#I MISS YOU HUGH AND VIC COME BACK TO ME

[charmac]

While I do love that in The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis Mac and Dennis truly had no reason at all to pretend to be a gay couple, it is funny that the "heterosexual explanation" for them doing that is probably bc Dee is kinda the only woman they know

[travichughes]

3 days and they're back <3333

[lee-laurent]

Playing House - Luke Hughes

Summary: Tori makes the decision to introduce Riley to Luke

content: angst, some fluff, arguing, kissing, money issues

wc: 2.5k

notes: here it is! as requested by one of my anons :)) this is part 5 of the done trying series! here we goooo

Tori woke up to the sound of her phone buzzing repeatedly on the bedside table. She groaned, reaching out to silence it, but the name on the screen made her sit up immediately.

John Marino.

"Hello? Is everything okay?"

"Hey, Tori. Sorry to call you so early. Riley wanted to talk to you."

Her heart melted at the sound of her son's voice. "Mama! Hi!"

"Hi, baby! Are you having fun with Dada, Nanny, and Pop?"

"Yes! We has pancakes!"

"That sounds so yummy! Are you being a good boy?"

"Uh-huh. Miss 'oo, Mama!"

"I miss you too, Ri-Ri! I'll see you super soon though, okay?"

"O-tay! 'Uv 'oo!"

"Love you too, Riley. Be good for Dada."

She heard John take the phone back. "He just wanted to say hi. I'll bring back tomorrow morning, as planned."

"Right. Thanks, Johnny. See you then."

As she hung up, she felt Luke stir beside her. He blinked a few times, then smiled sleepily. "G'morning."

"Morning, Lu," she replied, leaning in to kiss him. "Riley called. He misses me."

"Of course he does. Who wouldn't?" he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "So, what's the plan today?"

"I was thinking we could relax for a bit, then maybe go for a walk? Show you around the neighbourhood."

"Sounds perfect," he murmured, his voice still heavy with sleep. "But first, more cuddles."

Tori laughed, snuggling into his chest. "Deal."

Later that morning, they were walking hand in hand through the park near Tori's apartment. The sun was shining, and the air was warm- the perfect day to be outside. The found a spot near the small pond, enjoying the peacefulness.

"I love this place," Luke said, looking around. "It's nice and calm. Feels like we're not even in the city at all. Miles away from everything."

"It's been my little escape since we moved here. Riley loves it too. He calls it the 'duck park' 'cause of all the ducks, which unfortunately sounds like 'fuck park' when he says it, but we move."

Luke laughed. "I can't wait to meet him properly. I hope he likes me."

"He will," Tori assured, squeezing his hand. "You're great with kids. I've seen how patient and kind you are with all the kids that come to fan events."

"I guess. But this... this is different. This is your son. I like need to make a good impression."

"You will, Lu. Trust me."

The rest of their day was spent adventuring. They walked around the neighbourhood, talking about everything and nothing. By they time they arrived back at Tori's apartment, they were both beyond tired.

As they settled onto the couch to watch a movie, Tori's phone buzzed again. This time a text from John instead of a call.

Can we talk tomorrow when I drop off Riley?

Tori sighed, "Looks like John wants to talk tomorrow. Probably about you."

Luke nodded, "Figures. But we'll deal with it... together."

"Together," she grinned. Luke chuckled, pressing a loving kiss to her cheek. She shook her head, pulling him in for a proper kiss.

"Together."

Tori was a bundle of nerves the next morning. She busied herself by tidying up the apartment, acting like her two-year-old would notice whether or not the place was clean. Luke tried to reassure her multiple times, even trying to pull her back into bed, but she could clearly see the tension in his eyes too.

"I- Luke I think I should talk with John alone to start. I know him... and he'd just get angrier if you were there."

"But I want to help you, Vic. I wanna be there to back you up."

"I know, babe. But... just trust me on this one."

"Fine. But if he raises his voice, even just a little, I'm coming in to beat his ass."

Finally, there was a knock at her door. Tori opened it to find Johns standing there with Riley. She felt a knot form in her stomach as John stepped into the apartment, his expression grim. Riley was already distracted, happily playing with his toys in the living room, , with Luke sitting nearby, making car noises to match Riley’s play. She took a deep breath and led John into the kitchen, bracing herself for the confrontation she knew was coming.

"What's this about you introducing Luke to Riley?" John started, his voice low but edged with anger.

Tori crossed her arms, trying to keep her composure. "John, Luke is an important part of my life now. Riley needs to know who he is. Slowly. We'll take it slowly."

"An important part of you life?" John scoffed. "You've barely even been together. He's just another hockey player. He'll probably just break your heart. You really think that's a good idea for Riley? For our son?"

"It's not about him being a hockey player. You know I'm not a puck bunny, John," Tori shot back, her frustration showing. "It's about him being someone else who cares about me and in extension cares about Riley. Someone who wants to be there for us."

In the living room, Luke was playing with Riley, making sure the little boy was entertained. He could hear the heated conversation in the kitchen and felt a pang of concern. He wanted to support Tori, to show John that he genuinely cared for Riley, but he respected Tori's wish to handle it herself.

"Hey, buddy, wanna race cars?" Luke asked Riley, trying to keep his focus on the child.

Riley giggled, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes! Vroom! Vroom!"

John shook his head, his fists clenching at his sides. "You barely known him! Wh- what if he leaves you?"

Tori's eyes narrowed. "You don't get to judge my decisions, John. I'm careful, I don't let just anyone in like this. Luke isn't like other people. He cares about me. And he wants to care about Riley too."

"And you think that's enough?" John challenged. "Does he have what it takes to be a dad? You think just because he says he cares, it's okay to bring him into my son's life? What if Riley gets attached and then Luke leaves? Huh? What if Riley gets hurt?"

"Riley deserves to have people in his life that love him. And Luke wants to do that. He wants to be there for Riley, to be a positive influence."

John sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just... I don't want Riley to get hurt, Tori. He's already been through so much."

"I know," Tori replied gently. "But keeping him away from people isn't the answer. Luke isn't trying to replace you, John. You'll always be his dad. He's just trying to be there for Riley, to be a friend."

Luke turned to Riley, who was now making his toy car zoom circles around the coffee table.

"You're doing great, Riley!"

Luke looked back to the kitchen, then at Riley, weighing the situation. He took a deep breath and called out, "Tori, maybe I should talk to John too."

Tori turned her head to Luke, her eyes softening. "I appreciate it, Luke, but this is conversation that we need to have alone."

John also glanced towards the living room, his expression hardening at the sight of his son playing with Luke. "If he has something to say, he should say it now."

Tori reached out, placing a comforting hand on John's arm. "John, please. Let's just talk, okay? Don't... don't worry about Luke right now."

They stood in silence for a moment, the tension slowly easing. Finally, John nodded, though he still looked conflicted. "Okay, fine. But if he ever hurts Riley, Tori, I won't forgive him. Or you."

"He won't. I promise."

John sighed again, the fight leaving him. "Okay. I will try to be civil."

"Thank you," Tori smiled. "For Riley's sake."

John nodded, heading towards the door. "Bye, Riley. Dada will see you later. You have fun with Mama and Luke."

"Bye, Dada! 'Uv 'oo!"

"I love you too, baby."

After John left, the atmosphere in the apartment lightened. Luke continued to play with Riley, who was still a bit hesitant but seemed to overall enjoy Luke's company. Tori watched them for a moment, her heart filling with love and affection for both her son and Luke.

"Hey, Riley, do you wanna show Luke your favourite car?" Tori suggest, kneeling next to her son.

Riley looked up at his mom and then back at Luke, his small fingers fidgeting with a toy car. He seemed unsure, glancing between the two, seeking reassurance from his mom.

"It's okay, bud," Luke said softly, smiling at the toddler. "I'd love to see your favourite car."

Riley slowly reached out, handing Luke a small fire truck. "Dis one," he murmured, still clinging to Tori's side.

"Wow, this is a really cool fire truck!" Luke said, examining it with genuine interest. "Does it make sounds?"

Riley nodded, pressing a button that made the fire truck's siren wail. He glanced up at Luke to see his reaction.

"That's awesome!" Luke exclaimed, his enthusiasm making Riley smile.

Encouraged by Riley's reaction, Tori suggest they go to the park. "How about we take your fire truck to the park, Ri-Ri? We can play on the playground and look at the ducks."

"Yes!" They all put their shoes and headed out, Riley clutching his fire truck tightly.

At the park, Riley stayed close to Tori at first, his eyes wide as he observed the other children playing. Luke sat down on the grass, setting up a small area with Riley's toys.

"Riley, look! We can drive your fire truck on this road," Luke grinned, drawing a pretend road in the dirt with a stuck.

Riley watched for a moment, inching closer, intrigued by the game. He glanced at Tori, who nodded encouragingly.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Go play with Luke."

Riley finally sat next to the boy, still a bit tentative but clearly interested. He placed his fire truck down and together they drove it along the makeshift road, adding little sound effects and making up stories about rescues.

As they played, Riley's shyness began to fade. He started to laugh more, his small voice growing more confident as he directed the fire truck and explained a story to Luke. Tori watched on with a smile, feeling an immense sense of relief.

After some time at the park, they headed back home for lunch. Tori prepared sandwiches while Luke and Riley played with more toys in the living room. Riley was now fully engaged, laughing as Luke pretended to be a new character in their game.

"Mama, 'ook! 'uke is dino!" He exclaimed, pointing at Luke, who was stomping around and making growling noises.

Tori laughed, setting the plate of sandwiches on the table. "That's awesome, Ri! Let's eat lunch, and then we can play some more."

The next few hours were spent playing, completely skipping over Riley's afternoon nap completely. He was too busy playing with Luke.

Dinner time was always an adventure with Riley. As they sat around the small kitchen table, Tori served up plates of spaghetti, Riley's favourite food after mac and cheese. Luke took a seat next to Riley, who was already eagerly stabbing at the noodles with his little plastic fork.

"'Ook, 'uke! I do it all mine-self." Riley exclaimed, proudly showing off his newfound skill.

Luke watched with an amused smile as Riley attempted to twist the spaghetti onto his fork, only to have most of it slip back onto his plate. Undettered, Riley tried again, managing to get a very small clump of noodles into his mouth.

"Great job, buddy!" Luke praised, genuinely impressed by Riley's determination.

Riley beamed, his face lighting up with joy. "Tank 'oo! Mama show me."

"You're doing great, Ri-Ri. But remember to take small bites," Tori added.

As dinner continued, Riley's enthusiasm led to more spaghetti ending up on the table and his high chair than in his mouth. He giggled as a particularly long noodle dangled from his chin.

Luke couldn't help but laugh. "You're making quite the mess, little man," he said, reaching over to wipe a bit of sauce off Riley's cheek.

"'Ghetti is fun! 'Ook, 'uke!"

With that, Riley took another forkful of noodles and lifted it high, causing several noodles to fall on the table. He giggled, kicking his feet, waiting for Luke's reaction.

"Whoa, that's some impressive skill. You might need to teach me how to do that."

Tori shook her head in mock exasperation. "You two are a pair," she said fondly. "But let's try to keep some of the food on the plate, okay?"

Riley nodded, his face serious as he tried to be more careful. Despite the mess, the atmosphere was filled with warmth and laughter. Luke felt like he belonged, enjoying the simple moment with his girlfriend and her son.

After dinner, they all moved to the living room for some relaxation. Tori flipped through their apps on the TV before settling on "Paw Patrol," one of Riley's favourites.

"Patrol!" Riley cheered, clapping his hands as he snuggled into Tori's lap.

Luke sat beside them, throwing his arm over Tori's shoulder. "I've heard a lot about these puppies. Which one is your favourite?"

"What his name, Mama?"

"Marshall, bubba."

"Dat one!" Riley pointed at the screen where the fire pup was making a daring rescue with his friends.

"That's a good choice, bud," Luke nodded, making a mental note to research the rest of the characters in the show.

As the episode played, Riley's eyes remained glued to the screen, occasionally glancing up at Tori and Luke with a large green. Luke couldn't help but feel his heart swell at the sight. The little boy was growing on him, and quickly.

After the episode ended, Tori stood up and stretched. "Alright, Ri-Ri. Bathtime."

Riley pouted, but slid off the couch. "O-tay, Mama."

Luke followed them, watching as Tori began filling the tub with warm water, adding a generous amount of bubble bath.

"Need any help?" Luke asked.

"Sure," Tori laughed, handing him a cup. "You can rinse his hair."

Riley splashed happily, creating mountains of bubbles. Luke carefully poured water over Riley's head, using his hand to shield the boy's eyes.

"You've got this down, buddy," Luke said, impressed by how easy the toddler was being.

"Tank 'oo, 'uke! Bubbles are mine favourite!"

"Mine too."

Once Riley was clean and wrapped in a fluffy towel, they all headed to Tori's bedroom for storytime. Riley picked out a book he loved to read over and over again, "Goodnight Moon." He climbed onto the bed, snuggling between Tori and Luke.

Tori began reading, her voice soft and soothing. Riley leaned against her, his eyes growing heavy. Luke listened intently, feeling a sense of peace wash over him.

"Night-night, Mama. Night-night, 'uke," Riley murmured, already drifting off to sleep.

Luke picked him up, carrying him down the hall to his room. Once he was settled in his crib, they closed the door quietly behind them. Tori turned to Luke, her eyes shining with gratitude. "Thank you for helping me tonight. It means a lot to me. And to Riley too."

Luke wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "It was my pleasure, V. I loved every minute of it."

Together, they made their way back to the living room, ready to enjoy the rest of their evening, knowing they were building something special not just for themselves but for Riley too.

Victoria prayed it would stay that way...

[upat4amwiththemoon]

Could I please have an imagine where the reader is a trauma surgeon at grey sloan and is actually best friends with Travis. One day Travis and Vic are bringing in a patient for the reader and after Travis introduces them they begin to fall for each other. So Vic always tries to be on the aid car all the time. One day she just decides to kiss you and tells you how she feels. Fluffy please?

The aid car

Summary: One person’s injury is another person’s chance to find love.

Pairing: Victoria Hughes x female!reader

Warnings: i have zero understanding of medical things

Word count: 1238

a/n: Vic is criminally underrated, she’s amazing

Travis opens the door of the aid car, helping the group of doctors take the gurney out of the car. “Female, 37 years old, car versus pedestrian, has been conscious the whole time.” He explains as he, Victoria and the doctors rush inside.

“Alright, bring her to trauma room 1.” Y/N leads to the room. “Get me a head CT and a MRI, somebody page ortho to check for broken bone.” She orders the doctors and nurses around.

Travis and Victoria stay by the sidelines, but decide to wait around to see that the woman makes it. Victoria’s eyes are slightly wider as she watches Y/N move through the room, testing and treating the patient. To her, it all looks magnificent.

“Everything will be okay, Miss Doe, you have no life threatening injuries.” Y/N smiles at the patient as the rush starts to slow down. “Just a couple broken bones in your leg, which Doctor Torres over here,” she nods towards Calliope Torres, who is standing next to her, “will fix those right up.” Giving Callie one last nod, she leaves the trauma room, Victoria and Travis following her.

“Y/N, hey!” Travis stops next to Y/N. “Are we still on game night tonight?”

“Yes!” Y/N turns her back to Travis. “Open the gown for me? When should I be there?”

Travis starts pulling on the strings of the gown, talking about which time she should be there, what kind of games he has and so on, while Victoria stares at the two in confusion. She nudges Travis, giving him a look.

“Right!” Making Y/N turn around as she pulls the gown off, Travis points to Victoria. “This is Victoria Hughes, my firefighter best friend. And Vic, this is Doctor Y/N Y/L/N, my doctor best friend.” He has a smile on his face as he introduces the two.

“Very nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Victoria smiles. They stare at each other for a while, completely forgetting Travis standing right next to them.

He furrows his brows and opens his mouth to break the silence. “Vic, would you like to join me and Y/N on game night tonight?”

“Yes!” Victoria’s head snaps to Travis. “I mean, yes, if it’s okay with the two of you.” Her eyes move between the two.

Y/N nods with a big smile. “That’d be great.”

“Great!” Travis claps his hands together once before grabbing Victoria’s arm. “We will leave you to work now, see you later, Y/N.” He starts dragging Victoria out of the hospital with an indescribable look on his face.

“Female, 22 years old, hit her head to the ground when falling off of a horse.” Victoria explains to the doctor’s, mostly to Y/N, as they wheel the patient inside.

“Lets bring her to trauma room 1 and page neuro.” Y/N orders. “And lets get a test for any internal injuries.”

As soon as it’s confirmed there’s nothing going on internally, and Doctor Shepherd arrives to check her brain, Y/N leaves the room. “Hey, Y/N.” Victoria jogs to her.

“Oh, hi.” She smiles. “Aid car is your favorite?”

“Huh?”

“You’re on the aid car pretty much every time a patient comes here.”

Victoria laugh, quite a long time as she tries to think. “What can I say, aid car is my favorite.” She smiles widely. “Anyways, when is the next game night? I had very fun last time.”

“Uhh, you gotta ask Travis about that.” Y/N takes a tablet from a nurse, looking over the patient informations on it. “He usually arranges them. But,” she looks at Victoria, “I had fun too.”

“Great. I- I’ll talk to Travis.” She starts backing towards the door. “Until then, I guess I’ll see you when I bring patients in.”

“I’d say I hope to see you soon, but that would probably be…not good.” Y/N cringes, lifting her shoulders.

Victoria laughs. “Right. See you.”

For four weeks Victoria has takes as many aid car shifts as possible, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the others. “Lets go, Hughie.”

“Wait a second, they’re done soon.” Victoria stares into the trauma room through the window, briefly turning to look at Dean when the silence prolongs. Her has a confused look on his face. “I just want to know the patient will be fine.” She defends herself with hands raised in the air.

“Okay.” He mumbles, crossing his arms. Dean follows her line of sight straight to trauma surgeon Y/N Y/L/N. A small grin grows to his face as he hums.

Turning to look at him, Victoria scrunches her brows. “What?”

“Nothing.”

The conversation ends when Y/N walks out of the room and pulls her gown off. “Hey!” Victoria waves her hand around to get her attention. “Travis is setting up another game night, does next Friday sound good to you?”

“Yes! Ask him to bring your other coworkers too, yeah? He’s been talking about me meeting them for ages. I’ll bring a new game I got. It’s this really good-“ The pager beeps. “Shit, sorry, I have to go. I’ll see you on Friday, Vic.”

“Right, yeah, I will.” Victoria mumbles, watching Y/N jog out of the ER.

Dean and Victoria start walking back to the aid car, the latter with a permanent smile on her face, which makes Dean grin. “So.. What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That thing with the doctor.”

“The doctor is Y/N and she is my friend who I met through Travis.” Dean hums while nodding slowly, not believing her at all. “That is it.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Shut up.” Victoria grumbles, getting into the aid car.

Travis groans when the dice stops on a five, bringing his pawn to a bad place. “Come on!” He counts his fake money and throws the right amount to laughing Andy’s pile, leaving him with only one bill.

“This is why you plan ahead, Travis!” She mocks, flailing the stack of bills in his face.

“Yeah, yeah.” Y/N laughs at the sour look on his face.

“I though you said you were good at games.” Ben smirks, looking at Travis’ amount of money, which happens to be the smallest.

“I am when I play with Y/N!” His voice is higher than usual, which makes Y/N laugh even louder.

While the other laugh at Travis’ misfortune, Victoria is staring at Y/N. It’s like the only thing in her mind is how beautiful she is. And then, like her body is moving on its own, she grabs Y/N’s cheeks with her hands and pulls her into a kiss.

The whole room goes silent.

Pulling away from the kiss, Victoria has a mortified look on her face. “I- I’m so sorry.” She whispers. “I don’t know why…”

“It’s fine.” Y/N shrugs with a smile. “It’s okay.”

“Oh thank god, because I really like you.”

“I really like you too.”

And so the cheering starts, startling the two, who definitely forgot they weren’t alone in the room. “Finally.” Travis claps. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks.”

“Go Hughie, yea!” Dean yells, patting Victoria in the back.

“Hughie?” Y/N giggles.

“You never heard that.” She whispers.

“Got it.” Grinning, Y/N goes back to hugging the others, as they congratulate the two for admitting their feelings.

[lesbianandstressing]

Hi!!

First off I love your stories. Can you do number 10 on the hugging list with Vic as the one being tickled. Then maybe Maya, Andy or travis as the tickler. I don’t care! Whichever sparks the most creation :) TYSM!

A/N: Thank you for the ask! I miss my favorite trio so I’m doing both Andy and Maya. Enjoy!

-

Vic wildly opens the door to Maya and Carina’s apartment, growling in frustration. Andy and Maya both glance at her, concern on their faces.

“This crisis one paperwork is fucking killing me!!” She yells angrily, flopping down onto the couch between Maya and Andy.

“Damn, that bad?” Andy questions. Vic groans. “It’s worse than any other paperwork I’ve had to file. I love crisis one and what we do for people, but seriously. The paperwork is such a pain in the ass.” She rants.

“Not to mention that Travis ate two bags of gummy worms and was on a sugar high while I was trying to do paperwork.” Vic grumbles.

“Who the fuck gave him two bags of gummy worms?” Maya asks, shocked.

“No one. He stole them from the beanery at the station.” Vic replies.

Andy shakes her head. “Come on, Vic. Come here.” Andy invites Vic into her arms, subtly smirking at Maya. The blonde smirks back.

Vic, being the youngest, has always been the victim of tickle attacks by anyone and everyone at the station. She’s the most ticklish as well, and laughs too hard to even fight back. All these factors combined make her the easiest target.

Maya wraps her arms around Vic from behind, and the younger woman obliviously snuggles into their embrace.

Maya grins devilishly, sinking her fingers gently into Vic’s side. Vic squeaks at the touch, holding in her giggles.

“Nonononono…!” Vic begs, squealing when Maya and Andy simultaneously dig their fingers into the soft spot on her stomach.

“STHOHOHOHOP!” Vic yells through her hysterical laughter. She attempts to squirm out of their grasp, but Maya has always been freakishly strong.

“What? We’re cheering you up, Hughes!” Maya teases gently, tickling Vic behind her ears.

Andy shoves her fingers under Vic’s arms, her number one weak spot. Vic kicks her legs out, but Maya grabs them, trapping them so Vic can’t kick her or Andy.

“Ya know Vic, your theatre work in college must’ve really paid off. You know how to entertain a crowd.” Andy teases, poking Vic in her ribs several times.

After they notice Vic becoming short of breathe, Maya and Andy let up. Vic curls in on herself, gripping her sides and still giggling slightly. She composes herself, glaring at her two friends. “You both suck.” She grumbles, pouting slightly. Maya grins and Andy chuckles.

“You love us anyway.”

Hug Prompts

Save Station 19 Petition

[thatonespriteobsessedbitch]

if I get my way (chap 8)

(Enoch POV, 1013 words)

(previously called what do i do (when i love you so))

chapter 1 chapter 7

Within minutes of Freya leaving to run errands, Olive barged into my room and flopped face-first onto my bed.

“You have to tell her. You can’t keep hiding your feelings for her forever, Enoch.” She rolled over onto her back.

“My morning has been good, Liv. How’s yours been? Clearly not the greatest, since you’re here antagonizing me over my decisions.”

“I’m serious, Noch.” She sat up, leaning her weight on her elbows to look me dead in the eye. “She’s going to find out eventually, you know how Frey is. If she gets any sneaking suspicion about something, she has to find out whether she’s right or not. I just want her to find out through you and not someone else. I still want my best friends to be best friends.”

“Of course, we will be. The question is whether or not Frey and I will be together at the same time.”

“I dunno why she would ever be.” 

“Liv!” I cackled. “What’s got your knickers in a twist, ey? Did Hugh sting you? Or do you just want to be a cheeky little shit?”

“All of the above,” she joked.

I stood from my worktable and poked her in the arm. “How dare you?” I said, shaking my head in mock contention. “I thought we were friends, I guess your best friends will just be best friends without you.”

“Asshole.”

“Bitch.”

“But back to the topic at hand, Noch. You should tell her. I know that you would move the earth to help her in any way, but does she? And if she does… Does she know in what way? You both deserve to at least know where your relationship stands. This- This…” She searched for the word she was looking for. “This ambiguousness isn’t helping either of you. It’s just hurting you both, and I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”

“I know , Liv. But how do you tell your best friend of sixty years that you love her? Especially after seeing the bullshit Victor pulled when she loved him. He was her lover and my friend and he betrayed us both.”

“Noch, you treat her so much better as her friend than Vic ever did as her lover. I honestly don’t know how she put up with him for so long.”

“Me neither,” I laugh. “I would have pushed him down the stairs within a month.”

“I would not have lasted that long. I’d have done it within a week.”

I sigh. “I’ll start thinking about how to tell her. And only because of how annoyed I am at you prodding me for the last decade to do it.”

“Either way I get what I want.” Olive smirks.

“Alright, that ’ s enough, out with you. Go. Your attitude is terrible today.”

She stood up and with the parting shot of “You know you love me,” she left me to my own devices to wonder how I had gotten myself into this mess.

It probably started when she first came to Miss P’s loop and I was the only one who could get her out of the shackles her Ymbryne at the time, Miss Gannet, had put her in, all because she was scared of Freya. My sweet Frey who would never hurt a fly on purpose unless it threatened her family. Frey, who was like a mother to the little ones and, as much as she disliked it, took nightmare duty more often than anyone else, just so she could be there for the littles.

I hated Miss Gannet with all my heart for the shit she put Freya through and I doubt I will ever be able to forgive her. Freya was terrified and didn’t know what was happening when Henry, another person who I will never forgive for what he did to Frey, manipulated her.

Above all else, I wish I could have been there for her so that I would never would’ve had to see that broken look in her eyes, let alone have to see it for years after the incident.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t for that one but I was there for her after Vic’s bullshit and I will be there for her for as long as she wishes me to be.

I continued working on my dolls through muscle memory alone as my mind worked through all that I was feeling for her. Faintly, downstairs, I heard her come back from the present. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand, surprised to see that it had already been an hour since she left.

I heard her walk up the stairs and into her room before she softly shut the door and presumably changed into her regular clothes. She opened her door again and padded over to my room, knocking gently on the doorframe. She had slipped into the room and under the covers of my bed by the time I noticed she was upset.

I put down my tools and walked over to the bed and lay down beside her, pulling the duvet over us both. I chose not to say anything, knowing that if she wanted to she would tell me what was wrong. I opened my arms to her and she cuddled closer, wrapping an arm around my waist.

“It’s really effing cold out there.”

I laughed softly and wrapped my arms around her, tucking my nose into her hair before starting to undo her braids for her. I was gentle with them, knowing that, even after only an hour, they were hurting her by pulling too hard. I gently ran my fingers through the waves after they were undone, being extremely careful around the parts that would hurt the most.

My fingers slowed as we both fell asleep. This moment I wanted to steal and keep forever. One of the few times in my unnaturally long life where I felt safe and warm and relaxed and happy. The moment where I realized, just as my mind fell quiet, that I truly loved Freya O’Sullivan. Truly loved my best friend.

chapter 9

[herewegobacktomoon2]

Karaoke night

“Will they make it?” Maya asked concerned.

“They have very severe burns and all the smoke inhalation isn't helping, but you guys arrived just in time, so it hasn't compromised anything irreversibly.” Bailey said “We can't make promises but I'm positive about it”.

“I really hope you're right” Maya added, letting out a slow breath she didn't know she was holding.

“Luckily for you, I usually am!” Bailey exclaimed, raising her eyebrows in satisfaction, trying to lighten the mood  “Go home Bishop, if there's any significant update, I'll let you know”.

“Thank you Bailey”. She said, checking the time and seeing her shift was due to be over like an hour ago, so she opted for heading home.

She had tough calls almost every week, but some of them hit her harder than the others, and this one was one of them: they had arrived at the scene when it was already a three-alarm fire, because they couldn't put out the fire as it seemed to be originated by something that kept on igniting it every time they tried to use water or normal extinguishers. The problem was that when 23 arrived there first, their captain thought the fire started because of a short-circuit, which wasn't completely wrong, but what they hadn't noticed was that there was something more. They kept on using CO2 extinguishers, but that didn't seem to work. When 19 arrived, the situation was insanely bad: they still hadn't been able to rescue the couple inside of the house and nothing had improved. When Maya checked the structure, she noticed a slightly detached garage, which was linked to the building through a dangerous roofing containing asbestos but hadn't  been checked: the fire kept on reigniting because it was a metal involving fire, and that's why both water and CO2 were useless. Luckily, they had the right equipment to contain the situation, due to a training course they had done previously that week: while she contacted the specialized team for these kind of fires, they were able to put it out after a while, and she had to go in to help find the couple. When they found them, they were unconscious, but they still had a pulse: it was weak, but it was there. What moved Maya so much was how they had found them: they were two women, full of sooth and dust, one of them trying to cover with her body the other, trying to prevent her from inhaling too much smoke. They had rings on their hands, the same one, so they were probably a couple: obviously, it wasn't the first time she had to save a family, but that view made her think of Carina, her family. At the only thought of losing her, she felt sick, she couldn't breathe, but she had to focus back on the present, to be able to actively help. As soon as she was out, she jumped on the aid car and, while heading towards the hospital, using the update of her probably being late at home as an excuse, she called Carina, who had a day-off, just to hear her voice and let it soothes her.

While she was driving home, she replayed that image in her head, over and over again, and she felt her chest tighten, as if the car was closing in on her. Before stepping inside, she shook her thoughts away and took the keys. As soon as she opened the door, she was welcomed by the warmest smile she had ever seen.

“Ciao Bella! I missed you” Carina said, coming over towards the blonde, who didn't even bother to say anything, just going straight for a lingering kiss.

“I missed you too. A lot.” Maya finally added, looking the Italian in the eyes, before pulling her in a  tight hug.

“How was your day?” Carina asked, noticing that something was probably off, but willing to give Maya the time she needed to talk about it.

“It was tough, actually pretty tough” she replied, exhausted “but I'm finally here with you and that's all that matters right now”, she added, caressing Carina's face, kissing her softly.

“Yeah, I'm always here with you bella!” Carina stated, trying to reassure Maya, who still seemed a little off “if you want, we can call Andy and Vic and put off the party, so that you can relax”.

At those words, Maya's eyes went wide: how was it possible that she had forgotten about it?

“Mmm, it looks like someone forgot about the party here” Carina chuckled against Maya's lips.

“Yep, I know, I know. I'm hopeless.” the blonde said, smiling a little “Anyway, no, I don't want to postpone it. I think it will be fun. I only need to take a shower and I'm ready”

“Take your time, bella. Vic and Andy will be here in an hour.” the Italian explained

“Sooooo... that means you could join me?” Maya asked, not as flirty as usual, just needing to have her girlfriend close.

“Mmm, let me think...” Carina faked doubting her answer “As the snacks and everything are already set up, I think I can make the effort to join you” she added jokingly.

“Glad to know spending time with me is an effort, Dr. De Luca, how kind of you to let me know it!” she exclaimed, trying to sound offended.

“Well, that's the only effort I'm never gonna complain about, Captain Bishop.” she reiterated, in order to keep the mood light and easy, wishing to cheer Maya up a little.

“Mmm, that's a pretty good point, I have to admit” the blonde grinned softly, wrapping her arm around the Italian's waist, heading to the bathroom.

While they were showering, they were standing under the hot water, next to each other, Carina gently stroking Maya's hair, “Promise me” the blonde said, out of the blue “that you won't leave me”.

It caught the Italian off guard, but she immediately replied “Of course, I promise bella. Why would you think so?” she whispered, turning Maya's face towards her so that they were facing each other.

“The call, today... I couldn't help but think about you: that couple, their lives turned upside down in the blink of an eye... I can't lose you” her voice cracked.

“And you won't bambina, ever “ Carina knew she couldn't make promises, because life is unpredictable, but she felt the urge to reassure Maya and she truly believed her own words “Come here”.

They stood there, hugging each other until Maya's breath started slowing down. When they got out of the shower, hands still intertwined, they quickly got ready and within 15 minutes, the doorbell rang. “Hi Andy! Hi Vic! Hi...ehm...Michelle? Did I get it right?” Carina greeted warmly.

“Yeah, you're right!” Michelle smiled back “thanks for having me over without warning.” she added, looking around, trying to spot where Maya was.

Andy noticed her and gave her a look, before walking towards Carina and asking if her friend was okay, receiving a slight nod from the Italian.

A few seconds later, Maya walked into the living room, going straight to where Carina was standing, near the sofa, pressing a kiss on her cheek, looking at her with heart eyes.

“Oh C'mon guys, you're too cheesy. I can't with you two” Vic shouted, making everyone laugh.

“Shut up Hughes, or I'll kick your ass at the karaoke contest later, and also you don't want to be on toilet duty for next week, do you?” the blonde reiterated, raising her eyebrows.

“See?” Vic said raising her hands, looking at Carina “she is like that with EVERYONE.  She's an aggressive pitbull with us, then with you... it turns out she's a little puppy. What kind of black magic is this???” the younger firefighter added teasingly “And anyway, that's abuse of power, Cap.”

Carina couldn't help but laugh and so did Maya, even though she didn't wait to tease back “Good call Hughes. Two weeks on toilet duty, you're welcome.” she stated, getting a groan as a response.

“Ok, something is telling me that it's going to be a loooong night” Andy said, walking towards the table “Can we eat something, I'm starving!” she continued, picking up some bags she had brought with drinks and homemade tacos.

“These tacos smell soo good” Carina stated, helping Andy to serve the food, while Vic and Maya were setting up the TV, the audio and the sofa for the contest.

“Michelle prepared them, it's my tía's special recipe” she explained, inviting Michelle to join them.

“Oh thank you” You didn't have to!” Carina said “I'm sure they taste amazing.”

“I really hope so” Michelle shyly smiled “So...you are an OB/GYN at Grey Sloan?” she asked, out of curiosity.

“Yep, I've been working there for three years now.” Carina replied “It's an amazing job: every life is worth every problem you may run into, all the cryings and the misunderstandings” she continued, thinking about Teddy's child, Amelia's and all the other babies she was able to bring into this world. “What about you?” she asked back.

“Well, I'm a bit of a mess right now” she chuckled “at first, when Andy joined the academy, I wanted to do the same, especially when I heard about some friends of hers who were really hot, but I gave up before even sending my application, I wasn't cut out for the job.” she admitted “So I started dancing again and now I'm giving salsa classes for little kids, but it doesn't pay off for the effort. Kids are exhausting!”.

“I see your point, they are often hyperactive!” the Italian added “but I love dancing! A friend of mine has a school and I know she's looking for staff, if you want, I can talk to her about you!” she offered kindly, not catching the hint about the “hot friends” which actually was only about Maya.

“Are you serious??” she almost shouted “That would be amazing!!”

“Yes, I am!” she laughed “I'll talk to her tomorrow and let you know!”.

“Thank you Carina, you made my day.” Michelle stated, a wide grin on her face.

“What's all this euphoria about?” Andy asked, pretty confused.

“Carina just told me that her friend is looking for qualified staff for her dance school, and it may mean no more crying kids” she answered, still a bit shocked.

“Oh and no more me hearing about your complains! That would be revolutionary” she joked “This needs a cheer”.

“What needs a cheer?” Maya and Vic asked together, walking towards the kitchen.

“Your girlfriend is an angel” Andy declared “and I'm starting to think she has magic powers for real.”

“I told you!! She's from an outer world” Vic added vehemently, getting looks from Maya and Andy “Ok, that sounded a little bit too aggressive but you got the point! Anyway, I'm up for the cheer!”.

“So am I, even though I'm slightly confused” Maya admitted, walking to Carina and wrapping her arm around her “but I know your special powers so, I've no doubts it's well deserved” she whispered, making Carina blush and turn towards her.

“I love you” she whispered back, leaving a kiss on Maya's lips, as if they were alone in their bubble, but that didn't last for too long.

“Nope, not again under my salad.” Vic stated, pulling Maya away towards the couch “We have to play, but if you're in this mode we won't even start”.

“Just... out of curiosity: which mode are you talking about?” Maya furrowed her eyebrow.

“Are you seriously asking me that? You only have two: the “Bad bitch” mode or “the simp” one. I guess you'll figure it out on you're own which one I was talking about”.

“You're risking a lot tonight Hughes” Andy chuckled, knowing her friend.

“I'm speaking facts and you know that Herrera” Vic said, matter of fact.

After having some food and a few drinks so that everyone was a little tipsy, but still almost sober, they got settled in the couch and Vic explained the rules.

“So, the game works like this: Andy will be the judge and she will pick the songs. As soon as one of us knows the title, we have to get up and the first one who does it must say the title, the singers and sing a little part of it. One point only if we get everything right. Is everything clear?” She demanded.

“Yep, but... what are the teams?” Maya asked, looking at the younger firefighter but stroking Carina's hand who was sitting next to her.

“Oh yes, I had forgotten. Carina and I will be together, so Maya and Michelle, you two make the other team.”  Vic added.

“Wait, what? Why?” Maya groaned disappointed, causing Carina to laugh.

“Because we need you active and present, and if you're in the same team as Carina, you won't definitely be that.” Andy teased.

“Fine” Maya mumbled “Michelle: we have to win!”

“You bet!” Michelle immediately replied, squeezing the blonde's arm with no reason, causing Carina to crinkle her nose.

“You ready? 3...2...1...”

Music playing (Blank Space)

As soon as the first words were sang, Maya stood up and shouted “Me, me, I know it.”

“Ok, title and singer. Then you have to sing a part which is not the refrain”. Andy stated.

“Blank Space, by Taylor Swift.” she answered fiercely and then started to sing as a teenager driving in her car in the middle of the night “And I know you heard about me, So hey, let's be friends I'm dying to see how this one ends, Grab your passport and my hand...”

“Ok, ok, I got it, you know the song!” Andy laughed at her friend's enthusiasm, glad she was feeling better.

“Sorry, I got carried away” Maya admitted, turning to look at Carina, who was there, looking back at her with a loving smile.

“Ok, 1-0 for Maya and Michelle.” Andy remarked, making Vic groan. “Let's go with another one...”

Music playing (I like it)

Within a second, Michelle got up and started moving around “No me esperaba un golpe tan bajo prima” she said, starting to sing along with the song which she was weirdly used to listening to every time she broke up “I like it by Cardi B”

“That's not fair, what's all this camaraderie?” Vic mumbled “ you're the judge!!”

“I just wanted to piss you off a little” Andy chuckled “Anyway, 2-0 for Maya and Michelle”.

“Carina, we can't let them win!! I want you to be the most competitive you've ever been in your life!” Vic said, almost commanding it.

“Yes, I promise we'll win! I'm ready to kick asses” Carina stated, causing Maya to laugh a little.

“Here we go with the third one...” Andy said.

Music playing (she looks so perfect)

On the first note, Carina jumped off the couch “ It's She looks so perfect by 5SOS”, and she continued, screaming to the top of her lungs from the very first second until the refrain came “She looks so perfect standing there, In my American Apparel underwear, And I know now, that I’m so down, Your lipstick stain is a work of art, I’ve got your name tattooed in an arrow heart, And I know now, that I’m so doooooown”.

While singing, she got closer to Maya, feeling every word she was saying, causing the blonde to blush before she pulled her in for a soft kiss and a gentle stroking on her chin.

“Ok, ok, I'm not gonna complain because you got us the point but please come back to this world, cause we're still 2-1 for them, the judge is impartial and we need to win” Vic said, pulling Carina back towards her seat.

“Sorry, I got carried away too.” Carina admitted sheepishly, probably alcohol inhibiting all of her composure.

“Yep, you two should walk around with stones on your feet, you get carried away a little too often” the younger firefighter mumbled.

“Competitive Vic is quite a pain in the neck” Andy teased “not the normal one is something so different though”. Vic faked to get offended before Andy picked the fourth song.

Music playing (Chicago, All that jazz)

All of them were looking at each other confused, but Vic immediately got up and started dancing “Start the car, I know a whoopee spot, Where the gin is cold, But the piano's hot. It's just a noisy hall,Where there's a nightly brawl, And all that jaaaaaazz!”

“It's All that jazz from the musical Chicago by Catherine Zeta Jones” Vic shouted, out of breath “C'mon guys, you don't know it?????”

“I heard it but I didn't remember the title” Maya admitted “Anyway, how about the camaraderie now?? You're the only one which is into musical sooo...” she groaned.

“I guess now we're even.” Vic nonchalantly claimed.. “We can do it Carina!”

“You're unbelievable” Maya mumbled, before the fifth song started playing.

Music playing (Mirrors)

Before Michelle could get up, Carina was already singing, Vic already celebrating for the point while the Italian was once again getting closer to Maya, who this time was whispering the lyrics together with her girlfriend, not caring about the lost point.

“I don't wanna lose you now, I'm looking right at the other half of me, the vacancy that sat in my heart is a space that now you hold.” they both sang together, lightly swinging from side to side, with Maya's head buried in Carina's neck getting an “AWW” from Andy and the usual groan from Vic, who was secretly enjoying the scene which actually looked like a film.

“It's Mirrors by Justin Timberlake anyway”. Carina said, wanting to be correct.

After a few minutes, everyone got back in their seat, after deciding Andy should just opt for the shuffle play.

“3-2 for Carina and Vic now” Andy remarked. “Ready?”

Music playing (Numb)

Vic and Michelle gave each other a look, the song playing not really their genre and also Andy seemed pretty confused. Carina knew the song but was too worried checking in on Maya's reaction that she didn't even think about getting up to get the point.

Maya downplayed it very well, trying to keep the mood light so after saying that it was Numb, by Linking Park, she started singing as if she was at a concert. Nobody but Carina noticed the change in her eyes and with the excuse of having a little pause before continuing, she took Maya's hand and brought her to their bedroom.

“Hey bambina, are you okay? I know how much that song means for you...” Carina asked gently, caressing Maya's face.

“Yeah, I'm okay, it was just a moment, it hit me a little, but I'm okay, I promise” Maya admitted, looking down, searching for Carina's left hand.

Carina knew it was the song Maya used to listen to every day when she became aware of her father abusive behavior, she knew how much all the words showed how bad Maya was hurting and that even though she had come a long way, scars could easily start bleeding again.

“Come here” the Italian said, hugging the blonde as tight as she could, knowing that it would give her the comfort she needed.

“I love you so much” Maya said, pulling Carina in for another lingering kiss.

“I love you too”, she whispered back against her lips, before kissing her again.

Within few seconds, they were back in the living room, Vic giving Maya an annoyed look.

“What??” Maya asked.

“You're trying to bribe my teammate!!” Vic shouted, causing Maya to mumble.

“Maya, we need to win!! If we do, I promise I'll bring more tacos the next time!” Michelle said, taking Maya by the hand and pulling her towards her seat. Maya didn't even notice the little flirt, but Carina surely did and she didn't like it at all, but she didn't want to make a scene so she just started cursing the woman internally.

“Ok, 3-3...here we go” Andy reestablished the order.

Music playing (Born this way)

As it was hard to find a straight person in that house, they all got up but the very first one was paradoxically Vic, who even started dancing with the exact steps. “Born this way by the Queen of Queens, Lady Gaga” She shouted, in a very Travis' way, as she kept on singing it.

“What kind of joke is this?” Maya teased “You're the only straight person in here and you just stole our hymn!! That's not fair!!”.

“Take it up with Travis. This is the soundtrack to his workout sessions everyday, so I know every single note of this song” she admitted proudly “I think people could actually believe I'm Lady Gaga if it wasn't for the height difference” she joked.

“Oh yeah, because height is the only difference” Maya teased “Hughes, I love your naivete, it's so cute!” she added.

“Bishop, fuck you” Vic reiterated, throwing a cushion at her friend.

“Ok, it's getting serious now. 4-3 for Carina and Vic: these are the last two songs. Maya and Michelle, if you win this, there's the final battle”. Andy declared.

“We're ready” Maya replied, on the edge of the couch.

Music playing (Dura)

As soon as the music started playing, Vic understood it was some raeggeton music which she didn't know at all but Michelle undoubtedly would. In fact, within two seconds, the Latina got up, shouting “It's Dura, by Daddy Yankee” and started singing, probably a little too tipsy. “Cuando yo la vi, Dije, si esa mujer fuera para mí, Perdóname, te lo tenía que decir, 'Tás dura, dura”

While singing she got closer and closer to Maya, looking at her like she was addressing those words to her, but Maya didn't even seem to care or understand what was going on. In the meantime, Carina was watching the scene, trying hard to contain herself, before she heard Michelle whispering something in Spanish to Andy.

“Si no fuera que ella está con Carina, ya le habría pedido que tengamos una cita...esta tía esta demasiado buena. Deberías habérmela presentado antes prima: os conocéis desde la academia, no me lo puedo creer”.

Carina was pretty fluent in Spanish, so she understood everything: all she wanted to do was telling Michelle to stay the hell away from her girlfriend, but what she did instead was showing that Maya wasn't going anywhere.

While the music was still playing, she got up and sat on Maya's lap, starting to dance in a very flirty way: the blonde was now more than alert and she couldn't help but smile at the Italian, gently caressing her back and kissing her neck. If it wasn't for Vic again, they had (at least Maya) completely forgotten they weren't alone.

“What was that for?” Maya asked grinning to Carina.

“Nothing, just a little reminder” Carina smirked before kissing the blonde and then going back to her seat.

“This is the last song, I want you to be extremely concentrated” Andy stated in a serious tone.

“We got this” Vic said “We have to win” she added, talking to Carina.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Carina replied, sitting on the edge.

For this last song, Andy decided to take a little revenge on Maya: as she had won their last Taboo game, she wanted to give Carina and Vic a little help to get their last point and win the competition. She opted for an Italian song, but little did she know Maya had improved a lot...

Music playing (Anche fragile)

It was a fraction of second: Maya was already up, the lyrics hadn't even started but she had already said the title “It's an Italian song, it's Anche Fragile by Elisa”.

Andy and Vic were shocked, but not Carina, as it was her favorite song and she used to play it on repeat on their nights together, so she knew that Maya would have recognized it.

“Well, you have to sing it or you won't get the point” Andy declared, sure that her friend couldn't bring her self to speak a word of that “weird” language.

Carina chuckled knowing that Maya would have probably messed up all the words, but instead, she was caught off guard, as the blonde started singing it.

“Tienimi su quando sto per cadere, tu siediti qui parlami ancora se non ho parole, Io non te lo chiedo mai, ma portami al mare, a ballare...”  

Everyone's eyes were wide open at the unexpected event that had just happened and the Italian couldn't believe it either.

“Bella, you learned it!” she said, still a little moved from the gesture.

“Yes, I learned the whole song actually” she confessed, blushing a little.

“Thank you” Carina said grinning, pulling Maya in for a soft kiss.

“Ok Bishop, I must admit: you deserved it” Vic admitted, raising her hands “you practically sang a song in Italian, that was awesome! And it also shows how much of a simp you are!” Vic couldn't help but teasing.

“Shut up, Hughes” Maya shouted, throwing back at her the cushion from before.

“Oh crap, it's almost Midnight and I had said to Robert I would have been home by 23. I think we should go!” Andy said, picking up her stuff “Thank you girls, for everything, it was good fun and I really enjoyed it!” she added, heading towards the door.

“Yep, so did I, despite knowing that my Cap will put me on toilet duty only because I speak facts about how in love she is with her super hot Italian girlfriend” Vic teased again, getting a little smack from Maya “No, apart from joking, it was awesome! We have to do this again”.

“I'll think about it, very carefully” Maya teased back.

“Thank you for everything, really. Especially you Carina, about the work” Michelle said, making Carina to force a little smile “And thank you Maya, it was very nice getting to see you again” she added, caressing Maya's hand.

Before waving them goodbye, that's when Carina thought she should make things a little bit clearer: “Lo siento mucho, pero quería decirte que Maya ya tiene novia, así que deja tu alma en paz y empieza a buscar a otra chica. Sé que es muy guapa, pero también sé que es mi novia y quisiera que tu también no te olvidaras de eso. Entendido?” [I'm really sorry, but I wanted you to know that Maya has already a girlfriend. So, just give it up and start looking for someone else. I know she's hot, but I also know she's my girlfriend and I'd like that you didn't forget about it either. Got it?]

As those words let her mouth, Michelle's jaw dropped and completely embarrassed, she reached Andy who was waiting for her with Vic in the car.

When Carina closed the door, she turned around and she saw a very confused Maya staring at her: “So you know Spanish??” she asked.

“A little, I studied it at high-school and kept on practicing it with TV series” she explained.

“And why were you talking to Andy's cousin in Spanish” Maya asked again, still not figuring out what was going on.

“I just wanted to make things clearer and I thought it was the best way” she said, walking towards the blonde and wrapping her arms around her waist.

“And what did you need to get across that well that couldn't be said in English?” Maya chuckled, putting her arm around Carina's neck.

“Maya, you didn't notice, did you?” Carina wondered, laughing a little.

“Notice what?” Maya asked, now more confused than ever.

“She was flirting with you!! And I also heard her talking to Andy about you in Spanish, but unluckily to her, I understood everything”. She explained.

“Wait, really???” Maya couldn't believe it. She didn't acknowledged it at all, too busy admiring Carina.

“Yes, so I just wanted to let her know that she better stays away from you, if her intentions are flirting all the time!” Carina groaned jealously, making Maya laugh.

“Oh so, someone is jealous... it could be a good thing...” Maya smirked “anyway, you only preserved hr from putting effort in something she couldn't achieve. I'm madly in love with you and you only.” she continued, more softly.

“That's a good thing too.” Carina smiled brightly, resting her head on Maya's neck and pulling her closer to steal her one more kiss.

As soon as they pulled away from the kiss to catch some air, Maya whispered something that made Carina's heart skip a beat.

“E non nasconderti con le battute, non mi sconcentrare, Stiamo a vedere dove possiamo arrivare E ridiamo insieme che ridiamo sempre, sempre, sempre”

“I thought you only learned it by heart” Carina said, eyes getting watery but the will to smile much stronger than the one to cry.

“I learned it so that I could understand all the words and why it meant so much to you” Maya admitted, Carina's smile growing wider and wider.

“And I also wanted you to know another thing...” Maya added.

“Tell me” Carina replied, moved and curious at the same time.

“You know that line that goes “Senza tutta questa fretta mi ameresti davvero?” she asked, and after getting a light nod in approval, she went on “Well, the answer is yes, I'd love you even if the world would never come to an end, 'cause I'll never get tired of loving you.”

“Bella I-” Carina tried to speak, but her voice cracked a little “You're amazing. You're probably the best thing that has ever happened to me.” she added.

“Probably?” Maya asked, furrowing her eyebrows, trying to sound offended.

“Yes, because I know that what we can make together, our story, our love, will always get better, day by day. Us is definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me” Carina explained, caressing the blonde's jaw.

“Mmm... you get away with it for tonight Dr. De Luca” Maya teased.

“Did I?” Carina teased back.

“Yeah, even though I think that, as it is midnight, we should start making the best of our next day from its very beginning” Maya smirked.

“Well, if you put it that way...” Carina grinned, pulling Maya towards their bedroom, knowing that she would always find the solution to every doubt and fear of hers in those deep blue eyes, that spoke nothing but unconditional love, which she was wholeheartedly willing to reciprocate.

[emmettdixonownsmyheart]

Fridge

“He has a corner in our fridge Andy!” Vic stated loudly making Maya and Carina look over for there spot in the beanery.

“Yeah and, he’s cute, nothing like his dad, is a frontline worker and did I say hot? I think he’s good for Travis.” Vic shook her head putting her hands in her hips

“You just as unhelpful as Theo, you know we haven’t had a lunch date in like 6 weeks and when we go out for breakfast he always comes along.” Andy raised her eyes in confusion.

“Yeah Vic, there dating, you go on dates with the people you sleep with not your roommates.”

—————————————————-

“I don’t think Vic likes my yogurt collection.” Travis smiled from behind him while Emmett picked out his breakfast.

“Why not, I don’t mind it. It keeps you coming back.” He shook his head

“She’s been all mad at me lately and she asked me to stay back on your next breakfast date.”Travis sighed

“She’s just jealous and thinks your taking all my attention from her, and you are, but we’re still in the honey moon phase soooooo.” Emmett looked up with a smirk on his face

“Oh yeah?” Travis was suddenly very close to him

“I can see what your thinking but I’m not sure Vic would like it if we did it in the kitchen.” Travis chuckled softly

“Who cares it’s is after all my kitchen.”

—————————————————

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird he has a corner in the fridge you’ve been dating like 6 months.” Travis raised his brow

“Absolutely not, he asked to keep a few things here like his go to after workout food and toothbrush and because he’s my partner and I enjoy having him around because I like him, his personality and the sex, I decided that was fine because he’s my boyfriend.” Vic rolled her eyes

“You didn’t have to say it like that.” Travis stabbed at his salad.

“You know Emmett really likes you, And whenever Theo is here randomly, I don’t get mad at the Italian coffee on the table or the never ending supply of pasta in the the cabinet. I just smile and deal with it.”

“Thats different!” Travis sighed amused by the conversion.

“He’s everywhere.” She finished

“Victoria Hughes, you are my best friend and I love you. There’s not a person that will ever compare to you as a friend, your my person....Emmett is my boyfriend and I really really really like him. He makes me happy so just leave him and his stupid over priced rich kid snacks alone and let us be happy besides he’s everywhere because we only get to see each other like 3 or 4 days a week.”

“I just miss you that’s all.” She said honestly eating some more of her salad.

“Well he doesn’t get off for another 3 hours so wanna watch a movie and eat popcorn till then.”

“Deal.”

Uh idk what this is but it was for the “Vic being jealous” prompt I received ❤️😂

[writtenkitten18]

My Blood: First Steps

Amanda, Nick and I stand upstairs on the Intelligence floor of the 21st District in Chicago. Their flight has just landed while I arrived with Mom, my newly discovered Dad and my now roommate Jay Halstead. After a weird nights rest in my new home, Jay and I drove to the 21st District, picking up Amanda and Nick on the way, so we could inform the rest of the team about the new updates on the case.

Dad stands in front of us with his hands in his pockets. "All right, you all remember Detective Rollins, New York Special Victims. This is Detective Amaro. And this is Fin's niece, Lily Tutuola." I was about to correct him when he walks in between the desks. "They have full jurisdictional powers here. And together..." He looks back at us. "we're gonna end this." He walks back over to the board. "All right, this pedophile ring, they're desperate, well-connected and clearly they'll do anything to avoid being exposed. We found the body in New York, but the head of the snake is here in Chicago."

Amanda walks over to the board and points out the main guy from New York. "Okay, so Bob Clinton, he is our middleman from New York. Now, NOMEC tells us that he was getting victims from a youth center in Times Square. Now, a lot of the kids were actually funneled to New York from here in Chicago, and according to our talks with Clinton, there is a higher-up, a true shot-caller."

Amaro continues from where she left off. "Now, Clinton was gonna give us a name, but he didn't make it 24 hours in jail. Was shanked in the showers."

Dad continues. "We like Lewellin... for financing the whole thing. Antonio, where we at with the shooter?"

The guy, whose name I just learned is Antonio, replies. "Well, due to the poor quality of the video, there's no match in the face recognition database. Best we got is male, white around 5'9", dark hair, 170 pounds, give or take."

I speak up. "I'll call my tech friend and see if she can pull up anything on her database." Everyone stares at me with confused looks on their faces. "What? Just because I'm an assistant doesn't mean that I don't have friends in high places."

I walk over to the break room and pull out my phone, dialing an all to familiar number number. Penny's colleagues came to Labyrinth after Bella's death to try and find her murderer. They never got the chance to find her killer but they helped me cope with the trauma. I even confided in one of the colleagues. His name is Spencer Reid. We grew close and I even fell in love with him. Spencer will always be my first love, but he chose his job over me. So, when they left to go back to Quantico, Spencer left as well. Taking my heart with him as well.

After a few rings, Penny's voice sounds through the phone. "Go for Penny."

I speak through the receiver. "Penny, it's me."

A brief silence is heard through the phone. "Is it really you Lil?"

I nod my head with tears in my eyes. "It's really me Pen. I've missed you so much. How have you been?"

Penny stutters. "I-I-I've been good. Everyone's been good. Morgan left and we have some new members but everyone is good."

I whimper. "How is he?"

Penny responds. "He's been good Lil. He's been good. He still talks about you sometimes.

I scoff as I wipe the tears from my eyes. "Yeah right."

Penny tries to reassures. "Spencer loved you Lily. It broke his heart when he had to leave to go back to Quantico."

I roll my eyes. "Not as much as it broke mine but that's not why I called. Remember that favor that you owe me?"

Penny says. "Yes."

I nod my head. "Well, I need to cash in. My Dad is a Sergeant in the Intelligence Unit at the Chicago Police Department." When the phone goes silent, I continued. "Yeah, my dad's alive. I'll tell you later. The case that they're working on is a pedophile ring that have links to New York and Chicago. One of their officer along with their fire vic Andrew Lewellen was killed and we have surveillance of his death and his shooter. No face recognition so far. I can send the video to you for your face rec. For now, I just need everything you can find on Andrew Lewellen."

I hear Penny's fingers typing over the phone. After a few minutes, she responds. "Okay. It says here that he's been making payments once a month to Oakbrook senior community in the Western Suburbs."

I think for a moment. "Weird. Random question. Was he paying for anyone at that community?"

Penny responds. "Yeah. It says he's making payments on behalf of Matilda Hughes for her mother Dorothy. My system shows that she gets a large payment every month from a fake name and it is sent immediately sent to Oakbrook."

I nod my head. "Okay. Thanks Pen. Next time the team comes to Chicago, and that includes you, drinks are on me."

Penny chuckles. "I'll be sure to take you up on that. I'll keep you posted on anything that I find."

I say my goodbye to Penny and end my phone call as I walk back into the bullpen. "Okay. I talked with my tech friend and she said that your fire vic has been making frequent payments on behalf of Matilda Hughes for her mother Dorothy. From the way that she was putting it, the money comes from a suspicious source."

Dad nods his head. "Okay. Jay and Antonio. Head to Matilda's apartment and see if there's anything that you can find. Lily. My office." I look over at Amanda with a confused look on my face as I walk over to his office, closing the door behind me.

I stare at Dad with a weird look on my face. "Is everything alright?"

Dad looks at me with a serious look on his face. "I just wanted to check in on you. Make sure that you're all situated and everything is going good with Halstead."

I nod my head. "Everything is going good. I'm trying to find a job around here that pays enough so I can try and help Jay pay rent and try to keep my feet on the ground. From what I could tell, there's nothing so far and what is out there involves me taking my clothes off. So, big no no."

Dad nods his head. "Yeah. I actually wanted to talk to you about that." He walks over to his desk and pulls out a stack of paper from one of the drawers, placing it into my hands. "A couple of weeks back, the unit busted a club that was ripping off its customers and robbing them. After we busted them, the owners jumped ship and signed away their rights to an associate of mine. After you agreed to come to Chicago, I asked the associate if he could give the club to me. He agreed. So, my first step towards being a father to you is giving you this club to run it how you want to. All you need to do is sign and the club is yours."

After he finishes his statement, my mouth is already open and I had a shocked look on my face. "Wait just a sec. Three days ago, you just found out that I existed. And now, you're giving me a club and accepting me like you've always known who I am. Why?"

Dad shrugs. "Because you're my daughter. I care about you and your mother. I want to help you in any way that I can. And now you know that I'll always be there to protect you."

By the end of his statement, I'm already in tears. Without hesitation, I close the space between us and pull Dad into a hug, shedding my tears into his shoulder, He is stiff at first, but then he wraps his arms around my shoulders and pull me closer into the hug. For the first time in 9 years, I had finally felt something that I've been looking for. I felt safe. Calm. Relaxed.

I was home.

[lesbianfreyja]

wait I didn’t scroll far enough....41 and/or 61 too 👀

and 2 more 41s requested by anons!!! endless 41s!!!!!! so, by popular demand:

41. I’m not drunk enough for this.

+ 61. I told you not to fall in love with me.

-

Mac kicked his feet at himunder the table. Dennis trapped one of Mac’s wandering ankles between both hisown. Mac twisted it around unsuccessfully for a minute before yanking it free,glowering fiercely.

“Time to behave, you stupidasshole,” Dennis muttered, under the guise of a very bright smile. “This iswhat we’ve been training for. Don’t ruin it with a hissy fit.”

“I’m not having a — I don’thave fits, Dennis,” said Mac, frowninginto his coffee. “I’m just pissed off that they don’t have blueberry pancakes.They said they got their fruits fresh every morning on the website!”

“Well, tough titties,” saidDennis. “Life isn’t always like it says on the internet, okay? Now behave. Yourpouting is ruining our whole married vibe that we’re trying to put out there.You’re gonna blow this for us, and then we don’t have anything else to do for twomore hours.”

“Why did Dee have to meet withthose surrogate bitches in the afternoon?”

Mac stabbed at thecomplimentary granola and yogurt with the business end of his spoon. Dennis hadpreviously not been aware that somebody could eat breakfast with this level ofsulk, but then he had never met someone stupid enough to say no when Mac askedfor blueberry pancakes.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s good practice,”said Dennis airily. “Now we have some extra time to get into our roles, right?”

He waved his napkin out as heunwrapped his utensils and smoothed it over his lap. Mac had his crumpled inhis fist, although he was still using his arm to wipe off his face anyway wheneverthe outside of his mouth got stained with coffee. In an effort to keep itoccupied so as to force him to use the napkin, Dennis reached out and took Mac’sfree hand firmly over the table. He smiled a bit softly, squeezing his hand. Macrolled his eyes.

“I’m not drunk enough for this,”he mumbled. Looking around, he flagged down their waiter and ordered a shot ofKahlua for his coffee.

“Jesus Christ, you are bad at this,” said Dennis after their waiter walkedaway.

“What?” said Mac. “You loveKahlua in your coffee.”

“Yes, I do,” Dennis agreed. “But I don’t really take Vic and Hugh for themorning drinker types, do you?”

“Oh, right.” Mac frowned into hisblack coffee. “Sorry, Dennis.”

Dennis rolled his eyes.

“How many times do I have totell you?” he asked, squeezing Mac’s hand again for emphasis. “The whole pointof this is to settle into our personas, Vic.I’d appreciate it if you would call me by my correct name.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry, Hugh.”

Dennis sighed and broke into someof the toast on his plate. It was crazy how much better he was at acting thanMac, but at least now he was trying. He let go of Mac’s hand to reach for aknife.

“Can you pass me the butter?”

“Sure thing, babe.”

Dennis started to mumble his thanks,then did a double-take. Mac was grinning at him across the table, and after asecond Dennis’s hackles went back down and he reluctantly smiled.

“That’s more like it,” hemurmured, spreading the butter out on his toast.

Mac was still smiling goofilyat him, no matter how much Dennis snapped at him to stop, when the waiter returnedwith the Kahlua. Even though he gave Mac shit for it earlier, spiked coffee didsound good. He grabbed it off the table before Mac could make a move for it, thenpoured a generous amount into both of their cups.

“What are you doing?” asked Mac,but he didn’t sound angry with him for having the bottle snatched away from hiscontrol, just surprised. He leaned back in his seat to avoid the splash zone.

“Treating my husband tobreakfast,” said Dennis lightly. He kept his eyes trained on the Kahlua as heset it back down on a flat surface, but pink was rising in his cheeks and hecould feel Mac’s widened eyes on him. Dennis looked up — bravely, he felt, andwith a stoic face to boot. “I believe this is how Hugh Honey acts when he’s outwith his, uh—”

“Trophy husband,” Mac supplied.Dennis flushed but couldn’t stop himself from smiling a little.

“Right,” mumbled Dennis,ducking his head back down.

He didn’t usually like coffeethis strong, but he had the urge to chug it all back at once. The cup wasmostly empty when the waiter finally came by with their food, and he declined arefill. When he next looked up, Mac was already wolfing down his (tragicallyplain) pancakes with alarming and unattractive speed; Dennis sniffed and pokedhis fork around his scrambled eggs, looking around for Tabasco to steal from anearby table.

“Can I have a bite of that?”Mac asked as soon as he’d doused it, and his fork prodded its way into Dennis’sview. He looked up to see Mac watching him with an open expression and hashbrown in his teeth.

“No way,” said Dennis, edging Mac’sfork out of the way with his own. “After you had a meltdown over blueberriesearlier and called me a stupid bitch for wanting eggs?”

“Aw, come on,” said Mac. “Hugh wouldtotally give me some eggs, bro.”

Dennis’s eyes narrowed as theystared each other down across the table. With a sigh, Dennis stopped blockinghim and pushed his plate over.

“Goddamn it,” he sighed. “That’sa good point.”

“Ha!” said Mac, stabbing whatappeared to be half the plate onto his tines and shoving it all in his puffycheeks. “This is exactly what you were talking about, I think.”

“What do you mean?”

“You remember, Hugh?” he asked,looking up at him. His eyes were wide and bright, sparking; Dennis felt heatcrawl across the back of his neck, and he was glad he was wearing a polo shirtto cover it up. He kept his face impassive, but Mac was leaning forward eagerlyanyway. “It’s like you said on our first date. When you finally wore me downafter asking for, like, months.”

Dennis arched an eyebrow,amused.

“Is that what happened?” he askedmildly.

“Oh yeah, bro! Of course youwere putting the moves on me. But you’re kinda charming, so eventually I saidyes.” Mac rolled his eyes. “Back then you were just a lonely billionaire with adream, but I was the working classguy with the background in real estate helping you get your business off theground. You were, like, immediately hittingon me, dude. Just like always. So anyway, finally I went out with you, and I wasannoyed because of how much walkingthere turned out to be in golf! And you said—”

When Dennis was a junior incollege, Mac came up to visit for a weekend. For once, he’d been without Charlie,who had had plans — or maybe he’d been sleeping, or too stoned to show up, or justhadn’t felt like it. Dennis couldn’t remember anymore; it hadn’t beenimportant, even at the time. Mac had shown up at his door with some prettypotent LSD, and they’d trekked into the woods off-campus while it melted ontheir tongue until it kicked in, and they’d spent hours getting lost out there.

Mac was still antsy when they startedcoming down, and they cleaned up and ordered food, but he didn’t want to staycooped up any later than it took to down a  big order of wings. Dennis drove them to afair a little ways out of town, and they spent hours riding everything there,in between sneaking into the drinks tent to get wasted; Dennis threw up on thetilt-a-whirl, and Mac had to spend the last of his pocket money on ginger ale. Whenthey were sitting on a park bench, waiting for Dennis’s stomach to settle, Mac gotfrustrated and he asked, “You know you’re a real fucking expensive date, huh?”and he didn’t mean it that way but Dennis was still feeling a little off-kilterfrom the LSD and the beer and he smirked up at Mac and said—

“I told you not to fall in lovewith me,” Dennis murmured. It came a little bit mechanically. He coughed. “Vic.”

His throat felt closed up, andhe couldn’t even bring himself to get angry at Mac for throwing in details oftheir fake marriage that they hadn’t previously agreed on. Hugh and Vic’s firstdate was supposed to have been to a wine tasting in Napa Valley. He was alittle surprised, that was all, that Mac remembered something that had happenedthat long ago on a day where he hadn’t been sober. And that maybe he thoughtabout the same way that Dennis did.

Dennis swallowed, pushing thatthought away, but he looked at him with his lips parted. Mac was fixated on hisbrunch again, though, and not paying him any mind; but a small smile was stillplaying on his lips.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” said Mac,digging back into his food.

Something was glowing rose-goldin Dennis’s chest as he stilled. He just watched Mac eat for a long moment,barely reacting to the sticky mess he was making or what he was talking about. Atsome point, Mac glanced up with his mouth still full and caught him in the act.Dennis bit his lip, and Mac only missed a beat before he kicked Dennis in theankle again.

“Get eating,” he instructed. “We’veonly got two hours to make it downtown and we still have to catch a bus.”

Mac understood him most of thetime, fundamentally. He knew what not to mention and when to divert a conversation.Maybe it was just his bossiness flaring up in him, wanting the attention and todomineer the conversation, but whatever it was Dennis felt grateful.

Hiding his own warm smile — strangeand terrifying and also the most natural and familiar thing in the world — Denniswent back to his brunch.

[londontheatre]

The Birthday Party at Harold Pinter Theatre

Sonia Friedman Productions is thrilled to announce full casting for Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. Peter Wight and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor will join previously announced Toby Jones, Stephen Mangan, Zoë Wanamaker and Pearl Mackie for this major revival directed by Ian Rickson. The production will run at the Harold Pinter Theatre, 60 years since the play’s debut, from 9th January to 14th April 2018 with an Opening Night on Thursday 18th January 2018. Tickets are now on sale.

Stanley Webber (Toby Jones) is the only lodger at Meg (Zoë Wanamaker) and Petey Boles’ (Peter Wight) sleepy seaside boarding house. The unsettling arrival of enigmatic strangers Goldberg (Stephen Mangan) and McCann (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) disrupts the humdrum lives of the inhabitants and their friend Lulu (Pearl Mackie), and mundanity soon becomes menace when a seemingly innocent birthday party turns into a disturbing nightmare. Truth and alliances hastily shift in Pinter’s brilliantly mysterious dark-comic masterpiece about the absurd terrors of the everyday.

PETER WIGHT’S theatre credits include: Hamlet (Almeida/West End); The Red Lion, Ivanov, Sleep With Me, Murmuring Judges, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Black Snow, Waiting for Godot (National Theatre); The Seagull (Royal Court/Broadway); Trelawny of The Wells (Donmar Warehouse); Otherwise Engaged, Chekhov’s Women (West End); The Spanish Tragedy, Much Ado About Nothing, Barbarians, A Clockwork Orange, Hamlet (RSC); In The Republic of Happiness, In Basildon, Face to the Wall, Not A Game for Boys (Royal Court); The Caretaker (Globe Theatre Warsaw); Edward II, Mouth to Mouth (Royal Exchange, Manchester); Dearly Beloved, Grace (Hampstead Theatre); A State of Affairs, Othello, Commedia, Progress (Lyric Hammersmith); Julius Caesar (Riverside Studios); A Passion in Six Days, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Nest (Sheffield Crucible); King Lear, The Three Sisters (Birmingham Rep); Hard To Get (Traverse Edinburgh).

[See image gallery at http://ift.tt/1FpwFUw]

  His television work includes: Vanity Fair, Brief Encounters, I Want My Wife Back, Our Zoo, The Mimic, The Paradise, Hit and Miss, Public Enemies, Titanic, Money, Monday Monday, Boy Meets Girl, 10 Days to War, Party Animals, Eastenders, Persuasion, Fantabulosa!, Early Doors, Room at the Top, The Security Men, and Uncle Adolf. Film includes: The Program, Mr Turner, King of Soho, Brakes, Only You, Kon-Tiki, Hard Boiled Sweets, Clone, Atonement, Hot Fuzz, Lassie, Babel, Pride and Prejudice, The Statement, Lucky Break, Shiner and with Mike Leigh, Another Year, Mr Turner, Vera Drake, Naked, Secrets & Lies and Meantime.

TOM VAUGHAN-LAWLOR trained at RADA. His theatre credits include: The Plough and the Stars, Juno and the Paycock, Translation (National Theatre); Howie the Rookie (Barbican London/ BAM NY); Our Few and Evil Days, The Rivals, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Three Sisters, Saved, The School for Scandal, The Playboy of the Western World (Abbey Theatre); 55 Days (Hampstead Theatre); All My Sons (West End); Molly Sweeney (Curve Leicester); Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin); The Lady from the Sea (Birmingham Rep); Henry V (Royal Exchange Manchester); The Field (Tricycle Theatre) and The Lime Tree Bower (Young Vic).

His television work has included: The Secret Agent, Trial of the Century, Charlie, Love / Hate, and Peaky Blinders. Film includes: Avengers: Infinity War, The Cured, Maze, Daphne, The Infiltrator, The Secret Scripture, Becoming Jane, and A Tiger’s Tale.

He has won multiple awards, including: Irish Times Best Actor Award for Howie the Rookie; Irish Times Best Actor Award for The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui; Ian Charleson commendation for Henry V and the Irish Film and Television Best Actor Award for Love / Hate.

The production will be designed by the Quay Brothers, with lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker, music by Stephen Warbeck and casting by Amy Ball.

LISTINGS Sonia Friedman Productions in association with Rupert Gavin, Tulchin Bartner Productions, 1001 Nights Productions, Scott M. Delman present THE BIRTHDAY PARTY BY HAROLD PINTER Directed by Ian Rickson Design – Quay Brothers Lighting – Hugh Vanstone Sound – Simon Baker Music – Stephen Warbeck Casting – Amy Ball

Harold Pinter Theatre Panton Street, SW1Y4DN

http://ift.tt/2A0wcub London Theatre 1

[wgwhite]

Hugh Howey’s ‘Sand’, A Review – Or: ‘Sand really goes get everywhere’

Rumour has it Eskimos have fifty different words for snow. Well, they ain’t got spit on Hugh Howey and his encyclopedia of sand.

Have you ever been to the beach? Have you ever built a sand castle? Have you ever pretended to be Godzilla or Megazord, crashing through your sandy metropolis and wondering exactly why you’re feeling no remorse? These buildings are so easy to destroy…look at the little people scream…Me neither. But Hugh Howey has.

‘How deep must you go to uncover the truth?’ asks the tagline. Deeper than this book is the answer. I came away from Sand with more questions than answers, which isn’t always a bad thing. The biggest one being that of Vic’s fate, and what exactly the strange people over in No Man’s Land are really doing, and why they wanted the people of Low-pub and Springston dead. I suspect there’ll be a second installment in the Sandy series, but for the meanwhile, these questions linger on, just like that weird rash you’ve got.

I’m a fan of leaving a few things whipping in the wind. Audiences aren’t idiots, and shouldn’t be treated as though they are. I don’t need to be spoon-fed, but I do like some stories wrapped up. As it stands, Sandcastles feels like it ends on the penultimate chapter. We’re left with Conner, Rosie, Palmer, Rob and that other girl as they wait for Vic to return from No Man’s Land. The nuke goes off, and then it starts to rain. Which doesn’t really wrap anything up. Is Brock dead? Did the kid’s father survive? Did Vic survive? Is Springston rebuilt? Will the family head west to the mountains like their father told them to? Why should I care about their random half-sister? All these questions and more!

    But let’s talk about what the book did do, rather than what it didn’t. It built a great world. It gave us engaging characters that are easy to get behind. It gave us a gripping narrative that doesn’t hold back the punches or shy away from the gory reality of a harsh post-disastrous world. The concept in particular is fascinating. The world is buried in sand (hence the name). Humanity has developed suits that allow them to manipulate the sand, making it have the same effect that I do on girls. The protagonists swim through the sand like divers. Guess what they call ‘em? Go on. It’s not a trick question. It’s Divers. They call them Divers. Divers use their magic suits to swim down to the buried civilisation below and pull all sorts of treasures free. Like suitcases full of dirty underwear. Score.

What’s more interesting than the setting is exactly how the sand got there in the first place. Something that isn’t ever really addressed, only briefly. See, it’s coming from No Man’s Land. The people who want to blow up Low-pub are the same people digging (or something) and all of that sand is flying over the horizon, burying the world. Now that’s ruddy cool. It’s a shame that Howey spends no time on what is probably the more epic part of his book. It’s a passing comment, just a line of dialogue. We don’t even get to follow Vic out there to watch as she blows it up. It’s left me with a bittersweet taste in my mouth. I want so desperately to be able to see this machine. To know what the antagonists could possibly be doing to cause so much destruction, but we’re never really shown. It’s both a missed opportunity and very clever. If there is a second Sandrash book, I’ll be sure to buy it.

Having said that, I’ll buy it with some reservations. Whilst Howey’s ideas are spectacular, his prose isn’t my idea of a french fancy. He doesn’t always write in full sentences, which infuriates me because I can’t get away with it. I found these moments to break my immersion. I found myself thinking about the writing as opposed to the story which I don’t think was intentional. I’ve not read any of Howey’s ‘Wool’ series, but I’ve heard good things. I wonder if he’s written these in the same sort of style.

Whilst I’m moaning, what the hell was up with Palmer’s story? His was absolutely the most interesting character until he got out of Danver and became Skeletor’s gym-shy cousin. Disappointed with the direction of Palmer; not once did he put on his Atom suit and shrink down to the size of–wait, wrong series.

SAND is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel from bestselling author, Hugh Howey. It’s one of the most original books I’ve read in a long time and well worth the read.

http://www.hughhowey.com/

http://www.hughhowey.com/books/sand/

[fultas01]

Hellllo Reader,

Hi Mom, I’m still alive! Today we are talking about the long trek towards the end of the school year. I have talked a little bit about what teaching has been like for me. So this blog post is going to talk a little bit about what teaching has been like for me, as well as what I have been up to in Moldova for the last few months, when teaching English has been my main focus.

You may be looking at the title of this blog post and wonder where it comes from. What does a second semester have to do with an 80s movie? Well, sometimes I felt like each of the characters throughout this semester, and I would love for my life to be directed like a John Hughes film. I can say that I felt I like all of these characters, from my stern efforts to make sure students paid attention and that no one used their cellphones in my class, to being perceived as a princess because of where I’m from. I have felt misunderstood like everyone of the characters, and I have had dance parties too. I might expand on these feelings throughout this blog post, so I’ll leave this here and get into the actual post.

After Christmas break (and my travels to Budapest, Prague, and Brasov) I returned to school, ready to begin the send half of the school year. I began this semester a little more wary than I had been at the beginning of the year, but still ready to get knee-deep in changing things, and improving my students’ English. However, with the second semester came a bunch of new commitments. The first of which came at the end of January (maybe a week or so after I school had just begun again), where I had a week long engagement in Chisinau to learn about Project Development. I went on this trip with a partner from my school, and we came back super excited about the projects that we were considering for our school. With this little break it was a little hard for me to be aware of what my students were doing in our classes. I had basically taken off a month, so getting back in the swing of things was harder than expected.

Along with that, I began preparing for different events that would take place for me in February and ended up spend 3 out of 4 weekends in Chisinau. Which, is not my village, in fact it is very far from my village. So, for most of my Fridays and Sundays I spent time on rutieres going between the two places that I spend my time. I thankfully did not have classes on Fridays, giving me the opportunity to check-in with my school to see if I could help with anything before heading to Chisinau to work on these different projects. Along with this time spent working on projects I also worked with my teachers to try and come up with new things to do with the students and keep them interested in English as the year continued. We began trying different media types (bringing in music, and short videos) as well as powerpoints, changing the policy for our tests, and creating different test forms to discourage cheating (did it work? kind of…)

February was a blur to me. I began working on a project with my school to renovate the library (which later changed to creating a kind of student center for students to prepare for lessons in). I also began talking with my English teachers to see if they wanted to do a grant to buy more English language resources. Outside of these projects, I also had work with two of the Volunteer committees that I’m a part of (I am on the Volunteer Information Committee or VIC, and I am working with the GLOW camp and clubs of Moldova). Both committees had activities that they needed to do in this month. Sooooo, I was busy thinking about extra-curricular activities and can’t remember what I taught (or if I taught) the entire month.

One of the things I remember fondly about February from school was the Valentine’s day school festival. Where students prepared dances, skits, poems, and other fun things for us to watch that day after lessons. Then they were able to have a school dance to celebrate the day. I spent that time hanging out with one of my partner teachers and talking about some of the differences between American celebrations and Moldovan celebrations of Valentine’s day and Drago-bete (I misspelled this, because I only ever say dragobete, I never write it).

After the craziness that was February came March. Another busy month during the weekends, as I was working with other people and putting different projects together. However, I was able to focus on teaching more in March. This focus showed me that students really are the same everywhere. My students were ready for the end of winter, and they were ready for another break from school. While some of my younger grades were flourishing (my second graders learned ‘Happy Birthday’ which was adorable), my middle schoolers were dropping like flys. Out sick, skipping class, and if they were in class they weren’t paying a whole lot of attention, this has been the month of March and beyond with my middle schoolers.

Not to say that they are all this way, however, there is definitely a majority of my students who shut down in the second half of the year. And this shut down is what made me feel like the Breakfast club. As I was teaching the younger grades I felt cool and welcomed, but with my middle schoolers I oscillated between acting like the mean principal and the absent parents from that movie. Some days I worked really hard to get their attention either through bribery or through a tough stance, while other days I just said that it wasn’t worth the fight. (Not very teacher-like attitude, but I know many a teacher who just have to wash their hands of a certain day and move on. It happens).

In this second half of the school year also came sickness. Sickness for me, for my host family, and for my school. Many students would be absent at different intervals and the same could be said about many of the teachers who either fell ill themselves or had to stay home with a sick kid. And as you can imagine, dear reader, that this puts stress on a school. And Moldova is not like the US where we can call in a substitute teacher to cover a class. No, when a teacher is sick or missing, other teachers are pulled to cover those classes. And that meant that for me, I ended up teaching alone more often than I would have liked. It was an easy choice to pull one of my partner teachers to teach a different class, while I would continue an English lesson by myself. It would mean that very little would be lost in either class. Unfortunately, many of my students took this to mean a free period for them and I had to fight to get things done. Some classes were better than others, but for the most part, I don’t think I ever got better at teaching these kids alone. I think I have a better understanding of what I would do if I have to teach alone in the next school year, but I still would really prefer not to.

A celebration in March that I attended was. International women’s day. This wasn’t a celebration at the school, since the school was closed for the day. Instead this was a celebration put on at the Casa de Cultura (translates to the House of Culture, these are in almost every village, and in every raion and city). This celebration had dancing, singing, and lots of flowers given to the women that had come. While after a couple hours of sitting in uncomfortable seats and listening to singing and poems in Romanian I was exhausted, it was still a very sweet thing. I had to explain that in the US International Women’s day isn’t really celebrated. So, points to Moldova for making every woman feel important and celebrating an international holiday better than Americans. America, take notes.

April, oh April. We had another break in the month of April, this one was a week long break for Easter, and the week before the break, one of my classes just didn’t show up. We talked to their class master (home-room teacher), but nothing really came of it. And that class’ attendance stayed low to non-existent for the remainder of the school year. While this frustrated me, it became obvious that most of the students did not plan on continuing on studying English, so they thought why bother? As a volunteer, I had no power over this, and just started bring a book or something to occupy my time with during this class. I would sit in the classroom and try to talk with anyone if they did attend class.

Also during April my projects fell through, it was a problem with communication. I hardly ever saw my partner on our projects, and I had very little confidence in my abilities to communicate in Romanian. If I could avoid speaking it for a day, I would. This lack of communication brought along some problems between me and the staff. Leading me to feel more like John Bender from the Breakfast club, arguing with the principal and making things worse by not being cooperative. Oops. Looking back on it, I realize that I needed to speak up and let people know what was going on, but I just didn’t fix it for a long time (and I honestly still am not sure if I have successfully bridged these gaps in communication, though I think I am doing better).

Weirdly, in April there was a late snow storm, which the volunteers dubbed: Snow-pocalypse 2017. This storm came through at the tail end of our Easter break, making traveling in Moldova dangerous. Me and a couple friends flew into Moldova at the end of our vacations to find the city basically at a standstill. The cab drivers from the airport were charging 4 times their normal price, none of the buses were going in the city, power lines where down, and it was generally just a mess. Walking around the city the days following reminded me of what cities and towns look like after a tornado. It was crazy.

After Easter break we came back to school, knowing that we were in the final stretch of school. The kids and teachers could feel the summer holidays coming. And, just as you would imagine, that made teaching a bit harder. Along with the end of the school year came end of the year testing, and the stress to make sure we covered everything in the book. In May this came to a head and I don’t think I taught my regular week schedule the entire month. There would be times when I wouldn’t see a certain class for a week or two because of testing, and once they came back, they were done. They thought that since they wrote their finals that everything else was extra, and it didn’t really matter. And I have to kind of agree with them there. They took their final exam and the last two weeks of school grades were being tabulated, so no new information was coming out. I spent the month doing year round ups and overseeing tests. And neither were particularly fun. I can say that they were rather helpful in pointing out where weaknesses were in each of my grades (an example, we spent a week with my 2nd graders going over the alphabet again because they couldn’t remember how we pronounce it in English. Which means that when I said “c” my students thought I was saying an ‘s’ because that is how ‘s’ is pronounced in Romanian. Or the difference between “e” and “i,” since English “e” sounds like “i” in Romanian).

  Throughout all of this, I also began to teach an English club on Wednesdays at my local library. This was a fun little exercise that quickly gained popularity with my 4th graders, then died again as students stopped coming. It was a weird phenomenon where I started the club with like 5 students, it grew to 20+ students in a small room, then dwindled to less than 10 again, before I had to pause the club because of end of the year preparations.  As some one who had never had an English club it was weird and difficult for me to prepare for these events, so I generally grabbed little things that I thought we could practice and use (like greetings, numbers, colors, etc).

Also on the club side, I began working with another volunteer in the nearby Raion center, I would occasionally come to see him and help with his club at his school (even helping to teach a group of kids how to throw an American football), and we helped at a Romanian school on the other side of town. I think I went to each of these clubs twice during the second semester, but both were good times (though I did get sick at the second meeting at the Romanian school). I worked well with this volunteer and we made some plans to continue working together in the upcoming months. We talked about working with certain students in the community as tutors of English (however we have only been able to meet once). These clubs and students are things that I want to continue either this summer or in the next school year.

The lasts weeks of school saw all the teachers working diligently on compiling grades (which has to be all done by hand here in Moldova, so I have never been so happy and grateful for electronic grade books as I was when I saw my partners working on those). While teachers were working on these I would attempt to talk or review with some of the students. The key word in that last sentence being ‘try.’ I think we were all pretty done with everything by late May.

Outside of school, in March, April, and May, I was preparing for my parents to come and visit. So I was some what distracted along with my students. After lessons, I would begin looking at different things and different places for us to go on vacation and making a plan. I had to talk to my director in Romanian about this trip and make sure that they were okay with me taking the two weeks out of school to travel with them across Europe.

My work with the two other groups began really heating up again in May and April as well. GLOW was fundraising all semester (and we unfortunately did not meet our goals, and we are now doing our best to cut costs to make sure everything still works). GLOW also began really planning out the camp and communication was coming and going fast and furiously. We had a counselor training in mid-June and then camp would be two weeks after that. On the other hand, VIC was preparing for the new group of volunteers to come in. We worked on creating the new website, we thought of ideas of gifts for the new volunteers, and began planning for the Launch Event, which will take place in July. With all of these things going on, this semester seemed both the be a blur and to inch by so slowly I thought I was going to die.

The school year ended with a last bell ceremony on May 31st. The day began with everyone coming to school at the normal 8:30 time, but instead of going to the classroom, I met my partner in the teachers lounge as we waited for everything to be set up. Around 9 am we went outside, ready for everything to begin, but after another 15-20 minutes of waiting my partner and I walked to a nearby store to have coffee and breakfast then return to the school for the festival. Things finally really began around 10 am and took about 90 minutes to two hours to complete. During the ceremony many awards were handed out, and a few poems were shared. The graduating class was recognized as well as some of the amazing teachers that I work with. Then, as the last part of the ceremony, the graduating class walked around the group of students ringing the last bells of the school year (America, it’s a really cool idea and thing to see!). After that, the students were told to go back inside the building so that their Dirigentie (home-room teachers) could talk to them if need be before they go home for the summer. As students were leaving they gave flowers to their teachers. So even though my partner and I don’t have a home-room class we were gifted with flowers at the end of the year to show appreciation of our work (which might have made me tear up, but I’m not saying for sure!).

With the school year over, the teachers had a meeting about the end of year business, which I had to stay at, unfortunately. Do I remember what went on in that meeting? Nope. I was just trying to look like I was paying some attention. We finally left afternoon, and I left school to grab my bag and go to Chisinau to pick my parents up from the airport! But I’ll talk more about that in another blog post.

  Well, I think that covers mostly everything from the end of the school year for me. I know there are stories that I didn’t tell, but I just wanted to talk broadly about what I did this school year. If I think of anything else I’ll add it to another post, and if you want me to talk about anything that I haven’t addressed yet, please let me know!

  Until next time,

Angela ❤

Second Semester: Aka. The Breakfast Club Hellllo Reader, Hi Mom, I'm still alive! Today we are talking about the long trek towards the end of the school year.

[londontheatre]

After the resounding success of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s State Fair (Cadogan Hall November 2016) and the sell-out concert of Alan Menken & Lynn Ahrens’ A Christmas Carol (Lyceum Theatre, December 2016), with numerous five star reviews for both performances, The London Musical Theatre Orchestra is delighted to announce the full casting for its first concert of the 2017 season, the hit Broadway musical Honeymoon in Vegas.

Joining previously announced principal cast members Samantha Barks (Betsy) and Arthur Darvill (Jack) will be Maxwell Caulfield (Tommy), Rosemary Ashe (Bea), Nicolas Colicos (Johnny) and Simon Lipkin (Buddy), with supporting roles played by Daniel Amity, Maisey Bawden and Hywel Dowsell.

Following the huge success of A Christmas Carol, Shaun Kerrison will be returning to direct the production (biog at end of release).

Cast announced so far: TOMMY: Maxwell Caulfield – UK Theatre includes: Guys and Dolls and Singin’ In The Rain, Sir Peter Hall’s Bedroom Farce (UK National Tours), Chicago (London, West End). In America: La Cage Aux Folles, My Fair Lady, A Little Night Music , Pirates of Penzance, Sweet Bird of Youth, Inspector Calls (Broadway), My Night with Reg, Mysterious Mr.Love, Salonika (Public Theatre), Class Enemy and Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Television and Film Includes: Grease 2, Empire Records, The Real Blonde, The Boys Next Door, Casualty, Emmerdale, The Colbys (ABC) and The Elephant Man.

BETSY: Samantha Barks – Samantha is best known for playing Eponine in Les Miserables, a role she played in the West End, the 25th Anniversary Concerts at the O2, and in the 2012 film adaptation. Recent theatre credits include: Cathy Last Five Years (St James Theatre); the title role in the world premiere of Amelie – A New Musical (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Mallory/Avril in City of Angels (Donmar Warehouse), Velma Kelly in Chicago (Hollywood Bowl) and Sally Bowles in Cabaret (UK Tour). Recent film credits include: Interlude in Prague (Stillking Films), Bitter Harvest (Devil’s Harvest Productions), The Canary (Pioneer Pictures), the voice of Miss Acacia in Jack & The Cuckoo-Clock Heart (EuropaCorp) and The Christmas Candle (Pinewood Studios).

Arthur Darvill

JACK: Arthur Darvill – Training: RADA. Theatre includes: Treasure Island (National Theatre), Once (Bernard B.Jacobs Theatre NYC and Phoenix Theatre UK), Our Boys (Duchess Theatre), Soft Cops (RSC), Doctor Faustus (Shakespeare’s Globe), Swimming With Sharks (Vaudeville), Terre Haute (Trafalgar Studios, National Tour), Stacey (Arcola), Terre Haute (Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh). Television and Film Includes:Legends of Tomorrow (Berlanti Productions), Danny and The Human Zoo (BBC), Broadchurch (Kudos for ITV), The White Queen (BBC), The Paradise (BBC), Doctor Who (BBC), Little Dorritt (BBC), He Kills Coppers (Ecosse), The Verdict (RDF), Robin Hood (Imagine Entertainment), Sex, Drugs, Rock N Roll (Lipsync Productions), Pelican Blood (Ecosse). Other work: Arthur is also a composer, his credits include: Fantastic Mr Fox (Nuffield/Lyric/Curve), I Want My Hat Back (National Theatre), Been So Long (Young Vic, Traverse), Lightning Child (Globe), The Frontline (Globe), Stoopud Fucken Animals (Traverse), Crazy Love (Paines Plough), Is Everyone Ok? (Nabokov), Artifacts (Bush).

BEA: Rosemary Ashe – Rosie has just completed a national tour of Sister Act playing Sister Mary Lazarus. West End Theatre Includes: Carlotta, the Prima Donna Les Miserables (Queen’s Theatre – original Cast), Widow Corney in Oliver!, Cunegonde in Candide, Manon in Bitter Sweet, Forbidden Broadway, Felicia Gabriel in The Witches of Eastwick (for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical, Miss Andrew, the nasty nanny in Mary Poppins, & Lottie Grady in When We Are Married. Recently she has been performing her one woman tribute to Ethel Merman: ‘Call Me Merman’, to great acclaim, played Betty in the Great American Trailer Park Musical (Waterloo East Theatre) and has created roles in 2 new British musicals: Grandma Mole in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & ¾ (Leicester Curve) & Miss Bleacher in Crush (The Belgrade). She has appeared with English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Sadlers Wells Opera, Opera Northern Ireland & Carl Rosa in many different roles including Musetta in La Boheme, Helene in La Belle Helene, Frasquita in Carmen & Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte.

JOHNNY: Nicolas Colicos – UK theatre includes: Buffalo Bill in Annie Get Your Gun (Sheffield Crucible), Joe in I’m Getting My Act Together… (Jermyn St. Theatre), The Soldier in Sunday In The Park with George (Royal National Theatre), Mitch in Streetcar Named Desire (Bristol Old Vic), Curly in Oklahoma(National Tour), Wreck in Wonderful Town! (Queen’s Theatre). Originated roles in The Bodyguard (Adelphi), Sister Act (Palladium), The Producers (Drury Lane), Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward), Whistle Down The Wind (Aldwych), Sunset Boulevard (Adelphi), Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Palladium). Television and Film work includes: Kingsman 2, Strasberg in Rude Boy (BBC), Mackenzie in Hot Metal (LWT), The New Statesman, The Detectives (LWT), Henry Savage in Wodehouse On Broadway (BBC), David Kessler in Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less (BBC), Hugh Clegg in Bomb Story (BBC), Hank in That’s Love (TVS), Lt. Green in Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Reuben in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Paul in Superman IV, Connors in Iron Eagle II.

BUDDY – Simon Lipkin – Theatre includes: Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls (West End); Bill Sykes in Oliver! (Grange Park Opera); Lou Lubowitz in Miss Atomic Bomb (St James Theatre); The Lorax in The Lorax (Old Vic Theatre); The Proprietor in Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory); Touchstone in As You Like It (Southwark Playhouse); Barlow in I Can’t Sing (London Palladium); Lonny in Rock Of Ages (Original West End Cast); Galahad in Spamalot (Original West End Cast); I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Arts Theatre, London); The Wedding Singer (Original UK Cast); Willard in Footloose (UK Tour); A Christmas Carol (West End); Alice In Wonderland (Nuffield Theatre); Austentatious (The Landor); News Revue (Canal Café) and Leopold in Never The Sinner at the Kenneth Moore Theatre. Film and TV include: Show Dogs, Muppets Most Wanted for Disney, The Harry Hill Movie, That Puppet Game Show and Nativity III, Harry Hill’s Alien Fun Capsule, Doctor Who, Harry Hill’s Tea Time, The Bill, Casualty, The Royal Variety Performance, Children In Need.

Other roles in the production will be played by members of the LMTO chorus, including: Will Arundell, Lizzie Bea, Austen Garrett, Alice Gruden, Charlotte Kennedy, Richard James King, Emma Kingston, Lauren Lockley, Laura Messin, Oliver Stanley and Sam Thomas

Synopsis Based on the hit 1992 film starring Sarah Jessica Parker, and Nicholas Cage, Honeymoon in Vegas tells the story of mild-mannered Brooklynite, Jack, who haunted by the fear of a promise to his dying mother never to get married, avoids proposing to his new girlfriend Betsy. He finally summons the nerve and takes Betsy to Las Vegas only to have his plans compromised by a dashing gambler with an eye for luxury and Jack’s new fiancée.

The New York Times called the Broadway production “[a] bright and bouncy…real-live, old-fashioned, deeply satisfying Broadway musical in a way few new shows are anymore.”

Honeymoon in Vegas— book by Andrew Bergman and score by Tony-Award winning Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Songs For A New World, The Last Five Years and The Bridges of Madison County) — ran on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre –this concert will see it performed in London for the very first time.

The 30-strong London Musical Theatre Orchestra will take to the London Palladium stage on 12th March 2017 under the baton of its first guest conductor, the show’s composer Jason Robert Brown, to honour the stylish and swinging score of Honeymoon in Vegas which marks another much anticipated UK Premiere for the orchestra.

Jason Robert Brown said: “Honeymoon in Vegas is the show I always aspired to write. All of these sounds – the swing, the samba, the disco, the boogie, the rock’n’roll – make up what I hear in my head when I think of what a ‘Broadway musical’ should be. I’m so gratified to have actually written it, and thrilled to get a chance – finally! – to present it in London. And to know that the music will be brought to life by the sterling musicians of the LMTO and a glorious cast is such a delight and a privilege. I’ve had so many sensational experiences in the British theater that it feels like coming home. I cannot wait to get started!”

In keeping with the long term aim of the LMTO, the fully orchestrated concerts aims to not only make orchestral performances accessible to brand new audiences, but also to bring the exciting repertoire of musical theatre to a more classical audience.

Listings:

Show: Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Bergman’s HONEYMOON IN VEGAS Venue: London Palladium Date: Sunday 12 March 2017 Time: 7:30 pm Tickets: £75, £45, £30, £24.50, £20, £16.50. Booking: 0844 412 4657 / / http://ift.tt/2kndnxh

http://ift.tt/2kGBtzg LondonTheatre1.com