from me, and insisted that she had a car coming to take her away.  “If you’re sure -”

“I am.” We left the bathroom to the sounds of Bucky and Sam in the kitchen, soft music not hiding the sounds of them bickering over how to fill the dishwasher.  “You’re going to have your hands full.”  

“Yeah, I do,” I agreed, shaking my head as I listened to the two of them, their back and forth, and thinking that they sounded more and more like brothers.  “I think they’re getting more -”

“Partners,” Sharon nodded.  “They’re a team now.”  

“Scary.” I heard a soft knock on the door and Bucky’s head appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room.  “I think -”

“It’s for me,” Sharon offered, hand back on her wound.  “Time for me to go.”  

“You sure?”  It was Sam who asked, coming up on Bucky’s left, arms crossed over his chest.  “You could stay, I could always -”

“I think you’re making enough waves, Cap.”  I bit my lip at Sharon using the nickname so soon.  “I can wait for my pardon.”  She was moving toward the living room, with me behind her in case she stumbled.  “I’ll just grab my small pile of stuff and be out of your way.”  She grabbed her clothes - the ones she’d changed out of and turned to find me waiting at a close distance.  “Hovering?  That’s a very Steve Rogers trait, Brooke.”  I rolled my eyes.  “I’ll be fine,” she assured me, moving her hand from the bandaged side and sighing.  “Keep those two out of trouble.”

“Yeah, right.”  I muttered, opening my arms, thinking what the hell - a hug was warranted.  She allowed it, awkward though it was.  “Stay safe, Sharon.”  

“I’ll try.” She murmured. “You too, ok?”  

I nodded and then she pulled away.  I busied myself with the living room while she said her goodbyes to Sam and Bucky, thinking that less was more in the case of Sharon Carter leaving our house.  I had just folded up the blanket and put it with the pillow when I heard the front door open and close.  

“And then there was one,” Bucky murmured, wrapping his arms around me.  “What do you think the chances are that Sam goes home to prepare for the celebration and lets us follow behind?”

“Slim and none,” Sam offered, leaning against the archway between the living room and the entryway.  “Sarah doesn’t need me to plan a party, and I have a couple loose ends to tie up here in NYC, so -”

“Don’t put away the blanket and pillow, Brooke,” Bucky kissed my cheek.  “The couch has a new guest.”

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Leave No One Behind Ch9: Doctor’s Orders Part 1

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Hannah has a cold and of course Ari takes it upon himself to look after her. Once that little obstacle is out of the way trouble finds them once again on the morning of her birthday…and hell breaks loose at the Red Sea Diving Resort.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode:  Mr Blue Sky by ELO 

A/N: This chapter is going to be split into a number of parts, posting over the next few days. A lot happening here. It ran away with us a little bit! Hope you enjoy, we’re proud of this one!!!

Series Master List //  Main Masterlist 

Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race. A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin', and today is the day we've waited for.

Ari woke early the next morning and he immediately could sense something wasn't right. For starters Simon wasn't curled on his head, not that he was complaining but it felt quite strange to feel him at the end of the bed and not all over the pillow. Speaking of the pillow, he noticed Hannah's head wasn't on it, right next to his, even before he opened his eyes. Why couldn't he hear her breathing? And what was that other noise? Just with that thought he bolted his eyes open only to find Hannah sat up in bed, coughing.

Shit.

His eyes quickly roamed the room. It was still dark outside but he could just make out her bare back as she was sat up, her knees bent to her chest as she tried to stifle the coughs in the palm of her right hand.

"Hey, you ok?" Ari asked with his sleepy voice before clearing his throat.

 Hannah nodded in response but continued to cough as she did so.

Ari shifted on the bed and sat up, gently moving so he could see her, ignoring Simon's grumble as he was jolted from his position by his feet from where he was watching Hannah, again. Ari glared at him. He and that dog were going to need to set some ground rules. Well basically just one; no grumbling at him while on his fucking bed. 

He heard Hannah chuckle softly at Simon's reaction and he reached out to rub her back. Damnit, she was warm to the touch, so he moved again to lay the back of his hand against her cheek.

"You’re hot, Firefly."

"There’s a joke in there somewhere, Lobo." she mumbled before breaking into a hacking coughing fit again. "Fuck, I feel like shit Ari."

 She definitely sounded like shit too.

"Let me get you some water." Ari offered before hopping out of bed. He found his shorts and threw them on and then he headed over to the small dresser where there were a couple of bottles. He grabbed one with a swift movement and brought it back to her, twisting off the cap. Hannah took a drink under Ari's watchful eye, spluttering a little as she coughed again but she managed to drink half of it before she handed it back. "You must have gotten a cold." He smiled sympathetically at her.

"Or some random tropical disease." she coughed again, just before sneezing.

"Nope. You got soaked in the rain yesterday." he stated, a little smug at the memory of her wet clothes sticking to her body.

"I’m the doctor not you." she managed to state between coughs and then looked at him. "Besides, you don’t get colds from getting wet Ari, it’s a virus."

Ari chuckled while rubbing her back softly. "Alright, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Drugs, Ari. I need some paracetamol and whatever else we have in the kit." Ari saw her scrunch her nose and she groaned. "Fuck."

"What?"

"The medical kit is in the office." she rasped. "I’ll go fetch it sweetheart. You stay here." Ari offered, happy to be of use and take the reins. "I can’t Ari, I need to get back to my hut before anyone sees me…" and with that she set into another load of coughing and sneezing "...or hears me for that matter."

Ari pondered for a few seconds, noticing she was right as the first rays of sun were beginning to sweep through the window. "Then I’ll take you to your room and then I’ll go get the stuff."

 She nodded "Can you pass me my dress?"

Ari picked it up from the back of the chair but turned to look at her "Babe, it’s still damp." and she groaned.

"Hang on…" he said before Hannah watched him disappear in the bathroom only to emerge from it a few seconds later with a towel in his hands "Wrap yourself in that for the time being."

"Yeah, cos that’s not gonna look suspicious."

"This whole thing is gonna look suspicious, Han. Stop being a pain in the ass and do as you're told." the natural leader in him commanded.

Grumbling, she took the towel, stood up and wrapped it around her before taking a shaky step. "Jesus."

"You ok?" Ari asked as he threw his shirt on.

 "Just dizzy." Hannah replied as she stood put and rubbed her temples.

Ari rounded the bed concerned and in a quick movement hooked one arm under her legs, the other round her back beneath her shoulders. He was sure she was going to protest at the sudden movement and change of position but she gave a little sigh instead and relaxed into his arms, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder and Ari thought that was clearly testament to how ill she was. 

He made his way to the door with Hannah in his arms and clicked his fingers at Simon who followed him.  He opened the door with one hand, peeking out and once he had checked the coast was clear he quickly and quietly made his way to her hut. He was praying to God and all the saints he didn't run into someone because, honestly, he had no fucking idea how he was gonna be able to explain him carrying a semi-naked Hannah bridal style from his hut to hers.

Once he had reached Hannah's hut he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath and letting relief wash over him before he set her gently on the bed. 

"That's it, sweetheart. Want me to tuck you in?"

Hannah glared at him and he smiled innocently whilst she rolled her eyes "Just pass me a cami and a pair of sleep shorts from the drawer."

He headed over and did as he was told, gently dropping her clothes onto the bed next to her.

"Can you manage or…" he asked, hands on his hips and nodding to the items of clothing.

This time Hannah smiled at his concerned face "You’re the expert at getting me undressed Ari, I’ll manage the other way round just fine."

He chuckled "Ok, I’ll be back in a moment."

Ari left her to it and headed to the main area. Once there he tried not to warn anyone of his presence by bumping into furniture as it was still fairly dark in that part of the resort. He carefully went into the office and turned on the light, locating the medical bag immediately and searched for the meds Hannah had asked for. Just a few seconds later he jumped out of his skin when he heard Max's voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Jesus, Max. You scared the shit out of me?" he hissed, trying to buy some time to come up with a feasible excuse.

Max chuckled and then nodded to the box of pills. "You ok?"

"Just a headache. Needed some paracetamol." he said casually, avoiding visual contact with Max and looking at the pills in his hands instead.

Next thing he knew Max was handing him the water bottle in his hand. "Here I’ll get another."

And of course then he had to be watching him so Ari had to take 2 of the damned tablets himself before he managed to fob Max off, grabbing another 2 and heading back to Hannah’s hut once Max’s curiosity had been duly satisfied and he had watched him turn around and leave.

"What took you so long? Couldn't you find the bag?" Hannah blurted out when he saw him coming into her hut.

"I found something more than the bag. Don't ask." he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and handed the pills. "Here."

She frowned and sat up straight and reached for the water while he explained about his encounter with Max making Hannah chuckle and shake her head before breaking into another coughing fit.

"Are there any side effects to taking painkillers without being in pain?"

"Yeah, Lobo. Hair loss." Hannah deadpanned.

"No need for sarcasm." he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well, stop asking stupid questions." she quipped before taking the pills with a mouthful of water, wincing. “My throat feels like I’ve been swallowing glass."

"Want me to arrange for you to stay in bed all day?" Ari asked, his hand falling to her knee.

"I’ll be fine in an hour or so, besides if I stay here all day I’ll be bored and there’s stuff to do and ..." she whined.

Ari scoffed and cut her off.  "Ok let me rephrase that, I’m gonna arrange for you to stay in bed all day."

"No, Ari, like I said, it’s boring." she insisted.

"I’ll come keep you company as much as I can." he tried to bargain, knowing full well she wasn't one for following orders she deemed stupid.

"Oh yeah? And what you gonna tell the others as to why you keep sneaking in here to see me?"

"That I’m coming to check up on my teammate." he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you did with my aerobics classes…when Rachel noticed and asked why you never checked on hers?" she asked, a wicked smile on her face.

"No, that’s….I didn’t…" he sighed. "Well, can you blame me?" he asked with a whiney voice.  Hannah laughed and he smiled "You weren’t exactly being discreet, Levinson"

"Ok, look, forget about that now. I’ll figure something out." he said as he leaned over to kiss her, frowning when she pulled back.

"Yeah I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

"Yeah, good point. Although isn’t a cold contagious days before symptoms?" he cockily asked.

"Hark on you Dr Levinson."

"You know, Guy Thomas is technically a doctor, I mean he has a PHD so…" 

She laughed loudly which made her cough. "In fucking Anthropology!"

"Details…" he smiled broadly.

Hannah snorted and locked her eyes on his "You’re right though. Chances are you already got it."

Ari chuckled. "Ok, I’m gonna go for my run before everyone gets up. You gonna be ok?"

"Sure I’ll manage. I’ve lived alone for the last 4 years Ari, had plenty of colds…" Ari grimaced, he didn’t like to think about that. For some reason it made him a little upset though he knew it was illogical as she was a grown woman and a doctor nonetheless. "Just try and get some sleep. When they start asking where you are at breakfast I’ll use it as an excuse to come see you, tell them I’ll come find out."

"Make sure it’s you who comes, please." she pleaded as she got under the sheets and rested her head on the pillow.

"Of course it will be. I’m the boss, can do what I want."

She sat up again and gazed at him. 

"Don’t let Sammy come or I’m never leaving this hut again."

"Dramatic much?" he tried to joke. "I know him, he won’t let me out of bed for days." she said and Ari could read the concern in his eyes.

"Neither would I given the chance, albeit for a much different reason." he quipped cheekily, trying to brush her concern away.

His eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he saw Hannah's jaw drop. She slapped his arm and broke into a coughing fit. "You’re an asshole Ari. You can’t say that when I can’t kiss you properly."

"Then I’ll say it again when you can." he said, rubbing her thighs over the covers

"Promise?"

"Damned straight it is."

Hannah grinned before leaning back on her pillow again "Go, before I climb you like a tree and infect you with my virus."

"Now that's an image I intend to dwell in all through the day, Miss." he said before kissing her head and getting up and walking to the door. "Thing is Firefly…" and he turned to look at her, one hand on the door handle. “…you infected me 9 years ago."

"That is so lame!" she said as she threw a pillow at him "Go. Now."

He chuckled and stepped outside closing the door behind him.  Hannah then looked at the pillow and groaned. "Now I gotta pick that up."

As if on cue Simon trotted towards the pillow and flopped down on it, looking up at her.

"Ok, guess I don’t…" she shrugged

**** Ari was hoping his run would keep his mind occupied and help quiet the noise in his brain. He was worried about Hannah and though he was well aware it was probably only a cold and, yes, she was a fully trained doctor who knew exactly what she was doing, he still couldn't help but think about how poorly she had looked and sounded. 

Fuck it.

With a sigh he turned his Walkman off when he was still a mile or so away from the resort. He couldn't concentrate on what he was listening to and the headphones were constantly falling from his head due to his furious strides. He wasn't in the mood and every little thing in the universe was apparently conspiring to bug him. 

Damn, Ari. Are you listening to yourself? 

His inner voice slapping him on the back of his head was the final straw. He groaned and quickened his pace, longing for the moment the cold water in the shower would ease the stiffness he was feeling in his muscles and mind. 

"I thought you were ill." Max greeted him when he emerged in the main area after making it home and showering.

"I had a headache. Hence the painkillers. And guess what, they killed my pain. So here I am." he explained, a bit too harsh.

"Woah chill man." Max frowned as he raised both his palms as a peace gesture.

"I’m perfectly chilled." Ari huffed as he sat down on a chair.

The truth is he wasn't chilled, not even remotely. He knew there was nothing he could do and Hannah would be probably asleep once the effects of the pills had kicked in, but he was twitchy as fuck to go check on her. "You look worried Ari." Rachel stated. More as a warning of his conspicuous behaviour than as a real concern.

"Do I? Well I’m not. What’s for breakfast?" Ari asked, trying to put on a genuine smile on his face but failing considerably.

"Whatever you want. The guests don’t arrive until 11 so it's up to you what you want. There’s plenty of bread for toast and pastries in the pantry." Rachel replied, squinting her eyes at him.

"Ok, I’m gonna grab some coffee." he said as he got up, praying someone asked about Hannah soon because not only was he worried about her but also about acting cool when they would eventually ask. He wanted it over and done with as soon as possible because he didn't know how long he was going to be able to refrain from snapping at someone or something. He grabbed his coffee and then an idea came to him. He poked his head back into the main room and asked if he should throw a few rounds of toast in for everyone, knowing if he made enough there’d be some left over and they would be bound to notice one of them was missing.

An instant later Rachel came in to help. They made the first batch in silence, his mind still racing, and as the second batch was in she turned to him. 

"So, come on, don’t bullshit me Ari. What’s going on?"

"What do you mean what’s going on?" he asked back while cursing at a piece of toast that was still too hot for him to grab.

"You’re twitchy. You and Hannah had an argument already?"

"What? No…what makes you think that?" 

Rachel looked at him with that seemingly expressionless look that was yelling cut the crap and Ari sighed. It was Rachel after all, he could trust her and it would do him good to blow off some steam with someone.

"Ok, she’s ill."

Rachel frowned before asking "What do you mean? Like bad ill?"

"No, it’s a cold but she’s feeling pretty rough." he explained as he grabbed the bread from the toaster and dropped it onto the plate. He felt relief as he uttered those words, explaining what was going on to another person had really helped him realise he really shouldn’t be making a big deal out of it.

"Ah. Ok. Want me to go check on her?"

"No, I told her I would when you all realised she hadn’t shown for breakfast…" he paused and then bit his lip "Look, can…can you just maybe ask about her out there? My nerves are on edge."

Rachel smiled "Sure, good look convincing Sammy to stay away."

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that." he asked somewhat shyly.

"How?"

"You’ll figure something out."  His shy request had morphed now into a wicked smile making Rachel roll her eyes at him.

"You owe me Levinson. I don’t like lying to him, it’s not fair." she conceded but waved her index finger at him.

"You don’t have to lie to him…just don’t tell him the truth."

"Where I come from that’s called lying, Ari."

"You know what I mean, Rach." he remarked as he flashed his signature cheeky smirk at her.

"Come on man, I’m hungry." Max's voice suddenly startled them both.

Ari seized the opportunity and gave her one last pleading look at Rachel and she groaned before pointing at him again.

"Fine, let's get this over with but I mean it. You owe me, big time."

"I know, and if it's any consolation I don’t like all the sneaking around either but until Han is ready to tell Sammy there’s not much I can do." he shrugged.

"Whatever." she said, grabbing one big plate and handing it to Ari "Take the toast out there, Romeo."

They headed back out of the kitchen, carrying the communal breakfast and Ari sat back down, a bit more collected this time.

"About time, what were you doing? Baking the damned bread?" Max whined, raiding the toast plate.

"You wanna eat that toast or wear it?" Hannah cut his protests.

"Woah, easy Rachel…what’s happened this morning, why is everyone so tetchy?"

Ari looked at Rachel and she understood. The sooner they get this over with the better but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Sammy cut her off.

"Where’s Hannah?"

Everyone looked at one another for a few seconds. The only thing that could be heard being Max munching his toast. Ari tried to hold back the relieved sigh he was dying to exhale. Rachel wasn’t needed after all, he had to thank Sammy for that.

"I ain't seen her." Jake, who had been getting the matches for his tan ready, shrugged. "Or Simon actually, he’s normally here before she is…"

 "I’ll go see if everything’s ok with her." Ari offered, standing up.

 "I can go." Sammy frowned.

No. No. No. Ari froze and panicked for a few seconds and gave Rachel a meaningful look.

"Let Ari.” Rachel blurted out before pausing. "Because of Simon…you know the dog doesn’t like you, and it will only put you in a bad mood if he starts growling and you’ll end up arguing with Hannah…”

Well, that had been bold but it seemed to have worked as next thing he knew Ari heard Sammy grumbling. "stupid little gargoyle."

"And that’s why he hates you. You insult him, you hurt his feelings." Ari told Sammy, trying not to seem too eager to fuck the hell out of the room.

They were all too focused on their own act to notice Max who was simply looking at them, munching his toast. He clearly wasn’t buying any of the shit Rachel was saying.  Whereas Jake was too engrossed in cutting the matches he had previously taken from the matchbox with a knife, his coffee long forgotten.

"It’s a dog Ari, he doesn’t know what I’m saying." Sammy continued grumbling.

"Well he clearly reads your body language then."

"Yeah…that’s true. He copies body language too." Max deadpanned, sitting back on his chair.

Ari did his best to keep a straight face, ignoring him but clearly hearing his sniggers. Rachel was the one to glare at Max and he shrugged as he resumed eating his food.

Thankfully, Rachel then took charge of the situation and started explaining the schedule for the new guests that would be arriving a few hours later, Ari took the opportunity and stood up, heading out  for Hannah’s hut. Gently opening the door he saw Simon was snuggled around her head and she was dozing. He approached and sat on the edge of her bed and watched her for a few seconds before feeling her forehead. She was still warm and he sighed.

Simon moved his head and licked the back of Ari’s knuckles when he recognized him.

"You looking after her pal?" he cooed at the dog and moved his hand to scratch under the dog's chin, "Good boy."

Simon wagged his tail and rolled over demanding belly scratches from the hairy human that seemed to be sharing his mom's bed. Ari chuckled as he obliged, rubbing his pink and black spotty belly.

"Demanding little bastard." he softly whispered so as not to disturb Hannah's sleep. But it was too late. With a little sigh she stirred at the movement, blinking.

"Hey, how you feeling firefly?"

"Still crappy." her voice came out hoarse. 

"Yeah, you’re still warm. You should rest in bed till you’re feeling better." he ordered softly.

"Yes Dr Levinson… or Dr Thomas, whatever." she said before yawning and Ari chucked. "How was it out there?"

"Not bad. I asked Rachel for help but it wasn’t needed, Sammy asked before she could."

Hannah nodded and shuffled down a little in the bed, coughing again. Ari waited until she was done and he then leaned down over her, one hand either side of her shoulders as she was led on her side. 

"Ok sweetheart. I’m gonna go back out now but once they know I’ll sneak to see you whenever I can." 

"I’m just gonna sleep Ari, I don’t need babysitting." she grumbled.

Ari raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ok, so you don’t want me to take care of you or keep you company? That’s fine, I get it…" he mocked a complaint, a soft smile on his face.

"Shut up." Hannah groaned.

"And now you don’t want to hear me either." he chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest and shout if you need anything." and he pondered for a moment before speaking. "On second thoughts, just don't shout. Your voice is terrible today..." and he stopped when he saw her mouth drop open "You know what I mean, Firefly."

"Ari?" Hannah asked as he made to stand up. "Yeah?" "I could use some orange juice." she beamed at him before sneezing for the umpteenth time.

"Ok, I’ll bring some for you." Ari wandered back to the main area, all the way thinking how he was going to pull his next stunt. Just act natural, Levinson. You got this, he thought as he entered the main area, his hands falling to his hips as he walked in.

"Where is she?" Sam asked once he spotted Ari was back.

"She’s sick Sammy." and he held his hand up to stop Sammy’s impending babble. "It’s just a cold."

Sammy frowned. "A cold?"

"That’s what she said." He shrugged and turned to walk to the kitchen. "She asked for some paracetamol and orange juice." he said, ignoring the fact Max was narrowing his eyes suspiciously after he caught Ari with the pills before. He opened the fridge, considering if it would be good for her to drink cold liquids, and poured a glass of orange and went back into the main dining area just as Sammy walked in from the office with the box of pills and gestured to the orange juice.

"Want me to take it? I can examine her."

"She’s a doctor too, Sammy." Jake snorted.

Ari was getting more flustered by the minute. He just wanted to get rid of Sammy and get back and check on her again. Damned it. He knew he was being ridiculous but she really didn’t look well at all and if he had his way he’d be curled up besides her all day. He would trade posts with Simon on the spot. He looked at Rachel as a last resource, silently asking her to take the reins. 

Rachel took a deep breath and turned to Sam. "Sammy, she won’t want her brother fussing." She then turned to Ari. "Take her some toast too in case she feels like eating something." she said while putting a few slices from the large plate on the table onto a smaller one. "Tell her I’ll check up on her later and grab her laundry."

Thank you Rachel.

"I bet Simon is eating that toast." Max quipped.

Jake chuckled. "That’s a point, should we take care of him today?"

Ari shook his head. "He was curled up on the bed with her, looked pretty comfy. I’ll take him for a walk if he wants to go but to be honest I don’t think he’ll leave her."

“Unless it’s you.” Max quipped.

“What do you mean? Ari asked.

“Simon is conveniently deaf unless you or Cracker are talking to him.” Max grinned “You’re like his parents, it’s cute.”

Ari rolled his eyes and with that he headed back out, down to her hut. God, he was sweating already and he had showered less than an hour before. Simon looked up when Ari got in the hut. Hannah was asleep so he placed the orange juice, toast and pills on her bedside table before leaning to kiss her head.

"Sleep tight, my Firefly." he whispered as he straightened up and looked at Simon. "You coming buddy? Let’s get you some food and go for a walk, huh?"

Ari watched the dog look at Hannah, then him and then back to Hannah again, hesitating. Sammy could say whatever he wanted, but that dog did understand what they said to him. No one was gonna convince Ari otherwise.

"She’ll be ok pal." Ari rolled his own eyes at himself when he realised he was explaining to the fucking dog. But Simon was proving his point as he stood up and walked down the bed, jumping off the side. Ari saw him stretch and wag his tail as he headed out, Simon at his heels. 

*****

A few hours later Rachel went to Hannah’s hut and knocked on the door, walking in after Hannah told her to do so. Rachel found her sat up in bed and thought Ari, though being a painful drama queen, was right. She looked awful. Her nose was red, her eyes looked tired but at least she was reading.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better, thanks. I had a good sleep and the meds seem to have worked their way into my system." she explained and then she paused. "What time is it by the way? I can’t find my watch." she asked Rachel as she scanned her bedside table and drawers again.

 "Maybe you left it in Ari’s hut…I mean if you slept there last night…" Rachel offered, cocking an eyebrow.

Hannah looked at her and sighed, rolling her eyes.  There was no point in even denying it and she wasn't feeling strong enough to either. "How much do you know?" "Well from what the pair of you have told me and the fact his tee was mixed in with your laundry, I’d hazard a guess at all of it." "Ari’s shirt was..? Shit!" Hannah groaned.

"Yup, shit indeed. You’re lucky I spotted it before your brother did. Thankfully it was next to a pile of your panties and he wasn’t looking." Rachel chuckled at Hannah's mortified expression before continuing. "Then there’s also the fact that the dress you were wearing yesterday was on the chair in his hut. I washed that too, you can thank me later, or we can talk about how his bathroom was missing a towel and curiously enough there’s one that seems to have appeared on the floor by your bed. Your pick."

Hannah groaned again and rubbed her face down her hand.

"By the way it was the shirt he was wearing for dinner the night he came home." Rachel winked at her.

"Yeah I know…he left it here and I forgot I threw it in with my stuff." "You two had yourselves a welcome home party, huh?" Hannah laughed at Rachel's wriggling eyebrows and coughed a little. "Don’t be so nosey."

"Look, I’m happy for you two, I really am. And I love to see you happy, you deserve it but…well, Max suspects something and it’s only a matter of time before Sammy and Jake figure it. Especially if Ari is as shit at keeping a cover as he seems to be. He was a wreck this morning."

"A wreck?" Hannah asked, surprised. "I’ve got a damned cold, what’s he so fretted about?" "Well according to him you looked really bad and were burning up, moments from death…you know that type of thing. I had to smack some sense into him in the kitchen before he blew it with the rest." 

Hannah rolled her eyes. "He’s such a drama queen."

"When it comes to you he is. You should have seen him. Shittiest Mossad agent ever." Rachel mocked him.

Hannah laughed again and, as usual that morning, her laugh was punctuated by coughs.

"Luckily Jake is too focussed on his tan to notice and Sammy…well Sammy is oblivious and to be fair probably doesn’t even want to even consider anything like that so…"

Hannah pondered what she had said for a minute and looked at her. "You think we should come clean? I mean Ari said he would happily tell everyone but I’m not sure if I can handle Sammy already."

"That’s up to you. But the longer you leave it, then surely the harder it's gonna be?" Rachel smiled at her, sympathetically.

Hannah rubbed her eyes. "I don’t think I can do this until I feel better, and then it’s my birthday next week and don’t want anything to spoil it."

"I can’t answer Hannah, I can’t tell you what to do." Rachel patted her leg.

"I’ll speak to Ari about it." she mused and Rachel laughed.

"What’s so funny?" "That man will do whatever you tell him to do. I know that, you should know it by now." Hannah shook her head, though Rachel may be right that was not what she needed at that moment.  "I don’t want him to just do what I say, just want him to help me make a decision." She looked at Rachel and then grinned "I see you did a pretty good job covering the marks on your neck, unlike yesterday."

Rachel blushed. "You saw them?"

"Yes." And the grin on Hannah’s face turned into a grimace.  "And I don’t want to think about it. He’s my brother."

"Ari told you?"

Hanna nodded.

"Bastard."

"I’d already figured it out. I told them ages ago the pair of you were…you know, or at least there was something going on. He was like a bear with a sore head when you were on leave." Hannah explained

Rachel squinted her eyes at her. "Like you were when Ari was gone?"

Hannah shrugged, to be fair Rachel was right, the Navons were pretty shitty at concealing their feelings. And speaking of concealing?  "FYI that concealer on my desk is pretty good if you need to borrow it."

Rachel stared at her blankly and Hannah swept her hair to the side to show her the now fading bruises Ari had given her the other evening and Rachel snorted. 

" Wild Ari, huh?"

"You got no idea." Hannah smirked mischievously.

"Pity Sam is your brother. We could have traded stories." Rachel shrugged amused.

"Don’t get me wrong Rach, I’m happy you’re with him. He needs someone in his life that’s for sure but…yeah, no. I’d rather not listen to them…but if you need to talk hey, I can pretend you’re talking about Chef Aziz…"

At that the pair of them burst out laughing and Hannah had another coughing fit just as Sammy walked into the hut.

"What are you two laughing at?" he asked as he glanced at Hannah. "You feeling better, Han?" "Loads. Rachel is great company." she said, raising her eyebrows at Sammy who went immediately red and cleared his throat. "Need some water Sammy?" Rachel who was sitting on the edge of the bed slapped Hannah’s leg through the covers and mouthed to her Don’t be mean.

Hannah shook her head and looked around, allowing her brother to collect himself. "Hey, where’s Simon by the way? He bailed on me…"

"He was with Ari. They went for a walk then down to the diving hut and then Ari was going out with Jake to prep the tour route for tomorrow." Sammy explained.

 "Has Simon gone on the boat with them?" Hannah frowned.

 "Yeah, why?"

 "I thought he only went diving because he wanted to be with me." she pouted. "He’s been stuck to Ari like glue all day." Rachel confirmed.

 "He even ignored the new group of tourists." Sammy scoffed.

"Judas." Hannah grumbled, folding her arms.

****

3 days Hannah was in bed laid up, and Ari hated it. He’d popped in as much as he could, stealing half an hour or so here and there to lay with her, until Sammy pulled him up at one point over lunch on the second day.

I’m the doctor, she’s a doctor…I don’t see why you have to be checking up on her all fucking day.” Sammy pouted.

“Because you’re busy with the guests.” Ari reasoned “I’m the manager so I can just float about. Besides, it hasn’t been all fucking day, I’ve been to check on her like 3 times to take her some water and something to eat, that’s it.”

Nevertheless, he backed off after that. On the 4th day Hannah eased back into light duties so Ari managed to spend some time with her during the day as but he continued to sleep in his own hut to allow her to sleep properly to fully recover and also to avoid further suspicion as he had also developed a little sniffle himself and was running out of excuses to the rest of the team as to what it was.

But all this meant it was nearly a week since they’d last managed a night together, and it had left him a total needy bastard.

One morning he arrived at the main area of the resort after he’d been talking to a few guests who had asked him for ideas of what to do in Port Sudan. He headed into the main rooms, looking for Hannah, mentally ticking off where she could be. She wasn’t with Jake and Sammy as they were out diving, she wasn’t with Rachel and Aziz helping set up for lunch and Max…well he had no idea where Max was at all. He stood pondering for a moment when he spotted Simon trotting out of the office and he gave a grin.

Bingo.

Hannah was looking through the filing cabinet in front of him as he stepped into the room, silently. He took a moment to appreciate her, taking in her long legs right from her bare feet up to the hem of her pale, strapless blue sundress which hung mid-thigh. It curved neatly over her ass and hips trailing the curve of her waist up to her shoulders which were bare, hair pulled into a messy pony tail, halter neck of her bikini tied at the nape of her neck.

Fuck this, it had been far too long. And he was horny as hell. The damned world could wait.

He shut the door with his foot and she jumped slightly, turning to face him but before she could register what was happening his lips were on hers, the kiss demanding as his hands held her cheeks, tongue finding its way between those soft pillows, sliding forcefully against the roof of her mouth. She let out a soft moan and her hands moved directly to the ties on his swim shorts. His lips curved into a smirk at her demanding nature, the fact she wanted him just as much was getting him even more worked up, and she pulled back to look at him a little, her fingers undoing the string easily as his hands slid to her waist, yanking her even closer so their pelvises were flush and she could feel his arousal pressing into her stomach.

“Stop smirking.” She mumbled, and he chuckled a little, his nose brushing hers “Cocky bastard.”

“You want cocky?” he muttered, his lips brushing hers, the feather-light touch sent a shiver down her spine as his mouth slid to her jawline and that spot on her neck just behind her ear. “I’ll show you cocky Firefly.”

His lips crashed to hers again as he pivoted them away from the cabinets and towards the desk at the side of the room, his movements effortless as she gave into his directions completely. Submission had never been her strong point, but when it came to Ari she was weak and now was no exception. She was weak to his touch, his mouth, his every damned action as she allowed him to man handle her, his hands gliding up her back to her neck, fingers of one grasping at the nape as he held her face to his, his mouth dominating hers.

In a quick, almost forceful movement he spun her round, his mouth trailing open mouthed kisses down her neck to her shoulder, moving to the other side to repeat the action and she let out a low keen of delight.

“Shh.” He stopped, what he was doing and Hannah stilled, her breathing deep. Once she’d obeyed he picked up where he had left off, his hand sliding up over her covered breasts, palming them in his large hands, letting out a gently sigh of his own as he felt her nipples peak through the material.

“Ari…we can’t…” She mumbled, suddenly coming to her senses as she heard voices pass by the reception desk “There’s people outside…”

“I don’t care.” He whispered into her hear, his right hand gently sliding back7 up her neck, fingers flexing over her smooth, delicate throat “You can be quiet, right?”

“I…” he cut her off as he tilted her face to his, swallowing her protests with another filthy kiss, his other hand moving down, rucking her dress up, the pads of his calloused fingers tracing a slow path up her inner thigh. He gently brushed over the spot between her legs and a soft growl rolled in the back of this throat as he could feel her arousal through her bikini bottoms. He released her mouth, his lips staying millimetres away from hers “You’re fucking soaked baby girl”

Hannah couldn’t find the words to reply. She was putty in his hands, and happy to let him take control. All truth be told she was aching for him too, and although this hadn’t been going on long in the grand scheme of things, the way he did make love to or fuck her had her craving for his touch whenever she could get it. She let out a gasp as his fingers brushed her bottoms to one side, skating her slit as he found her nub and began to coax at her expertly. She bit her lip, hard, the taste of copper flooding her mouth as she found herself desperately trying to control her noise.

Releasing her throat, Ari’s other hand gently pressed at the base of her spine, bending her forward a little over the desk and her hands splayed flat against the wooden surface sending a few papers floating to the floor, her check pressed to the cheap oak. Ari moved her bikini to the side, and with one hand still on her back he used the other and gave himself a few strokes, before he lined himself up and sank into her.

“Fuck…” She hissed between gritted teeth as he pulled back, sinking straight back in again, his eyes focussed on the spot they were joined, watching himself move in and out. His thrusts were slow, deliberate at first, and his eyes flicked to Hannah’s face as her head raised from the desk, tilting back slightly. He saw her jaw slacken and in a flash his hand reached out, palm clamping over her mouth.

“Gotta be quiet sweetheart…” he grunted out, his other hand gripping her shoulder so he could pull her back onto him and he picked up the pace, fucking her with desperation, like a man starved.

The sound of skin slapping skin, her muffled moans and his own low hisses filled the room as he continued his assault on her spot, his cock dragging against her walls again and again. It was quick and dirty, and before long Hannah could feel herself unravelling. Ari felt her too, the tell-tale fluttering of her clamping down on him signalling she was close.

“Nearly there baby?” he asked, even though he knew the answer and she gave a quick nod, his fingers flexing over her mouth. Releasing the grip on her shoulder he reached around, found her clit and she felt the teasing of his thumb and forefinger as he rolled it between them, his chest pressing to her back, mouth nipping at her ear. With a shudder, the world faded to nothing but a bright, white light and she came, her groan stifled by his hand as she bucked back, eyes fluttering shut, knees trembling as she went limp over the desk. Releasing his hold on her mouth he grabbed her hips, his own snapping back and forth with enough force to jolt the desk slightly, causing it to scrape over the floor as he felt his balls contract and he came inside her, hard, and it was all he could do to keep himself from yelling out.

“Fuck…” he mumbled, his hips slowing to a stop as his head fell forward a little, his breathing deep, T-shirt sticking to him as sweat coated his entire body. He took a moment before he stepped back and looked down as Hannah pushed herself up, his hands gently pulling her up by her hips helping her to stand.

“Cocky enough?” he quipped as he straightened his pants whilst she turned to face him, her cheeks flushed. She reached up and pulled her pony tail free, shaking her hair out whilst she shook her head, grinning at him.

“One word for it.” She arched an eyebrow as she re-tied her hair and squirmed a little, feeling his release dribbling down her inside leg “And now I need to go change.”

“I thought bikini bottoms were supposed to be waterproof.” He chuckled, pulling her in for a quick kiss.

“You’re an ass hole.” She mumbled, before she pulled away, patted his chest and opened the door. The sound of the guests outside grew louder as the flow of fresh air filled the room, well, fresher seeing as it was fucking hot out there too, and with a last glance over her shoulder she smirked and left.

Part 2

[kmomof4]

Today is the birthday of a dear friend in this fandom so I wanted to do something special for her!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @jonirobinson64!!!!! 

We may not have been friends long, but you have become very dear to me in a short amount of time. So to commemorate the day of your birth, I wrote you a little something. I hope you enjoy it! All the love and thanks to @kymbersmith-90 for beta services!!! 

Summary: This is a birthday fic for Joni, so it will include all her favorite things... or at least several of them...

Rating: M (smut)

Words: 2662

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Smut, Best Friends to Lovers

On ao3

Tag list: @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @snowbellewells @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @jennjenn615 @kingofmyheart14 @profdanglaisstuff @thisonesatellite​ @branlovestowrite​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @flslp87​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @let-it-raines​ @shireness-says​ @kymbersmith-90​ @darkcolinodonorgasm​ @bethacaciakay​ @searchingwardrobes​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @teamhook​ @aprilqueen84​ @qualitycoffeethings​ @superchocovian​ @artistic-writer​ @donteattheappleshook​ @doodlelolly0910​ @seriouslyhooked​ @tiganasummertree​ @lfh1226-linda​ @nikkiemms​ @xsajx​ @klynn-stormz​

Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

Under the cut unless Tumblr ate it.

High Confessions and What Came Next

Emma was having a great time blowing off steam with her friends after a “week from hell,” as Regina had called it. The drinks were flowing, the music was great, and the company was even better. It didn’t happen that often anymore, but all of her closest friends were able to make it to the bar tonight, and they were determined to make the most of it. Ruby and Graham gyrated on the dance floor, M’s was crushing David at darts (not that he minded), and even Regina and Robin had joined her and Killian in a tequila shooters game. Everyone was having a great time, until Walsh showed up.

He made his move when Killian went back to the bar to “procure them more libations,” which he’d said in that smooth accent of his that made all his words, not just the fancy ones, sound ultra-sexy.

As soon as Killian had disappeared through the crowd, Walsh had approached. He came up behind her, placing his hands on her hips and nearly grinding himself into her backside. He must have taken her startled gasp as arousal because he then nuzzled into her neck while whispering huskily in her ear. “Come on, baby…”

But he got no farther. Twisting herself out of his grasp, she held up a hand, pushing him away from her. He tried to draw her to him again with what he must have thought was a sultry smirk.

“Get your hands off me,” she shouted, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?”

“Why would you want me to do that,” he retorted, with a lazy drawl, “when you’re over here teasing every guy in the place with that dress and all that skin on display?” His eyelids dropped, giving him a sleepy, half awake look rather than the sexy one he was probably going for.

“How I’m dressed when I’m out with my friends for an evening of fun is none of your damn business. And I suggest you take your attentions elsewhere, unless you want to become intimately acquainted with at least one part of my body, though definitely not the one you were hoping for.” She looked down at her other fist as if she was examining a recent manicure. “Get the picture?” She looked back up at him coolly, hoping that her hammering heartbeat at the fright he had given her wasn’t obvious on her face.

She was stunned when he reached for her again. “Ooooo, so you like it rough, baby? Well, I can give you what you want.”

Suddenly, a familiar hand landed on her harasser’s shoulder and spun him away from her.

“I believe the lady said to keep your hands off,” Killian all but growled at the man.

Walsh sneered back at him, “And I don’t believe I asked you. Stick your nose someplace else. She’s coming with me.”

Killian looked down at the floor with a chuckle. “I’m glad you think so, mate.” Quick as lightning, his fist appeared out of nowhere and landed squarely in the middle of Walsh’s face. Blood poured as Walsh staggered back, his hands cupping his shattered nose.

Killian moved toward Emma, her color a little better than it was when he first emerged from the crowd with their fresh drinks. “Are you alright, Love?” he asked, grasping her upper arm gently. Pain shot through his knuckles as he did. He released her with a hiss and looked down at the rapidly bruising area.

“We need to go get that looked at, Killian,” she murmured. “You might have some broken bones in there.”

“From Walsh’s nose? Impossible.”

Emma gave him a skeptical look. “The only time I’ve ever seen bruising happen that fast was from a broken bone. Let’s go.” Killian sputtered, trying to protest that he was fine, but she was having none of it. She turned him toward the bar and pushed him ahead of her. Jefferson had seen the whole thing and was waiting for them with an ice pack all ready to go. “Thanks, Jeff,” she said, relieving him of the pack.

Killian placed it on his knuckles and allowed his Swan to lead him out the door.

~*~*~

Emma helped her sometimes idiotic, most-of-the-time sweet, always a gentleman best friend through the front door of their apartment. He was pretty loopy from the painkillers they’d given him in the ER after he put that douche Walsh in his place.

It was a good thing that her job as a bail bondswoman kept her in shape. She all but carried him into the apartment before heading down the hall towards his bedroom. He was so stoned she knew that once she sat him down, he wouldn’t be moving until morning. So she was determined to deposit him in his bed, where he’d at least be comfortable.

She tried to stifle her giggle as he nuzzled into her neck, much as Walsh had done earlier, sniffing her hair and letting out a contented hum, his breath warm on her skin. She shivered with awareness, not minding his attention at all.

Of course, she’d always been aware of how handsome he was, but her attraction had been buried underneath the prickly armor she wore around everyone but her family and closest friends. By nature of their roommate status however, Killian quickly joined that elite circle of people. Emma kept her heart guarded, not trusting anyone easily, so she could count her friends on one hand. It hadn’t taken Killian long to demolish her walls with his easy charm and laid back, gentleman-like tendencies. When they had shared their pasts with each other one evening, when Netflix had failed to keep their attention, she had seen how similar they really were. Emma had handed over her heart and never looked back. She just neglected to tell him that.

But now, after removing his shirt and pants, and as she tried to maneuver him under the comforter of his bed, (he made his bed every. Single. Morning. How? she thought, shaking her head.) his unbandaged hand shot out and grabbed her. He pulled just enough to make her tumble into his bed, halfway on top of him. “Ah, now that’s better,” he murmured, encircling her in his arms. She stared down into his half-lidded, so blue eyes... eyes that she could easily drown in.

“What’s better?” she whispered.

The haze in his eyes lifted just enough that she could see the seriousness in his gaze. “Having you here. In my arms. In my bed.”

“What?” She was floored. Was it possible that he wanted her too?

“You heard me, Swan.” He tightened his arms around her slightly. “Will you stay?”

“I’ll just be in the next room if you need anything, Killian.”

“No, not there, Swan. Here. With me.”

Her tongue flicked out, moistening her lips. “Let me go get a few things and I’ll stay,” she replied. “I’ll always stay.”

“Mmmmmmm,” he hummed, apparently appeased with her answer.

She pulled out of his arms and got him situated in the bed before going to the kitchen to get a glass of water for later, when he’d take another dose of the pain meds, and an ice pack to wrap around his badly bruised knuckles. Entering her own bedroom, she changed into her pajamas before heading back to his. She opened the door to find him dead to the world, gently snoring. She leaned against the door jamb and let her eyes roam over him to her heart’s content. His black hair was tousled and flopping down over his face, his bare chest on display, his bandaged hand on top of the covers. She moved toward him, debating whether she should actually sleep in his bed with him tonight. His confession notwithstanding, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep her hands to herself once she fell asleep. What if she cuddled up to him? What if he woke to find her there? Would he even remember his request? And if he did, what would happen then? What would happen to them?

She crawled into the other side of his bed, justifying her behavior by telling herself that since she was such a heavy sleeper she would be unlikely to hear him if he woke unless she was next to him. After wrapping his hand in the ice pack, she lay down on her side to face him, stroking her fingers lightly along his forehead before burying them in his silken hair.

“I love you, Killian,” she whispered, before she fell into dreams.

~*~*~

Killian awoke the next morning with an aching hand and a warm body pressed along his side. Looking down, his face was buried in a cloud of spun gold. He inhaled deeply before withdrawing slightly to see the love of his life cuddled up to him, her head on his shoulder, her arm splayed across his torso. His arm was wrapped around her, holding her close to his heart, the place she’d lived for nearly as long as he had known her. She stirred in his arms, burying her face in his chest where her drool had collected as she slept. He chuckled as her eyes scrunched in annoyance before opening and meeting his own.

Green pools that he would happily drown in stared up at him. Her mouth fell slightly open as her eyes scanned his face and she took in every emotion that he was powerless to hide in the early morning.

“What do you remember from last night?” she asked in a whisper.

Not exactly what he was expecting her to say in their current position.

“Uhh…” he gaped at her. There was no other word for it. But he wanted to answer her question before she realized exactly where she was and pulled back from him. He searched his memory. He remembered arriving at the bar with Emma, doing his damndest to keep his thoughts and his hands in the friend zone instead of where they could quite easily go if he wasn’t careful. He remembered tequila shots with Emma, Regina, and Robin. He remembered punching that wanker, Walsh, after he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He remembered Swan taking him to the Emergency Room, afraid that he might have broken his hand. After that though, things started to get a little fuzzy. He vaguely remembered Emma helping him into bed and her falling on top of him briefly when getting him under the sheets proved difficult. “I remember our evening at the bar and coming home after the ER. After that, it’s pretty hazy around the edges.” He grinned at her somewhat sheepishly.

“Do you remember asking me to stay with you?”

“Did I?’

“Yes. You asked me to stay with you here, in your bed.” Bless his dear Swan. Her eyes were wide in her panic and he could feel her heart beating rapidly against his rib cage. “You said it was better.”

Killian scrambled to lighten the tense mood that had fallen at her words. He wiggled his eyebrows, the action never failed at getting an eye roll out of her, as he hugged Emma  tighter to his side. “Having you here in my bed is always better, Swan. But I can think of some other, more enjoyable, activities that a bed is also good for- besides sleeping, I mean.” Emma looked down, blushing prettily. He maneuvered his injured hand under her chin and raised it until she was looking at him again. “But only if you’re amenable, darling. I may not remember exactly what I said last night, but I can assure you that I want nothing more than for you to share my bed and my life. Just as you’ve shared my heart for years.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. “You’ve held my heart in your hands for years, Killian. And I would be very much amenable,” she replied, in a horrible attempt at his accent, “to share your bed and your life.” She lifted her hand to caress his jaw. “I love you, Killian Jones.”

“And I love you, Emma Swan.”

Words were no longer necessary as he pulled her up to meet his lips. His uninjured hand buried itself in her hair as the other rubbed up and down her back. His tongue traced the seam of her lips before she opened, allowing him to deepen the kiss. A moan tore itself from the back of her throat as their tongues tangled in a dance they had both desired for so long.

Her own hands were by no means idle. She felt the planes of his chest under her fingers and nearly giggled in delight when he tried to squirm away from her touch as she had apparently found a ticklish spot on his ribs. Their kiss broke and Killian pressed open mouth kisses along her jaw and down her neck as she threw her head back in ecstasy. Heat built in her core when he latched onto her pulse point and gave a firm, but not too painful, suck, marking her as his for all the world to see.

His hands continued their explorations, settling at her breasts where he kneaded and plucked at her nipples until they were hard points, begging for his mouth. She raised herself from his chest and straddled him, his prominent erection hitting her just where she needed him. She ground down, staring at the man she loved, his own eyes nearly black with love and desire. Desire for her. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of him looking at her like this, as if there was nothing in the world he could possibly want or need more than her.

“Oh, Swan,” he moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head. He reached for her again and pulled himself upright, surrounding her in his strength and his scent. “Lift up, darling.” His hands pushed her pajama bottoms and panties down as she kneeled in front of him. She wiggled them the rest of the way off as Killian made short work of his boxer briefs. “I hope I helped some when you undressed me last night, Swan,” he cooed at her, waggling his eyebrows again.

She rolled her eyes at him. “You were mostly out of it, but it wasn’t too hard,” she quipped.

She straddled him again and stared into his eyes before lowering her mouth to his in a sweet kiss. She melted into his embrace as passion made way for gentle tenderness in their lovemaking. Soft touches, whispered endearments, and breathless sighs filled the room as they both kissed, sucked, and nibbled all of the secret places known only to lovers. He thrust his hips into hers, coating himself in her juices as he drove her higher and higher. Rising up, she lowered herself onto him, the slight burn as she stretched around him making her gasp in pleasure. She nearly sobbed as he bottomed out within her. She had never felt so complete, so at home, as she did right at this moment. She never wanted it to end.

Killian’s own groan reached her ears as he started to move within her. “Emma, oh, Emma. How I love you, darling.” He captured her lips in a fiery kiss and tilted her back until she was flat on the mattress, driving into her at a frenzied pace.

“Yes, Killian, yes!” she screamed. “Right there! Oh god!” she cried, falling apart in his arms. Killian pumped into her just a few more times before he joined her in an earth-shattering release.

Emma held her love to her, content to feel his weight on her for a few moments more. He sighed deeply before rolling off and drawing her close. “You’d better be sure about this, Swan, because it’s too late for me. I’ll follow you to the end of the world. Or time.”

“Mmmmmm,” she hummed. “Good.”

The End

[heirloommtomatoes]

don’t read the last page but i stay

Mickey and Ian go on another lunch date :) Just some quick super simple fluff! Literally nothing at all happens in this other then a cute date. These boys deserve nothing but sweet domesticity forever and ever, thanks.

Word Count: 2.3k~

———

Mickey picks Ian up from his afternoon shifts whenever they can cram it into their schedule. Do they live together? Sure. Did they get out of prison barely a year ago where their combined shared space was half the size of their Gallagher house bedroom? Sure. Do they still try to spend almost every waking moment together? Absolutely.

Ian’s schedule as an EMT, as sporadic as it has the potential to be, has fallen into a steady routine the past few months. Since Debbie’s arrest, Lip moving out, and the increased responsibility in the Gallagher house, Rita makes sure that every Friday Ian hands his shift over by 5pm. Mickey was promoted at his work — a promotion that warranted his first real Gallagher party a few months back — and is working steadily at the mall as the general security manager.

Ian’s laughing with the new members of his team over some pictures of their kids from last weekend when his phone buzzes. He slides it half-way out of his pocket to look at the screen:

Mick: hey dipshit I took a photo of me waiting for you

Mick: Attachment: 1 Image

Ian swipes on the message and unlocks his phone. The photo is of a mummified, presumably ancient corpse sitting cross-legged on a ridge, probably out of some National Geographic article he’d found while scrolling endlessly through random news pages while waiting for him. He stifles a laugh as he types his response.

Ian: 🖕

Ian: be out in a sec

Mick: 🖕

“That your husband?” Samantha, a younger EMT fresh out of training, nods toward his phone.

“Yeah,” Ian responds as he slips his phone back into his pocket, “Meeting him for dinner and drinks.”

Rita looks over her shoulder from where she’s rummaging around her locker. Ian expects her to make some witty remark at his expense as per usual, but instead: “You got the best relationship record outta any of us here, Gallagher,” she says with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Yeah, well,” he shrugs, “Eleven years, a bipolar diagnosis, and several prison stints seems to be the trick.”

He doesn’t mean to really joke about it; if what they went through together doesn’t count as some seriously real shit, he’s terrified to think of what does. But if he can’t make light of it now and then, if he can’t at least try to ponder the distance between then and now and look back at how far they’ve come and laugh at the simple joy of it all, then what the hell else is he supposed to do?

Laughs ripple around the locker room as Ian raises an warm to wave goodbye to everyone, overlapping “Bye Ian!”s and “Have a good weekend”s following him out.

Ian emerges from the garage, shrugging off his EMT jacket in the mid-afternoon summer sun in a way that makes Mickey’s heart flutter in his chest. He carries it loosely in a hand at his side.

“Bout time, Gallagher,” Mickey says to him with a grin. He’s been smiling a lot these days, he thinks; not that that’s anything new around Ian. He’s been making him smile since he was seventeen.

“Hey,” Ian responds easily, throwing an arm around his shoulders and planting a kiss to his cheek. A blush creeps up Mickey’s face and he grins at the ground as they walk. Ian starts babbling about the kid who broke his arm on the monkey bars and an older woman who fell down her stairs and Mickey listens, butting in for the odd comment or exclamation here and there as they make their way down the block to Boystown. It’s become their once-a-month Friday evening tradition. Mickey picks him up from work, they fill each other in on their days as they walk, they grab dinner and drinks either at one of their favourite spots in Boystown if they’re feeling like they want their own little escape, or at The Alibi if they feel like keeping it close to home. Today is too beautiful of a day to not make use of the clean outdoor patios the bars in Boystown can provide.

Mickey recounts his day when Ian’s done and maybe it doesn’t sound quite as glamorous on the surface of things, but it barely occurs to either of them. They’re both doing something they’re good at, something they’re each coming to realize they genuinely enjoy, something that makes them feel useful, and if that isn’t success, what is?

“So this old woman stuffs a bra between her boobs. Like hell I was gonna reach in there and drag it out,” Mickey huffs as he finishes up his story. Well, maybe something they genuinely enjoy most of the time. Ian laughs and it’s Mickey’s favourite sound. It’ll always be Mickey’s favourite sound.

“You sure you’re not gay?” Ian asks skeptically, recounting all the times Mickey’s jokingly —and not-as-jokingly — denied the label.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Mickey says, casting a mischievous glance his way, “My husband is, though.”

“Ohh, I see,” Ian says with a nod, casually changing the subject as he remembers Mickey’s earlier texts, “Oh hey listen, that was a really cute photo of you earlier, Mick. You’ve found your angles, I’m impressed,” Ian says, his voice dripping with mischievous sarcasm.

“Ohhh, thanks, man,” Mickey responds with a playful nudge to Ian’s ribs, “My beauty secret is this really cool thing my husband does called making me wait for ten fucking minutes.”

Ian raises his brows at him. Game on. He opens his mouth to respond in kind, but Mickey’s grabbing him by the upper arm and tugging him into a brick-lined alleyway. Ian grunts in protest, hands flying to Mickey’s biceps to steady himself before he’s shoved against the wall.

Mickey’s kissing him like he’s been thinking about doing all day while Ian’s out here being fucking Superman, like he’s been thinking about doing his whole life. He feels Ian’s smile against his mouth and his heart leaps in his chest and he loves him. He loves him. Mickey’s not sure how or when it happens, but suddenly Ian’s grabbing him and he’s being spun and his back’s being shoved against the wall so quickly his breath almost leaves him.

“Watch it, tough guy,” he breaths, and doesn’t mean a word of it. It’s the closest he’ll come to saying do whatever you want with me.

Ian huffs a laugh, threading his left hand into Mickey’s right as he studies his husband’s face. The cold metal of his wedding band brushes against his fingers and Mickey leans forward, capturing Ian’s lips in a warm kiss that reminds him of the dugouts, reminds him of when they were teenagers too skittish and childish and young to know what to do with the swelling in their chests every time they looked at each other. Ian’s the first to pull back, but he tugs on Mickey’s hand and leads them out of the alley.

“I’m hungry,” he says with a shrug by way of explanation when Mickey gives him an incredulous stare.

“So am I,” Mickey replies quickly, glancing pointedly downwards toward Ian’s crotch. Ian barks a laugh and rolls his eyes. He’s never said it out loud, but damn if he doesn’t love how fucking funny his husband is. No one really knows that about Mickey, he thinks. Distantly he remember’s Mickey’s “now they’re black and blue balls” in the hotel room that one night when they were teenagers. Damn if he didn’t think about that one and swoon over his protectiveness and Southside charm for a good week after. In the back of his mind, he remembers Byron’s list of complaints: he’s socially inept, he’s politically ignorant, he’s violent…

Meanwhile, Ian looks fondly at Mickey and knows that he’s funny, he’s thoughtful, he’s loyal, he’s his husband.

“The fuck you starin’ at?” Mickey snaps at him, an eyebrow raised halfway up his damn forehead.

Ian rolls his eyes, “Nothin’. What do you wanna eat?”

Ian sees the hint of a shy smile on his face as Mickey turns his gaze to the various restaurants they’ve been passing, “Uh, I’m kinda feelin’ Sheffield’s, man. That sound good to you?” He asks, looking back at Ian. The midday sun silhouettes his head, creating a halo out of his red hair and glowing against the hard edges of his face. Mickey remembers the round-faced, freckled boy at the convenience store with the floppy bangs and oversized flannels. Hell, he remembers him before that. He remembers third grade, and some loser with a mop of curly red locks and oversized front teeth leaning over and asking him for a pencil. Looking at him now with his wedding band catching the light, his chiseled jaw, and the lop-sided grin directed right at Mickey, he looks like fucking Adonis.

“…Mick?” Ian’s voice snaps him back to reality.

“Huh?”

“I was saying we’re here, Neil Armstrong,” Ian quips, “Come back to Earth, I wanna eat.”

“Ay, references like that are my thing,” Mickey says as Ian’s arm around his shoulder steers them toward Sheffield’s. They continue bickering as they walk in the restaurant, much to the server’s constant exasperation as she leads them to the patio. “Since when?” “Since fuckin’…always, man.”

They sit out in the Chicago summer sun, basking in the warmth of it together as they sip their drinks. Mickey, ever the loyalist, gets the cheapest beer on the menu after casting his eyes over the ludicrously long list of names, only a third of which he can pronounce. That’s what you get for going to a brewery, he figures absentmindedly to Ian. Ian gets one of the beers lower in proof, but he knows it’ll still bring him a pleasant buzz.

“If nothing else man, your meds make getting drunk economical as hell,” Mickey says to him with a breathy laugh as he hands the waiter their menus with a nod.

“You’re telling me,” Ian responds as he leans back lazily, comfortably spreading his legs in the chair as he grabs the sunglasses hanging off his shirt collar and slides them over his eyes. Mickey follows suit with his own pair of sunglasses and damn if the two of them don’t look good. Mickey changed out of his work uniform before coming to meet him and he’s wearing a pair of jeans that actually fit him, a black tank and blue short sleeve button up top that’s open and fluttering in the light breeze. He looks so relaxed and in his element, and Ian can’t help but wonder if this is what he used to wear in Mexico. For once the memory isn’t tinged with heartache; they’re here now.

“You look good,” Ian says, eyeing Mickey up and down from across the wooden picnic-like table.

Mickey flashes him a smile, “Says you,” he responds, and it’s so disgustingly sweet and domestic that he barely knows what to do with himself. He’ll never get used to this, he thinks, and he doesn’t want to. Ian smiles in return before Micky continues and leans forward, “I was thinking about getting my GED.”

“No shit,” Ian responds, mimicking Mickey in leaning forward across the table, a casual hand still around his beer, “What prompted that?” He asks before taking a sip.

Mickey shrugs, “I like my job now, but I was talking to Larry and he thinks it’d be a good idea. It’d give me better hirability or whatever, and…I dunno, I like my job now,” he repeats almost sheepishly, like he’s about to admit something terrible, “But I’ve been thinking about wanting…more, I guess?”

Ian smiles and reaches across to put a hand over the one Mickey has resting casually on the table, “Let’s make it happen, then.”

Mickey meets his eye for a brief moment with a shy half-smile that he hides by taking a sip of his beer.

“I’m serious, Mick. We can get some study books for you, Kev and V can look after the kids when you need the house to be quiet for two seconds so you can study…” he trails off, lowering his head slightly to prompt Mickey to meet his gaze.

“Alright, alright, Jesus,” Mickey finally says with a chuckle, turning his hand over to grasp Ian’s and rub his thumb over his knuckles, “Love you,” he adds quietly, but it’s not shy or embarrassed or scared; it’s just for Ian, and only Ian.

The two of them sit for what could be hours or minutes longer, chatting about their future plans like it’s nothing but it means fucking everything to both of them. Neither of them had ever really let themselves dream of a future like this. Whenever Ian’s mind had wandered to thinking of moments like this, of sentences like “Kev and V can look after the kids”, he’d dismissed it as the wishful thinking of a manic episode. “Fucked for life” had practically been Mickey’s life mantra. They share a house, they share food, they take turns making dinner, they have monthly goddamn traditions that include sunshine and drinks and risky kisses in alleyways.

They stay at Sheffield’s far longer than they had originally intended as the waiter informs them there’s live music that evening. So they stay, both buzzed on their beers and drunk on happiness and sun and music, sharing insults and laughs, basking in the comfort and familiarity of each other’s presence as the sun casts an orange glow over the Chicago skyline.