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jimmys-zeppelin · 3 years ago

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ghostin'

chapter ten

(table of contents)

(chapter nine)

april 3, 1976

help me

Ellie tried keeping her mind off of her potential situation after she got back home. As soon as she landed, she was at the doctor's office getting her blood drawn. The doctor said she'd have her results on Monday.

She observed how Jimmy had been acting in the 12 hours they were together before she left after their night out. It wasn't that he was on-edge, but he was definitely a little less than comfortable. And that was an understandable reaction considering how unexpected all this was.

She was separating, folding, and putting clothes away from her suitcase when the doorbell rang an incessant amount of times. Ellie knew it could only be one person with the insistence in which the doorbell rang.

The bell only stopped when Ellie finally yanked the door open, "Andrew, what the hell!" she joked. The dark-haired man nearly screamed with delight and engulfed the blonde in a hug.

"God, that was the longest fucking three weeks of my life! How was it? How'd it go? Did you break some beds?"

Ellie held her mouth agape for a second before laughing and ushering the man inside. He followed her back upstairs as they spoke, "No beds were broken, contrary to popular belief. But it went great. Jimmy said Charlotte really liked me after we stopped by a second time. And his daughter is so sweet."

"So you're cool with the family! Awesome. Now you know you'll probably be seeing more of them. Try not to catch the baby fever, though."

Ellie chuckled dryly at the statement, "You might be a little late on that one, Andrew."

"Listen, kids are cute, but when you actually have to take care of them, it's a hassle. Wait till you're old and wrinkly and you've already lived."

Her heart sank in her chest, would her life really be slowed down that drastically by a baby?

"El, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Can we not talk about babies right now?" She asked, pinching the bridge of her nose and crumpling up a shirt she had been holding, tossing it into her dirty clothes pile quite aggressively.

"Uh, oh. Seems like I hit a nerve. Did Jimmy say anything to you about having kids?"

"No, not exactly. He wasn't opposed to it. I just—I don't want to think about kids right now. Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay, fine I won't budge," he said, throwing his hands up in surrender before stammering in an attempt to find a new topic to talk about, "what was the house like?"

"It was beautiful. Huge. Like imagine my house but like ten times bigger. I know he doesn't need all those bedrooms."

"You two should've had sex in all of the rooms. A new room every night." Andrew said, almost excited at the prospect.

"What is it with your obsession in my sex life? Aren't you getting some?"

"It's a little hard for my scene of people, Ellie. And plus, it's not my fault your boyfriend is a total looker. I don't know how you don't just stare at him all day."

Ellie chuckled at the comment, "Well we did have a morning that we spent in bed. It was nice."

"You're keeping something from me. Ellie, we don't keep secrets."

"What do you—" Ellie tried to play off, only to enter a stare-down with her best friend. She kept eye contact for as long as she could before the dryness made her scrunch her eyes shut. "Fine! I am keeping something from you."

"And it is....?"

"I can't tell you just yet. But I will say one thing, I'm extremely worried about Jimmy. I walked into his office the other day because I was looking for something and there were just bottles. And drugs. All over the desk."

"What kind of drugs?" Andrew asked, leaning in.

Ellie folded up a skirt, putting it away in her drawer before answering, "heroin and coke."

"Heroin? I hear that shit is wack if you take too much. Was he shooting it?"

"He'd done at least three. He was completely zooted. Out of his mind. His arm looked like an inexperienced nurse trying to find a vein. Andrew, it was horrible."

"Oh, God. I can only imagine. I'm sorry, babe. What did he say when you saw him?"

"He didn't say anything. I got kind of mad at him afterwards because he knows I get worried when he uses the stuff. He tried to butter me up and say sorry, but I just kinda brushed him off."

"Aw, Ellie. Do you wanna go out tonight; get your mind off it?"

"I don't know...I don't really wanna drink this weekend."

"We don't have to drink." He shrugged.

Ellie eyed him suspiciously, "since when does 'going out' not consist of drinking?"

"I heard Queen's still in town. We could try to look for 'em. Maybe I can get Freddie to sign my chest." Andrew said, stroking his chest sensually.

"You sound like a groupie." she chuckled.

"Listen, you're the famous one, not me. I can be as whorish as I want."

With a roll of her eyes, Ellie picked up her hamper, walking off to the laundry room with it to get started on her clothes.

☆

Later that evening, after Andrew had gone home, Ellie picked up the phone. She held it in her hand for a second before hanging up the receiver. Looking at the clock, the blonde noticed it was only 6pm. A drive would be nice. She thought to herself.

Grabbing her sunglasses and a coat—it was unusually cold for April—and took her keys from the table by the front door as she made her way over to her car.

Deciding she'd go down to West Hollywood and stop at her manager's office, Ellie took the long way and chose to take her time while driving.

Turning on the radio, she just caught the beginning of "Help Me" by Joni Mitchell. She turned the volume a bit louder and relaxed against the driver's seat; letting the California sun hit her face and a slight breeze come in through the window. She forgot about everything that'd been on her mind as she drove down the highway, taking in the music and bobbing her head along to the beat.

Taking a turn onto Santa Monica Boulevard, Ellie observed the tons of stores and people that littered the sidewalk. As she slowed to a stop at a red light, she took a look across the street to find a particular head of bleach-blond hair. Rolling down the window some more and pulling her sunglasses down, Ellie's suspicions were confirmed.

"Roger!" She exclaimed without thinking. Her heart dropped to her ass at the realization that she'd just publicly yelled at someone she'd only met twice before. "Shit." she whispered under her breath.

"Ellie?" Roger asked in response. He was visibly leaning over and lowering his own sunglasses to be able see the singer inside her car.

"I thought you went back home!" Ellie said, nervously glancing between Roger and the stoplight.

"No! I hung around! The guys went back home," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I've been calling you!"

"I've been away! I should've told you! I just got back!"

Another glance at the light.

"Can I call you later?"

"Sure!" Ellie exclaimed when the loud blaring of a car horn behind her caused her to jump in her seat. She waved a quick goodbye to Roger before going on her way. It wasn't until she caught her breath that she realized she'd been holding it. She shook her head and took another deep breath, continuing down the street.

☆

"Carolyn'll see you now." The receptionist said. Ellie stood up, now with her coat and sunglasses off, she felt a bit more at ease. She said a quick thank you to the receptionist before letting herself into the office.

"Ellie! Sit down, babe." Carolyn said cheerfully. "You said April 1st."

"I got a little caught up in some personal stuff."

"I hope nothing too bad. You didn't overdo it on the blow did you?"

"No, no. I promise, Care. That's one thing you'll never have to worry about with me."

"I better not. Don't need you dying on me or anything. How was your trip?"

"It was great! Jimmy and I got some alone time, it was nice. I met his daughter. Absolute sweetheart."

"You didn't get knocked up, did you?" Carolyn asked, furrowing her brows at her.

Ellie practically jumped in her seat, her eyes widened, "No! I don't—why would you—?"

"Oh my God, you got knocked up didn't you? You were there for barely three weeks, Ellie!"

"I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow. I'll call you as soon as I can to let you know how it went. I just don't want to think about it right now." Ellie sighed, not wanting to think about her worst fears for another second.

"Fine. Let's see if the record company needs anything from you." Carolyn replied, flipping through a notebook that was sitting on her desk before looking back up at her, "I need you to get a song out, or even an album. Tell me you did something other than screw around with your boyfriend on your trip."

"I started a song, then I kind of abandoned it when I had an idea for a different one...it's a bit personal so it'll definitely be on the slower side, I think." Ellie explained.

"Got a name?"

"Uhh, it doesn't have one yet."

"Is it finished?"

"Nearly."

"Alright, well. Finish it by this week and we can get you in the studio in two weeks."

"I'll try." Ellie replied.

☆

Ellie sat hunched over her songbook scribbling a few words down and crossing out others. She chewed on her pencil, staring at her thoughts on the page. The blonde hadn't thought about the song she'd written while at Jimmy's house in a while.

Trying to hum out the tune she'd created, Ellie was about to run and grab her guitar upstairs when the phone rang; this stopping her in her tracks. Detouring to the phone, she quickly picked it up off the receiver, "Hello?"

"Ellie?" the man on the other line asked, his voice identifiable immediately as Roger's.

"Hi, Roger." she said, the smile on her face audible in her voice.

"Hey, how've you been?" he asked. "You went missing for a bit there."

"Yeah, I'm doing okay, I went to England with Jimmy for a few weeks. He played host for me for once." She joked, twirling the phone cord in her fingers.

"Oh wow, was it your first time?"

"No, not at all. I go back to visit him quite often, actually. When I'm not busy, of course."

"Right, right. Uhhh, listen, I was about to grab a bite to eat. Did you want to come with me by any chance? Unless you've eaten already, then it's a redundant question." Roger added quickly to the end of his invitation.

Ellie hesitated at her answer, although she didn't know why, "...Sure! Yeah, I was just gonna wind up making some macaroni and cheese anyway, so, I guess it's better to go get an...actual meal." She replied. Her answer was painfully awkward and she physically cringed at her response.

"Okay, great! So I'll come by in a few to pick you up. Say, 8:30 ish, if that's okay with you?"

She glanced at the clock, 7:55pm. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you then!"

The two said their goodbyes and hung up. Then, when Ellie started on her way upstairs—again—the phone rang again. It was Roger, realizing he'd never asked for her address. They had a laugh about it before Ellie told him the information and she went to get ready.

---

masterlist | playlist

Taglist: @diaryofafan17 @tophats-n-lespauls @witchesdust @jonesyjonesyjonesy @paginate54 @hejustsatisfiess @salixfragilis @princesspagey @reincarnated70sbaby @rebel-without-a-zeppelin @kyunisixx if you want to be added to the list lmk!

2-12-21

7-13-21

#ghostin'#jimmy page #led zeppelin #roger taylor #queen #roger taylor fanfiction #roger taylor fanfic #jimmy page fanfiction #jimmy page fanfic

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stanbillyhargrove · 4 years ago

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Ghosts chp 29

T/W: death

A/N: sorry it's taken me so long to post this, but here we go!

Katrina's POV

Darkness. All around me, consuming. Is this all there is?

No, this can't be it. I can hear something.

Sirens.

Murmuring.

Breathing.

I can feel my chest rising and falling.

Fuck.

I woke, mind fuzzy, floating high in painkiller clouds. Had a brief thought to laugh and scream and cry about my failure. Didn't because I was lulled back to sleep.

Somewhere else, I could hear Olivia humming gently, lulling me back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, I was overcome with the smell of bleach. Too stiff blankets scratched my skin. I wiggled my fingers and toes, testing my control. I couldn't hear Neil, couldn't feel him, but deep down I knew he was still here.

I opened my eyes, squinting under the bright lights at the bare room. There was nobody here waiting, noone sleeping softly in the chair beside my bed. I tried to talk, to call out, but a sharp spike of pain stopped me and I curled into myself with a groan. Laid there for a minute, breathing deeply as I waited for the pain to subside.

"Hey, you're awake,"

I looked over to see Billy poking his head in the door, a cup of coffee steaming in his hand.

I tried to talk again, to ask him what happened, but opening my mouth sent another flash of pain. He hurried over and placed a notebook and pen in my lap.

"You're not gunna be able to talk for a while," he explained.

'What happened?' I scribbled.

"What do you remember?"

'Neil, he tried to stop me. Mirror.'

He looked so weary when he nodded, "you tried to kill yourself...Katrina, I told you we'd find another way.."

'No other way,' I gave him a thin smile.

He reached over, took my hand in his and squeezed gently, "don't give up yet.."

I met his eyes, saw the purple bags there and realized he was as tired as I was. Stressed and broken down like I was.

"Don't give up on me," he murmured, "just give me some more time.."

I squeezed his fingers and nodded. He sighed with relief, shoulders dropping and leaned to kiss my forehead. Sat down in the chair next to my bed, thumb sweeping gently across my hand.

"How do you feel?"

I scribbled messily with my free hand, 'hurts.'

"Yeah, you did a number on yourself. Cut your tongue right in half," his fingers came up and brushed my cheek, across a cotton bandage I hadn't noticed, "got your cheek a bit too. Scared the shit out of me."

'Sorry.'

He smirked, his tongue between his teeth, "I almost asked them to keep your tongue split in two, oral would have been fantastic."

I rolled my eyes and puffed air out my nose, the closest I could get to a laugh.

'Asshole.'

He laughed, proud of himself. I perked at the smell of citrus, eyes flicking to search for her.

"What?" He asked, turning to look around the room and back at me.

'Elle.'

"She's here?"

Billy smiled when I nodded and stood up.

"I'll take a walk...give you a few minutes and come back with a doctor."

I looked up at him, smiling as softly as I could and hoping he understood how grateful I was.

It took a minute after Billy left for Elle to appear, her usual warm smile replaced with a sad, tight lipped one.

"Hi, Katrina" she murmured.

My eyes watered and I stretched out a hand to lace our fingers together. She gripped my hand tight and brushed her fingers over my hair.

"What did you do to yourself?" She asked, "this isn't like you...you're a fighter."

I shrugged, eyes flicking down.

"Has he really broken you?"

I pulled my hand from hers to hold my notebook and write, 'easier to give him what he wants. Or try again. Do it right.'

Elle sighed, "you can't just give up. You have to be strong and fight him."

Tears started to slip down my cheek, 'it's too hard. I'm tired.'

"I know it's hard but you have to fight this bastard, okay? Give Billy some more time...he really loves you, you know?"

I sniffed and nodded slowly.

She cupped my cheek, fingers sweeping through tears, "and I know you love him too. And that's okay, let yourself love him, Katie. Just stop being stupid and tell him."

I returned her smile and pointed at my mouth before writing, 'can't.'

She laughed, "smart ass."

'Love you, Ellie.'

"I love you, Katie."

She bent to kiss my forehead softly before disappearing.

Billy brought me back to my apartment after the doctor explained what my healing would entail. A liquid diet and salt water rinses for two weeks, try not to talk until the stitches fall out and come back if an infection sets in. Tylenol and sleep to manage pain. I feel like I could sleep for two weeks straight, so that's easy enough.

Let ourselves into my apartment and saw Steve and Riley standing there.

"You're home!" Riley came over to hug me softly, "how are you feeling? Hungry?"

I pulled back, held up my notebook and wrote, 'little hungry, tired.'

She kept gentle fingers on my arm as she led me to the couch, "here, lie down. We got some groceries for you, I'll make you something."

I sat down on the end of the couch, 'you didn't have to buy me food.'

Riley smiled, eyes crinkling, "well we couldn't leave you with nothing to eat, all your food went bad."

I went to scribble on my notepad, to ask how much I owed them but she stopped my hand.

"We wanted to do it. Lay down, I'll get you some soup."

Billy sat down on the other side of my couch, placed a pillow on his legs and patted it. He waited for me to lie down and get comfortable before covering me with the blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch.

I wrote in the notebook and tapped his leg to get his attention.

'How's Pudge?'

"He's good, big now. I'll bring him over later."

'My plants?'

He smiled down at me, "we tried our best, a couple of them don't look too happy but you can take care of them later, just get some rest."

His warm hand smoothed over my hair and I closed my eyes, letting myself drift to sleep.

"Katrina."

I hummed, not wanting to leave the dark. Not yet.

Warm fingers brushed my skin, bringing the smell of the ocean and the feeling of dirt under bare feet to my head.

"Come here."

I opened them slowly, squinting against the light. Saw that I was on a beach and that Olivia was standing at the edge of the water, looking back at me with her fingers resting lightly on my arm.

"Come on," she urged.

I came forward, joining her at the water's edge. She clasped my hand tight in hers, smiling as she looked out into the horizon.

"I used to read about pirates. Nasty men who murdered and stole. Left destruction and blood in the waves behind them."

I looked over at Olivia, at the wistful smile on her face as the wind blew her hair over her shoulder.

"Princes and princesses too. Women being swept away by Prince Charming and living happily ever after. Having all they ever dreamed of and more," she turned to look at me, "I thought I found my Prince Charming in Neil, but now I understand. Prince Charming and Bluebeard are the same man and you don't get a happy ending. Not unless you can love both of them."

I cast my eyes down, biting my lip.

"But you can't, can you?"

"No," I whispered.

"I've seen love die way too many times when it deserved to be alive," she touched her knuckles under my chin, lifting my face to look at her, "I've seen you cry way too many times. You deserve to be alive and in love."

"But, the only way to get rid of him is if I die, Olivia."

She shook her head, "your heart has to stop, long enough for you to break his hold. But, there's a window of time where you can be brought back. Without him."

"Is that it?"

"There's also a chance that breaking his hold will wipe your memory."

"What? Like, I won't remember anything?"

A sad smile curled one side of her lips, "it's a possibility. But he'd be gone...you'd be free."

"You sure about this?" Billy asked.

I nodded.

I'd just told him what Olivia had said in my dream. That there was a chance to end this once and for all. I left out the losing my memory part though, he didn't need to worry about that.

"What if we can't bring you back?"

'I'll be free,' I wrote.

He ran a hand over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"I'll talk to Steve and the girls, see if we can make a plan...but I'm not promising anything and you need to heal up first."

'Thank you,' I smiled and reached to squeeze his fingers.

His mouth twitched into a quick smile that withered when he looked away.

-- 3 weeks later

The cabin loomed in the trees, dark and foreboding. Cold and empty still since the last time I was here. I half expected it to be closed up with caution tape. But there was nothing, no sign that anybody missed this cabin or the man that owned it.

There was still a bag full of my clothes thrown on the floor and a pile of bloody bandages beside the bathroom sink. The only evidence of what had happened.

My stitches had come out almost a week ago. Right when I started to feel Neil's presence coming back. When I started to hear whispers and see shadows at the edges of my vision. It was now or never, we decided.

"Hey," Billy murmured, smoothing his hand over my shoulder and squeezing gently, "how ya feeling?"

I leaned my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, "nervous."

He huffed out a laugh at the lisp I developed re learning how to talk. He'd spent days howling with laughter when I first started talking again.

I glared up at him and he squeezed me to his side.

"We won't let anything happen to you. We've got it all figured out."

"There's something else...something I didn't tell you."

He tensed, "what?"

"Olivia...she said there's a chance that if I wake up-"

"When you wake up," Billy interrupted.

"There's a chance that I won't remember anything..."

He was quiet for a moment and then a slow smirk spread over his face.

"I guess that means I'll get to blow your mind all over again...maybe I'll get the courage to tell you a little earlier."

"Tell me what?"

A light blush warmed his cheeks when he turned, dipping his face close to mine.

"Tell you that I love you."

"Okay, Katrina. You ready?"

I nodded at Steve, hands sweaty at my sides.

"Let's do this."

He nodded once, face tight, "you've got four minutes until we need to bring you back. Riley, you guys ready?"

I looked over at Riley, Brook, Audrey and Tris. They looked like warriors in all black clothes and matching stoney faces, like they would be the ones fighting off Neil for me.

"Protections are set, ambulance is on the way just in case," Riley said, "as ready as we'll ever be."

Steve blew out a long breath, shaking his hands out, "okay, let's do this. Audrey's going to use her powers to keep you still, just in case Neil tries to take over, okay? Try not to panic."

I felt my body starting to tremble when I nodded and whispered, "okay."

Billy stepped up in front of me, a plastic bag in his hands. He cupped my face and kissed me gently.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you."

He slipped the bag over my head, pulling it tight around my neck. I felt Audrey's powers keeping me still, stopping me from thrashing and fighting until the darkness took over.

I woke to find myself in Neil's world. The pink bathtub surrounded by lush plants to my right, the giant plush bed to my left. The fire crackled and popped angrily in front of me, flames growing to lick the outside of the fireplace.

"Katrina? What did you do?"

Neil appeared in front of me, eyes brimming with tears.

"What did you do?" He yelled.

"I have to end it, Neil," I murmured.

"You can't do that...you can't do that to me, Katrina. What about us?"

I closed my eyes when his knuckles brushed my cheek and leaned into the soft touch.

"Katrina, please, just wake up," he begged, "we can be happy again...I've been trying to be good, you know that, right?"

I could hear the fire crackling louder when I looked up at him, at his watery eyes and nodded, whispering, "I know.."

"Then we up...I won't control you anymore, I promise...I love you, Katrina. Don't you love me?"

My lip wobbled when I glanced away.

"No."

I felt my words hit him like a knife to the chest, felt the red hot pain settle in my heart.

"No?"

I took a steadying breath and looked back at him. At his sharp, angular face and icy blue eyes, his dark hair falling messily around his eyes.

"I don't love you anymore," I choked.

In a split second, he changed. He stopped crying and any sense of grief left him, replaced with burning rage. Strong hands wrapped around my throat, squeezing as tight as he could. Neil's lip pulled back with a sneer at the sound of me choking. I scratched frantically at his wrists, but he just squeezed harder, muscles shaking from the effort.

Darkness spread in my vision, consuming while my lungs stopped gasping for air and I fell into nothingness.

@alias-b @charmed-asylum @champagnesugamama

#billy hargrove #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #stranger things fic #billy hargrove fic #stranger things fanfiction #billy hargrove series

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star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 7 years ago

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Resource Management, pt14

Word Count: 3001 Tags: @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @feelmyroarrrr @anyakinamidala @dirajunara @anotherotter @little-study-bug @rampant-salamander @goodnightwife @samaxraph99 @anotherotter @outside-the-government @kingarthurscat @coyote-in-space @originalpottervengerlock @dolamrothianlady @curiositywillbethedeathofme @superheroesofbothuniverses @mtriestowrite @wanderingkat77

I would be lying completely if I said I wasn’t dragging my sad, sorry ass out for my morning running date with Lex. I slowly made my way to our meeting place. Lex was waiting for me, looking far too pleased to be awake. I stifled a yawn and tried to smile.

“You look exhausted, Anna.” Lex had the concern of a doctor.

“It was one helluva weekend,” I admitted.

“You’re sure that’s all? You’re so pale.” She stepped closer. I waved her off.

“Really, I’m just tired,” I excused. “I’m going to be pathetic, but I’m here.”

“Okay. I’ll push the same as I did on Saturday, but just walk if you’re really dying,” Lex said. We stretched and then headed out. I figured if Lex was going to treat me like it was any other day, I should probably act as though it was, and I tried to shake off the exhaustion. I truly tried. About 15 minutes into the run, I felt the fatigue drop off, almost like I was shedding a weight. My legs felt good, my muscles felt loose, and I felt awake. And energetic. I picked up my pace, and kept up with the intervals when Lex pushed. She didn’t say anything, but I could tell she’d noticed because our pace increased just a little. I pushed through to the end of the run and felt amazing when we finally slowed down. I was hot, and sweaty, and tired, but it was a different tired than when I’d arrived at the park.

“You broke your wall,” Lex commented as we stretched.

“Yeah, I feel good.”

“Endorphins are a powerful thing,” she laughed. “Seriously. Good for stress, increased energy. You’ll probably have a great day.”

“Well, I am in the process of rebuilding a destroyed department. Might not be the best day ever, but I certainly feel better for it right now. Thanks, Lex. I’ll see you Wednesday.” I headed home to get ready for work. Before I headed out the door, I packed up my gym bag for my hand-to-hand training, strapped on my sidearm, and pocketed my badge. I had a total James Bond moment as I walked down to my car. I was certainly dressed to kill, taking my new role as director to heart. I had dug out my nicest blazer and pencil skirt, and matched it with a pair of patent heels. I’d wrapped my hair in a bun, and slipped my glasses in the front of my blouse. Combined with all the new ‘accessories’, I really felt like I was an international woman of mystery. Not that I would give someone like Romanoff a run for her money, but I’d decided to own the sexy librarian comparison Rick had made. I almost wished I had Lola just so I could complete the utter badassery of my image. The self-satisfied smirk I wore was probably enough though.

I strode into the office, feeling confident, and surprisingly, there was nothing to bring me down. I almost expected something. I locked my purse in my desk and went to fill my coffee cup. Erin was leaning against the counter in the kitchenette, waiting for the pot to finish brewing. She was holding a ridiculous sea life pirate mug in her hand that I recalled her having at her place. It had a school of fish with pirate bandanas and an octopus with a peg-tentacle and tricorn hat on it. It was ridiculous, and silly and brought exactly the kind of levity we needed into the office.

“Settling in then?” I nodded at the mug.

“When I close my eyes, I see the eagle burned into my eyelids. It’s on everything. I just needed something to make me feel like I am still me,” she sighed. The coffeemaker beeped and she pulled it off the burning to pour for both of us.

“Thanks. Have you checked email this morning?” I asked.

“I have two or three urgent emails from Fury.” The way she said urgent made me think she was not going to be answering them any time soon. She sighed and sipped at her coffee.

“Has he spoken to you about your new responsibilities?” I asked, trying not to give away what I knew to be Fury’s expectations.

“If he thinks for one minute that I’m going to become a field agent, he’s out of his goddamn mind. I joined SHIELD to use my HR degree, to put money into a 401K and not ever have to think about a different job somewhere else. I’m not about to go from safe and secure in my office to carrying a sidearm and a stupid goddamn badge,” she rolled her eyes. My shoulder holster felt heavy. I wondered if my blazer was hanging funny.

“Erin, it’s not really any different than taking a self-defense class. It’s just paid.” My coffee was still too hot to drink, and I could feel my endorphin high starting to fade. I started back toward our offices.

“Well, if you want to jump through Fury’s hoops, you go right ahead. I, however, am polishing up my resume.” It was unlike Erin to be quite so snarky, but truth be told, I knew where she was coming from. She really wasn’t well suited to the operations side of working at SHIELD. She liked a set schedule, uninterrupted vacation time, and the finer things in life. Had she discovered someone hacking encrypted data on a Saturday night, she certainly wouldn’t have run into the office to find out what was going on. I had no response for her. I accepted everything that came at me in this job, usually without question. In the end, I guess I was more of a company person than she was.

My inbox was filled with angry demands for reinstatement of security clearance. I had anticipated that, and already had a form letter ready for posting in response. I selected each message and attached the letter to it before sending it. That cleared about half of my inbox. There were a few inquiries regarding death benefits, and a cryptic message from Stark that I didn’t understand at all. I finally lit on the last unread message. It was from Kate’s grandmother. I stood and closed my office door before opening the message.

It was short, and sad, and broke my heart. Despite only knowing Kate for the week at the academy, I’d liked her very much. And her grandmother was grieving. I picked up the phone and dialed the number that I’d pulled from Kate’s personnel file. When Kate’s grandmother answered, I quickly identified myself.

“Katie spoke of you after you were away at that conference. She said she was glad to have made a new friend at work.”

“I am so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Banks.” I was at a loss for words. “I just wanted to let you know I received your email, and I have flagged Kate’s file. Your survivor benefit should be fast-tracked.” My voice cracked as I spoke.

“Oh dearheart, that’s not why I wanted you to phone me. I just wanted to tell you about something that happened to me years ago. I found a hornet’s nest in the tree in my backyard. And hornets are horrible pests. They destroy everything around them, and their venom can be quite lethal. I needed to get rid of that nest. I smoked them out, dearest. I waited until they were out of the nest, and calm because of the smoke, and then I dropped a bug bomb right at the nest and killed them all. When there was no more activity, I took down the nest, and I burned it. I’ve never had an issue with hornets since,” she explained. I pinched the bridge of my nose in confusion. Kate’s granny was dotty. I didn’t recall seeing a dementia diagnosis in Kate’s file, but I’d been so emotional I couldn’t see straight.

“That was very brave. Hornets and wasps terrify me,” I allowed.

“Well dear, sometimes we need to face the things we fear the most in order to make our homes safe. Thank you for calling me.” The line went dead. I called up Kate’s personnel file to make a note in it that her next of kin contact was not of sound mind. When I clicked into the cell to access Mrs. Banks’ information and add the note, a deactivated personnel file opened. Cecelia Banks, retired from duty in 1983. Kate’s grandmother had been a field agent. I skimmed the file quickly and saw that she had specialized in encrypted messages. I grabbed my cell and texted Phil quickly.

Do hornets and wasps have any significant meaning in coded messages?

Why?

I just had a weird conversation with someone about how to kill hornets. I think it was a coded message.

Try to remember everything you can about it. We’ll talk over dinner. XO

I slipped my phone into my lap as Erin knocked and entered my office. I closed Cecelia and Kate’s files as Erin flopped into the chair across from me.

“Fury says until I complete my training, my clearance is pulled. This beautiful stack of folders is now all yours.” She dropped a thick stack of files on the edge of my desk. I rolled my eyes. Of course it was.

“And that would be?” I prompted.

“Every outstanding Stark, and Hulk-Smash in the organization. There’s about 85 there,” she winked and patted the pile. I let my head drop and hit the desk.

“Thank you so much,” I groaned. Erin looked far too satisfied as she left my office, annoyingly pert pirate octopus coffee mug in tow. As she breezed out, Natasha Romanoff stepped in. My stomach tightened, and I unlocked the drawer where I kept my purse and dropped the files in before locking it again.

“Agent Ellis.” She offered her hand.

“It’s Ms. or Director, Agent Romanoff. I’m not an agent,” I corrected her and shook her hand.

“But you are. You have your badge now.” Her smile was knowing. I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Of course,” I agreed.

“There’s a training facility a few blocks from here. Did you bring something to change into? You’ll stand out dressed like that.” She was in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt herself.

“I’ll just go get changed now then.” I grabbed my gym bag and headed to the washroom.

I landed on my back, hard. I could feel the eyes of the other agents training on us. Romanoff’s knee was across my throat in seconds, and we were both breathing hard. I kicked out, arching my back and rolling us both over until I’d pinned her. Before I could properly pin her arm, she tucked it between us and used it as leverage to push me back. I scrambled away, and regained my footing, sweat dripping into my eyes. Romanoff’s chest heaved as she circled around me. I sidestepped to keep an even distance between us, keeping my eye on her. She faked a punch to my left and as I dodged, swept my legs from under me. I was done. She pinned me on my stomach and I tapped out, raising both my hands from the mat in surrender.

She stepped off me, and offered me a hand up, patting my shoulder once we were face to face. I had at least an inch or two on her, and probably weighed thirty pounds more than her, although I think most of that weight would have been in my boobs. We probably wouldn’t have been in the same weight division in a tournament, is what I’m trying to say. She was incredibly fast, strong and agile. I felt like a lumbering drunken moose beside her.

“You’re better than the report read,” she commented as she grabbed her water bottle. I pulled my own from my bag and took a long drink.

“You certainly live up to the legend, Romanoff,” I complimented.

“Well, I was raised for this. What exactly is your story?” She asked.

“I grew boobs when I was 11. My dad thought I should know how to defend myself. One thing led to another,” I shrugged.

“You’re good. You telegraph your punches on the right,” she commented.

“I do?”

“No one has ever mentioned that?” She seemed surprised.

“I don’t know that anyone has ever noticed before.” I had a few DVDs of tournament footage at home, I was going to have to look at it and see what she was talking about.

“Well, it’s worth working on. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I’m going to teach you now. We’ll discuss it over lunch.” We headed toward the change rooms.

Lunch with Romanoff was interesting. Once we were seated at the café, she insisted I call her Natasha, and dropped all the formality I had noticed in the gym. She was a genuinely pleasant person. It took me off-guard, but I wasn’t stupid enough to comment on it. Instead, we enjoyed lunch, and getting to know one another better. We were equally guarded in what we shared. I was careful because we were still trying to keep Phil’s continued pulse quiet. Her reserve came from years of training. She had little tells though, that made her more human. She wore a necklace with an arrow charm on it. After New York, everyone had speculated that she and Barton were close. The charm was very telling.

“I like your necklace,” I commented. She smirked, not the least bit deceived by my ruse.

“I hear that a lot these days.” She looked me in the eye. “It’s just an arrow, Anna.” There was a finality to the way she said it that warned me it wasn’t something she was going to talk about. I raised an eyebrow and smiled back. It was fair. We barely knew each other. I would be disturbed if she started volunteering personal information that we both knew wasn’t in a personnel file.

“Your training. I’ve never actually had a reason to read your personnel file, so I’m not sure about it. You said you were raised for this?” I asked, moving back to what I hoped was a less invasive topic.

“I was orphaned, and the government put me in a program as a young child to train me as an assassin. In Russia, although I think you probably knew that part.” It was an abrupt answer. Fair enough. I would probably be uncomfortable talking about that kind of history as well.

“I’m sorry if that was too personal a question.”

“You have clearance to read my file. It’s nothing you couldn’t have already seen,” she shrugged.

“Dr. Richmond thinks very highly of you.” I was floundering. I felt out of place and awkward and really uncomfortable, despite how easy and pleasant things felt. Almost as though the pleasantry was a façade. She finally broke a genuine smile.

“Lex is a remarkable woman. I wasn’t aware you were friends.” She leaned in a little.

“I would like to say we are, but we’re still acquaintances, mostly. She’s helping me out with the running and fitness portion of my training,” I admitted.

“If anyone can teach you to run, it’s Lex. If she’s not already working on your strength training with you, you should ask her about that too. It’s not really her area, but she’s pretty damn strong.” Natasha looked thoughtful. “You could probably help her with her hand-to-hand in exchange. She’s not as terrible as she used to be, but she’s nowhere near your ability. I work with her on occasion, but not often enough to be able to be consistent.”

“I’ll mention it on Wednesday. Thanks, Natasha.” I’d heard that Romanoff was the most cerebral of the Initiative, and that one little off-hand comment put that into perspective. Her brain obviously never turned off. We collected our things for the short walk back to the office

“I heard you’ve had a couple run-ins with Stark?” She changed the subject with a wry smile.

“I wouldn’t really say run-ins. Well, yeah, I guess. He was in my seminar during the attack on the Triskelion, and then he basically saved my life. And then he bugged my phone and my office,” I laughed.

“I’d call those run-ins. Tony is worth having as an ally, Anna.”

“I’ve already discovered that, and am currently overlooking what I find to be faults,” I laughed. Natasha joined me, nodding.

“We all do.” We were standing outside the building my office was in. I looked up and sighed.

“So, anything you want me to work before Wednesday?” I asked.

“Your shooting. Clint says you’re terrible. And this is going to come easy to you, so don’t sweat it.”

“God, I feel like I’m the current Avengers Initiative assignment,” I laughed.

“Listen, if anything feels weird or off to you, contact one of us. You’ve got contacts now for Clint, Tony, and me. And Lex can get Steve for you in a heartbeat. If anything at all bugs you, trust your gut and track one of us down,” she leaned in and spoke quietly.

“What?” I breathed. I felt the air rush out of my lungs like I’d taken a punch in the solar plexus.

“We both know that attack was an inside job. And whoever did it intended you to die in it. Fury says he’s got one of his best agents keeping an eye on you, but he won’t say who, so I don’t know if he can be trusted. But this isn’t over, Anna, not by a long shot. So if you think you are in the least bit of danger, you let us know,” she kept her voice low. “And don’t forget, stop telegraphing that right,” she raised her voice, and slapped my shoulder as a couple of people came out of the building.

#avengers fanfic #avengers fanfic with OFC #Phil Coulson x OFC

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