#Flower Delivery in Scotland

[theweeowlart]

A double tulip in charcoal on buff paper. My drawing is available to collectors and Christmas gift hunters. All UK delivery from my Etsy shop is free… https://theweeowlstudio.etsy.com/listing/1611526043 or you can search for 'TheWeeOwlStudio' on Etsy.

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! I was wondering if you could recommend some fics where Crowley and/or Aziraphale are detectives. I would prefer if they were rated M or E. Thank you :)

Hey. Here are some M/E detective fics...

All's Fair In Love And Serial Killing by WyvernQuill (M)

Detective Inspector Crowley is 99.999 percent sure that Aziraphale Fell is a serial killer. The trouble is only that the remaining 0.001 percent are deeply in love with the man… --- In which there is A Murder - rather a lot of them, actually - A Marriage Proposal - just the one - and True Love - whose course runs less not-smooth than it takes a sharp left turn, loops a couple times, and doubles back on itself, before crashing straight into a wall. (Don't mind the metaphor. It still ends well. Promise.)

yours in black lace by okapi (E)

Hardboiled, hell-fried private investigator Anthony J. Crowley is just trying to survive a hot, boring August, but a new case and a series of anonymous naughty letters signed only 'yours in black lace' are about to make things interesting. Chapters 1-3 are case fic. Chapter 4 is smut. For the 2020 DW Unconventional Courtship challenge based on a summary of the Mills & Boon novel Yours in Black Lace by Mia Zachary.

Snow Angel by Lurlur (E)

Detective Constable Crowley has been working the "Snow Angel" case for almost a year. It's Christmas Eve and finally, his luck seems to have come in. Arresting Aziraphale Fell, big-time drug dealer, is the easy part. Questioning him is the hard part. It's a police procedural that goes sideways. I'd say it still manages to have a more coherent plot than any episode of Prodigal Son, but that's not saying much.

Tadfield's Finest by angelsnuffbox (E)

The sleepy town of Tadfield is thoroughly shaken by the arrival of DI Crowley. Where barely anything ever happened before, there is now a bustle of low grade criminal activity, and everyone knows where to point the blame. Gabriel thinks he's a bad omen for the town, many others are quick to agree. Meanwhile, Aziraphale from SOCO just thinks he's hot. Ridiculously so.

It's A Hard Life by Krisdaughter_of_Athena (M)

“Crawly” was the best delivery man in the whole city of London, and everyone knew it. Whether it be books and flowers, or narcotics and guns, Crawly was the one for the job. Easy enough for Crawly to slip in and out of tight spaces, and easy enough to keep his real name off the police radar. Detective Constable Aziraphale Pritchard is used to being told he is not very good at his job. He is as surprised as everyone else when he is the officer to catch Crawly, the Devil’s infamous delivery driver, in the act. He is the only officer to figure out Crawly’s real name. But no one else knows that, otherwise they’d also know that the DC tends to get drunk with this particular member of the notorious Demons every other Thursday, and would also know of the fragile Arrangement between the two. Aziraphale knew it couldn’t last. However, what are the two to do when Crowley is given an extra special delivery, one which places the two unlikely allies alongside each other for the long haul? How will they keep the delicate balance of their arrangement from their respective sides? And how will they keep one boy from bringing destruction to the entirety of London?

The Currents by indigo (M)

Post-End-of-the-World-that-Wasn't, a bored demon sets up a Detective Agency and obviously drags his angel counterpart in to help out. They are tasked with preventing a murder before it happens and set off to the Highlands of Scotland - where, of course, nothing works out quite the way they imagine...

- Mod D

[painted-kneecaps]

If you are feeling lonely in your support of Palestine because of where you live, or because the internet is an echo chamber, i have something to tell you !!!

I am traveling in Europe right now, a trip that i have saved for for over a year, that i have grieved and felt guilty for the privilege of having- and i want to share with you some things that have stuck with me so far, as someone from rural Texas who knows very few people who care about Palestine.

In Paris, the wall across from my lodging is plastered with posters. I don’t speak French- the only word I can read is Gaza. I walk past a cafe, and a woman inside sips her coffee as she sits across from her lover, a keffiyeh draped around her shoulders. I pass a school, and a girl breezes past me. I can see the Handala cartoon on the back of her T-shirt as she passes. On the drive back to Germany, I crane my neck as we pass an old brick barn set against fields of green grass and yellow flowers. The Palestinian flag is painted across the side, larger than life, visible to everyone that passes.

In London, I share the sidewalk, only briefly, with an old man in a tweed suit, a ceasefire pin fastened to his lapel. In the subway I walk beneath a sticker calling for a free Palestine, fastened to the concrete above me. I walk to a restaurant with my friend after dark, and a delivery boy sits outside on his bike, a keffiyeh wrapped around his head. I yell, “I like your keffiyeh!” he grins as he pedals away, and calls “I like you!”

As I hurry through the airport, a woman passing me notices my own pin, fastened to my bag, and tells me she likes it. I grin and thank her. When my plane lands in Scotland, and I am rushing around Edinburgh, backpack heavy with everything i currently own, i pass a group of old ladies all in a row, dressed in brightly colored overalls. I stop to admire their outfits, only then to notice the string of hand quilted pennants they hold between them, altogether reading “Ceasefire Now!”

You are not alone. We are all listening.

The whole world sends its love.

Free Palestine.

[nicos-oc-hell]

Clouds and flower tornadoes?

Sunday, 3pm, Astéri Bakery, New Zealand

A blonde boy with curly hair slightly covering his eyes was standing in front of his father as he was on the phone taking an order from some lady. Anatoly looked down at his son and looked at him for a couple of seconds before he mouthed what. “When are we going back to Scotland?” The boy asked with a tilt of his head, he was about to continue on his questions but Anatoly held up a finger to stop him.

“Yes ma’am, would you like that for pick up or delivery tomorrow?” There was a pause for the lady to answer before Anatoly wrote something down on the notepad in front of him. “And what time would you like to pick that up ma’am? 1pm is ok on our end as well. You have a good day too, ma’am.” He set the phone back down and handed the notepad to his other son, Jebron, so he could give it to Henry, the other owner.

“Alright finally!” The blonde, Sinncere, exclaimed as he rounded the corner of the counter. “When are we going back to Scotland? No offense but I don’t want to spend my summer in the bakery again.” He stood on the step stool so he could be closer to his dad’s head rather than being eye level with his chest. Anatoly turned his head and started to trace his finger along the calendar that had a bunch of messy writing on it. He tapped his finger on a day and picked up the phone that was ringing once again.

Anatoly immediately tuned out Sinncere’s whines of them not leaving until Saturday in favor of answering the phone, “Hello, this is Anatoly at Astéri Bakery, how may I be of service?” Sinncere dramatically hopped off the step stool and walked out of the bakery claiming to be going back home. Anatoly rolled his eyes at his son's antics and continued taking the order on the other line.

Saturday, 12am, Perphyra-Lestrange residence, New Zealand

Anatoly lifted his head when he heard the pitter patter of feet walking around downstairs near the bedroom door. He turned his head to the alarm clock and slammed his head back onto his pillow when he realized what time it was.

“Go tell your sons to go back to bed.” His wife, Ashley, mumbled into his chest and rolled off of him so he could go do that.

Anatoly rolled over to sit up but he didn’t have to get up because both Sinncere and Jebron suddenly burst through the door fully dressed, ready to leave when they stopped in their tracks and both tilted their heads to the side. “And why are the two of you still in bed? You told me that we could leave on Saturday, it’s Saturday…get up and let's go.” Sinncere said impatiently and went into the dresser and started pulling clothes out for them. Jebron flicked the light on and started to help Sinncere.

“Why are we leaving at 12 in the morning?” Anatoly mumbled through the pillow he had pulled out from underneath him to put on top of his face. He lifted the pillow off of his head when he felt something thrown onto his chest. “What did you just throw on me?”

He didn’t get an answer but instead the sound of a door shutting. He heard a groan come from behind him before Ashley mumbled something that he couldn’t quite hear. “Alright,..................your terrorist children.”

“They are your children as well” He added sarcastically and got up so he could see what one of them had chosen for him to wear.

Twenty five minutes later the two of them walked out to the living room to see the twins were sitting on their trunks arguing about something. Sinncere climbed off of his trunk ready for his mother to shrink it and walked over to his cat and put Fluffy in his crate. He picked up his trunk and put it in his pocket, he walked over to the fireplace and Anatoly handed him the floo powder. He was immediately reminded to pronounce the address clearly.

Friday, 1pm, Perphyra Estate, Scotland

Ayas lept back from the fireplace he was cleaning when it turned green and one of his 2x great grandchildren walked out. Sinncere stumbled over Ayas foot, not expecting someone to be directly in front of the fireplace. The two of them silently stared at each other before Sinncere scrambled off of Ayas with a thousand I’m Sorry’s rapidly falling out of his mouth.

Jebron came out of the fireplace and stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed his grandfather on the floor with a raised eyebrow. He glanced over to his brother who was also sitting on the floor and decided to ignore them in favor of letting Sniffer out of his crate. Jebron looked down at Mr. Fluffy who was left abandoned on the floor and let him out as well.

“I’m going to my room, y’all have fun on the floor.” He stepped over Ayas and whistled so that Sniffer could follow him upstairs. “Tell dad to let Tigger out his crate when they come through!” He shouted whilst he was already halfway up the stairs. Ayas grabbed onto the arm chair next to him and pulled himself up while Sinncere stayed on the floor with Mr. Fluffy sitting on his chest.

Anatoly and Ashley walked through the fireplace together with Anatoly holding a crate in his arms. The two of them stopped their conversation as they had noticed Sinncere on the ground but quickly got over the confusion and walked around him. “Grandfather.” Anatoly bowed his head at the old man sitting in the armchair.

“Anatoly, Ashley.” Ayas bowed his head in return and gestured towards the crate that Anatoly was holding, “Your son said to let Tigger out of his crate when you got here. Also I thought you were coming on Saturday?”

“It’s Saturday in New Zealand. It’s also 12am in New Zealand so I’m going to sleep. Don’t forget to tell Henry we won’t be back until next week, Ana.” With that Ashley walked up the stairs so she could go back to bed.

Anatoly had a sheepish look on his face because he was supposed to do that yesterday but forgot. He let Tigger out of his crate and went about tidying up the mess that had occured from before he got there. He tapped Sinncere with his foot so he could get up off the floor but Sinncere had already made himself comfortable and was reading some animal book.

Anatoly walked into the kitchen and straight over to the fridge to grab himself a drink and something to eat. He took a brief glance at the note taped to the fridge what you think is orange juice is not orange juice before he grabbed the first drink he eyes landed on and took out ingredients to make a sandwich.

There was an annoying clicking at the window and there was an owl there with something strapped around one of its legs. “Like clockwork.” Anatoly mumbled around a mouth full of sandwich as he pushed himself off the counter and grabbed a piece of ham from the fridge to offer the owl.

Jebron’s room

Jebron raised his head up from its position on Sniffer's stomach to another loud argument between Sinncere and Dotta. “There are about what…thirty rooms in this damn house?”

“Thirty six to be exact.” Sinncere said, not bothering to turn his head away from the floating cloud in front of him.

“Whatever, why out of ALL of those rooms, you choose to be in my room?” Jebron asked, annoyed as he threw a pillow through the cloud, disconnecting the call between Sinncere and Dotta. “Not to mention you have your own room!”

Sinncere turned his head around angrily as the pillow had also hit Fluffy who was sitting on top of his head before going through the cloud. He picked the pillow up and threw it back at Jebron, hitting him square in the face. “You hit my cat! It took me a while to find one of those coins, asshole! Now I gotta go find another one!” He picked Fluffy up off the chair where he had scurried away too when the pillow hit him.

“I didn’t hit your cat, your cat hit my pillow.” Jebron rolled his eyes at Sinncere and dodged the tornado of flowers that were chasing him around the room. “Hey! What the hell! Get this thing away from me.” He scrambled out of his room and tried to shut the door on the tornado but the door was instead added into the tornado.

Sinncere immediately ran downstairs whilst laughing but that quickly stopped when he ran straight into his mom. “I’m sorry mom!” He picked her up off the ground but didn’t stay long enough so she could scold him for running around the house. It didn’t matter anyway as she and Jebron were chasing him soon after as the tornado had started to get out of hand.

“Sinncere Lucas Perphyra! You put an end to this nonsense right now!”

Sinncere quickly started to form a lie that was a rather obvious lie. “I didn’t even start it! I’m an orc, not an elf! Jebron is trying to pin this on me because he can’t control his powers!” Sinncere kept the little onslaught of lies going before he ended up in the maze with a huge tornado of anything and everything behind him. 

Oh I fucked up he thought to himself as he stopped and just stared at the tornado that had also seemed to stop moving as if they were having a mexican standoff. He took a step backwards as the bushes of the maze had been picked up so he had a lot of room to run now. The tornado as if it was following Sinncere moved forward. Well that was before the tornado seemed to disintegrate and suddenly everything was back to the way it was before the tornado had ripped it from where it was.

[serapheh]

5 Easy Moves toward Pick Best Flower specialist For Flower Delivery

The following are 5 most significant things to keep into mind while selecting a flower vendor:

Experience

Being very delicate, flowers need special states of putting away, dealing with, packaging and shipping. Here the experience makes the biggest difference. An accomplished flower specialist is well knowledgeable with the best approaches to taking care of the putting away, dealing with and shipping the flowers. An accomplished flower specialist accomplishes a specific skill in various cycles: Right from the selection till delivering. He has a sharp eye on keeping up with the freshness and fragrance of the flowers.

Accessibility

There are numerous flower specialists who use to have just most common assortments of flowers in an extremely restricted amount. If you want get some information about some special assortment of flowers like some special flowers of Scotland, they will guarantee you to make the special flowers accessible on the expected day. Yet, it isn't prudent to take the risk here as these sorts of flower vendors depend on other significant flower specialist shops for the special sort of flowers and it has 2 disservices: it will be more costly because of obvious reasons and there is no guarantee whether the flowers will be accessible on the expected day. So one more nature of your ideal flower vendor ought to be the accessibility of satisfactory stock and assortment.

Cost

Flowers are introduced to individuals you love and care about most, yet that doesn't mean that you ought to be prepared to address nonsensically significant expenses. You must check and compare the costs of flowers online as opposed to going to the roads and scouring every flower specialist independently. One of the extraordinary benefits of an online flower vendor is that they use to offer incessant markdown coupons, plans and so on.

Flower delivery choices

A decent flower specialist will have a few delivery choices like ordering online, sending flowers by post or sending them physically. Multiple choices of delivery empower you to select the choice that will turn out best for you.

[in-a-dreamstate]

How Choose Best Florist For Flower Delivery

The instant influx of joy bouquet by fresh, fragrant, beautiful flowers is simply indescribable. Flowers are the best way to say someone that we care. Nothing can be valued more than a bouquet of fresh, blooming flowers. But one must remember that it is very important to maintain the beauty of the flowers and keep them blooming until they reach the recipient. If a bunch of blooming flowers brings n instantly joy, a bunch of withered or listless flowers turns one off and wastes all your efforts. As flowers is fragile and perishable one need to be very careful visit site here while choosing the florist. Choosing the right florist will make your flowers stand out.

Here are 5 most important things to keep into mind while selecting a florist:

Experience

Being extremely delicate, flowers need special conditions of storing, handling, packaging and transporting. Here the experience matters the most. An experienced florist is well versed with the best ways of handling the storing, handling and transporting the flowers. An experienced florist achieves a certain expertise in various processes: Right from the selection till delivering. He has a keen eye on maintaining the freshness and fragrance of the flowers.

Availability

There are many florists who use to have only most common varieties of flowers in a very limited quantity. If you need ask them about some special variety of flowers like some special flowers of Scotland, they will assure you to make the special flowers available on the required day. But it is not advisable to take the chance here as these kinds of florists rely on other major florist shops for the special kind of flowers and it has 2 disadvantages: it will be more expensive because of obvious reasons and there is no surety whether the flowers will be available on the required day. So another quality of your ideal florist should be the availability of adequate stock and variety.

Price

Flowers are presented to people you love and care about most, but that does not mean that you should be ready to pay unreasonably high prices. You must check and compare the prices of flowers online instead of going to the streets and scouring each florist separately. One of the great advantages of an online florist is that they use to offer frequent discount coupons, schemes etc.

Flower delivery options

A good florist will have several delivery options like ordering online, sending flowers by post or sending them manually. Multiple options of delivery enable you to select the option that will work best for you.

Creativity

Though the flowers are already beautiful, one needs very good creative skills to enhance their look and give them a unique appeal. A good florist perfectly knows how to make bouquet according to various occasions like mother’s day flowers, Valentine’s Day flowers etc. They can also guide you on the ideal collection and combination of flowers for the maximum impact. Such creative inputs will enhance the impact of your flowers and will make your flowers stand out in the crowd.

[nuncaestoubem]

Easy Steps To Choose Best Florist For Flower Delivery

The instant influx of joy bouquet by fresh, fragrant, beautiful flowers is simply indescribable. Flowers are the best way to say someone that we care. Nothing can be valued more than a bouquet of fresh, blooming flowers. But one must remember that it is very important to maintain the beauty of the flowers and keep them read more here blooming until they reach the recipient. If a bunch of blooming flowers brings n instantly joy, a bunch of withered or listless flowers turns one off and wastes all your efforts. As flowers is fragile and perishable one need to be very careful while choosing the florist. Choosing the right florist will make your flowers stand out.

Here are 5 most important things to keep into mind while selecting a florist:

Experience

Being extremely delicate, flowers need special conditions of storing, handling, packaging and transporting. Here the experience matters the most. An experienced florist is well versed with the best ways of handling the storing, handling and transporting the flowers. An experienced florist achieves a certain expertise in various processes: Right from the selection till delivering. He has a keen eye on maintaining the freshness and fragrance of the flowers.

Availability

There are many florists who use to have only most common varieties of flowers in a very limited quantity. If you need ask them about some special variety of flowers like some special flowers of Scotland, they will assure you to make the special flowers available on the required day. But it is not advisable to take the chance here as these kinds of florists rely on other major florist shops for the special kind of flowers and it has 2 disadvantages: it will be more expensive because of obvious reasons and there is no surety whether the flowers will be available on the required day. So another quality of your ideal florist should be the availability of adequate stock and variety.

Price

Flowers are presented to people you love and care about most, but that does not mean that you should be ready to pay unreasonably high prices. You must check and compare the prices of flowers online instead of going to the streets and scouring each florist separately. One of the great advantages of an online florist is that they use to offer frequent discount coupons, schemes etc.

Flower delivery options

A good florist will have several delivery options like ordering online, sending flowers by post or sending them manually. Multiple options of delivery enable you to select the option that will work best for you.

Creativity

Though the flowers are already beautiful, one needs very good creative skills to enhance their look and give them a unique appeal. A good florist perfectly knows how to make bouquet according to various occasions like mother’s day flowers, Valentine’s Day flowers etc. They can also guide you on the ideal collection and combination of flowers for the maximum impact. Such creative inputs will enhance the impact of your flowers and will make your flowers stand out in the crowd.

[meraki-zahir]

5 Easy Steps To Choose Best Florist For Flower Delivery

The instant influx of joy bouquet by fresh, fragrant, beautiful flowers is simply indescribable. Flowers are the best way to say someone that we care. Nothing can be valued more than a bouquet of fresh, blooming flowers. But one must remember that it is very important to maintain the beauty of the flowers and keep them blooming until they reach the recipient. If a bunch of blooming flowers brings n instantly joy, a bunch of withered or listless flowers turns one off and wastes read more here all your efforts. As flowers is fragile and perishable one need to be very careful while choosing the florist. Choosing the right florist will make your flowers stand out.

Here are 5 most important things to keep into mind while selecting a florist:

Experience

Being extremely delicate, flowers need special conditions of storing, handling, packaging and transporting. Here the experience matters the most. An experienced florist is well versed with the best ways of handling the storing, handling and transporting the flowers. An experienced florist achieves a certain expertise in various processes: Right from the selection till delivering. He has a keen eye on maintaining the freshness and fragrance of the flowers.

Availability

There are many florists who use to have only most common varieties of flowers in a very limited quantity. If you need ask them about some special variety of flowers like some special flowers of Scotland, they will assure you to make the special flowers available on the required day. But it is not advisable to take the chance here as these kinds of florists rely on other major florist shops for the special kind of flowers and it has 2 disadvantages: it will be more expensive because of obvious reasons and there is no surety whether the flowers will be available on the required day. So another quality of your ideal florist should be the availability of adequate stock and variety.

Price

Flowers are presented to people you love and care about most, but that does not mean that you should be ready to pay unreasonably high prices. You must check and compare the prices of flowers online instead of going to the streets and scouring each florist separately. One of the great advantages of an online florist is that they use to offer frequent discount coupons, schemes etc.

Flower delivery options

A good florist will have several delivery options like ordering online, sending flowers by post or sending them manually. Multiple options of delivery enable you to select the option that will work best for you.

[tsol-mi]

5 Easy Steps To Choose Best Florist For Flower Delivery

The instant influx of joy bouquet by fresh, fragrant, beautiful flowers is simply indescribable. Flowers are the best way to say someone that we care. Nothing can be valued more than a bouquet of fresh, blooming flowers. But one must remember that it is very important to maintain the beauty of the flowers and keep them blooming until they reach the recipient. If a bunch of blooming flowers brings n instantly joy, a bunch of withered or listless flowers turns one off and wastes all visit site here your efforts. As flowers is fragile and perishable one need to be very careful while choosing the florist. Choosing the right florist will make your flowers stand out.

Here are 5 most important things to keep into mind while selecting a florist:

Experience

Being extremely delicate, flowers need special conditions of storing, handling, packaging and transporting. Here the experience matters the most. An experienced florist is well versed with the best ways of handling the storing, handling and transporting the flowers. An experienced florist achieves a certain expertise in various processes: Right from the selection till delivering. He has a keen eye on maintaining the freshness and fragrance of the flowers.

Availability

There are many florists who use to have only most common varieties of flowers in a very limited quantity. If you need ask them about some special variety of flowers like some special flowers of Scotland, they will assure you to make the special flowers available on the required day. But it is not advisable to take the chance here as these kinds of florists rely on other major florist shops for the special kind of flowers and it has 2 disadvantages: it will be more expensive because of obvious reasons and there is no surety whether the flowers will be available on the required day. So another quality of your ideal florist should be the availability of adequate stock and variety.

Price

Flowers are presented to people you love and care about most, but that does not mean that you should be ready to pay unreasonably high prices. You must check and compare the prices of flowers online instead of going to the streets and scouring each florist separately. One of the great advantages of an online florist is that they use to offer frequent discount coupons, schemes etc.

Flower delivery options

A good florist will have several delivery options like ordering online, sending flowers by post or sending them manually. Multiple options of delivery enable you to select the option that will work best for you.

Creativity

Though the flowers are already beautiful, one needs very good creative skills to enhance their look and give them a unique appeal. A good florist perfectly knows how to make bouquet according to various occasions like mother’s day flowers, Valentine’s Day flowers etc. They can also guide you on the ideal collection and combination of flowers for the maximum impact. Such creative inputs will enhance the impact of your flowers and will make your flowers stand out in the crowd.

[evapolly-blog]

Very little things can enhance our mood like a bunch of fresh and colorful flowers livening up the environment with their fragrance. The truth is waking up to receive a bunch of beautiful flowers can make a day or any occasion special.

These wonderful creations of nature can be availed with online bookings gifted to any person for their big day or to express their feelings of sympathy in funeral arrangements. If you want to make an online booking with same day or midnight flower delivery in, you will surely find with Helensburgh Flower Shop as one of the best options available online.

[ghostbellies]

Earthworms

(SFW SHORT STORY)

(A story I wrote about Engines. Yes, it’s Thomas and Friends, Get off my ASS. If you like it, drop me a comment! i love writing but don’t do it often! ALSO bear in mind that this is NOT my usual content, i’m just using Tumblr to post this to world lol)

It was a warm, drizzly day on the Isle of Sodor.  Rain fell in shimmery sheets over the island, the smell of new greenery and rich earth mixed in the air with the scent of petrichor. The sun shone through breaks in the clouds, spilling a golden light on the awakening countryside.

“The devil is beatin’ his wife”, Some Sudrians would say as they lifted their eyes skywards.

The engines on the Fat Controller’s railway hardly had time for such meteorological observations - they were busy at work as always, the Spring season bringing eager tourists from the mainland looking to enjoy the milder weather; trucks laden with paint and fresh thatch for Spring cleaning; and of course, lots of post.

Percy The Little Green Engine found himself pulling an additional afternoon mail train on every Wednesday, bringing priority post from the mainland. Although eager Percy would have rather blown his throttle valve than complain out loud, he couldn’t help but be a touch grumpy over the additional load, as it was always a rush job and always just shy of ‘absolutely bloody late’.

On that wet Spring Wednesday, Percy was hauling a particularly heavy priority mail train, running 8 and red-faced as the gentle rain became stinging needles against his plump cheeks.  Percy offered meek praise to the Maker when the mail depot finally appeared on the horizon. The porters were already racing around with carts in anticipation of the mail delivery, but he could also see a tall lady waiting patiently on the platform. She was wearing a lumpy raincoat, dirty overalls and muddy green boots.  Her brassy blonde hair was grimy, plastered to her forehead in the humid air.  As soon as Percy labored up to the platform, wheezing with the effort of hauling the laden trucks, the woman waved to him.

“Hello, Little Six!” she said in her big, brash northerner’s voice. Percy beamed, immediately feeling ten cars lighter. “Hallo Miss McColl!” He chirped brightly.

Amelia McColl was Farmer McColl’s eldest daughter. Only a few seasons prior she had taken over a good deal of the farm duties that pertained to the growing of crops, and she took it very seriously.  She was rarely seen without a healthy dusting of dirt on her clothes or a big box of seasonal produce and flowers to share with her neighbors. Percy liked her. She seemed to genuinely enjoy talking to the engines; sharing stories about troublesome crows in her corn or photos of her army of barn cats. 

Amelia stood aside as the porters hustled to unload Percy’s freight. One of them rushed over to her. He nodded to her curtly with a mumbled “ma’am” and handed her a clipboard, which she scrawled her signature on and traded back for a smallish crate. It was stamped with blue ink - RUSH DELIVERY: KEEP COOL.

“Thank you, Percy!” She said, bringing the crate ‘round to Percy’s front so she could look into the green engine’s earnest face.

“You’ve no idea how excited I’ve been for my worms!”

Percy raised an eyebrow as he watched the dirty farmer tear into the crate like Christmas morning.

“Worms?” He said incredulously. Suddenly he realized he had little to no idea what a worm even was other than the most basic wormy-understanding. He’d barely even seen a worm. Even as the smallest of the engines at Tidmouth, they were simply too far beneath his line of vision to see.

“Those little squiggly things??” 

Amelia laughed a big barking laugh - “I’ll have you know these are pedigreed squiggly things! All the way from Scotland!”

Percy’s furrowed brow communicated his absolute bafflement.

She pulled off the lid of the crate with the edge of her pen-knife and thrust her hand inside; she pulled up a handful of rich dark earth and held it up close to the curious engine’s pug-nose. She sifted the dirt out between her fingers, and as he peered closely, pale pink somethings twisted and writhed in her hands.

“These little beasties live their whole lives underground, eating dirt and keeping the soil loose and airy so the roots can breathe. They’re wonderful for a vegetable garden - a farmer’s best friend!” Amelia said it with a touch of pride, pleased with her purchase, clearly thinking the engine would agree. 

But Percy’s eyes were wide as dinner plates. He couldn’t look away from the strange things squirming desperately, as if the light burned their slick skins.

Suddenly he heard the sound of the mail truck doors creaking and slamming shut.  The porters had almost finished their frantic dance, and he would need to carry on with his daily duties. Amelia replaced the worms in their dirt bed, then patted Percy’s cheek affectionately. “Right! I better let you get on with it! I’ll bring you a bright bunch of posies for your cab once they sprout - all thanks to your hard work, and my worms!”

Percy smiled half heartedly. “Thank you Miss McColl, I certainly would love to see the flowers.”

But not so much the worms…

He thought to himself as he pulled away from the station, feeling a queasy rush of cold in his pump injector.

***

Later that evening, the engines were all bedded down at Tidmouth Sheds. They’d had the clinker cleaned off their grates, their flues brushed, and were cooling comfortably in their berths. The nightly indignation session was in full swing.  

“…I’ve had an ache in my flank since this morning…Driver says it was nothing but oh, I KNOW it’s a loose rivet…I shall come apart at the seams…”

“… A whole filthy team of footballers, all jostling and climbing in MY coaches!!! I could just DIE…”

“…I want racing stripes! Bertie says they’ll make me go faster…I’ve no idea how paint can do that but you bet your buffers I’ve GOT TO HAVE IT.”

Edward The Blue Engine listened patiently, the grumbling chorus of engines providing a familiar backdrop to the rain that was pattering on the tin roof. But one voice was missing.  He turned his gaze to his left where Percy sat silently, letting Thomas’ inane chatter about paint rush past him like a countryside view.

“It was Wednesday today, wasn’t it? Priority Mail day. Anything extraordinary?” Edward prompted gently, watching Percy’s eyes refocus as if he had been staring a thousand miles down the track.

“Worms.” Percy said hollowly. “I brought Miss McColl a crate of Scottish P..Peppertree worms…”

“Worms?” Thomas blurted out, a touch of jealousy piping up. “You’ve hauled a load of worms?! I’ve never hauled so much as ONE worm!”

Percy’s chassis rattled. Now that the seal was broken, he blurted the rest of his story out in a torrent.

“No you don’t understand…they…they looked so horrible! All pink and strange and slimy! She had a crate of smelly wet dirt, and they came packed inside in a horrible tangle… She said they live their whole lives underground…in the dark…”

“Ugh!” James The Splendid sniped, turning his bulbous nose up in disgust. “You wouldn’t catch ME living in the dirt!” 

“No respectable engine would have anything to do with worms. Pitiable tiny things. They haven’t even any arms.” Gordon huffily contributed to the worm deriding.

Once again the shed was ringing with cantankerous voices as the engines, big and small, provided their expert opinions on the merits (or lack there of) of worms. Percy seemed to shrink in on himself as the others talked over him.  Thunder shook the shed, and Edward seized his chance in the ensuing silence. He raised his voice only slightly.

“Oh, I don’t know. This reminds me of stories from the mainland about strange trains.”

All that could be heard was the soft tick-ticking of cooling fireboxes, and the air was thick with the engine's collected curiosity. Edward’s lined face crinkled with his gently mischievous grin. Now I’ve got them.

“Edward, I don’t like such frightful stories before bed!” Henry groused, screwing up his face in a look of distaste.  Edward just continued, knowing they’d all be hooked by the time he took his first pause.

"Driver told me on the mainland there are cities built over vast, gloomy tunnels underground. They tried to explore the tunnels, but they were so long and dark that anyone who set foot in them was swallowed up by the great yawning black, never to return.  So many were lost trying to navigate the tunnels, that they realized something had to be done. So the Great Controllers on the Mainland and the Makers got together to create a  plan.  They would tame the dark. Yoke it for their use as they have the great expanses of Sudrian countryside.  They brought in builders and iron workers and brick layers and engineers, but it was still so utterly alien and foreboding that they realized they had only one choice…to build engines to help.”

Thomas blinked in confusion.

“Engines? Underground? Away from the sun and fresh air? What kind of an engine could stand that misery?!” He knew the dark was not a friend to a locomotive.  Unseen hazards lay in it, waiting to derail an engine who carelessly rolled into it without their lamps, or worse. Tunnels had their own hazards, flooded lines or bad track that lay in wait. To The Iron Horses of the rails, the thought of a dank, endless dark was as unpleasant as a cold water washdown.

Edward cleared his throat of a bit of soot, and continued as his friends leaned in as if trying to breathe in his words.

“Underground engines.  Strong as the greatest LNER, and as fast as one as well. Great big beasts with wide, luminous eyes, though they are blind as a dead end. They haven't any fireboxes, because they do not need to eat…."

"Not eat?!" Muttered Gordon with a huff, already fuming over the implication of a faster engine than he.  "Nonsense. no proper engine could run without coal!"

 "...Or diesel!" Henry piped up helpfully, fully invested in this strange tale.

Edward continued quietly.  "Not a single lump of coal or drop of petrol. No - these monsters get their power from cables and coils…electricity.  They pull trains so long their tails are like rivers.  The Makers created the perfect engine for these inhospitable depths…the subway train. Never sleeping, stopping only to pick up passengers. They hurtle down these subterranean tracks, screaming into the dark like banshees, searching constantly for someone, anyone, to relieve their toils.”

Thomas spoke up with faux-bravado.

“Oh Edward. You’re yanking our Johnson Bars! No controller would allow their engines to be treated so unfairly! Afterall, if they are strong and fast and pull such huge trains, they must be really useful!” His tone seeked affirmation from his fellow engines, but they seemed to doubt his conviction.

Edward just smiled, another rumble of thunder punctuating his artfully crafted pause.

“When the Makers built the engines, they only knew to make them really useful for the underground.  And no man, brave or strong, can live in the tunnels with them all the time.  As a matter of fact…Driver told me he witnessed a subway train break down.  The poor engine had been rushing through the foul tunnels at full speed when it derailed on a length of uneven track.  It lay on its side, bellowing in pain for days before they finally found it. They had to use a huge crane to pull it through the tunnels and haul it above ground to the works….”

“Did…did they fix it?” James squeaked fitfully, the trio of big engines shook like shivering trucks on a shaky track. Henry rolled backwards as far as he could go into his berth, hiding his face completely behind Gordon’s bulk.

Edward’s voice dropped to a low rasp.  The dying embers of the engine’s smokebox cast strange shadows behind him, making his careworn face seem hard and angular in the low light.

“They drug the pitiful thing up to the surface slowly, carriage by carriage. The whole time they could hear it’s soft, mournful moans. At last they arrived at the head… But those poor fools, the lot of them - they didn’t know, just couldn’t know…once the engine was in the full light of the sun…”

Edward SHOUTED in a manic voice!

“PUT ME BACK! PUT ME BACK UNDERGROUND! MY FACE! MY FACE IT’S BURNING!!”

The shed erupted in noise. Thomas startled back like a nervous horse, giving a fearful wheesh of steam. The Big Engines hollered, Gordon’s whistle blasting a strident, hectic shriek. 

Throughout the whole ordeal… Percy had been staring tightlipped with mounting panic. As the others turned their ire to Edward for startling them, the old blue engine looked at Percy…and winked cheekily.

Percy’s face finally broke into a wide, genuine grin. He giggled, realizing suddenly that he and Edward had shared a brief moment of solidarity. He was grateful to his old friend.

“So there you are, Lads” Edward said, chuckling at his rioting comrades. “You see, Percy was rather brave to face those worms unprotected!”

***

The Engines on the Isle of Sodor always work hard and want to be really useful…but every so often, when the rains come and they care to look downwards to the wet soil where strange pink snouts poke out of the earth…They remember the alien worlds of the subways and their fireboxes cool a degree or two…

All except Percy of course, who now knows that pedigreed worms really do help grow wonderful flowers!

[futuristicsaladparadise]

Introducing: Ailish!

Name: Ailish Mairi Yvaine Stewart (pronounced AY-lish Mary Eevane)

Birthday: 27 March

-Family: Mum, Gran and Grandad, Nan and Auntie Fi (short for Fiona), cousins John and Vaila

Place of Residence: Glasgow, Scotland

-Favorite Foods: pasta with pesto, oranges

-Favorite Drink: tea with milk and lots of sugar

-Favorite Dessert: strawberry empire biscuits

-Favorite Animal: Japanese flying squirrel

-Pet: 2 cats, named Gulliver and Jiji

-Hobby(ies): singing, piano, reading anything she can get her hands on

-Favorite Show: Horrible Histories, Doctor Who

-Favorite Movie: Kiki’s Delivery Service or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

-Favorite Color: gold

-Best Friend(s): Sophie Ross and Isla Montgomerie, from school

-Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

-Dream Job: Magizoologist

-Favorite School Subject: English

-Favorite Book: Harry Potter series and spinoffs

-Favorite Candy: toffee

-Favorite Flower: lilac

-Dream Vacation: Harry Potter’s Wizarding World.

-Favorite Holiday: Christmas

-If She Could Have Any Superpower: flight or the ability to breathe underwater, she can’t decide

-Hero: Dad. He was a soldier killed in Afghanistan when Ailish was four.

I couldn’t take it anymore and had to customize my Joss doll. Now she has Blaire’s hair and Tenney’s eyes. 

I’m trying to decide whether she needs freckles. What do you think? 

[msilwrites]

(A 3AM Update) A True Gentleman, Chapter 20 - A case of jealousy

A/N: Hi guys! Chapter 20 is up! Enjoy reading and tell me what you think in the comments below.

TWENTY

A case of jealousy

Diana stared at the large tall ceiling of the concert hall. Right now, she's lying down on the stage, with a book on top of her rib cage, whilst doing vocal exercises and singing. Without a doubt, any member of the orchestra knew it was Aedan's doing.

As Diana struggled to recover every time she needs to prolong a part, Aedan required her to practice her breathing and take her voice completely from her diaphragm.

" You take the high road and I take the low, and I'll be in Scotland before ye, for me and my true love will never meet again, in the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond..."

The instruments and Diana's voice closes the song, whilst the music fade, her cold voice prolongs the last verse, and echoes throughout the music hall, giving chills to people around. The hall was quiet for a while, but then applause followed coming from the orchestra musicians, appreciating the improvement in Diana's voice.

"OH MY GOSH! Aedan! your method work!!" she declares! seeing the improvement in her voice.

"It did, but you can't sing lying down during performances, Diana!" Aedan says playfully. "Which is why it is important to practice standing!"

Diana sighs and gets up from the floor. Singing had drained her a bit of vocal power and physical energy, therefore she needed a short break. She sits beside Aedan and takes the unopened bottle of Snapple beside him.

"That was mine!" he reprimands.

"I owe you one..." was her quick response.

"You owe me a lot, speaking of which... what was your Dr Skovgaards reaction?"

She narrows her eyes at him, remembering the incident that had recently taken place. "Are trying to get me into trouble, Aedan?! you bloody sent my dress for the wedding gig, with a box of flowers and a 'dirty' letter-"

"Which you wrote by yourself by the way!" Aedan quickly rebuffs her.

" It was your idea! I told you to discard it!! You made it look like some scene in some cheesy r-rated novel!" she says reprimanding him, but all he did was laugh at her.

" So? Did it work? did it work? what was his reaction?! tell me! tell me! you're killing me with the suspense!."

**********

FLASHBACK

It was Saturday quarter to noon when the doorbell rang. Isaac, since he was having his day off, was the one who answered the door, instead of Diana. Heck, that girl almost never showed her presence recently, and only placed mail for him at the dining table.

Isaac opens the door and was surprised to find a delivery man carrying a large black box of 'Net-A-Porter' and on his other hand, was a huge round box of bright pink roses.

"I did not order such thing!" was the first thing he said to the delivery man.

But the delivery man just laughed at him " Well, no one ordered them, these are all for 'Diana Rutherford' unless you happen to be her. Anyways, could you help me receive them? It's really heavy..."

Isaac's mouth hung agape, he didn't know how to react at the moment, and just took the boxes that the delivery man was carrying.

" Alright, please help me sign here to receive and we're good!" the delivery man hands him the 'received slip' after signing before leaving.

Isaac carries the boxes to the living room, and as much as he didn't want to, began snooping in. On top of the net-a-porter box was a card. He opened it and read its contents.

" To my sweetest Diana,

I hope you love the dress and the flowers I gave you. They represent my feelings towards you. I will fill you with love the next time I see you, I want to fill you with all the joys of the flesh, you lovely, lovely woman... I'd fill you until -"

Isaac clenched his fist and unknowingly crumpled the side of the letter. He read throughout it and it became steamy to explicitly dirty. His face felt warm, imagining what Diana had done with the man who sent these things, he just couldn't accept it and that was what broke the camels back.

He read the name at the end of the letter 'Sam'.

He chuckled and finally decided. "Alright, Sam... off you go..." he mumbles to himself. He didn't exactly know what came over him, but he wanted to throw the things this 'Sam' guy has sent.

"Dr. Skovgaard!" a familiar voice from up the stairs called him. He looked up to find Diana, looking at him expectantly. "Are those for me?!" she said excitedly, and came jogging downstairs."

"Uhhmmm... yes, some 'Sam' guy sent it to you..."

Diana forced a smile. 'Sam' was the pseudonym that she and Aedan agreed upon when they wrote the letter. Heck, she told him to abort the plan, but it seems it wasn't the case.

She quickly takes the boxes from Isaac and took a look at their contents, the dress she rented for one of her performances was already there. Aedan had packed it using a net-a-porter box to make it look like it was 'bought' instead of being rented.

The flowers were something she had bought for herself to place in her room, but it was Aedan's idea to make it look romantic.

She looks at the letter, and cringe upon reading it. It was actually a group of explicit letters formed into one. On the side, she couldn't help but notice the large crumple on the perfectly smooth surface of the card.

"Did you read the letter, Dr Skovgaard?" she felt blood rush to her cheeks.

"Uhhhmmm... no..." was his quick denial, however, Diana's gaze made him admit to it unknowingly. " Yes... by accident, sorry I was curious... " was his immediate defence.

"Oh..." she felt embarrassed and screamed internally.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before he spoke again.

"Whose, Sam? Are you two dating?" he tried to sound casual, but there was a strain in his voice that didn't escape Diana.

"Oh... uh, ahehehehe," she laughs awkwardly, avoiding his gaze. She noticed his expression darken and definitely didn't want to look him straight in the eyes. "It's a secret Dr Skovgaard!" she declares and winks at him, catching him off-guard.

She quickly takes the boxes from Isaac, and the card, and ran back upstairs to her room, singing a sensual tune, called 'Pillowtalk'. "I love to hold you close, tonight and always, I love to wake up next to you..." she dreamily sings.

Isaac clenched his teeth, the dreamy and shy expression, and singing silly to a dirty tune. This woman was smitten to whoever this 'Sam' guy is.

He did not like it one bit.

END OF FLASHBACK

**********

Diana shakes her head, and covers her face in embarrassment, just by remembering the letter she wrote to herself, and the fact that Isaac has read the letter.

On the side was Aedan laughing his head off upon hearing everything that had happened.

"Stop it, Aedan!" she chastises him, slapping his shoulder, but he just laughed louder. "I'm about to die in embarrassment!"

"You should thank me! you got the reaction out of him, he's jealous!" he exclaimed.

"I don't think that's the case Aedan, I think he's more concerned and angry at the thought of me probably dating a hypersexual man."

"Oh, Diana, based on what you told me, he's definitely jealous! trust me! I'm a man!" he assures, but she still doesn't believe.

"Oh well... I guess I'd revel in his reactions while it lasts... " She sighs.

**********

The next weekend, her first assignment is to sing at a society wedding. Aedan saw that Diana lacked confidence, and he didn't want her to stand and sing awkwardly on the day of the main performance. So what other way can she build confidence? by doing a performance! Or throwing her to the sharks full of water, courtesy of Aedan.

Today, she was going to sing with a piano quintet, and the church choir and she couldn't help but feel nervous, knowing she is the soloist for today and felt regret despite the promise of payment.

"Well... I can finally buy a 3D printer..." she assures herself as she walks towards the church's opulent doors wearing the dress that she had 'sent' herself.

She knew this wee bit of money will help her buy the tools she needed in order to set up a small workshop studio she wanted and with renewed spirit, enters the halls of the church. Voices echoed as she entered halls, some of the guests were already seated whilst a number of children were still running around. The quintet was already there, setting up their strings and reading the music sheets, whilst the small choir were still chatting amongst themselves.

She heads towards the pulpit where all the musician was, but before she could even reach the place, familiar voices called her from behind. Turning around, she found her cousin Henry, beside her father, Francis and they were wearing kilts, and then she realized most of the men in the halls were indeed wearing kilts. Without a doubt, this was a Scottish wedding.

"Diana! It's nice to see you!" Henry greets, as he gets out of the pew to embrace his cousin.

"Ahehe... Henry? Da? What are you doing here?" was her first question.

"I should be the one asking you that!" was Francis reply. "What are you doing here? Do you happen to know the bride or groom?"

"Oh... uhhmmm... you know... to sing!" she declares.

"What?!" Francis was stunned. Sing?! Why does she need to sing? Unless she was actually the wedding singer. "Wait! Are you-"

"I'll talk to you later Da!" she says, half running to the pulpit, not wanting any more of the interrogation. It was better if he finds out himself that the wedding singer is his daughter. She'd face his wrath later on.

Half an hour later, the wedding has begun. She clears her throat and opens with the song called ' The One by Kodaline, as the entrance wedding march.

The piano began, and the choir began to sing the back vocals. Her cold voice followed, singing the first verse.

"Tell me. Tell me that you want me. And I'll be yours completely For better or for worse." she sings, as the processional march began with the wedding officiant entering first, followed by the groom and his best men. Afterwards, the bridesmaids, groomsmen and the ring bearer and flower girls entered the halls, scattering flowers down the floor.

And when the brides, turn came, the guess had stood up to welcome her.

" You make my heart feel like it's summer When the rain is pouring down You make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong That's how I know you are the one " she closes, the song when the bride had reached the altar. Turning to the side, she watched the groom shed some tears, as he took his bride's hands. It was no mistake that it was tears of joy.

She turned and found a number of guests, also crying. Including her father, and cousin, Henry. Heck, she'd never thought she'd see the day these tough men cry.

A pang of jealousy hits her as she watched the wedding ceremony. It takes her back to the time when she was seventeen, dreaming of her own wedding, whilst looking at Vera Wang wedding catalogues on the internet. She too dreamt of getting married to a man who loves her, a man who'd help her escape from her once uncaring father. A man who'd take away all the pain that she had suffered. But no, the man whom she almost married gave nothing but pain. If they did end up on the altar, she wondered if she would've become mental by now, or currently doing divorce proceedings. It took many twists and turns for her to realize that only she can make herself happy.

When the vows ended, Diana took it as a cue to sing the next song 'Fix You' by Coldplay. The strings open the song followed by the piano and then the hum of the choir.

"Tears stream down your face I promise you, I will learn from my mistakes Tears stream down your face and I...

Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you" The choir and quintet fade in the background as she prolongs the last word, and her voice echoed like cold wind throughout the church's halls.

The bride and the groom cry with tears of joy as the song ended, touched at the way Diana sang the song. The couple looks at each other fondly, before turning back to the altar.

"I now pronounce you Husband and Wife! You may now kiss the bride!" the wedding officiant declares.

Without any hesitation, the groom lifts the bride's veil and kisses her. Loud applause and cheers followed, and the recessional music plays.

Diana watched the bride and the groom march out of the church, followed by their cheering guest. It was moments like this that made her question her own life. However, she puts it aside, knowing where her priorities now lie.

A/N: I might have made some grammatical errors, so I'd do some soft editing along the way.

I hope you enjoyed that one! What do you think of Isaac being jealous? tell me in the comments section below.

[magnoliasinbloom]

Crash Course Love

Infinite thanks to @lcbeauchampoftarth​ and @anna-swims​ for being awesome betas. 

AO3 :: Previously

3: Surprise [Claire]

Despite the fucked up situation, it was the best I’d felt in a long time. Seeing Frank’s pictures burnt and in the bin was strangely cathartic, even if I didn’t remember setting them on fire. There was probably a lot of Frank’s shit around that I had overlooked that I could also burn.

Jamie and I stood awkwardly in my tiny kitchen for a few minutes, his Viking warrior frame towering over me. I had a hard time meeting his deep blue gaze; it wasn’t uncomfortable, just strangely intimate given our surprise encounter this morning, and possibly last night. Finally, I cleared my throat.

“Um, well. It’s Sunday…” I trailed off. I didn’t have anything to do, but didn’t really want to prolong the morning-after-that-wasn’t.

“Och, aye, I’m sorry.” Jamie looked embarrassed. “I should go. Do ye work on Sundays?” He patted his pockets, probably searching for his phone or keys.

“No, but I should go down to Sainsbury’s for groceries. It’s just a short walk. St. Enoch is a couple of blocks away if you need it.” I began washing the bowl in the sink.

“I usually take the tube, but I do have a car. It’s mainly for driving up to see my family, though. I took an Uber to the pub. Since I’d planned on getting pissed—ifrinn!” he exclaimed suddenly.

“What?” I dropped the bowl, startled. It didn’t break, but it clattered noisily.

“I was supposed to meet my sister Jenny for lunch at St. Judes.” Jamie turned his phone to face me and I saw it was already noon. He ran a hand through his hair in desperation, making it even more tousled.

“No problem. I can take you in the van.”

“The van? Ye just said—”

“I’ve a van, for my flower shop. Beauchamp’s Blooms,” I said, not a little proudly.

“Yer last name’s Beauchamp?” He pronounced it the French way, and it sounded beautiful, but I corrected him.

“Bee-cham. I guess we were French at some point in history, but we’re English now.”

“So what’s a bonny sassenach such as yerself doin’ in Scotland?”

Sassenach. I bristled. “An Englishwoman like myself followed her dickhead boyfriend who had a teaching position at the University of Glasgow. I opened my own flower shop, got dumped, and now, I’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future. Unless it bothers a Scotsman such as yerself.” I imitated his brogue as much as I could, injecting it with a fair amount of venom.

Jamie turned bright red. “Och, Claire, I didna mean any disrespect. Sassenach just means English, or outlander. It’s nice to see ye’ve made a home here, and a business as well, despite yer hardships.” His tone softened. “Have others made ye feel unwelcome here in Glasgow? I apologize on our behalf.”

“A couple.” I sighed. “I Google-translated sassenach the second time it happened. Sorry if I came off touchy about it. When they said it, it didn’t sound very nice, that’s all.”

“I think ye should appropriate the word then. May I call ye sassenach? As a wee nickname?” Jamie smiled impishly.

I laughed. “Alright, why not?” I dried my hands on a tea towel and laid it next to the sink. “Well, let me find my keys and we’ll be off.” I found them in my purse and hoisted it on my shoulder as we left my flat.

We traipsed down the steps of my apartment building slowly, no doubt his head pounding as much as mine. The aspirin had helped some, though.

“Are ye a photographer then, Sassenach?” he asked conversationally.

“Oh, the pictures. No, Frank took those. It is—was—his hobby.  I personally like herbs, flowers, and medicinal plants. I’m a botanist, actually. Hence, the flower shop.”

“Ye kept some on the walls.”

“They were the best ones. And the flowers, those are mine. I think we can spare them a fiery death.”

“I couldna help but notice…” I glanced at Jamie, who was turning all shades of red as he rucked up the hair on the nape of his neck in embarrassment. “Ye have this tattoo on yer back, like…”

“Oh, yes.” It was my turn to go a bit red. “It’s a gladiolus. It means strength.”

“Bonny.” Jamie smiled crookedly at me while he pushed the entrance door to the building and held it open for me. “It’s funny, I dinna even ken where in Glasgow I am. I havena been…” he trailed off as we came down the steps onto the street. The chilly November wind nipped at our exposed faces.

“Is it familiar now?” I laughed, jingling my keys. I sobered up when I saw the look on his face. “Are you alright?”

“Och, aye. I—it’s just that yer apartment building’s right next to my—”

“James?” A high-pitched, accented voice pierced the air.

“—ex’s building,” he finished weakly.

I turned to the source of the voice. A woman about my age walked towards us. She had sleek brown hair—perfectly coiffed—and fashionable matching boots and purse. Her eyes were green, and were trained on Jamie, who stood next to me, pale and silent.

I tried to whisper discreetly, “Jamie, that’s your ex?”

Before he could answer, the woman was upon us. “James! I thought it was you! What are you doing here?” She gave Jamie a kiss on each cheek, hugged him tightly, and pulled back before he could react.

Jamie swallowed visibly. “Hello, Annalise.”

Oh, no. I could sense anxiety rolling off Jamie in waves. He was speechless, while there was something smug about Annalise’s own smile. The cow probably thought he was stalking her; still pining, after all this time. No wonder Jamie looked so panicked.

He was almost shaking, while Annalise waited for him to explain why he was there. And she was pointedly ignoring me completely.

Oh, this wouldn’t do.

“Hello! Did you just move in? I’m Claire, I haven’t seen you around!” I chattered brightly, channeling one of my old friends from university. Keeping it light and bubbly, but still honed like a knife. I practically shoved a hand in her face, forcing her to step away from Jamie.

Finally, Annalise took my proffered hand gingerly with her fingertips, like it was a dead fish. I flashed another insincere smile, even though I wanted to wipe my own hand on my jeans.

“Well, Claire, as it happens, I’ve lived here for quite some time now.” Her tone was condescending and forced. “James and I… we used to go out awhile back.” She glanced at Jamie as she said this, and he stared at his shoes. He looked trapped and desperate.

Admittedly, I had known him less than 24 hours, but he had helped me forget about a hellish night and torch some of Frank’s memories; I was his unconditional ally now.

Fuck her. Let’s do this.

“Oh really? Jamie, darling, you didn’t mention that!” I giggled and pressed myself against Jamie, lacing our fingers together.

Jamie only had time to look at me with wide, stunned eyes before Annalise butted in. “James, you are dating her? Since when?” Her nostrils flared, though she tried not to show her agitation.

I ignored her implied insult. “Hmmm, let’s see… about six months?” I replied. I leaned in and kissed Jamie’s surprised open mouth. “Best six months ever, am I right darling?” He still tasted faintly of booze.

“I, um, I think that…” Jamie stammered.

“So, we have not seen each other in almost a year, have we James?” Annalise crossed her arms over her chest, heel tapping. Where did this bitch come off acting self-righteous? I nuzzled Jamie’s neck lightly and turned to Annalise.

“Well, we’re moving in together. We just clicked, and everything happened so fast and it’s so intense, but just wonderful!” I gushed. I gave Jamie a light pinch on the arm; he shook his head as if to clear it, and I took the opportunity to stand on my tiptoes (damn his Viking height!) to plant another kiss on his cheek this time.

“Moving in?” Annalise’s naturally high-pitched voice went up another octave, sounding strangled.

“Oh, yes, which reminds me, we’re late for the meeting with that realtor, so we should get going.” I nudged Jamie and stepped on his foot.

“Ann—Annalise, it was… good seeing you… again, and I, um…” Jamie gave me a side-long glance, urging me to help us escape.

“James, you never liked for me to call you Jamie,” Annalise said, still ignoring me.

“Actually, I do like it. ‘Twas you who didna care to call me that,” he managed, finding his voice at last.

“So, anyway, nice to meet you, Annalise! Have a good day!” I grasped Jamie’s forearm, locking it with mine and dragging him away.

Annalise stood there for a moment or two, before stomping off on her chunky-heeled boots, coat swinging. I tugged on Jamie, who was still out of it.

“Come on!” I hissed in his ear, and then we rounded the corner. Jamie slumped against the faded brick wall, and I let go of his arm.

“Oh Christ. It’s like I couldna even think, she made me shut down…”

“Breathe, Jamie. She’s gone.” I patted his back gently.

“It’s just… I didna think she still had that effect on me,” he said, wincing.

“The power to make you hurt?” I supplied. A feeling I knew all too well.

“Aye,” Jamie grimaced. He inhaled deeply until some color returned to his face.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked, stamping my feet in the cold. The wind was still whipping against us.

“I think so. Where are we goin’, by the way? I thought the van was—“

“Well, I wanted to walk away from your ex in the opposite direction, so she wouldn’t know which was my car.”

“Why?” Jamie looked puzzled.

“You know, in case she felt inclined to scratch it with her fingernails or key the paint job, throw eggs or something.”

“Och, exacting revenge on the new girlfriend?” he teased, nudging me with his massive shoulder as we turned back; the coast was clear and blessedly Annalise-free.

It was my turn to stutter and flush red. “By the way, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. You know, with the kissing and hand-holding. Annie there was getting to me too.”

“Nah, ‘tis fine. That was some quick thinking. Thank ye for rescuing me like that.”

“My pleasure.” I stopped in front of the delivery van. “Here we are.”

Beauchamp’s Blooms was printed on the side of the van, in curly script, with purple orchids and violets in the background. Jamie traced his finger over the letters.

“I like it. The purple suits ye.”

“Those flowers are some of my favorites. Orchids mean love, luxury, beauty, strength. The violets symbolize that the giver’s thoughts are occupied with love about the recipient.”

“Ye speak the language of flowers,” Jamie said with a smile.

“It’s an easy one to learn,” I replied simply, before we climbed into the van and drove off. As Jamie fiddled with the radio on the van, I let the sounds wash over me.

For the first time in months, it felt like things would be alright.

[the-hidden-writer]

An Odd Family Tree

A series of snippets from the lives of the FitzSimmons family, set post 7x13. Also, the series of events that lead up to the birth of their grandson.

Available to read on AO3 and FF.net.

Comments make my day!

Epilogue (2)  [FINAL]

Cows. He’s back in the ‘right’ timeline and the first things he sees are cows.

He never liked cows. Sheep he could deal with. Dogs? He loved them! Sheepdogs? He’d never actually seen one before, but according to common sense he should love them, right?

But no, he had to land in a huge sloped field full of those big burly beasts. At least they sort of resembled sheep with their long brown fur that seemed to cover their eyes. Someone really needed to give those cows a haircut.

It took him almost a whole hour to orientate himself with his surroundings. Since the transportation device he’d just used had never actually been tested before, there were a few unpleasant side effects.

The main side effect that Deke came across was that he’d lost most of the feeling in his limbs. It was only towards the end of that hour did he remember that he was a robot. Huh.

After finally gathering up the courage to move and checking his pockets for the generous amount of money he’d brought with him, he stumbled his way down the hill to the quaint little farmhouse at the bottom. It didn’t take much effort to convince the friendly farmer that he was just an airheaded traveler who’d lost his way. He even managed to persuade her to give him a ride into the nearest city. Which, as it turned out to be, was Inverness. As in, Scotland.

Honestly, the accent should have given it away.

She was kind enough to just drop him off on the outskirts of the city. As much as he wanted to visit Loch Ness, he had a much more important place to visit.

He was too self-conscious to ask anyone what year it was. In his timeline (not technically his, but the one where he’d ended up living most of his life) he wouldn’t think twice about asking a random stranger even the stupidest of questions. But he didn’t belong here, he technically really shouldn’t be here is what Enoch had said, and so he had to try and avoid bringing too much attention to himself at all costs.

That, and the fact that he wanted to make a good first impression.

But that left him with the problem of not knowing what year it was. Honestly, they should at least display the online newspapers in store windows! The device had been programmed to take him to whenever and wherever the majority of his DNA was concentrated into a small area so that he’d hopefully get to see his grandparents together. He’d hate to arrive and there to be only one of them, or worse, none at all.

And since he’d made it to Scotland, he had a glimmer of hope that it had worked and that they were both still alive.

Asking around a little (he’d given up on trying not to), nobody seemed to recognize the names Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. But more than one person asked him if he meant Alya Fitz-Simmons who was apparently a very famous person within the city. That most certainly caught his attention. And after another painful two hours of asking random people, one elderly woman eventually gave him an address as well as a message to pass on (“Tell them that Elaine says hello.”)

He hailed the closest taxi he could find and practically screamed the address into the poor driver’s ear. The journey felt like it dragged on for hours. And still, somehow, it was over too quickly. The driver pulled into an estate that seemed to be a village of its own. Deke paid him and asked if he could stop a little further away and just show him which of the houses he needed to head to.

Once his feet touched the dusty old road, Deke felt like his metal knees would just collapse from under him. It was a straight path from where he stood to his destination.

It was the most homely, picturesque cottage he’d ever seen. There was a small wooden gate that led to the ivy-covered stone building, and there was a relatively wide area surrounding it that was protected by tall bushes. The section of the garden he could see through the arched entrance was filled with various species of vibrant flowers and bonsai trees. Next to the house, peeking over the top of the bushes, was a strong Acer tree that stood proud against the sky.

It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen, and he hadn’t expected anything less.

He dragged his feet closer. One foot in front of the other. He was glad he didn’t need to breathe because there was no way he would have been able to at that moment.

It was only a few feet away. He suddenly broke into a run, half-prepared to break down their door but then his ears caught-

“Bobo! Nana, Bobo, look at me!”

He screeched to a halt. Though he knew it should be impossible, his heart still felt like it had been ripped out of his chest. It still felt like blood was pounding in his ears. It felt like his vision was blurred and his head was spinning.

It couldn’t be-

“You’re doing great, sweetie!”

That was his Nana’s voice. Jemma Simmons. Nana!

He quickly retreated to behind the bushes and resorted to pulling apart some of the sharp twigs (he needed to get used to the fact that it didn’t hurt) in order to peek into the front garden.

There… there was his Nana. His Nana looked like how he vaguely first remembered her- her hair grey and neatly tied in a bun with a pair of glasses hanging around her neck by a chain. She was sitting on a tartan armchair with her hand help up as if shielding her eyes from something. Next to her was-

“Get down from there! You’ll fall off and break your leg and I’m not gonna make that trip to the hospital.”

Bobo. Fitz. His usual, grumpy self with his itchy sweater and long beard. Deke felt a memory be unlocked when he caught sight of the walking stick beside his Bobo’s chair. Fitz had his phone in his hand but was glaring a little boy that was wobbling dangerously on a branch of that magnificent Acer tree.

In a flash, someone jumped up to catch him before he could fall.

“That’s enough of that for one day, little dude.”

Dad! His Dad, in all of his blonde glory. He looked a lot happier and healthier than what Deke remembered.

And if Dad was there, then…

“Play on the ground now Deke, okay?”

Deke felt himself choke up.

Mom.

She looked exactly like he remembered her, but there was one major difference. She was laughing. She was laughing and smiling and she was happy.

It was the first time he’d ever seen his mother truly happy.

“Okay.” Said the boy, and only then did it hit him what his Mom had just said.

She’d called the boy Deke.

Despite his family being right there, Deke felt his eyes wandering towards the boy that had begun to chase a white butterfly that was flying around the garden.

Untamable brown hair. A scarily familiar spindly frame. Mischief shining on his baby face, as well as complete and utter adoration of the adults around him that was matched tenfold by said adults.

Doubt began to creep into his mind so intensely that he almost missed it when the boy, himself, turned in his direction.

Only then did Deke realize that he’d been shaking that entire time.

Green eyes met green eyes. One pair was full of trauma and survivor’s guilt, and the other of pure childhood innocence and curiosity.

Deke had never exactly seen a picture of himself when he was younger and had no idea what he would look like, but he was pretty sure that he never had the chance to have that sort of perfect childhood. He’d seen too much. The envelope containing many USB sticks filled with voice messages and pictures suddenly felt extremely heavy in his pocket.

That’s when he made the decision.

The second he noticed the tiny version of himself open his mouth, he turned and ran, not caring that the bushes noticeably rustled behind him, scaring a bird.

A robin. How fitting.

As the voices that he’d yearned to hear for years became distant, Deke finally stopped running.

There was no way he could show himself to that family. They were all happy together in the way that it was supposed to happen... Yes, he was jealous of himself, who wouldn’t be?

The last time he saw his Mom alive was the seconds before she was killed in front of him. The last time he saw his Dad was when he was being dragged, kicking and screaming, to his death sentence while Deke shrieked at him that he should’ve just listened and given up hope.

And his grandparents… he didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye either time.

The people he had just seen in the garden were Alya Fitz-Simmons, Owen Shaw, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons joyfully playing with Deke Shaw. They belonged to that version of him, not himself.

People regularly called him selfish, so is it still selfishness if you’re doing something for the benefit of an alternate version of yourself?

Little Deke Shaw should live a normal existence. The life that Deke had often found himself begging for. A life without a weird future-past-adult version of himself intruding.

...He might go visit Loch Ness after all.

Pulling out that damned white envelope, Deke smiled through his pain.

He pulled out a pen from his backpack and scribbled on it.

“Elaine says hi.”

Before he went on a Loch Ness Monster hunt... he had a delivery to make.

[THE_END_]

[ruthoakenshield]

The Lady in the Black Leather (Ch 21)

Catch up here [chapter 20]

Aiden x Scarlett, Graham McTavish, Reader

You, Aiden & Scarlett visit for a while, then Graham shows up with a pretty bouquet of brightly colored daisies and mums with a big sunflower in the middle of it, and a tray with two coffee cups and a brown paper bag in the other hand. He had a ‘get well’ balloon also for you, which was tied to the vase of flowers.

You giggle and thank him for them. He grins and sets the flowers and balloon down on the windowsill next to the ones from Aiden and Scarlett.

He comes and gives you a little hug and kisses your forehead. “How’s my girl doin?” he asks.

You grin, “Don’t let Rich hear you say that!” you tease.

He grins, “Well, me and Gwen laid claim to ya before Rich did, so he’ll have to just deal with it.” He says cheekily, making you giggle. “So, how are ya doin?” he asks.

You shrug. “Tired, my leg hurts, and I’m hungry.” you reply and grin when he sets a bag on the table and hands you a french vanilla cappuccino from the tray.

“Well, breakfast is here now, so at least ya won’t be hungry anymore.” He chuckles. “Don’t they have ya on pain meds?” he asks you.

“Yeah, but I told the nurse I didn’t want them till I had some breakfast in me. I’ll get them in a bit.” You tell Graham.

Grinning, you dig into the bag, seeing pastries like what Todd has delivered each morning. You look up at Graham. “Where did you get these from? They look like the ones Todd has delivered each morning at the shop!” you ask.

He grins. “I got them from the pastry shop that he gets his from. They asked why his shop was closed and then saw the note Rich left on the door this morning. They said to tell ye and Todd that they wish ye both a speedy recovery!” he says with a smile

You grin and take a bite of a strawberry scone and let out a happy little groan. “I love these ones! These and the doughnuts with the icing and the strawberry or cherry fillings! OOOooohhh they are the BEST!” you giggle.

There’s a knock at the door and a young lady is standing at the door with two big bouquets of flowers. “Excuse me Miss, but are you Harley?” she asks.

You nod. “Yes.”

She comes in and tells you, “These are for you. Where would you like them?” She asks.

Your jaw drops. One bouquet is two dozen red and pink roses with baby’s breath and purple lavender filler. The other is a bouquet of 6 yellow roses, brightly colored fuji mums and daisies that were colored brightly with food coloring.

Scarlett gets up and takes the bouquet of red and pink roses. She sets it down on the table and looks for a card. “Aaahhh! Here it is!” she says and hands you the card.

You open it up and see it’s from Richard. “For the love of my life. You mean the world to me, Sweetheart. I hope these brighten your day. I’m thinking about you & know I love you more than anything in the universe! Xoxo – Rich”

You grin and show it to Graham, Aiden & Scarlett. They all smile, and Scarlett puts the card back on the plastic stand and Graham takes the bouquet and puts it on the windowsill next to the other ones.

The delivery gal hands Scarlett the other big bouquet and then heads out to do more deliveries after you thank her for bringing them up.

Scarlett digs around in the bouquet and finds another card. She hands it to you, and you open it up to see it is from the Police Department that Alex, Todd and Jack worked for. It said, “Heard what happened, wishing you a speedy recovery! Our thoughts and prayers are with you! – Inspector Kathleen Walsh & your friends at the NYPD 19th Precinct.”

You look at Graham and Scarlett in surprise. “The police department sent me flowers?” Graham chuckles. “Apparently so Sweetheart!”

You shake your head in disbelief. “Well, that was nice!” you state.

They all nod. Graham takes the flowers and puts them on the windowsill as well. “You’re getting quite the collection, Sweetie!” Scarlett teases you.

You grin. “They’re making my room smell nice, that’s for sure!” you say, grinning.

Your doctor knocks on the door casing and then steps in. He talks with you for a bit and checks the wounds on your leg after shooing everyone out into the hall.

He asks you about all the scars on your legs and you explain they go all the way up onto your crotch. You tell him that the ones on your legs were from your last three boyfriends you had before meeting Richard. And you tell him the ones on your crotch were from the ex-boyfriend, Ben, who shot you. You ask him to make a note of you telling him that to put in your medical file. That you don’t want anyone thinking it was Richard who gave you them. You explain you never had reported the abuse from your ex boyfriends because of fear since the ex-boyfriends had all threatened you that if you told they’d go after you and your family. He nods in understanding and makes a note of it in your file.

He tells you that he doesn’t want you walking on the leg for a few days, and that you may use the crutches ONLY to get from your bed to the restroom in your room and then back to your bed for now. You nod. He asks if you need any stronger pain meds and you shake your head.

“I’m due for them when the nurse comes back with them. I told her I wanted to wait to take them till I had some breakfast in me first.” You reply.

He nods and tells you he will check in with you tomorrow morning then and tells you to have a good day.

Your friends come back in after the Doctor leaves and they have another two bouquets. You roll your eyes and giggle. “Now who are these from?” you ask.

Graham sets a small oblong flowerpot on the table with Hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and crocuses on the table in front of you. You grin and take a deep breath. “Oooohhh! Those smell wonderful!!!” you pull the card off the flower pick and read it. It’s from Captain Angel L. Figueroa Jr. & the NYPD 1st precinct and says: “Wishing you a speedy recovery, Harley! Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you recover!”

“Awwww! That’s sweet!” you say and put the card back on the flower pick.

Scarlett takes the planter and puts in on the shelf by the sink so you can smell them when people open the door to enter and exit.

The other bouquet is pink and white stargazer lilies and hot pink roses and lighter pink carnations with some greens. You look at the card and see it’s from Lee Pace. It reads: “Wishing you a speedy recovery and hope you and Phantom are doing well.”

“Oh! Those smell lovely too! It’s gonna smell like a flower shop in here!’ you giggle.

Graham and Aiden chuckle and Graham adds the flowers to your collection on the windowsill.

Scarlett looks at the time and nudges Aiden, who glances up at the clock and sees they need to get going to the studios. “We gotta get going, Harley. I gotta film some scenes this afternoon, and Scarlett’s gonna go check on the shop for you and Todd.” He tells you.

They both give you a hug and tell you they will see you later on. You wave goodbye and they head out.

The nurse comes in with your pain meds. “Are you ready for your meds, Harley?”

You nod and she gives them to you. You down them with your water and she makes a note in your chart on the hospital’s computer. Then she heads out after seeing if you needed anything.

You look at Graham and say, “Now what do we do?”

He chuckles. “Well, what would you like to do?”

You shrug. “I don’t know. Graham, can you tell me about your family? I don’t even know their names, you said your wife told you to tell me ‘welcome to the family’.” You said. “You must’ve been telling her about me.”

He chuckled. “Aye, Lass, I told her ‘bout you. How I met you, and how I was tryin’ to hook ya up with Rich. She wanted to see what ya looked like, so I sent her the pics I took.” He explained. “Didn’t want her worrying if the Papparazzi snuck photos of us when we all do stuff together.

Scarlet told me your parents died a few years ago and I mentioned it to Gwen… It was her idea, actually, to ‘adopt’ you, so to speak.” He giggled. Gwen is my wife. Our two daughters are Hope and Honor.” He tells you, “Honor was born in 2006 and Hope was born in 2012.” He says beaming with pride. “I’ll show you pics of them later.” He says. “They live in New Zealand where we have a house.” He tells you.

You look at him surprised. “I thought you were from Scotland, though?” you ask.

He chuckles. “I am, Lass, but I’ve lived all over the world. We decided to settle in New Zealand, though, after living there while we filmed The Hobbit.” He explained.

“Oh! I saw a lot of the bonus features on my Extended Edition DVD’s of the Hobbit. It looks absolutely wonderful! It’s on my bucket list of places to visit someday.” You tell him with a big grin.

He chuckles, “Well, Lass. I’m sure Rich wouldn’t bat an eye taking you to come visit us there. He loved it there as much as we did and considered buying property there, but he’s so busy with filming and such, he said he’d rather wait till he got older and started to slow down with work.” Graham tells you.

“Graham?” you ask.

“Yeah, Sweetheart?” he replies.

“I want to do something special for Rich, but I don’t know what to do. He doesn’t like to talk about himself, so trying to find out what kinds of things he likes, I’m finding is rather difficult. Do you think you could help me?” you ask. “I know he likes chocolate ice cream, wine, legos and reading. But that’s about it.”

Graham chuckles. “Yeah, he is an introvert and shy, so whenever people ask him personal questions, he tends to shy away from them.” He tells you. He gives you a few ideas of things Richard would like and suggests to just be observant, “You’ll learn more about him from just observing and listening, than from anything else, Lass.

He’s moody and grumpy sometimes, but don’t let it get to you. It’s just how he gets into characters he portrays. He’ll often take them home with him and struggle to let ‘em go. Maybe having you around will help ‘im with that, Lass.” Graham tells you.

“There’s so much I don’t know about the film industry.” You sigh. “I’ve never seen how one is made from start to finish. He asked if I’d come with him when he travels for the promotional stuff for the film too. I’ve never traveled very much tho. He said something about finding out the details for taking Phantom with too, so I’d feel safe.” You tell Graham.

Graham grins. “It would be nice for him to have ye with, Lass. I know I’d enjoy having you with us. My wife and kids don’t travel much with me. It’s such a long flight from New Zealand to the US and Europe that they don’t make it very often to join me for premieres. It’s a whirlwind of a time, and is exhausting, but it’s a lot of fun too. You get to meet a lot of people and just sit back, relax and talk about the film with interviewers. If you do come with, we’ll be sure ya are well taken care of.” He tells you.

You giggle and grin. “Graham, did you get my dress from Aiden’s? Don’t let Rich know anything about the dress. I don’t want him to see it or see me in it until he picks me up for the event! I want it to be a surprise!” you tell him.

He gives you a positively evil smirk and says, “Your wish, is my command, Sweetie. And yes, I picked it up from Aiden’s last night before I headed home. It’s in my closet in my bedroom, which he won’t dare go into. Scarlett said I should hang it up so it wouldn’t crease the velvet.” He tells you. “I’ll take ye to go have it altered to fit ye when they let ye outta here.” He says.

You grin and happily clap your hands. “I can’t wait!

Graham chuckles and rubs his beard, thinking.

“Graham, do you ever do Skype or Zoom or FaceTime your family? You’re always saying I remind you of your daughters.” You tell him. “I thought it would be nice to say hi to them and talk with them and your wife, if it was okay with you. I don’t know how the time differences work between there and here though.” You mention to him.

He glances up at the clock and you can see him working out the time differences in his head.

“Well, Lass, it’s about 1am there right now. Well, if ya can wait till around 3 or 4 pm our time this afternoon which should be able to give them time to get up and get ready, then we can give them a zoom call, we’ll say “Hi” and I’ll introduce ya to them!” he tells you.

“For now, though, what do ya want to do?” he asks. Phantom comes over and sniffs all the flowers on the windowsill and ‘wuffs’ at them.

“What? Don’t you like all my pretty flowers, Phantom?” you ask. He chuffs and comes walking over to your bedside. Graham smiles and gives him a good scratch. “Do ya need to go outside, Boy?” he asks.

Phantom gives a short yip and Graham stands up. “I’ll go take him out to do his business, then we’ll be right back, Sweetheart. Did someone take him out last night or this morning?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe the officer had one of the nurses take Phantom out. You’d have to ask him.” You tell Graham.

He nods and clips the leash on Phantom after he adjusts the service jacket. They head out and Graham stops to talk with the officer. The officer tells him he had one of the nurses take Phantom outside when he needed to go to the bathroom, and she brought him right back up. He did say they played with the rope toy for a bit having a tug of war.

Graham chuckled. “All right. Well, we’ll be back in a bit.” He tells the officer.

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