#supervisor 2 is from another station but he was at ours today

[let-love-run-red]

Boss man and supervisor: Love! How is my work wife??

Supervisor 2: you have two work husbands?

Me: yes they elected themselves that position

Supervisor 2: ... do you want a third?

[srorgana1]

Into the Reverb (Kylo Ren/Reader)

Chapter Twenty One

The last two days have been brutal. You barely slept, tossing, and turning until you couldn’t take it anymore. You have avoided your phone like the plague, only using it for work things. You try your hardest not to look at the ever-increasing number of text and voice messages. Your chest has been aching non-stop since you told Kylo off. You knew you had to set him straight but watching him crumple in on himself at your words continued to haunt you.

As you run the brush through your hair one more time, you grimace into the mirror. Even with your fanciest concealer and powder, the dark circles under your eyes were still visible. Your eyes were still puffy and sensitive from your nightly crying session, so you opted for just some light shadow. Your phone chirps as you finish with the setting spray. You already know it's another message from Kylo. You take a big deep breath, steadying yourself.

You grab your phone and bag on the way out the door. You look down at your phone and yes you are correct, another text from Kylo. There are also texts from Chewie, Vic, Rae and Tallie. Chewie had told you it was all his idea and not to blame Kylo but you knew better.

Even though it hurt that Chewie was involved in this, he is still your supervisor and friend. Vic was sweet as ever, offering you support and a shoulder. How that man didn’t have a partner already still surprised you. You responded to both, thanking them, and discussing work-related things.

Today was Saturday, the day of the album release party. Today the world will see their talent and brilliance. You know everyone will love it. This was the part you liked to watch from afar and be happy for the band as they soaked up with well-deserved limelight. Your heart constricts at the thought of Kylo at the party, looking grumpily perfect, smiling and flirting with beautiful people.

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts. You had a busy day today planned so you would be distracted. You texted Dr. Morgan on Wednesday night requesting an immediate session. She called you immediately and let you vent and cry. After you had composed yourself, Dr. Morgan scheduled you a formal session on Saturday so you can work through everything.

As you turned off the freeway, you tried your best to avoid any radio talk. You flipped stations, not caring what music was on. You had almost made it when you heard the bright voiced Radio DJ come through the speakers.

“Hey everyone, it's Qi’ra from The Eagle, glad you have joined me on this already hot day. Now to the news of the day, tonight is the day we have been waiting for – Knight of Ren newest album Trials and Errors drops tonight.

The much-anticipated album has been the talk of the town and anyone who is anyone has been invited to the release party this evening. The first single off the album, Miracle is already #2 on the Rock charts and the music video is listed as one of the top 5 views on YouTube. Lucky for all of you, our star reporter Emily will be at the party tonight and will indulge us all with all the juicy details. Now without further ado, here’s Miracle…”

You sniffle as you turn into the parking lot. You can feel the tears building behind your eyes as the aching pain in your chest alights anew. You shut your eyes as the opening chords of the song you intimately wrote together begins. You can almost feel his kisses as you hear him play. I can’t do this, you think desperately, switching off the radio.

You sit in the silence and focus on your breathing. God you are pathetic. Your phone pings at you, reminding you have 10 minutes left before your appointment. Grabbing your items, you lock your car and begin quickly walking across the parking lot. You just need to hold yourself together long enough to make it into the safety of Dr. Morgan’s office.

—

Kylo hissed lowly as he felt the hot water hit his skin. His tattoo stings as the water lightly hits his healing skin. He runs his hands through his hair. He had already done interviews with Mangin from SXM and Chuck Armstrong from Loudwire, diving deep into the album, the writing process and tour plans. Everyone is so excited for the album release and the party. He wishes he could feel the same.

You have gone dark since Wednesday, not responding to any of his text and voice messages. He knew you needed space to process everything, but it still hurt because he missed you. He missed your snarky comments and your sweet kisses.

His chest has been aching since you ripped him to shreds and left him bleeding. You deserved it, he tells himself, quickly washes himself. You didn’t listen, you pushed her too far. You didn’t let her choose.

He continues to berate himself as he exits the shower, toweling off quickly. He wraps the towel around his hips, glancing at himself in the mirror. What looks back doesn’t scream sexy confident rock star. He sighs as he rubs product into his hair and onto his face. He cannot look bad when it comes to events like this.

His phone vibrates on his bedside table, pulling him out of his thoughts. He pulls on his sports coat over his t-shirt, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles. He grabs his phone, his heart rate skipping slightly at the thought of you finally responding. As he opens his phone, he scowls.

Kurak has called him three times and texted him to hurry his ass up. The limo isn’t picking him up for another 5 minutes, so he sends Kurak a middle finger emoji. His phone continues to vibrate as he ties his Louboutin boots and fixes his Apple watch. He rolls his eyes at his incessant band mate.

A black stretch limousine is waiting for him as he walks out of his building. Music pours out the sunroof along with Kurak. “About fucking time!” he yells as he fixes his designer shades. Kylo flips him off as he opens the limo door.

His band mates are all there, along with Hux, Rae and Phasma. He slides in next to Hux, quickly noticing most of them have dates. Rae, bedazzled in a skimpy silver dress, is singing along to the song along with two other random women.

Kylo nods to Vic as Phasma hands him a glass of champagne. “We will be making a toast soon, so don’t chug that yet” she says with a wink. He smiles slightly as he watches the scene around him. Everyone looks so damn happy and ready to have a good time. They have worked hard and now they get to celebrate. He watches Phasma pass around flutes of Champagne, smirking as he watches Cardo make an ass of himself trying to impress a curvy Latina.

“Kylo!” Rae yells in a sing-song voice. He can tell based on her loose body movements and glassy eyes that she and Kurak had started before they even got in the limo. “Tonight is gonna be so fun. But where is Y/N?” He stiffens at the sound of your name.

As he thinks of something to say, Vic nudges Kurak’s thigh. Kurak then instantly starts distracting Rae with sloppy neck kisses. Vic smirks as he meets Kylo’s eyes, nodding in understanding. Kylo sighs as he shifts in his seat, hoping she will be distracted by Kurak all night. That’ll be one less inebriated person he will have to fight off.

Sharp tings against a champagne glass ring through the space. “Attention everyone” Phasma says “I want to propose a toast. You gentlemen have been a pleasure to work with and have set a standard for where music is heading. You all have worked so hard and now you get to reap the rewards. To continued success and a long partnership. Cheers!” She raises her flute to a series of hoots and yells. He taps his glass and takes a sip. He allows himself to enjoy the crisp effervesce on his tongue. He much preferred whisky, but he can appreciate a quality Brut.

For the rest of the ride, he talked to Hux about tour details. Horizons was already signed on as a co-headliner. Kylo was excited to play with Sykes again. Hux had asked if the band would be interested in doing some of the major music festivals during the tour. Kylo said he didn’t mind. Those were great opportunities to expose the band to new fans and to make connections within the music community.

“Ok everyone” Phasma calls over the noise “we are about to arrive. Remember you represent both yourselves and D’Kar. Enjoy yourself but keep your shit together.” She eyes everyone, her steely glare serious. Kurak snorts into his drink as the limo slows to a stop. “Yes Ma’am” he says sarcastically as he smoothes out his teal suit jacket.

Even through the door and tinted windows, Kylo could hear the crowd. He takes a breath and runs his hand through his hair. He can do this, playing his part. Smile, answer questions, play a couple songs and then find his friends and survive the night with little to no drama. As the limo door opens, Kylo steps out into a world of flashing lights and overwhelming sound.

The pain continues... 💔

[peachyysugaa]

gravity

– nasa operator!sim jaeyun x astronaut!gn! reader

miles of sky and space doesn't stop gravity from pulling him to you.

genre: strangers/coworkers to lovers, fluff

wc: 2.7k

warnings: 3rd person pov, probably inaccurate astronaut/nasa lingo sorry i'm a chemistry major LOL, one curse word, couple of time skips, food cw

a/n: yea it's another fluff one-shot 😎 finally a jake one-shot! i hope y'all enjoy this i took a while to write this but i'm p proud of how it turned out despite no proofread.

♞──────────────────────────♞

time on earth: 3:43 am

one of nasa's star rookies sits inside the mission room, monitoring the ISS diligently. today, sim jaeyun was assigned to keep watch on their astronauts as well as the station itself. it's supposed to be a reward for performing well on the latest calculations, but he can't help but find it a little boring. he flips through the cameras quickly, as if trying to find something new.

'yeah right, like anything happens in space,' he mumbles in his head. adjusting his thin glasses and stretching his chair to feel just a tad bit more alive, jake takes a look at one of the three astronauts on board as they float to the window. it seems to be l/n y/n, a rookie who excelled at their simulation tests and the one they say has stars in their eyes themselves.

the astronaut peeks over their shoulder surprised. they make swimming motions to reach over the intercom, which makes jake laugh a little. finally, they push the button and make a reply. "yes houston, this is l/n. is something wrong?"

the astronaut peeks over their shoulder surprised. they make swimming motions to reach over the intercom, which makes jake laugh a little. finally, they push the button and make a reply. "yes houston, this is l/n. is something wrong?"

the astronaut peeks over their shoulder surprised. they make swimming motions to reach over the intercom, which makes jake laugh a little. finally, they push the button and make a reply. "yes houston, this is l/n. is something wrong?"

now jake hadn't planned this far, but since he was already doing it, he might as well go through with it. "do you miss earth?"

he can see through the cameras that y/n wasn't expecting that question as their eyes widen. someway somehow, jaeyun was able to see the stars in their eyes everyone gushed about. maybe it was even better because they were actually living with the stars in space at the time.

"i-i don't know if we should be talking about this, but yea, i do miss earth," they finally reply. "not that being in space isn't fun! i just can't help myself especially since i can see the planet spinning in front of my eyes..."

it's silent for a bit, making the astronaut worry. "h-hello? houston?"

jake blinks before shaking his head and hurried to reply. "y-yes! sorry, i was just caught up in how lonely you sound?"

again, an awkward silence stills. the nasa operator curses to himself, realizing how awkward he must have made it and scrambling to fix the mistake. "i'm really sorry i didn't mean to overstep my boundaries!" he rushes. "my name's sim jaeyun, by the way. people know me better as jake."

"sim jaeyun? rising star sim jaeyun?" they owlishly repeat.

"that's me," he states back, rubbing the back of his neck. "i guess you've heard my name."

he sees the astronaut nod in camera before they're absentmindedly spinning circles midair. "you're my age, and you're already working in nasa headquarters. quite a feat would spread around, you know?"

jake laughs and shakes his head at their comment. "you say that like you're not star rookie l/n y/n."

at the sound of their twinkling laugh, jake's eyes perk up to capture the joyful astronaut holding their stomach on the cameras. "i can tell we're a lot alike, jake," you say with a smile stretching across your face.

it turns out he likes hearing his name off their lips albeit via nasa intercoms. calming down the beating of his heart, jake starts off the first of many late night conversations. "so would you like to hear what's happening on earth?"

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 2:26 am

"—and layla was having such a good time meeting other puppies at the park this morning!" jake laughs out with the rookie astronaut laughing with them on the other side of the intercom, separated by thousands of miles in between them. they've been talking like this over the system for weeks now, practically a little over a month. safe to say, the nasa operator was developing feelings for them, perhaps already smitten. sunghoon in the other unit said something about being whipped?

"i wonder how she would react seeing my puppy," they reply.

"when you come back to earth, the first thing we'll do is have them meet on a puppy playdate," he tells them earnestly.

"just layla and rosie on a date? what about us?" he could hear the smirk in their voice even though they weren't next to him.

"i-i-huh? what?" jake stammers. he heard the smirk, but did he hear the words properly? for one, he's not sure they know what he looks like. does that matter to them? without realizing it, his hands are taking off his glasses and fiddling with them.

"are you nervous?"

"hah, what makes you think that?" jake asks nervously.

"jake, i can hear you playing with your glasses."

"shit," he curses, and an endearing giggle is heard on the other side.

"i like you, let's make it a date between us too," he hears, his face gradually becoming hotter.

the chance to confess to his crush is literally handed to him on a silver platter, but he's too busy acting like a middle schooler trying to give chocolates to the person he likes. it's unusual for him to feel like this, his heart's beating way too fast for him to think, and he has to cough to calm down.

"it's a date then." a happy hum is the response he gets, which does nothing to calm the beating of his heart but ignites a new warmth in him. "hey, wait a minute, do you even know what i look like?"

"i kinda remember, but does that even matter?"

"i don't know what if you don't like my face?"

"please, my roommate told me you're on par with that sunghoon guy, and he's known as the prince of his division."

"yeah, but-"

"don't take this the wrong way, jake, but shush." he's sure that if they were here in person, they would put a finger on his lips. it seemed like a(n) y/n thing to do based on the time they've gotten to know each other. "i don't care what you look like. the connection we have together is enough, don't you think?"

he knows they're right, but it doesn't stop the sassy compliment from tumbling out of his mouth. "well, we have a connection and i know you're pretty and smart and funny."

perhaps it's just the color of the screen, but jake swears he saw a blush on their face. it makes him proud after he had somewhat embarrassed himself earlier.

"good night, jake," y/n playfully scoffs at him.

"good night, y/n."

'what a night,' jake thinks to himself with a stupid grin spreading across his face as he prepares the systems for the person on the next shift.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 9:18 am

today is the day. today the pod that stayed at the ISS for 3 months was coming back to earth, and everyone was on their toes. jake was currently scanning the computer calculations from any errors, clutching the paper and burning holes in it with his eyes.

"you good there, bro?" he doesn't need to lift up his head to know that it's sunghoon.

"i have to make sure these are perfect," jake replies in a tone that screamed don't-bother-me.

he feels his coworker's hand pat his shoulder in reassurance. "relax, jake. they'll get here just fine."

jake's whole body sighs when he takes a deep breath. "yeah, i know. i'll just check one more."

his friend offers a comforting smile and one more pat before leaving him to perform his own duties for the landing.

for this last check, jake takes it upon himself to calculate the angle in which the pod enters the earth's atmosphere by hand as a safety precaution. his head jumbles with all the physics equations necessary as his hand complains by cramping from how fast he's calculating.

upon finishing, he looks at the two final numbers side by side. "same to the 5th decimal place," jake affirms to himself.

"great, does that mean you're ready to turn it in, mr. sim?"

turning around abruptly to the sound of the voice, jake finds his supervisor and rushes to grab all the papers for presentation. "yes, ma'am!"

a smile graces her face as she takes the materials from him and flips through the calculations. "good work," she finally says. "our astronauts will get home safely thanks to you."

it's like a weight lifted off his shoulders when he hears those words. jake lets out a sigh of relief once his supervisor walks away and tells him to wait for further instruction. he folds into his chair, thinking about how soon he'll finally be able to see y/n in person.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 9:45 am

"everyone, standby!" jake's supervisor announced. the whole command center took a deep breath as they tuned into the astronauts, soon to be leaving the ISS via pod.

"l/n, song, johnson, do you read me?"

"loud and clear, houston," y/n l/n replies in crisp audio.

"get ready to launch then, atlantis ii."

"copy that, houston." the sounds of buckling and buttons flicking can be heard on the other end as jake's palms sweat.

"3... 2... 1... launch!" and they're detached from the ISS, launched into the endless ocean of stars and dust that is space.

"coordinates and angles, houston?"

"atlantis ii, the speed, angle, and coordinates at which you are to enter..." and jake hears his checked numbers be repeated to them. "...you'll be dropping in the gulf of mexico."

"copy that, houston. ready to enter earth's atmosphere in 3... 2... 1... entering!"

the audio delivers the rough shaking as the temperature regulation beeps steadily.

"your temperatures are in the right range, atlantis ii."

it's a rough 5 or something minutes, jake's not sure of the time. he just knows his armchair is having a field day with all the gripping he's doing. he can hear the shaking of the pod driven by the weight and the acceleration of gravity once it takes its pull on the astronauts' pod.

"prepare for impact, atlantis ii!"

everyone is rising up to see the camera pan to the oceanview team who waits for the pod to enter.

"initiating parachute!" and there! the pod appears on the command center's screen in high definition, the mic picking up some of the breeze of the mexican gulf. it enters the ocean with a large plop! and everyone is standing up and cheering.

"successful landing, everyone! congratulations!!"

sunghoon is coming to jake and lifting him out of the chair, engulfing him in the joy that comes from returning the astronauts home. he didn't realize he was staring stupidly at the screen with a blank look and still sitting.

"dude, we did it!" at the sound of his friend's voice, jake mirrors his friend's smile and they embrace each other.

"we did it!" jake replies. soon, he'll finally be able to see y/n in person.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 8:04 am

the next day when he clocks in for work, it's calmer and more exciting. jake can feel it in the atmosphere as the nasa operator walks through headquarters.

he makes his way towards the rehabilitation center for their astronauts, his heart unable to calm down the rapid rate of beating. he hears it before he sees it: the bell-like laughter jake was so familiar with, the one he associated with late nights. his feet is pulled towards the sound like gravity, his strides getting longer and his steps having a bounce to it.

jake hears his name being called happily, and he turns to face the voice with an unstoppable grin before taking steps towards the astronaut going through rehabilitation.

"hey, gravity got you bad, i see."

they laugh joyfully. "i'll be good in about a month or 2—i'm pretty quick at this."

"i have no doubt about that."

the two are silent for a bit as they do a few more crunches, jake crouching down in front of their feet to meet them. it's nice and comfortable between the two as he helps them go through their exercises.

"so about that date..." he starts off, watching as their eyes sparkle like stars upon hearing his phrase. his mouth starts to hang a little, loosening up to have words spilling out without his complete knowledge. "wow... your eyes really do have stars in them..."

they stop as they finish a crunch and reaches out to close his mouth with an eye roll. "close your mouth first, sim jaeyun."

"okay, but what about that date?"

"we're getting it. just wait a week or so when i can walk properly," they say with a teasing smile. jake can't help but to smile back.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 2:57 pm

the only thing keeping his nerves calm is layla. the golden retriever was far from nervous as she sat wagging her tail happily with her tongue out.

"jake!!" he hears from the voice he's come to love listening to over the past few months. looking up from layla while holding her leash tightly, he spots the person he's been waiting for and he's mesmerized, left breathless by what he sees.

a light summery fit adorns their figure as they dash towards him with a puffy pomsky dog equally excited. their smiles are bright and sparkles adorn their eyes as usual, but it doesn't make the effect any less beautiful. they slow down, owner and dog panting a little.

immediately, layla gets up from her sitting position to greet the new guests, starting to sniff the two of them.

y/n laughs as they squat down and let the golden sniff them and their hand before giving her warm pets. "hi layla! i'm y/n, and this is rosie."

the two dogs sniff each other in circles, but soon enough they're bouncing and pouncing each other as if they've been best friends since litter days.

"they're getting along so well, and we haven't even gotten to the park yet," y/n comments with a giggle.

"should we get going?" jake offers. they reply with a nod and holds their leash in one hand, grabbing jake's with the other.

if he's taken by surprise, he doesn't show it, but inside, his heart is pounding more than ever before and his head is screaming in joy. the pair walk together hand-in-hand towards the park with two even happier pups prancing ahead of them.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 4:31 pm

the two dogs are getting a bit tired, it seems, as they walk back to jake and y/n who were talking comfortably, y/n's head rested on his shoulder.

"look who's back from playing," y/n says as they ruffle rosie and layla's head, jake following suit.

"let's go get some ice cream for us and puppucinos for them?" jake suggests.

"ooh! that sounds good!" the pups seem to like the idea too, wagging their tails once more and looking at their owners with puppy eyes. jake thinks he's surrounded by three pairs of puppy eyes as he shakes his head in endearing disbelief.

"let's go then."

once they get to the shops, order, and receive their foods, the four of them sit down and enjoy their treats. the owners laugh at their dogs when they see them lap up their puppucinos with so much excitement and vigor, getting the cream all over their faces.

as the sun sets, it casts its glowing light onto the astronaut-in-rehabilitation, making jake's eyes move onto them. he notices a smudge of ice cream at the corner of their lips and without thinking moves in to kiss it off. y/n blinks their starry eyes at him, reminding him of their first "meeting" over intercom and camera screens.

"i like you," he blurts out. "can i... kiss you?"

"i thought you would never ask," they reply with a wide grin, leaning in to press their lips together before he does.

it's like gravity pulls them towards each other because they can't ever seem to get enough of one another, no matter how far apart they are.

[writingsfromhome]

Bad Timing III

A/N: Okay. This one has it all: action, betrayal, confessions, concussions (again), snark, and an ending that is neither happy nor sad, or maybe you make it what you want it to be :) This was so different from anything I’ve written and I want to say thank you everyone for reading it and motivating me to continue loll

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

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

I’m surprised to find Harry on my doorstep this early on a Wednesday morning. At first, I think he’d cracked the case. But he looks like he’d just rolled out of bed, a stubble roughening his usual freshly shaved face. He didn’t look like he had good news.

“You look rough,” I comment. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” he blows his cheeks out with a breath. “Ab-so-lutely nothing, literally. I’m hitting a dead end with your case and I feel like shit about it.”

“So...you’ve decided to knock on my door at quarter to 8 and? Discuss the case with me?”

“Well I...not exactly.”

“Did you want to come in? Maybe go through some more of my private boxes?” I ask. I was being petty, making him feel uncomfortable. But I also wanted to just put it out there, so it didn’t hang above us like the rest of our past. The last thing I wanted from him was pity, so if I had to make him feel guilty instead I would own that.

He blushes, just like I knew he would. “M’sorry about that,” he mumbles, looking appropriately self-conscious. “I could do with a coffee if you have some?”

“You look like you need one but...I’ve got to head out soon.”

“I’ll give you a ride in,” he offers. “I...we can just talk about the case. This can be professional.”

My laugh is brittle as I open the door to let him in, like a stray I knew I would regret. “Nothing about this is professional.”

He walks right in through to my kitchen--he knew where it was by now. I put on another pot and the awkward silence settles in. This was exactly how my friends described interactions with their exes, I guess I was truly living the life of a divorcee and it was all very mundane.

“So, did you have a guest over?” He asks. I raise an eyebrow and he motions to the two cups sitting on the table.

I roll my eyes and pick them up, “Great observation skills, Detective.”

“It’s my job,” he rolls with the sarcasm, cracking the ice we’d found ourselves in again. He takes a seat at the table and begins, “So the group that hit your bank hit up two more in the last week.”

“Two?” I was shocked. So many victims, I almost want to make a Bank Heist Survivor Group for us.

“Yeah,” he accepts the cup I pour for him. I sit across him with my second of the morning. The first I had drank with an on-and-off again guy I’d been seeing for the last few months--Alec. I never really let myself get serious with him, afraid to get hurt I guess. I knew he liked me, and he was good to me, but I didn’t want to make any commitments. This morning was the first time I let him stay for breakfast...after that letter it felt like something changed in me.

The letter...Harry...I focus back on his words as I realise he was talking to me, “...last one they’ve actually put someone in hospital--the ICU. If she doesn’t make it, it becomes homicide and-”

“Homicide?” Once again, I’m shocked. These people were really terrorizing the banks, and the police had no leads. Or at least that’s how Harry made it seem: “Any leads?”

“Um, I probably shouldn’t say-”

“So that’s a no.”

He looks up sharply before a small embarrassed smile softens his gaze. “Nothing serious.”

“That sounds like a load of useless shite you lot are doing at the station. Three banks and you’ve got nothing?”

He avoids answering, taking a sip of his coffee. “There are some leads, but the group’s really good. I just--I feel like there’s something staring me right in the face but I can’t see it.”

“What’s new?” I raise an eyebrow. He lets out a short laugh, shaking his head as he busies himself with the coffee. “What? I’m not joking.”

“This,” he gestures to me. “This snarky Y/N is a bit of an adjustment. I know you like your sarcasm, I just haven’t had it directed at me in a while.”

I cross my arms, maybe I needed to dose up my attitude so he knew I was 100% serious. When he catches on, he sets his cup down. “They’ve hit your bank up first yeah? I feel like there’s a reason for that, some personal connection maybe? Have you guys turned down anyone for a loan or anything recently? Someone that might want to target your bank first?”

“I’d have to check,” my mind begins to go over anyone we’ve had come in recently with issues.

“Oh!” He jumps in his seat. “The client you were meant to see--did you talk to him? I was going to ask you when you came to pick up the evidence but...”

“I was too busy to go.” I finish his sentence for him. “It’s weird actually, I called and got voicemail. I also emailed to apologise and reschedule but his office is away, I only get automated replies that they’re out of office or something.”

Harry pulls out the notebook he uses and asks me to write down their information, I was sure I’d written it down for him already but I write it a second time. I push the notebook back towards him, and he places his hand on top of mine instead of taking it back from me. I freeze, his large hand familiar and yet, heavier than I remembered.

“What are you doing,” I ask.

“I...want to apologise. For the other day.”

“Please let go of me,” I stare at his hand on mine.

“If I can just say-”

“Let go,” I say, slower. He clears his throat and removes his hand.

I pick up my mug, and move to the sink. Harry realises he’d overstayed his welcome and gets back up, throwing his jacket over his arm and hovering at the edge of the kitchen.

“Thanks for the coffee,” he says awkwardly. “And letting me think out loud. Should I um, wait outside?”

I remember I’d forgone getting to work on time on my own for his coffee and case updates. Fuck, this was going to be awkward. “Sure, I’ll just grab my things.”

He waits on my front stoop, talking on his phone and once he’s done we walk silently to his car when I join him. The silence in the car is deafening. I watch his hand twitch to the radio but he rests it back onto the steering wheel without turning it on. After a few more moments of silence, he speaks up.

“So uh, did you want to ask me about what you brought up...the day you came to pick up the evidence? You said you had questions?”

“Are you serious?” I look at him, incredulous. He really was incredibly thick if he thought I wanted to have this conversation now, after this morning.

“What? I’m just trying to make conversation and you’re the one that wanted to talk about it so-”

“Have I not made it crystal clear that I only want to talk to you about the case? What makes you think that’s a good topic right now?”

He shrugs, and I once again pray that the other people on his team were smarter than him because if he was the lead, my case was going nowhere.

“Can I just ask one question?” He tries again. I almost want to slam my hands on the dashboard but I sigh through gritted teeth instead and tell him he could. “Did you...ever actually read the letter? Last week...you sounded sort of surprised when I mentioned it.”

“I...” I consider lying. but I go for the truth which is a change for us. “I didn’t.”

“Oh,” he sounds dejected.

“I read it last weekend.”

“Oh,” he says again, slightly hopeful. “But this whole time...you didn’t know?”

“That’s another question.” I didn’t want to go into what I thought of him this whole time. “I only agreed to one question.”

“Fair enough,” he taps the steering wheel. We’d managed to get stuck in some traffic. “So that box I sort of looked into the other day...”

“I said no to more questions, Harry.”

“That wasn’t a question,” he says, neatly catching me in his trap. I glare at him, but his cheeky smile tells me he was slightly enjoying pushing my buttons. I make a mental note to never accept a ride from my ex-husband ever again.

We fall silent, and the letter plays through my mind again, I’d reread it a few times before I tucked it into my bookshelf. I’d decided after that, to take The Box and tape it up. I wrote my sister’s address and left it by my front door to mail out when I had the chance. It was time I let it go, I realized. My sister was having her third child, and I was so happy for her. I had people who loved me, and people I loved. I realised that I was holding on to the box and it was just torturing myself. I had enough torturous things in my life, I didn’t need to be one of them.

It feels like forever until Harry pulls up to the curb down the street from my building. I thank him properly, not wanting to be a complete bitch.

But as I walk around to the sidewalk, he calls my name. I turn back to him standing outside his car with his hand outstretched.

“You forgot this,” he holds out my umbrella. I sigh and go back to take it from him but he holds onto it.

“Are you going to let me have it?” I tug again.

“Yes,” he lets go and I have to balance myself on my back leg. “Thanks for taking me in this morning. And for the coffee...you didn’t have to, yet you did.”

“Don’t read into it detective,” I scowl. “It was purely to get more insight on the case.”

“Right,” he smirks.

“But since you had no insights, it was a waste of time.”

“Don’t say that so loud,” he hisses. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

“I’m not telling the people something they don’t already know.”

He narrows his eyes and grins, and my heart skips a beat. It was a familiar look, he used to look at me like that all the time. And I realise that maybe I’d just been flirting with him a little, albeit aggressively but...I drop my smile into a neutral expression. He notices the change and drops his own grin.

“I spoke to my supervisor and I’m going to set up in an empty room if that’s alright. I wanted to interview some of your staff, see if they had any clients who might want revenge by-”

“You’re coming in today?” I feel like he’d just pulled some sleight of hand trick on me, driving me to work only to come in with me. “I don’t know if my staff wants to talk.”

“It’s an investigation, they all agreed to further questioning when they gave their statements Y/N, I’m not going to be invasive. You won’t even notice I’m there.”

“I have no choice do I?” I turn around and begin walking up the street. He follows me in.

And surprisingly, I barely notice him in the empty conference room until after lunch when he comes in to tell me he would be back later, that he had to drop by the station for something his evidence team found.

I make a few rounds to my staff, make sure Harry didn’t disrupt their peace. That they were still okay after talking about the thieves. Being on the floor, my eyes continue to dart to the door, eyeing each of the customers.

I lock myself in my office for the last hour, channeling the nervous energy to get work done. It’s a few minutes before closing that I get the email. I rush to open it: the client I was meant to see finally responded.

Good afternoon Ms. Y/L/N,

We apologise for the delay in our response, our offices have been closed for the last week blah blah blah. We’re very sorry to hear about the events that occurred in your bank. As a loyal client, we would like to extend our sympathy...

I skip to what I needed to know:

To respond to your inquiry about the meeting we had scheduled, there doesn’t look to be anything on our end. I’ve spoken to the advisor personally, he had a flight out of the city that exact date so he wouldn’t have booked a meeting at the same time. I think this could be an error on your end but do let us know if there’s anything we can provide to help...

I sit back from my screen, my thoughts racing. I read it again to be sure and bury my face in my hands. I read it a third time to be sure.

Adam had specifically told me the meeting was at 10am sharp, the client threatened to switch banks if I didn’t attend. But if they never booked it...I actually had no reason to be there.

Except I was the only one who had access to the vault.

I stand up in a rush, this was an inside job! Someone I worked with knew who robbed this bank, they worked with them! Harry was right, the truth was staring at us and it was so obvious!

I take out my phone and text Harry: call me, the client for Thursday just got back to me...he wasn’t in the city that day?  I think about adding more, but I didn’t want to freak him out. This could be a big misunderstanding, and I didn’t want him to come here only for it to be nothing. I place my phone on my desk and take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

I walk out of my office, most of my staff had cleared for the day. Two of them deal with the last customers, but my eyes are searching for Adam. I had to ask him more about this client phone call, what number had they called from? Was he sure it was from the correct offices?

But Adam is nowhere to be found, which was weird because he worked until 5pm.

I move to the staff room, but stop in my tracks when a familiar voice chills me to the bone. I knew the voice, it was the same distinct voice that haunted my thoughts for the last two weeks.

I peek around the corner, Adam and a muscled bloke stand right outside the staff room. My shock catches itself in my throat as my heart plummets; the inside man--it was Adam. Adam had betrayed us all. Shy, awkward Adam. Suddenly I remember all of his jumpy behaviours since the robbery, and all his questions about security before. I just thought he was trying to learn more about the bank. Little did I know...my blood boils but  I have to put aside my own feelings of betrayal when the conversation grows louder. I strain to hear.

“The phone and the fucking card are missing, you better not be the reason we’re found out!” The muscled guy with the voice jams his finger into Adam’s chest. Adam looks scared shitless.

“I swear, I looked through the evidence they returned. I-I gave you the phone back! They haven’t said anything-”

“But that one detective was sniffing around here this morning? That’s why you texted me right? What did you tell him huh?”

“I didn’t say anything, he hasn’t even talked to me I-”

“That’s right. Make something up, a crazy customer from the day before some shite like that. If you even look suspicious to him, I’m going to come over to your flat for a nice dinner and invite my friend with me.”

My eyes bug out when I see him shift his jacket to reveal the hilt of a gun. Fuck!

I reach down for my phone but I don’t have it, double fuck, I think. I left it on my desk after texting Harry. I was an idiot, a big big idiot.

I try to soften my footsteps as I walk away from the staff room but the conversation must have ended because their footsteps echo on the tiled floor. I push into the nearest door and lay flat against the wall inside. I’m so focused on listening for their voices that I don’t realise I stepped into the men’s room.

“-before I leave..” to my horror, their voices stop right outside the room I’m in. I look around and realise I was in the men’s room. My instinct is to hide in a stall but this was a one-toilet bathroom, there was absolutely nowhere to go.

In slow motion, the door in front of me opens and the muscled, gun-owning guy looks right at me. It feels like a Western showdown as we lock eyes and freeze.

“Hey...Adam,” the guy calls out to Adam who must’ve been behind him. Adam peers around his shoulder and tenses when he notices me. “She’s in the men’s room! Isn’t that weird?”

“I-Y/N...she usually uses the men’s room.” Adam tries to cover for me but my deer-in the headlights expression is enough to give away that I knew who he was. I was trapped in here like prey. Adam lowers his voice, “C’mon, just leave her here and go-”

“She’s seen my face though,” He steps in and I inch into the corner.

“Look, I can forget your face. We can pretend this never happened please, I really really don’t want to die in a men’s room.”

Tattoo laughs, untucking his gun from his waistband. “I don’t believe you. Adam, get some tape so we can tie her up. I don’t want blood on my hands but if you make any noise, I’m painting this room fucking red.”

I keep my mouth shut, and nod. I’m reliving the worst day of my life all over again as I stare at the barrel of the gun. A small part of me wonders how my life could hang in the balance of this man’s fingers, twice, but I stay silent.

“There’s nobody here, everyone’s gone home.” Adam says, more to me. Tattoo pushes me against the tiled walls and pats me down roughly. I protest but he pushes the gun against my skull and I fall silent. Adam tries to step in, offering to make sure I didn’t have anything on me like my phone but I was stupid enough not to have it on me. His friend steps into the hall and makes a call, I assume to his crew.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry.” Adam’s voice breaks as he pats me down gently. I turn to him, with tears in my eyes. I was scared, and I needed Adam to get help. “Adam please, please don’t do this. Whoever he is, the police can protect you I-”

“He’s my cousin Y/N, you don’t understand he will kill me if I go against him. It’s complicated--my family’s complicated. I’m not like them. Y/N I’m so sorry I swear he...” he falls silent as his cousin comes back in. Adam makes a show of taping my hands and legs. I try to whisper, beg him to try but Tattoo notices and shoves me against the tiles. I think I black out for a second because the next moment, he’s pressing tape down over my mouth. I feel the panic I’d kept at bay blow up in full force, along with an ache in my temples. My breathing comes out short and I squeeze my eyes shut so I wouldn’t cry. I was going to die in a men’s restroom; this was what my miserable life had culminated to.

I remember the text to Harry then, maybe he’ll come. With backup. Maybe he’ll save the day for once. And I think about security, they surely noticed I never left the building, maybe they’ll go looking for me.

But my hopes are dashed when a woman comes in, I recognise her voice as the one who’d pushed me into putting the code into the vault.

“The side door was unlocked,” she tells Tattoo. She notices me and smirks, “It’s like you want your bank to be robbed. Who leaves the side door open after hours?”

She laughs and turns back to Tattoo, tells him that the guards were down and the place was officially locked up. They bring Adam in, and check with him that he knew where I kept my passwords, that he could clear out any money still left at this time of the day. I don’t hold back then, my tears flow silently down my cheeks as I watch them all leave me in the dark. If the police still hadn’t arrived, I really was going to die here like this. I don’t know when, but I pass out, and when I come to again I’m being pulled up aggressively while a familiar voice shouts at the people dragging me. Was that Harry?

H’s POV:

The one time I leave my phone in my car, I miss the most important text of my entire career--my entire life.

Around 2:30, the evidence team calls me, there was a breakthrough on the phone and card from the scene. A few numbers, but they were still trying to process the application for the records. I decided I couldn’t sit around and wait so I drive to the station and rush inside, leaving my phone behind.

It’s a waste of time though, the number leads to a burner that leads to a local shop that leads to a credit card. And that leads to a warrant which could take hours. Two hours later and I’m frustrated and moody. I decide to get some fresh air, and check my phone but reaching for my pocket I realise it wasn’t there.

I head to my car and find it between the seats. When I turn it on, Y/N’s name stands out and her text pushes me to my feet and into my car. I call her three times on my way to the bank but it keeps ringing. Fuck, I think. What if something happened to her? How was it that it was now a second time I was rushing to where she worked, afraid for her life.

I pull up the closest parking spot I can find to see security locking up. I rush to knock on the door but he only glances me, points to the closed sign, and walks away disinterested. I was in plainclothes today so he must have thought I was a customer. I reach for my badge to show him, and realise I’d left that in my jacket in my car. I couldn’t get anything fucking right today. I bang on the door but he ignores me, and the people outside begin to stare at me.

“I’m a detective,” I try to reassure them but they hurry past. It was stupid but I squint to see if anyone was inside, but there’s not a single soul. I see movement cast a shadow at the very end of the room but I can’t see anything with the way the glass is positioned. I center myself at the front again but the security is gone--I was going to have to find another way in.

I move around the big block of a building, looking high and low for another entrance into the building but the next shop over is a cafe so I double back and try the other way. A wooden door sits between the bank and the purses crowded in the store window on the other side. I try the door but it’s locked. Of course.

I go back to my car and find my lock pick kit, picking up my badge was a good idea. Within minutes, I’m in and a sterile hall greets me. I try the door on the left, but notice the keypad. After some bad guesses, I consider who set this: Y/N. I try her birthdate, her family’s birthdates--as close as i could remember. My feet tap against the tile rhythmically when the door knob turns right in front of my eyes. I dash to the side and huddle in front of the next door, rattling my keys as if I were trying to get in. Luckily, that door is unlocked and it’s a utility closet. I rush inside and peek through the crack; a man comes out and holds the door open while a woman opens the door I just came in from.

“It was unlocked,” she says skeptically.

“Shite security, just come in. When’s Russ getting here? He’s always the bloody last of us anywhere.”

Something was very wrong, I realize. But I don’t have time to think, I jump out of my hiding spot and manage to slide my hand into the closing door. I nearly crush my fingers but I nudge the door back open and slip into the bank.

The area’s clear, I move in to investigate. It’s only when I move from the hidden passage to the main lobby that the weight of the situation dawns on me. A different man wraps the security’s hand behind his back and pushes him against the wall. Push was nicer than what it looked like, he practically drags the guard into the wall.

My shoes squeaks on the floor and he looks up sharply, eyeing the area I was peeking out from. I crouch down, next to the trash bin and wait for his footsteps to leave. When I peer around the corner again, a familiar face paces behind the desks. Adam, I think it was, Y/N’s assistant.

It becomes clear in an instant, like a timelapse of a foggy night clearing into a bright blue sky. It was right in front of my face: Y/N’s assistant. The one who’d asked her to come in for a made-up appointment, the one who knew her exact schedule, the one who was jumpy and nervous every time I spoke with him. I thought he was just a shy kid but...he’d betrayed Y/N and been the inside man for these robberies.

I take my phone out, ready to text someone for backup but voices coming my way forces me to stop what I was doing. I press myself against the wall, trying to make myself smaller.

“I think she’s knocked out-”

“Don’t hurt her,” That was Adam. I recognised his cowardly voice. “We wouldn’t have gotten this far without her just, leave her in the bathroom. We can take everything and go.”

“You don’t have a say what goes on around here,” the woman says to him. “Your puny arse is why that detective was sniffing around here anyway.”

“She’s seen all our faces,” one of the guys says. “I’ll do it after you go.”

“She won’t remember, please.” Adam tries again. “Leave the charges at robbery, don’t add murder. She’s my boss I...”

The blood rushes to my head: his boss. Y/N was here, and they were casually talking about killing her? I take my phone out just as it begins to vibrate. I jump and manage to stop it in time, but my badge--the one thing I’d taken from my car purposely, clangs against the metal trash can.

Footsteps rush towards me and I stand up with my hands up, “Backup’s on the way, I suggest you lot put down-” they were all pointing guns at me. Bollocks. “your weapons.”

“That’s the fucking detective,” the one I’d seen tying up security waves his gun at me and I try not to panic. I wasn’t involved with a lot of guns, just the wounds they left in victims. I listen to him swear, “Backup yeah? I don’t hear shit. How did you even get in here?”

“I told you, the door was unlocked. The security here is shite.” The woman says, eyeing me. “I say we tie him up with the bitch and skip out now.”

“We haven’t even taken everything, this idiot doesn’t know the passcode-”

“I told you it changes every week. She must have changed it today.”

“Adam, how could you?” I speak up and all eyes-and guns-are back on me. Adam opens his mouth like a fish out of water but nothing comes out, I watch as he squirms and his group moves closer to me.

“Phone,” the one with tattoos points to the device in my hand. “Check his phone, if he called backup it would be on it.

I curse, they were smart. They’d robbed three banks after this and hadn’t left much behind--I should’ve known to be better prepared.

Someone takes my phone, another comes around and shoves the gun in my back which forces me to walk out into the lobby. They go through my phone and snicker at something. type something in and then toss the phone in the trash can beside us. I balk at the sound it makes when it crashes; the gun in my back pushes me forward and I’m forced to walk down the lobby, through a door and up to the men’s room.

“Wake the bitch up,” one of them men speak behind me. “Tie this one up and get her to open the safe with the new code.”

I knew I was outnumbered, they push me through the door and Y/N’s body is curled in one corner. The freshly pressed clothing from this morning are rumpled around her frame and she looks unconscious. The one who tied up security tapes my hands around my back and pushes me beside the sink.

“Don’t touch her!” I struggle against the arms who hold me back as the tattooed guy hauls her up and slaps her face.

“Wake up, it’s show time.” he shakes her. I push against the body pressing me down as they take Y/N out of the room. Her eyes flutter open and catch mine before she’s dragged out.

“I swear if you guys touch her I’ll snap your neck in half,” I can’t stop the panic turning into rage. “She-”

“Are you sleeping with her or something? Shut the fuck up.” The woman kicks the back of my knees and I fall, hitting my head as I crash down on my knees. She closes the door behind her.

I don’t know how much time passes but it feels like hours. The next time the doors open, they shove Y/N inside and she stumbles. I jump up to help her but with both of our hands behind our backs I accidentally lurch forward and her head bumps off chest.

“God! Harry!” She winces. “Way to hit the one part of my body that already feels like it’s going to explode.”

“Y/N,” I steady her with my chest and lean down to look at her. “Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?”

“Other than terrify, harass, and manhandle me? Oh, and give me another concussion...hm...”

“Here,” I motion with my chin. “Turn around, I’m going to get this tape off of you and you help me.”

She does as I say and I use the sharp edge of the ring I wore to make a small tear.

“Holy shit that’s better,” she shakes her hands out and gets to work on mine. As soon as my hands are free I try the door, there was a slim chance but we were in a restroom. I had to try. But it’s locked. Y/N speaks up from behind me: “They lock from the outside if you have the key--they probably got it from security. I don’t know who I angered in a past life but this is some shitty karma.”

“There’s got to be a way out of this room,” I wasn’t about to give up.

“There isn’t. But shouldn’t there be, like, backup coming?” Y/N takes a seat against the wall, watching me explore every inch of the tiny room.

“I...no. They took my phone before I could-”

“You came here without telling anyone? Even after the text I sent?” She shoots daggers at me.

“Well your text wasn’t exactly screaming danger!”

“I really have no fucking clue how you got your position Harry, surely anyone else would not be this dense.”

“I’m trying to find us a way out of here, this isn’t my fault! And anyway, it is your assistant that’s set this all up,” I say defensively.

“Sure know how to pick the men in my life, don’t I?” She says, but quieter. Seeing her bruised and hopeless there fuels me to look harder for a way our but after a frantic search, there really wasn’t anything in this place. No window, no vent big enough, nothing to pick the lock. I find a first aid that’s mostly empty, but there’s still an ice pack, tape, and painkillers inside. I crack the ice pack and hand it to Y/N who takes it silently, and then I slump down against the wall opposite Y/N and hang my head.

“What do you reckon they’re doing out there?” she asks.

“They were going to clean the place out and skip town.”

“Do you think we’re gonna die here?” she asks, her voice wobbly like she was about to cry. “Don’t. Don’t look at me like that, I’m just...asking.”

I look away from her face, her expression crumbling under my light scrutiny. She sniffs. Without looking at her I say “We’re not dying here. I told my guys to call me when they have something, and if they can’t reach me it’ll be suspicious enough to followup at least.”

“By the time they grow suspicious enough to track you, we’ll be dead. I’ve not got much faith in your team.” Y/N crosses her arms. Even under these circumstances, she’s fierce.

“They’re close to a breakthrough. It was them calling me that got me caught out there actually. Not even the call itself...my bloody badge clanged against the--it doesn’t matter anyway. But they must have something, they’ll be here soon. We won’t die in here.”

I felt more than hopeless stuck here. Out of the two of us, I was supposed to be the one who could make their way out of this type of situation. Months of training and years of experience, and here I sat stuck in a bathroom with the woman I gave up on.

“What a way to go,” she sighs. “In the bloody loo.”

I want to go over and put my arm around her, maybe I needed the comfort more than she did. But based on the way she crosses her arm and keeps her legs up I know she’s guarding herself. I could read the signs. So we sit there silently for who knows how long. Every so often a muffled noise comes from outside, we hear a crash but the silence after doesn’t tell us whether the thieves had left or they were still around.

With Y/N going mute, I look around the room again but there’s still nothing. She slumps further to the floor, and I seat myself back down again. I stare at her, remembering the shape of her face under my hand, the curve of her hips when my fingers traced them. Her laugh, the way she liked to tease me. If I was dying here, and this was my life flashing before my eyes...I sure had missed out on a lot of it. And if the robbers decided to come in here, and put a bullet in each of us, what kind of person had I even been?

A new surge of energy goes through me, I take the slim door handle and try it again. I know it wasn’t going to open but I tug it, again and again. I brace my foot against the wall and try and try again. But it remains stubbornly closed.

Winded, I sit back down. Y/N just watches me silently as the hope officially leaves my body. We sit in silence.

“Are you happy?” she asks after a few minutes. I look over at her bruised forehead, she raises an eyebrow and immediately winces. I reach over--in the small space, even on opposite walls, she was an arm away. I guide her hand with the ice over the bruise.

“I don’t know,” I admit, leaning back against the wall. “Why?”

She shrugs, going silent. I stretch my legs out and she mimics me, finally letting down her guard as her legs rest beside mine. I give her another minute, and she responds. “Your letter, you said you left because you weren’t happy. So I’m just wondering...are you happy now?”

“If I said yes, would it make you feel better?”

“Well, it would make you falling in love with another woman and breaking my heart in the process a little easier to accept...it wouldn’t have been for nothing if you’re happy.”

“You sure have a lot of tact,” I sigh.

“We might die here?” she fixes me with an annoyed glare. “There’s no time for tact when I could get closure? Before I die?”

“We’re not dying in here,” I promise but she shrugs like she didn’t have much faith in me. And why should she?

“Don’t avoid the question: are you happy?”

I give myself a moment, taking in her face. I didn’t know how to answer that without the overwhelming shame and guilt choking me. In a way, yes. In others, no. I settle for, “Sometimes.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” she hits her foot into my knee. “Sometimes? You cheated on me, and dumped me for a sometimes?”

“Okay wait,” I stop her. “I want to get something straight, I never cheated on you--”

“You did! You fell for some woman a-and you literally married her not even a year after we split!”

“Y/N,” I grow serious. She had thought that this whole time that I... “That’s not how it-” I let out a breath, truly realising what she thought of me this whole time. “Y/N, I fell for someone, sure, but I never even went out with her before we split. Nothing happened! It just took falling for someone else to make me realise my heart wasn’t in it--with us. It made me see I wasn’t happy where I was. But I-I went on one date with that person after we split and it was awful. She avoided me at work after that.”

“What?” she furrows her brows. “So-so who the fuck did you marry?”

I almost laugh, but it would be so inappropriate. “Someone else I worked with-”

“Wow, Harry, you really know how to get around.” She crosses her arms.

“I never denied that--you knew me in uni.”

A small smile cracks her guard but she covers it with an eye roll. “That’s the only thing you’ve said all day that’s actually made sense.”

“It’s nice to see you smile,” I say which earns me a glare. I saw it coming, and that makes me smile. Her glare falters at my smile and she covers her face with the ice pack. I continue, feeling more confident to explain. “Anyway, it was this other person from work, we’d worked on a few files together and she was actually the one who asked me out when she found out I was single. I felt like I had a strong connection with her--to be honest I think I was just lonely and h-um,..y’know. Mistook that for a gem, and married her.”

“I always thought you married the woman you fell for. So you could have a baby.”

I have to laugh at that. “I didn’t want a baby that badly--with someone I barely knew at best.”

She shrugs, “Well we were so tumultuous after we found out our chances were low and you were such a bitch to me about that so what else was I to think?”

I feel like an arse all over again. “I was an idiot, a big fucking idiot Y/N.”

“When did you realise?” She leans forward. “Cuz I’ve known that for years now.”

I rub my face with my hand, she was never going to make this easy. “I thought having a kid would make me happy, make me feel complete; it was the missing thing in my life. So when I realised our chances were low, it just killed my hope of ever being happy. Honestly I think even if we got pregnant I would’ve still been unhappy. I was just...using that as an excuse to..break us apart. It was never about you, I was just too cowardly to admit that I was going to hurt you if I told you I wanted a divorce for the real reason: because I wasn’t happy.”

“So...you made me feel like a fuck-up for not being able to get pregnant instead?”

“I...yeah,” there was the waves of shame crashing into me, I was drowning in it. Y/N just sits there, I can feel the judgement and hurt rippling off of her as she pieces everything together. “I feel awful about that. You really didn’t deserve that.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Her tightened fists tell one story, but the tears pooling in her eyes tells a different one. I slide closer to her, crossing my legs in front of her. “There’s nothing I can say to even begin to apologise for that. I should have just been honest, told you I wasn’t happy in the relationship, in my job, where my life was heading. But I let you believe it was somehow your fault and I can never take that back.”

She continues to watch me, her mouth a tight line as she tries not to cry. But with a blink of her eyes, the tears are streaming down her face. I reach out to her, out of habit, but she shrinks away. So I move back to the opposite wall and watch miserably as she cries into her sleeves.

“I was still unhappy, after the other marriage.” The only thing I can do is continue, I didn’t want to watch her cry in silence. “It took me finding her flirting with another bloke at work to realise we were a farce. I split with her, quit my job a few weeks later, and it was only then I felt free. It was a good feeling; the closest to happiness I’d felt back then. And then I lived with my sister for a few weeks while I figured out my next steps. You should know she was fuming when she found out we split, she didn’t talk to me for weeks.”

Y/N had wipes her tears by now, and listens to me talking in silence. When I mention my sister, she smiles. “We talk, here and there. Never about you, but I still keep in touch with her. And your mum. We had dinner when they were in London last year, it was really nice.”

“What?” This was news to me. “They never mentioned it.”

“Obviously not,” a smile pulls at her mouth and I’ve never been more relieved to see it. “They like me better than you.”

“Ouch,” If we got out of this--when we got out of this, I had questions for my mum.

“So,” she traces a crease on her trouser. “you switched jobs? Found the right fit?”

“Yeah, I did really good there. Moved up quickly. I found something I was passionate about, and it felt good. I think I was happy until...recently.”

“What happened?”

A shout from the other side of the door gives us pause, the door bursts open and I quickly move to block Y/N. But someone pushes an unconscious body into the room with their hands tied. With three bodies in here, it’s suddenly overcrowded.

“If you say one more thing to me, I will put a bullet in his fucking head...” The conversation fades out as the door slams and they walk away. Y/N rushes past me to the body and turns it face up.

“Adam,” she gasps. I walk over and her assistant lays there with a black eye and bruises forming all over his face. She unties his gag and I make sure he’s breathing.

“He’s alright, Just unconscious.” I let her know as she pulls off her jacket and piles it under his head. “He is the one who let these people into your life, you remember that?”

She glares at me, “He didn’t have a choice Harry. I spoke to him when I gave him the code--one of them’s his cousin. He said they were going to break in one way or another and if he didn’t help they would shoot him and me during the process.”

“He had plenty of time to tell you after the fact-”

“Have a little compassion,” she throws her hands up. “He didn’t ask to have a fucking criminal family. Just, let’s wait for him to wake up. He’s been through a lot.”

“So have we,” I mumble but she doesn’t acknowledge me. She moves to her wall instead, putting her hand to her head.

“Let me see,” I slide myself towards her and move her hand away from the area. I pick up the ice she abandoned on the floor and hold it to her head but she snatches it back, saying she could hold it herself, right before she pitches forward and passes out herself.

Y/N’s POV:

I wake up confused and groggy, only to see Harry’s face hovering above mine. For a second, I think that maybe I was living in a twisted Groundhog Day type of situation, forced to relive the bank heist until I resolved things with Harry. But then I notice his split lip and remember my life was that unlucky that I was in the same position twice.

“Jesus, you’re awake.” Harry lets go of my hand which he’d been holding.

“It’s actually just Y/N,” I try to crack a joke. It flies past his head, his eyebrows pinching together. He asks me if I remembered my name, where I was, and a dozen other questions even though I insist I was fine. I was laying down with my head in his lap, I realise halfway through the interrogation. But trying to get up made me dizzier so I stay. He shows me the paracetamol he found in the first aid and forces me to down two, and I only agree because my head had started pounding.

“Don’t do that to me again,” he pushes my hair back. I try not to focus on the warmth of his hand on my skin, how nice it felt. I was bloody delirious. “You have to stay awake Y/N, this is the second time you’ve hit your head I think your concussion might be more serious this time if you’re passing out--”

“Harry please,” I put my hand up to stop his rambling. “Your voice is hammering at my migraine.”

“Sorry,” he smooths down my hair again, and again, like it soothed him more than it soothed me. “I’m not used to feeling so useless like this. But there’s absolutely nothing in here that’s going to help us get out. All we can do is sit tight and wait for one of them to come back.”

“So finish your story,” I ask. “You said you were happy until recently. What happened.”

He looks at me skeptically but I insist I wanted to know. I was finally getting the full story, the closure that actually made sense. And I wanted all of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

“The box,” he says simply and I flinch because I know exactly what he’s talking about. “Well, seeing you and realizing-- this whole time it’s like, I’ve missed you in the peripheral y’know? And seeing you that day, forced me focus on how much I missed my...best friend. And after that, the box? I realized what I did to you...the impact of it? Maybe I was just daft this whole time for not really thinking about it but-”

“I was pregnant,” I blurt out. If I was going to die, I may as well tell him. “A few weeks before our...breakup. I found out. And I was going to tell you. I was-I was just so excited I’d bought some things prematurely. But then I lost the...baby. I’d just boxed the shite away after that. Carrying it with me...it hurt but I almost believed that I deserved it?”

I watch him swallow, from this angle I can see the muscles in his jaw clench. I reach up and my hand lands on his neck, I move it to rest on his chest where I intended. He looks down and I see the tears coat his lower lashes. I think I was half-drowsy from the pain meds but I want to cry with him, and wipe his tears. A distant part of my brain screams at me for being confused and slightly fucked up, but my medicated brain reach up to pat his face. My heart flutters when he closes his eyes and leans into my palm.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” He whispers.

“Would it have made a difference?” I ask, my eyes drifting shut. But he shakes me rudely and they fly open.

“Stay awake.” He insists. “And...it wouldn’t have made a difference but at least you wouldn’t be carrying it alone.”

“Well I’m not, anymore.” I yawn. “I told you, and you seen it. And m’gonna mail the box to my sister--she’s pregnant by the way. She might have better use for it.”

He eyes me, “How did that make you feel?”

“You’re not a bloody therapist,” I laugh. “Don’t ask me that.”

“I think I’d make a good therapist,” he says over-confidently.

“You’re the reason why I had a therapist,” I mumble. “You’d be an awful therapist. Your patients would need therapy from therapy.”

I laugh, it wasn’t even that funny but everything just felt ridiculous. Harry’s smiling down at me, but a loud crash from outside wipes it. His body tenses, and I watch the door.

“Sorry,” he whispers before gently moving my head off his lap and onto his jacket he’d bundled. He picks something up from beside him--the toilet seat.

“Why are you holding a toilet seat?” I whisper-shout. He puts his finger to his lips and crouches on the side of the door.

“You were passed out for a while, I had time to make a bit of a mess-”

He cuts his sentence short as the door opens and Adam’s cousin comes in swearing at Adam but before he can reach for him, Harry slams the toilet seat over the guy’s head. I watch it all sideways, my head feels too heavy to pick it up. The man crumples on top of Adam, and Harry expertly searches him, picking his gun off of him.

From outside, the woman’s voice come closer.

“What’s taking so long? The car’s outside just grab your stupid cousin let’s go! The cops will be here any min-”

She freezes when she comes face to face with the gun in Harry’s hand. She reaches for hers and in half a second, Harry’s fired his gun into her arm. She lets out a shout and falls to the floor. Harry kicks the gun out of her hand and pulls her inside, blood trailing in her wake. He uses the jacket under Adam’s head to tie her arms and comes back to me.

“Y/N, let’s go. I hear sirens.” Harry bends down and gently lifts me up. I feel like a ragdoll in his arms but I manage to prop myself enough to walk beside him. He closes the door behind him and checks the handle that it was locked.

He helps me down onto a chair, the brightness of the lobby nearly blinds me, my migraine tearing my skull apart. I think I throw up on the floor, I felt entirely out of it. I keep my eyes closed, but I hear Harry letting in some people, and I feel arms putting me on a stretcher, taking me out into the cool air. The fresh air smelled incredible, and that’s the last thought I have before I pass out.

***H’s POV:

It was a crazy 24 hours.

Right before I’d been shoved into a 7′ by 5′ restroom, my team at the station had received the warrant for the credit card. That was the call I received that put me in the tiny room with Y/N. When I didn’t pick up, Detective Cole had taken the lead in tracing it. The credit card belonged to Adam’s cousin and they eventually traced him to Adam. That was the smoking gun for them, they tried me a few times. Finally, tracking my car to outside the bank. Suspicious, they sent out a few uniforms here and when they noticed my car sitting empty, and no guard at the entrance, they called for backup.

I’d debriefed, spoken and written out in detail, what happened. They’d taken pictures, handcuffed everyone in the bathroom, and I’d watched triumphantly as they walked the criminals out. Two had escaped after hearing the sirens, but at least two would be put away.

I drink my third coffee at the station now, when my supervisor finally comes in to talk to me. Tells me I could go home, finally. To get rest--the paramedics had checked me out and I was okay considering what just happened.

But instead of going home, I drive straight to the hospital where Y/N lay like a shell of herself. A tall bloke in a perfectly pressed suits stands above her, brushing her cheek. I watch as she reaches up and holds his hand, I watch him pull her hand up and kiss it. Then he leans down and kisses her bandaged forehead.

My stomach is in knots; I can’t look away. It was the same person who left her flat just this morning--god, this morning felt like years ago. It must be her boyfriend, but she didn’t mention she was seeing someone. Maybe it was casual, I think. But casual wouldn’t come to hospital like this, caress her like that.

The obvious was that I was lucky just to have a glimpse of her in my life again, long enough to clear the air between us. But I couldn’t hold on to her, when I let go so many years ago, I’d lost my grip entirely. And now she was out of my grasp.

I knock gently on the door, Y/N’s boyfriend (?) looks up.

“Sorry, the doctor doesn’t want anyone taking her statement right now-”

“I’m not-” I unclip my badge to show that I wasn’t there for my job. At the same time Y/N rests her hand on his arm.

“Alec,” she says in a hoarse voice. “It’s alright, that’s Harry.”

“Oh,” I can read everything in the two-letter word and the look he gives me. He seems to swallow what he really wanted to say and comes up to me to shake my hand instead. “Thanks, for helping Y/N tonight.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I grasp his hand, he had a strong handshake. Which was a stupid thing to think about I realise, as my eyes land on Y/N. She’s looking at him with a purity in her eyes that she used to look at me with. Something inside of me falls away, it feels raw and dark. I remove my hand from his, “Y/N’s a strong woman.”

“She is,” he looks at her with the same look she gives him. I felt like I should go, like I was interrupting them. But Y/N asks him to give us some space. He happily obliges, like I wasn’t even a threat to him. With what Y/N told him, everything she knew to be the truth before tonight, I didn’t blame him.

“Hi,” she says, she clears her throat, watching me watching her.

“How are you feeling?” I brush her hair back from the bandage on her head.

“Like there’s a rock concert in my head,” she jokes. “Except it’s mostly screaming.”

“Kind of like that one party we went to in uni,” I remind her.

“I thought the party’s theme was emo,” a laugh bursts out of her.

“It was screamo,” I laugh with her. “My ears were bleeding the next morning.”

“You crashed in my bed that night,” she remembers, her voice soft as the nostalgia washes over us. I take her hand in mine and brush my thumb over her knuckles. How times changed.

“You know, my girlfriend broke up with me that day when she found out I shared a bed with another girl.”

“Really?” She laughs again, twice in one conversation with me. She must be high on meds, or finally letting me in again. “You never told me that.”

“I never told you much about the girls I dated,” I say truthfully. “A lot of them dumped me after seeing how close we were. There was always that ultimatum: you or them.”

“Hm,” she hums. “I guess you chose me until you didn’t.”

We lock eyes and I open my mouth--to apologise? To explain something? But she waves her hand. “It’s a habit, I’ve got to get all the one-liners I’ve kept pent up out. I’ll be done eventually, don’t worry.”

“I look forward to that day,” I drum my fingers against the bed. “In the meantime...Alec?”

“Oh,” her face flushes as she looks out the door to where he stands on his phone. “Yeah. He’s been...really good, he came over as soon as he heard.”

“How long?” It was torture for me but it was like I needed to know.

“A few months, on and off again. I think I’ve just been keeping him at arm’s length because...well...”

“Us,” Once again, I’m reminded that I could never fully grasp the enormity of the damage I’d done. “He seems like a smart chap--he’s here for you after all.”

“That would make you a smart chap too,” she says which brings my attention back to her cheeky smile. “If you want to compliment yourself, you don’t have to do it in such a roundabout way.”

I laugh, she was good. She grins back at me and my breath catches, this feeling in my chest made me feel like I was drowning. I couldn’t breathe deeply enough, the old fear of being unhappy had been creeping up on me ever since I got here and saw Alec with Y/N. Now it drapes over my shoulders like a heavy coat.

“What’s wrong?” Y/N asks.

“Nothing,” I sit on the edge of the bed. “Just thinking about everything that happened. And what we talked about.”

“I’m glad that we...” she picks at the thin blanket covering her body. “I feel like I have some closure now?”

“I wish I knew...what you thought this whole time. The baby and...everything.”

“I’ve got a long way to go but,” Y/N rubs my arm. “Let’s just agree to leave all the heavy stuff behind. And live our lives to the fullest. Almost dying in a men’s room has really given me perspective. We both deserve to be happy.”

“You should write a book,” I joke. “It would sell.”

“We can co-write it.”

“We’ll title it Bad Timing,” I say. “A memoir of two people, right place, wrong time.”

“That’s good!” She grasps my arm. “And you could write the whole thing and just give me credit.”

“I’m okay with that,” I would do anything for her.

“You’re the writer after all,” she smiles and it strikes me again, how deeply she knew me. I don’t know if anyone would ever know me the way she does. “Do you still write?”

“Not really,” I didn’t at all.

“I was remembering the other day how you used to leave post-its all over my room-”

“I remember that,” I remind her of a few of my famous ones including one I stuck on her back that said kiss me. She scolds me for that and I pretend to be sorry but she knows I’m not.

“I am sorry,” I say, resting my hand on her arm and she understands I’m not talking about the prank.

“I know,” she looks away, out the door to Alec.

“So I should go, maybe I’ll be the one to take your statement? Tomorrow--or I’ll have my best officer come in here for it.”

“You should take a day off,” she says. “We almost died today.”

“You’re one to talk,” I say. “And we were not going to die today. You’re so dramatic.” I flick her knee and she flinches.

“Ouch,” she milks her current position in the hospital bed, rubbing the spot on her knee.

“Did that hurt? I don’t remember any knee injuries in your file.” I lean down over her and pat it extra hard.

“You’re evil,” she grins but for a small second her eyes flicker down to my lips, and when they meet mine again they look uncertain.

“Alright. Rest up. I’ll see you...later.” I lean down, my lips ghost her cheek, and I hear her sigh. “Goodbye Y/N,” I say, and somewhere it feels final. I don’t dare look at her when I stand up. I walk out of the room, and out of her life.

I think back to the one other time I saw her before the bank robbery. It was outside a grocer, and she’d told me to never talk to her again. I was glad the universe or whatever hadn’t listened, that our lives had crashed into each other even though that meant that in the end she was left in hospital and I was left unhappy again, realizing what I was missing in life. But for a brief moment, in the grand expanse of this universe, we orbited each other again.

As I nod at Alec on the way out. I stand to the side as he walks back in. I hear him comforting her, and I hear her tell him she had to talk in a low voice. I leave then, with every intention to leave her alone. She deserved this happiness she was finally finding as she put our past to rest, she didn’t need uncertainty. As for myself, it felt like it was my burden to bear now; Y/N and I just had bad timing, it felt like, but I just wanted her to be happy. So I let her be; I let go.

[iraniq]

Birthdays be like...

# Thomas Andrew Felton:

/the scene happens in England/

- you woke up early to prepare breakfast

- barely slept the night from excitement

- half way through someome kissed your ear

- "woke up 2h ago to walk Willow, saw all, but thanks for trying"

- "go away, it's a surprise"

- "let me help in then, love!"

- "you can't help in your birthday surprise"

- "watch me"

- ends up helping in his birthday surprise.

- you singing 'ophelia'song to him, incapable to replace it with Tom and still spunds good

- he made thousand videos and pics of you stumbling with the song

- no pancake hit the floor!

- still officially forbidden of giving Willow secret not dog food

- talking about Willow, she came fast when she heard voices

- ending up making dog friendly pancake

- flipping it right on her face /was already cooled/

- Tom got it all on video

- "look now, oh hi Willow, catch"

- "did you just flipped the pancake to fall on her face?"

- before you can say yes, there was no physical memory of the pancake

- watching cartoons on the couch

- "looks like someone is sleepy"

- "nooooo"

- "well if you hadn't stayed till 2 in the morning last night..."

- "was excited for your birthday"

- "and you said it like thousand times"

- "i am excited for birthdays, and yours is a special one"

- forhead kissed

- he muttes something that endes with 'love', but tight hugs and stroking hair, is one way ticket to dreamland

- bonus: Willow is a warm pillow on your lap

- afternoon long walks

- laughter

- singing on the streets

- silly pics

- pillow fight at home

- Willow stole yet another one

- "Willow's pillow fortress is getying bigger"

- "because you can't say no to your child, and instead taking them from her, you keep on buying new ones"

- fancy, low key filthy sexy looking dress for dinner

- a comedy movie no one watched...

- ... because pillow war revange

- and somewome had to keep an eye on popcorn

- food thief detected

- sloberly kisses and yet another pillow missing

- "just jump in the pool with the dress, love"

- drying hairs in the midle of the night

- matching pajamas

- Willow at board

- "your child just stole my sock"

- "she is your child now too..." - halj asleep deep british voice

- "ok, then, our child, just stole my sock"

- more forhead kissed and love mumbles

- snuggles

- "will meet you im dreamland"

# Erich Blunt:

*Ok we have all seen the tik tok - "take your clothes off" and how the girl spits her drink, and we all reacted like that*

- after midnifgt visit at the big house

- you have a special 'multipass' key card

- wake him up at 12:02 with *coughs* love

- everywhere

- i mean everywhere

- possible

- in the house

- then maybe at 5 o'clock in the company

- the boss chair, that's unfortunately a super normal one, because he refused to have fancy cabibet

- in the virtual relity room

- junk food at the sunrise on a super random place

- naps in the big, too fancy for naps, bed

- mid afternoon flight to a dessert rave party

- yes... plain checked

- matching outfits at the party

- the looks he gives you

- yes... at some random spots in the crowd

- his poker face is out of this world

- stargazing and hand holding

- tents at feativals are not soun proof...

- both umable to human the next day, dozzing off in the plane

# Julian Albert Desmond:

- a workoholic, scientist, perfectionist... with a metahuman bad experience inside his head... He could tell by the air in the room, something was off...

- a surprise was way beyond imaginable

- imagine everybody's faces when you casualy dropped at the station, introducing yourself

- "she is a spy" - Cisco said

- "Julian mentioned he had a girldriend...but i thought it was just for the excuse" - Barry said

- "nope, alive and in the flesh"

- you announced his upcoming birthday in a week and asked for help

- they were all instantly in

- same day, Barry got 'late'

- the captain gave them a case in the far abandoned aide of town, Caitlin was in the car with him, non stop talking, how Ciaco and HR are unbarable. Iris and Barry...

- he wasn't paying attention at this point

- the building looked suapicious

- they entered, only to see the whole Team Flash, including Dr. Wells and Jessie, holding a cake, with this so familiar red sugar you have been buying lately

- he knew your surprise will pop up eventually

- you knew he was late after work, no more metahumans hate, but you nevwr poked the subject

- "no one told her" - Barry reasured

- "she is overworking today, and instructed us, quoting 'get his ass the cake, or i will end you!', she is scary for a librarian" - Iris noted

- "she certanly is"

- all laugh

- "candles blowing in abandoned and possibly dangeroys area, great"

- all laughing again

- *insert Julian's sarcastic remarcs*

- "people skills, Julian"

- A fot Ain't even trying at this point

- afterwork party at the park

- Julian being soft

- Caitlin being low key jealous

- romantic dances under the stars

- you wearing a long mid transparent nightgown and his "explorer hat"

- *insert adult content here*

# Logan Maine:

*AU where they woke up the passangers a week before artiving at Thea, notjing hit the ship*

/haven't yet finished the tv series, so some info might not be true/

- after Mia, Logan didn't plan on having friends, or being close to someone

- not that he planned to befrend Mia...

- aftee several days of you being sweet carring and maybe a bit rude, and an epileptic episode later, he was tolerating you

- maybe more than toleraring, but he wasn't gonna admit it

- he was astonishing cook to start with

- you tried making cake, when you found out

- failed!

- but the unhealthy ammount of chocolate syrop on it, fixed it

- him dipping fries in the chocilate...

- *Logan what?!*

- walking around the 'garden'

- him pushing you towards the spraying water

- trying to name the plants only to end up with: "if it's not weed..." - he laughed

- "you are failing at being horrible"

- "trying to be, but that smile of yours isn't helping"

- marker writing on the station windows, connecting stars in odd shapes

- sneaking on others

- "is Baum a perv, or just a perv"

- "Shun and Lana are totally a thing"

- low key stealing extra pills for his epilepsy

- who'll suspect the cool sweet kid's teacher

- stealing food from your supervisor's cabim, after you went asking her, what Logan liked, so you can make a romantic dinner

- she didn't gave you much info, but the odd plastic half liquid sweets you stole definwtly tasted good

- "the A woman stealing? Your crush on me is ruining your good name"

- "maybe i am tired of a good name"

- "don't tell me you go to another planet to be a criminal"

- "lools like i might have the best teacher"

- "only om small crimes, like stealing a pretty girl's heart"

- his odd winks

- that smirk

- kisses in the dark

- he "found" some extra blankets

- 2 burritos on a way after midnight open space gazing

- Shun may have cought you drawing the odd funny shapes, but told no one - you were holding hands, giggling drawing one ovee another, was way too cute to tell on

# Draco Lucius Malfoy:

/Around 6th-ish year maybe.../

- how you pick a present for someone who has everything, literally everuthing

- bargins with Pansy for info

- Theo gives it all free

- Blaize asked for unknown favor

- no one actually gave you smth to work with

- Draco was bitter

- even the good fight with Potter didn't lift his spirit

- nor the -10 points

- you even owled Narcisaa, but nothing

- difficult problems require simple solution

- his favourire clothes of yours

- your Gucci pefulme on his scarf

- this beyond ordenary way you bite off from his green apple

- the thing with the shy eyes and devil smile you love pulling on him

- touching his hair

- scratching his hands with your long nails gives him the good chills

- changing in that gorgeous emerald green dress he bought you for the Christmas ball

- pinky hand holding

- getting cold, so he can give you his coat

- him and his long coat

- messy pearl hair

- stolen kissed under his tree

- brushing your nose in his cheek

- teasing each other

- in your own bubble in aftwenoon class

- again -10 points... each

- professor Lupin felt the pain of ceperating the lovely sight you were, so he can continue his lesson

- party at the boy's bedroom

- eating the cake his mom send you, instead of dinner

- whole friends group having pure childish fun, sharing silly stories

- levitating around in pretend swim manner

- cake

- *coughs* wine *cougs*

- late night walk to the astronomy tower

- him showing you the stars

- the Dragon again, because you can never place it right

- him knowing you pretend not to know, so he can have an excuse to give you silly shoulder kisses

- you tip toeing to reach him

- passionate kisses under the stars

______________

@diyunho @lovermrjokerr @darthjokerisyourfather @littlebeautifly

Whoever enjoys it as well 😛

[songsoomin]

Let Me Down  Part 3 (A, F)

Synopsis: CollegeStudent!Mingi x CollegeStudent!FemaleReader, BestFriend!Yunho. You’re still struggling without Mingi but circumstances lead you to get closer to Yunho.

Song inspiration: “From the Heart” Another Level (Not related but I would kill to hear Jongho sing this song)

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: None really, just a suggestive line towards the end.

Word count: 10.5K (I’m so sorry)

Posted: 6th July 2020

Note: I just got this photo off Google but I think it must have been made by someone going by the name ‘Fix On’ because the tag is on there - so just making it clear it is not my photo.

Part 1 Part 2

"Can we have more water for our table, please?"

"Sure, I'll just get that for you." You said politely as you went to get the water for Table 7.

"Y/N, Table 10 are ready for their mains now and Table 5 want their bill." Your supervisor, Max, told you as you headed back with the water.

"Sure thing." You said, wishing your shift was already over but you were only an hour into it. It was lunchtime on a Saturday so the restaurant you worked at part-time was rammed, as usual. You had graduated but still hadn't found a permanent job yet.

"Y/N, you look exhausted - are you ok?" One of your colleagues, Tiffany, asked you as you took a few seconds to breathe at the till station as you printed out Table 5's bill.

"I don't know...I've felt tired for the last couple of weeks now. I'm probably just low on iron, I haven't had much appetite lately." You admitted, "I'll get some supplements after work."

Since you last saw Mingi you hadn't been eating properly again. Impossibly, saying 'goodbye' to him for a second time had caused you much more pain than the first one. You should never have given in to your emotions and slept with him that night. You gave in because you weren't strong enough to say 'no' when he was right there looking at you like he used to - like he still loved you - but you didn't have the courage to take him back and risk being hurt again. Now, it had become clear that your heart also wasn't strong enough to deal with the fall out from that decision. You'd fallen into the same cycle you had the first time; not eating, not sleeping, trying to ignore the aching in your chest but while you were trying your best to carry on with your life without him, you were really just walking around like a zombie. Just existing while all the life had been drained out of you.

"You should look after yourself better." Tiffany said, concerned. She was older than you and married with two children and her natural mothering instincts seemed to come out with everyone. "Especially working on your feet in such a busy place like this."

"I know. My appetite has been almost non-existent since I've been a bit sick and when I get home I'm too exhausted to do anything. It's just a bug but I'll try to eat better - I promise."  She looked at you skeptically but let it go.

You carried on with your shift, running here and there after demanding diners but just felt worse as it wore on. You had picked up quite a few shifts lately so it was no surprise you had worn yourself out but you needed the money. You were living on your own now since Suzy had moved in with Lucas after graduation and Jina had moved back home. Your parents owned their own company and had bought you a small one bedroom apartment - nothing fancy, just enough for you - but you still needed to pay the bills.

Coming to the end of your shift you started to feel dizzy and nauseous again but soldiered on, thinking if you could just get through it you could go home and sleep. As you were passing the bill to one of the tables in your section you all of a sudden started to lose all your focus, darkness washing over you and you felt yourself slipping.

"Y/N?" You felt something cold and wet being pressed against your face as you blinked your eyes open to see Tiffany looking down at you. She was seated next to you as you lay on the couch in the staff room. You obviously looked confused at the situation as she gently explained, "You passed out. Max carried you in here and asked me to take care of you."

"I what? I'm so sorry." You apologised trying to sit up but doing it too quickly and feeling dizzy again.

Tiffany passed you a vitamin energy drink and told you to keep still and drink it. While you drank it, you noticed she was eyeing you, as if there was something she wanted to ask but wasn't sure how.

"Is there something wrong? You look a little uncomfortable." You said, smiling a little, trying to ease her discomfort.

"Well...I'm just worried about crossing the line. We're just work colleagues so I don't want to pry into personal matters." This had you confused so you asked her to go on, curious to know what on Earth she was thinking.

"It's ok, you can ask what you want. I can see something is bothering you."

"Ok..." She started slowly, "You said you'd had a bug recently and it had made you sick...."

"Yeah, I have. I'm still feeling it a bit - I was nauseous before I fainted, actually." You recalled the last thing you remembered feeling before you woke up here.

"How long has it been going on for?" Tiffany enquired gently.

"Oh...I'd say about two weeks really. It comes and goes though." You still didn't know where she was heading with this; you imagined she was going to nag you to see a doctor, though.

"Each day but mostly in the morning?"

"Yeah..." You blinked in surprise, "How did you know?"

Tiffany sighed, "Y/N...I think you may be pregnant."

You sat there looking at her like an idiot for a second. There was no way.

"Don't be silly. I just haven't been looking after myself. I'm just run down, that's probably why I feel so bad."

"Y/N...I have two children, I know the signs of early pregnancy. Morning sickness, tiredness, fainting - I'd bet you have tender boobs, as well, right?" That last bit shocked you a little. It was true, you did but you thought that it was just because your period was due. Now you really thought about it, though, you realised it had been a while since you'd had one.

"But...I can't be." You said, still thinking Tiffany was overreacting a little. "I haven't been with anyone since my ex and we always used con-" You stopped short as the realisation hit you. "Oh."

You and Mingi had always used condoms. Except that one night about six weeks ago.

Mingi, I want you inside me.

Baby, I don't have any protection on me. I didn't expect this to happen.

Mingi! I need you. Please fuck me.

You hadn't thought about it the morning after, hungover and too caught up in the pain of letting him go again.

"I think you should go and take a test, Y/N. As soon as you feel up to moving."

You nodded dumbly at Tiffany, desperately hoping she was wrong and that the symptoms were just a coincidence. An hour later, however, you were sitting in your bathroom crying and staring at two little blue lines.

                                                      ********

It had taken you days to accept the situation you found yourself in and then a few days more before you could face telling your parents about it. They had been really supportive, although, a little disappointed that you were in this situation due to being drunk and stupid. They told you that they would support you in whatever decision you made so you set about trying to decide if you were really ready to be a mother or if it was better to end the pregnancy.

You'd always wanted children and, at one time, you had even imagined having them with Mingi - somewhere in the future - but Mingi wasn't the father you needed for your baby. He was immature and unreliable. Your parents lived quite far away now and were busy running their company. Suzy and Jina had promised their support and offered advice as best they could but Jina also lived some way away and Suzy had her own life and her job to worry about. You knew they would all help as much as they could but you couldn't ask them to neglect their own lives for you. If you were going to do this, it would be alone.

After much soul searching and many sleepless nights, you decided you would keep this baby. You weren't against abortion, per say, but it wasn't for you. Deep down you knew you would never be able to go through with it.

Now you just needed to prepare as best you could and really hope you could do this.

                                                       ********

You were nearly 3 months gone now; not showing yet but some of the worse symptoms were still there. You were starting to fell a bit more energetic but the morning sickness hadn't gone away yet. You really, really hoped you wouldn't turn out to be one of those unlucky women who had it for the whole 9 months. Today, however, you were still very much feeling it when you ran into Yunho.

"Y/N! Oh my god - I haven't seen you since graduation." Yunho beamed at you, "How have you been?"

"Hi Yunho!" You said, giving your tall, blonde friend a hug. True you hadn't seen him for a while and you had been close until about three months ago but avoiding Mingi meant avoiding all his friends, as well.

"What are you up to? Do you want to grab a coffee?" Yunho asked in his usual warm and friendly manner and you couldn't resist; you weren't good at making new friends so it had been a while since you'd had anyone to chat to like this.

"Sure, I'd love to. “I am quite thirsty after shopping." You said looking for the nearest coffee shop and spying a nice-looking one a couple of shops down. "Is this one ok?"

"Oh, yeah, this one is nice - I've been here a few times." Yunho said as you walked together. As you walked through the door, though, a particularly rough bout of nausea hit you and you darted for the bathroom, dropping your bags on the nearest table and trying to convey an apology to Yunho as you ran.

You must've been in the bathroom for about five minutes being sick and trying to think of something to tell Yunho - after all, he was Mingi's best friend and, whether right or wrong, you were trying to keep this from him. You didn't want him involved. Eventually the sickness passed and you made your way back out to the front of the coffee shop.

You reached the table Yunho was sitting at to find him with a coffee already and, opposite him on the table, a glass of water and a small packet of ginger biscuits.

"I hope you don't mind; I got these for you." He said, smiling. "My cousin had a baby recently and said ginger biscuits really helped ease her morning sickness."  

"Yunho...What are you talking about?" You said, trying to sound light, as if he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. In reality, you weren't doing a good job of it, you could hear the hint of anxiety in your own voice.  

"These rolled out of your bag when you dropped them on the table." You looked at the small bottle Yunho held in his hand - it was the pregnancy vitamins you had bought earlier. You looked away, not knowing what to say. There was no denying it now.

"So who's the lucky guy?" He said, trying to ease the tension.

"Mingi." It came out as a mumble but he heard it fine given the shocked look on his face.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's Mingi's baby." You looked down at your hands, feeling uncomfortable.

"Right. Ok." Yunho looked lost in thought for a moment - probably trying to work out how, given you left Mingi about six months ago but you were clearly in early pregnancy.

"Graduation night." You explained simply.

"Ooohhhh! I remember!" Yunho exclaimed, "He didn't come home that night but the next morning he came back in such a state. He wouldn't tell us what happened, though."

You recounted the details of the evening to Yunho; about the man who tried to assault you, how Mingi saved you from him and that you spent the night together. You didn't go into detail except to admit that you'd both been half-drunk and had failed to use protection.

Yunho nodded in understanding but seemed bothered by something, "I know he's been a mess lately but why didn't he tell me about this? I'm his best friend."

"He doesn't know." You mumbled, looking at your hands again.

"Y/N....don't you think he has a right to know? He's going to be a father." You looked up to find Yunho looking at you but not in a judgemental way - more sympathetic.

"I know and I've struggled with it. I've wanted to tell him but he isn't capable of being the father my baby needs. He can't even look after himself, how would he look after a family? He constantly lied and let me down just so he could have fun - he only ever thought about himself."

"I'm not saying you should take him back but I do think you should tell him. He deserves that much." Yunho replied gently, seeing how upset you were becoming.

"I know it's selfish of me...but I don't know if I could stand him being in my life - seeing him but not being with him. I still love him, Yunho." You spoke earnestly, hoping he could understand. "I'm sure he probably has someone else now and, to be honest, I wouldn't be able to bear seeing him and some other woman playing happy families with my child."

"There's been no one else, Y/N." Yunho admitted, surprising you. "He's been an absolute mess since you left him. He was starting to get it together but after graduation night he fell further. He goes out to work but that's all he'll leave the apartment for. When he gets home he just shuts himself away. Hongjoong and I are really worried about him, he doesn't sleep well and drinks more than is good for him."

As you took in this new information the ache in your chest, that never went away, throbbed. It hurt to hear that Mingi was hurting so badly but it didn't change your decision.

"All the more reason why he can't be my baby's father. Please, Yunho," you almost begged the man sitting opposite you, "...please don't tell him."

Yunho looked uncomfortable and you knew he didn't like to keep something this big from his best friend but he agreed nonetheless, "Ok, I won't tell him but I really want you to rethink doing it yourself."

The atmosphere turned a bit lighter from then on; you fell into a comfortable conversation about work and life in general until you realised it was getting later and you had an appointment to go to.

"I'm sorry to have to go, Yunho but I actually have my first ultrasound scan today." You apologised while gathering your bags.

"You're not going alone are you? You said earlier that you didn't really have anyone close by." You smiled at the look of concern on your friend's face; he'd always been a good listener and cared for others so much.

"I'll be fine, Yunho. You don't need to worry about me."

"Y/N, you can't see your baby's heartbeat for the first time and have no one to be there with you. I won't let you." The look of determination on his face suddenly turned less confident, "I mean, as long as that's ok - I don't want to intrude but you should have someone to share such a special moment with."

You couldn't disagree with him; it would feel a little lonely. If your parents were closer you would have asked your mum to come with you. You also didn't want to ask Suzy to use one of her allotted leave days from work for you. Although you had accepted you'd be doing this pregnancy alone, you had to admit it would be nice to share moments like these with someone - even if it was just a friend.

"Come on then, I'd love to have some company."

Yunho beamed and stood with you to leave, offering one arm for you to hold and the other to carry your shopping as you made your way to the clinic.

You laid on the bed while the sonographer squeezed the gel on to your pelvic area and used the ultrasound probe to spread it around; you were really excited to see your baby for the first time. Yunho sat quietly on a stool next to you looking quite curious himself, having not seen one of these scans before.  

The sonographer found your baby and pointed out the head, arms and legs and, most importantly, the heartbeat. You looked at the screen in awe at the tiny fluttering heart and when the sonographer turned the sound of the machine up you could hear the whooshing sound each beat created. You looked back at Yunho with tears in your eyes and he smiled back and took your hand in his large one and gave it a squeeze for emotional support. You were so glad you'd accepted his company; it would have been sad to experience this all alone.

You both sat there watching the screen as the sonographer took the measurements and declared you to be 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant and gave you your due date. Lastly she printed out some pictures of your baby and popped them in a little envelope for you to take home. Once back outside you had to make your first appointment to see the obstetrician for your 16 week check. The receptionist was very friendly and told you all the things you would need to bring along.

"We'll need to know your family medical history, details of any medicines you take...basically the more info you can give the doctor, the better. Oh, and Daddy, we'll need your family's medical history, as well."

"Oh, he's not the -" You tried to correct her but she wasn't listening.

"So, we'll see you in about four weeks." The friendly receptionist finished with a smile.

You figured it didn't matter anyway, you could just let the doctor know at the next appointment that you didn't know the father's family history.

Yunho walked you back to your apartment, chatting with you the whole way.

"Thank you for being there with me today, Yunho. I really appreciated your support."

"Anytime, Y/N." Yunho waited as you found your key and opened your door then popped your bags just inside.

"Listen...I don't want you feeling you have to go through all this completely alone." He began, "I may not be able to do much but I can at least come with you to appointments if your family can't be here and keep you company, if ever you feel lonely here all by yourself."

"Yunho, I really appreciate the offer but I don't want to take up your time." You smiled at Yunho's caring and generous nature but didn't want to be an imposition to him.

"Y/N. Don't be silly. My work place is really flexible and I don't have much on otherwise. Anyway, we've known each other since school, I think you can let me be there for you as a friend."

"Thank you, Yunho, that means a lot."

"Anytime." He rubbed your arm gently and made his way down the hall of your apartment complex.

                                                     ********

Just over four weeks later you were arriving back at the clinic for your 16 week check with the obstetrician when you heard a familiar voice,

"You didn't call me." You looked around to find Yunho leaning against a lamp post, waiting for you.

"I was going to....but I thought I'd be being a nuisance." You smiled as he walked towards you.

"Why do you think I'm here," he laughed, "I knew you'd think like that. We may never have been super close but I've known you for a long time."

"Fine.” You smiled up at him, “Let's go in then."

The appointment went well, the doctor checked your health and listened to the baby's heartbeat but when it came time to talk about medical history it became a bit awkward.

"I...Well, I'm not with the father so I can't really get his family's medical history."

The doctor looked at Yunho, clearly having thought it was him but he held his hands up and explained, "Aah, it's not me - I'm just a friend here for support."

The doctor nodded in understanding but asked gently, "If you can access it at all, it would be very helpful."

"I'll try." You sighed. You knew it wouldn’t be easy.

You made your next appointments which were the anomally scan at 21 weeks, followed by another check up with the doctor.

"I know when those appointments are so if you don't invite me, I'll just turn up again." Yunho playfully threatened as you left the clinic.

"Yunho?"

"Hmm?"

"How difficult do you think it would be to find out Mingi's family history?"

Yunho stopped and looked at you with furrowed brows. "It's not the kind of thing that comes up in normal conversation. If I start asking him whether his family ever had any birth defects or genetic illnesses, he's going to wonder what the Hell is going on."

"Ok." you sighed, defeated, "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine. I was with him for 5 years and he never mentioned anything like that."

You moved closer to Yunho's side and held on to his arm, "Thank you, though...for being with me again. It felt a lot less lonely with you there."

"My pleasure. Do you want to grab something to eat? It's almost dinner time."

"I am hungry. My appetite has come back since the morning sickness went away."

"Great," he looked at you with that bright, beautiful smile that always made you smile back, "what do you wanna get?"

As the weeks went on you began to spend more and more time with Yunho. He gave you a lot of his time when he wasn't working; you guessed he was free because the other guys' jobs were more 9-5 than his more flexible one. Most of the time he came over to your apartment and you watched a movie or show on Netflix with a bowl of popcorn. You'd become much closer with Yunho, so much so that it was him you always thought of first when you needed someone to talk or just to have fun with. You still saw Suzy often but she was with Lucas so much you ended up feeling like a third wheel and seeing them so happy tended to remind you that you were alone.  

Although you tried not to ask about Mingi, Yunho occasionally said things that made you think that he didn't spend a lot of time with his best friend these days. They still lived together but it seemed Mingi was still shutting himself away a lot of the time and drinking a lot. It hurt you to think of him suffering alone and, as much as you tried to stop, you still thought about him a lot. You still cried often, mostly at night when you laid in bed alone and wishing with all your heart that things had turned out differently and he could be here with you, holding you in his strong arms. The aching in your chest that had been with you since you left Mingi still refused to go away, becoming more painful on those night you laid in bed thinking about him.

At least when Yunho was with you it was better, you felt calmer and happier. He had become so important in your life now - your best friend, really - and you didn't know what you'd do without him. Sometimes you'd look up at him as you cuddled against his side on your couch and think that he would make the perfect boyfriend and an amazing father. He was funny, always making you laugh and cheering you up when you were down, and so caring. In fact, it was because he was so caring and loved skinship that it felt comfortable for you guys to cuddle while watching TV and he often grabbed your hand or slung his arm around your shoulders while you were walking together. To top it all off he was amazingly good-looking, especially with those big, warm eyes and the bright smile he always seemed to have but, even when you thought this way, something stopped you from feeling anything more than friendship. As hard as you tried, you didn't seem to be getting over Mingi, at all.

                                                     ********

You were at 22 weeks now and visibly pregnant with your bump obvious for everyone to see. You'd had your anomally scan and doctor's appointment a week ago and, to your relief, everything looked absolutely fine - you'd even got more detailed scan photos of your growing baby now it was bigger. You were offered the chance to find out the sex of the baby but you'd decided to keep it as a surprise so, as you shopped for baby clothes, you were picking out neutral colours.

You'd only really bought maternity items and a few baby basics until now but as you were over half way you decided it was really time to start picking out more important items. You had spent Saturday with Yunho looking at the big things like prams and cribs but hadn't made any firm choices yet, however, you did have lots of bags full of baby clothes, soft toys, bathing accessories and all the things you were going to need ready for when your 'Little Bun' came. You had asked Yunho along for the company and a second opinion but he was also a really good bag-carrier and absolutely refused to let you carry any bag he deemed too heavy.

It was when you were walking through the park on your way home that you felt a movement. You had felt a kind of fluttering before but not been sure if it was your baby moving or not but this was a very definite kick. You stopped and gasped, your hands on your bump so at first Yunho thought something was wrong and started to worry.

"It's ok, Yunho..." you laughed, "I just felt the baby kick for the first time."

"It's kicking?" He replied, amazed.

"Do you want to feel?"

"Of course I do!" Yunho playfully looked at you like you were an idiot to think otherwise.

"Wow, you're growing so strong, Little Bun." Your now-best friend exclaimed as he felt the tiny kicks.

Yunho looked just as excited as you were, it was a common mistake for anyone seeing you to think that he was the father because, true to his word, he had been with you every step of the way making sure you never felt alone in this. You both knew you were just friends and he'd told you on one of the many deep conversations you had late at night that he wasn't trying to take Mingi's place, he just wanted to be there for you.

However, the way you both stood there as Yunho held his large hand on your growing bump with a look of awe on his face at feeling your baby kicking would make anyone think that you were a young couple about to become parents - and that's exactly how you knew it looked when you turned to see Mingi standing a few feet away from you.

You'd never really considered the possibility of running into Mingi because Yunho had told you how he'd shut himself away in the apartment when not at work but now you saw him standing in the park watching you and Yunho looking for all the world like a couple in love. He was with Hongjoong, Jongho and Yeosang and they all stood there slightly behind him with equally shocked expressions. The look on Mingi's face, however, caused your heart to clench painfully. He stood there, his eyes moving from you, to Yunho, and then to Yunho's hand on your obviously pregnant tummy, with a look of utter betrayal and heartbreak.

"Mingi...." Your voice was small, you didn't know what to say, you couldn't seem to get any other words out.

Mingi looked away from you, like he couldn't bear to look at you, and over to his best friend.

"Mingi...it's not what it looks like." Yunho quickly said, trying to fix the misunderstanding as he could see exactly what Mingi was thinking.

"Oh, really? Because it looks like my best friend has got my ex-girlfriend pregnant." He was angry,  Yunho tried to calm the situation, worried Mingi’s temper would get the better of him again.

"It really isn't like that, Mingi." Yunho almost pleaded with him.

Mingi scoffed, not believing a word of it. "You must've swooped right there in after we broke up - or did you even wait that long? Was this all going on before?" Suddenly he turned to look down at you with accusation in his dark eyes, " Is that why you left me?"

"Mingi...no." You wanted to explain but Mingi wasn't hearing it. He gave you both one last pained look and strode right past you.

As the others followed your ex-boyfriend, you felt helpless; Hongjoong gave you both a look of pure disappointment, shaking his head as he went with Jongho looking much the same but adding, "Wouldn't have expected this of you, bro." aimed directly at Yunho. Yeosang passed by last and placing a hand on Yunho's shoulder briefly, he simply said, "You must have some big fucking balls to pull this kind of shit."

You stood there frozen for some minutes, tears just streaming down your face as Yunho hugged you, doing his best to console you.

"It'll be okay, Y/N. I'll talk to him...make him understand."

You hadn't wanted Mingi to know but now he had found out in, perhaps, the most hurtful way he possibly could have. You felt horrible. You were an awful, awful person.

"You're not an awful person, Y/N." Yunho tried to reassure you but the guilt was already making a home inside you. "Let's just get you home and then I can find Mingi and explain all this."

                                                     ********

Mingi POV

Mingi sat on the couch in the apartment he shared with Hongjoong and Yunho, drink in hand, glaring at the door. He was waiting for his supposed best friend - he knew he'd come home soon and attempt to explain away his betrayal - but Mingi was so angry. As if it wasn't bad enough that he saw you had moved on and were pregnant with someone else's child, it was his own fucking best friend who had got you pregnant!

He didn't even look at Hongjoong, Jongho and Yeosang as they hovered around the apartment; most likely waiting for the inevitable fight Mingi would start. He knew they'd all been worried about his behaviour for some time now but he didn't care, he was in too much pain himself to care about how anyone else felt.

Mingi was pulled from those thoughts as he heard Yunho's key in the door, signalling his arrival and as he walked through the door, it was all Mingi could do to not leap up and punch him in the face.

"Mingi, please listen, it's not -" Yunho started but was quickly cut off.

"I can't believe you could do this to me!" Mingi shouted, "You more than anyone else. We've known each other since we were five and you do this to me?" Mingi stood and took a few steps towards Yunho who was holding his hands up and looking somewhat nervous. They had the same height and build but Mingi had a temper and Yunho didn't want to fight him.

"I didn't do -"

"Stop lying to me!" Mingi shouted and Jongho subtly moved closer ready to hold Mingi back if he made a move towards his best friend.

"You know better than anyone how much it killed me when Y/N left me....how hard it is for me to get over this." Tears were starting to fall from Mingi's eyes as he was trying to let out all the hurt and frustration he had felt since you left him, "Did you think what it would do to me to see you with her - and to see her carrying your fucking baby, as well?!"

"It's your baby, Mingi!"

Yunho had to shout to stop the angry tirade and it worked, silence filled the room as Mingi just stared at Yunho and the other three men stared between the two of them.

"It's mine?" Mingi asked in a small, uncertain voice.

"Yes. It's yours. Do you not remember the night after graduation? You took her home and fucked her without using protection."

"Jesus Christ, you fucking idiot, Mingi." Hongjoong sighed out loud.

Completely stunned, Mingi sat down on the couch again; he remembered it but it had never occured to him that this would happen.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Mingi asked, "And why didn't you?" He threw at Yunho accusingly.

"She didn't want you involved and it wasn't my place to tell you. She begged me not to."

Yunho came closer to his best friend now he was calmer and handed him a small envelope, "Y/N asked me to give you this."

Mingi opened the envelope and took out the photo from your last scan, he stared at the image of the baby, touching the paper where he could see its tiny hand.  

"This is my baby?" He asked again, trying to process this sudden shift in his life.

"Yes. It's your baby, you idiot." Yunho rolled his eyes, happy that the tension in the room was easing.

Mingi picked up his drink and took a swig, suddenly remembering something.

"Is this what you've been doing during all that time you spend out of the apartment. Seeing Y/N? Are you together? It might be my baby but that doesn't mean you haven't still stolen my girlfriend."

"For fuck's sake, Mingi!" Yunho shouted, exasperated. "No...you know what, I do like her. She is amazing. While you've been here drinking and shutting yourself away from everyone, she's been trying to do all this alone with no family and hardly any friends here with her. Do you even know how strong she is? Or how hard this whole situation is on her? Of course not because all you think about is yourself! I have just been being a friend to her; trying to support her through this so she's not alone. And I would have made a move except for one problem.... she's still in love with you. So stop fucking drinking and get your shit together because in 3 months you're going to be a father and right now you're nowhere near good enough for Y/N or your baby!"

Shock crossed Mingi's face as Yunho slapped the drink out of his hand. He couldn't take all this in. You still loved him? He had thought he had seen it in your eyes that last night you slept together but in the morning you told him to go so he had assumed you'd only been with him that night because you'd felt vulnerable and needed someone.

Yunho knew he'd been harsh but he needed to be. Mingi needed to grow up if he was going to be there for you and the baby. "Look, I know quite a lot about this pregnancy stuff now and I know what Y/N needs from you. If you want, I’ll help you get back on track. I want her to be happy and I don't think she ever will be without you. And even though you've been a complete dick, I want you to be happy, as well."

"Thank you." Mingi quietly said, feeling he didn't deserve a friend like Yunho. He'd been so awful to everyone over these last months and they'd only been trying to help him. And if he was ever going to deserve you again, he knew he'd have to get his act together quickly.

                                                     ********

Can we meet? Please.

You'd been staring at the text message from Mingi for about an hour now. You hadn't heard anything from him for about a week after he saw you and Yunho on the street and you could imagine the hurt that must've caused him but Yunho said he'd explained everything and he'd calmed down. He was still a mess but to just give him a little time to get his head around it. It was fair enough, after all, you'd had months already to process the fact that you were going to be a mother three months from now but Mingi had only just found out he was about to become a father. As you thought about it, you felt guilt spreading through you. Was it the right thing to have kept it from him just because he hurt you? He was always bound to find out one day but how much of his child's life would he have already missed by that point.

Meet me at the coffee shop we used to go to. 2pm

You replied, feeling anxious; now he knew there was no point trying to keep him away but you'd have to deal with seeing him on a regular basis whilst knowing you still weren't over him.

At 2pm you sat in the coffee shop; you and Mingi used to come here all the time back in college, when you were still together. You'd been waiting nervously, playing with your fingers and looking up every time the little bell signalled the door had opened.

Mingi walked in and scanned the room for you then made his way to your table. You looked at each other for a moment before either of you spoke.

"Would you like anything?" He asked a little awkwardly.

"Just an orange juice, please. I can't have too much caffeine."

"Oh, yeah...I guess not." At your reply he looked down at what he could see of your bump behind the table and away again quickly. He went up to the counter to order the drinks, returning shortly after with your orange juice and an iced Americano for himself.

You looked at each other for a minute or so, without saying anything. Last time you'd seen him he looked a mess - thin with dark circles under his eyes and longish, messy hair where he'd not bothered to cut it. Generally like he wasn't looking after himself. Now he looked almost well; still tired and somewhat thin but much better than before.

"You look better than when I saw you." You ventured carefully, not wanting to remind him of that day too much.

"Yunho's been helping me get myself together." His deep voice was quieter than usual as he ran his hand through his freshly cut black hair.

You were both feeling awkward seeing each other after the last time but one of you was going to have to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you. I was so hurt that I didn't want you involved so I wouldn't have to see you but it was selfish of me. I should have told you."

Mingi looked at you, surprise on his face, as if he hadn't expected you to say this. Maybe he thought you'd still be too angry at him, after all, he'd been surprised you agreed to meet so quickly.

"I understand why you didn't. I realise now that you leaving me was my own fault. I neglected you when we were together and put myself and my friends first. I know I let you down and hurt you a lot." Mingi didn't look directly into your eyes as he said this, feelings of guilt present within him. You sat and listened quietly as he continued on. You were surprised at seeing a level of maturity he'd never shown before.

"I'm not going to ask you to come back to me - I know I don't deserve that - but please...let me be a part of our baby's life. I want to show you I can be there for you both, for whatever you need."

"Mingi, I'm not going to keep you out of our baby's life. I realised by not telling you it wouldn't only be you missing out; I'd be robbing the baby of knowing it's father...and it's grandparents, too."

Mingi's eyes widened like he'd suddenly thought of something bad. "What's wrong?" You asked a little worried.

"I hadn't even thought about that." He said groaning.

"What?"

"How the fuck am I going to tell my parents that I'm going to be a father in three months? They're gonna kill me for being so stupid and not using a condom."

You giggled quietly at this man who was about to become a father but was still worried about his parents scolding him.

He looked at you apologetically, "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I should've been more careful but I missed you so much - I wanted you so badly, I didn't think about what could happen."

"Hey," You replied gently, "It was both our faults. We were both stupid and I seem to remember me being the one begging you to do it."

"How did your parents take it?"

"They're supporting me but, of course, I got the lecture about how stupid I was to not use contraception." You admitted laughing.

"I'm glad they're ok with it. Let's just hope my parents are ok, too." He still looked worried but a little more relaxed now.

"Mingi," you started, turning more serious, "As I said, I won't keep you out of your baby's life but if you let Little Bun down like you did to me, there won't be any more chances after that."

Mingi looked at you earnestly as he replied, "I won't be letting either of you down. I promise you."

"Little Bun?" He enquired, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh...yeah, I decided not to find out the sex of the baby so he or she is 'Little Bun' for now."

Mingi smiled finally - you'd missed his smile so much but it still hurt to see him so for now you decided to cut short your meeting.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Mingi asked, still polite and a little awkward.

"I'll be fine but thank you."

You walked home feeling a little lighter now that you weren't keeping it a secret anymore but still apprehensive as to how you were going to manage to see Mingi so much. You realised upon seeing him that you were no longer angry at him for how he treated you but still you couldn't trust him enough to take him back. You knew you still loved him and it was going to be hard to see him so often and not be able to be with him.

                                                      ********

You were sitting with Yunho on your couch in your apartment, watching Netflix, as usual, and talking about things in general so it was inevitable that Mingi was going to be mentioned sooner or later.

"How is everything going?" Yunho asked carefully, knowing it was still a delicate subject.

You sighed, looking down at your hands - a habit you had when talking about or doing something uncomfortable. "I guess it's ok. It's still difficult seeing him but he seems like a different person somehow."

"How so?"

"Well...he seems a little more mature, I suppose."

"Probably the consequence of finding out he's going to be a father in a few months." Yunho snorted.

"It's more than that, though." You paused, thinking; you weren't quite sure how to convey it in words. "I can see he's still hurting and that he's still a bit of a mess inside but it's...it's like there's something missing from him."

"There is." Yunho replied, seriously now, "You're missing."

You cocked your head, looking at your best friend questioningly.

"Mingi isn't Mingi without you. He took it for granted that you'd always be there and so he didn't treat you right but when you left him, it was like a part of him left, as well. I've been friends with him since we were five years old and I've seen him go through some hard times but I've never seen him like this. Being without you broke him."

A stray tear rolled down your cheek as you listened; you'd thought from how Mingi had treated you that he didn't love you anymore.

"If only he'd shown me that he still cared when we were together, it wouldn't have had to end with us both getting hurt."

Yunho hummed in agreement as he wrapped his strong arms around you for comfort, "Believe me, I don't think he'd make that mistake again."

"I just don't know whether to trust him, Yunho."

"He's trying really hard, Y/N. He's quit drinking, he's looking after himself better and not shutting himself away." Suddenly Yunho laughed, remembering something, "I probably shouldn't laugh at this because he really is trying so hard...but the other day I walked past his room and saw him trying to put a nappy on the teddy bear he's had since he was a baby."

Your eyes widened in astonishment, "On Ted?" You remembered the slightly tatty old teddy Mingi always kept on his shelf in his room but couldn't imagine the picture Yunho was painting.

"Yeah..." the tall blonde continued laughing, "...looked like he was trying to follow a YouTube video on baby care."

"Wow. I can't believe he's really taking this seriously." You thought for a few moments before continuing, "Yunho, I think I should start taking Mingi to my appointments now." You watched carefully for signs Yunho might be hurt by this. He had been such a huge support to you, you were worried he might feel like you were casting him aside.

"You don't know how much you mean to me, Yunho, you've been such a huge support to me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it but if Mingi is going to be in Little Bun's life, I need to make him feel a part of it already. Also," you continued smiling, "it's probably best if I take him to my ante-natal classes where he can learn about baby care without trying to do it in secret."

Yunho looked at you, smiling back, "It's the way it should be," he shrugged, "I was just filling in for him but he should be the one taking care of you and Bun."

"Thank you." You whispered, cuddling into your best friend's side as he gently kissed the top of your head before hugging you closer to him.

                                                     ********

Over the following weeks you thought about Mingi a lot - it wasn't hard to do because he'd been texting you everyday to see how you and the baby were doing. You were thankful it was mostly texting because it gave you time to get used to having him back in your life without seeing him too much yet. Maybe he knew you needed time and that's why he didn't ask to see you too much. You'd only seen him once or twice for ante-natal appointments; the first was just a standard check up with the midwife but you asked Mingi along to make him feel more involved. You were glad you did when the midwife used her portable monitor to check the baby's heartbeat because the look on Mingi's face was one you think you'll never forget. As the whooshing sound of the tiny heartbeats came out from the monitor's speaker, a look of pure wonder came over Mingi,

"That's our baby's heartbeat?"

He looked at you wide-eyed and you nodded, smiling, not able to help the warmth that spread through you as he then looked down at your bump in awe. It was quickly replaced by guilt, though; Mingi looked so happy that you felt awful for having kept this from him and not letting him share in it with you. In reality you knew you wouldn't have been strong enough back then to see him but, still, you felt guilty.

The second appointment was for a growth scan; the midwife had been a tiny bit worried about the baby's rate of growth so she sent you for another scan. Luckily, nothing was wrong and it was nice that Mingi was able to see the baby on the screen as he hadn't been there for the other two. When the sonographer pointed out all the features to Mingi he looked absolutely enthralled; you knew this because, as well as looking at your baby on the screen, you had been watching Mingi closely. In your uncertainty about whether you could really trust Mingi to be there for you wanted to see his reactions and, although you weren't convinced yet, you were happy that he seemed to be taking this seriously. To be honest, you think that was the moment it really hit him that he was going to be a father and you understood completely as it was at your first scan that it all became more real for you.

"So...I told my parents about Little Bun." Mingi said as he walked you home after the scan.

"Really? How did they take it?" Mingi's parents were a little more strict than yours so you didn't imagine it went down too well.

"About as well as you think they would." He said grimacing at the memory.

"Was it really bad?"

"I got a very long talking to about how stupid I was and how could I have been so reckless? At least by the end of the call they had calmed down enough to ask if the baby is healthy and if you're doing well so I think they'll be ok. They were just shocked, I guess."

It was only a few days after the scan that you were spending a relaxing Saturday at home alone when you heard a knock at your door and, upon opening it, found Mingi on the other side. He looked a little awkward as he apologised for showing up unannounced but that he had some things for you. Curious, you stepped aside so he could come in but he stepped out of your view and appeared again wheeling a pram into your apartment. You hadn't actually asked him for anything so it came as a real surprise - especially as it was the exact pram you had been admiring when you had gone baby shopping with Yunho. Yunho did say he'd been helping Mingi get himself together so you suspected he'd been giving him advice on what to buy as well as supporting him to get better. Your suspicions only grew as Mingi then went back out into the hallway to retrieve a big box containing the crib that had been your favourite that day, as well.

As you stood there looking a bit stunned, Mingi stood looking a bit sheepish.

"I hope I got the right ones. I wanted to buy you some things but I had no idea what you had already or what style you wanted...so I asked Yunho. He told me which ones you seemed to like the most."

"I love them...thank you."

"Oh!" Mingi suddenly remembered something and pulled a bag from inside the pram, "I got this for Little Bun, as well."

You opened the bag and took out a stuffed toy giraffe. You laughed as you remembered they had always been his favourite animal when you visited the zoo.  

"It's perfect."

It got a little awkward then so you offered Mingi a drink and you sat talking about jobs and friends. Mingi caught you up with as much as he knew about his group of friends but he looked a little sad while talking about it.

"To be honest, Y/N, I've been a terrible friend to them. I know Yunho must've told you what a mess I've been... I shut myself away and barely spoke to any of them. I don't really know much about how they've been doing since you last saw them. I was too wrapped up in myself."

"I'm sure they understand." You said quietly.

"I want you to know how much better I am now, though. I've stopped drinking entirely and I feel like Little Bun has given me something to look forward to...to make my life worthwhile."

"Mingi," you replied, trying to make him feel better, "...your life is already worthwhile."

"Not without you." He said, looking down. "When you left me I felt like everything was over. I had never really realised just how much I loved you and how important you were to me. Without you everything else seemed so pointless and miserable. It was like all the colour had been drained from the world."

You could feel tears welling in your eyes, Mingi had told you he loved you when you were together, of course, but towards the end of your relationship it always felt like he was saying it out of habit more than really meaning it. He'd never sounded so sincere as he did now.

"I'm sorry," he apologised quietly, "I'm not trying to make you feel bad; I just wanted you to know how I feel."

You couldn't help it then; you found your hand moving towards Mingi's and resting upon his. You looked up at him, into his beautiful, dark eyes that you had always loved most about him, and they were looking back into yours with such an intensity that you found yourself moving closer. You weren't sure if this was a good idea or if you were setting yourself up to be hurt again but what you did know was that everything Mingi had said he felt without you - the world devoid of colour and joy, and life seeming so pointless - was exactly how you had felt without him.

As you moved closer, Mingi's hand moved up to rest against the side of your neck while his thumb gently stroked your cheek. You closed the distance and felt his soft, plump lips against yours and, despite your worries about him, everything felt so right again.

Pulling away, you looked down and Mingi closed him arms around you, kissing the top of your head lovingly.

"I love you, Y/N. I'm so sorry I never showed you how much. I promise if you give me another chance, I'll never let you forget it. I'll never let you down again."

You took a deep breath, looking up at him you knew you had never stopped loving him, even though you'd tried to move on.

"We can try." You told him. "Let's see where this goes."

Mingi took your face in his hands and kissed you more passionately now; you could feel the joy radiating off him as his lips moved against yours, asking for entry as he gently swiped his tongue across your bottom lip. You stayed this way for a while, kissing and enjoying being able to hold each other once again until a tiny movement made you stop and laugh.

"What?" Mingi asked, wondering if he'd done something weird.

"Nothing," you smiled, "it's just the baby kicking."

Mingi looked at your bump with wonder in his brown eyes, "Can I feel?"

You realised at that moment that up until then Mingi hadn't touched your bump, at all. In fact he hadn't even tried and you wondered if he'd been trying to be considerate of you, not wanting to make you uncomfortable with that level of closeness given that he was your ex. It didn't matter now, though, you wanted him there with you.

"Here...give me your hand." You reached for Mingi's hand and placed it on your bump where Little Bun had been kicking. After a second there were a few more kicks and you couldn't believe the way Mingi's face lit up like he'd just felt the best thing in the whole world.

"My baby." He whispered and you could've sworn his eyes looked a little wetter than usual, "I promise I'll never let you down, Little One."

It was as if he'd suddenly felt a real connection with the life he'd helped create; he spent most of the evening laying with his head on your lap talking to your bump. You felt a happiness you hadn't felt for so long just sitting and listening to Mingi talk to your baby while his large hands caressed your bump.

After some time you felt Mingi pick you up off the couch and carry you into your bedroom; in your sleepy haze you vaguely thought about how strong he was as you were definitely heavier than you used to be now you were more than seven months pregnant. He laid you on your bed and left a gentle kiss on your forehead. As he went to go, you reached out to him,

"Don't go. I don't want to be alone anymore."

Mingi paused, not expecting such a request, "Ok, Baby...let me just lock up and turn the lights off."

After a minute or so Mingi joined you back on the bed, covering the both of you up and holding his arm out for you to cuddle into his side. You went to sleep feeling complete again, the dull ache you could never get rid of, finally gone.

In the morning you woke on your side with Mingi's arm over you and his hand lightly stroking your bump as every now and then you felt a little kick.

You rolled over to face him, closing the distance between you to kiss his lips. Mingi smiled at you when you pulled back,

"Good morning, Baby."

"Hi" You said feeling slightly shy, not used to this yet.

You laid together just looking into each other's eyes until Mingi inevitably broke the romantic atmosphere - like he always used to,

"Is it weird that it kinda turns me on that I got you pregnant?"

You sighed heavily. Who'd have known your boyfriend had a breeding kink?

"Yes. It is." You replied, laughing. Then added, "And inappropriate given that that baby is kicking right now."

You moved his hand from your behind, where it had somehow snuck around to, back to your bump to distract him from such things. You still found him hot as fuck but in your heavily pregnant state, feeling a bit like a beached whale, you did not even want to contemplate anything like that.

It worked because he soon turned more serious again.

"I really thought I'd lost you. I'd always held on to a tiny shred of hope but when I saw you with Yunho, pregnant and looking so happy...I thought you were with him...that I'd lost you forever."

"You never lost me completely." You said, cupping his face with your hand and running your thumb over his soft skin. "And if you can't even lose me to Yunho who is, basically, the perfect man...then you never will."

You laughed as Mingi suddenly let go of you, a huge put on his face at your assessment of his best friend being perfect.

"I love you, you idiot." You said pulling him back to you.

"I love you so much, too. I meant it when I said I'd never let you down again. Either of you."

                                                      ********

Epilogue

Over the last couple of months of pregnancy you and Mingi got closer than you ever had been before and decided to move in together as neither of you wanted to be without the other. You sold your apartment and bought a bigger one together with Mingi who, despite having been such a mess, actually had a really well paid job.

As your due date approached he barely left your side and when you woke up to feel your waters breaking, he took you to the hospital, despite the look of complete horror that never left his face the whole way there. Once you were at the hospital with trained medical staff he visibly relaxed and helped you all the way through the labour, holding your hand and telling you how well you were doing and how much he loved you. When your daughter was born the look on his face was ecstatic and, as much as he tried to hide it, you know you saw some tears.

Mingi was so excited, calling both sets of grandparents, followed by all his friends to tell them the news. The grandparents came down while you were still in the hospital - and fell in love with her immediately, of course, despite their previous concerns about the situation.

Mingi's friends came round to meet your daughter once you'd got settled back at home and he was so proud to show her off.

"Guys, this is Soo Min" he said beaming,

Of course Yunho rushed in for the first hug.

"Hey, Little Bun...do you remember my voice? I looked after you and Mummy for a bit so I'd better be your favourite uncle as you grow up."

"Hey!" The other guys all chorused.

Everyone wanted to take their turn holding her but she was a bit fussy from being passed around. In fact, out of all Mingi's friends, the one she was obviously most comfortable with was Yunho - now a best friend to both of you. As Soo Min settled down and fell asleep in Yunho's arms you couldn't help teasing Mingi by whispering,

"See? I told you he's the perfect man."

Mingi looked affronted and smacked your behind, whispering back,

"Do I still have competition? Once you're feeling better I'm gonna remind you who you belong to." winking cheekily after the last statement. At any other time that would’ve send a thrill straight to your core but you were still really sore down there.

As time passed your favourite sight to see was your daughter sleeping on Mingi's chest. You'd feed her and then pass her to Mingi to be burped and she'd always fall asleep on his broad chest, looking so tiny laying on him.

He was keeping to his promise of never letting you down so well that after a few months you had to force him out with his friends for an evening because they kept asking him out as one of their birthdays approached.

"Mingi," you said, worried he was telling them 'no' because of you, "I'm not going to think you're neglecting me if you go out for one evening. Just go and have fun."

"But I don't want to leave my precious girls." He said whining.

You leaned up to cup his face in your hands and kiss him softly on the lips,

"I love you and I know how much you love me and Soo Min but, really, go and have fun - the guys will be sad otherwise."

"Ok," he pouted, "...but just a few hours. I don't think I can be away from you two for much longer."

"Jeez, Mingi...you spend longer than that away from us when you're at work!"

"And it's Hell for me." He whined over dramatically while you could only laugh.

At least you never had to question if he loved you anymore.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 10, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

A poll today by the Associated Press (AP) and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) shows that President Joe Biden’s administration is gaining positive traction. Sixty-three percent of Americans approve of how he is handling his job as president. Seventy-one percent approve of how he is handling the coronavirus pandemic; 62% percent approve of how he is handling health care. Fifty-seven percent approve of how he is handling the economy; 54% approve of how he is handling foreign affairs.

Fifty-four percent of Americans think the country is going in the right direction. This is the highest number since 2017, but it is split by party: 84% of Democrats like the country’s direction, while only 20% of Republicans do.

Biden’s weak spots are in immigration, where 43% approve and 54% disapprove, and gun policy, where 48% approve and 49% disapprove.

And yet, Biden’s people have been working to address the influx of migrant children; White House Secretary Jen Psaki noted last week that “At the end of March, there were more than 5,000 children in Customs and Border Protection Patrol stations. Today, that number is approximately 600…. The amount of time children spend in CBP facilities is down by 75 percent — from 131 hours at the end of March to under 30 hours now.”

The administration has backed that short-term work with a long-term initiative. Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris met virtually with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leader of the left of center populist nationalist coalition party MORENA, to talk about finding ways to promote economic development to address the root causes prompting the flight of refugees from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and southern Mexico. They also talked about working together to protect human rights and dismantle the criminal networks that smuggle migrants. She will travel to Guatemala and Mexico in June, where she will meet with their leaders.

Disapproval of Biden’s gun policies might well reflect a desire for a stronger stance. In April, a Morning Consult/Politico poll showed that 64% of registered voters supported stricter gun control laws. We have had an average of ten mass shootings a week in 2021, 194 in all. (A mass shooting is one in which four people are killed or wounded.)

This week, Biden will be meeting with bipartisan groups of leaders, including Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to begin to hammer out an infrastructure measure based on his American Jobs Plan. He will also meet with Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who have proposed their own $568 billion proposal without corporate tax hikes.

As the good news from the administration is starting to filter into the media, bad news from the Trump wing of the Republican Party is also starting to get traction. On Saturday, we learned that at retreats in March and April, staff for the National Republican Congressional Committee refused to tell lawmakers how badly Trump is polling in core battleground districts, where 54% see Biden favorably while only 41% still favor Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan are all more popular in those districts than the former president.

Indeed, it is more than a little odd that party leaders are bending over backward to tie their party to a former president who, after all, never broke 50% favorability ratings—the first time in polling history that had happened—and who lost both the White House and Congress.

Another set of data from Catalist, a voter database company in Washington, D.C., shows that the 2020 election was the most diverse ever, with Latino and Asian voters turning out in bigger numbers than ever before. Black voting increased substantially, while Asian-American and Pacific Islander voters had a decisive increase in turnout. The electorate was 72% white, down 2% from 2016 and 5% from 2008. Thirty-nine percent of Biden-Harris voters were people of color (61% were white); only 15% of Trump-Pence voters were POC (85% were white).

This demographic trend is behind the new voter suppression bills in Republican states. But the racial breakdown of the 2020 vote is not the only problem for the current Republican Party. The biggest turnout gains in 2020 were among young voters, 18 to 40 years old, who now make up 31% of voters, while those over 55 have dropped to only 44% of the electorate. Younger voters skew heavily toward the Democrats. Also notable was that women break heavily toward Democrats by a 10 point gap—79% of women of color support Democrats; 58% of white women voted for Biden-Harris—and women make up 54% of the electorate overall.

News out of the private “recount” in Arizona by Cyber Ninjas, a company without experience in election recounts and whose owner has already gone on record as believing that rigged voting machines in Arizona cost Trump victory, continues to be embarrassing as well. Although the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which has a Republican majority, said the count was fair and opposed a recount, sixteen Republicans in the state senate voted to give the ballots for Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, to the company for a private recount. The count has been plagued by conspiracy theories—one observer claimed they are examining the ballots for signs of bamboo in the paper to show that tens of thousands of ballots were flown in from Asia—and it turned out that one of the people recounting the ballots had been at the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Now the “recount” is running so far behind it appears it won’t be done until August, rather than May 14 as the company promised.

State senator Paul Boyer, who voted for the “audit,” told New York Times reporter Michael Wines: “It makes us look like idiots…. Looking back, I didn’t think it would be this ridiculous. It’s embarrassing to be a state senator at this point.”

And then, this morning, the Washington Post dropped a long, investigative story by reporters Emma Brown, Aaron C. Davis, Jon Swaine, and Josh Dawsey revealing that the arguments former president Trump has grabbed to “prove” the election was stolen from him were part of a long conspiracy theory hatched in 2018 by Russell J. Ramsland, Jr., “a Republican businessman who has sold everything from Tex-Mex food in London to a wellness technology that beams light into the human bloodstream.” The story follows how Ramsland’s theories, which were debunked as “bat-s**t insane” by White House lawyers, got pumped into the media by Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, among others, and how Trump came to embrace them.

While Republican leaders are still standing behind those theories, and the former president, opponents of the party’s direction are pushing back not just against Trump but also against those leaders supporting him. Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) tweeted this morning: “A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call. I told Kevin [McCarthy] that his words and our party’s actions would lead to violence on January 6th. Kevin dismissively responded with ‘ok Adam, operator next question.’ And we got violence.”

Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) has narrated a video distributed by the Republican Accountability Project recalling the violence of January 6, blaming Trump for spreading lies about the election, and reminding viewers that more than 60 lawsuits disproved his claims that the election was stolen. The video says “we are the party of Lincoln. We are not the party of QAnon” (showing an image of Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” who wore a horned headdress during the Capitol insurrection) “or white supremacy” (showing an image of Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson). “We cannot embrace insurrection” (showing a picture of Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene). “President Trump provoked an attack on the United States Capitol which resulted in five people dying. That is a person who does not have a role as a leader of our party going forward.” The video features an image of McCarthy standing with Trump. Cheney made it clear she was not about to shut up.

This afternoon, McCarthy released a statement calling for Cheney’s ouster as conference chair, featuring the line: “[u]nlike the left, we embrace free thought and debate.” (References to George Orwell, who famously wrote about how fascists used language to rewrite history, were all over Twitter.) McCarthy and other Trump loyalists have suggested that Cheney needs to go because she keeps talking about the past, but Allan Smith of NBC News points out that Trump himself seems to be the one who cannot stop talking about the past.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[nazyalenskyism]

Can’t Fall in Love Tonight

Description: A modern Zoyalai political AU. Nikolai is running for office and Zoya is has been his right-hand woman since University. Feelings are finally realized and Zoyalai banter. 

A/N: Just Zoya and Nikolai being Zoya and Nikolai. I hope you enjoy, as always any feedback would be lovely, and the first chapter is under the cut.

Ao3: Can’t Fall in Love Tonight 

updated: Here are the links to chapter 2 and the final chapter, chapter 3!

Ao3 :Chapter 2

Ao3: Chapter 3

        “That’s unacceptable and you know it, don’t you?”

        “Y-yes ma’am.”

        Zoya resisted the urge to roll her eyes, dear lord, each new batch of interns was worse than the last. They had no backbone whatsoever, and when did it become part of her job to help them develop one? “So, if you know the criteria for all reports submitted to me, why didn’t you check with your supervisor that it had been done correctly? Why would you bring it to me without being sure?”

        “I-- I’m so sorry Ms.Nazyalensky, it won’t happen again.”

        She nodded curtly, “see to it that it doesn’t. We run a big campaign, and we can’t afford to have little things like this slow down the cogs of the machine. Double check all the requirements next time, because if you don't, there won't be any more chances, nor will you ever find a job with any political campaign again.” The kid, Paul-- no--Patrick, stared at her, his mouth wobbling, trying to find a reply. She’d given him another chance, why was he still standing there, acting like she’d already fired him? She opened her mouth, about to tell him to run back to his station when she noticed glinting gold out of the corner of her eye. Fantastic. The gallant hero riding in to save the poor intern from the stormy harpy. She knew the names they called her, and she didn't care in the least. There was a reason she had her job, and that was because she was the best, not because she was the nicest.

        “What Nazyalenksy means to say is that we constantly have to be updated with new incoming information that the format that you learned on your first day was created to save as much time as possible while conveying the information easily. Each individual on the staff has a significant role to play, something that seems as trivial as a document’s format has a big impact on the entire campaign. Your job is as important as mine, Pavel.”

        A hand clapped down on the young man’s shoulder as he replied, “really?” in an awed voice, mouth agape. Zoya fought to keep her composure again, these interns were always ready to bow down in front of their boss as if he were a king and they were mere subjects. A few words from Nikolai, a charming smile thrown their way and they were basically genuflecting.

        “Well, that’s not entirely true, I suppose. I do have to stand around and look dashing, the most difficult of my daily tasks,” the man said good-naturedly. This was typical Nikolai, when he was in front of the lower level employees, he was a commanding and kind boss. When he was before his biggest donors, he was a charming young man, telling lively stories about his time in university, his world adventures, how he’d sailed around the world in two years, anything that would ensure their support. Pavel stood rooted to the spot, this was clearly the first encounter he’d had with the Nikolai Lantsov, and he looked like he was close to passing out.

        “Run along now, Peter, and remember what I said.” The boy hurried away, too scared to tell her she’d called him by the wrong name, turning his head back to catch one last glimpse at Nikolai, paling as Nikolai raised a hand waving goodbye.

        “His name was Pavel, and you didn’t have to instill the fear of Zoya into him for his mistake,” Nikolai said, turning his head towards her.

        Zoya shrugged a shoulder noncommittally, “now he’ll never make the same mistake again. Where are we finding these new recruits, I swear we weren’t this incompetent when we did this.”

        “You, incompetent? Those words don’t belong together in a sentence at all.”

        “What about, Zoya’s unparalled talents save her incompetent candidate, Nikolai Lantsov from defeat yet again?” At that, Zoya saw slight tension creep into Nikolai’s stance. She sighed, they really couldn’t go more than an hour without yet another issue springing up, could they?

        “Perhaps that isn’t the most fitting phrase,” Nikolai said, tone shifting from easy and relaxed to all business. “Let’s talk in my office.” As he led the way down the hall of their headquarters, Zoya saw people stick their heads out of doorways to catch a glimpse of the golden boy, eyes wide, mouths agape. Zoya didn’t miss the looks towards her as well. Regularly she was their hardass superior who tolerated nothing less than perfection, but whenever their staff saw her go into a room alone with Nikolai, they got ideas that only added to the small, but ridiculous rumors that they were ‘a thing.’ She couldn’t care less, her job was to be his campaign manager during election season, and Chief of Staff otherwise— and so nearly half of her time was spent with Nikolai, heads bent over desks, trying to solve whatever new problem they encountered. Long after everyone had wrapped for the day, they would still be at the office, or retreat to Nikolai’s lavish apartment to continue working. She always went home after these late-night sessions, and nothing remotely scandalous had ever happened between her and Nikolai, but the rumors didn’t seem to care about facts. They were close, they always had been. She wasn’t about to act differently because of a small rumor. Unless their actions would negatively impact Nikolai’s image, she didn’t care. Still, Zoya swept the hallway with a cool glare, she was still their superior, and they didn’t have time to waste watching a man walk down the hall.

        By the time Zoya reached the end of the hall, Nikolai was gallantly holding the door open for her, and quickly shut it behind her. She didn’t particularly care for his office, it felt like a watered down, more palatable version of his home office, which was much more eclectic, filled with his personal hard-won treasures, not just that which looked the most interesting and professional. But she supposed, if anyone understood the importance of presentation, it was her. Her blue silk blouse with its delicate silver pearl buttons was paired with a sleek black skirt, and her usual heels were polished to perfection, not unlike Nikolai’s shining black Oxfords. “So, what is it?”

        “Zoya. It’s... It’s…” He scrubbed a hand over his face, and she froze, she hadn’t seen him this phased about something in a long, long time. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good.

        “Just spit it out Nikolai, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”

        “We have reason to believe that Demidov has a new Campaign Manager.”

        Zoya felt her brows draw together, “that can’t be the whole of it, who is it Lantsov?” Nikolai looked at her pointedly and Zoya understood immediately, “no. No. No. Way. In. Hell.” She felt pure hatred course through her veins. ‘Any other problem, we could deal with-- any other problem than this. Why did it have to be this?’ She drew in a deep breath. She had been preparing to face him again for years. Not just to face him, but to beat him at his own game, and she knew that she could. She had learned a lot, grown, and become a force to be reckoned with. She was ready to beat him, and this time, she would.

        “Right then, what do you want our next move to be?”

        Nikolai looked up at her, his brows furrowed, she was almost sure that he was going to ask her if she was alright, which was the last thing she needed to hear right now. Instead, he shook his head slightly, clearing his face of all concern before drawing out files from his desk drawer. “We have to figure out their strategy. But before that, we have to tell the team. Demidov is definitely bringing his new manager to the charity ball tonight which means we’re all going to have to play nice.”

        Zoya snorted, “you can play nice Nikolai, I’ll be doing just the opposite.”

        “Zoya,” he caught her wrist as she turned to stand. “All of us hate him, but we can’t do anything in public today. I promise that we will find a way to get rid of him forever, but we’re not going to do anything to jeopardize future plans today, is that clear?”

        Her chest heaved, it had taken everything in herself not to let go and scream when she’d realized who Nikolai was alluding to, but she didn’t know if she could manage to do this-- to go through a 6 hour fundraiser while ‘playing nice’ with the man who had ruined all their lives. But she had a job, and that was to carry them through this election, to have Nikolai’s back, to ensure that they did what they could for the people they promised to serve, and she would not let him be the reason she didn’t fulfill her duties. She pursed her lips, nodding at Nikolai, “I won’t do anything to mess things up, but I sure as hell won’t be playing ‘nice’.”

        “I would expect nothing less of you,” Nikolai said with a genuine smile, tugging gently at her wrist, “if I wanted someone who would ‘play nice’ I wouldn’t have started working with you eight years ago.”

        “You didn’t start working with me, Lantsov, I started working with you. Without my intervention, you would still be in local politics.”

        “Semantics dear Zoya. If I hadn’t approached you in the law library, we would have never met.”

        “That’s wrong and you know it. We would’ve met when I ran for the head of the student body and beat you for the presidency. I would’ve loved to see you defeated by me. It’s fine, I guess watching you lose board game night every Friday for the last eight years is good enough.” She sat down, her wrist still in Nikolai’s grasp.

        “I don’t lose every time,” Nikolai frowned childishly, and Zoya had to suppress a laugh, she knew he was trying to up her spirits before they had to relay the bad news to the others. “I always win the strategic games, like chess, but you unfairly banned them.”

        Zoya leaned in, cocking her head at him, “we can’t all be boring like you Lantsov. What’s the point of a game night if half the group falls asleep by 9 PM?”

        Nikolai leaned in as well, “it’s not my fault none of you are worthy competitors, if you--” he was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door, causing Zoya to pull away sharply, yanking her wrist from him. Nikolai shot her an unreadable look before inhaling deeply, “yes?”

        “Mister Lantsov, I have Ms. Safin, Mr. Kostyk, Mr. Yul-Bataar and Ms. Kir-Bataar here, like you asked.”

        Nikolai and Zoya shared a look, this was it then. “Let them in.”

                                                                        ---

        “Zoya, come on, we’re going to be late unless we leave right now,” Nikolai glanced at his watch, the charity event started in 40 minutes and with the traffic it would definitely take them at least half an hour to get there.

        “I’m coming!” Zoya’s voice drifted down from the upstairs floor of his apartment. Zoya lived in a cozy apartment in Hell’s Kitchen that she had shared with Genya and Tamar, but when Tamar had started getting serious with Nadia, she’d moved in with the girl and they’d gotten married shortly after. Now, Genya and David were newly engaged, which meant that David was always over, and so Zoya was spending more time at his place, because as she liked to say, “if I have to sit through one more dinner where it’s just the two of them goggling at each other the entire night, I’ll take out their eyes myself.” After they’d broken the news to the rest of their inner circle, Zoya had asked if she could get ready at his apartment, and when he’d said yes, had gone home immediately to grab her things. He knew she felt unreasonably guilty, that she felt like she’d betrayed her friends by allowing Demidov to hire him, even though she’d had no way to stop it from happening. He knew she didn’t want to have to face Genya alone immediately after they had told her, and he knew that was why she’d sought refuge in his apartment for a few hours before the party. He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t her fault, that she couldn’t change the past, only work with him to better things in the future, but these were things she already knew, and she relied on him to help her to move forward, not tell her what she already knew.

        Nikolai looked at his watch again, now they were actually about to be late, “Time to go! Where are you Zo—” Nikolai felt his breath skip. While he’d been distracted, Zoya had begun to descend the stairs, looking ethereal in a silky emerald green dress, her hair loose, tumbling in ink black waves over her shoulders. He felt a bit like a school boy, his breath quite literally knocked from his chest for a moment. Teardrop emeralds hung from her ears, and matching clips held back portions of her hair. He thought Zoya in her favoured blue had been difficult to resist, but Zoya in green was a sight to behold on its own. Had he not been practiced in restraining himself from her beauty, he was sure he would’ve trailed behind her the whole night like a forlorn puppy.

        “I’m ready, I’m ready!” She called, hurrying to the door to slip on her heels for the night. “Hold this,” she grumbled, smacking her clutch into his chest as she breezed by him.

        “Ouch, you know you could be more gent--”he broke off, nearly gaping. Backless. Her dress was backless. Nikolai looked up to the heavens, it seemed less and less likely that he was going to survive tonight. He shook his head, trying to clear it so he could focus on their task for the night, although he didn’t know how he was supposed to focus on anything else when his Chief of Staff was looking like that. He sighed audibly and Zoya’s head snapped towards him as they slipped out the door.

        “What, you’re not looking forward to tonight?”

        “No. I am.”

        “What is it then?”

        “I’m just thinking about how you’ve out-dressed me again. People are going to start thinking I have no sense of style if you keep upstaging me like his,” he replied, grinning at her.

        She rolled her eyes, “you’re not used to it yet, Lantsov? I’ve always been better dressed and better-looking. Maybe it’s time you up your game.”

        “Oh,” he clutched his chest in mock despair, “how you wound me.” Zoya snorted at him before flouncing towards the elevator. He stared after her, he definitely would never get used to this.

                                                                ---

        They’d sat through the initial speeches, the extravagant dinner with its ridiculously small portions and now the dance floor had opened up and yet, they’d yet to see Demidov or the newest addition to his staff. Nikolai had convinced Zoya to dance after she’d spent the better part of the evening making sure Genya was okay, and that Nikolai spoke to all the people they needed to secure as donors, and charmed everyone who came within 5 feet of him. Now, finally he’d been granted a short reprieve in the form of a dance with his favourite harpy.

        Zoya felt her pulse thrumming, her adrenaline had been high all night, and she just wanted the night to be over, the anticipation was tugging at her relentlessly. She’d agreed to a dance with Nikolai, and he looked especially the part of a prince tonight. She had to admit to that she’d had a moment of speechlessness when she’d seen him at the bottom of the stairs, the midnight black of his suit a stark contrast to his golden locks, and the gold tie pin and cufflinks he adorned highlighted the gold flecks in his hazel eyes. It was good that he looked handsome tonight, from a professional standpoint only, of course, people responded to beauty, they both knew that. She’d been around Nikolai, been his closest friend for long enough that she had made herself immune to his charms and looks. Still, she fought shivers when he placed her hand in his, the other sitting on the small of her back as he led her into a flawless waltz. As they began to gently sway to the soft string music, Zoya’s mind turned back to the issue at hand.

        “Do you see him?”

        “No. He’s probably waiting to make a dramatic entrance.”

        “Is that what you would do?”

        Nikolai hesitated, "I would never be in his position.”

        “You’re right. I just wish we knew what game he was playing. Or when he’d show up.” They passed a few moments in silence, both of them drawing closer together, content in the moment, until Nikolai saw a commotion out of the corner of his eye.

        “ I think your wish has been answered, Zoya dear.” Her head jolted upright just as the song ended. There, at the grand doors of the ballroom, was Demidov, looking the part as usual, and next to him stood a man dressed entirely in black.

        “Here we go,” Nikolai murmured. Zoya took his arm with one hand and grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing server’s tray in the other as they crossed the floor towards the men. Nikolai found David and Tolya’s eyes from across the room and gestured towards the ballroom door. They both nodded and Nikolai watched as they found Genya, Tamar and Nadia. Good, it was best that they all got out of here. Knowing the man, he would try to goad them with mentions of their friends, and Nikolai was not in the mood tonight.

        “Mr. Lantsov,” Demidov greeted them cheerfully, clasping Nikolai’s hand in a friendly handshake. “The always radiant Ms. Nazyalenksy,” he smiled, pressing his lips to her knuckles, not seeing the dangerous fire simmering behind her eyes. Only her true friends would ever be able to see how irritated she was by a man she deemed as, ‘having a backbone made of butterscotch pudding.’ He wasn’t fully aware what that meant, but Genya, Nadia and Tolya had agreed serenely when she’d first said it, so he supposed it must make sense.

        “Please, allow me to introduce you to my new campaign manager! This is--”

        “Aleks!” Nikolai exclaimed jovially, not missing the laugh in Zoya’s eyes. “My goodness, it’s been so long.”

        “You know each other?” Demidov said.

        “Oh yes, way back in my university days, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear that story, it’s far too long and features several ballads dedicated to my brilliance. It’s rather a production.”

        “I prefer to go by ‘The Darkling’,” Aleksander interjected coolly, inclining his head at Nikolai in acknowledgement, and resting his eyes on Zoya.

        “Oh,” Zoya started, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing any true emotion on her face. She brought a finger to her chin in mock-contemplation, though no one other than Nikolai and the Darkling would know it. “That’s a strange name, is it French?”

        “No, no. Zoya, I speak French, and whatever it is, it’s not French. Maybe it’s Russian?” Nikolai returned, looking thoughtful. Saints, he was a frighteningly good actor.

        She shrugged, “funny, I’m fluent and I've never heard that before.”

        “Is it not English, Aleksander?” Demidov questioned, clearly puzzled.

        The Darkling ignored them all. Instead he turned to Zoya, “Ms. Nazyalenksy, would you honour me with a dance?”

        “No.” Zoya enunciated clearly, looking directly at him. Nikolai laid a hand on her arm, a small reminder of their larger plan. His phone buzzed in his lapel pocket, and he glanced at it quickly, a message from Tamar, perfectly on time.

        “If you’ll excuse us, we have to take this,” Nikolai said holding up his phone, placing his hand on Zoya’s back, letting her know they were escaping this situation. Demidov nodded a goodbye as Zoya took a final sip from her glass.

        “It was so nice to meet you, Alexi!” she laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder, clearly dismissing him as if she were a queen and he were a mere peasant.

        “Goodnight, enjoy the festivities Aleks,” Nikolai added, nothing but a polite smile on his face as they turned and started towards a sheltered alcove in the corner of the room.

                                                              ---

        Zoya paced back and forth, “I hate everything about this— how could anyone even think to hire him after what he did?” Nikolai frowned, there was a note of desperation in her voice, very unlike Zoya. He knew the crimes of the man as well as the rest of his inner circle, they had all been directly impacted by him, but he knew that Zoya had never forgiven herself for being young, taken in by his seemingly perfect ideology and being unable to see the rot that lay beneath it all. Others who were older, and arguably wiser had been fooled just as easily as they all had, yet Zoya wouldn’t forgive herself, she held herself to a higher standard, he knew what that was like better than anyone else. The reason he’d told her before he’d broken the news to the rest of his staff was because of this, he knew that neither him nor Zoya would ever let that man inflict anymore hurt upon their friends.

        “He did a lot to bury his crimes, only a few people truly know what happened. The general public views them as allegations, not definitive crimes.”

        “Why? They’ve seen the evidence.” Zoya snapped, “they can see it every day.” He could see that she was a tightly wound coil after the news and that she needed a distraction.

        “Shall we share another dance?”

        “What?” she snapped, “Nikolai, I’m not in the mood.”

        “Whatever you say, Nazyalensky, but if you don’t dance with me, I’m 98% sure he’s going to ask you to dance next,” he said nodding towards Kirigin, one of many men who constantly trailed them at functions like this in an attempt to catch Zoya’s attention for a second.

        “Oh god, my options are you and Kirigin?” Zoya rubbed her temples, as much as she wanted to go home and finish a bottle of wine on her own, she knew they had to stay until the party was over. “Fine. Lead the way Lantsov, but I will be stepping on your toes.”

        “I would expect nothing less from you, my ruthless Zoya.”

[justoneday-namjoonii]

Don’t Breathe 4.5 | teaser

»Genre: hitman!au || stalker!au ||

»Warnings: kidnapping, stalking, obsession, themes of potential Stockholm syndrome, mono-phobia, mature elements, yandere at some point (? i think ), themes of depression, redemption, they fall in love, lovey dovey, fluff, Disclaimer: I do not condone nor suggest stalking/kidnapping or anything of that nature, this is purely fiction ok.

»Summary: He doesn’t get shaky hands, he never forgets his gloves and he never leaves a trail. He was paid to get rid of everyone who witnessed the exchange between a gang lord and a politician, they were picked off, one by one. He found out a month later, he missed one. A young writer who attended the event where the exchange took place. He has to kill her. Can he do it?

✤ pt.1 - pt.2 - pt.2.5 - pt.3 - pt. 3.5 - pt. 4.0 - pt.4.5

author’s note: coming soon

taglist: @tangledsparkles @just-another-fangurl21 @impartoftoomanyfandoms @komorebi-unnie​ @tangledsparkles​ @yes-sol-not-soul (sorry :( tumblr won’t let me tag you) if you’d like to be added to the taglist please comment on this post💜

The sun is setting like a dream, you can’t say you’ve ever seen it shine so beautiful. The sky looks like a peach painting that shyly fades into a heavenly deep-blue. It’s a perfect evening, the air smells of the flowers growing on the porch and it delights your senses. He’s chasing you barefooted across the grassy yard, like two children playing tag at the peek of spring. Out of breath, he finally catches you and you fall back into the checkered blanket, too tired to run off again.

After seeing you enjoy the balcony so much, he introduced you to his lavish  backyard. Aside from the large stone patio and pool attached to it, the yard expands at least an acre and it’s well-groomed. Early in the evening, you moved to spend some time on the patio, a pencil and paper in hand. Taehyung had some work to do so you had a few hours to yourself, you used that time to think and write. After a few hours, you could no longer resist the urge to take a dip in the crystal clear oasis.

With a t-shirt and underwear, you eased into the cool water and breathed a sigh of relief. For what could have been an hour or two, you weren’t counting, you swam on your back, staring up at the clear sky, wondering if you’ll ever feel peace like this again. When your eyes shut, your thoughts seem to align, and for the first time since you’ve been here, you felt like you were where you were supposed to be. As much as you cherish your life alone, your independence and innate desire to prove that you can make it on your own—it seems Taehyung is worth giving that up.

That would have sounded crazy weeks ago, but it’s how you feel. That night that you confessed that you wanted to be with him, you meant it. You don’t know when it happened, maybe when you kissed him and he picked you up, when you woke up to him fast asleep with a pillow in his arms. Or maybe it was when he suggested you help him bake, since he knew you wrote so much about food in your articles, you’re not sure. But somehow, some time after learning his name, you think you fell in love.

When you were with Jin, you had similar feelings to this. You knew you were in love when you had the urge to smile even when you were hurting just to make him smile. That feeling of unexplained self-sacrifice, something as small as smile, you’d force it out if you knew it would help him. With Taehyung, it seems like he will do anything to make you smile sometimes, even when you know he’s keeping stressful things from you. Is that love? You think so.

You sigh, still feeling a bit wet from your swim a while ago but you’ve dried mostly. He fussed at you for not showering straight away but you said the sun would dry you well enough until your shower tonight. It’s dusk now, and your out in the grass, laying happily on the blanket with him. Only a few minutes ago did you find out that he had pretty lights adorning the patio. He said he’s had them for a while but hadn’t turned them on until today. It casts a warm light out into the grass, you tell him he should turn it on more often.

”You should shower before you catch a cold,” He stresses for the second time. You find his worry endearing but negotiate five more minutes, and he caves. It’s been a while since you’ve been outside like this. He knows this, that’s why he’s laying shoulder to shoulder with you as you gaze up at the night sky. “Sorry I had so much work I had to do today, hope you weren’t too bored,”

”It’s fine, I was writing anyway...”

”Really?” He turns on his side, curiosity piqued. You nod, hands searching for the pencil and pad you had on the blanket.

”I used to write poetry when I was in high school. I wasn’t very good and some of it is kind of cringe now that I look back at it, but I enjoyed it. I haven’t written in so long, I thought I’d give it a shot,” You grab the notepad and look up at it, eyes skimming over the gray hue from all the erasing. You catch him trying to peek over and you hold it to your test. You grin, “Don’t look, it’s not good,”

He pouts, hand moving to intertwine with yours.

“Come on, you’ve never shared your personal writings with me before,” He pouts, leaning closer to you in hopes that you might succumb to the allure of his gaze. “Pleeease?”

”Fine,” You sigh, “but you have to read it yourself,” You lift the notepad, handing it to him.

He sits up and the feeling of anxiousness comes to a halt when you realize one important fact; it’s Taehyung reading this. Not a supervisor critiquing your rough draft or a teacher judging your ability to recite your understanding of the class’s latest assignment. It’s him.

I’ve been given a universe, all for me. My very own stars in your eyes, I can stare at you forever. The remnants of your every gaze births a galaxy and I draw up the constellations by the reminisce of the pattern of your touch on my skin. I, too, have given my universe to you. Though I’m innocent to the stars in my eyes, the constellations I paint on your skin, all for you. No event is there more beautiful than the moment our eyes meet, our nebulae collide. A merging occurs, giving life to new stars that are our own, creating a galaxy that holds a shape that can only be defined by fate. In that sweet moment, we create an intertwined constellation, a design filled with millions of our old and new stars, shining brighter than ever,

“in your universe, my universe...” He reads the last lines softly. Setting the pad down with an expression that you can’t quite read, he just looks at you and you start to feel nervous.

“I just,” You bite at your lip and look up at the night sky that’s beginning to show the stars, “I had this idea about space, it’s a little different but it took me hours to come up with...I’m rusty.”

He props himself up and leans over you, gaze searching for yours with a tender close-lipped smile. He holds his hand to his heart, “That was so beautiful.”

You cringe, pushing his chest so he can roll back on his back. “Oh stop, now I wish I wouldn’t have showed you,” It’s hard to tell if he’s praising you or teasing, it seems like it’s one in the same sometime.

“I’m being serious, I can feel the emotions you’re conveying in your words, I really get it...” He looks a bit surprised that you’d think he was teasing you about this, he leans back over you. 

“You mean it?” You look into his eyes, wondering how anyone could be capable of making you feel so special, like you’re the only person in the world. Without a word, he presses a firm kiss to your lips and you sigh, he means it.

*  *  *

“How’s the investigation going? Jin told me you reached out the other day,”

The busy lawyer sits his freshly ordered coffee in his cup holder as he drives off to his highly-decorated firm.

“I did, the case is more complicated than I initially thought,” Yoongi poured the subpar coffee in the Styrofoam cup, it’s 6am and he’s trying not to be grumpy, “if I’m right about my suspicions, it’s a fucked up situation.”

“What’re you thinking?”

Yoongi looks around, seeing that the only person around was the woman at the desk. “The girl, along with the other individuals at that conference, were targeted. I got the names of the parties at the conference, they’re politicians of course but the details of the meeting was never released. I have a theory,”

He lowers his voice, looking around one more time before sipping his coffee, “I think someone at that conference had those other reporters killed. I went over each autopsy file and those people died from unusual things, but not unusual enough to suspect at first-glance. Most of them dies from too much of a medication that they were already taking, things like that. But this girl, unlike everyone else, she was abducted and I don’t know why.”

Jungkook makes a thoughtful noises. “What’s different about her that not like the others?”

“She went missing a little over a month after the others were found dead. It looks like a mistake to me,” He paces, “I don’t know if I’m being too outlandish, but I have a feeling she’s alive, we just need to find her,”

Jungkook responds with how he feels about it but Yoongi has to cut him short when Eunwoo walks into the station.

“You’re here early, Min,” Eunwoo smiles, beckoning Yoongi to follow him to his office, “I have some good news, and some bad news, which do you want first?” Eunwoo leads Yoongi into his office and sets his briefcase down so he can pull what he needs out.

“Surprise me.” He deadpans.

“Well, last night, we found out that the infamous Hwan Group could be apart of this. You know that group, they’ve been under the radar for years, you can’t catch’em. But there’s a chance they could be the force behind this, they have assassins for hire from what I’ve heard,” He takes a seat, opening one of the Manila folders.

“And the good news?”

“It took a lot to pin him, but we’re bring one of the parties in for questioning today,”

“Good, I think they know something that they’ve been trying to keep under the rug.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Yoongi gets up, hand tight on the flimsy cup, “If you could give me a call after the questioning, I’d appreciate it. I’m gonna do a little digging into this Hwan Group, see if I can get some info that’ll help,”

Yoongi leaves the building with a to-do list but little does he know, detective Na Jaemin, knocking on on Eunwoo’s door.

“Come in,”

“Hi,” Jaemin slips into the room, an unusual grin on his face, “how are you?”

“Um,” Eunwoo looks around, not understanding why he’s approaching him like this but he shrugs, “good, is everything okay, detective?”

“Everything's fine,” Lies, “I just had a question about that PI, Min Yoongi,”

“Shoot,” Eunwoo awaits his question.

“Why is he so adamant on keeping this case open? I mean, I’m a detective on the case and I think we should start searching for the body,” His tone sounds innocent but he’s trying to sneakily plant this idea in Eunwoo’s mind, “we could be wasting precious time, the family deserves closure and we’re just dragging it on.”

“Detective Na,” Eunwoo stops looking through the folder, “given the other related cases, we have reason to believe she might be alive. Not every abductee is killed, even if that tends to be the case.”

Jeamin swallows, trying to think of how to save himself, “I know, I’m not saying that we should be pessimistic but realistic, rather.”

“I get what you’re saying, but on what prescient you’re saying it, I don’t know. I, and many of the others on this case, have reviewed the evidence and compared it to the other cases, it doesn’t add up. After the questioning today, we’ll talk, until then, your efforts need to go towards finding her alive and well,” Eunwoo walks past Jaemin and the detective gets the memo to get out of the office, “Understood?”

With a feigned grin he stands up straight. “Absolutely, sir,” 

[myonechicagoworld]

CHICAGO FIRE – LEAVING THE STATION (S01E08)

Matt Casey: Why the hell are you studying Japanese? 

Mouch: I read online that once you turn 50, your brain starts to 

              atrophy unless you keep it in shape.

Leslie Shay: I think that train’s already left the station, Mouch.

Joe Cruz: Say something in Japanese. 

Mouch: I just started

Peter Mills: Hey, uh, where’s Herrmann?

Matt Casey: Tony Robbins seminar.

Otis Zvonecek: I got 20 bucks says in two weeks, you won’t be

                           able to string along a sentence.

Joe Cruz: [chuckles]

Mouch: Easiest money I ever made.

Otis Zvonecek: Done. What’s today?

Gabby Dawson: Um, 29th.

Matt Casey: Ah, damn it.

Gabby Dawson: Everything all right?

Matt Casey: Yeah. No, I just forgot something.

Chief Boden: Hey, everybody. We have the pleasure of hosting a

                        couple of visiting firefighters again. This is Gavin 

                        and Presley. They will be observing over the next 

                        couple of shifts.

                        Lieutenant Casey, Lieutenant Severide, and… the rest

                        of the knuckleheads.

Gavin: Hey guys, thanks so much for allowing us to be here. And let

            us know if there’s anything we can do to help out.

Mouch: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Was that a Canadian ‘out’ I heard?

Gavin: Yes, sir. Toronto. 

Presley: We both just finished our probationary period.

Mouch: You know what? 

               Uh, welcome aboard, guys.

               No offense, but someone else will have to give you the

               tour, ‘cause it ain’t gonna be me.

                                                 [door closes]

Matt Casey: Ignore him.

                                         [alarm blaring & beeping]

(Over PA): Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61. Injury on the blue line,

                  Logan Square Station.

                                      [sirens wailing, horn blares]

                                           [sirens stop wailing]

Chief Boden: (over radio) Be aware, men, the third rail could still be 

                        hot.

Matt Casey: You heard him, guys. Everyone keep your eyes

                       forward. Let’s do this the right way.

Chief Boden: (over radio) Main, do we have a hold on the

                        (into radio) blue line power at Logan Square?

Dispatcher: (over radio) Stand by. We’re waiting for confirmation.

Conductor: I think I hit someone.

Matt Casey: (into radio) Chief, we might have a victim on the 

                      tracks. (over radio) Conductor thinks he hit 

                      someone.

Chief Boden: (into radio) You and Mills walk back down

                        (over radio) toward the tunnel. Mind that third rail.

Matt Casey: (into radio) Copy.

Joe Cruz: All good. 

Dispatcher: (over radio) CTA confirms power has been shut down.

Chief Boden: Cruz, we got the all-clear. Throw the chain.

Peter Mills: Yo! Hey, I see somebody!

Joe Cruz: Three, two, one, go!

                                              [power sizzling]

Chief Boden: (into radio) Main, we still have power on the 

                        southbound track!

Victim 1: Please, help me.

Matt Casey: (into radio) His leg’s stuck in the axle. I need this rail 

                      turned off.

Chief Boden: (over radio) We’re working on it, Casey.

Matt Casey: My name’s Matt.

Victim 1: [exhales] Jacob.

Matt Casey: What happened, Jacob?

Victim 1 (Jacob): My sister Kayla and me went into the subway

                              through an access door, just to look around

                              but it locked behind us [panting] We were… 

                              we were trying to get out through the tunnel.

Peter Mills: I’ll go.

Victim 1 (Jacob): [panting]

Matt Casey: (into radio) Chief, there’s another kid in the tunnel. Mills

                      is going (over radio) inside.

Chief Boden: (into radio) I have two victims on the track. I need that

                        damn power off now.

Peter Mills: Kayla! 

                    Call out!

Dispatcher: (over radio) Supervisor has confirmed power has been 

                     shut down.

Chief Boden: Cruz, throw the chain again.

Joe Cruz: Three, two, one, go!

                  Power’s off!

Kelly Severide: What’s his name?

Matt Casey: Jacob.

Victim 1 (Jacob): [groans]

Kelly Severide: Jacob, my name is Kelly. We’re gonna get you out

                           of there, alright?

Gabby Dawson: Let’s get that pressure dressing ready.

Kelly Severide: There we go.

                           Alright, right there. That’s good. 

Peter Mills: Kayla! 

                    Kayla!

                                           [saw whirring]

Victim 1 (Jacob): [groans]

Kelly Severide: This is gonna hurt, buddy.

Victim 1 (Jacob): [groans]

Kelly Severide: Okay, buddy, hang on, hang on.

Victim 1 (Jacob): [groaning in pain]

Gabby Dawson: Watch his head.

                             Right here.

                             Hey, Jacob?

Victim 1 (Jacob): My… My sister…

Matt Casey: We’re looking for her now.

Leslie Shay: Alright, pressure dressing’s in place. Let’s go.

Gabby Dawson: One, two, three.

Victim 1 (Jacob): [groans]

Matt Casey: (into radio) Mills.

Gabby Dawson: You’re gonna be okay, Jacob.

Matt Casey: Mills.

                      (into radio) Yeah, we, uh… found the victim. I need two

                      body bags, more lights, latex gloves.

                      Two teams scour each side of the tracks. Call out

                       whatever body part you find.

                       Hey… You okay?

                                                  - Title Screen - 

Chief Boden: Department counsellor. 

                        Wasn’t easy what we saw today and there is no

                         shame in reaching out to talk to somebody.

Matt Casey: Hey, take a seat guys. Make yourselves at home.

Gavin & Presley: Okay.

Chief Boden: Hey.

                       Act right.

Mouch: Copy that, Chief.

               So how’s that socialised medicine working out for you 

                guys?

Joe Cruz: Mouch.

Mouch: To get your tonsils out, I heard you got to wait in a line

               around the block for the same doctor who just finished 

               a colonoscopy. 

Otis Zvonecek: You’re the only guy I know that could have a beef 

                            with Canada.

Mouch: Let’s just say I got a snoot full of how things really work up 

              there. 

              Nothing against these two but pull that curtain back a little

              bit. You might be surprised at what you find.

Matt Casey: Yeah, uh, again, you can ignore him.

Joe Cruz: [laughs] Mouch, you are out of your damn mind [laughs]

                                                  cutscene

                                       [shower water running]

                                            [buzzer sounds]

Joe Cruz: (over PA) Shay, you got a guest on the apparatus floor.

Leslie Shay: I thought you were going home.

Clarice: Well, Daniel’s not back from Phoenix until later today, so…

               you want to have some lunch?

Leslie Shay: It’s not a good time, Clarice. I got to get back to…

Clarice: Look, it’s turkey and brie with cranberry, from Martinelli’s.

Leslie Shay: I thought they closed.

Clarice: They opened up again over in Forest Glen.

Leslie Shay: [chuckles] 

Clarice: Mmm.

               Here, here, here, feel this.

Leslie Shay: Whoa. What is that?

Clarice: It’s his elbow. Wait… or no, maybe it’s his foot. That is 

              crazy, right?

Leslie Shay: Yeah.

                      Did you guys pick out names yet?

Clarice: (sighs) No, we are still in the middle of negotiations. Daniel

               really wants to name him after his father.

Leslie Shay: Oh.

Clarice: Gilbert.

Leslie Shay: Oh.

Clarice: Yeah, I know.

               I remember when we used to pick out baby names.

Leslie Shay: Yeah. 

                      Yeah.

Clarice: Look, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

                                    [alarm sounds & buzzes]

(Over PA): Ambulance 61, difficulty breathing.

Leslie Shay: I got to go.

                      Uh… thanks… thanks for lunch. I… 

                       [clears throat]

                       What? I can’t eat a sandwich?

Clarice: Hi, Gabby.

Gabby Dawson: Hi, Clarice.

                                               [siren wailing]

Lady 1: [tearfully] She had a seizure, then couldn’t breathe.

Leslie Shay: Grace, can you hear me?

                      She’s responsive. 

Gabby Dawson: Has this ever happened before?

Lady 1: No. I mean, yes. Sh-She’s had a seizure before.

Gabby Dawson: Is she taking any anti-seizure medication?

Lady 1: No, the doctors never found anything.

              But she has Celiac disease. She’s… she’s been on a gluten

               free diet for the last two months.

Leslie Shay: Diminished lungs.

Gabby Dawson: Okay, let’s get her to Chicago U.

Lady 1: No.

Gabby Dawson: Ma’am, we got to get Grace to the hospital.

Lady 1: Not Chicago U. My father died at that hospital. Please don’t

              take her there.

Gabby Dawson: Okay, fine. Lakeshore. But we got to go now.

                             Hey. Easy, Grace. Easy.

Victim 2 (Grace): I don’t like the way it smells.

Gabby Dawson: You don’t like the way what smells, sweetheart?

Leslie Shay: Six year-old girl, respiratory distress, history of  

                      undiagnosed seizures.

ER Doctor: Exam room two. We’ll take her from here.

Lady 1: I’m right here but we… [continues indistinctly] 

             Oh my God. Please don’t… please don’t hurt her.

Gabby Dawson: Something’s up with that chick.

                                              cutscene

Kelly Severide: Works better if you turn on the heat. 

                                      [rubbish bag rustling]

                                         [metal clanging]

Peter Mills: [sighs] [breathing shakily]

                    [sobbing]

                                                cutscene

Matt Casey: Hour, hour and a half, tops.

Chief Boden: Okay, I’ll have Cruz cover truck until you’re back.

Matt Casey: Got it. And I’m sorry about this. You know this isn’t my 

                      style, but…

Chief Boden: Handle your business.

Matt Casey: Oh, uh… keep an eye on Mills for me. 

Chief Boden: Yeah, sure.

Gabby Dawson: Hey, quick favour?

Matt Casey: Sure.

Gabby Dawson: Shay and I feel a little weird about this call we just 

                            went on. 

                             We need someone to pull some medical records 

                             for us. So I  was wondering if maybe Hallie could 

                             do us a solid.

Matt Casey: Yeah, uh, the only thing is me and Hallie are taking a 

                      break, so…

Gabby Dawson: Right. Got it. 

                            Say no more.

                            And I’m sorry to hear that.

                            You’re calling Kendra.

Leslie Shay: Ugh. 

                      This is gonna cost me a dinner or two. I mean,

                       guaranteed she asks me to dinner, and I really

                       don’t want to hear about her drama… 

                       [clears throat] Hey Kendra.

                       Yep. Yeah.

                       Uh, huh. Okay.

                       Alright, thank you so much. And hey, this conversation

                       never took place.

                       Yeah. 

                        Friday? [clears throat] Um, can I get back to you?

                        Thanks.

                        Uh, so Grace was taken to the ER twice in the last six

                        weeks for seizures… no mention anywhere in her 

                         record of Celiac disease.

                                     [alarm sounding & buzzing]

(Over PA): Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61. Heart attack victim,

                   Dearborn and Elm.

                                               [sirens wailing]

Man 1: Frank’s dead!

             He must’ve had a heart attack or something. One minute,

             he was fine. 

             He was dropping branches to me. And the next thing I  

             know, he’s just hanging there. 

                               [branch creaks and starts to break]

Chief Boden: Cruz! You get that aerial up in that tree now. 

Joe Cruz: I can get close but there’s a lot of branches. I don’t see a 

                  clean path.

Kelly Severide: Well, then we make one.

                           Vargas!

Jose Vargas: On it.

Presley: Won’t you need a Stokes basket?

Chief Boden: That limb’s not gonna give us enough time. We rig a

                        two-to-one pulley system. We bring him down the 

                        fast way.

Vargas: Got it.

                                          [chainsaw buzzing]

                                              [siren wailing]

Vargas: Path is clear. 

Firefighter: Here we go.

Chief Boden: When Severide drops his line, you take up the slack.

                        When he cuts the old line, it’s on you.

Victim 3 (Frank): [groans softly]

Kelly Severide: Hey! He’s alive!

                                   [branch continues to break]

Gabby Dawson: Get him down here fast.

Kelly Severide: Agh! [groans]

Chief Boden: Hadley, move. Get his back.

Kelly Severide: [grunts]

                           Grab it! Grab that rope!

Otis Zvonecek: Got it, Kelly.

Chief Boden: Tie it off.

Kelly Severide: [grunts]

Mouch: Set.

Victim 3 (Frank): [whimpers]

Chief Boden: Load is yours.

                       Steady.

Hadley: You okay?

Kelly Severide: Yeah, fine. Just… Let’s get on the ground.

Leslie Shay: Easy, easy.

Gabby Dawson: Watch his head. 

Leslie Shay: There we go.

                      Alright, he’s breathing… shallow respirations.

Gabby Dawson: Hey, he’s carrying candy. He could be a diabetic.

Leslie Shay: Yep. 

Gabby Dawson: Let’s check his blood sugar.

                                         [machine beeping]

Leslie Shay: Okay, it’s low… below 20.

Gabby Dawson: I’ll give him an amp of D50.

                                     [indistinct radio chatter]

Victim 3 (Frank): What happened?

Leslie Shay: Okay, sir, you’re gonna be okay. Your blood sugar

                      dropped. Are you diabetic?

Victim 3 (Frank): Mmhmm.

Leslie Shay: Okay.

                                               cutscene

Lady 2: Hey Matt.

Matt Casey: Christie. 

                      Jim.

Man 2 (Jim): Matt.

Lady 2 (Christie): Sweetheart, do you remember your Uncle Matt

                              from Thanksgiving a couple years ago? 

Matt Casey: Hey Violet. 

                     You’re so grown up [chuckles lightly]

                     15 years… that’s crazy.

Lady 2 (Christie): I still miss him 

Matt Casey: [exhales deeply]

Lady 2 (Christie): Well, we’ll, uh, let you have some alone time.

Matt Casey: You don’t have to go.

Lady 2 (Christie): No, it’s okay. We were just leaving. We’ve been 

                              here awhile. 

                              I guess I’ll see you in a couple weeks.

Matt Casey: Yeah, I’ll see you there.

                                                  cutscene

Chief Boden: We’ve all been there. It usually happens first few

                        months after being on the job. Right now, you 

                        have nothing to compare it to. 

                        But you will. 

                         The longer you work, the more good you do… you’ll

                          be able to take days like this, put them into context,

                          and then move forward.

Peter Mills: It’s just that afterwards, I’m… I’m looking at Mouch

                     telling stories and Cruz playing video games. I don’t 

                     know how they do it.

Chief Boden: Everybody has their own way in how they deal with

                       things. You will get on the other side of this, Peter.

                       You know what? Take the rest of the shift off. 

                        Go easy.

                        I’m serious, though. Talk to someone. Counsellor’s 

                        available. 

                        So am I. So is your Lieutenant. Okay?

Peter Mills: Okay. 

                                                  cutscene

Otis Zvonecek: [chuckling] Oh yeah, it stays with me. For sure.

                           Thank you, dude. 

                            My buddy, Eddie, over at 61, ‘sworn to secrecy.’

                            Uh the Canadians? Guess where they’re from?

Mouch: Canada.

Otis Zvonecek: Cleveland. 

Mouch: What?

Otis Zvonecek: Herrmann put ‘em up to it. 

Mouch: Oh that sneaky son of a bitch. He’s the only one I confided

              to about me and Canada and this is what he does to me?

Otis Zvonecek: I don’t know what Herrmann’s end game is in this

                           prank but if you’re asking me, I say we beat him 

                           to it.

Mouch: Yeah. 

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah?

Mouch: Yeah.

Otis Zvonecek: Yes. All right.

Joe Cruz: Hey Shay, you got a visitor again.

Gabby Dawson: Ugh, Clarice again?

Daniel Schwartz: Her husband [clears throat]

Leslie Shay: Nice to see you.

Daniel Schwartz: I’m looking for my wife and my unborn son.

                              Would you be kind enough to point me in the 

                              right direction?

Leslie Shay: Yeah. She’s been staying with me a couple days.

Daniel Schwartz: So, in the light of the fact that you have zero

                              boundaries, I will tell you now very directly

                              that if you think I’m gonna stand… 

Leslie Shay: Daniel, you might want to bring it down a peg, because

                      this is your problem.

Daniel Schwartz: Right, you… you have nothing to do with it.

Leslie Shay: She came to me as a friend needing a place to stay.

                      So I, as a friend, took her in. I sympathise with what

                      you’re going through and I wish I hadn’t been brought

                      into this, but if you keep coming at me like you’re

                      coming at me, I’m gonna tell you to kiss my ass in 

                      two seconds.

Daniel Schwartz: [sighs] What can I do? This is my family we’re 

                              talking about. 

                                                     cutscene

Peter Mills: I can’t get it out of my head. Just… I can’t get it out of 

                    my head.

Ingrid Mills: There was a time when your father couldn’t either.

                     And his way of fixing it was to just shove it down.

                     And then that turned into shutting off a part of 

                     himself. It’s the part that makes us human.

Peter Mills: Then what do I do?

Ingrid Mills: Walk away. You come back to the restaurant. I don’t

                     want you to become a block of ice. And having seen

                     that in your father, believe me, you don’t want that for 

                      yourself. 

                      It’s not who you are. Hmm? Just… come home.

Peter Mills: [sighs]

                                                     cutscene

Kelly Severide: Anna. Hey, it’s me. Look um, I need a refill…

                          uh somewhat urgently.

                          I know, I know, I know (stammering) I-I just… I…

                          can you please just help me out?

                          I can’t. I… I don’t have the time. 

                          I could… I could pay you for them, if that’s easier.

                          Anna? Hello?

                          [sighs]

                                                  cutscene

Leslie Shay: Oh, she’s pissed.

                      Hey, Kendra. Thanks for doing this.

Dr. Kendra: I thought I was done.

Leslie Shay: Ah, well, you know…

Gabby Dawson: Anything on Grace Wilkinson?

                                           [keys clacking]

Dr. Kendra: Yeah, she accidentally swallowed some turpentine. 

Leslie Shay: Her mom told us she had Celiac disease.

Dr. Kendra: Uh, mom told us she was doing some painting and left

                     the turpentine out by mistake. We pumped the girl’s

                     stomach, then moved her upstairs for observation.

Leslie Shay: She didn’t want to take her to Chicago U, remember?

                      Could be hospital jumping to hide abuse.

Gabby Dawson: Abuse that she’s causing for attention.

                            It fits. That would explain the mom’s behaviour,

                            the inconsistent symptoms that Grace is having,

                            that smell that she was talking about…

Dr. Kendra: Munchausen by proxy? It’s quite rare.

Gabby Dawson: I don’t really care what you call it. That woman is

                            poisoning her own kid. I want this reported to

                            DCFS. Right now. Will you back us up?

Leslie Shay: Dinner, Friday… on me.

Dr. Kendra: I’ll get the number. 

Gabby Dawson: Four years ago [exhales], my old partner and I

                             reported this girl with cigarette burns all over

                             her arms and legs to DCFS, and the investigation

                             was a mess of red tape from beginning to end.

                              They eventually sent the girl back to her father

                              and that same week, she died of a brain bleed 

                              from a beating he gave her. That ain’t happening 

                              again.

                                                        cutscene

Kelly Severide: Hey, Mrs Mills.

Ingrid Mills: Hello Kelly. Chief Boden’s office is this way? 

Kelly Severide: Yeah. 

                           How’s Peter doing?

Ingrid Mills: He saw a girl cut to pieces today. I believe you all did.

                      How are you doing?

                                                 [door opens]

Chief Boden: Ingrid, uh… it’s been a long time.

Ingrid Mills: Yes it has.

Chief Boden: Uh, please, have a seat.

Ingrid Mills: No, I won’t be long.

                     Peter’s not like Henry.

Chief Boden: No one expects him to be.

Ingrid Mills: He does. And Peter’s got this whole idea of living up to

                     his father’s memory. 

                     But that is not the life I want for him. 

                     Peter’s not coming back to 51.

Chief Boden: If that’s what he decides… I’ll abide by it. You have 

                        my word.

Ingrid Mills: You’re not hearing me. Peter’s time as a candidate…

                      is done. I’m asking you to respect my wishes. Now, 

                      you owe me that at least.

                                                 cutscene

Joe Cruz: I can tell you this soup already smells like socks, Otis.

Otis Zvonecek: Oh, just wait till it hits your taste buds, man.

Gavin: Listen, if we’ve done anything to offend you…

Mouch: Oh, no, no, no. Eat up. Enjoy your free American meal.

Presley: Is Peter coming back? 

Matt Casey: Of course. He’s just clearing his head. Today was a 

                      tough one.

Otis Zvonecek: Here we go. Dinner’s served.

Matt Casey: What the hell is this?

Otis Zvonecek: Borscht, baby. 

Mouch: [sniffs]

              [grimaces]

Otis Zvonecek: Mama’s Sunday night go-to.

Matt Casey: [slurps]

Otis Zvonecek: Huh? 

Matt Casey: [grimaces]

Otis Zvonecek: Eh? It’s good right? 

Matt Casey: We’re ordering in.

                                                  cutscene

Kelly Severide: [groans]

                                       [footsteps approaching]

Chief Boden: Hey. Nice job up there in that tree.

Kelly Severide: Thanks, Chief.

Chief Boden: What up with your arm?

Kelly Severide: What’s that?

Chief Boden: I said, “what up with your arm?”

Kelly Severide: Tweaked it a couple days ago lifting weights.

Chief Boden: Looked like more than a tweak.

Kelly Severide: Really, I’m fine.

Chief Boden: Okay. I see it again, you’re going in for an x-ray,

                        for your own safety.

Kelly Severide: No. Yeah, absolutely.

                                                   cutscene

                                    [door opens to bunk room]

Gabby Dawson: DCFS looked into the Wilkinson girl’s case…

                            not gonna pursue.

                            Let’s take a ride.

                                           [ambo door opens]

                                           [door alarm beeps]

                                           [ambo door shuts]

Leslie Shay: Listen, all I’m saying is, I told you after your suspension

                      hearing that I’d pull up on the reins if you started to go

                      sideways. This is me pulling.

Gabby Dawson: We’re just having a friendly conversation.

                             Uh, Mrs Wilkinson, sorry to bother you like this. 

                             Uh…

Lady 1 (Mrs Wilkinson): You’ve got some nerve… fabricating lies 

                                          against me?

Gabby Dawson: Lies? You want to talk about lies? What was that

                            today… a seizure related to Celiac disease or

                            accidental ingestion of turpentine?

Lady 1 (Mrs Wilkinson): This is harassment, and I’m calling my

                                         lawyer.

Gabby Dawson: You should call your doctor, because you need

                             help. You are poisoning your own daughter. 

                             We’re not gonna stand by…

Lady 1 (Mrs Wilkinson): You have no idea how miserable your life is

                                          about to get.

                                      [door shuts and locks]

                                              cutscene

Chief Boden: I’ve been on the phone for the last hour, getting my

                       ass handed to me, and there wasn’t a damn thing I

                       could say in your defence, because what you did 

                       was dead wrong.

Gabby Dawson: Chief, she’s poisoning her daughter.

Chief Boden: Did you talk to the DCFS?

Gabby Dawson: Yeah, but…

Chief Boden: But nothing!

                        You let them handle it. What you don’t do is go

                         knocking on doors, start throwing out accusations.

                         Do you not get it, Gabriela?

Leslie Shay: It’s not just her, Chief.

Chief Boden: I will get to you in a second. 

                       Answer my question.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah, Chief, I get it.

Chief Boden: Do you not like your partner? 

Leslie Shay: I like her very much indeed, Sir.

Chief Boden: Well, she’s a hothead. What you do when you have a

                        hothead for a partner is you talk them out of doing

                        stupid-ass things that can get them into serious 

                        trouble.

                        Gabriela, this, um… crusade that you are on, it ends

                         now. You take one step further, there will not be a

                         suspension hearing. There will be a good-bye party.

                         You two, my office. We need to talk about Mills

                                                    cutscene

                                               [bells chiming]

Kelly Severide: [exhales]

Elise Mills: Hey Kelly.

Kelly Severide: Hey.

                           Is your brother here?

Elise Mills: Last we talked to him, he said he was gonna go for a

                    drive but I haven’t heard from him for a while.

Kelly Severide: Yeah, he hasn’t been picking up his phone. 

Elise Mills: I’ve never seen him like this.

Kelly Severide: Okay, well, if you talk to him, could you tell him that

                           I stopped by? I just wanted to check on him.

Elise Mills: I will. Thank you.

                                                   cutscene

Leslie Shay: You have to go home.

Clarice: To what?

Leslie Shay: To a husband who’s at least owed an explanation.

Clarice: Okay, but I just… I didn’t even realise how unhappy I was

               until you showed up at the baby shower.

Leslie Shay: You don’t get to come back married and pregnant

                       saying that you miss me. 

                       You walked away. You broke my heart. And hey, that’s

                        the way it goes, but this isn’t good for me right now,

                         Clarice. I’ve been fooling myself these last few days. 

Clarice: I made a mistake.

                                                [knocks on door]

Leslie Shay: [sighs]

Clarice: Okay, if that’s Daniel, I’m just… I’m not here. I will leave.

               I will go home. I will. But just not right now, please.

Corrine: Hey.

Leslie Shay: Hey Corrine.

Corrine: I texted you a couple times.

Leslie Shay: I know. I’m… and I’m sorry. I’ve just been dealing with 

                      something.

Corrine: Is everything okay?

Leslie Shay: Fine. Yeah, it’s fine.

Corrine: It’s just… I think I left my earrings here.

Leslie Shay: Oh, I’ll find them and I’ll get them back to you.

                      I’m sorry. Just… now is really not a good time.

Clarice: What was that?

Leslie Shay: Nothing.

Clarice: Okay, um… I’m gonna go.

Leslie Shay: Okay.

Clarice: Look, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.

Leslie Shay: I don’t have any. 

                     I just can’t go back.

Clarice: This should’ve been ours.

                                      [door opens & closes]

                                              cutscene

Peter Mills: [sighs]

Ingrid Mills: See, this is where you belong, baby.

Peter Mills: Just give me a little room, mom.

                                                cutscene

Mouch: Alright everybody, gather round.

              We’re gonna trade t-shirts and patches in a bit but first, a

               little competition.

               The first one of you to climb up to the top gets a CFD

                jacket. Sound good?

Gavin: That jacket’s mine.

Presley: Yeah, we’ll see. 

Mouch: All right. And… one… two… three!

                                           [water splashing]

Mouch: [laughs] Take that back to Cleveland, boys! [laughs]

Chief Boden: What the hell are you doing, Mouch?

Mouch: They’re not from Canada. Herrmann put them up to it.

Gavin: We’re from Canada!

Mouch: [laughs] No, no, no. Otis said… Otis… Oti…

                                       [alarm sounds & beeps]

(Over PA): Ambulance 61, respiratory distress. 26 Orchard Street.

Leslie Shay: That’s Grace’s address.

Chief Boden: Hit it.

                                             [siren wailing]

Housekeeper: I didn’t know what to do!

Gabby Dawson: Grace. You okay?

Housekeeper: In here! In here.

Gabby Dawson: [exhales sharply] 

Leslie Shay: Doxepin, 150 milligrams.

Gabby Dawson: Oh man.

                                            [zipper opens]

Gabby Dawson: Uh, why don’t you take Grace back into the living 

                             room?

Housekeeper: Come on. Come with me.

Leslie Shay: Shallow breaths, rapid pulse.

Gabby Dawson: Alright, let’s get her to Lakeshore.

                            I’ll start an IV in the rig, you get an order to push 

                            bicarb.

                            [exhales] She’s gonna be okay, Grace.

                                                 cutscene

                                          [knocks on door]

Otis Zvonecek: You wanted to see me, Chief?   

Chief Boden: That time you put all that hot sauce in Hadley’s

                        burger, that was funny.

Otis Zvonecek: Oh, I can’t take credit for that, Chief. I got that from

                           Dumb and Dumber.

Chief Boden: And the other time you put the blow-up doll in

                       Herrmann’s bunk, that was equally funny.

Otis Zvonecek: That was all me.

Chief Boden: Today, that was not funny. I mean, breaking balls is

                        one thing. But those men… they did not pay their

                         own way and drive ten hours...

                                                  [door closes]

Chief Boden: ...to come here to be the butt of a joke. When we

                       have a guest in this house, you will treat them as 

                        such. Do you understand me?

Otis Zvonecek: Yes, Chief.

Chief Boden: So now you’re gonna walk back out there like the man

                        I know you to be.

                        You’re gonna look ‘em in the eye, shake their hand,

                         and apologise, because when they go back home

                         and their men ask them what the CFD were like,

                          they will be able to say we are stand-up.

                                                     [door opens]

Connie: Chief. You need to get to Lakeshore.

Chief Boden: That’ll be all.

                                                      cutscene

Mouch: And she couldn’t get into the United Stated, so I agreed to

              meet her in Toronto. An immigration attorney there was

               going to facilitate her American citizenship. I gave her the

               five grand for his fees… never saw either one of them 

               again.

Joe Cruz: Well, yeah, but if she was Russian, why hate on Canada?

Mouch: Two extra weeks I’m up there getting the run-around from

               various government agencies. I end up at the Canadian 

               anti-fraud centre. 

               Want to know what they said? 

                Buyer beware. And didn’t the weasel behind the counter

                get a little chuckle at my expense?

Gavin: Mouch, on behalf of the commonwealth of Canada, we 

            apologise.

Mouch: I appreciate that.

                                                 [door opening]

Presley: Lieutenant?

               I-I don’t want to get in anyone’s business here, but if I 

               may...

Matt Casey: Please.

Presley: Only because I was recently in Peter’s situation. Uh, I

               received a call that involved… an infant mortality. And

               uh, it-it really got to me. Uh, but our Lieutenant at the

                time… he did something that really helped us out.

                                                      cutscene

Chief Boden: She’s on a ventilator now, and dialysis to help clear 

                        the doxepin.

                        We just have to wait and see.

Man 3: Are you Gabriela Dawson?

            You’re the one who accused Nina of poisoning our 

             daughter?

Chief Boden: Sir, your wife…

Man 3: You did this! You did this to her!

Chief Boden: Gabriela… I notified the Union, just in case the cops

                        want to talk to you. You need to be ready.

                                                     cutscene

Matt Casey: Mills, it’s Casey. Listen I know lots of people have been

                      talking to you today, uh, but before you make a

                      decision, I want to show you something. I can swing

                      by the restaurant after shift. And, um, please, just trust

                      me on this. 

                                            [cell phone beeps]

                                                  cutscene

Leslie Shay: Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.

                                                [door opens]

Man 3: It’s all right, sweetheart. Tell her what you told me. 

Girl 1 (Grace): She made me drink it.

Gabby Dawson: [sighs] It’s okay. 

                            It’s okay, sweetie.

                                                cutscene

Mouch: You really outdid yourself this time, Otis.

Otis Zvonecek: I feel horrible.

Mouch: Well, you should.

Otis Zvonecek: And what’s worse, they were so classy about it.

                           [sighs] So you were in love with that woman?

Mouch: Nah.

              Lesson learned though.

              Lesson learned.

                                               [liquid splashing]

Otis Zvonecek: Oh those dicks.

                                                   cutscene

                                             [knocks on door]

Corrine: Is Shay here?

Kelly Severide: She’s not.

Corrine: I just want my earrings.

Kelly Severide: Um… come on in.

                                               [door closes]

Kelly Severide: You want a beer?

Corrine: Sure. 

               You know, I don’t know why she’s been so opposed to

                calling me back.

Kelly Severide: She’s been going through some ex-girlfriend drama.

Corrine: See, all she had to do was tell me. I’m not looking to bring

               any drama to her life. I’m just looking to have some fun. 

Kelly Severide: No, I hear you. Keep it short and sweet. That’s my 

                           policy.

Corrine: Exactly.

Kelly Severide: Hmm.

                                           [cell phone vibrates]

Kelly Severide: Hey, it’s me. 

Leslie Shay: Hey.

Kelly Severide: Um, real quick, Corrine… Um do you have any

                           claim to her?

Leslie Shay: Kelly, why?

Kelly Severide: Because if you do, then I’ll walk her to the door.

Leslie Shay: [scoffs] Knock yourself out.

Kelly Severide: You all right?

Leslie Shay: Have fun.

                                             [kissing sounds]

                                             [buttons ripping]

                                                  cutscene

                                            [car door shuts]

                                          [knocking on door]

                                              [door opens]

Man 4: Lieutenant Casey.

Matt Casey: Gary. Thanks for letting us stop by.

Man 4 (Gary): Yeah.

Matt Casey: This is Peter Mills.

Man 4 (Gary): Hey, how you doing?

Peter Mills: Hey, nice to meet you. 

Man 4 (Gary): Come on in. 

                        Make yourselves comfortable.

Matt Casey: Thank you.

Man 4 (Gary): Sophie, Lieutenant Casey is here!

Matt Casey: Their last house burned down a couple years back.

                      We responded to the call.

                      How’s she doing?

Man 4 (Gary): She gets her learner’s permit next week. Can you 

                        believe it?

Matt Casey: Sophie’s driving?

Man 4 (Gary): Well, not till next week, she’s not.

Matt Casey: [chuckles]

Girl 2 (Sophie): Lieutenant Casey!

Matt Casey: There she is.

                      Peter, this is Sophie.

Peter Mills: Hey.

Girl 2 (Sophie): Come on, I want to show you something.

Matt Casey: What have you got? 

                      What is this?

                      ‘Second place, girls sectional finals.’ Congratulations.

Girl 2 (Sophie): Thanks.

Peter Mills: Sorry.

Girl 2 (Sophie): Don’t be. I don’t mind. Lieutenant Casey pulled me

                          out of that fire.

                          [chuckles] I’m alive.

                                                      - end -

Definitions:

Tony Robbins = American author, coach, motivational speaker, and philanthropist

CTA = Chicago Transit Authority

Axle = A rod or spindle (either fixed or rotating) passing through the centre of a wheel or group of wheels.

Colonoscopy = An exam used to detect changes or abnormalities in the large intestine (colon) and rectum, During a colonoscopy, a long flexible tube (colonoscope) is inserted into the rectum. A tiny video camera at the tip of the tube allows the doctor to view the inside of the entire colon.

Celiac disease = A chronic digestive disorder resulting from an immune reaction to gliadin, a gluten found in wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats. It involves inflammation and destruction of the inner lining of the small intestine and can lead to the malabsorption of minerals and nutrients.

Diminished lungs = Normal lung sounds are decreased and harder to hear.

Respiratory distress = Respiratory failure characterised by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. It occurs when fluid builds up in the tin, elastic air sacs in your lungs. The fluid keeps your lungs from filling with enough air, which means less oxygen reaches your bloodstream. This deprives your organs of the oxygen it needs to function. Symptoms include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, and bluish skin colouration.

Stokes basket = A device used to both immobilise as well as transport a victim over terrain.

Two-to-one pulley system = System consisting of two pulleys (wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change of direction of a taut cable or belt or transfer of power between shaft and cable or belt) with a rope running around them to lift a load. Using two or more pulleys reduces the amount of effort needed.

Amp = Ampule is a small sealed glass capsule/vial containing liquid, especially a measured quantity ready for injecting.

D50 = Used in emergency care to treat hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and to manage coma of unknown origin. An amp of D50 is 25 grams of glucose in a 50ml prefilled syringe (50% glucose). An amp of D50 provides 5 times the amount of glucose in a normal adult’s blood.

Turpentine = Fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. It is mainly used as a solvent, and as a source of material for organic syntheses.

Munchausen by proxy = Mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care, such as a child, an elderly adult, or a person who has a disability (See the Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee’s case for a famous example of Munchausen by proxy)

DCFS = Department of Children and Family Services

Doxepin = Medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic hives, and trouble sleeping.

Bicarb = Sodium bicarbonate is an antacid used to relive heartburn and acid indigestion.

Stand-up = Loyal; that you can rely on to defend you

Dialysis = Procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.

Girls sectional finals = Basketball tournament

[route22ny]

When it was announced earlier this month that President Donald Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19, there was a chance that maybe, just maybe, he would finally start taking this pandemic seriously.

  Fat chance.

  Shortly after leaving Walter Reed Medical Center (where the president, a critic of "socialized medicine," got the finest medical treatment that government can provide), Trump was back on his bullshit — holding massive rallies across the country, where thousands of his supporters gathered, many not wearing masks, as if the whole thing never happened. As this week's issue went to press, Trump was expected to bring another one of his superspreader events to Michigan, with a rally scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27 in Lansing — a week before the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election — because apparently Trump doesn't care if Michiganders die.

  On Friday, the U.S. reported its highly daily number of coronavirus cases, with at least 81,400 new cases reported. More than 222,000 Americans have died from the virus so far. In Michigan, more than 7,522 people have died from COVID-19.

  If you're sick of Trump's plague, there's something you can do about it. Vote for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the presidential ticket, and Gary Peters for Senate, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

  That's not all that's on the ballot. We also have an opportunity to move the Michigan Supreme Court to the left (by voting for Bridget Mary McCormack and Elizabeth Welch). There are also two state ballot proposals: Proposal 1 (a constitutional amendment that would allow money from oil and gas mining on state-owned lands to continue to be collected in state funds for land protection and creation and maintenance of parks) and Proposal 2 (which would require a search warrant in order to access a person's electronic data or electronic communications). In Detroit, voters can weigh in on Proposal N (which would allow the City of Detroit to sell $250 million in Neighborhood Improvement Bonds to preserve and renovate 8,000 homes and remove another 8,000 blighted homes). —Lee DeVito

  What you need to vote  

  Simply show up in person to your local polling place on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Bring a photo ID, such as a driver's license, identification card, or U.S. passport. If you don't have an ID, don't worry. You can fill out a brief affidavit stating that you're not in possession of a photo ID. Your vote will still be counted.

  Don't forget your face mask, although it's not required at polling stations. It wouldn't hurt to bring some hand sanitizer or gloves, too. And don't forget social distancing. You'll likely be standing in a long line and encountering election workers. You may also want to bring a personal cheat sheet to remind yourself how you're voting. Even the most astute voters may not be familiar with all of the races, especially the judicial ones.  

  To find your polling place and preview your ballot, visit the Michigan Voter information Center at michigan.gov/vote. Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 3. If you're in line to vote at 8 p.m., you have the right to cast your vote. If you're still in line at 8 p.m. and someone tries to send you home and deny you your right to vote, don't take no for an answer. Ask for a supervisor and an on-site voting advocate.

  Anyone who is registered to vote may cast an absentee ballot in Michigan. Michigan expects a record number of absentee voters in November because of the coronavirus. More than 2 million voters have already requested an absentee ballot. —Steve Neavling

  Voting deadlines  

  We've been trying our best to keep our readers up to date with the various deadlines for the election, considering all the chaos of 2020 — you know, a pandemic, civil unrest, Trump's suspiciously timed cuts to the U.S. Postal Service, yadda, yadda, yadda — but it turns out things are a bit more complicated than we thought they were.

  See, in 2018 Michigan voters approved Proposal 3, which was supposed to make it easier to vote by allowing for no-reason absentee voting and other changes. And it does — but there are quite a few different scenarios to consider, and they all have various deadlines.

  Reader Jordan Smellie would know. Smellie's an elections specialist for the City of Ferndale.

  "Proposal 2018-3's changes to the constitution made things much better for voters by adding a lot of flexibility, but the downside of that is that it created a staggered series of nuanced deadlines that have proven very difficult for anyone to keep straight, and even more difficult to summarize gracefully," Smellie tells us via email.

  Graciously, Smellie has provided us with a more detailed timeline, which we have edited lightly for style. We hope this helps you as much as it helped us.

  Your deadlines for the upcoming general election are:

  Friday, Oct. 30 (5 p.m.): If you're getting an absentee voter ballot for this election, your local Clerk can't mail it to you after this time. But you can still get an absentee ballot in person at your local city or township hall.

  Saturday, Oct. 31 (2 p.m.): If you made a mistake on your ballot or changed your mind, your local Clerk can't mail you a replacement ballot after this time. You can still get a replacement ballot in person at your local city or township hall.

  Sunday, Nov. 1: The last day you can pick up an absentee voter ballot and take it home with you.

  Monday, Nov. 2: You can still get an absentee voter ballot in person, but you have to vote in your local city or township hall. Just like on Election Day, you can't take your ballot out of the room.

  Monday, Nov. 2 (10 a.m.): If you've already turned in your ballot, you can't change your votes after this time. (If you're voting in your local Clerk's office today and you make a mistake, you can still receive a replacement ballot.)

  Monday, Nov. 2 (4 p.m.): Your local Clerk can't issue absentee ballots to anyone for any reason after this time. (If you're already in the room at 4 p.m., you will be served by staff.)

  Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All absentee voter ballots must be signed and in the Clerk's possession by 8 p.m. in order to be counted.

  To make sure your ballot arrives in time, you should not send it by mail. Instead, you should drop it off at your local Clerk or at a designated ballot drop-box. You can find the addresses for both, as well as the answers to any other questions you might have, at michigan.gov/vote. —Lee DeVito

  Officials warn of potential violence  

  Michigan is among five states with the highest risk of right-wing militia violence during and after the election, according to an alarming new report from a nonprofit that tracks political violence.

  The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) examined the activities of more than 80 militias across the country and concluded that Michigan is at a heightened risk, based on active militia training, anti-coronavirus lockdown rallies, and the presence of the Proud Boys, the far-right brawlers whom President Trump told to "stand back and stand by."

  Michigan is home to several active militias, including Michigan Liberty Militia and the Michigan Home Guard.

  "In light of this activity, tensions run high" in Michigan, the report states.

  Battleground states such as Michigan also run a higher risk for violence. Trump won by just 0.2% in 2016, or some 10,000 votes.

  The report highlights the arrests of 14 men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and attack the state Capitol and law enforcement, with the goal of instigating a civil war.

  Among the warning signs for militant activity are protests against states' coronavirus lockdowns. In April, hundreds of armed protesters stormed the state Capitol in Lansing, and the rallies were among the first in the nation. An analysis of Black Lives Matter rallies found that counter-protesters, including the Proud Boys, were often involved, sometimes clashing with demonstrators. On Aug. 15, for example, the Proud Boys clashed with supporters of the anti-fascist Michigan People's Defense League and Black Lives Matter movement.

  In May, armed militia members pledged to block police from forcing the closure of an Owosso barber shop that opened in defiance of Michigan's stay-at-home order.

  Michigan officials are taking precautions. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson recently banned guns near polling locations, and Attorney General Dana Nessel said state troopers will be sent to polling places in counties where officials fear local sheriffs may not enforce voter intimidation laws.

  The report concludes that the "trends raise significant concerns for the security of the election period."

  "It is yet unclear how many of these groups will react, no matter the vote's outcome," the report states. "Does a Trump loss lead to anger at the system and a backlash against what is deemed a stolen election? Does a Trump victory further empower groups that see him as a supporter, including through verbal encouragement ahead of the election? The answers to these questions are as numerous as they are uncomfortable."

  Three gun-rights groups have filed a lawsuit against Benson to nullify her ban on openly carrying firearms at or near polling locations on Election Day.

  Michigan Open Carry, Michigan Gun Owners, and Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners argue that Benson's directive violates state law and harms residents who want "to exercise both their 2nd Amendment right to self-protection and their fundamental right to vote."

  "Nowhere within Michigan's Constitution is the office of the Secretary of State empowered to issue directives regarding the time, place or manner of elections," the suit said. "Indeed, those powers are specifically limited to the Legislature."

  The groups are asking a judge to issue an injunction to suspend Benson's order before Election Day.

  The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police also criticized the order, arguing that it does not give police "the authority to enforce the Secretary of State edict."     On Tuesday, after this week's issue went to press, a Michigan judge struck down Benson's gun ban at polling places. —Steve Neavling

  When will we know the results?  

  Don't bother staying up late on Election Day, because officials in Michigan say it's going to likely take longer than usual to count all the ballots. Be patient!

  That's because of the unprecedented volume of mail-in ballots local clerks are reporting in Michigan, as is the case in other states, due in part to the pandemic. In 2018, Michigan voters approved no-reason absentee ballot voting.

  Several local officials held a Zoom meeting on Thursday to explain the situation. In Hamtramck, City Clerk August Gitschlag said the tiny two-square-mile city has already seen seven times the typical number of absentee ballots. Due to state law, however, they can't start counting the ballots until Election Day.

  "We've been working round-the-clock to process absentee applications and send out ballots," Gitschlag said. "But we don't have the infrastructure to keep up with the overwhelming demand. We will count every vote, but being right is more important than being fast. I want to urge everyone to please be patient."

  Assistant Secretary of State Heaster Wheeler said municipalities across the state are seeing similar spikes.

  "We see every sign that this will be a high-turnout election all across Michigan," Wheeler said. "Secretary of State [Jocelyn] Benson and our team are working incredibly hard to make sure that every vote is counted fairly, efficiently, and accurately. We're going to get this right." —Lee DeVito  

[atamascolily]

lily liveblogs “terminator: dark fate”, part 2

“It’s raining men (and women)”.... hallelujah? Or not, as the case may be.

(For those just joining us, part one is here)

I was kinda hoping they would run the credits  after the title, but I guess filmmakers... don't do that anymore, because we all have short attention spans these days?? Some of that is George Lucas's fault, I know, but tbh I kinda enjoy the creative ways in which filmmakers USED that space occupied by the opening credits... like how The Karate Kid uses it for Daniel and Lucille's road trip between Jersey and California, how it establishes how many friends Daniel had, the importance of his bike, and the whole "putting the car in neutral" and rolling it to get the engine going AND the motif/promise of the pool... all in a minute or two. Magical.  I kinda miss that compared to earlier films.

Anyway, highway at night in what the screen tells me is Mexico City 22 years later. Okay, then. There's ice... and then lightning crackling on the road edge, which can only mean one thing -- a visitor from the future!!

There's a woman making out with her boyfriend underneath the highway, and she says "Oh, my god," and the boyfriend thinks it's all his doing, LOL. Sorry, dude, not today.

THE SPHERE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY OVERPASS, HOLY FUCK, WHO SET THOSE COORDINATES?? It's a good thing the spheres destroy everything around them, or else this movie would be very, very short.

As it is, Grace falls naked from a great height, banging on supports as she goes down. Ow. Great way of showing she's not quite human.

Of course the watching girl goes over to help while her boyfriend sits there slack-jawed until she shames him into going along. They pick her up and carry her towards their car, only for the police to show up and demand to know what's going on. They think that they're drug dealers (?) and don't believe that she fell from a bridge.

"I love it when it rains naked ladies," says the cop, which is movie-speak for, "I'm an asshole about to get my ass kicked and the audience is going to cheer while it happens".

He grabs her, and Grace sees his gun, and goes for it. Yup, he's down. She's got some sort of augmented vision like the Terminator though anyone who's seen the trailer knows already she's on the side of good.

Grace takes out all the cops completely naked, and I love how this scene is filmed because it's so not focused on anything sexual and it's not sexualized at all, at least for the male gaze that I can tell. It's just... a naked woman kicking ass without obsessing over the fact that she's naked, and it's so goddamn refreshing.

The boyfriend thinks she's amazing. His girlfriend walks over and hugs him. Grace strides up to him and compares her bare foot to his boot. "Don't thank me yet," she says in a deadpan.

Cut to Grace wearing his clothes driving away in his car as the boyfriend stands around in his boxers and yells for her to go to hell. And I like this because it's so much more effective  this way to leave the details in the reader's head and show us the results. The girlfriend steers him away, and he starts blaming her, for getting them involved in the first place. Fuck you, dude. I hope she dumps him that night, too.

Cut to Dani in the street somewhere, carrying flowers and chatting with a tamale vendor. We learn from this that she always has flowers -- an association with life and spirit, and not letting the grind get you down. I approve.  

Dani has a brother, Diego, who wants to be a pop star, and a father whom she reminds to go to the doctor. Caretaker of the family! Of course they have a dog, named Taco. I'm sure this will be relevant later. I hope Taco survives. Diego tries to chat up a neighbor named Julia, and I'm sure this will all end tragically. I hope she survives.

Dani and Diego leave just in time... for another naked person to drop from the sky in a glowing electric sphere! What are the odd??!

Okay, I don't remember the spheres forming ice in previous films, but it's a cool detail that it makes all the laundry on the lines freeze and shatter... so it's gotta be SUPER COLD. Like, liquid-nitrogen levels of cold.

Like Grace's sphere, this one drops its inhabitant off in mid-air, but the Terminator is able to do a beautiful leap and land on his feet like a cat. He looks like a marble sculpture here - beautiful, smooth, polished, muscled grace. Hot damn. There is absolutely no emotion on his face as he stands up, and even without the music cues, you know right away something is wrong.

There's a woman staring at him when he turns around. And now he looks friendly... earnest, helpful. "Good morning," he says in Spanish as he reaches out to touch the jacket she has in her hand, and it spills up out of his skin HOLY FUCK THAT IS CREEPY AND AMAZING at the same time.

The woman FREAKS OUT and he SMILES at her ever so slightly, and--

Cut to a busy city street. Unlike the highway where Grace appeared, this in the middle of the city, with lots of apartment buildings and traffic. Dani and Diego are on a bus.

Cut to Dani's father answering a knock on the door while Taco the dog barks hysterically. I know, I know, I'm so sorry, Taco. There's the Terminator, and he's so charming and earnest in his plaid jacket, looking for Dani. He claims to be a friend. Her father is shocked. "That's strange. Her friends call her Dani..."

"Dani?" repeats the Terminator. "Yes, of course." AND HE SMILES... fuck. A TERMINATOR THAT CAN MIMIC HUMAN FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND SHOW EMOTIONS I AM NOT PREPARED FOR THIS.

(but it actually makes PERFECT SENSE for reasons that will be explained later [kinda] in the film!!!!)

Cut to a factory. Arius Motors. Dani and Diego going in to work as cars swing by on the line. There are robot arms and it's all very timely and metaphorical. Somebody goes by on a bicycle INSIDE THE FACTORY and I have no idea how that works, but okay.

Diego's station has been replaced by "a new guy,"--an orange robot arm. Dani asks the supervisor what's going on and he says, "The future," and the manager wants to see Diego in his office. Dani goes in his place, the supervisor says no, Dani pulls out her hair tie, and goes anyway. THIS IS WHY SHE'S THE LEADER OF THE MOTHERFUCKING RESISTANCE, Y'ALL, she’s ALREADY taking no shit from robots. 

Dani's father shows up at the factory claiming his kids forgot their lunch and can he come in? Poor dad is definitely dead. I hope Taco at least survived, but I doubt it. Meanwhile Grace is approaching and just leaps over the turnstile like it's no big deal and I LOVE IT. Then she follows a security guard into a corner and mugs him for his uniform and it's all so goddamn quick.

The security guard tells "Dad" that he can't come in without a helmet and vest, which is bullshit, because most of the employees don't wear them, but whatever. Grace keeps walking. How the fuck did she dress so fast, but she looks great. She's got a jacket awkwardly covering her gun, and it's not subtle, but no one seems to notice.

Dani is arguing with the boss, who is... American? At least he's speaking English. She's trying to keep her brother's job, but he's all "well, he's not as good as you are," and Dani is Not Having It. She threatens to tell them that machines are coming for ALL the jobs, and god, I love her so much because EVEN WITHOUT TERMINATORS MESSING UP HER LIFE, SHE WAS GONNA GO PLACES.

"Dad" goes to Dani's station and she isn't there, but he talks to Diego. (I don't know how he knows so much, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty.) The Terminator makes that lame excuse about bringing lunches, and Diego is confused, because Dani already took care of that--

Then Dani shows up and the lunch morphs into a gun, and I'm not sure how they did that, because wasn't the morphing stuff not supposed to MAKE GUNS--ok, maybe he took the security guard's gun and morphed the lunch OVER it as a cover with his polyalloy bits--but FUCK this dude is SCARY--and points the gun at Dani as she and Diego stare--only to have his head blown open as Grace fires.

Grace keeps shooting as Dani screams, and grabs Dani before she can get to "Dad". Grace is way better at explaining things than Kyle Reese: "That is NOT your father. That was a machine that sent here to kill you. " It helps that the Terminator has lots of metal bits exposed at this point, and rapidly shifting back to normal. Come with me or you're dead in the next thirty seconds!"

Dani doesn't buy this, but she runs as Grace shepherds both her and Diego away.

And that back arch as the Terminator sits up and regenerates back to his "original" persona--which, I'll note, he DIDN't steal from anyone in our present; it was the one he came with UNLIKE the T-1000 in T2--and it's scary as hell. And even watching him run, and leap--it's not human. It's a predator disguised in human form. Well done, filmmakers.

I like how they show Grace's augmented senses here, and how she has the extra warning to shove Dani and Diego out of the way when the Terminator goes flying for her. He slices her cap off with arms that are suddenly sword-knives, and she swings a mallet at him, knocking him flat--and flinging him into a wall when she hits him again. She is really fucking strong, and I've never seen a woman be this strong before and it's AMAZING.

She hits him on the head over and over again, and then he starts crawling up the mallet towards her and it's so creepy HOLY FUCK and then he sends her sprawling and pops the mallet back out of his head OH MY GOD.

Grace starts using a piece of car siding as shield because she lost her weapon, keeping herself between the Terminator and Dani at all times.

Diego crushes him with a machine--I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, FILMMAKERS, NICE CALLBACK. Unfortunately, it doesn't take, but it does give them some breathing room. Meanwhile, Grace is tired and out of breath, and visibly overheating. The perfect time to introduce herself to Dani!

Grace explains the situation on the run, and throws Diego into the truck they steal outside when he hesitates. I gotta hand it to her, she's doing this whole thing pretty well.

Diego sees her arm. "Are you a machine too?" "No I'm human, like you!" They don't believe her. "No, I'm augmented." THIS IS GOING TO BE A THEME, OH MY GOD. More on this later. Grace can argue with them AND hotwire the truck at the same time. #goals.

They bust out of the factory. The police immediately go after them, not sure how that worked, and Grace says "Oh, shit," seconds before the Terminator (now revealed as the Rev-9) busts through the wall with a truck and a... snowplow? I guess it's for moving stone and metal bits around the factory? Whatever. It's a lot. The police cars go flying.

Somehow Grace manages to drive AND explain backstory at the same time, which I admire, because I can barely talk and drive at the same time.

There's a lot of civilian casualties, mostly due to the Rev-9 snowplowing everything. They end up going backwards up the highway off-ramp and onto the highway. The Rev-9 busts through more things and loses the snowplow. It's a bad day to be driving in Mexico City, let's just say that much.

Grace gets the first "FUCK!" of the movie, as the check engine light of the truck comes on, so Dani gets to drive while Grace makes improvised weapons out of rebar. Oh, wait, Dani can't drive, so Diego gets to do it. (Hahaha, I guess Dani's going to learn how to drive soon because METAPHOR)

Graces eases off her jacket so she can blow off steam and leaps into the back of the truck, yelling for Dani to put her seatbelt on OH MY GOD THIS MOVIE. I love it.

She targets the Rev-9 and throws. He doesn't even flinch at the first one and catches the second one. She stabs him several times through and then he grabs the rebar and moves the polymetallic alloy portion of himself onto the front of the truck while the metallic Terminator skeleton drives.

[COMBINING THOSE TWO PARTS IS REALLY CREEPY AND ALSO THE BEST DECISION THEY COULD HAVE MADE 10/10 APPROVED]

It looks like the skeleton is laughing at Grace, but I think that's just his resting bitch face, lol.

Grace changes tactics and shoots for the tires. The Rev-9 jumps and throws a rebar back at her and Grace deflects it so it misses Dani. Then the truck is dragging the Rev-9's protoplasm while the other half crashes and Grace has to fend him off. Rev-9 takes this opportunity and slashes at the tires with his sword-hands. Grace kicks him off and he gets run over, but it won't take. Diego crashes the truck as the tire blows and Grace rolls and takes a bad fall onto the pavement. The Rev-9's skeleton crawls out of the flames.

DANI WORE HER SEATBELT SO SHE'S FINE WHILE DIEGO DIDN'T AND IS INJURED OH MY GOD THIS MOVIE THE DETAILS FUUUUUUCCCKKKK. Like, Grace knew Dani had to wear her seatbelt BECAUSE SHE'S FROM THE FUTURE AND OLDER!DANI TOLD HER TO DO IT! And younger!Dani DID IT! OH my GOD! (either that or they really are just that drift compatible)

Oh, no, Diego has rebar through him, he's not going to survive AAAAAAAAH no whhhhhhyyyyy

Meanwhile, some poor motorist tries to help the Rev-9 and is murdered for his troubles. sigh.

Grace has to pull Dani over the body of her dying brother seconds before the Rev-9 smashes into the car and everything explodes in fire. Dani tries to run to Diego and Grace holds her back. Grace makes Dani run.

All of the Rev-9's protoplasm is oozing back towards the skeleton in liquid dark smears on the ground and it's so creepy FUUUUCCKKKK

Oh god HE WALKS THROUGH THE METAL HIGHWAY GUARD LIKE IT'S NO BIG DEAL HOW CREEPY CAN YOU GET FUUUUCCKKK

And then the skeleton starts throwing rebar at them from the other SIDE fuuuuckk. this movie so isn't subtle, because there's the machine part and the human-looking part, and they're both working together as one, and this is a METAPHOR, we're meant to see the Rev-9 and Grace as FOILS to each other AAHHHHHH and the Rev-9 is also a SYMBOL OF WHAT HUMANITY CAN BECOME IF IT MELDS WITH AI, AHHHHHHH

Can I just note here that the skeleton part DOES NOT HAVE A ROUND HEAD THERE IS IN FACT A GAP WHERE ITS BRAIN SHOULD BE AAAAAAA

"When they start to kill me, run," Grace says to Dani. But... AN SUV pulls up, knocks the skeleton flat on its ass as the human part of the REV-9 just stares in dull, placid confusion.

next up: my fave returns!

[salemlawnlandscaping-blog]

How To Get 50 New Customers For Your Lawn Care Business

New garden care entrepreneurs are continually keeping in touch with me and asking how they can increase new customers. When reacting to these inquiries, I like to give explicit models a garden care entrepreneur could do today or tomorrow to assist them with accomplishing their objectives. Here is a particular case of how one yard care entrepreneur advertised his business and increased more than 50 new grass care clients in under 5 months.

As of late on our grass care business discussion, another part Egreen composed and said "This is my first season in business. The previous winter I called a few organizations ex. gas stations,7-11 little malls in my general vicinity and disclosed to the supervisor that I was making an effort not to sell them anything. I disclosed to them I was thinking about a yard care business and was taking an overview about their present grass care specialist co-op. This enabled me to fabricate an affinity with the entrepreneur. I asked who overhauled their property, how regularly, the amount they charged and in the event that they were content with the administration gave. Before hanging up I let them know whether I considered opening shop I would call them and let them know how it was going.

These telephone calls enabled me to accumulate a ton of data from them that they might not have disclosed to me generally. At the point when I opened shop I got back to every one and disclosed to them what my identity was and that I could support their yard and property. I could likewise tackle the issues they had with their present grass care supplier and I could spare them a couple of dollars. I landed 11 out of 12 business accounts!"

Presently any yard care entrepreneur that has been around for a couple of seasons knows the arrival they will make on many advertising systems. For example passing out grass care administration flyers in your neighborhood may assist you with getting a 2 to 3 % reaction. However, would you be able to envision landing 11 out of 12 records you focused on? That is an astounding reaction!

We asked Egreen further itemized inquiries to truly pound down the means in his fruitful grass care showcasing process. He reacted by saying "When I called the potential customers, I just took a winding scratch pad and took notes. Everybody didn't hesitate to reveal to me most things since I let them know in advance I wasn't attempting to sell them anything. The most widely recognized grievances I heard were that the last grass care organization didn't do an adequate activity cutting."

Presently this is exceptionally clever data, yet I promptly thought even with this data, it is hard to arrive these business garden care account since I was sure there would be yard care contracts included that wouldn't be up for restoration until the year's end. Amazingly, in the wake of talking further with Egreen he said "The garden care contracts permitted 30 days composed notice to drop. That approved of me since I needed to set myself up in any case. At the point when I was prepared to display my gauge, I had the option to beat the challenge's cost by a couple of dollars yet I had the data that they let me know in the past ex. Awful work cutting. This enabled me to broadly expound on how well I trim all territories. I learned not to sell cost yet sell the nature of work."

Presently once these records were landed, what was the opportunity Egreen and his yard care business would fall into a similar snare the past grass care entrepreneurs did. The snare being an absence of correspondence. There was a distinction between what the client needed and what the garden care administration organization was giving. So I at that point inquired as to whether he was taking care of his correspondence with his new customers uniquely in contrast to the past grass organization. He reacted by saying "I call my private and business accounts about once per month and ask them how we are getting along. I clarify that I would prefer to have them let me know whether I'm accomplishing something incorrectly (paying little mind to how little the issue) than not have a cheerful client. I feel this individual touch is better. This is my first year around here, I began around five months prior and I have 53 private and little business accounts. The greatest exercise I believe is to make them feel that they have a companion in the business. They will ideally be somewhat more faithful. I do get verbal calls too. I likewise walk entryway to entryway and tell the client I was in the zone giving a gauge to a neighbor and since I was in the local I needed to stop by. I notice what I do and bring up out like an unedged walkway and clarify the spotless look of edge work. Visit on this link to get the knowledge regarding the Lawn Care

[katecarteir]

semi charmed life | chapter five | 4.5k | mature-ish?? |

“You guys have kept in contact this whole time?” Bill asked, brow disappearing underneath hair line as he looked like his old friends in amazement. “And you guys are.. what? Room mates?”

Eddie avoided looking at Richie as he answered. “Yeah, uh… room mates. Something like that.”

[or: the adult!losers reunion, done 2000s sit-com style, just like we all deserve.]

PREVIOUSLY ON SEMI CHARMED LIFE: “I applied to some museum job in New York on a whim earlier this year”. “ “I meant to turn it but every time I went to I… I just couldn’t.” “ I think you’ll find the most sudden of changes are sometimes the best ones.” | . “You and Richie adopted two kids? Two actual human children and this never came up?”” “Is your and Eddie’s invitation for a place to stay still open?” |  Be in your seat at 7 am on Monday morning or don’t bother showing up again .  | . “I did some shit that I’m not proud of. My best friend… I… I was so desperate to get away from this place, and I kind of betrayed him.” 

Richie rolled over, smiling at the smooth comfort of his large duvet, as he pulled the sleeping form of his husband closer to his chest. He knew that starting just next week, he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the long known comfort of slowly falling asleep next to Eddie, something he’d gotten overly used to within the last ten years. Ever since moving into that simple, rat-ass New York apartment that housed them only for a few months before they realized how much money they were wasting on a two-bedroom place, Richie and Eddie had spent every night side by side. There was, of course, always those few exceptions- when Richie’s parents had divorced, and Eddie hadn’t been able to go back to Derry as a support system because of his work, or when Eddie had gone out of town for a weekends for car shows and Richie couldn’t follow him like a trophy husband- but the couple had spent the majority of their adults lives sharing their bed.

At the start of next week, Richie would be switching over to the late show at his radio station. It was going to mean many more late nights, working until 2 or 3 in the morning depending, but it was huge raise and Rich Records finally moving onto his own show, run and controlled completely by himself. His music, his words, all his choices. It was an absolutely amazing opportunity, something that really pushes Richie’s career. He’d been offered the position almost half a year earlier, but when it had put in front of him he and Eddie had been in the process of adopting Marty and Richie had turned it down without question. There was no possibility of Richie switching over to working nights with a newborn baby in the house. The DJ they’d hired when Richie turned the job down hadn’t worked out, and when Richie received the offer once again he and Eddie had been in agreement: you didn’t turn a career altering promotion down twice.

As his start date loomed closer, Richie thought on it more and more. Wondered if he made the right choice, giving up his nights with Eddie. They were going to be saving a bundle on childcare- what with Beverly staying with them now, and Richie now being home during the day- but Eddie’s baby-leave from work was ending around the same time Richie was starting on nights… and with sleeping Eddie in his arms now, Richie was already mourning something he hadn’t lost yet.

Even asleep, Eddie Kaspbrak would gravitate towards Richie’s touch. The second Richie’s arms had tightened around him, Eddie had nuzzled into Richie’s neck and shifted his legs so they tangled together in the sheets. Richie felt almost as though his heart was vibrating, marvelling at how after twelve years in a relationship that Eddie Kaspbrak could still make him feel like a thirteen year old with a crush.

Eddie let out a small huff, blinking up at Richie and smiling sleepily. “How long have you been up?”

“Not long,” Richie hummed, rubbing soft circles into Eddie’s back. “Seems like our little babies gave into the subliminal messages I left them to bother Bev in the mornings instead of us.”

Eddie laughed. “Baby, I love you, but I don’t think you’re smart enough to just plant subliminal messages into the minds of our children.”

“Childs minds are very vulnerable,” Richie said wisely, leaning in to press feather light kisses to just below Eddie’s ear.

Eddie hummed, the small conversation about their children’s possible mind control long forgotten as Richie’s lips trailed lower. His arms came up to wrap around Richie’s neck and pull his husband closer, pressing their lips together and pushing their chests flush to one another. Richie would almost be embarrassed at how quickly he was reacting, but he could definitely reason it out to himself that they hadn’t had sex since before leaving for Derry… and it was a scarce enough occasion then, as well. A fussy newborn was twice as hard when you also had a hyper-active toddler to chase after all day long. Sex definitely became something that was put on the back burner, but never forgotten.

Richie gripped Eddie’s hips and rolled them so Eddie was settled on top of him. Eddie leaned onto his elbows, grinning almost wolfishly down at him. “Oh? It’s like that today, is it?”

Richie blew a kiss and rocked his rapidly hardening cock against Eddie’s thigh. “Let’s be real, isn’t it always?”

Eddie laughed breathily, leaning down to lock his teeth against Richie’s pulse point. Richie’s smothered a moan, and started rocking his hips upwards faster as their bedroom door banged open. “Rich- shit!”

Beverly cupped her hands over her mouth and turned away quickly. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. Jesus fucking- I am sorry.” Eddie was already rolling off of Richie and Richie couldn’t hold back his groan. “I just… I wasn’t sure how to do Marty’s bottle and I… I’m sorry, you can… finish, I-“

“I think it’s safe to say this is finished,” Richie said as he tumbled out of bed. Eddie let his gaze travel down his husbands body as Richie moved from the room, then muffled a loud groan into pillows that smelled like them.

 →  →  →

Mike walked behind his supervisor who was talking a mile a minute. It was only his first day, but it certainly felt as though they thought he’d been here for years on years. “I know it’s only your first day,” the supervisor whose name Mike had either forgotten or had never been told in the first place. “That’s why we’re putting you in with Spencer. He usually does the tours for the high school students, which you’ll be tagging along on today.”

Mike nodded, having to wonder if was the normal fashion in which a high price train their new employees: by dropping them completely on their heads and hoping no damage comes to them. Mike saw the high schoolers then, standing around in groups and talking amongst themselves. There was no sign of leadership outside of the teachers who stood around with them, openly more excited for the class tour than the students were. Panic prickled at Mike’s chest as he approached. “Hi, I- I’m Mike,” he said, not knowing what the appropriate term of introduction would even be. He thought to himself once again at how completely untrained he was for this job, thinking on how this must be what a baby birds were like- tossed out of the nest whether they knew how to fly or not.  

A sandy-haired boy who, admittedly looked too old to be in a high school field trip, stepped forward and flashed Mike a quality smile. “What are you going to be showing us today? Like, why should I even give a shit about this tour?”

Mike stalled, eyes going wide, as whispers moved through the group of students. He knew he was supposed to be professional in this sort of situation- explain the tour, explain the great interests of history, the importance it held in the lives they were living now. The issue now, of course, was that Mike had no idea what tour he was supposed to be giving and it made it quite hard to be professional when he was thrust into a job he didn’t know how to do.

“We, uh-“ Mike cleared his throat, feeling his whole body begin to go hot. His heart raced in his chest and he was about thirty seconds away from dropping this job, and going back to Alexander and Derry right then. “We’re doing our tour on… Uh-“

“You don’t know?” The guy sneered, stepping towards him. Mike’s stomach twisted up uncomfortably and he truly thought for a moment that he might throw up everywhere. “What kind of tour guide, are you?”

“It’s…” Mike swallowed harshly. “It’s my first day, I don’t… I wasn’t told that I’d even be doing a tour until about thirty seconds ago. There’s supposed to be higher up, but they’re not here yet or they’re late…”

“No,” the guy smirked. “They’re not late.” He walked from the crowd and moved to stand beside Mike. “Hey guys, I’m Spencer. I’m going to be your guide today, you already know Mike, and we’ll be visiting our Mesopotamia exhibits today. You’ll have an opportunity to do some group searching everywhere, however-“

Mike watched his partner lead the groups of high schoolers off with his mouth dropped open.

 →  →  →

“I could go back to school,” Beverly said mildly, tapping a sloppy heart cut from red construction paper to Richie’s nose. Richie raised his eyebrows at her as best he could with drawings taped all over his face.

“Go back to school for what?” Eddie asked, his head resting in Richie’s lap and grinning up as his husbands’ face quickly became invisible beneath colourful paper. Frankie was half hung over Beverly’s shoulders, pointing out the exact places that Bev should be placing the drawings on Richie.

“I don’t know,” Beverly admitted. “But I’m twenty seven years old, probably soon to be divorced and unemployed. I can’t just live here forever, mooching off my high school friends.”

Eddie frowned at Beverly. “You can stay here for as long you want, Beverly, you know that. But I would suggest maybe, finding even the simplest of jobs. Wait tables, work in some customer service. Yeah, it fucking sucks but… when was the last time you worked, Bev? You certainly made it sound like your husband ties together everything.”

Bev nodded. “I had a part time job in college, but when Tom and I decided to get married, I dropped out of school and from the job. Tom made more than enough money to support the two of us, he was good that way. I could focus on my art and clothing… it’s still something I want to do, honestly, but-“

“Then do it.” Richie said fiercely. “You think anybody except Eds supported my ‘I want to be a DJ’ pipedream? Of course not. I mean, failing to graduate high school really made people realize that an academic world wasn’t really for me, but…”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Bev and Eddie said together, Eddie with old-bitter anger still in his voice but Beverly as though it was simple fact of life. Something that couldn’t be helped. Richie supposed it was closer to what was true than the anger Eddie held, the resentment that had rebirthed itself in Richie. Eddie continued speaking, however. “And you went got your GED. You graduated, Rich. Anybody who wants to act otherwise isn’t good enough to be part of your life.”

Beverly pressed a small yellow circle that might have been a sun to Richie’s still-freckled cheek and smiled at him. “You went and got your GED?” The last time Beverly had spoken to Richie before their reunion had been a twenty minute phone call on Richie’s twentieth birthday, where he’d ranted on about the corruption of the education system and how he’d never go back.

A small bashful smile came over Richie’s face, and his eyes flittered up to the little girl who was falling asleep on Beverly’s shoulders. “Three and a half years ago, when Eds and I first started talking about adoption. I wanted our baby to have two parents they could be proud of.”

Beverly’s heart panged painfully in her chest, glancing down at where Eddie was staring up at Richie with burning eyes. Unwelcome and unwanted, thoughts of Tom came into her mind. How for as long as she’d thought she’d love her husband, there had never been a love between them like she was seeing between Richie and Eddie in this simple moment. Never mind the moments that she hadn’t looked at growing up, but couldn’t help but see now. She wasn’t sure anybody had ever looked at her like that, not even Richie when they were together, but there was a small tingle in the back of her mind. A forgotten poem, a crush that carried years… But what was forgotten wasn’t quite remembered just yet, and the burning in Beverly’s heart didn’t yet have a known source.

 →  →  →

Ben Hanscom had decided that if he walked any farther, he may collapse and never get back up. Sighing, he sat down on the white marble steps and looked up at the sky. The sun seemed redder than normal, and he wondered if he could stare at it long enough it would give him the answer to finding happiness in life.

“Ben?” A voice that was familiar but all so random carried over to him. Ben whipped around and saw Bill Denbrough walking towards him, hand-in-hand with a beautiful dark haired girl. “Why are you sitting on the side of the road?”

“I’m considering quitting my job and moving here,” Ben said, only half joking. “But it’s not very comfortable.”

Bill raised his eyebrows at the woman who could only be Audra, and Ben allowed himself a moment to be happy that his friend had worked things out with the woman he loved before reverting back to his resolution to feel as very little as possible.

Then Bill was crouching beside him and resting his chin on his fist. “How you doing, buddy?”

How was it that Ben Hanscom could have lived in the same city as Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak and Beverly Marsh for the last five years and not run into them once but Bill Denbrough had moved here only less than a week earlier and he was already finding Ben sitting on the street, at his lowest?

Ben let out a soft puff of air. “I think Derry broke me.”

Bill nodded as though no sentence had ever made more sense in the world.

 →  →  →

Mike stuffed his belongings into his bag, knowing how aggressive his posture was but not being able to find it in himself to give a damn about it. If this was his first day, then he suddenly wasn’t so confident in his decisions to uproot his entire life to move here. At least at the Derry Library, he hadn’t been being treated like utter shit.

“First day?” A female voice carried over to him, startling Mike out of his funk. A beautiful dark-skinned woman was smiling sympathetically at him. “You’ve got the they paired me with Spencer on my first day look all over you.”

Mike sighed and rolled his eyes. “So, he treats everybody that horribly?”

The girl chuckled. “I’m not sure what he did, but I still feel safe in answering with a yes. Spencer Pearsons doesn’t believe in easing people into it. He’s more of a sink or swim kind of dude.”

Mike shook his head, rubbing at his cheeks. “Yeah. I got that much. Dude’s a dick.”

The girl patted him on the shoulder, still grinning. “You’re still here.” She pointed out, nodding towards the clock. “ You made it through a day with Spencer Pearsons, which is more than can be said about the mass majority of new hires. So what’s it’s going to be?”

Mike shook his head, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to sink… or are you going to swim?”

 →  →  →

Richie pulled back the shower curtains, pressing a hand to Eddie’s mouth before his husband could let out the scream that Richie knew was bubbling up in his chest. Richie slid in behind him and pulled Eddie’s back flush to his chest. Eddie let out a small sigh, hand coming up behind him to tangle in Richie’s damping hair.

“If I recall…” Richie whispered against Eddie’s cheek. “We got interrupted this morning.”

Eddie whimpered as Richie’s hands moved down Eddie’s stomach towards his rapidly growing arousal. Eddie tugged at Richie’s now-full wet curls, and squeezed his closed. Just as Richie’s hand moved to curl around Eddie’s member, they both jumped apart at the sound of the bathroom door smashing open.

“Pops!” Frankie’s little voice carried over to them. Their daughter knew enough about privacy not to pull back the curtain- the same way she now knew to stop trying to take her pants off in public, no matter how much she hated them- but didn’t keep Eddie and Richie’s hearts from launching into their throats. “Pops, are you almost done? You promise we would make cookies today and it’s already 4 on the clock!”

Eddie sighed, leaning his head against Richie’s shoulder and giving his husband an apologetic frown. “Yeah, Frankie. Almost done. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay…” The little girl said, pausing for a moment. Then. “Daddy, do you wanna me to bring you your ‘pecial curly shampoo? You weft the new bottle in your room.”

Eddie covered his face with his hands, and tried to ignore the way his husband’s body was shaking behind him with laughter. “Nah, Franks, that’s all good. Why don’t you go find Bev and get her to help grab all the ingredients for the cookies, yeah?”

Little footsteps padded towards the bathroom door. “Don’t call me Franks!” Came the shrill shriek of laughter before the door slammed shut. Eddie likely would’ve sunk completely to the shower floor if Richie’s arms hadn’t been holding him up.

“That’s it,” Eddie said dramatically. “We are never having sex again, we’re going to traumatize our daughter.”

Richie giggled. “Nah, we’re just going to traumatize her just enough that she’s funny. She doesn’t even know enough about the world to think of what’s happening here. She’s just a born cock block.”

Eddie slipped out of Richie’s arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “To be continued?”

Richie rolled his eyes. “In eighteen years?”

“If we’re lucky.”

 →  →  →

Ben slammed the shot glass back down on the bar table and turned to point at Audra. “Your boyfriend is a dumbass.”

Bill made a loud, offended noise while Audra let out a high pitched, almost angelic giggle. “Oh, I’m aware. Definitely aware.”

“Wow,” Bill muttered under his breath, taking another sip of his whiskey despite the fact that he was already swaying in his seat. “Some friend you are, Hanscom.”

Ben laughed, signalling for a  refill from the bartender.  “Did he ever tell you about the time he broke his collar bone? Bastard was lucky he didn’t die. Richie Tozier and Bill Denbrough were a force of idiocy to be reckoned with back in high school, couldn’t stop them from doing stupid shit. Didn’t help when Bev and Stan were always- hiccup- encouraging them.”

Bill hummed to himself. “Richie Tozier was the biggest dumbass I’ve ever met. Now he has two kids. Fucking wild how shit changes.”

Ben blinked and crinkled up his nose. His brain tried for a moment to process the information Bill had just dumped on him before deciding that he was just a little too drunk to do that, and it pushing it from his mind. “Stanley Uris was the king of truth or dare.” Ben rambled on after giving up on Richie and his apparent children. “He managed to never do or say anything embarrassing, but always got the best stories.”

“Sent my ass to the emergency room more than once,” Bill nodded along. “Think the bastard targeted me.”

“Course he did,” Ben snickered. “We all did. You’re very easy to take advantage of. You only had to look a drink to get tipsy, Denbrough.”

“That’s not true!” Bill exclaimed, swaying and nearly falling from his seat. Audra raised her brow at Ben, who grinned cheekily at her.

“Anyway, his collar bone…” Ben said, mind unhazing enough to remember what had started his conversation. Being drunk at 4:30 in the afternoon was something Ben Hanscom hadn’t experienced since his college days, but with Big Bill Denbrough by his side, he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it. “Stan dares Bill to jump off Richie Tozier’s roof into their back yard pool right… and the Toziers have this three story house, it’s really… and Billy here, is a dumbass. So off he goes, fucking misses the pool and cracks himself right against the cement around it.”

Audra pressed a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide.

“It’s fucking mayhem.” Ben cackles. “How Bill didn’t die on impact, I don’t think we’ll ever know. Some sort of higher being was looking out for him but his collar bone.. God it was gross. Eddie Kaspbrak was crying, Richie just like… screaming absolutely nonsense. Bill’s drunk ass is laughing, and I think Stan… I don’t know I think Stan went home the second Bill hit the ground-“

“I still say it’s because he didn’t want to be found at the scene of his crime,” Bill said, eyes closed and swaying in his seat.

“Yeah,” Ben nodded seriously. “But yeah- then Richie just… he fucking just… punches Bill’s collar bone into his chest. Just closes his damn fist and goes for it. BANG. Then Bill’s screaming, the neighbours are definitely going to call the police. It’s basically, stay there with Bill and get caught under aged drinking… or make a fucking run for it.”

“SO OF COURSE THESE BASTARDS!” Bill shouted suddenly, eyes wide with memory. “They just take the fuck off. Even Tozier! At his own fucking house! Mike Hanlon and little Elii Tozier were the only people worth a damn that day.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Mike and Elii were only people sober. It’s not that deep.”

Bill scowled but a small smirk was still tugging at his lips. “I could’ve died.

Ben shrugged and knocked back his entire glass of high end whiskey in one go. “Yeah. But ya didn’t. Would’ve been Stanley’s fault anyway.”

A dark look came over Bill’s drunk face. “Wasn’t everything?”

Ben put his empty glass down and turned to look at Bill with a serious, sober face that didn’t match the amount of alcohol he’d drank at all. “No.” He said firmly. “In the years I knew Stanley Uris, he only ever did one thing seriously wrong- and we all just decided you know, fuck that guy. That guy’s a piece of shit. But it was, you know, it was one bad thing. One bad thing in seven years. You knew him longer. The only person who gets to hold it against him is Richie. The rest of y’all need to get the fuck over it.”

Bill blinked, frowned, opened his mouth, then frowned again. Then broke down into giggles. “You said y’all.”

Ben rolled his eyes, but found himself laughing, too.

 →  →  →

Mike picked up the freshly set up home phone in his apartment and stared at the numbers. He started punching in the number he knew wasn’t a Maine area code and tried to ignore the guilt in his stomach. The phone rang once, twice, then just as Mike was thinking of hanging up, the line picked up.

“Hello?” Stanley Uris’ voice carried through the line and Mike felt that old calming sense settle over him.

“Stan? It’s Mike.”

“Mike? Mike Hanlon?” Stanley sounded understandably confused but Mike was pretty sure he could hear the smile in his voice. “What’s up?”

“I just…” Mike sighed. “I guess I’m starting to question some stuff, and you were always the most reasonable person I ever knew.”

Stan laughed slightly on the other line. “I don’t know if I deserve that title, man.”

Mike was shaking his head. “Nah, yeah, you do. You can’t let one bad call decide your entire worth. Nobody gave Eddie a final call when he keyed Greta Bowie’s new car back in junior year, or Bill when he put that hair killing shit in Richie’s shampoo after he dumped Bev.”

“I don’t know if those are really on the same level as what I did,” Stan said slowly. “But I appreciate the effort, Mike.”

“No, Stan, they were.” Mike said firmly. “They were actions of stupid teenagers, stuff we would never do know because we know better. If it’s the hill Richie wants to die on, then let him. Don’t bury yourself there with him.”

Stan cleared his throat on the line, his voice sounded watery when he responded. “You know, I think you have a talent for saying exactly what people need you to say. Always have.”

“Yeah,” Mike said. “But you have a pretty similar talent. So, please, set my head on straight.”

“Well…” Stanley chuckled. “Don’t know if I can do that miracle, but I can try to help you out of whatever this situation is.”

Mike’s entire brain stalled, drawing a small noise of him. “You… You know, then?”

Stan sighed. “Yeah, I… I guess I always knew? Maybe not even we were kids, but in high school? Yeah. I just never said anything. Figured it was your place to tell us, especially in a town like Derry.”

Mike was nodding even though he knew that Stan couldn’t see him. “Did you do the same with Eddie and Richie?”

A moment of silence then: “What about Eddie and Richie?”

“Uhh…” Mike coughed awkwardly. “Nothing, I- Nothing. I started my job at the museum today and it was pretty shitty. My partner is dick and everybody just thinks its fine. That I’ll either get the hang of it or quit and-“

“They’re right,” Stan interrupted. “You’ll either get the hang of it or quit. So, Mike Hanlon, I guess you gotta chose. Are you going to at least try to stick it out or are you going to go back to Derry with your tail between your legs?”

Mike huffed out a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

“Usually am. But thanks for noticing.”

 →  →  →

Eddie returned from the grocery store and looked around his silent, and mostly dark house in wonder. “Richie? Bev? Where are you?”

Richie wandered out from the living room, wearing the grey pair of sweatpants that Eddie had a preference of slung low on his hips and nothing else. “Baby,”

Eddie trailed his eyes down Richie’s visible torso. “Hey… uhm,” his throat was suddenly so dry it made it a little hard to talk. “Where is everybody? The girls?”

“Got Bev to take ‘em,” Richie said softly, scratching at the back of his neck and looking slightly nervous. “Because I… I start my overnights next week and you go back to work, and we’ll be opposite schedules and I was hoping to spend some time together before then but if you’re mad that I sent the girls away for the night I can… I can get Bev back here and we never have to- I’m sorry-“

Eddie crossed the room quickly and pressed his and Richie’s lips together. He pulled back and stroked at Richie’s cheeks. “Don’t apologize. I absolutely trust Bev with the girls and you’re right, we need this.”

Richie nodded, their faces so close together that his nose dug into Eddie’s cheek. “Okay, well, then… In that case…” Eddie could feel him grinning. “Why don’t you take me to bed, my love?”

[ammar-b-shakir-blog]

Edison’s Life &  Its Inventions

An article about Edison's life and its inventions:

Admiz Melton writes: One day Edison bought all of Faraday's writings and sat down to study the height and slept there. When my eyes opened in the morning, he was sitting and reading. We were both going to a hotel about a mile away for breakfast. What Edison did read was his mind wandering. Somehow he told me, Adams, I have so much work to do, and life is so short that I have to hurry so badly that I have to go to bed. Started running Most of the things we often use in our daily life are ancient and modern inventions of science. Behind all these inventions is the hands of great scientists and inventors who worked hard and achieved a high standard. One such name was Miss Elwid Yason. Edison was probably the greatest inventor in history. He attended school for only six months, but the invention of his bulbs and phonographs changed the lives of millions of people. Edison has patented 1,000 inventions in his life. In reference to Edison's great service to humanity, Henry Ford once suggested that distant life should be called the Edison covenant. Edison praised extraordinary intelligence in these words: a verdict on the idea and a nascent decision on a sweat. He proved this belief by working all the time that he was just at meal time. Edison seemed to find everything strange. He experimented with pharmaceuticals and proposed a program for people's comfort. He was very close to the invention of the Red U. and he used nuclear energy. Predicted about Edison always strives to create things that can work under normal methods without spoiling and easily repair and improve the inventions of other

Early Life:

Edison Milne was born on February 5, 1847 in Ohio. Samuel Edison and Nanny Edison were the seventh child. Edison's grandfather was Judith Holland and mother was from Canada. The family emigrated from Amsterdam to the United States in the 8th century. Seeing the boy's curiosity and passion, his family called him Elva. Elva used to ask them questions constantly. How does the bird escape from the chicken poop? What makes the bird fly? Why does the water extinguish the fire? His school teacher couldn't even answer some of his questions. If no one was able to answer his question, he would try to get the answer from his own experience. One day, Elva learned that bubbles fly because they have gas. So he sent a boy to sidelight. Feed three sauces of safflow Elva was convinced that when the boy's stomach was full of gas he would start flying. But instead, the boy fell sick and lay on the ground, and the world began to feel him spinning.

At the age of seven, Elva moved with her parents to Ho Chi Minh, where her parents started a grain and litter business. Elva entered a public school and hurried the teacher to ask a lot of questions. The teachers used heavy leather keys to kill the children who asked them questions. One day, Elva told the district school inspector Ho Edna's son, Hoyna, is dirty and unable to study. Elva ran home and told her mother. She would go straight to the teacher and tell her in incredible words (Elva is more intelligent than the teacher's entire body in little swallows) and she dropped him off from school. Thus, the regular recognition of Elva Edison lasted only three months. His mother intended to teach him by playing the game, which was unusual at the time. His mother made education a game for him. At first he was surprised at it, but very happy later. He began to learn so fast that his mother could not teach him any more. When Elva was nine years old, her mother introduced her to a book written by Richard Babe Parker, a well-known teacher of the mid-nineteenth century. Elva Edison refused to accept her writings. She repeated each experiment to prove the author wrong. Elva had more than a hundred smells of different chemicals. She had poisoned all the smells to keep her family members away from them. Charles Bachelor, a friend of Elva's, says: "One night I returned, and I was sitting at the dockside, and in front of it was a pile of alchemy and other books, some as high as five feet." He was studying all day and night. In a few weeks, he had looked at all the books and prepared a volume based on his abstracts. He also did many experiments on farms. From the age of nine to twelve, he spent many years in the history of Hume, England, the rise and fall of the Empire, Potter's Discovery of the Senses, and Tuton's Principal of Teacher, Fla. Now it was fall. At the age of twelve, he got a job as a train boy in a grenade trunk train. He used to save newspapers, candy, tea, and peanuts in the train (which runs between Port Huron and Detroit). Was. In his spare time, he experimented with merchandise and chemicals in an empty container. He bought a press and started publishing his own newspaper (the Herald Daily). Due to its unique nature, it began to go hand in hand. It was the first newspaper to be published in a moving train.

Chemical experiments in Elva's train hit him hard. One day, a fire broke out in the foreshore pen, causing a flare in the train's car. At this point, the conductor hit the powerful Elva's ear. Received and threw her out of the box with her chemicals, printing on it and other things. The incident caused Elva to become deaf. However, Elva attributed her deafness to another incident. While she was trying to board a moving vehicle, the conductor pulled her by the ear and brought her to the platform. Edison said a few years later (I He felt something break in his head.) My deafness started from then on and it only increased.

Edison, though not completely deaf, but in the last years he could barely hear the screams. His depression could have ended with a concussion, but he refused to have surgery. Edison did not mind being deaf but thought of an easy way to get one. Edison escaped Barmouth's mouth because of his ear impairment. It happened that Edison bought a large pile of old books in doodler and he took it and left for the house at three o'clock in the night. In fact, a watchman saw him and ordered the thief to be considered. Jason couldn't hear because he was deaf. The guard fired the bullet, but the bullet passed through Edison's ear. Thus the great inventor survived the target. After the train wreck, Elva started to save the newspaper at the stations. One day at the Clemens Railway station, Elva noticed that a freight train was moving towards the station at Mulla Zam's son. Elva rescues the baby in a timely manner. Thanks to the station, Mulazam taught Elva to use a telegraph in return.

.Early Inventions:

1868, In Boston, Edison worked as a telegraphist in Boston. He completed his first invention, which he sought to sell. It was an electronic voting machine that resembled a machine used in legislative assemblies in various states. It recorded the votes of members of the legislature on a large board. Elva Edison took it to Washington and Congress A committee heard it, but the chairman of the committee told him that the machine was not in the Congress's priority: it takes about 5 minutes to attend. Your machine had to make it work. Elva Edison was very angry with this behavior and said that no I will not invent anything that is not needed. And he kept the words of his words. After that time he committed himself to these words in urgent need of the world. Elva Edison emigrated from Boston to New York in 1940. She had nothing and obtained permission to sleep in the futures of an employee of the Goldandecar Company. Elva Edison used her time to understand the stock ticker most of the time. The telegraph was the kind of machine the company used to tell brokers about the price of cocaine. A few days later the stock ticker broke and Edison surprised the manager by fixing it because everyone else had failed to fix it. At that time, the manager offered him $ 5 for a supervisor job. It was great. Edison's busy brain continued his experiments on the stock ticker. It made it so much better that the president of the Goldland Stock Telegraph Company, Jazel Marcel Lefferts, expressed his interest. The leaflets sent Edison a payday and asked what amount he would take to patent his stock. Edison made a decision that he would say $ 5 and accept up to $ 5. He hesitated and said, "Well do Jazel Fur, you offer me .....", Leffer Toss thought for a moment and then said, "Do you accept 3 dollar  ? For a moment Edison found it difficult to control himself. He grabbed the desk to keep himself upright and said gently yes! I think it will be fine.

Magic of Menlo Park

23 years ago Edison established his first workshop in Newyark, New Jersey, with money from Lefferts. It was there that he began to manufacture his own stock-ticker. In the year 2, he modified the typewriter's steel components with wood. It also corrected the intonation and ink distribution of words. Edison Improved Typewriter It was possible to write with machine speed much faster than Yes. Edison Menlo came in. That same year, he improved the telephone by adding a car bin transmitter. This was a very important step in making the telephone workable. Before this change people had to smell the telephone very loudly. Edison's inventive phonograph or record player has been named the most innovative invention in the world. In this regard, no one had ever made a practical model of phonograph, and the specimen was brand new and untouched. Edison has always called phonograph his favorite invention. The idea of ​​a phonograph came about when he was trying to find ways to automatically record telegraph messages. He wanted to record messages on a rotating plate on paper pads. That disk is like today's phonograph. He was walking around. Edison learned from his telegraph analyst how the diaphragm is being made or how the discharge is triggered in the disc that reacts to the sound waves. He made an opening or one that had a caffeine attached to the cabin. On his neck, one of the elbows was opened in which the opening had been cut. I went or mine! Six o'clock baby eats. And I have promoted a ton of wood. Edison decided that he could recapture those moles rather than give them something. Then he can make the word abusive by saying that he has two. Edison made a note and ordered his cousin's footman to take a cue from Crowley or make it. Croatia did, however, confused her, but he confused her. He was asked to make something that was neither alchemy nor evil, but it was mica goodness. On the contrary, Edison did not destroy anything that could be completely mica-good. C could not imagine who used Edison to make this device but he took it and built it. When the C-C, the cylinder-shaped machine comes with Z. Edison's wings or you ask what it is. Edison unintentionally said, "Oh, this machine will smell. He wrapped the fort's foil on the cylinder's neck! The baby at six o'clock eats. He smelled this alphabet in the machine's silence. The machine gave Edison's words every chance. The croc's face turned white with movement. Edison, however, remains a diamond.

Electrical light (BULB):

Light bulb (bulb) Didn't I like the style of the new photo shot? Many two-headed people worked on this concept for years. The Russian-born Michael Najnier Paula Jiblo was persuaded by Pir's family to be archery at the time, but Edison wanted younger boys and girls who could be used at home and at home. Coin - in fact, it was the gas of the heart that was the main source of energy. In 1879 AD, Edison brought out a successful soliloquy of LED light. He did just that for the second time to observe all the flame minutes, which could illuminate the roaring light. The employee was sent to Azzone and another to the jungles of Japan. He had tried about three thousand things for a minute. On 19 October 1879 , after several attempts, Car Edison's fibers were finally able to be applied to the filament bulb. The bulb gave great light. By the morning of October 7, the precious bulb was burning. Finally on October 7, at 2:30 pm, Edison decided to raise two latches, which caused the bulb to burn. On the 5th of September Edison's lightning flashed a new invention of light. Edison became known all over the world as the magic of Menlo Park. Edison won the patent for electric light in January. Edison did more than 3 experiments for the invention of the bulb. In 9 AD, Edison moved to New Jersey, the large and modern Libya rotary of the West and Najj. He spent most of his time working on his new inventions. He organized many companies to develop his inventions. By the end of the decade, Edison began producing animated films and films. He made a comedy based on the inventions of George Eastman and others. In 2 AD Edison combined phonographs and cameras to create spoken pictures. The machine showed some flaws and Edison put it aside. Other people later fixed the flaws. At first people thought of animated films as a toy, but Edison saw them with the hope that it would be through education. He predicted that one day it would change other ways of teaching. Some of his later inventions and distortions include storage irons Tissimeters, cement mixers, duct phones and photocopying machines. From his first patented invention (Golden Artificial Plant to Artificial Rubber) to Edison's society Participation continued at the same pace. He died in the West and Najj on 18 October 1931 at the age of 84.

Edison’s Friends:

Edison had no special close friends. He often liked to be with Henry Ford, Harvey Fairestone and John Barrows. But he worked hard for hours, not having much time for friends. Used to be Throughout Edison's life, his work has always been a joy and a friend to him. Edison was a musician. Despite being deaf, he claimed he could hear the speaker of the phonograph with his skull. Edison was not a religious man but he believed in great intelligence. One time he told his friend that although he is known as a great inventor in the world, he cannot create even the simplest of life. Edison's most important work for the world was not only to invent electric light, but also to map the world's first power plant to reach millions of people. Edison received so many awards for his achievements that he had to say that I needed a mole to produce them. In 1956, Edison's laboratory was declared a national heritage. In 1959, her house was also declared a national heritage. The fact is that not only in life but also after death, the honor and fame that came to the part of Edison, which is very fortunate.

[queenkoldmadina]

REALSCREEN 2019 New Orleans Keep  THE 9th ward residents OUT!      (part 2) I’M SO SICK OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE FILM INDUSTRY!

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A post shared by Blackkold Madina (@queenkoldmadina) on Jan 29, 2019 at 9:52pm PST

The very first night I went home after the REAL SCREEN SUMMIT I explained to my daughter and husband what happen to me. I couldn’t sleep that night I was up half of the night talking about it over and over to my husband and sometimes crying because I felt on an extreme level what my ancestors have been fighting against for generations.The stereotyping  the following around the repeated questions like ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE HERE and the repeated checking of my credentials. I really couldn’t believe that this happened to me after I had spent $1,700 paying to get into the summit. 

Carol LEIGHTON said she was from CANADA she came to New Orleans and was treating me like this is how WHITE AMERICANS STILL TODAY TREAT BLACKS IN THE SOUTH AND HER ROLE WAS TO KEEP WITH THE normal tradition of WHITE AMERICA KEEPING NONE WHITES OUT  EVENTS SUCH AS REALSCREEN SUMMIT 2019, HINDERING ANY OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A CHANGE FOR MYSELF OR MY COMMUNITY! I do believe If my SPIRIT WASN’T BROKEN BECAUSE OF WHAT CAROL LEIGHTON HAD SAID TO ME I could have made connections and been successful at my goal of making connections. NO THIS BITCH HAD TO FUCK WITH ME she saw me all by myself and had to TAKE A SHIT on my plans with that RACIS BULLSHIT which did strike FEAR IN ME and made me less confident in my desire to meet people mostly WHITE PEOPLE  at the REALSCREEN who could help me!

 And I say that because of the way she treated me ALSO the things she said such as I GOT A JOB! TO KEEP YOU PEOPLE OUT, KEEP THE 9TH WARD OUT OF HERE,WHICH MEANS  she is a divider! (THAT PART WAS DEFIANTLY CLEAR ) In her mind this was a event for non whites ONLY! She said she had a job! as if this was the norm to just walk up the black folks and say I was watching you because I DON’T UNDERSTAND how you look! 

BACK TO WHAT HAPPEN!

Never the less I woke up the next day after really not getting any sleep that night a bit tired and SO UNREADY! to go through what I went through the day before.That morning when my daughter woke up she said to me mom don’t go back to that hotel with those people following you and saying mean things to you. I told her I was going because I really needed to meet some folks that can really help me get my new film out into the main stream, besides I had to go and MEET with someone about my experience so that they would know e a crazy women is stalking me. This day my husband Scott decided to drop me off instead of letting me me drive, he was afraid anything may happen and he may have to come and pick me up early.I assured him I was going to report the incident to a manager or supervisor of the summit. (this shit had my WHOLE FAMILY ON ALERT!)

Up on arriving at the summit I went to the receptions desk and asked for a manager or supervisor the male receptionist ask me what was it concerning? I then said it was concerning a women who was following me yesterday and also I couldn’t get access to the REAL SCREEN APP so I could follow the event through my phone instead of this book. The male receptionist stated to me there was no manager around at this time and that someone would email me about my complaint.I said ok and walked away feeling like I didn’t want to waste a lot of time because there was speed pitching and big TV station representatives that I wanted to meet and I should try and go catch up with them after I go use the bathroom.  Upon coming out of the restroom GUESS WHO’S STANDING OUTSIDE OF THE REST ROOM? Carol Leighton! she then said Hello with a passive aggessive smile on her face but at that time I didn’t know she was Carol until I picked up her name tag and read her name.I then said Oh! it’s you again I then walked off and went to the lifetime channel panel about R-Kelly.

I was 10 mins in the surviving R-Kelly panel and I received a email from Claire MacDonald who is the VP & Publisher, realscreen of the summit please see email below.

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019, 2:37 PM Claire Macdonald <cmacdonald@brunico.com wrote  

Hi Kimberley, I understand that you felt uncomfortable after an interaction with one of our team members yesterday. If you have time I'd like to meet with you and hear what happened directly. My mobile is 1-416-505-4891 if you want to text me or give me a call. Best, Claire -- Claire Macdonald

VP & Publisher, realscreen

Executive Producer, Scripted

1-416-408-0858

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019 at 2:52 PM FEAR NO GUMBO  (ME)<fearnogumbo@gmail.com> wrote: 

Hello Claire, Yes I did have a issue with one of representative, I do need to discuss although it's very difficult because of what happen to me. Let me know your availability? Kimberly

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019, 2:54 PM Claire Macdonald <cmacdonald@brunico.com wrote:

I can meet you right now if that works for you. Let me know where  you are and I can come and meet you. c

On Jan 30, 2019, at 3:00 PM, FEAR NO GUMBO (ME)<fearnogumbo@gmail.com> wrote:

Sure I'm in fuse 2

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019, 3:02 PM Claire Macdonald <cmacdonald@brunico.com wrote:

I will be there in 5min. Meet me outside?

On Jan 30, 2019, at 3:04 PM, FEAR NO GUMBO (ME)<fearnogumbo@gmail.com> wrote:

Sure, see you there.

 I wanted to talk with Claire about my experience but I also didn’t want to miss out on any more panels or meeting opportunities either. So I’m thinking we were going to chat outside in the hall as soon as I got outside in the hall she introduced herself and said lets go up stairs to my office to discuss  I Immediately felt afraid but I said ok, and turned on my cell phone and begin recording because I didn't’ know what was going to happen when we went up. We got to the 27th floor we went into her room/office  I sat down I could hear people in the back talking however I didn’t know who they were so I was a bit spooked......really.

CLAIRE:Thanks for meeting with me, So I heard from Tiffany Nicholson you wanted to talk to someone about something that happen to you?

KIM:Yes that is true 

CLAIRE: so tell me what happed?

 I then begin to tell her what had happen with a lady by the name of CAROL she immediately pulled out her phone and pulled up Carol’s picture on the REALSCREEN app (the one that I still didn’t have access to)  and asked is this the women you are talking about? I then said YES and do she work for the company?

CLAIRE: YES she do.

I then begin to tell my story about what happen to me and how CAROL LEIGHTON was following me kept on checking my name tag  repeatedly stopping me saying things like she had to STOP me because she had a job to do keep YOU PEOPLE OUT! the 9th ward out of the REAL SCREEN  summit not to mention following me watching me a valet parking etc.  (everything I mentioned in part 1)

CLAIRE: I’m so sorry you are having this experience at real screen I’ve been knowing Carol for years and she never came a cross as raciest. Carol has worked for our company for years I never heard her say or do anything Raciest

KIM: That wasn’t my experience with her, she came up to me and told me to my face I HAVE A JOB TO KEEP YOU OUT YOU PEOPLE FROM THE 9TH WARD OUT! 

CLAIRE: And I don’t know what she was getting at when she was saying you people I don’t think she was meaning anything wrong when she said that.

KIM: NO! WHEN PEOPLE SAY YOU PEOPLE that means you over there and I’m over here which infers separation when she added I have to keep you people out! I MEAN THE 9TH WARD that meant she was using that to term to explain a divide and that I need to be out....outside and not wanted in REALSCREEN! 

I went home and told my family about what happen and I cried after I explained  to my daughter,

CLAIRE: How old is your daughter?

Kim:11years old when I told her what happen to me she said I was racially discriminated against she also said she’s afraid for me to go back the next day.

CLAIRE: I’m so sorry you had to go through this I’m going to talk with Carol about this and get back with you soon. 

(MIND YOU THIS IS JUST A RUFF DRAFT OF THE CONVERSATION Please listen to the whole conversation by clicking the audio link below)

10 MINS LATER IN A EMAIL TITLED  Make amends Realscreen Summit

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019, 3:52 PM Claire Macdonald <cmacdonald@brunico.com wrote:

Hi Kim,

I have met with Carol. As I thought, this was a terrible miscommunication. She is terribly upset for hurting your feelings and would really like the opportunity to apologize to you in person. I assume you are in a session now. Would you agree to meet her during the networking break at 4:45?

Claire

On Jan 30, 2019, at 4:01 PM, FEAR NO GUMBO <fearnogumbo@gmail.com> wrote:

No, I can't. I'm EXTREMELY upset about Carols behavior towards me and the words she said.

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019 at 4:05 PM Claire Macdonald <cmacdonald@brunico.com> wrote:

Would you meet with her if I was there? As I said, she is not a racist person, and she feels sick about this and the way you feel?

I DIDN’T ANSWER BACK

From: Claire Macdonald <cmacdonald@brunico.com> Date: Wed, Jan 30, 2019, 4:27 PM Subject: Re: Realscreen Summit To: FEAR NO GUMBO <fearnogumbo@gmail.com>

Let me know Kim - she wants to make amends. She feels dreadful. She put her foot in her mouth - in a big way.

Also, I have asked to have your registration refunded. C

SHE PUT HER FOOT IN HER MOUTH- definition to say or do something that you should not have, something that embarrasses someone else.

By that time I was ready to go because it seemed the more she emailed me about meeting with Carol the more upset I got. I thought about going into another networking session but I called Scott my husband instead. I was sick to my stomach because of the way they had treated me and it made me  even more UPSET  when Claire suggested I meet with the same MF that was stalking me treated me nasty and just shitted on my work and community because of a jacket I had on that said 9th ward. FEAR NO GUMBO  Trailer link https://youtu.be/IG0RvRE30tA

CAROL LEIGHTON had no clue about the 9th ward or who I was or my work.. For those who know my film work they know my film work has been built around rebuilding the 9th ward and bringing economic development and housing back to that community after Katrina destroyed it. I wear 9th ward brand on my clothing because my films are about that community by the way very RESILIENT COMMUNITY that WE THE RESIDENTS HAVE PRIDE IN!

IF YOU OR IF YOU KNOW ANY ONE WHO HAS BEEN DISCRIMINATED AGINST BY REALSECEEN OR ANY ONE ELSE PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY! email me @FEARNOGUMBO@GMAIL.COM

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO PART 3 YES IT’S A PART 3!  I’ll be posting that part of the story and the full AUDIO recordings of the meeting in ON THE 27th floor of the SHERATON HOTEL!