#and she’d have to figure out how to reel in scottie again

[cirie-won-thirty-four]

Bay should use her power as strategy...Say that she has a choice to will it to someone in the even that she goes home,go to Kaycee and another person (i’d say JC is more malliable and not as loyal to tyler even though he doesnt really like bay) and propose (threaten) 2 options,they vote her out, she’ll give the power to one of her allies and the next week regardless of who wins hoh the two of them will end up on the block pre veto, or they can keep her,and she will guarantee that none of them will go up on the block pre veto regardless of who wins hoh,her side or the side they just flipped on. She can also posit that,maybe she’s lying about the power being transferable,but you cant say that for certain,but what you can say is that if they keep her,the power will still be in effect and she can guarantee atleast 1 week of safety to the two of them. Idk if I was kaycee and JC i’d take the deal.

[stevenbasic]

GITJ Post 238: After the Kiss, p3: Walking Out of the Park

“So, like, dude-“ he began again. Scott, or Scottie or somesuch, apparently some friend of Melissa and the other girls, had found/interrupted Melissa and I at our picnic, and after Melissa took off here we now were, walking out of the park together. I was still semi-reeling: our first kiss! I was floating, I was a little confused…and I didn’t feel super great. The light nausea had returned. And in the meantime, I had to tolerate this guy. “I have a date with my friend Shanette coming up. She works for you, right? Right?” he continued, hoisting the picnic bag up over his shoulder again, “I’m haha a little nervous, nervous! These girls these days!”

“What do you mean?” I asked, as I struggled with the big thermoses. There were two, and along with the cooler and the blanket I kept clutched tightly to myself, I was carrying too much. He’d helped clean up, and was nice enough to bring this stuff of Melissa’s to the car - apparently Josie and Lakshmi were waiting for us - so I had to be polite. But the guy can talk...

“Yeah, well, uh, Shanette…” he answered, “She’s, like, really big, really big - you’ve seen her right? Recently? Those, uh, tits? And she’s so tall haha maybe taller than me…” He glanced down at me - Scottie was not a big guy, maybe 5’9” or so but a lot taller than I currently was - and I tried to keep my expression blank, keep walking. “…and these, uh, feelings I’ve been having. It's so weird, so weird.“

Why is this guy telling me this?? We met like fifteen minutes ago. It was making me anxious, the topic. He was obviously oversharing, and all I wanted to do was get home and start to process was what happened. We’d kissed, Melissa and me, I mused, fighting back a covert smile, taking another deep breath from the blanket (it made me feel better, fought back the nausea that had started to return…where she’d been sitting, it smelled like her). Yes, she was my employee, Office Manager for my practice, not the brightest girl but she was so beautiful and we kissed…

“When Shanette talks to me now it’s like she’s talking to a kid, a kid,” Scottie pressed on, heedless that I wasn’t engaging, “and it’s so fucking hot!!”

That kiss - that kiss! - was unlike anything I’d felt before, with Sheryl, with anyone. I was distracted, for sure, thinking about how my whole world seemed to change with that kiss, how it made me feel differently, but whatttt? What Scottie was saying? This sounded too familiar…

“It's, like, I want her to be my mommy or some shit haha,” he explained, hoisting the heavy bag yet again and pushing his hair back with his free hand. He wasn’t even noticing I had almost dropped a thermos. “Like, we’ve been friends forever, since middle school, and I would never tell her this but now I want her to be my girlfriend, and my mommy, my, like, mommy-girlfriend haha…” He fixed me with a glance, but again I just kept my eyes straight. We weren’t too far, now, from where they’d be picking us up. “Have you been feeling that way, too? With, like, Melissa? Melissa?”

“L-let’s just walk,” I offered.

“Sure, man,” the young guy agreed, finally figuring out I didn’t want to talk, “It’s just really super common these days…”

When we got close to the car, the big black SUV pulled up alongside the park on the city street, Josie had rolled down the driver's side window and called out to me from down the sidewalk. “Hi Daddy!!” she sang, loud enough to call the attention of other pedestrians, “Over here!!”

Daddy??

Immediately I saw it, as we approached the car. Josie’s eyes were wide, seemed wild, excited. Her smile was big, bright and dare I say almost a bit unhinged. What had they been doing, since I last saw them an hour or so ago?

Struggling with the picnic stuff, Scott and I approached with our greetings. He began a chat about his run, apparently pretty familiar with Josie, but she more or less immediately stopped him, had her eyes on me. It made me a little uncomfortable, the intensity of her fixation.

“Thanks Scottie but we’ll take it from here,” Josie said, quickly dismissing him as, with a beep, the rear trunk door of the SUV began to open. “Take his stuff from him,” she instructed, eyeing the armful I was struggling against, “and put it in back.” She looked at me again, her smile cocking. “Let him keep the blanket,” she added.

“Can’t I at least have a ride? A ride?” Scottie asked, loading his stuff into the back, then unloading mine from my arms, “Back to my car?”

“No,” Josie answered him, abruptly, then opening the driver’s side door to me. “Dr. J we heard you were cold,” she said, as my eyes dropped of their own accord to the body Josie was obviously showing off to me. I was assaulted, suddenly, on two fronts. First, the strong perfume these girls had all been wearing just billowed out, enveloped me, made my bones shudder…god it smelled good. And second, she was wearing an oversized black parka but had it pulled aside to show me her shapely torso and breasts which seemed bigger than even this morning, in a workout top. I could have sworn it was an effect of the perfume but my eyes could not keep themselves from goggling. Her smile was still wide, and seemed to invite me up into her lap, so she could close that jacket over me. “Climb on in we’ll get you warm,” she offered, watching my face as my jaw hung, open in admiration. Maybe she read my eyes, because she added: “This is my father’s jacket…wanna get in it with me?”

Over Josie’s shoulder I noticed Lakshmi still sitting in back, eyes fixed on me no less earnestly. The rear window opened so I could see in, better, say hi. Though her smile was more contained, her eyes, too, seemed weirdly wide, like she was holding in a new excitement. And Jesus her breasts. She was sort of hugging them together, bulging them around the seatbelt harness. How had I not noticed how big they were?

“You can sit up front in my lap…” Josie offered, giggling.

Lakshmi, though, was not laughing, but rather watched my face indulgently as I helplessly ogled the shapely rondure of her breasts, which had somehow grown to the size of small melons. Finally she spoke.

“...or you can climb into the backseat with me..?”

=============================================

More GITJ at my Patreonnnnnn

[ravensblood18]

Awkward

Everyone reacts differently to anesthesia – that’s part of what makes emergency surgery so complicated. There are correlations, of course, with body mass, metabolism, etc, and with the computers the best  drug and dose for each patient can be calculated.

It is perfectly safe, as McCoy assures every first time patient about to go under.(The first time he operated on Spock, the poor devil was in no shape to talk, but the second time he reeled off a series of statistics on  that particular anesthetic’s safety and tempted the CMO to up the dose just to shut him up.) What the computer cannot calculate is the reactions of each patient in coming out of sedation.  Doctor- patient confidentiality ensures that the anecdotes will never leave sickbay, but it doesn’t stop occasional bets being placed or personnel arranging to position themselves within earshot of certain patients.

Sulu, now, comes out in what is now called his D’Artagnan persona. After an incident which involved Dr McCoy getting a broken nose and Nurse Chapel getting her hand kissed, the good doctor has made restraints standard when the helmsman is…less than coherent for some reason, whether it is surgical sedation, mysterious virus or  plain old concussion.

  Ensign Chekov, from what a very amused Russian nurse could translate, usually ends up under the impression that he is the Tsar of Russia. Or that he is dating the Tsar’s daughter. It varies. Occasionally he gives orders for Dr McCoy to be banished to Siberia, for the offense of “being mean to Mr Spock.”

Riley, the one time he ended up in the post operative ward…sings. The-Song-That-Must-Not-Be-Named doesn’t sound any better when slurred beyond coherence. (The captain who had come to check on the casualties, practically bolted out of the sickbay when that started.).  Nowadays McCoy has authorized post operative medication for Riley in the interests of the patient’s safety and the Medical staff’s sanity.

Scotty, in the normal run of things, seems to get particularly inspired when half conscious, and particularly insistent on discussing said inspirations. Like the time he held a long, slurred and complicated discourse on how he could improve the production of his illegal and officially non-existent still located on Deck Ten. With a visiting Admiral who was in for his regular check up.  Fortunately, the admiral in question  turned out to be vulnerable to Kirkian charm  and a bribe of Romulan Ale.

Spock…gets very talkative.  Luckily for him, he tends to lapse back to his native language, so mostly McCoy has no clue what he’s talking about. By the time he’s coherent enough to talk in Standard, he’s coherent enough to know he shouldn’t be talking at all. The few occasions when he was just high enough to get voluble and not out enough to forget his (better than they seem) language skills have given his  hovering frenemy  blackmail material worth a life time, but unfortunately for the doctor,  the Hippocratic Oath gets in the way. The Captain, now…

“Um, Bones?”

“What, Jim?” The doctor is grinning from ear to ear. It’s only partly the euphoria of having pulled off one of the most complicated surgeries in his career (while the ship was under fire, no less). There is a particular unholy glee in the CMO’s eyes that the convalescing Captain doesn’t like.

“Just what was in that hypo?”

“Normal painkillers. Wasn’t even supposed to put you out all the way, but when you’ve lost that much blood, through direct ignorance of medical advice, I may add-“

“Okay, okay. Leave the lecture for later, Bones. I’ve got enough of  a headache already.” He pauses nervously. “Er, I wasn’t fully out all the time, was I?”

“You came round for a bit.”

“Did I…say something?”

The grin had widened to Cheshire cat proportions. “What do you remember?”

Jim groaned.

“I…think I asked Spock out. For the Valentine’s Day party.”

McCoy’s grin was now made more intolerable with the addition of a smug glint.

“Don’t even say it!” Kirk orders before the doctor can put himself at the risk of being punched out by his still-a-bit-groggy captain. “I was hypoed half way to hyperspace, that does not mean what you think! And you are going to help me explain that to him!”

The doctor mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ‘In Hypo Veritas’.

“We. Are .Just. Friends. Get your  damn mind out of the gutter and help me figure out how to explain this!”

“Well…”

“Well what?”

“You didn’t ask Spock out.”

“I didn’t?” Bones isn’t sure whether Jim sounds more relieved or disappointed.

“That damn hobgoblin left the sickbay (against medical advice, seeing a pattern here, Jimmy-boy?) the minute he was able to stand up without passing out. Said something about the ship  couldn’t have both the captain and the First Officer off the bridge “in the current volatile environment”. If he ends up fainting on the Bridge, serves him right.”

“So I was just talking to myself?”

“Nope, you just mistook someone else for him.”

Jim sighs in relief that he hasn’t ended up potentially frightening his shy First into transferring  off the ship at the first chance, then realizes just who  he was most likely to have mistaken for said First. The look of horror is enough to send McCoy into a hoot of unprofessional laughter.

“I asked Sarek out?”

“Well, you called him Spock, so I don’t think he would have..”

“Just shoot me.”

“Tempting, but maybe later. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he understood the reference. Vulcans of course don’t have Valentine’s Day.”

“Bones, the guy is an ambassador, learning alien customs is his business! Plus, he’s married to Lady Amanda, you think she never dragged him off for a Valentine’s Date?”

The image of  stoic Sarek sitting across from Amanda at a table covered with roses and candle light is enough to provoke another fit of mirth from the doctor.

“And anyway, Lady Amanda was here, she’d understand the reference, Good God…”

“Not the most dignified way to meet the parents, eh, Jim?”

The Captain chooses to respond non-verbally, by flinging his pillow at the CMO.

“Next time, just let me scream. No painkillers! Definitely not these painkillers!”

“Against Hippocratic Oath, Captain. I will, however, consider an isolation cubicle…”

The intrepid captain of the Enterprise slumps back into bed and prays to any deity who may be listening that the famous Vulcan regard for privacy would extend to not prying into  existing or potential relationships of adult sons…

McCoy returns the pillow to it’s proper position and walks out, still grinning. At the door, he turns back for a parting shot “By the way, Jim, Amanda looked like she approves…”

The pillow goes flying again.

[takadasaiko]

Breathe Again Beneath the Flames: Chapter Eight

FFN II AO3

Summary: Tom gets a gift that will allow him to push his limits a bit more and Liz meets Scottie Hargrave.

Chapter Eight

She had dreamt about him while she had slept. She could still see his smiling face and the way the mischief made it to those dark blue eyes. He had pulled her close and kissed the side of her head, those long fingers brushing back her hair to whisper in her ear that they were alright. They would always be alright. They would keep each other safe.

It was hope she had held onto, even if she hadn't realized it, and she couldn't believe that he was gone. After every close call, after every near-death experience, they had always come out on the other side of it. Zamani, the boat, being framed by the Cabal, him being shot by Gina, the entire Kirk incident…. He was gone. He'd been gone for ten months. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye. She hadn't been able to go to his funeral.

"Elizabeth?"

She blinked, pulled out of her thoughts by Reddington's voice and she looked over to him from her bed. He was watching her, brows drawn together and half out of his chair. "I'm fine," she managed, her voice still scratchy and soft after months of disuse.

"You look tired. I should let you rest."

"I've been resting for ten months," Liz snapped, wishing she had it in her to regret her tone when the hurt flashed across his face. This wasn't Reddington's fault. He had gotten them out of there, had rushed them to the hospital. He had done everything that he could.

She pulled in a breath and tried to reel her frustration back in. "Walk me through it again."

"Elizabeth, we've been over-"

"I know, but I need to hear it again."

Reddington sighed, glancing at the door before looking back to her. "Knowing every detail of the car trip, of the hospital, of what happened will not bring him back."

"He died to protect me, Reddington. He…" She squeezed her eyes shut, images playing over in her mind. The knife, the blood, and the way he had bounded up to protect her the moment the man came at her with the plastic. They had told her that he bled out, and she couldn't help but think that he might have made it if he hadn't tried to save her.

"It's a beautiful afternoon. What do you say I go pick Agnes up and bring her over? She loves the squirrels outside the window."

"Yeah. Sure," she managed, not quite able to bring herself to look.

Reddington stood and he paused for a moment, drawing a deep breath. "I know it doesn't feel like it now, but it does get better. Time will help."

She gave a small grunt of acknowledgement to get him out the door. As hard as it was, there was only one thing that might help, and it couldn't be done from the bed. She needed to get up, to get on her feet, and she needed to find her husband's murderer and make him pay.

"Yoga might be good for you."

Tom startled out of his wandering thoughts, glancing over to where Nez was bent and stretched out on a mat. "I do plenty of stretching in PT, don't worry."

She quirked an eyebrow, shifting. "I was thinking more about you finding a calm, but it helps you limber up too."

"You know what else does? Sparring."

"Pretty sure Gramble specified light exercise," Nez said pointedly.

Tom flashed her a charming grin. "She's just underestimating me." It had been ten months and his doctor was still convinced that he wasn't ready for anything that would get him back into shape. That would get him ready to help Liz when she woke up.

He didn't miss the way she rolled her eyes, pushing herself up so she could pop to her feet. "Stubborn ass," his partner groused. He thought she might drop the idea as she moved to take a long drink from her water bottle, but then she motioned for him to get up and follow. "C'mon."

He pulled himself up and to his feet, swaying only a little at stiff muscles, and followed her out of the small gym. She didn't slow her pace for him and he found himself smirking as she picked up speed around one corner. He matched it where he hadn't just a week before, and he could tell she was keeping tabs on him from the corner of her eye.

"This the light exercise you had in mind?" he asked as Nez punched a code into the keypad outside of Dumont's lab.

"You hit your limit, Keen?"

"Not even close."

"Good." The door opened and they moved through it into the lab.

Dumont was deep into a project and it took a moment for him to look up, but when he did his expression lit. "Don't you two look like people on a mission? You get more news of the fed?"

"Not yet," Nez answered. "Did you finish that thing you've been working on?"

Tom shot her a questioning look, but her focus was on Dumont, so he turned back to him just as the inventor's gaze shifted to meet his. "Why do I get the feeling that this hasn't been cleared, huh?"

"Because you're a clever guy," Nez teased.

He snorted a laugh. "Flattery will getcha everywhere, sweetheart."

It was Tom's turn to chuckle. "Pretty sure you're the only guy that can get away with calling her that and keep your limbs intact."

"Dumont's the exception," Nez said with a grin. "Lets see it."

Dumont grumbled his agreement as he started into a locked drawer. Tom leaned in, his curiosity peeked, and saw him pull what looked like a wrist watch. He motioned for Tom to extend his left arm. "It's, uh, stylish, Dumont, but in not sure-"

"It's like a Fitbit or one of those other watches that read your heart rate and everything, just my spin on it. Upgraded," Dumont explained as he fit it into place. "This'll do that, but it's also programmed to monitor any vitals that might spike into the red with exertion like you'd have in the field-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Nez cut in. "That part is for later."

"-as well as medication levels. The last was designed with Whitehall to help balance it out instead of the hit and miss approach we've been going at."

"Meaning fewer side effects?"

"That's the goal."

Tom flashed a wide grin, holding the new device up to examine it closer. "You're a regular Q, Dumont."

"Hey, look at that. He does know a pop culture reference," the tech expert laughed. "Go figure it'd be Bond. Nez, you know this guy's never even seen Star Wars? Who hasn't seen Star Wars?"

"I haven't seen Star Wars," Nez deadpanned and Dumont looked personally offended.

"What is with you people?"

"I grew up in an organization that trained me to be a covert operative. Movie nights weren't exactly the norm at St Regis," Tom said with a shrug. "And Nez-?" He looked over and she smirked.

"Back to the point, I know that we're not going to be able to stop you if you want to start in on some low-grade training, so let's at least be smart about it, huh? The readouts will feed into Dumont's tablet and we'll work together to make sure you don't do more harm than good."

"You guys have really thought this through."

Nez shrugged. "It was only a matter of time until you pushed on it."

Tom's smile faded just a little. "And you're good going against Scottie and Howard on this?"

"Good may be stretching it," she muttered, "but those two have got their hands full with their own drama. The three of us are a team, right?"

Her gaze caught his and cut through, leaving him feeling the weight of the question. "Right," he managed.

Dumont grinned, grabbing for the tablet. "Then let's test this bad boy out."

"I was just thinking about that beach," Katarina said without looking back. She was seated on the back of the bench, her feet where she should be sitting, and dressed in scrubs. Her hair was tied up under the baseball cap she wore, and as Scottie circled around she saw her squinting into the sunlight. "Do you remember the one? With the sandcastles."

"They were so little," Scottie murmured with a fond smile and took a seat next to a woman she'd once called a friend. She wasn't sure what she was now. "Christopher was so shy then, but he adored Masha."

Katarina hummed softly. "I didn't think they'd let us pull them apart when I came to get her."

Scottie looked up. "Maybe they didn't."

"Then you've seen him."

"I have."

"How is he?"

"He's…. better," the dark haired woman said after a moment of thought. "And Masha?"

"Better," Katarina answered, her voice a little wistful. "Are you here to give her the good news?"

The question caught Scottie off guard and she stared for just a moment, processing it. "I can't. Not yet. If Tom were to know that she's awake he'd be here in a heartbeat. He's not ready for that."

"You just said he was better."

"He is, but he's stubborn. Like his father."

Katarina flashed a knowing grin. "And his mother."

"He comes by it naturally," Scottie admitted softly.

"And you'll keep lying to him until you decide that he's ready to see his wife?" The redhead asked. "Was that Howard's idea?"

"We made that call together."

"At least there's that." Her blue gaze swept out to the park beyond the bike trail and the children playing soccer. "Tell me about Agnes."

Scottie looked over, startled by the request. She hadn't even been sure that Katarina knew about Agnes, and if she did if she cared.

"I saw a photo by Masha's bed while she was sleeping. I assume Chris the father."

"He is."

"I saw Raymond bringing her by to see her a week or two ago."

Scottie hummed softly, letting her gaze drift over to the private facility down the pathway, her thoughts on a little girl she hadn't seen in person since she was a newborn. She had held that little bundle, never realizing she was holding her granddaughter close. Those tiny little fingers had wrapped around her own, trusting and curious, and all she had been able to think of was her own child in that moment. "She must be…. nearly three now."

"Is she why you're here?"

"In part," Scottie answered honestly. She was also there to see Elizabeth personally. She needed an update, but didn't dare send anyone else. If word got back to Tom that she and Howard were keeping this from him it would decimate the shaky trust they had built with their son. Much like his recovery, it was a long, difficult road, and one that had to be approached with great care.

"I need you to do something for me."

Scottie turned back, finding those blue eyes fixed on her. She quirked one dark eyebrow. "I thought I'd been doing a few things for you these past months."

"I need you to keep an eye on Masha for me. You can do that easier than I can, being the child's grandparent."

"You still planning on running this from the shadows?"

She pressed her lips together. "Some secrets would blow this whole thing wide open…. The fact that you and Howard have found Christopher or that I'm alive."

"Is Garvey somehow linked to them?" Scottie asked carefully.

Katarina didn't answer, but smiled as she stood. "Raymond is out today," she offered, her meaning obvious. She didn't wait for Scottie to answer as she started down the path, leaving the dark haired woman alone to make her decision.

It had been a long, hard day and Liz could feel it in every muscle's protest as they wheeled her back to her room. It was distracting, but not quite distracting enough to keep her from noticing a face only familiar through photos and the news. Susan Scott Hargrave stood at the nurse's station, speaking to the head nurse, and Liz reached painfully up to stop the nurse wheeling her down the hall.

Scottie turned and for just a moment Liz saw her husband in the woman's eyes. It was jarring and she had to steel herself against the sinking feel in her chest even as her mother-in-law tried for a smile, the expression more than a little forced. "Elizabeth. Hi, I know we haven't met, but I'm-"

"Tom's mother," Liz forced out. "I know."

The sound of her son's name dashed even the forced smile and a sadness filled her dark eyes. It took a moment, but she cleared her throat to speak again. "Yes. I wanted to stop by, to meet you, and to…. well to speak, if you have the time."

Liz tilted her head just a little, studying the woman and doing her best to pull up every memory she had of Tom speaking about her. He had worked with her, trusted her for a while before everything had gone wrong. He had also admitted that there might have been more to the story than he knew. He had sent some sort of evidence along to a contact he had with the FBI in New York, saying that situation with his parents had taken too much time away from his time with her and with Agnes. He'd been torn about it, Liz had been able to tell, but it had been his call to make and she had supported him in it. It would seem the evidence had been enough to have her released. It hurt worse than she could have expected that Tom wasn't here to see that.

"Yeah," she said after a long moment. "I'm on my way back to my room. Why don't you come with me?"

The smile Scottie gave her then seemed a little more real, but Liz was too tired to return it. She's been through her physical therapy session and was about to embark on an emotionally draining conversation. It must have been a Tuesday.

The older woman followed in silence as the nurse wheeled Liz back into her room and offered to help her back into bed. She waved him off, not interest in being at any more of a disadvantage than she already was with Susan Hargrave.

Once the nurse was gone, Scottie took a seat. "Elizabeth-"

"Liz is fine."

"Liz," she corrected, "I can't begin to express sympathies that could match what you've been through. Tom and I…. In different circumstances I believe we could have been very close. He-"

"You had him beaten for information by Matias Solomon, the same man that you sent after us at our wedding that nearly killed me and our daughter," Liz deadpanned, holding the older woman's gaze and watching her quickly cover the discomfort.

Scottie shifted in her chair, but matched Liz's gaze. "I don't think you're naïve enough to think that the world that we function in is simple, Liz, or even straightforward."

"And what world is that?"

"Halcyon Aegis is an intelligence company. We work within the world of espionage, and that can lend to more extreme circumstances. I'm sure you've found yourself in a few places you might have never expected over the years," she said pointedly. "Tom was good at this, and he understood how it worked. I imagine that's why Kat went to him with the information that exonerated me."

"What are you here for, Scottie?" Liz snapped, feeling the conversation wearing on her nerves.

She watched the other woman pull back to rebalance. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I…. all of that is true, but it doesn't weigh on me any less. The last moment I saw my son before he died was as I was being taken to prison. It's something I can never change, and there are only so many ways to make amends now."

Liz loosed a long breath and nodded very slightly. Regrets never easy. Even worse when there was no second chance, no way to earn forgiveness.

"But you and Agnes are still here," Scottie said softly.

"You want to be in your granddaughter's life," Liz ventured.

"I would love that," Scottie answered, her expression softening considerably, "but I don't expect it. I've been reinstated at Halcyon working with Howard of all things. With that reinstatement comes the ability to make sure that my son's family is taken care of."

"We're fine," Liz answered, trying to take some of the bite out of her voice. "You may have done a lot of damage with what happened when Tom worked for you, but you paid him well. We bought the apartment we were living in and between what was left over and what I made with the Bureau…." She shook her head. "I…. appreciate it, but we'll be fine."

"Will you at least let me set something up for my granddaughter?"

The question sounded so small, like a woman desperate for some connection, and in the moment Liz thought she saw through the mask to a woman that hadn't known the man that her son had become, hadn't done right by him, but was trying to find a way to make it right somehow.

Liz cleared her throat. "Listen…. I don't know you. Honestly, I don't think Tom even really knew you, but I get trying to hold onto something. Agnes will be here tomorrow. Why don't you drop by and maybe you and I can…. talk."

After a long moment Scottie nodded. "I would like that. Thank you."

Liz tried for a smile that she knew failed and watched her mother-in-law stand and leave. She wasn't sure if it was the right call to make yet, but she supposed she would find out.

Notes: The Star Wars reference fell almost perfectly for May the Fourth. It was just a fun nod to Tom's lack of pop culture knowledge that I'd played around with for it and it happened to land on the update following Star Wars Day. Couldn't have planned that better if I tried lol

I really appreciate the feedback I've been getting on this story. I post it on FFN, AO3, and on Tumblr and make a note on Twitter when it goes up. I was a little worried when I started in that the fans that would read this would have tapered off, but you guys have been fantastic. I hope you know how much even a few words mean to me. You're all amazing :)

Next Time- Liz asks Scottie for a favour, Solomon sets up his plan for getting closer in to Garvey, and Tom receives a surprise visitor.