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clown-friend-gt · 7 months ago

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Up, Up, and Away Chapter 7

This chapter is a bit long because I combined two chapters into one. That also means I only have one completed chapter after this one, which I'll probably post later this week. There may or may not be a short hiatus after that while I work on writing more chapters. Thanks for understanding.

Link to Masterpost

************************************************************************

Left Alone

2.8k words

(CW: More police stuff, body horror)

The next few hours were a blur. More people from the institute arrived to take Trevor away. Around that same time, EMT’s arrived, wheeling Robbie away on a stretcher. Trevor had just enough time to watch them load him into an ambulance before the institute agents shoved him into the back of a gray van with the logo of the institute’s enforcement department on the side.

The ride over was not a smooth one. He was too big to fit in any of the seats that lined the sides of the walls, so he had to lay on the floor, crammed in like a sardine. Whenever the van took a particularly sharp turn, he’d be slammed into the wall, and the whole van would tilt dangerously to the side.

“Settle down back there!” The driver yelled back at him after the van crashed back onto four wheels.

If you don’t want the van to flip over, maybe stop driving like a maniac, Trevor thought, but said nothing. He didn’t need to make more trouble for himself.

Trevor thought he knew the city pretty well. But with no view of the outside and all of the twists and turns, he had no idea where they were headed. All he knew was that based on how long they’d been driving, it was pretty far outside of San Solaris.

He wondered what his mom was thinking right now. Would she be worried after he didn’t come home? Had anyone told her what had happened? She’d done so much for him since this all started, trying to keep him from going insane. And he’d just thrown it all away.

Then his thoughts drifted to Robbie. Would he be okay? He looked to be in pretty bad shape when they took him to the hospital. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him, not really. He just wanted to scare him off. But he’d underestimated his own strength, and now both of them were paying for it.

God, he was disgusted with himself. Maybe Robbie was right. Maybe he was a freak. After all, what kind of person would do such a thing? The way Robbie had crumpled when he hit that wall, it made Trevor shudder to think of now.

As he stewed in silence, he didn’t notice the van come to a stop. Then someone pounded on the side of the van, jolting him from his thoughts. The doors opened, but from his crumpled-up position, he could hardly see outside.

“We’re here. Get out,” came an authoritative voice from the outside.

“Just a minute.” Trevor started wriggling around, trying to free himself.

He managed to straighten his legs and plant them on the ground outside. From there, he did a kind of half-crabwalk to pull his torso from the van. Once it was no longer underneath him though, he collapsed onto his back, his legs folding awkwardly beneath him.

“Ow,” he muttered to himself.

An institute official stood over him, arms crossed. He wore slacks, a light blue button up shirt, a tie, and suspenders. His name badge read “Ray Morgan.”

“Get up,” he ordered.

“I’m trying,” Trevor complained, struggling to try and sit up. But with his legs trapped and his hands bound, it was almost impossible. He sighed, defeated.

“I can’t. I’m stuck,” he told the official.

“Seriously?”

“Maybe if I could use my hands…” he snarked.

Morgan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine, hold on,” he said, retrieving a small remote from his pocket. He pointed it at Trevor and clicked a button, causing his cuffs to buzz again. He felt the magnetic pull they on each other turn off. Slowly, he rolled over and pushed himself up. Once he was standing, he shook himself out, trying to regain feeling in his limbs.

He looked at the cuffs on his wrist. There was a light on the side of one that glowed yellow. Before he could try and guess what that meant, Morgan spoke up again.

“Don’t get any ideas on me now,” he said, pressing another button on the remote.

The light flashed red, and with a buzz, the cuffs snapped together once more. So much for that.

Now that his hands were connected in front of him, he grabbed Trevor by the elbow and tried to pull him forward. He didn’t budge. Morgan slowly seemed to realize that he’d need a lot more force to move Trevor than he could muster on his own.

“Work with me here, kid,” he said, sounding exasperated.

Trevor rolled his eyes, but started walking in the direction he was leading him.

Between the lingering effects of the growth spurt he’d had the night before and being stuck in the back of a van for nearly an hour, Trevor had expected to be in more pain. But the cuffs he wore had some kind of numbing effect on him, so he felt fine. If it wasn’t for the situation he was in, he might have been glad to have them.

They headed towards an imposing-looking brick building. A sign above the door read “The Lively Institute: Juvenile Corrections Center.” Now there was no mistaking how much trouble he was in.

Trevor was led inside. He had enough room to stand in the entrance hall, which had higher ceilings. But the official directing him quickly ushered him past the front desk and into the hallway, which was significantly shorter, so he had to crouch most of the time.

Morgan led him to a room with an institute staff member who dressed more like a police officer, kind of like Mr. Roberts had. Morgan directed the officer to pat Trevor down.

“I can do this myself, you know,” Trevor told Morgan as the officer removed his keys, his wallet, and his phone from his pockets.

Morgan shook his head. “Can’t let you do that. Safety risk, and all.”

Then he led Trevor to another room to have his picture taken for his mugshot. As they entered the room, Trevor spotted a potential issue.

“This only goes up to seven feet,” he said, pointing to the height chart on the wall.

Morgan rubbed his forehead, clearly starting to get a little fed up with this whole situation.

“Just kind of…crouch down into frame,” he said, motioning with one hand as he spoke. “You let us worry about the rest.”

Trevor shrugged and did as he was told, carefully maintaining his balance as the camera’s light flashed. Then he turned to the side so they could repeat the process.

After that, Morgan led him to one final room. Once they were there, he led Trevor over to a screen mounted on the wall.

“Put your thumb here,” he instructed Trevor.

“Why?”

“So we can record your fingerprints.”

“Oh,” he said, pressing his thumb to the screen. “Don’t they normally dip your fingers in ink for that?”

Morgan shook his head. “Nah, we stopped doing that years ago.”

After a moment, a light on the screen flashed green.

“Okay, now for your pointer finger…”

After he pressed each of his fingers to the screen in turn, Morgan led him back into the hall.

“You’re all checked in, sir,” he said with an ironic flourish. “Right this way, I’ll lead you to your room.”

Trevor knit his brows in confusion. “My room?”

Morgan sighed. “It was a joke. You go into the same holding cell as everyone else.”

He motioned for Trevor to follow him. Just before they got to the cell, Morgan stopped him and pointed to the phone mounted on the wall in the hallway.

“You get one call,” he told him.

He nodded. He’d call his mom, of course. She had to be worried sick by now. He plucked the handset off its hook in a few fingers. Then he went to press the first digit of her number with his pinky.

He stopped, his finger hovering over the button. He felt his stomach drop. What would he even say to her? How could he face her, after what he’d done?

“…Does my mom know I’m here?” he asked Morgan.

“Yeah, she got the word whenever you were arrested,” he confirmed.

Trevor pressed his lips into a fine line, before eventually placing the phone back on its hook and stepping away.

“You only get this one chance to call someone,” Morgan warned him.

Trevor shut his eyes and shook his head.

“I don’t need it,” he told him.

Morgan put his thumbs in his pockets and shrugged. He opened the door to the holding cell and gestured for Trevor to enter.

“After you, Monsieur.” He stepped aside and allowed Trevor to squeeze himself into the room. Then, after one last look after him, he shut the door behind him, leaving Trevor alone in the room.

************************************************************************

The holding cell wasn’t what he thought it’d be. He’d been expecting a door with iron bars, one of those prison beds that was hooked to the wall, stuff like that. What he got instead was a plain-looking room with a few benches. The only indication he was under surveillance now was a camera in the corner and a window that looked to the hall outside.

He sat up against the wall for a few hours, replaying the events of the day in his head. If only he’d kept his cool. If only he hadn’t hit Robbie so hard.

If only.

Then a voice came down the hall. It was one he knew well.

“Where is he?” his mom was shouting. “I want to see my son.”

“Please calm down, Ms.…?” someone responded.

“Castillo,” she shot back.

“Ms. Castillo. No one is allowed to visit detainees until we review their case.”

“Can’t I post bail or something?”

“This isn’t a police station. We do things a bit differently here.”

“That’s insane, he’s just a kid,” she yelled. “He has rights!”

“Ma’am, please stay calm,” the other voice tried to assure her.

“This is stupid. I’m going back there.”

“Ma’am, no—” there was a sound of a scuffle.

“Hey!” his mom cried out in alarm. Trevor shot to his feet.

“Mom?” he called out. He got no response. Instead, all he heard was more sounds of a struggle.

“Let go of me!” He heard her shout. He ran to the door and tried the handle. It jiggled uselessly in his cuffed hands.

Ugh, these stupid cuffs. If only I could—

Trevor strained against his cuffs with all his might. After a moment, they came apart for just a second. Then they clapped back together like nothing had happened. That wouldn’t help him anytime soon.

So instead, he lowered himself down so his shoulder was level with the door. He took a step back, then crashed into the door with all his weight. The door splintered into pieces, sending him stumbling out into the hallway. He shook himself off and stood up to his full height. At least, as much as he could in these hallways.

At the other end of the hall, his mom was struggling against two officers. One held her by either arm. They all turned to look at the sound of the disturbance.

“Let go of her,” he bellowed, charging down the hall towards them.

His mother’s eyes widened in terror as he came barreling down the hall. That caused him to hesitate. Her fear didn’t seem to be directed towards the men who held her.

No. She was afraid of him.

He slowed down, stopping short a few feet from her. After a moment of silence, he spoke up.

“Mom, I—” he raised his hands, reaching for her.

She flinched.

He stared at the three people cowering in front of him. They stared back, varying levels of fear written on their faces. He took a step back, then another. Then he turned and hurried back to the holding cell.

Just before he reached the door, he heard his mom start to speak.

“Mijo, espera—!”

Trevor paused but didn’t look her way. He couldn’t bear to see that look in her eyes again.

He bent down and squeezed himself through the empty doorframe without another word. He took a few more steps before slumping against the wall and sliding to the floor. He sat there with his knees bent, his arms resting on top. Then he buried his face in his arms.

He didn’t even have it in him to cry.

“This way, ma’am,” he heard one of the officers tell his mom, presumably leading her back to the front. This time, she put up no fight.

Now they all knew he belonged in here.

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Nothing else really happened that night. Because he’d removed the door keeping him there, they kept an officer stationed at the doorway at all times. Every few hours, they’d shift one officer out for another. Where before everyone had treated him with aloofness, their attitudes towards him now seemed to vary from thinly veiled paranoia to downright contempt.

The officer watching him now fell into the first category. Any time Trevor looked over at him, his hand seemed to instinctually hover down to his belt. Never quite coming to rest on the holster of his weapon, but never straying far from it either. Trevor didn’t bother telling him that he had no plans to try and escape again. Even if the man believed him, it still made sense for him to treat him like a monster.

He certainly felt like one now.

Eventually, the lights shut off. There was no clock in the room, but if he had to guess, it was probably getting pretty late. He supposed he should try and get some sleep.

The way he saw it, he had two choices. He could either stay sitting against the wall like he was or try laying out on the floor. Neither sounded all that appealing. But his neck was starting to cramp up in this position, so he decided to try laying down.

As he stood up, a wave of exhaustion hit him. He stumbled forward a step before regaining his balance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the officer watching him nearly jump out of his skin, his hand flying down to his holster.

“Don’t—don’t try anything,” the officer warned him, his voice trembling.

Trevor gave him a tired look but didn’t say anything. He was too drained, physically and emotionally, to think of anything to say to him. Instead he slowly walked to the middle of the room and lay down on his side.

The floor was cold and hard. He shifted around, trying to get comfortable. He tried curling up to stay warm, but it didn’t help much. With a heavy sigh, he shut his eyes and tried to get some rest.

Sleep did not come easy. In fact, Trevor didn’t feel like he’d slept at all. The only indication that time had passed were the shifting shadows, and the fact that the figure watching him from the door seemed to have changed.

It was the pain that had woken him up. It came in waves, like it was struggling to break through the cloud of numbness that had settled over him. But soon enough, that feeling of his muscles tearing and his bones shifting that visited him every time he had one of those terrible growth spurts slowly powered through the effects of the cuffs he wore.

A cry escaped his throat. He began to tremble as the pain spread throughout his body. Hot tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks.

Why now? He wondered weakly.

He curled in tighter on himself, silently praying for something, anything that would take the pain away. He wished his mom was here. For the past week, any time he’d had a particularly bad flare-up like this, she’d been there to comfort him. It didn’t do much for the pain, but having her with him eased his mind somewhat. Now he was completely alone.

In the low light, he made eye contact with the person who stood in the doorway. He couldn’t read any sort of expression on their face. But he could see their eyes, just barely. He knew they saw him suffering.

“Help me,” he croaked. “Please.”

The person did not move. They did not speak. Instead, they stood there, arms crossed. They shook their head no, just once. The only indication that they’d heard him at all.

He squeezed his eyes shut. More tears poured forth. His shaking escalated to intermittent spasms, paired with the sound of his joints popping as they displaced and replaced themselves, over and over again.

Even though he’d been through this before, there was a part of his mind that always broke into a panic whenever it started happening again. What if this time his body couldn’t handle the stress? What if it left him injured afterwards? Or worse?

His mind eventually went white with pain. He faded into unconsciousness, unsure of what he’d come back to when he awoke. Or even if he’d wake up at all.

First/Last/Next

#g/t community #g/t writing #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t story #g/t angst #OC-Trevor Castillo #OC-Marta Castillo #Story-Heroisms #minigiant #mini giant

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my-own-walker · 2 years ago

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Colin Zabel x Reader where the reader gets in a slight car accident (it’s not severe). BUT detective Colin to the rescue speeds his way to the collision and acts like she’s been seriously injured (when she’s only got little bruises). Rushing her home and taking care of her for the day. Just a very protective Zabel 😌

I'll Get To You

note: Ahhh wait I really love this request awwwww!!

warnings: mentions of car accidents, injuries, and a disgusting amount of fluff.

Omniscient perspective...btw.

+++

Y/N did nothing wrong. As soon as the light turned green, she drove straight, as one does. That was until some idiot in the opposing traffic lanes turned left straight into the back of the right side of her car. Her car spun out dramatically. She slammed on her brakes and her tires screeched, protesting against the sudden activity.

She was okay, minus some scratches and bruises on her face and arms from the airbags deploying.

The other driver was on his phone when he crashed into her. His car was totaled. He was also okay, though. His negligence, however, completely crushed her taillight and right side bumper.

Overall, they were both super shaken.

Y/N was just thankful to be alive. Grateful for the drivers behind her who had the wherewithal to stop dead in their tracks as soon as her car started spinning. No other cars were involved. It was a miracle everything turned out the way it did.

Police arrived on the scene quickly and ushered the involved cars off the road to a nearby gas station, Y/N and the offender in tow. She didn't even grab her phone from the car. Just the necessary documents to get the situation sorted.

'Uh we got an 11-79 on Newtown Road, on the northbound side,' the police radio rang out in Colin's car. It was around 9 pm. He was driving home from an emergency call to investigate a case he was working on. He was excited to get home to Y/N. They had big plans to sit on the couch and watch the new episode on Succession while eating way too many snacks.

'Tan Nissan sedan and green Subaru hatchback involved, change to 11-80,' the radio scratched again. Colin's heart dropped. Green Subarus are not common.

Y/N had a green Subaru. 11-79 means accident, ambulance dispatched. 11-80? Accident with major injuries.

His shaking hands reached for the mic. Giving his badge number, he asked 'what's the plate on the Subaru?' voice trembling. They wouldn't think anything of him asking that. Just in case it was relevant to his murder investigation, they'd give him any information.

'3 - 9 - 8 - Whiskey - Echo - Kilo.'

Her fucking license plate number.

Colin immediately took a right on the road he was on, turning on his lights and sirens to make a clear path for himself. His heart and mind raced as he sped along the road, trying desperately to get to Y/N on Newtown road.

He drove nearly 90 miles per hour down the backroads of Delaware County, thinking of nearly every possibility. He couldn't imagine the sight of here hurt. His stomach churned realizing that this could be very, very serious.

He got to the scene of the crash within minutes. He pulled up onto a scary scene. Two ambulances were already there. Two other officers and their cars were there, too. Pulling closer, he realized that the cars had already been moved from the road and into a parking lot. Her car was in bad shape, and so was the other guy's.

His eyes welled as he thought the worst. This was something he never wanted to experience. He parked and ran to the scene. Y/N was sitting upright in the back of an ambulance on its platform, legs dangling off the bumper. An EMT was tending to her, cleaning a wound on her face.

'Baby!' he shouted, jogging up to her. 'Y/N are you okay?' His brow furrowed, twisted into a look of sheer concern. His stomach was still a pit.

'Colin, hey,' she sighed, relieved that he was there.

The EMT stepped aside to give them their moment, leaving with a quiet 'you're good to go.' Colin stepped forward and took her face in both of his hands, staring tearily into her eyes.

'Baby, I was so worried. I heard on the radio in my car. I got here as fast as I could. Are you hurt? What did they say? Where's the other fucking bastard, I'll kill 'em. I'll-' he rambled.

'Colin, my love, I'm okay. I promise. Just bruises and scratches on the both of us,' Y/N assured him.

'Was it him? Was he the one that hit you?' Colin spat loudly, pointing in the direction of the offender.

'Shh, Colin, yes, it's okay. My car will be okay, I will be okay, I promise,' she whispered.

'I swear, Y/N, I will kill the son of a bitch. How dare he hurt you?' Colin dropped his hands and rounded on the man, who was speaking to the officers that were already on the scene. 'What the fuck is wrong with you, bud?'

'Zabel. Zabel. Enough,' Officer Clark said, putting a hand out to stop Colin.

'And you, calling this an 11-80? Are you stupid? I was terrified!' Colin yelled.

'No, Zabel, this was always an 11-81. Get your radio checked out, maybe the signal cut out on the 1. Minor injuries. Now get the fuck out of here before I tell Chief Carter, huh?'

The drive home was short. Colin rode with the lights and sirens on to get people out of his way. He just wanted Y/N to get home quickly and safely.

He guided her inside their home, making sure his hands never left contact with her body.

'Colin, I promise, I'm fine!' Y/N protested.

'Yeah uh huh, tell that to the gash on your forehead,' Colin insisted. 'On the couch, now.' He sat her down and grabbed a blanket out of the ottoman, wrapping her in it tightly. He rushed over to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water.

'What am I going to do with you?' Colin asked as he delivered the water to the coffee table in front of her. 'I love you so much, Y/N. You are so important to me. I can't lose you.'

'And you won't,' she smiled. 'I promise. I'm okay.'

'You look cold, let me get you another blanket,' Colin said, planting a kiss on her lips. He grabbed a second blanket from the back of the armchair in the room. 'Do you need a painkiller or something? I'm gonna turn the heat up I think.'

Y/N laughed from her blanket confines. 'How am I supposed to drink this if my arms are all wrapped up!' she chuckled. That chuckle turned into more of a cackle when she saw Colin come sprinting back into the room, pillow in one hand and a bottle of Advil in the other.

'I got it! I got it!' he declared. He propped the pillow up behind her and put down the medicine bottle, picking the glass up and bringing it to her lips. She could barely drink, she was laughing so hard.

'Colin, baby, this is why I love you,' Y/N laughed.

'This is no laughing matter, lady! Take your medicine,' he protested.

'You are so loving, and caring, and beautiful. I promise you, I'm all good,' she smiled.

His expression softened. He put down what he had in his hands and planted a giant kiss on her lips.

'Sorry, I got a little carried away, huh?' he resigned. She nodded, still smiling softly. 'Hah, 'm sorry sweetheart, I just want you to be okay.'

'And I am. Now can you please let me out of this straight jacket so we can cuddle?' Y/N asked.

'Oh, you don’t have to ask me twice!' Colin exclaimed, loosening the fabric's grip, hoisting her onto his lap.

+++

Yay! This was such a cute one. Thank you for the request! I described on of my own car accidents, lol. Personal experience pays off! 😅

#colin zabel x reader #colin zabel #mare of easttown #evan peters x female reader #evan peters #evan peters oneshot

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tortured-writers-parttime-poets · 7 months ago

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police izuku au

i dunno how i didnt think of this before bc i actually love reading fics of this au

this is gonna be a bit unorganized because its straight from my notes app but oh well

-izuku being one of the youngest graduates of the police academy/helping out so much at the station that they just go 'fuck it' abd give him a license

-IZUKU WITH GUNS !!!

-he also does part time detective work because his analysis is unmatched

-he has degrees in psychology, criminology, social work, and he's a licensed EMT + his detective/police shit

-everyone knows him in the station, and so do heroes that frequent there like eraserhead

-hes basically naomasa's son

-he has coffee+smoking addictions but hes stoll the sunshine boy of the police

-though once or twice they've seen him get real mad on the field and the officers that witnessed it are vaguely terrified of him

-but he's still baby

-martial arts !!!! his local dojo is his third home, only behind the station and his shitty but cozy apartment.

-he's been doing minor detective work since he was fourteen, at fic time he's like 16 and also managed to stop the war by predicting attacks and arresting/saving and rehabilitating the league and shooting afo through the head.

-the hero students know of and have seen him at this point but havent spoken to him

-they just kind of see him popping up everywhere and hanging around crime scenes and periodically annoying tsukauchi and eraser because he's a chaotic neutral gremlin

-he would be chaotic lawful but he's only lawful where the law can see

-He should have never met nedzu.

-he's chaotic neutral because while he is technically a Good Guy, he does chaotic (illegal)shit when he wants where he wants because he wants to and has no survival instincts

-he's lowkey kind of depressed/suicidal

-hes also on anxiety meds which tend to ramp up the sucidal thoughts for some fucking reason

-so thats why he isnt a jittering ball of nerves, stuttering and other cringe shit

-also because he got that shit beat of out him like he's hella traumatized

-also kinda psychotic but its cool

-he laughed in bakugous face once

-legit looked down at him(cuz i made izu tall), smirked, snorted, and burst out laughibg while bakugou was threatening him.

-"id say im sorry but im not, its just hard to take you seriously when i have to crane my neck to look down at you-" then turned around and walked away towards the detective, still giggling

-bakugou was so stunned he didnt go after him.

-HE HAS A MULLET !!! ITS NOT SUPER NOTICEABLE BUT ITS THERE

-he also has his ears pierced,

-the earing on his left ear is one he had custom made from a piece of his jawbone he had to get removed after he got fucked up on the field one time

-its sick as fuck and he'll tell the story to whoever asks, its not a sensitive thing

-his jaw is a bit crooked too like u can see where the chunk is missing

-not super noticeable but still there

-he's like 6'2, so noticeably much taller than naomasa, but the detective still likes to ruffle his hair, even though he has to reach up now.

-sometimes he looks at him and sighs, grumbling about how his son is all grown up now

-1A and 1B are 2A and 2B at fic time, and simce the war never happened (for them), they are significantly less traumatized

-izuku however was at the frontlines when they went in for the final takedown of the league,

-so he's traumatized enough for all of them.

-he's covered in scars from knives, bullets, claws, SH, etc etc

-he's also ripped

-gotta be for the police work

-not like aizawa ripped but if he rolled up the sleeves on a button up and crossed his arms the seams of the shirt would be straining.

-one time he was in one of those tight sleeveless shirts that have bare hips (yk the ones whore) and he got called in so he didnt change and everyone got a good look at all the muscles and scars

(//👁️////👁️//)

-the UA students were there too because he was called in (optionally) to help with training shit and he just didnt bother to change

-they were simpin fr

-he's aroace tho <333 (projecting)

-tsuki tossed him a double thigh holster 4 knives which made his baggy cargo pants a bit less baggy and a bit more *cough* defined (cue more student simping)

-he's completely unaware of the effect hes having on them btw

-and fingerless gloves with padded+built in brass knuckles!!! he already had those on tho

-hes just funky like that

#my hero academia #au idea #alternate universe #mha #fanfic #boku no hero academia #izuku midoriya #bhna #my hero academy fanfiction #police au #detective tsukauchi #naomasa tsukauchi #i love tsukauchi #nedzu is midoriya's mentor #kinda #police officer midoriya izuku #detective midoriya izuku au

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loudlittledemon · 6 days ago

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Helpful protest tips!

What to WEAR:

Generic non-bright/non branded clothing, comfortable shoes (three pairs of socks- see section below ‘so you got pepper sprayed, ow’)

Goggles

Face mask (anything that can easily be tied around the mouth and nose.)

Important phone number (emergency contact or lawyer) written on arm w/ HENNA as sharpie washes off when you sweat

What to BRING:

Bottle of water for drinking and in case of pepper spray.

Cash and Identification card (the cops will 100% get you for obstruction if you don’t Id yourself- more instructions for police encounters below)

First aid supplies

Throat lozenges (you’ll be shouting a lot)

Make sure your sign/poster has a stick long enough to see the sign above your head while your hands are at your waist. A short pole means extending your arm above your head for the whole march and that gets tiring real quick.

Ear plugs

Snacks

Do NOT bring:

Phone. Seriously. If you do bring the phone, turn OFF Face ID, turn off fingerprint id, turn off data, roaming, put it in airplane mode- basically turn it into a brick that cannot be accessed any other way but by manually typing a password.

Don’t bring weapons. All they need is one excuse to say a protest is suddenly a riot.

Contact lenses. If you get pepper sprayed you want to minimize eye irritation. Taking out contacts with pepper sprayed fingers or having pepper spray stuck behind contacts is not ideal.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE APPROACHED/DETAINED BY THE POLICE:

1. SAY NOTHING unless asked for ID. Identify yourself and then

2. only ask if you are being detained, and what the charges are.

3. Shut up. No, seriously. If you are detained do not speak at all. No small talk, no chatting with the other detainees. The only word that should come out of your mouth after identifying yourself and asking if you’re detained is “Lawyer”

4. Comply with all commands even though it sucks. You don’t want to rack up charges.

SO YOU GOT PEPPER SPRAYED (this applies to both liquid and aerosol)- OW:

Shit sucks. DO NOT RUB. Have a friend pour clean water into your eyes, flushing them for a good 15 seconds while wiping the rest of the spray from the face with a clean cloth (which you can find by removing your shoes and taking the inner layer of your 3 pairs of socks, see what to wear) and then stop. No milk or anything like that just straight water. After the initial rinse do not rinse again as water can reactivate it. Have someone with clean hands hold their eyes open and expose eyes to moving air (ie. fan them) if not able to do this then blink a LOT. It’ll suck for 30 minutes or so but not following the above it’ll suck for longer.

SO THE PEPPER SPRAY WAS AEROSOL/GOT IN YOUR MOUTH:

Don’t panic.

Rinse mouth + spit.

Breathe through your nose. It feels like you are dying, you are not dying.

Take a seat, try to relax. It’ll last about 30 minutes, if it lasts longer than that or you cannot take a full breath, seek medical attention. If skin has blueish tint do not wait, find an emt.

SOMEONE WANTS BLOOD? THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND:

if someone at the protest tries to rile people up or incite violence the best thing to do is to ignore them, tell others around you not to engage with any hate. Like online just ignore the trolls because if you interact that’s what they want. And they’ll be real assholes about it too, but just act like they’re not there

WHAT TO DO IF-

If there is a hint of violence from either side, get out of dodge. we ain’t here for that.

If the cops use pepper spray, affix those goggles, wet your mask with clean water, hood up.

If I missed anything feel free to add. These are just from my personal protesting experience and I am by no means an expert, and there’s probably a bunch of better guides out there! Just be safe out there everybody.

#protest #relatable #mobilize #pepper spray #protesting #u.s. politics #what to do #California #United States #useful #long post

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liminalmemories21 · 1 year ago

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Hi Lim 💗 For the AU game - So it’s flu immunisation time for Austin’s police force and time for Carlos to get his shots. TK is the administering nurse at the clinic and he practically short circuits when he catches sight of just hot and muscular Austin’s finest is. (those arms 💪🏼🤤) He tells Carlos all about the EMT exams he just passed and how excited he is to leave nursing and start work with the AFD. He flirts a little (a lot) with him and Carlos ends the appointment with TKs number in his pocket and a date for next week 🤓 (btw this did not 🤥 🤐 happen to me a fortnight ago at the gp when I was getting a jab) 🤪

Nancy has become the unintentional hero of this story.

1 - TK pulls Nancy aside when he sees Carlos in line. "Trade places with me."

"What?"

"Trade places with me."

"What? Why?" She looks down her line. "Seriously, dude, shallow much?"

"Yup, now trade places with me."

2 - Their first date is . . . not great. TK had a rough couple of shifts at the firehouse, adjusting to a different schedule, different expectations for how much they can do and when they have to let go. Carlos is too in his head about trying to make this perfect, and trying to fix things.

3 - They keep running into each other at scenes though, and TK gradually relaxes into his job, and finally Nancy gets tired of watching them make eyes at each other over the accident scene and marches over to Carlos and writes TK's number on his palm. "He's sorry he was a dick, call him."

And then walks back to TK and scribbles Carlos's number on his palm. "He wants to make you dinner and dick you down, what are you doing standing here talking to me?"

4 - Nancy's the one who calls Carlos four months later to ask if he's got time to pick TK up, because she doesn't think he should go home alone tonight. TK looks small and fragile when Carlos gets to the station, but he's wearing an old hoodie of Carlos's and he curls into Carlos when Carlos sits down next to him on the bunkroom bed.

"You want to talk about it?"

TK shakes his head into Carlos's chest, and his voice sounds thick. "Later. Can we just go home now?"

5 - Nancy is also the one who takes credit for all of it when they move into together, and insists on throwing the bachelor party when they get married and says she never doubted that the horny idiots would finally figure it out, and then stands up to tap on her glass at the wedding reception and talks abut how it's been an honor to watch two people fall in love the way you read about in books and leaves them all a little weepy.

#au prompt #asked and answered #tarlos #lonestar

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screechthemighty · 2 months ago

Text

Hello, Moon Knight community, I'm back~

meet me at our spot: part 4/6 (2022)

cws: strained paternal relationships, references to suicidal behavior

Gena felt like she’d done a pretty good job recovering after the break-in. They’d beefed up security at the diner, made sure the apartment locks were secure, and tried to move on. It was a difficult balance, being ready for trouble without letting the fear of it overwhelm her, but she’d thought she had it under control.

Then, she saw Daredevil in her part of town.

Gena froze, her hand going to her pepper spray. There was no mistaking that red outfit. He was in a fight with three guys, winning too, but…

Should I call someone?! A lot of cops had gotten friendly with their local vigilantes, but not all of them. She didn’t want to get him in trouble.

Get in your car, her logical brain said. Decide then, not out in the open.

Gena started speed-walking away, keeping one hand firmly on that pepper spray. She reached her car quickly, but heard running footsteps just as she reached the door. Gena looked up. White guy, running in the same direction she’d just come from. If his bloody nose was any indication, he was running from old DD. No sign of the vigilante, but maybe he was still dealing with the others? The man saw Gena and course-corrected, running towards her.

Nope.

Gena pulled out the pepper spray. The man skidded to a half, stopping just out of range. “Don’t you dare - !”

That was all Gena had the chance to say before something hit the man in the face. And before she could react to that, something–no, someone–flew down from a nearby rooftop. The figure seemed to emerge from the hazy landscape, their white and black outfit making it look like they’d been formed from the shadows and the moonlight reflecting off the snow. They strode over to the man he’d attacked, delivering a swift kick to make sure he stayed down.

Who the hell is this?!

The stranger looked around the street, then froze when they saw Gena. “Uhm.”

Gena gave the guy a careful once over. White armor over some kind of black…outfit that looked like bandages. Their face was obscured by a hooded cloak, but she thought she saw the glint of something solid underneath–a mask, maybe? There was a golden crescent on their chest and more on their belt. Either the bad guys had gotten in on the costuming game and this was a turf war, or…

“If you’re with Daredevil, he’s down there,” Gena said, tilting her head back down the street.

“Dare-” The person’s voice sounded hollow, eerie. They reached under the hood to push something out of the way. “Daredevil?” they–no, he, the voice sounded male–finished in a still muffled, but now much less spooky voice.

“Yeah, fella with the horns?”

The moon man hesitated, then groaned. “Great. There goes my lead.” He looked down at the unconscious criminal, then leaned over to check the man’s pockets. “You should get out of here. No offense, but Dee’s a bit of a bull in a china shop. No telling how this will escalate.” Moon Man glanced back up her way. Were his eyes glowing?! “Are you okay?”

…why did he sound familiar just now? “I’m fine,” Gena said as she opened her car door. “Thanks for the save.”

“I mean, I’m sure you had that, but…” It sounded like Moon Man was smiling. “...you’re welcome.”

No, seriously, why does he feel familiar?

Gena got into her car and sat behind the wheel for a moment, watching as Moon Man dragged his victim onto the sidewalk. She drove off once the road was clear, considered calling the police non-emergency, but ended up calling regular 911 to report some injuries. The vigilantes would probably be out of there by the time EMTs showed up. Hopefully.

Something new every day, I swear.

She was still thinking about the encounter the next day. The only thing that jarred her out of it was…

“Hey, isn’t that your guy friend?”

“Hmm?” Gena looked up from the glass she was cleaning. “What?”

Ray pointed out the window. “Jake.”

Sure enough, when she looked outside, there was a familiar jacket and very familiar hat. He was standing in front of a car parallel parked outside, hands on his hips, not seeming to notice the snow starting to dust his shoulders. “Sure is,” Gena said. “You two wait here, okay?”

Gena grabbed her coat and joined Jake outside. “Something wrong with the car?” she called.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Jake said. He glanced her way and smiled. “Hey, Gena.”

“Hey, Jake.” He had the hood popped up, but honestly, Gena wasn’t a car person. Never had been. “What are we looking at?”

“Honestly, it’s probably the battery.” Jake sighed and rubbed his face. Mustache-free, she noted, and just when she’d gotten used to it during his last few visits. “Great start to the week.”

“Want me to try and jump it?”

“Please? If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Nah, it’s been slow this evening. Let me get my keys.”

He was lucky she’d driven today. Usually she could walk it, but the weather was too damn miserable for that. By the time she pulled the car over near Jake, both the boys had come out to see what was going on. “...usually replace these every four years, five max, but…” Jake sighed. “Hey, it’s not my car.”

“Why’re you driving it if it’s such a piece of junk?” Ricky asked.

“Employer request. You know what people can be like sometimes.” Jake grinned crookedly and grabbed the jumper cables. “Okay, I can show you how this works if your mom is okay with it, and only if you promise not to touch anything.”

“Promise,” said the boys in near-unison before turning to look at Gena expectantly. Neither of them would be driving for a while, but…what the hell, couldn’t hurt to start early.

“Don’t get in his way,” Gena said.

They didn’t, just watched attentively as Jake walked them through the steps of jump-starting a car. He seemed to relax more the longer he spoke. She hadn’t even realized how much tension he was carrying until it wasn’t there anymore. Definitely a problem client. Or at least she hoped that was all it was.

On the plus side, the car started again pretty quickly. One less thing for him to worry about. “There!” Jake slumped in the driver’s seat with a relieved look on his face. “You’re a godsend, Gena.”

“I know.” Though really, jumping his car once felt like small potatoes considering what he’d done for her. “You coming by later?”

“I have to get something sorted first, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’d better. I’ve gotta tell you about my superhero run in. Daredevil and some other guy.”

“No shit? Definitely need to hear about that one.” Jake waved and grinned. “Gracias!”

Hopefully, that would be the only car trouble he had. The last thing that poor man needed was more trouble.

“I NEED YOU FOCUSED, JAKE.”

Jake didn’t even bother hiding his eye roll. “I am focused.”

“THEN WHAT WAS THAT BACK THERE?”

He really didn’t want to have this conversation.

Biggest problem with Khonshu was that he’d never been human. Sure, he had human-parallel experiences, but they were all fundamentally changed by his godhood. Everything, as far as Jake could tell, worked differently when you were powerful and immortal. When all your interactions with mortals involved you in a position of power and them groveling at your feet, you couldn’t even learn from observation. And if he wasn’t going to understand the baseline of Jake’s experiences as a human, he really wasn’t going to understand the niche specifics. All the little things that made his visits with Gena decidedly not optional.

He could try, but he’d put up with enough of people willfully misunderstanding him. If he wanted that shit, he’d call Elias. So, instead, Jake stopped at a red light, rolled a window down, and lit a cigarette.

“THEY ARE DISTRACTIONS, JAKE,” Khonshu continued. “OUR MISSION IS TOO IMPORTANT. NEVER FORGET THAT.”

He didn’t.

He and Khonshu just had different rankings of what else was important.

Jake exhaled a puff of smoke. “Yeah, sure. Can you get out of the car for a bit? I know you think David can’t sense you, but he definitely can, and the mission’s not going anywhere if you freak him out again.”

Khonshu scoffed. “I DON’T SEE WHY YOU RELY ON HIM SO MUCH. HE’S…”

“What?” Jake snapped. As soon as the car stopped at the next intersection, he turned to face Khonshu. “What is he, Abelardo? Hmm? Fractured? Unstable? A guy with heaps of trauma and a dissociative disorder? Good thing you don’t know anyone else like that, huh?”

Khonshu hesitated.

When Jake blinked, the bird was gone.

“Hijo de puta,” Jake said with a heavy sigh as he pulled forward. “Mierda ingrata.”

Just for that attitude, he was taking David to get a coffee somewhere. Really stretch this info-gathering session out. Serves him right.

“So, what, you have to move every little thing every time?”

Ray nodded. He and Ricky had taken up stop-motion film making. It meant a lot of toys lying around the apartment mid-battle scene, but Gena counted herself lucky they’d found a harmless hobby. She could handle dodging their projects in the morning if it meant they stayed out of trouble. Jake gave an impressed whistle. “That’s really impressive,” he said. “I don’t think I’d have the patience for that at your age. You guys came up with this whole thing?”

“Uh-huh. We had this friend before and we used to…” Ricky trailed off. “...do this story at school. But he’s in Michigan now. We’re going to send it to him when he’s done.”

“His parents disappeared,” Ray added matter-of-factly. “He’s with his grandma now.”

There were so many things Gena wished her boys didn’t have to be used to. The fact that half the planet had vanished out of the blue was high up that list.

Jake nodded solemnly. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. I’d appreciate it if someone made a movie for me.” He rewound the video and re-watched the sequence. “I’m gonna have to watch Coraline for real now, huh?”

“You haven’t watched Coraline?”

Gena knew by now that she didn’t have to intervene. Jake didn’t even flinch as the boys bombarded him with facts about the movie and what other stop-motion movies he should be watching. He actually started writing it down. It was an improvement over when the boys would constantly give him side-eye over the risk that he was flirting with her.

He still wasn’t, and Gena knew it would never go there, even after she’d cried in front of him. But she again found herself marveling that no one else had made a move. Maybe he doesn’t want anyone to? More power to him; honestly, he was probably saving himself a lot of trouble, especially these days.

“I will watch Coraline before I see you guys again,” Jake said solemnly, one hand raised as if he were taking a serious oath. “I promise.”

She believed him. And she was glad to see the boys did, too.

Of course, shit had to go down right before he left. Gena didn’t smoke, so seeing her outside with Mohamed while he smoked was his first red flag. The look on her face–frustrated, maybe scared?--was the second. “...he’s under a lot of stress,” Mohamed said. “Kids do dumb things when they’re stressed. All kids.”

“I know, I know, I just…” Gena rubbed her eyes. He hadn’t seen her this upset since the place got robbed. “I should’ve seen this coming.”

“Should’ve seen what coming?” Jake said. He reached for his own box of cigarettes as he approached, less because he actually wanted one and more because it seemed like the right thing to do in this setting.

“Hey, Jake,” said Mohamed, already reaching for his lighter.

“Hey,” Gena said. “This…this is an ask, I know, but has Ray seemed off to you?”

“...define off,” Jake said. He pulled free a smoke and lit with with Mohammed’s held-out lighter. He had one of those rechargeable ones that reminded him of a taser. Jake had always kind of wondered if they’d be a good weapon in a pinch.

“Like something’s bothering him, or…he’s upset about something?”

“Upset about something,” Jake muttered to himself, instinctively imitating Gena’s accent as he mulled over his last few talks with the kids. Stop-motion films, the kids at school speculating about where Spider-Man had gone, Gena ran into Daredevil…throughout it all, Ray had seemed fine.

…maybe a little too fine.

“Counter question.” Jake took a long drag from his cigarette and replayed the conversations again. “How has Ricky seemed?”

“He’s…” Gena hesitated, probably doing the same thing he was. “...not…really wanted to talk about school, now that I think about it…”

Yep. There it was. On a mental replay, Ricky had seemed more reserved. Let his brother take the lead, instead of them talking in equal and near-perfect sync. So something was up with him, and Ray had just stepped in as his brother.

I know the feeling.

“Hey, tell you what,” Jake said. “Maybe we can divide and conquer? You see what’s going on with Ricky and I can try talking to Ray. Big brother to big brother.”

Gen’s hands knotted anxiously in front of her. “If you don’t mind? We’ve both tried. Nothing else has worked so far.”

”I’ll do my best.” Jake reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s got his reasons, okay? You’re doing everything you can.”

He was surer of that than ever. These boys had a gem of a mother…but at the end of the day, shit still happened. It was just a matter of figuring out what.

Ricky was sitting at the counter when they went inside, all distressed, hunched shoulders and too much fidgeting. Gena sat next to him while Jake went back to her office. Ray was inside with homework, an ice pack over one eye, and a serious don’t fuck with me expression. “Did you win?” Jake asked.

Ray didn’t look up. “They broke the fight up,” he said. “And aren’t you supposed to tell me not to fight?”

“Well, you shouldn’t start any. But you should finish it if someone else does.” He crouched next to Ray. “May I? I’m kind of an expert with these.”

Ray pulled the ice pack away. Jake examined the bruise carefully. “Yep,” he said finally. “You’re gonna look badass tomorrow. I’m serious.” He grinned, managing to coax a smile out of Ray in the process. He really wasn’t too worried; the swelling had gone down, and Gena was responsible enough to have taken Ray to the hospital if he was in serious pain. That was the kind of bruise you could brush off without alerting the teachers…not that they ever did anything about Jake’s own bruises. “Seriously, what happened?”

Ray’s smile dropped immediately. “Nothing. It was stupid.”

“You got in a fight. It must not have been that stupid.” Jake looked towards Ray but not directly at him. People really underestimated how good that could be for other people. “Is someone bothering Ricky?”

Jake didn’t need years of forced learning how faces worked to see he was right. Ray had no poker face. His defensiveness was clear as a full moon. He hunched his shoulders and kept his mouth firmly shut.

Jake knew the feeling.

“...I told you I’ve got two brothers, right?” Jake said. “Marc and Steven?”

“...yeah…”

“Well…” Jake sat on the floor, legs crossed, trying to keep his posture relaxed. “I’m the oldest so that meant I was responsible for them. I was more responsible than I should've been…” This was the gamble. He’d already let something slip to Gena. Confirming it to someone else was something else entirely.

But this is for their own good. And maybe it would be good for him to finally say it out loud.

“...my parents didn’t exactly do their jobs,” he said. “Mom especially. She wasn’t the nurturing type.” More the drink until you turn into a demon type, though he decided to keep that detail to himself for now. “So, I had to do a lot more. But that doesn’t mean I should’ve. All of that wasn’t my job, you know? And it’s not yours, either. Difference between you and me…” Jake tilted his head towards the door. “...is that your mom will help you. You don’t have to handle whatever this is on your own. Trust me, kid. I would’ve taken help if I’d had it.”

Ray did finally look Jake’s way, but he still looked defensive. “I don’t want to worry her,” he said. “She’s already got to worry about the diner.”

“She’s your mom. You’re not bothering her.” Ray sounded like Marc, enough that Jake had to remind himself not to get too annoyed. Ray was just trying to grow up too fast. Marc…Marc was a separate can of beans. “She’s already worrying about you. Not knowing what’s happening is only going to make that worse. You feel me?” Ray didn’t say anything. “If you don’t feel like you can tell her…maybe you can tell me, and I’ll talk to her about it? Might soften the blow.”

Ray thought about it, chewing on a bit of dry skin as he considered the offer. “...someone is messing with Ricky,” he said finally. “There’s a kid at school…he says his big brother is in a gang and now he thinks that makes him tough shit. Tough stuff,” he rushed to correct himself.

“I’ll censor the account, don’t worry.” Jake tried to keep his tone light, even though the topic set him on edge. Crime was up in a lot of places, and a lot of said crime was banding together both for safety and efficiency. Kids had been swept up in things from the start. Lot of orphans or sudden single-parent homes looking for protection, support, to feel like they were in control of things. Criminals of all kinds exploited that. “Do you know if he’s telling the truth?”

Ray shrugged. “Dunno. He’s lied before, or made stuff seem like a bigger deal than it was. But his brother was already kind of a jerk. Everyone was happy when he graduated to high school.”

“Right, right. So, he took it too far…”

“He pushed Ricky,” Ray corrected, his gaze getting dark and angry. “I told him not to. He pushed me, so I pushed him back. He hit me, but a teacher got involved. That was it.”

That’s barely a fight. But Ray would probably get in just as much trouble as the other kid, if not more. A lot of things might’ve changed since Jake was that age, but he doubted that had. “You would’ve won if they hadn’t,” Jake said reassuringly. “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’ll talk to your mom, she’ll figure things out on her end. But if you need me to, y’know…” He threw an air punch. “...show you some moves, just in case. Not that I’m encouraging you to fight or anything.”

“Just to finish it.”

“Just to finish it. Don’t want you getting more messed up than you have to, if this stays a problem.” Jake knew for a fact that he and Marc had accidentally done just as much damage to themselves as they had to the other guy when they first started fighting. Ray might not be able to go to school with hand wraps, but if he at least knew to keep his wrist straight, that’d be something. “Assuming your mom is okay with it, though.”

Ray considered the offer and nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Thanks, Jake.”

“You’re welcome.” He stood up and held out a fist towards Ray. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Ray beamed and tapped his fist against Jake’s. “Yeah.”

His hands seemed so small and frail in comparison to Jake’s. It was good that they did, in a way, that they weren’t already as bloodied and bruised as Jake’s had been by that age (or at least felt they did), but it also made the situation worse.

He shouldn’t have to deal with this. He’s a good kid.

The world didn’t really care if you were a good kid, though. Jake knew that better than most.

Gena did her best to sort out the school situation. The staff, at least, took things seriously. It seemed like with everything else going on, they were determined to nip things in the bud before they became a bigger problem. She wasn’t sure if it would stick, but she was glad that something was being done. Equally glad that Ray’s first (hopefully only) foray into getting in trouble at school was because he was sticking up for his brother. There were worse ways.

The situation had an unexpected but welcome side effect: it seemed to fully bring Jake into the fold with Ricky and Ray. They’d slowly been warming up to him over his visits, of course, but now they actually seemed to trust him. They greeted him enthusiastically whenever he came over, eager to show him their new home movies.

It was good to have someone else she could trust with the boys. Even if Jake wasn’t always around, he did everything he could for them whenever he was around. It reached a point that she was comfortable enough letting him watch them at the park. In a normal world, they could’ve gone on their own at their age, but the world hadn’t been normal for a long time.

She’d hoped trouble wouldn’t find them out there. It still stung when it finally happened.

“Jake got arrested,” Ricky blurted as he burst into the diner.

Gena froze. “Jake what?!”

The boys tripped over each other trying to tell her what had happened. She was just barely able to piece together the story. He’d been with them at the basketball court. They were shooting b-roll footage. Some local troublemakers—including the brother of that boy from a few months ago—showed up. Started running off their mouths. Jake had tried to convince them to leave. They threw the first punch; Jake had just been defending himself, and them. The cops hadn’t seen it that way. The only reason Ricky and Ray hadn’t been caught up in the arrest was that they’d been hiding behind a dumpster.

“I filmed the whole thing,” Ray said. He’d kept a death grip on his camera the entire conversation. “I don’t know if I got everything, but you can hear it. I thought about showing the police, but…”

“No, no, baby, it’s good you came to me.” Gena desperately flipped through the envelope of business cards in her office. Where are they…there. “Don’t worry. I’ll get this sorted out.”

It was a number she’d hoped she would never have to call, but it paid to know who you could work with in this city. And by all accounts, if you were in trouble in New York, there was one office you could count on.

Stepping into the interrogation room felt like stepping back in time.

It wasn’t a perfect match, but so much of Jake Lockley felt familiar. The smell of city air clinging to him. The creaking ache of bones that had definitely received more than one punch. The self-soothing humming echoing around the room. The way he could almost taste the blood in the air. All he’d need was the sound of scotch being poured into a glass…

Focus.

“Jake Lockley?”

“Yeah? Who’s asking?”

“I’m Matthew Murdock. Gena Landers called and said you needed some help.”

A metal chair creaked as Lockley sat up straighter, his heartbeat hiccupping at the mention of Mrs. Landers. “Are the boys okay?” His tone had gone from a practiced casual to genuine concern.

“They are.” Matt found one of the room’s unoccupied chairs and sat down. “One of them said he filmed the incident. They’re reviewing the footage now, but I wanted to speak to you. Can you tell me what happened?”

Lockley sighed softly. Matt heard the rustling of clothes, the creak of joints and tendons. The blood smell got stronger as Lockley moved. “We were minding our own business. Those guys showed up, wanted a fight. I politely asked them to leave, they didn’t. One of them decided he wanted to fuck around.” There was a smile in Lockley’s voice. “I made sure he found out. Then the cops showed up and forgot the meaning of self-defense. I didn’t resist arrest, so don’t let them tell you otherwise.”

Matt had to bite back a smile. That did line up with the Landers’ boys account of the incident. “I wouldn’t be that casual about it if you’re questioned,” he said. “When you say they wanted a fight, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean they were throwing their weight around. Trying to push the boys off a public court. One of them’s related to a kid who was giving Ray trouble, so he started going off about that.”

Matt heard the rustling of fabric, nails against thread. The smell of blood suddenly grew stronger. Hold on. “Mister Lockley, are you bleeding?”

“…it’s that obvious?” the man said sheepishly.

Matt reached across the table. The feeling of blood saturated cloth made his skin crawl, but he still felt for the injury. Knife wound, if he had to guess; it seemed too clean a cut to be anything else. “Did the police know about this?”

“They knew I was bleeding. Didn’t exactly stop to see how badly…” Lockley trailed off as Matt stood up and started removing his tie. “I’m not about to die or anything.”

“Not the point.” Matt folded the tie and held it out towards Lockley. “Put pressure on it. I’ll be right back.”

“…you got it, boss,” Lockley said as he took it. His tone was one of bemused confusion. Probably a little taken aback that Matt was so heated about this.

Matt knew that he should toe the line, tread carefully. He still had a reputation from the days before half the world went missing, and he’d been working hard to rebuild since. He couldn’t just piss off everyone at the police station.

But just because Jake Lockley needed to mind his words didn’t mean Matt had to.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything, Mrs. Landers?”

Gena shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you.” The two lawyers of Nelson and Murdock had split up to speak to the police, leaving Gena and the boys in the care of their aide. Karen Page was a willowy thing, pale with red hair, but with sharp eyes that said there was more going on than you’d think. She certainly hadn’t been afraid to shoo away the officer who’d tried to speak to them without Nelson or Murdock present. “I’m just anxious for all of this to be over is all.”

“Jake’s not going to jail, is he?” Ricky asked.

“Not if we can help it.” Karen smiled encouragingly. “We have video footage of the other guys throwing the first punch, so I think – “

She cut herself off abruptly and tilted her head, listening for something. After a second, Gena heard it, too.

“…brought in an injured man and put him in an interrogation room instead of getting him medical attention…”

Karen’s shoulders tensed slightly. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She got up and started speed-walking towards the sound of the argument.

“Do you think…?” Ray whispered.

“I don’t know, honey, but let’s stay out of their way, okay? I’m sure they have it under control.” Gena meant that as a reminder for herself as much as the boys. It was taking all her self-control to stay put and not see what was going on back there.

The argument became more subdued—she could still hear voices, but not work out words—but it seemed to go on for too long. Just when Gena was considering going over there anyway, the whole legal team rounded the corner, and with them…

“Jake!” the boys yelled simultaneously.

His face was in better shape than Gena had expected. Then she saw the bloody rag pressed against his forearm, and suddenly she felt lightheaded. “Bless my…Jake!”

“Easy, prima, it’s just a surface wound,” Jake said. His smile was sheepish, apologetic. “Sorry about all this fuss.”

“What are you apologizing for?!” Gena stood up and started digging through her purse. “You need a doctor. Is he free to go?”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Jake said.

“He’s free to go,” said Murdock at almost the same time. “And you do need a doctor, Mr. Lockley.”

Franklin Nelson, who’d insisted on being called Foggy, coughed in a way that almost sounded like he was covering up a laugh. Murdock frowned, just for a second, but the moment passed so quickly Gena wondered if she’d imagined it. “If insurance is a concern, I know a low-cost clinic.”

“And I’ll pay for it,” Gena added. “Least I can do.”

“I am not taking your money,” Jake said. His gaze kept darting from person to person. He seemed baffled that they cared so much. “It’s not that bad. I can handle it.”

“You’re bleeding onto the floor,” said Foggy Nelson flatly.

Jake glanced down. “…that I am,” he said, a little too calmly. “Okay, counselor, where’s this clinic of yours?”

Gena ended up driving him there, along with the boys and Foggy Nelson in the backseat. There was only room for one member of their unexpected legal team, and apparently Murdock got carsick easily. “Hopefully the matter should be cleared up, but you can give us a call if the people start asking questions again,” Nelson said. “If I were you, I’d keep my head down.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I make a point of avoiding cops,” Jake said casually.

“That’s probably smart, but I was more worried about guys you fought. Their buddies might want payback for humiliating them.”

He wasn’t wrong. Gena glanced Jake’s way. He was staring out the window with distant eyes and a tight jaw, deep in thought. She wasn’t sure about what, but she had a strange feeling she wouldn’t like the answer.

Suddenly, his body relaxed and he was all smiles again. “Don’t worry, counsellor,” he said. “I’ll be on my best behavior.

I’m sure you will be, Gena thought, and resolved to keep an eye on him as much as possible.

Nice thing about getting cut in his non-dominant arm: he could still text while being stitched up.

May need your help with something, he sent to David. Only if you’re not busy.

He was a little surprised by how quickly he heard back from David, but the speed made sense once he read it: PLEASE give me something to do or take me back to england or wherever you go I cannot be in this city another second

Jake frowned. What happened??? he replied.

dad called

Ah, shit. Jake immediately hit the call button; David picked up quickly. “When?” Jake asked.

“Like, an hour ago?” David’s voice was shaking, but it was hard to tell in what way without seeing his face. “We didn’t talk long. I kind of blacked out, so I assume one of the others told him to fuck off.”

“How are you now? Where are you now?”

“Still at the house.” He heard the creaking of bedsprings. “Honestly…pissed off? I wasn’t expecting to be so mad about it.”

“Good for you. Pissed is good.” Jake didn’t know all the details of David’s relationship with his father—parents were extremely off-limit topics in their conversations—but he knew people didn’t end up like them for no reason. That made him inclined to side with David, even without knowing more. “Look, if you’re not in a good place…’

“No, no, I’m fine. I mean, I’m not, but sitting and stewing isn’t going to help me. Or…any of us, really. So, I’ll help.”

David really was a man after Jake’s own heart sometimes. “Thank you, Davito. You want me to pick you up for dinner in a few hours?”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

“Just don’t be alarmed if I’ve got blood on me.”

“Do I want to know?”

“It’s a long story. Tell you later.”

His wound was all stitched up by the time he pocketed his phone. “Tidy work,” Jake said approvingly.

“Yeah, I’ve had a lot of practice lately.” The nurse—her name tag said Claire—gave Jake a slow, critical look. “You’re not thinking of adding to that, are you?”

“No, ma’am,” Jake said, and he meant it. Nothing would be able to leave a mark on him while he was wearing the suit. Even this wound would fade into nothing. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve got the look of a guy about to do something stupid. If you’re in trouble, there are other people who can handle it.”

Jake scoffed. “Like who? The cops?”

“No, other people.” The weight of those words caught his attention. “Some of them stop by. I could put in a word, depending.”

Ah, so she knew some of the locals. Probably Daredevil at the bare minimum. It made sense—most other vigilantes needed more medical care than him. He didn’t think old Dee had a direct line to a healing force, much as he fought like he did. “Nothing so stupid that I’d need their help,” Jake said. “Friend of mine’s just having some family trouble. That’s all.”

The best lies really were just omitted or out of context truth. Nurse Claire didn’t seem to completely buy his story, but she didn’t try to stop him from leaving, either. Just slapped a bandage on his arm and told him a doctor could get him a prescription for some antibiotics.

Jake paid for his stitches and shoved the prescription deep in his pockets. He wouldn’t be needing them, and even if he did, he didn’t have time to visit a pharmacy.

He had work to do.

“I don’t normally let people do this, you know.”

David guiltily looked up from his cup of coffee. He’d come by a few times on his own since his first visit with Jake, but he’d never been the linger-over-multiple-cups-of-coffee type. Not until tonight. “Do what?” he asked, trying and failing to sound innocent.

Gena leaned against the counter. “Be honest,” she said. “Did Jake ask you go keep an eye on the place for him?”

David’s cheeks went pink. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be obvious about it.”

“Well, I appreciate your honesty, and your help.” Secretly, she wasn’t sure how much help David would be. He was a skinny guy, skittish when he wasn’t having odd mood swings, and she couldn’t picture him getting in a fight. Maybe Jake had just asked him to be his eyes and ears? “You boys don’t have to worry about me, though. My kitchen staff knows their way around a knife and I’ve been carrying a bat. Plus, I’ve seen Daredevil in the area on and off.”

“Yeah, I have too,” David said. “I have no idea how he can see in that – “

He stopped abruptly, his gaze jerking to the window. Gena looked, too; it was dark out, sure, but she didn’t see anything. She remembered David’s first visit, how Jake had to walk him through his senses until he calmed down. Was he having some kind of an episode? “Honey, you okay?” she asked carefully.

“…yeah. Uh, you should…” He stood up abruptly. “Uhm, you should wait out back for a sec…”

“Why?”

“Just…bad feeling. Really bad.” He walked to the window and pressed his face against it, muttering to himself as he did. “Seriously, you should go.”

Gena was frozen in place. She didn’t want to leave David alone if he was having an episode, but for all his lapses into funny accents or moments of staring off into nothing, she’d never seen him act like this before. He seemed so sure. “Why don’t you come with me?” she tried. “We can sit in my office for a second, give Jake a call…”

The sound of a gunshot was so loud that it drowned out everything else in her head. Next thing she knew, David was behind the counter, grabbing her hand, dragging her back deeper into the restaurant. They ducked into her office as more gunshots sounded from somewhere close. Gena clutched Davi’s hand tightly, thanked God the boys were at home, prayed none of the bullets hit the windows…

The shooting stopped, and for a split second, it was silent. Noises slowly trickled in to fill the space.

“Mrs. Landers?” Bill called from the kitchen. “Mrs. Landers?!”

“We’re okay!” David called back. He didn’t sound frightened, to her surprise. “That’s a hell of a good evening…!”

There was shouting outside. When Gena risked peeking back outside, she saw a figure running past the (blessedly intact) windows. “Hey!” David said.

The figure suddenly tripped and fell. It looked like someone had grabbed his coat to make him stumble, but there was no one else outside. Either she’d imagined it, or invisible vigilantes were now a thing she had to worry about. David ran out of her office and for the door. “David!” Gena ran after him without thinking. “What are you doing?!”

They burst outside to a full moon and the sound of a fistfight. The man who’d tripped was struggling to get up, but fell back down again. “No, you don’t,” David said. He was doing one of his voices, a rough drawl that almost reminded me of a cowboy. “Someone’s gonna want a word with you.”

Before Gena could ask what was going on, someone came flying out of the alley next to the diner and tumbled ass-over-teakettle into the street. A figure dressed in white stepped out next. It was the moon man from before. His hood had slipped off, revealing a smooth white mask with nothing but a line for a mouth and two glowing holes for eyes.

The mask may have been featureless, but his body language was furious.

Gena froze in place, despite a voice in her head that screamed at her to get back inside and call 911. She was able to grab David’s arm, but couldn’t make herself speak.

We have to go. We have to go now…

“Hey, Moon Boy,” David said casually, “Dial it back. There’s a lady present.”

Moon Man glanced their way. Almost immediately, the anger bled out of his body. “Are you okay?” he asked. His voice was still muffled by the mask, hollow and strange, but he sounded concerned.

And she knew him.

If he had been familiar before, it was on the tip of her tongue now. The feeling of lingering fear just kept it trapped in her head. David was taking this a lot better than she was, weirdly enough. “We’re fine, just a bit rattled,” he said. “Hey, you want a word with this guy?”

Moon Man’s gaze fixed back on the guy on the ground. For a moment, Gena was afraid she was going to see something she didn’t want to see, but all he did was crouch next to the guy. The quiet menace in his voice made up for the lack of physical violence: “I know who sent you. I know exactly why you’re here. That shit’s not going to fly, you hear me? I want you to go back and tell them that.” He leaned over so they were making eye contact. “This street is under the Moon Knight’s protection. Anyone who tries to hurt anyone here will get worse than what I gave you tonight. Are we perfectly clear?”

The man on the ground whimpered an agreement. Moon Man—Moon Knight, she guessed—hauled the guy to his feet and gave him a shove. “Go on, then.”

Gena was pretty sure that man could’ve qualified for the Olympics with how fast he ran off.

David bumped against her slightly as he swayed in place. “You okay?” Gena asked.

“Huh?” David looked around. It was as if he was seeing the whole situation for the first time. “Oh…yeah. I’m fine. I’m good.” He rubbed his eyes. “Uh, what are we doing?”

“Did you get a read on that guy?” Moon Knight asked. His voice was noticeably softer how that he was talking to David. “You up to follow him?”

“Ough, gimme a sec…” David rubbed his eyes harder, then lightly smacked his cheeks. “Sorry. I’m here. Should we call the police first?”

“What are you going to do?” Gena asked suddenly. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know the answer, but she had to. “What’s David got to do with this?”

David and Moon Knight exchanged a glance. “Uhh…long story?” David said weakly. “Oh, shit, I owe you money…”

“We can settle it later, just…” Gena turned to Moon Knight. “What’s he got to do with this?”

“He’s been helping,” Moon Knight said reassuringly. “I won’t let anything happen to him, promise.”

She believed him. Gena didn’t know why, but she did. She also knew that she couldn’t stop David even if she wanted to, so instead she asked, “Should I call the police?”

“Can you give us a head start?”

“With the way response times have been, I don’t think I’ll have to.”

Moon Knight laughed. “Yeah, good point.” He rested a hand on David’s shoulder and started steering him after the man. “You stay safe, ma’am.”

“You too…?”

They disappeared into the night, leaving Gena standing on the street, confused and scrambling to figure out what had just happened. It took the jangle of the door opening and the sound of Bill’s voice to drag her out of it. “I called the police,” he said. “What the hell was all of that?!”

“I…I don’t know,” Gena managed.

That was the long and short of it.

The cops showed up faster than Gena expected. They didn’t even seem phased by the fact that the man calling himself Moon Knight had beaten the shit out of what turned out to be multiple gang members. Gena supposed that was pretty normal compared to half the world going missing, but it was still a lot for her to take in. “And you have no idea who this…Moon Knight person is?” asked one of the officers.

Gena shook her head. “No,” she said. “I don’t.”

It was technically true. She didn’t know for sure. But the feeling that she should know nagged at her for the rest of the night—as she finished things up with the police, as she closed up the place, as she went home, checked on the boys, and started heading to bed herself. Her mind kept worrying away at it until suddenly, just as she was lying down, it hit her.

He’d paused before he called her ma’am, but it hadn’t been a silent pause. She’d heard the start of an s-sound.

S, perhaps, like senora.

The reassuring tones, the calm demeanor, the way a vigilante she’d only seen once in person and only heard about in passing showed up just the right night to help, right after everything that had happened with the boys…it all added up. Moon Knight was…

“Jake,” Gena whispered in disbelief. “He’s Jake.”

“I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D GO TO ALL THIS TROUBLE JUST TO RESORT TO HALF-MEASURES.”

Jake sighed. “See, that’s your problem, hefe. You have no imagination.” He splashed the last of the gasoline over the desk in front of him. Shame, really; it was a nice piece of furniture. He’d haul it back to England for Steven if he could, but the powers Khonshu had given him didn’t extend to that. “I’m sending a message. That’s the important thing.”

“YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT THE WOMAN THINKS.”

Jake ignored the statement as he tossed the canister aside and headed for the exit. Nice thing about this place was how isolated it was: just one of many construction projects along the harbor that had been abandoned after the world went upside-down. It was the domain of either the destitute or the criminal these days, and David had already helped him be sure the first group had cleared out. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn’t have been in any danger, but he didn’t want to risk innocent lives. That was part of the reason he’d used a comparatively soft touch while clearing out the place. Old Eddie Greene’s crew may have had some bad men in it, but it had just as many desperate men. People who didn’t really deserve the kind of judgement Khonshu usually liked dealing out. And as for the ones who did…

“YOU’RE NOT GETTING SOFT ON ME, ARE YOU, LOCKLEY?”

Jake shook his head. “Let me have this one, all right? It’s extracurricular anyway. Testing out new methods. They won’t hurt anyone else either way.”

He’d never admit it, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill them. Khonshu wasn’t wrong: it did have to do with Gena. There were a lot of things he could do and sleep comfortably after, but this time…

She knows. He didn’t know that for sure, but his gut told him she did, or that she was getting close to figuring it out. Which meant that when the news hit about what had happened to the gang that had messed with her boys, he’d have to answer to her for it. Stopping them was one thing. Killing even the ones that deserved it might change her opinion of him for the worse. He wasn’t ready for that.

He didn’t think he’d ever be.

The distant sound of sirens and a feeling that he could only describe as a sharp nudge directly on his brain drew him back to the present. David had already called in as a concerned citizen to report a fire; best make sure they’d have something to do when they got there.

The fire was spreading rapidly by the time he left the building. He wasn’t sure if his cape left a trail of ashes and sparks in its wake as he left, but he hoped it did. A little shock and awe went a long way in making people rethink their life choices.

So did getting the piss kicked out of them and being tied up nice and tidy for the cops to deal with.

“Wh-what are you?” mumbled one of the men on the ground.

Jake smiled, even though they couldn’t see it behind the mask. “I’m the divine fist of justice, cabrón,” he said, “and I’m always watching.”

It was a good thing the diner was having a slow morning, because Gena could not stop looking at the morning’s headline.

Vigilante Crushes Local Crime Ring. There weren’t any photographs of the vigilante in question, but the description in the article told her everything she needed to know. White outfit, white mask, moon iconography.

Sightings of the so-called Moon Knight have been on the rise in recent years…

Starting around 2019, maybe?

Gena glanced up from the paper and caught sight of two figures outside: Jake smoking a cigarette, and David standing nearby and shoveling a gyro into his mouth.

She shouldn’t ask. It was probably dangerous to know. But she also couldn’t just leave it alone.

The conversation seemed to be wrapping up as she stepped outside: “…and I’d better see that shiny new chip when I get back, hear me?”

“Yessir, you big worrywart.” David’s eyes met hers, and he suddenly looked like a kid who’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Oh…hi, Mrs. Landers.”

Jake didn’t turn around right away. What she could see of his face wasn’t panicked or guilty; it was blank. The facial equivalent of drawn blinds. She watched in real time as he arranged it into his usual friendly smile before fully turning to see her. “Good morning, prima. Everything all right?”

He knows I know. Well, that made things a bit easier. “Yeah, just…odd week. Can we have a word someplace private?”

Jake’s smile didn’t slip, but it did look more forced. “Yeah. Sure thing.”

Gena felt bad seeing it, and felt a whole lot worse when it dropped off his face when they were alone in her office. He looked hesitant, maybe even afraid. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to risk saying this in public,” Gena said. She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to know. All right? I don’t want specifics. I don’t need them. It’s better if we keep this in a box. But…” She almost met his eyes, but settled for looking at his hands, instead. One was clenched into a fight fist; the other kept tugging at a loose thread on his jacket. When she held out her hands to him, he hesitated before taking them, carefully and gently.

“Thank you,” Gena said. “Thank you for looking out for us.”

Jake glanced at her as if he were expecting a but. Gena didn’t have one. Jake had made a point of protecting her and her boys, along with God only knew how many other people. At the end of the day, that was all she cared about.

“…you’re welcome.” Jake’s smile was a bit hesitant, but grew when Gena stepped back and opened her arms for a hug. He took her up on the silent offer without any hesitation. “Any time. Just call if you need me.”

Considering what he’d managed to pull off so far, that felt like a dangerous amount of power for her to have. She was glad Jake trusted her with it.

There was one thing she needed to get off her chest though.

“Okay, I know I said I don’t need to know, but…” Gena pulled back from the hug. “Moon Knight? Is there a story there?”

Jake laughed. “Yeah,” he said, “but it’s a long one. I’ll tell you someday when all of this is a bit more need to know.”

Considering his line of work, that was probably a long time coming. But it could wait. “Sounds good,” she said. “I can work with that.”

He didn’t think he’d be back here again: sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor, everything Marc could hurt himself with dismantled and tucked away, phone in hand. His finger had been hovering over the call button for Layla for a solid minute, but he hadn’t been able to make himself press it.

Marc probably needed Layla right now. But Marc wasn’t here, and Jake…

He put down Marc’s phone, dug his own out of its hiding place, and dialed a different number.

He could hear the sound of lightsabers on the other end. “Hi, Jake!” called a much younger voice than he’d expected.

“Hey, Ricky.” Jake was a little surprised he was able to smile. “Star Wars again?”

“Uh-huh. Revenge of the Sith. You need to talk to Mom?”

“¿Por favor? It’s grown up stuff, real boring.”

“Okay, I’ll get her.”

“Hi, Jake!” Ray called from somewhere on the other end. Then, distantly and muffled by foosteps, “Bye, Jake!”

It wasn’t enough to completely lift his spirits, but it helped.

The phone exchanged hands. “Hey, you,” Gena said. “What’s going on?”

Suddenly, he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“…lot on my plate,” he admitted finally. “My brother Marc’s not doing so hot, and, uhm…”

He nearly jumped off a roof and I’m scared of what else he might do. And it was so much heavier when it wasn’t just Marc he had to worry about. If Marc went down, so did Steven. So did Jake. It was enough to make him feel like he was carrying the whole world.

“I guess I’m not doing too hot, either.”

“Oh…oh, I’m sorry, honey. Is there anything I can do?”

Figure out time travel and kill my mom for me was the first thing that came to mind, but that’d be a big ask even if it were possible. “Just…talk to me? Doesn’t matter what about. I need to feel normal for a minute.” A sudden feeling of guilt, real guilt, squeezed at this gut. “If you’ve got the time…”

“I’ve always got time for a friend. And you’re in luck, because things have gotten really interesting around town lately.”

Jake settled in and listened to everything Gena had to say. She started with some local gossip, mostly petty stuff, then moved to more city-wide news: how things were going in Harlem lately (Luke Cage’s territory, reasonable guy in his experience), the stories about some social media stunts by a guy calling himself Stilt Man (okay, that he definitely had to look up later), and rumors that people had seen Captain American around Brooklyn (which he really hoped weren’t true, dealing with Daredevil was bad enough). He pretended that the floor underneath him was a barstool, that he could smell coffee and frying food, that Marc wasn’t standing on the precipice again and that everything was fine.

He let himself be Jake—just a personal driver with a few good friends—for as long as he could.

#fic: meet me at our spot #sorry I've been away so long hope the bonus pov makes up for it <3

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anonymusbosch · 1 year ago

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hngbhbtbbhbjnhbllll

car crash happened in front of me (I am fine and people involved are not hurt)

guy completely speeding and weaving thru traffic, I slow down cause I'm like "oh shit this is gonna go bad," and sure he spins out and crosses all the lanes and hits the side of the bridge seconds later

I'm just a few seconds behind. my partner calls 911 and I pull over to check if the driver's okay and see if there are any passengers, give first aid until the EMTs get there

airbags all blown. guy extracts himself. he's able to walk but really staggering and i try to get him to sit down. sometimes people are stumbling like that and they're super injured and they're running on adrenaline, in shock, no idea how injured they are. a previous accident I responded to there was a guy with head trauma bleeding down his face with no idea he was hurt. so I try to get him to sit down so I can check on him but he's not mentally there, he's stumbling so much he tips onto the guardrail and then I'm like "jesus" so I sit down and get him to sit and give me his info (entirely to get him off his feet) and he's just so intoxicated that he can't walk. he was walking like his leg was broken but he's just that smashed. and there's shrapnel all over the bridge. he hit two other cars, they're pulled over, the police are there holding back all the traffic behind us. Everyone in front of us kept going and everyone behind us is blocked by the police. and I try to start to leave because there's real first responders and this guy isn't bleeding and he tries to stop me - he's polite but he wants me to be a witness and I say "dude I saw you screaming down the right lane and weaving in traffic and totally spinning out" and he says "that guy cut me off!" and I say "listen, I didn't get hit, you're not hurt, I'm leaving" and he says some more stuff, he's not belligerent but he's drunk and scared and I want to leave, my legs are shaking and the sirens are loud, and I say I'll make sure the cops have my info, and I drive on and the cop ahead of me waves me down and I realize that oh fuck I left my wallet in the house. but I have a photo of my license and that's good enough and I give the cop my name and phone number and license number and drive off the empty bridge with nothing but the crashed cars and the flashing lights and my arms shaking just a little and I get off the bridge as soon as I can and pull over and stop the car and half start crying. and I dictate what happened in a voice memo and hold my partner's hand and sit there and shake for a minute until I can get my breath and legs beneath me and feel ok to drive the rest of the way home. and I just. this is the... fifth? time? I've responded to a crash that happened but it's the only one that happened while I was also driving. and I sometimes wonder what I would do in some emergency situation and I've learned that I don't necessarily keep my head on straight or pay attention to the right things but I *try* and I do respond. and this is just the first one where I've fully felt my body going haywire even when I'm keeping a cool head, felt my legs shaking like that, felt the bloodrush and the need to go cool off after.... blllaksjfbakla I am home safe and able to just shower and lie down. and I am very glad no one was seriously injured and I am very glad I saw what was about to happen and braked and I am very glad I wasn't 10 seconds further along the road. and I am just. glad to be home

also like last night i got a drink at the bar planning to dance for a while and then pick up my partner to go home and it was wayyyyy stronger than expected so I had to be like "sorry babe I'm gonna need to wait this one out" and ended up taking like an extra full hour (on top of the planned amt of time) and then some before I was 100% good. and so we didn't get enough sleep and were going home early today and I roped us into an extra. 45 mins of delay. with the responding to the crash. and so i am not good at getting partner home early these last couple days. but for. reasons

#what should i tag this #uh #alcohol #car crash #blood #(mention)#injury

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ejzah · 2 years ago

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The Agent and the Fireman, Part 8

***

“Deeks!”

“Kensi, what’s going on?” Callen asked as Kensi kept the phone next to her ear, and gestured to Eric.

“Someone’s shooting at Deeks. Can you make sure that LAPD is notified?” she said, waiting for Eric to give a nod of confirmation as she turned towards the sliding doors. All she could hear now where the faintest of shouts and static, making her think that Deeks had dropped his phone.

“Kensi, wait, where are you going?” Callen put a hand on her arm, not using any force, but stopping her in her tracks.

“It sounded like he was in some kind of altercation and then I heard gunfire,” Kensi reported, going into agent mode automatically.

“Ok, well I’m sure if anything did happen, LAFD has it under control,” he told Kensi.

“I’m not waiting to find out.” She gave him an incredulous look. “He could be in serious danger.” Or seriously injured, her brain added helpfully.

“Relax, we’re not going to let your lover boy get hurt,” Sam assured her. “Let’s go save Kensi’s firefighter.”

Kensi was just worried enough not to protest at his teasing.

***

Kensi’s heart pounded, stomach crawling with nerves the entire drive. She thought she might be sick when she saw the row of police cars lined up outside the burned out building.

Callen flashed his badge at the officer guarding the entrance. “NCIS,” he said.

“Officer Dan Perez. Damn, you guys are serious about this case. We just arrived a few minutes ago,” he commented.

“Agent Blye,” he gesture to Kensi. “was on the phone with one a member of LAFD, Lieutenant Deeks, when she heard shots fired.”

“Oh, I see.” The officer’s eyes drifted over Kensi.

The lack of urgency annoyed her, but it did calm her nerves slightly.

“Can you tell us what happened?” she asked. “Is the Lieutenant alright?

“Well, you can ask him yourself,” Perez offered, hooking his thumb behind him. “He’s getting patched up an giving his statement.”

Kensi sighed in relief, narrowly resisting the urge to hug the man. Patching up meant Deeks was alive.

“Thank you!” she said, rushing past him. It wasn’t hard to find the sole ambulance parked to the side, and even in the darkness, Deeks’ halo of blonde curls were like a beacon.

He has his head turned towards the EMT working on his arm, one hand raised to his head.

“Deeks,” she exclaimed in relief. His head swiveled, surprise crossing his features, followed by a wince. She realized now that he held an ice pack to his forehead, opposite the gash he’d received earlier that night.

“Kensi, what are you—oh my god,” he tipped his back, squeezing his eyes tight as he groaned. “The phone call. I’m sorry, I completely forgot about that.”

“No, it’s ok,” Kensi told him. At the moment, she was willing to forgive him anything. “Are you ok? I heard the shots—”

“Yeah, no, it looks worse than it is.”

“Bullet graze to the right bicep, mild concussion with superficial damage to the temple, and lots of bruises,” the EMT listed off calmly without pausing in her ministrations.

“Thanks, Tina,” Deeks said tightly. “Do you think we could have a minute?”

“Sure. But don’t even think about running off without letting me finish wrapping that or I will come and find you,” Tina threatened.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Once she was out of immediate sight, Kensi stepped closer, immediately examining beneath the partially applied bandage. Her brows furrowed at the torn line of flesh along his bicep, still bleeding steadily.

“Oh my god,” she murmured. “This looks awful.”

“I know, it’s totally gonna mess up my tan,” Deeks joked. “Of course, I hear that some women really dig scars, so there’s that.”

“That’s not funny,” Kensi said sharply, drawing yet another surprised glance from him. She felt bad for it almost immediately, especially with the way his shoulders slumped. He looked tired and hurt, and probably should be at a hospital, not a grimy crime scene.

She rubbed her thumb over her bottom lip, forcing down her instinct to lash out instead of voicing her feelings. “ I’m sorry. I was worried about you,” she admitted.

“Extremely worried,” Callen added from behind her, and she almost groaned as he and Sam came to stand on either side of her. Deeks dropped his hand, revealing the bruised and gashed skin of his temple for the first time as he glanced between the two men curiously.

“I’m Agent Sam Hanna and this my partner, Agent Callen,” Sam introduced them. “We’re Kensi’s colleagues.”

“Marty Deeks, LAFD. How you doing?” Deeks asked, somehow managing to bring out a modicum of charm despite his downtrodden appearance.

“Well, based on how you look, pretty good in comparison,” Callen said, drawing a breathy laugh from Deeks.

“Yeah, I’ve had better nights.”

“Your captain said you might have seen the arsonist. Are you able to give us a statement?” Callen asked, getting back to business.

Deeks nodded. “Yeah, of course. I was near the east wing of the building, where there’s the least damage. We’d found some evidence of multiple incendiary devices, which is when I called Kensi. As I was walking out, I saw someone lurking around, dressed in dark clothes, picking something off the ground.“ He sighed heavily, brushing at his matted bangs with his thumbnail. “He ran, so I pursued, and tackled him.

“What made you realize he wasn’t just some nosy civilian?” Sam asked.

“Gut instinct,” Deeks answered without hesitation or smugness. “And the gun he pulled on me was kind of another big clue. He clocked pretty good with it, which is how he got loose. Then he just started firing aimlessly. Could have hit anyone.”

Kensi’s stomach clenched again at the image he created.

“One of the bullets ricocheted off of something and grazed my arm while I was calling for back up.”

“You took a pretty big risk going after this guy without any kind weapon,” Sam commented, maybe a little admonishment in his tone.

“I didn’t do it for the bragging rights, Agent Hanna.” Deeks faced him unflinchingly. “This arsonist has caused significant damage, wasted countless resources, and most importantly with this most recent fire, taken a life. In the moment, it seemed like a good idea to try and stop him,” he explained.

“Well, I can’t argue with that. Did you get a good look at the suspect?”

“Uh, yeah. He was roughly 5’10, pretty slim build. I didn’t get a look at his face, but I did pull it off when I tackled him. He has light brown or blonde hair and at the time, wore a black hat and shirt, black pants, and dark shoes,” Deeks rattled off.

“Good. Nell and Eric should be able to do something with that,” Callen said.

“Our tech people,” Kensi explained to Deeks.

“Mm.” Deeks winced again, energy clearing flagging.

“Are you sure you don’t want someone to take you to the hospital?” She couldn’t keep the concern from her voice.

“Nah, I’ll get one of the guys to drive me home after and I’ll pop a couple ibuprofen,” he said with a shrug.

“I’m sure Agent Blye will kiss it better for you,” Sam said in a whisper loud enough to carry a few feet away.

“Sam!” Kensi hissed, glaring at him.

“Now that sounds like the perfect cure,” Deeks murmured with a wink and a crooked grin. The thought seemed to liven him up a little.

“You, and you.” Kensi pointed to Sam and then Callen. “Go wait for me by the car.”

“Yes mom,” Sam grinned, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he turned towards where they’d parked the Challenger.

“Save the making out for after we solve the case!” Callen called after them.

Kensi groaned, covering her eyes. “Oh my god, I am so sorry about them.”

“Don’t worry about it. They seem like fun,” Deeks decided with obvious amusement.

“Sure, until they gang up on you.” She sobered a little, unable to joke freely with Deeks bloody and hurt right in front of her. “I’m glad you’re ok,” she added. Deeks held out his hand, and she hesitantly placed her hand in his. Folding his fingers around her palm, he raised her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles.

“Thanks for worrying about me.” He glanced around them, at the flashing lights, crumbled building, and sighed regretfully. “I think it’s going to be a while before we get to make up for that date.”

“It’s ok,” Kensi said. “I can wait.” She stretched up on her toes, brushing his hair back from his cheek so she could whisper in his ear. “And it’s going to be so worth the wait.”

She heard Deeks’ breath hitch and pulled back with a satisfied smile. “Get better fast, Lieutenant.”

***

A/N: This story is still 90% Kensi and Deeks flirting. I hope you enjoyed the little bit of whump.

#ncis la fanfiction #marty deeks #kensi blye #Sam and Callen #firefighter deeks #hot Deeks #the agent and the fireman #part 8 #fireman au #fluff #Deeks whump #ejzah fanfiction

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fantasies-fairytales-n-fics · 2 years ago

Text

Code Blue Ch. 25- Code Green

Summary: Long chapter. Josie and Orlando arrive at the hospital and the evening goes from bad to worse with all kinds of drama.

*Warnings* language, angst, mob mentions, trauma, mental illness, self-harm, domestic dispute, infertility, anxiety

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Chapter characters: Lee, Josie, Orlando, David, Britt, Sami, Jimmy

Salem, Massachusetts

February 27, 2023

Salem General Hospital- 7pm

The ambulance arrived at the hospital and the EMT's took Orlando inside with you right on their tail. Lee had texted and said he was about 15 minutes away which made you feel better knowing you would soon be in his arms after the nightmare you had just endured.

The police were already there waiting to question Orlando again when he was more coherent. You held his hand and talked to him for a moment before they took him back to a room.

"Hey, how are you feeling? Are you in any pain?" you asked him with a shaky voice.

Orlando smiled at you and told you no, but you knew better. He saw your worried expression and wanted to be strong for you, so he slightly fibbed so you wouldn't be so scared. He knew that fib was nothing compared to what he had to soon lie about, all to keep you safe....and that meant Ethan would go free... and you still wouldn't be safe. Orlando knew Ethan had been into some bad dealings for quite some time and the threat he made against you would and could very well be carried out if he were to be charged and sent to prison so he figured if he kept his brother happy, Ethan would eventually calm down about everything. There was also the matter of his mother and how she would react if her son was sent away because of her other son who had already tore their family apart. It was truly a no win situation but he was going to do what he thought was best for you. He couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt because of him, or at all.

"I know you're lying. It's ok to admit if you're hurting Orlando."

He didn't even get to answer as a doctor came to assess him. After a brief update from the EMT's, the doctor then spoke to you.

'Are you his wife?"

'Oh...n..no. I..I'm his friend." you answered, shocked that he didn't even know who Orlando was. New doctor maybe?

"I'm sorry. You'll have to wait down here if you're not family."

"What? Wait, where are you taking him? I need to go with him, I told him I wouldn't leave him!"

He ignored you and told a nurse to take him up to ten and he would be in shortly, then walked off.

"Seriously???" you miffed. "I'll be right there Orlando." you assured him and reluctantly let go of his hand as they wheeled him off to the elevator.

Where the hell was Britt or Amy, you thought, then took out your phone and began texting both of them. Within a minute as you paced about, Amy responded that she wasn't working and then Britt finally replied and said she was up on ten with David, coincidentally where they were taking Orlando. God, you hadn't seen Dave in so long.

Without even thinking, you found yourself on the highly feared elevator, closing your eyes and holding your breath the entire time as you clutched the hand rail, picturing Lee beside you.

As the doors opened, you bolted out, releasing your breath and saw Dave headed in your direction, obviously looking for you.

"Dave! Oh my god!" you panted and threw your arms around him.

"Josie, sweetheart, you're shaking. What's going on??" he asked as he held you so tightly. "Britt told me you were on your way up here. Are you alright?"

"No..no I'm not. They brought Orlando up here and the doctor wouldn't let me go with him."

"Yeah, I just saw them taking him into a room. Josie what the hell happened?"

"His brother Ethan is what happened. Please tell me you're going to be taking care of him??? I don't like that other doctor. I think he's missing a heart"

"Hey, don't worry. He's in good hands and once then get him stable, they'll let you see him."

"Can't you go check on him? Tell him I'm right outside and that Lee is on his way? Just so he feels better?"

Dave's eyes became curious. "Yeah Josie, sure....I..I um... didn't realize you you and Dr. Bloom...or Dr. Pace were...that close. But ten again I haven't heard from you since Jason's funeral over a month ago. I take it you and I over?" he said with a grin.

Dave was always a pretty reserved guy, so his comment slightly threw you. You understood it though because you had made up that lie to Lee about you and Dave dating...and you had also neglected your friendship with him ever since then and you had never done that before.

"I know...I'm so sorry. It was so very stupid and insensitive of me to do that. SO much had and has been going on...I'm sorry, I'm just spewing out such lame excuses and..."

"Josie...it's alright. Life happens. I get it. So are you and Lee....a..thing now?"

"Jo!" Lee called to you as he got off the elevator.

The sound of his voice was pure music to your ears. As you whipped around, Lee was right there, desperately pulling you into his arms, cradling your head in his hand as he closed his eyes with an intense sigh of relief. He then leaned back and kissed your forehead and gently but vigorously rubbed each side of your face.

"Baby, are you alright? Tell me you weren't hurt."

"I'm ok, I swear. It's Orlando that's hurt pretty badly and they won't let me see him yet. Maybe they'll let you...since you're a doctor here?? Dave, can Lee go in??"

David stared at you for a moment, realizing from your loving meet and greet with Lee, that his question was confirmed.

"I'm sorry. I wish that he could, but with his suspension and all..."

"Hey, it's ok man. I called Orlando's sister. She and Jimmy are on their way."

"I'm going to go check on him like you asked." Dave said with a light smile and left.

"Lee, is that a good idea after what happened with Jimmy? Sam was really cruel to Orlando. I saw it."

"Despite their differences, Sami loves him. Can we...go talk for a moment? Somewhere not so crowded."

He led you around the corner into the hall and you could feel it. He was upset that you went over there and understandably had a lot of questions.

"Jo..." he simply said and stared down at the floor, then finally brought his eyes to you and spoke softly. "What were you thinking? Going there alone?"

"I...I tried to call you first, but you didn't answer and..I could feel something was wrong. Orlando had left me a voicemail earlier and he just didn't sound right. It was like he was desperately needing to talk to someone, but I could hear it in his tone. Lee, there was fear....and I called him back tonight and he tried to say he was fine, but then I heard Ethan shouting at him...and then he just hung up. I called again but he wouldn't answer and so I texted him. Shortly after, he texted back and that's when I could truly tell something was wrong, by what he said, but I now believe it wasn't even him because I called again and Ethan answered his phone. He tried to tell me Orlando was fine and up in a room with a girl and that he had saw your post, which I then looked and saw Orlando supposably gave it an angry reaction...but Lee, you and I both know he isn't that petty."

"Are you so sure about that? Look what he did with Megan."

'Yeah I know, but also look how incredibly sorry he was...I don't know Lee. But I'm telling you, Ethan did this. I mean, you even believe he tried to run us off the road. Like...I just feel Orlando was trying to warn me about something, but chickened out. You know Ethan better than anyone Lee. Is he capable of this?? Hurting his own brother like that?"

Lee stared off down the hall momentarily. "I've seen it before, his anger."

"At Orlando??"

"I have...and at me, but this? Stabbing him? Jo, did you see it happen?"

"Well...no but Lee...how else did it happen? Orlando was too out of it to say anything and Ethan had the audacity to say Orlando did this to himself. I'm sorry, but that's bullshit."

"I guess we wait to see what Orlando says. I wish he would have called me and not you. You should not have been anywhere around Ethan..."

"He didn't call you because he thinks you hate him... Lee, what are you not telling me. I can see it all over your face. You're worried about something. Talk to me...please. I'm not your enemy... Let me in...I love you."

Lee caved at your words and kissed your forehead again, the pulled you against him, wanting to tell you everything so badly.

"I love you so much Jo. What I am worried about is you...and Orlando. Of course I don't hate him."

"Then please tell him that. I really think he needs to hear it and know that you're in his corner. You...don't believe he hurt himself, do you?"

"I don't want to. I just know that he has had a lot of mental problems and I can't judge him or anyone. Look at the things I have done when I was not in my right mind."

"So...you think that it's possible?"

"I pray it's not true because this will really impact his life...his career even. I know how that goes first hand as you also know. Everything now depends on his statement. Come on, let's go see if there's any updates."

You obliged and went with him, knowing damn well Lee was holding back on something. Something that terrified him.

As you and Lee came around the corner, Sam and Jimmy were speaking with Britt, who's eyes fell in shame when she saw the two of you.

"Jimmy, hey man!" Lee enthusiastically said as they both shared a manly back patting hug. "Glad to finally see you. Hey Sam. You guys, this is Josie...my girlfriend." he then said with a cute smile at you and squeezed your hand. To hear him say it officially to someone else made the butterflies wake up.

"Hey." she softly said, looking very agitated. "Thanks for calling me Lee. Sorry we couldn't make it to the funeral. You can see why, all thanks to Orlando."

She glanced up at her husband's rainbow colored bruising that consumed one of his eyes.

"Nice to meet you Josie...Sam, come on. Give the kid a break. It was an accident." Jimmy said in defense of his brother in law.

"How many breaks do you think he should have Jim? And now Ethan is in jail because of him. I need some coffee while we wait." she snapped and walked off to the waiting room.

Something about Britt's reaction caught your immediate attention at the mention of Ethan's name.

'Any update on Orlando?" Lee asked her.

"Uhh...yes, he's....um, Dr. Conrad is with him currently down in radiology. That's all I can offer at this time."

"I better go sit with my wife. You guys want to come?" Jimmy asked.

"Britt...can I talk to you for a minute?" you asked as she hesitated making eye contact with you. "Lee, you go ahead. I'll be right there."

"Sure baby."

He kissed your forehead again and left with Jimmy. Britt then tried to escape.

"I really need to get back to my rounds Josie."

"Oh noooo you don't." you retorted and pulled her into the hall.

"Josie, seriously, if this is about the other night, how many more times can I apologize? I drank too much and said things i shouldn't have."

"Nope not about that. What do you about Ethan?"

"Who?"

"Oh cut the shit Britt. I saw your face. You know something, now spill it."

"I don't want involved in it Josie. I think it's now obvious that he's bad news."

"And you're going to tell me why that is? I'm not leaving until you do. I swear I will follow you around all night if I have to."

"Ok ok! God. I just...the other day, at the funeral...I..I knew he looked familiar but..I couldn't place him then. But when she just said his name..."

"Britt?? Tell me!"

"I've seen him with Jason before ok?? and...the Zacchara's."

You spaced out for a moment in disbelief, then your hand made it's way to cover your mouth as your eyes widened.

"Oh..my god....are...you sure???"

"Yes...I mean, he had shorter hair then, but I know it was him. It was on the Haunted Star and there was some gambling event going on. He was into it big time. A high roller."

"My father's boat...where the hell was I??"

"Off with Gerry somewhere as usual. I don't know."

"Josie...Lee was with him. So was that big mouth brother of his. Gavin?"

"Gordon..." you whispered in complete shock.

"Yeah, that's it. But that's all I know. I never had any reason back then to think anything of it....until now."

"Yeah except that Lee was there and the Zacchara's are one of the families....and not exactly friends with Jason and Sonny."

"Look, Jason's business was his business. I didn't question him because you know as well as I do that he would never tell us anything. Lee, I can assure you was not involved in any of that world. Just there having a good time. That's all I know Josie. I really have to go."

Britt left and you just stood there reeling over this new confusing information for a few minutes, then went to find Lee to hopefully get more clarity on this from him. You knew Lee didn't know Jason but that didn't mean he didn't know what Ethan was involved in....and judging by Lee's behavior earlier, you suspected he did know....and that there was more to his and Ethan's relationship than what was revealed.

You joined Lee, Sam and Jimmy in the waiting room as they were all talking. Lee noticed your sullen face and he took your hand as you sat down beside him.

"Jo? Everything alright?"

"Yeah..we can talk later."

He half smiled, sensing that it wasn't going to be a pleasant talk.

"I really should go and see Ethan so I can hear his side of things." Sam randomly said.

"Come on Sam." Jimmy said. "Ethan's a big boy and he made his bed. Orlando is hurt and lying in a hospital bed."

She didn't like that response at all and became visibly upset.

"Yeah, just like he hurt you and put you in a hospital bed. Ethan wouldn't do this Jim. Orlando has serious problems and people get hurt because of him, including himself....and Mum, fuck...how do I tell her any of this?"

"Look, I know Orlando has problems but that night...he didn't know it was me. It was just...blind rage. It could have been anyone."

'Well...I'm beginning to see where half of Orlando's problems stem from. Thank you Jimmy, for defending him. At least someone sees the truth." you bluntly said and stormed out.

Lee's eyes grew in shock as he sucked in a heavy breath and exhaled, then he abruptly stood up. "I'm uh...going to go check on her and Orlando too."

You wandered into a small empty waiting room down the hall, sat down with your head in your hands and internally screamed. Sure, you didn't know everything about Orlando, but this, you just knew.

"Hey."

You popped your head up to see Dave leaning on the doorway, looking at you with his benevolent blues.

"Dave...how did..."

"I could hear you screaming internally from down the hall......annnd, I...saw you come in here." he said with a soft smile. "You ok?"

"I'll be fine. Did you get to speak to Orlando??"

"They gave him a sedative for the pain and to calm him, but he's fighting it. He's pretty worried about something."

"I'm pretty sure I know what that is. What about his injuries?"

"I can't discuss that with you, you know that."

"Ok, then get me and Lee in to see him. Please. He'll calm down if he has someone there he trusts and is on his side."

"I would, but the police are waiting too."

"Well, you said he's sedated right? So, he's still not in any shape to speak with them. Please, David. Don't let them see him. Get us in there first. I'm worried he'll tell them something he will regret."

"I'll see what I can do."

Dave left, almost running into Lee as he did so.

"Jo."

You got right up and went to him, wrapping your arms around his waist and snuggling into his chest.

"I'm so sorry Lee. You must be so embarrassed by my little tantrum back there. Sam just makes me so mad! She cares more about Ethan sitting in jail than she does about Orlando lying in a hospital bed, bloodied and beaten."

Lee held you tight and slightly rocked you. "I know. It's just how Sami is. Don't be sorry. Your passion is one of the many things I love about you Jo."

You tilted your head back and stared up at him with sad eyes. "I also feel a little guilty too. I mean...her husband was badly hurt...and...if that were you...I know I'd be the same way. If someone ever hurt you Lee, I'd..."

Your words were ceased by a soft full kiss, sending your wide awake butterflies fluttering up into your chest.

"God I've wanted to do that from the moment I got here tonight." Lee whispered against your lips. A tiny whimper snuck out of your mouth as you pulled his lips back to yours and for a few moments, you both forgot where you were as Lee backed you up against the wall.

You could feel someone was there, in which you opened your eyes and could just see over Lee's shoulder. Dave had come back.

"Sorry. I...I didn't want to..interrupt." he said, noticeably discomfited by what he saw.

"Dave...I...ummm...did you...see Orlando?"

"Yeah, he's uh...he's asking for you....the police will be held off until tomorrow. I can't go into detail. Orlando can fill you in. I uh...gotta run. See ya...later."

"Dave wait...."

You ran up to the doorway but the heartbroken doctor kept going.

"Damn it." you sadly huffed.

"I'm sorry Jo...I shouldn't have went so crazy with the PDA.."

"No, god no Lee. It's not your fault. Please go crazy with it." you giggled and kissed him again. "I...I just wanted to tell him myself. Oh well. I can't do anything about it now. I'll talk to Dave later. Let's go see Orlando."

As you and Lee came up to his cubicle, you could hear the conversation between him and a nurse.

"Dr. Bloom. I have your admittance and consent for surgery papers right here for you to sign."

"And how shall you say I do that when I'm right handed and my right hand is shit?"

"Your left hand will do just fine. I am a witness."

""I don't need surgery. Just stitch it."

"Dr. Bloom. Respectfully, you're a doctor. Surely you're aware that this type of would cannot be stitched. I cannot force you to have surgery, but if you do not, you will lose full use of your hand."

Reluctantly, Orlando signed it in big capital letters. "Tell Nurse Teresa if she can't read that, she needs fucking glasses. The kind that make your eyes bug out of your head."

You and Lee looked at each other and silently laughed.

"Annnnd he's back..." Lee chuckled as you both went inside the curtain.

Orlando's eyes fattened at the sight of Lee.

"Your gown is there in that closet. I'll leave you to your company and they'll be back to prep you in about an hour." the Nurse explained to Orlando.

"I know that...I work here remember?"

The Nurse rolled her eyes and left, making Lee chuckle some more.

"Hey banando, come here man. That's if you're not too stoned to stand up."

Watching Lee embrace his best friend had your eyes stinging with tears. No matter their spats, they would always care for each other and that was just so beautiful to you.

"Soooo, this is how I am forgiven? By ending up in the hospital.." Orlando grinned.

"Who said I forgive you?" Lee smirked. "Just fucking with you man. Of course I forgive you. You can thank Jo here for that."

Orlando looked at you with sullen eyes and came over to you.

"I'm so sorry for all of this and I do not even have words for what you did for me."

"You're ok. Well, mostly....That's all that matters. Just give me a hug and I'll be happy." you replied as your tears finally fell.

Orlando softly smiled and pulled you to him with his good hand.

"Thank you." he whispered into your ear.

Sam and Jimmy then walked in and Orlando's somewhat happy face fell flat at the sight of his sister's angry face and his brother in law's bruised one.

"Jimmy man...I am so damn sorry..."

"It was an accident man. How many times do I gotta say it? We're good ok? Now I just want you to be good."

"So, are you going to say Ethan did this and send him to prison? You got Mum all worried again." is all Sami could manage to say.

"What the hell did you tell her?"

"Oh you mean how you and you're....whatever she is put Ethan in jail?"

Your mouth dropped open at this bitch's nerve and Lee jumped right on it.

"Hey, Sam...don't do that. Jo saw Orlando was hurt and she did the right thing. At some point in your life, you're going to have to see the truth on things, so don't go blaming my girlfriend or my best friend for Ethan's fuck ups."

"Lee, thanks man but don't bother. I'm going to go call Mum so I don't have to stand here and listen to my own sister berate me today. Feel free to leave Sam. I have everyone I need here." Orlando snapped and walked out to the payphone.

She and Jimmy then began arguing with Lee trying to calm them, so you crept over to the doorway to watch Orlando in case he needed help, but you stayed back far enough to give him privacy....although you could still hear him and he didn't know it.

"Hey Mum. I'm alright, don't worry. A little surgery and I'll be good as new. No Mum..it will be fine. It was all just a big misunderstanding. An accident. Ethan will be free soon enough once I get to speak to the police. Yes, tomorrow I think. It will all be alright. Try not to worry anymore ok? I'll call you later when I can. I love you too Mum. bye."

Orlando hung up and lightly jumped when he saw you.

"Did I just hear you tell your Mother that it was an accident and that Ethan would soon be free?"

"What??" Lee said as he had just came out to find you.

"Look, I don't want to get into this right now with either of you. I am fine now. I thank you both so much for coming, but you can go now."

"Like hell." Lee snapped.

"Lee man, this is my business. Let me handle it."

"You look me in the eyes right now and tell me Ethan did not do this to you, because it is no accident when someone stabs someone."

"I never said anyone stabbed me. Look, I was drinking and fucking around with his knife, you know, the finger game. I missed."

"You mean to tell us that you were playing five finger fillet. I saw the wound Orlando. There were three punctures and last time I checked, you are right handed, which is the hand that is injured. So you accidentally stabbed yourself THREE times with your LEFT hand." you asked in extreme disbelief.

"Ok Josie...you got me. You heard Ethan. I did it to myself. I'm off my fucking meds and I hurt myself. I do it a lot. Is that better?"

"Lando man. Don't do this. Don't throw your career away for Ethan, because you know that's what will happen if you tell them you intentionally hurt yourself. He ain't worth this man! Look at the mess I'm in over my poor choices."

"That ain't the same and you know it Lee. You're being investigated for medical negligence."

"The hell it isn't. Some of my poor choices involved Ethan just as your poor choices do because you're protecting him for some unknown fucking reason."

"I'm not protecting him, I'm...you know what. I'm done here. I need to go change."

"You see?? I knew this was your fault!" Sam said as he followed him back into his room, in which Orlando went in the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"Leave him the fuck alone already! I do believe he told you to leave." you shouted at her.

"I'm sorry, just who the hell do you think you are??"

"I'm someone, unlike you, that actually cares about him. Jesus, no fucking wonder his mind is a god damn mess. You and Ethan are toxic!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you fucking Lee and not Orlando...or ARE you?"

That did it. You lunged at her but were swept right off your feet by Lee's arms around your waist while Jimmy held Sam back.

"Oh looks like I hit a nerve!" She shouted.

"Yeah, the I'm gonna kick your ass nerve!" you shouted back, struggling to free yourself from Lee's unbreakable grip.

'Enough!!" Orlando barked as he came out of the bathroom with another door slam. "Jimmy, man, get her out of here and don't bring her back."

"Sam! Let's go. Now!" Jimmy snapped as he stood in front of her.

She scowled at him and stormed out in tears. You jerked your arm free as Lee finally let you go.

"Why the hell did you stop me!?"

"Oh I don't know Jo, maybe so you didn't end up in a cell beside Ethan!"

"Ok, well I've had enough of this night. You can both go. I'll be fine. I'm going to the chapel for a bit to clear my fucking head before it explodes." Orlando vexed and left.

"Hey, I'm coming with you man." Lee called out. "Jo...I need you to go home."

"What??? I'm not leaving? He's going to have surgery soon and I'm not leaving you. Lee, I'm sorry I got all bent out of shape but she had it coming."

"Hey, look at me baby." he softly said and took your face in his hands. "I'm not mad. You're right, She did deserve it. Just let me stay here with him and try to talk some damn sense into him. I'll stay here through his surgery and after so he's not alone. I swear to you I will call you if anything is wrong. Just let me spend a little time with him by myself. I know him better than anyone and I'm going to do my best to try and get through to him about Ethan."

"I understand that. I..I just don't want to leave you. I can let you go be with him. I'll stay in the waiting room. I rode a fucking elevator to get up here tonight, I'll have you know."

"Jo, no. Please baby. Go home and get some rest. It's late and you have moving to do in the morning remember? I will still meet with you for lunch if all goes well here and you can come see him, and we can then go to the farm like we planned. Jo...please. For me. You've been through enough tonight. I will feel so much better knowing you're at home. Ethan's in jail so you'll be safe. I've got until tomorrow to get the truth out of Orlando, so just let me try."

"Is...there a reason I wouldn't be if he were out??"

Lee knew he shouldn't have said that part. "I just meant that, I don't know what Ethan is thinking right now."

"You mean that you are worried that he blames me for this."

"Jo...I'll call you when he's out of surgery."

"Deflecting. Typical. You know...I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you give me credit for and I know you're keeping something from me. That's what I wanted to talk to you about because I though we agreed about no more secrets...but...I guess it will have to wait."

You picked up your purse and marched out.

"Jo, babe!" Lee called after you but you ignored him and kept going, in tears.

"Fuck!" he shouted and then took off after Orlando.

"Josie!" Dave shouted as he saw you about to leave and came trotting up behind you.

You quickly tried to wipe your tears but he saw you.

"Heyy, why are you crying?? and...leaving?"

"Dave, I'm fine."

"No you're not. Sit down...please." he asked and placed his hand on your arm to guide you to the couch in the lobby.

You reluctantly sat down and he sat across form you.

"What happened? Talk to me. You know, we always used to talk...about everything. I miss that josie. I miss you." he said and leaned down to take your hands into his.

"I know. I miss you too, but..."

"But what?"

"There's just so much going on and I just want to go home. That's all."

"Like...with Lee? You two...are together now huh?"

"Dave, I reeeeally don't want to talk to you about Lee."

"I thought, besides my sister, that I was your best friend. I suppose...he is now?"

"David...don't do this. Not now."

"I just asked a simple question Josie. What's so hard about that? To tell me about your life?"

"Because I'm in love with him..." you blurted out in frustration.

Dave released your hands and sat back up with a look of shock and disbelief.

"I...see..."

"Dave, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just spit it out like that."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You can't help who you love. I should know."

His beeper went off and he checked it. "I need to go. I hope you will be happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you. Bye Josie."

Dave got up and left with pure anguish in his eyes, leaving you feeling like total shit and worried you may now lose him, for he pretty much just admitted how he felt about you, which you've always suspected. You adored him but you just didn't have those kinds of feelings for him. It was all Lee. It had always been Lee even before you knew him.

Lee entered the empty chapel and sat down beside Orlando and then just told him his own truth about Ethan's voicemails and what happened at the funeral reception.

"Now do you understand man. You can't let Ethan get away with this. He's dangerous. I just never realized how much until now."

"No, you don't understand Lee. I've made up my mind and what you just told me made it a hell of a lot easier and showed me I'm doing the right thing."

"The right thing? And what is that? Lando man, come on. I'm your best friend. Tell me what's going on."

"And I'm your best friend. You've been through enough shit too ya know. You and Josie both. If I don't....man things will just get worse, so just leave this alone."

"I think you know that's not even an option. You're going to throw away everything you've worked so hard for and for what? Ethan?? I know damn...oh... I mean darn...sorry up there." Lee said in panic as he glanced up at the cross. "I know you didn't do this to yourself and you'll never convince me otherwise, or anyone else for that matter. If you're this determined to go through with it, then at least go with your first lie, that you accidentally did it. God, I cannot believe I'm sitting here in a church, conspiring with you."

"Then don't. I don't want you or Josie involved in my messes."

"I think it's a little too late for that don't you? I mean, did you not just hear what I told you about his messages? and what he told Josie at the reception?"

"Look, I don't need you here. Just go back to Josie and live happily ever after ok?"

"Man, don't do that. You knew, you've known for how long how I feel about her."

"And?? What's your point Lee?"

Lee sighed and closed his eyes. "I...I'm in love with her...and she's in love with me."

"So I've seen."

"I know you didn't make that reaction on my post either. Ethan had this all worked out to his advantage so he could blame you for his jealousy."

"I came here to be alone...but since I can't, I'll just go back to my room. I'm not changing my mind. You're wasting your time. Go home Lee."

Orlando got up and walked out, but Lee followed him.

"I know why you're doing this! You're not protecting him, you're protecting her. He threatened her didn't he? If you put him in prison. I'm right aren't I? and you're also doing this because....you're in love with her."

Orlando froze as he listened to Lee spell out the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God, and then, he just kept walking.

You got home to a dark house. "Mom??" you called out as you turned on all the lights, for you hated the dark. There was no answer. "Meggggan??" you then called out as your rolled your eyes. No answer to that either.

You then found a note on the kitchen table form your mom that said she was out and would be back soon.

"Where the hell would she go at this time of night?" you muttered to yourself as you read it.

You then went up to your room and poured another glass of the wine you were drinking during your bath and downed it and then got undressed, putting on a robe.

You were way too wound up to even attempt to sleep, so you put on some music and sat on the bed with your laptop while you drank some more wine.

Immediately, you found Ethan's page through Orlando's, but of course it was all private. You blocked him and set yours to private as well so he couldn't stalk you from someone else's account like he did tonight. Before you did that, you noticed Lee hadn't done the same, which you guessed he didn't do it because Ethan would just cause more trouble over it.

Now that you took care of that, you began typing.

"I liked you before I even had a chance to brush my hand against yours that day in the hospital. I was attracted to your soul before I had a chance to kiss your lips that night in your car. I fell for your mind before I knew your body that night at the lake house. I loved you in such a short time because I waited a lifetime for you.....Forever I will love you now."

Lee sat in the waiting room while they prepped Orlando. He wasn't going to leave even if Orlando didn't want him there. In his boredom, he got online. What he really wanted to do was call you so he could hear your voice and tell you how sorry he was, for he just couldn't take knowing you were upset with him. But he decided to let you cool off and he didn't want to wake you if you were sleeping.

Lee then saw your post and he instantly teared up.

"Right back at ya baby girl." he commented and then posted a song on your page.

"Forever my Jo."

youtube

When you saw his reply and the song, you smiled so big and gave it a heart reaction, then hit play and finished off your wine. After it was over, you went to brush your teeth and try to go to bed. As you placed the toothpaste on the brush, your heart skipped a beat when you saw your birth control pills laying there...that you forgot to take for almost 5 days. With everything going on, you literally had forgotten. You weren't sure why you became worried because the only reason you even took them was solely for lighter periods and cramping. You weren't sexually active before Lee and it wouldn't have mattered if you were because after an accident you had when you were with Gerry, you were told you couldn't have children. A single gunshot took that away from you. One of the cons of having a cop for a boyfriend and a mob related brother.

Now you realized why you slightly freaked out. Being with Lee and being so happy, you had also forgotten of your inability to conceive...but Lee didn't know. What would he think? How would he feel? Surely he would want kids again someday, for you saw how he was with them and how much he loved Jacob. That night at his other house with Dash. Watching them together, Lee was so good with him and you remembered how it triggered you.

So many thoughts swirled through your mind now. Would Lee even want another child after Jacob? That was the main thought. Could or would he ever be able to love another child in that way? How could you ever even tell him about this? Would he still want you if he did want more kids and knew you couldn't give them to him?

There went your anxiety and you began to cry. You told yourself over and over that Lee loved you and it wouldn't matter, but how could you really know? It's not like that had never been a deal breaker for anyone before. But Lee, he was different wasn't he? He loved you more didn't he? All of his beautiful words and actions, they had to mean that he did, didn't it?

You couldn't take it anymore and climbed into bed, eventually crying yourself to sleep, for you also had a secret.

@redeemer46

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