#the dr said not to worry he was just on the phone and her son was almost done??

[writerofsorts]

Back to Rosewood

(image creds: to the owner)

pairing: jason dilaurentis x female reader.

summary: 2x02 "the goodbye look" episode imagine/rewrite.

warnings: mentions of murder.

*read previous part here!

—————

Night had fallen upon the town of Rosewood and [Y/N] found herself in the safety of her bedroom in her home. She was seated at her desk, trying to finish up her homework. However, the work laid open in front of her, unfinished as she found herself constantly getting distracted by the events of the past few months. 

She had never once imagined that Ian’s death would bring up so much trouble for her friends and herself. The entire town seemed to believe the girls were liars, not believing their words of Ian being Alison’s killer. On top of that, she and her friends were still dealing with A along with therapy. 

[Y/N] groaned and buried her face in her hands, thinking about the meeting with the therapist, Dr. Sullivan, earlier that day. She and the girls were close to telling the doctor about their cyber bully, and [Y/N] had to admit that it felt good. 

But, as always, A was one step ahead and was successful in keeping the girls quiet. [Y/N] knew Dr. Sullivan must think she and her friends were crazy indeed by the way they had acted. 

A knock on her door made her look up at the doorway and her parents along with her brother stood there with small smiles on their faces.

“You busy, kiddo?” her father, James, spoke first. 

“Uh, no, not really,” [Y/N] shook her head, closing her books and pushing them away. “Come on in.”

Her parents entered the room first and sat on her bed while she turned in her chair so that she sat facing them. Her brother, Sid, came to stand next to her and perched at the edge of her desk, playfully messing up her hair. She gave him a playful glare before laughing when he stuck his tongue out at her. 

The parents took a moment to admire their kids and the beautiful bond they shared. Reality hit them the next moment and they looked at each other sadly, knowing what they were about to ask next was going to take their daughter’s smile away, even if it would be temporary. 

“So, sweetheart,” Leslie began, clearing her throat. “Your father and I just got off the phone with your therapist a few minutes ago.”

Just as they had expected, the playfulness in [Y/N] faded as her expression turned serious.

“Oh,” she replied softly after a few moments. “Uh, yes, today was not a good day.” 

“She didn’t tell us exactly what happened,” James spoke next. “However, she did tell us that she doesn’t think it would be helpful to continue seeing you girls as a group.” 

“So, she wants us to come in for individual sessions?” asked [Y/N], thinking that shouldn’t be too terrible. 

“Well, yes,” her father continued after sharing a glance with her mother. “Also, based on your sessions, she’s making a recommendation.” 

“Which I’m not a fan of,” her brother added to the conversation for the first time. 

“W-what recommendation?” [Y/N] asked. Her worry grew with her brother’s words and she looked at him once before turning towards her parents again.

“Dr. Sullivan doesn’t think you girls are capable of maintaining a healthy friendship at the moment,” Leslie explained with sympathy lacing her voice. “So, she’s recommending that you girls spend some time apart.”

“Are you saying that I can’t see or talk to my friends?” [Y/N] asked in disbelief.

“This is not forever, honey,” James replied quickly. 

“I don’t understand what the shrink is trying to do here by splitting up [y/n/n] and the girls,” Sid commented. “They’ve been through so much. And, now with everything that’s happened with Ian, separating them is a terrible idea!” 

“I know, son,” sighed James. “The other parents and we talked. We all mutually agreed that Dr. Sullivan’s suggestion might be for the best.” 

“Unbelievable,” Sid muttered with a shake of his head. 

“[Y/N], sweetheart, say something,” Leslie said softly. 

“I- I don’t know what to say,” [Y/N] replied with a shrug. “It looks like you guys have already decided.” 

“It’s just temporary, we promise,” her mother answered apologetically. 

[Y/N] dropped her gaze to the floor. She wanted to be upset and throw a tantrum, but that was not her. At the same time, she knew without a doubt that she and her friends would not just stop hanging out.

Even with this new restriction from their parents, [Y/N] was sure that she and the girls would find a way to connect and deal with the fallout from Ian’s death as well as the threat of A. They had to. 

“I understand,” she said, looking back up at her parents with a light smile. 

Her parents gave her a hug and thanked her for being understanding before leaving her room. Her brother, however, hung back with a suspicious look in his eyes. 

“What?” [Y/N] asked, crossing her arms across her chest. 

Her brother didn’t reply and waited until he was sure their parents were downstairs and out of earshot. 

“You and your friends are not gonna listen, are you?” he asked quietly, his lips curled in a smirk, and [Y/N] sighed. 

“Look, I feel bad, but we can’t just not hang out,” she answered softly. “There’s a lot going on and we need each other.” 

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Sid's playfulness disappeared and he moved to hug her, not liking the fact that his little sister was under a lot of stress. “I’m on your side in all of this. If you need anything, I’m right here.” 

“I know,” she said, hugging him back. “Thank you.” 

“Just be smart in sneaking around, though,” he teased, pulling back from the hug and ruffling her hair. 

“For sure,” [Y/N] chuckled, nodding in agreement. 

…

Later that night, [Y/N] was woken up by the vibration of her cellphone on the nightstand. She grabbed the phone to see a text message from Spencer: ‘S.O.S.’ 

[Y/N] quietly made her way down the stairs to grab her coat and sneakers. Just as she finished wearing her coat, her phone vibrated yet again and she checked it to see a text from Hanna this time: ‘I’m waiting in your backyard.’ 

[Y/N] loved that she and Hanna were not only the best friends but neighbors as well. That was how they became close, anyway. Still when it came to sneaking out at night to meet up with her friends, she wasn’t a big fan as she didn’t like the dark. But with Hanna, it was easier and she didn’t feel as scared. 

She hurriedly wore her shoes and slipped out of her house through the backdoor to see Hanna waving at her while her other hand was buried in her coat pocket. 

“Can’t believe Dr. Sullivan thought she could keep us apart from each other,” Hanna scoffed when [Y/N] reached her. “You can’t tell a lot about a person by their shoes, after all.” 

“We’ll talk about it later,” [Y/N] said, half amused as she dragged Hanna with her. “Now, let’s go.”

The night was dark and chilly as the two friends made their way towards the greenhouse where Spencer had told the girls that she would be waiting. 

When [Y/N] and Hanna reached the greenhouse, Aria and Emily were already there with Spencer. The five girls huddled closer together and Spencer began to explain about why she had messaged them all so late. 

“Anyone could’ve sent that, Spence,” Aria was the first to speak after Spencer showed the girls a text that Melissa had received from an unknown number. 

“Yeah, it could be some jerk trying to mess with Melissa,” Hanna added. 

“Maybe, but it doesn’t seem random,” Spencer sighed, looking down at the message again and reading it. “It’s not safe. I can’t tell you.” 

“I can’t tell you what?” Emily asked, her brows furrowed in thought. 

“Wherever he is,” Spencer said, sounding confident. 

“Spence, Ian is dead,” [Y/N] spoke, wrapping her arms around herself. The thought of Ian being alive made her feel uneasy. “I mean, we all saw him, didn’t we?” 

“True,” Hanna said, touching [Y/N]’s forearm over her coat. “But, there’s only one way to know if its Ian texting Melissa or not.” 

The other girls looked at Hanna curiously as she looked at Spencer with determined eyes. 

“Answer him, Spence. Ask him something that only Ian would know.” 

Spencer nodded before typing, ‘how do I know this is you?’ 

‘Ask me anything,’ came the reply almost immediately from the unknown number. 

“I know,” Spencer whispered to herself before her fingers flew over the phone’s keyboard. “What are we naming our baby?” 

“What’s the baby’s name?” [Y/N] asked once Spencer finished typing. 

“Taylor,” Spencer replied just as the phone in her hand buzzed. She took in a deep breath before looking at the phone only to gasp out loud the next second. With wide eyes, she showed the phone screen to her friends who all showed similar expressions. 

‘Taylor,’ the text read.

“It is him,” Hanna whispered in disbelief. 

“Oh my god,” Emily said just as [Y/N] spoke, “Ian is alive.” 

As if the girls weren’t already terrified, the wind outside suddenly picked up and the greenhouse’s doors started to slam over and over again. 

“Did things just get incredibly worse?” Aria asked, trying to speak louder over the sound of the wind. 

“I don’t believe this,” Emily said, shaking her head. “Ian’s dead.” 

“Zombies don’t text, Emily,” Hanna said sarcastically. “He is alive somewhere.” 

“Spence?” [Y/N] called when the girl in question remained silent for a long time. 

“I have to get this phone home before Melissa notices that it’s gone,” Spencer said, her lips almost trembling. 

“Okay and then what?” Hanna questioned as the wind continued to blow rather wildly outside. “What do we do about this information?” 

“Do we tell the cops?” Aria asked, shivering a little. 

“That’s not a good idea,” [Y/N] answered. “Telling the cops never works out well for us.” 

“True,” Emily sighed in defeat. 

“Why is Ian texting Melissa anyway?” Aria asked but before Spencer could answer, Hanna added, “And, why is Melissa answering him?” 

“Is she?” asked Emily, skeptic. “I mean, we don’t know how long this has been going on.”

“Spence, you’ve got to find out what Ian told Melissa,” Aria said to the stressed-out girl. “You are the only one who can find out what he wants.” 

“And, where he is,” Hanna commented. 

The slamming of the door got louder than before and suddenly rocks started to fall off the roof, causing the girls to panic further. 

“Let’s get out of here,” [Y/N] spoke, grabbing Hanna and Aria’s hands, who were standing next to her, and dragging them towards the exit. Emily and Spencer weren’t far behind. 

Once they got to a safe distance from the greenhouse, things were strangely quiet except for the soft chirping of crickets. They walked down to Spencer’s house which was closer. 

“Let’s just finish this at school,” Hanna spoke first. “I’m cold, damp, and scared. We could talk at school.” 

“We can’t talk at school, remember?” [Y/N] asked once they stopped near Spencer’s house.

“Yeah, the five of us are supposed to have separate time,” Aria said in disappointment. 

“Doctor’s orders,” Emily said with a roll of her eyes. 

“So, what are we supposed to do?” scoffed Hanna. “Not talk to each other when we’re all literally in the same classes?” 

“We just have to play it cool,” Spencer said calmly even though she was anything but after everything that happened. 

Before the girls could talk further, a loud noise interrupted them. They turned in the direction of the noise and were surprised to see a familiar face outside the DiLaurentis house. 

“It’s Jason,” Spencer whispered, surprised. 

[Y/N], meanwhile, froze in her spot. The last time she had seen Jason was several months ago when he visited her at the hospital after A hit her with their car. 

Even though it was dark, she could still make out his appearance and she was taken aback a little by what she saw. The last time he was in Rosewood, he seemed… put-together, for the lack of a better word. He wore suits and had his hair done nicely, not one strand out of place. 

Seeing him now, however, reminded her of the old Jason. His hair had grown a little and fell over his forehead as he bent down. He was wearing a fitted Henley shirt that hugged his muscles with denim jeans. He definitely looked good and she had to try her best to not blush at her own thoughts, especially in front of her friends. 

Hanna slowly slipped her arm around [Y/N]’s, pulling the latter out of her thoughts. 

‘Did you know he was back?’ Hanna mouthed and [Y/N] shook her head in denial. 

“Did he move back in?” Hanna asked, clearing her throat lightly. 

“Looks like it?” Aria said, sounding unsure just like the rest of them. 

“What is all that?” Spencer asked in confusion as she and her friends watched Jason throw away a bunch of things into the dumpster. 

“That looks like all the stuff people left on their curb when Ali went missing,” Aria said. 

“Maya said her family kept those things when they moved in,” Emily added. “They didn’t have the heart to throw them out.”

“Apparently, Jason’s moved on,” Spencer said with sarcasm and [Y/N] frowned at the brunette’s tone. 

“What is he doing in that house anyway?” asked Aria. 

“You know what? We’ve already got a lot on our plates,” Hanna said, trying to shift the conversation away from Jason. “Let’s just go home.” 

“Han’s right,” [Y/N] said, grateful for Hanna’s interference. “See you guys at school tomorrow.” 

The other girls agreed and said their goodbyes before splitting up. 

“[y/n/n], did you know Jason was coming back?” Hanna asked again when it was just herself and [Y/N]. 

“No, I didn’t,” [Y/N] replied. “The last time I saw him was at the hospital. I remember he said he would be coming back but he didn’t exactly keep me updated. I mean, he didn’t have to.” 

The girls soon reached [Y/N]’s backyard and paused in front of the door. 

“Do you think he’s moved back for good?” Hanna asked softly. 

“I don’t know,” [Y/N] shook her head. “But, why would he, though? It’s not like there’s anything here for him, is there?” 

“You never know,” Hanna replied softly. 

[Y/N] smiled a little at her best friend; the fact that Hanna was so hopeful regarding her and Jason touched her. 

“Go get some sleep, Han,” [Y/N] said, playfully pushing the blonde in the direction of her house. 

“You’re no fun,” Hanna pouted, walking backwards. 

“Good night, Hanna banana,” [Y/N] laughed, opening the backdoor quietly. 

“Good night, [y/n/n],” Hanna said back before the two girls entered their homes at the same time to get some sleep. 

…

“Wait, so Jason doesn’t believe that Ian killed Ali?” [Y/N] asked in a whisper, glancing at the closed door of her bedroom once. 

The next evening, [Y/N] was in her bedroom, scrolling through her twitter feed when she received a call from Spencer. The younger Hastings had gone to welcome Jason back to town – in other words, she had gone to spy on him – and it hadn’t gone so well. After returning home, [Y/N] was the first person Spencer had called to share how her conversation with Jason went. 

“I mean, I think so?” Spencer replied in a whisper as well and [Y/N] could feel the frustration in her friend’s voice. “He asked me if Ian said the words I killed Ali and I told him he didn’t, but that’s what it seemed like and he got all snippy about it!”

Spencer huffed out a breath and [Y/N] bit her lip in thought. 

“Do you think he’s in denial?” Spencer asked, continuing their chat quietly. “He and Ian were besties. He probably doesn’t want to accept that his best friend killed his little sister?” 

“I’m not sure, Spence,” replied [Y/N]. “Even if they were best friends, Jason can’t just look past the fact that Ian killed Ali.” 

“That’s what I’m saying!” Spencer agreed. “Hey, do you remember that one day Ali and Jason were fighting?” 

“You have to be a bit more specific because all they did was fight around us,” [Y/N] said, mild amusement lacing her voice and Spencer scoffed out a laugh. 

“I’m talking about the time Jason was mad at Ali for going to his room and messing with his stuff?” Spencer recalled and [Y/N] found herself nodding at the memory. 

“I do,” she said. “That’s when Ali made that comment about things being hidden until she wants them found, right?” 

“Yes!” Spencer exclaimed, trying her hardest to keep her voice quiet. 

“But, why are we suddenly talking about the past?” [Y/N] asked, confused. 

“I- I had a thought,” Spencer said, her words coming out slowly which worried [Y/N]. 

“What is it?” 

“Jason used to be so aggressive, [y/n/n]. Do you think he-” 

“Spence, don’t go there,” [Y/N] interrupted quickly. 

“You didn’t let me finish!” argued Spencer. 

“You were going to suggest Jason had something to do with Ali’s murder,” [Y/N] said, not liking the words that left her mouth. Spencer’s brief silence on the other end was all the answer [Y/N] needed to know that she was right. “Where’d you get the idea that Jason could be an accomplice in Ali’s murder?” 

“I don’t know what else to think,” Spencer admitted quietly. “He’s suddenly back in town and doesn’t believe Ian killed his sister.” 

“Don’t do this, Spence,” [Y/N] advised softly. “We’ve already got zombie Ian and A on our hands. Let’s not add Jason into the mix.” 

“I guess so,” sighed Spencer. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, don’t be,” [Y/N] replied. “I understand we’re all kind of on the edge right now. But, let’s not overthink. For now, at least.”

“I’ll try,” Spencer sighed again, dramatically this time, causing [Y/N] to chuckle. 

“Hey, I should go now,” said [Y/N]. “I’ve been in my room for a while now. I should make an attendance downstairs for dinner.”

“Yeah, of course,” Spencer laughed. “See you in school tomorrow?” 

“Definitely,” [Y/N] responded. “Good night, Spence.”

“Good night, [y/n/n],” Spencer replied before hanging up.

...

The girls were sneaking out yet again in the middle of the night. [Y/N] was starting to dislike Dr. Sullivan because she hated that greenhouse with a passion. It was creepy, to say the least, but she and her friends had no other choice. 

“It was in the pocket of her coat,” Spencer said, showing her friends pictures of Melissa’s ultrasound. “Her coat was wet and so were her boots.” 

“She lied to you about going out?” [Y/N] asked. 

“I don’t think she went far,” replied Spencer. “I checked the driveway and it was dry under her car so I don’t think she drove anywhere.” 

“Who would she want to show these to?” Aria asked, handing the ultrasound pictures back to Spencer. 

“I can only think of one person,” Hanna said with a roll of her eyes. 

“Ian,” Emily said, letting out a deep breath. “Spencer, if you’re saying she didn’t drive anywhere to see him, then that means he must be close.”

“Han, you were right,” Spencer said. “This is the worst time to be splitting up. We have to stick together.” 

“Exactly, no matter how much lying it takes,” Hanna nodded. 

“If only all of our parents were like my brother,” [Y/N] sighed. 

“Can we switch siblings?” Spencer pouted at [Y/N], who instantly shook her head. 

“Absolutely not,” [Y/N]’s instant reply was met with light laughter from her friends and they all cherished it. It had been a while since they’ve had the chance to be normal teenagers and to just have fun. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Aria said after a while and the girls agreed before walking out of the greenhouse. 

They were passing by the DiLaurentis house again when Emily suddenly stopped in her steps, causing the other girls to do the same.

“What is that?” she asked, looking at what appeared to be garden supplies laying on the front yard of the house. 

Before they could inspect further, a bright flashlight shone in their faces and they held their hands in front of their eyes. 

“Jason?” Spencer asked first, squinting at the taller man and he finally lowered the flashlight. 

“Oh, it’s you,” he said after he noticed the familiar girls in front of him. 

“Yeah, it’s only us,” Aria answered with an awkward smile. 

He turned off the flashlight and when he looked up, his gaze fell on [Y/N].

“Hey, are you better now?” he asked her, his voice softening. “I haven’t seen you since the accident.” 

“Oh, uh, yes, I’m better now. Thank you,” [Y/N] replied, smiling lightly at him. She felt nervous with his attention on her. It also didn’t help that she could feel the curious eyes of Aria, Emily, and Spencer on her as well. Except for Hanna, the other girls didn't know about Jason visiting her at the hospital. 

“So, what have you been up to?” Hanna asked Jason casually, shifting the attention away from [Y/N] for which the latter was grateful for. 

“I’ve been replanting all day,” Jason replied. “I’m putting up a fence as well.” 

“A fence? Why?” Spencer asked – her eyes and voice were obvious of her suspicion of Jason. 

“Privacy, security,” Jason answered, his voice turning a little rough. “There’s a lot of curious creeps in the world and one way or another, people are gonna mind their own business.”

The girls looked at each other subtly, feeling a little uneasy with Jason’s piercing eyes shifting between them. 

“You girls better go home,” he said before turning to walk back into his house. 

The girls walked a little further away and stopped by the side of the road again when they heard the sound of Jason shutting the door. 

“[y/n/n], you didn’t tell us Jason visited you,” Spencer shot instantly.

“I didn’t think it was important,” [Y/N] replied, shrugging a little. 

“But, why did he visit you?” Aria asked, frowning in confusion. 

“He was probably being nice, Aria,” Hanna answered before [Y/N] could. “And, yes, I know that he visited [y/n/n], because I ran into him there.” 

[Y/N] looked at Hanna at the blonde’s easy lie. Hanna didn’t meet Jason at the hospital; [Y/N] had told Hanna about Jason visiting her with some get well soon gifts. Since Hanna was already aware of her feelings towards Jason, she was the only person [Y/N] felt comfortable sharing about his unexpected visit with. 

“Look, he probably visited me, because he felt obligated to since he worked on Ali’s memorial with us,” [Y/N] said, hoping to move past this topic. 

“That makes sense,” Emily said calmly after a few moments, which caused Aria and Spencer to loosen up a little as well. “And, am I the only one thinking who is Jason trying to keep out with that fence?” 

“Keep out or keep in?” Spencer asked back, and [Y/N] could tell the former still believed that Jason was helping Ian hide and had some part in killing Ali. 

“Look, it’s too late to be doing this,” Hanna said. Similar to [Y/N], Hanna had an idea of where Spencer might be going with this and she was exhausted to be working on any more mysteries for the night. “Let’s just do this at school tomorrow or whatever.” 

[Y/N] internally sighed in relief when the other girls agreed with Hanna and parted ways, making their ways towards their houses. 

“Thanks for the rescue back there,” [Y/N] told Hanna once it was just the two of them. 

“Anytime, [y/n/n],” Hanna grinned, looping her arm around [Y/N]’s, making the latter chuckle. 

The two made their ways towards their homes in comfortable silence, hoping to get some rest before facing the stressful days ahead.

—————

[sarahsmi13s]

Telling Them

pairing: jake ‘hangman’ seresin x wife!reader

characters: jake seresin, y/n seresin, grayson seresin, kennedy seresin, dagger squad, penny benjamin, dr andrews

warnings: third person pov, she/her pronouns used, language, car crash mentioned, hospitals, mentions of surgey, mentions of family medical history (addiction to pain meds), talks of recovery methods, description of injuries, i believe that is it

word count: ~2.3k

a/n: 2/3 (this is a three part story -- however i might expand on it if you guys want)

loose summary: after nearly losing grayson, things are really put in perspective for jake and he realizes that the daggers are family too.

pt 1  pt 3

*******

“I think I wanna tell the squad.”

“What?” Y/N asked, except she heard him perfectly well.

Jake had just always wanted to keep his family private, it was how he protected them. Despite her wanting to get to know his coworkers, she respected her husband and understood where he was coming from. So his sudden confession confused her.

Jake sighed and held his wife’s hands. “I know, I know. I’ve always wanted to keep you and the kids private. But we could’ve lost Grayson today… We were having an emergency and you couldn’t get a hold of me or Javy. Then you apologized for coming to base to get me, you shouldn’t have to do that. Javy kinda knocked some sense into me earlier, said that the squad was worried when I left. A hoard of text on my phone confirmed that.” He took a deep breath.

“I want you and the kids to be able to lean on anyone on that team. I’ve trusted this team more than any other squadron I’ve been on.” “That’s saying something.” Jake chuckled, “Damn straight it is.”

He sighed, “I realized that if we had lost-” Emotion lumped in his throat. “If this had turned out any other way, they would have no idea that anything was wrong or why I wasn’t at work or why I was a bigger asshole than normal. I couldn’t mourn properly, because they would have no idea. And if I were to burn in…” He trailed off, but she knew what he was saying.

“So, I want you to meet them. I want them to get to know the kids. I want them to come to Grayson and Kennedy’s games. I want to expand the family, bring in a few strays.”

Y/N laughed, “Don’t let the princess hear you say that, she’ll think we’re getting a puppy.” Jake chuckled and kissed her knuckles, leaning his forehead on hers. “What do you say, my Queen?”

She nodded against him, “Let’s do it. But can it wait until we have Grayson at home? I’d hate for their first meeting to be in the hospital.” Jake nodded and kissed her forehead, “Of course, baby. Gives me time to drop subtle hints.”

Y/N pulled back, raising a brow, “You? Jacob Thomas Seresin, subtle? When are you ever subtle?” He rolled his eyes, “Hush.” Jake pecked her lips, “I’ll go get the doctor.” “Okay, I’ll give Javy and Mav a call, let them know he’s awake.”

Jake walked down the hall and Y/N took out her phone, calling Javy, not realizing what time it was.

“Hello?” “Javy- oh shit, did I wake you up?” “Yeah, but it’s fine. How’s Grayson?” She nodded, smiling, “He’s awake. He’s aware and is probably ready to get out of here.” “How’s Kennedy?” “She’s just glad to see that her brother’s awake,” she peaked in the window, seeing her daughter tucked under her son’s arm as she told him a story.

“How are you?” She sighed, “I’m better. Way better than before now that I know he’s okay. I’m just worried what this will mean for him. He’s already tried out and made the football team here, he probably won’t get to play this season, but it’s only his junior year so hopefully he’ll get to play his senior year.” “Hopefully he recovers like his mom,” Javy joked. She scoff laughed, “Yeah, fingers crossed.”

Javy sighed, “How’s Jake?” She bit her lip and looked down the hall in the direction her husband went. “Same as me, better now that he knows Grayson’s okay. But,” she took in a breath. “He wants to introduce the squad.”

Javy smiled on the other end, “When? Where? What time?” Y/N chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm. “Probably not until Grayson’s out of the hospital and is settled back at home with a routine. I’d hate for the first meeting to be in a hospital. Him being hurt isn’t ideal… but it helped put things into perspective for Jake. He’s so protective of his private life, has been since high school. We both know that.” Javy nodded.

“Hey, did Mav come by?” Coyote changed the subject. “Yeah, gave Jake the next few days off. He said he was gonna give subtle hints, but we know him.” Javy laughed, “Yes, yes we do.”

Y/N heard footsteps and looked to see Jake walking with the doctor. “I’ll let you go back to sleep, J.” “I’ll come by tomorrow after training,” he said, leaving no room for argument. “Okay, goodnight Javy.” “Goodnight, Y/N.” She hung up and sent Maverick a text.

Once the doctor and Jake got to her, they went into the room.

“Good to see you awake, Grayson. I’m Doctor Andrews. How are you feeling? Any pain?” Jake and Y/N went to the left side of the bed, Y/N’s hand lightly gripping her son’s.

“My ribs hurt a little, legs are definitely hurting,” Grayson told him, shifting a little.

Y/N moved over to the right side of the bed, “Kenni, come here sister.” She held her hands out as her daughter leaned into her brother. “Wanna stay with Gray…” Y/N sighed, “I know you do, Princess. But the doctor needs to make sure bubba’s okay. He can’t work around you, honey.”

Kennedy narrowed her (e/c) eyes at the doctor before looking back at her mom, “Is he nice?” Y/N smiled and nodded, “Yes, Kennedy, he’s nice.” The five year old sighed, “Okay.” She kissed her brother's cheek before holding her arms out for her mother. Y/N gathered her up and went back to Jake’s side, the little girl instantly wanting to go to her father.

They spent the rest of that time going over the treatment options and timelines.

“Okay, so we’re probably going to have to keep you here for about five days. Just to make sure everything’s okay. Do we have a preference for pain medication? Currently we’ve got you hooked up to morphine.” Grayson glanced at Y/N, not sure what to say. “We try to stay away from opioids as best we can. If it’s unavoidable then we understand.”

Doctor Andrews nodded, “Has anyone in the family had trouble with addictions in the past?” “No, not that we are aware of,” Jake answered. He nodded again, “Okay, so we’ll definitely look into our options and run them by you. Do you have any questions while I’m here?”

Y/N looked at her son, who shifted a little in the bed.

“Um… Sports? Will I ever get to play again? Or am I done?” Andrews sighed, “Well, everything will depend on the recovery. I’m afraid this football season, possibly basketball season, will have to miss you. But hopefully we can have you back by baseball season.”

“How long is the recovery?” “Four to six months for the femur, sometimes the ACL can take as long as nine, but everyone is different.” Grayson nodded. “Thank you, Doc.” He gave the Seresins a smile, “Of course, get some rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Grayson rubbed his face, groaning a little. “What is it?” Y/N asked. “It’s just – four to six months? Gosh, that sounds like forever.” “It’ll be over before you know it, kid. You just gotta work during the recovery,” Jake said, nodding down to Grayson’s legs that were in braces.

Moving curls out of his face, Y/N spoke, “Gray, we will be with you every step of the way. It’ll be hard, but you can do it.”

She gestured to her own leg, “I tore my ACL my sophomore year of high school, I get it. You’ll want to jump right back in once you’re healed, but you can’t. You have to be careful until you’re properly healed, because if you aren’t you might cause more damage. If your body tells you to rest, listen to it.” Grayson nodded, yawning a little, “Yes ma’am.” Smiling at her son, she kissed his forehead, “Get some rest. We’ll be here when you wake up.”

Jake smiled and ruffled his hair, adjusting Kennedy so she could kiss her brother’s cheek. “Night bubba.” “Night sister.”

********

Two days later, Jake was back on base and, since Grayson was only 16, Y/N stayed at the hospital with him. Kennedy stayed at Penny’s getting pampered by Amelia.

As expected, everyone asked Jake if everything was okay. He just nodded and went on as usual. Of course he was still worried, but he was a dad; it’s expected. But people took Jake at his word.

And Jake, in his best attempts to be subtle, had moved his wedding band from his truck to his dog tags and wore his watch lower on his left wrist, to show the initials tattooed there. He also didn’t try to hide his phone as much, knowing his friends were a little nosy.

“Hangman, is that your niece? She’s adorable, what’s her name?” Fanboy asked as he sat beside Jake at lunch. Jake just smiled, “Her name is Kennedy. We call her Ken or Kenni.”

“Wait, let us see!” Phoenix said, gesturing for him to turn the phone around. He proudly did so, showing everyone at the table his daughter. “How old is she?” Rooster asked as he washed down his food. “She’s five, she was about 3 in that photo though. Just popped up in my memories on Facebook.”

They were too busy fawning over how cute Kennedy was that they didn’t catch the dodged ‘niece’ question.

Now, the Dagger squad was not stupid and they were trained to notice things. But does that mean they caught everything? Absolutely not.

But, Bob, being ever the wallflower, noticed the tattoo the next day when Jake took off his watch to shower.

“Who’s ‘(f/i) S’?” Jake smiled and rubbed the pad of his thumb over the two letters. “Sorry, that-” “No, Bob, it’s okay. If I didn’t want you to see it, you wouldn’t have seen it.” The WSO relaxed, “I take it they mean a lot to you?” Jake decided to keep it vague, just for suspense, “They mean the world to me.” Bob smiled and clapped Jake on the shoulder before leaving the room.

*****

Four days into Grayson’s stay at the hospital and two days since Jake has been back at work, the squad went to the Hard Deck. But Jake wasn’t really there, his mind was on Y/N, Grayson, and Kennedy.

“Hey, Hangman, you okay?” Penny asked as she came over with his beer. “Yeah, yeah.” She arched a challenging brow and he caved. “Okay, maybe I’m still just a little shaken up. But Grayson’s okay, he’s coming home tomorrow. I just- Gah I don’t know…” Penny sympathetically smiled at him.

He changed the subject, “How’s Kennedy doing? She handlin’ it okay?” Penny nodded, “Yeah, Amelia is doing a good job at keeping her distracted. Tea parties, make-overs, the whole nine.” Jake smiled, “Yeah, Y/N’s shown me the photos.” “She keeps asking for Grayson though, she wants to visit him all the time. But if it’s past visiting hours they’ll face time.” He nodded, swallowing a little bit, “Yeah, that girl loves her brother. It’s-”

“Hangman! You ready to get your ass kicked?” Jake turned, “In your dreams, Fitch! Give me a minute!” He turned back to Penny, pulling his wallet out, “Close my tab, please. I’m heading out after this.”

Penny nodded and took the cash, gesturing to the squad “When are you gonna tell them?” He glanced back over his shoulder at the group before turning back, “Tonight, actually. Grayson comes home after an exam tomorrow afternoon. We plan on doing a cookout.” Penny smiled, “Good luck.” “Thanks,” he smiled and pushed off the bar, sauntering over to the squad.

He grabbed the pool cue offered and broke the triangle. “Hey, I’m heading out after this-” “What? You never leave first.” He just shrugged and lined up his shot, potting a solid. “As I was saying, I’m leaving after this. I was wondering if you guys were free this Saturday.” Cyclone, Warlock, and Mav knew Jake’s plan and gave everyone Saturday off.

The squad shared a look and nodded, saying they were free. “Yeah, why?” Jake smirked, eyes staying on the pool table, “My wife and I were planning to have a cookout, so I’m inviting you guys.” “Wife? You’re married?!” Rooster asked, choking on his drink. Jake nodded, “I believe I said wife. Didn’t I Coyote?” Coyote smirked as well, “Yeah, you did.”

Before anyone could ask ridiculous questions, Bob spoke up first, “How long have you been married?” “15 years in September,” Jake smiled, eyeing the gold band that was now on his finger. He’d put it on a few minutes ago while he waited for Penny to get his drink. “15? How have you kept it a secret for so long?” Fanboy asked. Jake shrugged, “When something’s mine I hate to share it.”

“Do you have kids?” Rooster asked. Jake nodded, “Yeah, two. A son, Grayson, and a daughter, Kennedy.” Their jaws dropped. “I thought she was your niece,” Payback asked. Jake shook his head, leaning down to take his shot, “Nope, never said that.”

Jake took a few more shots before sitting on a barstool while Payback took his. “So, are you guys in or what? I need to know how much food to get.” They all nodded. “I can’t believe you let me drown in testosterone when you had a little girl and a wife. I don’t think I could ever forgive you,” Phoenix said, crossing her arms while narrowing her eyes. “I’ll learn to live with that.”

Bob spoke up again, a little more hesitant this time. “What happened last Saturday?” Jake sighed and stood up, “Grayson was in a car accident.” 

When everyone jumped to ask questions,  he held his hands up. 

“He’s okay. But he’s been in the hospital the past few days for observation, but he’s coming home tomorrow. The cookout is really for you guys to come meet them and get to know them a little bit. Y/N didn’t want y’all to meet in the hospital.”

The group nodded, “We’re in.”

**********

hiiiii! i’m happy you’re here! 

the squad knows now! how do you think the cookout is going to go? what might happened when the squad learns grayson is a 16 year-old? 

i hope you enjoyed this part two! i have one more part to post and will hopefully get it out in a timely fashion

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thank you for reading!

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thank you guys for being here!!!

[ereardon]

Golden Hour || Ch. 7

[Bob Floyd x Bradley Bradshaw x OC]

A Bob Floyd & Bradley Bradshaw AU [Hart of Dixie inspired]

Synopsis: Willow, Georgia. Barely even a town, just a speck on a map that you tried to wipe off, mistaking it for a crumb. You’re the outsider: a fancy New York doctor, fresh out of a failed engagement, with zero primary care experience. You’re also the new town doctor, taking over for a recent retiree who was beloved. His son, Bob Floyd, is the other physician at the practice, and takes an immediate dislike to you. But you were looking for a fresh start, and Willow doesn’t seem all that bad if you can get past the fact that there's only one restaurant in town. It helps that you've caught the eye of Bradley Bradshaw, the town attorney, despite the fact that you vowed to take a break from dating. How long until you start to make friends in a town where social circles have been set in stone since elementary school? And what will it take to make Bob Floyd see you’re not as bad as he wants to believe you are?

Pairing: Bob Floyd x OC; Bradley Bradshaw x OC

Tropes: Love triangle, enemies to lovers

Warnings: Alcohol, angst, cursing

Chapter summary: Olive spends Thanksgiving with the Bradshaws; Olive and Bradley's relationship takes a turn

WC: 2K

Masterlist here; previous chapter here; next chapter here

“Dr. James, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” 

You swiveled around in your chair. Molly stood at the door, holding an armful of supplies to replenish the cabinet to your right. “I’m not sure,” you replied. “Why?” 

“I was hoping we’d be closed,” she said, unloading the bandages into the cabinet. “My boyfriend and I are supposed to visit his parents down in Marietta.” 

“You can have it off either way,” you replied and Molly grinned. 

“So you call the shots now?” Bob stood in the doorway of your office, wearing a sweater with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of khakis and brown dress shoes. 

You rolled your eyes. “Give the girl the day off, Floyd.” 

“We’re closed on Thanksgiving, Molly,” he said and she stood up, smiling. 

“Thank you!” She tossed her arms around Bob as he stood solid like a statue in the doorframe, before scampering down the hallway. 

You leaned back in your chair with a smirk. “Softie.” 

“What are your plans for Thanksgiving?” 

“Don’t have any,” you replied. “Unless you’re inviting me over.” 

Bob looked startled. “I, uh—”

You laughed but it was dry. “Don’t worry, Floyd, I’m not inviting myself over. I have more tact than that.” You stood up, smoothing your short skirt. “I won’t impose. Sure I’ll be able to find something to do.” 

Bob’s gaze hardened. “I’m sure Bradshaw would have you over.” 

“Bradley?” You shook your head. “I’m sure he has plans.” 

Bob nodded. “Bradshaw family Thanksgiving is legendary. I’ve been a few times. His parents do a catered dinner.” 

“Maybe I’ll ask him.” 

Bob lingered. There was something about the way he wasn’t moving, as if words were stuck in his throat, thick like gravy on a biscuit. 

You cocked your head to one side. “Something else I can help you with?” 

His blue eyes turned to you. “No.” He pivoted on one heel, heading down the hallway, the soft clack of his dress shoes on the wood floor fading into the distance. You frowned before picking up the phone and pressing Bradley’s contact. 

“Hey, it’s me,” you said into the speaker. “Listen, about Thanksgiving.” 

***

“Mothers don’t like me,” you whispered as you and Bradley made your way up the steps toward the stone mansion on the end of the road. “Just a warning.” 

Bradley chuckled. “I doubt that, Doc. What’s not to like?” 

You shrugged. “I say too much or I say too little. And when I do talk it’s about medicine. I’m too competitive. I can’t cook. I curse. I wear too short of skirts.” You adjusted your skirt over the thin tights and cursed yourself for wearing a pair of stilettos. The Bradshaws were going to think you were a prostitute. 

“My mother likes no one and pretends to like everyone,” Bradley replied. “Besides, it’s a party, Doc. Not some intimate dinner. You’ll be able to blend in with the crowd, I promise.” 

“If you leave me alone for more than five minutes I’m going to get blackout drunk,” you warned. 

Bradley laughed, reaching out and ringing the doorbell. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” The large wood door swung open. “Mother,” he said. 

“Bradley, dear.” She was small, so thin beneath her sweater set, and Bradley had to stoop down to kiss her on the cheek. She held her arms out to you. “And you must be Olivia.” 

“Olive,” Bradley corrected. “Dr. James.” 

“Ooh, doctor?” His mother raised her plucked eyebrows. 

You smiled. “Olive is fine. Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Bradshaw.” 

“Carole,” she replied. “Come in.” 

The Bradshaws had more money than half of Georgia from the looks of it. A soaring two-story foyer with a curved staircase that crawled up one wall, checkered black and white tile floors in the entryway, an enormous wooden paneled library to your left. The house was warm and smelled like Baccarat Rouge and echoed with voices and Southern accents. You raised your eyebrows at Bradley. “You’re Southern royalty, aren’t you?” 

He blushed, hard. “No.” 

“Come on.” You grabbed his arm. “Spill.” 

“My father was the governor,” he confessed and your eyes went wide, like saucers. “There he is.” Bradley tipped his head toward the seven-foot tall fireplace against one wall where a group of men were laughing. You spotted him immediately. Tall, muscular, mustache that rivaled Tom Selleck’s. He was handsome as hell. A part of you did the mental math and realized that Bradley would age well. 

Very well. 

“Come on,” Bradley said, moving toward the center of the room. “I need a drink.” 

Against one wall, there was a makeshift bar. “Wine, please,” you said. 

“What type of wine?” the bartender asked. “We have Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot from the Loire—”

You cut him off with a thick sob. “Oh my God. Real wine.” 

Bradley practically snorted. “Yes, Olive, outside of Willow there actually does exist wine where the label doesn’t just say white box or red.” 

You shook your head with elation. “Sancerre, please.” 

“And you, sir?” 

“Manhattan, no rocks.” 

You leaned against the bar and surveyed the room. It was tastefully decorated. Now you knew why Bradley’s house was so well done. “You could have warned me,” you whispered. 

“And said what?”

“I don’t know, that you’re Mr. Georgia?” 

Bradley laughed, a throaty chuckle, one hand finding the small of your back, leading you deeper into the room. Clumps of well dressed people stood in packs scattered throughout the large expanse of the living room. “Sometimes I forget that you don’t know things, Olive. Everyone in Willow knows everything about each other. It’s hard to remember that you’re starting from a blank slate.” 

“What else am I missing?” you asked. 

“Well, that’s my brother, Jordan.” Bradley pointed to a tall, dark and handsome man holding hands with a slim brunette. “And his wife Jodi. And their son James is somewhere. Probably praying pranks on the dog.” You grinned. “If you go upstairs and turn left and open the fourth door on the right you’ll see an embarrassing amount of trophies from little league.” 

“I know where I’m sneaking off to after dinner,” you teased. 

“I’ll meet you up there.” You swatted Bradley’s arm with your free hand and he laughed. A shadow appeared in front of the two of you. 

“Son.” 

“Dad.” Bradley was a full inch shorter than his father, and that was a feat. “This is Dr. Olive James.” 

“Just Olive is fine,” you said, holding out a hand. “Very nice to meet you, sir.” 

He grinned, shaking your hand tightly. His grip was a vice. “Nick Bradshaw. Friends call me Goose.” 

“Goose?” 

“Don’t ask,” Bradley whispered. 

“Best shot in the state,” Nick said, dropping your hand. “You a hunter, Doctor?” 

“Does looking for deals in Soho count?” The joke fell flat on Nick, who had a stony look in his eye. “Sorry, no. Never been.” 

“You’ll have to join us sometime,” he said. “Bradley, invite her to the lake house. We’re going next week.” 

“You don’t have to,” Bradley whispered. 

You smiled. “That’s very nice, thank you.” 

Goose tipped his head. “My son here really under sold how pretty you were. In a town like Willow I’m sure you’re turning heads.” 

You blushed and Bradley shook his head. “Dad, come on. Let her at least finish her drink before you turn on the charm.” 

Goose grinned. “Can’t help it, son.” 

“It’s flattering,” you replied. “But I only came to Willow a few months ago. Still adjusting.” 

“What’s there to adjust to?” A voice to your right entered and you turned, Bradley’s brother Jordan joining the circle. His eyes leered over you. “Nothing in Willow but two sticks to rub together.” 

“Olive,” Bradley said, his voice icing over. “This is my brother Jordan. Jordan, this is Dr. Olive James.” 

“Doctor?” Jordan raised his thick eyebrows. “How come there were never any docs like you when I have to go to my checkups?” 

“OK, we’re leaving,” Bradley said, putting one hand on your back and steering you toward the patio doors at the back of the room. The two of you spilled out onto the paved patio that overlooked a manicured garden not unlike Versailles. “Sorry about him, he’s a dick.” 

You laughed. “That’s OK. I understand.” 

“Do you have siblings?” 

“No.” You paused. “But my fiancé did.”

“Fiancé?” Bradley went pale. 

“Sorry, ex-fiance,” you clarified. 

“You’ve never mentioned.” 

“He cheated and I left. Not much to say,” you replied. 

“I’m sorry.” Bradley paused. “Is that why you left New York?” 

You nodded. “We worked together.” 

“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. Then, “Sounds like a real dick.” 

You laughed, the sound chiming out into the quiet evening. “Not wrong.” 

“Did you love him?” he asked. 

You frowned. “Yes. But I don’t know if I was ever in love with him. Not the way that I should have been. I was just too caught up in everything to realize it.” 

Bradley stepped closer, pressing one hand to your cheek. “I like you, Olive. A lot. And I know you said you weren’t looking to start anything, but—”

“I like you, too, Bradley,” you interrupted, the heat of his hand cupping your skin warming you from the outside in. 

He smiled, bending down, pressing his lips to yours softly. You closed your eyes, letting Bradley flood your senses. 

When the two of you broke apart, you grinned, sliding one hand up into his curls, pulling him back down, sealing your lips over his. Bradley’s large hands wound around your waist, tugging you in close, pressing your body to his. 

“Let’s blow off dinner,” he whispered. 

“But it’s Thanksgiving,” you replied. “Won’t your family care if we ditch them?” 

“I don’t care,” Bradley murmured. “I want you all to myself.” 

“Bradshaw,” you said quietly, “are you hitting on me?” 

“You bet your sweet ass I am.” 

“OK, let’s go.” 

Back at Bradley’s house, you slipped off your heels as Bradley poured two glasses of wine. You heard him mutter and curse under his breath. 

“Everything OK?” you called out. 

“Yeah, fine,” he shouted back. “Make yourself comfortable.” 

You wandered down the hallway to Bradley’s bedroom, edging open the door. It was familiar, from the night after the Halloween party. The room was blanketed in darkness and you strolled over to the window, glass of wine in one hand, spreading the curtains, letting the moonlight flood in. 

Across the yard, Bob stood at his window, illuminated lightly and golden from a lamp behind him. You raised your hand in a wave and so did he. Opening the window, you perched on the sill. “Hey.” 

Bob opened his window, leaning his head out to his shoulders. “Hi.” 

You frowned. “This was your big Thanksgiving plan? Standing at the window looking forlorn?”

He shook his head. “I had dinner with my father, but I left early. He was tired.” 

“Oh.” You paused. “How, um, how is he doing?” 

“Not too well,” Bob replied softly.

“I’m sorry to hear that. He’s very sweet.” 

Bob looked up. “Weren’t you at the Bradshaw’s party?” he asked. 

“Yeah, we were, but.” You trailed off, taking a sip of wine to fill the silence. 

Bob’s eyes went wide with realization. “Oh.” 

“I’m sorry,” you said but you weren’t sure why. It just felt like the right thing to say. 

“Why are you sorry?” he asked quietly. 

“I don’t know.” In the distance, you heard footsteps. “I should go.” 

Bob nodded. “Goodnight, Olive.” 

“Happy Thanksgiving,” you replied softly, shifting off of the window sill, feet landing on the floor with a soft thump. You closed the window gently, and Bob mirrored your actions across the narrow garden. 

“Doc?” Bradley’s voice carried through the open door. You turned and smiled. 

“Hi,” you whispered. 

He stepped in closer, winding one arm around your waist. “So. Where did we leave off?” 

“I think somewhere around here,” you replied, leaning forward, pressing your lips to his. Bradley’s other arm found the back of your head, supporting you as he tipped you backward in a kiss, one of your legs wrapping around his waist instinctively, your fingertips gripping his biceps. 

In the heat of it all, you forgot to pull the curtains shut. 

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[anglophiletraveler]

In My Life Chapter 40

Help!

Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon

******************

Sorry that it’s taken so long for this chapter.  I had a hard time writing this one, which is probably why I titled it Help!  Thanks for sticking around and supporting this story!

******************

“Elizabeth…”

There was a mutual gasp in the room when Ross called out Elizabeth’s name.  A startled Demelza covered her mouth and looked at everyone around her… Dwight, Grace and Joshua and Verity.  Of course the staff in the room didn’t realize what was going on.  

Dr. Brown looked at Demelza, “Are you Elizabeth?”

Demelza couldn’t speak, she just shook her head.

Grace spoke up hoping that maybe she could make sense of what just happened, “Ross, dear, can you hear me?”

He shook his head and mouthed the word ‘yes’.

Grace smiled, “You’ve given us a scare!  Especially Demelza!”  Grace waved her hand nonchalantly but in a hope that Ross noticed Demelza was in the room.

It worked.

Ross tried to sit up, “Demelza!”  

“Mr. Poldark lay back down, you can’t get up,” a nurse was trying to get him to settle back down.

Demelza grabbed his hand and kissed it, “I’m right here.  I’m not going anywhere.” Tears were rolling down her cheek.  She could find out why Ross called out for Elizabeth later.  It was more important that he’s awake and feeling better.  

Joshua spoke up, “Son, do you remember what happened?”

Grace gave Joshua a dirty look.

“Not a whole lot.  Elizabeth had just called me.  I answered… phone on….  bluetooth, didn’t know it was her.”  It was obvious Ross was having a hard time breathing.  “She… bitch…”

“Shhhh Ross, calm down.  We don’t have to talk about this now.  It’s not important.  Just relax, I don’t want you to get upset.  She’s not worth it,” Demelza’s voice was a little stronger as she tried to get Ross to settle down.  

“I think maybe we should let Ross get some rest.  The last thing we need to do is tire him out right now,” Dwight spoke up in his doctor voice.

“I think you are correct Dr. Enys,” Joshua said.  He leaned over and gave Ross a kiss on the forehead.  “Son, it’s so good to see you awake.”

“Thanks dad.”

Verity walked up to Ross’s bedside and gave him a kiss on the forehead, “Behave yourself Ross.  I love you.”

Grace got up out of her wheelchair, “We’ll be back later on darling.  Get some rest.”

Ross looked at Demelza, “Don’t go.”

Demelza looked at Dwight.  “Alright you can stay, but I don’t want either one of you getting upset.  Ross needs to rest.”

Demelza smiled, “I promise.”  Dwight smiled at Demelza and Ross as he left the room.

Demelza scooted her chair closer to Ross’s bedside, and picked up his arm and kissed and leaned her face against it and sighed.

Ross noticed that Demelza looked tired.  Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, her eyes had dark circles under them along with being bloodshot.  He moved his arm so that he could run his fingers through her hair, “You look… very tired, love.”

She hummed at the feel of his fingers in her hair.  She was worried that this simple gesture of love would never happen again, “I’m fine as long as you’re awake and doing better.”

“I’m sorry… that.. I worried you,” Ross’s voice was weak.

“Shhhh, you have nothing to apologize for.  It wasn’t your fault.  Just relax and get some sleep.”

“Did you… spend the night…here?”

Demelza sighed and looked him in the face.  He would know if she lied to him, “Yes, well not here in the room.  I slept on the couch in the waiting room.  The nurses were nice to me and gave me a pillow and a blanket.  I wasn’t going to leave you here!  I wanted to be here when you woke up.”

Ross smiled and let his finger caress her cheek, “Demelza, promise… me that you’ll …go home and get some rest.  Please baby.”

“I am totally fine.  I don’t need to go home.  Drake is taking care of Seamus for us, so I don’t have to worry about that.  So, Mr. Poldark, I am all yours!”  She was trying to convince him that she wasn’t tired and didn’t need to leave him.  “Honest Ross.  I’m fine.  If I get tired, I’ll go out in the lobby and take a break.  I almost lost you and I don’t want to leave you just yet.”

Ross smiled, “Right… but I’m not going anywhere.  Hey did … anyone find my cell phone from the accident?”

“Um no, if someone did find it nobody told me.  Do you remember the accident?” Demelza asked.

“A little.  Everything’s kind of foggy right now. I remember talking to Elizabeth on my bluetooth, and then I hung up on her.  Then she called again and after that …. I don’t remember anything.  My throat is really sore.  Can you help me with a glass of water?”

“Of course.”  Demelza got up to search through a drawer to find a straw for Ross to drink through.  “Here you go babe.  Does that help?”

“Yes, thanks.  I’m really tired. I think I’m going to take a nap.  Why don’t you go home so you can get some proper rest and then come back later,” Ross suggested.

“I don’t know…” Demelza looked at Ross and he definitely looked knackered, “Maybe I will.  But I will be back, so you are not going to be rid of me.”

Ross grabbed her hand, “Babe, I don’t ever want to be rid of you.  Lean down here and give me a kiss before you leave.”

Demelza leaned down to kiss Ross’s lips, then his nose and his forehead,  “I love you Ross.”  Demelza couldn’t help the tears dripping down onto Ross’s cheeks.

Ross raised his hand to run it over Demelza’s cheek, “I love you too, love.  I can’t wait for us to get married.” Demelza smiled but couldn’t keep herself from crying even more.  “Hey there, shhhh.  Everything’s going to be fine baby, please don’t cry.  You need to go home and get some rest.  You’ve worn yourself out.  I can see it in your eyes.”

Demelza stood up and wiped her tears away, “I’m sorry.  You’re probably right.  I’ll be back later.”

*********************

A couple days later, Ross was stable enough that he was able to be moved into a step down unit and also to be interviewed by police about the accident.  Joshua and Grace just happened to be in the room when the police arrived.  They were able to return his phone to him after they pulled the call history from it, to see if he was on a call when the accident happened.  He explained to him that his ex-fiance had called him and he hung up on her while wearing his blue tooth, and that she called back again.  At least he assumed it was Elizabeth, he never actually heard a voice from the other end and then the accident happened.

Secretly, Ross was more concerned if he was actually the one to cause the accident, but fortunately the police officer told him that another driver in the lane next to him caused the accident when he was distracted by his friend in the seat next to him. They were a couple of young college students not paying attention to what they were doing.   It turns out that he not only hit Ross’s car, but he rear ended the car in front of him, causing a chain reaction.  In total, there were seven cars involved.  Luckily there were no fatalities.  There were plenty of witnesses that all confirmed what happened.  The police officer left all of the paperwork with Ross that he would need to turn into his insurance company.

All three of them sighed after the officer left.  “Well, that’s a relief,” Ross said.

Grace looked at her son, “What’s that dear?”

“I was afraid that I caused the accident while talking on the phone with Elizabeth.”

“Well, you were honest with the officer and told him that you were on the bluetooth.  You weren’t actually holding the phone.  I still can’t believe that bitch Elizabeth tried to convince you not to marry Demelza!  Who the hell does she think she is!” Grace answered.

Ross gasped at his mum, “Mum! Watch your language!”

Joshua was smirking at his wife, got up and stretched his legs, “ I’m sure your precious BMW is totaled,” Joshua smiled at Ross.  

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking.  That really pisses me off.  I loved that car.  It was the first thing I bought when I got my job at the firm.  Now we’ll have to get two cars… one for Demelza and one for me now.”

Grace smiled and raised her eyebrows and hummed, “Hmmm interesting…”

Ross tilted his head at his mother and the dark Poldark eyebrows furrowed, “What?  What are you thinking, mother?”

She sat back and smiled while her crossed legs started bouncing, “Oh nothing, just…”

Joshua was spying the evil grin on his wife’s face.

“Just what mum?  What are you thinking?”

“Nothing!  My goodness you’re so suspicious!  You need to lay back and rest.”

“I am not going to relax until you tell me what you’re up to!” Ross’s voice was getting louder now.

“Shhh!  Don’t get all rattled, love.  I was just thinking that you might want to get a bigger vehicle, you know, for the future, like a van or…”

Joshua and Ross both gave Grace a dirty look.  “Mum, there is no bloody way in hell that I’m getting a van!  We don’t need a van!  Bloody hell!  What are you thinking!?”

“Calm down!  I was just thinking that maybe you might need something bigger with Demelza’s cello, and… and… the trips you might take, and if you start having babies you’ll need something bigger,” Grace was still grinning.

Ross shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, “Mother!  I told you that we might not even have kids.  We haven’t decided on that for sure.  Mum please don’t say anything to Demelza about this.  I promised not to pressure her about kids.”

“Is that something that you and Demelza are definite on?” Now Joshua was in on the conversation.

Ross looked at his father and then looked down, “Look, it’s… undecided at this point.  Demelza’s not sure about kids.  You have to remember that she basically raised her six brothers, so the thought of having her own children is a bit overwhelming to her.”

Joshua moved to sit back down next to Ross, “Ross, I always thought that you wanted children?  This is a big decision to make, have you really thought about what a life without children will be like?  Don’t get me wrong, I really love Demelza and think she’s a wonderful woman, but to not be totally certain about something this important before you get married can really cause trouble down the road.”

Ross let out a big sigh, “Dad, Demelza and I have talked about this plenty of times.  Yes, I want children, but I love Demelza more, and if she decides not to have children, then I will just have to live with it. I don’t want to lose her.   Now can we please change the subject before she gets here because I don’t want her walking in here with all of these long faces.  Please.”

Grace and Joshua both looked into their son’s face and saw how serious he was about his words, and knew they wouldn’t be able to change his mind.  

Luckily a nurse came into the room to check Ross’s vitals so the tension in the room lightened up. 

Ross looked at his parents, “So are two still staying in the hotel?”

Joshua nodded, “Yes, it’s nice that it’s just across the street and we can pop over so that your mother can have a kip.”

“Well, you can always stay at our place.  I’m sure Demelza wouldn’t mind…”

Just then Demelza walked in with a smile on her face, “What wouldn’t I mind?”

Ross’s face broke out in a bright smile, “There’s my girl!  I was just saying you wouldn’t mind if mum and da stayed at our place while they’re here in town.”

Demelza leaned down to kiss Ross, “Of course not.  You’re more than welcome to stay at the house.”

“Oh thank you Demelza, I was just telling Ross that the hotel across the street is really convenient for us so that Grace can go to the room and take a quick nap.  But if you need me to drive you to rehearsal and pick you up, I’d be more than happy to do that for you,”  Joshua responded.

Demelza sat on the bed next to Ross and grabbed his hand, “Thank you.  Maestro said if I wanted to take the rest of the week off, he wouldn’t have a problem with it.  But thank you anyway!”

Ross looked at Demelza, “Babe, are you sure you want to miss that much rehearsal time?”

“Well Ross, I didn’t even ask.  He called me so I think it’ll be alright.  Plus I’ve still been practicing at home.  And speaking of home, Seamus is really missing you.  He’s been moping around like crazy.”

“Aww poor Seamus!” Grace said.

“You should sneak him in for me!” 

“Ross, how am I going to sneak in an Irish Setter?” Demelza was smiling at her fiance.

“Nobody will mind.  Just say that he’s a therapy dog!”  All three just shook their heads 

at Ross.

Joshua stood up, “Well on that note, I think your mother and I will go get something to eat and head back to the hotel for the night.  Demelza dear, let us know if there’s anything we can do for you.”

Demelza stood up to hug her future in-laws, “Oh I will, thank you again.  Take care Grace.  Get some rest.”

“Good night Demelza.  You get some rest also!”

Demelza turned around and raised her eyebrows at Ross, “We're finally alone!”  She went over and put her hands on Ross’s face, careful not to knock off his oxygen hose, and gave him the deepest, lustful kiss that she could give him.  

Ross moaned, “Mmmm I could use more of that Mrs Poldark.”

“Hey now, don’t jinx us!  What… what is this stuff?”

Ross opened the envelope and bag and showed Demelza the contents, “The police brought it by.  It’s my phone and some other stuff that was in my car.  I guess I’m going to have to get a new phone.  Maybe then I’ll be able to find out for sure if it was Elizabeth calling back a second time.”

“Well, I can work on getting you a new phone tomorrow.  I don’t think the store will be open now.  Have they said when you can come home?”  Ross tried to pull Demelza closer to him, but she was resisting, “Ross, not here!”

“Oh you’re no fun!  Come on baby, just snuggle a little bit. I miss you,” Ross was starting to whine.

“Alright, just a little,” Demelza wrapped herself under Ross’s arm.  She couldn’t help herself and started caressing Ross’s belly.  “Mmmm I have to admit this does feel good.  Ross..”

“Hmmmm?”

“I think we should postpone the wedding.  It’s going to take a while before you’re feeling better, so I think we should postpone it.  When you’re feeling better and stronger, then we will have the dresses and the suits and we can go ahead and get married,” Demelza’s voice was soft.

Ross sat up, “Absolutely not!  We are not changing a thing.  You hear me?” 

Demelza looked up in Ross’s eyes, “Yes, I heard you.  But it doesn’t make me happy.  Ross, you’re going to take a while to recover, it’s not something that can be rushed.

“I am going to be just fine by the time of the wedding.  My respiratory treatments are going well, my physical therapy started today.  I will be fully healed and strong when I say my vows to you.   Speaking of which, do we have an officiant lined up?”

“Oh, um I don’t know.  I’ll have to check with Caroline about that,” Demelza weaved Ross’s fingers through hers.

Ross’s eyebrows furrowed like they always do when he’s thinking, “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Caroline since I’ve been in the hospital.  I mean, not that I’d expect her to be here for hours on end, I just thought…why are you looking that way?  What’s wrong?”

Demelza let out a sigh, “Well she was here with me the whole first day while you were in surgery, but I just got the feeling that there’s something wrong going on between Dwight and Caroline.  That whole day they barely said two words to each other.”

“Did you ask them about it?  That is kind of weird for them.”

“Yeah it is, and yes I did.  I asked Caroline when Dwight had stepped out if they were alright, and she just said something like they were going through a rough patch.  Later on Dwight said the same thing and that it was nothing to worry about.  I haven’t seen her since, but  I have talked to her on the phone a couple of times, but we really haven’t had time to talk about it.  I’m really worried about them though.  Maybe you could talk to Dwight?  See if he will talk to you about it.”

Ross kissed Demelza’s hand, “If I get the chance without a bunch of staff around, I will.  Now, talk less, snuggle more.”

Demelza rolled her eyes and followed Ross’s instructions.  But of course, with snuggling, eventually comes snogging, until…

“Oh please!  Really Ross!  In a hospital!  Don’t you have more respect for yourself than that!”

Ross and Demelza jumped out of their skin and looked towards the door and there stood Elizabeth hand on hip, a very expensive handbag hanging from the other arm, a very expensive dress hugging all of her curves, hair and makeup perfectly done.

Ross sat up in bed, inadvertently yanking his oxygen tube from his nostrils, “Elizabeth, what the fuck are you doing here?”  Demelza’s face quickly turned beet red.  She climbed off the bed and straightened herself up in her embarrassment.  

“I came here to talk some sense into you.  I wasn’t expecting to visit your hospital room while the two of you are screwing.  Very tacky even for you Ross,” Elizabeth said.

“Elizabeth, you’re the reason why I’m in this hospital bed, so… please… leave!” Demelza noticed that Ross was starting to have trouble breathing, so she hit the nurse call button.

“Elizabeth, I think you should go, you’re upsetting Ross,” Demelza raised her voice to try to get Elizabeth to leave.  

“I am not going anywhere until I talk with Ross.  Alone!”

The nurse came in and immediately put the oxygen mask back on Ross instead of the hose that was previously in his nostrils.  She was an older nurse who looked like she didn’t take shit from anybody.   “Alright, calm down Mr. Poldark, you’ve got your heart rate up.  Take some nice easy breaths.  That’s right, nice and slow.  Okay gorgeous, now, which one of these birds got you riled up?”  Ross pointed to Elizabeth.  The nurse looked right at Elizabeth, “Alright sweetheart, it’s time for you to leave.”

Elizabeth just stood still, “I am not going anywhere, I need to speak with Mr Poldark before I leave.”

“Look lady, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care who you are except that you’re upsetting my patient and now he can’t breathe.  So either you leave on your own, or I call security.  It’s your choice.” Demelza couldn’t help but smirk.

Elizabeth gasped and scowled at the nurse, so the nurse reached for the phone to call security, so Elizabeth finally left.  

Demelza was standing by the bed and rubbing the hair out of Ross’s forehead, trying to get his breathing to settle down.  

The nurse got a cool wet washcloth and placed it on Ross’s forehead.  She took a listen at his lungs, and looked at his heart rate blip across the screen.  “Now that we got her out of the way, I’ll put a note up on your door that all visitors are to check at the desk before they come in.  Alright?  So just calm yourself down.  We’re going to keep this mask on you for a little while longer.” the nurse looked at Demelza, “So redbird, are you his girlfriend?”

Demelza smiled at the nickname the nurse gave her, “We’re engaged.  That woman was engaged to him years ago but is married now to his cousin.”

“Ahhh she’s trying to have her cake and eat it too!  I get it now.  Well, we will take care of this at the desk.  Now, I think you should be going in a little while. Your future mister needs his rest after Miss Fancy Pants disrupted him.”

Demelza frowned, “Is he going to be alright?  What about his breathing?”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll keep both my eyes on ‘im for ya, and if there’s anything you need to know, I’ll call you.  You have to take care of yourself too, ya know. I’ll give you 30 minutes.”  The nurse smiled at Demelza and then left the room.

Demelza looked at Ross wearing the oxygen mask again.  He looked pale like he did a few days ago and that worried her.  “Oh Ross, I could just smack Elizabeth!  How could she come charging in here like that!  I’d like to get a handful of her hair and drag her around a bit!”

Ross smiled at Demelza picturing her dragging Elizabeth by the hair of her head.  He held her hand and tried to comfort her, “I’m fine, I shouldn’t…  have let her…  get to me like that.  She’s… not worth…it.”

“I don’t want to leave you Ross.  I’m worried now, and I want to stay and keep watch over you,” Demelza was almost in tears now.

“My love… I am fine and I’ll… be okay.  I have all of this equipment monitoring…me, and that nurse … watches me like… a hawk…  so don’t, worry, my redbird,” Ross smiled at her new nickname.  

Demelza gave a weak smile at that, “Alright. I’ll go, but I’ll be back first thing. I love you Ross,” she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“I love you too Demelza.”

****************************

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Nameless, Faceless: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.4k

Summary: Not even four hours after the case in Canada, you're thrown into another one. This time, without Hotch. You have a sinking feeling he's not just blowing you off to get some sleep. There's something wrong.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: welcome to the first episode of season 5! i hope you enjoy this series just as much as i loved writing it! <3

I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated.

x

"A weak man has doubts before a decision. A strong man has them afterwards." - Carl Kraus

Four hours. Four hours of sleep you got after ending that grueling case in Canada. Four hours later, you are called into another case. JJ didn't disclose the details of the case since you'd get them as soon as you arrive. You and Spencer meet up with Derek at the same time, and Rossi and Emily greet you who are already outside of the newest victim's house.

You freeze in your tracks and put a hand to your stomach that grinds and churns painfully. You gasp and look at Spencer who puts a hand to your back in comfort.

"What's wrong?"

"Where's Hotch?" you ask.

"I don't know. He hasn't arrived yet."

"Are you okay?" Rossi asks.

"Yeah, my stomach hurts. It's probably from the lack of sleep. I'm gonna call Hotch." You take your phone out and call your boss but he doesn't answer. "He's not answering."

"He probably has it on vibrate. He'll show up eventually."

You don't tell them that you think something is seriously wrong with Hotch. If there isn't anything wrong, then you're going to worry everyone for no reason. You push down the feeling of uncertainty and focus on the case at hand.

"We're not working a case. Why call us to a crime scene?" Derek asks.

"I was hoping you knew."

"JJ said the police told her it was urgent."

"With four hours of sleep after what we went through in Canada, it better be," Derek sighs.

You five walk inside the victim's house where JJ, the detective, and the CSI agents are. Your stomach churns again and Derek notices the way you wince in pain.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Something is wrong with Hotch, you can feel it. You don't want to worry anyone without knowing more details.

"Oh, you guys are already here. Do you guys remember Detective Walker?" JJ asks.

"Thanks for being here. I understand none of you are working on much rest."

"Who's the victim?" you clear your throat.

"His name is Nelson Martinez. From what we can figure, he answered his door, was forced into the apartment at gunpoint, and then shot in the chest. It was all pretty sloppy."

"No disrespect, but I don't understand why you need us here," Derek says.

"Two days ago, a local doctor named Tom Barton found a note addressed to him at the hospital. It said the person was planning to kill his son. If Dr. Barton tried to keep his son hidden, one person would die every day in his place."

"You think this is connected?"

"There was a note on the body. It's signed L.C. Yesterday, we had another victim with multiple gunshots outside the apartment. The shooter wrote L.C. in white chalk next to the body."

"Unless Dr. Barton puts his son in harm's way, we're gonna keep having a victim a day," Spencer says.

"We're Barton now?"

"He's at home," JJ answers. "He doesn't know about this victim yet."

"Where's Hotch?" you ask again.

"He's not answering his cell. I assume it's on vibrate. He'll get the message when he wakes up."

You hope all he's doing is sleeping.

"Try him again. He can meet us at Barton's house."

You leave the house first and grab your phone to call him again. Like the half dozen times before, it goes to voicemail.

You've reached Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. Please leave a detailed message. Thank you.

"Hotch, it's Y/N again. Listen, we're gonna need you to meet us at a house in Mclean, Virginia. 120 Kensington Road. Call me when you get this."

The sick feeling in your stomach only gets worse by the time you reach Dr. Barton's house. He is eager to let you into his house because this whole thing has him freaked about protecting his own life as well as his son's.

"Barton, where is your son right now?" Emily wonders.

"I asked him to stay up in his room."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that there was a threat against me at the hospital. I told him the police didn't take it seriously, that they wanted me to stay here for a few days, and that I wanted to have him with me."

"What about Jeffrey's mother?"

"She died when he was ten from breast cancer. Would someone really hurt Jeffrey?"

"Two people are dead already. Whoever sent that note is obviously serious."

"If I don't let Jeffrey out of the house, then another person's gonna die? He's only fifteen. I cannot put him in danger."

"We're not asking you to. Even if you were willing, we can't send him to school knowing he would endanger every student in the building. What we need to do now is go over everything we know and piece together how this person fits into your life," Rossi says.

"I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt Jeffrey," Dr. Barton stutters.

"Whoever wrote that note was putting you on notice. This is personal. He wants you to remember who he is, and until that happens, he hasn't accomplished what he set out to do."

"I know you've been asked this before, but please think again. Do you know anyone with the initials L.C.?" you wince in pain.

"I've looked everywhere," he sighs. "In my day planner, emails, and patient lists. There's no one."

"Have you noticed anyone who might have been watching you either at the hospital or here in the neighborhood?"

"No. I'm sorry."

"Both the victims he's killed have been Hispanic men in their forties. Have you had a patient recently that fits the description?" Detective Walker asks.

"I'm a trauma surgeon in D.C. I have endless patients of all demographics."

"We're gonna need records of all your recent surgeries."

"Of course."

"I'll call Garcia," JJ announces and steps off to the side.

"I don't understand. If he's mad at me, why not just kill me?"

You leave the group and walk over to JJ who is texting Penelope.

"Hey, is there any word from Hotch?"

"No, nothing."

"That's not like him," you sigh and touch your stomach.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I think it's from the lack of sleep," you lie.

Dr. Barton's phone rings and he eagerly picks it up thinking it's good news.

"Hello? ... Jeffrey? ... What's happening? Are you okay?" Derek immediately runs upstairs to check if Jeffrey is in his room only to discover that his window is wide open. "Jeffrey, what's going on? Talk to me."

"He's not up here."

"Jeffrey, where are you?" He hangs up regretfully and looks at everyone in the room. "He's at school. He says he's fine but for how long?"

"Let's go. JJ, you're with us. Prentiss, Y/N, and Reid stay with Dr. Barton and go through all of his case files. The unsub is in there," Rossis takes charge.

Dr. Barton doesn't give this two thoughts because as soon as half the group is out of the house, he goes running after them.

"Dr. Barton, please!"

"You need to go back inside," Rossi says.

"I'm coming with you. I'm gonna get my son."

"Sir, right now nobody is getting your son. Agent Prentiss or Y/N will explain it."

"I don't need an explanation. I'm getting Jeffrey."

"You need to listen right now. Once your son left this house, the safest place for him to be is at that school. We can control access in and out. Detective Walker will organize an evacuation as soon as the school day is done. If we incite a panic now and the unsub is outside, a lot of kids are gonna die," Derek explains.

"What if the killer is already at the school?"

"Then we'll be there, too. Let us do our job."

"Jeffrey knows better than this. He doesn't put himself in danger."

"I think he's just trying to do the right thing. He sees what his father does for a living. This is his way of trying to save lives, too."

"You'll be there?" Dr. Barton asks after a moment.

"Yes."

"Tell him I'm not mad at him. Tell him I love him, and I'm proud of him."

"We will."

Rossi's team leaves for the school while you, Emily, and Dr. Barton head back inside to where Spencer is. He's on the phone with Penelope going over the case files over a certain time period. This unsub started killing recently, so his case might not have been that long ago. The feeling in your stomach gets worse just as a new pain erupts in your side.

Something is seriously wrong with Hotch.

"This guy is a trauma surgeon working in a major metropolitan area. We are talking thousands of surgeries."

"Confine it to the last six months."

"That's still hundreds. Do you want biological information or full medical charts?"

"Can you get the full medical charts?"

"You know, for a smart boy, you still ask a lot of dumb questions. You'll have them in seconds."

"Ask her if Hotch checked in with her," you say.

"Did Hotch check in with you?"

"He's not with you?"

"He's probably on his way. Uh, thanks for everything. Bye." He hangs up on her. "She's going to email the files. We'll print them out from here."

"I could have my office send over the files."

"Trust us, this is faster. We need to dig through your life and try to figure out why this is happening. Let's start with the most recent cases first. Something set this guy off and odds are it's in your files. Let's concentrate on the note. For starters, we know that he's male."

"How do you know?" Dr. Barton asks.

"Women tend to add adjectives and very specific details to their notes. This has none of those," Emily explains. "Males are also more direct. The first sentence is 'I plan to kill your son'. Their notes tend to be more about themselves than the person they're writing to. For example, 'I watched you every day' and 'I will watch you lose everything'."

"We know he surveilled you and your son which means he either has enough money to be away from a regular job or he's currently unemployed. He's most likely a father because he's clearly grieving. He's taken great measures to make sure you feel his pain."

"Let's start with cases involving teenagers that were killed, but also anyone with a strong family presence. Just because your son is fifteen doesn't necessarily mean that his child is the same age."

"Have you had a lot of cases like this where someone taunts you with what they're gonna do?" Dr. Barton asks.

"A few."

"How did they end?" No one answers his question because it's not something he should hear. "Please."

"Suicide by cop seems to be an effective way for them to make their point while ending their suffering all at once," you answer.

"Jeffrey is leaving school in five hours. There's no way we can get through all these patients at this time."

"We already narrowed the list."

"We still have a hundred left." Dr. Barton is clearly upset with the way things are and he realizes he's lashing out. He takes a few deep breaths before continuing. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be callous but when you work in the ER, you don't remember names. You operate and you move on."

This is your opportunity to check in on Hotch. Please let him be sleeping.

"He's right. There are too many files here for us to profile in such a short time. I'm gonna go get Hotch. You two stay here and start filtering through the list. I should be back in half an hour."

"Who's that?"

"He's our supervisor. We weren't supposed to work today. We're having trouble getting ahold of him."

"We need more eyes. I'll be right back."

You kiss Spencer's head when you pass by him.

"The note doesn't say that he'll kill Jeffrey today. It says, 'If not today, tomorrow, or the next day'. Let's say he gets home safe. How long will you all be around to make sure he's okay?" Dr. Barton asks worriedly.

"Let's just get through today."

The principal of the school is more than happy to help the FBI once she hears exactly what is going on in her school. She wants to take action immediately but the team isn't so keen on the idea.

"I need to notify all the parents," the principal panics.

"We think that's a mistake."

"I'm in charge of keeping these kids safe, agent."

"Exactly, and there's a natural end to this day when buses and parents come to pick these kids up. Whoever's doing this is not an effective shooter. His killings are sloppy. So, if there's a panic, a lot of people could be caught in the crossfire," Derek explains.

"Can't you just take Jeffrey home?"

"If we do that and the unsub is watching, someone else is gonna be killed."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"We'll lock up every filter point except the front door. Nobody comes in. We say it's school policy so there will be no questions, and if someone needs to see a student, we bring the kids to them."

"I'll need a complete list and employment records of everyone already inside the building," JJ says.

"I'll brief your security guards and take care of all of the exits. After that, I need you to gather the faculty into small groups and bring them to me. We'll treat it as routine, and in the meantime I need you to get Jeffrey out of class as casually as possible. Can you do that?"

"Sure."

Derek, Rossi, and JJ follow the principal to the classroom Jeffrey is in and she steps inside alone.

"Jeffrey Barton. Could I see you for a moment?"

The other students mutter in curiosity as Jeffrey meets the principal in the empty hallway. He sees the three FBI agents and becomes worried.

"Hey, Jeffrey. My name's Derek Morgan. I'm with the FBI."

"I saw you in my living room."

"Listen, the first thing I need to know is if you've told anyone about what's happening?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Because even just one text message could set this place off."

"I'm sure."

"Alright. We're gonna keep you safe, kid. In order to do that, you're gonna have to stay calm and trust me. Do you understand? Every time you step out of class, I will be right here. Now, it's gonna look like I'm just another adult in the hallway with Principal Findlay, but I got your back."

"Is my dad okay?"

"He knows you were just trying to do the right thing. He just wants to get you home safe."

"Do you think somebody's trying to kill me to get back at him?"

"It's possible."

"Do you know why?"

"That's what we need to figure out."

Jeffrey goes back to class knowing he is going to be safe from whoever is targeting him. Even as he goes from class to class, he sees JJ and Derek right there watching him. He has no doubt that he is going to be safe, but the same thing can't be said for Hotch.

x

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[silent-raven13]

Uh huh!

When Miles first gave birth to his triplets, he was worried about everything. Of course, being a first time parent it would freak him out.

Are they eating well?

Are they full?

Do they need more?

They feel warm. Should I call the doctor and check their temperature?

Of course his sweet Alpha would try to calm him down. The triplets were fine, they were eating well and having enough sleep. That didn't stop their Omega parent from being worried.

Parenting is for life! So he would be a mama bear being protective of his cubs. Not to mention always paid attention to their interactions. It's been six months and he read books on child development especially for pups.

Mariana would sit up and laughs at her Alpha dad, being super bashful. Hobie would give nose nuzzle to her trying to make her laugh. Aaron would be babbling at his Omega daddy with his hand holding the remote control.

Now, this is where Miles got worried, his son, Karl would lay resting on his chest being calm as ever. This is completely normal since one of the three had to be an introvert, but what got him worried is how none responsive his son would be.

Every time he calls out for Karl, he would lay there. Hobie would do the same or wouldn't try to talk. It got him so worried.

"Bae, I'm telling you, Karl isn't responsive." Miles carries his son who's busy sucking on his pacifier.

Hobie said, "He's a little late."

"We should take him to the doctor. Look try to call for him." He said.

The punker was laying on the bed with his two other pups getting top of him to touch his dreads. "Alright. Karl." He said.

Karl didn't respond. This time Hobie arched his eyebrow and said in a serious tone, "Karl? Ka-aa-aarrr-llll. Hey, lil man?"

Miles patted his son, "Papa, tu papí is calling you?" The baby kept relaxing on his daddy's chest.

Hobie tilted his head, "Ohh... this is concerning...."

"Told you!"

"I'll call the doc, luv. Don't worry. He'll be fine." The punker took his phone out to make the call.

The following week, Miles and Hobie to their Karl to get a hearing check up. The doctor listen to their worries, and he decided to check up Karl to see. The six month old sat on the medical bed while the doctor checks him, the boy sat up with his gummy smile.

Miles watches as the tests went by. When the doctor went to get the results from the nurses and came back in the room. Hobie carries his son who fell asleep with a pacifier in his mouth.

"Well, Doc? What's them tests say?" Hobie asked already impatient.

Miles nodded having to hold many pamphlets on children's health. "Yes, Dr. Lee? Is there any issues with Karl?"

"Nope." The older doctor simply said as he looks at the results, "His hearing is perfectly fine, he passed with flying colors. He's responsive, too. He chose not to listen, it's pretty common. Some babies just like to be in their own world." He looks over to find the baby opening his big eyes, "Hello, Karl."

The six month old made a gummy smile with babbling sounds. Miles and Hobie stood in shock, this was the first to see their son responding to someone. "See! He's a fine healthy baby boy. You have nothing to worry about." Dr. Lee chuckles. "Isn't that right, Karl?"

"Uh huh!" Karl giggles before laying his head back on his dad's chest to sleep.

Miles had to blink a couple of times before Hobie burst out laughing at this. It was all too funny to him.

When they were at Miles' childhood home, Jeff sat on the lazy boy with Marian in arms. Rio playing with Aaron. They heard Miles' voice, "Oh looks like their back." Jeff hums.

Little Billie sat down letting Aaron touch her braids, and her jacket.

The two pups happily turns to their parents sensing their presences. Rio giggles, "I wonder what happened?"

"Nuthin! Just you watch." Gloria, the mother of Rio sat on the couch to enjoy a cup of tea. "Miles is always worried about every little thing."

"Mamá, these are his kids. Of course he would be worried." Rio said.

"Exageró hasta el punto de tener que comprobar si cagaban correctamente! Luego le preocupa que orinen bien o que sus mocos estén limpios. Los bebés serán bebés. Lo ves pasar días molestando al médico y no duerme. Se estresó demasiado hasta el punto de que no estará nada bien." Gloria spoke in Spanish which cause Jeff to snort a bit knowing a few words. Billie laughs out loud hearing her grandmother ranting.

"Ay, mamá. Déjalo en paz. Tiene trillizos. Sólo me tenías a mí. Me preocuparía por los tres si fuera mi primera vez como padre." Rio said.

When Miles and Hobie walks in having Karl in his arms, Miles bought some Chinese food take out, "I got Chinese food."

"Alright! Yum!" Billie said.

"BABABAB!" The other two pups being so happy to see their parents.

Karl being awake with his pacifier in his mouth, he rub his eyes. "So what did the doctor say?" Rio asked.

Miles sighs sounding exhausted, Hobie let out a snicker. "Turns out our Karl is just unbothered." Miles set the bags of Chinese food on the table.

Hobie let Twelve year old Billie carry Karl, "Awe, you unbothered, lil man?"

Karl lay his head on his auntie's shoulder. "Unbothered?" Jeff asked.

"He has perfect hearing. Pass the tests with flying colors. The Doc said he chose to ignore us." Hobie sat down on the couch before he greeted Gloria with a kiss on the cheek. "Hola, Dońa."

"Hola, Hobie. See, I've told you the babies were fine. Karl was fine."

Miles sighs, "He never responded to us. Not even when I say time for food."

"Maybe you overstimulate him. Sometimes a boy likes to be in his own world." Jeff said as he saw Billie going back on the couch to hold Karl, "Look at him, living life while sucking on his pacifier. Why he gotta listen?"

"Well, I was worried. I thought my baby was having hearing loss." The Omega pouts before going over to Mariana and Aaron to shower them with kisses. "I'm glad there wasn't issues, but it's a bit shady of him to ignore me like that. I carried you for nine months Mister Unbothered." His eyes on his baby boy.

Karl squints his eyes at his daddy before giving him an eye rolled. That caught the whole family off guard. "Did he just... well, I'll be!" Jeff's mouth half open.

Billie wide mouth being in shock, "He gave you the side eye!" She cracks up at her big brother.

Rio giggles, "Look at him!" It's funny to think a baby boy like Karl is expressive when he wants to be.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps on ignoring you two." Gloria hums.

"He even spoke to the doctor saying, 'Uh huh'! Like where's my da-da or daddy?" Miles put his hands on his hips being playfully with Karl.

The six month old pretended he didn't hear his Omega dad with his face turning away to avoid eye contact. Hobie laughs, "Nah uh, you can't pretend anymore, lil man. We took tests!" Karl quickly lay his head back on his auntie's shoulder to fall asleep, he really is the King of Unbothered.

"He got that from you, bae." Miles huffs.

"ME! How I'm the one in trouble?" Hobie asked out loud.

Jeff grunts, "Welcome to the life of being a dad, son."

[aquanova99]

𝐿𝓊𝓁𝓁𝒶𝒷𝓎

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Esme Cullen Imagine

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The pristine hallways echoed with an eery humming. The blonde looked at her mate who sighed and rushed out the door, dreading having to make that phone call that hasn’t happened in decades. Rosalie took a deep breath, forcing herself to take the slowest humans steps she can manage. She knocked as softly as she could when she arrived at the normally locked door. Still the tiny raps seemed to reverberate off of the empty walls surrounding it.

“Esme?” She asked ever so quietly. The eternally young vampire seemed so human, it pained her to have to pull her out of this state. She gently pushed the door to find the brunette slowly pushing herself back and forth on the creaky rocking chair. She slowly looked up and smiled, putting a trembling finger to her lips.

“Shhhh. He’s sleeping…” then she turned to face the bundle in her arms, cooing at his porcelain face, “there, there. Go back to sleep little one.”

Rosalie knew better than to try and remove Esme from her waking slumber. So she carefully crept up to her, getting down to her knees without disrupting the chair’s movements.

“Esme, why don’t we put him down in his crib. Let him sleep.”

Esme slowly blinked at Rosalie’s hand on her knee, as if finally recognizing who had entered the room. Her eyebrows scrunched slightly, her pupils seem to dilate and her harrowing smile grew back on her face.

“Oh I know, but he isn’t feeling so well. He sleeps better when I’m with him.”

“Of course he does, but is he hungry? I just don’t know how he likes his milk just right. Maybe some broth to build up his strength?” Just get her out of the room. The rest will come after. Just get her out of the room. Out of the room.

“Broth…broth would be easy on his stomach, right?”

“…yes, of course. And you know what? We’ve already sent for a doctor. He should be here any minute.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you, Mary.” Rosalie smiled at her, hiding how deep her worry ran. Wondering how far down the rabbit hole Esme had fallen if she confused the tall blonde vampire with her long gone, much shorter, dark haired friend she lived with so long ago. The only person who mourned her when she jumped from that cliff. The one person Esme made sure would be taken care of as long as she lived. The one person whose premature death was the catalyst for these spine chilling episodes.

Inconsolable. For months the only thing that could describe Esme was a shell. A shell of the loving woman who had taken Rosalie in without hesitation. She wouldn’t speak, she would eat the bare minimum….then she started singing. A song Rosalie recognized from her childhood. A song her nanny would when she was sick and she wanted her mother to come home. Carlisle had been ecstatic rushing to see if she wanted to do anything.

“Dr. Cullen? I haven’t seen you in years! Are you here to check on the little one? He’s feeling much better, don’t worry.”

“Esme? Darling, are you feeling alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? My sons cold is all but gone now.”

Edward was the first to make that horrible mistake, he’d been gone for too long. Rosalie eyes had barely turned into a rich gold, she had excelled as a newborn, becoming Carlisle’s pride which Edward resented. Her and Esme had connected instantly due to their history, Edward knew this but still… He would get his mother to see sense. Or so he thought.

“Esme…your son has been gone for years. You’re clearly hall—“

“Edward!” Rosalie and Carlisle hissed at him simultaneously. Edward shrunk at both the spoken and unspoken words. Fury he had never felt from Carlisle’s thoughts made him silent. Couldn’t they see he was only trying to help?

All too soon, Esmes euphoric distraction turned into clouded pain, then loud agony.

“Why would you say that???” She cried, “he’s perfectly fine! I’ll get him right now!”

“Esme…” Carlisle said softly, desperate to call her

It was all in vain, Esme stomped off to the room closest to her. The family was frozen in place, unsure of what to do or how to help. Esme quickly found no trace of any baby in that room and threw the door open panicked, pupils dilated so large it looked as if she hadn’t eaten for months. She immediately pointed her finger in Edwards chest.

“Where is he?!”

“I didn’t—“

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” She roared, shoving him back before going to check every room in the house. Rosalie and Carlisle both have eachother a look, she nodded at him and he rushed off to grab his wife. Rosalie hesitated only for a second. Wondering if her presence would make it better or worse for the woman she had become so fond of.

Edward remained frozen, he would never have imagined Esmes voice even got to that volume and never at him. The hurt and despair he heard from inside her crushed him. He was a monster, perhaps he shouldn’t have returned… the sudden crash upstairs snapped him back into reality. He quickly followed the sound to see a frazzled a Carlisle holding down his trashing mate.

“Let go of me! He NEEDS me!”

“Esme you’re here in Brighton New York. I’m your husband.”

“LET GO OF ME!! I need to see my son.”

Rosalie got down to her knees making sure Esme heard her, “Esme? I need you to look at me. My name is Rosalie, I was almost killed by my fiancé and you and Carlisle took me in. Your baby died over ten years ago.”

“NO!!!”

“Yes.” Rosalie’s steady voice impressed even Edward, “listen for your heart. It doesn’t beat anymore. It stopped beating when your baby died.” Esme thrashed but enough doubt was placed for her to hear that the woman beside her wasn’t lying. Her legs stopped kicking, her body stopped pushing against her husband. And slowly, she began crying. First a whimper, then screaming broken sobs. Carlisle could only hold her, shushing her until she calmed down almost an hour later.

The word ‘why?’ repeatedly leaving her lips haunting their memories every time she would seem even slightly distracted.

Esme continued to rock the bundle in her arms until it was laying calmly in the crib. Esme sighed, “God, he’s just perfect.”

Rosalie put a gentle hand on her shoulder as she looked down at the larger porcelain doll, the paint chipping from years of use, a crack along the arm when Esme excitedly grabbed it just hard enough. Still she nods at the beaming mother, the car zooming into the driveway alerting her that Carlisle had finally arrived. Esme completely unaware of anything other than her sleeping toddler, still so small from always getting sick. He appeared before them in an instant. His hair disheveled. Rosalie shook her head, not yet. Carlisle snuck away as quickly as possible, not wanting to upset her.

“So, Esme what kind of broth do you think would be best. Should we put medien in it as well?”

“Oh yes. Just to be safe, I don’t want him getting worse.” Everything was going smoothly for now, she seemed to skip as she excitedly went to fix something up for her long lost child. She bummed the same unnatural tune as she began gathering ingredients. Rosalie was close behind her, Emmett already clearing everything breakable from the kitchen. He blocked the exit, and Rosalie stood on the opposite side as Carlisle prepared to ruin the only thing that truly made her happy, made her feel alive.

“Esme?”

“What are you doing here? Are you the doctor Mary called? It’s been too long.” She went to greet the doctor in a warm hug, he returned it but didn’t let go. Not sure how she would react this time. “I was about to start cooking I’ll make some food for us if you want to stay?”

“Esme… you need to wake up darling.”

She laughed and tried to move away from her mate. When she realized she was stuck, her dreams began unraveling, “Wh-you’re scaring me, Doctor. Please.”

“How did you find the key?”

An smile began to stretch her face. It sent chills down Carlisle’s body, “What are you talking about?”

“Rosalie. Where was it?” Carlisle prayed it was somewhere easy to find, prayed her wife hadn’t forced herself in there.

“Underneath one of the tiles on the roof. She would have had to been looking for it.”

Esme laughed wickedly, “I don’t know what it was doing up there. I was cleaning the gutters and i something lift ever so slightly. Why would you do that to me?”

“Esme—“

“Why are you trying to keep me from baby? He’s sick. He needs me.”

“No. He’s gone. He’s been gone.” Carlisle never let her look away from him

“I told you we shouldn’t have encouraged her to build it.” Rosalie muttered

“I thought it was better.”

“She’s just not distracted with Bella and Renesme anymore. She’s all grown up, no more real baby to fawn over.”

“Real?” Esme blinked in confusion. Emmett slid a folder across the counter, Carlisle opening it for Esme to read. Newspaper clippings of his death, the time leading up to it meticulously journaled by a human Esme. Her own death and obituary about the heartbroken mother unable to live without her child. A picture of his tiny gravestone. More pictures of when he had been born, one a few months before he got sick, finally a flash drive taped to the side of the folder. Rosalie opened a laptop for him to insert the drive in, a video of Esme telling herself she was sick and her baby has been gone for years.

“We’re so sorry Esme.” Rosalie started

Esme pouted and looked at the ground. Her hands soon covered her eyes as if that could stop the never ending headache. Liars. All of them are cruel liars her thoughts screamed but more and more thoughts began dissuading her. No. They wouldn’t do that. They’re your family now. Get it together. She took a deep breath.

“I see.”

“How are you feeling?” Emmett asked cautiously

“As good as I can be dear, sorry for worrying you all.” She felt for the key resting in her pockets and held it out. “I suppose it’s your turn.”

Emmett nodded and took the key into his pocket, he will have to hide it later, when Carlisle takes her for a walk.

If he had that chance, Bella and Renesme came strolling in. Trying so desperately to not show how much they wanted to get away, from Edward, from each other. Renesme went to her grandmother, annoying her mother even further, knowing she would now how to make small talk with Rosalie.

“Hi sweetie! How have you been?”

“Just missed you guys. Is everything okay? Why are you guys acting all weird.” Esme looked at the rest of her family, already forgetting the days events. Carlisle and Rosalie looked at eachother and silently agreed to stay quiet. Bella could see something was wrong, why wouldn’t they tell them? Had they been alienated from them for so long? Was she not trustworthy? Was it Edward?

Esmes eyes seem to glaze over remembering she had a family to take care of, “Everything is perfect little one, Rosalie could you drop off the soup to the shelter?”

“Sure thing Esme.”

“Perfect. Now to my favorite granddaughter, can I make you anything?”

“Can we do something together? Maybe some sweets?”

“Of course we can. Everyone out of the kitchen please.” Esme shooed everyone away to give them space. As they collected the dishes and ingredients, the Cullens sat in the living area nearby. Bella tried to ask questions but when even Emmett gave short, curt responses she gave up. She wished she could go back to Forks, though she would never admit it, the more time went on the harder it was to stay completely stagnant. Now even the Cullens had nothing left to talk to her about.As she continued pondering about how to avoid perpetual boredom a lovely song reached her ears. She looked at the rest of her family all staring wide eyed towards the kitchen.

“What song is that grandma?”

“Just an old song I used to sing for my son. He always used to take any dessert I would eat right out of my hand you know?”

“Oh…that’s nice.”

“Yes. He would just love these.” Esmes head snapped to the sound of crying, alerting her that her baby was up and fussy again. It was just like him, wanting attention right when she was in middle of doing something.

“Oh! I’ll be right back! He just needs me real quick. No one can calm him besides me.”

“Uhm who are you talking about?”

“The baby silly! I think he’s probably hungry. I do hope he’s feeling better.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

[samgirl98]

Cain and Abel Wept 18/?

Prev | Next

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS DEPICTIONS OF TORTURE, INCLUDING DISMEMBERMENT, BURNING, AND ACID TORTURE PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Sorry for the shortness of it, I really wanted to drive the emotions, and it came out this brief.

Jason fell in and out of consciousness.

Jason heard bits and pieces from the people around him through the ringing of his ears.

“…Subject doesn’t seem to be able to regenerate organs….” What had they cut out?

“The kidney still hasn’t…ectoplasm doesn’t regenerate…ectoplasm seems to be keeping Subject alive….”

Through the haze, Jason wondered how long he had been in this hell.

Dad, where are you?

____

Three days, that’s how long it has been since Jason had gotten captured.

Danny knew what Jazz said that he shouldn’t blame himself, or he would be taking the blame away from the GIW. But he couldn’t help it.

Damian sat by Danny. They both stewed in the thick silence.

“Your friends still haven’t found the location, akhi, but they will. Anyone who you have in high regard will pull through.

“But will he pull through in time, or will we just find a corpse?”

“Don’t talk like that, Danny. Todd is tough; he’ll pull through; he has to. He’ll stay strong until we rescue him, and then Dr. Thompkins will take care of him. Father won’t spiral, and mother won’t go on a killing rage.”

Danny snorted, “Mother is going to go on a killing spree, alright, and I won’t stop her. They messed with my family; they don’t deserve mercy.”

Damian nodded in understanding. He doubted even father would stop mother.

“Dami, I know I have no right to ask this, but can I hug you?”

“Akhi, you never have to ask.”

Both brothers embraced each other, both worried about what the future would bring.

____

Burning.

They were burning him. Jason wished his tears would put out the flames licking on his hands.

“Subject is simulating crying to rose sympathy. This particular revenant can burn, which coincides with the folklore of burning a body to stop it. Ectoplasm will soon be administered to see if that will heal it.”

 Jason had long since gotten used to seeing his heart beating from his open chest cavity. He laughed hysterically. Not even the Joker had done this much damage, and he was still alive! God, why didn’t he just die? Was this punishment for all the people he had killed? For all the blood on his hands?

“Next, we will text how acid reacts to the Subject’s skin.”

God, let him die.

____

Tucker hadn’t slept for over three days trying to find Jason Todd. Danny hadn’t said it, but Tucker knew that Danny had accepted the Waynes as his fright (though Danny hadn’t noticed yet.), and he knew Danny was blaming himself.

Tucker was glad most of the Casper High students knew about Danny and had decided to help however they could. Mr. Lancer had ‘bought’ the excuse that Tucker was sick and would let him use the school computers to bring down the GIW.

The principal would turn a blind eye and let him stay until late hours and come in early. His parents didn’t know know, but they knew something big was happening, and his mom would pack him as much food as she thought her son would need. Even Ms. Tetslaff was off his back.

Tucker had pinpointed the GIW’s HQ somewhere in Wisconsin, but he couldn’t find where in Wisconsin they were.

Tucker stopped for a few moments to stretch.

He was about to sit when his secured Fenton phone rang.

“This is Tucker. What do you got for me,” he asked as he tried to hack even more of the GIW’s files. Surprisingly, it was easier to get incriminating data rather than their location.

“They made a bunker in 43°8’43” N 87°58’13” W.

Tucker heard a dial tone as Wes hung up.

“Wes, you crazy bastard, you did it.”

Wes had planned to break into the local GIW building in Amity, but Tucker didn’t think the conspiracy theorist would do it.  

Tucker called Bruce Wayne.

“I have coordinates.”

____

“While the Subject does heal from the acid burns, unlike the burns from the fire, the scars linger. We will continue feeding it ectoplasm to see if it makes them disappear.”

Dr. Harry McConnell had never experimented on a revenant before. It was almost like experimenting on a human. The sadist in him relished at the thought. If he could prove that revived people were nothing more than ectoplasmic beings, well, the government would be funding his sadistic pleasures.

“It has been 43 hours since we have had the Subject. During that time, it had no water or food, yet the ectoplasm kept it intact. I suggest the GIW look into rewriting the laws to monitor revived people as some may no longer be human.”

Yes, Dr. McConnell had found his perfect playground.

____

They had a location now, Havenwoods State Forest in Wisconsin.

Soon, Talia would have her eldest back, and the blood of the GIW would paint their white suits red.

____

Damian put on his Robin suit. The rest of his family were getting ready to get their brother/son back from the hands of evil.

Damian would be fighting side-by-side with all of his siblings, and this time, he would not let anyone of them down.

They were going to get his older brother back; blood would be shed, but it wouldn’t be from his family. Today, he wasn’t a Wayne. He was an al Ghul

Here it is! Again, sorry for it being short, but I hope that the emotions came through well. Fun fact, I got the coordinates from Wikipedia so if they aren't to Havenwoods State Forest, blame them lol

And now a poll

[slightlyaboveaverageiq]

Connor and the Brat {Part 18}

Connor and Brat arrived at the restaurant looking for a sign of the younger Rhodes sibling. “Connor!” They didn’t have to look long because there his sister was flagging him down from a table, she got up and started walking over to them smiling warmly at Brat and then hugging her brother. “I’m sorry.” She whispered into this ear and Connor was about to ask what she was sorry for when he spotted the older man walking towards them, his father had joined Claire.

“Connor. How lovely you decided to join us, a your little friend too.” His father held his hand out and Connor was tempted to tell him where he could shove it but didn’t want to worry Brat so he took his hand in his and gave a squeeze he was sure would be strong enough to break his fathers hand had held it it any longer. Connors message was clear, he didn’t want to see his father, he wasn’t here for his father, and he would most certainly leave if he said anything out of line. “Well, our table is waiting on us, please follow me.” Brat looked uncertainly at Connor clearly picking up on the change in the atmosphere but Claire took her hand in hers and gave her a reassuring smile leading her to the table with Connor bringing up the rear.

“It’s very nice to meet you Ravenna, Connor has nothing but good things to say about you. And your dress looks beautiful on you.” Bless his sister for trying to make Brat more comfortable, she gave Claire a small smile but quickly dropped her gaze to her napkin and started fidgeting with it. “Connor tells me that you like to paint, do you think maybe you could paint me something for my design room?” Ravenna’s eyes lit up at that and she nodded eagerly to Claire, she pulled the phone out and handed it to her showing her some of the paintings she had taken pictures of before leaving Connor’s condo. Connor’s father watched Brat closely before twisting his mouth into a kind of rueful smirk.

“You don’t talk very much do you Ms. Scott? That’s the best kind of woman in my opinion, pretty but knows when to keep her mouth shut.” Brat opened her mouth and looked ready to defend herself when Claire sent a scathing look to their father and he held his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying, no arguments, no whining, it’s just a shame my son found you in the loony bin.” Connor frowned and couldn’t begin to fathom why Claire would tell his father about Brats stay in the hospital, in fact he couldn’t even remember if he had told Claire that’s where he met Brat.

“How did you know about that?” Brats voice was steely, challenging Cornelius to berate her further but Connor could see her slightly shaking. She was trying so hard to be strong but his father scared her and he couldn’t blame her, there was nothing warm nor inviting about the man.

“Funny thing I ran into Dr. Zanetti at a museum a few days ago and she told me all about Connor’s little…charity case I believe is how she put it. She failed to mention how beautiful you were though my dear.” Connor’s jaw clenched and he stood taking Brat’s hand in his own.

“Well this was about as unproductive as I imagine it would be. You’re still a bigoted, misogynistic bastard. Claire we appreciate you having us for brunch, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?” Claire looked sadly at her brother but she nodded, she couldn’t fault him for wanting to get Ravenna away from their father. Connor watched as Brat squeezed Claire’s shoulder reassuringly as they passed her letting her know she didn’t blame her for what had just transpired. Connor lead the way back to the car and he held the door open for Brat before going and getting in himself.

“Well he’s just a ray of sunshine, I can see why you don’t want anything to do with him. Your sister seems very nice though and I would love to make something for her.” Connor reached his hand over and laced it through hers before giving her a soft squeeze and she squeezed back.

“My father is not a good man Brat, but Claire seems to really like you so how about we go grocery shopping for dinner tonight?” Brats smile increased ten fold and he turned down the street towards the grocery store. “What are you thinking?”

“What if we made crockpot chicken and dumplings? It’s been a long time since I’ve had that.” Connor grabbed the cart and they went through the aisles grabbing the things they would need for dinner along with grabbing a few bottles of wine and some things to make an apple pie for dessert. Connor noticed that Brat looked particularly exhausted when they got back in the car and by the time they got home she was passed out cold against the passenger side window. He smiled softly at her before shaking her shoulder gently and waking her.

“Why don’t you go take a nap? You were up early this morning. I can get everything started for dinner.” Brat looked unsure for a moment but ultimately nodded and trudged herself up the stairs and to his condo, her legs trailing behind her like they weighed a hundred pounds and Connor frowned. It had been a very large change for her in just a few short days, maybe she wasn’t coping as well as he had originally thought.

Connor got the chicken and dumplings going and they should be finished right at 6:30 which is when they had planned on Claire coming over, he had the pie all prepped and ready to go in the oven when she got here that way it would be ready by the time they finished their dinner. He walked down the hallway and cracked Brats door open slightly to see she was breathing steadily and seemed to be in a deep sleep, he smiled at her before going into his own bedroom and changing out of his slacks and shirt and into some joggers and a plain t shirt. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he chuckled softly to himself.

Ava- Since you insist on hogging Ravenna all to yourself the entire meds staff has proposed a custody schedule for your highness 😝

Will/Natalie: Lunch on Mondays and they promise to have her back before dinner

Ben/Maggie: Want to have dinner and overnight stays on Wednesday’s

April/Ethan: Would love to have her join them for the yoga thing on Mondays after dinner

And of course mommy and step mommy Sarah want to have Brat every other weekend 😂😂

Connor could see no flaw in their logic so he texted her back telling her he would make sure to ask Brat what she thought and he would let her know once she woke up from her nap. He was startled by a quiet knocking on the door and looked down at his phone to see it was 6, Claire was thirty minutes early. He went to open the door and smiled at his sister before motioning for her to be quiet.

“Ravenna is sleeping.” Claire made her way into the kitchen taking the lid of the crockpot to peer at the contents of it. “She wanted chicken dumplings and apple pie.” Claire gave a knowing smirk and sat down at the dinner table crossing her legs.

“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger. You like her.” Connor sighed and really wished for the umpteenth time that people would stop calling him out on things he already knew. He was fully aware that he liked Brat but as long as she was in IOP there was nothing he could do about it.

“I do but she’s still a patient so it would be highly unethical of me.” Connor murmured quietly and poured himself a glass of wine.

“Hi Claire.” Connor turned and decided he was going to have to buy Brat some pajama sets because the girl just couldn’t keep walking around in oversized T-shirt’s. She look looked so adorable in it and sleepily rubbing her eyes.

“Hey Ravenna, I think dinners about ready so how about we make our plates and we can eat?” Brats stomach let out an embarrassing growl and she blushed while the two siblings laughed at her red face. Dinner flowed smoothly Claire asking more about Brats makeup and painting projects and while Brat shared a few ideas for a painting she would do for Claire. Connor smiled softly seeing how well Brat took to Claire and how much his sister seemed to enjoy her company as well; they would be good for each other. Dinner stretched in into the evening and Claire excused herself for the night around 9pm leaving Connor and Brat to drink their wine in peace in front of the fireplace.

“I know I’ve been saying it a lot the past few days but I really appreciate you letting me stay with you Connor and how supportive everyone has been.” Brat stood and gave him a small kiss on the top of his head before wishing him goodnight and leaving him alone with an almost empty bottle of wine and wishing that he could have kissed her on the mouth instead.

[phoenixthemenace]

Till Death

Day 27. Heated argument-

Dr. Joe Early is tired. He has four patients suffering from a virus that no one has ever seen. One was slowly recovering. One was at death's door.

Joe Early is worried. His best friend is in one of the isolation units fighting the virus that no one had a God damned clue how to fight.

Joe is fucking terrified. The closest thing he has to a son is in front of him writhing with delirium and there's next to nothing he can do about it.

When Dixie brings Roy DeSoto, distraught eyes filled with tears into the room, the algebra of anger sums up to the breaking point.

Calmly, Joe asks the nurse to let them have a minute alone.

"Go take a break. Grab a cup of coffee. I'll take it from here."

"Thanks Doc." Roy murmurs as he turns to Johnny.

"I don't think so, Roy." Joe's voice is flinty as he blocks Roy's path.

"Doc-"

"Joe." Dixie's voice is sharp, because she is also tired and terrified for nearly the same reasons. "Let him through."

"No. Not until he explains that bruise."

Joe saw Johnny before he fell ill, saw through the explanation that it was just grief, and soon heard Johnny’s side of the story, He suspected there was a lot more to it.

"I…I just did something I shouldn't have." Johnny had said softly. "And…and…we're through. I think."

He hung his head to hide his pain.

"Johnny, are you sure?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know." He rubbed his side and flinched when Roy called down the hall that they had a run. The brief expression in Johnny’s eyes set alarm bells off in Joe's mind which were screaming at him now.

"What bruise?" Dixie asks sharply. Neither man answers her or the ringing phone.

Roy looks sick.

"It was done unintentionally. If I could undo it I would."

"You hit him?" Dixie snarls. "After all he's been through?"

"You know his past, Roy." Joe forges on, his anger evident. "What could he have done that made you think that he deserved to be hurt like that? What if he's lost the will to fight. To live."

"I told you it was-" Roy begins, his temper rising.

"Stop with your excuses and answer the question." Joe cut him off.

"Listen, I don't know what you think you know about Johnny’s past, and I doubt any of us even know half of it, but what happened between me and Johnny is nobody's business, because it involves my past, which is also none of your business."

"If it means Johnny comes to harm it sure as hell is our business!" Dixie growls.

Chaos erupts as the trio burst into shouts, each fighting from the position of love for the man in the bed beside them. The man who is now thrashing about, agitated by more than his fever.

A shrill whistle silences the room.

"What is going on in here?" Mike Morton demands with a mix of shock and anger. When no one answered he pushes on. "We tried calling and no one answered. Now half the hospital is in a panic thinking that you're ill too. Now I've come in here to find you squabbling like children."

No one responds again and avoid all eye contact.

"Tim Duntley just died."

Roy makes an agonized noise, steps around Joe and takes the hand Johnny keeps trying to lift. To reach out, searching. Bending low over Johnny, his other hand strokes the sweat soaked hair.

"I'm here love, I'm here." He says quietly, lips almost against Johnny’s ear. "I'm not leaving you. Don't you dare leave me. I love you. I love you."

"R-royyy…" A ghostly sigh came as Johnny calmed at the touch. Roy reaches for a cooling cloth and begins to sponge his lover's sweat soaked face.

Joe and Dixie exchange a long look while Mike processes what he is hearing and seeing. Dixie finally sweeps Morton from the room.

"Why don't I go talk to Maddie with you." She says as the door shuts in Morton's unbelieving face, leaving Roy and Joe in tense silence.

"Thanks Doc." Roy finally says as Joe checks on his patient.

"For what?" Joe's voice is still sharp as he slips the thermometer under Johnny’s tongue.

"For caring about John. He's had so little of that."

Joe snorts.

"You certainly have not helped."

"Listen." Roy snaps. "Let's get him through this, then we can have it out."

Joe takes a deep steadying breath. Roy is right.

"Fine. Truce." Joe grumbles. "Something tells me that you're the best medicine I can give him right now."

"I probably should go, though, my temporary partner is going to be here soon."

"Sorry. You've been exposed. It's dangerous for you to be out with other people." He says with a slight smirk as he gives Johnny a shot of the only hope they have at the moment.

"You're needed here." He adds softly. "I'll work it out with your Captain."

He claps Roy on the shoulder.

"Keep up with the cooling measures. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

Roy turns back to Johnny and continues to sponge his face, their hands still clasped, as he says over and over, 'I'm here, I love you.'

[universeofmuses]

//heres the next chapter :) hope you guys are enjoying it!

(Dr. O's house)

"Kim I want to meet him." Dr. O said softly while holding Kim to try and calm her down,

"But Tommy, you've already met him." Kim answered as she looked up into her ex's eyes,

"WHAT?! When? Where? How?" Dr. O asked with a puzzled look in his eyes,

"Tommy, your son is-" Kim began just as the phone rang, Dr. O looked up in frustration and defeat. Whoever was calling has the worst timing ever.

"I should probably get that." Dr. O said has he reached over for the phone next to the sofa.

(Split-screen Dr. O left, Hayley right)

"Tommy I need to come over and run some tests on the command center computer." Hayley said with concern in her voice,

"Um, Hayley, does this have to be done right this second?" Dr. O asked,

"I know its late but, I wouldn't ask you unless it wasn't important." Hayley explained,

" . . .Ok, but Hayley you have to let me in on what's going on." Dr. replied,

"I'll fill you in when I get there, bye." Hayley said as she hung up the phone,

(Back to full screen)

"Ok, Kim you were saying." Dr. O said as he turned his attention back to Kim,

" . . . You know Tommy it's getting late, and I have to go." Kim said as she made her way to the front door,

"Kim wait, here take this." Dr. O said as he handed Kim a silver bracelet similar to the ones the Dino-Thunder team wears.

"What is it?" Kim asked as Dr. O placed the bracelet on her wrist

"This is what my current team uses as communicators/morphers, it doesn't have a gem in it but it still functions as a communicator." Dr. O explained,

"Its nice but why? what for?" Kim asked even more confused,

"It's for an emergency, if your attacked or out numbered; the other rangers or myself will come to help you." Dr. O explained,

"Tommy, you of all people should know that I can take care of myself." Kim said sounding rather annoyed,

"I know you can Kim, but can't you just humor the good doctor?" Dr. o replied trying to convince her to use it in case she needed it,

"Fine, good night . . . Handsome." Kim said with a smile as Dr. O felt a soft glow envelop him as Kim called him by her pet name for him,

"Sleep tight . . . Beautiful." Dr. O replied as she walked out into the night toward her car and drove off.

(Hayley's place just after she hung up the phone)

Just as Hayley turned to leave to Dr. O's house, her phone rang,

(Split-screen Hayley left, Trent right)

"Hello?" Hayley answered,

"Hayley, it's Trent; you got a sec?" Trent asked,

"Not particularly why?" Hayley answered,

"I need to talk to you about something." Trent answered with a somber tone in his voice,

"Trent, is this important?" Hayley asked,

"It is to me." Trent answered with a hurt tone in his voice,

"Trent, I'm sorry; I was just worried about something else, I'm heading to Dr. Oliver's house to run some tests and such." Hayley explained,

"Can I come? I really need to talk to someone." Trent asked,

"If your father doesn't mind you being out." Hayley answered,

"It'll be fine he called to say that he's working late and to not wait up for him." Trent answered,

"Alright I'll see you there." Hayley answered, after which she hung up the phone and left for Dr. O's house,

(Back to full screen)

"If what he wants to talk about what I think he wants to talk about then something really big is about to go down." Hayley thought to herself hoping she was wrong, as she pulled out into a busy street.

(Mysterious island lair)

"I have to have a back-up plan in place, for when Elsa fails, so I can come in and destroy the rangers." Zeltrax thought as he walked up to the genorandomizer, and began pulling on the different levers.

Flashes of light, and smoke began to fill the animation chamber; slowly a dark figure appeared within the chamber. The figure seemed to be very animated, running around within the chamber, almost like it was searching for an exit. The room grew cold and dark as a much more sinister presence had come to being in the room. When the doors finally opened a large beast, shrouded in shadows with bright, piercing red eyes appeared, yet the silhouette of the figure seamed oddly familiar as if it had seen many tough battles though out time. Its body was slick and shiny like chrome, the edges of metal plates were colored in red and had twisted Celtic symbols etched into the metal,

"Come forth my beast of destruction." Zeltrax commanded,

The beast did as commanded; DRAGONZORD!? No, its not, but some nightmarish form, a Doppler ganger of sorts,

"Arise my great beast, what is your name?" Zeltrax inquired,

"You may call me Raxx Terror-Dragon Raxx." the beast introduced.

(Slow fade to black)

(Kira's Room)

Kira sat on the chair facing her desk as she continued to struggle to maintain concentration on her schoolwork, still obviously troubled by her dream and her hidden feelings for Conner. Out of frustration she slammed her pencil down on the desk and held her head in her hands,

"god even after talking with Hayley, I'm even more confused now than when I first went to go talk to her." Kira thought as she started to play with her golden locks of hair,

"What does this mean? Does Conner die trying to save me from whatever that thing was? Is what was in my dream something that could happen? And most of all, do I really like Conner? I mean sure that dumb jock has come a long ways from when we first met but, I mean Conner? Seriously . . .could it really work?" Kira thought as her gaze was lost somewhere within her own mind, deciding she was too divided Kira decided to call it a night as she turned off the lights and crawled into bed. As she slowly started to drift of to a somewhat peaceful sleep she held Conner close in her dreams.

(Conner's room)

For Conner, concentrating on schoolwork was a struggle to begin with but, this was different. He was coming to terms with the same feelings that Kira was coming to terms with at this exact moment,

"Usually Hayley helps to put things into perspective for me or simplify things for me but, all she's done for me is just confuse me even more." Conner thought as he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, as he was lost in his thoughts. When he snapped out of his daze he rubbed his face in frustration, confusion, and stress as he went over what he saw in his dream,

"I wish I knew what this whole dream thing means, I mean if Kira is in a ranger command center on some sort of exam table then, what happened? Did I fail to protect her? Was she dead or alive? And most importantly, do I really like Kira? I mean I have felt something for her since we met but, she would never go out with a guy like me, and besides I always put my big feet in my mouth around her." Conner thought grimly as the idea of him and her would probably never materialize. With that he decided to call it a night as he turned off the lights and went to bed holding Kira close in his dreams.

(Dr. O's house)

Kim had just left Dr. O's house when Trent arrived,

"Hi Dr. O." Trent greeted sheepishly,

"Trent, what are you doing here? Its kinda late don't you think?" Dr. O asked,

"Well I called Haley earlier, and she said that she was coming here." Trent answered,

"What about your dad, does he know you're here?" Dr. O asked,

"No but he's been putting in some long hours at the office so he wont be in for at least another two, three hours." Trent answered as Hayley's car drove up and she got out,

"Tommy, thanks for letting me come over so late." Hayley thanked, before she noticed that Trent was already there,

"Anytime Hayley but, what's up with Trent being here?" Dr. O asked,

"He needed to talk to me about something." Hayley answered,

"You can listen too if you want Dr. O." Trent offered,

"Ok." Dr. O replied as all three made their way down to the command center,

"Hayley, do you mind filling me in on what you're doing?" Dr. O questioned,

"Well Conner and Kira came to me earlier to talk some strange dreams that they had last night, and I have a hunch that what they saw were premonitions of events that have not yet come to pass." Hayley explained as she turned to Trent, who looked like he had seen a ghost,

"That's what you wanted to talk to me about right Trent?" Hayley asked,

"Yeah, so what does this all mean?" Trent asked with a puzzled expression on his face,

"Like I told Conner and Kira earlier, I don't know . . .yet but, I'll know soon enough and that is why I'm here." Hayley answered,

"Hayley if Conner, Kira, Trent, and myself have had dreams like this then would it be totally out of the question that Ethan had a dream like this?" Dr. O questioned,

"Tommy, I have a bad feeling about this, why don't you and Tent tell me about your dreams; the more info I have the better." Hayley said as she started to furiously type on the keyboard,

"Hayley, I don't like what's going on here." Dr. O interjected,

"I don't either Tommy but, if my suspicions are true then, there is absolutely nothing we can do." Hayley explained grimly as Trent, and Dr. O had horrified looks on their faces,

"Think of time like a river, some parts branch out creating alternate realities with unlimited possibilities. What we know as the here and now is the main stream of time; and some things in time are inevitable, like going over a waterfall." Hayley explained as Trent and Dr. O exchanged nervous glances while a cold chill filled the room.

After a few minuets of Trent and Dr. O telling their dreams to Hayley Dr. O drove Trent home and came back to go to bed and try to get a restful nights sleep, thinking of the only thing that would even come close to remotely bringing him a peaceful easy feeling . . . Kim.

(Kim's Apartment)

As Kim walked into her dark apartment looking for the light switch, when she found it and turned on the lights it revealed stacks upon stacks of boxes everywhere which shows that after a few days of moving she had gone absolutely no where when it came to unpacking. Too tired to think about it she decided to have a glass of wine before bed, with in minuets of finishing her wine she was fast asleep on the couch.

(Fade to black; the original power rangers theme song plays softly in the background)

KIM'S DREAM:

"God where is everyone? I need some help here." Kim said as she slowly rose to her feet preparing to charge at some unknown (not revealed) monster, as she charged a vortex opened up above her and she got sucked in. the next thing she knew she was floating in space holding hands with a mysterious ranger decked out in a stranger uniform (even by ranger standards) but his mannerisms were some what . . . familiar in a way, like she had seen them before. Then she started falling.

(Real life)

"Whoa!" Kim yelled out, somewhat confused and disoriented,

"I should have known not to drink before bed." Kim said scolding herself, and with that she got into her pj's and crawled into bed.

[be-gay-cause-crime]

LAB RATS

Chapter 4- Unsuspected Surprise

CW: spiking drinks, implied kidnapping

I still remember the panic after the concluding trial, people calling for ambulances while the other kids were desperately trying to get no. 04 to wake up.

Sometimes I forget she was there since her beginning.

She never did get to know the real world…

———

Kali sat at a bench near the door, their leg bouncing as she waited for Lucas. Someone tapped her shoulder, when they looked up it was him! They felt butterflies in their stomach, their eyes brightening when they saw him.

“Hey Lucas! How are you?” Kali spat out, getting up for a quick hug.

“Hey Kali, I’m doing good, and don’t worry, drinks are on me tonight,” he said with a wink that almost made Kali blush and nod towards the bar.

“Ah, sorry, I won’t be drinking tonight, well, at least not anything alcoholic, it messes with my meds I think,” they said with a soft smile.

“No worries, I heard they got some pretty good mocktails here too, and of course you could just get a soda, but still, it’s on me whatever you end up getting,” he took their hand and led them towards the bar, “what would you like to drink Kali?”

“Hmm, I’ll just start with a Pepsi I guess, actually wait, it’s kinda late for caffeine, uhhhhh,”

“There’s the Startrail mocktail, it’s fruity and sweet, and alcohol free given the name, how about that?” Lucas pointed to a spot in the drinks menu as Kali sat down in a bar stool.

“Hm, yeah, that actually sounds really nice, you’re sure you’re okay with it though? It’s kinda expensive,” They shifted around in their seat.

“I told you it wasn’t a problem, I mean that, I want to treat you tonight Kali,” he looked into their eyes with a warm and loving gaze which they melted under.

“Oh alright, if you’re sure you’re okay with it, what are you gonna get?” She smiled up at him.

“Hm, not sure just yet, probably nothing alcoholic either, since I drove here, I think I’ll stick with a Dr Pepper for now,” he fixed his dark hair which was starting to fall on his face, “also, I have to say I absolutely adore your outfit tonight, I love that your personality is shown in all your clothes,”

Kali blushed at the remark, “Ah, thank you! I love my outfit too, I mean, you also look nice too!” They sputtered out, as the bartender asked for their order.

“Ah, a Dr Pepper for me, and you said you wanted the Startrail Mocktail, right Kali?”

“Hm? Oh- yes please!” She jumped a little, lost in thought.

“Hey, are you doing alright? You seem kind of jumpy,” Lucas asked.

“Oh, I dunno, I guess I’m just excited, haha!” The two spent the rest of the night laughing and making flirty remarks, Kali could’ve sworn something tasted off about the sprite they got, but they chalked it up to the aftertaste of the mocktail earlier.

Lucas’s phone rang, “oh, sorry, I have to take this, I’ll be right back” he left with a sly wink while answering the phone.

A small wave of discomfort passed over Kali, they weren’t sure why, but something felt off, “Hey, uh, bartender? That drink I had earlier was non alcoholic, right?”

“Yep, mocktail version of the cocktail, alcohol free, if you feel like you’re gonna get sick there’s a bathroom over there,” the bartender pointed to a small hallway to the left of the bar where Kali ended up going.

Ugh, I feel like shit… okayyy, nope, not passing out in a bars bathroom, you got this, Kali tried to find grip on the door handle, but ended up sitting on the floor leaning against the door instead, alright then… maybe I should get a ride home… maybe with Lucas? Nah… we know each other well, but not that well…

A thought popped in their head as they scrambled for their phone in their bag.

Hey Jess, could you come pick me up please? I don’t feel good

Sent.

After a few minutes, there was a reply:

Sure, are you okay?? What bar are you at?

Kali struggled to keep their eyes open long enough to text:

I think so I’m at tippers, how son can you pick me up!

Tippers? Okay, I’ll be there in 7 minutes, 10 max, what happened with your date??

Idk he wet out for a call

Okay, can’t text while driving, see you soon, hang out somewhere safe until I get there.

K

Kali put their phone down, they didn’t know what was going on, maybe someone spiked my drink…? I dunno, what matters is that I get home I guess…

———

Kali struggled to a bench closer to a corner that was hidden in shade so they could watch the door but also be safe, whatever that meant, she considered trying to get to Lucas, but they didn’t know where he right now and decided that it’d be best to just wait for Jess.

5 more minutes passed, Kali, still on the brink of unconsciousness, looked up to see a head of strawberry blond hair walking swiftly over to her, “Kali! Are you okay? What happened?” She helped them up, letting them lean on her as they slurred out an answer.

“I dunno… I don’t have anything with alcohol… I think someone put something in my drink or somethin’,” their head was dizzy, swirling around with questions and words they couldn’t put in correct order, “did you see Lucas out front…?”

“Lucas? Oh! You mean your date? I don’t know, I saw a guy with dark hair talking on the phone near a weird van, I don’t like the look of it-”

“Jess, Jessie, you’re talking too fast…” Kalis voice sounded hoarse, their throat dry.

“Sorry,” Jess said, talking considerably slower, “I just, something’s not right,”

“You can say that again…” once they both left the bar, two people came up to them.

“You ladies need walking to your car?” one of them asked, their arms crossed.

“No thanks, I can get us there just fine,” Jess tried stepping around them, but the second person blocked her.

“No no, we insist. Let us walk you to your car,” they stopped them from going any further, Kali instinctively rummaged around in his bag, keeping a hand on their taser but not taking it out just yet.

“No, it’s fine. Let us pass, now.” Jess spoke authoritatively, trying again to shove past them when one of them grabbed Kali by the arm, pulling them out of her reach.

“I’d suggest you come with us before things get too messy-” the first one started but was cut off when Kali gabbed their taser into their arm, the person yelled out in pain, gripping the side of their arm with a glimmer of hatred in their eyes. “Oh you’re gonna regret that…”

The taser was knocked out of their hands before they could try to attack the one holding them hostage, Jess reached for it, fast, but was stopped by the first person who grabbed her by the ponytail, pulling her head up with it. Jess gave a hearty kick to the second guys stomach as a last ditch effort, temporarily freeing Kali, “KALI, RUN!” She yelled with all her might.

Despite feeling like absolute shit, they listened, stumbling forward as fast as the could, but then they ran into someone, “Lucas! There you are, you have to help me, please I- I think someone spiked my drink and there’s these weird guys and-and-” their rambling was cut off my Lucas putting his hands on her shoulders to try and ground them.

“Alright, calm down, what’s going on, is someone chasing you?” He asked, voice calm and steady.

“I don’t know! But they have my friend, and-” Kali felt a presence behind her, they turned around and briefly saw a person from earlier before everything went dark.

<- Back———Next ->

Back to beginning

[mirror-reflections-marvel]

for . Open starter prompt . “Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?”

they didn’t want her.

had never wanted her. they only wanted the tech and information that she could provide for the team. Iron Maiden was accepted as a teammate. but the broken genius herself?

UNWANTED.

Toni didn’t stick around after the fight was over, muting comms as she turned to fly back to the tower. she needed a shower, a first aid kit to wrap her left wrist, food and sleep in that order. thankfully there wasn’t any need for her to go down to the main communal floor, since JARVIS made sure the kitchen was always stocked. not that she actually ate much, unlike other members of the Avengers.

{Miss, the usual post mission help has just been sent where it’s needed.}

"Thanks J."

{Also, the Captain isn’t happy that you left and wants to talk.}

she was silent for a few minutes, letting the suit fold back into her watch after stopping on the landing pad. "Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?" her usual snark had been replaced with weariness, feeling too worn out to even attempt dealing with Rogers. at that precise moment in time, a shower and sleep were more important than listening to a man she didn’t even want in the Tower.

but she was Antonia Isa Stark and none of her feelings actually mattered.

JARVIS didn’t answer, simply watching over his creator as she ended up foregoing the shower and fell asleep on her bed. he only gave the briefest of answers to any questions about Toni and kept them away from the penthouse. no-one was going to disturb the sleeping genius unless it was absolutely necessary. neither the Spider or Captain were allowed entry into the penthouse or workshop. Hawkeye and Thor were semi trusted while Dr Banner and oddly enough Director Fury were completely trusted.

sleep wasn’t something that she tended to do often, mainly because of nightmares. no matter what others said, she felt safer sleeping in her workshop where her robotic kids could be found. there was a lesser known reason for her preferred sleeping place and that was safety. years of dealing with Howard’s drunken abuse and her former Godfather’s antics meant that the ‘shop was far safer, even without J controlling his own suit.

exhaustion kept Toni under for a few hours but then she woke suddenly, jolted into wakefulness because of a nightmare featuring space again. her breathing gradually settled into a more stable rhythm after registering JARVIS' words that she was safe in the penthouse. "J, let Bruce know that I’m disappearing for a while please? And warn Director Fury that I’ll send the debrief report to his email in a couple of hours."

{Will do, Miss. Malibu or one of the others?}

"Malibu for now. Everyone thinks it’s been destroyed." Which in fairness, it HAD been destroyed by the Mandarin. But she had rebuilt it on a smaller scale, a fact that only Rhodey was aware of.

{I have started the process to get Dum-E and the others moved. I’ve also ordered food for the house.}

"Thanks kiddo." she answered quietly, thankful that her second son knew her so well. contrary to what people thought, Toni didn’t always dress up when she left and it was easy to slip out of the Tower without anyone knowing she had gone. not a surprise with JARVIS running the place. peace and freedom were what awaited her on the road. at least, until her phone started to sound with calls and text messages. most of which she had zero interest in answering at the moment.

{You might want to call one of the numbers. They sound rather worried, Miss.}

there was a slight tilt of her head at J’s comment since he didn’t mention any names and rang it, keeping her eyes on the road. greetings weren’t her particular strong point so when the call was answered, she didn’t start with hello. "J said to call you."

[dankusner]

Photos by TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS Danny Herd cooks up a few of the world-famous Herd's burgers at his restaurant in Jacksboro. Herd's is celebrating 100 years in business this year.

Herd is the word:

Eatery serves the ‘best dang sandwich’ in 1,000 miles

JACKSBORO, Texas — If you suspect Herd's Hamburgers is a no-frills burger joint, you're right.

Just finding this noshery seems to take word-of-mouth insider information.

You won't see its name in neon lights, and set back as it is from Main Street, you might not see it at all.

At the end of a gravel driveway, it beckons from the first floor of a nondescript, two-story building that was once a garage apartment.

And a phone? Forget it.

Technology shuns this place.

The World War II griddle aside — that will be a topic for later discussion — the Herds figure it's just as well to not be bothered by a phone while you're trying to serve a line of dedicated burger lovers.

"Have you ever been here on a Saturday, when you're running 45 minutes or an hour behind? We never had a phone," said Orlene Herd, who operated the business with husband Claude for 37 years — the third Herd generation to do so — before their son, Danny, took over in 2008. " … We thought it would cause more trouble than it's worth."

The secretary at First United Methodist Church across the street has taken its share of phone calls for Herd's.

"Judy (the church secretary) told me I owe her a hamburger," Orlene said with a laugh.

But step inside this converted garage, the one with no phone, and that's where all the magic happens.

You see, this patty paradise, opened in 1916 and in the hands of one family for four generations, is no mere mortal greasy spoon.

This is HERD'S Hamburgers.

Writing's on the wall

It's 10:30 a.m. and Danny Herd is already manning the grill.

The place is Lilliputian inside with scant seating room. A long wooden bench with old schoolhouse writing tables rescued from an old sewing house in Gainesville makes for a majority of the seating, while two or three other benches, made by Claude, await customers. Then there are the Dr Pepper benches — old converted wooden soda cases separated by empty Dr Pepper glass bottles for height.

A dozen burger gourmands might squeeze into the place; most will pick up their burger to go or will take a seat at the three or four picnic tables outside.

The décor is accidental country Texas shabby chic.

A pair of antlers hang on one wall, a deer head on the other.

But mostly what catches the eye are the signatures and scribbles. On the wall. On the ceiling. They're just everywhere.

Ralph Neely, No. 73 of the Dallas Cowboys, was the first to sign the wall. That was in 1965.

After that, "It just spread like a virus," Claude said.

Dallas Cowboys No. 74, Bob Lilly, did the same as well as Texas Ranger Toby Harrah and all the regular joes, too, such as one who wrote: "Absolutely the best dang sandwich I've had in over 1,000 miles."

"We could have somebody famous in here and we wouldn't have any idea," Orlene said. "It's just that everybody is somebody to us because we're thankful for the business. If not for our customers, we would not have a business. That's what we try to impress on our help."

Then there are the family photos over 10 decades, stickers and signs, such as, "Do you want to talk to the boss or to the one who knows what's going on?"

And there's this one: "Please Help Yourselves to the Drinks & Chips."

A method to their madness

Sometimes you'll have to help yourself to the drinks and chips.

Herd's gets busy.

You can find Danny most days grilling Herd's Hamburgers on his pride and joy, the World War II-era, military surplus grill.

The grill is vital to the burger goodness that follows.

It is cast iron and has been well seasoned over its 70-plus years.

If it breaks, no worries, Danny owns several more; he would never buy a new grill.

Everyone always notices the mountainous hunk of ground chuck piled on the grill. Danny will cordon off a section then smash it with a brick mason's trowel — it has doubled as a spatula for decades. It's so old a groove has been worn into it from grilling burgers.

The result is irregularly shaped patties with crumbly edges.

Danny doesn't add egg, breadcrumbs or any kind of filler to hold the patties together.

"What do you do with that meat?" a customer asked him one time. "I KNOW you put plenty of seasoning."

Danny swore he didn't then quipped, with a smile, "But if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

And so what's the secret to the Herd's burger?

Like the rest of the place, it's simplicity.

The meat is an 80/20 chuck that Danny has specially ground for him. Any leaner than that and you don't get flavor from the fat; any fatter and you get too much grease and soggy buns.

Danny mentions the "bun dome." He places the bun atop the meat as it cooks.

"That holds in the heat," he said.

It also soaks up the flavor of the burger grease.

Orlene said the method to the Herd's burger-making madness is well-documented.

The business serves old-fashioned burgers topped by mustard, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles

"The best way is to get the mustard on the hot meat (so it warms the cold mustard), then salt and pepper — the warm meat brings that out," she said.

Then you place the onions, followed by the pickles, the lettuce and, finally, the tomato goes on top so that it stays cool.

Simplicity rules the menu, too.

The burgers start at a mere $4.07 for the hamburger. You also can get a cheeseburger, double burger, double cheese or the famed double-double — that's double meat, double cheese.

Other than that, customers can go with a cheese sandwich in all its variations: regular cheese sandwich, grilled cheese or ham and cheese.

A bacon sandwich is also among the offerings.

You won't find fries on the menu, by the way, or onion rings. Just bags of chips.

"We didn't have to want to hire more help to do the frying and cooking," Claude said.

If you ask Danny how many burgers he thinks he cooks a month, he doesn't know: "I just count the money in the drawer," he said with a laugh.

Five-generation burger dynasty

When Herd's opened it wasn't an eatery, exactly.

It was more of a order-and-go burger stand when Claude's aunt, Ella Gafford, operated it in a canvas-sided food tent. Today, even though the tent is gone, Herd's operates in much the same way. With its limited seating, most customers get their burger to-go in a brown paper bag.

The burger joint has operated in various locations throughout the years, from the east side of the downtown square before moving by a hotel building and then where the Jacksboro city office is now.

Claude's parents, Mary and Jess, operated the place from 1946-1971 near where the clinic is, Orlene said.

Orlene and Claude ran Herd's Hamburgers from 1971-2008, and now Danny helms the place.

"I worked for UPS for 21 years. … It has been in the family for so long. It would be a shame to let it go," Danny said. "I wanted to carry on the tradition. And it's good money and you're your own boss."

Danny's son, Jesse, would be the fifth generation to run Herd's if he decides to take over the family business. He has helmed the grill himself and likely will be behind the grill this summer when he's home from college.

Claude and Orlene said what they miss about being in Herd's every day are the customers.

One customer said that after school she and her friends would run to Herd's, where they could get a hamburger, Coke and candy bar for 30 cents.

Sheri Criswell of Paradise drove 40 miles to Jacksboro for a ladies' lunch out just so she could have the Herd's burger experience. She had never eaten one before.

"She's lying! Everyone's had a Herd's burger," said one of her friends from one of the outdoor picnic tables.

"It's actually one of the best burgers I've ever had," Criswell said. "I love the homemade patty; it makes a difference."

Dee Wilson and her husband, James, have been regulars since 1986 and drive 30 minutes for a Herd's burger.

Dan Bates of Frisco, in business dress, was there with co-workers. It was a no-frills lunch in Texas' best no-frills burger joint.

"It's just one of those old-school Texas burger joints … You walk in and the first thing you notice is that big hunk of meat. … I guess you're doing something right if you keep your business open 100 years."

[takeeachdayonebookatatime]

Why did you elbow me? 169

Achilles Castle part 71

Lemonade and lies PART 14

Liv: pov Brian has been picking Noah up from school for me, which is so nice he is even making us dinner since he gets out of work earlier. Tonight is movie night Noah picked the movie we are watching tonight. On the way home I picked up a target order of snacks for the movie I ordered. Brian made homemade pizzas with Noah. The 3 of us settle down on the sofa with our food, drinks and snacks. It's getting late Noah heads off to bed after brushing his teeth. While Brian gets ready for bed I talk with Kate on the phone for a little bit. 

Fin: pov phoebe made an amazing dinner as is nice enough to clean up while I FaceTime my son Ken and his husband. We are trying to make plans to hang out but with my bust schedule it's hard.

Jenny: pov I made Sarah Grace some chicken nuggets and fries for dinner and decided to save myself from having to make something different. Me and Kevin can eat the same thing. After a very long day Kevin is finally home, while we eat I ask him how Kate is doing because I'm worried about her being in the ER. Maybe I can visit her tomorrow. He says getting better, she still has a bad cough. I can feel the baby kicking, I grab Ryan's Hands and put them on my belly so he can feel the baby moving. It's getting late. I grab a pair of pj's and head to bed. Me and Kevin are still trying to decide on a baby name. We have it narrowed down to a few. I’m startled awake by Kevin's phone ringing. Ryan says it's Castle. Something is wrong with Kate. After getting off the phone Ryan says it looks like Kate was having an arrhythmia episode and they are trying to figure out what caused it. Do you need to go to the hospital no, Castle said he will text me an update.

Lanie: pov me and Hank the medical examiner are meeting tomorrow since he had something important come up. Castle called me all frantic saying Kate was having trouble breathing and her heart rate was elevated and still is. They are doing some tests to make sure everything is okay. Me and Esposito make it to the hospital in record time. Jim, Alexis, Martha and Dave are all here. Kate has been taken for an emergency chest scan. Dr Burkett Kate’s regular cardiologist has just arrived; he is going to talk to Dr Cantor and see what is going on. Castle told Ryan to stay home with Jenny and the kids he will call or text him with an update.

Dr Burkett: pov  after talking to Dr Cantor I ask Mr Castle if she ate or drank anything out of the ordinary. Mr Castle says Kate drank some of the lemonade his daughter Alexis got from the restaurant she went to and a soup she can have. The tests will tell us more about what is going on. It will be awhile before the results of the blood test come back. It was decided that Lanie would be allowed with Kate during the scans to keep her calm. She is now back in her room, Kate fell asleep after the chest scan. 

Jim: pov since everything seems to be stable with Katie, me, Martha, Alexis and Dave are heading home. Esposito is also heading home Lanie is going to spend the night to keep castle company. Back at the loft I'm getting ready for bed again, let's hope I get some sleep.

Ryan: pov I tell Jenny who is worried  about Kate that Castle texted me some more info about Kate she is stable, they think she ate or drank something that bothered her. Jenny gets up to pee and asks if I can get her a little bowl of fruit since she can't sleep. The baby must be up. I return with the fruit and a warm glass of milk once she is done Jenny immediately falls asleep.

Brian: pov me and Liv are awaken to her phone making a noise Liv says it's a message from Castle saying Kate was having an arrhythmia episode and she is stable now, the Dr's think she ate or drank something that caused her arrhythmia. Me and Liv decided to try and fall back asleep.

Esposito: pov it's late and i'm back home, Lanie is staying at the hospital with Kate and Castle. I'm so glad Lanie is there for Kate. Since I can't fall asleep I decided to text Lanie knowing she is still up. Otherwise I would have not bothered her. 

Muncy: pov it's getting late and me and Joe are both in bed texting each other, let me clarify we are in separate beds in separate houses texting each other if Liv hears this rumor she will definitely get angry at me and Joe. People already think we are sleeping together saying we are the new Benson and Stabler whatever that means. Fin told me Benson and Stabler were just partners, nothing more.

Castle: pov it's late and Lanie is in the bathroom getting into her pj's. She was smart enough to pack herself a bag. Kate's Dr's are keeping her on the oxygen for the night as a precaution. She seems to be doing okay. In the morning a nurse is in the room taking Kate's vitals, she says everything is looking good. Lanie is dressed for the day saying she is going to talk to Kate's Dr's. The nurse comes back in the room with cheerios for Kate who is awake now.

Kate: pov the nurse takes me off of the oxygen saying my pulse ox looks good. Why is it that cheerios always taste like cardboard? At least at home we have different flavors. In the hospital it is one flavor. Lanie is back from talking with my Dr's. Castle says Jim should be arriving any minute. Alexis has school and Martha has an acting class this morning. The others are still working on the case.  Lanie has to leave in a few minutes for work. To be continued……..

[bisaster-energy]

bro im super scared to go to this appointment