#a woman had to get on top of her car and the firefighters had to come rescue her. a man had to climb a tree so he wasnt swept away.

[minglana]

(repeating to myself 24/7): its fine that i live in a valley and architects and the city halls issuing the building permits dont seem to give a shit about floodable zones its fine that i live in a valley and architects and the city halls issuing the building permits dont seem to give a shit about floodable zones its fine that i live in a valley and architects and the city halls issuing the building permits dont seem to give a shit about floodable zones

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Of All The Places to Meet

Summary: When the reader gets into a bad accident, she doesn’t expect to meet her true mate at the same time...

Pairing: Alpha/Firefighter!Dean x Omega!reader

Word Count: 2,500ish

Warnings: language, car accident, major injury

A/N: Enjoy!

_______

“She’s fucking jammed in there good. We need to cut her out.” You blinked open your eyes slowly, very aware of how…off the world seemed. Your head was killing you, that was for sure. Something about the fact you were upside down in your car told you that had something to do with it.

Lazily you turned your head at the scent of vanilla and tobacco, humming at the pleasant smell in the otherwise metallic and burnt rubber scented air. Beside you, crawled in your passenger window on his back, laying on top of your roof was a pair of gorgeous green eyes staring back.

“She’s awake!” called the man, his attention on you the whole time. “Hey, sweetheart. You were in an accident. I’m gonna get you out of here.”

“Smell pretty,” you murmured, fighting off the urge to pass out again. “I’m gonna…”

“Miss. Miss, try to-”

Dean’s POV

“Fuck, she’s out cold again,” I said. I could see where her door was pinned against her left side. It’d be a miracle if she hadn’t shattered her hip or femur. My stomach churned once more, hands gripping the center console that was partially cracked and pushed forward. 

This was not how this was supposed to happen. You don’t meet your true mate in a goddamn car wreck when she’s critically injured. You just don’t.

And now there was another problem.

Alpha’s were notoriously protective of their mates, especially true mates. That instinct skyrocketed when they were injured, even something as small as a cut thumb.

Seeing, smelling, my true mate when she was broken and battered and hurt out of her mind?

Yeah, there was no way I was going to be able to physically get away from this little omega.

“Winchester! Let the medic get in there and we’ll work on getting the driver's door off,” called Benny. My gut said to stay but I also knew she needed someone more qualified than me to attend to her at this moment. Reluctantly, I climbed out and ran around to the outside of the car, a few guys already working on ripping the metal apart.

“She’s got the neck brace on!” called the EMT. “We’re ready for whenever she’s loose.”

Twenty minutes later we finally had the door off, a backboard slipped underneath her and she was being pulled out of the vehicle.

The EMT’s packed her up and somehow she wasn’t bleeding out. There was always the chance for internal injuries though. I wandered over to the back of the ambulance, climbing into the back much to the displeasure of the two EMT’s.

“What the hell are you doing Dean?” said Benny. I chucked my helmet at him, Benny barely catching it. “De-“

“She’s my true mate. I can’t…I need to go.” He sighed but nodded. 

“Let him ride with you. I’ll pick him up at county later. Dean?” I nodded as they started to close the doors. “Listen to the doctors and stay out of their way. That’s how you can keep her safe.”

I nodded as they shut the doors, my focus going to the woman strapped to the stretcher. She looked so broken, covered in blood and scrapes.

I squeezed her hand, a gentle twitch of her finger in my palm. 

“You’ll be okay, Omega. I promise.”

Reader’s POV

You blinked open your eyes slowly, grateful this time you were right side up. The bed was soft and warm even if your body felt achy. A buzz was thrumming through your veins as you looked down, the drugs in your system keeping you calm as you took in the sight. 

Your entire left leg was bruised. Literally every spec of skin was bruised. 

And then you saw the monstrous contraption encasing it, pins holding your thigh in place. Beeping rang through the room as your heart rate shot up, eyes fixated on your wiggling toes.

“Okay. Okay, I can still walk,” you breathed out, inhaling deeply. “Hopefully.”

A wave of exhaustion hit as the door opened, an Alpha!nurse walking inside. “Well good evening Y/N! How are we feeling?”

“Shitty.” You frowned and closed your eyes again.

“Do you remember what happened?” he asked, checking the monitors and then bending your arms. 

“Uh. I was driving on the highway and then I woke up here,” you said, nose twitching. “Something smelled pretty.”

He just hummed and checked your leg that wasn’t secure, offering you a smile. “I’m going to check a few things and then I’ll bring the doctor in.”

An hour later you were laying back in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to wrap your head around everything the doctor had said. Intensive physical therapy would be needed for months and even then your leg may never be a hundred percent again. You had a concussion and wouldn’t be able to drive a car for six months most likely. You’d need to take a leave of absence from work. Although that one might not be that bad actually considering how stressful it’d been lately.

On top of all that, apparently there was some creeper Alpha firefighter hanging out in the waiting area. 

Waiting for you.

Because your day hadn’t been unsettling enough as it was.

Before long you were fast asleep, hoping that tomorrow you’d wake up and find out this was just a nightmare.

“Good morning Y/N!” said your nurse, Alfie. You twitched your eye, not deterring his chipper mood one bit. “Feeling any better today?”

“We’re going to have problems if you’re always this bubbly when I wake up, Alfie,” you grumbled, sighing as pain shot up your leg. “If you could just do me a favor and cut off my leg, that’d be appreciated.”

“Oh, don’t be drastic, Y/N. I know the doctor wants to wean you off the pain medicine as soon as possible but it shouldn’t be that bad.”

“Did he shatter his femur yesterday? No? When he does he can talk to me about taking away my pain meds,” you said, hitting the button for morphine but nothing coming out. “Alfie. I need something.”

“The doctor gave strict orders to have you on only over the counter-”

“It fucking hurts!” you shouted, surprised at how agitated you were. Normally you were always kind and polite to strangers. But this? You were in pain and you didn’t have the patience to be a socially acceptable human being today.

Alfie looked sympathetic but his reply was cut off when a man with disheveled hair and dirty clothes came barging in the room. Strike that. The creeper Alpha firefighter that was stalking you outside was suddenly barging in the room.

“What are you doing to her?” he spat out, venom in every word. You could hear him audibly growl as he stalked over to Alfie, the poor Alpha shrinking back like he was an Omega cornered in a dark alley.

“Hey! Get out of…” you paused when you caught his scent. The heart rate monitor beeped dangerously fast, both of them turning to you. The scary Alpha firefighter suddenly made you calm, his scent giving off clear signals.

Relax Omega. You’re safe and protected.

“You can’t be in here,” said Alfie as he got his wits back. He grabbed the firefighter, shrieking when the man growled so loud it sounded like he’d gone feral. 

“Alfie’s right,” you said, pain filling your heart as you breathed deeply. You had no idea who this Alpha was but you knew his instincts were in overdrive. “You’re filthy and this is an ICU. Go home and clean yourself up. Come back this afternoon and we’ll talk then. That’s an order, Alpha.”

“Yes, omega,” he said softly, nodding once. “Are you okay?”

“Later, Alpha.” He apologized briefly to Alfie before leaving, Alfie relaxing when his scent went with him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t know how you got him to believe you like that. He was this close to snapping.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s my true mate.” Alfie raised his eyebrow and cocked his head.

“We can do a blood test. And make him take one too before we let him back in. On second thought, that’s absolutely happening.”

You raised a hand, wincing as pain pulsated through your leg. “Tell him I asked him to please take the test so he doesn’t take it out on the staff. Please.”

“Will do.” He paused as he exited the room. “I’ll talk to the doctor about your pain meds, see if we can make the steps down not so drastic.”

“Thanks Alfie.”

You were tired when you woke up after lunch and physical therapy. So much so you could barely open your eyes. You wouldn’t think you could be all that physical with a damn broken femur but after they moved and worked you to the point of shouting, you’d changed your mind quickly.

A large, calloused hand stroked your cheek, wiping away a stray tear that fell. The air smelled sweet, like pine and vanilla. “Omega. How can I help the pain?”

“You being here helps,” you murmured, his long fingers brushing away more tears. You squeezed your eyes when pain ripped through you. “They say I don’t need the morphine but I only can sleep today when I’m exhausted from the pain. I don’t know how I’m supposed to get through this.”

“With me, Omega. I’ll talk to the doctors. You were injured only a day ago. They must  have missed something if it hurts so badly.” He bent down and kissed your temple, your eyes fluttering open. “Please don’t worry. I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”

You stared up into his green eyes, surprised to find him smiling at you. “Why are you so handsome?”

“Makes up for my lack of singing ability,” he chuckled. He brushed your hair behind your ear, his scent coming off in powerful waves to soothe you. “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. I know you don’t quite know me but I was one of the responders to your accident and when I scented you…my instincts went a little crazy.”

“It’s alright,” you whispered, a flash of pain rising up again. “Can you find the doctor?”

“Yes Omega,” he murmured. “Try to rest.” He got up from the nearby seat and hummed. “I’m Dean.”

“Y/N,” you said, shutting your eyes once more.

“I’ll make it better Y/N. I promise.”

Two Weeks Later

“Hey,” said Dean when he entered your hospital room. “I heard you’re getting discharged today.”

You grumbled from bed, wearing one of his fire station hoodies. He pulled the curtains open, smiling wide as you tugged the hood up. 

“Aren’t you excited to be getting out of here?” He had a point. You were happy to be leaving, with some pain medication too. But your leg was still incredibly fucked and you couldn’t go back to your apartment. Not when it was on the third floor. Dean luckily lived in a ranch style but you hated imposing on him.

“I wish I didn’t have to move in with you.” His smile fell as you groaned. “I meant like this. Because I’m hurt and can’t be alone. I wish we could be like a normal pair of mates.”

“Hey,” he said. He sat on the edge of the bed by my good leg, lightly stroking over the bonding gland in my neck. “We are normal. We just need to practice a bit more patience than other true mates.”

“You mean how I can’t have sex for months until my leg is healed. It’s going to drive both of us crazy to wait.”

“We can bond, just without the knotting. We’re already scent bonded and as long as we don’t stay away from each other for too long-“

“You mean an hour tops? You’re stuck by my side for the next three months minimum. I might not walk correctly again. I might always-“

He put his hand over your mouth, annoyance rising in your veins. 

“I’m your Alpha, even if you don’t bear my mark yet. I never want to hear you say you think I’m stuck with you. Being with you is the only thing I could ever want. We will figure this out and I will not mate you until you are fully recovered. Am I clear, Omega?”

The use of your title from his lips sent fuzzy, calming feelings throughout your body, your head nodding without thinking. Large fingers gently stroked your cheek, a soft hum escaping him.

“Are you ready to go home with me?” 

“Okay, Alpha. You can take me home.”

“You all set?” asked Dean later that evening. You were in bed, leg propped up on some pillows. Dean had spent the day with you, helping you get discharged and set up his house so it was a bit more friendly for you to get around in. 

“As good as I can be,” you said, watching him disappear into the closet, returning in a fire station shirt and a pair of skinny black joggers. “You have work?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, no. Just getting comfy for the night. I can order us some food. I’m sure you’re starving.”

“A little,” you said, Dean sitting beside you, urging you to curl into his side. “Thank you for helping me that day. The accident.”

“It’s my job, sweetheart,” he said, pressing a gentle kiss to your temple. “I’m just happy you’re still here. You got lucky.”

“Hell of a way to meet your mate.” He hummed, quietly stroking your bare arm with the tips of his fingers. “I’m really glad I’m not doing this on my own.”

“You’ll never be on your own ever again, Omega. I promise.”

“I know, Alpha. My leg might never heal the same way but at least I got one good thing out of this situation.” He smiled, brushing your hair behind your ear. “This comfy ass bed.”

He rolled his eyes with a smirk, kissing the top of your head before he got up. “Alright. With that, I’m off to go be your manly Alpha and hunt down some food for us.”

“You mean order takeout?” you teased. He tossed a pillow at you, laughing lightly.

“For that I’m ordering pineapple on the pizza.” You dropped your jaw, Dean laughing a bit harder, his scent the calmest you’d ever smelled it. “I’m kidding. I’m not deranged.”

“Good cause true mates or not, that is not happening,” you said. 

“Glad we can agree on it,” he said. “What about a supreme?”

“Now we’re talking,” you said. He left the room with a nod, returning a few minutes later with a soft smile. “What?”

“Nothing. Just really glad to finally have found you. It’s…easy with you.”

You knew what he meant, patting the spot next to you. He returned to your side with a smile, pulling you to rest against his chest. His scent filled the air, a relaxed cozy feeling settling in your bones.

“Yes, yes it is Alpha,” you said, taking a deep inhale, exhaling slowly. “It absolutely is.”

________

[mikavlcs]

Start a Fire

Pairing: Gwen Stacy x gn!reader

Summary: Gwen saves you and you help her out in return.

Warnings: nothing besides some probable medical inaccuracies and my writing lmao (no atsv spoilers btw)

Word count: 2k

Notes: idk why everything i write is kinda unserious. this also may not entirely make sense, sorry about that...

Masterlist

Firsts were a special thing.

Everyone, for better or worse, remembered things like their first kiss, and their first date, and their first heartbreak. Because of the novelty of these events, their importance is inescapable, even to the most unsentimental of people.

This same principle applied to superhero activities—or, at least, it did for Gwen.

She would never forget her first high-speed car chase, or her first armed bank robbery, or her first (incredibly embarrassing) criminal interrogation. So, of course, she was excited when her police radio picked up reports of a burning apartment building over on the west side.

Okay, maybe excited wasn’t the right word since people were in danger and Gwen would never be excited about that, but she was looking forward to checking off another box on the list of ‘classic crime tropes’ she kept in her journal. Burning buildings were a staple in superhero comics, and after nearly nine months on the job, it was about time for her to experience it firsthand.

She zipped in and, after a quick chat with the outside firefighters, began extracting civies from the upper floors while they covered the lower floors. Thankfully, the fire wasn’t terrible. They caught it pretty early and since the apartment building was three blocks away from a fire station, there were firefighters on the scene within ten minutes.

Since the fire started on the first floor, the worst of it was easily at the bottom floors, which the firefighters elected to cover since Gwen had more verticality and speed, but there was still smoke. A lot of it.

Now, Gwen knew a lot about fire safety thanks to her elementary school’s yearly presentations on the subject, but by the ten-minute mark, she was beginning to see that she had vastly underestimated the effects of smoke inhalation.

She didn’t have the respirators that they wore, her only protection against the smoke was the cloth of her mask. And at first, that was enough, but it was starting to get to her now. Luckily, she only had one more person to grab—someone on the top floor, frantically waving out one of the windows.

Hastily, Gwen crawled up toward the window you were leaning out of. The smoke was much thinner up here since the fire was only just spreading a few floors down, and she was very grateful for that. She crept to the side of the window, offering a grin you couldn’t see and a wave.

“Hey!” she greeted, securing an arm around your waist. “Hold on tight. This will be quick, just, uh, close your eyes if you’re afraid of heights.”

Once your arms were looped behind her neck, she webbed a nearby building and swung toward a nearby alley.

She deposited you down first, making sure you were steady on your feet before releasing the web and stumbling toward the nearest wall. A series of hacking coughs forced themselves from her throat, making her lean most of her weight against the wall.

“You okay, Spider-Woman?” The question came from her left and she looked over to see you resting against the same wall as her, staring with a mixture of confusion and concern. Gwen flashed a shaky thumbs-up in an attempt to both placate you and preserve her image.

“Perfectly fine. This is actually my first burning building rescue, so this—” She cut herself off with a particularly painful wheeze then finished with, “This is actually a pretty big moment for me.”

“Uh-huh, well maybe you should sit down for a minute,” you suggested, but her mind was already on her next destination, wherever that may be.

She shook her head at the idea, fighting the nausea that came with the motion. “No, no, I’m good. Feeling great. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around.”

There was an attempt to raise her arm and shoot a web, but it failed rather miserably. She didn’t think the limb even moved, but the sudden, heavy wave of drowsiness that washed over her made that really hard to care about. A sigh slipped from her mouth, eyes drooping.

“Okay, yeah, maybe I’ll just take a little nap first.” The admission came out mumbled, but Gwen didn’t really notice. Nor did she feel herself pitch forward and slip off the wall entirely as her eyes were already slipping closed.

The world went dark before she could even hit the ground.

—

When Gwen woke again, the first of two major things she noticed was that she wasn’t in the alley she collapsed in.

In fact, she wasn’t outside at all. Her eyes cracked open and instead of staring into the cloudy afternoon sky, she was looking intently at a ceiling. And instead of laying on hard asphalt, she was resting on something soft—a couch, maybe.

She was in someone’s house, she belatedly realized, and that was when the second thing registered all at once.

Her mask was still on.

And it wasn’t just on, it was still tucked snugly into the neckline of her suit, the way she always kept it to ensure it never rode up. That meant that either someone went to great lengths to put it back in the exact position she liked it, or it was never taken off in the first place. When she saw you sitting in the chaise lounge across from the couch, her suspicions leaned toward the latter.

You hadn’t noticed her wake, eyes glued on the tv to her right, so she took the initiative to speak. It was harder than she expected since her throat was so dry, but after a few swallows, she managed to rasp her question out.

“Uh, where am I, exactly?”

Your eyes flicked to her instantly, and you sat up straighter, leaning forward a bit. “My house. Well, my mom’s house actually. She’s at work, won’t be back for a while. Good thing, too, because she would lose her shit if she saw you passed out on her couch.”

“Not a big fan of vigilantes?” she asked dryly. You chuckled.

“No, she’s not a big fan of her furniture getting dirty.”

“Oh,” Gwen muttered, pushing herself up to sit, “sorry, I can—”

Her sentence was cut short by you standing and gently shoving her to lie back down. “It’s fine, I’ll clean it later. Stay there.”

You watched her and, once you knew she would obey, walked out of her sightline. Gwen listened to your footsteps, noting the way you stopped around fifteen feet away. Then, she tilted her head back to glance at the windows and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the light shining through the thin, drawn curtains. She couldn’t have been out for more than an hour.

Now that her initial question had been answered, she moved on to her secondary. “Did you drag me all the way here by yourself?”

“Well, I was visiting a friend’s apartment earlier, so we were only a few blocks away,” you called from somewhere on the other side of the couch, the faint sound of a refrigerator being opened and closed compounding the statement. “But yes, I did drag you here myself. You’re heavier than you look, by the way.”

Gwen’s eyes narrowed beneath her mask, but she chose to take it as a compliment to her forming musculature.

You returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and a pitcher filled nearly to the brim, setting them both down on the coffee table in front of her. Immediately, she pushed herself to sit up, hiking her mask over her nose and downing the entire glass in a few gulps. In her peripheral, she saw you sit back down and look at the tv again, letting the room lapse into quiet.

Gwen let the silence sit for a bit, then asked, “So, why didn’t you take off my mask? Most people would jump at the chance to figure out my identity.”

“I’m not into invading other people’s privacy,” you said plainly with a light shrug. “Plus, you saved my life. Taking the mask off after that would’ve been a dick move.”

She stayed quiet for a minute, absorbing what you said, then, with genuine sincerity, said, “Thank you.”

You waved it off. “Consider us even. I wouldn’t have made it out without your help, this was the least I could do.”

A nod was the only response she gave. She knew she should probably leave now; she was in a stranger’s house, after all. But you didn’t seem to mind, so she poured herself another glass and settled back on the couch.

Despite the unorthodox situation, the atmosphere remained calm and quiet with occasional thought-provoking questions from you such as “What’s it like being wanted for murder?” and “Why do you wear ballet shoes instead of shoes that will protect your feet in fights?” neither of which she had solid answers for but had fun with anyway.

It was nice. Weird, undoubtedly, but a nice change of pace from the more turbulent and fast-paced interactions she was used to having with people as Spider-Woman. You seemed to be enjoying it too, if the fact that you didn’t kick her out an hour ago was anything to go by.

Time continued to pass, the darkening sky outside the window escaping both of your notice. Her phone buzzed in her pocket a few times while you were talking, but she elected to ignore it. That is until the tranquil air was eventually broken by her phone ringing, the Spider-Woman theme song echoing throughout the room.

“Sorry,” Gwen mumbled, pulling her phone out of her suit pocket. She scanned the screen and her eyes widened. It was her dad. She squinted slightly, confused as to why he was calling already, but then she looked at the time, and her eyes widened. Her dad had been expecting her home over an hour ago.

Panicked, she shot to her feet, narrowly avoiding slamming her shin into the coffee table by the couch. She took one step, then another, testing. Her limbs still felt a bit heavier than usual, but it wasn’t as bad as earlier, and she’d be able to swing home with minimal issues.

“Gotta go?” you asked, eyeing her from your seat.

She sighed, nodded. “Yeah, sorry, just remembered I have somewhere to be.”

You gave an understanding hum and she ventured to the door. Her hands were about to twist the doorknob when an idea suddenly popped into her head. It was a stupid idea, which made it all the more pervasive to her waning self-control. She debated back and forth with herself for all of seven seconds before she spun on her heels.

Gwen cleared her throat and put on a casual tone, praying her voice didn’t crack. “Hey, do you wanna get coffee,” she paused briefly, combing over her schedule in her head, “this Saturday? Y’know, as thanks for all this.”

“I thought we established that we were even,” you said, eyes narrowed.

“Well, I’m unestablishing it. So, coffee?” She rocked back on her heels, watching you ruminate on the offer. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, you shrugged. “Who could say no to coffee with a wanted vigilante?”

Remembering that her mask was still pulled up halfway, she restrained the large smile threatening to creep onto her face to a small smirk. “Great, I’ll see you then…" Her sentence came to an abrupt end when she searched for a name and realized you had never given her one. “Uh, I didn’t catch your name?”

You raised a brow. “Are you gonna give me yours?”

She paused, then cocked her head to the side. “Fair enough. Then I’ll see you Saturday, stranger.”

“See you, spidey,” you said with a smile and a two-finger salute, both of which Gwen returned before pulling her mask down and jetting out the door.

She swung across the city with a speed that impressed even her, weaving through buildings and traffic with a racing heart and an immovable smile the whole way to her apartment.

In the end, Gwen wound up being grounded for a month since she was a little too distracted on her swing home to come up with a plausible excuse for her dad, but it wasn’t a problem. She would just sneak out Saturday during her dad’s shift for your coffee (maybe) date, and if she got caught and her punishment got extended, then so be it.

It would totally be worth it.

—

hi, if you made it this far, thanks for reading and i hope you have a good day 🥳🫶

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Douglas Murray

Published: May 8, 2024

Adapted from Douglas Murray‘s speech Monday as The Post columnist accepted the Manhattan Institute’s Alexander Hamilton Award.

I’ve never seen as much of the best and the worst of humankind as I have in the past six months in Israel and Gaza.

I was here in New York on the 7th of October, and on the 8th, I went down to Times Square.

And there were these men and women, waving signs, celebrating the massacre.

They were holding these signs in Times Square, “by any means necessary.”

At a time when we already knew what those means included.

I thought I had to get to Israel as soon as I could, that we were going to see a kind of Holocaust denialism in real time, and therefore I should see with my own eyes everything that had happened.

In Israel, I joined the pathologists in the morgues of Tel Aviv as they were trying to identify the dead.

An unbelievable task, which they do with extraordinary delicacy and religiosity.

I had the great opportunity to witness firsthand Israel’s response, because unlike some countries today, Israel doesn’t just sit back with equanimity when it’s attacked.

Some of the world would like it to do so.

Seeing one of the fences that the terrorists broke into, I thought people aren’t going to realize the scale of this: This was a 4,000-person, battalion-sized terrorist attack that aimed to go all the way up the center of the country.

What do I make of all this?

I think often of the line from Deuteronomy, when God says, “I’ve set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that you and your descendants might live.”

Because when I think of the seventh now, I don’t only think of the victims.

I think of the extraordinary heroes.

There’s a young man who’s a friend in his 30s, who woke up in Jerusalem, realized the seriousness of what was going on, got into his car, drove south, collected some guns, left a farewell message to his children and his wife on his phone, got a call from his company commander on the road saying, you have to come back to base in Jerusalem.

And he said, no, we’re needed south now.

And his battalion commander said, are you defying an order?

He said, yes.

We’re needed in the South.

And he fought for the next 48 hours, and he survived.

I think of my friend Moshe.

I noted he had a bullet mark down the top of his helmet.

He explained that it was from the 7th.

He drove right into the middle of the firefight on the highway.

He got out and he fought and he killed three terrorists with his gun that he carries with him, thank goodness.

And he fought for the next two days.

I think of the extraordinary people of the Hatzalah, first-responders unit.

The head of that organization said in 30 years of doing this job, the whole 30 years altogether wasn’t like one minute that morning.

The lights just went off everywhere.

And I think of a young woman who was 23.

She was a beautiful girl, a photographer.

And she decided she had to go and reenlist.

Her parents begged her not to, but she said she had to.

And she was killed on her first day by a rocket that landed on her in Sderot.

In a letter she left for her parents she said how sorry she was.

But she said, I wanted to live life, and now I want you to live it for me.

I think, finally, of the extraordinary evening in November last year.

I was at the Schneider Children’s Hospital when the helicopters came returning the first hostages, the first children who Hamas had stolen from their homes in the south.

But when the helicopters emerged in the night sky, the people of Tel Aviv realized what was happening, and every car stopped.

And I noticed there was applause from the citizens, the Tel Avivians, and then there was singing, all the way through the streets of Tel Aviv.

They were singing “Haveynu shalom aleichem”: We brought you peace.

Now there’s millions of stories like this across Israel.

The country rings with them, it resounds with them.

The thing is, perhaps it does require life to become serious again.

Perhaps the students that we see at these destroyed universities, perhaps they just need a dose of reality someday.

I always pray that that day never comes to them because it’ll be the biggest wake-up call anyone has ever had.

But all I would say is that any country should be so lucky as to have a young generation like that in Israel.

They were weighed in the balance since October the 7th, and they’ve been found to be magnificent.

What Israel has been up against is not just a people of death, but a cult of death, a cult, which wishes to annihilate an entire race, and which after dealing with that race has made very clear what it wants to do with Christians, everyone in Britain, everyone in America.

I want to dedicate my acceptance of this award to the people of Israel who in the face of death, choose life.

--

==

"the people of Tel Aviv realized what was happening, and every car stopped."

This is fundamentally inconceivable in countries like the US and UK. There are too many people who outright despise their own country and wish it to be destroyed. The idea that the US would unite behind another tragedy like 9/11 is completely delusional given what we saw of TikTokers taking the side of Osama bin Laden, a full-blown Islamic terrorist.

[consolecadet]

What a day.

I spent four hours sculpting a vaguely creepy face in air dry clay over a styrofoam wig head. Then I drove to the Bolton, Mass. agricultural fair to see my first demolition derby.

I found it shocking, obscene, and fun. The first collision scared me, but by the end I found the less violent impacts almost routine. I fit into the crowd better than I expected. There were a lot of other people with canes, earrings, and tattoos, though theirs tended more toward rosary-with-death-date and sleeve-of-skulls-and-Boston-sports-team-logos than mine.

Highlights included: Several broken axels. A car with 'CRASH INTO ME" spray painted on the side. A woman playing peekaboo with her baby while cars hit each other in the background. A car ploughing into the perimeter of Jersey barriers and coming like 10 feet from hitting the audience. An engine fire that made the driver leap out in a hurry so firefighters could douse the front of the car with fire extinguishers. Explaining what a cervical collar is to a drunk person.

The demolition derby trophies were purple. Just one driver was a woman. I wonder what it's like for her. I heard someone near me in the audience derisively say something about how women are bad drivers when the announcer mentioned her. 😬

I offered to make change for a group of people who had made bets on the derby and discovered that they were also from Worcester. They invited me to join them at Vincent's that night (did not go) and the Pride block party at our local gay bar in September (probably will go). I only remember one person's name, and that's because she, Jackie, had hair that was black underneath and bleached almost white on top, with stripes of red and orange, and a car-themed t-shirt that said either CLUTCH or possibly CLITCH.

I decided to leave around 9 and then had to stand in a slow-moving line with drunk people and miserable families for, I kid you not, one hour and twenty minutes as we waited for shuttle buses back to the parking lot. That's not that long to stand for some people, but for me, especially with a backpack, it's way too long. By the time I got on a bus, my whole lower back was one big cramp. When the bus dropped me at the parking lot I hurried into a portapotty to check that I didn't have any numbness in places one really shouldn't. (I didn't.)

I didn't get home until nearly 11:30. I feel much better after sitting down for a while. I do not regret drastically overpaying for a big cup of lemonade. Catch me googling 'monster trucks near me' soon.

[middleearthpixie]

Seven Days ~ Chapter Two

Seven Days - Modern AU

Firefighter Frerin Durin died in a fire set deliberately. But after he helps his brother, Thorin find happiness, Frerin is offered a second chance. He has to prove himself worthy by righting the one major wrong in his life. Otherwise, history will repeat and he will die for good this time. The catch? He has seven days in which to do this and isn’t even certain what his major wrong is.

At least, he doesn’t know for long. 

Syd Prescott has known Frerin since high school. She spent one night with him and then he vanished from her life. Now, he claims he wants to make it up to her, to right was he realizes was his major wrong. But can she trust him? And can he prove to her that she can before it’s too late? 

A/N - This story is the sequel to Miss Fortune, but is a stand alone story. 

Summary: Syd has an unexpected visitor… 

Pairing: Modern!Frerin x OFC Syd Prescott

Characters: Syd Prescott, Gram Prescott, Frerin 

Warnings: None

Rating: G

Word Count: 4,077

Tag List: @tschrist1 @i-did-not-mean-to @lathalea @linasofia @fizzyxcustard @legolasbadass @kibleedibleedoo @xxbyimm @arrthurpendragon @exhausted-humxn-being @rachel1959 @laurfilijames @sketch-and-write-lover @sherala007 @enchantzz @knittastically @notlostgnome @myselfandfantasy @medusas-hairband @guardianofrivendell @jotink78 @frosticenow @quiall321 @dianakc

If you’d like to be added (or removed) to the tag list, please just let me know!

Previous chapters can be found here.

For the rest of the afternoon, Syd tried to concentrate on work, as the weather began to clear and that brought out more foot traffic. The Christmas rush had begun, and that meant she was running crazy, even with Gram’s help, and she breathed a sigh of relief when seven o’clock rolled around and the shop closed for the night. 

“So, what’re your plans for tonight. Syd?”

She looked up at Gram and shrugged. “Nothing special. I’m going home and curling up with Ted Lasso.”

“Television?” Gram wrinkled her nose. “You’re too young to be sitting around the house like an old woman, Sydney. You should be out with your girlfriends, having fun.”

“They’re all married now. With kids. And no free time. And besides,” Syd turned the sign on the door from open to closed, “when I do see Christie or Jen, all they ever talk about is how tired they are and how I cannot possibly understand because I don’t have kids.”

She came back to the front counter and leaned her elbows against the cool glass. “It’s exhausting to listen to them. And let’s face it, I don’t exactly relate, either, do I?”

“So, see if Teri is off tonight. She’s neither married nor a mother.”

Syd waved off that suggestion. “She’s Lex’s friend more than mine. And besides, she said there was an early Christmas party being held at the Hilltop. So, she’ll be working until closing, most likely. And it’s just as well. I like Ted Lasso.”

Gram sighed softly. “If you say so.”

“I do. Besides, the guy who plays Roy Kent is hot, so there’s that.”

“Oh, now you sound like Charlie and any guy who passes through that door.”

Syd chuckled. “I know, right? The difference is, if he was real, she’d nab him in a heartbeat. What about you? Do you and the chief have a date tonight?”

“Actually, yes. I’m meeting him for dinner,” Gram looked down at the delicate gold watch on her equally delicate wrist, “in about fifteen minutes, so I’d better get moving.”

“I can finish locking up and do the deposit.”

“Would you, love? Thank you!” Gram pressed a kiss into the top of her head and swept by her, her car keys jangling softly in her hand. “Don’t stay up!”

“I won’t,” Syd forced a smile into her voice all the while shuddering at the same time. Everyone in Cranford Falls knew Gram was the catalyst behind Chief Parmenter’s divorce and more than once, Syd or one of her sisters would be in the shop when the chief came in to see Gram about something, as they did quite a bit of work with the police department. That Syd didn't mind. The part she minded—the part they all minded—was when he came out of the upstairs office a bit more wrinkled or Gram’s blouse was buttoned crooked. That was something none of them ever wanted to know about.

Ever.

Never mind that it was depressing as hell to think her grandmother had a far more active social life. Syd was going home to watch television. Pathetic, really. It had been ages since she last had a date. She couldn't remember the last time a guy asked her out. Most of them were hesitant because of her family. As one winner put it, “I can’t handle you or your family knowing what I think before I know it.”

Only, she couldn’t read minds. Auras and tarot, sure. But she couldn't read minds. None of them could. And yet, that was the first thing that seemed to come to everyone’s mind when it came to the Prescott family. 

It was dark by the time Syd made it to her car. She sighed as she turned over the Jetta’s engine and rubbed her hands together to warm them until the heat kicked on. Winter had decided to come early, and between that and the snow that once more swirled through the air, Syd found herself wishing it was almost spring instead of not even winter. And the weather wasn't the only thing on her mind. Why had Frerin come into the shop and why was he so insistent on making it up to her? And why the fuck didn't he call her when he said he would?

That was what bothered her. And it bothered her that it still bothered her. It shouldn’t. She knew Frerin Durin couldn't be trusted. Everyone knew he was in it for the chase and once that ended, he was gone.

So, why did it bother her?

Probably because she wanted to think she was different. Which was stupid, really. It was one night. They never ever went out on a single date. 

True, she’d known him since junior high. He was a grade behind her, but everyone knew the Durin brothers. Especially the female population at Cranford Falls Middle and later Cranford Falls High Schools. He was younger, but she wasn’t immune to him. She remembered him and Thorin all too well.

Finally, she stopped shivering and put the transmission into reverse to carefully back out of her space. The lot behind the shop was shared between them and the laundromat (thankfully the bank had its own lot) and some nights, getting out without bumping any other cars was nothing short of a miracle. But not tonight. The laundromat was closed on Fridays, so the only cars in the lot would have most likely been for Miss Fortune’s Crystal, which meant hers was the only car there, now that Gram had already gone. 

She and her sisters lived with Gram in her rambling old Victorian over on Plum Street. The driveway was empty, and she angled her Jetta in, rolling to a stop before the detected garage that was the same shade of Wedgwood blue as the house itself. Wedgwood blue with the same pale gray trim as the gingerbread scrollwork and the same pale gray as the wide, wraparound porch. 

The house was dark. Wherever she’d gone off to, Charlie hadn’t left a light on. Or maybe Teddy hadn’t. She didn't know. She hadn’t seen either her oldest or youngest sister since earlier that morning. Either way, one of them forgot to leave a light on.

Thankfully, one of them had gotten the mail, so Syd closed the box and made her way to the front door, which was white and in the Victorian fashion, was inlaid with an oval of stained glass depicting a dove and roses. The door swung open with out a sound, although she spent a good five minutes wrestling with the lock, trying to get her key back. 

But finally, the lock gave it up and, after flipping on the parlor lights, she closed and relocked it and was halfway to the kitchen when there was a knock. She ignored it. Probably Jehovah’s Witnesses and she went out of her way to avoid dealing with them. They all were very nice, but everyone knew her family, including them, and so no matter which one turned up at the door, he or she would do their damndest to convince Syd why their family’s pagan ways were leading them straightways to hell. Truth be told, she was in no mood to deal with that tonight.

But, they refused to take the hint and knocked again. And again. And a fourth time.

She swore softly to herself as she marched back to the door and yanked it open, her, “Take the hint,” dying on her lips when she saw who stood on the opposite side of the threshold. “What do you want?”

Frerin offered up a sheepish smile. “Would you believe me if I said nothing?”

“No. Not for a moment.” She smiled back. “Good night.”

She closed the door in his face. At least, she tried to. But he was too quick and shoved his foot in between the door and the jamb, sucking in a sharp breath as the door closed soundly on him. 

“Frerin, get your foot out of my door.”

“Just give me five minutes, Syd. And maybe my foot back?”

“You’re a pain, you know that?” 

“Ow! Could you maybe just ease up on the door? Look, I know you’re pissed and you have every right to be, but I mean it when I say I want to make it—ow—up to—are you leaning on the fucking door?—to you.”

She relented as his voice grew strained and eased up on the door. “I might have been. But you’re lucky I didn't just slam the door instead.”

“Please don’t.” He yanked his foot out and grimaced as he put weight on it. “Jesus, Syd, you’re a hard woman, you know that?”

“Gee, I wonder why.” She glared at him as he lifted his foot to rub it. Then sympathy wove through her. She was acting like a fifteen year old and not a grown woman. A sigh rose to her lips. “Why are you here?”

He paused in his rubbing. “I told you—a few times, actually—I want to make it up to you. I want to right it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why? Why now, after all this time?”

“I—I don’t know, I just feel like I should. It wasn't right, what I did, and I always had a crush on you and now—”

She burst out laughing. “A crush? On me? That’s the best you can come up with? You’re losing your touch, Mr. Durin. And the answer is still no. Now take your foot and go home.”

“Syd, wait.” He lowered his foot and this time put his hand against the doorjamb instead, and she fought like crazy to not stare at that huge hand, with its thick fingers.

Stop it. She tore her gaze from that hand, and instead met his eyes.

Also a mistake. 

His eyes were, without a doubt, the most beautiful shade of gray-blue she’d ever seen. Gray-blue. Fringed by thick black lashes. Beneath dark brows.

Stop it!

“Syd?”

She jerked back toward him, heat climbing into her cheeks. “Yeah? Sorry, it’s—” she reached up to rub her forehead—“it’s been a long day, is what it’s been?”

“Can I come in? It’s fucking freezing out here.”

She sighed and, against her better judgment, stepped aside. “Yeah. Come in. Gram would be pissed if she knew I was heating the outside anyway. She’d remind me we don’t own the gas company.”

“Yeah, my mom says the same thing.” He stepped up and into the parlor, his Doc Martens thudding dulling against the oak floorboards. Wait… Docs?

“I didn't hurt your foot at all, did I?” 

He grinned. “You did a little.”

She pushed the door shut and out of habit, locked it. “You’re such an ass, you know that?”

He nodded. “Yeah, actually. You may have mentioned it once or twice.”

She folded her arms and glared at him. “What do you want?”

“Why’d you do that?”

“Why’d I do what?”

“That.” He gestured toward the door. “Why’d you lock it?”

“It’s force of habit. We deal with some not-really-wrapped-tight people and every once in a while, one of them looks up where we live. So far, nothing serious has ever happened, but we’re careful.”

“You tell the cops?”

“Tell them what? Half of them think we’re charlatans. Your bother and Chief Parmenter are in the minority, you know.”

“Yeah, well, the Durin family is nuts, too. My mother insists we’re descended from Druid high priests and priestesses, from the Norse vǫlur. And I know the answer, but do you need me to explain what a vǫlur even is?”

“No, actually, you don’t. I already know.”

“Good.” He shrugged out of his heavy leather jacket. “Anyone ever actually try to get in here?”

“No. Well, once. About a year ago.”

“What happened?”

She gestured toward the kitchen. “Want something hot to drink? I was going to make some hot chocolate.”

He grinned. “Quaint.”

“Shut up.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“There’s not much to tell. It was Halloween and we’re always real popular during the spooky season. Someone came up onto the porch around midnight, rattled the handle, and then ran like hell when Gram opened the door with a butcher’s knife in her hand.”

“She didn’t.”

“She did.” Syd flicked on the overhead kitchen light, shrugged out of her own wool coat to drape over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, and then moved to take the milk from the fridge. “Have you met my grandmother?”

“Actually, no. Not really.” He grinned, hanging his jacket from the back of one of the other chairs. “My brother’s met her, I haven’t. I just know of her.”

“Oh. Right.” She gently smacked herself in the forehead with the heel of her hand. “Sorry. Anyway, Gram does not suffer fools lightly. The kid was lucky she had the knife and not her gun. She keeps that in the shop.”

“A gun. I hope she knows how to use it.”

“Oh, she does.” Syd moved to the pantry, wincing as the door slid open with a hint of a squeal. The hinges needed to be oiled. Cocoa powder was on the bottom shelf, and her knees made an odd crunching sound as she crouched to snag it. “We all do. Well, not Lex. She’s scared of guns, although Thorin’s doing his best to make a shooter out of her.”

“Yeah. The gun range is his home away from home.”

“What about you? You shoot?”

“Nah. I’m not interested. I leave guns and bullets up to Thorin.” He tugged the chair out and sank into it. “The only thing I shoot is pool down at Darcy’s.”

She smiled as she went back to the stove and set the cocoa powder on the counter next to it. “Really?”

“Yeah. I play in a couple of tournaments during the year. I’m not great, but I’m not terrible, either.”

Pots were in the cabinet to the left of the stove and she retrieved a medium saucepan to set on the cast-iron stovetop grate, then reached for the mugs in the above cabinet to her left. “I always wanted to learn.”

“I’ll take you out to play one night. And, if you’re nice, I’ll even let you win.”

“Oh, that’s mighty big of you.” She spooned cocoa powder into the saucepan, filled one of the mugs with milk twice to dump into the pot, added sugar and vanilla, and turned on the burner. Stirring with a wooden spoon, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “And what if I just beat you?”

“Then you get bragging rights. But, remember, I’ve been playing a long time.”

“Yeah, but you said you aren’t that great.”

“No,” his chair creaked as he stood and came over to lean up against the counter alongside her, “what I said was, I’m not great, but I’m not terrible, either.”

“Which is what I said.”

“I’m not losing to a girl.”

“Chauvinist.”

“Hardly.”

“You sound like one.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, and I think you know it, too.”

“I apologize then. I’m all for women’s rights and being equals and to prove it, I’ll let you pick up the tab when we go out.”

“You’re an ass and I’m not going out with you.”

“Not even to shoot pool?”

“I’d be too tempted to hit you with the cue.”

“I’d probably deserve it.”

“What are you about, Frerin? What’s this whole thing about?” she asked, stirring the cocoa as it slowly heated.

“I’m not about anything other than proving to you I’m a decent guy. Not a nice guy, because we all know the nice guys are dicks, but a decent guy.”

“Frerin.”

“I swear it’s the truth, Syd.” He folded his arms and she tried like hell not to notice how doing so pulled the sleeves of his dark blue henley even tighter to highlight the absolutely perfection that was his biceps muscles straining against the fabric. Instead, she lowered her gaze.

That was a mistake as well.

Levi’s never looked so good. They fit him perfectly, were faded in all the right places. A hint of his cologne hung in the air. Subtle and woodsy, it was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. 

It took almost all of her willpower, but she pulled her gaze back up and met his. “Why now, though? And I want the truth this time. Not some cutesy little flirty answer that you think will get you out of trouble.”

He shrugged. “The truth? I was an asshole to you. But, it wasn't intentional. I swear it wasn’t. Time got away and then before I knew it, too much time had gone by and I knew you’d be pissed and I was right.”

“And let me guess, you’ve been kicking yourself ever since? Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“No. I figured you’d tell me to go to hell and that you’d moved on and I have to admit, I’m surprised you’re home on a Friday night.”

“Don’t remind me. I’m a loser and I know it.” She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her left ear and lowered the flame under the saucepan. “But, how is it you’re here on a Friday night? No hot date?”

“The woman I was seeing decided she wanted to see other guys. I just wish she’d told me about it first.”

She looked up at him. “What?”

“Yeah. See? Karma is a thing and it bit me in the ass. Or maybe it didn’t. I don’t know.” He unfolded his arms and rubbed his face with both hands, then lowered them to add, “Either way, she cheated on me and I’m thinking maybe she did me a favor. Because if she doesn’t, I’m not here and if I’m not here, then I’m de—”

He abruptly stopped, and she waited to see if he’d continue. When he didn’t, she said, “You’re what?”

“Nothing. She did me a favor. That’s all.”

“Frerin?”

He gestured to the saucepan. “I think it’s about to boil.”

“Damn it.” She turned the gas off and lifted the pan to pour its contents into both mugs, all the while wondering what he was about to say to her and why he didn't just finish saying it. 

She set the pan in the sink and ran water into it, then handed him the Rutgers mug. “You want a shot of something in it? I was going to throw some amaretto in mine.”

“Amaretto?” His nose wrinkled.

“It’s good.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“No, but—”

She dug the bottle out from the liquor cabinet and brought it over to unscrew the cap. “Don’t be a baby. Just try it.”

Without waiting for him to reply, she poured some into his mug, then into hers, and recapped the bottle, then stirred both. “Try it.”

He eyed the cup. She eyed him. Then, he brought it up for a swallow and as he lowered it, he said, “I can barely taste it.”

“Want more?” She reached for the bottle.

“No, I’m good.” 

He pushed up and away from the counter and returned to his chair. She sat across from him, just studying him for a moment. Reading auras was one of her gifts and at the moment, his was more than a little confusing. It was blue, with hints of red in it. A change loomed on his horizon and he wasn't entirely certain how he felt about it. 

“Why are you—are you hexing me, Syd?”

“Hexing you?” She shook her head. “No. I was—” She hesitated, a lifetime of men reacting badly to her gifts giving her pause. 

“You were what?”

“Your aura. I was reading it.”

“My aura.”

She nodded. “We all have one. Most people can see them as children, but they grow out of it. I am not one of those people. I can see it if I just kind of study you for a few minutes.”

“And what color is mine.”

“You’re not freaked?”

“No. I told you, my family is just as weird. It takes more than this to freak me out. Trust me on that.”

“Frerin.”

He met her gaze, his eyes unwavering and calm. “What color is it?”

“Blue, with red at the edges.”

His fingers drummed softly against the table. “And what does that mean?”

“It could mean a few things. Blue indicates something is out of balance or needs healing and red… well… it’s usually indicates confidence, but that’s not what I’m picking up here. Yours is more… like a change is looming somewhere. Are you thinking about changing jobs or moving?”

His eyes widened ever so slightly and she didn't miss how his back stiffened. “No. I like what I do and I like it here. I’m not leaving any time soon if I don’t absolutely have to.”

“Maybe it’s because you and your girlfriend broke up. Sometimes a loss can throw your aura out of whack.”

“Probably. It was a kick in the nuts to find her cheating on me.”

Syd silently agreed. Who in their right mind would want anyone else when they had Frerin Durin? 

Then he met her gaze. “Then again, like I said, she actually did me a favor.” He leaned back in his chair. “Where is everyone else?”

“Gram is on a date. Alex is away with Thorin. Teri is working. And I haven’t a clue where Charlie or Teddy are.”

He grinned. “Your grandmother is on a date, while you’re home waiting for her?”

“I’m not waiting for her and don’t remind me.””

“Come on,” he set his mug down, “I’ll take you out. Where you want to go? Get your coat.”

“I’m not going out with you.”

“Why not? We’ll go over to Darcy’s, shoot some pool, you buy me a drink and maybe I’ll even put out for you.”

“Frerin.”

“I’m kidding. Sort of.”

“Ass.”

“I know, I know.” He stood up and moved to deposit his cup in the sink. “I should get going, if you’re determined to stay here. I have to get home and walk my dog anyway.”

For a moment, she thought about taking him up on his offer—well, most of it anyway—but then he was shrugging into his jacket and she thought better of it. “Frerin?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me the truth. Why did you come over here?”

“I told you, to convince you to go out with me again.”

“No, really. Why?”

“That is why. See me to the door, will you?”

She sighed softly as she got up and followed him back out into the parlor. It made no sense why he’d suddenly grown so insistent on asking her out agains when she hadn’t heard a peep from him in four months. 

He turned to her, looming over her in a way that could easily be intimidating and yet, she felt totally safe with him. “Thanks for the spiked hot chocolate, Syd.”

“Frerin, what’s going on?”

“I’ve just been thinking, doing some evaluating in my life and I treated you like crap and you didn't deserve it, so I want to make it up to you. Show you I’m a changed man.”

As he spoke, he brought a forefinger to her cheek to gently trace along it. “I want another chance with you, Syd.”

That gentle caress sent a rush of tingles through her, made her eyelids heavy and her heart speed up. “Frerin, I—why should I?”

“Because I really am a decent guy and I won’t vanish again. At least, not for four months.”

“Frerin.”

“I’m kidding. Well, I’m mostly kidding. Look, let me take you out, Syd. Dinner. Drinks. Lunch. Ice cream. I don’t care.”

“Ice cream?”

“I’m grasping here. Throw me a rope, will you?” He grinned. “Darcy’s tomorrow. Dinner. Pool. And I promise, I won’t care if I lose to you.”

She sighed. She might be making a huge mistake, but at the same time, she was tired of sitting home every night. “What time?”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.” He straightened up, then his brows lowered and he said, “Does your grandmother know about what happened between us?”

“No.”

“Good. Then I don’t have to worry about her answering the door with a knife.”

“Frerin.”

“I’m kidding. I’ll see you tomorrow, Syd.”

[saralayne]

Breaking Down Walls 🩵🩷

Kelly and Stella meeting for first time at the academy. Fast feelings develop.

Stella Kidd had a rough childhood. She had lost her parents as a young child. Bounced around from foster homes. Never had a direction in life. No one to ever show her love, no one to ever provide guidance. When Stella became a adult, she was just existing. Surrounding herself with the wrong people. After, she was involved in a serious car accident and was pulled to safety by rescue squad firefighters, that was the moment she knew how she wanted to live the rest of her life. Stella Kidd wanted to become a firefighter and was going to make it happen no matter how hard the road was. Changing her life and ways was easier than she had thought it ever would be. Stella had passed all the preliminary exams and was accepted into the fire academy. During the time at the academy, she was a top candidate. A force to not be reckoned with. Being a female in a male dominated profession was never easy but Stella made it look easy. Excelling from the beginning. Schooling many of the male candidates. There was no doubt she was going to make a excellent fire fighter. Stella had one priority in her life, only one and that was to become a firefighter with the CFD. A social life of any kind was never on Stella’s radar. She didn’t want any distractions. Stella had built many walls up. Given her past, she had been burned many times before. When she was most vulnerable, men in her life especially had taken advantage of her. Only people Stella trusted was herself, trusting others did not come easy. Through the academy she had to work on that. As a firefighter she was going to have to trust others, work as a team. When lives were on the line, Stella needed to be able to have trust in her team. As for trusting anyone in her personal life, that was going to be something that would take much more work. The walls that were up probably would never come down. When a handsome, lieutenant started teaching a class at the academy. He was intriguing to her. Piercing blue eyes. Stella forgetting about him. She had one goal in her life and nothing was going to get in the way of that. Little did she know that would be something that was easier said than done.

Lieutenant Kelly Severide was a ladies man. He never really believed in monogamy. This stems from his upbringing as well. Watching his dad, Benny Severide hurting his mom over and over. Affairs with other women, leaving his mom in shambles time after time. Benny was a excellent fire investigator and was at the top of the CFD. Extremely well respected. Was a icon in the department. Everyone knew Benny as a shining star. Kelly knew two different people. He knew what a star his dad was in the CFD and Kelly had followed in his dads footsteps. Kelly had also become a star in the CFD. It was in his genes, being born into this profession. Kelly also excelling as a squad lieutenant. BUT he also knew the man his dad was in his personal life. Not a star. Leaving his family broken time after time, alone and Kelly having to pick up the pieces over and over. Kelly NEVER was going to follow in his dad footsteps in that way. He was never going to wreck his family the way his dad did. Unfortunately, Kelly was convinced he would eventually hurt any woman he became serious with. Just like his father. Always keeping things causal with any woman he met ensured there was no chance of causing destruction. It had worked this far. That is until he was teaching a class at the academy and came across a new candidate that had changed everything.

Kelly had observed Stella Kidd. She was a force. A fighter. This woman was a absolute warrior. Watching her demolish everyone in her class. Kelly thought, Wow, just Wow. Not only was he impressed with her skills. She was breathtakingly gorgeous. Those beautiful big, brown eyes. Caramel, perfect skin and that dark, curly hair. This woman had hit Kelly to the core and he hadn’t even talked to her. Kelly had never had this feeling before. He had butterflies. His heart was racing even just staring at her. Feeling like a lovesick teenager, he couldn’t even manage to start a conversation with her. Kelly never had a problem talking to women. Talking to women was like breathing for him but Stella was different. His legs wouldn’t move at the thought of walking up to her to start a conversation. That night he went home to his best friend Shay, who he lived with. He was perplexed. Not able to stop thinking of Stella. Shay knew her best friend very well. She knew something was on his mind. As they sat on the couch together, watching a hawks game.

“What’s going on with you? How was the academy? What’s going on?”

“Errr. Nothing. I’m fine”

“Bull shit. Your my best friend, I know when something is bothering you. You can’t pull this guy routine on me. So spill”

“Fine. While I was at the academy, I came across this new candidate”

“Knowing you. I’m assuming this candidate is of the female variety”

“Yes Shay but she’s different. I can’t even describe this feeling. I wasn’t able to even talk to her. My body was frozen in time. All I could do was just stare at her”

“WHAT!?! The great ladies man, Kelly Severide couldn’t talk to a woman. Has hell frozen over?”

“Very funny, Shay. But accurate. She has given me feelings I never thought I could ever feel. Not only is she a force. Schooling all the men in her class. She is drop dead gorgeous. So confident. I watched her for a couple hours and was absolutely stunned. Everything about this woman is. WOW. Just WOW.”

“Well this is quite a development. Never thought I would see this day come. First things first, you need to talk to her. Second, I need to meet this woman. This woman might be a miracle worker to captivate you. All the women haven’t been able to break down the Fort Knox walls you have put up but sounds like this women might be the breaker. Put on your big boy pants and TALK TO HER”

Next day at the academy. All the candidates were on their lunch break. Kelly knew it was now or never. Stella was having her lunch alone. This was his chance. As he approached the table she was sitting at.

“Hi There. This might be a little forward but I was watching you. You are a force. Only woman in your class and are schooling all these men. I’m impressed.”

“Ahhh. Thank you”

“My name is Kelly Severide”

“Nice to meet you, Kelly. My name is Stella Kidd”

“Are you a instructor?”

“I’m actually a squad lieutenant at 51. I teach squad sessions here from time to time”

“Ohhh. That’s awesome. You must be quite a lieutenant”

“I guess so”

“Well I better get back to my class now. It was great to meet you Kelly”

“You too, Stella. I hope to see you again”

Kelly was pacing in the academy offices. The classes had all finished for the day. He was kicking himself he never asked her out. Not even getting her phone number. ‘I’m such a idiot’. Kelly knew there was one way to contact her again. It was probably crossing a line and invading all sorts of privacy laws. ‘It was worth it’. Kelly found her file and scanned her contact information.

Stella was at home relaxing after a long day at the academy. She heard a knock on her door. Weird. She didn’t have many friends and no family in Chicago, not to mention no one knew where she lived. As she got up and looked through her peep hole. ‘What the heck’. As her eyes locked on the squad lieutenant she had noticed for days. They had a brief conversation earlier in the day but it was only small talk. Why was he at her place?. This would normally be very weird and even a little scary but Stella just felt happy. As she opened the door. There was Kelly standing there with flowers and champagne. As Stella’s eyes widened, her heart was racing. Was this actually happening? All she could do was smile from ear to ear.

“Hey Stella. I know this is really weird and I really hope this isn’t entirely creepy. But I needed to see you”

“Ummm. I’m not even gonna ask how you got my address. Would you like to come in?”

“Yes, I would”

As Kelly handed her a beautiful bouquet of daisies and the champagne.

“These are beautiful, Kelly. I don’t think I have ever been given flowers before”

“Seriously?! How has anyone never given a woman like you flowers?”

“I don’t know. Just never met a gentleman before, I guess”

As Stella poured them each a glass of champagne. They both made their way to the couch. Clinking their glasses together.

“So…What’s this all about Kelly?”

“Well. Honestly. Stella when I first laid eyes on you, it did something to me that I can’t explain. I have never had this feeling before. I’m gonna be completely truthful. I have always kept things casual with women due to my upbringing and past. I never let myself put in much effort. Never let myself feel. But when I saw you, that all changed. I just knew that I needed to spend time with you”

“Awww. Kelly. That is so sweet of you. I will also be honest. I noticed you right away. I thought to myself how attractive you are. I have had a rough past. No family since I was young. I lost my parents. I was shuffled around. Surrounding myself with not the greatest people. I have serious trust issues. I have built up walls. Easier to not let people in and that way I can’t get hurt”

“I get that Stella. I too have put up walls. I was convinced those walls would stay up forever, until yesterday. I don’t want to rush things. But I would love to spend time together, get to know each other and hopefully I can break down those walls for you in time”

“I would love that. It feels like there is something here. I too think we should take things slow but I can’t deny I’m definitely feeling something for you, which is terrifying. Though also, makes me happy”

“Stella, I just need to tell you. You are so beautiful. Inside and out. I’m so thankful you are giving me, giving us this chance”

“You sure know the right things to say, lieutenant. Making it really hard not to fall for you”

“So my plan is working”

As they both chuckled.

Stella turned on the TV.

“Wanna watch a movie, lieutenant?”

“Sounds perfect”

Kelly and Stella snuggled up to one another as the movie started. Everything felt natural for both of them. This may have started unconventional. Both had walls up for years but they were going to break down those walls for one another.

[rourkeoriain]

The gorgeous girl who had spent the entirety of her first ten minutes in the tiny Edinburg pub being accosted by a toothless would-be thug gave herself away with her kindness and her patience more than her wide doe eyes and air of soft innocence. The Scottish underworld was ugly. Far too ugly for something as beautiful as her.

The only thing worse than being in the wrong place of the wrong part of town at the wrong time of night was not knowing who you were there with. The pretty stranger would find that out quickly if Rourke had enough sense to mind his own business. But when the thug put his hand on the woman after she tried to move away, the young O'Riain lost his senses completely.

"If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you remove it."

Both sets of eyes blinked at him and he tried not to linger on the stranger's pretty hazel. He leveled a hard stare to the goon, daring him to protest.

"What." The guy snorted, mocking. "You gonna cut it off?"

The thug rolled his eyes and Rourke felt that O'Riain switch flip deep down inside. In the next breath he put his pistol on the bar top between them and squared his shoulders. "I've done a lot worse for a lot less." He wasn't typically the bragging type but it was nothing but truth that he'd gotten to where he was the hard way, in the gutters doing the Family's dirtiest work. "Wanna try me?"

The guy muttered and mumbled, cursing the O'Riain name as he finally backed off and threatening something about how he also had powerful friends.

"Are you alright?" Rourke motioned to the bartender to refill the woman's drink and leave the bottle on the bar.

"He said that being a guest of the O'Riains made me valuable." The woman stared into the reflections of the dim bar lights on the shining bar surface as she talked. "He called me an asset." She swallowed audibly and Rourke sighed. Of course she was a guest.

"I don't know how you wandered here, miss but I'm going to have to take you back." Rourke drained his glass and slid a stack of bills, far more than what they'd dranks worth, across to the man behind the bar with a respectful nod as he pulled his tight leather bomber back on and shrugged his shoulders to adjust the fit. His fingers idly played with the zipper as he tried not to startle the girl but also resolved not to linger. "S'not safe outside the estate for guests of the Family this time a'night."

"I don't want to go back to the estate." Kate blurted without meaning to, then awkwardly adjusted her hair behind her ear and tried again. "I just wanted to see the lower town. After such a long flight I couldn't stand be cooped up again."

Their eyes met. Rourke studied the almost shifting colors in her hazel eyes. He tried not to trace the gentle slope of her nose or the full curve of her lips. Gods she was lovely.

Rourke checked his watch with a huff, shrugged and then held out a hand. "My name is Rourke O'Riain, by the way. And there's only one place I can guarantee your safety that we could go."

–

Edinburgh didn't have the world class high rises of modernity, all steel and glass. But the rest of the world didn't have Edinburgh's history either.

"No freaking way." Kate, as he'd finally learned, seemed to love the land as much as he did. She had her face pressed to the glass of his absurdly tiny sports car the entire drive up the Scottish coast to Castle Rock, the city's oldest and highest point. "You live here?"

"I have holdings." Rourke replied, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as they idled, waiting for the massive iron gate tucked into one crook of the mountainside foothill slowly opened. "Family stuff."

He hoped that would suffice but couldn't help his little sigh. It was all a bit strange and he wasn't sure Skye would love her guest at one of their safe houses but at least he wouldn't have to explain away a firefight or get stuck burying more bodies any sooner than necessary.

"It's just for the night." Rourke's eyes were soft, softer than Kate expected even in the low light. It was all so much. They pulled into a spacious garage but Rourke motioned for Kate to sit tight until the massive steel doors sealed behind them. "Sorry about that." Rourke cleared his throat and swung open the driver's side door. He was at Kate's side just as she reached for the handle. "Protocol. We can go in now."

What seemed like a dark cavern slowly illuminated, as if the building itself had sensed their entrance and welcomed them with a soft warm glow. "There's more beds than you can imagine and the fridge and cellars are always full. You're welcome to help yourself to anything." Rourke stripped his jacket, leaving him in a tight white tee and tighter dark denim with pristine black leather boots. "Any guest of the family is family. If there's anything you need-"

"Anything I need?" Kate looked at Rourke like he'd grown another head. "You saved my life and brought me here and you're asking me if there's anything I need."

Rourke laughed, a warm sound that vibrated his chest. They both liked it. "Should I demand payment instead?"

He was joking, or at least he thought he was but the way her dark hair caught the moonlight streaming in through the sitting room's wide windows made his breath hitch.

"It'd be more reasonable than just this." Kate wrapped her arms around herself, clearly beginning to feel out of place and self conscious.

Rourke couldn't begin to imagine how strange her last 24 hours must have been. "I'll make you a deal, Katie." His blue eyes twinkled with the nickname. "I've decided that the cost of my saving your life should be a single kiss." He smiled at the shock in her eyes and the smile grew when she didn't immediately back down. "It's just a game. You don't owe me anything, Ka-"

"Okay." She blurted. "Okay. I'll do it." Her smile was small but she felt emboldened. "It's just a kiss, right."

"One kiss," he assured her.

Kate stepped closer, smiled and closed her eyes. What the hell, right.

Rourke smiled, tucked a lock of soft hair behind her ear, and dropped to his knees in front of her.

He chuckled as her eyes flew open and one of her soft hands found his shoulder. "Rourke- What?"

"Katie." Hed still stop if she wanted him to. He was pretty sure he'd do anything she wanted him to. But he bunched up her skirt in his hands and smiled up at her because he just had to try. "I never said where."

[minjeonpark]

Story time

I guess I should start with I Am Alive?

What I’ve learned these past few months with trying to finish DSIMY on time and go back to weekly updates is that….for some reason…life doesn’t want me to do that. The day that I was going to sit my ass down and edit the new chapter to post it the next day was the day my apartment building was set on fire.

Yes, reader-nims, my apartment building was set on fire.

No one got seriously hurt, thank fuck, and apparently it wasn’t intentional….to some degree. I wasnt home so I’m telling this story by word of mouth.

So that day we had a lot of work at the office so I got off work at 7 pm ish when I usually go home at 6. But my boyfriend was home with my two cats and our family dog, he had texted me an hour prior that he was preparing dinner. So everything was fine until that point. But then driving home I passed two fire trucks and i was like …damn, what’s going on?

Then getting into my fucking street was a nightmare. There’s another 2 apartment buildings on my street as well as some residential houses. The neighborhood is nice, mostly retired couples and people that are really friendly and welcoming. Nothing could have happened on my fucking street…right? No.

There was no getting into my street with a car so I parked who the fuck knows where and I ran, because indeed, my apartment building was hotter than the deals on Black Friday. I tell one firefighter that floor four is my fucking home and my family is in there. Fucking hysterical author-him ensues because I could see all of my neighbors except my fucking boyfriend and my pets. Then I hear a “Love, right here” in the middle of me saying i will climb the nearest fucking tree to my window and the firefighter about to slap me into reality. So I turn around getting a sprained neck. And there was my boyfriend in all of his recently showered glory —only wearing boxers and a towel on his head carrying my two cats with my dog —(who’s actually my dads but we were taking care of her because she got knee surgery)— sitting on top of a fire truck? Looking scandalized as hell. First thing he says: “Thank fuck I go to the gym otherwise i would have to sacrifice one of our children.”

You know that sinking eerie feeling you get after being scared? Like the calm down part, yes well I almost passed the fuck out.

Turns out, my neighbor on the second floor —an older woman kinder than Jesus himself— had gone out in a rush because her daughter called her yada yada something and she left her youngest son who has dementia alone and he set the whole apartment building on fire. Literally no one blamed her. That woman is an angel and she helped me a lot on my unemployed days so she heard no complaints from me.

So now, my apartment building is not safe to live in so we had to move out immediately and that’s what I’ve been doing. I just finished settling in with the help of friends and surprisingly my boss who keeps sending me plants?

We’re renting a really nice house this time, more space…no neighbors who could set us on fire….ha ha ha. Like all of this happened so fast I had no time to come on here and say, “Hey guys, my apartment was set on fire.”

So that’s it. Everyone lets thank the firefighters who saved everyone and my boyfriend that carried my two cats and my pony sized dog four flight of stairs in his Jujutsu Kaisen boxers.

Ahem….

NEW CHAPTER COMING TONIGHT.

[poisonedjoinery]

Leather and Cuffs

Antonio Dawson x Reader (F)

Authors Notes: I have been watching a lot of Chicago PD lately, and I can't help but love Antonio, so here is my first ever fic of him. I hope you enjoy it. Gif by @steddy1987

Summary: Reader is a Chicago firefighter, and has had a thing for Antonio Dawson for a few years. After working a a huge fire scene together, Antonio makes an offer you can't refuse.

WARNINGS: Fire, mentions of explosions, human remains (minor), smut, cuffs, unprotected sex (PLEASE USE PROTECTION), Antonio being a sauce pot.

If you feel there should be other warnings please do let me know.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Being part of the CFD was always going to give you new life experiences. You'd had four calls today, the first a traffic accident caused by a drunk driver. You'd helped cut open a car, pulling out a pregnant woman and her young daughter, the drunk had died on impact. The second, four kids decided to light some fire crackers out in an abandoned trailer park and throw them around. One of the boys got hit and had caught light, alongside one of the old trailers that were left there. He'd sustain some minor burns, owing mainly to the thick coat he wore. A stern talking too and a serious look from Chief Boden ensured they wouldn't be doing it again. The third was an elderly lady who had managed to start a pan fire in her ground floor apartment, luckily her neighbour had gotten her out before anything serious happened to her. The fourth... the fourth is where all hell broke loose. Some putz had messed up in his meth lab, blowing half a building up. Firehouse 51 were the on scene first, strapping your mask on you followed Casey, Herrmann, Severide and Kidd to the top floor slowly working your way down. Hammering on doors, you ushered more people out than you could keep count of. The further down the building you got the worse it became to see and find conscious residents. You exited the building for a second time carrying a young boy, running him over to the ambo you laid him on the bed.

"Young boy, found him unconscious on the ninth floor. He's got a laceration to his leg, and he's inhaled a lot of smoke." Brett nodded, checking his chest.

"Okay let's go." helping to load him into the back of the ambo, you shut the doors and watched them speed away. Turning around, you walked straight into Antonio.

"Shit I'm sorry (Y/N)." He shook his head waving his phone.

"Phone won't stop buzzing, this is a nightmare." Nodding you patted his shoulder,

"I know, don't worry we're pulling out everyone and hopefully one will lead us to the people who did this." He gave you a half smile, you never told anyone but you loved how Antonio smiled. It was always like he was hiding something, it made you curious. Running his hand over his head, he pocketed his phone.

"Well... if you could bring me out some solid evidence that would sure make my job easier." Stepping away you grinned,

"And what do I get if I do?" He chuckled, pulling out his ringing phone again he looked back up at you.

"I'll cook you dinner." Pressing your gloved hand to your chest, you winked.

"One crispy critter coming up." Pulling your mask and helmet back on you ran back into the building, not noticing Antonio watching you, he smirked, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Yeah?!"

----------------------------------------

It took five hours in total to get everyone out, and to extinguish the fire. You'd all headed back in once Boden gave the go ahead, checking for any evidence of how the fire started, and if anyone else was tied to it. There wasn't a lot to gather as the fifth floor was practically a scorched hole, you'd shifted a load of rubble and found part of the meth dealer.

"One crispy critter." You mumbled to yourself. Frowning, you gently pushed the part of him aside and found a perfect rectangular indent in the ground. Pulling your halligan round, you jammed it into the edging and pried the top off.

"Lieutenant... I'm gonna need a blow torch over here!" Calling over your shoulder, Severide appeared looking down and whistled.

"What you thinks inside?" Shrugging and smiling he took the blow torch from Cap,

"Guess we'll find out." Stepping away, you turned your back until you heard the torch go off and the thick metal door clunk to the floor. Looking back round, you looked into the now opened safe and felt your eyes go wide.

"That is a lot of cash Kellie."

"Yep... go get Antonio will ya? Bring him in here, but mind the third floor staircase it's pretty ruined. Take the South side stairs to get here okay?"

"No problem Lieutenant." Turning back around you made your way out of the apartment and out of the building. You found Antonio questioning some of the residents of the building. You couldn't help but admire the way he held himself, you'd guessed he would look good under all that leather. But as it was a Chicago winter, you could only guess how good he looked. You made to stand in his line of sight wanting to catch his attention. Glancing over he nodded, you held up a hand and waited. You passed the time and spoke to some of the residents, getting them blankets and bottles of water until they could be moved.

"(Y/N)!" Looking back, you handed over the blankets you had to a young family, tucking one round a small girl with big brown eyes. Waving at her, you walked back to Antonio.

"Hey, sorry I know you're busy with statements but we've found a safe with a chunk of cash and files in which I think you may need." Antonio's eyes lit up, gesturing his hand towards the building.

"Then lead the way." Walking back to the building you lead him up the stairs and towards the South side like Serveride said.

"We've got to go this way Detective, the other set of stairs aren't secure and could give way." Antonio laughed,

"You know you don't have to call me Detective, you can call me by my name right?" Smiling to yourself, you glanced behind you.

"I... yeah I know... it's... I don't like being unprofessional is all. I'm happy to use your name outside of work hours... just don't want anyone thinking I'm being disrespectful you know?" 'Tonio stopped in the hallway you was walking down, smiling.

"Fair enough... well I'm pretty sure I said I'd cook you dinner right? So how about I come around after shift, and make you something hmm?" You ran your tongue over your bottom lip, noticing how he watched transfixed as you did.

"Yeah sure... okay." Turning back you started walking again.

"Not gonna give me your address no?"

"You're a Detective...so detect." Looking back you winked, then waving your hand over your shoulder, you motioned for him to follow you. Biting his lip he followed, keeping quiet the rest of the way.

Showing him into the apartment, you walked him to Severide then left them both to talk as you continued your checks of the building. The rest of shift went in a haze, it took another three hours to complete the building checks. By the time you got back to the firehouse, you had one hour till your shift finished. You headed to the showers and let the hot water run down you helping the ache that had slowly built in your back. Once you'd finished you pulled on clean clothes and dried your hair. Checking the time, you pulled out your bag, packed everything up and pulled on your fleece and hat. You filed out behind some of your crew mates, all of who didn't feel like talking. That fire had taken a lot out of you all. Waving bye to Stella you climbed into your car and headed back to your apartment.

------------------------------

You dumped your bag and boots in the closet, and hung your coat up on the hook. You headed straight to the your bedroom and changed into a loose fitting top and jogging bottoms. Throwing your hair up into a loose bun, you padded into the kitchen to make yourself a tea. Before you could finish making it, there was a knock at your door. Smirking, you headed out the kitchen, tea forgotten, and slowly pulled open your door. There he was, standing there with that gorgeous smile on his face, black jeans and boots, a dark fitted t-shirt, leather jacket over the top and a woolen hat. You even glinted a set of cuffs on his belt as he shifted. God help me, the thought flitted through your mind before you could even take a breath.

"Hey." His voice was low, and his face looked a little tired.

"You found me Detective." Raising an eyebrow, he grinned.

"That I did, you wanna let me in?" Stepping back you pulled open the door allowing him in. Closing it behind him, you pulled the closet door open,

"You can put your coat and boots in there Detective, I'll grab you a beer." Slowly walking away you felt his eyes linger on you as you rounded the corner to the kitchen. You couldn't help the shit eat grin on your face as you pulled open the fridge. However, you nearly dropped the beer as Antonio had snuck up behind you.

"What happened to calling me Antonio hmm?" He was so close you could feel his breath on your neck. Letting out a shout, you spun round, elbow out, clocking him in the ribs causing him to fall back against the counter.

"Ow...fuck."

"Jesus 'Tonio, you can't just sneak up like that... are you okay." Putting the beer on the side, you leaned closer to him trying to pull his hands away from his side.

"Damn mi amor you got some power in you. You should come down to my boxing gym." Smirking he looked up at you, and you felt your face flush. Turning back to the beer you cracked it open, took a gulp for yourself, then finished the bottle.

"You know, I may just come down there... then maybe I can kick your ass." Poking him in the ribs again, he laughed and grabbed your hand pulling you a little closer to him, his lips barely an inch from yours. You felt yourself shiver, the heat from his body coming off him in waves.

"Okay okay, but maybe as we have both had a long day we instead have some beers and food hmm?" Letting go of your hand, he reached round the corner and picked up a bag, emptying it's contents onto the counter.

"I hope you're hungry, because I don't make small meals." Reaching into the fridge again you pulled out another two bears, cracked them open and hummed.

"To be honest I'm that hungry I could eat a Vegas style buffet right now." Running your gaze over him you smirked. Giving you that half smile, he took the beer and took a gulp.

"That so huh?"

"Well I am a firefighter, we burn a lot of energy." Watching him out the corner of your eye you saw the smile that sat there from your witty pun.

"Well... then we best get those energy levels back up hmm?" Nodding you picked up a knife and started cutting some peppers and onions. You had no clue what you was making but you helped, and quietly chatted. It felt nice to do something as simple as cooking dinner. Antonio had always seemed intense when you'd worked alongside him at scenes you were both at, but you had seen a different side of him when you'd been at Molly's together. At some point, 'Tonio had ushered you into a seat at the dinner table handing you a new beer as he finished up the food. Once done, he handed you a plate filled with vegetables, chicken and lord knows what else.

"Oh my gods this is amazing."

"So surprised?" He spoke in between a fork full of food.

"Not surprised, just... most of the cops I know barely make themselves toast let alone a nice meal like this." Looking pleased with himself he took another gulp of beer. The two of you falling into a comfortable silence as you ate. Once you'd finished you decided to leave the plates in the sink, I can deal with them tomorrow. Gesturing to him, you moved into the living room and dropped onto your plush sofa, the both of you sinking into its depths. You felt the lull of sleep pulling at you.

"You gotta nice place here (Y/N), you don't have any roommates no?" Catching his questioning look you dropped your head against the back of the sofa and smirked.

"Lucky for you papi I live here alone." Thinking he hadn't heard you, you tilted your head and looked at him. Colour had flooded his cheeks, his eyes blown.

"Call me that again." His voice was a low whisper. Sitting up, you took his beer and placed yours and his on the table and shifted back closer to him.

"You like being called that huh?" Reaching over he wrapped his hand around your thigh, gently squeezing, his gaze was dark, slowly running over you.

"Maybe...say it again and see."

"Mmm okay... but first I um... I've been wanting to do something all day, if you don't mind."

"Huh... and what's that?" You felt your nerves kick in, you'd wanted to kiss Antonio since the first time you saw him two years ago. You'd watched him go through different girlfriends and casual dates, each of which ended after a few months. Leaning closer you traced his jaw with one hand. It felt slightly rough, no doubt tomorrow he would have a slight stubble showing. You didn't know at what point you did it, your brain must have gone blank. For the next time you blinked, you was leaning into 'Tonio and gently biting his lip. He let out a low moan, the hand that was on your thigh shifted to the back of it moving you forward to his lap. Obliging, you moved with him straddling his thick thighs all the while not taking your mouth off of him. Bringing both your hands up, you gently ran them through his hair messing up the painstakingly neat style he had. He was always so put together... which made it even more thrilling to be the one to bring that perfect composure crumbling down around him. Fisting your hands in his hair, you tugged on it. It must have been hard enough, as it caused him to suck in a sharp breath you kissed him, fiercely running your tongue against his own.

"Fuck..." he moaned into your mouth, grabbing your ass he hauled himself up pulling your legs around him and started down the hallway.

"On the left... my room." You dug your fingers into his shoulders, deepening the kiss. You heard the thud of the door as 'Tonio kicked it open. You expected to be thrown onto your bed, so it surprised you when he slowly laid you back, gently holding himself above you. Pulling away a little he looked down at you his breathing coming in short bursts.

"You... you okay with this?" Smiling you ran your thumb over his bottom lip,

"I'm very much okay with this papi." Dropping his head, he huffed out a laugh.

"Good." Before you could do anything, his hands were on your jogging bottoms pulling them down, reaching up you pulled your own shirt off exposing your bare chest, Antonio seemed to choke on his own words.

"Lord have mercy." Sitting up you unbuckled his belt and then his jeans, running your tongue against his exposed hip.

"The lord isn't going to help you tonight Detective." Dropping his head back he fisted his hands at his side, clearly trying to control himself. Standing up, you tugged on his shirt,

"Take this off." It took a moment for him to relax his shoulders, then allowed you to pull his shirt over his head. You felt your mouth instantly water at the sight of him. Reaching his hand up to your chin, he tilted your face up to him.

"You okay there firefighter?" Even though your face was tilted up, you couldn't take your eye off of his exposed chest.

"I um... I..." You absentmindedly ran your hand over him, tracing the dips, frowning at the years healed bullet wound in his chest. Leaning closer you pressed a kiss to his chest, slowly moving from one side to the other. 'Tonio let you do as you pleased as he reached up, removing your hair tie and letting it fall around your shoulders. He seemed to like how it looked, running it through his fingers multiple times before gently moving it aside to expose your neck and pressing his mouth against your pulse. Humming quietly you leaned into the touch enjoying the feeling. How many times had you imagined something like this? How many times had you thought about Antonio standing before you, allowing you to touch him, and kiss him as you pleased?

"Antonio?"

"Hmm?"

"You still have your jeans on."

"Mmm.." Chuckling you reached down pulled on the sides of his jeans, slowly pulling him round, pushing him to sit on the bed.

"Hey... I was enjoying myself there." Pulling his jeans off, you pushed him onto his back and straddled his lap.

"Well I thought you might enjoy this a bit more hmm?" Placing his hands on your hips you leaned closer so your lips barely brushed against his.

"I thought that maybe... you'd like to be the one cuffed for a change hmm?" His grin widened, sitting up a little he reached to his jeans pulled out his cuffs.

"Yes ma'am." Your eyes gleamed at them, reaching up to take them 'Tonio grabbed your wrist clipped one cuff on, pushed you onto your back and cuffed your other hand.

"HEY!" you protested loudly, as he kneeled between your legs he placed your hands above your head.

"Hey yourself..." running his hands down your body he stopped at your hips.

"You know... it took everything I had in me not to kiss you in that hallway today." His eyes continued to roam over your body along with his hands, looking up at you he smiled at the look on your face.

"Surprised?"

"I am... I just... I..." Licking your lips your breathing became heavy, your body tingling. It was only occurring to you now the situation you was in, cuffed, partially naked, Antonio kneeling between your shaking legs. 'Tonio tilted his head slightly, teasingly tracing his fingers on the inside of your thigh.

"Nervous?" His voice was a whisper, you could see how excited he was already. Throat going dry you shook your head,

"Not at all Detective." You didn't have a moment to think, before you knew it 'Tonio was kissing you fiercely, one hand gripping onto your ass the other pulling your leg around him. Raising your arms you placed them around his neck, digging your fingers into him. Antonio smiled into the kiss, raising his hand to lift your arms off of him and pinning them above your head.

"Uh-uh, you gotta be patient babe." Keeping your hands pinned above you, he ran his other hand down your side hooking his fingers into the edge of your panties slowly dragging them down your thighs. Moving his way down your body, he gently bit into your hips, running his tongue over the bite. Looking down at the site before you, you felt your breath stop in your chest. 'Tonio shifted himself further down, placing your legs over his shoulders he didn't give you a moments pause before he pressed his tongue against your centre. You couldn't help the moan that was pulled from you, the feeling of Antonio's mouth on you, along with his rough hands against the soft skin of your thighs was the best thing you had felt in months. You clenched your hands tightly above you, all you wanted to do was reach down and grab onto him, touch him in anyway you could. He kept up a pace just right to keep you on edge for what felt like forever.

"Please... 'Tonio... I can't." You couldn't keep still any more, even with Antonio holding your hips down, your skin was burning with excitement and you needed a release. Smirking, 'Tonio pulled himself up, looking down at your flushed face.

"You need something babe?"

"You... Detective... I need you... now." Leaning in to kiss you, 'Tonio pulled off his boxers and settled himself between your legs again. Raising one hand he pinned your wrists down, and trailed the other down your side.

"Please!" You begged, it was driving you mad to have him this close to you, to feel him and not be able to have him how you wanted.

"Mmm... I like it when you beg mi amor." Pulling your leg up over his hip, 'Tonio slowly pushed into you. Your eyes closed as you felt bliss slowly spread through your body. He seemed to catch his breath as he bottomed out, his hand twitching on your thigh.

"Christ Antonio..." Tilting your head, you saw he had also closed his eyes. You pressed a kiss to his jaw, then bit him gently. Pulling himself up a little, he looked down at you his eyes blown. Humming quietly to himself, he ran his tongue over his bottom lip before leaning in to kiss you. Shifting his hips, he started to move slowly causing you to moan into the kiss. Pulling your arms up again you placed them around Antonio's neck, tangling your fingers in his hair. Lifting your hips up slightly, you started to meet his movements with your own. Reaching down, he lifted one of your legs up over the crook of his arm, his pace quickening.

"Fuck... (Y/N), you feel so good." Huffing out a small laugh, you pulled on his hair slightly tugging him down to you, your voice merely a whisper.

"Then go faster papi." Antonio let out a low growl, pinning your hip down he started to move quicker, reaching back, you gripped onto the headboard. His mouth was on you, fiercely kissing you until your lungs burned through lack of air. You knew you would have a bruise on your hip from how hard he was gripping you, not to mention the bruises that would no doubt circle your wrists from the cuffs.

"(Y/N)... I'm so close."

"Me too... just... I need." Glancing down between you, Antonio understood what you wanted. Shifting his hand from your thigh, he started to circle your clit, pressing harder to match his thrust. White lights seemed to burst behind your eyes, your legs wrapping tightly around 'Tonio's waist.

"Antonio!" Calling his name you couldn't help but sink your teeth into his shoulder as you came, gripping onto him as your climax pulled you into a blissful state. 'Tonio followed close after you, your name falling from his lips as though a prayer, his head dropped into the dip of your neck. You didn't remember him stopping, just that the world around you became quiet, your hands has loosened their grip on his flushed skin, your head pressed gently against his.

"You with me Dawson?" You managed to mutter against him.

"Mmmhmm." Shifting himself he laid next to you, reaching for his jeans to grab the key to the cuffs. Offering your hands to him, he deftly unlocked them with the skill of a man who had done that a thousand times in his life.

"Ah shit (Y/N) your wrists." Sitting up a little, worry filled his face as he looked at the purple rings already forming on your wrists.

"Hey... don't worry I'll be fine. I've got some really good makeup that will cover these over." He glanced up at your face, his eyes filled with guilt.

"What if it doesn't?" Grinning, you winked at him,

"Well then I will just have to tell people that this new guy I'm seeing is a filthy bastard, amazing in bed and enjoys cuffing me." A small smirk flittered over his handsome face.

"Amazing huh?" Pulling him down, you kissed him deeply.

"Very amazing... although I may need to go a few more rounds... just to be sure." Eyes widening at your comment, you grinned widly.

"Well... maybe after we sleep off this long ass day we've just had, and after that... I think I'm going to sleep for a week." Smiling, Antonio leaned down and placed a kiss on each of your wrists, then turned and kissed you softly.

"Sounds good to me mi amor." Pulling you close to him, he wrapped his arm around you as you managed to pull up the duvet. Snuggling down, you felt Antonio's breathing become even as he slowly fell asleep. Humming quietly, you pressed a kiss to his chest glimpsing the marks you had left on him. Hopefully, he had a lot of high neck shirts to wear until it went down. Grinning to yourself, you settled down against him enjoying the feeling of finally having Detective Dawson all to yourself.

[pastelavender88]

Anger That Swallows Us

Summary: Eddie may lose another woman he loves. How can he survive without her? How will he tell Christopher?

Requested-Yes by @fairyhope028 . I had to change the request just a bit to make it more accurate but overall it’s followed.

Remember ask and submissions are open.

It was another long shift at the hospital, but I'm the underdog here at the hospital. Being an intern, long shifts came with the job, but I try my best to get on everyone’s good side because at the end of the day we’re all here for the same thing. To save lives. My boyfriend, Eddie, was in the saving life business as well, considering he’s a firefighter and all. Eddie and I met through my father, who was the chief of police. He introduced us at a gala for first responders and the rest is history. We’ve been together for 2.5 years now and I was headed to pick Christopher up from his aunt’s home. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab the back of my neck and slam my head into my car door. With spots in my eyes, I saw a man. No, not a man, a monster, my dad threw in jail years ago. Nate Collins had killed and raped 5 woman in a span of 1 month. He was sentenced to 5 life sentences, for each life he took. “How…you’re supposed…to be…” I barely choked out.

“In prison? Yeah it didn’t stick.” He said with a sinister grin. “Now it’s time to get revenge on your daddy, who threw me in that shit-hole. What better way than to kill the star in his eye?” Nate stabbed me in the stomach with a knife. “Now… That’s like it.” He whispered as he pulled me closer to him. “If i had more time i would make this worth my while. if you know what i mean.” His eyes seemed to burn through my clothes and I had never felt so naked while fully clothed. “But, lucky for you. I’m short on time.” He took my fallen keys from the floor and used them to open my trunk. “Let’s get you in here.” He roughly threw me in the trunk and soon I felt my car begin to move. All I could think of before I lost consciousness was Christopher and Eddie. “I wish I was stronger, but I’m so tired.” I spoke to no one.

Eddie’s POV

Near the end of my shift, my phone started to ring. It was my tia Josephina.

 “Hello.”

“Edmundo, where is Y/n?” 

“What do you mean? She should have picked up Christopher by now.”

“I know. That’s why I called because he’s still here.” This wasn’t like Y/n at all. She was almost always on time and if she wasn’t it was by mere minutes. She was supposed to get Christopher an hour ago. 

“I’ll call her. Thanks Tia.” I quickly hung up and called Y/n. There was no answer. After another failed attempt, I called the hospital.

“Hello, this is Kindred Hospital. How can I help you today?” 

“Hello, I’m calling in regards to one of your interns. Y/n Y/l/n. She was supposed to pick up our son an hour ago and she hasn’t arrived yet.” I usually just said our son so I wouldn't have to go into detail about why she’s picking him up or our relationship to each other, but if I'm being honest since she’s come into our lives, she’s always been more of a mother to Christopher then Shannon has. 

“One moment.” After what felt like hours, the receptionist came back on the line. “It says here that she clocked out about an hour and thirty minutes ago. It also seems her car is no longer in the parking lot.” What?

“Okay. Thank you so much for your help.” Panic started to set in. What was going on? This wasn’t like her. Did I do something wrong? Was she mad at me? Lost deep in my thoughts an alarm sounded throughout the firehouse. Great, perfect timing. 

“Alright, we're responding to a burning building downtown. The fire seems to have been started by an accelerant so everyone be on high alert. We could be dealing with an arsonist.” Bobby said. When we got there it was a small store that seemed to be ablaze and after a few minutes we managed to put out the fire. I then saw something that threw all the alarms in my head back on. In the parking lot, Y/n’s car was waiting. I hurried over to it where I saw her keys and wallet sitting on top of her trunk. I quickly looked inside her car and saw that it was empty. So, I took the keys and opened the trunk. There I saw a huge bloodstain seeping into the fabric of the trunk. 

“Cap!” I screamed. Bobby came rushing over. “Bobby, Y/n is missing. Earlier before we left, my tia called me and told me Y/n hasn’t picked up Christopher yet. When I called the hospital they said she had left over an hour ago. Now here we are in this parking lot, in front of Y/n’s car with blood in the trunk. We need to search this place. What if she’s here or at least around here?” 

“Okay. I’m gonna call Athena for backup just in case this guy is still around here.” He took a moment to talk into the radios and explain the situation to dispatch. “Everyone with me. You might have heard over the radio the situation. One of our own is in trouble. Y/n is missing and we have just found her car with a large amount of blood in it. We need to canvas and look for her but be on alert because whoever this is, is making it personal. Eddie, you’re with me. Everyone else find a partner and let’s get to searching.” Everyone quickly went to work. 

After maybe about 20 minutes, I heard Buck over the radio.

“Eddie, Cap, I found her. She’s in a back alley across the street.” I started to run towards her. When I came to where Buck was he was surrounding Chimney and Hen while they worked on her. She was badly injured and barely breathing. All that was running through my head was who would do this to Y/n? Out of nowhere I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and there stood Athena. 

“Eddie. They’re leaving, go with them.” I didn’t know what to do. Last time i went with the woman i loved in an ambulance she didn’t make it. I couldn’t go through that again. Not this time. “Eddie, look at me.” My eyes snapped back to Thena. “I know what happened last time was scary but Y/n needs you right now. So, you better get your ass on that ambulance or else.” I swiftly went to the ambulance with them. 

The ride to the hospital had no complications but as soon as she made it into the hospital she started to seize. “Oh my God. Is that Y/n?” One of the nurses responded. I recognized her as one of the women Y/n usually socialized with and told me stories about. “Page Dr.Morrison, tell him it’s important.” She turned to Chim, Hen, and me. “We got it from here. Don’t worry she’s in good hands.” I sure hoped so.

Hours had passed. Christopher had now joined me at the hospital and was sitting next to me. Worry was written all over his face. Soon a nurse came to where everyone was siting. “Are you Mr.Diaz?”

“Yes. How is she?”

“It was touch-and-go for a minute but Dr.Morrison was able to stop the internal bleeding and close the wounds. We also were able to relieve the pressure on her brain due to a concussion. It’ll take some time before she feels one hundred percent again but she should be okay.” I let out a breath I never knew I was holding. She was okay. They saved her. “You can see her if you want.” 

I made my way to her room and there she was. She was watching whatever was on the TV. I knocked on the door and she looked my way. That golden smile of hers was thrown my way and it felt like a breath of fresh air.

 “Shouldn’t you be sleeping? I mean it’s pretty late.” Here she was in a hospital bed still worried about me.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you, after all you're in the hospital bed?” She giggled when I said that. I crossed over to where she was. I stood there for a few minutes before she scooted over and patted the space near her. I climbed into bed with her and wrapped her in my arms. “I thought I was gonna lose you.” Tears started to leave my eyes before I could stop them. 

She looked up at me. “It’s gonna take way more than that before I ever leave you, or Christopher. You’re my family.” After she said that she gave me a loving kiss. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” After I said that, Christopher and the gang came and joined us in the hospital room. Today was one of the scariest days of both of our lives but it also told me one thing. A life without her is a life I can't even imagine. Once she gets discharged I think it’s time I proposed to her with the engagement ring I bought ages ago.

[k-evans-reads]

Playing With Fire Headcanons

Playing With Fire Masterlist

A/N: Happy Firefighter Friday everyone! Here’s some fun headcanons for where Chellie are in the current timeline!

•Tears were pouring out of Hazel’s eyes as she held her duck stuffed animal in one hand and his wing in the other

•Because when Dodger had tried to steal the toy and Chris reached out to grab it from the happy dog, the only thing that happened was the seam ripping and leaving the wing of her toy in Dodger’s mouth 

•But with a ripped Mr. Duck, Hazel was nearly inconsolable 

•And the suggestion of buying Hazel a new one only made her cry harder, telling Chris, “It’s not the same!” 

•Which is what led to Chris packing Hazel into her car seat with the tattered remains of her toy as he drove down the road in the late evening

•But with his mother out of town, he went to the only other person that he knew could help Hazel’s tears stop

•Ellie had been curled up by her fireplace looking through a few recipes when a knock rapped on her door 

•And soon she found who was behind it, seeing a very concerned looking Chris and a sniffling Hazel holding up a ripped toy in her tiny hands 

•“Mr. Duck had a run in with Dodger and we were hoping you could sew him up.” 

•And seeing the trembling lip of the distraught four year old had Ellie’s heart melting as she ushered them inside, picking up Hazel and promising her that she’d make him good as new

•With a leftover macaron in Hazel’s mouth to help bring a smile to her face, Ellie brought them into the living room to get to work

•Chris plopped on the couch, Hazel climbing into his lap and Chris resting his chin on the top of her head as Ellie brought over her beloved toy and her box of sewing supplies

•Hazel watched intently as Ellie sewed him up before she wrapped him up in a dish towel and gave him to Hazel, telling her “He’s as good as new but you’ll need to take care of him and be his nurse until he fully recovers.”

•Hazel’s eyes were wide and full of happiness as she took her toy and hugged it tight before eagerly showing Chris that Mr. Duck was all better 

•And although Chris was just relieved that her tears had stopped, he reminded her how far past her bedtime it was and that she needed to tell Ellie thank you before they left

•But he didn’t expect to see Hazel go over and crawl into Ellie’s lap, throwing her arms around Ellie’s neck and hugging her tight as she thanked the blonde woman he loved so dearly 

•And by the soft smile on Ellie’s lips as she hugged Hazel right back, he knew that the moment meant just as much to her as it did to him 

[iliumheightnights]

Relaxing Melody | Peter Parker x Male Reader

Fandom: Marvel Pairing: Peter Parker x Male Reader Summary/Ask: hey! if you’re comfortable could you do a fic with peter parker x make reader where peter is coming back from patrolling the city at night and comes back to the reader asleep with headphones on listening to piano music? i have high anxiety and it’s one of the things i do to keep it down at night

~~~

The lights of the skyscrapers illuminated the night sky of New York. Peter had just finished his night of patrol. He had stopped a group of muggers, helped a lost kid, saved a cat from a tree, and prevented a car crash. He thought it had been a rather good night.

He let out a yawn and stretched as he stood up from where he had been perched. “Alright…Yeah, I think that’s a sign I should get home. Nighty night New York, same time tomorrow.”

Peter then jumped off of the building and let his body fall, eventually, he stretched out his hand and shot out his web-shooters. The webs had attached on to the nearby buildings and let the force swing him through the air, above the streets. He ended up passing by Avengers tower during his swing. “Hi, Mr.Stark! Bye, Mr.Stark!” He said as he passed by it.

He ended up passing the daily bugle too. He ended up flipping the bird at the building as he swung past it. What? Jameson was a dick!

As he continued to make his way back home, his spidey senses went off. Turning his head he saw it. Smoke. A building was on fire! He quickly spun and headed towards the building. It didn’t take long before he arrived. He could see firefighters had also arrived on the scene already, they’d take care of the fire. He would take care of something else. There in a window on the second to the top floor was a little girl. “Help! Someone help me! Mommy!” The firefighters wouldn’t be able to get to her before the fire did. Peter had to act and he had to act fast.

He quickly launched himself towards the building and landed on the side next to the girl. “Hey! Hey, it’s okay. I’m going to get you out of here alright? Step back a bit and I’ll crawl in.” The girl nodded, she must have realized Spiderman was talking to her and quickly backed away allowing Peter to crawl inside.

Once Peter was inside, he could see the smoke starting to enter through the apartment’s front door. The fire had spread a lot more than he had thought. “Alright, I’m going to pick you up and we’re going to get out of here. Is that okay?” Peter asked the girl. He needed to save her, but he also needed her trust as well. He held out his arms waiting for an answer. The girl nodded and quickly ran into Peter’s arms.

With the girl in his arms, Peter quickly jumped out of the building and used his webs to safely get her to the ground. Once his feet had touched the ground, the girl had jumped out of his arms and ran off to a woman nearby. The little girl’s mother. “Peter. There are no other people in the building. The rest will be up to the firefighters.” The voice of Friday said in his suit. “Thanks Fri.” The little girl waved at him so he waved back before swinging back off into the night.

It didn’t take too long for Peter to return to his own apartment. He landed on the terrace and quietly opened the door. The apartment was a good size and more modern. The whole place was a gift from Tony for Peter graduating from MIT. He took off his mask and quietly walked through the apartment and entered his room. He smiled as he saw his boyfriend M/n asleep in the bed, his headphones in. Grabbing some clothes he made his way to the bathroom and took a shower, he figured M/n wouldn’t be disturbed with his headphones on.

With the shower running, Peter stripped out of his spidey suit and tossed it into the hamper. He stepped into the shower, not bothering that the water hadn’t heated up a lot yet. He needed to get all the smoke and ash from the fire off of him. While he was in the shower, it was always the time he got lost in his thoughts. Thinking and replaying the events of the day. Had he done everything he could? Was what he did do good enough? Eventually, his mind made its way back down to earth. By then he had washed himself clean and stepped out.

Slipping into a t-shirt and pajama pants, Peter left the bathroom and walked back over to M/n. Peter smiled as he took in the sight of his sleeping boyfriend, he looked so peaceful in his sleep. He let his hand run down the side of M/n’s face before he gently took the man’s headphones out. He knew his boyfriend loved listening to his music to calm down and to destress, it was a good way to.

Setting the headphones on the dresser, Peter then took M/n’s phone and plugged it onto its charger. Probably a good thing too, he noticed it was close to fifteen percent. Once that was squared away, Peter walked around the bed and slipped under the covers. He gently pulled M/n into him and smiled as he felt his boyfriend cuddle closer to him.

He loved getting to patrol as Spiderman...but he loved coming home from patrol just as much. “Friday, please play M/n’s playlist.” Peter said quietly. Friday did as she was asked and played M/n’s playlist quietly. Peter could tell by the way M/n’s shoulder fell a bit, he was happy and relaxed. That made Peter happy.

With that Peter was able to drift off to sleep with his boyfriend in his arms.

He was happy.

[unknowntoyou2205]

Caught in the middle (2/3)

Info: During Casey and Voight's falling out Voight goes for the one person Casey cares about the most, his 16 year old sister y/n.

It had been a week since the incident between Voight trying to talk to Y/n. Casey had been overprotective since then, dropping her to school and having someone collect her every day. The crew at firehouse 51 always made sure someone was with her to prevent anything bad happening to her.

Casey sighed as he pulled up to the school, turning to y/n as she took her seat belt off.

"Alright, I'll pick you up straight after school. I'll still be on call so no hanging around." Casey pointed at her causing y/n to sigh and roll her eyes. "Can't I just walk to firehouse, it's not that far to walk." She asked causing Casey to shake his head in disagreement. "I don't want you on your own after Voight. Don't want to take any chances." "Come on Case, I'll be careful." She persisted. "Y/n no alright, I'll pick you up here after school, no later okay. Now please don't fight with me on this." Casey stated, giving y/n a warning look. "Uggh fine." Y/n groaned, grabbing her bag from the back. "Alright I love you." Casey stated with a smile as y/n kissed his cheek. "Yeah love you too." Y/n muttered as she jumped out of the truck and closed the door.

Casey watched as his sister walked up the steps to the school before leaving when she was out of sight.

----------------------------

Casey sat at the table in the firehouse canteen, eating lunch while talking to Hermann.

"So how's all with y/n?" Hermann asked, gaining the rest of firehouses attention. "She's good you know. Getting a little annoyed on having someone collect her and being here all the time. She wanted to walk home but I can't chance it with what's going on." "Yeah, I get that. She want's her independence but you've got to protect her as well." Hermann explained. "Exactly. I don't like not letting her do her own thing but God I don't know what I would do without her in my life." Casey shook his head, looking down slightly. "Your a good brother Casey." Hermann stated, pointing at him. "Thanks Hermann, I appreciate it." Casey slapped his hand on Hermann's shoulder gently.

The crew looked up as the alarm went off, alerting them of a fire.

"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, school fire, Chicago high." The voice announced.

"Isn't that y/n's school?" Kelly stated as they stood up. "Yeah." Casey sighed in concern as he rushed to the fire truck, everyone else following suit.

Casey's leg bounced impatiently as Cruz turned on the sirens, rushing to get to the school. Mouch and Hermann glanced at each other in concern as they watched their lieutenant worry over his sister. They rushed out of the truck as they came to the scene, Squad 3 and ambulance pulling up behind them as Chief Boden rushed passed them in his car.

"Alright, guys masks on. Cruz, Otis and Mouch take lower end, Mills and Hermann, your with me." Casey stated as he took his helmet off to put the mask on. "Got it lieutenant." Hermann nodded before they headed into the fire, Squad following them in.

Boden scanned the area before seeing the crowds of students to the far side. He turned to his side as a woman in a suit rushed towards him.

"I'm the principal of the school, We think the fires started in the lab." She announced, watching as the firemen brought out students from the building. "What would be the cause?" Boden asked. "I dunno, it's a science lab so got only knows." She stated as Hermann walked towards him. "Everyone from the bottom two floors have been brought out, Casey and Kelly are checking the top floor." Hermann stated to Boden.

"There's still someone in there." The principal stated, coming back over to the chief firefighter. "What's their name?" Boden asked. "I dunno, a girl..............." The principal stuttered. "Y/n Casey." A student called out, causing Hermann and Boden to side eye each other in concern. "That smokes not looking too good." Mouch stated, pointing at the smoke that was slowly turning black.

"Casey, Kelly, update on location." Boden called out in his radio, turning to face the fire. "Nearly finished on top floor, doesn't seem to be anyone here so should be out shortly." Kelly's voice came through to them. "Is y/n out there?" Casey asked, his voice full of concern causing Hermann to raise his eye brows warily at Boden who looked at him before sighing. "She's the only student not here." Boden replied, unsure of how his two firemen would react.

Kelly looked at Casey as he threw his head up in frustration when their chief stated that his sister wasn't out. The squads lieutenant sighed and went to answer back into the radio.

"We're going to scan the building again, maybe we missed her." Kelly stated, glancing at Casey as he headed into a room, calling for his sister. "Kelly that smokes not looking too great." Boden warned them. "I'm not leaving without her." Casey stated to Kelly, heading into a new room. "Yeah Chief we got it." Kelly replied, sighing before following Casey.

Boden sighed and looked at rest of firehouse 51. Shay and Dawson only glanced his way before aiding another student who had minor burns. Mouch and Hermann rolled their heads to the side as they looked at each other before looking back at the school, monitoring the smoke.

"Y/n!!" Casey called out, kicking a door down as he entered the last room on the top floor. "Casey, she mustn't be here, we should check down below." Kelly called out, appearing at the doorway. "You check middle, I'll check bottom." Casey shouted back before they headed down. They turned around as debree fell onto the stairs. "We need to work fast, there's no telling how long we have left." Kelly called out. "We need to find her." Casey stated before rushing down towards the bottom floor.

"Casey Kelly, we need you out of there now." Boden called out, not liking having to say it. "Chief we haven't found her." Kelly stated in disagreement. "I'm sorry Kelly but that place is about to blow so you need to leave now." Boden stated with urgency.

Kelly sighed but headed towards the stairs, scanning the rooms briefly in hopes of seeing the young Casey. Reaching the bottom of the stairs he seen Casey rushing towards the back of the hall of the bottom floor.

"Casey, we've got to go." Kelly stated, rushing towards him and grabbing his arm. "I need to find her Kelly." Casey said with urgency, not looking at him as he kicked a chair out of the way. "This place is about to go up so we have to go." Kelly stated with urgency. "Y/n's in here somewhere." Casey replied. "I'm sorry Casey." Kelly stated, eyes watering as he started pushing Casey out of the burning building as it started collapsing behind them.

-----------------------------

The two lieutenants got out of the door before throwing themselves onto the ground as the fire blew up. Hermann and Capp rushed towards them and helped them up as Otis, Cruz and Mills began letting the fire out. Casey pushed them away as he turned towards Kelly as tears built in his eyes.

"The hell Severide." He shouted, pushing Kelly back as the squad leader allowed him to. "Casey!!" Boden warned as he came towards them, Hermann and Mouch holding Casey back from Severide. "You seen there Casey, the place would of collapsed on us if we were in there any longer." Kelly shouted at him, his own tears building as the whole of firehouse 51 watched on with sadness.

Casey glanced at his firehouse co-workers, each looking at him with sadness and worry at the possibility that the light of firehouse 51 being gone.

"Maybe she got out without anyone knowing, or maybe someone didn't realize it was her they got out." Mills stated, with slight hope.

Casey closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before rushing over to the ambulance as Shay and Dawson wheeled a student into the ambulance.

"Dawson, have you seen y/n?" He asked with hope. "No I'm sorry, is she not here?" Dawson asked with worry. "Damn it." Casey muttered, turning to watch people hurry around the fire scene.

He turned his attention to a car pulling up to the scene, glaring at it when he seen who it was. Voight looked at him as he got out of the car before turning his attention to Boden as he walked towards the detective.

"Voight." Chief nodded as the crew turned to watch them. "Just here for observation, school fires, wanna make sure it wasn't achieved on purpose." Voight stated, nodding at Casey who glared at him. "Unknown yet, started at lab area so probably a case of unfortunate events." Kelly stated as he moved closer to Casey to make sure he doesn't do anything drastic. "Your sister go here?" Voight asked Casey as he pointed at the burned school, causing Casey to go for him. "Hey easy man." Kelly called out, grabbing Casey as Boden put his hand up in warning. "I think it's time that you left Voight." Boden stated, giving a hard look at the detective who nodded before leaving.

"Any luck seeing her?" Boden asked, turning to Casey once the detective was out of sight. "No, none of the ambulances have seen her." Casey, stated, shaking his head in concern. "We've evaluated the building and there's no sign of anyone in there." Capp stated as he walked towards Kelly, Casey and Boden. "That's fortunate." Mouch stated, relief evident in his voice. "Yeah but we still don't know where she is." Hermann stated causing the rest to nod in agreement. "Come with me to the hospital, make sure she wasn't brought there without you knowing." Boden stated to Casey before turning to the rest, "The rest of you head back to the department, we'll let you know if she's there." He ordered the before heading to his car, Casey following as Kelly hit his back in reassurance.

---------------------------------------

Casey rubs his head in concern as Boden rushes through traffic, sirens blaring. He turns into the hospital parking area and Casey jumps out before the car stops, heading towards the nurses desk in the emergency area as he ignored the receptionist. He slammed his hands onto the desk, scaring Maggie as she looked up from paperwork.

"Casey......." Maggie started. "Was my sister brought here." He asked desperately, interrupting the head nurse. "Casey I don't....." "Y/n Casey, was she brought in here from the school fire." Casey asked, looking at Maggie with desperation to find his sister. Maggie looked at Casey before turning to the computer closest to her, checking for y/n's name on the system. There's no y/n Casey here, are you sure she was brought in." Maggie asked but Casey ignored her as he moved back, hands on his head as he rubbed his face before rushing out.

"She's not there." Casey stated to Boden as he got back into the chiefs car. "Maybe she made her way back to the firehouse, don't lose hope yet Casey." Boden stated before rushing back towards the firehouse.

"Hi, this is y/n, sorry I can't answer right now, call back later." Y/ns cheery voice called through the phone, causing tears to build in Casey's eyes for fear of losing his baby sister.

-------------------------------

Casey paced the floor of his office as he tried calling his sister once again. It had been two hours since they left the scene of the school fire and Casey was beyond worried. No one had heard anything from her and everyone was starting to fear for the young girls life. She hadn't been found in the building after the fire was extinguished which means that she could be anywhere on her own.

Sighing in frustration, Casey threw his phone onto the desk as he sits down on his chair, face in his hands. He takes a deep breath as he tries to calm himself down as he hears footsteps coming towards him. Looking up he seen Dawson knocking on the door.

"Hey, any luck?" She asked. "No, haven't heard anything." Casey stated with a sigh, rubbing a hand down his face. "Antonios here with news on the fire." She stated, looking at Casey as he stood up. "Great." He replied, making his way to the canteen where the rest of firehouse 51 had gathered.

"Alright, what have we got?" Boden asked, glancing at Casey as he and Kelly moved to his side. "The fire was started on purpose. According to the principal it had started in the lab area so it was probably done t try distract the attention as an experiment gone wrong." Antonio stated. "Do you know who could of caused it?" Kelly asked, his arms crossed. "Could be student, teacher, someone who possibly got into the school to start it. We're currently working on finding who done it but no one say anything out of the ordinary." Antonio shrugged. "Right well if you need any assistance with this case let us know." Boden stated, crossing his arms as he stepped back. "Course." Antonio nodded before moving away from the group of firefighters. "I'll see you out." Gabby smiled at his brother before walking off with him.

"Hey Casey, any word on your sister?" Hermann asked, worry laced on his face as he looked at his lieutenant. "No nothing yet but still trying." Casey replied with a sigh as everyone looked at him. "God, it's been two hours." Cruz muttered to Otis as the two looked at each other. "I hope she's ok." Otis replied with a nod at Cruz. "Maybe we could check with Antonio, he might of heard of something talking to the school." Kelly stated, looking at Boden and Kelly. "Good idea." Boden pointed at Kelly before turning as Casey walked off to where the Dawson siblings left.

"Antonio." Casey called out, running to catch up with the detective and his sister. "Casey." Antonio nodded at him, leaving the conversation he was having with Gabby. "Hey have you heard of anything about a missing girl." Casey asked, pointing slightly at the detective. "Why?" Antonio asked in confusion. "Casey's sister y/n hasn't been in contact with him since the fire and she goes to that school." Dawson explained to her brother causing the detective to nod. "There hasn't been anything on any missing person from the fire, no said anything. Are you sure no one has heard from her? Maybe she left early or something." Antonio explained the possible scenarios. "No, my sister isn't like that. She likes school so wouldn't just up and leave. She hasn't been in contact with anyone and I'm worried as there wasn't anyone found after the assessment of the building." Casey shook his head. "Have you got a picture of her, I can look into it and see if any kid we questioned about the incident matches her." "Yeah, there's one in my office." Casey nodded, signaling for the detective to follow him. "Here." He stated, grabbing a picture of y/n smiling with a milkshake beside her from his pin board, handing it to Antonio. "Great, I'll let you know what I find." Antonio stated before leaving. "Thanks Antonio." Dawson smiled, leaning against the door as his brother left.

Casey sighed and moved to his chair, sitting on it as he sighed deeply. Gabby sighed as the firefighter ran his hands over his face in frustration. She moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Antonio will find something out." Dawson assured Casey, rubbing his back gently as he bounced his leg with worry. "I just want her back here, safe." Casey stated, causing Dawson to sigh. "Yah, I think we all do." Dawson stated with a look of worry for the young girl.

----------------------

Kelly looked up from the squad table as footsteps were heard rushing into the firehouse. Seeing Hailey, he got up and came towards her.

"Kelly where's ...." "Casey's in his office." Kelly stated, interrupting the out of breath doctor.

Hailey nodded and rushed towards her fiancés office. Casey looked up as he heard the footsteps and stands up when he sees who it is.

"I'll leave you two alone." Dawson stated before leaving, smiling softly at Hailey before closing the door.

"Maggie told me you were looking for y/n, is she here, is she safe, is she ok?" Hailey asked as she hugged Casey. "Haven't heard from her, I've been trying to contact her but it keeps going to voicemail. Antonio is looking for her now." Casey explained, tears filling his eyes for the first time since the incident. "Hey Matt, look at me, she'll be okay." Hailey tries to reassure her fiancé, cupping his face in her hands. "I just, I can't bare the fact that I don't know where she is, she's my baby sister Hails, I've raised her since she was one, I can't, I need to know she's okay, I need to know where she is." Casey cries, sitting on his bed with tears flowing down his cheeks. "Matt, listen to me, she will be found, it'll be okay, she'll soon be back here with you okay." Hailey tried to comfort him as he rubbed his arm gently. "I just want her back Hail's, I can't bare the fact that she could be anywhere, maybe unconscious...." "Don't think like that" Hailey interrupted him, putting a hand on his cheek to force him to look at her. She kissed him gently before before hugging him again as he cries. "I need her back Hails." He cried, clinging to her. "I know, I know." She stated, running her hand through his hair, trying to calm him down.

---------------------------

Y/n groaned in pain as she leaned against a wall in an alley. Burns and cuts were littered all over her from the fire and her head was pounding. The guy who had been around her since she woke up gripped her arms and forced her to stand up.

"What's wrong sweetheart, scared I'll hurt you." He jeered in her face. "I think that's enough, no need to hurt her." A voice called out. Y/n glanced to the side to see a figure coming close to the man who had been around her as he walked away. " Here." The same man that spoke before stated, handing him something.

The guy who had been at her glanced towards y/n before nodding at the new man before walking away. Y/n sat up weakly, rubbing her head before looking up when she heard someone coming towards her. She moved back, her back hitting the wall as the man crouched in front of her.

"Oh don't worry y/n, I'm not going to hurt you. I think you've suffered enough now." The man spoke causing y/n to look up at him, recognizing him as Voight. "What?" Y/n asked in confusion. "Just tell your brother something for me, if he withdraws the claim against my son then all of this will go away." Voight stated, bringing his hands up to y/ns shoulders. "Why are you doing this?" Y/n asked, gasping in pain. "I really didn't want to bring you into this but my sons a good boy and your brother might ruin his chances of having a good life." He stated causing y/ to nod before scrunching her face in pain. "Let's get you back to the firehouse, I'm sure there worried about you." Voight stated before offering y/n his hand as he stood up.

------------------------

Firehouse 51 sat around the canteen, not speaking as they worried over the youngest Casey. Casey sighed as he tried calling his sister again, all but throwing his phone down when it went through to voicemail once again. Hailey had gone back to work with promises of contacting her fiancé if y/n turned up at the hospital. He leaned his head against the wall as Kelly sat across from him.

"Still nothing?" He asked, looking at his friend. "No, I'm worried man, she always answers my calls, or at least texts if she can't answer, no matter what she's doing." Casey stated, leaning on the table via his arms. "God I hope she's ok." Kelly stated, concerned for his youngest friend who he thought of as a sister.

"Casey!!! We need you." Gabby shouted from the parking lot as Mills runs into the cafeteria where most of the crew had looked up at the sound. "It's y/n." He stated, pointing behind him as Casey rushed towards the parking lot, the crew not too far behind.

"Y/n." Casey shouted in relief when he seen his sister, Dawson close by her. He ran towards where Gabby kneeled beside his sister, y/n lying on the ground tiredly. "She has burns and cuts all over her but they don't seem severe." Gabby stated, glancing at Casey as he stopped beside her, placing a hand on his sister cheek as he watched her with concern. "Bring her here." Shay shouted from the ambulance as he opened the back doors.

Casey brought one arm under his sisters back, the other going under her knees before lifting her up bridal style, heading towards the ambulance with Gabby following close behind.

"Casey." Y/n called weakly. "Hey, I'm here, your okay, your safe." He reassured her, kissing her head gently as they reached the ambulance.

Casey placed y/n onto the stretcher before watching from the doors as Shay and Dawson examined her. Kelly moved closer to Casey, placing a hand on his shoulder as they watched the paramedics place an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. The rest of firehouse 51 gathered around the ambulance, watching on with concern for the young girl.

"Her burns don't look severe, cut's aren't too deep, y/n sweetheart are you hurt anywhere." Shay asked as she listened to y/ns breathing. "No, just tired. Where's Casey?" Y/n asked, rapidly looking for her brother. "He's just at the doors sweetie, don't move too much alright. I'm just going to patch you up." Gaby assured the young girl, pointing to Casey as Shay jumped down from the ambulance. "I don't think she's done any internal damage, her burns and cuts aren't too bad so they will clear up, she'll be fine after some rest but if she does show anything out of the ordinary we can bring her to med." Shay explained to Casey as Dawson treated y/ns cuts and burns.

Casey nods and moved onto the ambulance after Dawson got down. Bent down slightly, he moved towards y/n who reached up to her brother when she seen him. Smiling, he removed the mask from his sisters face before lifting her up into his arms. Kelly patted y/ns head as he helped Casey down before they left to his office.

"Come on little one, you can rest in my office." Casey smiled, kissing y/ns head as she clung to his neck. "I'm sorry for worrying you." Y/n stated tiredly, snuggling into her brothers chest as he opened the door with his foot. "Hey, don't worry about that, I'm just glad your okay. I was afraid something had happened to you." Casey reassured her as he lay y/n on his bed before crouching down near her head as she turned to face him "You okay?" He asked, petting her hair gently. "Yeah, you?" She asked with a smile. "I am now that your here." He stated, leaning down to kiss her temple "What happened?" He asked in concern. "I was in english class when the fire alarm went off, we made our way to the fire exit but I got trapped so I made my way to a empty classroom, closed the door and looked for water to make a face cover as you had told me to do countless of times. I think I breathed in smoke or something as I must of passed out because next thing I know I was in an alley with a guy pushing me against a wall." She stated causing Casey to look at her with worry as he grabbed her arm and rubbed it gently "Voight came after, gave him something, told him he needed me not harmed and then he came over to me" Y/n stopped as Casey's face hardened. "He didn't do anything to you, did he" Casey asked with wariness in his voice. "No he just told me to tell you that if you wanted it to stop, you just had to withdraw the claim" Y/n explained tiredly "I'm tired'" She stated, yawning gently at the end, "you get some sleep, I'll be here when you wake up unless called out. I just have to talk to Boden about something" Casey stated, kissing y/ns head before getting up from his crouched position. "I love you Casey." Y/n muttered as she closed her eyes. "I love you too." Casey smiled, relieved to have her back close to him.

-----------------------------

Casey walked into the canteen to see majority of the crew sitting around, chatting away. The air was more at ease now that y/n was back safe. Kelly looked towards Casey and nodded as he nodded for him to follow, before moving to Hermann and Mouch, asking them to follow them to Bodens office.

"Casey, how is y/n?" Boden asked, seeing him walk in along with Kelly, Hermann and Mouch. "Yeah she's resting in my office." Casey nodded, closing the door behind Mouch. "Did she anything of what happened?" Kelly asked, watching as Casey stiffened. "Yeah, it's not good." Casey stated, sitting on the chair in front of Bodens desk, Mouch taking the other one. "Well, what happened?" Hermann asked. She said she got trapped during the fire so went into a room and done water on a piece of cloth but must of inhaled smoke or something as net thing she knew she was in an alley wit ha guy pushing her against a wall." Casey stated causing the men to inhale a sharp breath. "Did he?" Mouch asked, unable to finish his question. "She said no one hurt her but Voight did come up them, gave the man money and then brought her here. Said if I wanted this to stop then I had to withdraw the claim against his son." "So Voight organized this?" Boden asked fro clarification. "From what y/n said yes." Casey nodded, holding back his anger. "Jesus why would Voight do that to a young girl like y/n" Hermann stated in shock, leaning on the back of Casey's chair. "Revenge." Kelly stated bluntly, glaring in front of him. "Casey it's your choice here, we can have y/n here at all times till this blows over" Boden stated. "I'm not withdrawing that claim" Casey stated with determination. "Then y/n stays here till somethings sorted. Have Antonio come here and tell him what happened, Voight's gone for the wrong person this time." Boden stated causing the rest to nod "Thanks chief" Casey nodded in appreciation for the guys. "She's family, and no one in out family gets hurt" Mouch stated as the rest nodded in agreement before the alarm went off for them to get to work.

[iamcalmdammit]

Separated || [Buck x reader]

(Based on @moonlightholland22's request. I named the kid after CoD's David Mason.)

“David!” you yelled as soon as you noticed your son sitting beside a woman on top of a car. You swam over to them and pulled him into a tight huh as soon as you could. You had been looking for your kids for over two hours by now and it was a relief to find at least one of them. “I'm so happy you're okay, sweetie.” He started crying as he kept hugging you, but you ignored him for a moment while you turned to the woman. “Thank you so much for keeping him safe. Didn't you happen to see three more of him? I can't find his siblings and my husband.”

The woman shook her head in response. Where the hell could they be? You could only hope they were together somewhere safe. It was driving you crazy that all you could do now was sitting there patiently and waiting for help to arrive. That's what Buck would tell you to do, so this is exactly what you did.

An hour or so passed with only your son asking some questions about his siblings and his father, with occasional comments about being hungry. You glanced over at the woman every now and then, but you didn't know if you would start a conversation or if she wanted to process the situation on her own.

Then suddenly she looked at you and asked, “Did you say you have three more kids?” You nodded with a smile. “How old are they?”

“They'll be four in a few months. Quadruplets.”

“That must have been a challenging pregnancy,” she noted with an amused look. “Is your husband helping a lot? I'm sure it's not easy with those kids.”

You nodded as you looked down at David. “Yeah, he does. He loves them more than anything. And that must be because they look and behave exactly like him,” you added with a laugh. “I hope they’ll grow out of it.”

“Did you hear that?” she suddenly asked as she stood up.

With a confused look, you followed her gaze and tried to listen. “Hear what?”

“I think help is coming.”

And sure enough, a few minutes later you didn't only hear, but also saw the boat that was coming your way. The woman started waving to get their attention, while you decided to stay still. It was hard to believe that they found you so fast, yet here they were. You didn't recognize the firefighters who came for you, but didn't matter now.

They took you to safety and let others take you to the hospital for a quick check-up. But it only solved one part of the problem. The rest of your family was missing, and you couldn't calm down until they were somewhere you could see them with your own eyes. You wouldn't even know what to do if—No, no if. They were okay. They had to be.

“David?” you heard a voice ask not far from you.

You turned towards the source of the sound, hoping it would be your husband, but it was Eddie instead. At least you saw a familiar face around—that was a start. Maybe he knew something about the others.

“Hey, have you seen Buck and the kids?” you asked eagerly.

But sadly he shook his head as a response. “Are you two okay?”

You nodded. “Yeah, David is fine according to the doctor.”

“And you?”

“I survived with a few broken ribs, it's okay.” Silence fell between you and you found it weirdly uncomfortable. You needed to talk to someone, anyone and about anything. “Where's the rest of the team?”

“Out there, saving lives. They needed some help here so I stayed,” Eddie explained as he casually reached out to pull back David by the hand before he could run after some other kid. “Look, I'm sure Buck kept looking for the kids until he found them. If they couldn’t give you information about them at the tent, it means they're still out there. Most probably alive.”

“Buck?”

“Yes, I’m sure h—”

But you quickly raised a hand to interrupt him before pointing at the familiar person behind him. “No, that’s Buck over there!” Eddie turned around to see who you were pointing at. “Can you keep an eye on David for a few minutes?”

He nodded and waved you to finally go over to your husband. He didn’t have to say it twice because you pushed through the crowd to get to him as fast as you could. You didn’t even have time to call out for him because he noticed you and ran to you without hesitation to pull you into a hug. Your chest hurt thanks to those broken ribs, but you couldn’t care about that now.

“Where’s David?” he asked when he stepped back to look at you.

“He’s okay, Eddie is keeping an eye on him. And the others?”

“A doctor is checking to see if they are okay, but everything seems fine apart from some cuts and bruises. I just jumped out to check if they knew anything about you out here.” He pulled you back into the hug and rested his chin on top of your head. “I’m so happy you’re okay. It was hard to look for you two and watch the other three at the same time. But you’re here in one piece and this is all that matters. I love you so much.”

You giggled as you buried your head into his chest. “I love you too.”

[canonicallyobserving911]

Evan “Buck” Buckley: Rescuing people for his job vs. Saving someone he loves

This post includes detailed analyses of some of Buck’s rescues for his job versus the saves he’s made for the people he loves.

Please note:  There are only a few of Buck’s rescues included in this post because if all of them were included the list would be too extensive but the saves he’s done for the people he loves are included.

Buck has been a firefighter for more than 5 years and part of his job is to rescue people. He’s rescued people from raging fires, car accidents, people who’ve been stuck in storm drains, victims who’ve tried to commit suicide and people who were in other types of precarious situations. Even though he’s rescued several people, there have been times during a rescue when he’s lost a victim. The thing is whenever Buck rescues someone for his job, it’s very different for him when he’s saving someone that he loves.  While he’s passionate about being a firefighter and rescuing people for a living, his attempts to save the people he loves are far more extreme than when he’s rescuing people at work.

Rescues

In 1x2 “Let Go”, Buck lost his first victim during a rescue.  Devon was hanging on to a rollercoaster that malfunctioned and Bobby sent Buck up to rescue him. While Buck tried his best to get Devon into a harness so that he wouldn’t fall to his death, Devon gave up and let go. The fact that Devon wouldn’t try to grab Buck’s hand to save himself haunted Buck for a long time.  He attended Devon’s funeral and Devon’s sister blamed Buck for her brother’s death.  She eventually apologized to Buck for blaming him but he never really got over that loss. He persevered and continued his job as a firefighter.

In 3x2 “Sink or Swim” while Buck and Christopher were sitting on top of the 136’s ladder truck, Buck saw and heard a woman yelling who needed to be rescued.  He asked Christopher to promise that he wouldn’t move and Christopher stayed put and kept his promise.  Buck rescued more than 20 people from flooded cars, windows and buildings and he led them all to the ladder truck so that they could all wait together to be rescued.  While Buck rescued all of those people, the one person he loved (Christopher) who was also on top of the ladder truck fell off and needed to be saved.

In 3x16 “The One That Got Away” Buck rescued a hearing-impaired woman named Gladys from a fire that was raging in her apartment building.  Since the building couldn’t be accessed from the ground, Buck and Eddie went to the rooftop of the building next door and jumped on top of the apartment building that was on fire.  Eddie handled the ropes while Buck rappelled down the side of the building so that he could enter Gladys’ apartment through the window.  He broke through the glass, entered her apartment, strapped Gladys into the harness and they started to rappel down the side of the building but the rope caught on fire causing them to fall on top of the inflated air cushion.  Buck rescued her.

In 4x5 “Buck Begins”, during a warehouse fire, Buck asked the team he was with to leave so that he could go and rescue a victim who couldn’t be located.   Hen said it was ok but Captain Mehta was the incident commander and he told Buck to evacuate.  Buck kept going and eventually found Sale’ (sp?) who was trapped in an area surrounded by fire. When they tried to escape, they couldn’t because the exits were blocked.  Sale’ became trapped underneath a heavy piece of equipment and Buck tried to lift it.  The rest of the 118 entered and saved Buck and helped him rescue Sale’. Buck and the 118 rescued Sale’.

Saves

Maddie

In 2x13 “Fight or Flight”, Maddie had been kidnapped by her estranged husband, Doug after he spent weeks stalking her and Chimney.  He didn’t reveal his identity to Chimney when they met so Chimney had no idea who he was but when Doug came to Maddie’s apartment, he stabbed Chimney and proceeded towards the apartment.  After he kidnapped her, he took her all over the state of California to keep people off their trail.  Buck was living with Maddie at the time and when he arrived at her apartment, Chimney was laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.  Buck put pressure on his wound and called 9-1-1 but while he was on the phone with them, Chimney started mumbling about Maddie. That caused Buck to go to her apartment to search for her only to find out that she was gone.  At the time, Buck only knew some of the things Doug did to Maddie but he knew enough to know he was dangerous; therefore Buck wanted to locate Maddie as quickly as possible.  Buck stole Chimney’s phone and illegally accessed the information on it.  After Athena found out what he’d done, she put her job on the line to help Buck locate Maddie.  He asked Athena while they were driving around, “What do you think we’re going to find when we get there? I mean he said he would kill Maddie and he almost killed Chimney so…”. Athena assured him that his sister was not the same person Doug remembered because she learned how to fight and defend herself and Athena was right. Buck was still worried about her because he didn’t want to find her dead.  He was panicked at the fact that his sister had to fight for her own life and he’d never seen her like that before.  She always hid the bruises from him when they were in Pennsylvania. Maddie had to fight her husband to stay alive and ultimately she ended up killing him.  Buck arrived for the aftermath of Maddie and Doug’s fight to the death but he was there for his sister and he helped save her from the cold and snowy area Doug had taken her to.

Christopher

In 3x1 “Kids Today”, 3x2 “Sink or Swim” and 3x3 “The Searchers” Buck and Christopher were caught in a Tsunami.  Buck saved Christopher from the raging waters and placed both Christopher and himself on top of 136’s ladder truck. They played games and talked while they waited to be located by rescuers but Buck heard a woman yelling for help which caused him to go into firefighter rescue mode. He asked Christopher to promise that he wouldn’t move from the spot he was sitting in and Christopher promised. Buck started rescuing people from buildings, cars and those who swam to the ladder truck for safety.  After he rescued several people, Buck continued to care for Christopher by playing more games and shielding him from the dead bodies that started floating down the street.  When the Tsunami wave started to go back out to the ocean, it caused the ladder truck to shift and Buck screamed for everyone on top of the ladder truck to hold on.  Some people fell off the truck so Buck tried to help as many of them as he could.  Christopher fell off the truck too when it shifted while Buck was helping others and they got separated.  Buck was completely distraught over the fact that Christopher was lost.  He jumped off the truck and searched the streets trying to find Christopher all day long.  When nighttime fell, Buck went to the VA hospital and was directed to the morgue.  He called Maddie to tell her that he lost Christopher and she told him he needed to tell Eddie.  Buck didn’t know Eddie was at the VA hospital too providing medical care to patients.  Buck tried to hide but he and Eddie crossed paths anyway.  Buck owned up to his responsibilities and explained everything to Eddie.  A few seconds passed but a woman who had been caring for Christopher since he and Buck got separated appeared from the mail truck the rest of the 118 brought to the VA and Eddie saw them.  He called out to Christopher and Christopher yelled “Dad”.   Buck was in shock as he watched Eddie hug and kiss Christopher. Bobby saw Buck looking in their direction and asked him if they were ok.  Buck replied “We’re great!” right before he collapsed into Hen’s, Chimney’s and Bobby’s arms.  Even though Buck and Christopher got separated, Christopher was still saved by Buck because he fought to save him from the raging Tsunami waters and he never gave up searching for him.  Also Eddie told Buck the next day, “You saved him. That’s how he remembers it” after he brought Christopher back to Buck to let him know he still trusted him with his son.

Eddie  

A sniper shot Eddie right in front of Buck in 4x13 “Suspicion” which caused Eddie’s blood to be splattered all over Buck’s face and clothes.  After Buck realized what happened and he saw Eddie fall to the ground, he went into a catatonic state of shock.  He couldn’t move as he watched Eddie bleed out on the street.  Captain Mehta had to literally tackle Buck to get him on the ground and out of the line of gunfire. Buck’s eyes found Eddie’s eyes and they had one of their silent conversations.  In 4x14 “Survivors”, once Buck was able to get himself out of being in shock, he army crawled underneath the 133’s ladder truck to save Eddie. He pulled Eddie underneath the truck, picked him up and put him inside of the ladder truck.  Once they left the scene Buck started providing Eddie with medial care by ripping open his shirt, pulling open the gauze with his teeth and placing the gauze on Eddie’s open bullet wound.  He talked to Eddie the entire time trying to keep him awake. Eddie asked Buck “Are you hurt?” and Buck said, “No, no, no I’m good, Eddie”. He kept talking but Eddie couldn’t stay awake any longer and he feel unconscious right after he looked into Buck’s eyes and silently said ‘I love you’.  The 133 arrived at the hospital and Buck screamed for the hospital’s emergency team to come on so they could get to and treat Eddie.  When they wheeled Eddie into the hospital, Buck returned to a state of shock as Captain Mehta asked him if he was ok.  He answered “no”.  Buck saved Eddie’s life that day but Buck was emotionally distraught too because he had just watched the love of his life get shot and he couldn’t comprehend what happened. After he exited the hospital, his number one concern was getting to Christopher so that he could tell him what happened.  He did his best not to cry but after he read the text from Bobby about Eddie’s status, he lost it and cried in front of Christopher.  They supported and comforted each other.  Buck didn’t know at the time that he was Christopher’s legal guardian but he stepped into the role anyway.  He stayed with Christopher at Eddie’s house and when he had to go to work, Carla would care for Chris. Buck thinks of Christopher like he is his son and Eddie means the world to Buck. They can’t live without each other so Buck probably wouldn’t have been able to go on if Eddie had died.

Maddie is Buck’s sister and she raised him. He loves her and he was completely distraught when he realized Doug had taken her.  Christopher is like a son to Buck and he would do anything to protect him and that was the case long before Buck was told by Eddie that he would be Christopher’s legal guardian in the event of Eddie’s death.  Eddie is the love of Buck’s life and one of his biggest fears is that he will lose Eddie.  He can’t live without him and he doesn’t want to raise Christopher alone.  Buck has almost lost Eddie too many times in the past and now he just wants to keep him, Christopher and Maddie safe. The difference between the rescues Buck does for his job when compared to the saves he’s done for the people he loves is simple.  Buck willingly helps the people he rescues at work because that’s his job and while he doesn’t want any of them to die, he’s learned over the years that everyone can’t be rescued.  However, when he saves someone he loves like Maddie, Christopher and Eddie, it’s completely different because he would have given his own life to save all three of them. In Christopher’s case, while they were in the Tsunami, he almost did die.  He wanted to die in Eddie’s place and he told him that he thought it would have been better for him (Christopher) if he was the one who got shot.  Buck loves his sister, he loves Christopher and treats him like a son and Buck is in love with Eddie; therefore these people are his family and he would do anything to save them including die to ensure that they don’t.