#a&(killian beneventi)

[hvbris]

@multipleoccupancy . Theo's family gets bigger

The Baudelaires had been in New York for a few days now, living in the house of their new guardian: Theodore Beneventi. New York reminded Violet of the town where she grew up, only bigger. Much, much bigger.

Mr. Beneventi, who had told them they could call him Theo, seemed like their most normal guardian so far. For starters, he was not afraid of turning on the stove, which was very nice, because it meant the Baudelaires could enjoy a warm meal for the first time in a few weeks. There were no snakes in the house either, which, to be fair, was to be expected. And of course, here, they were not ordered to do horribly long and difficult chores.

The other thing that differed from their last guardians, was that Theo already had a family. He had a wife, Andrea, two sons, and a baby daughter, who was already getting along great with Sunny.

Violet felt like their luck might have finally turned. Even the terrifying shadow of Count Olaf didn't seem as scary, considering that Theo was an FBI agent. She did not usually consider herself lucky, not since the terrible fire that had killed her parents, at least. But for the first time in months, she was feeling much more hopeful than usual.

And, it's with that noteworthy hopefulness that she left the room she shared with her siblings, and tip-toed to the kitchen. It was still early in the morning, but she was awake and craving a glass of milk.

"Good morning," she said politely when she saw that the kitchen area wasn't empty. Theo was already there. He was very nice, and she already felt comfortable around him, so she poured herself a glass of milk. "The view is very beautiful from here," she commented, not only to make conversation but also because it was true.

[hvbris]

@multipleoccupancy . Killian gets a text 👽

[📲: Scorpion 🦂] Hey!

[📲: Scorpion 🦂] guess what

[📲: Scorpion 🦂] I’m in New York 🍎

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet let out a little sigh of relief. If her dad was here, then Dr. Parrish wouldn't be able to send her to a hospital. No matter how absurd this fear was, it helped to know that her dad would be there to prevent it if it ever came true. "Thank you, Dad," she said with a little smile. Samantha would have liked to give him an encouraging hug, but she knew better than to touch him right now, so she just smiled too.

"My arm is ok," said Violet, "the painkillers help. I didn't have any problem cleaning the mattress, or making lunch." It was obviously still painful. There was a dull, lancinating ache that reverberated to her hand and shoulder. Not to mention the stitches on her side. But the pain helped her a little bit. It was something to focus on. Something other than the worries and the guilt. She had been thinking about her dad's file a lot, too. With "middle-sized Tony" and the Apocalypse club. She wondered what that place was.

"It's not infected or anything," she then added. While she had accepted to go see Dr. Parrish, the therapist had a fancy office in a nice building, in Manhattan. A hospital was an entirely different story. Violet wasn't ready to step foot in a hospital yet. But she wasn't lying either, the stitches were not red nor too swollen. They seemed to be healing up nicely. "Mom did a really good job stitchin' me up."

"I'll go with you," he confirmed though internally he was dreading the very thought of it. He knew, logically that he would be perfectly fine but it was not easy to shrug off a lifelong fear of therapists and with renewed and reopened memories of Heartland and his methods, he worried he might fall apart. But he would go with Violet, she didn't need to share his fears.

He wanted to offer her a hug but the other part of him still wasn't ready for that and after a moment he let go of her shoulder as she wiped the tears away with her hand. "The best team," he said slowly and then cast a look at Samantha, offering her a little almost playful wink even if the smile didn't quite appear on his face for it.

After a moment and a short breath, Theo looked around the office again, checking for orderlies, hounds and whatever else and wondering if that would be the new obsession, orderlies. He hoped he would not end up in hospital again for a while, that would be a real trial. "How is your arm?" He asked of Violet, his head turning back to her after he was done stretching his neck to check by the window. If he couldn't take her into hospital for it, could Samantha? Or they could wait for Andrea if she needed to even go at all. "Still got all of your movement in it?" He subconsciously rubbed at where he had been bitten all those years ago. "I remember it being painful."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet felt tears welling up in her eyes when her dad put his hand on her shoulder. His voice was much warmer than before, almost like his normal voice -but not quite there yet. Still, she clung to it, to his encouragements, and to the hand he had placed on her shoulder. They were little signs that this episode would end. That he would heal, and that, maybe, just maybe, what she had broken could be repaired.

"Really?" she croaked, as the tears rolled down her cheeks, "you'll go with me?" She knew he was as scared as her of therapists, more scared even. He had spent 7 months in this horrible place. He had seen Dr. Heartland many times. And yet, he was willing to accompany her, so she wouldn't have to go alone. "Thank you, Dad."

Samantha was indeed well aware that he would be very wary of Dr. Parrish, as well as uncomfortable and nervous about the whole thing And she would happily write a note or call ahead, to warn the therapist. But she was so incredibly proud of him, and of the amazing father that he was.

"We're a team", repeated Violet, brushing her tears with the back of her hand, "a great team." If they had faced cruel orderlies and a dangerous jellyfish-monster together, they could face a therapist together. Knowing that her dad would be there really made the whole thing far less daunting.

Valid worries from Violet, Heartland had been so cruel in his words and while Theo knew the man had not known about the paranormal, he was still a very terrible doctor and therapist. There was irreparable damage done to him, he hoped he could spare Violet that same problem. But he nodded along in agreement with Samantha, so glad she was there to back him up and to help Violet.

With her agreement, Theo managed a smile and after a moment of hesitation and as thorough a check he could do on the door while sat on the floor, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, praise and gratitude that she would speak to Dr Parrish. "It'll be ok, Violet." He was sure to offer, "I know you're scared," better than he supposed anyone now. He didn't think it was likely those who were left behind in the ward were still alive or in a state able to remember Heartland and his orderlies. "But it is a brave step you have to take." He encouraged, so much more patience and warmth back in his tone as he said it, even if it wasn't quite there yet.

He thought about that horrible pit of the stomach feeling in being told he had an appointment with the doctor, that cold shiver that could overwhelm him. Violet had only seen Heartland once as far as he could remember but once was enough for him to do his damage. He hoped he was having a horrible time in prison. "You won't have to go alone," he promised her. He was terrified of therapists and doctors calling themselves psychologists but he wouldn't make Violet face that fear alone either. "I'll go with you," not to talk, no it was very unlikely Theo would utter a word and probably sit in intimidation mode on the couch next to Violet, poor Dr Parrish. Perhaps he could ask Samantha to write her a note explaining to just ignore him.

"We're a team, right?" He reminded her, his voice cracking just a little as he recalled the words he had spoken to her decades ago and hoped that she remembered them too. "We go to this together."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha was right. Violet knew Dr. Parrish, she'd seen her after the "window incident," and she had given her a lot of tips to handle her panic attacks. But Dr. Heartland's words had left a deep mark on Violet's heart. She could still hear them sometimes, in the back of her head. "What if she doesn't believe me?" she asked, "what if she thinks I'm delusional? That I belong in a hospital?"

"Dr. Parrish is aware of the paranormal, you know that," gently reminded her Samantha, which was again true, "she will believe you, and she'll never think you're delusional." Besides, hospitals could be good, helpful places. Not like the ward. But Samantha knew better than to say that right now. "She has helped you before, and she can help you again. You're a very brave girl, Violet. But it's ok to need help once in a while."

Her father's plea tugged at Violet's chest. Would it help him, if she went? She didn't want him to worry about her. And if he asked her to do it for him... then she just couldn't refuse. "Alright, I- I'll go talk to Dr. Parrish," she finally accepted, looking down at her bowl. It still made all the hair on the back of her neck stand up. But she'd do it. For her dad.

Besides, Dr. Parrish wasn't Dr. Heartland. Dr. Heartland was in prison, now. He couldn't hurt her. He couldn't say horrible things to her. And yet, Violet still felt the uncontrollable urge to get on her feet and run as far away as possible. Instead, she took another bite of soup and swallowed it -it felt like ash in her mouth.

'Killian' had done much worse that shoot fellow agents in the leg but Violet didn't need to know about those incidents in the moment. Part of him had not even let them cross his mind as he thought more about agents having episodes instead, he never blamed them when they did but he would also make sure he and the other agents present would get home if he had to. Unaware that she no longer intended to become an agent, Theo was mindful not to interrupt her processing of what he had said.

He held no qualms against Samantha shooting him if she had to either, though he knew she would do as much as she could to avoid doing that, to those that knew him at least there was an easy way to get him to back off. It was the agents that didn't know him that were the problem if he snapped and his paranoia prevented him from telling them the very simple means of scaring him off.

Theo was very sure that Ophir had been the source of his blood phobia and the onset of his more obvious OCD but he did suspect that the ward had a heavy hand in some of his other compulsions or obsessions. He still only took one utensil at a time out of a drawer.

Grateful that Samantha had remembered Violet's reluctance to talk to her therapist about what she'd been through, he nodded along with her insistence and winced a little with Violet's mumble. He could hardly say anything and he still didn't have the mind to argue it in the moment but luckily as ever, Samantha had it in hand. "Please speak to her, Violet. For me?" He asked softly while tucking his hands into the blanket and keeping it tight over himself, much like he had done with Mauve when they initially went on the hunt for the Star Vampire.

He turned to Samantha after a moment, granting Violet some space and time to collect her thoughts and hopefully agree with them. He offered Samantha a small thankful smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he continued to battle with the memories but he was lucid enough to be thankful for her help.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet's mouth opened a little bit. Her dad was right, of course. That was self-defense. But she couldn't help but wonder if he had shot an agent in the leg before, to snap them out of a violent episode. And would she ever have to do it, if she became an agent? I don't want to become an agent anymore, she reminded herself, now that I know what Delta Green did to Dad.

Samantha nodded along. Sometimes, it was the only solution. The best one. Otherwise, terrible things could happen. She knew Killian counted on her to stop her if needed, just like she counted on him too. That was just another way of keeping each other safe.

At the mention of her dad's OCD, Violet thought about the Star Vampire, and all the blood. So much blood. Had this day triggered his fear of blood and his OCD? As for Samantha, she had a similar thought, though she was thinking of a different time. That night, in Ophir, with Ruby's blood staining everything. How Killian had washed his hands, how he'd avoided the bloody sink.

"Your dad is right. It's a heavy toll. It leaves its trace, on all the agents. It's why you need to talk to someone about the things you've seen," gently attempted Samantha, "I know and understand your reluctance, Violet. But you've witnessed so many terrible things already, and you're so young. If you keep it bottled up, it will explode eventually, and in ways you might not be able to control. Like phobias or disorders."

Violet thought about the windows in the living room. "I just don't want to talk to a doctor right now," she mumbled, before taking a spoonful of soup. "I know," gently replied Samantha, "but this is not the ward. The ward is closed. And you know Dr. Parrish, you've talked to her before. You know that she's a good therapist, that she'll listen to you."

Touché.

Theo sympathised with how scary being a witness to a violent episode could be and he hoped she would never see one from him. He could smash the bowl in his hand onto her head and kill her with the shards. Theo closed his eyes and twitched his head away, looking back into his soup again with a shaky breath as Samantha spoke and comforted Violet while he could not.

Samantha gave suggestions on how to deal with an episode and nodded along quietly for a moment but he couldn't help the small side eye before he was sure to add on, "you can also take action to disable them too, no one will blame you if you have to shoot someone in the leg to stop them charging at you, defending yourself." He was of course thinking of Sloane and how he wished he had seen the first attack coming.

She asked if people were in control and he shook his head, "not always, when an episode does hit, even if it is repressed, when it finally comes on it's not something that can be controlled." A breakdown he supposed should have been added onto the list of reactions but the word was scary to say out loud and he didn't want either of them worrying that much, though he suspected Samantha knew what was happening. "You can talk a person down and reason with them."

If only those in the ward had been trained in psychotherapy, how nice it might have been to have actual trained professionals in that place. Theo again looked to the doorway and then did a diligent check of the corners of the office while he was at it. His eyes landed on Violet and he paused for a moment, thinking about how she wanted to join Delta Green, how she wanted to fight monsters and help agents like himself. She could do it, but he wished she wouldn't. "There are some cases where you can't. Even in the moment when they appear calm." He put the remainder of the soup down and half turned his body towards her, not fussed about Samantha hearing what she already knew. "My OCD and my paranoia, they only really developed after episodes in the past." Who knew if he would have a new disorder after his latest. "The toll fighting monsters, cultists and all of it has on agents, Violet, it's heavy."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet did not realize that she had lived through an episode of her own when she froze during the fire. She did not realize that seeing everything she had seen had already taken a toll on her, like rust slowly eating at her insides.

"It was scary," Violet admitted about Cowboy Theo's episode. Samantha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She knew better than most just how terrifying a violent episode was. So did Killian. When she removed her hand, she unconsciously brushed her neck, before grabbing her spoon again.

"These sorts of things are scary," she then explained, "but there are ways to help someone going through an episode, even a violent one. Usually pinning them or restraining them is the most efficient thing to do, and eventually, they snap out of it. When someone is frozen in fear, you can try to talk them out of it. And if they run away, at least they are out of harm's way."

Running away didn't seem like the kind of thing Violet would do, but then again, she had run away in Ophir. Leaving Chief behind. "Can people control themselves during an episode?" she asked, "or... is there nothing they can do?" Maybe her dad couldn't do anything about what was happening to him. Maybe he just had to ride out this horrible moment. But how long was it going to last? Days? Weeks? ...Months?

Was she bottling things out? Would it all come back to bite her later? Violet stared at her bowl of soup, frowning. A lot of terrible things had happened to her, but she always seemed to move on fairly easily. Except for the nightmares. Or the fact that she still couldn't get anywhere near the big windows in the living room.

Glad that Violet seemed to understand what he had been trying to say, he nodded his confirmation, reassured he was not overstepping any of Delta Green's rules in explaining temporary insanity to her. She had to know, she was facing it and looking at a mild episode as it was. Not opposed to Samantha explaining that she could have an episode too, not realising she had already had one of her own when she froze in the fire. Theo cast what was meant to be a sympathetic look Samantha's way but it might have seemed emotionless as he did it, he still checked nonetheless. They'd seen each other through episodes before and been fortunate.

She described what she had seen his counterpart do and he nodded slowly. "It certainly sounds like he had an episode." And how lucky she was there had been other targets left in the room if violence had been the course of action his lapse in control had taken. Theo wanted to reach out and pull Violet into a hug but he still couldn't bring himself to do it again, fortunately the soup was a handy excuse too as he took another spoonful to keep himself in the moment and not to wherever his head might try to take him next.

"Sometimes people just run away too." He explained, "which in my own opinion if you have the mind to decide what to do, running away is going to be the best decision." If something could trigger an episode like that, fleeing from it was the best course of action, right? Theo would of course very much prefer Violet ran away from the danger rather than towards it but even in the state he was in he wasn't fool enough to believe she would run away even during an episode.

Of course there were times when running away was impossible, like when an orderly could pin them down to the floor with no escape, fighting or freezing was all that was left and both would end the same way. He rubbed a hand at his head again, trying to wipe the thought away. "Sometimes if you bottle them up," which he had done with Violet the previous night after falling from the couch, "they just come back to bite you later."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Her dad never talked about his work as an agent, or what said work entailed -or only in very vague details. The only time he had told her things was when he was taking painkillers for his gun wound, and she wondered if this was a similar situation. She didn't want to take advantage of it, but she was still curious. Especially if this could explain what was happening to him.

"So... this is an episode?" she asked timidly. An 'episode' meant it had a beginning and an end, it meant he wouldn't stay like that forever. Samantha nodded. "Is it going to happen to me one day?" After all, she saw monsters too. She fought them too. Was she going to be violent one day? Or freeze at the worst possible moment?

Samantha looked at Violet, and then Killian. "It's possible," she replied, hoping she was not overstepping. But Violet should know, especially if it could teach her to be more careful. "Your dad is right, seeing the things we see takes a toll on us. Sometimes, it's just too much, and it triggers an episode. It's happened to me before, too."

Violet opened her mouth and closed it again, frowning. She stayed silent for a few seconds, before finally saying "I've seen it before, I think. In Ames, Cowboy Theo he... He got so mad. After the cultist tried to strangle me, he was so angry. He started killing everyone." And then there was Evil Theo, who had thrown her out of a window. She felt the vertigo again, tugging at her stomach. Had it been an episode, too? And... was her dad going to be violent? No. No, that was not possible.

Theo nodded to Violet's 'really?' and along with Samantha's confirmation, catching that encouraging smile and taking some reassurance from it that he was on the right track. He felt like that sixteen year old boy again, trying to navigate the ward and the world from it, reassurance was indeed very nice to have at hand while he tried hard for Violet.

Samantha seemed to have caught on to his train of thought about how fortunate he was to be safely at home and not who knew where else in the country trying to deal with the situation on his own. At least he could rest at home once he calmed his thoughts and memories down enough. It was in that moment that he remembered about the weapons in the house. He should ask Samantha to take them, just in case. What if his worries on being sent back to the ward and memories of the place turned into some mad delusion and he started attacking his family or Samantha?

He took a few spoonful's of soup in thought, deciding to wait until Violet was out of the room again before making such a request of Samantha, he didn't want his daughter worrying he might snap in the home.

"Agents sometimes have episodes in the field," he glanced to Samantha before he said quite honestly and bluntly, "sometimes they look like this, sometimes a person freezes or becomes violent. It's a cost for doing what we do. Seeing the things we see has a toll." Was he being too loose lipped? She should know, shouldn't she? She was seeing these things too.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet finally looked up from her bowl of soup, sniffling a little bit. Her eyes were shinier than before. "I was glad to be there for you," she croaked. She had never asked to go to the ward and knew that the Horned One had not done it out of the goodness of His heart (if He even had one). But she had tried to make the best of it, yes. She had tried to help. Clumsily, recklessly, but still.

"Really?" she asked, trying to fight the tears welling up in her eyes. She had blamed herself so harshly for triggering her father's memories. Was he really better off remembering now?

"Really," confirmed Samantha, shooting Killian an encouraging smile. He was doing so well, despite struggling with his memories. She could see his efforts, how badly he wanted to be there for his daughter. "We've seen it on the field. Agents remembering repressed memories at the worst possible moment." Violet's eyes widened a little bit. Her dad didn't really talk about 'the field' to her.

"Your dad is right, it's for the best that he can handle these memories at home with his family, safe from any danger." Violet hadn't thought about that. She didn't even know that anything could have potentially triggered her dad's memories. Samantha's reassurance helped, but it was her father's words that really seemed to settle her down.

Theo saw Violet's smile fall and he paused, almost frozen as he considered what to say or do to remedy the situation. In the moment he was once again too nervous to reach out to comfort her, something that might have been picked up on in his cautious check of the doorway. Luckily Samantha was there to help and Theo nodded for her words while he watched Violet, sensing there was more there that he wasn't seeing, alarm bells going off as he studied her.

Even with Samantha talking of the last time the pair had met Violet did not smile nor really engage with her. Her only response was a reply into her soup as she tried to hide her face behind the bowl. Feeling a little lost, Theo was again grateful for Samantha's presence as she clearly worked out what was going on while he struggled. Was she blaming herself for what was going on?

"Samantha is right, none of this is on you." He insisted, though he had to think of something else to reassure her other than just his word, he knew he had to get her to follow some sort of verbal path to understand that he didn't blame her at all. She was unfortunately a trigger for him but that too was not her fault. "You were sent there, against your will and made the best of a bad situation as you always try to do. You were invaluable company for me, remember." He drew in a shaky breath because it was so long ago but so very recent too, it made his head spin in thought.

"Something would have triggered it, I imagine it would have been much worse if you hadn't told me and I remembered anyway." His eyebrows dropped into a small frown as he thought about what might have happened if he had been away on a mission with such a revelation. Really, he was fortunate in his circumstances. "It's better this way," he tried to voice that train of thought without really explaining it. "I'm safe at home." Though he didn't sound all that convinced it was again just a matter of jumbled delivery of his tone.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"I wanted to help," explained Violet, blushing a little bit, because surely her dad knew that she always got restless around the house when she was trying to ignore what was going on in her mind. She smiled at his thanks.

But her face fell at his response. Her dad wasn't feeling better. She immediately blamed herself for looking so defeated, but she couldn't find it in herself to smile again. "Your dad just needs time," chimed in Samantha with a gentle voice, "but you're helping a lot, Violet." Oh, how she wanted to believe that she was helping. But it was also her fault if her dad was so rattled. She had broken something inside him, and what if he could never fix it?

"We met before, but we didn't have much time to talk," said Samantha, giving Violet a friendly wink. Violet tried to smile, but she just couldn't. She took a sip of soup instead. Even her father's thanks didn't seem to cheer her up.

"You don't have to thank me," she replied, her eyes planted on her soup, before taking another sip, mostly to hide her face behind the bowl.

While Samantha agreed that no thanks were needed, she could tell this was not the issue. "None of this is your fault, Violet. Anything can trigger repressed memories; there is no controlling them. Even if you hadn't told your dad you were Mauve, something else would have brought back his memories eventually."

Violet went to get her bowl and Theo cast a look to Samantha. He was struggling in seeing Mauve but trying his best for Violet. His attention soon turned to the comfort of the soup as he gave it a gentle stir when Violet reappeared in the room with her own bowl and took a seat next to him.

She had been busy while he and Samantha had been talking! He blinked at her quietly for a moment before softening. "You didn't have to do that," as if he might have managed to do it considering the blood and his own inability to even get to his feet in the first place didn't factor into that. "Thank you for doing it though," she had been looking for a task right? Which could mean she was upset. He was grateful again as he was sure it was not going to be any easier for him as night came too.

He met Violet's gaze as she turned to him with worry. He opened his mouth to answer but didn't quite find the words for a moment. He was not feeling better, far from it but he supposed he was sat up and about to eat something so it was an improvement right? A slow breath escaped him as he struggled for a moment, not wanting her to believe he was going to be back to normal too soon but he also didn't want her worrying about him. "I'll get there," was what he eventually managed, "I promise."

He didn't know if that had been the right answer and there was a certain amount of worry in the back of his head about getting the answer or any answer wrong in the moment. Nervous that it would somehow result in a punishment that would never actually come. "With enough soup," he tried to both tease and praise as he indicated to the bowl. He might have playfully nudged her if he was not still terrified of contact in the moment.

He looked back to Samantha on his other side, "You two have met before, I don't think I had the chance to thank you both together for helping me before, and now." He looked back to Violet, "Thank you."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet was relieved to hear her father inviting her to join them for lunch. Her shoulders relaxed, and she looked up from the ground to meet his eyes. There was a little bit of warmth in his voice, too. Finally. "I'll go get my bowl," she said with a shy smile, before vanishing through the door.

She walked to the kitchen, hoping that her dad was feeling a little bit better. He sounded better, didn't he? And, holding her bowl of soup, she returned to the office where she sat down on the floor, next to her dad. Unlike Mauve, she was wearing her hair down, a purple sweater, and a pair of jeans. But then again, she was Mauve. And Mauve was her.

"I cleaned my bedroom and prepared the sofa bed," she explained, "Samantha can sleep there." Violet's mattress would unfortunately retain some stains, she had accepted it. But they had faded after a lot of elbow grease and didn't look like blood anymore. She had left it to air dry and put her now relatively clean sheets into the dryer. Her room was no longer some gruesome crime scene, thankfully.

"Thank you, Violet. That's very sweet of you," Samantha was sure to praise. She had expected to sleep in a hotel since the flat was already quite crowded. But she preferred staying near Killian, especially at night when his episode would get worse.

"Are you... feeling better?" shyly asked Violet as she looked at her dad, her brows furrowed with worry.

He didn't much like lying to his family and while he hated that Violet had been exposed to the supernatural it had in some ways been nice to have someone in the family who would know if something happened to him out in the field and understand he would never leave the family if he had to be 'vanished' for whatever reason. But with her appearance in the door the conversation came to a respectful halt. Davidson being dead already should be enough to deter her from looking and afterwards they could just be kept apart.

Theo took the bowl from her, partly surprised that it wasn't cardboard and that the spoon wasn't plastic as he held both in his hands. It was even warm and smelled good. He cracked a smile as he looked at the warm food and looked up at Mauve again. "Thank you." It was not a rare thing to have hot soup in the house, in fact it had not been rare in the last 20 or so years but everything was too fresh in his mind from the ward that he believed for a moment that he ha not had nice soup in over seven months. He realised it was not the case of course but he was still grateful all the same.

Her hesitations around whether or not she should eat with them tugged right back at his heart and at least pulled out his fatherly side again. "Of course, come and eat with us." He encouraged softly, the warmth oozing back into his tone at long last. He had a long way to go and he knew it would take time for him to process everything that had happened and no doubt he would reveal some of that trauma now he remembered it but he was always going to try his best to be a father to Violet.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"He won't," she confirmed. Because why would he? Davidson had left 'Mauve' behind, he clearly did not care about her fate and had no reason to believe she was out there, let alone still 14. But if Violet went looking for him... well, it was another story then. He would find out that she hadn't aged in 22 years. "I suppose she could try something like that." A grimace. That sure sounded like something Violet would do. "But we can tell her that Davidson is dead, now. If it keeps her away from him, it's worth the lie."

But now that Violet was here, the conversation had been cut short. They would have to discuss it later. She offered her a warm, supportive smile. "Thank you, Violet. That was very thoughtful of you."

Encouraged by her father's gesture, Violet stepped slowly inside the room and handed them both a bowl of soup. Samantha took hers with another thanks. "I did," she confirmed about making a bowl for herself, "it's in the kitchen."

"I didn't know if... I thought maybe you wanted to..." Eat without me, she finished in her mind. "I can bring my bowl here if you want." She had scrubbed her hands and forearms clean, but they were a little pinkish from washing the skin too harshly. "It's chicken noodle soup," she then explained, her eyes planted on the floor.

Another mental note landed in the back of his mind next to drawing another pendant for Violet. He needed to make a certificate of coolness for Samantha. The unofficial godmother of his children in turn even if it had not been spoken out loud. He was at least glad that she felt he told her often enough how glad he was she was in that role. For her own safety but so too for his peace of mind, Samantha wasn't going to stand for people like Davidson sending children into establishments from hell in order to coerce them into signing up.

Sha had been right not to touch him but he took her company beside him on the floor comfortably enough, still nervous of being caught doing something wrong and the consequences from that. Another silent check on this temples with his fingers, nothing there. He nodded for her reassurance though much like his daughter it was much harder for him to accept that whatever unfolded for those agents now was in part going to be his fault.

"He won't go looking for her," he rationalised with himself too, Davidson had no reason to believe 'Mauve' was anywhere else but the ward he had left her in, well, until it had closed down of course. "She might look for him though." He pointed out with no small doubt that she would have words for Davidson and she should be careful. He trusted Samantha when she said they could make sure their paths never crossed, it was perfectly possible in Delta Green to keep agents far apart and oblivious of each other.

Mauve appeared in the door way with two bowls in hand. She was only supposed to have one. Theo swallowed thickly but listened as his daughter explained about lunch. He hadn't even thought of food and wasn't sure he could manage it but he forced a small smile as she stood in the doorway and then tentatively gestured for her to come inside the room properly. "Thank you," he was sure to say, dodging her name. "Have you made one for yourself?" He checked, "you need to eat too."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"Official?" she repeated with an amused chuckle, "a sort of certificate of coolness? I'll take it!" If she could have, she would have made him Darlne's godfather. But she couldn't. "But you say it, Killian. You say it more than anyone else in the Program." In other circumstances, she would have nudged him playfully. But she knew that right now, it would only make him flinch. So she just offered him a warm smile instead. "Thank you."

Her smile vanished when he admitted that he felt guilty. She wasn't surprised, of course. He was protective of other agents (the good ones), felt responsible for them. "Don't," she retorted firmly, "how many times did you have to step in to help a struggling agent? I'll tell you. Too many times. But today, you're struggling. It's their responsibility to step in and take over."

"For now, he has no reason to see her," she reminded him, her voice softening, "and if Violet ever gets recruited, we can make sure they never cross paths." They couldn't sit here and pretend that she wasn't going to be recruited. The letter she had received was proof that the Program was interested. And while Violet could refuse, Samantha had a feeling she wasn't going to.

"We'll find her things to do, and she can work on her inventions. Besides, I think she's gonna be happy to be home with you." And, right on cue, they heard a little knock on the door. Violet was standing timidly in the doorway, holding two bowls of soup.

"I made some lunch," she explained, "I thought... well, you haven't eaten all day." Violet had made soup because it was warm and comforting, and since her dad had drank water so far, it seemed like a safe bet. And while she wasn't as good a cook as Andrea -or Sunny, the soup still smelled rather good. Violet had also made soup because she knew she couldn't lie in bed and do nothing all day. So, she had cleaned her mattress, prepared Samantha's sofa bed, and even cleaned the living room before cooking lunch.

Violet learning her limits is partly what troubled him, he had horrible scars from his own limits and he had known them at the time. She was also sporting horrible scars from her misadventures with monsters. He leg, back, arm and psychologically the toll they would take on her in years to come he understood all too well. He said nothing more of her limits though, dreading the day when she would find out just what they were, he hoped he would be there to protect her but with her travels, he could never tell.

"I'll write it for you," he suggested and tucked his legs up against his chest as he kept his eyes on that orchid, he might have burned holes in it if he could. "Make it very official." Samantha deserved it, she worked so hard and had made such a difference in The Program. When was the last time she was reminded of that? "You do a really important job and I don't say enough how grateful I am that you do it."

Theo still felt guilty for having to pull in other agents on his behalf to go after a Fate no less. He thought about trying to get up there and pulling on his coat and hat to try and get after them to help but even as the thought sat in his mind he found himself frozen and his limbs heavy again. He wasn't going anywhere. "I feel guilty," he told her honestly, hating that he was sending others in to do the hard work.

Yes Violet was out of the ward now, thank whatever was listening to his prayers. "You don't think he will come after her? She looks exactly the same as when he would have last seen her." He looked off towards the door, his worry for Violet greater than his dreaded fear of the ward and it's haunting memories. "I can't let her out until her bruises are faded. She'll go stir crazy."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha understood Killian's worries. Violet was too fearless, never hesitating to run towards danger. And while she had good intentions, she simply didn't realize how reckless her behavior was. Shooting Sloane had been such an absurd risk, and trying to fight a Star Vampire was even more outrageous! Even worse, the fact that she had somewhat succeeded each time meant that she would most likely continue until she failed. But failure was unforgiving, with monsters and cultists.

She couldn't say any of that to Killian, not without worrying him even more. "She's still young, she'll learn," she assured him instead, "she'll realize her own limits."

A chuckle left her lips, but it was clear Killian's praise meant a lot to her. "Thank you," she said with a smile, "I might ask you to say it to Darlene once she turns 14! Tell her I'm the coolest at work." Samantha certainly didn't find her job easy, though it was less taxing than being on the field. But telling agents not to eat alien goo or flirt with Outer Gods was still a whole challenge in its own right. Delta Green was better for it, at least. Agents like Davidson were kept in check.

There was no doubt that "Tony" would not make things easy for the agents, but she didn't want that to trouble Killian. "I sent three agents after him," she reminded him gently, "they'll know what to do."

Agent Davidson had seen Violet? What if he recognized her? That would put Violet in danger. Killian, too. And with the Program hellbent on recruiting her, that made matters worse. She frowned. "He's a despicable man. I'm not surprised he would do something like that. But Violet is out of the ward now, and so are you. It's what matters. Davidson can't hurt you, and he can't hurt your family."

He nodded his confirmation that Violet or Mauve had indeed broken the nurses' nose. It was a strange pride and worry thinking that she was indeed perhaps too brave. "I worry what she will get herself into." After her stint with the Cowboy she had come back more aware and skilled then even himself but she still didn't understand the psychological cost, that horrible toll that she should not have been paying yet. "I don't think there's anything that will scare her off of this life." He let out a low and worry filled breath, he'd suffered because of Delta Green, he understood just how much only that night but what would they do to Violet?

"You're still cool," Theo insisted, "if she knew the sorts you had to handle and put back into line, she'd see you were the coolest person in The Program." He managed a small flash of a smile but it couldn't stick. His eyes drifting back to the orchid again as he thought about how cruel it had all been in the past, Samantha was much better, agents were more fortunate than they truly understood. With his failure to stand, Theo pulled the blanket over the back of his shoulders and stayed settled sitting up. Letting Samantha look through the file with no worries, there wasn't anything in work he wouldn't show or tell her.

"He's not going to come easy," Theo pointed out for 'Tony'. He suspected he already knew he was after him and had decided to run. He hoped into the sewers, such cultist scum belonged there. He puffed out a breath and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, more afraid of his failure in the moment before Samantha reassured him that Davidson wouldn't be able to send him back to a similar ward and that he was apparently one of the best agents, a small but welcomed compliment, believing it was through their teamwork he had lasted that long as it was.

"He's seen Violet," he realised with Davidson, it might have been decades ago and he might have had as much recollection of Violet's face as Theo had until last night but he had not been on medication nor had he gone through shock therapy, he could very easily remember her face. "He pretended that he would get her out of the ward to keep me sweet." His nose scrunched up but he was quick to open his eyes again in case he slipped back into the ward by accident, worried about reliving that threat all over again. Too raw in the moment to think about but Davidson was haunting his thoughts too, he was upset and angry.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"Well, I think it's a good thing," she replied with a little smile. There was no undoing what Sloane had done when he had exposed Violet to the paranormal. And there was no getting rid of that clingy Great Old One. Violet was going to need all the bravery she could get, and if she was just like her dad, then she was all set. Her smile widened when Killian went on to describe all the things Violet had done in the ward.

"She broke his nose?" A little chuckle left her lips, but she was clearly impressed. "I can't say that I'm surprised, considering she shot Sloane. There's not much that seems to scare her." Which of course was why Killian was so worried about his daughter. Being brave was good, being reckless was more concerning. Not to mention the fact that her craftiness and fearlessness had already piqued the interest of Delta Green.

Samantha shook her head with another chuckle. "For now, maybe. Then she'll become a teenager and think I'm the lamest person ever. If she only knew how cool I used to be." Not that Samantha wanted to get back on the field. The only thing that made her hesitate, sometimes, was Killian. She was worried about him, today more than ever, and she hated that she wasn't out there with him.

She nodded and went to retrieve the file, noticing too late that Killian had tried to stand up. She couldn't help him up, but maybe it was best he stayed on the floor for now. She picked up the file and sat back down next to him. "You've already done a great job," she praised, flipping through the file, "you've gathered a lot of valuable information."

A frown troubled her usually cheerful features. Yes she knew. She knew all the horrible, despicable things Agent Davidson had done to get Killian to join the Program. "He can't do that," she assured him, "the ward is closed, and you're one of the best agents Delta Green has. Not to mention the FBI. Besides, I'll shoot him if he even tries something like that." Samantha was not usually one to use threats of violence, but if there was one man she wouldn't hesitate to shoot, it was Agent Davidson.

Her kind words earned another tear from him, his eyes sore from crying previously burned with the sensation but it was the good kind. It was quite the compliment from Samantha to be called kind and brave though he did know they were close and she might have been pandering, it was still well received considering he thought much the same of her.

Violet's tenacity had been something to behold and he realised in that moment that Samantha had not seen what he had seen in the ward but she had witnessed it while Sloane had been trying to call down Fire Vampires. "I don't know if that's a good thing," her being like a younger version of him, he had not exactly been careful, hell he still wasn't. "She fought back too, she bit two of them and kicked a nurse in the face, she broke his nose." Despite it all, even how he shivered and kept himself on the floor there was just a note of pride in that statement too. "She's the toughest person I've met." And in part it scared him for what was ahead. She couldn't fight everything.

"I am sure she thinks you're very cool," he commented, Darlene was still very small by his recollection, "There's no one cooler than Mom. I should know." He cracked a smile for Andrea but thought it was true for Samantha too. He was reminded of his parents and he wondered if he would have the heart to tell them now that he could remember their visits and what was said. His heart that bit heavier as he debated with himself about getting off the floor.

She was doing a fine job of easing his worries around what Delta Green might do with his failure. Agents needed breaks he knew that, he went out and saw it for himself often enough, somehow he just struggled to let that apply to him too. "Thank you," he told her, for her reassurance and he was quite sure she really would knock out any handler's teeth that dared to send him anywhere in the meantime. "I have his file on the desk," he pointed to where he had seen Violet place it earlier. He sniffled and started to push himself from the floor again, wobbling a little before he sat back with his head against the desk, taking a moment to look at Samantha, so grateful for her coming to him.

"You know Davidson threatened to return me to the ward if I ever failed?" She likely did know, he didn't doubt it was in his file somewhere. "It's closed down now. He can't do that. Can he?"

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha looked at him seriously. "Yes, you can get over it again," she assured him. "You're resilient, Killian. You're tough. You've been through a lot, and you've still become one of the kindest, bravest men I know." They had been through a lot together, too. She'd been there right by his side in many of his worst moments. Most of them were haunted by the same, towering shadow. Sloane. But this moment, this horrible moment in the ward, he had faced it without her. Much like Violet, she wished she could have been there for him.

"I know," she chuckled, shaking her head. "She's quite fearless. She reminds me of you when you were younger." She smiled. And even now, you two are very alike." She doubted anyone could tell she was adopted. Violet was so very much like her father—brave and reckless, with a strong sense of justice and an almost dangerous urge to protect the people she loved.

"First pick of Disney movies? Now that's an honor." But of course, Samantha was a mom and would let the kids choose anyway. And as long as it wasn't Paw Patrol, she would indeed be quite satisfied. "I wish there was a cool dog show about HR reps," she laughed, "at least Darlene would think I have a great, exciting job." But then again, she used to have an exciting job. Too exciting, actually.

She shook her head. "Don't be sorry," she corrected him firmly, "you're not the first agent to need a break, ok? It happens to everyone. And I'll knock the teeth out of any handler who tries to give you crap about it." Killian probably knew she meant it. "I sent three agents after him, they're based in New York. I haven't gotten any updates yet. But you did everything you needed to. You warned me fast enough for me to send backup." She hoped it would reassure him a little bit, since he was so much "by the book".

He could rely on Samantha to knock him down if he did lose control. They had both learned in the field that it was necessary to know and he trusted her completely to do it for him if the need ever came up. He didn't think he could ever hurt his family but he was not naïve enough to think that he shouldn't have it in the back of his mind, especially with his intrusive thoughts. He had never knowingly acted on them but he'd certainly had his moments where coming to his senses had been quite the shock. He'd be destroyed if he ever hurt his family or Samantha.

"A signature move," he said of his throat punches and thought maybe he would adopt them again in his work, they seemed to be very effective and would no doubt work very well against chanting cultists. They couldn't chant if they couldn't breathe right? She was right of course, he needed to give himself time. He'd bounced back fast in his youth but he also hadn't remembered much of it properly until then. He couldn't be down with it for months, he knew Delta Green wouldn't care and as much as he admired Samantha, he suspected he would be put right back to work whether she liked it or not. "I got over it decades ago, I can again." He tried to convince himself.

He would have to let out all of the emotions, he knew them nearly off by heart after Sloane's betrayal. At least he was not severely injured this time, just mentally and emotionally spent. Would it be harder to recover from that? He was comforted by Samantha's reminder she would be there, understanding it was in an agent's sense of protecting his family from him if needs be. "Thank you," he said without elaboration, it wasn't needed. "Violet can and has picked locks," he reminded her needlessly, Samantha must have known given Violet had turned up to fight Sloane with the gun meant to be in his gun safe in his locked office.

He did manage a smile, it cracked onto his face painfully as she spoke of Darlene and the new movie of the month. "She has good taste." A tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. He was safe and at home and decades away from the ward. "You get to have first pick on Disney movies here," she deserved a break. "Paw Patrol can wait." His cracked smile faded away and he made to sit up a little more, almost reminiscent of the boy in Ophir in the blankets looking at the stars through the window. "I'm sorry about Middle-Sized Tony. I just knew I couldn't finish the mission." Obviously, he still hadn't actually managed to pick himself up from the floor since he texted her but she didn't know that. "What's the likely forfeit?"