#Indiana Hospital Association

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #36

September 27-October 4 2024

President Biden and Vice-President Harris have lead the federal response to Hurricane Helene. President Biden's leadership earned praise from the Republican Governors of South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia, as well as the Democratic Governor of North Carolina and local leaders. Thousands of federal workers are on the ground in effected communities having given out to date over 8 million meals, over 7 million letters of water. Both President Biden and Vice-President Harris have been on the ground in resent days meeting with effected families. During her trip to Georgia Vice-President Harris announced that the federal government will reimburse state and local government 100% of the costs from Hurricane Helene.

A strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association that briefly shut down ports on the East Cost and Gulf ended in a tentative deal. Both sides thanked Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for helping push the deal through. President Biden and Vice-President Harris had expressed solidarity with the works when the strike was announced and President Biden directed Secretary Buttigieg to take the lead in pressuring management to make a deal with the Longshoremen. The ILA got a 62% raise as part of the agreement.

Vice President Harris announced new actions to help those struggling with medical debt. This actions include new standards from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on debt collection. the CFPB plans on requiring debt collectors to confirm debts are valid and accurate before engaging in collection actions. As well as cracking down on debt collectors that collect on debt that is not owed by patients. Other actions included an announcement by the DoD that it was reducing pricing for civilians who get medical treatment at DoD hospitals and a track down on tax-exempt hospitals who are required by law to offer financial assistance but often do not. These steps come after Vice President Harris in June announced plans to remove medical debt from credit scores. Following the Vice President's call to action North Carolina moved forward a plan to eliminate medical debt for 2 million people in the state. President Biden's American Rescue Plan funds have been used by state and local Democrats to eliminate $7 billion dollars in medical debt.

The Department of Transportation announced $62 Billion in infrastructure funding for 2025. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by President Biden this will be $18 billion dollars more than was spent in 2021. The Biden-Harris Admin has helped support over 60,000 infrastructure projects across all 50 states, rebuilding roads and bridges, breaking ground on America's first high speed rail, updating ports and airports, and breaking high speed internet to rural communities.

The Department of Transportation announced $1 Billion dollars of investment in America's passenger rail future. This comes on top of $8.2 billion in investments announced in December 2023. The funds will help expand and modernize intercity passenger rail nationwide.

The Departments of Energy and Agriculture announced a $2.8 billion joint project to bring 100% carbon pollution-free energy to the rural midwest. The DoE is investing $1.5 billion into helping bring the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan back on-line. Shut down in 2022 plans to refit and reopen it to allow the plant to keep generating clean energy till 2051. Once back online the Palisades Nuclear Plant will help stop an anticipated 4.47 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, or 111 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. The USDA is investing $1.3 billion in two rural electric cooperatives, Wolverine Power Cooperative and Hoosier Energy, which cover rural communities in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. This investment will help Wolverine and Hoosier connect to the Palisades Plant, reduce prices for customers, and reduce climate pollution, putting Wolverine Power on the path to be 100 percent carbon-free energy before 2030.

The Treasury and the IRS announced that 30 million Americans, across 24 states will qualify for free direct filing of their taxes in 2025. The IRS says that the average American spends $270 dollars and 13 hours filing their taxes. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, passed by President Biden with Vice President Harris' tie breaking vote, Americans will be able to file their taxes quickly and for free directly with the IRS. Tax payers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming will in 2025 be able to use direct file.

The USDA announced $7.7 billion in funding for Climate-Smart Practices on Agricultural Lands. This represents the single biggest investment in these programs in USDA history. Since implementation began in 2023 this conservation assistance has helped over 28,500 farmers and ranchers apply conservation to 361 million acres of land.

The Department of Energy announced $1.5 billion in investments in transmission infrastructure to help ensure our grid is reliable and resilient. This will help support nearly 1,000 miles of new transmission lines across Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. These lines will bring 7,100 MW of new capacity and create 9,000 good paying union jobs. Studies find to keep up with growth and meet our climate goals of carbon free energy the US will need to triple the 2020 transmission capacity by 2050. This is an important step to meeting that goal.

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Freud Said We Should Fuck [Hotch x Reader]

Photo credits: Left and Right (@shakespearesdaughters) Center (@hotchs-big-hands)

Prompt: When Aaron makes a Freudian slip on the jet, he and the reader get flushed, and later, once the case is finished, the reader finds him in his office on a lonely Saturday and teases him about it. Aka, when the reader and Hotch do something in his office other than paperwork. 

Pairing: Aaron x fem BAU-reader. The reader uses she/her pronouns

Category: Fluff/angst/smut 

Word Count: 9.9K 

A/N: Hi loves! First off, this story is 18+, minors DNI. Please respect this boundary. I’m finally back writing again and I’m so happy about it. However, I feel like it’s going to take me a bit to get back into the swing of things. I had a lot of my AU written and then I just thought it was moving too slow. So I’ve put that on hold for a bit and gone back to what I love smut. I don’t think the sex here is the best I’ve ever written, but I still like it. This idea came about because @silk-spun and I were chatting about Aaron and office sex and I couldn’t stop thinking about it - so naturally I wrote it. Please have a look at the notes before reading as there are some things that some plot points that some readers might want to avoid. I hope you like this and if you do, likes, comments, and replies are appreciated! Content Warnings under the cut. I hope you are having a good week. Love Levi - ❤️

Content Warnings: There are two unsubs mentioned in this fic: The one most talked about is a family annihilator [There are mentions of wives and children being killed, depiction of dead bodies, description of a bloody room,  mention of suicide via gun (unsub)] The second unsub kills at random [There are mentions of poisoning, falling to one’s death and drowning (the body is briefly described)] Mention of past trauma and abuse [Hotch] and the mention of an absent father. There is also sex: touching over the clothes, sex in a semi-public setting [Hotch’s office] fellatio, p in v (unprotected] Very slight dom vibes from the reader and Hotch and the slightest mention of a size kink. If I missed any, please let me know. 

List with all stories 

_y/n_ = your name

_c/t_ = coffee or tea (whichever you prefer) 

_u/sf/d_ = up/straight forward/down (depending on height). 

_s/l_ = short or long 

_kl/s/m_ = knee length/short/mini (pick your favorite skirt length)

_y/f/c/s_ = your favorite color and style (bra)

_y/f/t/f_= your favorite type of food

The team sat in the jet as they moved toward Evansville Indiana. The skilled agents were bantering ideas off of each other, as they normally did. This unsub was very blatant with their modus operandi. As Aaron had debriefed in the conference room an hour earlier with the team and Garcia, he said, “The unsub we’re dealing with allegedly has three distinct personalities. Although I would be hesitant to diagnose anyone with a split personality disorder or DID. Many people with this condition are stigmatized due to the negative stereotypes associated with that name. If our unsub does have this condition, then we work from there. But with what we know now, this might just be a part of the ritual and pattern. The police are adamant that it’s a suspect from a mental hospital, but be wary of this. J.J. I want you to cut this off at the bud as soon as we get to the station. The media liaison nodded and replied, “You got it Hotch. I’ll clear that up and make sure they haven’t come up with any nicknames either. That always gets the press in a stir.” Aaron nodded. There wasn’t time for that kind of coverage right now. The team needed to jump in immediately once they touched down. This unsub had a swift turnaround time, killing in heinous and various ways almost every other night. His signature was that at the body of each victim, the unsub left a note from either the Id, the Ego, or the Superego, and by how killing his victims, the unsub had ‘cured them,’ and how the cure had worked. The killer's notes were reminiscent of Freud’s case notes, detailed and a bit deranged. The methods of death had been drowning, poisoning, being drowned, and most recently a fatal fall from a high cliff on a popular walking trail. _y/n_ had cringed at the sight of the drowned victim’s bloated body. It was blue and purple from its extended time in the water. The poisoned victim didn’t look any better. As was usual with BAU cases, the victims had suffered significantly before their deaths. _y/n_ had asked the group as a whole once the note element came out, “Is this guy serious? I mean, Freud is more infamous than famous at this point. His clients were all wealthy Swiss members of society, and he was ridiculed later in life for changing his theories all the time. I mean, how many Fruedians are still honestly out there?” Spencer happily replied, “In terms of clinical, licensed therapists? I’d say very few. Probably around 0.5 percent at this point. But that doesn’t mean that psychoanalysis isn’t still used in a good deal of therapeutic systems. I mean ‘Talk Therapy’ is the norm in most EBT therapy systems. So although Freud and Heidegger might have faded to obscurity, their theories remain.” Hotch had nodded and said stoically, “Wheels up in thirty. We can continue this discussion on the plane. If the unsub sticks to his pattern. They might have a new victim already.” 

Thus the team, plus Penelope were on the plane like normal. Once the jet hit cruising altitude, the team seemed to relax a bit They all fell into their usual clusters, and Hotch observed them. _y/n_, Rossi, and Spencer were continuing the psychological aspect of the case with _y/n_, while Em, Derek, and Garcia talked about the victimology and methods of the murders. Lastly, JJ was writing up a short press brief for the police and the public. Aaron knew we could never be thankful enough for the work that JJ did for the team. She covered their backs more than he could ever imagine. It was hard enough doing the job they did, but having JJ backing them up meant they weren’t smeared in the press even more. Hotch made his way to her. He sat on the seat next to hers and looked over her work. The blond woman handed him a notebook page with her statement from the police force. She said, “This is what I’ve got so far. If you have any more legal or profiler things you’d like me to add, just note them in the margins.” The woman handed him a blue ballpoint pen, and Hotch did his best to look carefully and thoroughly over the short blurb. He added a few police procedural things, but otherwise, it looked good. Aaron pushed the paper back on the small table and said, “Looks good J. I just added a few notes. Let me know when you have the one for the public done, and look it over too.” JJ looked up at him as he stood and said, “You got it Hotch. And I’ll make those corrections after I’m done with this.” Aaron then moved to Em, Morgan, and Garcia. They were looking at a map both on the seat and on Penelope's computer. Derek and Em were pinpointing the sites of the victim's body on the physical map while Garcia did the same on her laptop. The trio was trying to make a geographic profile and also see if the sites were linked to a road, river, or some natural feature. All three victims had been found in parks or locations adjacent to parks. As Hotch looked over the map, Emily said, “Given the natural locations of the dump sites and how well-versed the unsub seems to be with local and national parks in the area, this person may be a game warden or resource officer or something like that. Those positions are often isolating and not well-paid. Maybe the unsub has emotions tied to their work. That they’re not achieving enough, or making enough of an impact?” Hotch nodded at the logic of her statement and said to Garcia, “Once you’ve done that work, Garcia, look up the databases for Park Service workers and Game Wardens and make a preliminary risk. Target those who work in the parks where the victims were found and those that have been having problems at work or have had problems at work in the last two months.” Garcia loved getting directions from Aaron. She always thought that his brain was close to hers, except that he was just the quiet version of her. She smiled and said, “Aye, aye captain. Coming right up.” Aaron gave Garcia a small smile and said, “Thanks Penelope.” 

Aaron got up again. Before he moved to the last group, he was going to get a cup of coffee for himself _c/t_  for _y/n_. It was their ritual on the plane now. When they were in the office, _y/n_ got him coffee from the breakroom, and when they were on the jet, he got her drink. Aaron’s and _y/n_ relationship had moved from a strong friendship to a light romance, to, in the last six months, a much more heated and sexual affair. Of course, neither of them could say, and much less do anything while they were at work but show small gestures of affection for the other. Aaron and _y/n_ were both professional and could easily keep their relationship work-coded. That didn’t however, mean that Hotch didn’t think about the things they did off the clock. The sound of _y/n_’s bright laugh had his mind reeling back to last weekend. It had been a lazy Saturday morning at his place. She had mentioned getting a snack from the coffee shop down the street before going on a walk in the park or going to get a new book for Jack, who was currently at Haley’s. Aaron had sleepily said something like, “I think you’re enough of a snack as it is, _y/n_” as he rolled onto his back.

There was a moment of silence before _y/n_ started softly laughing. Hotch moved his eyes to her. He expected her to stop laughing after a minute, but his gaze only had her laughing more loudly. She was nearly in stitches as her mirth overflowed. Hotch, not quite sure what had caused her to be so joyful,  poked her side and said, “Alright, I give up. What’s so funny? Is my breath bad or something?” Even as Hotch asked, he couldn’t stop himself from starting to laugh too. This was something unique with _y/n_. She allowed him to open up emotionally in ways that he rarely even had. After _y/n_ had caught her breath she said, “Is that your attempt at dirty talk Hotch? If so you need to take a course.” Aaron scoffed at that and said teasingly, “I’ll make you eat those words _y/n_.” As he finished that sentence, he leaned over her and kissed her. He started lightly but became more intense as _y/n_ ran her tongue over his bottom lip. Soon enough, he was undoing the buttons of her night shift and moving his mouth lazily downward with _y/n_ saying his name breathily every time he nipped her skin lightly with his mouth. His breath was hot on the cool expanse of her body. Aaron realized as he started to make the encounter more intimate and relished in how her body responded to his.

Hotch knew that apart from being with _y/n_, he was about as closed off as human could be, and he knew it. His past as a child had inherently shown him that weakness meant pain and suffering and as hard as he had tried to grow out of that, he still had some of those mental barriers up, and they often rose when he was in situations that dealt with lots of emotions. Often he found himself unable to reciprocate. That was part of the reason that he assumed that he was so good at being a prosecutor and a profiler. People’s emotions, whether they be the unsub’s or the victim’s didn’t cause him to bluster, or lose sight of the bigger picture. He was sympathetic to the victims and listened to them with sincerity, but their pain often didn’t affect him the way it did _y/n_. This was the reason that after he spoke to the various victims, he would direct them over to _y/n_ to talk further. So they could cry unabashedly and have someone to hold them tight as they did so. Often Aaron would catch her eyes as they made the silent trade-off. There was always a silent conversation that happened in these looks. It was Aaron saying, ‘Thank you,’ and _y/n_ responded, ‘I got you.’ With time Aaron had slowly started dropping those barriers with _y/n_. She made him feel more human. More intact with his emotions such as joy and the ability to do the unexpected. Things and emotions which he had hidden inside himself a long time ago. The first time that Aaron had been very open to _y/n_ was the first time that he realized that he might have deeper feelings for _y/n_ than respect or camaraderie. 

It had been a difficult case. One of the worst. The unsub had been a family annihilator. The man, Mr. Platheville, was targeting young families with only one child. The madman had killed two mothers and their children leaving the fathers to watch in horror and live with the site of the massacre they had witnessed. The first man they had found was shell-shocked and unable to move. An ambulance and mental health experts had been called for him. The next man had been so angry that Hotch and Derek had to hold the man back from hitting and punching himself or the wall or anyone within striking distance. _y/n_ had watched on with apprehension, trying to calm the man down with her words. Although those two cases had been horrible, it was nothing compared to the last. The unsub had called and said where he was and that he had another family hostage. There were audible screams on the other side of the phone. Mr. Plathville had said, “Come quickly. Please. I can’t stop myself anymore.” At first, the team felt like this was a good step. A great step even. The man was giving himself up and asking for help. However, as the tapped line was about to be disconnected, a child’s voice cut in. It sounded scared and small as it said, “Daddy? What’s wrong with Mommy?” That had the whole team freeze. The realization that Plathville had his own family captive now had the team feel like the floor was dropping out from under them -- everyone’s stomach sinking into knots. Hotch dropped the phone first and softly said, “Everyone, move, now.” After a second, he found his voice and said loudly, authoritatively, “Move. Now.” Aaron started running to the van, and he watched as his team followed him to both his car and the other SUV. _y/n_ and Rossi piled into Hotch’s car and hurriedly buckled as Hotch hit the gas pedal. The rubber tires squealed and burned on the concrete. _y/n_ had snatched the passenger seat in the front. Hotch’s jaw was set in a tight grimace as he sped down the road. His driving was close to erratic. It wasn’t something _y/n_ had seen in him before. _y/n_’s eyes found Rossi’s in the review mirror. The older man also looked a bit concerned as well. Gently, _y/n_ placed a hand on Aaron’s upper arm. She could feel the muscle tight under his sleeve as his hands gripped the wheel. At her touch, Hotch’s eyes briefly left the road and met hers. Whatever expression she had on her face was enough to slow his driving speed. For him to pay closer attention to the road. 

Hotch was making her nervous. He didn’t seem like himself, but she didn’t say anything. There would be time for that later. The vans came to a raging halt outside the address that Plathville had disclosed. The house seemed quiet. Eerily so. Derek and Hotch approached the door softly. Derek breached the door and the team rushed inside. The front foyer was dark and there was no sound reverberating around the open area. The team fanned out in the ranch-style house. Derek and Spencer moved to the left side of the house toward the kitchen and guest bedroom. Rossi and Emily took the upstairs, and Hotch and _y/n_ moved left toward the living room and master bedroom. The other families had been found in the living room, and _y/n_ braced herself for a similar scene. Hotch’s shoulders tensed as he moved into the entryway of the living room. It meant that this family was already dead too. _y/n_ felt a part of her break inside, but she pulled the pieces back together for the team. For those who had passed. Both agents stepped into the room. The fact that the walls, carpet, and sofa were cream-colored only highlighted the dark splatters marring the walls, couch, and carpet which was soaked with a dark stain. _y/n_ pointed to the light switch and mouthed, “Should I turn it on?” Hotch nodded his head no and inclined this head toward the bedroom door, indicating that Mr. Plathville might still be in the bedroom. It was the only space they hadn’t breached. If Plathville was still in the house either alive or dead, it was in that room. As the calls of Spencer and Emily echoed through the house stating, “Clear,”  a small sound came from behind the closed door. Both agents' eyes snapped to the door, and they moved forward. Once they got to the door. Aaron held out a hand to stop her. He shook his head no. He leaned forward and whispered, “Go look at the bodies. And then stop the rest of the team from entering the living room.” _y/n_ met his dark eyes. They seemed to go on forever. He had the look he had before when the child had spoken on the phone. The same look he had had in the car. _y/n_ desperately wanted to know what was going on in his head, but again, now wasn’t the time. _y/n_ nodded and moved back from the door. She moved to the two bodies on the floor but continued to watch as Aaron opened the door, stepped inside, and said, “Mr. Plathville. Don’t do this. Do you think this is the ending your wife and daughter would have wanted for you?” Hotch closed the door behind him, leaving the room in semi-darkness. Hotch could hear soft movement from the other side of the door. It was _y/n_ and it sounded like she was crying. Aaron pushed aside the soft sounds and focused only on Plathville. The cold metal weapon the unsub was holding in his dominant hand wasn’t pointed in any direction, but it could be in an instant. Hotch didn’t want _y/n_ in the room. Because Aaron knew family annihilators, he knew them because he lived with one of them as a child. As an adult, once he learned the proper terms for killers and sadists, he realized that if he hadn’t taken the brunt of what his father doled out, his own father might have been a Plathville as well. Aaron didn’t want _y/n_ to see what might happen. He didn’t want her to see this. Hotch put up his hands and said, “Put down the gun Mr. Plathville. You’ve been a coward with how you’ve treated others because they didn’t do what you liked. Don’t be a coward now, at the end. Face what you’ve done and prove that you’re actually a man.” 

The unsub, eyes dark and glazed looked like he was about to set the gun on the bed. Aaron hoped that was what he was doing, but he didn’t trust the man either. Just as the gun seemed to be safe, Plathville turned the weapon on himself. Outside the closed door, _y/n_ heard a very loud bang. A deafening sound. At this point, _y/n was standing by the hallway with Derek. Em, and Rossi. She was doing her best to keep the three other agents at bay. When the BAU team heard the gunshot, they all rushed back into the room. Derek drew his sidearm as they all did and breached the door. _y/n_’s heart pounded in her chest because she had left him alone. Alone with an unsub who they knew had a gun; and if Aaron was dead, she would never be able to forgive herself. Not for all time. As the team rushed into the room. Hotch’s strong profile stood out against the window. His nose and jawline were distinct against the streetlight that seeped light into the room through the casement window. Aaron seemed frozen on the spot and the still and bloodied body of Mr. Plathville was slumped on the bed. _y/n_ moved forward and avoided her gaze from the new body. She took Aaron’s arm and pulled him out of the room. Not just the room but the house as well. She sensed that he needed the space away from the darkness emanating from the home. The graveyard. 

When they were at the side of the house opposite the bedroom, _y/n_ stopped. She looked down at his shoes, they had blood splatters on the toe. She looked _u/sf/d_ at him. His face was also splattered with blood. _y/n_ reached over, pulling the cuff of her white sleeve over her palm; she started wiping away the viscous red fluid from his sharp facial features. _y/n_ reflected for a moment on how attractive Aaron really was, with his stoicism and strong jaw, and how terrible a time it was for such thoughts to surface. _y/n_ pushed them away as Hotch seemed to come to himself, as she moved her hand to the other side of his face. The blood smears here were larger. There was other matter that _y/n_ would rather not speculate on. Aaron’s left hand raised and pushed her own dirtied sleeve away from his face. Hotch seemed to take a small breath, and he looked like a child who had been caught doing something wrong. _y/n_ wondered if it was his showing emotion out in the open that he perceived as being bad. She looked back at him before he seemingly crumpled into _y/n_’s arms. Low sobs reverberated on her shoulder. Tears staining _y/n_’s already soiled shirt. _y/n_ was grateful the police cruisers were on the other side of the house. Parked on the gravel drive. _y/n_knew that they would have to move soon or else the team would come looking for them. She was sure Hotch would not want to be found in such a compromised state.

_y/n_ didn’t know what else to say than, “I’m sorry Hotch. I know it’s sick and fucked up, but at least there’s no one else he can hurt. Not even himself.” And it was true. It burned _y/n_ that Mr. Plathville would face no consequences for his crimes of passion, but when an unsub took the end into their own hands, there was a certain finality to the matter. There would be fewer interviews and less press. There wouldn’t be a trial or the need for written testimony from everyone involved. It felt like a twisted prize for a game no one had asked to play. After a moment, Aaron replied softly, “It’s not that. Or it is that and some other stuff. I don’t know why I’m like this. I’m sorry.” _y/n_ frowned and pulled away a bit. Hotch looked at her with eyes asking, begging for her to stay. She took his right hand which was hanging limply at his side and said, “Let’s just walk down the drive and back. It will give you a moment to compose yourself. Get your thoughts in order. “Aaron seemed to hesitate and said, “But the police… the team, they might.” _y/n_ cut him off gently saying, “They can wait. The cops have plenty of people to interview and material to bag and tag. They can wait while we take a five-minute walk. 

_y/n_ found that walking got people talking. Particularly if the people were not wanting to open up. The movement and change of scenery seemed to give whomever she was walking with a breather and a chance to let out some thoughts if they wanted. If they didn’t, then at least they’d both gotten some fresh air. This technique had worked with Morgan, JJ, and Em. I had not worked with Spencer, but Spencer spoke so freely all the time that if he had something he didn’t want to share, then he didn’t want to share, and she understood that. This was the first time she was trying this method on Aaron. As they made it halfway up the drive, and not so much to her shock, Hotch let out a sigh and said, “It was Jack’s birthday yesterday…” _y/n_ looked over to him briefly. His eyes were on the ground, Glued to it. She knew that wasn’t the whole issue, but _y/n_ replied, “I’m sorry you had to miss that for this mess.”

They kept walking. and Aaron let out another breath and continued, “When I see people like Plathville, I see my father. I see a bit of myself in him as well.” _y/n_ furrowed her brow and turned to look at him, walking backward, matching his pace. She didn’t know a lot about Hotch’s father apart from the fact that he was dead and had hurt Aaron very badly. Perhaps she could see a correlation there between the unsub and Hotchner Sr., but she couldn’t see how Hotch was at all like either man. She asked for clarity saying, “What do you mean? I don’t see how you’re like either of those monsters. You’re tied to your father by blood, but he’s gone.” Aaron looked at her and then back down the dark path they were on. A lone streetlamp shone at the end of the road. They reached it and turned back before Aaron said, “It’s a pattern. They were both absent fathers. They both lashed out at things and people. And look at me. I hardly see Jack. It feels like once in a blue moon. And I might not be lashing out at people because my job takes out that stress. But look at me in the office, I’m still anal about things. I just see these patterns. I don’t want to fail as a father, and I feel like I am.” And there it was. There was the crux of his emotions and _y/n_ ached for his pain, for his fear, even if it seemed unfounded to her. It certainly wasn’t unfounded to him, and she’d never say that. As they moved back toward the house. _y/n_ was wording and rewording her response again and again in her head; she couldn’t quite seem to come up with the perfect response. It all sounded too close to “I love you and other people love you too, can’t you see that?” She felt the hairs picked up on the back of her neck and she looked over to Aaron. He was staring at her, Asking for some kind of reply. They were near the house again and she stopped, and he stopped too. Now _y/n_ gave a sigh, her breath making a little cloud in front of her face. She finally replied, “Aaron, I don’t know what this is going to sound like to you, but here it is. I think you’re tired. I haven’t seen you sleep in three days straight because this case is so close to you. It’s close because it involves a group of people who can’t protect themselves, or their children. And I think in some ways after Haley filed, you think that you can’t protect her or Jack either. But Aaron, you’ve handled everything there with as much grace and compassion as you could. You did what Haley wanted and you still try and look after them. And maybe you don’t see Jack as often as you like, but you try. I hear you call him at night when the team’s away. And the stories you tell about when he spends the weekends over make it sound like you don’t just shower him with gifts or love bomb him. You’re trying to have a relationship with him. And I never hear you badmouth Haley, ever, which means your son can know that not all relationships work out but there can still be a kind of love and respect. A lot of kids don’t get that.” _y/n_ took a breath and she saw in his eyes that he was coming more to himself, as she finished stating, “And about you being like your father, yeah, genes are passed down, but I don’t believe that people are born bad. I think something bad happens to them and you either continue the cycle or break it. And you’re far too kind of a person, even if you don’t show it, to keep doing what you’re father did. You’d never do those things to another person. You’re not him Hotch. You never will be.”

_y/n_ looked at him to see what his reaction to her words would be. Aaron looked like he might cry again, but was holding back those emotions. She hoped she hadn’t overstepped some emotional or professional line, but she didn’t have time to ask as Hotch stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. His warm body enveloped her in the cold night. His breath fanned the _s/l_ hair at the nape of her neck. He whispered, “Thank you for that, _y/n_. I needed to hear that.” When Aaron pulled back, he was himself again. He nodded and motioned his head toward the house. As he attempted to move forward, _y/n_ grabbed his coat sleeve, and he looked at her confused. _y/n_ said, “Wipe the left side of your face Hotch. It’s still bloody.” Aaron rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. They both started walking back to the house, and he wiped off his face. As they walked back, there was an understanding that something deeper had happened between them. As Aaron moved past the cruisers with red and blue lights still flashing,  he raised the caution tape for _y/n_, and as she stepped under it. Aaron looked at her and felt a warmth seep through him. It bit through the cold outside, and he didn’t mind it. 

Aaron pulled his mind out of the haze that was focused on the sounds that _y/n_ had made last Saturday morning. Her moans and whimpers rang in his ears for a second longer. He was thankfully snapped back to the interior of the jet as a bit of turbulence rocked the aircraft. Aaron cleared his throat and moved to the coffee maker. He made himself a cup of black coffee first. He shot a prayer up to any possible deity up there that his body and mind had not synced enough for him to be aroused by his mind's inappropriate wandering. Having to hide an erection wasn’t his idea of a fun time. It had happened once or twice before and he had to rush to the bathroom and splash cold water on his face and neck. When Hotch’s cup was done, he moved another clean styrofoam cup under the dispenser and started making _y/n_’s _t/c_. He stifled a yawn. He had spent much of the last two days working on field reports and revising the FBI’s security training. It was woefully behind the times. He had coordinated with Penelope and as helpful as Garcia was in terms of the technological aspects of cyber security, the lingo and Pen’s energy had worn him out a bit. The Keurig beeped, indicating _y/n_’s drink was done. He doctored the beverage as she liked. Aaron half blamed his wandering mind on his lack of sleep and the case. Spencer’s clear voice cut through all the others and he was talking about the more interesting sexual elements of Freud’s theories including the more lurid Oedipus and Xena complexes. Reid was going on about how the notes from the unsub seemed to really dive into those theories even though there was no sexual aspect to the case yet. Hotch grabbed _y/n_’s cup and moved back to the final group he had not spoken with yet. 

He sat next to _y/n_ and handed her her cup. _y/n_ looked at Hotch and gave him a small smile before taking a sip of her drink. _y/n_ had a random thought, as she mulled over the bizarre nature of the case. She said aloud, “What do you think Freud would think about people using his theories like this? I mean he was odd and problematic, but not that odd.” Aaron had his eyes closed, and he replied without even thinking said, “I think Freud would say we should fuck.” _y/n_ nearly spat out her drink. The liquid burned her throat as it went down. Hotch caught his mistake and flushed, quickly amending his statement saying, “I mean if Freud were still here, he would probably think the unsub would want to have intercourse with his victims. It could either be latent sexual attraction or transference of sexual desire for an authority figure like a parent or teacher. An attraction that shouldn’t be acted out.” Hotch could feel his ears burning, and he hid his face by taking a long drink of his coffee. The dark liquid burned his mouth but this pain was better than having to face to look of utter shock of his friends. Thankfully the awkwardness only lasted a second longer as Spencer picked up on his hurried line of thinking saying, “You could be right. This unsub might be impotent and killing as a means of sexual release. Or they could be killing as a displacement tactic for unwanted feelings.” Reid jumped into that conversation with a fervor and _y/n_ added her thoughts in too along with taking some notes on the comments Spence made.

Although Spencer didn’t choose to comment on what Hotch had said, when the Unit Chief looked over at Rossi, his friend had an eyebrow raised and an expression that said, “Really, Aaron?” Hotch closed his eyes, sighed, and rubbed a hand over his eyelids as if saying, “I’m tired. Alright?” When Aaron opened his eyes again, Rossi just gave a little shrug as if saying, “Hey. I have three ex-wives. I’m not one to judge.” The older man ever so slightly looked over to _y/n_ and gave a small smile. The team knew that Hotch was seeing _y/n_. They were all too perceptive not to tell. But what he had just said was more personal than the team needed to know. At least not yet. Aaron liked keeping his private life private, and he would have to apologize to _y/n_ for putting their personal business out there like that. He was just thankful that he had made that slip of the tongue in front of Spencer and Dave and not Morgan and Garcia. There would be no end to the gossip if that had been the case. Aaron sat back in his seat and did his best to put back on the Unit Chief facade. One great thing was that he was able to compartmentalize his emotions and what had just happened was just a blunder. He fell easily back into the conversation and made himself useful to the team. 

The case was a wild one with the team being kept on their feet, as the unsub devolved into crazier and more complex kills. Thankfully the unsub, one Kathy Kittery got sloppy as her mind crumbled under the weight of her own brain. Thus, only one other victim was lost, the others, though traumatized would make it through the ordeal. Ms. Kittery was a therapist who had had her license revoked after having an affair with a client. Once she had taken that blow, she had moved to a second career that had always interested her. Being a Ranger in a State Park. However, as it turned out, the mental isolation did not help with her already troubled state and she had slipped into acting on her delusions, thus the need for the team to come in the first place. After the unsub had been arrested, the team, as normal, was assured that she wouldn’t be seeing freedom for a good long while. On the jet home, Aaron’s sexual comment was almost forgotten by everyone, including himself, but _y/n_ remembered and as she closed her eyes to sleep on the short flight back, her brain played out certain scenarios that she also wouldn’t want to be voiced in front of the others. When the jet touched down, the team disembarked and _y/n_ asked Aaron as they walked back to the main office, “So, what are you doing tomorrow?” Tomorrow was Saturday and she hoped that they could spend the day together or with Jack if he was staying over at Hotch’s that weekend. It felt like a while since they had had a good day to themselves. Work had piled up, and she longed for just a few solid hours with Aaron. Hotch, however, didn’t seem to pick up on her tone as he was tired. He replied in a monotone, “Probably filling out paperwork in the office I’m behind on like three cases worth and this makes a fourth.” _y/n_ pouted slightly. She knew she was being silly, but sometimes Aaron needed a break for his own good, and an idea started brewing in the back of her mind. If she had the nerve to do even half of what her head was cooking up, she would have done something she had been imagining for a long time. Longer than was appropriate probably. For the moment she just said, “Mhm. Sounds productive.” Hotch scoffed as they both entered the sliding glass door. Even he knew his life, and particularly weekends sounded miserable sometimes. After all, he was the one that put him through them. 

The next afternoon, _y/n_ pulled up to the Quantico field office. She parked her car next to Aaron’s and set her employee parking pass on the dash so it could be seen by security.  _y/n_ chuckled remembering the one time that Derek had forgotten his pass and had his Corvette towed on a Saturday. Her athletic friend had been so flustered, saying, “Oh come on! I work at the freaking FBI you’d think there would be some camera’s in this lot and they’d know I work here!” _y/n_ had laughed, patted his shoulder, and offered him a ride to the impound lot to pick up his flashy car. As _y/n_ moved through the mostly empty lot she smiled. Not that she expected there to be a lot of people at the office on a Saturday afternoon, but it boded well for what she had in mind. As entered the office and was waived through security quickly, she hadn’t brought her gun or anything important with her. She entered the bullpen and looked up at Hotch’s office. His lights were on and she could see him looking at something on his desk. It was most likely a field report. The bullpen was empty and most of the lamps on the desks were off. One or two burned brightly in the soft space. One or two of the agents must have forgotten to turn them off in the rush to get home on Friday. She turned off the lamps as she texted Aaron, “Hey, you at the office?” She looked up at his office window and his head turned to the side. Clearly, he had just received her message. His left hand raised and a second later her phone beeped. Hotch had sent back a simple “Yes.” He was never one to be overly elaborate over text. If he was forced to type more than one full paragraph he would just give up and call instead. _y/n_ always chalked it up to his hands being too big for the small phone screen. He probably made a lot of accidental typos with his thumbs and had to go back and correct them which seemed like a thing that would annoy him to no end, even if he did have autocorrect on his phone. _y/n_ took a breath as she looked at Aaron again. He was back to his paper. _y/n_ had jokingly said she would do this if the spirit led her, but somehow seemed like the dirty things she was picturing in her head were driving her up the stairs and not ‘the spirit.’ Outside Hotch’s door, she knocked once and then turned the knob. She stepped into the dimly lit room and closed the door behind her. She softly said, “Hey Hotch, how are the papers going?” Aaron looked up from his desk. He did a bit of a double take as his eyes flicked to his phone and then back to her. His eyes held a hint of surprise, warmth, and general confusion as he said, “_y/n_. What are you doing here? Do you need something?” _y/n_ couldn’t help but flush already. Hotch was just too cute sometimes; especially when he wasn’t trying.

_y/n_ smiled at him and took a seat across from him at his desk. _y/n_ sighed and said, “I was just bored I guess. I had nothing better to do, so why not give you a hand with your paperwork? Maybe I can get you out of here earlier than five p.m. on a Saturday?” Aaron raised a brow. He highly doubted that that was _y/n_’s only reason for being here, but he wouldn’t question her. Instead, he picked up a case file, and set it in front of her saying, “Suit yourself, love.” _y/n_ flushed again and pulled one of Aaron’s ballpoint pens out of the cup he kept a stash in. _y/n_ wondered how many pens he dried up per year, but wasn’t in the mood for calculus problems right now. Instead, she opened the file and started working on the first page. She had to take it for at least ten minutes before she made a move. _y/n_ assumed if she outright said, “Hey wanna have sex in your office there would be two simultaneous outcomes. The first was that she would no longer be Aaron Hotchner’s partner and that she would be a former FBI Behavioral Analyst. Neither of which sounded very appealing. So she took her time. 

When Aaron seemed absorbed in his work again, she slipped off her shoe and moved her foot across the space between her side of the desk and his. It was a bit of a reach, but she managed to brush Aaron’s ankle and the inside of his trouser leg. That did it and Aaron’s eyes snapped to hers. They were dark, hiding emotions that he often kept at bay. He cleared his throat and said, “_y/n_, really?” You chuckled and said, “Sorry. I just like to see you flustered.” _y/n_ pulled her leg back and Aaron watched as she flushed but returned to her papers. _y/n_ knew he liked it when she was a tease sometimes and that was her plan for this potentially risky act she was trying to have with Hotch. After another ten minutes, _y/n_ repeated the same action, except this time she moved her foot higher up his leg She applied gentle pressure to the inside of his leg. His grey trousers were cool under her foot as they moved up past the knee and onto his inner thigh. Her dark stockings were the only barrier between her skin and the fabric of his pants. _y/n_ looked up at him and he let out a soft breath as if his brain hadn’t caught up with his body yet. When the two entities of mind of body did collide his brows furrowed trying to reconcile the pleasure coursing through his body and the fact that this shouldn’t be happening in his office.

Before he could make any protestation, _y/n_ cut him off saying, “So, ‘Freud said we should fuck’ did he?” This reminder of his slip of the tongue gagged Aaron momentarily. It gave _y/n_ enough time to shift lower in her chair and slip her foot high enough to press over his crotch. Aaron let out a little grunt at the contact. _y/n_ continued to run her foot over his zipper, up and down in a rhythmic pattern. _y/n_ smiled as his eyes grew hazy with desire. A look she’d seen on him often, just not in his office. Never in his office. But she had dreamed about it plenty. She’d woken soaked on occasions with the notion of Aaron having her in his office, blinds drawn tight as they made love in the enclosed space. Aaron stuttered trying to make a coherent sentence, but his cock slowly hardening in his pants was not helping him at all. _y/n_ could feel it under her foot and continued to tease him saying, “You know you really shouldn’t make comments about our sex lives in front of a team of profilers. I think you owe me an apology?” _y/n_ pulled her foot away and Aaron groaned at the loss of contact, but suddenly his mind was more clear. Half of Aaron’s brain cursed _y/n_ for knowing just the right way to turn him on. The other half was already imagining her splayed out on his desk as he ate her out, or pounded into her so hard that the desk left marks on her hips. Those thoughts alone had his member twitch against his belt and fly. To consumed in his thoughts, Aaron slipped off his own left shoe, and perhaps more gently than _y/n_ had, he moved his foot up her leg and to her cunt. _y/n_ opened her legs for him slightly pushing her _kl/s/m_ length skirt up a bit. Even wearing socks, Aaron could tell that _y/n_ was wet. The moan she made as he just brushed over her sex and him realize that he couldn’t wait. That he needed her, now. Hotch took away his foot and reveled in the needy noise _y/n_ also made at the lack of contact. Hotch moved quickly to his door, locking it from the inside before closing the shades to the office. His movements were hasty, jerky even. _y/n_ watched him, knowing the sexual tension must have built up since the last time they had been intimate. 

_y/n_ wasn’t sure what Aaron had in mind but she did have to ask, “There aren’t any hidden cameras in here, right?” Hotch chuckled, the sound was throaty, and he replied, “Not that I know of. And if they are, then at least we’ll both be fired.” _y/n_ laughed at this and took his hand; she led him back to his office chair. _y/n_ appreciated that he had a sense of humor in these moments that were new to him. _y/n_ knew that she pushed him to do things he hadn’t before both in and out of the bedroom, but he never complained and the bulge in his pants told her that he was already looking forward to what she was about to do for him. Aaron looked up at her a bit amazed at the things she could make him do. Never in his life had he thought he would be able to act out his fantasy. _y/n_ leaned down and kissed him softly at first and then with more hunger and ferocity. Aaron reciprocated in turn. As their lips looked in a passionate heated kiss, _y/n_ moved her hands to the belt that kept his trousers in place over his trim hips. It wasn’t as hard as _y/n_ had imagined taking off his belt without looking. The cool metal of the clasp heated against your skin. You moved to his pant’s button and zipper next. _y/n_ didn’t want to wait around anymore and once his grey briefs and thick arousal were freed, _y/n_ started palming his erection with a steady hand. Once her hand started stroking him, Aaron let out a gasp. He opened his mouth enough for her to slip her tongue into his mouth. He breathed in her throat and had her make a small contented noise as she explored the well-known concaves of his mouth. _y/n_ would never consider herself a sex expert, but when it came to new positions or scenarios with intimacy and Hotch, she often found it helpful if she took the lead. Warming him up to the idea. Making him feel comfortable and safe before they kept doing whatever it was they were trying. Oftentimes Aaron would jump on board and take the reigns, which she adored. She loved it when he told her what to do, how to lie. Everything. It was one of Aaron’s most attractive traits.

_y/n_ pulled her mouth away from his and wrapped her hand around his cock, more steadily pumping his length. Aaron said her name as he started moving his hips to meet her pace. His body responded to her touch. _y/n_ smiled at him and moved away for a moment, pushing his chair back enough for her to kneel under his desk. Aaron pushed his hips up and let _y/n_ pull his pants down, exposing his cock to the cold air. Hotch took a few steadying breaths. He knew what was to come, _y/n_ gave some of the best head that he had ever had and the anticipation of her lips on her member had him panting already. He said, “Can you not kneel all the way down like that, love? I want to touch you while you’re dining me?” _y/n_ smiled, relishing the fact that he was already taking a small amount of control of the situation. She nodded and said, “Of course Aaron, anything you ask.” With his request in mind, _y/n_ got up on her knees. It was helpful because she needed the reach to be able to lean over and take his tip in her mouth. She swirled her tongue over the top and slit, sucking at it like some rare candy. Hotch groaned as she moved her head down his length slightly. _y/n_  took in his width and length with surprising ease. He was always surprised by her ability to take him. It only made her more attractive to him. As his head swam with pleasure and endorphins, he moved his own body forward and down a little. His head almost rested on her shoulder as he moved his long arm to feel between her legs and upper thighs. He slid his hand down and over between her skirt. As he started rubbing her clothed sex, _y/n_ moaned over his cock. She took a second before she kept moving her head further down him. Her mouth and tongue doing things to him that almost made him see stars. His left hand kept massaging her wet, clothed folds while his right pushed up her shift and kneaded her breasts in turn over her _y/f/c/a/s_ bra. Aaron could feel her nipples grow rigid under her bra and he moved his hand under the intimate article of clothing that covered her chest. He squeezed her right breast and squeezed her nipple. As _y/n_ started moving her head up and down his whole length, Aaron matched her pace with his hand on her clit, pushing and pulling sensations out of her. It turned out Hotch was so aroused, so excited that he kept moving his hand faster over her sex and clit, and _y/n_ kept up her own pace. Aaron panted and tipped his head back as he released some precome and she moved off him sucking it off of him. As she moved to take him in her mouth again, Aaron stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. _y/n_’s mind and body were also hazy with desire. Her entrance ached to be filled by Hotch more fully. His hand was amazing, but nothing beat him seating himself in her fully and then fucking her to the heavens. 

Aaron could see this desire in her. A desire for him alone. Aaron pulled her onto shaky feet. He stood as well. He kissed her again, the beginning of stubble running over her chin and jaw. He pushed his pants and briefs fully off his legs and undid the side zipper of her skirt. He let it fall onto the beige carpet. He pulled back from her mouth and slipped his hands at the elastic of her stockings. He was too impatient to pull them down gingerly. Instead, he used just a bit of his strength to rip them down the center seam. _y/n_ let out an exhalation of breath. She knew it was going to get good now. Not that it hadn’t been good before, but she knew that it could get even better than his thumb and middle finger rubbing against her sex and clit. Aaron looked at her panties and noticed how they matched her bra. He murmured, “You had this all planned, didn’t you, you little devil?” _y/n_ gave him a wink and said, “Maybe just a little. You mad about it?” Hotch let out a little throaty growl and slipped his fingers under the band of her underwear. When they were on the floor, he moved to the desk. He pushed his files to the side along with the batch that _y/n_ had been working so diligently on a few minutes ago. He might desperately want to bend her over his desk, but he wasn’t so stupid to waste three good hours of work by having his files fly all over the place while he fucked _y/n_.

Once the forms were safely on the other side of the desk, Aaron grabbed her hips, turned her body 180 degrees, and then pressed her upper body flush to the hard dark wood of his desk. Hotch had unbuttoned her shirt and her skin felt cool against Hotch’s desk. She anticipated Aaron’s next move as he moved behind her slowly. Hotch pumped his throbbing length once or twice to ready himself. Another bead of precum moved to his tip and he wet his member with it. Even if he was ready and _y/n_ was ready, some of her wetness was even dripping down her thigh, Hotch was going to tease her still, as she had teased him. Aaron moved right next to her and slid his cock up and down her entrance, slightly pressing at the space that was begging for him. Aaron used his left hand to stroke over her weeping sex and _y/n_ moaned saying, “A-aron. Please. Please fuck me. Oh god.” Aaron looked at his length now coated in his and _y/n_’s excitement. It didn’t take more than her words for him to press himself into her fully with a measured thrust. _y/n_ let her out a breath and Hotch could feel her body press into the side of the desk. Aaron pulled out and pressed in again. _y/n_ let out a whimper and there was a slight squelching sound and he began to move in and out of her more quickly. Aaron's thick cock filled her fully and Hotch watched as he pushed in and out of her building his speed. The veins of his length ribbed her insides and _y/n_ almost let her feet go from under her, the desk and Aaron holding up her weight as he kept pressing into her with a relentless pace. _y/n_ could feel him fill her fully, pressing his whole member deep inside her. Aaron knew just how to move his hips to hit her sweet spot and she was panting and babbling in under a minute. Aaron moved one hand to her mouth whispering, “Shhh, now. We wouldn’t want to get caught, now would we?” _y/n_ wanted to protest and say, ‘You know no one is out there, Hotch,’ but her head was so full of lust, desire, and longing to let go. Aaron’s movements had her desire building and she knew Aaron could feel it too. Hotch picked up the pace, rapidly thrusting into her. He moved his left hand to her clit and let go of her mouth so she could let out a litany of sounds. As he kept his fast pace and circled her clit, her body pushed roughly against his desk with every thrust, she whimpered, “I...I’m gonna come, Aaron.” Hotch smiled and leaned down so his chest was flush with her back. His hand on her outer erogenous zone moved quickly and _y/n_’s walls fluttered and then contracted against his cock. _y/n_ cried out and let go of everything, letting the pure bliss of her orgasm overcome her. The sounds of her release had Aaron climax as well. He groaned as he pushed into her a few more times as he let his spent his ejaculation into her. Their shared sounds of pleasure filled the room and Aaron considered how this was better than he could have ever imagined. _y/n_ though spent, felt the same way. 

Hotch took a moment to catch his breath and after a minute he let out a contented sigh. He pulled out of _y/n_ gently. As _y/n_ similarly let out a hum of happiness. She loved the way he was so gentle with her at the end of their intimate encounters. Aaron helped her stand and led her to the couch at the side of the room. Neither exactly felt like saying anything in the soft afterglow of their shared experience. Aaron had her sit on the couch and pulled moved back to his desk. He opened the left drawer and pulled out a pocket square that he rarely wore. He found the linen handkerchiefs too formal and stuffy. And as someone who came off as formal and stuffy already, he didn’t need a fashion accessory to add to the impression. But now, the fabric would come in handy. Aaron walked back to the couch with the confidence of a man who had performed very well. _y/n_ would have laughed at his cockiness if he wasn’t so damn good at sex. The first they had done it, she was so tight that it would have hurt if he hadn’t helped prep her very well. Now he fit her perfectly and he knew it.

She smiled lazily at him as he knelt down and gently cleaned her up. He loved her, but if his or her release started staging his furniture, it might lead to awkward conversations later. When he was done cleaning her body, he wiped himself. He raised his head and said, “Was that everything you wanted darling? You did very well by the way. You felt so good for me. I hope I was the same for you?” _y/n_ beamed and said, “It was everything I wanted and more. Thanks for indulging me. Aar. But I do think you should get out of this office. Being cramped up in here isn’t good for you mentally, sexually, or physically. So what do you say we get out of here and get an early dinner and watch a Christmas movie at my place, huh?” Aaron chuckled and folded the soiled handkerchief to the clean side facing out. He put it in his pocket and smoothed down his now very crumpled shirt. He grabbed his pants and underwear along with _y/n_’s skirt and panties. He tossed them over to her and they both changed. As Aaron zipped up his pants, he said, “Sounds like I good plan. These papers can wait till Monday morning.” Somehow _y/n_ always seemed to know what he needed, and he wasn’t going to fight her on it now. Not after what they’d just done. As _y/n_ put her clothes back on, he paced his briefcase and packed _y/n_’s ripped tights inside with his other work. He wouldn’t just throw those away in the trash by the door. As he did this, _y/n_ moved behind him and gave him a hug saying softly, “You know I really liked those tights, so I expect a replacement stat, mister.” Hotch chuckled and said, “You got it, _y/n_, but you know I couldn’t help myself. Not when you tease me like that.” There was a shared laughter as Aaron turned off his lamp, grabbed his and _y/n_’s bag, and opened the door for both of them. He locked the door to his office behind him and trailed _y/n_. He had suddenly grown an appetite and asked, “So, what type of food are you feeling.” _y/n_ thought about it as they descended the stairs. She took his hand and said, “How about _y/f/t/f_?” Aaron smiled and said, “Sounds great!” _y/n_ rested her head against Aaorn’s shoulder and contemplated how lucky she was for him, and for Freudian slips.

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[briarberrythornedhart]

Near Drowned in Amber

BriarberyHartfield Published:2024-04-09

Summary:

Claudia had moved to Hawkins, Indiana when Dustin was in fourth grade. But it wasn’t the first time she’d been there.

🦋

An observant person could spot that Claudia Henderson visibly jumped and cringed/winced every time she heard someone mention ‘Eddie Munson’.

Anyone who knew Claudia well might interpret this as fear for Dustin’s safety or worry that Dustin would be associated with Edward Munson - who was as good as accused of murder.

But that wasn’t really what was going on in Claudia head, not at all.

It was the surname 'Munson' that got the big reaction.

It made her think of a sweltering Indiana summer 15 years ago. It made her want to find a pack of Virginia Slims (when she hadn’t smoked in yes 15 years) and a light beer or two … and take a very cold shower.

It made her think of Al Munson’s gifted hands. His stamina. What it felt like to sit in his lap on his long legs in that dive bar he loved, and have her hair played with and be felt up when no one was (probably) looking.

And most of all she thought of Al’s lips. Warm kisses you felt for hours afterward.

🦋

In the summer of 1970 Claudia was working in Indianapolis, she was studying to be a RN and working at the Methodist hospital connected to the University.

Al Munson had come in one night shift busted up bad, but salvageable. A bar fight he said. ‘Defending a lady’s honor’ he said.

From the start he called Claudia, ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Sweetheart’. He flirted with her outrageously when she bandaged him up and had been wildly handsy for a man who’d nearly bled out and was on an IV.

His eyes were the prettiest she’d ever seen. The lashes that lowered when he flirted. The wink that hit her with deadly accuracy.

They looked violet in the hospital light when she checked on him every day.

They turned to amber when she saw him in the sun and she’d nearly drowned in them - there in the parking lot - when he leaned in to kiss her. A token of my gratitude, he said.

She finally saw that his eyes were changeable, mottled tortoiseshell (like his illegal guitar pick) when she agreed to go out on a date with him. They never seemed just plain brown...

One week of generous sex that blew her mind and sweetness that seemed true and natural as breathing, she thought maybe he’d settle down with her and get serious but he was never that.

They always used condoms.

Always.

Except that one time, which she never really regretted.

She loved being a mother even if she never saw Al Munson again.

She only saw Al in Dustin’s small resemblances. The curly brown hair, the cheeky confidence, and the pretty eyes.

When she took the test and got a positive, Claudia tracked Al to a house in Hawkins, Indiana. A strange little town.

She found out that Al was in and out of prison (in again at present) and he’d been married to another woman the whole time, that he had a curly haired little boy named Eddie just five years old. A little boy who didn’t deserve his life blown to hell because Claudia couldn’t resist big amber-brown eyes and too good to be true lies.

🦋

So, Claudia found a steady man with a steady job and married that man before he could do the math.

When Dustin and his buddy Steven Harrington brought Eddie Munson to Claudia’s house he was busted up worse than Al had been, but just as salvageable.

Dustin said it was coyotes? Steven said it was earthquakes?? They were both clearly lying. But it didn’t matter. This was Dustin’s brother. And family was important.

So she got out her first-aid kit and got to work.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

A large multistate study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) VISION Network, has found that COVID-19 vaccination given during pregnancy offered 52% protection, cutting risk of a COVID-19-associated emergency department or urgent care visit in half. This is especially significant because there is an increased risk of severe COVID-19 during pregnancy requiring hospitalization and potentially causing adverse pregnancy outcomes.

However, if received less than six months prior to pregnancy, vaccination effectiveness declined providing only moderate protection against COVID (28%). If received more than six months prior to pregnancy, vaccination provided little protection (6%) against COVID. The research is published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Similar to findings in previous VISION studies of those who were not pregnant, protection provided by vaccination against COVID for those who were pregnant waned over four to six months. Also, similar to COVID vaccines for individuals who are not pregnant, effectiveness was comparable to that of the flu vaccine.

The study looked at geographically and racially diverse data from electronic medical records captured during routine health care delivery. There was no difference in the protection provided by COVID vaccination by age or race in the study population of 7,677 pregnant 18- to 45-year-olds.

The authors of this study note that their findings, derived from real-world data, indicate the protection provided by either monovalent or bivalent COVID vaccination for those who were pregnant or became pregnant was lower as compared with previous studies, likely due to changes in virus subvariant predominance in 2022-23. Other VISION Network studies have had similar findings in non-pregnant populations.

"The VISION Network did this study to examine the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine for individuals who were pregnant, because there have been a lot of questions as to whether pregnant people should be vaccinated or not," said study co-author Brian Dixon, Ph.D., MPA.

"Our data show that for COVID-19, vaccines are protective of pregnant persons, supporting CDC guidelines that recommend COVID vaccination." Dr. Dixon is director and a research scientist with the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics at Regenstrief Institute and a professor at the Indiana University Indianapolis Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.

Significantly, deidentified data contributed to the study by Regenstrief Institute indicated that pregnant persons in Indiana were half as likely to be vaccinated for COVID-19 than pregnant persons in the other states, including California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, from which data was analyzed. Approximately 65% of those in Indiana who were pregnant were unvaccinated, compared to 30 to 45% in the other states.

"COVID-19 vaccination remains essential for pregnant women's health," said study co-author Shaun Grannis, M.D., M.S., vice president for data and analytics at the Regenstrief Institute and professor of family medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

"As a physician and data scientist, I encourage women to discuss with their doctors the benefits of getting vaccinated or revaccinated to stay protected during pregnancy. Our findings aim to spark vital conversations between physicians and pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy about the safety and protection that the COVID vaccine provides.

"We also hope this work will inspire public health leaders and policymakers in Indiana and across the nation to promote vaccination, reaching women, families, and communities. Ultimately, it's crucial for pregnant individuals to remain current with CDC-recommended COVID-19 vaccinations to safeguard their health."

The study was a collaboration among CDC and seven geographically diverse U.S. health care systems and research centers with integrated medical, laboratory and vaccination records—all members of the CDC's VISION Network.

In addition to Regenstrief Institute, which contributed both data and scientific expertise, VISION sites participating in the study were Columbia University, Health Partners, Intermountain Health, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Kaiser Permanente Northwest and University of Colorado.

More information: Allison Avrich Ciesla et al, Effectiveness of the Original Monovalent and Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Against COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters in Pregnant Persons Who Were Not Immunocomprom

[profeminist]

A specialist in adolescent medicine explains what it means to provide gender-affirming care and why it’s so important for transgender and nonbinary youth.

"New policies regarding LGBTQIA+ rights have been in the news recently, and the potential impact could be far-reaching — much of it directly affecting transgender and nonbinary youth.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 2% of high school students identify as transgender, and of those 27% felt unsafe at school, 35% had been bullied at school, and 35% had attempted suicide in the past year.

One way to support transgender youth and improve outcomes for their mental health and overall well-being is by providing gender-affirming care, says Dr. Jane Chang, an associate attending pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital and associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine.

“Gender-affirming care, at its most basic level, is about validating and supporting children and loving them for who they are as they explore their gender identity,” says Dr. Chang, who specializes in adolescent medicine.

Read the full piece here: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/what-to-know-about-gender-affirming-care-for-children-and-adolescents/

Related: Indiana bill banning gender-affirming care signed into law

U.S. readers, register to vote here

[partialbirthabortion]

whats up with abortion in illinois?

It's legal and access is enshrined in the state constitution for one!

In Illinois you can access medication abortion both in person and via telehealth up to 12 weeks (through Carafem) or 11 weeks (through Planned Parenthood). Several Planned Parenthood locations offer procedural abortions, including one in Chicago, one in Aurora, one in Flossmoor and one in Springfield, and near the border in the St. Louis area there are PPs that offer procedural abortion up to 26 and 28 weeks as well as an independent site called Hope Clinic which goes to 24 weeks. In Chicago, there is another private stand alone clinic called Family Planning Associates that offers abortion to 24 weeks, and several Chicago area hospitals including Northwestern and UIC provide the procedure "to viability" which is at physician discretion and allows for later term, "medically indicated" abortions.

Several organizations exist to facilitate access to abortion. Abortion (and its associated medications, including sedation) is covered by Illinois medicaid (public assistance insurance) and many patients who don't qualify for medicaid qualify for a type of temporary medicaid available to pregnant women which can also cover the procedure. Midwest Access Coalition is a practical support fund which can offer travel, housing and gas assistance both to Illinois residents and people traveling to Illinois for abortion. Chicago Abortion Fund can provide vouchers for part of the cost of a procedure. Hoosier Abortion Fund helps Indiana residents traveling for abortion, often into Illinois. Both Planned Parenthood and Family Planning Associates have internal funding sources which can reduce procedure cost. The IL state government has a helpline named CARLA (The Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access) which assists patients and their providers in coordinating care for more complex abortion procedures which cannot be done outpatient (ie, if a patient has a bleeding disorder, uncontrolled seizures, placenta previa or accreta, etc).

If you need an abortion and are overwhelmed with planning the logistics, especially if you are traveling from out of state or from Southern Illinois, you can call the Regional Logistics Center for help scheduling an abortion.

[pretty-batty]

Ere the Sun Rises

Eddie x Judy Part 13 of Eldath's Priestess 3414 Words

No warnings for this one. Lucky 13! Thank y'all for the amazing ride! This isn't the end my dears, just a rest. A new start to a new year. Now on ao3 Thanks to @anakinkshamer for being my beta reader through all these chapters. Love you, sweets!

Summary- Judy fulfills her and Eddie's dreams of escaping Hawkins for the final time. And not alone.

Judy opened her eyes once again to the blaring sun streaming through her window. Her fractured skull was healing. Though it took a few nights at the hospital to get that that point. She’d be happy if she never saw that place again. The things in those halls. The thing hidden in her for weeks. Since Eddie’s frenzy. 4 weeks.

It was gone now.

Two weeks since Venca was defeated, to heal from the D&E, for the earth to heal. Eight weeks total since mass hysteria stuck the town of Hawkins, Indiana for 48 hours. That was the official explanation, anyway.

Hysteria following the tetanus toxin deaths of 3 high school students in late March of 1986. Deaths which were wrongfully pinned on a local youth in an act of religious intolerance. It was easy to name an entire honky town as zealots.

Gillespie did as he said, getting his story published through the Associated Press while Judy was in the hospital. The people who threatened to kill Edward Munson were labeled as Christian extremists. The actions the town took against this young man were so inexcusable that anything but the most fervent disavowing of their actions was seen as fundamentalist ramblings.

Judy and Wayne were glad to receive the official apology from Hawkins’ law enforcement. This act of repentance came with a posthumous clearing of his name and an expungement of his record. From the town came his honorary diploma from Hawkins High School, and a settlement of $50,000.

There was one thing Judy prided herself on, and that was being bitter. For years, she feared being the annoying Jew. The pestering, scheming Jew. But after what Hawkins did to Eddie, she was happy to become the villain. She’d cover them in vinegar and ash, take their money, and run.

Of course, not all the money. That was all Wayne’s by right. That didn’t stop him from shoving a check for ten thousand dollars in her hand and saying, “for y’all.”

Now came the running part.

She couldn’t stand to stay here anymore. The only thing that brought her back and kept her was Eddie, and now. Well…her boxes were packed completely. Her shelves and closet were empty. The walls of her bedroom were bare for the first time since she was five.

Judy’s footsteps thundered down the carpeted stairs one last time. “I can’t believe you let me sleep in!” she said with a smile, her final box of clothes in under her arm.

Steve immediately ran to the stairs to take the box from her. “You had a skull fracture. I know a little bit about head stuff…well…like injuries, and things.”

“You really don’t have to do everything for me. But-”

Dustin interrupted her, coming back from the kitchen, half-finished glass of orange juice in hand. “Skull fractures can take months to heal.”

“Buuuut…I appreciate that you are doing so. I really do.” She smiled, patting the top of Dustin’s head, ruffling his hair. “Is the moving van here yet?”

“Yeah. You sure you can trust him? I mean, he’s a stranger driving you up to Pennsylvania.” Judy and Steve did not know each other well before she had returned to Hawkins, so his concern was less than warranted. Or, at least, it would have been under different circumstances.

Judy smiled, moving her hand from Dustin’s head and on to Steve’s shoulder, “Wayne knows him very well. He’s a good guy.” She joined the others outside, assisting in loading the rest of the boxes and furniture into the van.

Some of the kids had volunteered to help her move. A group of world-saving superheroes, and they were loading Mr. Mumble into the U-Haul. The makeshift bugbear plushie sitting in his box. Once the job was done, the goodbye train began.

When she reached Dustin and his demeanor changed, like he had resigned himself to ask the unspoken question.

“Eddie didn’t make it?”

Judy’s pleasant smile dropped. “We had to stop chest compressions, and he came back for a moment when he was free from Vecna, but it didn’t last” her eyes darted to the patch of grass over Dustin’s shoulder, two blinks, then back to him. “…I think there was time between when he was wounded and when he was possessed where he was still…”

“Still alive? When I was holding him, doing nothing, I could have done something?” Dustin’s pitch lifted.

“You couldn’t have stopped the bleeding in the first place without surgery. Besides, his brain had been without oxygen for too long. There aren’t enough chest compressions in the world that could’ve brought him back. There was nothing you could have done.” Judy sighed, taking Dustin’s hand, chasing his gaze as it drifted down, catching it, “Hey, there was nothing you could have done.” One squeeze of his hand, “You have my number, and if you consider Carnegie-Melon for college, you will always have a place to stay during the summers. You and I wouldn’t be the only ones in the house though. Just a heads up.”

The moving van blasted its horn, the capped figure motioning to her to wrap up her goodbyes. Her gray bug hitched to the back, the trusty steed awaiting the journey to Evans City, a hamlet north of Pittsburgh, where her uncle and his boyfriend had a vacation home. Far off from society, but close enough to access necessities.

It was never something Judy would have considered, but that was before.

She rushed through her departure, quick hugs and broken smiles. Robin and Steve, Argyle too. Andrew, Gareth and his parents, that was the hardest. She knew Gareth for almost as long as Eddie. And Andrew…the last of the original Hellfire.

“Does that invitation go for us too?”

“You all are welcome in my house.” She rested her chin on Andrew’s shoulder, “especially you. You will always be welcome.”

The last was her aunt Margie and Wayne Munson, both of them clutching her closely.

“You take care of yourself. Oh, and uh, tell our mutual friend to trim his nails outside.” Wayne said.

“Naturally,” she smiled. “How did you find us, by the way? I never asked.”

“Rick told me where you were. He was in the middle of the street when I drove back to the house.” Wayne said it like it made sense. “It’s tragic that he didn’t make it through the night, something must have happened when I went after y’all.”

Judy looked past the two at her old home. She didn’t want to get into the confusion his statement caused. The tree beside her bedroom window creaked one last time, waving to her. With the wind at her back, pushing her to the truck, she strode to the passenger side door as it opened to greet her.

“Let’s get moving, buttercup. I know how nervous you get when we drive at night.” Eddie smiled, stitches no longer pulling as much, hidden behind a shapely beard. The yellow in his eyes had faded even further, hidden by his aviators, claws straining behind the tips of his work gloves. Hair tied back and topped with a trucker hat. He reached his hand out to help her into the cab. Judy closed the door behind her, buckling herself in.

She fished her sunglasses out of their case, swapping them with her regular specs. Eddie proceeded to release the parking brake, shifting gears, slowly pulling out of the driveway before turning and starting the journey towards northern PA.

There was a calm silence between the two of them. Eddie was the first to speak, “What did you tell him?”

“I just explained your brain had been cut off from oxygen for too long.” Judy answered, resting her right ankle over her left knee.

“It almost was.” He added.

“Five minutes and some change, close call. Surprised your brain didn’t suffer more damage. Guess that Vecna magic regenerated your neurons too.”

“What was your name again?” Eddie teased, “Smoody, Judinda…”

“Haha,” Judy rolled her eyes, pausing before returning fire, “you mean Yudit Mountain-Song? By the way, Ye-hu-dit, not just Yudit.”

“I took artistic liberties.”

“I can’t believe you canonically shipped us in your little campaigns.” She snorted, head resting on the headrest, “talk about pussy whipped.”

“How could I not be?” Eddie reached for her left hand, bringing it to his lips, eyes still fixed on the road.

The two of them held their breaths when they left the border of Hawkins. Finally exhaling soon after, Eddie was still alive, no longer tied to that little town. They continued down the highway until they crossed into Ohio, parking at the welcome center.

They sat in silence, breathing in the no-longer-Indiana air. Eddie took off his hat and gloves, throwing his sunglasses on the dashboard, and crashing his face into Judy’s smile. Their lips tangled with each other, separating in drawn-out smacks. His claws dug into the meat of her thigh. “I’m so fucking mad I can’t fuck you in this thing.” Eddie grunted, pressing his forehead against Judy’s as she chased his lips for one more chaste smooch.

“You gotta wait five more hours. Can you do that for me, Eddie?” She cooed, her finger running along his facial hair. She had to admit how sexy he looked with it.

He pouted playfully, “maaaybeee.”

“Maybe?”

“If I can fuck you raw over the countertop you told me about. And you run around naked while I bring our stuff in.”

“Is that all?” she asked, rubbing her nose along his.

“Is there more you want?”

“Oh, my sweet paladin,” Judy kissed up his cheek, resting her nose against his temple, whispering in his ear, “I want you clothed on the couch. I sit on your cock, completely naked, watch tv, and have you play with my clit for hours.”

His eyes rolled back, lids fluttering closed, letting out a stifled moan, “holy God in heaven, woman.”

“Now we’re on the same page.” She pressed a kiss where her nose had rested, sitting back in her seat. “Who’s the freak now, Munson?”

“You were always the freak, baby.” He said and flashed her a blissful smile.

Judy watched as he turned the key again, starting the truck back up. “Did you pull into this rest stop just to grope me?”

“No…” The coy lilt in his voice said otherwise.

“Perv.”

“What’s wrong with wanting to touch my future bride?” He asked with a slight giggle, his claws running down the side of her head, combing through her bushy hair. Just as gently, he pulled away. “We gotta get moving anyway, though.”

Judy napped intermittently during the drive. Between those, she joined Eddie in terrible renditions various pop songs. When Sheena Easton came on with her thinly veiled song dedicated to her vagina, written by Prince himself, Eddie immediately cranked the volume up to unreasonable levels with a “Oh FUCK YEAH!”

He knew every lyric, wouldn’t be caught dead singing it anywhere but with Judy. Eddie out carrying out the long high pitched “Ahh!” in Sugar Walls was only outdone by his subsequent fruity “ooh”.

Judy caught his gaze, just once as it tore from the road, her warm husky voice beckoning to him, “Come spend the night inside my sugar walls.”

“You can-NOT sing that part when I’m driving.” He laughed, “hard enough as is.”

Judging by the massive amount of potholes and the encroaching city, Judy discerned they were nearing Columbus, traffic slowing to a casual stroll. “Want me to help?” She purred.

“Please don’t, baby. I’m a little on edge.”

“On edge?”

“This truck, your beetle on the back that could be knocked loose with the wrong pothole. Me looking like this. My face being plastered on papers again. Baby, if we get in a wreck I don’t know what I’m going to do. I just…” He let out a calming breath, slow and tight, “I just need to get to where we need to be. And I can lay you down on whatever surface I can. And I can just kiss you until I’m safe.”

Judy’s long slender fingers gently ran over his right hand as it gripped the wheel, relaxing it at the slightest touch. “Do you not feel safe, Eddie?”

“Not yet, baby.” His pointer claw tapped impatiently against the steering wheel.

“Why don’t we find a motel?”

“Hm-mm,” he shook his head, “nope, gotta get home.”

“Okay.” Her voice barely came out, a click in the kay. She was about to loosen her grasp before Eddie stopped her with his other hand. Just a pat, then back on ten. Ten and two, and two.

They had made a few more stops since Columbus. But not until they crossed state lines, at Judy’s insistence. “I’d rather stop in Wheeling than make two stops in oh-ho-ho.” Then the truck crossed the Neville Island bridge by late afternoon. The familiar homes and terrain of Judy’s childhood brightening her outlook. Eddie’s exhaustion was beginning to show.

“A little less than an hour, baby.” She stroked his arm, “you can make it.”

“Yes, I can.” He reiterated.

They reached Evans City by 6pm, the house proper at 6:35. In the pink and orange sunset against the grass, setting it alight. The gravel path like white marble, leading to the Victorian style house. Mauve with white trim, the black roof tiles glistening slightly.

Judy broke into a skip as she went to unlock the front door, switching on the lights as she kept her pace. “Just as pretty as I remember!” She laughed. The clanking of the u-Haul door rang from outside, sliding open, the ramp coming down with a thump. She quickly joined Eddie. But there were no kisses, not yet. The two began picking up box after box, carrying them into the foyer, pushing them across the parquet floor to make more room until the trailer was empty, locked up.

Covered in sweat, Judy turned to speak to Eddie only to be caught in his arms. His beard rubbing at her cheeks with each sweet kiss from his lips. The melodic hums that echoed from his chest as he grasped at her curves, pushing her further into the house. Judy’s legs hit the arm of a couch, Eddie’s force pushing both of them over as they fell on to the sheet covered cushions.

“Fuck baby,” he growled playfully, “they knew we’d get messy right away?”

“It’s for dust, big guy.” Judy laughed, “you wanna get messy?”

“Wanna keep suckin these lips…maybe the other ones too if you let me.” Another kiss, gathering her into his mouth, his hips threaded between her thighs, dipping and grinding against her. He swallowed her whine, born from the friction of him against her covered mound. “That’s my good girl.” His eyes closed, but hers remained open, watching his face ease into a state of peace as he rocked himself against her. Her concentration broken by another kiss, feeling only the heat of his breath and the weight of his body as he continued to grind against her.

Her hands clutched at him, squeezing him close. There was something in his desperation that she knew came from pain, fear. Eddie pulled away to take a breath, lifting just enough for Judy to reach up and caress his cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

He sniffed, face red and glowing from sweat, “we’re safe.” Another deep breath, fanning her with his stale cigarette breath. “We’re safe.” He repeated. His head nodded, regaining his previous demeanor, rising off her slightly, “And I’m horny. Since…that first stop in Ohio. And judging by how hot you’re getting right now…” His loving claws stroked along her shirt hem, “I’d say you’ve been waiting just as long.”

“I think the guest room has less dust. And…oh my God.” Judy wiggled from beneath Eddie, pushing him off until she was on her feet. “You gotta see the master bathroom. I know we’re probably relegated to the guest room and the shared bath but still…baby…”

“Am I gonna like it?”

“Well, they kept almost everything intact. Even the shared bathroom…but the master…” She leaned in, voice barely a whisper, “double headed shower.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “I’ll race you.” With a flash of that smile, he took off up the stairs, Judy jogging far behind.

She called from the middle of the stairs. “You don’t even know where it is. And the towels are still in the hall closet.” Silence. “Babe?” Silence. A twist in her stomach, but nothing too real. Hand on the railing, she slowly crept up the rest of the stairs. “Please don’t sneak up on me, I’ll fucking cry.”

She heard a sigh from down the hall, then a yielding voice, “I’m coming down the hallway.” Step, step, step. “I am still coming down the hallway.” Step, step. “I am approaching my” he stopped, turning, “oh hey it’s my wife.”

“Not quite yet. We’ll need to work on your Hebrew, find a local Rabbi who will lead you through the conversio- AGH!” Judy’s spiel was cut short as Eddie lifted her up, hands gripping under her thighs as she wrapped them around him. Once settled and stable, she continued. “Then we do your beis din, then the mikveh, then you do your first aliyah if you want. I think you’d be amazing at it.” She pressed her lips to the tip of his nose with a mwah. “We can even do it together.”

“Mmmm…I’m thinking about the shower.” He started down the hallway he had emerged from. Judy’s hand following the walls, switching on the lights as she passed. “Which door?” He asked.

“Hm…” Judy’s fingers slightly lifted from his shoulders. Sticking her thumb to horizontally, index finger up. “Right.”

Eddie turned left.

“Wait wait wait shit no, my right.”

He turned heel, going down the shorter hall to the master bedroom. An empty four-poster bed, dark wood fitting perfectly with the deep teal wall. “Ve-ry nice.” He muttered, letting Judy’s legs down his hips as she quickly darted back down the hall, and across to the linen closet, opening it and fishing out two towels.

Eddie, meanwhile, grabbed either side of the mattress that was leaning against the bedroom wall, pulling off the plastic before walking it over to the bedframe. Using the power in his legs to waddle himself and the mattress across the floor.

“What are you doing? I said we were taking the guest room.” Judy sighed from the doorway, flicking on the overhead light.

He let the mattress fall on to the frame before adjusting the corners. “It’s just for tonight. It’ll be easier after we fuck in the shower to fuck in here. Less walking time.” He smiled, kneeling down to the bedside table and opening it, looking for sheets. He immediately closed it. “Not in there.”

Judy wiggled her eyebrows, “ooh, did you find something salacious?”

“No more salacious than your drawer.” He said, rising to his feet and striding to Judy, another kiss on her already kiss bitten lips. “Where are the sheets?”

“The guestroom is already prepared, baby. Please…” She folded her hands around his face, “I don’t want to get in trouble. They’ll be coming here tomorrow to help unpack.” The anxiety from her gaze bristled against his skin. No founded fear, but that lingering need to impress.

“Okay, okay,” another kiss, this time on her forehead, “I’ll put the mattress back.”

“I’m sorry, lemme help.” She insisted, following Eddie as he walked back to the bed. She moved the mattress until it was horizontal on the frame, pushing her side up as Eddie brought the other down, walking the thing back to the wall, draping the plastic back again. They both sighed in tandem, Judy rounding the furniture until they were together again. Her arms wrapped around him, cheek to his shoulder, his neck to her lips. “Sorry.” She whispered.

“It’s okay, buttercup.” He whispered, holding her close, “you don’t need to be sorry.” Another kiss on her knuckles, one she returned against the skin of his neck. “Show me the shower?”

“Mhmm.” Another kiss, she parted from him only enough to fetch the towels and washcloths before coming back. One more kiss, hotter than before, parting his lips to taste his tongue. She pulled away, his hand in hers, dragging him into the spacious bathroom.

“Holy shit!” Eddie shouted. The giggle from Judy’s lips bounced off the tile as she closed the door behind them.

Here we are. Oh course I had to give them a happy ending! Like I said, this is the end of our main journey, but not the end of them. You'll hear from them again. No worries.

Vocab list:

Beis din, or Beit Din- tribunal of Jewish adults that agrees to and witnesses the conversion.

Mikveh- Ceremonial pool used for ritual cleansing.

Aliyah- Calling to the Torah for reading or reciting the blessing.

Tag list: @loserboysandlithium @userchai @secretdryrose

[follow-up-news]

Indiana’s attorney general has dropped a lawsuit that accused the state’s largest hospital system of violating patient privacy laws when a doctor told a newspaper that a 10-year-old Ohio girl had traveled to Indiana for an abortion. A federal judge last week approved Attorney General Todd Rokita’s request to dismiss his lawsuit, which the Republican had filed last year against Indiana University Health and IU Healthcare Associates, The Indianapolis Star reported. The suit accused the hospital system of violating HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and a state law, for not protecting patient information in the case of a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to Indiana to receive abortion drugs. Dr. Caitlin Bernard ‘s attorneys later that she shared no personally identifiable information about the girl, and no such details were reported in the Star’s story on July 1, 2022, but it became a flashpoint in the abortion debate days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that June.

[kemetic-dreams]

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom Sr. (1886-1951)

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom, Sr., the founder of the first hospital for African Americans in Fort Worth, Texas, was born on March 9, 1886, in Columbus, Kentucky, to parents Allen and Alice Ransom. Ransom briefly attended Lane College in Tennessee then transferred to Southern Illinois State Normal University (now Southern Illinois University at Carbondale) where he earned his undergraduate degree.

Ransom attended Pharmaceutical College in Princeton, Indiana, and Louisville National Medical College in Louisville, Kentucky, from which he graduated in 1908 as valedictorian of his class. He did post-graduate work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

After receiving his medical license in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1909, Ransom started his medical practice in Brooksville, Oklahoma, where he worked for five years. In 1914 Ransom moved to Gainesville, Texas, where he established the Booker T. Washington Sanitarium. At that time Ransom was one of only 16 black doctors in Texas.

On June 3, 1915, Ransom married schoolteacher and graduate nurse Ethel Blanche Wilson of Gainesville, Texas. To this union one son, Riley Andrew Ransom, Jr., was born on March 12, 1915.

In 1918, Dr. Ransom moved the hospital to Fort Worth and added a Nurses’ Training School. The hospital was the first 20-bed facility for African Americans in Texas. It was also one of only three African-American owned hospitals in the United States accredited by the American Medical Association.

Booker T. Washington Hospital was known for its state-of-the-art medical equipment, fully equipped laboratory, a dining room, onsite food preparation area, and nurses’ quarters. Between 1925 and 1928 the facility was known as the Negro Baptist Hospital. In 1928 the name was changed to the Fort Worth Negro Hospital, and in 1938 Ransom renamed it the Ethel Ransom Memorial Hospital, in memory of his deceased wife.

Dr. Ransom was a member to the Fort Worth Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the YMCA, Chairman of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, a Chairman of the Social Disease Committee of the Volunteer Health League, First-Aid Instructor for the American Red Cross of Tarrant County, and member of the Lone Star Medical Association. He was also a Mason.

Dr. Riley A. Ransom, Sr. died on January 4, 1951, in Houston, Texas. He was 64. His work in Fort Worth was continued by his son, Dr. Riley A. Ransom, Jr. The Ranson Memorial Hospital continued to serve the Fort Worth African American community until it closed in 1949.

[beardedmrbean]

Indiana can now enforce a law banning minors from seeking gender-transitioning treatments after a federal appeals court ruled to remove a temporary injunction issued by a judge last year, which kept the ban from going into effect last summer.

A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago handed down the decision on Tuesday. Two of the judges were appointed by presidents Reagan and Trump, while the third judge was appointed by President Biden.

The bill, which was signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 5, 2023, was set to become law on July 1, 2023, but was blocked by a judge a month prior following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued the injunction, which halted the parts of the law prohibiting minors from accessing hormone therapies and puberty blockers, and prohibiting Indiana doctors from communicating with out-of-state doctors about transgender-related treatments for minors. The law's ban on gender-transitioning surgeries for minors was still allowed to take effect.

On Tuesday, the ACLU of Indiana issued a written statement in response to the appeals court's ruling, describing it as "heartbreaking" for transgender minors, their families and doctors.

"As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over," the statement read. "We will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family."

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita did not share those sentiments and praised the court's decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday evening.

"Our commonsense state law, banning dangerous and irreversible gender-transition procedures for minors, is now enforceable following the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s newest order. We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons," he wrote.

The ACLU of Indiana filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of four minors undergoing gender-transitioning treatments and a doctor providing such care. The organization argued that the ban violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantees and strips parents of the right to make medical decisions for their children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, among other medical groups, claim minors can safely seek gender-transitioning treatments if they are being administered properly.

Representatives from the state's only hospital-based gender health program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis told legislators last year that doctors do not perform or provide referrals for genital surgeries for minors, according to The Associated Press. The hospital was not involved in the lawsuit opposing the ban.

Twenty-two other states have also enacted laws restricting or banning gender-transitioning treatments for minors. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

The bans are in limbo in some of those states as a federal court ruled Arkansas' ban is unconstitutional and temporary injunctions were placed on the laws in Idaho and Montana.

[lboogie1906]

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom Sr. (March 9, 1886 - January 4, 1951) the founder of the first hospital for African Americans in Fort Worth, Texas, was born in Columbus, Kentucky, to parents Allen and Alice Ransom. He attended Lane College and transferred to Southern Illinois State Normal University where he earned his BA.

He attended Pharmaceutical College in Princeton, Indiana, and Louisville National Medical College, from which he graduated as valedictorian of his class. He did post-graduate work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

After receiving his medical license in Oklahoma City, he started his medical practice in Brooksville, where he worked for five years. He moved to Gainesville, Texas, where he established the Booker T. Washington Sanitarium. He was one of only 16 African American doctors in Texas.

He married schoolteacher and graduate nurse Ethel Blanche Wilson (1915). They had one son.

He moved the hospital to Fort Worth and added a Nurses’ Training School. The hospital was the first 20-bed facility for African Americans. It was one of only three African American-owned hospitals in the US accredited by the American Medical Association. In 1928 the name was changed to the Fort Worth Negro Hospital, and in 1938 Ransom renamed it the Ethel Ransom Memorial Hospital, in memory of his deceased wife.

He was a member of the Fort Worth Branch of the NAACP, the YMCA, Chairman of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, Chairman of the Social Disease Committee of the Volunteer Health League, a First-Aid Instructor for the American Red Cross of Tarrant County, and member of the Lone Star Medical Association. He was a Mason.

His work in Fort Worth was continued by his son, Dr. Riley A. Ransom Jr. The Ransom Memorial Hospital continued to serve the Fort Worth African American community until it closed in 1949. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[brookston]

Holidays 6.12

Holidays

Anne Frank Day

Bedstraw Day (French Republic)

Blue Galaxy Day

Children’s Day (Haiti)

Crowded Nest Syndrome Day

Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)

Flag Day (Brazil; New Zealand)

Ghost in the Machine Day

Grimace Day

Helsinki Day (Finland)

Idol Day

Indiana Jones Day

International Adobo Day

International DDX3X Day

International Dubbing Day

International Shia Day

Interracial Marriage Day

June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State, Nigeria)

Lancaster Day (UK)

Little League Girls Baseball Day

Lover’s Day (Japan)

Loving Day

Magic Day

Man of Steel Day

Mother’s Day (Luxembourg)

National Automotive Service Professionals Day

National Black Men Don’t Cheat Day

National Button Battery Awareness Day

National Cancer Thriver Day

National Chiropractic Health Assistant Day (Canada)

National Control Room Worker’s Day

National Cougar Day

National Dairy Goat Awareness Day

National Dame Day

National Esther Day

National Great Dane Day

National Harm Reduction Day (Canada)

National Hospital at Home Patients Day

National Magic Day

National X Day

Orlando United Day (Florida)

Peace Day (Kosovo)

Perfect Game Day

Portland Trail Blazers Day (Oregon)

Pulse Remembrance Day

Queen’s Birthday (Pitcairn Islands, Tuvalu)

Railway Day (Japan)

Red Rose Day

Rock Around the Clock Day

Russia Day (Russia)

Science Day (Turkmenistan)

Senior Race Day (Isle of Man)

Sharon Needles Day (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

612 Day (Minnesota)

Spoonful of Sugar Day

Spousal Abuse Day

State Protection Service Day (Poland)

Stock Market Employees Day (Ukraine)

Superman Day

Swiss Army Knife Day

Tear Down This Wall Day

Valentine’s Day (Brazil)

Welsh Bands T-Shirt Day (UK)

We Remember 612 Day (Hong Kong)

Women’s Veterans Day

World Day Against Child Labour (UN)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chuy’s National Taco Day

International Cachaca Day

International Falafel Day

National Apple Cinnamon Muffin Day

National Jerky Day

Peanut Butter Cookie Day

Pink Spaghetti Day

Poultry Day

Independence & Related Days

Act of Settlement Day (UK; 1701)

Bill of Rights Day (Virginia; 1776)

Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)

Constitution Day (Turks & Caicos Island)

Democracy Day (Nigeria)

Philippines (from Spain, 1898)

2nd Wednesday in June

National Time Out Day [2nd Wednesday]

Worshipful Company of Vintners of the City of London Annual Procession [2nd Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 12 (2nd Full Week)

California State Parks Week (thru 6.16)

International Listening Association Week (thru 6.16)

Raggedy Ann and Andy Days (thru 6.13)

Festivals Beginning June 12, 2024

Emmett Cherry Festival (Emmett, Idaho) [thru 6.15]

Ice Cream Days (Le Mars, Iowa) [thru 6.15]

Mattituck Strawberry Festival (Mattituck, New York) [thru 6.16]

North by Northeast [NXNE] (Toronto, Canada) [thru 6.16]

San Diego County Fair (Del Mar, California) [thru 7.7]

Taste of London (London, UK) [thru 6.16]

Teapot Day (Tea, South Dakota) [thru 6.15]

W. C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival (Henderson, Kentucky) [thru 6.15]

Feast Days

Adriaen van Stalbemt (Artology)

St. Anthony’s Day Eve (Portugal)

Antonina (Christian; Martyr)

Bannocks Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius (Christian; Martyrs)

Be More Paranoid Day (Pastafarian)

Bob Katz (Muppetism)

St. Charles Borromeo (Positivist; Saint)

Dave Berg (Artology)

Egon Schiele (Artology)

Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)

Eskil of Sweden (Christian; Martyr)

Feast of the Blessed Polish Martyrs of World War II

Festival of Mut (Ancient Egypt)

First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)

Gaspar Bertoni (Christian; Saint)

Gerard Hoffnung Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Gin Day (Pastafarian)

Guy of Cortona (Christian; Saint)

Henry Scott Tuke (Artology)

Hildegard Burjan (Christian; Blessed)

Johanna Spyri (Writerism)

John of Sahagún (Christian; Saint)

Korean Rice Farmers Stream Hair Washing Day (Everyday Wicca)

Len Wein (Artology)

Leo III, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Media Ver VII (Pagan)

Odulf (Christian; Saint)

Onuphrius (Christian; Saint)

Peter of Mount Athos (Christian; Saint)

Sparky Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ternan, Bishop of the Picts (Christian; Saint)

Zeus’ Day (Ancient Greece)

108 Martyrs of World War II (Christian)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Shavuot, Day 2 (Judaism) [6-7 Sivan] (a.k.a. …

Feast of the Harvest

Feast of Weeks

Festival of Weeks

First-Fruit festival

Wheat Harvest

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 163 [38 of 72]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [34 of 57]

Premieres

Admission Free (Betty Boop Cartoon; 1932)

All About Dogs (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie (a.k.a. Fuck; Adult Film; 1969)

Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman (Children’s Book; 1960)

The Brighter Buccaneer, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1933) [Saint #12]

Bullet Park, by John Cheever (Novel; 1969)

Can’t Hardly Wait (Film; 1998)

Chesapeake, by James A. Michener (Historical Novel; 1978)

Chuck Berry Is On Top, by Chuck Berry (Album; 1959)

Clash of the Titans (Film; 1981)

Cleopatra (Film; 1963)

Clockwork Angels, by Rush (Album; 2012)

Coming Up for Air, by George Orwell (Novel; 1939)

Deep Throat (Adult Film; 1972)

Donald’s Garden (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Donovan’s Reef (Film; 1963)

Farmer Al Falfa’s Bedtime Story (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Food, Inc. (Documentary Film; 2009)

Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov (Novel; 1952) [Foundation #2]

Go Bo Diddly, by Bo Diddly (Album; 1959)

History of the World: Part 1 (Film; 1981)

The Horse Soldiers (Film; 1959)

I’ll Chase the Blues Away, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1935)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (Science Book; 2010)

Jurassic World (Film; 2015)

Line of Duty (BBC TV Series; 2012)

Love and Kisses, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1935)

Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey (Album; 1990)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Film; 2015)

Moon (Film; 2009)

Palestrina, by Hans Pfitzner (Opera; 1917)

Predator (Film; 1987)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Film; 1981)

Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin (Orchestral Jazz; 1924)

The Sailor’s Home (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

She’s Not There, recorded by The Zombies (Song; 1964)

Some Time in New York City, by John Lennon (Album; 1972)

Speedway (Film; 1968)

Superman vs. The Elite (Animated WB Film; 2012)

Surfer Girl, recorded by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)

Swingers (Film; 1997)

Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, by Blink-182 (Album; 2001)

Testimony of Two Men, by Taylor Caldwell (Novel; 1968)

Toreadorable (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1953)

2 Cool 4 Skool, by BTS (Album; 2013)

The Witches of Eastwick (Film; 1987)

Today’s Name Days

Florinda, Guido, Leo (Austria)

Bazilid, Gašpar, Leon (Croatia)

Antonie (Czech Republic)

Balisius (Denmark)

Eskel, Esko (Estonia)

Esko (Finland)

Guy (France)

Florinda, Guido, Leo (Germany)

Onoufrios (Greece)

Villő (Hungary)

Basilide, Guido, Onofrio (Italy)

Ija, Narda, Nora (Latvia)

Anupras, Dovė, Kristijonas, Kristis, Ramūnas (Lithuania)

Sigfrid, Sigrid, Siri (Norway)

Antonina, Bazyli, Jan, Leon, Onufry, Wyszemir (Poland)

Onufrie, Pavel, Petru (România)

Zlatko (Slovakia)

Juan, Onofre (Spain)

Eskil (Sweden)

Onopriy (Ukraine)

Ahmad, Ahmed, Aisha, Asia, Mohamed, Mohammad, Mohammed (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 164 of 2024; 202 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 24 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 4 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 7 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 6 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 5 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 14 Blue; Sevenday [14 of 30]

Julian: 30 May 2024

Moon: 36%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Charles Borromeo]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 86 of 92)

Week: 2nd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 23 of 31)

[killed-by-choice]

Maria Leho, 26 (USA 1999)

Maria Leho was 26 years old and already had a 7-year-old boy and a toddler at home. When she found out she was pregnant for the third time, she underwent a “safe and legal” abortion— a mistake that would kill her.

She was pregnant in the first trimester when she went to Albany Medical Surgical Center of Chicago, which was a location of the Family Planning Associates (FPA) chain of abortion facilities. AMSC was also a member of the National Abortion Federation, which claimed to ensure that all of their member facilities adhered only to the highest standards of care. Unfortunately, this claim meant nothing regarding Maria’s safety or treatment.

Maria had a seizure disorder and documented it in her medical records for the facility. Despite this, AMSC employee Lawrence Hill administered Brevitol, which is contraindicated for anyone with a history of seizures. Abortionist John Weitzner rushed through the suction abortion in only four minutes and then the unconscious Maria was taken to the “recovery room”.

After the abortion, an employee named Tanya Hall put a blood pressure cuff on Maria’s arm. She also removed a pulse oximeter from Maria’s finger and replaced with a new one but did not test it to see if it was working. Instead, she just left. A nurse who later reviewed Maria’s records noticed that the AMSC nurses did not perform a proper assessment of Maria. They didn’t even check if she was breathing or if she had a pulse.

Later, employee Yvette Johnson realized that Maria had gone into cardiac arrest and wasn’t breathing at all. Instead of calling an ambulance as soon as Maria’s condition was discovered, the staff attempted to revive her themselves for 10 additional minutes after she was discovered to have no pulse. Only after all that time passed did they bother to call 911.

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s hospital attempted to treat Maria during her last two days of life. All attempts were unsuccessful and she was declared dead on June 11, 1999. Her two young sons lost their mother and their youngest sibling to the same killers.

(Court Documents)

Porter County, Indiana Vidette-Messenger Obituary Index

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference archived on our website

Abstract

In 2000, the Surgeon General’s report highlighted that the mouth is a mirror for overall health of an individual and that disparities in oral health are directly proportionate to general health inequities. Among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are the most common comorbidities; several studies support the association of these conditions with periodontal disease. This study’s main aim is to assess the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on populations from lower socioeconomic statuses. The study also aims to assess the association of self-reported periodontal disease with COVID-19 disease course and severity. A sample population of Indiana residents with positive diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 were recruited. A validated survey tool was sent to this cohort inquiring about sociodemographic distribution; co-morbid conditions, current symptoms of “long haul COVID,” course of their COVID-19 infection; history of periodontal disease, existing periodontal disease symptoms, and oral hygiene habits. 209 individuals with a history of positive COVID test were returned to the survey, and association of participant characteristics and periodontal disease-related survey items with COVID-related survey items were evaluated using chi-square tests. Lower sense of smell ratings was associated with less education (p = 0.021), being unemployed/disabled (p = 0.008), worse health status (p<0.001), more frequent bleeding gums (p = 0.031), more frequent toothache (p<0.001), lower oral health rating (p = 0.002), and vaccine status (p = 0.011). Lower sense of taste ratings were associated with older age (p = 0.018), worse health (p<0.001), more frequent bleeding gums (p<0.001), more frequent mobile or loose tooth (p = 0.010), presence of gum disease (p<0.001), more frequent loss of teeth (p = 0.013), more frequent toothache (p<0.001), worse oral health (p = 0.001), teeth lost due to gum disease (p = 0.006), and vaccine status (p = 0.001). History of hospitalization due to COVID-19 was found to be associated with a history of gum disease within the past 12 months.

[sensitive-virgo]

Opening Potential: Discover the Dental Assistant Salary Landscape in Indiana for 2023

Unlocking Potential: Discover the Dental Assistant Salary ‌landscape in Indiana for 2023

The role ⁤of a dental assistant​ is crucial to the ⁤smooth operation of⁤ dental​ practices across Indiana. As the demand for ⁢healthcare professionals continues to rise, understanding the salary landscape for ⁣dental assistants⁤ in 2023 can be pivotal for ⁤those considering⁣ a career in this⁢ field. In this article, we will⁣ examine the ⁣average salary, factors influencing salary⁣ levels, potential benefits, and actionable tips for aspiring dental assistants.

Current Salary ⁤Overview

Average Dental Assistant Salary in Indiana

According to ​the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the average salary for dental assistants in Indiana is‍ competitive. In 2023,the average salary is⁣ approximately $40,000 per‍ year,with a range that typically falls⁢ between $35,000 and $45,000.

Salary Range

percentage of Dental‌ Assistants

$30,000 – $35,000

15%

$35,001 – $40,000

40%

$40,001 – $45,000

30%

$45,001 ⁣and above

15%

Comparison with national Averages

When comparing Indiana’s average dental assistant salary to the national⁤ average of approximately $42,000, it‍ becomes evident that Indiana’s wages‍ are slightly below the national rate. However, ‌the cost of living in Indiana is also lower ⁣than the national average, which makes a career as a dental assistant more financially viable ‌in the Hoosier State.

Factors ​Influencing Dental Assistant​ Salaries ⁣in‌ Indiana

Understanding the variables ​that affect dental assistant salaries is essential⁤ for leveraging your ‍potential income. Here are some key ​factors:

Experience Level: Entry-level positions will typically ​offer lower salaries compared to‍ those with ⁢several years of experience. Experienced dental assistants can‌ earn upwards⁤ of $50,000 annually.

Certification: Dental assistants ⁢with certifications, such as the Registered dental Assistant ⁤(RDA) designation,‌ may have access to higher-paying‍ job opportunities.

Location: Salaries⁤ may vary significantly ‌within the state. Urban centers like Indianapolis and Fort Wayne generally ⁤offer‌ higher salaries compared ​to rural areas.

Specialization: Dental‍ assistants who specialize in certain⁣ areas, like orthodontics or oral surgery, often​ command⁣ higher wages.

Employer Type: ‍ Employment in specialty practices or hospitals may offer higher salaries compared⁢ to private dental offices.

Benefits of ‍being a Dental ‍Assistant

Beyond salary, there are several benefits associated with being ‌a dental⁤ assistant:

Job⁤ Stability: The healthcare sector continues ⁢to grow, and dental assistants are in ​high demand, providing​ job⁢ security.

Flexible Work Hours: Many dental offices offer flexible schedules, making it​ easier to balance⁤ work⁤ and ‍personal life.

Opportunities ‌for Advancement: There is potential for career growth, as many dental assistants pursue​ further education to become ‌dental hygienists or office managers.

Personal⁣ Satisfaction: Helping patients achieve better oral health can⁣ be highly‍ rewarding and fulfilling.

Practical Tips for Aspiring Dental ‍Assistants

If ‍you’re interested in⁢ pursuing a career as‌ a dental assistant in Indiana, consider the following tips:

Obtain ‍relevant Education: Consider enrolling in an accredited dental assisting program to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge.

Get Certified: ⁢ Pursue certification (like RDA) to enhance your⁤ qualifications and ⁢appeal ⁢to ‌employers.

Network: Attend dental industry events and engage with professionals in the ​field ⁣to build connections ‍and discover‌ job opportunities.

Stay Updated: Keep abreast of the latest trends and technologies ​in dental assisting to remain ⁤competitive ⁢in the job market.

Case⁢ Studies: Success Stories in Indiana

Hearing from⁤ others in the field ‌can provide inspiration and⁤ insight. Here ⁤are a ​couple of success stories from dental assistants in Indiana:

Maria’s Journey

Maria⁣ started her career as a​ dental assistant‌ two years ago, ‌earning about $36,000 annually. After completing her RDA ⁣certification ⁣and gaining more experience, she secured a position at a busy ⁢dental⁣ practice in Indianapolis, now earning $48,000‍ per year.

John’s Advancement

John began as an entry-level dental assistant while pursuing a degree in dental hygiene. With hard work and⁣ dedication, he transitioned into a dental ‌hygienist role, ⁤increasing his salary to over $70,000 ‍per year.

First-Hand ‍Experience: A Day ⁢in⁢ the Life of ​a Dental Assistant

To give you a ⁤real-world glimpse into this‍ profession, consider the ⁣daily responsibilities of a dental assistant:

-‍ Preparing treatment rooms and sterilizing⁣ instruments. – Assisting dentists during procedures. – Taking dental radiographs. – Educating patients ⁢on proper oral hygiene practices. – Managing patient records and scheduling appointments.

These ‌tasks not‍ only contribute to‍ a well-run practice but also provide opportunities for patient⁢ interaction and satisfaction.

Conclusion

The ⁤dental assistant salary​ landscape in Indiana for 2023 reflects the nuances of this rewarding ⁤career. ⁣With an average salary of around $40,000,the potential for growth and benefits make this a ​viable option for⁤ those passionate about the dental ‌field. By understanding ‌the ⁣factors influencing salaries, pursuing education and certification,⁣ and leveraging networking⁣ opportunities, aspiring dental assistants⁢ can ‍unlock ⁣their potential and thrive in this fulfilling⁤ profession.

Whether you’re just starting or looking to enhance your career, navigating the various pathways available in dental assisting ​can lead to both professional and personal success. Take the first step towards‌ a brighter future today!

https://dentalassistantclasses.net/opening-potential-discover-the-dental-assistant-salary-landscape-in-indiana-for-2023/

[brookemedbil]

Open Your Career: Top Online Medical Coding and Billing Schools for 2024

Unlock Yoru Career: Top Online ‍Medical Coding and Billing Schools for⁣ 2024

Unlock Your Career: top Online Medical Coding and Billing Schools for 2024

In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, medical coding and⁤ billing professions ‌continue to gain prominence. As healthcare providers increasingly rely​ on accurate billing for reimbursement,⁢ the demand for skilled professionals in this field is steadily rising. If you’re looking to kick-start or advance your career in⁤ medical coding and billing, you’re in the right place! This guide provides an overview of ​the best online medical coding and billing schools for 2024.

Why Choose a Career in Medical Coding and Billing?

The need for qualified⁤ medical⁤ coding and billing specialists is soaring, fueled by the expansion of healthcare services and the adoption​ of electronic health records (EHRs).Here’s why you ‍should consider entering this field:

High Demand: ⁢ An increasing‌ number of healthcare facilities ‌are seeking certified coders and billers.

Flexible Schedules: Many positions offer remote work opportunities, ‌providing ideal work-life balance.

Competitive Salaries: Medical coding and⁢ billing professionals earn attractive salaries, with the ​potential for⁢ career advancement.

Fast Entry: Most programs can be ⁢completed in less than a year, allowing you to enter the workforce quickly.

Top Online ⁣Medical Coding and Billing Schools for 2024

With numerous options available,selecting the right school can be overwhelming. ​Below is a list of some of the ‌top online medical⁤ coding and​ billing programs for 2024:

School Name

Program Length

Key Certifications Offered

Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

12 months

CPC, CCA

Southern New Hampshire University

8 months

CPC, CCS

Penn Foster College

10 months

CCA,⁣ CPC

Herzing University

16 months

CPC, ⁢CCA

Ashworth College

6 months

CPC

What to Look for⁤ in a Medical Coding and Billing ⁣Program

Choosing the right program requires careful consideration. here are some factors to keep in mind:

Accreditation: Ensure the program is​ accredited,which is vital ⁤for your certification and⁣ job prospects.

Curriculum: Review⁢ course‌ offerings to⁣ make sure they cover essential coding systems, billing procedures, and medical terminology.

Certification Planning: Look ⁢for programs that offer comprehensive exam ​prep for industry certifications.

Student Support: Good⁤ programs provide access to resources like career counseling,tutoring,and‌ networking opportunities.

Benefits of Online Medical ​Coding and Billing Programs

Online medical ‌coding and billing programs offer several advantages:

Convenience: Study at your own pace and from the comfort of your home.

Cost-Effective: Many online programs⁢ are more affordable than traditional on-campus options.

Accessibility: Gain access to quality education without geographical limitations.

Case ‍Studies: Success Stories from Graduates

Real-life experiences can be incredibly motivating. ‍Here are some success stories from graduates of online medical coding and billing⁢ programs:

Jane Doe – From Unemployed to Full-Time Coder

After losing her job during the pandemic,⁤ Jane enrolled in a medical ‍coding and billing ‌program. Within nine months, she obtained her CPC certification ‌and secured a full-time position at a local hospital. Jane credits her success to the versatility of the online program, which allowed her to juggle her⁣ studies with family responsibilities.

John Smith – Advancing His ⁣Career

John,a medical assistant,wanted to transition into⁢ coding.He enrolled in an online program that allowed⁤ him to work while studying. After completing the course and gaining his CCS certification, John was⁣ promoted to a ‍coding supervisor position within his association.

Practical Tips for Success in Medical​ Coding and Billing

Here are some practical tips ​to help you succeed in your online medical coding and billing studies:

Create a Study ⁤Schedule: Design a study routine that fits your lifestyle and stick to it.

Join⁤ Online‌ Forums: Participate in discussions with peers to enhance learning and gain insights.

Utilize resources: make use ‍of additional study materials such as textbooks, online resources, and practice⁣ exams.

Conclusion

Embarking ‌on a career in medical​ coding and billing is an exciting opportunity that promises growth and stability. With‌ various online programs available in 2024, you can find a course that fits⁢ your needs and helps you achieve your career goals. Whether you⁤ are entering the job market for the first time or seeking‌ to advance in your current position, ⁤investing ⁣in education from a reputable ⁤online school can pave the way for⁣ your success. ‌Don’t wait—start your ​journey in the thriving field ​of‌ medical coding and ‌billing today!

https://medicalbillingcodingcourses.net/open-your-career-top-online-medical-coding-and-billing-schools-for-2024/