#Dex wanting him to be safe and knowing he used to and now he can't offer it anymore I jifdsahfdjsaf

[sysig]

Utterly Defeated (Patreon)

[dr-futbol-blog]

Conversion, Pt. 12

Weir sends out an alert on Sheppard having escaped his quarters, and it is likely her alert went only to the security personnel rather than on city-wide. We next find McKay in the command centre with Caldwell and Ronon, McKay seeming to spearhead the search for Sheppard by tracking him biometrically using the Ancient censors discovered during Sanctuary (S01E14), although now with an English interface that he has probably programmed himself. It takes Mckay no time at all to find Sheppard and lock onto him.

McKay: OK. I've got a lock on him.

We get to see the layout of Atlantis, and the biometric sensor still seems to have signatures in two different colours, reddish and yellowish. I wrote earlier about how the system is probably calibrated for the Ancients, so it would show the people who have the gene different from the ordinary humans because whether or not people have the Ancient gene is the most important biometric marker for their technology.

If we look at the cluster of signatures that I've pointed out with the circle who seem to be near the gate, we have one red and three yellow signatures, corresponding to the four figures we see in the next shot standing pretty much in the same configuration as the dots: McKay, Caldwell, Ronon and a marine. McKay is the only one of them that has the gene and hence we would expect to see him appear as a different colour. And we next see, as they lock on to Sheppard, that he is a bright red dot, the locking on seeming just to make his dot brighter rather than to change its colour. However, the dot seems to be acting unexpectedly.

Caldwell: That can't be him, it's moving too fast. Dex: It's him.

McKay is looking at Sheppard's dot intently, not removing his eyes from it even as he turns his head slightly toward Ronon when he says the words "It's him" in reference to Sheppard. It is as though McKay wants to see Ronon's face when he mentions Sheppard, wants to see the look on his face, but he cannot draw his eyes away even for that. Let us recall that the last time McKay was watching a dot that designated Sheppard, he was watching him fly to his death toward a hive ship strapped onto a nuke that McKay himself had prepared. It is safe to say that this is not his favourite activity.

He is doing this now because they need him to do it, because this is his job and his duty, but it is not easy for him by any means. McKay seems to speak only what is necessary and no more. He is once more clearly dissociating, he is on autopilot.

Caldwell: Alright. Four teams. Surround him and close in. I want him stopped. And gentlemen: use whatever level force you deem necessary. Move out. Weir: You will only use such force as a last resort. Caldwell: That's not Sheppard any more, ma'am. Weir: You heard me.

Caldwell gives the men now under his command the order to take out Sheppard using what ever level force necessary, and the US military has six such levels for the use of force. Caldwell, that is to say, authorizes his men to take Sheppard out using lethal force where necessary, to take him out at their discretion. While Weir does not precisely walk his order back, she impresses on the men that they should not jump the gun but be sure that there is no other way before trying to eliminate him using lethal force. They all know what they are talking about.

Note that while McKay still says nothing, he has no words to say, we see him do the thing with his thumb that has frequently been associated with Sheppard in the past. It is his own self-soothing technique. McKay is torn here. He wants to help Sheppard, he wants to protect Sheppard, he wants to see to it that nothing happens to Sheppard. And he does not know how to do any of those things. He is grateful to Weir for at least the fact that she reminded them not to shoot Sheppard on sight. Something rather interesting happens then.

Dex: You coming? Teyla: Yes.

Caldwell had ordered four teams to go after Sheppard and whether or not Ronon and Teyla were meant to be with these four teams, Ronon at the very least took it upon himself to make sure that they were among the people looking for Sheppard. He wants them to make sure that this thing stays under control and no one starts shooting up unnecessarily. All of them care about Sheppard and do not want to see him get hurt, but they also know that Sheppard himself would want them to stop him before letting him hurt innocent people. And so it is obvious to Ronon that they should be a part of this, and because it does not seem like Teyla is moving in to join them, he actually asks out loud if she is coming with. What takes?

Now, I know some people see this as a major "Teylabeth" moment and while I don't necessarily see anything between the two of them, there is certainly enough evidence over the years to suggest that Teyla herself swings both ways. In fact, at the end of this very episode, we see her real up close and personal with another woman. There is plenty of subtext to go around with Teyla. But she is not looking at Weir, here. She is clearly looking at McKay before turning to leave. She looks at McKay, they seem to exchange a rather lengthy glance, she nods and then takes off after Ronon.

It is because we see Teyla and Weir in the same shot after she gives this look that people somehow interpret her as looking at Weir but this, them placing either McKay or Sheppard out of framing of the shot where looks are being exchanged is something that the show has been doing since its inception. This is how they keep the subtext just at the edge of becoming maintext. It is clear that Teyla looks at someone, exchanges a look with someone. The direction to which she looks is where McKay has been standing the whole time. We do not see McKay answer her gaze. When the camera finally pans back to McKay, he is no longer looking at her. Weir looks at both Teyla and Ronon as they take off. Teyla gives one final look at McKay as they leave.

But why?

The thing is, Teyla did seem reluctant to leave. She was not sure that she should go with the teams, that she should follow Ronon. Some people are going to think that this is because she is still feeling uncomfortable about what happened with Sheppard earlier, that she does not want to be around him when all of that is still hanging unresolved between them. But that does not explain why she seems to need a permission--or what ever she was looking for from him-- from McKay to go. It is possible that she meant to communicate to McKay that they would take care of Sheppard, that they would see to it that nothing happens to him. But it still does not explain her initial reluctance to join the search party.

And it was not that Teyla did not want to go. It was that she was not sure she should leave McKay alone, without a security detail. Yes, Caldwell was there with a bunch of marines but they might not be enough to stop Sheppard. And Teyla seems to know, just as Ronon does a few moments later, what it is that Sheppard is looking for. In the middle of the command centre, McKay might be at the most secure place on Atlantis. But for some reason, all of them, Sheppard's whole team, seem to know that Sheppard is looking for McKay, that McKay is what he is trying to get to. And Teyla is momentarily unsure of whether there is even a point in leaving when what Sheppard is looking for is right here. We do not see what kind of a look McKay gave her but so satisfied, she does then take after Ronon and join the search party.

Weir: Lock down the stargate. McKay: Right.

As mentioned, when we do finally see McKay, he is no longer looking at Teyla and this is how the entire episode has been playing out. McKay's role is purposefully obscured. He seems peripheral to the story when he is, in fact, central to everything that happens. McKay sounds hoarse as he answers Weir's request, it comes out in almost a whisper. His eyes are awfully bright but we do not see him blinking away any tears because blinking would mean that he would have to take his eyes off of Sheppard's red dot to do that. McKay seems like he is just the computer tech here, executing commands given by the leaders. But he is the one whose heart is breaking.

We see Sheppard walk into a transporter, manhandling a lab technician of some kind out of his way. We do not know where he left from and where he was going precisely, but let us keep in mind the fact that while Sheppard had seemingly kept the same quarters the whole time they have been on Atlantis, for some reason he did not need to use the transporter to get there in the latter half of the first season, but after they returned from Earth, we have seen him have to take the transporter to get to his quarters several times.

Now, while there are probably a lot of places on Atlantis that look alike, the outside of the transporter here looks similar to where Sheppard was going at the end of Trinity (S02E06) when McKay caught up with him. McKay told Sheppard that he had been looking for him, so it would make sense if McKay had been hanging out somewhere en route to Sheppard's quarters, meaning that this may well be the transporter that Sheppard takes to get away from his quarters usually, and he may have been on his way out of his room when McKay caught up with him. And where ever Sheppard was going now, it was certainly closer to the central tower than where he had been originally.

But where ever Sheppard was going, he certainly seemed to be going somewhere. To emphasize this point: Sheppard is not "on the lam" here, as he clearly could have escaped his room when ever he wanted to; Sheppard is not trying to get away and avoid detection here. He is not just randomly hopping across Atlantis, he had somewhere to be. He has a destination. And where ever he transported to, McKay's eyes widen as he looks at the reappearance of Sheppard's dot.

Caldwell: I thought you said that he couldn't use the transporters. McKay: I said I doubted he was lucid enough. Caldwell: Well, shut them down. He's not going to do it again. McKay: Thus stranding your search teams.

This is an interesting tidbit of information. We did not get to hear Caldwell and McKay's earlier exchange over the topic but if McKay had been confident enough to tell Caldwell that he thinks that Sheppard is not in any shape to use the transporters, it means that he necessarily has to have some insight into Sheppard's current condition. McKay does not guesstimate or speculate, he must be basing his assessment on some data, on some personal insight he has into the state Sheppard is in. But as far as we know, McKay has not seen Sheppard since he had the splinter removed from his hand at the beginning of the episode. So how would he know? How could he possibly know how lucid Sheppard is? And let us recall that "lucid" is a term Sheppard had been using of himself several times, it was a word he used to describe his own condition. He was measuring his own well-being on a scale of lucidity, so for McKay to use this terms suggests that his source of information is Sheppard himself.

Regardless of the source of McKay's insight into Sheppard's condition, he seems to barely be able to keep himself together here. He is right at the edge of where he does not know what is going to come spilling out of his mouth next. He has to over-enunciate the words to keep his voice steady, and right at the end he seems to be holding back a sob, blinking rapidly. But he still does as he is told because he is at a point where he is just executing commands, running on autopilot. And so Caldwell informs the search teams of Sheppard's new whereabouts:

Caldwell: Bravo Team, you're on deck. Tango is right below you. Marine: You heard the man. Down the stairs.

Sheppard is given the designation "Tango" for "target," which is something that we see McKay use later on in the season, in Coup D'Etat (S02E17). He tells Sheppard, "One Tango, middle of the room," and the use of Tango for this purpose seems to be something that he learned right here from Caldwell.

There is nothing strange about this, it is perfectly appropriate military parlance. However, giving this designation specifically to Sheppard, calling Sheppard Tango, may contain an allusion to Ray Tango of Tango and Cash, the most homoerotic action film of all time. It is not unintentionally homoerotic because this level of subtext does not happen by accident. But it is still left to the subtext.

Given that we got to see the photograph of what was likely Sheppard's father in this episode, they may have started sketching out Sheppard's background in more detail at this time. Tango is the more upper class of the two characters, and where he does not need to fight crime due to financial reasons, being independently wealthy, he does it because he likes the action, because he wants to make a difference. And what is more, Tango has trust issues and his inability to trust becomes an issue between the two of them:

Cash: Seriously? You are one major mistrustful maladjusted human fucking being, you know that? Tango: Yeah, well. I love you too.

Tango's whole character arc is about learning to trust someone else through the trials and tribulations they undergo together, of Cash being there for him when the chips come down. Does that sound like any people we know? What is more, the film is connected to the franchise in that Kurt Russell, who plays Gabriel Cash, was the original actor for Jack O'Neil in the motion picture StargÅte that launched it all.

Regardless, for some reason we see Ronon part with the search party all of a sudden. When they hear Sheppard's new whereabouts from Caldwell, Ronon suddenly seems to have an idea of where he thinks Sheppard is going to be that he does not share with the others. McKay had suggested that they try using a diversion back in the iratus nest, and it looks like Ronon is going to try that now. He seems to know just the place to hide. He is not going after Sheppard, he is going to let Sheppard come to him.

McKay: Bravo Team and Sheppard are in the same room. Caldwell: Stay sharp. He should be right in there with you.

Note again McKay's use of "Sheppard" here. He is speaking to Caldwell, a military officer, so using Colonel Sheppard or just Colonel would be appropriate. But it is just not what McKay normally does, which makes the times that he does call Sheppard Colonel stand out all the more. And in this situation it is all the more striking because Teyla calls Sheppard Colonel as they seem to be very much on the clock, what with Sheppard having just told her to call him John when they are not at work.

Marine Anyone have a visual? Teyla: Above us! Colonel! Please, do not make me do this.

Sheppard advances on Teyla, and we cannot be sure what his intentions are. He might feel threatened and advance with the intention to take her out, or he might be enticed by his wraithess and advance with the intention of just taking her. Teyla herself seems traumatized enough by what had happened between them previously that she does not want him to come close to her.

But what is important to note here is that Teyla was not Sheppard's original target, was not Sheppard's reason for coming to this part of the city. Sheppard was not looking for her, and it was only after she called after him using "Colonel!" that he turned back and started advancing on her. Sheppard may well have been triggered by the use of the title, having specifically asked her not to use it. If Sheppard was even capable of rational thought anymore, running on pure instinct as he seemed to be, he had never felt further from being a Colonel than he did right now.

But note again that Sheppard does not have a death wish. He does not want to die. If he had wanted them to simply take him out, running into Teyla's warning shots would have been the easiest thing to do. He could have forced their hand into taking him out. But that is simply not what Sheppard wants, he never did. It is very clear that he has an objective, he has somewhere he needed to be and he has something he needed to do. And so he takes off as Teyla starts firing at his feet, not wanting to get injured. Getting injured would not help him achieve his goal.

Dex: Get the doctor down here. I have him.

And so Ronon takes him out, using his weapon to stun Sheppard. What is interesting here is that Ronon seemed to know where Sheppard was going, knew where he would be coming from. He knew this the moment Caldwell had informed them of where Sheppard had transported to. He used the rest of the team as a decoy, as a diversion, and waited for Sheppard to come to where he knew he was headed.

Where was he going? Sheppard took one transporter trip from where his quarters are to where he was headed. He was not looking for Teyla, having just run away from her, and he was not looking for Weir, having dropped her like a bag of potatoes on the floor earlier. It sure seems blue in the corridors of this part of the city that they were in just now. In fact, the same bluish light installation can be seen at the end of the corridor where Sheppard walks away from McKay in Duet (S01E04) and on the upper floors where Sheppard was doing his Spider-Man routine just now.

Anyway, it's a mystery. It does not seem to be a mystery to Ronon and Teyla, but it is a mystery to us.

Continued in Pt. 13

[little-miss-doe]

As a cane user, I'd like to hyper-obsess on Percy using a cane for a bit.

When we see him in Campaign 3 he's in his mid to late 50s. While it's not rare that someone of that age would use a cane (hell, I've been using a cane when needed since my mid 20s) there are some some interesting observations to be made.

From a purely game mechanics perspective Percy had the highest DEX score of any regular player character, at 22. Of course that doesn't perfectly equate to mobility, speed, or agility. He definitely face-planted a number of times throughout Campaign 1. And DEX influences things like stealth and tinkering and initiative as well. It's still reasonable for a character with a cane to have an utterly ungodly DEX.

Mostly I want to talk about the portrayal, context, and what this might mean for what's happened since we've last seen Percy 30 some years ago.

His use of a cane is only made note of in a single episode so far (Campaign 3, Episode 36) but he's also depicted with one in the family portrait seen in the Tal'Dorei Reborn book that came out about 9 months prior to that episode. At the time the book came out I had mostly passed off the cane as something of an affectation for the portrait or a family heirloom or something along those lines. In light of actually seeing him use a cane, it makes what is an "in universe" depiction of him in the family portrait with one rather telling. Combined with obviously having it in front of a group of total randos like Bells Hells, it's safe to assume it's just generally known he uses a cane.

Then 2 episodes later, a.k.a. a few hours later, when Percy shows back up in the story a cane is not mentioned again. So he isn't using it all the time. And that's fair, before we were catching him just after dawn and he is described in a way of a person that's recently woken up, with also not getting sleep. Getting going in the morning can be difficult.

Now for speculation mode. Is this the result of mundane wear and tear? Some injury post-campaign? Maybe the result of something sinister?

While I can't fully rule out the sinister option as ... well ... one of the major back story elements of Campaign 3 was literally Keyleth getting attacked for sinister reasons, there are no indicators of this being the case.

Simple mundane wear and tear after years of adventuring, regular life, and ageing would be the most realistic. But this is Percy, so ...

That brings us to the possibility of some kind of injury. To be honest this feels like the most likely knowing his tendencies. But there's also the issue of magical healing in D&D, which is always been it's own can of worms. This is possibly the case that I'll expand on later.

[neko-naruto]

be right by your side (no matter what)

Summary: if there's one thing Dee knew from the second her little brother was born, it's that she'd be by his side until one of them died no matter what that meant

Warnings: minor gore, wounds, general anguish and tragedy, check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: I binged Scoob and Shag in one sitting and went through the five stages of grief and the entire spectrum of human emotion, please go read it or read this fic without reading it, your choice. @sobredunia I can tag you in this nonsense now that you've read majority of Scoob and Shag. there are no spoilers past page 116, hope ya'll enjoy and consider checkin the Ao3 port if you do to leave a comment or kudos

"Don't touch my sister," He snarls the words with this specific resonance that Dee knows all too well considering how very long she's lived with him. The gentle hand on her shoulder raises, the blood of her wound rests on Pop's hand.

"He's just trying to help us out, Dex," Dee said quietly, her little brother was still defiant on the matter. She gave this gentle smile, one she hoped would ease his tension like it usually does.

He's still seething, his sister got hurt, his beloved sister. The person he turned into the angriest kid alive for, the sister he took all of his parents expectations for, the sister he tried to protect and failed to do so. He was sure he could keep her safe, sure he could keep her just fine on the supply raid because she was so desperate to join him.

To prove she wasn't just the nuisance he always said she was.

"I'm aware of that," He spat back, "How do we know we can trust them? Trust they don't have a Ballyhoo that'll hide Antihoo monsters? They could hurt us, Dee."

"We won't hurt you," Pop said, "We're in Med Bay 03, Mick and his cohorts are out there and can't hurt us-"

"I remember, Mick, Bugs, Ger, and Scoob," Dex spat bitterly, "I'm curious as to what makes you so sure me and my sister aren't a part of Mick's team?"

"A hunch," was Pop's answer to the question, "We saw you and your sister about to be torn to shreds by an Antihoo monster and saved you, of course, we couldn't patch all of your wounds while you two were passed out.

Dee's fingers raise to the small wound on her brothers arm, partially dried blood spilling down his lab coat. He hissed and pulled away from her, "Bring me to your lab and I'll start devising better and more efficient healing methods than bandaids and polysporin."

-/-/-/-

"You need to stay where it's safe, Dee," Dex would consistently chide despite his sister's insistence on joining them on the battlefield. Her Ballyhoo was never combative, it was an assist at best. Closed Caption, it let her read the thoughts of everyone around if she needed.

Dee clenched her fists a bit tighter, pigtails comically drooping, "But, Dexter, I could help-"

"Don't be an idiot, Dee Dee!" The aggressiveness to his tone is unintentional, but it makes Dee back down unlike when they were kids. Before they were part of the forces on planet Toone, before things got really bad, "Your Ballyhoo can give us nothing on the battlefield, it can barely give us anything off the battlefield either. You need to stay here to stay safe, monitor the injured, watch the doors, make sure that no is trying to double cross us."

And Dee wants so fucking badly to defy him, to push back, but ever since day one her brother has been the intellectual of the two. She nods, submitting to what she knows to be the truth, proven time and time again by the insanity upon the crashed spaceship. She takes a seat on a spinning chair, "Alright, Dex, please be careful out there. You're our best medic in spite of your Ballyhoo, did you ever realize how destructive it is?"

"My Ballyhoo? Pah! It's naught but my machines, my gadgets, little bombs I place my power in, ticking time bombs to save us all or kill us all," Dex answered without putting any thought behind it, "Mick used his Ballyhoo for evil, he still is, and I'll use mine to fight the good fight." His hand come to rest upon a set of wrenches, flat head and perfectly fitting within his hand. He grabs a set of his small bombs, his little trinkets used to properly and safely activate his Ballyhoo, he'll need them if they come across A Commander.

Dee just nods solemnly, highly aware of the fact that her brother isn't a fan of his Ballyhoo being a weaker version of Mick's. It's detrimental to his sense of being, his sense of identity, that he can be on the good guys team despite the fact his Ballyhoo is just a terrible reminder of what they're facing. That's why he throws himself into medical fields and machinery for defenses, the only way to detach himself from using his power to be a help, "I'll go patch up Felix and Yogi," She snags some of his special edition gauze tape, medication infused within it for good measure.

"Thank you for understanding, Dee," Dex said quietly, raising a gloved hand to readjust his goggles, the other hand stuffing weaponry into his lab coat pockets, "I'll be back, and better yet with some of those chips you keep nagging me about recreating."

"Thanks bro," There's this hoping sweetness on her voice, an innocence despite the fact that everything is falling apart around them.

-/-/-/-

Eyes sting with tears as she watches her brother be wheeled off on life support after the bout with Foghorn Leghorn, the bout that put one of them permanently out of business and the other near fatally wounded. She managed to deface the asshole that hurt her little brother, that nearly killed her little brother, but there was still the problem of the fact she didn't move fast enough. This could be it.

"Like, he'll be fine," Shag tried to console, good hand resting on Dee's shoulder. He sat beside her on the floor of their getaway, their emergency escape whether they failed or succeeded. And they succeeded but at a cost that Dee absolutely hated, an expense that made her feel ill.

She takes staggering breaths, gloved hand raising to run through blonde hair matting with blood. It hurts. Every little thing hurts, talking, breathing, touching her hair, her face hurts so much with how badly Foghorn messed it up. She slumps a little bit further down, "It should've been me."

Shag doesn't answer to fill the radio silence.

"I'm the big sister, and yeah I saved him, but," She stares at the body of her little brother. He's barely breathing. His heart rate is weak. Her breath hitches as she draws a hand to her now bright pink eyes to stifle the tears, "I didn't really save him."

"We'll fix him up, Dee," It's a promise that Shag can't keep, but he makes it anyways.

Dee nods and leans against Shag, "Okay."

[anyathefandom]

To Those Fortunate Enough chapter 33:

@burned-lariat

"You're an assassin," he continued, "I'm pretty sure looking like a depressed lump breaks your code."

"Is this your way of humoring me?" Wallace looked at Valentin, his face a mix of pale white and bright red.

"It's my way of getting you to talk to me."

"Not gonna happen."

"You can't say 'my son wants nothing to do with me' and then clam up."

"Yes I can; I'm doing it now."

Me: In moments like these I can see that Dex clearly takes after Wallace personality wise because while reading this part I caught myself laughing and saying "Oh this something Dex would say" and then went "Oh wait hold on this is where Dex gets his smart ass tendencies from.😂

"He came back from his tour in Afghanistan and wanted to talk.

"He wanted to reconcile just like that?" Valentin snapped his fingers.

"I…may or may not have pestered him with a couple dozen letters. But I made my feelings toward him clear: I loved him

Me:

"And now?"

"...Turns out I'm the ridiculous one," Wallace leaned back against the sofa, "I got so wound up in my feelings for his mother that it messed up my feelings for him. I had this…stupid, childish resentment towards him because of something that Irina and I agreed to do for his benefit."

"So you did approve of everything and didn't care enough after all?"

Wallace felt a lump in his throat, thinking over his words, "...I'm not exactly 'Father of the Year' material."

Me: No kidding!🙈

"How are you the same man who pushed me to go rescue my daughter?" Valentin gestured to the closed bedroom door, "How can you push other parents to be better but not push yourself? I just…why did you carry this resentment at all?"

"Because I, in my addled brain, stupidly tied Irina cutting us out to Dex instead of Helena. I mean, I blamed Helena for her role, but I held it against Dex because he mattered more to Irina than I did. As long as he was safe and fine, that was it. I felt like she didn't care about me."

"Did you call raising your son 'babysitting' too?"

"What?"

Did it ever occur to you that, besides being his father, she had Dexter go with you because she trusted you? Because she loved you and thought that there was no one better to be with him than you?"

Wallace pinched the bridge of his nose, "I've never met someone more pathetically petty than you, Wallace. You made a dire situation all about yourself and your feelings when it should've been about your son, and that screwed his life up. He was the one in danger, not you. He was the one who needed the attention, not you. You're a premier assassin, capable of taking care of yourself. Dexter was defenseless-"

"You don't think I know that, Valentin?" Wallace scowled at him, "You don't think I'm hating myself for it? I was a piece of trash father, and hell, I'm still one now! I wreaked havoc on Dex's life-"

"Oh God, shut up!" Valentin got to his feet, "Stop with this pitiful self-loathing act! Stop wallowing like an angsty teenager over your 'mistakes' and 'bad decisions' when you can be the grown adult that you're meant to be and fix what you did."

Me:

The way Valentin got me like:

Dearest," she said in surprise, his hands gripping her arms before she pulled him into a tight hug.

My inner Irina x Wallace Stan: 📸😌

Seeing Wallace apologize profusely and meaning it got me misty eyed and while I would've ate up Wallace and Dex reconciling then and there I'm actually glad Dex didn't accept his apology especially if he didn't feel ready to, no matter how much Wallace truly regrets everything that has went down. Like fuuuuck my heart hurts for them but I loved that dex put himself first.

He looked at Dex one last time before exiting, Irina standing a few feet away. She looked over Wallace with a curious, sympathetic silence before walking into the room, rushing to her son's side.

"Don't," Dex held a hand up, tears staining his cheeks, "He needs you way more than I do."

Irina stared for a moment, blinking in shock. She slowly backed away and left, and Dex watched on through the window as she embraced his father tightly, the man's cries echoing in the room as much as it echoed in his ears. He leaned back in the bed, closing his eyes, more tears flowing as he let the heartbreak swallow him whole.

Me:

[anyathefandom]

To Those Fortunate Enough chapter 29:

@burned-lariat

A smirk formed on Wallace's face as soon as Irina walked out of the bathroom.

Wallace internally:

Wallace really be like "Irina you don't understand me and Dex hashed that out years ago. He's just being dramatic right now" like Wallace once again I need you to stop INVALIDATING YOUR SON'S FEELINGS!!!

“Absolutely. I kept him safe, I kept him away from your mother. I did what you wanted-”

“Stop,” Irina raised a hand, “stop right there.”

“What?”

“...I’m going to ask you this once, and I want an honest answer. Do you actually love our son?"

Me: See and now you got Irina wondering if you even love that boy.

"Concerned citizen?" Alexis furrowed her brow before the answer dawned on her, "Victor got you removed."

"He did."

"Well…welcome to the club."

"What do you mean?"

"The locks to The Invader were changed overnight. We can't get in."

"And you think it's Victor's doing?"

"Who else would it be? It's not every day you see a bunch of big men in business suits taking over your office."

Me: Once again I appreciate that Victor is very active. Like mans is not wasting any time with making his move. I love a competent villain.🤌

"But why? Is Wallace that big of a threat?"

"What makes you think he isn't?"

"Well, when the family met Irina and found out what happened, he was this calm, simpering presence, not some dangerous, conniving brute."

Me: AND THAT'S MY MAN!!!

"What made him 'simpering?''

"Irina lashed out at him over what happened to Dex and he just…took it. He didn't fight with her, he didn't get angry, he just took the blame and wilted under her rage."

"That doesn't sound like Wallace. The Wallace I know is a hot-headed, stubborn brute."

Irina: “No, I sacrificed a lot for him. I sent him away because if I didn’t, he’d be dead. I had to give up my motherhood for his well-being, and I had to swallow the fact that I broke my own heart to save him, and I hate that I hurt him in the process. I suffered in a way no mother ever should, but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant he got to live to see another day. What did you sacrifice?”

Me: Baby that's just the power of Irina Cassadine 🤷

Wallace: “You.”

Me: I feel his pain but I'm going to need Wallace to stand up because I know it broke his heart when she left but Dex is his son so resenting your only child who you have with the love of your life isn't the way to go sir.😬

You sent us away,” he replied, “You had me take Dex and flee the Netherlands. I had no way to contact you, I had no way of making sure you were okay-”

“That wasn’t important!”

“How was that not important?”

“Because it wasn’t about me, it was about Dexter. What mattered was his safety and his well-being: who cares about me?”

“I cared!” Wallace shouted, his voice echoing, “I cared, Irina! I love you!”

“I love you too.”

Me: I'm really getting the "I love you" dialogue in these conditions.😭

“No, you love Dex. Everything was about Dex, it was always about Dex.”

Me: Wallace that's what happens when you become a parent!!!

"That’s what happens when you become a parent, Wallace. It stops being about you, and it starts being about your child. I’m sorry you never got the chance to experience that kind of selfless love.”

Me:

“None of this is Dexter’s fault-”

“He kept you away from me!” Wallace boomed, “All of this is his fault, all of it! None of this would’ve happened if you had just let Helena get rid of him!"

Me:

“Wallace, come on,” Irina got the man to his feet, “it’s alright. I know you were angry. I’m sorry I poked at you like that.”

“No, no,” he shook his head, wiping his face with his hands, “Don’t apologize. You had every right to. He was right: I wasn't the father he needed me to be. I let him get hurt over and over again because of some petty resentment I never had the right to feel. He deserves better. I have to fix this.”

“Where are you going?” Irina watched as he grabbed his jacket from over the adjacent chair.

“I’m going to show up for him,” he answered, grabbing his jacket from an arm of the sofa, “I’m going back to the hospital, and I’m going to sit there and wait until Dex wakes up. Once he’s up, I’m going to spend every second making up for everything I’ve ever done to him.”

Me at the start of this conversation:

Me by the end: